ã€ŠAll-rounder Artistã€‹


 Chapter 1 - 1 Life Like A Summer Flower_1

    Nine o''clock in the evening.

    The Qin Continent Art Academy.

    He lay on the lawn next to the school''s sports field, hands supporting the back of his head, gazing at the stars¡ª

    The starry sky above seemed indistinguishable from Earth''s, but even though he couldn''t find the North Star, he knew this wasn''t Earth; this was a parallel timeline and a place called Blue Star.

    "Lin Yuan, the second-year composition student at Qin Continent Art Academy."

    This was his new identity after crossing over.

    He inherited everything from his predecessor, especially his handsome looks, yet he couldn''t remember his name from his previous life or why he had crossed over. All he knew was that in his previous life he seemed to be a good-looking and famous person?

    So, he naturally called himself:

    "Lin Yuan".

    He scanned the original owner''s memories.

    As Lin Yuan expected, the historical trajectory of this world is vastly different from his previous one.

    History diverted starting from the Qin Dynasty; Fusu inherited the works of Ying Zheng, leading the Great Qin Iron Cavalry to sweep over the universe. They united the world under the East that dominated the world until it was replaced by an even more powerful Summer Country a hundred years ago.

    The world united under one governing body.

    The world split into eight continents.

    The place where Lin Yuan lived was named the Qin Continent.

    In this world that has completely bid farewell to war, art has become a common pursuit of people. The culture here is extremely dense; fields related to literature and art, such as film and television, music, painting, literature, calligraphy, have never been so prosperous.

    "Utopia."

    That was how Lin Yuan described it.

    Especially for people engaged in the arts.

    However, even in a utopian place, misfortune happens. The misfortune happened to the original owner of the body Lin Yuan crossed over into¡ª

    He was diagnosed with a terminal illness.

    Yes, that''s right, the high-frequency term that appears in TV dramas and is always accompanied by a bucketful of melodrama:

    "Terminal illness".

    Lin Yuan found this in his memories after crossing over. He had unexpectedly inherited a body that had been given the death sentence; the doctor had already proclaimed the original body''s condition as a death sentence long before:

    "This child won''t live past twenty-five."

    The pain was unbearable for the original owner, so he chose to commit suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills. This was the reason Lin Yuan was able to take over the body. The original owner, being just nineteen years old, gave up his remaining life¡ª

    Fearing death?

    So, choosing death?

    Lin Yuan initially thought it was because of this unbearable pain that he chose to commit suicide. It wasn''t until he delved deeper into the original owner''s memories that he found out the situation was more complicated:

    The original owner was raised in a single-parent family.

    His father died of illness very early on.

    His mother raised him all by herself.

    From a young age, the original owner was sickly, fevers would often land him in a coma. The huge cost of treating his medical conditions fell solely on his mother''s shoulders.

    Some of the money was borrowed.

    Some of the money was earned by his mother.

    Just to raise him, his mother bore unimaginable hardships. Not to mention, the original owner had a sister and a younger sister¡ª

    The two sisters were very understanding.

    Despite their hardships because of their brother, they never had good days.

    To supplement the family''s income as soon as possible, his elder sister gave up the chance to further her studies.

    To reduce the burden on the family, his younger sister wore hand-me-downs from her elder sister.

    And the straw that broke the camel''s back was...

    He lost the qualification to chase his dreams.

    He was originally a student of vocal music, born with a powerful voice. His vocal condition was undoubtedly the best in his field. His dream was to become a singer.

    However, during his first year, his illness struck again, this time resulting in:

    He couldn''t sing anymore.

    His throat was damaged, unable to withstand consecutive high-intensity vocal training, let alone his prized high-notes¡ª

    With no other choice.

    He switched to the less-favored composition department.

    And in his second year, he chose to commit suicide.

    Not just because his dreams were shattered, but more so because he didn''t want to be a burden on his family anymore. Once life starts a countdown, each minute and every second can be torture.

    After digesting these memories.

    Lin Yuan, who had crossed over, could fully understand the original owner''s decision. He could not stand on a moral high ground and accuse the original master of being weak.

    One could only say...

    Everyone has their own misfortune. Some people''s misfortunes are harder to bear when compared to the average person''s.

    This aligns with the Buddha''s saying, "Life is suffering".

    But Lin Yuan wouldn''t choose to commit suicide.

    Although the body he inherited was still a body that most likely wouldn''t live past twenty-five, he still had a few years to make something of it... right?

    Copy some songs.

    Copy some books.

    Transport culture.

    Earn some money for the family.

    Yes, Lin Yuan couldn''t change his fate of having a terminal illness, but in the remaining time, he might be able to change the fate of his family.

    He was desperate with this thought.

    Lin Yuan couldn''t tell whether this was the will of the original owner or his own desire.

    Perhaps what he inherited was not just the memory of the original owner, but also all his joys, angers, sorrows, and pleasures, and that connected with the mysterious bloodline.

    Lin Yuan didn''t resist this feeling.

    But when Lin Yuan tried to recall some of the literary works from his previous life, he was shocked to find that he couldn''t remember them clearly, as if there was a gauzy partition between them and his memory.

    Then what is the purpose of my transmigration? sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan asked himself this in his heart.

    Then in his mind sounded a response that didn''t quite count as an answer, "Blood testing... genetic testing... iris testing... compatibility rate is 99.36%... meets standard... data library selection¡­ Solar System Earth¡­ system binding in progress¡­"

    System?

    Lin Yuan understood.

    Although the details of his memories were vague, he had read some online novels about the systems in his previous life, and he still had some impressions. He knew this was his golden finger, and this was the purpose of his transmigration.

    Stop overthinking.

    He was quietly waiting for the system to install.

    Soon enough, that mechanical electric current sound rang again in his mind, "Loading successful, Literature and Art System binding complete!"

    "Hello."

    Lin Yuan initiated the greeting.

    "Hello, host, congratulations on binding the Literature and Art System. This system will do its best to help you become an artist on Blue Star. You can communicate with the system through your mind. The following information will be displayed in text form for you."

    The mechanical voice quieted down.

    Transparent subtitles appeared in front of Lin Yuan.

    "Age: 19"

    "Life Span: 22"

    "Painting: 45"

    "Literature: 105"

    "Music: 1038"

    "Composite: 1188"

    "Others: Please wait for activation."

    "Note: Besides age and lifespan, the numbers represent Prestige, which signifies the external and industry recognition the host has obtained in that field. Theoretically, there is no upper limit. The higher your Prestige value, the more benefits you get¡­"

    Life Span is... 22?

    The system seemed to know what Lin Yuan was thinking.

    Another line of subtitle appeared, "Twenty-five years is the theoretical maximum age that the host can live up to. In reality, the host can only live till the age of twenty-two and will be completely paralyzed at the age of twenty-one."

    "Can it be cured?"

    Lin Yuan asked in his mind.

    System: "When the host reaches the prestige standard of the system, the system will provide treatments. After several rounds of treatments, recovery can be achieved. Every time a certain Prestige value is reached, the system will notify the host¡­"

    So, it can be cured.

    Lin Yuan adeptly asked, "What about the newbie gift?"

    Perhaps it was because Lin Yuan was too proficient that the system took a few seconds of silence before replying, "The newbie gift has been sent to the host''s inventory."

    "Enter the inventory."

    As soon as Lin Yuan finished speaking, he saw a virtual interface similar to a game backpack appear before his eyes. Inside the first grid, there was an audio file that didn''t take up much space ¡ª

    Song: "Life Like A Summer Flower".

    The newbie gift is just a song?

    Please, could you remove the "big" from it?

    While Lin Yuan was mentally complaining, he listened to the song once. As soon as the introduction began, he knew it was the same work from his memory.

    As a matter of fact,

    The moment he clicked play on the song, memories from his past life regarding this song instantly flooded his mind. Before this, he couldn''t recall the tune and lyrics of the song at all.

    Lin Yuan roughly understood how the system worked.

    Those so-called Prestige might just be matters of releasing songs and gaining enough recognition. When this recognition reaches a certain level, he could get treated and wouldn''t have to "kick the bucket" prematurely...

    Quite perfunctory settings.

    The system seemed unhappy with Lin Yuan''s complaints and promptly added a setting: "While gaining prestige, the host will also get lottery opportunities with extremely high winning chances."

    "Oh."

    Lin Yuan''s reaction was indifferent.

    He was thinking about the song.

    Since his vocal cords were damaged, even though the range of "Life Like A Summer Flower" wasn''t high, according to the doctor''s advice, it would be better for Lin Yuan not to sing.

    But this didn''t obstruct Lin Yuan.

    He couldn''t perform it himself, but he could let others do it.

    As long as he could gain Prestige it was fine. Logically, the singer tends to be more famous, but Lin Yuan didn''t like being famous, he even kind of loathed it¡ª

    He didn''t know why.

    Maybe it was because of his past life''s influence?

    Though he couldn''t clearly remember his past life, Lin Yuan could vaguely sense that his past self must have been quite impressive, possibly even very accomplished.

    This song was interesting too.

    It was at least appropriate for the original host''s situation.

    Thinking about this, Lin Yuan suddenly felt curious, "System, after I transmigrated to this world, did my past self just disappear from Earth?"

    System: "Life Exchange"

    The system now understood Lin Yuan''s routine. This guy''s understanding was outstanding and his acceptance was incredible. He loved straightforwardness, so there was no need to explain too much, hence it began to be concise and clear.

    "Life Exchange, huh."

    Lin Yuan''s eyes flickered and he revealed a gentle smile. Having someone take over and continue his life didn''t feel bad at all.

    After all, he was single.

    Many things might not be clear, but from the vague outline of his past memories, Lin Yuan was able to roughly sketch it out.

    Not good, not bad either.

    Actually, even the worst life would be better than having one''s life on a countdown. I wish the stranger who took over could also have a system instead of another ''Life Like a Summer Flower''¡ª

    At least, we still exist.

 Chapter 2 - 2 Newcomer Season_1

    "So you''ve been hiding here all this time."

    A voice resonated in Lin Yuan''s ear, followed by a handsome, fair face, obscuring the brilliant starry sky before him.

    "Jian Yi."

    Lin Yuan subconsciously called out the other person''s name.

    This dashing and lanky boy had been Lin Yuan''s classmate in elementary school, middle school, and finally university¡ª

    A true confidant.

    And now, this confidant had reached out, pulling Lin Yuan up from the ground.

    Shortly after, Lin Yuan felt a weight on his shoulder, a feminine coat now draped around him.

    He turned his head and saw a lovely smile.

    A girl with long hair draped over her shoulders, slightly made up, an epitome of beauty.

    "Xia Fan."

    Just like Jian Yi before, Lin Yuan also found himself calling out her name without thinking.

    Because this girl named Xia Fan was also Lin Yuan''s classmate from elementary school, middle school, and university¡ª

    Another confidant.

    "There''s a breeze at night, remember to wear your coat when you''re out."

    Xia Fan cautioned Lin Yuan, even though she, Jian Yi, and everyone jogging around the field were all dressed in summer gear like T-shirts.

    "Alright." S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan replied.

    In response, Jian Yi and Xia Fan stared at him, their gazes tinged with suspicion.

    "Why do I feel there''s something off about you?"

    The one who said this was Jian Yi.

    Although Xia Fan didn''t say anything, her expression showed that she shared Jian Yi''s suspicion.

    "Because I''m no longer completely Lin Yuan."

    Lin Yuan answered with a smile, reckoning his response as quite objective. He was half the previous Lin Yuan¡ª at least his feelings for family and friends, his physical body, everything was just like the past Lin Yuan.

    "Have you been possessed by ghost or something?"

    Jian Yi burst into laughter, showing no doubt.

    Xia Fan''s expression also seemed inexplicably relieved.

    Lin Yuan let out a sigh of relief.

    He could now avoid any further explanation with a clean conscience.

    Having grown up together, Xia Fan and Jian Yi knew everything about Lin Yuan.

    Because of this, both had always looked after Lin Yuan, who had a frail physique.

    From an emotional perspective, Lin Yuan didn''t wish to deceive them, but he had to resort to some necessary deceit.

    "Mr. Lin, let me point out this objectively."

    Jian Yi said seriously, "Being a Novelist, is one of the top ten most coveted professions voted by young netizens across various continents. Just in our Qin Continent itself, countless people aspire to make a mark in this field. It''s tough to stand out based on a whim, so you don''t need to brood over life alone on a windy night on the lawn."

    "Novelist..."

    Lin Yuan''s eyes flickered for a moment.

    Jian Yi mentioned writing novels for a reason.

    Not so long ago, the previous Lin Yuan developed a notion to write novels. He acted on it, participated in an online writing competition with a 100,000-word manuscript, and attempted to debut as a Novelist.

    This writing competition was bustling.

    If successful, the winner''s work would get a rare opportunity for publication. If it reached certain sales figures, it could even be adapted into animation, movies, games, and more.

    This was a dream come true for countless people aspiring to be novelists!

    The most essential point, it was extremely profitable!

    Unfortunately...

    As this kind of competition was too popular and the previous Lin Yuan just an average talent at writing novels, his entry was eliminated in the first round of reviewing.

    Jian Yi, therefore, deduced that Lin Yuan was sulking alone on the field due to the failed competition.

    However...

    Both the present and former Lin Yuan didn''t really care about the outcome of the competition.

    The previous Lin Yuan''s decision to commit suicide had nothing to do with the failed competition. In fact, his participation in the competition was merely a fun experiment.

    What if he made money from it?

    That was his mindset while participating.

    The previous Lin Yuan was a person who was always eager to graduate early and make money.

    He carried a sense of guilt towards his family, always struggling to do better.

    He felt his sisters and mother had sacrificed too much for him, so he wanted to compensate them as best he could.

    Becoming a singer was not just about pursuing a dream.

    More importantly, it was a profession where he could make a ton of money!

    Don''t go saying things like "Dreams should not be tarnished by money".

    For the previous Lin Yuan, he hoped that his dream could deteriorate quickly so that he could make money¡ª

    So he could buy a pretty dress for his little sister.

    To liberate his elder sister from the life she was living.

    A job that will make my mother''s life less tough.

    "Don''t listen to Jian Yi."

    Xia Fan also thought that Lin Yuan was saddened by the failure of his manuscript''s submission.

    However, she didn''t persuade Lin Yuan to give up, but encouraged him to keep going: "Actually, there are many opportunities like this. For example, every January, Blue Star''s leading publisher, ''Silver Blue Books'', will host the ''SuperStar'' Novel Award, and you can participate then."

    "Please, Xia Fan."

    Jian Yi held his forehead: "Lin Yuan can''t even pass an amateur writing contest, and you want him to take on the ''SuperStar''?"

    "It''s all about participating."

    Xia Fan said guiltily. She didn''t really expect Lin Yuan to succeed. She just purely wanted Lin Yuan to find something to do for himself. Ever since he lost his voice and moved to the composition department, Lin Yuan''s mindset hasn''t been great.

    Jian Yi lacks the sensitivity of Xia Fan.

    He was enthusiastically explaining the basic situation to Lin Yuan: "Even someone like me who doesn''t follow the fiction circle knows how terrifying the ''SuperStar'' is. The contestants are basically old-timers who have been striving for their dreams for many years, and even occasionally some authors who have debuted but aren''t doing well will participate.

    Anyway, for many people, once they change their pseudonym and start over, they become so-called ''newbies''..."

    In short, ''SuperStar'' is like a battle of gods.

    "I got it, I got it."

    Lin Yuan interrupted Jian Yi with a laugh, but he secretly remembered the ''SuperStar''.

    In this world rich with artistic atmosphere, there seem to be particularly many channels to gain recognition.

    But he doesn''t have any novels now.

    He would have to wait for the System to provide it generously.

    As for the song ''Life Like A Summer Flower'', Lin Yuan needed to find a way to release it, and he couldn''t help but look at Xia Fan ¡ª

    Xia Fan was a vocal music major student.

    When Lin Yuan hadn''t changed his major, they were classmates. Speaking of professional ability, there''s no doubt about Xia Fan''s competency. Her singing talent was almost as good as Lin Yuan''s before he lost his voice.

    But Xia Fan is just a student.

    Should a student release a song through the internet?

    The speed of gaining recognition from that would be too slow, without some promotion, the song could potentially sink like a stone.

    "What''s wrong?"

    Feeling odd that Lin Yuan was staring at her, Xia Fan asked: "Do you want to eat or drink something? I can buy it for you now."

    "No."

    Lin Yuan said: "I have a friend...uh, a friend, who wrote a song and wants to release it, but doesn''t know how. Do you have any channels you could recommend?"

    "Are you dumb?"

    Jian Yi smirked: "Didn''t you sell yourself for fifty thousand yuan? If you have a song, of course you should find the Starlight Entertainment Company behind you. It''s a waste not to use such a big company."

    Lin Yuan was stunned, and then suddenly realized.

    After the original owner was admitted to Qin Continent Music Academy, he demonstrated an amazing vocal talent. So when he was a freshman, he was spotted by an agent and signed a contract with an entertainment company that was both reputable and of a reasonable size.

    The signing fee was fifty thousand yuan.

    The original owner was in desperate need of money, so even though he knew that a signing fee of fifty thousand yuan was indeed very cheap, he quickly signed an eight-year contract without hesitation. He immediately handed the signing fee he received over to his mother!

    But who would have thought...

    That the young man with an amazing vocal talent, shortly after signing the contract, would never be able to sing again.

    Faced with this, the entertainment company that signed Lin Yuan could only consider itself unlucky and left Lin Yuan to his own devices.

    Perhaps it was because they knew about Lin Yuan''s family situation, the company did not ask him for compensation or brought up contract termination. They probably forgot that they had a signed artist named Lin Yuan.

    "Wait a minute."

    While Lin Yuan was deep in thought, Jian Yi suddenly came to a realization: "Mr. Lin, when did you have friends that Xia Fan and I don''t know about?"

    "Creating friends out of thin air."

    Xia Fan covered her mouth and giggled, then said: "If you want to release a song, there''s an opportunity right now because the annual ''Newcomers in Music'' season is coming up in a few days. During that time, all major entertainment companies will be pushing hard, as long as you can meet the company''s registration standards..."

    "I understand."

    Lin Yuan also smiled.

    This is the utopia of artists, the ideal nation where entertainment flourishes!

    As long as you have the ability, roads to fame are laid out in every direction, extending right up to your front door!

    ''Newcomers in Music'' season.

    This is one of the channels to fame, and it is also a rule specifically established by Blue Star to foster music talent:

    Every November, ''Newcomers in Music'' events will be held all over Blue Star!

    At that time, music industry seniors will tacitly agree not to release albums or even singles, temporarily suspending business to give space to the juniors.

    Even some seniors will promote budding artists whom they have taken a liking to during November.

    Afterwards, major entertainment companies will seize this opportunity to fully launch their music newcomers, and waves of newcomers will sprint, trying to stand out!

    Originally, Lin Yuan had such an opportunity to debut during the Newcomers season.

    But unfortunately, now he can only strive to debut as a songwriter.

    However, Lin Yuan is not the original owner anymore so he feels happy about debuting as a songwriter.

    In Blue Star, the royalty distribution model for music newcomers is:

    The profits generated from song downloads or streams are generally taken by the company as 80%, leaving the remaining 20% shared between the singer and songwriter. The remuneration for the arranger and the producer is usually settled by the company.

    The specific ratio depends on what the contract says.

    The singers and the songwriters usually get the lion''s share.

    Besides the company''s cut, Lin Yuan wouldn''t have to share his money with too many people, after all, he was handling both lyrics and composition, and the arrangement was already provided by the System. What he needs now is a platform from the company to be part of the Newcomers in Music season, as well as a money-sharing...

    Tool-man who can sing.

 Chapter 3 - 3 Military Order_1

    "When encountered with a song that has a lengthy main melody, you can break it down into several segments, also known as what we often refer to as musical phrases. Each musical phrase, when played, will have slight variations. Like this section...."

    The next morning.

    Composition professional class.

    Lin Yuan listened to the teacher''s lecture, making classroom notes on his notebook.

    Even though the original owner had switched from the vocal department to the composition department and didn''t possess a high talent for composition, his fields of interest were all related to music.

    And just like the original owner, Lin Yuan is also full of interest in music.

    He didn''t want to end up producing a bunch of songs, but couldn''t even recognize five-line staffs proficiently.

    However, Lin Yuan did not expect that being attentive during the professional class would lead to an unexpected reward¡ª

    Suddenly, a prompt tone rang in his ear: "Ding dong, the host is detected to be learning composition knowledge, triggering a novice task."

    Shortly after.

    In front of Lin Yuan, half-glowing blue text emerged:

    [Task Name: Student''s Task is to Learn]

    [Task Content: Score within the top 25 in the next professional course exams arranged by the college]

    [Task Reward: Receive one Bronze Treasure Chest]

    This novice task came quite abruptly, but Lin Yuan didn''t feel too surprised.

    Is it still a system if it doesn''t issue tasks?

    Then he began pondering the difficulty of this task:

    There are ten classes in the composition department of the Qin Continent Music Academy, each class with about fifty students, and Lin Yuan''s class had precisely fifty students.

    But that had nothing to do with Lin Yuan.

    Because he didn''t need to compete with students from other classes.

    The novice task only requires Lin Yuan to rank within the top 25 in the next exam in his class.

    This wasn''t much of a problem for Lin Yuan.

    Because Lin Yuan''s regular professional course ranking is around 30 in the class, as long as he tries a little harder, he should be able to break into the top 25 in the class.

    "What will happen if the task fails?"

    Lin Yuan curiously asked the system in his heart: "Will I be electrocuted by the system? Or erased by the system? Wait a minute!"

    Lin Yuan''s face changed slightly, "It''s not going to deduct money, right? Surely it won''t, surely not, surely not, right?"

    [System First Rule: Never harming the host]

    [Also, friendly reminder: electrocuting, erasing, each of these methods is more frightening than deducting money, please prioritize clearly]

    "As long as it doesn''t deduct money, then it''s fine."

    Lin Yuan sighed in relief, but soon he realized that even if the system wanted to deduct money, he didn''t have money for the system to deduct...

    This discovery depressed him a bit.

    ...

    After the class ended.

    Lin Yuan didn''t return to the dormitory, instead he found a quiet place, pulled out a number from his phone, and dialed it. The contact was marked as: sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Agent Zhao Yu".

    The phone was picked up after two rings.

    From the other end of the phone came a slightly tired female voice: "Lin Yuan? What''s up?"

    Lin Yuan said, "I have a song that I want to release."

    The voice at the other end of the phone suddenly became somewhat excited: "Want to release a song? Has your throat recovered? Can you sing again?"

    "No."

    Lin Yuan said, "I have now switched from the vocal department to the composition department. Recently, I have a song in my hand, and I was wondering if the company can help find a singer to perform and release it?"

    "I see."

    Zhao Jue was somewhat disappointed, and her voice went low again, "I suppose you want to participate in the New Talent Season in November, right?"

    "Right."

    "I should remind you, you are a singer contracted to our Starlight Entertainment, not a composer and lyricist contracted by the company. The company has a dedicated department for connecting with singers, and most singers also have their own lyricists and composers..." Zhao Jue gently rejected.

    However, Lin Yuan didn''t give up, "Can I switch to the composition department now?"

    He really needed the company''s distribution channels.

    Without the company''s resource promotion, even a good song could easily go unnoticed. All the newcomers who emerged in the previous New Talent Seasons had the support of entertainment company resources.

    "No!"

    Zhao Jue rejected outright.

    After about ten seconds of silence, Zhao Jue suddenly sighed, somewhat helplessly: "Forget it, encrypt the song and send it to me through the company''s internal channel. If the quality is good, I''ll find someone to help you release it. Of course, if the quality is not up to par, let''s just pretend this conversation never happened."

    "Thank you."

    Lin Yuan sincerely thanked her.

    Zhao Jue was the person who had signed Lin Yuan in the first place. She once had high hopes for Lin Yuan, but unfortunately, an accident happened to Lin Yuan''s voice and it lost its value.

    Under such circumstances, Zhao Jue was still willing to give Lin Yuan a hand. This was a big favor.

    "Let''s leave it at that, goodbye."

    Zhao Jue ended the call somewhat irritably.

    ...

    Zhao Jue''s irritation was not aimed at Lin Yuan, but it originated from Lin Yuan.

    Because next month will be the New Talent Season, Zhao Jue had too many things to manage.

    A few newly signed artists under her hand need to be take this opportunity of the annual New Talent Season to try to rise up.

    Original, Lin Yuan should have been one of these newcomers.

    Previously, Zhao Jue had even considered inviting the few biggest talents from the company to help tailor a few songs for Lin Yuan, so as to allow Lin Yuan to shock the scene during the New Talent Season, because Lin Yuan''s vocal talent was really astonishing.

    As a result, things did not go as planned.

    "Unable to walk down the road as a singer so wants to turn to song creation?"

    Zhao Jue shook her head with a bitter smile. If creation was so simple, why would some Heavenly King or Queen-level singers not make their own songs, but instead, invite professional composers and poets to write them?

    Did they not want to?

    Or was it because they just couldn''t produce good songs that listeners liked?

    In this era, the status of a composition teacher for a song is far higher than that of a singer, especially in the pragmatic ecology of the industry.

    The composer is the big daddy!

    Because if a company possesses an awesome composer, that can support a bunch of singers.

    In fact, in recent years, listeners have begun to pay more and more attention to the names of composers.

    Clearly, the public was beginning to realize that composition is the soul of a song, with performance being secondary!

    Other aspects such as lyric writing and arrangement, although they are also very important, the core element is definitely composition, which is even more important than singing¨C

    A good song sounds pleasing regardless of any instrument accompaniment!

    No matter if it''s with a guitar, a piano or even a double bassoon, if someone is passionate enough, they can even produce wonders with a suona.

    "This boy is also quite pitiful."

    Recalling some past events, Zhao Jue felt some sorrow.

    When Lin Yuan was in hospital, Zhao Jue, as Lin Yuan''s agent who signed him, did go to see him but eventually stopped at the door of his ward.

    Because through the door, she could hear the raspy and sobbing crying from within the ward, a sound that was just like an injured puppy...

    Everyone has a kind heart.

    This is why Zhao Jue was willing to help Lin Yuan.

    Regardless of success or not, she wanted at least to give the boy a chance, to let him know that many things in this world can''t just be done successfully as one wishes.

    "However, you''ve gotten me in quite a bit of trouble."

    Zhao Jue sighed, her face showing signs of worry, this was the root of her anxiety¨C

    The annual newcomer season on the music scene is when all major companies push their newbies hard.

    During this period, all the major companies were fighting fiercely.

    Even among the eight continents, Starlight Entertainment was a respected company.

    In Qin Continent, Starlight Entertainment is amongst the top three in terms of overall strength!

    However, Starlight Entertainment had been performing poorly in the newcomer season for the past three consecutive years.

    In these three years, the company''s best performance was when they pushed two newbies into the top ten two years ago; however, they dangled towards the bottom of the list...

    In comparison with companies of similar status, they were a bit embarrassing.

    What angered Starlight the most was the company''s arch-enemy, Sand Sea Culture, took an overwhelming four spots in the top ten last year in the newcomer season.

    Among these four spots, including the very prestigious second and third place.

    This made Starlight''s high-level executives unable to lift their heads. After all, the major entertainment companies in Qin Continent don''t get along, so the executives naturally began pressuring Zhao Jue, the company''s top agent.

    Zhao Jue, having no choice, made a vow in front of all the executives:

    Gauranteed to place a talent within the top three this newcomer season!

    If unable to do so, she would voluntarily step down.

    The reason why Zhao Jue dared to make such a vow was not only because of pressure from the executives but also because she had just signed Lin Yuan, a young man with a stunning voice, and was full of ambition to achieve great things¨C

    She thought Lin Yuan could help her complete this task.

    But now Lin Yuan''s voice had gone, and her vow remained unfulfilled.

    Executives care only for results, not what difficulties occurred along the way.

    That''s why, in recent times, Zhao Jue was frantically searching for someone to replace Lin Yuan and thus fulfil her promise; because of this, she had already submitted nine newbies.

    However, Zhao Jue knew it clearly in her heart.

    Of the nine newbies she has submitted, they could perhaps make it into the top twenty, to reach the top ten would depend on their luck.

    To charge into the top five or even top three?

    They might as well just sleep on it. Everything is possible in a dream.

    The company has allocated spots for ten newcomers and only one spot is left; yet, Zhao Jue still couldn''t find someone to replace Lin Yuan.

    She was already in a state of giving up.

    Therefore, she agreed to Lin Yuan''s request in the end.

    Anyway, it''s just the last spot. If the song written by Lin Yuan turned out to be just barely passable in terms of quality, why not satisfy the wishes of this poor child?

    Just at the time.

    Her phone beeped.

    This was a mail notification, sent encrypted via the company''s internal channels. The sender was Lin Yuan.

    Opened the mail.

    After decrypting it, Zhao Jue saw the audio file sent by Lin Yuan, titled: ''Life Like A Summer Flower''.

    Life Like A Summer Flower?

    Zhao Jue didn''t understand the meaning of these words but vaguely associated it with some imagery.

    She put on her earphones and clicked play.

    Immersed in the music, the song quickly finished.

    Zhao Jue looked surprised and a little shocked.

    Unlike those rough drafts, the song sent by Lin Yuan was complete. Besides the melody being quite refined, even the arrangement had been done¨C

    This is not something that could be done in a short period of time.

    As for the singing part, it was just a hummed tune created by a machine.

    However, this sound wasn''t as rigid as the usual synthesized sound, instead appearing rather natural.

    Nevertheless, based on her experience, Zhao Jue could tell that this simple hummed tune could likely be turned into something more interesting should it be sung by a human voice.

    "Quite interesting."

    Zhao Jue was a talent agent.

    She might not know much about composing, but having been in the industry for many years, her basic judgments were on point.

    Her eyes glinting, she felt that ''Life Like A Summer Flower'' could be a good song as she was already quite attracted by it, although the song only consisted of melody and synthesized humming.

    "This guy might have real composing talents?"

    Arching her brow, Zhao Jue made three phone calls.

    First call was to the review department: "I have a song here, have a listen and review it. It''s urgent, I need results by tonight."

    It was a necessary checkpoint.

    The tech review was there to ensure Lin Yuan''s ''Life Like A Summer Flower'' doesn''t overlap too much with other songs on the market and risk suspicion of plagiarism. If issues arise, it would be catastrophic damage on the company''s reputation.

    The second call was to her subordinate agents.

    As the chief, Zhao Jue''s voice was firm: "We''ll be recording tonight. It''s the last slot for the newcomer season, get me someone reliable, don''t make it too hard on the sound engineer."

    A newbie with a less-than-stellar voice wasn''t a big problem for Zhao Jue.

    It just meant extra overtime work for the company''s sound engineer.

    The third phone call was to Lin Yuan, her tone the softest, nowhere near as firm as her previous two calls: "When will your class end today? I''ll pick you up from your school to record a song."

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan replied.

    His tone seemed to reveal¡­ no surprise?

 Chapter 4 - 4 Tool Man_1

    Six in the afternoon.

    As soon as the class ended, Lin Yuan received a message from Jian Yi, "Do you want to have dinner together tonight? Xia Fan is treating!"

    "No, I''m busy tonight. You and Xia Fan go ahead."

    As Lin Yuan replied to the message, he stepped out of the school gate. At that moment, a red sedan was parked by the roadside outside the gate.

    "Long time no see, get in."

    The left side window of the red sedan was rolled down, revealing a woman who took off her sunglasses and waved to Lin Yuan with a smile.

    "Hello."

    Lin Yuan greeted her and got in the car.

    This woman was the talent manager Zhao Jue. She was 35 years old and her eyes had faint crow''s feet. She was amiable when she smiled, serious, and calm when she was not. She emanated a composed and competent aura.

    "Lin Yuan."

    After casting a glance at Lin Yuan who was sitting in the back seat through the rearview mirror, Zhao Jue started the car. "Your song has no lyrics. Do you need me to find someone to write them? There are only ten days left until the beginning of the Newcomers'' Season."

    "No need, the lyrics have been written."

    "What about the arrangement... will you use your own?"

    "El."

    "Alright." Zhao Jue smiled. "Do you know what the crux of the competition in the Newcomers'' Season each November is?"

    "What is it?"

    As Zhao Jue drove, she spoke, "The Newcomers'' Season is a collective term. What each company is truly competing for is a place in a chart, the Qin Continent''s Music Newcomers Chart to be precise. Only if you make it to the top 20 of this list can you be considered to have made a breakthrough."

    "Oh."

    Nothing new.

    Zhao Jue stopped in front of a red light and glanced at Lin Yuan, "Your song isn''t bad. If you rank well in the Newcomer''s Chart in November, I can help you transfer your contract to the Composing Department."

    "Thank you." sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan''s eyes lit up.

    He hoped to head towards the direction of a composer, which was also the profession he was currently studying. As a songwriter, he wouldn''t need to be in the public eye like a singer, and he could also gain the so-called "approval" from the System.

    Just then.

    Lin Yuan heard the voice from the System, "Ding dong, congratulations to the host for triggering a new mission."

    [Mission Name: The First Song]

    [Mission Content: Successful recording of ''Life Like A Summer Flower'']

    [Mission Reward: A Bronze Treasure Chest]

    A new mission came up even before the previous one was completed?

    Looking at the three lines of text appearing before his eyes, Lin Yuan became somewhat excited about the recording that was about to take place. He hoped to get it right tonight.

    ...

    Half an hour later.

    Lin Yuan arrived at Starlight Entertainment.

    It was a 50-story skyscraper. People passing by were all dressed in professional attire, wearing work badges of different departments of Starlight Entertainment, flaunting the grand style of a big company.

    "Hello, Ms. Zhao."

    Zhao Jue was a big shot in Starlight. Many passing by greeted her proactively. She reciprocated slightly and led Lin Yuan directly to the recording studio on the ninth floor.

    "Ms. Zhao!"

    Seeing Zhao Jue, a plump talent manager who had been waiting on the ninth floor hurriedly beckoned, "The equipment is almost ready."

    "Where is your person?"

    Zhao Jue looked around. She only saw the recording studio''s staff busying themselves.

    "Well..."

    The plump talent manager wiped the sweat off his forehead, "There was a traffic jam, so the newbie hasn''t arrived yet. I''ve urged that rascal several times already! When he arrives, I swear I''ll give him a piece of my mind!"

    "Didn''t you think to set off earlier if you knew there was a jam?"

    Zhao Jue''s gaze was icy, "If you can''t handle a newbie, give it to someone else! We''ll start timing now. If the person doesn''t arrive within 15 minutes, find someone else to sing the song. Such a waste to give an opportunity to a good-for-nothing!"

    "Ok ok ok..."

    The plump talent manager kept nodding his head, his face turning pale. He was fumbling with his phone, ready to hurry the latecomer. In his heart, he had already cursed the latecomer a hundred times over.

    At this moment.

    A woman, who looked like an assistant, came out of the elevator and headed straight for Zhao Jue, "Ms. Zhao, the manager wants to see you..."

    "Got it."

    Zhao Jue massaged her temples, feeling a headache coming on. She was sure that the manager wanted to discuss the Newcomers'' Chart with her.

    She only had herself to blame for being too presumptuous.

    She incredibly had the audacity to issue a military order in front of the company''s executives.

    Looking at Lin Yuan, the innocent mastermind, Zhao Jue felt a surge of frustration and had nowhere to vent it.

    She could only hold her anger in, and gave a warning look to the recording studio''s staff and the plump talent manager, "The song is written by Lin Yuan. During the recording, his opinions will prevail. Understand?"

    "Yes."

    The plump talent manager and the staff of the recording studio nodded their heads hastily at Lin Yuan behind Zhao Jue when they heard this, clearly not daring to defy Zhao Jue''s order.

    Lin Yuan nodded back in response.

    ...

    Zhao Jue had to leave due to some pressing matters.

    The plump talent manager also went downstairs to make a phone call.

    After waiting for about 10 minutes with the staff, Lin Yuan suddenly heard a voice cursing from afar, "If you''re late for even a moment, you''ll fucking miss this year''s Newcomers'' Season, you know that?! For the chance to debut in the Newcomers'' Season, you''ve been waiting for a few years, right? You''ve caused me to be scolded by Ms.

    Zhao, who is well known to be in a bad mood these days, you''re damned good at heading for trouble."

    "I''m sorry, I''m sorry, bro. I was wrong."

    A not-so-tall young man was bowing and scraping in front of the plump talent manager who just went downstairs, apologizing profusely, "I really didn''t expect to have the chance to debut this year! Rest assured, bro! I''ll seize the opportunity today and not let you down! Thank you for covering for me and getting me the company''s last spot for the Newcomers'' Season!"

 Chapter 5 - 4 Tool Man_2

    "Enough talk, get ready to record."

    The chubby manager turned around, pressing his temples hard, probably dealing with high blood pressure.

    The young man let out a sigh, wiped the sweat from his forehead, his expression both nervous and excited. But then, looking up, he noticed the boy standing in front of him staring directly at him¡ª

    "Lin Yuan?"

    He took a few steps closer, looked at Lin Yuan carefully again. Once he confirmed his initial recognition, he burst out laughing, "It really is you! What are you doing here? Ah, I get it, you''re working part-time, aren''t you?"

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    He was seriously considering who the other person might be. According to the memory of the original owner, this person seemed somewhat familiar.

    The young man obviously had no idea what Lin Yuan was thinking.

    He raised his head, puffed out his chest, and patted Lin Yuan on the shoulder, "You really are the most outstanding sophomore in our vocal music department. You can already work part-time at Starlight Entertainment... Oh, so you''re working in a recording studio. So to speak, I''m also your colleague then!"

    Pulled out a thermos cup from his arms and handed it to Lin Yuan.

    The young man waived his hand, saying, "First, get me a glass of water, I just ran all the way here. I''m exhausted, but this fatigue is nothing. After all, after recording this song, I will make my debut!"

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    He finally remembered who the young man was.

    This person was Sun Yaohuo, a vocal music student from Qin Continent Art Academy who had already graduated.

    When the vocal music department held events, some graduate students would return to campus for performances. That''s how the original owner met him, so he was indeed Lin Yuan''s senior.

    Furthermore, because Sun Yaohuo was quite capable, he signed a contract with Starlight Entertainment right after graduation. The younger students in the vocal music department highly admired him for being able to sign with a large company, potentially becoming a star in the future.

    Though Lin Yuan also signed with Starlight Entertainment, he never publicized this fact. Given his unique physical condition, only Xia Fan and Jian Yi knew about it, while others were kept in the dark.

    "What are you standing there for?"

    Sun Yaohuo laughed, "Go and get me some water. I need to record a song. You should stay close and learn from the experience. It will be good for you."

    "Alright."

    Lin Yuan went to get water.

    The faces of the surrounding studio staff looked strange.

    Sun Yaohuo''s chubby manager had just turned around, only to see Sun Yaohuo acting superior toward Lin Yuan. Further, he felt his blood pressure, that he had just managed to bring down, shoot up again: Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Sun Yaohuo, who do you think you''re dealing with!"

    He stormed up and slapped the back of Sun Yaohuo''s neck, "The song you''re singing is written by him, you should call him Mr. Lin!"

    Upon finishing.

    The Chubby man turned to Lin Yuan, who was getting water, and said, "I''m sorry, Mr. Lin. Sun Yaohuo isn''t particularly bright..."

    "It''s indeed necessary to have some water before recording."

    Lin Yuan responded seriously, not finding anything inappropriate and handed Sun Yaohuo the filled thermos cup of water.

    Sun Yaohuo took it blankly.

    Still fuming, the chubby man spun around, scolding him, "Show some respect to Mr. Lin. Don''t be rude."

    "..."

    Sun Yaohuo opened his mouth wanting to say something but didn''t know what. His head was completely blank¡ª

    He is a junior to me!

    I... How am I rude?

    A staff member nearby repressing laughter proposed, "New guy, do you remember the tune yet? If you do, let''s go through the lyrics once to get the feel of it, ok?"

    "I remember, teacher."

    Sun Yaohuo replied hurriedly.

    The staff members looked to Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan said, "Then let''s begin."

    After entering the studio, Sun Yaohuo began singing according to the lyrics.

    His skill level was not bad, otherwise, he wouldn''t have been signed by Starlight right after graduation.

    But Lin Yuan, carrying the vocal experience of the original owner, was not going to lower his standards. Wanting a share of his earnings meant even a tool person had to show some skills. He quickly found an issue:

    "The humming in the intro doesn''t pause naturally."

    Which was the cue to start over. Sun Yaohuo just nodded.

    The music started again, quickly stopped by Lin Yuan, "Your pronunciation is too heavy. Lighten it a bit, it can make the emotive expression more intense."

    "Ok..."

    Sun Yaohuo felt a little awkward being toyed around by his junior, and couldn''t help but think that the latter was intentionally making things difficult for him. If he was a little less thick-skinned, he would have figuratively died a "social death" by now.

    This may have somewhat affected his mentality.

    After several attempts at recording, the results still did not satisfy Lin Yuan. In the end, Lin Yuan only had no choice but to call for a pause:

    "Let''s take a ten-minute break before we resume recording."

    As a utility player in singing, Sun Yaohuo was capable of performing this song without a hitch. His lack of satisfactory performances was likely due to his mental burden.

    This was not a big problem.

    Adjusting his mentality would suffice.

    Sun Yaohuo heaved a sigh of relief and sat down on the chair outside the tent, gulping down the water in his cup in one go.

    Just as he put down his cup, he saw Lin Yuan casually taking it over, refilling it for him.

    Was this an insult?

    His voice was muffled as he spoke, "Uhm... Mr... Mr. Lin..."

    "You can still call me your junior."

    Lin Yuan interjected, putting the cup of water back down.

    With an awkward smile, Sun Yaohuo didn''t have the nerve to retort. He had waited too long for this chance to debut.

    With a bit of unease, he forcefully tightened the thermo cup lid, "Uhm... Lin Yuan... I didn''t know you compose music..."

    Lin Yuan explained, "I got sick before and it affected my vocal cords, so I switched to studying composing in my second year."

    Sun Yaohuo was taken aback.

    Immediately, he shook his head, sighed, giving Lin Yuan a sympathetic pat on his shoulder repeating, "What a pity... what a pity... such a pity..."

    He said "pity" three times.

    Losing one''s voice is a desperate situation.

    He couldn''t imagine what it would be like if he couldn''t sing.

    Sun Yaohuo realized that his actions were probably inappropriate and overbearing.

    The guy in front of him was no longer just his junior from school. His status had completely changed. He had become the author of the song, the person with authority. This probably explained why Lin Yuan could command him earlier!

    In other words,

    If Lin Yuan insisted on kicking him out and having someone else sing "Life Like A Summer Flower", there would be nothing he could do about it, seeing how his manager was treating Lin Yuan ¨C it all pointed to one thing:

    The debut opportunity he had waited for years was now in the hands of his junior, Lin Yuan.

    Realizing this, the hand that he casually left on Lin''s shoulder froze in mid-air, stuck in an awkward situation.

    "It''s fine."

    Lin Yuan did not notice Sun Yaohuo''s actions and if he did, he would not care anyway. He just sincerely said:

    "Thank you."

    Sun Yaohuo was taken aback.

    Looking at Lin Yuan''s clear eyes, he suddenly realized that his junior didn''t have any of the ulterior motives that he had imagined. The other party simply viewed him as a collaborator.

    His bottleneck was too low.

    After graduation, he was influenced by the company''s classification of people''s levels and had subconsciously categorized everyone into different classes.

    At first, he saw himself as an up-and-coming senior, believing he could carry himself in a certain way since he thought that he should be looking after the other party, his attitude inevitability possessed a smug and arrogant undertone.

    Then, seeing Lin Yuan as a composer with absolute authority, he became overly cautious and submissive since he was worried about how the composer might treat him.

    But in reality, all of this was simply overthinking.

    "Lin Yuan!"

    He took a deep breath and put his hand back on Lin Yuan''s shoulder, this time the action no longer felt stiff, "Let''s start recording, I am ready this time."

    "Sure."

    Lin Yuan stood up, looking forward to it.

    Although Lin Yuan didn''t know what led to the sudden change in his senior, the second round of recording went very smoothly. Lin Yuan was very satisfied, even thinking it''s fair to share the earnings with the utility player.

    After all, the other party did contribute ample effort.

    And when the recording was complete, Lin Yuan received a prompt from the system:

    [Task completed: First song]

    [Reward: A Bronze Treasure Chest]

 Chapter 6 - 5 Thunderbolt and Dew_1

    Bronze Treasure Chest?

    Lin Yuan looked at the storage space provided by the system, feeling somewhat concerned for no specific reason, "There isn''t a bomb in this box, is there?"

    The system ignored Lin Yuan.

    Just to be safe, Lin Yuan found an excuse to go to the bathroom, and then opened his first Bronze Treasure Chest.

    [Task reward: Professional-level piano skill]

    The moment the Bronze Treasure Chest was opened, countless piano techniques suddenly filled Lin Yuan''s mind.

    All sorts of arpeggios, chords, tremolos, big jumps and octaves, up to three-six degree scales and so on.

    "Is this it?"

    Lin Yuan was not very satisfied.

    Because the original host already possessed a Blue Star level ten piano skill, which is not a significant achievement for a child who aspired to music from a young age.

    It would be better to reward me with songs or novels.

    The system also seemed dissatisfied with Lin Yuan''s attitude. It responded to Lin Yuan in a mechanical, emotionless synthesized voice, "The Treasure Chests are divided into four levels, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Diamond. However, even within the lowest level Bronze Treasure Chest, what it holds will inevitably have a certain value."

    "So what exactly is the standard for professional-level piano playing?"

    Lin Yuan needed to understand the system''s standard for "professional".

    The system replied, "The Host now possesses a piano skill level that most ordinary people cannot achieve. Even a talented piano prodigy would have to practice for at least ten years to reach this level. As for your so-called level ten piano skill, isn''t it the level that elementary school students can pass?"

    "Alright."

    Lin Yuan accepted this result, ignoring the system''s last sentence''s subtle attempt at mockery. He asked, "What level is above professional?"

    "Following professional, the levels are Elite, Master, and Perfect Level, respectively corresponding to the Silver Treasure Chest, Gold Treasure Chest, and the precious Diamond Treasure Chest."

    "When will these treasure chests be given to me?"

    "This requires the host to draw on their own strength and luck. Generally speaking, there are two ways to obtain them. The first is to complete the tasks assigned by the system; the second is to reach a certain benchmark with prestige points, such as a total prestige of over ten thousand."

    "How much prestige do I have now?"

    No sooner had Lin Yuan''s words fallen than several lines of light blue text appeared before his eyes:

    [Age: 19]

    [Lifespan: 22]

    [Painting: 45]

    [Literature: 105]

    [Music: 2509]

    [Combined: 2659]

    [Other: Waiting to be unlocked]

    Neither the painting nor literature categories changed, but the music category had increased quite a bit.

    It''s likely due to the piano techniques he''d just acquired and the prestige he''d earned from recording the song, "Life Like A Summer Flower."

    Looks like he''ll have to wait for "Life Like A Summer Flower" to be officially released to reach a total prestige of over ten thousand.

    Leaving the bathroom after washing his hands, Lin Yuan saw the finance and legal departments of Starlight approaching him to sign a contract. It was a common procedure for signing the contract for the song "Life Like A Summer Flower".

    The contract stipulated¡ª

    After the song "Life Like A Summer Flower" was released, eighty percent of the profits belonged to the company, and the remaining twenty percent would be divided between Lin Yuan and Sun Yaohuo.

    Of that, Sun Yaohuo would receive 0.5 percent. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan, having written the lyrics and composed the music, as well as single-handedly completing the arrangement, would receive 1.5 percent.

    Sun Yaohuo had no objections.

    He put himself in a humble position, not treating the performance of "Life Like A Summer Flower" as an opportunity to make money, but as his debut opportunity, so he signed very simply.

    Lin Yuan had no objections either.

    Although he too wished to receive a larger profit share, he, like Sun Yaohuo, was a newcomer and didn''t have any bargaining power with the company. The company could distribute the income however they wanted to.

    Only industry leaders could make companies give in to their terms about the distribution of profits.

    After signing-

    The man from the finance department reminded Lin Yuan, "The song will be officially released on November 1st, and at that time, music from this song will appear on all major channels cooperating with the company."

    "Understood," Lin Yuan nodded.

    After signing the contract, a staff member from the resource promotion department also came to find Lin Yuan. There was a form to sign, and it required Lin Yuan to fill out some information.

    "First, your name," said the worker from the resource promotion department, guiding Lin Yuan to fill out the form. "In the lyrics and song columns, you can write your own name, or you can write a pen name-like moniker. However, once it is written, you should not change it arbitrarily."

    "Xian Yu, is that okay?"

    "You''re not planning on using your real name?"

    Lin Yuan nodded, he was a bit resistant to exposing himself; it was better to remain low-key if he could.

    "It''s okay," said the staff member.

    Then Lin Yuan wrote the two characters "Xian Yu" in the signature column for lyrics and music composition.

    Although the memories from his previous life were vague, Lin Yuan could still roughly remember some classical lines of poetry, like this one:

    Facing the abyss and envying the fish, better to retreat and cast the net.

    However, didn''t "Xian Yu" sound a bit like "Salted Fish"?

    Next, the form required Lin Yuan to write about the background of the song''s creation.

    Lin Yuan fell into deep thought.

    Seeing Lin Yuan''s difficulty, a staff member advised him with practiced ease, "Don''t stress out too much. You just need to come up with something. The lyrics by other mentors weren''t carefully crafted either. No one would really care."

    "Okay."

    After some contemplation, Lin Yuan penned down a line, "Life''s as splendid as a summer flower, death''s as serene as an autumn leaf."

    This was the origin of the song title.

    After finishing, he turned around and left.

    The staff member who received the paper from Lin Yuan saw the line he left. For a moment, he seemed to lose himself in thought¡ªLife''s as splendid as a summer flower, death''s as serene as an autumn leaf.

    On a planet without Tagore, the impact of such a short poem was quite intense.

    Even those without a literary bone in their body could immerse themselves in these beautifully crafted words, savoring the heaviness of life.

    Regaining his wits, the staff member chuckled, murmuring, "The PR team won''t need to worry about a headline this time."

    ...

    Lin Yuan texted Zhao Jue when he was leaving but didn''t get a response and therefore decided to take a taxi back to the college.

    In the meantime,

    In general manager''s office at Starlight,

    Zhao Jue was dealing with the pressure from the company''s boss and didn''t have the time to check her phone.

    "Sand Sea is planning to launch Qian Xingyu during the newcomer season this year. How do you plan to counter this move?"

    The boss''s voice was calm.

    Zhao Jue could detect the displeasure hidden behind his tones.

    And it was reasonable for him to be upset. After all, this Qian Xingyu is not really a newbie but a secondary lead from a hot TV series last month-

    What''s the fundamental rule of newcomer season?

    Every newcomer of the music industry can release their songs during this period.

    Then, actors like Qian Xingyu, who have already gained some fame, and are looking to sing, can also be considered newcomers to the music industry.

    After all, he only acted before and never sung.

    But it''s unfair to the other newbies.

    That''s why some insiders suggest not letting the actors debut as a newbie singer. The newcomer season is an opportunity for pure novices!

    But this proposal was not accepted.

    The suggestion, although, made a difference.

    Many famous actors value their reputation, and even if they want to venture into the music industry, they usually avoid releasing their song during the newcomer season in November, to prevent controversy and competition with pure novices.

    New actors, on the other hand, don''t fall in this category.

    Qian Xingyu hasn''t been in any drama until this year. So, he is a newbie in the entertainment industry too!

    So his situation is special.

    Even if he comes to compete with the pure novices in the newcomer season, it wouldn''t attract much controversy since he just shot into fame just before the newcomer season''s starting.

    Therefore, Qian Xingyu''s advantage is enormous.

    After all, he has a hit drama to back him up. It would be straightforward to promote him. Even if the quality of his song is not that great, his fans can still help him climb up the charts!

    Think about this,

    Zhao Jue could only prepare her words cautiously, "Qian Xingyu, for sure, aims for the first position, having him at the top, the second and the third place would hold more value ..."

    "You''ve really covered all the bases."

    The boss was a middle-aged man with an elegant demeanor.

    The general manager of Starlight did appear to be easygoing, but everyone in the company knew not just to judge a book by its cover.

    This seemingly elegant and easygoing boss could turn into an outright terror when he launched into a volcanic eruption.

    Lightly tapping his fingers on the table, the boss quietly said, "You made a quite hasty promise this year... Securing a spot in the top three in the newcomer season! If you fail to meet this target, even I can''t help you... Then, you may have to step down temporarily.

    You''d have to bear the predicament for a year, or even a year and a half, then you could come back to your position as the chief manager."

    "Okay."

    Zhao Jue took a deep breath. Since Lin Yuan had throat problems, she already made up her mind to be prepared for any consequences.

    "Also..."

    The boss reminded her, "Even if none of our artists makes it to the top three, we have to snatch up as many spots in the top ten as possible while pushing the rank of our newbies as high as we can. Only this would help me defend you in front of the executives."

    "Understood."

    Zhao Jue knew that the boss was quite nice to her, she became the chief manager thanks to his continual promotion over the years.

    "You may leave."

    The boss waved for her to leave.

    Zhao Jue nodded, left the office. After adjusting her mindset, she pulled out her phone, called Lin Yuan, and said, "Where are you? I''ll give you a ride to the school."

    "I''m already back at school."

    Lin Yuan replied, "I texted you earlier, but it seems you didn''t notice."

    Zhao Jue was taken aback, responded, "Okay, then you go ahead, be careful on your way. When the newcomer season comes in November, I''ll try to get you the best resources possible. You could strive for a place in the top ten. Personally, I think your song is quite appealing. You have a shot."

    "Yeah, thanks, Ms. Zhao."

    Even if Lin Yuan was unaware, he could still feel Zhao Jue''s care towards him. Through many details, it''s clear that Zhao Jue truly appreciated Lin Yuan.

    "No need to thank me, I''m hanging up."

    Zhao Jue said with a smile, but the smile was somewhat bitter.

    Helping you is also helping myself. If one more spots in the top ten are occupied, the thunderbolt striking down on me might be a little lighter...

 Chapter 7 - 6 Winning Over a Leashed Dog_1

    Lin Yuan did not know about Zhao Jue''s difficulties.

    After he finished recorded the song, he didn''t pay much attention to the rookie season of the music industry because he needed to focus on another task given by the System:

    [Rank within the top twenty-five in the next professional course exam]

    This task was about studying and exam scores were important. So, starting from the first lesson of the second day, Lin Yuan officially switched on the "study mogul mode".

    Studying makes me happy.

    Professional course assessments are usually conducted in written form, and a lot of the knowledge points are things to be memorized.

    Therefore, apart from taking notes diligently in class, Lin Yuan also studied his professional textbooks during his free time after class.

    Composition, as a subject, consists largely of theory.

    After intensive study, Lin Yuan''s brain was filled with professional knowledge points from courses such as "Counterpoint and Fugue," "Harmony Explanation," "Modern Composition Techniques," and even "Orchestration".

    Surprisingly enough,

    Living this type of life for several days, Lin Yuan didn''t find it boring at all, but instead felt very fulfilled every day.

    At night.

    If the study was too exhausting, he would call Xia Fan and Jian Yi out for a casual walk in the sports field, chatting while enjoying the cool evening breeze, which was quite pleasant.

    Walking on the sports field.

    Suddenly, Lin Yuan''s cellphone vibrated.

    Looking at the text, it read: "Rookie season starting tomorrow, ''Life Like A Summer Flower'' is signed up, may Starlight be with you!"

    Rookie season?

    Lin Yuan was surprised, "Is today the last day of October? Is it November tomorrow?"

    Well, alright.

    In order to complete the system task and strive to open another Bronze Treasure Chest, he had been studying so diligently that he completely forgot about the rookie season.

    "To be precise,"

    Jian Yi said, "After twelve o''clock tonight, the annual rookie season in the music industry begins!"

    Maybe it was because it was related to his major.

    Xia Fan on the side added excitedly, "These days, everyone in our Music Department has been discussing this. Especially us in the Vocal Music Department, our teacher even talked about it in class, because Senior Sun Yao Huo from our Vocal Music Department will debut in the rookie season.

    Sun Yao Huo himself even contacted the school, hoping that the juniors and seniors would vote for him¡­ You should remember Senior Sun Yao Huo, right? Before you switched majors, we had cooperated."

    Lin Yuan looked weird, "I remember."

    In order to be low-key, Lin Yuan specifically requested Sun Yao Huo not to tell others that he was actually the lyricist and composer of ''Life Like A Summer Flower.''

    Now it seems that Sun Yao Huo really didn''t expose him.

    Huh?

    Jian Yi looked at Lin Yuan thoughtfully, finding his expression intriguing.

    Then he and Xia Fan exchanged glances, seemingly understanding something.

    Both of them recalled Lin Yuan''s previous practice of asking them how to release new songs using an "out of nowhere friend" as an excuse. Xia Fan even suggested that he should sign up for this year''s rookie season through his agent...

    Now it looks like, Lin Yuan has failed.

    It makes sense, the standard of admission to the rookie season is so high, although Lin Yuan is talented in vocal music and has superior voice conditions, he really has no gift for composition.

    Moreover, if Lin Yuan was confident, he would not have used the "out of nowhere friend" excuse.

    In that case, in order not to make Lin Yuan sad, the two decided tacitly not to bring this up tonight.

    Lin Yuan was not aware of his friends'' thoughts.

    At this moment, he was somewhat relieved that his two friends didn''t ask about the rookie season, after all, he was not good at lying to close friends.

    On that note,

    The three of them, with different thoughts in mind, returned to their respective dormitories.

    ...

    The rookie season begins at midnight on November 1, many people stay up late for this. But Lin Yuan, who had been concentrating on studying recently, was too tired to wait until midnight due to his poor health.

    At ten in the evening, he went to sleep.

    But just because Lin Yuan couldn''t wait, others were able to.

    Like those night owls who like to listen to music and play with their phones at midnight.

    Zhang Chen, a second-year music major student at the Qin Continent Art Academy, was such a night owl.

    At midnight, Zhang Chen put on his best headphones, promptly opened his frequently-used app[CloudSea Music], ready to see if there were any new songs worth discovering in this year''s rookie season.

    "Hope this year won''t disappoint me."

    As a music major student, Zhang Chen was a music enthusiast, owning four different earphones ranging in price from one and a half thousand to ten thousand, all bought with money he made from part-time jobs.

    Clicking on the recommended songs on the homepage.

    Zhang Chen began listening song by song.

    Honestly, the recommended songs on the homepage were pretty good. After all, they were new songs from new artists being heavily promoted by big record companies, aiming to charge onto the Up-and-Coming list. The quality was definitely guaranteed otherwise it would just be a waste of resources.

    But the problem was...

    These songs only achieved a "pretty good" level.

    Music enthusiasts like Zhang Chen are too picky. Ordinary songs really can''t catch their attention.

    Thus, after listening to twenty-one songs in succession, only three were added by Zhang Chen to his spare playlist.

    Zhang Chen''s account has been created for ten years.

    He has two playlists under his account name.

    On top was the treasured playlist, and below was the spare playlist.

    There are a total of twelve songs in the treasured playlist, accumulated over ten years, each of them being classics in Zhang Chen''s mind that he might never delete and will listen to every now and then.

    The spare playlist contains much more songs, and they change more frequently. These songs are ones that Zhang Chen likes in the short term, but after a while gets sick of them and removes them from the playlist.

    After a few more songs,

    Zhang Chen got a bit tired.

    Just as he yawned and was about to go to sleep, he was suddenly attracted by a flash of a new song recommendation sentence. The recommendation sentence read:

    "Life blooms like a splendid summer flower, death is as serene as an autumn leaf."

    Admittedly, it was a beautiful sentence.

    So beautiful that Zhang Chen even hesitated to click the link to listen to the song.

    He was afraid that if the quality of the song was not high, it would ruin the poetic charm of this sentence.

    But in the end, he still clicked on the link to the song named "Life Like A Summer Flower."

    Because he was somewhat curious, what was the song behind this text all about?

    The music abruptly began.

    The humming of some unidentifiable language, highly defined by the effect of the earphones, suddenly resounded.

    It''s hard to describe the feeling.

    It''s like a wave rushing over, instantly waking up Zhang Chen''s auditory cells that had already started to feel tired, to the point where he was virtually holding his breath, attentively listening to the main melody of "Life Like A Summer Flower" coming through:

    "Unsure how long

    I''ve slept in the darkness

    Not knowing how hard it is

    To open my eyes

    I came from far away

    Just as you are also here

    Obsessed with staying in the world

    Madly for her..."

    A bit melancholy, a bit regretful, with a hint of hope and vigor, the emotions from the voice mixed with the emotions from the lyrics, wandering in the ocean of melody.

    Zhang Chen''s breathing gradually settled.

    But beneath the calm breathing, Zhang Chen''s chest seemed to gather a kind of unusual emotion, continuously ascending, until the rhythm of the music slightly quickened, the first chorus rising in an extraordinarily peaceful way:

    "I am this dazzling moment

    The instant flame crossing the sky

    I came to see you regardless of the cost

    I will extinguish, and never be able to return

    I am here

    Right here

    As brief as a fleeting moment

    As brilliant as a summer flower..."

    Zhang Chen was almost in a stupor as he listened.

    It seemed that the blooming and wilting of life were all sung about in the song, he inexplicably associated it with the relationship between people and the bond between humans and the world.

    This moment.

    He suddenly felt an emotional release, his throat tightened slightly, and he choked up in his quilt in the middle of the night, because ultimately he thought of a good friend from the past.

    Just like him.

    The other person was also a music enthusiast.

    They once worked summer jobs together to be able to afford high-end headphones, they listened to music together, and were entranced by the classics.

    But it''s a pity.

    As he was accepted into the best art Academy in Qin Continent, his friend failed to enroll due to lack of educational points and hence gave up music as a lifelong dream, the paths of the two gradually diverged.

    After all, time passes and no contact was made.

    Does that mean the friendship ceases to exist?

    Zhang Chen tears fell from the burn in his eyes, a flood of thoughts inundated his mind, he listened to the song gradually come to a stop amidst an indescribable realization:

    "On the road, there''s spring

    On the road, there are thorns

    As fleeting as a fleeting moment

    As brilliant as a summer flower

    This is a world we can''t stay too long in...."

    Indeed, this is a world we can''t stay in for too long. If so, why not choose to be as splendid as a summer flower, a lifetime comes but once, may you not live it in vain.

    "Download."

    Non-downloaded songs can be listened to for free five times a month, but Zhang Chen didn''t plan to continue listening, he wiped his tears and immediately clicked to download the song.

    The uniform price for songs on Blue Star:

    A song only costs one yuan to download.

    After downloading the song, the corner of Zhang Chen''s mouth slightly curled, he unexpectedly added "Life Like A Summer Flower" to his treasured playlist, a playlist that hasn''t been updated for three years. Today, this playlist welcomes a new song.

    Then Zhang Chen checked the song information.

    When he saw the singer''s name on the column, Zhang Chen notably froze for a moment: "It turns out to be sung by our school''s graduate, senior Sun Yao Huo?"

    There has been recent talk in the campus about the rookie season.

    The name Sun Yao Huo has been mentioned a lot.

    However, what Zhang Chen was most concerned about was not the singing column, but the authors of the lyrics and the composition, especially the composition. However, when he saw the author column, the same name was written:

    "Xian Yu."

    Who is Xian Yu?

    It must be a stage name.

    Zhang Chen secretly remembered this name, planning to pay more attention in the future, in the end, he opened his chat software, clicked on a name he hadn''t contacted for quite some time, and shared "Life Like A Summer Flower".

    No need to type.

    Words are pale.

    But Zhang Chen thought, the other person should understand when they hear this song, right? Music is their best communication language.

    Immediately after.

    Zhang Chen wanted to share the song in the class group, so everyone could enjoy it together, but as soon as he opened the group, he burst into a smile.

    With the Rookie season underway.

    The night owls in the group were already excited. Everyone was reluctant to go to bed early, after all, music is their main discipline, and the song everyone was talking about wasn''t surprising:

    [Xiao Bei]:"Damn! Senior Sun Yaohuo has exploded in popularity!"

    [Lanlan]:"As brilliant as a summer flower, as tranquil as an autumn leaf in its death! It blew up, blew up, blew up! Senior Sun Yaohuo is really going to be on fire this time."

    [Huahua]:"You guys are discussing Sun Yaohuo''s song? Is it really that great? I''ll go listen."

    [Gentle Knife]:"''Life Like A Summer Flower'' literally made me cry, Senior Sun Yaohuo is indeed amazing, there''s no denying his professional skill, but the maestro of the lyrics and composition is truly savage!"

    [Thousand-Mile Dogwalk]:"Indeed! Worthy of being the maestro! Senior Sun Yaohuo encountered a god-level boost, instantly taking off!"

    [Music Department Huang Liang]:"Believe it or not, when the new talent list comes out tomorrow, ''Life Like A Summer Flower'' will be a killing machine!" S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    ...

    [Huahua]:"Finished the song, already prostrated! The maestro is a divine carry! Also, did you guys notice, the lyrics and composition are also personally handled by the maestro, with this kind of Maestro holding it down, even if you rope a dog into the recording studio it could still win."

 Chapter 8 - 7: After Disaster Survivors_1

    The class group chat is just the tip of the iceberg.

    Compared to the small class group, the campus forum of Qin Continent Art Academy is even livelier at the moment¡ª

    "Newcomer season has officially begun, everyone go support Senior Sun Yaohuo''s new song, titled ''Life Like A Summer Flower''. Here are the links to the song on various streaming platforms."

    "This song is surprisingly good."

    "As a composition student, I''m here to support the senior as well. By the way, the senior is lucky, the composition of this song shows real depth."

    "Both the composition and arrangement are done by this guy called ''Xian Yu''. This bloke is truly deserving of the title ''Maestro''."

    "Composition department, download and support Senior Sun Yaohuo. Ps: Not to put a gold patch on our department, but this song, the Maestro nailed it."

    "Looking forward to the charts at 12 noon tomorrow, wondering where ''Life Like A Summer Flower'' will rank."

    "Don''t worry, given the quality of this song, the ranking won''t be bad."

    "Who is this Xian Yu? I''ve never heard of him before."

    "Company: What do you require from the singer? Maestro: Just needs a mouth."

    "As a student of the vocal music department, I don''t mind being a tool, I just want to deliver excellent work under the guidance of the Maestro."

    "A bunch of night owls, why aren''t you sleeping yet?"

    "The long night is coming, I will start watching tonight until I rest. Just like this, every night."

    "Night your head, if you don''t sleep, you''re waiting to drop dead."

    "..."

    The newcomer season every November is a feast for the music department students.

    If there happens to be an experienced peer at the feast, that''s even better.

    As a result, many alumni didn''t even listen to the song, just downloaded ''Life Like A Summer Flower'' because Sun Yao Huo is a graduate of Qin Art.

    ...

    7:30 the next morning.

    After getting up and rinsing, Lin Yuan had breakfast in the cafeteria, then calmly made his way to the classroom.

    The first class hasn''t started yet.

    But Lin Yuan had already started reading.

    However, the atmosphere this morning seemed different from usual. Instead of quietly playing with their phones as usual, the classmates around him were chattering about something.

    Lin Yuan frowned slightly.

    Because this directly affected Lin Yuan''s reading efficiency.

    Of course, the topics these classmates were discussing also inevitably seeped into Lin Yuan''s ears as their conversations deepened.

    "Have you listened to ''Life Like A Summer Flower''?"

    The person who asked this question was sitting in the row behind Lin Yuan.

    "Of course, I stayed up until 2 am for this newcomer season, listened to the song and even downloaded it. Now this song is so popular on the campus forum." A girl mourns over her dark circles under her eyes.

    "The song is indeed good, the level of composition is high, worthy of the term ''Maestro'' we give to people in our line."

    An eyeglasses-wearing guy nodded proudly.

    "Wake up, not every composer deserves the honor of ''Maestro'', with your level, even if you include your song as a gift to those newcomer singers, they wouldn''t want it."

    "I admit the composition of this song is remarkable, though the style of this song is not to my taste."

    "Nonsense, a fan of electronic music like you wouldn''t appreciate folk ballads."

    "..."

    So they are discussing ''Life Like a Summer Flower''.

    Seeing everyone''s discussion, it seems that the song was well-received?

    Lin Yuan''s eyebrows slowly relaxed, and he instantly forgave his classmates for disturbing his studies.

    Just now that little girl said she had downloaded the song. With one song worth one dollar, the company takes 80 cents, the tool person gets 5 cents, and he can finally split 15 cents¡ª

    Lin Yuan suddenly felt that the girl who contributed 15 cents to him, despite sporting huge panda eyes, was quite pretty.

    ...

    As the first day of the newcomer season, November 1st is destined to be a special day.

    Today.

    All entertainment companies in Qin involved in the newcomer season won''t be at ease until they see the newcomer chart officially open at noon.

    Even when the newcomer chart is revealed.

    If the performance of the company''s newcomers does not meet the psychological expectations of the major entertainment companies, this low-pressure atmosphere might last for a whole month¡ª

    Until the end of the newcomer season.

    This tense and nervous atmosphere seems to be even more pronounced in Starlight Entertainment. When everyone came to work this morning, even the greetings between colleagues seemed much softer than usual.

    Especially the departments related to music!

    Mainly because the company has not been performing well in promoting newcomers in recent years, and the high-level executives are very dissatisfied.

    The big boss has vented his anger more than once for this reason.

    Because of this, a considerable amount of the department''s quarterly bonus has been cut. Therefore, in order for everyone to have a better life, everyone in the company genuinely hopes that the company can make a comeback this year.

    Plus there''s a rumor in the company:

    Chief Manager Zhao Jue has pledged before the higher-ups that a newcomer from the company must rank in the top three in the newcomer chart this year, otherwise she will voluntarily step down.

    This is a big deal.

    If the pledge is not fulfilled and Zhao Jue is indeed demoted by the higher-ups, it would be a major personnel change in Starlight.

    After all, Zhao Jue has a lot of power.

    And as the main character of the rumor, Zhao Jue has locked herself in her office since the morning, lying on the chair with her eyes closed.

    She has fallen into a state of self-isolation, not daring to look at her mobile phone or her computer, because she has no confidence in this year''s newcomers.

    "Beep beep beep beep..."

    Midnight eventually arrived.

    Today, the sound of the alarm seemed extraordinarily sharp and grating. It yanked Zhao Jue out of her state of seclusion.

    "Let''s do this."

    Zhao Jue opened her eyes, heaved a sigh, took a deep breath, and then switched on her computer.

    She wasn''t the only one.

    The entirety of Starlight Entertainment, even the whole music-related industry at this moment, had their full attention directed at the freshly updated official chart:

    The Newcomers Chart.

    When they saw the first name on the Newcomers chart, everyone simultaneously gave a similar sigh ¨C a kind of strange similarity in their emotions ¨C

    First place on the Newcomers Chart:

    "It''s Love", Singer: Qian Xingyu, Composer: Li Ran, Company: Sand Sea Entertainment.

    Downloads: 88.5k.

    In past years, various big companies would engage in a life-or-death struggle for the first position on the Newcomers Chart.

    But this year was different.

    The "newcomer" Qian Xingyu was too much of an anomaly.

    He made his debut just a month before the newcomer season by starring in the first drama of his life, rapidly gaining immense popularity and a substantial fanbase to boot.

    Who could compete with such a "newcomer"?

    All anyone could do was sigh: "With a trump card like Qian Xingyu, Sand Sea Entertainment is likely to hold the top spot all month."

    Zhao Jue also sighed.

    With envy and jealousy.

    Then, she decided to check the results from the bottom up.

    The Newcomers Chart only showed the rankings of the top one hundred, so it wouldn''t take too much time to look through all one hundred names.

    As for Starlight''s newcomers not making it to the top one hundred?

    What a joke, Starlight Entertainment is one of the top entertainment companies in Qin Continent. They have the privileged advantage of early resources. If a newcomer under the massive resources of Starlight Entertainment doesn''t enter the top one hundred, such a level of talent definitely needs to pack up and leave.

    Zhao Jue isn''t so bad at her job.

    At the seventy-third rank, Zhao Jue saw the name of the first new artist at her company, which caused her brow to twitch a little.

    In the fifty-fifth position, Zhao Jue saw the second name from her company, which deepened her frown.

    When she reached the twelfth spot, Zhao Jue had already seen the names of eight company artists.

    The eleventh spot did not belong to anyone in the company.

    Therefore, only two names remained.

    Did this mean Starlight Entertainment had managed to nab two places in the top ten this year?

    Biting her lip, Zhao Jue started to check the names in the top ten, only to discover the ninth name belonging to the ninth newcomer from her company.

    Now, there was only one left.

    Eighth place... Seventh place... Sixth place... Fifth place...

    Finally.

    Zhao Jue found the name of the tenth artist.

    Third place on the Newcomers Chart:

    "Life Like A Summer Flower", Singer: Sun Yaohuo, Composer: Xian Yu, Company: Starlight Entertainment.

    Downloads: 33k.

    Zhao Jue''s eyes widened in surprise, locking onto the third place on the Newcomers Chart. She let out quick, sharp breaths, feeling a hint of narrow escape from peril:

    Top three!

    It''s actually top three!

    As the chief agent, Zhao Jue, of course, knew Xian Yu was the stage name used by Lin Yuan. What she hadn''t expected was that in the end, Lin Yuan¨Cthe one who had almost driven her off a cliff, would actually be the one to pull her back from the edge.

    Fate indeed works in mysterious ways.

    No longer caring about the rankings of others, Zhao Jue''s smile returned with a newfound confidence. "Nobody can tear me down from now on. As long as I keep Lin Yuan in the top three, I won''t be demoted!"

    The consequences of demotion are extremely severe.

    She still has to pay off the mortgage on her private villa at home.

    Suddenly standing up from her seat, Zhao Jue dialed a number quickly: "Get in touch with a few music platforms immediately. I need their homepage recommendation slots, the highest level that Starlight can get!"

    "Alright... Congratulations, Ms. Zhao."

    It seemed that the person on the other end knew what had happened.

    Zhao Jue chuckled, "Thank you. You guys in the resources department need to step up your support too. After all, this is only the initial ranking."

    The initial ranking does not represent the final ranking.

    The fight will go on for another 29 days.

    But once a big company like Starlight has the top three spot on the first day, there''s basically no chance of capsizing. If worse comes to worst, they still have the "Nine for One" strategy as a safety catch.

    What''s Nine for One?

    Naturally, it''s about allocating resources from the other nine songs and giving as much exposure as possible to "Life Like A Summer Flower". This is a strategy that many small companies employ when they have one song exceeding expectations.

    Generally, Starlight wouldn''t need to use this strategy. After all, Starlight is not just any small company.

    Having made the first call, and as if she thought of something else, Zhao Jue made another call: "Ol'' Zhou, does the composition department still need more people?" S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Stop messing around, Little Zhao."

    A stiff male voice came over the phone: "The company forced me to recruit a bunch of newbie composers all for the sake of Newcomers Chart. Is this a numbers game? Don''t give me more trouble, my department is already overstaffed."

    Zhao Jue smiled: "Not even Xian Yu?"

    Suddenly, the attitude on the other end did a swift 180-degree turn: "Ms. Zhao, where is Xian Yu? I can personally sign him on. Our composition department has been short of people lately!"

 Chapter 9 - 8: Unworldly_1

    The company''s latest debut made it to the third place on the Emerging Artists Chart!

    The news surged through Starlight Entertainment as soon as the Emerging Artists Chart launched, reinvigorating the spirits of the company''s employees.

    "Damn, finally a big shot has come and saved us."

    "Will our music department''s bonuses not get deducted this year?"

    "Damn, even our film and television department have been given tasks. Everyone from each department must download ''Life Like a Summer Flower''. This year we finally have a third placer and it seems the higher-ups want to protect this momentum."

    "Exactly."

    "After all, Starlight is among the top three entertainment companies in the Qin Continent. If it fails in the Emerging Artists Chart, it will surely impact the company''s image. You know, many music college graduates in Qin Continent choose their employer based on these wind vanes..."

    There are countless entertainment companies in the Qin Continent.

    Among them, the most prestigious three are undoubtedly Starlight Entertainment, Sand Sea Culture, and Brilliant Silver Fire.

    In the past seasons for newcomers, the artists introduced by these three companies could almost dominate the top seats on the Emerging Artists Chart.

    However, in recent years, while Sand Sea and Brilliant Silver Fire remained stable, Starlight Entertainment''s performance has been lagging. This has led outsiders to start questioning Starlight''s authority in the music field ¡ª

    This impact is pretty severe!

    That''s why the company''s senior executives pressured Zhao Jue, who was entirely responsible for this matter.

    If it wasn''t for this reason, under normal circumstances, the value of a single newcomer season would not be enough to upset the bosses of the company.

    And with the company employees'' discussions ¡ª

    Xian Yu''s name was naturally spread by everyone.

    In contrast, there was very little discussion about Sun Yaohuo.

    You must know, this is an era when ordinary people pay attention to composers, especially in an entertainment company¡ªsuch a typical intra-industry environment!

    The status of a composer is much higher than that of a singer.

    Why else would there be a term "Maestro" in the industry?

    Everyone knows one thing:

    The success of a song often comes from the composer''s melody touching the listeners'' hearts.

    In other words ¡ª

    The success of ''Life Like A Summer Flower'', created by Xian Yu, is not picky about the audience.

    Even if the company had not chosen Sun Yaohuo and instead chose someone else to sing, anyone with decent vocal skills could turn this song into a hit with the support of company resources.

    This is precisely why everyone admires the composers after the song becomes a hit.

    Of course ¡ª

    This doesn''t apply to those singers with absurdly unique vocal traits.

    These type of singers are extremely rare in the music world. Their vocal skills are so exceptional that they can make any song sound good ¡ª they are ace-level talents. Their status is high enough to rival those of the prestigious Maestros.

    When these outrageously talented singers collaborate with god-like Maestros, they often bring out the best in each other, neither of them is expendable.

    After all, not every song can be sung by everyone.

    It''s like bringing anyone to sing an opera in the studio is unacceptable.

    Of course, this does not mean that the more difficult a song is to perform, the better it is. Some songs that everyone can sing are outstanding, and you can''t deny the excellence of such songs.

    ...

    Meanwhile, in the outside world ¡ª

    The atmosphere of the emerging artist season, following the release of the Emerging Artists Chart, is spreading across the Qin Continent.

    The attention of various companies has also temporarily shifted from Sand Sea Entertainment, which firmly holds the first place in the Emerging Artists Chart, to Starlight Entertainment, one of the top three entertainment companies.

    "Wow, Starlight''s newcomer has returned to the top three this year."

    "After all, it''s one of the established top three entertainment companies. Starlight Entertainment couldn''t possibly fail every year."

    "It''s so true that the old top three leave no room for survival. Sand Sea is unbreakable as the first place, Brilliant Silver Fire delivering stable performance as the second, and then Starlight regains its glory as the third. While they feast, we smaller companies can only sip on the soup."

    "..."

    In addition to entertainment companies, music critics, of course, are also following the Emerging Artists Chart, especially the songs in the top three, which are the focus of many.

    On Weibo,

    music critics have launched an offensive, recommending their favorite new songs from the Emerging Artists Chart.

    To everyone''s surprise, the majority of music critics'' choice for the recommended track is unanimously the third-place song, ''Life Like a Summer Flower''!

    With such a wind, many netizens have also gotten interested in ''Life Like a Summer Flower'', and the comment sections under the recommendations have also gotten lively:

    "What a beautiful title."

    "Life, like a summer flower, in its splendor. Death, like an autumn leaf, in its tranquil beauty. Even before listening to the song, based on the phrase, this song is beautiful."

    "Among the ten music critics I follow, seven have recommended ''Life Like a Summer Flower''. I must go and give it a listen."

    "I''ve listened to the song and it''s pretty good. I''ll download it."

    "I''ve also listened to it. Personally, I think the song is average."

    "It''s true that personal taste trumps all. Anyway, I was stunned by ''Life Like a Summer Flower'' on my first listen. This is the first time a song without high notes has stunned me."

    "Wow, there''s something about this song."

    "Thanks to the recommendation from the critics, this song is probably my biggest gain in this year''s newcomer season. Without further ado, I''ll add it to my playlist and favorite it."

    "..."

    This is also something customary in the Qin Continent.

    Every year during the newcomer season, nearly all music critics would take advantage of the season''s popularity.

    Either they recommend the songs they love, or they accept bribes from entertainment companies and post the drafts prepared by the companies in advance.

    There are more of the former.

    Less of the latter.

    Because in the Qin Continent, music is seen as something holy, and the public is not stupid to let critics fool them.

    This has to do with the unique characteristics of the Qin Continent.

    In Blue Star, there are eight continents in total: Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, Wei, plus the "Capital" Zhong Continent.

    Each continent has its own characteristic.

    Among them, the Qin Continent is universally recognized as the "Land of Music" on Blue Star!

    It is home to many musicians.

    The neighboring Qi Continent is known as the "Grand Hall of Movies."

    But official data has shown that most of the movie soundtracks in Qi Continent are produced with the help of Maestros in Qin Continental.

    Meanwhile.

    Eighty percent of composers active on the Blue Star arts stage come from Qin Continent!

    Not just songs of various styles,

    but also piano ... violin ... symphony ...

    And so on.

    All kinds of music art have a huge commercial space in Qin Continent.

    Hence, it clearly shows that the people of Qin Continent are deeply passionate about music, which is why the New Singers Season has remained a traditional event here.

    Growing up immersed in it,

    people of Qin Continent pride themselves on having a "high taste in music."

    If someone from Qin Continent brings up a topic related to music in front of people from the other seven continents, their sense of superiority would simply be off the charts.

    ...

    Zhao Jue called Lin Yuan.

    As the call connected, the chief agent excitedly said: "Lin Yuan, you''ll be moving to the composers'' department soon, also, congratulations on making it to third place on the New Talent Chart!"

    "Am I third?"

    On the other side of the phone, Lin Yuan thought for a while, then seriously asked, "Given the New Singers Season, is this rank considered good?"

    ...

    Zhao Jue was stumped by this question.

    It took her a while to digest it before realizing what Lin Yuan meant. She responded with a baffled: "Have you not been keeping an eye on the New Talent Chart today?"

    "I think my classmate was following it." Lin Yuan said.

    Zhao Jue was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. There were so many things wrong with Lin Yuan''s answer that she didn''t know where to start.

    She forced herself to carry on the conversation: "Yes, third place is a great achievement, but today is just the first day. I will help you maintain your ranking going forward."

    "Thank you, Ms. Zhao."

    Lin Yuan treated Zhao Jue with due respect.

    But Zhao Jue felt a little overwhelmed by Lin Yuan''s calmness, which contrasted starkly with her own excitement.

    Does this make me look like I''ve never seen the world before?

    She had to abruptly change the subject: "Well, you should come to the company when you''re free to sort out some paperwork. Also, your song''s income will be transferred to your account at the end of the month. I''ll hang up now."

    "Okay."

    Mentioning the income from his song, Lin Yuan''s voice showed a hint of anticipation. This finally gave Zhao Jue a sense of "I have actually seen the world".

    "This kid¡­"

    Chuckling, Zhao Jue shook her head, hung up the phone, and shifted her gaze back to her computer.

    It was the leaderboard for the New Talent Chart.

    Since finishing her lunch, Zhao Jue had been staring at this page, not daring to take her eyes off it for a second.

    She feared that with one blink, the third place ranking would be lost.

    But as she kept watching, Zhao Jue sensed something was amiss.

    Not that fourth place was catching up.

    The fourth place song had only just under 30,000 downloads.

    Compared to that, the number of downloads for "Life Like A Summer Flower", from this morning up to now, had already reached a whopping 50,000!

    But something felt off here.

    Seems like the download count for "Life Like A Summer Flower", was increasing a bit too rapidly?

    Second place was a song by Brilliant Silver Fire.

    "Aries", a song by singer Zeng Yi, composed by Li Yang, had 53,000 downloads.

    When the chart was released, "Aries" had 43,000 downloads, and so far, it had risen by 10,000.

    But "Life Like A Summer Flower" started with only 33,000, and by now it had increased by nearly 20,000!

    What does this mean?

    Could it be that Starlight is going to overtake Brilliant Silver Fire?

    The moment this thought crossed her mind, it grew like a weed, her heartbeat quickened.

    Refresh!

    Refresh!

    Refresh!

    Moving the mouse, Zhao Jue repeatedly refreshed the webpage, and just like she suspected, the data for "Life Like A Summer Flower" and the second place song were getting closer, making her heartbeat race even more¡­

    At six o''clock in the evening,

    Just before closing time,

    Zhao Jue didn''t know how many times she had refreshed the leaderboard, but this time, she clearly saw that the second pace in the New Talent Chart was now:

    "Life Like A Summer Flower"!

    Downloads: 59,800!

    The third place song, Brilliant Silver Fire''s "Aries", had downloads remaining at 59,100, and was squeezed out of the top two!

    At that moment,

    Zhao Jue almost let out an ecstatic laughter.

    While she was still thinking about holding on to the third spot, "Life Like A Summer Flower" had silently overtaken Brilliant Silver Fire and secured the second spot on the New Talent Chart!

    Only the first is a bit out of reach.

    In past New Singer Seasons, this achievement of "Life Like A Summer Flower" was equivalent to sweeping the entire New Talent Chart, and taking the crown outright!

    Just then, the phone rang.

    Zhao Jue answered it, asking knowingly, "What is it, Ol'' Zhou?"

    The voice on the phone said, "Could you open the door, please?" S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Zhao Jue hesitated a moment before opening the door.

    Outside the door, a middle-aged man was standing with an excited smile on his face, "Ms. Zhao, second place...no, I mean... it''s been a while since we''ve had a meal together. Tonight, order whatever you want, it''s on me! Also... when will Xian Yu be reporting to the composition department?

    We really need more people in our department."

    "Oh."

    Seeing Ol'' Zhou''s puppy-like behavior, Zhao Jue suddenly felt he was quite inexperienced.

 Chapter 10 - 9 Methods to Ruin a Hobby_1

    Many didn''t expect "Life Like A Summer Flower" to go so strong, surpassing Brilliant Silver Fire on the very first day!

    When everyone noticed this, the scene suddenly got lively.

    "Starlight is second!?"

    "After being mediocre for years, suddenly rising, is Starlight in the legendary comeback scenario?"

    "Guys, don''t forget, the person in the first place is an anomaly, if you round it off, "Life Like A Summer Flower" is practically this year''s winner!"

    "Rounding off works?"

    "Not even rounding off, there''s something else none of us might have noticed, even though the one in the first position is way ahead, but in terms of data increase, Starlight''s "Life Like A Summer Flower" seems to be a bit higher, I hope you all understand what this means."

    A certain company''s genius data cruncher saw the trend clearly.

    "What do you mean?"

    "Anyway, get your stools and seeds ready folks, by the end of the month we might get to watch a divine bout. This is interesting, we thought ''Sand Sea'' had secured its position, this year there was no suspense."

    "..."

    At that time,

    Zeng Yi, the singer who was previously ranked second in Brilliant Silver Fire, was having dinner with his songwriter, Li Yang.

    This dinner was enough to max out a couple of thousand credit cards.

    The huge red king crab on the table was jackknifing around, flaunting its prowess, providing context to this dinner:

    A celebratory feast.

    However, midway through dinner, Zeng Yi received a call from the company about his song "Aries" being overtaken by the third-ranked song.

    At that moment,

    The king crab in his bowl didn''t seem so appealing anymore.

    Zeng Yi stared blankly at Li Yang, as if to ask: My spot? Where did my huge number second spot go that was just there?

    "..."

    Songwriter Li Yang remained silent, he simply took out his phone and earphones and played "Life Like A Summer Flower".

    Alright.

    Li Yang admitted he was a bit complacent, when the New Artist Chart was released, he, being the second on the list, only listened to the first song. He was not at all interested in "Life Like A Summer Flower", which was third.

    Who would pay attention to those who are not as good as oneself?

    But after listening to the song, Li Yang, with mixed emotions, clicked on download and looked at the song in first place on the newcomer list, his face suddenly turning ferocious: "They all must die!"

    ...

    Meanwhile, in Starlight''s company dormitory.

    Sun Yaohuo, who was also watching the rankings closely all day, of course, noticed "Life Like A Summer Flower" soaring to second place on the list.

    He suddenly stood up, "Damn! I''m on fire!"

    No wonder the industry has been circulating legends of various composers, many debut singers even jokingly say,

    "I''m willing to be a dog for a Maestro."

    Because when you encounter a remarkable Maestro, even a dog tied up in the recording studio can become famous!

    He, who has always been yearning to debut, was just dazedly pulled over by his manager to record a song, dazedly sang as was required of him, and unexpectedly surged to second place on the New Artist List, becoming one of the most dazzling singers of this newcomer season!

    The following is a fill-in-the-blank question:

    What is Sun Yao Huo contemplating about how to greet Lin Yuan the next time he sees him, putting aside any pretext of having a backbone?

    ...

    In the meantime,

    At Qin Continent Art Academy,

    Lin Yuan, who had little knowledge of everything, was reading a book in the library when a crisp system prompt suddenly sounded in his ear:

    [Congratulations, host''s total prestige has reached ten thousand!]

    [Reward for prestige reaching ten thousand: five years of life!]

    [Reward for prestige reaching ten thousand: three bronze treasure chests!]

    [Reward for prestige reaching ten thousand: one silver treasure chest!]

    Prestige has reached ten thousand?

    Lin Yuan looked up at the four shining lines of text, and had the intention to look at his current information and data:

    [Age: 19]

    [Life Span: 27]

    [Painting: 45]

    [Literature: 105]

    [Music: 12580]

    [Total: 12730]

    The prestige value of the painting and literature categories remained unchanged.

    The value of the musical prestige had surged, breaking ten thousand, evidently the result of "Life Like A Summer Flower".

    Most importantly:

    His life span increased by five years.

    Now, Lin Yuan''s life span had reached twenty-seven years. Even though it was just five more years of life, this temporarily allowed Lin Yuan to escape the threat of death.

    Lin Yuan asked in his heart, "System, how much prestige is needed for the next increase in life span?"

    The System answered, "The host body has a terminal illness, theoretically it is incurable. Therefore, in order to treat the host, the System use its highest level of healing technology in the universe to modify the host''s constitution. Hence, the prestige requirement will only get higher.

    The amount of prestige points required for the host to get the next System treatment to increase his life span is..."

    Lin Yuan asked, "A hundred thousand?"

    The System replied, "No, it''s a million."

    Lin Yuan suddenly became solemn. He had a hunch from the System''s long-winded explanation, that the prestige requirement for increasing life span would definitely be high, but he did not expect it to be so high.

    Too difficult.

    Not even a hundred thousand works!

    Yet demands a million!

    Lin Yuan was a bit upset, "Am I supposed to release a hundred songs at the level of "Life Like A Summer Flower"?

    "Don''t worry."

    The system explained: "While ''Life Like a Summer Flower'' currently only provided you with tens of thousands of prestige points, this doesn''t mean that is all the popularity you can garner from this song. As long as this song continues to attract new audiences in the future, your prestige will continue to rise. Theoretically, the rate at which your prestige rises will accelerate.

    A million may seem like a lot, but it''s achievable in the blink of an eye."

    Lin Yuan blinked forcefully.

    The system momentarily glitched: "..."

    Lin Yuan mentally snickered, but accepted the fact. He had a vague idea that as long as he produced more works in the future, and Xian Yu''s reputation grew bigger, attracting more attention, his prestige would naturally increase. Of course, this required him to continuously produce new works to earn prestige.

    Thinking of this...

    Lin Yuan looked expectantly at the four treasure boxes in his inventory. What good things could he get from opening them?

    Without hesitating,

    Lin Yuan directly opened two bronze treasure boxes. As for the third bronze treasure box, he decided to leave it as suspense for himself. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    [Bronze Treasure Chest opened: Obtained song ''Big Fish'']

    [Bronze Treasure Chest opened: Obtained song ''Easy to Ignite and Explode'']

    It seemed that the system was aware that in Qin Continent, the "Land of Music", music-related rewards were the most valuable, hence the contents of the bronze treasure boxes were mostly related to music.

    "Open the silver treasure box as well," Lin Yuan said.

    Next, Lin Yuan saw a flash of light:

    [Silver Treasure Chest opened: Obtained Piano Piece ''Mariage d''Amour'']

    The silver treasure box came with a special effect?

    But this reward was indeed valuable. It was ''Mariage d''Amour''!

    The value of this piano piece far exceeded that of a song. After all, it was one of the top works composed by Paul Senneville for Richard Clayderman, a classic piece that countless people on Earth have heard!

    No wonder it was in the silver treasure box.

    If given the opportunity to release this universally popular piano piece, it would likely significantly raise his prestige, right?

    Lin Yuan thought with anticipation.

    However, being hasty wasn''t the solution.

    Just like how the success of ''Life Like a Summer Flower'' was assisted by Starlight''s resources, lacking a good platform or opportunity would impact the efficiency of gaining prestige.

    Thinking of this...

    Lin Yuan suddenly had a question: "If I don''t reveal my identity in reality when I release works, will it affect the prestige points I gain?"

    "No."

    The system seemed too lazy to type, directly answering with a mechanical voice in Lin Yuan''s mind: "For an identity like Xian Yu, it points directly to you. Therefore, it''s the same whether you are in the forefront or behind the scenes."

    He understood.

    Just like how the description ''Jian Yi and Xia Fan''s best friend'' ultimately pointed to him, as long as the final pointer was correct, it was fine.

    Why did this sound a bit like Cthulhu logic?

    Lin Yuan asked again, "What is the exact standard for establishing prestige?"

    The system replied: "Prestige comes from the audience''s approval of the work. Because the audience appreciates ''Life Like a Summer Flower'' from the bottom of their hearts, their love for the song will be transformed into prestige points. The actual amount of prestige points converted depends on the extent to which the audience loves the work."

    "Oh."

    As Lin Yuan was experiencing the bonus of prestige for the first time, he was obviously more interested in it. Comparatively, the prestige reward was far sweeter than the troublesome tasks.

    Of course.

    Even a mosquito is meat.

    Lin Yuan wouldn''t disdain a reward just because it was a bronze treasure box. As for the task about the exam, Lin Yuan still needed to try his best to complete it.

    Just then...

    Lin Yuan''s phone suddenly rang.

    When he looked, it turned out to be a group alert from his class group.

    Mr. Huang, who was in charge of the major course, had tagged everyone: "Students, there''s a new announcement from the department. Our major will have an exam on November 15! Next week, you need to add a big topic to your music appreciation homework! You''ve heard ''Life Like a Summer Flower'', right?

    Please prepare in advance and pinpoint the reasons for the success of this new song from a composer''s perspective. Highlight it! I predict it will definitely be in the exam!"

    The group was immediately filled with groans.

    "No way..."

    "Teacher..."

    "This is my favorite song lately..."

    "So, is this another song that I''ll like until I vomit?"

    "Guys, I can already announce in advance, I no longer like ''Life Like a Summer Flower''."

    There were quite a few people who liked ''Life Like a Summer Flower''.

    But as Lu Xun once said:

    The best way to ruin a song for music students is to make it their homework.

    But Lin Yuan was very happy.

    Since his classmates had already given all the prestige they could, the system couldn''t possibly deduct it, right?

    As for whether they''d still like ''Life Like a Summer Flower'' in the future, Lin Yuan wasn''t concerned.

    He still had other songs in his possession.

    Moreover, Lin Yuan was confident about the exam since the system provided reference materials along with the songs.

    "What''s the homework song?"

    The group messages were increasing rapidly, already at 99+.

    Some students who showed up late and were too lazy to scroll through found it hard to keep up with the quick messages and had to type to ask their classmates.

    "''Life Like a Summer Flower''. If you ask again, I''ll commit suicide!"

    This was a reply from the class monitor, a sense of resentment permeated through the screen, who even added: "I hate Xian Yu!"

    "Plus one!"

    "Plus two!"

    "Plus three!"

    The class was remarkably unified.

    Lin Yuan typed a series of ellipsis, intentionally disrupting the solidarity, feeling that these people were being overly harsh. Then he realized ¡ª

    Everyone hated Xian Yu.

    What did that have to do with me, Lin Yuan?

 Chapter 11 - 10 Joining the Composition Department_1

    November 7th.

    Taking advantage of the school''s break weekend, Zhao Jue drove to the Qin Continent Art Academy to pick up Lin Yuan. They were to go to Starlight Entertainment to handle his transfer to the music composition department.

    Lin Yuan carried his textbooks from his major classes.

    This time he was seated in the front passenger seat.

    Along the way, Lin Yuan was listening to music. The song playing in the car was "Life Like A Summer Flower," played on repeat -

    This had been the case for the past week.

    Every day Zhao Jue was in the car, she would listen to this song without growing tired of it. Occasionally, she even hummed a few lines if she was in a good mood.

    This song probably held a special meaning for Zhao Jue in her lifetime.

    "By the way,"

    Zhao Jue suddenly spoke to Lin Yuan as they were about to reach the company, "Although ''Life Like A Summer Flower'' is in second place, over the past week, its download increase rate has surpassed the first place song. So, after this morning''s meeting, the company officially decided to challenge Sand Sea for the top spot on the Newcomer''s List!"

    "Second place?"

    Upon hearing this, Lin Yuan was somewhat pleased.

    Zhao Jue, on the other hand, was so shocked she was lost for words.

    She desperately wanted to grab Lin Yuan''s ear and emphasize: "Can you please pay a little more attention to how your own song is doing?"

    In the end, Zhao Jue held back.

    She just gave Lin Yuan a heads up, saying, "However, the situation regarding this top spot is rather unusual, so I''m not certain that we can necessarily pull it off."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    He didn''t know that Starlight Entertainment initially had no plans to fight for the top spot with ''Life Like A Summer Flower''. After all, aiming for first place was a substantial investment, given the heavy presence of the current first place holder.

    But...

    ''Life Like A Summer Flower'' was performing exceptionally well, its download increase rate was consistently higher than that of the first ranked song.

    On top of that, Zhao Jue approached one of the company''s higher-ups who could make the final decision on this matter, adeptly used language and playfully made a comment:

    "We could give Sand Sea a run for their money!"

    This was where Zhao Jue''s shrewdness shone through.

    Had she directly said that she wanted to put more resources into promoting ''Life Like A Summer Flower'' to vie for the top spot on the Newcomer''s List, the executives might not have been willing.

    After all, this song was new and pouring too much money into its promotion may not have been deemed financially worthwhile.

    But if this endeavor could ruffle the feathers of Sand Sea?

    After only slight hesitation, the executive nodded his agreement.

    Only if it cost a little more, it would be fantastic to irk their rival.

    The three prominent entertainment companies of Qin Continent were quite discordant; Starlight and Sand Sea were particularly at odds with each other, weren''t they?

    The specific reason was no longer traceable.

    But all companies in the world were mortal enemies.

    Most importantly, after this decision was made, extensive online promotion for ''Life Like A Summer Flower'' commenced, building momentum for the song!

    ...

    Upon arriving at the company entrance and tossing the car keys to the approaching security guard, Zhao Jue led Lin Yuan straight to the composition department.

    "Hello, Ms. Zhao."

    "Hello, Ms. Zhao."

    Walking through the company, there were even more staff members greeting Zhao Jue than Lin Yuan remembered from his first visit and everyone seemed more enthusiastic as well.

    Some staff members also looked toward Lin Yuan.

    However, Lin Yuan''s young appearance made it hard for anyone who hadn''t seen him up close to associate this college-student-looking boy with the increasingly discussed topic around the company: "Xian Yu."

    They took the elevator to the 10th floor.

    Soon, they arrived at the composition department.

    Standing at the entrance, Lin Yuan took in the interior of the composition department.

    The department was broader than he had imagined. The spacious and exquisite interior had a cultured ambiance.

    Between the office desks, there were long distances and bookshelves, ensuring personal privacy. The bookshelves held many music-related books -

    This work environment reminded Lin Yuan of his school''s library; it was quite comfortable.

    "Ms. Zhao."

    Ol'' Zhou, the person in charge of the composition department, had been eagerly waiting at the entrance with a beaming smile for Zhao Jue. But when he saw Zhao Jue and Lin Yuan, his smile faltered, asking:

    "Where''s Xian Yu?"

    Members of the composition department also paused their work to curiously peek toward the entrance.

    The department held a meeting in the morning during which everyone was notified that the composer of ''Life Like A Summer Flower,'' Xian Yu, would be reporting to the composition department today. Everyone was eager to see what Xian Yu looked like. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Isn''t he right here?"

    Zhao Jue gracefully introduced Lin Yuan.

    Ol'' Zhou was dumbstruck. He had noticed Lin Yuan trailing behind Zhao Jue, but his appearance led Ol'' Zhou to believe he was just another artist Zhao Jue was working with. He hadn''t expected that the college-student-like young man was, in fact, the legendary Xian Yu.

    Zhao Jue laughed heartily.

    She understood Ol'' Zhou''s surprise.

    When she had signed Lin Yuan, she was confident because Lin Yuan had not only the talent of an enchanting singing voice but also a face that was pleasing to the eye. With such qualities, he was bound to make it big.

    This was precisely why-

    Even Zhao Jue hadn''t expected Lin Yuan to possess such extraordinary songwriting talent to create a song like ''Life Like A Summer Flower.'' If not for his ruined voice, what a blessed child he would have been.

    At this moment.

    Not just Ol'' Zhou, but the members of the composition department peeking out were collectively taken aback¡ªlooking at each other in disbelief¡ª

    This boy with the appearance of an idol artist, he''s Xian Yu?

    "Ha ha!"

    Ol'' Zhou''s smile suddenly panned out again and he walked towards Lin Yuan enthusiastically, reaching out his hand and said, "Welcome, welcome!"

    Xian Yu is young?

    To Ol'' Zhou, this was not a bad thing at all, on the contrary, it was a great thing because the younger he was, the more it demonstrated that this Xian Yu was extraordinarily talented!

    He just had to give Lin Yuan room to grow!

    Perhaps in the future, when Lin Yuan''s experience matures, he will be able to write songs that are even better than "Life Like A Summer Flower". Therefore, after being surprised by Lin Yuan''s youth, Ol'' Zhou''s mood became even better!

    "Thank you."

    Lin Yuan shook hands with him.

    Zhao Jue reminded him from the side, "Ol'' Zhou, this boy''s real name is Lin Yuan. He''s currently a sophomore student in the composition department of Qin Continent Art Academy. So he won''t be able to come to the company during class hours. I need to mention this to you first. Furthermore, regarding pay, I hope Lin Yuan''s treatment is the same as the other people in the composition department."

    "No problem."

    Ol'' Zhou agreed immediately, "Our composition department has precedents of signing current students. Besides, everyone in the company knows that the composition department is the most laidback one. How many big shots in the department come to the company less than five times a year? What the hell can I do about them? I basically have to coax them every day."

    Zhao Jue frowned, "Don''t swear in front of the kid."

    Ol'' Zhou chortled and nodded immediately, but he was slightly surprised inside.

    It was the first time he had seen Zhao Jue protecting someone so much within the company. It seemed that Lin Yuan must be a precious talent in her eyes.

    However...

    If he joins the composition department and can still write songs at the level of "Life Like A Summer Flower", then he can naturally be my cherished talent too.

    Never underestimate Ol'' Zhou.

    As the boss of the Starlight composition department, Ol'' Zhou has a lot of prestige. After all, several of the company''s top composers work in this department.

    It''s just that these high-ranking composers rarely come to the company to work.

    Don''t ask, they''re out seeking inspiration.

    Anyway, as long as these composers can write good songs that generate sufficient income for the company each year, even the company''s boss wouldn''t have any objection to them not coming to work.

    "Alright then."

    Zhao Jue patted Lin Yuan''s shoulder and instructed, "From now on you are a part of the composition department. If you encounter any problems, you can find me. If you need a ride to the company, call me. If I have time, I''ll pick you up, and if I don''t, I''ll send someone... "

    "Are you entrusting him to my care?"

    Ol'' Zhou chuckled, "Fine, Little Zhao, with him in my care, feel free to go about your business!"

    Zhao Jue: "..."

    Calling yourself "Brother Zhou" is fine, given your age.

    But the talent just arrived, and I''ve turned back from ''Ms. Zhao'' to ''Little Zhao''?"

    Too realistic.

    She turned her head, waved, and walked towards the elevator.

    Lin Yuan also waved at Zhao Jue, though she didn''t see it as she had turned her back.

    Next, Ol'' Zhou had Lin Yuan sign a few contracts.

    The contracts had many clauses, Lin Yuan only quickly skimmed the important ones.

    For instance, the base salary in the composition department was ten thousand yuan a month, with royalties from the works calculated separately. Also, although the composers owned the copyright of their works, the company had the right of first use, etc...

    The contracts were all pretty standard within the industry. In this regard, Starlight''s industry reputation was quite good.

    After half an hour signing contracts and reviewing terms, Lin Yuan officially became a member of Starlight Entertainment''s composition department.

    "This is your seat."

    Ol'' Zhou chose a seat by the window for Lin Yuan.

    It was one of the best seats in the company, with a view of the outside scenery just by turning your head.

    Watching Lin Yuan take the seat immediately made the rest of the team members in the composition department jealous.

    "That''s Father Yang''s seat."

    "It doesn''t matter. After all, those wayward maestros in the department never come to work. It''s always empty. It''s just that even if it''s empty for a few years, it won''t be our turn to sit there."

    "..."

    Following that, Lin Yuan opened the backpack he brought to the company and took out a few books to read.

    After all, he was about to have exams.

    The group of postgraduates in the composition department, who had graduated many years ago, were all sneaking glances at Lin Yuan. When they saw the books that Lin Yuan took out, they thought they had seen wrong. Some even rubbed their eyes in disbelief.

    Because Lin Yuan took out three books: "Consolidation of Composition Basics", "Theory and Practical Knowledge of Composition", "Simple Chord Explanation".

    "That is..."

    "It looks like..."

    "The course books of second year students..."

    Lin Yuan, who didn''t know that the people behind him were staring at him, was seriously reviewing the contents that might be examined. He recited softly,

    "In a chord, the note at the highest voice part determines the harmonic position."

    "There are three harmonic positions in major and minor chords: root position, first inversion, and second inversion."

    "In practice, major or minor chords¡ªwhether close or open--are not allowed to have voice crossing, and voice crossing means that the secondary voice part is higher than the middle voice part, the bass is higher than the secondary voice part, or the soprano is lower than the middle voice part."

    "..."

    Is this the Xian Yu who wrote "Life Like A Summer Flower"?

    Faced with this somewhat strange scene, the atmosphere in the composition department suddenly turned weird.

    Then, everyone suddenly felt both "inferior" and "proud", two completely different conflicting feelings, simultaneously.

 Chapter 12 - 11 Do You Think I Still Have A Chance?_1

    Lin Yuan''s office work at the composition department was essentially just revising for his exams in a different location. Nobody in the department said anything about his open exam preparations during work hours¡ª

    After all, that can also be counted as work.

    Composers must always strive to improve themselves, huh.

    Though Lin Yuan''s improvement seemed a tad too basic.

    After the weekend was over, Lin Yuan returned to campus and in mid-November, he finally faced his professional exams!

    Inside the examination hall.

    As the papers were handed out, the invigilator''s gaze was sharpened like a sword: "This classroom has cameras, and my eyes are even more incisive than them. You should all be very clear on the consequences of cheating."

    "..."

    The examination hall fell silent.

    Lin Yuan did not pay any attention to the invigilator''s threat and boasting. After all, he had revised thoroughly, and after a quick glance at the paper, he felt confident.

    Because the last major topic on the paper was "Life Like A Summer Flower", just as his professor had predicted.

    How could the dragon on one''s face lose!?

    Lin Yuan felt happy and his pen glided on paper as if guided by a deity.

    The exam lasted for an hour, and he completed the entire paper, including "Life Like A Summer Flower", in about forty minutes. After reviewing his answers for a further ten minutes, Lin Yuan felt he was secure and proceeded to hand in his paper.

    The moment he walked out of the classroom.

    Basking in the midday sunlight, Lin Yuan was already looking forward to the treasure chest.

    As Lin Yuan expected another Bronze Treasure Chest, Qian Xingyu''s manager, Ol'' Liu, was bothered today.

    Because the download figures of the top two songs on the Newcomer''s Chart were incredibly close!

    The top song "It''s Love, Yeah" had 225,000 downloads.

    The second, "Life Like A Summer Flower", had 214,000 downloads.

    From last week, Starlight Entertainment suddenly poured a big investment into promoting "Life Like A Summer Flower", with the clear intention to snatch the first place.

    Ol'' Liu felt a sense of crisis at that time and promptly notified Qian Xingyu to intensify the promotion of his song.

    However, Qian Xingyu didn''t take it seriously.

    The gap between the two songs was quite big. Although "Life Like A Summer Flower" saw a higher increase in numbers, Qian Xingyu, being a special case rookie, didn''t consider himself a rookie.

    Until today.

    Having watched "Life Like A Summer Flower" numbers rapidly rise, with the gap between the two songs diminishing significantly, even the confident Qian Xingyu began to panic, "How did he catch up so quickly?"

    "That song is damn eerie."

    Ol'' Liu gritted his teeth, "No worries, we have a live streaming event later, right? You can call on your fans during the event, and given your influence, we should be able to pull ahead again."

    "Alright, alright."

    Unlike his aloofness last week, today, Qian Xingyu was very cooperative.

    Half an hour later.

    Qian Xingyu began his live stream.

    The live streaming event was an expensive affair; after much effort from the company, the event pulled in a considerable audience. Not only were his fans present, but also casual viewers from the platform. It was indeed a fantastic platform for promotion.

    After greeting the audience.

    Qian Xingyu eagerly began his promotional program, "Has everyone listened to my first song ''It''s Love, Yeah''? It''s currently on top of the Newcomer''s Chart, you know! Those who haven''t listened yet, don''t forget to check it out, and all my stars, also don''t forget to support Xingyu by downloading the song."

    "Support!"

    "Definitely supporting!"

    "Xingyu, keep going! Your stars will always stand with you!"

    "..."

    Seeing the numerous pop-up comments appearing in front of him, Qian Xingyu''s smile broadened. Things should go smoothly now, right?

    No, he couldn''t let his guard down.

    Starlight''s song was indeed kind of eerie. Qian Xingyu decided to be cautious. Therefore, for the next few dozen minutes, except for interacting with fans and audience as per the event''s requirements, he mainly focused on promoting his song.

    However.

    With five minutes remaining before the live stream ended, Qian Xingyu saw a comment pop up, "Qian Xingyu is busted."

    Where was this malicious fan coming from?

    Why frame me for no reason?

    Qian Xingyu felt slightly angered.

    The malicious fan was quickly banned by the admin.

    But after a few seconds, new comments began to appear in large numbers, which even the admin couldn''t ban in time:

    "Qian Xingyu is busted."

    "Underdog took the top spot on the Newcomer''s Chart."

    "Qian Xingyu, you''re ranked second now." S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Oh, hell, ''Life Like A Summer Flower'' is lit."

    "Overthrown, he''s been overthrown."

    "Surprise, surprise?"

    "Your first place has been overtaken by the second."

    "..."

    It was then that Qian Xingyu realized. Those weren''t personal attacks; those comments were all about the Newcomer''s Chart.

    I''ve been busted?

    Am I the second now?

    He suddenly froze in front of the camera.

    Manager Ol'' Liu knew things would turn disastrous if they continued to stream. He rushed in front of the camera and smiled, "Thank you, everybody, that''s the end of Xingyu''s live stream!"

    With that, Old Liu had the live stream shut down immediately.

    "Whew."

    Pounding his chest, Old Liu turned to look at Qian Xingyu, only to find him already checking the latest rankings on Newcomers Chart using his phone:

    In first place, "Life Like A Summer Flower", with a download count of 233,000.

    In second place, "It''s Love, Yeah", with a download count of 231,100.

    The first place had indeed exploded. And it happened while Qian Xingyu was still live streaming ¡ª¡ª

    "Streaming disaster."

    This phrase appeared in Old Liu''s mind.

    It was a huge blow to the artists.

    Old Liu opened his mouth, trying to comfort the young Qian Xingyu, but he saw Qian Xingyu staring at him with a deep gaze, asking:

    "Old Liu, do you think I still stand a chance?"

    For some reason, Old Liu felt the air go cold. He braced himself and said, "The company probably won''t invest too much money for the newbies. It''s not your fault, we''ve done what we could."

    ...

    The moment Starlight overtook Sand Sea, many people received the news instantly, causing a wave of discussion in the industry.

    "Has it really risen to the top?"

    "That''s too fierce!"

    "What a show by Starlight."

    "Starlight is probably the first choice for recent graduates from all elite colleges this year."

    "How did Dragon Rider lose?"

    "..."

    When Qian Xingyu claimed the top spot on the Newcomers Chart on his first day, no one had ever thought that the real boss was hidden in the not so noticeable third place.

    Meanwhile, in Starlight''s songwriting department.

    Everyone''s gazes were unanimously fixed on the empty seat by the window.

    They seemed to once again see the image of "Xian Yu" quietly reciting sophomore foundational courses in their minds.

    ...

    The next day, Lin Yuan was on his way to the classroom to check his results when he received a call from Zhao Jue: "Congratulations, you''re first on the Newcomers chart!"

    "I know."

    Since yesterday, people in the dormitory and his class had been continuously talking about senior Sun Yao Huo''s song topping the Newcomers'' chart. It would have been hard for Lin Yuan not to know.

    "Not bad, keep up the good work."

    Although Lin Yuan''s reaction was rather mild, Zhao Jue had gotten used to it from past experiences. After encouraging Lin Yuan a few times, he hung up the phone and danced happily in his office.

    On arriving at the classroom.

    The moment the test papers and report cards were handed out, a voice rang in Lin Yuan''s mind: "Your scores are now within the top twenty-five in the class. Congratulations on completing the task assigned by the System!"

    Next, a subtitle appeared before Lin Yuan''s eyes:

    [Task Reward: One Bronze Treasure Box]

    With that, Lin Yuan now had two unopened Bronze Treasure Boxes. He decided to save them up like he''d save money. It was indeed fun.

    He checked his report card.

    This time, Lin Yuan had gone beyond the requirements of the system''s task. His scores had impressively made it to the thirteenth position in his class!

    "The questions were just suitable for me," Lin Yuan thought to himself.

    The exam had "Life Like A Summer Flower", it was practically handing Lin Yuan free marks.

    But when Lin Yuan looked at his test paper, he was stunned.

    The last question was about interpreting "Life Like A Summer Flower", a full score of twenty, but he had only scored eight!

    His high score was due to his high scoring rate for the other questions.

    A background music appeared in his mind:

    Child ... do you have lots of questions ...

    Lin Yuan couldn''t help but glance at his classmates'' test papers. Most of them had scored more than ten points on the "Life Like A Summer Flower" question. He had scored the least.

    As Lin Yuan looked at others'' papers,

    Others were also looking at his.

    It was mainly because Lin Yuan''s usual scores were not remarkable, but this time he had made it to the thirteenth place in the class, so everyone was quite surprised.

    "Lin Yuan, you''re amazing."

    "You''ve been studying hard recently, and it really paid off. You got the thirteenth place!"

    "Huh?"

    "You''ve scored high on the previous questions, but your score on the last question, ''Life Like A Summer Flower'', is a bit low. Otherwise, you could''ve made it to the top ten."

    "What a pity."

    "It seems you didn''t prepare well for this question. The teacher did mention that ''Life Like A Summer Flower'' would most likely be in the exam."

    "You don''t understand this song."

    The classmates shook their heads, feeling the lost points on this question were a big pity. Some even suggested that Lin Yuan listen to "Life Like A Summer Flower" carefully to understand what the songwriter was trying to express.

    Therefore, Lin Yuan''s smile froze on his face.

    He stared blankly at the big red crosses on his exam paper next to the question about "Life Like A Summer Flower", lost in thought.

    This time even the System couldn''t bear watching and consoled Lin Yuan: "Even Artist Pu doesn''t understand ''Life Like A Summer Flower''."

    "So who does understand?" Lin Yuan asked.

    "The teacher who marked the paper," the System replied.

 Chapter 13 - 12 Returning to Simplicity_1

    The potential of "Life Like A Summer Flower" is higher than many people in the industry anticipated.

    In the following days, the download count for the song rose steadily. Sand Sea Culture didn''t have any hope to retaliate¡ª

    Starlight Entertainment had secured the upper hand completely.

    However, because there was no longer any suspense about the newcomer chart, discussions about Xian Yu within Starlight gradually subsided.

    Lin Yuan didn''t care about all these things.

    These days, his favorite thing to do every day was to look at his own reputation status.

    With the rise in the download count for "Life Like A Summer Flower", his reputation had now increased to 15,000!

    But it''s still a long way from the million reputation points required by the System.

    Lin Yuan knew that the reputation he gained from "Life Like A Summer Flower" would eventually saturate, and he would have to find the right opportunity to release new work in order to continue boosting his reputation.

    ...

    The twenty-first.

    Another weekend was approaching.

    When Lin Yuan returned to the composition department for work, his colleagues in the department were just barely able to treat Lin Yuan normally.

    Ol'' Zhou, the director of the composition department, assigned a mature colleague to guide Lin Yuan.

    The reason this colleague was considered mature might be because he didn''t have much hair, making him look like a veteran in the industry, reliable.

    This mature colleague was named Wu Yong.

    Wu Yong also had some decent works under his name. Although his signature work didn''t achieve the success of "Life Like A Summer Flower", he made up for it with his high productivity and all his works met the company''s standards¡ª

    In fact.

    Seventy percent of the songwriters in the entire Starlight are like Wu Yong.

    "Lin Yuan."

    After being assigned by Ol'' Zhou to help Lin Yuan, Wu Yong greeted him: "We''re all colleagues here. Feel free to ask me anything you don''t understand. You can call me Ol'' Wu, or Brother Yong."

    "Brother Yong, please guide me."

    Lin Yuan could clearly hear the emphasis Wu Yong gave to the words "Brother Yong", thus he humored his wish¡ª

    Workplace etiquette in Blue Star was still quite important.

    Of course, if there''s a big gap in abilities between the previous and the next generation, lack of politeness could still be excused as personality, this was the same everywhere.

    "Fair enough!"

    Hearing Lin Yuan''s form of address, Wu Yong''s attitude became much warmer.

    With the success of "Life Like A Summer Flower", Lin Yuan, who has just entered his sophomore year, could be regarded as a young successful composer. However, most young successful people have the problem of being "arrogant because of their ability."

    Wu Yong was originally worried that Lin Yuan would be like this.

    But it seems that Lin Yuan is not arrogant, he just speaks less, and his personality is a bit introverted.

    "By the way, you haven''t joined the group yet."

    Wu Yong smiled and said, "Give me your contact ID, and I''ll add you and invite you into the group. All Starlight composers are in this group. Even the high-level executives of the company can''t join this group. And the atmosphere in our group is great, we all chat in the group when we''re free, and sometimes even Maestro pops out in the group.

    If you can get guidance from Maestro, it would be a huge gain."

    Maestro is a very broad term.

    For Sun Yaohuo, Lin Yuan was a Maestro.

    When faced with an excellent song, the audience also likes to call the composer "Maestro", but in fact, this is just a compliment.

    Looking at the entire field of composition.

    Lin Yuan''s current achievements are far from reaching the "Maestro" level. The real maestros are super-cattle that the entire industry admires!

    Even in Starlight Entertainment, there are only a few people of this level.

    ...

    Wu Yong added Lin Yuan''s contact details and pulled him into a big composing group called "Starlight".

    System prompt: "Lin Yuan joined the group chat."

    The number of people in this group was far beyond Lin Yuan''s expectations. Including Lin Yuan, there were actually 953 people!

    Seems like Wu Yong noticed Lin Yuan''s puzzlement.

    Wu Yong smiled and said, "All these over a thousand people are composers of the company. The Starlight building has 50 floors in total. From the tenth to the twentieth floor, they all belong to our composition department. What you are seeing now is just the tip of the iceberg. When you have time, I''ll take you for a tour."

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan, after pondering, came to terms. He was too presumptuous and had instinctively judged based on his experience on Earth.

    This was not Earth.

    Qin Continent is one of the eight continents of the Blue Star, commonly known as the Land of Music, and Starlight is one of the three major entertainment companies in this Land of Music. It would indeed be weird if the composition department didn''t have thousands of composers. Moreover, composing is not just about writing songs; the real meaning of composition includes many more categories.

    "Eh, why isn''t anyone speaking?"

    Wu Yong noticed that after Lin Yuan joined the group, only a few people in the group sent "welcome new member" messages.

    It made him feel a bit awkward.

    He had just said that the atmosphere in the group was good, but when the new member joined the group, only a few people came out to welcome.

    After some thought, Wu Yong said, "Change your nickname to Xian Yu."

    Lin Yuan, hearing this, complied.

    But as soon as he changed his nickname, the group chat suddenly became lively, as if the previous quietness did not exist¡ª

    "Is this the Authentic Envious Fish?" sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "That "Life Like A Summer Flower?"

    "Welcome, new member, welcome, welcome!"

    "Oh wow! Welcome Xian Yu to join the group chat!"

    "Ah, it''s Xian Yu, welcome!"

    "Welcome, warmly welcome!"

    To show their friendliness, someone even sent a big red envelope with the words "Welcome Xian Yu" on it¡ª it''s worth two hundred bucks!

    "A bunch of creatures that eye on the plate of the disc."

    Cursing quietly in his heart, Wu Yong coughed lightly: "I told you, the atmosphere in this group... is indeed not bad."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    He also thought it was good.

    At this time, a chat member named [Zheng Jing] suddenly mentioned Lin Yuan''s id and said: "Envious Fish, I''ve listened to ''Life Like A Summer Flower'', it''s really good."

    "Maestro, Maestro!"

    "Wow, hello Ms. Jing!"

    "Little Leo welcome Ms. Jing''s arrival!"

    "I am so fortunate to see Maestro speak in the group today, Ms. Jing is awe-inspiring!"

    "Front row admiring Ms. Jing''s grace!"

    "Ms. Jing spoke up in the group!"

    "I''m here to bask in Ms. Jing''s aura!"

    When Zheng Jing appeared, the atmosphere in the group couldn''t be described as lively anymore, it was boiling!

    "Holy crap!

    Even Wu Yong couldn''t control his swearing due to the excitement, his hand was shaking: "Hello Ms. Jing, long live Maestro, long live!"

    A thought crossed Lin Yuan''s mind.

    The original owner''s memory also had this character named Zheng Jing, she was indeed a Maestro, ranked at the top among music composers in Starlight and the entire Qin Continent¡ª¡ª

    Not only men can be called Maestro.

    Top female composers are also referred to as Maestro by everyone.

    Probably because the term "Maestra" doesn''t sound as good?

    Several songs composed by Zheng Jing were songs that the original owner could sing.

    So Lin Yuan asked Wu Yong: "Did Zheng Jing compose ''Red''?"

    "Yes, it''s her, definitely her!"

    Wu Yong was excited and turned red: "''Red'' is just one of her representative works, there are also ''Blue'' and ''White''! The Color Trilogy by Zheng Jing five years ago made a Heavenly King level singer. Before he sang songs composed by her, he was almost reduced to a resident singer at a bar!

    Therefore, Maestro Jing is considered a legendary Maestro in our industry, this is the first time I''ve seen her speak out! You actually received her compliment, I don''t know how many people in this group are envious and weeping!"

    "Sure enough, it''s her."

    Lin Yuan nodded, and also mentioned Zheng Jing in his message, replying: "Thank you, your works are not bad too."

    "..."

    The group chat was quiet all at once.

    The excitement on Wu Yong''s face instantly froze, his expression was somewhat distorted, and he stared dumbfoundedly at Lin Yuan¡ª¡ª

    Your works are not bad too?

    Is this... a compliment?

    This is a compliment...right?

    But why... does it feel somewhat off... what exactly is off...

    Ahhhhhh!

    Indeed, something is off!

    This is Zheng Jing damnit!

    An authentic Maestro!

    When a Maestro in the industry compliments you, how could you casually say "Your works are not bad too"?

    Maestro on top!

    Aren''t you supposed to be like us now, worshiping Ms. Jing, showing the utmost respect and fear!

    What are you saying?

    Are these even human words?

    Wu Yong was speechless, while his inner roar was deafening, and he could swear to the heavens, everyone else in the group definitely thought the same way!

    He even thought before that Lin Yuan wasn''t an arrogant young genius!

    Where''s the non-arrogance?

    This is clearly the kind of arrogance that has reached its peak, the kind of "winning without sounding the gong", it''s almost like returning to the origin!

    However.

    Although the group quieted down, Zheng Jing didn''t feel like anything was wrong, and she mentioned Lin Yuan once again: "Looking forward to your new song."

    Lin Yuan replied: "Mmm."

    At this moment, the group became even quieter.

    Wu Yong didn''t even know how to describe the Lin Yuan he was seeing at this moment.

    Would you say he''s impolite? But his expression while typing was serious, exuding respect for such high-ranking seniors.

    This couldn''t be faked even if he tried. Even through the screen, only Wu Yong who was sitting next to him could see it.

    But if you say he''s polite...

    Look at what he''s typed, what the hell are these words!?

    Do you know who you''re talking to?

    He scratched his hair until several strands of his already sparse hair fell off.

    While Wu Yong was in pain, he finally figured out the root cause.

    The interaction between Lin Yuan and Zheng Jing felt like a conversation between two Maestros.

    Lin Yuan''s tone was so calm, as if he was a Maestro who could be on equal footing with Zheng Jing!

    But then again...

    Compared to Zheng Jing, you are nothing!

    More confusingly, Zheng Jing wasn''t even angry.

    As though Lin Yuan''s way of speaking, in her eyes... there was nothing wrong?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: From today onwards, I strive for two updates each day, I hope everyone will support and appreciate the hardworking, diligent, handsome, brave, mighty Polluted White.

 Chapter 14 - 13: Returning to Zero_1

    A perfect chat group, almost ruined by Lin Yuan and Zheng Jing ¡ª¡ª

    Anyway, after Lin Yuan and Zheng Jing ended their conversation, it was dead silent in the group for a full two hours.

    Not just in the group.

    Even in the department, quite a few people occasionally stole glances at Lin Yuan with a somewhat strange look in their eyes.

    Apparently, these people were also members of the Starlight composers'' group and had seen Lin Yuan''s comments in the group.

    "You''ve unintentionally offended a lot of people."

    Wu Yong could not help but warn Lin Yuan.

    Although he thought Lin Yuan''s way of speaking in the group was inappropriate, seeing the seriousness in the other''s typing, he did not think Lin Yuan was deliberately making a spectacle.

    "Why?"

    Lin Yuan was puzzled.

    Facing Lin Yuan''s confusion, Wu Yong did not know how to explain it, so he could only give a bitter smile and said, "Perhaps many people can''t stand the way you talk to Ms. Jing."

    "Why?"

    Lin Yuan still didn''t understand.

    Wu Yong could only helplessly spread his hands: "All I can say is, you''re a little different from others."

    "Oh."

    This time Lin Yuan didn''t ask anymore, although he still couldn''t understand why being different from others would offend them.

    "It''s not a big deal, at least here in our composing department on the tenth floor, everyone is still very friendly to you."

    Fearing that Lin Yuan''s morale might be affected, Wu Yong comforted him, "After all, we are all artists, without too many ulterior motives. No one''s going to trip you up just because they can''t stand you. You work hard, even as a sophomore, you can write songs like "Life Like A Summer Flower", which shows your great potential!

    Once you write more great songs in the future, everyone will understand you. In Blue Star, any industry, it''s the results that matter."

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Seeing Lin Yuan was not hugely affected, Wu Yong felt relieved.

    However, although he had comforted Lin Yuan, he also knew very well that writing a song like "Life Like A Summer Flower" was no easy task.

    Everyone has their moments of inspiration.

    As for when Lin Yuan could once again write a song of that level, who knows when that would be.

    Or perhaps, Lin Yuan might not be able to write another song as good as "Life Like A Summer Flower" in his lifetime, and this song would become Lin Yuan''s only representative work, which is a common phenomenon in the industry.

    If that''s the case, placing first on the new composers'' chart will be the highlight of Lin Yuan''s composing career.

    Just then.

    Ol'' Zhou walked in from outside the door looking a bit unpleasant, and his voice carried a trace of anger: "All of you stop what you''re doing immediately and have a meeting in the conference room!" S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    After saying that, Ol'' Zhou strode into the conference room next door with a loud bang of the door.

    "What''s going on?"

    "Who pissed off the boss?"

    "Could it be because of what Lin Yuan said in the group¡­"

    "I don''t know, but I have rarely seen the boss in such a bad mood."

    "Although Lin Yuan''s comments in the group are inappropriate, they can''t warrant this, right? He''s still a sophomore, it''s normal to lack experience in dealing with people."

    "That''s true."

    "Let''s stop guessing and go to the meeting."

    The sound of chairs scraping against the floor rang out as people from the composition department gradually got up and followed Ol'' Zhou into the conference room.

    Lin Yuan also followed into the conference room.

    However, some people worried that Ol'' Zhou''s anger was directed at Lin Yuan''s comments in the group, and in order to avoid getting dragged into it, nobody wanted to sit next to Lin Yuan.

    Wu Yong hesitated for a moment then sat to the left of Lin Yuan.

    Immediately afterwards, a man with long hair sat on the right of Lin Yuan and took the initiative to extend a hand to Lin Yuan: "My name is Zheng Han, a graduate from the Composition Department of Qin Continent Art Academy in the class of ''20."

    "Hello, senior."

    Lin Yuan politely shook his hand. Although he was not very talkative, he could pick up on some details.

    "Is everyone here?"

    Ol'' Zhou spoke with a stern voice: "I called you all here to talk about something. The music for "Dragon Fish Dance" has been returned to us again."

    "What?"

    Everyone was taken aback.

    It seems Ol'' Zhou''s anger had nothing to do with Lin Yuan.

    "Come on, what can we do?"

    Ol'' Zhou''s sharp eyes swept over everyone: "This is your business on the tenth floor, don''t force me to hand it over to other floors."

    No one dared to meet Ol'' Zhou''s eyes.

    But when Ol'' Zhou asked a question, everyone had to answer, so they each avoided Ol'' Zhou''s gaze and chattered their opinions:

    "Boss, are the requirements for the song from "Dragon Fish Dance" too high? They are not a top-tier investment, just a medium-budget animation."

    "This must be the fourteenth time they rejected our work, isn''t it?"

    "Is it so difficult that they want us to get the Maestro of the tenth floor to write personally?"

    "The problem is, our Maestro definitely has no interest in this job."

    "If we can''t handle it, let other floors participate, or simply let them find another company to do it. Sand Sea, Dazzling Silver Glow, there are plenty of great composers on Qin Continent."

    "How could the company agree to that? If Sand Sea or Dazzling Silver Glow produces it, won''t it make Starlight look incompetent? It would be better to let other floors participate."

    "..."

    Lin Yuan was clueless.

    He didn''t know what everyone was talking about.

    Wu Yong, who was assigned by Ol'' Zhou to mentor Lin Yuan, began to explain, "Here is the thing, over on Qi Continent there is a large-scale animated film called "Dragon Fish Dance". Its post-production is almost completed, but it''s still missing a core music piece. So they hired Starlight to produce this music, and this task eventually fell on us on the tenth floor.

    However, we have already submitted fourteen songs to them, all of which were returned!"

    "The key is..."

    Zheng Han on the right took over: "The fourteen songs that were returned, they were all done by the top composers on our tenth floor. Although their skills may not have reached the level of the Maestro yet, their quality is certainly not low. Normally, many big-name singers look to team up with these top composers."

    Lin Yuan finally understood.

    However, Lin Yuan chose to remain silent. If so many people on the tenth floor couldn''t handle a client, he didn''t think he could ¡ª¡ª

    He did have songs of his own.

    But for a project like this, which required a specific kind of soundtrack, the mood and atmosphere of the song had to match that of the film. If someone filmed a melancholic love story, and you went ahead and offered them a rap or rock song, no matter how good it was, it would be pointless.

    "Enough talking."

    Ol'' Zhou rubbed his temples with a hint of a headache, "Consider this dead horse as a live horse to practice medicine on, everyone should give the soundtrack of ''Dragon Fish Dance'' a try. The deadline is in one month. I will send you all the clients'' requirements, perhaps someone will come up with an idea. If nothing works then we''ll have to hand this order to other floors, as per the company rule."

    Inspiration is a mysterious thing.

    That didn''t mean Maestro''s compositions were always the best.

    Sometimes, even when Maestro couldn''t solve a problem, another composer with lesser credentials could suddenly have an idea and produce a song that the client was satisfied with ¡ª¡ª.

    Things like this sometimes happened in the world of composition.

    Just how Lin Yuan, who was only a sophomore, wrote "Life Like a Summer Flower".

    Part of it was his natural talent for composition, and another part was that Lin Yuan had a good idea and capitalized on this inspiration, which led to him writing the song.

    This was also why Wu Yong believed that Lin Yuan might not be able to write another song like "Life Like a Summer Flower" in the future.

    Because inspiration is a chance event!

    Ol'' Zhou''s strategy of spreading a wide net was only because he had no other options, considering that he had almost exhausted all aces on the tenth floor. He couldn''t possibly ask Maestro to take this on, could he?

    Not that it couldn''t be done.

    But, it would cost more!

    Perhaps the budget for "Dragon Fish Dance" was limited because the current offer from Qi Continent was not enough to justify Maestro''s involvement.

    Soon.

    Everyone received a sheet of paper detailing the requirements for the soundtrack of "Dragon Fish Dance".

    Lin Yuan got one too.

    To avoid spoiling the plot, "Dragon Fish Dance" only provided a general outline of the story:

    It is a fantastical story about a girl who saved a fish years ago. One day, the girl and her family find themselves in danger, and that fish, having leapt over the Dragon Gate, had become a powerful white dragon and reunited with the girl...

    The requirements for the soundtrack were three-fold.

    It needed to be ethereal, have depth, and aesthetics.

    Once they received the requirements, a wave of despair swept over the meeting room.

    "Could the client''s requirements be more vague? Ethereal, depth, aesthetics, this is too broad, isn''t it?"

    "I don''t see a definitive point to base it on."

    "Plus, the given time is too short, only a month, a month, I won''t be able to complete it with my speed of composing."

    "A fantasy story, should the style of music be more open?"

    "With the fish and the dragon, it should feel like soaring in the sky, right? Maybe use some oboes, seems fitting."

    "I think, it has to be a bit poignant, a bit melancholic? Should I add elements of a bamboo flute?"

    "Don''t bother thinking, this problem is too difficult, I can''t solve it."

    "None of these are the point! The point is, we''ve heard the songs that were returned to us before! They already had a good feel! But Qi Continent rejected them anyway, this means, we have not yet met their standards perfectly."

    "..."

    To a composer, achieving ethereal qualities was easy, so was depth, and aesthetics.

    Catching these three qualities was not difficult.

    But to create a piece that touches the heart, that was not easy.

    Just like when asked to create an uplifting and intense song.

    Everyone present could probably write an uplifting and intense song, but this was only a direction for creation. Out of a thousand uplifting and intense songs, there may be only one or two that truly ignite the listener''s passion.

    A thought arose in Lin Yuan''s mind.

    Besides piano compositions, he had two other songs on hand.

    One was "Easy to Ignite and Explode", which would definitely not work, as the mood didn''t match.

    But what about his other song, "Big Fish"?

    The style of this song seemed to be along those lines.

    Did the System predict this all along?

    Whilst pondering, Lin Yuan heard Wu Yong complaining, "The client from Qi Continent is too picky! For a mere five million order, do they expect our Maestro from the tenth floor to personally take action? If they can''t afford to impress Maestro, they shouldn''t bid so high."

    Lin Yuan quickly asked, "What did you just say?"

    Wu Yong was taken aback: "If they can''t afford to impress Maestro, they shouldn''t bid so high?"

    "The sentence before that!"

    "Do they expect our Maestro to take action?"

    "Before that!"

    "For a mere five million order¡­"

    It was this sentence that confirmed the information Lin Yuan needed. He nodded seriously, then swiftly picked up the calculator on the table and began to input numbers.

    "Clear!"

    The calculator beep was loud enough to interrupt the wailing in the meeting room, and everyone turned to look at Lin Yuan, including Manager Zhou.

    But Lin Yuan didn''t notice the attention around him.

    His fingers moved quickly, pressing the calculator keys and its beeping filled the room.

    "5000000 times 0.2 times 2 divided by 3 equals 666666.666666667."

    The room fell silent in an instant.

    Only the calculator''s counting could be heard.

    Of course, everyone knew what Lin Yuan was calculating.

    However, precisely because they knew, the room was full of strange looks.

    Splitting it into 660,000 plus?

    When the count was finally over, Lin Yuan happily turned off the calculator. He looked at Ol'' Zhou and pronounced emphatically:

    "I''ll take this order."

 Chapter 15 - 14: Iron Dumbbell_1

    Holy crap, this young man!

    Faced with Lin Yuan''s initiative to volunteer, Ol'' Zhou''s gaze was as bizarre as everyone else''s. His mouth slightly agape, he suddenly forgot to respond for a moment. The only thing still instinctively functioning was his brain¡ª

    Was he just calculating money?

    Was he just planning to give the singer a 0.5 share?

    No famous singer would accept this kind of distribution ratio. Twenty percent of 0.5, this is a typical pittance, only small singers or newcomers who just debuted would accept such a low proportion of a song''s profit...

    No, no, no!

    What the fuck is I thinking about?

    Ol'' Zhou tried hard to control his scattered thoughts and mildly convulsing mouth corner.

    He cleared his throat gently, selecting his words: "It''s good for a young man to be energetic, but the job we have isn''t something an average newbie can handle. Certainly, Lin Yuan, you are not an ordinary newbie, but we still need to pool our ideas. So, within a month, everyone send me a sample, including the others on the tenth floor. Everyone must hand in a sample."

    He couldn''t dampen Lin Yuan''s enthusiasm.

    With everyone else groaning in dismay, Lin Yuan stepped up to take on the challenging task of composing, a behavior worthy of encouragement. So there''s no way for Ol'' Zhou to utter any criticism.

    As for the conversation between Lin Yuan and Zheng Jing in the group chat today, Ol'' Zhou naturally was aware, but wouldn''t blame Lin Yuan for it.

    Because Ol'' Zhou is well-acquainted with a few of the company''s maestros.

    All of the maestros have very strange personalities.

    Take Zheng Jing for instance, she''s a composer on maestro level, but she rarely composes on a day-to-day basis. Instead, she has a fierce passion for painting and has even privately funded her own art exhibition¡ª

    As if composing was just a side gig for her.

    Although Lin Yuan was not a maestro, judging from the personality he had shown so far, there was not much difference between him and the maestros.

    So Ol'' Zhou wasn''t fazed by it.

    However, the reason this unorthodox newbie, whose personality has similarities with many maestros, was so proactive ¨C was that born out of his passion for creation or the allure of the five million?

    It seemed questionable no matter how he thought about it.

    Well of course, although composing is for art, most people ultimately work for money, which is understandable.

    However.

    Lin Yuan whipping out a calculator to calculate the share at the meeting was probably a first in the history of Starlight''s composition department.

    Not just Ol'' Zhou.

    Everyone in the conference room was full of questions but didn''t know where to start.

    Especially Wu Yong and Zheng Han, who sat on either of Lin Yuan, they were completely dumbfounded.

    Everyone finally came to a conclusion when they thought about the way Lin Yuan talked to Zheng Jing in the group chat today:

    A gifted young man, Xian Yu?

    No, he''s just a simpleton.

    With that thought, Lin Yuan suddenly seemed cute?

    At the very least, he was genuine.

    As everyone came to this realization, the room gradually erupted in laughter. The atmosphere in the meeting room relaxed, and even someone teased Lin Yuan, "Don''t forget to treat us all to coffee when you get the bonus!"

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan hesitated for quite some time before finally agreeing.

    Everyone burst out in more hearty laughter.

    There was no mockery, on the contrary, everyone''s laughter was filled with a sense of goodwill, especially the female members, their expressions were full of warmth.

    Well, Lin Yuan is just a sophomore college kid, isn''t he?

    And a rather good-looking lad at that.

    However, joking aside.

    No one seems to believe that Lin Yuan would be able to win the contract.

    Can a newbie, who is still learning sophomore basics, accomplish something that not even the ace arrangers of the tenth floor could?

    Dream on.

    In this conference room, no composer would deny the quality of "Life Like a Summer Flower."

    However, among those dozen plus arche composers, each held more than one successful song in their portfolio.

    Any of those representative works in their portfolio could easily rival "Life Like a Summer Flower" in terms of success!

    If not, how could they be the company''s aces?

    ...

    Lin Yuan, of course, didn''t know what everyone was thinking. Right now, his mind was filled with the thought of earning five million, even though he could only take fifteen percent of those earnings.

    After the meeting ended,

    Lin Yuan didn''t leave straight away. Instead, he asked Ol'' Zhou, who was packing up, "Director, where do I find singers?"

    "Singers?"

    Ol'' Zhou frowned and said, "Aren''t you planning to take Qi Continent''s task? Your primary task now should be writing the song. If you come up with a good song, then you can look for a singer. If the song you write isn''t up to standard, then what''s the point of looking for a singer now?"

    Ol'' Zhou didn''t really hold out any hope for Lin Yuan to write a good song.

    But he hoped Lin Yuan would grasp the basic order of creating a song.

    After all, he had high hopes for Lin Yuan; given that his song, ''Life Like A Summer Flower'' showed promising potential, which is why he insisted on requesting Ms. Zhao for Lin Yuan.

    "So, how do I find a singer after writing a good song?"

    Lin Yuan had no choice but to ask for a fallback plan. He couldn''t possibly reveal that he had already written the song, could he?

    That would be too suspicious.

    After some thought, Ol'' Zhou said, "Usually, if you want to find a singer to collaborate with, you''ll need to contact the artist department and fill out a form. If you''re looking to collaborate with some of the top-tier artistes in the company, you''d definitely need to apply in advance, and then I would personally communicate with them¡­"

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Ol'' Zhou seemed to recall something and said, "I almost forgot about your relationship with Ms. Zhao. Even if the contract isn''t approved, if you really want to release a song, just look for Ms. Zhao. She''s in charge of all the singers in the company, but that''s provided your song passes the company''s review and is worth releasing!"

    "Oh."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    After leaving the conference room, he returned to his seat and immediately called Ms. Zhao to enquire about finding a singer.

    "Looking for a singer?"

    Ms. Zhao laughed, "I didn''t expect you to be so prolific¡ª you have new work already? Alright, tell me, what kind of singer are you looking for?"

    "I''m looking for..."

    Ms. Zhao interrupted Lin Yuan, "Never mind, I''ll send some information and audio samples of our newer singers who aren''t busy lately to your email. With your understanding of music, you should be able to find the right person. Once you find someone, leave the rest to me. As for top-tier singers¡­"

    "What about top-tier singers?"

    "Top-tier singers have high standards for songs."

    "How high?"

    "Let''s put it this way: unless the song you write can match the level of ''Life Like A Summer Flower'', they basically wouldn''t consider it. Typically, top-tier singers look for the company''s top composers for songs. After all, they''re top-tier singers, and their income isn''t something second-tier singers can compare to."

    Lin Yuan was wary, "Income?"

    Ms. Zhao laughed, "You don''t think all singers only take 0.5% of 20%, right? That''s the price for small-time singers. For those highly sought-after singers, their share would be higher, almost splitting evenly with the composer. For the top singers, their share can be 1.5% of 20%, leaving only 0.5% for the composer."

    "I need a tool!"

    Lin Yuan''s train of thought immediately cleared.

    Ms. Zhao couldn''t help laughing, "You really have been led astray by that group in the composing department. I wonder who was the first to call the singers from our artist department tools. But let me remind you, some songs aren''t easily held to by minor singers. In the future, as you grow, you shouldn''t refuse to collaborate with big-name singers just over income."

    "Alright."

    Lin Yuan said, "Thank you, Ms. Zhao."

    Ms. Zhao said, "No need to thank, goodbye."

    A few minutes later, a large number of audios arrived in Lin Yuan''s email. The material and audio of a total of 106 people were included in it. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Let the work begin.

    Lin Yuan put on his headphones and started listening to the vocals of these 106 people one by one.

    Unlike ''Life Like A Summer Flower''.

    The song ''Big Fish'' that Lin Yuan wanted to release couldn''t just be sung well by any random person.

    Well, definitely not Sun Yaohuo.

    After all, not everyone is Zhou Shen.

    Lin Yuan wasn''t confident that he could immediately find such a pleasant voice, so he had to scout for candidates beforehand.

    In case he didn''t find anyone, he had a fallback plan.

    That was to find a female singer whose vocal range was similar to the original singer''s, and use some technical means to make up for it¡ª

    Get to know the million-dollar sound engineer.

 Chapter 16 - 15 Dolphin Sound_1

    Before finishing work in the evening.

    Lin Yuan finally finished listening to one hundred and six vocals.

    After listening to these one hundred and six vocals, Lin Yuan has a deeper understanding of why Qin Continent is the most famous Land of Music on Blue Star.

    One by one, they could really sing!

    The list of one hundred and six singers sent by Zhao Jue are all newcomers, more than half of whom have not even debuted yet, but in terms of their professional skill, they have far exceeded the Earth''s average quality.

    In this round of vocal selections, Lin Yuan has successfully identified three people who could potentially sing "Big Fish".

    This was definitely beyond what he''d expected.

    That night, Lin Yuan made a call to Zhao Jue, announcing his tentative choices.

    "Wang Ping, Jiang Kui, Wei Xiaoxin..."

    Hearing Lin Yuan uttering these three names somewhat unfamiliarly, Zhao Jue asked, "It seems like the ones you picked are all newbies who haven''t debuted yet?"

    "Yes."

    This kid seemed fishy.

    Was he just picking newbies because they charge less?

    Zhao Jue suppressed his doubts and said, "I''ll inform these three to wait at the recording studio tomorrow. You can test their voices first, confirm your choices and then start recording. But the company''s audition is up to you to pass; even if you record, it''ll just be a waste if it doesn''t pass the review."

    "Sure."

    The call between them ended.

    The next day, the recording studio on the ninth floor of the company.

    Wang Ping, Jiang Kui, and Wei Xiaoxin, all newbies, were seated demurely on the chairs outside the door, their faces full of anticipation, like job candidates waiting for interviews.

    "Thrum, thrum, thrum, thrum, thrum, thrum, thrum."

    To keep her voice in good condition, Jiang Kui had almost drunk half a bottle of water.

    But the water couldn''t alleviate her nerves-

    Last night, her agent suddenly informed her that she was to come to the company for a sound check, because Admirable Fish might choose her as the vocalist for his new song.

    Upon hearing this news, Jiang Kui was so excited that she barely slept all night.

    She couldn''t believe that, less than a year after joining the company, her chance to debut had suddenly appeared.

    It felt like winning the lottery, or as if a huge gift had suddenly fallen from the sky.

    Moreover, the music creator was Admirable Fish!

    November hasn''t ended yet, and the song "Life Like A Summer Flower" created by Admirable Fish still dominates the top of the New Song Chart. Up until today, it had a tremendous lead of thirty thousand downloads over the second place!

    This alone already demonstrated Admirable Fish''s skills.

    Now that there was a chance to work with Admirable Fish on her debut song, how could Jiang Kui not be excited?

    As a newbie, she didn''t yet understand that not every song by a composer can reach the same level; she also didn''t understand that the company has an important hurdle called ''music review'' before the release of the song.

    She only knew that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and she must seize it!

    Not just Jiang Kui.

    At this moment, Wang Ping and Wei Xiaoxin, who were also in the newbie stage, had similar thoughts.

    While the three of them were nervously waiting.

    Lin Yuan arrived at the ninth floor using the elevator. The staff in the recording studio recognized him and greeted him immediately with a big smile, "Teacher Admirable Fish, you''re here."

    "Admirable Fish?"

    All three of them looked at Lin Yuan simultaneously, none of them expecting Admirable Fish to be so young. Most successful composers are usually over thirty years old.

    There are ones below thirty, but they are definitely rare.

    "Thank you."

    Lin Yuan nodded to the staff, then said, "Who is Wang Ping? Come in first, let''s test your sound."

    "I am!"

    Wang Ping immediately stood up.

    He was the only male among the three.

    Lin Yuan nodded, entered the main control room of the recording studio with a staff member, casually sat down on the chair at the soundboard, and put on headphones.

    "Hello, Teacher Admirable Fish."

    Wang Ping went into the recording room, took a deep breath, and introduced himself, "My vocal range is from D1 to D3 falsetto."

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan said, "There is a score and lyrics in front of you, take three minutes, you can first sing two lines from the chorus, I want a feeling of purity and serenity."

    "Sure."

    Wang Ping prepared for three minutes, then started his first few test lines: "The silent waves deeply engulf the nightfall, spreading over the corners of the endless sky..."

    After he finished the two lines.

    Lin Yuan said again, "Don''t continue with the main song, and sing two lines of the chorus, the part that goes ''I''m afraid you''ll fly away, I''m afraid you''ll leave me, and I''m even more afraid you''ll always stay here''."

    He demonstrated it for him.

    Although the doctor said he couldn''t sing, it was no problem for Lin Yuan to lower the key and come up with a couple of lines.

    What he meant by not being able to sing was just that he couldn''t practice like a professional singer every day, nor could he belt the high notes that he was once good at, because his voice couldn''t withstand such high-intensity sound loads.

    "Okay, Teacher Admirable Fish."

    As per Lin Yuan''s requirement, Wang Ping did as instructed.

    Selected by Lin Yuan for sound testing, Wang Ping''s tone was indeed extremely beautiful; he handled both the main song and the chorus very well.

    Lin Yuan nodded, "Next is the chanting part, that is, the high-pitched part where the song is about to end."

    In "Big Fish," there is a beautiful humming part, which laymen refer to as the "dolphin sound," but in professional terms, there''s no such word as "dolphin."

    The so-called "dolphin sound" in professional terms is called the "whistle register."

    This sound is produced by blowing a powerful breath through the extremely narrow gap between the vocal cords and the larynx, creating a very high-pitched sound¡ªa nifty coloratura method for achieving high notes¡ª

    This is currently the upper limit of the pitch humans can achieve! Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Besides the "lingual sound" singing method, no other method can reach higher than the whistle register, so this part is harder than any other part before it.

    "Ah ah ah~ah ah~ah ah ah~ah ah~"

    Wang Ping''s trial singing clearly made him seem out of breath. It was far from the dolphin sound; at most, it could be counted as a dolphin.

    Lin Yuan immediately called it off: "Your voice is too tight. You need to relax a bit. Also, it''s all falsetto techniques. Can you sing this part without relying on a falsetto?"

    "No can do ..."

    Wang Ping shook his head dejectedly. His vocal range was still too narrow to manage the whistle register comfortably.

    "Thank you."

    Lin Yuan said, "Could you send Wei Xiaoxin in?"

    "Alright, thank you, Teacher Admirable Fish."

    Wang Ping bowed his head and left.

    Soon, Wei Xiaoxin entered the recording studio.

    After a brief introduction, the same vocal testing procedure was conducted.

    In terms of performance quality, Wei Xiaoxin was undoubtedly better than Wang Ping. She effortlessly executed the whistle register as well.

    However, after the vocal testing, Lin Yuan was still somewhat frowning.

    At Wei Xiaoxin''s level, she could only be considered barely eligible.

    There is a distinction between being able to produce the whistle register and doing so beautifully¡ª

    Why is Vitas from Earth so acclaimed by professionals and non-professionals alike despite so many who can whistle register?

    A key reason is that Vitas''s whistle register sounds beautiful.

    Vocal timbre is innate and very hard to change postnatally. Wei Xiaoxin''s timbre was not a problem, but in the part requiring the whistle register, her timbre had trouble meeting Lin Yuan''s requirements.

    Non-professionals might not be able to detect this.

    But Lin Yuan''s ear could perceive the difference from the original version at the first listen. He sighed inwardly and said, "You''ve worked hard. Let''s bring in the next person."

    Actually, the post-production sound editing could improve Wei Xiaoxin''s performance.

    She already met Lin Yuan''s minimum requirements for a stand-in.

    But Lin Yuan stuck to the principle: if he could avoid overburdening the Sound Engineer, he would.

    "Thank you, teacher."

    We Xiaoxin left somewhat disappointed.

    Next up, a girl named Jiang Kui.

    She was a petite young girl who, upon entering, busied herself adjusting the microphone''s height, amusing the staff with her antics.

    "Hello, teachers."

    The petite girl embarrassingly said, "My name is Jiang Kui, and my vocal range is from G2 to C6..."

    "A female High C?"

    A recording engineer raised an eyebrow.

    Another engineer on the side commented, "Her vocal range is pretty broad. Singing in the whistle register is no problem, the only question is whether her vocal quality can meet Teacher Admirable Fish''s standards."

    "Go ahead."

    Lin Yuan repeated the instructions from the previous two auditions.

    "Okay."

    The petite girl cleared her throat and began her performance.

    The earlier part was flawless and even better than the previous two. This is because this young girl''s voice not only possessed the characteristics of clarity and brightness but also held a touch of a male singer''s voice quality¡ªpresumably a natural attribute of her voice.

    "Very good."

    Lin Yuan approved, "Now I want to hear the chanting part as well. Remember, I need the whistle register, not falsetto techniques."

    After he finished, Lin Yuan felt a bit nervous.

    If this young lady is also not qualified, he would have to resort to sound engineering for Wei Xiaoxin, or seek help from an already debuted singer with proven ability¡ª

    How much money would be split between them?

    After all, isn''t sound engineering more cost-effective?

    Just as Lin Yuan began pondering these thoughts, the young girl''s singing began. Her charming melodious trills floated to his ears.

    Lin Yuan''s eyes gradually brightened.

    He knew that he wouldn''t need to split the money with a debuted singer.

    The third stand-in candidate passed!

    The two recording engineers on the side also meet each other''s eyes and nodded in unison.

    In terms of overall vocal performance, this petite girl was undoubtedly the best, making the previous two pale in comparison.

    Lin Yuan asked, "Your name is Jiang..."

    The young girl promptly said, "Jiang Kui, my name is Jiang Kui!"

    Lin Yuan nodded, and made a final decision: "Alright, Jiang Kui. I''ll pass the complete score to you later. I hope you can become familiar with the song as soon as possible. We will start the official recording next Saturday."

    "Alright, thank you, teacher!"

    Jiang Kui subtly made a victory sign behind her back, unable to restrain her excitement: "I will definitely work hard!"

 Chapter 17 - 16 Dream Wedding_1

    Qin Continent takes music copyrights very seriously. As long as Lin Yuan uploads his songs to the company, he needn''t worry about any twist and turns.

    Day two.

    Lin Yuan resumed his regular campus life.

    But the music composition department only had one class that morning. After class finished, most students went back to their dorms to play games since it was still early.

    Lin Yuan did not plan to go back.

    With the pressure of exams gone, he still seemed attentive in class, but now that his free time has been freed up, he wouldn''t waste it in the dorm.

    So, how should he spend his free time?

    Lin Yuan sent a message to Jian Yi and Xia Fan, inviting them out. But both of them declined¡ª

    They still had classes.

    Although they all attended the same university and have been close friends since childhood, they hardly saw each other due to different majors.

    Lin Yuan was not disappointed.

    Because he thought of something to do.

    That is, playing the piano in the practice room.

    The System awarded Lin Yuan with professional-level piano skills, but he hadn''t tried them out yet.

    The score for "Big Fish" was based largely around the piano. Lin Yuan wanted to test his piano skills now, and if they were up to scratch, he would even consider completing the piano part of the arrangement by himself.

    ...

    Ten minutes later.

    Lin Yuan arrived at the piano room.

    Qin Continent Art Academy places great emphasis on developing musical talents, so numerous public piano rooms are available to students. Each room has pianos of different brands. There are grand and upright pianos, all choices that maximize freedom of choice for the students.

    This was very convenient for Lin Yuan.

    Most students were in class at this time, so many piano rooms were empty, providing him with plenty of choices.

    Walking down the long corridor of the piano room,

    Lin Yuan found the one he was interested in at the very end.

    It''s a typical upright piano with elegant keys, a beautiful white laquered finish, and streamlined design. It was clearly a notch above the pianos in other rooms!

    Here it is.

    Lin Yuan entered the room, sat down at the piano, and casually played a piece from the original host''s memory, a classic Blue Star song, "Heart''s Desire".

    He chose this piece out of nostalgia.

    This was the first piano piece his mother taught him, and he was once tormented by it to insanity.

    But now, revisiting the song, Lin Yuan found it somehow endearing¡ª

    That must have been the original host''s feelings.

    And also Lin Yuan''s feelings at the moment.

    Moreover, Lin Yuan felt a sense of empowerment!

    Every time he struck a key, it was so comfortable now. Not just the rhythm and timing of the notes, they just naturally appeared in his mind.

    In his memory,

    All the piano playing problems that the original host couldn''t solve could now be solved with ease. You know, before, Lin Yuan even found it difficult to play this song by reading sheet music. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    But now,

    Not only can he seamlessly play the entire song, he can also make some small adaptations.

    In addition, he is aware of details like the depth and rhythm of pedal use, and the improvements each detail contributes to the quality of each note.

    And those technically challenging parts in the song, like playing chords, now pose no trouble to him with his flexible fingering.

    After playing through the song, Lin Yuan was about to fall in love with the feeling of playing the piano.

    Five minutes later.

    At last, "Heart''s Desire" came to an end. His dramatic improvement in piano skills filled Lin Yuan with confidence!

    He decided to try "Mariage d''Amour".

    However, as Lin Yuan was about to strike the first note, a rather cold voice interrupted, "Who let you in here?"

    Lin Yuan looked up.

    A long-haired girl in a black coat was standing at the door. The sunlight shone behind her, highlighting her tall figure. The cold aura she exuded couldn''t be concealed. Her beautiful but frosty eyes were staring right at Lin Yuan.

    "Isn''t this a public area?"

    Lin Yuan thought this girl was bizarre.

    She scoffed, "Don''t you recognize me?"

    Lin Yuan was more confused, "Have we met before?"

    She glared at Lin Yuan, then gradually regained her composure, "This piano belongs to me. As for this piano room, it''s exclusively for my use by the school''s permission. So stop torturing my piano with your clumsy skills."

    Lin Yuan could only get up and say, "I''ll let you have it."

    She solemnly corrected him, "Not let, but return, because this was my piano in the first place."

    "Alright, I''ll return it to you."

    As Lin Yuan headed for the door, just as he was about to pass her, she suddenly said, "There have been many people trying to get my attention, but you''ve used the worst possible method. Pretending to be dumb really vexes me."

    "What?"

    Lin Yuan was puzzled.

    The girl took out a tissue from her bag and meticulously cleaned the piano keys that Lin Yuan had just played. At the same time, she spoke in a cold, mocking tone, "Although Abigail''s ''Heart''s Desire'' is my favorite piece, it doesn''t mean I would enjoy it played by anyone. Your skills might be a bit better than my other suitors'', but it''s not enough to stir my heart. Also, I don''t like roses.

    I already threw them in the trash downstairs."

    "Oh."

    Lin Yuan thought she must have misunderstood something. He wasn''t mad, nor did he plan to clarify. After all, it didn''t cost him anything. He just seriously reminded her:

    "I washed my hands before playing the piano."

    Some piano lovers are particularly concerned about cleanliness, fearing that the keys would be stained with obvious fingerprints. Lin Yuan thought this room was also a public piano room, so he washed his hands with soap out of consideration for public hygiene before playing the piano.

    The girl just ignored him and kept wiping.

    Even the piano body that Lin Yuan didn''t touch wasn''t spared.

    Lin Yuan could only switch to a different room.

    He sat down in front of the piano in the new room.

    Just as Lin Yuan was about to play, he remembered how the girl had criticized his skills. He couldn''t help but ask the system he hadn''t communicated with in a long time, "Are my skills really that bad?"

    "Not at all."

    "That''s a relief."

    Just as Lin Yuan let out a sigh of relief, he heard the system say: "To those with higher performance levels, anyone whose piano skills are inferior to theirs is considered mediocre."

    "¡­"

    So that''s how it was.

    Lin Yuan didn''t expect that girl''s piano skills were even better than his, considering his skills were bestowed by the system at a professional level.

    She was probably a piano prodigy or something.

    Without lingering on the thought, Lin Yuan started playing Mariage d''Amour, a piece he got from the Silver Treasure Chest.

    ¡­

    Finally, the piano was clean.

    Gu Xi sat in front of the piano, her mood somewhat gloomy.

    The piano was a gift from her father, it had been with Gu Xi since she was seven.

    Upon being admitted to Qin Art, she even requested the school to allow her to bring this sentimental piano.

    Since Gu Xi owned the piano, no one else had touched the instrument.

    Because she had stayed up too late practicing on the piano last night and forgot to lock the door, this piano, was used today by a stranger.

    It was as if her toothbrush had been used by a stranger, which upset her.

    Her mood ruined her enthusiasm to practice today.

    At the time when she was somewhat irritable, a foreign piano piece, surprisingly, lessened Gu Xi''s irritability ¡ª

    A classic piece in G minor.

    Gu Xi listened attentively.

    This was Gu Xi''s first time listening to the piece, she had no idea if it was from a prominent composer, but she felt enveloped in the waves of piano music, unable to help but lose herself in the sea of music.

    Sometimes, it was as warm as the wind.

    Sometimes, it was as soft as a rainbow.

    When the romantic atmosphere swept in, the melody was so sweet, as if honey melted in her heart. Gu Xi almost felt like she was in a sanctified wedding church¡­

    No, that''s not right.

    This piece was not entirely about romance and sweetness. On closer examination, it seemed more like hopeless love, where a man hungry for love wanders in his dreams, desiring to embrace love but afraid to break the dream - until he sees the woman he loves, dancing gracefully in the illusory wedding.

    The performer revealed their emotions through the music.

    The piano went fast then slow.

    The tone went high then low.

    When the piece ended, Gu Xi had a sense of waking from a dream after a moment of daze. She stared at the piano in front of her, then suddenly stood up and sprinted out.

    "Who was that?"

    She tried to find the source of the sound, running through every piano room, but she was unable to find the performer of the piece. Instead, she was greeted with a few shocked or confused gazes.

    "Who was it!"

    Her eyes shone brightly.

    She was eager to know who played that unfamiliar piece, she desperately wanted to know what the piece was called!

    Just then,

    A nervous-looking boy appeared, "If you don''t like roses, it''s okay to throw them away, but could you tell me what kind of flowers you do like? Next time I¡­"

    "Roses?"

    Caught in the disappointment of not finding the performer, Gu Xi''s emotions were on a roller coaster. She was suddenly interrupted, her eyebrows immediately furrowed, "So the flowers from before were from you?"

    The boy stammered, "Ye... Yes."

    Gu Xi opened her mouth to say something, remembering the guy''s face, her expression turned even colder, "I''m allergic to pollen."

    The air felt cold.

    The boy immediately retreated.

 Chapter 18 - 17: Can You Still Call Yourself Young if Youre Not Spirited?_1

    Over the next few days, Lin Yuan had a full schedule with no time to return to the music room.

    Even during his occasional rest time, he would spend it with Jian Yi Xia Fan.

    By the end of the month.

    Lin Yuan returned to the company.

    Instead of focusing within the composition department, he spent a day and a half in the recording studio, finally finishing the recording of "Big Fish".

    Once again.

    He took on the tasks of songwriting, composition, and arrangement.

    The piano elements in the arrangement were also all completed by him.

    Though a female student at his college had critiqued his piano skills as "poor", his proficiency was no lesser than the company-assigned pianist''s, so Lin Yuan decided to play it himself to have more involvement.

    After recording the song,

    he sent his work to department supervisor Ol'' Zhou''s company email, specifically adding a note:

    "Impression piece."

    Impression pieces are songs generally reflecting the original world view or emotions. "Big Fish", with lyrics and a style that fit well with the animation atmosphere, could be considered a typical impression piece.

    After sending the song.

    Lin Yuan went to the company cafeteria for lunch since his morning work was done. Compared to the university, the company cafeteria was much cheaper and tasted better.

    Meanwhile.

    In the supervisor''s office,

    Ol'' Zhou was also about to go to the cafeteria for lunch when he suddenly received Lin Yuan''s e-mail, causing him to pause momentarily.

    "An Impression piece from Lin Yuan?"

    Lin Yuan was the first from the tenth floor to submit an assignment!

    However, Ol'' Zhou, as the department head, wasn''t pleased by this. Instead, he was deeply troubled.

    His already sinking mood due to the potential failure of the "Dragon Fish Dance" project worsened. He was even tempted to call Lin Yuan in and give him a thorough criticism.

    But considering that Lin Yuan was a newcomer he himself had brought into the composition department, with less resilience than the older staff, he ultimately held back.

    Nevertheless, Ol'' Zhou was inevitably disappointed.

    Only two weeks had passed since he presented "Dragon Fish Dance" to the entire tenth-floor composition department. Just over a handful of days!

    For any composer...

    What good song could possibly be produced in such a short time?

    This was the drawback of becoming famous at a young age.

    Youthful vigor!

    He''ll suffer for it in the future.

    Even Lin Yuan could not avoid this pitfall.

    The success of being on the Newcomer Chart had instilled arrogance and smugness in him.

    Yet Ol'' Zhou had not expected Lin Yuan''s inflated ego to go so far as to submit a piece he had written in just two weeks.

    "I''ll have to talk with him soon."

    With a gentle sigh, Ol'' Zhou was filled with worry.

    The exceptional debut of "Life Like A Summer Flower" had raised Ol'' Zhou''s faith in Lin Yuan. He couldn''t bear to witness a potential company ace composer going astray like this.

    Today!

    He must find a gentle way to properly educate Lin Yuan this afternoon!

    At this moment,

    Ol'' Zhou didn''t even want to play the song named "Big Fish" that Lin Yuan had sent, even though it was his responsibility as a supervisor.

    But only by listening to the piece could he point out Lin Yuan''s shortcomings.

    So, aiming to have a discussion grounded in reality in the afternoon, Ol'' Zhou reluctantly entered the company''s temporary password and started playing Lin Yuan''s song.

    Although he was too lazy to listen to it with headphones.

    ...

    The triple notes characteristic of the piano began to play from the loudspeaker, initiating a rhythmical prelude.

    Immediately after, the main melody arrived.

    After hearing just two lines of lyrics, Ol'' Zhou couldn''t help but utter an ''oh''. The tight knit of his brows eased significantly.

    Seems like...

    It''s not bad?

    As the main part gradually concluded, and the second part started, Ol'' Zhou''s heartbeat began to quicken slightly. His eyes also showed a shift.

    He leaned forward slightly, as if trying to get closer to the speaker.

    By the time the harmony came at the end of the song, Ol'' Zhou''s mouth was slightly agape. He was unable to close it, even after the song had finished playing.

    "This song..."

    He took a deep breath.

    Ol'' Zhou put on his most precious pair of custom headphones with reverence, then clicked the play button on "Big Fish" again.

    The same melody.

    But this time, the surround sound effect of the headphones enhanced the presentation of the song. It allowed Ol'' Zhou to discern every detail of the song, making his immersion into the music even stronger!

    Hence, by the time of the song''s harmony,

    his entire body was covered in goosebumps!

    Almost all his hairs were standing on end!

    Swallowing.

    Ol'' Zhou forcefully clicked on the play button for the third time.

    Regardless of how many times a song is played, the melody remains the same. It doesn''t change with the increase in the number of plays.

    What truly changes is the listener.

    "Hehehehehehehehe..."

    Ol'' Zhou was chuckling, his body swaying gently with the closing notes of the song on its third reiteration.

    The chair he was sitting on creaked in unison with his body movements, creating an amusing juxtaposition of sounds with his laughter.

    While laughing, he suddenly slapped his forehead.

    He carefully downloaded the song, encrypted the original file, and archived it. Ol'' Zhou rose gingerly, his old face tinged with a hint of red.

    ...

    Lin Yuan loved braised pork knuckles from the company cafeteria most.

    Unlike the previous braised pork knuckles he usually had, the ones in the company cafeteria were not that sweet. The meat was stewed tenderly, even the skin melted in your mouth, which made him relish his meal.

    Behind him.

    A few people from the composing department were whispering to each other at a table not too far away.

    "That''s Xian Yu."

    "He looks so young and handsome."

    "This Xian Yu, hehe, young and handsome indeed, but his people skills are lacking, he was disrespectful to Ms. Jing."

    "Indeed, this guy is quite full of himself."

    "Tsk, got famous at a young age, proud of his talent, we''ve seen many newcomers like him in our industry after years of being around."

    "So, he wrote a good song and now he thinks he''s the Maestro."

    "He just got lucky with inspiration and created a good song, this industry will teach him a lesson, and then he''ll know his place."

    Between pointing fingers and whispers.

    The discussion was heated.

    One of the men felt a chill on his back and when he turned around, he saw a face as dark as the bottom of a pot, giving him a start.

    "Director..."

    "You came here personally for a meal, huh."

    "What would you like to eat? I''ll fetch it for you!"

    Facing Ol'' Zhou, the composers started to tremble.

    Ol'' Zhou emanated an icy aura, his voice was stern: "You lot have too much to eat, huh?"

    "Director... we..."

    Ol'' Zhou said coldly, "Oh, seems like you are indeed overfed. Let''s get some exercise then. The cleaning lady on the twelfth floor happened to take a day off today. Go clean up the twelfth floor, especially the washrooms."

    "Yes..."

    The group of people, heads drooping, left dejectedly while apologizing, "Sorry, Director. We won''t gossip about our colleagues behind their backs anymore."

    "No."

    Ol'' Zhou corrected, "You can gossip about anyone you want. I often gossip behind people''s backs too, but he''s not allowed!"

    "Huh?"

    The group had a blank look on their faces as they stumbled off.

    Just as they were about to leave the cafeteria, one of them looked back and was surprised to see Ol'' Zhou had put on a smile as he walked towards Lin Yuan.

    "What the hell?"

    The composers looked at each other, all with expressions of having seen a ghost.

    ...

    Lin Yuan was eating his pork knuckle when he suddenly saw someone put vegetables on his plate: "Young people shouldn''t be picky. You should eat more greens."

    "Alright."

    Lin Yuan agreed verbally but continued eating his pork knuckle.

    Ol'' Zhou didn''t seem to mind his pickiness and continued his amiable demeanor: "Are you getting used to being in the composing department these days? If there''s anything you''re not comfortable with, you can tell me."

    "I''m good."

    Lin Yuan spoke honestly that he hardly interacted with people from other floors. Anyhow, the colleagues from the composing department on the tenth floor were all very kind to Lin Yuan.

    "That''s good."

    Ol'' Zhou, not in a rush to eat, spoke with a beaming smile: "Whatever Little Zhao could have offered you, I, Zhou Ruiming, can offer you the same or even more! So, feel free to let me know if you need anything!"

    "Then can I not eat the vegetables?"

    Lin Yuan looked at the greens on his plate, a little hesitant.

    Ol'' Zhou nearly choked but quickly laughed out loud, "Of course you can. Young people need to eat more meat when they''re growing!"

    "Mmm."

    "How is school treating you?" Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "School is pretty good too."

    "I see. I know being a university student can be hard. If you run into any issues at school, you can also come to me."

    "Thank you."

    Lin Yuan continued eating.

    Watching Lin Yuan, Ol'' Zhou nodded in satisfaction. The more he looked at him, the more he liked the boy.

    That''s right!

    A sophomore should be vibrant and full of spirit! He should fear no authority! He should have this don''t-give-a-damn attitude!

    If he didn''t have this spirit, could he still be called a young man!

 Chapter 19 - 18: Shocking Everyone - Part 1

    I''m so full.

    Lin Yuan is very satisfied.

    Just as he was preparing to go back to his department to work, Ol'' Zhou sitting across from him suddenly said, "I have some good news for you. I''m going to send your song to Qi Continent!"

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Ol'' Zhou had expected Lin Yuan to be excited.

    But to his disappointment, Lin Yuan''s expression didn''t change much, and his tone was as calm as ever.

    At this moment, Ol'' Zhou experienced what Zhao Jue had felt before.

    He was a bit unwilling and asked, "Don''t you have anything to say?"

    "Yes."

    Lin Yuan said earnestly, "In the arrangement of ''Big Fish'', I played the piano part myself, so I hope the company can take this part of the reward into account for me."

    What?

    Is that it?

    Ol'' Zhou was stunned for a few seconds before nodding in agreement. He sent the already reviewed ''Big Fish'' to Qi Continent that afternoon.

    ...

    Qi Continent.

    In a certain conference room of the post-production department of the animated film ''Dragon Fish Dance'', the female director Zheng Li was tapping the table lightly, "Our movie is about to be released soon. When will the matter of the impression song be settled?"

    "Director Zheng."

    The producer shook his head, "It''s not my fault. Before, Starlight Entertainment from Qin Continent sent over fourteen impression songs one after another. All by gold medal composers, yet you didn''t like a single one."

    "No."

    Zheng Li disagreed, "You all should be very clear about what kind of story ''Dragon Fish Dance'' is. The fact that the music they provided does not match well with the story is true. Do you think I''m being too demanding?"

    Everyone coughed, avoiding eye contact.

    Zheng Li became angry, so they really think I''m too demanding, huh!

    She angrily said, "Fine, since everyone feels this way, I won''t be the only one in power anymore. After all, everyone is part of the creative film team. From now on, which song to choose will be decided by everyone. Producer, please, play the previous fourteen songs now. If any one of you thinks any of these could be used as our impression song, then I have nothing to say."

    "It''s not necessary."

    The producer gave an embarrassed smile, "The impression song is too important for the project. It should be you, the director, who makes the decision. I''ll push them again... Eh?"

    The producer was taken aback.

    Zheng Li asked, "What''s wrong?"

    The producer glanced at the incoming box on his phone and said with a wry smile, "No need to push, they sent another one. Director, please listen to it when you''re free."

    "When I''m free?"

    Zheng Li scoffed, "Not when I''m free! Do it now while the creative team is here! Play the song, I want to see! What everyone thinks about it after listening. This way you can judge if I''m being too demanding."

    The producer whispered, "Isn''t that inappropriate?"

    Zheng Li loudly said, "There''s nothing inappropriate about it."

    Left with no choice, the producer had to turn on the projector, and then open the speakers in the conference room to play the just-received song.

    The projector is for viewing the lyrics.

    Whether they were satisfied with the song or not, the lyrics and other accompanying things were always well served by Starlight.

    The music started.

    Within the beautiful melody, an ethereal voice began:

    "The silent waves drown the deep nightfall,

    Crossing the distant corner of the sky,

    The big fish swims through the cracks of dreams,

    Gazing at your sleeping silhouette..."

    Amidst the music, everyone looked at Zheng Li with strange eyes.

    Zheng Li shifted uncomfortably and could not help but raise her ear. A slight ripple stirred in her heart.

    This song seemed to be different from the ones sent before?

    Could it be such a coincidence?

    "Looking at the sea and sky as one,

    Listening to the wind rise and rain fall,

    As I hold your hand, blowing away the vast mist,

    The wings of the big fish have become too vast,

    I let go of the rope of time..."

    The performance was still ongoing, but when the main verse transitioned to the chorus, everyone had forgot to pay attention to the director.

    Director Zheng Li, no longer cared about showing her true emotions on the spot, she was expectantly and nervously waiting for the following chorus:

    "I''m afraid you''ll fly far away

    I''m afraid you''ll leave me

    I''m more afraid you''ll stay here forever

    Every tear is flowing towards you

    Counter flow into the seabed of the sky

    ..."

    When the fish jumps over the dragon gate, it is pure white, but it can no longer see the little girl.

    "If you hadn''t crossed that dragon gate, you could have stayed with me."

    "But, without the effort to cross the dragon gate, how can I protect you?"

    "So reunions are the beginning of the end."

    As the song played, the script of "Dragon Fish Dance" popped up in Zheng Li''s mind. Several images she had planned for the movie vaguely flashed before her eyes.

    Her eyes were slightly reddened.

    The piano paused, and a whistle register abruptly rang out!

    Like the sound of a dolphin, clear and penetrating.

    All the people present seemed to forget to breathe at that moment.

    Caught in the moment.

    They seem to feel the vastness of the ocean, the deep blue sky above the sea, and the powerful impact of the waves¡­

    By the time the song ended.

    Everyone was sitting on their chairs, lost in thought.

    After a long while.

    The producer murmured: "So...only Qin Continent¡­ is the land of music of our Blue Star... this song is startlingly impressive¡­" Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "What is the name of this song?"

    One after another, the crowd came to their senses.

    The producer replied: "The song''s name is ''Big Fish''".

    Whilst all felt gratified, few also wondered: "Fish? Should we change the song title? Our movie is called ''Dragon Fish Dance'', but it''s actually about the story of the little girl and the white dragon¡­"

    "No need to change."

    Zheng Li stood up, her voice firm and decisive: "I am the director! What I say goes!"

    Everyone looked at her: "..."

    Zheng Li gritted her teeth: "Don''t look at me like that! It''s not that I have high standards! Those previous fourteen songs were really unacceptable!"

    Everyone burst into laughter.

    Though they surely believed her words because no matter how good the previous fourteen songs were, they certainly wouldn''t have been better than the song ''Big Fish''. It was just that seeing the director in a moment of discomposure was genuinely amusing.

    "So, is this one feasible?"

    The producer asked mockingly.

    Zheng Li retorted impatiently: "If this one isn''t feasible, can you find me a better song? Are you planning on hiring a maestro? What''s more, even if we got a maestro, they''d never be able to surpass this level because regarding the composer¡­"

    "Xian Yu."

    The producer looked at the name of the composer.

    Zheng Li nodded: "This composer, named Xian Yu, understands the emotions I want to express in our movie!"

    This song costs the company 5 million as a theme song.

    According to industry rules, the production team of "Dragon Fish Dance" can change the name of this purchased work, and even have the right to change the song and lyrics arrangement, even replacing the singer to re-record the song. These are all rights the film production team should have. Even Starlight Entertainment wouldn''t have any objections, at most they would make some suggestions.

    But for Zheng Li¡­

    This is the best ''Big Fish''!

    So perfect that Zheng Li didn''t want to make any changes to the song, including the singer, the arrangement, the lyrics, and the song title ''Big Fish'' that someone just proposed to change!

    "Perhaps it''s because the first impression was too perfect?"

    Zheng Li thought silently, the goosebumps she got while listening to the song had just faded.

    But the reason no longer mattered.

    In her view, the theme song ''Big Fish'' was of Perfect Level, and it suited perfectly her upcoming movie.

    The music scene in Qin Continent.

    Indeed, it is rich in talent!

    Xian Yu, she''ll remember that.

 Chapter 20 - 19 Phone_1

    "Your bank card ending in 9527 has received a transfer of 74,087 yuan, leaving your account balance at 74,783 yuan."

    December 5th.

    That''s when Lin Yuan received this sum of money.

    At the same time, he also received a message from the company''s finance department: "Your piece ''Life Like A Summer Flower'' has been paid for its downloads and your monthly salary has been deposited. From now on, on the 5th of every month, your earnings from the song downloads and your base salary will be transferred to your bank account on time.

    If you have any questions, please consult the finance department."

    Finally, he was getting paid.

    Lin Yuan was a bit excited.

    The late arrival of December meant that this year''s rookie season had officially ended.

    Thanks to the company''s large-scale promotions in the middle of the month, the final download count for ''Life Like A Summer Flower'' exceeded half a million, a record far exceeding that of previous rookie seasons, indirectly attesting to the quality of Lin Yuan''s piece.

    After deducting close to 10,000 yuan in taxes, Lin Yuan was left with over 60,000 yuan in his hands.

    Along with his basic salary of 10,000 yuan, Lin Yuan''s bank account balance finally topped 70,000 yuan¡ª

    Even though Lin Yuan technically had not worked for a month.

    Perhaps this was a perk for new employees.

    In his past life, a rookie songwriter''s work would never have fetched such a high price, not to mention, Lin Yuan could look forward to additional earnings from the song.

    In the future.

    As long as there were still people willing to spend money to download ''Life Like A Summer Flower'', Lin Yuan would continue to receive the song''s download royalties.

    No wonder there''s a saying in the music industry: "One good song can feed you for a lifetime."

    Even if Lin Yuan can''t produce any other successful works in the future, the royalties brought in by ''Life Like A Summer Flower'' alone would be enough to take care of his basic living expenses.

    That being said.

    The download count for ''Life Like A Summer Flower'' will certainly decline over time. Since any work has an initial to saturation audience, the royalties will inevitably decrease gradually.

    So releasing more songs is definitely the right move.

    It builds reputation and makes money.

    Lin Yuan couldn''t help but anticipate the royalties that ''Big Fish'' could bring him in the future.

    The company alone would bring in over 600,000 yuan from the five million exclusive rights to the song, adding in the download royalties, it would certainly make a considerable amount.

    Next.

    He could finally do what he had always wanted to do since he crossed over.

    Lin Yuan first called Zhao Jue and asked for a favor.

    Then, after a deep breath, recalling the previous owner''s communication with his mother in his mind, and ensuring he was ready, he made a call to his mother, who was teaching music back home.

    The call was connected quickly.

    On the other end was a somewhat tired voice, "Little Yuan, is it because you''re short of pocket money? Mom will wire it to you right now."

    "No."

    Lin Yuan quickly replied: "I''ve got some good news for you."

    Before Lin Yuan could finish, he heard a strange voice on the line, "Chen Jin, the shelves in the east are empty. Take the list and restock from the warehouse..."

    The call suddenly hung up.

    But Lin Yuan could imagine his mother hurriedly hanging up the call.

    It was only after five minutes that his mom called back, whispering, "The call just now had a bad signal."

    "Mom."

    A sudden lump formed in Lin Yuan''s throat: "Stop pretending, you''ve obviously taken a part-time job again."

    "Well, I didn''t really have anything to do at school today."

    His mom said a bit guiltily, "You know, I''m just a music teacher. My class was taken over by Mr. Huang, the math teacher, today. So, I had to find something else to do, I mean, I''d just be idle otherwise."

    Lin Yuan retorted, "Why does the math teacher always take your classes!"

    His mother laughed and said, "Don''t nonsense, the language teacher likes to take my classes too."

    Lin Yuan felt helpless, "Can your health really handle all of this? Have you forgotten about the time you worked three part-time jobs at the same time and ended up on a drip at the hospital?"

    "I just help out at the supermarket... Oh yeah, what was the good news you mentioned earlier?"

    Mom tried to change the topic.

    Lin Yuan did not expose her and said, "You know I switched to composing right? I learned songwriting and one of my songs caught on last month. So, I made a hundred thousand yuan."

    "Hundred thousand? From songwriting?"

    Rather than feeling excited, his mom was completely panicked, "Don''t lie to me! Tell me, have you done something bad? Little Yuan, if something happens, don''t be afraid, tell mom...you didn''t sell your organs, did you?!"

    Mom''s voice even had a sobbing tone to it.

    Lin Yuan was torn between laughter and tears, "How did we get to this? I really made some money from the song I wrote, ''Life Like A Summer Flower'', have you heard of it?"

    "Sounds familiar... I think someone from the office played it once... Is it written by you?"

    "Yes, it is."

    "You''ve never lied from childhood, so it''s really your song?"

    "Indeed, it''s my song, the one that Xian Yu composed, and the one singing it is my senior."

    "You... You..."

    "If you don''t believe me, I can ask our company leader to talk to you later. You know that I signed with Starlight in my first year, right? You even kept Ms. Zhao, my agent''s phone number. She wouldn''t deceive you, would she?"

    "I believe... I believe... What about this hundred thousand..."

    "Out of that hundred thousand, I need to keep twenty or thirty thousand for expenses. I''ll transfer the rest to you. You won''t have to work part-time anymore. I have money now, you don''t need to provide for me!"

    "Transfer it to me, transfer it to me."

    Mom quivered as she spoke: "I''ll keep it for you. If you fall ill again, we can afford the treatment and wouldn''t need to bother our relatives."

    "No."

    Lin Yuan said, "I hope mom can pay off the debts at home. You''ve spent a lot of money on my treatments over the years, you never told us exactly how much you''ve borrowed."

    "That''s not urgent... I will pay off the debts, as long as I''m alive, I won''t miss a cent. I will even calculate the interest!"

    "Really?"

    Lin Yuan felt a lump in his throat: "Mom, this song will continue to make money. Besides, I''ve moved to the composition department now, and I have a guaranteed monthly salary of twenty thousand. So, I can afford my own treatments. Can you tell me exactly how much debt we have?"

    "Over a hundred thousand."

    Mom tried to sound casual.

    Lin Yuan said, "I''m serious."

    Mom corrected herself: "Perhaps over two hundred thousand."

    Lin Yuan hesitated, "You always taught us three children not to lie." S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    There was silence on the other end of the phone.

    After several seconds, Mom''s voice returned, sounding heavier, "With the interest, it totals to five hundred and twenty-eight thousand six hundred and thirty-six yuan."

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan said lightly, "I will pay off this debt this year! You don''t need to work part-time anymore. Listen to me! Pay off the debt first! You don''t have to pay it all off, you can keep twenty thousand to improve your life a bit. I''ll transfer more money to you later.

    I recently wrote a new song, and it should earn quite a bit."

    "He."

    mom chided him, "You kid, aren''t you a bit too proud? It''s a blessing that your song became a hit, do you expect every song you compose to do the same?"

    "I have confidence."

    "Okay, okay, you have confidence. But about the money, I should give some to your sister and break the good news to her. It''s not easy for her since she just graduated not long ago. She has been using the same phone for five years without changing it." Mom seemed to be soliciting Lin Yuan''s opinion.

    "Let me handle it."

    Lin Yuan laughed, "I will tell my sister and get her a new phone. She has been taking care of me all these years, it''s about time I repay her."

    "You do have a point."

    Mom felt guilty towards Lin Yuan''s sisters. Because of Lin Yuan, the two girls at home had to sacrifice a lot, "Remember not to forget."

    "Okay."

    They chatted for about half an hour, and Lin Yuan kept telling mom not to work part-time, before hanging up reluctantly.

    After the call.

    Lin Yuan opened his mobile banking app and transferred seventy-three thousand yuan to mom.

    Mom received the money swiftly and then sent a voice message: "Be frugal with the remaining money. Two or three thousand yuan can''t be wasted."

    "I know."

    Lin Yuan said with a smile.

    Saying that he earned a hundred thousand was to make mom feel at ease, and the same went for the basic salary of twenty thousand.

    In reality, he only had a little over a thousand left.

    But a thousand yuan was enough to last him till next month.

    ...

    After receiving the money, Lin Yuan''s mom, Chen Jin, still felt apprehensive.

    For a woman who never gave up on her son''s treatment, the meaning of one hundred thousand yuan was not just about money itself!

    After some hesitation, she called Zhao Jue to ask about Lin Yuan''s situation.

    Upon confirming the situation, she felt somewhat relieved.

    Standing in the warehouse, lost in her thoughts for a while, tears suddenly fell from her eyes, shocking the workers nearby, "What''s wrong with you?"

    Chen Jin wiped away her tears, "I''m happy."

    The worker laughed, "What kind of great joy would make you cry."

    "Do you listen to songs?"

    "What?"

    "You should listen to the song ''Life Like A Summer Flower'', it''s really nice!"

    "Ah?"

    The worker looked a little confused, "Okay... sure..."

 Chapter 21 - 20 He Greened Me_1

    Everyone has four different faces:

    The crazy one in front of friends, the perfect one in the eyes of a lover, the vulnerable one when they''re alone, and the quiet one when among strangers.

    That sounds a bit dramatic.

    But Lin Yuan''s demeanor while talking on the phone with his mother indeed was different from his usual reticence. He thought it was because he was intentionally imitating the original owner, but upon reflection, it was not solely that - because the emotions came from his heart.

    He hesitated for a moment.

    Lin Yuan decided to contact his sister next month. He didn''t have enough money to buy his sister a new phone this month. Moreover, it took courage for him to communicate with his family - he isn''t the real person they knew after all. He had to mentally prepare himself before he dared to talk to his mother.

    What should he do next?

    Lin Yuan decided to treat his friends to a meal.

    As his two best friends, Xia Fan and Jian Yi always took good care of Lin Yuan. Now that he had earned some money, he naturally wanted to treat them to a nice meal. For this, Lin Yuan specifically reserved a rather upscale restaurant near the school, where the average cost per person was close to 200 yuan.

    At noon, the three of them arrived at the restaurant.

    Before entering, Jian Yi and Xia Fan desperately tried to stop Lin Yuan, thinking this place was too expensive. Unfortunately, their attempt to stop him failed. Lin Yuan''s reasoning was that he now had a regular position at Starlight and was earning 10,000 yuan per month.

    "Ah."

    Jian Yi finally understood and then teased, "No wonder you disappeared as soon as it was the weekend last month. You were working at Starlight. Didn''t a high-level executive offer to keep you? How can a student afford such a high salary?"

    "Lin Yuan is very competent."

    Xia Fan refuted Jian Yi. Regardless of his inability to sing, Lin Yuan had keen insight when it came to sound. However, she didn''t probe further, simply guessing that Lin Yuan worked in a department like a recording studio, where his abilities would be well utilized.

    Lin Yuan just smiled and didn''t say anything.

    Just then, Jian Yi suddenly nudged Lin Yuan''s arm and pointed at a girl who had just taken her seat, "Hey, isn''t that our school''s Piano Goddess, Gu Xi?"

    Lin Yuan followed Jian Yi''s gaze and found that the girl was indeed the one who had criticized his "poor piano skills".

    "Interested?"

    Xia Fan teased, "She is the youngest pianist ever to perform in the Golden Hall and has been touted by industry insiders as a future piano master. The line of boys chasing her can extend from the school gate to this restaurant. You''re not in her league."

    Jian Yi relaxed, "The distance from the school gate to this restaurant is 3.45 km."

    Xia Fan rolled her eyes, "Pedant."

    Jian Yi said, "Weren''t you the first to belittle me?"

    "I''m going to get some ice cream."

    Lin Yuan stood up, temporarily withdrawing from the battlefield.

    Although this place was rather expensive, the ice cream was self-serve and quite tasty. He''d tasted a bit earlier and liked the flavor.

    Arriving at the ice cream cabinet,

    Lin Yuan discovered that the ice cream was almost finished.

    Just as he was about to scoop some ice cream with his spoon, another spoon from across him reached in, bumping into his.

    The two of them turned their heads up simultaneously.

    Lin Yuan saw her face, recalling the name Jian Yi had mentioned just now, "Gu Xi?"

    "It''s you?"

    Gu Xi also recognized Lin Yuan as the one who had used her piano without her permission. She raised her eyebrows and sarcastically said, "You''re not pretending anymore? Weren''t you saying you didn''t know me the last time?"

    Lin Yuan ignored her and went on to scoop some ice cream.

    Gu Xi blocked his spoon, "I was here first."

    Lin Yuan said, "But you didn''t scoop."

    Gu Xi got angry, "I was about to."

    Lin Yuan thought for a moment, "Half for each of us then."

    Gu Xi looked at Lin Yuan for a few seconds, then softly chuckled, "I''ll let you have it."

    "Thank you."

    Without any hesitation, Lin Yuan scooped out all the remaining ice cream.

    Watching Lin Yuan take away all the ice cream, Gu Xi was nonplussed.

    When she said, "I''ll let you have it", it was a strategy of retreating in order to gain an advantage.

    A normal person''s response should be, "No, you first."

    But Lin Yuan didn''t play by the rules!

    Returning to his table, Jian Yi and Xia Fan had stopped squabbling, both looking at Lin Yuan in surprise.

    Lin Yuan asked, "What''s up?"

    Jian Yi gave him a thumbs up, "Hidden depths!"

    Xia Fan also chimed in, "Man, you''ve successfully grabbed her attention."

    "Yes,"

    Jian Yi smirked, "Since you came back from the ice cream, she''s looked at you several times."

    Lin Yuan ignored the two of them.

    ...

    Gu Xi returned to her seat with a disconcerted look on her face.

    Her companion asked, "Where''s the ice cream?"

    Gu Xi looked at Lin Yuan and said, "It was taken by a man with no manners."

    Her companion looked in Lin Yuan''s direction, "The one in white? He''s pretty handsome. Do you know him?"

    Gu Xi squinted her eyes, a hint of murderous intent in their depths. "He cheated me." S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Her companion nearly choked on her drink in surprise.

    Aware of the misunderstanding, Gu Xi added, "He used Xiao Li."

    Xiao Li, the name Gu Xi had given her piano.

    It was a piano that belonged solely to Gu Xi, but it had been used by Lin Yuan. Gu Xi indeed felt enraged, as if she had been cheated on.

    Her companion laughed, "What kind of dramatic words are these?"

    "Forget it, let''s eat. We have an interview this afternoon."

    Gu Xi scoffed.

    ...

    In the afternoon,

    A group of journalists entered the campus. The person they were interviewing today was a sophomore student - Gu Xi.

    The atmosphere in Qin Continent was steeped in music.

    Over the years, numerous musical geniuses had emerged, and among them, a girl called Gu Xi was one of the brightest!

 Chapter 22 - 20 He Greened Me_2

    The most legendary of her experiences was when she entered the Golden Hall at the age of fifteen, and performed a piano piece called "Wish", which completely shocked the entire music industry! Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Even Abigail, the composer of "Wish," lavished praise upon Gu Xi''s skill level.

    A top-level piano master in Qin Continent openly stated:

    The piano performing ability of Gu Xi is only a step away from a master.

    In Qin Continent.

    There is more than one highest music stage.

    And that Golden Hall is one of the numerous dream stage in the minds of many musicians.

    At the age of fifteen she stepped on such a high-level stage, which was enough to be described as legendary, and gained recognition from so many industry elites, which was even more rare!

    So the title of "Piano Goddess" put on Gu Xi''s head is indeed not an exaggeration.

    It''s just that Gu Xi doesn''t usually accept interviews. Today it''s the school''s attempt to increase the influence of Qin Continent Art Academy that they convinced Gu Xi to accept this interview.

    The interview place is not far from the piano room.

    Because it''s convenient to take back pictures of Gu Xi with her piano afterwards.

    "I hear you will be invited to the Golden Hall for the second time next year. Do you have anything to say about this?"

    The journalist stared at this rarely interviewed piano prodigy.

    "I''m deeply grateful to The Golden Hall for their recognition."

    Gu Xi responded according to the pre-written interview script.

    The journalist asked again: "Last time you played ''Wish,'' what piece are you preparing to perform next time?"

    "I haven''t thought about it this year."

    This sentence was true; Gu Xi really hadn''t thought about it.

    The reporter laughed and said: "Many composers in the industry have publicly expressed their admiration for you. Have you considered inviting any composer?"

    "A lot, but not convenient to reveal."

    These Maestros are so proud that one is more difficult to serve than the other. Even complimenting themselves was already extreme.

    Before she became a piano master, basically no one would really care for her, even if she was the so-called "Piano Goddess".

    This is reality.

    Even the top Maestros and masters have to fight for recognition!

    Because the number of masters who are adept at performance is much more than top Maestros.

    This is determined by the industry ecosystem.

    The creative talent of Maestros, makes hard work strange only half of it, the rest of that 50% is enviable raw talent beyond words!

    Being a piano master is different.

    Raw talent is important for piano masters, but continuous overnight practice can keep piano masters'' skills sharp.

    In the industry.

    If you don''t practice well before going on a Golden Hall level stage, even the peak-performing piano masters have precedents of messing up.

    After all.

    The people who can enter the Golden Hall for concerts have picky ears, even a slightly inaccurate note will be detected.

    But there are exceptions to everything.

    There are also those big shots who can terrify the audience by playing the piano at any time, but Gu Xi is far from that realm.

    "So, can you tell us which master''s works you have been listening to more recently?"

    The reporter continued to ask.

    Just as Gu Xi was about to reply verbatim, she suddenly heard a slightly familiar melody in her ear¡ª

    It was the same one from last time!

    That person is back in the piano room again!

    In her ecstasy, Gu Xi didn''t care about the interview anymore. She darted off to the piano room, excitement written all across her face:

    "I finally waited till this time!"

    The first time she heard the strange melody last month, Gu Xi''s ears were won over.

    She didn''t know if the player of that song was the original composer, so that day when she got back home, she went through the new works of many Maestros on Blue Star, but as expected, she didn''t find anything similar¡ª

    Gu Xi was not surprised about this.

    Whenever a Maestro on Blue Star produced a new work, Gu Xi would listen and learn from it as soon as possible.

    Never had a Maestro come out with a new piece that Gu Xi hadn''t heard of.

    So, after confirming that the melody she had heard was an original piece that hadn''t yet been released to the public, Gu Xi began her daily stakeout.

    Because she was certain that the person playing the song at that time had to be a Maestro tier existence¡ª

    Yes.

    After that day, Gu Xi would stake out every day in the piano room, hoping to run into the performer of that song again.

    But it was a pity that after sitting there for many days, Gu Xi didn''t find anyone.

    Who would think that today, the mysterious Maestro appeared again!

    At this time, she had no time to waste with journalists.

    "It''s over? How come so quickly?"

    Before she got to the piano room, the mysterious melody had finished, Gu Xi couldn''t help but worry, sprinted like mad, exerting all her might.

    "Crash."

    She ran into someone.

    Lin Yuan rubbed his aching chest, looked at Gu Xi, felt somewhat helpless. It was just a bit of ice cream, did she need this kind of revenge?

    "Sorry, sorry..."

    Short of breath, Gu Xi quickly apologised, but when she looked at Lin Yuan''s face, she paused, slowing her pace.

    This guy again?

    After giving Lin Yuan a fierce glance, Gu Xi went silent, continued her rush to the piano room. Compared to this guy, the Maestro is the most important thing!

    Lin Yuan frowned.

    Fleeing to avoid punishment?

    He had run into Gu Xi at noon, it reminded him of the piano, so he whimsically came to the piano room in the afternoon to play for a while, but instead, he ran into Gu Xi''s revenge.

    But considering it was over the ice cream, he didn''t say anything and turned to leave.

    However, Gu Xi was rushing to the piano room like a bolt of lightning.

    Swoosh swoosh swoosh!

    She open door after door of the piano rooms.

    But there were too many people in the piano room, she couldn''t find the Maestro she was looking for. Even after questioning everyone, she didn''t get any useful information. These people had no idea about the existence of a Maestro around them. But many were eager to get close and chat her up.

    "Ah!"

    She rubbed her head hard, her hair turned into a mess and looked lost: "It''s all that guy''s fault for getting in my way!"

    The Maestro''s visits to the piano room are too infrequent!

    She didn''t know how long it would take for her to run into him again!

    If it wasn''t for that guy hindering her, maybe she could have seen the Maestro already!

    At this time, the school''s teachers and the journalists also rushed in panting, "What happened, Gu Xi, why did you run so fast?"

    Gu Xi was on high alert immediately.

    Was the existence of the Maestro something you mortals could know?

    Have you heard of the nearest water tower getting the moon first?

    This matter can''t be revealed to outsiders.

    The Maestro is mine, mine!

    No one can snatch him from me!

    Gu Xi suppressed her annoyance and calmly said, "I''m sorry, I just remembered that I left something in the piano room."

    "Oh."

    The reporter patted his chest: "Then can we see your piano? I heard that you usually use only one piano¡­"

    "You can only take pictures, don''t touch."

    Gu Xi reminded specifically.

 Chapter 23 - 21: Ace Composer_1

    The next day.

    Eight in the morning.

    Lin Yuan had just arrived at the company when he was summoned by Ol'' Zhou to his office, "Qi Continent''s Dragon Fish Dance order is done, they''ve officially chosen your composition, and they''ve also scheduled their movie for release next week."

    "Next week?"

    Isn''t that too fast?

    Ol'' Zhou explained, "Normally they wouldn''t rush it, but the film market in Qi Continent is too competitive. They probably rushed to avoid clashing with a blockbuster, so they hastily rescheduled. According to their perspective, the movie''s post-production is all set and the promotion has never stopped.

    They just needed a good theme song, so now that they have it, it''s only natural for them to rush the release."

    "Oh."

    "Once the movie premiere is over, the company will also officially arrange for "Big Fish" to go online. I''ll speak with the resource department to get you some good recommendations. Regardless of how the movie does, I think this song can be a hit."

    "Thank you."

    Lin Yuan left the office.

    Twenty minutes later, Ol'' Zhou also came out of his office, clapping vigorously, successfully attracting the department members'' attention.

    Someone asked, "Boss, what''s up?"

    Ol'' Zhou was all smiles, "The order for Dragon Fish Dance, Qi Continent has signed a contract with us, so you guys don''t need to force yourselves on composing."

    "Sealed the deal?"

    The crowd was surprised, and chatter broke out:

    "Who did?"

    "That''s intense!"

    "He managed to get the order that even tens of ace composers couldn''t handle?"

    "Moreover, wasn''t the composition speed too fast? How much time has passed since then?"

    "Which big shot in our composition department did it?"

    "Could it be that Maestro stepped in?"

    "..."

    Someone teased Lin Yuan, "Student Xian Yu, your five million is gone. Seems like the Dragon Fish Dance order is not in your luck"

    "Haha."

    Wu Yong also gave Lin Yuan a pat on the shoulder, teasing, "Keep up the good work."

    Everyone burst into laughter.

    Then everyone turned to look at Ol'' Zhou, hoping to get an answer from him, "Who in our composition department is so awesome? Boss, don''t keep us in suspense."

    "It''s..."

    Ol'' Zhou paused slightly to build up the suspense, but before he could speak, a voice came from outside:

    "Who ordered the coffee?"

    Lin Yuan raised his hand, "Me."

    He had placed the order when he came out of Ol'' Zhou''s office.

    A few delivery guys had shown up at the same time, each of their hands filled with coffee.

    One of them told Lin Yuan, "There are a total of eighty-six cups. Please check."

    Eighty-six cups.

    That''s the total number of people currently in the tenth floor Composing Department.

    Lin Yuan nodded, "Thank you."

    Seeing so many coffees, Wu Yong was surprised, "Lin Yuan, why did you order so much coffee? Do you own the coffee shop?"

    "No."

    Lin Yuan curtly replied, "To treat everyone."

    Wu Yong immediately broke into laughter, "What''s this all about? Suddenly being so generous and treating us to coffee... Coffee?"

    It seemed like he thought of something.

    Wu Yong''s laughter stopped abruptly. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Everyone else also stopped laughing and looked at Lin Yuan in disbelief.

    Apparently, they also remembered that someone had joked to Lin Yuan that if he gets the order from Qi Continent, he would treat everyone to coffee... Could it be?

    "I promised earlier."

    Lin Yuan resolved everyone''s doubts. He was a man of his words even though these coffees were really expensive.

    Huh?

    Huh?

    The members of the composing department on the tenth floor looked at each other in awkward silence.

    "What are you waiting for?"

    Ol'' Zhou said, "Why are you all stunned?"

    Even though the atmosphere he had been building up got ruined by the delivery guy, the scene in front of him was incredibly amusing.

    "Holy shit!"

    After the utmost silence came the ultimate uproar. Lin Yuan became the focus, and the entire composition department was filled with exclamation.

    "Is that really Lin Yuan?"

    "Did your calculator malfunction?"

    "Isn''t he a newbie? He''s more like a god!"

    "Lin Yuan...no, Teacher Admirable Fish, I bow to you!"

    "Who the hell said Lin Yuan was an idiot! Stand up, he''s obviously the new god of our composition department."

    "Stop pretending, Ol'' Wang, it was you."

    "I didn''t...you...how can you tarnish my reputation...you''re the idiots, your whole families are idiots!"

    "Admirable Fish, forever a god!"

    The way everyone looked at Lin Yuan had changed. No one could see him as just a lucky newbie anymore.

    This newbie was too strong!

    Of course, everyone still remembered to get their coffee.

    Lin Yuan was hurting. These coffees had maxed out his bank card, how to survive the rest of the month was a problem. Of course, the main reason was that Lin Yuan forgot to plan ahead, he forgot how much he would have to spend this month. He must learn from this.

    ...

    The "Dragon Fish Dance" order from Qi Continent was a tough bone for the entire tenth floor composition department.

    What if the order can''t be resolved?

    Obviously.

    While Ol'' Zhou wouldn''t resort to asking other companies for help, he would definitely get other floors involved in the end.

    After all, Ol'' Zhou was not only the boss of the tenth floor but also the whole composition department. He had to consider the department as a whole.

    No one on the tenth floor wanted this to happen.

    Although the composition department is a whole and Ol'' Zhou is everyone''s leader, there is competition between different floors.

    "Dragon Fish Dance" from Qi Continent was an order for the tenth floor. To let the other floors handle it would show the incompetence of the tenth floor.

    At that time, the members of the tenth floor composition department wouldn''t be able to hold their heads high in front of other floor''s composition department members.

    In this regard, Lin Yuan was the hero of the tenth floor.

    Therefore.

    When it was time to get off work in the evening.

    The senior Zheng Han from Lin Yuan''s school, who had been friendly to Lin Yuan during the meeting, invited Lin Yuan for a meal, and then personally drove him back to school.

    "Thank you."

    Just as Lin Yuan was about to get out of the car, Zheng Han suddenly spoke up.

    Lin Yuan was startled.

    Zheng Han smiled: "At the last meeting, I told you that on our tenth floor, more than ten ace composers have had their orders cancelled, but there was something I didn''t tell you."

    "What is it?"

    "I was the fourteenth one to have my order cancelled."

    "I took your order."

    "If you grab an order I could handle, that''s theft, but if you take an order I couldn''t handle, that''s on me. However, I don''t want orders from the tenth floor to be completed by other floors, so I''m thanking you for everyone on the tenth floor."

    Lin Yuan told the truth: "I did it for myself."

    Zheng Han''s smile didn''t fade: "We''re all doing it for ourselves, but if the order failed, the number of orders coming to the tenth floor would decrease, and no one''s days would be easy."

    "Oh."

    So this was the real reason the tenth floor wasn''t willing to easily give up the "Dragon Fish Dance" order. Everyone was not only looking out for the honor and face of the tenth floor but also for tangible benefits.

    In other words.

    The more orders each floor receives, the more chances the composers on that floor get. If the "Dragon Fish Dance" order was initially assigned to another floor, Lin Yuan wouldn''t have had a good chance of getting the order, unless other floors also couldn''t handle the order.

    But, the composition department is overflowing with talent.

    Every floor can handle the orders they get most of the time, and there are few orders that an entire floor can''t digest.

    Zheng Han said: "This is why many floors have a Maestro at their helm. Some floors may not have a Maestro, but they have more ace composers... Therefore, in terms of average strength, all floors are more or less the same."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    It appears the competition within the company is quite fierce.

    Seeming to see through Lin Yuan''s thoughts, Zheng Han said: "It''s not that our company is competitive, it''s the entire industry that''s competitive. There are too many people in the Qin Continent involved in music. We''re looking forward to you becoming one of the ace composers on our tenth floor."

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan nodded again.

 Chapter 24 - 22 A Meals Thank You Gift_1

    The next day when he returned to the company, there were more voices greeting Lin Yuan in the department.

    "Good morning." S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    After responding to the greetings, Lin Yuan found Wu Yong and asked him a question, "Does the tenth floor have fourteen ace composers?"

    "Yes, indeed."

    Wu Yong laughed, "The ace producers are all master composers. Your schoolmate Ol'' Zheng is one of them, the senior colleague who sat next to you during the last meeting."

    "Do the aces have higher salaries?"

    This was the key issue that Lin Yuan wanted to ask.

    Wu Yong nodded, "Of course, the salaries of ace composers are definitely higher than ours. They have a base wage of thirty thousand yuan per month, but aces usually don''t pay much attention to their base salary."

    Lin Yuan said, "But I would."

    Wu Yong chuckled, "Then strive to be an ace. But the greatest advantage of being an ace is not the basic salary. What makes an ace truly powerful is their ability to negotiate with the company and acquire a higher share of the production proceeds."

    A higher share of the proceeds?

    Lin Yuan asked, "What is the standard for being an ace?"

    "Hey, ace is our private nickname. Although it sounds a bit childish, calling it this way makes it seem cool, just like the Maestro. In reality, the company''s ace composers have a specific title called Senior Composers, which is higher than our title of Composers.

    The company''s standard for assigning the title of Senior Composer is to have at least five representative works breaking the million downloads threshold."

    Lin Yuan nodded in understanding.

    Wu Yong patted Lin Yuan''s shoulder, "I just looked at the download volume of ''Life Like A Summer Flower''. Today it has reached almost six hundred thousand, so it is not a problem for it to break the million mark in the future. I wonder whether your customized tune for Qi Continent has the potential to break the million downloads... it''s hard to say.

    Because these customized impression tunes are often restricted by the style of the original work and easily become niche pieces. The downloads of niche works are definitely not that impressive, so don''t hold your hopes too high. But the share from this commission is considerable, so you will definitely make a fortune here."

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan considered his words thoughtfully.

    Wu Yong sighed, "Don''t think too far ahead. After all, you''ve just joined the company and already achieved two remarkable successes. In the future, you still have a very good chance of becoming a Senior Composer. By then, you will be the fifteenth ace on the tenth floor."

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan felt he needs to speed up his song release schedule. Only by becoming a Senior Composer, or so-called ace, can he earn more money.

    With this thought,

    Lin Yuan asked Wu Yong again, "Can anyone take the orders on the tenth floor, as happened this time?"

    "No."

    Wu Yong replied, "The orders are allocated by the boss. Aces get priority and allocations are made in turn, so it won''t always be the same ace receiving orders. This ensures opportunities for everyone. Only when an ace fails to complete the order, will it be passed on to another ace.

    The order for ''Dragon Fish Dance'' had very strict requirements, so all fourteen of our aces failed, so Ol'' Zhou decided to open it up to the entire department. This rarely happens. On average, about every five aces will have inevitably completed an order, given that our company''s aces have comparatively strong business capabilities."

    "What about Maestro?"

    "Let''s not discuss the other floors. On our tenth floor, we only have one Maestro. You''ve never seen him because the Maestro only comes into the company a few times a year. However, Maestro isn''t short of orders. Unless the offering party nearly offers ten million, they won''t even consider it."

    "Oh,"

    Lin Yuan gradually understood more about the company.

    He was a newcomer who just joined the company. There were many things that he needed others to point out. This was why the supervisor asked Ol'' Wu to guide Lin Yuan.

    ...

    At noon.

    The people from the composing department went to the canteen for their meal, one after another.

    Lin Yuan, who was left broke by coffee, thought for a moment and decided to mooch a meal off someone. He had already selected the person.

    Sun Yaohuo!

    Sun Yaohuo made his name from the New Talent Chart, and he was very grateful to Lin Yuan. He had offered more than once to treat Lin Yuan to a meal, but Lin Yuan had always been too busy.

    Seizing the opportunity today, he could now have this meal.

    However, when Lin Yuan arrived at the artist department on the eighth floor, he found out that Sun Yaohuo was not in the company today because of a work meeting.

    Just as he was going to leave, a familiar voice stopped him, "Lin Yuan."

    "Ms. Zhao?"

    When Lin Yuan turned his head, he found Zhao Jue standing there.

    Zhao Jue laughed softly, "I didn''t expect it to be you. Are you here looking for someone?"

    Lin Yuan nodded, "Yes, but Sun Yaohuo isn''t here."

    Zhao Jue said, "He''s out, and you haven''t had lunch yet, have you? If you have no plans, come eat with me. I''ll introduce you to the food in the senior staff canteen."

    Lin Yuan was worried, "Is the senior staff canteen very expensive?"

    Zhao Jue couldn''t help but laugh, "Are you a guest eating with Ms. Zhao and still worrying about spending money? Come on, I''m treating you."

    "Thank you, Ms. Zhao!"

    Lin Yuan was somewhat grateful.

    The senior staff canteen was different from the employee canteen. It was a quieter place to eat, and there were fewer people. There were several empty tables around Lin Yuan. Most of the dishes here were made-to-order. The senior staff would usually order their food in advance and then come to eat when the chef had prepared them at noon.

    "I often can''t finish eating alone."

    Zhao Jue pointed at the four dishes on the table, "It''s great that you''re here. You can help me finish it. If it''s not enough, I''ll have them make more."

    "It''s enough."

    Lin Yuan was not a greedy person.

    After taking the first bite, he instantly understood why this was called a senior staff canteen.

    Because the taste here was considerably better than the employee''s canteen, and it was almost similar to the restaurant they went to that day with the ice cream buffet. The impressive employee''s canteen in Lin Yuan''s mind was suddenly overshadowed.

 Chapter 25 - 22 Gratitude for a meal_2

    Zhao Jue ate very slowly.

    She intermittently received phone calls, busy as ever. When on the phone, she typically spoke with authority and decisiveness.

    "That jewelry brand replaced our artist? It''s not our artist''s fault, is it? Then stop fighting for it. Announce now that Starlight''s artists won''t be endorsing this brand anymore."

    "The event organizing team from Muses Apparel complained that Starlight''s artist was late? How did I teach you all, thinking you''ve gone big? Don''t blame it on the traffic. Just impose the fines. Don''t try to be a big shot in front of me."

    "Li Li''s wardrobe malfunction was photographed? Contact the PR department. Also, find the reporter who took the photos, and have him answer to his boss."

    "..."

    After several calls, she finally turned to Lin Yuan with an apologetic smile, "I hope I didn''t disturb you."

    "Not at all."

    Lin Yuan hadn''t eaten breakfast and was a bit hungry, but while Zhao Jue was busy on the phone, he focused on his meal.

    "Oh you."

    Zhao Jue chided, looking at Lin Yuan humorously. She reached over and wiped away a grain of rice that rested on the corner of his lips, "Last time your mother called me to ask about you, I didn''t expect you to lie to her. You earn less than a hundred thousand, don''t you? Your salary isn''t even two thousand."

    Lin Yuan said, "I''ve put Ms. Zhao to trouble."

    Zhao Jue shook her head slightly, guessing his reasons and not blaming him.

    Just then. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Her phone rang again. However, this call seemed particularly important. Lin Yuan saw Zhao Jue''s expression change, and she even stood up.

    Furthermore.

    Her tone on this call was unlike the previous authoritative one as she seemed a bit restrained, "Um, um, um ..... I am taking care of ..... this girl is a bit arrogant ..... not easy to handle .... I understand ... boss ...

    Please don''t let those people pressure me into making any promises. My heart can''t take it ..."

    Lin Yuan finally understood.

    It turned out it was the company boss. That explained everything; who would dare disrespect their own boss?

    After hanging up.

    Zhao Jue seemed to have lost her appetite. After idly taking a couple of bites she sat with a troubled expression.

    "Is something troubling you?" Lin Yuan asked with concern.

    Zhao Jue gave a bitter smile, "Telling you isn''t going to solve my problem. Just have your meal."

    Lin Yuan took a sip of soup, then wiped his mouth, "I''m full. You can talk now."

    "..."

    Zhao Jue put down her phone: "You know about ''Bloom'', right?"

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    This was an annual talent show in Qin Continent. Xia Fan had always dreamed of becoming an excellent female singer, but she had been eliminated in the past two years. It was a competition with quite a high threshold.

    "Well, you must have followed the competition, then."

    Exasperated, Zhao Jue continued, "This year''s ''Bloom'' produced an unusual winner named Zhao Ying Ge. She''s beautiful and possesses a voice on par with yours from before. Most importantly, she doesn''t have an agency which has every entertainment company in Qin Continent, large and small, wanting to sign her.

    Unfortunately, this prideful girl made a statement that anyone wanting to sign her must present a signature song worthy of representing her. Consequently, I asked Ol'' Zhou to bring in seven to eight ace songwriters to write for her, none of which she was satisfied with."

    Lin Yuan commented, "Her standards are pretty high."

    During his work in the morning, Lin Yuan had listened to various representative works of the ace songwriters out of curiosity.

    No doubt about it.

    The level of work they produced was extraordinary. Each of their signature pieces could be considered a classic.

    Simultaneously, Lin Yuan believed with certainty that these representative works from the ace songwriters would have been enormous hits even in his past life.

    This gave Lin Yuan a deeper impression of the compositional skills of people on the Blue Star.

    "However, she''s not specifically targeting Starlight."

    Zhao Jue''s tone became somewhat lighter. It seemed she had found a good listener in Lin Yuan.

    "Thankfully, neither Dazzling Silver Glow nor Sand Sea has managed to move her with their songs either, so for now, our three companies are still in the competition - she hasn''t considered any companies outside of the Big Three."

    At this point.

    Zhao Jue shook her head and added, "Actually, it''s not that she doesn''t appreciate the songs from the ace songwriters, the main issue is that they are limited in their focus. They mostly have long-term partnerships with singers, and sometimes they have to accept some external customizations, so the songs they write at the last minute are bound to be of questionable quality....."

    Another call came in.

    Zhao Jue didn''t want to answer and immediately hung up. She continued sharing her troubles with Lin Yuan, "As a songwriter, you should understand that even with their full effort, no ace songwriter can guarantee that every one of their pieces will be a signature work. Signature works often represent an individual''s highest level.

    Who dares to say that every one of their works can reach their highest level?"

    "Yes, everyone says that ace songwriters are amazing, and everything they do is extraordinary."

    "But they say it in a certain way ... Granted, they''re definitely amazing. After all, every ace songwriter in Starlight has at least five or more classic songs. But if you average it out, you''ll find ... that most of these ace songwriters are over thirty years old, and at thirty, they''re already considered young talents!"

    "In other words, except for a few prodigies, most of them have spent over ten years writing just a few pieces that could be considered as signature works."

    "Ten years! Just for these few signature works!"

    "This output, isn''t it like giving birth, nine months of pregnancy? These ace songwriters couldn''t even bear a child in nine months. So, Zhao Ying Ge''s requirement for a signature work is not as simple as asking an ace songwriter to write a song for her. This seemingly simple requirement is, in fact, extremely difficult."

    Lin Yuan finally understood.

    Ms. Zhao provided him with a new perspective.

    He only saw the strength of the ace songwriters but didn''t see how much time and effort everyone had put in to produce a signature work, just like how he had to work hard to complete the system tasks in order to get the treasure chest.

    "Oh well."

    Zhao Jue suddenly laughed, "I''ve been venting to you for so long, I guess you must be bored by now. Thank you for listening to all my nonsense. Go back to work if you''re done eating. I''ll just have to try my luck with Ol'' Zhou a couple more times. After all, the other two companies are also stuck with Zhao Ying Ge for now. I''ll figure something out gradually."

    Lin Yuan asked, "If she gets a song, she''ll sign?"

    Zhao Jue was almost toppled by Lin Yuan''s nonchalance, "Yes, a song will do, but it has to be a signature work. You understand what a signature work means, right? ''Life Like A Summer Flower'' is your signature work. Can you produce ''Summer Flowers'' every day?"

    Lin Yuan regretted, "''Life Like A Summer Flower'' has already been released, she must have heard it."

    Zhao Jue: "..."

    Boy, are you serious?

    Lin Yuan was also a bit troubled, "Would ''Easy to Ignite and Explode'' work?"

    Zhao Jue looked confused, "What explosion?"

    Lin Yuan took out his phone, did something on his mailbox, and then said, "I have sent it to you."

    Zhao Jue looked even more confused, "What have you sent me?"

    Lin Yuan stood up and said, "Consider it a thank-you gift for the meal."

 Chapter 26 - 23 Dragon Fish Dance_1

    God knows how long it took for Zhao Jue to decipher the meaning of the words Lin Yuan said before he left. For a while, she felt both amused and touched.

    She felt amusement because...

    Did Lin Yuan really understand what kind of song she needed?

    She felt touched because...

    Lin Yuan must not have wanted to see her so troubled, and thus thought of lending her a hand.

    Years of ups and downs in the industry had made Zhao Jue accustomed to the vicissitudes of human relationships, and she knew well what was truly valuable.

    Whether or not it was a masterpiece, a composer would treat each of his songs like his own child, fearing that his work would be belittled.

    Who would treat such a work as a thank you gift for a simple meal?

    Lin Yuan daringly made such a remark, but Zhao Jue couldn''t take it as such.

    At this point, whether or not the song was of a masterpiece caliber no longer mattered.

    So what if Lin Yuan''s song couldn''t help her?

    Just his good intentions, his defense of her, were enough to deserve her treasuring.

    A smile warmed her face subtly.

    Zhao Jue opened her email and put on her headphones to listen to this song called "Easy to Ignite and Explode".

    "Haha."

    The familiar electronic synth at the beginning of the song made Zhao Jue smile knowingly.

    The last time Lin Yuan sent her "Life Like A Summer Flower", he had also used this unique electronic synth.

    The three-minute-twenty-second song would soon be over.

    But after hearing the song, Zhao Jue''s expression changed slightly.

    She subconsciously played the song again.

    It was still three minutes and twenty seconds, but this time, time seemed to stretch out longer.

    After the song, Zhao Jue stood up, almost wanting to chase after Lin Yuan, who had left long ago.

    But there was a slight falter in her step, she suddenly stopped again, looked down at the lunch that Lin Yuan had half-eaten, and muttered, "And you call this a gift for a meal..."

    "Yo, Little Zhao, what are you thinking about, you''re so lost in thought."

    Ol'' Zhou also came to the canteen and immediately saw Zhao Jue, clad in headphones, with a complicated expression on her face.

    "Ah."

    It suddenly occurred to Ol'' Zhou: "Are you still worrying about how to sign the champion of "Bloom" this year? Don''t worry, I''ll help you find a few more songs to try later. Our music department is full of talent, there''s bound to be a way."

    "I think there''s no need."

    Zhao Jue tilted her head and took off her headphones.

    Ol'' Zhou was taken aback: "Why not?"

    Zhao Jue gave a slight smile: "You''ll see later."

    Ol'' Zhou laughed: "Don''t keep me in suspense then. Anyway, let me tell you some good news! Lin Yuan is truly a genius. He''s just joined the music department and has already landed a five-million-dollar order! Good heavens, more than a dozen gold medal composers could not secure this order, yet he achieved it as soon as he made a move!

    And the song he wrote is of such high quality, based on my years of experience, this song has a very high chance of becoming a hit! This is the good seedling you brought me, Ol Zhou owes you a favor!"

    Zhao Jue''s mouth gaped open.

    The only thought in her mind at this moment was: What on earth did I sign?

    ...

    Three o''clock in the afternoon.

    Inside a hotel in Qin Continent.

    Zhao Ying Ge, this year''s overall champion of "Bloom", looked annoyed: "Why can''t any of the many songs sent by the three major entertainment companies in recent days satisfy me?"

    "Didn''t you say that "Sand Sea" was good?"

    Zhou Xiaoli, Zhao Ying Ge''s cousin, spoke up. Since becoming this year''s overall champion of "Bloom", many companies had contacted Zhao Ying Ge, so Zhou Xiaoli temporarily acted as her agent, handling external relations. As there were no activities, Zhou Xiaoli spent her time making calls.

    As for the "Sand Sea" Zhou Xiaoli mentioned, it was a song sent by Dazzling Silver Glow.

    Zhao Ying Ge shook her head: "While "Sand Sea" is not bad, it''s just that - not bad. The song hasn''t reached a point where I must sing it. What I want is a song of the masterpiece caliber, because I hope that the first single I officially release can become my representative work.

    When people mention this song in the future, they''ll immediately think of me, and know that it was Zhao Ying Ge who sung it!"

    Zhou Xiaoli muttered softly, "You''re asking for a bit much¡­"

    Zhao Ying Ge sighed: "You just don''t understand this industry. My vocal skills are indeed quite good, but my goal is to be the future queen of the music scene. Without the help of good songs, even the best voice is useless. Although all the companies are eager to sign me now, once they actually do, they probably won''t be as invested in me.

    After all, I''m currently living off the champion bonus from the show "Bloom." Once I join a company, which company doesn''t have a bunch of Kings and Queens of Singing to take care of?"

    "Well, you''re not wrong." S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Zhou Xiaoli persuaded, "But you don''t have to overstretch yourself. After all, good songs require time to create, and becoming a King or Queen of Singing doesn''t happen overnight. It''s not like you ask people to write and they can just immediately produce one. Furthermore, the recent songs sent by the three major companies were all composed by renowned top-tier composers in the industry.

    Just this fact alone should show the companies'' intentions. I''d say, go for Dazzling Silver Glow. After all, you did say that the song "Sand Sea" was okay."

    "We''ll see."

    Zhao Ying Ge was slightly unwilling.

    Just then, Zhou Xiaoli''s phone rang again. She took it out, looked at it, and smiled, "In such a short time, the three major companies have sent a few more new songs."

    Zhao Ying Ge asked listlessly, "Who are the songs from?"

    Zhou Xiaoli glanced at her phone and replied, "The song from Dazzling Silver Glow is by a composer named Yang Shan, the one from Sand Sea is by Jiang Yi, and the song from Starlight is by Xian Yu."

    Yang Shan?

    Jiang Yi?

    Xian Yu?

    Zhao Ying Ge raised an eyebrow, the information on these individuals already springing to mind: "Yang Shan and Jiang Yi are both top-tier composers in the industry. As for Xian Yu, he''s a newly debuted composer. The champion song of last month''s rookie chart "Life Like A Summer Flower" was his first piece. But that song wasn''t to my taste.

    It''s surprising that Starlight is trying to fob me off with a newbie this time. Regardless of the quality of the songs previously, at least the songs they sent were from the top composers in each company..."

    "A newcomer?"

    Zhou Xiaoli looked a bit worried: "It seems the three major companies are quickly losing patience with you. Even Starlight is sending over a song by a newcomer. Maybe we should hurry up and choose a company? Listen to these few songs first."

    "Forget it."

    Zhao Ying Ge had been dashed by continuous disappointments these past few days: "We''ll listen when we gather a few more songs. Consider it a final assessment. No matter what the outcome is, I''ll choose one company to sign with. It''s not ideal to keep dragging things along."

    "That makes sense."

    Zhou Xiaoli laughed: "In that case, let me take you to watch a movie. There''s an animated film called "Dragon Fish Dance" premiering next Tuesday. You love animations, don''t you? If we buy tickets now, we can still choose good seats."

    "You buy them."

    Zhao Ying Ge also wanted to watch a movie to clear her head. Listening to all the songs sent by various companies recently had almost made her head explode. If it really didn''t work out, she might have to consider choosing "Sand Sea" by Dazzling Silver Glow.

 Chapter 27 - 24 Big Fish_1

    "Wear your mask."

    Zhou Xiaoli laughed as she reminded Zhao Ying Ge.

    As one of the most influential talent shows in the Qin Continent, the attention to "Bloom" was high every year. Zhao Ying Ge, the annual champion of the show, was quite well-known and could easily be recognized by fans in the cinema¡ª

    Today was a Tuesday.

    The day the movie "Dragon Fish Dance" was released.

    Zhou Xiaoli, who had pre-purchased tickets, directly came to the cinema with Zhao Ying Ge.

    The film had a moderate budget, and it didn''t have a top-tier cast, but fans of this genre were not few. The screening room where Zhao Ying Ge was sitting was filled with quite a few people.

    After they took their seats,

    The movie began quite quickly.

    Zhao Ying Ge and Zhou Xiaoli, munching on popcorn while watching the movie, felt very relaxed.

    The big screen lit up.

    The opening of the plot told the story of a little girl and her parents who, during a trip, accidentally entered a magical world through a mystic tunnel.

    The world was both beautiful and dangerous.

    Monsters, strange occurrences, and strong fantastical feelings poured out, colorful and vivid.

    Arriving here,

    The parents of the little girl were captured by a witch who practiced sorcery because they broke the rules of this world out of greed. The little girl was left alone wandering in this dangerous world.

    She had several near-death experiences.

    But when she was about to be eaten by a beautiful yet deadly snake spirit, she was saved by a powerful white dragon that could change into human form.

    However, the little girl did not expect,

    That the white dragon served the sorcery-practicing witch.

    At first, the little girl was afraid of the white dragon and even showed some resistance because the witch, who was the master of the white dragon, had taken her parents away. But as time went by, she was affected by the friendliness of the white dragon.

    Gradually,

    The two became good friends who could talk about anything and went through a lot together.

    However, the little girl was always preoccupied.

    She never gave up on rescuing her parents.

    Sensing the little girl''s desire, the white dragon made a difficult decision. He betrayed the witch and helped the little girl save her parents.

    But

    The moment he rescued the girl''s parents, he himself suffered from a malicious curse from the witch.

    It turned out,

    He was under the control of the witch.

    He could never betray his master as a white dragon; once he did, the curse would strike. He would lose his dragon form and human figure and could only live in the deep sea and never come ashore again¡ª

    He became a fish again.

    An extraordinarily large fish.

    Barely resisting the pain of the curse, he flew across the sky with almost miraculous strength. Using his massive body to guide the girl, he escorted her and her parents out of this dangerous place.

    When they were about to reach the exit,

    They passed an ocean.

    The white dragon, now a big fish, couldn''t hold on any longer. He moaned and plunged into the sea, bidding the girl a final farewell.

    This was a magical sea area with a powerful force that could trigger people''s memories.

    So, the movie went on to tell the source of this story in reverse.

    As it turned out, when the little girl was young, she had saved half a month''s worth of pocket money, intending to buy her favorite snack.

    But while strolling by the seaside, the young girl saw the fishermen selling a beautiful fish, and she thought that the fish was pitiful. So she bought the fish and released it back¡ª

    That very fish was the white dragon.

    Then came the white dragon''s memories.

    When he was still a fish, he worked hard countless times and finally crossed the Dragon Gate. He obtained the body of a white dragon and powerful cultivation skills, also finally gaining the human form he had long dreamed of.

    He tried so hard because...

    He wanted to find the little girl and repay her.

    However, he didn''t expect that the moment he ascended into a dragon, he was caught by the evil witch and forced to become her pet.

    The origin of the story caught the audience by surprise.

    As it turned out, this accidental encounter was a long-awaited reunion.

    What really moved the audience to tears was a song that echoed with the waves of memory, abruptly arising: "The soundless waves drown the evening in deep shades of nightfall, creeping across the corners of the sky''s end. The big fish swims through the slit of the dream, gazing at your sleeping silhouette..."

    Piano music cascading.

    A song wafting.

    The movie theater falls silent.

    Listening to the ocean-wave-like song in her ears, Zhao Ying Ge''s popcorn-holding hand froze in mid-air, as if struck by something. She was lost in a trance.

    "Afraid you''ll fly far away

    Afraid you''ll leave me

    More afraid that you''ll stay here forever

    Every tear

    Flows towards you

    Back into the sea under the sky..."

    In the reluctant farewell of the Big Fish and the girl, the song echoes the story. At this moment, the stunning harmony wrapped around everyone''s ears like it was from the magical world in the film, causing many to feel shivers down their spines.

    "Hiss."

    Whimpers could be heard throughout the cinema. Zhao Ying Ge''s neighbor, Zhou Xiaoli, took out a tissue. In a blink of an eye, half the pack was used, her eyes red and swollen from crying.

    The movie theater became even quieter.

    This song at the end of the movie, coupled with the plot, was like a tear-gas bomb. The harmony part of the song exploded this tear bomb in the whole theater, sparing no one.

    Friendship?

    Love?

    The movie never made it clear. But when the Big Fish returned to sea, only its broad back could be seen disappearing into the sunset. The girl, her tears streaming, was still frantically waving goodbye.

    Far off at the horizon.

    The Big Fish dove back into the seabed.

    The end of the movie was the end of the song. But the final lyric, filled with tremble, was like a dagger, stabbing the hearts of countless audience members: "Every tear...flows towards you...going back...to our initial meeting..."

    ...

    As the credits rolled, no one in the cinema left. In the slightly sour atmosphere, discussions were accompanied by nasally tones from crying:

    "I held back tears for more than an hour, but this song made me lose the fight..."

    "Each line in the song is like a knife, aiming straight for my heart. The last line landed a critical hit. I''m dead..."

    "I doubt I have the courage to watch this movie again unless they cut out the final song..."

    "Who wrote this song? Does it think I feel nothing when crying?"

    "Now I think the whole movie is just a music video for the final song..."

    "I was too naive. I thought it was a healing film, but instead it''s a depressing one. The final song was devastating!"

    "..."

    Among them was a woman, her eyes red from crying, mocking the man next to her, "Honey, didn''t you say that you never cry when watching movies? Didn''t you say you despise all this emotional manipulation? That all this sentimentality is just a trick from directors to make viewers cry? Why are you crying like this now?"

    "I didn''t cry when I watched the movie...until I heard this song."

    That was the man''s last act of stubbornness.

    "I''ve run out of tissues, do you have any left?" Zhou Xiaoli, rubbing her nose, nudges Zhao Ying Ge''s arm with hers.

    "..."

    Zhao Ying Ge doesn''t respond, her reddened eyes fixated on the last credit of the movie.

    "What are you looking at? The movie''s over."

    Unable to find a tissue, Zhou Xiaoli was forced to wipe her tears with her sleeve.

    Zhao Ying Ge still doesn''t respond. Not until she sees the last line of the credits, the information she has been searching for since the end of the movie-- S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    [Insert Song/Theme Song/OST/Ending Theme: "Big Fish"]

    [Lyrics/Music/Arrangement: Xian Yu]

    [Singer: Jiang Kui]

    [Special thanks: Xian Yu]

    "Big Fish..." she mutters under her breath. Suddenly, it seems like she remembers something, a blush creeping onto her face:

    "Xian Yu, Xian Yu!"

    "What Xian Yu?" asks Zhou Xiaoli, who has just stopped crying, with a nasal tone, "Why are you babbling?"

    "Xian Yu!"

    Zhao Ying Ge''s voice shakes, "The soundtrack of the movie was written by Xian Yu. Wasn''t the song that Starlight sent last time also written by Xian Yu?"

    Zhou Xiaoli seems to come to a realization, "I think so..."

    Zhao Ying Ge suddenly stands up, "Let''s go home and listen to that song!"

 Chapter 28 - 25 Potential_1

    Qi Continent.

    Shortly after the premiere of "Dragon Fish Dance", the key creators of the film all launched the movie review on the Qi Continent Film Network. This group included the film''s director, Zheng Li.

    "The movie drives me into a flood of tears!"

    "I declare that we have a vigorous addition to melancholic films from today onwards."

    "I hope the producers can release a high quality image of the white dragon transforming into the great fish soaring in the sky, I want to use it as my wallpaper."

    "The ending song tugged at my heartstrings."

    "After reading the subtitles, the final song called "Big Fish" is the best impressionist track of this year, unmatched."

    "I was pretty sentimental after watching the movie, then my buddy made me burst into laughter saying that the whole movie was a music video for the final song."

    "The movie was okay, but the lyrics of the final song were excruciatingly heartbreaking." Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "..."

    With a full score of ten, "Dragon Fish Dance" currently scores 8.5. The jubilant main creators immediately cheered, "We are creating a blockbuster hit!"

    It was such a high score!

    It far exceeded the expectations of the creators.

    After all, "Dragon Fish Dance" wasn''t a blockbuster, the publicity, casting, and screening schedules were all in the mid-range level at the time. So, wasn''t the reputation of the movie the key to its success?

    During this cheerfulness, everyone naturally noticed the discussion about "Big Fish" in the comments.

    The producer couldn''t help laughing, "It turned out that everyone said our movie is a music video of ''Big Fish''."

    "I even feel these comments make some sense."

    Another creator nearby remarked with a weird expression.

    "Now you see why I am so strict about the soundtrack?" Zheng Li was in good spirits. She didn''t feel offended by the comments, because she knew most of them were making fun.

    From another perspective, it meant that audience appreciated her for the good match of the final song.

    She admitted that the final song "Big Fish" has indeed added scores to the movie.

    Whether it was the artistic conception and performance of the song or the lyrics perfectly matched with the plot, it maximized the resonance between the audience and the film.

    Before this.

    Zheng Li also pondered over how to conclude the movie. The tone of the film "Dragon Fish Dance" was generally sad, and the sadness had accumulated quite a lot at the end of the film. What she needed was a trigger point that could explode the audience''s emotions -

    Obviously, "Big Fish" played the role of the trigger point in evoking emotions at last.

    At this moment, Zheng Li''s phone rang. It was a call from the investor.

    "The movie is well done!"

    The representative of the investor said with some excitement: "The company has decided to intensify the promotion of ''Dragon Fish Dance''. I have already sent someone to contact the cinema to increase the movie''s screening frequency. Besides, you need to make a call to Qin Continent to bring the singer of ''Big Fish''¡­"

    Zheng Li said: "Big Fish."

    The representative of the investor continued: "Yes, yes, ''Big Fish''. You invite the singer of this song to our Qi Continent. Let her perform this song during promotion. The effect will certainly be great!"

    "Okay."

    Zheng Li turned the topic: "Didn''t you previously oppose paying five million for a song, saying the score wasn''t that important and that the funding should all be used on the scenes? It was after my persistent urging that you finally agreed to let me spend five million tailoring this song."

    Zheng Li had high standards for the score.

    The investor previously thought it was too extravagant for Zheng Li to spend five million to tailor a song that fits ''Dragon Fish Dance''. They reluctantly made the payment only after they couldn''t dissuade Zheng Li anymore.

    "In the end, we did what you said, didn''t we?"

    The investor stammered: "This is the deal, the investment for your next production will be guaranteed to increase, which includes the budget for the soundtrack. You are more professional in filmmaking than we are. Sometimes when we don''t comprehend, a bit more communication can solve the problem, can''t it?"

    In any industry, performance talks.

    Before the future of ''Dragon Fish Dance'' was clear, the investors took a high posture. In this era, those who have money are the masters.

    But looking at the current trend.

    Zheng Li''s film is definitely going to be a hit. The investors have to temporarily swallow their pride and coax Zheng Li, the director who can earn money for the company. They even proactively mentioned the investment topic for her next film. That means the position of director Zheng Li in the industry has been elevated to a certain extent.

    "Deal!"

    Zheng Li said cheerfully.

    She was now contemplating about having Xian Yu compose the music score of her next movie too. It wouldn''t hurt to let Xian Yu review the full script either. Anyway, she wasn''t looking for anyone else but Xian Yu.

    ...

    In Qin Continent, Starlight''s responded quickly. The film had just ended and the soundtrack "Big Fish" made its appearance on the recommendation section of major music software. This allowed the audience who were interested in the ending song to easily find this song.

    Inside the director''s office at Starlight.

    Ol'' Zhou arrived early in front of his computer waiting for the feedback on "Big Fish". With his years of experience, he believed that this song definitely had the potential to make a big splash since the song was placed on the recommendation section by his resource department.

    And it was indeed the case.

    Just five minutes after going online, the download count for "Big Fish" had exceeded thirty thousand. The song''s comment section was also extremely lively -

    "Here after watching ''Dragon Fish Dance''!"

    "Same here!"

    "So the song is called ''Big Fish'', love it, love it!"

    "What are you waiting for? Trial listening, downloading, collection, all at once."

    "Crying while listening."

    "As everyone knows, this song has a nearly two-hour music video."

    "''I''m afraid you''ll fly away, I''m afraid you''ll leave me. What I fear more is that you will always linger.'' These lyrics, when combined with the scenes in the movie, are so heart-wrenching."

    "..."

    Not only cinephiles, but some passerbys also noticed the song and found out about the movie "Dragon Fish Dance" through this song.

    "It''s the theme song of a film. It makes me want to watch the film ''Dragon Fish Dance''."

    "After listening to the song, I immediately bought two movie tickets. I will take my girlfriend to watch it this weekend. Now everything is ready, just lacking a girlfriend."

    "I am going to take my goddess to watch it! I will confess my love to her after watching the movie! My lifetime happiness depends on this movie and this song!"

    "..."

    Some people noticed that "Xian Yu" was listed as the lyricist, composer, and arranger of "Big Fish".

    Jiang Kui, the performer, was a newcomer and everyone was not familiar with her.

    However, Xian Yu could not be considered as a pure newcomer, as many listeners remembered this name: "Isn''t Xian Yu the lyricist and composer of ''Life Like A Summer Flower''?"

    "Xian Yu? The one who topped the Newcomer Chart?"

    "Yes, yes, I also noticed him."

    "This Xian Yu is somewhat tremendous. Just last month, he topped the Newcomer Chart, and this month he brought ''Big Fish''. Both songs are exactly to my taste!"

    "..."

    Looking at these comments, Ol'' Zhou smiled broadly.

    Although he had not watched the movie, he could tell from the concert-goers'' comments that the quality of ''Dragon Fish Dance'' was probably good, and it brought a lot of publicity to the song.

    "Very well."

    Ol'' Zhou was overjoyed, thinking: "The speed at which Lin Yuan is growing is terrifying. He''s just a sophomore this year. If he keeps getting better at this rate, our company''s Music Department will have another ace composer in no time!"

    In the industry.

    Most of the newcomers hope to become the ace composer, but it usually takes over ten years. However, the potential that Lin Yuan had shown was too huge, he might not even need ten years to become the new ace for the company -

    This is precisely what Ol'' Zhou valued the most!

 Chapter 29 - 26: The New Mainstay_1

    Some are joyous while some are worried.

    While Ol'' Zhou was elated, Zhao Jue was on edge. Alone in her office, she paced back and forth anxiously.

    Last week.

    She sent "Easy to Ignite and Explode" to Zhao Ying Ge.

    She had assumed that once this song was out, Zhao Ying Ge, who also shared the surname Zhao, would immediately agree to sign a contract with Starlight!

    However, a week had gone by, and there was still no news from Zhao Ying Ge.

    This was starting to unsettle Zhao Jue.

    It didn''t make sense. Even as a non-professional, Zhao Jue could tell that "Easy to Ignite and Explode" was a good song.

    The first time she heard it, it had caught her ear, and after listening to it several more times, the song had imprinted itself deeply in her memory.

    Thus, Zhao Jue was convinced...

    That the quality of the song alone should be enough to sway Zhao Ying Ge!

    However, the continued lack of response from Zhao Ying Ge began to raise doubts in Zhao Jue''s mind, causing her to waver wildly between hope and fear.

    Had the song failed to move him?

    Or perhaps, Zhao Ying Ge had already signed with another company?

    Amid her anxiety, Zhao Jue''s phone suddenly rang. It was a call from Zhao Ying Ge himself, the very person she had been anxiously anticipating.

    Is he calling to reject me?

    Frowning, Zhao Jue answered the call.

    On the other end, Zhao Ying Ge''s voice sounded firm, "I agree to sign with Starlight. I''m sorry for letting you wait so long."

    Zhao Jue was startled.

    He''s not rejecting me?

    She quickly regained her composure, slightly ecstatic. It seemed that Starlight had won another victory in the competition among the three major companies.

    "That''s alright."

    Her tone turned magnanimous, "Thoughtful considerations can lead to firm decisions. We''re willing to wait, so when do you plan to sign the contract?"

    "I can do it anytime."

    Zhao Ying Ge affirmed, "Just use the contract terms you brought up before. However, the song ''Easy to Ignite and Explode'' must be my debut single. I hope the company can manage its promotion well."

    "Of course!"

    Zhao Jue laughed, "We are a very efficient company. If you''re free, you can come to the company to sign the contract this afternoon."

    Zhao Jue did not wish to delay the process any longer.

    "No problem."

    Zhao Ying Ge agreed instantly, then added after a moment of thought, "The moment I heard ''Easy to Ignite and Explode'', I loved it. The song really suits me¡­"

    "Great!"

    So it wasn''t a problem with the song after all. I knew it, how could Lin Yuan fail with such a high-quality song like ''Easy to Ignite and Explode''?

    "Then prepare to head over."

    Zhao Jue''s mood had swung completely back around, returning to her usual brisk and efficient self, "I''ll have someone meet you downstairs. The contract will be ready when you arrive."

    The reply was, "No problem."

    After hanging up, Zhao Jue was finally able to relax.

    She sat down, intending to take a rest, but before she even had a chance to settle in, someone knocked on her door.

    "Come in."

    "Ms. Zhao."

    The person who entered was one of Zhao Jue''s male agents.

    His expression was a bit excited at the moment, "Qi Continent called. They want to invite Jiang Kui for the promotion of ''Dragon Fish Dance''!"

    "Jiang Kui?"

    Zhao Jue slightly startled.

    The agent explained, "She''s a rookie under my supervision. She was singled out by Teacher Admirable Fish a while ago and sang a theme song specifically created by Teacher Admirable Fish for Qi Continent''s animation film ''Dragon Fish Dance''. Today, the song was released on the Internet, with a very positive response.

    Therefore, Qi Continent would like her to promote the film and perform live as a singer."

    It''s Lin Yuan again!

    Zhao Jue then remembered that Lin Yuan had previously asked her for a new artist, saying he wanted to record a song. Ol'' Zhou had also mentioned that Lin Yuan had completed an order from the Qi Continent, probably alluding to this impressionistic song.

    "What is the song called?"

    Zhao Jue had already opened the music player.

    The other party replied, "It''s called ''Big Fish''."

    Zhao Jue nods, types in "called Big Fish", then realizes something is off. Without indicating anything, she changes it to "Big Fish". Sure enough, she located the song.

    She then put on the headphones and listened to the song once through.

    After listening, she was silent for a long time.

    The agent could not help but remind her, "Ms. Zhao."

    Zhao Jue came back to her senses and said with a bitter smile, "When Lin Yuan wanted to record this song before, I didn''t take it seriously. I just gave him some information on new artists. I never thought that the song he was going to record would be such a beautiful song like ''Big Fish''."

    "No one expected it."

    The agent laughed understandingly, then said, "Besides the Qi Continent side, a lot of brands that have long-term cooperation with our company also called. They want to invite Jiang Kui to participate in their activities and specifically asked her to sing ''Big Fish''. So I wanted to ask you how we should proceed."

    "So you''re saying..."

    Zhao Jue looked up: "Jiang Kui is on fire?"

    The agent nodded, excited yet full of emotion, "Judging from the enthusiastic invitations from various merchants, Jiang Kui is indeed hot. Otherwise, who would remember the name of a small newcomer like her? She has benefitted from the momentum of Teacher Admirable Fish. The effect is not weaker than that of newcomer Sun Yaohuo who debuted as the first place on the New Talent List earlier.

    Don''t worry, I will take good care of her in the future and not waste this chance that Teacher Admirable Fish has given."

    Zhao Jue is the Chief Agent.

    As a Chief Agent she oversees all company brokerage matters and rarely manages artists directly. Only A-list artists or newcomers whom Zhao Jue highly regards could be personally managed by her.

    Under Zhao Jue, there are many small agents.

    These small agents typically manage newcomers. As newcomers often have a difficult start, these small agents do not have an easy job.

    Therefore...

    Every small agent hopes that the newcomer they manage can become popular. Because only when their artists become popular can the agents make money.

    "Okay!"

    Zhao Jue stood up.

    It''s a double joyous day!

    First, Zhao Ying Ge agreed to sign a contract with Starlight; then, a little unknown newcomer under her unexpectedly became popular, skipping the newcomer season to become famous in this way!

    Moreover...

    All these two happy events were because of Lin Yuan!

    This kid is truly her lucky star!

    "Have the publicity department follow up immediately."

    If there''s a newcomer who''s become popular, the company must definitely give a push. If they can''t seize such an opportunity, it would be a wasted chance, given that Starlight is one of the three major entertainment companies in the Qin Continent.

    Anything about "seeking advice" is an excuse.

    The true goal of this little agent seeking her out is probably to gain support for Jiang Kui from the company. But Zhao Jue won''t let on about this secret. Everyone is doing this for their artists, and their efforts are understandable.

    "Understood."

    With the goal achieved, the agent''s smile shines even brighter: "Thank you Ms. Zhao!"

    "Additionally..."

    Zhao Jue said: "Jiang Kui must prioritize the schedules from Qi Continent. ''Big Fish'' is a custom-made track that they commissioned. We must deliver excellent service until the end, or else it will affect our company''s reputation. We''re still counting on Qi Continent for more orders in the future."

    "No problem!"

    The agent readily agreed.

    However, Zhao Jue suddenly expressed some regret: "Actually, I regret letting Lin Yuan go now! He could''ve stayed in the talent division, couldn''t he? Couldn''t our big division afford to keep him? That old fellow Zhou Ruiming took advantange of us!"

    The agent: "...."

    It''s not his place to comment on matters between the higher-ups.

    However, Zhao Jue was only venting. If she had indeed kept such a promising composer in the talent division, Ol'' Zhou would likely have lodged a complaint with the boss.

    "Admirable Fish..."

    An idea dawned on the agent. He pondered:

    This guy seems to be the new star of the composition department. First, he topped the New Talent List and made Sun Yaohuo famous...Then he helped his own artist, Jiang Kui, to fame...He''s been at the job for barely two months, and he''s already made two newcomers famous...

    S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 30 - 27 Chills_1

    The following week.

    Box office earnings for the movie "Dragon Fish Dance" continue to climb, and the trend is encouraging.

    The theme song "Big Fish", gathered even more heat, becoming a favourite for more and more people.

    Qin Art, closely related to this trend, naturally noticed this song in no time.

    There were numerous discussions about this song on campus forums and group chats of each department.

    Especially for the vocal music students, they were thrilled: "Did you see that? The importance of high-quality performance to the song is self-evident!"

    Qin Art is an art academy.

    The learning environment is heavily inclined towards specialization, so composition is always prioritized over performance. When ''Life Like A Summer Flower'' became a huge hit, half of the students in the school were shouting -

    "Maestro''s taking off!"

    "Maestro carry!"

    "Even a dog tied up in a recording studio could make it big!"

    Doesn''t senior Sun Yao Huo care about his reputation?!

    Watching these posts, the vocal music students were shaking with rage, sweating in the hot sun, their hands and feet cold.

    The composition department guys are too fucking arrogant.

    When will our vocal music department stand up?

    Unexpectedly, the opportunity to strike back came so quickly!

    The song "Big Fish", also composed by Xian Yu, was not a song that just anyone could perform. Jiang Kui''s voice undoubtedly brought the song to life. Thus, the vocal music students of Qin Art were thrilled!

    The composition department was too used to feeling superior.

    How could they just let the vocal music department rule the roost?

    Soon, a bunch of posts popped up to rebut the vocal music department.

    "Do you know what an official custom is?"

    "Do you know how brilliant the hook of this song is?"

    "Do you know how rare it is for the melody of this song to match perfectly with the movie''s plot?"

    "Do you know that for Maestro, theme songs belong to the custom songs category. The style is directly limited, like dancing with handcuffs on. Yet Maestro has managed to write such a song within a small framework, which is an absolutely perfect performance!"

    "..."

    There were even composition students who were almost sworn to their dignity, exhaustively analyzing from a technical perspective the level of awesomeness for the composition of "Big Fish".

    "The chorus of "Big Fish" mainly consists of stepwise motion, supplemented by leap progression, with the first sentence using successive stepwise motion, creating a strong push, throughout the chorus a stepwise motion reaching an octave, is a typical pentatonic scale, simple and not simple, awesome!"

    Vocal music is on the decline.

    The composition department is discussing even more fervently.

    "What I''m most impressed with is, the song employs very rich melody development techniques. These techniques include strict repetition, varied repetition, extension, and even modulation."

    "Yes."

    "In the climax of the song, there are several large slurs, such as mi-sol-do-si-mi, mi-re-do-la-do , re-mi-la. Moreover, most of the slurs in this song are prepared in reverse."

    "Performances follow the already composed score, but how many brain cells does Maestro have to burn to create these notes?"

    "The 4th, 10th, 16th bars of this song are the same melody fragment, the chorus also uses strict repetition, which is why it sounds so graceful. By the harmonizing part of the song, it''s already beyond godlike."

    "..."

    Vocal music is totally defeated.

    Fortunately, the composition department is just trying to defend Maestro''s honor.

    After the analysis, they didn''t deny the contribution of the performance: "Of course, Jiang Kui sang very well. If we compare it to a game, if the last time senior Sun Yao Huo was carried to victory, then this time Jiang Kui is the one who initiated the team-up. She led a good team, but winning the team fight still relies on Maestro''s explosive output."

    "In my opinion, the success of this song also largely lies in the lyrical part!"

    Qin Art not only has vocal and composition majors, but also majors in songwriting, which is a feature of the Land of Music in Qin Continent.

    Now that the composition and vocal departments are at each other''s throats.

    How can songwriting students sit on the sidelines?

    A student majoring in songwriting posted, "I''m afraid you''ll fly away, I''m afraid you''ll leave me, and I''m afraid you''ll stay here forever. Don''t you guys think this sentence is harsh?

    In just one short sentence, the subtle relationship between the white dragon and the little girl as well as the artistic conception of the animated film were captured, not to mention the expectations of countless parents for their children. Can you imagine how many parents hope their children can spread their wings and fly high, but are also reluctant to see them leave?"

    "The words are like poetry!"

    A student from the songwriting department added, "The visual imagery required for theme song lyrics is fully demonstrated in these lyrics. It''s rich with touching details, transitioning from grand scenes to delicate emotions, filled with our Blue Star''s traditional cultural aesthetic."

    The music majors are all so lively.

    Even the arranging department couldn''t help but join in, "The lyrics and performance are both excellent, but don''t overlook the importance of arrangement to this song. The arrangements of the instruments and drum beats in this song perfectly complemented the ethereal parts of the vocals. Even the singer''s breath sounds are matched with instruments, it''s simply a perfect work."

    There''s a saying in the arrangement department:

    Arranging is like a makeup artist, responsible for making songs look pretty. A good arrangement can be like a top-notch makeup artist who makes an ordinary person look stunning.

    However...

    No matter on Earth or Blue Star, the importance of arrangement is always less than that of composition and performance. When someone once asked the master arranger Zhong Xingming when arrangement could finally stand up, his answer was, "We need to rely on our own efforts."

    The bitterness in his words is self-evident.

    But after talking it in a round, a non-music major student couldn''t help but say, "But after all your discussion, besides the performance part, the writing, composition and arrangement of this song were all done by Xian Yu."

    The music department collectively: "..."

    So all debates evaporated in an instant, and everyone''s discussion turned to Xian Yu, "This new Maestro really got something. He took care of both the lyrics and composition, and he even arranged his own songs in the two he had released."

    "This is the rhythm of an ace, right?"

    "Xian Yu will become an ace in a few years!"

    "Does it still need you to predict?"

    A composition department student sighed, "After taking the exam on ''Life Like A Summer Flower'', I started to resist Xian Yu, but as soon as his new song came out, I started to praise him."

    "I second that."

    "I''m different from you guys. When you were all praising Xian Yu last time, I was worried that he was just a flash in the pan. After all, everyone has moments of inspiration. But the release of ''Big Fish'' confirms that his level is indeed awesome." Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Who makes Qin Continent the Land of Music?"

    "Qin Continent''s music scene is just full of talent!"

    So, this sense of superiority escalated from the composition department to the whole Qin Continent. No matter which major, they all felt that they were capable again.

 Chapter 31 - 28 Cultural Prestige_1

    Qin Continent Art Academy was also discussing "Big Fish", let alone the major entertainment companies of Qin Continent. Various entertainment media outlets had started reporting news related to this song.

    "A movie has been quite the rage lately."

    On an entertainment program, the host said with a professional smile, "This movie is called ''Dragon Fish Dance'' and has earned over 800 million at the box office so far. Alongside the success of this movie, its theme song has also gone viral over the internet-"

    "I won''t reveal the name of the song just yet."

    "Many of you should still remember the fierce competition amongst newcomers in November, the song titled ''Life Like A Summer Flower'' emerged victorious. This song even outperformed the highly popular Qian Xingyu. And the creator of this song is our topic for today, Xian Yu!"

    "Yes, many must''ve guessed it already."

    "This theme song, known as ''Big Fish'', was also penned by this new songwriter, Xian Yu. After listening to ''Big Fish'', many were captivated by it. In such a situation, it''s hard not to notice its creator, Xian Yu."

    "You all must be very curious."

    "Within just two months, he penned two brilliant songs. Isn''t this new songwriter from Starlight, Xian Yu, a bit too powerful? Even among the impressive newcomers of Qin Continent, such a talent isn''t common..."

    Plop.

    Inside one of the big three entertainment companies of Qin Continent, Dazzling Silver Glow, the chief agent, Xi Mei, picked up the remote and switched off the television on the wall.

    Right then.

    Her assistant rushed in flustered, shouting, "Something bad has happened! We are in trouble!"

    "Is the sky falling?"

    Having a strong disposition seemed to be a shared trait among the chief agents of Qin Continent''s big three entertainment companies. Xi Mei was no different, even colder than Zhao Jue. She said, "Take a moment to catch your breath."

    "Yes!"

    The assistant calmed down and then whispered, "Starlight just announced that Zhao Ying Ge has signed with them!"

    "What!"

    Xi Mei''s expression froze and she narrowed her eyes, "She chose Starlight, do you know why?"

    "There are rumours."

    The nervous assistant said, "I have a classmate who works at Starlight. He hinted that it might be because of Xian Yu, but I don''t know the specifics."

    "Xian Yu again?"

    Xian Yu flashed in Xi Mei''s eyes.

    When Xian Yu snatched away the first place in the newcomer chart, Xi Mei didn''t pay much attention. Everyone has moments of brilliance, and the industry had seen it quite often.

    Lately.

    When the theme song ''Big Fish'' became a hit, Xian Yu started receiving a bit of attention from Xi Mei. But she only considered him a talented newcomer.

    But what she didn''t expect was-

    Zhao Ying Ge, whom she wished to sign, joined Starlight due to Xian Yu. This made Xi Mei take the matter seriously. "Seems like Zhao Jue got hold of a promising talent. But we can''t ignore Zhao Ying Ge''s matter, contact Sand Sea."

    The assistant doubted what he heard, "Sand Sea?" Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Dazzling Silver Glow and Starlight didn''t share a good relationship with Sand Sea.

    Xi Mei smiled, "Starlight has been in the limelight recently. I presume Sand Sea must be quite upset. We both now share a common enemy, we can coordinate with Sand Sea this time."

    ...

    Lin Yuan was also aware of the external discussions regarding "Big Fish". His classmates often shared this song in the group chat. Some even speculated whether it might once again become the examination topic. Fortunately, the teacher was somewhat merciful and didn''t ruin their love for the song by doing so.

    There''s a lot of discussion; the song is indeed popular.

    Lin Yuan was starting to be hopeful. He wondered how much prestige value "Big Fish" had generated for him up till now?

    He invoked the system, and a few lines of text immediately appeared before his eyes:

    [Age: 19]

    [Lifespan: 27]

    [Art: 45]

    [Literature: 105]

    [Music: 26,494]

    As his literature and art skills haven''t improved, the system didn''t bother showing the integrated prestige section.

    The prestige in the music category was still increasing. The rate of increase was close to what Lin Yuan had imagined, almost reaching thirty thousand now.

    "But it''s still far away from one million prestige."

    Lin Yuan frowned when he saw there were only two bronze treasure chests left in the warehouse.

    He had used up all his songs and had to replenish before he could start the subsequent work. So he commanded, "Open the two treasure chests."

    [Congratulations, Host has won the song ''Red Rose'']

    [Congratulations, Host has acquired the special category novel ''King of the Net'']

    The two treasure chests opened.

    The first chest unsurprisingly contained a song.

    However, the second chest revealed something strange.

    Lin Yuan asked, "What kind of novel is ''King of the Net''? I haven''t heard of it."

    The system explained:

    "This is a novel adapted from the classic anime ''Prince of Tennis'' within the context of Blue Star Qin Continent High School. It''s a one million-word novel about a group of high school students pursuing their dreams of tennis. It encapsulates youth, bewilderment, passion, and emotion, and excels in replicating the essence of the original anime.

    It''s one of the rare sports competition-themed novels currently in Blue Star. Host, you can now quickly read through this to verify its quality."

    Converted an anime into a novel?

    And the story is set on Blue Star?

    Usually, novels are adapted into comics, right?

    Contrarily, the system adapted a famous anime from Lin Yuan''s past life into a one-million-word novel based on Blue Star.

    "Read."

    Lin Yuan silently recited.

    Suddenly, a slew of plots flooded into his mind.

    According to the system''s introduction, these plots had an 80 percent similarity with the anime "Prince of Tennis". It meant that the essence of the original was retained while the writing style adhered to the reading habits of Blue Star readers. The plot and rhythm seemed rather engaging and met the standards of physical publishing-

    Well, this is just the system praising itself.

    So this is what the special category novel means?

    Indeed, it''s fairly special since the anime ''Prince of Tennis'', adapted from a manga, had no novel version. There had been many fanfictions about it in his previous life though.

    "Ding Dong."

    The system rang, "Congratulations to the Host for activating a new task. We hope that the Host will make a mark in the field of literature before the end of this year."

    [Task Name: Diverse Development]

    [Task Content: As Superstar Appreciation Day approaches, please ensure that you successfully publish the novel ''King of the Net'' in the upcoming Superstar Literature Recruitment and achieve a literature prestige value of 10,000.]

    [Task Reward: Three Bronze Treasure Chests]

    Lin Yuan''s spirit was revived. Finally, a new task had appeared, and this time there were three bronze treasure chests as the task reward!

    "Accept."

    Lin Yuan agreed to the task without any hesitation.

    It appears that the prestige provided by novels belongs to the ''Literature'' category-

    For Lin Yuan, diversifying the categories is a good thing. With another channel to gather prestige, he could resolve his life-or-death crisis sooner.

    By the way.

    Lin Yuan seemed to know the ''Superstar'' that the system mentioned. Xia Fan and Jian Yi had discussed it before, hadn''t they?

 Chapter 32 - 29: Born in the Wrong Era _1

    When in doubt, ask --

    Immediately, Lin Yuan went online to search for information related to the supernova.

    After reading, Lin Yuan found that the so-called supernova was the New Novelist Grand Award hosted by Silver Blue Books, one of the four major publishers in Qin Continent.

    Held once a year.

    This grand award only accepts novel submissions with youth fantasy themes.

    Because the targeted readers of this competition are strictly under thirty, novels that do not target this demographic will be rejected by Silver Blue Books --

    Youth are the driving force behind entertainment consumption.

    Youth fantasy novels, are the most popular genre in Qin Continent!

    In the minds of many young novel lovers, youth fantasy novels have a very high standing!

    What''s even more important is...

    Youth fantasy novels are well-suited for adaptation into animation and games, they have extremely high potential value.

    So, to harvest these young readers, many publishing houses host similar new novelist awards.

    Among them, Silver Blue Books'' Supernova Award is one of the most influential new novelist awards in Qin Continent, where just making it into the top five can grant one an opportunity to publish their novel, becoming a true novelist.

    Of course.

    It''s not that Qin Continent only has youth fantasy novels.

    In culturally diverse Blue Star, every genre of novel has substantial market space, but novels of other genres naturally have other submission channels --

    These works differ substantially from those of the youth fantasy genre.

    Like art films and commercial blockbusters, although both are part of the film industry, their circles and intersections in reality are quite shallow.

    In that case, things become simple.

    Lin Yuan directly searched for the currently popular youth fantasy novels in the market.

    He wanted to see what styles were trending in Qin Continent.

    After all, even under the four words "youth fantasy", there are a plethora of novel categories.

    As a result, he uncovered --

    Most of the youth fantasy novels in Qin Continent are primarily centered around adventures in different worlds.

    The protagonists of these novels, often laymen, suddenly travel to different worlds and obtain golden fingers at the very beginning.

    The story then revolves around the main characters defeating monsters with their golden fingers, meeting various girls along the way, continuously winning over the girls, and eventually defeating the demon king to establish a large harem.

    There are also those that place emphasis on their hot-blooded aspects.

    Some do not venture to different worlds, instead directly set in the urban area, portraying the protagonists with superpowers, but they all give off a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu.

    How do I put it ?

    It''s a bit like the web novel model from the previous era, as well as the light novels popular in Neon country.

    The combination of the two, gives a rough overview of the hot youth fantasy novels in Qin Continent.

    Lin Yuan made a special search to see what sports-themed content is in youth fantasy novels.

    Alarmed, he found that such themes were rare!

    There were one or two that focused on sports, but their performances were lackluster--

    Youth fantasy novels centered around competitions are almost an entirely untouched field!

    This moment, Lin Yuan suddenly understood why the System gave him a copy of "King of the Net".

    It wants him to fill the existing gaps in the market.

    For Qin Continent''s novel market, the theme chosen by "King of the Net" can be considered innovative. However, the fact that it''s innovative also suggests that the creative direction this novel aims for is very unconventional.

    Lin Yuan suddenly became a little bit worried.

    Even though "King of the Net" can be considered a youth fantasy novel, could such a unconventional theme really help him accomplish the task of having more than ten thousand literary prestige points? S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    ...

    No one knew what lies ahead for "King of the Net", Lin Yuan could only await the opening of the application channel for the Supernova competition.

    End of month.

    He returned to the office.

    As soon as he stepped into the music composition department on the tenth floor, his colleagues congratulated him on the success of "Big Fish"; it was clear everyone had listened to the song.

    Wu Yong even gave him a thumbs up:

    "I said before that such a custom-designed impressionistic tune like ''Big Fish'' would probably not be popular. I didn''t expect you to prove me wrong right away."

    "I didn''t."

    Lin Yuan denied immediately.

    It took Wu Yong a long time standing there, pondering over Lin Yuan''s inference before he managed an exasperated laugh: "That''s not what I meant by being proven wrong..."

    Let''s not dwell on that.

    Wu Yong sat next to Lin Yuan, expressing regret: "Actually, ''Big Fish'' was released in the wrong month. Otherwise, with its quality, it definitely could''ve climbed higher."

    Lin Yuan was taken aback. "Wrong month?"

    Wu Yong was also surprised, "You don''t know?"

    Lin Yuan''s reaction said it all: the boy really didn''t know.

    Wu Yong had no choice but to explain: "Doesn''t our Qin Continent update its music chart every month? That''s why most artists who care about the chart will release their songs on the first day of the month. It will gain more public attention."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    He did know that many artists choose to release their songs on the first day of the month, but he never fully contemplated the reason behind it.

    Was it to climb the charts?

    Wu Yong sighed: "''Big Fish'' had a chance of making it onto the new music chart. Although it was released in the middle of December, it didn''t matter because the quality is good - "

    Lin Yuan interrupted: "But what?"

    Since the popularity of his songs affected his prestige value, he was quite concerned about this.

    "But!"

    Wu Yong shrugged: "''Big Fish'' was born in December, and December is crazy difficult! Every year at this time, several singing kings and queens try to push their end-of-year results, so the competition for the new song chart is fierce. Plus, your song wasn''t released until the middle of the month, there wasn''t enough time for it to make a mark, hence, it only ranks thirteenth."

    Lin Yuan was thoughtful: "Where can I find the new song chart?"

    Wu Yong smiled bitterly: "You''re indeed a complete newcomer. Let me show you. Search for ''Qin Continent Music'' now. These are all official charts, without any prejudice. The first one is the New Songs Chart. You found the Rising Star Chart there before too."

    "OK."

    Lin Yuan followed his instructions and successfully visited the official website of Qin Continent Music. Sure enough, he found his song in 13th place.

    "See."

    Wu Yong said: "The top ten are either new songs by A-list singers or established singing kings and queens."

    "Let me listen."

    Lin Yuan, out of curiosity, listened to a few songs that ranked higher. After listening, he made a conclusion in his mind.

    To be fair.

    The quality of the top three songs can already compete with "Big Fish." The Qin Continent music scene is indeed full of talents. Moreover, the composers of these songs are all top-tier, and the singers are also top professionals in the industry. It''s fair that they rank higher.

    However...

    The songs that rank after the top three, in comparison to "Big Fish" which ranks 13th, lack some quality.

    "You see?"

    Wu Yong said: "With the quality of ''Big Fish'', it doesn''t have to be top three, but it definitely has the potential to be in the top ten. It''s a pity there are too many strong contenders in December and your song was released halfway into the month, thus it didn''t make it."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Wu Yong laughed: "But don''t be too regretful. ''Big Fish'' was customized for a movie in Qi Continent, so it must be released accordingly. Moreover, it''s not just about the quality of the song that determines its ranking. The popularity of the composer and the singer matter significantly too.

    You are not as famous as those well-known composers, and Jiang Kui is a newcomer, it is understandable that you couldn''t make it to the top ten. Unless the quality of your song could overshadow these weaknesses...this why those top-tier composers like to cooperate with A-list singers. It''s a powerful collaboration. Nonentities may be cheap, but they lack popularity!"

    Lin Yuan said, "I see."

    But, I still choose nonentities.

    Wu Yong continued to blabber: "That''s why every November is a ''newcomer season''. It''s a form of protection for newcomers. Without the protection of the ''newcomer season'', they will be at a disadvantage competing against established industry veterans. Unless the quality of their songs can overshadow these weaknesses... the difficulty level is pretty high though."

    Just then.

    Someone called from outside the door: "Xian Yu, come here for a moment, Ms. Zhao is looking for you."

 Chapter 33 - 30 Joint Sniping_1

    "Lin Yuan."

    When he saw Lin Yuan again, Zhao Jue warmly said, "Zhao Ying Ge has signed a contract with me, and she really likes ''Easy to Ignite and Explode''."

    "That''s good."

    Lin Yuan''s intention was to do Zhao Jue a favor.

    Zhao Jue said, "Let''s have you sign a contract first, following the same old rules. The company gets eighty percent, and the remaining twenty percent is split between you and Zhao Ying Ge..."

    "Alright."

    Zhao Ying Ge is not just an ordinary tool.

    So, Lin Yuan had already prepared himself to share more of the money. He didn''t have any objections, half for each of them was fine.

    Although Lin Yuan was a bit stingy about it.

    But no matter how Wu Yong bragged, Lin Yuan''s heart still belonged to a tool, because in Lin Yuan''s view, tools are cost-effective and of good value.

    "Let''s not say anything else."

    Zhao Jue patted Lin Yuan on the shoulder, "This is a huge favor. I will repay you in the future. I have enough influence in Starlight to say this."

    Lin Yuan said, "You''ve treated me to a meal."

    Zhao Jue laughed, "If a simple meal can be exchanged for ''Easy to Ignite and Explode,'' would treating you to more meals make you a superstar? This can''t be settled with just a meal. I can''t take advantage of you without giving something in return. You can reach out to me if you need anything in the future."

    Zhao Jue had said this statement once before.

    But the second time he said it, the meaning was completely different.

    Lin Yuan didn''t think much of it, he just nodded and said, "Let''s sign the contract."

    Zhao Jue nodded.

    Five minutes later, Lin Yuan followed Zhao Jue to the artist department and met Zhao Ying Ge.

    "Hello, Teacher Admirable Fish."

    As Zhao Ying Ge greeted him with a smile, she was somewhat surprised by how young Admirable Fish looked, she thought he would be at least over thirty.

    "Hello."

    Lin Yuan shook her hand politely.

    Zhao Ying Ge wanted to chat with Lin Yuan a bit more, but he didn''t seem interested in being conversational.

    She tried to start several conversations, but Lin Yuan only responded politely, thus Zhao Ying Ge had to stay quiet. She had her own pride to uphold.

    The two signed the contract.

    Zhao Ying Ge asked, "Does Teacher Admirable Fish have anything to add?"

    Lin Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Don''t alter the released version, but feel free to change any subsequent versions."

    Zhao Ying Ge said, "I''m not planning to change the composition, arrangement or lyrics."

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan proceeded to excuse himself and left.

    Once Lin Yuan had left, Zhao Ying Ge murmured, "Are all the composers in our company this aloof?"

    "Yes."

    Zhao Jue said without surprise, "Most people in the composition department are aloof, Admirable Fish''s personality is considered good, at least he is very polite."

    "Okay."

    Zhao Ying Ge asked expectantly, "Now that all the contracts are signed, are we releasing the single on the first of next month?"

    "Of course."

    Zhao Jue laughed, "I''ve said before, our company is very efficient. Once you''ve signed with the company, our promo department has already started creating buzz for your new song. Your fans already know that you''re releasing a song next month."

    Zhao Ying Ge was the champion of "Bloom".

    The show had just ended and Zhao Ying Ge, the champion, was still very popular. So the company wanted to strike while the iron was hot. The timing was perfect to release a song given her current popularity and ride the wave of "Bloom".

    If they delayed it for too long.

    The champion''s popularity would fade.

    At this moment, Zhao Jue''s phone suddenly rang.

    After answering the call for a while, her face darkened, and she said coldly, "Are Dazzling Silver Glow and Sand Sea teaming up?"

    After a while, Zhao Jue hung up the phone.

    Zhao Ying Ge looked confused, "What''s going on?"

    Zhao Jue answered rather irritably, "Next month, Sand Sea and Dazzling Silver Glow are going to have two top-tier musicians release new songs on the first, even though they originally planned to do it in March next year. It''s clear they changed the schedule to target you specifically."

    "So we have to change our schedule?" Zhao Ying Ge frowned.

    Though she had faith in "Easy to Ignite and Explode," the artists that Silver Light and Sand Sea were sending out were top-tier.

    What did top-tier mean?

    It signified that even if their songs weren''t all that great, they''d have a swarm of fans ready to purchase them.

    Just like Qian Xingyu, who was on the New Talent Chart.

    Even though everyone knew that Qian Xingyu''s songs might not be the best ones on the New Talent Chart, his popularity alone could boost his songs'' heat considerably.

    "It''s not that simple."

    Zhao Jue shook his head, "Under normal circumstances, we could indeed change the schedule, let them both miss out, and then watch them fight each other bloody in next month''s new songs chart. The problem is, you can''t afford to delay! Because your popularity comes from the champion boost of ''Bloom,'' delaying a month would reduce your heat by a third."

    Zhao Ying Ge gritted her teeth, "I can bear to lose a third."

    The united front of these two companies was clearly a retaliation against Zhao Ying Ge for not choosing them.

    To put it bluntly, if Zhao Ying Ge had chosen to sign with Sand Sea before, Starlight Entertainment might be the one teaming up with Dazzling Silver Glow today.

    So, while she was indeed angry about this, she also understood their perspective.

    "It won''t just be a month."

    Zhao Jue''s eyes twinkled with a cold gleam, "If you do not release a song in January, you won''t be able to release it in February either, you''d have to wait until March, because February is Blue Star''s Spring Festival."

    "Spring Festival..."

    Zhao Ying Ge''s face changed.

    She had conveniently forgotten!

    The song charts in December each year were always fiercely competitive, and though the month of Spring Festival was not as intense as December, due to the Blue Starian special sentiment towards this festival, a fair number of big names would release songs this month!

    So, releasing in February was still not as good as in January.

    As for postponing until March to release the song? That was absolutely out of the question.

    By March, several months would have passed since ''Bloom'' ended. Zhao Ying Ge''s championship popularity would have likely dispersed considerably by then.

    "So we have to go head-to-head?" Zhao Ying Ge asked nervously.

    She had confidence in ''Easy to Ignite and Explode.''

    But the situation with the new song chart was too complicated.

    Take December''s new song charts for instance; because of the many formidable contenders, even ''Big Fish'' couldn''t break into the top ten¡ª S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Of course.

    This had to do with ''Big Fish'' entering the field in the middle of the month.

    But this also indirectly showed that the ranking of a song was not solely dependent on its quality; factors such as the fame of the performer and the songwriter also played significant roles.

    Teacher Admirable Fish had started to gain some fame.

    But there was still a gap when compared to the top composers.

    She, too, had gained some fame; the championship of ''Bloom'' carried some weight.

    But when compared to the top-tier singers, there was still a considerable difference in fan count!

    "There is no way out."

    Zhao Jue narrowed his eyes, "The fact they dare to send two top-tier singers to target you, shows they''re convinced we have no way out. We have no choice but to forge ahead."

    Such a targeted move was rare.

    If it wasn''t for the immediate gratification, the target could simply change their schedule.

    However, the cleverness of Dazzling Silver Glow and Sand Sea lay in their accurately assessing Zhao Ying Ge''s situation and seizing this unique opportunity, leaving Zhao Ying Ge with no chance to reschedule!

    If they can''t have it, they''ll destroy it.

    This was how fierce the competition was amongst the top three in the Qin Continent.

    If they succeeded in sabotaging the release of her debut song, then Zhao Ying Ge''s championship title from ''Bloom'' wouldn''t hold much value.

    Zhao Ying Ge understood this as well.

    So she was quite anxious.

 Chapter 34 - 31: Everyone Must Die_1

    Nothing is new under the sun.

    Starlight Entertainment is naturally unable to conceal the siege by Dazzling Silver Glow and Sand Sea from the eyes of those in the industry.

    As for the reason?

    Everyone knows it''s because of Zhao Ying Ge - you could figure that out with your ass.

    Previously, when all three companies were competing for Zhao Ying Ge, they tried everything they could. After Zhao Ying Ge chose Starlight, how could Silver Glow and Sand Sea possibly swallow that bitter pill?

    So, the counterattack has begun.

    In this industry, many people have noses like dogs.

    The slightest ripple in the industry, and they can sniff out the aroma of gunpowder hidden within.

    But let''s get back to the point.

    Watching the power struggle among the three major entertainment companies in Qin Continent has long become a staple of many insiders.

    If the three are living harmoniously, then that would be abnormal.

    November is for the rising star charts.

    December is for the siege of Zhao Ying Ge.

    With formidable proof, these juggernauts of the industry never let down the movie-goers.

    Let''s get this show on the road!

    As for the alliance between Silver Glow and Sand Sea, it''s nothing new - it frequently happens among these big three.

    Sometimes, Silver Glow and Sand Sea team-up.

    Sometimes, it''s Sand Sea and Starlight.

    In short, if any one of the big three dares to make waves, the other two will certainly band together in a coup.

    In light of this, insiders have been voicing their opinions:

    "This alliance between Silver Glow and Sand Sea has surely hit Starlight where it hurts."

    "The timing is indeed impeccable."

    "Zhao Ying Ge is in a pickle. She can''t change the schedule. If she insists, it''ll be pushed to March next year."

    "March is a long way off."

    "Exactly. Zhao Ying Ge can''t ride the popularity from winning ''Bloom'' all the way until March. She''s left with no choice but to go all out."

    "Zhao Ying Ge is facing grim prospects."

    "Silver Glow and Sand Sea have sent out two premier singers. They certainly value Zhao Ying Ge."

    "..."

    The media are also involved.

    Many news outlets have covered this, all focusing on the same issue: ''In January, who will win the crown of the championship song between Silver Glow and Sand Sea?''"

    Starlight is now seen as cannon fodder in the industry.

    Not many have faith in a turnaround for Zhao Ying Ge. The influence of a top-tier singer paired with a hit-maker is no joke.

    At this moment...

    Inside Silver Glow...

    Chen Zhiyu is somewhat upset, complaining to his agent, "I planned to release a new song in March. The company unexpectedly changed my schedule to next month, to suppress a newcomer. Did they even consider my feelings?"

    Chen Zhiyu.

    He is the top-tier singer tasked by Silver Glow to target Zhao Ying Ge.

    His agent pacifies him, "It''s the company''s decision. We can''t refute them. But Queen Xi said you won''t be at a loss, there will be a concert for you in Qin Continent Theater next year."

    "I understand that, but I''m still annoyed."

    Chen Zhiyu grumbles, "After all, Zhao Ying Ge is the winner of ''Bloom''. Suppressing her is humiliating and her fans will resent me."

    The agent chuckles, "Her fans are nothing compared to yours."

    Chen Zhiyu smirks, "In any case, this won''t happen again. Also, the company needs to promote my material well. Zheng Liang of Sand Sea is also releasing a song in January, and I don''t want to lose to him."

    The agent hurriedly adds, "Of course."

    With Silver Glow and Sand Sea sending out top-tier singers, the battle for the championship song next month is now nothing to do with Starlight.

    In response to this...

    Other than Zhao Ying Ge herself, her fans are likely the most aggrieved.

    Many supporters of Zhao Ying Ge vent their anger at Sand Sea and Silver Glow, criticizing them online for ganging up on a newcomer. However, the two companies, having weathered numerous storms, shrug off her fans'' attacks with a nonchalant response - citing it all as a "coincidence".

    ...

    Amid the controversy, as time marches on, January finally arrives, accompanied by the start of a fierce battle for the championship song.

    On the first day of the month...

    The top-tier singers from Sand Sea and Silver Glow both release their songs.

    "Easy to Ignite and Explode," sung by Zhao Ying Ge, also arrived as scheduled.

    It was in the morning.

    Chen Zhiyu, inside a hotel room, opened his usual music app for the first time to search for the new song of Sand Sea''s competitor, Zheng Liang.

    To Chen Zhiyu, as long as he could beat Sand Sea''s Zheng Liang, the championship song title for January would virtually be his.

    Zheng Liang''s new song is called "Caramel".

    Like his song, its promotion could be spotted right on the main page of the player.

    After listening to Zheng Liang''s song with his earphones on, Chen Zhiyu''s mood grew unexpectedly nervous.

    He thought his rival''s song was not bad.

    Considering comparable popularity between him and Zheng Liang, the determinant of the victory in this battle would actually be the audience''s taste alongside the promotional cast of the two songs.

    Preparing to exit from the player.

    Chen Zhiyu suddenly saw the recommended "Easy to Ignite and Explode" on the home page, and he burst into laughter: "They even put it on the home page, it seems Starlight has not given up yet, they even gave such a conspicuous promotional resource."

    While his earphones were still on.

    He casually clicked on "Easy to Ignite and Explode".

    The prelude to the song is a series of violin ensemble, instantly creating a desolate and lonely atmosphere, which is then followed by a series of off-key singing conveying a sense of laziness and helplessness:

    "Do they wish me to go crazy or wish me to live alone

    Do they want me to be coldly glamorous or want me to be fickle and contemptible Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Do they need me to be sunny or need me not to sway with emotion

    Do they play with my directionless laughter and tears or play with my heart like withered wood

    ¡­"

    Chen Zhiyu''s feelings inexplicably became tense, and his previously relaxed expression gradually disappeared.

    Why do I feel something is off?

    The singing in his earphones continues at that moment, still that off-key tune seemingly reaching from a distance, progressively amplifying with the resonance of the musical instruments:

    "Do they grant me dreams or grant me quick awakenings

    Do they sleep with me or waste time with me, both without mercy

    Do they love me purely or love me nakedly without being decadent

    Do they watch me sing for myself or watch me heartbroken

    ¡­"

    The feeling of something being off only became stronger.

    Chen Zhiyu was staring blankly at the song he was listening to, his body gradually tensing up. Suddenly, the off-key tune in his earphones disappeared, replaced by a clear yet husky voice that reached right into the heart:

    "Do they wish me to be like smoke or wish me to be gorgeous and lazy

    Do they watch me act crazy or watch me be witty and dignified

    Do they need me to be beautiful or need me to kill without blinking an eye

    Do they wish me to have eternal happiness or wish me to wilt without ever crossing

    Do they want me to be flirtatious or want me to lose the spirit in my eyes

    Do they plan for my sincerity or plan for my bewitching gaze

    Do they elope with me or do they want to be my loyal servant

    Do they compliment me for being ready to bloom or compliment me for covering up more than revealing

    ¡­"

    Chen Zhiyu was as if startled, jolting up; he clenched his fist tightly, tried to relax it, and clenched it again.

    At that moment, he felt an uncomfortable pins-and-needles sensation.

    Lyrics, composition, performance, everything seemed impeccably perfect, violin ensemble, piano solo, sorrowful yet splendid. The entire style of the song was shockingly brilliant!

    "It''s over."

    As if he had experienced a long suffocation, the thought flashed through Chen Zhiyu''s mind, and he involuntarily took a deep breath.

    The last dozen or so seconds of the song.

    That hoarse voice seemed to have found resolution: "Do they please me by being charming or please me by being passionately transparent, like me in full bloom or like me gasping for air in obedience, depend on my beauty or depend on my lustful confusion, blame me for having a worry-free lifetime or blame me for shedding vain tears."

    The song ended.

    Chen Zhiyu sat in front of the computer.

    At this time, his manager happened to walk in. Seeing Chen Zhiyu''s disoriented state, he asked with some confusion: "What''s wrong with you?"

    "¡­"

    Chen Zhiyu, as if he had not heard, gave a stunned laugh. He looked at Sand Sea''s song as if some strange emotional resonance had been sparked within him out of the blue, his face suddenly twisted as he said:

    "They all must die!!!"

 Chapter 35 - 32 Again its Xian Yu_1

    "What the hell?"

    The agent looked confused but quickly broke into a smile, "I''m here to congratulate you, your new single ''Glory'' is currently the champion song on the new song chart, you''ve taken the lead this season!"

    "On top?"

    Chen Zhiyu glanced at his agent, "I just realized today that the name of this song is not very auspicious. Do you know what short-lived glory is?"

    "Pah! Pah! Pah!"

    The agent protested unhappily, "If there''s nothing wrong, don''t keep cursing yourself. The new song was released at seven o''clock in the morning, and now it''s nine. ''Glory'' reached the top in two hours. This proves that our song is the strongest one this season. Even Sand Sea fell behind us. Zheng Liang''s ''Caramel'' is now in second place, a little behind in the numbers.

    As long as we keep suppressing Zheng Liang, we have the champion song of this season locked in!"

    "You are really jinxing it." Chen Zhiyu looked defeated.

    Seeing Chen Zhiyu''s depressed face, the agent became increasingly frustrated, "What''s wrong with you, Chen Zhiyu? You''re not satisfied with being on top? Are you complaining about the company sending you out to suppress newcomers? Fine, I admit it, the company did wrong, but the boss promised to compensate you with a concert. Cheer up!"

    "Suppressing newcomers?"

    Chen Zhiyu laughed sarcastically, "Who''s suppressing who is still unknown. If the company''s plan backfires, don''t let them blame me."

    "What the heck?"

    The agent suddenly laughed, "You wouldn''t be worried about that Zhao Ying Ge, would you? Deserve to be veteran singers, truly steady. Actually, I''m also a bit afraid that we might crash, so before I came over, I specifically checked the ranking of ''Easy to Ignite and Explode''. It''s just the 10th, miles away from your current rank. Don''t believe me, see for yourself."

    As he spoke, the agent pulled up the new song chart on his phone.

    After taking a look at the ranking, he seemed a bit startled, "Huh? How did it become seventh? It was tenth just now. Is there a bug in the chart?"

    "Uh-huh."

    Chen Zhiyu wasn''t surprised at all and put on a profound expression with a jest, "I suggest you refresh it again later, there might be a surprise."

    "Later?"

    Almost subconsciously, the agent refreshed the page again. He then goggled in disbelief,

    "What the... It''s sixth now?"

    He whipped his head around to look at Chen Zhiyu.

    Even a fool could tell that something was wrong.

    Chen Zhiyu shrugged, "Looks like our Silver Light and Sand Sea ended up as perfect green leaves. Just wait, tomorrow''s headline will be ''Bloom Champion Zhao Ying Ge Ascends to the Top by Stepping Over the Shoulders of Two Top-tier Singers.''

    "Is it really that serious?"

    The agent was filled with disbelief.

    He didn''t dare to leave, so he just stayed with Chen Zhiyu.

    The two stared at each other in silence for half an hour before the agent refreshed the new song chart again.

    "Which place now?"

    Chen Zhiyu inquired calmly.

    The corner of the agent''s mouth twitched, "How is that possible...It''s not right...In half an hour... it freaking rushed to the third place?"

    It''s already third place?

    Chen Zhiyu spoke three words, "Killing spree."

    The agent seemed to agree, "Zhao Ying Ge is really fierce."

    Chen Zhiyu shook his head, "Zhao Ying Ge''s fan base can''t compare to mine. The reason she could make a killing on the new song chart is purely because the quality of the song compensates for the lack of popularity. So, the real fierce one is the songwriter behind this song, Xian Yu."

    The agent asked, "So can we keep the first place?"

    Chen Zhiyu took a deep breath, "That depends on just how fierce Xian Yu can be."

    The agent breathed a sigh of relief, "So, you mean there''s still hope?"

    Chen Zhiyu shook his head, "Don''t get me wrong. Being overtaken is just a matter of time. What I meant is, I''m uncertain about how many days Xian Yu will be able to hold the champion crown."

    ...

    Many people in the industry were paying attention to this season''s new song chart.

    That was why many people witnessed the opening day massacre that ''Easy to Ignite and Explode'' put on!

    The new song chart was turned upside down.

    The guy who was in sixth place on the chart held a strong smile, talking to his friend, "Did you see? It seemed like a song just whooshed over my head."

    Friend: "..."

    This wasn''t an isolated incident. Everyone who saw themselves being trampled by ''Easy to Ignite and Explode'' had a similar feeling.

    Immediately after.

    The singers on the chart were all thinking: Could Zhao Ying Ge really take down the top two?

    No way, right?

    No way...right?

    Their determination turned into uncertainty in just about ten seconds.

    Because those who really know the industry could see that ''Easy to Ignite and Explode'', this dark horse, was likely to make a big comeback!

    Everyone in the circle was astonished.

    They all found it incredible.

    Before, everyone thought that Starlight was destined to be down this season, and the media constantly overlooked Starlight.

    The barrier set up by two top-tier singers, how could a singer of Zhao Ying Ge''s caliber break through?

    But the result seemed to deviate from what many people imagined.

    Zhao Ying Ge made it to the top three so effortlessly on the first day!

    Even if we take a step back.

    It''s quite normal for Zhao Ying Ge to get third place, after all, she is the champion of ''Bloom'', and her fame is not inferior to that of ordinary debut singers.

    But she got this third place on the first day, and she did it so naturally and so suddenly that it wasn''t logical.

    Why?

    Zhao Ying Ge hasn''t peaked yet, has she?

    Theoretically, she should have gone through a cruel battle and scraping by to secure the third place, at least that was what the insiders had predicted.

    So why was it so soon?

    If you only look at the opening day momentum of ''Easy to Ignite and Explode'', unknowing people might think Zhao Ying Ge was also a top-tier singer¡ª

    Of course, Zhao Ying Ge is not top-tier. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The real reason is not hard to figure out.

    A veteran music producer in the industry, after listening to ''Easy to Ignite and Explode'', laughed with deep feeling, saying, "This is what a textbook-level songwriter''s boost looks like. This is why songwriters have a high status in the industry."

    Exactly.

    Boosted by the songwriter.

    It''s the songwriter who makes up for the singer''s innate lack of popularity single-handedly, so Zhao Ying Ge, who is far less famous than top-tier singers, was able to display the momentum of top-tier singers.

    In fact, no one needs to remind them.

    People in the industry are all clear about this.

    A strong songwriter has this ability.

    But when everyone looks forward to the composer''s name under the composer column, they can''t help but exclaim in unison, because this name has appeared too frequently these days¡ª

    "It''s Xian Yu again!"

    Why use ''again''?

    Because most people couldn''t imagine that the songwriter who singlehandedly turned the tables and took Zhao Ying Ge to stand against the two top-tier singers is this newcomer songwriter in the music circle.

    Three consecutive hits.

    Is this "fish" really a newcomer?

 Chapter 36 - 33 Strange Yin and Yang_1

    Three excellent songs in three months.

    Are all newcomers so prolific nowadays?

    Some even began to suspect that Xian Yu might be a pseudonym used by some Maestro to tease his peers.

    After all, the industry has never prohibited songwriters from entering the field under pseudonyms.

    And given the peculiar personalities of the Maestros, such things have indeed happened before.

    The next day, Starlight internally responded:

    Xian Yu is not a pseudonym of a Maestro, he is indeed a newcomer.

    Inside the company, many people who have met Xian Yu confirmed this, adding some more information: Xian Yu is male, not very old, just joined the composition department this year...

    "He must have a lot of work accumulated."

    "Right, he''s not necessarily prolific, it''s just that Xian Yu had accumulated a few good songs before he formally entered the field, now releasing them in a densely packed period of time, which gives everyone the impression of high productivity."

    "But this does prove his strength."

    If it''s not a prank by Maestro, it''s the only explanation left.

    Some reporters tried to interview Xian Yu, wanting to see the real face of this newcomer, but was refused by Starlight, stating:

    "Xian Yu doesn''t like being disturbed."

    This wasn''t Starlight''s decision, but Lin Yuan''s. For this matter, Ol'' Zhou even specifically sought Lin Yuan''s opinion.

    Everyone wasn''t too surprised about this.

    Because there are many songwriters in the industry with the same kind of personality as Xian Yu.

    They never accept interviews, almost rejecting any form of exposure, except for leaving their own name after their works¡ª

    Let alone Lin Yuan.

    Even some of the Maestro-level figures in the industry are so mysterious that you only hear their names but never see them.

    As a famous saying in the composition industry goes: "The farther I am from the audience, the greater the imaginative space left by my work."

    Who exactly said these words is unknowable now.

    But these words do indeed reflect the heart of many songwriters.

    People have different personalities.

    Some people want the whole world to know them.

    But those who actively choose to be behind the scenes, most of them are not interested in being in the limelight.

    No trace of me can be found in the world, but the legend of me is spreading everywhere, isn''t this a kind of charm?

    ...

    In the following days, "Easy to Ignite and Explode" gained powerful momentum, with its data skyrocketing, and the gap with the top two quickly narrowed down.

    And on the seventh day... Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Sand Sea Culture, A-list singer Zheng Liang was urging his assistant in the break room: "Call the promotion department quickly, I want more resources for advertisements, the gap with the first is not that big!"

    "Ok!"

    The assistant, too thrilled, felt that the dawn of victory had appeared, but was suddenly stopped by Zheng Liang''s manager before he could step out the door: "No need."

    Zheng Liang frowned, "Why no need?"

    The manager said, "The rankings have changed."

    Zheng Liang was elated, "Am I number one now? That''s great, but it''s not stable enough, we need to increase promotion, the battle is intense."

    "No."

    The manager sighed, "You''re third now."

    Zheng Liang doubted if he heard wrong: "Wasn''t I second?"

    The manager shook his head, "We miscalculated."

    Zheng Liang was silent for a few seconds, then sighed as if resigned:

    "I was eventually caught up."

    The manager looked at him, "Didn''t you expect this already?"

    Zheng Liang nodded, "But I didn''t think I would be caught up in the first week, I originally wanted to sit on the first position before ''Easy to Ignite and Explode'' hit the top."

    Yes.

    Zheng Liang knew very well that "Easy to Ignite and Explode" was destined to be the champion song of the month, and he just wanted to briefly be number one.

    "Too humble."

    He thought a bit helplessly.

    The manager tried to console him, "Anyway, the first will be replaced tomorrow, there''s no difference between second and third if you can''t get the first."

    "Yes."

    Zheng Liang smiled, "Now, probably no one in the world understands Chen Zhiyu''s feelings better than me."

    ...

    In fact, they didn''t have to wait until the next day.

    Because the first place was replaced at eight o''clock that night.

    All those who opened the new song chart would see that the first place on the new song chart had become "Easy to Ignite and Explode".

    Lyrics/Composition: Xian Yu

    Download quantity: 335,100

    It has to be said that this download volume is much higher than the first-week data of the top ten on the Newcomers Chart.

    But this is the appeal of famous singers.

    Even Zhao Ying Ge''s fame is incomparable to that of a pure newcomer, after all she is the champion of "Bloom".

    Moreover, Xian Yu is no longer a pure newcomer as he used to be, he already has two signature songs to his name.

    But the shock in the industry was as expected, none less.

    Although the first-day performance of "Easy to Ignite and Explode" has already signaled this outcome¡ª

    "Turn the Tables."

    "Defying All Odds."

    "Dark Horse."

    "Complete Turnaround."

    Literally all sorts of vocabulary appeared in numerous people''s minds.

    No one expected beforehand, Silver Light and Sand Sea''s planned blockade would make their front-line singers stepping-stones for Zhao Ying Ge!

    On this day.

    The headlines of media in Qin Continent have unanimously become: "Zhao Ying Ge''s first single after her debut, overwhelming two front-line singers!"

    It was originally a competition between A-list singers.

    Now Zheng Liang and Chen Zhiyu have become supporting roles.

    Collaboration between Silver Light and Sand Sea didn''t seem like they were targeting Starlight''s Zhao Ying Ge, it looked more like a voluntary high-quality assist.

    Zhao Jue couldn''t help but laugh.

    She initially thought Zhao Ying Ge had no hopes left when she learned that Silver Light and Sand Sea intended to jointly target Starlight.

    Who would have thought "Easy to Ignite and Explode" would override singers'' popularity and directly lead Zhao Ying Ge to the top.

    The evaluation of some people in the industry is not wrong.

    It was a textbook level the-Maestro-taking-off-the-game situation.

    Zhao Jue is someone who believes in an eye for an eye. Soon after the song topped the charts, she called Xi Mei, a competitor of Silver Light, the first words she opened with were: "I must thank Silver Light for their assist."

    "Heh."

    Having been old rivals for many years, how could Xi Mei not detect the eccentricity in Zhao Jue''s tone.

    Anyway, it''s not the first time that they''ve all torn faces and fought each other.

    Xi Mei counter-attacked on the spot, in the same strange tone: "Xian Yu has raised Zhao Ying Ge to a height that doesn''t belong to her."

    "No need to worry yourself."

    In this industry, eighty percent of the successful singers are raised by Maestros.

    Zhao Jue happily hung up.

    Then she called Sand Sea''s old rival.

    The tone of Sand Sea''s chief was even more sour, cursing: "The higher the position, the more severe the fall tends to be."

    "But one has to climb high first."

    Zhao Jue laughed heartily, such minor accusations couldn''t disturb her mood, in fact it relieved some of her previous frustrations.

    At this time.

    Looking at her song reaching the top, Zhao Ying Ge''s mood was also like a roller coaster.

    She, like Zhao Jue before, believed that with two A-list singers releasing songs in January, her chance of winning had no hope.

    But when she was most desperate, Xian Yu pulled off a Maestro-like miracle. "Easy to Ignite and Explode" became the champion song of the month in a week''s time!

    To put it in a more melodramatic way:

    In front of an absolute good song, all tricks and schemes are futile. A good song can break a thousand laws!

    Just like the name of the song.

    Burns, and... explodes!

 Chapter 37 - 34: Finding Inspiration_1

    Lin Yuan''s new song topping the chart in January did not only draw attention from the outside world.

    It also caused quite a stir in the music department at Starlight.

    Not that this achievement is all that impressive.

    Lin Yuan''s exceptional performance, the ace songwriters on the tenth floor essentially all have the achievement of season''s championship songs.

    Many non-ace songwriters have achieved similar results, so this isn''t the most brag-worthy.

    What is truly brag-worthy!

    Is Lin Yuan''s three wins in three matches!

    Most award-winning songwriters take a year or so to produce a good piece, and the quality inevitably varies. But Lin Yuan churned out three great songs within three months, and the results of each one are extraordinarily high -

    This is something most songwriters can''t even imagine.

    Take Wu Yong, for instance, he has been with the company for about ten years and only won the season championship once, and that was a season with no top line singers participating.

    Comparatively, Wu Yong was saddened to find that Lin Yuan''s achievements in the three months since his arrival almost equaled his twenty-some years of hard work.

    ...

    Ol'' Zhou had been keeping an eye on the "Big Fish" December chart.

    Lin Yuan himself didn''t know, but on the last day of December, "Big Fish" had actually rushed to the tenth place in the season.

    Entering mid-month, making it to the top ten in the deadly December group!

    The performance of this song "Big Fish" can only be described as brilliant!

    But before Ol'' Zhou could get over the previous song, Lin Yuan had already topped this month''s chart with "Easy to Ignite and Explode".

    And he did it by knocking down two top-tier competitors ¡ª¡ª

    A ruthless method to say the least.

    Am I not giving him enough attention? For a moment, Ol'' Zhou felt like he couldn''t keep up with Lin Yuan''s pace.

    Need to get more involved in the growth of the newcomer!

    Hence, he quietly appeared in the tenth-floor composition department.

    As soon as he walked in, Ol'' Zhou spotted Lin Yuan from afar, working hard at his computer.

    "Sure enough, no one''s success comes by chance."

    Ol'' Zhou stopped the greetings from the surrounding people and headed toward Lin Yuan with pleasure.

    But when he approached Lin Yuan, Ol'' Zhou realized that Lin Yuan was not working hard, he was actually reading a novel on his computer.

    "..."

    With so many eyes staring, it wouldn''t be appropriate for Ol'' Zhou to play favorites, so he couldn''t help coughing as a reminder, "Lin Yuan, you''re still on the clock, what are you doing?"

    "Looking for inspiration."

    Lin Yuan promptly replied.

    Ol'' Zhou: "..." He started again! He started again!

    There is a prevailing practice in the music department.

    No matter whether they are caught playing video games while on duty, or watching a movie, or doing something else, the group of songwriters will confidently explain it as:

    "Looking for inspiration."

    Just like how the Maestro''s are always off-duty, their reason is always "outdoor research".

    Looking for inspiration is the foolproof solution of the music department against the leaders.

    So Ol'' Zhou often feels like this bunch of songwriters constantly rub their intelligence against the ground.

    It''s one thing to say you''re watching a movie for inspiration.

    Does it count as finding inspiration when you''re battling in the summoner''s canyon?

    Does it count as finding inspiration when you''re passionately shooting in games?

    And the most outrageous, chatting with their girlfriend about going to a hotel at night, also counts as finding inspiration?

    Really now.

    Now reading novels on duty also counts as finding inspiration.

    Lin Yuan has only been with the company for a short time, yet he''s already adept at this ¡ª¡ª

    It must be the fault of his colleagues, no matter how you look at it!

    If it weren''t for these people constantly using this tactic, Lin Yuan wouldn''t have picked up such bad habits so quickly.

    So Ol'' Zhou shot a fierce glare at the surrounding people.

    The surrounding colleagues suddenly looked innocent ¡ª¡ª

    Lin Yuan is clearly self-taught! What does it have to do with us! We''ve never done such a thing in front of him since he joined!

    Not to mention.

    Even if we pull this trick, most of us would feel guilty, who could be as confident as Lin Yuan?

    But no one dares to defy boss Zhou, they could only bear the blame reluctantly.

    Looking at Lin Yuan, Ol'' Zhou resumed his smile, "So, have you found your inspiration yet?"

    He''s even more attached to Lin Yuan now than his own child, too reluctant to scold or hit, and maybe Lin Yuan was indeed looking for inspiration when reading the novel.

    Lin Yuan shook his head.

    He only has one song left.

    And he doesn''t plan to release it now.

    Today at work, everyone was discussing his three wins in three matches, proving that his recent performance was too outstanding, he needs to cool everyone down a bit.

    "No worries, take your time."

    It was within Ol'' Zhou''s expectations that Lin Yuan couldn''t produce a new song.

    He''s just made three consecutive hits, not even the Maestro''s juicing machine could take such a squeeze, let alone Lin Yuan who''s still a newcomer.

    ...

    After Ol'' Zhou left, Lin Yuan continued to peruse the novel website.

    Actually, Lin Yuan wasn''t reading a novel, he was just submitting his work to Super Nova, this morning, Super Nova officially opened its submission channel.

    When at work,

    Doing nothing is still doing nothing.

    Why not develop a side hustle instead.

    Following the process, Lin Yuan submitted the ready System''s "King of the Net" to the official email of Silver Blue Books.

    After the submission.

    Lin Yuan suddenly had a doubt, "System, there is a lot of professional tennis knowledge written in "King of the Net", is it all to deceive the readers?"

    "No."

    The System answered in Lin Yuan''s mind, "The tennis knowledge in the original anime of "Prince of Tennis" is indeed mostly bluffing, and for the sake of making the scenes look good, it has become heavily distorted in the later stages. After all, the original author is not a professional national team tennis player.

    But the System is very strict, so the novel adapted by the System is also very strict. The tennis knowledge depicts in the novel are all highly professional, although many moves may seem mystifying, they are professional moves that can theoretically be completed by real-life tennis players."

    "Understood." sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan was mainly worried that the scenes depicted in the book would be too fake and would be questioned by some people who know about tennis, which would affect the collection of literary category reputation points. With the System''s guarantee, he no longer needs to worry about this problem.

    Right then.

    The System suddenly said, "Friendly reminder to the host, future novels will be put into the host''s mind, the host will have to write them out by himself, reaping without sowing is not a good habit."

    "My typing speed is rather slow."

    "The System will enhance the host''s typing speed."

    Lin Yuan frowned, but didn''t strongly resist. He''s after all the author of a novel, he can''t always rely on mental writing.

    But this would mean sacrificing his office hours.

    Don''t ask why he would write a novel during office hours, he would say it''s all for inspiration.

    At this moment.

    The morning work ended, and Lin Yuan went to the cafeteria for lunch.

    Today, the company paid the salaries, so Lin Yuan no longer needs to worry about meals.

    He''s also planning to contact his sister tonight.

    Lin Yuan hasn''t forgotten what he promised, he must buy a new phone for his sister. By the way, he can also send some money to his sister.

    The rest of the money, he''ll keep some for himself and then send some to his family.

    There are still a lot of debts at home that are not yet repaid.

    This month, Lin Yuan has made quite a bit of money, including the commission for the "Big Fish" order, compared to last month, it''s a bumper harvest.

 Chapter 38 - 35 Alliance Hierarchã€Ou Tianmingã€‘Extra update_1

    Last month, Lin Yuan''s earnings came to about 700,000 yuan in total.

    It could have been more. After all, apart from the commission, Lin Yuan now has two songs that earn him a share of the revenue.

    Despite losing the boost from the New Talent chart in its second month on sale, "Life Like A Summer Flower" still brought him a considerable income.

    This song has currently reached a download count of 700,000, surely reaching a million within a few months won''t be a problem.

    Moreover, he had also released "Big Fish" mid-month.

    But the more money he earned, the more tax was deducted. The tax on a few tens of thousands was vastly different from the tax on hundreds of thousands.

    Luckily, 700,000 yuan were more than enough to solve Lin Yuan''s current predicament.

    Half past nine in the evening.

    Lin Yuan called his sister.

    His sister, who had graduated not long ago and was still an intern at a company, was called Lin Xuan. Her work kept her late usually.

    "Hello, Lin Yuan."

    The call connected, his sister Lin Xuan''s voice carried a touch of fatigue and hoarseness: "I just got home from work."

    Lin Yuan responded, "You should eat first."

    Lin Xuan chuckled, "I''m just boiling the water. I''ll have some instant noodles in a bit. Mom told me a few days ago that you have some good news for me?"

    It seemed Mom hadn''t spilled the beans yet.

    Lin Yuan chose his words carefully, "Sis, do you know Xian Yu?"

    "Xian Yu?"

    Lin Xuan hesitated a moment, "Yes, I listen to music often. His songs are quite nice. Why, do you know him?"

    Lin Yuan told her, "I am Xian Yu."

    Lin Xuan instinctively raised her voice, "You''re what fish?"

    "Xian Yu."

    "Xian what?"

    "Xian Yu."

    "Wait...wait a moment...let me take a minute.." Lin Xuan, being a young woman, was naturally quicker on the uptake than their mother. However, this news left her somewhat flustered.

    After a good while, Lin Xuan finally came back to her senses, "Xian... Yu?"

    Lin Yuan responded, "Yes."

    "Xian Yu!"

    "Mhm-mhm."

    "Xian Yu!?"

    The intensity of his sister''s tone grew with each iteration. Even Lin Yuan, known for his patience, was getting a little annoyed, "Yes, I am Xian Yu...but that''s not the point. The point is I''m planning to buy you a new phone."

    "You heartless boy!"

    Lin Xuan immediately grew angry, "Just a phone? Don''t you remember how I treated you before? Let alone before, the clothes and shoes you wore to school were bought with the entirety of my first month''s intern salary!"

    Lin Yuan couldn''t help but laugh, "How much do you want then?"

    He got along very well with his sisters, so they never put on airs with one another. In fact, he quite enjoyed this way of interacting.

    "That''s more like it."

    His sister huffed, "Don''t think I don''t understand the business. Composing is quite lucrative, and your songs are so popular. Just a phone won''t be enough. Add another five thousand yuan. I need to pay my rent. To make it easy, give me a total of ten thousand yuan!"

    Lin Yuan reassured her, "Already transferred."

    Lin Xuan chuckled, "Okay, let me just check..."

    The voice on the other end of the phone suddenly went quiet.

    After a long silence, Lin Xuan finally spoke up again, her voice somewhat frantic, "Did you accidentally type an extra zero?"

    Lin Yuan laughed, "No, not a mistake. One hundred thousand, it''s for you."

    Lin Xuan''s voice turned serious, "Lin Yuan! I appreciate your kindness towards me, but you need to be sensible. The money you have made should go to our mother. She borrowed a lot of money from our relatives and friends for your treatment. We need to pay all of that money back. I will keep a few thousand and give her the rest to decide how to use.

    You don''t have a problem with that, do you? Regardless if you do, what I say goes."

    "That''s the plan..."

    Lin Yuan could only explain the situation to her once again.

    His sister''s reaction progressed from shock to delight and finally ended in her bouncing around in joy. "You sent her money in the last month? And you made that much again this month? I don''t want to work anymore, dear brother! Oh my God, I don''t want to strive for success anymore!"

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    It seemed that his sister''s ability to cope was even worse than their mother''s.

    After a long bout of nonsensical babbling, Lin Xuan finally calmed down, "Okay, we do as you say. We''ll pay off the debts at home first. But you can forget about getting this money back. The one hundred thousand is mine!"

    "Yes, yes, all yours."

    Lin Yuan continued, "If you don''t want to strive for success, then don''t bother. Go back and attend university. You didn''t manage to pursue your master''s degree because of me, but you still have a shot now."

    "No."

    Lin Xuan refused, "You''re my brother and yet you don''t understand me at all? Do you really think I love studying that much? The thing I''ve hated most since childhood is going to school! It was always mom who nagged at me that a good education can help you get a good job. And I thought, getting a good job means earning money to fund your treatment.

    That''s why I forced myself to keep studying, studying, studying... studying till my brain blew up! Now that you''re earning so much money, why do I need to keep it up? I''m happy to just work diligently. Besides, I quite like my current job. If you can''t produce any more songs in the future, at least I can still support you, so we won''t end up destitute."

    "Alright."

    Lin Yuan agreed, "Then you decide for yourself." sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Xuan laughed, "From childhood, I''ve always loved reading novels. Currently, I''m an intern editor at Ice River Publishing House and have met many famous novelists. I''ve been working for several months now. My performance is average. But I''ve collected a heap of autographs from novelists."

    "So, you''re an editor?"

    "Yep, didn''t I tell you about it before? You seem not to have remembered it... Let me tell you again, your sister is working at the Ice River Publishing House, just starting my career. In a while, I''ll probably get a permanent position!"

    "Alright, then please eat well for dinner from now on."

    Lin Yuan thought he could probably write a book at his sister''s place in the future.

    The Superstar event held by Silver Blue Books was out of his reach as they were not the same company as his sister''s.

    "Absolutely!"

    Lin Xuan declared triumphantly, "How can I not treat myself with one hundred thousand yuan at my disposal? Starting from tomorrow, I''m going to switch to bucket instant noodles, and add two sausages!"

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    A true Lin sibling, through and through.

    The two chatted for a while longer before ending the call.

    Lin Yuan checked his account balance; he had about 600,000 yuan left. Without sparing a thought, he transferred 550,000 to his mother and sent her a message:

    "You can repay the debts now."

    The total family debt was over 500,000 yuan, which could now be cleared in one go.

    His mother called him immediately, shocked, "Did you earn so much this month?"

    "I was lucky, I got a commission."

    Lin Yuan briefly explained the situation to her.

    Mom hung up abruptly and then texted him through the contact book, "Bad signal, will repay debts tomorrow."

    Lin Yuan sent back a smiley face.

    He knew why his mother hung up. She probably wanted to let out a good cry without him hearing, so she chose to avoid the situation. However, he didn''t expose her.

    With this issue resolved...

    He lay flat on the school''s sports field, looking up at the starry sky. His heart was filled with a warm, peaceful feeling. He felt a sense of reality and solidity that he had never experienced before.

    He recalled the day he first time-traveled, when he also lay on the sports field, looking at the stars.

    But back then, he was faced with threats to life, family pressures. However, that moment lacked the comfort and satisfaction he felt now¡ª

    It''s great to be alive.

 Chapter 39 - 36: The Story of the Editorial Department_1

    In the following days.

    The data for the song "Easy to Ignite and Explode," which is topping the charts this season, becomes increasingly stable, opening up a significant gap from the second-place track.

    At this moment.

    "Easy to Ignite and Explode"''s comment section on all major music platforms is particularly booming.

    The song is sparking a lot of discussion.

    "I think this song should be named ''How Exactly Do You Want Me to Be.''

    "I feel like this song could alternatively be named ''Straight Man Cancer Go to Death'', ''Men Are Hypocrites'', ''Who the Hell Do You Think I Am''..."

    "Folk? Rock? The singing style is also unique!"

    "This song is intoxicating! Download and save it first!"

    "Everyone passing by, come and see, these are society''s expectations of women¡ªwe live in a world where I''m freezing under the blazing sun. When will our female mates be able to stand up?"

    "Seriously, are you supposed to get into fights these days just over song choices?"

    "This song gives me the feeling that men simultaneously love and mentally wound women. They look down on them but still need them around. They want to have their cake and eat it too. In summary, two words: scumbags!"

    "I feel like this song resonates with us men. Every man''s ultimate dream is to have a pure, seductive woman, who can go to high-level meetings and cook in the kitchen, act charming and cute when needed, and courageously fight off the mistress."

    "Catching the living example of straight male cancer above. There''s everything in your daydreams."

    "Today I went to the pub, passed several rooms and heard this song playing."

    "..."

    While within the industry people sing the praises of the "Maestro", the majority of listeners tend to discuss the lyrics. Many feel this song describes a situation frequently encountered in real life.

    But these two aspects don''t clash.

    Xian Yu self-composed the lyrics and music, leaving no room for the public to dispute which is superior.

    Furthermore.

    Some people cut clips from different movies and shows together, using "Easy to Ignite and Explode" as the background music, which surprisingly yielded impressive results.

    Thus, many content creators across video websites, forums, and various other platforms imitated this trend.

    In one video, classic goddess figures from many TV dramas were blended together. As their classic scenes appeared one by one accompanied by this background music, it triggered quite a response.

    "Fiery mix!"

    "I see a colorful world!"

    "This song as BGM fits in perfectly."

    "Ah! I beg for the song title!"

    "The person above, at ease. It''s called ''Easy to Ignite and Explode.''"

    "I was indifferent to ''Easy to Ignite and Explode'', but I get the song after watching the video mix. I silently downloaded and saved it."

    "The song mix is so tasteful!"

    "This must be the correct way to appreciate this song."

    "As we all know, once ''Easy to Ignite and Explode'' starts playing, it''s the goddesses'' turn to hit the stage."

    "..."

    The spread of these videos also further promotes "Easy to Ignite and Explode."

    Often, a song as BGM can bring a different vitality to ordinary video clips.

    It''s similar to the logic of how certain songs can dramatize a scene in a movie or TV drama and cue the climax.

    The popularity of a song is related to its quality, but it doesn''t solely depend on quality.

    Lin Yuan''s previous two songs weren''t necessarily inferior to "Easy to Ignite and Explode."

    However, unarguably, in terms of download volume, "Easy to Ignite and Explode" is the most explosive.

    ...

    While "Easy to Ignite and Explode" is rapidly spreading.

    The editors inside Qin Continent Publications'' Silver Blue Books are too busy to enjoy listening to music and watching videos.

    They are engrossed in reviewing novel submissions for this year''s Super Star Awards.

    Perhaps due to the growing popularity of the novelist profession, the Super Star Awards received more submissions this year than in previous years.

    So, starting a few days ago, the editors have been continuously reviewing submissions.

    In order to finish the reviews before the deadline, every editor''s desk is cluttered with all sorts of energy drinks and they are constantly refilling their coffee.

    YangFeng is one of the manuscript reviewers at Silver Blue Books.

    After spending the last few days reviewing countless novels, he''s now headachy and brain-swollen.

    Neither coffee nor energy drinks do anything for him anymore.

    To keep himself focused, he has no choice but to go to the bathroom for a smoke.

    A few others who''re in the same boat get together to smoke and discuss the contents they have reviewed over the days in the hazy bathroom.

    "Have you guys found any scripts worth recommending?"

    "I haven''t, but there are a few that are pretty good. I''ll sift through the ones at hand once more, and keep a close eye on them so they don''t get dumped during cross review."

    "Every year''s Super New Star is like betting on a gamble."

    After each editor finishes reviewing their manuscripts, they get a couple of recommendation slots. Should any of the stories recommended by them get accepted by the editor-in-chief, it''ll add to their future performance. Hence, editors take their recommendations quite seriously.

    At that point,

    One of them commented, "Most submissions are still in mystical adventure genre. Given how many people write this, picking out the best is no easy task."

    Everyone agreed with the sentiment.

    There''s an oversupply of writers for the mystical adventure genre. When most people choose the same genre, picking the best out of the lot isn''t straightforward.

    "After all, this is mainstream genre."

    "Too bad most people are simply emulating the popular writing styles in the market, and few can bring a unique touch to their writing."

    "But this genre gives birth to bestsellers easily."

    "That''s true. This genre is so popular that it''s only natural for many authors to write in this genre. Speaking for myself, I still love reading lots of stories set in mystical adventures, regardless of the large number."

    "..."

    YangFeng did not join the discussion.

    Once he finished smoking, he returned to his desk and continued working.

    In the editorial department, most of the editors are optimistic about the hot market of mystical adventure genres, and the selection criteria for books is almost the same. However, YangFeng had a different view.

    Of course, he also liked the mystical adventure genre.

    But because of the numerous identical mystical adventure novels, YangFeng was getting tired of the repetitive plots.

    He now sought something different.

    Unfortunately, this wasn''t easy. Certain genres gain popularity simply because readers love them.

    This is the market''s choice!

    Even as an editor, considering their own performance and the sales of the publishing house, they would surely prioritize these trendy genres.

    Besides, newcomer authors are not foolish either.

    They write what is more likely to get accepted, which is simple to understand. Not many authors stick to their own style and against the market trend.

    So after several days of marathon review sessions, YangFeng still hadn''t found a satisfactory book. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    It''s not that no one is writing fresh scripts. Among the sea of scripts, there are some which are relatively fresh. But the problem is, these scripts, novel as they may be, lack the entertaining story-telling and the sense of interest typical of novels-

    YangFeng would rather not have such stories.

    He would not lower his review standards just to chase after a new genre, and likewise would not deliberately exclude popular genres from his selection.

    Ultimately, the brilliance of a story is the most crucial.

    After fifteen minutes,

    He finished another script.

    YangFeng rubbed his tired temples, then gritted his teeth and applied some menthol balm.

    This was one of the tricks that office workers often used to ward off fatigue.

    There was even a desperate trick involving menthol balm, but it''s not for the average person to try, because the ones who tried it are usually socially dead afterwards.

    In any case, just a dab of menthol balm on his forehead, and YangFeng felt much more refreshed.

    Taking advantage of this momentary perk up,

    YangFeng opened a new manuscript.

    However, this time, the book''s name caused YangFeng to raise an eyebrow. This novel is called: "King of the Net".

    For better understanding,

    The author had added an alias: "Prince of Tennis".

 Chapter 40 - 37 Sliced Serve_1

    Writing about tennis?

    Sports competition?

    YangFeng could swear, he''s certainly not one to coast by, but seeing a novel focused on competitive tennis laid before him, he couldn''t help but instinctively frown¡ª

    It''s unique, no doubt.

    But isn''t it a bit too unique?

    A novel centered around sports competition, even if you wrote about football or basketball or even table tennis would be fine. At least most people have some experience with these types of sports, and a considerable number enjoy them. So why pick tennis, which relatively has a higher barrier to entry?

    Unique is an understatement.

    The readership would be very niche indeed.

    However, as a professional editor, YangFeng has many considerations. But that doesn''t mean he''d reject this submission outright. If the author shows promise, he would still be delighted to establish a rapport.

    This is quite normal in the field of fiction writing.

    When they come across a promising author, even if the submissions don''t pass muster, editors will make attempts to nurture them. Many novelists have found success this way under an editor''s tutelage, even though the process most likely involved numerous rejections from the editor.

    YangFeng opens the document on his computer and begins to review the manuscript.

    Apart from the story itself, he has a good impression of this author who dared to write about tennis. YangFeng admires such a spirit which refuses to concede to market forces. If most authors had such spirit, the publishing industry wouldn''t be in such a state of homogeneity.

    The story begins.

    On a tram heading to Youth Academy, a hotshot from a school tennis team is pompously instructing his new teammate, continuously brandishing his tennis racket while illustrating how to grip it, inadvertently hitting a girl in the face.

    "Sorry."

    The young man glanced at the little girl, then kept instructing his new team member. However, while he was heatedly swinging his racket, a cold voice interrupted him, "You''re pretty noisy, aren''t you?"

    The speaker was a young boy.

    Just as the young man was about to explode with anger, the boy put his bags of tennis gear on his back. On his way out of the tram, nonchalantly, he pointed out, "The correct way to use the Western grip is holding the racket flat from above; to use the traditional Eastern grip, hold it vertically as if you were shaking hands."

    "You¡­"

    Scolded by a young boy, the young man''s face reddened. He glared at the correcting boy, but by the time he thought of a retort, the boy had already exited the tram.

    "The protagonist?"

    YangFeng nodded in approval.

    The story seemed to have a decent start. Even if he didn''t understand tennis, he could still grasp the basics about tennis explained here. Also, it seemed the protagonist corrected the young man not just for the sake of it, but also to vent some anger on behalf of the injured little girl.

    The scene transitions.

    A few boys are discussing a roster. One of them says, "There''s a newbie who has just joined the school tennis team this year, and he doesn''t even need to be a substitute, he''s on the starting lineup."

    "Can''t be serious."

    "How is that possible?"

    "Must be a registration error."

    One of his companions was skeptical, "A freshman has just finished high school, how could he qualify to join the school''s tennis team directly, and even as a starting member. You should know that our school''s tennis team serves as reserves for professional players!"

    In the roster.

    The freshman who qualifies to join the tennis team is called Long Ma. He''s sixteen this year, even younger than the average age of the school''s tennis team, given that the youngest starting player was at least a sophomore.

    While a few were discussing about it.

    Long Ma appeared on the scene, with tennis racket slung on his back.

    The boys he had met on the tram earlier also appeared, immediately attracting the attention of the students upon arrival. It turned out they came to the school to have a challenge match. But, seeing Long Ma, the team leader from earlier couldn''t contain his anger. He pointed his tennis racket at Long Ma and sneered, "Do you realize who you had been teaching about tennis earlier?

    A key member of the Lanton College''s tennis team!"

    Long Ma quietly looked at him.

    The gaze made the young man uncomfortable all over. He swung his tennis racket towards Long Ma''s head¡ªhe was just doing this to scare Long Ma, of course, not intending to actually hit him. But to everyone''s surprise, Long Ma didn''t flinch or dodge, as if he was certain that the racket wouldn''t hit him.

    "Let''s go, we''ve got a match."

    One of the young man''s teammates laughed and urged him on.

    With a cold huff, the young man prepared to leave. But then, Long Ma flicked the empty bottle that the young man had just finished drinking from into the trash can using his racket, then turned and asked him, "Have you learned how to grip the racket? Or would you like me to teach you how to play tennis?"

    Shocked gasps echoed all around.

    The young man and his gang had the credentials to challenge the Youth Academy, proving their skills were indeed solid. But a seemingly innocuous boy dared to say such words, leaving many dumbfounded.

    "Has he lost his mind?"

    All eyes were on Long Ma.

    Meanwhile, in front of his computer, YangFeng was flipping through the pages with interest. He had expected tennis to be a niche subject, but he didn''t find it boring or abstruse at all. Instead, he was quite eager to continue.

    The young man took up the challenge.

    And so, to the shock of the numerous onlooking students of Youth Academy, this seemingly na?ve boy utterly dominated the young man¡ªwho claimed to be a key member of a certain school''s lead team¡ªin a match, with a massive score difference!

    The young man became furious.

    He had initially dismissed Long Ma, but losing points one after the other was deeply humiliating. Thus, he was forced to use his secret weapon¡ªa move planned for the key player of Youth Academy''s tennis department¡ªagainst a mere teenager.

    He finally managed to claw back a point.

    The Youth Academy''s coach also appeared at this moment, and immediately spotted Long Ma on the tennis court, even allowing a smile to creep onto his face: "He''s here earlier than I expected."

    "Does Grandma know him?"

    The girl who had been accidentally injured by the young man on the tram was also there, and it turned out, she was the coach''s granddaughter. However, the coach did not clarify anything, and just continued to leisurely watch the match.

    Clack. Clack. Clack.

    Long Ma started losing some points again.

    The match became increasingly intense with the players trading points back and forth.

    YangFeng frowned. The story had always emphasized Long Ma''s prodigious talent, but Long Ma''s current performance wasn''t living up to the hype. Tennis really was a difficult topic to write about.

    He shook his head and continued to read.

    But what happened next filled him with adrenaline. Under everyone''s astonished gaze, Long Ma actually moved his tennis racket from his right hand to his left hand!

    "He''s a left-hander."

    The tennis coach grinned like a fox.

    YangFeng never expected Long Ma to be left-handed. This was like a person who had eaten with their right hand all their life forcibly holding chopsticks with their left. The difference between the two concepts was striking. Yet, Long Ma could keep an opponent of considerable strength at bay using just his right hand! What could he achieve with his preferred left hand?

    He was looking forward to this.

    The plot didn''t disappoint. If before, Long Ma could merely restrain the opponent with his right hand, now having switched to his left hand, he was completely toying with his rival. Not only did trading blows back and forth become a thing of the past, but the opponent also couldn''t even respond to Long Ma''s serves.

    The score again turned brutal.

    Within the gasps of surprise from the surroundings, the tennis coach from Youth Academy squinted his eyes: "Within just one year, he has won all the youth championships in Qin Continent, clinched all the singles titles, triumphed in eighteen consecutive large-margin victories. He''s the tennis genius, Long Ma, specially admitted to the academy by the principal himself, only sixteen years old!"

    "Long Ma!"

    "Sixteen!"

    The crowd around came back to their senses.

    Immediately, there was an uproar. This teenager was actually Long Ma, the one who made it into the main team of the tennis department right after enrolling. His achievements were this astounding.

    "Interesting."

    YangFeng''s eyes lit up.

    He was captivated by the story, ignoring even the notification to leave work from the company, and continued reading.

    The match wasn''t over yet.

    Long Ma''s biggest disadvantage was that he was just sixteen years old, and thus, considerably shorter than his opponent. The young man changed tactics and decided to use his height advantage. Unfortunately, this wasn''t a very effective change; Long Ma still dominated the match with his frightening pressure.

    "Haha."

    There were jeers from around. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The young man was provoked into a frenzied rage, unbelievably throwing his racket with full force at Long Ma, a brutal move that left everyone in shock. It hit Long Ma square in the face, making him bleed.

    YangFeng was furious.

    There were likewise condemnations from all around.

    The young man just laughed crudely, claiming he accidentally lost his grip on the racket. But when everyone thought Long Ma could not continue, he just wiped off the blood and said, "It seems like you still haven''t learned how to hold a racket properly."

    "You!"

    The match continued.

    This was Long Ma''s counterattack. Each of his balls was incredibly fast and tricky, with high levels of skill involved. He managed to hit the opponent''s face several times, causing the latter to yell in pain. YangFeng was laughing uproariously, slapping his thigh in satisfaction. It was so satisfying!

    Euphoric, fiercely satisfying.

    How dare you lack sportsmanship!

    This pace of mocking and face-slapping resonated well with the young readers. With every ball Long Ma hit back, he would ruthlessly call out the scores: "Fifteen-zero¡ªThirty-zero¡ªForty-zero¡ª"

    "What kind of ball is this?"

    The teammates of the young man were all dumbfounded.

    The coach of Youth Academy casually remarked, "The sliced serve¡ªthe ball spins as it rubs against the rubberized court, bouncing off with unexpected trajectories rather than in a straight line when it hits the racket. That''s one of the techniques Long Ma used to sweep the junior group in Qin Continent within one year. You''re not on his level yet."

    The young man was completely frightened.

    On the last ball, he didn''t even put up a fight. In fact, Long Ma''s last serve was just a light swing, causing the ball to merely bounce and land next to the young man. The scene was hilariously comical.

    The first chapter concluded.

    YangFeng took a deep breath.

    He never expected that he, who knew nothing about tennis, would be drawn into a tennis-themed novel.

 Chapter 41 - 38 Alliance Hierarchã€Jianhuiã€‘Additional Updates_1

    "The opening uses a side imagery to arouse readers'' anticipation about the protagonist''s abilities. Then in this anticipation, it directly shows the protagonist''s skills with an exciting tennis match where he is retaliated against by his opponent, but still chose to respond through tennis. This scenario does portray the protagonist''s personality to some extent¡­"

    YangFeng was summarizing the plot.

    After summarizing the plot, he read the rest of the story again.

    After finishing reading the 100,000-word submission, YangFeng was pleasantly surprised to find out that this novel was an ensemble drama!

    The members of the Youth Academy''s tennis team each had their own character traits and skills, and the main line of the story was focused on describing the growth of these characters through various matches.

    In the genre of youth fantasy novels, there were not only themes like conquering harems and conquering different worlds.

    There is also a theme called chasing dreams!

    However, not many people currently write these types of novels.

    And this novel titled "King of the Net" tells the story of young people chasing their dreams and striving to become professional tennis players¡ª

    YangFeng loved it!

    However, YangFeng was a little hesitant.

    While "King of the Net" perfectly catered to YangFeng''s taste and was novel enough, the choice of theme and direction of the story did lean toward a niche market.

    And different editors had different tastes.

    Stories YangFeng found brilliant might only be average in the eyes of other editors.

    Should he endorse it?

    After hesitating for about a minute, YangFeng decided to stick to his judgement¡ª

    Endorse!

    Editors had the right to endorse works they found acceptable after reviewing them.

    Works endorsed by the editor would be reviewed by the chief editor and deputy chief editor of the publishing house.

    If the chief editor and deputy chief editor also feel like this novel works, it means that this novel can be scheduled for publication.

    That being said.

    If they were unable to pass the chief editor''s review, it would mean that YangFeng''s achievements were in vain. Only a successful endorsement would count towards the editor''s performance.

    Of course.

    Despite his desire to recommend it, YangFeng had to finish reviewing the other manuscripts in his hand first, otherwise it would be unfair to other applicants.

    But YangFeng had a premonition.

    Among the remaining manuscripts, perhaps none would be more satisfying to him than "King of the Net"

    With this thought in mind, YangFeng flipped through the information of the author for "King of the Net"

    This novel was well-paced, and he wondered if it might have been a submission by some relaunched novelist using a pseudonym?

    This was also a very normal occurrence.

    Some published novelists in the industry who are not performing very well might participate in competitions like "Supernova" under a pseudonym.

    But most of them wouldn''t hide their identities.

    Since they all had editors they are familiar with, they would directly send their works to a familiar editor at the start of the "Supernova" competition.

    After all, it''s an industry rule for oldies to participate.

    Considering that this novel was not specifically submitted to him or other editors, the chance of "King of the Net" being written by a novelist under a pseudonym is not high.

    Just as he thought.

    Based on the submission information, this is the work of a newcomer, and the pseudonym of the newcomer was unfamiliar:

    "Chu Kuang"

    Novelists have quirky pseudonyms, so to YangFeng, the pseudonym Chu Kuang seemed quite ordinary.

    The only thing that surprised him was that the information showed that this Chu Kuang was actually a college student. Do college students nowadays know so much about tennis?

    ...

    Just like how "Lin Yuan envies the fish but better to withdraw and cast the net" used the word fish.

    The pseudonym that Lin Yuan chose for his novelist identity, Chu Kuang, was actually a two-word phrase taken from the poem by Li Bai, "I am a madman of Chu, who sings and laughs at Confucius."

    The only regrettable point is that there is no Li Bai in this world, so no one understands the meaning of Chu Kuang.

    After picking this pseudonym, Lin Yuan was somewhat looking forward to the results of the submission for "King of the Net," since this novel is linked to the reward of his three prize boxes!

    He also analyzed it.

    This novel is quite faithful to the anime plot, and it even patches up a lot of things.

    Speaking of the original anime, the early parts were fine. The tennis moves are basically those that can be performed in reality.

    For instance, the sliced serve that Long Ma used at the beginning, and the snake ball, crouching dunk, Yan Hui Flash, etc., all can be done by some powerful professional players.

    Of course, the effects can''t be as flashy and exaggerated as shown in the anime, and generally speaking, they are not very practical.

    The original author certainly had a foundation in tennis and understood the sport much better than ordinary people.

    Unfortunately.

    By the later parts, in order to keep drawing, the author made the style of the anime more and more bizarre, to the point of directly turning it into the widely-criticized "murderous tennis".

    It''s likely that even big shots like Nadal and Federer wouldn''t be able to stand their ground in the world of the "Prince of Tennis".

    The System also understood this.

    So to avoid the story from becoming fantasy, "King of the Net" stopped abruptly at one million words, and all the moves in this one-million-word novel were based on reality, at least they were theoretically executable by humans.

    On the subject of integrity, the System is better than the original author.

    A similar situation can also be found in "Captain Tsubasa", which is also a competitive sports theme.

    Although the story gets more and more exaggerated as it progresses, the initial moves such as Tsubasa''s impulsive shooting are nothing more than Cristiano Ronaldo''s elevator ball in reality.

    Shaking his head.

    Lin Yuan decided to patiently wait for the result.

    He had to go out today, because senior Sun Yao Huo wanted to take him out for a meal.

    To Lin Yuan, it would be considered foolish to reject someone''s invitation to a free meal, unless you really disliked the person.

    Lin Yuan didn''t dislike Sun Yao Huo.

    So he readily accepted the invitation.

    Sun Yaohuo was just testing the waters by inviting Lin Yuan. He didn''t expect Lin Yuan to agree so readily. He was both surprised and delighted!

    Junior Lin Yuan was indeed approachable!

    Since Lin Yuan was now so successful, he likely wouldn''t be longing for a meal, so his acceptance was undoubtedly giving a lot of face. Therefore, Sun Yao Huo attached great importance to this meal.

    The restaurant where they planned to eat was located outside the school.

    Sun Yao Huo made a point to pick Lin Yuan up from school in his new car.

    This new car was bought by Sun Yao Huo from the income he got from "Life Like a Summer Flower" and his recent commercial performances.

    When he initially went to record "Life Like a Summer Flower", he had been delayed by taking a taxi and got stuck halfway, nearly missing his debut opportunity, hence he readily bought a car, learning from his mistake.

    As for the reason for inviting Lin Yuan to dinner¡ª

    It was because Sun Yao Huo only found out today that Lin Yuan had been looking for him at the artist''s department.

    At that time, Sun Yao Huo happened to be out and missed him.

    This bothered Sun Yao Huo for quite some time.

    He was worried that Lin Yuan would be upset about this and has been contemplating how to make amends.

    Of course.

    Sun Yao Huo also wished that if Lin Yuan was happy enough, he would take him on another flight. This was an optimistic wish of his.

    He knew that this was unrealistic.

    As Xian Yu was becoming more and more popular, the singers he would collaborate with would only become bigger and bigger. For Sun Yao Huo, who was essentially a tool person, he likely didn''t carry much weight in Lin Yuan''s heart anymore.

    S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 42 - 39 Self-Cultivation of the Tool Person_1

    Even though it was just him and Lin Yuan eating, Sun Yaohuo still ordered a table full of food, much to Lin Yuan''s disapproval:

    "Stop ordering, we can''t finish all of these."

    Sun Yaohuo laughed, "Don''t be polite, brother. Do you want to drink alcohol?"

    Lin Yuan shook his head.

    Sun Yaohuo said, "Then we won''t drink."

    Lin Yuan beckoned to the waiter, "Two servings of rice, please."

    Sun Yaohuo dismissed his hand, "I''m on a diet, and not eating rice."

    Lin Yuan looked at him curiously, "I''m ordering for myself."

    Sun Yaohuo: "..."

    As soon as the rice arrived, Lin Yuan started eating and drinking heartily, not letting the feast go to waste.

    Sun Yaohuo laughed, "Nutrition experts say those who eat less are less likely to age, you should eat more dishes too."

    Lin Yuan regarded Sun Yaohuo seriously, "I have a friend who didn''t eat for ten days, he''s forever eighteen."

    Sun Yaohuo: "..."

    Lin Yuan frowned, "Isn''t this joke funny?"

    He thought he was quite humorous.

    There was a freeze by Sun Yaohuo for few seconds, before he burst into laughter, "so hilarious, I''m dying of laughter, hahaha!"

    Isn''t this too humble?

    The waiter gave Sun Yaohuo a strange look, for the first time grasping the meaning behind a forced smile.

    "Ahem." S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    He laughed for a while.

    Then Sun Yaohuo also quietly lowered his head to eat again.

    In fact, he was just considering how to comfort Lin Yuan.

    Because he couldn''t even tell that Lin Yuan was telling a joke. From Lin Yuan''s serious looks, he thought that Lin Yuan''s friend really had an accident due to not eating for a long time...

    "He who consumes food is the hero."

    After a few seconds, Lin Yuan asked, "Is this joke funny?"

    Sun Yaohuo raised his head in confusion, then burst into laughter again, slapping his thigh: "hahahahahaha."

    That''s right.

    Lin Yuan suddenly remembered, there was no Three Kingdoms in this world, naturally, there was no such saying as "He who knows the times is a hero".

    So, what was Sun Yaohuo laughing at?

    Lin Yuan threw a pitying look at him.

    It seemed that senior''s funny bone is quite low.

    And so the two of them hit it off for the first time, eating their own meals.

    Halfway through the meal, Sun Yaohuo tried to liven the atmosphere again, "I''ve heard your two recent songs. They are really good!"

    He was trying to liven up the atmosphere, but he really did mean it.

    When "Life Like A Summer Flower" became popular, some people at the company mentioned Xian Yu, while others credited the song''s success to sheer luck.

    Influenced by such opinions, Sun Yaohuo once thought that Lin Yuan was just fortunate.

    However, he didn''t expect Lin Yuan to write two more songs later, both of which were very popular. This junior was a genius, running into him was pure luck!

    Lin Yuan politely said, "Thank you."

    Sun Yaohuo laughed and spoke wistfully, "I guess from now on, only big-name singers will be able to collaborate with you. Now the lowest standard for a collaboration with you is someone like Zhao Ying Ge."

    Lin Yuan shook his head, "Too expensive."

    Sun Yaohuo was stunned, "What is too expensive?"

    Lin Yuan said, "You don''t know? Big names have a high share."

    Sun Yaohuo laughed, taking it as another joke from Lin Yuan, "You don''t mean to say that you want to continue working with newcomers? The newcomers in our company are too lucky then. If I could collaborate with you, I would be willing even without a share. I, Yao Huo, don''t want a share!"

    To be famous, but not wanting a share?

    This is the cultivation of a tool.

    Lin Yuan''s eyes lit up, "Really?"

    Sun Yaohuo felt even more affirmed about Lin Yuan''s sense of humor, "Of course it''s real, stop teasing me. With your level you wouldn''t even look at me anymore, but it''s fine. I''m already thankful for your help in my debut. I''m not doing too bad now thanks to you. Although I''m not super famous, I do get to attend events from time to time."

    "Senior."

    Lin Yuan took another look at Sun Yaohuo in front of him, "Do you have a vocal range of three octaves?"

    "Ah?"

    Sun Yaohuo said, "My comfortable range is between d2 and a4. My mixed vocal range is from c2 to c5, and my current highest falsetto is a5."

    Lin Yuan pondered, "That should be enough."

    Sun Yaohuo paused, "What is enough?"

    "Nothing, let''s eat." said Lin Yuan.

    It''s not time yet, he needs to take a break before releasing a new song.

    But Senior Yao Huo could be the tool for "Red Rose". His voice and vocal range meet Lin Yuan''s requirements, and his singing is filled with emotion.

    Of course, this isn''t the decisive factor.

    ...

    A few days later, at Silver Blue Books.

    The editor looked at YangFeng, "I read the "King of the Net" you submitted, it''s well-written, the character development and writing style are quite mature, almost doesn''t resemble a new author. The only problem is that the topic is too niche!"

    "But it''s new."

    YangFeng tried to convince, "From the hundred thousand words of the plot and the outline sent by the author, it feels like a great story. Maybe the readers are looking for a change of flavor, after all the market is saturated with similar topics, readers might be suffering from aesthetic fatigue."

    "Ol'' Shen, what do you think?"

    The editor turned to the deputy editor on his right.

    The deputy editor contemplated and said, "I don''t see a future for "The King of the Net" due to the niche topic, but as a story, it''s a pity to give it up. Can we compromise?"

    "What do you suggest?"

    "After reviewing all the manuscripts, let''s consider putting it in the fifth place of this year''s Supernova Awards. As for the publishing, let''s be conservative and first print 100,000 copies. For the first four, we''ll follow the old rules and release 500,000 copies."

    The Supernova Awards only selects five books.

    The initial print run of each book is usually 500,000 copies, but given the weak prospects of "King of the Net", the deputy editor decided to be cautious and first print only 100,000 copies to test the market reaction.

    "I agree."

    The editor thought for a moment, then nodded. Then he smiled wryly, "Let''s take this novel as a test run. We should diversify the novel market too, after all the whole publishing industry shares the consequence of homogeneity. Even other big publishers in Qin Continent have started pushing out new genres, and us, as a market leader, Silver Blue Books, can''t lag behind, right?

    Even though most of these trials have failed, I believe that''s also what YangFeng is thinking."

    YangFeng nodded.

    He admitted that the sales of "King of the Net" might not be as good as the top four of the Supernova Awards, but the market needs new genres to emerge. And the emergence of new genres must be guided by the publishers. Only when the market sends the signal that "publishers are willing to accept new genres", the newcomers won''t all rush to write something like otherworldly adventures.

    From this perspective.

    Chu Kuang benefited from the situation.

    Considering its sales, "King of the Net" most likely wouldn''t have gotten a publishing opportunity due to its narrow audience. So, an initial print run of 100,000 copies is already a pretty good outcome for this book.

    "Alright."

    The editor decided, "YangFeng, get in touch with Chu Kuang and ask him to send over about another 100,000 words. We''ll announce the top five of the Supernova Awards at the end of January, and the five books will be officially published in February."

    "Understood."

    YangFeng nodded.

 Chapter 43 - 40 Royalties_1

    Following the contact information left during the submission, YangFeng contacted Lin Yuan that evening: "Hello, are you Chu Kuang? I am YangFeng from Silver Blue Books, the editor in charge of the Supernova Award."

    "Yes, I am."

    Lin Yuan answered the phone in his dormitory.

    YangFeng laughed: "Congratulations, following our Supernova award committee''s decision, we will choose ''King of the Net'' as the fifth-ranked novel of the awards. That means your book will have the opportunity to be published. I can send the contract via email, can we exchange contact details first?"

    Lin Yuan happily replied, "Sure."

    Even though Xiao Hei made a big deal about the System, he was unsure whether ''King of the Net'' would undoubtedly succeed in the New Talent Awards. This call comforted him, indicating the System was trustworthy.

    After hanging up the phone.

    The two exchanged contact details.

    YangFeng quickly sent over a contract, marking the initial publication quantity for ''King of the Net'' as 100,000 copies, priced at twenty yuan per copy, with a royalty rate of five percent. A fairly standard introductory price.

    Let me explain.

    Royalties are not the typical taxes understood by ordinary people but the copyright fees charged by publishing companies. These are the financial benefits collected from others using the intellectual property of the original creator or copyright holder.

    Lin Yuan didn''t feel cheated.

    In the physical novel market of his previous life, new authors would basically have their copyright bought out by the publisher when first publishing, and there would be no royalties for future reprints. The new authors'' situation would only improve once they accrued a certain amount of capital; unless they had publishing connections, new authors could receive special treatment.

    In this sense, Blue Star was quite conscientious.

    After reading the contract.

    Lin Yuan agreed to sign.

    He even promptly sent the outline for the next hundred thousand words for ''King of the Net''. For it takes time for a publishing house to edit a novel, modifying phrases that are inappropriate or correcting misprints.

    This much, Lin Yuan understood.

    Unfortunately, they would rarely have the opportunity to do so, because the System''s proofreading was precise. Only subjective points like wording usage might see minor adjustments.

    Upon receiving the manuscript.

    YangFeng wasn''t surprised.

    Since he submitted his work, it was natural for him to prepare everything ahead of time. Typing out the plot for the first volume in advance was very normal. However, YangFeng was astonished to find that Chu Kuang had already logged off after they briefly discussed the contract!

    YangFeng: "..."

    In this industry, new authors usually fawn over editors, lowering their stance even if they are not so well-known. In the face of the editor''s urgency, they timidly lock themselves in their room and diligently type out the words.

    But, Chu Kuang was different.

    After discussing the contract, he logged out immediately, which puzzled YangFeng. Not that he expected Chu Kuang to praise him excessively, in fact, he disdained the trend of authors flattering editors.

    But the problem was.

    YangFeng wanted to engage Chu Kuang in deeper conversation, as he saw potential in him. He planned to discuss the book market and future directions for novel creativity, offering guidance and advice in passing¡­

    Faced with the offline avatar.

    He had to swallow his words.

    Taking into account that Chu Kuang was still a student with little social experience, YangFeng didn''t take offense, only finding it amusing. If he wished to progress within the industry, sooner or later the youngster would discover how formidable editors could be.

    ...

    Lin Yuan didn''t mean to brush off YangFeng, it was just time for him to sleep. While the System had extended his lifespan, it hadn''t improved his constitution. His body was still weak, and the consequence of not sleeping on time was severe.

    Lin Yuan was a patient.

    His terminal illness had received effective treatment, but that didn''t mean he was robust. He was still weaker than the average individual, thus the System''s operation was indeed in line with medical understanding.

    This was quite bothersome.

    Lin Yuan considered whether to exercise.

    However, with his physique, even if he exercised, it must be done scientifically and moderately. Since he got off to a bad start, if he was careless, he might damage his own body.

    "Ding-Dong!"

    It seemed the System had sensed Lin Yuan''s troubles and unexpectedly threw out a special task: "The host is detected to have a strong desire for health, triggering a special task. If the host completes this task, the System will ensure the host lives healthily and free from illness until the age of thirty."

    [Task name: Health is the Fundamental Capital for Revolution]

    [Task content: Attain over a million reputation in both literature and music categories]

    [Task reward: The host can live healthily and free from illness until the age of thirty]

    [Task remarks: The standard for physical health is determined by the System, and the host''s physical quality will be far superior than others. Furthermore, this task will continue until the host turns twenty-seven before it expires]

    It seemed this task had a long duration.

    As for why it expires before the age of twenty-seven, it was because that was the lifespan limit for Lin Yuan. If he hadn''t completed the task by then, he could essentially say his final goodbyes to the world.

    "Accepted."

    Lin Yuan had always been open to challenges. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    After all, even if the task failed, there was no penalty.

    But, what Lin Yuan didn''t expect was such a special task. To live healthily and free from illness until thirty was like buying a System-level insurance policy for himself.

    It sounded pretty good.

    However.

    Breaking a million in reputation in both literary and music categories would not be easy. Judging from the speed at which Lin Yuan''s musical reputation increased, he could deduce: "I work hard on my tasks. You must defeat the illness."

    System: "..."

    System: "As long as the host can complete a series of tasks issued by the System, the System will help the host overcome your illness. To the System, the host is its master! If the host dies, the System will self-destruct."

    Such loyal commitment.

    Lin Yuan nodded, then went to sleep.

    When the roommates in the dorm saw that Lin Yuan was about to sleep, they automatically turned off the light. Those on the phone quietly moved the conversation to the hallway outside, and those on the computer silently put on their headphones so as not to disturb Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan always slept before nine every day.

    The other dorms might still be live at nine, but in Lin Yuan''s dormitory, there was basically no noise after nine because his roommates knew about his health condition and always accommodated him.

    "It seems that I should move out."

    His roommates always accommodated Lin Yuan, a kindness which Lin Yuan could not take for granted.

    He was not the kind of person who took weakness for granted.

    Now that he had money, he could consider renting a house outside.

    It would also allow his roommates to enjoy their nightlife in the dorm as any regular college student.

 Chapter 44 - 41 Renting a House_1

    The next day, in the morning.

    Lin Yuan called Zhao Jue and told him about his idea of going out and renting a house.

    Ms. Zhao is well-connected and knows a lot of people. That''s why, as soon as Lin Yuan thought about moving out, he thought of asking Zhao Jue for help.

    If he had to look for a place on his own, it might take him a while.

    "Renting a house?"

    Zhao Jue asked, "Do you have any specific requirements for the house?"

    Lin Yuan said, "I hope the rent is affordable."

    Zhao Jue was silent for two seconds: "Anything else besides affordability?"

    Lin Yuan attempted to add, "Good value for the price."

    Zhao Jue: "..."

    Is it because I''m uneducated?

    Isn''t that still asking for affordability?

    Zhao Jue laughed, "Then you''ve got the right person. I have a house near your school. I''ll send someone to give you the keys. Just remember to pay the utilities. You don''t have to worry about the rent. Is that cheap enough for you?"

    "That''s unacceptable."

    Lin Yuan said, "I still have to pay the rent."

    Zhao Jue replied casually, "The house would be empty anyway, and I don''t want to rent it to someone else. The rent isn''t much, so it''s better to let you live in it instead. Don''t stand on ceremony with me, or I''ll be unhappy."

    "Okay."

    After thinking it over, Lin Yuan agreed, "Then you must remember to come to me if you''re short on music."

    Ms. Zhao teased, "Why, can you produce another summer bloom?"

    Lin Yuan fell into thought.

    Would a red rose count as a summer bloom?

    Zhao Jue chuckled, "Alright, I won''t tease you anymore. I have to get busy now. You can take the keys and check out the house tonight. It''s fully furnished, so you can move in right away. I''ll also arrange for someone to come clean the place for you."

    Cleaning?

    Lin Yuan quickly said, "I can clean it myself."

    Zhao Jue didn''t insist, "Okay, then. I''ll hang up first."

    "Alright."

    After ending the call with Lin Yuan.

    Zhao Jue made another call.

    Her tone regained its usual dominance, "Apologize to the client for me. I''ve decided not to rent out my house at Wutong Garden."

    "What?"

    The person on the other end of the line got anxious when he heard this, "Sis, are you unhappy with the price? The renter saw the house and immediately agreed to 15,000 a month. That''s not cheap in Wutong Garden... In that case, don''t worry, leave it to me. I''ll negotiate with the client, we can raise the rent by another 1,000!"

    "No need."

    Zhao Jue said nonchalantly, "It doesn''t matter how much it is, I won''t rent it out. I''m going to let my child live there. You can help me rent it out once he buys his own house in the future."

    "...Alright then."

    Upon hearing this, the person on the other end was out of ideas. If she wanted to reserve the house for her child, what else could they say?

    ...

    Lin Yuan had no idea about any of this.

    After hanging up with Ms. Zhao, he found Xia Fan and Jian Yi and told them about his plan to move out.

    "Moving out?"

    Xia Fan, worried, said, "Can you manage on your own?"

    Jian Yi also frowned, "Why don''t I talk to my family and come live with you?"

    Lin Yuan''s health wasn''t great. If something were to happen to him, it''d be dangerous if there was no one around to take care of him.

    Lin Yuan said, "It''s fine, I''m not a kid."

    According to the System, there''s no risk of Lin Yuan dying for at least 27 years.

    "Alright then."

    The two agonized over it, "We''ll come over and help you clean up tonight. Make sure to stay in touch if you''re moving out."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    In the afternoon, Zhao Jue''s assistant brought Lin Yuan three sets of keys, and offered politely, "Teacher Admirable Fish, Ms. Zhao said that if you want help cleaning up the house, I could help."

    Lin Yuan said, "Thank you, but it won''t be necessary."

    The assistant nodded, "Then I''ll head back to the office. The address is Wutong Garden, building 52, apartment 804. Please make a note of that."

    "Alright."

    Lin Yuan took note of the address, and that evening he, Jian Yi, and Xia Fan moved into the community called Wutong Garden.

    "Wow!"

    Jian Yi was shocked as soon as he entered the community, "You''re actually renting a house in Wutong Garden? This is the best residential complex near our school. It has all the facilities and even a lake view. I heard that the rents here start at 10,000 a month. You can''t afford it on your little salary, right?"

    Is the rent that high?

    Lin Yuan was surprised, but he answered truthfully, "This house belongs to a company executive. She let me live here for free."

    Jian Yi stared at Lin Yuan, "A man or a woman?"

    Lin Yuan said, "A woman."

    "I knew it!"

    Jian Yi was filled with deep reproach, "You''re definitely being kept by this executive! Lin Yuan, how could you do this? I''m so disappointed - why didn''t you introduce me to such a wealthy woman?"

    "There probably aren''t any wealthy women, but there should be quite a few male executives with peculiar tastes." Xia Fan scoffed on the side.

    "A man?"

    Jian Yi instantly felt a chill, "That would cost extra!"

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    Xia Fan: "..."

    Amidst their laughter and banter, the three entered apartment 804 in building 52. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The moment they opened the door, Xia Fan was struck dumb. Looking at the furnishing inside, she could not help but doubt, "Lin Yuan, could it be that there''s a hidden agenda with your... executive?"

    It was a three-bedroom apartment.

    The area was probably over 140 square meters.

    The apartment was in the prime location of the complex, with a view of the lake from the bedroom window.

    The interior design followed a modern and minimalist style. Simple as it looked, the materials were obviously expensive. The place must have cost quite a bit to furnish, and it didn''t look as if anyone had lived here before; everything felt brand new.

    "She might be rewarding me for helping her before."

    Lin Yuan explained, his emotions fluctuating at the moment.

    "Indeed, you''re our darling."

    Jian Yi and Xia Fan laughed and nodded, no longer pressing for more details. They seemed to believe Lin Yuan''s account.

    The so-called "being kept" was just a joke.

    Even though Lin Yuan loved money, he still had his principles.

    Moreover, Lin Yuan''s amiable temperament meant that he was well-liked by everyone.

    This probably had something to do with Lin Yuan being handsome since childhood. Seeing his face made people naturally warm up to him. Some people in the world can make others like them with just their looks. Moreover, Lin Yuan wasn''t in the best health, so he often received special care. This degree of care was certainly a little exaggerated this time though.

    "I''ve made up my mind!"

    Jian Yi wandered around the house and then pointed chosen a side-bedroom, "This bedroom is mine from now on! I can come over and stay now and then!"

    "I''m going to stay in the other room."

    Xia Fan pointed at the third room.

    While the master bedroom was the largest, the two side bedrooms were spacious as well.

    Lin Yuan phoned Zhao Jue to discuss the situation, and after getting her approval, he said, "Then it''s one key for each of us."

    There were three sets of keys in total, so it was perfect.

    Neither Khan Yi nor Xia Fan hesitated, and they each took a key.

    The three of them had been best friends for many years, and were way past standing on ceremony with each other.

    "Let''s start cleaning up, then."

    Jian Yi looked around the house and felt a surge of energy.

    But the downside of having a large house is that cleaning up takes more effort. It took all three of them more than two hours to finish scrubbing the place.

    "Let''s not go back tonight. We''ll stay here."

    The three were panting heavily from the exertion and didn''t feel like going back to school. Besides, there were new quilts in every closet, so they could stay the night without a problem.

 Chapter 45 - 42: Astonishing Pay Rate_1

    At the end of the month, Silver Blue Books officially announced the five winners of this year''s Supernova Awards. Lin Yuan received the news from YangFeng, and saw "King of the Net" listed as the last winner.

    "The book will be published tomorrow."

    YangFeng gave Lin Yuan a heads up: "But you shouldn''t be too concerned about the sales of the novel. After all, sports competition is a niche genre. Sales is not the only way to prove the quality of a work. Anyway, congratulations on officially becoming a novelist."

    Lin Yuan replied: "Thank you."

    YangFeng laughed: "I will hang up then. The company still has a publication meeting to attend. After the official publication of the novel tomorrow, we will send you several copies free of charge. Besides, you can also go to major bookstores to check it out. It will be officially on the shelves in all major bookstores in Qin Continent tomorrow."

    "Okay, goodbye."

    After hanging up, YangFeng put away his phone and entered the meeting room. At the moment, the editors in the room were discussing the Supernova results in a whisper: "I wonder how the sales of this year''s Supernova would be. I have high expectations for the first one ''Demon King of Another World''.

    The setting where the protagonist becomes a universally despised demon king after crossing into another world is quite unique and certainly interesting."

    "I am more optimistic about the second one."

    "The second place author Big Dragon is an old hand. He has been a novelist for a long time. He is just wearing a pseudonym to take the place of new authors. But his novel this time is indeed interesting, with the hero being summoned to another world by a princess."

    "..."

    Everyone is having a lively discussion.

    Some people are optimistic about the first, some are optimistic about the second, and others believe that the third and fourth are also good. The discussion about "King of the Net" is the least, because all the editors of Silver Blue Books know that the fifth place is forcibly included by the editor-in-chief in order to diversify the market''s subjects.

    Everyone can understand this.

    The homogenization of novel subjects on the market is indeed a bit severe, which is not conducive to the overall development of the novel circle. Therefore, starting this year, major publishing companies, including Silver Blue Books, have made efforts to promote new subjects in an attempt to subtly guide the market to diversify its creative directions.

    After the Supernova award results were announced.

    There was information about the winning works and surveys on reader expectations on the official website. Many invited old readers filled up the questionnaire. The result of the questionnaire showed that the highest reader expectations were for the top three winners of the Supernova Awards!

    This was not surprising.

    Because the top three were all about another world.

    The "King of the Net" ranked last in terms of expectations. Readers seemed to be inherently uninterested in tennis. Even if the official website keeps emphasizing that this is a sports competition novel that can be understood even if you don''t know about tennis, it still couldn''t change the outcome of this questionnaire survey.

    There were even people protesting on the official website!

    This is a holding event every year after the Supernova results are announced. Some authors who think highly of themselves but were brutally rejected feel that the Supernova award judging is unfair. Especially this year, the inclusion of "King of the Net" has touched the nerves of many rejects.

    "Why on earth?"

    "There has never been a precedent for a hit in the sports competition genre in Qin Continent, let alone a novel about tennis. For Silver Blue Books to forcibly put such a work in fifth place to prevent the subjects from being monotonous is a real disappointment."

    The top four are all popular genres.

    Naturally, the fifth one became the target.

    But Silver Blue Books will not respond to these protests. In the eyes of the editorial department, even though "King of the Net" may be a bit niche in subject, the quality of the novel itself is absolutely not as unbearable as the outside world judges it to be.

    "It''s a pity for He Mingxuan."

    An editor suddenly shook his head and said.

    He Mingxuan is an established novelist. He submitted his work to the Supernova competition under a pseudonym this time. His work received good reviews. Many editors, after reading his work, proposed to make He Mingxuan''s work the fifth in this Supernova submission.

    Unfortunately, he encountered "King of the Net".

    The chief editor''s reasoning convinced everyone: "Firstly, the market needs diversified guidance. Secondly, after all, He Mingxuan is an old man. Although every year there will be old people entering the competition under pseudonyms, I don''t think this is a good phenomenon. We should give more opportunities to new authors."

    Consequently, He Mingxuan was excluded.

    An editor who was on good terms with He Mingxuan specifically comforted He Mingxuan: "If it wasn''t for diversifying market subjects, you should have ranked fifth this time. So, you weren''t eliminated because of incompetence. You were just a bit unlucky."

    ...

    Although He Mingxuan was the so-called sixth place in Supernova, he did not participate in some reject''s protests against "King of the Net". Because when he first stepped into this industry, his works also faced similar protests. Therefore, he clearly understood what it felt like to be protested against by those who were eliminated, and he would never become the kind of person he used to despise.

    The editor was right.

    He also felt that he was a bit unlucky this time. After all, he encountered special circumstances. Moreover, he was not any new author. It was not honorable to snatch opportunities from new authors under a pseudonym. It was naturally inoffensive to eventually step aside for new authors.

    "Maybe I''m not meant to write books."

    He Mingxuan was somewhat self-doubting. He debuted as a novelist five years ago. His novel sales even won a quarterly championship, but after that book ended, several of his books had flopped, to the point where there were only a few publishing houses willing to publish his works now.

    This depressed He Mingxuan.

    If it wasn''t for this, he wouldn''t have the nerve to participate in the Supernova, a prize for new authors. For every novelist, competing with new authors for opportunities is proof of their failure.

    He Mingxuan had a restless sleep that night.

    The next morning, He Mingxuan groggily walked into the nearest bookstore and unconsciously looked at the first row of bookshelves.

    His works used to fill this shelf too.

    But today, it was filled with works from the top five Supernova winners.

    He, the sixth place, had no medal or honor.

    There were many people inside the bookstore, mostly young readers, and they all came for this shelf¡ª

    As in previous years, readers were full of expectations for the winning works of Supernova.

    However, making them pay for the books was not an easy task.

    There were very few people who would buy a book directly. Most of them would pick up the book and flip through it first, find a quiet corner, and read a few tens of thousands of words first.

    Only when they were sure that they liked the story, would the readers honestly pay for the book.

    Watching this scene."

    He Mingxuan was reminded of a silly thing he did when he looked back.

    When his novel was just published, he sat in a corner of the bookstore all day, not doing anything else, just observing the readers who were buying books.

    Every time someone bought his, He Mingxuan''s, book, he would quietly feel a thrill of excitement and joy.

    Today.

    Entering the bookstore.

    He Mingxuan subconsciously observed the scene again.

    As expected, the first books everyone picked up were the bookstore''s heavy recommendation, which is the top three works that won the Supernova.

    But to He Mingxuan''s surprise, the payment rate today was not high. Many people picked up the books and looked at them for a while before putting them back. It seemed that this year''s Supernova didn''t perform as well as previous years.

    What surprised He Mingxuan was one book''s payment rate.

    That book was none other than the sports novel "King of the Net" that made He Mingxuan the sixth place.

    Indeed, very few readers picked up "King of the Net" to look through it. Compared to the top four, people who were interested in this novel were pitifully few.

    But what contrasted sharply with this pitiful situation was¡ª

    Readers who picked up "King of the Net" for viewing basically all bought the book in the end!

    For this reason, He Mingxuan deliberately counted.

    Since entering the bookstore, the number of readers willing to pick up "King of the Net" to read was only eighteen people. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    But to his surprise:

    Those who read "King of the Net" and were willing to buy it were as many as fifteen people!

    "This..."

 Chapter 46 - 43 - The True Supernova_1

    As He Mingxuan observed,

    A group of students dressed like boys walked into the bookstore, the moment they entered, they asked: "Boss, do you have any books from Supernova?"

    "Welcome."

    The owner responded cheerfully: "Of course we have this year''s Supernova. They arrived this morning. They''re on the first row to the right, all five books are there."

    "Okay."

    The group of five rushed straight for the Supernova series. One of them, filled with anticipation, said: "Let me see this one, ''Demon King of Another World'', this year''s top Supernova!"

    "I''ll look at the second placed one."

    "Then I''ll check out the third one."

    The boys deliberately chose different books, a sign of their mutual understanding, because this way, they could recommend any good reads to each other.

    Only the last boy didn''t say anything.

    He wore a backpack and glasses. Dressed like a studious pupil, he sat down at a spot in the bookstore, waiting for his companions who were busy selecting books to buy.

    "Huazi."

    One of his companions prompted, "Don''t just study all the time. Our teacher said we should balance work and rest. You should pick up a novel."

    "You guys go ahead."

    The boy called Huazi waved his hands: "I''m not interested in novels."

    "You''ve never read one, right?"

    The other companions also chimed in: "How do you know you don''t like it if you don''t give it a try?"

    "Alright."

    Not wanting to seem unsociable, Huazi picked up ''King of the Net'' and began to read in the seat next to He Mingxuan.

    Ten minutes later.

    The boy who was reading ''Demon King of Another World'' put down the book and frowned: "This novel seems so ordinary. The protagonist is clearly a demon king, but he has no air of majesty and can''t shake off his good-for-nothing nature from before crossing over."

    "This one is okay."

    The boy speaking was reading the second book of the Supernova series titled ''I Became the Princess''s Summoned Beast'': "I just don''t like the protagonist''s character, seems like he''s always revolving around women."

    "This year''s Supernova series isn''t great."

    The companions gradually put down their books, reaching a common conclusion. Everyone had a very disappointed look on their faces: "Huazi, let''s go."

    Huazi didn''t say anything.

    His companions called again: "Huazi, time to go."

    Huazi still didn''t respond.

    Finding this strange, the boys all looked at Huazi, only to be surprised to find that Huazi was so engrossed in ''King of the Net'' that he hadn''t heard them.

    For a moment, everyone broke into laughter.

    One of them remarked: "Huazi is really a newbie, just like me when I first started reading novels. Any book could captivate me. Now that I''ve read many, I''ve become more picky."

    "You just said you weren''t interested in novels."

    "The novel Huazi is reading also seems to be from this year''s Supernova series, but it''s the last one. It''s about minor genre of tennis competition, which is not very reader-friendly for those of us who don''t understand tennis."

    "Huh?"

    When he heard his companions discussing him, Huazi snapped out of his reverie and said reluctantly: "I want to read a little more. This novel is really good!"

    "You can just buy it and read it at home."

    Someone teased and suggested. Then everyone laughed and gallantly said, "Just kidding, don''t rush. Why don''t we check out this study fanatic Huazi''s taste?"

    "Alright."

    The boys put down their books and casually picked up ''King of the Net'' to read. They were free anyway, even though this book''s genre really wasn''t their cup of tea.

    "Hmm!"

    Huazi''s eyes lit up, then he eagerly continued to read ''King of the Net''. He felt like he had opened the door to a new world!

    About half an hour later,

    One of the boys suddenly exclaimed: "Damn, the novel Huazi is reading is really quite good, not at all like what I imagined!"

    "Exactly, exactly!"

    This comment instantly resonated with the others: "I was just about to say that, even though I don''t know anything about tennis, I''m really enjoying this book. Long Ma, the protagonist, is really cool!"

    "I like Zhouzhu."

    "Turns out Long Ma is left-handed!"

    "The part about the snake ball, it''s too exciting!"

    The boys spoke animatedly. Their loud voices drew some angry glances from the people around them: "Could you be a bit quieter?"

    "Sorry."

    The boys hastily silenced themselves, then, looking sheepishly, they dragged Huazi along, each buying a copy of ''King of the Net'' before leaving the bookstore.

    ...

    This time He Mingxuan had seen the entire process of how several boys went from having no interest to finally purchasing ''King of the Net'' with his own eyes.

    The beginning didn''t strike him as anything special.

    But when the group of students left, excitedly discussing the book and each carrying a copy of ''King of the Net'', his eyes nearly popped out!

    "Is it really that good?"

    He Mingxuan couldn''t resist picking up a copy of ''King of the Net''. He had countless questions and the book might have the answers.

    He was still seated in a corner of the bookstore.

    The sunlight shone on the pages.

    He spent an hour reading the book¨Can hour where he didn''t realize his body had not moved, with only the near-instinctual page turning being the exception.

    "Achoo!"

    Someone in the bookstore sneezed.

    He Mingxuan jumped, startled, and only then did he wake from his reading trance and realize his buttocks had gone numb. But his eyes were shining and his whole body was trembling slightly: "So competitive novels can be written like this!"

    All questions were instantly answered.

    It felt like he''d had an epiphany.

    When he first thought of ''King of the Net'', a lesser known sports novel, He Mingxuan believed that the book would be obscure and lack relatability for readers who didn''t understand tennis. It wasn''t until he actually read it that he realized how wrong he was!

    He indeed did not understand tennis. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    But this was a novel that you could fall in love with, even without understanding tennis!

    The story, whether it''s plot rhythm or character development, fits perfectly with the preferences of youth fantasy novel enthusiasts. Even the occasional tennis knowledge sprinkled throughout the story didn''t feel boring, instead it gave a kind of inexplicable sense of accomplishment, as if they''d increased their knowledge.

    "Snake ball!"

    "Giant bear!"

    "Sliced serve!"

    As these magnificent tennis techniques make an appearance in the book, peppered with immersive descriptions, even He Mingxuan, a full-grown adult, felt his blood boiling with excitement.

    The images of the members of the Youth Academy tennis team were vividly outlined, as if they were right before his eyes.

    He found himself cheering for the Youth Academy''s victories, worrying over their difficulties, and eagerly anticipating the development of the story....

    "My God!"

    All doubts were resolved. Why did everyone decide to purchase this novel after reading it?

    Of course, it''s because this novel is extraordinarily good!

    He Mingxuan stared intently at the two words behind the author''s column, Chu Kuang, deeply moved: "This book will definitely lead the genre of competitive novels on the Qin Continent."

    Chu Kuang is too frightening!

    I admit my defeat wholeheartedly.

    Everyone underestimated Chu Kuang. Even Silver Blue Books, they only ranked ''King of the Net'' as the fifth in Supernova Awards and warranted it as enriching the genres of the market?

    Wake up!

    What''s misusing a treasure without knowing it? Is a novel of this level supposed to enrich the genres in the market for you guys at Silver Blue Books?

    You all just wait!

    Soon, the market will prove who the true Supernova of this year is!

 Chapter 47 - 44: He_1

    Naturally, Silver Blue Books didn''t have a player like He Mingxuan who intentionally holed up in bookstores to watch people. After Superstar Publishing''s work was extensively distributed in bookstores across the Qin Continent, the only thing that could somewhat reflect the market results was reader feedback.

    It started intermittently.

    After all, reading takes time.

    For publishers, sporadic comments don''t hold much reference value. However, as the first batch of readers finished reading the novels, the feedback on Superstar''s five works gradually increased on the official message board of Silver Blue Books.

    What worried the publishers was...

    The top Superstar work, "Demon King of Another World," which the company had high hopes for, seemed to have mediocre public praise. In a novel scored out of ten points, most readers gave it a score of less than five. It seemed that everyone was unimpressed by the novel''s pattern.

    "The same old tricks, just changing the skin."

    "The protagonist has even fucking crossed over to become the Demon King, but he still feels like a waste. Since you''re writing from the perspective of the Demon King, can''t you not make the protagonist so useless? If the protagonist isn''t useless, can''t the author write anymore?"

    "Regretted buying this book."

    "Cut it short quickly, not interested."

    Novels on the Qin Continent are published in volumes, so the first volume''s sales are crucial. Novels with poor sales can easily be axed. The publishing house will notify the author to finish writing quickly.

    The originally planned series of more than ten volumes will be condensed into three to five volumes for a hasty conclusion, as the publishing company also needs to free up resources for more promising works.

    Many readers were ranting.

    Of course, not all reviews were bad. Some readers felt that the perspective of "Demon King of Another World" was innovative: "Though it may be old wine in a new bottle, at least the protagonist''s identity differs from the traditional Different World adventure model. It''s not bad enough to be axed."

    Maybe it will explode later on?

    There''s precedent for such a scenario.

    There''s a very popular novel on the market now that didn''t have a great reputation when it was first released, with disappointing sales. The publisher had already notified the author to cut the series short, but who would''ve guessed that after the second volume, the tides turned. The plot of the book reached a climax, and the sales skyrocketed, immediately cancelling the axing plan.

    That book is still being serialized and is already on its twenty-second volume.

    However, such examples are rare.

    If a novel can''t attract readers from the first installment, even if it explodes later, it''s hard for readers to stick around until then. Only if the opening attracts readers can the series continue to be stable.

    Not only did the top-performing book lack good reviews.

    The works that made the second to fourth place in the Superstar competition also received mediocre reviews, with only the second-place novel reaching a score of five points. But a five out of ten score in the novel market can only be considered a barely passing grade, not a good one.

    "This year will be tough."

    At a Silver Blue Books department meeting a week later, an editor sighed looking at the comments on the books: "I thought the sales of ''Demon King of Another World'' would explode, but as readers read more and more Different World adventure novels, their expectations also increase."

    "You''re right."

    "It''s not that this batch of Superstars is worse than before, but the readers'' taste in reading is getting higher. No wonder the chief editor always wanted to support new themes. Readers are fed up with the old ones. Novels must provide new stimuli."

    "..."

    Early TV dramas could easily include brainless plotlines like car accidents, cancer, abortions, and viewers were still intrigued. However, if such a plot appeared now, viewers would curse the director to his face.

    The same is true in the field of novels.

    A few years ago, Different World adventure novels could easily become popular just by introducing some gimmicks. For instance, a novel called "In Another World With My Smartphone" told a story about a protagonist with a magical smartphone that could still be used in another world. By today''s standards, that story might be unbearable, but back then, readers loved it.

    "It''s not a complete defeat."

    "YangFeng" tried to comfort everyone: "''King of the Net,'' although the last-placed novel of Superstar, has a good reputation with a current score of 8.5 out of 10. That rating is quite remarkable."

    "YangFeng" was not wrong.

    Even though the reviews for the top four Superstar novels were dissatisfying, the rating for "King of the Net" is quite high right now, with most reader responses being positive.

    "This is the most enjoyable one!"

    "Didn''t expect a sports novel about tennis to be so exciting. I picked it up at the bookstore just to have a look, but once I picked it up, I couldn''t put it down. I''m officially a fan of ''King of the Net''." Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "A fresh flow in Superstar!"

    "Tired of Different World adventures. Occasionally changing the taste turns out to be unexpectedly good. I''ve recommended ''King of the Net'' to many friends. However, many people are not interested. They, like my past self, don''t understand the charm of sports novels."

    "..."

    The editors were naturally aware of the high rating for "King of the Net" and the overwhelmingly positive reviews. However, for Silver Blue Books, this novel''s praise could only be considered a consolation prize because the genre of the novel is too niche, making it almost impossible for the sales to skyrocket.

    "It''s useless."

    "The genre is too niche."

    "Praised but not popular."

    The editors didn''t seem too excited. Every publisher has acclaimed but unpopular novels. Publishers generally support these types of novels, giving publishing resources even if the sales aren''t great, much like how movie companies also need some art films to gain prestige. However, real profit still heavily depends on novel sales.

    "Don''t be so gloomy."

    The editor-in-chief wasn''t happy with the editors'' demeanour. "Look at yourselves. The sales figures aren''t out yet. Reputation isn''t everything. Some novels may not have high ratings but their sales are still very good."

    "That''s true."

    "There''s a chance!"

    "It''s just about public opinion."

    A glimmer of hope shone in the editors'' eyes. A good reputation doesn''t mean everything. In the market, some books are praised but don''t sell well, while others are criticized harshly, but their sales continue to soar. Many readers in this day and age play hard to get.

    While "King of the Net" might fall into the former category, the other books from the superstar writers could potentially be in the latter category!

    These people are really easy to hoodwink.

    The deputy editor quietly sneered.

    Few books are praised without sales, but it''s also rare for sales to be good when the reviews are terrible. In the common rule of the book market, most of the time, reputation and sales can form a proportional relationship...

    "Let''s adjourn."

    The editor-in-chief waved his hand.

    After everyone had left, the editor-in-chief suddenly became troubled. "It seems we totally messed up with the supernovas this time, unless a miracle happens."

    "A miracle?"

    The deputy editor, who hadn''t left either, responded with a bitter smile, "Let''s go together to the statistics department and take a look. The first week''s sales of the supernova should be out by now. Let''s see where this miracle is."

    Editor-in-chief: "..."

    The two of them arrived at the relevant department together, with both the editor-in-chief and the deputy editor-in-chief turning to the female manager of the statistics department: "Could the first week''s sales of the supernova be out by now?"

    "Are they here?"

    The female manager was somewhat cold in her attitude, and it seemed she found the two of them particularly annoying. Just saying one line and then turning back to her work, "Check the statistical tables yourself. Come to me if there''s anything you can''t understand."

    "Did we offend her somehow?"

    The editor-in-chief and the deputy editor-in-chief exchanged glances. They then picked up the statistical table and had a look. What they saw instantly killed any hopes they had left, because the highest selling was "Demon King of Another World" with only 180,000 copies.

    This is supposed to be Supernova!

    In the past, any work that was published with the Supernova Award would find it embarrassing to face people if the first week''s sales did not break 300,000. But this year, the best-selling book of the five supernovas was just under 200,000 copies.

    At least one thing was right though.

    The list of top five from the Supernova matched perfectly with their very names. The editor-in-chief took pleasure in the bittersweet situation, "At least our prediction of sales ranking wasn''t wrong, no matter how poor the sales data is, it''s always the readers'' fault."

    "Right, right!"

    The deputy editor nodded along.

    The female manager who had left before now returned having heard what they were talking about was instantly furious, and she started swearing at them, "You two think that you haven''t made any wrong judgement? The fucking phone in my office has exploded with calls, do you know that? All the bookstores in Qin Continent are rushing me for stocks.

    Now as soon as I pick up the phone, all I hear is ''King of the Net, King of the Net, King of the Net!'' It''s driving me crazy! Do you guys have any idea how busy I''ve been arranging supplies for these past few days? Do you know how close I am to getting an early menopause due to the stress? Do you know how many nights I haven''t been able to sleep soundly!?"

    The female manager''s eyes were bloodshot!

    Her swearing was like a series of explosions, and her imposing tone had the editor-in-chief and the deputy editor terrified.

    "Well..."

    They carefully checked the table again, and confirmed earnestly, "''King of the Net''s'' sales is last among the supernovas, so how could it possibly be out of stock? Ma''am, you seem upset, must be some mistake somewhere, right?"

    "A mistake?"

    The female manager looked at the two as though they were idiots , "''King of the Net'' only had a fucking initial 100,000 copies in stock which were not even enough for the big book merchants, the third day after Supernova was published, it was already sold out. How can one compete for sales without stock?"

    The editor-in-chief and the deputy editor were stunned.

    The two of them were previously only focused on the Supernova sales rankings, completely forgetting that ''King of the Net'' had only initially published 100,000 copies.

    It wasn''t until the female manager''s rant that they remembered.

    At this moment, the two of them widened their eyes and finally had a vague realization, the miracle they were eagerly awaiting, really seemed to have happened!

    "You two."

    The female manager displayed a dangerous smile, her tone was strangely gentle though, "Please tell me, which asshole decided to publish only 100,000 copies of ''King of the Net'' initially?"

    "Him!"

    The editor-in-chief and the deputy editor-in-chief both pointed at each other simultaneously.

 Chapter 48 - 45 - Hit_1

    For the entire novel market, sports competition is an extremely unpopular theme.

    Especially when novels with themes of otherworld adventure are popular, this theme lacks a reader base.

    So even though "King of the Net" had a huge explosion in its ratings, the editors didn''t have high expectations for the sales of this novel. But it appears now that many people might have misjudged this.

    "Why didn''t you tell us?"

    The Chief Editor''s mood is now tumultuous.

    The female Manager was taken aback, then she looked at the two sympathetically: "You guys didn''t know? The day "King of the Net" started to be out of stock I informed the Editor-in-Chief, it''s clear our Editor-in-Chief didn''t tell you guys."

    The Chief Editor and Deputy Editor felt a chill in their hearts.

    They knew about the Editor-in-Chief''s character. For such a big matter not to be informed to their Editorial Department, there could only be one reason:

    The Editor-in-Chief was not pleased.

    There were four editorial departments in the company, each department was responsible for a different type of work, and each department was equipped with a Chief Editor and a Deputy Editor, the pair were responsible for Youth Fantasy novels.

    The leader of all four editorial departments is the company''s Editor-in-Chief.

    Looking at these two being so miserable, the female manager was no longer angry, and just laughed: "Whether you editors know or not, it''s all the same. Shipping out is my area of responsibility. Can you editors generate a batch of goods for me?"

    This was the truth.

    The Editorial Department only had the responsibility to select and control the quality of the novels, sales weren''t their area of responsibility.

    But generally, they get informed about this type of matter.

    This time it must have been the Editor-in-Chief giving a warning. That''s why the Chief and Assistant Editor only came to know about this situation now.

    "So how many orders do we have now?"

    The Chief Editor forcefully suppressed his complex feelings.

    A voice came from behind: "In all the major bookstores in the Qin Continent, there are currently a total of four hundred thousand copies ordered, which will be delivered to all the major bookstores tomorrow, but considering the future market demand, I have instructed the Publishing Department to immediately print another five hundred thousand copies."

    "Greetings, Editor-in-Chief!"

    The three of them turned around simultaneously to look at the man behind them, this man was the Editor-in-Chief of Silver Blue Books, one of the people with the most authority in the company.

    "Hmm."

    The Editor-in-Chief nodded his head, his authoritative gaze carrying some unhappiness: "The decision to initially publish only one hundred thousand copies of "King of the Net" was extremely foolish, however seeing that your editorial department has at least not suppressed this novel, I will let you guys off this time."

    "Yes!"

    The Chief Editor and Deputy Editor felt relieved as though they had received a pardon.

    Fortunately, they included "King of the Net" in the initial release list of Superstar to diversify the novel market themes. If they missed out on such a big opportunity, the company''s loss would have been great.

    "Also."

    The Editor-in-Chief frowned and said: "I looked at the plans and the initial number of words planned for "King of the Net" was only one million. Have the editor in charge of Chu Kuang communicate well with him. The company hopes that he can expand the outline and strive to write more than three million words."

    If the performance of a book isn''t good, it will be cut short.

    On the other hand, if the performance of a book is good enough, publishers will have the author write as many words as possible because the more words, the more profitable it is.

    "Okay!"

    The Chief Editor nodded repeatedly.

    Most novelists wouldn''t refuse this proposal. Novelists need to make a living too, and who wouldn''t want to earn more money?

    Moreover, how many novelists can guarantee that their next book will also be popular?

    "Furthermore."

    The Editor-in-Chief thought for a moment and said: "You two must give Chu Kuang the best service and avoid any conflict with him. If Chu Kuang gets poached by other publishing houses, you two can start looking for another job."

    "Alright, alright!"

    The Chief Editor nodded repeatedly.

    Even if the Chief Editor didn''t remind them, the Editorial Department would have served Chu Kuang as carefully as they would serve their own Daddy.

    Because a sports competition-themed novel like "King of the Net" becoming a hit has an absolutely chain reaction. The success of this novel proves that sports competition-themed novels can also become hits.

    This is just the beginning! S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    In the future, the market will surely see a large number of sports competition-themed novels, and Chu Kuang might just become the face of the Qin Continent''s sports-themed novels!

    ...

    Superstar is a large-scale solicitation for literary works and Silver Blue Books is among the top-ranking traditional publishing houses in Qin Continent, so many peers in the industry were watching the results of this solicitation.

    "This year''s Superstar seems to have gone too far."

    "Out of the five books in the Superstar, four have scores no more than five. The only highly rated novel is "King of the Net", but the chosen theme is too niche. The sales are definitely not going to be very good."

    "So even Silver Blue Books has its days."

    "The failure of Superstar, is a big blow to their brand. This year''s wave has been very damaging, next year''s Superstar submissions will likely decrease."

    "..."

    Everyone in the publishing world was discussing it. Any competitor in any field is an enemy, so Silver Blue Books'' competitors were somewhat gloating.

    Prosperity Publishing House.

    This is a publishing company with a scale similar to Silver Blue Books.

    The Editor-in-Chief of Prosperity saw that Silver Blue Books'' Superstar didn''t perform well and was very pleased. He even specifically called the person in charge of a chain bookstore: "Isn''t this term''s Superstar not selling well?"

    "I have been worrying about this problem recently."

    The person in charge of the chain bookstore on the other end seemed a bit troubled.

    The Editor-in-Chief of Prosperity felt even happier, but he couldn''t show it, so he put on a sympathetic face: "The current market environment isn''t good, you don''t have to worry too much."

    "You misunderstand."

    The person on the other end explained: "The sales of "King of the Net" are very good. What I''ve been troubled by recently is the severe shortage of this book. Many customers have come to the bookstore to ask specifically for this book, but all our stock has already been sold."

    The Editor-in-Chief of Prosperity was taken aback: "What?"

    The laughing person on the other end said: "I understand your little tricks. You just want to see Silver Blue Books'' embarrassment. Indeed, the performances of the top four of their Superstar weren''t very good, but the fifth-place "King of the Net" is very popular. That''s why I ordered 150,000 copies from Silver Blue in one go today, and they can supply the goods by tomorrow."

    The Editor-in-Chief of Prosperity: "..."

    The person on the other end continued: "Sports competition-themed novels are a blank market. I suggest your publishing house should also pay more attention to this theme. Doesn''t your market love trends? When otherworld adventures are popular there is a crowd of people writing otherworld adventures. Now that sports competition also has a market, let everyone follow the trend!"

    Bookstores only care whether a book sells well.

    As for anything else, they don''t particularly care.

    The Editor in Chief of Prosperity stiffly said: "Alright ¡­"

    After hanging up the call, he was silent for quite some time, then suddenly opened the large group of editors and sent a message: "Tonight, all editors from the Youth Fantasy Department must finish reading "King of the Net." "

    "Huh?"

    "What?"

    "Read "King of the Net"?"

    The group quickly became lively.

    Seeing that his editors still looked confused, the Editor-in-Cheif typed harder than ever: "Silver Blue was able to dig up an explosive hit like "King of the Net", why can''t you guys? Start promoting more sports competition-themed novels!"

    The group immediately fell silent.

    Sports competition-themed novels, an explosive hit?

    Was the Editor-in-Chief sure he didn''t get something wrong?

 Chapter 49 - 46 Pioneer_1

    "Received."

    "Received."

    "Received."

    "Will see tonight."

    The editors at Ding Sheng responded in the group chat.

    As for the thought of "did the chief editor make a mistake somewhere", of course, it dared only spin around within their hearts, nobody dared to voice it out.

    After work.

    The editors of Ding Sheng walked towards the bookstore in a cloud of confusion, only to be taken aback by the similar banner promotions displayed at the entrances of major bookstores.

    The content of the banner was:

    "Our store''s ''King of the Net'' is sold out, supplies will be replenished tomorrow. We apologize for any inconvenience."

    Sold out?

    Did the bookstore specifically print out a banner?

    At this moment, the editors at Ding Sheng had a vague realization that something was off!

    Because making the bookstore specifically print out a banner meant there were many readers who wanted to buy ''King of the Net''. This treatment was reserved for best-seller books!

    So...

    This book became popular?

    One of Ding Sheng''s editor looked at his colleague in surprise, "Have you ever heard of sports competitive novels becoming best-sellers?"

    "No."

    The colleague thought about it for quite some time, eventually shook his head, then decisively spat out four words, "Unprecedented!"

    The bookstore is the barometer of sales.

    Which book is popular, and which is not, the bookstore is always the most aware!

    Given the close relationship between major publishers and bookstores, it''s naturally not difficult to know the sales status of ''King of the Net''.

    Thus, in the following days!

    The attention of the entire industry gathered on this book, as well as on the author Chu Kuang!

    "Unexpected."

    Even many of the experienced senior editors in the industry exclaimed, "Sports novels can sell this high."

    "Unbelievable."

    "This new author named Chu Kuang has proved with ''King of the Net'' that as long as it''s well-written, sports novels can also achieve success!"

    "Is this a pioneer?"

    "There weren''t no one who wrote about sports competition, but no one has ever made it popular. According to industry rules, whoever made a genre popular would be the pioneer in that genre, so this statement is not wrong."

    "Yes."

    "There will probably be quite a few authors who would follow the trend in the future, and even those people will acknowledge Chu Kuang as the pioneer in the genre of sports competition."

    "..."

    Not just the editor circles.

    The discussion about ''King of the Net'' is also very high in the readers'' circle, and many novel forums have posts about this book:

    "Recommend ''King of the Net''!"

    "I''ve read this book too, it''s indeed pretty good."

    "I''ve read many youth fantasy novels for many years, especially in love with the genre of alternate world adventures. After reading ''King of the Net'', it was the first time in my life that I developed interest in such a genre."

    "I thought I was too niche in my taste, didn''t expect there to be so many people who liked ''King of the Net''!"

    "Hahaha, me too, I recommended ''King of the Net'' to my friend yesterday, he wasn''t keen on reading, said he wasn''t interested in tennis-themed stories, but when I forcibly had him read the first chapter, my book became his..."

    The book market in Qin Continent is always lively.

    If judged by sales volume alone, there are some higher than ''King of the Net''.

    Many popular novelists have a horrifying monthly sales volume for their work.

    But what''s terrifying about ''King of the Net'' is that even though it''s a sports competitive novel and by the conventional perspectives of the industry, it''s extremely niche, it has become as popular as many mainstream novels among readers!

    This is no doubt a shocking surprise for the industry.

    While the entire industry was shocked, the support and promotion of sports competitive novels by major publishing houses suddenly became unprecedented!

    ...

    Han Qi is a tennis athlete.

    He is a relatively famous professional tennis player in Qin Continent.

    He had just finished an internal training session today. When Han Qi was strolling outside, he suddenly received a message from a friend on his phone, "I just found out tennis is so interesting. You have a match tomorrow, right? I''ll come to watch your match, remember to save me a ticket!"

    "Alright, but why do you suddenly say that?"

    Han Qi was puzzled, this friend of his had never been interested in tennis before.

    He had dragged his friend to watch the tennis match twice after becoming a professional player, but his friend yawned through it. He didn''t expect his friend to propose seeing a professional tennis match today.

    "Knew you wouldn''t know!"

    The friend said, "I recently read a novel called ''King of the Net'', this novel is about tennis, it''s really interesting, you should read it when you have time!"

    "..."

    Han Qi sent a row of ellipsis, then said, "Tennis novels are probably written by laymen, such novels can probably only fool readers like you."

    "Not too bad."

    The friend said, "Anyway, I feel that the description of tennis inside is quite professional, similar to what you''ve told me before."

    Han Qi shook his head, "Of course, basic tennis knowledge can be easily found online. As long as they dare to write a tennis novel, they at least need to do the basic homework, maybe this author is a tennis enthusiast, there are quite many amateur tennis enthusiasts in Qin Continent."

    "Never mind."

    The friend didn''t want to chat further, "Anyhow, you''ll know when you read the novel, will contact you tomorrow."

    "Alright."

    Han Qi laughed, he as a professional tennis player couldn''t get his friend interested in tennis, but a novel did.

    At this time, Han Qi was just passing by a bookstore.

    Moved by an impulse, he directly went in to buy the ''King of the Net'' that his friend mentioned.

    As a professional tennis player, he was quite happy to see someone willing to write a tennis-themed novel, who didn''t hope their profession could be more well-received?

    He should support such novelists too.

    Upon returning to the dorm, Han Qi picked up ''King of the Net'', randomly flipped to a page.

    "Eh?"

    After looking at it for two minutes, Han Qi was somewhat surprised to find that the tennis knowledge in this book was quite professional, and the author didn''t fool the lay readers.

    However, these knowledge were relatively basic.

    So Han Qi casually flipped further back, only to be shocked to find, even when the book touched upon some advanced tennis knowledge, the text description was also very rigorous, with not a single mistake!

    "Looks like the author knows quite a lot."

    Ordinary amateur tennis enthusiasts simply do not have such a broad knowledge of tennis!

    He gradually developed a bit of interest, and officially opened the first chapter and began reading from the beginning.

    During his student days, Han Qi was also someone who liked reading novels.

    Only after graduation, he became too busy playing tennis, so he didn''t read that much anymore. Today, he''ll read a novel as relaxation before tomorrow''s match.

    Swish.

    Pages exuding the fragrance of ink were flipped one by one, Han Qi became more and more engrossed, more and more engrossed...

    At this time, it was already dark outside. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The phone suddenly let out a ring, only then did Han Qi jolted back to reality, "Damn, it''s already ten? I have a match tomorrow!"

    Damn, I''m torn apart!

    Han Qi was thoroughly attracted by ''King of the Net'', wishing to finish it all at once.

    But if he finishes this book, he might not be able to get a good rest tonight, which could affect his performance in tomorrow''s match.

    "I''ll finish it after the match!"

    He clenched his teeth, Han Qi forcibly suppressed his reluctance, closed the book, then with great determination, turned off the lights and went to sleep!

 Chapter 50 - 47 Dream Linkage_1

    The next day.

    At the Qin Continent Sports Centre, before the start of a tennis match sponsored by a certain sports brand, Han Qi in professional sports gear yawned with a barely noticeable dark circle under his eyes.

    "Terrible."

    He felt a twinge of sleepiness.

    Although Han Qi had managed to force himself to turn off the lights and sleep the previous night, to his displeasure, after turning off the lights, his mind was filled with imagined plot lines of "King of the Net", making it even harder for him to fall asleep, until he finally slipped into a fitful slumber after who knows how long.

    "Get ready."

    The coach''s voice echoed.

    Han Qi finally took the court after warming up.

    This was a medium-scale tennis match within the Qin Continent. Although the importance of winning or losing was not high, Han Qi didn''t want to lose at all today, as he had friends among the spectators. He didn''t want to lose face in front of his friends.

    Amidst the cheers of the audience below.

    The tennis match began!

    Han Qi was faced with a veteran opponent who wasn''t short of skills, thus creating an early lead in the score. This was also due to Han Qi''s lack of good rest and thus impaired concentration.

    "Calm down."

    Han Qi reminded himself internally.

    Sports rely on both strength and physical stamina. Although the veteran had ample experience, exactly because his opponent was such a seasoned player, his physical stamina couldn''t keep up with the young Han Qi, and the strength of his tennis strokes gradually decreased.

    After regaining concentration.

    Han Qi managed to even the score.

    Both sides gradually entered a tense situation.

    When the overall level isn''t significantly different, the latter part of the match tests the will and mindset of the players. This is different from the various flashy and cool descriptions in "King of the Net"---

    I must be insane!

    Why am I thinking about the novel again!

    I''m playing a match!

    Suppressing his weird thoughts forcibly, Han Qi fiercely contested his opponent, making it a suspenseful match that won the intense interest of the audience. The commentators were also guessing enthusiastically about the possible turn of the match.

    "This is so unpredictable."

    The commentator exclaimed with excitement: "Han Qi didn''t appear to be in good shape at the beginning, but as the match progressed, he''s gradually got back into his rhythm. Han Qi''s opponent is a veteran, we could all see how the veteran played tennis with his experience and wisdom while exhausted¡­"

    Out of breath.

    The match reached its half-hour mark.

    The sixth and decisive game, the outcome of the match would likely depend on this game. As the score was a tie previously, both sides played conservatively, not daring to risk attacking recklessly. The risks were too high.

    "Pat."

    Han Qi lost a point.

    His disadvantage was instantly magnified.

    Despite sheer exhaustion, his opponent couldn''t hide a triumphant grin. The outcome of the game became evident as Han Qi lost the point.

    "Going to lose?"

    At this moment, Han Qi thought of "King of the Net" once again. There were many similar scenarios described in it. "What would Long Ma do in this situation?"

    Han Qi felt as if he was going crazy.

    There were many ideal scenarios in the novel, and most maneuvers weren''t practical. But crazier still, Han Qi unexpectedly shouted out loud during his upcoming serve:

    "Sliced Serve!"

    Instead of a regular front serve, Han Qi opted for a side serve as described in "King of the Net". His racquet cut across the ball swiftly and he served by suddenly exerting force through the inward rotation of his forearm.

    The opponent was caught off guard.

    As the ball bounced off the ground and into the out-court, Han Qi scored a big point. The whole arena exploded in cheers. The commentator''s voice was filled with excitement and shock: "Beautiful spin ball, ACE!"

    In a tennis match.

    An "ACE" refers to a serve where the ball lands in the valid area but the opponent does not touch the ball, resulting in an automatic scoring for the server. If the opponent touches the ball but causes it to go out or hit the net, it is referred to as a service score, not an ACE.

    "We won!" sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Amid countless cheers.

    Han Qi''s face turned beet red; he had actually shouted out loud. It was like two kids fighting and one of them suddenly striking a painfully embarrassing pose and shouting "Kamehameha".

    His behavior was off the charts!

    Luckily, the crowd around didn''t hear his shout; everyone was busy cheering for the serve. Probably only the referee heard it or else the opponent wouldn''t be looking at him so strangely.

    His teammates all came over to celebrate.

    Back in the locker room, the coach looked at Han Qi with a stunned and surprised look: "When did you start practicing spin serves? And your serving style is quite peculiar too, the other side had no clue where your ball was going."

    "You probably won''t believe me if I tell you."

    Han Qi spoke sheepishly: "I learned it from a novel."

    Everyone burst into laughter, taking Han Qi''s words as a joke.

    But when it came to the interview session, when the reporter asked Han Qi about his thoughts on that final point, Han Qi once again mentioned the book on live television: "I''ve recently been reading a tennis novel called ''King of the Net'' which is written very professionally, so I guess I was inspired during the match.

    Of course, there was some luck involved in that point too, my opponent deserves respect."

    Reporter: "..."

    Teammates: "..."

    The sports journalists looked somewhat flustered on the spot, Han Qi''s teammates even suspected Han Qi of accepting advertising fees from "King of the Net".

    But the sharp-witted arts journalists would not let go of this great scoop.

    The next day, one of the hot news in the arts section of the Qin Continent''s newspapers was:

    "Renowned professional tennis player Han Qi declares himself to be a fan of ''King of the Net'' and claims that he has derived a lot of inspiration for playing tennis from this book."

    Upon the news release, readers of "King of the Net" were astounded!

    "Is that real?"

    "So even professional tennis players say that ''King of the Net'' is written professionally. I used to think that all the tennis moves described in this book were made up by the author Chu Kuang, which is a rarity indeed."

    "I like ''King of the Net'' even more now."

    "Isn''t it more surprising that Han Qi is actually learning moves from ''King of the Net''?"

    "Ha ha, he''s definitely joking."

    "Not entirely a joke. During yesterday''s tennis match at Qin Continent Sports Centre, Han Qi''s winning ball was definitely a replica of the sliced serve, the only difference being that Long Ma is left-handed, and Han Qi is right-handed!" claimed a reader who watched yesterday''s tennis match.

    Then.

    Many readers who were familiar with tennis also verified through various channels that the tennis knowledge involved in "King of the Net" is indeed very professional.

    In fact, this point has been made before.

    Yet it wasn''t highly regarded before. It wasn''t until a professional tennis player personally authenticated it that everyone started paying real attention.

    No one in the novel industry could have imagined.

    That a professional tennis player from the Qin Continent would have such an almost breaking-the-fourth-wall kind of relationship with "King of the Net", thereby producing a dream-come-true collaboration!

    On this day, the sales of "King of the Net" once again soared!

 Chapter 51 - 48 Milk Tea_1

    Lin Yuan was also aware of the success of "King of the Net", as newly promoted and Xia Fan had recently been discussing this book.

    Especially Jian Yi.

    While discussing the novel with Xia Fan, he didn''t forget to take a jab at Lin Yuan: "Now you know the difficulty of being a supernova, right? Just focus on your work in the future. Don''t think about making money by writing novels unless you can write novels as good as Chu Kuang''s "King of the Net".

    It seemed that Jian Yi and Xia Fan both accepted that Lin Yuan had failed to become a supernova.

    After all, Lin Yuan never mentioned that he was "Chu Kuang".

    Besides Jian Yi and Xia Fan, editor YangFeng would also regularly report to Lin Yuan about the performance of "King of the Net" and even seriously discussed with Lin Yuan about whether to expand the novel outline.

    "No." S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan refused very simply.

    YangFeng was somewhat persistent and chirped about the benefits of expanding the word count: "The performance of "King of the Net" is very good, one million words are too few, it would be a shame to end it too early..."

    "No way."

    Lin Yuan refused again.

    Of course, he knew that the more words, the more money he could make, and he agreed with some of YangFeng''s viewpoints, but the "King of the Net" provided by the system was only one million words.

    The system''s explanation was:

    A million words are just right, writing any more would be filler.

    YangFeng couldn''t forcibly demand Chu Kuang. With the popularity of "King of the Net", Chu Kuang was no longer an ordinary rookie novelist.

    Therefore, regarding Chu Kuang''s refusal, YangFeng could only sigh deeply and said: "Alright then."

    In YangFeng''s eyes, Chu Kuang was very capricious!

    Such a popular novel, he said he would only write a million words, and was completely unwilling to expand the content. Even though he had analyzed it thoroughly, as a newbie, he still didn''t understand how precious it was to write a hit work.

    At this moment on the campus.

    Lin Yuan was paying attention to the latest prompt issued by the system: the task of reaching ten thousand literary reputations was finally completed today!

    [Task Completion: Comprehensive Development]

    [Task Content: Winning a Literary Reputation of Ten Thousand]

    [Task Reward: Three Bronze Treasure Chests]

    Lin Yuan thought for a while and said, "Open one Bronze Treasure Chest."

    First, testing his luck.

    The first bronze treasure chest was opened, and the system notified him in light blue letters: [Congratulations, you have received the song "Balloon"]

    Xu Zhe Pei''s "Balloon"?

    This result was neither good nor bad. In summary, his luck was average, so Lin Yuan decided to put the remaining two bronze treasure chests in the warehouse. He would open them when he felt his luck had improved.

    Now he was going out for dinner.

    The person who invited Lin Yuan this time was Jiang Kui.

    Jiang Kui had been promoting "Dragon Fish Dance" in Qi Continent, and had just returned to the Qin Continent recently.

    It was Xian Yu''s song that made her from an unknown rookie to a debut singer with some fame, so the first thing she did when she came back was to invite Xian Yu to dinner to show her gratitude.

    Just as he didn''t refuse Sun Yaohuo, Lin Yuan didn''t refuse Jiang Kui either.

    He really liked it when people treated him to a meal.

    However, when he arrived at the promised restaurant, Lin Yuan suddenly realized that this restaurant was the same one he had dined at with Sun Yaohuo last time.

    "Teacher Xian Yu."

    Jiang Kui was a pretty young woman who had applied makeup before she left the house. She was just a bit short and had to look up at Lin Yuan when she was speaking to him, given his six-foot-tall stature.

    Lin Yuan said, "Just call me Lin Yuan."

    Jiang Kui laughed: "Then I''ll call you Lin Yuan."

    Lin Yuan did not correct her again, but chose a table to sit down. But before his butt had warmed the seat, a surprised voice rang in his ear:

    "Junior Bro?"

    Lin Yuan turned around and found that the person speaking was Sun Yaohuo, and there was a heavily made-up woman next to him.

    "You go back first."

    Sun Yaohuo told his female companion.

    The companion was obviously dissatisfied, pouting and stomping her feet, but Sun Yaohuo was unmoved.

    The other party could only leave.

    Sun Yaohuo plumped down next to Lin Yuan with a full face of eagerness and said, "Since we bumped into each other, let me treat you to this meal, Junior Bro!"

    "Sun Yaohuo, I invited Lin Yuan today."

    Jiang Kui and Sun Yaohuo were both newbies from the Starlight company, so they knew each other and usually seemed to get along well.

    But today.

    The two met by chance at this restaurant, sitting on either side of Lin Yuan. When their gazes met, sparks seemed to fly.

    "Please go ahead, Jiang Kui."

    Lin Yuan did not notice the peculiarity between the two.

    Jiang Kui laughed, glanced at Sun Yaohuo, and then ordered a full table of dishes, matching the quantity Sun Yaohuo ordered last time. "Does Teacher Lin Yuan have anything else to add?"

    "River fish, braised pork knuckle, and two more servings of rice." Sun Yaohuo smiled and glanced at Jiang Kui.

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan nodded in agreement.

    It seemed that Sun Yaohuo knew Lin Yuan''s preferences quite well, which made Jiang Kui develop a sense of crisis: "Didn''t you just have a meal? It seems like you were with your girlfriend?"

    "We broke up."

    Without missing a beat, Sun Yaohuo replied: "She wouldn''t allow me to have a meal with my junior, why would I need such a girlfriend?"

    "..."

    Jiang Kui almost had internal injuries.

    How can you be so good at sucking up!?

    Soon, the meals and dishes were served, and the three of them ate together. Even though Sun Yaohuo just finished a meal with his girlfriend...no, his ex-girlfriend, it didn''t affect his appetite.

    After finishing the meal.

    Jiang Kui rushed to pay for it, fearing that Sun Yaohuo would beat him to it.

    Although it was just a meal, Jiang Kui had already observed Sun Yaohuo''s sucking up skills.

    During the meal, Teacher Lin Yuan only spoke a few words.

    Sun Yaohuo could respond with twenty, accompanied by occasional laughter, as if what Teacher Lin Yuan said was humorous.

    Originally.

    Jiang Kui invited Teacher Lin Yuan to dinner, of course, both to express gratitude and to curry favor with Teacher Lin Yuan.

    Everyone has a time when they''d be willing to brown-nose.

    Although the probability is small, what if Teacher Lin Yuan is in a good mood and gives himself another good song? Isn''t that a huge gain?

    But then he encountered Sun Yaohuo, and Jiang Kui learned what real brown-nosing is!

    After dinner.

    Walking out of the restaurant.

    Sun Yaohuo suggested: "Let''s walk around and help our digestion."

    Lin Yuan had no objections.

    Naturally, Jiang Kui would also have no objections.

    After walking for fifteen minutes, Lin Yuan said: "Where can I get some water?"

    Whoosh.

    Sun Yaohuo and Jiang Kui both turned to Lin Yuan at the same time: "Junior/Teacher Lin Yuan, would something like milk tea work?"

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan nodded, and then the two of them suddenly disappeared.

    Five minutes later, Sun Yaohuo came back with a cup of milk tea in hand, "Junior, here''s your milk tea."

    "Huff."

    Jiang Kui, probably due to shortness of stature and short legs, is still one step behind Sun Yaohuo.

    "You''re still too green to compete with me."

    Sun Yaohuo looked at her triumphantly.

    But Sun Yaohuo was stunned, his mouth agape.

    Because in Jiang Kui''s hands, she was actually holding six cups of milk tea, saying considerately: "Teacher Lin Yuan, I didn''t know which flavor you''d prefer, so I got several flavors from the milk tea shop."

    Lin Yuan chose the lemon flavor, then asked: "Isn''t this too much?"

    Jiang Kui gave a small smile: "Not at all."

    So saying, Jiang Kui gave the remaining milk teas to some children passing by the mall, pointing at Lin Yuan, "This young man bought you the milk tea."

    "Thank you, big brother!"

    The kids were accompanied by their parents, who, not worried about any issues with the milk tea, let the kids show their thanks.

    Isn''t it just flattery?

    Who can''t do that?

    Jiang Kui turned to look at Sun Yaohuo, annihilating him in one move.

    -------------------

    Gastritis is really tough. I don''t feel very satisfied with the two chapters written today. I forced myself to write for your investments. I''ll revise later.

 Chapter 52 - 49: Winter Vacation_1

    I''ve lost.

    Jiang Kui''s latest move had outshone Sun Yaohuo, he even felt a certain admiration for her.

    Jiang Kui was a worthy opponent.

    But what Lin Yuan said next really shocked Sun Yaohuo!

    Because Lin Yuan took the initiative to ask Jiang Kui, "Do you have any plans to release a new song?"

    Thump!

    Thump!

    Jiang Kui''s heartbeat suddenly accelerated. She initially just didn''t want to lose the good impression Lin Yuan had of Sun Yaohuo.

    But she didn''t expect that she could rightly seize a chance to cooperate. It was at this moment that she completely understood why Sun Yaohuo had made such a mighty effort, "I plan to release a new song after the New Year, but I haven''t found the right one yet..."

    Sun Yaohuo''s eyes turned red.

    Jealousy was burning fiercely!

    Lin Yuan nodded, "So, you must have a good lung capacity, right?"

    Jiang Kui nodded hard, "I''ve specifically trained my lung capacity when I learned singing!"

    "What about the split?"

    This was what Lin Yuan cared about most.

    Jiang Kui was very cooperative, saying almost without hesitation, "If I can work with Teacher Lin Yuan again, I would accept any split ratio that you would propose, whatever you decide is fine!"

    "Hm..."

    A master haggler indeed.

    Lin Yuan frowned slightly.

    What he dreaded most was when others said things like "whatever you decide," as it tossed the problem back to him again.

    If given too little, he would feel uncomfortable.

    But if given too much, he''d feel a sting in his heart.

    Jiang Kui was waiting for Lin Yuan''s next statement. Instead, she found that he stopped talking and suddenly felt a pang in her heart:

    Did I say something wrong?

    Instead, Sun Yaohuo was getting impatient.

    Even though Jiang Kui was his competitor, he couldn''t help but intervene when he saw Jiang Kui about to lose this rare opportunity. He reminded her with a joke, "If the junior is looking for cooperation with me, anyway, I don''t care about the split."

    Sun Yaohuo picked up some of Lin Yuan''s inclinations during their last meal together.

    Jiang Kui quickly changed her tune, "Right, I don''t want a split!"

    Hearing this, Lin Yuan was relieved.

    He wasn''t someone who wanted to push his luck too far, and would not be so greedy, "Let''s split it the old way then. I have a song here that suits you nicely."

    Lin Yuan was referring to "Balloon".

    This song needed a female singer with a high lung capacity, and Jiang Kui, with her high lung capacity, was the perfect fit.

    As for the old rule, the singer would take a 0.5% split.

    Why wouldn''t Jiang Kui be willing?

    In fact, just like Sun Yaohuo, she would be willing to accept even without pay. So she eagerly nodded, afraid that Lin Yuan might change his mind, "Yes, yes!"

    Having said that,

    Jiang Kui gratefully glanced at Sun Yaohuo. She didn''t know that Lin Yuan was actually wrestling with the issue of the split.

    It really worked!

    Sun Yaohuo had suggested this to Jiang Kui out of desperation. He didn''t expect that their unique junior would actually take the bait. This gave him some hope!

    ...

    The next day, Lin Yuan sent the drafts for the next month to YangFeng''s mailbox. After all, the System had already sorted them out.

    It was now late January.

    All major institutes across the country were on winter vacation.

    The students of Qin Continent Art Academy were packing up and preparing to go home tomorrow.

    Lin Yuan also wanted to go home.

    So he came to the company on the day before winter vacation, intending to ask Ol'' Zhou for leave.

    According to the contract, he had to come to work when he had no classes. If he didn''t come to work, it would be considered as Lin Yuan skipping work and his salary would be deducted.

    If he asked for leave, it wouldn''t be a problem.

    As he entered the Music Composition Department Director''s office on the tenth floor, Lin Yuan found it empty. So, he asked his colleague Wu Yong about Ol'' Zhou''s whereabouts.

    Wu Yong replied, "The director usually works on the twenty-second floor. What you want to do?"

    Lin Yuan said, "Taking a leave."

    Wu Yong shook his head, "I suggest you drop the idea. Leaving is usually not difficult, but now it''s different. Every year before the vacation, many people try to ask Ol'' Zhou for leave, but almost everyone gets badly reprimanded by Ol'' Zhou. After all, it''s the beginning of the new year, many singers are going to release songs, and our department is at its busiest."

    "I''ll give it a try."

    After saying this, Lin Yuan took the elevator directly to the office of the music production department head on the twenty-second floor.

    "..."

    Seeing that his persuasion had no effect, Wu Yong didn''t say anything else, thinking Lin Yuan would realize how difficult it was to take leave before the end of the year.

    Upon entering the twenty-second floor.

    Lin Yuan had just approached Ol'' Zhou''s office, when he heard Ol'' Zhou going off inside: "Leave? No way! Just because you''re a senior composer doesn''t mean I''ll accommodate you! You''re well aware of how many singers are preparing to release songs after the holidays, there''s no chance for you to slip away right now! If you really want to take leave, you composers must first produce a decent song!"

    "Alright, I got it."

    The guy being chewed out by Ol'' Zhou shuffled out of the office.

    At that moment, Ol'' Zhou noticed Lin Yuan at the door. Not wanting to seem too harsh, he squeezed out a smile: "Lin Yuan, is there something you need from me?"

    Lin Yuan replied: "I want to take a leave."

    Ol'' Zhou: "..."

    His smile gradually disappeared.

    Had he not seen the guy who just got chewed out for asking for leave?

    He coughed, not wanting to seem too harsh, but his tone was still somewhat stern: "You should be on winter vacation by now, but according to your contract, you still have to work during it."

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan thought back to Ol'' Zhou''s words: "So I can take leave if I produce a song?"

    Ol'' Zhou almost choked: "That''s the idea, but the quality of the song you produce has to pass muster. After the holidays, many singers are planning to release new singles, even some big names have new album plans. For our music production department, the demand for songs is huge..."

    "Will this one do?"

    Lin Yuan took out his phone and, right in front of Ol'' Zhou, sent over "Balloon."

    "A new song?"

    Ol'' Zhou stared at Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan nodded: "A new song."

    Without saying more, Ol'' Zhou put on headphones to give it a listen. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    After listening, Ol'' Zhou''s eyes widened slightly¡ª

    The quality of Lin Yuan''s new song was quite good; it might not match "Big Fish," but it''s catchy nonetheless.

    But was Lin Yuan being too productive?

    He had thought Lin Yuan was already squeezed dry, yet he was surprised the lad had churned out another decent new song.

    Lin Yuan asked, "Can I take leave now?"

    Ol'' Zhou nodded mechanically, "Yes... yes you can... who do you plan to have sing this song?"

    Lin Yuan had his answer ready: "Jiang Kui."

    Jiang Kui?

    Ol'' Zhou thought for a moment and said: "Jiang Kui does indeed have plans to release a new single, and she''s in the process of selecting songs. This "Balloon" seems quite suitable, she probably won''t reject it."

    "Right."

    Lin Yuan asked, "May I leave now?"

    Being helpless against Lin Yuan, Ol'' Zhou could only muster a bitter smile: "Okay, off you go. After all, you''ve completed your work for the year."

    He couldn''t find any flaws in "Balloon."

    Lin Yuan nodded and returned to the tenth floor. Seeing Lin Yuan back, Wu Yong teased: "How did it go? I told you, the boss wouldn''t grant any leaves at this time."

    "He granted it."

    As Lin Yuan spoke, he began packing his things.

    Wu Yong stared in shock for a few seconds, then his face brimmed with delight, "The boss is unusually agreeable this year? Hehe, I''m going to request leave too."

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan went back to his desk and started packing.

    With his things packed he was ready to leave, when he ran into Wu Yong again, Lin casually asked, "Did your leave get approved?"

    "..."

    Wu Yong gave Lin Yuan a disgruntled look: "I was blasted by the boss, why didn''t you tell me you traded your leave with a new song?"

    "That''s right."

    As a matter of course, Lin Yuan said, "Why don''t you trade with a song too?"

    Wu Yong felt slighted, "What makes you think I have a song that would warrant leave?"

    Lin Yuan thought for a bit then said, "I thought you could."

    Having said that, Lin Yuan put on his small backpack, gleefully readying to leave.

    Wu Yong stood there watching Lin Yuan''s retreating figure, contemplating the chill and casual tone of Lin Yuan''s words, he began to doubt himself¡ª

    Is writing a decent new song really that simple?

 Chapter 53 - 50 Aba Aba Aba_1

    After Lin Yuan left, Zhou Ruiming listened to "Balloon" again.

    "The quality is indeed good..."

    Upon his second listen, Ol'' Zhou had the same commentary.

    The song wasn''t like "Big Fish," making Ol'' Zhou exclaim in admiration at the first listen.

    But Ol'' Zhou understood that this was the norm.

    No composer could ensure that every piece they created would become a hit.

    For Lin Yuan to still produce a new song of good quality after consecutively creating three hits was already very satisfying for Ol'' Zhou.

    "This song is suitable for release in March, given that next month will also be a fierce competition..."

    The new season clashed with the Chinese New Year period, where the market competition was as intense as December.

    Thus, avoiding February was a choice many singers naturally made.

    You must know. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The death group of December, even with the quality of "Big Fish," only slightly broke into the top ten.

    Ol'' Zhou has done research on this data.

    What came out of the research was that even if "Big Fish" had been released at the beginning of the month, it probably could only have managed to secure around the fifth place.

    Thinking of this.

    Ol'' Zhou contacted Zhao Jue and sent over "Balloon".

    "A song by Lin Yuan?"

    After listening to the song, Zhao Jue exclaimed in surprise, "He is really prolific."

    Ol'' Zhou agreed, "Indeed, he''s very productive, and this time the quality isn''t bad either. Although it doesn''t feel as good overall as the previous ones, I think if we release this song in March, there''s hope to climb the ranks. Also, he specifically requested Jiang Kui to sing it."

    "Jiang Kui?"

    Zhao Jue thought for a moment and said, "After ''Big Fish,'' Jiang Kui''s popularity is pretty good. The company indeed intends to develop Jiang Kui. I have no objections for her to sing."

    "Hmm."

    Old Zhou thought and said, "What surprised me most about this song is that the first sentence in the beginning is so long. I''ve heard so many songs, but this is the first time I have come across one that starts with such a lengthy line."

    Zhao Jue laughed, "No problem, Jiang Kui is a professional singer. This shouldn''t be a big deal for her."

    Ol'' Zhou considered his words, "Indeed."

    ...

    The two of them chatted and promptly confirmed their work plan.

    Upon receiving this news, Jiang Kui was so excited she jumped on the spot.

    Teacher Admirable Fish really gave her the opportunity to sing his new song!

    The hard work of chasing after him finally paid off in the end!

    But when she got the score for "Balloon", Jiang Kui realized she had celebrated too soon.

    Especially when she began to enter the recording studio, she deeply understood why Lin Yuan had asked her about her lung capacity yesterday ¡ª

    Because this song really LACKS! ENOUGH! OXYGEN!

    How badly does it lack oxygen?

    The first paragraph of the lyrics says it all: "Black, white, red, yellow, purple, green, blue, grey, yours, mine, his, hers, big, small, round, flat, good, bad, beauty, ugly, new, old, various styles, various colors, it''s all up to you."

    Jiang Kui specifically counted.

    Yes, a total of fifty-six characters!

    And there''s not a single opportunity to breath in between!

    The first part of the main song requires you to connect these words and sing them in one go.

    Upon entering the recording studio.

    During Jiang Kui''s first recording, she managed to sing the first part of the main song, but after singing it, she was severely out of breath, taking her several seconds to recover.

    Especially the last few words, Jiang Kui''s vibrato came out and was rather noticeable.

    This was a sign of unstable breath.

    Jiang Kui never thought that she would one day find her breath unstable while singing a song!

    "Can I say that the song is truly worthy of being by Admirable Fish? The new song this time is way too unique..."

    Even the recording engineer was astonished by this song, "Even professional singers in our company might not find it easy to sing so many words in one breath."

    "Not just that."

    The other one in the recording studio praised, "If only the first part of the main song has long lyrics, it''s still alright. But the terrifying part is the melody of the opening part of this song isn''t low, for this song, the higher the pitch, the harder it is to complete the main song in one breath."

    "I will try again."

    Jiang Kui said to the recording engineer and tried several more times. This resulted in her feeling increasingly dizzy.

    Because whenever she started to sing the song, she had to take in a big breath!

    The ending part of each sentence, and the beginning part of the following sentence were points where she had to take in a deep breath.

    And after taking in a big breath, she had to evenly exhale it. Every word had to be pronounced neither too softly nor harshly. If she exerted too much force on any word while exhaling, the whole rhythm would be disrupted.

    In the end.

    Even if Jiang Kui could do all of the above, she might accidentally run out of breath by the last few words ¡ª

    Ordinary people might not notice.

    Even for ordinary people, Jiang Kui''s performance might already be perfect.

    But as a singer with high expectations for herself, Jiang Kui wouldn''t allow herself to run out of breath at the last few words. Otherwise, she would really have done a disservice to the song that Teacher Admirable Fish wrote. That''s why she spent the whole day in the recording studio, determined to achieve the most perfect standard recording this song.

    "Let''s continue tomorrow."

    Without achieving satisfying results by night, the recording engineer could only suggest to stop temporarily.

    Without a doubt, Jiang Kui could sing "Balloon."

    However, to perform it perfectly would require Jiang Kui to record countless times, after all, this wasn''t any ordinary song.

    "Jiang Kui?"

    There was no response. The recording engineer couldn''t help but look towards Jiang Kui, only to find her slumped in her chair, her tongue sticking out:

    "Aba aba aba aba..."

    The two recording engineers were completely amused.

    However, both of them could fully understand Jiang Kui''s state, as the melody written for the beginning of this song was almost inhuman.

    "I have an idea."

    The recording engineer on the left said, "Once the official version is recorded, lets not remove the breathing sounds, perhaps that may make it more relatable."

    "Won''t it impact the listening experience?"

    The recording engineer on the right was a bit worried.

    In studio production, there''s a mixing technique that can eliminate breath sounds.

    The sound of singers gasping for breath during the song might sound strange and easily affect the emotional experience of the song. Hence, during mixing, the sound of the singer''s breath is usually reduced, or even completely removed.

    "It won''t matter."

    The recording engineer on the left said, "All techniques are only to make the song sound better. That''s the premise. There is no strict formula for recording. Many emotional songs prefer to retain the sound of breath. And if we retain the sound of breath in ''Balloon'', the listeners will be able to understand the special characteristics of this song."

    "That''s true."

    The recording engineer on the right agreed, smiling, "The breath sounds in ''Balloon'' are not small huh, before the singer sings the first line, they''ll have to take a deep breath. Listeners will probably find it hard not to notice."

    "I think we can."

    Jiang Kui had recovered by then. Although her head still felt dizzy, at least she could converse normally with the recording engineer, "Let''s keep the breath sounds in this song. This way, people won''t say our studio recordings don''t have a live performance feel."

 Chapter 54 - 51: Group of Death_1

    Qin Continent is vast, with numerous cities.

    Lin Yuan''s current location is called Su City, one of the most prosperous main cities in Qin Continent, while his hometown is a place called Cloud City.

    Six hours by high-speed rail.

    Lin Yuan finally arrives in Cloud City.

    "See you when school starts."

    Jian Yi and Xia Fan, who travelled with him, say goodbye to Lin Yuan.

    After saying goodbye to them, Lin Yuan doesn''t head home immediately. Instead, he takes a bus to a shopping mall and buys a bunch of things-

    They are all gifts for his mother and sister. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    After leaving the mall, Lin Yuan, carrying bags of various sizes, finds it inconvenient to take the bus, so he opts for a taxi instead.

    His home is on the southern side of the county.

    A place like an urban village.

    When he arrives at the familiar house in his memory, Lin Yuan knocks on the door, which is opened by a pretty girl in a fluffy pajama.

    "Sis."

    Lin Yuan greets with a smile, this is his sister, Lin Yao. She is very pretty and, like Lin Yuan, inherited the best from both parents. She''s a senior in high school this year.

    "Bro."

    The girl nods with a smile.

    Lin Yuan walks into the house, changes into slippers, and calls out to the house, "Mom, I''m back."

    "You''re finally back."

    His mother comes out wearing an apron, her hands stained with blood, "I''m making red braised fish for you."

    "Great."

    Lin Yuan brings the purchases into the house and hands a set of clothes and shoes to his sister, "These are your gifts."

    "Thank you."

    Lin Yao takes Lin Yuan''s gift, opens it to find a pink down jacket, and frowns, "I don''t like pink."

    "Then what color do you like?"

    Lin Yao answers without a second thought, "White."

    Lin Yuan takes out another set, "Like this one?"

    Lin Yao looks at Lin Yuan in surprise. "Mom said you''ve made a fortune and she didn''t lie. Can you give me a hundred to buy a learning materials set? I have a discount coupon. It was originally a hundred and twenty, but it''s twenty off for every one hundred spent."

    "Sure."

    Lin Yuan agrees quickly, "I also got a discount coupon for a grilled fish restaurant at the mall. We can go there for a meal."

    Lin Yao nods, "Hmm."

    The mother watches the siblings interact, amusement tinged with a touch of exasperation, "No wonder people said you two had weird personalities when you were kids¡­"

    "Why?"

    Lin Yuan and Lin Yao look at their mother in unison.

    The mother waves off their question with a smile. Even though both siblings are of a quiet temperament, unlike their vivacious eldest sister, she knows that the bonds between her three children are strong.

    Lin Yuan sits on the couch to rest.

    Lin Yao, who is currently in her senior year, is doing some work at the table.

    This is a two-bedroom house, the lighting isn''t the best and the decor and furniture are very basic. For instance, the couch Lin Yuan is sitting on has several holes in it. Although the house might be simple, it''s very clean and well-kept.

    I''ll buy a house when I get my salary.

    The thought crosses Lin Yuan''s mind.

    Soon, the meal is ready. Lin Yuan had called his mother before he came back, so the lunch is quite a feast, with four dishes and one soup.

    Braised fish in soy sauce, sweet and sour spare ribs, spicy chicken, vegetable stir-fried mushrooms, and a bowl of tomato and egg soup.

    "Let''s eat."

    The three of them sit around the table, and the mother laments, "Your sister''s holiday hasn''t started yet. If she were here, all these dishes would be finished."

    Lin Yuan nods.

    Their sister is the best eater in the family.

    Compared to that, Lin Yuan and Lin Yao are more picky eaters. They just prefer meat.

    The mother reminds with a smile, "Eat more vegetables."

    Hence, Lin Yuan and Lin Yao, in perfect agreement, pick out a leafy vegetable, split it into two halves with their chopsticks and eat it.

    "..."

    Mom grinned and said, "Yao Yao, your brother has started making money now, so anything you need in the future, you can ask your brother."

    "Okay."

    Lin Yao''s eyes lit up and she turned to Lin Yuan, "Bro, can you help me eat this plate of greens?"

    "The eaters are the heroes!"

    Lin Yuan refused, "They say people who eat greens stay young. I have a friend who often eats greens, so he''s forever eighteen."

    Lin Yao: "..."

    Lin Yuan reminded, "He''s forever eighteen."

    Puzzled, Lin Yao asked, "Bro, are you cracking a joke?" She had a vague sense that Lin Yuan was trying to be funny, but his tone and the atmosphere didn''t quite match.

    Lin Yuan didn''t respond, but he regretted a little, thinking that he wasn''t funny, but that senior Sun Yao Huo had a low sense of humor. He had no resistance to his jokes.

    ...

    Lin Yuan started his vacation early, but all departments of Starlight were still bustling with work.

    The Talent Department.

    Jiang Kui had finally finished recording "Balloon," and was delightedly reporting her achievements to Zhao Jue.

    Just then.

    Ol'' Zhou appeared in the Talent Department and found Zhao Jue, "There''s some bad news. We might need to adjust our Spring Festival plan."

    "What happened?"

    Zhao Jue furrowed his eyebrows.

    Ol'' Zhou sighed, "This Spring Festival, the company planned to have ten songs, one of which has encountered a problem. The Auditing Department found out that the melody of our song is very similar to a song from Chu Continent."

    "Plagiarism?"

    "Not plagiarism. I know the composer, he must have accidentally heard that song and unwittingly wrote a similar melody. This kind of thing has happened in the Composing Department before."

    "Can''t we just have nine songs for this year then?"

    It''s quite common for composers'' works to have similar melodies, especially pop songs, which often use similar chords.

    "No."

    Ol'' Zhou fretted, "All the promotional resources for this song have been arranged. If we pull this song, it would be such a waste. But we can''t just slap any song on, otherwise it would waste such a good promotional opportunity."

    "So whose song should we use instead?"

    The two look at each other, then simultaneously turn their heads to stare at the bewildered Jiang Kui.

    "Me?"

    Jiang Kui''s mouth dropped open in surprise. Realizing what the two mean, she began grumbling, "''Balloon'' is the song I planned for March..."

    "I understand."

    Zhao Jue sighed,"The quality of ''Balloon'' is quite good, and releasing it in March might push it up the charts. But the problem is, we are still one song short for February."

    "But February is death month, so many first-line singers are competing."

    Jiang Kui whined, death month meant the competition for chart spots in February was extremely intense. The only reason why "Big Fish" didn''t place high was because it was launched in December''s death month.

    That''s how terrifying the death month is!

    Songs that could top the charts in other months might not even make it into the top ten if released in February.

    "Yes, that''s true."

    Ol'' Zhou consoled, "But we need one more song for February, and the quality of your song is quite good. What if it becomes a hit?"

    Zhao Jue nodded.

    Jiang Kui: "..."

    She didn''t dare to ask or say anything.

    She was powerless against their decisions, and could only use Lin Yuan as a shield, "You guys talk to Teacher Admirable Fish."

    "I''ll make a call."

    Ol'' Zhou began to speak and dialed Lin Yuan''s number. At the time, Lin Yuan was shopping with his sister for study materials. After hearing the matter over the phone, he agreed:

    "Sure."

    Ol'' Zhou ended the call, "Lin Yuan has no problem with it, so let''s hap¡­ cough, we''ve made our decision."

    Even Teacher Admirable Fish has given in?

    Jiang Kui''s eyes showed a glimmer of despair.

    Why do I always get stuck with the death month?

    Indeed, ''Balloon'' is a great song which could likely perform well if launched in March. But releasing it in February''s death month, isn''t this a recipe for disaster?

 Chapter 55 - 52: Balloon Challenge_1

    Although the singers in the Qin Continent shudder at the mere mention of February, for fans, it''s a month to look forward to because new songs are always released during this period.

    Especially during the winter break now.

    Students have plenty of time.

    So on the night when January transitions into February, the night owls who love music gathered together.

    The traffic on all major music apps on the Qin Continent was very high that night, and the newly released songs with promotional advertisements had a very promising listening rate.

    After browsing through the promotional list.

    Someone said in a small circle, "Jiang Kui has a new song! It''s on the banner advertisement in Rice Music!"

    "Who is Jiang Kui?"

    "The one who sang ''Big Fish''."

    "Oh, the girl with a beautiful voice!"

    "What''s the name of the song? I''ll give it a listen."

    "It''s called ''Balloon''."

    "Called Balloon?"

    "Nice Web, bringing out a joke from 80 years ago."

    "..."

    Many people don''t recognize the name Jiang Kui, but they remember ''Big Fish''.

    That song is quite popular among youngsters.

    Just on the reputation of ''Big Fish'', many people are willing to give Jiang Kui''s new song a listen.

    Click on ''Balloon''.

    Surprisingly, there is an obvious deep breath in the prelude of the music, that is unadorned and unprocessed.

    "Isn''t that too deliberate?"

    This is the first impression of many people.

    They are not opposed to hearing the breathing sound, they just think that the singer''s breathing sound is too exaggerated, it''s just singing, is there a need for such effort?

    However.

    Before they could stop the playback, the following performance directly stunned numerous listeners who were wearing headphones: "Black and white and red, yellow, purple, green, blue, grey, yours, mine, his, hers, big, small, round, flat, good, bad, beautiful, ugly, new, old, a variety of styles, a variety of colors, for you to choose..."

    What the heck?

    At this moment, many people felt like they were out of breath, so they subconsciously took a deep breath along with the singer.

    "Hisss."

    The singer took another deep breath, this time the change in tone had a rich variation in the melody, backed by the rapid piano nodes in the background, imitating the rhythm of drum beats: "Fly high the further the better, cut the string, it dies. its life is short, being happy is enough, liking it is enough, no big deal, it gets smaller and smaller, till it''s about to die, but it''s very proud."

    What on earth!

    Many people were dumbfounded.

    The voice in the headphones smoothly continued, "If you don''t want to talk, then don''t anymore, I don''t want to hear, don''t want to hear anymore, treat all the promises like balloons and let them go, I don''t care, won''t care, let them go, let them go."

    The main melody concludes here.

    At this moment, many people felt a sense of relief. No one felt that the deep breath at the beginning was deliberate by the singer anymore. Damn, this song is literally challenging the singer''s lung capacity!

    "I feel for the singer..."

    Inside a small music group, someone suddenly made this comment, just as the song entered a soothing part: "Balloons drift into the clouds, into the wind, ending their lives; balloons drift into love, into the heart, slowly die."

    "Feel for the singer, plus one!"

    "Is this song trying to show off skills?"

    "No, it''s purely showing off lung capacity."

    "Well, I suggest you guys try singing it once..."

    "Hahahaha hahahaha, I barely had any blood supply to my brain after singing the first part of the melody. I can''t, I can''t, I need a breather."

    "I can''t even sing."

    "I run out of breath by the end."

    "..."

    Someone in the group jokingly said, "According to expert research, if you can''t sing the first line of ''Balloon'' in one breath, you have kidney deficiency."

    A bunch of people above retracted their messages at lightning speed.

    "I can do it!"

    "Me too!"

    "No problem!"

    Everyone felt that they could do it again.

    Many people even sent horrifying voice clips where they tried to sing the first part of this song.

    Also, everyone started by taking a deep breath involuntarily.

    In terms of melody, this song is very catchy, you can barely hum it after a few casual listens.

    However, ninety percent of the voice clips ended up being disaster sites towards the end, making the listeners wonder if the singer would faint from lack of oxygen.

    "I''m dying of laughter."

    "After hearing you guys sing, I feel like calling an ambulance for you."

    "It sounds like I can do it, but if I really sing it, I''ll drop dead. The only hope is to change the key."

    "Alright, I really can''t do it."

    "To be a singer these days, you first have to learn how to hold your breath, right?"

    "..."

    The discussion in the group was particularly lively, and soon the comment section of the song also started to get lively: "This song can defeat all the KTV faux mic hogs!"

    "This song can only be sung at noon because you will run out of breath in the morning and evening."

    "I''m a broadcasting teacher, I think I can give my students a good lesson tomorrow."

    "I want to learn this song, take it to the KTV after school to show off!"

    "Hmph, if you don''t have a lung capacity of four or five thousand, don''t even think about learning this song."

    "No, you need to have lungs from your neck down to be able to sing it."

    "This song should be renamed ''Lack of Oxygen''."

    "I think this song is more appropriately named ''Running out of Breath''."

    "My god, the first line nearly killed me, felt lifeless after singing."

    "..."

    The focus of everyone is no longer on how the song is.

    Everyone is discussing the difficulty of singing this song and their feelings after trying to sing it.

    Some say that the mood is what you listen to when you listen to a song.

    This song, however, makes the audience participants.

    And when it was the next day.

    The first thing Ol'' Zhou did when he arrived at the company was to open the new song list for February, but was shocked to find that ''Balloon'' was ranked seventh!

    What''s going on?

    Am I seeing things?

    The first thing Ol'' Zhou doubted was his own eyes, because February and December seasons are the same, they are the Group of Death!

    Why is February considered the Group of Death?

    You''ll understand once you see the line-up that each company puts forth in February.

    There are a total of twelve top-tier singers on the list.

    Among them are two Kings of Singing and one Queen of Singing!

    However, on this star-studded list, ''Balloon'' sung by Jiang Kui, a semi-newcomer, is surprisingly ranked seventh!

    "My goodness..."

    With one breath, Jiang Kui.

    How many top-tier stars did she beat?

    Indeed, ''Balloon'' is of good quality, but the singers in February are hard nuts to crack, isn''t this result too exaggerated?

    At this moment.

    Ol'' Zhou heard someone in the department shouting, "Look! Xian Yu''s new song is trending!"

    Ol'' Zhou quickly opened Tribe.

    Tribe is a social media and networking platform based on user relationship information sharing, and also the most popular social platform in the Qin Continent. Only topics with extremely high popularity can make it to the trending list! S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    However, at this moment.

    Ol'' Zhou saw a related topic to ''Balloon'' in the tenth place on the Tribe''s trending list, which is the last place in the topic list:

    #BalloonChallenge#

    Clicking on the topic, it was full of short video shares, many users, even including some music broadcasters, were trying to challenge the new song ''Balloon''.

    Some do it easily.

    Some run out of breath while singing.

    But without exception, all Tribe hosts who participated in this challenge gained quite a bit of popularity, and the fans were very enthusiastic about this challenge.

    "What are you standing around for!"

    At this moment, in the Artists Department, Zhao Jue practically yelled at his subordinates, "Have your artists participate in the ''Balloon'' challenge on Tribe immediately!"

 Chapter 56 - 53 Husky_1

    What a rarity!

    The mediocre at best "Balloon" managed to trigger listeners'' competitive imitation and challenge with its unusual introductory melody...

    And even made it to the hot search list?

    If Zhao Jue missed such a golden opportunity, then he might as well give up his role as Starlight''s leading agent.

    Without any second thought, he escalated the heat on the hot search list.

    The trend of the Balloon Challenge, triggered spontaneously by the public, usually died down quickly. However, if the celebrities from Starlight also got involved, the challenge would undoubtedly spur on their fans, inducing a wider range of followers and imitators, thereby extending the high heat rating of the topic...

    The result was just as Zhao Jue had predicted.

    With the participation of celebrities, the heat of the Balloon Challenge really started to rise, attracting more and more people. It even rocketed up to fifth place in the hot search list!

    Conversely,

    In the February New Song Rankings, "Balloon" managed to advance one place, ranking 6th on the chart.

    The industry immediately went into an uproar!

    February was a deadly competition, where all the major companies were scraping and struggling for ranks on the chart. They all put out high-quality songs, not wanting to be left behind.

    But who would have expected,

    Starlight to release a song called "Balloon".

    This song amazingly topped the Tribe''s hot search list due to its challenging singing difficulty!

    The strange thing about the song was that few people actually cared about whether it was good to listen to or not. All they cared about was if they could sing the first section in one breath, just like the original singer...

    In terms of quality, "Balloon" didn''t dominantly surpass other songs on the chart.

    The fact that this song became popular in February was entirely thanks to the "Balloon Challenge" on the hot search list!

    Of course, this was related to the fact that it was the holiday season, and most people had more free time on their hands. Who would have bothered with this if they were busy?

    ...

    When Jiang Kui received a call from her agent about the progress of her new song, she jumped straight out of her bed early in the morning, singing the melodically challenging "Balloon" in a cracked voice.

    "Hot search, hot search, hot search!"

    After calming down her excitement, she took out her phone and logged onto the Tribe, finding the "Balloon Challenge" topic on the hot search list.

    "Haha!"

    The feeling of making it to the hot search list for the first time in her life was a bit strange for Jiang Kui. Although the star of the hot search was the "Balloon" and not herself, rounding up it was almost equivalent to herself making it to the hot search list.

    There were several video recommendations under the topic.

    Jiang Kui picked one with relatively high praise to watch.

    The video was shot by a female anchor and edited meticulously. The introductory collage depicted the female anchor practicing different sports to improve her lung capacity.

    After finishing this series of sports,

    The female anchor, despite lacking any visible muscles, defiantly asked her companion in front of the camera, "Ready?"

    The companion nodded seriously.

    Then the female anchor took a deep breath and suddenly started singing to her companion''s piano accompaniment: "Red, white, black, yellow, purple, green, blue, grey, yours, mine, his, hers, big, small, round, flat, good, bad, pretty, ugly..."

    She couldn''t go on.

    Jiang Kui understood as soon as she heard it.

    As expected, the female anchor in the video couldn''t continue singing.

    In the end, she could hardly make any sound, as if she was out of breath. All she could do was to repeatedly wave her hand, saying,

    "No, no, I can''t keep up."

    The last shot of the video showed the crestfallen female anchor and her companion sitting on chairs, and the screen was crossed off with a large caption:

    "Balloon Challenge failed!"

    The Tribe''s comment section for this video had already received tens of thousands of comments, with netizens queuing up to leave messages:

    "Anchor, you have weak kidneys."

    "Another person with weak kidneys, verification completed."

    Then someone unaware asked, "Why say the anchor has weak kidneys?"

    The answer below was deadly serious, "Don''t you all know? Research by experts has shown that those who can''t sing the first verse of ''Balloon'' without stumbling are categorized as having weak kidneys."

    "What the hell?"

    Jiang Kui laughed her head off.

    The ridiculous link between lung capacity and kidney deficiency; the hilarious netizens of the Tribe were indeed the source of happiness.

    After the laughter, Jiang Kui suddenly felt a bit philosophical. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    She had once again experienced how amazingly talented Teacher Admirable Fish was. Who would have thought that "Balloon" could still make such a hit, even in the deadly competition group.

    ...

    The February New Song Ranking stimulated the nerves of a multitude of people.

    Some of the Internet media in Qin Continent would naturally not miss the topic about the Balloon Challenge on the Tribe, such as "Entertainment Citizen".

    This was an entertainment show.

    The show''s host was a very popular bald man: "I woke up this morning and saw this really hot Balloon Challenge on the Tribe. I was completely taken aback; I even thought it was about jumping off a hot air balloon.

    Only when I clicked in did I realize it was a song, ''Red, blue, green, black...'' My goodness, I can''t remember the lyrics, but I did count specially, there are 56 words just in the opening line of this song!"

    Having said this,

    The show played Jiang Kui''s original first verse.

    After playing the song, the bald host laughed: "I have a friend who is a music broadcaster. He sings really well, and he told me that all the live streaming comments were asking him to sing ''Balloon''. But he couldn''t get through the first line no matter what. He struggled for half an hour, thinking he would lose some fans, but surprisingly, he gained ten thousand followers.

    It''s just like this song, utterly weird."

    The bald host, a witty and hilarious talker,

    Soon mentioned the entire February chart: "We all know that every year, February and December are deadly competitions, because many top-tier singers release songs during these two seasons. This year is no exception. As many as twelve top-tier singers share the stage, and the competition is extremely tough. Let me show you the chart..."

    Following his words, the show displayed a special "chart".

    It was a vivid depiction of a wolf pack in the style of a comic strip.

    Each wolf had the name of a song written on its body, from left to right, representing their respective ranks in February.

    But at sixth place in the wolf pack,

    Surprisingly, it was a cute Husky hidden among the wolves.

    Written on the Husky''s forehead were two words, "Balloon"!

    At this moment, countless viewers watching the show burst out laughing.

    This picture vividly illustrated the February rankings.

    Because apart from Jiang Kui, all the top ten in February were formidable A-list singers!

    Being able to exist on the same list with these A-listers, and even at a relatively high position, Jiang Kui, as a newcomer to the industry, was just like the Husky that snuck into a wolf pack in the anime, wasn''t she?

    At the end of the show,

    The bald host stated thoughtfully: "''Balloon'' brings us lots of joy, but while singing this song, I found that the oxygen in my lungs gets less and less until I can''t breathe at all, just like a balloon, from inflated to deflated. I guess this might be the meaning that Admirable Fish wanted to express through this song."

    ...

    Qin Continent, Cloud City.

    Lin Yao was also watching "Entertainment Citizen".

    As the sister of Lin Yuan, she was well aware that her brother was Admirable Fish, and naturally paid more attention to any related news.

    Like her current curiosity about the bald host''s summary: "Brother, is that what you really mean?"

    Lin Yuan replied, "That depends on whether this song will end up as a test question."

 Chapter 57 - 54 Artificial Beauty_1

    Sister Lin Xuan arrived home earlier this year.

    As soon as she came back, she stared at Lin Yuan, "On the way home, the little girl beside me was humming Red, Green, and Blue for half an hour..."

    "So?"

    Lin Yuan was a little confused.

    Lin Xuan stretched out her hand with a smirky smile, "The torturous song on my brother''s replay all the way home should be worth some compensation for mental damage, right?"

    "Then, I''ll send red packets."

    Lin Yuan sent ten thousand yuan in the family group chat, which only includes mom, Lin Yuan, Lin Yao, and Lin Xuan. So, Lin Yuan sent four shares directly.

    Two seconds later.

    The red packets were all taken.

    But when Lin Xuan checked the result, she went dark, "Four shares of a ten-thousand-yuan red packet, and lucky Yao Yao took six thousand by herself?"

    She hugged Lin Yao tightly, taking in the luck!

    Lin Yuan thought for a moment, also pinched Lin Yao''s face, and then quickly sneaked back into his room.

    "What''s he doing?"

    Lin Xuan and Lin Yao looked at each other in confusion.

    Although they trust and understand Lin Yuan enough, the act of him touching his sister''s face then immediately running back to his room was a bit strange.

    "System, quickly open a treasure box!"

    Lin Yuan shouted in his heart as soon as he returned to his room, just after he touched Lin Yao''s face, the luck on his hand might not have dissipated yet.

    The treasure box opened. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    System prompt:[Congratulations, you have won five short stories]

    "Five short stories?"

    Lin Yuan felt ecstatic instantly.

    Although they are five short stories, Lin Yuan prefers short ones!

    Because the system requires Lin Yuan to type himself, he doesn''t want to write a long novel.

    And another advantage of short stories is that readers can finish them without much effort, so the speed of gaining prestige should also be faster.

    "How to publish them?"

    This was the problem Lin Yuan was thinking about next.

    Then, Lin Yuan suddenly remembered that he could publish some articles on the Tribe.

    YangFeng had helped authenticate his Tribe account.

    Then things became simple, he could publish these short stories under Chu Kuang''s account.

    Let''s start writing "Artificial Beauty", it''s only a few thousand words after all.

    Let me introduce it.

    This work, named "Artificial Beauty", should not be considered as a short story but a micro-story, whose author is Shinichi Hoshi.

    Shinichi Hoshi.

    He''s a modern science fiction writer from Neon country, known as the father of Neon''s micro-stories. The most distinctive feature of his works is ingeniously conceived plots.

    Also worth mentioning, the name Detective Conan, Kudo Shinichi, came from here.

    Turning on his computer, Lin Yuan logged into the Tribe.

    Tribe is actually no different from the Weibo and Facebook of the previous life.

    If there is any difference, it is that the novel section of the Tribe is quite popular.

    Many people like to post short stories on the Tribe¡ª

    No one basically writes a long story on the Tribe.

    Lin Yuan''s Tribe account is named "Chu Kuang", officially introduced as the author of "King of the Net".

    When Lin Yuan logged in, he found that his Tribe account, which had never posted any posts and had no advertising, surprisingly had more than ten thousand followers.

    There are many messages in the backend, all sent by fans.

    But most of the questions are about the plot of "King of the Net", or expressing admiration for Chu Kuang and so on.

    Lin Yuan didn''t respond.

    He directly opened the novel section and began to write "Artificial Beauty".

    [This is a robot girl, crafted to perfection¡ª one might even say that no other beauty, no matter how charming, could compare to this artificially created modern woman. As she was designed by meticulously absorbing the best features of all beautiful women, the robot girl is virtually a perfect fairy. However, she tends to be aloof and dismissive of others. But, this is understandable.

    After all, many pretty girls are quite proud themselves.]

    Writing to this point.

    Lin Yuan asked, "System, didn''t you say you would increase my typing speed?"

    The system replied, "Yes."

    Lin Yuan asked, "Has it improved?"

    The system replied, "The professional piano acquired by the host is actually a way to indirectly increase the typing speed, and most importantly¡­"

    "What?"

    "You''re single."

    "What''s wrong with being single?"

    The system: "..."

    It seems that people who can''t tell jokes often don''t understand them either.

    But Lin Yuan didn''t pursue the issue with the system either, he hammered away at his laptop''s keyboard:[...In the fierce business competition, a bar was teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. In order to attract customers, the owner specially spent money to make this attractive robot girl.]

    Fifteen minutes later.

    Lin Yuan pressed the Enter key.

    He was surprised to find that it took him less than twenty minutes to finish "Artificial Beauty".

    This story is almost three thousand words!

    It seems his typing speed is indeed incomparable to ordinary people, and the biggest advantage of Lin Yuan''s writing is that he doesn''t have to think about the plot.

    You know.

    What hinders authors'' typing speed often is not the speed of their hands, but the speed of their brains.

    Often, the brain''s plot operation speed can''t keep up, which leads to a slow writing process for the author.

    If they don''t have to think about the plot, even authors with clumsy hands can write ten thousand words a day.

    Of course, Lin Yuan is not clumsy, and doesn''t need to think about the plot, which is why he can write so fast.

    After finishing writing.

    Lin Yuan didn''t think much and directly posted it in the novel section of the Tribe.

    Just then.

    His mother''s voice came from outside the door, "Dinner time!"

    The family quickly gathered around to start eating. The meal was lavish, a total of five dishes, which had kept mom busy for half a day.

    But they didn''t have to worry about the food not being eaten, because Lin Xuan was back.

    Although Sister Lin Xuan is slim, she can actually eat a lot. This might be why she still has some baby fat on her face after all this time.

    While eating.

    Lin Xuan was bragging to her sister, "I know a lot of famous authors now, you name any writer, and I might know them!"

    "Chu Kuang."

    Lin Yao played along.

    Lin Xuan coughed, "Of course I know Chu Kuang...we had dinner together some time ago...but after all, we''re not from the same company...so we''re not that close."

    Has Chu Kuang''s identity been exposed?

    Lin Yuan, a bit puzzled, glanced at his sister.

    His sister didn''t notice Lin Yuan''s puzzled look and was awkwardly changing the topic, asking her younger sister, "Do you also read ''King of the Net''?"

    "My classmates read it."

    Lin Yao replied, "I need to study and don''t have time to read novels."

    It shouldn''t have been exposed.

    Lin Yuan was a bit relieved.

    At this time, Lin Yuan''s novel had passed Tribe''s official review. Every user on Tribe who followed Chu Kuang''s account received a reminder: "Chu Kuang published a short story."

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    What the heck is catching a cold because of a stomach illness, in such scorching summer? Recently, I''ve been really unfortunate.

 Chapter 58 - 55 All Dead_1

    Chu Kuang released a short story?

    This push notification was greeted by many fans with the same first reaction¡ª Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Did Chu Kuang post an extra chapter of "King of the Net" on the Tribe?

    This assumption was reasonable.

    Some authors liked to use the Tribe platform to publish free additional content which they never intended to formally publish, as a form of interaction with their readers.

    However, Chu Kuang was clearly not one who enjoyed interacting with his fans.

    When everyone followed the Tribe notification link, they found out that this was not an extra chapter at all. It was merely a mini novel written by Chu Kuang.

    "I wish it was an extra chapter of ''King of the Net''."

    By this time, "King of the Net" had already released its second volume and garnered a considerable fan base. Many were disappointed to find out that it was not an additional chapter.

    For instance, Zhu Ming, a high school student from Mountain City in Qin Continent, was a staunch fan of the "King of the Net" novel.

    "You should read more nutritious books."

    Zhu Ming''s sister, Zhu Hui, always opposed her brother reading youth fantasy novels and seized opportunities to reproach him for it.

    Zhu Hui had a prejudice against youth fantasy novels.

    Because she had once read books of this genre where the protagonist travelled to a different world, surrounded by beautiful girls, all of whom eventually became his wives. The narrative even sporadically contained adult content...

    "I''ve told you,"

    Zhu Ming rebutted Zhu Hui: "''King of the Net'' is different from those novels. It''s about tennis, and many professionals say it is well-written. A lot of girls also like this novel."

    "Really?"

    Zhu Hui was skeptical.

    She simply sat down in front of the computer where her brother''s Tribe account was logged in. "You just said Chu Kuang has just posted a short story, right? This is the author you like so much, right? Let''s see what he''s written."

    "This short story is not a youth fantasy novel."

    "As long as it''s written by the same person, it''s fine."

    "Then you can read ''King of the Net.'' I have the hard copy."

    "No need for the trouble. Sometimes, one can understand a person through their writing." Saying that, Zhu Hui nonchalantly opened the short story titled "Artificial Beauty" and started to read.

    The story was indeed short.

    The story started by narrating how a bar owner, seeing his bar on the verge of closure, gambled everything on manufacturing a beautiful female robot who could keep customers company while they drank. As the robot was crucial to the fate of the bar, the owner took great pains to ensure she was incredibly beautiful and attractive.

    Her complexion, whiter than any young girl''s, was completely realistic.

    Those who didn''t know the truth would definitely think she had the most delicate skin among all the women they had ever seen!

    Patrons, seeing a young, beautiful woman behind the counter, would rush to greet and chat with her.

    When asked about her name and age, she was able to answer with an unperturbed smile. However, when asked anything further, she would be at a loss for words¡ª

    Even so, no one detected that she was a robot.

    Thus, the bar started buzzing.

    More and more patrons came to the bar to drink with the beauty.

    The bar owner stood behind the counter, and occasionally bent down to recycle the alcohol from the plastic tube under the female robot and resell it to the patrons fairly.

    The patrons did not discover this secret.

    [The patrons thought: "Such a young lady, yet she can drink like a fish. Her body must be very healthy. She doesn''t coquettishly cling to anyone after getting drunk. When patrons invite her for a drink, she''ll always drink it all at once and yet show no signs of drunkenness.]

    That''s what the patrons thought.

    Sitting in front of the computer, Zhu Hui was somewhat surprised.

    Chu Kuang''s imaginative prowess was indeed quite interesting.

    The text seemed to carry a hint of irony¡ªpeople were so focused on appearance that they missed the substance, which was why they were so captivated by a beautiful robot, completely lacking in their own judgement.

    But where was the story heading?

    As this thought appeared, Zhu Hui saw the following text:

    [Among the customers was a young man who fell in love with the beautiful robot lady at first sight. He would visit the bar every day, inviting the robot lady for drinks. Regardless of how courteously he treated Ms. Buick, it was all in vain. But he didn''t give up, instead he pursued Ms. Buick even more enthusiastically, only ordering the most expensive wines in the bar and spent all his savings.]

    This part too was laced with irony.

    It even felt oddly realistic.

    The young man who fell in love at first sight with the robot lady, was eerily similar to some of those pitiful creatures who would rather continue to eat ramen noodles as long as they could tip their broadcasters.

    Yet the storyline was difficult to guess.

    Could it be that the robot will develop human emotions?

    If so, Zhu Hui would feel greatly disappointed.

    Because that''s too clich¨¦d.

    She continued reading with expectation: [Finally, unable to pay the drinking bill, the young man had to bring out all the money from his home. His father was furious and warned sternly: Do not go to that damned place ever again! Take this money to settle the debts, remember, this is the last time!]

    The last time.

    The young man came to the bar with the money. To mark his last visit, he raised many toasts, inviting the robot lady to drink a lot.

    He confessed his feelings once again.

    But the robot''s brain was empty, like an empty can. The beauty, who looked good but was hollow inside, responded with her pre-set speech program.

    The young man didn''t get the answer he wanted.

    [He quietly took out a terrible poison from his pocket, sprinkled it in the wine glass, filled it, and served it to the robot lady. He watched with his own eyes as the robot lady drained the poisoned wine.]

    "That''s so brutal, isn''t it?"

    Zhu Hui, in front of the computer, suddenly felt an uncomfortable thumping in her heart. The extreme move by the young man - to kill the one he couldn''t have. Luckily, Ms. Buick was a robot, else she could have been poisoned to death.

    That was what Zhu Hui thought.

    But the next paragraph left her with chills running down her spine:

    [After the young man left, the barkeep called out to the remaining customers: From now on, the drinks are on me. Everyone, drink to your heart''s content!

    Even though he was treating everyone, the barkeep wasn''t going to lose out. Because at this late hour, no new customers would be coming in; moreover, all he was serving was the drink recycled from Ms. Buick''s foot pipe, there was no need to spend any money.]

    Ah!

    Almost forgotten!

    All the drinks Ms. Buick drank were recycled by the barkeep to be sold to other customers. That means everyone in the bar today drank the deadly poisoned wine!

    Zhu Hui was suddenly taken aback.

    The short story was now at its end, the final part read like this:

    [The customers and the bar''s staff were engaged in high-spirited noisemaking. Everyone was toasting each other, drinking heartily. Even the barkeep, influenced by the atmosphere, raised his glass from behind the counter, slowly drinking it.]

    All the descriptions stopped abruptly here.

    But one didn''t need to imagine what happened next. This was the author''s intentional ambiguity. It made the story more impactful!

    "They''re all dead."

    The ending was completely unexpected for Zhu Hui, startling her so much she blurted out: "They''re all dead!"

    "What?"

    Her brother beside her asked, a little puzzled.

    Zhu Hui didn''t answer. She first logged into her tribe account and followed Chu Kuang, and then said:

    "Chu Kuang is a talented writer, his novel¡­ should be worth reading."

 Chapter 59 - 56 Fun Reads Magazine_1

    This was the first time Zhu Hui had a change of heart about novelists who wrote youth fantasy novels. Before this, she had assumed that Chu Kuang was one of those vulgar authors who wrote mindless harem stories.

    Now it seemed that was not the case.

    "Artificial Beauty" was too brilliant. A mere two to three thousand words left her speechless. From this situation, it was clear¡ª

    Chu Kuang undoubtedly had an extraordinary level of writing skill!

    Opening the comment section, Zhu Hui found out she was not the only one surprised. Many comments also expressed emotions similar to hers:

    "This story is so interesting!"

    "Did Chu Kuang really write this?"

    "Isn''t Chu Kuang a youth fantasy writer?"

    "I originally came here to urge for more of "King of the Net", but I was drawn in by a short story by Chu Kuang. This short story isn''t at all youth fantasy, but it''s fascinating."

    "I really like this style!"

    "The text doesn''t have much personal expression from the author, just pure narration, but the ending doesn''t need any emotional embellishment yet it shook me to my core."

    "That twist at the end."

    "Am I over-interpreting this? I feel this article satirizes many social phenomena. Wasn''t there a news going around sometime ago about the creation of lifelike robots that look indistinguishable from humans? It''s truly frightening thinking about it in conjunction with this story."

    "Was disappointed that it wasn''t an extra chapter for "King of the Net", but after reading the short story, felt contented haha."

    "To the one above, you''re not alone." sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Screw off, you''re not alone either."

    "..."

    Aside from comments, many people had shared and praised the story.

    The Tribe had a praising feature.

    Readers could reward the stories they liked on the Tribe''s novel section, and ultimately, the author could earn half of the money.

    Moreover, as many people shared it, even pedestrians who didn''t know Chu Kuang started paying attention to "Artificial Beauty".

    It had to be said, the four-character title "Artificial Beauty" was rather eye-catching.

    Upon hearing it, people might initially think the author was satirizing society''s plastic surgery faces?

    Especially the two words "ÃÀÈË" (beauty), they inherently had a kind of attraction, especially for male netizens!

    As a result, more people finished reading this novel¡ª

    That''s the benefit of being short!

    Well...

    Although it was different from what they imagined, this seemed to not affect many people''s evaluation of the novel. Even some bloggers who specialized in recommending books on the Tribe noticed this short story "Artificial Beauty", and casually shared it.

    "Shocking!"

    One blogger who apparently knew the trick to attracting clicks said: "Who would believe this is a short story written by Chu Kuang, the author of "King of the Net",?"

    Even though the method was shameful, it was effective.

    Chu Kuang originally had the popularity plus from the author of "King of the Net".

    Added on to the promotion from the readers, the little "Artificial Beauty" story had unexpectedly high heat.

    In the end, even the person in charge of the Tribe''s novel section took notice.

    "Boss, the click rate on this short story is skyrocketing."

    Listening to the report from his subordinates, the person in charge of the Tribe''s novel section raised an eyebrow: "Isn''t Chu Kuang the recently popular youth fantasy novelist? The author of "King of the Net"?"

    "Yes."

    The person in charge nodded, took some time to finish reading "Artificial Beauty", and then put on a smile: "Indeed, the story is very well written. Give it a push in the hot category of the novel section."

    ¡­

    After Lin Yuan had dinner, and took a walk with his family downstairs, by the time he logged back into his Tribe account again, it was already the next day.

    This day was the Spring Festival.

    Every household was bustling with joy.

    Lin Yuan''s home was also very lively, but after a short time outside, Lin Yuan returned to his room and turned on the computer.

    "Eh?"

    Lin Yuan was surprised to discover that overnight, there were over a thousand new messages in the backend of his Tribe account.

    All these messages were related to "Artificial Beauty".

    And his casually posted "Artificial Beauty" now had over four thousand comments and over a thousand shares!

    Apart from that,

    The follower count of Chu Kuang''s account had also successfully jumped from ten thousand to twenty-two thousand.

    At this moment,

    Lin Yuan''s phone rang.

    Lin Yuan looked at it, it was an unknown number, so he hung up.

    After a while, the phone rang again.

    Lin Yuan again hung up.

    On the third ring, still the same number, Lin Yuan had no choice but to answer it.

    The other side laughed, "Happy New Year."

    Lin Yuan answered: "I''m not New Year."

    There was a long pause on the other end before they changed their greeting: "Hello, Chu Kuang."

    So, they were looking for Chu Kuang.

    For these strange phone calls, if it''s not an advertisement or similar, Lin Yuan would first confirm whether they were trying to reach Xian Yu, Chu Kuang, or Lin Yuan, this process was very essential.

    Lin Yuan asked: "What''s up?"

    The man on the other end laughed: "Let me introduce myself, I''m Yu Rong, the editor-in-chief of Silver Blue Books'' Fun Reads magazine. I''m calling you today to discuss a potential collaboration."

    Lin Yuan asked: "What type of collaboration?"

    The other end said seriously: "I saw the novel you posted on the Tribe yesterday, and I feel it''s a bit of a waste. Such an excellent story could absolutely be serialized in our Fun Reads magazine. Our magazine is mainly focused on short stories, prioritizing fun and placing no limitations on the genre of novels. Moreover, our sales volume is quite substantial.

    What''s more, the Tribe won''t pay you for your publications, but we at Silver Blue Books are willing to pay!"

    "How much?"

    This hit right in Lin Yuan''s heart, he was somewhat short of money. Though he had received his salary for this month, it was not enough to buy a house for his family as he wished.

    "Three thousand per thousand words!"

    The other end quoted: "One thousand words equates to three-thousand yuan. We can collaborate on the basis of this price. Of course, the precondition is that your work has to pass our audit."

    Lin Yuan frowned: "That''s too little."

    He roughly calculated that the reward for "Artificial Beauty" on the Tribe had already accumulated to several thousand. Moreover, its timeliness was high; readers could give feedback at the earliest, and the prestige value could also be credited at the earliest.

    "How much do you want then?"

    The ball was kicked back to him.

    This was the kind of question that Lin Yuan dreaded most. However, he could continue playing Tai Chi: "I''ll send you a piece first, and you quote a price. If I feel the price isn''t appropriate, then forget it."

    "Alright, my email is..."

    "I''ve already sent it."

    "Huh? You still don''t know my email..."

    "Aren''t you from Silver Blue Books? I sent it directly to YangFeng''s email. You guys are colleagues, just go to him to get the manuscript."

    "But....I haven''t....with their department...."

    The person on the other side was a bit taken aback, his tone noticeably flustered.

    Lin Yuan said: "I''m hanging up now, goodbye."

    Lin Yuan really did hang up the phone.

    Mainly because the Spring Festival really had come, the food today was even more plentiful than the previous days. If he didn''t go out to eat now, what if his sister finished it all?

    Meanwhile,

    Editor YangFeng received a manuscript. It was a short story sent by Chu Kuang, titled "The Gift of the Magi".

    What was going on?

    YangFeng was completely baffled.

 Chapter 60 - 57: Dare to Quote a Price?_1

    "What is this?"

    YangFeng asked Chu Kuang via a text message.

    Only after having his meal did Lin Yuan see the message and he replied, "Isn''t it the article you guys commissioned from your company? The commissioner''s name is Yu Rong, and they claimed to be the editor-in-chief of Fun Reads magazine. Did I fall for a scam?"

    Lin Yuan felt slightly relieved.

    Fortunately, he was quick-witted enough to send his article to YangFeng at Silver Blue Books, who was in charge of King of the Net. If that person, claiming to be Yu Rong, wasn''t from Silver Blue Books, Lin Yuan wouldn''t have lost anything.

    "He isn''t a scammer."

    YangFeng replied with a mixed expression.

    Seeing that Chu Kuang didn''t respond further, YangFeng abruptly stood up from his seat and made a call to the editor-in-chief, "Editor-in-chief, you must step in this time. Yu Rong dared to commission a manuscript from Chu Kuang behind our backs!"

    "What?"

    The editor-in-chief on the other end of the phone sounded angry, "Always guard against outsiders, but it''s hard to prevent a traitor. Yu Rong dared to commission Chu Kuang behind the back of our Youth Fantasy Department. Does he even take us seriously? I''m at the company, I''m going over to the magazine department to settle this!"

    Many companies had started the New Year holiday.

    Even during the holidays, there were people on duty at Silver Blue Books. Those who had to work were locals from Su City, and their salaries were five times the regular pay. Despite the heavy workload, many were willing to work during the New Year''s holiday.

    After hanging up the phone.

    The editor-in-chief of the Youth Fantasy Department, Ol'' Xiong, went straight to the magazine department. He spotted the director of the magazine department, Yu Rong, almost immediately: "Old Yu, aren''t you guys being a bit underhanded, commissioning manuscripts from Chu Kuang behind our backs?"

    "Ol'' Xiong, those are harsh words."

    From the moment Chu Kuang said he sent the manuscript to YangFeng, Yu Rong knew something was off. Therefore, he had mentally prepared himself. "I was just about to inform you guys. Coincidentally, you''re here. Sit down and have some tea. We''re all colleagues."

    "Don''t play dumb."

    Despite the odd looks from nearby employees, Ol'' Xiong tersely responded: "Chu Kuang''s ''King of the Net'' provides us with a hundred thousand words every month. There''s no need for me to explain how high the sales volume is. Now you''re asking him to write more, isn''t this going to affect his creation?"

    "I can''t be blamed for this."

    Yu Rong was also getting anxious: "Even if I don''t commission Chu Kuang, he would still publish short stories on the Tribe platform. I have high hopes for the quality of his short stories. Instead of posting them for free on the Tribe platform, why not publish them in our ''Fun Reads''? It''s one of our company''s top magazines."

    "It''s a fleeting interest."

    Ol'' Xiong''s anger flared up even more: "But you''re encouraging his interest in writing short stories. People only have so much energy. After writing the short stories for your magazine, how much energy does he have left to update ''King of the Net''?"

    "He''s volunteering."

    Yu Rong coughed once.

    He should have informed in advance about such matters, but Yu Rong knew that Ol'' Xiong, in order to ensure the stable update of ''King of the Net'', probably wouldn''t agree, which is why he took the ''forgiveness is easier to get than permission'' approach. However, it ended up backfiring.

    "Are you deliberately poaching?"

    "How can it be called poaching when we''re in the same company?"

    "You''re just jealous of our performance!"

    "Ol'' Xiong, that''s going too far."

    Both editors were genuinely angry this time, arguing in front of their staff. It wasn''t until someone called over the executive editor that both sides cooled down a bit, but even the executive editor held his head in his hands, "Stop shouting for a moment, let me look at the manuscript."

    Quickly, YangFeng sent the manuscript to the executive editor.

    The manuscript was titled The Gift of the Magi, which was only about three thousand words, so the executive editor could finish reading it quickly.

    However, what surprised Ol'' Xiong and Yu Rong was...

    The executive editor, after reading the manuscript, stayed unusually silent.

    Upon closer inspection.

    Both were stunned.

    Because the always serious and authoritative executive editor now had red-rimmed eyes and even carefully wiped away a tear.

    Did the executive editor cry from anger?

    Both of them were startled.

    Yu Rong nervously said, "What''s wrong, executive editor? It''s the New Year. We had a small disagreement. You don''t have to be this upset."

    "Exactly."

    Ol'' Xiong no longer had the gall to argue, "Since Chu Kuang agreed to it, I won''t say anything else. Seeing as he dared to accept the task shows he''s confident he can handle both."

    Both of them had never seen the executive editor like this before.

    Without acknowledging the two, the executive editor with red-rimmed eyes got up and made a phone call with a slightly hoarse voice, "Immediately book me a flight home, I want the earliest one."

    "Executive editor..."

    Now Ol'' Xiong and Yu Rong were genuinely panicked.

    The executive editor was originally supposed to stay for the New Year and not return home. But now, just because of their small argument, he ended up crying from anger!

    He''s not even planning on doing his work!

    The executive editor said as he glanced at the two of them with his red-rimmed eyes, "Do you know how hard it was for me when I first started my business?"

    "Huh?"

    The executive editor ignored their confusion and continued, "I remember during the hardest times, my wife and I could go a day with just plain water and bread. Later, my wife found a job cleaning at the school cafeteria, so every day at noon, I would go to the school cafeteria under the pretext of seeing her, and scrounge for food. The taste of soaking in free soup was truly fragrant."

    Ol'' Xiong instinctively asked, "What happened after?"

    The executive editor subtly smiled, "Later, my wife moved into a luxurious villa and tasted all kinds of delicacies ¡ª¡ª however, she has to take care of my parents in that villa. When she eats the delicacies, she usually eats alone ¡ª¡ª would you say we were happier before or now? It''s New Year. I miss my wife. I need to spend time with my family.

    As for those of you from here, I''ll have to trouble you to work a bit harder. I''m counting on you."

    After finishing, the executive editor gave a slight bow and then turned to leave.

    Yu Rong called out in shock, "Executive editor..."

    The executive editor suddenly stopped, "Hm, by the way, get me an autograph from Teacher Chu Kuang. Tell him that I am a fan of his books."

    This time, the executive editor really left.

    But Ol'' Xiong and Yu Rong seemed to realize that the catalyst for this incident was not just their conflict.

    Because for the first time in all his years at Silver Blue Books, the executive editor publicly admitted that he was a fan of a certain author at his company.

    A novel!

    It was the novel!

    The two of them quickly came back to their senses, not arguing any longer, and each let YangFeng send them a copy of The Gift of the Magi.

    This might be the source of the executive editor''s change of heart.

    After Ol'' Xiong left.

    Yu Rong couldn''t wait to start reading The Gift of the Magi. He wanted to see what was written in the novel that made the executive editor even abandon his work.

    The novel was short.

    While reading the book, Yu Rong had no particular reaction.

    But when he reached the end of the novel, Yu Rong was stunned. He couldn''t help but clutch at his temples and cry out in pain: sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Ah!"

    Now he completely understood the executive editor''s strange behavior. The power of the text was terrifying. People who have had similar experiences often read other people''s stories and shed their own tears, especially when faced with such a stunning ending in the novel The Gift of the Magi!

    "Boss, what''s wrong?"

    One of the employees couldn''t help but ask.

    Yu Rong slumped in his chair, "Chu Kuang told me to quote a price after I finished reading... how can I dare to quote a price for such a novel¡­"

 Chapter 61 - 58: Chu Kuangs Manuscript Fee_1

    Indeed, Yu Rong was scared to set a price!

    He had been the editor-in-chief of "Fun Reads" for ten years and had come across countless excellent novellas. Among his decade-long career, the novella in front of him definitely ranks among the top. Of course, this is Yu Rong''s personal opinion, after all, everyone''s opinion of literary works varies.

    However, Yu Rong believed.

    No one could possibly read "The Gift of the Magi" and give it a less-than-stellar review, because the story was so deeply moving, especially the unexpected ending that also felt reasonable upon reflection.

    But one thing was certain:

    He had to get his hands on this novel!

    Yu Rong took a deep breath, made a phone call to Chu Kuang, and voiced his thoughts frankly, "I''m honored to be one of the first to read this novel. I''m willing to represent the publishing company and offer 200,000 to purchase this novella. This isn''t to say the novel is worth 200,000, but our magazine''s payment generally has a cap..."

    "200,000?"

    After a thought, Lin Yuan agreed. After all, the other party only provided a channel to publish "The Gift of the Magi". They weren''t buying the copyright to his novel, so he didn''t make a big fuss about it.

    "What''s 200,000 about?"

    Lin Yuan was shopping with his sister and his younger sister. His sister perked up when she heard him on the phone, but Lin Yuan didn''t plan to reveal his identity and brushed it off by saying, "Things like salary."

    "Let''s go, Yao Yao!"

    Upon hearing this, Lin Xuan took her little sister and strode off, "The clothes we just saw were indeed beautiful. Even though they cost over three thousand, who else has a wealthy brother like you?"

    "No need."

    Lin Yao couldn''t bear the thought.

    Although Lin Yuan seemed to have become richer, being frugal was deeply ingrained in these children. Neither Lin Yuan, Lin Xuan, nor Lin Yao would suddenly become spendthrift because of the sudden influx of wealth.

    Lin Yuan proposed, "Let''s go back then."

    Lin Xuan huffed, "What a tight-fisted brother."

    Lin Yuan gave a stingy grin in return. He certainly wouldn''t admit that among the two down jackets he had previously bought for Lin Yao, none of them were cheaper than three thousand. Any less than that and his little sister would feel burdened wearing it.

    Back at home.

    Lin Xuan started to frequently answer calls. Probably dealing with the work that had piled up during the holidays. After several consecutive calls, Lin Xuan lay exhausted on the couch and started to complain, "The senior at my company says that authors always drag their work around during Chinese New Year. I now have first-hand experience of that.

    I estimate that 50% of them will fail to submit their work in upcoming months. I bet the editor-in-chief is wishing he could fire me."

    "What does ''not submitting work'' mean?"

    Her younger sister Lin Yao seemed quite curious.

    Lin Xuan explained, "''Opening the skylight'' is originally a professional term in magazines or newspapers that means an empty slot due to the failure of an author to submit work on time. In our novel world, it means to delay submission."

    Lin Yao asked, "So what happens if someone delays their submission?"

    Lin Xuan sighed, "Generally, there''s a deadline for authors. The former is the agreed-upon time for handing over the draft manuscript; if the manuscript is turned in on time, it can be edited smoothly. The latter is when the manuscript isn''t finished and it becomes a risk affecting the publishing time.

    In other words, considering the time needed for printing, etc., the manuscript must be completed by a certain end time. You can say that the deadline is a terrible thing for authors. However, for some authors who have both talent and popularity, delaying and pushing the deadline has all but become their personal signature."

    Lin Yao wondered, "Would they get fined?"

    Lin Xuan shook her head, "Less influential authors wouldn''t dare to drag their work. We have contracts that stipulate fines if they fail to submit work on time. For high-profile authors, although we have contracts, we dare not withhold their manuscript fees due to their delays.

    For instance, Ol'' East Wind, he is the most high-profile author cooperating with our publishing company; he always delays for several months before submitting a manuscript, but nobody dares to mention a word about it other than the habitual reminders."

    "I see."

    Although it was a conversation between his sister and younger sister, Lin Yuan was listening attentively on the side. Even though he just started serializing novels under the pen name Chu Kuang, he knew nothing about the inner workings of the industry.

    So he found this talk quite interesting.

    For example, his sister mentioned that more than 70% of the authors had experiences of delaying work. It seems that physical publishing is just like the online novels in his previous life, where readers always fret about the author''s slow updates.

    "Also, there''s some good news."

    All of a sudden, Lin Xuan seemed excited, "Before the Chinese New Year, I visited an author who had just ended her contract with another publishing company and invited her to write for us. To my surprise, she agreed. Now she is the most high-profile author that I''m in charge of, and the new book she wrote is really fantastic, It will probably get published after the Chinese New Year!" S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Editors get a share?"

    Lin Yuan asked a question he was interested in.

    His sister shook her head, "Not exactly a share. But it''s close enough. Mostly it''s about the performance appraisal of editors. If you don''t manage any influential authors, your performance is bound to be unsatisfactory, which affects our final salary and bonuses. So, it''s not much different from getting shares. Otherwise, why would I go to such lengths to seek authors."

    "What about Chu Kuang?"

    Lin Yao spontaneously blurted out, "Sis, didn''t you say that you knew Chu Kuang? When he finishes the book he is working on, won''t you also be able to bring him under your wing for the next one?"

    "..."

    Lin Xuan laughed, "You sure are concerned about Chu Kuang... Chu Kuang has a deal with Silver Blue Books, one of the biggest publishing companies in Qin Continent. My company is insignificant compared to Silver Blue Books, so Chu Kuang isn''t someone you can easily poach. Silver Blue Books would go to any lengths to continue its contract with Chu Kuang."

    "So, he''s hot right now."

    Lin Yao glanced at Lin Yuan.

    Lin Xuan nodded, "As a newly-emerged novelist in the youth fantasy genre, Chu Kuang has already achieved success with just one book. The sales of ''King of the Net'' last month totaled 1.4 million copies, ranking twelfth overall among youth fantasy books..."

    "Only twelfth?"

    "What do you mean ''only twelfth''? Selling 1.4 million copies in such a large market means that Chu Kuang earned over a million in royalties last month. This is assuming he signed a typical newbie contract. However, by the looks of it, his share in the contract should increase after the New Year."

    Lin Yuan was stunned.

    His sister actually knew about his royalties from last month!

    But then again, the final sales of "King of the Net" broke one million, which could be attributed to the professional tennis player who acknowledged the book''s professionalism and value, bringing a lot of hype to it.

    Following that.

    Lin Yuan suddenly caught onto the key point in his sister''s words, asking, "Why did you say that Chu Kuang''s share in the contract will increase?"

    "It''s inevitable,"

    Lin Xuan said with certainty, "The new contract share for ''King of the Net'' was made assuming that the book wouldn''t become a hit. But now that the book is such a success, the publishing company will certainly consider increasing Chu Kuang''s share in the contract, otherwise they might not be able to keep Chu Kuang for his next book."

    "Makes sense,"

    Lin Yuan sincerely agreed.

    Lin Xuan laughed, "You don''t write books, why are you interested in these? Since you''re working at Starlight, why don''t you tell me some insider gossip about your company''s big-name celebrities..."

 Chapter 62 - 59 New Life_1

    The next day, eight o''clock.

    Lin Yuan left the house before breakfast.

    His goal of this outing was: to buy a house!

    In Lin Yuan''s bank account was last month''s novel manuscript fee from "King of the Net", which after taxes, netted a total of 1.25 million.

    Adding the revenue share from several songs'' downloads, it had reached two million.

    The majority of the song revenue came from "Easy to Ignite and Explode" launched last month.

    Furthermore, the short story "The Gift of the Magi" sold another two hundred thousand.

    Originally, this money would have been transferred next month, but Lin Yuan wanted to have a more abundant wallet before buying the house, so he had Silver Blue Books advance his manuscript fees.

    Since Lin Yuan''s collaboration with Silver Blue Books went well, they willingly agreed.

    Thus, the aforementioned two hundred thousand has already been transferred.

    Therefore, Lin Yuan now had approximately 2.2 million on hand, and he couldn''t resist buying a house any longer.

    In fact, Lin Yuan had been thinking about buying a home ever since he moved out.

    Because their current living conditions are somewhat crude, life is very inconvenient.

    Just take living for instance.

    The space in a two-bedroom apartment is very limited.

    Ordinarily, it''s more than sufficient when only his mother resided there.

    However, during the festive season when everyone returned home, four people''s space would become exceedingly cramped.

    What to do?

    Lin Yuan could only have a room to himself since he was the only boy in the family.

    Then, the master bedroom that Mum resided in was forcibly partitioned into two rooms.

    Sisters Lin Xuan and Lin Yao slept in the partition on the left, both squeezing onto one bed.

    Mum slept in the partition on the right.

    With poor sound insulation, small space, and everyone having to take turns using the restroom for morning routines and evening baths, by each individual''s living habits, the living conditions were uncomfortable. Yet, everyone refrained from complaining.

    Now that they have money, why should they humor themselves in such a narrow space?

    Moreover, the living conditions of the old house were poor, from the house''s decoration and furniture quality to community facilities and transportation, everything was outdated. It was tough for Mum to live in such a place alone.

    Boughting a house, it has to be done.

    Before going out to buy a house, Lin Yuan made a specific online search and found that two million was enough to buy a very nice house in Cloud City.

    After all, Cloud City is just an unimpressive small city in Qin Continent.

    He had previously worried about not having enough money. He really did overthink things.

    Of course, Lin Yuan had also considered moving his mother to Su City, but when he suggested it to her secretly last night, she refused. She was not yet ready to leave her hometown where she had lived for so many years.

    Therefore, Lin Yuan decided to think long-term.

    After all, Lin Yuan currently couldn''t afford a house in Su City.

    It''s better to let Mum live in a better house in Cloud City for the time being.

    Thinking so, Lin Yuan finally arrived at the sales center by bus.

    He first had a breakfast nearby, filling his stomach, then entered.

    "Hello, sir."

    One of the young male salesmen came to meet him warmly: "I am a real estate salesman, you can call me Xiao Mu. May I ask your surname, and are you here with the idea of buying a house?"

    Lin Yuan nodded: "Yes, my surname is Lin."

    Xiao Mu nodded: "Hello, Mr. Lin, can I ask what price range you''re considering?"

    Lin Yuan thought for a moment and said: "Two million, not too much more."

    Xiao Mu was stunned for a moment; Lin Yuan looked so young, almost like a student, would he really ask for two million dollar house right off the bat?

    But he still dutifully introduced Lin Yuan to several properties, all priced around two million.

    "Can I go see this one?"

    Lin Yuan was interested in one of them; a house for 2.1 million, its price did not surpass his budget.

    "Of course."

    The other party immediately nodded: "We have the keys to this property, I can take you to see it right now. Please wait here a moment as I go get the key."

    ...

    Xiao Mu rushed into the room to get the key.

    His colleague whispered from behind: "Xiao Mu, don''t take this client too seriously. He''s likely just looking around and won''t actually buy anything."

    Xiao Mu was stunned: "Why?"

    His colleague had a made-it-through look and smiled while looking at Lin Yuan waiting outside the door: "Our job is to watch and observe, and I observe every client that comes in. This client came by bus, and he isn''t dressed very expensively. Most importantly¡­"

    "What?"

    "I ran into him at the breakfast shop when I was passing by, he was haggling over the price of breakfast, asking the boss if he could make it a bit cheaper. Have you ever seen someone haggle the price of breakfast?"

    "But breakfast next door is indeed expensive."

    Xiao Mu seemed to sympathize with Lin Yuan: "A bowl of ramen is twenty, it''s too exaggerated. At the breakfast shop next to our community, a bowl of ramen only costs eleven at most, and they even add a lot of beef. That''s why I never eat breakfast near the office."

    Colleague: "..."

    Xiao Mu picked up the keys and left.

    Soon after, he took Lin Yuan to one of the best communities in Cloud City, Dragon River Garden.

    "Dragon River Garden is quite famous in Cloud City!"

    Xiao Mu laughed: "When I used to deliver food, each entry required registration at the gate. The property management is very responsible, and the environment inside the community is beautiful and very suitable for living."

    After some brief introductions.

    The two arrived at the ninth floor of unit one in building twenty-eight.

    Upon entering the room, Lin Yuan found that the decoration of this house was very stylish, presenting a new but not ostentatious Chinese style, and the furniture was new and complete.

    "As you can see."

    Xiao Mu said: "Although it is a second-hand house, I assure you that no one has actually lived in this house. The owner is a biology professor. He originally planned to buy this house for settling down, and all the decorations and furniture were prepared. However, due to an unexpected job transfer, he went to Chu Continent, and so he''s selling this house, and will buy a new one in Chu Continent."

    Lin Yuan went to the balcony and took a look.

    The view was excellent, the landscape lush with greenery and the air very fresh. He nodded approvingly, "Very good, but..."

    Xiao Mu said: "Say it."

    He has shown several clients around, so he knew that when clients say something like this, it means that the deal is unlikely to proceed.

    Lin Yuan asked, "Can I move in straight away?"

    Xiao Mu was taken aback, "Are you planning to buy it?" S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan nodded, "Yes, I think it''s great. I''ll take this one."

    Xiao Mu was somewhat surprised, then quickly looked troubled, "Getting a bank loan involves a process, and the owner will probably wait for the bank to release the loan¡­"

    Lin Yuan replied, "I''m paying in full."

    Lin Yuan admitted to himself that he had no business acumen, didn''t understand investment, let alone inflation. His natural uncommon sense told him bank loan interest rates were high and a loss. If he had the money, it made sense to pay in full.

    "What?"

    Xiao Mu gaped.

    But the next moment, he managed to conceal his excitement and said, "Please wait a moment. I''ll make a call to the owner to discuss it!"

    He got through quickly.

    After Xiao Mu ended the call, he grinned at Lin Yuan, "The owner was initially reluctant, but after hearing that you were paying in full, they agreed immediately to your request to move in. Now, you need to come back to the office with me to sign a contract. The owner will also come over to meet us."

    "Alright."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    With Lin Yuan, Xiao Mu headed back to his office.

    A colleague asked with a bright smile, "So how did it go? I told you, didn''t I?"

    Xiao Mu gave his colleague a strange look, "The client is signing now, and might move in tonight because he paid in full, making the seller agree readily."

    "Huh?"

    The colleague was stunned.

    Bought it? And paid in full?

    Could this be the legendary low-key rich?

    By the time the colleague came back to his senses, Xiao Mu had already left, and Lin Yuan had already met with the owner, signed the property contract, and transferred the money on the same day.

    "I recommend changing the door lock after buying the house."

    Xiao Mu smiled and said, "That''s what everyone does after buying a house. Besides, there are a few minor procedures afterward that require you or your family members to run around a bit, but I will take care of everything."

    Lin Yuan nodded, "Okay, thank you."

    In addition to buying the house, he also paid about thirty thousand yuan of various taxes and agency fees. Now there was less than a hundred thousand yuan left in his card, but he still felt rather happy. He made a phone call to his sister.

    His sister asked, "What''s up? You disappeared early in the morning, where did you go?"

    Lin Yuan said, "Can you bring mom and my sister here? I''m at Dragon River Garden."

    Lin Yuan hadn''t told his family that he''d gone out to buy a house.

    It wasn''t because he wanted to surprise them with it¡ª

    He was more afraid that his family would dissuade him from spending money and tell him to keep the money for treatments.

    "What''s happening? Did something happen to you?"

    "Just come."

    Lin Yuan left it up in the air.

    Half an hour later, his mother, sister, and younger sister all showed up at Dragon River Garden, with Lin Yuan waiting for them at the entrance.

    "Why did you ask us to come here?"

    Lin Xuan looked at Lin Yuan suspiciously, "I thought something happened to you."

    "Right, you scared me."

    Their mother seemed quite worried.

    Lin Yao complained, "I was studying."

    Lin Yuan smiled and said, "You can study here."

    "What do you mean?"

    "I bought a unit here."

    Without prolonging the suspense, Lin Yuan directly led his bewildered family into their new home. Then, he imitated the agent''s way of introducing a house, "It''s one hundred and forty square meters with four bedrooms, one living room, two bathrooms and a south facing view. It''s a great layout, plus there''s a quiet study and a spacious balcony with a great view¡­"

    Lin Yuan found out that no one was listening to him.

    He turned around, only to see his family standing still, gazing at him with conflicted eyes. The three family members were not as excited as he had imagined.

    Lin Yuan guessed the reason.

    So he smiled and said, "I went to the hospital for another checkup a while ago. The doctor said there''s nothing seriously wrong with my body. As long as I take my medication regularly, I will definitely recover in time!"

    "What?"

    "Really?"

    After a moment''s response, the eyes of his family members reddened. His mother, in particular, both cried and laughed as she went forward to grab hold of Lin Yuan, "Are you lying to me?"

    "No."

    Lin Yuan smiled and said, "If you don''t believe me, I can accompany you all to the hospital for another checkup."

    "Let''s go right now!"

    His mother took Lin Yuan''s hand and walked out the door.

    Lin Yuan laughed and cried, and ended up going with his mother to the hospital for another checkup, confirming him that there was no problem. He had already asked the system, and the doctors wouldn''t be able to detect any issues because his body was indeed recovering.

    As expected.

    After a round of check-ups at the hospital, aside from being weaker than the average person, Lin Yuan''s fatal illness had gradually started to recover.

    "That''s great."

    His mother clung to Lin Yuan and cried. His sister and younger sister also quietly wiped away their tears. Even though no one talked about it, Lin Yuan''s health and illness had been their constant worry.

    Lin Yuan felt a bit sad, "Let''s go home."

    "Which home?"

    "Of course, the new one."

    "What about our old home?" This time, it was his mother who asked him.

    "If you like it, you can keep it as a remembrance. You can visit it from time to time... But from now on, we''ll live in our new house," Lin Yuan said with a smile.

    "Alright."

    Everyone agreed in unison. Only then could everyone let go of their burdens and enjoy the delayed joy of buying a house wholeheartedly. This joy was built on the basis of Lin Yuan''s recovery, not him arranging for his family in the limited life he had left.

    A new house.

    A new beginning.

    A new life.

 Chapter 63 - 60 System Customization_1

    Moving into the new house in Dragon River Garden, the four members of the family finally had their own bedrooms.

    The younger sister could go to the study during the day to study.

    Whether it was taking a bath at night or getting up in the morning to wash up, there was no longer a need to queue for the bathroom.

    Most importantly, Lin Yuan''s health was improving!

    This cleared away any lingering clouds from the minds of the family.

    Only when there''s no burden on the heart, one could truly enjoy happiness.

    However, the Spring Festival holiday was short, and Lin Xuan had to return to work after only a couple of days in the new house.

    The same went for Lin Yuan.

    Even though his winter holiday wasn''t over, his leave days requested from Ol'' Zhou had reached the limit, and he had to return to work as well.

    Just like his sister, under the family''s farewell and constant reminders to take his medicine on time, he set off for Su City.

    At this point, major companies that had ended their year-end vacations were back in operation.

    Over at Starlight, even colleagues who had gained few extra pounds due to the indulgence of the Spring Festival were back at work as well.

    "How was your Spring Festival?"

    Having also gained some weight during the Spring Festival, Ol'' Zhou, with a pleasing belly, asked Lin Yuan who was here to resume work, looking very cheerful.

    "Pretty good,"

    Lin Yuan gave a standard response.

    Ol'' Zhou nodded approvingly, looking satisfactorily at Lin Yuan: "The song ''Balloon'' performed very well, it has now firmly secured the fifth spot for this season. You did a great job!"

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan was as calm as usual.

    Ol'' Zhou laughed, apparently having become accustomed to Lin Yuan''s personality and said, "All right, you go to work."

    Lin Yuan walked out of the office.

    Upon reaching the music production department, his colleagues also congratulated Lin Yuan for ''Balloon'' successfully making it to the fifth position in the highly competitive February group, which was quite impressive.

    "But the management is going to be pleased this year."

    Wu Yong remarked sourly, "One of the trump cards from the 18th floor, Kong Zhen, bagged this year''s championship song. Rumor has it that he was specially mentioned in the high-level meeting today."

    Championship song?

    Lin Yuan just knew about this news. No wonder Zhou looked in a good mood today¡ªit turns out that someone from the company had won the first place in this year''s death-match group.

    For Starlight, this was uplifting news.

    Lin Yuan was certainly not going to feel any jealous emotions.

    In fact, he even listened out of curiosity to this month''s champion song and came to a solid conclusion:

    The champion fully deserved the top spot!

    Lin Yuan had long become accustomed to the fact that there was no shortage of talent in Blue Star''s music world. He even enjoyed seeing such a situation, as a prosperous market was a good thing for Lin Yuan.

    After work in the evening,

    Lin Yuan returned home and opened the windows first for ventilation, then changed the bedding. The house, not frequently lived in, still needed a bit of tidying up.

    After cleaning up the room, S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan received a phone call.

    It was a call from "YangFeng", who immediately congratulated him, "The sales of ''King of the Net'' are going very well. To show that the company values Teacher Chu Kuang, we have decided to offer Teacher Chu Kuang a new contract. The contract has been sent to your email. Please have a look at it."

    Like his older sister had predicted,

    Silver Blue Books was really ready to give him a new contract.

    After hanging up the phone, Lin Yuan looked at the new contract. The royalty of the new contract had been increased from five percent to seven percent.

    It didn''t seem much of an increase at first glance.

    But considering the overall sales of ''King of the Net'', the increase was quite significant, with a difference of about several hundred thousand.

    Not much else had changed.

    Lin Yuan even checked specially to make sure there wasn''t any clause in the contract that required the next book of Chu Kuang to be exclusively published on Silver Blue Books.

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan was happy about the pay rise.

    He went straight out to print a copy of the new contract, signed it, and mailed it to Silver Blue Books. Next, he just had to wait for their signed and sealed contract in return.

    ...

    Silver Blue Books was also based in Su City, so the company''s signed and sealed contract was received the very next day. This meant the new contract officially came into effect. Lin Yuan also sent the third volume of ''King of the Net'' to "YangFeng".

    The book had a total of five volumes.

    With the third volume out, it signifies the book would likely be concluded in a few months. Lin Yuan felt a little reluctant, given that he had no other full-length novels to fall back on for the moment.

    "Ding Dong."

    The System always managed to anticipate his thoughts and needs, "Given that the host is now debt-free and has certain earning abilities, the System has decided to open up the customisation feature. In the future, the host can purchase necessary items from the System with money."

    Lin Yuan was taken aback, "Customisation?"

    The System replied, "For example, if the host requires a novel or song of a certain genre, a certain amount of money can be used to exchange with the System. However, if the host specifically requests a certain work, the exchange price will be higher."

    "Oh."

    Lin Yuan thought for a while, and said, "That means if I want a song of a particular style, the System can provide the needed song according to my requirements, but there is a cost?"

    "Yes."

    Lin Yuan contemplated, "For example, if I now want a rock-style song from the System, or what is called ''customisation''¡ªof course, this is just an example¡ªhow much would you charge?"

    The System replied, "500,000."

    Lin Yuan retorted, "You''re really bleeding me dry."

    The System responded, "The exchange operates on a voluntary principle, the System will not force the host. And, the System can guarantee the quality of the song, we won''t just pass any random rock song off to the host."

    Lin Yuan did not respond directly, but asked another question, "And what about precise customisation? For example, if I specifically ask for a particular song or novel, how would you normally charge?"

    "Precise customisation."

    The System answered, "That''s not uniform, it depends on which work the host specifically wants. If the host asks the System for ''Learning to Meow'', it can be quite inexpensive, but if the host wants the System to provide those popular classics, it might range in millions or even more."

    Lin Yuan protested, "Robbery."

    But since the frequency at which the System issued tasks was very low, in order to ensure the consistency of his inventory, Lin Yuan might need to customise a few songs when necessary. Of course, not now. He wasn''t planning on casually customising any song with the System. It was best to wait till he became a senior composer in the company and received a higher profit-sharing contract...

    Despite Lin Yuan grumbling about the System being a rip-off,

    He also was aware in his heart that such customisation was actually profitable, almost like an investment. The only difference was that the money-making cycle might be extended. Overall, the addition of this functionality by the System was a good thing; it could solve Lin Yuan''s inventory problems.

    Especially when...

    In the department, when encountering orders similar to ''Big Fish'', the System''s customisation feature was perfect for these types of orders!

    However, such orders were quite rare.

    Just like boss battles randomly refreshed in games, not only were they rare, but also attracted a ton of competition every time one appeared.

    Indeed, life is hard, and the cat sighs.

 Chapter 64 - 61 Piano Lesson_1

    After spending a few days at the company, the winter vacation officially ended. Schools and universities gradually started a new semester, naturally including the Qin Continent Art Academy.

    Temporarily stopping his work.

    Lin Yuan returned to campus life.

    In this new semester, there was an additional major course on Lin Yuan''s schedule, which was quite friendly to him¡ª

    Piano lessons.

    While students in the composition department do not need to master all instruments, a certain level of understanding is indispensable, and the piano just happens to be an important instrument that the composition department comes into contact with.

    In the school, Lin Yuan was undeniably a good student.

    Although the system said that Lin Yuan''s piano skills were at a professional level, Lin Yuan still obediently attended the piano class.

    Not only for the credits, but because last time someone said that Lin Yuan''s piano skills were subpar, so he thought he might take this opportunity to improve.

    "Ladies and gentlemen."

    The piano teacher was a man, not very tall, but very handsome. He had a long braid, presenting an artistic style, and set a bad example for the students¡ª

    The school clearly did not encourage students to have long hair.

    "You are all composition students from Qin Art. Most of you should have a basic understanding of the piano, and even a good grasp of it. So hearing that there''s an additional piano course this semester, many of you might be unable to resist the urge to show off your skills in front of your classmates, right?"

    Those were the opening remarks of the piano teacher''s first class.

    Just one sentence touched the hearts of many people in the class.

    Then he introduced himself: "My name is Huang Benyu, you can call me Mr. Huang, and I''ll be your piano teacher."

    Fifty students in the class applauded.

    Huang Benyu gave a slight smile: "Every year, the students in the composing department think they are very good in the first piano lesson. Put away those thoughts. Just because you have some piano foundation doesn''t mean you can take my class lightly. Aside from Gu Xi whom I think I can''t teach, all other students should learn earnestly, because you all still have a long way to go!"

    This was a show of authority.

    Huang Benyu sat lazily on the chair: "You studied the theory last semester. In this class, we will learn a piece. Let''s start with something relatively simple, and fulfill some people''s desire to show off. You all know ''Qin Melody'', right?"

    The students nodded.

    Most people start learning piano with similar songs, and "Qin Melody" is a fairly classic piece for beginners.

    "Excellent."

    Huang Benyu casually said, "Let''s start by selecting someone to play the ''Qin Melody''. You want to show off, don''t you? Here''s your chance."

    Whoosh, Whoosh, Whoosh!

    A bunch of people raised their hands.

    Huang Benyu curled the corner of his mouth; he enjoyed this kind of eagerness from students wanting to be a bad example. This was an old routine he always played before teaching new students¡ª

    Select a student who thinks he is good at piano.

    After the student finishes playing and prepares to enjoy the admiration of the classmates, he would critique every error from a professional angle, brutally hitting the student''s confidence, letting these students understand that their skills are not as high as they think.

    Tsk, tsk.

    Just look at how excited this bunch is.

    Their adrenaline and hormones must be over the top, right?

    They''re just like how I was when I was young. They all probably have the idea to show off in front of their classmates, especially those students in the first row, all raising their hands....

    Huh?

    Huang Benyu suddenly noticed that among the students in the first row, there was one who did not raise his hand?

    Huang Benyu looked at Lin Yuan, who stood out for his ''not raising hand'' and the fact that he was more good-looking.

    Not raising your hand is the anti-routing?

    Such a smart but mistaken kid, I''ll choose you to be the unlucky one, Huang Benyu looked at Lin Yuan who did not raise his hand: "Do you know how to play it?"

    Lin Yuan said, "A little."

    As expected, it''s the anti-routine, clearly knowing how to play but not raising hands, when everyone else is raising their hands, you stand out for not doing so, you''ve successfully caught my attention.

    Huang Benyu said, "Then you come and try it?"

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan reluctantly got up.

    He found this teacher very strange, about eighty percent of the class raised their hands, yet he insisted on letting him, who didn''t raise his hand, go up.

    "Eh."

    The other students, seeing that they were not chosen, lowered their hands somewhat disappointed.

    Lin Yuan sat at the piano.

    He had learned "Qin Melody" so he actually knew how to play it. However, this song has many versions. Since the teacher did not specify a version, Lin Yuan simply chose a version he liked.

    The five fingers spread wide.

    The right hand struck the key.

    The first chord resounded heavily, strong and forceful, as Lin Yuan''s left hand followed, his ten fingers leaping over the piano keys.

    "A rearranged version of ''Qin Melody''?"

    Huang Benyu arched an eyebrow, Lin Yuan had chosen a version with high difficulty among the countless versions of this piece, a version, which even he himself did not dare to guarantee he could play well.

    Lin Yuan was immersed in the performance.

    The flowing notes, like arrows dancing in the sky, were not at all abrupt amidst the clear contrasts of loud and soft tones, and the round, deep tones that were interspersed.

    Huang Benyu''s expression gradually changed.

    As the piece reached the tenth measure, the music under Lin Yuan''s fingers displayed amazing elasticity, with hardly any false notes. There were some sticky notes in the middle, but Huang Benyu knew that he could not avoid these occasional sticky notes either.

    Mature performance techniques...

    The small notes under Lin Yuan''s treatment were incredibly delicate, the clear musical phrases and perfect outlining of the motif brilliantly interpreted the musical idea.

    Not just Huang Benyu.

    The students seated in the lecture hall also couldn''t help but widen their eyes, with some of the girls looking at Lin Yuan, their eyes slightly hazy.

    "The final passage."

    When a certain long note sounded, the students who were familiar with this piece felt it simultaneously. This was the ending of the song, also the most emotional part of the piece.

    Reluctance.

    Regret.

    Through the keys, the emotions were conveyed. Lin Yuan''s arms moved back and forth, at an extremely fast pace. His fingers hit the keys almost in an impact mode then ended the piece with a mournful tone.

    The body sat straight.

    Lin Yuan finished playing.

    Anyone with a little understanding of the piano would know how amazing Lin Yuan''s performance just now was. Everyone applauded, and Huang Benyu couldn''t help but stand up, his mind a little confused.

    What?

    What the hell is this?

    You call this a little skill?

    Is this what your ''little'' looks like?

    It''s hard to be a teacher at Qin Art!

    There''s already Gu Xi, who never attends his piano class, yet he still needs to award credits. He''s a rare piano prodigy who has performed on the Golden Hall, which Huang has always wished for¡ª

    Although it''s not good to say this, Huang Benyu actually doesn''t want Gu Xi to attend his class, because whenever Gu Xi is in the audience, he always fears that the former will suddenly stand up to teach him how to play the piano.

    How did another monster student pop up now? S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    His skill is in no way inferior to mine!

    How will I teach this piano class in the future?

    After the applause subsided.

    In the silent classroom, Huang Benyu swallowed hard, then coughed and laughed, "If you all are at this level now, then I will go to the principal''s office in the neighboring teaching building and resign immediately."

    The crowd burst into laughter.

    Huang Benyu asked Lin Yuan, "What''s your name?"

    "Lin Yuan."

    "Who did you learn piano from?"

    "My mom," Lin Yuan lied calmly.

    Huang Benyu''s attitude changed significantly, "Which master is your mother?"

    At this moment, the names of numerous current piano masters who have performed at the Golden Hall appeared in his mind.

    After thinking for a moment, Lin Yuan replied, "The music teacher of the third class in the fourth grade of Yongning Village''s Hope Elementary School."

 Chapter 65 - 62 The Gift of the Magi_1

    "..."

    Lin Yuan''s answer momentarily shattered Huang Benyu''s long-standing beliefs, but considering there was still an even more monstrous talent like Gu Xi at school, he suddenly felt somewhat relieved.

    This is a good thing.

    It shows how talented our school is.

    Actually, without Huang Benyu''s professional ears, it was impossible to discern just how mature Lin Yuan''s skills really were. The class could only make a general conclusion¡ª

    Lin Yuan was very good at playing piano.

    But after Lin Yuan showed off with a tune, Huang Benyu no longer made comments like "I''m not targeting anyone, I''m saying all of you here are such and such," which were broad and indiscriminate attacks.

    In the following piano lessons, Huang Benyu''s comments took on a routine prefix:

    "Except for Lin Yuan, everyone remember this knowledge point." S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Except for Lin Yuan, I believe no one else would understand why we do this here."

    "Except for Lin Yuan, all of you need to practice this piece after class, especially the last section."

    "Except for Lin Yuan..."

    In any case, by the end of a piano lesson, "Except for Lin Yuan" became almost like a catchphrase for Huang Benyu.

    Perhaps in Huang Benyu''s mind, he hoped that Lin Yuan would be like Gu Xi, to stop attending piano lessons.

    He was willing to give out grades!

    However, Lin Yuan''s calm school life didn''t change just because he showed off a bit in piano class.

    If there were any changes, it was that he became more popular in his class.

    True.

    A poor physical condition, good character, handsome looks, diligent study, and excellent piano skills, it''s hard for anyone to dislike such an excellent and good-tempered student.

    Actually.

    When Lin Yuan first transferred to the composition department, his classmates initially thought he was very aloof, but after getting in touch with him, no one felt that Lin Yuan was aloof anymore¡ª

    Being quiet and being aloof are two different concepts, this boy just didn''t like to talk.

    In the following days.

    Lin Yuan continued to be as reticent as always, and just as diligent in his studies. His grades in his major kept up with the pace, no longer affected by his sudden change in major in his sophomore year.

    March came quietly in these calm days.

    In that still chilly warmth, the weather in March was still cold enough to make one not want to get out of bed so easily.

    The festive atmosphere was gradually fading away now.

    The latest issue of "King of the Net" still had an good run of sales.

    Also released on March 1st and published in "Fun Reads" magazine was Chu Kuang''s new work¡ª

    The short story "The Gift of the Magi".

    On this day, Lin Yuan received a few sets of sample issues, sent free of charge by Silver Blue Books.

    When an author''s works are published, it is an obligation for the publishing house to provide free copies of publications that contain the author''s work, which are called samples.

    Receiving the sample issue of "Fun Reads".

    Lin Yuan saw "The Gift of the Magi" was placed in the most eye-catching promotional position on the magazine cover. The four big words "Chu Kuang''s New Works" immediately caught his eye.

    This represented the editors'' high expectations of this story.

    However, the promotional effect of "Chu Kuang''s New Works" was not that great, because there was not much overlap between the users who favorite buying "Fun Reads" magazine and those who like youth fantasy novels.

    Chu Kuang became famous largely through youth fantasy novels.

    If they are not interested in youth fantasy novels, some buyers of "Fun Reads" might not even know who Chu Kuang is. But seeing the cover, many people would expect an interesting story being promoted there.

    ...

    Han Jimei was the manager of the Tribe Literature section, and her future goal and work task was to build the Tribe Literature section into a regular base for fragmented reading in leisure time for users.

    As a woman who loves reading, she really liked her job, and she had the habit of subscribing to some magazines every month.

    All the bestselling magazines published in Qin Continent are of very high quality.

    They always publish numerous excellent short stories.

    It is not that Han Jimei does not like long stories, it''s just that for a working woman as busy as her, the time needed for reading long stories truly is indulgent, whereas short stories, due to their short length, do not take up too much time.

    Today was the beginning of March.

    The day when various books were updated, so this month Han Jimei bought a total of six magazines, but what first attracted her attention was the latest issue of the bestselling magazine "Fun Reads".

    Not that she particularly liked "Fun Reads".

    But because the cover of this magazine was actually promoting Chu Kuang''s new work.

    Please bear in mind that last month Chu Kuang wrote a well-received short story on Tribe Literature.

    That story called "Artificial Beauty" had a very clever plot, it was a rare masterpiece.

    Han Jimei was originally hoping that Chu Kuang could write some new short stories for the literature section on Tribe, but surprisingly, Chu Kuang has completely shifted his base and started serializing on "Fun Reads".

    "Let''s see what you''ve written this time."

    Although she felt it was a pity that Chu Kuang no longer selected Tribe as his publishing platform, Han Jimei was still very curious about what Chu Kuang had written in his new work.

    She skipped the first few short stories.

    Han Jimei decided to read "The Gift of the Magi" first.

    Many people might not understand what "The Gift of the Magi" means, they might even think that the protagonist of the story is called Magi, but as a well-read reader, Han Jimei knew that most likely the protagonist is not called Magi¡ª

    This is related to the Christmas legend in Wei Continent.

    Qin continent also has Christmas, but Christmas is not a mainstream holiday in Qin Continent, not even a vacation. The people of Qin continent see this festival as more of a jest.

    It''s different in Wei Continent.

    They have a custom for celebrating Christmas and many people believe in Christ. The legend goes they started the tradition of exchanging gifts at Christmas because when Jesus was born, three wise men brought gifts. This should be the origin of the title.

    At this moment, Han Jimei started reading: "Tomorrow is Christmas, and Madam A has only three dollars and eighty cents to buy her husband a gift. Despite saving for several months, she could only save this small sum."

    Is she called Madam A?

    Chu Kuang really is lazy when it comes to naming characters.

    Despite this, Han Jimei understood the meaning expressed in the opening of the story.

    This is a woman who is financially strained. She is carefully counting the meager amount of change in her hand, worried about what to give her husband for Christmas tomorrow.

    The story''s background must be many years ago.

    At that time, the value of currency was still very high.

    However, three dollars and eighty cents were clearly not enough.

    "She suddenly turned away from the window and stood in front of the mirror, looking at herself. Her eyes were bright and clear at this moment, but her face lost its color within twenty seconds. She quickly untied her hair and let it flow down."

    What is she going to do?

    Han Jimei was guessing at Madam A''s intentions.

    As an experienced reader, she even made some exaggerated conjectures, such as Madam A selling her body for money, and the first customer she encountered was her husband.

    It''s not that Han Jimei''s thoughts are unhealthy.

    In some special ages, it is not uncommon for people to sell their bodies for survival. Chu Kuang may want to depict the cruel side of that era. But if it''s just for a Christmas gift...

    Isn''t the reason a bit far-fetched?

 Chapter 66 - 63 Abrupt End_1

    Soon, Han Jimei realized how far her imagination had strayed from the truth.

    Chu Kuang would certainly not write a plot with sarcastic love as a theme just for the sake of sarcasm.

    [In this impoverished family, there were two most treasured items. One was the gold watch, a family heirloom passed down three generations to Mr. A, and the other was Mrs. A''s hair. If there were a wealthy and beautiful woman living in the apartment across the courtyard, Mrs. A would one day hang her hair out the window to dry, putting the lady''s jewels and gifts to shame.

    If a rich man were to pile all his wealth in the basement, Mr. A would be sure to pull out his gold watch every time he passed by to provoke him into jealousy.]

    This was an extraordinarily unique melodramatic form of expression.

    Because Blue Star didn''t follow a chinesque way of English translation, reading this kind of narrative for the first time felt a bit awkward, but ironically, it was also interesting.

    Alright, Han Jimei already knew that Mrs. A was planning to sell her hair.

    This was a difficult decision because it was something Mrs. A adored and was proud of.

    [Her beautiful hair falling around her, flowing brilliantly like a tiny black waterfall.

    Her hair reached just below the knees as if clothing her.

    She quickly brushed her hair nervously.

    She hesitated for a moment, standing silently, tears falling onto the worn red carpet.]

    The more the text described how beautiful Mrs. A''s hair was,

    The more Han Jimei could feel the woman''s reluctance and pain.

    But the woman ended up selling the hair she once prided herself on and successfully exchanged it for twenty dollars.

    And the gift she purchased was a white watchband, worth twenty-three dollars, which was a huge yield after half an hour of bargaining with the shopkeeper.

    Returning home with the only eighty cents left on her, Mrs. A was exhilarated.

    Turns out...

    [Although the watch was magnificent, it was held together by an old leather strap. Sometimes he would sneak a glance at it.]

    After getting home, she kept looking in the mirror.

    She, now with her hair short and a bandage tied around it, looked like a school kid who had skipped class.

    Only now did she start to worry.

    Mr. would be angry, right?

    Would he scold me fiercely?

    After all, he had complimented my hair countless times before. Without my long hair, would I still be as beautiful in his eyes?

    She hesitated, filled with nervousness.

    Seeing this, Han Jimei couldn''t help but feel sorry for this woman.

    If there were a Tang Dynasty in this world, Han Jimei would certainly think of the saying "A couple''s worries are endless when in poverty," and worry about it.

    But what''s meant to come will eventually come.

    The viewpoint of the story is still from Mrs. A:

    [The door opened, and her husband walked in, closing the door behind him. He was very slender and serious. Poor man, he was only twenty-two years old--and he was already bearing the burden of supporting the family! He needed a new coat and didn''t even have gloves.]

    She really loved her own husband.

    Not because Chu Kuang continually used words to describe how sincere her love was, but because the details in-between the lines revealed many emotions. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Would Mr. be angry?

    Han Jimei hesitated to read on, but in the end, she did:

    ["Are you selling your hair?" her husband strained to ask, as if after racking his brains, he still hadn''t comprehended the obvious fact.]

    Does this count as him being angry?

    Han Jimei, just like Mrs. A, was curious about her husband''s mindset at the moment. She didn''t know whether the next moment would bring a slap across her face--

    Only a jerk would do that!

    If that were to happen, she wouldn''t read Chu Kuang''s novels easily again in the future.

    ["Not only did I cut it off, I sold it." Mrs. A asked: "No matter what, do you still love me the same? Even though I don''t have hair anymore, I''m still the same person, right?"]

    She was being extremely careful, to the point of being somewhat meek.

    By now the story was already drawing to a close.

    Han Jimei couldn''t figure out how this story would end until she read the following section:

    [The husband took out a package from his coat pocket and threw it onto the table.

    "Don''t get it wrong, my dear." he said, " Regardless of haircut, facial or hair wash, my love for you is never going to decrease. But just open the package and you''ll understand why I was taken aback just now."

    Her slender fingers swiftly tore apart the string and wrapping paper. Then there was an outburst of delight; followed by, alas! It suddenly turned into a woman''s hysterical tears welling up in her eyes, needing her husband to go all out to comfort her for a while.]

    The comb!

    What her husband brought out was the set of combs for sticking in her hair--

    A complete set of hair combs, for the temples, and the back, with everything needed;

    It was something Mrs. A had longed for in a window at the far end of their apartment complex on a bustling street, but it was beyond her budget; she couldn''t afford it nor did she have the courage to buy it.

    They were made of genuine Tortoiseshell! A beautiful set of hair combs inset with jewels!

    So perfectly matched with Mrs. A''s lost beautiful hair colour!

    Mrs. A knew this comb set was expensive, had been longing for it for a long time, but never had hope of possessing it. Now it was hers, but the hair that should have worn these long-awaited adornments was gone.

    "..."

    Han Jimei gasped.

    She was at a loss how to express her feelings at this moment.

    But the text truthfully depicted Mrs. A''s feelings through the details: [She clung the comb set in her arms, after a long time, she managed to raise her teary eyes, and said with a smile to her husband: "My hair grows very fast!"]

    Then Mrs. A brought out the watchband.

    She turned to her husband expectantly and said: ["Isn''t it nice? I searched the entire city for it. Now you can look at your watch hundreds of times a day. Give me your watch, I want to see what it looks like on it."]

    Slowly, Han Jimei began to understand and she showed a knowing smile.

    Even though Mrs. A had sold her hair, her husband wasn''t angry, he just sighed that the comb momentarily lost its use--

    How nice.

    Ending the story like this is full of beautiful imagery, making one almost unable to resist falling in love, despite Han Jimei being a married woman.

    She sipped on her tea.

    Han Jimei looked at the last paragraph, thinking it would be a concluding paragraph, short stories often like to wrap up everything at the end.

    Something like "This is a beautiful love story" perhaps?

    But after reading the following words, the tea in her mouth almost sprayed onto the magazine:

    [Instead, her husband didn''t do as she said.

    He just lay back on the couch, hands under his head, starting to laugh: "Let''s put our Christmas gifts aside for now, they''re so good that it would be a pity to use them now-- I actually sold my gold watch to buy your combs."]

    The story abruptly ended here.

    At this moment, Han Jimei was dumbfounded.

 Chapter 67 - 64 Classic Essays_1

    After a few seconds of stupor, Han Jimei regains her senses.

    She never imagined the ending to be like this...

    The lady sold her beautiful long hair to buy a watchband for her husband. The husband, on the other hand, sold his beloved watch to buy a hair comb that his wife had long coveted.

    They sacrificed their most valuable possessions for each other, but the gifts they gave each other simultaneously lost their original value. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Such an ending could be cruel, but ultimately it leaves one with mixed feelings of laughter and tears¡ª

    Yet, amidst such a humorous contradiction, the love between the man and the woman unfurls across the page in all its vigorous intensity!

    What a desirable love story.

    Han Jimei closes the magazine thoughtfully.

    She suddenly wonders:

    A good story like this should appear in the literature section of the Tribe, just like Chu Kuang''s "Artificial Beauty".

    "Why did we end up missing out on Chu Kuang?"

    He clearly chose our platform at the start.

    A gleam flashes in Han Jimei''s eyes as she presses the green button on the top left corner of her desk: "All editors meeting in five minutes."

    Why has the literature section of the Tribe constantly been lukewarm?

    Because the quality of the stories in the literature section couldn''t compete with that of the magazines in the market.

    Upon deep introspection, the reason is that the literature section of the Tribe does not have enough appeal for excellent writers!

    How can she change this situation?

    Easily, by stealing stories, stealing authors!

    Outstanding authors like Chu Kuang are worth fighting for, and Han Jimei believes that she can eventually persuade writers of such caliber.

    With this in mind, Han Jimei commences the editors'' meeting.

    The first question she raises in the meeting is, "Why is the Tribe''s literature not the writers'' first choice platform for creativity?"

    This really is the most important question.

    The editor on her right laughs: "Beyond the unique nature of the literary section as an online publishing platform, the most significant reason is that we don''t offer the authors enough remuneration."

    After all, writers also need to make a living.

    The tips from the online platform alone are not sufficient.

    Han Jimei gets up, lays her hands on the table, leaning slightly forward, "I''ll apply for funding from above, do you guys know what you need to do?"

    "Poach talent!"

    The editors nodded in understanding.

    Han Jimei smiles faintly: "Tonight I want to see your target list for headhunting, the first batch of authors should not be less than thirty, let''s play a big game."

    "It seems we''re going to be competing for talent with all the major magazine publishers."

    The editors smile, they have no lack of writer contacts, if they have sufficient funding, it won''t be hard to attract excellent writers.

    "Very good."

    Han Jimei straightens up: "It seems you all have your targets, I''ll recommend one person for your headhunting list."

    "Who?"

    "Chu Kuang."

    The editors are stunned, they thought Han Jimei had made some mistake: "This short story writer is hardly famous, he writes youth fantasy novels, last time''s ''Artificial Beauty'' was just a random short creation, although it was not bad..."

    "Then you read this."

    Han Jimei puts the "Fun Reads" magazine on the meeting table, sweeping her gaze across everyone: "You guys can decide on who you want to approach, but Chu Kuang is my first target."

    ...

    As the story recommended on the cover of the magazine, "The Gift of the Magi" was not only noticed by Han Jimei, many readers of the magazine gradually read this story as well.

    Almost a week later, discussions burst open on the internet.

    The first platform to focus the heated discussions was the official message board of the magazine section of the Silver Blue bookstore.

    This message board functions like a fiction forum.

    "The quality of this issue of the magazine is very high, especially ''The Gift of the Magi'', I really liked it, it is so moving."

    "It''s worthy of being the cover story, it does not disappoint!"

    "I haven''t read such a good story in a long time, ''The Gift of the Magi'' is excellent."

    "I was fortunate to read ''Artificial Beauty'' on the Tribe during the New Year, and I remembered a writer named Chu Kuang, I didn''t expect to read another piece by him so soon. It''s even more splendid than his last story, I have even become a fan."

    "Such a good short story... is written by Chu Kuang..."

    "Only after looking up Chu Kuang''s profile did I find out he''s a writer specializing in youthful fantasy themes, it''s rare."

    "As a reader who loves both youthful fantasy and short stories, seeing Chu Kuang''s works in both fields is truly a delightful experience, I have become his fan."

    "..."

    The wave of discussions quickly spread, and "The Gift of the Magi" was widely welcomed, as expected.

    The direct result of this was that the first week''s sales of the latest issue of "Fun Reads" were 50% higher than the previous issue!

    Perhaps the subsequent sales of "Fun Reads" for this month are also something to look forward to.

    And the pen name Chu Kuang, for the first time, entered the vision of short story enthusiasts.

    Even some authors in the short story field, because of "The Gift of the Magi", secretly remembered the name Chu Kuang.

    At this point, Chu Kuang can be said to have become somewhat known in short story circles.

    Isn''t it true that Chu Kuang had written "Artificial Beauty" before?

    Indeed, that''s true, but at that time, Chu Kuang was labelled as a young adult fantasy writer. The fame of "King of the Net" to some extent overshadowed the excellence of that short story¡ª

    A specific identity with apparent brilliance can cause this kind of situation.

    So it was only when Chu Kuang ventured into short story writing for the second time that everyone truly realized:

    Chu Kuang is actually this talented.

    But one undeniable point is that whether in the field of short stories or youthful fantasy, Chu Kuang is still a newcomer.

    He has a long way to go.

    And the crowd that maintains expectations for him is gradually growing.

    Some people may say, isn''t "The Gift of the Magi" a very famous short story on Earth? And readers are just casually amazed?

    This kind of simplistic view is also understandable.

    However, those who make such a statement should first think about how difficult it is to write a novel that amazes readers. Moreover, they should realize that in reality, it is very difficult for artistic creation to reach its pinnacle all at once.

    In fact.

    Countless classics that were later worshipped only caused a brief discussion when they were initially published. When people hear that a certain work is a world-renowned masterpiece, they should first consider how long it has been since it was first released¡ª

    There are too few contemporary canonizers.

    Unless they already have a high influence.

    Most of the time, it is time that gives rise to classic masterpieces.

    And when these classic masterpieces were first born, the creators only had the potential to be canonized. To truly become canonized, they might lack recognition from Nobel, or more classics of the same quality.

    Or perhaps... their death.

 Chapter 68 - 65: The Ruthless Performance Machine_1

    Of course, Lin Yuan did not have to wait for a death to achieve divinity, the earth behind him was an inexhaustible art treasure house.

    And he firmly believed that the System would eventually conquer the illness!

    It''s worth mentioning here that novels like "The Gift of the Magi" often bear deeper meanings, such as reflections on social class contradictions and injustices, etc.

    However, Lin Yuan lives on Blue Star.

    So this story is just a story, with the text focusing more on the story itself, it does not carry such profound implications. A lot of discussion about those years is only skimming the surface.

    At this moment, he was eating in the dining hall.

    Xia Fan and Jian Yi were sitting across from him.

    Xia Fan seemed a bit absent-minded today, her gaze unfocused. Jian Yi, who noticed this, waved his hand in front of Xia Fan:

    "What are you thinking, zoning out like that?"

    Lin Yuan also looked at this friend with concern.

    Xia Fan raised her head and said awkwardly, "Don''t laugh at me. I signed up again for this year''s "Bloom" last night."

    Jian Yi heard her, exchanged a glance with Lin Yuan, and then burst out laughing.

    As the most popular talent show in Qin Continent, "Bloom" is held annually. Many young women dreaming of music have a deep yearning for the show¡ª

    Xia Fan is one of them.

    But for the past two years, Xia Fan has participated in "Bloom" twice, and both times she didn''t make it to the top hundred, which hit her hard. Last year, when she failed, she cried and said, "I will never participate in this show again."

    Words from last year are still fresh in people''s ears.

    It turned out that as soon as the registration for "Bloom" started this year, Xia Fan couldn''t wait to sign up again. She seemed to have forgotten her words, and also the setbacks experienced in the previous two times.

    "Do you two want to die!"

    Xia Fan glared at the two laughing people.

    Lin Yuan instantly reined in his laughter: "I support you."

    Jian Yi also put on a stern face: "Chase your dreams."

    Xia Fan''s expression softened a bit.

    But then the two of them snorted and laughed again.

    Furious, Xia Fan shouted, "Do you think it''s very funny?"

    Their survival instinct made Jian Yi and Lin Yuan choke back their laughter.

    Hmph, Xia Fan said, "This is the third time, I guarantee you, this will be the last time I participate!"

    Quietly, Jian Yi said, "That''s what you said last year¡­"

    Then he screamed in pain because Xia Fan stepped on his foot.

    Lin Yuan said, "When the competition comes, we will go under the stage to cheer you on, just like the previous two years."

    "That''s more like it."

    Xia Fan stood up: "So, you two also need to help me, I think the main reason I didn''t make the top hundred in the last two years was due to the wrong choice of songs. This year, I am going to choose a song that suits me best, leaving the judges with nothing to say."

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan and Jian Yi did not refuse.

    Actually, Lin Yuan is the one whose opinion really matters here.

    Jian Yi, who doesn''t have a good ear for music, had no understanding of it, and simply classified music as "good" and "bad".

    Thinking about it.

    Lin Yuan said, "The song you sang last year was actually pretty good. The main reason that the judges didn''t choose you was because the song style you chose was too niche."

    As a friend, Lin Yuan is aware of Xia Fan''s strength.

    Given Xia Fan''s condition, she totally has a chance to stand out in "Bloom". The problem with Xia Fan lies in her competition strategy.

    This girl really likes niche music.

    Competitions are all about creating an atmosphere. Songs that can energize the audience are more likely to stand out. Niche songs, on the other hand, won''t resonate with many people.

    ...

    After finishing their meal, the three of them started planning about the song selection for Xia Fan''s participation in "Bloom".

    Xia Fan took out her prepared song list: "Lin Yuan, circle the songs you recommend, and I will practice more."

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan looked at Xia Fan''s song list. The girl''s love for niche music hasn''t changed, but in addition to the niche music, Lin Yuan also saw two familiar songs on the list.

    One was "Big Fish".

    One was "Easy to Ignite and Explode"

    Lin Yuan glanced at Xia Fan and immediately crossed out "Big Fish".

    Xia Fan''s voice could not bring out the advantages of this song.

    He pointed to the other song: "You can try ''Easy to Ignite and Explode''."

    "Okay."

    This was a song Xia Fan particularly liked.

    Lin Yuan thought for a moment and said, "I''m not telling you to audition with this song. You can use it in the top hundred competition."

    Xia Fan nodded. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Those who could reach the top hundred were all contestants of a very high professional level. Her previously overconfident approach, believing that singing well would automatically put her in the top hundred, failed to recognize that all those who made it to the top hundred were strong competitors.

    He offered some other suggestions.

    Lin Yuan had deleted almost half of the songs on Xia Fan''s list. He looked at the remaining songs and said, "You can practice these thoroughly, they can all be used as competition pieces."

    "Okay."

    Xia Fan still had quite a bit of trust in Lin Yuan, even though he deleted many songs that she had really wanted to sing.

    With the discussion over.

    An hour had already passed.

    Both Lin Yuan and Jian Yi had to leave for other commitments. Lin Yuan, who had no classes that afternoon, hesitated before summoning the system: "Can I improve my piano skill by practicing?"

    "Yes."

    The System answered, "The system has endowed you with a professional-level piano skill, but you can make progress on your own if you practice diligently based on this."

    "Understood."

    Lin Yuan headed to the piano room.

    Everyone likes success without effort, including Lin Yuan. Who doesn''t like the feeling of getting something for nothing?

    But apart from waiting for the system to upgrade, Lin Yuan did not resist improving on his own. Otherwise, why would he listen attentively to each university course-just because the system would give him songs?

    If that were his mindset, Lin Yuan could easily breeze through his campus life, and even his life. But such a life would be too boring.

    The efficiency of his self-improvement compared to the system was indeed insignificant.

    But Lin Yuan quite liked the feeling of making insignificant progress through effort. Humans, as creatures, need a sense of accomplishment.

    Upon reaching the piano room.

    Lin Yuan first played a few familiar pieces.

    After warming up his hands, he began to play "Mariage d''Amour", a tune he got from the Silver Treasure Chest and was still stored in his warehouse.

    Notes flowed through his fingers.

    Lin Yuan gently closed his eyes.

    Gradually, he began to speed up, trying to rearrange "Mariage d''Amour". This is a form of improvisation attempted by many pianists, sometimes changing the original song beyond recognition.

    However, his attempt was unsuccessful.

    Lin Yuan felt he still lacked certain piano qualities, unable to enrich the soul of the song.

    This was the downside of the system''s enhancement. Lin Yuan''s piano skill level was achieved in one fell swoop, though at a professional level, he lacked the accumulation of certain elements.

    Just like singing without emotion.

    Lin Yuan''s piano playing, in fact, lacked much emotion. His professional-level skills made him like an emotionless playing machine.

    "Maybe this is the direction I should work on in the future."

    Lin Yuan seemed to have some insight in his heart, so he slowed down and let the music return to its original key, playing and pondering more deeply at the same time.

    What Lin Yuan did not know was...

    As his piano music wafted, at this moment, in the piano room next to his, a girl who was dozing off in front of the piano suddenly opened her eyes and stood up abruptly from the piano.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps:

    I want to thank the author of "My Wife is a Superstar", Corn Not Cooked, for his recommendation. When this book was first published, Polluted White was already following it. However, due to being too busy with starting a new book, he had to put it on hold. I would also like to recommend it to you readers.

    Polluted White does not know how to create fancy hypertext links, so I ask you to kindly look it up with your little fingers. It really is a fantastic book! The parts about the variety shows and the dog food are both brilliant~

 Chapter 69 - 66 Maestro is Never Wrong_1

    "He''s here!"

    The girl in the adjoining piano room was Gu Xi. Hearing this unpublished song again, Gu Xi felt both elation and desolation.

    She was elated because...

    Four months after she first heard this piano sound, the mysterious Maestro visited the piano room again! Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    But she was desolate because...

    In order to find the mysterious Maestro, Gu Xi spent almost all her free time almost every day in the piano room, even during lunch breaks. She was the last one to leave the piano room after the evening course, fearing she would miss him again!

    But the time had been too long.

    Gu Xi thought he would never show up again.

    But today, she waited for his appearance again. At this moment, Gu Xi was very relieved that she hadn''t given up after persevering for so long!

    Her heart pounded.

    Gu Xi quickly entered the hallway, then quickly looked towards the neighboring piano room.

    She was sure, the piano sound was coming from this piano room!

    Extending her hand to open the door, she suddenly stopped.

    Would an abrupt interruption make the Maestro angry?

    Gu Xi was a bit nervous. Many Maestros had bad tempers. If she made a bad first impression, it would be finished.

    A first impression is very important!

    "Wait for the piano sound to stop." She vowed to stay at the door today, never leaving half a step. Maestro couldn''t sprout wings and fly.

    Five minutes later.

    The piano sound inside stopped temporarily. It''s appropriate to go in now.

    Gu Xi knew the opportunity has arrived. She took a deep breath, adjusted her clothes and hair to make sure she wasn''t being rude, then gently knocked on the door.

    She didn''t dare to knock too eagerly.

    She knocked three times with manners.

    Lin Yuan was surprised. He had no idea who would come to the piano room to look for him, and even subconsciously worried...

    Could it be that this piano also has an owner?

    He said: "Come in."

    The door was opened, Lin Yuan saw the one knocking at the door, a frown spread across his face.

    Gu Xi?

    Lin Yuan remembered this girl''s name. It was said that she was the best piano player in the school, and the piano teacher also mentioned her in the class.

    However, Lin Yuan didn''t have a good impression of this girl. Every time he met her, something unpleasant was bound to happen.

    Compared to Lin Yuan''s frown...

    Gu Xi''s heart was like a tumultuous sea, causing her eyes to widen in shock and her brain to go blank!

    "Can I help you?"

    Lin Yuan waited for a few seconds, the other party still had not said anything, so he had to take the initiative to ask.

    "Just now!"

    Only when Gu Xi began to speak did she realize that her throat was slightly dry. She held the last hope in her heart:

    "Is the song you... um... you wrote?"

    "Yes."

    Lin Yuan didn''t feel any pressure admitting to this. He was confident there was no song like it in the world.

    All done!

    Lin Yuan''s words shattered all of Gu Xi''s hopes.

    Looking at Lin Yuan''s undisguised frown, she wished she could slap herself -

    He was the mysterious Maestro!

    Gu Xi had fantasized about the identity of Maestro countless times, such as a low-key teacher or professor in the school, or a passing Maestro...

    She never thought he would be a student like herself!

    That''s to say, she had badly offended Maestro the first time they met, and she was still considering how to make a perfect first impression?

    What on earth have I been doing before?

    Is this called a suicidal trick a day?

    Gu Xi did not doubt the authenticity of Lin Yuan''s words. She wouldn''t underestimate Lin Yuan''s talent just because they''re of the same age.

    There are geniuses in this world.

    If she were called a genius in performance, then the Maestro in front of her, whom she had offended crazily, was an even more terrifyingly talented genius in composition!

    Moreover, thinking back, every time she was looking for Maestro, she seemed to pass him by.

    She didn''t notice it at that time, and even thought he intentionally appeared in front of her to attract her attention.

    Now, recalling it and pondering over it carefully, she realized that every encounter in the piano room was solid evidence for his identity as the Maestro!

    Is it too late to apologize now?

    No matter whether it''s too late or not, Gu Xi had the instinctive desire to survive. It would be foolish to remain stubborn at this point!

    She must remedy this!

    She bowed her head without hesitation and said, "I''m sorry, it was my fault before. Please forgive my ignorance and rudeness."

    The moment she bowed her head...

    Gu Xi''s face turned crimson with shame.

    In the past, she was so arrogant. She thought the Maestro was interested in her like the others who were infatuated with her. This kind of self-delusion was so embarrassing...

    Lin Yuan was stunned.

    Did Gu Xi''s conscience finally kick in?

    Although he didn''t like her, he didn''t detest her either. Since she was apologizing sincerely, Lin Yuan naturally wouldn''t hold a grudge.

    So, he got up to leave, passing by her, he said, "It''s okay."

    "Thank you!"

    Gu Xi lifted her guilt-filled eyes, only to find that Lin Yuan had already started heading towards the door, seeming to have no intention of staying any longer.

    "..."

    She watched Lin Yuan''s retreating figure, opened her mouth to say something, but ended up swallowing her words.

    Although she wasn''t sure whether his forgiveness was out of politeness or genuine indifference towards her past offenses, at least his attitude hadn''t worsened.

    This means she still had a chance!

    Moreover, now she didn''t have to worry about Maestro disappearing, she knew who he was!

    "Wait a minute..."

    Gu Xi suddenly rubbed her head in annoyance. She had forgotten to ask his name. This oversight almost made her run after him.

    But on second thought, she stopped.

    Since he was a student of this school, wanting to know his name wasn''t a difficult task for Gu Xi.

    If she chased after him, the Maestro might think she was being clingy...

    Although in some ways, she admittedly did want to cling...

    "I must win over the Maestro!"

    Given his age and the ability to compose such an excellent piece, Gu Xi could almost envision his future achievements. Any pianist with this opportunity wouldn''t stay indifferent!

    "What to do?"

    Gu Xi was a bit puzzled: "I need to come up with a battle plan."

    The Maestro''s demand for pianists was very high. With the level of talent that his song has shown, he could freely pick any pianist more talented than her to collaborate with.

    "My advantage is that he and I are the same age, and we''re schoolmates, the water nearby is the first to get the moon."

    With this in mind, Gu Xi was again annoyed by her previous behavior: "If I hadn''t offended the Maestro so badly before, things might be relatively easier. I''m really dumbfounded by my own stupidity!"

    Every action has a consequence.

    This is all karma.

    So, who''s right and who''s wrong?

    Sorry, the Maestro can''t be wrong.

 Chapter 70 - 67 Vulgarity_1

    Lin Yuan had little knowledge of Gu Xi''s emotional struggles. Not long after Lin''s departure, his phone rang from an unfamiliar number.

    As per his usual behaviour, he rejected the call.

    The caller tried again.

    Seems like it''s not a prank call, thought Lin Yuan. He decided not to reject the call again and answered, "Who is this?"

    "Hello!"

    The person on the other side asked, "May I speak with Teacher Chu Kuang?"

    "This is he."

    "Hello, Teacher Chu Kuang, I''m Wei Long, the editor-in-chief of Tribe Literature..." the caller introduced himself with considerable pride.

    Lin Yuan swallowed.

    Wei Long was, of course, unaware of how special his name sounded: "Our Tribe Literature is planning a short-story event, in which we will be inviting thirty short-story writers to compete. You are one of our invitees."

    "Not interested."

    Lin Yuan planned to continue working with Fun Reads.

    He thought the two hundred thousand per article payment from Silver Blue Books was quite decent. Tribe Literature''s platform was indeed convenient, but unfortunately, they did not offer payment for manuscripts.

    "Don''t rush to refuse."

    The caller hurriedly added with a laugh, "All of the writers participating in our event will receive one hundred thousand yuan, and on top of that, if your work ranks in the top three, we will provide additional prize money: three hundred thousand for the winner, two hundred thousand for second place, and one hundred thousand for third."

    Prize money?

    Lin Yuan was intrigued.

    The fee for third place was one hundred thousand, coupled with the initial sum for manuscript submission, it seemed to be just as good as Silver Blue Books, and there was potential for even higher rewards if he got second place or won!

    Although the money was not guaranteed¡­

    But Lin Yuan felt that given the quality of his stories, making it to the top three shouldn''t be a problem, as all his short stories were masterpieces after all.

    This was worth considering.

    As Lin Yuan fell silent, the caller guessed that Chu Kuang must be interested and raised his voice, "Please rest assured, our Tribe Literature will not interfere with the rankings of the thirty writers in the competition. The final order will be completely determined by our Tribe Literature readers!"

    "What are the rules?"

    Lin Yuan was considering participating.

    The editor named Wei Long explained, "The rules are simple. We don''t limit the subject matter, but we do limit the word count. A competition entry should not exceed 10,000 words. After all, this is a short story competition and online readers don''t have the patience for overly long pieces. In my personal opinion, it''s even better if it does not exceed 5,000 words¡­"

    He paused.

    Wei Long continued, "After we receive the manuscripts from all the authors, our Tribe Literature will promote it under our official name. The reach of such a promotion will definitely surpass that of a traditional print magazine¡­"

    Lin Yuan was deep in thought.

    Tribally Literature certainly had a broad target audience. The platform itself had a massive user base which absolutely crushed any magazine. So the main thing to consider is how many users can be converted into readers.

    "Just so you know¡­"

    Wei Long chuckled, "We originally planned to directly pay the authors to participate, but considering that this event might end up long term like the music sector''s seasonal charts, we finally adopted this form. May I know your opinion?"

    "I''ll think about it."

    While Lin Yuan responded this way out loud, he had already made up his mind internally.

    The other party seemed to have guessed his thoughts and said, "Fine, this is your contact number, isn''t it? Let me you as a friend, and later, I will send you an email. If you are interested, please be sure to submit your work by the end of this month, as the judging will officially begin early next month."

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan hung up the call.

    Fun Reads had also invited Lin Yuan for a submission.

    Because "The Gift of the Magi" was a hit, the magazine''s sales had increased quite significantly, and they were hoping for a long-term collaboration with Lin Yuan.

    However, now it seemed like Tribe Literature''s event might be a better option.

    Lin Yuan didn''t feel particularly attached to Silver Blue Books. After all, what he signed with Silver Blue Books were his works, not himself. He had the right to choose his own publishing platform, which was the reason that he chose Tribe Literature when he first posted "Artificial Beauty."

    ...

    During the New Year, with the luck of his little sister, Lin Yuan acquired five short stories in one go. He had used up two of them and still had three stories to choose from.

    "Let''s go with this one."

    There was no need to agonise over the choice.

    After all, Lin Yuan felt that the remaining three stories were all equally good. The results ultimately depended on the readers'' tastes.

    But Lin Yuan''s task was not just about choosing one of the stories; he also had to alter the background of the novel to better fit with Blue Star''s specific era¡ª

    After all, the system provided him with five original stories.

    So "The Gift of the Magi" was adapted by Lin Yuan himself, such as the conversion of money and the transformation of the background, etc.

    In comparison,

    Lin Yuan''s first published piece, "Artificial Beauty," didn''t have a distinct time setting and didn''t require much modification; it was the most effortless to write.

    The system''s explanation was:

    For overly complex adaptations, the system can help perfect them. Still, for stories of only several thousand words like "The Gift of the Magi", it required Lin Yuan to get his hands dirty.

    Lin Yuan was not resistant to this.

    Humans have around 100 billion brain cells; a few thousand might die from adapting a few thousand words in content, but it doesn''t hurt and it adds a bit of participation in it.

    That was indeed the case. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan didn''t know exactly how many brain cells he had killed, but when he returned to his place that evening and finished changing the story''s background on his computer, it only took him less than two hours. Of which, one hour was spent looking up information.

    This kind of thing required a bit of caution for it to be done right.

    As for creating the original piece, it was a matter of twenty minutes.

    Having adapted the story, Lin Yuan didn''t immediately send it to Wei Long''s email but decided to send it in a few days.

    Sending it to him immediately wasn''t it revealing the fact that he had draft stories in store?

    He turned off his computer, and Lin Yuan prepared to sleep.

    ...

    While Lin Yuan was preparing to rest, in an apartment somewhere, Gu Xi anxiously waited for a friend''s call at her desk.

    Suddenly, her phone rang.

    She quickly answered: "What''s up?"

    "Miss Gu, it took me quite some time to get this sorted for you, you owe me a big meal."

    "I''ll treat you!"

    "At least you''ve got a conscience. This person you''re asking about, Lin Yuan, he''s indeed a music student and a sophomore."

    "Is there anything else?"

    "Lin Yuan is relatively reticent. I heard his health isn''t very good, but his classmates'' comments on him are not bad, they say he has a good personality and never has conflicts with anyone, that''s all, I don''t know anything else."

    Gu Xi: "¡­"

    Someone who never has conflicts with classmates had a conflict with me. How annoying must I be?

    "Oh, one more thing."

    The friend asked, "Why do you want to know about Lin Yuan? Are you attracted to him? Miss Gu, aren''t you the one who usually looks down from the clouds?"

    "What attracts me isn''t his body..."

    Gu Xi sighed, "You won''t understand, can you give me some advice on how to please someone?"

    "Of course. Appeal to their interests."

    "But I don''t know what he likes."

    "From my experience, ninety-nine percent of people, like me, love money."

    "He''s not at all mercenary."

    Gu Xi sighed again, "If only he loved money... there''s no way he would love money..."

    How could a figure as godly as he care about money?

 Chapter 71 - 68 Professional Level Painting_1

    There was only one lesson the next morning.

    After finishing the morning class, Lin Yuan headed straight to the piano room.

    He had realized his deficiencies the day before and wanted to improve his piano playing skills.

    However, to his surprise, when he reached the piano room, all the rooms were occupied.

    That was unusual.

    It was the first time Lin Yuan had encountered full occupancy in the piano room. He had been there a few times before and had never come across this situation.

    There was nothing he could do.

    Not knowing how long he would have to wait for a room to become available, Lin Yuan decided to leave.

    But the moment he turned to leave, he suddenly heard a voice next to him:

    "Do you need to use the piano?"

    Lin Yuan turned his head to look, and it was Gu Xi, the one who had apologized to him yesterday. He couldn''t help but think to himself-

    No wonder.

    The piano room wouldn''t normally get full.

    But based on the fact that something bad always happened every time Lin Yuan ran into Gu Xi, such a situation had practically become a rule!

    So the piano room was probably full this time because he ran into her.

    "No need."

    Since his luck would worsen whenever he encountered her, Lin Yuan naturally wanted to avoid her as much as possible.

    "It''s okay, you can use my piano room."

    Gu Xi looked at Lin Yuan with anticipation on her face.

    This was the plan she had come up with after a lot of thought last night:

    She would fill up the available piano rooms with people, so she could naturally invite Lin Yuan to practice in her private piano room!

    "I''m busy."

    Upon hearing her words, Lin Yuan quickened his pace to leave.

    Gu Xi looked on, dumbfounded, as Lin Yuan left. She wanted to stop him but didn''t dare to. She was utterly frustrated:

    Did I offend him too much before?

    How can I mend this rift?

    "Gu Xi, what''s wrong with you?"

    The door to a piano room was opened.

    A girl in a white down jacket looked worried and asked her this question, glancing at Lin Yuan''s retreating figure.

    "Nothing."

    Gu Xi managed a smile and said, "Thank you for calling so many classmates to the piano room, it must have been hard to organize everybody."

    "I should be thanking you."

    The class representative spoke seriously: "These guys don''t usually practice seriously, even though this piano room is provided by the school for us music majors to practice. The moment they heard that you were doing a guidance session, they immediately agreed to come and practice. It was no trouble at all."

    "Alright, since they''ve come, I should fulfill my promise."

    Gu Xi said, "Let''s start with the first piano room on the left."

    She had intended to let Lin Yuan use her private piano room, to make up for the regret of driving him out of the piano room when they first met, while she would teach the other students to play the piano in the other rooms.

    But Lin Yuan had outright refused her.

    Although her plan had failed, the students had been called over and she had made a promise to the class representative. She had to follow through.

    She couldn''t let them come for nothing.

    ...

    Two hours later.

    Gu Xi had given guidance to the students in each piano room, and by the time she finished with the last room, her voice was hoarse.

    Being a teacher was really tiring.

    She called a friend to meet her in the cafeteria for a meal, where she could also vent her feelings.

    "You said you had a plan yesterday." S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Her friend asked as soon as they met: "Did it succeed?"

    Gu Xi made a wretched face: "It was a complete failure."

    Her friend was about to say something when a male student ran over in a panic: "Gu Xi, are you thirsty? I bought drinks for you and your friend."

    With that, the boy put two bottles of orange juice on the table.

    "Thank you." Gu Xi smiled.

    The boy was taken aback, seemed momentarily stunned, and then blushed and ran off as he mumbled "You''re welcome."

    "What''s that about?"

    Her friend looked at Gu Xi as though she had met her for the first time: "Don''t you hate it when these boys try to ingratiate themselves with you? Not to mention you, even I find these sycophants tiresome."

    "Why should they be considered sycophants?"

    Gu Xi seemed offended and retorted, "Isn''t it normal to have harmony and camaraderie among classmates?"

    "Eh?"

    Her friend said, "Didn''t you say before that only the hypocritical would constantly give others hope, and that you have to firmly reject these kinds of people to get them to give up their unrealistic thoughts?"

    "You don''t understand."

    Gu Xi said, "Unless someone really likes someone, they wouldn''t choose to be a sycophant, would they? To give someone your all, to rack your brains trying to please them, only to be rejected in the end, it''s very heart-wrenching."

    ...

    As Lin Yuan left the piano room, he found his good luck was back, Jian Yi had unexpectedly sent a message saying he was treating everyone to dinner!

    "Number two cafeteria."

    Lin Yuan headed to the agreed place.

    Xia Fan had also arrived and immediately asked, "You don''t seem to have much for your monthly allowance this month, why all of a sudden you want to treat us to dinner?"

    "Hehe."

    Jian Yi gave a mysterious smile: "I didn''t have much money left on me last night, so I bought a scratch-off lottery ticket, and I won eight hundred bucks!"

    "Damn."

    Xia Fan was astonished: "You can actually win money from scratch-off lottery tickets? I''ve always thought that it''s a scam."

    Lin Yuan, meanwhile, asked with envy, "Where did you buy it?"

    It seemed he was tempted to try his luck.

    Jian Yi gave Lin Yuan a smug look: "You might as well save it, not just anyone has such good luck."

    "Not necessarily."

    Lin Yuan stretched out his hand and patted Jian Yi.

    Jian Yi looked somewhat apprehensive: "What are you doing?"

    Without saying a word, Lin Yuan patted Jian Yi up and down, then stood up and said, "I need to go to the restroom, you guys start eating."

    With that, Lin Yuan ran off.

    Jian Yi and Xia Fan looked at each other, completely bewildered.

    By this time, Lin Yuan had reached the restroom and spoke to the System, "Don''t I still have a treasure box? Open it up quickly."

    The System was very efficient and immediately opened the last treasure box: "Congratulations, you''ve gained professional level painting skill."

    "Painting?"

    Lin Yuan''s expression froze.

    Why painting this time?

    No novel, not even a song, as long as I could sell it for money, but why did they give me this strange painting skill this time?

    "Painting is also an art."

    The System seemed a bit fed up: "Moreover, the value of professional level painting skill is much higher than that of a novel or a song. I hope the host can properly prioritize."

    "..."

    Feeling somewhat disappointed, Lin Yuan returned to the cafeteria. Unlike when he had left, a plethora of painting skills, from sketching to gouache, now filled his mind.

    Jian Yi and Xia Fan looked at him: "What happened?"

    Lin Yuan shook his head and began to eat, as he consoled himself:

    Even though he wouldn''t be able to use his professional painting skill in the short term, it was a good skill to have in the long run. He couldn''t blame Jian Yi for not being powerful enough, he had indeed absorbed a bit of Jian Yi''s good luck.

    After all, he had gained a new skill.

    And skills could actually be converted into money:

    Perhaps he could set up a stall in a busy location after dinner and offer to sketch for students?

    Even though the pay might be small, small amounts add up.

    He could also apply to be a teacher at a painting class, but he already had a job at the composition department and might not be free on weekends. Besides, the composition job certainly paid more than painting.

    Lin Yuan was caught in a dilemma.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: I have an appointment tonight, need to step out for a bit, I''m not sure if I can make it back in time to update, so don''t wait up

 Chapter 72 - 69: Self-Portrait_1

    On his way home from school in the evening, Lin Yuan was trying to sum up the new knowledge he had just acquired in his head.

    What he had gained this time was professional level painting skills.

    However, those who really understand painting know that describing such a level as ''professional'' is much too broad.

    Just by distinguishing based on genre, painting already becomes very complex.

    This includes ink wash painting, oil painting, prints, watercolor painting, as well as gouache painting, sketching, and many more directions.

    If we were to categorize them based on materials, it would be even more exaggerated.

    So, let''s just distinguish the few major genres that wield the most influence on Blue Star.

    These major genres, ranked in order, are traditional Chinese painting, oil painting, watercolor, gouache, and sketching.

    On Earth, oil painting is internationally recognized as superior to traditional Chinese painting, but on Blue Star, where the main appreciation model is Eastern-oriented, traditional Chinese painting is at the top, followed by oil painting.

    Watercolor, gouache, and sketching, being essential for art students'' entrance exams, have a relatively lower barrier to entry, and the mass audience can also follow along.

    In comparison, traditional Chinese painting and oil painting have a relatively higher barrier to entry.

    As for Lin Yuan''s professional level painting skills...

    It''s not that the system''s description of Lin Yuan''s professional level painting skills is too generalized, but because Lin Yuan''s professional level painting skills cover all these popular genres!

    Traditional Chinese painting, oil painting, gouache, watercolor, sketching, he now knows them all.

    "Let''s test the effects tonight."

    When Lin Yuan passed a stationery store, an idea struck him and he stepped inside.

    Paints...

    Canvas...

    Paintbrushes...

    Art paper...

    Professional painting is undoubtedly a big money drain. Lin Yuan only bought art tools and materials for watercolor, gouache, and sketching, and it already cost him over a thousand yuan!

    "I''ll buy the materials for oil painting and ink wash painting later."

    Lin Yuan decided to practice the simpler styles first as sketching, as well as gouache and watercolor paintings, are more common in daily life.

    Stepping out of the store, Lin Yuan hailed a cab.

    He bought too much stuff. It was impossible for him to carry everything home by himself.

    Back at home, Lin Yuan chose the balcony as his painting base, setting up his canvas stand there. Then, he began to sharpen his pencils --

    He wanted to try sketching first.

    Ordinary art students need to imitate certain sketches, but Lin Yuan, a painter at the professional level, doesn''t need to. He can complete several sketching works based on just his memory. The first sketching work of Lin Yuan''s life was a self-portrait.

    Many sketching masters have drawn self-portraits.

    However, sketching requires more than just one pencil, as different pencil types create different lines. Therefore, Lin Yuan sharpened more than ten pencils -- S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    First was the common 2B pencil.

    This type of pencil is commonly used in sketching. Lin Yuan used it to sketch out the main structure, based on the traditional rule of proportions (three parts for the forehead and eyes, five parts for the eyes, nose, and mouth).

    But that''s not always the case.

    Depending on the different habits of sketching artists, some people might also use other types of pencils for the structure.

    After sketching the structure, Lin Yuan began to draw.

    Sketching is about filling in the details within this big structure. Lin Yuan was clearly familiar with his own appearance, so he could easily draw the shapes of his eyes, nose, etc., quite expressively.

    "Smooth line feel..."

    Line is one of the most important elements in sketching. Many people''s sketches turn out not so good because they don''t have a good grasp of lines. Lin Yuan could easily create over ten lines that appear to be completely parallel and uniform in thickness and length, a feat an absolute beginner couldn''t achieve.

    And then there''s light and shadow.

    The direction of light determines light and shadow.

    Whether it''s gouache or sketching, both emphasize the expression of light and shadow. The visual effect of three-dimensionality often mentioned by people is determined by light and shadow. However, the basis of light and shadow is still the lines; dense lines arranged together form the dark side of sketching.

    "Phew... "

    Painting is an activity that tests your patience. Lin Yuan toiled for two hours and finally completed this self-portrait!

    He was able to finish at this pace because his skill level was high.

    If you want to do your best to complete a sketch, even if you''re copying another image, it would take at least several hours.

    The quick pencil sketches that can be completed within fifteen minutes to a half an hour are called ''speed sketches.''

    Although speed sketches are also a type of sketching, they differ greatly in detail compared to Lin Yuan''s work.

    Stepping back to look at his self-portrait, Lin Yuan nodded in satisfaction.

    Indeed, professional painting skills.

    This self-portrait by Lin Yuan is a perfect combination of form and spirit. If he were to show it to others, he would definitely receive countless praises. Since sketches are mostly realistic, even those who don''t understand sketching can appreciate it.

    "It looks really like me!"

    These four words are probably the most common remarks by ordinary people when they comment on a sketch. Although it''s quite one-sided, they''re enough, since getting a drawing to feel ''like'' the subject already contains the factors of light and shadow and lines.

    "Time to wash up and sleep."

    Once he confirmed his capabilities, Lin Yuan headed to the bathroom to wash up, his hands had gotten quite dirty --

    For artists, dirty hands are just the norm.

    And this is just with sketching.

    When Lin Yuan was sketching, he occasionally used his thumb to rub on the relatively dense lines, making the line effects softer (similar effects can be achieved with a piece of tissue).

    If it were gouache or even oil painting, since you need to dip into the paint, some would inevitably drip onto your clothes or pants.

    People with cleanliness issues might not stand it.

    Those who have written with calligraphy brushes should understand.

    After washing up, Lin Yuan lay in bed ready to close his eyes and sleep, when suddenly the system appeared again, "Congratulations, Host, on completing your first painting in life. Now, announcing a task: achieve a painting prestige value of over one thousand within three months!"

    "Accept."

    Lin Yuan responded without hesitation.

    Obviously, the system also knew that it isn''t easy to gain painting prestige, hence it set a relatively low target for Lin Yuan. It will be sufficient for the early stages if he can achieve a prestige value of one thousand.

    [Task name: Path of a Painter]

    [Task content: Within three months, have the painting prestige value break one thousand, method is unlimited]

    [Task reward: a Silver Treasure Chest, a Bronze Treasure Chest]

    Lin Yuan paused for a moment. Despite the task not being exceptionally difficult, the reward was quite generous, even including a Silver Treasure Chest. It appeared that he couldn''t afford to not complete this task!

    "The system seems to hope that I will develop comprehensively."

    Faintly grasping the system''s task rules, Lin Yuan finally understood why the system was named "Art System."

    Painting, music, literature, they''re all important carriers of art.

    "Tomorrow I''ll see what channels there are to gain prestige. And it seems like I need to learn some digital painting. Professional level painting skills combined with technology shouldn''t be too difficult, right?"

    The system had given Lin Yuan professional painting skills.

    However, some of the painting is done through digital tools, which is outside of the skills awarded to Lin Yuan by the system, and something he has to learn on his own.

 Chapter 73 - 70: Painting Club_1

    In the days that followed, aside from attending classes, Lin Yuan had been continuously seeking ways to acquire painting prestige value¡ª

    The first one, holding an art exhibition, was off the table.

    Holding an art exhibition required sponsorship, and there would be no fool willing to sponsor a small, unknown artist like Lin Yuan whose work and fame were non-existent.

    As for self-funding?

    Lin Yuan would never host his own exhibition in this lifetime.

    Next is finding someone as a mentor. Being guided by a successful industry painter can save many detours, but Lin Yuan isn''t acquainted with any such painting artists.

    After ruling out these two channels, Lin Yuan''s available option was:

    To earn Prestige Values from students like those in Qin Art first.

    With a school as big as Qin Art, there might be a foundation offering a thousand Prestige Values, so he should first look for places within the school where he can get painting prestige value.

    After investigation, Lin Yuan found that the school did have an art club.

    Joining the art club might offer some chances of earning prestige, after all, if there''s one thing that Qin Art is never short of, it''s a variety of clubs.

    There are sports clubs like basketball, soccer, and even street dance clubs, and so on.

    There are also arts clubs like piano, painting, calligraphy, poetry, and so forth.

    All these clubs are large in scope, as Qin Art itself is an art college, offering related majors.

    However, Lin Yuan, a music student, has no connection with other majors. The only person he knows outside of the music department is Jian Yi, who is a student in the acting department, which is not related to painting either.

    Left with no other choice.

    He could only take the straightforward route. Went to the office of the painting club and submitted his application.

    "Do you have a background in painting?"

    The school-backed large clubs have designated office spaces, and there are club members present all the time, much like a student council.

    After Lin Yuan clarified his intention, as expected, he was grilled with questions.

    "Yes."

    Lin Yuan replied affirmatively.

    The other party glanced at Lin Yuan''s information: "You''re a music student, huh. The majority of our club members are fine art students..."

    "Is there a restriction?"

    "Well, there''s no real restriction, but without a major advantage, you might find it hard to get by in the club. After all, we have many GOATs in the painting department in our club. We also often have external student exhibitions and such, all of which have quota restrictions. Are you sure you want to join?"

    Exhibitions?

    Lin Yuan''s eyes lit up: "I want to join."

    The other party smirked smugly: "Then fill out this form, and it would be best if you could fill in your class schedule as well. We will consider your availability for activities based on that."

    Their goal is not to dissuade Lin Yuan!

    The school clubs highly anticipate more students joining, as having more members implies a large club. Every club hopes to be the largest in the school. Therefore, the painting club would only be delighted when someone applies to join.

    And the newcomers surely wouldn''t be frightened off by their words!

    Because the majority of them are tempted by the club''s exhibitions, even though these newcomers may not have a chance to display their work at all.

    After filling out the application form.

    Without even looking at it, the other party quickly stamped their approval, and they seemed anxious as if Lin Yuan would change his mind: "There''s something I forgot to tell you. After joining the club, you''ll have to participate in club activities in your spare time. If you are absent multiple times, our club will have to dismiss you.

    To avoid instances where some students join our club on whim and then find our club activities tedious, we usually provide this information upfront."

    This is obviously not something they forgot to mention.

    Clearly, they were afraid Lin Yuan would back out after hearing this, so they had him first fill out the application, then disclosed this fact.

    "No problem."

    The composing course wasn''t too hectic, so Lin Yuan had quite a lot of free time. He quickly agreed, but joining a club seemed to be much simpler than he had imagined.

    ...

    After filling out the application form, the student who had stamped Lin Yuan''s form stood up: "Do you have time? I can take you to our activity area for a tour."

    "Sure."

    Lin Yuan followed him, and soon they reached a large building: "There are many clubs in this building, our painting club is on the first floor."

    Entering the building.

    Lin Yuan discovered that the painting club''s activity area was actually a large classroom of several hundred square meters. In the classroom, many club members were currently drawing on their canvases. Some were sketching, some were painting with watercolors, some were oil painting, and some were creating traditional Chinese paintings. The air was filled with the smell of various paints.

    "A newbie?"

    One of the person-in-charge in the club got Lin Yuan''s information, took a look at him, "You''re a second-year composition student huh, why didn''t you come in your first year?"

    Most students start joining clubs in their first year.

    Lin Yuan said, "I didn''t know how to draw when I was in my first year."

    The person on the other side raised his eyebrows, confirming Lin Yuan as a complete newbie, "Since you didn''t bring your drawing tools, you can start by cleaning the drawing studio. Just clean the whole eastern part, the cleaning supplies are in the washroom next door."

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan complied.

    The person who brought Lin Yuan showed a smile. Newcomers are typically assigned tasks like cleaning. This is not only in the case of the painting club but in other clubs too.

    Lin Yuan started cleaning diligently.

    Although it was just the eastern part, the area was quite large. There were a lot of eraser shavings on the floor, and easels were scattered everywhere making it quite troublesome for Lin Yuan to clean.

    ...

    Zhong Yu was involved in mimicking a character sketch and encountered a tricky part when he suddenly heard a voice near his ear, "Can you please lift your feet?"

    "Clean somewhere else first."

    Zhong Yu said without lifting his head.

    "Just for a moment." Lin Yuan was looking at the eraser shavings under Zhong Yu''s feet. If he left this part uncleaned, his severe OCD wouldn''t be able to tolerate it.

    "Hey."

    Zhong Yu got a bit impatient, looked at Lin Yuan, and said in a somewhat unfriendly tone: "New face, huh? Newcomer in the club?"

    "Yes."

    "Which year are you in?"

    "Second year."

    "Well, let me teach you a rule as a third-year senior today. When cleaning in our painting club, you must keep quiet and not easily disturb the process of creation of seniors."

    "Aren''t you just copying?"

    Lin Yuan was puzzled. Copying is not creating.

    Zhong Yu got upset, stopped painting, glared at Lin Yuan, and said angrily, "Hey, why not just give you the pencil, and you do the drawing?"

    "Sure."

    Lin Yuan said, "Once you''ve finished drawing, please lift your feet."

    Zhong Yu: "..."

    Is this junior serious? Can''t he tell that I''m being sarcastic?

    Lin Yuan didn''t think too much about it and picked up a pencil from the side as he was eager to clean the rest of the area. He started drawing swiftly.

    This senior had already completed the framework.

    Although the framework wasn''t done particularly well.

    Then came the detail processing.

    "The eyes are not symmetrical... the hairlines are too rigid... the shading on the nostrils is too heavy..." S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan glanced at the senior''s half-finished work, his mind was filled with defects of this painting. Even though they were not visible to the ordinary eye, these flaws would naturally be magnified many times in Lin Yuan''s eyes.

    He picked up the eraser and briskly erased two-thirds of the drawing. Still feeling that it wasn''t good enough, he ended up erasing all the parts that could be erased.

    Zhong Yu couldn''t react in time to stop him. He watched as Lin Yuan erased an hour''s worth of work:

    "You...."

    Lin Yuan paid him no mind, bent over, and his wrist shook rapidly. He directly corrected many of the flaws in the senior''s work, replacing them with cleaner, crisper lines.

    Compared to creating from scratch, Lin Yuan''s speed at copying a painting was horrifying.

    Ten minutes later.

    Lin Yuan straightened his back, looked at the painting which was almost identical to the original one and said, "Can you lift your feet now?"

    "Huh?"

    Zhong Yu watched as Lin Yuan freely modified his work, his expression changing from fury to confusion and finally into admiration, all within ten minutes.

    And within this short span of ten minutes.

    Watching Lin Yuan alter his painting until it was unrecognizable, Zhong Yu''s robust spirit was sent into an unprecedented shock!

 Chapter 74 - 71 Live Imitation_1

    Zhong Yu was shock-stricken.

    Sketching is a fundamental course that all art students must learn. Any painting master must first be a master of sketching, without the basics of sketching, there can be no master.

    Some painting masters even believe:

    If there is no color, sketching is everything.

    Regardless of whether this view stands or not, the importance of sketching to painting goes without saying, which is why Zhong Yu, who is already a third-year art student, is still diligently practicing sketching.

    For Zhong Yu, who has been studying sketching for many years, he thinks his level is not bad.

    But today, this perception was completely shattered by a sophomore student in just ten minutes!

    "..."

    Lin Yuan looked steadily at Zhong Yu''s feet.

    Zhong Yu came to his senses, his face quickly filled with a smile, catching the cleaning tools Lin Yuan handed him: "GOAT, how can you do such heavy work? Let me clean up!"

    Before Lin Yuan could speak, Zhong Yu had already cleaned up the eraser shavings under his seat.

    Then he helped Lin Yuan sit in his own seat, overflowing with enthusiasm, "My name is Zhong Yu, a third-year student majoring in Arts!"

    "My name is Lin Yuan."

    "Very well, Mr. GOAT Lin, you sit first, we''ll talk after I finish cleaning!"

    Saying this, Zhong Yu quickly moved towards the next student, the smile on his face disappeared: "You, stand up."

    "Zhong, Bro?"

    The other party immediately stood up, his expression somewhat bewildered, but still hastily said, "How could we let you clean up? Let me do it..."

    "No need."

    Zhong Yu cleaned up the other party''s seat, then moved to the next one, his indifferent tone made it impossible to refuse: "You, stand up."

    "Okay."

    Zhong Yu cleaned up much faster than Lin Yuan.

    Wherever he cleaned up, sometimes he didn''t even have to speak, the club members sitting there would voluntarily stand up.

    Cleaning completed.

    Zhong Yu replaced the broomstick, brought a small chair from somewhere, and his smile reappeared. He gladly sat next to Lin Yuan:

    "GOAT! Can you teach me how to sketch?"

    Lin Yuan shook his head: "Too much trouble."

    Zhong Yu smiled as usual: "You just have to correct my sketch as you did just now."

    Lin Yuan frowns: "There are too many areas to correct."

    It was too much work.

    Zhong Yu''s smile stiffened, feeling a bit hurt: "Is my sketching that bad?"

    Lin Yuan nodded: "Yes."

    Zhong Yu with a look of sorrow: "That''s why you have to teach me, GOAT. Of course, I won''t let you work for free. Whatever you need, just tell me..."

    An expert is recognized at the first attempt.

    With just ten minutes, Zhong Yu could tell how terrifying Lin Yuan was.

    Even if the art teacher himself were to do it, he might not be able to change Zhong Yu''s painting in ten minutes to the level Lin Yuan did. Therefore, Zhong Yu was sure that he had met the real GOAT today.

    If he could get guidance from such a GOAT, it would be a huge winning!

    A thought crossed Lin Yuan''s mind: "Actually, I can teach."

    Zhong Yu was overjoyed: "Whatever the requirement, GOAT, just say it."

    Lin Yuan earnestly said: "You''ll have to pay tuition."

    Zhong Yu instantly got nervous: "How much does the GOAT charge..."

    Lin Yuan considered for a moment: "Two hundred an hour."

    Zhong Yu was taken aback.

    Assuming he''d demanded too high, Lin Yuan was preparing to lower his price when Zhong Yu quickly spoke, as if he feared Lin Yuan would back out:

    "Deal!"

    At first, he was frightened, thinking that the fee of such a GOAT would be astronomical. But he didn''t expect it to be only two hundred per hour--

    That''s got to be the best deal ever!

    In the painting sector in Qin Continent, you don''t say two hundred per hour for such GOAT level artists, even if they charged a thousand per hour, people would still be willing to learn!

    "Deal!"

    Lin Yuan was also very pleased because this price was definitely higher than what he would have earned by setting up a little chair and sketching passersby. Having considered setting up a stall to make money, he was aware of the market rates.

    He had unjustly blamed the system before.

    After all, teaching a man to fish is better than giving him a fish!

    Even though painting skills wouldn''t bring Lin Yuan song or novel income in the short term, he could constantly collect tuition fees by teaching others these skills.

    Profitable indeed!

    Lin Yuan checked the time on his phone: "Let''s start. It''s nearly one o''clock. How many hours of learning do you want?" S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Business should be conducted with integrity.

    Since Lin Yuan charges, he''ll certainly make every effort in teaching.

    "Like this, GOAT, you first make a copy of this painting, and we''ll count the time afterward."

    Zhong Yu flipped through the drawing book and finally found the sketch with the highest difficulty. The image was of a man covered in curly hair and a full beard¡ª

    Just handling this amount of vigorous hair would defeat eighty percent of art students.

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan didn''t feel great difficulty. At most, he''d have to spend a little more time to make the vigorous hair look natural.

    "The pencils are here."

    All twenty-one types of pencils were available, including those with dull points, which Zhong Yu quickly sharpened.

    Lin Yuan began to paint.

    To be in the sketchbooks of the art students meant these sketch materials were from the hands of sketch masters. Although Lin Yuan dared not surpass them, the difficulty of perfectly replicating wasn''t high as he was copying.

    At first, Zhong Yu asked a few questions.

    But as the outline under Lin''s brush became clearer, Zhong Yu hardly spoke, just watched intently, sometimes gasping in astonishment.

    "Swish, swish, swish."

    Since he was paid, Lin painted meticulously, his wrist moving swiftly. He didn''t miss any details and dealt with them perfectly. Meanwhile, his painting speed far exceeded the average person''s.

    At this time.

    One of the members passed by behind Lin Yuan. He casually glanced at Lin''s painting and couldn''t take his eyes off it. With his mouth slightly open, he started watching.

    Then another new member passed by.

    The same thing happened after seeing Lin Yuan''s painting. The man dropped what he was doing, pulled a surprised face, and silently stopped to watch.

    One...

    Two...

    Three...

    Four...

    More and more members gathered around Lin Yuan within a 180-degree radius, each person with eyes wide open watching Lin draw and almost holding their breath.

    "Done."

    Painting engrossed Lin Yuan so much that he didn''t notice the hustle and bustle around him until he finished. By then, a crowd had formed around him, with more than twenty people by rough estimation, some even pushed to the periphery.

    "Holy shit!"

    "That''s amazing."

    "Who is this GOAT?"

    "Isn''t this the legendary death tracer...? It''s my first time seeing someone replicate this uncle''s image!"

    "It''s incredibly alike!"

    "Is this GOAT a new member of our art club, and a student at that? This level is terrifying! Feels like he''s on par with our class teacher!"

    "..."

    Shouts of admiration finally emerged after Lin Yuan finished his painting. Zhong Yu, sitting next to Lin, felt something was off and quickly tried to disperse the crowd: "Don''t you guys have anything to do? Why are you standing around here?"

    Nobody wanted to leave.

    Although Zhong Yu was a veteran of the art club, there were those with deeper roots in the club. He simply couldn''t move them. They still fixed their eyes on Lin Yuan''s painting, and some even tried to squeeze in to greet Lin Yuan.

    "What are you all doing?"

    It was at this moment when a voice came from behind. Everyone finally stopped pushing and looked at the newcomer, either awestruck or nervous:

    "Vice President..."

 Chapter 75 - 72: Complaint_1

    The vice-president of the Art Society was Shen Liang, who usually painted in a private room next door and would come out for a stroll when he felt tired. This time when he came out, he found a crowd gathering¡ª

    This was a common occurrence in the Art Society.

    Whenever a GOAT was painting in the hall, many society members would gather around, hoping to pick up some skills. But the problem was, no GOATs from the Society were present today, so what in the world was this crowd doing?

    So he walked over.

    The crowd made way for him.

    As soon as Shen Liang cast his eyes, they fell on Lin Yuan''s painting. He widened his eyes and it took him a moment to recognize Lin Yuan, wasn''t he the newbie who he had just asked to clean the bathrooms?

    This level...is he a newbie?

    And said that he started painting this year?

    Shen Liang was greatly shocked by this and couldn''t believe Lin Yuan had just started painting, because the level of sketching displayed by this painting was top-notch by the Art Society''s standards!

    But this wasn''t the important part.

    What''s important was that the Art Society now had a sketching GOAT!

    He strode forward and extended his right hand to Lin Yuan, "Vice-chairman Shen Liang. On behalf of the Art Society, I welcome your joining!"

    "Hello, Lin Yuan."

    Lin Yuan shook his hand.

    Shen Liang turned to the crowd, "You guys go ahead with your work."

    The crowd took another look at Lin Yuan''s painting, then reluctantly left. Only Zhong Yu stayed.

    "What are you doing here?"

    Zhong Yu weakly responded, "This is my spot."

    Shen Liang didn''t pay him any more attention and instead turned to Lin Yuan with a smile, "You''re quite good at sketching. If you ever wish to paint in peace, you can use the next door room."

    The next room was reserved for the Society''s GOATS.

    The room wasn''t big, but considering the limited number of GOATs in the society, it was spacious enough, and most importantly, it saved them from being gawked at.

    "No need."

    Lin Yuan refused, then turned to Zhong Yu, "So that''s one hour for you."

    Zhong Yu immediately replied, "GOAT, add me on the messaging app, I''ll transfer the money to you."

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan added him on the messaging app and then received a transfer of three hundred yuan.

    "Three hundred?"

    "GOAT, don''t be modest."

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Shen Liang, who was standing next to them, was shocked, "What is this about?"

    Zhong Yu explained, "I''m paying the GOAT to teach me sketching, two hundred yuan an hour."

    Shen Liang: "..."

    Never had such a phenomenon occurred in the Art Society. Logically speaking, he should reprimand them, but to avoid upsetting Lin Yuan, he let it slide. It wasn''t easy for the Society to gain another GOAT.

    "Two hundred per hour?"

    Quite a few Society members had their attention on this side. When they heard Zhong Yu''s statement, they were instantly excited, "GOAT, teach me too, I''ll pay the tuition!"

    "Next time."

    Though Lin Yuan was keen to keep earning, he had class in the afternoon and didn''t have much time.

    "Can we move for a chat?" asked Shen Liang.

    Lin Yuan agreed.

    Both of them went to the next room.

    The studio was empty, only a few easels were set up.

    Some easels displayed unfinished works, including sketches, gouache, watercolor, and there were even oil and traditional Chinese paintings.

    Shen Liang asked, "Can we hang your work on the display wall?"

    "Yes."

    After agreeing, Lin Yuan got straight to the point, "I heard the Art Society participates in some exhibitions. May I join?"

    "With your level of skill, you can definitely participate."

    Shen Liang had a rough idea of why Lin Yuan joined the Art Society, "The next time the Art Society has an exhibition collaboration, I will notify you in advance."

    ...

    After adding Shen Liang as a friend on his messaging app, Lin Yuan prepared to go to class, and at the same time, summoned the System to check the data.

    [Name: Lin Yuan]

    [Music: 52345]

    [Literature: 19658]

    [Painting: 98]

    His reputation from painting was already 98.

    It seemed that his visit to the Art Society did earn him some reputation points today. Despite the low number, he believed they would accumulate gradually.

    Which meant his strategy was not wrong.

    Gaining reputation from the students could also reach a thousand, it would just take a longer time.

    But that was okay.

    As long as he was earning, it didn''t matter if it took a bit longer. After all, he still had plenty of time for this task.

    With that in mind.

    Lin Yuan visited the Art Society again that night.

    Unlike the afternoon when he was asked to clean as soon as he entered, the members gave him a respectful gaze when Lin Yuan entered the Art Society that night.

    Apparently, some members who had seen Lin Yuan in the afternoon were familiar with his level of sketching.

    Upon entering the Art Society, Lin Yuan noticed a large display board on the wall.

    He hadn''t paid it much attention in the afternoon.

    The board displayed works from the GOATs of the Society.

    Watercolor, gouache, oil, traditional Chinese paintings, etc., all were there.

    The high-difficulty human sketch Lin Yuan had copied at noon, was now displayed on the board as well, with his name and the date of painting written in the blank space of the paper.

    After admiring the works for a while, Lin Yuan nodded.

    The level of the Society''s GOATs was indeed high. There were several paintings on the display board that Lin Yuan found very impressive.

    One of the traditional Chinese paintings and an oil painting had reached a professional level!

    In other words, the level of the artists was not inferior to Lin Yuan''s!

    As he was thinking this.

    A voice from beside him broke his train of thought. "GOAT, I''ve been waiting for a long time."

    Lin Yuan turned to find the voice belonged to Zhong Yu.

    "Teach me." Zhong Yu looked up at Lin Yuan with anticipation.

    Lin Yuan nodded, "Same rules."

    "Deal."

    Zhong Yu quickly agreed.

    Then Lin Yuan sat down to teach Zhong Yu some sketching.

    It was Zhong Yu who did the painting this time, and Lin Yuan provided guidance.

    Zhong Yu was pretty good at sketching; he just lacked direction for improvement. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan, with his professional sketching master''s perspective, could easily spot his shortcomings.

    So Lin Yuan started giving him direct instruction.

    "Thank you, GOAT."

    Two hours later, the teaching session stopped, and Lin Yuan was ready to go home and rest.

    Zhong Yu smiled, "I''ve transferred four hundred yuan."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    He appreciated this guy''s attitude.

    For the next couple of days, he would visit the Art Society to increase his reputation whenever he had free time, and each visit involved paid teaching sessions.

    Zhong Yu seemed to be relatively rich, so the number of times he asked Lin Yuan for lessons was the most.

    Occasionally, when Zhong Yu was not there, Lin Yuan would teach other society members.

    There were more than one person in the society who was willing to pay to learn sketching from Lin Yuan.

    Of course, the fee standard for all society members was the same. Lin Yuan treated everyone equally, charging two hundred per hour of teaching.

    Just like that.

    Within a week, Lin Yuan''s name was known throughout the Art Society!

    The entire Society came to know that a frighteningly skilled sketching GOAT had emerged among them!

    But, as Lin Yuan''s reputation spread throughout the Society, his actions also sparked some controversy.

    Some people thought Lin Yuan was too mercenary.

    The other GOATs in the Society occasionally guided the society members in painting as well, but they never asked for remuneration.

    In comparison, Lin Yuan''s practice of getting paid was really unbecoming.

    Finally, some people couldn''t stand it anymore.

    A group of them banded together and went directly to the president to report¡­

 Chapter 76 - 73 New Manuscript_1

    The office of the painting club was situated upstairs.

    Luo Wei, the president of the painting club, hadn''t been to the club for a while due to serious issues with failing courses. Little did she expect that upon her rare appearance today, several students would confront her at the entrance ¨C

    "Tuition-based teaching?"

    Luo Wei found this a novelty. Raising an eyebrow, she asked, "Who''s involved?"

    The complaining students presented themselves in indignation. "Zhong Yu, Li Jia and Zhao Yan among others; they often participate in Lin Yuan''s paid sketching lessons. They''re ruining the atmosphere of our painting club!"

    "For how long?"

    "More than ten days, I guess."

    Luo Wei seemed thoughtful, saying, "No wonder¡­"

    The complaining students were taken aback. They hadn''t expected the president to take this so calmly. One of them unwillingly asked:

    "No wonder what?"

    Lightly tapping her finger on the desk, Luo Wei shot a glance at the questioning student. "No wonder Zhong Yu and Li Jia''s sketching grades have improved so quickly."

    "Huh?" S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "All of you are aware that they are in the same class as me, right? In yesterday''s sketching test, Zhong Yu came fourth in the class, and Li Jia fifth. They had never been so illustrious before. I was curious as to their sudden improvement. So it turns out they found a private tutor in the painting club. Our private tutor''s skill level is surprisingly high," Luo Wei explained.

    "What?"

    The complainers were stunned.

    At that moment, Vice President Shen Liang happened to enter the office.

    Luo Wei greeted him with a smile, "Perfect timing! You heard about our painting club''s new sketching champion providing fee-based teaching?"

    "Yes."

    Shen Liang gave a glance at the complaining students, "This does not violate the rules of our painting club. Besides, I have conducted investigations; those who have participated in Lin Yuan''s sketching training have seen rapid improvement. It was their voluntary act to pay to improve themselves, and the results prove they were not deceived."

    "I''ve got it, you guys can go back."

    Luo Wei glanced indifferently at the group of complainers: "Put your focus on painting instead. It may be helpful for your skill level. A high-level sketch artist like this wouldn''t be teaching for money. Or do you think Zhong Yu and others aren''t as intelligent as you? These guys are savvy; would they pay willingly for things that aren''t beneficial?"

    "¡­"

    Looking at each other, the group of complainers left in awkward silence.

    Watching their retreating figures, Luo Wei expressed her interest, "Seems like we have a real expert here. He significantly improved their skill level in such a short span of time. I have to meet him after my re-exams."

    "Indeed, he''s very impressive. I reckon no one in our club has better sketching skills than him."

    Zheng Liang admitted with a respectful face, "Initially, I too thought his means of charging for teaching wasn''t right. But after seeing the rapid improvement in sketching grades of those who studied with him, I realized that perhaps what he cares about may not actually be the money.

    He might just be trying to get the learners to cherish the opportunity more...But President, your habit of failing courses every year is severe. Are you going to get retained? Are you going to be my junior?"

    "Shoo."

    Luo Wei rolled her eyes.

    And just like that, the complaints evaporated into thin air.

    But word got around the entire painting club that those studying with Lin Yuan had significantly improved their sketching grades.

    Zhong Yu in particular was proud enough to flaunt his sketching result, boasting about his improvement within the painting club. He also unabashedly declared:

    "I''m the number one disciple of the GOAT!"

    All controversies were toast. Lin Yuan suddenly became the darling of the painting club, with many trying to take lessons from him.

    No one is a fool!

    Zhong Yu and the others improved way too quickly!

    And even if someone was a fool, after witnessing the progress made by Zhong Yu and the others, it should be clear how valuable Lin Yuan''s teaching is!

    ...

    Lin Yuan''s teaching skill may not necessarily be better than that of the experienced teachers at school. The school teachers have too many students to look after; they cannot possibly pay undivided attention to each.

    But Lin Yuan was different.

    He had a professional level of painting skill, and his one-on-one teaching concept was completely unique.

    Lin Yuan understood this.

    So, despite more and more people wanting to take lessons from him¡ªso much so that many almost fought for the opportunity¡ªhe still stuck to his one-on-one teaching strategy.

    The strategy to only teach one person a day ensured targeted improvements in the learner''s skill level.

    However, Lin Yuan did make some adjustments to avoid his office doorway getting trampled by club members:

    He raised his fee!

    From originally two hundred an hour, his one-on-one teaching fee soared to five hundred per hour.

    The majority of the students weren''t wealthy.

    The doubling of Lin Yuan''s teaching fee indeed held back quite a number of them.

    But Lin Yuan didn''t run out of students to teach in the coming days.

    Even at five hundred an hour, many students were willing to foot the bill.

    In addition to the one-on-one sessions, Lin Yuan conducted a public painting lesson every day, which was much appreciated by the club members.

    "This is like a free class for us."

    "The GOAT indeed takes care of us poor students."

    "Yeah, just watching him paint alone, we can learn so much."

    "I heard someone tried to blacken his name before, so heartless. Fortunately, the president didn''t make a fuss about it."

    "...."

    Even though Lin Yuan hadn''t been with the painting club for long, he quickly accumulated positive feedback. Whenever he was painting in public, club members would voluntarily bring him milk tea, coffee or snacks.

    Lin Yuan was delighted.

    Beyond his one-on-one teachings, he noticed that his reputation points increased every time he painted in public. The progress of the task was very promising.

    All he needed to do was continue painting publically, letting the audience acknowledge his work time and again, and he could successfully complete the mission of gathering a thousand reputation points.

    "All set."

    After finishing the public painting for the day, Lin Yuan left under the admiring gazes of the club members. It was time to go home and rest.

    The end of the month was fast approaching.

    Lin Yuan remembered he had to participate in the short-story submission for the literature section of the Tribe. Therefore, he planned to submit his short story that he''d already finished tonight.

    Whether he would get the first prize was not certain.

    But he was confident he''d be in the top three.

    With those thoughts in mind, he returned home. He sent the chosen novel to the email address provided by the Tribe''s literature manager.

    Meanwhile.

    Wei Long, one of the chief editors of Tribe''s Literature section, received a ping in his email.

    "Chu Kuang''s submission?"

    Wei Long got up to check, curiosity flashing across his face. The story before his eyes was titled "Death of a Small Civil Servant".

 Chapter 77 - 74: Death of a Small Civil Servant_1

    "Death of a Small Civil Servant?"

    Upon seeing the title, Wei Long subconsciously assumed it was a detective short story. Given the open genre, it was no surprise to find content in that vein among the works submitted by the thirty short story authors.

    He clicked on it.

    Wei Long glanced at the word count and then froze.

    One thousand eight hundred words?

    He suspected he might be seeing things wrong.

    Although short stories aren''t necessarily lengthy and he even advised Chu Kuang that shorter was generally better and to avoid excessive word counts...

    But isn''t this a bit too short?

    The whole piece is not even two thousand words?

    I told him to keep it short, meaning around three to five thousand words!

    Did Chu Kuang misunderstand my suggestion and intentionally minimize the word count ¡ª

    Believing that the shorter, the better?

    If it affects the quality of the work due to this misunderstanding, then it''s all my fault. Wei Long couldn''t help but hold his forehead.

    Still, better start reading it:

    [It was an ordinary night. The small civil servant sat in the second row of the main hall, watching a play through opera glasses. He was experiencing a moment of tranquility.]

    Tranquility?

    This kind of description was new to Wei Long, but he seemed to understand the implicit meaning of the phrase without having to ponder it.

    "Interesting description."

    The following description was even more intriguing: [Suddenly, his face contorted; his eyes disappeared; his breath stopped. He removed the opera glasses from his eyes and bent over¡­]

    Was he having a heart attack?

    Is this the death of the civil servant?

    A small civil servant without a name?

    Wei Long was baffled until he continued reading and found out the civil servant had simply sneezed.

    "Pff."

    Looking back, the previous description was actually depicting the state of a person sneezing. Chu Kuang''s description, although seemingly convoluted, gave a peculiar sense of precision that formed an image of a person sneezing in Wei Long''s mind.

    Just a sneeze, the civil servant was naturally not worried, everybody sneezes.

    The worst consequence of this action was probably catching a cold.

    That''s what Wei Long thought, too.

    However, the plot twist occurred here: [The small civil servant panicked because he saw the little old man sitting in front of him in the first row of the main hall intensely scrubbing his bald head and neck with his glove and mumbling something.]

    Clearly.

    The civil servant''s sneeze had landed on the little old man.

    And the civil servant''s panic was because...

    The civil servant recognized the old man as a retired general who had served in a government department!

    "Is he going to get killed by the general?"

    Wei Long inevitably made another association with the story''s title.

    Readers will always tend to imagine the next part of the story.

    However, it''s hard to picture exactly where a short story is heading.

    As expected, the civil servant started apologizing.

    But the general, contrary to Wei Long''s imagination, did not explode in anger ¡ª he simply expressed understanding generously.

    "Was this general a smiling tiger? Seeming magnanimous in public but likely to take revenge on the civil servant privately?"

    That was a new idea in Wei Long''s thoughts.

    And this nameless civil servant was naturally harboring similar worries.

    So he apologized again, going so far as to make all kinds of solemn promises, insisting it was unintentional.

    The general seemed annoyed and said, ["Ah, please do sit down! Let me watch the play!"]

    Had the general become angry? The civil servant grew even more frantic.

    He could no longer concentrate on the drama unfolding on stage.

    It was only when the intermission started, and the general went to the restroom, that he followed suit, taking the opportunity to apologize for the third time.

    [Enough¡­ I''ve already forgotten it, but you just won''t let it go!] Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The general shook out his trousers, buckled his belt, and, sounding helpless and rather impatient, pursed his lips.

    Wei Long had a sudden realization: "It seems the general really wasn''t angry."

    Influenced by the title, he always thought the general would kill the civil servant for this, but according to the descriptions in the novel, this general expressed forgiveness many times over, which clearly indicates he''s not such a petty person.

    For the civil servant, this sneeze was just a false alarm.

    Wei Long found relief.

    But the civil servant did not find relief.

    He was still full of mental gymnastics: [He said he''s already forgotten, but there''s a fierce light in his eyes. Moreover, he doesn''t want to talk more, I should explain to him, clarify my unintentional action, clarify that sneezing is a law of nature, otherwise, he might assume that I meant to spit on him. Even if he doesn''t think this way at the moment, he will definitely think so eventually!]

    Isn''t this a bit too timid?

    Wei Long suddenly found the civil servant somewhat amusing.

    When he got home, the civil servant confessed his blunder to his wife. She too was frightened and urged her husband to apologize.

    The civil servant complained: [I know, right? I already apologized, but for some reason, his reaction felt strange, as if he doesn''t want to hear my explanation.]

    He has already forgiven you!

    Do you have some sort of persecution complex?

    The civil servant''s overthinking made Wei Long''s laughter grow louder.

    But this civil servant just couldn''t get the hint. The second day he seriously dressed in his uniform, brought a gift, and once again formally apologized at the general''s residence¨C

    Not only the general, but¨C

    Wei Long thought if it was himself being pursued by someone apologizing endlessly, even he would be utterly confused.

    The general was receiving guests at the moment, apparently important ones.

    The civil servant could only wait for the general to finish receiving his guests before apologizing once again.

    Just like before.

    The general expressed his understanding, only when talking, he couldn''t help but reveal a troubled and distressed look.

    "A troubled look."

    These four words almost brought Wei Long to a laughter outburst.

    Apologizing is supposed to be a courtesy, but if it''s someone who keeps pressing on with their apologies, no matter how much you forgive them, like this civil servant, wouldn''t you naturally look vexed?

    Amid the ludicrousness, Wei Long actually started to feel some sympathy for the general.

    Being an overthinker, the civil servant naturally noticed the general''s troubled look. He was uneasy, feeling that the general obviously had no intent of forgiving him.

    For the sake of his future¨C

    Although he thought the general was too petty, holding onto his minor error, he still wanted to make up for it.

    So he decided to write a letter to the general, explaining the situation sincerely.

    Unfortunately, his mind was blank, and he couldn''t even write a letter.

    He could only visit the general again the next day, expressing his apology once again.

    The story basically ends here.

    The past few passages follow the Civil Servant''s constant apologies, simply and concisely forming an ending, an anticipated ending.

    ["Get out!" The general shouted, his face turning green, his body trembling.]

    ["What?" The civil servant asked, his body numbing with fear.]

    ["Get out!" The general said again, stamping his foot.]

    [It felt as if something was churning in the civil servant''s stomach, he saw nothing, heard nothing, retreated to the door, onto the streets, walking slowly all the way home¡­ He walked into his house without removing his uniform, collapsed on the couch... And died.]

    [¡­]

    Yes, the civil servant died.

    This is the origin of the title, Death of a Small Civil Servant.

    He constantly badgered with apologies, until he completely enraged the general. As a result, when the general lost his temper, he was scared to death by his own overthinking!

    So this is a thousand-word novel?

    Not the detective story one might imagine, nor a story where the general kills, but a story about a man frightened to death by his own imagination.

    Although just over a thousand words, the content is rich and exaggerated, yet it seems to fit some kind of logic, allowing readers to naturally accept the novel''s premise to the extent that the whole story is full of interest!

    At this moment¨C

    Wei Long was amused to the point of slapping his thigh. He didn''t expect Chu Kuang to have a sense of humor too.

    But halfway through his laughter, Wei Long''s smile suddenly froze, as if the scene was paused.

    As if a charge surged through his entire body, Wei Long''s eyes widened suddenly in shock: "Wait¡­ this story¡­"

 Chapter 78 - 75 Teacher Buff_1

    Taking a deep breath, Wei Long read "Death of a Small Civil Servant" from beginning to end again.

    For the second time.

    Wei Long''s expression was complex as he muttered two words:

    "Brilliant."

    He had underestimated Chu Kuang.

    This was not some simple short story that anyone would laugh at after reading.

    There was a sense of lightness and humor between the lines of Chu Kuang''s work, which was indeed soaked with ¡ª

    Sarcasm!

    The small fry inadvertently offends the bigwigs, and even if they have expressed forgiveness, the small time players can''t help but live in fear, alarmed, because the bigwigs have such power to easily manipulate their fate.

    This is the plight of the lower-rungs.

    Chu Kuang did not clearly define the background of the story.

    However, it is clearly a time when a general can decide the fate of the civil servant. The story he crafted seemed to critique the oppression of the feudal autocratic system on the lower classes¡­

    However, such an interpretation is rudimentary.

    After finishing the story and thinking about it, would such a phenomenon only occur in the past? Isn''t the reality we live in the same?

    The underdogs often infer the thoughts of the superior, and then interpret it in what they think is the right way;

    Employees in the workplace are just stared at by their leaders and become anxious, reflecting on what they did wrong;

    If someone inadvertently offends the leader, the fear of "being marginalized" must be on their minds.

    Just like a piece of news Wei Long has seen recently:

    It was just a sales company leader who could make their employees crawl on the ground, punishing them by insulting their dignity...

    Wei Long was puzzled at the time.

    What baffled him even more was that those employees didn''t resist and obediently followed their orders, isn''t this the same as a general deciding the life and death of a civil servant?

    Some phenomena in this world will never be eradicated.

    That''s why there are so many "small civil servants" that die.

    If one understands what''s on the big wig''s mind, they could be well-liked; but if they misunderstand, they might find things tough going forward.

    Most of the time, it''s the small civil servants who put the shackles of servitude on themselves first.

    Why do I find it funny?

    Why don''t I find the story exaggerated?

    It''s because such situations are commonplace in modern society.

    Chu Kuang''s intention is too high.

    This novel is clearly satirizing the present by borrowing from the past!

    Criticizing some social phenomena and expressing his own thoughts through a little over a thousand words, this is an incredibly sophisticated creative style.

    This is the art of irony!

    It''s hard to imagine that when the vast majority of the competing short stories were still chasing after narrative and fun, Chu Kuang has already started seeking to express his own thoughts through words. This is what shocked Wei Long...

    But would readers buy this?

    Wei Long was unsure, after all, everyone''s taste is different. "Death of a Civil Servant" might be the one with the highest intentions among all works, but intentions are not all a novel is about.

    "Why bother thinking about this." Wei Long offered a gentle smile.

    Whether the readers buy this or not, in this round of work selection, "Death of a Small Civil Servant" was indispensable. Wei Long believed the existence of this story raises the bar and the stakes of this competition to some extent. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    ...

    For the following days, Lin Yuan would go to the Art Club every day.

    He drew sketches and taught others how to sketch; he made money doing both and earned some reputation.

    This allowed Lin Yuan to have at least a thousand dollars of income every day, which, combined, was higher than the base salary of Starlight''s Department of Composition ¡ª a new and exciting way to make money!

    In the meanwhile.

    There were more and more students whose sketching level greatly improved under Lin Yuan''s one-on-one guidance.

    The course of events developed to an extent that even the Art major professors at Qin Art learned about the "GOAT" who was teaching sketching at the Art Club.

    They couldn''t pass it up.

    Every so often, there would be a sudden surge in the sketching level of a student.

    It was like a supernatural event.

    It was only after some professors inquired from the students that they found out recently there was a sketching tutor who was gaining fame within the art department. The surge in the student''s sketch abilities was due to this great tutor.

    After hearing this news, many professors were flabbergasted.

    Especially after knowing that this "GOAT" was merely a sophomore from the Department of Composition.

    However, naturally, they wouldn''t stop this from happening.

    Improvement in the students'' sketching level was a good thing. It wasn''t scary to spend money on learning, what was scary was to see no improvement despite spending money.

    At the teaching level the Art Department''s sketching "GOAT" showed, the students who paid for the course made an absolute killing!

    Some professors even recommended students who weren''t good at sketching to go to the Art Club and learn from that "GOAT".

    As a consequence.

    Recently, there was an influx of art major students who would apply for the Art Club, and when asked about their purpose, they were there to learn from the "GOAT".

    With this, Vice President Zheng Liang was beside himself with delight.

    He had never dreamed that Lin Yuan''s presence in the Art Club would have such an effect ¨C he was a living billboard!

    Having Lin Yuan in the club was a treasure!

    For his part, Lin Yuan was indifferent as ever.

    Today.

    Once again, he went to the Art Club after class.

    As soon as Lin Yuan entered the door, an easel, a small chair, a sharpened pencil, and his favorite beverages were already prepared for him.

    Yes, that was how Lin Yuan was treated in the Art Club now.

    And as Lin Yuan settled down, a crowd gathered, among whom a girl raised her hand excitedly, "GOAT, it''s my turn today!"

    "GOAT, confirmed."

    Zhong Yu looked at the schedule on his phone and nodded to Lin Yuan.

    As there were too many people learning sketching from Lin Yuan, he couldn''t keep up with all of them.

    So, Zhong Yu, who called himself Lin Yuan''s first disciple, took the initiative to establish an appointment system. Anyone who wanted to learn sketching from Lin Yuan had to book a slot in advance!

    Lin Yuan agreed.

    This arrangement had been in place for a week by now.

    However, the number of people who wanted to learn from Lin Yuan didn''t decrease, instead, more and more people were queueing up and waiting their turn. That''s why the girl got so excited when it was her turn ¨C Lin Yuan''s tutoring was highly sought after.

    After two hours.

    Lin Yuan had finished tutoring this girl.

    Zhong Yu had already brought back coffee early, smiling, "The previous one went cold, here''s a new one, GOAT, please have some".

    "Thank you."

    Lin Yuan took a sip of the coffee, at just the right temperature, served by the other party.

    At this moment, a system prompt suddenly sounded in his ear: "Master, teaching conveys knowledge and solves doubts. As the host has been continuously instructing students lately, you have permanently gained the ''Master'' achievement."

    Lin Yuan was taken aback: "What does that mean?"

    The system explained: "Master is a special achievement. It is generally obtained after the host meets a certain hidden standard set by the system. From now on, all students taught by the host can increase their comprehension by twice the amount during the learning period.

    As the host teaches more and more people, the enhancement of comprehension for the learners by the Master will get higher and higher!"

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    The system can operate like this?

    Are they wanting me to become an art teacher?

 Chapter 79 - 76 Big Boss Level Treatment_1

    Lin Yuan didn''t expect that the System would also grant title buffs.

    It wasn''t a mission or anything. It just bestowed a blessing on him out of the blue, much like those farming games.

    "Does this mean I''ll be even better at teaching than teachers?" Lin Yuan thought to himself.

    His previous success in teaching his students was purely due to his elevated skills and the one-on-one teaching style.

    But now, it was different.

    With the "Master" effect, the comprehension of his students would improve, making it easier for them to learn!

    What exactly does doubling the comprehension mean?

    Lin Yuan decided to give it a try, he looked at Zhong Yu and said, "I can teach one more today."

    Zhong Yu paused, "Aren''t you going to rest?"

    "Hmm."

    "Alright then. The next one is named Chen Rui. Chen Rui, are you here today?"

    "I''m here!"

    Chen Rui quickly raised his hand, utterly delighted.

    He had booked a lesson with Lin Yuan last week.

    He thought it would be his turn only tomorrow, but Lin Yuan, the GOAT, was willing to teach an extra class today! S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Let''s begin."

    Lin Yuan said, "You first copy this painting. If there''s anything wrong in the process, I''ll help you correct it."

    By now, Lin Yuan had figured out some teaching experiences.

    He liked to let his students draw in front of him. During this process, the students would reveal their weaknesses.

    At this point, Lin Yuan could stop them and provide targeted correction and guidance.

    Today was no exception.

    Chen Rui quickly revealed his first weakness; he had poor control over his straight lines.

    Lin Yuan demonstrated, "To draw a straight line, you have to control the steadiness of your wrist. Using the side, flat, or middle edge of the pencil, you can draw evenly spaced lines... "

    Chen Rui: "..."

    As a student who struggled with sketching, Chen Rui felt that the principles Lin Yuan talked about were also in the books, and the correct sketching methods had been emphasized a thousand times by the teachers. But he just couldn''t master it, what could he do?

    Helplessly, he could only do it as Lin Yuan instructed.

    The first attempt, the second, the third... Initially, he didn''t have much hope. He just wanted Lin Yuan to understand that he was one of those art students who were worst at sketching.

    However, as he continued drawing, Chen Rui suddenly had a miraculous feeling: "I think I''ve got it."

    Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.

    With his wrist shaking, he drew several straight lines in a row, with just the right strength.

    The results even exceeded Chen Rui''s own expectations. For a moment, he even thought he was a sketching genius.

    What''s happened?

    Have I understood it?

    I couldn''t get it when my teacher explained it many times, so how could I understand it just by Lin Yuan explaining it once? Their contents are quite similar after all.

    Feeling astonished,

    Chen Rui began to concentrate and continued to learn from Lin Yuan.

    After studying for half an hour, Chen Rui''s perception of Lin Yuan had completely changed!

    My goodness!

    What a great teacher!

    So far, Lin Yuan had been teaching him for half an hour.

    In this half hour, Chen Rui felt his mind becoming clearer. A lot of things he didn''t understand before, he could now comprehend as soon as Lin Yuan explained them.

    Have I become smarter?

    Or am I really a genius?

    Impossible, I have no innate talent for sketching.

    Chen Rui gradually recognized the truth: It seemed as though I''ve become smarter, but it was all thanks to Lin Yuan''s excellent teaching. His graduated approach in instruction cleared my thought process, making me truly understand what sketching is!

    At this moment, Chen Rui finally understood why his teacher advised him to join the art club and pay money to have this GOAT as a tutor!

    Awesome!

    So awesome!

    Initially, he thought that the hourly charge of 500 was a bit much.

    Lin Yuan looked even younger than him, so why should his charge be so high?

    But now, Chen Rui was completely convinced. He even felt that paying 500 per hour was a bargain. Not only was Lin Yuan exceptionally talented in sketching, his ability to teach others sketching was also formidable!

    ...

    Lin Yuan was not aware of Chen Rui''s thoughts; his current feeling was only one:

    The effect of Teacher Buff is so powerful!

    Chen Rui, this student, didn''t seem too bright when he started sketching.

    Lin Yuan had already prepared for a hard battle because these kinds of students are the hardest to teach.

    Unexpectedly, Lin Yuan found out that Chen Rui made rapid progress in a short time.

    He understood most of the theories Lin Yuan thought he wouldn''t understand!

    This must be the effect of the Teacher Buff.

    These days, Lin Yuan has been teaching a lot of students.

    So, he knows how hard it is to teach students who are poor in sketching.

    Just like that.

    After an hour and ten minutes of teaching, Lin Yuan stopped.

    He said to Chen Rui, "That''s all for today."

    Chen Rui reluctantly stood up, "GOAT, can I continue to learn from you?"

    Lin Yuan replied, "Join the waiting list."

    Zhong Yu is responsible for scheduling appointments.

    Whoever is next in the scheduling list, Lin Yuan will teach. This is fair, otherwise, there would always be a group of people vying for teaching slots.

    "Okay!"

    Chen Rui immediately scheduled an appointment with Zhong Yu.

    This scheduled lesson is at least one hour long, how many hours it will last depends on Lin Yuan''s available time.

    "Let''s call it a day."

    Lin Yuan roughly understood the effect of the "Teacher Buff" by now.

    According to the System, the more students he teaches in the future, the stronger the protective effect of the Teacher Buff will become.

    Sooner or later, even the dumbest student could become a genius under his guidance!

    "It seems like I''ll have to increase my rates."

    The effect of Teacher Buff is truly powerful.

    However, Lin Yuan hesitated, as raising the price might make his lessons unaffordable for many students.

    A college student''s monthly living expense is only around two to three thousand yuan.

    Lin Yuan doesn''t have the talent of a greedy merchant, so he''s slightly reluctant to keep raising the price.

    "Forget it, let''s keep it this way for now."

    Lin Yuan repressed his urge to increase the price and continued to charge five hundred an hour for his lessons in the following days.

    But the effect of Teacher Buff is really handy.

    Students who continued to learn painting from Lin Yuan had no idea how they were influenced by his blessings. After Lin Yuan''s class, they had two feelings:

    The first feeling was, ''Did I really understand sketching this much?''

    The second feeling was, ''Mr. GOAT Lin is such a great teacher!''

    The second feeling often overtakes the first because they still have classes with their other professional teachers.

    Many students with poor sketching foundations underwent a complete transformation after being taught by Lin Yuan, it stunned even Mr. Lian!

    Some of these students were considered hopeless by their other teachers but Lin Yuan turned them into gold.

    This made Lin Yuan''s reputation thrive enormously.

    After all, these miraculous improvements were tangible, making Lin Yuan''s name as the GOAT of sketching increasingly renowned.

    As a result, the number of applications to join the art club also increased.

    Ever since Zheng Liang became the vice president of the art club, he considered implementing some application restrictions for the first time¡ª

    In the past, he could never have imagined that the art club would become so popular one day!

    The art club now boasts over three hundred members.

    All thanks to Lin Yuan!

    If things keep going on like this, all art majors wanting to improve their sketching level would join the art club!

    "This is so unreal!"

    As the number of students tutored by Lin Yuan increased, Lin Yuan received VIP treatment in the art club!

    With food, drinks, and supplies...

    All Lin Yuan needed to do was lift his eyelids a bit and people would bring everything right to him.

    Most of these people were members he had taught, and the number was constantly increasing.

    Looking at the way Lin Yuan was treated, he seemed much more prestigious than Zheng Liang, the vice president.

    Meanwhile, it was already the end of the month.

    Lin Yuan''s submission under the name Chu Kuang, "Death of a Small Civil Servant", was finally about to be published in the Tribe Literature section.

 Chapter 80 - 77 Guess Who I Am_1

    At the same time, they invited thirty renowned short story authors to compete on the same stage.

    Such a big event, naturally, Tribe Literature had done a worldwide promotion for it.

    Many short story enthusiasts started anticipating it from the moment the news was released¡ª

    For them, this would be a gluttonous feast.

    A large number of insiders in the field of short stories were also paying attention to this event.

    However, when the event started, everyone found out that Tribe Literature played a shrewd move! S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The event announcement contained the following statement:

    [Each user has three heart-ratings, you can give a heart rating to the work at the end of each article, you can only give one heart rating per story, expressing your support for the work in this way. The ranking of the work is determined by the number of heart-ratings. But for the fairness of the final ranking, we have intentionally hidden the author''s name.

    Please make the most impartial selection based on the content. When the final ranking is determined, we will announce the authors of these works.]

    Why is this move considered cunning?

    Because every writer invited to participate in the Tribe Literature competition has fans.

    There exists something known as a fan-filter.

    Many fans will only vote for their favourite authors, not their favourite works.

    So, to prevent this situation from happening, Tribe Literature simply hid the author''s name.

    "Quite interesting."

    "Some authors have peculiar writing styles, hence readers could still guess who they are, but no one is certain, as many authors have similar writing styles."

    "This must be why Tribe Literature has not revealed in advance who are the thirty authors who are participating."

    "I initially had no interest in this event, now I''m starting to become intrigued."

    "..."

    After discussions, everyone began reading.

    The length of a short story is generally about three to five thousand words, so readers can finish them quickly.

    Tribe Literature gave full authority to the readers to decide the ranking.

    Everyone enjoyed being jurors, so they didn''t feel impatient when reading the stories, instead, they had a strange sense of mission.

    "My heart-rating will decide the future of a work."

    Many people participated in the vote with this belief.

    Gradually, someone noticed the short story, "Death of a Small Civil Servant."

    This was to be expected, it would have been strange if this story hadn''t caught the reader''s attention, as Blue Star''s artistic appreciation standard is higher than Earth, they wouldn''t have missed out noticing the strength of this story.

    It''s important to know that.

    This is a representative work from the early creation period of Chekhov, one of the three great masters of short stories on Earth!

    Lev Tolstoy once described Chekhov like this: "I can say without any false modesty that, in terms of technique, Chekhov is far more skilled than I am!"

    There''s no first place in literature, nor is there second place in martial arts.

    Westerners don''t like modesty too much.

    Being able to get such commendation from Lev Tolstoy, Chekhov must have been really skilled.

    Chekhov is famous for his critical realism, and "Death of a Small Civil Servant" is such a representative work.

    With more and more people reading "Death of a Small Civil Servant", the comments section of this novel gradually became lively.

    Although the author''s name was hidden, people could still comment on the story.

    "This novel is quite powerful."

    "Although it''s only over a thousand words, I read it three times. The first time I found it funny, the second time I found it tragic, and the third time, I surprisingly felt empathetic, because I felt that if I were in the small civil servant''s shoes, even though I might not keep apologising, I probably would lose sleep for one week at least."

    "Seemingly criticising the old feudal autocratic system, it''s actually satirising the present."

    "Yes, satirising the present, it took me a while to think of this term, and all I could think of was ''WTF.''"

    "In our modern society, there are many people like the small civil servant; the story just uses an exaggerated method to portray it."

    "I don''t even think it''s exaggerated. Those with personal experiences might feel even more empathetic. Fear is a scary emotion; it can indeed destroy a person. This is why we emphasise on mental toughness."

    "..."

    Amid the discussions, everyone started to get curious about the author of the novel.

    "Tribe Literature hiding the author''s name was truly a cunning move. I can''t determine which author this story came from solely based on the writing style."

    "It should be a well-established author."

    "The author''s skill is unequivocally undeniable, to be able to captivate readers with just over a thousand words is not something easy, but I''m captivated. Heart-rating offered."

    "The scary part lies here; this novel is only a little over a thousand words!"

    "I almost wanted to give all of my three heart-ratings to this novel, but unfortunately, the rules of Tribe Literature do not allow me to do so; each novel can only receive one heart-rating."

    "I''ve started to get curious about who the author is; there''s a feeling of anticipation in me, haha."

    "..."

    The next day, "Death of a Small Civil Servant" was conspicuously ranking first!

    But the second and third place were not far behind in terms of heart-rating quantity, so the competition remained intense.

    Confronting such results, not to mention the readers getting curious, even within the circle of authors in the field of short stories, they all started to get curious. Numerous small groups began discussing:

    "Whose work is the one at the top?"

    "Just based on the writing style, I can''t tell who it is."

    "Could it be Ol'' Zhou''s? Tribe Literature must have invited him right?"

    "Ol'' Zhou indeed participated in the competition, he refused to tell me which one of the works was his, but he just asked me if I know who wrote ''Death of a Small Civil Servant.''"

    "No one admitted?"

    "These guys are cunning as hell, anyway, ''Death of a Small Civil Servant'' was definitely written by one of the authors we are familiar with. Tribe Literature has guaranteed that the participating authors are all relatively experienced in the industry."

    "Did anyone inquire about it from Tribe Literature?"

    "I tried asking, even on the Tribe Literature side, at least someone of editor-level had to be in the know about who the authors are. But they kept their lips sealed, refusing to reveal any information about the authors."

    "We can only wait until the final reveal."

    "Speaking of which, the writing level of ''Death of a Small Civil Servant'' is really high, the text is humorous, but its satire is sharp. Despite having a short length, its content is profound."

    "It''s likely to take first place."

    "Hard to say, the second place is a detective novel, it has a strong story, and the final twist was unexpected, there is a chance of a comeback."

    "The third place isn''t bad either, it''s about two middle school students who start dating, one is a top student and the other is failing. To stay together, the high-achiever studies hard and performs remarkably in the exam to get into the best high school in the county, while the other deliberately does poorly to enter a relatively bad high school.

    But I feel that this story has a familiar echo of ''The Gift of the Magi,'' which was popular not long ago."

    "..."

    The discussions were heated, and the Tribe Literature event was filled with the fun of a guessing game ¡ª "guess who I am."

 Chapter 81 - 78 Big News_1

    "What have you been busy with lately? We hardly see you these days," Jian Yi asks Lin Yuan in the school''s cafeteria on the second day of April.

    Xia Fan also looks at Lin Yuan. It''s true that Lin Yuan has been largely absent lately, always rather mysterious.

    "I''ve been painting at the Art Society," Lin Yuan replies.

    Jian Yi is taken aback for a moment before he chuckles and nods. "I never thought you''d be interested in joining a club. But it''s good to engage in club activities occasionally. They''ve enriched half of my college life."

    Jian Yi is a mainstay of the Qin Continent Art Academy basketball club.

    He has loved playing basketball since he was a child and joined the club soon after starting university.

    "Oh, yeah."

    "Our school is having a basketball game next month," says Xia Fan. "As an active member of the basketball club, will you be representing your department?"

    "Definitely!"

    Jian Yi grins smugly. "I am the mainstay of the performance department, after all. The game wouldn''t be complete without me. Our goal this year is to be the champions!"

    "That remains to be seen."

    Xia Fan chuckles, "Your performance department was only third in last year''s basketball game."

    "We were cheated out of the opportunity by the Dance department!"

    Jian Yi fumes at the memory. "We could have reached the finals, but then a guy named Xu Chang from their department violated the rules and caused me an injury."

    Xia Fan clicks his tongue. "Wow, the grudge runs deep; you even remember his name."

    Jian Yi grunts, "Just wait and see how I get my revenge this year. He is an ok shooter; I plan to block his shots every single time. You two must cheer for me."

    "I''ll be cheering for the Composition department," says Xia Fan.

    Jian Yi smirks, "Don''t worry about that. The Composition department will be out after the first round."

    "I..."

    Xia Fan interrupts, "The Composition department can at most reach the second round."

    Jian Yi laughs out loud before asking, "Speaking of which, when will the auditions for ''Bloom'' start, Xia Fan?"

    "It starts this May."

    "If I get selected in the top hundred," Xia Fan continues, "I probably won''t be able to go home this summer."

    Lin Yuan contemplates for a while before saying, "I won''t be going home either; I have to work."

    He could take leave during the holidays, but the summer holiday is too long. Lin Yuan can''t afford to take off work for such an extended period.

    Jian Yi sighs, "We''re only in our second year, and yet, it seems like everyone is getting busy. Lin Yuan has his own job, you are trying to make a name for yourself, our opportunities to hang out together are dwindling."

    "It''s still early," Xia Fan replies. "We have five years of college in total. We may be busy with our thesis and job hunting in our fifth year, but at least in our third and fourth year, we''ll still be stuck in school. Of course, I''ll be busy if I become famous because of ''Bloom''."

    "And not just you..."

    Jian Yi sighs, "I might be leaving in my third year."

    Lin Yuan and Xia Fan turn to him simultaneously. "Why?"

    Jian Yi shrugs, "For the same reason as you guys; for my own life. Haven''t you heard? In our third year, there''s a chance to be an exchange student. I''m probably going to the Qi Continent. As you know, there are more opportunities for acting professionals there."

    Jian Yi is a Performing Arts student.

    The film and television industry is the most developed on the Blue Star in the Qi Continent.

    Just as many musicians love to develop their careers in the Qin Continent, those studying performance, like Jian Yi, prefer to find opportunities in the Qi Continent.

    "Exchange student, huh."

    Lin Yuan and Xia Fan fall into silence.

    Jian Yi chuckles, "Don''t be so melancholic. What if I don''t get the chance to be an exchange student? You guys know that the grades required for that opportunity are quite high."

    "But we know you can do it," Xia Fan replies, looking a bit lost. Despite his laid-back demeanor, Jian Yi has the best grades among the three.

    "Thanks for the vote of confidence," Jian Yi grins, "But think about it, even if I stay here after you become famous through ''Bloom,'' we would still hardly have time to hang out. Celebrities have a very busy schedule. Our school is no stranger to stars. How many classes do you think they''ve attended? They are always taking month-long leaves."

    "True."

    Xia Fan lowers his head.

    Lin Yuan, Jian Yi, and Xia Fan have been inseparable since elementary school. They even managed to get into Qin Art together to avoid being separated.

    But college is the last ivory tower of life.

    Once you leave this ivory tower, most people find it hard to avoid pursuing their individual paths. That''s why so many college couples break up after graduation. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Exchange student?

    Participating in a competition?

    Starting work early?

    These life decisions simply hasten the inevitable parting.

    "Now that I think about it, we don''t have much time left together," Jian Yi comments, his voice tinged with melancholy.

    ...

    After dinner, Lin Yuan is at the Art Society.

    Zhong Yu, who had been waiting for him, grins at his arrival. "GOAT, how many are you teaching today?"

    "Two."

    Now that Lin Yuan''s Master effect has improved, he can teach an additional student each day.

    "Alright."

    "Don''t call anyone yet," Lin Yuan says. "Do you know about the exchange student thing?"

    "Exchange student?"

    Zhong Yu looks blank for a moment before nodding. "Exchange students are from the third year onwards. Each department has a few places. It''s intended to foster inter-university exchange among top-ranking universities. Normally, it''s the top students who go on exchange. The benefits are many: school-sponsored living expenses, tuition reduction, and it also helps in job hunting after graduation.

    I even tried last semester, but my grades let me down."

    Lin Yuan muses over this.

    Curious, Zhong Yu asks, "GOAT, why are you suddenly interested in the exchange program? Do you or any of your friends plan on becoming exchange students?"

    "Never mind."

    "Let''s start the class now," Lin Yuan responds.

    Zhong Yu nods without further questioning and starts calling students over for the class.

    In truth, he doesn''t even need to call anyone.

    As soon as Lin Yuan arrives at the Art Society, a crowd naturally gathers around him. Students who have been selected to be taught by Lin Yuan today have even brought their stools early in anticipation of the class.

    The rest of the students just stand by and watch.

    Although they can''t receive personal instruction from Lin Yuan, they can learn a lot by simply watching, just like auditing a class.

    However, they can''t enjoy the blessings of the Master.

    Lin Yuan has never chased these observers away.

    After all, these people standing around don''t disrupt his teaching, and they do contribute towards his reputation.

    In fact, Lin Yuan has considered teaching several students at a time.

    But the system explained that the Master''s blessing is one-on-one. If Lin Yuan teaches a group of students, the effects of the Master''s blessing would be diluted.

    Considering this, Lin Yuan abandoned the idea of tutoring more students and continued his one-on-one teaching model.

    After he finishes teaching the first student of the day,

    Zhong Yu mysteriously says, "GOAT, we''re planning a big news release soon!"

    "What news?"

    "You''ll know soon enough," teases Zhong Yu.

    "Oh."

    Lin Yuan had only asked in passing.

    He wasn''t particularly curious about what big news Zhong Yu was planning.

 Chapter 82 - 79: Theres Nothing Wrong _1

    The following days proceeded as they usually did.

    Lin Yuan went back and forth between his classroom and the art society, maintaining his rhythm of teaching sketching to two people each day.

    What he didn''t notice was.

    Recently, Zhong Yu was constantly whispering to other society members, seemingly conspiring about his so-called major news.

    Of course.

    Even if Lin Yuan had noticed, he wouldn''t have cared anyway.

    After teaching sketching for so many days, Lin Yuan began to consider whether he should also teach the more common gouache and watercolors, to expand his customer base.

    However, knowing that he was already overwhelmed with teaching sketching every day, he temporarily gave up on the idea.

    He''d take it slow.

    After all, he had plenty of time in the future.

    He planned to teach all kinds of painting in the future, including the hardest -- traditional Chinese painting. The Master''s blessings were his teaching confidence.

    Furthermore, the system also mentioned that.

    The more people he taught, the better the effect of the Master''s blessing would be.

    Once the effect of the Master''s blessing reached a certain level, Lin Yuan would have no choice but to raise his prices.

    Raising prices rightfully and confidently.

    That was Lin Yuan''s biggest motivation for teaching.

    If it comes to money, Lin Yuan''s favorite day of the month has to be the fifth.

    Every fifth day of the month was a good day.

    The fifth of April was such a great day.

    Because on this day, he would receive a huge transfer of funds on his salary card!

    However...

    This time, Lin Yuan was pleasantly surprised when he received the transfer message from the bank!

    Because he realized that his song royalties, after deducting a certain amount of tax, surprisingly exceeded six hundred thousand yuan this month.

    In fact, Lin Yuan''s song royalties had been increasing almost every month, because he now had four songs working together to make him money.

    The more songs, the more money he made!

    With the addition of last month''s "King of the Net" sales share, the extra income Lin Yuan made from teaching in the art society, and the franchise invitation fees from Tribe Literature short stories...

    When all projects were added up, his total income for the past month exceeded three million yuan!

    This was the first time that Lin Yuan had earned this much money. At one moment he even wanted to properly customize some works with the system to help him make more money.

    But after careful consideration, he decided there was no need to rush.

    He would seek the system''s help when he urgently needed certain works. It''s too bad the company never assigned him any orders.

    "Top-up."

    Lin Yuan did not like this word.

    If someone had told him before that one day he would top up to achieve a goal, Lin Yuan would surely have thought they were joking.

    As the saying goes: You can''t change your fate without topping up.

    But Lin Yuan found out that if he wanted to change his fate, he really had to top up. Otherwise, what would he use to gain prestige value?

    ...

    Starlight Entertainment.

    Tenth Floor Composition Department.

    The composers were engrossed in their work.

    At this moment, a man in a black coat appeared at the entrance.

    One of the composer department members saw this man at the door, suddenly stood up and stammered,

    "Pre...Predecessor..."

    "What''s wrong with you?" Wu Yong, who was beside him, followed the direction of his colleague''s gaze, his eyes suddenly widened, and blurted out:

    "Father Yang is at the company!"

    This sentence exploded throughout the entire Composition Department on the tenth floor.

    Everyone stood up, either admiring or looking shocked at the expressionless man in the black coat:

    "Predecessor!"

    "Hello, predecessor!"

    "Long time no see, predecessor!"

    "..."

    Greetings sounded one after another.

    The man in the black coat nodded and asked, "Where''s Ol'' Zhou?"

    Even the gold-medal composers wouldn''t dare to directly refer to the manager as Ol'' Zhou, but this man in a black coat called him so naturally, and no one in the entire composition department thought it was inappropriate.

    Because this man was the only Maestro of the Composition Department on the tenth floor, Yang Zhongming!

    Wu Yong hurriedly said, "Please wait a moment, predecessor. I''ll call and inform the manager now."

    "No need." S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Yang Zhongming spoke, then walked toward the window.

    However, when he reached the table by the window, Yang Zhongming''s brow creased slightly, his expression seemed full of confusion.

    This was his desk.

    He was one of those people who rarely came to the office.

    But even so, this table should''ve been dust-free and cleaned daily.

    Because this was his, Yang Zhongming''s, spot.

    But at this moment, the desk was surprisingly piled up with quite a few books.

    Such as "Complete Theoretical Collection of Composition."

    And "Simple Explanation of Chords."

    And "Only Three Steps Needed to Get Started with Composition."

    Just having these books in the Composition Department of Starlight was strangely incongruous, hence, Yang Zhongming stood in front of the desk for a long time.

    "This is bad!"

    Seeing Yang Zhongming standing in front of Lin Yuan''s desk, Wu Yong felt his heart flutter.

    Other people in the Composition Department also came to their senses, their faces showed worry and nervous sweat formed on their palms.

    This position originally belonged to Father Yang.

    But due to the fact that Father Yang rarely came to the company, Ol'' Zhou assigned this position to Lin Yuan.

    Back then, many people felt that was inappropriate, thinking what would happen if Father Yang found out?

    And now, many people''s concerns have finally become a reality; it seems like Father Yang is already getting mad.

    "Here."

    Yang Zhongming pointed his chin at his own position, his tone devoid of emotion: "Who sits here?"

    Father Yang was really mad!

    Even if Father Yang didn''t show it, everyone could feel it, and the surroundings became suddenly silent with no one daring to respond.

    "Shall I ask for the second time?"

    Yang Zhongming sweep his gaze over everyone.

    Wu Yong, who was closest to Lin Yuan in the department, swallowed hard, bracing himself and said, "Lin... Lin Yuan..."

    "Who''s Lin Yuan?"

    Yang Zhongming''s eyes narrowed slightly.

    Wu Yong explained bitterly, "Father Yang, it''s not his fault. He''s a newcomer who doesn''t realize that this is your spot. This was arranged by our manager..."

    "Right!"

    The other colleagues couldn''t help but side with Wu Yong, not wanting Lin Yuan to suffer unjustly: "It was arranged by our manager."

    "Xian Yu didn''t know the situation."

    "Xian Yu thought this spot was unoccupied."

    There was no other way, only the manager could handle Maestro.

    Yang Zhongming looked out of the window, musing: "Xian Yu?"

    Wu Yong''s face became even more bitter, "Xian Yu is Lin Yuan. Please don''t blame him, Father Yang. He''s just a college student and has just started working for our company. He''s not aware of a lot of things..."

    Yang Zhongming didn''t say anything.

    Nobody else dared to say anything. Although they wanted to defend Lin Yuan, not everyone could withstand the fury of the Maestro.

    Lin Yuan has to take care of himself at this point.

    However, just when everyone thought that Yang Zhongming was about to explode in fury, the Maestro nodded and casually laughed, saying:

    "Then there''s no problem."

    Finished speaking, Maestro Yang Zhongming turned around and left, leaving behind the bewildered composers.

    It was as if a storm disappeared before it had even started.

    ----------

    ps: Lately, there have been a lot of foreshadowing, and the plot has been quite flat. The climax should be coming in a few days. As for the update issue, I will try my best to write more from September on.

 Chapter 83 - 80 Senior Composer_1

    The next day was Saturday.

    Lin Yuan arrived at the company''s songwriting department at nine o''clock.

    As he walked in, he found that the glances from his colleagues were somewhat strange.

    Wu Yong came over mysteriously and asked Lin Yuan in a low voice, "Do you know Father Yang?"

    "Who?"

    "The senior, Yang Zhongming!"

    "I know him." Lin Yuan was familiar with Yang Zhongming''s work.

    Wu Yong exhaled in relief: "No wonder he wasn''t angry, it makes sense if you know him..."

    Lin Yuan did not delve into Wu Yong''s words.

    Wu Yong would definitely not know that Lin Yuan''s understanding of the word "know" was completely different from his.

    At this moment, Zhou Ruiming arrived, his face seemed to be a little joyful today, and as soon as he entered the door, he said:

    "Lin Yuan, come to my office."

    "Mm."

    Lin Yuan followed him into the office.

    Ol'' Zhou smiled and said: "You sit down first."

    Lin Yuan nodded and sat down on the office couch.

    Old Zhou took out a form: "Have a look at this."

    Lin Yuan accepted the form.

    The form listed four songs under Lin Yuan''s name, followed by a long list of download numbers.

    "Life Like A Summer Flower" with 3.33 million downloads.

    "Big Fish" with 5.01 million downloads.

    "Easy to Ignite and Explode" with 4.21 million downloads.

    "Balloon" with 3.57 million downloads.

    Lin Yuan was stunned. No wonder when he received his salary yesterday, the share of the song''s revenue had broken an unusual 600,000.

    It turned out that the download volume of his previous songs had been steadily increasing, even surpassing the month when the song was released.

    "I believe you already knew."

    Ol'' Zhou said excitedly: "These few months, the songs you wrote all have great potential. Their download numbers have been steadily increasing, most of them have the potential to break through ten million. When I saw this data sheet sent from the department below this morning, I was almost scared by you!"

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    He didn''t know because he didn''t pay attention.

    But from the change in the trend of song downloads, he understood a principle.

    The season''s results are not everything. It''s just that some songs are suitable for charting, and some are not. What really determines the value of a song is not the results of a single season, but the potential of a song afterwards!

    This is determined by the environment of Qin Continent.

    Every month, a large number of excellent new songs emerge. Except for industry professionals and some music enthusiasts, no one can keep track of the changes in the charts all the time.

    Many people may have heard songs from several seasons ago after a few months and added them to their playlists.

    Some songs may have over five million, or even ten million downloads in a month, making them invincible on the charts.

    But in the following few months, the download volume of these songs stagnates.

    While some songs may only have a few hundred thousand downloads in a month, they can easily break the million or even ten million mark over time!

    Take Lin Yuan''s "Balloon" as an example.

    This song was released in February, its monthly download volume was the highest among Lin Yuan''s songs.

    But in March, the download volume of this song did not seem to grow at all.

    This indicates that some songs are liked by listeners in the short term, but after listening for a long time, they may find them boring.

    These songs are relatively suitable for charting, due to their strong short-term freshness.

    "Balloon"''s chart performance was not even impressive, and it relied more on the Balloon Challenge launched on the Weibo Hot Search at the time.

    The listeners on Qin Continent, in the face of the massive new songs every month, had their heads spinning.

    One short month is not enough, they probably need a longer time to know which song they like the most.

    Moreover, Qin Continent Music also has a rule:

    Every song has five free trial listens every month.

    Under such rules, there will inevitably be some people who only listen for free.

    Because for some people, even if they like a song, they don''t need to pay money to download it. The five free trial listens each month are enough.

    How many times do you listen to your favorite song each month?

    Those willing to download are either very fond of the song, or they simply do not care about the small amount of money. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    So.

    In the twelve seasons of Qin Continent Music charts, it is rare to see a song breaking through a certain level of download volume in its first month of release, unless the song is really outrageously good, which is different from Earth.

    "Four songs."

    Ol'' Zhou stared at Lin Yuan: "As long as there is one more song with a download volume of over a million, you can become a senior songwriter, which means the new ace of the tenth-floor songwriting department!"

    There was another sentence that Ol'' Zhou didn''t say.

    That is, if Lin Yuan becomes a senior songwriter this year, then he will be the youngest ace in the whole Starlight.

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Ol'' Zhou said with a smile: "Alright, you go and get busy for now, I''ll just let you in on a piece of news on my way out, the company leaders have also been paying attention to you recently, this is good for your future."

    "Alright."

    Lin Yuan got up.

    As he got to the door, he heard Ol'' Zhou making a phone call: "Yang Zhongming has returned from Qi Continent, I plan to send another man over."

    "..."

    Sending someone to Qi Continent?

    After hesitating for a moment, Lin Yuan left.

    Back at his desk, Lin Yuan was deep in thought:

    He was only one song short of becoming an ace. Should he rush for it now?

    He didn''t release any song last month anyway, which can be considered as a one-month hiatus.

    Moreover, becoming an ace allows him to receive a higher portion of the profits.

    This was what Zhao Jue said, and it was very tempting for Lin Yuan.

    So, on his way back to school that night, Lin Yuan finally made up his mind.

    As he walked on the campus road, he took out his phone and dialed Sun Yaohuo''s number.

    Sun Yaohuo answered very quickly, he always picked up Lin Yuan''s calls immediately and his first sentence was always this:

    "Junior, what do you need me to do?"

    "Come to the company to record a song in a while," Lin Yuan said.

    He planned to give "Red Roses" to Sun Yaohuo. It was the last song he had on hand and was very suitable for getting high download numbers. Sun Yaohuo''s vocal conditions could also handle this song.

    "What?"

    Sun Yaohuo thought he heard wrong.

    Lin Yuan thought for a moment and said: "0.5 share."

    After saying this, Lin Yuan hung up the phone, not giving the other party any room to bargain.

    "..."

    At this time, Sun Yaohuo was walking on the street. He was suddenly hit by this news and was dumbfounded for several seconds.

    It wasn''t until Lin Yuan ended the call, and a consecutive busy tone came from the phone, that he came back to his senses and realized what Lin Yuan had just said.

    "Oh!"

    He suddenly looked ecstatic, almost dancing and nearly threw his phone out: "I''m going to be hot again!"

    The streets were crowded with people.

    But Sun Yaohuo didn''t care, he was merrily running around on the street, even cheerfully singing a song: "I am this dazzling moment, the fleeting flame across the sky..."

    People nearby hurriedly avoided him.

    A passing little girl wondered: "Mom, what''s wrong with this uncle?"

    The girl''s mother sighed, her face full of emotion: "It''s all the pressures of life, honey. You must study hard so you don''t end up like him when you grow up."

    "Oh."

    The girl nodded as she half-understood.

 Chapter 84 - 81 Mysterious Code_1

    The next day was Sunday, and Lin Yuan went to work as usual.

    However, within the Qin Continent Art Academy, the Faculty of Fine Arts was conducting a massive collective exam today.

    The exam lasted for a day.

    Watercolor in the morning, sketching in the afternoon.

    This day''s examination is not only challenging the students'' painting skills but also the physical endurance of the art teachers¡ª

    The art teachers needed to grade the students on the same day to enable them to announce the results the next day directly.

    The time was tight.

    After the exam, the students finished their work and returned to their dormitories.

    However, the art teachers had to stay in the office to mark the exam papers overtime.

    It wasn''t until nine o''clock in the evening that the art teachers gradually completed the grading.

    In a large office of the Department of Fine Arts.

    Professor Kong An of the Painting Department was in a good mood, stretching and chuckling, "We have finally finished grading. Have you noticed that the students'' sketching scores seemed to have improved significantly this semester?"

    "Yes."

    Kong An''s remark struck a chord among the other sketching teachers.

    Now that the papers were graded, they chatted while waiting for the final tally of the results:

    "The improvement is indeed significant."

    "I graded a hundred pieces, and more than a dozen sketchings were outstanding, compared to just a few in the past."

    "The grading of the test papers has begun next door. I guess the average score of the sketching papers would be much higher than last semester. It seems that everyone has been studying sketching diligently recently."

    "..."

    At this moment, one of the sketching teachers said, "Isn''t there a sophomore in the Painting Society offering paid sketching tutoring recently? I think he deserves some credit for the overall improvement in the sketching results of the Fine Arts Department this year."

    "I heard about that too."

    A female sketching teacher drinking coffee commented, "A student in our class, who was terrible at sketching, improved tremendously after having two lessons with him."

    "What surprised me was that the tutor in question is also just a student, and not even from our fine arts department."

    The teacher sipping coffee lamented, "He teaches so well, so his sketching skills must be excellent. Why didn''t he apply for our Fine Arts Department initially?"

    "Really?"

    Kong An couldn''t help raising his eyebrows.

    As a professor of Fine Arts specializing in sketching, he rarely teaches students directly.

    Occasionally, when he does conduct classes, they''re large-scale public classes with too many students. Just taking attendance would take half a day, so he was unaware of this situation.

    "I heard from the students."

    A sketching teacher by the window remarked, "The boy''s name is Lin Yuan, a sophomore from the Composition Department. Recently, he visits the Painting Society every day to offer paid tutoring and his rate is not cheap."

    "Lin Yuan?"

    Kong An asked, "How much does he charge?"

    Someone replied, "Five hundred an hour."

    Kong An was taken aback, "Wow, even I only charge a thousand per hour for external coaching..."

    As a professor at Qin Art, Kong An is a well-known figure in the painting industry, specializing in sketching, which justified his rate of one thousand an hour!

    But a student who hasn''t even graduated yet dares to charge five hundred per hour for sketching lessons?

    Am I charging too little?

    Or is that student over-pricing?

    Is he treating our art students as cash cows?

    Noticing Kong An''s dissatisfaction, the teacher sipping coffee laughed nervously, "Of course, we can''t compare to you, who are a master in the field, but that boy does have skills. Many students have improved tremendously after his lessons. Considering the results, I think five hundred an hour is quite worth it."

    Kong An spoke up firmly, "Regardless, he''s just a student. This is a bad habit."

    "So you agree with me, Professor Kong?"

    A male sketching teacher next to Kong An grunted, "I also disapprove of this. Why don''t you step in and criticize it? With your position and reputation, if you step in to stop this, this phenomenon can definitely be curbed!"

    This male sketching teacher didn''t like Lin Yuan at all.

    It all started during a break from class when he overheard a group of students discussing how his teaching wasn''t as good as Lin Yuan''s.

    He was a seasoned sketching instructor, and the very notion of being criticized and compared unfavorably to a sophomore was enough to set his temper ablaze.

    "Ol'' Gao, you''re not making sense."

    The coffee-drinking instructor frowned as he continued, "The fact that students have improved their sketching grades after Lin Yuan''s instruction is clear, and they willingly paid for his classes. No theft, no robbery, nothing inappropriate about it."

    "These are just individual cases."

    The male instructor known as Ol'' Gao casually remarked, "You don''t need to overemphasize the student''s merit. Indeed, one-on-one teaching can quickly boost students'' grades, given sufficient sketching skills. However, we, as teachers, are responsible for teaching a whole class. This is the broad perspective we should have as sketching instructors. You don''t just teach one student in class, do you?"

    The coffee-drinking instructor turned away, ignoring him.

    Ol'' Gao felt slighted and his face soured.

    At that moment, the door was pushed open, and a staff member said, "Professor Kong, the grades have been compiled. Please take a look."

    "Hmm."

    Kong An took the grade report and quickly glanced over the top fifty names from the test. Suddenly, he asked, "Is there an issue with the system? Why does each student''s name have an ''L'' at the end?"

    "It''s not a system problem."

    The staff member gave a wry smile, "I''m not sure why, but many students who did well on the test added the letter to their names. As I couldn''t cross-check with their identification, I simply recorded the names as the students had written them."

    Kong An grumbled discontentedly, "Nonsense."

    The coffee-drinking teacher spoke, "Let me see."

    Kong An handed her the report.

    At first glance, she was as perplexed as everyone else, but at the second look, she seemed to understand. She chuckled and said, "I think I get it now. You all should take a look and see if you recognize your students."

    What''s the situation?

    Identify our students?

    The rest of the instructors, intrigued by now, began to look over the report. After a few seconds, their expressions began to shift in unison.

    "What happened?"

    Kong An was completely confused.

    What in the world does this letter "L" mean?

    Could it be some kind of secret code?

    An awkward instructor spoke, "The student who added a letter, ranked third, is named Zhong Yu. He''s in our class...he seems to have attended numerous lessons taught by Lin Yuan..."

    Another instructor chimed in, "The fourth-ranked Pang Bo is in our class, he also took Lin Yuan''s classes."

    The third one said, "And the student who came sixth..."

    "And the eighth-ranked student..."

    "Ahem, including the ninth and tenth place."

    "..."

    Out of the top fifty students, thirty-nine of them had added a capital "L" to the end of their names.

    A bit flustered, Kong An asked, "What on earth is going on?"

    Finally swallowing the last of her coffee, the instructor explained, "Professor Kong, these students might be a bit rowdy, but all those who added a letter to the end of their names share one thing in common: they''ve all attended Lin Yuan''s classes."

    "So..."

    Another instructor added, "The L probably stands for Lin Yuan." S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The situation was a bit awkward, leaving everyone unsure of how to react. Could it be that most of the top fifty students in this sketching exam were taught by Lin Yuan?

    Where did we, as sketching teachers, go wrong?

    While everyone felt disgraced, they couldn''t help but feel stunned at the same time. They always believed that Lin Yuan could improve the sketching grades of a few students due to his one-on-one tutoring style, but the scale of this is seemingly outrageous.

    "I get it now."

    Kong An took a deep breath, staring at the report, "I''ll go see the principal."

    As soon as Ol'' Gao heard this, he excitedly responded, "Absolutely, we must see the principal! These students are completely out of control! Especially that Lin Yuan! This is nothing short of scorn for our Art Department!"

    "Hold your tongue."

    Kong An glared at Ol'' Gao, his expression complex, "I''ve never met a student in all my years who, single-handedly, raised the entire Art Department''s sketching grades. Today, even if it means losing face, I will personally see to it that the principal transfers him to our Art Department!"

 Chapter 85 - 82: Price Increase Plan_1

    Kong An is not only a professor in the Department of Fine Arts, but also a candidate for the head of the department in the next term.

    This is basically a done deal.

    With his reputation, chatting with the principal late at night is not an issue.

    However, when Principal Shi Huainan heard of Kong An''s proposal, his first reaction was:

    Did he get that wrong? sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    He stared intently at Kong An, struggling to ask: "Are you saying that the best graded group of third-year students in the sketching course was taught by a second-year music major student?"

    "Absolutely true."

    Kong An''s eyes were sparkling: "Principal, I only ask you for one thing, get this kid into our art department, even if he becomes a tutor!"

    "Are you out of your mind?"

    Shi Huainan held his forehead: "You want a second-year student to teach in your third-year fine arts department?"

    "Not only the third year."

    Kong An said: "He is more than capable to teach the fourth year students too."

    Principal Shi Huainan was taken aback: "Is he really that skilled?"

    Kong An nodded: "Before I came here, I checked and found that these students'' previous sketching grades were relatively average. After being taught by Lin Yuan, they made dramatic improvements. To be honest, I can''t even claim to have such a high level of teaching skills."

    "Understood."

    Shi Huainan hesitated for a moment and said: "This isn''t something I alone can agree to. We need to respect the opinions of the students, the music department, and their parents."

    "Okay."

    Kong An nodded, "I will approach him tomorrow, I have to bring him here, even if I have to tie him down."

    Shi Huainan smiled bitterly, knowing that Kong An was only talking big and wouldn''t really hogtie Lin Yuan to the art department.

    "I''m leaving."

    Kong An waved his hand and left.

    As Shi Huainan watched his retreating figure, he remembered the name "Lin Yuan" for the first time.

    ...

    The next day.

    The exam results came out and the fact that the top fifty sketching scores were almost occupied by Lin Yuan''s students stirred a storm in the Art Department!

    "Oh, my God."

    "That''s terrifying!"

    "Are Lin Yuan''s students all this good?"

    "I have to take his sketching class even if I have to sell my pot! I didn''t want to pay before, but now I regret it."

    "Lin Yuan''s classes are not easy to get into. The appointments for his sketching lessons have already been scheduled two weeks in advance."

    "I was a bit skeptical about him, and now I really fucking regret it."

    "I am willing to pay a high price for a chance to be taught by Lin Yuan. Whoever lets me cut in line, I will pay them twice the compensation!"

    "I''ll triple it!"

    "..."

    After the storm blew over, when Lin Yuan appeared in the Drawing Society again he unsurprisingly encountered a massive crowd.

    At the same time.

    The number of students booking Lin Yuan''s sketching classes had nearly burst through the roof!

    Lin Yuan found it strange that there were unusually many people booking sketching classes that day.

    Zhong Yu stealthily laughed and mysteriously moved towards him and whispered: "GOAT, the reason why we have exceeded the limit of reservations today is because we made big news yesterday, which I organized!"

    Lin Yuan asked: "How big?"

    Zhong Yu blinked, about to answer, when a clamor sounded from the entrance of the Drawing Society, and then they saw a lively old man slowly walk in.

    It was Professor Kong An from the Department of Fine Arts!

    Zhong Yu muttered, "That big..."

    Kong An had already arrived in the exhibition area of the Drawing Society by this time.

    The exhibition corner was covered in drawings from the art department''s masters. He paused briefly, looking at the several level ten drawings on the wall, finally stopping at two sketches with Lin Yuan''s name on the left.

    Upon seeing these two drawings.

    Kong An shuddered.

    Then he softly asked: "Is Lin Yuan here?"

    A student immediately guided Kong An to Lin Yuan.

    Kong An showed a kind smile, his eyes looking at Lin Yuan as if he were a rare treasure.

    "Hello."

    Facing his elders, Lin Yuan stood up politely.

    Kong An sized him up, nodding as he studied him, "You''re Lin Yuan, am I correct? Don''t be nervous, I wanted to ask if you''ve thought about joining our Art Department?"

    "No."

    Lin Yuan shook his head.

    Kong An''s smile faltered momentarily; he looked at Zhong Yu and softly cleared his throat.

    Zhong Yu, initially flustered, feared that his organized event might have been the cause of trouble for Lin Yuan.

    But seeing Kong An''s reaction, he immediately felt relieved.

    Taking the hint, he leaned in and whispered to Lin Yuan''s ear, "GOAT, this is our Art Department''s Professor Kong, he runs the entire department¡­"

    Lin Yuan nodded, "Nice to meet you, Professor Kong."

    Kong An smiled again, "Join the Art Department. I will personally teach you."

    With just a glance at his recent artwork, Kong An could tell that Lin Yuan possessed professional-level painting skills!

    At such a young age, Lin Yuan had already achieved such a level, undoubtedly a sketching prodigy. Hence, Kong An''s intention was no longer just to recruit him into the Art Department¡ª

    He was also looking for a disciple who he could take pride in.

    The entire group from the art community huddled around, their eyes widened in shock at Kong An''s words, their expressions filled with envy!

    He''s intending to take Lin Yuan as his closed-door disciple!

    Kong An is an influential figure in the art world, being able to become his disciple is a dream many artists have!

    It was fair to say that as long as Lin Yuan agreed, he would definitely be able to make a name for himself in the art world.

    However¡­

    To everyone''s surprise, Lin Yuan responded as if he was oblivious to this concept, "I don''t want to go to the Art Department."

    Kong An''s smile froze once again.

    He looked at Lin Yuan perplexedly, "Don''t you like painting?"

    Lin Yuan replied, "I do."

    Kong An continued, "Then why won''t you come?"

    Lin Yuan thought about it and responded, "The Composition Department suits me better."

    There are many types of arts. The System would provide Lin Yuan with countless paths, but due to the hosts'' influence, music was still Lin Yuan''s favourite.

    "I''ll give you some time to consider."

    Kong An didn''t dare to press too hard, fearing Lin Yuan would respond with defiance.

    But he was determined to have Lin Yuan; such talent was possibly once in a lifetime, how could he easily give up?

    Kids could be easily coaxed, right?

    "Alright."

    Lin Yuan believed that the other party would understand that generally, ''I''ll consider it'' meant no.

    Kong An sat on a stool brought by a student and asked, "Will you always be teaching sketching in the Art Community?"

    "Not necessarily."

    "Why?"

    "The prices will increase."

    That''s how Lin Yuan answered.

    Kong An''s mouth twitched.

    The surrounding students couldn''t help but hold their heads; five hundred per hour was already expensive for students, and now Lin Yuan wanted to increase the price?

    Kong An asked, "By how much?"

    Lin Yuan replied, "A thousand per hour."

    Kong An''s mouth twitched again; this price was on par with his own. However, based solely on the level of sketching teaching, Lin Yuan was indeed superior to him. Therefore, this price was actually not exaggerated:

    "When will the price increase?"

    Lin Yuan answered, "I don''t know."

    He wouldn''t raise the price now. Only when the Master''s influence significantly enhances the effect, would he consider increasing the price. A business must have a conscience. He didn''t want to be a deceiver.

    "Alright."

    Suddenly, Kong An stood up, "When you increase the price, remember to come and find me in the Art Department. We can sit down and have a good talk. The school can also collaborate with you and pay you a certain reward. Just because you''re a student doesn''t mean you''ll be taken advantage of."

    Lin Yuan nodded, "Alright."

    The watching members of the art community were practically in a state of stupor.

    They never imagined witnessing a day when their Art Department head would be negotiating business with a second-year student.

    No matter how you look at it, the situation was weird.

    But then again, thinking about how the top fifty in the big Art Department exam were nearly all Lin Yuan''s students, they felt that his decision to increase the price was actually quite reasonable...

 Chapter 86 - 83 Time is Adequate_1

    Lin Yuan has become famous in the painting club, and the students who major in sketching regard him as their spiritual idol.

    But this didn''t seem to affect him much.

    As the largest art academy in the continent, Qin Continent Art Academy hosts a student body that''s countless in number, and the academy is filled with celebrities of all sorts.

    Unless they are significant figures directly related to you, you won''t even remember them.

    The days that followed.

    Lin Yuan''s life remained the same.

    One morning, Lin Yuan woke up to find a heavy storm outside his house.

    He frowned at the inconvenience of the rain since today he would be in classes all morning.

    Then his phone rang.

    The call was from Sun Yao Huo.

    His tone was somewhat cautious: "Junior, I hope I''m not disturbing you. We had talked about recording a song last time. When should we start? I''m ready whenever you are!"

    "Wait for my notification."

    Lin Yuan looked out of the window and suddenly asked, "Brother Sun, could you do me a favor now?"

    "What''s up?"

    "Drive me to school." Lin Yuan remembered that Senior Sun Yao Huo had a car. He had mentioned it when they had dinner together last time.

    "Send me the address, Junior."

    Sun Yao Huo didn''t seem to mind, on the contrary, he sounded a bit excited. Thus, Lin Yuan figured that Senior Yao Huo probably enjoyed driving.

    Half an hour later.

    Lin Yuan arrived at school in Sun Yao Huo''s car.

    After parking, Sun Yao Huo opened a black umbrella, quickly got out of the car, sheltering the door area of Lin Yuan''s seat with the umbrella and opening the car door for him.

    The umbrella could only cover up a limited space, leaving his back getting wet from the rain.

    But he didn''t care, he reminded Lin Yuan, "Careful, junior."

    "Thanks, senior."

    "No biggie. But the school doesn''t allow me to drive in. You''re from the composing department, right? Want me to help hold the umbrella?" Sun Yao Huo was always smiling cheerfully.

    "No need."

    "Then take the umbrella."

    Sun Yao Huo smiled and handed the black umbrella to Lin Yuan, then he covered his head with his hands, quickly returned to the car, waved goodbye to Lin Yuan warmly as always.

    "Goodbye."

    Lin Yuan also waved, then, holding the umbrella, walked to the classroom.

    After placing the umbrella, Lin Yuan found something amiss in the classroom atmosphere.

    Even the usually energetic class representative seemed deflated, exhibiting a listless look.

    Everyone chattered and complained:

    "Who was on duty yesterday? They left without closing the windows."

    "If only the windows were open another day, water would have come into the classroom at most. But this time it''s truly a problem, the blackboard newspaper we worked so hard to finish has been destroyed by the rain!"

    "Yeah."

    "Just because the windows were left open, the blackboard newspaper that the class representative and the art committee members spent half a month on is now mostly destroyed."

    The blackboard newspapers were made of chalk.

    Chalk is easily damaged by water. The one long night of heavy rain destroyed half of the blackboard newspaper. It was only natural.

    "We are screwed now."

    "We can only make do with a repair. But don''t expect to win any awards. Because as far as time is considered, it''s too late. Not to mention that we have a full schedule this morning. We''re even more pressed for time."

    "..."

    On hearing this, Lin Yuan glanced at the blackboard newspaper.

    Indeed, the art group of the class began working on this blackboard newspaper two weeks ago.

    They made great efforts to finish this newspaper. Sometimes they returned to the dormitory very late at night.

    Now that their hard work has been ruined, Lin Yuan thought, he wouldn''t be in a good mood either.

    Right at that moment.

    A girl in glasses in the corner raised her hand and said in a sobbing tone: "I was on duty yesterday. I forgot to close the window because I was in a hurry to leave. I''m sorry, everybody¡­"

    "It''s okay, we don''t blame you." sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Class representative Cao Bin, suppressing his disappointment, comforted her: "No one expected it would rain today. The weather forecast predicted a sunny day yesterday. It''s also because the design of the classroom is not reasonable, the blackboard at the back is too close to the window. Other classes are not like ours."

    "What can we do now?"

    The art committee member Yan Mengjia''s voice was a bit hoarse: "The blackboard newspaper competition is this afternoon. The teachers in charge of the competition won''t care if our newspaper was destroyed by rain."

    Everyone should know.

    This blackboard newspaper took us a half-month to finish, the effect was really good. We were hopeful about winning the second-year blackboard newspaper championship.

    Last year.

    It was Yan Mengjia who led the few students in class who could draw to publish a blackboard newspaper and won the championship for first-year students.

    But now.

    We only have half a day left for the competition, and our wonderful blackboard newspaper was ruined by rain, and couldn''t be fixed in time, making everyone sweat ¡ª

    Qin Art has a blackboard newspaper competition every year.

    Blue Star has a strong atmosphere of art.

    As an art academy, Qin Art values this even more.

    So every class takes blackboard newspaper competitions very seriously.

    The winning blackboard newspapers can be displayed on the school''s official website, which allows the class to show off, and the school also offers some bonuses and even academic credits to encourage students, which can be quite satisfying.

    "Let''s attend the class first."

    The class representative said: "We may make some repairs during break time as much as we can. No need to be upset, even if the result isn''t good, we won''t be punished."

    Everyone nodded.

    But everyone was out of mood during the classes that day, especially those who were responsible for making the blackboard newspaper. They looked distressed, the art committee member Yan Mengjia, who was in charge of this newspaper, seemed incredibly upset.

    It couldn''t be helped.

    During each break.

    Everyone attempted to make repairs.

    Unfortunately, the repair effect was not good, the difference between the two sides was too apparent; it made the blackboard newspaper look blurred instead. The simplistic style on the right side and the exquisiteness on the left side were simply incongruous.

    At noon.

    Art committee member Yan Meng Jia and others remained, staring at the blackboard newspaper in a daze. It wasn''t until Cao Bin, the class representative, couldn''t bear to see it anymore and said: "Everyone should go to the cafeteria for lunch first, and we can make some repairs after eating."

    "What else can we do?"

    Yan Meng Jia shrugged her shoulders and left the classroom.

    The other members of the blackboard newspaper group also left one after another.

    After everyone left, Cao Bin did not leave. Instead, he looked up and stared at the disappointing blackboard in a daze.

    At that moment.

    From behind him, a somewhat familiar voice suddenly said: "How about I give it a try?"

    "Huh?"

    Only then did Cao Bin realize that there was still someone else in the classroom: "Lin Yuan?"

    Not only was Lin Yuan a classmate of Cao Bin, he was also once his roommate. It was just that Lin Yuan moved out since then.

    But the two had a good relationship.

    Very few people didn''t get along well with Lin Yuan. Moreover, Cao Bin was a responsible class representative well-liked by his classmates and he took good care of Lin Yuan, who was not in good health.

    "Can you draw?"

    Hope ignited in Cao Bin''s eyes.

    But then he seemed to remember something and sighed: "Even if you can draw, we don''t have enough time. The blackboard newspaper competition starts this afternoon."

    "We have enough time."

    With that, Lin Yuan took out his phone and dialed Zhong Yu''s number.

 Chapter 87 - 84 The Storm Caused by the Falling Pen_1

    Lin Yuan dialed the number and asked, "Do you have time right now?"

    Zhong Yu, holding his phone between his ear and shoulder, replied, "I''m eating in the cafeteria, GOAT. What do you need?"

    Lin Yuan said, "Once you''ve finished eating, please bring all your gouache painting tools and come to Room 52 of East Building."

    "What for?"

    "To do a blackboard newspaper."

    Zhong Yu was stunned for a second, then quickly said, "I''ll be right over."

    After finishing speaking, Zhong Yu stood up without bothering to finish his meal, "Come on, you guys, let''s go."

    "Huh?"

    Zhong Yu''s classmates around him all asked in surprise, "What happened?"

    Zhong Yu announced, "GOAT needs to create a blackboard newspaper."

    Everyone was taken aback. "Goat is in the sophomore group, right? The sophomore''s blackboard newspaper contest is this afternoon. Isn''t the time too tight?"

    Zhong Yu was irritable: "What are you guys thinking?"

    Everyone suddenly understood and burst into laughter: "Right, how could a bunch of art dogs like us be stumped by a blackboard newspaper? Is GOAT planning to make a gouache blackboard newspaper?"

    "Yeah, let''s get moving."

    Before leaving, Zhong Yu sent a message in a group chat: "GOAT''s class needs to make a blackboard newspaper. If you''re skilled with gouache, come to the Music Department''s classroom, Room 52 of East Building."

    The chat exploded.

    The group was very lively with reactions.

    "I''ll be right there!"

    "How can I refuse Goat''s request?"

    "Does GOAT really need us to make a blackboard newspaper?"

    "Don''t be silly, GOAT is good at sketching, but not at gouache. They are completely different."

    Gouache art and sketch art are two different things.

    The quality of a gouache piece has nothing to do with the quality of a sketch.

    "Right, I didn''t expect the day when even I am needed by GOAT."

    "It''s time to show GOAT my gouache skill. I''ll reclaim my dignity which was lost in front of GOAT while sketching!"

    "Calm down guys, we don''t need that many people for a blackboard newspaper."

    "Alright, then, only a few of us, those with the best gouache grades, should go."

    "There are only a few hours left for the blackboard newspaper competition. We have more than enough people with seven or eight." sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "..."

    The chat was undoubtedly very lively.

    Because the name of this group was only the letter "L".

    The group of people left in the cafeteria didn''t bother to finish their meals either. They also got up and followed Zhong Yu. They were also Lin Yuan''s sketching students.

    "Whom did you call?"

    Inside the music department''s classroom, Cao Bin looked at Lin Yuan in astonishment after he finished the call.

    Lin Yuan said, "A friend from the art department."

    "What year are they?"

    "Junior year."

    Cao Bin''s mouth dropped open, then he was suddenly overjoyed. "Right, the only people who could finish a blackboard newspaper in such a short time would be those from the art department, especially the experienced juniors! Please call over a few more people to join us. There''s still hope!"

    Lin Yuan said, "I only called one."

    Cao Bin was anxious, "Just one? We need more, otherwise, we won''t have enough time. Can you make another call? Ask your friend to plead with the upperclassmen in the art department. After all, it''s a big blackboard. Plus, you might not know the seriousness of this issue - Yan Mengjia took a leave of absence because of her health last semester, so she''s a bit short on credits.

    She is the organizer of this blackboard newspaper. If it''s successful, she can earn some credits. You know our school''s rules. If you don''t earn enough credits, you can''t graduate. The issue with the blackboard newspaper has upset her a lot, and she didn''t blame the on-duty classmates..."

    As he spoke, Cao Bin became increasingly anxious.

    He truly was a good class president.

    But as he was speaking, Cao Bin suddenly stopped and stared out of the window in surprise.

    A crowd suddenly appeared in the hallway, storming into the classroom door. Due to the exaggerated number of people, the classroom door was nearly bursting.

    "You call that ''a person''?"

    Cao Bin looked blankly at Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan was surprised too. The leader was Zhong Yu, and behind him were presumably all the students he had taught in his painting club.

    Zhong Yu smiled, "GOAT."

    Lin Yuan nodded, not wasting any words, "We''re running out of time; can you help me arrange the paints?"

    Zhong Yu, who was thinking about the blackboard layout, didn''t quite hear what Lin Yuan said; he spoke quickly, "We''re out of time, someone prepare the paints quick, and fetch some water as well... Let''s hustle people..."

    While he spoke,

    Zhong Yu was looking up compositions online on his phone. Blackboard painting was essentially imitation art; just find a satisfactory image and draw it out.

    Minutes later,

    Zhong Yu found an image he liked. However, when he turned around, he realized everyone was staring blankly at the blackboard, seemingly dumfounded.

    "What happened?"

    Zhong Yu also looked at the blackboard to see a shocking scene:

    Lin Yuan was standing on a neatly arranged chair, a large brush in hand, quickly applying a base coat of color. He entirely skipped the chalk sketching and setting up process just directly began to sketch a powerful landscape of alternating green and gray mountain ranges!

    Two students held the paint box.

    Lin Yuan switched to a thicker brush without a second thought, swiftly dipping into various paints and precisely mixing colors. As soon as he started creating a gradient, he brought the mountains to life!

    Three minutes¡­

    Seven minutes¡­

    Fifteen minutes¡­

    Thirty-two minutes¡­

    As time passed in silence, nobody made a sound. Everyone was watching as Lin Yuan wielded his brush like a sword on the blackboard. The finest gouache painters from the Art Department were only able to assume the role of holding the paint box for Lin Yuan ¡ª but nobody complained. Their eyes were glowing with admiration!

    "Swoosh swoosh swoosh."

    Lin Yuan was painting the hardest painting at the fastest speed. It was like he knew which colors could be mixed to produce certain hues. It seemed like he didn''t care about the base framework. Every stroke was so precise it was like the underlayer was already sketched out for him.

    "Thud."

    Someone changed the palette, and the students holding the paint box were swapped out; after all, holding the paint box aloft for that long can make your arm numb.

    Lin Yuan was concentrating intently.

    After setting the overall tone, he began using smaller brushes. Above the sea was a bamboo raft, and on the raft was a man wearing a straw hat. The contrast between light and shadow made the painting seem alive:

    Mountains a beautiful shade of dark blue!

    A waterfall cascading down!

    Raging waters!

    Tall and strong pines!

    The sky vast and deep!

    Lin Yuan''s state was more intense than ever. He held three brushes in his arms, one in his mouth, and one in each hand. He discarded each brush as he finished with it. Except for when he was mixing paint, his eyes were glued to the blackboard.

    An unknown building stood on the shore.

    Unknown fish swam in the water.

    Crabs were scuttling across the beach.

    A white sailboat floated on the horizon, billowed by the wind.

    When the last stroke was done with the smallest brush, Lin Yuan felt his neck was sore and his wrists were aching. He was entirely drained.

    On the blackboard,

    The sea and mountains were connecting. Pine trees hidden in the halfway up the faintly discernable mountains, colorful sunset clouds sprinkling over the ground, seagulls squawking over the autumn water that blends with the sky.

    A shock of falling strokes!

    At this moment, the students responsible for holding Lin Yuan''s paints, passing him brushes, fetching him water, washing his palettes: they all felt two emotions intertwining in their hearts.

    Privilege, and a sense of inferiority.

 Chapter 88 - 85 This is Very Lin Yuan_1

    After a few seconds of stunned silence, there was a sudden exclamation in the quiet classroom of the Art majors students.

    "Oh my God!"

    "Who is this genius?"

    "Who was it in the group chat that said the GOAT''s gouache was not good, that''s why they sent us here to help? Is this what they call ''not good''?"

    "This is terrifying."

    "If this is ''not good'', all us art majors should pack up and go home. Once at home, my mom might ask me why I''m inspecting artwork on my knees."

    "We did come to help."

    "But not to help with the painting, just to fetch water, pass brushes, set up chairs, prepare paints, and so on."

    "..."

    The group of students was shocked.

    So was the class leader, Cao Bin.

    He thought Lin Yuan asked the Art major seniors to come and help with the painting. He hadn''t expected that Lin Yuan wanted these professional art majors to be his assistants!

    Is it just a matter of having hands?

    Zhong Yu swallowed hard and managed to speak, "So besides sketching, you''re also amazing at gouache painting."

    Here''s a common art fact:

    Sketching studies the relationship between form and space, while gouache focuses on color and its environment. If there''s a connection between them, it would be that both pursuits have a certain sense of three-dimensionality, which is why many famous artists focus on one.

    Some people sketch.

    Some people do gouache.

    Some people paint oil paintings.

    Some people paint traditional Chinese paintings.

    Besides their own specialties, these artists will have decent skills in other types of painting, but very few of them reach the level of their main expertise.

    So...

    Everyone had naturally thought that Lin Yuan was a painter who specialized more in sketching. Who would have thought that Lin Yuan was a genius who had mastered both sketching and gouache painting to perfection?

    This is the real GOAT!

    Many of those present were masters of sketching from the Art Department. But now, these students, known as masters in their third year of Art, were all on their knees. Someone started the chorus:

    "GOAT, teach me gouache!"

    This reminder triggered a chain reaction among everybody, students were fiercely demanding: "Ahhh, I want to learn gouache from the GOAT too!"

    "GOAT, look at me!"

    "Begging for the GOAT to guide me!"

    Having trained numerous skilled sketchers, Lin Yuan''s teaching ability was well-known. Now that he''s shown his skills in gouache, everyone knew how precious this opportunity was, acting as if they''d gone mad!

    "Five hundred per hour."

    Lin Yuan''s expression didn''t change.

    Zhong Yu pushed to the front: "Enough, stop fighting, if anyone wants to learn gouache, they must make an appointment with me. Don''t forget I''m the GOAT''s top disciple!"

    "Shameless!"

    Somebody immediately lost patience: "You''re definitely putting your name first on the appointment list!"

    "..."

    Of course, that being said, everyone still obediently made an appointment through Zhong Yu to learn from Lin Yuan. And Zhong Yu did indeed shamelessly put his name first on the list.

    "Let''s go."

    After saying a few words to Cao Bin, Lin Yuan left the classroom.

    "Where is the GOAT going?"

    "To the cafeteria."

    The Art students quickly followed, shouting about inviting him for meals and stuff, leaving Cao Bin staring blankly at the blackboard.

    ...

    Yan Mengjia and her art group went back to the dormitory after eating dinner because everybody knew there was no hope for the blackboard announcement anymore, but since Caobin suddenly called them to come over, they had to leave.

    "We seem to have entered the wrong classroom."

    Upon arriving at the East Building classroom, Yan Mengjia entered, took a look at the blackboard announcement, and turned to say.

    "Huh?"

    The male student behind Yan Mengjia also entered the room and was stunned: "We really did enter the wrong classroom, which building is this?" S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "No, it''s right."

    The students behind them had already spotted the silhouette of Cao Bin in front of the blackboard: "Isn''t that our class leader?"

    They all looked at each other in confusion.

    Seconds later, they all rushed into the classroom, staring in shock at the landscape painting on the blackboard announcement, as if they''d been frozen in place.

    "You guys are here."

    Cao Bin turned his head and glanced at Yan Mengjia and others. "I need to go eat, I don''t know if the cafeteria is closed yet."

    "What is this?"

    Yan Mengjia stared blankly at the blackboard newspaper, seemingly at a loss. The previous blackboard newspaper had been erased, and in its place was a landscape painting that drew exclamations of astonishment!

    But it had only been about two hours since they were dismissed from school, right?

    Magic?

    It must be magic, right?

    Cao Bin fully understood everyone''s reactions, laughed, and explained, "Lin Yuan painted it."

    The male student behind Yan Mengjia asked somewhat uncertainly, "The Lin Yuan we know?"

    Cao Bin didn''t answer, instead, he looked at Yan Mengjia, "Lin Yuan said the person responsible for the blackboard newspaper also put your name on it. But I don''t think it''s appropriate, your names should appear after him. You can also earn credits for this."

    "Oh, ok."

    Yan Mengjia almost subconsciously responded.

    ...

    There were still classes in the afternoon, but when Lin Yuan returned to the classroom after eating, suddenly someone in the class shouted:

    "Lin Yuan is here!"

    "Lin Yuan is impressive!"

    "Did you draw the blackboard newspaper?"

    "Did you draw it in two hours?"

    Everyone looked at Lin Yuan, as if they were seeing him for the first time.

    Yan Mengjia walked to Lin Yuan''s side and whispered, "Thank you."

    "Um."

    Lin Yuan sat at his desk.

    The students showed knowing smiles. To think that Lin Yuan''s reaction didn''t seem strange at all.

    Arrogant?

    No, no, no.

    That''s so Lin Yuan.

    Suddenly, there was a commotion in the corridor. The art instructors responsible for judging the blackboard newspaper had arrived, and the person leading them was the famous art personality Kong An!

    The students immediately sat upright.

    The judges entered the room one after another. Kong An, who was in the lead, looked at the blackboard newspaper and suddenly paused.

    Not only Kong An.

    The few Gouache instructors behind him also couldn''t help but widen their eyes. Could a student achieve this level on a blackboard newspaper?

    Did they hire someone from outside?

    Or did a teacher secretly help?

    After several seconds, Kong An slowly asked with a somewhat serious tone, "Who is responsible for your class''s blackboard paper?"

    "Lin Yuan!"

    Yan Mengjia was the first to speak.

    Lin Yuan could only go along and raise his hand.

    All the doubts in Kong An''s mind vanished immediately.

    He looked at Lin Yuan, then turned to look at the blackboard again. He looked back at Lin Yuan, turned to look at the blackboard again. He looked back at Lin Yuan, turned to look at the blackboard again¡­

    This is not a filler from the author, but he did indeed repeat this sequence several times.

    Then, with a somewhat complicated expression, he asked, "Did you draw this by yourself?"

    Lin Yuan responded, "Um."

    Kong An leaned closer to the blackboard for a better look. "So you also draw gouache well, although there are some details that are not yet perfect, there is definitely room for improvement."

    "..."

    Excuse me, for such a large blackboard, and only two hours to draw, how could every detail be perfect?

    Yan Mengjia and others wanted to explain, but Lin Yuan didn''t speak, so they had to hold back.

    At this moment, a teacher looked at Lin Yuan and said, "The professor''s demands are too high. In my view, the drawing is already quite perfect. But how come this ink... it seems like it hasn''t dried yet?"

    Lin Yuan replied, "The weather''s been gloomy lately, so it''s a bit damp."

    The crowd in the classroom: "..."

    Big shot, why not tell them that the ink isn''t dry and some details aren''t perfect because, in reality, you only spent two hours casually painting this blackboard newspaper?

    Alright then.

    He is too lazy to explain.

    That, is also very Lin Yuan.

 Chapter 89 - 86 Precautions before Rain_1

    The students weren''t wrong in their guesses. Everyone was now familiar with Lin Yuan''s style ©¤©¤ a style that went by the name "Lin Yuan".

    Lin Yuan indeed didn''t feel like explaining.

    However, the more important reason was that Lin Yuan didn''t want to draw too much attention to himself. Otherwise, what if the professor brought up the issue of transferring departments again?

    He didn''t want to leave the Composition Department.

    "Next classroom."

    Before leaving, Kong An gave Lin Yuan a deep look, and a certain idea in his heart became even more firm.

    After the selection team left.

    Everyone''s gazes focused back on Lin Yuan.

    Whether it was flattery from peers or roundabout praises, amidst the inquiries about his well-being, Lin Yuan handled it all with ease.

    Ever since kindergarten he had been mentally prepared for the attention from being the center of the group, he was more than used to it now.

    Just like his piano skills.

    Facing the beautiful chalkboard bulletin drawn by Lin Yuan, most people could only draw the conclusion that Lin Yuan was also great at painting.

    However, how great he was, they didn''t quite have a clear concept.

    On the other hand, Yan Mengjia, who had learned painting for several years, understood very well what it meant to complete a gouache chalkboard bulletin of this level in just two hours. Hence, her gaze towards Lin Yuan was a bit unusual.

    Of course.

    The gaze of most of the girls in the class toward Lin Yuan was also somewhat different.

    This could be evidenced by the various inexplicable snacks that often appeared on Lin Yuan''s desk.

    This situation is probably hard to eliminate, either in the past or in the future, especially after Lin Yuan has left everyone with an impression of being multi-talented for two consecutive times.

    The next day.

    The chalkboard bulletin from Lin Yuan''s class made it to the campus official website, winning the sophomore chalkboard championship without a doubt.

    And Lin Yuan, he kicked off his own gouache course in the painting club, teaching two rounds every day.

    First sketch, then gouache.

    However, more students chose to learn sketching than gouache. Lin Yuan''s sketching teaching level was already well-known in the Art Department, but many people didn''t have a clear concept of Lin Yuan''s gouache skill and teaching level©¤©¤

    Except for the students like Zhong Yu who witnessed Lin Yuan''s two-hour extreme gouache creation.

    These guys were also sly as foxes.

    They secretly agreed not to disclose Lin Yuan''s feats.

    In this way, there wouldn''t be so many people scrambling for Lin Yuan''s gouache course with them.

    After some time passed and they have received Lin Yuan''s true teachings, they would then let the Art Department know that Lin Yuan''s gouache is also of a killer level.

    Lin Yuan didn''t really care.

    He didn''t lack for students now.

    The fee was the same anyway.

    As for the results of the chalkboard competition, naturally, Lin Yuan received praise from his tutor in the Composition Department. The role that tutors played in universities was actually similar to that of homeroom teachers, but most tutors in Art University also served as mentors for professional courses©¤©¤

    The tutor''s name was Hua Li.

    Hua Li had been paying attention to Lin Yuan recently because Lin Yuan''s recent academic performance had improved rapidly. Most university students did not pursue grades, and their standards were set at not failing, but Lin Yuan was different.

    He took classes seriously, studied hard, and although he had a bit of difficulty keeping up when he first transferred to the Composition Department, in the recent theory exam, Lin Yuan had already entered the top five of the class.

    Hua Li liked students like this.

    As for how much of this like was tainted by factors such as appearance, that was no longer necessary to mention. In any case, Hua Li spent a good deal of time, a full three minutes, earnestly praising the honor that Lin Yuan had won for the class.

    After praising Lin Yuan.

    Hua Li steered into the main topic for the day: "We have been studying composition for almost two years now, and I believe the future development direction and goals for the vast majority of you are not compositions for musical instruments, but to join some entertainment companies as composers."

    Piano compositions were the work of composers.

    Writing pop songs was also the work of composers.

    The former had a high entry threshold, while the latter was relatively popular.

    That''s why, although the Composition Department''s professional courses at Art University are nominally centered around the former, they have never neglected the guidance and cultivation towards the latter.

    Like this time.

    Hua Li said, "Our learning task for the next period is not to write papers, but each of you has to write a song for me. You can choose any style for the song. You can find someone or do it yourself for the lyrics and singing. You don''t have to spend money. There are plenty of altruistic mutual aid societies in our school. The deadline for the creation date is the end of next month."

    "Okay."

    The classmates are eager to give it a try. For composing students, this isn''t a hassle at all. Many have privately written quite a few songs already, even submitted them to entertainment companies, so they do have a small selection in their repertoires.

    "Just a reminder."

    Hua Li laughs, "This song is important in your grade, to be precise, it''s your annual assessment! The leaders of the composition department will personally grade it! Because you guys are in your second year now. Next year, you''ll be in your third year and that''s when we''ll be deciding on a batch of exchange student slots. The song grade is an important reference for that."

    "What?"

    "Really?"

    "Annual assessment?"

    The volume of everyone''s voices noticeably increases.

    Many faces even show signs of excitement, dismissing the initially casual outlook they had.

    Indeed.

    The majority of the students are interested in the exchange program because it''s a big help when looking for a job after graduation!

    Moreover, being an exchange student allows you to experience different school''s teachings. A year''s experience on an exchange program is seen as precious by many, not to mention the various benefits for exchange students provided by the school!

    "Exchange student."

    Lin Yuan pondered.

    After Jian Yi mentioned last time about wanting to go to Qi Continent as an exchange student, Lin Yuan had been considering accompanying him. After all, the chances for them to be together were dwindling, and he was also interested in the benefits for exchange students.

    As for Xia Fan...

    Xia Fan would definitely stay in Qin Art.

    She was participating in this year''s "Bloom".

    She was even planning to debut through this show.

    This was her longtime dream, if she really debuts, she wouldn''t spend much time at school in the future. As such, going to Qi Continent was a serious option for Lin Yuan.

    Because Lin Yuan was sure:

    Xia Fan was bound to debut.

    Even if she fails again in "Bloom" this year, Lin Yuan would ask Zhao Jue to sign Xia Fan. Meanwhile, he would prepare some songs for her.

    Given that, he needed to treat this song properly.

    That night.

    On the way home after school, Lin Yuan summoned the System, gritting his teeth to say, "I want to order a song, the kind that costs 500,000."

    "What kind?"

    Lin Yuan replied, "About inspiration."

    He didn''t mention a genre, but a song theme instead, because students haven''t entered society yet, so motivational songs might be more aligned with the campus atmosphere.

    "Deducting payment¡­"

    "Randomly drawing¡­"

    "Song extraction completed¡­"

    "Congratulations on receiving the song ''Initial Dream''."

    With a light stroke, Lin Yuan received a message stating 500,000 had been deducted from his bank card. In return, he had a new song in his repertoire. He felt his luck was quite good. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "By the way."

    Lin Yuan suddenly asked, "Will there be a problem with the bank deduction?"

    The System replied, "Don''t worry, the bank won''t find any issues since the System deducts the host''s funds through legitimate channels."

    "Understood."

    Lin Yuan decided to hand in the song next month.

    With his grades this semester, plus this song, getting an exchange student slot shouldn''t be too difficult.

    Of course.

    This semester had just started not long ago, and there''s still a long way until next semester. So thinking about all these seems quite far-fetched now. Lin Yuan was just planning ahead.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Friendly reminder, this book will be released in two days.

 Chapter 90 - 87 Recording Songs and Unmasking_1

    Lin Yuan curiously asked, "By the way, System, what do you plan to do with the money I pay to customize songs?"

    Would the System upgrade with money?

    Of course, the answer was no and it took Lin Yuan by surprise. "Donate to those who need it in this world," the System replied.

    So, it was for charity.

    Lin Yuan nodded and didn''t comment further.

    The following days were business as usual until April 18th. It was a double weekend when Lin Yuan finally notified Sun Yaohuo, "Get ready to come to the company. We''ll start recording today."

    "On my way!"

    Sun Yaohuo was on his way to go out with his girlfriend, but when he received Lin Yuan''s call, he instantly turned his car around without hesitation and rushed to the company.

    "Are you feeling unwell?"

    Lin Yuan, while waiting at the entrance of the recording studio, saw that Sun Yaohuo arrived panting. It seemed as if he had vigorously exercised.

    "No...problem."

    Swallowing hard, Sun Yaohuo managed to squeeze out a smile. He wasn''t about to admit that, to prevent Lin Yuan from getting impatient waiting, he had sprinted all the way after arriving at the company.

    "Have you learned the song?"

    Lin Yuan opened the topic. A few days ago, he had handed over "Red Roses" to Sun Yaohuo, who should have practiced it sufficiently during these days.

    "I know it by heart," Sun Yaohuo said sincerely.

    He had received the lyrics, music, and sample of "Red Roses" a few days ago. After listening to the sample, his only feeling was:

    Amazing, Xian Yu!

    If he couldn''t make such a good song popular, he''d never sing any songs by his "junior" for the rest of his life!

    He was unworthy!

    Lin Yuan nodded and entered the control room of the recording studio. The staff in this room was already in place and expertly wearing their headphones.

    Through the glass.

    Sun Yaohuo, inside the recording studio, signaled to Lin Yuan with a nod. After the equipment was adjusted, he started his first vocal test, "I dream of dreams that cannot awaken, the red that was home-bound within the red line, all stimulating leftovers are left fatigued with feeling unable to move..."

    Lin Yuan did not interrupt,

    Not until Sun Yaohuo finished singing the entire song. The recording engineer then gave some suggestions for the first round, and Lin Yuan supplemented some ideas, "You have mastered it accurately, but your vocal resonance is too open. The overall tone of the song is pretty suppressed, simply evoking the feeling of sadness is not enough. You can withhold a little more while singing.

    Let''s give it another try."

    Sun Yaohuo nodded.

    During the second performance, he used a more restrained style, but Lin Yuan stopped him again, "The feeling of this song is indeed quite suppressed, but there are different levels of being suppressed. The beginning of the song, you can interpret as lament."

    "Lament?"

    Sun Yaohuo nodded again.

    When he sang to the part of the chorus lyrics, Lin Yuan proposed his requirements for the third time, "What you can''t get is always stirring, and being privileged means you are fearless. This is the second layer of suppression in the song, it belongs to the lament following the sadness."

    Some of these suggestions came from the System.

    Some came from Lin Yuan''s own understanding.

    In past recordings, Lin Yuan would adopt this approach. He didn''t need Sun Yaohuo to completely mimic the original singer. Each person had their own appropriate style of singing. In the past world, Zhang Bi Chen had also sung "Red Roses" with totally different feelings from the original version, but it was equally pleasing to the ear.

    Although Sun Yaohuo had a close vocal range to the original singer, he didn''t need to purely imitate.

    The recording afterward followed the same pattern.

    Lin Yuan and the studio alternately made requests, while Sun Yaohuo absorbed and understood these suggestions, continuously adjusted his singing. The studio and the live scene were different. The most influential version after release was basically the studio version.

    "Next is the third layer of suppression."

    "When you hug her from behind, you foresee it as her face instead. Combining the lyrics and the singing, you''ll find the emotional expression of the work is a slight self-mocking. No need to be too strong, in this way, it helps to change the inhale and exhale time."

    "You don''t need to use too many techniques."

    "Most of the songs need to be sung with a mouth, and emotions are assisting; this song has to be sung with emotions, your mouth is assisting. Start from whispering and gradually meet the tune, but remember not to pitch, instead let the singing gradually turn into an exhausted lament¡­"

    The suggestions from the recording engineer were plenty in the beginning.

    But later, it was mostly Lin Yuan''s explanation.

    The recording engineer explained more from the technical aspect, while Lin Yuan did so from the song''s aspect. The former was more objective, while the understanding of emotions was more subjective. As such, the hardest part for Sun Yaohuo was getting Lin Yuan''s approval.

    "Again¡­"

    "Another¡­"

    Lin Yuan wasn''t satisfied with only explaining. Occasionally, he would demonstrate the singing. Although his voice prevented him from becoming a professional singer, demonstrating such a low-pitched song was pretty easy for him.

    After he demonstrated his voice,

    Lin Yuan said, "Did you notice that? Take a breath before singing, press down your breath. You can breathe after each sentence, inhale and exhale based on the actual situation. If your emotions reached, I can accept your imperfect breath."

    All Sun Yaohuo could do was nod.

    Most composers wouldn''t be as strict as Lin Yuan. The opinion on the singer''s performance goes mainly to the recording engineers. However, Lin Yuan was different from other composers because he had taken vocal training for many years. If his voice had not suffered an accident, he would be an excellent singer, so his demands and understanding on performances surpassed those of most composers.

    In a sense,

    Everyone in the recording studio was just a tool.

    There were very few composers like Lin Yuan who wrote both the music and the lyrics, mastered the arrangement and performance. If all composers were like Lin Yuan, many people in the recording studio would probably face unemployment.

    "Let''s stop recording."

    After several hours, Lin Yuan eventually suggested a break. At this moment, Sun Yaohuo still couldn''t perform a version up to Lin Yuan''s standards, but this was something Lin Yuan had expected, "You can intensively practice for a period."

    "Alright."

    Sun Yaohuo was ready to "grind the shed".

    The so-called "grind the shed" meant practicing in the recording studio for a long term.

    He could practice at home and could practice all the time, but the effect was best in a studio.

    Because the studio''s equipment could reflect many details of the voice, and there were monitoring teachers in the studio to provide singers with feedback on their performance at any time.

    But Lin Yuan left directly.

    The following days, he didn''t manage the recording anymore.

    The recording of the formal version was to wait until Sun Yaohuo had completely understood the song. After all, Lin Yuan wasn''t in a hurry on time.

    And at this time, Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    As time approached the end of the month,

    The result of this competition among 30 writers in the literature section of the Tribe platform, all armed with their short stories, was about to be decided!

    Someone even jokingly called it:

    The moment the king reveals his face!

 Chapter 91 - 88 The New Nobility Gradually Rising _1

    "King Reveal" is merely a playful term.

    The main reason being that Tribe Literature had kept it too vague.

    With thirty short stories competing on the same stage, the authorship of these stories was kept under wraps till the last day, only revealing that these writers were individuals with a certain reputation in the industry...

    The competition method adopted by Tribe Literature can be said to have stimulated the curiosity of all people to the greatest extent!

    There''s a saying that curiosity killed the cat.

    Sure, readers and the people in the short story field weren''t cats, but their curiosity at this moment was no less than that of a cat.

    Psychoanalyzing this move, one could say.

    It''s like when someone suddenly stops speaking halfway through their sentence.

    No matter the importance of the sentence, the listener would be incredibly invested. Who lets you only release half of the information?

    So, many readers have posted in Tribe''s discussion area and made online predictions about the authors, analyzing the articles from various levels. They are really technical.

    If there''s one thing everyone is most curious about, it''s undoubtedly about the author of the top spot in this competition!

    After a month of competition, the outcome of this short story competition has become very clear.

    This piece called "Death of a Small Civil Servant" is the champion work of this competition!

    Therefore, the discussion about the author of "Death of a Small Civil Servant" is the most lively.

    In those speculative threads, famous writers in the field of short stories were almost all cued by readers.

    Unfortunately, no one has admitted to it so far.

    Of course, Lin Yuan also saw his ranking.

    To be honest, he was quite surprised that "The Death of a Small Civil Servant" could win the championship, because he was prepared for this novel to only rank third.

    Although the story is excellent, the satirical effect in the novel is a bit lacking.

    And this effect deviation was bound to happen.

    In other words.

    If Lin Yuan lived in a dark and feudal era, perhaps this novel would be given a deeper significance.

    But in this era.

    In this era of peace on Blue Star, this novel is more like a "satire on present through antiquity" creative technique.

    However, Lin Yuan did not obsess too much over this.

    Since "Death of a Small Civil Servant" is the champion, if nothing unexpected happens, Lin Yuan just needs to wait for the first prize to be credited to his account.

    This kind of waiting didn''t last too long.

    On the last day of April, Tribe Literature finally announced the list of authors.

    Under everyone''s watchful eyes, the authors of these stories were finally revealed!

    "Holy!"

    "So the author of "Missed" is Mr. An, I thought the literary style felt a bit familiar, he previously refused to admit it!"

    "The second-place mystery is written by Ol'' Wang! Ol'' Wang must have intentionally changed the style, readers couldn''t imagine it."

    "The fifth place "Echo" is Qi Tong''s work? Qi Tong''s short stories are rare. I didn''t expect he would try short stories this time."

    "The eighth work was actually written by Ye Ye!"

    "Hahaha, I guessed the authors of three of the short stories!"

    "I guessed two."

    "There was a prediction thread before, it was prophetic. That poster got eight right, it should be the one with the highest accuracy now!"

    "...."

    The results of the guessing came out, and the atmosphere among the readers was quite joyous. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    However, more readers, along with the people in the short story field, checked who the author of "Death of a Small Civil Servant" was first.

    Resultingly, authors in the short story field and many readers were taken aback.

    Because this was a name that 99% of the people had not guessed in advance.

    "Chu Kuang?"

    "It was Chu Kuang?"

    "The author of "Artificial Beauty"?"

    "The author of "The Gift of the Magi" from last month?"

    "I remember him because of "King of the Net", turns out he also writes short stories?"

    "Looks like the guy above is not paying much attention to the short story circle. "The Gift of the Magi" is the most popular short story of last month, and the author is this Chu Kuang!"

    "His "Artificial Beauty" released during the New Year holiday was also good, very interesting in my personal opinion."

    "This is a rising star in the short story field!"

    "I thought the author of this novel would be a long-established figure, but it turned out to be a new talent in our short story field!"

    "...."

    It''s not surprising that readers were so shocked.

    They couldn''t guess that the author of "Death of a Small Civil Servant" was Chu Kuang, firstly because Chu Kuang was a newcomer in the short story field.

    Secondly, the style of this story is too different from Chu Kuang''s previous two works!

    Even if the author''s name is hidden in novel creation, there are still traces to be found.

    Because different authors have different writing habits.

    Like O. Henry for instance.

    He liked to write a completely unexpected reversal of an ending.

    Unexpected yet reasonable outcomes were his writing features, with the literary world referring to his ending pattern as the "O. Henry ending".

    That was also one of his criticized points.

    Because some people would say that after reading many of O. Henry''s works, they all seem to follow the same pattern.

    But, Chu Kuang broke this definition.

    The differences in his first two novels weren''t too apparent.

    But when it came to "Death of a Small Civil Servant", Chu Kuang started playing with satire!

    For this, he even gave up the narrative style and the reversal pattern of the ending from "The Gift of the Magi."

    Is satire higher superior?

    Not necessarily, but in the hearts of most people, satire indeed has more aura, "The Death of a Civil Servant" was able to become the champion this time because many people felt a strong sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu when reading the novel--

    Many phenomena in life were satirized vividly in this short story!

    So everyone thought the author was brilliant.

    At this time!

    The second-place short story author, Wang Guojian, suddenly posts on Tribe forum: "Chu Kuang winning the championship is as full of dramatic reversals as "The Gift of the Magi," I am beginning to look forward to Chu Kuang bringing more surprises to the short story field in the future."

    Immediately afterwards.

    Mr. An, who was ranked third, said: "Chu Kuang is the new talent in the short story field!"

    Not just them.

    Among the thirty participating authors, more than a dozen of them made their voices heard through Tribe posts:

    "The style of his works is hugely different, who could guess that this is written by the newcomer Chu Kuang. But one has to admit that "The Death of a Small Civil Servant" is a great novel."

    "I''m glad that a very talented new author has emerged in the short story field!"

    "I''ve read all three of Chu Kuang''s short stories, to be able to write such excellent works just after entering the field, he is indeed a genius."

    "My son really likes Chu Kuang''s "King of the Net", so I have known this writer quite a while ago, but I didn''t expect that one day I would lose to him in a short story competition, I wonder if my son is sad or happy right now/dog"

    "...."

    At this time, at the Silver Blue Books magazine, Yu Rong, the chief editor of "Fun Reads", was full of righteous indignation, banging his desk:

    "Tribe Literature is poaching people!"

 Chapter 92 - 89: Treating Money as Mere Muck_1

    When Yu Rong finished reading "Death of a Small Civil Servant", he had already decided to recruit the author, impressed by his potent writing skills.

    However, he was surprised to discover that this author turned out to be Chu Kuang, who had been poached by Tribe right under his nose!

    At this outcome, Yu Rong''s eyes bulged in anger, feeling as if his property had been stolen.

    Nevertheless, as the chief editor of "Fun Reads", he quickly managed his emotions: "I must get him back."

    Yu Rong declared this fiercely in his heart.

    Having been recognized in the field of short stories, Chu Kuang was no longer a novice. He was a rising star, a talented writer who was beginning to flaunt his talents!

    Such a talented writer was not only desired by Yu Rong.

    All major publishers in Qin Continent were also eager to get him.

    This competition was a harsh reality of the industry. A talented writer like Chu Kuang could easily attract everyone''s interest.

    However¡­

    These publishers probably did not have Chu Kuang''s contact information yet.

    Tribe was able to locate Chu Kuang simply because they had access to the platform. The Tribe account was linked to a phone number, they just had to follow the number left by Chu Kuang.

    Yu Rong believed that Tribe, if not foolish, would not give out Chu Kuang''s information.

    Unfortunately, it was impossible to keep it a secret. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The industries were highly permeable with various channels for information retrieval. Some bigger publishers would eventually find Chu Kuang.

    In this situation, he could only hope to postpone the inevitable for as long as possible.

    But judging by the present situation, only Tribe could compete with Silver Blue Books for Chu Kuang.

    This gave Yu Rong a little comfort.

    Meanwhile.

    Back at Silver Blue Books.

    The Youth Fantasy Department was also discussing Chu Kuang.

    The Fantasy Novel Department didn''t deal with short stories; that was the duty of their counterpart magazine "Fun Reads".

    However, Chu Kuang was one of the best-selling authors of the department, which meant that the editors naturally followed his every move.

    So when Chu Kuang won the first prize for short stories at Tribe, it immediately sparked a lot of discussion.

    "I had no idea Chu Kuang was such a genius at writing short stories!"

    "Being able to master both short stories and youth fantasy novels, his creative talent is extraordinary!"

    "No wonder the short-story sector wants to snatch our writer away. Given Chu Kuang''s skills in writing short stories, it''s definitely worth the fight."

    "I heard that even our chief editor praised Chu Kuang''s short story."

    "..."

    Discussing halfway through, an editor worriedly asked, "Is Chu Kuang planning to focus on developing in the short-story field and stop writing fantasy?"

    This worry was valid.

    Chu Kuang was one of the best-selling authors of the Fantasy Department, a precious asset for the whole department.

    "Probably not."

    An editor speculated unsurely, "How much can one earn from a few short stories compared to writing youth fantasy novels?"

    "Money?"

    YangFeng, the editor in charge of Chu Kuang, looked up, unpleased, "You think Chu Kuang cares about money?"

    "..."

    As YangFeng completed his statement, the entire department was silent, everyone tacitly agreeing with him.

    True.

    Chu Kuang didn''t care for money.

    He was uninterested in it.

    This was a fact universally acknowledged by the department. If he did care, he wouldn''t have so readily ended "King of the Net".

    Even a fool knows that the longer a best-selling novel goes on, the more royalties it brings in!

    Once such a novel ends, the royalties drop off significantly within months!

    Yet two weeks ago.

    Chu Kuang''s final installment of "King of the Net" for May arrived, putting a neat end to the novel.

    Indeed.

    Tomorrow would be the first of May, and the last installment of "King of the Net" would officially be released. The public relations department even came up with a slogan ¡ª

    Chu Kuang didn''t write a word more than necessary!

    The entire "King of the Net" was almost strictly written according to his initial outline ¨C with just a little over a million words, he ended his very popular novel!

    Such decisiveness even made the editors in the department sorry. They wished they could continue writing the novel for Chu Kuang!

    Considering the current sales momentum of this novel, every word written would rake in big bucks!

    Putting it bluntly.

    If Chu Kuang was willing to keep writing "King of the Net", even if he flooded the pages with nonsense or the quality of the subsequent work declined drastically, many readers would continue to buy it. This was because many of them were already accustomed to reading it.

    Unless Chu Kuang started to "feed feces" in his book, readers wouldn''t easily give up. At most, they would complain about the author while hesitantly continuing to purchase it.

    This was the accumulated experience of the editors throughout the years.

    Chu Kuang must have understood this too.

    Chu Kuang just being Chu Kuang, knowing full well that he could still earn money from his work, still ended the novel without a second''s hesitation.

    How could such a person possibly be interested in money?

    After a long while.

    An editor in the department sighed, "This is the way of Chu Kuang, a true literary. Creations not for the purpose of making money, authors like him are really respectable."

    "Exactly."

    "In this age of commercialized literature, while the original intention of the authors is usually rooted in their dreams. But if their novels weren''t profitable, who would be willing to pursue their passions?"

    "It''s been years since I met such a novelist."

    "Most authors would not choose to end a profitable novel. Even if they''ve exhausted their outline, they''d do whatever it takes to stretch their story. In contrast, authors like Chu Kuang who decisively end their popular books are so rare."

    "..."

    YangFeng sighed.

    He truly admired Chu Kuang.

    When most writers followed the trend by choosing popular themes like adventurous journeys to different worlds, Chu Kuang boldly chose competitive sports ¨C a subject that most would find uninteresting. His pioneering spirit alone was extremely admirable to YangFeng.

    Though he admired Chu Kuang.

    YangFeng also felt extremely worried.

    Because Chu Kuang''s decision to end "King of the Net" led to a huge loss for Silver Blue Books.

    Therefore, the previous chief editor had especially requested Chu Kuang to expand his outline and make the story longer¡­

    However, Chu Kuang didn''t heed the advices.

    YangFeng couldn''t help but recall the first interaction he had with Chu Kuang, thinking that the latter was just a rookie who didn''t fear anything.

    Eventually!

    Chu Kuang would experience the fear of being controlled by the "Black Room" and see how terrifying the editors'' reminders could be.

    But now.

    Chu Kuang didn''t have to experience YangFeng''s terror. He was an author who never missed a deadline. On the other hand, YangFeng found himself experiencing Chu Kuang''s terror first.

    This was someone who truly treated money as dirt.

    At this, YangFeng could only shake his head helplessly and lament, "This man is seriously capricious!"

    The next day.

    It was the first of May.

    The grand finale of Chu Kuang''s "King of the Net" was released!

 Chapter 93 - 90: The High Cost of Daily Necessities_1

    For the readers, the end of "King of the Net" did not come as a surprise. Since the release of the fourth volume in April, the editorial department had already announced that the novel was coming to an end. Regardless, readers felt a profound sense of loss-

    Everyone was engrossed in the story.

    And you''re telling me the story is ending? S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Usually, such bestsellers run over two or three million characters, so while readers did not find it abrupt, they could not help but feel a certain degree of discomfort, which further accentuated their sense of loss.

    But to cherish something is only natural.

    The plot of "King of the Net" was extremely well-structured without an ounce of filler. Each volume offered a roller coaster of highs and lows, especially the finale, which centered on a heart-stirring national tournament. At this point, the members of the Youth Academy''s tennis club reached their pinnacle in the story!

    There was no inclination towards sentimentality in the tale.

    The readers were awarded with a perfect ending.

    After triggering widespread discussion among short story enthusiasts by winning first place in the Tribe Literary Competition, Chu Kuang manages to spur a broad discussion among fantasy fiction enthusiasts too with "King of the Net", all within a mere span of a day.

    "I finished the last volume in one sitting!"

    "Even though the conclusion was quite satisfying, I felt a sense of loss when I finished "King of the Net". Perhaps, it''s because the characters have been with me for nearly half a year. It feels like they are suddenly leaving me."

    "The book I was most reluctant to end, has ended."

    "I originally borrowed the first few volumes from a classmate, but seeing the novel endings, I bought all the volumes I had read. I plan to treasure this novel on my bookshelf, as I might revisit it in the future."

    "The trailblazer of sports fiction!"

    "I never thought I''d be so obsessed with a sports-themed novel. Even though I still can''t play tennis after reading it, this doesn''t affect the novel''s status in my heart."

    "..."

    Readers left comments on the message board on Silver Blue Books, various fiction forums, on many Tribe users'' latest status, and even in many people''s friend circles.

    This novel was a great success.

    Not only did it capture readers, but also influenced many authors. Before Chu Kuang published "King of the Net", sports fiction was a genre so cold, no one bothered with it. However, after this novel''s release, numerous sports-themed novels appeared on the market.

    Some about basketball.

    Some about football.

    Even some about track and field.

    The hottest one named "Dunk" was actually from He Mingxuan, the novelist who Chu Kuang edged out for the newcomer title. After reading Chu Kuang''s novel, He Mingxuan found a genre suitable for himself. He posted on his own Tribe, proclaiming: "It is Chu Kuang who guided me onto the path of sports fiction. He is the pioneer of this overlooked genre!"

    Sports fiction remains a niche.

    However, Chu Kuang has proved that this genre is by no means without market potential. Even with sports fiction as the carrier, a quality novel can still make readers readily fork out money. Which is why there''s some success among those who followed, and those who have succeeded by emulating Chu Kuang naturally see him as the guiding beacon of sports fiction!

    Inside the industry.

    Many people are discussing the end of this novel. Much like the editors at Silver Blue Books, they feel that Lin Yuan is a very capricious newcomer, who decided to bring such a bestseller like "King of the Net" to an end so resolutely!

    "Doesn''t he like churning out more chapters?"

    "He finished it just at a million characters."

    "Silver Blue Books must be rather stunned, wondering how could there be such a headstrong author who would forgo millions in monthly royalties and just end the book. If I were him, I would write until Silver Blue Books went under."

    "Isn''t Chu Kuang writing short stories?"

    "I''ve been following Chu Kuang''s short stories, this guy is truly frightening. He can handle two completely different genres with ease, undoubtedly the strongest newcomer in recent years."

    "It''s hard to say about his next book."

    "When Chu Kuang realizes that his new book''s performance falls far short of "King of the Net", he might regret ending it too early. After all, sports fiction isn''t a genre that easily catches fire with a rush job."

    "..."

    Some express regret; some offer commentary, others rejoice in the shadows. Particularly the competitors of Silver Blue Books, such as the chief editor of Prosperity Publishing House, who on the contrary is quite free and leisurely enjoying a small drink.

    "Poor Silver Blue Books."

    The thought alone prompted a smile of schadenfreude. Of course, this gloating was not directed at Chu Kuang, he hadn''t even met Chu Kuang. Where would this inexplicable hatred come from?

    Forget about hatred.

    The chief editor of Prosperity even considered poaching Chu Kuang. Having been in the industry for many years, he has a sharp intuition. Naturally, he knows Chu Kuang''s ability to create novels is indisputable. Even if he doesn''t go on to produce bestsellers like "King of the Net", his capabilities with short stories would surely be coveted by all publishing houses.

    They want someone like him at Prosperity too!

    His good mood at this moment is merely due to the fact that Silver Blue Books, Prosperity Publishing House''s primary rival, just concluded one of their bestsellers. Surely, his old rival must be in a pretty sour mood now, considering they have lost such a profitable work.

    Bestsellers are blessings in disguise.

    Any work that can be called a bestseller is precious to a publishing house, with everyone, from the chief editors to ordinary editors, coddling it carefully for fear of any blunder.

    What kind of blunder?

    Like if the plot starts to crumble.

    But more terrifying than a crumbling plot is when the story doesn''t have any problems, the sales have no significant fluctuations, but the author chooses to end the novel. This situation isn''t rare either, as the author might get tired after writing a book for too long.

    Put simply, the author gets tired of writing.

    However, such a situation generally only occurs after the novel reaches around two or three million characters. For a bestselling novel to tire a writer out at only a million characters is almost unheard of, because this is the most profitable stage for the author.

    "This feels so good."

    The chief editor of Prosperity takes a sip of his drink, keeping his stomach warm, while at the same moment, YangFeng contacts Chu Kuang, nervously asking, "When will you start creating the next book?"

    "There''s no rush."

    This is Chu Kuang''s reply.

    YangFeng not only isn''t discouraged by this, but is in fact somewhat pleased. ''No rush'' means he will continue to write. YangFeng was afraid that Chu Kuang might concentrate on writing short stories in the future and stop writing comparatively more draining serialized novels.

    His happiness lasts only for a moment.

    YangFeng couldn''t help worrying again. Chu Kuang''s continuing fantasy writing is a good thing, but can he write another bestseller on the scale of "King of the Net"?

    At the same time.

    Lin Yuan is also considering what kind of novel he should design with the system. "King of the Net" ended too quickly; this lazy system doesn''t know the cost of firewood, rice, oil, and salt!

 Chapter 94 - 91: Becoming an Enemy to the Whole World_1

    Ever since the system introduced the pay-to-win project, Lin Yuan hadn''t received any new tasks for a long time, let alone any rewards for novels.

    At present, he is occupied with a drawing task.

    The task requires that Lin Yuan reach a thousand points in drawing prestige value.

    However, it should still be a month or so before the task is completed.

    After all, the rate of increase in drawing prestige value, just hanging out in the campus art club, can only be described as moderate.

    Under these circumstances, Lin Yuan has only two choices if he wants to continue writing long-form pieces.

    The first choice is to wait for the completion of the drawing task, fetch the treasure chest, and see if he pulls out a novel.

    The second choice is to directly customize with the system.

    The former is fraught with uncertainty.

    What if he doesn''t draw a novel?

    As far as the past treasure chest explosion rate is concerned, it seems that the probability of drawing a song is the highest.

    The latter is relatively simple. Under the premise of paying to win, Lin Yuan still has a space to freely choose the theme.

    He didn''t rush to make a decision.

    Anyway, "King of the Net" just concluded, and Chu Kuang, his pseudonym, needed a break too.

    In the following days, Lin Yuan was enjoying campus life.

    He took his classes seriously, ate all three meals with Jian Yi and Xia Fan, and spent his spare time teaching drawing at the art club...

    Lin Yuan liked these days.

    Although these days seemed monotonous, they were not unchanging, occasionally interspersed with some extracurricular activities for adjustment.

    For instance, the basketball game that Jian Yi mentioned last month.

    Just like the last blackboard newspaper selection, Qin Art often held similar events, with high enthusiasm from each department, due to the school always offering a bunch of irresistible rewards.

    This is the characteristic of Blue Star.

    Sparkling artistic talent like Blue Star, excellent campus performance was also recorded in the file, who wouldn''t want to build the most beautiful resume before graduation¡ª

    Lin Yuan didn''t.

    His job was steady, and the company leaders highly regarded him.

    Lin Yuan felt that there should not be much risk of unemployment when he graduated.

    So the basketball game had nothing to do with Lin Yuan.

    In fact, even if Lin Yuan wanted to participate, he wasn''t qualified.

    His body was simply too weak, he feared that by half-time, Lin Yuan would already be lying on the stretcher, being carried to the hospital.

    However, the department took this game very seriously and forcibly pulled out some basketball masters from each class to form the competition team. The whole composition department even went to the sports field to cheer for the students participating in the competition.

    Unfortunately, they didn''t cheer for more than two days.

    The composition department was eliminated.

    The participating students from the composition department left with their heads hanging.

    A male student sitting behind Lin Yuan whispered, "This luck is too bad, right? The second round of the draw hits the dance department."

    There was a basketball game in the first year of university, and the dance department was the champion of the game.

    No one wanted to encounter such a team so early, but the composition department ran into them.

    Lin Yuan didn''t feel much, though.

    Of course, he had a sense of class honor, like the last blackboard newspaper, Lin Yuan contributed just out of class honor.

    But after all, each has its own major.

    The game of basketball; the composition department couldn''t play it.

    Even though the composition department was eliminated and the students no longer paid attention to the game, Lin Yuan still followed the game.

    Not that he was interested in basketball.

    But he wanted to be in the stands to cheer on Jian Yi.

    Especially this afternoon''s game!

    The performance department where Jian Yi was, would have a champion showdown with the dance department!

    Jian Yi''s performance department had strong basketball skills and had defeated many teams along the way, including the vocal music department that Xia Fan was a part of. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Therefore, when eating lunch, Xia Fan looked at Jian Yi a little uncomfortably: "You even had the legion to attack my little buddies from the vocal music department!"

    Jian Yi smiled and said, "I am also your little buddy."

    Xia Fan looked at Lin Yuan: "It seems that the composition department was eliminated by the dance department."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Upon hearing this, Jian Yi become energetic and slapped his chest: "The dance department doesn''t play clean, bro will avenge you guys from the composition department this afternoon."

    "It''s for your revenge, isn''t it?"

    Xia Fan rolled her eyes: "Didn''t you say that the performance department was eliminated by the dance department last year, so you wanted to reclaim your title this year."

    Jian Yi: "..."

    Indeed, he viewed the dance department as his primary target, so he had been eagerly awaiting this afternoon''s match for a long time.

    ...

    The basketball game became more exciting as it went on, because the teams that made it to this stage were extremely strong, especially the upcoming final between the Theater Department and Dance Department, which garnered the attention of countless basketball enthusiasts in the school.

    Afternoon.

    Lin Yuan and Xia Fan arrived at the gymnasium early, nabbing the front row seats with the best view. They absolutely had to come and cheer on their friend, Jian Yi, in his final match.

    "Sunflower seeds¡­ popcorn¡­ cola¡­"

    Xia Fan started introducing her snacks to Lin Yuan right away.

    At that moment, Lin Yuan felt like he was in a movie theater rather than a sports stadium.

    Half an hour later.

    The final was about to begin. The spectator area of the campus stadium was nearly full, with representatives from every grade and department present. Some departments had even come as a group, making the atmosphere incredibly lively.

    "Jian Yi and his department are taking the court."

    Xia Fan took a sip of cola and belched.

    Lin Yuan, his mouth full of popcorn, grunted in agreement.

    After the host blabbered a bit, the game officially began.

    Neither Lin Yuan nor Xia Fan knew anything about basketball.

    The countless screams and whistles around them did not dampen their enthusiasm for snacking at all.

    Between bites, they would occasionally glance at Jian Yi and then at the scoreboard.

    "The outcome is hard to predict."

    Xia Fan lounged back in her seat after eating to her fill.

    While munching on sunflower seeds, Lin Yuan nodded in agreement.

    If anyone clapped, they would unconsciously join in. However, when they realized that the applause was for the Dance Department making a goal, they would quietly lower their hands.

    "Half-time."

    The host announced.

    The two teams began to take a break.

    Lin Yuan asked, "Should we bring Jian Yi some water?"

    Xia Fan shook her head, "Their department has prepared a box of water..."

    Lin Yuan nodded, continuing to munch on sunflower seeds.

    Suddenly, Xia Fan rose, "They''re starting to fight."

    Lin Yuan assumed she meant the second half had begun.

    When he looked up though, he was stunned to see Xia Fan rolling up her sleeves and rushing to the court saying, "Dare to bully my brother, watch me kill him!"

    Then it dawned on Lin Yuan.

    The second half hadn''t started; the two teams on the court were fighting out of what appeared to be a real quarrel from the previous game.

    He quickly got up and followed her.

    "Wasn''t that the GOAT just now?"

    Next to the aisle, Zhong Yu, a Fine Arts student also watching the game, was taken aback. As the self-proclaimed number one apprentice of Lin Yuan, he should not have identified the wrong person.

    "Hey."

    The group of Fine Arts students next to Zhong Yu nodded blankly, "It really was the GOAT."

    On the basketball court.

    Jian Yi, who was shoving someone, was startled to see Xia Fan and Lin Yuan. He told Xia Fan, "You stay and protect Lin Yuan."

    "Okay, okay..."

    Only then did Xia Fan recall that Lin Yuan was quite frail.

    She quickly pulled Lin Yuan back from the chaos. However, as things were quite messy, a main player from the Dance Department shoved Lin Yuan several steps back, almost causing him to fall.

    "Is he seriously coming to help?"

    Xu Chang glared at Lin Yuan, murder in his eyes. He and Jian Yi were archenemies, so he knew Lin Yuan, although they had never interacted before.

    But as he glared, Xu Chang felt that something was off.

    The atmosphere was wrong.

    When he turned his head and looked around, his face suddenly froze and his pupils constricted.

    At this moment, the large stadium was crowded to the brim. Their Dance Department seemed like a lone boat in the ocean, completely surrounded by the dense crowd!

    The surroundings were completely packed.

    Everyone was watching him.

    Xu Chang swallowed fiercely, feeling an intense dryness in his throat. His voice trembled as he forced a smile, but it looked more painful than crying:

    "Come on, it''s not that... serious, right...?"

    His teammates looked at Xu Chang. They all had unknowing looks in their eyes, as though they were asking, "What the hell did you do to get so many people targeting you?"

    Xu Chang was also at a loss.

    Who am I¡­ Where am I?

    Dear sirs, what''s going on?

    Didn''t I just gently push Lin Yuan? Why does it feel like the whole world is out to get me all of a sudden?

 Chapter 95 - 92: The Unresistable Request_1

    "GOAT, are you okay?"

    Quite a few people huddled around Lin Yuan to inquire about his well-being.

    Recognizing them as students from the Painting Club, Lin Yuan nodded to indicate he was fine.

    He hadn''t even seen who pushed him, only feeling that the perpetrator had quite a bit of strength.

    Jian Yi was taken aback.

    Xia Fan was also a bit stupefied.

    They were well aware that Lin Yuan was a group favourite.

    But the fact that Lin Yuan merely got pushed, and subsequently was met with such a terrifyingly large army of protectors, was it a bit of an exaggeration?

    Looking at Xu Chang''s ghostly expression, he was probably questioning his existence.

    In reality, Xu Chang could barely stand up straight.

    Who could endure the glares of so many menacing eyes?

    "What''s going on?"

    Finally, the school leadership arrived.

    At this point, Xu Chang, who was surrounded like a beehive, felt his eyes turn red. He wished he could kiss the leaders out of his gratitude. He felt like if the school leaders arrived any later, they wouldn''t have seen him anymore!

    So! Terrifying!

    These people were really too terrifying!

    Anyone standing here and being stared at by a dense crowd would not handle it better than Xu Chang. Xu Chang suddenly found himself missing the meals his mother used to cook for him, though this thought had no relation to the current situation.

    "It''s nothing."

    Zhong Yu chuckled. He did not want to be accused of causing public commotion. Thankfully, everyone was very restrained and did not resort to killing for the fact that this big guy pushed Lin Yuan once. "We are here to cheer for the Music Composition Department."

    The leader was puzzled, "The Music Composition Department?"

    Jian Yi whispered, "We are from the Performing Arts Department."

    Zhong Yu awkwardly looked down at his feet and the art students collectively facepalmed, silently dispersing.

    The school leader merely glanced at Zhong Yu and didn''t say much. He waved his hand to dismiss all, "There''s still the second half of the match, right? No fighting. Every year during the basketball competition, there''s always trouble. What do you think this place is?"

    With that, the school leader left.

    Xu Chang trailed behind him.

    The school leader turned his head, "What are you following me for?"

    Xu Chang glanced at the warning gaze that, despite having dispersed, still came around from time to time. He stuttered, "Seeing you makes me feel a deep sense of familiarity. I don''t know why."

    Should I stay? What if they tear me apart?

    Could it be, Lin Yuan runs this school behind the scenes?

    Like those violent movies where Lin Yuan merely gives an order and all the bad students in the school would swarm?

    Xu Chang felt he may have discovered the dark truth of this school.

    The leader said irritably, "Stop following me."

    Xu Chang shook his head fervently, "I always follow my heart."

    Leader: "..."

    Anyway, the dispute ended anticlimactically.

    However, during the second half of the match, Xu Chang was noticeably out of it, playing the entire game as though he was sleepwalking.

    Every time his right hand touched the basketball, he would recall that he used this hand to push Lin Yuan once, and he''d get flustered.

    In the end, the Performing Arts Department won the championship of this basketball competition.

    His teammates didn''t blame Xu Chang, because just like him, they were also dazed and hadn''t yet snapped back to reality.

    Lin Yuan, on the other hand, was a picture of calmness.

    He went back to the audience stands and continued cracking melon seeds.

    When Xia Fan asked for the reason, Lin Yuan explained, "They''re my friends from the Painting Club."

    "Friends from the Painting Club?"

    Are the people from the Painting Club this loyal?

    Lin Yuan did not elaborate any further. When Jian Yi asked subsequently, Lin Yuan responded in the same way.

    The two gradually accepted this fact.

    Presumably, Lin Yuan''s group favourite effect has levelled up. After all, Lin Yuan has always been the group favourite ever since he was little.

    Lin Yuan, however, was somewhat frustrated.

    He felt that he was weak, someone who could easily be toppled with a push. And he knew the only way to change this was to let the System remodel his physique. Therefore, reputation was crucial. He wondered how Sun Yaohuo was progressing with his song practice.

    ...

    Starlight, in a recording studio somewhere,

    Sun Yaohuo, with unkempt hair and a dirt-smeared face, was practicing his song.

    Grinding away wasn''t just talk. From the first time he tried his voice in the studio to today, aside from eating and sleeping, Sun Yaohuo practically lived in the recording studio.

    The company didn''t charge for recording songs.

    But there was a fee for using the recording studio for long-term practice.

    For this cost, to perfect the song "Red Roses," Sun Yaohuo had paid countless days'' worth of fees.

    "Take a break, you''ve sung it perfectly already."

    The supervising teacher said with a wry smile, having never seen a singer practice a song with such determination.

    Sun Yaohuo nodded in agreement.

    The moment he stepped out of the recording studio, he saw a man approaching. The man was clad in a suit, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, "Sun Yaohuo, right?"

    "Greetings, Brother Tao!"

    Sun Yaohuo greeted respectfully. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The man asked, "You know me?"

    Sun Yaohuo smiled knowingly, "How could I possibly not know you, Brother Tao? In our company, after the chief, you''re the one with the most prestige. Even Jin Shuyu, who is now a sensation, was brought up by you!"

    "Thoughtful."

    Tao Ran nodded, his face showing approval, "Since you know me, I''ll get straight to the point. Our Shuyu has taken a liking to ''Red Roses.''

    Sun Yaohuo''s smile froze in an instant.

    But Tao Ran flashed a gentle smile, "Seeing that you''re so sensible, you must know the rules. As of now, ''Red Roses'' is Shuyu''s song. But we know you''ve put in a lot of hard work practicing, and we won''t let that be in vain. We''ll compensate you with several gigs. Also, Shuyu''s concert next month, we''ll invite you to be a guest."

    "Brother Tao..."

    Sun Yaohuo''s voice was raspy.

    Tao Ran raised an eyebrow, "Still not satisfied? Fine, 300,000, I''ll have it transferred to your account. Combined with the conditions I''ve just stated, it should be enough to cover your losses. Here''s my business card, if you need anything, you can mention my name."

    Tao Ran pulled a business card from his pocket.

    Sun Yaohuo didn''t take his business card and remained silent for a long time before saying, "This is Teacher Admirable Fish''s song, I don''t have the right to decide, because I haven''t signed a contract with him yet. You can talk to him directly..."

    "What?"

    Tao Ran laughed, "You''ve been practicing this song for so long, but haven''t even signed a contract yet? Teacher Admirable Fish really is something. However, even though you haven''t signed an official contract yet, the conditions I''ve mentioned still stand. Take the business card already. You should understand what I mean."

    He weighted the business card in his hand.

    Sun Yaohuo lowered his head and took the business card with both his hands.

    Tao Ran waved his hand and left.

    Watching him walk away, Sun Yaohuo held tightly onto the business card in his hand, crushing it into a ball while his knuckles turned slightly white.

    "What''s the matter?"

    The supervising teacher asked as he passed by.

    Sun Yaohuo forced a smile, "Nothing."

    He tossed the business card into a trash can and scornfully smiled, "Just bad luck."

    The supervising teacher looked at Tao Ran''s retreating figure, seemingly understanding something. He patted Sun Yaohuo''s shoulder and sighed, "That''s the rules of our industry. No matter how upset you are, you have to bear with it. I''ve been working in this studio for eight years... they should give you quite a bit of hush money, it''s a convention.

    Just take it and stop being angry, it''s only going to hurt you in the end."

    "What would happen if I resisted?" Sun Yaohuo asked.

    The supervising teacher glanced at Sun Yaohuo before shaking his head and leaving, "Wait until you have the power to resist before asking such questions."

    .

    .

 Chapter 96 - 93 Maestro or Real Daddy_1

    Another day back at work.

    On his way to the company, Lin Yuan made a call to Sun Yaohuo: "Senior, I''ll be at the company soon. You can wait for me in the recording studio, or come to the composing department on the tenth floor."

    "Okay."

    Was Sun Yaohuo''s response.

    After hanging up, Lin Yuan felt something was off. His senior was usually talkative, but he was more quiet than usual today.

    10 minutes later.

    Upon arriving at the company''s composing department, Lin Yuan saw Sun Yaohuo sitting on a small stool by the entrance and asked: "How is the song practice going?"

    "I¡­"

    Sun Yaohuo was at a loss for words.

    Just as Lin Yuan was about to comfort him, thinking that he had not practiced well, a figure appeared at the entrance: "Can I speak to Teacher Admirable Fish?"

    "What is it?"

    Lin Yuan looked at the person who was speaking.

    The man was a scholarly gentleman wearing glasses, who smiled slightly at Lin Yuan: "My name is Tao Ran. You must be Teacher Admirable Fish, right? You''re even younger than I imagined. It''s not very convenient to speak here. How about we chat at the cafe upstairs?"

    "Wait a moment."

    Lin Yuan said to Sun Yaohuo: "I''ll come find you shortly."

    "Sure, you go ahead."

    Sun Yaohuo looked up and managed a forced smile.

    Tao Ran glanced at Sun Yaohuo before refocusing on Lin Yuan with a smile: "Teacher Admirable Fish, this way, please."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Tao Ran led Lin Yuan to the cafe upstairs. He seemed to be intent on playing the gracious host which left Lin Yuan quite satisfied.

    "Let me reintroduce myself."

    With a dignified manner of speaking, the gentleman explained: "My name is Tao Ran, I''m the manager of our company''s artist, Jin Shuyu. I''m here today to solicit a song from you. Shuyu particularly loves your recent song, ''Red Roses.''"

    Upon hearing this, Lin Yuan frowned: "But that song hasn''t been released yet."

    Tao Ran smiled: "Teacher Admirable Fish, you don''t need to concern yourself with how we came to know about the song. The point is that Shuyu really wants to collaborate with you. He''s actually a big fan of yours and often mentions your name in our conversations. He is extremely excited about the potential of working with you."

    "I''m sorry."

    Lin Yuan said: "I''ve already promised that song to someone else."

    Keeping his smile in place, Tao Ran probed: "As far as I know, you chose Sun Yaohuo to sing this song, right? Sun Yaohuo is still at the early stages of his career, his fanbase isn''t very large, to be honest, it''s somewhat of a waste to let him sing ''Red Roses'', such an excellent piece.

    Of course, we did ask for his opinion, and he said that you haven''t signed an official contract yet, so you can make the final decision... As for Jin Shuyu, he is a first-tier singer that our company is focusing on promoting. The same song sung by different singers can produce vastly different results, I believe you understand this very well."

    "First-tier singer?"

    Lin Yuan shooked his head and stood up to leave.

    Does it mean being a first-tier singer is a bad thing?

    Tao Ran didn''t anticipate Lin Yuan to reject him so flatly, and blurted out: "Teacher Admirable Fish, if you have any demands, just say them. As long as it''s within my power, I will comply¡­"

    Lin Yuan stayed firm: "I can''t accept a first-tier singer."

    Tao Ran was completely unable to grasp Lin Yuan''s train of thought. Every composer likes to work with first-tier singers, why would you reject one?

    Are you aiming for a Heavenly King level singer?

    Then why did you choose Sun Yaohuo?

    He said urgently: "We are willing to reduce our share of the download profits. Ordinarily, there wouldn''t be a need for such a process, but to guarantee your profits, we are willing to make this concession. Additionally, we can arrange a private transaction for you, you set the price, how about two million? It would be a private deal, not going through official company channels!"

    In short.

    They''re doubling the money!

    Lin Yuan suddenly stopped in his tracks.

    Tao Ran heaved a sigh of relief. So it was just the price after all!

    He kept a mental note of it ¨C it was bound to come in handy in the future.

    Admirable Fish''s weakness... his greed for money!

    He put on a smile again, filled with the taste of success: "Now can we discuss the specifics of the price, Teacher Admirable Fish, please take a seat."

    "No."

    Lin Yuan turned and looked at Tao Ran: "I want to ask you, who in the review department leaked my song? Can you tell me their name?"

    "Teacher Admirable Fish."

    Tao Ran''s expression turned serious.

    Lin Yuan''s expression was just as serious: "You might think it doesn''t matter within your own company, but the person who leaked the song to you today could do the same outside the company tomorrow. I don''t trust someone like that to review my songs."

    "Let''s just pretend this never happened."

    Tao Ran stood up, his expression slightly displeased.

    "If you won''t tell me, I''ll find out on my own."

    Lin Yuan took out his phone and dialed Ol'' Zhou''s number in front of Tao Ran: "Someone in the review department leaked my song to a company singer."

    Ol'' Zhou was taken aback: "What?"

    Lin Yuan only had two words: "Investigate?"

    Ol'' Zhou chuckled: "Those who have such influence in the review department are at least first-tier company singers or higher, and probably have the implicit consent of certain high-ranking officials. This won''t affect you, you don''t need to be too bothered by it. I will vent my anger and it will be over, I will definitely make this right for you."

    Lin Yuan repeated the same two words: "Investigate?"

    Ol'' Zhou suddenly sounded serious: "Investigate! We definitely will! We''ll turn them inside out! How dare they take the results of our composing department''s hard work for granted! No matter who it is, I will fire them!"

    "Alright."

    Lin Yuan hung up.

    After hanging up the phone, Ol'' Zhou was very irritated: "Who the hell messed with Admirable Fish? Now I have to fight the higher-ups."

    His assistant was taken aback: "Someone upset Admirable Fish?"

    Ol'' Zhou nodded: "Admirable Fish must have a new work. He didn''t even inform me about it. Plus, his attitude during our call just now was even more difficult than the maestro himself. This kid is becoming more and more like those fussy maestros."

    The assistant asked cautiously, "Are you angry?"

    Ol'' Zhou laughed heartily: "Why should I be angry? It''s not like I upset him, and besides, Admirable Fish is still young. He''s not like us old men, the youth should be spirited!"

    "¡­."

    Inside the cafe.

    After hearing Lin Yuan''s phone conversation, Tao Ran''s face was a picture of utter defeat.

    Yet Lin Yuan was not finished, he didn''t even glance at Tao Ran as he called Zhao Jue with the same statement: "Someone in the review department leaked my song to a company singer."

    Ms. Zhao said: "Leave it to me."

    After hanging up the phone with Ms. Zhao, Lin Yuan walked to the cashier.

    The waiter smiled: "The total is 120 yuan."

    Lin Yuan said: "I mean my one."

    The waiter glanced at the burning glare from Tao Ran and coughed: "60 yuan¡­"

    "What a rip-off," Lin Yuan muttered under his breath as he was paying.

    Little did he know, Tao Ran had ordered the most expensive coffee on the menu in an attempt to win his favor.

    Back in the composing department, Lin Yuan saw Sun Yaohuo sitting at the entrance. His spirits seemed low, his head hung low in dejection, appearing miserable.

    He couldn''t help but frown and asked: "Did you finish practicing the song?"

    Sun Yaohuo lifted his head to look at Lin Yuan, his eyes a little red: "Huh?"

    Lin Yuan said: "We''re recording tomorrow."

    Having said this, Lin Yuan returned to his seat.

    Sun Yaohuo, who was sitting at the entrance, sat in a daze for several seconds before tearing up; he bowed deeply towards the composing department.

    Hiding in the bathroom.

    Sun Yaohuo called his manager while wiping his tears: "I''m still singing ''Red Roses.''" S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Admirable Fish didn''t agree to Tao Ran?"

    "Yes."

    The manager was silent for a while before saying: "Who would have known that Admirable Fish is not a maestro, he''s more like a real father..."

 Chapter 97 - 94 There Will Be A Day When Nobody Worships_1

    "I assume you''re not in a good mood today."

    Wu Yong moved closer to Lin Yuan, noticing that Lin Yuan seemed a bit distracted: "Who has upset our star composer from the tenth floor?"

    Lin had already written four songs that had exceeded one million downloads each.

    With one more, he would officially be promoted to senior composer ¨C the company''s star composer.

    Everyone in the Composition Department knew about this situation, so they would occasionally tease Lin Yuan.

    "Two million¡­"

    Lin Yuan stared out the window in melancholy.

    "What?"

    "Two million¡­"

    Wu Yong was speechless: "What two million?"

    Lin Yuan didn''t answer, just repeating: "Two million¡­"

    Wu Yong decided to ignore him.

    All morning, Lin Yuan seemed to be in a daze, much like how Sun Yaohuo had been before.

    Meanwhile¡­

    Ol'' Zhou was already confronting the review department.

    The department''s director personally catered to him with a friendly face: "Director Zhou, just here for a visit? Why don''t we have lunch together?"

    "To hell with that."

    Ol'' Zhou grumbled: "The folks in your review department flout the rules. Now, I usually wouldn''t pretend to be unaware of such behavior, because it usually just makes things easier for some internal folks without doing any real damage. But this time was different. Who leaked ''Red Roses''?"

    The other party laughed awkwardly: "I''ll reprimand them..."

    Zhou Ruiming glared at him: "You know that''s not what I am asking."

    The other party repeatedly nodded: "I understand, I understand, I will punish him hard!"

    Zhou Ruiming declared, "That''s not enough."

    The other party''s smile gradually faded. He carefully pointed upwards, lowering his voice: "Director Zhou, in plain words, this is not my decision."

    "Fire him."

    Zhou Ruiming said flatly.

    The other party was taken aback. "If that''s the case, I better notify higher-ups."

    Zhou Ruiming sat back in his chair: "Do as you please."

    The other party quickly texted someone.

    Not long after, Zhou Ruiming''s phone rang. The moment he picked up, a cold voice hissed: "What are you trying to do?"

    "There''s someone in the review department violating company rules."

    "I approved."

    "Still, I want him fired. Is that okay?"

    "Are you sure?"

    "I''m in a bind."

    "Do as you see fit."

    The call ended abruptly. Likely, he wasn''t pleased.

    Zhou Ruiming glanced at the department''s director: "You''ve given your heads up. Now, it''s my turn. No need for me to say more, right?"

    "Fair enough."

    The other party chuckled, giving a thumbs-up: "As expected from the guy in charge of the composition department, you really have backbone. Don''t blame any of this on me, after all, I''m just following orders. Since you took the responsibility, I will fire the guy."

    "I''m leaving."

    Zhou Ruiming turned and left.

    Upon returning to his office, his assistant gingerly approached him: "Boss, did you have another run-in with some bigwig at the company?"

    "Indeed."

    Zhou Ruiming gave a bitter smile: "In the past, I had confrontations with them for Maestro, but this time it''s for Xian Yu. Being a department head is really tough."

    "You''re amazing!"

    The assistant smiled: "Following your instructions, I just received an initial copy of ''Red Roses'' from the recording studio. Would you like to listen to it now?"

    "Sure."

    Zhou Ruiming put on his headphones, reclined in his chair, and began listening to ''Red Roses''. Halfway through, he slowly got up from his chair.

    "What is it?"

    The assistant looked at him, puzzled.

    Zhou Ruiming suddenly slapped the desk, startling the assistant. Then they heard his hearty laughter: "It''s worth it!"

    ...

    By noon,

    Ol'' Zhou called Lin Yuan into his office, smiling: "The guy responsible for the song leak has been fired, I assure you that this kind of thing will absolutely not happen again!"

    "Alright."

    Lin Yuan did not seem that excited.

    Ol'' Zhou carefully massaged his own hands: "Would you like some coffee?"

    Lin Yuan quickly refused: "No!"

    Ol'' Zhou looked surprised.

    If he didn''t want coffee, why the big fuss about it?

    He coughed slightly: "How about a cup of tea, then? The best kind, from my own stash."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Ol'' Zhou personally made the tea.

    Once it was ready, Ol'' Zhou rubbed his hands nervously: "Was ''Red Rose'' a song you recently composed?"

    "Yes."

    Lin Yuan gently blew on his tea.

    From now on, he would ditch coffee for tea.

    Tea was good for both mental and physical health.

    Ol'' Zhou relaxed into the couch: "That song is so good."

    Lin Yuan continued to lightly blow on the tea: "Huff¡­ Huff¡­"

    Regardless of whether Lin Yuan was responding to him or not, Ol'' Zhou was content enough to laugh all by himself.

    Suddenly,

    Lin Yuan''s phone rang.

    It was a call from Zhao Jue, "Tao Ran has been suspended for a month, all of Jin Shuyu''s activities for this month have been cancelled too. Ol'' Zhou already handled the review department issue so I haven''t stepped in. If you have any other complaints, let me know."

    "Thank you, Ms. Zhao."

    "It''s the least I can do."

    Lin Yuan hung up the phone.

    Ol'' Zhou chuckled: "Little Zhao is nice to you. She''s Tao Ran''s superior, as well as the chief agent of the whole company. With her around, Tao Ran doesn''t stand a chance."

    Lin Yuan said nothing. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The next day, news of Jin Shuyu and Tao Ran''s severe punishment from upper management spread throughout the entire company. Gossip started early morning in all departments:

    "Who on earth did these two offend?"

    At this time, Lin Yuan was helping Sun Yaohuo record a song.

    Sun Yaohuo was in a great mood today. The recording was going smoothly, exactly to Lin Yuan''s liking. If all went well, the song would be done soon.

    During a break from recording,

    Sun Yaohuo approached Lin Yuan. The usually glib, dedicated yes-man was surprisingly wavering: "Thank you."

    "What for?"

    "Thank you for choosing me."

    Lin Yuan naturally didn''t know what Sun Yaohuo had been through, and he only felt confused by the sudden gratitude: "Didn''t we agree that you would sing it?"

    Sun Yaohuo was taken aback.

    At this moment, he recalled the scene when he first met Lin Yuan in the company. He was feeling a mix of emotions.

    Indeed.

    For someone like his junior, things were that simple. The song was originally chosen for him, how could it be given to someone else?

    "You didn''t do it for me..."

    Lin Yuan looked at him puzzled: "What do you mean?"

    Sun Yaohuo didn''t know whether to laugh or cry. The penalization of Jin Shuyu and Tao Ran was widely known throughout the company. Everyone was discussing whose influence led to it. Yet, he knew that it must have been related to Lin Yuan. For a while, Sun Yaohuo thought that Lin Yuan had taken revenge for him.

    It seemed like he misunderstood.

    But that''s our Xian Yu!

    With that thought, Sun Yaohuo cheerfully said: "Junior, let me treat you to a meal at the upper management cafeteria. I just received a special meal voucher for that place yesterday, it''s enough for us to have a meal there!"

    "Great!"

    Lin Yuan''s eyes lit up.

    The food at the upper management''s cafeteria tasted significantly better than at the regular one. Zhao Jue had taken Lin Yuan there once before and it left a lasting impression on him. However, he couldn''t go there himself.

    Wait a second.

    Even if he could, he wouldn''t. It was far too expensive. Nobody could afford to eat there without someone else treating.

    "Let''s go."

    Sun Yaohuo took the lead and opened the door for Lin Yuan.

    Sun Yaohuo made a vow in his heart. One day, he would be able to stand tall and proud in this industry. He wouldn''t have to feel inferior, and when faced with people like Tao Ran, he would still be confident!

    One day, he wouldn''t have to fawn over anybody!

    ...Except for Xian Yu!

 Chapter 98 - 95 New Novel_1

    Sun Yaohuo''s long hours of practice were fruitful.

    Lin Yuan had dinner with him and within two hours, the official version of "Red Roses" was recorded.

    Handing the song over to Ol'' Zhou, the rest was up to the company''s arrangement.

    Night fell.

    Work was over.

    The invigorated Senior Sun Yao Huo was as enthusiastic as ever, driving Lin Yuan back to his residence.

    "Goodbye."

    Lin Yuan waved.

    After taking a shower and lying in bed, time before sleep was quite enough, so Lin Yuan simply called out the System: "Did you say that the first customised novel can be done at a 50% discount?"

    System replied, "Yes."

    Lin Yuan was in a dilemma.

    He got paid a few days ago.

    He had about five million in his card.

    How much should he pay for his customised novel?

    They say you get what you pay for, so Lin Yuan wanted it cheap, yet he wanted the customised novel to be good.

    Finally.

    Lin Yuan gritted his teeth and said, "I''ll pay four million, but you have to give me a novel that originally costs eight million in your system."

    "Host, confirm customisation?"

    "Please hurry before I change my mind."

    The operation took only about ten seconds. A prompt rang in Lin Yuan''s mind: "The system has completed the deduction. Congratulations to the host for acquiring the refined version of "XianXia World" novel "Zhu Xian"!

    At the same time.

    Lin Yuan received a text message deducting four million from the bank. The only thing that comforted him was that this money was ultimately donated by the system.

    Following that.

    Lin Yuan was a bit excited. At last, it wasn''t a manga adaptation. In terms of value, the novel "Zhu Xian" is pretty good!

    Here to explain.

    The System''s pricing of products doesn''t represent the actual value of the products. Please do not take it personally.

    Lin Yuan can customise a song from the System with five hundred thousand, but the real value of this song is certainly more than five hundred thousand.

    Same goes for the Bronze Treasure Chest.

    This treasure chest can unveil a popular song "Balloon".

    While another chest can unveil the signature "Red Roses".

    Despite the difference in the value of the songs, they both came out of the Bronze Treasure Chest.

    There''s no reasoning in such matters.

    Some people got a Dragon Blindfold for just one buck.

    While others spent thousands to pull a pile of junk.

    "Wait."

    Lin Yuan suddenly realised that he seemed to have overlooked something.

    XianXia novels?

    In Blue Star, it seems not very popular.

    To get to know the novel market of Blue Star, Lin Yuan carried out some research.

    Although it''s a world of global ethnic and racial integration, Eastern thinking dominates. Therefore, the myths and legends of Blue Star are very rich, which are the creative elements and foundation of XianXia novels.

    But the unfortunate thing is¡­

    These XianXia stories are more or less stuck in the stage of myth and legend, and few people create based on these elements.

    The most recent XianXia novel dates back to eighty years ago!

    Back then, there was a novel called "Immortal and Demon War", which was a XianXia theme.

    Its status was similar to that of "Shushan Swordsman" on Earth, and had a significant impact on many people!

    However, after that, there was no excellent XianXia text anymore.

    Over time, this topic became less and less popular.

    What does the otherworldly adventure theme belong to?

    Lin Yuan defines the otherworldly adventure theme as fantasy.

    Otherworldly Fantasy.

    These popular novels in the Qin Continent, although not entirely copying Western fantasy background, tend to be more original in their worldview.

    Simply put, it''s like those fantasy stories in web novels that take place in the Eastern context¡ª

    Even if there''s occasional interpolation of XianXia settings in the story, they''re basically mentioned just in passing.

    But fantasy and XianXia are different after all.

    The former can be arbitrarily set, regardless of whether it''s soul ring or fighting spirit, stories that can justify themselves are good stories.

    The latter draws nourishment from legendary myths and various folk tales, and even some ancient books that have been handed down. There''s a fundamental difference in style.

    Of course.

    The countless folk tales that have been passed down from ancient times to the present are circulating. The development of Taoism and Buddhism is also so thriving. Numerous works passed down can become the basis for XianXia novels. Otherwise, there wouldn''t be "Immortal and Demon War", which was highly popular eighty years ago.

    Under such circumstances.

    Will the XianXia novel "Zhu Xian" find a market?

    After a brief hesitation, Lin Yuan gradually had an answer.

    Remember, it was like this on Earth at first.

    After Huanzhulouzhu''s "Shushan Swordsman", XianXia novels practically disappeared.

    Not until a hundred years later, when web novels were on the rise, did novels like "Piaomiao''s Journey" rekindle the XianXia genre.

    The subsequent "Zhu Xian" was only two years apart from the former.

    Therefore, Lin Yuan firmly believed that the performance of "Zhu Xian" would definitely not be poor.

    Its function might be the same as "Piaomiao''s Journey", making XianXia in the market shine again.

    Lin Yuan even thought the system did it on purpose.

    Whatever the market lacks, the system has him break new ground.

    There weren''t many people writing about sports before, the system gave him "King of the Net".

    Now because not many people are writing XianXia, the system gave him "Zhu Xian".

    This world is based on martial arts. Many years ago, martial arts were truly glorious.

    Additionally, the foundation of "Immortal and Demon War" had been laid.

    It''s just short of "Zhu Xian", a novel that''s innovative enough yet still retains the characteristics of XianXia, to explode the market...

    "Read."

    A thought crossed Lin Yuan''s mind. The complete content of "Zhu Xian" appeared in his head instantly.

    "So that''s how it is."

    Just like "King of the Net" before.

    The "Zhu Xian" provided by the system was edited, also known as the refined version of the system.

    The plot wasn''t much revised.

    It was mainly the details.

    After all, "Zhu Xian" was created later.

    The birth of this novel was about two years after "Piaomiao''s Journey", thus it was based on the readers already having some understanding of XianXia.

    The readers of this world hadn''t witnessed the laying of the foundation with "Piaomiao''s Journey".

    Hence, the readers of this world still had an understanding of XianXia that was stuck in the "Immortal and Demon War" era eighty years ago.

    The revised "Zhu Xian" of the system was based on this reason.

    The content strengthened the sculpting and output of XianXia concepts, displaying a vivid XianXia world in more detail, allowing readers to understand more clearly what XianXia novels are!

    "The system has a good writing style."

    Lin Yuan couldn''t help but praise. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The system replied, "The system chose Luoyang''s writing ability as the template. Whether it was the last novel or "Zhu Xian", they were created by modifying his ability."

    "Who is Luoyang?"

    "A writer from a parallel universe."

    Lin Yuan nodded, approving this writer''s strength, but he didn''t ask more. Anyways, he was not surnamed Luo, so it was irrelevant to him.

    .

    .

    .

 Chapter 99 - 96 Rumors Turned Out to Be Unreliable_1

    The original version of "Zhu Xian" boasted one and a half million words, while the System-modified version was divided into eight volumes, totaling one million six hundred thousand words. The modified version offered a more detailed description of the "XianXia World", with some additions and changes, which sufficed Lin Yuan for half a year''s serial...

    Unlike "King of the Net".

    This time, Lin Yuan had to take matters into his own hands.

    Fortunately, Lin Yuan types quickly.

    After a night''s rest, he went back to school for classes the next day. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The first lesson was the homeroom teacher''s class.

    Class attendance has always been an issue in university; skipping class is a persistent problem.

    However, for the homeroom teacher''s class, students always managed to attend through wind or rain, without fail.

    There''s no helping it.

    Specialty subject teachers might not be able to remember every student''s name, a response in a deep voice during roll call suffices.

    But homeroom teachers, whose daily work involved interacting with all the students in the class, had masterful knowledge of who''s who and would never allow someone else to sign the attendance for their classmates.

    Failing a course is the biggest risk when caught by a specialty subject teacher. Being caught by a homeroom teacher is a whole different story.

    "So here''s the deal."

    Before starting the class, the homeroom teacher addressed the students, "You remember how we talked before about needing everyone to write a song for this semester''s assessment, right? Initially, we considered having the deadline at the end of this month, but the school set out a new regulation..."

    The students looked up curiously.

    This semester''s assessment was related to grades and exchange student slots, among other things, so naturally, everyone was paying close attention.

    "You''re getting an extension of one month."

    The homeroom teacher held up a finger, "This semester''s assessment is now due in June, and the assessors won''t just be insiders from our school ¡ª people from external entertainment companies will also participate. It''s still under discussion as to which one in particular, but there''s a chance that you may be directly signed up by the entertainment company if you make a good impression..."

    There was a sudden flurry of excitement!

    The classroom became lively.

    If representatives of entertainment companies were involved in this semester''s assessment, it would certainly raise the significance of this activity!

    Why would they take the pains to work so hard?

    If it''s not for a promising prospect after graduation?

    If they could impress the representatives from the entertainment companies with their works in this semester''s assessment, that would be akin to soaring to unimaginable heights, skipping countless hurdles!

    At that moment.

    Everyone was pumped.

    Lin Yuan was pretty thrilled too.

    Although this didn''t exactly concern him, it was a good opportunity for his classmates to showcase their talents.

    "Listen to my song later on..."

    "The accompaniment to my piece has a little problem..."

    "Let''s review each other''s work and give some feedback."

    "I wrote this song last year and I''ve been waiting for an opportunity. I had never planned to bring it out for this semester''s assessment, but it''s a different story now that there are people from the entertainment companies. I must bring out this song!"

    "..."

    The classmates were discussing eagerly.

    Many set their sights on Lin Yuan, speaking all at once, "I''m missing a piano track for my arrangement, Lin Yuan. You''re the best pianist in our class, I feel you''re even better than those in the music department. Could you give me a hand?"

    "Um."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    He was as sparing in his words as always, but the students who asked for his help were overjoyed. They thanked him over and over again.

    This is what people liked about Lin Yuan.

    He appeared indifferent to anyone and seemed quite unsociable as he didn''t fool around with anyone; he came off as a very aloof person.

    But whenever his classmates needed help, he would lend a hand.

    It was like this during the bulletin board incident, and it was the same when asking him to enhance the arrangements. As unanimously recognized by the class:

    That''s such a Lin Yuan thing to do.

    That''s Lin Yuan''s style and characteristic. Once accepting this setting, you would find it rather endearing. At least, that''s how many girls in the class put it.

    ...

    Lin Yuan didn''t think of himself as a warm-hearted person, but his classmates treated him well.

    When he lived on campus, his roommates had even adjusted to his schedule.

    Therefore, he agreed to the requests from his classmates and after hesitating for three seconds, he decided not to bring up the topic of fees.

    Time to be generous for once!

    Over the next few days, he was busy recording piano accompaniments for his classmates.

    It was a tough job.

    Piano accompaniment wasn''t something that could be done in one recording ¡ª there would inevitably be problems during the recording process, Lin Yuan had to discuss and revise it with his classmates, and even offer his own input sometimes.

    Of course.

    Most of the time, the ideas proposed by the classmates were prioritized since these were their own pieces.

    After helping out like this, Lin Yuan was almost living in the recording studio and the campus piano room, he even had less time to attend the art club.

    On the third day of helping his classmates create piano accompaniments.

    As expected, Lin Yuan bumped into Gu Xi in the piano room.

    "It''s you!"

    Upon seeing Lin Yuan, Gu Xi was overjoyed, yet he was unsure of how to address Lin Yuan.

    Calling him Maestro seemed strange.

    Addressing him as GOAT felt abrupt.

    Calling him by his name, Lin Yuan, felt pretentious.

    After much deliberation, she finally tried to approach him: "Lin Yuan¡­"

    Lin Yuan nodded, passing her by.

    Every time he met Gu Xi, it never meant anything good. Better avoid her quickly.

    "Lin Yuan!"

    Gu Xi called out nervously again.

    Without turning around, Lin Yuan paused slightly, "What''s up?"

    Gu Xi awkwardly replied, "Well... If you need anything, just let me know..."

    Gu Xi had been feeling quite troubled recently.

    She had been thinking of ways to get closer to Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan rarely came to the piano room, and her taking the initiative would seem too deliberate, possibly causing his displeasure. So, she had been hesitating for quite some time about it.

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan nodded, then returned to the piano room.

    Today, the piano room was more crowded than the past few days.

    Seeing Lin Yuan, one of them felt a little embarrassed, "Lin Yuan, we would also like to invite you to record piano accompaniments. We recognize the difficulty you''ve faced recently in aiding all of us. If it sounds too much, just forget it."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    If this continues, the entire class will come looking for him.

    Under normal circumstances, he would certainly have time to help this group of classmates.

    The current problem was he still had unfinished tasks towards drawing reputation. If he spends all his time in the piano room and recording studio, it could easily delay the progress of those tasks.

    However, Lin Yuan could understand why everyone was seeking his help.

    When it came to piano skills, ninety-nine percent of those in the music department were below his professional level.

    Sure enough.

    Whenever he encountered Gu Xi, he would become unlucky.

    Seeing Lin Yuan hesitating, one of his classmates chuckled, "Forget it, Lin Yuan will get exhausted at this rate. We should just ask for help from the music department instead."

    With that, the group was ready to leave.

    Everyone was conflicted in their hearts. They wanted Lin Yuan''s help on one hand, but they also didn''t want to trouble him excessively.

    With so many people needing assistance, Lin Yuan was indeed having a hard time managing everything.

    "Wait a minute."

    Thinking about the concessions that his roommates and classmates had made for him, Lin Yuan ultimately found himself unable to ignore their requests.

    The crowd paused, "But there are so many of us¡­"

    Lin didn''t speak but walked to the door, glancing at Gu Xi who was still at the end of the corridor.

    Gu Xi stood silently, seemingly lost in thought.

    "Wow, isn''t that Gu Xi?"

    "The legendary Piano Goddess!"

    "She looks so beautiful every time I see her."

    "I wish Gu Xi could help me with the piano accompaniment¡­"

    "Dream on! Do you think you can ask Gu Xi for help? Besides, I think Lin Yuan is just as good as her."

    "All goddesses are cold, and Gu Xi is exceptionally so. Her vibe is clearly ''strangers keep out''."

    "..."

    Seeing Gu Xi, everyone began to discuss in hushed, excited whispers.

    Gu Xi was a local celebrity, closely related to the composition and music departments. So, naturally, Lin Yuan''s classmates knew of her¡ªthe famous Piano Goddess¡ªand were familiar with her aloof personality.

    While everyone was discussing, Lin Yuan suddenly turned to Gu Xi, "Can you do me a favor?"

    Hearing Lin Yuan''s voice, Gu Xi quickly raised her head.

    The students around Lin Yuan were stunned.

    What?

    Did Lin Yuan really dare to ask Gu Xi for help?

    Well, this is typical Lin Yuan.

    The crowd felt incredibly touched.

    As heartwarming as it was, everyone also found it a bit funny. Perhaps Lin Yuan thought Gu Xi, like him, would be a helpful person?

    Lin Yuan is still so naive.

    How could Gu Xi possibly agree?

    She''s known for keeping her distance. Plus, she doesn''t know anyone from the composition department, so if she were suddenly asked to help, she would undoubtedly refuse without leaving any face.

    That''s what everyone thought, and they began to feel guilty.

    However, to everyone''s astonishment, the notoriously aloof Piano Goddess nodded vigorously, her tone even hinting at a bit of excitement,

    "Sure!"

    At that moment, the composition department students were collectively dumbstruck. They even doubted whether this was the real Gu Xi. Where was the cold demeanor that kept everyone at arm''s length?

    Damn!

    Rumors are indeed not trustworthy!

    .

    .

 Chapter 100 - 97 Full of Enthusiasm_1

    Having Gu Xi around often meant trouble, so why not let her solve the trouble?

    This is what they call fighting fire with fire!

    Lin Yuan considered himself quite smart.

    And indeed, with Gu Xi joining the team, their efficiency noticeably increased.

    Before, these music composition students had had to rely solely on Lin Yuan for all the piano accompaniments, which was quite burdensome for him.

    Now, with Gu Xi''s arrival, she directly helped Lin Yuan bear more than half of the workload, to the extent that Lin Yuan could occasionally take a little break when he got tired.

    "Gu Xi, you should take a break too."

    Seeing Gu Xi busy at work, the composition students felt a bit embarrassed.

    No one expected that Gu Xi would be so passionate.

    Not only was she willing to help everyone play the accompaniment, but she also put in a lot of effort, seldom taking any rest!

    At the same time, her attitude towards everyone was very friendly, with no pride or coldness at all.

    "I''m not tired."

    Gu Xi answered with a smile.

    Of course, not feeling tired was impossible, given the number of people needing help, even the highest level pianist would feel weary!

    But compared to her physical fatigue, mentally, Gu Xi was unprecedentedly excited¡ª

    Maestro asked for her help!

    Just saying Lin Yuan asked her to play the piano would have been enough.

    Even if Lin Yuan asked her to help him move bricks, she, Gu Xi, would definitely roll up her sleeves and get to work without a second thought!

    Being needed by Maestro was an honor for her.

    In the music circle, countless people were scrambling to help Maestro, yet had no chance to do so!

    Moreover, for Gu Xi, this was an opportunity she had always dreamt of.

    An opportunity to get close to Lin Yuan!

    An opportunity to win over Lin Yuan!

    So, Gu Xi even felt a bit grateful to these composition students, if not for their help, Lin Yuan might not have needed her.

    What she feared was not getting tired.

    What she feared was being worthless in Maestro''s eyes, how could the Maestro favor someone worthless?

    During this process,

    the composition students were whispering among themselves:

    "The rumors were terribly wrong."

    "Gu Xi is actually very approachable."

    "She feels as warm as Lin Yuan."

    "Maybe excellent people aren''t as standoffish as we imagined. Remember when Lin Yuan first transferred to the composition department? We all thought he was a very aloof person until we got to know him and realized that Lin Yuan is actually very nice."

    "..."

    These words came to Gu Xi''s ears in bits and pieces, making her mood even more delightful.

    In this way, she should have been able to slightly reverse her bad image in Lin Yuan''s mind, right?

    She stole a glance at Lin Yuan''s reaction.

    Lin Yuan was comfortably and leisurely sitting in his chair resting, seemingly quite satisfied with her ability and attitude?

    This gave Gu Xi even more motivation!

    Of course,

    some students had faintly guessed that Gu Xi''s willingness to help might be because of Lin Yuan, so someone quietly asked Lin Yuan why Gu Xi would be willing to help.

    Lin Yuan shook his head.

    How would he know what Gu Xi was thinking?

    All he knew was that Gu Xi had said before, if there was anything he needed, he could just ask.

    For such a thing, Lin Yuan wasn''t surprised.

    Because he often heard similar statements.

    Ever since his childhood, people around him often said so, and indeed, very few people refused his requests.

    Because his classmates were so easygoing, Lin Yuan was also easygoing.

    If others can help me easily, of course, I should also try to help others.

    It wasn''t until eleven-forty.

    Finally, someone proposed, "It''s getting late, let''s take a break and invite Lin Yuan and Gu Xi to dinner!"

    "Alright."

    Lin Yuan was energized.

    Seeing that Lin Yuan agreed, Gu Xi hurriedly nodded as well. How could she miss the chance to have dinner with Lin Yuan? "Thank you then."

    ... Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The campus had a cafeteria, and naturally, it also had a restaurant.

    However, the restaurant was more expensive than the cafeteria.

    To express their gratitude for Lin Yuan and Gu Xi''s help, the group would naturally not invite them to the cafeteria. Instead, they booked a table at the best restaurant in school and ordered some great dishes.

    Lin Yuan ate very happily.

    Toward the end of the meal, the restaurant served a variety of desserts.

    Lin Yuan almost immediately set his eyes on the pudding jelly.

    His favorite sweets were two kinds: ice cream and pudding jelly.

    "This is their specialty."

    There were only two portions of pudding jelly. The classmates naturally wouldn''t fight over them. As they explained this, they gave the two portions of pudding jelly to Lin Yuan and Gu Xi, the two main characters at the table.

    It was really delicious.

    After happily finishing his strawberry-flavored pudding jelly, Lin Yuan was left wanting more.

    The classmates on the side, naturally seeing that Lin Yuan really liked the pudding jelly, could only awkwardly laugh and say, "This pudding jelly is limited supply, they only make so much every day. We''ll buy it for you next time."

    "I haven''t eaten mine yet."

    Gu Xi almost subconsciously said, "If you don''t mind, I''ll give you mine to eat..."

    The classmates around them turned to look at Gu Xi one after another.

    At first their expressions were somewhat strange, but then they gradually cleared up.

    So this Piano Goddess Gu Xi was just like the other girls in the class. Those girls always liked giving their favorite snacks to Lin Yuan.

    Noticing the strange gazes around her, Gu Xi didn''t feel embarrassed.

    What she cared about was only Maestro.

    What''s there to care about other people''s gaze?

    However, she was a bit flustered, reflecting inside, "Am I trying too hard?"

    Lin Yuan said, "Alright."

    He happily accepted Gu Xi''s kindness.

    Who on this world would reject ice cream and pudding jelly?

    Gu Xi sighed in relief.

    It seemed that Lin Yuan really enjoyed eating pudding jelly.

    Right, he also liked ice cream, but last time she dared to fight with him for ice cream...

    Isn''t living well?

    After lunch, in the afternoon.

    Lin Yuan and Gu Xi continued to help their classmates record piano accompaniment. They were busy until the evening when they finally finished everyone''s piano accompaniment.

    Everyone thanked them profusely.

    After everyone had left, Gu Xi slumped in her chair.

    She was thoroughly exhausted from a day of hard work, but thinking about how her relationship with Lin Yuan had progressed a little, Gu Xi was once again filled with enthusiasm. She clenched her fist tightly.

    "Hold on."

    "Don''t rush things!"

    Gu Xi encouraged herself. Getting Maestro''s approval was a long journey, and Gu Xi had enough patience for it.

    Meanwhile, deep within the Starlight company.

    Sun Yaohuo, who was preparing to leave work, suddenly felt a sense of inexplicable crisis.

    "Could it be that Jiang Kui is going to make a move?"

    Sun Yaohuo prided himself on his sycophant skills, but the only time he failed was when he faced Jiang Kui.

    He still couldn''t forget the scene of Jiang Kui buying all the milk tea flavors for Lin Yuan to this day.

    "This is a formidable adversary."

    Sun Yaohuo too clenched his fist.

    ----------------

    ps: After going premium, the minimum update is three chapters a day. This is today''s first chapter. In addition, there is a bonus chapter by Alliance Hierarch. Polluted White owes two bonus chapters to Alliance Hierarch. Let''s see if I can post it tonight. Besides, let me explain, Polluted White''s updates mostly start in the afternoon and finish at night because my mind is clearer in the afternoon.

    So, you don''t need to refresh for updates in the morning~

 Chapter 101 - 98: This Round is Secured_1

    No matter whether he''s helping out with composing and arranging music on the piano or not, the frequency with which Lin Yuan visits the art club inevitably decreases, because he also needs to make time to write "Zhu Xian".

    He has to accumulate several thousand words a day.

    No matter how fast he types, it will still require effort.

    As half of May has passed, the relevant music departments of large entertainment companies have started preparing for the new season in June. At Starlight, the plan to release "Red Rose" next month has been confirmed.

    One of the three giants in the Qin Continent.

    The lounge of Dazzling Silver Light.

    As a top-tier singer, Chen Zhiyu is also preparing to release a new song in June. For this reason, Chen Zhiyu made a point of reminding his agent to look at strong competitors that might surface next month.

    "Great news!"

    After the agent had investigated the preparations of various companies for next month and contacted Chen Zhiyu in a hurry, he was very excited: "This is excellent news, there''s absolutely no problem for you to top the charts next month!"

    "Don''t jinx it!"

    Chen Zhiyu said irritably: "As far as I know, Jin Shuyu from Starlight Entertainment will also be releasing a song next month. Jin Shuyu''s capabilities and influence among fans are not to be taken lightly. I don''t have the confidence to consistently beat him."

    Both are top-tier singers.

    But their popularity levels differ.

    Jin Shuyu began to rise in popularity last year, and this year he has securely claimed the throne of a top-tier singer. His popularity and fan base even slightly surpass those of Chen Zhiyu. Under such circumstances, Chen Zhiyu views Jin Shuyu as his biggest rival for next month.

    "This is the good news I was talking about!"

    The agent said gleefully: "For some unknown reason, Jin Shuyu has been suspended from activities for a month by Starlight Entertainment, and his agent has received the same punishment. So, his plan to release a new song in June has been cancelled by Starlight."

    "Are you sure?"

    Chen Zhiyu was taken aback: "This isn''t some smoke screen Starlight is putting up, is it? Jin Shuyu is currently a popular top-tier singer. How can his song release plan be cancelled just like that?"

    "I am not sure about that."

    The agent smiled and said firmly: "But I know for sure that Jin Shuyu''s suspension from Starlight is real. Because several of his key activities have been suspended in recent days. It''s likely he''s offended some big shot. Now you can relax. Because apart from Jin Shuyu, none of the other singers next month pose any threat to you."

    "What about Starlight''s substitute singer?"

    "The substitute singer is apparently Sun Yaohuo. He was probably hastily pulled in by Starlight. He is just a little-known small-time singer, not even as good as Zhao Ying Ge from last time. Starlight''s top-tier singers wouldn''t substitute for Jin Shuyu at the last minute."

    "Heaven is on my side!"

    Chen Zhiyu''s doubts were completely dispelled.

    He finally revealed a smile. It''s not that he''s overly cautious. He had mainly been frightened before. The last time he released a song was in January, and as a result, he was unexpectedly trounced by "Easy to Ignite and Explode". It scared Chen Zhiyu so much that he hasn''t released any new songs for several months.

    This time, no matter what, he must claim first place!

    He must recover the face he lost in January!

    You should know that Chen Zhiyu had deliberated for a long time before choosing June to release his song. This is the month he most hopes to claim the first place of the season. He doesn''t want to unexpectedly stumble again.

    "This round is definitely won!"

    The agent patted Chen Zhiyu''s shoulder: "I don''t believe that another Zhao Ying Ge is going to pop up this time. Even if Zhao Ying Ge does come, it would be useless. Under normal circumstances, how could non-top-tier singers possibly beat a top-tier singer like you?"

    ...

    The news that Jin Shuyu was withdrawing from the June season competition didn''t just reach Dazzling Silver Light. Soon, the entire industry knows about it. After all, he''s currently a popular top-tier singer, so everyone within the industry is curious, wondering what Jin Shuyu did wrong to get suspended for a month.

    "Dazzling Silver Light is getting a windfall."

    "We won''t be able to see a fight between the two Yus."

    Since both Jin Shuyu and Chen Zhiyu have the character "Yu" in their names and both are top-tier singers, the media has directly dubbed the competition for next month''s new song chart as "Battle of the Yus". S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Now, only one "Yu" is left.

    Onlookers can''t help but feel bored.

    Is it possible not to feel regret? Since Jin Shuyu and Chen Zhiyu can''t compete, a match between Dazzling Silver Light and Starlight Entertainment can''t happen. Who likes to watch a competition without suspense? Probably only Dazzling Silver Light and Chen Zhiyu will be laughing in secret.

    The person who must be the most upset about this should be Jin Shuyu, right?

    The industry is rife with such speculation.

    Meanwhile, Jin Shuyu continues to stay in a hotel near the company.

    During the period of his work suspension, he practically hasn''t left the hotel.

    Only his equally idle agent, Tao Ran, keeps him company. Occasionally, the two of them fend off their worries with a drink.

    "It''s only a month."

    After quietly drinking a few glasses of wine, Tao Ran tries to comfort Jin Shuyu: "Wait till the company loses in the new song chart in June, they will realize how important you are. Without you stepping forward, what can the company use to fight Chen Zhiyu? Can Sun Yaohuo really be a match for Chen Zhiyu?"

    "You think so too?"

    Jin Shuyu lifts his head to look at Tao Ran.

    Tao Ran is taken aback: "Did I say something wrong?"

    Jin Shuyu remains silent, only sighing lightly. He takes a sip of his wine gloomily, as if trying to drown his countless worries with alcohol.

    "What''s wrong?"

    Tao Ran furrows his brow: "This isn''t like you, Jin Shuyu. Is it such a big deal to be suspended for a month? If you''re angry, I''ll arrange something behind the scenes later on to make sure Sun Yaohuo regrets it."

    "Brother Tao!"

    Upon hearing this, Jin Shuyu''s expression suddenly turned serious: "You absolutely must not harm Sun Yaohuo!"

    "Huh?"

    Tao Ran frowns even more: "Why?"

    Jin Shuyu emphasizes every word: "You have to promise to me, don''t touch him!"

    Tao Ran forces a smile: "Alright, alright, alright, I''ll listen to you. I won''t touch him, but you need to give me a reason, right?"

    "A reason?"

    Jin Shuyu puts down his wine glass: "As an agent, Brother Tao, you are indeed very talented, but when it comes to music, you are just an outsider."

    He chuckled coldly.

    Jin Shuyu stood to look out of the window: "I guess Dazzling Silver Light is probably overjoyed right now, thinking that they''ve hit the jackpot. But they have no idea what''s waiting for them."

    "You mean..."

    "Just because they want to win doesn''t mean they can do it so easily. The company isn''t dumb either. They could have punished me next month, so why did they choose this month? They are merely subtly reminding me to make way."

    "Because of Sun Yaohuo?"

    "Because of Xian Yu...because of ''Red Rose''!"

    Tao Ran''s mouth dropped open.

    He felt a bit dazed.

    Jin Shuyu wasn''t usually a man of good temperament.

    If it were anyone else who had put Jin Shuyu in such a predicament, Jin Shuyu would have retaliated heavily, without question.

    All singers who have reached top-tier status are not pushovers!

    But this time, despite being dealt such a heavy blow, Jin Shuyu did not erupt in anger, but rather began to introspect on his own actions?

    That just doesn''t make sense.

 Chapter 102 - 99 A Slight Tremble of the Hand_1

    The exam for sophomore year was a song, a song that influences the choice of exchange program positions for junior year, so everyone naturally sought Lin Yuan''s help for the piano parts in the song arrangements...

    Classmates need to record songs.

    Lin Yuan also needs to record songs.

    After all, he has some ideas about the exchange program for junior year, and for this, he even specially customized "Initial Dream" with the System.

    "Turn to Starlight to record songs?"

    This song needs a singer.

    After all, there are plenty of tool users at Starlight and Lin Yuan can pick whichever one he wants.

    However, after thinking about it, Lin Yuan changed his mind because he has someone beside him who is well-suited for this song''s vocal range.

    His good friend Xia Fan!

    Although doing this might reveal his identity, but since Xia Fan decided to pursue a career as a singer, she would find out sooner or later and there is no point in continuing to hide it.

    So he contacted Xia Fan.

    After ending the call, Lin Yuan gave it some thought and decided to invite Jian Yi as well.

    The trio met at the cafeteria during lunch.

    Lin Yuan immediately took out the sheet music for "Initial Dream" and gave it to Xia Fan.

    "A song you wrote?"

    Xia Fan saw the sheet music and was taken aback.

    Lin Yuan nodded, and then sent a sample of "Initial Dream" to Xia Fan''s phone:

    "Have a listen."

    "Okay."

    It wasn''t surprising that Lin Yuan could write songs.

    After all, he had been studying in the composition department for quite a while.

    Xia Fan thought Lin Yuan wanted her opinion, so she pulled out two Bluetooth headphones, planning to listen, and at the same time thought to herself that no matter how the song turned out, she would definitely encourage Lin Yuan.

    "Give me one too."

    Jian Yi snatched one of Xia Fan''s Bluetooth headphones and put it in his own ear, curious about the song Lin Yuan had written.

    After listening for a few minutes...

    Xia Fan suddenly turned to look at Lin Yuan in shock.

    "Not bad, Lin Yuan, this is a really good song!"

    Jian Yi spoke up surprisingly, not understanding music himself, but still able to tell whether a song is good or not.

    From the very first line, Lin Yuan''s song had impressed him!

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan didn''t respond to Jian Yi. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    He looked at Xia Fan: "This song is for our annual assessment in the composition department. I''m going to submit it, but I still need a singer to perform it. How about you sing it?"

    "Do you really want me to sing it?"

    Xia Fan looked at Lin Yuan with a complex expression: "You''ve been studying music for so many years, you should know... this song is quite valuable..."

    Of course she wanted to sing this song!

    But this song is too good!

    It would have a better effect if performed by a professional debut singer, could even become a big hit, Xia Fan didn''t want to let Lin Yuan down just because she wanted to sing it.

    "What''s the matter with you, Xia Fan?"

    Jian Yi was anxious: "Such a good song, do you really want to push it away? If Lin Yuan lets you sing it, just sing it!"

    Xia Fan didn''t reply to Jian Yi either.

    She quietly looked at Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan smiled: "No need to worry about letting others hear it. You''re the most suitable for this song. Plus, there''s something else I want to tell the two of you."

    "What?"

    Both were suddenly nervous.

    Lin Yuan said: "Actually, I am Xian Yu."

    Jian Yi was stunned, his last vague recollection was that this name sounded familiar, but he couldn''t remember where he had heard it before.

    Xia Fan''s eyes widened: "Are you joking?"

    Lin Yuan seriously said: "I''m sorry, I didn''t tell you before."

    "That''s not the point!"

    Xia Fan locked onto Lin Yuan: "You really are Xian Yu?"

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Before Xia Fan could say anything, Jian Yi suddenly remembered.

    He realized who Xian Yu was!

    This name... Xia Fan had mentioned it several times before.

    A while back, hit songs like "Big Fish," and several others, were all written by this Xian Yu!

    This person turned out to be Lin Yuan?

    Lin Yuan can actually write such amazing songs?

    Just as the excited Jian Yi was about to say something, Xia Fan suddenly covered her face with her hands.

    Jian Yi was startled, "What''s wrong with you, Xia Fan?"

    Lin Yuan also looked at Xia Fan worriedly.

    Xia Fan let go of his hand, his face turning crimson with excitement, glaring at Lin Yuan and saying, "One song isn''t enough!"

    "The ones later on."

    Lin Yuan chuckles, "I''ll give you another when it suits, this is the only one I have at hand now."

    This song is not cheap.

    Jian Yi patted his chest, "You scared me a bit. But Lin Yuan, you''ve been hiding this from us for so long, you ought to be punished!"

    Xia Fan said fiercely, "He should be treated to a meal... no, make that two!"

    Lin Yuan, managing to keep a straight face, replies: "We''ll dine at the Oriental Restaurant tonight."

    This is the best restaurant around their school, Lin Yuan and his classmates from the composition department once visited, the pudding jelly there was incredibly delicious.

    "Tonight it is then."

    Jian Yi and Xia Fan high-five in celebration.

    Things from before make sense now, why did their leader allow Lin Yuan to stay in such a nice house, why was his company treatment so good?

    Because Lin Yuan is Xian Yu.

    Lin Yuan reminded Xia Fan, " We have to go to Starlight to record music another day."

    Xia Fan laughed, "Sure, but won''t giving me this song violate company regulations?"

    Lin Yuan was taken aback, he''d completely forgotten about that.

    According to company rules, he was not allowed to compose songs for outsiders privately, it had to be done through the company''s channel.

    "Why don''t you just let Starlight sign Xia Fan directly, Lin Yuan? Can you do it?" Jian Yi isn''t sure about Lin Yuan''s standing in the company that allows for this power, so he asked tentatively.

    Lin Yuan turned to Xia Fan, "Do you want to sign?"

    Xia Fan nodded immediately, "Of course!"

    Lin Yuan spoke: "I''ll talk to Ms. Zhao, it shouldn''t be too difficult. But the issue is, if you sign with the company now, your contract grade definitely won''t be high."

    "Huh?"

    Do rookies dare to dream of contract terms?

    Xia Fan was struggling to keep up with Lin Yuan''s thoughts.

    Lin Yuan explained: "If Xia Fan can catapult to fame with "Bloom", he can definitely sign a relatively higher-grade contract with Starlight."

    It had been the same case with Zhao Ying Ge before.

    Once the song blew up, people naturally wanted to sign him.

    Xia Fan gave a bitter smile: "Lin Yuan, you have high expectations. For me, just being able to sign with Starlight is a huge deal, why think about more?"

    "I see."

    Lin Yuan made a phone call to Zhao Jue, letting him in on the situation. He trusted Zhao Jue a lot.

    "I see."

    Zhao Jue, upon hearing Lin Yuan''s request, ponderously said: "I can do that. I bet you want to increase her contract level a bit, right? No problem, we can sign a letter of intent first, if she achieves anything before signing the official contract, we can upgrade her contract level.

    However, this is essentially exploiting a loophole in the company''s policy, so before signing the official contract, make sure not to write songs for her using the Xian Yu pseudonym. Just using a fake identity would do."

    She didn''t even ask Lin Yuan who he intends to sign.

    For many young dreamers, signing with Starlight could be a life goal, but for Zhao Jue, this was a small matter--

    As long as Xian Yu asked for it.

    "Thank you."

    Lin Yuan hung up the call.

    Xia Fan and Jian Yi were anxious, "What did she say?"

    Lin Yuan gave a slight smile, "Get ready to record. And most importantly, don''t let anyone know that I wrote the song, otherwise there will be trouble."

    "Sure!"

    Xia Fan was excited.

    Jian Yi also smiled, happy for his friend.

    However, they took Lin Yuan''s warning to heart, careful not to reveal Lin Yuan''s identity to anyone.

    Just to be safe, when they went to record the song a few days later, they rented a studio outside the school instead of using Starlight''s studio.

    It''s always good to be cautious.

    Meanwhile...

    May had quietly passed.

    At the stroke of midnight on June 1st.

    The new music season officially begins in Qin Continent!

    Chen Zhiyu, who was determined to win, confidently opened the music player.

    "Top recommended resource."

    His new song was placed in the most noticeable spot on the quick access recommendations, Chen Zhiyu was satisfied with the attention his song was given.

    "Hm?"

    Glancing at the other song recommendations, Chen Zhiyu suddenly noticed a new song recommendation called "Red Rose".

    It''s a song from Starlight.

    The singer is Sun Yao Huo, who he heard from an agent before. Sun is the singer for Jin Shuyu''s slot at Starlight, and the lyrics and composition are ¡­

    "Oh, my God!"

    All of a sudden, Chen Zhiyu''s hand shook, his mouse almost flew out of his hand.

 Chapter 103 - 100 Do You Think You Are Very Funny_1

    Don''t panic.

    I must have seen it wrong.

    Definitely saw it wrong.

    Chen Zhiyu steadied his nerves and even showed a self-encouraging smile, then took another glance, and quickly turned his face away--

    His face fell.

    What a letdown!

    How could it be a song by Xian Yu!

    Chen Zhiyu was incredibly frustrated, his agent said that the singer Starlight used to replace Jin Shuyu was not worth mentioning, this singer called Sun Yaohuo was indeed not worth mentioning, but who wrote Sun Yaohuo''s song?

    Xian Yu, it''s Xian Yu!

    The person Chen Zhiyu fears the most!

    Compared to Xian Yu, Chen Zhiyu would rather face Jin Shuyu, at least everyone can compete on their own merits.

    But Xian Yu is too weird.

    This person cannot be judged by conventional wisdom!

    Am I going to fail again?

    Chen Zhiyu felt panicky.

    However, after only panicking for about ten seconds, Chen Zhiyu gradually calmed down.

    He suddenly took a deep breath, even he began to feel a bit lacking in resilience: "After all, I''m an A-list singer, can Xian Yu always ignore the difference in artists'' popularity? Really think us A-list singers do nothing? Such things can only happen once at most."

    The reason is simple.

    I''m so scared because I failed last time due to Xian Yu.

    So seeing these two characters brings back bad memories. What makes me scared is not Xian Yu, but the unbearable memory.

    Such description sounds quite literary.

    In fact, there''s nothing to fear.

    Although Zhao Ying Ge was not an A-lister back then, her song "Bloom" was champion, she had some popularity and barely ranked as someone important, Xian Yu''s song was not wasted on her.

    What about Sun Yaohuo?

    He had zero popularity.

    Probably wouldn''t be recognized as a singer on the street. If he stood across from him, Chen Zhiyu would definitely not know who he was.

    That''s also good.

    Get up from where you fell!

    Chen Zhiyu felt that he is fine again, he relaxedly adjusted the mouse wire, and put on the headphones next to the mouse: "Let''s see how your song this time is, don''t let me down."

    He played "Red Rose".

    The song starts with an ordinary piano melody, very common, the kind that he could play casually.

    Only like this.

    Chen Zhiyu smiled faintly.

    The moment the piano sound paused, a deep and low voice sounded: "A dream in a dream that I can''t wake up from, the red thread that is tethered, all the stimulation leaves behind is fatigue and pain, no more feelings."

    Just like this!

    Chen Zhiyu kept smiling and continued to listen: "When I hug you from behind, what I''m expecting is his face. It''s totally ironic, I don''t understand, but I hope you understand."

    Just like this!!

    Chen Zhiyu''s smile has stiffened, but he stubbornly refused to disappear. The prelude to "Red Roses" was playing in his ears: "Is happiness too heavy, overuse doesn''t itch or hurt and the empty pupils are worn out, finally hollowed out, finally endless."

    Just like this!!!

    Chen Zhiyu''s eyes were about to split and he pinched his thigh hard. His expression gradually collapsed amid the singing: "The unreachable is always in turmoil, the favored ones take things for granted, the redness of the rose and the dream that is easily hurt, held in your hand but lost between your fingers and ends in vain."

    No...

    Not just...

    Fuck!

    Chen Zhiyu couldn''t hold it in any longer.

    I quit, isn''t that enough!

    He violently took off his headphones, covering his ears, and at this time his agent just entered the room, smiling slightly:

    "Zhiyu, are you listening to music?"

    Obviously, this wave is already steady!

    To celebrate the top spot, his agent even brought two cups and a bottle of good red wine at twelve o''clock precisely to Chen Zhiyu''s home, and because their relationship was very good, he had the key to his artist''s house.

    Listen to music?

    Chen Zhiyu, as if he''d been stimulated, held his ears tighter: "I won''t listen, I won''t listen, I won''t listen, I won''t listen, I won''t listen!"

    "???"

    The agent was a bit confused, seeing this scene made him inexplicably familiar.

    "Calm down."

    The agent frowned.

    Chen Zhiyu''s emotions gradually calmed down, no longer covering his ears, just looking at his agent quietly: "Didn''t you say there are no tough competitors this time?"

    "Indeed, there are no tough competitors."

    The agent was very sure.

    Seeing the agent looking innocent, Chen Zhiyu sighed and stopped talking, silently putting on his headphones again, and replayed the song.

    "It''s so good."

    This time after finishing, Chen Zhiyu directly downloaded "Red Rose" and added it to his playlist.

    "What are you up to?"

    The agent''s corner of the mouth twitched, he witnessed the whole process of Chen Zhiyu''s operation and had a not-so-good premonition.

    "In our singing world, this is called a surrender."

    Chen Zhiyu raised his hands, ©»( T©nT )©¿.

    The agent: "..."

    Chen Zhiyu said to himself: "I''m really stupid, really."

    He raised his spiritless eyes: "I only knew there weren''t any A-list singers in June, I could take an advantage, but I didn''t know the Maestro would come."

    The agent sighed, he had roughly guessed what had happened: "No hope?"

    "There is hope."

    Chen Zhiyu replied: "Avoid him."

    Chen Zhiyu pointed at the songwriter behind "Red Rose".

    The agent saw the word "Xian Yu" and his face changed.

    At this moment, he remembered the fear once ruled by these two words.

    No wonder when he entered the door just now, he felt the atmosphere was strangely familiar. Would we, who have been hiding for several months, be hit by Xian Yu''s gun again?

    What crap luck! sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Jin Shuyu is gone, but here comes Xian Yu, the difficulty of the game suddenly seems more exaggerated!

    "Next time I''ll definitely find out clearly!" the agent declared forcefully.

    "Next time for sure?"

    "Next time for sure!"

    "I don''t believe you anymore."

    Chen Zhiyu said sorrowfully: "You''re just a jinx."

    The agent sighed: "Actually, I prepared a gift for you, it''s outside the door right now. This wine, I wanted to celebrate our topping the chart."

    "..."

    Chen Zhiyu didn''t want to talk.

    The agent opened the door and brought in a box.

    Chen Zhiyu looked up at the agent: "What is this?"

    The agent said: "A fish tank, didn''t you say cats are too much trouble, keeping fish is easier?"

    "Are you kidding!"

    Chen Zhiyu suddenly felt wronged.

    He forcefully pushed the agent out of the door, also throwing out the agent''s box: "Even if I die from hunger, jumping from here, I would never keep fish! Never in this life!"

    "Why?"

    After the agent asked, he suddenly slapped his head, and the atmosphere became silent and awkward.

    After a while.

    The agent finally said: "So you have piscinophobia."

    Chen Zhiyu''s eyes widened in surprise, looking at him: "Do you think you''re funny?"

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Thanks again to [Sima Yanlong] classmates for supporting Alliance Hierarch, additional update here~

 Chapter 104 - 101: This is What I Think_1

    For Chen Zhiyu, it was a sleepless night.

    However, for many insiders, this was a relatively normal night, even though the new season was starting tonight¡ª

    Who enjoys a season competition without suspense?

    Chen Zhiyu must be the first place in the June New Song Chart!

    Faced with the "Double Yu Conflict" that died before it could even be born, many people naturally thought this way.

    That being said, a part of them still looked at the charts for this season as the next day approached, analyzing the current industry situation through the performance of the songs each season was a routine for many.

    As expected.

    No suspense for the first place in the June New Song Chart.

    "A Bit Painful", singer Chen Zhiyu, composer Wu Tiange, company Dazzling Silver Glow

    Downloads: 1.01 million

    Seeing the download count, many people subconsciously nodded their heads, Chen Zhiyu''s new song had actually broken one million downloads on the first day.

    Truly worthy of a top-tier talent!

    Nice score!

    Again, a high song download count doesn''t happen overnight.

    Because the listeners in Qin Continent have to bombard their ears with various good songs every month, they become numb after listening to too many songs, and need a certain reaction time to decide whether to download.

    So this score is actually pretty good.

    Evidently, even if Jin Shuyu were to participate in the competition this June, he would basically have a hard time beating this song by Chen Zhiyu, so perhaps his withdrawal is actually a good thing.

    Pretty steady, huh.

    This champion is a sure bet.

    While everyone was thinking this way, their gazes naturally fell on the second place, assuming that the second place''s statistics must be far behind Chen Zhiyu''s.

    The second was called "Red Roses".

    Sung by Sun Yaohuo, lyrics and composition by Xian Yu, company Starlight Entertainment

    Downloads: 880,000

    Those who reacted slower were stunned in front of their computers. Those who reacted quickly drew in a sharp breath, and some even swore on the spot:

    "Fuck!"

    There''s something off about this second place!

    If the performer of "Red Roses" was Jin Shuyu, everyone wouldn''t have reacted this way, because it''s normal for Jin Shuyu to achieve such a score.

    The first day of a top-tier singer generally wouldn''t be too bad.

    But the performer of this song was Sun Yaohuo.

    Who''s Sun Yaohuo?

    Buddy, you''re playing foul.

    Tell me the truth, did you buy the charts?

    Don''t blame the industry insiders for having poor memory, there are just too many singers in Qin Continent, with endless works and newcomers appearing every month.

    After a long time.

    Finally, someone remembered: "Sun Yaohuo seems to be the performer of ''Life Like A Summer Flower,'' a newcomer who debuted about half a year ago!"

    How could a newcomer be so fortunate!

    Everyone''s eyes unanimously floated past Sun Yaohuo and locked onto the two words they were incredibly interested in when they first saw the information:

    Xian Yu.

    In fact, when everyone saw the words "Xian Yu", they already had an inkling in their hearts, so the small dramas of buying the charts and such were just jokes.

    Clearly.

    Xian Yu had shot off again.

    It''s another Xian Yu surge!

    Wait, why do I say ''again''?

    Those with quicker hands, put on their headphones and started listening to "Red Roses". Anyway, when an incomprehensible song score appears, all you have to do is to listen to the song once.

    A few minutes.

    After finishing the song.

    After a moment''s pause, an ace composer from Sand Sea Culture suddenly sighed and commented in the company''s composer group: "There isn''t much time left for Chen Zhiyu."

    Wham!

    The big group exploded!

    Obviously, everyone understood what this ace composer meant. Sun Yaohuo, a little singer without any foundation, surprisingly achieved a terrifying download count of 880,000 on the first day. Overtaking Chen Zhiyu afterwards would just be a matter of time, and the championship would inevitably belong to "Red Roses".

    "Fuck, I''m convinced."

    "This Fish is really terrifying."

    "What can be done once surely can''t be done twice. To forcibly bridge the difference in status between singers by one''s own strength, it''s enough to brag about merely achieving such a feat once, but this Xian Yu has done it again!"

    "He''s not human."

    Suddenly someone quietly said: "The time when Xian Yu wrote a song for Zhao Ying Ge in January this year also seemed to coincide with the release of Chen Zhiyu''s song, and Chen Zhiyu had no choice but to take the second place that month. This year, the second time Chen Zhiyu released a song, he ran into Xian Yu again..."

    "Pfft!"

    "It''s a curse!"

    The big group erupted in laughter. For a while, there were all sorts of comments like "Chen Zhiyu is so pitiful" "Give Chen Zhiyu a break" "Fish coming from thousand miles away to meet" "I''ve seen this episode, and Chen Zhiyu is screwed in the end" "Surprise or not, guess who, it''s me again".

    The ''big three'' were old competitors. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    If Dazzling Silver Glow was unlucky, Sand Sea would only take pleasure in their misfortune. Besides, they didn''t have any top-tier singers participating this season, so they were just spectators, making all kinds of sarcastic remarks, it was hilariously fun for a while.

    The whole industry was watching.

    Meanwhile, inside Starlight Entertainment.

    The music department was doubly happy.

    The entire company naturally knew about Jin Shuyu being suspended from work for a month, and many people were worried that the championship position might have to be conceded this season. They didn''t understand the company''s decision, but they didn''t expect Xian Yu to be the real trump card!

    "Sun Yaohuo must be relaxing."

    "Xian Yu''s trump card is in hand."

    "This trump card truly deserves the name."

    "Now I suspect that the company deliberately suppressed Jin Shuyu. Think about it, if Jin Shuyu also released a song this month, wouldn''t he be accidentally injured by Sun Yaohuo? Top-tier singers may not be afraid of losing, but it''s really hard to lose to a newcomer who just debuted. It''s basically like being a green leaf backdrop."

    "..."

    Zhao Jue, listening to the discussions, was a little dazed.

    She did punish Jin Shuyu truly because of Xian Yu, this is true, but in the eyes of others, it seemed like she knew Xian Yu was going to take off, thus she had prepared a step for Jin Shuyu in advance.

    I really didn''t think like that!

    The assistant next to her admired: "Your move was really grand, you obviously punished Jin Shuyu and Tao Ran, but Jin Shuyu and Tao Ran have to appreciate your punishment. I really didn''t expect you to be such a Prophet!"

    "Yes, that''s what I thought."

    Zhao Jue gave a casual smile with a calm and composed look.

    This kid has really sprouted another flower.

    Meanwhile, at the composition department, the executive who had a spat with Ol'' Zhou even called personally. This time the tone was very gentle: "I was wrong last time. I thought about it carefully and you did have your difficulties. I really support your work."

    "Thank you for your understanding."

    After hanging up, Ol'' Zhou directly laughed like a pig in his office. He was the only real Prophet in the whole scene, after listening to "Red Roses", he knew that there wouldn''t be a big issue. Things like Jin Shuyu, Tao Ran and other stuff were minor issues, firing an employee from the audit department is merely trivial.

    As long as Xian Yu doesn''t do anything outrageous.

    He could stay invincible!

 Chapter 105 - 102 Total Fish Banquet_1

    It wasn''t just the industry discussing it.

    Over at Qin Art, the excitement was palpable.

    After all, Sun Yaohuo was a senior who had graduated from the music department of the Qin Continent Art Academy, and the sense of belonging there was strong. More than eighty percent of the posts on the school forum were discussing this matter.

    "Brother Sun is awesome!"

    "Xian Yu is clearly the awesome one."

    "I was saying Brother Sun''s luck is awesome."

    "Xian Yu really showcases the importance of the Maestro to the fullest. Last time he helped Zhao Ying Ge surpass a first-line singer, and this time he did it again with senior Sun Yaohuo. I''m starting to suspect Xian Yu is doing it on purpose. The weaker the foundations of Sun Yaohuo and Zhao Ying Ge, the greater Xian Yu''s skills seem to be.

    In reality, Sun Yaohuo''s foundations are far from matching a first-line singer, let alone competing with Zhao Ying Ge."

    "These lyrics are incredible too."

    "That line, ''What one cannot have constantly agitates them, those who are favoured have no fear,'' really touched my heart. I''ve decided to make this line my personal signature. Xian Yu''s lyric-writing skills are just as great as his composition skills!"

    "You may want to rethink that."

    "Ever since the song was released, I''ve seen at least ten of my friends using this line as their personal signature. At a glance, it makes them all seem like newly released matryoshka dolls. I''m afraid one day they''ll suddenly message me saying they''ve been the same person all along. If I don''t believe them, they might even switch accounts to prove it."

    "Yao Huo is really going to hit it big!"

    "If ''Life Like A Summer Flower'' marked the successful debut of senior Sun Yaohuo, then this song is enough to give Brother Sun some fame. From now on, whenever people see the name Sun Yaohuo, they won''t find it unfamiliar anymore."

    "..."

    Indeed, many people''s first reaction upon seeing Sun Yaohuo''s name was unfamiliarity. Other than those who especially love the song ''Life Like A Summer Flower,'' who else really knows who he is?

    But now the situation is clearly different.

    Not to mention the industry insiders.

    Even within the comments section of this song, many are discussing Sun Yaohuo''s singing skills.

    After all, ''Red Rose'' isn''t a song that can be easily sung well, even by a dog chained in a recording studio. The song requires a lower vocal range, and without corresponding singing skills, you simply won''t be able to handle it.

    Besides singing skills, the song also requires emotion.

    Think about how long Sun Yaohuo trained just to record this song, and consider how Jin Shuyu couldn''t resist trying to claim the chance to perform it, you''ll realize that this song isn''t as simple as it sounds.

    Some people might say, ''I can sing this song too.''

    Well, yes and no.

    In terms of singing difficulty, ''Red Rose'' is indeed easy to sing.

    But being able to sing and singing well are two different things!

    Even if the melody is exactly the same, if you can''t bring out the flavor of the song, it''ll greatly diminish its charm. When many people listen to a song, they''re listening for that specific flavor.

    Change the singer, and the flavor will be off. Anyone can notice that!

    On that note, Sun Yaohuo deserves praise.

    Still, most of the comments were discussing the song itself.

    These comment sections are not only gathering spots for music enthusiasts, but also for casual visitors to make witty remarks. For example, one comment read: "My boyfriend has been listening to this song since last night, is he hinting at something?"

    Another asked, "What does being favoured feel like?"

    The top-rated reply was: "When you commit a murder, he asks if you are hurt, and if it''s painful..."

    "So, the story of this song is actually quite sad."

    "Men are like that, they like the well-behaved ones, but they can''t resist the flirty ones."

    "Only by following one''s heart, can they live a good life."

    "..."

    The comments section most frequently features comments of this artsy, melancholic tone.

    In this sense, the gloomy web users of Earth really understand.

    But there''s actually a backstory to this song.

    The backstory also originates from Earth so Blue Starrians wouldn''t know it. This backstory is also the inspiration behind the lyrics to this song.

    The classic opening line from Zhang Ailing''s novel ''Red Rose, White Rose'' is:

    "In his lifetime, every man has at least two such women."

    "He who marries a Red Rose, in time sheds his love as easily as ridding a speck of mosquito blood on the wall; while the White Rose remains, a moonlit light before his bed."

    "He who marries a White Rose, the white turns into a speck of rice stuck to his clothes; while the Red Rose rolls down to become a cinnabar mole on his heart."

    ...

    This little tidbit doesn''t really affect the mood of listening to the song.

    Don''t feel like you''re missing anything, because you''re not.

    Because even on Earth, among those who have listened to ''Red Rose'' and those who think they understand it, more than ninety percent have never read Zhang Ailing''s novel or even know it exists.

    The meteoric rise of ''Red Rose'' to the top of the charts the very next day after its release is proof enough of this. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The lyrics and music are already enough.

    In the end, Chen Zhiyu lost out.

    He only sat on the champion throne for one day, or in the words of the jokers on the outside:

    Chen Zhiyu hadn''t even had time to warm his seat.

    However, Chen Zhiyu had anticipated this result, so when he was pushed to second place, he just made a phone call to his manager:

    "Let''s have dinner together tonight."

    Understanding Chen Zhiyu''s feelings, his manager comforted him, then asked, "What should we eat tonight?"

    "Let''s have fish."

    Chen Zhiyu said, for some reason, he really wanted to eat fish.

    An all-fish banquet would be perfect ¡ª braised fish, steamed fish, pickled fish, chopped pepper fish head, and perhaps a crucian carp tofu soup as well.

    Did he forget about the sashimi?

    He has always been afraid to eat raw fish.

    However, after some hesitation, he decided to try it tonight. He heard it''s actually quite delicious.

    His manager: "..."

    Meanwhile, in a hotel near the company, Tao Ran, horrified by the proceedings on the June New Song Chart, said to Jin Shuyu, "I''m glad you reminded me not to take action against Sun Yaohuo. It would have been unwise."

    If Sun Yaohuo was an unknown, it would have been okay.

    But looking at the momentum of ''Red Rose,'' Sun Yaohuo is obviously going to become famous.

    Even though he''s still far from being a top-tier performer, the company will definitely allocate a lot of resources to him in the future. There''s really no need to make him an enemy in this situation.

    "Not enough."

    Jin Shuyu said, staring intently at the chart: "It''s not enough."

    He held high hopes for this song.

    But the power this song displayed was even more exaggerated than he thought. This result, completely out of his expectations, made him realize he had made a mistake he shouldn''t have!

    Tao Ran was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

    Jin Shuyu took a deep breath, pulled out a razor and started shaving. He hadn''t been in the mood to shave for a few days, so his beard had grown quite a bit.

    After fixing his hair and finding a more formal outfit, Jin Shuyu said:

    "We need to apologize to Xian Yu."

 Chapter 106 - 103 Division of the New Contract_1

    When "Red Rose" rocketed to the top spot, the downloads for the song had already exceeded 1.2 million!

    This was not just an impressive figure but also signified that Lin Yuan had officially earned the qualifications of an advanced songwriter.

    Putting it plainly:

    It was time to revise Xian Yu''s royalty contract!

    Lin Yuan''s previous contract was a standard one for newcomers, where the company took 80% of the profits.

    To change this, a negotiation with the company was needed.

    The contracts signed by the advanced songwriters in the company were not all the same.

    As soon as Lin Yuan reached the promotion criteria for the advanced songwriter, Ol'' Zhou approached him bluntly: "You have reached the company''s criteria for an advanced songwriter, what do you think of a new contract?"

    Thoughts?

    Lin Yuan gave Ol'' Zhou a puzzled look. That was a rhetorical question, wasn''t it? Obviously, he wanted more money!

    "..."

    Surprisingly, Ol'' Zhou understood the meaning behind Lin Yuan''s gaze and didn''t get angry. He smiled kindly: "I will handle the contract negotiations with the company personally."

    Lin Yuan hesitated.

    Can Ol'' Zhou be trusted?

    While he was contemplating, a knocking sound was heard from the door followed by a familiar figure entering the room.

    The person was Zhao Jue. Upon entering, she said to Ol'' Zhou, "Lin Yuan has reached the standard for an advanced songwriter, and I''m planning to negotiate a new contract on his behalf."

    Ol'' Zhou glanced at Zhao Jue: "I can handle it."

    Zhao Jue shook her head: "I can get a better contract."

    Ol'' Zhou was displeased: "Don''t forget that Lin Yuan is a person from our Songwriting Department. Do you think your face is bigger than mine, or do you think I will cheat Lin Yuan if I take charge?"

    This Little Zhao couldn''t be trusted!

    Lin Yuan was my man, yet you''re trying to steal my limelight?

    Zhao Jue, a bit disgruntled, reminded Ol'' Zhou, "I was the one who signed Lin Yuan."

    "I''ll go."

    "I''ll go!"

    "I, Zhou Ruiming, dare to confront upper management!"

    "I''m very close with the boss!"

    "..."

    Seeing both about to bicker, Lin Yuan could only say: "What about both of you going together?"

    "Together?"

    Old Zhou and Zhao Jue looked at each other and simultaneously broke into a smile: "Alright, wait for our good news."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Five minutes later.

    Zhou Ruiming and Zhao Jue arrived at the Finance Department. Starlight Entertainment''s Finance Department had a dedicated person in charge of the contracts for advanced songwriters.

    "What wind blew the two of you over here?"

    Seeing both Zhou Ruiming and Zhao Jue together startled the responsible person briefly before a warm smile spread across his face.

    Both were significant figures within the company.

    Zhou Ruiming said: "Renegotiate a contract for Xian Yu."

    The manager immediately looked as though he had swallowed a bitter melon: "You''re personally negotiating on behalf of Xian Yu?"

    Zhou Ruiming nodded.

    The manager immediately got a headache.

    Normally, such contracts were negotiated between the musician and the company.

    Only for some extremely talented songwriters would the managers personally step in to help negotiate.

    This was the situation the manager dreaded most!

    These managers, in order to win over high-potential musicians, often adopted the most aggressive attitudes, firmly siding with the musician!

    The manager''s responsibility, on the other hand, was to keep the company''s interests in mind and bargain as much as possible.

    "Then what about Chief Zhao?"

    The manager looked at Zhao Jue.

    Zhao Jue said: "The same."

    The manager was dumbfounded: "Whose behalf are you on?"

    Zhao Jue: "Xian Yu''s."

    The manager was so shocked that he didn''t manage to utter another word for a while.

    ...

    By the time Zhao Jue and Zhou Ruiming left, the manager was slumped over the table, scaring the subordinate nearby: "What''s going on?"

    "I''m the company''s sinner."

    The manager replied weakly.

    The subordinate looked helpless: "Why not explain it to upper management?"

    The manager gave the subordinate a look: "You think I didn''t think of that? Upper management already told me to do as I see fit once they heard it was for Xian Yu''s contract."

    "How much did you sign?"

    "Is that any of your business?"

    Embarrassed, the subordinate gave a weak laugh and left quietly.

    As if it were casual, the manager said, "The next time a contract comes up, higher management might need to personally negotiate."

    The subordinate was taken aback.

    On the other side, Ol'' Zhou and Zhao Jue had returned to the songwriting department and with much grandeur, they placed the new contract on the table: "This is your new contract."

    "What''s the split?"

    Lin Yuan was anticipating.

    Zhao Jue smiled: "If you were to collaborate with smaller artists in the future, you can directly get 50% of the distribution rights, you decide how you want to split with the artist and of course, they have the right to refuse. But, I guess there won''t any small artist who will reject the opportunity to work with you."

    Lin Yuan started to do the math:

    According to this contract calculation, he previously would have only received 0.15%. Now, he would directly get 4.5%, tripling his previous amount. This meant that Lin Yuan''s song split amount would be multiplied by three in the future. This made the price for customized songs from the system seem significantly more reasonable.

    "In addition,"

    Ol'' Zhou added: "In the event of a collaboration with a big-name artist, the company can give you a 30% share of the profits, the remaining 60% will be negotiated with the artist and their management by the company, and you wouldn''t be involved."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    This was the reason why he wasn''t fond of collaborating with big-name artists.

    When working with tool people (small artists), he could get 4.5% and give away only 0.5%; but when working with big-name artists, he would only get 3%.

    The difference was a full 1.5%!

    Don''t underestimate this 1.5%. That was the percentage Lin Yuan earned from his previous songs. All in all, he had made a decent amount of money from this.

    "Lin Yuan,"

    Old Zhou said with a smile, "For a new advanced songwriter like yourself, this contract is already the best at the moment. Other advanced songwriters may have more exceptional works than you, but their contracts might not necessarily be better than yours."

    "Hmm,"

    Zhao Jue nodded: "Once you''ve created more excellent works in the future, this contract can be further improved. At that time, both Old Zhou and I can still help you negotiate."

    "Thank you."

    While Lin Yuan was talking, he looked through the entire contract again. Once he was certain there were no problems, he wrote "Xian Yu" and his own name in the signature column.

    "By the way,"

    After Lin Yuan signed, he curiously asked, "How do ''maestros'' split royalties with the company?"

    "100%"

    Zhao Jue smiled.

    The artists don''t participate?

    Before Lin Yuan could become envious, Ol'' Zhou added: "Some maestros can also participate in various other types of revenue splits beyond downloads."

    Lin Yuan was shocked.

    There were many ways for a song to make money, not just from download shares, but also include artist appearances and even concerts, etc. The revenue from these projects was often astronomically high, which sometimes could even exceed download shares!

    "Keep going,"

    Ol'' Zhou chuckled, "When you reach that stage, I might share some even better-kept secrets with you. The company has many trump cards, so trump card contracts might not necessarily be that great, but maestros, well, they live in a different world."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    While Lin Yuan was over the moon about his new contract, Chen Zhiyu was dining with his agent on a fish banquet when suddenly, Chen Zhiyu opened his mouth in distress.

    "What''s wrong?"

    The agent asked concernedly. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Chen Zhiyu shouted, "A bone! There''s a bone in this fish!"

 Chapter 107 - 104 Drinking Tea_1

    "Congratulations on becoming the new ace of the tenth floor!" S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    As soon as Lin Yuan left the office, the people in the composition department began to applaud, with Wu Yong and a few others leading the congratulations.

    "Thank you."

    Lin Yuan displayed a smile in line with social expectations.

    One of his colleagues joked, "To celebrate, maybe Admirable Fish should treat us to a cup of coffee?"

    "No coffee."

    Lin Yuan instinctively shook his head, "I''ll treat everyone to tea instead."

    Everyone was delighted, "Tea works as well. There''s a tea house downstairs. Shall we go down now, or would you prefer to call and have them deliver it?"

    "No need for that trouble."

    Lin Yuan turned back and reentered Ol'' Zhou''s office.

    Zhao Jue, who hadn''t yet left, was talking to Ol'' Zhou. Seeing Lin Yuan come in, both looked curiously at him, "Do you need something, Lin Yuan?"

    Lin Yuan asked, "Where is your tea?"

    Ol'' Zhou was stunned for a moment, then laughed, "In the bottom drawer on the left."

    Apparently, the kid had given up on coffee and taken to tea.

    Lin Yuan nodded, riffled through Ol'' Zhou''s drawer, and then walked out with a box of tea leaves.

    Ol'' Zhou startled, exclaimed in alarm, "Hey, hey, hey, wait a minute, you can''t drink all of that!"

    Lin Yuan replied, "I''m treating everyone."

    The colleagues outside the office, who were peeking through the door, saw that Lin Yuan had directly taken Ol'' Zhou''s treasured quality tea leaves. Their eyes sparkled, and they gave him a thumbs-up!

    "Admirable Fish is ruthless indeed!"

    "Ol'' Zhou is bleeding a fortune!"

    "Those tea leaves are precious!"

    "Ol'' Zhou is too good to Admirable Fish."

    "You could do the same if you had his skills."

    "..."

    Everyone was exceedingly enthusiastic.

    Ol'' Zhou was uneasy, wanting very much to reclaim the box of tea Lin Yuan was carrying off.

    Zhao Jue, sitting at the side with intense calmness, commented, "Director Zhou, you are indeed generous. Little Zhao admires you."

    Ol'' Zhou: "..."

    How could he lose face in front of Little Zhao?

    He forced himself to remain calm and waved helplessly at Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan didn''t think too much about it and went straight out with the tea. He began to brew it for his colleagues, since there was hot water readily available.

    "Give me some!"

    To his surprise, his colleagues seemed to love tea more than coffee, were even more eager for it, and quickly gathered around him.

    He was shrewd after all.

    How expensive is the tea downstairs!

    Doesn''t Ol'' Zhou have readily available tea right here?

    He didn''t just take Ol'' Zhou''s tea for free, anyway. He could always buy Ol'' Zhou another box to make up for it. It was definitely more cost-effective than buying from the tea house downstairs.

    With these thoughts in mind.

    Lin Yuan brewed a cup for himself as well. Halfway through drinking it, Wu Yong suddenly leaned in to him and said, "You''ve got some nerve! This tea costs at least tens of thousands a box. Ol'' Zhou usually can''t bear to drink it himself, let alone any of us. Now that you''ve managed to get your hands on it, we are really benefiting on your account."

    Lin Yuan''s hand trembled.

    Wu Yong didn''t notice Lin Yuan''s reaction. Blissfully, he said, "Honestly, tea that costs tens of thousands for a box, it really tastes different!"

    Lin Yuan glanced back at Ol'' Zhou.

    Ol'' Zhou was rubbing his temples hard.

    Looking at the tea in his hand and then at the now empty box of tea, Lin Yuan suddenly found himself missing the sixty yuan a cup coffee upstairs.

    ...

    Should he reimburse Ol'' Zhou?

    Until the time he left work, Lin Yuan was still pondering this significant dilemma in life. He found it hard to comprehend why there were people like Ol'' Zhou in the world who actually drink tea that costs tens of thousands a box.

    Such people don''t know how to live a sensible life!

    Don''t all types of tea taste the same? It''s just like coffee, all subtly different. The only difference is the degree of sweetness and bitterness. With that kind of money, wouldn''t it be more tempting to buy some ice cream and accompany it with a portion of pudding jelly?

    "Teacher Admirable Fish."

    Just as Lin Yuan was grappling with his thoughts, a voice drifted into his ear. He looked up to see two men standing in front of him. One was Tao Ran, whom he''d met before, the other was a stranger.

    "My name is Jin Shuyu!"

    Jin Shuyu quickly introduced himself.

    Lin Yuan paused, "What is this about?"

    Tao Ran solemnly said, "Our previous actions caused you discomfort. We are here to apologize. These gifts are a token of our sincerity. Please accept them!"

    Tao Ran was carrying a few boxes.

    Lin Yuan didn''t take them, "It''s fine."

    Jin Shuyu gave a bitter smile, "Teacher Admirable Fish, please don''t be so formal. What happened last time was wrong of me. I''ve been reflecting deeply on it. I give you my word, such things won''t happen again!"

    "That''s good then."

    There''s a saying: don''t accept rewards for deeds not done.

    Lin Yuan nodded his head and prepared to leave.

    Jin Shuyu gave Tao Ran a meaningful look, and Tao Ran took his hint. He promptly handed the boxes in his hands to Lin Yuan, "There''s nothing of great value inside, just some tea leaves."

    Tea leaves?

    Lin Yuan''s nerves jumped. Unable to help himself, he stopped, hesitated a moment, leaned in towards Tao Ran, and asked softly, "How much does this tea cost?"

    "Not very expensive."

    Tao Ran quickly waved his hands to dismiss it.

    Lin Yuan frowned, "That won''t do."

    Tao Ran froze, then coughed, "A box costs thirty to fifty thousand. If you''re not satisfied, I can get you better ones. But reserve high-quality tea in advance; you have to give me some time..."

    "I''m very satisfied!"

    He could give this tea to Ol'' Zhou as compensation.

    Lin Yuan took the gifts quickly. But, he felt leaving like this was somewhat improper. So he spoke sincerely, "I don''t hold it against you guys, so you really don''t have to be so formal next time."

    "Okay!"

    Both men sighed heavily in relief.

    Looking at Lin Yuan''s receding figure, Jin Shuyu breathed a sigh of relief and said with lingering fear, "Brother Tao, you must remember, the people we absolutely can''t afford to offend in this company are the composers, or rather, composers of Admirable Fish''s level."

    "Certainly!"

    Tao Ran nodded emphatically.

    Jin Shuyu smiled, "But perhaps we''ve overthought it. Admirable Fish is a human after all. Didn''t he accept these gifts? We''re all mundane people. It won''t be difficult to get on his good side in the future if he likes money."

    "Foolish!"

    Tao Ran retorted.

    Jin Shuyu: "Huh?"

    Tao Ran shook his head, "Teacher Admirable Fish is absolutely not a man who can be swayed by money. Even when I offered two million for the song ''Red Roses'', he didn''t bat an eye. You think a petty gift of tens of thousands of dollars is something he''d care about?"

    "So that''s how it is."

    Jin Shuyu said, "Then why..."

    Tao Ran sighed, "That''s the magnificent character of Teacher Admirable Fish. He probably just didn''t want us to keep worrying, to make us feel uneasy, so he accepted our gifts. He even specifically asked me the price of the tea. He was testing me! A few tens of thousands of yuan is a neither significant nor insignificant amount.

    If it''s too cheap, it seems insincere, but if it''s too expensive, it changes the nature of the gesture. So it''s just to put our minds at ease, to tell us that he genuinely forgives us."

    "I understand!"

    Looking at Lin Yuan''s retreating figure, Jin Shuyu felt somewhat moved. He had been too crude in his assessment of Teacher Admirable Fish!

    .

    .

 Chapter 108 - 105 Whats bad about being a dog_1

    "What is this..."

    Ol'' Zhou was rather perplexed at the sight of Lin Yuan carrying a tea box back to his office after work.

    "Tea."

    Lin Yuan said.

    Ol'' Zhou laughed, "Did you go out and buy tea for me? It''s no big deal that I asked everyone to drink up my tea, I''m not so stingy."

    "Here you go."

    Lin Yuan put the tea in the drawer.

    Ol'' Zhou nonchalantly said, "Consider it in my keeping. You can brew yourself a cup whenever you want, no need to stand on ceremony with me."

    "Sure."

    It was only after Lin Yuan put down the tea that he left. As he passed a rest area, he suddenly heard a familiar voice in front of him.

    The voice of Sun Yaohuo.

    At this moment, Sun Yaohuo was surrounded by a group of young singers from the company. Their eyes were filled with admiration and envy for Sun Yaohuo, a look that was similar to the way the members of the art club looked at Lin Yuan.

    Sun Yaohuo was showing off.

    To be precise, he was giving a speech on success: "Actually, success is simple, just four words: hard work and diligence. You see only my success but not the sweat I shed to achieve it, have you ever seen the sun at one in the morning?"

    "The sun at one in the morning?"

    "That''s not the point, the point is, I get up every day to warm up my voice, every day I practice my lung capacity, I haven''t smoked or drunk alcohol for all these years for the sake of my singing, I even dare not touch my childhood favorite chili!"

    "Brother Yaohuo, say something different."

    "Right, we''ve heard all these before."

    "Who among us isn''t diligent and hardworking?"

    Reclining comfortably on the sofa, Sun Yaohuo said leisurely, "Alright, then I''ll share something unique. Actually, there''s a key to being successful!"

    "What''s the key!" sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The crowd''s eyes lit up.

    Sun Yaohuo smiled lightly, "For newcomers, the secret to success is simple: as long as you follow the right maestro, even if you''re tied in the recording studio singing a few random lines, you can make it!"

    "Isn''t that being a dog?"

    Someone blurted out, then quickly closed their mouth and cautiously looked at Sun Yaohuo, clearly realizing their slip of the tongue.

    "Haha."

    Sun Yaohuo patted the person''s shoulder lightly and smiled, "I''ve heard that before. When I made my debut with ''Life Like A Summer Flower'' many people said that even a dog tied in the recording studio could make the song famous!"

    The crowd responded, "That''s too much!"

    Sun Yaohuo shook his head, "No, no, no, that''s why I say you all are too young. Everyone says I''m Admirable Fish''s dog, but look at where I am today, can you tell me... what''s wrong with being a dog?"

    In front of a big star, newcomers are just dogs!

    Sun Yaohuo will never forget the scene when Tao Ran handed him a business card, asking him to give up ''Red Rose''. It was at that moment that he realized what it really meant to be treated like a dog.

    The crowd was deep in thought.

    Lin Yuan spoke, "Senior."

    On hearing his voice, Sun Yaohuo perked up immediately. Under the stunned gaze of all around, he quickly put on a different face, showing a mix of friendliness, appeasement, and humility, along with a touch of...

    Dignity?

    "What do you need, junior?"

    "Can I get a ride with you?"

    Lin Yuan mainly didn''t want to take a taxi.

    Before Sun Yaohuo could reply, the people around him jumped up and crowded around Lin Yuan, much faster than him: "Is Teacher Admirable Fish off work? Would you like a ride in my car?"

    "I have a car too!"

    "I should be the one to take you!"

    "My car cost three hundred thousand!"

    How did these guys learn so fast?

    This seemed like teaching their master a lesson in getting rid of their own livelihoods.

    Sun Yaohuo, feeling a strong sense of crisis, quickly moved to Lin Yuan''s side, "The same temperature as usual, junior? I''ll have someone adjust the air conditioning in the car right away. We''ll pass by a milk tea shop that I invested in recently, they have all sorts of flavors. Let''s have dinner around there too. There''s a famous restaurant I had reserved a table at last week!"

    The crowd: "..."

    Only after Lin Yuan and Sun Yaohuo left, the group looked at each other and began to marvel, "Indeed, we''re miles away compared to Senior Yaohuo!"

    "Woof!"

    Someone spoke.

    The crowd looked at the speaker with confusion, only for him to present a faint smirk of someone who''d stumbled upon a great truth, "Let me show you today, that I can do it too!"

    The crowd had an epiphany.

    And they started imitating him.

    On the other hand, Lin Yuan got in the car.

    Sun Yaohuo really did own a milk tea shop.

    It was primarily due to the trauma caused by his last failed attempt with Jiang Kui.

    The milk tea shop was conveniently located on Lin Yuan''s commute home, with a wealthy variety of flavors. While Lin Yuan was drinking his milk tea, Sun Yaohuo cautioned the clerk, "From now on, this gentleman doesn''t have to pay when he comes for milk tea."

    After the milk tea shop.

    Sun Yaohuo took Lin Yuan to have dinner at the restaurant he had reserved beforehand.

    The restaurant''s food was indeed exceptional, and Lin Yuan enjoyed it thoroughly.

    However, this time, Lin Yuan picked up the bill himself.

    He couldn''t let Senior Yaohuo pay each time, Lin Yuan knew the principle of reciprocity well.

    "How could I let you pay."

    On the way to Lin Yuan''s housing complex, Sun Yaohuo kept grumbling.

    He ordered a heap of delicious food and drinks, which cost a pretty penny, all to treat Lin Yuan graciously and express his gratitude. But he hadn''t expected Lin Yuan to pick up the bill in the end.

    This didn''t sit well with him.

    "Next time, you pay." Lin Yuan said.

    Only then did Sun Yaohuo give up.

    He even considered whether he should open a restaurant that served all the dishes that his junior loved, which would also facilitate his work.

    But he didn''t have that much money yet, so he''d consider this issue in the future.

    Perhaps it won''t be long?

    Yes.

    Sun Yaohuo now, was different!

    Although ''Red Rose'' hadn''t been released for long, he had already gained some popularity and showed signs of rising fame.

    Today, many commercial performances have approached him, getting in touch with his manager. Although not quite flooding him with offers, compared to the past, it was a different world!

    In addition.

    The company had clearly arranged Sun Yaohuo''s itinerary for him, offering him all kinds of high-quality publicity, something Sun Yaohuo could only dream of in the past.

    Otherwise, why would those newbies in the company cluster around Sun Yaohuo?

    Don''t underestimate these guys, they''re new but they''re crafty.

    But do they really think they can get anywhere just by groveling?

    Fat chance.

    My real secret to success is sincere!

    ...groveling!

    Yes, sincere groveling, that''s the ultimate art of being a bootlicker.

    My kindness towards my junior comes from the heart, I think his thoughts, worry about his worries, it''s even become a sort of muscle memory!

    Those little guys are still miles away from that.

    Insincere groveling looks too flashy, with no skill at all, Jiang Kui can kill them in a second!

    "..."

    Upon reaching the entrance to the residential complex.

    Lin Yuan suddenly said, "Senior."

    Sun Yaohuo promptly replied, "What is it, junior?"

    Lin Yuan looked at him seriously and said, "You''re not a dog, you''re a person."

    Sun Yaohuo was taken aback, then felt a warmth in his heart and nodded heavily.

    .

    .

 Chapter 109 - 106 You Can Never Wake a Pretending Sleeper_1

    Back home, Lin Yuan started thinking about a few issues.

    Thanks to the great success of "Red Rose," he had successfully secured a new contract. At the same time, this meant he temporarily had no songs in his possession.

    Did he need to customize something?

    Perhaps there was no need to rush for now.

    He hadn''t completed the system''s painting task yet.

    The painting task offered a treasure chest as a reward. If a song came out of the chest, wouldn''t that save him the cost of 500,000 for customizing a song?

    Moreover, "Initial Dream" had not yet been released!

    Although the existence of Xian Yu might be obscured when the song was first released, the Prestige Value obtained by "Initial Dream" ultimately pointed to Lin Yuan himself.

    For Lin Yuan, that was enough.

    After all, he was not one to seek fame -

    he sought profit.

    As long as the Prestige Value was credited to his account, he was fine.

    As for when Xia Fan would specifically release "Initial Dream," Lin Yuan did not plan to interfere.

    That was Xia Fan''s business.

    If Xia Fan wanted to sing the song during the competition, then he''d sing it then; if he wanted to wait until he officially debuted, then he would wait until his official debut.

    For Lin Yuan, it was all the same; the Prestige Value might be late, but it would never be absent.

    He contemplated for a while.

    Lin Yuan suddenly slapped his leg and exclaimed, "Damn it!"

    He suddenly remembered that there seemed to be a time limit for the painting Prestige Value task.

    Lin Yuan quickly called up the System: "How much time do I have left for my task?"

    The system notification read: "There isn''t much time left for the host. There are only two weeks until the task deadline."

    Lin Yuan was taken aback.

    Is that all the time he had left?

    Previously, he had been helping his classmates play the piano, taking Sun Yaohuo to record "Red Rose," and working weekends. These activities had delayed him a bit, so he didn''t have enough time to carry out the system''s task.

    Lin Yuan checked the progress of the task and breathed a sigh of relief.

    The current painting Prestige Value was 800, and he was only 200 away from the target of 1,000 painting Prestige Value.

    The gap was not too wide.

    He decided to concentrate on this task and finish it off first.

    Although there was no penalty for not completing a system task, missing out on the treasure chest was the greatest penalty to Lin Yuan.

    With that in mind.

    Checking his class timetable saved on his phone, Lin Yuan noted that tomorrow''s first class in the morning was Mr. Huang''s piano lesson, followed by a physical education class¡­

    "I can skip those."

    Lin Yuan made up his mind.

    Skipping school wasn''t a big deal for college students. While Lin Yuan rarely skipped lectures, he didn''t have much psychological pressure to do so under exceptional circumstances.

    About taking leave¡­

    Lin Yuan was, after all, doing it for the system task, so he felt that taking leave wasn''t the right thing to do. He considered it better to outright skip class.

    Keeping that in mind.

    The next day, Lin Yuan went straight to the art club.

    There weren''t many people in the art club in the morning, as many classes from the art department had lessons, but there were always a few students who would come over if they had no classes. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    For example, Zhong Yu, who declared himself to be Lin Yuan''s number one disciple, was in the art club at this moment.

    In Lin Yuan''s impression, Zhong Yu seemed to spend most of his time in the art club.

    Did he not have many classes?

    No, it was because Zhong Yu liked to skip classes.

    As soon as Lin Yuan walked in, Zhong Yu came over with a giggling face and said, "GOAT, you are coming to the art club less and less often. A lot of club members are lining up for your teachings."

    "No problem."

    Having plenty of time after skipping class, Lin Yuan glanced at the crowd around him and said, "Today I will teach ten people."

    The crowd: "..."

    Why did an unexplained hegemony suddenly emerge?

    Immediately after, the crowd was excited!

    We love this "It''s me or no one" arrogant attitude!

    Lin Yuan''s teachings were in high demand, with everyone wanting to secure their spot as early as possible. Therefore, when they heard that Lin Yuan was planning to teach ten people today, they were naturally thrilled.

    ...

    Today, as usual, those intending to learn sketching were in the majority.

    Apart from sketching, Lin Yuan had recently taught some people how to use gouache. Everyone could tell that Lin Yuan''s gouache painting technique was also very good.

    However, because Lin Yuan had never fully displayed his skills in gouache, everyone was somewhat hesitant.

    After all, being good at painting is one thing, being good at teaching it is another thing altogether.

    It seems that Lin Yuan''s gouache painting skills were quite good.

    But did this mean his gouache teaching skills were also good?

    In contrast, Lin Yuan''s sketching teaching ability had already received universally good reviews. Therefore, over ninety percent of his students came for sketching classes.

    Lin Yuan wasn''t picky.

    He started the Master Effect.

    No matter what they chose to learn, he would teach as normal.

    In this way, one, two, three ¡­

    Perhaps the Master Effect was really useful, or maybe Lin Yuan had taught so much that he had become proficient in it. In any case, Lin Yuan now educated quickly and had more and more students.

    "It''s getting late."

    When Lin Yuan was teaching his fourth student, Zhong Yu quietly reminded him, "GOAT, do you have class today?"

    After spending so much time in the art club, Lin Yuan''s schedule had been mostly figured out by Zhong Yu.

    "I skipped class today."

    Lin Yuan explained briefly, then said, "Next."

    ...

    Meanwhile.

    In the composition department''s piano classroom.

    Huang Benyu, as usual, glanced at the students below the podium, quickly checking if anyone was missing.

    After scanning for a while, he was delighted to find that Lin Yuan was surprisingly absent today.

    Did he skip class?

    If it was any other student skipping class, Huang Benyu would have been strict, teaching them the lesson of failing grades!

    But if Lin Yuan didn''t come, Huang Benyu was not only not angry, but rather excited!

    It''s good that he didn''t attend.

    He should''ve started skipping a long time ago!

    Why did Lin Yuan come?

    Was he there to teach me how to play the piano?

    In terms of skill, Huang Benyu and Lin Yuan were equals, both on a professional level. Considering the age gap between the two, Huang Benyu truly didn''t want Lin Yuan to waste time coming to his class.

    Even if Lin Yuan casually practiced in any piano room, the effect would be much better than attending his piano class.

    At this point.

    The class representative actively handed the student list to Huang Benyu. However, Huang Benyu didn''t even look at it and tossed it back.

    The class representative was confused: "Mr. Huang?"

    Huang Benyu smiled: "No roll call today."

    The class representative was stunned.

    Although some teachers'' roll call frequency was quite random, Huang Benyu was undoubtedly a roll-calling fanatic in the representative''s mind.

    He took roll every class, and anyone who was absent would be severely reprimanded.

    Therefore, the composition department''s students dared not skip Huang Benyu''s piano lessons.

    Today was quite strange, the roll call fanatic wasn''t taking roll?

    Huang Benyu gave a quiet chuckle.

    If he took roll today and announced Lin Yuan''s absence in front of the whole class, wouldn''t he have to mark Lin Yuan as absent?

    That would be like shooting himself in the foot.

    What if Lin Yuan took his piano lessons regularly for fear of failing the piano course?

    So it was simple.

    He didn''t take roll.

    As long as he feigned sleep, nobody could wake him up!

 Chapter 110 - 107: Is This The So-Called Groups Favorite? _1

    Painting Prestige Value: 811

    Having finished teaching another student, Lin Yuan sees a slight increase in his painting''s Prestige Value, which pleases him.

    Usually, teaching a few students doesn''t produce such significant results.

    However, during today''s teaching session, Lin Yuan happened to encounter a few students with solid fundamentals in sketching, clearly having attended his sketching classes before.

    For these students who have a good basis in sketching, Lin Yuan explained somewhat profound concepts, consciously demonstrating advanced sketching techniques that evoked a considerable amount of admiration from the onlookers¡ª

    This is probably why the Prestige Value reward is higher.

    Just when Lin Yuan was getting ready to continue teaching, a commotion suddenly arose from outside.

    A female teacher was unexpectedly entering the art club!

    This teacher marched straight towards Zhong Yu, her face filled with rage: "Zhong Yu, you''ve skipped class again!"

    "Teacher..."

    Zhong Yu shrunk his head in fear, not expecting his gouache teacher to find him at the art club: "I promise I won''t skip class next time!"

    "Shut up!"

    Zhong Yu''s gouache teacher coldly said: "You said the same thing last time, and the time before that, and the time before that."

    Zhong Yu patted his chest: "Next time for sure!"

    The gouache teacher gruffly said, "I didn''t come looking for you solely because of your tendency to skip class, but also to inform you that your gouache work has won second place in this gouache competition."

    With that said, the gouache teacher took out Zhong Yu''s gouache painting.

    "Ah!"

    Upon hearing this, Zhong Yu was overjoyed. He unrolled his gouache painting, his face full of delight: "I can''t believe I won an award."

    "Wow!"

    "Well done!"

    "Zhong Yu, you''re so good at gouache?"

    "I thought your previous gouache works were just average!"

    "You actually won second place in the college gouache competition?"

    "..."

    Upon seeing Zhong Yu''s painting, everyone couldn''t help but express their astonishment.

    Many of those present had participated in the college gouache competition, but only a few had won.

    Moreover, everyone in the club knew each other well.

    In their previous impressions, Zhong Yu''s gouache skills were just decent, definitely not enough to win second place in a gouache competition!

    But looking at Zhong Yu''s work now, it''s as if he''s a different person!

    The teacher''s expression gradually softened and she said softly, "You did quite well."

    Zhong Yu was a little proud and grinned, "Well, you should see who my mentor is."

    After saying this, Zhong Yu suddenly covered his mouth.

    Oh no!

    The GOAT''s gouache teaching skills are about to be exposed!

    Within the art club and even the entire art department, not many students are aware of Lin Yuan''s gouache skills.

    Zhong Yu plans to continue studying with Lin Yuan to further improve his gouache skills, so he made a secret agreement with those students who had seen Lin Yuan sketch on the blackboard not to reveal the GOAT''s gouache skills too soon.

    That way, they could quietly make a fortune.

    He didn''t think that he would slip up and expose it all today!

    Just as Zhong Yu feared, the moment his words were out of his mouth, all eyes instantly fell on Lin Yuan.

    Zhong Yu''s rapid improvement in gouache skills stems from the GOAT?

    This is astonishing. Lin Yuan''s teachings have directly raised Zhong Yu''s gouache skills to competition level?

    However, the gouache teacher was not surprised.

    Some time ago, the skill levels of Zhong Yu and a few other students in the class had increased dramatically, so she asked why.

    While these students dared hide it from their peers, they didn''t dare to conceal it from their teacher, admitting directly that their fast improvement in gouache were all thanks to Lin Yuan''s teachings.

    "Is Lin Yuan here?"

    The grouache teacher curiously scanned the crowd.

    Lin Yuan replied: "I''m here."

    Upon seeing Lin Yuan''s face, the teacher exclaimed, "You''re the student who drew on the blackboard last time!"

    The teacher had also been present during the blackboard painting contest the last time.

    She had a deep impression of Lin Yuan''s painting and hence recognized him.

    After all, it''s hard not to remember such a handsome face.

    "Yes."

    Lin Yuan acknowledged with a nod.

    The grouache teacher glanced at the sketch in front of Lin Yuan and suddenly chuckled, "Don''t just teach sketching. Teach gouache when you''re free too."

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan agreed. He felt that teaching gouache classes on a large scale would add some variety, as teaching so many sketching classes every day was a bit monotonous.

    ...

    After the gouache teacher left, a group of people looked at Zhong Yu with eager eyes.

    Zhong Yu knew he couldn''t hide it any longer and laughed bitterly, "Yes, I learned gouache from the GOAT."

    "No wonder your gouache improved so quickly!"

    "A few people from our class have also improved their gouache recently. Does that also have something to do with the GOAT?"

    "We were so bitter that we didn''t know!"

    "Before, we thought the GOAT was only good at teaching sketching!"

    "I was hesitant about learning gouache from the GOAT before. Thinking about it now, I truly missed out a lot while hesitating!"

    "..."

    "Just like you guys imagined, but you can''t blame me completely, why didn''t you discover it?" Faced with the questions from the crowd, Zhong Yu finally confessed.

    "I want to be taught by the GOAT!"

    The audience''s eyes grew even hotter, all of them now ignoring Zhong Yu, turning their gazes towards Lin Yuan.

    "Five hundred per hour."

    Lin Yuan calmly quoted the price.

    "We''ll pay!"

    None of the crowd got discouraged because of the price.

    "Registration."

    Zhong Yu from the side spoke with a beaming face.

    The crowd felt irritated at Zhong Yu, but they still obediently registered with him.

    Who told Zhong Yu to be in charge of registration?

    Moreover, with so many of them wanting to learn gouache from the GOAT, lining up was a must. Lin Yuan had been at the art club for quite a while, and everyone was already very clear about his rules.

    Not long after, the number of people registered for gouache had reached fifty.

    This number was already catching up with the number of people registered for Lin Yuan''s sketching classes.

    Zhong Yu submitted the list to Lin Yuan for reviewing.

    Lin Yuan nodded, "Continue the class."

    More important than this minor gouache issue, was Prestige. He needed to hurry up and complete tasks in order to raise his Painting Prestige Value to a thousand in the coming days.

    "Continue class."

    Zhong Yu heartily summoned everyone.

    Lin Yuan''s class became even more popular after this. Although Zhong Yu regretted that he could no longer enjoy Lin Yuan''s gouache class all to himself, he had already learned a lot and even won second place in the gouache competition during the time when others didn''t know about it, so it was time for everyone else to learn from the GOAT too.

    On the other hand.

    The music department had already started their PE class for the day.

    Unlike Huang Benyu, who feigned sleep, the PE teacher had a habit of calling attendance.

    "Wang Qiang."

    "Present."

    "Li Feng."

    "Present."

    "Zhou Han."

    "Present."

    "Lin Yuan."

    "Present", "Present", "Present", "Present", "Present", "Present"...

    Surprisingly, more than half of the class shouted "present".

    Even some of the girls joined the chorus of "present," deliberately lowering their voices to imitate the voices of the boys.

    Lin Yuan was skipping class today, and his classmates in the music department had already noticed earlier, so they had planned to cover for Lin Yuan. But without prior discussion, they ended up with a comical and bizarre scene.

    "..."

    The PE teacher fell into deep thought.

    In all his years of teaching, this was the first time he had encountered such a situation, so he couldn''t help but ask, "How many Lin Yuans are there in your class?"

    Everyone: "..." Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Is this what they call a cherished group pet?

 Chapter 111 - 108 Task Completed_1

    "Ding Dong! Congratulations host on completing the task of achieving a thousand prestige points in painting, successfully obtaining a Bronze Treasure Chest, and a Silver Treasure Chest."

    Five days later.

    Lin Yuan finally completed the painting task recruited by the System just before the deadline. Hearing the pleasing notification sound felt like his efforts of skipping classes to earn prestige points in the Art Club over these five days weren''t wasted in vain.

    He got treasure chests!

    Not just one Bronze Treasure Chest.

    There was also a Silver Treasure Chest.

    Last time, from a Silver Treasure Chest, Lin Yuan obtained piano music. Who knows what he will pull out this time?

    System: "Would you like to open it?"

    Lin Yuan: "Store them in the warehouse for now."

    He decided to save the treasure chests and open them when he felt lucky.

    Opening chests was a bit of an uncertain art. You randomly open a chest and what if you get something bad?

    The System wouldn''t allow him to return the item either.

    After the task was done.

    Lin Yuan felt rather relieved.

    Next, he planned to continue writing the first volume of "Zhu Xian".

    The novel was divided into eight volumes by the System, with each volume having around two hundred thousand words.

    Presently, Lin Yuan had already written one hundred and fifty thousand words.

    With Lin Yuan''s typing speed, in two or three days, he could finish the rest, and that too in between other tasks.

    If he were to cut class to write like he did for the task, he would be able to finish the first volume in less than a day.

    While writing the novel, Lin Yuan''s mind is constantly flashing scenes from "Zhu Xian".

    The story of the first volume unfolds from the perspective of Zhang Xiaofan.

    As the male protagonist of the novel, Zhang Xiaofan and his good friend Lin Jingyu join the Qingyun Sect together.

    Zhang Xiaofan is not very talented, unlike his friend Lin Jingyu who is very gifted in cultivation. As a result, all the elders of the Qingyun Sect wanted to take Lin Jingyu as their disciple, while Zhang Xiaofan was completely ignored.

    Standard treatment for the inept.

    In the following plot, Zhang Xiaofan gradually becomes stronger through his initial adventures and a magic weapon called the Burning Stick.

    Not only that.

    Zhang Xiaofan falls in love with his master''s daughter, Tian Ling''er, who he had grown up with, but unfortunately, Tian Ling''er only saw Zhang Xiaofan as a brother, without any romantic sentiments involved.

    Just like that.

    As the plot progressively gets deeper, the entire worldview of "Zhu Xian" gradually takes shape in front of the readers, which was what Lin Yuan felt most deeply about as he continued writing.

    At the end of the first volume.

    The Qingyun Sect is about to hold the Seven-Sect Martial Arts Contest!

    Zhang Xiaofan will also participate in this contest. However, no one has any expectations of Zhang Xiaofan, and his master only hopes that Zhang Xiaofan can gain some experience.

    But Lin Yuan knows.

    The readers won''t think so.

    Readers are observing the book from the perspective of a distant god, so they are very clear that Zhang Xiaofan is not as weak as he seems.

    Zhang Xiaofan has his extraordinary experiences.

    And he has his own magic weapon.

    The Seven-Sect Martial Arts Contest is the best stage for Zhang Xiaofan to prove himself. Therefore, Lin Yuan believes that any reader who has finished the first volume of "Zhu Xian" would be most looking forward to Zhang Xiaofan shining in the contest!

    The pacing is just right.

    Zhang Xiaofan goes through some tough times in the beginning.

    He went through a great catastrophe in his village. His cultivation talent was weak, and few people took his cultivation seriously. From the readers'' perspective, they must be hoping for the protagonist to vent out his frustration.

    ...

    A few days later.

    Just as Lin Yuan was planning to finish the first volume of "Zhu Xian" in one go the next day, he received a call from Xia Fan.

    "I have a competition tomorrow!"

    "Then Jian Yi and I will come with you."

    Lin Yuan temporarily stopped writing the next day.

    Qin Continent''s annual "Bloom" was about to begin, and Xia Fan, as a contestant, had to go through the preliminary rounds.

    Even though deep down, they knew that Xia Fan passing the preliminary rounds would be a piece of cake, Lin Yuan and Jian Yi still accompanied her to the competition venue.

    The venue for the preliminary rounds was Su City''s largest stadium.

    As the biggest talent show in Qin Continent, on the first day of the preliminary rounds, the stadium was crowded and filled with excitement. It was clear how enthusiastic people were about this competition!

    "I''m a bit nervous."

    Xia Fan looked somewhat serious.

    Jian Yi laughed: "What are you nervous about, you are a veteran, and moreover, look who''s standing next to you!"

    Xia Fan looked at Lin Yuan.

    All Lin Yuan could do was reassure her, "Regardless of the result, you have already signed with Starlight, so just relax and enjoy the competition. You can definitely make your debut next year."

    Xia Fan took a deep breath: "Then I''ll head backstage."

    Lin Yuan and Jian Yi nodded. Contestants had to wait in the backstage area. If they don''t show up on time, they risk being disqualified.

    Soon after Xia Fan left, the preliminary rounds began.

    Lin Yuan stood in the audience, listening with great interest.

    In the future, he would have many different styles of songs that would require different people to sing.

    If he found any promising talents here, Lin Yuan could take note, as he could use their talents later.

    However, as this was the preliminary round, it was a mixed bag of talent.

    Lin Yuan listened to eight people perform back to back, but none of their voices amazed him.

    Five of them were even cut off by the judges halfway through their songs.

    Xia Fan was the ninth contestant to perform and was one of the earlier ones to take the stage.

    When it was her turn to perform, Lin Yuan and Jian Yi waved their hands frantically from below the stage, unfortunately, Xia Fan didn''t notice because of the large crowd.

    But Jian Yi''s teasing wasn''t wrong.

    Xia Fan was indeed a battle-hardened veteran.

    For the first round of the preliminaries, she sang an old song. After the performance, the judges conversed briefly before unanimously raising their boards indicating she had advanced to the next round. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Thank you, judges!"

    Xia Fan bowed, stepped down cheerfully, and promptly shared her joy with Lin Yuan and Jian Yi.

    "This is just the beginning."

    Jian Yi said with a smile: "You need to keep putting in more effort as the competition progresses. If it really comes to it, just sing ''Initial Dream'' and shock all the judges!"

    Xia Fan just smiled without responding.

    She wasn''t planning on singing ''Initial Dream'' in the competition - using it simply for winning a position in the next round seemed like a waste. She wanted to sing this song when she made her official debut.

    Seeing that it was getting late.

    Jian Yi suggested: "Shall we go back?"

    Xia Fan nodded, saying to the two of them: "Let''s go back today. I have several more rounds to participate in, but you two don''t have to accompany me."

    She was only nervous this first day.

    She couldn''t inconvenience them both throughout the competition.

    The two of them agreed with a laugh.

    Although university life is somewhat leisurely, it is not common for everyone to be free at the same time.

    The duration of Xia Fan''s competition was quite long. Lin Yuan and Jian Yi could accompany her if they were free, but if they weren''t, there was nothing they could do.

    After returning home.

    Lin Yuan looked at his phone and felt that there was still some time before bedtime, so he opened "Zhu Xian" and continued to write.

    With his fast typing, updating was not a big deal.

    Around nine o''clock.

    Lin Yuan finally completed the first volume of "Zhu Xian".

 Chapter 112 - 109: Heaven and earth are unkind, treating all things as straw dogs _1

    The next day.

    After Lin Yuan got up and washed up, he went down to have breakfast. When he was ready to pay, the breakfast shop owner laughed and waved his hand:

    "No need to pay."

    Lin Yuan asked, "Why?"

    The owner laughed even more excitedly, "We have a new owner for our breakfast shop. His name is Sun Yaohuo. He showed us your picture, said he''s your good friend. He also said that, from now on, you are the most precious lifelong, super free member of our breakfast shop."

    "Thank you."

    Lin Yuan didn''t insist.

    He was quite surprised.

    It is said that celebrities in the entertainment industry like to invest in catering. He didn''t expect senior Sun Yaohuo to be also interested in it.

    He had set up a milk tea shop a while ago, and today he invested in a breakfast shop.

    Should he also consider investing in the future?

    Forget it.

    He should not think about this for now.

    The first volume of "Zhu Xian" has been completed, and Lin Yuan plans to release it as soon as possible.

    He will choose Silver Blue Books as his publisher.

    Lin Yuan has a good impression of Silver Blue Books. During the serialization of "King of the Net", both the distribution and promotion channels were quite comprehensive, and they even increased their contract share in the middle. He has no reason to change his partner.

    Also, Lin Yuan had once cooperated with Silver Blue Books'' "Fun Reads" on a short story, and the experience was also¡ª

    They gave a satisfying amount of compensation.

    Unlike the trepidation he felt last time, Lin Yuan is quite confident in "Zhu Xian" this time.

    Thinking of this.

    On his way to school, Lin Yuan sent a message to his editor, YangFeng, "I have finished my new book."

    "So fast?"

    YangFeng responded almost instantly, "Can you send it to me now?"

    The reason why YangFeng replied so quickly was because he set Chu Kuang as his special attention.

    Although he is responsible for communication with many authors, Chu Kuang is the most famous author YangFeng is in charge of, so he must pay special attention to him.

    Before Chu Kuang could reply.

    YangFeng, fingers flying across his phone screen, continued to ask, "Is your new book still about tennis? You should know this sport best, and with the experience of the last book, writing it should be easier. I think it won''t be difficult to achieve another success."

    YangFeng was cheering Chu Kuang on.

    He believed that Chu Kuang''s new book would definitely continue to write about the sports competition theme that he is best at, and persist in this niche genre. This is also the matter most expected by everyone in the Fantasy Editorial Department of Silver Blue Books.

    Chu Kuang: "No."

    YangFeng: "Then, what are you writing?"

    If he''s not writing about tennis, is Chu Kuang planning to write about the currently popular basketball or football? Recently, many people in the industry are following Chu Kuang''s trend and writing about sports competitions, mostly focusing on football and basketball. Is Chu Kuang planning to teach these people how to write about basketball or football?

    That''s quite audacious!

    Chu Kuang really lives up to his reputation!

    YangFeng felt that his speculation was quite accurate, but when he saw the answer given by Chu Kuang, he was stunned. Because the two words Chu Kuang replied with made even him, an editor, feel somewhat estranged:

    "XianXia."

    Chu Kuang wants to write XianXia.

    The question is, what is XianXia?

    YangFeng felt like he was going to split apart. As a professional editor, of course he wouldn''t not know what XianXia is. But precisely because he knows, he feels it''s troublesome: "Like ''Immortal and Demon War''?"

    "More or less."

    Lin Yuan had looked up the information before and knew that "Immortal and Demon War" was Blue Star''s most recent XianXia work. After this work, Qin Continent had no other noteworthy XianXia novels. It has been about eighty years till now.

    "Can I call you?"

    "I am about to go to class."

    Chu Kuang stopped replying after that. However, YangFeng''s mailbox received a novel called "Zhu Xian". YangFeng was both amused and frustrated. After all, Chu Kuang was really going to persist in the niche genre till the end!

    Writing a XianXia novel?

    Is Chu Kuang an old-fashioned guy?

    He is clearly a university student.

    Readers who have feelings for XianXia probably have to trace back to YangFeng''s grandfather''s generation. "Immortal and Demon War" was a work praised by that generation. Now someone wants to write XianXia, YangFeng simply can''t imagine it.

    ...

    YangFeng arrived at the company with a mournful face.

    His colleagues found YangFeng''s appearance very strange: "Did another author go off the rails again?"

    "Worse than that."

    YangFeng said, "Chu Kuang is starting a new book."

    Everyone was taken aback, then they all laughed.

    "That''s a good thing."

    "Chu Kuang is starting a new book, why do you look so gloomy?"

    "Exactly, Chu Kuang is willing to write a novel again, you should be happy!"

    "I was worried that Chu Kuang might cooperate with other publishers. Now it seems that he is quite satisfied with our Silver Blue Books."

    "Does the new book also write about tennis?"

    "I feel like he would write about basketball or football."

    "..."

    The colleagues were quite interested in discussing this.

    YangFeng looked at everyone and said, "Chu Kuang''s new book is about XianXia."

    The editorial department was silent instantly.

    After a long time, someone asked tentatively, "Is it the XianXia I know about?"

    YangFeng forced a smile, "Do you know ''Immortal and Demon War''?"

    Really?

    A XianXia novel?

    What year is this?

    Everyone was really confused. The scene turned silent once again.

    Ignoring everyone else. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    YangFeng has already taken a seat at the desk.

    No matter what, he has to review the manuscript, to see what on earth Chu Kuang has written in this XianXia novel.

    To be honest.

    YangFeng almost gritted his teeth when he opened "Zhu Xian". The first thing that caught his eye was the preface of the book.

    "Heaven and Earth are not benevolent, and regard all things as straw dogs!"

    This is the first sentence in the preface of "Zhu Xian".

    If YangFeng has read fewer books, he might think this sentence is amazing.

    In the past, some people even thought this sentence was the original creation of "Zhu Xian".

    However, YangFeng has read the "Tao Te Ching", he knew that this sentence came from that work.

    Laozi was one of the most famous people during the Spring and Autumn Period.

    Therefore, there are two conjectures in the academic world about this sentence.

    The first conjecture is: Laozi wanted to express the idea of fairness between heaven and earth.

    The second conjecture is: Heaven is not kind, and only treats all things as lifeless offerings.

    No matter which conjecture is in line with Laozi''s thoughts, the fact that Chu Kuang could think of quoting this sentence as the beginning of the novel gives the impression that he seized the initiative.

    It seems that Chu Kuang didn''t decide to write XianXia on a whim, but had done some homework in advance.

    But why did he insist on writing XianXia?

    YangFeng shook his head and continued to read.

    Editors read books very quickly, and so did YangFeng.

    The preface, Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three, YangFeng read them very quickly.

    But when he read to Chapter Three, YangFeng suddenly stopped.

    Like someone had pressed the pause button on him.

    When the image resumed, as if rebooting, somehow, YangFeng opened the preface of "Zhu Xian" and started to read it again.

    This time, his reading speed is incredibly slow, he is practically reading word by word.

    This is the first time in YangFeng''s editing career that he has read a book at such a turtle''s pace¡ª

    As if, he was afraid of missing a word.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Finished for today, three chapters are the minimum, this is the fourth chapter, considered an extra chapter, so I still have some energy left, pleading for the monthly tickets.

 Chapter 113 - 110 I wont allow you to speak about Teacher Chu Kuang like this_1

    The off-work time at Silver Blue Books is at eleven in the morning, and work resumes at one in the afternoon, leaving a two-hour gap which is enough for everyone to have lunch or rest. However, very few people went home, and everyone would usually rest in the office at noon.

    11:15 a.m.

    The editors in the Youth Fantasy Department had just finished their meal in the company cafeteria, and as they returned to the office in small groups, they found YangFeng sitting still in front of his computer, seemingly out of sorts.

    They all shook their heads.

    Everyone sympathized with YangFeng.

    It was really tough for YangFeng, who had finally found a bestselling author, Chu Kuang. However, "King of the Net" ended quickly in less than half a year of serialization. YangFeng then placed his hopes on Chu Kuang''s new book, but Chu Kuang chose a theme that made no sense.

    Not just YangFeng.

    If this situation was faced by any other editor in the department, it would be unbearable. YangFeng was probably brainstorming how to persuade Chu Kuang to change the theme. Thus, everyone took turns in patting YangFeng on the shoulder:

    "Go have a meal first."

    "There''s still room for manoeuvre in this."

    "You can talk to Chu Kuang later, make him understand the situation in our circle, persuade him to continue writing a sports competition story. Even if he can''t match the success of "King of the Net" with his skills, it won''t be far off."

    "He sure can''t write fantasy."

    "The theme is too old-fashioned."

    After his shoulder was patted by his colleagues repeatedly, YangFeng seemed to have snapped back to reality. He suddenly stood up from his seat, his face rosing red, fervently shouting:

    "You all don''t know shit!"

    After an exchange of puzzled glances, everyone began to doubt whether YangFeng had become mentally disturbed due to the shock. Therefore, because they felt even more sympathy for him, they did not blame him for his outburst:

    "Bro, take it easy."

    "This is not your fault."

    "It''s all Chu Kuang''s fault."

    "The sudden ending of "King of the Net," shows that Chu Kuang is a very capricious writer, and the writing of such capricious writers is full of uncertainties. Don''t be too upset."

    "..."

    Everyone thought that after their consolation, YangFeng would feel better. However, to everyone''s surprise, YangFeng seemed somewhat angry as he glared at them and said, "I won''t let you speak ill of Mr. Chu Kuang like that!"

    Everyone: "..."

    YangFeng was full of excitement, just like a dehydrated fish returning to the embrace of the lake, filled with life''s passion, "You bunch of people obviously don''t understand what fantasy is. Teacher Chu Kuang''s talent is beyond your comprehension and imagination!"

    YangFeng was really excited!

    When talking about fantasy, people had to trace back to eight decades ago to "Immortal and Demon War." That was why many editors'' first reaction when they heard that Chu Kuang wanted to write fantasy was that this theme was outdated.

    YangFeng initially thought the same.

    Until ten minutes ago, when he had finished reading the first volume of "Zhu Xian," he understood how much he had misunderstood. Chu Kuang''s imagination had exceeded all the editors'' expectations.

    So this is how fantasy could be written!

    Under the grand and novel worldview, the scenes of the Qingyun Sect''s Bamboo Peak unfold gradually, like a mist-shrouded traditional Chinese painting. Zhang Xiaofan and his mundane burning stick, his playmate and senior sister Tian Ling''er who is eccentric and quirky, the strange yet kind-hearted younger brothers, as well as the mysterious master.

    Nearly every character seems to have emerged from the paper.

    The Blood Swallowing Pearl!

    The Three-Eyed Spirit Monkey!

    The battle of Buddha, Tao and Devil!

    Qingyun''s Seven-Sect Martial Arts Contest!

    The development of each storyline made YangFeng''s heart surge. The emergence of every setting made YangFeng exclaim with admiration, especially when he saw Zhang Xiaofan''s frustration in the early stages and the imminent convening of the Six-Sect Martial Arts Contest by the Qingyun Sect. The pacing of the story always fell at the most exciting spots.

    YangFeng was utterly impressed.

    He didn''t pay attention to his colleagues who were consoling him. He didn''t give any elaborate explanation about how brilliant this novel was either. Instead, he just sent the file of "Zhu Xian" to everyone''s email, believing they would understand his feelings once they finished reading it.

    Having finish these tasks.

    YangFeng went downstairs to have lunch.

    YangFeng was indeed acting odd today. His colleagues stood in place, dumbfounded for a while until they each returned to their seats. They then saw "Zhu Xian" from YangFeng quietly lying in their individual mailboxes.

    "Chu Kuang''s new book?"

    "YangFeng sent it to us?"

    "Let''s see what Chu Kuang wrote."

    After a pause, everyone mutually exchanged a few words before each of them, curious, opened the book. It was Chu Kuang''s new novel, after all. Even if it was the baffling fantasy genre, they were still somewhat interested. Besides, YangFeng had purposely sent the document to everyone''s email, obviously hoping that everyone could help take a look.

    Everyone started reading.

    Albert Einstein, from Earth, once gave an interesting interpretation of the theory of relativity: when a person is bored, they will feel that time passes very slowly, but when dating a beautiful girl, they will feel that time flies.

    This is Blue Star.

    The editors in the Fantasy Department didn''t know who Einstein was, but to them, a good novel is like a beautiful girl. If they had to choose, they would even choose a novel over a girl. This shares the same logic as some otakus ignoring goddesses for games.

    Continuing with the theory of relativity:

    When reading a boring novel, editors feel that time passes slowly. But when they read an excellent novel, they feel that time passes incredibly fast. The two-hour lunch break seems to have passed in the blink of an eye.

    Everyone even forgot about resting. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Resting is a daily routine in the Editorial Department. If they don''t rest for a while, it can easily affect their work performance in the afternoon. But today, there weren''t any such allowances in the Fantasy Editorial Department. As working hours in the afternoon began, everyone was still engrossively reading the first volume of "Zhu Xian".

    Work?

    Not important.

    Everyone was totally drawn into "Zhu Xian," reading very seriously. The Editorial Department was unprecedentedly quiet, everyone hadn''t even heard YangFeng''s footsteps when he came back to start his work.

    YangFeng smiled.

    He fully understood his colleagues'' feelings because he had experienced the same thing that morning. "Zhu Xian" must be published. Even if Chu Kuang decided to switch to writing a sports competition story now, YangFeng wouldn''t be pleased. Let Chu Kuang write fantasy!

    Write sports competitions?

    At this moment, several company executives passed by. Seeing the editors in the Fantasy Department engrossed in their work, they nodded with satisfaction: "The Fantasy Department is highly enthusiastic about their work, making a great start as soon as the afternoon shift begins."

    "Good."

    "That''s how it should be."

    "Better than other departments."

    Normally, it takes time for these editors to get into the working state, because they tend to be drowsy from just completing their rest, and it would take them some time to shake off the sleepiness and return to work.

    The executives left, satisfied.

    What the executives didn''t know was that soon after they left, one of the editors suddenly yelled at his computer screen in frustration and anger:

    "Damn it. It''s already over?"

 Chapter 114 - 111 The Essence of Human Nature is a Repeater_1

    Flipping page, flipping page, flipping page, flipping page...

    This editor reads books faster than anyone else in the department. Now, he had reached an important chapter in the first volume of "Zhu Xian" where the Qingyun Sect''s Seven-Sect Martial Arts Contest is about to start. But his mouse was at risk of breaking, and the next chapter still hadn''t appeared, so he was anxious.

    Did the first volume end here?

    Chu Kuang is baiting me with an unfinished chapter!

    However, just because this editor had finished reading, that didn''t mean all the others were done too. Everyone else was engrossed in reading when they suddenly heard his rants and, irritated, stared at him threateningly:

    "Shut up!"

    "I''m only..."

    "Don''t you dare spoil it for us!"

    Not daring to incite their wrath, the editor closed his mouth obediently.

    However, his comments did serve as a reminder to the other editors who were still reading.

    As they read, they were praying inwardly:

    May the progress bar stay strong!

    Everyone knows that the progress bar never holds up.

    The editors read books considerably faster than regular readers.

    Even if they tried to read more carefully, the progress bar would ultimately perform its legendary disappearing act.

    So when everyone had finished reading the pitiful first volume of "Zhu Xian", the editorial department went into turmoil. The editors exclaimed:

    "What the hell, it''s over?"

    "What the hell, it''s over?"

    "What the hell, it''s over?"

    It was as though they were not a group of editors but a collection of echo machines.

    Perhaps the essence of humanity is to echo things.

    The editor who finished reading first finally dared to speak: "Reading too fast is an occupational hazard for us editors."

    Everyone wholeheartedly agreed.

    The most troublesome thing was not the speed of their reading but the abrupt end of the first volume of "Zhu Xian", which left them very frustrated:

    "Why is Chu Kuang''s work so short!"

    "How unreal to leave us hanging like this!"

    "I want to see Zhang Xiaofan make a move!"

    "Being stuck in the middle like this is torture!"

    "Why did it suddenly finish when it was getting good!"

    "..."

    In fact, Chu Kuang''s work wasn''t short at all.

    A 200,000-word update was quite substantial.

    Most novels were published in volumes. Some novels were brave enough to be published as one volume after just over 100,000 words. A 200,000-word volume was undoubtedly conscientious in the industry.

    Ultimately, everyone''s frustration stemmed from the unfinished chapter.

    The Qingyun Sect''s Seven-Sect Martial Arts Contest was clearly a significant climax. Who would want to stop right before the climax?

    "So what do you think?"

    YangFeng spoke with a relaxed smile on his face.

    Earlier, YangFeng had been more excited than anyone, but seeing everyone else''s reactions, he suddenly felt a sense of superiority.

    "Awesome!"

    "Cool!"

    "Mind-blowing!"

    The editors had an awfully limited vocabulary of descriptive words. They were editors for crying out loud, and all they could come up with was "What the hell?".

    Two minutes later.

    Reason gradually returned to the editors: "This book has completely redefined the genre of immortal fantasy. Chu Kuang has started a new trend!"

    "So this is how you can write an immortal fantasy novel."

    "In ''Zhu Xian'', I even detected a hint of martial arts, but its themes are obviously more sophisticated than that. Chu Kuang''s work might lead the market trend again."

    Martial arts novels once enjoyed great popularity.

    Most of the old men in the Fantasy Department, over ninety percent, have fantasized about venturing in the martial arts world, so they had a soft spot for the genre.

    Unfortunately, the era of martial arts novels had ended.

    Just like with the Celestial Dynasty on Earth.

    Martial arts books were once the pillar of the book market.

    The popularity of the genre was even more exaggerated than the most popular genre today, otherworldly adventures.

    But now, no one can stomach martial arts novels anymore. The level of excitement they offer is far from sufficient for today''s readers!

    This is the trend of the times.

    You can''t go against the flow. Even if Elder Jin traveled to the future, he wouldn''t be able to change this inevitable conclusion.

    But after reading "Zhu Xian" today, everyone felt the long-lost sensation of martial arts. Yet, this novel was not just a martial arts story; it elevated martial arts to a whole new level with its immortal fantasy elements.

    "No wonder he didn''t want to continue writing about sports competitions."

    "So immortal fantasy is the true romance of men!"

    "Chu Kuang really knows his stuff. This book totally slapped my face."

    "Who could have imagined, Chu Kuang''s immortal fantasy would look like this."

    "Though it''s still an immortal fantasy genre, its content and structure are completely different from ''Immortal and Demon War''. This is an entirely new way of composing an immortal fantasy story."

    "..."

    The past ''Immortal and Demon War'' simply rehashed various mythological templates, creating a story of conflict between the righteous and the evil.

    It was really a martial arts story in disguise.

    The author merely raised the level of power in martial arts.

    But ''Zhu Xian'', written by Chu Kuang, portrayed a vivid world of cultivation!

    When everyone was reading this book, they even felt a sense of realism, as if this world truly existed.

    Even though it was mystical, the worldview was self-consistent. The pursuit of cultivating the Dao was intricately profound.

    This world emphasized serendipity, the cycle of cause and effect, and the mystery of magical treasures.

    Especially, the occasional mention of the "Zhu Xian Sword Formation" added a touch of expectation!

    Although Chu Kuang didn''t delve deeper into how terrifying the Zhu Xian Sword Formation was, the two characters "Zhu Xian" alone were enough to make everyone look forward to it, feeling the vast grandeur!

    Looking back.

    The opening sentence "Heaven and Earth are unkind, treating all creatures as straw dogs" is not simple. It feels like this saying by the sage Lao Tzu was tailor-made for this story, and the more you think about it, the more burning it makes you feel.

    At this point.

    Chief Editor Ol'' Xiong entered. Seeing the editors whispering excitedly, he roared: "Stop goofing around and get back to work!"

    Boonie Bears have appeared!

    All the editors, shocked, abruptly closed their mouths and put on their serious working faces.

    As the Chief Editor of the Fantasy Department, Ol'' Xiong had quite an imposing manner.

    Last time when Yu Rong from "Fun Reads" arranged for Chu Kuang''s submission without his permission, Ol'' Xiong made a big fuss at the magazine department. Many people still remembered it vividly.

    "This is what happened."

    At this moment, only YangFeng dared to speak: "Chu Kuang sent me his new book. I reckon we can start promoting it earlier, and directly publish it next month."

    "Chu Kuang''s new book?"

    Ol'' Xiong''s face softened: "Is it still about tennis, or another sport?"

    YangFeng replied, "He wrote about immortal fantasy this time."

    Ol'' Xiong''s face stiffened for a moment: "You''re joking, right?"

    YangFeng wasn''t surprised by Ol'' Xiong''s reaction and quickly replied, "You should read it first. I''ve sent the draft to your mailbox."

    "Hmm..."

    Ol'' Xiong looked puzzled as he walked toward his office. Just before he closed the door, he couldn''t help but turn back and question YangFeng once more: "Are you sure you''re not teasing me?"

    "Please read it first."

    YangFeng said, smiling.

    The others remained silent, sporting unusual expressions, observing Ol'' Xiong, and secretly looked forward to Old Xiong''s reaction after reading "Zhu Xian".

    The answer was revealed.

    Just as the workday was coming to an end, Ol'' Xiong suddenly burst out of his office, sprinting like a man possessed and ignoring everyone. His heavy footsteps echoed through the room! S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Bang!

    Without uttering a single word, he disappeared out of sight in the blink of an eye, leaving only the violently swaying door making creaking noises.

    "That''s the fastest I''ve ever seen Ol'' Xiong run."

    The editors were fascinated, sharing secret glances. This was truly a Boonie Bear in the wild.

 Chapter 115 - 112: Sincerity is Priceless_1

    Silver Blue Books.

    An office somewhere.

    Editor-in-chief Lu Bei was getting ready to head for a meeting when he saw Ol'' Xiong huffing and puffing like a heavy tank, running towards him.

    "What happened?"

    Lu Bei quickly stepped aside.

    Ol'' Xiong leaned against the door, panting heavily. It was a while before he could speak, "I''ve just sent you the new book by Chu Kuang. You must read it!"

    "Chu Kuang''s new book?"

    A notion struck Lu Bei, and he nodded. Seeing Ol'' Xiong panting heavily again, he didn''t say anything more and directly proceeded to the meeting room.

    It was an internal meeting.

    A leader was pontificating about a certain proposal while Lu Bei surreptitiously took out his phone and opened the newly released book by Chu Kuang that Ol'' Xiong had mentioned.

    Lu Bei is a big fan of Chu Kuang.

    The short novel "The Gift of the Magi" written by him last time deeply moved Lu Bei. He even took time off during the New Year to go home and spend the holiday with his family. Since then, he had been following Chu Kuang''s work enthusiastically.

    "Zhu Xian?"

    ''The title of this novel is quite domineering,'' Lu Bei thought to himself. He began to sneakily read the book in the meeting, which tended to be long and tedious, typically lasting more than a few hours.

    Just don''t get caught.

    It wasn''t the first time Lu Bei was slacking off during a meeting, and he had never gotten caught before. He didn''t just bury his head into the novel, he would occasionally pretend to listen attentively to the meeting reports, nodding his head occasionally, and even solemnly tap on his laptop as if he was taking notes for the meeting--

    In reality, all he typed was gibberish.

    The kind that even programmers wouldn''t understand.

    But Lu Bei was less cautious this time. He hadn''t expected "Zhu Xian" to be so mesmerizing that he was completely enthralled within just ten minutes. He totally forgot to pretend to be taking meeting notes and even missed when someone called his name:

    "Editor-in-chief?"

    "Editor-in-chief?"

    Finally, the leader who had been expounding on his views banged the table in anger. His voice was full of fury, "Lu Bei!"

    "Huh?"

    Lu Bei was brought back to reality. He couldn''t help but grin sheepishly and reluctantly put away his phone. Most of the higher-ups present at the meeting were his peers; if he wasn''t so annoying, they wouldn''t have referred to him by name.

    The meeting continued.

    Lu Bei was in agony.

    He wanted to continue reading because all he could think of was the plot of "Zhu Xian". He couldn''t help but anticipate the next developments. He didn''t pay any attention to the discussion during the meeting; all he wanted was for the meeting to end quickly so he could go back to his book.

    "Meeting adjourned!"

    Finally, the meeting ended.

    Lu Bei quickly left the meeting room and was about to call Ol'' Xiong when he noticed that Ol'' Xiong was waiting for him by the door. He sounded quite anxious, "Should we increase Chu Kuang''s contract?"

    "What was it before?"

    "Seven percent."

    "Raise It to ten percent."

    Lu Bei immediately responded. This was the rate given to many best-selling authors. Though Chu Kuang wasn''t quite there yet, Lu Bei was convinced that this new book by Chu Kuang would no doubt be as popular as his previous work "King of the Net". He was sure of this even though he''d read only a small portion.

    "Got it."

    Ol'' Xiong was not surprised.

    After reading "Zhu Xian", his first reaction was that this novel would take off. He''d never thought that a fantasy novel could be this fascinating!

    He was stunned!

    That''s why he sprinted out of the meeting room earlier!

    He had to personally liaise with the public relations, publishing, and other departments, and draw the editor-in-chief''s attention to just how good this novel was.

    "Remember."

    Just as Ol'' Xiong was about to leave, Lu Bei spoke again, sounding a tad annoyed, "I asked you to get me an autograph from Chu Kuang last time. Why didn''t you do it?"

    Ol'' Xiong was taken aback.

    He had completely forgotten about it, and he thought the editor-in-chief had as well. But the appearance of "Zhu Xian" reminded Lu Bei.

    ...

    Lin Yuan had no idea of the impact "Zhu Xian" was causing at the editorial department. However, he received a call from YangFeng that evening after school.

    "Teacher Chu Kuang!"

    YangFeng could clearly detect a diminishing assertiveness in his voice when speaking with Chu Kuang, "Your new book is simply amazing! The company is considering publishing the first volume of "Zhu Xian" next month. What are your thoughts on this?"

    It wasn''t like this before.

    In the past, YangFeng might have said something like this, "Chu Kuang, congrats! Your novel has passed our editorial department''s review. We have arranged for the publication of your novel next month."

    The message is the same.

    But with a different attitude.

    Lin Yuan, however, was completely oblivious to the subtle shift in YangFeng''s tone.

    As always, he was succinct, "You can publish it. When are we signing the contract?"

    "Well!"

    YangFeng laughed and said, "The company has decided to raise your novel''s royalty to ten percent, which is a high rate in the industry. Please let us know if there are other things you need..."

    "That''s great!"

    Lin Yuan subconsciously raised his tone.

    YangFeng was somewhat surprised. Didn''t Chu Kuang not care about money? Why was he so excited at the news of a higher royalty?

    Right.

    Money can represent many things.

    Perhaps what Teacher Chu Kuang cared about was not the small increase in the royalty, but the company''s recognition of his writing skills and the sincerity expressed through the money!

    Yes, royalties have a price.

    Sincerity is priceless.

    He must have faced some psychological pressure writing in a genre like fantasy this time, so he probably needed validation now more than ever.

    Thinking about this,

    YangFeng laughed and said, "As long as you''re satisfied. Also, I need to inform you that the company will soon start the presale promotion for "Zhu Xian"."

    "Mm."

    "Is that all?"

    "Yeah, that will be all."

    After hanging up the phone, Lin Yuan was in a good mood.

    Silver Blue Books always took the initiative to raise prices, which pleased Lin Yuan.

    It seems like the decision to continue cooperating with Silver Blue Books was the right one.

    Will they continue to raise prices in the future? S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    He should ask his sister about it later.

    His sister, Lin Xuan, is a publishing guru; she should know more about this.

    Speaking of this, Lin Yuan had considered taking "Zhu Xian" to his sister''s publishing company,

    But after investigating, Lin Yuan found that his sister''s publishing house was not large enough and would definitely not make as much money as Silver Blue Books. Therefore, he decided against it.

    Compared to boosting sales for his sister, making money was more important.

    As for his sister, he could simply share some of his earnings with her. She was working hard to earn a higher salary, which Lin Yuan understood perfectly.

    His sister must love money even more.

    Is there anyone in the world who doesn''t love money?

    That very night when Lin Yuan and YangFeng finished their call,

    News about the author Chu Kuang releasing a new book in July was finally posted on the official website of Silver Blue Books. This was a pre-heating mode for the new book''s promotion.

    When the news came out,

    Chu Kuang''s fans were thrilled!

    ----------------------

    PS: I''ll continue writing after dinner. It might take a while, don''t rush.

 Chapter 116 - 113: Redefining Fantasy_1

    Although the previous "King of the Net" was only serialized for a few months and even finished in less than half a year, Chu Kuang had accumulated some fans during the serialization of this novel.

    These fans have been closely following Silver Blue Books, waiting for news on Chu Kuang''s new book, so when they saw that Chu Kuang was about to release a new book, they were quite excited and anticipatory.

    "Faster than I expected."

    "King of the Net" ended not too long ago. Most other authors would rest for a few months after finishing a book, but Chu Kuang seems to have no plans for rest and hurriedly churned out a new book.

    "I just love Chu Kuang''s unpredictability!"

    "Because of ''King of the Net,'' I became a fan of athletic novels. After Chu Kuang''s work ended, I looked for many similar novels. Quite a few people in the market were imitating him, but compared to Chu Kuang, other sports novels I read always seem to fall short."

    "After all, Chu Kuang is the originator!"

    "Chu Kuang''s new book is also an athletic genre, right?"

    "Should we ask if Chu Kuang''s new book is still about yaoi?"

    "Hahahaha, I feel like the decent Youth Academy Tennis Club has been ruined by you guys, always saying they''re yaoi, when it''s clearly a proper tennis sports novel (serious face)."

    "..."

    "King of the Net" is a male-oriented novel that perfectly portrays the characters of the Youth Academy Tennis Club. With some interesting daily life sceens and a group of men sweating together every day, many readers jokingly called this novel a yaoi novel disguised as a sports novel.

    Because of this characteristic.

    The ostensibly male-oriented "King of the Net" surprisingly attracted quite a few female fans. These fans didn''t care about the competitions in the novel: they were only interested in the characters'' daily interactions, and their various yaoi fantasies could also bring them great joy.

    In this world that values copyright.

    If not for copyright disputes, "King of the Net" fan fictions would probably be everywhere by now. Never underestimate the creative power of yaoi fans. If they were allowed to run wild, they could probably sustain several fiction websites no regular guy would ever tap into.

    But worth mentioning is.

    Almost all fans think that Chu Kuang would continue to write sports competitive genres as he has pioneered the market for this genre. He wouldn''t abandon the big market he has opened after the hard work he put into "King of the Net," right? sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    That''s naturally the logic.

    Moreover, authors do care about maintaining a stable fan base. Chu Kuang''s pen name is firmly tied to fantasy novels and sports novels. If he were to change his genre, fans might not buy it.

    It''s not only the fans who think this.

    Publishing houses also think the same way, because now the sports genre is no longer unpopular. Although it''s still a niche compared to mainstream genres, it could still support several best-sellers.

    If he continues to write in this genre.

    Even if Chu Kuang had the worst of luck, he could still manage a decent amount of sales. Given Chu Kuang''s skill at writing sports novels, would he only aim for decent sales? The publishing houses in the industry wouldn''t belittle Chu Kuang like that, choosing to view him in as positive a light as possible.

    Perhaps it could be another "King of the Net"!

    Everyone was even a bit panicked, especially some publishers who competed fiercely with Silver Blue Books, because Chu Kuang''s speed in starting his new book was a bit too fast. Who would finish their old book and immediately start a new one without rest?

    Is he some kind of alien?

    If there were to be another very successful work, then the end of "King of the Net" would not be a loss for Silver Blue Books but a boon, because it would mean that Silver Blue Books had one more quality work!

    ...

    Chu Kuang indeed is an alien, something everyone in the industry guessed correctly, but everyone made one wrong guess: Chu Kuang''s new book did not continue with the sports genre, but switched to two topics that seemed unfamiliar to everyone at first glance:

    Xianxia genre!

    Silver Blue Books did not beat around the bush. They announced that Chu Kuang was going to release a new book that night, and the next day''s website banner revealed the genre of Chu Kuang''s new book. They also launched a grand promotion through various channels, which made Chu Kuang''s fans stunned for a few seconds.

    "What the heck?"

    "A Xianxia novel?"

    "It''s not a sports novel?"

    "Why not keep writing sports? Chu Kuang is clearly gifted in that genre. Even if it''s not tennis and switches to basketball or football, I''d still completely accept it!"

    "Isn''t the switch too drastic?"

    "This is a leap from a hot-blooded sports field to ''Immortal and Demon War''. But the problem is I don''t like reading fantasy novels. This ancient theme has long been outdated. What on earth is Chu Kuang thinking?"

    "..."

    Indeed, no one writes fantasy novels, but the influence of ''Immortal and Demon War'' is still significant. The novel even became a TV drama and is part of many people''s childhood memories. Most people''s concept of fantasy comes from this work from many years ago.

    The fans are perplexed.

    The industry is equally baffled. They have looked carefully at the banner advertisement from Silver Blue Books. It does say that Chu Kuang''s new book is a fantasy-themed one, and even the slogan is quite arrogant, stating just two sentences:

    "''Zhu Xian'' on sale July 1st!"

    "Watch Chu Kuang redefine fantasy!"

    Several people in the industry are a bit apprehensive. It would be unfair to say they''re not optimistic, Silver Blue Books is not stupid. If Chu Kuang''s work was really garbage, the company wouldn''t bother promoting Chu Kuang''s new book; they would have rejected the manuscript.

    But how good can Chu Kuang write?

    How great can a fantasy novel be?

    As for those called redefining fantasy, those in the know, understand that such statements are just for show. Every advertisement has to make bold claims. Even terrible movies claim to be epoch-making before their release.

    "I understand."

    Some industry insiders speculate: "Perhaps this novel called ''Zhu Xian'' is decent. As you know, there are some novels that fall in the middle range, too good to reject outright but unlikely to be a huge hit. Plus, Chu Kuang being the author, Silver Blue Books definitely wouldn''t want to offend him, give his proven abilities, so they simply gave him an opportunity?"

    Bestselling authors have some say.

    For non-bestselling authors, if editors reject their works, it''s done. But for bestselling authors, even if the work is not especially good, editors will not easily reject it, especially if the bestselling author insists on publishing it. In order not to offend the author, the publisher will usually give it a chance.

    What if it becomes a hit?

    An editor''s judgment is not always 100% accurate. There are indeed cases where manuscripts rejected by the first publisher are published by the second and become bestsellers. Isn''t it the case that ''King of the Net'' was not initially favored by the industry?

    It seems like Chu Kuang enjoys such challenges.

    He always writes challenging themes.

    Most people in the industry accept this reasoning. But the chief editor of Prosperity Publishing House feels that things are not that simple, given that Silver Blue Books have made such a grand promotion. To appease Chu Kuang, they really did not need to go that far.

    "Could there be a bombshell inside?"

    It''s not surprising that the chief editor of Prosperity Publishing House is suspicious. It is mainly because ''King of the Net'' made him lose face once. People of his status learn lessons from their failures. Unlike some, who, despite previous failures, still use the old perspective to view things. He believes many others are also concerned.

    "No!"

    "There''s a problem!"

    "Lu Bei is not stupid!"

    "He''s hiding a bombshell!"

    The more Prosperity''s chief editor thinks about it, the more he feels his opinion is valid. He paces back and forth in the room, but no matter how much he thinks, he can''t figure out how a novel with a fantasy theme could become a bombshell in the book market. So his eyelid keeps twitching.

    This feeling makes him uneasy.

    What on earth has Chu Kuang written this time?

 Chapter 117 - 114: Top Hundred_1

    The Chief Editor of Silver Blue Books was tormented, a torment accompained him throughout the whole month of June. He hoped desperately it was a matter of paranoia, for if his worries came to pass, the torture would be even worse -

    As for Lin Yuan, his life remained the same.

    He even started writing the second volume of "Zhu Xian". Open-ended commitments weren''t a good habit; they would affect Lin Yuan''s income. At least in terms of money-making, Lin Yuan was still very diligent.

    However, one can''t be making money forever.

    For instance, Tribe Literature recently contacted Lin Yuan and intended to commission another short story from him, but Lin Yuan declined. He only had two short stories left, which he wanted to save because the price for this new short story wasn''t going to be a loss for him.

    His reason for the refusal was:

    Lack of inspiration for a short story lately.

    He used the same excuse to decline Silver Blue''s magazine department''s request; the only thing that kept him on the fence was that both sides were offering a similar price. He didn''t know which platform to choose to maximize the benefits.

    Both fell for Lin Yuan''s tall tale.

    In the eyes of a normal person, it would seem strange if a writer were to constantly have new inspirations, especially since the short stories Chu Kuang releases are always so classic. A classic work signifies the difficulty of creation, who could effortlessly produce such masterpieces?

    Classic novels are not as common as cabbages.

    This was another reason why Lin Yuan turned down the two short stories. There are limits to genius; if Lin Yuan started releasing dozens of classic songs customized by the system, the public would likely be scared rather than surprised.

    So, Lin Yuan was not in a hurry.

    He indeed lacked prestige value.

    But panicking wouldn''t help either.

    On the other hand, Xia Fan was still busy with her competition. The June tournament of "Bloom" had a tight schedule. She had taken quite a few days off, but the vocal music department wasn''t giving her a hard time. While the school didn''t endorse students stepping into the entertainment industry at such an early age, it didn''t outright stop students either.

    On one day in mid-June,

    Lin Yuan and Jian Yi accompanied Xia Fan to the "Bloom" competition again. This was the second time after the auditions that the two accompanied her to a competition, mainly because the competition held significant weight, determining whether Xia Fan would make it into the national top 100.

    Xia Fan was slightly traumatized.

    She had competed twice before but didn''t make it into the top 100; she was always just a sliver short of winning. Lin Yuan and Jian Yi tried to boost her confidence, hoping that she could break her own limits today. Only by making it into the top 100 could she have the chance to appear in front of the audience in Qin Continent.

    Just like the auditions,

    The atmosphere at the location was bustling.

    The competition for the top 100 spots was underway simultaneously in various major cities. While there were a hundred spots, only five from Su City would be selected. Each city had to contribute a certain number of competitors, so the competition that Xia Fan faced was quite stiff.

    "I''ll go to the... backstage for a moment."

    Xia Fan scurried off as soon as Lin Yuan and Jian Yi arrived at the venue. The two finally caught on this time ¡ª Xia Fan definitely went to the restroom!

    This was a signature behavior of Xia Fan''s.

    Whenever she was nervous, she felt the need to use the restroom. If she was extremely nervous, she would need to defecate. If she was moderately nervous, urinating would suffice. And if it was mild nervousness, she would just squat in the restroom for a bit. It wasn''t that Xia Fan had shared this with them ¡ª as a girl, she would have been too embarrassed.

    They merely concluded this through observation and did not dare to mention it in front of her.

    What if they got murdered?

    This time, it should be a small one, right?

    That would indicate she was only moderately nervous.

    A moderate amount of nervousness could be beneficial for the competition. Although Xia Fan performed late into the event, when it was her turn to go on stage, Lin Yuan and Jian Yi could tell that her state was acceptable ¡ª at least she was not clamping her legs together in a way that suggested she needed to use the restroom.

    "Wait for me, whether for my chilling beauty or for me..."

    The song Xia Fan chose for the competition for the top 100 was "Easy to Ignite and Explode". Lin Yuan himself chose this song for her. It suited Xia Fan''s voice pretty well as she inherently possessed a bold and uninhibited personality akin to a man''s. She rushed into a basketball game brawl even faster than Lin Yuan. If she wasn''t so buoyant, she wouldn''t get along so well with two guys.

    She sang the song with ease.

    As the song ended, the audience broke into enthusiastic applauses. After a brief discussion, the four judges awarded Xia Fan a spot in the top 100 from Qin Continent. The applause became even louder.

    "She''s becoming a star."

    Jian Yi suddenly remarked, somewhat pensively.

    As a performing arts student, Jian Yi''s dream also resided in this entertainment industry. Seeing Xia Fan getting better and better, he felt the urge to make strides too. However, it generally takes longer to gain fame in acting than in singing.

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    As one of the contestants in the top 100 of Qin Continent, Xia Fan was likely to be covered by the local Su City media since she was likely to appear on television in the near future, bringing glory for Su City.

    "Lin Yuan."

    Jian Yi turned to Lin Yuan, his expression somewhat serious: "In the end, how far Xia Fan goes depends on herself. She can''t rely on you forever. You just need to support her when necessary."

    "I''ll try my best."

    Lin Yuan replied.

    Jian Yi wanted to say more, but after considering for a moment, he decided against it. He secretly hoped that Lin Yuan could always help Xia Fan. However, he didn''t want Lin Yuan to sacrifice his own career for that. He stammered: "I actually..."

    "I know."

    "What do you know?" S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Whatever it is, I know."

    Lin Yuan smiled naturally.

    Jian Yi rolled his eyes: "I actually think that neither you nor Xia Fan has a personality that suits the entertainment industry. You can navigate your way because you''re behind the scenes, but Xia Fan may have to step into the spotlight in the future. That''s my only concern."

    "I understand your concern."

    "Aren''t you worried?"

    Lin Yuan didn''t say anything. By now, Xia Fan had finished her performance and several reporters quickly started interviewing her. Lin Yuan and Jian Yi didn''t approach her until the interviews were over. They then celebrated with Xia Fan. Jian Yi asked her with a smile, "How does it feel to advance into the top 100?"

    "I need to use the restroom."

    Xia Fan darted off again and was nowhere to be seen.

    All Lin Yuan and Jian Yi could do was give each other a look.

    For a while after this, Xia Fan had no competition, but she practiced even harder every day. She had to go through the top 100, then 80, then 50, and so on in the competition. Although the schedule wasn''t as tight, the competition was intensifying.

    The composition department was also tense.

    Given that the remaining time in June was rapidly diminishing, there wasn''t much time left to prepare for the annual assessment. Since this year''s annual assessment was of unprecedented significance, everyone was giving it their all and didn''t dare to relax for a moment.

    Lin Yuan decided to submit his works along with everyone else.

    After all, "Initial Dream" had already been recorded. He didn''t need to refine his works further. According to the teacher''s instructions, as long as he handed in his works before the deadline at the end of the month, the school would arrange for professionals to review them in July.

    However, Silver Blue Books made some moves.

    "YangFeng" sent a message to Lin Yuan, informing him that the initial print run for the first volume of "Zhu Xian" would be one million copies. This number was ten times greater than the initial print run of Lin Yuan''s first work, raising Lin Yuan''s expectations for the sales of this novel!

 Chapter 118 - 115: Gone Mad_1

    "What are you writing?"

    "Let me have a listen."

    "Why won''t you let me hear it?"

    "I''d rather not embarrass myself."

    Everyone seemed to be keeping their compositions for this year''s exam very close to their chest, vigilantly guarding their work as though it was something extraordinary. Very few were willing to share their songs prematurely. However, by the end of the month, everyone had handed in their compositions.

    Lin Yuan also submitted his song.

    It''s easy to understand the mentality of many students in the Music Composition Department. Anyone who chooses this major nurtures an inner "Maestro" dream. And perhaps Lin Yuan was the most knowledgeable about his classmates'' works, as he was involved in the arrangement production of seventy percent of his classmates.

    Speaking objectively.

    Lin Yuan thought that some of his classmates'' works were quite good. The music environment of Qin Continent could easily nurture promising composers¡ªperhaps one or two industry leaders could emerge from his class in the future.

    That being said.

    Lin Yuan had a lot of confidence in "Initial Dream". It was one of the most influential inspiring songs in the Celestial Dynasty, and its brilliance had been proven countless times. However, what some people might not know was that this song was not originally from the Celestial Dynasty.

    It was a cover of a popular track by Neon''s top diva, Nakajima Miyuki, performed by the Taiwanese singer Christine Fan.

    The song was called "Riding on the Back of a Silver Dragon".

    No wonder there was a saying that Nakajima Miyuki was responsible for the livelihood of half the Chinese music scene. Many of the Taiwanese and Hong Kong songs that people loved when they were young turned out to be covers of Neon''s works when they grew up.

    Also, at the end of this month.

    The publishing department of Silver Blue Books was counting the number of pre-orders for the new book "Zhu Xian" from various booksellers. As the employees reported the numbers, the female department head Shi Yun''s expression did not look very good:

    "New Cathay Bookstore: 80,000 copies."

    "Soaring Dragon Bookstore: 50,000 copies."

    "Universal Bookstore: 30,000 copies."

    "Yazhi Book Society: 20,000 copies." S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Pinnacle Bookstore: 10,000 copies."

    "Time Bookstore: 10,000 copies."

    The counting continued, but Shi Yun''s face was getting worse and worse.

    The company''s editorial department was completely confident in "Zhu Xian".

    The editor-in-chief had personally issued the order, so this book had an initial print run of one million copies, seeming quite certain of its potential success.

    But the market apparently didn''t feel the same way.

    Silver Blue Books had printed a full one million copies of "Zhu Xian".

    However, according to Shi Yun''s calculations, the total orders from the booksellers in the Qin Continent amounted to only about 280,000 copies.

    A portion of these orders was made because of Chu Kuang''s performance on his last book.

    "Is this too few?"

    "We did extensive promotion this time, so logically, the order amount shouldn''t be this low," one of Shi Yun''s subordinates frowned. "It seems that these booksellers and many other publishers in the industry are of the same thought, expecting ''Zhu Xian'' to flop."

    Chu Kuang''s new book was a Fantasy-fairy-story.

    When this news first came out, various discussions arose within the industry, with hardly anyone optimistic about this theme.

    Many people thought that Chu Kuang''s new book would flop.

    Silver Blue Books agreed to publish it, possibly because they could not resist Chu Kuang''s insistence.

    Even if the book didn''t flop, the sales would certainly be far lower than Chu Kuang''s previous book, "King of the Net".

    Some people on the Internet even carried out a survey targeting the readers of "King of the Net".

    The survey presented them with three choices, asking if they would support Chu Kuang''s new fantasy-fairy-book.

    The result was six to three to one.

    Sixty percent chose not to support, thirty percent chose to support, and ten percent of the readers chose to wait and see.

    This did not look promising for Chu Kuang''s new book.

    It seemed that most booksellers held the same view and were not very optimistic about Chu Kuang''s new book, hence the extremely cautious order amounts.

    This was a dangerous signal for Shi Yun!

    With a print run of one million copies, only 280,000 copies were sold. Could it be that the remaining 720,000 copies would end up unsold?

    She decided to talk to the editor-in-chief.

    The editor-in-chief, Lu Bei, was surfing the web in his office. Seeing Shi Yun approaching, he smiled and asked, "How are the orders?"

    "The total order amount is 280,000 copies." Shi Yun''s expression was somewhat worried.

    Lu Bei was taken aback: had they really only sold that many?

    He laughed and said, "I can''t blame the bookstores. If I were in their position, I too wouldn''t dare to commit to large purchases. What if no one buys the books?"

    Shi Yun: "..."

    Then why had you allowed so many prints?

    And you''re grinning ear to ear?

    Lu Bei was oblivious to Shi Yun''s grumbling, his smile still brilliant, "The top ten bookstores have all placed their orders with us, right?"

    Shi Yun replied, "Tranquility Bookstore hasn''t ordered yet."

    Lu Bei nodded, "I''ll handle Tranquility Bookstore''s order."

    After saying that, Lu Bei made a phone call.

    Shi Yun did not speak, quietly waiting on the side.

    The call went through quickly, and the first thing Lu Bei said was, "Pei Du, do you want to play bigger?"

    "How big?"

    Pei Du, the General Manager of Tranquility Bookstore, smirked and said, "You want to persuade me to order more ''Zhu Xian'', right? I was just thinking of contacting you. How about 100,000 copies?"

    "You have such little faith in Chu Kuang?"

    "It''s not that I lack confidence in Chu Kuang, it''s that I lack confidence in the fantasy genre. Let''s stop beating around the bush, tell me what Silver Blue Books is really up to."

    Lu Bei put on a nonchalant demeanor, "What I''m selling is the ultimate tonic!"

    Shi Yun rolled her eyes. She was only responsible for publishing and sales and didn''t know much about novels.

    Pei Du gave a bitter smile, "Tranquility Bookstore is the fifth largest chain bookstore in the country. You know I''ve been the general manager for only one year and my position is not very stable. There are so many eyes waiting for me to make a mistake. If you scam me too much, I might have to leave my position next year."

    "If you want to secure your position as the General Manager of Tranquility Bookstore, believe me, order one million copies!"

    Shi Yun really wanted to remind Lu Bei that their company didn''t have that much stock.

    But on second thought, the person in charge of Tranquility Bookstore was no fool, how could Lu Bei easily trick him.

    As expected.

    Pei Du burst into laughter. He and Lu Bei were good friends, so there was less restraint in their conversation, "Are you kidding? Bro, do you dare to print a million copies?"

    "You don''t have to worry about that.", Lu Bei said leisurely.

    Pei Du gritted his teeth, "Then I''ll go along with you, let''s place an order for 500,000 copies."

    He didn''t believe that the other party would scam him.

    If the other party dared to scam him, they would completely offend Tranquility Bookstore. Besides, they had a good relationship. The value of this relationship was much higher than several hundred thousand copies of the order.

    "That''s a bit less. Since you''ve mentioned 500,000 copies why not just make it 700,000 copies," Lu Bei''s eyes twinkled.

    Pei Du exclaimed, "Are you crazy or am I crazy?"

    Lu Bei raised his voice, "Neither of us is crazy. If anyone is about to go crazy, it''s those who are prudently watching. This time, I want to let the entire Qin Continent know that believe in Silver Blue Books and you will rule the world, believe in Chu Kuang and you will live forever!"

    "Sounds like you''re a cult leader.", Pei Du''s tone was a little complex.

    "Silver Blue Books has developed to its current status from a medium-sized publishing company. I, Lu Bei, may not claim great credit, but at least I have made significant contributions. What do you think I''ve based this on?"

    Pei Du did not respond.

    There was a silence on the phone for three full minutes.

    Lu Bei was silent too, demonstrating his patience.

    No one knew what kind of struggle Pei Du was going through in his heart.

    After three minutes, he suddenly roared, "God damn it, I''ll trust you once, 700,000 copies!"

    "Great. Get ready for your bonus and performance next year. Got to go."

    "Don''t say ''got to go''. That''s unlucky. I need to face the upcoming storm."

    He hung up the phone.

    Lu Bei said, "It''s done."

    Shi Yun, who had been listening to the whole call, was amazed!

    A 700,000-copy order right off the bat and it was concluded just like that?

    No wonder Lu Bei was the chief editor, his ability to charm people was frightening!

    But...

    The company did clear its inventory, but what if ''Zhu Xian'' didn''t sell? In the future, won''t Tranquility Bookstore blacklist Silver Blue Books?

    If things go wrong, Mr. Pei Du might be buried alive in the stock of ''Zhu Xian''!

 Chapter 119 - 116: Hurry Up and Replenish Stock_1

    The last night of June.

    When seven hundred thousand copies of Zhu Xian were moved into Tranquility Bookstore''s warehouses and onto the shelves, the company was in turmoil!

    "Pei Du, have you gone mad?"

    "You ordered seven hundred thousand copies of Zhu Xian?"

    "Do you know how many copies the other bookstores in Qin Continent ordered?"

    "At most, less than one hundred thousand!"

    "Others avoid it like the plague, yet you treat it like a treasure?"

    "You didn''t take a cut from Silver Blue Books, did you?"

    Pei Du took a series of phone calls from several executives, facing criticism, doubts, and worries. His response to each call was the same: "If there''s a problem, I''ll take responsibility."

    Was he regretting it?

    A bit, yes.

    The executives'' reaction was fiercer than Pei Du had imagined. Even his subordinates looked worried, thinking that Pei Du had been swindled by Silver Blue Books.

    "The General Manager is in trouble now."

    "Silver Blue Books must not have been able to sell the books, so they sold them in bulk to us."

    "Now all we can do is pray that the readers will buy a lot tomorrow."

    "With the seventy thousand inventory, sell however much we can."

    "The more leftovers, the greater the Manager''s responsibility."

    "..."

    Pei Du gritted his teeth.

    Regretting it now would be useless.

    He gritted his teeth again, issuing three commands in a row.

    The first command, the headline on the company''s official website tomorrow must be Zhu Xian.

    The second command, starting tonight, replace all the promo banners at all Tranquility Bookstores'' branches with Zhu Xian.

    The third command, Zhu Xian should be the only book on the front shelves in all Tranquility Bookstores. All other books should be relegated to the secondary shelves!

    Pei Du wants every person stepping into Tranquility Bookstore to see Zhu Xian first!

    "Understood."

    His subordinates could only execute the commands.

    The General Manager has lost his mind.

    Given how much noise Tranquility Bookstore was making, the industry insiders who kept abreast of the news took notice. Their reaction to the shocking news was unanimous:

    Pei Du has gone mad!

    No one knew what hallucinogenic potion Silver Blue Books had given Pei Du. By taking such a risk, Pei Du was seemingly gambling with his position as General Manager.

    "Way too reckless."

    "Is Pei Du a fan of Chu Kuang?"

    "Other than Chu Kuang''s fans, I can''t think of anyone else who would have such high confidence in Zhu Xian."

    "He might be dismissed soon."

    "Everybody''s playing it safe, only he''s going all out."

    "..."

    Just as there is competition between publishing houses, there''s also competition among the major bookstores in Qin Continent. Now that Tranquility Bookstore was making such a bold move, many people were laughing.

    If the books don''t sell, of course, Tranquility Bookstore can handle it.

    Even if all seven hundred thousand copies remain unsold, it''s not an issue. As one of the nationally ranked chain bookstores, Tranquility Bookstore certainly has the capacity to absorb that.

    Nonetheless, it would be quite a significant loss.

    If Zhu Xian flops, Tranquility Bookstore''s reputation will suffer as a result.

    This was the scene that people were most happy to see.

    Everybody was waiting for the next day!

    That night, countless people were eagerly waiting for the dawn.

    As for Pei Du, he couldn''t fall asleep that whole night, constantly feeling anxious. He ended up staying awake until the break of dawn.

    "I feel terrible."

    The older generation''s ability to pull all-nighters is typically poor. Pei Du, who was forty this year, felt an overwhelming headache after staying awake the whole night.

    He felt a bit better after drinking a cup of water.

    Should he try to sleep some more?

    Pei Du shook his head, deciding to drop by the bookstore as he was feeling too restless.

    ...

    Tranquility Bookstore, ranked fifth in Qin Continent, had several branches in Su City alone. Pei Du arrived at the largest one.

    This branch had three floors.

    After arriving, he ordered the store to be opened, and he went in for inspection.

    The individuals below did indeed leave all the banners for "Zhu Xian," as he had requested.

    The front row of bookshelves, generally reserved for the bookstore''s highly recommended books, was currently displaying "Zhu Xian".

    In the entire Su City...

    No, it should be said that in the entire Qin Continent, only the Tranquity bookstore gave such high treatment to "Zhu Xian".

    "Manager, we haven''t started business yet."

    One of the bookstore''s employees carefully reminded him, clearly aware of what Pei Du would face today.

    "It''s okay."

    Pei Du gave a wave of his hand, found a corner to sit down, and began to rest his eyes.

    The people below didn''t dare to say much, each of them prepared to face their day''s work.

    An hour later.

    The bookstore officially opened.

    A bustling sound aroused, jolting awake the nearly asleep Pei Du. Rubbing his eyes, he saw quite a few customers had already entered.

    Hmm?

    Many customers exhibited surprise upon entry.

    Because within the entire Tranquility Bookstore, from the banners to the walls right down to the bookshelves, it was all "Zhu Xian". It was hard not to notice.

    Very few books get to enjoy such a pervasive promotional strategy.

    Thus, in their curiosity, many customers picked up "Zhu Xian" to read.

    Pei Du''s drowsiness suddenly disappeared; his reddened eyes fixated on each customer picking up "Zhu Xian". Only two words filled his mind:

    Buy it!

    Buy it!

    Buy it!

    Pei Du was even thinking of walking up and promoting it himself, but this wasn''t a clothing store, his sudden approach would only scare customers ¡ª

    Indeed, he frightened a customer.

    One of the customers who had picked up "Zhu Xian" for reading suddenly noticed a man in the corner staring at him with bloodshot eyes, nearly throwing the book in his hand.

    "I apologize."

    Pei Du coughed once, continuously waving his hand to express his apologies, then averted his gaze. However, the corner of his eyes was still on these customers, the little person in his mind constantly screaming:

    Buy it!

    Buy it!

    Buy it!

    Somewhat supernaturally, after the little person in Pei Du''s mind had roared for a while, the first customer who picked up "Zhu Xian" really went to the counter to pay.

    Following that...

    More and more customers began reading "Zhu Xian". The grandiose recommendation by the bookstore was indeed quite effective for the customers.

    The second one...

    The third one...

    The fourth one...

    The fifth one...

    More and more customers purchased "Zhu Xian" at the counter. Even the salespeople at the front desk looked at each other in bewilderment:

    Looks like it''s selling well?

    Is this due to the promotion?

    An answer to this question was found half an hour later, as two-thirds of the copies of "Zhu Xian" on the shelves had been sold. The top shelves were already empty. The sales were happening at an alarmingly fast pace!

    "Is it really that popular?"

    The girls at the front desk had already widened their eyes. Their experience as front desk workers told them that this couldn''t be solely attributed to the promotional effects!

    Quality determines the sales volumes of a book!

    Promotion merely adds icing to the cake!

    Sometime later, a customer appeared at the counter, looking quite pleased, held up a copy of "Zhu Xian" and said: Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Check out."

    "Is the book good?" One of the girls at the counter couldn''t help but ask a question. Upon asking, she realized that it seemed inappropriate given her position.

    "Hehe."

    The customer paused, then laughed, "Is that a question?"

    "Of course, it''s a declarative sentence."

    Pei Du appeared at the counter at some point.

    He gave the customer a small smile, then turned his head and roared in a nasal voice:

    "What are you standing around for, don''t you see we need to restock!"

    The girls at the cash register were startled before they noticed that the shelves which used to be full of "Zhu Xian" were almost empty.

 Chapter 120 - 117 Youve Been Removed from Group Chat_1

    This is just the beginning.

    Within two hours after the bookstore front shelves were refilled with books, Zhu Xian sold out again!

    "Restock!"

    Pei Du practically bellowed!

    The bookstore employees were dumbstruck.

    No one expected Zhu Xian, a novel predicted to fail in the market, to sell out entirely on its release day!

    "It hasn''t been three hours, has it?"

    The employee in charge of restocking looked puzzled.

    Restocking twice in less than three hours was a treatment only the most popular books could enjoy. Didn''t a lot of people say that Zhu Xian would not sell?

    Do you call this a failure?

    Then show me what success looks like?

    The moment the shelves were filled with copies of Zhu Xian again, a figure shot in through the door, practically sprinting towards Pei Du, with an urgent tone, "Why aren''t you answering your phone, sir?"

    This was Pei Du''s secretary.

    All Pei Du''s focus was on the book Zhu Xian, he had no mind to check whether his phone was ringing or not: "Didn''t notice it, what''s the matter?"

    "We have a hit!"

    The assistant excitedly stated, "Zhu Xian is a complete success. All other branches in Su City are selling like hotcakes. Thank God you ordered seven hundred thousand copies in advance, otherwise, our branches would have run out of stock!"

    "Other branches too...."

    Pei Du''s voice quivered slightly. He had roughly guessed the situation at the other branches based on what was happening here, but when he heard the assistant''s report, he still couldn''t help but feel thrilled.

    He had won this gamble!

    His assistant noticed the emphasis on the word "too" in Pei Du''s words, turned his head slightly, and noticed several customers at the checkout counter holding Zhu Xian in their hands.

    Even the other branches are selling fast!

    This is hotter than King of the Net!

    He suddenly shivered with excitement and gave Pei Du a thumbs-up, lavishly praising him, "Sir, you are indeed insightful. You saw through everything. Nobody understands Zhu Xian better than you!"

    "That''s not what you said yesterday."

    The secretary paused, then laughed bitterly, "That''s why I''m just a small secretary, and you''re the General Manager of Tranquility Bookstore. Our whole company owes you an apology. We were blind and did not appreciate your foresight and grand vision!"

    Pei Du subconsciously puffed out his chest.

    He felt like he had just had refreshing watermelon on a hot summer day, his body filled with a sense of satisfaction and pleasure. The fatigue from staying up late seemed to disappear, and he felt he could have a good night''s sleep tonight.

    Company losses?

    700 thousand in inventory?

    Going to bury myself?

    Sorry, but these 700 thousand copies of Zhu Xian are my ladder to the clouds. No one will be able to threaten my position as General Manager next year. If my year-end bonus isn''t doubled, don''t blame me for throwing a fit!

    Thinking of this.

    Pei Du suddenly remembered Lu Bei''s classic line during their previous phone call, "Those who trust Silver Blue Books will rule the world, and those who trust Chu Kuang will gain eternal life!"

    That''s a good line.

    And now it''s mine.

    He gave his assistant a light pat on the shoulder and calmly said, "Those who trust Chu Kuang will rule the world, and those who trust Pei Du, me, will gain eternal life!"

    "Amazing, truly amazing!"

    The secretary was instantly awestruck.

    Pei Du didn''t bother with his assistant''s flattering remarks. He was suddenly curious, wondering what the other book dealers in Qin Continent must be feeling. It seemed they only stocked a little bit, was that enough?

    ...

    The beginning of the month is the busiest time for bookstores, so all major bookstores pay great attention to it. The big book dealers are even more eager, ready to make a great success!

    But soon, they found....

    Something was wrong.

    Very wrong.

    It seemed that over fifty percent of the customers, after scanning the new books of the month, chose Zhu Xian without discussing this with others.

    "Why?"

    Upon discovering this phenomenon, the big book traders were somewhat bewildered.

    Wasn''t it said that Zhu Xian, being a Wuxia novel, wouldn''t sell well? Wasn''t it said that Chu Kuang''s new book is doomed to fail?

    And a book that sells this well is considered dead on arrival?

    Of course, it''s a good thing that regardless of the book content, as long as it sells well, because the goal of business is to make money, and for book merchants, it makes no difference which book the customers buy.

    But the problem is...

    There''s not much of Zhu Xian left in the warehouses!

    The customers still have money in their pockets, but there are no books left to buy, what should we do?

    Noises everywhere!

    No one knew where it started, or perhaps it started everywhere at the same time; in any case, all the major bookstores were in uproar!

    "Why is this book selling so fast."

    "Our Zhu Xian books have sold out!"

    "We''ve restocked three times and sold out every time!"

    "Boss, we''re out of Zhu Xian!"

    "Why did we only get ten thousand copies of Zhu Xian!"

    "We''ve sold forty thousand out of fifty thousand, it''s only morning, what about the afternoon?"

    "Damn it, who can tell me why this thing is selling so fast!"

    "..."

    When all the major bookstores have run out of Zhu Xian, all the book dealers outside Tranquility Bookstore were dumbfounded.

    You can''t make bricks without straw!

    For these book merchants, the cruelest thing in the world is stocking up too many books that don''t sell.

    But an even crueler thing is what''s happening before their eyes right now.

    Customers still have money in their pockets, but there are no books left to sell!

    "It''s okay, the other stores are also running out of stock."

    Some leaders tried to reassure the people in charge of the branches in this manner.

    They usually take comfort in this, as it''s inevitable for book merchants to misjudge the sales of a book sometimes. What matters next is which merchant can restock faster.

    About this.

    A manager of a branch bookstore had to remind his superior, "The Tranquility Bookstore next door ordered a whole seven hundred thousand copies of Zhu Xian. We really have no stock left, but they are still abundant."

    The leader: "..."

    This was reminding the decision-makers of the major book traders that the problem was not that Zhu Xian was selling fast, but that we initially ordered too few!

    But mate, do I need you to remind me?

    Who the hell doesn''t know that Tranquility Bookstore ordered seven hundred thousand copies of Zhu Xian as if they were crazy? S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    We just mocked their manager last night!

    At this moment, the Qin Continent''s book industry is in a state of deep despair!

    A big book dealer sputtered angrily, "Who was the first to say that Zhu Xian would flop because it''s a Wuxia genre? Stand up and I promise I won''t kill him!"

    "I only purchased fifty thousand copies!"

    "I only purchased thirty thousand."

    "Should I just hit my head to death with a block of tofu because I only purchased ten thousand?"

    "Um, I only purchased five thousand."

    "Hahahahaha...you''re so miserable...I must be getting old...why am I crying while laughing..."

    "..."

    In a group chat for book circle fellows.

    All the major book dealers began to compete about their miseries.

    At that moment, Pei Du suddenly appeared in the group chat with a Tranquility Bookstore avatar, "We at Tranquility also only ordered seven hundred thousand copies, but I feel it might not be enough."

    Yes, he was showing off!

    With expectant eyes fixed on his phone screen, Pei Du then saw one system prompt:

    You have been removed from the group chat.

 Chapter 121 - 118: Weather Vane _1

    The wave of "Zhu Xian" has already surged unstoppably. By noon, there''s a lot of discussion online¡ª

    "Chu Kuang''s book is freaking awesome!"

    "So this is what immortals and knights are all about!"

    "I feel sorry for my previous ignorance. As a fan of Chu Kuang, I even doubted Chu Kuang''s talents. Even if he doesn''t write about sports, he''s still this good!"

    "It made me all fired up."

    "I bought the book this morning and read it during class. My teacher confiscated it. Now my teacher is more engrossed in it than I ever was. Can I even get the book back?"

    "..."

    Readers had only read it for a short time and didn''t get very far, but it was enough for them to hail "Zhu Xian" as a classic!

    Couldn''t help it.

    They hadn''t seen immortals and knights before.

    This was too addictive.

    In particular, Chu Kuang''s fans were fanatically recommending "Zhu Xian". Seeing the massive recommendation posts, readers who weren''t interested in the book before couldn''t help but get itching curious, wondering:

    Is it really that good?

    Is it better than "King of the Net"?

    With these thoughts, these people went to bookstores in the afternoon, trying to see what "Zhu Xian" was all about. But what they got was a unanimous response from the bookstores: "We''re sold out of this book and urgently restocking it. Please come back in a few days."

    It''s sold out?

    The other meaning of sold out is that the book is selling too well, and there''s a shortage. Anyway, when telling this to customers, the expressions of the bookstore owners are a mix of sorrow and helplessness.

    Radars Readers!

    Some people weren''t that eager for the book "Zhu Xian" at first. But when they heard these words, they were all pepped up. After all, how could a book selling like hotcakes not be good?

    Must buy!

    Some even went to several bookstores, but unfortunately couldn''t find it. Thankfully, enthusiastic netizens gave friendly advice: "There''s only one bookstore left in Qin Continent that still has stock, and that''s Tranquility Bookstore. Hurry up and buy it, or it''ll be sold out!"

    Of course, it won''t be sold out if they''re late.

    Tranquility Bookstore had stocked up on seven hundred thousand copies.

    A great initial print of one million, yet it still creates a hunger marketing effect.

    Of course, Tranquility Bookstore knew that "Zhu Xian" had sold out in other bookstores. So it was promoting everywhere: that they still had copies, urging everyone to buy them quickly. In Qin Continent, this is the only stocked place. If you miss this, there''s no other place!

    Readers rushed to Tranquility Bookstore.

    The other booksellers were about to vomit blood, desperately urging Silver Blue Books to deliver the goods. Silver Blue Books replied: "We''re working overtime to print them. We will deliver the goods within three days at most!"

    "..."

    This time difference is killing!

    The golden period for novel sales is the first three days. During these three days, Tranquility Bookstore could easily handle countless readers. By the time the other booksellers receive the stock from Silver Blue, countless readers will have already bought "Zhu Xian" at Tranquility Bookstore! S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This wave is devastating!

    Tranquility Bookstore is making a killing!

    And they can''t say that Tranquility Bookstore monopolized the sales, since it was the other booksellers themselves who were too conservative at the beginning, setting low initial stock numbers. Now with "Zhu Xian" selling so well, it''s too late to regret it.

    ...

    Silver Blue Books also didn''t expect the sales of "Zhu Xian" to be so explosive. Even though the first round of printing was a whopping one million copies, it gives a sense that it won''t last long. Even Tranquility Bookstore, with the most stock, requested to place an order for three hundred thousand more copies!

    Is this immortals and knights?

    Is this still immortals and knights?

    Silver Blue''s Editor-in-Chief, Lu Bei, was grinning from ear to ear. Judging by this trend, the monthly sales of "Zhu Xian" have exploded, surpassing Chu Kuang''s previous book!

    Just think about what happened not long ago.

    Chu Kuang finished "King of the Net" and many laughed at Silver Blue for losing a bestseller. Everyone thought that it would be hard for Chu Kuang to reach the same heights even if he wrote another sports-themed book.

    Now?

    Not only did Chu Kuang not continue with the sports theme, but he also wrote a new book hotter than "King of the Net", purely slapping the faces of the industry and Silver Blue''s own editors.

    Of course.

    The slaps in the face made Lu Bei absolutely delighted.

    If you knew earlier that Chu Kuang would write a more powerful book after completing "King of the Net", even your competitors would pray for Chu Kuang to never finish his first book.

    Indeed it was so.

    Upon witnessing the booming success of "Zhu Xian", the literary world was collectively stunned.

    Although they didn''t lose real money like the booksellers, watching Silver Blue with another bestseller even more popular than "King of the Net" certainly dampened their spirits.

    "This was possible?"

    "Immortals and knights could also be popular?"

    "No wonder Silver Blue was promoting it so desperately. It wasn''t to please Chu Kuang, but because they had full confidence in this book."

    "Who could''ve imagined that ''Immortal and Demon War'' could also be this popular."

    "Do you really think Chu Kuang''s new book is like ''Immortal and Demon War''? The promotional statement already said it, he''s redefining immortals and knights!"

    "Didn''t you say promotional statements are deceptive?"

    "Enough talking from you!"

    "So did we indirectly harm those booksellers? It was us who said that this book wouldn''t be good. The booksellers must have listened to us, and that''s why they were conservative in stocking the book."

    "Hush."

    "..."

    Within Prosperity Publishing House.

    The editor-in-chief, Lu Kaiyue, smacks his forehead fiercely: "I knew it! I frickin'' knew it!"

    A bomb!

    Lu Bei really had a bomb, how many people did he blow up with it?

    Think about it, Lu Bei is such a shrewd man. If Chu Kuang''s new book wasn''t good enough, how could he provide such massive promotional resources?

    Lu Kaiyue saw this outcome beforehand.

    Yet, Lu Kaiyue couldn''t figure out how Chu Kuang made a dead genre come alive!

    It''s actually the immortals and knights genre!

    Specifically, the immortals and knights genre!

    How many years has it been since the last immortals and knights novel, "Immortal and Demon War" appeared?

    "Editor-in-chief."

    A few editors walked in, just in time to see Lu Kaiyue beating his chest and stomping his feet. They looked at each other, somewhat confused.

    Was it because of Chu Kuang?

    Chu Kuang''s new book was a big hit, and Silver Blue was snagging all the sales. As a competitor, Prosperity of course felt uncomfortable.

    Thinking of that.

    One of the editors soothingly said, "There''s nothing we can do. Who could''ve expected Chu Kuang to play like this? He chose a niche genre no one cared about anymore, and was successful not twice but twice in a row."

    "What are you all standing around for?"

    Lu Kaiyue glared at the few editors in front of him.

    The editors cautiously asked, "What should we do?"

    "Follow the trend, follow the trend!"

    Lu Kaiyue pounded the table. These people were like pigs. Their reactions were too slow: "Tell your authors to follow the trend and write novels about immortals and knights!"

    From the moment Chu Kuang made his meteoric rise, the wind direction of this market started to change.

 Chapter 122 - 119 Lin Yuans Request_1

    More and more people are purchasing "Zhu Xian".

    More and more people are reading "Zhu Xian".

    And as time moved two days forward, when the first volume of "Zhu Xian" with its 200,000 words was gradually finished by batches of readers, everyone turned out spontaneously into identical installment junkies:

    "What the hell, is that all?"

    As the saying goes:

    With a blade in hand one day, slaughtering all the cliffhangers till doomsday.

    Right now, these readers really wanted to send Chu Kuang some gifts.

    Maybe...

    Blades?

    Of course, this is just a joke...

    Right?

    In the novel forum, the discussion over "Zhu Xian" had long exceeded that of its release day. Anyone who read slower and entered the forum was bombarded with huge amounts of spoiler-filled posts:

    "When will Zhang Xiaofan stand up, you''re the unprecedented dual-cultivation of Buddhism and Daoism!"

    "When will the Burning Stick shock the Qingyun Sect?"

    "Mark my words, in this round, Xiaofan is sure to win the Seven-Sect Martial Arts Contest championship, shocking Qingyun and winning the heart of Senior Sister Tian Ling''er."

    "What a wonderful XianXia World, how unrestrained it must be to fly through the sky on a sword!"

    "No wonder they say it redefines XianXia, if Chu Kuang''s previous book intrigued me with sports competition, then this book ''Zhu Xian'' has made me fall in love with XianXia novels!"

    "Heaven and Earth do not discriminate, all things are straw dogs, this is XianXia!"

    "..."

    Not just the readers reading "Zhu Xian", but editors and other writers within the industry had also read through the novel.

    Upon reading it...

    Everyone was rendered speechless.

    After a long while, an experienced chief editor sighed and said, "Chu Kuang isn''t redefining XianXia novels, he''s clearly laying down the foundation and establishing his own school of thought!"

    Set in stone!

    Establishing his own school of thought!

    No one questioned whether XianXia could become popular anymore, what really mattered was how to write XianXia, Chu Kuang distinctly demonstrated this with "Zhu Xian".

    "He''s a pioneer."

    "Two consecutive books, creating two different genres, Chu Kuang is becoming the trendsetter of the industry, in future XianXia might also become a popular new category for many authors."

    "I actually think that in future the XianXia category might be even hotter than the sports competition category!"

    "The greatest significance of Chu Kuang''s two books is actually injecting new vitality into our industry. Previously, everyone rushed to write stories about adventures in different worlds, but now Chu Kuang has given everyone two new alternatives."

    "The potential of XianXia novels is limitless."

    "I''m not upset that Chu Kuang''s books are getting more and more popular with each one, Chu Kuang establishing his own school of thought is a good thing for the industry, we people in the industry should feel thankful for him. What I''m upset about is why such an author who could develop his own school of thought belongs to Silver Blue Books!"

    "..."

    In the past, adventures in different worlds was the most popular genre, while the other genres were stagnant.

    But now, Chu Kuang has popularized sports competitions.

    In the future, XianXia would most likely become extremely popular too!

    People might not be able to imitate the story of "Zhu Xian," but when Chu Kuang establishes a new writing style for XianXia, there are many who can write similar stories based on this.

    It''s the same as the Celestial Dynasty. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    When one sows another reaps, the foundation of "Zhu Xian" is also another XianXia novel.

    That book is called "Misty Journey".

    Even if more popular XianXia works appear in the future, based on the success of "Zhu Xian," Chu Kuang was destined to become the most representative figure of this genre, just like how he is now regarded as the leading figure in the sports competition genre.

    ...

    Lin Yuan received the physical copy of the first volume of "Zhu Xian," which was sent free of charge by Silver Blue Books.

    "YangFeng" requested Lin Yuan to mail back a copy to him and to make sure to sign it before mailing.

    This was an autographed book wanted by the editor-in-chief.

    Lin Yuan agreed.

    He signed it with his pen name "Chu Kuang".

    This was the first time he signed a book for someone, and his first thought was:

    Can I sell my autographed books?

    Of course, this thought passed quickly. The value of a signature is minimal compared to what he earned from teaching painting.

    However, Lin Yuan was naturally aware of the popularity of "Zhu Xian".

    On the day the book became a big hit, "YangFeng" called Lin Yuan, sounding as excited as if he was going to share the money with Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan was also really happy.

    Although he predicted that "Zhu Xian" would possibly be a hit when he was writing it, after all, it was leading the trend of XianXia.

    In fact, "Zhu Xian" is not strictly XianXia.

    It is more like a romance story disguised as a XianXia novel.

    The fact that everyone is focusing on the XianXia aspect is a testament to how well the content of the novel is arranged, allowing the essence of this XianXia world to be fully displayed.

    If possible, he could consider working with the System to craft a true XianXia cultivation novel in the future.

    But for now, Lin Yuan doesn''t need to consider this too far in advance.

    After mailing the signed book, Lin Yuan made a phone call to his sister.

    "What''s up?"

    Lin Xuan sounded somewhat listless.

    Lin Yuan thought for a moment and asked: "Are you short on money?"

    Lin Xuan said, "Can you remove the question mark?"

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    Lin Xuan cleared her throat: "So you''re going to give me some pocket money? Nice, seems like your sister didn''t adore you for nothing."

    "Are you feeling down?"

    Lin Xuan suspiciously said: "Are you trying to change the subject?"

    As soon as she finished speaking, she noticed that Lin Yuan had transferred fifty thousand to her, her tone immediately became excited: "I''m in a great mood!"

    "What about before?"

    Lin Yuan asked with concern.

    Lin Xuan pouted, "Recently, there really were some annoying things. One of my authors was starting a new book, which originally received a lot of promotions, and the press was quite optimistic, but then he encountered a monster...

    "Monster?"

    "That Chu Kuang I mentioned during the Lunar New Year celebrations. He wrote an amazing new book, in Qin Continent almost all the bookstores are vigorously promoting his book. My author''s new book can''t even get a marginal recommendation, which can greatly affect the sales."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    How should he respond to this?

    Should he say, it''s my fault?

    Lin Xuan sighed: "But it doesn''t matter anymore, I might be out of a job soon."

    Lin Yuan worriedly asked: "The company is firing you?"

    "No, it''s not just me leaving if I have to. Our publishing house is being acquired by Silver Blue Books, the same company that Chu Kuang signed with. After they acquire us, we, as little editors, will probably have to leave. Even our leaders might not be spared."

    "Silver Blue Books?"

    "Yes, that annoying company, they are the main reason I might lose my job. At most, Chu Kuang is an accomplice... "

    Lin Xuan made this as a joke, she had a pretty good attitude.

    The main reason was she received Lin Yuan''s money transfer. Even if she was temporarily unemployed, it didn''t matter. She could take her time to look for work.

    Worst case, she would live off her little brother.

    The happiness of having a wealthy younger brother was a joy that ordinary people could never quite grasp.

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan didn''t ask further.

    After hanging up the phone, in order to fulfill his sister''s request, Lin Yuan contacted "YangFeng".

    He was mainly trying to help his sister by asking Silver Blue Books if they could offer her a position.

    But would Silver Blue Books be reasonable about this?

 Chapter 123 - 120: Radiance in All Directions_1

    At a barbeque restaurant in Su City.

    The editors from the Fantasy Department of Silver Blue Books were having a private room dinner.

    Company gatherings were common, varying in size and scale.

    This time, the meal was quite grand, even Ol'' Xiong, the chief editor, was present.

    Mainly because of the blockbuster sales of "Zhu Xian", the company was very satisfied with the Fantasy Department''s recent work and provided ample rewards.

    The atmosphere at the meal was lively.

    Ol'' Xiong wasn''t acting like the boss at all today. He was mixing in well with everyone, toasting and chit-chatting.

    "What I can''t get is always in commotion..."

    A cell phone placed on the table by YangFeng suddenly rang.

    Ol'' Xiong, with a mouthful of lamb skewers, couldn''t help but grumble as a sign of leadership, "I told you all not to pick up calls today, right? The whole point of a gathering is to let loose. We men work our tails off every day so we should unwind every now and then!"

    "Alright, alright."

    YangFeng hurriedly nodded.

    Even though Ol'' Xiong appeared to be very approachable that day, he, as a junior editor, definitely wouldn''t dare to defy the chief editor''s rules.

    Just as he was about to hang up¡ª

    A colleague glanced at the cell phone screen: "Oh, it''s a call from Chu Kuang."

    "Cough!"

    On hearing this, Ol'' Xiong, who had a mouthful of meat, nearly choked. He quickly swallowed it, cleared his throat awkwardly, "Well, not taking calls at all might also not be the best idea, right? YangFeng, you go take the call." S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Everyone: "..."

    YangFeng nodded, got up, and walked to a quiet corner to answer the call.

    For a moment, the atmosphere at the meal turned strange.

    Ol'' Xiong took a sip of his drink, laughed it off, "YangFeng''s ringtone is quite pleasant, isn''t it?"

    "Yes, yes, yes!"

    "It''s really nice!"

    "It''s called ''Red Roses''!"

    "The singer is Sun Yaohuo!"

    "This song is pretty popular lately!"

    Everyone quickly engaged in the banter. Even if there was nothing to talk about, they found something. So, it seemed lively again.

    After a while¡ª

    YangFeng came back.

    Ol'' Xiong had been waiting for this, smiled: "What did Chu Kuang want at such a late hour?"

    "I was just about to report."

    YangFeng asked, "Is our company planning to acquire a company called Ice River Publishing House recently?"

    Ol'' Xiong said, "Yes, there is such a plan."

    As the chief editor, he had a clue about this matter.

    YangFeng nodded, "Yes, Chu Kuang''s sister works at Ice River Publishing House. He is worried that his sister might lose her job after Ice River gets acquired by us. So he asked me if I could help. But I am just a junior editor, I don''t have the authority, so..."

    Ol Xiong gasped, "You refused him?"

    YangFeng quickly shook his hands, "No, I said I could try to help...."

    "Oh, what''s his sister''s name?"

    "Lin Xuan."

    Ol'' Xiong sighed in relief: "Alright, you guys continue eating. I have a call to make."

    Ol'' Xiong walked to the corner as well.

    He placed a call to the editor-in-chief.

    As a chief editor himself, he had no power in the company''s HR arrangements.

    Once the call was connected, Ol'' Xiong laughed, "I need to report a minor issue to you."

    The other party asked, "What minor issue?"

    O'' Xiong explained the matter about Chu Kuang''s sister.

    The editor-in-chief was silent for three seconds, suddenly sounded displeased, "Didn''t you just say there''s a minor issue to report?"

    Ol'' Xiong said, "Yeah."

    The editor-in-chief questioned, "Really?"

    When Lu Bei asked this question, it wasn''t because Lu Bei had a problem, but because he thought Ol'' Xiong did.

    ...

    Three days later.

    Ice River Publishing House.

    Had been officially acquired by Silver Blue Books. The publishing house would be taken over by their representatives. Only ten people were not fired but instead, had to start working at Silver Blue Books'' headquarters¡ª

    Lin Xuan was among them.

    However, aside from the excitement felt by the other nine regarding Silver Blue Books, she was bewildered. Why wasn''t I, who just passed the probationary period, fired by Silver Blue Books?

    After knowing¡ª

    The ten people who stayed, aside from Lin Xuan, the rest were all notable figures, including a senior editor, two chief editors and six senior editors who had been working for nearly ten years and had managed a number of outstanding writers!

    The other nine were also perplexed.

    Lin Xuan seemed out of place standing among them. There were many editors more experienced than her that had been fired, so why was Lin Xuan on the list of ten people who could work at Silver Blue Books?

    "Don''t think too much about it since you''ve been selected."

    The senior editor, Han Xiao, addressed Lin Xuan, "You being kept might be Silver Blue Books'' way of showing their regard for young editors. Despite that you''ve just passed your probation period, you haven''t had any issues in terms of performance."

    Everyone nodded.

    That made sense to them.

    The chief editor on the left laughed and said, "It''s mainly because our senior editor, Han, has a lot of influence in the industry. We originally thought we would have to go to Silver Blue Books ourselves, but instead, they sent a car to fetch us."

    Han Xiao nodded modestly.

    He was surprised too. Ice River Publishing House was nowhere near Silver Blue Books'' league. Yet after the acquisition, Silver Blue Books was unexpectedly offering him such grand treatment.

    "The car seems to be here!"

    The other chief editor''s eyes lit up, "Senior Editor Han''s reputation is really big! I never thought Silver Blue Books would send such a fancy car to pick us up. I''ve researched this luxury vehicle before, it''s an extended version. Without a full ten million yuan, you couldn''t even get it!"

    They sent a ten-million-yuan luxury car to pick them up?

    Han Xiao was shocked, so my reputation is that influential?

    Well, Silver Blue Books!

    If you treat me as a gentleman, I will surely return the favour!

    At this moment, several people got out of the car. The one in front was a representative of Silver Blue Books, his attitude was not arrogant at all for being a representative of a large company: "Are you all from Ice River Publishing House?"

    "Yes."

    Han Xiao took a step forward.

    The representative of Silver Blue Books glanced over everyone, his gaze seemed to linger on Lin Xuan for two seconds, then he said:

    "Please get in the car."

    Everyone got in the car together. Lin Xuan, still confused, followed everyone into the car, surrounded by the excited chatter of her colleagues:

    "Senior Editor Han''s reputation is huge!"

    "Wonder what position Senior Editor Han will be assigned to at Silver Blue Books, considering the treatment he keeps receiving, it surely won''t be a minor one!"

    "Editor-in-Chief Han, please do take care of us old folks in the future."

    "What are you talking about? No matter which department we end up in, we all came from Ice River. Editor-in-Chief Han surely won''t forget us."

    "Though it''s harsh to say, getting acquired by Silver Blue Books is a blessing for us."

    "This is one of the largest publishing companies in the Qin Continent. I''ve always dreamed of working at Silver Blue Books!"

    "..."

    Two hours later.

    The vehicle carrying the Ice River group arrived at the headquarters of Silver Blue Books.

    The Ice River group was escorted to the eighth floor.

    A few people met them head-on, the leader being a stern-faced man: "I am Silver Blue Books''s Editor-in-Chief, Lu Bei."

    The crowd from Ice River shrank back a bit.

    Is this what an Editor-in-Chief in a big company is like? His aura so strong, ordinary people can''t handle it. Even Han Xiao couldn''t help but feel somewhat weak.

    However, he also felt a sense of pride. Silver Blue really does take me seriously - the Editor-in-Chief is personally welcoming me!

    This is a big deal!

    Who in the publishing industry doesn''t know about Lu Bei?

    He coughed and said, "Hello, I am Han Xiao¡­"

    Lu Bei nodded slightly at Han Xiao, then turned to the crowd, especially at a few female editors: "Can I ask which one of you is Lin Xuan?"

    Han Xiao, "..."

    Shouldn''t there be a handshake segment?

    Why has Lu Bei suddenly turned to Lin Xuan instead?

    Lin Xuan whispered, "Hello, chief editor, it''s me."

    On Lu Bei''s stern face, a hint of a gentle smile appeared. He stretched out his hand, "Welcome to Silver Blue Books!"

    "Thank you."

    Lin Xuan''s mind became increasingly muddled. Almost instinctively, she shook hands with Lu Bei.

    "Which department do you want to be in?"

    Lu Bei''s smile became ever warmer.

    The people from Ice River, "..."

    Why is Lu Bei so courteous to Lin Xuan?

    Has our Editor-in-Chief Han Xiao been sidelined?

    Has Lu Bei possibly mistaken Lin Xuan for our Chief Editor of Ice River?

    The age doesn''t fit, though.

    Just then, a mountainous figure darted out from afar, shouting from a distance: "Chief editor, let Ms. Lin Xuan join our Fantasy Department!"

    Lu Bei frowned.

    ''Ol'' Xiong'' had already rushed in front of Lin Xuan, grinning: "I am the Editor-in-Chief of the Youth Fantasy Department, you can call me Ol'' Xiong. Come and be our deputy editor! I''ve not liked our old deputy editor for a long time!"

    "We need people in our magazine department!"

    Another figure appeared, who happened to be Yu Rong of the Silver Blue magazine department.

    He also rushed to Lin Xuan''s side, even pushing ''Ol'' Xiong aside: "Hello, I am the editor-in-chief of ''Fun Reads'', our department would be very happy to have you join us. I think the position of deputy editor in the magazine department suits you well!"

    The Ice River crowd widened their eyes. Their heads couldn''t quite keep up.

    Han Xiao on the other hand, was having doubts about his life!

    A luxury car pickup....

    A Chief Editor''s reception....

    Editors fighting for her....

    Is all this not for me?

    But for Lin Xuan?

    What kind of legendary treatment is this?!

    Could it be that Lin Xuan is the favored daughter of Silver Blue Books'' owner?

    Lin Xuan didn''t know how to react. It was probably all just a dream. But even in her dreams, she dared not be too arrogant. All she could do was say, "I will abide by the company''s arrangements ...."

    "Well, come with me to the chief editor''s office first."

    Lu Bei glanced at ''Ol'' Xiong and Yu Rong, smiling: "The chief editor''s office oversees everything. I am your immediate superior. You can slowly understand the situation in each department, decide after a while, and choose a department you like. Of course, if you like the chief editor''s office, you are welcome to stay."

    "!!!"

    The chief editor''s office, not a high position, but with enormous power. All department editors must respect it!

    "Okay."

    Lin Xuan said.

    Some things you''d better not take seriously, this dream is pretty nice, a bit scary even, waking up will be okay later.

    "Hmm."

    Lu Bei glanced at the others, and then laughed: "Han Xiao can be the Editor-in-Chief in our Science Fiction Department, what do you think, Mr Han Xiao?"

    "Thank you, Chief Editor Lu!"

    Han Xiao quickly replied, somewhat excited. He was the Editor-in-Chief at Ice River, but at Silver Blue Books he could only be the Chief Editor.

    But for Han Xiao, he''d rather work as Chief Editor at Silver Blue Books!

    Because working at Silver Blue versus working at Ice River is simply day and night!

    However....

    Thinking of Lin Xuan''s direct entry to the Chief Editor''s office, his excitement was suddenly diluted. There was only one thought in his heart: "Lin Xuan absolutely has connections, she must be taken care of properly in the future!"

    This connection could be terrifying!

    Nonsense, who without any connections can be pampered like a granddaughter by Silver Blue Books?

    The Chief Editor personally taking on reception duties, this action is almost a declaration to the entire Silver Blue, that whoever messes with Lin Xuan is against him, Lu Bei!

    Not to mention the two chief editors of Silver Blue, competing publicly for Lin Xuan. It feels like they were ready to start a fight on the spot if not for Lu Bei''s intervention!

    Han Xiao even somewhat regretted not having cultivated a good relationship with Lin Xuan.

    Who would have thought though? Cousins with such terrifying connections, but why did Lin Xuan join Ice River, a small company, and humble herself as a junior intern editor?

    Life experience?

    At this time, Lu Bei glanced at the others from Ice River, and smiled at Lin Xuan: "If you can''t bear to leave your old colleagues, you can choose one from this group to be your assistant."

    Upon hearing this everyone gasped, all eyes on Lin Xuan.

    Even the two editors of Ice River were excited!

    That''s Chief Editor''s office!

    Being in the Chief Editor''s office means ascending the sky in one step!

    What does it matter if we are assistants to Lin Xuan? Anyone with a bit of a brain would know, mingling with Lin Xuan guarantees food and drink!

    Lin Xuan: "..."

    Everyone''s reaction is too real, it seems I am not dreaming after all. But if this isn''t a dream, then what on earth is happening?

    Has the world line been changed by someone?

    There''s another possibility, I need to ask my mom when I get home ¨C maybe I got switched at birth, and I might actually be the illegitimate daughter of some big shot? If that''s the case, then it''s also okay.

    In the future, whether it''s my younger siblings or my mother, I won''t forget you. If I, Lin Xuan, achieve great glory, I will ensure you share in its splendour!

 Chapter 124 - 121: Eat Ribs Tomorrow_1

    All editors like to read novels.

    And those who do, probably all have a bit of a delusional streak. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    For example, when an author continually emphasizes how handsome their protagonist is, they start to feel an intense sense of identification¡ª

    This is known as being delusional.

    By the time Lin Xuan was off work in the evening, she had calmed down and quit her various flights of fancy.

    She excitedly gave Lin Yuan a call: "Little bro, guess where I am!"

    Lin Yuan said: "Su City."

    Lin Xuan paused: "How did you know?"

    "I guessed."

    The truth was, YangFeng had told Lin Yuan at noon.

    Lin Xuan didn''t dwell on it, but rather excitedly said: "I''m now working at Silver Blue Books. It won''t be long now before I meet my idol!"

    Lin Yuan felt puzzled: "Who''s your idol?"

    She found it odd: "Shouldn''t you be asking why I''m working at Silver Blue Books?"

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    Lin Xuan laughed somewhat proudly: "You really wish to know, don''t you? I didn''t get fired. After Ice River was acquired, I and a few colleagues were transferred over to Silver Blue. They must have seen something in my abilities."

    Lin Yuan said half-heartedly: "Wow, impressive."

    Lin Xuan quickly changed the subject: "Actually, I''m more suspicious about whether the Editor-in-Chief of Silver Blue is enchanted by my beauty¡­"

    "How dare he!"

    Lin Yuan let out in a heightened tone.

    Lin Xuan laughed dismissively: "I''m just kidding. Tell me honestly, are you a little obsessed with your older sister? Sorry to disappoint you, but I''m not obsessed with my little brother. Instead, I''m smitten with a girl, my one true love is Big Yaoyao!"

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    What the hell is she talking about?

    Lin Xuan continued: "Actually, I don''t really know why, but Silver Blue has been quite accommodating with me. However, I''ve just arrived in Su City and have nowhere to stay. Do you have a place for me?"

    Everyone in their family knew that Lin Yuan had rented a place off-campus.

    Students wanting to live off-campus had to get their guardians'' approval.

    "Indeed."

    Lin Yuan said: "Don''t waste your money on renting a place, you can just comfortably live in my apartment. The room is big enough; I can send you the address."

    "That works. Haven''t you asked me who my idol is?"

    Lin Yuan asked: "Who?"

    His sister laughed: "Chu Kuang!"

    Lin Yuan looked stunned: "I thought you hated him?"

    Lin Xuan coughed: "We may have been rivals in the past, but times change. Now Chu Kuang is my idol. I should be able to get his autograph before too long!"

    Lin Yuan thought for a moment: "I''ve got books from when I was a kid that he signed; Mom probably hasn''t thrown them away, they''re all in our old house."

    "What good is your autograph going to do me? It''s not like I can sell it."

    "¡­You want an autograph just to sell?"

    "What else would I want it for?"

    "Is it worth a lot?" Lin Yuan was now quite intrigued.

    Lin Xuan thought for a moment: "I have a feeling it will be valuable in the future."

    Lin Yuan: "¡­"

    In that case, I''d better stick to teaching painting.

    Lin Xuan said casually: "Ok, well I should give mom a call to let her know about my new job, so she won''t worry."

    "Right."

    After ending the call, Lin Yuan texted his address to his sister.

    As for his sister coming to work in Su City, Lin Yuan was pretty happy about it.

    Silver Blue Books is really nice.

    I should publish my next short work there at Silver Blue.

    Even if they pay a bit less, it would be worthwhile to curry favor with them. They ought to treat my sister well in return.

    Meanwhile.

    Silver Blue Books.

    In the Editor-in-Chief''s office, Lu Bei sat enjoying his music when a woman knocked at the door.

    Lu Bei said: "Come in."

    As the woman stepped in, she bowed:" It''s all just as you''ve expected. Ever since ''Zhu Xian'' was released, all the publishers, including Ding Sheng, are hot on the heels of Chu Kuang''s trail. They are inquiring around, it looks like they want to pinch him. But, I''ve followed your instructions to keep Chu Kuang''s personal information as private as possible."

    "Those who always want to pinch my people, keep dreaming."

    A sneer appeared on Lu Bei''s face yet he didn''t seem stressed.

    The woman sounded unsure: "But I must remind the Editor-In-Chief, as per their current diligent persistence, it''s only a matter of time before they get Chu Kuang''s details. At that point, will they¡­"

    "Rest assured."

    Lu Bei stared out the window: "Even if I gave Chu Kuang''s information to them now, it would be hard for them to poach him."

    "Why is that?"

    "You don''t need to know."

    Lu Bei grinned: "Henceforth, you won''t need to worry about this. Go back to your office work. There''s a newcomer in the Editor-In-Chief''s office. As the first secretary of the office, you have to take good care of her. This will be your top priority."

    "Yes."

    After the woman nodded and left, she still felt puzzled: A newcomer? Who could it be that would garner such attention?

    ¡­

    When Lin Xuan arrived at Lin Yuan''s place, as per the address given, her eyes widened: "This is the place you rented?"

    "Yes."

    Lin Yuan replied, smiling.

    He had already informed Ms. Zhao about it.

    Ms. Zhao, as always, was quite understanding. When she heard that the person was Lin Yuan''s sister, she immediately allowed Lin Xuan to stay as long as she wanted and even suggested having a meal together sometime.

    "Hello, you must be Ms. Lin''s younger brother. I''m Zhang Cheng, Ms. Lin''s assistant!"

    Just as Lin Xuan entered, a bald head peeked out from behind her to greet Lin Yuan.

    Perhaps calling him bald was a bit inappropriate as he still had a few stubbornly gelled strands of hair that wouldn''t budge no matter how he shook his head.

    "Chief editor, you really don''t need to be so formal."

    Lin Xuan felt helpless. This was the assistant she eventually chose¡ª

    Zhang Cheng, her former chief editor from her time at Ice River.

    However, it''s not that she was deliberately trying to torment her former chief editor. When the editor-in-chief asked her to choose an assistant today, Zhang Cheng kept making faces at her, insisting that he become her assistant.

    Lin Xuan was desperate.

    Do you invite discomfort to yourself by getting your former chief editor as your current assistant?

    Tonight, Zhang Cheng insisted on coming with her because there was so much luggage, and he didn''t want a girl like her to carry everything by herself.

    Lin Xuan could only go along with it.

    Lin Yuan smiled and said, "Hello."

    Zhang Cheng nodded, glanced inside the house, and laughed, "I''ll leave now, Ms. Lin. If you need anything, remember to call me."

    "Alright, take care, chief editor."

    Zhang Cheng waved his hand, "Don''t call me chief editor, just call me Little Zhang. You''re at Silver Blue, how would the real chief editors think if you call me that?"

    Lin Xuan, helpless, said, "Then I''ll just call you Old Zhang, as that''s how we used to refer to you privately."

    Zhang Cheng: "..."

    In the moonlight, Zhang Cheng left.

    Light on his feet and a smile on his face, he truly realised Lin Xuan''s background wasn''t that simple!

    Firstly, this apartment complex isn''t cheap, Lin Yuan is clearly a student and yet he can afford to live here; how could this be possible without some kind of backing?

    Moreover, the house deco is gorgeous.

    Thinking that back at the company, Lin Xuan used to eat noodles with everyone, and once nearly started a fight over a sausage, it really makes you emotional.

    What a man of the people!

    In the future, as long as he takes good care of this lady at Silver Blue, getting a decent position shouldn''t be an issue at all!

    Your prospects are looking very bright!

    Just that he''s curious about who could be backing up this powerful lady?

    ...

    After Zhang Cheng left.

    Lin Xuan scanned the rooms, "Which one is mine?"

    Lin Yuan asked, "How about the master bedroom?"

    Lin Xuan made a face. "You think I have that kind of authority in this house? If our mother finds out, I''ll never fit in again."

    "Then, this one."

    Lin Yuan pointed to the left. "This is Xia Fan''s room. If you want to stay here in the future, it''s fine. I''ve spoken to her before, she''s likely going to be away at contests and won''t have much opportunity to stay here."

    In fact, Jian Yi and Xia Fan only came over a few times.

    As students, it''s very hard for them to stay for the night, even on weekends.

    If worst comes to worst and it gets fully booked, they could just let Jian Yi sleep on the sofa. He probably wouldn''t mind.

    Lin Xuan nodded.

    Jian Yi and Xia Fan were good friends of Lin Yuan. They often visited Lin Yuan''s house before going to college, so Lin Xuan knew them.

    "Oh yeah."

    As if she recalled something, Lin Xuan chuckled, "Our little sister is about to do her college entrance examination this month!"

    "So soon?"

    Lin Yuan was taken aback, he had completely forgotten. July is the season for college entrance examinations, and their sister Lin Yao is a senior high school student this year. Therefore, she indeed needs to take the college entrance examination.

    Lin Xuan spoke mysteriously, "Can you guess which university she wants to enroll in?"

    After thinking for a bit, Lin Yuan said, "Is she also planning to apply to the Qin Continent Art Academy?"

    Lin Xuan snapped her fingers, "Correct answer! Since brother is at Qin Art, of course she''d want to come here as well. Once she''s in your college, you have to ensure she isn''t getting bullied."

    Lin Yuan decisively said, "I''ll protect her!"

    As for whether Lin Yao can be admitted to Qin Art, no one in the family has any doubts.

    Lin Yao, their youngest sister, is truly a top student. Her academic performance has always been among the best in school. Every year, whenever Lin Xuan asked her what gift she wanted, Yao''s answer was always:

    Study materials.

    Lin Yuan suddenly came up with a question, "Has mom agreed?"

    Lin Xuan made a face, "If it were up to her, mom definitely won''t agree. Studying art is expensive, and it''s only you, her son, that can make such a choice freely. For us, we have to submit to mom''s arrangements. But now it''s different, you''ve earned quite a bit of money, and the family is doing better. Since Big Yaoyao wants to study art, mom has agreed."

    "That''s good."

    He''s not sure what major Yao is going to choose. Doesn''t she really like drawing?

    As for this matter, Lin Yuan surely won''t intervene. He supports his sisters in whatever they choose to do.

    "Things will be better from now on."

    Lin Xuan said softly, "Big Yaoyao and I will both be in Su City. We can also take care of each other. In fact, when we were young, we''ve also had grudges against you. We felt that mom was too biased and gave all the best things to you, as if we seemed redundant. I''ve even suspected that mom only gave birth to us so we could look after you in the future."

    Lin Yuan was silent.

    Lin Xuan revealed a smile, "But then I remember, there was a time when mom saved pork ribs for you, but you secretly passed it to us. That day, Big Yaoyao cried all night without making a sound because you know, we all slept together in the same room with mom... Are you surprised? We, your sisters, indeed held grudges too."

    Lin Yuan still remained silent.

    Lin Xuan whispered, "Are you upset?"

    Lin Yuan shook his head, "I was thinking, we should have pork ribs for dinner tomorrow. I have a good friend, he''s my senior and is incredibly knowledgeable about food."

    Lin Xuan: "..."

    She pinched Lin Yuan''s cheek, turned around and said, "You should go washed up and go to bed, I''ll clean up the room."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

 Chapter 125 - 122 Senior Yao Huos Memoir_1

    The next morning.

    Lin Yuan took his sister downstairs for breakfast.

    After finishing breakfast, their sister was about to pay the bill, the cashier aunt quickly waved her hand: "No need, no need."

    "Huh?"

    What has happened to me recently?

    Can I get a free meal at a diner just by showing my face?

    Am I the protagonist of this world after all?

    And Su City is the blessed land witnessing my rise?

    The cashier aunt looked at Lin Yuan and shattered Lin Xuan''s wild imagination with a single sentence: "May I ask you, what is your relationship with him?"

    Lin Xuan was stunned for a moment, then said: "He''s my younger brother."

    The aunt smiled: "Is he your real younger brother? it makes sense considering how much you look alike. Your family''s genes are really good, no worries, you two can have breakfast here for free."

    Lin Xuan: "???"

    Lin Yuan said thanks and took his sister away.

    Lin Xuan, puzzled: "Did you pay a lump sum for a year''s worth of breakfasts?"

    Lin Yuan shook his head: "The owner of the breakfast shop is my friend."

    Lin Xuan was surprised: "That''s a neat coincidence, your friend''s diner just happens to be not far from your place."

    Lin Yuan said: "Yes, after you finish your work, send me a message, and we will go eat ribs, it''s my friend treat."

    "Going to eat ribs? Okay, I also meet your new friends, might as well call Jian Yi and others, haven''t seen them for a while."

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    His sister was preparing to take a taxi to the company.

    After pondering, Lin Yuan suggested: "Dont you have a driving license? Just buy a car."

    Lin Xuan sighed: "At this point you''re not good with numbers, it''s cheaper to take a cab than owning a car."

    "It''s convenient," Lin Yuan retorted.

    Considering this, Lin Xuan felt he was right. As her siblings are going to live in Su City, having a car would be more convenient.

    "Well, I will buy one later, what kind of car do you like?"

    Lin Yuan thought for a moment: "Are you short of money?"

    Entirely clueless about cars, Lin Xuan figured purchasing a vehicle is probably an expensive affair.

    Lin Xuan: "..."

    Wasn''t this something she had heard before?

    Is this brother''s way of expressing his love?

    Before his sister could answer, Lin Yuan directly transferred her fifty thousand. Only at such times would he reveal his astounding generosity.

    Fifty thousand?

    Seeing the mobile prompt, Lin Xuan was almost stunned by the sheer amount of money. If it wasn''t her brother, she''d have to repay him with her body, right?

    Don''t know who''s going to benefit from her brother in the future.

    If anyone harbors any dodgy intentions, she''ll destroy them one by one!

    No one can escape her sharp eye!

    ...

    Not long afterwards.

    Lin Yuan started walking towards the school.

    He was somewhat hesitant.

    He was considering whether to go to the Qi Continent as an exchange student next year.

    Now that his sister had come to Su City, his younger sister would probably be coming soon as well, was he ready to leave them in the next year?

    He''d think about it more.

    He went on to the classroom.

    On the way, he sent messages to Jian Yi and Xia Fan telling them that his sister had come to work in Su City and inviting them to have lunch today.

    The two happily agreed.

    Jian Yi and Xia Fan liked Lin Yuan''s sister very much. When they were young, Lin Xuan took them to the game arcade.

    At that time, everyone was the king of the gaming world, unfortunately, they were caught by their parents.

    Reached the classroom.

    The first class was the professional class of counselor Hua Li, as always, Lin Yuan listened attentively, however, at the end of the class, Hua Li announced something: "Your academic assessment for the school year will be officially reviewed by the school tomorrow. Please prepare yourself mentally."

    Inside the classroom.

    Everyone immediately became nervous. The significance of this year''s academic assessment is self-evident, and everyone had indeed made a lot of effort for this, naturally hoping for a good result.

    "Don''t be too nervous."

    Hua Li smiled: "There is also something else I need to tell you, the faculty of East Art will be visiting tomorrow, so remember to keep the classroom clean. Don''t make any disciplinary errors, such as skipping classes. If you get caught, you''ll be in trouble. We can''t lose face in front of East Art."

    "Got it!"

    The students replied.

    East Art and Qin Art have been rivals for a long time. As the leaders of East Art are coming to visit Qin Art, the students naturally wouldn''t slack off. This issue concerned the reputation of the school. Whenever such a situation arises, the students become particularly attuned to the situation.

    ...

    Noon.

    Senior Sun Yaohuo''s car appeared in front of Qin Art''s door.

    Lin Yuan introduced to Jian Yi, "This is senior Sun Yao Huo." S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Jian Yi greeted: "Hello senior, my name is Jian Yi, Lin Yuan''s good friend."

    Sun Yaohuo laughed: "Hello everyone, get in the car."

    As soon as Xia Fan got in the car, she said, "Senior Yao Huo, we didn''t expect you to hide the fact that Lin Yuan is Xian Yu from us!"

    Xia Fan doesn''t need Lin Yuan''s introduction because she knows Sun Yaohuo.

    Sun Yaohuo glanced at Lin Yuan, noticing that he remained relatively calm, he diverted the topic with an awkward smile: "Well, I prefer to keep a low profile, isn''t it ribs we''re having today? I know a restaurant that serves great ribs!"

    "Slurp"

    Xia Fan''s attention was successfully diverted.

    Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the restaurant. Lin Yuan saw that his sister was already there and greeted from afar.

    "Long time no see."

    Lin Xuan also greeted Jian Yi and Xia Fan.

    Xia Fan went straight up and hugged Lin Xuan. Seeing this, Jian Yi was tempted to do the same, but ultimately held himself back -

    He was bullied by Lin Xuan as a kid.

    Even so, he joked, "Sister, you''re getting more and more beautiful."

    Lin Xuan said: "Flattery will get you nowhere. Don''t you dare lead Lin Yuan astray."

    Jian Yi dared not make a sound.

    Then Lin Yuan introduced Sun Yaohuo to Lin Xuan.

    After everyone had exchanged greetings, they sat down.

    Xia Fan was very close to Lin Xuan and kept talking to her: "Sister, will you be working in Su City in the future?"

    Lin Xuan smiled, "Yes, I will keep an eye on you all."

    "Let''s have hotpot sometime. I haven''t had hotpot with my sister for a long time. I remember when we were kids, you dreamed of having hotpot every day!"

    Lin Yuan coughed: "There''s no need to bring up those old stories, I haven''t mentioned your¡­ nervous¡­ "

    Xia Fan immediately raised her hand in surrender.

    Lin Yuan and Jian Yi played dumb as usual.

    Meanwhile, Sun Yaohuo was secretly typing on his phone''s notepad. It was a memo he cherished:

    "32, Xian Yu''s sister will be working in Su City in the future. My lady likes hotpot (Can consider opening a hotpot restaurant in the future)"

    This notepad was full of many such notes.

    1, Xian Yu likes to eat knuckles (Not too sweet)

    2, Xian Yu has no classes Wednesday morning (Can arrange for meals)

    3, Xian Yu likes to drink strawberry flavored and orange flavored juices, she doesn''t like to add pearls to her milk tea (The tea shop should have a special set meal)

    4, Xian Yu doesn''t eat much for breakfast, she must order a steamed bun and a soy milk every day (Sometimes she will change the soy milk to briny tofu pudding, so I decided to switch from sweet to savory party)

    5, Pick Xian Yu up from school on rainy days.

    6, The cabin temperature Xian Yu prefers in summer is 25 degrees.

    7, ...

    So far, the notebook has 32 entries.

    After some thought, Sun Yaohuo added another:

    33, Xia Fan and Jian Yi are Xian Yu''s good friends. When she gets nervous, what happens (?)

    After thinking about it again, Sun Yaohuo crossed out the words "and Jian Yi".

    ...

    At this moment, the waiter brought the dishes.

    As everyone saw one platter of ribs after another being served, they were more and more surprised.

    Sun Yaohuo casually introduced them, "This is winter melon rib soup, this is potato stew ribs, this steamed meat is also made with ribs, this is sweet and sour ribs, I don''t know if you guys like it, there''s also braised ribs, this is spicy salt ribs, this fancy one is cheese ribs, I heard some girls like it¡­"

    Real ribs feast?

    Sun Yaohuo looked at Lin Yuan: "Lin Yuan, are you satisfied? If there''s anything else you need, we can add it."

    Lin Yuan replied: "We can''t finish it all."

    Jian Yi said: "I can take it to go. The guys in our dorm love ribs. Is it alright, Brother Sun?"

    Sun Yao Huo waved his hand grandly, "Why bother with taking it to go, just have them cook another portion."

    Jian Yi: "..."

    Is this the domineering aura of a senior?

    Xia Fan clenched her fist: "Senior, you''ve steeled my resolve to become a singer!"

    "Go for it!"

    Sun Yaohuo said, looking at Lin Xuan with a full smile: "Um¡­ sister, what do you like to eat? This restaurant has a lot of other dishes too, but their ribs are the most famous. Feel free to order!"

    Lin Xuan: "..."

    A breakfast store, rib feast, something seems off?

    Why does this scene feel so eerily familiar?

    What am I overlooking?

    After washing her hands and not bothering with gloves, she picked up a large bone. As Lin Xuan gnawed away, she pondered.

 Chapter 126 - 123 Farewell_1

    Qin Continent Art Academy.

    Summer vacation is nearing, and in one of the large classrooms of the sophomore composition department, mentors are busy scrutinizing students'' annual assessment pieces.

    At this moment.

    A commotion suddenly echoed from the entrance: "I''ve heard that Qin Art is teeming with talents. Director Shi shouldn''t mind our group of East Art professors coming over to your composition department to learn a few things..."

    East Art?

    The teachers in the large office lifted their heads simultaneously upon hearing the voice at the door, turning their attention to the entrance. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The full name of East Art is East Qin Art Academy.

    It is the second top ranking art school in Qin Continent.

    It''s said that originally, East Qin Art Academy also wanted to be known as "Qin Art".

    But, it was not feasible.

    Qin Continent Art Academy was stronger, hence the title "Qin Art" belonged to Qin Continent Art Academy.

    East Qin Art Academy could only be abbreviated as "East Art".

    East Art held a long-standing grudge about this and has been eyeing the position of elder brother Qin Art for many years.

    The mentors were aware that East Art intended to visit Qin Art today.

    But they hadn''t expected that the composition department of East Art would actually show up halfway through, an unexpected hint of confrontational intent.

    "Everyone."

    The leading figure in Qin Art''s composition department, Shi Cheng, and the professors, were ushering the team of East Art composition professors into the room.

    Once inside, Shi Cheng announced loudly, "Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome Professor Zhang Wenwu and the East Art composition teaching team to visit our composition department!"

    Clatter, clatter.

    The professors on Qin Art''s side start clapping.

    "You are all too kind."

    East Art''s Professor Zhang Wenwu laughed, "Being a century-old institution, Qin Art has produced an abundance of talent. Our East Art''s visit today is purely to learn from your experience."

    Everyone applauded again, all the while thinking: I don''t believe a word you''re saying!

    "Please, continue with your reviews."

    Shi Cheng gestured for calm, then addressed Zhang Wenwu and others, "Over here, please. You can sit down and have some tea first."

    "Thank you."

    After Professor Zhang Wenwu and other professors from East Art sat down, they began to chat with Shi Cheng: "Are you reviewing your students'' annual assessment pieces today?"

    Shi Cheng nodded.

    Zhang Wenwu laughed, "We finished reviewing our students'' work yesterday. In fact, we invited the leader of the Dazzling Silver Glow Composition department over for a while. It turned out that Dazzling Silver Glow signed one of our sophomore students on the spot, even asking the student to come in on the weekends to work."

    Shi Cheng''s eyelids twitched.

    He had been long time rivals with Zhang Wenwu and they understood each other very well. The moment they interacted, he could guess the other party''s intention.

    No wonder Zhang Wenwu didn''t follow the rest of their school team and insisted on visiting Qin Art''s composition department.

    Turned out, he came to brag in front of him.

    Inevitably.

    Being contracted with one of the top three companies in Qin Continent during sophomore year and also having the benefit of working on the weekends was not something an ordinary person could do.

    "By the way."

    "Did you also invite someone from the entertainment companies?" Zhang Wenwu asked, feigning concern.

    Shi Cheng nodded, "We invited the composition department of Starlight."

    Zhang Wenwu sighed, "Qin Art''s influence is indeed powerful."

    Shi Cheng shrugged, "The feeling is mutual."

    Zhang Wenwu laughed, "I wonder if I could listen to some of Qin Art''s outstanding student works later, just to see how big the gap is between our East Art and your esteemed academy."

    Shi Cheng smiled, "Of course you can."

    He summoned an assistant, in front of Zhang Wenwu, and instructed the assistant to collect the top students'' work from the reviewing teachers and bring them over.

    After the assistant had left.

    Zhang Wenwu assumed a more comfortable position and spoke, "Instead of sitting idly, I thought I might share with you the best piece from our sophomore composition department. After Dazzling Silver Glow listened to this song, they signed the student on the spot. Would you like to listen to it?"

    Shi Cheng responded, "I''d be delighted to."

    He was intrigued to find out, what kind of work could make Dazzling Silver Glow sign someone on the spot.

    Zhang Wenwu sent the song to Shi Cheng and the composition professors of Qin Art.

    They all put on headphones to listen to the song.

    Only halfway through the song, the expressions on Shi Cheng and others'' faces had changed.

    Zhang Wenwu tasted his tea with hidden pride gleaming in his eyes.

    Exactly!

    He had come today to stir up Qin Art.

    Why should Qin Art receive such high educational resources every year?

    East Art''s overall abilities were not much less than those of Qin Art!

    After listening to the entire song, Shi Cheng fell silent.

    The professors of Qin Art behind Shi Cheng were stunned.

    Was this a piece composed by a sophomore student?

    "What do you think?" Zhang Wenwu asked, appearing humble and eager to learn.

    Shi Cheng''s eyelids twitched, he swallowed his pride and said, "Impressive, truly a commendable masterpiece."

    Zhang Wenwu looked at the professors of Qin Art.

    The professors of Qin Art could only follow suit and say, "Indeed it''s a good song."

    As professionals, they couldn''t deny that East Art''s song was of commendable quality. But considering the competitive atmosphere between the two schools, they felt somewhat uneasy.

    "Ha, ha."

    Zhang Wenwu and professors of East Art laughed, "Professor Shi, why not guess who composed this song?"

    Shi Cheng was taken aback, "Do I know this person?"

    Zhang Wenwu answered, "Zou Yu, does it ring any bells?"

    Shi Cheng''s face darkened instantly.

    He knew about Zou Yu.

    Zou Yu''s father, Zou Wen, was a widely acclaimed Maestro in Qin Continent, a member of a prestigious musical family!

    As the saying goes, "Like father, like son".

    Under his father''s guidance, Zou Yu was lauded as a composition prodigy since his childhood. When he was a high school senior, he composed popular pieces.

    Later on.

    Zou Yu topped the National Higher Education Entrance Examination two years ago, and the news of his talent shook the industry. All institutions in Qin Continent extended an olive branch to Zou Yu.

 Chapter 127 - 123 Farewell_2

    But the result.

    Zou Yu chose East Art instead.

    Qin Art, as the top institution in Qin Continent, lost a significant amount of face then. Now, Zou Yu''s composing skills have surprisingly reached such heights!

    If Zhang Wenwu was just here to flaunt their school''s excellent works, Shi Cheng wouldn''t feel too upset.

    But the fact that the composition was Zou Yu''s, made Shi Cheng profoundly disturbed.

    How did Qin Art miss out on such an outstanding student?

    Zhang Wenwu, clearly satisfied with Shi Cheng''s reaction, teased, "Qin Art is full of talent. I believe there must be students even better than Zou Yu. I''m looking forward to it!

    Looking forward to your sister!

    Zou Yu''s a demon!

    Who in our school can rival him?

    Shi Cheng knows his composition students well. He was painfully aware that Qin Art currently had no students superior to Zou Yu¡ª

    At least not now.

    Perhaps when the students mature, someone could challenge Zou Yu. After all, not all geniuses shine at university.

    At that moment.

    Shi Cheng''s assistant sent over a piece: "This is a work by Yan Mengjia from class five, the best rated one by the mentors so far.

    Zhang Wenwu asked, "Can I take a listen?"

    Shi Cheng had no choice but to share the composition for everyone to listen.

    After hearing it, Zhang Wenwu nodded, "Not bad!"

    It''s indeed good!

    Yan Mengjia, being a sophomore in the composition department, was among the front-runners. This song of hers was remarkable and could even be released!

    But clearly.

    Compared to Zou Yu''s song, there was still a considerable gap. Hence, Zhang Wenwu''s praise did not please Shi Cheng but instead felt like a stab to his chest.

    "Any more?"

    There was a hint of frustration in Shi Cheng''s voice.

    The assistant nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation, and promptly left with a serious expression, aware that Professor Shi was agitated.

    Soon.

    Several other songs were presented, all of them excellent compositions. Zhang Wenwu affirmed each piece, but they all fell short¡ª

    Nothing compared to Zou Yu!

    The mighty Qin Art''s sophomore composition department was being overshadowed by an individual from East Art, Zou Yu.

    "Hey."

    After several rounds of praise, Zhang Wenwu sighed, "Professor Shi, why hide your best work? I''ll admit, the songs I just heard were good, but I believe a top institution like Qin Art must have even better pieces."

    Can you give some face?

    Let''s keep it civil for future relations!

    Shi Cheng rolled his eyes in frustration. If I can''t present a better piece than Zou Yu today, does that mean I''ll have to concede that Qin Art''s composition level is indeed inferior to East Art?

    "Exactly."

    The professors from East Art who came with Zhang Wenwu spoke up: "These songs are decent but clearly fall short of Zou Yu''s standards."

    "I can''t believe this is the best Qin Art has."

    "They must be hiding their best work."

    "Professor Shi, show us what you have."

    "The educational resources Qin Art receives annually are more than double ours at East Art. Compared to them, we struggle at East Art. We only have a few piano rooms, and students have to queue up to use public facilities."

    "..." S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Shi Cheng could only call out to his assistant: "Ask them to hurry with their review. Retrieve more songs. Our friends from East Art are waiting."

    "Understood."

    The assistant briskly left the room.

    The tutors in-charge of reviewing the students'' work seemed to have understood Shi Cheng''s predicament. East Art seemed to come here for a challenge!

    Qin Art can''t lose!

    On the surface, it appears to be a matter of reputation.

    But East Art wouldn''t have come all this way just to show off.

    If East Art goes back and publicizes how their composition department surpasses Qin Art''s, what would be the implications?

    We must retaliate.

    But the problem is, the piece that East Art has brought is strong. The songs that have just been submitted seem to be lacking in some way.

    More than half have been reviewed.

    Are there powerful counterworks in the remaining half?

    The composition department tutors have no idea.

    "By the way."

    Zhang Wenwu smiled at Shi Cheng, "This song by Zou Yu may get released after not too long. The performer has been decided; they say it''s Chen Zhiyu, a top singer from Dazzling Silver Glow!"

    Shi Cheng forced a smile, "Congratulations."

    Clearly, if it managed to attract a top singer like Chen Zhiyu, Zou Yu''s song was outstanding.

    Zhang Wenwu shrugged, "Chen Zhiyu has been searching for suitable songs, but unfortunately, none had met his expectations. After hearing Zou Yu''s song, he decided on it immediately. This surprised us; Chen Zhiyu, a top-tier singer, rarely chooses works by newcomers..."

    Show off¡ªwhat a show-off.

    Shi Cheng felt uneasy in the sofa he sat on and adjusted his position a few times but remained uncomfortable. He concluded it was probably because of Zhang Wenwu sitting next to him.

    At that moment.

    There was a commotion in the distance.

    Already annoyed, Shi Cheng got more annoyed hearing the commotion. He immediately stood up, "What kind of image are we projecting? Do we want to make a joke of ourselves in front of our guests?"

    Professor Shi''s words are full of innuendoes.

    Zhang Wenwu caught on, but instead of getting angry, he dismissively waved, "No harm done. Don''t be mad."

    "Over there, they''re discussing a new piece."

    The assistant ran over and whispered an explanation.

    Zhang Wenwu heard and raised an eyebrow, "Finally, another song. I thought, how could such a large composition department as Qin Art not produce a single superior piece?"

 Chapter 128 - 123 Farewell_3

    Shi Cheng didn''t say anything.

    He hoped that Zhang Wenwu and the others would leave quickly, because no matter what song they choose next, it will be useless and humiliating in front of Zou Yu''s piece.

    "Give it a listen."

    Zhang Wenwu laughed, "Brother Shi, you can''t be this stingy, right? Who are we to each other anyway, right?"

    "Of course... "

    Shi Cheng quickly shot a glance at him and gnashed his teeth, "What are you waiting for, bring the song over."

    The assistant responded and quickly sent over a song, quietly explaining, "This is a piece by Lin Yuan from the fifth class in the Composition Department."

    "Lin Yuan?"

    Shi Cheng sighed inwardly.

    He knew all the students in the Composition Department who had decent skills, but this was the first time he heard Lin Yuan''s name.

    The teachers must have seen something extraordinary in this Lin Yuan.

    Under normal circumstances, this would be a cause of celebration.

    But today, Shi Cheng just couldn''t bring himself to feel happy.

    How could a student with limited talent, no matter how extraordinary his performance, possibly compare with Zou Yu''s piece?

    Zhang Wenwu raised an eyebrow, "You seem to lack confidence in your own students."

    Shi Cheng glanced at him, "I have complete confidence in all of Qin Art''s students; each of them is a treasure of our institution!"

    This was absolutely heartfelt.

    He would never blame his students for not being able to write a better song than Zou Yu''s. Who knows what the future holds? Being behind at the moment doesn''t mean one will be behind for a lifetime!

    "That''s good."

    Zhang Wenwu did not continue to provoke Shi Cheng, because if he kept doing so, Shi Cheng might lose his temper, and that would be too much.

    "Listen to the song, listen to the song."

    The professors at Qin Art tried to keep the peace.

    Zhang Wenwu nodded and put on his headphones to listen to this song. His expression was relaxed and carefree, for he didn''t believe anyone''s work could surpass Zou Yu''s.

    Shi Cheng and the professors from Qin Art also put on their headphones and listened to the song, though their expressions were somewhat grave.

    Within their headphones.

    The singing began.

    The natural melody connected to the clean drum beats, setting off the prelude from repressed to increasingly passionate, making every single lyric distinctly audible.

    "This song... "

    As the melodic sense increased, the professors around Shi Cheng gradually widened their eyes, and all shared a glance, each seeing the shock in each other''s eyes.

    Meanwhile.

    The smile on Zhang Wenwu''s face gradually faded.

    The song in the headset continued, the harmonious melody fused together unexpectedly making people unable to resist the urge to follow the beat.

    He irksomely shifted in his seat.

    The sofa at Qin Art, as he sat in it, felt a bit hard?

    In the headphones, the melody had already transitioned into the chorus''s rhythm. The enunciation of the lyrics was still clear, with each word echoing like a bomb, exploding large holes in Zhang Wenwu''s heart.

    Brilliant build-up, perfect transition!

    Shi Cheng''s mouth fell open, his eyes full of amazement while countless words of praise flashed through his mind, almost making him want to applaud and exclaim in admiration!

    Meanwhile, the professors around him all had even more expressive reactions!

    Especially the professors from East Art, some even stood up involuntarily while listening to the song, their legs moving unnaturally.

    The entire song is only four minutes long.

    Main tune, chorus, repeat, a very common format.

    Yet, facing this very common format, Zhang Wenwu felt for the first time that four minutes could be so long that he increasingly found the sofa underneath his butt somewhat hard.

    Why doesn''t Qin Art have softer couches?!

    Not only Zhang Wenwu, but also the professors from East Art felt uneasy while listening to the song to the point that some of them couldn''t help but stand up¡ª

    Realizing that it was inappropriate and quickly sitting back down.

    Four minutes later.

    Everyone finished listening to the song. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The room sank into an eerie silence, almost quiet enough to hear a pin drop, no one knowing whether they were savoring the song they just listened to or thinking about something else, in any case, no one was speaking.

    Zhang Wenwu wanted to talk.

    But he opened his mouth only to feel like his throat was being choked, so he couldn''t say anything.

    This feeling was incredibly unpleasant.

    Normally, this was when Shi Cheng should say something, considering how much he''d been annoyed by East Art.

    But Shi Cheng was also somewhat taken aback, his mind completely filled with Initial Dream. It took him a good ten seconds to suddenly pinch his thigh. The sudden pang of pain brought him back to reality.

    What the hell!

    What song is this?!

    Even better than Zou Yu''s!

    Lin Yuan is from our school?!

    Why haven''t I heard about him in the past?!

    At this moment, Shi Cheng''s mind was in a whirlwind!

    He suppressed the craziness in his heart and tried hard to maintain his calm, but his voice trembled slightly, "I think this song sounds okay?"

    "What do you think, Professor Zhang?"

    "How does it compare to Zou Yu''s?"

    "I feel it''s a little weaker than Zou Yu''s."

    "Indeed, Zou Yu''s song is indeed not simple."

    "East Art, relying on Zou Yu alone, silenced all of us at Qin Art. Professor Zhang, having such an outstanding student is really something to be happy and grateful for."

    "..."

    Earlier, Zhang Wenwu made a bunch of sarcastic comments. Now, the professors at Qin Art decided to follow his example. One after another, they began to speak up, sounding their counter-attack.

    Compare with Zou Yu?

    Sorry, it''s not that we''re looking down on Zou Yu, but Lin Yuan''s song is indeed stronger than Zou Yu''s!

    "Not bad... Not bad..."

    Zhang Wenwu seemed somewhat lost for the moment.

    The professors from East Art around him either looked up at the ceiling or down at the floor, as if they''d discovered something interesting, occasionally accompanied by one or two throat-clearing coughs.

    The atmosphere was extremely awkward.

    Zhang Wenwu simply couldn''t take it anymore. He forced a laugh and stood up, "Brother, I just remembered, it seems like I have some business to attend to."

    "Is that so."

    Shi Cheng also stood up, stood tall and straight. Despite being shorter, he seemed to radiate the imposing presence of a small mountain. "Professor Zhang, aren''t you going to give a Couple of further comments?"

    "I''m sorry to have disturbed you, I''ll be leaving now!"

    Zhang Wenwu quickly ushered the team of professors from East Art out. However, as they left, Shi Cheng and the others saw him quietly raise a thumb from his back¡ª

    He finally admitted that East Art had lost.

 Chapter 129 - 124 Iron Forged Friendship_1

    Zhang Wenwu left with the composition professors of East Art as if they were flying. Once they stepped out of the Qin Art teaching building, the professors could finally no longer contain themselves:

    "What a great song!"

    "Who exactly is Lin Yuan?"

    "Even stronger than Zou Yu!"

    "Saying Lin Yuan is stronger than Zou Yu might not be accurate, perhaps it was an exceptional performance from the student named Lin Yuan. Judging from Shi Cheng''s reaction, Lin Yuan doesn''t seem to be a very renowned talent in the Composition Department, but we have to admit that the song he composed is really good.

    Among all the inspirational songs I''ve heard, it''s easily among the top ten in terms of quality!"

    "Initial Dream?"

    "Just in terms of this performance, ''Initial Dream'' is actually better than Zou Yu''s composition. After all, Qin Art is still Qin Art. We initially came here to challenge them, but we didn''t expect such an outcome. We''ve made a fool of ourselves."

    "..."

    Listening to the discussions among his professors, Zhang Wenwu felt conflicted. Ultimately, he had underestimated Qin Art. He did not expect that even with a talented student like Zou Yu in his own school, they couldn''t suppress Qin Art''s rising star. Just who was this student called Lin Yuan?

    Inside the teaching building.

    The same question also echoed in the large lecture hall of the Composition Department. Shi Cheng was staring at the instructors who were about to complete their work, his voice trembling with excitement: "Will the tutor of Class Five come over?"

    "Head Professor!"

    Hua Li, the class advisor and professional subject tutor of Lin Yuan, quickly arrived in front of Shi Cheng, and said with a wry smile, "Lin Yuan is a student of our class. His grades in professional courses are quite good, but his composing ability is just average among the second-year students in the Composition Department.

    I didn''t expect his composition for the annual examination to be so excellent. When the teacher who had just reviewed the song mentioned Lin Yuan to me, I was quite surprised."

    "Is Lin Yuan average?"

    "What exactly are you referring to?"

    Hua Li fell into thought, counting on his fingers: "Speaking of appearance, Lin Yuan is not just average. He is particularly popular in the class. Even in terms of drawing ability, Lin Yuan is quite talented. He even helped our class to win first place in the blackboard newspaper competition."

    "Is this what I asked?"

    Shi Cheng retorted unhappily: "Even in our field of composition, how can a student who can create ''Initial Dream'' be considered average? Even if he was outperforming himself, it also indicates that he has a very high ceiling. You should pay more attention to your students in the future. I can''t believe that our Composition Department has such a talented person hidden!"

    A genius of the Composition Department!

    This was Shi Cheng''s evaluation.

    Hua Li nodded her head repeatedly. She too had heard ''Initial Dream'' just a while ago. Lin Yuan truly deserved the ''genius'' label. Everyone knows that the precondition for outperforming oneself is to possess enough potential.

    Just then.

    There was a noise at the door.

    Shi Cheng looked over. It turned out to be the people from Starlight''s side coming over. The leader was impressively the head of Starlight''s Composition Department¨D Zhou Ruiming. He greeted them with a full smile: "Ol'' Zhou, long time no see."

    "Professor Shi."

    Zhou Ruiming also showed a smile. He respects the head professor of the Composition Department of Qin Art. Many of the industry''s top composers have come out of the Qin Art''s Composition Department: "Do you have any promising talents to recommend to me this time?"

    "There really is one."

    Shi Cheng smiled proudly and took Zhou Ruiming to the neighboring resting room, presenting ''Initial Dream'' like a treasured item.

    Zhou Ruiming was startled.

    A song that Shi Cheng took out so solemnly: its quality definitely wouldn''t be low. He and few representatives of Starlight''s Composition Department put on headphones and listened to the song once.

    A few minutes later.

    All the representatives of Starlight showed stunned expressions. All of them were seasoned listeners, they knew a good piece when they heard one: "Such a great song!"

    "Manager, we must sign!"

    "A second-year student with such talent!"

    "This person, we Starlight must secure!"

    "Qin Art, the top-class institution of Qin Continent, indeed produces talents. It looks like we need to come to Qin Art more often in the future. This is the birthplace of composers!"

    "..."

    Starlight representatives were shocked. Zhou Ruiming''s heart was also somewhat surprised. ''Initial Dream'' had an astonishing quality, and it was a work of a second-year student?

    Qin Art indeed has hidden talents!

    It truly is the institution where Xian Yu studied!

    He looked seriously at Shi Cheng with a sincere and solemn attitude, "May I ask Professor Shi, can I meet the creator of this song?"

    Shi Cheng gave a slight smile: "Of course."

    Zhou Ruiming''s reaction was completely within Shi Cheng''s expectations. Even for this song alone, they must sign Lin Yuan today.

    "I am going now."

    As Shi Cheng was about to turn around, Zhou Ruiming asked eagerly, "What''s the name of this student?"

    He certainly had a reason to be eager!

    The quality of this song was extremely high. In Zhou Ruiming''s memory, the only second-year student who could compose a song of this calibre was Xian Yu. He didn''t expect to encounter another one at Qin Art today!

    Another talent like Xian Yu?

    Starlight really hit the jackpot this year!

    If the other companies amongst the top three heard this song, they would also undoubtedly sign the person without hesitation. There was absolutely no reason to let go!

    "His name is Lin Yuan."

    Shi Cheng answered almost immediately. The name of this student was firmly embedded in his mind.

    Zhou Ruiming: "..."

    The representatives of Starlight, who were initially extremely excited, showed strange expressions when they heard this name. They looked at each other, speechless.

    "I''ll go call him."

    Shi Cheng didn''t notice everyone''s reaction.

    Zhou Ruiming chuckled softly: "No need, professor."

    Shi Cheng paused: "Do you think, you''re not satisfied?"

    Zhou Ruiming waved his hand: "What are you talking about? I was just wondering how there could be such a monster like Lin Yuan, so casually¡­.."

    He was really frustrated.

    He originally thought that he had encountered another rare genius like Xian Yu, but it turned out that a buddhist temple had been flooded by water from its own backyard.

    This so-called genius was actually our company''s Dragon King!

    "A monster?"

    Shi Cheng couldn''t understand Zhou Ruiming''s reactions. Weren''t they extremely excited just a moment ago? Why did they suddenly appear disappointed?

    "Professor."

    Zhou Ruiming motioned for the others to leave first, then leaned into Shi Cheng''s ear: "We are old friends, so I''ll not hide from you. Actually, Lin Yuan¡­"

    "What happened to Lin Yuan?"

    Shi Cheng was upset. Why was Ol'' Zhou being so cryptic?

    Ol'' Zhou sighed, "Lin Yuan is Xian Yu. He''s already a senior composer in our Starlight, I can''t exactly sign him again."

    "What!"

    Shi Cheng''s expression became incredibly exciting as he froze on the spot.

    Zhou Ruiming whispered, "You must not let this secret out, Xian Yu doesn''t like attracting attention, otherwise, he wouldn''t have hidden his true identity for so long. As for the reason I told you, you should be very clear."

    "..."

    Shi Cheng gradually regained his senses.

    He had experienced two shocks today, and each one was bigger than the last, it was surprising that he was able to recover, and he admired his own resilience.

    Of course, he understood what Ol'' Zhou meant!

    Telling him that Lin Yuan was Xian Yu was a reminder!

    He would have to take good care of Lin Yuan in the future, and for such a genius student, even if he were given special treatment, it would be entirely justified!

    He must be treated well!

    He must be cared for!

    Even if Shi Cheng was kicked in the head by a donkey, he absolutely wouldn''t let Lin Yuan suffer the slightest grievance at school!

    He suddenly burst into laughter.

    So Lin Yuan was Xian Yu!

    Xian Yu was actually a sophomore student!

    Xian Yu was actually our Qin Art''s student!

    East Art is so aggressive, bringing Zou Yu''s work to challenge Qin Art, they must not know the meaning of death!

    You have Zou Yu?

    We have Xian Yu!

    Your fish is fake, our fish is real!

    Zou Yu is a genius?

    In front of Xian Yu, would you dare say Zou Yu is a genius?

    But you can''t really blame East Art. After all, I just found out about it too. If it weren''t for Ol'' Zhou, I would still be in the dark.

    East Art is just unlucky.

    If East Art knew that the almighty Xian Yu was hiding in the sophomore music department of Qin Art, they would probably not have dared to come over and challenge us, even if they had the guts to do so!

    "So should I be going?"

    Ol'' Zhou smiled and said.

    Although it was a farce, he still had reason to be happy.

    Xian Yu has actually written such an excellent song!

    It hasn''t been long since "Red Rose" dominated the season.

    His talent is simply terrifying!

    But why didn''t he tell me about it again?

    Well, he''s never greeted me when he had a song in hand.

    Just spoil him, that''s all.

    Ol'' Zhou waved goodbye and left.

    Watching the retreating figure of Ol'' Zhou and his group, Shi Cheng originally wanted to have Ol'' Zhou listen to some other good works, but he immediately felt it was unnecessary.

    The gap was too big.

    Compared with Xian Yu, these kiddos still needed some more hammering.

    Moreover, this matter indeed needs to be kept secret.

    If Lin Yuan himself doesn''t take the initiative to tell others, it would be contrary to Lin Yuan''s original intention for me to spread it around, wouldn''t it?

    Although if the outside world knew that Xian Yu is a sophomore student in the composition department of Qin Art, it would be of great benefits to the school, but comparing to these benefits, Lin Yuan''s feelings are indeed more important.

    Moreover, this matter will eventually be exposed sooner or later.

    At that time, the benefits will still belong to Qin Art. It''s just a matter of sooner or later.

    With that in mind, Shi Cheng comfortably sat down and poured himself a cup of tea.

    The sofas at Qin Art were really soft.

    Just then.

    There was a knock at the door.

    Shi Cheng turned his head and couldn''t help but laugh, "Professor Kong, what wind brought you here? Is the Art Department so free recently?"

    The visitor was Kong An.

    The head professor of the Art Department at Qin Art.

    Now Kong An has officially become the head of the Painting Department. He is on the same level with Shi Cheng.

    However, that wasn''t the most important thing.

    The point was that the two had entered Qin Art as teachers together. Their relationship was exceptional. They were very close to each other.

    True friendship!

    Kong An also laughed heartily, "Is there anything to celebrate today? You''ve been grinning from ear to ear."

    "Is there?"

    Shi Cheng waved his hand, "Have a seat. I have some top-notch tea leaves here. I''d like to invite you to have a cup. Although we are in the same school, we rarely have the opportunity to meet."

    "Yes."

    Kong An sighed, "We are the best of friends. Today, my best friend is here to ask you for a small favour. You wouldn''t refuse, would you?"

    "Don''t be ridiculous."

    As Shi Cheng brewed tea, he declared definitively, "Don''t just talk about asking for one small favour. Even if you asked a hundred favours from me today, I would promise you all!"

    Kong An was touched for a moment.

    This is the ironclad friendship that doesn''t change with time nor fades with the passing of time! S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 130 - 125 The Small Boat Overturned_1

    Kong An had come this time, of course, for Lin Yuan''s issue.

    Lin Yuan had single-handedly lifted the sketching level of the entire art department!

    Such talent, Kong An had long made a secret resolution to transfer him to his own art department¡ª

    Keeping Lin Yuan in the composition department was a waste of talent.

    However, Kong An hadn''t planned to approach Shi Cheng so early. After all, transferring departments was quite a troublesome matter, and this semester was about to end.

    He had already waited for several months and didn''t mind a little longer.

    But today, the end of the semester exam in the painting club made Kong An change his mind!

    He couldn''t wait any longer!

    He must bring Lin Yuan to the art department now, to avoid further complications!

    Why?

    Because in this semester''s final exam of the Art Department, there was a mind-boggling result¡ª

    The whole Art Department!

    Among the top fifty students in sketching, forty-two of them were taught by Lin Yuan in the painting club!

    This proportion was even more exaggerated than the last major exam of the Art Department!

    Kong An had anticipated this, but it wasn''t enough to stir his emotions. After all, Lin Yuan''s sketching teaching level was acknowledged by even those sketching tutors in the Art Department.

    The truly frightening thing was that it wasn''t just in sketching.

    This time, even in the Gouache exam, among the top fifty students, thirty-three of them were also taught by Lin Yuan!

    Sketching was one thing.

    Kong An had not expected that Lin Yuan''s Gouache teaching ability would be so formidable.

    It seemed that Lin Yuan''s blackboard newspaper last time did not display his full potential in Gouache!

    This was a double brilliance in Gouache and sketching!

    So Kong An could not hold himself back anymore and directly found his old friend Shi Cheng, he had to bring Lin Yuan to the Art Department whatever it took.

    "Speak, what is your request."

    Shi Cheng and Kong An were sitting across from each other drinking tea, the atmosphere was ripe for making requests.

    Kong An smiled and said, "I didn''t lie to you, for you this is indeed a trivial matter, I am interested in one of your composition department students, and want to bring him to our art department."

    "That''s it?"

    Shi Cheng was in a very good mood at the moment, he replied directly: "Don''t just talk about one student, even if you want three students, I would agree. However, regarding the parents'' side, you have to handle it yourself. After all, this concerns the student''s future, it''s no joking matter."

    "You said it, I will deal with the parents."

    Kong An said seriously: "It''s for this student''s future that I have the audacity to ask you for him. The painting talent of that student in your composition department is extraordinary. Once he comes to our art department, I intend to teach him myself!"

    "Do you rate him that highly?"

    Shi Cheng was genuinely surprised. Considering Kong An''s status in the field of painting, not any ordinary student would attract this old friend''s interest.

    "Then I must help you!"

    Shi Cheng said very seriously, if he didn''t help with this favor, he himself would feel guilty: "What''s the name of the student you want, I will call him over, and you can talk face to face."

    "You probably don''t know him, after all, there are too many students in your composition department, that kid is from class five."

    "Class five..."

    Shi Cheng''s heart skipped a beat, and then felt that he was making a mountain out of a molehill.

    What were the chances, right?

    He still had a smile on his face: "I didn''t ask for the class, say the name."

    Kong An uttered two words: "Lin Yuan." S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Shi Cheng''s smile froze on his face.

    Kong An didn''t notice Shi Cheng''s expression.

    He took a sip of tea, laughed and patted Shi Cheng on the shoulder: "Still, my old pal, you are easy to talk to, I thank you in advance for this. With you, the head of the composition department, speaking up, Lin Yuan surely won''t refuse."

    Shi Cheng said: "Did I agree?"

    Kong An was taken aback: "You did agree."

    Shi Cheng waved his hand: "Don''t blabber nonsense, brother is brother, about the transfer, when did I agree?"

    "That''s not playing fair."

    Kong An wasn''t happy: "Keeping Lin Yuan here is a waste of talent."

    Shi Cheng suddenly felt enraged on hearing this: "Lin Yuan going to your Art Department is wasting his talent!"

    "What! You''re getting riled up now?" Kong An stood up.

    Shi Cheng also stood up: "What about me? You are clearly the one crossing the line, asking me for Lin Yuan as soon as you open your mouth, I''m telling you Lin Yuan is not available to you!"

    "Why not?"

    "No reason."

    "What gives you the right to say that?"

    "He''s a... Anyway, you don''t understand, Lin Yuan is a talent in our composition faculty. Without him, we wouldn''t even compare to East Art!"

    "I''m getting aggravated with you!"

    "Get aggravated for all I care. You can have anyone but Lin Yuan. Even if you argue until the end of time today, I will not give him up!"

    Shi Cheng was visibly agitated.

    What a move, asking for Xian Yu the moment you start speaking. Ol'' Kong, are you trying to cut off the lifeblood of my music composition faculty?!

    "We''ve been brothers for so many years and I can''t even ask you for someone?" Kong An glared at Shi Cheng.

    Shi Cheng yelled back: "Blood brothers always settle things clearly, have you considered my feelings when you asked me for Lin Yuan?"

    Kong An threatened: "If you don''t give him up, I won''t be your brother anymore!"

    Shi Cheng smirked: "Then we shall cease being brothers!"

    Kong An was dumbfounded.

    Are we no longer brothers?

    Enraged, he blurted out: "Are our years of friendship less important than Lin Yuan?"

    "You should ask yourself why you want Lin Yuan. I even suspect you''re a spy sent by East Art, who has been secretly infiltrating our school all this time. After all, Lin Yuan belongs to my composition faculty, no one can take him away!

    "You¡­"

    The argument between the two became more and more fierce.

    Their assistants rushed in to break it up, but instead, they got scolded and sent out.

    Left alone, they both sighed:

    "Should we call the principal?"

    "There''s nothing else we can do."

    Ten minutes later, Principal Shi Huainan rushed over, and as soon as he entered the door, he asked, "What''s going on here? Weren''t they as close as brothers? Why are they suddenly arguing?"

    The two assistants chuckled bitterly: "If you didn''t come, they might be physically fighting by now."

    Shi Huainan was exasperated: "Ridiculous!"

    He pushed the office door open, only to see Shi Cheng and Kong An glaring at each other, neither of them paying any attention to the other.

    Defeated, he asked: "What''s the matter?"

    Both of them were part of the school leadership, and Shi Cheng was even his relative. As the principal, he couldn''t just start scolding without making sure of what had happened.

    "It''s about Lin Yuan."

    Kong An irritatedly said, "I mentioned to the principal last time that Lin Yuan from the music composition faculty is an artistic genius. If he can join our faculty of art, I can confidently elevate our school''s art faculty!"

    "That talented?"

    Shi Huainan was astounded. He remembered that Kong An had highly praised the student named Lin Yuan last time, but he didn''t expect his praise this time to be even higher!

    Is he still a student?

    "I am not exaggerating." Kong An insisted.

    Shi Huainan glanced at Shi Cheng: "So..."

    Shi Cheng cut him off: "Cousin."

    Shi Huainan waved his hands: "Stop, call me Principal."

    Shi Cheng''s chest heaved slightly, and he whispered a few words into Shi Huainan''s ear.

    Shi Huainan''s face changed: "What? Is it true?"

    Shi Cheng asserted: "Absolutely! Ol'' Zhou told me himself!"

    Shi Huainan''s expression fluctuated rapidly, finally bursting into a hearty laugh.

    Why is he laughing like that?

    Kong An suspiciously asked: "Is the principal being biased?"

    Shi Huainan would have liked to punch him: "Am I that kind of person?"

    Kong An hummed but remained silent.

    After a moment''s thought, Shi Huainan said: "Let him stay in the composition faculty. Kong, you said so yourself, Lin Yuan teaches painting in the art club even though he''s in the composition department."

    "But..."

    Shi Huainan brought down the gavel: "No buts, I make the rules in this school. However, Shi Cheng, you better watch out. If Lin Yuan makes any kind of mistake in your department, you''re done."

    "You can count on me, Principal!"

    Shi Cheng''s chest thudded with determination.

    Just when Kong An wanted to say something, the principal had already hurriedly left. Who knows why he was in such a hurry?

    "No need to escort."

    Shi Cheng didn''t even spare Kong An a glance.

    Kong An snorted: "Just you wait."

    He stormed off.

    The ship of friendship had capsized.

 Chapter 131 - 126: Unboxing_1

    Lin Yuan was unaware of the stories triggered by "Initial Dream".

    Just before the end of school.

    His academic advisor and counselor, Hua Li, approached Lin Yuan, chuckled, and said, "Your song received the highest score in this review."

    Lin Yuan nodded, "Mmm."

    Hua Li looked at Lin Yuan, feeling that this student was unusually calm, "Don''t you have anything to say?"

    Lin Yuan thought for a moment, then asked, "Can I be an exchange student in my junior year?"

    Hua Li was taken aback, "Do you want to go to Qi Continent?"

    Lin Yuan replied, "Thinking about it."

    He wanted to discuss it with his family.

    Hua Li laughed, "I see. I can reserve a spot for you. Let me know when you make a decision."

    With the quality of "Initial Dream" and Lin Yuan''s decent past performances, it wouldn''t be hard for him to secure a spot as an exchange student.

    The exchange program only lasts for two semesters, less than a year in total.

    In the grand scheme of a five-year university program, it would pass in the blink of an eye.

    "Thank you."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Not long after he returned home, his sister came back from work.

    She carried many groceries and busied herself in the kitchen as soon as she got home. Soon, the appetizing aroma of stir-fried food wafted out, making Lin Yuan''s mouth water.

    "Wait a bit."

    While stir-frying, his sister said to Lin Yuan in the living room, "Eating in the cafeteria is fine, but I always feel like it''s unhealthy to dine out too much. I''ll cook for you from now on, and we can eat out occasionally."

    "Okay."

    A half-hour later.

    Two dishes, a soup, and two bowls of rice were laid out on the table, and the siblings started eating.

    "Sis."

    After a moment''s hesitation, Lin Yuan said, "I''m considering whether or not to go to Qi Continent as an exchange student next year. If you disagree, I''ll give up..."

    "Exchange student?"

    Lin Xuan was excited, "This is great! I wanted to be an exchange student when I was in university, but I didn''t make it because my grades weren''t good enough."

    "You agree?"

    "Why wouldn''t I?"

    After a moment''s thought, Lin Xuan understood Lin Yuan''s concern.

    She laughed, "You''re worried because I''m working in Su City, and you think it''s not good for you to just leave. What''s the big deal? Being an exchange student only lasts for a year at most. Are you planning to stay in Qi Continent and never come back?"

    "Certainly not."

    Lin Yuan was simply curious about Blue Star.

    He wanted to know what the other states of Blue Star were like.

    Conveniently, Jian Yi was also going to Qi Continent, so they could keep each other company.

    "Shall I talk to mom?"

    "I''ll talk to mom, she doesn''t understand the concept of exchange students. However, Big Yaoyao might not be happy. She just came here for school and now you''re going to Qi Continent. You said you would protect her."

    "I''ll ask my friends to help."

    Lin Yuan planned to ask his friends in the Painting Department to look after Lin Yao. At the worst, he would temporarily stop raising his tutoring fees.

    He could increase them again when he came back from Qi Continent.

    Lin Xuan nodded. Then she glanced at her phone and suddenly said, "It started!"

    "What started?"

    "The competition!"

    While speaking, her sister turned on the TV.

    The competition "Bloom" was being broadcast on TV.

    "Did you see that? I think I just saw Xia Fan on the screen!" Excited, Lin Xuan pointed at the TV screen.

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    He did indeed see Xia Fan in the screen.

    Lin Xuan was excited to see a familiar face on TV.

    "Xia Fan advanced to the national top 50 yesterday, so she doesn''t compete today. However, a lot of her fans are appearing online now. I''ve also joined her fan group!"

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    This was no surprise. In Lin Yuan''s mind, making it into the top 50 wouldn''t be too hard for Xia Fan given her abilities.

    "It''s time for the top 50 to advance into the top 20!"

    Lin Xuan anticipated, "I believe Xia Fan will definitely advance. The judges all think highly of her. By then, she''ll have even more fans!"

    "Yeah."

    Lin Yuan smiled. He was happy for Xia Fan''s achievements. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Just then, Lin Yuan received a message from Xia Fan in their group chat: "Made it into the top 50, next is the top 20!"

    Lin Yuan texted back, "Congratulations!"

    Jian Yi also joined in, "Xia Fan Xia Fan, championship in sight!"

    Xia Fan: "That doesn''t rhyme at all. My fans are calling me Fairy Xia Fan."

    Jian Yi: "Your pun is so bad. Fine deducted."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    Seeing Lin Yuan chatting on his phone, Lin Xuan got upset, "Do you three have a secret group chat? Are you hiding things from me, not even inviting me?"

    "Hold on."

    Lin Yuan told Jian Yi and Xia Fan, then added Lin Xuan into the group chat.

    Xia Fan: "Hello, sis!"

    Jian Yi: "Hello, sis!"

    Without a word, Lin Xuan sent out a $10 red envelope divided into four shares.

    After grabbing a share, Lin Yuan sighed. He got 40 cents.

    Jian Yi was in the same boat, also getting 60 cents.

    Xia Fan got $2.

    Lin Xuan, who sent out the red envelope herself, got $7. She was exceedingly smug, "The luckiest one is here. Quick, kneel!"

    Lin Yuan stared at his sister, quietly getting up.

    Lin Xuan was startled by Lin Yuan''s gaze and stepped back, "What are you trying to do?"

    Lin Yuan got closer and closer.

    Lin Xuan pretended to be scared, "We can''t... we''re siblings!"

    Ignoring her shilly-shally, Lin Yuan reached out and gave her a big pinch on the face.

    His sister was disgruntled, "Be gentle!"

    Lin Yuan mumbled, "Being gentle is useless."

    After pinching for about ten seconds, Lin Yuan decided it was enough. He quickly retreated to his room and shut the door behind him.

    "Where''s Lin Yuan?"

    "Why is he silent?"

    Jian Yi and Xia Fan asked in the chat.

    Lin Xuan replied, "My little brother has grown up. He''s such a nuisance, he ruined my makeup."

    Jian Yi: "???"

    Xia Fan: "???"

    Lin Xuan: "Xia Fan, give me some autographs next time. I''ll sell them and give you a quarter, no, a third of the profits!"

    ...

    Lin Yuan leaned against his bedroom door. While he still had some holdover luck, he quickly summoned the System, "Quickly, open a Bronze Treasure Chest for me!"

    "Opening."

    After loading for a few seconds, the System pinged, "Congratulations on your jackpot. You have won a Silver Treasure Chest prize, a famous painter Qi Baishi character card. You will gain Qi Baishi''s peak painting state for an hour after using it, recommended for creating ink shrimp paintings."

    Lin Yuan was taken aback.

    If you say that this luck was good, it was definitely excellent. Lin Yuan knew the value of the shrimp paintings created by Qi Baishi at his peak.

    But the problem was...

    Even if he could paint the shrimps that Qi Baishi was best at, he certainly wouldn''t be able to sell them at Qi Baishi''s prices in the short term.

    "Small gains are still gains."

    Lin Yuan pondered.

    He now only had one Silver Treasure Chest left.

    But he didn''t have to open it now. He needed to accumulate more luck. This kind of thing couldn''t be forced, he had to wait for a natural opportunity.

    Lin Yuan opened his door and came out.

    Lin Xuan asked, "So soon?"

    Lin Yuan nodded, "I''ll do the dishes."

    Lin Xuan didn''t object, "Good, wash your hands too."

    If their mom were here, Lin Yuan wouldn''t have to wash the dishes. But with their mom gone, Lin Xuan took liberties, bullying her little brother brought her the most joy.

 Chapter 132 - 127 Jump into the Fire Pit_1

    "Summer vacation precautions..."

    Lin Yuan never thought that he, as a university student, would still receive a "University Students Summer Safety Guide" issued by the school.

    He had only received such a thing in primary school.

    What''s more amazing is that the content of this guide actually isn''t too different from the "Elementary School Student Summer Vacation Safety Guide":

    Don''t play with fire.

    Don''t swim near the river.

    Don''t cross on a red light, etc.

    If one must mention a difference, it''s probably that the university student''s safety guide mentions avoid nightclubs and dancing, something beyond the realm of primary school students¡ª

    Regardless, the annual summer vacation finally arrived.

    Returning to the company, Lin Yuan went straight upstairs to see Supervisor Zhou Ruiming.

    "You''re here," Ol'' Zhou said, "Do you want some tea?"

    Lin Yuan nodded. Considering the high-end tea leaves were free, it would be a waste not to drink it.

    "What''s going on?"

    Ol'' Zhou poured a cup of tea for Lin Yuan. He assumed that Lin Yuan wanted to discuss the song "Initial Dream."

    Lin Yuan asked, "Can I go to the Qi Continent for my junior year?"

    Ol'' Zhou was taken aback, but quickly composed himself, asking, "Why?"

    Lin Yuan explained the exchange student situation and added, "During those two semesters, I can still write songs over there and email them to you."

    He didn''t want it to affect his work.

    Ol'' Zhou looked at Lin Yuan, pondering, "Did you hear something about the Qi Continent?"

    Lin Yuan was taken aback.

    Seeing Lin Yuan''s reaction, Ol'' Zhou knew he was clueless. He shook his head with a bitter smile, saying, "You know that Yang Zhongming has returned to the Qin Continent, right?"

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Yang Zhongming was a maestro-level figure, a hot topic, so he would occasionally hear his colleagues mentioning it at work.

    "Mhm."

    Ol'' Zhou tapped his fingers on the desk, "Our Starlight company actually has a small branch over there in the Qi Continent. Although Yang Zhongming didn''t pay much attention to the branch while he was in Qi Continent, he would occasionally look after it. Now that Yang Zhongming is back, the situation there has gotten quite bad.

    After all, the Qi Continent is quite different from our Qin Continent, especially in regard to the music scene. It''s like night and day..."

    Lin Yuan nodded, although he wasn''t sure how this was related to him.

    "I''ll be straightforward with you."

    Ol'' Zhou heaved a sigh, "The situation at the branch in Qi Continent isn''t great. The higher-ups have been pressuring me to send someone over for help, but none of our top people want to go. The working conditions there are quite tough, so the issue has remained unresolved. If you decide to go to Qi Continent, this task would fall to you. You won''t be able to avoid or push it away.

    As one of our top composers, I would rather you not go..."

    Lin Yuan remembered that he had overheard Ol'' Zhou discussing sending someone to the Qi Continent on the phone.

    It seemed like he might be the one chosen to go.

    He asked, "Over there, will my job still be to write songs?"

    Ol'' Zhou laughed and said, "Of course."

    Lin Yuan nodded, "I can accept that."

    No matter how different the music environment was, as long as he was writing songs, he wasn''t worried about being incapable.

    Ol'' Zhou stared at Lin Yuan for a while before saying, "Alright then, it''s only for less than a year. If things don''t go well, it''s no big deal. Consider it as me giving you a year-long vacation..."

    "So, I don''t need to send my songs back here?"

    "No, you''ll have enough headaches managing the mess in Qi Continent, where will you even find time for this side of things? To help with your work, the company will assign you as a special representative from the headquarters. You will be the representative of the composing department assigned by Starlight''s headquarters, a position roughly equivalent to a manager over there."

    "Okay."

    From that point onwards, it was pretty much settled for Lin Yuan to go to Qi Continent.

    ...

    Word somehow spread among the Composition Department on the tenth floor about Lin Yuan going to work in the subsidiary at the Qi Continent.

    His co-worker Wu Yong rushed over, asking Lin Yuan, "Why are you jumping into a fire pit in Qi Continent for no reason?"

    Lin Yuan asked, puzzled, "A fire pit?"

    "Isn''t it just a fire pit? Writing songs over there is much harder, full of demanding clients who know nothing about music yet love to meddle and give orders. It''s not like here in Qin Continent where you have creative freedom!" Wu Yong seemed rather agitated.

    "I see."

    Lin Yuan pondered.

    Unable to dissuade him, Wu Yong continued, "Others avoid that place like the plague, and you want to go there. Why bother? The branch in Qi Continent is hanging by a thread and it''s expected to go bankrupt within a few years. By then, you''d be held responsible..."

    Lin Yuan said, "I will try my best."

    Upon hearing his answer, Wu Yong rolled his eyes.

    If efforts could save the subsidiary, would it be in such a mess?

    But seeing Lin Yuan''s determination, Wu Yong gave up trying to dissuade him.

    In the following days, Lin Yuan went about his normal work routine.

    In his free time, Lin Yuan would work on "Zhu Xian."

    Of course, to Lin Yuan, his working hours could also be counted as free time.

    Meanwhile, his younger sister, Lin Yao, had finished her college entrance exam and was waiting for the acceptance letter from a university.

    Jian Yi had returned home for the vacation.

    And Xia Fan had joined the program "Bloom," either rehearsing or competing.

    Everyone occasionally had a little chat about the current state of affairs in the group chat.

    In short, everybody had their own respective things to be busy with.

    However, when Lin Yuan mentioned in the group chat that he was going to be an exchange student in Qi Continent, Jian Yi was overjoyed.

    He had thought that he would be going to the Qi Continent alone, but now he was glad to have Lin Yuan''s company.

    We''ll meet at Qi Arts!"

    Qi Arts was short for the Qi Continent Art Academy.

    After a few minutes, Jian Yi popped back into the group chat, "I looked it up. The students at Qi Arts have separate campuses. I''m at the Performance Academy, while you''re at the Music Academy, which is two kilometers away. It might not be convenient for us to meet up regularly."

    "Just keep grinning."

    Xia Fan popped up in the chat, "Lin Yuan is now an exchange student too. I''ll be the only one left at Qin Arts next year..."

    Lin Xuan replied, "Sister will accompany you. By the way, have you finished your competition?"

    Xia Fan replied, "It''s over! I''m now in the top twenty nationwide! Don''t leak it out though, we need to keep the viewers in suspense. You guys can watch the TV tonight!" sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Congratulations!"

    "Signature!"

    "Way to go!"

    Everyone was happy for Xia Fan.

    That night, both Lin Yuan and Lin Xuan watched the latest episode of "Bloom."

    Recently, as long as "Bloom" was broadcasting, Lin Xuan would watch every episode. Naturally, Lin Yuan had watched them all too.

    The show aired every Saturday.

    When the host announced Xia Fan as one of the top twenty contestants, Lin Xuan immediately jumped with joy, "Top twenty, top twenty!"

    Lin Yuan was a bit confused.

    Hadn''t they already known the result in the group chat earlier?

    As a good friend, he naturally also followed Xia Fan''s progress.

    There were plenty of online discussions about "Bloom" now.

    As one of the strong contenders this year, Xia Fan had gained a bit of popularity.

    Looking at the current trend, Lin Yuan thought, Xia Fan really might make it to the end of the competition...

 Chapter 133 - 128 Perennial Runner-up_1

    Lin Yuan''s judgement was not wrong.

    In the subsequent rounds of the competition, Xia Fan''s advancement was unstoppable, and she even made it to the final four, attracting attention from many sectors -

    There was one thing that even Lin Yuan did not see coming.

    Xia Fan turned out to be the rare type of competitor who excels in huge competitions!

    She was usually a girl who would want to rush to the bathroom when nervous.

    However, the tense and heated atmosphere of the competition seemed to stimulate Xia Fan''s potential, making her performance better and better with each match!

    However...

    As the competition progressed to this stage, Xia Fan got busier and busier, so much so that she was spending less and less time chatting in the group. Her most recent appearance was simply a hurried comment: "The organizers won''t let us use our smartphones, they''re afraid we''ll leak details of the competition."

    That''s very normal.

    The competition needs viewers, knowing the results in advance would take away all the suspense. So at times like this, competitors usually have no access to their phones.

    Jian Yi and Lin Xuan were discussing the competition show "Bloom" in the group chat every day.

    "Each of the top four competitors is very strong."

    "Indeed, they are all very strong, but I think Xia Fan''s toughest opponent in this competition is Tang Yue. Tang Yue''s innate ethereal voice is fantastic!"

    "If she can beat Tang Yue, Xia Fan can win the championship!"

    "I feel Xia Fan is no less than Tang Yue. Tang Yue''s singing skills are slightly weaker than Xia Fan''s, and she got to the top four because of her vocal advantage."

    "One could only say they each have their own merits."

    "..."

    Lin Yuan was also following the competition, so he knew who Tang Yue that his sister and Jian Yi were discussing was.

    This girl was also a competitor in "Bloom".

    Among the competitors this time, Tang Yue currently had the highest popularity and support, with Xia Fan in second place. Just based on the overt data, Tang Yue had the best odds of winning the championship.

    "Just have to see how the competition goes tomorrow night."

    It was now the end of July, and on August 1st tomorrow, the championship battle of "Bloom" would take place!

    Lin Xuan even wanted to go and watch the competition live.

    However, everyone had work to do, and moreover, the finals were happening in another city. Even if they went to the venue, they might not be able to get in touch with Xia Fan, so they all had to give up on it.

    Meanwhile, at Brilliant Silverlight Company...

    As a top-ranked singer, Chen Zhiyu didn''t have the mood to follow a talent show -

    Even though he was defeated by Zhao Ying Ge, the champion of the last season of "Bloom".

    One must always look forward.

    Let the past be the past.

    Chen Zhiyu had already put the shadow of "Red Rose" behind him, and he was preparing to make another dash for the charts -

    His goal!

    Number one in August!

    Originally, the frequency at which Chen Zhiyu released new songs was not so high.

    However, having had to settle for second place twice when releasing new songs made Chen Zhiyu develop a peculiar obsession with the championship of the season!

    I must get first place once!

    In fact, Chen Zhiyu could have released a song in July, but there were four top-ranked singers having showdowns in July, so Chen Zhiyu decided to avoid it.

    He wasn''t some daredevil who was keen on clashing head-on.

    August was fine, there was only one top-ranked singer competing with Chen Zhiyu. To everyone, that person was all too familiar -

    Starlight''s top singer, Jin Shuyu!

    In other words, this was the long-awaited "Battle of the Yus"!

    Who would''ve expected that, after Jin Shuyu and Chen Zhiyu brushed past each other in June, they would encounter each other yet again in August. When both sides publicly declared their intentions to vie for the championship of August, the industry was greatly amused:

    "What a coincidence, isn''t it?"

    "Is it really the Battle of the Yus?"

    "Hahaha, the Battle of the Yus might come late, but it never fails to arrive!"

    "It seems that Chen Zhiyu and Jin Shuyu are unfinished with each other!"

    "Feels like we''re back in June again. But this time, there''s no Xian Yu to stir things up. The two top singers can have a good fight in August."

    "..."

    Chen Zhiyu paid no mind to the industry''s teasing.

    With him and Jin Shuyu both being top-ranked singers, and their popularity being almost equal, it was all about the quality of their songs.

    Chen Zhiyu was not afraid!

    Because Chen Zhiyu was very confident about the quality of his song this time.

    Although the songwriter this time was a newcomer, not a top-tier one, and was even only a sophomore in the Composition Department of East Art...

    That newcomer was very talented, and Chen Zhiyu knew that the song would be a hit as soon as he heard it!

    The company was also very supportive of Chen Zhiyu''s chart battle this time. After all, Chen Zhiyu had come second twice, and both times he had lost to non-top-ranked competitors, which made it somewhat embarrassing.

    As June came to an end...

    The media were jokingly saying that Chen Zhiyu was the "perennial runner-up".

    This was not a good reputation for a top-ranked singer.

    To completely wipe off the "perennial runner-up" label, Chen Zhiyu had to win the championship.

    This battle was a must-win situation!

    However, learning from the previous experience, Chen Zhiyu had specifically asked his agent to do some investigation this time.

    Nothing much, just to make sure if there would be any "Fish" in August!

    "I swear, there really isn''t one this time!"

    For caution''s sake, the agent spent three days investigating before telling Chen Zhiyu the results: "I said last time that I would definitely check properly next time. Do you believe me now?"

    "Phew."

    Chen Zhiyu breathed a sigh of relief: "If there''s no Xian Yu, I''m not worried about having a direct showdown with Jin Shuyu. This is a war of us top-ranked singers!"

    "Yes indeed."

    The agent sighed: "That ''Fish'' really is troublesome. Every time he collaborates with some unknown little singer and gets us into a mess, this time without him, you will definitely make a clean sweep!"

    Chen Zhiyu felt a sudden jolt in his heart: "Don''t jinx it!"

    The agent didn''t know whether to laugh or cry: "Aren''t you being too cautious? Don''t you think that your song is a match for Jin Shuyu''s? You should know that the company reserved this song especially for you. The quality is top-notch!"

    Chen Zhiyu nodded: "Indeed."

    The agent spread his hands: "See, this round is already sealed... umph!"

    Chen Zhiyu covered the agent''s hand with his own: "Please, no more jinxing!" S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    He was already killed by the agent''s jinx twice.

    Chen Zhiyu was really scared of his agent''s mouth now.

    Even without Xian Yu this time, to be on the safe side, Chen Zhiyu had to keep his agent''s mouth shut to prevent him from jinxing again.

    Crashes often result from misinterpreted remarks.

    It was a lesson learned from the previous two times.

    A few seconds later, Chen Zhiyu let go of his hand.

    The agent said helplessly: "I get it."

    He felt that Chen Zhiyu was being overly cautious.

    A round that was already in the bag shouldn''t be handled so carefully. Even if he won, it wouldn''t be satisfying enough.

    It seemed that the shadow Xian Yu had left on Chen Zhiyu was quite large. He hoped that time would heal everything.

    "I''m leaving then."

    The agent found it uninteresting and left with a wave of his hand.

    Chen Zhiyu nodded, thinking to himself: "Jin Shuyu probably deliberately avoided the fierce competition last month, that''s why he eventually chose to release his song in August. Since we''re on the same page, let''s use this opportunity in August to settle the score!"

 Chapter 134 - 129 Suan-cai Yu (Pickled Cabbage Fish)_1

    On the same day.

    In the city center of Sun City, Qin Continent.

    The huge Grand Stadium was brightly lit at the moment, a long red carpet extended from the entrance to the steps above, security personnel filled every corner, and countless reporters arrived at the scene¡ª

    Talent show Grand Finale!

    It was being broadcast live here!

    Inside the Grand Stadium, it was incredibly noisy and frenzied. Halfway through the contest, the audience''s cheers rose higher and higher, almost blowing the roof off the Grand Stadium. The event lived up to its reputation as the top talent show in Qin Continent.

    "Ladies and gentlemen!"

    The male host''s voice was extremely loud: "After several rounds of brutal and fierce competition tonight, the two contestants who have advanced to the final round of this season''s Bloom have been determined, and they are¡­"

    "Tang Yue! Tang Yue!"

    "Xia Fan! Xia Fan!"

    The audience responded enthusiastically.

    The female host''s voice was somewhat crisp: "Our on-site audience has just announced the names of the two contestants, and I believe the viewers in front of the television sets are as excited as they are. However, um we may have to take a short rest for a few minutes, allowing these two excellent contestants to prepare for the next song.

    The performance of these two contestants will ultimately determine who will win this season''s competition!"

    "..."

    Backstage at the competition.

    Xia Fan was anxiously waiting when a voice suddenly came from behind her: "Just keep your mood in check, your opponent is also nervous right now. If you perform consistently, you have a great chance of advancing."

    Xia Fan stood up: "Ms. Zhao!"

    The speaker was Zhao Jue who had come from Starlight. Xia Fan was surprised to see Zhao Jue herself at the scene. The two had met only once before when Xia Fan signed a pre-contract with Starlight, so their relationship was not too unfamiliar.

    "You''re doing well."

    Zhao Jue began with a smile.

    Her personal appearance at the Bloom event wasn''t just because Xia Fan was Lin Yuan''s friend, it was mainly because Xia Fan had surprisingly advanced to the top four and even secured a precious spot in the final, only a step away from becoming the champion!

    This excited Zhao Jue.

    When she originally agreed to sign a contract with Xia Fan, it was completely out of respect for Lin Yuan. Back then, Zhao Jue had no idea how strong Xia Fan was, she was simply doing Lin Yuan a favor.

    But to her surprise, Xia Fan''s performance in the Bloom competition was stunning, repeatedly bringing surprise to Zhao Jue!

    It turned out that Zhao Jue didn''t do Lin Yuan a favor, but rather Lin Yuan did her a favor. With such a strong talent as Xia Fan, there were no concerns about signing contracts with companies.

    "I need to use the washroom."

    Xia Fan said with a bit of embarrassment.

    Zhao Jue nodded with a smile, and casually comforted: "You have already proved that you are very good by breaking into the finals. You don''t need to put too much pressure on yourself. I will keep an eye on things here for you."

    Xia Fan nodded.

    Zhao Jue watched Xia Fan''s receding figure, pursing her lips.

    Although she was comforting Xia Fan, Zhao Jue wanted more than anything else for Xia Fan to win the championship!

    Xia Fan had already pre-signed a contract with Starlight, and if she won the championship, it would mean that the champions of two consecutive Blooms joined Starlight!

    This would be a massive boost to Starlight''s reputation!

    Starlight would surely surpass Sand Sea and Dazzling Silver Glow in popularity!

    If Xia Fan ended up as the runner-up, the result would, of course, be good, but compared to the significance of the championship, it would be a lot less.

    Just then.

    Zhao Jue glanced backstage and suddenly noticed a somewhat familiar figure.

    Why was she here?

    Zhao Jue couldn''t help but frown slightly, could it be...

    Ten minutes later.

    Xia Fan returned.

    She noticed that something was off about Zhao Jue''s expression and asked: "Ms. Zhao, is there something wrong?"

    "Actually, there is." Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Zhao Jue began, "I just saw Xi Mei. You may not know who she is, but she''s the chief agent of Dazzling Silver Glow."

    Xia Fan was taken aback.

    Zhao Jue narrowed her eyes, "If I''m not wrong, Xi Mei is probably here for Tang Yue. Quick to act indeed."

    Xia Fan was a bit worried, "Can she manipulate the results of the competition?"

    Zhao Jue chuckled, "Xi Mei does not have that ability. Furthermore, I''m here so even if she wanted to cheat, she wouldn''t get a chance. However¡­"

    Concerned, Xia Fan asked, "However what?"

    Zhao Jue shook her head, "Let''s watch the competition. It''s almost Tang Yue''s turn to go on stage. Let''s hope my suspicions are unwarranted."

    ...

    On stage, the host was mindful of the time while maintaining the interaction rhythm with the audience. When the director''s cue came through his earpiece, the male host started to laugh, "Thank you all for waiting. Now, let''s welcome contestant Tang Yue to bring us her final song of the night!"

    "Tang Yue!"

    "Tang Yue!"

    "Tang Yue!"

    The audience cheered again. And while the elevator stage was on par with the main stage, Tang Yue finally made her appearance. Accompanying her was a rather unfamiliar accompaniment: "Peach blossoms were in full bloom that year, your figure still appears, shaking the ocean of blossoms¡­"

    "A new song?"

    The four program judges, all of whom had a great reputation in the industry, looked at each other, all seeing the surprise in each other''s eyes.

    They had never heard this song before.

    It was clearly an unreleased new song.

    Tang Yue''s final song was a new one!

    Was she that confident?

    Singing a new song on a talent show stage is not a safe proposition.

    Since a new song needs a period for the audience to accept it.

    On the other hand, familiar old songs can immediately evoke familiarity and intimacy from the audience.

    So, most of the contestants choose to sing old songs that have already been released¡ª

    Unless the contestant''s new song is so good it is refreshing at first listen!

    Otherwise, choosing an old song is always the safest option.

    However, as they listened, the judges gradually revealed satisfied expressions.

    This new song was outstanding!

    No wonder, Tang Yue had been prepared!

    This new song seemed tailor-made for her!

    From the melody to the lyrics, it perfectly complements Tang Yue''s voice and temperament!

    No wonder she dares to bring out a new song during the finals¡ª

    This was her secret weapon!

    She must have been hiding this for a long time!

    The staff in charge of rehearsals also had a wry smile upon hearing Tang Yue''s song.

    She changed the song?

    This wasn''t the song they had prepared beforehand!

    The contestants this time had deep strategies.

    Backstage.

    Zhao Jue''s face changed: "The very thing I was worried about happened. No wonder Xi Mei was here. This song must be from one of the ace composers from Dazzling Silver Glow. It is tailor-made for Tang Yue¡­"

    She looked at Xia Fan and said earnestly, "My preparation was inadequate. I should have helped you prepare a song ahead of time."

    Xia Fan wanted to say that he needed to use the restroom,

    But a voice came from behind: "I did not expect to meet you at the ''Bloom'' backstage. Did you also sign contracts in advance with the candidates?"

    Without turning around, Zhao Jue knew who it was.

    Xi Mei from Dazzling Silver Glow.

    Her long-time rival!

    She turned to Xi Mei with a faint smile: "Didn''t you also sign a contract with Tang Yue in advance? Even painstakingly wrote such a song for her."

    "Not bad, right?"

    Xi Mei shrugged: "Wait until our Tang Yue wins the championship. I will be the first to announce the contract details to the reporters. You can''t always be the one from Starlight to sign with the winner."

    Zhao Jue sneered: "You think you''ve won?"

    Xi Mei glanced at Xia Fan, whose nervousness made him stiff, and chuckled ambiguously: "Or else?"

    Yes.

    Xi Mei already knew what the last song Xia Fan chose was. Bloom had rehearsals every day, so it was impossible to hide it.

    Just a very safe old song.

    Similarly, Tang Yue''s rehearsal song could not be kept secret.

    However, this was Xi Mei''s cleverness. To hide Tang Yue''s last song, she deliberately threw a smoke bomb, let Tang Yue practice a safe old song publicly but arranged Tang Yue to practice a new song in secret.

    Zhao Jue didn''t look too good.

    On stage, Tang Yue had finished singing.

    The atmosphere at the scene was unprecedented, and everyone was shouting "Tang Yue''s" name!

    The four judges also took turns commenting on Tang Yue''s song, giving high praises in their words!

    "Zhao Jue."

    Xi Mei was extremely pleased and seemed to be enjoying Zhao Jue''s expression. "Can you bring out that fish now to save the show? Or let''s have a meal later. There''s a pickled fish restaurant in Sun City. It tastes amazing!"

    Xia Fan suddenly looked up.

    She suddenly smiled, but her eyes were icy as she stared at Xi Mei: "Not necessarily, Auntie."

    Auntie?

    Xi Mei was upset.

    Am I that old?

    Then, Xi Mei was surprised. Xia Fan was so nervous just now that she couldn''t speak. How did she suddenly change like a different person?

    Yes, like a different person!

    This feeling was so strange!

    Xia Fan turned to look at the stage and said lightly, "I didn''t want to do this originally because I thought it was a bit unfair. I wanted to win the championship on my own skills, but if you guys started, it wouldn''t be unfair, especially since you''ve mentioned him¡­"

    Xi Mei was blank, "What?"

    A few staff members came over and reminded Xi Mei, "Please don''t disturb the contestant. The contestant needs to prepare to go on stage."

    "Hmm."

    Xi Mei glared at Xia Fan, then turned and left, her eight-centimeter heels click-clacking on the floor.

    "Well done!"

    Zhao Jue gave Xia Fan a thumbs up: "I didn''t expect you to talk to Xi Mei like that. What''s that saying again? Better to lose in performance than in spirit. From now on, Ms. Zhao''s got your back! If we lose this competition, we lose.

    We at Starlight, don''t care!"

    "No, Ms. Zhao, today, I won''t lose in performance or in spirit!"

    Xia Fan''s eyes suddenly became unprecedentedly serious. This was the first time she had been so serious during the competition: "I have to win this competition!"

    Zhao Jue was astonished.

    As she was pondering on how to comfort Xia Fan, the next moment, something happened that left Zhao Jue dumbfounded:

    Thud!

    Xia Fan abruptly tore off the fancy decorations she was wearing and let these luxurious decorations fall to the ground: "Otherwise... I, Xia Fan... would disappoint my friend."

    "Are you crazy!"

    Zhao Jue wanted to stop her, but it was too late. With decorations scattered all over the ground and pearls rolling everywhere, Xia Fan was left in her simplest clothes¡ª

    How can she compete like this?

    Zhao Jue felt a splitting headache and said helplessly, "You think Xi Mei came here to show off, but it''s not that. She''s not that childish. How could the chief agent of Dazzling Silver Glow be so short-sighted? She just wanted to mess with your mentality. She''s afraid of losing too. If you really lose your composure because of this, you will be doing her a favor!"

    "I know."

    Xia Fan looked towards the stage, her eyes sparkling like brilliant fireworks and a sky full of stars, "Just this once, I don''t want to lose. Please inform backstage, Ms. Zhao, I want to..."

    "Change the song!"

 Chapter 135 - 130: Initial Dream_1

    On stage.

    The praises given by the four judges to Tang Yue had pushed the atmosphere of the scene to its peak. Almost all the audience members were ignited, madly shouting the name of another contestant¡ª

    This stage, so difficult to take on!

    The host could not suppress his excitement: "Unexpectedly, contestant Tang Yue has brought us a new song as beautiful as heavenly music. Her voice is still echoing in my ears. But the next contestant should not be underestimated, let''s welcome Xia Fan with a round of applause!"

    The lights flicker.

    Xia Fan steps onto the stage.

    At this moment, everyone from the director to the staff and the judges were stunned because Xia Fan was dressed too plainly. Normally, contestants should be fully dressed up for the final competition.

    "What''s going on!"

    Backstage, the director was furious. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The staff explained helplessly: "We dressed her very nicely, with earrings and strings of small pearls on her skirt. She must have taken them off herself, we have no idea why."

    "..."

    The director was helpless.

    What''s going on here?

    Tang Yue did the same thing just now. She suddenly changed the prepared song before stepping onto the stage.

    Thank goodness the song turned out unexpectedly well, so the director didn''t get angry. But his heart was beating wildly, fearing that something would go wrong.

    "Director, we have a problem!"

    Just as the director reluctantly accepted Xia Fan''s decision to remove her decorations, the staff member''s shout came into his ear:

    "Xia Fan''s agent suddenly demands to change the song. We can''t offend Zhao Jue from Starlight, do we change it?"

    "Change, let her change her song, let her change as she wish! Let her sing whatever she wants!"

    The director felt the scene had turned into chaos!

    But a contestant''s request to change the song was allowed.

    Given that Tang Yue had already changed her song at the last minute, why wouldn''t they allow Xia Fan to do the same?

    But in this situation, would it be useful for Xia Fan to change her song?

    Meanwhile, under the stage.

    The audience were whispering to each other, discussing the song Tang Yue just performed, still not quite recovered from the atmosphere it created.

    Most of the audience present are relatively neutral and wouldn''t particularly lean towards either singer.

    Their support would go to whoever sang better.

    "Tang Yue hid her talent pretty deep!"

    "She even sang a new song!"

    "And it''s especially suitable for her voice!"

    "Feels similar to Zhao Ying Ge from last year!"

    "Exactly, Zhao Ying Ge''s championship was highly valuable. Actually, Xia Fan is not bad either. I''ve watched many of her performances and have a deep impression of her. It''s just that this is the final. Tang Yue''s trump card is too strong."

    "..."

    Not only the audience.

    Even the judges had a small sigh in their hearts.

    Xia Fan had only a slim chance of succeeding.

    The suspense in this final round was minimal, especially after Tang Yue took the stage first and completely captivated the audience.

    Just then.

    The lights started flickering.

    A soft piano sound rang out, followed by a drum beat and the progression of various instruments, gradually bringing us into a whole new mood.

    This mood even dissipated the impact that the previous song had on the audience.

    Xia Fan stood on the stage in her simple attire and began her performance. Her voice, just like her attire, was simply simple:

    "If pride hadn''t been cruelly shattered by the cold sea of reality

    How would one know the effort required to get far

    If dreams never hung by a thread on the brink of a cliff

    How would one know the persistent ones

    possess invisible wings

    ..."

    The audience who had been whispering to each other gradually raised their heads, their conversations ceased in the melody of Xia Fan''s song.

    This song, somewhat unfamiliar.

    But it seems¡­ quite pleasant?

    The four judges once again exchanged looks and then simultaneously straightened up their bodies, startled for a moment.

    A new song?

    Another new song?

    From the intro, it doesn''t seem like a randomly chosen piece. Is Xia Fan trying to combat Tang Yue''s new song with her own new one?

    Interesting.

    A moment after the initial surprise, the judges became somewhat excited. New song against new song, this final round is even more exciting than they anticipated!

    On stage.

    Xia Fan''s enunciation was exceptionally clear; her bright voice echoed.

    Her voice seemed to contain a streak of defiance, a strength, an unwillingness to concede...

    As if something was about to break through the soil, bask in the sunlight, but it was still struggling at the moment. It feels like it was just a tiny bit away, but it''s this tiny bit that made all the audience inexplicably hold their breath.

    "Plant the seeds of tears in your heart, and a flower of courage will bloom

    When weariness strikes, close your eyes and you can smell a scent of fragrance,

    It''s like sleeping deeply until the day breaks,

    You can walk and hum a song,

    With a light pace,

    ..."

    Like a light piercing through the darkness, like a gust of wind blowing the fog away, or like a pair of gentle hands, soothing the unknown wounds.

    It was just a moment.

    The spectators'' gaze concentrated on the stage.

    The expressions of the judges gradually changed.

    Xia Fan was dressed very simply, not elaborately like Tang Yue, but her figure seemed to shine, and her voice seamlessly merged with the music, rising bit by bit into the sky:

    "When you''re down, you always feel the weight of loneliness,

    How much you long for someone to offer warmth and lend a shoulder,

    I''m so glad the bond we share is so strong,

    We weathered through storms, remained connected as usual,

    ..."

    When the high point came, the audience felt the gap within their hearts being gradually filled by this resounding song.

    Just like stepping up a staircase!

    Xia Fan''s voice was constantly rising. When the emotion reached the second high point, everyone felt a thorough catharsis and release:

    "The initial dream holds tightly in hand,

    The place you want to go most,

    How could you turn back half way..."

    The drawn-out note twisted smoothly, and seemed to pause slightly for the next note. Xia Fan held the microphone with both hands.

    At that moment countless lenses roared into action!

    The sky full of lights chased the figure on the stage, finally focusing on Xia Fan''s faintly pale knuckles wrapped around the microphone.

    Her figure leaning slightly backwards.

    Her clear yet unruly voice seemed to rip through everything, her voice surged like a rushing tidal wave, enveloping the vast studio. Everyone felt as if they were basking in the scorching sunlight, their bodies gradually heating up!

    Stubborn and piercing!

    Thoroughly liberating!

    Xia Fan''s gaze finally rested on the sky. Next came an even more exaggerated high note that shocked the audience, this was the emotional climax of the entire song: "The initial dream will surely be reached, longing truly realized, then you can really say you''ve reached Heaven~~~~~"

    The crowd roared!

    Almost at the same time!

    The judges abruptly stood up!

    As if echoing this scene, the countless audience members erupted in cheers, flashlights spinning rapidly, some audience members also stood up!

    "Camera three!"

    The director backstage went crazy. Without worrying whether the stage was in chaos, he instinctively roared with Xia Fan, pointing and commanding the staff from afar:

    "Keep the spotlight on the singer from the left!"

    "All stage lights follow up!"

    "The audience reaction must catch up!"

    "Close-up on the four judges!

    "I want to see their expressions! Expressions!"

    "¡­"

    The camera zoomed in.

    The judges'' reactions varied.

    But it was clear they were all hyped!

    When the four judges simultaneously opened their mouths wide, their exaggerated reactions said it all, they completely forgot any sense of image control, which seemed comparable to a constipated expression, the audience''s emotions exploded together¡ª

    "Wow!"

    "What is this!"

    "I''m going crazy!"

    "Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!"

    At that moment all their minds were blank, they just lost themselves in the ocean of the song, with almost unconscious screams from the audience one after another, just about ready to jump even if there was a precipice ahead of them!

    Some were waving their fists!

    Some were clapping their hands until they turned red from the screaming!

    In the backstage, Tang Yue widened her eyes, almost forgetting to breathe, and next to her, Xi Mei took a step back in shock, screamed, and twisted her ankle because her high heels were too high.

    Only one person.

    Was still calm at this moment.

    That person was Zhao Jue.

    Zhao Jue even wore a smile. In her mind, she suddenly remembered the conversation she had with Xia Fan before she went on stage, it was very simple:

    "Why did you change the song?"

    "Because it''s Xian Yu''s song."

 Chapter 136 - 131: Champion_1

    When Tang Yue finished singing, the audience felt that the champion of this edition had already been decided.

    When Xia Fan finished singing, the audience again felt that the champion of this edition had already been decided.

    Well then.

    Although Chinese is profound and broad, the second time there truly was no doubt, because all the audience was shouting the same name:

    "Xia Fan!"

    "Xia Fan!"

    Most of the audience was neutral, which is the great benefit of being neutral ¡ª they''re fans of whoever sings well. Before, they were fans of Tang Yue, now they are fans of Xia Fan. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    It seemed like a continuous change.

    The male host quickly stepped onto the stage, his voice resonating, "What a gluttonous feast, I believe that the audience here and those watching at home must be equally excited, but we still have to calm down."

    "Yes."

    The female host also stood on the stage and said, "Who would have thought that two new songs would emerge in the battle for this edition''s championship, and both songs had us all going crazy. Would our four judges like to share their thoughts?"

    The camera turned to the four judges.

    The four judges were very excited, took their time to compose themselves amidst much laughter.

    "I think I''ve calmed down."

    The first judge laughed, "But I really don''t know how to comment on this song. I can only say that the composer who can write such a song is definitely not a nobody. The song is good, the singing is also good, if you insist on my comments, I can only say, Xia Fan''s song is my favorite of this competition!"

    "A perfect level performance!"

    The second judge also gave a very high evaluation and then turned to Xia Fan, "Can you reveal the name of this song and who is the composer behind it?"

    Whoosh!

    All eyes turned to Xia Fan, everyone was intrigued by this explosive song and curious about the creator.

    Xia Fan glanced to the side of the stage.

    Zhao Jue nodded at her gently.

    There was no need to keep it secret, as Xia Fan had already signed a contract with Starlight.

    Xia Fan took a deep breath and smiled, "The name of the song is ''Initial Dream'', and the creator of the music and words is...."

    "Admirable Fish."

    Suddenly, there was a stir in the crowd!

    Xi Mei, hearing this from a distance, almost stumbled and fell, but was caught by Tang Yue.

    Admirable Fish!

    It was actually Admirable Fish!

    Right now, Xi Mei really wanted to die!

    She had previously gone after Xia Fan and even teased Zhao Jue, suggesting to let that fish save the day?

    And what happened?

    Did it work out as I wished?

    Oh, my big mouth!

    Tang Yue gave a bitter smile, "It''s really Admirable Fish, I love his songs, and I deliberately sang ''Big Fish'' in the top four round."

    "No worries."

    Xi Mei bit her lip and hummed, "Dazzling Silver Glow also has many excellent composers and their skills are not worse than Admirable Fish!"

    Tang Yue: "..."

    But I like Admirable Fish.

    Tang Yue had once fantasized about entering the music industry and wondered if she would have an intersection with Teacher Admirable Fish.

    As a result, she did intersect with Admirable Fish, but the way they intersected was somewhat hard to describe.

    Was she beaten by Admirable Fish''s composition?

    Tang Yue suddenly thought, how great would it be if Admirable Fish was a composer for Dazzling Silver Glow.

    Of course, she dared not express such thoughts, as she is now a singer of Dazzling Silver Glow, and Dazzling Silver Glow and Starlight are well-known competitors.

    "I''m not at all surprised."

    After a moment of shock, the third judge exclaimed, "Some of the audience may not be so familiar with Teacher Admirable Fish, and some might not even know who Admirable Fish is, but you should remember ''Red Rose'', right? This hot single released in June is the work of Teacher Admirable Fish, who is a king of composers in our music industry."

    As soon as he finished speaking.

    The crowd below was boiling.

    The third judge was taken aback, wondering what he had said wrong, why was the audience reacting so much?

    He looked at his three companions.

    The three of them were also puzzled.

    The judges could only turn their heads to the audience and listen to the voices of the audience, only to hear the audience shouting:

    "I know Admirable Fish!"

    "I''ve heard his songs!"

    "I''m a fan of Admirable Fish!"

    "Sorry, we are very familiar!"

    The judges instantly gave embarrassed laughs while the hosts couldn''t help but take a little joy in their discomfort, "It seems that our judges underestimated our audience. Admirable Fish is also quite well-known outside the circle."

    This is very normal.

    Anyone who has been following music recently should not feel too unfamiliar with the name Admirable Fish. ''Red Rose'' just won the seasonal championship in June, plus, albeit few, each of Admirable Fish''s songs have a high popularity: "Isn''t that right, everyone?"

    "Yes!"

    The audience shouted.

    The current discussion among the audience is not about who Admirable Fish is. Even if some don''t really know him, they would pretend to, so as not to seem outdated. And for the real fans of Admirable Fish, the excitement was tremendous:

    "Admirable Fish is so strong!"

    "A true ace composer!"

    "The judges thought we don''t understand Admirable Fish. Wasn''t the song ''Big Fish'' sung by Tang Yue just before produced by Admirable Fish? I am a dedicated fan of Admirable Fish! I bet no one here understands him better than I do!"

    "Nonsense, I understand him better!"

    "As a fan who has followed Admirable Fish since the era of ''Life Like A Summer Flower'', do I need you to introduce him to me? When I first saw the comments praising Admirable Fish online, you probably didn''t even know who he was."

    "..."

    The audience is having a lively discussion.

    The judges couldn''t help but laugh. Admirable Fish, as a composer, is usually behind the scenes in the entertainment circle. It''s rare for a behind-the-scene figure to be so familiar to so many audiences. Generally, only a Maestro-level figure can enjoy such audience treatment.

    "They say a real man deserves a fine sword."

    After the laughter, the fourth judge spoke up, giving a thumbs-up: "An excellent song needs an excellent singer to harness its full power. I think Xia Fan fully brought out the power of this song today. You proved with your strength that Admirable Fish was right to give you this song. You did justice to it."

    "..."

    After everyone''s comments.

    The host said: "Next is the voting session, we still need to choose today''s champion. Although Xia Fan was outstanding, Tang Yue also delivered a brilliant performance to us."

    Everyone knows.

    Those words were merely pleasantries.

    Although Tang Yue performed wonderfully, when compared to Xia Fan, she was a bit off. Without many comments, the reaction from the audience and the judges explained everything, this is after all a programme that values fair competition.

    But the process that needs to be gone through should still be gone through.

    As the public judges gradually cast their votes, eventually, Xia Fan lifted the championship trophy during the song playback of "Initial Dream".

    Starlight shone brilliantly!

    Tang Yue, as the runner-up, stood next to Xia Fan on stage, holding the runner-up trophy, her smile a bit bitter.

    "Congratulations."

    As she hugged Xia Fan politely, Tang Yue suddenly leaned into Xia Fan''s ear and whispered: "Your card is better than mine."

    She felt a bit of envy and unwillingness.

    Of course, Xia Fan could hear the meaning beneath Tang Yue''s words.

    So, Xia Fan also leaned into the counterpart''s ear and puzzled: "But, you''re the ones who moved first."

    Xia Fan was of course puzzled.

    In order to prove her strength, she made a commitment to herself.

    Xia Fan vowed:

    As long as the opponent doesn''t use nuclear weapons, I''ll definitely not deploy Admirable Fish.

    If I lose, I lose.

    If my skills are inferior, there''s nothing to say.

    However, the opponent chose to play the ace.

    Then there''s no need for me to hold back.

    Besides, Xi Mei shouldn''t have messed with her mindset, let alone used Lin Yuan as a joke. If it wasn''t for this, Xia Fan''s final song would not have performed that well!

    After all, Tang Yue''s performance was really good.

    The atmosphere at the time was really hard to manage.

    It was Xi Mei who gave Xia Fan a must-win motive.

    "..."

    Tang Yue bit her lip and said nothing more.

    After the competition, Xi Mei quickly left with Tang Yue, answering only a few questions from the press hastily on the way. She felt a bit depressed staying here, and walking was very tiring. She shouldn''t have worn high heels.

    She had to go.

    Zhao Jue definitely wasn''t in a hurry to leave. She purposely made a debut with Xia Fan in front of the reporters, and publicly announced a piece of news. When she announced this piece of news, she glanced at Xi Mei, who was leaving quickly: "Our Starlight has signed a contract with Xia Fan, and I have decided that Xia Fan will officially join this season''s new song chart competition!"

    Click Click!

    The reporters went crazy with photos, one question after another, all revolving around today''s champion, and Xia Fan answered each one in turn.

    For some reason.

    After the final round, she seemed to have been reborn from the ashes and felt no more nerves.

    If it were before, faced with so many reporters asking questions, it would probably just make her anxious about the location of the bathroom, right?

    ...

    Meanwhile, in Su City.

    At Wutong Garden Community.

    As Xia Fan won the championship in the live broadcast of the final round, Lin Xuan, who was watching the TV, suddenly jumped three feet high in excitement. When Xia Fan announced that her last song was composed by her brother himself, Lin Xuan''s excitement was beyond words:

    "We won, we won! You''re amazing, little brother!"

    Lin Yuan said: "Xia Fan was the best."

    Xia Fan had previously recorded "Initial Dream".

    But no matter if it was the recorded examination version or the countless tryout versions before, none of them were as good as Xia Fan''s performance tonight on this stage!

    This is the best version of "Initial Dream", so good that even Lin Yuan was astonished ¨C Xia Fan raised the key.

    Not only were her high notes powerful.

    It was a perfect performance!

    This further made Lin Yuan realize, human potential is endless!

    "Champion, mighty!"

    Jian Yi immediately sent a message in the group chat on his phone; it was clear he had also watched the final round of "Bloom" in full at home.

    To express his happiness.

    Jian Yi also sent a one-yuan red envelope in all seriousness.

 Chapter 137 - 132: The Thinker_1

    After the competition, a great number of discussions sprung up online. Xia Fan''s name was mentioned frequently. Additionally, discussions about Xian Yu appeared in spades for the first time ever!

    Xian Yu was indeed famous.

    All his works so far have been fairly popular. However, due to his behind-the-scenes persona, no work of his has ever had the chance to truly explode into fame. But the stage of "Bloom" has made it impossible for everyone to ignore his existence any longer!

    "Have you guys noticed?"

    Someone joked, "Considering that Zhao Ying Ge was in the last competition, both the previous and current champions of "Bloom" have collaborated with Xian Yu. So, is it the case now that the champion of this program will have to collaborate with Xian Yu to be truly successful?"

    This was of course just a joke.

    Everyone quickly shifted their focus back to "Initial Dream". As Zhao Jue mentioned, this song was officially released at the stroke of midnight on the first of August, and it was not the studio version:

    It was the live version from "Bloom"!

    The recording, of course, was technically processed.

    Things like audience cheers and applause were mostly edited out, only leaving behind the screams that filled the venue after the song ended.

    Using Zhao Jue''s own words, the live version was released first, and a studio version would be released later.

    After all, re-recording takes time.

    Lin Yuan did have a recorded version, as it was his annual assessment piece, but its effect may not necessarily be better than the live version.

    Many viewers who had watched the program came to download "Initial Dream".

    "This song is definitely going to be a hit!"

    "There''s no doubt it''s the championship song for this season."

    "It would be strange if this song didn''t take first place. It''s the champion song for "Bloom", and it''s a new song from Xian Yu!"

    At this point, someone realized: "Aren''t there two top-tier singers releasing songs in August?"

    "The Battle of the Two Yus?"

    "I just listened to the songs of Chen Zhiyu and Jin Shuyu, and Chen Zhiyu''s is really good, far better than Jin Shuyu''s!"

    "Wait a minute..."

    "Does this mean that Chen Zhiyu..."

    "Could potentially..."

    "Take second place..."

    This woke everyone up.

    Was Chen Zhiyu about to solidify his status as the ''Perennial Runner-up'' even more?

    ...

    Also at the stroke of midnight in August...

    Chen Zhiyu sat nervously in front of his bedroom computer.

    He refreshed the interfaces of numerous music players. However, upon seeing the headlines of the song promotions, he froze. His whole body seemed to turn into a grey statue¡ª

    A statue that could be named ''The Thinker''.

    There must be something wrong with how I opened it.

    It took a minute for Chen Zhiyu to crack a relieved smile.

    It was common for systems to have glitches. There was even a time when he released a new song, but it wasn''t displayed on any of the music players until 1 am.

    He closed the player.

    Chen Zhiyu reopened it.

    And he once again turned into a statue.

    His manager appeared at the door, and after smiling a bit, he stepped in. But when he saw Chen Zhiyu sitting stunned in front of his computer, an inexplicably strange feeling arose in his heart. This scene seemed eerily familiar:

    "Are you okay?"

    He asked, tentatively.

    Chen Zhiyu snapped back to reality. He looked warmly at his manager with a genial smile and beckoned, "I''m fine. I''m sure everything will be alright. Come closer, let''s listen to the song together!"

    That''s great!

    The manager breathed a sigh of relief. When he first walked in, he thought something had happened. But what could possibly happen? There was no Xian Yu this month, and Jin Shuyu was nothing to worry about.

    "What song is it?"

    He sat down with a laugh, but almost immediately, he cried out in horror: "Chen Zhiyu, what are you doing!"

    "Nothing!"

    Chen Zhiyu wound the headphone cord around the manager''s neck, pushing down on his struggling body, and chanted: "Let''s die together, let''s die together, didn''t you say that there would be no Xian Yu this month and I would surely take first place? Why did Xian Yu still appear? It was definitely your jinx!" Chen Zhiyu really was an exceptional singer, his lung capacity was frightening.

    "Murder!"

    The manager squawked, face as white as a sheet. Xian Yu''s song release method this time was too special, who could''ve expected it!

    Still, considering this was a lawful society, Chen Zhiyu finally held back his destructive urges and calmed down.

    Five minutes later.

    He and his manager sat together, expressionless as they listened to "Initial Dream" in its entirety.

    On the computer screen.

    Rolling across the news headline was the message: [Xia Fan defeats Tang Yue, ''Bloom'' creates shockwaves by claiming the championship, the new song ''Initial Dream'' is a hit amongst the audience, witness how Teacher Admirable Fish descended like a deity!]

    "This news really is nonsense."

    The agent''s voice was without any ups and downs: "How could a deity descend to earth? It''s just that Admirable Fish has released a new song. Anyway, I think it''s all right."

    "Huh, nothing more than that."

    Chen Zhiyu had a derisive smile on his face.

    Both of them stood up, walking towards the refrigerator like zombies. They withdrew the red wine they had wanted to open to celebrate their 1st place prize last time but never got the chance to.

    "¡­"

    Chen Zhiyu said: "I''m afraid I won''t get to drink this wine anymore. Might as well finish it today."

    The agent nodded his head: "Indeed."

    While saying that, the agent sent a message to his wife: "I won''t be coming home tonight."

    His wife replied: "Going that all out?"

    The agent replied: "I''m afraid he''ll do something foolish so I want to stay with him. Sorry."

    His wife replied: "¡­"

    About to put down his phone, the agent suddenly saw a Weibo message. His expression started to become a bit peculiar.

    "Zhiyu."

    "What''s up?"

    Chen Zhiyu was pouring the wine.

    The agent, with a complex tone, suddenly said: "You''ve made it to the top trend."

    Chen Zhiyu looked up at the agent: "You must be mistaken. I guess it''s been two years since I last made it to the hot trend, and I haven''t even made the top ten this year."

    "But you are on it now."

    The agent said, "Look, your fans have increased by more than a hundred thousand. By the way, how many comments do you usually get on your Weibo posts?"

    Chen Zhiyu thought for a moment: "Over ten thousand, I guess."

    The agent said: "The comments on the Weibo post about your new song have already exceeded a hundred thousand... It seems like... you''ve made it big?"

    My song won?

    Chen Zhiyu suddenly felt blood rushing to his head. He grabbed his agent''s phone, looking forward to seeing the comments!

    Top comment: Heartbreaking

    Second top comment: Pat on the head

    Third top comment: Stay strong

    Fourth top comment:...

    Chen Zhiyu''s face was indescribably complex. He suddenly said with full of grief and indignation: "This trending topic, I''d rather not have it!"

    ¡­

    Meanwhile.

    Jin Shuyu was a bit nervous as he opened up Chen Zhiyu''s new song, and after listening for a few minutes, his eyebrows furrowed.

    First place is... suspended.

    Glancing at various banner advertisements, Jin Shuyu suddenly saw a push notification: "Admirable Fish''s new song helps Xia Fan clinch ''Bloom'' championship, ''Initial Dream'' launched to a shocking reception!"

    He quickly clicked on it.

    Midway through listening, he abruptly took off his earphones.

    He took out his phone, Jin Shuyu posted on his friend circle, the content was just three words:

    "Everyone will die!" S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The attached image was a picture of a fish.

    After thinking about it, Jin Shuyu felt that this was not appropriate, as he had a lot of friends within the company.

    What if someone in the company starts spreading rumors?

    What if Teacher Admirable Fish thinks I''m expressing my dissatisfaction with him?

    So, he just made the visibility of this friend circle post:

    "Only visible to Chen Zhiyu"

    They both were top-tier singers in the same circle, adding each other as friends was a normal thing, only that the two of them never chatted after becoming friends.

    Five minutes later.

    For the first time in his life, Jin Shuyu received a like from Chen Zhiyu.

    Another two minutes later, the other party even commented: "Your words, I feel like I''ve heard them somewhere... Nevermind, I don''t remember. What I''m curious about is, why didn''t you rest for a few more months last time?"

    Jin Shuyu replied: "Yeah, why didn''t I rest for a few more months?"

    Chen Zhiyu replied again: "Some things, once you''re used to it, it gets better. In this world, no one understands you, Jin Shuyu, better than I do. But I must say, your company, sure is ruthless."

    Jin Shuyu replied again: "Company actions, please do not blame the employees."

 Chapter 138 - 133 What is that delicious smell_1

    At this time, it was already summer vacation, not only were the students on holiday, the mentors and professors of various universities could also enjoy their rare rest.

    What to do during the break?

    Of course, to watch some programs.

    The mentors and professors of Qin Art chose the show "Bloom".

    Firstly, this was the hottest show at the moment, and secondly, Xia Fan, a contestant in the show, was a student from Qin Art.

    Everyone naturally wanted to cheer for Xia Fan.

    But after the program was over, the mentors and professors from the Composition Department of Qin Art were left dumbfounded.

    Especially Hua Li, the mentor of Class Five in the Composition Department of Qin Art.

    She could tell right away that the song Xia Fan was singing was "Initial Dream".

    But that wasn''t the point.

    The point was, Xia Fan said that "Initial Dream" was Xian Yu''s song?

    Hua Li was furious!

    She opened the group chat of the Composition Department and started typing frantically, sending several messages in a row:

    "Did you guys watch the grand finale of ''Bloom''?"

    "It was too much, just too much!"

    "Xia Fan actually said this song belonged to Xian Yu, but it clearly is Lin Yuan''s song!"

    "I''m trembling with rage and breaking out in a cold sweat in broad daylight!"

    "@everyone, we as a centuries-old school under Qin Art, must help Lin Yuan get justice!"

    "..."

    There was an eerie silence in the group chat for a few seconds.

    Mentor of class four: "Don''t you think you''re the one who''s gone too far, Teacher Hua Li?"

    Mentor of class two: "Your boastfulness is too obvious."

    Mentor of class one: "Teacher Hua Li, you should quit the group yourself."

    Mentor of class six: "Zou Yu? Who is that?"

    Professor Jin: "So Lin Yuan is Xian Yu, no wonder his song can easily knock Zou Yu out of the park."

    Professor Li of Composition: "Hahahahahahaha~! Our school actually has such a gem!!!"

    Professor Wang of Qin Art: "East Art is doomed!"

    Professor Wang of Qin Art: "Suffering."

    Handsome Professor Zhang: "I just checked the exam records, I think I might not have given Lin Yuan a passing grade for ''Life Like A Summer Flower''."

    Hua Li: "..."

    She pinched her own leg and slapped her own face before typing again: "Ahhh! I''m sorry everyone! I was confused! Lin Yuan is Xian Yu, Xian Yu is Lin Yuan! So that''s how it is!"

    You only figured it out now?

    Everyone was speechless.

    At this time, Professor Shi Cheng @everyone: "Since all of you know now, I don''t need to hide it anymore. I hope you all keep quiet about the news that Lin Yuan is Xian Yu. Lin Yuan doesn''t like being subject to excessive attention and disturbance from the outside world. As his teachers, we must provide him with a quiet space to create!"

    "Received!"

    "Received!"

    "Received!"

    At this point, the mentor of class three expressed some concerns: "The news that Lin Yuan is Xian Yu is probably not just known by us now. East Art also knows!"

    "Feeling foolish now, aren''t you?"

    This time Hua Li was quick enough to respond: "East Art probably wants to keep this secret more than we do. What good will it do them to reveal that Lin Yuan is Xian Yu?"

    Everyone: "..."

    Teacher of class seven: "Now, I''m worried about how Hua Li will continue teaching. Xian Yu is in her specialized class, who exactly is teaching whom?"

    Hua Li: "...Stop talking!"

    Hua Li: "He wants to go to Qi Continent as an exchange student, no, he will definitely go to Qi Continent as an exchange student!"

    Indeed.

    In the Composition Department group chat of East Art,

    it was somewhat similar to the atmosphere in Qin Art''s Composition Department group.

    However, the mentors and professors of East Art were feeling entirely different at this moment. They did not experience the joy of discovering big news:

    "Qin Art''s student is Xian Yu!"

    "His name seems to be Lin Yuan?"

    "Last time we even brought Zou Yu''s works to challenge them???"

    "How can Zou Yu compare with Xian Yu!"

    "No, this is too embarrassing, let''s not see those people from Qin Art again."

    "Qin Art set us up!"

    "..."

    The composition group of East Art is thrilled!

    Zhang Wenwu quietly tags everyone: "Don''t spread this around. It could affect our composition department''s admission next year. It seems that Qin Art has concealed the news. They probably wanted to give Lin Yuan a quiet environment to work in. Let''s just pretend that nothing happened."

    Everyone: "..."

    You have to admire Professor Zhang''s smoothness, even guessing Qin Art''s motives. But why did you drag us into your showdown last time? Couldn''t you go alone?

    ...

    For various reasons, both sides decided to keep things confidential at the same time. The bubble would eventually burst, but no one wanted to be the one to burst it.

    And then comes the next day.

    The industry was dumbfounded when Xian Yu topped the charts with "Initial Dream" while Chen Zhiyu took the second place; everyone was laughing so hard they almost went crazy, especially over at Sand Sea. The group chat exploded once again, just like in June!

    "Chen Zhiyu: I look up at the sky, why are there only fish?"

    "Chen Zhiyu: Even my breath smells fishy."

    "I''m laughing my ass off!"

    "Xian Yu: Brother Zhiyu, our fates are tied together by fish!"

    "Xian Yu: Surprise! It''s me again!"

    "Chen Zhiyu: Today, I''m going to prove with my abilities just how strong Xian Yu really is!"

    "The world is full of hazy flames!"

    "I fear you might fly away, leave me here, but what I fear the most, is that you might stay here forever!"

    "The wings of the Big Fish, too vast, as I let go of the rope of time."

    "Each drop of my tears, flows towards you, flowing back to the moment we first met..."

    Good Lord.

    They even included the lyrics from "Big Fish". It''s quite fitting for the situation.

    Of course, Sand Sea had reasons to be joyful.

    While Brilliant Silver Fire and Starlight were at war, all they could do was enjoy the show and have some fun!

    Just then....

    Someone suddenly said in the group chat: "Oh my god, can you guys please stop! Everyone in Qin Continent is using Chen Zhiyu''s memes. His popularity has skyrocketed!"

    What?

    Everyone was stunned.

    The person shared several screenshots in the group: "Chen Zhiyu is trending number one on Tribe, he''s on the front news headlines, and most popular meme on the internet today is still Chen Zhiyu. I just got a tip-off, a company is offering twenty million for Chen Zhiyu to endorse a fishing rod!"

    "Why a fishing rod?"

    "Obviously for fishing, nobody is better at fishing than Chen Zhiyu. This isn''t the point though! The point is the endorsement fee! Twenty million! Chen Zhiyu has never been worth this much before!"

    "Chen Zhiyu, he''s popular?"

    "The Perennial Runner-up, popular?"

    "What kind of world is this!"

    The chatter in the group went haywire instantly. Everyone was shocked. It''s definitely good that Starlight is schooling Brilliant Silver Light!

    But the issue is....

    Now Chen Zhiyu''s popularity exploded!

    Trending all over the internet!

    It turns out that it''s not Starlight schooling Brilliant Silver Light; it''s Brilliant Silver Light and Starlight both ended up winning!?

    What about us at Sand Sea?

    Did we just become spectators?

    A silence fell.

    The group fell silent.

    Meanwhile, within Brilliant Silver Light, Chen Zhiyu was glaring at his manager: "This is an insult to my character. It tramples on my dignity. Even if I were to starve to death or throw myself off this building, I would never accept the endorsement for a fishing rod!"

    "They''ve upped it to thirty million..."

    "What''s that delicious smell? I''m quite hungry, let''s go grab a bite and chat about the endorsement deal."

    "Sure! There''s also another thing..."

    "What?"

    "The company plans for you to release another song next month."

    "Why? There''s the King of Singing next month, why would I walk into a bullet?"

    "Because there''s the King of Singing, that''s how you could secure second place. This is what the company suggests; everything has been arranged, all that is left is for you to make your appearance!" S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "..."

    Chen Zhiyu stared at his manager, enunciating each word, "Do you think you''re being funny?"

    .

    .

 Chapter 139 - 134: This is a Stock Trading Novel_1

    The competition in Qin Continent''s music scene is brutally harsh.

    In this survival of the fittest environment, people only remember the victors, but the arrival of Chen Zhiyu breaks this rule, as he is known as the perennial runner-up...

    Has he broken out of the pack?

    As a result, all sorts of endorsements and activities suddenly poured in unceasingly, and Chen Zhiyu immediately became a hot topic.

    Forget about Sand Sea.

    Even Starlight and Dazzling Silver Glow didn''t expect it.

    Between the fiercely fought "big three", there''s unexpectedly an opportunity for peaceful development and mutual winning?

    It seemed like an intense fight on both sides.

    Is this the result?

    Are they sharing their pain?

    Sand Sea is really angry.

    You guys should keep fighting!

    Hit harder! See that drill bit? Pick it up and hit each other''s heads. You won''t kill each other this way!

    But when all is said and done.

    Starlight is the biggest winner because not only did they secure the top hit for August, but they also claimed the title of Bloom for two consecutive terms.

    Look at that.

    With two championships in a row in their bowl, doesn''t it show that Starlight is the best entertainment company in Qin Continent?

    No doubt about it.

    Zhao Jue immediately arranged the best resources for Xia Fan, even better than what last season''s champion Zhao Ying Ge received when he joined Starlight.

    Plain and simple.

    Because Xia Fan is not just the champion of "Bloom" but also a good friend of Xian Yu.

    This kind of connection, even Starlight internally has to take it seriously.

    Xia Fan, officially makes his debut!

    Regarding this, Jian Yi feels a bit sentimental. He messages Lin Yuan in the group: "Xia Fan is now a celebrity, from now on we will be in two different worlds..."

    Lin Yuan: "?"

    Jian Yi quietly retracts his message: "Eh, only @sister and I, are in a different world."

    Lin Xuan: "Jian Yi, why are you tagging me? I just bought a car outside."

    With that, Lin Xuan sends a photo of the new car. The bright price tag on the front side of the car reads "500,000".

    Jian Yi retracts again: "Never mind, I disturbed you."

    "The group owner has initiated a group-wide mute"

    Jian Yi is the group owner, at least in this small group, he''s the king!

    ...

    Some people seem to be songwriters on the surface, but behind the scenes, they''re authors.

    This sunny August.

    There was something else that was closely related to Lin Yuan.

    Over at Silver Blue Books, the second volume of "Zhu Xian" has been published!

    The readers have finally gotten to the eagerly awaited Seven-Sect Martial Arts Contest of Qingyun Sect!

    Many people started reading it as soon as they got the book.

    To everyone''s surprise, Zhang Xiaofan didn''t win first place in the contest.

    However, Zhang Xiaofan still managed to make it into the top four thanks to his outstanding performance.

    But none of this mattered anymore. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Because what the readers cared about the most in the Seven-Sect Martial Arts Contest wasn''t Zhang Xiaofan''s ranking, but his loveline.

    Zhang Xiaofan, heartbroken.

    His childhood friend, who was also his senior sister, has fallen for one of the senior brothers of Qingyun Sect, and she''s even defying her father''s will just to be with him.

    This scene deeply hurt Zhang Xiaofan.

    Many readers also felt choked up, even feeling a little bitter, because in the first volume of "Zhu Xian", many readers thought that the senior sister, Tian Ling''er, would be the main female character. Now the main female lead is gone?

    Chu Kuang is just floating away.

    Should we just abandon this novel?

    But soon, everyone found a more potential female lead, who was the genius female disciple of Qingyun Sect, the dream lover of countless people in the sect, a woman who was like a banished immortal:

    Lu Xueqi!

    Lu Xueqi is a female character who catches the reader''s eyes from the start. This girl not only boasts better looks than Tian Ling''er, but also wields greater strength. Although her personality seems cold, it''s evident between the lines that she has something special for Zhang Xiaofan.

    The readers feel this special bond profoundly.

    This is the sense of immersion one gets from reading novels. When such a character appears, readers instinctively associate her with being the female lead.

    Tian Ling''er stands no chance now.

    Even if Chu Kuang decided to change his mind now, making Tian Ling''er fall in love with Zhang Xiaofan, readers just wouldn''t buy it.

    The reason though quite banal.

    Who doesn''t have a bit of psychological cleanliness, right?

    But Lu Xueqi is acceptable, she''s very acceptable. Okay, this book is decent. No need to drop it for now, out with the old, in with the new, right?

    The readers burst into laughter.

    As the storyline progressively deepens, the magnificent world of cultivation gradually unfolds, like an unraveling scroll.

    One day.

    Zhang Xiaofan and a few other disciples from the Qingyun Sect went down the mountain for experience. In addition to dispelling demons, another indispensable female character made her stunning debut.

    It''s Biyao!

    Biyao''s appearance provides another exciting element for readers. Lu Xueqi is fond of Zhang Xiaofan, but Biyao is fonder. In contrast to Lu Xueqi and Zhang Xiaofan''s ambiguous relationship, Biyao is clearly infatuated with him!

    Her feelings are evident to everyone.

    When Zhang Xiaofan is feeble in the cave, it''s Biyao who tirelessly cares for him. Readers can hardly resist this plot, and Biyao swiftly captures the hearts of some of them.

    When Biyao is in trouble, Zhang Xiaofan takes care of her, and in the end, they fall asleep in each other''s arms.

    Oh my, they''re now as close as skin and flesh!

    Seeing this, some readers reveal an amused smile.

    Now things are getting interesting.

    One after another, two important female characters appear, and both are more popular than Tian Ling''er. "Zhu Xian" officially ignites the inevitable fan wars, turning an otherwise serious cultivation narrative into a speculative playground.

    "All of us demand Lu Xueqi for the female lead!"

    "A genius, cold and aloof, tsundere, who but Lu Xueqi!"

    "All in on Lu Xueqi, no questions asked!"

    "Sorry, Lu Xueqi, I prefer Biyao."

    "Biyao is a repellent demoness character, uninteresting."

    "Biyao is great, the little princess of the Ghost King Sect, perfect!"

    "Biyao and Zhang Xiaofan quarrel but appreciate each other, looking good."

    "Chu Kuang is mad, turning Zhang Xiaofan''s heartbreak into an opportunity for two superior girls, Lu Xueqi and Biyao, to enter the scene. I simply can''t decide, so I choose both!"

    "Only children pick sides, Biyao, Lu Xueqi, I want them all!"

    Before even completing the second volume, both sides are already engaged in fierce debate. However, when everyone finishes reading the second volume of "Zhu Xian," readers suddenly stop arguing because Chu Kuang, that guy, pulled again ¡ª

    A! Cliffhanger!

    The plot pauses at the Full Moon Ancient Well section. This well, being 3000 years old, legend has it that anyone who peers into it on a full moon night, with a sincere heart, can see the person they desire the most.

    At full moon.

    Zhang Xiaofan gazes into the ancient well.

    Who does he see in the ancient well during the full moon? Who exactly is the person he genuinely yearns for in his heart?

    Is it Biyao?

    Lu Xueqi?

    Or Tian Ling''er?

    No matter how much the readers pore over the book, the answer remains elusive, because the second volume ends here.

    The novel coldly concludes with the line, "To find out what happens next, stay tuned."

    Chu Kuang, how could you be so skilled!

    This act is even more shameful than running an ad during the climax of a TV series. The author deserves to be burned at the stake on a pillar of disgrace!

    "This is infuriating!"

    Readers vent their anger and frustration.

    Only a cliffhanger could unite the Biyao and Xue Qi factions.

    Let''s temporarily put aside our differences and focus our ridicule on Chu Kuang.

    Someday, with a sword in hand ¡ª

    We''ll slay all those authors who leave us hanging!

 Chapter 140 - 135: Villa_1

    Lin Yuan also noticed the book discussion on the internet.

    This was as he expected.

    As one of the three exceptional novels of the early network novel era dubbed by netizens, it was not surprising that "Zhu Xian" had such a heated topic.

    This could also be seen in the sales.

    When "King of the Net" was serialized, its average sales rank was about eleventh in the field of youth fantasy novels in the Qin Continent!

    However, the sales of "Zhu Xian" in the first month of release rushed into the top ten of the youth fantasy readers!

    It is currently ranked tenth.

    Some people might find it weird, why does the author write "Zhu Xian" so hyped, but the ranking is only tenth?

    In fact, this ranking is already incredibly high.

    Because "Zhu Xian" has a major flaw, that is, the word count!

    The previous "King of the Net" at least produced five volumes.

    But the book "Zhu Xian" is only in its second volume!

    Each volume sold is counted as a sale of the novel.

    Others have dozens of volumes of past serialized content to help boost sales, but Lin Yuan only has so much content to sell, of course the sales will suffer.

    And if a novel''s plot remains consistent...

    More often than not, the more words a work has, the higher its sales volume, because the work''s influence will affect more and more people over time.

    In other words.

    Those with less content naturally suffer in comparison in terms of sales.

    You can imagine, if Naruto or One Piece didn''t have such a long series, would these two works still have such a significant impact?

    Let''s take a more obvious example.

    You can look at the top ten bestsellers on Point Mother.

    How many books can rush into the top ten in sales when they reach hundreds of thousands of words?

    Without recommendations, or without large rewards, the works that can occupy the top ten sales on Point Mother for a long term are basically those with word counts in the millions!

    Because only when there are many words, will there be more chapter subscriptions each day.

    The same is true for the sales of novels in the Qin Continent.

    You''re trying to compete with those who sell volumes of content, with just one or two volumes?

    How can you compare?

    It''s naturally a disadvantage.

    This is also why Silver Blue Books previously wanted to persuade Lin Yuan to write "King of the Net" longer.

    If "King of the Net" could be written longer without compromising the plot, it would have no major problem becoming one of the top ten bestsellers in the future.

    Of course.

    As long as Chu Kuang does not fail in his writing, the sales ranking of "Zhu Xian" will inevitably go up once more volumes accumulate, this is a matter of course.

    This time.

    Silver Blue Books has high hopes.

    "YangFeng" even asked Chu Kuang for a novel outline plan when "Zhu Xian" Volume II was released, whimsically thinking that the grand background of this story wouldn''t end so soon, right?

    But when "YangFeng" saw the "Zhu Xian" outline plan sent by Lin Yuan, his smile instantly froze.

    "Eight volumes?"

    Chu Kuang plans to write "Zhu Xian" in eight volumes?

    Yes, indeed, it''s an improvement, three volumes more than "King of the Net".

    But the problem is...

    Eight volumes isn''t much either!

    It''s still a bit short of two million words!

    He became anxious, reported to the chief editor immediately, and the chief editor reported it to the general editor.

    The general editor was also at his wits'' end, just shook his head, and asked "YangFeng" to try to persuade him.

    "Yang Feng:"..."

    Last time "Web Literature" was too short, "YangFeng" was tasked to persuade Chu Kuang to write more, but Chu Kuang completely ignored him.

    Can it work this time?

    He plucked up his courage to make a call.

    When Lin Yuan answered the phone, as soon as he heard it was about stretching out the story again, he immediately refused, "The word count is already set."

    "Alright."

    "YangFeng" was helpless, feeling his role as an editor was too humble.

    Neither the chief editor nor the general editor dared to forcibly urge Chu Kuang to write more, so he definitely didn''t have the guts. He could only let Chu Kuang have his way.

    Lin Yuan had no other options.

    This time it wasn''t the System messing things up, the original "Zhu Xian" had just over 1.5 million words, and the System even helped him add another 100,000 words.

    Next time.

    Definitely next time.

    He hoped that the System would have a moment of conscience and provide him with a long novel next time, preferably one that would allow him to serialise it to ten million words.

    ...

    However, for Lin Yuan.

    Writing more books also has its benefits. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Because now, Chu Kuang, his pseudonym, has two novels earning money together.

    It''s not that "King of the Net" won''t be popular after it''s completed.

    New readers will still buy books, but the number of these new readers is surely not comparable to the serialisation period.

    This share of the profit, Silver Blue Books is still ready to pay on time.

    With this money.

    Combined with the royalties from the songs under Xian Yu''s name, there are already an extra 20 million deposits in Lin Yuan''s bank account!

    Twenty million!

    House prices on Blue Star are not exaggerated. A price of nearly 20 million is enough for Lin Yuan to choose a pretty nice villa.

    Lin Yuan is even considering whether to buy a villa in Su City?

    With his character, of course, it''s hard to make such a decision, but if it''s for his family, Lin Yuan is willing to consider this.

    After all, in the future, his sisters will be in Su City.

    Perhaps, he will also develop long-term in Su City in the future.

    Not to mention, Lin Yuan also has the idea of bringing his mother to Su City. He doesn''t want to leave his mother alone in his hometown.

    When she gets older, without her children by her side, she will inevitably feel lonely.

    Moreover, Lin Yuan also has his own friends. In the future, when his friends come over, they can have a place to stay. With many rooms in the villa, there is no fear of crowding.

    As a child, they were all afraid of being squeezed.

    Mainly now he has always been living in Ms. Zhao''s house. She didn''t even collect the rent, so Lin Yuan felt a bit embarrassed about bringing his family here to live.

    Now that he has money, it''s better to buy a house sooner and return Ms. Zhao''s place.

    He simply mentioned this idea to his older sister.

    "Buy a villa?"

    Upon hearing this, Lin Xuan started laughing: "Of course it would be nice to live in a villa, who wouldn''t want to? But we can''t afford to buy one, can we?"

    "Are villas in Su City very expensive?"

    "Villas in Su City start at least at ten million, do you think that''s expensive?"

    Lin Xuan had heard from colleagues about house prices in Su City and knew that a senior executive at Silver Blue Books lived in a ten-million-worth villa.

    Lin Yuan said, "Let''s buy one then."

    Lin Yuan wanted to take care of this matter before leaving Qin Continent.

    Lin Xuan was stunned.

    Do you treat a villa as chinese cabbage?

    Can you just say you want to buy one and then you can?

    After a long silence, she stared at Lin Yuan and said, "You make so much money from composing?"

    Lin Yuan replied, "It''s okay."

    Actually, he also had royalties from Chu Kuang.

    As all contracts have been upgraded, the commission has increased a lot.

    The income of Xian Yu and Chu Kuang combined, it''s very easy to earn more than ten million a month!

    And in the future his income will only become higher and higher.

    "Can you really afford it?"

    Lin Xuan asked in shock.

    Suddenly, Lin Xuan remembered that Lin Yuan had casually given her 500,000 to buy a car...

    It seemed, it might really be possible?

    She suddenly felt that her own brother was the biggest obstacle in her life!

    With such a brother, she couldn''t find a reason why she needed to strive.

    "Let''s settle then."

    Lin Yuan didn''t ask for his mother''s opinion again. If his mother had a comment, he could push it onto his sister.

    Lin Xuan was a bit stunned: "Settled?"

    Lin Yuan nodded: "Sister, let''s take a leave of absence from your work tomorrow, and we can go house hunting together."

 Chapter 141 - 136: Masks and Sunglasses are a Stars Essential_1

    Even though he had the thought of buying a villa, Lin Yuan didn''t know where to start, so he instinctively sought consultation¡ª

    "I should ask senior Yao Huo."

    Whenever Lin Yuan encountered a problem, he would naturally think of senior Sun Yaohuo.

    He wasn''t sure why.

    After all, Lin Yuan''s biggest impression of Yao Huo was one word:

    Reliable!

    As usual, senior Sun Yaohuo''s phone was always answered on the first ring.

    As soon as he answered the phone, Sun Yaohuo, with his usual enthusiasm, asked, "Junior, is there anything I can help you with?"

    "I want to buy a villa."

    Lin Yuan directly expressed his thoughts.

    Sun Yaohuo laughed and asked, "Do you have any specific requirements for the villa?"

    Lin Yuan thought for a moment and replied, "As close as possible to my current residential area."

    Sun Yaohuo knew where Lin Yuan lived, after all, he often drops Lin Yuan home after work.

    "Anything else?"

    "I guess it depends on the specifics."

    "Alright, I get it. Should I pick you up from your place tomorrow?"

    "No need, my sister has a car."

    "That works too."

    Sun Yaohuo seemed a little regretful, "Then, how about I send you the address tomorrow and we can meet up?"

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan hung up the phone.

    Sun Yaohuo is indeed very reliable!

    Lin Xuan, who saw Lin Yuan end this call, confirmed one thing:

    Her brother is serious!

    He really wants to buy a villa!

    A villa in Su City!

    This news shocked Lin Xuan, and she woke up the next day still feeling groggy. Fortunately, she remembered to take a leave from her department head.

    The head of the editor''s office is Lu Bei.

    However, for matters like taking a leave, it''s usually Lu Bei''s secretary who handles it.

    Lu Bei had previously instructed his secretary to take good care of Lin Xuan.

    So, Lin Xuan got her leave approval easily.

    She drove her recently purchased car to pick up Lin Yuan and casually asked, "Did you ask for a leave from your work?"

    "Not yet."

    Right after Lin Yuan spoke, his phone rang. It was Ol'' Zhou who called.

    Lin Xuan queried, "Your boss?"

    Lin Yuan nodded and answered the call.

    Old Zhou''s tone was rather caring, "Why didn''t you come to work today?"

    Would it be awkward to mention buying a house?

    Lin Yuan thought for three seconds, then replied:

    "I''m out gathering material."

    There was suddenly a silence on the other end of the phone.

    After the same interval of three seconds, Ol'' Zhou finally spoke again, his tone was somewhat flustered, "I see."

    "Thank you."

    After hanging up, Lin Yuan said to his sister, "Let''s get going."

    Lin Xuan: "..."

    Can I use "accompanying the writer to gather material" as an excuse for a leave next time?

    It doesn''t seem like it works for the editor''s office.

    Besides, her little brother isn''t an author of Silver Blue Books.

    Pity.

    After they set off.

    Lin Yuan made a call to Sun Yaohuo.

    Sun Yaohuo promptly said, "Ready to go? I''ve sent the location to your phone. I''ll wait for you guys here. Be careful on the road, junior."

    "Okay."

    After Lin Yuan hung up the phone, he informed his sister of the meeting place.

    Ten minutes later.

    They met up.

    But what surprised Lin Yuan was that Yao Huo, of all people, was wearing a mask and sunglasses under the scorching summer sun, totally obscuring his face.

    "Senior, are you sick?"

    Lin Yuan couldn''t help but feel a little guilty.

    Sun Yaohuo waved his hands and said, "No, don''t worry. I''m a celebrity after all. If these people see me, it would cause a stir in public."

    Lin Xuan was surprised, "Are you that famous?"

    She only knew about Sun Yaohuo because he sang a song written by her brother, so she didn''t have a clear idea about Yao Huo''s popularity.

    "Not bad."

    Sun Yao Huo coughed and stood proud with his chest out. But when eyes began to shift towards him, he instantly lowered his head, looking cautious.

    "People are everywhere."

    Sun Yao Huo continued in a low voice, "Let''s go in. I''ve had my manager get in touch with their manager directly. Someone will meet us."

    After receiving a call late last night, Sun Yao Huo had his manager start scouting for villas right away.

    His manager might not be a bigwig, but thanks to the nature of his job, he had a pretty broad network.

    As soon as the manager heard that Admirable Fish was looking to buy a villa, he didn''t even sleep. He made dozens of calls throughout the night and finally found a decent villa.

    Upon entering,

    The manager was indeed waiting for them.

    Following the standard introductions was a tour through a three-story model villa with a basement.

    Lin Yuan found it to be quite nice.

    He didn''t say anything, though, letting his sister decide was fine.

    If his sister liked it, then it was good.

    Anyway, Lin Yuan was buying the villa for his family, so it was important that they were happy. He felt that anything which largely met their needs was enough.

    "What do you guys think?"

    After a long introduction, the manager finally asked Lin Xuan with a smile.

    Lin Yuan and Sun Yao Huo were following Lin Xuan, so the manager assumed that she was the decision-maker.

    Lin Xuan: "..."

    What could I think?

    Lin Xuan was riddled with insecurity.

    From the moment she stepped into the model villa and saw the extravagant style she had only watched on TV before, she was unable to absorb any of the manager''s villa introductions. Her mind was filled with doubts:

    "Is this the right place for me?"

    "How do I act like I''m used to buying villas?"

    "No, no. How do I act like I can afford a villa?"

    "..."

    I can''t fake it!

    I don''t know anything!

    Why isn''t my little brother saying anything?

    Don''t you realize how embarrassed your sister is right now?

    And what about this manager!

    He asked for everyone''s opinions, why is he only glaring at me?

    Just because I''m pretty?

    Are you discriminating against beautiful girls?

    When Sun Yao Huo saw Lin Xuan''s silence, he thought to himself, "Sure enough, even the sister can be as quiet as her little brother sometimes."

    Fortunately, Sun Yao Huo had experience.

    Although he had never bought a villa, as soon as his junior mentioned buying one last night, he had researched and sought advice from seniors who had experience in buying villas, asking how to avoid being cheated...

    The seniors were quite accommodating.

    Although when Sun Yao Huo made the first call, the respected senior replied with, "I''m busy" and hung up straight away.

    However, when he called the second time, saying he wanted to gather advice for Teacher Admirable Fish about buying a villa, the senior had somehow wrapped up what he was doing within a second and even arranged to meet at a restaurant for a lengthy chat, sharing a ton of honest advice.

    Before he left, the senior even held his hand saying, "I''d like to introduce so-and-so to you if I have a chance." However, Sun Yao Huo''s memory was not so formidable and he kinda forgot what the senior had said at the end.

    In sum, Sun Yao Huo himself was now half a villa connoisseur.

    He removed his mask and sunglasses and began to naturally communicate with the manager.

    Through the conversation between Sun Yao Huo and the manager, Lin Yuan and Lin Xuan got a basic understanding of the villa.

    "I think it''s pretty good."

    Finally, Lin Xuan spoke out. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    She felt there was nothing wrong with this comment, her true feelings of being a "privilege-deprived individual" had been perfectly concealed.

    My sister is happy with it?

    Lin Yuan nodded and looked at the manager: "Can we get a discount?"

    The manager laughed: "Since you were introduced by my friend, I can offer you the most favorable price."

    After discussing for half an hour, they finally signed a pre-purchase contract.

    When they went back to the lobby,

    Lin Yuan looked at Sun Yao Huo and suddenly asked, "Senior, aren''t you wearing masks anymore?"

    "Ah! I forgot!"

    Sun Yao Huo was startled in realisation.

    Just as he was about to put his mask and sunglasses back on, Lin Xuan, with a weird look on her face, spoke, "I think¡­ it''s unnecessary now?"

    Everyone looked around.

    People were coming and going in the lobby.

    Each person was busy with their own matters. Although many people saw Sun Yao Huo, they calmly walked by him. Even a few people who passed by him simply said,"Excuse me, sir. Can you move away? You are blocking the entrance."

    Sun Yao Huo vacantly moved aside.

    Lin Xuan sighed, patted Sun Yao Huo''s shoulder and said: "When we get back, I''ll have Xia Fan give you some exposure, I''m sure you''ll get recognized someday!"

    Sun Yao Huo: "..."

 Chapter 142 - 137 Qi Language_1

    The villa was unfinished and needed renovations. The handover date was close, but in the meantime, Lin Yuan and his companions still had to live in their original home...

    After settling this matter.

    Lin Yuan and his team found a restaurant nearby to have dinner.

    During dinner, Lin Yuan spoke to Sun Yaohuo, "Senior, I''m going to study at Qi Continent Art Academy for a year as an exchange student."

    Lin Yuan already regarded Sun Yaohuo as a friend, hence he felt the need to tell him about this decision.

    "Qi Continent?"

    Sun Yaohuo was taken aback and felt a pang of disappointment.

    However, realizing Lin would be away for only a year made him feel better, "I wish you a joyous year there, Junior. I''ll visit you in Qi Continent when I get the chance!"

    "Hmm." S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Sun Yaohuo expressed some concern, "If you are going to Qi Continent, won''t the company shove the subsidiary matters onto you?"

    Lin Yuan nodded, "That''s correct."

    Sun Yaohuo''s expression changed slightly, "Are you aware of the situation there?"

    "What situation?"

    Lin Yuan was somewhat curious.

    Sun Yaohuo sighed, "The music environment in Qi Continent is far from being as good as ours in Qin Continent. After all, our Qin Continent is the Land of Music. It''s less accommodating for the composers over there..."

    "Why do you say that?"

    A lot of people said that Qi Continent was a trap, but Lin Yuan never quite understood.

    Sun Yaohuo explained, "Over there, it''s predominantly the realm of TV series and film. The game industry is also booming. As a result, the music mainly focuses on customized compositions for these mediums. The composition of songs is tailor-made according to the client''s needs."

    "Customized?"

    Lin Yuan began to understand.

    Unlike free composition, tailored songs have many restrictive elements and stick to specific themes.

    Just like the movie "Dragon Fish Dance" produced in Qi Continent. It customized an impressionist tune with Starlight.

    Lin Yuan could not possibly send "Red Rose" as an entry, right?

    This has nothing to do with whether "Red Rose" is outstanding!

    What they want is music that matches the theme of the "Dragon Fish Dance" movie, and even the composition style is predetermined.

    Many composers in ''10th Floor'' couldn''t handle this project, and it was only because Lin Yuan had "Big Fish" on hand that he was able to complete the order.

    No wonder Starlight''s composers are reluctant to go to Qi Continent.

    Most composers enjoy the freedom of creating whatever they feel inspired to, not being dictated by a client''s demand, as if writing songs for the sake of writing them!

    However...

    Lin Yuan, who can order songs from the System, isn''t afraid of such situations; the System''s song library is rich!

    "There''s another issue."

    Sun Yaohuo helplessly asked, "Junior, do you speak the dialect of Qi Continent?"

    Lin Yuan was stunned, "Don''t they speak Mandarin over there?"

    Isn''t the language standardized in Blue Star?

    Sun Yaohuo shook his head, "People over there definitely speak Mandarin. There is no one in Blue Star who doesn''t. However, the issue lies in that the music pieces sung in local dialect are more mainstream. Let me sing a few phrases for you ..."

    Sun Yaohuo cleared his throat and sang, "I''m the black pineapple, you''re my black phoenix!"

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    Unbelievable, but that was Cantonese from the Celestial Dynasty?

    The so-called Qi dialect was Cantonese?

    Don''t take it too seriously.

    It''s indeed an alternate universe.

    Having sung, Sun Yaohuo looked at Lin Yuan: "Junior, since you usually write both lyrics and music, according to their customs there, you might need to collaborate with lyrical writers."

    Lin Yuan didn''t respond.

    With a disposable glove on, Sun Yaohuo peeled a shrimp for Lin Yuan: "Of course, Mandarin songs exist there as well. Your ''Big Fish'' had a pretty good response over in Qi Continent. Jiang Kui had gone there for some activities and sang this song. But overall, Mandarin songs aren''t very popular when compared to songs in the Qi dialect."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    If it''s just to this extent, Qi Continent would not be a fiery pit for him.

    "Anyway, when you go there, don''t be too serious."

    Sun Yaohuo cautioned, "As a singer, my understanding of the branch company''s situation is limited. But from what I know, it''s quite a troublesome state. There have been a few legal disputes with clients because they ordered a custom song and then couldn''t find a suitable piece. In the end, they had to turn to our headquarters for help, unleashing our trump card to finally resolve the issue..."

    Lin Yuan nodded again and took a bite of the shrimp he was handed.

    Sun Yaohuo swiftly stripped a few more shrimps, leaving Lin Yuan slightly stunned.

    "Someone had done the same for Lin Xuan before.

    That man had tried to pursue Lin Xuan, but he was not as attentive as Sun Yaohuo; he forgot to wear disposable gloves...

    "Sister, have some too."

    Sun Yaohuo also peeled a few for Lin Xuan.

    Seeing that her eyes looked somewhat puzzled, Sun Yaohuo coughed lightly and said, "Well, mainly, I just love peeling shrimp for people. Yes, I enjoy peeling shrimp."

    Lin Xuan: "..."

    Good habit, please keep it up.

    Sun Yaohuo''s attention quickly returned to Lin Yuan, saying with great resentment, "In any case, there are clients all over the Qi Continent. The composers in our company who have been there all complain about it. They say that the place is littered with demanding clients who know nothing about composition, yet love to interfere and blindly direct the composers.

    If you ever come across such difficult clients, just ignore them, it''s not worth getting angry with them, treat them like they are your kids... no, like they are your grandkids!"

    " Oh."

    Lin Yuan questioned, "Then why did Yang Zhongming go to the Qi Continent?"

    "Well..."

    After pondering for a while, Sun Yaohuo said, "Even though the Qi Continent is not friendly to composers, songs in the Qi language are quite nice to listen to. It might be due to the nine tones and six accents inherent in the Qi language, which has more intonation than normal Mandarin. Father Yang probably went there to learn the Qi language.

    Just like you, he also enjoys composing both the words and the music. In fact, many composers like to write their lyrics, you composers often feel that you know the best what lyrics your music should get, don''t you?"

    Demanding clients?

    Lin Yuan nodded, indeed, clients can be difficult to deal with.

    Besides, Sun Yaohuo was right.

    Usually, composing and writing lyrics are separate jobs.

    But, on Blue Star, a lot of composers like to write lyrics for their own music.

    Their theory is:

    Nobody understands better than them what lyrics should match their music.

    But many composers'' lyrics are not very well written. At these times, the company would intervene and assign professional lyricists to the task.

    There is nothing composers can do when their lyrics are simply not good enough.

    Therefore, writing the lyrics for your own music isn''t an easy feat.

    Lin Yuan can write lyrics for his own songs. He has never encountered a situation where the company has assigned someone else to write for him, mainly because his lyrics have always been quite good. The reviewing department at the company has repeatedly failed to point out any issues as his musical and lyrical harmonies have constantly remained at an impressive level.

    As for the nine tones and six accents Sun Yaohuo mentioned for Qi language songs...

    It''s not a fabrication.

    Lin Yuan remembers that the phonology of Cantonese is indeed more complex than Mandarin.

    Mandarin has only four tones.

    While standard Cantonese retains the entering tone.

    Divided into "high flat, low flat, high rising, low rising, high departing, low departing, high entering, mid entering, low entering" which amounts to 9 tones in total.

    Cantonese has 19 initial consonants.

    "Lip, tongue, teeth, dental, throat"

    A five-category system of initial consonants.

    59 finals.

    Perhaps this is why some people believe Cantonese songs sound better than Mandarin ones?

    The Qin Continent is dominated by Mandarin songs!

    So Lin Yuan initially thought that this world didn''t have Cantonese.

    He never expected that.

    The so-called dialect of Qi Continent, was in fact Cantonese.

    This wasn''t due to the original''s lack of knowledge or exposure.

    After all, the official language commonly used in Qi Continent was still Mandarin.

    There isn''t a tradition in the different continents to communicate in their respective dialects.

    But given this revelation.

    Does English, Japanese, Russian or even Korean exist in this world?

    But exist only in the form of dialects?

    He has to research this later.

    Lin Yuan''s system contains many songs from his past life that are in different languages.

    If he doesn''t have the language foundation, he would have to rewrite them into Mandarin versions. That was what Lin Yuan had planned originally.

    Some songs can undergo such changes, like "Initial Dream", which was translated from Japanese.

    However, the meaning of some songs gets lost when translations are made.

    After all, some lyric rhymes match perfectly with the music.

 Chapter 143 - 138 Farewell_1

    "What a shame..."

    When they were parting ways after the meal, Sun Yao Huo voiced his regret, "I just took out a loan to open a hot pot restaurant. I was planning to invite my junior to try it out once it opens, but it seems like you''ll be setting off to Qi Continent by the end of this month, won''t you?"

    "You have me!"

    Lin Xuan''s eyes brightened instantly.

    Sun Yao Huo hurriedly nodded, "Of course, my sister can come over anytime. I''ll inform the manager, as long as you''re willing to come, it''s always free. I''ll send you the address later; we''re opening at the end of next month, you can come over then!"

    "I''ll be counting on you."

    Lin Xuan replied happily. As for being called ''sister'' by Sun Yao Huo, she didn''t correct him. Even though Sun Yao Huo might be older than her, calling her sister didn''t seem to be a problem. After all, she didn''t exactly look her age; what was there to fear from a mere title?

    "Also..."

    Sun Yao Huo laughed, "I also own a milk tea shop and a breakfast shop. I can also take you to try those. In the future, feel free to bring people over. It''s all free of charge. After all, I''m good friends with junior!"

    "I will come back to eat."

    Lin Yuan nodded, feeling a bit regretful about not being able to savor the hot pot immediately. He believed Brother Sun''s hot pot restaurant must be excellent, for Brother Sun has a profound understanding of gourmet food and he can always find the best restaurants in Su City.

    Sun Yao Huo was invigorated.

    Lin Yuan did not deny their relationship, indicating that the junior Lin Yuan also believed they had a good relationship. When junior sets off, he should definitely see him off at the airport to strengthen their friendship!

    Speaking of which.

    When Lin Yuan returned home after bidding Senior Sun Yao Huo goodbye, he indeed felt a twinge of separation anxiety.

    Having been together for so long, it feels strange to suddenly part for a whole semester.

    In the following days.

    This feeling of separation grew stronger and stronger.

    Xia Fan also found time between her various work commitments to have a gathering with Lin Yuan. It really wasn''t easy for her to find time given how her career is just getting started.

    In addition.

    As a Starlight artist, Jiang Kui got to know about Admirable Fish''s plan for Qi Continent from some colleagues.

    Admirable Fish is a new talent in Qin Continent''s music scene.

    Among all the musicians in Qin Continent, most only collaborated with Admirable Fish once.

    Only Jiang Kui and Sun Yao Huo got a second-time collaboration with Lin Yuan.

    In fact, Jiang Kui even got to collaborate with Lin Yuan for the second time before Sun Yao Huo did.

    No one knew if there would be a third time.

    But upon hearing that Admirable Fish was leaving, Jiang Kui immediately invited Lin Yuan for a meal and also gifted him a meticulously prepared present.

    "What''s this?"

    Lin Yuan was curious.

    Jiang Kui replied somewhat embarrassingly, "I recently learned some pastry skills. I baked these egg yolk pastries just before I stepped out¡­"

    Lin Yuan''s eyes lit up.

    Ice cream and Pudding are his favorites.

    However, egg yolk pastries aren''t bad either!

    The pastries looked pretty round and seemed very delicate. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    He happily accepted the gift, then dutifully expressed his thanks.

    "There''s egg yolk inside, correct?"

    "Yes, I''ve used salted egg yolk. I''m not sure if that suits your taste."

    "I love egg yolk, both chicken and duck egg yolk, they''re both delicious."

    When Lin Yuan used to eat mooncakes, he always chose the one with egg yolk. He would always have a fierce competition with his sister, but most of the time, they would just share it ¨C half for each.

    His sister would eat the egg yolk.

    Lin Yuan would eat the other parts.

    Being able to enjoy salted egg yolk by himself today, what could be more delightful than this?

    "I''m glad you like it."

    Seeing Lin Yuan so excited, Jiang Kui clenched her fist in secret.

    Her relationship with Lin Yuan wasn''t as close as Sun Yao Huo''s, so she had been worried that this meeting might seem a little abrupt.

    This gift was also something she had mulled over for a long time.

    Since Teacher Admirable Fish''s songs are so popular, he must not be short of money.

    If he doesn''t lack money, he certainly wouldn''t care about it much and wouldn''t have high pursuits on the material level.

    Even if she got him a gift worth tens of thousands, such as tea leaves, Teacher Admirable Fish might not be thrilled.

    He might even feel that she was vulgar, no different from those others who tried hard to curry favor with him ¨C

    Like Sun Yao Huo.

    But the egg yolk pastry was different!

    Although it was cheap, it was full of sincerity. Teacher Admirable Fish will certainly realize that she had put a lot of thought into it!

    Sun Yao Huo!

    Sorry, this time, I won again!

    Jiang Kui couldn''t help but feel a bit triumphant, but at the same time, she also felt a bit regretful.

    She had initially planned to gradually interact with Teacher Admirable Fish more, but things didn''t go as planned. Because she was too slow, Teacher Admirable Fish was already about to head off to Qi Continent. Once he left, she wouldn''t be able to see him for a long period of time.

    This was something she couldn''t accept.

    When Teacher Admirable Fish returned, she needed to find a way to spend more time with him, and couldn''t let senior Sun Yaohuo continue having the upper hand.

    That guy was just too vulgar in his thoughts, and had no idea about what Teacher Admirable Fish truly desired!

    ...

    Parting sorrow often led to sentimentality, and Lin Yuan felt somewhat sentimental because the next day, he once again skipped work.

    Not for any particular reason.

    He was merely off to the Qin Art piano room, to play the piano once more.

    Before he even reached the school, Lin Yuan received another phone call from Ol'' Zhou: "Why didn''t you come to work again today?"

    Lin Yuan replied: "I went out for some inspiration."

    Ol'' Zhou sighed heavily: "You can''t always use that excuse. What if someone other than me checks on you at work today? This excuse might not be valid."

    Lin Yuan gave another reason: "I went out to gather some materials."

    Ol'' Zhou was silent for a while, and then somberly replied: "How is that any different from your previous excuse?"

    Lin Yuan answered: "I changed two words."

    Ol'' Zhou: "..."

    I can''t bother arguing with you. Anyway, even if another person checks at work, they will eventually report back to me.

    With this thought, Ol'' Zhou helplessly gave in: "Ok then, I got it."

    "Thank you."

    Lin Yuan ended the call.

    He had just arrived at the school gate.

    Even though it was vacation time, the school gate remained open, with a guard stationed there. After a few exchanges, where he confirmed his student status, the guard readily let him in.

    When walking to the piano room corridor.

    Lin Yuan was still deciding on the best room when suddenly he heard a surprised voice from far away: "Lin Yuan!"

    He turned his head and saw that it was Gu Xi!

    Running into Gu Xi could only mean trouble.

    However, since Gu Xi had helped the composition department last time, Lin Yuan did not brush her off. He simply nodded and said: "Hello."

    Gu Xi rushed up to him: "Are you here to play the piano?"

    Lin Yuan replied: "I won''t get the chance to play here next semester."

    Gu Xi paused momentarily before catching on: "You are going to be an exchange student!"

    Lin Yuan didn''t deny.

    Gu Xi was immediately struck with despair!

    She also received an exchange student slot, but she refused because she was afraid that once she went to Qi Continent, she would not see Lin Yuan. In a shocking turn of events, Lin Yuan was actually going to be an exchange student!

    If only she had known earlier, she would also have gone to Qi Continent!

    She was so anxious she didn''t know what to do. After a long hesitation, she finally asked: "How long will you be playing here?"

    "I''m not sure."

    "Could you please wait for me for a bit? I''ll be back very quickly. Please don''t leave!"

    "Make it quick."

    Lin Yuan did not know why she wanted him to wait, but he didn''t ask. He simply walked into the piano room and began to play the piano.

    Gu Xi took out her mobile phone.

    And quickly dashed off.

    Once outside, she made a call: "Think of a way for me to get transferred to Qi Continent as an exchange student for a year... Yes, I''ve changed my mind... Ok, ok... Please...."

    After finishing the call.

    Gu Xi rushed downstairs.

    Twenty minutes later, she returned with a beautifully wrapped gift box in her hands.

    When Lin Yuan finished playing the piano.

    When she was sure Lin Yuan would not continue playing, she entered and said, "I didn''t know Lin Yuan was leaving so I didn''t prepare anything. I just purchased a gift for you!"

    "Thank you."

    Lin Yuan hesitated slightly but accepted the gift. After all, whether accepting one gift or two, he was just accepting.

    Gu Xi smiled and said: "Do you want to open it and see?"

    Lin Yuan agreed; he too was curious about what was inside.

    Upon opening, it turned out that it was a round ball.

    "This is a 3d printed Blue Star." Gu Xi introduced with a smile.

    She thought this gift held substantial significance; the implication being that no matter where they were, they were still on the same planet. A gift should be something meaningful; she admired her quick-thinking.

    She believed that Lin Yuan would understand the meaning behind this.

    Lin Yuan looked at the miniature Blue Star in his hand, thought for a second, and brought up a question that Gu Xi would never have expected to hear in her life:

    "Does it contain a yolk?"

 Chapter 144 - 139 Mr. Lin_1

    At the end of August, the airport.

    Lin Xuan, Xia Fan and Sun Yaohuo accompanied Lin Yuan as he left. This time, Sun Yaohuo didn''t wear a mask or sunglasses. His mindset evolved from not wanting to be recognized to eagerly wanting to be acknowledged by passersby.

    "He must be a star, right?"

    "Seems like it!"

    "What is his name again?"

    A murmur came from afar.

    Sun Yaohuo puffed up his chest and turned his head with a smile, but his smile froze the next moment as he saw several people rushing towards Xia Fan, some taking pictures, some asking for autographs¡­

    "Xia Fan!"

    "Xia Fan!"

    The buzz revolved around them.

    Just moments after Lin Yuan had gone onto the plane, Sun Yaohuo had already started feeling lonely in this vast airport, being numbly pushed out by the crowd.

    "..."

    Lin Yuan was not quite used to the feeling of flying. It wasn''t fear of heights, but his eardrums were uncomfortable as the plane soared higher. He could only try to sleep as much as possible, after all, this journey lasts seven hours.

    The ticket was booked by his sister.

    She purchased a business class ticket straight away.

    By the time Lin Yuan found out, it was too late and he could only mourn silently. After all, there was a considerable price gap between business class and economy class. The difference could have afforded him a substantial amount of egg yolks.

    At this point, the villa was about to be handed over.

    Lin Yuan also bore the renovation costs.

    He left the details to his sister.

    After all these expenses, Lin Yuan was left with little money. Fortunately, September was looming, and in a few days, new manuscript fees and song royalties would be credited, so Lin Yuan wasn''t worried¡­

    Seven hours later.

    Lin Yuan arrived in Qi Continent.

    It was still daylight in Qi Continent. Lin Yuan slept for half the journey. When he disembarked, he felt dizzy. After retrieving his luggage and washing his face in the restroom, he regained some clarity.

    Qi Continent, Yi Cheng.

    The city Lin Yuan arrived at. As one of the most developed cities in Qi Continent, it has a four-hour time difference from Su City in Qin Continent, which should not be too difficult for Lin Yuan to adjust to.

    He made a phone call. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This was the number Ol'' Zhou left for Lin Yuan, stating that Lin Yuan should contact him upon reaching Qi Continent. He would have someone pick him up and take him to the branch office, where his accommodations were already arranged.

    The call was answered.

    A girl''s voice on the phone inquired, "May I speak with Teacher Admirable Fish? I am waiting at the lounge on the first floor. The car is in the parking lot below. You can see me once you come out. I am wearing a red coat¡­"

    "I see you."

    Lin Yuan looked at the girl in the distance.

    Seeing Lin Yuan''s face, the other party was visibly startled. She put down her phone, walked over and asked with some uncertainty, "I am Gu Dong from Starlight Music''s branch office. Are you Teacher Admirable Fish?"

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Gu Dong was somewhat surprised. The representative that the headquarters sent was so young that it was beyond her expectations. However, Gu Dong had researched about Admirable Fish before and knew that he was a renowned composer in Qin Continent, hence she did not dare to neglect him due to his youth. "Should we head to the office first?"

    "Sure."

    Admirable Fish spoke little.

    He seemed cold.

    Gu Dong tentatively judged as she offered to take Lin Yuan''s suitcase, "You must be tired from the flight, I will take care of the luggage. The parking lot is right below, you can just follow me."

    Lin Yuan did not refuse.

    As the car exited the airport, Gu Dong introduced the situation to Lin Yuan: "From now on, I will be your secretary in the branch office. If you need anything, feel free to tell me. Also, I have a personal question. Admirable Fish is your real name?"

    "My name is Lin Yuan."

    Gu Dong nodded, recognizing Admirable Fish as a pseudonym. "Then I shall call you Mr. Lin, or if you prefer to be called Teacher Admirable Fish, that''s fine too. I will communicate this with the company."

    "Either way."

    Lin Yuan was succinct.

    Gu Dong forced a smile, stopped speaking and focused on driving. Lin Yuan took out his phone to send a message to his sister. Apart from the time difference, there wasn''t much obstacle in communication between the two sides.

    After sending the message.

    Lin Yuan downloaded several popular music apps from Qi Continent. Two of these were also popular in Qin Continent, showing that they did have a lot of common ground, easing Lin Yuan''s homesickness slightly.

    With earphones on.

    Lin Yuan started listening to music.

    He listened to the popular music of Qi Continent. The style was quite different from that of Qin Continent, and overall the quality was inferior to that of Qin Continent. This held true to the reputation of Qin Continent as the Land of Music. The Qi language was certainly more popular here.

    Of the Qi Continent''s popular songs Lin Yuan randomly played, over seventy percent were sung in Qi language, and the remaining thirty percent were sung in Mandarin.

    After listening for an unknown amount of time.

    They arrived at the branch office.

    Lin Yuan and Gu Dong got off the car and arrived in front of a company whose wall had the words "Starlight Music." In terms of scale, it was incomparable to the headquarters. Even the name of the company was slightly faded and rusted due to lack of maintenance.

    "The company has three floors."

    Gu Dong introduced, "Facilities such as recording studios are on the first floor, the second floor is mostly work areas, and the third floor consists of offices. As the representative sent by the central office, you are on equal footing with the general manager, so we have arranged an office for you."

 Chapter 145 - 139 Mr. Lin_2

    Lin Yuan nodded his head.

    The company''s location was a bit remote, but the advantage of this was a nicer surrounding environment with more open space. The three-floor company was far smaller in scale compared to the headquarters. Hearing about the difficulty of the branch''s development, Lin Yuan could understand.

    The building didn''t have an elevator.

    The two had to climb the stairs.

    Lin Yuan didn''t find it too bothersome as he followed Gu Dong through a tour of the company. As they passed the second floor workspace, many employees curiously glanced at Lin Yuan trailing behind Gu dong.

    "Gu Dong has brought someone back?"

    "Is that person a representative sent by the headquarters?"

    "Why does he look so young?"

    "Perhaps they sent him here because he''s young and easy to bully. Our shitty company has never been a priority for the headquarters. The manager had to ask for several months before they were willing to send someone here. Now, it''s clear that they''re treating this guy as a lifesaver, completely forgetting that a single person can''t save a sinking ship¡­"

    "I doubt he has even graduated yet."

    "I''m now worried that our company will shut down this year. Sending over a youngster seems like they''re just making a show of effort. It''s not easy finding a job these days, have you all secured your next positions?"

    "Don''t speculate, I''m a loyal employee!"

    "You''ve really got the nerve! You had a great record of job hopping five times before coming to our company. If it wasn''t for our desperate need for manpower, HR wouldn''t have even hired you."

    "..."

    Unaware of the office chatter, Lin Yuan, led by Gu Dong, had entered his office. Although the office was not large, it had a nice view. Gazing outside the window, he saw a large grass field, reminding him of his position at the headquarters.

    A nameplate sat on his desk

    Headquarter Representative: Xian Yu

    His black office desk was complemented by the fresh plants set around the room, evidently cared for ahead of time. "We can hold a meeting later to introduce you to the staff. The manager would like to host a welcome ceremony for you tonight. He attaches great importance to your arrival!"

    Gu Dong said, with a smiling face.

    Behind her smile, however, was bitterness: "Dad seemed eager to have someone sent to us from the headquarters, placing all hope on this representative. However, the situation with the branch is not something one person could simply resolve."

    "No need."

    Lin Yuan refused flatly.

    He didn''t care for welcome ceremonies. At present, he had a more important concern: "How is my accommodation arranged? Is it close to Qi Continent Art Academy? Would it be convenient for me to go to school?"

    Gu Dong: "¡­"

    Her heart sank even more.

    This representative was still a student. When the headquarters sent him, they made it clear over the phone. Zhou Ruiming also called the manager to repeatedly emphasize: "Xian Yu comes to Qi Continent primarily to study. He is going as an exchange student of Qin Art."

    The underlying message was clear.

    Don''t give Xian Yu too much work.

    Gathering herself, Gu Dong smiled weakly: "The place you''ll be staying is a bit far from the company, but it''s very close to your school. This was a special request from the headquarters. We have already rented an apartment for you. The rent will be covered by our branch."

    "Thank you."

    Lin Yuan was relieved.

    At this moment, a commotion erupted from outside the room. The specific content was unclear, but Lin Yuan could grasp the gist of it: "If your company can''t handle it, why not contact your headquarters? We signed the agreement based on Starlight headquarters'' reputation. You assured us¡­"

    The voices got closer.

    Lin Yuan heard a middle-aged man apologizing: "We will prepare a few more songs to send to you that will surely satisfy you. We had great cooperation before, and we hold your orders in high regard¡­"

    Before he could finish the sentence,

    A few men wearing suits passed by Lin Yuan''s office. Seeing the name plate outside the office, they immediately stopped: "When did your headquarters send a representative? Why didn''t you inform us?"

    The door was left open.

    The leader spotted Lin Yuan standing behind the desk instantly, and seeing the name plate on the desk, he raised his voice: "Are you the representative sent by Starlight''s headquarters? Please contact them for us. Your branch cannot handle our order, ask them to do it. We did sign a contract in black and white!"

    "Our representative just arrived¡­"

    The apologetic voice sounded again, and a middle-aged man with a slight belly, looking embarrassed, appeared at the door. He bowed to Lin Yuan and escorted the group out of the company. Their voices gradually faded. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan asked, "Who was that?"

    Gu Dong admitted helplessly: "That''s the branch''s general manager, Gu Qiangyun, also my father. The group that just left is our biggest client at the moment. We had several collaborations before, however, this time they were not satisfied with the work we turned in, so they came to urge us. This is not the first time something like this has happened."

    "Oh."

    Lin Yuan sat down.

    Seeing Lin Yuan''s lack of reaction, Gu Dong couldn''t help but feel disappointed. On second thought, she felt that she was presumptuous, how could the branch''s predicaments be resolved just by the arrival of a representative from the headquarters?

 Chapter 146 - 139: Mr. Lin_3

    "Right."

    The chair underneath him must be new, giving a comfortable feeling. Lin Yuan quite liked the working environment here. After settling in a bit, he said, "Please send me the address of my residence later."

    "After work."

    "I''ll take you there," Gu Dong offered.

    Lin Yuan nodded, saving some taxi fare.

    At that moment, the company manager, Gu Qiangyun, returned. He knocked on the door and gave an apologetic smile, "Sorry for the unexpected situation on your first day. I''m the branch manager Gu Qiangyun. Nice to meet you!"

    He offered his hand for a handshake.

    Lin Yuan politely shook it. Then he curiously asked, "I''ve just arrived, so I''m not too familiar with the situation. Is it common for our branch to have orders like the one we just discussed?"

    Gu Dong: "¡­"

    Gu Qiangyun: "¡­"

    There was an awkward silence for a few seconds before Gu Qiangyun coughed and said, "Actually, our company hasn''t received any new orders for two months. The order we were discussing is the only one we have."

    "That''s too few."

    "We''re a small company."

    Sweat trickled down Gu Qiangyun''s face. Although the representative from Headquarters was young, he seemed rather fierce. Was he dissatisfied with our work here? What if he reported us to the headquarters?

    "I see."

    Unlike what Gu Qiangyun had imagined, Lin Yuan wasn''t frowning heavily. He was only interested in the order''s price: "How much is the client willing to pay for this order?"

    "800,000 yuan."

    Gu Qiangyun answered.

    Now Lin Yuan was indeed frowning. The price for this order was too low. When he accepted the "Dragon Fish Dance" order back at headquarters, the client offered five million. How come the prices for orders within Qi Continent were so low?

    It''s a trap!

    Definitely a trap!

    Gu Qiangyun cautiously observed Lin Yuan''s face and noticed that he was frowning indeed, which made him feel a bit heavy-hearted. Lin Yuan seemed to be very dissatisfied with their work here. Would he report them to the headquarters?

    "Understood."

    Lin Yuan wasn''t frowning as heavily as Gu Qiangyun had imagined. He asked about the order''s price, "How much is the client willing to pay for this?"

    "800,000."

    Gu Qiangyun answered.

    Lin Yuan knitted his brows this time. The price of this order was too low. When he received the "Dragon Fish Dance" order at headquarters, the price was five million. Why were the internal order prices in Qi Continent so low?

    It''s a trap here!

    Definitely a trap!

    Gu Qiangyun carefully observed Lin Yuan''s face, noticing he was indeed frowning. His heart sank, "You seem to be used to the headquarters. Starlight is a top-tier entertainment company in Qin Continent, but Starlight Entertainment in Qi Continent is actually a small music company. Our success rate with orders isn''t really good. The highest order we''ve received was around one million yuan.

    Only large entertainment companies can receive large orders worth millions..."

    "Order success rate?"

    Something clicked in Lin Yuan''s mind.

    Gu Qiangyun blinked, realizing Lin Yuan didn''t quite understand the situation here. He perked up and explained, "Since there are a large number of films and dramas produced in Qi Continent every year, along with some game projects, their demand for music is also huge. High-quality products usually come from Qin Continent''s customizations.

    However, some smaller projects can''t afford Qin Continent''s prices, so they will work with local small music companies."

    Lin Yuan made a thoughtful face.

    On the side, Gu Dong added, "Due to our companies'' limited capabilities, if the client is dissatisfied with our songs, our order will be cancelled. In that case, both parties would negotiate based on the original contract. Sometimes the contract is voided, and sometimes we have to pay a penalty."

    "Hold on."

    Lin Yuan found a loophole, "What if a client specifically uses our music not meeting standards as an excuse to receive penalties? After all, whether a song is good or not is quite subjective."

    "Don''t worry."

    Gu Qiangyun smiled, "That won''t happen. In most cases, we simply cancel the order. We only include penalty clauses in contracts with reputable clients in Qi Continent. The penalty is generally not hefty, so it wouldn''t be worthwhile for clients to risk a reputation crisis to screw us over. Besides, Qi Continent has a special audit association.

    When both parties don''t agree on the result, it will be settled through relevant channels. The Audit Association is very fair. If you are not satisfied with their results, you can release the song for public review."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Although there were still some subjective factors, having such an arrangement was already extensive. If 90 out of 100 people think a song is unqualified, even if it''s a subjective opinion, it''s relatively objective. Besides, most companies do value their reputations very much. Once a company''s reputation is damaged, it would be difficult to survive in this industry.

    "In fact," S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Gu Dong further eased Lin Yuan''s worries, "There hasn''t been any dissatisfaction with the results of the Music Audit Association. The members of the association are respected predecessors in the music industry and are professional in Qi Continent. This is their job."

    "I understand."

    Lin Yuan nodded, "So if we can improve the success rate of our orders, the price offered by future clients will get higher, potentially reaching several million per order?"

    "Yes."

    Gu Qiangyun wanted to remind Lin Yuan that not many companies in Qi Continent could receive orders worth several million yuan. If a client was willing to pay several million yuan for a custom-made song, why wouldn''t they go to the prestigious ''Land of Music'' in Qin Continent? However, seeing the determined look in Lin Yuan''s eyes, he wisely held his tongue.

    Having dreams is a good thing.

    Lin Yuan felt better. The situation here wasn''t as bad as he had imagined. He said, "Then let''s work on improving the company''s order success rate first. Please send me the details of that order."

    "Huh?"

    Gu Qiangyun and Gu Dong looked at each other in shock. His words sounded so easy, like ''improving the company''s order success rate''. Did he realize how many months it took to finalize an order?

    "Is there a problem?"

    Lin Yuan looked up at the two.

    Gu Dong quickly replied, "Just a moment please, I''ll bring the order over. This order was supposed to be handled by our composition department, but since it was never finalized, it''s now in the public pool and anyone can take it. You can see if it suits you."

    "Alright."

    Lin Yuan was prepared. Even though the prices for orders were low at the moment, according to Qi Continent''s explanation, as long as the success rate for orders increased, the future offers from clients would also increase.

    He was prepared.

 Chapter 147 - 140: The Laughter of the River and Lake_1

    Five minutes later.

    Gu Qiangyun took his leave.

    Gu Dong entered Lin Yuan''s office with the order in hand.

    She introduced, "This is a song customization order for a martial arts game. One of our Qi Continent''s biggest characteristics is our well-developed film and television industry. But apart from that, the gaming industry of Qi Continent is also top-notch on Blue Star. Mr. Lin, do you play video games?"

    Lin Yuan replied, "Occasionally."

    He used to play games with Xia Fan and Jian Yi.

    Lin Yuan found the most pleasure in multiplayer gaming. Playing alone didn''t hold much appeal to him, so as everyone got busier, he basically stopped gaming altogether.

    "I see."

    Gu Dong had already gotten used to Lin Yuan''s way of speaking.

    It was normal for people from the headquarters to be somewhat aloof, after all, the scale between the branch and headquarters was vast.

    Moreover, Mr. Lin was probably somewhat dissatisfied, having been sent to the Qi Continent to clean up the branch''s mess. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    She could understand his sentiments.

    After Lin Yuan took the order from Gu Dong, he didn''t show any intention to open it.

    He stood up and said, "That''ll be all for today. Could you drop me off at my accommodations on your way, and maybe take a detour around Qi Continent Art Academy? I want to get a feel for the environment."

    "Sure..."

    He didn''t even glance at it?

    Gu Dong felt increasingly disappointed, although she didn''t dare to show it: "Mr. Lin''s luggage is still in my car, we can head there directly."

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan headed downstairs.

    Gu Dong slightly pursed her lips, then quickly followed.

    While driving Lin Yuan to his accommodations, Gu Dong quickly introduced some local points of interest, "There is a scenic area to the east. Mr. Lin, if you''re interested and have time, you could visit. Shall I take you to the academy first?"

    "Just a drive by is fine."

    Lin Yuan had no intention of entering the academy. The start of the semester was a week away and the school hadn''t opened its doors yet. As an exchange student, the registration procedure might be quite troublesome.

    "Okay."

    The distance from the company to the academy was about six or seven kilometers. It seemed a bit far but it was just a twenty-minute drive.

    "That is Qi Art."

    Following Gu Dong''s gaze, Lin Yuan saw a university in the distance. Apart from slight architectural differences, its scale wasn''t inferior to Qin Art.

    It was truly on par with Qin Art.

    After a brief tour, Gu Dong took Lin Yuan back to his accommodations.

    It was an exquisite residential area.

    The complex was called "Pear Blossom Garden," a rather pleasant name.

    The company had arranged a beautifully decorated two-bedroom apartment for Lin Yuan.

    Of course, the space couldn''t compare to his accommodations in Qin Continent, but it was more than enough for Lin Yuan alone.

    As for the environment, Lin Yuan was quite satisfied. It was clear that a lot of thought had been put into preparing the living arrangements.

    Gu Dong asked, "Mr. Lin, do you usually cook for yourself?"

    "Yes."

    Lin Yuan occasionally cooked in Qin Continent, and his cooking skills were passable.

    However, most of the time, he ate at school or at the company so he didn''t get many opportunities to cook for himself.

    "In that case, please remember that if you exit the complex and turn left, there''s a market approximately six hundred meters away."

    Gu Dong had familiarized herself with the environment beforehand, as she was the one who rented this place.

    "Ok."

    Lin Yuan began to unpack.

    Gu Dong hesitated before saying, "The room was cleaned yesterday, and the bedsheets are new, having been washed once already. They''re very clean. Mr. Lin, is there anything else you need me for? If not, I should head back to the company as work isn''t finished yet."

    She emphasized the phrase "work isn''t finished" slightly, but she didn''t dare to be too bold. As a result, her point didn''t come across very strongly.

    "You should head back first then. Thank you for your help."

    Lin Yuan nodded, and began to tidy up briefly.

    There wasn''t much to tidy up, after all. The room had already been cleaned and all that remained was sorting out some clothes.

    After tidying up.

    Lin Yuan threw himself on the bed.

    It wasn''t that he wanted to leave work early. The flight had just been too taxing, especially for someone who rarely flies.

    His head was in a fog, and despite sleeping for a few hours on the plane, the discomfort was not completely gone.

    Half an hour later.

    Lin Yuan was feeling a little better.

    He felt a little discomfort in his stomach and went into the bathroom. While relieving himself, he finally took out and read the company''s only order.

    It was a song order for a martial arts video game.

    Although the era of martial art novels had passed, martial arts video games always held a significant market on Blue Star. After all, playing video games and reading novels are two completely different experiences.

    The order''s main requirement was to write a song with a strong taste of the ancient martial world.

    The game''s background was rather common, revolving around a young boy roaming the martial world with his sword and eventually becoming a martial arts master.

    Of course, being a martial arts-themed game, it naturally included elements of romance.

    The young boy''s childhood friend and love was killed when he first stepped into the martial world, thus, a desire for revenge was fostered within him.

    He began to practice martial arts and killed strong enemies one after another.

    Later, he met a girl who resembled his lost love.

    So, he began to fall in love with her.

    The two experienced storms and adversity together.

    Upon discovering the truth that she was just a replacement, the girl made the decision to leave the boy.

    It wasn''t until ten years later that they reunited again. By then, the girl discovered that the boy really had fallen in love with her and had been looking for her all these years...

    By this time, the boy already had white hair.

    But they still happily held each other''s hands.

    The order detailed the story more coherently with thousands of words. This was the overview of the storyline that Lin Yuan had summarized.

    Hence the order included the following note:

    Besides exuding a martial world aura, the song should elicit a sense of lingering romantic sorrow.

    Apart from this.

    The note also laid out a third requirement:

    The song should be in Mandarin because the game will be released all over Blue Star.

    A game targeting the Qi Continent audience would, of course, be in Qi language.

    But targeting the entire Blue Star, it would definitely need to be in Mandarin.

    Lin Yuan originally thought that he had to write a song in Qi language. Unexpectedly, the first order required a song in Mandarin.

    He activated the system and repeated the order requirements: "How much would it cost to customize a song like this?"

    System: "Five hundred thousand."

    Although the requirements were relatively complicated, this type of song was common. Hence, the pricing set by the System wasn''t too high.

    Weighing the order shares and potential profit derived from song downloads after the game''s launch, Lin Yuan felt that this deal was rather profitable.

    "Will you customize it?"

    "Yes, please."

    Lin Yuan had about a million left in his account, certainly enough to spend five hundred thousand to customize a song.

    "Random song selection in progress..."

    Approximately thirty seconds later, the system had made its selection: "Congratulations on acquiring the song ''Laughter of Jianghu'', would you like to preview it now?"

    "Preview."

    Lin Yuan responded. He had some recollection of this song. It seemed to be from the soundtrack of a previous life''s version of ''The Return of the Condor Heroes''.

    The system played Zhou Huajian''s version.

    As Lin Yuan listened to the song, he nodded his head in satisfaction.

    The song was quite fitting for the game, encompassing the grievances and love stories of the martial world in its lyrics:

    "Laughter of the Jianghu... With resentment settled... And guarded motives... Smiles hide knives... Unreachable love... Unable to let go...

    Unable to forget... Your goodness... What looks like flower isn''t flower, what looks like fog isn''t fog..."

    Its rhythm was also quite appropriate.

    As per the order''s requirements, this song should fit the bill. Thinking this, Lin Yuan casually flushed the toilet.

 Chapter 148 - 141: Everything is Fine - Part 1

    On the other side, Gu Dong drove back to the company.

    When passing by the second floor, employees from the music composition took a few glances around.

    They saw that the representative from head office had not followed, so they quickly surrounded Gu Dong.

    "Where is he?"

    "He went off work already?"

    "So domineering! Coming and going as he pleases, that''s something only an executive could do. Indeed the Great Old One from headquarters, completely dismissive of our branch office."

    "What''s the deal with this dude from the head office?"

    "He looks so young, can he make it?"

    "After all, a novice is unlikely to work out. How can one person save our entire branch office?"

    "Who is he?"

    "..."

    Gu Dong glanced at everyone and said: "Don''t you have mobile phones? Google it yourselves, Xian Yu... the ''Xian'' from ''Envy'', ''Jealousy'', and ''Hate''... and ''Yu'' from ''Sashimi''."

    "Sounds familiar?"

    Someone opened their mouth doubtfully.

    Everyone began to take out their phones to search.

    Because the distance was too great and the regional cultures were different, the information they found was relatively general, but it was still enough to surprise many people:

    "A top-tier composer?"

    "This is the first time I''ve heard of such a young top-tier composer. Could he be the legendary genius? He seems capable for his age."

    "Of course, otherwise why would he be chosen as our representative?"

    "But it seems that he just became a top-tier composer and was sent to our branch office. Why didn''t the headquarters send someone more experienced?"

    "Maybe he''s really capable?"

    "I don''t know about capability, but definitely arrogant. He left work early on his first day. As a representative from the head office, he is of the same rank as our manager. No one can control him. I guess the manager also dares not. After all, the company is relying on him to bring in projects and ease the situation."

    "Wait, wasn''t he the creator of ''Big Fish''?"

    "That song was also very popular in Qi Continent. It''s the theme song of the movie ''Dragon Fish Dance''. Did the head office send him here thinking that he has had previous success?"

    "Enough with that."

    "..."

    The group was full of lively discussion.

    Gu Dong proceeded to the third floor.

    She entered the CEO''s office and called out: "Dad¡­"

    Gu Qiangyun said dissatisfiedly: "How many times have I told you, call me manager in the company."

    "Manager Daddy?"

    "That sounds so weird?"

    "Mr. Gu!"

    "Hmm, what is it?"

    Gu Qiangyun stood up nervously: "Was Mr. Lin satisfied with the house?"

    "He was quite satisfied with the house."

    Gu Dong complained: "But don''t you think he''s too arrogant? On his first day, he didn''t even want to work. I spent half of yesterday cleaning his office. Can you please hire a cleaner?"

    "No."

    Gu Qiangyun said, "The company''s performance isn''t good. Hiring a cleaner would increase expenses. You and the staff can do some cleaning. Even as the manager, I clean the office myself. I didn''t ask you to clean the bathroom."

    Gu Dong: "¡­"

    Gu Qiangyun frowned, and then a glimmer of hope lit up his face: "However, with Mr. Lin here, he should be able to help us alleviate some pressure¡­"

    "You''re thinking too optimistically."

    Gu Dong recalled previous events: "I showed him the order, thinking that he was eager to work, but he didn''t even look at it and asked for a place to live. I guess he''s already forgotten about the order."

    "It doesn''t matter if he doesn''t remember it now. We can remind him later."

    Gu Qiangyun really regarded Lin Yuan as a lifesaver: "Didn''t you ask your friend for information on him? He''s quite famous in Qin Continent, after all, he is a top-tier composer."

    "Mr. Gu."

    Gu Dong sighed: "But he''s just a student after all, and a new top-tier composer. He is not the seasoned master you were expecting. Do you think he came because of our branch office?"

    Gu Qiangyun became restless: "What do you mean by that?"

    Gu Dong shrugged, resigned to the facts: "As a student, it would already be pretty good if he could work two days a week. Exchange students are usually very busy. Therefore, I suspect that he came to Qi Continent to study as an exchange student, not for work at our company."

    "That seems to be the case..."

    When Gu Qiangyun remembered the call he had with Ol'' Zhou and considered the current situation, he began to understand. He became despondent.

    "In other words, the head office never planned to care about our branch. It just so happened that a top-tier composer was coming to Qi Continent as an exchange student. In order to keep up appearances, they gave him the title of representative. So, it was... very incidental, taking up the position as branch representative was just a side job?"

    "This is probably the truth. Therefore, I advise you not to have too high expectations. We are, after all, just his nannies." Gu Dong said, trying to hold back her sadness.

    She couldn''t bear to disappoint her father further.

    Exchange students usually don''t stay more than a school year, less than one year in total.

    Rescuing a company within such a short time?

    It was an unrealistic task.

    If he could stay a few years longer, there might be some hope.

    "Look on the bright side. No matter what, Mr. Lin is a top-tier composer. In a year''s time, even if he could help with one or two projects, it would still be sufficient to keep us afloat."

    Gu Qiangyun tried to cheer himself up.

    Gu Dong squeezed out a comforting smile and walked away.

    Gu Qiangyun called out: "Wait, don''t you have Mr. Lin''s contact info? Add him to our company group chat so he can get familiar with the environment."

    "Got it."

    Gu Dong took out her phone and added Lin Yuan to the group chat.

    There was a total of one hundred and twenty-five people in the group, making Lin Yuan the one hundred and twenty-sixth.

    "Welcome!"

    As soon as he saw Lin Yuan join the group, Gu Qiangyun immediately began to send red packets, starting with one hundred yuan¡­

    Biting his lip, Gu Qiangyun changed it to three hundred yuan and sent out the red packets.

    Everyone grabbed eagerly.

    It was surprising to see that the person with the fastest hand was Lin Yuan!

    Although the amount he grabbed was just two cents.

    "Welcome!"

    "Welcome!"

    The other people in the group also shouted ''welcome''.

    "Thank you."

    Lin Yuan politely replied to everyone, and then @ed manager Gu Qiangyun: "Can we get a new order as soon as possible?"

    Gu Qiangyun was startled.

    Hearing him say that, where on earth would our lousy company get a new order from? The one we have on hand is an order we managed to negotiate a few months ago, and it seems it''s about to fall through, given that the headquarters is no longer interested in us¡­

    "Hey."

    Next door in her office. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Gu Dong sighed.

    But Gu Qiangyun dared not get angry and carefully @ed Lin Yuan in response: "Mr. Lin, we can slowly discuss new orders, but we should take things one step at a time. We need to first complete the order we currently have. Take a look at the order in your hand."

    Lin Yuan: "It''s already done."

    After Lin Yuan finished speaking, the entire group chat fell silent.

    Everyone in the group was silent for several minutes, and Gu Qiangyun was silent for several minutes too.

    Unable to sit still, he carefully studied the text for a long while, investigated the gaps between the words and punctuation several times, and finally confirmed Lin Yuan''s words were indeed¡ª

    "Already done."

    At this moment, even the good-tempered Gu Qiangyun, felt somewhat aggravated. He wanted to ask Lin Yuan:

    Hey, are you messing with me? Do you find it fun to fool me?

    From the time you left work early to now, it''s only been enough time for me to go to the bathroom a few times, assuming that I''m not constipated today.

    And you''re telling me that the order that has been perturbing our branch office for months...

    Is already done?

 Chapter 149 - 142 Bring in a New Deal_1

    Qi Continent.

    The composition department of Starlight Music is eerily quiet, colleagues glanced at one another, their faces full of confusion.

    After a long while...

    Someone uncertainly asked, "Does ''it''s done'' mean...he''s finished the order for this martial arts game?"

    How long has it been?

    Counting the time for the commute, only about an hour or two, right?

    "Hmph."

    Someone scoffed, "If his song is any good, I''ll eat my keyboard right here and now, believe it or not."

    Impossible.

    Is Mr. Lin getting too cocky?

    Because he is a top composer from the Land of Music, he thinks he can crush us with his skills?

    So he casually composed a song while taking a restroom break, thinking it would outdo us?

    And that he could fool the client like that?

    Is he joking?

    Surely, he''s just too young.

    The client will make you realize, why they''re the boss!

    And didn''t Mr. Lin consider us when he did that?

    Does he really think that an order we couldn''t fulfill over several months could be easily tackled by him?

    Because of all this, a silence descended on the chat group.

    A silence so deep it felt almost suffocating.

    Finally, Gu Dong couldn''t help but tag Lin Yuan: "The client has high expectations, they won''t accept any mediocre songs. I hope Mr. Lin can be more serious in composing and not try to fool the client with a song that took only a few hours to make."

    "Uh."

    Although Gu Qiangyun was also upset, he was more worried about offending Lin Yuan. After all, Lin Yuan was a top composer from the Qin Continent. What if Lin got mad and decided not to help?

    We must keep him pleased.

    He let out a sigh, quickly tried to smooth things over in the group chat: "Maybe Mr. Lin was inspired as soon as he looked at the order. With Mr. Lin''s ability, he is definitely better than all us slackers at our company. But, Mr. Lin, I would suggest refining the composition a bit..."

    Lin Yuan didn''t explain. He simply tagged Gu Qiangyun: "Email."

    "..."

    "..."

    "..."

    The group chat was filled with ellipses. Nobody dared to speak their minds directly, let alone tag Lin Yuan like Gu Dong.

    After all, Mr. Lin''s position was high up.

    But through a series of ellipses, indirect expressions of dissatisfaction were possible, especially given everyone was posting ellipses.

    After all, where there''s safety in numbers.

    Feeling helpless, Gu Qiangyun shared his email address.

    Lin Yuan immediately sent the song to Gu Qiangyun''s email.

    "You have joined the chat group[The Real Company Group]."

    After sending the email, Gu Qiangyun found himself pulled into a new group chat by his daughter, and all his colleagues were also pulled in.

    This group was no different from the earlier one.

    The only difference was, Lin Yuan wasn''t in this group.

    So, the group that Lin Yuan just joined turned out to be the "fake group"?

    "What''s happening?"

    Asked Gu Qiangyun, disgruntled.

    Gu Dong''s office was right next to his. If the volume was high enough, she could hear his voice.

    Gu Dong didn''t answer.

    In the so-called real group, everyone was shocked or excited.

    "Ms. Goodoong is really assertive!"

    "Ms. Goodoong is awesome, stand up to him!"

    "What''s going on."

    "Right, luckily, we have this group. Otherwise, I wouldn''t dare comment in that one."

    "The representative is showing no regard for us."

    "..."

    At this moment, Gu Dong tagged Gu Qiangyun: "Can you let us listen to the song as well? Let''s see just how good the song that a gold medal composer managed to write in their precious one-hour break is."

    Gu Qiangyun shook his head.

    Everyone was so against Mr. Lin.

    This isn''t right. The company was still relying on Mr. Lin''s help.

    And there was no question about Lin''s ability. At such a young age, he had already won a gold medal. Was there even a need to question his ability?

    The only issue was because of his outstanding talent at such a young age, Mr. Lin could be a little arrogant.

    But that could be understandable, right?

    Later, he would have to do some diplomatic work with everyone, they must not offend Mr. Lin.

    With this in mind, Gu Qiangyun decided not to upload the song into the group chat.

    Regardless of his ability, how could a piece by even the greatest composer, written in just one or two hours, be better than a work that our composition department labored over for several months yet was still rejected by the client?

    He put on his headphones and opened his email.

    The song was titled "Laugh of the Jianghu", and it looks like Mr. Lin had already completed the lyrics as well.

    He moved the mouse and clicked on play.

    As Gu Qiangyun performed these actions, he didn''t hold any expectations.

    He was even browsing the news while listening to the song.

    The news would mention new projects from various companies in the Qi Continent, perhaps he could find new order opportunities?

    For the larger music companies, orders came to them.

    For Starlight Music, they had to find their own orders.

    For example, this new web series being produced by a small company, they would definitely need a theme song, insert songs, end-credit songs, etc. He should later look into making contact with them... There''s also this news mentioned...

    Thud.

    Suddenly, Gu Qiangyun''s hand, which was moving the mouse, paused.

    The song "Laugh of the Jianghu" was still playing through his headphones. The strange synthetic sound had just reached the chorus: "Appearing like flower but not a flower, like mist but not mist. A relentless river that can''t be held back, a lone hero with an iron will and bones, turns out the hero is lonely..."

    Goosebumps suddenly rose up all over his body!

    Suddenly, Gu Qiangyun felt a chill coursing through him!

    He hastily scrolled back to the beginning of the song!

    This time, without any distractions, Gu Qiangyun focused intently on the song.

    At some point, Gu Qiangyun found his body involuntarily moving to the rhythm of the music.

    His body moved, causing the cold tea in front of him to ripple.

    The sun had set by this time.

    The red of the evening sunset gleamed through the window, casting a yellow light across the room.

    Within this scene.

    Gu Qiangyun''s expression was growing more exaggerated.

    When the song finished, he felt a tingle through his entire body, like he had just touched an electric current.

    Then, there was a knock on the door.

    Gu Dong pushed the door open and came in.

    Then, Gu Dong was taken aback.

    She saw Gu Qiangyun slumping in his couch, his entire body completely relaxed, a tinge of...

    Happiness on his face?

    Gu Dong wasn''t sure if she was describing it correctly, but that''s the only word that she could find to describe the smile on Gu Qiangyun''s face.

    "What happened?" She asked anxiously.

    Gu Qiangyun ignored her. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    She raised her voice: "Manager?"

    Gu Qiangyun still ignored her.

    She raised her voice again: "Dad!"

    Soon as if waking from a dream, Gu Qiangyun looked at his daughter standing by the door, then at the computer before finally speaking:

    "Go and bring the new order in!"

    Just as she thought, Gu Dong let out a sigh: "Are we really going to give up on this current order? We spent a lot of efforts to get this order and breaking the contract won''t be cheap, couldn''t we contact the head office..."

    "Wait."

    Gu Qiangyun waved his hand, took out his phone, and typed a message in the new group that Gu Dong had created before: "From now on, the client isn''t your boss. Mr. Lin is."

    Once finished.

    Gu Qiangyun directly uploaded the downloaded "Laugh of the Jianghu" to the group file, then looked up at his daughter before saying:

    "It''s done."

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Would appreciate some monthly votes, please! I''m being overwhelmed!

 Chapter 150 - 143 Sorry for Being Human_1

    Starlight Music, second floor, composing department.

    Everyone is looking at the message the manager sent to the group, frowning deeply.

    We have accepted being called ''Daddy'' by our clients as we''ve been tossed around by them.

    We''re just trying to make some money.

    This isn''t embarrassing!

    But why on earth did the manager refer to Mr. Lin as our Father?

    Because he was sent by headquarters?

    Because he''s on the same level as the manager and could be considered as a boss of the branch company?

    We don''t accept this!

    No one accepts this.

    Because here on the land of Qi Continent, we have enough corporate ''Daddies'' already!

    These were the complex thoughts in everyone''s minds.

    Those with less complex thoughts had already plugged in their headphones to listen to ''The Jianghu Laughs''.

    At the same time.

    Gu Dong also returned to his office and started listening to this song.

    A few minutes later.

    Gu Dong took off his headphones almost mechanically, with a storm raging in his mind.

    He looked down at the group he just created.

    No one in the group was speaking.

    Then he glanced at the ''fake group'' on the other screen where Lin Yuan was, and saw that it already had 99+ new messages.

    "@Mr. Lin, you are the GOAT!"

    "Wow, wow, Mr. Lin is too powerful!"

    "Mr. Lin, please accept me as your fan!"

    "Just now someone in our department said that the song Mr. Lin wrote in such a short time can''t possibly be any good. I, as the head of the composing department, promptly refuted him. Mr. Lin, you are a top-rated musician from the Land of Music, we can''t let others cast doubt on you. That guy, after listening to the song, fully submitted and I gave him a stern lesson."

    "Boss, look, did you drop something?"

    "How dare anybody question Mr. Lin? Are they tired of life? Doesn''t everyone know that Mr. Lin was sent to our company to save the world, and this is how you treat our savior?"

    "..."

    Upon seeing these group messages, Gu Dong choked on his own frustration and wished he could fire the whole lot.

    Have they lost their shame!

    The deal isn''t even closed yet!

    Such sycophants, such bootlicking, it''s a disgrace to the company!

    Unable to remain silent any longer, he typed angrily:

    "Those who doubted Mr. Lin before, step forward. Write a self-criticism of 3000 words and let me review it. It''s your great fortune to meet such an excellent leader like Mr. Lin after eight lifetimes of accumulated luck!"

    Everyone: "..."

    Weren''t you the one causing all the trouble before?

    Finally, someone spoke up in the new group next door.

    "This is really not fun."

    "Lil Goodoong, didn''t you also not believe in him before?"

    "And boss, you were the one who first said that Mr. Lin couldn''t possibly complete this order. If I remember correctly, the boss even said if the deal could be completed, he would eat his keyboard."

    "How will you eat it, with peanut butter or with beef sauce? Will it be red braised or steamed?"

    "Big brother, don''t blame the second brother. Who the hell would have thought that a top-ranked composer from Qin Continent would be this mighty?"

    "WTF, I just found out today what a true GOAT is."

    "It''s not that the top-ranked composers from Qin Continent are powerful. If you randomly pick one from Qin Continent, he wouldn''t be able to complete the task in such a short time. We''ve met a real deity."

    "I almost thought Father Yang was involved."

    "When Teacher Yang Zhongming was in Qi Continent, we occasionally asked him for help. While his moves were sure, accurate, and ruthless, guaranteeing success, he wasn''t this quick, was he?"

    "....."

    Everyone was truly bewildered by Mr. Lin!

    Not because ''The Jianghu Laughs'' was that good, the quality of the song was indeed not bad, but not to the extent of garnering worship from all.

    The truly terrifying part was.....

    The song was composed at an alarmingly fast pace!

    Some people even suspected, did Mr. Lin finish this while sitting on the toilet?

    Alright.

    Of course, that''s just an exaggerated guess, everyone was simply too stunned.

    As Mr. Lin is a top composer in the Land of Music, it isn''t surprising he could produce song of such quality.

    After all, his status as a top composer is indisputable.

    If you''d said that Mr. Lin had spent two months, or even one month, to complete this song, people wouldn''t have so many doubts.

    But how much time has Mr. Lin had since he received the order?

    From the moment he ended work, to the point he announced in the group chat that he''d finished the composition, how much time had passed?

    He was able to complete a composition of this caliber in such a short amount of time?

    It''s downright freaky!

    Not to mention, he even wrote the lyrics himself!

    And the ideas behind the lyrics are also ingenious!

    Compared to Mr. Lin, the composers at Starlight Music only have one feeling:

    Sorry for being so mediocre.

    At this point, Gu Qiangyun popped up in the group, he mentioned everyone: "Don''t rush to apologize just yet. I have already sent "Laughter in Jianghu" to the client. The order for the martial arts game should be nearly complete by Mr. Lin. Our urgent task now is to quickly pull in new orders!"

    It''s the same old story.

    Strong companies can have clients actively seeking cooperation, while a no-good company like Starlight Music has to look for its own business.

    The staff in the composition department not only have to be responsible for composing, but also part-time sales.

    And it''s not just them.

    Even Gu Dong and the manager Gu Qiangyun have to look for business outside.

    Because Starlight Music is facing two dilemmas at the same time.

    The first dilemma: the ability of the composers is limited, leading to a low order completion rate.

    The second dilemma: the company''s order acceptance rate is also very low.

    A formidable client will frown at the past performance of Starlight Music.

    So when negotiating for orders, they have no choice but to tout the prestige of the head office.

    This trick used to work well.

    But now, even the prestige of the head office isn''t very effective.

    After all, Starlight Music is just a branch, its value has been pretty much evaluated by the industry.

    Because of this reason.

    The company occasionally takes on small private orders to sustain its operations.

    These small orders often only have a commission of tens of thousands yuan.

    But for the composition department, every little bit counts, the staff still possess basic operating skills, they can generally handle these small orders.

    "By the way."

    Gu Dong reminded: "If you guys run into trouble while negotiating orders, don''t use the prestige of the head office anymore. That doesn''t work anymore. You can now say that a top composer has been dispatched from our head office. But let me make one thing clear, never let Mr. Lin handle cheap orders!"

    During the daytime discussion, Gu Dong noticed. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Mr. Lin was unhappy with the price of orders.

    It makes sense, as a top composer, the price he got for orders in Qin Continent must have been very high.

    Now being transferred to a branch office and having to do orders in the hundreds of thousands, he obviously wouldn''t be pleased.

    "We should ask Mr. Lin what style he specializes in."

    Every composer has their own area of expertise.

    Some composers are particularly good at rock, while others are good at writing sentimental love songs.

    Everyone now suspects that Mr. Lin is probably best at composing classical songs with grand ideas?

    Otherwise, why was "Laughter in Jianghu" completed so easily?

    He must be so proficient in it, that the moment he saw the order, he directly wrote a song.

    Gu Dong thought for a while, he mentioned Lin Yuan in the old chat group: "The company is preparing to take new orders, may I ask what music styles do you specialize in, Mr. Lin?"

    Everyone opened the main chat, curious about Lin Yuan''s response.

    In everyone''s imagination, a genius like Mr. Lin would probably list several categories, such as rock, sentimental ballads, hip-hop, and so on, to demonstrate his diverse range of music styles. After all, "Big Fish" was also excellent, but it wasn''t a traditional martial arts style song. This indicates that Mr.

    Lin must be proficient in several styles of music, fitting for someone of Lin yuan''s status as a top composer.

    However, ten seconds later.

    Lin Yuan only replied with two words, those words were:

    "Expensive ones."

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Originally, I planned to ask for double the monthly tickets at the end of the month, but the monthly tickets are dropping very quickly, so I''ll just ask for it now. Those with more monthly tickets can vote by the end of the month, thanks everyone. At one point we were ranked twenty-ninth.

 Chapter 151 - 144: Hear Again, Already a Character in the Song_1

    The other party that Starlight Music was liaising with was Dream Dragon Games, and the game with the order demand was called "Hero''s Mate".

    Dream Dragon is a very large game company.

    This game, "Hero''s Mate", was just one of the medium and small-scale projects developed by their teams.

    At this moment.

    Dream Dragon''s "Hero''s Mate" game development department.

    Game Director Cheng Feifan was banging the table: "The game is about to undergo internal testing soon, and yet you''re telling me the theme music for the fifth level isn''t ready yet?"

    "We''re rushing them..."

    The subordinate in charge of the music part spoke with a face full of shame, "Who knew they''d be so unreliable, I thought after all they are a branch of Starlight Entertainment in Qin Continent, their standards shouldn''t be too bad. I will definitely settle the score with them."

    "Idiots!"

    Cheng Feifan''s anger didn''t diminish, "You decided to cooperate with them without conducting a proper investigation beforehand, did you pick them because they were cheaper, how much kickback did you take?"

    "None!"

    Hearing these words, the music lead''s face turned white, he stammered, "Director, I truly did not. They were very confident during the initial discussions, we had even added a clause for penalties in case of breaching the contract, if they can''t produce work to our requirements, we can claim compensation, seeing them sign such a hefty breach penalty, I thought they could do it!"

    Cheng Feifan felt a headache, "Dream Dragon is such a large company, do we really need their breach penalty!"

    To Cheng Feifan''s right.

    The deputy director also frowned and said, "Don''t cooperate with this company again in the future, put them on the blacklist!"

    "Understood!"

    The music lead kept nodding, then gritted his teeth and said, "I''ll press them now, if they can''t give a satisfactory answer today, I''ll cancel this cooperation and make them compensate for our losses!"

    Cheng Feifan didn''t say anything.

    The music lead dials a number, just about to blow his top, but his face suddenly changes, "The new composition is already sent over? Don''t blame me for being blunt, if it still doesn''t work this time, we will cancel our agreement, besides I will let the whole industry know how bad your company''s performance is!"

    After saying that, the music lead angrily hung up the phone.

    He then turned to look at Cheng Feifan again.

    He resumed his humble manner, "Director, they''ve sent over another piece, I''ll listen to it right now..."

    "Play it aloud."

    Cheng Feifan said coldly.

    The music lead was as silent as a cicada in winter, resignedly nodded his head, opened his email, and saw Starlight Music''s new work.

    The title is "Laughter in Jianghu".

    If this song doesn''t pass, he''s going to have a hard time today.

    Taking into account the songs sent by Starlight Music previously, the music lead suddenly felt...

    Today, his odds don''t look good.

    "What are you dilly-dallying for?"

    Cheng Feifan''s murderous gaze swept over.

    The music lead shivered as he clicked the play button.

    Cheng Feifan said displeasedly, "Do you want me to listen to the drone of mosquitoes with this volume!"

    The music lead clumsily turned the phone volume to maximum, and connected the phone to the conference room''s sound system, and inadvertently increased the volume there as well.

    Just as the prelude finished.

    When the music lead suddenly turned up the volume to its maximum, coupled with the excellent acoustics of the sound system, the first few lines of "Laughter in Jianghu" rang out like a thunderclap:

    "Laughter in Jianghu, grudges are resolved!"

    "Men duel, smiles hide blades!"

    "Worldly Laughter, laughs at loneliness!"

    "Heart too high, unattainable..."

    The sudden increase in volume startled everyone present, their eardrums buzzing.

    "Idiot!"

    The deputy director''s heart rate accelerated from the shock, he was about to scold the music lead when he was stunned to see Cheng Feifan standing up.

    "I''ll just¡­"

    The music lead fumbled for the volume button.

    But Cheng Feifan abruptly said, "Don''t move."

    The music lead was immediately scared into immobility, the song was being played on a repeating loop through the loudspeaker:

    "Moonlight shines, road is long."

    "People grow old, hearts remain young."

    "Can''t love enough, can''t let go."

    "Can''t forget, your goodness."

    Cheng Feifan had his eyes slightly closed.

    As the simple lyrics flowed, the image of a young man wandering the world with his sword seemed to emerge in front of him.

    Grudges and fairness.

    Pleasantness disguising malice. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The young man eventually goes with the wind, stirring up the bloody storm and becoming a figure feared by everyone in the world.

    Later.

    He met a girl.

    The girl looked too much like his deceased childhood sweetheart.

    He fell in love with her, but she left him, because the girl didn''t want to be anyone else''s substitute.

    The young man searched for her for decades, roamed the world, traversed mountains and rivers, yet he still couldn''t forget the girl''s goodness. At this time, he had already become a well-known hero among the people, but no one could see the loneliness in his eyes.

    Who exactly is the one he loves?

    He knows it clearer than anyone else!

    No one can be replaced by anyone else. A true heart can only have one place, I love you, not because you resemble her...

    At this moment.

    Not only Cheng Feifan.

    Everyone in the room, who were initially startled by the volume of the song, were gradually drawn in by it. Their expressions gradually changed, whether it was the lyrics or the melody, this song was a perfect match for the game''s story!

    Especially when the following lyrics rang out:

    "Such as flowers are not flowers, mist is not mist, the endless river cannot be retained, a body full of heroic aspirations and iron-like determination, it turns out that heroes are lonely..."

    Cheng Feifan suddenly opened his eyes!

    Flowers are not flowers...

    Mist is not mist¡­

    If this endless river can''t be retained, then no matter where in the world, no matter how many years, I''m going to find you and tell you:

    I love you not because you are like someone, but because you are you.

    This story comes from Cheng Feifan.

    Coming from his dream of a wandering world he had when he was young, and some private experiences that are not worth telling to the outsiders.

    After developing the game "Hero''s Mate", Cheng Feifan didn''t have a sense of achievement in realizing his dream.

    But after hearing this song, Cheng Feifan suddenly felt, this story, was finally complete.

    "Laughter in Jianghu, loves freedom."

    "Guitar or flute, pour the wine."

    "Laugh at the sky, forgetting everything."

    "Casual like the wind, light and floating..."

    When the young man returns, his temples are already gray, but she still looks as youthful as ever, leaning on each other like a picture.

    Cheng Feifan suddenly felt a prickling sensation in his eyes.

    At first listen, I did not understand the meaning of the music, but at second listen, I became a person in the song.

    When the singing gradually faded.

    Everyone''s hearts moved slightly along with the resonating eardrums. When everyone realized that Cheng Feifan''s eyes were red, they couldn''t help but surround him:

    "Director, are you alright?"

    Cheng Feifan waved his hand and said, "This one is it, what''s the name of the song?"

    The music lead nodded vigorously, "Laughter in Jianghu!"

    Compared to the emotions of other people just listening to the song, he, with his professional ability, had already appreciated the high technical quality of the song.

    "What a ''Laughter in Jianghu''..."

    Cheng Feifan''s expression was complicated, just as he was about to leave the room he suddenly stopped, "Continue collaborating with this company in the future, and make sure to thank the lyricist and the composer of the song for me when the official handover occurs."

 Chapter 152 - 145 Lin Yuans Persistence_1

    The next day.

    All the songwriters at Starlight Entertainment opened the company''s main group chat, the first message they saw was from Gu Qiangyun:

    "Congratulations to Mr. Lin on the successful deal!"

    Even though everyone felt that this deal was secured after hearing "Rivers and Lakes Laugh", they were still somewhat shocked by the message before them.

    "It''s done just like that?"

    "No modifications needed?"

    "Isn''t it usual to have some kind of modification request?"

    "Mr. Lin is just too awesome."

    "Salute to the big shot!"

    "Offering up my knee to the great one!"

    "..."

    Under normal circumstances, even if the client is satisfied with the song, they will put forward some modification suggestions to make it better suited to their game.

    Only when they are completely satisfied will they choose to use it directly without any modifications.

    Obviously.

    "Rivers and Lakes Laugh" is a perfect fit and doesn''t need any modifications at all.

    By the way.

    Does the client know how long it took Mr. Lin to create this song?

    If they knew, their faces must''ve been quite a sight to behold, right?

    Well, maybe not.

    At first, everyone was taken aback.

    But after some careful thought, someone guessed that the reason why Lin Yuan was able to complete this martial arts game''s order so quickly was because he had a backlog of unpublished works.

    Among the works he had accumulated, there was probably a song like "Rivers and Lakes Laugh".

    The song just happened to meet the client''s demands.

    So he didn''t have to compose at all, just needed to make some slight modifications to complete such a song...

    This would explain the seemingly miraculous scene in everyone''s eyes.

    The coincidence is indeed striking.

    However, compared with the idea that Lin Yuan had written "Rivers and Lakes Laugh" in such a short time, everyone found this speculation more plausible.

    How can a normal person compose a song so quickly?

    Of course, no one would question Mr. Lin''s specific reasons.

    Lin Yuan was clearly a formidable character, as if these four words were written on his face:

    I''m quite aloof.

    So, without knowing him well, people didn''t have the courage to initiate a conversation, especially considering that he was so young and already held an ace position in the field of music composition.

    However.

    Everyone thinks back to yesterday when Gu Dong asked Mr. Lin in the group chat about his preferred music style, and he actually answered:

    "Expensive ones."

    Thinking about it today, everyone still finds the situation a bit strange.

    What do you mean by expensive?

    You only excel at the expensive ones?

    Lil Goodoong asked you about the style, why are you thinking about the price?

    Is this the confidence of a big shot?

    Confident to master any style?

    Of course, people wouldn''t take him seriously.

    There are so many styles of music, it''s impossible for anyone to be proficient in all of them.

    But one thing is certain, Mr. Lin is indeed quite prideful, it can be said that he has a great deal of courage due to his skill.

    What everyone fears, however, isn''t Lin Yuan''s arrogance.

    What they are afraid of is Lin Yuan not having the ability.

    If one has the ability, even if they act arrogant within the company, everyone can accept it.

    It''s time to go get some more orders.

    Previously, the songwriting department was always a bit restrained when taking orders because they were afraid they couldn''t deliver, but now that they have Mr. Lin, everyone is more confident.

    Some people are not even going out with the thought of getting their own orders.

    This time, they are completely pulling orders for Lin Yuan.

    Obviously, this process won''t be smooth, after all, Starlight Music''s reputation in Qi Continent really isn''t that great.

    ...

    Lin Yuan thought he would have to take a taxi to the company, but he was surprised to find that Gu Dong was waiting to pick him up early in the morning.

    "Thank you."

    Lin Yuan said as soon as he got in the car.

    Gu Dong''s feelings towards Lin Yuan were completely different now. However, his enthusiasm remained the same: "It''s not convenient for you to take a taxi all the way from here to the office. It''s my job to assist you. Of course, I will be picking you up and dropping you off."

    Lin Yuan asked: "What about your previous works?"

    Gu Dong laughed: "I used to be the manager''s assistant, but the company can''t afford any extra assistants. So, now that I am your assistant, he has to manage his own affairs. Anyway, the company''s business isn''t too busy, he can handle it."

    Lin Yuan understood.

    Upon arriving at the company.

    He went upstairs and knocked on Gu Qiangyun''s door: "Could you please send me details about the company''s singers? We need to prepare for the song recording."

    Gu Qiangyun was taken aback: "Which singers? We don''t have any singers in our company."

    Lin Yuan was also startled.

    The branch company doesn''t have any singers?

    Does this mean that once the song is sold, it has nothing to do with the company?

    Seeing Lin Yuan''s expression, Gu Qiangyun probably guessed what was going on, and laughed bitterly: "Managing artists falls under artist management, we do not have the resources for that. You''re probably used to the ways of the headquarters."

    Lin Yuan frowned slightly.

    Truth be told, he didn''t like leaving the production of the songs entirely to someone else.

    Although, this song is provided by the system, and the money he gets from selling it is the same. Even if Lin Yuan participates in the recording process, he won''t get any extra money. But Lin Yuan has this type of compulsion-

    He''s always worried that others will ruin these songs.

    So he is very resistent to this kind of thing.

    No matter how you look at it, if these songs are wasted because of him, Lin Yuan would feel guilty.

    After all, in another world, these songs were the hard work of others.

    That''s why he usually participates in the song recording process when he was in Qin Continent.

    It''s only under some special circumstances that he hands it over to others.

    But he won''t be staying in Qi Continent for long. It''s too late to train a group of singers for the branch company.

    Gu Qiangyun started to get nervous.

    He felt that Lin Yuan was not too pleased.

    He can figure out something for other things but for this, he was really out of ideas.

    He doesn''t have the extra money to engage in the singers'' business.

    Lin Yuan understood Gu Qiangyun''s difficulties, so he said: "It''ll be fine this time, after all, you guys are following the contract. But before signing the contract in the future, please let the client know in advance that I have the final say in the recording of the song and the selection of the singers."

    What!

    What the heck are you up to?

    You''re directly challenging the client?

    Gu Qiangyun felt his world collapsing: "Mr. Lin, there''s no such rule. The situation is, when signing contracts, it''s usually the client who puts forward their demands. We have no right to put forward conditions, the client is the boss, our job is to produce the songs¡­"

    Lin Yuan looked at Gu Qiangyun.

    Gu Qiangyun quickly corrected himself: "Of course I don''t mean that we are the sons of the client. Even if we are, you definitely aren''t. But considering the market situation in Qi Continent, we really don''t have the right to dictate terms to the client. If they don''t make things difficult for us, we should be grateful already!"

    "Then we won''t sign."

    Lin Yuan did not intend to compromise.

    Even if the client asked Lin Yuan to change the song, he would consider it as long as it''s a reasonable request.

    Once the contract is signed, he should fulfil his obligations.

    But to just give away the song, and not know how these songs will be treated afterwards, Lin Yuan cannot accept that.

    "Mr. Lin."

    Gu Qiangyun tried to persuade him, "Please make allowances. Qi Continent and Qin Continent are not the same after all, we have our own rules here¡­" Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Please do as I said."

    Lin Yuan nodded slightly and returned to his office.

 Chapter 153 - 146 Dilemma_1

    Lin Yuan was not one who easily mingled with people, and although he frequented the company over the days, the only people he knew well were still Gu Qiangyun and his daughter.

    However, he quickly familiarized himself with the surrounding environment.

    He tried all the nearby restaurants in rotation.

    It was different from Qin Continent.

    The food here was not spicy, and the locals had a penchant for adding sugar to their dishes.

    Lin Yuan preferred rich flavors, so he didn''t quite get used to the food here, but he was able to find food he liked, so it was edible.

    What''s worth mentioning is,

    The pastries here were surprisingly good. Sometimes before ending work, Lin Yuan would buy some to take home.

    At this time, the start of a new term at Qi Art was approaching.

    Three days prior to the opening of Qi Art, the company finally got a lead on a new order!

    The speed was fast.

    Normally, it would take one to two months for the company to secure an order.

    This lead was secured by Gu Dong.

    However, the credit for securing this order didn''t really go to the company, but to Xian Yu.

    The prospective client was initially unwilling to cooperate with Starlight Music.

    Gu Dong finally mentioned Xian Yu, stating that he was a top-notch composer sent from the head office in Qin Continent who could compose a theme song for them, only then did the client show interest!

    The company took this matter very seriously.

    When the client came to the company to discuss cooperation, Mr. Gu, as the manager of the branch, personally greeted them.

    "Your company is worse off than I imagined."

    The person in charge of the client company looked at the ordinary-looking building and commented upon getting out of the car.

    This time the client was a film company. They had made a movie and needed a theme song.

    "Haha."

    Gu Qiangyun embarrassedly smiled, "What matters are the talents. Our company is full of talents, especially our spokesperson, Teacher Admirable Fish, who is a musical genius from the Land of Music. It took us a long time pleading with the head office in Qin Continent to finally convince them to let him come here!"

    The client''s person in charge nonchalantly said, "If it weren''t for this Xian Yu, I wouldn''t have come to your company. The song ''Big Fish'' isn''t bad."

    "Yes, yes, yes."

    Gu Qiangyun was used to the client''s attitude.

    After they entered, he and Gu Dong led the client into the reception office.

    The client, drinking tea prepared by Gu Dong, laid out their requirements, "I''ll state our requirements. We need a song themed on urban romance¡­"

    The client''s demands were very specific, which took quite a while to explain.

    Gu Qiangyun was all ears.

    After the client finished explaining, Gu Qiangyun rubbed his hands and began, "The situation is like this¡­"

    "I understand."

    The client''s representative said, "Is it the price? If we''re satisfied, we can increase it."

    "That''s not what we mean¡­"

    Gu Qiangyun hesitated, "Our Teacher Admirable Fish has a requirement when writing songs. He has to decide who sings and produces the song after it''s written."

    The room went silent for about ten seconds.

    Gu Dong widened her eyes. She had no idea about this!

    After ten seconds,

    The client''s representative stared at Gu Qiangyun, "Is Mr. Gu serious?"

    "Yes."

    Gu Qiangyun helplessly.

    He, of course, knew that this order was highly desirable. However, he had approached Lin Yuan several times in the past few days and Lin Yuan remained unyielding on this matter. Hence, he could only discuss it with the client with difficulty.

    Before they sat down to formally discuss the order, he hadn''t dared to mention this.

    "The company isn''t big, but it has big demands."

    The client''s representative stood up, "I''m sorry for the inconvenience. I''ll take my leave."

    Gu Qiangyun was anxious, "Please reconsider. The singer and producer for the song ''Big Fish'' was also chosen by our Teacher Admirable Fish..."

    "Being involved in the production is one thing, but we''ve already chosen the singer. Are you saying we can''t sing unless you give us the green light?"

    The person from the client side spoke irritably.

    Gu Qiangyun hurriedly said, "Teacher Admirable Fish is very professional!"

    The client''s representative glared at Gu Qiangyun, "Our company also has a professional music department. Are you implying they''re not professional?""

    "That''s not what I meant¡­"

    "In any case, we won''t accept such a condition. I believe not many clients in Qi Continent will accept such a requirement. If we didn''t know better, we''d think you''re the client."

    The client''s representative left with his team angrily.

    As they left, they grumbled, "Such impudence from a contractor, I''ve never seen it. Who do you think you are!"

    "My apologies, my apologies¡­"

    Gu Qiangyun''s expression fell after seeing off the client.

    Gu Dong, who was standing by, looked at Gu Qiangyun, "Is this true? Mr. Lin¡­"

    "It''s true."

    Gu Qiangyun let out a sigh.

    Gu Dong helplessly suggested, "It''s a shame to lose such a promising lead. Maybe try talking to Lin Yuan again?"

    Gu Qiangyun shook his head, "There have been too many talks; if we continue, he might get annoyed."

    "I see."

    Gu Dong gritted her teeth and said, "I believe someone will agree sooner or later. I''ll go secure more leads. The endorsement of Teacher Admirable Fish is very effective!"

    "..."

    Gu Qiangyun remained silent.

    He knew how troublesome this matter was.

    How could the clients of Qi Continent, who are used to being in control, possibly accept being dictated by a composer when buying a song? Xian Yu''s reputation was not so formidable yet.

    The attitude of the client just now could be counted as decent.

    If they had met a client with a worse temper, they might have been berated on the spot.

    Gu Dong consoled, "Don''t worry, it''s just that these clients don''t know what''s good for them. The order from Dream Dragon worked out, right? They even especially thanked Mr. Lin in the end. I''m leaving now, I''ll be back with some good news."

    With that, Gu Dong left.

    Gu Qiangyun looked bitter.

    When it came to individuality, Representative Lin was just as strong-willed as Maestro Yang Zhongming, who would occasionally take orders in Qi Continent.

    This matter quickly spread within the company. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Everyone was stunned when they heard Lin Yuan''s demands.

    "Is this true?"

    "Mr. Lin wants the clients to relinquish their influence on the choice of singer and the production of the song?"

    "Would any client agree to this?""

    "I''ve been working on a new prospective order these past two days. I suppose even if I secure it, the client probably won''t agree to Lin Yuan''s demand, right?""

    "It''s too difficult.""

    "I doubt there are any clients in Qi Continent who would agree to this condition, although I can understand Lin Yuan''s demand. Who would want others to determine what their hard-worked song should sound like?""

    "Qi Continent is a territory of the clients."

    "Do you remember the order I finished last year? It was clearly a song suited for male vocals, but they insisted on having a female singer. I was utterly frustrated at that time. They even blamed me for the song not being to their liking. How could a female singer bring out the advantages of that song!"

    "..."

    Everyone either complained or grumbled, eventually all sighing in resignation.

    "What can we do? Keep looking for more orders."

    At this moment, everyone felt the weight of their responsibilities.

 Chapter 154 - 147 A Command Summons 100,000 Art Students to Come_1

    The next day, at Qin Continent.

    The semester start at Qin Art is one day earlier than at the Qi Continent. Many vehicles are parked at the front gate, mainly to send the new freshmen to school. Among them, two girls come out from a red sedan.

    "We''re here."

    The girl on the left is Lin Xuan. She opens the trunk and takes out her younger sister Lin Yao''s luggage, "Are you sure you want to live on campus? Our place is quite close to the school. It would be convenient for me to take care of you."

    "There are evening study sessions for the first year."

    Lin Yao replies, "It''s more convenient to live on campus."

    Lin Xuan chuckles, "Most students try to live off-campus to avoid evening study sessions of the first year. How come you''re doing the opposite? You''re in university now, you don''t have to put so much pressure on yourself to study."

    "I like studying."

    Lin Yao helps her sister with the luggage.

    Lin Xuan laughs, "If anyone else said that, I probably wouldn''t believe them. But it''s quite convincing coming from you. Then you can live on campus for your first year. In the second year, we can live off-campus. By then, your brother should be back."

    Lin Yao replies, "Okay."

    Lin Xuan casually states, "Your brother said he would take care of you previously, but now he''s nowhere to be found. You can only rely on Cloud City now. But being an exchange student is indeed a rare chance for development. You can consider it in your third year."

    Lin Yao replies, "Okay."

    Lin Xuan laughs again, she''s already used to Lin Yao''s personality. Among the three kids at home, Lin Yuan and Lin Yao are the most alike. Whether it''s their response to things or their views on certain matters, even their tastes are quite similar.

    The sisters drag their luggage.

    Upon arrival at the school gate, members of the Qin Art student council are in charge. Each incoming student needs to register their name. However, when Lin Yao states her name, the senior responsible for registration suddenly lifts his head:

    "Your name is Lin Yao?"

    Lin Yao replies, "Yes."

    The senior in charge of registration takes a closer look at Lin Yao''s information, confirming in a questioning tone: "You are Lin Yao from Class 1, Art Major, first year, 18 years old this year, coming from the direction of Cloud City, did I get it right...?"

    "Is there anything incorrect?"

    Lin Xuan casts a strange look at him.

    The senior chuckles and shakes his head, then suddenly turns to the crowd and shouts, "Brother Zhong, the person you are looking for is here, this is our student Lin Yao!"

    Lin Xuan and her sister look at each other, puzzled.

    A group of dozens of students suddenly emerge from afar, headed by Zhong Yu. He rushes towards Lin Yao with a smile on his face, "You are Lin Yuan''s sister, Lin Yao, right? He asked us to take care of you. We''ll help you with your luggage!"

    Lin Xuan: "....."

    Before she could react, the crowd had already divided the luggage between them. Zhong Yu then smiles, "I''ll take you to your dormitory. The school requires uniform bed covers for boarding students, one of the seniors will help you collect those later on."

    "Hello, Student Lin Yao."

    The Art majors greet her cordially.

    Lin Xuan is perplexed.

    With a beaming smile, Zhong Yu guides her while introducing the campus, "Our Qin Art is quite beautiful. There''s a small forest in the east, a large garden to the west, and an artificial lake to the north. Most of us are seniors from the Art major. Once you''ve settled into your classes, let me know. I''m familiar with most of the first-year advisors, so I can handle the introductions for you.

    If you have any needs or difficulties in daily life, don''t hesitate to tell me. We seniors can handle anything in this school."

    Lin Xuan: "....."

    She can sense Lin Yuan''s favoritism towards Lin Yao. This scenario feels familiar; it closely resembled the attitude of the chief editors towards her when she first joined Silver Blue Books!

    Wait, what?

    Is there a connection between these events?

    Lin Xuan wears a skeptical expression, unable to pinpoint the key factor. In contrast, Lin Yao remains calm throughout, a stark difference from her sister''s reaction when facing a similar situation; she seems to have expected all of this.

    Several students in the distance are watching the group of seniors fawning over a freshman girl, and they''re all wearing confused expressions. There''s no way they''re all attracted by the girl''s beauty. Females in the Art academy generally are quite good-looking, and there are many who are just as beautiful as Lin Yao. No one has seen anyone else receive such high class treatment before.

    And there are even a few senior girls among them.

    "..."

    Lin Xuan makes a long-distance call to Lin Yuan.

    Due to the time difference, Lin Yuan had gotten up not long ago. Upon receiving the call, he explains to his sister: "I know Zhong Yu, I asked him and his friends to look after Yao Yao. They''re not bad people, don''t worry about it."

    "I got it."

    Lin Xuan finally feels a little more at ease.

    At this time, Zhong Yu is still chatting with Lin Yao, his enthusiasm making it seem as if he has an ulterior motive: "Once you''ve settled in the dormitory, you can come visit our painting club. The GOAT is in our club, he''s quite an influential figure. Half of the club are his students!"

    Lin Yao asks, "GOAT?"

    Zhong Yu replies, "That''s your brother."

    Lin Yao nods thoughtfully.

    Zhong Yu exchanges glances with the people around him, they all share a knowing smile. This attitude is exactly the same as the GOAT''s. Now that the GOAT has gone to Qi Continent as an exchange student, seeing how similar his sister''s character is to his, they feel an unexpected sense of familiarity.

    What the hell?

    Only Lin Xuan cannot keep her composure anymore. Listening to their conversation, she suddenly feels she doesn''t really know Lin Yuan. It seems as if this naughty little brother is hiding something from her. Why does it seem like the entire Art Department is ready to mobilize at his command, turning into Lin Yao''s personal guards?

    Isn''t he a composition major?

    At this moment, Lin Xuan even imagines Lin Yuan smirking awkwardly. Although Lin Yuan will probably never show such a smile.

    Meanwhile, in the large teaching building of the Art Department.

    In the office of the chief professor, Kong An looks at the assistant in front of him with some surprise, "You''re saying that Lin Yuan''s sister is coming to the Qin Continent Art Academy this year, and has chosen our Art Department?"

    The assistant nods, "Yes."

    Kong An asks, "What''s her name?"

    The assistant answers, "Student Lin Yao."

    Kong An paces back and forth, then flashes a smile, "Although we couldn''t get Lin Yuan into the Art Department, his sister is coming here. He will have to pay more attention to our Art Department in the future, don''t you think?"

    The assistant: "....."

    Kong An says, "The highest level class for first-year advisors should be Class 1. You go arrange it and let Lin Yao join Class 1. I''ll speak with their advisors, this student is very important."

    The assistant nods.

    Kong An laughs, "If Lin Yao is as talented as her brother, I''ll teach her personally. It''s quite interesting that while her brother adamantly refused to join the Art Department, his sister applied to us directly. It seems Lin Yuan still has unfinished business with our Art Department." sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The assistant: "....."

    Obsession is indeed a terrifying thing.

 Chapter 155 - 148 Thunderbolt Entertainment_1

    Lin Yuan was not too familiar with the specifics of Qin Continent, and after he left the house, he didn''t head to the company. Instead, he called Gu Dong to help him pick up someone from the airport¡ª

    Jian Yi had arrived in Qi Continent.

    Classes at Qi Art were starting tomorrow. Jian Yi originally planned to register at the school, but Lin Yuan had already pondered this matter, so he suggested, "Why don''t you live with me? I have a spare room."

    Lin Yuan lived in a two-bedroom flat.

    He usually slept in the master bedroom, and the guest room was basically empty. Having Jian Yi there would be quite convenient. They would both only be staying here for an academic year. Since their colleges were quite far apart, seeing each other every day would be troublesome, so living together would give them both some company.

    "That sounds good, let''s do it."

    After thinking for a while, Jian Yi nodded. He and Lin Yuan were both exchange students who had come over in their third year of college. The thought of living in a dormitory with strangers felt odd to him, so he''d rather live with Lin Yuan, "I''ll have to let my family know later."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    On the ride home, Jian Yi and Gu Dong got to know each other a bit, although it was their first meeting, so they only exchanged a few simple words, and the conversation soon came back to Lin Yuan: "Are you settling in all right?"

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Jian Yi laughed, "As soon as I got off the plane, I started observing. Qi Continent is really different from Qin Continent. The architectural style is different, and the local people here communicate in Qi language. I think I need to learn some Qi language..."

    Lin Yuan stayed silent.

    He actually knew a little bit of Qi language. To be precise, he knew Cantonese, which was not too alien to him, though he didn''t speak it very fluently. He only knew enough to make the locals understand him.

    "The internet is different here too."

    Jian Yi took out his phone and browsed the internet, "I feel like while the internet is interconnected across the continents, the focus varies from continent to continent. We use a platform called Tribe back home, but over here in Qi Continent, something called ''blogging'' seems to be popular. Yet, they both seem to serve similar purposes."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Blue Star was made up of eight major continents, each of which was equivalent to several countries on Earth in terms of size. Though the world of Blue Star was under unified governance, the concept of ''countries'' did not exist. However, differences and competition between continents were everywhere. It was reminiscent of the disparities between different countries in Lin Yuan''s previous life.

    One major commonality amongst all the continents was that their official languages were all Mandarin.

    This was to be expected.

    Because the cultures and lifestyles were different in each continent, distinctions were quite apparent. It seemed like the officials in each continent had intentionally emphasized these distinctions. Though the internet was not segregated, there were some directional differences. If people did not actively seek to explore other continents, their understanding of each other would be quite limited.

    For example.

    When you search for Xian Yu in Qin Continent, various latest related news would pop up instantly in great detail. But when you do the same search in Qi Continent, you could only find very basic information, such as Xian Yu''s works. More detailed news wouldn''t be easy to come by.

    Lin Yuan couldn''t quite pinpoint the reason, but perhaps the underlying cause was still the competition between the continents.

    ...

    On the day after they settled in, Qi Art finally started. Lin Yuan and Jian Yi each went to their respective colleges to register. The college had a set of procedures specifically arranged for exchange students. Once all these procedures were taken care of, Lin Yuan was placed in Class 3 of the Composition Department, Year 3, at Qi Art.

    He wasn''t the only exchange student.

    Besides Lin Yuan, there were two other exchange students in the class. However, when the teacher introduced the three new exchange students in the class, Lin Yuan was obviously the most noticed and welcomed one. The biggest similarity between Qi Continent and Qin Continent, apart from the common official language, was that:

    Everyone judged by appearances.

    This phrase was probably applicable to the entire Blue Star, even the two new planets. Anyways, when the girls in the class saw Lin Yuan walk in, their eyes uniformly lit up. As a result, the applause Lin Yuan received during his welcome was particularly enthusiastic.

    After the routine self-introductions were over.

    Lin Yuan was assigned to a seat at the back of the class. His seatmate was a male student who, though not as enthusiastic as the girls, was still polite. He introduced himself in a soft voice:

    "Tang Ming."

    "Nice to meet you."

    Lin Yuan nodded, put down his backpack, and settled in. Boarding students just needed to bring their textbooks to class every day, so Lin Yuan, as a commuter, had to carry a small backpack every day. But it was the same back in Qin Continent, so he was used to it.

    There were no classes on the first day.

    The classes officially began only on the second day.

    Lin Yuan was initially worried that the courses in Qin Continent and Qi Continent would differ significantly. However, after carefully attending a few classes, he realized that there was not much difference in the progress of the courses in both regions. He didn''t fall behind in class because he was an exchange student, this was probably related to the universality of composition knowledge.

    He adapted over the following days.

    Lin Yuan was completely used to it by then.

    During Lin Yuan''s school days, Starlight Music continued to explore new single deals. In the process, they managed to attract two potential deals, but just like before, the two new potential clients walked away frustrated upon hearing Xian Yu''s demands.

    "This can''t continue."

    Gu Qiangyun sighed. The three recent deals that had fallen through were all collaborations intended to involve Xian Yu. All had fizzled out because of Xian Yu''s demands. When had clients in Qi Continent ever been easy to deal with?

    "Indeed, we can''t go on."

    The music composition department head said helplessly: "If we continue like this for the next few months, how long can our company survive? We need to find a way to change the situation. Should we consider lowering our prices?"

    "No."

    Gu Dong objected: "Have we forgotten what Mr. Lin said? If we accept low-price orders and have Mr. Lin work, what''s the point of us struggling to invite our ace? The biggest problem now is Qi Continent..."

    Gu Dong suddenly had a brainwave!

    She mumbled to herself: "We seem to be in a thought trap. We have always been seeking cooperation with small and medium-sized companies. Why not cooperate with large companies? Only large companies are suitable for Mr. Lin''s status."

    "Are you out of your mind?"

    The department head chuckled bitterly: "If we can''t even get small and medium-sized orders, do you still want to go after large companies'' orders? Do you think large companies would be easier to deal with? In fact, the clients of large companies would be even more demanding!"

    Gu Qiangyun also shook his head.

    To deal with large companies seemed more hopeless.

    Gu Dong''s eyes were flickering: "But this particular company...perhaps we could try. This may be our only hope. If we can''t cooperate with them, it will probably be hard for us to find better opportunities."

    "Which company?"

    "Thunderbolt Entertainment Company." Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Both Gu Qiangyun and the music composition department head stared wide-eyed at Gu Dong, thinking that she was daydreaming. Thunderbolt was one of the largest entertainment companies in Qi Continent. They would usually place their orders directly in Qin Continent and hardly work with local music companies!

    "You guys forgot."

    Gu Dong smiled: "Thunderbolt Entertainment has previously cooperated with Teacher Admirable Fish, and it''s not difficult to guess that they were extremely satisfied with the results."

    "You mean!"

    Gu Qiangyun suddenly understood.

    Indeed, the clients from Qi Continent are difficult to please, but the animation film "Dragon Fish Dance" they previously launched was a perfect collaboration project with an impression song composed by Xian Yu¡ª

    "You mean ''Big Fish''!"

    The music composition department head finally caught on too, his emotions in turmoil: "Would Thunderbolt Entertainment be willing? I never even dared to dream about such big companies before. Under normal circumstances, they wouldn''t look at us favorably."

    "We have the key to open the door now."

    Gu Dong suddenly stood up: "I don''t believe I can''t open the doors of Thunderbolt Entertainment this time. They have always liked working with people from the Land of Music. Now that people from the Land of Music are right under their noses, it would be unreasonable for Thunderbolt to directly push us away!"

 Chapter 156 - 149 Cooperation Intent Achieved_1

    Gu Dong is a woman of action. As soon as she came up with a plan, she drove directly to Thunderbolt Entertainment, whose headquarters was located in Yi Cheng - the largest city in Qi Continent.

    She parked her car.

    Taking a deep breath, Gu Dong marched straight into the company''s lobby. However, she was promptly stopped by the receptionist, a polite young woman who asked, "Excuse me, madam, did you have an appointment scheduled prior to your visit?"

    "No."

    Gu Dong, of course, was fully aware that appointments or employee badges were required to enter such big companies. "I am a representative from Starlight Music. We are seeking a potential cooperation with your company. Could you possibly help me contact someone from your Music Department?"

    "Starlight Music?"

    The receptionist seemed a little perplexed.

    Gu Dong hurriedly explained, "Our current representative is Teacher Admirable Fish. He composed the theme song for a film previously released by your company, ''Dragon Fish Dance''..."

    "Please wait."

    With that said, the receptionist nodded her head, turned and made a phone call. After whispering a few sentences, she turned back to Gu Dong: "Please follow Little Wang, he''ll guide you to the Music Department on the eighth floor."

    Gu Dong felt a surge of exhilaration!

    Had the company not been interested, she would have been sent away at the front desk. There was absolutely no need for them to let her upstairs. Teacher Admirable Fish''s reputation indeed had some pull at Thunderbolt Entertainment!

    Five minutes later.

    In the guest room on the eighth floor, Gu Dong met with a representative of Thunderbolt Entertainment. He smiled and introduced himself, "I''m Fan Longhe, the deputy director of Thunderbolt Music. Has Teacher Admirable Fish arrived in Qi Continent already, serving as a representative of Starlight subsidiary?"

    "Deputy Director Fan, hello!"

    Gu Dong nervously greeted back, "Indeed, Teacher Admirable Fish is currently the representative at our subsidiary. We were interested in inquiring whether there would be any opportunities for collaboration between us, considering Teacher Admirable Fish has previously worked once with your esteemed company."

    "Absolutely."

    As the assistant director of the company''s Music Department, Fan Longhe was well aware of who Teacher Admirable Fish was. While he was not too concerned with Starlight''s subsidiary, he did indeed view Admirable Fish importantly, "We were very satisfied with the song ''Big Fish''!"

    "So shall we?"

    Having no previous experience working with big companies like Thunderbolt Entertainment, Gu Dong was taken aback by the speed of their agreement. A little baffled, she asked in confusion, "How do we go about collaborating then?"

    "Just a moment."

    Fan Longhe called over one of his subordinates and after inquiring about a few specifics, he turned to Gu Dong with a smile, "Our company is currently working on a new series, a drama you may have heard of, it''s titled ''Me and You''. The male lead actor is..."

    "Tan Kai!"

    Gu Dong replied instantly.

    The promotion for this drama was very extensive, with leading actor Tan Kai being one of Qi Continent''s top actors. As someone who pays close attention to entertainment news, Gu Dong was well aware of this. "But isn''t this drama about to be aired soon? Shouldn''t the songs and all have been finalized by now?"

    "Indeed they have."

    Fan Longhe offered a slight smile, "But I don''t like the theme song of this drama. If Teacher Admirable Fish can create a better piece, I am willing to replace the current theme song. After all, we have already purchased the rights to it, whether we choose to use it or not is up to us."

    Gu Dong was left with her mouth agape.

    Teacher Admirable Fish''s reputation was even greater than she had imagined. Thunderbolt Entertainment was willing to replace the song at the last minute for him, an unheard-of prospect. Of course, this is dependent on Mr. Lin creating a better song, which she was certain wasn''t a challenge for him.

    What was challenging, however...

    With a hint of embarrassment, Gu Dong continued, "We of course will accept this request. However, Teacher Admirable Fish has a request of his own. He wishes to select the singer for this song himself and also wishes to be involved in the final recording of the song."

    Fan Longhe froze.

    After a minute of silence, just when Gu Dong thought Fan Longhe was about to lose his temper, he broke into a smile, "I have been working in Qi Continent for many years now and this is the first time I have heard such a request. However, as a fellow from Qin Continent, I can understand Teacher Admirable Fish''s request..."

    "You''re from Qin Continent?"

    Gu Dong looked at Fan Longhe in surprise.

    Fan Longhe shrugged, "Born and raised in Qin Continent, I just moved to Qi Continent for work. Therefore, probably only a fellow Qin Continent resident like me, who keeps a keen eye on our home province and its affairs, would dare to accept your request.

    I am quite familiar with Teacher Admirable Fish''s work, and I am particularly fond of the excellent song ''Big Fish'' that he has created for our company."

    "So you..."

    "Yes, I agree."

    Overwhelmed with joy, Gu Dong stood up to bow repeatedly to him, but Fan Longhe gestured for her to stop, "Although I have agreed, I need you to understand that if the song does not meet our requirements, we won''t be able to accept it."

    "Understood, understood!"

    It was completely normal and fair for the client to have quality requirements for the song, "Thank you for choosing our company. Please give me the detailed requirements for the song, and I will inform Teacher Admirable Fish immediately!"

    "One more thing,"

    Fan Longhe continued, "Since the TV drama is scheduled for broadcast next month, Teacher Admirable Fish will only have a month to work on the song. Please make sure to inform him of this. Of course, you can also refuse."

    "You mean, just one month?"

    Gu Dong''s excitement plummeted. With such a tight deadline, how could they create a top quality song?

    However, thinking about how hard she had worked to secure an intention for this job, she clenched her teeth and did not refuse outright, "I will relay the message. I''ll be in touch."

    "Sure."

    Fan Longhe requested a document from his subordinate and passed it to Gu Dong, "This contains the detailed requirements for the composition of the song. If Teacher Admirable Fish feels the time is insufficient, we can cancel this collaboration. No worries, we would still love to work with you folks in the future should there be opportunities."

    "Okay..."

    With that said, Gu Dong felt a bit relieved. It was clear that they valued Teacher Admirable Fish''s capabilities highly. There was a high probability that nothing would come out of this partnership, but there remained the potential for future opportunities. "Then I should get going?"

    "Goodbye, I''ll escort you out."

    "No, no need." S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Gu Dong waved her hand in fast dismissal but Fan Longhe still accompanied her to the elevator. After seeing Gu Dong off, Fan Longhe hesitated for a moment before dialing a number on his mobile, "Call the music department for a small meeting."

    Ten minutes later.

    Many staff members from Thunderbolt Entertainment''s Music Department gathered in a conference room. Fan Longhe glanced at everyone and said,"Hold off on submitting the theme song for ''Me and You''. I managed to contact Teacher Admirable Fish today."

    "Admirable Fish?"

    "Dragon Fish Dance?"

    "The author of ''Big Fish''?"

    Several of the department''s staff members were taken aback by the news. Understanding dawned on them all at once, and they fell silent, keeping their heads down and avoiding eye contact with Fan Longhe.

    Footsteps were heard from outside the door.

    Everyone''s heart skipped a beat.

    A woman''s voice filled with dominance and assertiveness echoed through the room, "The theme song for ''Me and You'' has been decided by me long ago. Do we have a problem here, Deputy Director Fan, with the decision made by me, the main director?"

 Chapter 157 - 150: Workplace Competition_1

    The workplace is a complex microcosm, where expecting harmonious relations between each department is a bit unrealistic. For example, in the music department of Thunderbolt Music, Manager Luo Qi and Deputy Manager Fan Longhe, represent two different voices.

    In other words...

    These two don''t get along.

    Today''s scene is just a microcosm of the ongoing power struggle between the two managers. The employees of the music department are used to such conflicts.

    That''s why everyone remained silent when Fan Longhe just proposed to replace the theme song of "Me and You".

    When immortals fight, it''s the mortals who suffer. It''s better to keep out of it.

    After all, this is a song decided by the manager in advance. The basic tone has been set. But Fan Longhe, as the deputy manager, wants to overturn it.

    What signal is this?

    This is obviously a declaration of war.

    Openly saying that Fan Longhe despises your choice of theme song, Luo Qi!

    "Manager Luo."

    Fan Longhe smiled faintly: "I feel the quality of the theme song of ''Me and You'' is not good enough. If we encounter more suitable works, we can replace it. After all, we all want this drama to be better."

    "Really?"

    Luo Qi raised an eyebrow: "Don''t forget that this drama is about to be officially broadcasted in about a month. The company won''t delay the broadcast time for a song. And I don''t think there''s any problem with the current song. Now, you think there''s a problem with my taste."

    "You have misunderstood, but let''s not jump to conclusions too soon."

    Fan Longhe said, "If someone can create a better song within a month, why can''t we change it?"

    Luo Qi asked: "Who are you looking for?"

    Fan Longhe responded: "Teacher Admirable Fish."

    Luo Qi was not completely unfamiliar with this name: "The creator of ''Big Fish'', but don''t you think a month is too short? Moreover, even if we call Mu Ying to sing again, she may not necessarily agree."

    "It might not be Mu Ying."

    Fan Longhe shook his head: "Teacher Admirable Fish will choose the singer himself. Of course, I will limit the scope of this choice within the company. He will also participate in the recording process personally, as he is currently in Qi Continent."

    The meeting room suddenly became lively.

    Does Admirable Fish really have such a demand?

    Luo Qi stared at Fan Longhe with slight exaggeration: "Who gave Admirable Fish such authority?"

    Fan Longhe remained silent.

    He also acknowledged that Admirable Fish''s request was somewhat unruly, but it was this unruliness that increased Fan Longhe''s expectations of Admirable Fish.

    "Deputy Manager Fan."

    Luo Qi casually said: "Are you crazy or am I? Now you not only want to change Mu Ying''s song, but you also plan not to let Mu Ying participate in the recording of the new song. She, as a top female singer in Qi Continent, would have worked for nothing in the past?"

    "How did she work for nothing? Isn''t that song still ours? Just find an opportunity to release it in the future."

    After thinking about it, Fan Longhe added: "Of course, I will also try my best to let Mu Ying sing the new song. After all, Mu Ying''s vocal conditions are excellent. If Admirable Fish insists on choosing someone else, then I really can''t help it."

    "I disagree."

    Luo Qi coldly stated.

    Fan Longhe insisted: "Teacher Admirable Fish has a very strong creative ability. Although a month''s time is somewhat short, he might be able to write a better song than the current one. I have great confidence in him!"

    "What confidence?"

    Luo Qi lightly smiled: "I have a feeling you just want to overthrow my song and prove that my previous choices as a manager were wrong. Since you have so much confidence in Admirable Fish, would you dare to take responsibility for this?"

    Everyone''s heart skipped a beat.

    The juicy part was finally coming.

    Now it''s no longer about the issue of changing songs, but a clash between the manager and deputy manager in the workplace.

    Whoever''s song is selected by the company in the end will take the upper hand. This has always been the fiercest battlefield between the manager and the deputy manager.

    And obviously, Luo Qi is now taking the advantage.

    Because Fan Longhe''s side is full of unknowns!

    Who knows if Admirable Fish can do it?

    And let''s not forget, it''s only a month!

    Fan Longhe''s expression changed a bit, as he really didn''t know if Admirable Fish could write a better song.

    After all, the originally decided theme song wasn''t particularly bad.

    After all, it was meticulously chosen by Thunderbolt.

    But Fan Longhe just thought that it could be improved.

    He hadn''t planned to start a war with Luo Qi today, but apparently, everyone thought he did. Had he initiated a happy charge?

    In today''s meeting, he just wanted to remind everyone not to rush into choosing the songs. Yet Luo Qi suddenly appeared out of nowhere and made him the center of attention. Now he could not even decline the battle.

    He then realized that his impromptu actions indeed seemed like an act of provocation.

    Because today, just hearing Admirable Fish''s name somehow boosted his confidence, making him hastily call for this meeting. But Luo Qi caught him there, and he couldn''t even explain why he had such confidence in Admirable Fish. Was it because his buddies from Qin Continent had been touting Admirable Fish so much that it got to him?

    Should he back down first?

    Should he just say he was observing the situation?

    If he did that today, his prestige would be lost, and there would be no use ever trying to challenge Luo Qi again. Where do you see someone who challenges and then backs down?

    After a long silence, he finally said, "If Teacher Admirable Fish cannot produce better songs, I''ll go with your decisions on the music roles for the rest of this year''s three TV dramas."

    "It''s your word!"

    Luo Qi was overjoyed.

    Fan Longhe was the only one in the music department who could dissent with Luo Qi. Their constant disputes were precisely for these stakes, weren''t they?

    "Yes, I just said it."

    Fan Longhe looked up at Luo Qi: "But if Ade Admirable Fish''s songs are better, what would Director Luo say?"

    "What does it have to do with me?"

    Luo Qi wouldn''t fall for this trick: "You''re the one who wanted to change songs and gave Admirable Fish the right to mess around, I''m the one whose judgment you are questioning¡­"

    Fan Longhe stared at her.

    Knowing that she had to give in a little, Luo Qi could only snort, "If Admirable Fish can produce a good song, the decision on the next drama is yours."

    "Let''s settle on this then."

    Fan Longhe didn''t argue any further. His impulsive actions indeed got the best of him today. He should have waited for a definitive response from Admirable Fish.

    But he couldn''t.

    If he didn''t call this meeting and the company decided on the songs, it would be too late for him to bring up changing songs.

    This was why Fan Longhe disliked Luo Qi.

    Luo Qi prioritized her own interests and always played safe at work.

    While he put the company''s interests first and strived to achieve the best in every task.

    Of course,

    Fan Longhe was not that noble.

    He admitted, he had selfish motives too.

    All his efforts were to impress the company.

    If he couldn''t perform better than Luo Qi, he would forever be her assistant.

    So, many times, he had to take risks and be aggressive to outshine Luo Qi and grab opportunities to prove himself.

    But this time¡­

    He was too eager.

    That''s why he was caught off guard by Luo Qi today.

    Now he could only gamble! S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Gamble that Admirable Fish could write a theme song within a month that would surpass the current one!

    The question is...

    Would Admirable Fish agree to take on such a challenging task? That was the unknown factor.

    Not to mention whether he could even write a better piece than the current theme song.

    If it didn''t work, his ambition of getting promoted would be thwarted for at least the following two years.

    Previously, it was his keen eye for music that allowed him to compete with Luo Qi as a mere assistant.

    This is really playing against the big boys.

 Chapter 158 - 151: Hell-Level Difficulty_1

    "As soon as Gu Dong returned to his office, he swiftly headed to Lin Yuan''s office, unable to tell whether his expression was one of elation or worry: "Mr. Lin, there''s a new contract today. They''re willing to allow you to select the singer and participate in the recording."

    "Oh."

    Lin Yuan''s response was as project calm as usual, because he was more concerned with the real question: "How much money?"

    Gu Dong was taken aback.

    He pulled out the file that the other party had given him and stuttered, "The price hasn''t been formally discussed because I think the difficulty of this contract is quite high. They''re only giving us a month to create¡­"

    The phone rang at that moment.

    Gu Dong placed the contract on the table, somewhat embarrassed: "I need to take this call."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    The call came from Fan Longhe.

    Because whether Xian Yu could produce a song was now, to some extent, linked to Fan Longhe''s future.

    So, Fan Longhe, with unprecedented seriousness, opened the conversation with a somewhat urgent question:

    "Is Teacher Xian Yu willing to accept the contract?"

    "I just returned to the office¡­"

    "Then you need to ask him promptly!"

    Gu Dong awkwardly replied, "I''m about to ask him, but, and I hope you won''t find this impertinent, how much is your company willing to pay for this contract?"

    "Two hundred¡­ no, three hundred million!"

    Fan Longhe gritted his teeth: "This is the highest price I can personally decide on. If your company is not satisfied, I will have to discuss it with the senior leaders, but the chances are low. After all, three hundred million is already a high price in the market. And we only want the rights to the theme song!"

    Fan Longhe was genuinely all in, he even bypassed the bargaining process entirely, because this matter was really paramount.

    When Gu Dong heard the price, his heart began to race!

    Since starting his job, this was the first time he''d dealt with a party that was so affluent.

    No, not quite right.

    This was likely to be the largest contract the branch had ever had the chance to accept since its establishment. At that moment, Gu Dong even had an impulse to agree to it on the spot. However, he understood that the higher the price, the higher the demands. Moreover, the other party had only given them a month to prepare...

    His eyes filled with a complicated look as he reconfirmed the offered amount: "Three hundred million?"

    Lin Yuan looked up at Gu Dong and promptly said, "I''ll take it."

    Gu Dong''s eyes widened in surprise. He quickly covered the phone, his voice slightly trembling as he tried to lower it, "But Mr. Lin, you haven''t even seen their requirements for the song yet. Plus, they''ve only given us a month. You should at least see if it''s a fit..."

    "It fits."

    Lin Yuan simply replied.

    Seeing that Gu Dong still was staring at him, Lin Yuan naturally picked up the file and glanced at it. Three seconds later, he repeated himself:

    "It fits."

    You only glanced at it for three seconds!

    Gu Dong couldn''t help but put his hand on his forehead.

    But with Lin Yuan having spoken, he had no choice but to accept it. He released his grip on the phone and tried to respond to Fan Longhe calmly, "Teacher Xian Yu accepts."

    "Great!"

    Fan Longhe was a bit excited.

    Although he didn''t know if Xian Yu could create an even better song, being willing to accept the contract was a good start. At least he still had the qualification to continue the competition with Luo Qi!

    What he was most afraid of was Lin Yuan looking at the short time frame and deciding not to accept it at all.

    Then, without Luo Qi lifting a finger, he himself would have to just lie flat and accept the ridicule. What''s the point of putting up any more of a struggle then?

    "By the way!"

    He suddenly remembered something and spoke up, somewhat hastily: "I can send over a few lyricists to liaise, because we want a song in Qi language. Teacher Xian Yu might not be very familiar..."

    "Okay."

    Gu Dong agreed with a nod. He turned to look back at Lin Yuan and bit his lip, "Shall we sign the contract tomorrow?"

    "Let''s sign it tonight."

    Fan Longhe was more eager than Gu Dong had imagined.

    "That works too."

    Gu Dong didn''t feel excited at all. After hanging up the phone, he only felt uneasy. He looked at Lin Yuan and said, "Are you really sure about this, Mr. Lin? For a big contract like this, there will be a penalty for breach. If we can''t produce a suitable song, we''re done¡­"

    "It''s fine."

    Lin Yuan gave the affirmative reply.

    He knew how difficult it was for the company to get contracts, so he was particularly serious about this one. After all, his salary for the month had been paid in full, and his personal fund now sat at ten million, more than enough to handle any situation that came up.

    ...

    That night, Fan Longhe came to the company with his team to sign the contract.

    This was a big three-million-dollar deal, so the penalty for breach of contract was a whopping three hundred thousand!

    If the task wasn''t completed, Starlight Music company would have to pay a compensation of three hundred thousand to the other party! It was a high stake gamble!

    Gu Qiangyun''s hand was even shaking uncontrollably as he signed.

    If they failed this task, their already cash-strapped company would be in even more trouble!

    After signing the contract.

    Fan Longhe looked around and asked, "Can I meet with Teacher Admirable Fish?"

    Gu Dong replied, "He has gone home."

    It was not because he left early. Lin Yuan strictly adhered to the end-of-day timing, so Gu Dong personally had him go home.

    Fan Longhe nodded and said seriously, "Alright then, I am relying on you for this task."

    "Rest assured, Teacher Admirable Fish is very capable."

    Gu Qiangyun asserted confidently.

    It was not that Gu Qiangyun had ample confidence in Admirable Fish.

    But rather, it was the way he reassured every client.

    Despite his worries bubbling up, he couldn''t let the client see his insecurity!

    Once Fan Longhe left, Gu Qiangyun slumped into his chair, his face turning pale saying, "What are we going to do about this project? The timing is too strained, and Gu Dong, you''ve brought back a hot potato! If we refuse it, I''m afraid we might not have another chance like this in the future. If we accept it, I''m afraid we might get scorched.

    You shouldn''t have mentioned this opportunity in the first place."

    "We have to face it."

    Gu Dong sighed softly. She regretted mentioning the offer to Lin Yuan, but what was done was done. Could they go back on it now?

    Not long after. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    News of Lin Yuan signing the new contract had spread like wildfire throughout the company, causing an uproar among their team:

    "A three-million-dollar order? Completed in one month?"

    "Thunderbolt Entertainment truly lives up to its name as a big company. This one deal is equal to so many of our past ones. But are they kidding about the one-month timeframe?"

    "I''m freaking out!"

    "Given just one month, what are the odds that Mr. Lin can produce songs worth three million that satisfy their requirements?"

    "Fifty percent?"

    "Buddy, you''re too optimistic. If it were fifty percent, that''d be great. But I don''t even think it''s thirty percent. The penalty is three hundred thousand! If the company can''t complete it, what''s going to happen in the future ..."

    "Stop talking, the more you talk the more scared I get. Is the company going to go bankrupt? Am I going to lose my job? I think Mr. Lin only has a success rate of ten percent."

    "If this contract pulls through, the company is going to make a fortune! We could afford to loaf around for a few months. They always say that the Maestro doesn''t take orders for three years, but when he does, we feast for three! Mr. Lin seems to be following the Maestro''s footsteps!"

    "If anyone''s being pessimistic, wake them up."

    "Don''t blame Mr. Lin for being rash. He''s probably desperate, so that''s why he agreed to this deal. After all, there aren''t many people who could meet their requirements. Although I also think this deal is very risky, I would also not hesitate to accept if Thunderbolt Entertainment slapped a deal worth three million in front of me, asking me to compose a song. I''d definitely ...

    not dare to grab it."

    "Dang."

    "It''s not about daring to take it or not, it''s about not having the confidence, and mostly not having the ability. To write a song worth three million in a month is even too demanding for a gold medal, not to mention customizing it to their specific requirements."

    "..."

    The entire company''s feelings were complex.

    Everyone was excited about landing a three million contract, yet worried about the inability to complete it.

    The former was merely a balm, look, our small and broken down company was also hit by a three million deal!

    The latter, which was highly likely, left them wondering if the manager was prepared for the three hundred thousand penalty.

    They weren''t doubting Lin Yuan. "Jiang Hu Laughs" had already proven a lot.

    However, even though Mr. Lin had previously managed to complete "Jiang Hu Laughs" at an almost terrifying speed, anyone with common sense knew that such swift song creation was an exception!

    Songwriting is a meticulous job.

    The three-million-dollar order would obviously have very high quality demands for the song. Completing this level of composition within a month is an absolute hellish difficulty!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Apologies, I can''t write anymore today, I need to go back and revise for typos and some details as this chapter has a large volume, hope for your understanding. Tomorrow, I will finish this section, you guys can try to guess which song it is, if there are better songs than my expectation, I will consider using them, only if they''re popular, not obscurities~

 Chapter 159 - 152 Distance Between You and Me_1

    Lin Yuan returned home to a surprising sight: two sealed steaks laid on the table. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "You''re back?"

    It was Saturday.

    Jian Yi was playing online games in front of the computer in the living room. Seeing Lin Yuan return, he stopped playing, took off his headphones, and said, "Today, you will witness my steak-cooking skills."

    "Thank you."

    Lin Yuan gave a casual smile and headed to his bedroom.

    Sizzling noises coming from the kitchen suggested that Jian Yi had begun cooking the steaks.

    He pulled out a document.

    Lin Yuan reviewed the requirements of the new order.

    It was a custom-made theme song for a TV drama called "Distance Between You and Me."

    The plot summary was rather comprehensive, possibly around five-thousand words in length.

    Based on the title of the drama alone, Lin Yuan had first thought it was a romantic series. But after reading through the plot, he realized it wasn''t.

    Although the plot does have some elements of a romantic drama¡ª

    The story revolved around a couple that was the envy of everyone during their college years, and they got married right after graduation.

    Due to their poor economic condition, their married life was filled with hardships.

    However, they stuck together through thick and thin, without succumbing to the difficulties.

    Years later, the husband lost his job due to company layoffs and decided to start his own business.

    But his business failed, leaving him in debt and leading to numerous disputes with his wife. Finally, the wife, unable to handle the stress any longer, decided to divorce him.

    Years later, the still-struggling woman was looking for jobs everywhere. Finally, she landed a job at a big company, only to find out that her ex-husband was the chairman of the company.

    The plot progression became quite predictable after that.

    The husband, resentful that the wife had abandoned him at his weakest moment, had intentionally hired her to torture her.

    The wife bore it all without complaint.

    During this time, the husband was shocked to discover that the wife had a son.

    Filled with jealousy, he intensified his abuse towards the wife.

    It wasn''t until the wife''s son fell seriously ill that their conflict finally came to a head.

    In a twist of fate, the husband discovered that throughout all these years, the wife has stayed single...

    And that her son might be his as well.

    His emotions grew incredibly complex.

    The rest of the story was about the husband slowly uncovering the wife''s struggles and the truth behind their divorce.

    He remembered how despite their poverty, they were happy together.

    It was his successive failures that had eventually destroyed their family.

    The wife had raised the child alone for all these years, without asking him for a single dime.

    The year they divorced, his mother was in need of medical expenses. Someone had donated money, and it turned out to be the wife''s doing...

    Upon realizing all this...

    He decided to win her back.

    At this point, a new man appeared who was also interested in the wife.

    What followed was a classic case of remorse, a scramble to win her back, and a flurry of various intense scenes.

    The script didn''t specify the ending.

    But Lin Yuan could guess.

    The story was rather clich¨¦, but some realistic elements were portrayed quite clearly.

    The intention of the script was probably to use a touch of reality to showcase an idol drama-like plot...

    Both realistic and romantic.

    Both the man and woman had their own reasons and difficulties. It was hard to clearly say who was right or wrong.

    Especially since the script mentioned:

    After deciding to divorce, the wife pursued her dreams, only to find she was pregnant. She had to give birth to the child, once again abandoning her own dreams.

    ...

    Instead of pondering over who was right or wrong, Lin Yuan wondered what kind of song the System would create for this story?

    The client required a Qi Language song.

    The song needed to reflect the emotions of both main characters, along with elements of dreams and desperation, among other things.

    All in all, the client''s requirements had seven or eight different notes.

    Quite complex.

    Lin Yuan activated the System and read out the client''s requirements. He then asked, "How much to design a song that meets these requirements?"

    The System replied, "One million."

    Lin Yuan nodded, not too surprised.

    The System had mentioned before

    that the more detailed the requirements, the higher the customisation cost would be.

    Just for this customization, there were seven or eight requirements. If it weren''t for the fact that each requirement wasn''t too difficult, the customisation cost would be even more than one million.

    But the price of this order was three million.

    As long as Lin Yuan completed this order, he would break even immediately. So, the System''s pricing could be considered quite reasonable this time.

    "This is a special price."

    The System said, "This is the first time the host is customizing a song with such specific requirements. If there are similar requests in the future, the price will increase accordingly."

    "Understood."

    Lin Yuan said, "Let''s customize it."

    System: "Song customization in progress, please wait."

    Thirty seconds later.

    The system dinged, "Congratulations to the host for obtaining the song ''Like You''. There are two versions for reference."

    The left version was the original, and the right version was G.E.M''s version.

    This meant that both males and females could sing this song, but the versions had slightly different connotations.

    Lin Yuan pondered.

    He was initially surprised when the System came up with this song, but then realized it wasn''t shocking after thinking about the lyrics. The song did meet the requirements.

    As for the quality, Lin Yuan wasn''t worried. The quality of the song had already been verified in another timeline.

    Lin Yuan listened to both versions of the song.

    Both versions were good ¨C the former more sorrowful, while the latter imbued with a sense of hope.

    "Dinner''s ready!"

    After listening to the song, Jian Yi''s voice suddenly echoed from outside the door.

    Lin Yuan got up and headed to the living room.

    There were two sets of steak on the table, each accompanied by two soft-boiled eggs.

    The eggs were cooked quite well.

    But the steaks weren''t as good, Lin Yuan noticed that his steak was charred, with visible burnt marks around the edges, which probably explained the burnt smell in the room.

    "Just make do with it."

    Jian Yi gave a cough before saying, "Who knew it would be this hard? I thought it was easy when I saw chefs on videos cooking steak."

    "..."

    Lin Yuan seemed a bit put off.

    Jian Yi smirked, "How about we order takeout instead? There should be steak options. Anyway, the steak is ruined, and I''ve wasted over five hundred on it."

    As he spoke, Jian Yi began to pack up the steak.

    Just then, Lin Yuan stopped him: "Don''t waste it."

    Jian Yi paused, and Lin Yuan was already seated and began eating earnestly with his knife and fork.

    "That''s so touching, bro!"

    Jian Yi laughed and began eating his share. His steak was even more charred than Lin Yuan''s; one side had literally turned into a crust, while the other side was still oozing blood.

    "Why is it tasteless?"

    "Seems like I forgot to add seasonings..."

 Chapter 160 - 153: Mental Breakdown_1

    Lin Yuan didn''t immediately send the song to the company; he didn''t want to seem too groundbreaking.

    There''s no one who writes songs faster than making steak...

    Speaking of the last time.

    Lin Yuan sending out "Jianghu Laughs" so quickly was purely for the release rate mentioned by Gu Qiangyun, which made him a bit hasty.

    In the future, he still needs to be low-key, and he can''t take out his songs so quickly anymore.

    The next day was Saturday.

    Lin Yuan came to the company as usual.

    Upon seeing Lin Yuan, the company''s employees'' gaze followed him, seemingly wanting to see something from his expression, but unfortunately, the result disappointed everyone.

    This man had no expression at all.

    Upon entering the office, Lin Yuan turned on his computer.

    His job was to compose songs, but "Like You" had already been completed. Lin Yuan was too lazy to pose, so using the working hours to write codes was more appropriate.

    Don''t forget that "Zhu Xian" is still in serialization.

    The serialization of this novel will not stop because Lin Yuan comes to Qi Continent to study. He just needs to send the manuscript to the editor of Silver Blue Books on time.

    However¡­

    While coding today, Lin Yuan always felt guilty.

    Not because he feels guilty about writing a novel during working hours, but because he felt guilty about the plot of the next volume of "Zhu Xian".

    Because in the plot of the next volume, Biyao will die.

    Lin Yuan is very clear about the readers'' feelings towards Biyao, so killing Biyao will inevitably trigger a reader riot.

    Even.

    Even some readers who didn''t have much feeling for Biyao, that is, the so-called Xue Qi Party, might also switch sides when they see Biyao die.

    Not to mention.

    Because the scene of Biyao''s death is too shocking, she sacrificed herself under the Immortal Slayer Sword to save Zhang Xiaofan. Prior to this, Zhang Xiaofan had never explicitly expressed his feelings for Biyao.

    But that''s just how the plot goes.

    There''s nothing Lin Yuan can do.

    He can only behave as if he is a merciless coding machine, furiously typing the plot.

    "Mr. Lin."

    Someone was knocking on the door.

    Lin Yuan stopped coding: "Come in."

    The first to enter was Gu Dong, followed by three unfamiliar men.

    Lin Yuan asked, "What''s up?"

    "You already started working?"

    Gu Dong was surprised to see Lin Yuan''s computer in front of him, then explained, "Thunderbolt Entertainment ordered a song in Qi language. As a Qin person, Mr. Lin may not understand Qi language, so they sent three experienced songwriters to help with the lyrics of your work."

    "Hello."

    After Gu Dong finished the introduction, the three songwriters behind her smiled and nodded at Lin Yuan.

    The man in the lead said, "My name is Huang Da. We will be staying at your company for a while. We can exchange ideas at any time."

    Lin Yuan said, "I know Qi language."

    He doesn''t need help from Qi language songwriters.

    The few songwriters were stunned upon hearing this. It''s rare for a Qin person to speak Qi language.

    Huang Da directly communicated with Lin Yuan in Qi language, jabbering several sentences, obviously trying to test Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan reacted for a while, and probably understood the other''s meaning.

    He hesitated for a moment, then stammered, "Hello..."

    After Lin Yuan spoke a few sentences in Qi language.

    The expressions on the faces of Huang Da and the others were a bit blank.

    You say he doesn''t understand it, but he barely spoke a little.

    You say he understands it, but based on his shallow understanding of Qi language, what can he write!

    "Uh..."

    Gu Dong awkwardly touched her forehead and laughed bitterly at Huang Da, "Let Mr. Lin write first, and if there''s anything he doesn''t understand about the lyrics after the melody has been completed, you can help to rectify it."

    "Hmph."

    Huang Da didn''t say a word, turned around and left.

    The remaining two songwriters also followed and left. One of them thought for a while and said, "Come find us after you''ve finished the song."

    "Okay, okay."

    Gu Dong sent the three back.

    After a while, Gu Dong came back and looked helplessly at Lin Yuan, "Mr. Lin, I understand that in Qin Continent, you compose your own music and write your own lyrics, but the song lyrics in Qi language have a lot of knowledge involved. As a non-Qi Continent person, it''s really hard to write lyrics that satisfy Thunderbolt."

    Lin Yuan didn''t speak.

    It''s not that he likes to pretend, but he has to say he knows Qi language, otherwise he can''t explain where the lyrics of "Like You" came from.

    Are there no lyrics?

    Let the other party rewrite the lyrics?

    That would betray Lin Yuan''s original intent. He clearly has a good melody and lyrics.

    "Let''s not talk about this first."

    Gu Dong sighed, "Right now, the lyrics are not the most important. The most important thing is still the melody. Does Mr. Lin have any idea now?"

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Gu Dong was a little surprised upon hearing this, "No wonder you were working early in the morning. Have you already started composing formally? Can I...?"

    Gu Dong suddenly paused.

    Because she accidentally caught a glimpse of Lin Yuan''s notebook.

    What Lin Yuan had opened at the moment was not any composing software, but a document.

    Written on the document: [Zhang Xiaofan laughed sorrowfully at the sky, his voice filled with agony and despair: "What is the right path? What is justice? You have always deceived me. I have struggled all my life, even if I die, I keep the secret for him, but what am I ...]"

    What the hell is Zhang Xiaofan?

    Is Mr. Lin reading a novel?

    When Gu Dong saw this document, she subconsciously thought Lin Yuan was reading a novel, so she didn''t think about him writing a novel.

    However, whether it''s reading a novel or writing a novel, both are not right!

    Has he gone mad?

    Gu Dong was about to cry.

    What''s happening right now?

    There''s only one month left. Instead of working hard to write songs, Lin Yuan is doing some irrelevant stuff during working hours?

    Gu Dong almost collapsed on the spot.

    She didn''t dare to yell at Lin Yuan, so she could only say grievously, "Mr. Lin....."

    Lin Yuan looked up, "Is there tea?"

    Gu Dong opened her mouth, swallowing all the words she was about to say.

    She silently turned around, went to the CEO''s office next door to get some tea leaves, and made a cup of tea for Lin Yuan.

    "Thank you." Lin Yuan said.

    Gu Dong numbly nodded, and once again went to the CEO''s office.

    "What''s wrong?"

    Gu Qiangyun was surprised to see Gu Dong.

    Gu Dong grimaced, "Prepare the penalty for breach of contract."

    Gu Qiangyun was shocked and stood up abruptly, "Isn''t there another month left? Did Mr. Lin say he couldn''t write it? What should we do¡­" Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Mr. Lin has already given up."

    Gu Dong had no more energy left to panic, "He not only drove away the lyricists sent by Thunderbolt but also started reading novels in the office."

    "Maybe he''s looking for inspiration?"

    Gu Qiangyun tried to keep calm, "Every songwriter has their own way of finding inspiration, and maybe reading novels is Mr. Lin''s way."

    "Maybe."

    Gu Dong tried to pull out a smile.

    Meanwhile, in the office next door, Lin Yuan took a sip of tea, and suddenly realized that the difference between tea leaves really did exist.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to the student [Smiling again] for becoming a member of the Alliance, the only way to return the favor is to add more chapters. Recently I''ve been repaying the owed additional updates for monthly ticket votes, so the extra updates for the two Alliance Hierarchs have been delayed for a few days. They will be made up as soon as possible. Thank you again for everyone''s support.

 Chapter 161 - 154: Im Fine Again_1

    In a coffee shop far from Thunderbolt Entertainment, Luo Qi stared at the lyricist sitting in front of him, "What did Xian Yu say?"

    The lyricist shook his head.

    He was one of the three lyricists who went to Starlight Entertainment today. Luo Qi asked him to gather information, "This Xian Yu is too arrogant, he directly refused to collaborate with the three of us lyricists, he wants to write the lyrics himself."

    "Does he understand Qi language?"

    Luo Qi said in surprise.

    The lyricist curled his lips: "His level is mediocre at best. His speech is full of hitches and glitches. He can barely manage to communicate with locals in the Qi language. To believe he can write songs in Qi language is just a dream. But as he refused us, we can only wait for him to finish writing the lyrics before seeing how they need to be changed. Perhaps we will have to rewrite everything.

    Anyway, Huang Da looked extremely unhappy then."

    "Great!"

    Luo Qi was practically bursting with joy, but then realized he was showing his emotions too openly and held back his smile, "It seems Fan Longhe chose an unreliable teammate this time. With only a month left, and the opponent not willing to cooperate in songwriting, how will this task be completed?"

    The lyricist shook his head again.

    On the other side, Fan Longhe met with lyricist Huang Da. However, upon hearing Huang Da''s disgruntled claims that Xian Yu had refused his help with the lyrics that day, Fan Longhe''s expression instantly froze.

    "It''s not that I didn''t want to help."

    Huang Da said: "He''s the one who didn''t cooperate."

    In Huang Da''s opinion, Xian Yu didn''t have the skills but still insisted on taking on a task he wasn''t suited for.

    This was a common problem with many composers.

    They liked to independently complete the lyrics and melodies.

    If it were lyrics in Mandarin, it wouldn''t be a problem. The lyrics of "Big Fish" had proven Xian Yu''s songwriting ability. However, this time it had to be a song in Qi language.

    How could someone with a rudimentary understanding of Qi language write a song?

    Fan Longhe gave a bitter laugh, "Even so, once his music is sent over, if the lyrics are truly terrible, we should ask Mr. Huang to help correct them. I will try to convince him of this."

    "I''ll do my best," Huang Da said.

    As he stood to leave, Huang Da turned back to remind him, "If he submits both the melody and the lyrics too late, even I wouldn''t be able to compose high-quality lyrics in a short period of time. I hope Director Fan can understand."

    "I understand."

    Fan Longhe forced a smile.

    Once Huang Da left, Fan Longhe''s face grew more helpless.

    Although he was reluctant to admit it, he seemed to see the balance of victory tilting increasingly towards Luo Qi.

    Now his only hope was that Xian Yu''s music would be good enough.

    Good enough that a slip in the lyrics wouldn''t matter!

    After all, time was really short.

    This time constraint was a huge challenge for both songwriting and lyric writing.

    And all eyes in the department were watching him now. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    If he lost to Luo Qi this time, he would be completely excluded from the department''s important decision-making process for at least a year.

    "The hope is getting dimmer."

    Fan Longhe stood up, feeling slightly dizzy under the not-so-strong sunlight above him.

    What kept him from admitting defeat outright was probably the decreasing days left in this month.

    ...

    Indeed, the days were dwindling, especially for Fan Longhe and Starlight Music. The sense of urgency was pervasive and constant.

    Lin Yuan, the main party involved, was carrying on as usual, whether it was school or work.

    Gu Dong had already given up hope.

    Especially after seeing Lin Yuan working on other things while at work several times.

    However, she only shared her thoughts with Gu Qiangyun, and didn''t pass the same sentiment to the others in the company.

    She didn''t want to shake the morale of the troops.

    Gu Qiangyun, on the other hand, hadn''t given up. He always insisted that "Lin Yuan is seeking inspiration."

    As for how much Gu Qiangyun himself believed in this idea, even he wasn''t sure.

    He just didn''t dare to think in the same direction as Gu Dong, which was his experience and insight from managing the branch for many years.

    It''s best to maintain a positive attitude before disaster strikes.

    Dying in pain or dying with hope doesn''t make much difference in the intensity of suffering.

    But.

    As the end of the month neared, with the deadline for submission looming, Gu Qiangyun could no longer keep up his ostrich mentality.

    What''s bound to come will come!

    He finally gathered the courage and, along with Gu Dong, knocked on Lin Yuan''s door.

    "Come in."

    Lin Yuan''s voice was as calm as ever. Calm enough to make him seem indifferent to being the person responsible for three million orders, calm enough to suggest that he had almost forgotten that he still had a task to complete.

    At this moment, Gu Qiangyun couldn''t help but feel a bit of admiration!

    Such calmness and composure in the face of danger, truly befits the demeanor of a great leader like Mr. Lin!

    If this were ancient times, such a person wouldn''t show much emotion even when standing at the execution grounds waiting for his beheading, right?

    Compared to his own ostrich mentality which was nothing more than self-deception, that seemed much superior.

    He took the initiative to brew a cup of tea for Lin Yuan and said with a reluctant expression, "Mr. Lin, we don''t have much time left¡­"

    "What''s the date today?"

    Having been busy writing his novel lately, Lin Yuan had completely forgotten about this matter. After all, all he did daily was head straight to the office. Gu Dong initially tried to remind him, but eventually gave up mentioning it.

    What''s the date today?

    Gu Dong silently glanced at Gu Qiangyun, his eyes filled with sympathy.

    Gu Qiangyun almost didn''t make it through, but finally managed to come to terms with Lin Yuan not even remembering the date: "It''s the 26th of September."

    Something stirred inside Lin Yuan.

    It was almost time.

    Gu Qiangyun anxiously said, "Mr. Lin, we have never asked about the progress of your work due to fear of disturbing your state of mind. But now we really don''t have much time left. Hence, even though it might sound naggy to you, I still have to say it: at least come up with a song, good or bad, at least to show some gesture to Thunderbolt Music, right?

    I have said so much, just hope you won''t find it annoying¡­"

    He rambled on for a few minutes.

    Lin Yuan did not respond, but his facial expression, which couldn''t even be masked by his anger, made Gu Qiangyun comprehend three words:

    He''s too annoying.

    Of course, this was all Gu Qiangyun''s misunderstanding. Lin Yuan did not find him annoying, but rather wanted to thank him for reminding him of one thing:

    "I can take new orders now."

    The expression on Gu Qiangyun''s face instantly became rather amusing. He gaped for a long while before finally stammering out: "Not even a semi-finished product?"

    Wouldn''t there be at least an attempt of work?

    Isn''t it a bit much to not even do a basic draft?

    If only I had allowed those in the composing department to try writing a song, then at least we could''ve shown Thunderbolt Entertainment that we did make an effort, though we didn''t have the capability¡­

    Lin Yuan looked up at Gu Qiangyun, "It''s already done."

    Gu Qiangyun''s thinking was abruptly interrupted.

    Almost subconsciously, he asked, "What?"

    Gu Dong, however, gazed at Lin Yuan somewhat blankly, with some fanciful questions suddenly popping up in his mind:

    How come it''s done all of a sudden?

    Didn''t you say this before?

    Did I time travel back to the day when Mr. Lin first joined the company?

    But I don''t remember the lottery numbers, did this happen as a chance given by God for me to change the past, to prevent the Thunderbolt''s order beforehand?

    No, no¡­

    Last time, Mr. Lin seemed to have said these four words in the group, but today he''s saying them in person. I probably didn''t time travel or rebirth.

    But what happened after Mr. Lin said these four words last time¡­

    Gu Dong''s breathing suddenly became a bit rushed!

    Gu Qiangyun apparently realized something as well.

    His expression, at that moment, like in a slow-motion movie scene, opened his mouth frame by frame, and his eyes widened, revealing the already clear lines of worry on his forehead.

 Chapter 162 - 153: Like You_1

    On the same day, Thunderbolt Entertainment''s monthly meeting was convened ahead of schedule.

    After the department members arrived at the meeting room, they all instinctively looked at Fan Longhe, who was sitting in a corner, gripping his cell phone tightly.

    Some wanted to go forward and console him, but they were pulled back by their companions. After a moment''s hesitation, they chose to give up.

    The sound of high heels clicking against the floor echoed from outside the room.

    The supervisor, Luo Qi, had arrived.

    Upon entering, she too glanced at Fan Longhe in the corner. A hint of amusement sparked in her eyes as she announced loudly, "With regard to the theme song for the TV series, I think it''s time to confirm it with the relevant departments."

    "Supervisor Luo."

    Fan Longhe suddenly raised his head.

    Luo Qi arched an eyebrow, "Deputy Supervisor Fan, please speak."

    Fan Longhe''s voice was a bit hoarse, "Why has the meeting been moved up? It''s not yet the date we agreed upon."

    "Did Supervisor Fan forget something?"

    Perched on her high chair, Luo Qi lightly crossed her legs, "If we wait any longer, even if your Xian Yu sends over the song, will we have any time left to record it?"

    Fan Longhe gritted his teeth.

    Indeed, as Luo Qi had said.

    If they waited any longer, even if Xian Yu finished the song, the company wouldn''t have time to record it.

    They couldn''t possibly change the fixed broadcast date just for an uncertain song.

    "Moreover, even if he sends the song now, don''t the lyrics need to be changed?" Luo Qi added confidently.

    Fan Longhe glared at Luo Qi.

    It was clear that Luo Qi had insiders working for her, otherwise, she wouldn''t know so much, even about Xian Yu''s reluctance to have others write lyrics.

    Had he really lost?

    During the rest of the meeting, Fan Longhe was oblivious to the discussions.

    Sitting in the corner, he felt like an irrelevant bystander.

    It wasn''t until the meeting ended and someone tapped his shoulder, that he managed to come back to his senses.

    "The meeting is over, Supervisor Fan."

    A subordinate reminded, who Fan had a good relationship with.

    Fan Longhe smiled bitterly and nodded, "You shouldn''t stick with me, if Luo sees you might suffer in the future."

    "I don''t care."

    The subordinate shrugged, "I have no interest in climbing up the ladder, I''m content being an office worker."

    Fan Longhe was moved.

    Who doesn''t want a promotion?

    It''s just a matter of loyalty.

    Usually, many subordinates surrounded him, but now only one person stood firmly by his side.

    Suddenly.

    Fan Longhe''s phone rang.

    He glanced at it and suddenly stood up, a flicker of color in his eyes which quickly faded, "They must have already been informed by now..."

    "Yes."

    The subordinate curiously asked, "Did the song come? It''s a pity it''s too late now, we should have dragged it out a bit more."

    "Indeed."

    Fan Longhe smiled, "But even if we dragged on, it might not have made a difference. But it was still a $3 million dollar order I placed. Even though it was rushed within a month, let''s listen to it together?"

    The subordinate nodded.

    The two each took an earphone, and then Fan Longhe pressed the play button.

    The soft and sorrowful piano prelude played, oddly matching Fan Longhe''s current mood, making him feel even more bitter.

    Then.

    Processed electronic music began to play, slowly sung in Qi language style, "Drenched streets at dusk from the fine rain, looking up aimlessly with wet eyes, gazing at the lonely street lamps, those sentimental memories..."

    Fan Longhe slowly raised his head.

    His subordinate also lifted his head, their eyes met for a brief second.

    In their mono earphones, the song continued, "Missing you once again surges in my heart, past laughter still lingers on my face, wish you could know at this moment, it''s me sincerely saying..."

    Their gazes never had a chance to break.

    Then they saw simultaneously, the faint light in each other''s eyes, followed by the sudden contraction of their pupils:

    "Like You

    Those captivating eyes

    Laughter even more enchanting

    Wish I could caress you again sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    That lovely face

    Hold hands and talk about dreams

    Like yesterday

    You and me..."

    Fan Longhe abruptly stood up, the mono earphone cord fell to the floor. At the same moment he opened his mouth, the subordinate also stood up:

    "I get it now!"

    Removing the earphone, the subordinate rushed out of the meeting room, while Fan Longhe dashed toward a high-level office at the end of the corridor, urgently knocking on the door.

    "Come in."

    A stern voice came from inside.

    Fan Longhe pushed the door open, quickly placing his cell phone on the table, "Manager, this is the real theme song The Distance Between You and Me needs!"

    The man raised his head, "Luo Qi just confirmed the theme song with me five minutes ago."

    "Not that one!"

    Fan Longhe stuttered with nervousness, "This one... this one is different... this is another song I bought¡­ Manager, could you please take a listen..."

    "You''re overstepping."

    The manager stared at Fan Longhe, his voice somewhat harsh. But seeing Fan Longhe''s insistence, he took off his earphone and hit the play button on the phone, though his face clearly showed impatience.

    As he played the song.

    The office was filled with the sound of "Like You". It was exactly the second part of the song, which Fan Longhe had not heard before:

    "I was once so impetuous, full of idealism, often blaming love for taking away my freedom, I hope you will know at this moment, it''s me sincerely saying --

    Like You, those captivating eyes, your laughter even more enchanting

    Wish I could, caress you again, that lovely face, holding hands and talking about dreams

    Like yesterday, you and me!"

    Fan Longhe clenched his fists tightly.

    From love to weariness, from hate to regret.

    Although the manager hadn''t responded yet, he was certain that there was no song more suitable as the theme for The Distance between You and Me.

    He took a deep breath.

    The manager''s brow relaxed after a tense moment, his body sinking deeper into the leather chair.

    At this point in the song, it was transitioning and building up to an even greater climax. "I used to wander alone every night, so cold, I often struggled for myself, never realizing her pain..."

    "Manager."

    Unable to hold it in any longer, Fan Longhe took a slight step forward.

    The manager didn''t stop the song.

    His fingers followed the rhythm of the song, drumming rapidly against the table.

    His legs also began rocking rhythmically, lost in enjoyment.

    It wasn''t until the end of the song that he seemed to come back to himself.

    The room fell silent for a moment.

    A few seconds later, the manager looked at Fan Longhe with a frown, shook his head, and joked, "Luo Qi is after all your superior. You neither brought this song up early nor later, but chose to do so right after she confirmed with me, really not giving her any face."

    Fan Longhe was nervous, "I..."

    The manager waved his hand, picked up the phone on the table and dialed a number, "Call the TV station and tell them that the theme song for The Distance Between You and Me needs to be changed to another one... Why? Of course because there''s a better song! Yes, a thousand times better!"

    After ending the call.

    The manager looked at Fan Longhe, "I don''t care about your feud with Luo Qi, but this song must be recorded within three days!"

    "Understood!"

    At this moment, Fan Longhe''s eyes finally burst with dazzling light!

 Chapter 163 - 154 Crushing_1

    When Fan Longhe left the manager''s office, everyone in the music department''s conference room had resumed their seats, but everyone''s faces were filled with confusion¡ª

    Had they not just had a meeting?

    Why is the deputy director calling another one?

    Does he want to futilely struggle on his deathbed?

    Luo Qi also sat in the director''s seat, but her mood was inexplicably irritable. As soon as Fan Longhe returned, she stared coldly at him, "What do you want, do you need me to give you a few more days?"

    "No need for that."

    Seeing Luo Qi again, Fan Longhe''s mood was entirely different.

    He even broke into a gentle smile, of course, this smile was directed at the employees of the music department: "Xian Yu''s song has arrived, and I would like everyone to evaluate the quality of this song."

    The manager''s approval was not enough.

    Fan Longhe wanted to win over the entire department with this song in front of Luo Qi.

    Only in this way, could he regain the ground he had lost.

    "The song has arrived?"

    Luo Qi''s heart became increasingly irritable: "Let''s not even talk about the quality of the song right now, don''t we need to revise the lyrics? Only when the lyrics also meet the quality can it be officially recorded. Do you think we have enough time?"

    Fan Longhe said, "Alright."

    He called the three lyricists who had previously been rejected by Xian Yu at Starlight Music in front of everyone, "There is an important meeting here, Three teachers might need to come over."

    After that, Fan Longhe hung up.

    The conference room started buzzing.

    Only the subordinate who had just listened to part of "Like You" with Fan Longhe showed a gloating smile.

    He had witnessed the whole incident today, and besides being shocked, there was an inexplicable sense of superiority in his heart.

    "We''re here."

    Huang Da and the other two lyricists arrived.

    Luo Qi immediately began speaking with them.

    The conference room was still somewhat noisy, everyone was whispering discussion. Suddenly, a song echoed from the speaker:

    "The fine rain with the wind drenched the dusk street, wipe away the rain, my eyes aimlessly look up¡­"

    The conference room gradually quieted down.

    Only the synthetic song continued.

    Luo Qi''s heart inexplicably missed a beat.

    As the director of the music department, her music appreciation ability was definitely not something ordinary people could compare to.

    So, she could naturally hear the quality of this song.

    At the same time.

    The employees of the music department, while listening, gradually revealed surprised expressions.

    Then these expressions gradually transitioned to shock.

    Because everyone knows how short the creation period of this song was.

    It only took a month!

    Until this meeting today!

    Not even a full month has passed!

    And the three lyricists, including Huang Da, already had a general idea of the situation.

    They knew that Luo Qi wanted to play with the lyrics of Xian Yu''s song because everyone thought Xian Yu''s Qi language lyrics were a big problem. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    But as they listened¡­

    The expressions of the lyricists changed.

    They knew the plot of the TV show, which was necessary preparation before writing lyrics.

    But now as they listened to this song, they realized that their preparation was somewhat superfluous.

    Because the lyrics of this song and the theme of the TV drama are too compatible !

    Even without looking at the plot summary of the TV drama, we should know what this song is about!

    "Once again, countless thoughts arose in my heart, the past moments of laughter still hang on my face ¡­ I was so impulsive, full of ideals I complained of loving her without freedom ¡­ to struggle for myself, never knew her pain ¡­, would you know now, I like your eyes, they''re captivating¡­"

    From the sense of loss and memories, to the moment of reunion.

    With that belated realization, the liking that had been hidden for many years completely exploded. Isn''t this the protagonist''s inner portrayal from his point of view?

    Xian Yu doesn''t understand Qi language?

    Listening to him speak Qi language, it is indeed quite poor, but looking at his lyrics, he understands Qi language even better than the locals of Qi Continent!

    "..."

    When the song ended, the entire conference room was silent as a graveyard.

    After a long while.

    Huang Da smiled bitterly: "These lyrics are already very good."

    The songwriter to Huang Da''s right opened his mouth: "It''s not about how excellent these lyrics are written, but how this song''s lyrics are too in sync with the theme of the TV show, Xian Yu had put in heart."

    "Indeed."

    The third songwriter also voiced out, even though she had a good relationship with Luo Qi: "This is not the best Qi language lyric, but it is absolutely the most suitable lyrics for this TV drama."

    The three of them shook their heads or sighed and left the conference room.

    Luo Qi''s face was as black as a pot.

    She was actually being overturned by her opponent?

    After everyone in the room saw the lyrics and left, there was a string of exclamation, unified expressions of astonishment and admiration:

    "It was written so beautifully!"

    "If I hadn''t followed the whole process, I wouldn''t have believed that this was a work completed by Xian Yu within a month, worthy of the author of ''Big Fish''!"

    "There''s no problem with the lyric and song."

    "I can''t imagine this song was hurriedly completed, just in terms of quality, ''Like You'' completely triumphs the theme song we had confirmed earlier!"

    "I think it''s a landslide."

    "The former is a standard acceptable work, while the latter is a classic that amazes the ears. But isn''t it a bit late now, do we still have time to change the song?"

    Some looked towards Fan Longhe.

    Fan Longhe looked at Luo Qi, then smiled: "The manager and you all have the same evaluation of this song, so we can still change it, we just have to hurry up with the recording. Luckily, Teacher Admirable Fish has made great progress, including the arrangement part that has also been completed."

    This song was unexpectedly complete!

    Melody and lyrics, even the arrangement, everything was done, now Fan Longhe only felt that the three million he had utilized was too damn worth it!

    "Phew."

    Everyone exhaled in relief, showing relieved smiles, but when they looked at Luo Qi, they immediately stopped laughing.

    Luo Qi stood up: "Well done."

    She suddenly smiled, looking at Fan Longhe: "Congratulations, if I had listened to this song earlier, I would have chosen this one too."

    Fan Longhe said, "Thank you."

    Luo Qi nodded her head, turned around, and left.

    She was still maintaining the demeanor of a director, but everyone could imagine how bad Luo Qi''s mood must be at the moment.

    Fan Longhe didn''t keep agitating her.

    After he announced the end of the meeting, he immediately contacted Starlight Music, and brought up the matter of recording the song.

    He hadn''t forgotten his promise to the other party that the recording of this song would be handled by Xian Yu.

    If he wanted to continue collaborating in the future, he had to keep his promise.

    "Mr. Lin!"

    After receiving the news from Thunderbolt Entertainment, Gu Dong excitedly knocked on Lin Yuan''s office door: "We were successful, Thunderbolt adopted our song!"

    "Mmhmm."

    It seemed that Lin Yuan knew that Gu Dong would come to him, and he was not surprised that his song was noticed by Thunderbolt.

    He immediately got up and walked out, saying to the trailing Gu Dong while walking, "Take me to Thunderbolt Entertainment."

    Lin Yuan knew there was a rush for time.

    He was not indifferent to the matter.

    In fact, a few days ago, Lin Yuan had already looked up information about Thunderbolt on the internet.

    He thought that a simple screening might not find a suitable voice, and was expecting more detailed singer information from Thunderbolt.

    Turns out that in the first round of screening, he had already found a suitable performer for this song.

 Chapter 164 - 155: Party Bs Dad - 1

    Fan Longhe was waiting downstairs.

    Suddenly, a car pulled up in front of the company''s building.

    Two people got out of it.

    On the left was Gu Dong, whom Fan Longhe recognized, and on the right was a tall, good-looking man with a somewhat aloof demeanor...

    It would seem a bit of an understatement to call him a boy.

    But referring to him as a young adult might also seem excessive.

    What was certain, however, was that he was a young man you wouldn''t be able to resist taking a second, third, or more glance at.

    To Gu Dong''s surprise, Fan Longhe was personally there to greet them, she hurriedly introduced, "This is Teacher Admirable Fish."

    "Hello, Teacher Admirable Fish!"

    Before Fan Longhe could step forward, a figure suddenly sprinted out from the side, proactively greeting Xian Yu¡ª

    It was Luo Qi!

    Fan Longhe stared in disbelief.

    Luo Qi, with a bright smile and enthusiastic demeanor, extended her hand: "I am the head of the music department at Thunderbolt, welcome to our company for guidance!"

    Lin Yuan exchanged a handshake with her.

    Fan Longhe had already come to his senses. Gnashing his teeth in irritation, he hurriedly rushed over: "Hello, Teacher Admirable Fish, I am Fan Longhe, the head of the music department who invited you!"

    "Deputy Head Fan¡­"

    Luo Qi deliberately corrected him.

    Fan Longhe gritted his teeth, but ignored her. She was playing as if she was the one who invited Xian Yu!

    Meanwhile, Fan Longhe couldn''t help but admire her nerve. Although she was defeated by Xian Yu, she could unabashedly show her goodwill towards him, even going so far as to beat him to the punch.

    "Hello."

    Lin Yuan shared a handshake with Fan Longhe: "Can we start recording the song?"

    "Yes, sure!"

    Both Fan Longhe and Luo Qi were vying to lead the way.

    As they walked, each gave a glare to the other, engaging in a palpable competition.

    "Manager Luo Qi, you can get back to your work if you''re busy. After all, Teacher Admirable Fish was invited by me."

    "I''m fine, Deputy Fan can go ahead with his work."

    Luo Qi argued, "After all, Teacher Admirable Fish is here in person. As the primary person in charge of the music department, how could I not be the one to host him? Wouldn''t that be unseemly?"

    Neither of them was willing to back down.

    Thus, they led Lin Yuan and Gu Dong to the company''s recording studio.

    All along the way, many employees saw this scene and wore astonished faces.

    Gu Dong walked at the back, completely baffled.

    She naturally didn''t know what was going on at Thunderbolt, but she could tell that Fan Longhe and Luo Qi were competing to host Mr. Lin...

    What happened to them being a big company?

    Why do both of them seem to have the same attitude towards Mr. Lin as our subsidiary companies?

    Isn''t this supposed to be the formidable Qi Continent?

    Who the hell is in charge?

    Upon arriving at the recording studio.

    Fan Longhe asked with a laugh, "Teacher Admirable Fish, do you have any specific singer in mind?"

    Luo Qi added, "If not, I can bring you all the profiles of our company''s singers for your perusal."

    Lin Yuan asked, "Tan Kai is one of your talents, isn''t he?"

    Both Luo Qi and Fan Longhe were taken aback.

    Gu Dong also stared at Lin Yuan in surprise.

    Tan Kai is the male protagonist of "Distance Between You and Me." No one expected that Xian Yu''s chosen singer would be him.

    Reflecting on this, Fan Longhe said thoughtfully, "Tan Kai is indeed one of our talents, but he''s an actor, not a singer. Although he made his debut as a singer, his career didn''t pan out as planned, so he switched to acting. As it turned out, it appears acting suits him better."

    "This choice seems pretty good."

    Luo Qi murmured, "The lyrics of ''Like You'' are sung from the male protagonist''s perspective. If the protagonist sings it himself, it could enhance the audience''s immersion."

    "Let''s go with him then."

    Lin Yuan had listened to Tan Kai''s songs when doing his research; although the songs were just average, he felt Tan Kai''s voice was quite fitting.

    "But I am not sure if Tan Kai would be available..." Luo Qi hesitated.

    Fan Longhe interjected, "Let me check." He made a call and after two minutes, he nodded, "They''re fine with it."

    ...

    After some time, Tan Kai arrived.

    Gu Dong, who appeared to be a fan of Tan Kai''s, concealed her excitement.

    Tan Kai walked up to Lin Yuan: "Hello, I''m Tan Kai."

    "Admirable Fish."

    Lin Yuan nodded: "Get yourself familiar with the song first."

    With a smile, Tan Kai replied, "Manager Fan sent me the demo earlier, I''ve pretty much learned it on the way here."

    Having initially debuted as a singer before transitioning to acting, Tan Kai was still quite competent in this field. He listened to the almost complete demo on a loop during his journey and could now sing it without needing to look at the lyrics.

    "Then let''s start recording."

    Lin Yuan, without wasting any more words, walked straight into the recording studio.

    Tan Kai gave a small laugh before heading into his recording booth.

    Actually, he had a shoot scheduled for the day.

    But when he heard that the theme song was to be re-recorded and he could potentially be the singer, he immediately listened to the demo.

    After listening to the song once, Tan Kai immediately canceled his shoot for the day.

    That was because, compared to acting, Tan Kai loved singing more!

    Especially after hearing a song like ''Like You,'' he was resolute in his decision to perform it!

    Once inside the recording studio.

    About half an hour later.

    Tan Kai''s recording was starting to take shape.

    Fan Longhe was surprised. He had not expected Tan Kai to sing so well.

    Luo Qi was even more taken aback, immediately followed by amazement at Xian Yu''s keen intuition.

    Out of all the singers in the company, he had surprisingly picked Tan Kai, who was no longer a singer!

    Looking at the recording results, it was clear Tan Kai was a great match for the song. His mature voice lacked excessive technique but was not devoid of it. Paired with his talent as an actor to tap into and convey emotions...

    The recording process went extremely smoothly!

    Several hours later, towards the closing time at the company, the recording of ''Like You'' was officially completed ¡ª a smooth process that took everyone by surprise.

    "Let''s call it a day."

    After the recording, satisfied with the results, Lin Yuan nodded and turned to leave.

    Naturally, Luo Qi and Fan Longhe vied to walk him out. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    But in a twist, Tan Kai also thanked Xian Yu and walked him out.

    "I wish your new drama much success. Could I also have your autograph, please?"

    Once downstairs, after some hesitation, Gu Dong allowed herself to embrace her fangirl tendencies.

    Tan Kai was easygoing and readily gave Gu Dong an autograph.

    Gu Dong happily left the building.

    Lin Yuan said, "Let''s go home."

    The staff members at the company had already left for the day.

    "Alright, Mr. Lin!"

    Gu Dong was really excited, not just because she got to meet her favorite actor today, but also because of Thunderbolt Entertainment''s attitude towards Lin Yuan!

    Today, Lin Yuan challenged Gu Dong''s understanding of what it meant to be a subcontractor!

    In her memory, Qi Continent, being the outsourcer, was always high and mighty, carelessly commanding the subcontractor.

    But today.

    Compared to being a subcontractor, Mr. Lin seemed more like the outsourcer!

    Upon stepping into Thunderbolt Entertainment, he promptly began commanding, making numerous demands and dominated the recording sessions. Thunderbolt seemed to merely follow orders ¡ª

    Who knew a subcontractor could also play the boss?

 Chapter 165 - 156 New Task_1

    Back home.

    Lin Yuan saw that Jian Yi was in the kitchen, and the room was filled with an eerie smell.

    Jian Yi called out to him: "This is our dinner!"

    Lin Yuan opened his mouth and quickly closed it. The smell was too strong, and he couldn''t tell what Jian Yi was cooking.

    Was he stewing shit?

    Not wanting to discourage Jian Yi''s recent enthusiasm for cooking, he returned to his room and tightly closed the door behind him.

    "Ding Dong."

    The System suddenly appeared: "Congratulations host for completing the second order of the branch company, triggering a new task."

    [Task Name: Better to teach a person to fish than to give them a fish]

    [Task Content: Given the impending departure of you, the hostel, the branch company is likely to return to its previous state. The host school is to choose any three people from Starlight Music as composers and enhance their composing abilities before graduation]

    [Task Reward: Each day you may use a two-hour Yang Zhongming character card]

    [Task Reminder: Yang Zhongming''s knowledge and experience in composing are very rich but cannot be used by the host for original work. This is because this knowledge does not belong to the host itself. If the host has the desire to compose an original piece, the Yang Zhongming character card will be unusable, and creativity must be based on the host''s own knowledge and skills.]

    Lin Yuan hesitated for a moment.

    After some analysis, he roughly understood the System''s intention.

    The System wanted him to use the Yang Zhongming character card to mentor students in the branch company.

    But the System was afraid he would use Yang Zhongming''s knowledge to write songs.

    After all, a song written in earnest by someone of Yang Zhongming''s caliber could be on the same quality level as the ones the System had been providing.

    Therefore, the System imposed certain restrictions.

    "I accept."

    With the System''s prompt, Lin Yuan saw an extra character card in his warehouse.

    "Activate the character card."

    Lin Yuan had a thought, and the character card began to activate.

    Lin Yuan thought he would become Lin Zhongming Yuan, but in fact, Yang Zhongming''s personal character had not affected him at all. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    He only felt that a large amount of composing new knowledge suddenly appeared in his mind.

    Many of these pieces of knowledge were far more advanced than his current college course.

    It was then that Lin Yuan could comprehend how powerful the Maestro really was!

    In a sense, Yang Zhongming was like a human-shaped textbook of composing knowledge!

    The amount of composing knowledge in his mind was both shocking and intimidating!

    He even had a feeling that he wouldn''t need much inspiration to complete a decent song.

    However, the moment he had the idea to compose a song, the memories provided by the Yang Zhongming character card disappeared instantly.

    Lin Yuan''s knowledge of composition returned to the level that he had recently learned in "Advanced Composition and Chords".

    Lin Yuan tried to find an accurate description:

    "I want to create a Transformer, but the System cancels the effect of the character card. Without the boost from the character card, I can''t create the Transformer."

    This description was fairly precise.

    Until Lin Yuan gives up creating the Transformer¡­

    Until Lin Yuan gives up on using this knowledge to write a song, this knowledge will reappear.

    So the lessons and summary of using the character card are:

    The System excels at using the power of 404.

    Lin Yuan had a sudden thought: "I can''t use it directly to compose, but can I deliberately learn this knowledge during the activation of the character card?"

    "You can. This is a special usage of the character card."

    The System asked: "Does the host want to start learning?"

    "Let''s start."

    Lin Yuan looked forward to it.

    In an instant, he felt that his surroundings became blurry and distorted.

    When he recovered, he found himself in a clean small classroom.

    There was only one person in the classroom.

    And that emotionless middle-aged man standing on the podium was Yang Zhongming.

    Lin Yuan asked: "Where is this?"

    The System said: "This is the world within the host''s brain. Time here passes very slowly. Two hours of learning in your mind only takes two minutes in the outside world."

    Lin Yuan was taken aback: "Did you bring Yang Zhongming here?"

    What if he wants to use the bathroom?

    Is there even a bathroom in his head?

    The System said: "This is only a character projection, not bringing Yang Zhongming into this space. Now, Yang Zhongming will teach you, the System default assumes that the Yang Zhongming projection is using the Teacher''s Halo."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    Can the Teacher''s Halo be used like this?

    That''s true.

    After all, the character card does belong to himself.

    Before Lin Yuan could say anything else, Yang Zhongming in front of him suddenly began speaking: "Don''t daydream during class, or you''ll have to stand outside. You are now in your third year of college. I''ll start explaining from there..."

    "Alright."

    Lin Yuan sat upright.

    It''s normal for a teacher to be strict.

    Students should act like students during class, and there''s a time limit on the character card. I can only have this class for two hours a day. Every minute counts.

    "Today we will talk about chord progression."

    Yang Zhongming was still expressionless. He didn''t need a textbook and started explaining directly.

    A lot of what he covered were things Lin Yuan only half-understood before.

    Lin Yuan wasn''t sure if it was due to Yang Zhongming''s great teaching or the effect of the Teacher''s Halo, but he was quickly able to understand the course.

    Lin Yuan had never been able to learn this efficiently in school!

    Therefore, Lin Yuan cherished this time.

    Two hours later, Yang Zhongming''s memory disappeared, and Lin Yuan snapped back to reality from that wonderful state.

    He suddenly felt as if he knew nothing.

    This made Lin Yuan feel a sense of frustration. In terms of actual ability, he was worlds apart from Yang Zhongming.

    However, the learning efficiency within those two hours was truly horrifying.

    Lin Yuan felt that the academic progress he made in half a month at school could not compare to the two-hour teaching by Yang Zhongming!

    He even wished he could continue learning from Yang Zhongming.

    Unfortunately, the character card was now in a cool-down state and could not be used till tomorrow.

    "Friendly reminder."

    The System said: "If the host is unable to complete the teaching task within the task period, the Yang Zhongming character card will become invalid."

    "Understood."

    Lin Yuan was resolved to finish this task as he wished to continue learning from Yang Zhongming!

    With Yang Zhongming''s experience and knowledge, along with the effect of the Teacher''s Halo, Lin Yuan felt that teaching three decent composers was not all that difficult.

    Lin Yuan asked, "What is the standard for completing the task?"

    The System said: "The System has its own evaluation standards. The host needs to do the task well, and when the apprentice can be certified, the System will provide a prompt."

    "Understood."

    Lin Yuan took out his phone and sent a message to Gu Dong: "Could you send me the profiles of everyone in the composition department, including the songs they have composed in the past?"

    After all this, Lin Yuan got up to open the door, and a strong stench filled his nose.

    "It''s just in time. Let''s eat.", Jian Yi said with a smile.

    Lin Yuan stepped back: "What did you make?"

    Jian Yi said: "Snail Noodles."

 Chapter 166 - 157 Olive Branch_1

    He only needs to work on the weekend.

    From Monday to Friday, Lin Yuan is still a student.

    However, it''s more apt to say that Lin Yuan is Yang Zhongming''s student rather than a student of this school''s tutors.

    During Lin Yuan''s school term, he studies with Yang Zhongming for two hours every day!

    This doesn''t interfere with Lin Yuan''s normal classes.

    Every day, studying with Yang Zhongming inside his brain for two hours equates to only two real-life minutes.

    Yet, this does affect Lin Yuan''s campus life.

    The most significant impact is that Lin Yuan found that the teachers'' pace of teaching can no longer keep up with his learning speed.

    Qi Art''s teachers have just started teaching the composition knowledge from the first stage of the previous semester.

    Lin Yuan, however, has already learned with Yang Zhongming up to the third or even the fourth stage of the previous semester''s composition knowledge.

    This results in the teacher''s lessons becoming boring to him.

    Lin Yuan even anticipated the weekend to come sooner so he could do his tasks at the company.

    But Lin Yuan failed to get the weekend to come earlier.

    Instead, the drama "Distance Between You and Me" officially aired that Friday night!

    Tan Kai is an A-list actor in Qi Continent, him starring in "Distance Between You and Me" produced by Thunderbolt Entertainment naturally would be a blockbuster drama.

    So, it drew a lot of interest.

    But after two episodes of this drama aired.

    Online comments about the drama focused not on its plot, but on its theme song!

    "This theme song called "Like You" is so pleasant to the ears!"

    "The drama was fine, it''s one of those that I could either watch or not, but when the male and female leads reunite, the theme song suddenly played, causing the story to become fascinating!"

    "The old-fashioned plot, yet a godly song?"

    "Hahaha, it''s not that bad of a drama I guess. I remember the scene in the warehouse where the male and female leads reunited for the first time. The female lead moved boxes and after moving a dozen of them, she saw the male lead standing opposite her. They stared at each other, and then the music sounded. It really touched me..."

    "How should I put it, the past poor boy has turned into today''s overbearing CEO. He encounters his wife who abandoned him years ago. This clich¨¦ plot is irresistible, and combined with the music the effect is suddenly more than the sum of its parts!"

    "The integration of the song and the drama is just too good!"

    "The theme song was sung by Tan Kai himself, I didn''t know Tan Kai sounded this good in singing. Plus, he''s the male lead, I felt an immediate sense of immersion!"

    "The song reignited my passion for the drama."

    "I usually start liking a song because of a drama, this is the first time a song made me interested in a drama."

    "..."

    Gu Dong is a fan of Tan Kai, so she watched the drama as soon as it aired. Seeing these comments from the audience, she couldn''t contain her excitement!

    They''re saying the song "Like You" saved the drama?

    Surely that''s an exaggeration, especially for professionals like Gu Dong.

    A good drama can drive the popularity of an average song, but a good song can hardly boost the popularity of an average drama.

    So, Gu Dong understood very well that the recognition for "Like You" not only comes from the quality of the song itself but also from the fact that the drama itself is quite decent.

    Without the neat integration with the plot, while "Like You" still sounds good, the audience would only feel that the song is good, not the drama.

    Therefore, most of these comments were from biased observers.

    Or perhaps they subconsciously didn''t want to admit being attracted by a drama with such a clich¨¦ plot...

    That would make them seem tasteless, wouldn''t it?

    However, in reality, the vast majority of people are tasteless, it is a world that gets won over by clich¨¦s.

    It''s even somewhat like novels. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Using the same clich¨¦s, some directors can make a moving work, while some directors will produce something vulgar and unbearable.

    Here''s a simple example:

    Some works have been remade, with the same story but a different crew, the effect can be completely different.

    In general, the performance of this drama has been decent.

    And subsequently, the "Like You" original soundtrack released by Starlight Music quickly gained in download numbers, showing signs of becoming a popular song.

    It''s worth mentioning that.

    The song rights are shared by Starlight Music and Thunderbolt Entertainment, but Thunderbolt Entertainment doesn''t partake in the download royalties.

    Tan Kai sang the song, and rightfully he should share in the download dividends as the singer.

    But during the formal handover negotiations, Thunderbolt Entertainment proactively gave up Tan Kai''s share of the royalties. Instead, Starlight Music paid Tan Kai a one-time performance fee of 200,000 yuan, thus buying out the subsequent dividends.

    This amount was split evenly between Lin Yuan and the company.

    Who made it necessary for the company to pick a singer from another company since they don''t have a singer themselves?

    On the flip side.

    Even if it''s the company''s own singer, those who sing the song should share the profits with the composer, so essentially there''s no difference.

    Lin Yuan was satisfied with this outcome.

    Qi Continent''s order-based model suits Lin Yuan perfectly because he needs to release songs anyways, and the order''s customization fees serve more like extra income for him.

    The main reason was the existence of the system.

    This kind of order is difficult for other composers.

    Extra income from releasing songs?

    It sounds good, but the song must meet the client''s requirements and maintain quality ¡ª

    How difficult is that!

    But no matter how restrictive the rules are, it''s hard to hold back Lin Yuan.

    Because the system''s song library is extremely vast.

    Therefore, Qi Continent may be a minefield for other composers, but for Lin Yuan, it is a place where he can make some extra income.

    And the most direct impact of this successful order is...

    Starlight Music is now in the spotlight!

    With abundant funding, the client would select their partners based on their achievements!

    Starlight Music couldn''t show any decent results before, so slightly more powerful clients wouldn''t cooperate with them.

    But now, "Like You," produced by Starlight Music is a hit!

    For the drama "Distance Between You and Me," it''s undoubtedly a very successful theme song!

    An undisputable success case!

    Let''s not forget, Starlight Music this time cooperated with Thunderbolt entertainment!

    Even without mentioning how good "Like You" is, just a little contemplation would tell that a party chosen by Thunderbolt for cooperation can''t be bad.

    You should know, Thunderbolt Entertainment used to mostly order songs directly from the Qin Continent!

    Therefore, naturally.

    Several clients from Qi Continent have started paying attention to Starlight Music.

    Among them,

    Some moderately-sized companies went one step further, directly extending an olive branch to Starlight Entertainment, showing their intent to cooperate!

 Chapter 167 - 158: Disciple_1

    Lin Yuan finally made it to Saturday...

    While Jian Yi was still sleeping in, he had already ridden in Gu Dong''s car to the company.

    It seemed just like the first time Lin Yuan entered the company.

    Almost the moment Lin Yuan set foot in the company, all eyes were on him.

    The composers in the composing department looked at him, their eyes filled with a hint of admiration!

    Can you blame them for not admiring him?

    A three-million-dollar order, a month of creative time, along with the client''s style restrictions, in the eyes of many, Mr. Lin had only a ten percent chance of completing the order!

    But what was the outcome?

    Mr. Lin not only completed the order, secured Thunderbolt Entertainment, but also exceeded the task, the song "Like You" was a massive hit!

    Understand this!

    Completing the order is one thing, but whether the song can become popular is another.

    For Starlight Music, from the moment the order is transferred, whether the song can become popular or not is no longer the most important issue!

    As mentioned before...

    Over eighty percent of customized songs actually don''t hit big.

    Because custom songs are like a specified topic composition, it''s hard for composers to fully showcase their completely powerful skills.

    This is the second major reason why composers from Qin Continent dislike the order style of Qi Continent:

    "I worked so hard for so many days to write a song you like according to your strict requirements, but the public doesn''t like it that much?"

    Why should I do that?

    I''d rather not take your order, be free to create, write a song that the public likes, and then enjoy the download dividend, isn''t that more appealing?

    So called extra rewards.

    What''s scary is that you might eventually lose the basic clientele while trying to get extra rewards.

    So unless it''s a huge order of millions, truly powerful composers really don''t like to take it.

    Therefore.

    For the composers of Starlight Music, Mr. Lin, who not only completed a hellishly difficult order but also managed to make the song a hit, was truly a godlike being!

    Lin Yuan didn''t react much to this.

    It''s hard to expect a child who''s been used to being stared at since childhood to react to this situation.

    He just calmly walked into his own office.

    Gu Dong followed him like a bag-carrying sister, despite carrying no bag.

    "See? This is what a Maestro looks like!"

    "At first, I just felt that Mr. Lin was aloof, now I feel that even if such a divine being was approachable, I wouldn''t dare to babble in front of him."

    "The strong are always lonely, which is why we are weak."

    "Mr. Lin has not been with the company for long, and he has already completed two orders!"

    "Is this what they call ''one god leads four dogs''? "

    "What the hell are you talking about - it''s clearly ''one god leads a pack of dogs''."

    "Look at Lil Goodoong, looking all ingratiating. She''s never been this submissive to her dad."

    "I would like to ingratiate myself, but I can''t."

    "We would be perfectly fine if only we had one-fifth of Mr. Lin''s abilities. We wouldn''t be producing just one order every few months, and that too only a small order worth three to five hundred thousand."

    "I heard that the company has new order intentions. It''s all because of the Thunderbolt order. Our Starlight Music is actually being contacted by clients for potential orders?"

    "..."

    The company''s composers are engaged in a lively discussion.

    Meanwhile, in the CEO''s office, Gu Qiangyun was grinning from ear to ear.

    From last night until now, he had received several calls about potential collaborations with Starlight Music.

    Of course.

    These unconfirmed orders are called intended orders.

    The company''s capacity is limited, Gu Qiangyun couldn''t possibly accept all the orders and then cram them all onto Mr. Lin.

    The Thunderbolt assignment had been thrilling enough, he didn''t dare to play such a risky game again.

    He was simply thinking that he would let Mr. Lin choose later.

    He would first screen the intended orders, as many clients were unfamiliar with Mr. Lin''s order acceptance rules.

    ...

    Lin Yuan had no intention of accepting orders today. One song a month was his limit, any more would attract unnecessary attention.

    He was here today for the task, so once he entered the office, he immediately asked Gu Dong:

    "Is Xue Liang in the company?"

    Gu Dong was taken aback, suddenly remembering Lin Yuan had asked for the details of the composition department staff before: "Does Mr. Lin need him for something?"

    "Yes."

    Lin Yuan thought for a while, feeling that he needed to explain himself: "I plan on taking three apprentices in the company''s composition department, and Xue Liang is the composer I chose first."

    "Huh?"

    Surprised, Gu Dong broke into a smile.

    She knew that Lin Yuan would leave the branch office sooner or later, and it might go back to how it was before.

    So, it''s great that Lin Yuan would be willing to guide the company''s composers.

    After all, Mr. Lin''s skills are obvious.

    But Gu Dong doesn''t expect Lin Yuan to teach someone incredibly talented. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Her thoughts are simple.

    It would be good to slightly improve the strength of the company''s composers.

    After all, learning to compose is not a simple matter, and it requires talent.

    Five minutes later.

    Xue Liang came up.

    The moment he entered, he was inexplicably nervous. Looking at Lin Yuan, like the other composers in the company, his eyes were filled with subtle admiration.

    Also, Xue Liang, who was turning 25 this year, being one of the youngest composers in the company, looking at Lin Yuan who was even younger than him, his feelings were probably deeper than others!

    He knew.

    If it wasn''t for Mr. Lin being transferred from the head office, he would probably never have the chance to interact with someone on this level.

    Xue Liang believed that even in the Land of Music like Qin Continent, Mr. Lin must be an extremely powerful figure!

    "Mr. Lin."

    He nervously asked, "You have business with me?"

    Apart from the usual thoughts, Xue Liang was also slightly worried...

    Did he do his job poorly and thought Mr. Lin wanted to fire him?

    Lin Yuan looked up at Xue Liang and said, "From today onwards, on every double-cultivation day, learn composition from me. Are you willing?"

    "What?"

    Xue Liang was stunned for a moment, followed by a surge of ecstasy: "I''m willing, I''m willing! I... I..."

    Lin Yuan nodded slightly.

    He chose Xue Liang for a reason.

    After reviewing the staff information of the company, Lin Yuan knew that Xue Liang was a composer with a high single-out rate.

    This man was very smart.

    He never takes those large orders of hundreds of thousands but instead focuses on the smaller orders of around a hundred thousand.

    There''s a sense of accumulation.

    And those orders around a hundred thousand, Xue Liang executed them smoothly.

    This was his expertise.

    Because most of these orders don''t require high-quality songs, catchy pop songs are enough, so Xue Liang''s order completion rate was high!

    This was also a skill.

    Lin Yuan thought that Xue Liang''s qualifications should not be bad, and another reason was:

    Xue Liang was not from a background in composition!

    Before he became a composer, he was actually a programmer.

    It may sound unrelated, but he indeed was a programmer, and only switched careers to become a composer halfway through.

    Probably only Starlight Music would ignore his college major and hire him.

    For someone who had not undergone systematic learning to be able to complete a large number of orders, he must have a talent factor.

    With this in mind, Lin Yuan asked Gu Dong to bring in a teaching dedicated whiteboard and black-colored whiteboard markers.

    After Gu Dong left.

    With a thought, Lin Yuan activated Yang Zhongming''s character card, and a myriad of composition knowledge filled his mind. At the same time, the Teacher''s Halo automatically turned on!

    "Let''s get started then."

    Xue Liang could obviously sense that Mr. Lin seemed to have changed somehow in an instant.

    But he couldn''t pinpoint exactly where the change was.

    He inexplicably felt very insignificant¡­

 Chapter 168 - 159: Peach and Plum Trees Everywhere_1

    Two hours later, a puzzled Xue Liang returned to the Composition Department. His colleagues instantly surrounded him, their faces full of curiosity:

    "What did Mr. Lin want with you?"

    "You were gone for quite a while!"

    "This is the first time Mr. Lin has summoned someone from our department!"

    "Mr. Lin isn''t the emperor, why are you using the term ''summon''?"

    "I think ''summon'' is very fitting, it suits Mr. Lin''s status."

    "That''s true."

    "¡­"

    After some chattering, everyone turned to Xue Liang again: "A-Liang, why are you quiet?"

    "I¡­"

    Xue Liang looked at everyone, opened his mouth, and after a long time, finally spoke: "I am learning composition from the teacher."

    Everyone was surprised: "The teacher?"

    Xue Liang seemed somewhat distracted: "Mr. Lin is my teacher, he said he will instruct me in composition in the future¡­"

    "Really?"

    "No wonder you were gone for so long."

    "Mr. Lin taught you for two hours?"

    No one saw that coming.

    But what was even more unexpected for Xue Liang was that, as he recalled the class, he was filled with awe: "Mr. Lin is too¡­"

    "What?"

    Everyone stared at Xue Liang.

    After thinking for a while, Xue Liang failed to come up with an appropriate adjective, and it was only when people were about to lose interest and disperse that he finally said: "I believe there is no one in the world who understands composition better than Mr. Lin!" S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Everyone: "¡­"

    Then, everyone burst into laughter.

    The head of the music department patted Xue Liang''s shoulder: "You are a special one among us because you have never systematically studied composition. So, your professional level is a bit lacking. There''s no doubt that Mr. Lin, as the ace composer, has a more profound understanding of composition than anyone else in this room.

    But to say that there''s no one in the world who understands composition better than him is a bit of an exaggeration. Aside from Maestro, no one would dare claim to be an unrivaled composer."

    Xue Liang kept silent.

    He wanted to tell the group that he had been working hard to improve his knowledge of composition every day and that he had almost self-studied through the university''s composition course.

    He wanted to say:

    Mr. Lin is on the same level as Maestro!

    But he knew none of them would believe him. Only he knew what he had gained from his two-hour study with Mr. Lin!

    "It feels like Mr. Lin has fooled Xue Liang." One of the composers joked.

    Xue Liang suddenly felt irritated, he looked at the man and said, "That''s because you don''t understand Mr. Lin!"

    "I knew it." The colleague laughed even harder.

    Xue Liang clenched his fist, suddenly calmed down, casually glanced at the man and said, "You''ll understand it later."

    "What?"

    The man suddenly became unhappy as well. Xue Liang''s demeanor made him uncomfortable, so he sneered: "Just because you studied with Mr. Lin for a few days, you''ll become a master with supernatural powers? Oh, will you also get a three million deal like Thunderbolt Entertainment?

    You might have the highest turnover rate in the company, but if I remember correctly, the biggest deal you''ve made had a down payment of only two hundred thousand, right?"

    "Joking is joking, but you''ve crossed the line."

    The head frowned, gave the man who had a row with Xue Liang a stern look, then patted Xue Liang''s shoulder: "Study hard, this is a rare opportunity. Mr. Lin selected you because he believes in you the most."

    "Alright."

    Xue Liang nodded vigorously.

    The one who had a row with Xue Liang sneered, but did not continue to argue.

    Deep down, he was just a little frustrated that Mr. Lin chose to mentor Xue Liang instead of him.

    ¡­

    Lin Yuan found it interesting to teach composition because when he activated the Yang Zhongming Task Card, his memories remained clear.

    So, while he was instructing Xue Liang, he also had a feeling that he was learning himself.

    The character card worked in mysterious ways.

    Even though he was teaching others, he felt like he was also teaching himself.

    Unfortunately, during the teaching process, he couldn''t enjoy the Teacher''s Halo, Xue Liang reaped all the benefits of it.

    "Did my Teacher''s Halo level increase?" Lin Yuan asked the System.

    The System replied: "Host''s Teacher''s Halo effect has been increasing slowly, but it has recently stagnated because the host hasn''t taught for a very long time."

    Lin Yuan understood.

    He knew that the System was referring to his teaching painting at Qin Art. During that time, Lin Yuan''s Teacher''s Halo effect increased quickly.

    "The problem is¡­"

    Lin Yuan frowned: "I am currently teaching only one student, and in total for this task, I''ll teach only three people. Under such circumstances, it will be very difficult for me to continue to increase the Teacher''s Halo."

    "The host has misunderstood."

    The System responded: "The Teacher''s Halo not only increases as the host''s teaching range expands, but also with the quality of the host''s teaching. In other words, even if the host only teaches one person, if the host can elevate this person to a certain level, the Teacher''s Halo will also get a boost effect, perhaps even level up!"

    Lin Yuan valued the Teacher''s Halo a lot.

    Because teaching can earn him money.

    He should technically be charging Xue Liang too.

    But since this is a System task, and considering Xue Liang is technically his subordinate, Lin Yuan didn''t feel comfortable bringing up the matter of charging a fee.

    But what Lin Yuan didn''t realize before was that teaching just one person can also increase the Teacher''s Halo.

    He asked in his heart: "Taking Xue Liang''s example, does the system mean that if I can teach Xue Liang to become a brilliant composer, the effect might not be worse than if I taught a group of composers?"

    "That''s correct."

    That''s the strategy of using elite troops!

    If Lin Yuan had known this earlier, he would have seized a person with good talent and cultivated him for experience.

    Like at Qin Art before, for instance.

    He could have focused on teaching Zhong Yu more, and cultivated him into a true master of painting!

    It''s like grinding in online games.

    Fighting dozens of small monsters provides a hundred experience points, but if you encounter an elite monster, killing just one could also provide the same experience points!

    "I understand now."

    Lin Yuan was slightly annoyed: "Why didn''t you say this before?"

    The System surprisingly hesitated for a moment: "Because the host has never enjoyed the pleasure of exploring the System, the host only likes money, and sees everything through the lens of money."

    Can the System also taunt?

    Lin Yuan grew even more irritated.

    Who says he only likes money?

    He also likes pudding jelly, ice cream, egg yolk...

    And tea.

    "Realizing it violated protocol probably, the System quickly compensated: "Actually, the System has a new function that the host has not discovered yet. The System originally intended to let the host discover and develop it on his own. However, seeing as the host only thinks about the System when he wants to make money, the System has decided to provide hints."

    "What hint?"

    "Another reason for the System to encourage the host to take on disciples is that once the disciple reaches the graduation standard, their published works would also generate Prestige Value, which will be added to the host''s account. The System wishes the host will one day have a large group of successful apprentices."

    "Why didn''t you say this earlier?"

    Lin Yuan became anxious: "If you had told me earlier... wouldn''t everything have been fine... Why didn''t you..."

 Chapter 169 - 160: Xue Liangs Composing Ability_1

    Lin Yuan truly regretted it.

    He hadn''t realized that having apprentices had this advantage.

    If he had known earlier, he would have taken on more apprentices, letting them earn reputation for him.

    It must be simpler than working hard on his own to earn reputation!

    Thankfully, there was still Xue Liang¡­

    If it could be said that Lin Yuan previously taught Xue Liang just to complete the system task in order to permanently obtain Yang Zhongming''s character card, now he sincerely wanted to cultivate Xue Liang into his main apprentice until Xue Liang formally graduated!

    Under normal circumstances.

    For Xue Liang to graduate, it was of course not an easy matter, even if his teacher on the surface was Lin Yuan, but in reality, it was Maestro¡ª

    Lin Zhongming Yang Yuan.

    But Lin Yuan had the Teacher''s Halo.

    This thing was a tool for teaching apprentices. Even people with extensive teaching experience couldn''t compete with it.

    Moreover, Lin Yuan was essentially giving Maestro a Teacher''s Halo.

    There were no better teachers than Maestro with a Teacher''s Halo!

    Therefore.

    The next day.

    After Lin Yuan finished teaching Xue Liang, he suddenly made a decision: "Not just on weekends, from now on you will study with me for two hours every day. I''ll send you my address. You can come to my place when I finish school."

    Just like yesterday.

    After learning composition with Lin Yuan for two hours, Xue Liang felt that he had gained a lot!

    This was countless times more useful than his self-study from university composition textbooks, or paying to take some online courses.

    When Xue Liang heard Mr. Lin say he could learn this way for two hours every day from now on, he was overjoyed!

    "Thank you, Mr. Lin! Mr. Lin¡­"

    "What''s up?"

    "Can I call you Master?"

    "As you wish."

    Lin Yuan didn''t care about what he was called.

    He was just a bit distressed now, because the effect of his character card was only two hours every day.

    If he used it on Xue Liang, then he wouldn''t be able to use it himself.

    But in order to fast-track this apprentice''s education, he had to make this choice.

    Anyway, there would be plenty of time in the future. The character card was his and it was up to him how to use it.

    "Master!"

    Xue Liang respectfully called.

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Just then.

    A system''s voice suddenly echoed in Lin Yuan''s mind, "Congratulations host, you''ve acquired your first apprentice. You may now view the apprentice''s information."

    A thought flashed across Lin Yuan''s mind and within the music category, he saw Xue Liang''s information:

    [Name: Xue Liang]

    [Composing Ability: 409]

    [Relationship: Master-Apprentice]

    [Status: Not yet graduated]

    [Other: Not unlocked]

    [Note: The capability value''s full score is 1000. The minimal ability standard for an industry-recognized, gold-standard composer is 600. Once Xue Liang''s ability reaches above 600, he will formally graduate]

    So that''s how it was.

    As long as he could boost Xue Liang''s composing ability score to over 600, that would be considered having successfully taught this apprentice.

    That''s right.

    He could totally find an apprentice who could draw! It looked like when he had time, he''d need to pop by Qi Art''s drawing society.

    Check for good talent that would be worth teaching.

    "Alright, you can go now," Lin Yuan said.

    "Okay, goodbye, master!"

    Xue Liang respectfully bowed, then left Lin Yuan''s office.

    ...

    Not long after Xue Liang left, Gu Qiangyun came, his face plastered with a smile, his hands holding a few documents: "Mr. Lin, these are our recent intention forms. There are four in total. Take a look and see if any interest you?"

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Among them, two were like "Like You", classified as OST orders.

    The so-called OST generally referred to original soundtracks for television dramas or movies¡ªthe most common type of order in Qi Continent.

    Of the other two, one was a game order, the other was a private order.

    After briefly considering, Lin Yuan didn''t immediately make a choice, because these orders'' prices were all not high, with the most expensive one being only two million.

    "Mr. Lin."

    Gu Qiangyun guessed Lin Yuan''s thoughts and hesitated for a moment before saying, "This is just a list of intentions, the specifics still need to be discussed. If you haven''t made a choice yet, I can continue to filter the selection."

    Lin Yuan nodded his agreement.

    Just as Gu Qiangyun was preparing to take away the files, Lin Yuan pointed to a private order and said, "Leave this one here."

    Gu Qiangyun was surprised.

    The order was private in nature, priced at only 700,000. He hadn''t expected Lin Yuan to be interested in it.

    Lin Yuan explained, "I plan to leave it for Xue Liang."

    Teaching alone wasn''t enough. To quickly improve Xue Liang''s composition skills, he needed some practical work.

    This order could be a chance for Xue Liang to practice, it was a test provided by Lin Yuan for Xue Liang.

    Gu Qiangyun was taken aback.

    Of course, he knew that Lin Yuan had been teaching Xue Liang composition recently.

    But could Xue Liang, with his abilities, really fulfill an order of this 700,000-level magnitude?

    After a brief hesitation, he nodded, "Okay."

    Lin Yuan nodded in acknowledgment.

    Then Gu Qiangyun left.

    The next day.

    Lin Yuan resumed his regular school routine.

    After school, when he returned home, he was somewhat annoyed to find Jian Yi cooking again.

    The previous steak and snail noodles had left some psychological shadow on Lin Yuan, even though he had courageously finished them.

    He was unsure about what kind of horror dish Jian Yi might create today.

    Just then.

    There was a knock on the door.

    Upon opening it, Lin Yuan found it was none other than his only disciple, Xue Liang standing there.

    "Master."

    Xue Liang saluted.

    Lin Yuan nodded, "Come in."

    Once Xue Liang entered and saw another person there, he hurriedly greeted him, "Hello, I am Xue Liang, master''s disciple."

    "Hello, Jian Yi..." Jian Yi finished his greeting and looked at Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan said, "I''m his master."

    Jian Yi laughed, "Well done Lin Yuan, even accepting disciples now. So should this new friend of ours call me ''Junior Uncle''?"

    Xue Liang seriously said, "Hello Junior Uncle."

    Jian Yi was startled for a moment, not expecting the child to be so honest. He quickly waved his hands and said, "I''m just joking. Just call me Jian Yi."

    Xue Liang honestly said, "Politeness must not be neglected, you are master''s friend. I''ll call you Brother Jian."

    Jian Yi waved, "You''re probably older than me, you can call me whatever you like."

    This Xue Liang was an honest person, because of his honesty, he appeared somewhat stiff.

    Then Jian Yi suddenly felt something was off, were he and Lin Yuan of different generations?

    Never mind, they were all their own.

    "Let''s order take out."

    Lin Yuan had no faith in Jian Yi''s cooking abilities.

    Xue Liang volunteered, "Are you cooking? I can help."

    Jian Yi asked, "Do you know how to cook?"

    Xue Liang nodded, "Yes, master."

    Twenty minutes later, looking at the three delicious dishes on the table, Jian Yi''s opinion of Xue Liang had changed, "Culinary genius, brother! You have to teach me later!"

    Xue Liang said, "No problem, Brother Jian, you''re flattering me."

    Lin Yuan tasted a bite and was also very surprised. This taste was nothing short of a master chef''s!

    Xue Liang, reserved and refined.

    This meal, he had two full bowls, which showed how tormented he had been by Jian Yi''s cooking before.

    After dinner, Lin Yuan took Xue Liang to his bedroom.

    "We start the lesson." Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    With the activation of the Teaching Aura, Lin Yuan''s eyes became serious.

    Xue Liang was also very serious, he treated his master and master''s lesson with the utmost reverence.

    This time, the teaching session still lasted two hours.

    After finishing the class, Lin Yuan deliberately checked Xue Liang''s composition ability value.

    Surprisingly, Xue Liang''s rating had increased a bit!

    Previously, it was 409.

    And now it was 415.

    This was faster than Lin Yuan had imagined.

    Perhaps it wouldn''t be long before Lin Yuan could look forward to the day Xue Liang graduated...

 Chapter 170 - 161: Death of Biyao_1

    In the following days, Xue Liang would learn from Lin Yuan every day.

    Of course, Xue Liang was also responsible for Lin Yuan''s daily dinner.

    If Xue Liang''s cooking skills were measured by ability value, it would be at least over 600.

    As for Jian Yi?

    He received negative points and was kicked out.

    However, Jian Yi didn''t give up. He lent a hand to Xue Liang every day, learning how to cook. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    However, this made the senior-junior relationship even more complicated.

    Xue Liang was Lin Yuan''s apprentice in the first place. After learning to cook from Xue Liang, Jian Yi felt that he had inexplicably become Lin Yuan''s grand-disciple?

    Uh...

    Maybe everyone should just keep to their respective roles.

    After each lesson, Lin Yuan would check Xue Liang''s ability value.

    He knew very well that Xue Liang''s ability value was steadily increasing.

    At this rate, it would only be a matter of time before Xue Liang reached the level of a gold medal composer.

    By this time, it was already October.

    Meanwhile, in the neighboring Qin Continent, the latest volume of "Zhu Xian" was officially released!

    The world of "Zhu Xian" was already fully unfolded.

    The disputes between Biyao Party and Xue Qi Party were intensifying.

    Regardless of whether they supported Biyao or Lu Xueqi, both characters had amassed a huge following!

    All this popularity translated into the readers'' affection for the novel.

    So whenever a new chapter of "Zhu Xian" was released, readers couldn''t wait to devour it.

    However...

    Upon reading the latest volume...

    The truth about the annihilation of Caomiao Village was revealed to be the work of Puzhi, who had once saved both Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu. Zhang Xiaofan was already filled with murderous intent and began to deviate from the righteous path.

    The readers'' hearts clenched in sympathy.

    The big climax came when Ghost King attacked, and the Immortal Slayer Sword finally appeared.

    Many readers were greatly moved by this scene!

    But no one expected that the first person the Immortal Slayer Sword would be used against was Zhang Xiaofan. At this point, the demon-infested Zhang Xiaofan had become a serious threat in the eyes of the Qingyun Sect Leader¡ª

    Zhang Xiaofan was doomed to die.

    The readers were on tenterhooks.

    Subsequently, a scene that shocked all readers to the core ensued!

    Just as the Immortal Slayer Sword was about to strike Zhang Xiaofan, a figure clothed in green stepped in front of him!

    "Nine Nether Ghosts, All Heaven Gods Demons, I sacrifice my body for you."

    "Through three lives and seven worlds, forever falling into the yin realms, all for love, no regrets even in death..."

    It was Biyao!

    At the brink of life and death, it was Biyao who stood in front of Zhang Xiaofan. She was willing to scatter her soul and body as a price to bear the power of the Immortal Slayer Sword for Zhang Xiaofan!

    The turbulent wind suddenly changed direction, forming a huge vortex around Biyao.

    The gentle and pretty woman was pushed into the air by the wind, facing that giant, seven-color-roving sword.

    At that moment, she was the only radiance between the heaven and earth!

    When the unstoppable Immortal Slayer Sword struck down, a bang echoed throughout the world.

    Vaguely, a slender and sorrowful figure slowly fell from mid-air.

    All of a sudden, the world fell silent.

    Zhang Xiaofan reached out to grasp her but caught nothing.

    What fell into his hand was a torn piece of green garment.

    "Why were you so foolish... I haven''t told you yet, the person I saw in that ancient well was you..."

    Zhang Xiaofan was utterly dejected.

    Countless readers were dumbstruck by this plot twist that would undoubtedly turn the whole story around!

    Some readers even cursed loudly!

    Biyao, she... she was actually dead?

    Many people found it hard to accept this fact.

    At that moment, whether it was the Biyao Party, Xue Qi Party, or the minority Harem Party, everyone was emotionally charged. They vented their feelings on relevant forums:

    "Chu Kuang, you old rascal!"

    "Bring Biyao back!"

    "I''m freaking crying. The thing is, I''ve always been a staunch supporter of Xue Qi, but Biyao really is... I''ll never badmouth Biyao again..."

    "Chu Kuang, the old rascal, deserves death!"

    "Give me the Immortal Slayer Sword, I''ll be the first to kill Chu Kuang!"

    "Ah ah ah ah ah ah I''m crying my eyes out!"

    "Biyao is dead? Chu Kuang actually killed Biyao off?!"

    "My favourite female character in this book was killed off by Chu Kuang."

    "The person Zhang Xiaofan saw in the Full Moon Antique Well was Biyao, but Biyao can''t hear this anymore. As a grown-ass man, my eyes are close to swollen from crying!"

    "..."

    This was a riot involving all readers of "Zhu Xian". With this riot, Biyao''s popularity was pushed to its peak, outperforming Lu Xueqi for the first time by a landslide.

    And on the day this volume of the novel was released, Chu Kuang''s Tribe discussion board was totally inundated.

    All the comments from readers had only two intents:

    Firstly, Chu Kuang, the old rascal, is completely unforgivable!

    Secondly, Chu Kuang, the old rascal, must bring Biyao back!

    The former is an expression of anger for Biyao''s death, while the latter is the overwhelming wish from countless readers for Biyao to be revived!

    If anything could be worse than leaving a story unfinished, it would probably be killing off the readers'' favourite female character.

    And Chu Kuang had committed both of these most despicable acts.

    Not just the readers...

    Even Silver Blue Books was shocked by this wave of outrage.

    Especially when the editors of the Fantasy Department looked through the official website comments, refreshing almost every time to see countless new posts.

    They felt like they were about to lose it.

    "I knew it!"

    "Before this volume was even released, I knew that the readers were going to explode."

    "If we knew that, we should have persuaded Chu Kuang to modify the manuscript."

    "When has Chu Kuang ever listened to our editorial advice?"

    "No one can change Chu Kuang''s decisions. After all, he''s always been such a willful author."

    "Are the sales going to tank?"

    "The audience is already seething!"

    The editorial department of Silver Blue Books was facing such a shocking scene for the first time. So much so that the memory of today''s scene lingered for countless years, even invoking a sense of inexplicable fear.

    Yes.

    Almost all the readers of "Zhu Xian" were unhappy!

    Even the most steadfast fans of Xue Qi couldn''t accept Biyao''s death, let alone those who had always loved Biyao so deeply...

    You could tell by the change in the way they addressed him.

    In the past, readers called him Master Chu Kuang.

    Even if Chu Kuang teased readers by leaving chapters unfinished, people only complained a bit.

    In the end, teasing was nevertheless due to the anticipation of the following plot.

    This time it was different!

    The readers'' reactions couldn''t be described merely as teasing anymore.

    Chu Kuang had been downgraded from "Master" to the "old rascal" that was roundly condemned.

    As many people said:

    It wasn''t the Immortal Slayer Sword that killed Biyao, it was Chu Kuang, the old rascal!

    But the novel has already been released, and there''s no turning back.

    The readers could only hope that Biyao could be revived in the subsequent plot of "Zhu Xian".

    After all, this is a fantasy novel, so it''s not completely impossible for Biyao to be resurrected.

    In the following days, many people were hoping for Chu Kuang to give a definitive response.

    But Chu Kuang didn''t respond.

    Even though at this moment, Lin Yuan had specially logged into his Tribe account to view the reactions of the readers from Qin Continent.

    It''s not that Lin Yuan didn''t want to respond.

    But Lin Yuan knew very well that the readers'' expectations were doomed to be unmet.

    Although, in the subsequent plot of "Zhu Xian", Zhang Xiaofan and the Ghost King Sect both tried their best to resurrect Biyao, but until the end of the novel, Biyao didn''t manage to come back to life...

    The only thing left for readers was a trace of her unburnt green robe corner.

 Chapter 171 - 162: Competition single_1

    Lin Yuan was prepared for the reader revolt that was incited by Biyao''s death.

    He had been psychologically prepared when he wrote this plot.

    It is a turning point in the book, where Zhang Xiaofan undergoes a massive change in nature, leaves Qingyun, joins the Ghost King Sect, and assumes the alias Ghost, who is both righteous and wicked.

    The subsequent main plot involves a battle between good and evil.

    It''s also a process of resurrecting Biyao.

    Even though this process is bound to fail.

    However, Lin Yuan''s silence can also be seen as a form of indulgence.

    Because a response would essentially spoil the plot, at least he hasn''t completely dashed the readers'' hopes.

    This matter hasn''t caused any significant impact on Lin Yuan''s life.

    In the days to come, he continued to train Xue Liang, committing to his apprenticeship task.

    He went to work as usual on weekends.

    One day, when Lin Yuan came to the company again, Gu Qiangyun knocked on Lin Yuan''s door once more.

    "Mr. Lin."

    After entering the room, Gu Qiangyun hesitated for a moment, "Of the four orders you declined earlier, we only managed to secure one. The one worth seven hundred thousand that you have, we couldn''t secure the other three."

    "Why?"

    Lin Yuan was somewhat puzzled.

    He had developed some understanding of the company''s situation by now.

    So he knew that this type of business where the client took the initiative should have had a higher success rate.

    Gu Qiangyun said with a wry smile, "Because the clients behind those three orders all specifically requested Xian Yu, that is, they wanted Mr. Lin to take the order. If you declined, the clients did not want any other composers from the company... "

    Lin Yuan finally understood.

    No wonder the System wanted him to train an apprentice.

    The plight of Starlight Music wouldn''t change much due to his arrival.

    The core issue was that the overall strength of the composition department of Starlight Music was inadequate.

    In order to change this situation completely, some special measures were still needed.

    "But fortunately, we managed to hold onto one order."

    Gu Qiangyun said helplessly, "However, the only order we did manage to secure was because I told them that Xue Liang is your student. They agreed to try a collaboration, so I thought, if Xue Liang fails on this order, you should help him out. I will discuss splitting the order with Xue Liang..."

    Gu Qiangyun expressed his words rather tactfully.

    His true intention was for Lin Yuan to offer a bit of guidance to Xue Liang''s composition.

    If it worked out, the order would be attributed to Xue Liang, but Lin Yuan would receive the money. This way, Xue Liang would have some tangible work under his belt, which would make future orders less challenging.

    "No need."

    Lin Yuan interjected, "Xue Liang is capable of completing this order."

    Gu Qiangyun: "..."

    Don''t you think too highly of Xue Liang?

    Of course, there''s no way Gu Qiangyun would dare to express this thought out loud. He tread lightly, "What if he can''t complete it?"

    "I will step in."

    Xue Liang is Lin Yuan''s apprentice; Lin Yuan would certainly back his apprentice up. But Lin Yuan truly believes that Xue Liang can complete this order. Xue Liang has been learning from him recently and his progress has been extremely rapid.

    "Alright."

    With this reassurance from Lin Yuan, Gu Qiangyun felt somewhat relieved.

    He hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Actually, there is another potential order that I thought I should mention to you."

    Lin Yuan looked up, "How much?"

    Gu Qiangyun replied, "Also three million."

    Lin Yuan thought it was acceptable, but seeing Gu Qiangyun''s troubled look, he asked, "Is there a problem?"

    "How should I put it?"

    Gu Qiangyun weighed his words, "This is an order from Seven Star Entertainment. They want to custom-make a song for their top singer, Shui Yun, for three million. But this is a competitive order."

    Lin Yuan was startled, "What do you mean?"

    Gu Qiangyun explained, "What''s meant by a competitive order is, the client collaborates with several companies at the same time. Under the same conditions, they will choose the song they like best."

    "Oh."

    Lin Yuan nodded, "Accept it."

    Gu Qiangyun nodded, "We can indeed accept it, but I don''t think it''s necessary to take it too seriously."

    Lin Yuan looked at Gu Qiangyun.

    Gu Qiangyun analysed, "Because such competition offers are often taken by multiple music production companies at the same time, but the client is only one. So even though they sign contracts with several companies, they will finally choose to cooperate with only one company. The rest, on the other hand, turn out empty-handed."

    Lin Yuan commented, "Casting a wide net."

    Gu Qiangyun nodded repeatedly, "Yes, it''s the wide-net strategy. Seven Star Entertainment is planning to sign contracts with five B-side companies this time, with all five compete for the position. If they don''t choose our work in the end, our effort will be in vain. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Even if our work is not bad, as long as it''s not the best, the client will only symbolically give a hundred thousand yuan as consolation."

    Lin Yuan said, "Then we just need to win the order."

    Gu Qiangyun couldn''t help but laugh at Lin''s response, "Mr. Lin is bold with high artistic talent and does not fear putting in efforts all for naught. But with so many companies in competition, who can guarantee their song will be chosen by the client? Moreover, you don''t have the freedom to choose the singer this time, because their purpose is to tailor a song specifically for Shui Yun..."

    "I know Shui Yun."

    Lin Yuan had researched the market a bit after moving to the Qi Continent. Shui Yun was a unique singer; Lin Yuan had listened to more than one of her songs after his arrival.

    Lin Yuan did prefer to freely choose singers.

    That''s because he didn''t know who would sing the song in advance, and he was afraid the song would be ruined.

    But if the artist for the project was specified in advance and this artist was of an excellent calibre, then Lin Yuan could accept it.

    Because he could choose a song suitable for that specific singer.

    After all, having a specific singer is often one of the requirements of the client.

    All in all, as long as the song isn''t ruined, it''s fine.

    "Mr. Lin."

    Gu Qiangyun stated nervously, "There''s another issue with this project that I need to discuss with you."

    Lin Yuan asked, "What?"

    Gu Qiangyun grimaced, "Because among the five B-side companies chosen by Seven Star Entertainment this time, except for our Starlight Music, the others are quite powerful. Two of them are even well-known music production companies in the entire Qi Continent. One is called Lone Wolf, and the other is called Red Moon.

    You may not be familiar with them, but you just need to know that the power of these two companies is enough to crush our Starlight Music..."

    To be honest,

    Gu Qiangyun was somewhat honoured that Seven Star Entertainment even considered Starlight Music in its choice of partners.

    However, he knew they were attracted by Xian Yu.

    But Gu Qiangyun really didn''t want to take the project.

    Because Xian Yu is Starlight Music''s treasure and his time in Qi Continent is limited.

    Why let Xian Yu compete head-to-head with Lone Wolf and Red Moon?

    Those companies also have ace composers!

    However, Lin Yuan had a different perspective from Gu Qiangyun: "If we win this contract and beat Lone Wolf and Red Moon, will there be more requests for collaboration in the future?"

    Gu Qiangyun: "..."

    That makes sense.

    Who doesn''t want to defeat Lone Wolf and Red Moon?

    But the problem is we only have you, Xian Yu, and Lone Wolf and Red Moon both have more than one ace composer!

    He didn''t dare to say this, as it would seem like he didn''t have confidence in Mr. Lin.

    But it''s natural for Gu Qiangyun to be uneasy when the opponents are Lone Wolf and Red Moon.

    Although taking on this request doesn''t pose a loss if we don''t beat them, Mr. Lin''s time in Qi Continent is very limited.

    If we fail this request, it will be a waste of Mr. Lin''s time in Qi Continent, which is what Gu Qiangyun doesn''t want to see.

    Mr. Lin''s time is incredibly precious to Starlight Music.

    "Let''s give it a try," Lin Yuan said.

    Seeing Lin Yuan had an idea, Gu Qiangyun didn''t continue to persuade him.

    After all, even if the request isn''t completed, there isn''t a loss, they could even make some money from the consolation fee.

    He said, "We can take the order, but Mr. Lin, you must promise me one thing."

    "What?"

    Gu Qiangyun said, "If the request is difficult to fulfill, there''s no need to stick with it, it would be a waste of time. Let''s treat it as testing our luck. It''s great if our work is chosen by the client, but it''s okay if it isn''t. Mr. Lin, you can take on other orders earlier."

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan had no objections.

    He wouldn''t stick to any order; he had a lot of money.

    He didn''t underestimate everyone else, especially after using Yang Zhongming''s character card.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: I struggled a bit today, so it took me till now to churn out the third post. I aim to maintain the quality of my work, so I will stop here for the day and make up for it tomorrow!

 Chapter 172 - 163 Fish Leaps into the Sea_1

    In the evening, Lin Yuan returned to his residence.

    In his hand, he was holding a document, which was the request for a new single.

    The requirements were elaborated on in a few thousand words, but after Lin Yuan had read through them, he found that the key points were all captured in one sentence:

    "Create a song tailored to the musical style of the singer Shui Yun."

    Sounds simple enough.

    But it''s a bit challenging when it comes to actually doing it.

    However, this is not a problem that Lin Yuan needs to fret about.

    He just habitually called upon the system, like the previous two times when he needed to tailor the musical style.

    Surprisingly, the system did not immediately respond to Lin Yuan''s request this time:

    "Ding Dong!"

    "Due to the host''s recent frequent song customization, there is suspicion of over-reliance on the system for song creation. Therefore, the system will temporarily open its song library to the host, allowing the host to select a song from the library. The host will be responsible for the consequences."

    Lin Yuan was stunned for a moment.

    I have to pick the song myself?

    He wasn''t angry with the system''s decision, as more involvement in anything is generally better. Moreover, he had recently learned more about composing through Yang Zhongming''s character card. Guided indirectly through the teachings of the Maestro-level character, Lin Yuan felt his understanding of music was improving.

    "So you''re saying that it''s not the system making the decisions, but me?" Lin Yuan asked.

    The system replied, "Yes."

    Lin Yuan started to think.

    The system''s song selection always seemed to meet the target''s requirements precisely, and this was a skill as well.

    Could he, without the system''s suggestions, choose a song that would suit the target''s customization requirements?

    "The song library is open."

    The system suddenly gave a prompt.

    Lin Yuan felt as if his brain was suddenly connected to the system''s song library, allowing him to listen to all the songs on earth. The information of these songs could appear vividly in Lin Yuan''s mind just by thinking about them.

    Lin Yuan suddenly asked, "Aren''t you afraid that I''d remember some songs from the library?"

    "It will be blocked afterward." The system''s reply was impeccable.

    Lin Yuan wasn''t surprised.

    He didn''t immediately pick a song, nor did he reminisce about the classic earth songs. Instead, he turned on his computer on his bedroom desk, started listening to Shui Yun''s songs, and also looked up some information about her.

    Shui Yun was primarily a singer.

    She was also an actress.

    She had publicly explained in an interview why she, as a singer, also occasionally acted:

    Because she felt that the skills actors used to control their emotions were worth learning, and these skills were also very helpful for singing.

    This was Shui Yun''s unique point.

    She was very good at expressing sentiment in music.

    Just like writing an article requires finding the right angle and a good writing style, Shui Yun was a master of this technique.

    She was adept at finding the entry point of a song and, through her way of singing (comparable to a writer''s style), expressing and interpreting it accurately.

    This is a skill of control.

    Both in terms of voice and emotion.

    Why can some powerful singers with high-pitched voices not move their audience?

    When a singer loses control and the ability to grasp their voice, the expression becomes a mere venting.

    Even though Shui Yun''s singing might not be top-notch among female singers, her emotional expression and unique acting skills were one of a kind.

    This wasn''t just a conclusion drawn from Lin Yuan''s research but was also verified by the feedback he received while listening to Shui Yun''s songs.

    The experience was fairly unusual.

    Previously, the system would pick a song for Lin Yuan within a minute.

    This time, the system was slacking off, and Lin Yuan had to pick the song himself, hence spending a lot of time doing preliminary research. Luckily, lately, Xue Liang had not been studying composition with Lin Yuan every day¡ª

    Xue Liang had now started practical training.

    So, Lin Yuan only needed to guide Xue Liang on his days off.

    From Monday to Friday, the usage of the character card, Lin Yuan had applied it to himself.

    After all, using the character card to teach himself only took two minutes a day, not hindering his schedule for the Kung Fu Hustle.

    "Is there a time limit for song selection?"

    "The host has ample time to make the selection."

    Lin Yuan understood. Since there was no time limit, he knew he didn''t have to rush the decision. It would be more prudent to listen to a few more songs before deciding.

    Moreover, the order had some specific remarks, like how Shui Yun''s song this time should have some differences from her previous ones but should not completely abandon her unique singing characteristics, etc.

    And another feature.

    A very Qi Continent feature was that the performance of the song must be completed in Qi language!

    So, Lin Yuan basically ruled out Mandarin songs.

    Otherwise, Lin Yuan would have to fret about the lyrics. He was unwilling to make such a significant alteration unless the original lyrics were really bad.

    "Let''s listen to some songs then."

    The song library of Earth was fully open now, and Lin Yuan wanted to seize this opportunity to immerse himself.

    After taking a bath.

    Lin Yuan lay in bed and ordered in his heart, "Xiao Ai, play Jay Chou."

    "My name is not Xiao Ai."

    The system corrected Lin Yuan before playing the music.

    Jay Chou''s songs, of course, had nothing to do with Lin Yuan''s song selection this time.

    Shui Yun was not that kind of singer.

    Lin Yuan just simply wanted to listen to Jay Chou''s songs.

    The system was now his personal music player, and its sound quality was far superior to that of headphones worth thousands of dollars.

    ...

    The company had learned that Mr. Lin had taken a competitive task, but the employees didn''t discuss it much.

    Everyone was thinking along the lines of Gu Qiangyun.

    They treated this task as playing a lottery, after all, there wouldn''t be any repercussions if they failed to complete this task.

    In contrast.

    The fact that Xue Liang had accepted an order worth 700,000 stirred up a lot of internal discussion in the company.

    This was because Xue Liang had never accepted such an expensive order before, he usually focused on smaller orders that were worth around 100,000 to 200,000.

    However, after studying under Mr. Lin for some time, Xue Liang seemed somewhat inflated compared to before.

    He actually dared to take on an order of 700,000?

    Clearly.

    No one thought that Xue Liang would be able to fulfil this order.

    Even though Xue Liang has been learning composition from Mr. Lin and even started to be recognized as his apprentice, what does that prove?

    Would Mr. Lin, like in those martial arts novels, be able to transfer his skills to Xue Liang?

    That''s not how it works.

    Composition is not like painting or calligraphy.

    Painting and calligraphy can be improved through study, with clear improvement!

    But composition highly depends on talent, simply studying won''t significantly improve skills.

    So in everyone''s minds, Xue Liang was still Xue Liang, he wouldn''t become any different just because he studied with Mr. Lin.

    Fortunately.

    Although Mr. Lin didn''t make Xue Liang any different, he did indeed make Starlight Music somewhat different¡ª Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Because, that night, "Hero''s Mate" officially launched.

    The ancient martial arts-inspired song "Jianghu Smile", written under the pseudonym Xian Yu, was formally released, riding on the coattails of the release of the martial-arts themed game, Dream Dragon!

    A lot of players highly praised the song featured in the game!

    "Full of boldness!"

    "Fits the plot!"

    "Very catchy!"

    These were direct comments many players made after reaching the relevant levels in the game and hearing this song.

    However, it''s unfortunate that the song did not explode in popularity, like "Like You" did, due to the broadcast of the television series, thereby winning some fans who were not television drama viewers.

    After all, the game can''t match the popularity of a television drama.

    But this didn''t prevent "Jianghu Smile" from being an extremely well-executed order, nor did it prevent clients in Qi Continent from acknowledging it to some extent after hearing this song!

    Dream Dragon rated this order five stars!

    Yes, clients can rate an order; this is a feature typical of Qi Continent''s culture.

    Qin Continent definitely doesn''t have this feature.

    In the formidable Land of Music, they don''t rely on clients to maintain the markets.

    A five-star rating often represents the maximum affirmation a client has for an order.

    And in the music industry of Qi Continent, what they value most is indeed the profitability of the orders!

    Taking into account order prices, completeness, order acceptance rate, and public reaction, Qi Continent''s music association even specifically set up a ranking list for music production companies, which includes the top 100 music production companies in Qi Continent¡ª

    The Qi Continent industry jokingly calls this ranking "B-side ranking".

    Starlight Music, supported by the two orders with extremely high completion rates from Xian Yu, has made a historical entry into the top 100 list of B-side rankings!

    Alright.

    The top 100.

    This sounds a little awkward.

    What''s even more awkward is that Starlight Music is just now at the bottom, the 100th place on the B-side rankings.

    In name and in reality, they are the tail end.

    But Gu Qiangyun was so excited that he couldn''t contain himself.

    Because, in the past, Starlight Music didn''t even dare to glance at this list.

    This ranking, it''s practically an advertisement for the B-side!

    Just being on the list could bring in countless potential orders for Starlight Music.

    Some clients even specifically look for collaboration companies from this list!

    It was only after Mr. Lin recently joined Starlight Music and completed two super-high-quality orders, one of which included the large 3-million-order "Like You", that Starlight Music was forced into these heights that it originally did not belong to.

    The company originally ranked at the 100th place was called Flame Music.

    With the rise of Starlight Music, Flame Music was squeezed off the list.

    As a result, all the composers in Flame Music were upset. The company''s big group chat was filled with sour complaints.

    "What the hell is Starlight Music, they even squeezed our company off the list!"

    "I looked at their company''s works, it''s just a garbage company that doesn''t know what it''s doing, they were only able to squeeze us out thanks to a composer named Xian Yu!"

    "Xian Yu?"

    "It''s rumored that he''s a trump card from Qin Continent, Starlight Music is a branch of Starlight Entertainment in the Qin Continent, probably seeing the branch struggling, they forcefully brought in a trump card to save the situation."

    "I know of Xian Yu, he wrote ''Big Fish'', a very powerful trump card, he does have the qualifications to save the day."

    "It''s really more than just powerful, it''s incredible, this Xian Yu has only been in the Qi Continent for a short time and has already completed two high-quality orders. The game order is nothing to talk about, after all, the money wasn''t high, just that the completion was high, so the client gave five stars.

    The amazing one was the second order, a big company named Thunderbolt''s order, with a whopping commission of 3 million, Xian Yu also completed it, it''s the song ''Like You'' that was played in the coffee shop under the company building this morning, also rated five stars!"

    "So, their entering the list was all thanks to Xian Yu, isn''t this just a fluke?"

    "If it weren''t for Xian Yu, the level of our composers here far exceeds that of their company, but Xian Yu alone can beat all the composers in our company, where''s the fairness in this?"

    "..."

    However, grievances aside, who can ignore the fact that Starlight Music is backed by a parent company from Qin Continent.

    After the wailing of the group.

    The head of the company''s composition department suddenly spoke up in the chat, with a touch of schadenfreude, "Now the pressure should shift to those few companies that are close in ranking to Starlight Music."

 Chapter 173 - 164: Planting the Flag_1

    For a company that is able to rank within the top 100 of music production companies, the importance of the rankings is self-evident.

    Because in a sense, these rankings represent the company''s overall strength in Qi Continent.

    This is an important bargaining chip when negotiating orders!

    So, every music production company in Qi Continent pays great attention to changes in their own ranking.

    Starlight hitting the hundredth spot seems like a trivial matter.

    Especially when looking at the surface, Flame Music is the only victim.

    But this doesn''t stop the companies close in ranking to Starlight Music from feeling tense, especially after they fully understand the reason for Starlight''s surge into the rankings¡ª

    "Just because of one person?"

    "Isn''t this composer named Xian Yu too fierce? He''s taken on two five star orders in such a short time, including a three million theme song order for a major Thunderbolt TV drama?"

    "Our position is shaky."

    "This Xian Yu is pretty good. Among the top 100 rankings, which company has soared up just because of one person?"

    "If Xian Yu performs well enough, wouldn''t all the companies ranked 90th or lower have the risk of dropping down in the rankings?"

    "..."

    This kind of tension mainly belongs to the companies that are ranked after the 90th.

    Companies ranked before 90 don''t have to worry too much about Starlight threatening their positions.

    Because the disadvantage of Starlight Music''s model is too great, no matter how strong Xian Yu is, after all, he is just one person.

    So, compared to those companies that are very close to Starlight in rankings, companies ranked before 90th are more of a spectator.

    This fire won''t burn their heads.

    However, the fact that Xian Yu, alone, is leading a company forward has indeed shocked many B-side companies.

    They may not take Starlight Music seriously, but they won''t face Xian Yu with the same attitude.

    In fact, after Xian Yu completed these two orders, he has already attracted the attention of many industry insiders in Qi Continent.

    And in the B-side rankings.

    At present, the Lone Wolf Company, which is ranked 13th, certainly does not need to care about the squabbles between these lower-tier companies¡ª

    For Lone Wolf, companies ranked below 50 are all chickens, and those not even in the top 100 are not even considered chickens.

    At this time.

    A general meeting of the Lone Wolf''s composition department was being held:

    "Red Moon is competing with us for the Seven Star Entertainment order. Even if it''s just to defeat Red Moon, we must win this order. I hope all senior composers in the company can participate. The requirements of the client have been distributed to you. It would be best if you could brainstorm, and of course, you would not be working for free.

    The company can distribute shares according to your contributions!"

    Yes.

    Because Seven Star Entertainment is competition-based this time, there are a total of five companies competing for this order.

    But for Lone Wolf, there is actually only one competitor for this order from start to finish.

    That is Red Moon Production, ranked number fifteen on the B-side rankings.

    As for the other three companies contacted by Seven Star Entertainment?

    From a strength perspective, there is not much comparability with Lone Wolf and Red Moon.

    Seven Star Entertainment also understands this point.

    Although they have contacted five companies at the same time, the real gem of this order is actually on Red Moon and Lone Wolf.

    The other three are not necessarily just making up the numbers, but anyway, it''s a side move.

    Seven Star Entertainment just wants to try their luck, when it comes to making a real choice, it''s actually the same whether there are three other companies or not.

    ...

    Red Moon has a similar view on competitive orders.

    Saying that there are five competing companies, in fact, three of them are mixtures trying their luck.

    Red Moon''s real opponent is only Lone Wolf.

    However, compared to Lone Wolf''s certainty, Red Moon still investigated the other three companies.

    This is Red Moon''s system and probably has something to do with the company culture or something.

    In the conference room.

    The director routinely said: "In addition to us and Lone Wolf, the other three companies are ranked 38th, 55th and 100th..."

    Many composers couldn''t help but snicker.

    The 38th place, the 55th place could be ignored.

    But how come there''s a company ranked 100th among them?

    They almost didn''t make it into the top 100 list.

    But the deputy director explained: "You probably don''t pay much attention to these small companies. The 100th ranked company is called Starlight Music. They just collaborated with Thunderbolt Entertainment recently and completed a three million order."

    "What?"

    "Three million?"

    "Thunderbolt Entertainment?"

    "Any experts there?"

    "Kingmaker?"

    The composers at Red Moon suddenly took this more seriously. Regardless of luck or other reasons, a three million-order is not a small amount¡ª¡ª

    If this was a small sum, Red Moon wouldn''t have held a special meeting for the three million order from Seven Star Entertainment!

    Of course, this level of attention is not solely due to the money. If it was just about the money, Red Moon and Lone Wolf would not take it so seriously.

    The main reason is that Red Moon wants to seize this opportunity to defeat Lone Wolf to enhance the company''s ranking.

    Keep in mind.

    The rankings of Lone Wolf and Red Moon are very close.

    The two companies can form a kind of balancing out pattern. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This is also why Seven Star would choose Red Moon and Lone Wolf at the same time. They saw that Lone Wolf and Red Moon were not on good terms and exploited the competition between the two companies to make them take this order seriously.

    "It seems that you all get it."

    The deputy director nodded: "This is why our company stipulates that every competitive order should be given full support, and besides Starlight Music, the two companies that are ranked 30th and 50th have performed quite well recently. Absolutely do not drop the ball.

    After all, among the many competitive orders in Qi Continent, there have been a few cases of major companies messing up, they are the bloody lessons of our predecessors..."

    Seven Star Entertainment, even if they want to try their luck, is not randomly selecting within the B-side of Qi Continent.

    The standard for their selection of companies has certain basis.

    For Red Moon and Lone Wolf, the threat of the other three is not large, but it is not without threat.

    After the meeting.

    The director laughed and said to the deputy director: "Why did you read it so conservatively? Our company has received lots of competitive orders, when have we ever messed up?"

    The director has planted a flag for himself.

    "It''s just to get them to give it their all." The deputy director shrugged, "The real target is still Lone Wolf, but Lone Wolf hasn''t messed up either. It''s not that easy to make a mistake with an order."

    The deputy director also planted a flag for herself.

    For both of them, planting flags is actually a work-based adjustment, especially in clear situations.

    For Lone Wolf and Red Moon, losing to each other does not count as messing up an order, because both companies are very strong.

    But if they lose to the other three, that would be a real mistake, because the other three are much less powerful than Red Moon and Lone Wolf.

    So messing up is just a joke.

    Because there''s not just one order in play here, but two!

 Chapter 174 - 165: Gratitude and Resentment Situation_1

    Red Moon and Lone Wolf have accepted Seven Star''s competitive order!

    Perhaps the music scene in Qi Continent has been too calm for too long, with few blockbuster news, so as these two companies began to mobilize, many in the industry couldn''t help but cast their curious gaze.

    "Red Moon and Lone Wolf?"

    "Are they at odds again?"

    Many people wore knowing smiles.

    Usually, although Red Moon and Lone Wolf are formidable, they are not top-tier music production companies, and there should not be much attention on them. Instead, the focus should be on the battles among companies ranked in the top ten.

    But the issue is...

    Star Month and Lone Wolf have past grudges!

    Many people can''t remember the specifics from a few years ago, only that Lone Wolf forcefully snatched a five million order from Red Moon, even causing the Qi Continent''s Music Association to intervene, and eventually it escalated to a lawsuit.

    That was just the beginning.

    The same year Lone Wolf snatched an order from Red Moon, Red Moon also snatched a three million order from Lone Wolf in the same manner!

    It happened when the client was about to sign a contract with Lone Wolf, Red Moon suddenly intervened and took the order for fifty thousand less, and completed it with excellent quality.

    A feud developed between the two.

    But a company ultimately prioritizes profits, so both sides eventually reached a reconciliation.

    The specifics are not entirely clear to the public, but these two companies stopped undercutting each other, resulting in a decently peaceful period.

    Little did they expect that Seven Star Entertainment, so cunningly, at the same time, signed competitive orders with both Red Moon and Lone Wolf.

    Isn''t this a duel stage for Red Moon and Lone Wolf?

    Even though the two companies have reconciled, upon accepting the same competitive order, wouldn''t they harbor some thoughts?

    They''re surely bracing themselves to beat the other!

    Furthermore, there isn''t much difference in the strength of these two companies...

    This is what interested everyone. Human nature is to be attracted to excitement. Moreover, the competitive order that Red Moon and Lone Wolf have accepted carries some grudge.

    "Seven Star sure knows how to play."

    "This move is genuinely quite something."

    "Most importantly, you can''t accuse Seven Star of being unscrupulous. After all, Red Moon and Lone Wolf have reconciled. Since they''ve reconciled, we can''t say that Seven Star''s competitive order is malintended."

    "Could such a large company afford to be accused of wrongdoing?"

    "Seven Star Entertainment didn''t force them to sign the order. If either Lone Wolf or Red Moon didn''t want to compete for this order, it wouldn''t be a competition."

    "After all, they are closely ranked, each has its strengths and weaknesses."

    "..."

    The industry was buzzing with discussion.

    Compared to this matter, Starlight Music''s historical breakthrough into the client''s ranking chart seemed somewhat insignificant.

    Although it was mentioned that Seven Star Entertainment did not only seek out Red Moon and Lone Wolf, they actually approached five companies in total.

    "The other three companies are just along for the ride."

    "Those three are probably just trying their luck."

    "Among the other three companies, there seems to be Starlight Music. You all know about Xian Yu from Starlight Music, right? This person is not to be underestimated."

    "Yeah, we know. His song, "Like You", is quite popular lately."

    "He completed Thunderbolt''s three million order. This means, he stands a chance of fulfilling the Seven Star order."

    "Indeed possible, but the odds are quite low."

    "The overall strength of their company is a real problem."

    "I think it can be understood as Seven Star Entertainment diverting attention. Seven Star is telling everyone that we didn''t intentionally fan the flames. See, we didn''t just seek out Red Moon and Lone Wolf, we approached five companies in total. This is just a coincidence, we chose our partners based on their company strength."

    "Couldn''t be more accurate."

    "However, this order is no easy task. They say it''s to tailor a song for Shui Yun. Who doesn''t know that Seven Star''s Shui Yun has very high demands for song quality."

    "If you ask me, Seven Star''s price is a bit low."

    "Seven Star seeking out Red Moon and Lone Wolf is to press down the price, otherwise they could have picked from the top ten companies, or even directly order a custom from Qin Continent. However, without four or five million, the aces over there in Qin wouldn''t be interested in such an order."

    "..."

    That''s the truth.

    Music creators in Qi Continent are accustomed to writing songs for clients, while those in Qin Continent pursue more freedom in creation.

    ...

    With the revelation of Seven Star''s competitive order, those companies that were languishing at the lower end of the rankings suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.

    So Starlight Music had taken on a competitive order!

    We''re safe for now.

    The analysis isn''t difficult.

    Among Starlight Music''s songwriters, the only one qualified to take on this order is Xian Yu!

    Being a master like Xian Yu, surely he must have ideas about Seven Star''s competitive order.

    Even if it''s a long shot, at least for some time, Xian Yu wouldn''t take any other orders.

    And the success rate of Xian Yu getting this order...

    Is extremely low!

    Because to succeed with this order, he''d have to bypass the two big mountains - Lone Wolf and Red Moon!

    "Let the fight begin!"

    "Hopefully, Xian Yu doesn''t take any orders for a while, just wrestles with Lone Wolf and Red Moon."

    "With this order keeping Xian Yu occupied, the rest of the Starlight Music company is nothing to worry about."

    "Xian Yu is truly fighting alone."

    "As long as Xian Yu doesn''t produce songs, at most in two months, Flame can push Starlight Music out of the top 100 again."

    "..."

    This is the common sentiment of several companies that feel threatened by Starlight Music.

    In one of the company''s group chats, suddenly, someone expressed their worry: "What if Xian Yu pulls off this order?"

    His words caused a few seconds of silence in the group, then sparked a lively discussion:

    "You mean both Red Moon and Lone Wolf failing at the same time?"

    "If Xian Yu really manages to pull off this order, the ones who should worry are not us. Do you think those companies ranked in the eighties could stay as steady as Mount Tai?"

    "We''ll all die together."

    "But is it possible?"

    The department manager suddenly chimed in: "If Xian Yu had any brains, he might abandon Seven Star in a few days, switch to other orders, and then our position would be shaky."

    With these words, the group fell silent again.

    Even though it was a bit humiliating to be on the run from Xian Yu, everyone admitted that the manager made sense.

    We can''t just hope Xian Yu will be tripped up by Seven Star''s order.

    The most likely scenario was that he was just trying his luck and would give up in a couple of days.

    So, Starlight Music was still a threat.

    If everyone didn''t seize the opportunity to release their orders quickly, being knocked down a rank would just be a matter of time.

    Even a one rank drop would affect the company''s order volume and order price, or else why would everyone care so much about the leaderboard.

    ...

    Starlight Music, of course, had heard about the industry chatter.

    Despite the company''s pitfalls, it was not isolated from the music scene of the Qi Continent.

    Everyone seemed to accept the notion that the company was just there for a ride along.

    Gu Qiangyun himself admitted that this order was more of a shot in the dark.

    This didn''t suppress the morale at Starlight Music; on the contrary, everyone seemed rather optimistic recently.

    After all, the company had made it into the Top 100 of the Qi Continent B-side chart!

    The effects of being in the top 100 were immediately evident.

    Shortly after Starlight Music squeezed into the Top 100, several companies reached out.

    These first-tier companies hinted at intentions for collaborations through their words.

    Gu Qiangyun, of course, was extremely welcoming.

    Starlight Music was disorganized, not just because the company was weak, but mainly because it lacked opportunities!

    In the past, many first-tier companies simply didn''t offer this kind of collaboration opportunity.

    But now, with the increase in orders, Gu Qiangyun had the chance to pick and choose.

    Several talented composers in the company finally got new orders after a long hiatus.

    Yet, a few potential orders still fell through, just like before.

    A considerable portion of the first-tier companies came for the name of Xian Yu.

    If Xian Yu didn''t take their orders, they weren''t interested in collaborating.

    For this reason, Gu Qiangyun held a rare meeting, and the main theme was for everyone to seize the opportunity!

    This was an opportunity that Mr. Lin brought to the company!

    If it wasn''t for Mr. Lin single-handedly elevating the company to the Top 100, they wouldn''t have this many orders and so on.

    Lin Yuan didn''t attend the meeting.

    He was still in school at this time.

    He didn''t need to put much effort into his daily coursework anymore.

    Thanks to Yang Zhongming''s character card instruction, Lin Yuan had basically completed the knowledge points for this semester.

    If there were exams now, Lin Yuan felt he could easily rank in the top five of the class.

    So whether he was in class or after school, he was always thinking about the order.

    What kind of song fits Shui Yun''s standard?

    It has to match Shui Yun''s style and differentiate from her previous works...

    Lin Yuan decided to share his thoughts with someone.

    The first person that came to mind was Gu Dong, so he sent Gu Dong a message. It was more of a casual chat than seeking advice: "What do you think of Shui Yun''s songs?"

    "Listening to her songs is like listening to a story."

    Gu Dong knew right away that Lin Yuan was thinking about the Seven Star order, so after saying this, she hastily added: "Mr. Lin, don''t take this order too seriously. Even if we can''t make it, it''s okay. The company has been receiving new orders recently. If any of them are suitable, we will let you know."

    Clearly, Gu Dong also feared that Lin Yuan would obsess over this order.

    Lin Yuan didn''t reply. Gu Dong''s evaluation was meaningless.

    When he got home that night.

    Lin Yuan decided to watch Shui Yun''s live performance videos for a while, but because he was too quick, he accidentally hit the triple-speed button.

    There''s no speed setting for listening to songs.

    But there is for videos.

    Lin Yuan reflexively wanted to return the speed to normal, but his hand stopped halfway as he was moving the mouse.

    The song played at triple speed in his ears.

    It sounded somewhat weird.

    After all, Shui Yun''s songs were sentimental and slower paced. This type of slow ballad, when listened to at several times the speed, created a strange dissonance, as if the singer was just babbling.

    However.

    As this feeling of disharmony grew stronger, an idea suddenly crossed Lin Yuan''s mind¡ªhe felt that Shui Yun needed a song that was less sentimental, ideally with a quicker tempo than her previous songs.

    "System." S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan said: "Create a song, ''Kisses Everywhere.''"

 Chapter 175 - 166: Reorganizing the Subsidiary Company_1

    The speed of Shui Yun''s songs isn''t usually fast.

    In fact, it''s pretty hard to speed up ballads.

    But since the order requested a distinct style from Shui Yun''s previous works, there needed to be some differences.

    What could be different?

    Lin Yuan, after accidentally hearing Shui Yun singing at a faster tempo, suddenly thought:

    The best way for Shui Yun to differentiate herself from her past would be for this slow ballad singer to suddenly get lively!

    So, Lin Yuan thought of "Everywhere Kisses".

    There were numerous heart-pumping tunes in the System''s music library.

    But in order to be energetic and retain Shui Yun''s uniqueness, the choices were, in fact, quite limited.

    Lin Yuan couldn''t guarantee that his choice would meet the order requirements perfectly.

    But he thought that "Everywhere Kisses" would at least be adequate.

    Because this song was actually able to bring out Shui Yun''s performance characteristics.

    Despite being a common love theme, it wasn''t the typical sorrow of love lost, it instead made jest of and accused a rotten man from a woman''s perspective--

    It was quite entertaining, to say the least.

    The song makes one want to tap their feet along with the rhythm.

    Its effects are even better when accompanied by a video.

    The song''s information showed that the lyrics were written by Albert Leung. For those who don''t know him, they can find more about him on the internet.

    The composition is by Lei Songde.

    Again, there''s no need for much introduction, you just need to know that his status in the composition field is equivalent to that of Albert Leung in the lyric field.

    The song was quite remarkable, to say the least.

    But, with a remarkable song comes a price, and when the System gave its rate, Lin Yuan almost flinched.

    "The customization price is 2 million."

    Out of an order of 3 million, the System''s charge was as high as 2 million!

    Lin Yuan couldn''t figure out if the song was remarkable or if the System just seized this opportunity to increase the price. Either way, Lin Yuan felt the System was getting greedier: "Why is each custom song getting more expensive, could you be a little cheaper, how about 100,000?"

    Lin Yuan wanted to negotiate the price.

    The System ignored him: "Do you want to customize it?"

    The System was unfeeling; Lin Yuan hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to customize "Everywhere Kisses" because this order was special. It wasn''t for a specific person, so there wasn''t any additional singer''s share.

    In other words.

    Shui Yun was not taking any money.

    She was the one paying.

    It made sense when you thought about it, I tailored a song for you, I''m going to sing it for you, and you still want to be paid?

    It was illogical.

    In addition to this, the song download share also belonged to Starlight Music.

    Orders were orders.

    Song download shares were always Lin Yuan''s default base.

    This part of the rights was by default on party B, otherwise, the Qi Continent music industry wouldn''t be able to continue its development.

    Seven Star had spent 3 million, their intention was clearly for Shui Yun to perform this song, which belonged to the singing rights in the contract''s description copyright.

    Therefore, Lin Yuan felt that the 3 million order was a fair deal.

    "Ding dong."

    Just as the song customization was finished, the System suddenly announced: "The host now has the ability to independently select a song. In future, the host has to decide for himself which song to select for all orders."

    "Oh."

    Lin Yuan felt neither sadness nor joy.

    The System meant that the selection of "Everywhere Kisses" was up to par.

    As for choosing songs in the future, as long as the System opens the library, Lin Yuan was fine with it because he didn''t think it would be difficult to choose songs.

    Take this time for instance.

    The only place that required his professional consideration was nothing more than the singer''s own range and style, and his understanding of music. Lin Yuan felt that as long as he put in effort, it would be enough.

    Assuming this was an exam.

    Although Lin Yuan couldn''t directly see the standard answers on the test paper, the reference book was right next to him. If he was flipping through the reference book while taking the test, he could surely score well.

    Now that the song was ready.

    Should it be sent directly?

    Of course not.

    The order had only been made a few days ago.

    Lin Yuan''s speed of completing orders was already fast enough. Any faster would be somewhat unrealistic. He definitely had to get a grip on this timing issue.

    ...

    Another Saturday.

    Lin Yuan came to the company again.

    Before he even had the chance to sit down, he saw Gu Qiangyun walking in with a grin: "Would Mr. Lin like to take a look at the new orders?"

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Seeing this, Gu Qiangyun''s smile widened.

    He was only here to test the waters. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    If Mr. Lin was still hung up on the Seven Star order, then he would definitely not be interested in the new orders; but if he showed interest in the new orders, this meant that Mr. Lin had given up on the Seven Star order!

    It seemed like he had given up on it.

    It was good that he gave up!

    Stubbornly sticking to the order only held back the operation.

    In no time, many order documents were laid out in front of Lin Yuan. It seemed that there were more orders in the company recently than before.

    However, there were lots of orders but none that Lin Yuan liked: "Where are the 3 million orders?"

    Just like the last time he looked.

    The most expensive order was only 2 million.

    Gu Qiangyun grinned bitterly: "Mr. Lin, are you only interested in orders of 3 million now?"

    Lin Yuan replied: "No."

    Upon hearing this, Gu Qiangyun''s spirit was uplifted.

    Lin Yuan added: "Orders above 3 million would be better."

    Gu Qiangyun''s spirits fell again, forcing a smile: "Mr. Lin, there are many clients in Qi Continent but orders of 3 million are quite rare. Even for top-tier production companies like Red Moon or Lone Wolf, their usual orders range from 1 million to 2 million¡­"

    Seeing Lin Yuan remain silent, Gu Qiangyun continued:

    "Orders of more than 3 million are usually only taken by companies ranked in the top ten in the industry. We took two because one time the deadline was too tight, Thunderbolt only gave us a month, and the other time it was a competitive order; as you saw, it''s not easy to win against Red Moon and Lone Wolf."

    Lin Yuan frowned.

    The System''s customization price was pretty high, if the client only paid 2 million, there wasn''t much point in spending 2 million on System customization.

    "How about Mr. Lin considers the 2 million ones?" Gu Qiangyun looked expectantly at Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan shook his head: "Let''s wait a bit."

    Gu Qiangyun hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

    Lin Yuan had just finished two orders and indeed needed some time to rest.

    This had nothing to do with how long Mr. Lin planned to stay in Qi Continent, even a top composer needed rest, they couldn''t be expected to constantly churn out works without a break.

    "By the way."

    Just as he was about to leave the office, Gu Qiangyun suddenly added: "Due to Mr. Lin''s success with the orders, our company has entered the top 100 of Qi Continent''s music production company rankings. If Mr. Lin is interested, he can check out the rankings."

    "Alright."

    "Also..."

    It seemed that Gu Qiangyun had made a somewhat tough decision: "I want to formally reorganize the branch company, focusing on areas like talent and management. I wonder what Mr. Lin''s thoughts are on this?"

    "None."

    Lin Yuan didn''t understand company management.

    Gu Qiangyun said seriously: "I will take care of the company''s management while Mr. Lin can focus on songwriting."

 Chapter 176 - 167: Order Handover_1

    That very night.

    Gu Qiangyun suddenly called for an all-staff meeting, and in it, he expressed an intention: "The company needs restructuring."

    Whoosh!

    With Gu Qiangyun declaring the company''s restructuring, everyone felt their position was under threat. It wasn''t hard to guess that Gu Qiangyun was planning to make layoffs.

    It takes a longer time for everything to add up. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The flaws of Starlight Music were quite evident.

    Gu Qiangyun had wanted to restructure the company for a long time, but the company was already on the verge of collapse. It couldn''t withstand any major upheavals, so as the general manager, he dared not be reckless, and could only suffer a death of a thousand cuts.

    But things are different now.

    With the arrival of Mr. Lin, the company''s situation has vastly improved, even making it to the top hundred in the B-list!

    Thus, Gu Qiangyun felt that this was a good opportunity to restructure the company!

    Now, the company had Mr. Lin to hold the fort. If he postponed it any further, he might not have another chance to restructure the company once Mr. Lin returned to Qin Continent.

    So, after the all-staff meeting, Gu Qiangyun took decisive action the next day!

    He called people in for discussions relentlessly.

    Almost every day, people left.

    The wind of massive layoffs made everyone in the company feel threatened, especially the composition department. Seeing more and more of their colleagues being laid off, they couldn''t help but panic¡ª

    The manager is really doing it!

    A few laid-off employees tried to speak to Gu Dong in order to salvage the situation.

    Faced with pleading from some old employees, Gu Dong felt reluctant, so he sought Gu Qiangyun''s opinion.

    Gu Qiangyun said impatiently, "Do you think I don''t have feelings for the old employees? But in order to sustain the development of a company, we must be ruthless. For instance, Ol'' Zhang who came to you for help is not that bad, but he lacks self-awareness, arrogantly claiming that he only takes orders over half a million, not even bothering to look at orders of two or three hundred thousand..."

    Gu Dong was silent.

    What Gu Qiangyun said was the truth.

    Many employees in the company have this problem.

    If they can''t handle big orders, they aren''t willing to put down their pride to do small ones.

    But if no one does the small orders, who would take responsibility for the company''s performance?

    Gu Qiangyun sighed, "You''ve heard what people are saying in the industry, right? Although our company has made it to the list, many people in the industry say that we''re dragging Mr. Lin down. Even though this is true, we can''t be shameless, right?"

    "I understand."

    Gu Dong nodded, no longer objecting.

    Gu Qiangyun''s restructuring continued in full swing.

    It was not until half a month later that Gu Qiangyun''s restructuring finally came to a halt.

    At this point.

    The composition department of the company had been reduced from the original total of one hundred and twenty-six people to a mere seventy.

    Hence.

    When Lin Yuan returned to the company, he could clearly feel that the company was a lot emptier.

    He didn''t say much. As usual, he continued to give music composition lessons to Xue Liang.

    Xue Liang had not been affected by the layoff wave.

    Mainly not because of his teacher-student relationship with Lin Yuan.

    Even without this relationship, Xue Liang would not have been let go by the company, because his performance had always been quite good¡ª

    He never overreached and accepted all incoming small orders.

    After the lessons.

    Lin Yuan checked Xue Liang''s ability level.

    Xue Liang''s composition ability score has astonishingly reached 514.

    It was evident that Xue Liang had not been undergoing Lin Yuan''s training in vain.

    However, worth mentioning was...

    When Xue Liang''s ability score exceeded five hundred, Lin Yuan could clearly feel that Xue Liang''s growth was slowing down.

    After a bit of thinking.

    Lin Yuan understood why.

    The reason why Xue Liang improved rapidly was because his foundation was weak.

    But as Xue Liang''s ability strengthened, further improvement was not so easy. This rule applied in any field.

    Lin Yuan didn''t seem too anxious.

    He just asked Xue Liang to complete his current order first.

    It was a seven hundred thousand order. Lin Yuan thought that if this order was completed, it would be a great help to Xue Liang''s ability improvement and might even become the opportunity for Xue Liang to officially graduate!

    ...

    After Gu Qiangyun completed the company''s restructuring, he didn''t continue recruiting. Seventy staff members in the composition department were enough for now.

    Indeed, it was true.

    Whether it was the successful effect of the restructuring, making the remaining staff feel survival pressure, or that the seventy composers retained by the company were genuinely capable ¨C when it came to late November, Starlight Music had indeed completed three orders.

    Gu Qiangyun was over the moon!

    Ever since Mr. Lin came to the branch, these were the first new orders completed not by Mr. Lin, but by the branch''s composers¡ª

    And there were three orders in a row!

    Though these three orders were worth only one million five hundred thousand combined, they were nothing compared to the quantity of Mr. Lin''s previous orders. However, as the general manager, Gu Qiangyun could finally breathe a sigh of relief. After all, having laid off more than a third of the staff all at once, he was under a lot of work pressure.

    If anything were to go wrong, he would be held accountable by the head office.

    Now, the situation had improved significantly.

    At least on the B-list, Mr. Lin was no longer fighting alone. Other composers had also contributed their power. At least they were no longer plainly dragging him down!

    Get Mr. Lin to have a chat!

    Gu Qiangyun had always felt guilty about dragging Mr. Lin down, hence he had not spoken to Mr. Lin for a long time.

    "Manager."

    Seeing Gu Qiangyun coming to his office, Lin Yuan lifted his head and looked at him, "How are things going with the Seven Star competitive order?"

    "Seven Star?"

    Gu Qiangyun was taken aback for a moment before laughing, "I almost forgot about that. Has Mr. Lin completed the Seven Star competitive order?"

    "Yes."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    At this point, almost two months had passed since Seven Star released its competitive order. Lin Yuan felt that it wouldn''t seem too abrupt to hand it over now.

    "I''ll give you my email address."

    Gu Qiangyun took out his phone to sort it out promptly.

    He was just assuming that Lin Yuan wanted to earn a service fee, which is there for the taking. Just like a test paper issued by Seven Star, regardless of whether he knew how to answer the questions or not, he couldn''t just hand in a blank sheet: "Mr. Lin can directly send the work to this email."

    This was also where Gu Qiangyun was smart.

    He felt that since Mr. Lin had implied that he had given up on the Seven Star order, he must have written a rather random and perfunctory song. As a manager, it''s better not to listen to it, also to save some face for Mr. Lin.

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    He was not aware of Gu Qiangyun''s current thoughts, and even if he did, he wouldn''t explain much. After all, he wasn''t sure if his order met the client''s requirements. He simply sent the already prepared "Everywhere Kiss" to the email address Gu Qiangyun gave him.

 Chapter 177 - 168 Starlight Music_1

    Seven Star Entertainment.

    As one of the most well-known entertainment companies in the Qi Continent, Seven Star is on par with Thunderbolt in terms of scale. In a private lounge on the twelfth floor of the company, Shui Yun met with her team.

    "Sister Yun."

    Shui Yun''s agent, representing her team, began with a smile, "After our company offered a competitive fee of three million, these contractors have been quite efficient and the custom songs are basically done."

    "What about Red Moon and Lone Wolf?"

    Shui Yun valued these two companies more.

    The agent said, "Lone Wolf completed their production last week. Red Moon was a bit slower, but they also sent the complete song yesterday. Companies like these, if they want to focus, can finish an order in two months, which proves they give importance to this order. Which would you like to listen to first?"

    Shui Yun said, "Let''s go with Lone Wolf."

    The agent nodded and played Lone Wolf''s work.

    This was a rather complete piece, including lyrics and instrumental arrangement. Lone Wolf even found a singer with a similar vocal range to Shui Yun to record this sample, allowing Shui Yun to feel the full effect of the song.

    Let me explain a little here.

    The adept contractors usually handle both composing and arranging music, while writing lyrics is a supplementary task.

    The difference between composing and arranging music has different criteria for evaluation in the Celestial Dynasty and internationally.

    Internationally, a so-called composer is actually someone who can take care of both composing and arranging, similar to Lin Yuan''s style.

    Of course, this is the standard in international academics.

    According to the traditional view of the Celestial Dynasty:

    Composing is like creating a person, while arranging is like grooming this person.

    The two are distinct tasks...

    Blue Star lies somewhere in between these two concepts.

    Most composers are willing to be involved in arrangement and even lyric writing, but if the client doesn''t approve, they will have to do the arranging and lyric writing again, only adopting the melody part of the vocal performance.

    However, Lone Wolf is a company that ranks high on the charts.

    The work they sent over, be it the composing, arranging, or even the lyrics, were all quite good.

    After listening to it, there were many satisfied expressions on the team.

    Shui Yun didn''t speak, but asked her agent to play Red Moon''s work.

    After hearing this one, Shui Yun''s team was torn.

    Because Red Moon''s work is also good. Although they didn''t prepare as comprehensively as Lone Wolf, who provided arrangement, lyrics, and even a sample performance, the vocal melody is commendable.

    "Let''s conclude now."

    Shui Yun spoke, "The song from Lone Wolf is very similar to my previous work. One could say they tailor-made it for me. But the problem is that I am looking for a breakthrough. Compared to my previous works, this song doesn''t have much of a breakthrough."

    Everyone nodded.

    Shui Yun continued, "Now for Red Moon''s song. The issue with Red Moon is the opposite of Lone Wolf. Red Moon''s breakthrough is too big. They boldly included a rap section. I don''t object to rap, but I personally prefer melodic rap..."

    "So, which one do we choose?"

    The agent cautiously asked.

    After some contemplation, Shui Yun said, "Aren''t there three more? Have they come over?"

    "Um..."

    The agent hesitated, opened her email, and raised an eyebrow, "The remaining three have also sent their works, but these three are basically just along for the ride. You should know why, Sister Yun."

    "We should at least listen to them."

    Shui Yun waved her hand, "Forget it, give me the headphones. I''ll continue listening to the remaining songs while you guys start discussing whether Lone Wolf or Red Moon should be chosen."

    The agent nodded.

    Shui Yun sat in a corner by herself, turned the volume of the headphones up high, and slowly started listening to the music, while her team initiated their discussion.

    "Let''s go with Lone Wolf."

    Someone spoke up, "Lone Wolf''s work is the safest. We can ask them to make minor modifications."

    "Lone Wolf is too conservative."

    Someone else shook their head, "And you even mentioned modifications. Then why don''t we choose Red Moon''s song? Red Moon''s song clearly has made some breakthroughs. Although the rap section is a bit audacious, all we need to do is change the rap part to a melodic rap."

    "You oversimplify things."

    A member of the team who understood music shook his head, "The rap section in this song is hard to modify, because the song has to integrate this form of rap to achieve the maximum effect. Changing it to melodic rap would change its flavor."

    "Anyway, I think Red Moon''s is better."

    "Lone Wolf''s song is foolproof."

    "There''s no such thing as a foolproof piece..."

    The team obviously divided into two clear camps, with completely opposite opinions. After a while of arguing, someone finally looked exasperated and glanced at the agent, saying:

    "Can we take both?"

    The agent held her forehead, "You are dreaming. This is an order for a three-million-per-song. To take both would cost the company a total of six million. Do you think the manager would approve?"

    Everyone smirked.

    A new round of arguments soon began within the team, and within ten minutes, there was an escalating situation of near-argument. The agent, growing a headache from the noise, concluded, "Forget it, we won''t get anywhere arguing this way. All of you, stop arguing and let Sister Yun decide!"

    "Red Moon."

    "Lone Wolf."

    The team still bickered for a while until they saw the agent''s face turn black and reluctantly stopped their argument. Their faces held a hint of unwillingness.

    "Sister Yun?"

    The agent looked at Shui Yun.

    Shui Yun must have had the volume of the headphones turned up too high because she didn''t hear the agent. She was leaning back, fully indulged in the music, and her legs were even rhythmically bouncing...

    "Sister Yun?"

    The agent raised her voice.

    Shui Yun still remained oblivious. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Everyone looked at each other. They didn''t think Shui Yun was concentrating on the music, but rather suspected that she might have been a bit moody because the argument earlier had gotten too heated?

    "Sister Yun!"

    The agent leaned in front of Shui Yun.

    Shui Yun seemed to only snap out of the music trance after she saw the big face of the agent approaching her. She suddenly stood up, scaring everyone in the team who didn''t understand her big reaction.

    "I''ve made a decision!"

    Shui Yun''s tone was extremely light and cheerful.

    Upon hearing her words, everyone looked at Shui Yun. The agent was also watching Shui Yun, feeling nervous and unsure if Shui Yun would ultimately choose Red Moon or Lone Wolf.

    Neither Red Moon.

    Nor Lone Wolf.

    Shui Yun took off her left headphone. Without any hesitation, she decisively said four words:

    "Starlight Music!"

    At that moment, many doubted whether they had heard wrong, which made them freeze in place. The agent even subconsciously thought about which company Starlight Music was?

 Chapter 178 - 169 Rise_1

    Lone Wolf Corporation.

    The atmosphere these past few days has been tense, considering the time frame for contract delivery, a conclusion should be reached soon from Seven Star''s end.

    "I wonder how Red Moon''s work is this time around, will we end up losing?"

    The deputy director worried.

    The director''s face was somewhat cold: "Lone Wolf absolutely cannot lose this competitive contract, as our competitor this time is Red Moon. Regardless of how close our rankings are, our company rivalry alone does not justify losing!"

    "Of course."

    The deputy director sighed: "I''d rather crash, lose one of those slacking, smaller firms, than lose to Red Moon. Not to mention how many eyes in the industry are waiting for the results of this competitive contract. Losing would be a full-blown embarrassment."

    "How could you say such a thing?"

    The speechless director helplessly continued: "But what you''ve said is also true, losing to Red Moon would indeed be worse than losing to any of the other three. At least we won''t fall flat on our faces in front of Red Moon. Everyone knows that our two companies are arch-nemeses."

    Meanwhile.

    Red Moon Corporation.

    The situation here is almost identical to that of Lone Wolf.

    The company is waiting for Seven Star''s results because both companies are mortal enemies, even if there were reconciliation talks, but where can the thorns at the bottom of the heart be easily removed?

    "No problem!"

    "Red Moon must win!"

    "Anyway, we''ve done our best with this song, a group of ace composers teamed up to contribute ideas to this song. Everyone thinks it''s good after listening to it, there''s no reason for us to lose to Lone Wolf."

    "..."

    While they spoke confidently, in reality, the composers at Red Moon were mostly encouraging themselves. Although their song is indeed very good, wouldn''t Lone Wolf have done their absolute best as well?

    Waiting is always agonizing.

    But only Lone Wolf and Red Moon are bothered, the industry is merely in the mood for a show. However, the outcome is a major event that the industry is paying attention to. Even some clients have shown some gossip-like interest:

    "It''s been two months."

    "The results should be out soon."

    "Lone Wolf has a greater chance."

    "Looking at the ranking, Lone Wolf is stronger."

    "But Red Moon''s ranking is not far off."

    "The result should be announced by Seven Star, considering this subject is very hot now, a lot of people are waiting for this result. Anyway, I am more hopeful for Red Moon to win, because their ranking is a little lower."

    "Are you sympathizing with the underdog?"

    "If we''re talking about an underdog, aren''t the other three companies running side shows weaker compared to Red Moon and Lone Wolf? Wouldn''t it be fun to expect the other three companies to cause both Red Moon and Lone Wolf to crash, that would be truly entertaining!"

    "..."

    The further discussion was based on playful psychology. The people who said Red Moon and Lone Wolf would crash were just subconsciously messing around.

    Although Red Moon and Lone Wolf were both not too fond of this teasing behavior.

    During their particularly nervous time, Seven Star''s client representative finally contacted the two companies.

    The results of the competitive contract came out.

    "So what is it?"

    When Lone Wolf received the call from Seven Star''s representative, they swallowed unconsciously.

    But the deputy director, disregarding manners, leaned closer to the phone, wanting to know the results of the competition at the earliest possible time.

    "I''m sorry."

    The Seven Star representative started speaking.

    The two directors of Lone Wolf exchanged a glance, simultaneously witnessing each other''s fleeting sense of loss.

    The deputy director got up and shook his head.

    In the end, the director put up a brave face and said it was ok, then couldn''t help asking: "Was Red Moon''s work this time better than ours?"

    "No."

    "Then how?"

    "Starlight Music."

    "..."

    After Seven Star''s representative hung up the phone, Lone Wolf''s director still hadn''t recovered from some subtle emotion.

    It was only when the busy tone disappeared from his phone that he murmured: "It seems we''ve truly crashed."

    The deputy director''s retreating steps instantly froze.

    Coincidentally.

    At the moment when Lone Wolf realized they had crashed, Red Moon had also received Seven Star''s response.

    However, Red Moon was clearly calmer than Lone Wolf. The two directors seemed to easily accept Seven Star''s results.

    "You''ve got a banner."

    The Red Moon director suddenly said.

    Upon hearing this, Red Moon''s deputy director immediately understood the pointed meaning, his response wasn''t slower than the latter:

    "You seem to have a banner behind you as well, do the two of us standing together look like two generals on a stage?" Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The generals on the stage would have many banners behind them.

    Approximately 20 minutes after Red Moon and Lone Wolf had received the results, the results of Seven Star''s competitive contract were publicly announced.

    Cooperation: "Starlight Music, Xian Yu."

    However, many people''s first reaction upon seeing this result wasn''t shock, everyone was too busy being at a loss and dumbfounded...

    What is this?

    What exactly is this?

    Which third-rate novelist wrote this plot?

    Did they think we''d be shocked? We are not shocked at all.

    We just think this plot they''ve written is totally unreasonable, it''s simply complete nonsense!

    Like a gust of wind.

    Many people were blown away.

    The old-fashioned reaction eventually fell on everyone''s heads, and they were all shamefully shocked.

    This reversal didn''t even leave any room for the industry insiders to make retrospective comments¡ª¡ª

    "Did they really freaking crash?"

    "And two at a time?"

    "Starlight Music, they''re so fierce?"

    There''s no need to speculate about Red Moon and Lone Wolf''s reactions, because it''s all clear by now.

    "Done by the last on the top 100 list?"

    "Are you telling me this was done by a company that''s at the bottom of the ranking?"

    "..."

    The surprise today was somewhat taken over by Starlight Music.

    Actually, everyone''s information channels aren''t that closed, many people knew that Starlight Music had a strong backing, otherwise the company wouldn''t even qualify for the top 100 list.

    However, nobody had measured beforehand how strong this backing truly was.

    Everyone took it for granted.

    Until today, Seven Star measured it for the industry.

    "Do you get it?"

    "Xian Yu is the culprit!"

    "When Lone Wolf and Red Moon died in each other''s arms, no fish was innocent!"

    "What''s this about dying in each other''s arms, it''s clearly about Lone Wolf and Red Moon truly reconciling before their deaths!"

    "Xian Yu has immeasurable merits."

    "..."

    One has to say about this matter.

    The shock did not affect the sharp senses of the clients.

    When Xian Yu flipped over the cars of Red Moon and Lone Wolf in an almost gorgeous manner, the ideas flashing in the minds of countless clients in Qi Continent were strikingly similar:

    Starlight Music is on the rise.

    And following this thought, everyone had a shared new idea:

    Should we cooperate with Xian Yu?

    The significance of the second idea clearly supersedes the first.

    And the only result of this event is...

    Starlight Music''s phone lines were bombarded.

 Chapter 179 - 170: Xian Yu Effect_1

    "Mr. Lin..."

    The following morning,

    As soon as Lin Yuan arrived at the company, Gu Qiangyun rushed over to him.

    However, after he started to talk, he seemed to suddenly forget what he was going to say, simply staring at Lin Yuan with a complex look.

    Snatching food from the tiger''s mouth!

    Gu Qiangyun had thought that Mr. Lin had given up on the Seven Star''s competitive order, but to his surprise, the latter managed to defeat Red Moon and Lone Wolf to win the order in front of everyone, performing a miracle akin to snatching food from a tiger''s mouth!

    Shocking beyond belief...

    This was Gu Qiangyun''s feeling at the moment, as well as the entire Starlight Music''s!

    Lin Yuan, however, thought that Gu Qiangyun had come to discuss the new order, and said,

    "I won''t take orders recently."

    Even though Lin Yuan wished to accept dozens of orders at once, he had to suppress this impulse.

    "Okay... okay..."

    Gu Qiangyun naturally agreed readily, finally suppressing the shock in his heart, and said with a promising smile, "Mr. Lin, you''ve really worked hard recently. We''ll also try our best. The company has received countless more orders, all thanks to you, Mr. Lin. We''ll seize the opportunity!"

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Not long after Gu Qiangyun left, Gu Dong also appeared in the office.

    However, just like Gu Qiangyun, she opened her mouth, but all her thoughts seemed to get stuck in her throat, leaving only an ambiguous smile that was either flattering or admiring, "Mr. Lin, would you like some tea?"

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan stared at his computer, without looking up, just responded casually.

    After brewing the tea, Gu Dong placed it on Lin Yuan''s desk. She clearly saw what was written on Lin Yuan''s computer screen: "Great Wizard, I have a friend who lost her two souls and seven spirits, leaving only one soul. She has been like a fake death for exactly Ten Years. I heard that, Great Wizard, you have a unique technique to revive souls. Please, you must save her..."

    She suddenly shuddered.

    After putting down the brewed tea, she quietly left Lin Yuan''s office.

    "Did Mr. Lin say anything?"

    Gu Qiangyun popped out from somewhere. Perhaps, he had been paying attention to Gu Dong since she entered Lin Yuan''s office.

    "No."

    Gu Dong looked somewhat awe-inspired, "But I only realized today how hard Mr. Lin has been working..."

    "Working hard?"

    Gu Qiangyun hesitated and asked, "Why do you say that?"

    The expression on Gu Dong''s face had become somewhat solemn, "Didn''t you once mention that reading novels is the way Mr. Lin gets inspired? At first, I didn''t believe it, but now I have no doubt in my mind!"

    Gu Qiangyun exclaimed in surprise, "You mean?"

    Gu Dong nodded forcefully, "Mr. Lin is still looking for inspiration!"

    Gu Qiangyun said subconsciously, "So he is reading novels during work hours again..."

    "It''s not reading novels, it''s looking for inspiration! Saying it like that could lead to misunderstandings."

    Gu Dong immediately corrected Gu Qiangyun, "Reading novels is Mr. Lin''s way of finding inspiration. He had just completed a big order and there''s no sign of slackness in him. Compared to him, all of us should be ashamed!"

    "You''re right."

    Gu Qiangyun acknowledged the inappropriateness in his words, "Mr. Lin really works hard. Success doesn''t happen by chance for anyone!"

    Others read novels to relax.

    But Mr. Lin reads novels to pursue creative inspiration.

    The two looked at Lin Yuan''s office, their faces filled with respect.

    ...

    The impact of the Seven Star order is huge.

    With Red Moon and Lone Wolf as the background of this order, Starlight Music''s ranking has soared to 73rd after a series of breakthroughs!

    Especially those companies ranked in the 80s, they were in bitter plight.

    Since Starlight Music entered the top 100, the bottom of the ranking had ignited a bonfire.

    Those companies that are ranked slightly higher thought that this fire would only burn the companies ranked in the 90s.

    Who would have imagined that an unexpected gust of wind had already spread the fire to those ranked in the 70s and above.

    And with that,

    Those companies ranked in the 80s have inevitably become cannon fodder.

    As for those companies ranked in the 90s, while feeling regret, they also inexplicably felt some schadenfreude¡ª

    You thought you were safe, didn''t you?

    Look up and see, who does Xian Yu spare!

    It was as if it were a viral infection.

    When those companies ranked in the 80s are also devastated, the gloating eyes have already turned to all companies ranked after 50!

    The fear has kicked in.

    With Starlight Music''s continuous breakthroughs, more and more companies could not maintain a position of neutrality on the ranking.

    No wonder!

    Even Red Moon and Lone Wolf had fallen!

    Why should these companies ranked in their 50s feel safe?

    Although logically, it won''t be easy for Starlight Music to keep climbing, who would dare to judge the company based on previous experiences now?

    The existence of Xian Yu is unscientific in itself!

    And so,

    Those companies that felt they were not safe enough all called for emergency meetings at the same time, with a simple and almost pure goal:

    Climb up!

    Find a safe place!

    Some even dubbed this phenomenon as the "Xian Yu Effect."

    It''s certainly a pun on the "Catfish effect"¡ª

    The people of a certain continent on Blue Star love to eat sardines, especially live ones.

    The price of live fish in the market is much higher than that of dead fish, so the fishermen always try every possible way to bring back live sardines.

    Despite their efforts, most of the sardines still die of suffocation halfway.

    Later, someone put a catfish, which mainly feeds on fish, in the tank with the sardines.

    The sardines, seeing the catfish, avoided it everywhere. In this way, the lack of oxygen was solved, and most of them were lively and bouncing when they returned to the harbor.

    Look at that.

    Aren''t these companies, trying not to be squeezed off the ranking by Starlight Music, very much like the life-loving little sardines?

    This is the Xian Yu Effect!

    And with the moves of these companies, the ones ranked higher suddenly felt a crisis too¡ª

    There''s a big gap between ranks in the 70s and in the 50s.

    But the gap between the 30-40s and the 50s is very small.

    Now, with those companies ranked in the 50s and 60s desperately pushing forward like they''re on stimulants, how could the companies ranked slightly higher not be concerned and skeptical?

    One thing leads to another.

    The rankings are in chaos!

    This has probably been the first time ever since the establishment of the B-side ranking list on Qi Continent that the tail of the rank has had such a far-reaching impact.

    Of course,

    Everyone is still being overly worried.

    Lin Yuan has no plans to continue taking orders recently.

    And if Lin Yuan does not take any action, Starlight Music will remain a company without much threat. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    However,

    With the influx of a large number of orders, Starlight Music has indeed ushered in an unprecedented opportunity for development.

    To this end,

    The stagnant water of Starlight Music seems to have been stirred up a bit.

    The chess move of establishing a branch office by the headquarters of Starlight Music at Qin Continent seems to be somewhat revitalized.

 Chapter 180 - 171: The Torrent of the Era_1

    Qin Continent, Starlight head office.

    At the senior executive meeting in December, everyone summarized the company''s achievements and shortcomings from the past year.

    At the end of the large meeting table, the boss simply rested his chin on his right hand, silently listening to the reports from heads of each division.

    "Chairman..."

    When the round of reports concluded, someone gently reminded the boss whose attention seemed to wander.

    "Hmm."

    The chairman, Li Songhua, who kept himself in good shape, unlike other senior executives who had beer bellies, casually "Hmm" in response, making him an impressive figure.

    As all eyes turned toward him, he asked unhurriedly, "Why has no one mentioned the branch offices?"

    As Li Songhua turned his gaze around, everyone lowered their heads, silently contemplating.

    Just as everyone thought the chair would explode in wrath as in the previous years, Li Songhua suddenly chuckled, "It seems like your information sources are inadequate, no wonder the higher-ups are not pleased¡­"

    "Qi Continent''s branch closed down?"

    Li Songhua''s last remark didn''t draw much attention; merely a question from a department head, as the high-level executives had tacitly accepted the possibility of a branch office''s closures.

    "Let''s take a look then," Li Songhua responded softly.

    The male secretary beside him, keenly understanding his intent, brought up a document and projected it onto the large screen in the conference room.

    Everyone turned to look.

    They were all taken aback.

    It was an annual performance report. The first few months indeed showed that the branch office was teetering on the edge of collapse.

    However, starting from September to the current December, the line graph had sharply risen, creating an eye-catching mountain-like peak!

    "Is this?"

    Old Zhou, the head of the composition department who sat among them, widened his eyes in disbelief, "Xian Yu?"

    He turned to look at Li Songhua.

    While the other executives scrambled to find the word "Xian Yu" in the graph, Ol'' Zhou''s words echoed in their ears. Many of them glanced at the outlying peak on the chart, as if they could see a silhouette hiding behind it.

    Like Zhou, they turned to look at Li Songhua.

    Li Songhua nodded lightly, affirming Zhou''s conjecture and clearing up the doubts in everyone''s minds.

    The meeting room fell silent for a few seconds.

    Li Songhua broke the silence, turning his gaze back to Ol'' Zhou, "Modify Xian Yu''s contract."

    "Understood."

    Ol'' Zhou responded with a smile.

    Li Songhua didn''t continue on this topic. Instead, he changed the subject, "You''ve all seen the recent official news, haven''t you?"

    Everyone looked puzzled.

    The topic had suddenly jumped.

    Someone quickly responded, "You mean the proposal from Zhong Continent?"

    Zhong Continent is the political center of Blue Star.

    And the most recent popular news was the proposal initiated by Zhong Continent for the integration of all the continents.

    However, lively as it was.

    No one thought the proposal would really pass since it was an age-old topic brought up annually.

    Everyone talked freely, each seemingly well-informed.

    "This proposal won''t work."

    "Blue Star may be unified, but each continent is self-governing, practically different countries."

    "How could countries merge easily?"

    "Continents have all set up an information firewall to protect their own cultures from being impacted."

    "We even need to import films from Qi Continent, and the tariffs between continents are extremely high."

    "Our music finds it difficult to be issued there, too many restrictions on copyright transactions, Qi Continent does this because they fear our music would crush the music market in other continents. Otherwise, we wouldn''t have had to set up branches there." S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "¡­"

    After everyone had their say, they finally stopped talking.

    Li Songhua''s fingers were lightly tapping on the table, signaling that he had something to say.

    "The proposal has initially been approved."

    Li Songhua sighed.

    He hadn''t anticipated that an almost impossible proposal that''s tossed around yearly would have actually passed the preliminary reviews this year.

    Perhaps the folks at Zhong Continent feel.

    The autonomous nature of each continent and the resulting lack of unity have started affecting the cultural and technological development of Blue Star, right?

    Li Songhua finished.

    The meeting room went quiet suddenly.

    If this statement had come from anyone else, they might not have believed it, but if Li Songhua said it, they had no choice but to believe.

    Given Li Songhua''s unique background, no one dare to discuss it openly, but it was clear to everyone - Li Songhua must have received reliable information.

    "They''re really merging?"

    "Without any barriers?"

    "Allows circulation?"

    "Governed by Zhong Continent?"

    After a moment of silence, the meeting room erupted!

    No one knows what will happen after the continents merge. However, everyone understands that no one can remain unaffected in this era-changing tide!

    "This is just a preliminary approval."

    Li Songhua tried to subdue the chaotic thoughts in his heart, "This policy will choose two continents as the test subjects for the proposal, and our Qin Continent along with Qi Continent, where our branch office is located, are specifically selected as the pilot areas."

    It was difficult for everyone to digest this news.

    Li Songhua paused for a while, allowing everyone to process before he continued, "This is just a start. As Qin and Qi merge, the other continents will gradually break down their restrictions and barriers, forming a truly unified Blue Star. Of course, Blue Star is already a unified country. What we mean by ''merging'' is, in fact, a cultural merger."

    "So..."

    "Does this mean..."

    "Blue Star will enter an unprecedented..."

    "Entertainment era?"

    Everybody''s eyes were focused on Li Songhua. At this moment, Li Songhua''s decision would determine the future of the company!

    "You could say that."

    Li Songhua took a deep breath, "Our music became successful because we are a company in the Qin Continent. But when our market merges with that of Qi Continent, there will be more options in all industries. At that time, not only will there be the Land of Music, nor the Home of Films, but all industries will develop and closely intertwine¡­"

    Someone quietly asked, "So what are you planning to do?"

    Li Songhua answered in a grave voice, "In face of this era-changing tide, many industries in both Qin and Qi Continent will have to transform. We need to take the initiative to expand our reach. We need to focus on developing the film industry. Of course, we can''t abandon the music market that forms the foundation of Starlight."

    Everyone was in a daze.

    The day changed so suddenly.

    ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤

    PS: I wasn''t intending to write about the cultural collision and integration of the various continents this early. But upon reaching this point, I realized there was a significant lack of immersion in the protagonist''s journey to Qi Continent. The entertainment industry differs quite a lot from fantasy.

    The idea of changing the map seemed feasible, but I feel my writing skills might not suffice to handle the style transition brought on by the map change. Thus, I decided to bring this plotline forward by several hundred thousand words. I will think carefully about the subsequent plot.

 Chapter 181 - 172: Shuffling the Deck (5k Big Chapter)_1

    When the floods of time came surging, people who were swept forward by the trend often didn''t become aware until they heard increasingly frequent mentions on Zhong Continent''s news about proposals for the merging of various continents. It was then that people from all the continents, who were usually politically naive, finally smelled something out of the ordinary ¡ª

    There was finally a stir among the people.

    On the semi-closed networks of various continents, some uncertain speculations and remarks began to appear. High-ranking officials from each continent also started to be ambiguous when facing interviews, indirectly confirming an astonishing fact:

    "Are they really going to merge?"

    "A cultural unification of all the continents?" Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "This proposal first surfaced eighteen years ago. When it first appeared, it indeed triggered a collective discussion on Blue Star, but the implementation was rather difficult, so it didn''t become a reality until today, eighteen years later. Could there be any changes this year?"

    "A merger is a good thing."

    "Then you''re overly optimistic."

    "There are pros and cons to everything. Merging is not all good. Some places with relatively backward cultural development might lose their cultural characteristics or even their own heritage. But for the overall image of each major continent, this is indeed an opportunity for Blue Star to progress."

    "..."

    One thing that can be confirmed is that, with the merger, the overall situation of Blue Star will inevitably change. However, until this moment, most people still held a skeptical attitude.

    Until December 8th.

    It was formally announced on Zhong Continent:

    As a trial for the proposal, Qin Continent and Qi Continent were officially merged. From then on, the two would be one, and construction and reinforcement of technologies like high-speed trains, air travel, or ships suddenly intensified like never before!

    Let me explain.

    The high-speed train is the fastest ground transport on Blue Star, with speeds up to two thousand kilometers per hour. In terms of efficiency, it can crush any land transport on Earth.

    And that''s not all...

    All transport technologies on Blue Star, including airplanes, were way above those on Earth. Now, with the official policies in place, the shortest time for travel between the two sides can be compressed to two hours!

    One hour at the fastest!

    Although this effect could have been achieved in the past, communication between the continents was restricted due to their conscious self-governing mindset. But with the significant innovation in Blue Star''s overall technology and the formal decisions of the authorities, maybe related to the technological innovation, distance would no longer be a hindrance to communication between the continents.

    Wow!

    Blue Star is shocked!

    Full-scale public discussions were finally launched on this planet. It''s not because only Qin Continent and Qi Continent merged that people from the other continents naturally think it''s none of their business. Anyone with common sense should know that this is just a conservative approach from Zhong Continent.

    The political significance of this lies in:

    In the coming years, Zhong Continent will devote itself to promoting the policy of merging continents. The merge of Qin Continent and Qi Continent is merely the beginning. In the future, maybe other continents will join in, until this wave of the times sweeps over every corner of Blue Star!

    The ones with the most excitement...

    No doubt are the two pioneering continents.

    Because on the day the proposal was officially approved, all the people of Qin Continent were pleasantly surprised to learn that they could watch any movie from Qi Continent just by paying. They could even enjoy any games, music, and so on. Similarly, all the software on both sides could be used without any restrictions.

    Insane!

    The people of Qin Continent were overjoyed. It was not easy to watch a Qi Continent''s movie in the past due to the so-called autonomy of the continents. But now, all the outstanding things from Qi Continent were fully open to Qin Continent, including the top-of-the-line home theater system from Qi Continent that many people wanted to install.

    Due to the mutual restrictions of the continents, the installation previously cost millions, but now, it can be done with only three to five hundred thousand.

    And not to forget about the game warehouse!

    Qi Continent had the latest invention of the game warehouse. Even though the technology was still being improved, this type of game system had already been introduced in Qi Continent and the feedback was pretty good. Qin Continent was unable to use it due to certain restrictions, but now, that was no longer an issue!

    In short:

    With the integration of Qin Continent and Qi Continent, both sides would experience drastic changes in spiritual and material life. From significant technological and artistic achievements to daily life, even the fusion of popular trends, many people were already looking forward to more continents joining in.

    On Qi Continent...

    The changes were just the same.

    Qin Continent also had many things that people on Qi Continent pined for. The specific details will not be elaborated here. Overall, the feeling of people from both continents was just similar. Everyone enjoyed the achievements from the other continent freely.

    Even though the change had just started and the ultimate change might take some time, many people''s lives have already been subtly influenced by it.

    ...

    In front of a Blue Star epic progression like the fusion of two continents, Lin Yuan, as an individual, was undoubtedly insignificant. When the shock came suddenly, He even felt as if he''d gone through another time-travel.

    Even though he was somewhat familiar with both continents, imagine what kind of reaction the people who had never been to other continents in their lifetime would have in the face of such an impact.

    Even compared to Lin Yuan...

    Jian Yi had become somewhat neurotic, muttering all day, "Then I don''t have to develop in Qi Continent in the future. The film and television industry here will inevitably enter the Qin Continent market rapidly, and the actors on both sides will welcome the most beautiful spring..."

 Chapter 182 - 172: Shuffling the Deck (5k big chapter)_2

    He even used rhetorical techniques.

    He would occasionally chat with Lin Yuan about these changes in life, and his response was quite fast: "Believe it or not, Qi Continent will definitely make a big move into the music industry in the future. It''s not just us actors, all literature and art workers will face a choice of opportunity!"

    Lin Yuan asked, "Like what?"

    Jian Yi clapped his hands and laughed: "For instance, you, Xian Yu, are the top songwriter in Qin Continent. Because you are from Qin Continent, it would cost a lot for Qi Continent to hire you, with annual expenses alone being astronomical. After all, each continent is self-protective.

    But now that the two continents have merged, do you think the entertainment companies of Qi Continent will be willing to bow down to Qin Continent in the music field?"

    Lin Yuan pondered over this.

    Jian Yi pointed out: "The success of Qin Continent''s music lies in talent. In the future, the giants of Qi Continent will definitely set up their companies in Qin Continent. With the restriction of the two continents no longer existent, as long as Qi Continent digs into Qin''s pool of music talents for their own company.

    With talents, does Qi Continent''s entertainment giant still need to order from Starlight, as their homegrown songwriters have already stepped up?"

    "So..."

    "So all the music talents in Qin Continent will have more life choices. Before, everyone would go to companies like Starlight because Starlight is one of the most powerful music companies in Qin Continent. But now, they will have more options.

    Moreover, companies like Thunderbolt and Seven Star from Qi Continent will inevitably infiltrate, and even spare no expense to poach from Qin Continent''s companies!"

    Lin Yuan understood.

    Jian Yi continued: "Your composing skills are so strong, when the time comes, there will definitely be people from Qi Continent who will poach you, and the treatment they offer may even be better than Starlight. Starlight, in order to retain you, will also certainly offer you better treatment, so for us, this is a good thing. Those who should really be nervous are the big companies.

    Take Starlight for example, how can they just sit and wait for death?"

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    It is foreseeable that companies like Starlight in Qin Continent will vigorously develop film and television and even the gaming industry, because the talent barrier on both sides has been completely broken. You like my musicians, why wouldn''t I like your film and television talents? S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Are Qi Continent''s special effects unbeatable?

    Does Qi Continent have more scriptwriters?

    Are Qi Continent''s directors better?

    When these people join Qin Continent''s companies, wouldn''t Qin Continent''s film and television industry also develop? After all, there are no national boundaries between the continents, and art has no so-called borders, so isn''t the root of the problem money?

    Let''s think about it from a different perspective.

    If it''s on Earth, focusing solely on the film and television industry, with everyone speaking the same language, and all barriers removed between countries, Hollywood is fully open to the Celestial Dynasty. So, won''t there be a day when Hollywood will become everyone''s Hollywood?

    This situation is bound to happen.

    Even if we don''t use the film and television industry as an example, think about the Celestial Dynasty in our past life. Because they could never beat South Korea in top League of Legends tournaments, the clubs in the Celestial Dynasty simply bought a bunch of South Korean players to come over and play for them...

    But at least there are differences between countries.

    Some would refuse such contracts due to a certain sense of belonging, but no one would refuse to work for companies from other continents simply because they are from Qin Continent and he is from Qi Continent. After all, this is the Blue Star Village, we are all people of the same country. So, there''s no worry about loyalty to an homeland here.

    Would you refuse to work in the next county?

    Or refuse to work in the next province?

    Once the transportation issue that hinders everything is resolved, the barriers of each continent are completely demolished by the top regime, it''s nearly predictable where Blue Star will head towards in the future. This will be a real great fusion of Blue Star, a deeper fusion after the unification of Blue Star, which is why Jian Yi''s excitement is justified.

    For every continent, and even every industry

    These are challenges that coexist with opportunity and risk.

    For example, the social networking software that Qin Continent people like to use is called Tribe, and the social networking software that Qi Continent people like to use is called Blog. After the two continents merge, many people will inevitably face a choice, which is whether everyone should use Blog or Tribe in the future?

    Habits can be changed.

    In order to participate more comfortably in this fusion, for a more comfortable communication environment, everyone will eventually make their own choices. This is the real essence of conflict and change in the fusion of the two continents, or even Blue Star as a whole. No industry can survive solely on its own, everyone can only compete fiercely, seize this newly different market -

    An even bigger market!

    Lin Yuan believes that Starlight will take measures, although he''s not sure what exactly Starlight intends to do. In this shock of the times, clinging stubbornly to old ways means being washed away by the new market. No capital wants to be eliminated by the market, everyone should only want to go further in this rare opportunity, now is the best moment to seize the initiative.

    "Ding dong!"

    The system of Lin Yuan was also affected by this change. Just as he had not fully comprehended everything from this change, the system unexpectedly issued an update notice: "The era of mass entertainment is coming, the system will undergo a two-month upgrade."

    "Got it."

    Lin Yuan doesn''t know what changes will occur after the system upgrade, but one thing he can confirm is that his current work mode is likely to change, after all, this is a Literature and Art System. This change, which will impact all literature and art industries, will inevitably force him to make corresponding adjustments as well, for which he has already made certain mental preparations.

 Chapter 183 - 172: Shuffling the Deck (5k big chapter)_3

    ...

    At this time.

    Starlight Music, a subsidiary, was experiencing instability due to the merger of the two continents. Gu Qiangyun couldn''t even prioritize orders anymore; he was more concerned about the potential changes that might occur in the branch. This matter to some extent determined his future career.

    Gu Qiangyun thought...

    Orders were a feature of Qi Continent.

    But in the future, there would be no distinction between Qin Continent and Qi Continent, and the order model would no longer become mainstream. Instead, the music market of Qin Continent is more likely to dictate the musical trend of both continents in the future. After all, they are the true Land of Music.

    The musical prowess of Qi Continent was utterly overshadowed by theirs, and so the Qi Continent''s music market must adapt and follow their model.

    So, what about the branch?

    Gu Qiangyun, and indeed most people, could not see the potential strategic changes in the future. The only thing they could predict was that all areas and industries would have to go through a reshuffling!

    In fact,

    this reshuffling had already begun to some extent, as Gu Qiangyun''s office desk was now adorned with twelve resignation letters. Evidently, some people had ideas and wanted to seize the historic turning point.

    This was just the beginning.

    Gu Qiangyun believed that the others who were still in the company either couldn''t think of what they could do in this change, or they wanted to wait in the company and make decisions when the situation became slightly clearer, ideally, to see what responsive measures the headquarters would take.

    As for Lin Yuan,

    with the advancing reform of Blue Star in December, he finally felt the changes brought about by the merger of the two markets more profoundly. That''s because Silver Blue Books in Qin Continent suddenly gave Lin Yuan unexpected news - his book sales had skyrocketed!

    "It''s crazy!"

    Even across the internet, Lin Yuan could feel the editor YangFeng''s almost fanatic excitement: "Not only ''Zhu Xian'', our novels in Qin Continent can now be sold in Qi Continent. Fantasy novels in particular are very popular in Qi Continent. Almost half of the novels have seen a surge in sales.

    I heard that not only in our novel industry, many film companies in Qi Continent have made a fortune from paid broadcast of old films in Qin Continent alone. Chu Kuang, if you have time, you can go to bookstores in Qi Continent. You will definitely see our Silver Blue Books novels!"

    Lin Yuan told YangFeng before.

    He was currently in Qi Continent.

    Lin Yuan asked: "Did all books skyrocket?"

    YangFeng''s response came a little slower this time: "I''m sorry, it''s really busy here in the company. In fact, not all novels have seen a surge in sales, it''s just that our fantasy novels have an advantage. This has to do with the poor quality of fantasy novels in Qi Continent."

    Qi Continent''s fantasy novels are not good.

    But Qi Continent used to not allow their own people to see the novels in Qin Continent, necessitating a substantial cost for importation. Therefore, Qi people could often only read the fantasy novels in Qi Continent. Now that the barriers of the two sides have been broken, Qin Continent''s fantasy novels naturally have impacted the market here.

    "What about other types?" S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Detective novels are very popular in Qi Continent. So, Chu Kuang, you can probably guess that our detective novels at Silver Blue Books have not been selling well in recent days. Readers who like detective stories are now all reading Qi Continent''s detective stories. The editor-in-chief has already ordered to recruit some brilliant detective novelists from Qi Continent.

    But overall, the novel markets of both sides are now very vibrant."

    YangFeng typed a bunch of words.

    Lin Yuan had a clearer understanding of the current situation. Of course, his judgment was not made from a macro perspective; he did not have strategic insight or talent. The most intuitive judgment of Lin Yuan as an ordinary person was, in fact, somewhat cliche:

    We''re succeeding!

    Finally, YangFeng reminded Lin Yuan: "Now the exchange between the two sides has no restrictions whatsoever, including the Tribe platform. Although the Tribe platform could also be used in Qi Continent before, it was a castrated version, so it wasn''t very user-friendly. You can check it out online; I need to go handle something on this end."

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan replied with a word, then tried to open the Tribe app on his phone, only to discover that his phone needed a system update, probably related to this significant change.

    He updated it for half an hour.

    The phone was usable again after half an hour. Then, Lin Yuan logged into Tribe, only to find that the interface of Tribe was exactly the same as in Qin Continent. He had been able to use Tribe in Qi Continent before, but most of its functions had been cut off; it was like a forsaken rubbish app. The comments on the internet were quite interesting:

    "Is this Qin Continent''s blog?"

    "I downloaded Tribe before, but we in Qi Continent had a castrated version, so it was extremely inconvenient to use, and the system and internet speed made me want to die. Now that I''ve used it, I realize it''s not worse than our blog."

    "The functions are similar."

    "As a resident of Qin Continent, I just want to say it''s great to freely share everything with our friends in Qi Continent. I''ve been watching movies from Qi Continent these past few days. Our Qin Continent''s film development is nowhere as good, especially the movie ''Special Agents'', it''s simply mind-blowing."

    "Haha!"

    "You should pay attention to some new movies. ''Special Agents'' was a film from our Qi Continent more than ten years ago. However, it is indeed a classic. From now on, the works of both sides will be released simultaneously, there''s no more continental wall to block us."

    "This is nothing."

    "Recently, I''ve been listening to songs from Qin Continent. Your music in Qin Continent is definitely first-class on Blue Star, and compared with this, our Qi Continent''s songs are simply incomparable in quality. Ninety percent of the songs in my music library are from Qin Continent."

    "..."

    The exchange between the two sides was very heated, almost as if they regret not meeting sooner. From this perspective, the merger of the two continents is a good decision. At least for the common people, instead, it seems mean-spirited that the districts previously constricted each other''s communication channels so tightly.

    And in the middle of this month.

    There was finally movement from the headquarters. Everyone from the branches was to go to Qin Continent for a meeting, with the travel expenses covered by the main office. At this moment, Lin Yuan could imagine that some major decisions and changes were bound to happen.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: The later plot is probably the new stage of this book. I looked at the backstage, and it turned out that the subscription didn''t drop too badly. It means you guys haven''t given up on this book, I am really touched.

    In addition, this book has averaged more than ten thousand subscriptions.

    This is Polluted White''s fourth novel with over ten thousand subscriptions. This could not be done without your support. I want to say thank you sincerely. I also hope you guys will like the forthcoming plot, I had to scrap around three hundred thousand words of the original plot. Whether this decision is correct, I myself don''t know.

    However, it''s indeed the first time I''ve burnt the boats while writing. Please subscribe to the monthly ticket!

 Chapter 184 - 173: The Beginning of Gunpowder Smoke_1

    Lin Yuan''s journey to Qi Continent took some gnarly effort due to the route and plane model selected. However, after the activation of the new transportation system, Lin Yuan was surprised to find that he had reached the Qin Continent within only an hour and a half -

    Technology changes life.

    It is said that the flying iron is also extremely efficient. Lin Yuan plans to try it out later, but he always feels that the flying iron is just an enhanced version of the subway. Similar speeds could probably be achieved by Earth even with a slight advancement in its tech tree. In fact, the fastest land transportation on Earth has already reached super speed.

    Arrival at Starlight.

    The environment was familiar, but there was no need for Lin Yuan to act as a tour guide this time, as the company had sent someone to greet them. Lin Yuan and others followed the host to a rather spacious meeting room in the company. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    After entering the conference room.

    Gu Qiangyun and others were a bit restrained and spoke in whispers. Gu Dong, on the other hand, carefully approached Lin Yuan - perhaps Lin Yuan''s composure could give her some sense of security.

    "Lin Yuan..."

    Ol'' Zhou came over shortly.

    Lin Yuan greeted him.

    Ol'' Zhou laughed: "Good to have you back. You might not have to continue being an exchange student in Qi Continent. I have confirmed with the school, next semester will not be about student exchange, but teacher exchange."

    Lin Yuan was curious: "What do you mean?"

    Ol'' Zhou described it in a slightly humorous manner: "Just that your teacher will go to Qi Continent to teach students there, and their teacher in turn, will come over to Qin Art to teach. This means more practical exchanges between both sides. Anyway, both continents will truly become one family. The students there can take exams in our schools and we can do the same there."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Ol'' Zhou had other things to take care of, so he left shortly after. He even greeted Gu Qiangyun etc. before he left. Just as Ol'' Zhou left, Zhao Jue arrived. Like Ol'' Zhou, she had come to meet Lin Yuan, but with less small talk. She just offered a few words of encouragement and spoke generally about the accomplishments Lin Yuan had achieved in the branch company.

    After Zhao Jue left.

    Gu Qiangyun and others exhaled with relief. Although Gu Qiangyun was the branch manager, he didn''t have much confidence when facing higher-ups from headquarters. Even though the difference in their positions was not that big.

    A few minutes later.

    The senior executives of the headquarters finally appeared. This was a female leader, the vice president of Starlight headquarters, Han Xiu, who was second to the chairman in terms of real power within the company. Lin Yuan didn''t know her, but she clearly knew Lin Yuan.

    "Welcome home."

    Han Xiu extended her hand with a smile.

    Lin Yuan shook her hand politely.

    Gu Qianggun and others were truly shocked. They had originally thought Lin Yuan was just an ace composer dispatched to the branch by the headquarters. But given Han Xiu, Ol'' Zhou, and Zhao Jue''s respective treatment of Lin Yuan, this shattered their previous impressions:

    Mr. Lin''s influence is huge!

    This is not just any ace composer!

    This is clearly a big shot from the headquarters!

    However, Gu Dong was more accepting. She had judged that Lin Yuan''s transfer to the branch had nothing to do with his status but was merely because Mr. Lin was a student who needed to study in Qi Continent. For this reason, he was sent to oversee the branch.

    Indeed.

    With Mr. Lin''s composing skills, how could he be a minor figure at the headquarters? Even among ace composers, how many could easily handle high-value orders like Lin Yuan?

    Regardless of people''s thoughts.

    After shaking hands with Lin Yuan, Han Xiu directly sat down at the head of the table, this position was closest to Lin Yuan: "The branch''s performance in the past few months has been pretty good. But as I''m sure you all know, in the future, Qi Continent and Qin Continent will merge."

    Everyone nodded.

    With so many days passed, many had already absorbed the fact of the merger. But they were all still worried about the future and hadn''t yet fully embraced the changes it had brought.

    "So..."

    Han Xiu glanced at Lin Yuan and smiled: "The company hopes that some of the people from the branch will come to work at the headquarters. After all, the isolation between the two sides has been completely lifted. However, there''ll still need to be a contact point there. How to choose, is up to you."

    Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.

    Han Xiu smiled: "You have enough time to consider, but we would like a response from you all by tomorrow. And I need to remind you all that as transportation becomes more and more developed, it will be easier to commute between the two places. You probably reached the headquarters within two hours today. In the future, it will be even faster.

    Zhong Continent has already started developing more efficient means of transportation, considering other continents in Blue Star also want to join in this merger plan."

    Everyone nodded.

    Han Xiu once again looked towards Lin Yuan: "Then, there are changes in the headquarters. Teacher Admirable Fish has performed outstandingly at the branch, so the headquarters intends to have Teacher Admirable Fish serve as the representative of the ninth-floor choreography department."

    Lin Yuan was startled.

    Being a manager himself?

    Han Xiu seemed to see Lin Yuan''s confusion and patiently explained, "I know that Teacher Admirable Fish has classes to attend, so Mr. Lin will just be holding a position at the ninth floor, with the actual management handed over to the deputy representative. Of course, the highest decision-making power of that floor will still belong to Mr. Lin."

    Lin Yuan wanted to refuse.

 Chapter 185 - 173: The Beginning of Gunpowder Smoke_2

    However, Han Xiu''s next remarks dispelled Lin Yuan''s thoughts: "The basic salary for a representative is one hundred thousand a month. If a composer under your management publishes a piece, Representative Lin is eligible for a performance bonus. The specific contract will be drafted next week. Does Representative Lin have any objections?"

    "None."

    Lin Yuan said decisively.

    Han Xiu nodded: "The company will later adjust the composers on each floor. In addition to Representative Lin, other company''s top composers like Yang Zhongming will also serve as directors of other floors. In terms of this position, you are on par. In other words, the representatives of other floors are all Maestros, and only Representative Lin is managing a floor without being a Maestro!"

    Rumble!

    It was like a thunderclap. By now, the employees from branches like Gu Qiangyun were stunned. Other floors were managed by Maestros, but the ninth floor was managed by Representative Lin. This was like the headquarters directly placing Representative Lin in a position equivalent to the Maestros!

    Lin Yuan gently nodded.

    In the face of such nonchalant behavior, let alone Gu Qiangyun and others, even Han Xiu felt a sense of eeriness. The company put you in a position equivalent to the Maestros, and you can still stay so calm, even taking it for granted?

    You must know...

    The reason why the company made such a daring decision was purely because they saw Lin Yuan''s endless potential. Because the company on the Qi Continent would inevitably invade on a large scale soon, by then, powerhouse composers with infinite potential like Lin Yuan would definitely become the targets of everyone''s attention!

    To keep this treasure...

    The company made such a decision.

    But if we truly look at achievements and qualifications, Lin Yuan really can''t be compared with those Maestros. So when this decision was proposed, it once caused intense discussion among the higher-ups. In the end, it was Ol'' Zhou who said:

    "A promising future!"

    These four words completely moved Chairman Li Songhua. This assignment finally fell on Lin Yuan''s head. Because Lin Yuan''s previous performances and his achievements in the branch had elevated him to a level far ahead of other top composers.

    Calling Lin Yuan a Maestro might be too much.

    But considering factors like age, it would not be a problem to call Lin Yuan "Maestro Junior". After all, the composition achievements that Lin Yuan have accomplished at his age indicate he has a strong potential to become a Maestro in the future.

    Coughing lightly.

    Han Xiu said, "This is just a temporary decision. The company''s formal implementation of this system won''t happen until January. In the future, the company won''t set up too many floors. Including Teacher Admirable Fish''s floor, the headquarters will only have floors nine through fifteen for the Music Composition Department. However, there won''t be much change in the number of people.

    As for the floors above them, they will be recording studios and other areas. Representative Lin can familiarize himself later."

    "What about Director Zhou..."

    Lin Yuan asked a bit more.

    Han Xiu put on a smile again: "Teacher Admirable Fish is still very concerned about his old leader. Director Zhou will still manage all the floors in the future, but his burden is now heavier because the company plans to set up a film and television department equivalent to the music department. Director Zhou will be in charge of some of the work.

    He has officially become a high-level decision maker of the company."

    Lin Yuan understood.

    The company really couldn''t help but get involved in the film and television field. In fact, Starlight had a film and television department before, but it was obviously not taken seriously, after all, this is primarily a music company. But now, in the face of market changes, the company has no choice but to change.

    "You never know what the future holds."

    Han Xiu said reflectively: "However, the music department still receives a lot of attention from the company, because the film and television industry will inevitably involve things like music scoring. By then, the floors led by Representative Lin and all the Maestros will still have frequent contact with them.

    At that time, the company''s directors and screenwriters and other important people will visit the Music Composition Department. Everyone should first familiarize themselves with the new situation."

    Lin Yuan didn''t respond.

    What he was thinking about was, of the several important categories given by the System, in addition to culture and music, film and television was also a major part. Therefore, he would most likely participate in film and television work in the future, and not just limited to things like film scoring. But right now, since the System was still upgrading, he had no way to communicate this.

    Could he possibly be allowed to customize scripts?

    As for leaving Starlight...

    Actually, Jian Yi had talked to Lin Yuan about this possibility before. In Jian Yi''s words, the company on Qi Continent would be willing to spend a lot to "poach" talent. But Lin Yuan did not have an unstable personality. This could be seen from his long collaboration with Silver Blue Books on long-form novels. Since the old partnership was not bad, why should he abandon it for something far away?

    He didn''t believe that the conditions offered by the company on Qi Continent would definitely be better than those of Starlight.

    After the meeting...

    Everyone went their separate ways.

    Those from the branch company had their own arrangements, while Lin Yuan went over to the composing department and greeted his old colleagues. The personnel of the composing department would be undergoing adjustments in the future, and he was unsure if they would have the opportunity to work together again.

    "Our Maestro Junior is here!"

    As soon as Lin Yuan walked through the door, he was warmly welcomed. His old colleagues had been missing him quite a bit. Wu Yong, the senior who initially helped Lin Yuan get familiar with his job, had a smile beaming like a blossom.

    "Hello, everyone."

    Lin Yuan put on a smile that would meet social expectations. He also had some fondness for his colleagues. Perhaps due to nostalgia, he even deliberately sat down for a moment at his former work station, taking in the views of the place one last time. He then posed a question to Wu Yong, "What''s this about Maestro Junior?"

    "You don''t know?"

    Wu Yong laughed: "You should have received the company''s decree, right? From now on, you''re the representative commanding an entire floor. Interestingly, all the other representatives are Maestros, and you are the only one who''s gained this position with your Golden badge. Hence, the company''s been saying that you are our Starlight''s Maestro Junior!"

    "The key is that no one doubts it!"

    A colleague chimed in: "Although you are currently only a hit composer, the achievements you''ve made since joining the company are widely recognized. We heard you managed to get the branch company in Qi Continent up and running!"

    "What you and your stuff!"

    "We should call him Mr. Lin from now on!"

    "Mr. Lin is our supervisor from now on. I actually wanted to be assigned under him, but it seems the company intends to shuffle all of us around thoroughly. So whether we''ll end up together again is down to fate."

    "It''s a shame that many have left."

    "Twenty-one people from our floor resigned, all of whom were poached by Qi Continent. Other floors are almost the same, and it''s our fault for not foreseeing this, as nobody signed any non-compete agreements when they joined the company."

    "..."

    For the first time, Lin Yuan noticed that there were indeed fewer people in the department. Well, it seemed actions had already been taken on the side of Qi Continent. However, the fact that they dug up so many people at once was utterly shocking. Starlight had indeed suffered a heavy loss.

    "No loss."

    As someone else echoed the sentiment of losses, Wu Yong laughed: "You guys aren''t aware yet, but we''ve also poached hundreds from various companies in Qi Continent, including A-line directors, screenwriters, and even some renowned actors. When it comes to taking actions, we''re even faster!"

    Some showed expressions of surprise.

    Some obviously had prior knowledge of the situation.

    Meanwhile, Lin Yuan gradually gained a deeper understanding of the company''s position through their conversations. Just as he thought he should probably head home, a system''s voice suddenly popped up in his mind:

    "Film and television database expansion in progress..."

    "Selection of director''s template in progress..."

    Lin Yuan wanted to ask more, but the system ignored him, the host. Apparently, the system''s upgrade and update were not yet complete, but it did inform Lin Yuan of the field he was likely to get into next.

    It was indeed film and television.

    The most likely development would be starting from the scriptwriting aspect. However, the system seemed to have also mentioned something about directing. Lin Yuan decided that he would research Blue Star''s film and television scene in order to prepare for the acquisition of film and television prestige.

    At this point,

    the impact of the integration between Qi Continent and Qin Continent had passed the initial stage and was getting more intense. There was a hint of a brewing storm amongst the major entertainment companies, and one could imagine how fierce the future competition will be in the fields of music and film and television...

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: The next part involves a movie, can you guys still make a guess hahaha sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 186 - 174: Undermine _1

    Leaving the company.

    Lin Yuan was preparing to go home.

    Just as he stepped out of the company gate, Lin Yuan suddenly heard a familiar voice: "Junior, over here!"

    Lin Yuan turned around and found it was Sun Yaohuo.

    At that moment, Sun Yaohuo had already opened the passenger door of his car, waiting in a ready-to-go pose: "I happened to be free today, so when I heard you were heading to Qin Continent, I thought you might need a ride¡­"

    Lin Yuan tended to get carsick, so he preferred to sit in the passenger seat.

    This tidbit was something Sun Yaohuo would never forget, even without noting it down.

    "Thank you, Brother Sun."

    Lin Yuan got in the passenger seat.

    The interior of the car was very clean, making Lin Yuan marvel at how meticulous Brother Sun was. The cleanliness of the car always resembled that of a new vehicle.

    "What are you thanking me for? I didn''t have much to do today, to begin with."

    Sun Yaohuo returned to the driver''s seat: "Shall we head straight home or go out to eat something? My hot pot restaurant has just opened. Your sister has been there a few times with her colleagues¡­" S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Let''s go home first," Lin Yuan said.

    Before returning, Lin Yuan mentioned his plans to his sister, so his younger sister probably would be at home as well.

    "Okay."

    Sun Yaohuo pressed on the accelerator, driving smoothly.

    Halfway through the ride, Sun Yaohuo''s phone suddenly rang, but he glanced at the caller ID and ignored it.

    Lin Yuan asked, "Aren''t you going to answer it?"

    Sun Yaohuo laughed: "It''s inconvenient while I''m driving."

    As he spoke, Sun Yaohuo hung up the call and activated the silent mode.

    Just as Sun Yaohuo hung up, Lin Yuan''s phone began to ring.

    Lin Yuan answered the phone immediately.

    The voice on the other end politely asked, "May I speak with Teacher Admirable Fish?"

    "Who is this?"

    "Let me introduce myself. I''m the manager of Seven Star Entertainment, surname Liao. If you have time, we would like to invite you to visit our company¡­"

    Lin Yuan responded quickly: "You want to poach me?"

    The other person paused, then laughed: "Teacher Admirable Fish, you really are quick to catch on. But yes, our company highly prizes talent like yours, and given the current situation, I''m sure you understand¡­"

    "I''m sorry, but I have no intention of leaving Starlight."

    "It seems Teacher Admirable Fish is a loyal person. But you might want to consider our offer. We are willing to meet any conditions you set. Plus, we are prepared to take on the responsibility of your breach of contract. Please believe in our company''s sincerity."

    "No need."

    "Well, alright then¡­"

    The other party seemed somewhat disappointed.

    Lin Yuan hung up the call without giving it another thought. On the other hand, Sun Yaohuo, who was sitting next to him, probably understood the meaning and tested the waters by asking, "Junior, do you have no thoughts of leaving?"

    Lin Yuan said, "No."

    Sun Yaohuo nodded in understanding, with a slightly elated expression.

    Upon arriving at Lin Yuan''s apartment complex, Lin Yuan invited Sun Yaohuo up. Sun Yaohuo promptly declined, "No need. You go ahead, Junior."

    Lin Yuan didn''t insist any further.

    Only after watching Lin Yuan enter the building did Sun Yaohuo pick up his silenced phone again. By then, he had eight missed calls, all from his agent.

    Sun Yaohuo called back.

    Upon connecting, a furious voice came from the other end of the line: "Sun Yaohuo, are you kidding me? The event is about to start and you disappear on me? Are you trying to mess with me?"

    "Something came up."

    "I don''t care what it is. Do you know what a state the event organizers were in just now? Who do you think had to grovel and apologize, me or you?"

    "Teacher Admirable Fish is back in Qin Continent."

    The yelling on the other end of the phone suddenly stopped, followed by a three-second pause. Then the agent calmly said, "That''s alright then."

    ...

    Upon reaching his apartment, Lin Yuan rang the doorbell.

    The door was opened by a somewhat petite figure, his younger sister Lin Yao, who greeted him emotionlessly, "Long time no see, Brother."

    "Long time no see."

    Lin Yuan felt somewhat guilty. His younger sister had just been admitted to Qin Art when he decided to become an exchange student. He knew his decision must have upset her.

    He should have bought some study materials on his way there.

    "Oh, you''re back."

    His elder sister, Lin Xuan, was watching television in the living room and looked up, "Why didn''t you call me? I could have picked you up from the company."

    Lin Yuan said: "Brother Sun drove me home."

    Lin Xuan smiled: "That''s good. But his car is a bit messy... I''ve ridden in it once before."

    "That''s just you being too picky."

    Lin Yuan hadn''t seen a cleaner car than Brother Sun''s.

    Not continuing the topic, Lin Xuan grinned, "Are you going back to Qi Continent?"

    Lin Yao also looked at Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan said: "Yes, but I''ll probably be back in a month. I won''t need to go again next semester."

    "I thought so."

    Lin Xuan nodded: "With the sudden merging of the two continents, the exchange student program has naturally been altered as well. When are you leaving?"

    "Tomorrow night."

    Lin Yuan had taken leave to come back.

    There are still a few courses left this semester. Although he possesses Yang Zhongming''s character card and thus attendance is irrelevant, Lin Yuan still had to maintain his credits for the courses.

    "Alright."

    Lin Xuan seemed a bit excited: "By the time you return, our villa should be ready¡­"

    His sister and younger sister were still living in their old place.

    It would be a while before they could move into the new villa.

    Lin Xuan''s attention returned to the TV: "I won''t keep chatting with you. I want to continue watching my movie. Qi Continent''s films are now available on-demand here. They''re indeed better than Qin Continent''s works... Once I''m done with the movie, I''ll start cooking."

    Lin Yao was about to go back to her room.

    Lin Yuan, knowing his sister was unhappy, tried to console her: "I''ll be back next semester."

    Lin Yao paused: "I''m not upset about that."

    "Then what is it?"

    Lin Yao said with a hint of melancholy: "You ate the yolk without me!"

    Lin Yuan''s expression changed: "I didn''t!"

    Lin Yao stared at him: "I found the packaging from yolk pastries under your bed when I was cleaning your room."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    In this house, he was a man without yolk freedom.

    Lin Xuan laughed: "Should I buy you a bunch of yolk pastries next time?"

    Lin Yao sternly said: "The point is, my brother dared to steal his sister''s yolk."

    "Well, you weren''t here."

    "You could''ve saved it for me."

    Lin Yuan shook his head: "By the time you got to Qin Continent, the yolk pastries would be moldy."

    Lin Yao pouted and went back to her room.

    Just as Lin Yuan was about to say something, his phone rang again. Upon answering, he found it was another company from Qi Continent calling.

    But it was a different company this time, one he had never heard of before.

    He promptly declined again.

    Throughout the evening, Lin Yuan didn''t get a moment''s peace. He had to answer call after call from companies trying to poach him.

    Finally, at dinner time, he was forced to put his phone on do not disturb mode.

    "All headhunting calls?"

    Lin Xuan had overheard a few of the conversations.

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Lin Xuan chuckled: "We''re having a similar situation at Silver Blue Books. Right now, every industry is in chaos, with companies headhunting each other and offering high prices. Once this wave of poaching ends, it will probably be followed by a battle for market share."

 Chapter 187 - 175: Burn Paper When You Need Something_1

    The next night, Lin Yuan set off for Qi Continent.

    Most of the people from the branch company had gone home too.

    Everyone needed to discuss with their families since some of them would end up working at Starlight''s headquarters.

    Due to this, the employees at the branch office were no longer motivated to work.

    Similarly, Lin Yuan wouldn''t be taking over any tasks anytime soon because the System was still undergoing an upgrade, so he couldn''t even open the treasure chest, let alone use the System''s custom features.

    In fact, it wasn''t just members of the branch office - people from all walks of life were no longer focused on their work.

    Everyone was too busy poaching talent and strategizing; the more intense market competition would only begin once the situation stabilizes.

    The feeling of having nothing to worry about felt pretty good.

    Lin Yuan quietly enjoyed his final campus life in Qi Art.

    However, just as December was coming to an end, a new student transferred to Lin Yuan''s class!

    That was incredibly unusual.

    The semester was almost over, and yet, someone transferred?

    But it did happen and when this student arrived in class, Lin Yuan discovered that he knew him¡ª

    Gu Xi?

    Lin vaguely remembered that Gu Xi was a music major, why would she transfer to Qi Art at this moment?

    And to the composition department, no less?

    Lin Yuan was somewhat curious.

    However, compared to Lin Yuan''s curiosity, the classmates were extremely excited.

    Especially when the teacher introduced her: "Gu Xi is a student from the Qin Art''s music department and a gifted pianist who has set foot on the top stage. She is not an exchange student but has an interest in composing music, which is why she decided to transfer to our school..."

    No one detailed out the methods of Gu Xi''s transfer; some people can transfer through special channels.

    The teacher just reiterated Gu Xi''s accomplishments.

    People didn''t dig any deeper; all of them just knew that their class now had an exceptionally beautiful Piano Goddess!

    Some self-proclaimed outstanding male students were already itching to make a move.

    As for the girls, they couldn''t even muster any jealousy.

    At a time when the gap isn''t too big, jealousy might be inevitable.

    But facing a legendary student like Gu Xi, the girls could only feel envy.

    Consequently, as soon as the class ended, many boys started grooming themselves, preparing to strike up a conversation with her.

    However, before they could even make a move, Gu Xi took the initiative and walked straight towards Lin Yuan.

    This moment broke the hearts of many boys.

    The girls, however, felt a strange sense of solidarity.

    However, nobody was too surprised. Lin Yuan was an exchange student from Qin Art, and Gu Xi also came from Qin Art. It didn''t seem irrational for her to know Lin Yuan.

    "Lin Yuan!"

    Gu Xi seemed a bit surprised at the moment, as she set her eyes unwaveringly on Lin Yuan and said, "Hello there, what a coincidence, I didn''t expect you would be in this class!"

    Her surprise was certainly feigned.

    Heaven only knows the price Gu Xi paid to transfer to Qi Art!

    Initially, Gu Xi could have gone as an exchange student directly to Qi Art.

    But Gu Xi initially worried that she wouldn''t see Lin Yuan if she became an exchange student, so she refused the chance.

    The irony of fate meant Gu Xi was shocked to find out that after she had turned down the chance to be an exchange student, Lin Yuan had become one!

    So, Gu Xi changed her mind and wanted to follow the route of being an exchange student, intending to transfer to Qi Art.

    Unfortunately, it was too late.

    There''s a limit to the number of exchange students; Gu Xi was unable to take this route in the end.

    But Gu Xi didn''t give up.

    She went out of her way to ask many people for favors and pulled many strings. Finally, just as the first semester of her junior year was about to end, she managed to transfer to Qi Art through special channels!

    But this wasn''t enough.

    Thinking about the great lengths she had gone to transfer to Qi Art, Gu Xi felt a bit disgruntled. She decided to throw all caution to the wind and transferred directly to the same class as Lin Yuan in Qi Art!

    After all, she made a living playing the piano.

    For Gu Xi, this was a do-or-die situation.

    But now that she could be classmates with Lin Yuan, and knowing that they would surely have plenty of chances to interact in the future, Gu Xi felt that it was all worth it!

    So although her surprise was feigned, the smile on her face was genuinely from the heart!

    "That is quite a coincidence, hi." Lin Yuan replied.

    When he left Qin Art, Gu Xi gave Lin Yuan a planet model.

    Although there wasn''t a yolk inside, Lin Yuan accepted her gift anyway, so he was quite friendly towards her.

    And after experiencing some things, Lin Yuan no longer resisted Gu Xi like before.

    "Having Gu Xi around means trouble."

    Constantly thinking this way about her wasn''t very nice, Lin Yuan thought.

    Wasn''t the last time she brought the planet model just fine? S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "We''re classmates now!"

    Gu Xi made her rehearsed statement, "But because I just transferred to the composing department and don''t know the other classmates well, and I''m actually not too familiar with composing either, I hope I''ll have the chance to learn more from you next semester, Lin Yuan!"

    "I''m sorry."

    Lin Yuan shook his head and said, "I have to go back to Qin Art next semester."

    Gu Xi''s expression immediately froze.

    Her world seemed to lose all color at that moment, her eyes gradually lost their luster, and a sentence kept echoing in her mind:

    "I have to go back to Qin Art next semester..."

    "Go back to Qin Art next semester..."

    "Go back to Qin Art..."

    "Qin Art..."

    Gu Xi stuttered, "Why..."

    Lin Yuan, who failed to notice Gu Xi''s unusual behavior, patiently explained, "The merger of Qin Art and Qi Art led to changes in their system and the cancellation of the exchange student program, so all of us exchange students have to return to our original schools next semester."

    Gu Xi felt dizzy.

    She didn''t even know how she got back to her seat; she was utterly dazed.

    At that moment, Gu Xi seemed to feel a sense of fate.

    "Gu Xi..."

    Quite a few boys had gathered around her, each talking about various things. However, Gu Xi could not hear a single word from them. She just replied, "I want to be alone."

    "..."

    The boys exchanged glances and reluctantly dispersed.

    Gu Xi took out her phone, with her typically agile fingers - proficient from playing the piano - which now were trembling slightly, and sent a message: "Can I return to Qin Art next year?"

    "Impossible!"

    A reply came swiftly from the other side, "The person who was desperate to go to Qi Art was you! You just got there and now you want to come back? Are both schools your personal property? You can only stay at Qi Art next semester!"

    Gu Xi heard the sound of her heart shattering.

    A question from the other side asked, "Why?"

    Gu Xi laboriously typed a few words and sent it back: "My heart is shattered, contact me through spirit."

 Chapter 188 - 176: Winter Vacation_1

    In his last period at Qi Art, Lin Yuan felt a sense of leisure he had not felt in a long time. If he had to pick out any cause of worry, it would probably be the too many companies and headhunters calling, all wanting to poach Lin Yuan ¡ª

    As before, Lin Yuan rejected all of them.

    The enthusiasm of these calls did not decrease, continuing all the way to mid-January, with some people still not giving up. It could be seen just how intense the competition in various fields had recently become.

    In fact.

    After more than a month of tug-of-war, various fields had already basically set their new development directions.

    With the large framework of companies'' transformation gradually taking shape, the news was filled with shocking revelations sparked by these changes daily ¡ª

    "Dazzling Silver Glow changes its name to Dazzling Entertainment, officially dipping its toes in the film industry!" sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Qi Continent''s Film Queen, Tao Ran, ends her contract with her old employer and joins Dazzling Film and Television!"

    "Seven Star Entertainment heavily invites Sand Sea Entertainment''s Maestro-level talent, willing to pay a sky-high penalty for Maestro!"

    "Starlight, Sand Sea and Dazzling Entertainment in succession announce transformation, fully committing to the film industry!"

    "Starlight sues Thunderbolt Entertainment for malicious poaching, inciting unfair commercial competition!"

    "A certain gold medal director announces independence, establishes studio, new film might cooperate with Sand Sea!"

    "Major special effects companies in Qi Continent are signing contracts with companies in Qin Continent."

    "Several large capital entities enter the entertainment industry, new entertainment tycoons might emerge!"

    "..."

    At first, the people of the two continents were shocked by these news. After all, even just a single piece of these news was absolutely explosive!

    But there was shocking news appearing every day.

    So, as they read on, the people of the two continents facing a constant outpouring of bombshell news were almost becoming numb.

    For example, in facing some movie emperors and Empress, King and Queen of singing, and even big shots like Maestro changing sides, everyone was just calmly commenting:

    "Endless poaching of each other."

    "Today you take away my Maestro, tomorrow I''ll poach your signature actors."

    "The obvious strength of big companies seems pretty balanced."

    "Next would probably be the real market fight."

    "A big director''s new film has been greenlit, probably trying to take the lead."

    "..."

    Lin Yuan did not pay much attention to these news, but Jian Yi was a constant gossiper. When he had nothing better to do lately, he would wield his keyboard, charging forth and fighting on the internet.

    Occasionally, he would also share his views with Lin Yuan, pointing out all sorts of strategies.

    He even had thorough knowledge on some policy details:

    "Starting today, each continent is going to change its name, ours will be called Qin Province, Qi Continent will be called Qi Province."

    "Even though Qin and Qi are merging, because Qin Continent is closer to Zhong Continent and its history and various elements are heavier, the position of Qin Continent will be higher. Didn''t you say you bought a villa earlier? I''m telling you, you''ve struck it rich.

    The housing prices in some of the core cities in Qin Continent have skyrocketed, some neighborhood''s housing prices have doubled, even tripled. It looks like Zhong Continent is about to intervene soon!"

    "In no time, the big companies here in Qi Continent will also move their headquarters to Qin Province."

    "Once the other continents merge in, the position of Qin Province should continue to increase. This plan is clearly centered around Qin Continent."

    "..."

    Lin Yuan was of course thrilled.

    He didn''t expect the villa he bought to increase in price so quickly.

    However, Lin Yuan quickly realized that he probably won''t sell the villa, so whether the price rises or not didn''t make much of a difference to him.

    Therefore.

    What made Lin Yuan even happier, was that the system had finally completed its update and upgrade!

    Without mincing words.

    That same night, Lin Yuan mysteriously summoned the just updated system, feeling a bit expectant: "Can it make bombs now?"

    System: "..."

    Lin Yuan pressed: "What about Optimus Prime?"

    System: "...imagine something from the Yang Realm."

    Lin Yuan could not help but feel a bit disappointed: "Then what did you update?"

    System: "Film and television functions are fully activated. The host can receive treasure chests containing movie scripts. Additionally, the system also provides educational classrooms for directing and screenwriting, and other fields, along with some special props and mission templates."

    "Props?"

    Lin Yuan was most interested in this.

    System said: "The host can purchase various props in the system shopping mall, would you like to check?"

    "Check."

    Upon Lin Yuan''s command, he saw all sorts of dazzling props in the system. For example, a prop named "Star Fragment". The effect of this fragment allows a person to briefly possess the performance ability of a famous Earth comedian.

    There was also a "Search Fragment", with a effect similar to the prior one.

    And then something named "Distance Fragment". The instructions said that this prop can let a person temporarily possess the onsite commanding ability of a certain great director.

    These props were magical.

    It''s just that they weren''t cheap.

    And after Lin Yuan had browsed the props for awhile, the System suddenly notified: "Congratulations to the host for receiving the System Upgrade Gift. This is a Silver Treasure Chest, it contains a script. The host needs to accept the mission to get this script."

    "What mission?"

    System answered: "The host needs to take on the role of a screenwriter and shoot the script into a movie. There is no budget limit."

    "Accepted."

    Lin Yuan decisively said. He planned to discuss with Starlight later on to see if they would take his script: "What genre is this script?"

    System: "Random."

    Very in line with System''s usual style.

    Lin Yuan asked: "Where''s the treasure chest then?"

    System: "The treasure chest will be issued after the host returns to Qin Province."

    The system was keeping up with the times, Qin Continent had just changed its name, and the System had immediately updated its terminology.

    Lin Yuan did not continue to research, because it was bedtime.

    The next day.

    Lin Yuan arrived at school.

    This was Lin Yuan''s last day at Qi Art, because after today, Qi Art would go on winter holiday just like Qin Art.

    Qi Art was quite sentimental.

    Each class even specifically held a farewell party.

    Mainly to bid the exchange students of the third year farewell.

    The class Lin Yuan was in, naturally also held a farewell party.

    He did not stand out excessively, honestly attending the farewell party in his class, accepting the leaving gifts given by his classmates, and then expressed his thanks one by one.

    Gu Xi also gave Lin Yuan a gift.

    She was not an exchange student, so she would still remain in Qi Art the next term.

    However, after handing over the gift, Gu Xi did not leave immediately, rather forcing a smile and saying, "Lin Yuan, you can open it and see."

    Lin Yuan fulfilled her request.

    Upon opening the package, there was still a globe model inside, only the material seemed a bit different this time.

    "This is made of candy."

    Gu Xi regained her spirits: "It has egg yolk inside."

 Chapter 189 - 177 Flirting Scholar_1

    "Here, for you."

    "What is it?"

    "There''s egg yolk inside."

    After Lin Yuan returned to the Qin Continent, he gave Lin Yao an egg yolk coated with sugar.

    Despite the fact that it was a gift he was passing along, it was enough to placate his sister''s grievances.

    With Lin Yuan''s return, Lin Xuan also moved into the newly renovated villa with Lin Yuan and Lin Yao!

    The villa supposedly had three floors, but with the basement, it actually had four.

    On their first night in the villa, Lin Xuan couldn''t hide her excitement ¨C taking pictures and posting them on her social media platform.

    Lin Yao was looking for a suitable study room.

    She was on vacation now and planned to live here during the next semester, probably related to Lin Yuan''s return to Qin Art School.

    Lin Yuan didn''t feel much of a difference.

    He stayed in a bedroom on the third floor, the layout of the room was similar to his previous place, equipped with a computer.

    At that moment.

    Lin Yuan was sitting in front of the computer, checking on the progress of Blue Star Films.

    Blue Star Films benchmark was set by the Qi Continent...

    Now known as Qi Province.

    In terms of special effects technologies alone, Qi Province''s film industry was more formidable than Hollywood on Earth and its special effects effects could fool the naked eye.

    Perhaps it was because the technology was overly advanced.

    Blue Star Films seemed to rely heavily on special effects technology, resulting in somewhat weaker plots.

    But the weak plot is only relatively speaking.

    When compared with Earth, Blue Star''s film industry was undoubtedly more advanced! S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This was similar to how Blue Star completely outclassed Earth in terms of overall music level.

    Moreover, the film system of Blue Star was similar to South Korea on Earth...

    Screenwriters had tremendous power in the film crew!

    The actors dared not throw their weight around in front of the screenwriters.

    If an actor was on bad terms with a screenwriter, their character might become marginalized in the storyline, or even written out of the script entirely.

    The director could not arbitrarily modify the screenwriter''s script.

    And it would be greatly disrespectful for actors to modify their lines.

    Some investors would even consider investing based on who the screenwriters are, while the top-tier screenwriters could even select their own director and actors.

    Anyway, the more Lin Yuan understood the situation, the more he felt this model resembled South Korea''s on Earth.

    There was an anonymous interview online that was very representative of the situation, which at first might seem like a joke, but actually depicted a real situation:

    "A screenwriter friend of mine wrote a script for a period drama. At the time, they were filming while airing the episodes. A third-tier actress who had a good relationship with the director caused much trouble for the rest of the crew. Later, she disobeyed the assistant director and offended my friend.

    Then my friend told the investors, ''Either she goes, or I go.'' Unexpectedly, the investors took a bigger loss, and the director couldn''t protect her.

    My friend immediately wrote her character''s death in the script the next week, and she suffered numerous hardships: escaping in the pouring rain, encountering robbers, falling into a mud pit, experiencing physical violence, and in the end, she committed suicide by jumping off a cliff..."

    From this, we can tell the elevated status of screenwriters.

    However, no matter how high the status of a screenwriter in Blue Star, they could not possibly be the sole focus of a film crew.

    More often, it was a dual-core system.

    Meaning, both director and screenwriter held equal power.

    Top-tier screenwriters certainly had tremendous power, but so did equally capable directors.

    Therefore.

    Instead of saying that in Blue Star screenwriters held the highest rank, it would be more accurate to say, screenwriters and directors in Blue Star were basically on par with each other.

    To delve into who held greater power, it came down to their capabilities and experience.

    This was somewhat similar to Hollywood.

    There was an old joke that painted a vivid picture:

    South Korea was the realm of screenwriters!

    Hollywood was led by directors!

    The Celestial Dynasty was unique with its "star"-centered system!

    Blue Star was not short of stars, but screenwriters and directors stood as equals, leaving stars on the next tier.

    Just like the music circle.

    The status of songwriters was often higher than singers.

    It''s just that while singers only had songwriters above them, stars had both directors and screenwriters to answer to.

    No wonder the System wanted Lin Yuan to enter the film circle as a screenplay writer.

    This position had a very high ceiling.

    After getting a rough understanding of the situation, a notification sound from the System finally resonated in Lin Yuan''s ears: "The host who returned to the Qin Continent is well-prepared. Now bestowing the Silver Treasure Chest, it contains a randomized script. Would you like to open it?"

    Without any hesitation, Lin Yuan responded: "Open."

    The new treasure chest opened directly: "Congratulations to the host for receiving the script of ''Flirting Scholar''."

    Lin Yuan was stunned for a moment.

    Then, Lin Yuan''s first reaction was:

    The System is again making him play the game of niche creation.

    Because ''Flirting Scholar'' was a typical nonsensical film!

    Worth mentioning is that Blue Star wasn''t without nonsensical films, but they were extremely rare.

    Because this genre was, indeed, niche!

    Yes, it''s niche again!

    The System seemed to extremely enjoy making Lin Yuan swim against the current market trend. So-called ''random scripts'' were only randomly picked on the surface.

    But the nonsensical genre being niche in Blue Star was actually quite normal.

    In this world, there was no Star Grandpa (Zhou Xingchi) or Jim Carry, who was representative of nonsensical films. Without someone pioneering this area, the market was inevitably limited.

    However, after a bit more thought, Lin Yuan felt the situation was not too bad.

    Because, no matter how niche nonsensical films were, they couldn''t possibly be more niche than the sports competition novels he previously forcefully wrote in the novel world.

    As for the real-life figure of Tang Bohu...

    Of course, Blue Star didn''t have a real-life figure of Tang Bohu.

    As times have changed, many people''s fates have also changed as a result.

    Anyway, according to Lin Yuan''s knowledge of Blue Star''s history, most scholars and literati from the previous world didn''t exist in this one. Only a few top-notch talents like Li Bai were still stubbornly signifying their historical presence.

    However, the content of their works were somewhat different.

    After all, things like creativity would change with a person''s experiences and the different times they lived in.

    Lin Yuan just thought...

    Whether or not the audience knew who Tang Bohu was, it wouldn''t affect their viewing experience.

    As for the era it was set in, it could be explained as a fictitious universe.

    He didn''t even need to make any modifications to the plot.

    The original version was undoubtedly a classic.

    Considering this film''s setting, Lin Yuan didn''t think the investment would be too high either.

    After all.

    When Lin Yuan, a composer, suddenly wanted to make films, even if Starlight reluctantly agreed, they would definitely not allocate too much funding.

    This simple judgment ability was something Lin Yuan possessed.

    Additionally...

    Restoring the charm of ''Flirting Scholar'' in a world without Star Grandpa was practically an impossible task.

    Why were Star Grandpa''s nonsensical films so popular?

    It wasn''t because the nonsensical genre was so popular ¨C the genre had its limitations. The key was actually Star Grandpa himself ¨C he brought nonsensical acting to an unparalleled level!

    Put another way.

    If Star Grandpa''s blockbuster films were not acted by him, both the classic-ness and watchability would be greatly reduced!

    Perhaps due to these reasons, the System arranged for some auxiliary props.

    With these props, Lin Yuan could try shooting ''Flirting Scholar''.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: I try not to touch on the movies I''ve written about before, as authors also need to keep things fresh. That''s why I''m not going to write about ''Crazy Stone'' again. Thankfully, the number of Hong Kong movies I''ve written about is not many, so I can pick some which I personally think are classics to write about.

 Chapter 190 - 178 This Script is Definitely Hot_1

    On the second day of returning to Qin Province, Lin Yuan officially started work.

    By now, the company''s departmental transformation was largely complete. As soon as Lin Yuan arrived at the company, he was given a new badge, signifying his role not only as one of the key players in Starlight''s music department, but also as the representative of the 9th-floor music department!

    And today, Lin Yuan was set to meet his music department staff for the first time¡­

    The elevator stopped at the ninth floor.

    Upon entering the music department, Lin Yuan was met with a sea of unfamiliar faces.

    Clearly, in the reshuffling process, some composers who had previously been working on other floors were transferred to the ninth floor where Lin Yuan was now located.

    Moreover, Lin Yuan also spotted a few familiar colleagues in the crowd, who had also been assigned to his department.

    Among them, Lin Yuan even noticed Xue Liang, the apprentice he had taken under his wing in Qi Province. However, it was hardly surprising that Xue Liang was allocated under Lin Yuan as it was well known that they had a special relationship, which made it obvious to HR where to place him.

    "Lin Yuan."

    Ol'' Zhou appeared.

    Lin Yuan turned around and greeted him.

    Chuckling, Ol'' Zhou said, "You might still be unfamiliar with some things, so I arranged an assistant manager for you¡­"

    Ol'' Zhou was perfectly aware.

    With Lin Yuan''s personality mirroring that of the composers in the company, expecting him and them to act responsibly was far from reality. They couldn''t even be counted on to show up on time, which is why assistant managers had been appointed across departments.

    "Mr. Lin, hello, I''ll be your assistant manager from now on!"

    Behind Lin Yuan, a somewhat familiar voice rang out. When Lin Yuan turned around, he found his assistant manager was an old acquaintance¡ª

    Wu Yong!

    Wu Yong''s smile was particularly fervent, primarily because he felt that his promotion was too incredulous!

    In terms of composing skills, he was far from being top-tier!

    So why did Ol'' Zhou let him manage Lin Yuan?

    Because he Wu Yong, was the coworker Lin Yuan was most familiar with!

    Therefore, Wu Yong understood that his position as an assistant manager was less of an appointment by Ol'' Zhou, and more of a gift from Lin Yuan!

    For the first time, Wu Yong felt that his life also had the fortune of hitting a jackpot!

    Lin Yuan was his jackpot ticket.

    So, no matter which angle you look at it from, Wu Yong would try his utmost to help Lin Yuan manage the department in the future!

    It was also a consideration on the part of Ol'' Zhou.

    Ol'' Zhou knew that Wu Yong was smart.

    And smart people should understand who their benefactor is.

    Most managers in other departments had ascended in an orderly fashion, only Wu Yong had risen meteorically.

    Under such circumstances, Wu Yong would do anything to please Lin Yuan.

    Because Lin Yuan''s attitude determined whether or not Wu Yong, who was promoted because of his relationship with Lin Yuan, could continue in the position of assistant manager!

    "Brother Yong."

    Lin Yuan nodded at Wu Yong.

    The way he addressed him hadn''t changed, Lin Yuan had always addressed him this way.

    While Wu Yong found it bearable under normal circumstances, he felt somewhat embarrassed accepting the informal address today. However, after some hesitation, he chose not to correct Lin Yuan.

    He knew some things about Lin Yuan and understood that Lin Yuan wouldn''t care about such minor details.

    ¡­

    Without lingering too long in the music department, seeing that Ol'' Zhou had also arrived, Lin Yuan decided to take the opportunity to discuss the movie with him.

    "What did you say?"

    Five minutes later, in the office of the music department on the ninth floor, Ol'' Zhou''s expression changed several times, "You want to make a movie?"

    "Yes."

    Lin Yuan took out the script he had written overnight, "The story is already written¡­"

    Ol'' Zhou was at a loss for words.

    This was absurd.

    After becoming the representative of the 9th-floor music department, Lin Yuan''s first decision wasn''t something related to music, but was instead to produce a movie?

    Despite Ol'' Zhou''s familiarity with Lin Yuan''s unconventional decision-making, he still couldn''t help but feel a sense of absurdity.

    "Well, Lin Yuan¡­,"

    Ol'' Zhou tried to reason with him, "Making movies and composing are entirely different things. I assume you want to contribute to the company''s move into the movie industry. But don''t worry, movies need soundtracks, so you can just stick to composing songs."

    Lin Yuan clarified, "It won''t affect my composing."

    Shaking his head, Ol'' Zhou argued, "It''s not a question of whether it will affect your composing or not. I acknowledge your creative talent, but this idea of yours is too sudden. Even if I wanted to agree, why would the company set up a film crew for you? Our film department is still in its initial stage.

    If you have this burning desire to make a movie, I can promise you that once the company''s film business is on track, you''ll get your chance!"

    Ol'' Zhou felt like he was trying to persuade a stubborn child.

    With his sudden declaration, it felt as if a child had suddenly expressed a desire to play with guns.

    How could Ol'' Zhou not be speechless?

    What was even more frustrating was that Ol'' Zhou was indeed one of the people in charge of the movie department. Lin Yuan had come to the right person, but Ol'' Zhou really didn''t want to be sought out like this.

    Lin Yuan suggested, "Look at the script first."

    He pushed the script towards Ol'' Zhou.

    Ol'' Zhou sighed, picked up the script, and glanced through it.

    After a while, Ol'' Zhou looked up at Lin Yuan in surprise.

    The script was well-written, at least the format was without any issues, making it clear that Lin Yuan wasn''t just doing this on a whim.

    What shocked Ol'' Zhou even more was¡­

    Lin Yuan didn''t just write a script, he also detailed directions for the settings, camera positions, and actors'' performances!

    In addition to this,

    Lin Yuan had also drawn some sketches. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    If this had happened earlier, Ol'' Zhou might not have understood them quite as well since he had just recently been introduced to filmmaking.

    But in the past few months, under the company''s arrangement, Ol'' Zhou had crash-coursed some film knowledge, so he knew what Lin Yuan''s sketches were.

    A storyboard script!

    Lin Yuan had not only done the work that a scriptwriter would do, but had also detailed what a director should do in his script!

    As for the content,

    Ol'' Zhou couldn''t figure anything out. It was a story of gifted individuals, but some scenes were so far-fetched it didn''t make any sense.

    For instance, in Lin Yuan''s script, there was actually a part where he wrote that people were used to draw pictures?

    Exaggerated.

    Very exaggerated.

    Ol'' Zhou felt like he couldn''t keep up with the thought process of young people. However, he didn''t think that this was a clever twist in the plot. Instead, he felt it was somewhat nonsensical.

    He pondered and then said, "This is really difficult¡­"

    Lin Yuan frowned.

    His phone suddenly rang.

    Lin Yuan hung up.

    But the person on the other end refused to give up.

    Lin Yuan had to take the call.

    A passionate voice came from the other side of the phone, "Hello Teacher Admirable Fish, I am the manager from Thunderbolt Entertainment¡­"

    Lin Yuan queried, "Thunderbolt Entertainment?"

    Sitting across from Lin Yuan, the face of Ol'' Zhou turned red, his emotions inexplicably becoming tense as he stared at Lin Yuan intensely.

    50

    Lin Yuan said, "I¡­"

    Unable to hold back any longer, Ol'' Zhou abruptly rose to his feet, with a somewhat agitated tone he declared, "I took another careful look at this script of yours, Lin Yuan. This script is bound to be hot! Definitely a box-office hit!"

    Lin Yuan promptly hung up the phone, he asked expectantly, "So, I can film it?"

    Grinning despite his discomfort, Ol'' Zhou replied, "Such an impressive script deserves to be made into a film!"

 Chapter 191 - 179 Accompanying the Crown Prince in Studying_1

    Ol'' Zhou left with a woebegone face.

    Not a few people at the music composing department on the ninth floor noticed that there was something wrong with Ol'' Zhou''s demeanor as he left.

    What was going on?

    He had merely had a chat with Mr. Lin, so why did it feel like the big boss Zhou was about to break into tears?

    Of course, no one understood the reasons behind it.

    Instead of returning to his office, Ol'' Zhou went directly to the top floor and knocked on the Chairman''s door.

    "Come in."

    A commanding voice came from inside.

    After stepping inside, Ol'' Zhou took a deep breath and said, "There''s a problem."

    "What happened?"

    Li Songhua furrowed his brows: "Is there a problem in the film department?"

    Ol'' Zhou shook his head: "Xian Yu wants to make a movie..."

    Li Songhua arched an eyebrow: "You didn''t refuse?"

    "I couldn''t refuse. When Thunderbolt Entertainment called Xian Yu, I was sitting right across from him. Even though the odds are that Xian Yu probably won''t switch companies, I really didn''t dare to gamble!" Ol'' Zhou felt his blood pressure rising.

    Of course, part of it was an act.

    If he didn''t act agitated, how would his boss understand his predicament?

    Li Songhua kept silent for three seconds and then said: "Let him have his fun."

    With these words from Li Songhua, Ol'' Zhou felt a little better: "Shall I keep the budget a little tight? I didn''t quite understand the content of the script, but I think the investment should be minimal. The film department can..."

    "I''ll take care of it."

    Li Songhua, feeling somewhat exasperated, said: "Consider it as them tutoring the Crown Prince. Let Xian Yu use the idle staff. If he wants to make a fuss, let him do it. Our work focus can''t be disrupted. ''Thunderstorm'' is our company''s first movie. If this movie is successful, let him tinker around the edges as he pleases."

    You''ve got a way of seeing the big picture."

    Ol'' Zhou gave a thumbs up.

    Since the company''s top leader had given a nod, it was not Ol'' Zhou''s responsibility to bear the consequences of this matter.

    He only needed to try his best to minimize Lin Yuan''s expenses.

    Moreover, Lin Yuan shouldn''t be able to create too much of a havoc in reality.

    Because the company has planned a movie named ''Thunderstorm'', which is about to enter the shooting stage.

    The investment cost of this movie is in the hundreds of millions, which may even increase later.

    Almost half of the film department at Starlight is revolving around this movie.

    The remaining resources, both money and manpower, are quite limited.

    At most they could barely put together a small crew to let Lin Yuan play around with.

    Let him enjoy himself.

    "I got to leave now. This kid is spoiled these days..." Ol'' Zhou mumbled as he left.

    Li Songhua glanced at his retreating figure: "Stop acting, I am not going to give you a bonus."

    Ol'' Zhou paused in his tracks, coughed once, and quickly took his leave.

    From a distance, Li Songhua reminded: "Keep the costs within ten million."

    "Got it." S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Ol'' Zhou quickly agreed.

    In simple terms, the company intended to spend several million, or even ten million, to make Xian Yu happy. If little Maestro was happy, he would naturally not go to other companies.

    The market was quite turbulent recently.

    Sand Sea was an example of what could go wrong.

    Someone like Maestro could up and leave just like that.

    What if Xian Yu got upset and went to other companies?

    That loss wouldn''t just be a matter of several hundred or thousand grand. The company was very clear about this part.

    So, Ol'' Zhou let Xian Yu have his fun.

    After all, Li Songhua was prepared for any investment to be a sunk cost.

    ...

    Just because Ol'' Zhou was clear about it, doesn''t mean everyone else was.

    As soon as the directors in the film department heard that a certain representative from the music composition department wanted to make a film, the majority of them objected vehemently!

    "Are you kidding me?"

    "People from the composition department want to make a movie?"

    "Isn''t this leap a little too big for someone switching to another field?"

    "Our company''s film department has just been established and cannot stand such a toss."

    "The entire film department is revolving around the ''Thunderstorm'' project right now. How are we going to manage another project in addition to that?"

    "..."

    Ol'' Zhou said solemnly: "The Chairman has agreed."

    These words shut everyone up instantly.

    Everyone wisely closed their mouths.

    This is why Ol'' Zhou first went to talk to the chairman. As long as the chairman approves, there won''t be any obstacles.

    A middle-level executive lamented, "We would shoot, the problem is, everyone now wants to join Director Du and Author Zhang''s team...."

    Director Du is Du An, and Author Zhang is Zhang Yu.

    The former is a top-tier director in Qi Continent, and the latter is a top-tier screenplay writer.

    Both of them are heavyweights in the film and television industry, poached with great difficulty by Starlight. "Thunderstorm" is the collaborative work of these two core team members.

    On the film side, anyone with a bit of ability wants to join their team.

    Over this issue, the newly formed film department has been almost at each other''s throats recently.

    At this point, establishing another team for Lin Yuan might not be welcomed by many.

    "No problem."

    Ol'' Zhou said, "Let the two big shots pick first, and cram the leftover people into Lin Yuan''s team. We''ve brought so many people over, at least their basic professional skills are there."

    Someone said, "I''m afraid they wouldn''t want to¡­"

    Ol'' Zhou glared, "Whoever dares to refuse, I will have a talk with them!"

    No one spoke again.

    After a while, someone finally said, "What about the investment..."

    Ol'' Zhou waved his hand, "Let me make a call."

    He went to another room and called Lin Yuan: "We can shoot your script, but the investment might not be very high."

    "How much could it be?"

    "Probably several million."

    "What about nine million?"

    "This..."

    Lin Yuan said, "Isn''t it several million?"

    Old Zhou: "¡­"

    Two million can also be considered several million.

    Nine million can also be considered several million.

    You are directly asking for the maximum limit in one breath?

    He tried hard to remain calm, after all, he had already asked the chairman: "Okay, I will try, nine million, but there won''t be more money later. The company will not give you additional investment!"

    "Oh."

    Lin Yuan was satisfied with nine million.

    Although he wasn''t very familiar with the market, he could roughly estimate the cost of "Flirting Scholar."

    "Then that''s it."

    "Wait, there''s one more thing."

    Ol'' Zhou''s heart skipped a beat: "What?"

    Lin Yuan replied: "Don''t change my script."

    Ol'' Zhou forced a smile: "We won''t change it. Who dares to want to change such a world-shaking masterpiece, they have to pass me first!"

    "Thank you."

    "You''re welcome."

    After Ol'' Zhou hung up the phone, he wiped the sweat from his forehead like he''d just fought a battle, and then he adjusted his mood before returning to the conference room: "We''ve agreed on an investment of nine million for this project."

    The group sighed in relief.

    Everyone understood the reality.

    To put it bluntly, this project is clearly just for the representative of the music department to toy with, which shows that this representative has quite a high status in the company.

    However, nine million is not much¡­

    Compared to "Thunderstorm," which could potentially cost hundreds of millions, nine million is but a drop in the bucket, nearly negligible.

    "Just let him play with it."

    The deputy director of the film department said helplessly: "When will the script be delivered? Although it''s fooling around, we should also do our part."

    "The script can not be changed."

    Ol'' Zhou said, "It''s set."

    Everyone looked at Ol'' Zhou together, with complicated expressions.

    Finally, a mid-level executive who was quite familiar with Ol'' Zhou quietly asked: "Is this representative from the music department the son of the chairman?"

    Most of these people don''t understand music, so naturally they don''t understand the significance of Xian Yu to Starlight.

    Ol'' Zhou understood everyone''s thoughts.

    He waved his hand again and said, "Just treat him as the prince of Starlight, serve him well. It''s the nature of children to love to play, I wouldn''t want to catch anyone speaking nonsense behind his back."

    Everyone smirked.

    Even if they wanted to talk, they wouldn''t dare. At most, they''d make a few snide comments privately.

    The chairman even let this guy fool around, which shows his position in the company. He is definitely not someone ordinary people can afford to mess with¡ª

    Seems like we''re just accompanying the prince in reading.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Please vote~~Polluted White is recently watching movies, to accumulate some more knowledge, because I want to write about some good movies that you may not have seen before.

 Chapter 192 - 180 Tool Man Director_1

    All is ready except for the final touch!

    Lin Yuan met the producer arranged by Ol'' Zhou the very next day.

    Originally, Ol'' Zhou wanted to also arrange the director for Lin Yuan, but Lin Yuan decisively declined.

    He wanted to personally control the selection of the director and actors.

    After considering it, Ol'' Zhou agreed.

    It is not that Lin Yuan, the screenwriter, holds a high position.

    It''s just that everyone treated the matter of Mr. Lin making a movie as a game of house with Maestro Junior.

    Since it''s a game, why take it seriously?

    However, it''s not entirely unserious.

    At least the producer that Ol'' Zhou arranged for Lin Yuan is quite serious¡ª

    The producer is Shen Qing.

    Starlight already has a film and television department. Shen Qing is a middle-level executive in Starlight''s original film department. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    It''s just that recently, Starlight hired a bunch of film and television talents, including some relatively strong producers.

    As a result, Shen Qing''s role in the film and television department was suddenly overshadowed by these outside hires.

    Unfortunately, there was nothing Shen Qing could do about it.

    After all, these outside hires are indeed more experienced and capable.

    In comparison, Shen Qing is insignificant.

    After the company planned for "Thunderstorm", the producing team was mostly run by parachuted-in talent. Shen Qing tried to get a foot in the door for a long time but could not find a spot.

    Just as Lin Yuan was planning to make a movie, Ol'' Zhou simply shifted Shen Qing, the outcast from "Thunderstorm," over to him.

    Although everyone defaults to Lin Yuan playing house, this is the first opportunity for Shen Qing to serve as the chief producer for a film. He saw it as a rare learning opportunity, so there was no problem with his attitude¡ª

    After all, he would not have been able to squeeze into the "Thunderstorm" team anyway.

    So why not take advantage of the opportunity to experience the production process?

    Therefore, the night Shen Qing received Lin Yuan''s script, he carefully put together a producer''s list and gave it to Lin Yuan the next day to review.

    To his surprise, when Shen Qing first met Lin Yuan, he found him reading a book in his office.

    The book''s title was "The Fundamentals of Film and Television Production.

    At that moment, Shen Qing suddenly felt an overwhelming pressure, finding the extraordinary Mr. Lin.

    "Hello, my name is Lin Yuan."

    Lin Yuan took the initiative to speak. He has already begun to learn some basic knowledge of film and television production.

    The book mentions the importance of the producer to the filmmaking team.

    The producer is responsible for organizing and carrying out the film''s production.

    The selection of filming locations, personnel arrangements, contacts, and more, are all managed by the production team led by Shen Qing...

    Shen Qing is basically the housekeeper who takes care of the daily affairs of Lin Yuan''s crew!

    "My name is Shen Qing. Hello, Mr. Lin."

    Shen Qing didn''t dismiss Lin Yuan, not only because he had been tipped off by Ol'' Zhou, but also because Shen Qing had read Lin Yuan''s script.

    He does not believe Lin Yuan is somebody who knows nothing about film production!

    Someone ignorant about films could not write such a script.

    This was Shen Qing''s gut feeling after reading the script for "Flirting Scholar".

    Regardless of the script''s content, in terms of standards and completeness, there is no problem with Lin Yuan''s script.

    If forced to say something critical, it would probably be that Lin Yuan''s script is overly detailed, detailed to the point where even the director''s storyboard is ready.

    And in terms of Lin Yuan''s storyboard, not only is its professionalism unquestionable, even the artwork stuns Shen Qing.

    He finds it hard to imagine that a composer could draw such beautiful storyboards!

    This is also why Shen Qing thinks Lin Yuan is extraordinary.

    They say Mr. Lin understands film creation, then why is he reading a basic textbook?

    But if you say Mr. Lin is clueless, then how did he come up with the professional script for "Flirting Scholar"?

    Not to mention that Mr. Lin as a screenwriter is also skilled in drawing, clearly a basic skill of many directors.

    ...

    Indeed, Lin Yuan was also surprised at the script''s completeness sent by the System, ranging from content to storyboards and even some minor details.

    Lin Yuan simply wrote out and drew everything about the script and storyboard that was engraved in his mind by the System.

    Writing is not too hard; Lin Yuan''s typing speed is so fast, and as long as he has hands, he can write.

    Drawing is also not difficult, for Lin Yuan is of professional-level as an artist.

    If he had to compete in drawing, he would crush the drawing skills of more than ninety percent of directors.

    After he and Shen Qing exchanged greetings, they began to chat.

    However, the first request raised by Shen Qing was rejected by Lin Yuan, because Shen Qing''s suggestion was to adjust the storyline a bit.

    "The current plot is coherent overall, yet some parts seem too¡­"

    "Absurd?"

    "Yes, that''s the idea¡­"

    The so-called absurdity, is a term in Qi language, meaning a person''s actions and words are hard to comprehend, lacking a focus, and their language and behavior do not have a definite purpose. They are crude, random, and vent their dissatisfaction, yet always have a forceful logic to explain away their actions.

    "That is the style of this film."

    Lin Yuan was quite patient in explaining to the housekeeper, whom he respected: "The entire movie is based on this perspective of absurdity. The older audience might not accept this style, but younger people will definitely understand it better¡­"

    Thirty-eight-year-old Shen Qing was silent for a few seconds.

    He quickly gave up on persuading Lin Yuan to change the script: "What about the choice of director?"

    "Do you have a list?"

    "We have a rough list, but none of them are well-known directors. The relatively mature directors have all gone to learn from the "Thunderstorm" crew."

    "Give it to me for now."

    Who the director is may be important for other crews, but for Lin Yuan, as long as the director shoots according to the established direction set out in his script, that would be fine.

    This is Lin Yuan''s only standard for selecting people for the "Flirting Scholar" crew, and all it requires is strong implementation capabilities.

    "Alright."

    In this crew, Mr. Lin, the screenwriter, had the final say, and Shen Qing saw no point in clashing with him: "Then the scenes will be arranged as we have planned?"

    "Yes, and also the list of potential actors¡­"

    "I only have the list of actors internal to the company, and I will send it to you in its entirety. If you want to find actors outside of the company, of course, you can try inviting them, but given our limited budget, we certainly cannot afford the high-profile ones." Shen Qing gave Lin Yuan a heads up.

    "Oh."

    Lin Yuan never wanted any big-name actors anyway.

    Big-name actors and big-name directors, just like big-name singers, are burdens with low-cost performance value.

    "Then that''s all for now."

    Shen Qing got up with a bit of a complex mood: "I''ll send you the list of remaining directors and actors in our company''s film department."

    "Alright."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    After Shen Qing left, Lin Yuan turned on his computer, logged into his email, and first decided to nail down the director. He had to find someone with adequate execution skills¡ª

    A tool person.

 Chapter 193 - 181 Yi Chenggong_1

    Shen Qing''s list included three potential directors, along with links to their works.

    However, as Shen Qing himself said, none of these directors had been very successful.

    The first director came from an advertising background and usually made music videos for company singers;

    The second director had once filmed a TV drama, but the ratings were mediocre;

    The third director was the only one who did not graduate from a film school. He became a director halfway, but he had experience in micro-film shooting.

    Lin Yuan took a quick look at the works of these three people.

    In the end, he circled the name of the third director:

    Yi Chenggong.

    The decision to choose this director was not because of the auspiciousness of his name.

    The main reason was that the micro-movie he shot was rather funny. It was less of a micro-movie than a collection of jokes, with a patchwork plot pieced together by various skits.

    At least it had elements of comedy.

    Although his micro-movies were compilations of jokes, making the story seem disjointed and lacking coherence, at least, the humorous elements of these skits were meticulously portrayed by him. It showed that his executive ability wasn''t a major issue.

    "If it doesn''t work out, we''ll replace him."

    With this principle in mind, Lin Yuan started to select actors.

    Compared to the choices for director, there were quite many actors for Lin Yuan to choose from.

    However, there were indeed no major stars who could be considered for the role. Either they were newcomers who hadn''t been in the film industry for long, or they had been extras in the crew for many years and yet were still unknown...

    Start with the appearance requirements.

    This criterion alone had Lin Yuan sifting through a lot of people since each character in "Flirting Scholar" had their own unique characteristics.

    Like Ruhua.

    Like Sister Pomegranate.

    Those who fit the image, Lin Yuan circled first.

    After being busy for a while, there was a knock at the door.

    "Come in."

    "Mr. Lin."

    The knocker entered the room.

    Lin Yuan looked up, surprised to see it was Gu Dong: "Haven''t you returned to Qi Province?"

    "I want to stay at headquarters."

    Gu Dong sounded a bit nervous: "The headquarter plans to assign me to be Mr. Lin''s assistant, but they said it requires your personal approval."

    "No problem."

    Lin Yuan''s impression of Gu Dong was quite okay.

    Gu Dong sounded pleasantly surprised: "I will work hard!" S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Working at the branch office was certainly not as prestigious as the headquarters, and being Mr. Lin''s assistant in the headquarters was much better than her experience in the branch office!

    So, Gu Dong really wanted to secure this job opportunity.

    But she wasn''t sure if Lin Yuan was satisfied with her.

    Now that she received Lin Yuan''s approval, she felt relieved.

    Lin Yuan handed her his list: "You contact the butler and ask him to arrange a time for auditions."

    "Are you really going to shoot a movie?"

    Gu Dong was somewhat surprised. She had heard some rumors before she arrived here, that Mr. Lin wanted to make a movie just for fun--

    The word "fun" was intriguing, representing many people''s opinions on this matter.

    "Yes."

    "Okay, I''ll go and contact him now. But who is the butler?"

    "Shen Qing, he is the film producer of ''Flirting Scholar''."

    Gu Dong nodded, without asking further.

    She wouldn''t stop Lin Yuan, because her experience of working with him at the branch office made it clear to her that it was useless to discourage him from doing what he wanted to do.

    She just needed to do her job as an assistant.

    Now, Gu Dong had fully placed herself in the position of Mr. Lin''s assistant, and as an assistant, she just needed to follow Mr. Lin''s instructions.

    She shouldn''t even have asked that question just now ...

    Gu Dong reviewed her speech error just now and decided not to repeat it in the future.

    ...

    The news of Lin Yuan making a movie indeed spread around the company, but no one commented on Lin Yuan''s decision to make a movie per se.

    People were just amazed at the company''s regard for Lin Yuan, insisting on making a movie according to Lin Yuan''s whimsical interests without any resistance.

    This only made the company''s people realize that Lin''s position in the company was even higher than many people could imagine.

    But that was it.

    The company is now in a critical period of transformation. Everyone is more concerned about whether the film "Thunderstorm" can be a hit, which would allow the company''s transformation to successfully make a good start.

    Compared to this, people lost their interest in Lin Yuan''s movie-making project after some brief gossip.

    Lin Yuan, of course, didn''t care about other people''s opinions.

    He met his preliminary choice of director the day before the audition.

    Yi Chenggong.

    Yi Chenggong was truly a small-time director.

    For such a small-time director, the chance to direct is the most precious thing, and he certainly wouldn''t make trouble by nitpicking the script!

    After receiving the script for "Flirting Scholar", he read through the content in detail the very same night and clearly understood his position -

    A tool!

    How this film should be shot and how the scenes should be handled were all set in stone in the script by Mr. Lin!

    All he had to do was to execute it, and help manage the crew.

    But unlike the film producer Shen Qing, Yi Chenggong fell in love with the script of "Flirting Scholar" at first glance!

    So, the first thing he said when he met Lin Yuan was:

    "The script of Mr. Lin is ingenious!"

    Lin Yuan immediately felt a sense of camaraderie.

    The director was the second person, after Ol'' Zhou, to affirm the quality of the "Flirting Scholar" script.

    What''s more, unlike outsiders like Ol'' Zhou, Yi Chenggong was the director of this film!

    At this moment, Lin Yuan realized that this director might not need to be replaced.

    Yi Chenggong was a bit chubby and just under one meter seventy. Wearing glasses for short-sightedness, he was a talkative fellow:

    "This script from Mr. Lin has some similarities with Qi Continent... Its name should be Qi Province now. In their early days, they had a movie called ''I am a Master'' that adopted this kind of exaggerated style. Unfortunately, I think some parts were slightly restrained. The actors didn''t seem to let loose and some of the jokes weren''t daring enough.

    As a result, the box office of that movie wasn''t high, and after that, few people attempted this type of film again ..."

    Lin Yuan nodded constantly.

    Blue Star indeed had absurd films, but those were only the embryonic form of absurdity. In contrast, "Flirting Scholar" was an all-out piece of absurdity.

    "When will the auditions for the actors start?"

    "Tomorrow."

    "Then we must pick our actors carefully. Supporting roles are okay, mainly we need to put some effort into their appearance, but the male lead will be difficult to select, with all the humor focused on his character..."

    Lin Yuan found that Yi Chenggong was very knowledgeable more and more.

    Because Yi Chenggong''s line of thought was completely in line with Lin Yuan''s.

    This made Lin Yuan somewhat hopeful: "Do you have a suitable candidate for the male lead?"

    Yi Chenggong pondered for a moment and said: "Actually, there''s someone I know but this person is just a bit-part actor and can''t carry the box office..."

    "That''s not important."

    How many major actors started as bit-part actors? If one doesn''t give them a chance, how would they know they are going to play bit-parts for their entire life?

    "You don''t care about the fame of the lead actor?"

    Yi Chenggong thought Lin Yuan would at least choose a familiar actor for the leading role.

    "Yes."

    Lin Yuan answered affirmatively.

    Yi Chenggong laughed: "Then the person I recommend should not disappoint Mr. Lin ..."

 Chapter 194 - 182 Casting Completed_1

    On the day of the audition, Lin Yuan met the male lead actor recommended by Yi Chenggong.

    "Hello, Mr. Lin. My name is He Sheng¡­"

    He is a young actor whose looks can be described in what way?

    Standing with Lin Yuan, He Sheng''s appearance was rather average, almost indistinguishable from the crowd.

    When on the side of Shen Qing, the housekeeper, He Sheng could likely be considered quite attractive to the average person.

    And if you were to compare him to Yi Chenggong, He Sheng could definitely be considered a handsome man.

    However, at this point, He Sheng was standing close to Lin Yuan, so he fell into the category of a regular person. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Especially in front of Lin Yuan, his instinctive nervousness made him seem even more ordinary...

    "Hello."

    Lin Yuan presented the expected social smile, nodding at the leaders of various departments of the film crew assembled in the recent days by Yi Chenggong and Shen Qing:

    "Let''s begin the audition."

    Shen Qing nodded, and everyone commenced with the auditions.

    The first person to audition was He Sheng. Facing the director''s recommendation, Shen Qing frowned slightly.

    But not just Shen Qing.

    The other department heads of the film crew were also somewhat anxious.

    Not because He Sheng was bad.

    But because He Sheng had only been in the industry for three years with no established fame, and an unknown actor playing the lead role naturally lacks box-office appeal.

    However, Lin Yuan did not speak up, so the audition process continued as normal.

    A completely standard audition.

    There were no fancy requirements, just asking He Sheng to perform a certain scene from the script.

    During the waiting period of the audition, everyone had already reviewed parts of the script in advance, so there was no need for impromptu reading and acting.

    He Sheng was initially a bit nervous, but once he got into actor mode, he seemed transformed into another person, quickly immersing himself into the character.

    He acted out a scene where Tang Bohu was trying to get into Hua Mansion.

    Suddenly, he bent down and picked up a dead cockroach...

    Shen Qing and the others were taken aback, not knowing where He Sheng found the cockroach. However, it was clear to everyone that it was a real cockroach...

    "Xiao Qiang!"

    "Xiao Qiang, what happened to you, Xiao Qiang? You can''t die! We''ve been relying on each other for so many years... I''ve raised you like my own flesh and blood for so many years, only to see the white-haired man send off the black-haired man today¡­"

    He Sheng held the cockroach, sobbing loudly, beating his chest, and stamping his feet.

    The attention of Shen Qing and the others was diverted from the cockroach itself to He Sheng''s performance.

    What''s this?

    Is it worth it for a dead cockroach?

    If you say this crying act is real, it gives people a sense of manipulation, it''s clearly an exaggerated performance style; if you say it''s fake, He Sheng''s appearance of grief seems rather genuine, at least the feelings he invested in the cockroach are beyond everyone''s imagination...

    In any case, Shen Qing and the others, though they had read the script and knew the causes and consequences, could not help but feel a little confused.

    Yi Chenggong, on the other hand, looked to Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan''s expression did not change much.

    The performance script was determined by Lin Yuan. He deliberately omitted the part about performance instructions, providing only the lines, allowing the actor to interpret the performance on his own.

    As a result, He Sheng''s incarnation was very close to the part of the script that Lin Yuan had removed.

    It''s this kind of real or fake crying scene.

    Being too serious makes it solemn, while too fake loses its humor.

    It''s about getting the balance right.

    Shen Qing and the others also turned their heads towards Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan asked, "Where did the cockroach come from?"

    Shen Qing and others were left speechless by the question. Was this really the main point?

    "I found it in the bathroom."

    He Sheng answered somewhat awkwardly.

    Lin Yuan nodded but did not make an immediate decision, instead inviting the next auditionee to enter.

    He Sheng left, appearing uneasy.

    The subsequent auditionees for the leading roles did not elicit any comment from Lin Yuan.

    Until the end of the auditions, when everyone began to discuss.

    Yi Chenggong directly recommended He Sheng.

    Shen Qing shook his head, "He Sheng''s performance, wasn''t it a bit too much. He was crying over a dead cockroach, is that necessary? It just feels like an exaggerated performance¡­"

    The others behind Shen Qing nodded in agreement.

    Yi Chenggong couldn''t help but interject, "You guys view it with a professional vision, of course, He Sheng''s performance seems a bit exaggerated. But I believe He Sheng''s performance mode is at least consistent with the logic of the script¡­"

    Someone argues, "If not choosing from a professional acting background, are we to choose from unconventional paths?"

    Yi Chenggong shook his head, "You can check his background, He Sheng is indeed from a professional acting institute."

    The assistant director next to him frowned and said, "But his acting doesn''t seem professional at all."

    "..."

    After a round of discussion, with no clear decision reached, everyone turned their eyes to Lin Yuan.

    "Let''s go with He Sheng."

    Lin Yuan spoke up.

    Shen Qing and the others wanted to object but ultimately didn''t say anything more.

    It turns out this was a one-man show for Lin Yuan, any objections from others would be irrelevant anyway.

    Just like before when someone tried to persuade Lin Yuan to modify the script, but he was not willing to do so.

    Yi Chenggong, on the other hand, revealed a smile.

    It turns out not only him, but the entire cast and crew of "Flirting Scholar" were tools for Mr. Lin.

    All they needed to do was to complete their tasks.

    After the leading roles had been determined, the rest of the casting process became relatively easier.

    Shen Qing and the others rarely voiced their opinions, and it was essentially Lin Yuan and Yi Chenggong who finalised all the actors.

    However, during the casting process, the others got a sense of Lin Yuan''s casting criteria:

    No handsome men.

    No beautiful women, aim for an uglier cast, or rather, ones with characteristic looks.

    Shen Qing agreed completely with this.

    In a comedy, supporting roles must be cast with less attractive actors.

    Only the four servants of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter, were deliberately selected by Lin Yuan to be exceptionally beautiful actresses.

    Especially Qiuxiang...

    This was probably the most suitable choice for the leading lady in the eyes of Shen Qing and the others because Qiuxiang''s face was very beautiful!

    More importantly, Qiuxiang had a reputation!

    She is a second-line actress with the stage name Yu Xilu.

    Yu Xilu has a number of works to her name, she has a somewhat classical beauty, but because her acting skills are mediocre, she has been labeled a "vase" by many people since her debut.

    If it were casting for any other film or TV series, Shen Qing and others would not take a liking to a "vase" like Yu Xilu.

    But looking at the actors Lin Yuan picked...

    Even the director looked somewhat sleazy...

    Shen Qing and the others felt that Yu Xilu, at least, was a reliable choice.

    At least Yu Xilu was pretty, and she has some level of fame!

    Don''t care whether this reputation is built on her acting skill or her looks.

    Anyway, if you must choose one, just like in picking the tallest amongst the short, Shen Qing and the others considered Yu Xilu to be the perfect choice.

    After deciding on the leading male and female roles as well as the integral supporting roles.

    Lin Yuan said, "Let''s get shooting on the schedule."

    Shen Qing and the others nodded, fully prepared to be Lin Yuan''s tools. When assigned to tutor a prince like this, not seeking merit but avoiding demerits became their motto.

    However, Yi Chenggong was full of motivation.

    Although he was a tool, he was the most willing to be used out of the lot!

 Chapter 195 - 183: You Think I Dare Not Spend_1

    The preparation period for a film is usually not quick, so after the crew has assembled the personnel framework, all kinds of preparations require some time to implement.

    These issues don''t concern Lin Yuan, the screenwriter; they are shouldered by the producer and director¡ª

    This is probably the advantage of being a screenwriter.

    Now it is February, and the annual Chinese New Year has begun.

    This is the first Spring Festival after the merger of Qin and Qi provinces, and the atmosphere seems to be even more lively than in previous years. Lin Yuan''s mother has finally been brought to Su City to celebrate the Chinese New Year with her children.

    During the New Year''s Eve dinner.

    Lin Xuan kept persuading her mother to stay in Su City for retirement and not to return to work. Given the current situation of the Lin family, there was no need for her mother to continue to work hard for money.

    After hesitating for a while, her mother finally agreed.

    Everyone in the family is in Su City, her nostalgia for her hometown could not resist the temptation of a family reunion.

    The consent of Lin Yuan''s mother made the younger generation in the family happy.

    On this Spring Festival!

    The novel "Zhu Xian" written by Lin Yuan under the pseudonym Chu Kuang finally reached its grand conclusion.

    However, even the festive atmosphere of the New Year can''t diminish the resentment of the readers.

    Because even by the grand conclusion of "Zhu Xian", readers weren''t able to see the scene they had been looking forward to all along: "Biyao'',s resurrection."

    "Damn Chu Kuang, that old rascal!"

    "Even on New Year''s Day, you upset me!"

    "Where''s the promised resurrection of Biyao? If I had known, I would have dropped the book when Biyao died, at least I could have kept some hope."

    "At least Zhang Xiaofan reunited with Xue Qi at the end..."

    "He has made me hesitate to read any more of Chu Kuang''s novels."

    "Next time Chu Kuang writes a book, make sure an editor holds this old rascal__":

    "..."

    Of course, despite their complaints, in their hearts the readers still approved of "Zhu Xian."

    Since they had already been hurt by Biyao''s death before, the fact that there was no resurrection at the end of "Zhu Xian" merely added a bit of regret to the readers'' hearts.

    On the official website of the Silver Blue Books.

    In the comments section of "Zhu Xian", one reader made a very logical statement:

    "If Biyao really revived, would our feelings as readers who have been tortured recover?

    The answer is no.

    At that time, we would probably go back to the initial vicious circle, and the factional disputes would certainly reignite:

    Should Zhang Xiaofan choose Biyao or Xue Qi?"

    Although there is the possibility of a harem, "Zhu Xian" has described both girls too well.

    Because they are so well portrayed, the story can''t end with a harem.

    Whether it is Biyao or Xue Qi, neither of them would share Zhang Xiaofan. If the two of them are truly willing to be with Zhang Xiaofan together, it would be a desecration to the characters.

    At least I would feel...the character setting has collapsed." Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    So this is an unsolvable proposition, this is probably why Chu Kuang did not choose to resurrect Biyao in the end.

    Eventually, one girl has to bear it all.

    Biyao died under Chu Kuang''s pen, but she lives in the hearts of us readers, which may not necessarily be a bad ending."

    This post received many upvotes.

    At this point, because of the merger of Qin and Qi provinces, many readers from Qi province also read "Zhu Xian."

    So they experienced the feelings of the original readers from Qin province: cursing on one hand and accepting on the other.

    However, this novel also introduced the fantasy writer Chu Kuang from Qin province to the readers in Qi province. After the merger of the two places, Chu Kuang was one of the first writers remembered by the readers from Qi province!

    ...

    With the completion of "Zhu Xian", Silver Blue Books were not overly pessimistic.

    Although the nature of this novel is still short, at least it is longer than "King of the Net."

    After experiencing something once, it is not so hard to accept again.

    After all, YangFeng quickly accepted the fact that "Zhu Xian" ended sooner than expected, even though YangFeng still believed that the novel could make much more money if it continued¡ª

    Who cares if Chu Kuang doesn''t care about these things?

    Rather than regretting the completion of "Zhu Xian", YangFeng looked forward to Chu Kuang''s next work.

    After receiving the message, Lin Yuan hesitated for a moment before replying: "I''ll start the new book after a while."

    "Okay."

    Yang Feng didn''t say much.

    Although he wished Chu Kuang''s new book was already prepared, creation was never a very speedy process. It was customary to rest for a while after completing an old book. After all, every writer needs to recharge.

    What he cared more about was: "What type of work is Chu Kuang''s next piece?"

    "I don''t know."

    Lin Yuan responded honestly.

    YangFeng fell into thought upon seeing Lin Yuan''s reply.

    After a long while, he asked, "Not continuing to write fantasy novels?"

    "I don''t know."

    Lin Yuan still responded with these three words, he really didn''t know. It depended on which book would come out of the System''s so-called custom randomization.

    "Alright."

    YangFeng was powerless.

    With the popularity of "Zhu Xian", a wave of fantasy novels had hit the market. Many veteran writers even chose to follow Chu Kuang''s trend, and indeed a good number of new fantasy pieces with excellent results emerged!

    The market for the theme created by Chu Kuang this time was even more vast than the sports competition!

    This made the title of "pioneer" associated with Chu Kuang even more popular.

    Even some insiders joked:

    The two themes created by Chu Kuang have kept countless writers afloat.

    Think about the highly successful writer He Mingxuan, thanks to his basketball theme...

    Didn''t he start his career by following the trend set by Chu Kuang?

    Before that, his novels were so unpopular that no one wanted to publish them.

    There are many authors like He Mingxuan, so these authors should probably feel more grateful to Chu Kuang than anyone else.

    But as much as Chu Kuang has helped, his reign was all too brief¡­

    Though he did write two successive best-selling novels, he recklessly decided to end them prematurely. Authors who make such decisions are bittersweet for publishers.

    The reason why Lin Yuan doesn''t plan to start a new book right away is actually related to his filmmaking plans.

    Lin Yuan was uncertain about how much time he would need to spare once the shooting of "Flirting Scholar" begins.

    Even though he writes quickly, churning out 200,000 words in a month, he still needed some time to manage everything.

    "You should start a new book as soon as possible."

    In the end, YangFeng reminded him: "Because the market competition is fierce, and the reader''s market in Qin Province and Qi Province has unified, many authors want to seize this opportunity to make themselves known to these readers."

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan replied, but he didn''t take it seriously.

    Because it''s not just the book market, it''s the same in every industry.

    Using the phrase "great time of revival" to describe every industry may not be very accurate, but it''s true that everyone is playing a game of capturing territory. After the market expands, everyone wants to seize this rare opportunity to be the first to benefit.

    ...

    Even though Lin Yuan didn''t rush to start a new book, he was far from idle during the Spring Festival.

    Recently, he found a treasure in the specialty items section of the System.

    Lin Yuan originally thought the System only had film-related items. On a closer look, he found that it truly had everything!

    Pretty flashy.

    For instance, an item called a Memory Pill.

    If you took a Memory Pill, your memory would be infinitely amplified for the next hour.

    In other words, if you took this thing, you would achieve photographic memory while reading a book!

    Another item it had was an Energy Potion.

    If you drank it, you would feel energetic for an hour. No matter what you did, you would feel full of life and won''t feel tired at all.

    Then there was stuff like a Tear Potion. Once ingested, the user could shed a torrent of tears on demand.

    Buddy¡­

    What was the point of this?

    By a far stretch, it could be related to film making?

    Like if an actor can''t cry on set, you could give them one?

    The problem was, a professional actor shouldn''t have any trouble crying. If they can''t even cry, wouldn''t that mean they were too amateur, unprofessional? Even a person without any acting skills could cry if forced to. Isn''t that right?

    On top of that.

    Can''t you use onions?

    Aren''t eye drops better?

    Alright, onion and eye drops aren''t as efficient as this, but everything in this system cost a serial killer fare. There''s nothing cheap, the starting price was all 10,000!

    For example, a Tear Potion¡­

    Can you believe this thing cost a hundred thousand per bubble, not sickness?

    A volume that couldn''t even quench thirst!

    Anyway, Lin Yuan wouldn''t spend this wasteful money; let it stay unsold in the System.

    The only exception was the Memory Pill, which Lin Yuan was genuinely interested in.

    No wonder, he had a film to shoot and he was a novice who barely understood the basics of filmmaking. If he wanted the crew to move in the direction he wanted, he had to learn some stuff.

    Which was why he had been reading film-related books recently.

    But only reading books had a lousy rate of learning things, and without someone to explain, although Lin Yuan felt like he had learned a lot, whenever he reflected on it, he didn''t understand any of it.

    What to do then?

    Take the Memory Pill!

    The prices of these specialty items varied, a Memory Pill was priced at two hundred thousand, a price Lin Yuan would never have considered before.

    But even the stingiest of persons might become extravagant once they have earned some money.

    Lin Yuan felt like he was just that person who became extravagant after earning money.

    He went ahead and bought the Memory Pill from the System!

    While buying from the system, Lin Yuan kept giving himself pep talks:

    "Taking a loss is a blessing."

    "You need to give up something to gain something."

    "Money is something material."

    "Smart girls...men are willing to invest in themselves."

    "There are beauty in books, there are beauty in books."

    "..."

    Lin felt like she was Madam Hua arguing with Tang Bohu in "Flirting Scholar":

    "You spend!"

    "You think I dare not?"

    "If you dare, spend for this!"

    "Spend! I will!"

    "Spend now, for me to see?"

    "I will spend now, for you to see¡­You think I''m stupid? Spend more? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

    Gulp.

    The System, like Tang Bohu, stuffed the Memory Pill down Lin Yuan''s throat. Lin Yuan had finally spent his money.

    He had no choice.

    What was bound to come would eventually come.

    Worst case scenario, he''d make back the cost of one by learning from many!

    Lin Yuan was serious, he started reading his first book at a crazy speed, even more serious than when he attended Yang Zhongming''s teaching class¡­

 Chapter 196 - 184: The inexplicably funny _1

    Using your game currency, there are only no times and countless times.

    From the moment he fell into the system''s customized routine, Lin Yuan has opened the mouth of gold consumption.

    And when he found unprecedented joy from it, everything that followed would be as natural as a flood.

    Unstoppable.

    What''s Lin Yuan''s joy?

    Perhaps it''s while others are studying, I''m reading books.

    The things that others took a long time to understand, Lin Yuan could understand at a glance.

    He''s really reading books.

    A book called "Rules of Film Production" he finished reading and comprehended.

    The so-called memory pill not only deepened Lin Yuan''s memory ability, allowing him to remember at a glance what he had read but also improved Lin Yuan''s understanding ability, making Lin Yuan truly understand the meaning carried by these words.

    At this moment, Lin Yuan suddenly understood why his sister could obtain happiness from studying just like eating egg yolk.

    That''s the joy of harvesting.

    So in the following days, Lin Yuan spent every day in the painful consumption of gold and the joy of studying.

    Until the end of February, the filming of "Flirting Scholar" officially started, Lin Yuan still could not stop the momentum of studying.

    The ocean of film and television knowledge is vast.

    Even if Lin Yuan spent millions on gold consumption, read books for so many days, he still didn''t dare to say that he really understood everything.

    He felt that the knowledge inside him was still not enough.

    However, he finally temporarily stopped his pace of learning and participated in the opening ceremony of the film.

    No reporters and flashlights.

    The so-called opening ceremony is nothing more than the producer and director taking turns making speeches. After the two of them finished speaking, they looked at Lin Yuan.

    Meaning, Mr. Lin, you also say a few words?

    Lin Yuan thought for a while, picked up the microphone and said, "Everyone have fun."

    Yi Chenggong was stunned.

    Shen Qing and others showed weird expressions.

    But the actors laughed. The film hadn''t started yet, and the atmosphere somehow became much more relaxed.

    And this light-hearted atmosphere even continued into the formal shooting...

    When He Sheng acted out the first plot according to the script, which is when Tang Bohu sang that classic line:

    "I love roasted chicken wings..."

    Someone echoed: "But your mother says you''re going to heaven..."

    Couldn''t continue to sing.

    The actors couldn''t stop themselves, they all burst into laughter.

    Who in the real world speaks and suddenly sings?

    Moreover, singing has rhythm.

    It should be noted that the script of "Flirting Scholar" is very complete. The melody of this line was also given to Lin Yuan.

    Maybe many people watch movies just for fun.

    But few people know that the original tune of this song is the first one in the second act of "Turandot".

    It''s very high-end, but is made fun of by Zhou Xingchi.

    Not only this one.

    The scene where Tang Bohu disguised himself as a house servant in Hua Mansion and sang "I have houses and fields at home" also originated from a concert in Europe and America.

    Zhou Xingchi is very good at taking some music and overturning it with lines.

    So this script, even if it is just customized, can take a large sum of Lin Yuan''s money just based on these music scores.

    Luckily this is the first script, so the system packaged it as a task and gave it as a gift.

    ...

    Shen Qing held his head, but didn''t say much, this is originally a strange film, as a producer, he can''t interfere.

    "Again."

    Yi Chenggong is obviously not a fiery-tempered director.

    When the actors laugh, he also laughs with them, and then reminds everyone to do it again.

    This is a film set that is not serious at all.

    But while laughing heartily, everyone had to admire Mr. Lin''s strengths, he was indeed worthy of the name of Maestro Junior.

    Not to mention the spoof lyrics.

    Just by turning these lines into a song tune, you can see how deep Mr. Lin''s musical accomplishments are, many seemingly casual tunes are surprisingly good...

    Even Shen Qing admires this.

    Just Shen Qing feels a bit regretful, how good would it be if Mr. Lin''s talent was used only in movie soundtrack, why does he have to do the job of a screenwriter?

    The following shooting situation is the same.

    Everyone will laugh from time to time.

    In terms of the number of times the actors laugh, probably "Flirting Scholar" can crush other comedy crews. Even Yu Xilu, who is responsible for the beautiful protagonist, Ruhua, also had to perform some performances that ordinary people can''t understand according to the director''s requirements.

    By the time the filming reached the later stages, not to mention the actors, even the people like Shen Qing couldn''t help but laugh along.

    Sometimes, even laughing until their stomachs hurt.

    "What the heck is this!"

    The assistant director laughed while muttering.

    It took Shen Qing a great deal of effort to hold back his laughter, and for a moment, he didn''t know how to describe it. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    He pondered for a long time and finally summarized: "The plot is inexplicable, but some places are inexplicably funny..."

    This has nothing to do with whether the movie is good or not.

    To put it crudely:

    Life is like being forced, since you can''t resist, just enjoy it.

    Shen Qing felt he had fallen.

    Anyway, the internal drama of Shen Qing and others is: once you accept this setting, it seems a bit sensual?

    Just follow the laughter and it''s over.

    Here''s the peculiar part of the crew.

    Although everyone kept laughing, even the main creators couldn''t pretend to be serious, but the progress of the film''s shooting was not delayed at all, and it seemed that the atmosphere of the crew was too happy, so many performances, the actors were all very open, and they completely let go.

    Lin Yuan, the screenwriter, didn''t speak either.

    He just watched everyone laugh, and occasionally followed a laughter that met everyone''s expectations -

    In fact, it''s a forced smile.

    Of course, Lin Yuan could understand the humor, but the memory of "Flirting Scholar" was unlocked by the system, he had seen this thing more than once in his previous life.

    So it''s hard to laugh again.

    Novelty things are very important.

    Later, Lin Yuan was too lazy to laugh, he simply asked someone to move a small table over, secretly took a memory pill, and started to read.

    A lot of books.

    The table was full of dozens of books, all related to film and television.

    Shen Qing silently nodded his head and sighed, "Although it''s a whim, and the movie is very bizarre, Mr. Lin is indeed seriously studying and getting a deep understanding of this field."

    "Are you sure?"

    The person next to him asked quietly.

    Shen Qing was stunned, then he saw something unbelievable, he suddenly wanted to take back what he just said:

    Lin Yuan was seen seriously opening the book, turning pages one after another, and each page wouldn''t stay for more than thirty seconds...

    The weather is not hot today, it''s even a bit cold.

    Is Mr. Lin using the method of fast page turning to fan some wind for himself?

 Chapter 197 - 185: The Master Trainer _1

    The filming was not entirely smooth sailing.

    At the beginning, the progress was indeed gratifying. But after a period of consecutive filming, acting difficulties inevitably arose. Specifically, at some points of humor that seemed rather strange, the male lead He Sheng seemed a little unsure about his performance.

    One day.

    While filming a scene at Hua Mansion, no matter how hard He Sheng tried, he couldn''t get into the feel of his character. Even Yi Chenggong, known for his good temper, couldn''t help but pause the filming and chat privately with He Sheng for over ten minutes.

    Regrettably, the one-on-one talk had limited effects...

    Back into the acting, He Sheng''s performance still couldn''t meet Yi Chenggong''s standards.

    Not just Yi Chenggong''s.

    Even Shen Qing, the producer who most of the time was on set, noticed something was off with He Sheng.

    It''s hard to describe exactly.

    The feeling was, He Sheng didn''t seem as funny as before?

    But it''s normal.

    There will always be difficulties in filming.

    It''s a good thing that Yi Chenggong insisted on maintaining high standards.

    Actually, it wasn''t He Sheng''s problem, but rather the characterization problem of Tang Bohu''s role, which is Zhou Xingchi''s role!

    Zhou Xingchi''s characters, though seem whimsical, capricious and casually performed, are in fact all backed by strong comedic foundations.

    But He Sheng is not Zhou Xingchi after all. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    His nailing some parts does not mean he can nail everything.

    If a replication of Zhou Xingchi could be found in Blue Star just as easily as that, then Zhou Xingchi wouldn''t be Zhou Xingchi.

    In the end, Yi Chenggong ran out of options and could only wave his hand and say, "Let''s shoot the others'' parts first."

    He Sheng nodded, sitting in the corner quite frustrated.

    But he is just a small actor. His real acting experience is running minor roles in the past.

    And what he learned from the academy could not be applied here at all...

    So, when his performance fell into a stalemate like a bottleneck, he could only figure out a way to break through.

    Without an assistant, he felt a bit thirsty and was going to fetch some water for himself when a bottle of mineral water was handed over.

    "Mr. Lin? Thank you..."

    He Sheng rose somewhat astoundingly.

    Lin Yuan is a scriptwriter, but both Shen Qing and Yi Chenggong call him Mr. Lin. Consequently, everybody else calls him Mr. Lin as well.

    Meanwhile, his heart couldn''t help but pounded a little.

    He worried that Mr. Lin was unsatisfied with his performance and came to criticize him.

    Offering him water was just the calm before the storm.

    "Sit."

    Lin Yuan began to speak, "Any problem?"

    After just using a Memory Pill for an hour, he saw the scene of dissatisfaction with He Sheng''s performance from the director. So he came to show care.

    "I can''t quite find my feel..."

    He Sheng confessed somewhat guiltily, "I''ll try harder later..."

    Lin Yuan remained silent.

    If effort could solve everything, why would need the System?

    In terms of performance, He Sheng already has the flavor of Zhou Xingchi. Therefore, Lin Yuan was still quite satisfied with He Sheng as an actor.

    Even though he was satisfied.

    Lin Yuan still knew in his heart that He Sheng was ultimately not Zhou Xingchi.

    This newcomer had no reference from Star Grandpa''s observance. He was truly feeling his way across the river.

    His present performance was excellent.

    The current situation was actually a process that He Sheng needed to go through to become Zhou Xingchi of Blue Star.

    He might manage to overcome this hurdle.

    Or he might for life be just one step away.

    However, it was all up to He Sheng. He had to overcome this, while all Lin Yuan needed to do was to get He Sheng to temporarily play Zhou Xingchi!

    "Too expensive."

    Lin Yuan muttered to himself.

    He Sheng looked confused, "What''s too expensive?"

    Lin Yuan didn''t answer.

    "Too expensive" was referring to the "Star Fragment" from System, a crystallization of Zhou Xingchi''s performance techniques with a hefty price tag of three million apiece!

    And the effect only lasts an hour.

    Seeing that He Sheng''s previous performances were fine, Lin Yuan had not been willing to use it till now.

    But now it seems he must use it.

    However, this couldn''t be done abruptly. Lin Yuan decided to talk with He Sheng about acting. He didn''t waste his time reading all those books on acting lately. Just talking about the theories of acting, Lin Yuan was not any worse than many professional actors.

    "Do you see Tang Bohu as a big character or a small one?"

    "A big character...right?"

    "Wrong, Tang Bohu is a small character."

    Lin Yuan began to woolgather, combining his recent reading on acting, although it wasn''t his field of expertise, "Essentially speaking, Tang Bohu is a small character, a big character is just a surface identity for him, a big character wouldn''t experience the helplessness that Tang Bohu did.

    Tang Bohu''s real identity in this movie is Hua An, and his experience in Hua Mansion mirrors that of every small character. It''s just that he has a Trump card regarding his identity, but this card wouldn''t be unveiled until the later part of the script."

    He Sheng was taken aback.

    He seemed to vaguely understand something...

    Tang Bohu may appear as a big character only in disguise, but would a big character be worn out by his eight wives?

    Would a big character be tormented to death by his eight wives?

    Would a big character chase a little maid in such a ridiculous way?

    Especially since Tang Bohu entered Hua Mansion, he became a real small character.

    Comparing hardships, pretending a cockroach is his years-long companion.

    At mealtime, others took away all the food, leaving him with only an empty pot...

    Such encounters of small characters, Tang Bohu had them all. And his reactions to these situations, no matter how nonsensical or ridiculously funny they were, all belong to reactions a small character would have.

    "So fundamentally, I was wrong?"

    He Sheng was even somewhat self-doubting for a moment.

    Lin Yuan didn''t say much more, but instead stood up and looked at Yi Chenggong, who had just finished shooting another scene, "Continue shooting He Sheng''s part."

    "Mr. Lin, I''m currently..."

    Although He Sheng felt he had gained some insight, in terms of acting, he really hadn''t thought of a solution yet. This wasn''t something he could change with just a few words.

    Yi Chenggong couldn''t help but to ask, "He Sheng, can you handle it now?"

    "I can''t."

    He Sheng said, embarrassed and helpless.

    However, Lin Yuan frowned and said, "He can."

    "I really can''t..." He Sheng, who had been stuck many times, now knew just how difficult this scene was.

    Lin Yuan said, "If I say you can do it, then you can."

    He had already used the Star Fragment on He Sheng.

    With only an hour, he didn''t want this time to be wasted on pointless things.

    Thankfully, in the end, it was still Mr. Lin who had the final say on the set.

    Under Lin Yuan''s insistence, He Sheng had no choice but to brace himself and walk to the film set.

    However, the crew was somewhat helpless.

    Was Mr. Lin considering himself a big acting coach?

    He Sheng had performed many times and it didn''t work out, could he really get it right just after a few words with Mr. Lin?

    He Sheng himself felt that he couldn''t do it!

    For a time, the crowd looked at He Sheng with some sympathy.

    Even Shen Qing, who came with the crew today, couldn''t help but sigh in her heart.

    If He Sheng couldn''t perform later, wouldn''t Mr. Lin be furious?

    Wasn''t this implying that Mr. Lin didn''t understand acting?

    She had to help He Sheng a bit.

    Although she was dissatisfied with the script, Shen Qing thought He Sheng was a very hard-working actor.

    This wasn''t Shen Qing''s fault. It''s inevitable for actors to encounter similar situations. Even the best actors have had trouble performing many takes, let alone a newbie like He Sheng.

    "Let''s get started then."

    Yi Chenggong didn''t say much. He had made up his mind that no matter how bad He Sheng''s performance was, he wouldn''t criticize him too harshly.

    Just like that.

    The filming began again.

    He Sheng was originally not confident, but as soon as he entered the performance state, he suddenly felt something strange, as if he had achieved some sort of enlightenment!

    He picked up his chopsticks and struck the broken bowls in front of him, almost rapping:

    "I''m a simple guy living by the river in Su City, I have a house and fields, my life is unbelievably good..."

    It felt great...

    But it was also quite odd!

    Why did it feel like my hands had a mind of their own?

    Wasn''t I striking with too professional a rhythm?

    Even the lines were fluctuating, spoken with a rhythmic chant, a demonic melody: "Who would have thought Tang Bohu, he is unreasonable, snatching my wife and child, monopolizing my fields¡­"

    He Sheng was really into it!

    At this moment, he even forgot who he was, completely got into Tang Bohu''s character. It was as if he had performed this part countless times, producing the best state of performance effortlessly!

    The look in Yi Chenggong''s eyes changed.

    The look in Shen Qing''s eyes also changed accordingly.

    This emotion spread quickly throughout the crew. Anyone could feel it, in this scene, He Sheng was performing amazingly!

    The actresses portraying Madam Hua and the maidservant were all inspired, and involuntarily poked their heads back and forth with the rhythm.

    Someone backstage couldn''t help but laugh.

    This part was actually quite funny, but when He Sheng performed it before, it fell flat. It felt overly deliberate, like he was just acting for the sake of acting.

    But this time, He Sheng''s performance could be truly described as tailoring to his own persona!

    He was Tang Bohu, he was Hua An, he was 9527!

    So when this performance ended, everyone''s faces turned into utter shock.

    Then, dozens of eyes turned to Lin Yuan.

    "Director, after listening to Mr. Lin..."

    He Sheng excitedly glanced at Lin Yuan, then hurried to speak, his voice unprecedentedly enthusiastic:

    "I feel like I can do it again!"

    "Get ready for the next scene quickly!"

    Of course, Yi Chenggong knew how precious an actor''s state was. Compared with before, He Sheng had undergone a complete transformation!

    So after coming back to his senses, he quickly shouted to the crew behind him.

    Under this atmosphere, everyone quickly set up for the next scene.

    During this process,

    The crew looked at Lin Yuan with somewhat awestruck expressions:

    Everyone had just witnessed the transformation of He Sheng, who didn''t know how to act not long ago, to delivering arguably the most perfect performance of this movie''s production so far¡ª

    All of this because of the guidance of Mr. Lin!

    Guiding actors should be the director''s responsibility, but at this moment, Yi Chenggong deeply understood that his abilities in guiding actors were nothing compared to Lin Yuan!

    What did Mr. Lin say to He Sheng?

    Shen Qing and the others were even more wide-eyed, not knowing how Lin Yuan managed to pull it off. Could Lin Yuan actually be a hidden acting guru on set?

    No, wait a minute.

    This wasn''t guidance. This was plain and simple total transformation!

    Looking closely at the He Sheng now, was he still the same He Sheng!?

 Chapter 198 - 186: Storm Rising_1

    He Sheng was indeed still He Sheng, it was just that with the effect of the Star Fragment ending, he had lost that burst of inspiration.

    However, since his breakthrough during that performance, in the subsequent performance, He Sheng indeed gradually explored some experience and a direction for effort.

    Lin Yuan originally thought that an hour later, He Sheng''s performance state would plummet.

    But the reality was that an hour later, his state had indeed declined, but it was much better than before he used the prop.

    Many people in the crew murmured admiringly, saying that He Sheng''s acting skills had made a certain breakthrough today.

    This gave Lin Yuan food for thought.

    He thought the Star Fragment was a disposable prop.

    Actually, it was indeed a disposable prop, but one clear point was that once this state is experienced, it easily allows the actor to find a direction.

    Perhaps this was the real function of the Star Fragment?

    The filming for today is finished.

    He Sheng also felt a little excited.

    He took a big sip of water, intending to express his gratitude for Mr. Lin''s guidance, but for some reason, he suddenly choked on the water, and couldn''t help but cough loudly.

    "Cough... Cough..."

    He Sheng had never been choked by water so badly in his life.

    He kept coughing for several minutes, feeling like his heart would be coughed out, startling those around him.

    After a good deal of coughing, he finally stopped a bit, only to feel a fiery sensation in his throat.

    "Are you okay?"

    Everyone asked with concern.

    He Sheng waved his hand with a smile, it was just choking on water.

    Suppressing the discomfort in his throat, he quickly ran to Lin Yuan, his eyes slightly glinting as he said: "Thank you for your guidance, Mr. Lin, can I consult you in the future?"

    "Do your best not to."

    Lin Yuan shook his head decisively.

    The Star Fragment is too expensive, he can''t afford it, only using it when he absolutely has no other choice.

    "Ok..."

    He Sheng thought about it, how could one always expect the screenwriter to guide them?

    Moreover, today''s performance state has given He Sheng great gains. He faintly felt that a door to acting was slowly opening to him.

    After the crew finished work for the day.

    On his way home, Lin Yuan couldn''t help but summon the System: "Why do I feel something is off?"

    Yes, for He Sheng''s misfortune, Lin Yuan always felt that something was not right.

    Reality proved that his feeling was correct.

    The System responded: "The side effect of using the prop is that there''s a certain chance to trigger bad luck."

    "Then I..."

    Lin Yuan''s expression changed.

    He has used the Memory Pill so many times!

    The System said: "The host, as the master, will never trigger bad luck. Only when the host uses the prop on others, the other party may be unlucky after the prop effect ends, and this bad luck will not be too big."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    Would it be too heartless to say, "Then I''ll rest easy now?"

    But Lin Yuan was indeed a little relieved, and there was no need to falsely deny it.

    After all He Sheng only choked on water...

    Such a level of bad luck is indeed acceptable, especially in comparison to the sky-defying effects of the prop.

    Thinking carefully about He Sheng''s state just now, it was like Zhou Xingchi''s spirit possessed him. For the filming of "Flirting Scholar", is there a better prop?

    ...

    In the following days, He Sheng kept a good performance state, no longer experiencing the situation where he couldn''t act effectively at all.

    This relieved Lin Yuan quite a bit.

    And just when the filming of "Flirting Scholar" was in full swing, competition and erosion in various industries had entered a feverish stage. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    In particular, tribal and blog, the two top cyber-social platforms, are doing everything they can to win over customers!

    This day.

    Tribal Literature.

    As the Chief Operating Officer, Han Jimei was really a little overwhelmed recently.

    This was the editorial meeting of Tribal Literature.

    A certain editor looked somewhat unhappy and said: "The literature department over on the blog is being built, they also set their sights on the market for short web-reading, and their actions are quite fast. They have now signed many top short-story authors in succession. The short-story section will officially go online next month..."

    Short stories.

    This is currently the web''s most favorite type for instant reading.

    This used to be a characteristic of Tribal, since Tribal Literature was restructured, this section has been very popular with users, and even attracted many readers from Qi Province to join Tribal.

    Now that the Qin and Qi markets are merging.

    The folks at blog quickly copied Tribal''s operating style, and formed a literature department to attract users in the same way, attempting to use this method to compete with Tribal for the user market.

    For this.

    The Chief Editor worriedly said: "Tribal and blog are in a stalemate, with the user activities of both sides being almost equal. The company has high demands on every department, if something happens with our literature department, I''m afraid the senior management will have us to answer."

    "Don''t worry."

    Han Jimei said calmly: "The senior executives won''t punish you, they will only target me - the Chief Operating Officer of Tribal Literature, and while the competition started later than we did, we should also get in touch with our short-story authors and compete with them for the short-story market in March!"

    Someone said: "We should think of a way to motivate the authors."

    Han Jimei nodded: "That''s why I plan to set up a million dollar prize fund at Tribal Literature in March. The first prize work will receive a reward of one million, the ranking will be determined by users voting; we held such an event when we first restructured, the effect was quite obvious."

    "Let''s set up a second and third place as well..." said one of the main editors.

    Han Jimei nodded, she had already prepared her plan: "Second prize with a reward of half a million, third prize with a reward of three hundred thousand, and from the fourth to the twentieth place, they will be awarded with a prize of one hundred thousand!"

    The scale of this event was much greater than at the beginning of the restructuring!

    But such is the harshness of market competition.

    Although operational costs are sure to increase, it is worth it if one can successfully attract users who like short web-readings!

    "The quality of the articles is fundamental."

    The Chief Editor sighed: "We can hold events, and so can blog; when the company scales are about even, there is no point in comparing capital strength. In the end, it''s about which side''s article quality is higher, and this aspect is the most uncontrollable."

    "That''s why it''s a comparison of who has more talents."

    Han Jimei''s face was serious: "Get in touch with the short-story authors right away, this concerns the traffic of Tribal in March, and invite the biggest names of short-story authors that you can!"

    "Understood!"

    Editors all responded in unison.

    One can imagine that this time''s lineup of short-story authors would be a rank above last year''s!

    Someone even suspected...

    Top-tier short-story authors might make a comeback.

 Chapter 199 - 187 Necklace_1

    With the decision by Tribe Literature, all the short story writers of a certain level in Qin Qi had basically received creative invitations from this platform. Lin Yuan also received a call from Wei Long, one of the chief editors of the platform, who detailed this event''s proceedings.

    "Short stories?"

    It was only then that Lin Yuan recalled having two short stories on his hands that he had not published yet.

    Now was a great time amidst Qin Qi''s merger, and the first prize for Tribe Literature is a whopping one million!

    Even if he does not secure the first prize, he wouldn''t be at a loss with the second or third prize either.

    Yes.

    Lin Yuan felt confident that whosoever of the two remaining works on his hand would do well enough to make it to the top three.

    "Do you have a piece at present¡­"

    Wei Long was somewhat nervous. After Death of a Small Civil Servant was released, he had sought Chu Kuang more than once, but Chu Kuang kept saying he didn''t have any inspiration.

    Thus, he is not certain if Chu Kuang has a short story that can be released in March.

    "Yes."

    Lin Yuan affirmed decisively.

    Wei Long breathed a sigh of relief, feeling cheerful, "I will send you the submission email later. When will you send your work over?"

    "In a few days."

    "Alright, please make it quick, we have to release it in March¡­"

    "No problem."

    Lin Yuan agreed very simply.

    Well, he must agree. He is very pleased with the terms of this one.

    After hanging up the phone, Lin Yuan went to the crew with his laptop that very day.

    As the scriptwriter, Lin Yuan seldom meddled with the actual shooting of Flirting Scholar.

    Because Yi Chenggong would shoot according to his requirements, and Mr. Shen, Shen Qing, mainly handled the logistics work of the crew.

    He has ample time to do his stuff on set.

    No one cares what Lin Yuan does on the set anyway.

    The reason Lin Yuan is still on set is that he is afraid of unforeseen circumstances arising.

    He found a quiet spot to type, and then started contemplating about which short story to use.

    It was a choice between two.

    After mind-mapping, Lin Yuan finally made up his mind.

    He typed two characters on the document :

    Necklace.

    As a short story, Necklace is merely over 5000 words long, it wouldn''t take Lin Yuan much time to write.

    What he really needs to work on is the adjustment of the novel''s background.

    "Many beautiful and charming women in the world, because of fate''s capriciousness, are born into impoverished families...

    She has no dowry, no means or hope of making a man who is wealthy and well-placed get to know her, understand her, love her, and marry her; in the end, she can only make do and marry a small officer in the Ministry of Education."

    If you say that The Gift of the Magi is one of O. Henry''s representative works.

    Then the Necklace that Lin Yuan is writing now is one of Maupassant''s representative works.

    Being a world-class short story master as famous as O. Henry, although Maupassant''s style is different from O. Henry, their respective representative works are undoubtedly excellent.

    This is Lin Yuan''s confidence in Necklace.

    As for background adjustments, Lin Yuan is well-versed already.

    However, to avoid errors, Lin Yuan spent a couple of hours perfecting the new background of the novel. He carefully checked it, striving to make the story appear flawless.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Wei Long, who had just finished the call, reported the situation to Han Jimei, the chief operation officer of Tribe Literature, while Lin Yuan was writing Necklace.

    At this time.

    The editors had successively gotten in touch with the writers and were presenting the lists to Han Jimei for the report.

    "Wen Da...Shen Gongfang...Yue Mei..."

    Looking at these names on the list in her hands, Han Jimei''s face lightened up somewhat.

    Under heavy reward, there must be brave men.

    In all respects, the lineup of short story writers invited by Tribe Literature this time is even more luxurious than the last!

    And the names appearing in these lists are all famous figures in the short stories field.

    With the participation of these people, Han Jimei felt that the flow of users in March for Tribe Literature would not be too poor.

    When it was Wei Long''s turn to submit the writer list, sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Han Jimei took a look and her gaze suddenly paused.

    "Chu Kuang."

    Last season''s winner, Chu Kuang, is on the list?

    She couldn''t help but smile: "This is the winning writer from our last event. His participation this time makes this event even more meaningful."

    "Did Chu Kuang participate?"

    The editor-in-chief was somewhat surprised and smiled straight after, "His participation is indeed good news. Although this time''s lineup is more grand and the reputations of many of these writers are more renowned than Chu Kuang''s, he is after all the champion of the previous season. His presence makes our event seem to have a sense of continuity.

    We should make this an annual event, and make it a unique point of Tribe Literature."

    Han Jimei nodded her head.

    This is indeed a good idea.

    Wei Long laughed: "I wasn''t very hopeful initially. Chu Kuang has rejected my invitations a few times before, citing lack of inspiration. But perhaps this time he wants to establish his reputation in a new market, seeing that the reader base has doubled."

    "While it may be true¡­"

    The editor-in-chief shook his head: "But the writers participating this time are not comparable to the group from the previous round in terms of overall skill levels. For Chu Kuang to get a good placement again isn''t as easy as it seems."

    "That''s not necessarily so."

    Wei Long couldn''t help retorting: "I think Chu Kuang''s abilities are not inferior to the big-name writers. He just has fewer works, making his fame and qualifications in the short story field inferior to other well-known writers we mentioned earlier."

    The editor-in-chief didn''t argue and just laughed, "I hope so."

    As far as Tribe Literature is concerned, the higher the caliber of the invited writers, the better.

    Just then,

    A sudden flustered editor hurried in the door with a panicked expression: "Something has happened."

    "What is it?"

    Han Jimei frowned slightly.

    This editor made a bitter face: "I just called teacher Feng Hua and wanted to invite him to participate in this event, but he refused¡­"

    "Feng Hua?"

    The editor-in-chief faltered before laughing out loud: "Isn''t it quite normal for Teacher Feng Hua to refuse us? He is an authority in the field of short stories, hailed as one of the three masters. He is of the top tier, famous for writing only one short story a year, and has already written one this year. I just didn''t expect you to attempt inviting him."

    "But the problem is¡­"

    This editor shrugged helplessly: "Teacher Feng Hua refused me, not because he didn''t want to participate in our Tribe Literature event, but because he had already accepted an invitation from a blog. He told me this himself!"

    Whoosh!

    As soon as these words came out,

    Everyone''s face changed!

    Even Han Jimei suddenly felt that the array of impressive names on her hand, they are not as enticing.

 Chapter 200 - 188: Three Carriages_1

    It seems like every field has a proverbial ceiling, and in the domain of short stories in Qin Province, there are three top short story authors, hailed as the three horse-drawn carriages of the short story field, one of whom is the renowned short story author, Feng Hua!

    Feng Hua, who is thirty-five years old this year, is the youngest of the three.

    Therefore, some people say that Feng Hua is the least powerful among the three top short story authors in Qin Province.

    But...

    Even if his abilities are the least impressive, he is still one of the three horse-drawn carriages of Qin Continent!

    After a moment of silence, the editor-in-chief suddenly murmured, "Feng Hua?"

    Wei Long snorted, lamenting, "Writers can be as deceptive as ghosts!"

    Han Jimei stood up, her fingers lightly gripping the list, "Can we contact the other two top authors?"

    The only ones in Qin Province who can outshine Feng Hua are the other two among the three carriages.

    However, the editor-in-chief sighed, shattering Han Jimei''s hopes , "The number one short story writer in Qin Province, Teacher Changqin, had announced his formal retirement last year. We simply can''t ask for his contribution. As for Feihong, I just contacted him. He is old and does not feel well, therefore cannot spare time for writing."

    Han Jimei didn''t give up, "What about Qi Province?"

    If Qin Province has top-level short story authors, Qi Province naturally does too.

    The editor-in-chief replied with a bitter smile, "Qi Province has four top-level short-story authors, but I don''t believe the Blog didn''t contact them first. Since they haven''t joined the Blog, it means we''d also have a hard time inviting them to participate. But we can indeed try¡­"

    "Contact them immediately."

    Han Jimei commanded seriously.

    The chief editor nodded, everyone rushed off, all clearly having work to do.

    And when it was close to quitting time.

    The Editor-in-chief finally found Han Jimei again: "We managed to get in touch, but as expected, the four from Qi Province all refused us, saying they don''t have any suitable manuscripts at present." S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Writers need inspiration to create.

    Especially for short stories, it''s not possible to produce one just because someone demands it. If created hastily, the quality of the story would be poor, thus tarnishing the author''s reputation.

    The more renowned the author, the more they value their reputation. Unless they''re certain of the quality, they will not commit lightly.

    Han Jimei shook her head.

    In fact, she had guessed the outcome a long time ago.

    These top short story authors won''t simply write for an event unless they have a suitable manuscript ready.

    Feng Hua''s willingness to participate must be because he has in hand a short story of assured quality.

    If the quality of the manuscript is not up to par, how could Feng Hua be ready to participate so easily?

    It was due to this reason that when Han Jimei heard that Blog had invited Feng Hua to participate, she became anxious.

    "There is also a silver lining¡­"

    The editor-in-chief said with a bitter smile, "I have made a deal for a manuscript from a top author in Qi Province, but it definitely can''t make it for March, the timeline is too short for him to create. Also, his price is not low."

    "How much?"

    "Five million."

    Han Jimei paused for a while, then nodded her head, "Let''s book it first, now is not the time to dwell on the cost. If it''s really effective, it''s worth spending the extra money."

    ...

    Since Blog managed to invite Feng Hua, they naturally wouldn''t miss out on such a prime opportunity for promotion.

    On March 20th.

    Blog officially launched their literature column, named Blog Fiction, and at the same time, they announced that Feng Hua will be releasing a new work on Blog Fiction in March!

    If this was on Earth, the impact of a short story writer releasing a new work might not be that big.

    But this is Blue Star.

    In this world where the arts are highly developed, there are no small number of people who love short stories.

    So, as soon as the news was out, the readers became excited!

    "Teacher Feng Hua is creating again?"

    "Didn''t Teacher Feng Hua say that he only publishes one short story a year? And he already published one in January."

    "Could it be that Teacher Feng Hua has received new inspiration this year?"

    "I''m looking forward to it. The last story, under the title ''Cliff'' that Teacher Feng Hua published in January was really excellent. I reread it last night. The plot of only 5000 words is really thought-provoking. Both the structure and the text are top-notch short stories."

    "After all, he''s one of the three carriages."

    "I am a reader from Qi Province. Now that the merger has happened, I have the great fortune to read Teacher Feng Hua''s new work. It is indeed well written. I then read Feng Hua''s previous works, and now I am a fan of Teacher Feng Hua."

    "..."

    After the merger of Qin and Qi, Feng Hua published a short story, which made the readers of Qi Province recognize the power of Feng Hua. Therefore, when Blog made their announcement, the readers from both Qin and Qi provinces were united in anticipation!

    In a way, Feng Hua''s fame even surpasses the other two top short story authors in Qin Province.

    Because he had made a work public after merging with Qi, and the work had undoubtedly been loved unanimously by readers.

    Compared to the other authors, who have not released any works yet, the readers from the other continent have not fully recognized them.

    In terms of anticipation for the short stories in March, Blog Fiction has already prevailed over Tribe Literature.

    Even the authors on Tribe''s side couldn''t help but feel a bit jittery.

    Although Feng Hua''s novel doesn''t have much to do with them, as they are not publishing new works on the same platform, just having them published in the same period is enough to put a lot of pressure on many short story writers.

    The Tribe Literature department is walking on thin ice.

    Everyone can tell that Blog''s move has put Han Jimei, the chief, in a difficult position. Even from behind her office door, the editors could imagine how somber Han Jimei''s expression must be.

    Therefore, in the past few days, everyone has been working very carefully.

    Wei Long was also cautious, afraid of rubbing Han Jimei the wrong way.

    At this point, they had moved into the manuscript review stage.

    The writers they had been in contact with had sent in their works one after another.

    This is probably Tribe Literature''s last hope.

    What if there are high-quality works among these manuscripts?

    With this kind of expectation, many editors reviewed the manuscripts with extraordinary care.

    Wei Long was no exception.

    But after reviewing several manuscripts in succession, Wei Long''s confidence was fast eroding.

    These manuscripts were actually pretty good.

    If it were any other time, Wei Long would enjoy reading them.

    But now, when thinking about the looming giant that is Feng Hua on the opposing side, he feels¡ª

    It''s not enough!

    These guys aren''t enough to rival Feng Hua!

    Wei Long had deliberately observed other chief-editors'' reactions. Each of them wore a serious expression, which indicated that they hadn''t encountered astonishing works either!

    Indeed.

    Only an extremely impressive work can help Tribe Literature to compete with Blog, which has Feng Hua, for traffic. But such manuscripts don''t come by easily, do they?

    Wei Long felt gloomy.

    Just then, he saw that he had received a new manuscript in his email. It was sent by Chu Kuang, whom he had contacted earlier:

    Necklace?

 Chapter 201 - 189: So What_1

    The name is quite ordinary.

    But a short story doesn''t necessarily require a high-flown name. What really worries Wei Long is the content. After several disappointments, all Wei Long hopes now is that Chu Kuang''s works can maintain its usual standards¡ª

    Just keep being consistent.

    Chu Kuang is a general!

    Although there is a boost from Feng Hua''s blog, Wei Long''s literature tribe still has the ability to compete if their overall level does not lag too much. Anyway, short story lovers do not only read one story. This is the only excuse Wei Long can use to comfort himself.

    He clicked it open.

    Wei Long started reading.

    The story was launched from the perspective of a beautiful but poor woman who, due to poverty, got married to an ordinary clerk. The couple lived a stingy life.

    The woman pursues materials.

    Because of the bleakness of her house, the roughness of the wall, the antiquity of the furniture, and the banality of the cloth, she was always filled with sorrow. She dreamed that she could wear gorgeous servants, have countless servants to use at will, and enjoy delicacies at will...

    Wei Long thought for a moment.

    He roughly guesses that the purpose of Chu Kuang''s story is probably to revolve around the topic of material, which was in line with Chu Kuang''s previous short story routine. He liked to achieve a certain satirical effect through short stories, which was a high-level sense in the eyes of Wei Long. His expectations are slightly higher.

    Keep reading.

    One day.

    The man is quite pleased to bring out an invitation for his wife to see: "The leader has the honor to invite Mr. Wang and Mrs. Wang to attend the evening party held at our institution building on Monday, January 18th."

    Mr. Wang thought his wife would be happy as it had cost him a great effort to get this invitation.

    Not everyone in the education bureau was invited by the leader to attend the party.

    But his wife got angry out of nothing.

    At least this little clerk in the education bureau cannot understand his wife''s rage.

    It turns out that Lady Wang felt she didn''t have decent clothes to attend this grand party.

    "The most humiliating thing in the world is to show poverty among a heap of rich women."

    This is Lady Wang''s explanation.

    Mr. Wang was helpless and could only offer to pay some money and let his wife buy appropriate clothes.

    The wife said: "Four hundred yuan is enough for me to own such clothes."

    Mr. Wang''s face was slightly pale.

    Because he was saving this amount to buy a gun, so he could hunt birds in the plains with a few hunting friends on weekends this summer.

    "Four hundred yuan?"

    Wei Long roughly calculated in his mind and then probably found the era corresponding to the value of money.

    In Chu Kuang''s novel, although it does not explicitly state which era the story is from, clues can always be found through details in the article.

    However...

    Isn''t Lady Wang too materialistic?

    Lady Wang indeed has a nearly pathological pursuit of material, because that is decency in her eyes. After making her clothes, she even went to a rich female friend of hers to borrow a necklace¡ª

    It was a necklace made with diamonds.

    In Lady Wang''s eyes, this necklace was truly beautiful, and this is where the title came from:

    Necklace.

    Wei Long couldn''t help but think of a popular term today, known as "money worshiper."

    Speaking of which.

    Mr. Wang is not any better.

    He had four hundred yuan, but he only wanted to buy a gun to hunt, instead of saving the money to make life more decent...

    Let''s look back at the earlier part of the story.

    The couple had even hired a servant at home.

    The couple was already living a strained life, yet they still hired a servant?

    Pretentious.

    Dead for face, live to suffer.

    This is Wei Long''s current sensation, which reminds him of the story "The Gift of the Magi."

    Both stories focus on a couple.

    But in that story, both the man and the woman were willing to give up their pursuit of materials for each other, which was the complete opposite of Mr. and Mrs. Wang!

    How would Chu Kuang satirize it?

    Would he let this woman find a rich leader at the party, resulting in the man being abandoned?

    Maybe there will be a twist.

    The leader got tired of the woman and abandoned her. The woman could only return to the small clerk''s side...

    If this is the case, there seems to be something missing in the story.

    Wei Long couldn''t help feeling worried.

    This is a habit many novel readers have, which is to subconsciously anticipate the follow-up plot.

    At this moment.

    The party began.

    Lady Wang made a big success.

    She was more beautiful, fashionable, and charming than a general female guest. She constantly smiled and was ecstatic.

    The male guests were all staring at her, hearing her name, trying to introduce themselves to her.

    All the personnel from the secretariat wanted to dance with her, and the leader also noticed her.

    She danced in ecstasy and with excitement, she was intoxicated with joy, she was pleased with her face''s victory, pleased with her accomplishment''s glory, she was surrounded by happiness.

    However, after the party ended, she had to return to her original position. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Her life did not change because of this, and the glory of this night could probably only remain in her memory.

    The couple found a broken minivan in the bitter wind and returned home.

    She had to face reality again.

    But what happened next was even crueler.

    The necklace, incredibly, was lost!

    This is the turning point of the entire story.

    Only at this moment does Wei Long discover the real purpose of the title "Necklace".

    "Interesting..."

    We Long''s eyes lit up!

    It''s not the clich¨¦d story of family ethics, betrayal, and infidelity.

    What Chu Kuang wrote, perhaps, is about a couple paying a huge price for the vanity of that night!

    And indeed, it was.

    This was a forty-thousand-dollar necklace!

    Especially after Wei Long thought about the prices at that period, he understood deeply how enormous an amount forty thousand dollars was to Mr. and Mrs. Wang of that era!

    What will they do?

    Wei Long contemplated many possibilities.

    Perhaps this couple would deny their debt... Perhaps this couple would return a counterfeit... Perhaps this couple would end up in court over this...

    The final outcome was none of these.

    This couple, astonishingly, purchased an identical necklace and returned it.

    At this moment, Wei Long gained some respect for Mr. and Mrs. Wang.

    He even had an epiphany:

    Whether one is wealthy or not, does not determine their moral character. When faced with a problem, Mr. and Mrs. Wang chose to confront it.

    Even though the price was indeed too high:

    To buy the necklace and return it to the owner, Mr. Wang borrowed countless amounts of money, practically risking his entire latter life, and both he and his wife emerged with astounding heroism.

    They decided to repay these debts in full without omission!

    Mrs. Wang experienced the authentic life of the impoverished.

    This unfortunate couple dismissed their maid, moved houses, and rented a cheap attic under a rooftop.

    She began doing various manual household chores.

    She washed dishes, scrubbing the oil stains at the bottom of the pots and pans, wearing out her rosy fingers.

    Underwear and rags were all hand washed with soap by her before being hung on the line;

    She got up early every day; she carted the garbage downstairs and carried water upstairs. Each time she finished a floor, she had to sit down on the staircase to catch her breath, and she was dressed like a common woman.

    She went to the vegetable shop, grocery shop, and butcher shop with her basket, haggling over prices, getting scolded, making every effort to protect her pitiful little cash penny by penny.

    She paid off quite a few IOUs every month while making new ones to delay the deadlines.

    Her husband wrote accounts for a businessman in the evening, often copying books at a rate of five cents per page until late into the night.

    This life continued for ten long years.

    Yes.

    Mrs. Wang''s gloriously radiant night had cost the couple ten years of life under colossal monetary stress!

    Mrs. Wang seemed to have aged.

    Now, she had become a robust, coarse, and resilient woman of a poor family.

    She tied up her hair haphazardly, wore her skirt crookedly, showed her reddened hands, spoke loudly, and mopped the floor with heavy basins of water.

    But sometimes, when her husband went to his office, she sat alone by the window, and she would reminisce about that evening party.

    The dancing party, where she was so beautiful and so happy.

    If she hadn''t lost that piece of jewelry, what would her present life be like?

    Who knows?

    At this moment, the story was not yet over, yet Wei Long felt an endless aftertaste, realizing that it was an excellent short story.

    Chu Kuang was still the same Chu Kuang.

    He used a necklace, and a party, to sketch the melancholic half-life of a young couple.

    "The price paid for excessive pursuit of material things and vanity, is perhaps too much."

    Wei Long had countless reflections in his heart.

    At the same time, Wei Long continued reading the remaining content in one sweep.

    He had thought that the story ended after the couple endured a harsh decade.

    But...

    Seemingly, it wasn''t so.

    Mrs. Wang once again met the friend who had lent her the necklace, and this friend was just as elegant and charming as she was ten years ago.

    But by this time, Mrs. Wang had changed due to those ten years of hard work to the point where her friend could barely recognize her.

    The two greeted each other.

    The friend was inevitably astonished, why had Mrs. Wang changed so much in just ten years?

    Mrs. Wang naturally spoke of the reason with a bitter smile.

    Who would have thought that the friend would be even more shocked? She took Mrs Wang''s hand and said, "Ah, my poor sister, do you know, that diamond necklace I lent to you was a fake, worth at most five hundred dollars!"

    The story ended here.

    But Wei Long, who was reviewing the draft in front of his computer, felt as if he had been struck by lightning, causing him to be completely dumbfounded!

    It''s a fake...

    The necklace is a fake!

    So, the debts that Mr and Mrs. Wang had nearly risked their lives to repay were actually just a misunderstanding!

    Realizing this, Wei Long suddenly felt a chill at the back of his neck!

    He stood up abruptly, using too much force, causing the chair behind him to suddenly fall to the ground.

    "Bang."

    The chair fell a meter away abruptly, this sudden noise garnered the attention of countless people in the department. Even Han Jimei from the inner office couldn''t help but peek out to see what was happening.

    Just as someone was about to inquire about Wei Long''s situation, Wei Long suddenly yelled out a phrase. The voice resounded throughout the entire department:

    "How about a three-horse carriage then!"

 Chapter 202 - 190: The Eternal God_1

    The reaction of Wei Long naturally drew everyone''s attention.

    But Wei Long''s phrase "What about the three horse carriages" was rather arrogant, unintentionally sparking a lot of debate.

    However, no matter the dispute, it couldn''t suppress everyone''s curiosity¡ª

    What sort of draft was it that made Wei Long lose his composure to such an extent, almost to the point of exaggeration?

    Therefore, a meeting was naturally organized within the department.

    Calling it a meeting was less accurate than calling it a novel reading.

    Freshly printed copies of "The Necklace," smelling faintly of ink, were distributed to every staff member at the editor-in-chief level and above.

    A five thousand-word text wouldn''t require much time to read through.

    Han Jimei was also reading "The Necklace."

    She was the first to receive the printed copies, so she was the first to finish reading.

    But when she finished the entire novel, she fell silent for a whole minute.

    It was unclear whether she was replaying the story in her mind or waiting for the comments and views of the other editors-in-chief.

    Gradually.

    In the meeting room.

    The other chief editors began to finish reading one after the other.

    Instead of mirroring Han Jimei''s silence, everyone was in agreement, and there was even someone who cautiously stood up from his seat expressing his admiration to Wei Long: "This short story..."

    He opened his mouth, wanting to critique it using specific terms but found himself lost for words.

    It was Wei Long who calmly added two more words: "Classic!"

    There was an uproar in the conference room.

    "That''s right, it''s a classic, a real masterpiece, especially the ending, it''s as amazing as ''The Gift of the Magi''!"

    "The twist at the end is simply astonishing!"

    "Even without the plot twist at the end, the story of a woman spending her whole life trying to pay off the cost of a fake necklace she thought was precious for a moment''s vanity is already very well written!"

    "The ending is the cherry on top, raising the entire story to a new level!"

    "This is the first short story to show the cost of vanity in such a detailed way!"

    "In the face of this kind of story, even Feng Hua would be overwhelmed!"

    "I underestimated Chu Kuang. We were all anxious and worried, unaware that the strongest was among us!"

    "In terms of reputation and seniority, Chu Kuang can''t compete with Feng Hua, but if we compare the story, it''s hard to tell."

    "First, we likely can challenge them head-on!"

    "..."

    Everyone looked at Han Jimei.

    Han Jimei was the most composed.

    Everyone couldn''t help but admire her mentality as the Chief. No doubt she''s a leader. She shows no change of color even when Mount Tai collapses in front of her¡ª

    Unless one of her exquisite red false fingernails hadn''t broken off due to excessive force.

    "Prepare for battle."

    Han Jimei calmly hid her broken fingernail, suppressing her surging emotions and said, "Focus on promoting ''The Necklace''!"

    "Understood!"

    Everyone responded thunderously.

    That night in the Tribe Literature section, a large banner was raised on the homepage saying :

    [Get ready for the grand new masterpiece by superstar genius short story author, Chu Kuang]

    The promotional banner took up a quarter of the screen.

    This was the grandest promotion ever in the history of Tribe Literature.

    After entering the topic, readers could see countless comments from the editors about this novel. All of them were praises and introductions to Chu Kuang''s previous works, without any spoilers...

    Unsurprisingly, this promotion garnered much attention.

    "Such a grand pomp, can I ask, who is Chu Kuang?"

    This comment was obviously from someone in Qi Province.

    Naturally, netizens from Qin Continent introduced, "Chu Kuang is a fantastic new author and considered a rising star in the area of short stories. You can check out his previous works. I personally recommend ''The Gift of the Magi'', it''s one of the top three classics in my eyes!"

    "Chu Kuang is indeed great, but don''t you think his promo is a bit too much?"

    "A lot of big name short story authors are participating in Tribe Literature''s March event called Blossoming Dreams, there were many but judging from the treatment Chu Kuang seems to have the highest status, equal to Feng Hua from the blog novel section..."

    "Is Chu Kuang more prestigious than teacher Wen Da?"

    "On the side of Tribe Literature, the only ones who should be on par with teacher Feng Hua would probably be Wen Da, Shen Gongfang, or teacher Yue Mei."

    "..."

    It was like deploying troops and perfecting armaments.

    The Blog Novels highlighted Feng Hua, whose position and strength were obviously the leaders among the short story authors there.

    However, over at Tribe Literature, to everyone''s surprise, it was Chu Kuang. Naturally, some readers were confused.

    There were many great teachers in Tribe Literature as well.

    The main promotion shouldn''t be Chu Kuang, although Chu Kuang is no longer a complete newcomer in the field of short stories, he did have a few excellent works, but this couldn''t cover up the fact that he was still relatively new to the circle.

    "I have to say, it really piqued my interest."

    "Is Chu Kuang''s new work really good enough to rival Feng Hua?"

    "That''s one of the three horse carriages."

    "I hope Tribe Literature isn''t just blowing its own horn. If they''re making such a big fuss, but the quality of the novel isn''t up to par, it will be embarrassing."

    "..."

    It wasn''t so much doubt, anticipation was indeed aroused, but readers were inevitably hesitant, wondering if Tribe Literature was just playing a savvy marketing game.

    In contrast.

    Over at Blog Novels, they indeed felt a little scared. Would Tribe Literature have arranged such a grand promotion without being confident?

    "Aren''t they afraid that when the work comes out, it would not meet the readers'' expectations?"

    "It scared me so much that I had to read teacher Feng Hua''s draft again to calm down."

    "Teacher Feng Hua probably finds it strange too, what gives Tribe Literature the confidence?"

    "I guess Chu Kuang really did write a great piece. I think Chu Kuang''s potential is terrifying. I tried to bring him over previously, but unfortunately, I couldn''t find his contact information."

    "Having Teacher Feng Hua is sufficient."

    "..."

    Overall, they are more at ease with blog novels.

    It''s not that they are looking down on Chu Kuang, they have so much confidence in Feng Hua!

    At this moment.

    The authors from the Literature Tribe also began to express surprise, with many discussing the matter in chat groups. A few of those with louder voices expressed their opinions¡ª

    Yue Mei: "Is our main promotion going towards Chu Kuang?"

    Shen Gongfang: "I thought it would be Teacher Wen Da."

    Wen Da: "There must be a reason for it. Let''s see, I am quite looking forward to Chu Kuang. What if he really beats Teacher Feng Hua?"

    No one was really dissatisfied.

    Anyone facing Feng Hua would feel intimidated.

    Since Chu Kuang was chosen, that can only mean one thing. Literature Tribe believed, among all the manuscripts this time, Chu Kuang''s work was the best!

    So, instead of dissatisfaction, everyone was more curious to see just how good Chu Kuang''s manuscript was?

    ...

    Carrying many people''s curiosity, March finally arrived as scheduled.

    For ordinary people, this March is nothing special.

    But for short story enthusiasts, this is a rare celebration.

    Thus.

    As soon as the pre-dawn morning passed, with the Literature Tribe and Blog Novels simultaneously publishing new works from famous short story authors, the traffic of both platforms suddenly increased!

    Among these people, most readers couldn''t wait and directly opened Feng Hua''s work!

    Long Fei is a short story enthusiast.

    Long Fei is also a fan of Chu Kuang!

    As a fan, Long Fei follows the competition between Literature Tribe and Blog Novels quite closely. He also knows that the Literature Tribe has championed Chu Kuang, directly pitting Chu Kuang against Feng Hua, one of the three leading voices in the short story realm.

    Besides, the first work Long Fei opened was by Feng Hua.

    Long Fei felt there was a hint of probing the enemy in his actions.

    The work of Teacher Feng Hua is titled "Bianlian" (Face Changing).

    The beginning of the story was not surprising in the least, merely about an ordinary case taken on by a patrolman¡ªit was an unleashed dog that bit a passerby.

    Being a patrolman, they naturally sought justice for the victims, so he begins inquiring about the situation, preparing to hold the dog''s owner responsible.

    As a result, a passerby said the dog belonged to a certain general''s family...

    Upon hearing this, the patrolman changed his complexion, firmly stating the passerby was at fault, even accusing him of kicking the dog and that he was committing a crime against animals!

    Then another passerby spoke up and said the dog doesn''t belong to the general''s family.

    The patrolman changed his complexion for the second time, deciding to kill the dog.

    Then someone else asserted that though the dog is not the general''s, it was raised by the general''s brother...

    For the third time, the patrolman''s face changed.

    His stance several times flipped back and forth according to the bystander''s words.

    By the end, somebody from the general''s family came to take the dog away.

    Unexpectedly, the dog wrenched free from its owner''s hand and bit the patrolman''s leg.

    As a result, the patrolman angrily cursed at the first passerby who got bitten, claiming that he had enraged the dog!

    The story ends here.

    In this very short story, just three thousand words in length, the language is engaging, especially the several face changes the patrolman went through, vividly portraying his hypocritical nature.

    At the end, where the dog bites the patrolman, there are some thoughts to be provoked while finding it amusing.

    Long Fei ruminated on this for a long time and finally sighed involuntarily. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The story is very clever!

    Feng Hua truly deserves to be one among the three prevailing forces.

    Such a simple plot, yet, through the patrolman''s several face changes, an ironic artistic vibe is brilliantly portrayed!

    This kind of story reminds Long Fei of Chu Kuang''s previous piece, "Death of a Small Civil Servant."

    They both play with satire, but Feng Hua''s skill is by no means inferior to Chu Kuang''s!

    Long Fei even feels that this story is a bit stronger.

    Especially when considering Feng Hua''s status in the industry, his portrayal of satire can easily provoke readers to ponder, and the more they think, the more intriguing it becomes...

    "Impressive!"

    Long Fei couldn''t help but exclaim. However, in the midst of his admiration, Long Fei couldn''t help but feel worried for Chu Kuang.

    When he logged into Literature Tribe.

    Long Fei opened Chu Kuang''s new piece, a story called "Necklace."

    As he read through this work, Long Fei thought to himself:

    "Chu Kuang is still young. Even if his work is not as good as Teacher Feng Hua''s, as long as the difference is not too great, it will still be a victory!"

    After all, the opponent is one of the three leading forces.

    And when the story is nearly finished, Long Fei''s mood gradually relaxed a bit.

    It''s a delightful coincidence.

    Chu Kuang also plays with satire, focusing on the material and vanity. Compared to Teacher Feng Hua''s "Bianlian," the story is slightly stronger in narrative.

    Despite missing by just a bit...

    Long Fei''s mind suddenly halted as he read the last sentence of "Necklace." Suddenly, the whole story took a dramatic twist!

    Simultaneously.

    In a fan group on Long Fei''s computer, a crazy fan of Chu Kuang, who liked him even more than Long Fei did, posted a code for a red envelope:

    "Chu Kuang, forever the god!"

 Chapter 203 - 191: The Fourth Carriage_1

    Chu Kuang, a perpetual deity?

    Long Fei was startled for a moment. After internally comparing the quality of the novels by Chu Kuang and Feng Hua, he hesitated for a while. He found both stories to be incredibly exquisite to the point that he couldn''t distinguish which one was better¡ª

    A tie?

    Long Fei was suddenly shocked.

    On the blog side, Feng Hua''s "Changing Faces" triggered a flood of reader comments as soon as it was released. Regardless of whether they were Feng Hua''s fans or just short story enthusiasts, no one held back their praise:

    "As expected of Feng Hua!"

    "Indeed, one of the three leading chariots!"

    "''Changing Faces'' is a form of dramatic art. Everyone knows that an actor on stage can change faces in a matter of seconds. The brilliance of Teacher Feng Hua lies in using the art of face changing to satirize the images of people in real life who are soft bullies¡­"

    "The ending is the most ingenious."

    "I found it hilarious yet somewhat sad that the dog ends up biting the patrolman. I wonder if the patrolman, having been bitten, would choose to punish the dog owner or accept the situation?"

    "¡­"

    Not by coincidence.

    The readers who had read "The Necklace" were also captivated by this story about materialism and vanity. After all, how could the representative work of Maupassant, one of the most famous short story maestros on Earth, not be excellent?

    "What a sharp satire!"

    "So he is Chu Kuang!" S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Indeed, Qin Province is a place full of talent. A rookie short story writer, with only a short period since his debut, can write such mature text. Now I remember Chu Kuang. This is one of the most stunning short stories I have ever read."

    "The cost of vanity."

    "Mr. and Mrs. Wang spent half of their lives for a fake necklace. Ten years changed their lives completely. I wonder if Lady Wang''s memory of that dazzling night will become a beautiful past or an everlasting nightmare?"

    "The price was too high."

    "I feel that the prowess of this story lies in its inability to judge the specifics of gains and losses. Of course, the couple lost a lot, but in fact, they gained a lot too. At least Lady Wang and Mr. Wang didn''t choose to escape, but bravely faced up to their responsibilities. This kind of character is the most precious, showing the integrity of the terms of their agreement.

    This is true for both women and men."

    "Exactly."

    "Vanity and honesty can coexist in the same person. It is wrong to be vain, but we should not deny a person because of vanity. Pursuing material things is a lifestyle, and it is not necessary to deny all about a person because of it."

    "¡­"

    On the Tribe literature side, "The Necklace" stood out, stunning countless readers. Even the short story writers who published their work at the same time as Chu Kuang were speechless before such a masterpiece.

    On the blog side.

    Feng Hua''s "Changing Faces" was also a standout. In comparison, other short stories on the blog seemed to become complementary. The two major literary sections in early March had roughly equal traffic!

    Even more so¡­

    The simultaneous publication of these two novels led to a debate about which work was better. This, in the eyes of many, should have been a foregone conclusion, but at this moment, this debate was indeed happening.

    The readers divided into two camps.

    Some people liked Feng Hua''s work: "In life, we often come across such people. They blend in well with any crowd, are adaptable and have excellent social skills. We can''t criticize this way of engaging socially as improper, but it unavoidably gives an impression of being too slick. The repeated face changes and references to the dog in this story are a profound satire of such people."

    Correspondingly.

    Some people liked Chu Kuang''s work: "The complexity of human beings is not one-sided. The story itself is exquisite. While satirizing vanity and materialism through the story of a fake necklace that changes the couple''s life, the plot begins to paradoxically show Mr. and Mrs. Wang fulfilling their commitment to repay the debt, even if the cost may be their future.

    Perhaps after repaying the debt ten years later, Mr. and Mrs. Wang will not be without gain."

    Not just readers.

    Even within the field of short stories, many writers are discussing who is stronger, which has also resulted in a rough tie. This was unbelievable to many people because the issue was no longer about whose story, Chu Kuang or Feng Hua''s, was better. The truly astonishing point was that people were seriously comparing Chu Kuang with a short story writer of Feng Hua''s caliber...

    Chu Kuang is a new favorite in the circle.

    Feng Hua is one of the three brahmins.

    The former, whether in terms of experience, qualification, or fame, lags behind Feng Hua. Nevertheless, his works are now being compared with those of Feng Hua, and nothing could be more incredible than this!

    While everyone was immersed in this emotion.

    Teacher Changqin, one of the three brahmins in Qin Province''s short story field who is now retired but highly respected in the circle, suddenly shared her thoughts on the tribal platform: "I personally think it''s a tie. Both stories have different structures but are equally fascinating. The talents of Feng Hua and Chu Kuang are undeniable.

    Perhaps the short story field in Qin Province is about to have a fourth carriage."

    Even Changqin was moved!

    However, what people cared more about was Changqin''s evaluation¡ª

    Is Chu Kuang qualified to become the fourth carriage in the short story field?

    The significance of this matter has far exceeded the competition between Chu Kuang and Feng Hua. In other words, Chu Kuang has already won!

    What he won was recognition and popularity!

    For many people, it''s taken for granted that Feng Hua would perform well. However, as a rising star in the literary world, the fact that Chu Kuang could break even with a stalwart figure is a pleasant surprise!

    It''s very unfair to the old man.

    But all fields are like this.

    Because you are extraordinary, it is only natural for you to perform well in the eyes of many.

    Chu Kuang has been in a situation of being questioned before. Whether it''s fame or qualifications, he''s inferior to his opponent. So when he surpassed everyone''s expectations and took on Feng Hua without losing, he had already won in a certain sense!

    However¡­

    Some people inevitably disagreed with the term "the fourth carriage" as Chu Kuang''s works are too few.

    In terms of work quality, he indeed has the potential.

    But how many more high-quality works he can write in the future is key in determining whether he can truly become the fourth carriage in Qin Province!

    Feng Hua has more than just "Changing Faces".

    His profile is filled with excellent short stories.

    It''s different for Chu Kuang who, all told, has only a handful of works, with "The Gift of the Magi" being the most talked about.

    The evaluations of Chu Kuang''s other two works, "Death of a Small Civil Servant" and "Artificial Beauty", were indeed good, but always fell a little short.

    Of course, now there is an addition of "The Necklace".

    In terms of quality, the quality of "The Necklace" is also excellent.

    Everyone believes its classic status is no less than that of "The Gift of the Magi"!

    In general, the question mark still needs to be placed behind the fourth carriage.

    But what is undeniable is that Chu Kuang has now become the person closest to the three leading forces in the short story field in Qin Province!

 Chapter 204 - 192: No Problem _1

    In his spare time from filming, Lin Yuan naturally paid attention to the impact of his short story.

    As expected, ''The Necklace'', as a work of Maupassant, received undeniable recognition.

    This made Lin Yuan happy.

    As for the debate about whether his work or Feng Hua''s work is stronger, Lin Yuan was aware of it, but the person who is actually competing with Feng Hua is not Chu Kuang but Maupassant. Therefore, Lin Yuan did not feel strongly involved.

    On the contrary,

    ''The Necklace'' in the second ''Writings from a Dream'' event of the Tribe Literature held a substantial lead in reader votes, sitting firmly on the champion''s throne. This made Lin Yuan feel very involved -

    He envisioned a million-dollar prize was beckoning him!

    At this moment, Lin Yuan suddenly felt somewhat relieved.

    Because, judging from everyone''s comments, if the work ''Face Off'' was not published on the blog novel but participated in the ''Writings from a Dream'' event, Lin Yuan''s champion position would probably be in danger.

    He had deliberately read ''Face Off''.

    In the boundless space-time, there are people with connected minds as if they have established a connection with the cosmic galaxy. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Feng Hua''s work was remarkably like the classic Chekhov work ''The Chameleon'' that Lin Yuan had read in his previous life!

    This is Blue Star.

    This is the artistic height of Blue Star!

    In this world with advanced artistic standards, even bringing out a novel of the level of ''The Necklace'', he could not be certain of winning!

    However, thinking about how his songs often could not win the season championship, Lin Yuan felt much better.

    This is a world with no shortage of stunning talents.

    The classic works on earth were also written by humans, and they were not invincible even on earth, let alone on Blue Star.

    But it is rather the fun part of it.

    What Lin Yuan didn''t know was that the current status of the blog novel is chaotic.

    "How is that possible!"

    "Chu Kuang actually tied with Teacher Feng Hua?"

    "I thought Teacher Feng Hua was invincible..."

    "Did this let Tribe overturn the game? For us, having Teacher Feng Hua in charge and still tying with the opponent is equivalent to being overturned."

    "Although I don''t want to admit it... Chu Kuang is really strong!"

    "Can we dig up Chu Kuang?"

    "It''s hard, Chu Kuang has cooperated with Tribe Literature several times already..."

    "..."

    On the side of the blog novels, they are struggling.

    On the side of Tribe Literature, they can''t wait to celebrate!

    Looking back now, Wei Long''s phrase "What about the three-horse carriage" was indeed a bit rash.

    The three-horse carriage is still the ceiling!

    But Chu Kuang has touched the ceiling!

    Teacher Changqin''s comment about "the fourth carriage" while not definitive, had left a mark in many people''s hearts!

    At least....

    From now on, when people mention Chu Kuang, they will not think of a newcomer in the short story field, but a genuine talent, a person who is infinitely close to the ceiling.

    The significance of this incident does not stop there.

    In the recently published ''Literature and Art Gazette'', the short story contest between Chu Kuang and Feng Hua was also reported. The newspaper described it this way:

    "Teacher Changqin said that Chu Kuang could be the fourth carriage in the short story field of Qin Province, this statement may be somewhat controversial, but if we say that Chu Kuang is one of the writers in Qin Province who is closest to the three-horse carriage, this claim is irrefutable!"

    "One of the writers in Qin Province who is closest to the three-horse carriage!"

    This time it really sealed the deal, as the ''Literature and Art Gazette'', as the first publication in the literary circles after the merger of Qin and Qi, with official organizations backing it, this kind of endorsement of recognition was enough to break over seventy percent of the controversy!

    In addition...

    Riding on the popularity of Chu Kuang and Feng Hua, the ''Literature and Art Gazette'' also formally released a ranking of writers in the short story field. This list includes the top one hundred short story writers from both Qin and Qi!

    Chang Qin ranked first.

    Second place was a Qi Province writer.

    Third place was also a Qi Province writer.

    Fourth place was Feihong, one of the three chariots of Qin Continent.

    Feng Hua, who had a dispute with Chu Kuang, was ranked sixth on the list.

    As for Chu Kuang...

    He was ranked tenth.

    Although the ''Literature and Art Gazette'' said Lin Yuan is one of the most formidable short story writers under the three chariots of Qin Province,

    but "one of" after all, is not "the only one".

    In the two places of Qin and Qi, there are other "one of" on the list.

    Someone has counted that there are fifty-three writers on the list from Qin Province, and the remaining forty-seven are from Qi Province.

    It is estimated that when other continents also merge in the future, this list will undergo quite a bit of change.

    At this point,

    The attention Chu Kuang has attracted is even higher. In just a few days, Chu Kuang''s tribal fans have surpassed thirty million!

    The comments on Weibo have also greatly increased.

    However, two-thirds of Chu Kuang''s fans are readers from the fantasy novel circle, and the remaining one-third are from the short story field.

    After all, the influence and reader coverage of fantasy novels is much greater than that of short stories.

    It is with this ''The Necklace'' fire, in addition to Chu Kuang being featured in the newspaper, entering the top ten of the Qin Qi short story field, that recently attracted so many short story lovers to pay attention to his tribal account.

    It''s worth mentioning that...

    Thirty million fans on the tribe are just a drop in the ocean.

    Because the highest fan following on the Tribe has already exceeded one billion, and with the merger of Qin and Qi, this number is estimated to not take long to rise to a new level!

    Normally, Lin Yuan wouldn''t pay attention to such a thing.

    The reason he specially looked up other''s fan numbers was mainly because, as his Tribe fan followings shot up, he suddenly received a system alert: [In view of the sudden merger of Qin and Qi, the task that the host led Starlight Music division to rise is reset, only changed to a simple disciple recruitment task, successfully recruiting three disciples and completing their teaching, the task reward remains unchanged.]

    "I see."

    The system pinged again: "In addition, congratulations to the host for triggering the system''s new task. If the host can get Chu Kuang''s tribal account to reach over a hundred million fans within a year, he will receive a Silver Treasure Chest and three Bronze Treasure Chests!"

    "Accept."

    This was the reason why Lin Yuan was checking other people''s fan followings. He needed to understand the concept of breaking a hundred million fans on the Tribe.

    "Does it seem not difficult?"

    There are accounts with over a billion followers, it shouldn''t be difficult for him to aim for a hundred million, right? But this means he needs to make Chu Kuang''s identity more active.

    Simply put, he needs to start a new book!

    A new book following ''King of the Net'' and ''Zhu Xian''!

    It seems like the system is subtly stimulating him to spend more money.

    But because Lin Yuan was craving the reward of the treasure boxes, he had no choice but to spend more money. So, Lin Yuan called out the system:

    "Customize a new book, requirement is just to not exceed ten million in price!"

    Lin Yuan had been spending money like running water lately.

    He intended to put the new book on hold for a while, but with this task, Lin Yuan felt like he had rested enough.

    "System customization is in progress..."

    "Congratulations to the host for acquiring the work ''Ghost Blows Out the Light'', the customization price is ten million!"

    "..."

    The customization price of ten million, indeed did not exceed ten million, makes sense?

 Chapter 205 - 193 Fish and Its Offspring_1

    No freaking way...

    This System is really ruthless, even more so than me!

    Could you, please, be a little kinder?

    Before, Ol'' Zhou said that the investment for "Flirting Scholar" must not exceed 10 million. Lin Yuan had reported 9 million, leaving quite some leeway for the company.

    But the System didn''t leave any breathing space at all!

    It was at this moment that Lin Yuan realized how kind he actually was.

    But fair is fair, Lin Yuan was quite satisfied with the novel given by the System.

    After he conducted quantum reading, the contents of the novel were already clearly emerging in his mind.

    At the same time.

    Combining with some memories from his past life, Lin Yuan was very clear about the value of this novel.

    This novel was really good!

    And it was very in line with the System''s penchant for making him pioneer new genres.

    The System was like a brick.

    Wherever the market lacked, it would make up for it.

    The only question was, would "Ghost Blows Out The Light" still be considered a fantasy novel?

    You should know that most fantasy novels tend to be rather youthful, which is why adventures in other worlds are so popular.

    With this thought in mind.

    Lin Yuan looked online for information and, as expected, found that Blue Star didn''t have any novels on the theme of tomb robbing.

    So "Ghost Blows Out The Light" as a new type, placed in fantasy novels, shouldn''t pose any major problems.

    As long as it''s something young people like, it''s all good.

    And in his previous life, "Ghost Blows Out The Light" was a work much loved by many young people.

    Moreover, Lin Yuan was confident that the audience for this work was likely not just limited to the younger generation.

    It was "Grave Robbers'' Chronicles", which followed the trend and achieved great success later on, that had a bigger impact among young people. After all, this derivative work had a stronger commercial atmosphere...

    "Cut."

    While Lin Yuan was mulling over things, Yi Chenggong''s voice came from afar.

    This was the set of "Flirting Scholar", where Lin Yuan had been hanging out recently.

    After all, he was now one of the heads of the composition department.

    As a manager, besides having a substantial pay rise, he was even allowed to play hooky without repercussions.

    Moreover, Lin Yuan was also the film''s scriptwriter, which gave him even more reason to skip work, without even needing to use the excuse of going out for research and inspiration.

    Wu Yong was very straightforward too.

    As Lin Yuan''s assistant manager, he basically took care of everything on the ninth floor for Lin Yuan, leaving him with not much to worry about.

    At this time.

    After shooting for a while, "Flirting Scholar" was nearing its end; it was estimated that the filming would wrap up in about a month.

    However, even so, Lin Yuan still didn''t have the time to be frequently at work.

    He couldn''t even casually drop by the production crew anymore.

    Because...

    Qin Art''s school had started!

    The low-key second semester of his third year had just started. Lin Yuan showed up at the set just because it was the weekend.

    At the moment.

    Yi Chenggong had announced that the production crew could knock off for the day. He approached Lin Yuan and smiled, "Mr. Lin, do you have any ideas about the post-production? Our movie is almost done filming, it''s about time to think about the post-production..."

    "Leave the score to me."

    Lin Yuan said, "As for other aspects, just keep an eye on them. Everything should follow the script. Don''t let the editing break the rhythm of the story."

    The Memory Pill isn''t used in vain.

    After reading countless film and television books, Lin Yuan is now a theoretical expert, so he''s very clear about the significance of editing for a movie.

    "Understood."

    Yi Chenggong was already familiar with Lin Yuan''s style. As the director, he unconditionally agreed with all of Lin Yuan''s decisions.

    ...

    It was still early.

    After the production crew had finished for the day, Lin Yuan looked at the sky and simply had Gu Dong drive him to the company. Gu Dong, as Lin Yuan''s assistant, tended to accompany Lin Yuan wherever he went, so she spent most of her recent time on the set.

    Arriving at the company.

    The two of them headed up to the ninth floor.

    The staff in the department greeted Lin Yuan as they saw him, and he returned with a nod, then headed into his own office. Then, he asked Gu Dong to call Wu Yong over. He wasn''t entirely lacking in responsibility; he should keep an eye on the status of his department.

    "Mr. Lin."

    Wu Yong arrived promptly.

    Lin Yuan was slightly surprised. Wu Yong was wearing a suit. Apart from being a bit dark-skinned, he was emitting an aura suggesting that he was trying to pay tribute to Ol'' Zhou. This was completely different from the Wu Yong that Lin Yuan remembered.

    Wu Yong had never worn a suit before.

    Wu Yong coughed a bit, seemingly guessing Lin Yuan''s thoughts: "As a deputy manager, I should maintain some authority¡­"

    "How is work going?"

    Lin Yuan didn''t linger on the topic.

    Wu Yong responded seriously: "In April, we on the ninth floor have a song to release. The company has high hopes for it. It''s sung by our company''s leading female singer, Shen Tingyuan. I estimate that this song will enter the top five."

    Lin Yuan asked, "Who wrote the song?"

    Wu Yong showed a smile: "The composer is your apprentice, Xue Liang, Mr. Lin. As your apprentice, Xue Liang has composed a song of a very high standard. Would you like to have a listen?"

    "Fine."

    Lin Yuan spoke.

    Wu Yong directly sent the song to the device and then turned on the speakers.

    This was a pre-recorded song; after all, it was to be officially released in April.

    The song followed a sentimental style.

    Ballads were a relatively popular style.

    The melody of the song was also very good, at least Lin Yuan personally liked it. But before Lin Yuan could say anything after hearing the song, the system suddenly gave a prompt: "Congratulations to the host''s first apprentice on completing his training!"

    [Name: Xue Liang]

    [Composition: 666]

    [Relationship: Master-Apprentice]

    [Status: Completed Training]

    [Evaluation: Xue Liang has already acquired the abilities of an ace composer. What he lacks is a work to prove himself. We hope the host can treasure each of his apprentices, as their works can also bring prestige to their master.]

    It seemed that the system couldn''t predict the future either.

    The merger of Qin Art had forced the system to reluctantly reset the task, which showed that the system was incapable of predicting the future. The system only gave the corresponding evaluation after Lin Yuan had listened to Xue Liang''s song.

    "Great, right?"

    Wu Yong laughed: "But there are two things I want to discuss with you, Mr. Lin. The first is that Xue Liang does not plan to release songs under his real name. He has decided to take up an artistic name similar to Xian Yu."

    "What is it?"

    Wu Yong made a strange expression: "Carp."

    When Wu Yong first learned about Xue Liang''s decision, he was also baffled. Xue Liang must have chosen this name to pay tribute to his master, right? S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    If Mr. Lin takes on multiple apprentices, wouldn''t there be a bunch of fish-related names in the Qin Art music scene?

    Lin Yuan paused for a moment and said: "I see. What''s the second thing?"

    Wu Yong said, "The second thing is that the company has registered a Tribe account on behalf of Xian Yu. They suggest that you post some content on the account when you have time. The account details and password will be sent to you later."

    "Oh."

    Lin Yuan has always been using the "Chu Kuang" account.

    He didn''t expect that the company would register a "Xian Yu" one as well.

    Wu Yong sighed: "The competition between Tribe and Blog is too intense. Both sides are vying to invite celebrities because the fan effect that celebrities bring about is very influential..."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Wu Yong reminded, "Now that you have a Tribe account, it''s certain to attract some fan attention. I suggest you promote Xue Liang''s work, since he is your apprentice after all."

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan nodded in understanding. It looked like he would have to frequently switch accounts from now on.

    If he uses the Xian Yu account to promote Chu Kuang''s new book, he''ll get caught for double-dealing.

    Wait¡­

    It seems he doesn''t need to double deal. As long as he posts with one account and promotes the posts using the other account, it should be fine. But he''s unsure how many followers the Xian Yu account can attract?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Continue to ask for monthly tickets, only two days left, Polluted White will brew and return to its explosive state!

 Chapter 206 - 194: King of the Net in Comics _1

    Evening.

    Using the username and password given by the company, Lin Yuan logged into Xian Yu''s Tribe account.

    As soon as he signed in, a series of notification sounds came from his computer, most of them being private messages.

    Lin Yuan was not unfamiliar with this. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Chu Kuang''s Tribe account was like this, too. He received countless fan messages every day. He would like to reply but it was simply too much, so he could only give them a cursory glance every time.

    He adeptly turned off the sound notifications.

    Lin Yuan looked at Xian Yu''s follower count.

    To his surprise, even though Xian Yu''s account had only just been created less than a day ago, it already had over ten million followers...

    Obviously,

    The Tribe''s official account had used big data to drive the stream.

    Otherwise, even with Xian Yu''s popular identification, not everyone would be immediately aware of the account''s existence.

    The account name was simply Xian Yu.

    The bio read: [Top Composer, head representative of the composition department on the ninth floor of Starlight Entertainment.]

    He opened the comment section.

    Lin Yuan found the comment section quite lively.

    "The real Envious Fish?"

    "I''m happy, my idol has finally made a Tribe account, the official verification must be legit!"

    "Ah I love ''Red Rose'' so much!"

    "Many celebrities have recently joined Tribe, a long live to Teacher Admirable Fish, it has been so long since I heard Teacher Admirable Fish''s new songs!"

    "Song request!"

    "Add one more for song request!"

    "Thank Tribe for providing a public platform for fans to request songs from Teacher Admirable Fish!"

    "Envious Fish''s fans, please join group xxxxxxx."

    "..."

    Song requests weren''t unusual.

    On Lin Yuan''s Chu Kuang account, the messages he received every day were all requests for updates.

    Same idea.

    After searching for Chu Kuang, Lin Yuan followed him with the Xian Yu account, and then he posted a status update using Xian Yu''s account:

    "Hello everyone, I''m Xian Yu. A song composed by my apprentice, Carp, titled ''Forest'', will be coming out in April. Stay tuned."

    The song by Xue Liang was named "The Forest".

    However, the fans'' focus wasn''t on the song at all...

    "What!"

    "Carp?"

    "Xian Yu''s apprentice?"

    "Hahaha, why am I laughing?"

    "So because the master is a Fish, the apprentice is a fish too?"

    "I''ll support it simply because your apprentice is also a Fish."

    "..."

    Lin Yuan, barely looking at the comments, then shared Xian Yu''s status update with Chu Kuang''s account, with only two words:

    "Excited!"

    Chu Kuang, having been influential for quite some time now, already had over thirty million loyal followers. So, this repost had quite a significant effect.

    "The old rascal Chu Kuang actually posted a status update?"

    "I''m astonished, is Chu Kuang still alive?"

    "Good grief, finally posted an update after so long, turns out it''s just a promotion for someone else?"

    "Wait... is this Xian Yu''s Tribe?"

    "That songwriter, Xian Yu? He opened a Tribe account?"

    "Let''s follow for now."

    "Does Chu Kuang old rascal know Xian Yu?"

    "What the hell, the only account Chu Kuang follows is Xian Yu, this must be true love!"

    "Who is Xian Yu?"

    "You can just search for Xian Yu''s song and you''ll find out."

    "..."

    Fans who follow Chu Kuang know well that this old rascal barely uses Tribe, and is even too lazy to promote his new books there.

    Even when Biyao''s death caused an uproar among his readers, there wasn''t a single response from Chu Kuang''s Tribe account!

    Some people even doubted whether Chu Kuang had forgotten his Tribe account''s password.

    And yet today...

    Chu Kuang finally updated his status!

    Moreover, it was promoting a new song for Xian Yu''s apprentice!

    What intrigued readers more was that Chu Kuang didn''t follow anyone before today when he followed Xian Yu who just joined Tribe!

    Following only Xian Yu?

    Is Chu Kuang fan of Xian Yu?

    Or do they know each other in real life?

    Fans couldn''t resist their curiosity and started speculating. Some clicked on Xian Yu''s account to check, and they all were stunned.

    Because...

    Xian Yu also followed only Chu Kuang!

    If it weren''t for the fact that their fields of interest widely differing, people would suspect they are actually the same person!

    But everyone knows this can''t be the case.

    How can a novelist like Chu Kuang be the same person as Xian Yu?

    Everyone knows Xian Yu is a music composer.

    As people started noticing this phenomenon more, curiosity increased even more and people couldn''t resist asking questions in the comment sections of both accounts:

    "Do you guys know each other?"

    "Are you good buddies offline too?"

    "What positions do you guys use?"

    "Who''s the dominant one? Who''s the submissive one?"

    "...Wait, does anyone know the genders of Chu Kuang and Xian Yu?"

    "It seems like both of them are quite mysterious, they never reveal anything about their personal lives, not even their genders. It''s possible that Xian Yu and Chu Kuang are actually girls, right?"

    "Wouldn''t that be even more exciting?"

    "..."

    Lin Yuan logged into Chu Kuang''s account on his phone while using Xian Yu''s account on his computer. After following each other and reposting each other''s posts, he felt a bit embarrassed because of this identity split. But after seeing the hilarious comments from the netizens, he couldn''t help but be caught off guard by the reactions.

    However, he didn''t have any intentions of explaining it.

    Because Lin Yuan noticed something interesting.

    A lot of Chu Kuang''s fans started following Xian Yu.

    And Some fans from Xian Yu''s side also followed Chu Kuang''s account.

    The two accounts were supporting each other?

    If there was more interaction between the two accounts, would the effect be even better?

    Lin Yuan seemed to have found a shortcut to complete his tasks!

    The only pity was that the followers of Xian Yu''s account couldn''t be added to Chu Kuang''s follower count.

    Otherwise, it would be a two-for-one effect.

    Another point Lin Yuan noticed was that many followers of both accounts were from Qi Continent, showing that people from Qi Continent were slowly getting acquainted with Xian Yu and Chu Kuang.

    Since the merge of Qin and Qi, things were slowly starting to consolidate.

    That''s the benefit of having a common language¡ªno barriers to communication.

    Just then,

    Lin Yuan suddenly had a clever thought. He now had a way to increase his reputation in painting¡ª

    He could register a new account on Tribe specifically for publishing his artwork!

    Normally, posting some artwork on Tribe would hardly gather any attention. But what if there was someone influential backing it?

    Chu Kuang and Xian Yu were both such influential figures...

    And these two accounts would only grow more popular in the future.

    If those two accounts both promoted his own artwork, it would be seen by many more people!

    In this way...

    His reputation in painting could skyrocket!

    But it''s usually hard for ordinary people to appreciate.

    So he must figure out a way to make his painting captivating enough for fans to stick around.

    At this point, Lin Yuan thought of Manga.

    He asked the system: "Manga is also considered painting, right?"

    The system answered: "Yes."

    Lin Yuan smiled. He didn''t even need the system''s help to create an already existing Manga, and that Manga was...

    Chu Kuang''s "King of the Net"!

 Chapter 207 - 195: Chu Kuang Also Likes Eating Egg Yolks_1

    Lin Yuan has professional drawing skills, which is why he is also great in creating manga, a branch of painting. He just needs to learn digital drawing to create a manga version of "King of the Net".

    Just so you know...

    Before getting published as a novel, "King of the Net" was originally made as a manga by Chu Kuang!

    If the manga becomes famous, not only Lin Yuan''s reputation in painting would skyrocket, Chu Kuang would also benefit from it as the original author.

    For instance, he might gain a bigger fanbase?

    After all, some people prefer to read manga over novels, and vice versa.

    This is an undeveloped territory with much potential!

    This brainwave incidentally came from an innocent chit-chat between Chu Kuang and Fish during a tribe get-together.

    The more Lin Yuan thought about it, the more interesting it sounded.

    Anything related to the copyright of "King of the Net" belongs to him, so he can draw freely without the permission of Silver Blue Books.

    And publishing manga online is a common practice.

    Having made up his mind...

    Lin Yuan started making plans right away.

    He bought a bunch of digital drawing tutorial books online. With the memory pill and professional drawing skills, he believed that learning a new skill wouldn''t be too difficult.

    However...

    In the future, he would still need to work with the System on creating manga, "King of the Net" would just be a quick fix¡ªalbeit undoubtedly a considerable saver for Lin.

    But this meant that the launch of "Ghost Blows Out the Light" would have to be postponed.

    It definitely couldn''t be launched in April.

    Yet a delay of a month or so wasn''t a big deal to Lin. His mission to help Chu Kuang reach a billion fans had a one-year deadline¡ªwhich was plenty of time for Lin Yuan to get creative with his approach. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    At this moment...

    Lin Yuan received a message from Zhong Yu, "GOAT seems to have gone back to school. Why hasn''t he shown up at our painting club? Many people want to sign up for his tutoring..."

    Indeed...

    Although Lin Yuan returned to school as normal once the Qin Art term began, he hadn''t visited the painting club in a while.

    There were probably quite a few students accumulated.

    But after thinking about it, with his plate full of manga,juggling writing, worrying about the movie, and simply not having much free time, Lin replied, "I''m busy at the moment, I''ll get back to you."

    Zhong Yu replied, "Alright."

    A thought suddenly struck Lin Yuan.

    Perhaps in the future he could take Zhong Yu on as an apprentice. Zhong Yu''s painting skills were quite good and he seemed to have some talent...

    But that was for the future.

    Lin Yuan''s current apprenticeship task was music composition. Since Xue Liang had finished his training, he should start looking for a new apprentice.

    "So many things to do..."

    Lin Yuan mused. He figured that soon he would have to rely on the System''s energy potion. Between the several roles he had to play, he found it increasingly difficult to maintain a proper time-management schedule without the help of the energy potion¡ª

    The Energy Potion wouldn''t harm his body.

    No wonder the System provided so many special items.

    Seems like it expected him to obediently foot all the bills in the end.

    Fortunately, all the money spent was donated by the System, which was a consolation to Lin.

    Just focus on one thing at a time.

    ...

    Once ordered, online purchases are typically delivered quickly. Lin Yuan ordered the books in the evening, and they arrived the next day.

    Just back from his daily courses, with books in hand, he headed straight for his bedroom.

    After taking a memory pill, Lin Yuan started to read.

    He started with a book titled ''Beginner''s Guide to Digital Drawing'', reading rapidly with efficiency.

    "I need a digital drawing board..."

    "My drawing skills are not a problem..."

    "Coloring? Isn''t it just like mixing paint, the difference being that I don''t have to mix it myself, but just select it with a mouse from the color library..."

    It took him only ten minutes to finish one book.

    But those ten minutes were fruitful for Lin Yuan.

    To master one is to master everything.

    He had professional-level drawing skills.

    So, while reading the book, Lin Yuan realized that turning the comic into a webcomic was not as complicated as he had imagined. All he needed to do was to familiarize himself with the drawing tools and understand the basic rules...

    With a basic understanding, Lin Yuan continued reading.

    "So, I can get an assistant?"

    "In manga, many scenes need technical operation rather than creative thinking, so they don''t necessarily need to be done by the main creators. The main creators are mainly responsible for the storyboard creation process, and the following tasks could be delegated. This can not only save the creator''s energy, but also train newcomers..."

    I need an assistant.

    This was Lin Yuan''s first thought after learning the role of an assistant.

    For instance, in the creation of buildings and other aspects irrelevant to the main storyline, he could delegate to an assistant, saving himself lots of time and concentrating on the storyboard.

    The story was simple, as the original was "King of the Net".

    However, creating a manga is tough work, otherwise serialization would not be so slow.

    Unlike writing a novel where typing on a keyboard suffices, one must take the time to carefully draw each line for a manga. It''s impossible to accelerate the process unless resorting to special tools.

    But using tools consistently would be cost-prohibitive. Having an assistant, on the other hand, is a much cheaper option.

    As for who to serve as his assistant...

    With such a large drawing club, he felt it wouldn''t be difficult to find someone interested in creating a manga.

    In fact, a portion of students in the Fine Arts Department at Qin Art chose to become manga artists as their post-graduation goal.

    With that in mind,

    Lin Yuan spent a long time reading until he got the call for dinner from downstairs, and grudgingly paused his reading.

    The reason he was grudging was that the time effect of the memory pill lasts one hour.

    If he didn''t fully utilize the one hour, it would be a waste.

    However, everything has pros and cons.

    Because of the time he spent procrastinating, Lin Yuan found out that by the time he sat down to dinner, his sister and younger sister had eaten all the meat. All that''s left were vegetables.

    His sister joking said, "Here''s a strip of meat left."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    Of course, his mother cooked the dishes.

    His mother is a busybody. Although she lived in a mansion now, she would keep herself busy every day with chores such as cleaning or cooking.

    "Eat more vegetables," his mother said seriously.

    Feeling even more helpless, Lin Yuan could only hungrily eat his rice, occasionally picking up some vegetables to eat.

    Just then,

    His sister, Lin Xuan, suddenly asked, "Do you know Chu Kuang?"

    Lin Yuan was taken aback, "Why do you ask?"

    Lin Xuan eyed him suspiciously, "Don''t tell me you don''t surf the internet. Didn''t you both follow each other on the tribe? You only followed Chu Kuang on your Fish account, and Chu Kuang only followed you."

    "That''s because Chu Kuang..."

    As Lin Yuan was about to explain,

    His sister abruptly interrupted, "Also likes to eat egg yolks?"

    -----------------

    PS: Thanks to [Bao Shao 88] for becoming the ninth Alliance Hierarch of this book! I will repay all the debts next month, including all the updates owed, and the minimum guarantee is still three chapters per day. So, it will likely return to the daily ten thousand words rhythm next month. After some of the Qi Continent cut down, this book went through a low period.

    Polluted White has been adjusting status, only until these last two days have I gradually felt it come back. Thank all of you for your understanding during this time!

 Chapter 208 - 196 Fish Generation_1

    Despite his sister''s sudden interruption, the topic was skillfully brushed aside.

    However, when Lin Yuan went upstairs after dinner, he couldn''t help but feel something was off about the way his sister looked at him.

    He didn''t think much about it.

    In the following days, Lin Yuan''s routine was normal. He read some books and attended school. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    He also bought a bunch of comic creation tools online, but considering he might need an assistant in the future, Lin Yuan thought it might be inconvenient.

    Was he supposed to invite the assistant to his own home?

    He simply asked Gu Dong to find a place that could serve as his comic studio.

    Having an assistant was very convenient; at least Lin Yuan didn''t have to bother Senior Sun Yao Huo for every little thing.

    He felt embarrassed always troubling others.

    Gu Dong was efficacious. By April, she had found a studio near the company.

    "This is it."

    Lin Yuan looked around the environment and nodded.

    Initially, Gu Dong wanted to ask what Lin Yuan was planning to do with the studio, but she swallowed her question and instead reminded Lin Yuan, "The drama group is about to wrap up filming."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Gu Dong continued, "Xue Liang''s new song has been released. It is currently the fifth on the April new song list. Unfortunately, the singer he collaborated with is just an ordinary second-tier. If it was a top-tier singer, this song could have made it into the top three."

    Lin Yuan nodded again.

    The song Xue Liang wrote was not bad. After all, his level was not lower than that of the top-tier. In fact, Lin Yuan noted that his music prestige value had been rising.

    It was all thanks to Xue Liang''s song "Forest".

    What Lin Yuan didn''t know was...

    Since Xue Liang was Xian Yu''s apprentice, the industry was curious and wanted to know the standard of an apprentice taught by Xian Yu.

    As a result, when the song "Forest" was released, many people were shocked.

    Those who knew their music could recognize the composition standard of this song!

    "Isn''t this the level of a top-tier composer?"

    "But this Carp, isn''t he a rookie?"

    "Is it really a case of the apple not falling far from the tree?"

    "Can Xian Yu already teach apprentices to become top-tier composers?"

    "Is composition that easy to teach?"

    "It''s just one song, we can''t rule out the possibility of a fluke. We still have to observe."

    "Could Xian Yu have also contributed to the composition?"

    "..."

    The industry''s reaction was mostly of surprise and uncertainty. If Xian Yu could teach an apprentice to become a top-tier composer, it would indeed be terrifying!

    Composition isn''t something that can be easily taught to a high standard.

    Even a maestro-level composer wouldn''t dare to say they could definitely teach an apprentice to become a top-tier composer, right?

    But what''s undeniable is...

    The composer Carp, who also belongs to the "fish" generation, has begun to gain recognition in both Qin Continent and Qi Province.

    Some people even dug up Carp''s previous works.

    Xue Liang, who composed under the name Carp, did not completely hide his identity.

    As a result, comparing Carp''s earlier works, people in the industry were even more surprised.

    "Did one person write this song?"

    "Carp''s previous works and the one he published after becoming Xian Yu''s apprentice are completely different! They''re like night and day!"

    "Did Xian Yu really teach all this?"

    "In an interview yesterday, Carp said he''s only been studying with Xian Yu for less than a year."

    "Turns out, he''s a lucky Carp?"

    "..."

    Meanwhile, inside Starlight...

    Seeing Carp''s excellent performance within the season, many composers were shocked.

    Didn''t everyone know Carp was from a branch company?

    And the level of those composers from the branch company was common knowledge in the industry.

    For a moment, people couldn''t tell if Xian Yu was an exceptional teacher or if Carp was naturally a genius, with Xian Yu just giving him a little nudge.

    ¡­

    For the first time in his life, Xue Liang experienced flowers and applause!

    With his inaugural work released under the name Carp, he scored a huge success, instantly becoming a star figure in the Ninth Floor''s composition department!

    At this moment, Xue Liang was thrilled and grateful.

    What would his life have been like without his master?

    Xue Liang didn''t dare to imagine, and thus he was increasingly grateful for his master''s kindness.

    No matter how the outside world speculated, Xue Liang knew clearly in his heart that his success was all due to his master''s excellent teachings!

    Including when his colleagues within the department asked, Xue Liang gave the same answer.

    Otherwise, he would not have used the word "Carp" as his composer identity.

    As such, when Lin Yuan came to the company again, Xue Liang specially bought him a good quality tea. He had already made inquiries, Deputy Manager Wu Yong told Xue Liang that Mr. Lin was a fan of tea.

    At this time,

    Lin Yuan, naturally, was extremely satisfied with Xue Liang''s performance. He even had the impulse to immediately take on another apprentice!

    The effects of Yang Zhongming''s character card and Teacher''s Halo were really good to use..

    However, he didn''t immediately get to this task.

    There were many people in the department, Lin Yuan planned to consider the candidates and then decide who would be the second apprentice.

    As for Xue Liang ¡­

    Lin Yuan did not directly give him a free flow; he decided that when Xue Liang had a new song to release in the future, he would use Yang Zhongming''s character card and then give him pointers on his compositions.

    Lin Yuan asked the System.

    Although he couldn''t use Yang Zhongming''s character card to compose, after his apprentice finished a piece, he could use Yang Zhongming''s character card to give some suggestions, which was not an issue.

    As for the tea from Xue Liang, Lin Yuan did accept it.

    No one blames a person for being overly polite.

    Moreover, this was a gift from his apprentice.

    Just as Xue Liang had walked out of the office, Wu Yong came in and asked, "Mr. Lin, are you planning on making any moves soon?"

    "What''s wrong?"

    Lin Yuan was puzzled.

    He didn''t have a song to release recently.

    Wu Yong grimaced, "Xue Liang got the fifth place, which is good, but now the market is changing so fast, haven''t you seen the new song chart for this season?"

    Lin Yuan shook his head.

    Wu Yong helplessly said, "The top song is from Thunderbolt Entertainment, the second is from Seven Star Entertainment, and the third is from Linfeng, a newly established entertainment company, but they have strong capital behind them..."

    "The old top three from Qin Continent didn''t make it into the top three?"

    Lin Yuan finally realized the crux of the matter.

    Wu Yong nodded heavily, "The best result from Starlight is Xue Liang''s fifth place, the forth is Silver Light, and Sand Sea has fallen to the ninth place. The companies are shuffling their decks. The authority of us, Starlight, and the other two old rivals in the music scene, are declining¡­"

    "Because of personnel changes?"

    Lin Yuan knew about the situation of companies poaching one another''s talent previously.

    Wu Yong explained, "Yes, all of them have trump composers now. Although Starlight has a few Maestros sitting in our camp, these few Maestros aren''t fast at composing. They have very high requirements for the quality of songs. If they are not sure of securing the first place, they basically won''t release songs."

    "I also don''t plan to release any songs recently."

    Lin Yuan cut off Wu Yong''s expectations, because he was running low on money on his card. He''d been spending a lot lately, so he had to reserve some funds for unexpected needs.

    "Alright..."

    Wu Yong hesitated for a moment and said, "So when will you be able to release a song? If Maestro doesn''t make a move, Starlight really needs you to step forward. Otherwise, if our season ranking doesn''t go up in a few months, we will let the companies from Qi Province and some new companies take the lead. This will affect the prestige and morale of our whole composition department.""

    "Let''s wait and see. How many trump composers do we have left?"

    "Not many, currently there are thirty-eight in total."

    "So many have left?"

    The previous Starlight had far more than just this number of trump composers.

    Wu Yong explained, "Although we have lost a large number of trump composers, we have also poached a lot of television and film talents. No one can take advantage from a global perspective, so the current market is so unpredictable."

    Lin Yuan understood.

    He decided to wait a bit longer.

    It''s better to release a song after the situation gradually clears up. He can''t release a song every month, so try to choose a key moment to release a song. Besides, he is really busy at the moment. As always, one thing at a time.

    Next, releasing a comic seems a better move.

    He has already created a Tribe account, just waiting for his assistant to take their position.

 Chapter 209 - 197: The Phoenix is Inferior to the Shrimp_1

    April 8th.

    Lin Yuan finally arrived at Qin Art''s Drawing Society.

    This is Lin Yuan''s first visit to the society since his return to Qin Art.

    As soon as he came in, many people stood up, staring at him intently, and someone asked:

    "The GOAT is back. Are we having a class today?"

    Lin Yuan shook his head.

    He didn''t come today to teach a class.

    The crowd was somewhat disappointed, but they did not pester Lin Yuan, their gaze unconsciously followed him...

    There is an exhibition wall inside the society, covered with works by the members of the drawing society.

    Back when Lin Yuan was still around, his works were often posted on it, but lately, this has not been the case.

    Lin Yuan stood in front of the exhibition wall, glanced at the works on it.

    He now needed an assistant, an assistant who could truly help him with his drawings.

    This assistant must at least have the strength to have his works displayed on the exhibition wall.

    The names of the artists were listed under each drawing.

    Lin Yuan was familiar with some of them, because some artists were regulars on the exhibition wall, just as Lin Yuan used to have his works hung there from time to time...

    "Luo Wei?"

    Lin Yuan''s eyes locked onto one of the drawings.

    He had taken notice of this Luo Wei a few times before.

    She specialized in traditional Chinese painting, and her skills were no weaker than Lin Yuan''s, reaching a professional level!

    However, this time, what Luo Wei displayed was not a traditional Chinese painting, but a colored sketch of a character.

    A non-realistic style.

    This is a typical manga-like character:

    A beautiful young girl in a gorgeous long dress with her crown tipped on her head, trailing on the red carpet with indifferent and arrogant facial expression.

    The background seems to be a palace.

    With finely painted beams and rafters, exquisite tea cups, and the natural rumples in the girl''s dress, the eyes are immediately captivated.

    "The President''s painting is really amazing!"

    A voice of admiration came from the side, Lin Yuan turned his head and saw that it was Zhong Yu.

    "When I heard the GOAT was coming, I came right away." Zhong Yu explained, laughing.

    Lin Yuan nodded and then asked, "Who is the president?"

    "Don''t you know, GOAT... Alright, the president rarely comes to the Drawing Society because she always has to retake exams... Of course, you''re not interested in this kind of thing. Luo Wei is the president of us, the Drawing Society." Zhong Yu introduced.

    Lin Yuan nodded in understanding.

    Just then, another voice came from the side, lazily and casually: "Who is talking behind my back that I''m always retaking exams? Oh, it''s Zhong Yu, this year I''ve failed only three subjects."

    The words were spoken proudly.

    Zhong Yu''s face instantly changed, turned to look at the girl who was speaking, and smiled bitterly, "President Luo, you are so quiet when you walk...".

    "It''s because you were too engrossed in my painting."

    The girl who was speaking had long hair casually draped over her shoulders, a natural melon-seed face, a perky nose, big black eyes, coupled with a tall figure and outstanding figure, she has quite the aura of a straight-haired beauty. Even in an artistic institution like Qin Art, she is among the top in terms of appearance.

    The only regret is that there seems to be a black mark on her right cheek.

    Those who frequently draw sketches should know that it is left on the face accidentally after wiping their hair and such when doing high-density sketches.

    She is Luo Wei, the President of the Drawing Society.

    "Your face..."

    Zhong Yu kindly reminded her.

    Luo Wei was stunned for a moment, then asked a girl behind her for a mirror to check, and then asked for a wet wipe to clean it up.

    Then, a flawless beauty appeared.

    She looked at Lin Yuan and took the initiative to say, "Hello, I am Luo Wei, I have heard of you a long time ago, and I have always said I wanted to meet you, and today I finally met."

    "Lin Yuan."

    Having introduced himself, Lin Yuan curiously looked at her: "Are you very good at drawing manga?"

    Luo Wei confidently said: "I can draw all kinds of paintings, and what about you?"

    Lin Yuan said: "Me too."

    Luo Wei raised an eyebrow, but before she could say anything, Lin Yuan suddenly said, "Can you be my manga assistant?"

    Whoops...

    A strange sound came out from Zhong Yu.

    Not only Zhong Yu, many members of the Drawing Society who were paying attention to Lin Yuan and Luo Wei showed astonished expressions.

    Lin Yuan actually asked the president to be his assistant?

    Doesn''t he know who the president is?

    Or Zhong Yu, who was afraid that Lin Yuan would feel embarrassed, couldn''t help but remind him, "GOAT, President Luo is a very famous painter, well-known both online and in the current art scene..."

    "Oh."

    Lin Yuan nodded. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Just when everyone thought Lin Yuan was going to give up, it seemed like he had made a somewhat difficult decision and stared at Luo Wei again, asking, "What about a salary of ten thousand Yuan a month?"

    People held their foreheads.

    Luo Wei laughed, "I can become a mangaka myself. Furthermore, I can earn this amount just by taking any orders online, why should I be your ''manga assistant''?"

    Lin Yuan sighed with some regret, "Alright."

    Luo Wei''s painting skills were very high, meeting Lin Yuan''s standard for a manga assistant, but he couldn''t afford her. He could only look for other candidates.

    "Actually, I''ve got something to ask you too."

    Luo Wei laughed and looked at Lin Yuan: "Would you like to take over my position and become the president of the Drawing Society?"

    "No."

    Lin Yuan decisively shook his head.

    He had too much to do, with no time to be the president of the Drawing Society.

    But the members of the Drawing Society weren''t too surprised. The presidency of the Drawing Society was indeed a good position, but it was only attractive to ordinary people. It was quite normal that Lin Yuan, being a GOAT, wasn''t interested.

    Luo Wei frowned.

    Suddenly her eyes lit up, and she said with a hint of seduction in her voice: "But you wanted me to be your manga assistant, right? Why don''t we make a bet?"

 Chapter 210 - 197: The Phoenix is Not as Good as the Shrimp_2

    "What''s the bi?"

    Lin Yuan seemed interested all of a sudden.

    Luo Wei was inwardly thrilled, though she managed to maintain a straight face. "Oil painting, sketching, gouache, traditional Chinese painting, let''s draw lots to pick a style. We compete in whichever one we draw..."

    "And the stake?"

    "Let''s set the rules. If you lose, you will be the president of the art society. You''re a junior now, with two years left until you graduate, so you''ll be president for two years. If I lose, I will be your comic assistant for two years, free of charge!" Luo Wei said, grinning.

    "Deal!"

    Lin Yuan didn''t hesitate.

    Luo Wei''s traditional Chinese painting was of a professional level.

    Looking at the cartoon character in front of her, he guessed that her gouache wasn''t inferior either. Their abilities were evenly matched, so Lin Yuan had a fifty-fifty chance of winning.

    Even if he lost, he wouldn''t lose anything. At worst, he would be the president of the society.

    If he won, he would have a free comic assistant!

    Luo Wei snapped her fingers and said, "Fine, Zhong Yu, make a few slips of paper for us to draw."

    "Okay!"

    Zhong Yu was excited.

    Members of the Art Society were shouting excitedly. Luo Wei, as their president, was indisputably number one in the Art Department of Qin Art, holding top place for sketching, gouache, traditional Chinese painting, etc. throughout the year!

    Lin Yuan, meanwhile, was a mysterious GOAT¡­

    Everyone knew that Lin Yuan''s sketching and gouache skills were extremely strong.

    It was hard to say who would win if they competed in these two styles!

    Regardless, everyone would be happy whether he won or lost¡­

    In fact, many wanted to see Luo Wei lose, since her undefeated status in the Art Department of Qin Art had become legendary!

    And Lin Yuan?

    If he lost and became the president of the art society, everyone would still be pleased since this would mean Lin Yuan would have more time to teach them!

    It was a win-win situation!

    Some even began analysing his chances enthusiastically.

    "If he draws sketching, I think Lin Yuan has a higher chance of winning."

    "With gouache, it''s probably fifty-fifty?"

    "If traditional Chinese painting is picked, I suspect Lin Yuan would have no hope. Although I don''t know what his traditional Chinese painting level is like, everyone in the Art Department knows Luo Wei''s skill is stronger than the professors''!"

    "Oil painting would probably be fifty-fifty as well?"

    "Yeah, oil painting is similar to gouache in nature. If Lin Yuan''s good at gouache, there''s no reason his oil painting would be inferior. And there''s no need to talk about Luo Wei, as she has won a lot of awards for her oil paints."

    "..."

    While this was being discussed, somebody couldn''t resist stirring the pot, and sent a message in the group: "Luo Wei is going to have a paint-off with Lin Yuan, the GOAT!"

    "What?"

    "Luo Wei and the GOAT are competing?"

    "I''m coming!"

    "Didn''t you go out with your girlfriend¡­"

    "Even if an asteroid was hitting the Blue Star, this is way more thrilling than hanging out with my girlfriend!"

    "Be there in a sec!"

    "This is a big showdown!"

    "..."

    Zhong Yu had just finished preparing the slips of paper, and before long, more people flocked into the art society, obviously students from the Art Department who had heard the news.

    "Who will draw?"

    Zhong Yu looked at Lin Yuan and Luo Wei.

    Luo Wei shrugged her shoulders: "Doesn''t matter."

    Lin Yuan added: "You go ahead and draw."

    Zhong Yu let out a smirk, "Then I''ll do it, I''ll hopefully draw sketching for the GOAT!"

    He then pulled out a slip of paper.

    "What is it?"

    Everyone stared at Zhong Yu.

    Zhong Yu even attempted to build suspense, taking a sip of water and showing no hurry to reveal the result.

    Luo Wei asked Lin Yuan, "Do we need a judge?"

    Lin Yuan shook his head, "There are enough judges already."

    Indeed, everyone in the art society could be a judge.

    Luo Wei nodded, understanding, "If there is controversy, we can get a professor or a teacher to testify, but I don''t think it will be necessary."

    Lin Yuan agreed.

    Both he and Luo Wei had professional-level abilities. Generally speaking, by looking at the other party''s painting, they would know who won and who lost.

    "The secret''s about to be revealed."

    Zhong Yu played up the suspense, waiting until everyone had grown impatient before he leisurely opened up the paper. As soon as he saw what was written on it, Zhong Yu''s face changed, and he said regretfully:

    "GOAT... I''m sorry."

    The crowd clamoured, "What is it?"

    Zhong Yu unfolded the slip, and it read:

    Traditional Chinese painting!

    Everyone paused, then immediately buzzed with excitement:

    "What the actual?"

    "Traditional Chinese painting?"

    "This is Luo Wei''s home turf!"

    "This is what Luo Wei excels at!"

    "Can the GOAT even do this?"

    "Didn''t the GOAT say he could do traditional Chinese painting too?"

    "Of course, I believe that the GOAT knows traditional Chinese painting, but the question is, do you have any idea of Luo Wei''s level in traditional Chinese painting?"

    "..."

    Luo Wei chuckled and said to Lin Yuan, "Would you like to switch to oil painting? You have no odds in traditional Chinese painting."

    Lin Yuan thought for a moment and responded, "I''m afraid it''s me who might be taking advantage."

    Luo Wei was perplexed, "How so?"

    Lin Yuan was honest, "You can''t beat me in traditional Chinese painting."\\n

    However, for Luo Wei, this sounded like a provocation, stirring up slight dissatisfaction, "You think you can defeat me in traditional Chinese painting? This is not sketching and not gouache."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Since the other party had given him a way out, he should reciprocate the favour. "At least for today, you can''t beat me."\\n

    Lin Yuan was speaking the truth.

    However, Luo Wei found this somewhat irksome, since traditional Chinese painting was her forte and her pride: "Well, you might regret this. The works on the exhibition wall do not fully reflect my ability."

    Lin Yuan nodded in acknowledgment. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Seeing Lin Yuan''s calm demeanor, Luo Wei''s had a stir in her heart, thinking perhaps this opponent was worth going all out against.

    "GOAT, you¡­"

 Chapter 211 - 197: Phoenix is not as Good as a Shrimp_3

    Zhong Yu didn''t know where Lin Yuan''s confidence came from. He thought that Lin Yuan hadn''t yet understood Luo Wei''s capabilities. Unable to speak out, he subtly tugged at Lin Yuan''s sleeve, indicating that it would be better to choose a different category.

    The others in the painting club shared this sentiment.

    However, Luo Wei didn''t give them a chance to hesitate any further: "Let''s stick to the rules, we''ll compete with Chinese painting. There are too many people here, shall we go inside to compete?"

    Luo Wei pointed to a room inside.

    Lin Yuan nodded in agreement.

    Luo Wei asked, "How much time do you need?"

    Lin Yuan replied, "Whatever."

    Luo Wei raised an eyebrow, "Then let''s take two hours. What type of Chinese painting?"

    Chinese painting is divided into different types.

    According to the materials used and methods of representation, it can be subdivided into ink and wash painting, heavy-color painting, light-cinnabar, fine-brush, freehand brushwork, line drawing and so on.

    According to the subject matter, it includes figure painting, landscape painting, flower and bird painting, etc.

    "Whatever."

    Lin Yuan repeated these two words.

    Luo Wei gave Lin Yuan a deep look: "Then, ''whatever'' it is."

    She entered the empty room next door, and Lin Yuan followed her in, asking Zhong Yu to prepare the paints.

    "Good luck, GOAT."

    Zhong Yu muttered quietly after helping Lin Yuan prepare the paints.

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    At this time, Luo Wei was seated across from Lin Yuan and had already picked up her brush: "Just a friendly heads-up, I plan to use ink and wash. This is the type of Chinese painting I excel at."

    "Me too. Ink and wash."

    Lin Yuan had intended to paint an ink and wash painting anyway.

    But upon hearing these words, Luo Wei felt Lin Yuan''s provocation was stronger. It seemed like he was implying that no matter what she painted, he could keep up as he was fine with everything¡­

    "Let''s begin."

    Luo Wei''s demeanor became serious.

    When she got serious, she discarded all irrelevant emotions. She didn''t even think about who she was competing against, she only wanted to create her painting in the most perfect way.

    Lin Yuan also got serious¡ª

    He took out his Qi Baishi character card seriously.

    He wasn''t pretending or trying to challenge anyone.

    If he had drawn any other card, Lin Yuan wouldn''t have been confident.

    Just with Chinese painting, Lin Yuan felt like there was no reason for him to lose. Because after using the character card, he wasn''t just Lin Yuan, he was¡­

    Qi Baishi!

    And not only that, he was at his peak state as Qi Baishi!

    The truth was indeed this way. The moment he activated the Qi Baishi character card, his mind became filled with understanding of Chinese painting.

    This understanding of Chinese painting was far beyond his own professional level!

    This should be the top level of Chinese painting, beyond the professional level!

    At this time,

    Lin Yuan was ready to draw one of Qi Baishi''s shrimp paintings!

    And the name of this painting is ''Six Shrimps''!

    On the raw Xuan paper,

    with the mixed-hair brush dipped in ink, Lin Yuan painted the first stroke.

    It was the shrimp closest to the viewer.

    The brush, dipped in light ink, the brush tip dipped in dark ink, and using a moderate amount of water, drew the shrimp head with two side strokes of the brush.

    The first stroke was short and thick.

    The second stroke was slim and long. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    With a sideways brushstroke, the body joints of the shrimp were already coming to life on the paper.

    When painting the legs, Lin Yuan started using a center brush stroke, followed by another stroke of heavy ink on the head!

    With a focus of the brush tip, he dots the eye of the shrimp, and Lin Yuan lifts his wrist.

    The light and dark ink complimented each other, instantly filling the painting with a sense of space¡­

    Lin Yuan couldn''t help but want to compliment, the painting was truly great, but realizing that to compliment himself was shameful, he held back the thought.

    He joyfully wielded the brush!

    Lin Yuan enjoyed this state.

    As he finished the first shrimp, its lively, agile, and alert form seemed to have come to life!

    The characteristics of the shrimp were clear in Lin Yuan''s mind.

    Therefore, with only a few strokes, he used the depth and shades of the ink to express a sense of movement.

    When he started the second shrimp, the hard shells were almost transparent, varying from dark to light.

    Then came the third, the fourth, the fifth¡­

    With the variations in brushwork, the waist of the shrimp took various forms, some bent forward, some swam in a straight line, and others crawled with their waist bent.

    When the sixth shrimp was completed, Lin Yuan finally stopped.

    "No one knows ink and wash shrimp painting better than Qi Baishi."

    This was the only feeling in Lin Yuan''s heart at this moment, especially after seeing the painting he had just completed, Lin Yuan understood even more deeply¡­

    If he hadn''t used Qi Baishi''s character card, with just his professional-level skill, he would absolutely not have been able to create this ''Six Shrimps''!

    He finished.

    As he looked up at Luo Wei, it seemed that she was completely immersed in her painting. Her ink was mostly heavy, and the range of her brush strokes was wide after lifting her wrist. Lin Yuan could roughly guess that the other party was probably painting a large creature¡­

    He didn''t disturb her.

    He didn''t get up either.

    He just waited quietly.

    At this time, outside the door, the number of people from the painting club was increasing, along with endless discussions:

    "They''re competing with Chinese painting?"

    "Doesn''t that mean the GOAT is finished?"

    "The result seems easy to guess."

    "There''s no suspense, now I''m looking forward to how wonderful President Luo''s Chinese painting will be!"

    "Yes, it''s been a long time since we''ve seen President Luo paint a Chinese painting!"

    "Zhong Yu, of all things to draw, you just had to get Chinese painting."

    "GOAT''s teammate is dragging him down."

    "So much for being the top disciple. Who doesn''t he scheme against, but his own master."

    "Hahaha, what if the GOAT wins?"

    "Please, a professional level Chinese painting contestant might not even beat President Luo."

    "Even amongst professional level contestants, President Luo is one of the better ones at Chinese painting."

    "..."

    Just then, there was a commotion at the entrance.

    Zhong Yu, who had been wearing a sulky face, became even more frustrated when he saw who arrived, "Why is Professor Kong here?"

 Chapter 212 - 197 Phoenix is Inferior to Shrimp_4

    "Can Professor Kong not come?"

    "This thing has alarmed so many tutors."

    "GOAT and Luo Wei are more than ordinary students."

    "With their age, even if they get into the professional art scene, they can make a name for themselves."

    "..."

    No matter the commotion outside, nobody comes in to disturb.

    Almost two hours later, Luo Wei finally stopped painting. She massaged her sore wrist, and asked Lin Yuan: "Are you done?"

    "Hmm."

    Luo Wei nodded: "You should take the role of Art Club president seriously, teach everyone more. I want to do it too, but I''m not as good a teacher as you are..."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    Luo Wei no longer had much competitive spirit after completing her painting. More accurately, she didn''t think she would lose: "Want to swap and take a look?"

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan removed his painting and handed it to Luo Wei.

    And Luo Wei also removed her painting and handed it to Lin Yuan.

    "I drew a phoenix, the king of birds, you know. It''s not my first time drawing a phoenix, I''ve practiced since I was a kid, for eight years so far. However, I''m not very good at color dynamics, so I''ve always stuck to ink wash painting. It''s the only flaw..." Luo Wei took Lin Yuan''s painting as she introduced hers.

    As Lin Yuan took Luo Wei''s painting, his eyes showed a moment of amazement!

    Indeed, it was a brilliant ink wash painting of a Phoenix spreading its wings!

    The strokes were perfectly apt, Luo Wei had vividly exhibited the unyielding arrogance of the king of birds!

    Beautiful!

    Exceedingly beautiful!

    If Lin Yuan didn''t have the Qi Baishi character card, he would probably be inferior in terms of ink wash painting. The other party was indeed exceptionally good at painting Phoenixes!

    In his ears,

    Luo Wei was still introducing her painting: "There are no real Phoenixes in the world, just like there are no dragons. So, I didn''t have any reference material, I could only paint based on people''s descriptions of Phoenixes and from some movies, animations, and artworks. The essence of this painting is..."

    For some reason,

    Luo Wei''s gaze suddenly fell on Lin Yuan''s painting and her voice stopped abruptly.

    The air was deathly quiet.

    Could a shrimp and Phoenix be compared? S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Anyone with common sense would know that these two organisms have no comparability.

    Shrimp can be enjoyed by everyone. If rich, one could even enjoy a lobster worth thousands.

    But a Phoenix is something people can never see in their entire life.

    So people have assigned countless wonderful connotations to the Phoenix.

    These beautiful connotations were reflected in Luo Wei''s artwork.

    However, when Luo Wei saw Lin Yuan''s painting, she suddenly had strong doubts as to whether a Phoenix was indeed nobler than a shrimp.

    If she was utilizing ink, Lin Yuan was manipulating it!

    His shrimp seemed lifelike, full of charm, and absolutely realistic.

    The inkwork and brushstrokes weren''t overly complicated, yet they vividly portrayed the structure and texture of the shrimp.

    Each stroke outlined with a hint of profoundness.

    Having a strong foundation in painting, being able to appraise exceptionally well, and her family''s profound knowledge in art, somehow made Luo Wei feel a strange sense of inferiority.

    It was peculiar.

    Luo Wei didn''t know what kind of expression she was making. She widened her already large eyes, raised her eyebrows high, her expression filled with desolation, yet she couldn''t suppress her fanaticism and joy. It was an absolute mess.

    The shape, the quality, the movement...

    The wonder lay in the likeness and unlikeness of the painting.

    Luo Wei suddenly understood why Lin Yuan said she couldn''t win.

    That wasn''t arrogance, it was a supreme self-confidence, a characteristic of a Master Level figure!

    Even if she further crafted her Phoenix several years more, she wouldn''t win. It''s not because she didn''t paint well, it''s because her opponent painted too well!

    She so wanted...

    Luo Wei was certain that she fell in love with his painting. Just like the last time she saw a masterpiece by an ancient master at a high-end art exhibition, she desired it as strongly as then. It was a primitive admiration at first sight.

    As for the result of the competition? It was no longer important.

    Phoenix... is inferior to the shrimp!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: In order to not break the chapter, I held back and didn''t post it right away, I immediately completed 6000 words as a base. Since, there''s still time, I''ll write one more chapter to wrap up this subplot. Thanks to everyone for your monthly tickets, the new book''s first position is very secure.

 Chapter 213 - 198 Six Shrimps_1

    "What''s the result?"

    "You''re really curious about the outcome..."

    "Sorry, I just have an inexplicable confidence in the GOAT. After all, he''s the one who brought my sketches from last place in the entire class to the top ten!"

    "My gouache painting improved because of his guidance too!"

    "This time, I''m betting on the GOAT!"

    Zhong Yu spoke fiercely, but he was somewhat lacking in confidence. He cursed his bad luck for choosing traditional painting in the draw.

    They were throwing the GOAT to the wolves!

    Thus, Zhong Yu felt guilty. Betting on Lin Yuan was his way of seeking redemption.

    Meanwhile, at the front of the crowd...

    Professor Kong smiled faintly, saying nothing.

    Behind Professor Kong were several other art teachers who had also come to join the fun. Someone whispered:

    "Is there hope?"

    "You mean Lin Yuan?"

    "I think we have a chance."

    "Probably, but I don''t think the result is unpredictable."

    "..."

    It''s not that Lin Yuan wasn''t respected, but his skills in gouache and sketching were too remarkable. Artists tend to have their specialities.

    If Lin Yuan was so good at gouache and sketching, he probably hadn''t delved deep into traditional painting.

    This was a common way of thinking, and indeed, without extraordinary talent, one cannot escape this rule.

    "They''re out!"

    Just as everyone was discussing fervently, there was a sudden exclamation at the door.

    Lin Yuan and Luo Wei were finally out of the room.

    Looking at Lin Yuan, they were surprised. His face was as aloof as ever, not even a smile to meet social expectations¡ª

    Perhaps he lost badly?

    But after looking at Luo Wei, they hesitated again. Luo Wei seemed a little out of sorts, she was swaying as she walked and almost stumbled when she stepped out of the door that frightened many people into reaching out to steady her.

    Luckily, Luo Wei didn''t fall. She gave the crowd a dazed look, finally focusing on Professor Kong. "You''re here?"

    "Mm, how''d it go?"

    Professor Kong asked with a smile.

    Luo Wei forced a smile, "Do you want to go in and see?"

    Still smiling, Professor Kong replied, "Didn''t you need a judge?"

    Luo Wei shook her head, muttered, "I don''t qualify."

    Her voice was so low that only Professor Kong, who was standing closest to her, could hear it.

    Taken aback, Professor Kong glanced at Lin Yuan, feeling a wave of sensations in his heart, then swiftly walked into the studio. As soon as he entered, he caught sight of Luo Wei''s painting of a Phoenix in flight.

    "You''ve made impressive progress recently."

    Professor Kong complimented her with a smile.

    The other teachers nodded in affirmation. Luo Wei''s Phoenix was painted so vividly and lifelike!

    "Awesome!"

    "Wow!"

    "This Phoenix is too cool!"

    "The president''s got some serious skills."

    "Did she pull out her best card?"

    "..."

    The students behind were craning their necks to view, and subsequently began to chatter.

    Then, Professor Kong approached Lin Yuan''s painting.

    No one could see the content of the painting, only Professor Kong and a few other tutors.

    Under the gaze of all the students, everyone was surprised to see that Professor Kong and several tutors changed their expressions!

    Especially Professor Kong, he seemed to suck in cold air!

    The studio fell silent.

    Members of the painting society shifted restlessly under this unexpected silence.

    Zhong Yu was puzzled.

    Why do the expressions of Professor Kong and the others look so strange?

    Without explanation...

    Professor Kong put on his glasses solemnly, leaned forward to look closely at Lin Yuan''s painting.

    He seemed to want to touch the painting but his hand stopped in mid-air and then withdrew. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The ink hadn''t dried yet.

    Touching it would affect the quality of the painting.

    After staring at the painting for a long time, Professor Kong finally sighed, "Using thick ink for eyes and head, giving a golden hue to the body, the effortless skill¡­The abdomen is depicted with a light shade of ink for the color of the body, making the shrimp appear crystal clear¡­ using a pointed brush to depict the whiskers, claws, and pincers, both rigid and flexible...This is a masterstroke!"

    The students couldn''t help but want to enter.

    Professor Kong stopped them, "Look from the outside!"

    The students were startled and dared not come in.

    Professor Kong did consider everyone''s feelings; he turned the painting to face them.

    Everyone looked at Lin Yuan''s painting. Some appeared thoughtful, some were speechless, some confused, and some puzzled...

    Shrimp?

    The painting is not bad.

    It''s lifelike.

    But compared to the phoenix, isn''t it too ordinary?

    That was the impression of most people.

    If one were to put a shrimp painted by Qi Baishi and one by an ordinary ink painting artist side by side, most people would not notice much of a difference.

    Because, after all, they''re all shrimps.

    But not everyone lacks sufficient appreciation skills. There were also some ink painting experts among the Painting Society members who recognized the terror of Lin Yuan''s painting!

    Therefore, these students were shocked. One by one, their gazes fell onto Lin Yuan, their eyes filled with shock and astonishment.

    On the side of Professor Kong...

    The university''s ink painting tutor exclaimed, "The brushwork of this painting is simply divine. Look at the waist of the shrimp, each one has a different pose. Some bend forward, some are straight, and some are crawling. There''s no stiffness at all. Although there''s no water, you can still sense that the shrimp are swimming in it."

    His words won the approval of other tutors.

    Another tutor said, "Look at the shrimp''s foreclaws, they are thin at the top and thick at the bottom. The joints extend to the pincers and look like pliers, some open and some closed. The feelers of the shrimp are drawn with light brush strokes which look easy but are really difficult to perfect. At least, I can''t do it."

    "It''s so lifelike."

    If it is drawn vividly, then the shrimp gathers life on its own.

    If painted stiffly, the shrimp loses its liveliness.

    In this painting, the shrimp''s whiskers look soft but are tough, seem broken but are connected, in the chaos lies order¡­ on the paper, the shrimp seems to be frolicking and swimming in the water, its feelers moving along with the water waves¡­"

    "This painting should have a name."

    Kong An looked towards Lin Yuan at the door.

    Lin Yuan finally revealed a smile, "Six Shrimps."

    A student replied, "There are clearly only five shrimps!"

    "Yeah..."

    "In fact, there are five."

    "Wait..."

    "Look at the edge of the shrimp cluster..."

    "There seems to be another shrimp?"

    "It''s a shrimp head, claws, and whiskers..."

    "It''s too pale, barely visible!"

    "Indeed, it is six!"

    "The sixth one is blocked, but it does exist..."

    "..."

    The crowd suddenly fell silent too.

    This illusionistic composition is a highly sophisticated technique in traditional Chinese painting. Many students fail to grasp this technique. Even though they cannot comprehend why the professors are so amazed by Lin Yuan''s painting, everyone knows that the standard of this painting is extremely high.

    "Lin Yuan, how about selling this painting to me?"

    Kong An unexpectedly turned his head towards Lin Yuan. Unknown to everyone, at that moment, Kong An had completely given up the idea of accepting Lin Yuan as his disciple.

    Because Kong An knew, Lin Yuan''s skills in traditional Chinese painting were superior to his own!

    "Professor Kong!"

    Luo Wei suddenly spoke, "This painting has already been sold to me by Teacher Lin Yuan! You wouldn''t steal it from a student like me, would you?"

    Just a while ago she was being polite.

    Her attitude had changed remarkably: "And I made a promise to Teacher Lin Yuan. I will be his comic assistant in the future. I have paid a great price for this painting!"

    The crowd was speechless.

    Was there any need to announce the win or loss?

    Even Luo Wei called GOAT as "Teacher Lin Yuan".

    Looking at the "Six Shrimps" painting, Kong An felt a little regretful. However, Luo Wei had made her stand. He couldn''t do anything about it now, but just sighed, "You are indeed very fortunate. Make sure to cherish this painting."

    "I will."

    Luo Wei reverted to her humble demeanor. She was still respectful to him, as long as he didn''t steal the painting.

    Every professor turned their gaze to Lin Yuan, "May we take pictures?"

    "Sure."

    Lin Yuan didn''t object.

    He noticed that his reputation in painting was soaring high.

    "Click."

    "Click."

    All the professors, including Kong An, took pictures, and many at that.

    "It seems that this painting does not have a signature."

    After taking the pictures, Kong An turned to Lin Yuan, "Can you add a signature?"

    Lin Yuan shook his head, "No need."

    The painting was to be sold to Luo Wei. This was a deal he had made with Luo Wei before he left. The price Luo Wei offered was one million.

    Compared to the value of this painting, one million is a drop in the ocean.

    But Lin Yuan knew that because he painted it, its value could not be compared to that of a painting drawn by Qi Baishi himself.

    Even if the painting could be regarded as painted by Qi Baishi himself.

    In addition, Luo Wei promised to be Lin Yuan''s comic assistant for three years.

    Lin Yuan thought for a while and agreed. After all, he was not going to sell this painting at some sky-high price.

    In other words.

    If you paint Van Gogh''s Sunflower, even if Van Gogh''s spirit possesses you, if the painting is not actually painted by Van Gogh himself, it won''t have the same value as the original.

    Lin Yuan understood this very well.

    Even for Qi Baishi himself, his paintings were not valued in the beginning.

    They became valuable only after he became famous, old, and even more after his death.

    "This painting can be sent for exhibition."

    Kong An looked at Lin Yuan and suggested.

    Luo Wei quickly replied, "I will send it for exhibition."

    Lin Yuan nodded. Doing this could raise his reputation even further, which, in comparison with music and literature, was still considerably low.

    "Let''s call it a day."

    Kong An waved his hand at the crowd.

    Most students were still puzzled. A few who were somewhat reluctant took pictures too. But since Kong An didn''t let them in, they had to take their photos from afar.

    Those who understood knew why Kong An wouldn''t let them in.

    The painting had no protective measures. With so many people swarming around, if the painting got damaged, it would be a great pity.

    "Can you paint this kind of painting again?"

    When the crowd had almost dispersed, Kong An asked Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan shook his head and promptly replied, "This is the best I''ve ever painted. It can''t be replicated."

    Kong An regretfully said, "I was hoping to get a painting from you. If you can paint like this in the future, could you give me one?"

    "I''ll try my best."

    Lin Yuan wasn''t sure if he would get another character card like this in the future.

    Kong An nodded.

    He didn''t doubt Lin Yuan''s words.

    This painting was truly extraordinary. It was normal that Lin Yuan could only paint it once. Just like composing a song, when inspiration strikes, extraordinary performance naturally follows.

    But such extraordinary performance showed one thing:

    Lin Yuan is a master of traditional Chinese painting!

    His major is not Gouache or sketching, but the most popular and widely studied genre in Blue Star:

    Traditional Chinese painting!

    How astonishing!

    Lin Yuan''s proficiency in Gouache and sketching, which is on a professional level, is not his main focus...

    "You''re going to be a great master in the future."

    This was Kong An''s final comment. As a matter of fact, Lin Yuan''s painting had already reached the level of a great master. However, it was a pity that the artistic community wouldn''t acknowledge a student as a great master.

    That was inevitable.

    Blue Star''s artistic community highly values seniority.

    Only now, Lin Yuan should have his place in Blue Star''s artistic community. He, Kong An, would fully support Lin Yuan!

    .

    Lastly, I am begging for a monthly ticket!

 Chapter 214 - 199 The Genius of Fandom_1

    Although his painting didn''t sell for much, Lin Yuan was not bothered by it.

    Because he was sure of one thing.

    Even if he couldn''t get another character card of Qi Baishi for now, he was likely to achieve a similar painting skill level in the future¡­

    With a corresponding skill level, he could paint as many good paintings like "Six Shrimps" as he wanted.

    Because he has the treasure chest.

    The system had introduced this before.

    The so-called skills are all graded.

    Above the professional level, there are the master level and the perfect level.

    The painting skill of Qi Baishi''s character card probably belongs to the master level, perhaps his shrimp painting skill is already close to perfect level?

    The pity is.

    Techniques above the master level can only be obtained from treasure chests of gold level or above, so far Lin Yuan has not gotten a gold treasure chest.

    He only had one silver treasure chest left unopened.

    "Can I purchase abilities?" After returning home, Lin Yuan couldn''t help but ask the system.

    The system replied: "You can''t purchase them, abilities can only be obtained through treasure chests."

    Lin Yuan understood.

    Just as he had guessed.

    The saying "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime" was so true.

    Ability is the most precious!

    Those works, while they can earn profits in the short term, in the long term, abilities are more practical.

    "For instance, professional level painting or piano playing could be of use in my daily life¡­"

    Lin Yuan once thought that with the custom work function, he wouldn''t rely on the treasure chests as much.

    But now it looks like treasure chests still need to be strived for, only treasure chests have the hope of unlocking abilities.

    With this thought, Lin Yuan couldn''t help but turn his gaze towards the remaining silver treasure chest in his system storage.

    Would there be any ability inside it?

    Forget it, it''s better to open it when I''m feeling lucky.

    Lin Yuan curbed his curiosity.

    It will be Saturday in three days.

    Lin Yuan directly called Luo Wei to his studio. By now, Luo Wei had officially become Lin Yuan''s manga assistant.

    "Teacher."

    Seeing Lin Yuan again, Luo Wei''s attitude had subtly shifted.

    Regardless of her identity as a manga assistant or her level of traditional painting, it was not unreasonable to call Lin Yuan ''Teacher''.

    Lin Yuan never cared about the titles, after all, he had been called by various names by others.

    Teacher, Master, GOAT, Representative, Junior¡­

    These don''t matter.

    Lin Yuan began to relay the work requirements to Luo Wei. The manga adaptation of "King of the Net" could officially start today.

    "It''s ''King of the Net''?!"

    Luo Wei was taken aback for a moment, then laughed: "It''s a manga adaptation of this novel, I like this novel. I''ve read a bit, did you get the authorization to adapt it, Teacher?"

    "Got it."

    Lin Yuan had ceremoniously authorized himself in his mind.

    Luo Wei had already adapted to her assistant role: "I will finish reading the novel later... Shall we set a framework? Do you have a design draft?"

    "Just wait a moment."

    Lin Yuan started to paint right away.

    The first step was to determine the style of the characters.

    Lin Yuan drew a series of character images directly based on the original design.

    They were all original images from "Prince of Tennis", with a distinctive Japanese style.

    However, there is no such thing as Japanese style in this world.

    "This is Long Ma?"

    The classic tennis hat, blue and white Youth Academy uniform, bangs covering the forehead, revealing a pair of bright eyes underneath.

    Stylish and cool. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Then there were the character designs for important people like Zhouzhu...

    Looking at the character designs created by Lin Yuan, Luo Wei''s eyes became increasingly surprised.

    She knew naturally that Lin Yuan was good at sketching.

    But being good at sketching and being able to create good sketches are two different things. She did not expect that the comic characters designed by Lin Yuan would also be so good ¡ª¡ª

    As someone who had read the original novel, Luo Wei was sure that these characters closely align with those described in the novel!

    Even the die-hard fans of "Prince of Tennis" probably wouldn''t question these character designs too much.

    "These are the characters that appear in the early stages."

    After half an hour, Lin Yuan temporarily stopped: "Do whatever you can to assist me."

    Luo Wei''s eyes sparkled.

    She suddenly stared at Lin Yuan and said, "If I help you complete enough work, can you promise me that you will teach me to paint traditional Chinese painting in the future?"

    Traditional Chinese painting?

    Lin Yuan was taken aback. He certainly can''t teach Luo Wei right now because his real skill in traditional Chinese painting is about the same as Luo Wei''s.

    But if he can draw a Master Level painting skill from the Gold Treasure Chest, he can indeed teach Luo Wei.

    However, Lin Yuan could not guarantee this.

    Just as Lin Yuan was about to speak, the System suddenly appeared: [Congratulations to the host for triggering a new task. If the host can achieve painting fame of 300,000 within a year, the host will be rewarded with a Gold Treasure Chest containing Master Level painting skills!]

    "Accepted!"

    Lin Yuan became quite happy.

    The System was not always about taking his money, sometimes it was quite considerate.

    Like when he needed painting skills the most, the System issued such a task.

    After accepting the task.

    Lin Yuan turned to Luo Wei: "If you can provide me with enough help, I can teach you traditional Chinese painting."

    "Great!"

    Luo Wei was overjoyed.

    As a renowned member of the Art Club, Lin Yuan''s teaching ability had long since been talked up among students, so Luo Wei was curious to know if Lin Yuan''s teaching of traditional Chinese painting was really that amazing?

    Yes.

    With Luo Wei''s current level of painting, it wouldn''t be difficult for her to find a master painter to be her mentor.

    But the problem is that while there are many who are skilled in painting, not everyone knows how to teach.

    "Let''s get started then."

    Lin Yuan nodded, and formally started designing the storyboard. He wanted to handover the refinement to Luo Wei, to see how well she could do.

    Luo Wei wasn''t idle either.

    As Lin Yuan was designing the storyboard, she was copying the appearances of characters like Long Ma designed by Lin Yuan.

    After copying for a while, she could fluently draw the character of Long Ma and others in Lin Yuan''s style.

    "Not bad."

    After completing the storyboard, Lin Yuan looked at the characters Luo Wei had copied, which were almost indistinguishable from his own.

    But this was what talented people were capable of, and this was also why Lin Yuan wanted Luo Wei as his assistant.

    Normal assistants could only help Lin Yuan paint some simple backgrounds, but an assistant of Luo Wei''s level could truly help Lin Yuan draw comics!

    In fact.

    On the internet, there were quite a few talented artists who managed to perfectly capture the original characters in their fan art drawings, and these artists were usually big figures in the fan art world.

    Some fan art authors could make their characters look almost identical to the original.

    Luo Wei was such an assistant.

    But what Lin Yuan didn''t know is that Luo Wei was actually a famous artist online, she had also made some fan art pieces and earned recognition from many original story fans...

    All Lin Yuan knew was that he could now draw "Prince of Tennis" with Luo Wei as his assistant.

    After all, the task of storyboard design was not very complicated for Lin Yuan.

    He could totally be responsible for the drawing of the first volume by himself, then complete the storyboard for the second volume in advance and hand it over to Luo Wei to draw.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Wish everyone a happy Mid-Autumn Festival! Today''s update is a bit late because of the festival, and there are more things to do. In addition, I have some sad news to share. Considering both the monthly tickets and the Alliance Hierarch added updates, I owe everyone 101 more updates.

    I will try my best to make it up by the end of December (I really want to round off the fraction, it''s not easy being a perfectionist)

 Chapter 215 - 200 Shadow_1

    Men and women teamed up makes work less tedious.

    Indeed, with Luo Wei''s assistance, Lin Yuan managed to make swift progress on "King of the Net".

    Both Lin Yuan and Luo Wei were fast when it came to drawing.

    In no time, several chapters of the first volume were already completed.

    "Should we send this to Teacher Chu Kuang for review?"

    After reviewing the content of the chapters, Luo Wei made this suggestion to Lin Yuan.

    Without a second thought, Lin Yuan replied, "Chu Kuang has already seen it."

    Luo Wei: "???"

    All these days, she had been working with Lin Yuan and didn''t see him sending the comics to anyone.

    Did he send them when he got home at night?

    That seemed likely the only explanation.

    "I wonder if Teacher Chu Kuang is satisfied with our comic adaptation?" Luo Wei murmured.

    She had recently finished reading "King of the Net", she really liked the story, part of it could be attributed to their recent work in illustrating the comic.

    At that point, Lin Yuan had just finished registering a new account on the Tribe site under the name "Shadow".

    Indeed, it had implications.

    It was indeed a shadow of sorts.

    Watching Lin Yuan''s actions, Luo Wei was a bit curious, "Aren''t you going to use your real name?"

    Instead of answering, Lin Yuan reflected the question back at her, "Do you use your real name?"

    "Me?"

    Luo Wei was taken aback, "I''m just an assistant. I don''t have the right to sign my name..."

    "You''ve helped me a lot."

    Although Luo Wei was not Lin Yuan''s ghost writer, she had indeed helped with the drawing.

    She was capable of finishing some parts of the content independently, apart from the storyboard.

    Under such circumstances, Lin Yuan couldn''t bring himself to sign his name while leaving out Luo Wei''s.

    "Then count me as an assistant. I''ll use the nickname Luoli. That''s the name I use when I undertake online orders."

    Luo Wei did not decline further.

    "Sure."

    Lin Yuan didn''t have any objections.

    Once the account was set up, Lin Yuan uploaded the first few chapters of the "King of the Net" comic version.

    The author''s signature was "Shadow".

    The assistant''s signature was "Luoli".

    However, since it was a new account on the Tribe, he received hardly any comments, even after waiting for quite a while.

    This was within Lin Yuan''s expectations.

    He directly forwarded the link to the "King of the Net" comic version from Chu Kuang''s account to recommend to his own fans.

    Suddenly, a lot of people noticed this comic.

    Many reader comments appeared below Chu Kuang''s post:

    "A comic version of ''King of the Net''?"

    "I''m kind of apprehensive about opening it..."

    "Who is Shadow? Is he a known figure in the comic circle?"

    "Why didn''t Chu Kuang find a more prominent comic artist? Did he just get a load of bad money? This Shadow directly buy the comic copyright?"

    "Horrible comic-ization!"

    "Let''s check it out. If he ruins my beloved Long Ma, I will blast him!"

    "I have no interest in comics."

    "..."

    Just because readers liked a novel, it didn''t mean they would like its comic adaptation. They would probably be more interested if it was an animation.

    However, not everyone lacked interest.

    Even those with absolutely no interest couldn''t help but feel curious. They wanted to know how the characters from the "King of the Net" story would appear in the comic version.

    Therefore,

    Quite a few people clicked the link that Chu Kuang posted and started reading "King of the Net" created by Shadow. Once they started reading, many people couldn''t stop.

    ...

    The release of the comic on Earth after the novel seems like a convoluted process--but don''t forget, the fame gained by the comic and animation versions of "Prince of Tennis" was the precise reason for the creation of the novel edition of "King of the Net"!

    On Blue Star,

    Chu Kuang''s readers naturally did not know the origins of the novel, all they knew, was that they saw a comic that perfectly fit the original "King of the Net" --

    "This comic is truly fragrant!"

    "Ahh! The character images completely match what I had in mind! All the characters from Youth Academy are just as described in the novel!"

    "Perfect reproduction!?"

    "This Shadow is rather impressive!"

    "The comic creator must be a fan of the novel, there is no way he/she isn''t. I knew it right when I saw the cover of the comic, I need to review the plot again..."

    "The comic adaptation is too perfect!"

    "It''s a pity only the first chapter is in color. Will there be color in the following chapters? The colored comic looks too good!"

    In order to attract fans, Lin Yuan had specially applied the new techniques he learned to color the first chapter.

    However, since coloring was time-consuming, Lin Yuan only colored the first chapter.

    This was a common technique used in many comics. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The readers obviously loved it.

    Just two hours after the comic went live, the number of followers for Shadow''s account already exceeded twenty thousand.

    It also received over a thousand comments:

    "Feels like it can be adapted to an animation!"

    "If the animation is in accordance with the comic image, I will definitely watch it!"

    "I don''t know why, but after seeing the comic version of ''King of the Net'', I feel that this novel is really suitable for comic adaptation!"

    "It seems that there are some modifications to the plot, but it''s very exciting!"

    "I never understood what a sliced serve meant until I saw the comic. This Shadow seems to understand tennis as much as Chu Kuang!"

    "I wronged Chu Kuang before, he is really good at choosing people!"

    "..."

    The number of comments continued to grow.

    The number of followers continued to rise.

    Watching the data skyrocket over periods of time, Lin Yuan couldn''t help but share the comic link again as Xian Yu.

    "Another collaboration?"

    Although Xian Yu didn''t have as many followers as Chu Kuang, he currently had around fifteen million followers, so the publication of the repost was still quite effective.

    Especially since...

    Quite a few fans were speculating about the relationship between Xian Yu and Chu Kuang. The two were highly suspicious since they followed each other but no one else. They concluded that there must be some strange relationship between them.

    "Are they really good friends?"

    "Just after Chu Kuang shared it, Xian Yu immediately followed."

    "Actually, I took a look, and the comic is pretty good."

    "I haven''t read the novel, but the comic is really good. I''ll follow it!"

    "Thanks for the recommendation."

    "Thanks for the recommendation +1."

    "..."

    No matter what happened to "Prince of Tennis" at the end, at least the early and middle stages of this comic were very exciting, especially as Lin Yuan''s comic was based on the System''s adaptation, so many parts were even more brilliant.

    It wasn''t just Lin Yuan.

    Luo Wei was also paying attention to the situation of the "King of the Net" comic on her phone.

    When Xian Yu reposted the comic, she couldn''t help but exclaim in delight, "Xian Yu reposted our comic! My favorite composer is actually reading a comic that I had a part in creating! Oh, no, that''s not necessarily the case. Maybe Xian Yu doesn''t read comics, he might just have a good relationship with Chu Kuang, so he shared it for him?"

    "He read it."

    Lin Yuan casually replied.

    Luo Wei was surprised, "Teacher, how do you know...wait, do you know Chu Kuang and Xian Yu?"

    The more Luo Wei thought about it, the more likely it seemed!

    Otherwise, why would Lin Yuan be able to draw "King of the Net"?

    It must have been authorized by the person himself.

    And, it seemed like Chu Kuang and Xian Yu knew each other...following this logic, it wasn''t strange for Lin Yuan to know the two!

    "Yep."

    Lin Yuan responded as if he was simply answering.

    Luo Wei was too excited, her face full of gossip, "What''s the relationship between Xian Yu and Teacher Chu Kuang? Are they really close friends?"

    Lin Yuan: "..."

 Chapter 216 - 201: He Slept - 1

    With the popularity of the "King of the Net" novel as a base, Lin Yuan felt that as long as the quality of the manga was not bad, its popularity wouldn''t be too poor either.

    But Lin Yuan had underestimated the influence of the manga itself.

    In the following days, the popularity of "King of the Net" continued to rise. Even many manga enthusiasts who never read novels joined the ongoing followers--

    "This manga is so exciting!"

    "I''m a seasoned comic fan. I''m not interested in the original work, but the manga particularly attracts me!"

    "Is this author named Shadow really a newcomer? The drawing style is mature."

    "Doesn''t seem like a new manga artist..."

    "I love this manga, the characters are so beautiful!"

    "The author gets it, how could nothing happen with a group of handsome guys playing tennis together?"

    "..."

    Indeed, "King of the Net" had become a sensation!

    The sudden yet deserved fame also fell onto Shadow, the alias of the author!

    Shadow''s follower count went from the initial tens of thousands to over three million with continued increase, without even taking a breather!

    Meanwhile, Xian Yu and Chu Kuang also started following Shadow.

    Initially, Chu Kuang and Xian Yu followed each other and not anyone else, which led their fans to firmly believe they were close buddies. However, now that Shadow has joined, the circle has expanded to three, and followers began to sense something off.

    What''s going on with these three?

    Is their circle so chaotic?

    Regardless of how the followers speculated, Lin Yuan was quite satisfied upon checking his prestige value and other data at this point--

    [Name: Lin Yuan]

    [Music: 390,000]

    [Art: 10,000]

    [Literature: 350,000]

    Music prestige was undoubtedly the highest, because Lin Yuan released songs consistently, including his original order "Kisses Everywhere".

    It is worth mentioning that when "Kisses Everywhere" was first released, it didn''t cause a big sensation. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    However, as it was gradually adopted as background music by many video hosts, the song began to gain popularity in a unique way.

    At that time, Lin Yuan had just returned to Qin Province from Qi Province and had many things to attend to, so he didn''t pay much attention.

    But whether Lin Yuan paid attention or not, the prestige brought by the popularity of the song was solid!

    Not to mention that Lin Yuan currently has an apprentice helping him earn prestige...

    Next was the literary prestige.

    The current prestige of 350,000, is still lower than the music.

    But to be honest, it''s not very far behind.

    This was thanks to the influence of Chu Kuang''s two long novels and four short stories.

    If Lin Yuan were to pause on releasing songs and start with "Ghost Blowing Lamp", he felt that his literary prestige might even surpass his music prestige.

    As for painting...

    This category just started and had just broken 10,000, but the "King of the Net" manga was also just starting. Once the manga became popular, Lin Yuan felt the prestige it brought would be considerable!

    Prestige is a good thing.

    Although Lin Yuan''s main task is to break one million in music and literature prestige, without involving painting, if the prestige of painting goes up, the system will definitely trigger corresponding tasks, a pattern which Lin Yuan had figured out through long-term observation.

    While Lin Yuan was working on the manga,

    The shooting of "Flirting Scholar" at the film set, which had been going on for quite some time, finally wrapped up!

    Unfortunately, Lin Yuan was in class that day and wasn''t present.

    It was Gu Dong who informed Lin Yuan about this.

    Soon after, Yi Chenggong also gave Lin Yuan a heads-up, saying that they were about to start post-production, which once finished, the film could be ready for release.

    ...

    There have always been people serializing manga on the Tribe platform, but most aren''t very popular.

    The really popular manga are like long novels, usually opting for physical publication.

    So,

    When "King of the Net" appeared and garnered some popularity in a short period of time, the Tribe platform noticed and even caused a stir in the data monitoring department:

    "Wow..."

    "This manga is quite impressive."

    "It''s only been published for about a week, yet this manga called ''King of the Net'' already has very high readership. This is a work that can bring significant traffic!"

    "Is this ''Shadow,'' a newcomer to the manga world?"

    "Well, this newcomer, is quite capable."

    "Quite a few new users registered just to come to our tribe to read ''King of the Net''."

    "Our tribe doesn''t have a specific manga section, we should immediately liaise with the literature division. Chu Kuang is the collaborator of the literature division and Chu Kuang''s work has been adapted into a manga, they should help with promotion."

    "..."

    The Literature Department of the Tribe.

    Upon hearing this news, Han Jimei was taken aback, astounded. She had not expected that a high-demand manga would suddenly emerge within the Tribe!

    Furthermore¡­

    This manga is somehow related to Chu Kuang?

    As for why the company assigned this task to Han Jimei, she knew it very well. The company does not have a manga department.

    But right now, when the tribe is at war with the blog, what both sides are fighting for is traffic.

    This manga named ''King of the Net'' can bring traffic, the tribe naturally wouldn''t just ignore it.

    They ought to take some measures to maintain the current situation.

    Even for the sake of Chu Kuang, Han Jimei should do something¡­

    "Replace one of the page ad slots on the Literature Department''s homepage with the manga ''King of the Net''."

    After a moment''s thought, Han Jimei made her decision.

    Her assistant nervously asked, "This is an ad that''s pushed to all Tribe users, are you sure you want to give it to a manga?"

    Han Jimei calmly replied: "The more popular this manga becomes, the greater our benefits. Besides..."

    Han Jimei paused, not continuing to speak.

    Actually the company has always had thoughts of venturing into the manga industry. Backed by the Tribe platform, many things would be made easier.

    But the plan is not yet in place, so she didn''t feel it appropriate to discuss it further.

    If it does happen, Han Jimei will likely take on the additional responsibilities for the manga department as well.

    The assistant understood, "I''ll attend to it right away."

    Han Jimei nodded, then couldn''t refrain from dialing the number. This was the number Shadow left on the Tribe.

    "Hello."

    Lin Yuan didn''t expect that his newly bought phone and newly registered number would receive a strange call.

    This number was what he had used to register the Shadow account.

    Han Jimei said with a smile: "Hello, may I ask if this is Teacher Shadow?"

    Lin Yuan responded quickly: "Are you from the Tribe?"

    Last time Wei Long also directly contacted him. The people from the Tribe side could see the user''s phone number.

    "Yes, I''m the Chief Operating Officer of Tribe Literature, Han Jimei¡­"

    "Is Wei Long not there?"

    "You know Wei Long?"

    Han Jimei was suddenly taken aback.

    Lin Yuan said: "I am Chu Kuang, Shadow is asleep."

    The Tribe side might guess that Shadow and Chu Kuang are the same person, so before they start guessing wildly, Lin Yuan wants to first create the illusion that Shadow and Chu Kuang are good friends, to provide them with false guidance.

    However, what Lin Yuan did not know¡­

    Han Jimei was already stunned:

    Shadow is asleep?

    You are Chu Kuang?

    He is asleep... so why are you answering his phone...

    I can''t take it anymore.

    Strange images had already started to emerge in Han Jimei''s mind.

    That''s right...

    All of a sudden, Han Jimei remembered, recently, Chu Kuang''s Tribe account seems to interact frequently with Xian Yu. They follow each other, and do not follow other celebrities on the Tribe platform. It''s clear their relationship is not simple.

    So what about Shadow?

    Han Jimei, covering her mouth, was afraid that she might scream and invite Chu Kuang''s dissatisfaction, but she had made an incredible discovery, she seems to have stumbled upon a big secret-

 Chapter 217 - 202: Tragically Turned into Animation_1

    In a certain sense, Han Jimei''s assumptions were not wrong.

    After all, Chu Kuang, Shadow and Xian Yu were inseparable in daily life, they even shared toothbrushes! S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    But that''s not the main point.

    The key thing is, after this phone call that night, the "King of the Net" manga received a push from the Tribe¡ª

    Ding.

    Basically, all Tribe users received this push notification:

    "Chu Kuang''s novel "King of the Net" is being adapted into a hot manga, the style is explosively handsome!"

    Everyone who has a smartphone experienced something similar.

    Not looking at your phone for a long time, then suddenly opening it, you would notice all the push notifications from various apps.

    Most people just glance at these notifications, if they''re not interested, they will dismiss it.

    If they are interested, they will open it.

    The majority dismissed it, but there will always be some who open it.

    The type sent by the Tribe is one of them.

    And compared to the Tribe''s user base, even if only one percent of users follow the push link and decide to open it, it creates a shocking heat!

    "They pushed it."

    "The manga is really good."

    "Only saw the opening, but was already attracted."

    "Update more!"

    "Loving the art style."

    "Isn''t this "King of the Net"? I''ve read the novel, I didn''t expect the manga to be out too, and it''s a very faithful adaptation!"

    "Unexpectedly, there''s such an excellent manga serialization on the Tribe."

    "Jumping into this story!"

    "..."

    If you said that the original reader base of the "King of the Net" was mainly the fans of the novel, by this time however, the manga had managed to draw in a crowd that was entirely non-original-fan-based.

    Furthermore, among the manga readers, the number of people who haven''t read the original has gradually surpassed the number of original fans.

    "It''s on fire, it''s on fire, it''s on fire!"

    Witnessing "King of the Net" gain more and more popularity, Luo Wei got a bit excited!

    When Lin Yuan first approached her to be his manga assistant, she didn''t wish to agree and even thought it was a joke.

    Even though Lin Yuan eventually beat her, causing her to fulfil her promise of becoming his manga assistant, Luo Wei was still not fully engaged¡ª

    What she wanted more was to take this opportunity to learn traditional Chinese painting from Lin Yuan.

    Because there are too many people drawing manga in Blue Star and very few can make it big.

    Competition in any industry is fierce.

    In the manga industry, not only the skill of the mangaka is important, but also the story and storyboard, these are all tests for the mangaka.

    The original "King of the Net" was indeed wonderful, but the main reasons for the manga''s success were the art style and storyboard...

    All of these were Lin Yuan''s accomplishments!

    Otherwise, with so many splendid novels, why do so many novels adapted to manga fail to create a splash?

    Just like a best-seller novel being adapted into a drama, but the drama won''t necessarily be successful.

    Because the TV drama depends on the director and the scriptwriter''s skills.

    Such secondary creative work, presenting the work in different forms, indeed tests the creative ability of the secondary creators.

    Therefore, it was Chu Kuang who achieved "King of the Net" in novel format without question.

    However, the one who achieved the manga adaptation of "King of the Net" could only be Lin Yuan, who created it under the pseudonym of "Shadow".

    And Luo Wei...

    She was fortunate to participate in the "King of the Net" manga due to a bet, so of course she had reason to be excited!

    After all, she initially thought that she would be following Lin Yuan to create failed mangas for a few years, and she didn''t hold any hope for Lin Yuan''s manga to be popular...

    But then, it really did become popular.

    This was a whole other story.

    With the manga being a huge success, Luo Wei, as the main assistant to this manga, also had some merit.

    This would greatly benefit her future development in the art world.

    Not to mention the chance to learn traditional Chinese painting from Lin Yuan...

    Just the mere fact that she could collaborate with Lin Yuan to create a hot manga like "King of The Net", was already enough. Even if she was just an assistant!

    If she knew earlier that the manga Lin Yuan created was going to be popular, Luo Wei would seriously consider being Lin Yuan''s assistant even without any other conditions.

    This brings us to Luo Wei''s career planning.

    As an art student, Luo Wei will inevitably engage in the painting industry in the future.

    Although she loves traditional Chinese painting most, Luo Wei doesn''t want to limit herself to it.

    Like many other students who study painting.

    She''s also interested in manga.

    Otherwise, she would not have previously accepted online orders to draw some manga characters, and she is also a big fan of fan art in her private time.

    Her ideal future is to shine in the field of manga and also achieve certain success in the field of traditional Chinese painting.

    Such a career path is bound to be challenging.

    Trying to draw every type may result in not being the best in any of them.

    But now,

    Having the experience of being an assistant to the "King of the Net", her future development in the manga field at least has a clear guideline to follow.

    As for traditional Chinese painting, Lin Yuan also promised to teach her in the future.

    Thinking about Lin Yuan''s master-level "Six Shrimps", Luo Wei was very much looking forward to Lin Yuan teaching her traditional Chinese painting.

    Speaking of which, Luo Wei suddenly realized that Lin Yuan''s current state was her goal to strive for!

    He can flex his muscles in the manga circle and is also a hidden master of traditional Chinese painting...

    Suddenly, Luo Wei respected Lin Yuan even more!

    What Luo Wei admired most was that after the manga "King of the Net" became popular, she was the only one who got excited, while Lin Yuan remained calm.

    Luo Wei was not even sure if Lin Yuan did not care about if the manga was popular, or if he knew ahead that it would be popular.

    In any case, Lin Yuan was very calm, not behaving like someone whose manga just became popular.

    He just went into the studio as usual, calling Luo Wei to continue drawing the manga.

    "Okay."

    In front of Lin Yuan, Luo Wei acted obediently.

    As for Lin Yuan, when he began to draw, he started pondering a matter.

    Today, when he logged onto the "Shadow" account, as expected, he received many private messages.

    Among them, there was one private message from an animation company. They wanted to buy the animation rights of "King of the Net"!

    Moreover, they not only contacted Shadow but also contacted Chu Kuang''s account.

    Obviously, the copyrights were with Chu Kuang, but they also wanted the manga characters of "King of the Net"...

    Both pseudonyms belonged to Lin Yuan, so he held the complete copyright.

    What he was considering was whether to sell the animation rights of "King of the Net".

    Making money is one thing.

    Lin Yuan''s worry was mainly whether the other party had the ability to make a good animation of "Prince of Tennis".

    So, he didn''t make a decision at once.

    He planned to investigate the production capabilities of this company back and forth, and if the capabilities weren''t up to par, it would have to be a refusal.

    He didn''t want to see the disaster of "King of the Net" being animated.

    There were cases of original works being ruined too many times in these years.

    What if the other party pulls an Aura Equus Domitor kind of hand?

    Lin Yuan has to take responsibility for these works.

    Just like a singer performing, he can''t help but participate in the recording. similarly "King of the Net" must find a reliable company to make the animation.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: The last chapter was censored by the system due to a few words (I thought I didn''t cross any lines though) but it''s not a big problem. I got a bit sleepy while writing this chapter, I''ll go take a nap and then continue writing.

 Chapter 218 - 203: Song Tailored for Chen Zhiyu _1

    The weather in May had already started warming up.

    After a period of continuous updates, the popularity of "King of the Net" had gradually stabilized, and the attention from Shadow''s fans had already broken the threshold of ten million, establishing him as an emerging comic artist in the comics industry!

    One day,

    Lin Yuan arrived at the company to find that someone was looking for him; it was Zhao Jue, whom he hadn''t seen for quite some time. She was waiting in his office.

    The company was undergoing a transformation.

    Not only had Ol'' Zhou been promoted, but Zhao Jue had as well.

    Zhao Jue used to manage the artists from the music department.

    Now, she was also in charge of the artists from the film and television department, or more accurately, the artists were managed by the agents under Zhao Jue.

    Zhao Jue was still undoubtedly the company''s chief agent.

    Knowing that Zhao Jue had a great relationship with Lin Yuan and that her position was higher than Lin Yuan''s, Gu Dong wouldn''t have let Zhao Jue wait outside if she wanted to see Lin Yuan.

    "Ms. Zhao." Lin Yuan greeted.

    "Finally here."

    Upon seeing Lin Yuan appear in the office, Zhao Jue''s face displayed a warm smile: "I was about to call you if you hadn''t shown up."

    Lin Yuan asked, "What is it?"

    Still smiling, Zhao Jue asked, "Have you written any songs recently?"

    "...Yes."

    Lin Yuan thought about it and answered.

    While he didn''t have any at the moment, he could customize one with the System. If it was Zhao Jue who''d asked, Lin Yuan was not likely to refuse.

    Here''s the thing," Zhao Jue explained, "Recently a top-tier singer under Dazzling Entertainment''s contract is expiring. He hasn''t renewed his contract with his old company, and is probably considering other options. Therefore, many companies are trying to sign him; I want to sign him too... Perhaps you''re familiar with this singer."

    "Who is it?"

    "Perennial Runner-up... cough, Chen Zhiyu." Zhao Jue said with a somewhat strange expression.

    Lin Yuan was stunned for a moment then quickly remembered who it was.

    Indeed, Chen Zhiyu was a singer under Dazzling Entertainment who Lin Yuan had outperformed a few times on the championship leaderboard.

    After he moved to Qi Province, he hadn''t had much interaction with Chen Zhiyu.

    "Ms. Zhao, you''re planning to?"

    "Give him a song."

    Zhao Jue''s gaze flickered slightly: "Currently when the media mentions Chen Zhiyu, they like to use the label ''Perennial Runner-up'' to describe him. While this has almost become part of his persona, he would surely want to reach number one..." S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan understood: "You want me to help him reach number one?"

    Zhao Jue smiled: "That''s right. Other than Maestro, I can''t think of anyone else in the company who can help Chen Zhiyu secure a stable number one position."

    Lin Yuan understood.

    Zhao Jue sighed: "You know what the company''s current situation is like. The competition on the championship leaderboard is getting fiercer, so the executives really want our company to have a presence on the leaderboard. If Chen Zhiyu were to join our company and secure the number one spot, I think there''s no better way than this."

    "Ah."

    Lin Yuan replied, "I''ll send you the song later."

    This wasn''t very challenging for Lin Yuan.

    Zhao Jue was surprised: "Later? Do the songs you have currently fit him?"

    "Yes."

    That was what Lin Yuan answered, but in his heart, he was thinking of customizing a song specifically for Chen Zhiyu.

    He had accumulated a wealth of customization experience in Qi Province.

    The only regret was that he originally intended to give the next song to senior Sun Yaohuo. Since senior Sun Yaohuo had helped him a lot, Lin Yuan naturally wanted to return the favor.

    Since Chen Zhiyu needs to be signed now, it seems that senior Sun Yaohuo will have to wait until next time.

    ...

    After Zhao Jue left, Lin Yuan switched on his computer and began to listen to Chen Zhiyu''s songs.

    He wasn''t particularly familiar with Chen Zhiyu.

    If he wanted to tailor a song for Chen Zhiyu, he needed to understand Chen Zhiyu''s style first.

    "Rhythm and blues..."

    Also known as the R&B style.

    It is a musical form that fuses elements of jazz, gospel, and blues.

    For instance, a song called "Glory".

    With its fresh and powerful rhythm and its constantly repeating melodies, it repeatedly hits the listener''s eardrums. The echoing melody and rhythm stimulate the "beat" in the listener''s heart.

    "The chord progressions should be consistent..."

    "The vocals and instrumental parts should correspond..."

    "After the singer sings a few notes, the musical part or harmony should pick up where it left off, repeating those few notes as if it''s a call and response, or even like an echo or self-questioning and answering effect..."

    These are all characteristic of Chen Zhiyu.

    "His gold register is around F4 to C5, his lower register can reach Eb2, the biting pronunciation is still of decent quality."

    "In his earlier songs, he had a good chest voice performance in the E5 range."

    "His mixed voice ability is ordinary, there''s a whistle register here... No need to refer to that..."

    After Lin Yuan had listened to dozens of Chen Zhiyu''s songs consecutively, he''d gradually formed an idea in his mind:

    "System, customize a song."

    System: "The song library has been opened."

    That''s right, now when Lin Yuan needed to customize a song, he had to decide which one himself, so he had carefully studied Chen Zhiyu''s style.

    "Should it completely follow his previous style?"

    Lin Yuan pondered this question.

    He felt that many songs could be sung by Chen Zhiyu, but he also thought that perhaps he could give Chen Zhiyu something different.

    Listeners need surprises.

    Chen Zhiyu is an established singer, his fans and audience are very familiar with his style. If the song he gives him is still in the same vein as Chen Zhiyu''s previous style, will it lack surprise?

    Last time in Qi Province, when customizing a song for Shui Yun, didn''t she request a certain amount of change?

    Perhaps all famed singers hope their works could show some variation while maintaining their unique features.

    "Shui Yun mainly sings slow songs, so I gave her a fast song..."

    "For Chen Zhiyu, why not consider giving him a touch of rock music..."

    Music is not rigid or uniform.

    While a single music style is authentic, hearing the same style over and over can get tiring and make people crave something different. That''s why more and more songs nowadays are attempting to combine different styles.

    Change is something everyone is working on.

    Moreover, according to Ms. Zhao, Chen Zhiyu doesn''t want to be number two anymore...

    Neither does Lin Yuan.

    The first place earns the most money, so he must strive to be first.

    Furthermore, since the song library was opened after system transformation, it would be a shame if the song that he had painstakingly chosen from thousands of options didn''t reach number one.

    "If seeking a change..."

    As Lin Yuan was listening to the songs in the library and thinking about this, he found a clearer direction: "Rhythm and blues, with a touch of rock, something light-hearted, it''s best to incorporate some elements of rap..."

    Got it!

    Lin Yuan thought of a song. It was of quite good quality and suitable for Chen Zhiyu''s vocal range, there was no conflict in style, and it even brought a touch of light-hearted change, with a hint of rock:

    "Customize song, ''Change Yourself''."

 Chapter 219 - 204: If You Cant Beat Them, Join Them_1

    In a certain upscale residential complex.

    Chen Zhiyu was sitting on the sofa.

    His agent was on the phone in the distance.

    After another call ended, the agent turned to Chen Zhiyu with a serious face and said, "Most of the biggest entertainment companies in Qin Qi are interested in collaborating with us. The terms they''ve offered are quite favorable. Have you made any decisions yet?"

    "No."

    Chen Zhiyu replied hesitantly.

    The agent said earnestly, "No matter where you go, I am with you. We have been working together for so many years and our understanding of each other is enough. Our relationship is not only as agent and artist, but also as good friends in life!"

    Chen Zhiyu: "..."

    Just then, the agent''s phone rang again. After a few words, his face suddenly changed.

    "What''s up?"

    The agent ended the call. Chen Zhiyu asked.

    The agent had a quirky expression: "Starlight said, if we went to them... Admired Fish could tailor-make a song for you."

    "Heh."

    Chen Zhiyu scoffed disdainfully.

    The agent also echoed with a sneer: "This Admired Fish... has stolen our number one spot so many times, how could we possibly work with him! Does he think he''s a Maestro now?"

    "Dream on."

    Chen Zhiyu snorted.

    The agent nodded, his gaze gloomy: "We cannot go to Starlight! Who does he Admired Fish think he is? Thumped us so many times, then threw a song at us, we should tag along with them at Starlight? Isn''t that too spineless of us! I''d like to see the song he sent over. Let''s criticize it together when we''re done listening!"

    "Critique together!"

    Chen Zhiyu nodded firmly.

    The agent opened his email, preparing to play it. Chen Zhiyu suddenly said, "Wait a sec, let me turn the speakers on."

    "That''s right, the clearer we hear it, the easier it is for us to critique! You''re clever!"

    "Exactly¡­ Alright, go ahead and play it."

    "Okay."

    Soon, the synthesized melody of a song came from the speakers.

    After listening for a while, Chen Zhiyu and the agent looked at each other and concurrently said:

    "Nothing special."

    A few minutes later, the song ended.

    Chen Zhiyu nonchalantly said, "The song is mediocre."

    The agent agreed, "Indeed, it''s nothing impressive."

    Chen Zhiyu critiqued, "The melody is very ordinary."

    The agent added, "And the intro is especially long."

    Chen Zhiyu expressed disdain, "Singing it poses no challenge at all."

    The agent summed up, "It''s just a bubblegum pop song."

    Following their round of criticisms.

    Chen Zhiyu started: "Let''s go to Starlight. I want to sing it and use my strength to prove that the song is not good!"

    "No problem."

    The agent nodded repeatedly, seemingly in tune with Chen Zhiyu: "We must go to Starlight! We must sing this song! We have to get the second place! Let that Fish know that he too is nothing special!"

    "..."

    The atmosphere gradually quieted down.

    Things like this happen all the time, like when a group of people are having a heated conversation.

    They chat and chat, without any specific reason, suddenly, everyone stops talking.

    After a long while.

    Chen Zhiyu looked at the agent: "Do you think you''re pretty funny?"

    The agent replied with a complex expression, "I think you''re quite amusing too."

    Then, the agent mumbled to himself, "I was originally planning on requesting that Admirable Fish write us a song before we consider going to them. I didn''t expect them to actually send us one of Admirable Fish''s songs."

    "Yeah."

    Chen Zhiyu stopped pretending: "I must admit, this song really speaks to my heart. Changing myself is exactly what I''ve been thinking about lately. Admirable Fish truly lives up to his name, I don''t mind losing to him any number of times. Play it again."

    "Alright."

    The agent played the song again.

    This time, Chen Zhiyu held his phone and carefully listened to the lyrics.

    After listening.

    Chen Zhiyu took a deep breath: "How does that saying go?"

    "If you can''t beat them... join them..."

    Chen Zhiyu and the agent exchanged glances and simultaneously slapped their thighs, breaking into laughter, filling the room with a joyous atmosphere.

    ...

    Chen Zhiyu had arrived at Starlight!

    When Chen Zhiyu and his agent walked through the doors of Starlight, the news spread rapidly through the departments, becoming juicy gossip for the company''s employees.

    "The living, breathing Perennial Runner-up!"

    "I want to pay my respects."

    "Continually bested by Admirable Fish, he still chose to join Starlight. Could it be that Chen Zhiyu has Stockholm Syndrome..."

    "I heard Admirable Fish gifted him a song."

    "Pfft...why can''t I stop myself from wanting to laugh..."

    "Chen Zhiyu, the Perennial Runner-up who has been suppressed by Admirable Fish, is preparing to collaborate on a song with him? Do you guys think the song will rank first or second?"

    "..."

    Never mind the company gossip.

    Chen Zhiyu''s prompt agreement was beyond Zhao Jue''s expectation. It seemed that Lin Yuan''s song, "Change Myself", was quite satisfying for Chen Zhiyu.

    She naturally offered a warm welcome to Chen Zhiyu and also invited Lin Yuan over.

    "This is Teacher Admirable Fish." S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Zhao Jue introduced with a smile.

    Chen Zhiyu looked at Lin Yuan, his eyes filled with a complicated emotion, "Nice to meet you, Teacher Admirable Fish. You''re a lot younger than I imagined."

    "Nice to meet you."

    Lin Yuan replied courteously.

    Chen Zhiyu''s agent, slightly embarrassed, said, "Shall we sign the contract today and prepare to record the song tomorrow?"

    "Sure."

    Zhao Jue agreed firmly.

    After both parties signed the contract, Chen Zhiyu''s agent took the initiative to invite: "Could we trouble Teacher Admirable Fish to join us for dinner? Since we''re going to be working together in the future, it will be good to familiarize ourselves with each other, right? You can decide where we eat!"

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan mused: "Let''s go to a hotpot restaurant owned by a friend of mine."

    "Alright."

    Both of them had no objections.

    Lin Yuan called Sun Yaohuo: "Can we go to your hotpot restaurant tonight?"

    Sun Yaohuo enthusiastically replied, "Sure, I''ll go set up a table for you right away! How many people?"

    Lin Yuan asked, "Ms. Zhao, will you be coming too?"

    Zhao Jue waved her hand, "I''m busy tonight. I''ll treat you all another day."

    "Three people."

    Lin Yuan said.

    Sun Yaohuo laughed, "No problem... Are they your friends?"

    Lin Yuan explained, "They''re Chen Zhiyu and his agent. I''m not sure if you know them. I''m planning to collaborate with them on a song."

    "..."

    The phone line went silent for a moment.

    Just as Lin Yuan thought the signal was poor and was about to speak, Sun Yaohuo said, "I''ll reserve the best private room at the hotpot restaurant for you tonight... Wish you happiness."

    "Huh?"

    "I wish you a pleasant collaboration."

    "Aren''t you going to join us for dinner? It''s been a while since we ate together."

    "You... you want me to... Fine! I''ll join."

    Sun Yaohuo''s mood seemed to carry a bit of sadness and loss.

    "Let''s meet at 7."

    Lin Yuan hung up and said to Chen Zhiyu, "Let''s have hotpot at 7. I invited a friend."

    "Alright."

    Chen Zhiyu and his agent replied with a smile.

 Chapter 220 - 205 Cold Joke_1

    At seven o''clock that evening.

    Lin Yuan, Chen Zhiyu and Chen Zhiyu''s agent arrived at the hot pot restaurant run by Sun Yaohuo.

    The name of the hot pot restaurant was Flame Hot Pot.

    The restaurant was crowded with people, indicating that its business was thriving, with Sun Yaohuo personally greeting guests at the door.

    "Hello, Chen Zhiyu."

    After greeting him, Chen Zhiyu started, seeming unsure, "Have we met before?"

    Sun Yaohuo reminded him, "Sun Yaohuo, I''m the singer of ''Red Rose''."

    Chen Zhiyu seemed dazed for a moment.

    He hadn''t expected the hot pot restaurant owner that Teacher Admirable Fish had mentioned to be his fellow industry colleague!

    They were all from the same circle. Although Sun Yaohuo was not very famous, he and Chen Zhiyu had met before at certain events.

    That''s why Chen Zhiyu found Sun Yaohuo familiar.

    On the other hand, Sun Yaohuo was quite familiar with Chen Zhiyu.

    After all, Chen Zhiyu was a first-class singer, who in the music circle does not know him? S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "This is my agent, Liu Mou."

    "Hello."

    "Let''s not stand on ceremony, let''s go in. We''ve prepared a private room and we can''t let our junior starve," Sun Yaohuo turned to Lin Yuan.

    "..."

    Exchanging pleasantries, everyone entered the private room.

    Just as Chen Zhiyu was about to speak, the sound of a song reached his ears: "A dream within a dream from which one cannot awake, red entrapped within the red thread..."

    Now Chen Zhiyu''s face changed.

    This song was oh too familiar to Chen Zhiyu.

    In the past, he once came in second when faced with this song...

    Seemingly concerned, Sun Yaohuo asked, "What''s wrong, do you dislike this song, Brother Zhiyu? If so, I could have the waiter play your song."

    "No, no."

    Smiling, Chen Zhiyu said, "This is a song by Teacher Admirable Fish, how could I not like it."

    "That''s good. I thought you didn''t like my rendition of this song¡­," Sun Yaohuo said somewhat awkwardly.

    Liu Mou blinked his eyes.

    The atmosphere, seemed a bit off.

    Without giving it much thought, Lin Yuan said, "I''ll go make a dipping sauce."

    "Go straight out the door and turn left¡­ Do you want me to accompany you, Junior?" Sun Yaohuo said.

    "I''ll go myself, you guys start ordering," Lin Yuan got up and headed for the condiment area.

    Sun Yaohuo didn''t insist, and had someone bring the menu over. "You two are guests, please order first."

    "Very well, thank you."

    Chen Zhiyu began ordering.

    After he had finished ordering, Sun Yaohuo glanced at the menu and laughed, saying, "Sorry, it seems we''ve sold out of the yellow throat, and I think we''re also out of duck''s blood?"

    Sun Yaohuo turned to the server.

    The server paused, "Do we have it...or not?"

    Sun Yaohuo seemed unhappy, "How should I know? Don''t you know more about the kitchen situation than I do?"

    The server, after a moment of realization, responded, "I think we''re out."

    Sun Yaohuo nodded, then turned to Chen Zhiyu, "I''m sorry.."

    "It''s fine."

    Chen Zhiyu gestured with his hand, "I''ll also go make a sauce."

    "Me too."

    Liu Mou got up and said.

    Just as they left, Lin Yuan returned to the room and asked Sun Yaohuo, "Have the dishes been ordered?"

    Sun Yaohuo laughed and said, "Yes, I''ll recount them, see if you want to add anything."

    "Sure."

    The server then listed out the dishes that had been ordered.

    After hearing it, Lin Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Let''s add some yellow throat and tripe, and oh, also some duck''s blood."

    "We''re out of yellow throat and duck''s blood!"

    The server looked at Sun Yaohuo as if seeking approval, thinking that he had cleverly understood the boss''s intentions.

    Sun Yaohuo''s mouth twitched, "As far as I remember, we still have yellow throat and duck''s blood, don''t we?"

    The server seemed unable to follow Sun Yaohuo''s thought process, "So, do we...or don''t we?"

    "We do!"

    Sun Yaohuo glared at the server, "Quickly bring out the dishes."

    "Alright, alright...,"

    The server practically fled.

    In no time, all the dishes were served.

    When Chen Zhiyu and Liu Mou returned, seeing the yellow throat and duck''s blood on the plate, they looked at Sun Yaohuo, deep in thought.

    Was this guy trying to be funny?

    ...

    Sharing a hot pot seems to easily bridge the gap between people, and within less than ten minutes, the room had already been filled with lively chatter.

    Sun Yaohuo and Chen Zhiyu seemed to hit it off and talked about many topics.

    Chen Zhiyu loved discussing the current state of the music industry, his endorsements, and his singing career with Sun Yaohuo.

    Sun Yaohuo loved to talk about the food and beverage industry, food, and his restaurant''s business.

    "One of my songs was included in a college textbook."

    "Before, my milk tea shop did pretty well, I opened two more branches recently."

    "About that previous endorsement fee, the client was willing to pay quite a lot."

    "I plan to open another tea restaurant soon, styled after the Qi Continent."

    "We first-class singers don''t actually have it that easy, you guys have it much more relaxed."

    "Hey, running a restaurant isn''t easy either, I earn a lot, but the hardship is only known to me."

    "Huh, Brother Yao Huo? Is this still ''Red Rose''? Does your shop play songs on loop?"

    "How about changing to ''Life Like A Summer Flower''? I also sang that one."

    "Oh, that''s another song written by Teacher Admirable Fish, of course¡­ Brother Yao Huo''s songs are still a bit lacking."

    "Actually, there are some other songs as well, but these two songs have both won the season''s top spot. Brother Zhiyu, you have to work harder!"

    "..."

    The eyes of the two met, seemingly in meaningful conversation.

    Only Lin Yuan, who held the most respect for the food, was eating with utmost joy.

    Now, having finished his beef slices, Lin Yuan felt about seventy percent full.

    Stomach filled with warm food, he suddenly had an urge to tell a joke.

    So, he slowly began, "I remember a few years ago when I went to get hot pot with my sister."

    Sun Yaohuo and Chen Zhiyu turned to look at Lin Yuan.

    With a poker face, Lin Yuan continued, "But it was strange, we clearly ordered a pure broth hot pot, but it felt a bit numbing. So my sister asked the owner, why is the pure soup hot pot numbing?"

    Curious, Sun Yaohuo asked, "Why?"

    Lin Yuan said, "The owner explained, I am sorry, the hot pot seems to be leaking electricity."

    The room went quiet for a few seconds.

    Sun Yaohuo burst out laughing.

    Chen Zhiyu and Liu Mou looked lost.

    They could actually find that bad a joke funny?

    Sun Yaohuo''s laughter escalated, doubling over he said, "Do you find Teacher Admirable Fish humorous?"

    "Hahaha...."

    Liu Mou also laughed, and kicked Chen Zhiyu''s foot whispering, "So funny."

    It was only then that Chen Zhiyu reacted, "Hahahahaha... I think Teacher Admirable Fish is indeed very humorous!"

    Lin Yuan: "....."

    Even though he felt that his joke wasn''t half-bad, it surely couldn''t warrant that much laughter.

    It seemed like the humor threshold of Chen Zhiyu and Liu Mou was at the same level as Senior Yao Huo.

    Finally.

    They finished their meal.

    On the way home, Liu Mou looked rather solemn, "This Sun Yaohuo is not simple, we need to be cautious in the future."

    "Indeed."

    Chen Zhiyu''s expression got serious as he felt an inexplicable sense of crisis, "We''ll record the song tomorrow, to avoid further trouble!"

 Chapter 221 - 206: Cleaning House_1

    The next day.

    Chen Zhiyu started officially recording!

    Generally, professional singers need to do a lot of "sound check" besides their usual practice and thinking before an official recording.

    With everything ready, the official recording for professional singers begins.

    There is always one or more than one supervisor for the singer besides the sound engineer.

    Everyone''s goal is to identify the shortcomings of the singer''s performance and to grasp the emotions of the song.

    This process often takes a day.

    Chen Zhiyu was among the quicker batch.

    He completed the recording of "Change Myself" in just one morning, and even that under the direct supervision of Lin Yuan¡ª

    This shows he was in a good state and performed above standard.

    After recording, the remaining tasks were none of Lin Yuan''s concern.

    Lin Yuan couldn''t care less...

    He only got 30% of the download revenue, who cares about the rest.

    Yes, Chen Zhiyu is a top-tier singer, and the company has plans to win him over.

    So in Lin Yuan''s contract with him, the download revenue share is according to the top-tier standard, in which he as a composer gets 30% of the profit.

    When he signed the contract, Lin Yuan already missed Sun Yaohuo.

    Senior Yao Huo''s professional ability is not worse than Chen Zhiyu, but he gets less money. The price-performance ratio is much better than Chen Zhiyu''s.

    On the other hand.

    After listening to the recorded "Change Myself", Chen Zhiyu''s agent Liu Mou was delighted: "This wave, this wave..."

    Chen Zhiyu quickly covered his agent''s mouth!

    This guy, trying to jinx it again!

    His agent mumbled for a while before he had a chance to speak, somewhat discontentedly: "Let me finish, actually I was going to say, this wave doesn''t feel very secure."

    Chen Zhiyu brightened up, he agreed: "Yes, it might not be easy to take the first place this time."

    The agent laughed again: "But your condition today was quite good."

    Chen Zhiyu warned: "No, no, I''ve been busy with the company transition lately, I haven''t even had time to review."

    "Review?"

    "Yes, for the part of the refrain, I don''t think I did well. But that''s really the best I could do. I guess I didn''t pass the test this time."

    "Test?"

    "Yes, releasing a new song for the new season is just like taking a test, pity that I didn''t have time to review. I guessed a few answers, also the time was a bit rushed¡­"

    Liu Mou: "..."

    Are these the lines for a study geek?

    Reverse psychology is the most lethal?

    Meanwhile, in the outside world.

    The news that Chen Zhiyu jumped from Dazzling Entertainment to Starlight had already spread.

    Recently, there have been countless news about company transfers, but Chen Zhiyu''s move to Starlight has attracted a lot of attention.

    Because everyone in the industry knows the reason why Chen Zhiyu has been the Perennial Runner-up is because of Starlight.

    Normally, it would be possible for Chen Zhiyu to go anywhere, but going to Starlight was unexpected for many people.

    Not to mention the insiders, even the onlookers have started discussing cheerfully:

    "What''s this operation?"

    "So, if you can''t beat them, join them huh?"

    "Is Admirable Fish too strong, so they joined the company where Admirable Fish belongs?" sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Has Chen Zhiyu''s fish phobia deteriorated to its late stage?"

    "Damn smart, join Starlight, no more being targeted by Admirable Fish¡­"

    "Chen Zhiyu still holds weight, Dazzling Entertainment has a strong competitor in Starlight!"

    "Chen Zhiyu: Teacher Admirable Fish, don''t shoot, we''re on the same side!"

    "Chen Zhiyu: Not only can I surrender, but I can also lead the way for Teacher Admirable Fish, look, there''s Dazzling Entertainment, aim and fire!"

    "Dazzling Entertainment: Damn."

    "Dazzling: We have a traitor."

    "..."

    Perhaps the discussions within the industry brought Chen Zhiyu a sudden wave of popularity, and Starlight even capitalized on the momentum and promoted Chen Zhiyu''s new song through all the company''s major channels.

    Meanwhile.

    Chen Zhiyu also took the first opportunity to promote his new song to his fans on Tribe, "Change yourself to change the world, I''m Chen Zhiyu, my new song ''Change Myself'' will be released next month, stay tuned!"

    Unlike fans of other stars who maintain an idol image.

    Most of Chen Zhiyu''s fans like to tease this top-tier singer. Even among Chen Zhiyu''s fans, a significant number subscribe to him because of his Perennial Runner-up label, hence the comments are full of laughter:

    "Hahahahaha you can change yourself?"

    "The name of this song amusingly hit my funny bone."

    "Dazzling: Is this the way you change yourself?"

    "Change myself from being Admirable Fish''s opponent to Admirable Fish''s teammate, this is true change indeed."

    "Your change is already thorough!"

    "But one thing will not change. Feeling sorry for you in advance¡­"

    "You might¡­"

    "still end up¡­"

    "coming in second¡­"

    "I bet a spicy stick, Chen Zhiyu will still take second place in the new season!"

    "I bet my 82-year-old Coke that Chen Zhiyu will never win the championship!"

    "..."

    Fans and netizens are just joking. Although Chen Zhiyu has come second many times, it''s obviously a probability event.

    Chen Zhiyu just had bad luck and ran into Admirable Fish several times, which is why he kept finishing second.

    If Admirable Fish wasn''t there, Chen Zhiyu''s song would have come in first in several previous rounds.

    Now Admirable Fish will no longer target him, because Admirable Fish is also part of Starlight.

    So, this time Chen Zhiyu really has a chance to come in first.

    Some people have even counted the list of singers who will release songs next month and found out that including Chen Zhiyu, there are only three top-tier singers who will release songs.

    "The competition is neither big nor small."

    "One-third chance of winning the championship?"

    "No, no, no, although Chen Zhiyu has been labeled as the Perennial Runner-up for so long, his fame has actually risen due to this label, which can attract a lot of attention to his new song."

    "Yes, people have a rebellious psychology, many people may not be able to resist giving Chen Zhiyu support, helping him to get rid of the title of Perennial Runner-up."

    "Anyway, I will not resist listening to Chen Zhiyu''s new song, let''s give him some support if it''s not bad."

    "..."

    Netizens'' analysis hit the nail on the head.

    Even the insiders agreed with this analysis, but everyone ignored one thing:

    Dazzling Entertainment, is not happy.

    Chen Zhiyu was one of the top singers under Dazzling Entertainment.

    Now that he''s switched to Starlight, and made it known to the whole world, Dazzling has lost face!

    But that''s not the point.

    The real point is...

    Dazzling, like Starlight, has been very absent from the new song charts recently.

    The old big three in Qin Continent, how come they can''t even get to the top three in the new song chart now?

    Unacceptable!

    So the day after Starlight announced that Chen Zhiyu would release a new song next month, Dazzling Entertainment announced:

    [The King of Singing Fei Yang will release a new song "Brahma Star" next month!]

    Dazzling''s clever move was originally to grab the first place in the new song chart next month, but the outside world sees a different story:

    Chen Zhiyu transferred to Starlight.

    Dazzling is sending the King of Singing to clean house!

 Chapter 222 - 207: King of Singing_1

    The title of "King of Singing" is not self-proclaimed, nor is it given by fans.

    Every King of Singing holds a significant status in the music industry, by constantly proving their talent through one classic hit after another, they can gain official recognition and receive the medal of the King of Singing!

    In the old Qin Continent.

    The selection of the King of Singing was determined through the annual "Music Festival", chosen by over a hundred professionals in the industry.

    The same was for old Qi Continent.

    Now that the Qin and Qi have merged, the "Music Festival" is naturally co-hosted by both.

    However, before the merger, those who could win the King of Singing medal in their respective regions were undoubtedly singers who had great appeal in the music industry and were worthy of the title of King of Singing¡ª

    If it were to be compared with Earth.

    The difficulty for a Blue Star singer to win the King of Singing would be equivalent to the difficulty for an actor to win the Best Actor award at the Earth''s Oscars.

    Chen Zhiyu is pretty famous.

    After all, he is a top-tier singer, with a humorous tag attached to him, his persona is rather exceptional, and he even gained fame outside the industry.

    But in front of the King of Singing, his achievements appeared quite insignificant.

    For this reason.

    A few seconds after the audience was stunned, they burst into laughter!

    Because everyone realized.

    There were already formidable competitors in the top-tier, and now with the addition of the King of Singing, Fei Yang, the chance for Chen Zhiyu to win first place next season had dropped to almost zero!

    "Chen Zhiyu seems to have made enemies with his old company."

    "How big of a grudge can it be? They even sent the King of Singing to clear their house..."

    "Will Chen Zhiyu come second again?"

    "How can he tear off the label of the perennial runner-up?"

    "Alright, the same old recipe, same old taste."

    "Chen Zhiyu: Am I not worthy of this first place?" S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "I genuinely started to feel sorry for Chen Zhiyu."

    "..."

    Less than half an hour after the official announcement of Splendid, the comments section under Chen Zhiyu''s Tribe updates was filled with consolation messages.

    Meanwhile, inside the Starlight artists'' resting room.

    After reading the news, Chen Zhiyu''s hand holding the phone couldn''t help but shake: "I didn''t breach the contract, it ended before I left, why is Splendid so against me? We did break up peacefully..."

    "They didn''t target you."

    Liu Mou sighed, "I have asked friends from over there, it''s just bad luck, just like when you kept running into Xian Yu before. You happened to encounter Splendid wanting to rally on the New Song Chart.

    Not just Splendid, I reckon Sand Sea and Starlight are also brewing to take first place, proving who''s the most influential company in the music industry, the background of the big three in the old Qin Continent is quite daunting."

    Chen Zhiyu''s face was sullen.

    Liu Mou reassured, "Let''s strive for second place, continue to get second place, at least we can keep the persona intact. Being the perennial runner-up doesn''t sound good indeed, but it''s what the netizens like to see happening."

    Chen Zhiyu was even more distressed.

    The label of the perennial runner-up did bring him a lot of attention, but his dream was to become the King of Singing, not a comedian...

    Chen Zhiyu''s career was going well originally.

    After getting the label of the perennial runner-up, Chen Zhiyu could clearly feel that he was plunging into the path of comedy, with no return.

    ...

    Zhao Jue was both amused and annoyed.

    She initially planned to lure Chen Zhiyu over, relying on Chen Zhiyu''s popular topic of perpetual runner-up, and with the power of Xian Yu''s lyrics and composition, they could directly win the champion song of the new season!

    She didn''t expect that Splendid also had ideas for the champion song of next month...

    And Splendid sent out the King of Singing!

    Given Zhao Jue''s information network, she could naturally learn the reason, and Splendid wasn''t intentionally targeting Chen Zhiyu.

    If Chen Zhiyu had violated his contract and forcibly moved to Starlight during the contract period, it wouldn''t be anything if the old boss suppressed him a bit, everyone had to rely on their own abilities.

    But the two sides had parted ways peacefully.

    The singer switching to another company after the contract expired was normal in the industry.

    If Splendid suppressed Chen Zhiyu over this matter, it would sound quite bad on their part, because this behavior would seem very unsporting.

    So Splendid also explained to many people after the official announcement of their news that they wanted to come first.

    Running into Chen Zhiyu was just a coincidence.

    After all...

    Helping Chen Zhiyu solidify his perennial runner-up persona might not damage Chen Zhiyu''s popularity, rather it could bring him even more attention.

    Splendid would not make such a reckless move.

    Zhao Jue was willing to believe this explanation.

    Perhaps Chen Zhiyu was the only one who felt aggrieved by this.

    After all, Zhao Jue didn''t find anything wrong with being second, especially when Chen Zhiyu was the subject in question.

    Chen Zhiyu would probably already have booked his conversation topic for the top three hot searches at the beginning of next month in the Tribe.

    "He''s clearly a top-tier singer, yet somehow he''s become a comedian without even realizing it."

    Zhao Jue wondered.

    Chen Zhiyu had both fortune and misfortune.

    As for the possibility of Chen Zhiyu securing the championship song¡­

    It''s certainly still there.

    Many top-tier singers have stumbled when facing novice singers. Chen Zhiyu himself has proven this many times over.

    What about the King of Singing?

    In the face of top-tier singers, they are also prone to a downfall.

    Because top-tier singers are in the reserve team for the King of Singing!

    Who dares to say that Chen Zhiyu won''t become the King of Singing in the future?

    It''s just that the probability is very low.

    Otherwise, there wouldn''t have been so much debate about Chen Zhiyu''s previous slip-up with a novice singer.

    Lin Yuan''s newly composed "Change Myself" is an excellent song indeed, and the company''s professionals are also very optimistic about this song.

    Some people even predicted before that this song is very likely to win the championship!

    Even if the competitors are also top-tier.

    However, the problem lies right on Fei Yang, the King of Singing.

    The popularity that comes with Fei Yang''s new song is already very exaggerated. If the quality of his song isn''t bad, then the effect is undoubtedly powerful...

    Unless Fei Yang''s song is considerably worse than "Change Myself".

    But after all, he is the King of Singing, and the bare minimum for his songs will not be too low.

    Nevertheless, what one thinks and what says can be two different things.

    As the person who dug up Chen Zhiyu, Zhao Jue still showed up beside him, comforting him, "We definitely still stand a chance."

    "Really?"

    Chen Zhiyu stared intently at Zhao Jue.

    Despite his superior music knowledge compared to Zhao Jue''s, at this moment, he couldn''t help but want to believe in Zhao Jue''s judgment.

    "Really."

    Zhao Jue couldn''t bear to burst Chen Zhiyu''s bubble: "Fei Yang''s current music style greatly differs from his past one, listeners may not necessarily accept his current music style."

    This is, in fact, true.

    Some singers aren''t bad, it''s just that occasionally, they like to release some niche music.

    The kind that is not appreciated by the general public, but receives high critical acclaim.

    Such songs are disadvantaged on the song rankings.

    Even if the King of Singing performs it, it doesn''t change the niche nature of the song.

    "Right!"

    Chen Zhiyu gritted his teeth: "Maybe, his new song is experimental music."

    Experimental music, is mostly non-mainstream.

    If so, there''s still hope for Chen Zhiyu.

    Zhao Jue remained silent.

    Although in her heart, she knew that Fei Yang most likely did not release experimental music this time, as Splendid wanted to win the championship...

    To win the season''s first place, Splendid would definitely let Fei Yang release a mainstream song instead of allowing the King of Singing to be capricious.

    But Chen Zhiyu firmly believed this, as if grasping at a life-saving straw.

    To be precise, Chen Zhiyu had no choice but to pin his hopes here.

    Otherwise, he couldn''t figure out how he would secure next month''s championship song.

    What a pity...

    Self-hypnotizing is useless.

    At the dawn after the end of April and the beginning of May.

    When Chen Zhiyu first heard Fei Yang''s new song, his last defense quickly collapsed.

    This is a...

    A full-fledged, pop music song whose quality is absolutely not inferior to "Change Myself"!

 Chapter 223 - 208 Change the World, Change Yourself_1

    The song by Fei Yang is called "Brahma Star".

    The title is somewhat puzzling, but the content is indeed mainstream, and the quality of the song is definitely excellent.

    The catchy melody, interspersed with several groups of stunning chords, and the chorus part has a very distinct memory point...

    At fifteen minutes after midnight on the first day of May, Chen Zhiyu was desperate.

    Just in terms of quality, "Brahma Star" is undeniably good.

    The level presented in the composition, coupled with the performance of the King of Singing, makes every aspect of this song no weaker than "Change Yourself"!

    Precisely speaking, it''s neck and neck.

    Yes, Chen Zhiyu feels that his song and Fei Yang''s "Brahma Star" are of equal quality.

    But...

    Chen Zhiyu''s popularity can''t compare with Fei Yang''s!

    Singers climbing the charts not only depend on the quality of the song, but also the singer''s fame!

    If the quality of "Change Yourself" crushes Fei Yang, Chen Zhiyu''s popularity may not match the King of Singing, but he may have a chance to turn the tables.

    But if the quality of the two songs is similar, then the singer with higher popularity will certainly win!

    Before, Chen Zhiyu lost due to luck.

    This time, Chen Zhiyu feels that he will lose because of popularity.

    It''s like two equally superior films...

    Not considering promotion and other factors.

    The one featuring a movie superstar will have higher box office sales than the one without!

    And it''s not just a small margin!

    Liu Mou appeared at Chen Zhiyu''s residence and asked in a low voice, "What do you think?"

    Chen Zhiyu looked up at Liu Mou and said with a bitter smile, "The quality is similar, the popularity is too different."

    "What about the others?"

    Liu Mou was asking about the quality of the works of the other two first-line singers.

    "After listening to them once, I''m probably second."

    Chen Zhiyu had developed a wealth of judgment experience, and his predictions could accurately predict the future.

    Unfortunately, predicting the future does not mean you can change it.

    At this moment.

    Chen Zhiyu''s "Change Yourself" was also released. The comment section of the song received overwhelming praise. Some people even discovered with surprise that the lyrics and music of this song were actually by Xian Yu!

    "Wait a minute, the lyrics and music are... Xian Yu?"

    "Wow, it''s a song composed by Xian Yu. No wonder the new song by Chen Zhiyu sounds better than his previous ones!"

    "Great!"

    "Have you listened to Fei Yang''s song?"

    "Fei Yang''s song is also impeccable. King Fei is performing as usual."

    "Perennial Runner-up confirmed?"

    "It''s been confirmed long ago. Championship is like a running stream, and runner-up is like an iron strike!"

    "..."

    Sand Sea Entertainment.

    The chat group of the company which had been dead due to Chen Zhiyu''s breakout with the Perennial Runner-up setup, was awakened after a long time today--

    "Have you heard it yet?"

    "You mean the song ''Chen Zhiyu is Second''?"

    "Hahaha, God, ''Chen Zhiyu is Second''."

    "Oh, these people are still alive. Is Chen Zhiyu your wake-up switch..."

    "So, I''m not the only one who haven''t sleep! Hahaha I''m laugh my ass off. Chen Zhiyu is not only participating in Starlight, but also collaborating with Xian Yu!"

    "It should be a sure win, but it hit King Fei!"

    "Xian Yu: Can''t take it."

    "Xian Yu: Sorry, I can''t carry this time."

    "Poor Chen Zhiyu, Xian Yu''s song quality is very awesome. It is normal play and doesn''t lose to King Fei''s works at all. But Chen Zhiyu lacks popularity, King Fei''s popularity is too overwhelming."

    "A rare tie in quality, and gets crushed by popularity."

    "Chen Zhiyu: What do you mean? On my side, you attack fiercely, punch hard, and hang me to hit! When you are my teammate, you can''t make it as a fish?"

    "...."

    The composers of Sand Sea were happy. This was a splendid victory; both Chen Zhiyu and Xian Yu were defeated!

    Although some people''s words are a bit rough, it''s true. Xian Yu made a move, but still couldn''t wash away Chen Zhiyu''s second-place label.

    Unshakeable second place, Chen Zhiyu, steady as a dog!

    ...

    At the same time, late at night, several music reviewers in Qin Qi listened to the new season''s potential hit songs in real time.

    Zhang Qi is a music critic.

    In addition to the commonplace title of music critic, Zhang Qi also holds the position of deputy chairman of the Qin Province Music Association.

    The latter identity is worth much more than the former, which also makes his role as a music critic more significant.

    At this moment.

    Zhang Qi just finished listening to "Brahma Star", and a satisfied expression appeared on his face: "As expected, the King of Singing who I voted for, Fei Yang''s songs are as strong as ever... It seems that this championship song cannot be lost, this round is a win for Qin Province!"

    The merger of Qin and Qi Provinces.

    The current new song chart has a higher value than before, because the current new song chart is not only contended by singers and composers from Qin Province.

    It also includes those from Qi Province.

    The music creators from both regions competing together for this ranking has resulted in a qualitative improvement in the quality of the rankings!

    As a local, Zhang Qi naturally hopes that the singer from Qin Province can take the first place.

    Although the previous singer from Qi Province took first place, even though the composer was from Qin Province, Zhang Qi always felt a little uncomfortable.

    People inevitably have a bit of regional consciousness.

    Even if Qin and Qi have merged, many people still have this regional consciousness in their hearts.

    "Let''s listen to other songs."

    Zhang Qi glanced at the new song list, finally clicked on Chen Zhiyu''s song, with a faint smile on the corner of his mouth: "Perennial Runner-up..."

    Chen Zhiyu''s reputation as the Perennial Runner-up is well known within the industry.

    Although Zhang Qi, a forty-something man, doesn''t like to play with catchphrases like young people, he can''t help but find this interesting.

    "The song is called ''Change Yourself'', the lyrics and music are..."

    Zhang Qi suddenly raised his eyebrows.

    Xian Yu!

    Surprisingly, this song was actually written for Chen Zhiyu by Xian Yu.

    Xian Yu...

    This is one of the composers who Zhang Qi believes could become one of the future Maestros!

    Zhang Qi''s anticipation was suddenly boosted.

    Click play.

    Chen Zhiyu''s signature voice that is slightly relaxed and magnetic comes to the ear:

    "Woke up this morning, looked at myself in the mirror, and suddenly found that my hairstyle was a bit KUSO when I woke up¡­"

    Zhang Qi laughed.

    The style of the song was interesting and relaxing to listen to.

    The word "kuso" seems to be a dialect from some part of the world?

    The song continues to sing: "A little change makes a big difference, our power can also change the world¡­"

    Zhang Qi nodded in agreement.

    He really liked this song.

    Even before he had heard the full chorus, he already had a general judgment. The singer and the instrument blend well together, and the arrangement added scores to it.

    Right, Xian Yu did the arrangement too...

    While being emotional inwardly, the song kept playing:

    "I''ve been quite upset recently, I''ve been very emotional, watching the news every day makes me want to scream, but swearing doesn''t work, everyone would find it repulsive, I''ve changed myself and found a big difference¡­"

    Is this about personal emotions?

    Zhang Qi mused.

    The more people enjoy discussing the "Perennial Runner-Up," probably the more upset Chen Zhiyu is.

    The lyrics played that out perfectly.

    From this perspective, this song by Xian Yu could be considered tailor-made for Chen Zhiyu.

    At this point in the song, it was transitioning:

    "New friends of this generation, let''s work hard together, everyone say together la la la la la¡­"

    The main chorus came smoothly.

    "I can change the world, change myself, change the differences, change the stinginess. Perseverance should never be given up, only then can we change the world and change ourselves!"

    Zhang Qi''s smile fully blossomed!

    A good composition, combined with a good performance, makes a great song!

    He liked this song!

    Although he was getting old, Zhang Qi had always kept a youthful state of mind. This relaxed and pleasing song is undoubtedly very much in line with Zhang Qi''s aesthetics!

    At this moment.

    The second section of the main chorus started.

    Zhang Qi listened to it with a smile, as if basking in the spring breeze, it brought him a sense of sun shining on his face.

    "A little change makes a big difference, our enthusiasm can also change the world, I can only represent myself, I don''t take a political stand, even if the world makes me feel very anxious¡­"

    Zhang Qi''s smile suddenly froze for a moment.

    His muscles, which had been relaxed, suddenly tightened a little.

    "Wait¡­"

    He suddenly realized something, his eyes were a little shocked! S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Of course, the song wouldn''t stop because he said "wait," it continued until the end.

    And at this moment.

    Zhang Qi couldn''t help but get up from the seat.

    He quickly pulled out his phone, clicked on an old friend''s profile, and rapidly sent a message: "I recommend you listen to ''Changing Myself.''"

    The other party asked: "New song?"

    Zhang Qi typed seriously: "It''s not just a new song, let''s talk after you listen to it."

    The other party responded: "Okay."

    Zhang Qi took a deep breath, put on the headphones next to him, and played "Changing Myself" again.

    Listening to this song again with different feelings and thoughts, Zhang Qi''s feelings were completely different!

    "Indeed¡­"

    He mused to himself.

    At this moment, his phone suddenly started to vibrate continuously.

    Zhang Qi picked up his phone and saw it was his old friend calling him.

    With a complex smile, he answered: "Listened to it?"

    The other party was adamant: "I want this song!"

    Zhang Qi didn''t seem surprised: "Pretty good, isn''t it?"

    The other party was somewhat excited: "The lyrics and melody are top-notch, but most importantly, this song reveals the current situation of Qin and Qi¡­"

    Exactly, this song reflects the current situation in Qin and Qi!

    Ever since the fusion of Qin and Qi, the lives of the people in both regions have changed dramatically.

    Overall, it was for the better.

    But, there were also some drawbacks.

    Regional ideas and cultural separations still exist to a certain extent!

    And what is "Changing Myself" singing about?

    Zhang Qi mused: "I initially thought that this song was literally about wanting to change yourself. But then, when I listened to the rest, I realized I underestimated the song. It''s not as simple as wanting to change oneself. The song has profound symbolism, both the lyrics and the melody have hidden meanings and they hit the nail on the head!

    For example, when it says every day I watch the news, and I want to scream out loud¡­ I didn''t really think much of it at first, but after pondering, isn''t it referring to the news of the Qin and Qi fusion?"

    The other party expressed a similar view: "Changing oneself made a big difference, the new friends of the generation should really work hard, after the integration of Qin and Qi, we are indeed in a new era... Changing the differences and changing the stinginess¡­ I felt a bit guilty listening to this part.

    We are all Blue Star people, but we still distinguish between Qin and Qi, deep within, right after the fusion... We''re all fundamentally not united enough. People from both sides still have this barrier, and the authorities of both sides are indeed stingy, the cultural wall is the stingiest defensive strategy¡­"

    "Aren''t I the same?"

    Zhang Qi gave a bitter smile: "I don''t take a political stand, even if the world makes me feel very anxious, I need to adjust myself... Is this ''myself'' literally the singer himself? It is about us, about everyone from both sides¡­"

    "The song speaks for the self, but it''s not about oneself whatsoever."

    The old friend''s voice also grew emotional: "Everyone thought that with the fusion of Qin and Qi, everything will be fine, but who is willing to admit the existence of some contradictions between the two sides? I can clearly hear the sarcasm in this song, the lyrics and the melody are bold, but I love it."

    "How so?"

    "I will promote this song."

    "You handle the official matters, and I will handle the reviews. Such a song should not be considered as just another pop song. The lyrics and melody have clearly expressed their intentions, we should not turn a deaf ear to this."

    "Indeed, it should be so."

    After hanging up the phone.

    Zhang Qi opened a document on his computer and couldn''t help but excitedly type out this sentence: "Who needs to change, the world, or us as individuals? After the massive fusion of the Blue Star, what should everyone do? Listen to this song, and maybe you will understand..."

 Chapter 224 - 209: Good luck to a new generation of friends_1

    Publicity needs to be prepared.

    Music reviews require auditing.

    As noon approaches, the new song chart for May takes shape.

    King Fei predictably captures the championship throne.

    As if by fate, Chen Zhiyu is slotted into second place.

    The third and fourth places are both occupied by top-tier singers, but there is a notable gap from them to Chen Zhiyu in second place...

    King Fei is in the first tier.

    Chen Zhiyu is in the second tier.

    The rest are in the third tier.

    In other words, if not for the sudden rise of King Fei, Chen Zhiyu could have unquestionably taken first place.

    Because he indeed defeated the other two top-tier singers on the chart.

    However...

    The reason why Chen Zhiyu took second place is not the focus of the public''s attention; only those in the industry would care about such things.

    The only thing the public knows is that Chen Zhiyu came in second again!

    As expected.

    As soon as the rankings were released, the topic "Chen Zhiyu, the Perennial Runner-up" quickly rose on the Tribe''s trending list!

    Its popularity was skyrocketing!

    It broke into the top ten in the blink of an eye and continued to advance towards the top three!

    Even those who were originally indifferent to this joke could not help but remain speechless this time...

    "Second place again?"

    "I remember Chen Zhiyu lost to Zhao Ying Ge before... then he lost to Sun Yaohuo... and then he lost to Xia Fan... So he technically came in second three consecutive times!"

    "In simpler terms, he lost three times to Xian Yu. Each of those songs was written by Xian Yu."

    "An old saying goes that things shouldn''t happen thrice. There is indeed no problem, things didn''t happen thrice, but Chen Zhiyu didn''t lose to Xian Yu again... this time he lost to the King of Singing, Fei Yang..."

    "The funniest thing is, this time, Chen Zhiyu''s song was written by Xian Yu..."

    "What kind of luck is this? Too mystical!"

    "I burst into laughter when I heard the news!"

    "The Runner-up: If only getting first place in the season was as easy as getting first place in trending."

    "Wow, is the Runner-up really the first in trending?"

    "Feel sorry for Chen Zhiyu, Chen Zhiyu, keep it up, protect the world''s best Runner-up!"

    "Hang in there, Runner-up!"

    "..."

    Perhaps because Chen Zhiyu''s perennial runner-up status has deeply resonated with people, many netizens have directly nicknamed Chen Zhiyu "Runner-up Brother".

    The "Runner-up" in Perennial Runner-up.

    As for trending, Chen Zhiyu did indeed reach number one. At this time, even the trending ranking for Fei Yang''s new song only made it to thirteenth.

    Not to mention the people in Qin Province.

    Even netizens from Qi Province couldn''t help but laugh when they learned about Chen Zhiyu''s record.

    "Perennial Runner-up?"

    "Has he been cursed?"

    "No wonder everyone calls him Runner-up Brother."

    "In the dark, there is a will for number two!"

    "The song title ''Change Myself'' is so fitting for the situation!"

    "..."

    Just like how a celebrity from a neighboring star can never make headlines, some news is just amusing in a mysteriously funny way.

    Add to this some bloggers intentionally stirring the pot for traffic, it''s natural that many people are irresistibly attracted to this Perennial Runner-up joke.

    The number of followers on Chen Zhiyu''s Tribe profile is swelling at an astonishing rate.

    However...

    Just as everyone was enjoying the joke, eminent music critic Zhang Qi suddenly published a music review:

    [Did you truly understand Chen Zhiyu''s ''Change Myself''?]

    Who is Zhang Qi?

    The vice-president of the Qin Continent Music Association!

    A top music connoisseur in the Qin Continent music scene!

    Without boasting of his high reputation, he is at least considered a recognized industry mogul!

    His article naturally drew the attention of countless people as soon as it was published.

    However, everyone was puzzled.

    What did the title of this article mean?

    Did I not understand the song "Change Myself"?

    With this curiosity in mind, many people clicked into Zhang Qi''s music review.

    "The Perennial Runner-up sings about his determination to change himself in his new song, yet he has once again taken second place. Chen Zhiyu has become a joke to everyone.

    I''m not here to criticize anything.

    As artists, we must be mentally prepared to entertain the public.

    Whether in their private lives or their work, such incidents will inevitably result in the public making jokes and teasing.

    But we must not let these jokes cause us to overlook the song itself. Is "Change Myself" truly just a singer''s monologue?

    Or, as I asked in my title, do you truly believe that you understood the song "Change Myself"?

    I believe that the vast majority of those who blindly follow the trend and make jokes have not fully understood, otherwise, they wouldn''t laugh so naturally.

    So who is this ''myself'' that needs to change?

    Is it Chen Zhiyu, who joined Starlight, or the Perennial Runner-up who collaborated with Xian Yu?

    It is, and it isn''t!

    This ''myself'' is all of us!

    The meaning of the song is actually hidden in every line of the lyrics!

    The so-called change in the world signifies the future that we/us are facing in the grand integration of Blue Star; The so-called change in oneself hopes that everyone will adapt to this new world and take charge; The so-called change in barrier is the songwriter''s strong criticism of the cultural walls that still exist in the yet-to-be-unified continents; The so-called change in small-mindedness signifies our inherent territorial mindset...

    Xian Yu is truly talented!

    Chen Zhiyu is full of love!

    This song uses a casual singing style to inspire our actions and attitudes in the face of progress, yet its lyrics do not have the usual preachy tone of officialdom. "Change Myself" highlights our existing uncertainties, and provides a clearer direction for everyone. Those who truly can change the world are you who can continuously change yourself!"

    "..."

    Many were stunned after reading this lengthy review!

    To the vast majority, "Change Myself" was seen as a very pleasant, yet ordinary pop song.

    Who would have thought that behind its seemingly simple lyrics and melody, there would encompass such profound connotations!

    The netizens were dumbfounded!

    Following Zhang Qi, other music critics spoke out, their critiques almost identical to Zhang Qi''s: S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "We can''t just look at the surface of the lyrics of this song; the underlying implications are profound!"

    "Xian Yu''s ''Change Myself'' uses the ''self'' to reflect on the changes in an era!"

    "Stop calling Chen Zhiyu the perpetual runner-up; he should not be second, his singing is a declaration of love for the world!"

    "Is it too shallow to judge ''Change Myself'' as a pop song?"

    "..."

    Netizens are both blind and awake.

    But no matter what kind of person they are, they can use their own thinking to consider the rationality of these music evaluations.

    Many people, after reading the review, immediately replayed "Change Myself".

    Perhaps it was a psychological effect.

    With the lyrics of "Change Myself" reflected beside it, they suddenly discovered, after listening to the song again, that what the music critics said was right!

    These lyrics may appear simple at first glance, but they are indeed alluding to something, there''s a deeper level of interpretation!

    "Oh my gosh!"

    "I have learned a lot."

    "This song is awesome!"

    "Zhang Qi''s interpretation is almost divine!"

    "I admit that I didn''t understand this song for the first time. Thanks to the music critics'' reminder online, I have downloaded this song. The review made me like this song..."

    "Xian Yu''s talents are fully exhibited in this song!"

    "In the era of Qin-Qi merger, ''Change Myself'' is the most on-point song. I was shallow before."

    "I never thought this way before... Now following the thinking of the music critic, my goodness, this song is simply mind-blowing!"

    "..."

    Wow!

    The netizens in Qin and Qi provinces were totally blown away by the implied meaning of this song!

    At this point, the official promotion account of Zhong Continent, with the avatar of a "Blue Star", forwarded this mind-boggling song "Change Myself", and attached a quote and lyrics:

    "We change with the times, and the times also change because of us. Friends of the new generation, let''s work hard together!"

 Chapter 225 - 210 Xian Yus Sincere Hardship_1

    Homeland!

    This signifies "Blue Star as the common home for mankind".

    This is the main official account in the Zhong Continent.

    No matter how high the cultural walls of each continent are, they dare not block this account.

    And today.

    This account unexpectedly reposted "Change Myself", clearly affirming the content of this song!

    If "Change Myself" was only popular music, no matter how high its downloads, the Homeland account would not repost it, but this song is not that simple¡ª

    So the official media personally endorsed it!

    This is an indication that has a more guiding significance than the articles of music critics!

    With the official media''s recommendation, regardless of whether "Change Myself" is over-interpreted by music critics, it can only be the content interpreted by Zhang Qi.

    It is and it is not!

    Because the official media have the purpose of political propaganda, they need this song to set the tone for the Qin Qi merger, and even the future big merger of the Blue Star! S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Spreading this idea in the form of pop music is undoubtedly close to the public and easy for people to accept.

    At this moment!

    The main page advertisements of all the major music player platforms suddenly made an emergency adjustment.

    In a moment, all the player platform homepages highly recommended songs were all replaced with "Change Myself" sung by Chen Zhiyu!

    Not only that.

    In both Qin and Qi, many official departments also issued the tasks from above.

    The task content is that everyone must download "Change Myself" and familiarize themselves with this song!

    Of course, the task itself is non-compulsory.

    But any person with a little intelligence would know what political correctness means...

    The Blue Star big merger is unstoppable!

    If you resist this song, what do you mean?

    Like the treatment of mainstream films, the current "Change Myself" is the mainstream song!

    It''s not just a pop song anymore!

    In fact, everyone indeed doesn''t resist this form of mainstream tunes, because a lot of people originally liked the song "Change Myself".

    The catchy melody is very brainwashing.

    The relaxed and happy performance is very simple.

    The clear and striking rhythm is also very catchy.

    Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

    Whether it''s music reviews or the official blog of Homeland, they were all instantly reposted by countless people to their own tribes, blogs, and friend circles, and so on.

    As if riding a rocket!

    On the new song chart, the downloads of "Change Myself" suddenly soared!

    In almost the blink of an eye, it broke through the million mark!

    After the merger of Qin Qi, the song''s download limit has been raised countless times, not to mention the endorsement of the mainstream ...

    The current download volume of Fei Yang''s "Brahma Star" is 930,000.

    With the Qin Qi merger, and the King of Singing''s involvement, the first day download volume of this song has shocked many people, after all, today is not over yet.

    But...

    Before King Fei''s championship throne could get warm, he got to experience the treatment Chen Zhiyu received previously, being pushed directly to second place!

    As for "Change Myself", one million is not the limit!

    It''s still rising, still rising, and still rising!

    Not until the download volume settled at 5.6 million, did its data finally seem to slow down a bit.

    At this moment, no one can predict how many downloads "Change Myself" will finally have.

    Many professionals in the industry, along with thousands of ordinary listeners, are stunned at this moment.

    "Ah this..."

    "Homeland is endorsing it?"

    "With the official media setting the tune, this song will probably be selected for textbook promotion in the future ..."

    "Isn''t that exaggerating?"

    "Not at all. With Zhang Qi''s endorsement and the official tune setting, ''Change Myself'' is no longer an ordinary pop song. I think Zhang Qi''s interpretation is not incorrect, the implication in the song is really profound!"

    "The music reviews scared me."

    "From a musical perspective, ''Change Myself'' is excellent but not top-notch. But in terms of the significance of the song, it''s remarkable."

    "Times create heroes, Chen Zhiyu caught the times ..."

    "I heard that Xian Yu is called ''Maestro Junior'' in Starlight, today I have to admit, he is indeed a Maestro Junior."

    "Fei Yang messed up, but it''s not King Fei''s fault, this song by Admirable Fish is too extraordinary!"

    "No way, Admirable Fish has overthrown the King of Singing with just a single thread?"

    "Admirable Fish dares to take on the big names with a rookie singer, this time taking on the King of Singing with just a thread, it seems he can only challenge the King of Singing, no problem with that."

    "But the thing is, he led Chen Zhiyu to overthrow Fei Yang!"

    "..."

    Seemed like too much happened at this point.

    But in reality, all of these happened in a very short time.

    This time was so short that...

    When Chen Zhiyu came to his senses, this Perennial Runner-up had ascended to the championship throne of the season with "Change Myself"!

    Just like the others.

    Chen Zhiyu himself, was also stunned.

    Even throughout his singing career, this was the most dramatic rise and fall!

    "I... am the first?"

    He grabbed his agent Liu Mou''s arm, pinching so hard that Liu Mou''s face twisted:

    "Ouch!"

    Chen Zhiyu muttered, "It hurts, which means I''m not dreaming!"

    Liu Mou barked angrily, "Then why don''t you pinch yourself!"

    Chen Zhiyu ignored his agent, let go of his hand and took out his mobile phone to snap an image of the new song chart. His shutter-clicking finger slightly trembling.

    "Hehehe!"

    Liu Mou no longer cared about Chen Zhiyu pinching him: "Not only are you the first on the new song chart, you have also taken up the top two spots on the trending list!"

    "Why the top two?"

    "Go check it out for yourself on Tribe, right now the top trend is #PerennialRunnerUpChenZhiyu#, but the second trend is #ChenZhiyuIsFirst#, you are probably the first one to have created two different trending topics! You have slapped the face of the first trend within a day!"

    Chen Zhiyu burst into laughter, roaring loudly: "I, Chen Zhiyu, am the first!"

    "Yes, the first! You are the first! Unexpectedly, it would turn out like this, you were actually singing with such deep feelings!"

    Liu Mou was ecstatic.

    He had seen the online reviews.

    All over the place were analyses of "Change Myself", saying this song expressed the creators'' views of the era under the guise of a pop song, some even said that Chen Zhiyu''s cheerful singing conveyed his yearning for the new era....

    "What deep feelings?" Chen Zhiyu was taken aback.

    Liu Mou was in a hurry: "You were indeed deeply moved, you must have known from the start that this song was expressing the creator''s shouting at the era! You understood the underlying meaning of Teacher Admirable Fish''s song beforehand! So, you were singing with this emotion for the era!"

    Chen Zhiyu wasn''t stupid.

    He got it in a heartbeat: "Right, that''s exactly what I thought! When I first got the song, I knew, I had to get this song!"

    This was true.

    Chen Zhiyu said with conviction: "Because this song is so excellent, it represents the era, it represents an attitude, I am trying to align with Teacher Admirable Fish''s expression in the song!"

    This wasn''t true.

    In reality, Chen Zhiyu was expressing himself.

    Change yourself, stop being the runner-up, it has nothing to do with the era.

    If it weren''t for Zhang Qi''s excellent essay, he wouldn''t have known how incredible this song was...

    "Do you think that is what Teacher Admirable Fish really meant?" Chen Zhiyu suddenly lowered his voice.

    "Of course!"

    Liu Mou''s expression instantly turned serious: "You dare to question Teacher Admirable Fish, have you forgotten that joke by Teacher Admirable Fish?"

    "What?"

    "Teacher Admirable Fish said, ''I''m clearly eating clear soup hotpot, why is there a certain numbing feeling? The boss said, the hotpot was leaking electricity!''"

    "So?"

    Chen Zhiyu was clueless.

    This joke, was so awkwardly cold that he had to fake a laugh.

    "Don''t you get it, Zhiyu? This is not exactly a bad joke, I also just realized it recently. That day, Teacher Admirable Fish was trying to convey through the hot pot that the song ''Change Myself'' looks like a pop song, but if you listen closely, you''ll realize it''s not just a pop song. Teacher Admirable Fish added some serious stuff in it! This seriousness is where the song''s meaning lies!

    Just like electricity in a clear soup hotpot..."

    Liu Mou was bubbling with excitement!

    At this moment, Chen Zhiyu finally got it!

    Clear soup hotpot is not just clear soup hotpot, the hot pot is electrified!

    Pop song is not just a pop song, Teacher Admirable Fish added a deeper meaning in it!

    Seemingly dissonant, but full of deep feelings!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Although it''s not a new book month, still seeking monthly tickets, more to come, Polluted White continues to write

 Chapter 226 - 211: The King of Singings Approval_1

    "Producer, your song was truly extraordinary! Not only did it secure Starlight''s ''first place'' for the season, but it also showcased your talents to everyone in the Qin Qi territory. I was too foolish, I didn''t even notice that a pop song of yours was filled with so many cultural insights and deep meanings..."

    Wu Yong couldn''t stop praising.

    Sitting in the producer''s office, Lin Yuan had no idea what song Wu Yong was talking about. Could it be "Change Yourself"? Isn''t that just an ordinary pop song? After all, there''s no shortage of rhythm and blues in this world, why was he making such a fuss?

    "Zhang Qi really is everyone''s favorite!"

    Wu Yong found Zhang Qi''s music critique and started to read it out loud, his tone full of infectious enthusiasm, seemingly sharing the glory. It was only until then that Lin Yuan understood the meaning of Wu Yong''s words. After slightly hesitating, he asked, "Is Zhang Qi a Chinese language teacher at a school?"

    Wu Yong: "???"

    Lin Yuan shook his head and said, "People like him must have been the representative for Chinese language class from childhood. They must get full marks on each of their essays. Maybe it was him who made the topic of ''Life Like A Summer Flower'' for my last exam."

    "..."

    Wu Yong softly asked, "So what you''re saying is, Zhang Qi''s music critique doesn''t go deep enough? Is there an even deeper meaning behind the song that you can help me understand?"

    "It''s fine."

    Lin Yuan didn''t bother explaining further.

    As the saying goes, to a thousand readers, there are a thousand Hamlets. Interpretations are up to the individual. In the same vein, to a thousand listeners, there are a thousand ways to interpret "Change Yourself." Listen with your own understanding, feel with your heart.

    It''s totally acceptable.

    Lin Yuan was in a good mood because "Change Yourself" had blown up in downloads. It was the first time one of his songs had been downloaded several million times on the first day of its release, converting into a sizeable sum when broken down into shares!

    However, speaking of which¡­

    Collaborating with Chen Zhiyu was indeed a loss. He could have obtained 15% more if it were Senior Yao Huo. In the future, he''d try to avoid collaborating with top-tier singers as they tend to be the tools with the worst cost-effectiveness.

    At that moment.

    It wasn''t just Wu Yong who was utterly in awe of Lin Yuan- the entire Starlight company, including all floors of composers, were greatly discussing the song performed by Chen Zhiyu:

    "That''s incredible!"

    "Maestro Junior is super powerful!"

    "Starlight has been in the limelight this time!"

    "I initially thought that we would need Maestro himself to secure a first place but who knew that our little Maestro Junior could take care of it so easily! No wonder the company let Xian Yu do the movies, is it too much for such a gem to want to do a movie?"

    "It''s not excessive at all!"

    "Just losing some money."

    "Compared to Xian Yu''s importance to the company and his past contributions, even if he wanted to make a movie costing tens of millions, the company would have no choice but to grit its teeth and approve. Treat making movies as an entertainment project for Xian Yu."

    "It was indeed Maestro Junior."

    "Solely based on the ability to write lyrics, I feel Xian Yu is even better than Maestro. Maestro''s songs occasionally need others to write lyrics, but all of Xian Yu''s songs are wholly written by himself and fit the melody perfectly every time."

    "..."

    Although different departments have competition, Starlight is a big collective. Whenever Xian Yu was in the limelight, it was also a time for the entire company to shine. All the songwriters in the company are quite proud of their company''s position in the industry proven this time!

    ...

    Zhao Jue never thought it was possible to turn the tide under such circumstances. Even though she was confident after inviting Lin Yuan to write a song, Fei Yang''s appearance entirely disrupted her plan. Who could have known that even Fei Yang wasn''t a match for Xian Yu?

    "Haha."

    Zhao Jue''s assistant looked at his mobile phone and laughed, "Ms. Zhao, you wouldn''t know, but now virtually all the top-tier singers in the company are making a fuss, saying they want to invite Xian Yu for songs. Since it''s challenging to get Maestro, this Maestro Junior has become everyone''s target." sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Don''t pay any mind."

    Zhao Jue sullenly said, "It took Xian Yu a long time to write this new song. He can''t just jump into writing a new one so soon. If anyone wants to ask Xian Yu to write a song for them, they should inform me first. Without my consent, they are not allowed to bother Xian Yu."

    "Alright."

    The assistant nodded.

    Zhao Jue continued, "The maestros are of strategic significance, and so is Xian Yu now. Unless he takes the initiative to propose a collaboration with a singer, his skills should be used where they are needed. The process of Blue Star''s integration has just begun, there are plenty of areas that require a composer''s input."

    Speaking of this,

    Zhao Jue suddenly laughed, "Dazzling Entertainment must be going blind now. Sending out a superstar didn''t manage to secure the first spot. Although this can''t be blamed on Fei Yang, the task was not completed smoothly. Our old competitor must be quite upset."

    Assistant: "..."

    Zhao Jue''s judgment was correct.

    Dazzling Entertainment was already dumbfounded. The situation had reversed within a day, giving no reaction time. Not only was the Chief Manager of the company cursing and swearing, even Fei Yang himself was stunned.

    "This is not your fault."

    Fei Yang''s manager reassured him.

    Fei Yang shook his head with a bitter smile, "I don''t need the decoration of ranking first. Who said that the King of Singing must always come first? I''m just wondering if there''s a chance to cooperate with Xian Yu. He would probably become one of the maestros in the future."

    "It is difficult through normal channels."

    The manager hesitated for a while before saying, "Unless there is an official promotional project for cooperation, considering Xian Yu''s abilities and his performance this time, the higher-ups will notice him. Perhaps we can strive for that opportunity then?"

    Fei Yang nodded.

    He suddenly said, "Starlight has several old friends, all striving to be the King of Singing. They are probably more eager than me to collaborate with Xian Yu. Besides the maestros, Xian Yu is their best choice."

    "That won''t be easy."

    His manager chuckled, "The honor of the King of Singing is basically monopolized by the existing kings. For a big-name singer to claim the title, the popularity of one or two songs is obviously not enough. Xian Yu couldn''t possibly single-handedly make a new King of Singing."

    There is a music festival held every year.

    A new King of Singing is crowned every year.

    Logically, with the annual music festival, Blue Star should have plenty of Kings of Singing. However, this isn''t the case. King of Singing isn''t a status, it''s an honor that can repeatedly be given

    What happens more often is:

    The honor of the King of Singing ends up being taken by a singer who''s already been named King of Singing. That''s why it''s such a prestigious title. Once a singer becomes a King of Singing, he can still compete for it the next year. So, if a singer desires the title, he has to surpass the current Kings of Singing! That''s exceedingly difficult!

    It''s as if a decent actor on Earth wants to compete for the best actor award with titans like Tony Leung and Zhou Runfa. The one who previously won an award can win it again next year. To seize the award, a non-award-winning actor must surpass the other nominated actors!

    Fei Yang nodded.

    Regardless, this time, he would remember Xian Yu very clearly.

    He had a hunch that Xian Yu would be a significant character in the music scene!

    As a matter of fact...

    Xian Yu is already heading in that direction. With his continuous victories in the seasonal chart, the nickname "Maestro Junior" is no longer limited to the internal circulation within Starlight.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: I''ll stop here for today because I spent quite a bit of time taking my two cats to get neutered. Now, it''s time to clean the litter box.

 Chapter 227 - 212: Ghost Blowing Lamp Plus_1

    Endorsed by official media and praised by music critics, the song "Change Yourself" soared in popularity in the following days...

    Chen Zhiyu had risen to the top!

    He was indeed cemented in the first place!

    The joke about him being the Perennial Runner-up was shattered, and it happened in such a way that no one could have anticipated.

    Yet, the zany netizens always managed to find new hilarity¡ª

    "If you can''t beat them, join them; indeed a wise saying!"

    "Chen Zhiyu kept coming in second because he clung to the wrong "giant thigh" (Chinese slang for seeking support from someone powerful)? The biggest difference between Splendid and Starlight is that Starlight has Xian Yu."

    "Let''s admit it, Xian Yu''s "leg" is quite thick (meaning Xian Yu is quite influential)!"

    "So, he who gets Xian Yu, gets the world?"

    "Doesn''t Xian Yu look like the cheat-code-grandpa from fantasy novels?"

    "He''s indeed a humanoid cheat code."

    "..."

    Chen Zhiyu, a witty guy himself, joined the netizens in playing off the joke, and posted a self-mocking status on his Tribe social media account.

    [Raising an Asian Arowana.]

    The text underneath the post accompanied a picture of a large fish tank, with an Asian Arowana swimming inside.

    Behind the fish tank blurred was a silhouette, Chen Zhiyu himself, seemingly making a scissor hand gesture.

    "Fish raising''s on the table."

    "Fearing fish cured?"

    "From now on, totally devoted to serving Fish Master (dog head emoji)."

    "Fish can bring you good luck."

    "I figure, this fish should be named Champion."

    "You''re quite cheeky."

    "Turns out, this is the correct way to raise fish."

    "What type of fish do you like to eat?"

    "..."

    Chen Zhiyu cheekily replied to that last popular comment: "Fishie is so cute, why would anyone want to eat Fishie?"

    "..."

    No longer burdened with the Perennial Runner-up tag, Chen Zhiyu had completely let himself loose, unabashedly expressing his feelings for Xian Yu.

    Netizens laughed their heads off.

    He even joined Xian Yu''s Tribe account and liked all his posts.

    But to Chen Zhiyu''s chagrin, Xian Yu had yet to follow him back.

    Xian Yu was only following two people...

    Chu Kuang and Shadow.

    After pondering for a moment, Chen Zhiyu''s mind steadied again, because Chu Kuang was not following anyone within the circle.

    In fact, quite a number of musicians within the circle were following Chu Kuang, especially those who had worked with Xian Yu.

    But Xian Yu had not followed any of them in return, including Sun Yaohuo from their last collaboration.

    Sun Yaohuo?

    Recalling this person, Chen Zhiyu suddenly understood why Sun Yaohuo had had an unusual attitude towards him in their last meeting.

    His vigilance heightened.

    Xian Yu is a robustly influential figure!

    Particularly after tasting the sweetness of victory, Chen Zhiyu was even more eager to continue working with Xian Yu.

    However, he should have many competitors, Sun Yaohuo being the best example.

    In fact.

    While Xian Yu had helped Chen Zhiyu to clinch the top spot for the season, Xian Yu, himself, also garnered significant attention.

    This could be seen from the rapid increase in followers on his Tribe account.

    Originally at just over ten million followers, the number had now surged to fifteen million!

    Originally, a song wouldn''t have such great power, even if it won the season''s first place.

    But due to the special attributes assigned to this song, coupled with layers of publicity, Xian Yu received so much attention.

    ...

    The increase of Xian Yu''s fans is a good thing.

    But Lin Yuan hopes that Chu Kuang can gain more fans because this is related to the tasks of the System, and there are two urgent and important tasks at hand:

    Task one: Chu Kuang''s tribal account needs to gain a hundred million followers.

    Task two: Breakthrough of three hundred thousand reputation in painting within a year

    Both of these tasks are not easy.

    The second task is relatively easier, even though it''s handled by Shadow, assistant Luo Wei can help share many responsibilities.

    So Lin Yuan''s next focus will be to work as much as possible with Chu''s identity, after all, he can''t find an assistant to write a book. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Anyhow, other than drawing comics recently, there''s nothing else going on, so he might as well use the time to write the novel "Ghost Blows the Lamp".

    It''s worth mentioning that...

    The version of "Ghost Blows the Lamp" that the System gave Lin Yuan is of eight volumes.

    The first four are The Ancient City of Jingjue, The Lost Caverns, Yunnan Bug Valley, Kunlun God Palace.

    The following four are The Weasel Grave, Return to the South Seas, Rage of Hunan West, Witch Gorge Coffin Mountain.

    After these eight volumes, the author also wrote some prequels and such, but they were not as influential as these eight volumes, so the System didn''t provide them.

    Taking into account the continuity of the readers, Lin Yuan plans to publish one volume at a time.

    This will improve the update requirements for Lin Yuan, because each volume of "Ghost Blows the Lamp" has about three or four hundred thousand words.

    It''s unlike the previous publishing frequency, where a post would be about two hundred thousand words or so.

    However, this is not a problem.

    If he writes fast, he can publish a volume in a month. If he writes slowly, he can publish one every few months. Lin Yuan can entirely work at his own pace, and just notify the publishing house in advance.

    Thinking of this...

    Lin Yuan began writing the content of the first volume of "Ghost Blows the Lamp".

    He definitely needed to make changes to the setting, although the version given by the System had some better adjustments to the plot and writing style, the background had not been changed.

    In the original novel, there were the Sent-down youth and the Republican era, the sense of history was extremely rich.

    Unlike "Grave Robbers'' Chronicles", where it would work with just a modern setting.

    Lin Yuan does plan to change the setting, but he doesn''t intend to directly use a modern setting either.

    Some features of the original work were actually quite interesting, but they wouldn''t work if set in modern times.

    Fortunately, in order to change the background, he has read many history books of Blue Star, so his historical knowledge is very rich, which allows him to justify his narrative.

    The first step is to ensure that the main storyline of "Ghost Blows a Lamp" doesn''t change.

    Zhang San Chain, the legendary Goldfinder, is the origin character of the entire novel.

    He carried three Goldfinder amulets alone, and combined with the ancient FengShui theory from the tombs to write the "Sixteen-Character Yin-Yang FengShui Secret Technique", because he revealed the secret of heaven, half of the technique was destroyed by himself.

    Zhang San Chain had four apprentices, the oldest was the Flying Mythic Lion, the second was Golden Abacus, the third was Yingyang Eye Sun Guofu, and the youngest was Iron Grinder.

    When the four apprentices completed their training, since Sun Guofu was unwilling to do tomb raiding, Zhang San Chain gave the "Sixteen-Character Yin-Yang FengShui Secret Technique" to him, and gave the three Goldfinder amulets to the other three, and left the admonition that for Goldfinders, unity is life and division is death.

    Sun Guofu wandered around, and unfortunately ran into a spoiled landlord who was due to a drug addiction relapse, and was digging a grave to get money, who happened to be the grandfather of the protagonist of this book, Hu Bayi''s¡ªthe grandfather is Hu Guohua!

    Sun Guofu decided to accept Hu Guohua as his disciple, and before he died, he passed on the "Sixteen-Character Yin-Yang FengShui Secret Technique" to Hu Guohua.

    In the end, it was passed on to Hu Bayi.

    With the "Sixteen-Character Yin-Yang FengShui Secret Technique", Hu Bayi started his tomb raiding career with his good friend Fatty, under the instigation of the antique dealer Big Golden Tooth.

    The story is divided into eight volumes, with each volume presenting a new adventure.

    From this point of view, "Ghost Blows the Lamp" can be considered a typical adventure novel, which seems to be recognised as a fantasy novel.

    However, unlike other fantasy novels,

    The System left the work of changing the background to Lin Yuan, but some parts in this novel, which don''t have a feasible explanation, were resolved by the System.

    Also, the most important point is:

    The horror and alarming atmosphere in this novel appear to have been magnified several times, giving a gruesome feeling...

 Chapter 228 - 213 Preliminary Completion _1

    While retaining many exciting scenes from "Tomb Raid," the System added some text that enhances the eerie atmosphere, as supernatural events are inevitably designed in tomb-robbing novels.

    What the System does is to make readers feel a hair-raising tension when reading the novel...

    Are horror films scarier or horror novels?

    Most people would probably find horror films scarier because the visual graphics can stir emotions deep in people''s hearts.

    But if the text is well written, it can also create a strong atmospheric effect, which, although different from movies, influences human emotions in much the same way.

    Lin Yuan thinks...

    The System''s version of "Tomb Raid" is horrifying!

    Some of the text is so vividly descriptive that it creates a visual image just by reading it.

    Not to mention some parts that seem ordinary at first glance, but are terrifying upon closer inspection.

    So, Lin Yuan''s summary of this version is, Tomb Raid plus!

    Of course.

    Only the places that are supposed to be scary are scary. If it''s just scary for the sake of being scary, then it''s not interesting.

    Obviously, the System also understands this. So in this version of "Tomb Raid," when it comes to depicting scenes like tomb traps, it doesn''t focus on describing the so-called horror, but emphasizes two characteristics:

    Ingenious!

    Thrilling!

    The ingenuity lies in the design of the traps and tombs, the technical level displayed in them is always amazingly clever.

    The thrill comes from the danger of these traps, because one wrong move could lead to total ruin.

    Many times, the Lieutenant Goldfinder is faced with life-and-death situations.

    Maybe it''s because the main character of the original "Tomb Raid," Hu Bayi, is so powerful and always gives the impression of being calm and cunning, that the system has ramped up the difficulty level, making Hu Bayi also face some frustrating dangers.

    As the system had said before, the adaptation of the novel is actually modeled after great authors...

    Lin Yuan now admires the author who was chosen by the system, because with this adaptive capability, the author has elevated all aspects of "Tomb Raid" to a new level!

    Lin Yuan has sporadic memories...

    When he read "Tomb Raid" in his previous life, he didn''t feel it was so horrifying and mysterious but just found it novel and slightly thrilling.

    So by the time he arrived at the later volumes, he was somewhat fatigued.

    But in this life, in this version of "Tomb Raid," each volume is self-explanatory.

    The atmosphere it creates is unique and intriguing, which makes it irresistible.

    This leads to the sensation of cold sweat pouring down when Lin Yuan is writing.

    Ordinary people facing the bizarre and unknown often react this way, and Lin Yuan is no exception.

    You see...

    Lin Yuan has been afraid to watch horror films since he was a little boy. He remembers he used to be so scared watching a zombie movie that he''d burrow under the covers.

    Consolation phrases like "An innocent man does not fear ghosts knocking at his door" are of no help to Lin Yuan.

    Especially since he''s done plenty of guilty things like secretly eating egg yolks without his sister knowing.

    So under such circumstances, Lin Yuan must screw up his courage to write a version of "Tomb Raid" that''s more suspenseful and thrilling than the original. How could he not be panicked?

    But when he thinks about the fact that "Tomb Raid" cost him ten million, Lin Yuan gathers up his courage!

    If he were to not write this expensive novel simply because he''s scared, it would be a complete waste!

    ...

    Courage can be trained.

    Lin Yuan once heard a juicy piece of gossip from Jian Yi.

    Apparently, a friend of Jian Yi''s would wet the bed after watching a horror movie as a child, and this situation hadn''t improved until the age of seven or eight.

    So, Jian Yi''s friend decided to train himself to overcome his fear, and the method was...

    To force himself to watch a horror movie every day!

    After doing this for a month, Jian Yi''s friend really wasn''t as scared of horror movies anymore, and he no longer wet his bed after watching them.

    In the end, Jian Yi reminisced, "My friend is now just like me, not afraid of horror movies at all."

    Lin Yuan admires Jian Yi''s friend very much.

    The situation he''s facing now is somewhat similar.

    At the beginning of writing the System''s version of "Tomb Raid," he was very afraid.

    But as he continued to write more and more, the fear in his heart seemed to decrease a lot.

    Because most of the things in "Tomb Raid" are explainable, regardless of whether the explanations are far-fetched. As long as it can be reasonably explained, that''s enough, after all, a tomb-robbing novel is fundamentally based on imagining reality.

    Many supernatural events, once you understand the principles behind them, actually aren''t that scary.

    As for why Lin Yuan has so much spare time to write...

    Because Lin Yuan took a leave of absence!

    Actually, from the time Lin Yuan got Maestro Yang Zhongming''s character card, he had a strong feeling that there was no need for him to continue studying the music composition courses at university.

    Staying in school was just a waste of time.

    Previously, considering things like credits, Lin Yuan had been enduring.

    But now, Lin Yuan found that he had a lot of things to do, so he decided to make use of his time in school and take leave for classes he didn''t need to attend.

    Originally, Lin Yuan thought this would be quite troublesome.

    But when he told his counselor that he would often be taking leaves in the future, Lin Yuan distinctly saw the counselor''s expression light up with a relieved smile.

    Lin Yuan wondered if he was mistaken, why would a teacher be happy about their student taking leave?

    The smile flashed across the counselor''s face, then in the next moment, the counselor returned to being serious ¡ª¡ª

    Seriously approved the leave.

    Lin Yuan began to feel that he indeed might have misunderstood. His teacher did not like him taking leaves.

    But whether his teacher is happy about it or not has nothing to do with Lin Yuan. He does not disrespect the teachers or the school; it''s just that he''s really not learning anything useful anymore.

    The effects of Yang Zhongming''s character card and the mentoring halo are much more helpful than attending any university. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Even for some non-specialized courses, Lin Yuan can use a Memory Pill to "eat" books and bypass that, flipping quickly through a book and remembering all the knowledge points ¡ª¡ª

    There''s no higher learning efficiency than this.

    In short, although Lin Yuan is still a college student, he can now manage his own time freely.

    He chooses to spend the time he used to spend on school in his own studio.

    Drawing comics in the morning.

    Writing novels in the afternoon.

    Very clear scheduling.

    Thanks to his ample writing time, Lin Yuan''s "Tomb Raid" has been updated at a rapid speed.

    In less than ten days, Lin Yuan was able to finish the first volume "The Ancient City of Jingjue."

    "Phew."

    He let out a breath and contacted YangFeng, the editor of Silver Blue Books, "The new book is done. Can it be released next month?"

    "Send it to me to check out!"

    The moment YangFeng received the message, he immediately got excited!

    Solution is a double meaning word which means to dissolve or find an outcome or explaination for something. The mass publication by Qin Qi''s side is a predatory move to seize the market, the release of Chu Kuang''s new book at this time might provide a huge help to Silver Blue Books!

 Chapter 229 - 214 This Novel is So Scary_1

    YangFeng had been anticipating Chu Kuang''s new book for several months and after briefly interacting with him, he immediately opened his email.

    "Ding. "

    He got an email notification. Chu Kuang had sent the novel over and YangFeng saw the name of this new book.

    "Ghost Blowing Lamp?"

    Such a peculiar title.

    It felt quite eerie.

    What genre is this new book?

    YangFeng was about to type to ask Chu Kuang about the genre of the new book, but before he could finish typing, the avatar of the other party had already gone dark.

    This made YangFeng, who has had extensive interaction with Chu Kuang, understood that Chu Kuang probably wouldn''t respond to him anymore today.

    At the same time.

    A colleague''s voice came from beside YangFeng: "Young Yang, it''s time to get off work. Aren''t you leaving?"

    "Off work?"

    YangFeng, with a deep furrow in his brow, was eager to take a look at Chu Kuang''s new book called "Ghost Blowing Lamp". This was pure anticipation.

    "Quit dilly-dallying. Let''s go."

    The colleague patted YangFeng''s shoulder: "I need a ride from you today. My car broke down and it''s being repaired now. Can I trouble you to drop me off at home?"

    "No problem."

    YangFeng glanced at his colleague and laughed: "The ride will cost you a hundred bucks, a friendly price from me to you, Ol'' Zhang."

    Ol'' Zhang rolled his eyes: "A black cab, huh."

    YangFeng chuckled: "Just kidding¡­ But your house is quite far. I''ll drop you off first, I had originally planned to stay back at work a bit longer to finish reading the book."

    Ol'' Zhang asked: "What book?"

    YangFeng answered: ""Ghost Blowing Lamp"."

    Ol'' Zhang raised his eyebrows: "Another fantasy novel? Since Chu Kuang''s ''Zhu Xian'' pioneered the fantasy genre, more and more people have started writing fantasy novels. Many have even followed the trend and achieved great success¡­"

    Ol'' Zhang naturally assumed that "Ghost Blowing Lamp" was a fantasy novel.

    Evidently, the word "Ghost" in "Ghost Blowing Lamp" was the main focus.

    These kind of strange and mystical book titles often suggest a fantasy novel.

    "It''s not simply a trend."

    YangFeng glanced at Ol'' Zhang: "This is Chu Kuang''s new book."

    While others were writing fantasy to follow the trend, Chu Kuang was an exception¡ª

    YangFeng also assumed "Ghost Blowing Lamp" was a fantasy novel.

    Ol'' Zhang was stunned for a moment and then he started to laugh, surprised and delighted: "It''s Chu Kuang''s new book? Nice! Let''s give it a listen!"

    Most people in the editorial department were big fans of Chu Kuang''s work and Ol'' Zhang was no exception.

    "Fine. We''ll listen to it together while driving."

    YangFeng didn''t refuse. By "listening", he meant audiobooks.

    Since editors usually have to drive to and from work and can''t read books or use their mobile phones, they would occasionally listen to books.

    Silver Blue Books had developed an audiobook app which was quite intelligent and could adjust emotions based on the context ensuring it sounded very natural.

    While it wasn''t as good as a broadcast, it was definitely better than dry reading.

    With that, both of them got into the car.

    At the same time, they began using the voice-automated audiobook feature.

    [Tomb robbing is not tourism or poetic artistry, but a technology, a destructive technology. When ancient nobles built tombs, they invariably tried to prevent their tombs from being robbed. Therefore, they devised all manner of traps and concealed weapons such as giant rocks, quicksand, poisoned arrows, poisoned insects, pitfalls, and so on¡­]

    The car had started.

    However, YangFeng and Ol'' Zhang couldn''t help but exchange glances.

    Why was the book talking about tomb robbing at the beginning?

    Wasn''t it a fantasy novel?

    The two were somewhat puzzled, but also a bit curious, so they continued to listen.

    [My grandfather''s name was Hu Guohua. The Hu family was a well-known landlord in the region. At their most glorious, they owned over forty connected houses in three alleys in the city, and among them, some even held government positions and were businessmen¡­]

    Hearing this, YangFeng and Ol'' Zhang more or less understood.

    Turns out "Ghost Blowing Lamp" was not a fantasy novel after all.

    The text was depicted in a realistic manner and was filled with a sense of era, and the story was narrated in the first person¡ª

    First person narrative?

    How dare someone use a first-person narrative these days!?

    YangFeng suddenly felt a tremendous headache.

    Chu Kuang was still the same Chu Kuang.

    He never plays according to the rules!

    You must know that the first-person narrative is disliked by many readers, many of whom won''t even bother reading your content. If they see a first-person narrative, they''d drop the book without hesitation...

    But he just went ahead and did it!

    Old Zhang hesitated, "This doesn''t seem like a fantasy novel. There are no special abilities, instead it''s full of a sense of era, and it seems that the story is about grave robbing?"

    "Keep listening."

    Said YangFeng, a sour expression on his face.

    Though he felt that it wasn''t a reliable concept, he had felt the same way about ''Zhu Xian'' and its fantasy Xianxia genre.

    Given his past experience with ''Zhu Xian'', YangFeng was wary of passing early judgment this time.

    Old Zhang just nodded, not saying a word.

    Listening, the two became somewhat engrossed.

    "To appease his uncle, Hu Guohua, after returning home, found a paper man craftsman from the village. The one who makes those paper effigies burned during funerals. This craftsman was very skillful. He followed the specifications and made a white paper woman for Hu Guohua, then painted eyebrows, eyes, nose, clothes, and hair with watercolor. From a distance, heh, it looked like a living person."

    "Hiss."

    Old Zhang felt a bit uncomfortable.

    YangFeng also felt some goosebumps. He always thought these paper people were a bit creepy.

    Still, they were both interested in how the story would develop.

    And so, in the silence, only the voice kept going:

    "A few days later, when the uncle came to visit his niece-in-law, the door curtain of the inner room lifted and out came a woman. She was fair with a broad face and wide rear, small feet. Hu Guohua''s heart thundered, ''Oh lord, isn''t this the paper woman I had made? How did she come alive?''"

    YangFeng and Old Zhang jumped in surprise.

    It wouldn''t really be called frightening, but they felt a sensation of unease. This tale made their skin crawl, reminding them of ghost stories from their childhood that were told by elderly villagers.

    It was unexplainably creepy. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    People in the book felt the same: "Looking at the woman sitting opposite him, Hu Guohua felt a sickly buzzing sensation, as if he had swallowed a fly. His scalp was pricking incessantly. The face of the paper woman was extraordinary white, without a trace of blood. The blush on her face was only paint¡­"

    Just then, they hit a traffic jam.

    Neither YangFeng nor Old Zhang were in a hurry, just quietly listening to the narration of ''Ghost Blows the Lamp''.

    The paper woman was just the beginning of the story.

    Later on, the voice narrated the part about a cigarette-smoking rat; creepy, yet somewhat humorous...

    The first half of the story leading up to the underground military fortress in Wild Man Gorge Heifengkou mainly set the stage and didn''t have any clear relation to the main plot thread.

    The first half was more like folk tales or rural anecdotes.

    Then, in the latter half, it shifted to the archaeological team entering the desert in search of the Ancient City of Jingjue. This part portrayed distinct geographical and cultural elements.

    Desert of the Western Regions, Peacock River, Double Holy Mountain, The Thirty-six Countries, Beauty of Loulan, Dunhuang Murals and so on were all depicted.

    The traffic jam lasted a long time.

    By the time it cleared, the story had already reached a thrilling part.

    Things like zongzi, upside-downs, evil forces, Lieutenant Goldfinder, and so on, were all explained in detail.

    At the same time...

    The remodelled mysterious and horrifying elements of the story also surfaced. The level of horror greatly surpassed that of the initial paper-woman, such that when they stopped at the lane outside Old Zhang''s house, he felt a chill on his back.

    "Yang¡­"

    "What''s wrong?"

    "Could you walk me¡­"

    "Aren''t we at your house already?"

    "Look at how dark this lane is, doesn''t it resemble a tomb''s passage? I remember there being stray cats at the intersection¡­"

    "I''ll switch on the high beams for you¡­"

    At this moment, YangFeng was also feeling goosebumps.

    Just as he was driving, a scary part of the story had come on, and he almost spaced out. It was Old Zhang''s reminder that allowed him to brake in time.

    "That works."

    Old Zhang hesitantly got off the car, mumbling reminders to YangFeng to drive carefully on his way back. He couldn''t resist to say, "Would you send me that novel? I know the rules, I won''t leak it."

    YangFeng couldn''t help but ask, "You still want to read it after being so scared?"

    Old Zhang sighed faintly, "This book by Chu Kuang has created a new genre. It''s not only terrifying but also well written¡­"

    "Alright."

    YangFeng had to admit Old Zhang was right.

    This ''Ghost Blows the Lamp'' isn''t some Xianxia novel. It''s an extremely thrill-inducing, horrifying, and fresh grave robbing novel!

    The first-person narrative?

    It doesn''t seem to be a problem...

    In the face of an exciting story, the writing method of the novel isn''t the focus. What YangFeng is more concerned about now is, would ''Ghost Blows the Lamp'' scare the kids?

 Chapter 230 - 215: Supreme Proclamation_1

    After dropping off Ol'' Zhang, YangFeng, considering his own safety, dared not listen to "Ghost Blows Out the Light" on his way back.

    Fortunately, the previous voice reading was in intelligent mode.

    If it were a professional anchor, coupled with a bit of emotionally charged music and a slightly gloomy cadence, wouldn''t this story scare the hell out of people?

    That night, when YangFeng returned home, he had a dream.

    He dreamed that he and Ol'' Zhang were tomb robbing. They put a candle in the corner of the wall, but before the coffin was opened, the candle suddenly went out...

    Man lights the candle, ghost blows it out!

    YangFeng didn''t know what happened next because he was awakened by the fear in his heart.

    The next day.

    YangFeng arrived at the office looking lethargic, as if he hadn''t slept well the night before.

    "What''s wrong?" A colleague asked with concern.

    YangFeng replied, "I don''t know how to review Chu Kuang''s new book..."

    "Chu Kuang has finished his new book?"

    All the editors simultaneously looked at YangFeng.

    The editing team at Silver Blue Books are half fans of Chu Kuang. "Zhu Xian" is reputed to be an epic that half the industry is eagerly following!

    Someone prompted, "What genre is it?"

    By then, Ol'' Zhang had also arrived at the office. Hearing everyone discussing, he laughed and said, "If everyone is that curious, why doesn''t YangFeng send the book for everyone to see what they think?"

    "That works."

    YangFeng straightforwardly, just like last time, sent "Ghost Blows Out the Light" to everyone''s emails.

    The novel needed to be kept confidential before publication, but naturally, there was no problem with the company''s editors.

    After everyone received "Ghost Blows Out the Light", they immediately started reading.

    Just a few minutes in, someone said in astonishment, "First person perspective?"

    "Is this a horror novel?"

    "Strictly speaking, it''s a paranormal novel..."

    "Does tomb robbing count as paranormal? From an industry perspective, this is clearly a realistic novel."

    "I thought it was a martial arts fantasy from the title..."

    "Can this work?"

    "..."

    Everyone''s comments were relatively tactful.

    In fact, just from reading the opening and the first-person perspective of the novel, everyone had absolutely no expectations for the content of the story.

    If this wasn''t Chu Kuang''s book, they would have already rejected this manuscript!

    First person perspective?

    Who still writes in first-person these days?

    Don''t they know that readers today will abandon a book as soon as they see it''s written in first-person?

    And the long-winded introduction, which was all about the protagonist''s grandfather''s affairs?

    And it mentioned tomb robbing...

    What''s there to tell about tomb robbing?

    No such genre has ever existed before.

    Ol'' Zhang, chuckling, said, "Just keep reading."

    Yesterday, when he and YangFeng were listening to the opening of "Ghost Blows Out the Light", they were both puzzled, even thinking that Chu Kuang was writing nonsense.

    But after listening further, their opinion had completely changed.

    At this point, the editors in the editorial department were going through the same change of mind.

    When they read that a paper man burnt for the deceased suddenly came alive and spoke the truth to marry Hu Guohua, they all shivered.

    The atmosphere in the room instantly chilled!

    And when they read that the paper man told Hu Guohua to go to the graveyard in the middle of the night to dig up buried gold and silver, with Hu Guohua doing so out of greed, only to have his heart and liver eaten by the paper man, everyone''s breath hitched... S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Ol'' Zhang and YangFeng exchanged a glance.

    The reactions of the crowd didn''t surprise them too much.

    This novel is full of horrifying scenes. The opening just feels creepy, but the further parts are downright chilling.

    Like when Hu Bayi and Fatty went to a local job site, and Ol'' Wang''s daughter-in-law in the village saw a group of people kneeling before a Locust Tree. When she walked over for a closer look, she discovered these people had no heads...

    Just thinking about this scene gives one the creeps...

    Not to mention what comes next with the red orangutan rice dumplings, and the two dead children...

    The dead children were a boy and a girl...

    The novel explains that when the children were alive, they were injected with mercury from the top of their head, and then coated with mercury powder on the outside of their body, just like making a specimen. After thousands of years, their bodies would not decay, but they would appear greenish and vaguely black.

    Chu Kuang''s text aptly describes the details of the blood vessels, the hole through which mercury is injected, and so on.

    It was when they heard this part that YangFeng nearly crashed the car.

    "Bang!"

    Suddenly, the door opened.

    Maybe everyone was so engrossed in the novel.

    Caught off guard by the sudden noise, someone even panicked and knocked over their goji berry tea...

    Water spilled all over the floor.

    Only then did everyone realize that it was Ol'' Xiong, the chief editor who had arrived.

    "What are you all doing, looking so surprised?" Ol'' Xiong frowned.

    YangFeng explained, "Chu Kuang has produced a new book."

    Ol'' Xiong was stunned, then his eyes lit up: "What genre?"

    "Paranormal!"

    "Horror!"

    "Mystery!"

    "Adventure!"

    Several editors blurted out simultaneously.

    Ol'' Xiong frowned again: "What exactly is it?"

    YangFeng pondered for a moment and said: "I suppose it''s a new genre. I think it should be called tomb-robbing novels..."

    "Tomb-robbing?"

    Ol'' Xiong looked somewhat puzzled.

    The literal meaning was of course understood. Everyone knows what tomb-robbing is. But Ol'' Xiong couldn''t figure out how this could make a good novel.

    Chu Kuang''s new book, is it another unconventional path?

    YangFeng quickly said, "You''ll understand when you see it, I''ve sent the novel to your email."

    The novel couldn''t be easily explained in just a few words because at Blue Star, there has never been a novel of the "Ghost Blows Out the Light" type before!

    Simply defining it as horror or mystery seemed insufficient.

    Apart from Chu Kuang, probably no one else would think of writing such a fantasy novel...

    "Alright."

    Ol'' Xiong nodded and went into his office.

    The editors looked at each other and then started discussing in low whispers:

    "Chu Kuang really has a different style for each book; this one is too scary!"

    "I think it''s very thrilling."

    "It''s like watching a scary movie - I''m frightened but can''t resist continuing..."

    "Could this be popular? After all, it''s in first-person perspective..."

    "Hard to say, even though it''s in first-person, but as I kept reading, I seemed to have adapted?"

    "On second thought, don''t you think ''Ghost Blows Out the Light'' can better engage readers by using first-person perspective?"

    "Mystery novels often use first-person perspective..."

    "The problem is, we''re in fantasy fiction, where readers like protagonists being impressive and charming, ''Ghost Blows Out the Light'' seems... like it''s in the wrong category?"

    "It''s also a fantasy novel, I think the imagination in this book is terrifying..."

    "No matter what, Chu Kuang''s novel is terrific!"

    "Three books, three different genres, even the writing style is different each time, this is frightening!"

    "..."

    After discussing for a while, everyone returned to their seats and continued to read "Ghost Blows Out the Light".

    Half an hour later, the door to the chief editor''s office suddenly opened.

    Ol'' Xiong ran out...

    Faced with this scene, the editors of Silver Blue Books felt a strange sense of familiarity.

    It was also on this day.

    The chief editorial director personally instructed that "Ghost Blows Out the Light" would be officially released in June, and the publicity level was set at...

    The highest level!

 Chapter 231 - 216 GOAT quota_1

    "Top tier?"

    Upon receiving a call from YangFeng, Lin Yuan learned that "Ghost Blows Out the Light" had been decided to be published, and the promotion of the novel was of the top tier scale ¨C a treatment only top class authors within the publishing house could receive.

    "Yes."

    YangFeng explained, "Even with the success of your previous two novels, this treatment is considered quite impressive. But the reason the company offered top tier promotion is ours hoping that you could make it onto a certain list."

    "What list?"

    "Here''s the thing, since the merger of Qin and Qi Provinces, the circles of novelists naturally merged. You were previously selected as the tenth novelist on the short story ranking by the ''Literature and Art Gazette'', right? That''s one of the changes that came about as a result of the merger. Our fantasy genre has similar selections too."

    "Oh..."

    Lin Yuan remained noncommittal.

    YangFeng laughed while explaining, "''Literature and Art Gazette'' held the selection of short stories, whereas the selection of fantasy novels is more important. So the entity responsible for the selections is the Literature and Art Association, which was established after the merger of Qin and Qi Provinces.

    They plan to conduct two professional evaluations: The first one is to select the ''Gold Award GOAT'' of fantasy genre; the second criterion is to crown the ''Supreme God'' of fantasy genre. Every industry should be setting similar standards for the future, just like the music industry that has ''Golden Composers'' and so-called ''Maestro''."

    "Are there any benefits?"

    Lin Yuan was not interested in these empty reputations. In the music industry, ''Golden Composers'' could receive contracts with higher share percentages from their companies, whereas the ''Maestro'' status was even more incredible. This was what Lin Yuan truly valued.

    "Of course, there are!"

    YangFeng answered immediately, "If you could become the ''Gold Award GOAT'', your contract with our company will inevitably rise to the next level. The specifics can be discussed later. Of course, I know that Mr. Chu Kuang doesn''t care much about these things. He just wants Silver Blue to make a gesture.

    As for the ''Supreme God'', chances are slim because the sales volume of Chu Kuang''s works is not high enough..."

    "I got it." Lin Yuan''s eyes sparkled.

    ''GOAT'' is akin to ''Golden Composer'' in the music industry, and ''Supreme God'' is equivalent to the ''Maestro'' in the music world.

    The biggest drawback for Lin Yuan currently was that the total sales volume of his novels was not high enough.

    His novels were indeed popular, but he had only been in the industry for so short a time. Without the accumulation over a period, Lin Yuan''s sales volume could not be compared to top-class novelists who had been writing for decades.

    However, Lin Yuan had his strengths.

    He had pioneered two new genres in the fantasy fiction field, and there is also "Ghost Blows Out the Light," which would soon establish a new tomb-robbing genre. All these achievements could be counted as Lin Yuan''s influences. If a selection is to be held, these would all be considered.

    Giving the highest promotion to the new book obviously meant that Silver Blue Books wanted to help him receive a higher ranking. After all, the stronger the influence of the authors under a company, the greater the influence of the company itself.

    "And, as long as you understand."

    YangFeng chuckled, "Recently, these matters have been circulating both within and outside the industry. It is rumored that the selection would commence officially in June. Therefore, the timing of your new book is just right. However, precisely because there is such a selection in June, there are numerous authors releasing their works in June.

    ''Ghost Blows Out the Light'' happens to be the new book that Silver Blue values most in June..."

    "Hmm..."

    Lin Yuan did not engage in further discussion.

    Regardless of the selection results, at least the top-tier promotion arranged by Silver Blue was a good thing. Just like the promotion for films, novels also require promotion before their publication. Proper promotion could garner more sales. After all, good wine needs no bush.

    Word-of-mouth reversal? S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Rising through word-of-mouth reversal is indeed a good narrative, but that is only a consolation when faced with reality. Wouldn''t it be better if a storyline could be explosive right from the start?

    Sure enough...

    After notifying Lin Yuan, Silver Blue Books began to operate on a full scale. "Ghost Blows Out the Light" directly entered the top-tier promotion phase. It involved not only the conventional strategy of flaunting banners on the official website but also pervasive urban advertisements and newspaper promotions.

    Even the literary section of the tribe also advertised for it, mentioning that Chu Kuang would soon publish a new lengthy novel...

    Consider this...

    Under normal circumstances, tribes seldom accept these kinds of novel advertisements. However, this after all, is a new book by Chu Kuang, and there has always been a good cooperation foundation between the tribes and Chu Kuang. Therefore, when Silver Blue Books approached for a partnership, the tribe agreed without considering much.

    Instead of saying it''s to give Silver Blue Books face, it''s more about showing some courtesy to Chu Kuang.

    As a result...

    The advertising campaign was successful!

    After this comprehensive promotion, Chu Kuang''s new book advertisements were everywhere within a few days. All those paying attention to novels knew about the release of Chu Kuang''s new book. Anyone could see that this was the highest level of promotional value that a writer could get from a publishing house - the advertising effect was almost maxed out.

    Apart from this...

    The promotional slogans that Silver Blue Books used for Chu Kuang''s new book were extremely ambitious, no less audacious than those of Chu Kuang''s last book: [Chu Kuang''s new book will launch on June 1st, "Ghost Blows Out the Light" will set the agenda!]

    Meanwhile...

    There were more slogans everywhere, their appearances all over the internet were relentless, like the irresistible advertisements on some novel forums that sparkled curiosity in people: "Planting mound print, touching golden talisman, moving mountains and unloading ridges to find dragon decisions; people lit candles, ghosts blew out the light, exploring gradients and dipping dippers to seek star peaks.

    Mercury streaks, nurturing brilliants, numerous trips to dragon tower treasure pavilions; burying deep coffins, bronze bottles, don''t approach if the eight characters are not hard!"

    People light candles!

    Ghosts blow out the light!

    Although the style of the advertisement was completely different from the previous two books by Chu Kuang, resembling supernatural novels, many readers actually enjoyed this mysterious feeling. It highlighted an impressive unknown, especially the fans of Chu Kuang:

    "It feels like it''s a new genre!"

    "The promotional material said they''re starting a new school of thought."

    "After the previous two books, although I had hoped Chu Kuang would continue with fantasy martial arts or sports genre, I still support him writing a new genre. Because I believe in Chu Kuang''s writing ability; the previous two books have proven everything!"

    "The advertisement is really strong!"

    "Old rascal Chu Kuang is now one of the faces of Silver Blue Books, his sales may not be number one, but his influence is extremely high. After all, he led two waves of trends, he''s a real pioneer. How could Silver Blue Books not give him the recognition?"

    "I can''t wait!"

    "The old rascal Chu Kuang has finally released a new book, seems like he''s quite productive. But, I won''t read it. Ever since he killed off Biyao in his book, I decided not to read any of his novels anymore, this post is my witness!"

    "To be released in June?"

    "Are there too many new books being released in June? Probably all aiming for the GOAT award. But Chu Kuang is one of the few authors whose status is high enough. Other novels released in June can only be considered as last-minute attempts, the main thing is still past achievements. I think with Chu Kuang''s strength, there''s no problem in getting a GOAT award."

    "..."

    And within the industry.

    All the major publishing companies frowned at the same time. In such fiercely competitive market conditions, Chu Kuang''s sudden release of a new book is not good news for everyone, since everyone in the industry has already witnessed Chu Kuang''s capability twice.

    In fact.

    From the start of the high-level promotional campaign, several booksellers have contacted Silver Blue Books, pre-ordering a certain number of Chu Kuang''s new books. After last time''s painful incident, no one dares to underestimate Chu Kuang anymore.

    "Is he ushering in a new school of thought again?"

    "Is he aiming for the GOAT?"

    "Addicted to introducing new genres?"

    "Even if Chu Kuang doesn''t release a new book in June, with the influence of his previous two books, he still has hope of getting the GOAT award. Now that he''s releasing a new book, he probably wants to play it safe. The specifics are up to the quality of his new book."

    "It shouldn''t be too bad."

    "That''s not necessarily true, while advertising scale represents an author''s brand; regardless of the quality of the famous author''s new book, the publisher will give them recognition based on their past achievements. Whether the content of the new book is masterful is another matter. What I''m curious about is whether he''s really created a new genre?"

    "..."

    While the industry is discussing, Chu Kuang''s name is well-known, but now that Qin and Qi have merged, not everyone knows who Chu Kuang is, because half of the market now consists of readers from Qi Province.

    Yes.

    Although some readers from Qi Province have read Chu Kuang''s "Zhu Xian" after the merger, the number is not significant and the readers from the two sides have not completely integrated yet. They still have limited knowledge of the authors from the other side, so many people have raised questions:

    "Is Chu Kuang really that good?"

    "This Chu Kuang seems pretty tough, his new book advertisements are on the bus I frequently take. In our Qi Province, such a level of author is already a leading figure in some fields."

    "Is he really that impressive?"

    "I''ve read Chu Kuang''s short story ''Necklace'', it was really good. I didn''t expect that he would also write long fantasy novels, and this happens to be the genre I like. I''m curious to see if Chu Kuang really is that good."

    "..."

    Naturally, readers from Qin Province are eager to explain Chu Kuang''s information to readers from Qi Province: "Chu Kuang originally wrote long stories. All the popular sports competitive texts in Qin are following Chu Kuang''s trend. Qin''s popular fantasy martial arts novels are also following Chu Kuang''s trend. Do you know what a pioneer stands for?"

    With pride.

    With a hint of bragging.

    Since Chu Kuang is a fantasy writer from Qin, after explaining to the readers from Qi, they genuinely have high expectations, and plan to see how good ''Ghost Blows out the Light'' is. This also serves another purpose of Silver Blue Books in giving Chu Kuang''s new book the highest level of promotion:

    Win the competition!

    Expand the market!

    Let Chu Kuang firmly become a GOAT, and at the same time let the readers of Qi province recognize Chu Kuang''s strength. In this way, the sales of Chu Kuang''s novels can go to a higher level.

    Without a doubt.

    Silver Blue Books is still very optimistic about the quality of "Ghost Blows out the Light". Although there is some internal controversy about this novel, such as worries that readers won''t accept the first-person narrative, or concerns that the genre of this novel doesn''t quite match with fantasy, one thing everyone agrees on is:

    This novel is very fascinating.

    All major publishing companies are now closely watching the competition. The publisher with more GOATs and Supreme Gods under its banner represents greater strength. Naturally, Silver Blue Books wants to help Chu Kuang...

 Chapter 232 - 217 Official Release_1

    GOAT, the absolute best.

    The award seems rather adolescent.

    However, who among the readers who enjoy fantasy novels don''t have some adolescent attributes?

    The official naming of this award is probably also a way of catering to young readers who love this genre of novels.

    After all, everyone still likes to call their favorite author "GOAT". S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    There are also some who call them "old rascal".

    However, this title is used by the minority.

    Only those authors who evoke mixed feelings of love and hate from their readers are addressed as old rascals.

    If there were an "old rascal" award, Chu Kuang, the author who killed off Biyao, might be famous on the list.

    Lin Yuan didn''t care about these shallow titles...

    Until he knew that being the supreme deity could earn better contracts.

    At that moment, Lin Yuan''s aspiration to be the so-called "supreme diety" was as great as his anticipation of becoming "Maestro".

    In comparison, the benefits of the short story award, apart from gaining a good reputation, seem uncertain?

    Of course, there are some benefits.

    But in terms of making money, long stories overpower short ones, which is why Lin Yuan has never given up on writing long novels.

    In the following days, Lin Yuan conscientiously paid attention to the award''s developments.

    The Literature and Art Gazette, which previously ranked authors based on their short stories from Qin and Qi provinces, is affiliated with the Literature and Art Association and is considered a subsidiary unit.

    The short stories were judged by the Literature and Art Gazette.

    The judging of the long stories, on the other hand, is conducted by the headquarters of the Literature and Art Association, and preparations for it have been underway for a while, otherwise the news wouldn''t have already reached the public.

    Only someone like Lin Yuan, who straddles multiple industries, lacked knowledge of industry updates.

    And by the middle of May.

    The details of the GOAT and supreme deity awards were finally disclosed.

    The Literature and Art Association published an article in the Literature and Art Gazette, stating, "In the future, the awards will be held annually, so there will be new GOATs and supreme deities every year. The exact number is yet to be determined, but the number for the first event has already been decided.

    We will judge fair and square, openly choosing ten GOAT-level fantasy authors and three supreme deities¡­"

    As expected.

    The difficult supreme deity award only has three spots available, which are very likely to be given to the top fantasy authors who have been famous for many years and have consistently achieved good results!

    The number of spots for the GOAT award is comparatively more, a total of ten.

    No wonder Silver Blue Books believes Chu Kuang can secure one of the GOAT spots.

    Although he started late, Chu Kuang''s influence is not something ordinary novelists can compete with!

    Indeed, there are many industry insiders who have already started to forecast.

    For these kinds of rankings, it is actually possible to predict some of the results in advance, given that the editors within the industry understand the authors'' achievements the best.

    And in the vast majority of predictions, Chu Kuang''s name features prominently.

    "In terms of sales, Chu Kuang doesn''t have a significant advantage in being picked as the GOAT, but his industry influence is undeniable. Chu Kuang has consecutively created two new genres of writing. It''s only fair that he secures a spot as the GOAT."

    Many agreed with this sentiment.

    The indisputable fact is, the sports novels and Xianxia novels created by Chu Kuang have provided for many authors.

    The influence of the pioneer is too great.

    Especially the Xianxia novels, which are so hot right now!

    There was a tally...

    In the Qin provincial market, the Xianxia and sports competition genres combined have already occupied one-fifth of the market share in the fantasy domain!

    In other words.

    One-fifth of the authors on the market are following the two genres initiated by Chu Kuang!

    Does one-fifth sound small?

    No, when we talk about the entire Qin Province, it''s quite terrifying.

    Of course.

    Now with the merger of Qin and Qi provinces, this market share has certainly shrunk a lot, but this accomplishment is already dazzling enough for Chu Kuang.

    ...

    The editors are making predictions, and so are the readers.

    The readers are more fond of making these predictions than the editors, even coming up with specific lists.

    There are people who believe that Chu Kuang will make it to the GOAT list, but his ranking might not be particularly high because fantasy authors from both Qin and Qi will be participating in the evaluation...

    In comparison, the fantasy novels from Qi Province are indeed inferior to those from Qin.

    That''s just relatively speaking.

    Qi Province also has many talented fantasy authors.

    But to be fair, several fantasy authors from Qi province will inevitably be selected, although the number will likely be less than those from Qin.

    But now, there''s no point in making any more predictions.

    Because the official results will only be formally announced after July.

    Currently in the marketplace.

    Everyone seems more concerned with how the new books released in June will perform.

    There are many talented authors in June.

    Among these, three works catch the most attention.

    The authors are:

    Chu Kuang, Devil Child, and Mister Sea.

    No need to mention Chu Kuang, the marquee artist in June for Silver Blue Books and the focus of the highest ad campaign.

    Devil Child''s work is also being released in June, titled "The Sword Sage Descends the Mountain".

    His fame is no less than that of Chu Kuang. As the June marquee author heavily backed by Ding Sheng publishing, it also has the highest promotional efforts, with the goal of fixing a spot in the GOAT selection!

    As for Mister Sea...

    He''s the banner author for Sky Publishing in Qi province, with a book titled "My other world is primitive society".

    Needless to say, it also gets the highest promotion, only the subject matter chosen is traditional other-world adventure...

    Devil Child has the suspicion of imitating Chu Kuang.

    But now that Xianxia has created a trend, nobody keeps bringing up whether one is copying or not anymore.

    When a lot of people are writing on the same subject, it forms a genre.

    It might be a stretch to say that every Xianxia novel on Earth is influenced by "Floating Dream".

    When they first came out, everyone would compare them to "Floating Dream", but later on, this stopped.

    All in all.

    The promotion of these three novels was fierce, alongside the release of some other novels.

    But clearly, they couldn''t compete with the hottest promoted titles.

    The booksellers were also making choices.

    On the side of Silver Blue Books, many booksellers pre-ordered "Ghost Blowing Lamp".

    But the June new releases of Mister Sea and the Devil Child, two novelists, were also pre-ordered by major bookstores.

    Just comparing the pre-order data...

    Ghost Blowing Lamp of Silver Blue Books, which hasn''t been released yet, has already sold a million copies.

    The Sky Publishing House''s "My other world is primitive society", also not yet released, has currently sold a million copies as well.

    The most impressive is Devil Child''s "The Sword Sage Descends the Mountain", with pre-sales of 1.3 million copies!

    This doesn''t mean that Devil Child is stronger than the other two.

    The main reason is related to the theme.

    Because there are no tomb-robbing types in the market, Silver Blue Books classified "Ghost Blowing Lamp" as a horror-mystery --

    A niche market.

    It was only after "Zhu Xian" that the industry dared not treat Chu Kuang normally. Otherwise, the initial treatment of this book would not be better than Chu Kuang''s previous work.

    On the other hand, "My other world is primitive society" is much more steady -- a traditional other-world adventure. While readers may be tired of this, it is still the most active genre in the market.

    As for Devil Child''s "The Sword Sage Descends the Mountain", the pre-sales were the highest because it is a Xianxia!

    Xianxia is the freshest subject matter currently, with several bestsellers already out. Plus, the writer this time is Devil Child, naturally appealing to booksellers!

    Why?

    Because Devil Child has many nicknames, such as, "killer of original series", "king of bandwagon-hopping", "master of drastic changes" and so on.

    Hearing these nicknames...

    Devil Child is good at jumping on the bandwagon, but he does it cleverly, adding his own details and thoughts, making drastic changes, and the final works often perform better than those he imitates!

    This is a kind of ability.

    Many powerful writers in the industry have this ability, but Devil Child is undoubtedly the cream of the crop.

    Some even wondered if "The Sword Sage Descends the Mountain" could surpass the pioneer...

    That is, Chu Kuang''s "Zhu Xian"?

    ...

    Lin Yuan cared about the title race of the GOAT, but he didn''t care about the competition for the new book in June.

    Although the competition for the new book affected his top-tier promotion.

    This is natural.

    If there is only one best-selling author starting a new book at the same time, everyone''s attention will naturally be focused on this best-selling author.

    But if several best-selling authors start a book at the same time, their attention will inevitably be dispersed.

    Booksellers also need to make judgments...

    Bookstores sell books, basically, there are the main push works.

    If the performance of the works they choose to push is not good, it will affect their income.

    Of course.

    They can adjust according to the situation.

    For example, if the book they push does not perform well, they can completely switch to promoting another book that sells well...

    But it depends on whether they signed any other contracts when they pre-ordered the novel.

    If they signed other contracts, such as author signing events, they can''t easily change their main push works.

    Actually.

    Some big booksellers also hope that Chu Kuang can cooperate with the bookstore to have a signing event for "Ghost Blowing Lamp", which is a good method to stimulate sales.

    Chu Kuang''s fans might buy "Ghost Blowing Lamp" for Chu Kuang''s signature, even if they don''t necessarily like this book.

    However, after receiving a call from YangFeng, Lin Yuan refused.

    Although he really wanted to make this money, once he held a signing and selling event, his fall would not be far away.

    This is the downside of having too many pen names.

    Lin Yuan decided to continue being a quiet Matryoshka doll.

    On the contrary, Devil Child and Mister Sea have signed additional contracts with different booksellers, preparing to hold signature selling events, aiming to achieve higher sales in June.

    However, Lin Yuan also has his own way of promoting.

    He promoted the news of "Ghost Blowing Lamp" releasing a new book in June through Chu Kuang''s account.

    Then, he used Shadow and Xian Yu''s accounts to forward and recommend.

    The three accounts are interconnected, sharing the same heart, emphasizing unity in progression and retreat!

    It''s also due to the bundling of the three accounts that fans get extra excited whenever they see these three accounts collaborating. It always feels like a self-circling CP, and the collaboration always locks CP with a heavy taste.

    "Today''s threesome has started!"

    "Triangle love?"

    "A battlefield of love?"

    "Before it was just Chu Kuang and Xian Yu, but now there''s an additional Shadow. It seems like Chu Kuang is the core, while Xian Yu and Shadow are competing for favor..."

    "You guys are so dirty (blushing)"

    "As everyone knows, when Chu Kuang posts an update, Xian Yu and Shadow must share."

    "..."

    The three-person CP is as steady as a dog; netizens love to tease the bromance circle formed by Chu Kuang, Xian Yu and Shadow. Various spoofs abound, so every time they collaborate, it''s like a sucker punch to the netizens'' wicked sense of humor.

    Lin Yuan was not sure if this bundling promotion was good for sales. Anyway, once he finished this, he didn''t continue to pay attention to it.

    At this point, May had quietly ended.

    June.

    A large number of new books have been placed on the shelves of major bookstores.

    Chu Kuang''s third long novel, "Ghost Blowing Lamp", was officially released!

 Chapter 233 - 218: Shocked Reader_1

    The subject matter is critical to a novel; so why do most novelists always opt for popular themes in their works?

    Because readers prefer those themes, they seek out books within those categories¡ª

    Choosing a popular theme increases the chances of the novel being selected by readers!

    Even some well-reputed bestselling authors don''t dare to easily choose some niche themes for their creations.

    This is because they are not sure whether their readers will continue to support them after they write a book with an unpopular theme.

    Yet, there are always some authors who defy convention.

    Chu Kuang is one such author.

    He seems to be inherently averse to writing on popular subjects.

    His debut novel in the field of the fantasy long-fiction genre was called "King of the Net," revolving around competitive sports¡ª

    An incredibly niche theme!

    His second novel, "Zhu Xian," falls into a genre of fantasy novels that hardly anybody else was touching¡ª

    It''s an even more dubious proposition than competitive sports!

    Despite this, these two unlikely-themed novels turned out to be remarkably successful, even setting trends in the market!

    Therefore,

    When Chu Kuang''s third novel was placed in the horror and mystery category, many industry insiders weren''t surprised at all.

    It''s clear that

    If it weren''t for the success of "Zhu Xian," the industry would definitely have been pessimistic about Chu Kuang''s new book, and there would have been a hundred per cent chance somebody would have said:

    "Chu Kuang''s new book will certainly flop!"

    This is because horror and suspense are also niche genres in the realm of fantasy novels!

    But Chu Kuang had already twice outperformed everyone''s expectations, so when Silver Blue Books started promoting his new book, no one dared to question the quality of Chu Kuang''s new book, although deep down they might have had some reservations.

    Editors within the industry are not fools.

    Whenever it comes to anything involving Chu Kuang, judging based on conventional wisdom usually ends up being humiliating. It would be better to keep quiet and wait for the results.

    Book merchants are not fools either.

    Even though "Ghost Blowing Lamp" seemed to be headed for a flop, all the major booksellers were still respectful, pre-ordering a decent quantity of stock from Silver Blue Books.

    There was no choice really,

    After all, "Ghost Blowing Lamp" was Chu Kuang''s new novel?

    With his first two novels as a base, the pen name Chu Kuang has come to largely overshadow the importance of genre and subject.

    However¡­

    This is just the opinion of some people in Qin Province.

    A lot of readers in the Qi Province do not agree with it.

    Like Mai Tong.

    Mai Tong is a native of Qi Province.

    After the merger of Qin and Qi Provinces, as a lover of fantasy novels, Mai Tong naturally read many of the great fantasy novels from Qin Province.

    Because there are so many excellent works from Qin Province, all brilliant, Mai Tong was captivated and couldn''t stop reading.

    Therefore, Mai Tong hadn''t yet had time to get to Chu Kuang''s novels.

    However, many readers from Qin Province praised Chu Kuang a lot on the internet, making it seem as if Chu Kuang was really something special.

    So Mai Tong was planning on reading some of Chu Kuang''s work

    Just then, Mai Tong came across the promotion for Chu Kuang''s new book from Silver Blue Books.

    What better way to understand an author than through their newest work?

    That''s why, after learning that Chu Kuang was releasing a new book, Mai Tong didn''t buy any of Chu Kuang''s past works, but looked forward to his new book.

    Mai Tong wanted to see just how great this Chu Kuang from Qin Province really was.

    But...

    Before the book named "Ghost Blowing Lamp" was officially released, just seeing the theme of the novel mentioned in the promotion, Mai Tong was already starting to feel disappointed.

    It''s a horror and mystery book?!

    Isn''t Chu Kuang a famous author from Qin Province? Why would he choose to write such a niche theme?

    Is this typical of bestselling authors in Qin Province?

    To be honest, Mai Tong wasn''t interested in this theme at all.

    But maybe the Qin Province web users were just too effusive in their praise of Chu Kuang.

    Even though Mai Tong had zero interest in the theme of Chu Kuang''s new book, he still bought a copy of "Ghost Blowing Lamp" on its official release date, the first of June.

    He wasn''t interested in the book, but in the person.

    The praise for Chu Kuang coming from Qin Province''s readers online was too high, so much so that Mai Tong was curious about what makes this person so special.

    However,

    As soon as he flipped open "Ghost Blowing Lamp," Mai Tong''s face fell.

    "First person narrative?"

    The great Chu Kuang''s writing is just this mediocre?

    Mai Tong has always believed that the first-person narrative is the most unconvincing method of storytelling.

    He once tried to force himself to read a novel written in the first person, but he couldn''t make it past a few chapters before giving up.

    Since then, he hadn''t read a single novel written in the first person.

    The market response also proved that first-person writing was unpopular.

    Ninety-nine percent of popular books are created in the third person, with a god-like perspective.

    Barely looking at these points, Mai Tong already wanted to write off "Ghost Blowing Lamp."

    However, he had spent money on this book; Mai Tong held back his instinctive resistance with a grimace and continued reading.

    And the set up and plotline of the novel slowly unfolds before Mai Tong''s eyes...

    [Opening the mound, gold finding, shifting the mountain, unloading the ridge, these are the four major tomb-raiding schools.]

    [Man lights the candle, the ghost blows the lamp.]

    Before opening a coffin inside an ancient tomb, you must first light a candle in the southeast corner. If the candle goes out, you must quickly exit and cannot take a single thing. This is said to be a contract between the living and the dead set by the founder, adhered to for a thousand years, never to be broken.]

    [At the crow of the rooster or the snuffing of the candle, refrain from touching the gold.]

    [When searching for the dragon, observe the pattern of the mountains. Each turn is a challenge; A gate with a thousand locks hints at royalty living within.]

    At first, Mai Tong skimmed through the book hastily, like swallowing dates whole.

    Just like reading a textbook, his lack of interest made his reading very perfunctory.

    But when doing plot unfolded, like the part about paper dolls, and the rules and setup of tomb robbing got meticulously analyzed by the author, Mai Tong gradually got interested.

    "This is quite intriguing."

    He quirked an eyebrow and continued to Read.

    Time, ticked away little by little.

    When the story got integrated into the main line, through the perspective of Hu Bayi, Mai Tong found his eyes widening a little, the speed of his reading slowing down.

    "Zongzi (rice dumplings)..."

    "Goldfinder''s charm..."

    "Gifted one distributes gold and determines dwelling places..."

    "Sixteen-Character Yin-Yang FengShui Secret Technique..."

    From the moment the Ancient City of Jingjue got first mentioned in the story, the main plotline became clear. It was like the trunk of a large tree, slowly branching out into leaves and twigs.

    It''s absolutely fascinating!

    With the progression of the story, Mai Tong completely lost himself in it. He recalled those Qin Province readers'' comments on Chu Kuang on the internet, for the very first time, he felt a profound agreement in his heart...

    Chu Kuang, so exceptional! Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This novel, seemingly scary, actually covers historical geography, humanities, and even "The Book of Changes". Only a knowledgeable author could produce such a work.

    Because...

    To write this type of book, one needs the imagination of a thriller author, the profundity of a historical writer, the logic of a detective writer, a psychologist''s grasp on human nature, knowledge of a civil engineer, the sensitivity of a politician, the basics of a geographer, and most importantly, an endless source of superb inspirations!

    A great reputation is never gained without merit.

    Chu Kuang accomplished all this!

    What is most magical is...

    The tomb-robbing scenes depicted by Chu Kuang!

    The underground world he describes is too ingenious and bizarre, the thrilling and terrifying atmosphere carries a intense mental stimulation, triggering Mai Tong''s countless imaginations!

    The characters are very vividly drawn.

    Hu Bayi, who would talk about everything under the sun, but would become decisive at crucial moments.

    Shirley Yang, who''s agile and has extraordinary insights, upstanding and universal.

    Wang Kai Xuan, the Fatty Wang, who loves money and has a fear of heights, yet demonstrates deep loyalty and extraordinary gun skills.

    Faction, unique skills, jargon, sense of era, all present. It appears absurd, yet it''s unusually reasonable. There''s even analysis and explanation of materialism weaving through it, which keeps people from feeling that the author is concocting cock-and-bull stories...

    This world, almost real!

    Thrilling and exciting, horrifying and suspenseful, mystifying and weird, while carrying a bit of deductive, puzzle-solving vibe.

    This is entirely different from the horror suspense that Mai Tong had expected!

    Even putting this novel into the "horror suspense" category is somewhat of a mistake.

    This is clearly a new genre.

    This is...a grave-robbing novel that''s never been seen in the market before!

    "I''m totally sold!"

    Mai Tong''s mood, became exceedingly excited!

    Previously, he disliked the first-person perspective, but as he read through the novel, he suddenly felt, there''s nothing wrong with first-person perspective!

    Tomb robbing novels should use first-person perspective to boost immersion, making one feel as if they too have entered the story!

    This kind of immersive reading experience, is something third-person perspective can''t provide.

    In other words, if the writer is skillful enough, first-person perspective can also be beautifully done!

    By now.

    It was already dark.

    Without realizing it, Mai Tong had spent the whole afternoon reading.

    Only then did he come back to his senses and noticed that his neck was a little sore, and his eyes a little dry.

    However, at this point, he was nearly finished with the first volume of the novel.

    Mai Tong reads quite fast compared to average readers.

    Meanwhile, around the same time.

    The editors of Silver Blue Books were anxiously awaiting feedback online for "Ghost Blows Out the Light", though there were some comments already, most of them were not directly related to the content, only personal support for Chu Kuang.

    "There shouldn''t be any problems, right?"

    "Although the style of the novel isn''t exactly youthful and imaginative, in this era, isn''t it all about whether the story is exciting or not..."

    "I''m worried that readers won''t accept the first-person perspective."

    "Yes, everyone struggled with the first-person perspective, but everything requires an adjustment period, don''t you think after reading for a while, you start to forget about the first-person issue?"

    "Yes, I became engrossed later on, I didn''t even mind the first-person perspective."

    "..."

    As the editors carried on with their discussion, feedback on "Ghost Blows Out the Light" started to appear online.

    The first wave of readers finally showed up.

    The novel was officially launched at seven in the morning.

    By now, almost twelve hours had passed since the launch of "Ghost Blows Out the Light".

    For fast readers, finishing the first volume of "Ghost Blows Out the Light" within twelve hours was not a problem.

    Even if they didn''t finish the first volume.

    After reading just a part of this book, its exciting charm started to emerge, enough to allow all appraisals to be well-founded.

    The editors who had been eagerly watching the official website finally began to see the readers'' reviews.

    The first review regarding the official content was from a reader named "Mai Tong":

    "As a reader from Qi Continent, I''ve always heard of the great Chu Kuang. Today I had the fortune of reading ''Ghost Blows Out the Light'', finished it in one breath, and was mind-blown. Since the merger of Qin and Qi, this is the best novel I''ve ever read from Qin Province!"

    Shortly after.

    As if a starting gunshot.

    Once this book review appeared, more reviews regarding ''Ghost Blows Out the Light'' followed like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, one after another.

 Chapter 234 - 219: The Old Pioneer_1

    As the direct editor of Chu Kuang, YangFeng is more dedicated than anyone to the reader feedback for "Ghost Blows Out the Light".

    When it was about time, he would wait in front of the computer, constantly refreshing the reader''s reviews: Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "The new work is really amazing!"

    "It scares me to the point that I dare not go to the toilet... I, as a man, in broad daylight, dare not go to the toilet!"

    "Do you seem very proud?"

    "Did Chu Kuang try to scare me to death and then inherit my mortgage?"

    "Children do not speak of strange forces and chaotic gods, the snippets in this book actually justified themselves with materialism."

    "Hey bro, wait a second, how about you explain to me the principle of Corpse Fragrance Demon Taro using materialism?"

    "..."

    YangFeng couldn''t help but laugh.

    How could a tomb-robbing novel be entirely explained by materialism?

    The Corpse fragrance demon taro and so forth mentioned in the book, many of the bizarre plots, all have a bit of a mystical tint.

    Fortunately, this is not what the readers are hung up on.

    More readers think this book is horrifyingly exciting:

    "The plot makes my scalp tingle and my heart kept pounding, is Chu Kuang, the old rascal, avenging us for blaming him for killing Biyao? However, the novel is really good, Chu Kuang, the old rascal, is still extraordinarily talented."

    "Oh my god, it''s a horror novel, I''m so scared but want to continue reading, I can''t stop!"

    "The intriguing tomb-robbing is astonishingly brilliant. This novel should be placed in the adventure category, but no matter what category, it doesn''t change the fact that it''s niche. Thankfully, Chu Kuang made this tomb-robbing theme popular."

    "What did Chu Kuang, the old rascal, major in? How does he seem to know everything? The book involves too much knowledge about geography and feng shui."

    "Chu Kuang can now construct ancient tomb castles with just words."

    "..."

    Good reviews, all good reviews!

    The horror atmosphere made many readers uncomfortable, the type of "Ghost Blows Out the Light" is nowhere near the same as Chu Kuang''s previous two books, not to mention a completely different style.

    But considering the quality of the text, Chu Kuang''s new book, is as brilliant as ever!

    Of course, it''s also very scary.

    The majority of readers have expressed that while the book is scary, it is also very exciting. So essentially, they are all scared, yet irresistibly curious about the upcoming plot, therefore they can only continue reading amidst fear and excitement.

    It''s not easy to experience stimulating emotions while reading a novel.

    There are also many comments from readers from the Qi Province...

    Most of these readers from the Qi Province are reading Chu Kuang''s work for the first time.

    But such a first-time experience is destined to be unforgettable, "Ghost Blows Out the Light" captivated many new readers to Chu Kuang''s work.

    Based on experience, YangFeng has already made a judgment.

    This book, is a success!

    At this moment, YangFeng is no longer nervous, he exhaled a long breath, "As expected from Chu Kuang..."

    As a matter of fact,

    Not only the official website,

    There are also quite a few editors from other publishing companies in the industry who are paying attention to "Ghost Blows Out the Light".

    However, unlike readers in Qi Province, the focus of these editors is on:

    New genre!

    After sports and martial arts novels...

    Chu Kuang actually created another new genre of novels!

    Isn''t that a bit too terrifying?

    Who ever heard of an author creating a new genre with each book they write?

    Is Chu Kuang''s creation framework leading everyone by an era?

    If we look at it from a broader perspective, "Ghost Blowing the Lamp" can indeed be considered mystery, horror, adventure...

    Anything goes, as they are all somewhat related.

    But if we divide it more finely, considering the content, this novel is a unique tomb-robbing novel!

    "Can this be considered a tomb-robbing genre?"

    "I think it''s close."

    To be called a "xx genre", it must first become popular.

    At present, "Ghost Blows Out the Light" is the only novel on the market that writes about the tomb-robbing theme, so this theme cannot yet support the word "genre".

    But every editor is cunning...

    Anyone can see that the ideas in "Ghost Blows Out the Light", can be imitated even if they can''t be copied!

    The main characters go on an adventure in the tomb, and in the process of turning danger into safety, the author shows the horror and mystery of the tomb.

    What is it suitable for?

    Of course it''s to follow the trend!

    Some quick-acting editors already have plans for authors who are good at adventure and horror mystery to follow the trend of "Ghost Blowing the Lamp".

    Even without the reminder from the editors,

    Authors have been eyeing Chu Kuang''s new book for a long time.

    Following Chu Kuang means there''s meat to eat!

    If you can''t eat meat, at least you can drink soup!

    Several people who have followed Chu Kuang''s trend previously have tasted the sweetness.

    So, when Chu Kuang creates a new genre again, many people want to see if they can also catch the trend.

    As for this, the editors in the industry are even more sighing:

    "Three long novels, written in whatever unpopular genre, and each book is so well-written, this kind of novelist is a monster!"

    "Silver Blue Books is so lucky to have an old pioneer like Chu Kuang."

    "I can''t believe that tomb-robbing can also be written as a novel, it''s fortunate for other authors that Chu Kuang is in the market, but if they release a book at the same time as Chu Kuang, it''s another story."

    "You''re talking about Mister Sea and Devil Child, right? They will most likely be overshadowed."

    "The key point is that he also used first-person, this is really impressive! Nowadays, not to mention readers, which of us editors doesn''t frown and reject manuscripts when we see first-person?"

    "So there is only one Chu Kuang..."

    "Chu Kuang is as willful as ever, but his capital is too strong."

 Chapter 235 - 219: The Old Pioneer_2

    "With this book''s release, his status as a GOAT is secured."

    "..."

    Some were puzzled.

    How can you be so certain when the sales haven''t even been released yet?

    A majority of editors could only offer a bitter smile.

    Do we really need to wait for the sales?

    No need to wait for the sales figure.

    It''s just a talk based on experience.

    Because since that night, all the various online forums have been filled with discussions about "Ghost Blows Out the Light".

    Lieutenant Goldfinder, grave robbing....

    There were even people who conducted specialist expose online to prove that the tomb raiding depicted by Chu Kuang was indeed real and very professional!

    This fervent atmosphere for discussion already attests to the fact that the sales of "Ghost Blows Out the Light" will not be bad!

    Yet, there were those who could not see through it all, or those who refused to believe.

    In the end, they wanted to see substantial market results, to prove the popularity of "Ghost Blows Out the Light".

    What if it was all talk and no action?

    Only sales numbers are truly solid.

    So, how were the sales of "Ghost Blows Out the Light"?

    Compared to contemporary writer Devil Child''s "The Sword Sage Descends the Mountain", how was it?

    What about compared to Mister Sea''s "My Other World is a Primitive Society"?

    These were the suspense hyped by some people in the industry before the arrival of June.

    However, such suspense, a week after the release of "Ghost Blows Out the Light", had completely lost any value for hype.

    Because the sales of "Ghost Blows Out the Light", started to surpass other two hot books of the same period from the third day!

    In the first two days, the sales of "Ghost Blows Out the Light" were on par with the other two novels.

    Slightly higher than Mister Sea''s, slightly lower than Devil Child''s.

    Devil Child was leading for a while.

    The effect of signed books is indeed very good.

    The simple reason for suddenly surpassing them on the third day was...

    Chu Kuang''s "Ghost Blows Out the Light" had gathered such tremendous word-of-mouth reviews that it exploded in popularity!

    And when the week was up, the sales of "Ghost Blows Out the Light" had completely crushed the two aforementioned books.

    With the explosion in popularity of the novel, readers who were initially observing finally had a clear target to buy.

    Crash!

    In bookstores, the number of readers purchasing "Ghost Blows Out the Light" jumped astronomically, all generously spending on Chu Kuang.

    The gap widened to the point it seemed insurmountable.

    Chu Kuang''s "Ghost Blows Out the Light" deservedly became the top hit of June!

    Also on this day, many bookstores naturally started promoting "Ghost Blows Out the Light" as their main product!

    Even Devil Child had to step aside, not to mention Mister Sea.

    Shortly thereafter,

    Orders for Silver Blue Books came pouring in!

    The publisher started to reprint "Ghost Blows Out the Light".

    Obviously,

    This one week was enough for many people to finish the book.

    As more and more people finished the book, discussions about it naturally started to heat up.

    Even on the forum and blogs, many renowned authors couldn''t help but review "Ghost Blows Out the Light" after finishing it.

    Among them was a notable one, the famous best-selling author from the Qin Province, the 38-year-old Mr. Antarctica:

    "When I first saw the title, I thought this was a supernatural ghost story. But as I read on, I was utterly surprised. The so-called ''Ghost Blows Out the Light'' is a rule of tomb raiders. They would place a candle in the southeast corner of the burial chamber and leave one or two burial items behind when taking others. If the candle goes out, they must return all the stolen treasures...

    puzzling, isn''t it? But it can be legitimately explained. The extinguishing of the candle indicates a lack of oxygen. This detail shows the depth in Chu Kuang''s new book." sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Moreover,

    Mercury, an author whose sales are not too far behind Mr. Antarctica, also expressed his opinion:

    "Chu Kuang may not be the highest-selling author in the field of long fantasy, but he is certainly the most stunningly gifted! Tomb raiding has been prevalent two thousand years ago. With a millennium of development, continuous innovation in techniques has formed a hidden underground cultural undercurrent.

    I''m very interested in this industry, but I never thought someone would turn it into a novel, and write it so brilliantly."

    "..."

    Mr. Antarctica and Mercury, are considered as the top long fantasy authors in Qin Province, mainly because their work has high sales.

    Both were highly regarded as the first generation of Supreme Gods.

    Their comments allowed "Candle in the Tomb" to gain more widespread recognition.

    Apart from top writers in the same genre.

    The "Literature and Art Gazette", which is semi-official media, actually published an article about this novel:

    "Chu Kuang''s new book "Candle in the Tomb" has become popular due to its unique theme. However, its range is very vague. There are opinions in terms of thrill, supernatural, suspense, horror, etc. But on second thought, it might be more representative to call it tomb-robbing genre.

    The rules of the tomb-robbing industry are written in detail in the book, even with different categories, but the strange things in the book are not confined to the tomb itself. The queen of the Jin dynasty made a coffin with millennia-old sacred wood and planted Corpse Fragrance Demon Taro on it. Anyone who gets close will hallucinate and go crazy until they die.

    Many people think it''s fantasy, but the prototype of this flower is the titan monster taro flower, which is planted in the botanical garden in Yan continent. Chu Kuang''s seemingly true and false writing technique, which draws on Blue Star''s ancient history, legends, and modern wonders, should also become popular soon.

    His purpose of writing is not to become a historical archeological textbook, but to pursue a kind of wonderful imagination that exists in the real world..."

    This report surprised many people.

    Firstly, "Literature and Art Gazette" confirmed the status of the "tomb-robbing flow" pioneered by Chu Kuang''s new book.

    The semi-official newspaper certified Chu Kuang as a pioneer.

    Secondly, the content of "Candle in the Tomb" seems to be really solid!

    Everyone thought Corpse Fragrance Demon Taro was a complete nonsense, a product of the author''s imagination, but "Literature and Art Gazette" actually found a prototype?

    Although these descriptions and situations are not completely congruous, they can explain some strange phenomena in the novel.

    And there''s the explanation of Antarctica.

    Human lights the candle and ghosts blow it out, the light goes out when the cock crows, and gold is not touched...

    This seemingly nonsensical setting is actually due to the lack of oxygen?

    The deeper their understanding, the less simple "Candle in the Tomb" appears to them. All settings make sense and can be tracked, not to mention the geographical knowledge categorized by Feng Shui in the book!

    Some people think that this report by "Literature and Art Gazette" aims to establish Chu Kuang''s status in the industry.

    The Literature and Art Association clearly sent a message through its newspaper:

    Chu Kuang will definitely be one of the candidates for the Fantasy domain''s GOAT!

    While all other candidates are yet to be determined, Chu Kuang secured the first sure spot with "Candle in the Tomb".

    In fact.

    With Chu Kuang''s new book sparking a sales frenzy.

    If he doesn''t get the GOAT spot, people may start questioning the fairness of the selection.

    Therefore, the report of the Literature and Art Association was very smart and timely.

    They set Chu Kuang as the typical.

    There is no suspense about this archetype.

    One look at the new book performance in June will reveal everything.

    The new work of Mister Sea during the same period, an adventure in another world, is mediocre in sales volume.

    The "Sword Sage Descends the Mountain" by Devil Child, relying on the freshness of the mythical martial arts genre, plus his own writing capabilities as a guarantee of the quality of the novel plot, the sales volume is quite pleasing.

    Pity, it''s still being crushed by "Candle in the Tomb".

    The fact that "Literature and Arts Gazette" under the Literature and Art Association has not given an evaluation of Devil Child''s new book already explains a lot.

    Whether it''s the outside world or the official, everyone greatly recognizes Chu Kuang''s new work.

    It''s worth mentioning that...

    The online voices basically think that although Devil Child''s works are good, this novel not only can''t match "Candle in the Tomb".

    But also can''t match his previous work "Zhu Xian" that was following the trend.

    In some sense, Devil Child has been killed two times by Chu Kuang.

    Somehow, there is a sentence floating in people''s hearts again:

    "Those who learn from me, live. Those who imitate me, die."

    With each genre Chu Kuang creates, this saying becomes more and more apt.

    Devil Child learned well.

    He grasped the essence of "Zhu Xian", so the sales volume of his trend-following new book is quite good.

    But success or failure, it''s all because of Chu Kuang.

    When everyone is learning from Chu Kuang, who can surpass him?

    This question is almost unsolvable.

    At least the Devil Child, who is best at following trends, has proven with his strength that he cannot surpass Chu Kuang by following trends.

    "..."

    All of this is not too surprising to Lin Yuan, after all, this is Candle in the Tomb plus.

    The ancestor of the Tomb Robbing stream on the Earth, a phenomenal piece that sparked countless trends, should have this kind of influence.

    As for anything surprising, it would probably be the top-rated comment below Xian Yu''s tribe''s move that confused Lin Yuan:

    "Your Chu Kuang''s new book is really good to read!"

    Lin Yuan started to doubt if he had fallen off the horse.

    How did this fan know that Chu Kuang... actually belonged to my home?

 Chapter 236 - 220 Chu Kuang is a Scumbag_1

    Let''s put aside the topic of fans and their fawning online communities for a bit.

    Lin Yuan is more concerned about the progress of his missions.

    Speaking of missions...

    Before Lin Yuan realized it, he had accumulated four system missions!

    Each mission had its own level of difficulty.

    Mission one: [Reach a reputation of over a million each in both Literature and Music]

    Mission two: [Receive three disciples under the pseudonym Xian Yu and successfully finish their training]

    Mission three: [Increase drawing reputation to over 300,000 within a year]

    Mission four: [Break 100 million fans for Chu Kuang''s Tribe]

    The first mission was the toughest and most crucial but as it was a long-term mission, Lin Yuan would check the progress every now and again.

    As long as he steadily published books and songs, he considered this mission ongoing.

    The second mission had no time limit yet, but he intended to work on it soon.

    Xue Liang was his only successful disciple so far, meaning progress was only one third completed.

    The third mission was drawing-related, one of the tasks that Lin Yuan was currently working on, and making the "King of the Net" comic was his method of completing this task.

    As for the fourth mission, to break 100 million fans for Chu Kuang''s Tribe...

    The progress bar for this mission was steadily increasing following the release of "Tales Behind the Tomb".

    Prior to the release of "Tales Behind the Tomb", Chu Kuang''s Tribe followers were just slightly over 30 million.

    In the days after the release, Chu Kuang''s Tribe followers predictably skyrocketed!

    32 million...

    35 million...

    37 million...

    38 million...

    It seemed like it was just an inch away from 40 million, but the growth rate of Chu Kuang''s followers began to slow down.

    That was understandable.

    Although "Tales Behind the Tomb" was incredibly popular, it was understandable considering how recently the book was released, with only the first volume out so far.

    Once the subsequent volumes were released, the number of followers was bound to increase significantly.

    But...

    Lin Yuan was still feeling antsy.

    Especially after refreshing the webpage multiple times and still not seeing Chu Kuang''s followers breach the 40-million mark...

    His obsessive-compulsive disorder was acting up.

    Lin Yuan had a mild case of OCD.

    Maybe everyone has a mild case of OCD.

    Either way, all Lin Yuan wanted to see that day was Chu Kuang''s followers surpassing the 40 million mark, not achieving this target was making him feel antsy.

    What to do about it?

    Time for some creative thinking.

    After thinking for about ten seconds, an idea formed in Lin Yuan''s mind.

    A straightforward and brutal method.

    That was to post a status under Xian Yu''s account: "We''re just a little short of breaking 40 million followers. Could everyone please help to follow @Chu Kuang''s Tribe account?"

    Yes.

    What Lin Yuan thought of was to rally Xian Yu''s followers to become followers of Chu Kuang.

    As for Shadow...

    The Shadow account only had a few million followers, so rallying them likely wouldn''t make much of a difference.

    Plus, Shadow''s comic was an adaptation of Chu Kuang''s "King of the Net".

    So, there was already a significant overlap between Shadow''s followers and Chu Kuang''s followers, making rallying these followers not particularly productive.

    What Lin Yuan didn''t expect was...

    This status seemed to strike a chord with the fans, and the comments section blew up:

    "Getting this direct now?"

    "Can I take it as official confirmation?"

    "Gay for each other!"

    "Bromance goals, sharing one quilt."

    "Alright, followed, and notifications turned on."

    "Wow! You must be really close to let your followers follow someone else."

    "Chu Kuang already has more followers than you. Instead of trying to increase your own followers, why are you working on increasing his?"

    "I declare that Shadow has lost this round."

    "Shadow: Is it because I have fewer followers than you?"

    "...."

    The comments were diverse, but the result was good. On the same day Xian Yu posted the status, Chu Kuang''s followers increased again, successfully surpassing the 40 million mark and settling around 41 million.

    The conversion rate isn''t bad at all.

    In fact.

    On Chu Kuang''s Weibo, many followers started to:

    "Just accept Xian Yu."

    "He treats you so well."

    "It''s the first time I''ve seen someone increase their friend''s followers in such a simple and direct way."

    "Chu Kuang, Xian Yu, these names rhyme quite well. They''ve got that chemistry."

    "Real bromance buddies."

    "What''s your relationship with him behind the scenes?"

    "A big shot in the novel world, a big shot in the music composition world. It''s a match made in heaven."

    "...."

    Too bad.

    Despite Xian Yu helping Chu Kuang to increase followers, Chu Kuang did not respond. He remained as aloof as ever.

    Only Lin Yuan would silently thank himself in his heart.

    Anyway, seeing Chu Kuang''s followers surpass 40 million gave Lin Yuan an extreme sense of satisfaction.

    However...

    This incident also made Lin Yuan more worried that he might slip up someday.

    If you always walk by the river, how can you not get your shoes wet?

    What if someday he accidentally logs into the wrong account and posts a status on Shadow''s account saying, "Please support my new song..."?

    Wouldn''t that be awkward?

    With this concern in mind, Lin Yuan called Luo Wei over.

    "You mean to say that I should manage the Shadow Tribe account?" Luo Wei looked at Lin Yuan in astonishment, not understanding why he wanted to do this.

    "Yes."

    That was Lin Yuan''s idea, to entrust the management of Shadow''s account so as to avoid any problems.

    "It''s not impossible."

    Luo Wei''s eyes flicked towards Lin Yuan, looking mysterious. Lowering her voice, she said, "Then you can tell me, what''s your relationship with Chu Kuang?"

    Lin Yuan felt a little bit awkward: "It''s pretty good."

    Luo Wei stared at Lin Yuan: "Just pretty good? Rest assured, feel free to say anything, I''ll keep it a secret. I''m known by everyone for keeping my mouth shut!"

    Did Luo Wei sense something?

    Lin Yuan felt uneasy and suddenly became coy, "Probably very good."

    His relationship with himself, of course, was really close. But when asked by others and without the ability to directly explain, Lin Yuan would naturally become coy.

    There seemed to be a sense of inexplicable shame.

    After all, his three pseudonyms had their own distinct online personalities.

    What Lin Yuan didn''t know was that his reaction, in Luo Wei''s eyes, had a completely different interpretation.

    Luo Wei let out a deep "Oh," "Then can you tell me, what''s the relationship between Chu Kuang and Xian Yu?" S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan didn''t hesitate to say: "It''s pretty good too."

    "Too?"

    Luo Wei frowned, suddenly seeming dissatisfied. "I didn''t realize that Chu Kuang was such a jerk..."

    Lin Yuan didn''t understand Luo Wei''s sudden mood change: "What?"

    "Nothing."

    Luo Wei looked at Lin Yuan earnestly, even a little pity and outrage in her eyes, "I understand, I empathize with you! I will help you!"

    What do you understand?

    Why empathize with me?

    Lin Yuan always felt that there was something off about Luo Wei.

    However, since she agreed to manage Shadow''s account, Lin Yuan had no worries left.

    There was no one more suitable to handle the "Shadow" account than Luo Wei.

    Since Luo Wei had contributed at least one third of the effort toward the comic drawn by Shadow, she certainly knew how to manage the account.

 Chapter 237 - 221: Post-Production of the Movie Completed_1

    Not only was Chu Kuang''s alias account rising in popularity among the tribe, but Lin Yuan''s literary fame was also growing, currently reaching four hundred thousand. Literature had now become Lin Yuan''s highest category in prestige value...

    The latecomers surpassed!

    Previously, Lin Yuan had always been leading in music prestige, mainly because Xian Yu was Lin Yuan''s earliest alias, and his priority has always been music. However, the sustained popularity of novels could not be subdued.

    Think about it.

    Releasing a song might only be popular for a short time, but publishing a long fantasy novel could be serialized for half a year to a year or even longer!

    This kind of popularity could persist until after the novel is fully published, which is why Chu Kuang''s tribe account has the most fans.

    At this time.

    Luo Wei, who was officially managing the Shadow account, saw the comments in the backend.

    She excitedly said to Lin Yuan: "Did you see that a company wants to turn ''King of the Net'' into an animation?"

    "I saw."

    Lin Yuan said: "But I don''t know how strong this company is."

    "This company?"

    Luo Wei was taken aback, then laughed: "It seems you didn''t read the backend information, there are already four production companies interested in buying the anime rights to our ''King of the Net'', including the well-known Divine Wings Tech in the industry!"

    "Divine Wings Tech?"

    Lin Yuan was not very familiar with these.

    Luo Wei explained: "Divine Wings is considered a top-notch animation production company in Qin Qi. The popular new anime ''Alchemist'' at the beginning of the year was produced by their company. You may not be very familiar with it because you don''t follow anime shows, but I think if it is this company, it''s worth considering. Why don''t you contact Chu Kuang to hear his opinion?"

    Luo Wei is an art student, basically a bit of a house-girl.

    House-girls love anime, games, and things with a second-dimension attribute, so she also has a decent understanding of animation production companies.

    "Can we collaborate?"

    "Absolutely."

    Upon seeing the worried look on Lin Yuan''s face, Luo Wei chuckled and added: "You might want to look at the classic animations produced by this company, they are all of good quality, let me recommend a few for you. Apart from the new shows this year, earlier works such as the ''Magical Girl'' series are also very classic..."

    "I''ll take a look later."

    Lin Yuan needed to do some investigating.

    Luo Wei nodded: "Then who holds the rights... you or Chu Kuang?"

    Lin Yuan casually replied: "No difference."

    Luo Wei was surprised, then let out a peculiar smile.

    Lin Yuan found Luo Wei''s smile strange, anyway.

    He interrupted Luo Wei''s musing: "Go paint."

    "Okay."

    Luo Wei was full of enthusiasm.

    Little did Lin Yuan know, Luo Wei''s passion was fueled by a small goal in her heart:

    She hoped to make Shadow''s reputation surpass Xian Yu''s!

    As for the reason...

    Of course, it''s to make Chu Kuang realize the value of Shadow!

    Although this is difficult, with the help of anime adaptations and the serialization of ''King of the Net'', it''s not entirely impossible.

    Since Lin Yuan and Luo Wei have been working together, the serialization of ''King of the Net'' has been going at a fast pace.

    Even the fans agreed that Shadow''s updates were the most conscientious bunch among the comic artists.

    This is because Lin Yuan and Luo Wei truly formed a two-person team for the task...

    The creation of comics is different from novels.

    It''s challenging for two people to write a novel together, but it''s doable for comics.

    All Lin Yuan needed to do was to provide the storyboard, and the rest would be taken care of by Lin Yuan and Luo Wei together.

    After all, Lin Yuan and Luo Wei''s drawing styles are the same, which is a basic requisite for top-tier fan artists.

    Thanks to this collaboration, the ''King of the Net'' has been serialized for quite a bit now.

    ...

    In the following days, the sales volume of ''Ghost Blowing Lamp'' remained very satisfactory.

    Many readers who had finished the first volume were already looking forward to the second volume!

    This was because of the suspense ending of ''Ghost Blowing Lamp''.

    The conclusion of the first volume was that Hu Bayi contracted a strange disease and his body had strange red spots.

    It was rumored to be a curse that could be deadly.

    In order to solve this curse, Hu Bayi and his companions needed to find the legendary Phoenix Dust Pearl...

    Clearly, the search for the Phoenix Dust Pearl would be the plot of the second volume.

    They still needed to rob graves.

    This was the absolute mainline of ''Ghost Blowing Lamp''.

    After reading the first volume, readers were already somewhat addicted. However, there were a few suspense elements left in the first volume, so the readers were naturally very excited about the second volume and wanted to see the continuation of the story.

    At this point, no one was cursing Chu Kuang as the old rascal for cutting chapters anymore.

    Because everyone clearly saw that the first volume of ''Ghost Blowing Lamp'' was a complete story!

    The part about the Ancient City of Jingjue was well constructed.

    About three hundred and forty thousand words of content had left the readers ecstatic.

    Naturally, Lin Yuan also began the second volume of ''Ghost Blowing Lamp''.

    Under normal circumstances, there was no way Lin Yuan had this much energy. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Having to draw comics and write novels...

    Luckily, Lin Yuan now had energy potions, after using them, Lin Yuan felt limitless vitality.

    As for the price of the energy potion...

    Although it was expensive, Lin Yuan is also doing all of this to make money.

    Investment would lead to returns.

    Then in mid-June, when Lin Yuan was busy, director Yi Chenggong suddenly contacted Lin Yuan and brought him good news:

    The post-production of the movie ''Flirting Scholar'' was completed!

    Upon hearing this, Lin Yuan immediately felt upbeat and rushed to the company the next day to meet Yi Chenggong and review the finished product.

    Well, what can you do...

    Although the actors had changed, ''Flirting Scholar'' still had that familiar flavor.

    Anyway, from Lin Yuan''s perspective, this movie was reasonably faithful to the original, and the comedic points were basically all represented.

    However, Lin Yuan''s viewing process did not have too many emotional fluctuations.

    He was too familiar with the script.

    Executive Yi Chenggong, on the other hand, as the film director who was also familiar with the script, watched with great delight and laughed throughout the entire film.

    After the film.

    Yi Chenggong calmed his emotions before turning back to Lin Yuan and said: "The film has been submitted for review, I don''t think there should be any problems with the content, next we need to consider the premiere. Would Mr. Lin go and discuss it with the film department?"

    "Sure."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    He had read countless film books and understood the market, so he knew that to premiere a film, one had to obtain the permission of the theatre chain first. It would be difficult for Lin Yuan to do this alone, it required Blue Star''s intervention.

    This wasn''t difficult.

    Since Blue Star agreed to invest in the production of ''Flirting Scholar'', it would definitely not ignore the movie''s screenings. They were certainly going to help secure it. Lin Yuan himself did not have Blue Star''s widespread connection with major theatres.

    What belonged to the theatre belonged to the theatre.

    What belonged to the company belonged to the company.

    For Blue Star''s films to premiere, it must negotiate with the theatres. It might need to schedule a viewing for theatres to evaluate the film''s quality, which is what the theatres'' scheduling consideration is based on, certainly Blue Star''s own weight would be also considered.

    Imagine...

    If Lin Yuan were to fight alone without the backing of a large company, how difficult would it be to discuss the film scheduling issue with the theatre based on just one film with an investment of less than ten million?

    It would be as difficult as ascending to the heavens!

    Let''s not even talk about whether they would favor ''Flirting Scholar'', even if they genuinely love this film, the theatre would surely make excessive demands for outright purchase or similar plans. An insignificant individual just wouldn''t be able to negotiate on equal terms in front of the theatre.

    Thinking of this.

    Lin Yuan called Ol'' Zhou, and securing the theatre would mostly rely on Ol'' Zhou''s help.

    Lin Yuan remembers that Ol'' Zhou was highly appreciative of the ''Flirting Scholar'' script!

 Chapter 238 - 222: Online Blockbuster Movie_1

    "Preparing for the premiere...?"

    Everyone is at the company. After receiving Lin Yuan''s call, they all met in the film department.

    In the face of an expectant Lin Yuan, Ol'' Zhou felt a headache coming on. He contemplated his words while saying, "Your movie can most certainly be premiered..."

    "But?"

    Lin Yuan felt like there must be some kind of catch.

    Just as Lin Yuan anticipated.

    Ol'' Zhou, as predicted, coughed and said, "But our company is currently busy preparing for the premiere of ''Thunderstorm'', and July is the summer season, the competition in the film market is fierce..."

    Lin Yuan frowned.

    He, of course, knew about the ''Thunderstorm'' project.

    It was the company''s first film project, so it was given high priority.

    Unlike Earth.

    The film industry on Blue Star was undoubtedly more developed. The various special effects technologies could easily overpower Hollywood on Earth.

    This meant a drastic increase in the speed of such film productions.

    With such superior film technology support, the completion speed of movies like ''Thunderstorm'' may not be much slower than some small budget movies.

    On Earth, this would be unimaginable, but on Blue Star, it wasn''t an issue.

    "So here''s the thing."

    Ol'' Zhou sighed, "Your film, ''Flirting Scholar'', won''t get many screenings. The market is full of blockbusters at the same time. Even our previous agreement stated that we didn''t have a surplus budget to promote your movie."

    "What if I adjust the schedule?"

    Lin Yuan, of course, understood the importance of scheduling.

    Ol'' Zhou was taken aback, not expecting Lin Yuan to consider the screening schedule.

    Summer season was a mere excuse from Ol'' Zhou.

    He really couldn''t secure many screenings for ''Flirting Scholar''.

    For a film with an investment of less than ten million, none of its actors could carry the box office.

    The director is inexperienced, and the scriptwriter is a songwriter. Moreover, the plot is quite unpredictable¡­

    You should know.

    Screening decisions are not only based on the film quality, but also the effort put in by the production company.

    Take ''Thunderstorm'' for example.

    As a film heavily promoted by Starlight, to secure high initial screenings, Ol'' Zhou and the film department leaders had to offer certain benefits to the heads of theaters.

    Do they expect him to offer benefits for ''Flirting Scholar''?

    How much would that cost?

    And it wouldn''t be an issue if offerings were useful.

    The problem is that even with more screenings, ''Flirting Scholar'' wouldn''t benefit much.

    The ultimate decision to purchase is neither up to the theaters nor the entertainment companies, but the general public!

    Ol'' Zhou complains, "Adjusting the schedule can be done, but no matter how you adjust, securing screenings for your movie will be difficult. After all, theater companies also make decisions based on benefits. Your film lacks stars, known directors, and investment..."

    No large investment.

    No famous directors.

    No famous actors.

    These films are referred to as ''three-absence films''.

    While there have been instances where such movies have been successful, they are few and far between. Hence, theater companies will be unwilling to invest much in them.

    It''s not that Ol'' Zhou deliberately makes excuses.

    Even if Ol'' Zhou wanted to help, he couldn''t.

    He could only allocate a few off-peak slots for ''Flirting Scholar'' as a consolation. After all, the film had been made, so it couldn''t just not be screened, right?

    "Then let''s not screen it."

    After some thought, Lin Yuan suddenly suggested.

    Ol'' Zhou''s expression changed.

    Has this kid¡­ gotten angry?

    He carefully coaxed Lin Yuan, "The movie has already been made. Why not screen it? Let''s just see how it performs. If the movie does well, word-of-mouth could spread, and the theaters might increase screenings¡­"

    Lin Yuan shook his head.

    What Ol'' Zhou said was the norm.

    But Lin Yuan knew that with a lack of screenings and the available ones being scheduled during off-peak times, it was highly likely that the movie would fail.

    There are quite a number of movies that attempt to make a comeback.

    But there were awfully few that actually succeeded.

    Lin Yuan did not plan to pin his hopes on such an elusive comeback.

    Under normal circumstances, there might be a chance for a movie to make a comeback, after all, "Flirting Scholar" is quite a successful comedy in Zhou''s catalog.

    But now...

    The hope is very slim. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    With the merger of Qin Qi, all major companies in the film market are battling for dominance. There are so many people eyeing the summer season, how could one possibly stand a chance?

    No scheduled screenings...

    There are several films with investments of hundreds of millions released at the same time, isn''t there a single one that resonates with the audience? Why should your low-budget film be the one to stand out?

    The foundation of a comeback is having no strong competitors in the same period, or at least favorable scheduling in advance.

    Take the classic Earth come-back case of "Crazy Stone" as an example.

    Everyone talks about how this movie''s comeback had textbook significance, but they overlooked an important factor:

    At the time this movie was released, there was not a single competitor that could put up a fight against it!

    Keep in mind, the audience also knows their calculations.

    If they spend the same amount of money, should they go watch a blockbuster with impressive special effects, enjoying a visual feast, or pay for a low-budget film?

    The answer is quite clear.

    So, Lin Yuan dared not risk betting on the lack of blockbusters during July''s summer season.

    Especially after hearing Ol'' Zhou''s analysis, Lin Yuan more clearly understood how perilous this summer season could be.

    He had completely overlooked this before.

    This is also due to Lin Yuan''s book knowledge, but without certain practical experience.

    Luckily, after Ol'' Zhou mentioned the issue of screenings, Lin Yuan came to his senses.

    That was a close call.

    Competing with those big investors for box office revenues during the summer season was a foolish decision on his part.

    He thought for a moment, and had a new plan, proposed his idea to Ol'' Zhou: "We can skip the theater and go direct to streaming."

    "Go direct to streaming..."

    Only then did Ol'' Zhou understood Lin Yuan''s meaning, his expression showing some surprise, "You mean, online cinema?"

    By online cinema, he meant online movies.

    Online movies don''t need to go to the theater, the review standard is also lower, and many low budget films can profit from being online.

    Of course, for major film companies, profiting from online cinema is quite modest.

    If the operation of a theater movie is good, the income will be in the hundreds of millions...

    Then online cinema can only make tens of millions at best.

    Chou thought Lin Yuan was just over-confident like many fresh-out-of-school newcomers, believing his film to be the best.

    But to his surprise, Lin Yuan was willing to take a step back and choose online cinema as the channel for "Flirting Scholar" to premiere.

    Carefully considering, it was not a bad choice!

    However, before Ol'' Zhou could agree, Lin Yuan immediately added, "Since we''re not going to the theaters, the company can''t help me out much on this one."

    Ol'' Zhou gave an embarrassed smile.

    The threshold for online cinema is very low, even without the company''s intervention, "Flirting Scholar" can still be premiered.

    As far as theater movies are concerned, a film with an investment of less than ten million has almost no presence.

    But in the context of online cinema, the investment in "Flirting Scholar", although not considered huge, is not seen as small either.

    "So..."

    Lin Yuan revealed his secondary motive for choosing online cinema, "I hope the company will sell me ''Flirting Scholar''. I''m willing to personally pay ten million to buy the rights to the film."

    Ol'' Zhou: "???"

    The company invested time, manpower, and finances to make your movie, and after it''s finished, you''re telling me you''re going to buy it for personal use?

    It was the first time Ol'' Zhou had seen someone so brazenly take advantage of a company.

    The company invested nine million in the production of "Flirting Scholar". Lin Yuan''s ten million offer might seem like a small profit for the company. But considering the costs of manpower, material resources, and time, the company isn''t making any profit at all.

    That''s because the production team was hired by the company, and they were charging the company''s internal prices.

    If Lin Yuan wanted to shoot this movie himself earlier on, the same quality couldn''t be achieved for less than fifteen million.

    But then again...

    The company initially planned to write off this investment, but was unexpectedly willing to take the film off their hands and foot the bill himself... In a roundabout way, the company did make a small profit...

    So, did the company benefit or lose out?

    It probably depends on how the company sees it. Anyway, after a few seconds of confusion, Ol'' Zhou felt a bit bemused.

    "I agree."

    In the end, Ol'' Zhou made the call to agree.

    As one of the top executives in the company, he does have the power to decide on projects under ten million.

 Chapter 239 - 223: Mr. Lin is a Good Person (100/1)_1

    Lin Yuan revealed a standard smile. He initially wanted to purchase the rights for "Flirting Scholar" at the original price. Considering the company had also invested so much, he finally paid 10 million¡ª

    A 1 million profit for the company.

    It was not out of generosity that Lind Yuan did this, but he couldn''t let the company work for him for free. Isn''t it objectionable for someone to sell a product they''ve worked hard on for months, without considering any profit margin?

    He felt justified.

    Actually, his sudden decision to broadcast "Flirting Scholar" online was not just due to a lack of confidence in the film''s summer box office comeback. Lin Yuan had a deeper purpose¡ª

    He wanted notoriety!

    Lin Yuan had realized the reasons why "Flirting Scholar" couldn''t secure screenings¡ªit was being treated as a three-nothing film. If the first movie is doomed to be undervalued, then why stubbornly focus on holding it to cinemas?

    What if it flops?

    Lin Yuan still wanted to continue making movies with the company''s investment. If his first movie turns out to be a failure, on what grounds can he encourage the company to continue investing in him? This isn''t logical.

    So, going with an online movie premiere is a wise choice.

    The bar for online movies is quite low.

    Because the threshold for online movies is sufficiently low, "Flirting Scholar" can garner more attention. If the movie were to be screened in theaters, everyone would be focused on the big shots¡ª who would buy a ticket for a three-nothing movie?

    So¡­

    Just use "Flirting Scholar" to gain fame, then take on theaters when the opportunity arises. If this movie becomes successful online , at least Lin Yuan will have some credentials, and people will at least acknowledge him as a screenwriter.

    Not just Lin Yuan.

    If this movie proves successful, the initial crew and actors will no longer be nameless people behind the scenes. If and when Lin Yuan decides to film a new movie, the company would definitely support him.

    It''s not the company''s fault.

    Nor can it be blamed on the theaters.

    They are just subject to reality.

    However, when Yi Chenggong found out that "Flirting Scholar" would not be screened in theaters, he was inevitably disappointed.

    Every director has a dream of having their film on the big screen.

    The last movie Yi Chenggong made was a low-budget independent film and had no opportunity to hit theaters.

    This time, he thought that "Flirting Scholar" would make it to the big screens because of Mr. Lin''s backing. Yet, in the end, the plans fell through.

    "Are you familiar with the ways online movie collaborations work?"

    Lin Yuan asked Yi Chenggong - the latter had had experiences with online collaborations in his previous film.

    Yi Chenggong spoke, "I''m slightly aware. There are mainly two types: one is a buyout, and the other is revenue sharing¡­"

    "We choose revenue sharing," Lin Yuan said without hesitation.

    While Lin Yuan lacked confidence in the cinematic prospects for "Flirting Scholar," he was quite optimistic about online streaming.

    Yi Chenggong nodded his head, "Most production companies choose buyouts. But revenue sharing has its advantages too. As for the specifics, Mr. Lin, I suggest you get somebody else to handle this, perhaps Mr. Shen. He should have the necessary connections."

    Shen Qing was the producer of "Flirting Scholar."

    Lin Yuan called Shen Qing "Mr. Shen," so Yi Chenggong followed suit.

    "Understood."

    Lin Yuan immediately contacted Shen Qing.

    Strictly speaking, this deal no longer had anything to do with Shen Qing, as "Flirting Scholar" now entirely belonged to Lin Yuan. Still, Lin Yuan felt that Shen Qing would assist in liaising with the video streaming websites.

    ...

    When Shen Qing heard that Lin Yuan had purchased "Flirting Scholar" in a personal capacity, his feelings were somewhat mixed.

    Everyone had expected that the company would inevitably lose money by deciding to film this movie.

    Yet, with Lin Yuan taking it upon himself to pay for it, the movie had strangely balanced out to neither make a loss nor gain?

    In the end, Lin Yuan was the one who lost out.

    At least from the company''s perspective, they neither lost nor gained anything.

    Because strictly speaking, the minimal loss they made was not worth mentioning.

    After all, everyone knew from the beginning that this film was being produced to accompany Mr. Lin, the Crown Prince, in his studies.

    If Mr. Lin had a good time, then any loss incurred would be worth it.

    The Crown Prince just had a throw away kind of game.

    But Mr. Lin did not use the company''s money to play around...

    In the end, he took his own money and threw it away.

    At this moment, Shen Qing was somewhat admiring of Lin Yuan.

    The company bore the cost of Lin Yuan''s capriciousness, yet Lin Yuan ended up footing the bill for the company''s indulgence.

    It''s clear that Lin Yuan sticks by his principles!

    So, when Lin Yuan called and asked Shen Qing to help contact suitable video-hosting websites to broadcast "Flirting Scholar," Shen Qing agreed.

    Mr. Lin is a good man!

    Although he isn''t cut out to be a screenwriter, as a producer, he should do his utmost to help Mr. Lin recoup the investment.

    An investment of 10 million¡­

    There''s no way to recoup it all, but if a little of it, like one or two million, could be recovered, that should be doable, right?

    Shen Qing has seen many online movies.

    Some of those he thought were garbage somehow managed to attract viewers, proving the bar for these is indeed quite low.

    Although "Flirting Scholar" isn''t exactly decent, Shen Qing had a great time filming it.

    He thinks that some of the comedic parts, though odd, have an inexpressible charm that makes it impossible not to laugh along with them. That''s much better than those mediocre ones.

    With this in mind¡­

    Shen Qing made a call to a friend who worked in a video hosting website to discuss streaming "Flirting Scholar."

    Meanwhile¡­

    Over at the company''s Film Department¡­

    Everyone also knew about Xian Yu''s personal purchase of "Flirting Scholar." For a moment, they shared Shen Qing''s mixed feelings.

    "So he did pick up the tab himself in the end?"

    "It''s like someone exclaimed for others to treat him, so the others reluctantly ordered a tableful of expensive dishes. But when the meal ended, he was the one who paid. It might not be the perfect analogy, but it kind of fits the situation right?"

    "We shouldn''t have spoken about him that way."

    "Yeah, the guy just wanted to have a bit of fun. Considering it objectively, who doesn''t get a sudden urge to do something new once in a while?"

    "Why do I feel like your words are an excuse you made up on the spot when you were caught in a vice raid last week?"

    "Nonsense, I wasn''t caught."

    "..."

    A few may have been displeased by Lin Yuan''s willfulness. So, when Lin Yuan picked up the tab for the movie himself, there was a slight shift in the public sentiment within the Film Department.

    Everyone thought¡­

    Lin Yuan was considerate. He must have known that his movie would lose money, which is why he bought the rights to "Flirting Scholar" ¨C he didn''t want the company to bear a loss.

    "Good kid."

    Even Ol'' Zhou couldn''t help but sigh. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    If Lin Yuan hadn''t voluntarily backed out from the cinemas, Ol'' Zhou and the others might have thought that Lin Yuan bought the rights to "Flirting Scholar" because he was confident in the movie.

    But Lin Yuan didn''t even want to go to the cinemas...

    This showed that Lin Yuan was actually aware that his movie was terrible, and could only recoup some money by broadcasting it online. Either way, he got to make his movie.

    This kid, he''s truly straightforward!

 Chapter 240 - 224 Saving Unhappiness_1

    The video website industry in the Qin and Qi provinces is quite saturated, with major platforms like Penguin Video, Catmill, and Qiyi. These websites, known for their guaranteed high traffic, are all popular choices for video streaming.

    Shen Qing is reliable.

    He managed to secure cooperation deals with Penguin Video and Catmill. As we are not relying on exclusivity or selling the production rights to these platforms, the profit-sharing agreement won''t be that sizeable.

    The profits aren''t just limited to those earned from video streaming but from advertising as well.

    Let''s use Catmill as an example.

    The full name of Catmill is Kitty Cat Movies, but the audience prefers to call it Catmill.

    In the Catmill platform, if an online feature film is watched for more than six minutes, it''s counted as a successful view.

    Why six minutes? Because the first five minutes is a free preview. If you make it to the sixth minute, it means you''ve paid to watch.

    For each successful view, the profit share is approximately 1.5 yuan if it''s not exclusively broadcasted. If it''s exclusive, the share is around 2 yuan, while the platform prices the film at 5 yuan.

    Advertising costs are calculated separately.

    Lin Yuan has reviewed the contract in detail.

    He didn''t concern himself with the complex calculations, all he knew was that for each 5-yuan payment made by a viewer to watch "Flirting Scholar", he would earn 1.8 yuan. Including advertising revenue, the total would amount to more than 2 yuan.

    Though the platform takes a bulk of the earnings, their profit-siphoning abilities are lesser compared to movie theaters, which is within the threshold that Lin Yuan is willing to accept.

    After signing the contract,

    The film''s release date is also settled.

    The official streaming begins on 1st July, during the summer holidays on the two websites.

    This is a typical advantage of a web-based feature film, Lin Yuan wouldn''t have to wait for a slot like regular films or TV shows. If he wanted to, he could even stream it today.

    However, that''s not good.

    Even web-based feature films need publicity. The video streaming sites serve as the major platforms for this.

    Penguin Video and Catmill have each drawn up several documents. Almost overnight, they hastily kickstarted the publicity campaign.

    The publicity for web-based feature films is typically not very grand.

    Catmill''s proposed publicity document read: [Investment of tens of millions in the biggest online movie, "Flirting Scholar", screening from July 1st, click to reserve and kickstart your summer holiday!] sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Penguin Video''s was similar.

    Their promotion was placed at a rather noticeable location: [Web-based feature film also has a summer release. "Flirting Scholar", out on July 1st, all your happiness, I promise, here to save your unhappiness!]

    That''s it.

    Anyway, the audience interested in web-based feature films would surely take notice, however it seems that the movie still lacks a ''wow factor''. The number of reservations made by the audience is not very high after the publicity.

    "This is not good."

    Being behind the web-based feature film contract, Shen Qing naturally hopes for it to attract more audience.

    He contacted Lin Yuan: "Mr. Lin, would you mind if we use your name, Admirable Fish, for publicity? Most of the time, our movie publicity needs some controversial topics for the outside world to discuss. The entry of a gold record composer into scriptwriting would make a great topic."

    Using "Admirable Fish" for publicity?

    Lin Yuan hesitated a bit, then agreed with Shen Qing.

    Because at Starlight everyone knows that "Flirting Scholar" is made by Admirable Fish, there''s no usefulness to hide it. Even if he uses a pseudonym, his identity would be revealed in minutes, so it''s better to let Admirable Fish take full ownership of the scriptwriting.

    The day after Lin Yuan agreed,

    New promotional texts for the web-based feature film were introduced.

    This time the texts from the two websites were similar, it''s not clear who copied who:

    [The golden record composer and sensation of the music industry, Teacher Admirable Fish, makes his scripting debut with "Flirting Scholar", releasing on July 1st!]

    The text was sneaky.

    The words "Admirable Fish" in the publicity text were enlarged and bolded, to make sure they''re not missed by the viewers.

    There are also some small letters underneath the text, listing all the famous songs Admirable Fish had previously composed, attempting to use the popularity of those songs to boost the film.

    Apart from this, the movie''s poster was also changed.

    The original poster was a group photo of the male and female leads along with some supporting characters, nothing eye-catching.

    Now it has changed to pictures of the lead actors, one on each side.

    No need to focus on the leading male character, he looked like he was in a play.

    The lead actress was different. A fiery figure, pretty facial features, with a sneak peek of her long white legs.

    Anyhow, very enticing, leaving plenty to the imagination

    It''s got hardly anything to do with the movie''s content.

    The actress is Yu Xilu, the only one of any fame in "Flirting Scholar".

    Even though she''s a typical vase in the entertainment industry, at least she''s got some fame.

    This poster uses her beauty and figure as bait, giving off a "we know what''s up" vibe.

    The photographer should consider adding more chicken legs.

    It can be seen that the website indeed has given the movie a bit more attention.

    Initially, the two video websites weren''t very enthusiastic about "Flirting Scholar".

    Because at the beginning, Shen Qing did not mention that Admirable Fish was the scriptwriter.

    The situation is pretty ironic.

    Admirable Fish''s foray into filmmaking is ridiculous in the company''s eyes, yet this absurdity fits perfectly into the key to movie promotion: the importance of controversial topics.

    No wonder some movies choose to attract attention with distasteful, boundary-pushing rumors and controversial promotions.

    In this day and age, whether it''s praise or criticism, any attention is better than being obscure.

    Apart from that...

    After Admirable Fish''s name came out, the reservation numbers for "Flirting Scholar" did increase quite a lot, proving that Admirable Fish indeed has some fame.

    Of course, the cover girl Yu Xilu, who looks stunning after the photoshopping, also deserves some credit.

    Lin Yuan has also logged into his Admirable Fish account to support them, by posting a picture from "Flirting Scholar".

    Nine squares, nine pictures.

    People with OCD will definitely be satisfied.

    The text attached was: [The movie "Flirting Scholar", for which I have written the script, will be officially released on July 1st. Please support it.]

    Next, Lin Yuan shared the post using Chu Kuang''s account, with two simple words attached:

    [Support]

    Shadow''s account was handed over to Luo Wei to manage, and Lin Yuan didn''t bother with it since it didn''t have many followers.

    As a result, the commentary got lively.

    This time, people didn''t joke about the "good buddies" gag, they were more interested in the fact that Xian Yu was making a movie:

    "Is Xian Yu the screenwriter?"

    "I''ve heard of singers turning into actors and directors, but never a music composer turning into a screenwriter..."

    "Huh?"

    "Can''t Xian Yu just focus on writing songs..."

    "Friendly reminder, Teacher Admirable Fish, making a movie is not for everyone."

    "I will definitely support you, however, I hope you focus on composing."

    "A music composer making a movie feels like you''re not focusing on your job. But since you''re Xian Yu, I''ll support you this once."

    "Teacher Admirable Fish is full of talent, he can even write scripts, I must support his movie!"

    "Xian Yu''s lyrics are always full of stories, so I am quite interested in the script he wrote."

    "I like Xian Yu too, but I don''t support blind encouragement."

    "..."

    Professional practice has specialties.

    Even though Xian Yu has a great reputation in the music composition field, many fans still feel a sense of "this doesn''t seem right".

    They didn''t criticize, they just expressed their views.

    There were also a small number of fans who were supportive, acknowledging their true love.

    It didn''t cause a major stir.

    In essence, this is nothing more than a composer moving across boundaries to write a movie script.

    Under the amalgamation of Qin and Qi, someone made a rough count:

    Every year, there are over five thousand online movies successfully launched.

    What does this mean?

    This means that even if these movies are allocated to each month, there are about four to five hundred online movies launched each month.

    July is the beginning of the summer vacation.

    The number of new online movies released by Qin and Qi in July might even exceed this number.

    Among these numerous movies, "Flirting Scholar" is not very noticeable.

    It''s just that the combination of Qin and Qi has a large audience, which gives these small-budget movies a chance to survive.

    If it weren''t for Xian Yu''s fame, no one would even discuss this movie.

    Therefore.

    As time transitioned into July, the online movie market was still very calm.

    On the other hand, in the theater.

    The marketing wars among various big companies were so intense it was dog-eat-dog.

    This made Lin Yuan somewhat relieved that "Flirting Scholar" did not choose to premiere in theaters.

    And when July arrived.

    Large scale movies began to premiere in theaters one after another. The war in the movie theater market had finally reached a climax!

    The battle for box office began!

    Compared to them, the premier of "Flirting Scholar" by Catmill and Penguin, seemed uneventful.

    Of course.

    No matter how uneventful, under the large population base of Qin and Qi, there will always be some onlookers who will open this movie.

    They might have come across it for a variety of reasons¡ª

    Like Deng Chi.

    Deng Chi was a bona fide rich second-generation.

    Driving sports cars, living in luxury houses, changing girlfriends monthly, he lived a luxurious life that many envied.

    But such a person, he had mild depression...

    The reason was complicated.

    Perhaps because his parents got divorced?

    Even though his parents gave him more and more money each month in an apparent competition, he was still not happy.

    Anyway, due to this depression, Deng Chi would often lock himself in the multi-storied mansion, watching movies alone.

    He watched comedies a lot.

    Because his psychologist said that watching comedies can help soothe his mood when he''s bored.

    On the first of July, much like any other day, Deng Chi opened the video website and started looking for movies that interested him.

    Then he noticed "Flirting Scholar".

    The tagline for this movie reads like this: "Saving the unhappy."

    For some reason, Deng Chi suddenly felt somewhat irritated.

    Because Deng Chi had watched many comedies, but he was still unhappy.

    These comedies, branding themselves as hilarious, had fooled him again and again, he wouldn''t believe them anymore.

    Even though his psychologist explained that:

    He simply had a high threshold for humor.

    People with depression, more or less, tend to be emotional.

    Of course, Deng Chi had no intention of opening this movie.

    But when he was about to scroll past, he accidentally hit the play button and the movie started playing...

 Chapter 241 - 225: No flowers, No wine, Tilling Fields_1

    The promotional content is wildly exaggerated, and the cover features a hot girl flashing her long sexy legs to catch the wolf''s attention. Deng Chi thought that "Flirting Scholar" perfectly fits his concept of a crappy movie, so he wasn''t interested in watching it.

    But then, he opened the movie, and didn''t close it right away.

    How does the old saying go?

    Since he''s already here...

    Even if it''s a terrible date he initiated, he has to see it through...

    Watching a movie he opened himself, a few glimpses shouldn''t blind him, right?

    And while Deng Chi was contemplating, the plot had already started.

    The protagonist of this movie is Tang Bohu, exceptionally skilled in both poetry and painting, with an enormous fortune, and also regarded as the most talented of the four great scholars of the Jiangnan region.

    Deng Chi knew that Su City in Qin Continent was called Suzhou in ancient times and the area south of Qin Continent was known as Jiangnan.

    But that''s not the main point.

    The main point is the beginning of this movie.

    Behold, Tang Bohu elegantly pulls out a brush...

    Deng Chi thought the protagonist was about to start creating, writing calligraphy, or painting something, but this dude started using the brush to grill chicken wings?

    So the ink in the brush was not ink, but soy sauce?

    What''s going on in the script writer''s head?

    It''s kinda funny though.

    Following that, Zhu Zhishan made his entrance.

    The movie introduced Zhu Zhishan''s identity through a rough dialogue. He''s one of the four great scholars of Jiangnan, and a good friend of Tang Bohu.

    But that''s still not the main point.

    The point is this Zhu Zhishan, he doesn''t look like a scholarly person at all, even less reliable than Tang Bohu using a brush as a skewer for chicken wings.

    He''s actually a hopeless gambler, who often loses everything, and then asks Tang Bohu to paint for him to sell and make money...

    Although the dialogues are simple and crude, there are quite a few comedic subtleties inserted within.

    Next, Tang Bohu is finally about to paint.

    But Deng Chi is utterly dumbstruck to see that Tang Bohu''s mode of painting is...using Zhu Zhishan''s body...

    Bang bang bang.

    Boom boom boom.

    After such arrangements, Tang Bohu really has created an exceptional ink painting!

    Exaggerated?

    Very exaggerated!

    Bullshit?

    Very much bullshit!

    The scriptwriter is nothing short of whimsical.

    Yet, for some reason, Deng Chi found it even more entertaining, although he didn''t laugh ¡ª¡ª

    As someone with a high humor threshold, Deng Chi declaring a movie as "entertaining" is already a high rating.

    At this point, Deng Chi wasn''t in a rush to quit anymore.

    This movie had successfully aroused his interest.

    Meanwhile,

    Deng Chi noticed a barrage of rolling comments on top of the movie. Compared to Deng Chi, who has a high humor threshold, these comments were far too lively:

    "Holy shit!"

    "I''m dying of laughter!"

    "Hahahaha, this guy''s penis painted out the bug inside the beak of an eagle."

    "Are you an eagle or the bug in its mouth?"

    "Anyway, I won''t hook."

    "..."

    Deng Chi didn''t block the barrage of comments.

    Although his laughter threshold is high, seeing these funny comments from the netizens makes him feel good.

    Maybe because happiness is contagious?

    The plot continued.

    As it turns out, Tang Bohu had eight wives.

    Except the depiction of these eight wives seemed a bit odd.

    They were all addicted to Pai Gow, turned Tang Bohu''s bird paintings into "Important birds", and even used Tang Bohu''s poetry book as a tablemat... S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Tang Bohu had to put up a brave front.

    His mother couldn''t understand, "You''re young and successful, having accomplished so much in your career, possessing great wealth, and surrounded by a group of wives and concubines. You should be the happiest person in the world. So why are you always looking so gloomy?"

    At this point, Deng Chi felt as if he had been hit.

    Tang Bohu seemed so similar to himself!

    There were also people who couldn''t understand Deng Chi. They said Deng Chi was not only handsome but also rich with pretty girlfriends. They couldn''t understand why he still suffered from depression...

    At this moment, Deng Chi felt that he really understood Tang Bohu.

    Unfortunately, this melancholic feeling couldn''t ripple out and was diluted by the following scene, all of Tang Bohu''s eight wives together...

    Committed suicide by hanging themselves?

    Tang Bohu praised, "Eight people hanging themselves together, what a spectacular sight!"

    For the first time, Deng Chi felt an urge to laugh.

    Your eight wives commit suicide, and you only find it spectacular?

    His thoughts were once again confounded by the protagonist''s decision making, or to be precise, the scriptwriter''s whims...

    This movie continues to take unexpected, humorous turns.

    Every time the plot diverges, it brings out an intense sense of humor.

    Having watched so many comedies, "Flirting Scholar" is definitely the most unconventional!

    The most unconventional part is when the Prince of Ning invited Tang Bohu to be his advisor, but Tang Bohu, pretending to be sick, was joyfully eating chicken wings.

    Facing doubts, Tang Bohu casually burst to a song, "Because... I love to eat braised chicken wings..."

    The person followed along, "But your mother says you''re about to die..."

    His mother chimed in, "If you''re about to die, you should eat desperately. If you don''t eat now, there''s no chance in the future..."

    Huh?

    What the heck?

    Deng Chi felt the corners of his mouth twitching, sensing that he had been fully played.

    Is this how you play it?

    You guys even started singing?

    What happened to the rebellion? Can''t you be a bit more serious?

    The weirdest part is ...

    The rhythm of the song is quite catchy?

    Deng Chi felt like he was about to crack up.

    When the doctor took Tang Bohu''s pulse, but Tang Bohu played a musical piece on doctor''s wrist, Deng Chi''s jaws twitched even harder.

    The bullet screen had turned into an ocean of laughter:

    "My god, is it that much fun?"

    "I''m laughing my head off!"

    "I believe this must be Xian Yu''s movie, the songs in it are amazing!"

    "Please give me the source of the original music!"

    "What kind of divine movie is this?"

    "The scriptwriter certainly isn''t a Blue Starian. Only an alien could think of such a plot!"

    "..."

    This movie was not at all rigorous, and the logic didn''t stand up to scrutiny. But strangely, nobody saw anything wrong with that, on the contrary, they just found it amusing.

    Absolute mockery!

    It was outrageous!

    This style permeates the following plot.

    The Four Talented Men go on a trip, and without a word, they strip...

    Then, there''s Ruhua''s backward glance, and the classic counter-performance of picking her nose...

    The barrage hits a peak, each wave in quantity seems to exceed the previous, and the humor also escalates wave after wave.

    The plot enters the main line.

    Tang Bohu, to get close to Qiuxiang, infiltrates Hua Mansion, and competes in misery with pedestrians.

    Tang Bohu has someone fake death, selling himself to bury his father.

    To his surprise, the pedestrian brings over seven dead bodies from his family, with their dog dying with a whimper...

    "Puff!"

    Deng Chi inevitably bursts out laughing.

    When Tang Bohu pinches a cockroach, yells Xiao Qiang, and cries bitterly, Deng Chi can''t stop laughing.

    Lastly, to win the competition of misery, the pedestrian even knocks himself dead with a stick, and Deng Chi laughs so hard that it hurts!

    At this moment, he was indistinguishable from the stupid-netizen commenters...

    "God damn Xiao Qiang!"

    "The dog is dead, haha... I can''t stand it anymore, this is killing me with laughter!"

    "A competition of misery, is this for real?"

    "This guy actually knocked himself out..."

    "Working too hard, man!"

    "A friendly reminder, don''t eat or drink anything while watching this movie! Don''t ask me how I know!"

    "You should''ve said that sooner! I just took a gulp of water, now I''m choking!"

    "I can''t stand it, I can''t...I laughed so hard I''m about to wet myself!"

    "..."

    After quite a while, Deng Chi finally manages to contain his laughter.

    For those who have never seen such a nonsensical film, once they tune themselves in, the impact of "Flirting Scholar" becomes terrifying!

    Deng Chi almost forgot when he last laughed out loud.

    Of course, not all comments are praise.

    Some comments say:

    "What the hell?"

    "What a mess."

    "I just don''t get it."

    "This film has no substance."

    "..."

    Deng Chi filters out these comments automatically.

    There are trolls everywhere.

    Looking for substance in a comedy, buddy, are you in the wrong theater?

    And haven''t you figured out the style of the movie after watching for so long?

    Anyway, the majority of the viewers could not stop laughing at this point.

    And amid the laughter of countless audiences, Tang Bohu finally gets into Hua Mansion.

    The plot threads have linked up at this point.

    Madam Hua hates the Tang family, thus she dislikes Tang Bohu greatly...

    However, Qiuxiang, the woman Tang Bohu always programs his heart for, unexpectedly has a secret crush on him and starts to murmur his poems:

    "In the Peach Blossom Abbey at Peach Blossom Bay sits the Peach Blossom Fairy, growing peach trees for wine money in exchange for peach blossoms."

    Seeing this, Deng Chi''s laughter fades a bit, and his expression flashes a hint of peculiarity ¡ª

    Did the screenwriter write this poem?

    Regardless of how absurd the previous narrative was and how extraordinary the screenwriter''s train of thought was, it could not let the audience ignore the level of this poem.

    Anyone with a bit of literary taste can feel the artistic conception of this poem!

    This screenwriter, not bad!

    There are quite a few people having similar feelings as Deng Chi, and they are noticeably stunned by the barrage:

    "This poem is of a high level!"

    "Looked it up, it''s original by the screenwriter."

    "You have quick hands, how many years have you been single?"

    "The screenwriter is Xian Yu...I honestly admit defeat, Xian Yu''s literary talent is frightening, this poem is absolutely amazing!"

    "No wonder the lyrics Xian Yu wrote are all so good!"

    "I feel that, Xian Yu is a little like Tang Bohu?"

    "You''re right...his songwriting is elegant...but the script he wrote is extremely absurd, resembling Tang Bohu''s vagabond and squiral style..."

    "..."

    The audience is more or less shocked.

    But it does not end there, for Tang Bohu himself follows with a few more lines, which seem to belong to the same poem that Qiuxiang was reciting:

    "World laughs at me for being too insane, I laugh at others for not seeing through. See not the tomb of heroes at Wuling, who farm with no flowers and no wine."

    Wow!

    It exploded!

    If the few lines recited by Qiuxiang only provoked a bit of surprise and astonishment among the audience, then when those lines of poetry came out, many viewers were already dumbfounded and shocked!

    "Again?"

    "This poem rocks!"

    "The screenwriter is truly a genius!"

    "It''s the same poem Qiuxiang read, right?"

    "Those saying this movie has no substance, stop right there! Is this poem deep enough for you yet?"

    "I thought it was just a comedy...now I know how genius the screenwriter is!"

    "Confirmed! Tang Bohu is Xian Yu, Xian Yu is Tang Bohu!"

    "..."

    At this moment, Deng Chi''s eyes are wide as eggs!

    His breath couldn''t help but hasten a few ticks...

    World laughs at me for being too insane, I laugh at others for not seeing through?

    At first, Tang Bohu''s tribulation only made Deng Chi feel sympathy, but these lines of poetry pierced his heart like a sharp blade!

    He feels that his mood is perfectly vented in this poem!

    Comedy?

    If you truly think that the screenwriter can only write comedies, that would be the real comedy!

    This screenwriter conceals too deep!

    His literary accomplishment, his poetic level, instantly raises the level of this movie!

    "Xian Yu?"

    Many comments say the screenwriter is Xian Yu.

    At first, Deng Chi didn''t pay much attention, he just found it familiar, but at this moment he suddenly remembered...

    Isn''t Xian Yu a songwriter?

    The screenwriter of this movie is Xian Yu?

    This guy is amazing!

    At this moment, there was a trace of admiration for Xian Yu in Deng Chi''s heart. Farming with no flowers and no wine, what a state of mind...

    Never mind Qiuxiang admiring Tang Bohu!

    Deng Chi feels he is about to become a hardcore fan of Tang Bohu!

    At this point...

    The movie is not over yet!

 Chapter 242 - 226 Second Brush (100/2)_1

    The comedy continues.

    Due to a collection of Tang Yin''s poetry and Madam Hua''s rage, Tang Bohu had no choice but to continue to masquerade as Hua An. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    When Tang Bohu starts his self-deprecating rap with bowl beatings, the comments grew dense:

    "I can''t be human anymore!"

    "I insult myself!"

    "Pfft, can''t you produce something more positive?"

    "Look at Madam Hua and the others, they are so strange!"

    "These women are reaching their climax merely by listening to this song?"

    "Who knows that Tang Bohu... he is too bewitching!"

    "Xian Yu is indeed a genius composer, the music in this movie, excluding the parodic elements, is really good to listen to!"

    "My stomach hurts from laughing!"

    "..."

    Tapping bowls, stools, pillars, Tang Bohu can use anything for his music, completely embodying his own characteristic evaluation:

    Monumentally proficient in both poetry and painting, especially rhythm.

    In other movies, this setup would only be a superficial characterization, but in this movie, everything carries conviction!

    Tang Bohu''s poetry.

    Tang Bohu''s rhythm.

    Both are unmistakably top-notch!

    As the most notable one out of the four talented individuals in Jiangnan, he indeed lives up to his reputation!

    The movie is a series of connected events, extraneous characters need not exist.

    As the story takes another turn, Zhu Zhishan appears.

    He impersonates Tang Bohu, resulting in him being caught and taken to Hua Mansion, precisely during the instance that the rebellious Prince of Ning was looking for trouble with Chancellor Hua.

    Therefore.

    When Zhu Zhishan, impersonating Tang Bohu, started a fleeting romance with Sister Pomegranate and painted a "Chick Pecking" picture in front of everyone, even those resistant to humor doubled down in laughter!

    This is a classic scene from "Flirting Scholar".

    The reason it became a classic is because this segment is indeed iconic¡ª

    "The Phoenix''s Pride painting is impressive!"

    "The real Bohu should come on stage hahahaha."

    "Brother Zhishan, hurry up and find your Sister Pomegranate."

    "Pfft, Sister Pomegranate..."

    "Who can handle this!"

    "Beauty beyond comparison, Sister Pomegranate!"

    "..."

    Deng Chi also started to clutch his stomach in pain.

    Yes, from laughter.

    It appears that every second of this movie conjures up new comedic elements, making it hard to suppress one''s laughter.

    What?

    Depression?

    At least in this moment, Deng Chi completely forgot about it, he clutched his stomach, almost bursting into tears from laughter.

    In fact.

    As the movie plot progresses to this point, one memorable scene follows another.

    At this moment.

    The Prince of Ning''s envoy put forward this verse: "A town with two villages under three teachers, yet without knowledge of the four books, the five classics and the six principles, dare to teach seven, eight, or nine sons, indeed daring!"

    As soon as this verse was presented, not just Chancellor Hua, but the audience were also flummoxed!

    Undoubtedly, this verse is difficult.

    Under the anticipation of the audience, the real Tang Bohu emerged and instantly replied: "Ten impoverished houses manage to scrape together eight taels, seven maces, six fen, five hao, four li, yet still vacillate, forever an underclass."

    "Wrong."

    The envoy sneered.

    Deng Chi furrowed his brow.

    Tang Bohu''s verse, while amusing, was indeed irregular and asymmetrical, but this is a movie, perhaps there''s no need to quibble...

    "Just joking."

    Tang Bohu casually retorted: "Among the ten temples, nine monks devote themselves to eight scriptures, strictly adhering to seven precepts, six paths, and five principles, yet lament that no four, three, two disciples are left in utter helplessness."

    Deng Chi''s eyes lit up!

    This response is indeed brilliant!

    Though that''s not the only brilliant part.

    As if to provide Tang Bohu''s literary talent with more credibility, the following verses delivered by him were continuously impactful¡ª

    "While the dragon in the painting doesn''t roar and the tiger doesn''t growl, it''s laughable that a little book boy could."

    "On the chessboard, the chariot has no wheels and the horse no reins, yet they exclaim ''checkmate'', beware!"

    "Oriole by oriole, swallow by swallow, green by green, red by red, harmony everywhere!"

    "Rain after rain, wind after wind, flower after flower, leaf after leaf, year by year, dusk after dawn!"

    "With ten hearts pondering, pondering about you, the country, and the society animals."

    "Eight eyes focusing, focusing on the flowers, the moon, and Qiuxiang~"

    "You..."

    "Just kidding, an inch of my body gratefully speaks, thanks heaven, earth and to the king."

    Cracking jokes, yet effortlessly poetic...

    The rhymes might not be neat, but it was just a joke...

    Not to say that they''re unparalleled, but at the very least, these couplets bear great value!

    Not just for comedy!

    But they also give one a feeling of refreshment and satisfaction!

    The style of this movie never stays serious for more than three seconds, after the audience feels refreshed, laughs follow. A scene where a staff member suddenly collapses and coughs up blood...

    "Is this the legendary ''coughing up three liters of blood''?"

    "These couplets are lit!"

    "Why can''t I come up with such couplets?"

    "First it''s poetry, now it''s couplets, Xian Yu, I''m down on my knees in admiration!"

    "Mom asked me why I''m watching this movie on my knees..."

    "This movie is practically a one-man show by Xian Yu!"

    "He shows off his music, poetry, couplets, I can only say Xian Yu is awesome..."

    "I''m crying from being shown off!"

    "Xian Yu should write more poetry in the future!"

    "Sorry, I''m too uncultured. I''m just laughing."

    "Me too, I laughed myself hoarse!"

    "What''s that? I can laugh myself into pig squeals!"

    "..."

    From laughter, to surprise, to being stunned, the barrage of comments at this moment is dense, even the audience who usually don''t interact are shocked by these famous scenes!

    No audience can remain calm...

    Not that this movie wins over every audience, but at this point, those who didn''t like it have already left, and those who are watching have truly been attracted by this movie!

    Just then.

    A comment floated out of the corner which gave many a jolt, "Let me tell you a ghost story, look at the progress bar."

    "..."

    Deng Chi just happened to see this comment, and then he felt his depression begin:

    "Hold on, progress bar!"

    The movie... is about to end!

    Apart from Deng Chi, other audience members also noticed that the progress bar could not hold up, and for a while, numerous comments encouraging the progress bar sprang up...

    Pleasantly surprised!

    The movie is energetic all the way, and many viewers don''t want the film to end.

    But there are no endless feasts in the world.

    With the Prince of Ning defeated, after Tang Bohu and the Evil Scholar had an exciting fight, he finally ended up with the beauty.

    Of course.

    The comedy in the process did not weaken with the end of the movie. Many interesting gags kept appearing.

    Like "Give me back my blows"...

    Like Madame Hua and the Evil Scholar battling it out, and then swapping clothes...

    Like Tang Bohu completed a painting called "Spring Trees and Autumn Frost" in a very short time and nonsensically said something about the weather being wet...

    Again, during the Qiuxiang appreciation, Tang Bohu recites poetry, as a result Sister Pomegranate urgently needs a loo, and she steps forward...

    The appearance of these jokes almost made Deng Chi forget about the progress bar.

    Therefore, when the movie ended with the scene of Qiuxiang pulling Tang Bohu to play a round of cards, Deng Chi suddenly felt a hint of regret.

    Is it over?

    Really over?

    Hello, this is the time when our web film''s superiority should be brought into play.

    Deng Chi didn''t hesitate to re-play the movie.

    The university''s unique on-demand feature is that you spend five dollars to watch it once and you want to watch it again?

    That will cost more money.

    This is like a movie theater.

    Watch a movie once and spend the money once, it''s not because you have watched it once, and then the second time is free.

    However, Deng Chi definitely doesn''t care about this money, the first time he watched this movie for fun, the second time he can appreciate it again...

    Replay!

    As a result, Deng Chi saw that many of the bullet screen comments at the beginning of the movie were the same as his own, coming across in rows:

    "Second sweep."

    "Same second sweep."

    "Look back again."

    "Hahaha, second sweep, second sweep, this movie laughs to death!"

    "Beast, just came out of the movie and already doing a second sweep?"

    "It''s so damn good, I can''t resist watching it again."

    "Originally in a bad mood, after watching this movie, all troubles are gone."

    "..."

    At this time, the incoming audience, seeing so many "second sweeps" comments, are wondering if they walked into the wrong theater.

    A new movie just came out, where did so many "second sweeps" come from?

    Where are they?

    Hired a navy?

    Can you bring me together?

 Chapter 243 - 227: This Movie is Pretty Intense_1

    Of course, the instances of second-time viewers are few.

    After most people watch a movie, they won''t revisit it anytime soon.

    The memory of just having watched a movie is too vivid; rewatching it would inevitably lose a bit of that freshness.

    It''s better to wait a while until you''ve forgotten some of the movie''s content¡ªrewatching it then is much more enjoyable.

    Thus.

    As the first batch of audience finished viewing, the comments section for Catmill''s "Flirting Scholar" was bustling ¡ª

    "I''m gonna die laughing at this movie!"

    "I just saw a barrage of comments, someone said they laughed like a goose, another said they laughed like a pig, and I laughed like a chicken: cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck."

    "From now on, roaches shouldn''t be called roaches, but Xiao Qiang instead. This naming is so damn clever, considering the roach''s survival ability; it totally deserves such a title!"

    "The comedic timing in this film is so dense, it could trigger claustrophobia!"

    "The misery competition part had me laughing till my muscles cramped...."

    "The movie''s design is so clever, aside from being funny, the ending where Tang Bohu stabs someone to death without a gun was a bit suave."

    "For the first time in my life, I give an Internet-movie a perfect score...I used to watch Internet-movies just for fun...but this whole movie is fun...."

    "The comedy in this movie is very innovative, I don''t know what to say, it''s both baffling and hilarious!"

    "My mom watched it with me, and we both couldn''t stop laughing~"

    "..."

    Audiences have a certain disregard for network blockbusters¡ªthey don''t really treat it seriously.

    Even if they occasionally watch these movies, it''s just for amusement; they don''t have high expectations.

    However, "Flirting Scholar" delivers a pleasant surprise to numerous viewers!

    It''s a classic comedy movie! sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Catmill''s website has a rating function, with the highest score being ten.

    And currently, the score for "Flirting Scholar" has reached an astonishing 9.4!

    Of course, this is also due to the low number of reviewers.

    A movie''s score will inevitably be lowered as more people comment.

    And there are some who specifically target high-scoring movies, then give them the minimum score, under the pretense of ''balancing it out''.

    To highlight their grasp of the big picture.

    But for now, there aren''t people who enjoy ''balancing it out'', after watching this movie, most people have simply enjoyed it.

    Therefore....

    In Xian Yu''s Tribe comment section, a small bombshell was dropped.

    "Just became a fan! Came here to bow down to the great one, just finished watching "Flirting Scholar", the finest comedy film I''ve seen in years!"

    This is a new fan who only became Xian Yu''s fan after watching the movie.

    And there are more than one such new fan:

    "Also became a fan after watching the movie, the scriptwriter turns out to be a composer, such a genius!"

    "With my many years of movie-watching experience...no matter what kind of movie I watch...this movie is definitely going to be a hit!"

    "If this movie doesn''t become a hit, there''s no justice in the world! It''s good enough even for a theatrical release!"

    "Spent five bucks to watch such a classic movie, geez, feels like I got a great bargain, I must follow the scriptwriter GOAT."

    "Kneel down to the great one!"

    "I was busy today and didn''t have time to go to the theater, a bit regretful, so I just found a network blockbuster to watch, but who would have thought I''d get to watch such an excellent movie, I''d support this movie even if it was in the theaters!"

    "..."

    Apart from new fans, old fans were also especially excited:

    "Who dares to say Xian Yu becoming a screenwriter isn''t his main job!"

    "After watching the movie, I don''t know what to say, how does Xian Yu''s brain operate? His music composition is already amazing, but his screenwriting is just as superb!"

    "This movie is undoubtedly phenomenal~"

    "I initially just gave it a casual watch, since I pride myself as Xian Yu''s fan, but I didn''t expect to be pleasantly surprised!"

    "Xian Yu should make more movies in the future, we''re behind you!"

    "I was wrong, I shouldn''t have doubted Xian Yu. When I started watching the movie, I even told my friend online that this movie is definitely going to flop, but now my face feels pulverized!"

    "Just watched for five minutes, and then...I impulsively jumped into it...This is the most worthwhile five dollars I''ve spent this year!"

    "You''re telling me this is a network blockbuster? Its ceiling has been upped by whole levels because of this movie!"

    "..."

    Humorous, innovative, surprising, delightful!

    The first group of viewers gave the most direct and straightforward approval and reviews, especially the previously skeptical old fans of Xian Yu, who are extremely shocked right now!

    Of course.

    Some of the poems and couplets in the movie also caused some discussions.

    However, the discussions about the poems and couplets do not compare to that about the movie itself, after all, people watch movies mainly for the quality of the movie itself.

    A good storyline is the key.

    The rest, while done well, only serve as icing on the cake.

    Moreover.

    These people also highly recommended "Flirting Scholar" to their friends and family through channels like the Tribe and circle of friends:

    "Quickly come and watch, it''s a legendary network blockbuster!"

    "The first network blockbuster of July, I strongly recommend!"

    "If you don''t laugh after watching this movie, I''ll send you a ten bucks red packet!"

    "You guys have to watch "Flirting Scholar", it''s a classic comedy!"

    "Only after watching "Flirting Scholar" did I realize that Xian Yu is a writer who was distracted by composing, suggest everyone come and watch it, don''t miss this spectacular show!"

    "..."

    The video site has a gifting feature.

    That is, by spending five bucks, you can gift the movie to a friend, and then they can watch it for free.

    The price of five bucks is only the cost of a few cigarettes.

    So, after the first group of viewers finished the movie, not only did they recommend it vocally, some even spent an extra five bucks to share the movie with people they are close to for free.

    Brothers... sisters... parents...

    Even boyfriends... girlfriends...

    Under such a wave of promotion, the views for "Flirting Scholar" surged in a short time.

    When it was five hours into the release of "Flirting Scholar".

    The office for Penguin Video.

    The department for Internet-movies.

    The staff member Ji Hao, who was in charge of monitoring the data for this month''s movie releases, suddenly broke the office''s silence with a sharp voice:

    "Holy cow, this movie is awesome!"

    Usually, the first few hours of an Internet-movie''s release don''t really have anything worth noting, and it typically takes until the second or third day to gauge which new release is more popular.

    But there are always exceptions.

    Sometimes, certain movies would explode with incredibly high popularity on the very first day of their release, so when Ji Hao let out a shrill exclamation, many colleagues in the department curiously looked towards Ji Hao''s computer screen, and some even joked:

    "How awesome?"

    However, when this group saw what was on Ji Hao''s computer screen, the room fell into silence.

    Immediately following that, there were sounds of inhaling sharply throughout the office...

 Chapter 244 - 228: 2 Short of a Producer_1

    Web page viewing data is delayed, and only the online film department can see the real-time data in the background.

    But looking at the real-time data displayed on Lu Hao''s computer, many Penguin Video employees were doubting their eyesight.

    A web movie titled "Flirting Scholar" had an astounding view count of one hundred thousand!

    Exact view count: 100,467!

    As internal employees, everyone was naturally aware of the inside scoop about this online movie just launched.

    "Flirting Scholar" had a production budget of less than ten million, no publicity, no famous director, no well-known actors-

    Otherwise, it would not be released online.

    The only advantage of this film is probably that the scriptwriter Xian Yu is a celebrity?

    But Xian Yu is not known for his scriptwriting, but for his composing, which might even deter some viewers.

    Compared to other online films of the same period, "Flirting Scholar" did not seem to have any apparent advantages, so no one initially expected this movie to explode-

    "The data is insane!"

    "There must be a bug in the calculation!"

    "The views exceeded one hundred thousand in just five hours?"

    "Damn, the movie isn''t exclusive, it''s also available on Catmill, so why did it get one hundred thousand views within five hours? People might think it''s a theater movie..."

    "How many views on Catmill?"

    "Check the website data."

    Everyone quickly opened Catmill''s website and sure enough saw that "Flirting Scholar" had climbed to the top of the daily views chart.

    The displayed view count was: 97,654.

    "Web page data is generally delayed. I assume the actual view count of "Flirting Scholar" on their side has also broken one hundred thousand!"

    "It wasn''t an exclusive signing, the two sides can be added together, which means... this movie got two hundred thousand views about five hours after it went live?"

    "As far as I recall, didn''t the film''s budget just come just to nine million?"

    "Two hundred thousand views... both websites combined, sold a million in just five hours?"

    "Oh my god!"

    "This making money rate is too sick!"

    "Looking at the movie reviews, it really did explode, filled with positive comments!"

    "A rating above nine, it''s not just word of mouth, the number of comments is also overwhelmingly large!"

    "The problem is, the movie has only been online for five hours, who the hell knows how high it can go, I need to inform the manager!"

    "We need to increase publicity!"

    "Such an awesome movie, and we''ll let Catmill profit?"

    "..."

    The same scenario, occurred in the online film department of Catmill!

    Receiving alarming news in real-time, the manager of Catmill''s online film department could almost pop out his eyeballs:

    "This movie is insane!"

    In the face of this movie''s data, even the exclamations from the employee next to him, were filled with astonishment:

    "Crazy!"

    "Can such a no-cost, no-publicity, no-star online blockbusters also be so powerful? According to this trend, I suspect this movie will break many records of online films!"

    "The heat will definitely ferment. Wait until the data explodes in a few days, I guess even the theaters will be jealous?"

    "We need to step up promotion!"

    "It''s a pity that this film wasn''t signed exclusively, or we would have made a fortune this time. Hurry up and promote it, we have to compete with Penguin Video!"

    "..."

    Since the movie wasn''t exclusively signed, viewers can watch "Flirting Scholar" on both Catmill and Penguin Video.

    For the audience, it doesn''t matter which website they watch this movie on, as long as the picture quality is the same.

    But for the two websites, there''s a huge difference!

    Therefore, the two websites will definitely be scrambling for audience, and might even sacrifice part of the website''s interests to implement price reduction strategies!

    ...

    When both broadcasting platforms also realized the immense potential and horrifying worth of "Flirting Scholar", the site''s promotion began to build momentum!

    The movie''s rise to popularity was unstoppable!

    At this time, Shen Qing had just finished working for the morning.

    As he arrived at the company cafeteria, while eating, he took out his phone to check the performance of "Flirting Scholar" after its launch.

    Not that Shen Qing didn''t care about the movie...

    As an industry insider, Shen Qing knew very well that not much could be discerned just after an online film was launched.

    However.

    When Shen Qing took out his phone, he received a major information push from Penguin Video: [Hilarious comedy movie "Flirting Scholar" now live!]

    Shen Qing was slightly stunned.

    Why would Penguin Video give "Flirting Scholar" such heavy promotion?

    Aren''t these kinds of recommendations reserved for the most popular videos?

    Before Shen Qing could recover, another information stream push appeared above his phone: [The year''s most surprising blockbuster "Flirting Scholar" is now live, stay and laugh a while, Catmill guarantees!]

    "..."

    Shen Qing was a little bit stunned.

    Why are they both promoting "Flirting Scholar"?

    It felt as if Penguin Video and Catmill were competing in a drum-beating contest for viewers?

    He instinctively clicked on Catmill''s push, then he saw "Flirting Scholar" was placed in the most conspicuous recommendation on the website.

    Even without clicking the push, anyone who entered the website could see the movie advertisement at first sight!

    This...

    Seemingly realizing something, Shen Qing''s heartbeat sped up slightly.

    When he clicked into the movie category, his expression almost froze, and he even forgot to chew on the food in his mouth.

    Daily movie leaderboard first place: "Flirting Scholar"!

    Rating: 9.4!

    View count: 113,453!

    "Gulp."

    A mouthful of rice was forcibly swallowed by Shen Qing.

    He closed the video website and used Tribe to search for "Flirting Scholar", then confronted with numerous netizen discussions on Tribe, he fell silent... S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Juxtaposed with this time.

    A surprised voice came from the side: "Producer Shen, you''re here. Have you seen the activity online, damn! We blew up! Our movie blew up! Hahahaha Lin is invincible!"

    The person speaking was the assistant director of "Flirting Scholar", one of the key person in the movie''s creative team.

    "Blew up..."

    Shen Qing felt his head spinning a bit, had the world gone a little mad?

    This somewhat abnormal movie Lin had made, it had exploded?"

    The website''s data wouldn''t lie... Tribe''s discussion volume wouldn''t lie...

    The assistant director sat next to Shen Qing in excitement, didn''t even rush to order food, and enthusiastically said: "Lin is so awesome! I knew this movie would be hot!"

    Shen Qing looked at the assistant director, how could this guy be so shameless?

    How could he have known after the fact?

    Tell it like it is.

    Of the entire production team, other than that quirky director Yi Chenggong, who else believed that "Flirting Scholar" could explode?

    No wait...

    Shen Qing suddenly had a bitter smile.

    Yi Chenggong''s judgment was right, he was the one with the most accurate vision, "Flirting Scholar", he was the one who was wrong.

    So the quirky person wasn''t Yi Chenggong, but he, the producer!

    Quirky Producer!

 Chapter 245 - 229: Now He Really Becomes the Crown Prince_1

    If a five-hour on-demand streaming data of an online movie can create a "boom" in the eyes of Penguin Video, Catmill, and a minority group including Shen Qing, then when this timeline is extended to be calculated in days, it can create a well-deserved "boom" in the eyes of the ordinary people!

    In the following days. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    With the website''s push and the rising heat, the playback volume of "Flirting Scholar" has been skyrocketing in a way that didn''t quite align with many people''s perceptions and understandings of online movies!

    2.03 million...

    3.5 million...

    4.92 million...

    6.25 million...

    By the time it was the seventh day and the first week was about to end, the number of times "Flirting Scholar" was played on Penguin Video and Catmill combined officially broke the 10 million mark!

    "Less than seven days."

    "Online movie."

    "Ten million streams.

    These keywords combined together are quite dazzling. It''s enough to make anyone who knows the industry slightly startle, after all this isn''t the Celestial Dynasty video site that usually calculates in billions.

    This is Blue Star!

    The ten million views on Blue Star are all genuine, and there are no inflated figures. For each view, viewers would spend five dollars, giving us ten million plays!

    In other words.

    Without discussing taxes, sharing expenses, and advertising splits, this online movie has earned a real 50 million just based on the number of on-demand views in less than a week, causing the other video sites to grit their teeth in envy as they watched Catmill and Penguin Video rake in the profits...

    As a matter of fact.

    When such a monster appears in the online movie market, its impact is no longer confined to the online movies itself. As the discussion heat of "Flirting Scholar" increases, more and more people in Xian Yu''s movie industry begin to pay attention.

    At this time.

    Compared to the bustling online movie circle, Ol'' Zhou, who has been working at Starlight, wasn''t very cheerful because the box office performance of the company''s highly anticipated first movie "Thunderstorm" wasn''t looking good. It''s not quite accurate to say that the movie was a flop, but it did leave something to be desired.

    Perhaps for this reason, Ol'' Zhou was called into the chairman''s office.

    Entering the chairman''s office, Ol'' Zhou''s expression is somewhat downcast, but he still musters up his spirit and says, "Chairman, you need not worry too much. According to our current box office trend, it won''t be difficult for "Thunderstorm" to recoup its cost."

    A box office smash is a success.

    But if we can recoup our costs, then "Thunderstorm" would still be deemed passable. After all, our company''s first large-scale movie has gained a lot of experience without losing money, which is also a kind of yield. At least, that''s how Ol'' Zhou consoled himself.

    "Mmm."

    Li Songhua seems to pay no mind to Ol'' Zhou''s words, and he goes on, "Today, a friend of mine suddenly called to congratulate me, saying that our company''s movie was done excellently, and the return on investment is conservatively estimated at more than ten times."

    "Exaggerated!"

    Upon hearing this, Ol'' Zhou frowns and says, "How could your friend be so sarcastic? After all, "Thunderstorm" is our first foray into the film market, and we will surely be more adept at it in the future."

    "Yes..."

    Li Songhua''s eyes narrow into a dangerous curve, staring at Ol'' Zhou in a daze, "I thought he was being sarcastic at first, but then I realized he was telling the truth. The investment return of our movie is indeed over ten times. Even when you compare this to the entire industry, we are a standout!"

    "Huh?"

    Ol'' Zhou is a bit stunned.

    Although he doesn''t know what Li Songhua means by his words, he can clearly feel a chill in the air, signifying that the Chairman''s mood is very bad right now. Feeling a bit cold, Ol'' Zhou says quietly, "Could the Chairman please clarify, I... I don''t quite understand..."

    "Don''t understand?"

    Li Songhua''s eyelids twitch violently, his voice suppressed and low, "Don''t you have any idea about the movie you sold yourself? I find you more generous than me, pampering our little Maestro without limit!"

    "Lin Yuan?"

    Ol'' Zhou''s heart skipped a beat and then he defended himself, "You also agreed with Lin Yuan making a movie. I also reported to you that the movie was sold to him, and you also implicitly agreed. Besides, that movie won''t make much money. What''s the issue with selling it to him? It was destined to lose¡­"

    "Can''t make much money? Destined to lose?"

    Li Songhua suddenly picked up a document from the table and tossed it to Ol'' Zhou impatiently, "Then you tell me what this is? You tell me his movie won''t make much money? It''ll lose? What about your "Thunderstorm", isn''t it earning a lot?"

    Ol'' Zhou was taken aback.

    He flipped through the file.

    His eyes went wide!

    The document clearly outlined the viewing data, revenue, and various professional-grade analyses of the film "Flirting Scholar", and one particular figure almost made Ol'' Zhou scream:

    "Fifty Million!? In a week!?"

    If it weren''t for the fact that Li Songhua had thrown this across, Ol'' Zhou would certainly have doubted this data, but considering Li Songhua''s present attitude, he wouldn''t question the authenticity of this document ¡ª

    It wasn''t Ol'' Zhou''s fault for overlooking this.

    Regardless of how well the internet film circles were doing, usually they made few millions, and he was completely focused on "Thunderstorm", the major project the company was preparing, and he didn''t care about such low-scale projects.

    But right now.

    Looking at the clear records in the document about the exaggerated achievements of the film "Flirting Scholar" after it was released online, Ol'' Zhou was completely blown away: "So, so, so...this...movie...is a hit!?"

    "..."

    Li Songhua held his forehead in frustration.

    This news surprised not only Ol'' Zhou but also him. Only after "Flirting Scholar''s" popularity had been fermenting for a full week did he realize that a monster-like film had been released online, and it was produced by his own company, but the film didn''t belong to the company¡­..

    What the hell was going on?

    Ol'' Zhou felt like crying.

    No wonder the chairman said he had spoiled Lin Yuan too much... Did he sell such a profitable movie like "Flirting Scholar" to Lin Yuan for just 10 million?

    Am I getting old?

    This movie is a hit?

    Wait, I am still carrying this burden!

    Ol'' Zhou suddenly plucked up the courage to argue with Li Songhua: "There''s your part in this too, Chairman. I had reported everything to you during this whole process. This problem can''t be blamed on me alone!"

    "Are you sure?"

    Li Songhua''s eyes threatened.

    Ol'' Zhou opened his mouth, and finally sighed, his words filled with textbook-level workplace wisdom: "Without informing the chairman, I sold ''Flirting Scholar'' on my own. The chairman was very fond of this film, it was just me, old Zhou, who was confused."

    "That''s right."

    Li Songhua nodded in satisfaction and coughed: "Last time, you advised me not to invest in Xian Yu''s movie-making, and what did I tell you? We should fully support our child''s desire to make a movie! I knew it was something special as soon as I read the script, and anyone with discerning eyes would know it was bound to be a hit!"

    "Yes, yes, yes."

    Ol'' Zhou nodded like pounding garlic.

    Li Songhua coughed again, "Although we gave the movie to him, it was still made under our company name. We don''t want to grab pocket money from the kid, but¡­"

    "I get it."

    No need for the chairman to say more, Ol'' Zhou understood completely.

    No matter how much the company lost, it was a given fact that Starlight produced a web-based blockbuster film that was a huge hit.

    "But some people in the company already know about this, we can''t just kill them all, can we?" Ol'' Zhou was a bit worried.

    "Then you tell them."

    Li Songhua completely restored his chairman''s authority, saying domineeringly, "I, Li Songhua, am ready to zip lips now. If anyone dares to spill the beans, let him come and talk to me!"

    "What about Xian Yu?"

    Ol'' Zhou asked cautiously.

    Li Songhua paused and stared at Ol'' Zhou for a good while before he sighed deeply: "Can''t you pacify it?"

    Ol'' Zhou: "..."

    What happened to your authority and dominance before?

    So now, Xian Yu has become the Crown Prince of Starlight?

 Chapter 246 - 230: The Core of Comedy is Tragedy_1

    Upon leaving the chairman''s office, Ol'' Zhou immediately made a call to Lin Yuan.

    "Director."

    Lin Yuan answered Ol'' Zhou''s call with his usual stable demeanor.

    However, Ol'' Zhou could no longer maintain his usual calmness when facing Lin Yuan, even though he had long since become accustomed to Lin Yuan''s attitude.

    "You..."

    Ol Zhou had a lot of thoughts in his mind but found himself speechless when it came to voicing them.

    What could he say?

    "You''ve screwed me over?"

    But he himself agreed to sell the movie rights.

    He couldn''t blame Lin Yuan for this whole deal, he only underestimated "Flirting Scholar" and never took this movie seriously from the beginning.

    "Here''s the thing."

    He said with a bitter smile, "About the company selling you the rights, you better not go around talking about it, save me, Ol'' Zhou, some face."

    Lin Yuan replied, "But isn''t it something already known amongst many in the film department?"

    Ol'' Zhou kept his bitter smile, "I will notify the company. The performance of ''Flirting Scholar'' is very good, the company wants to take this opportunity to do some publicity..." S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Alright."

    Lin Yuan agreed.

    Lin Yuan was grateful that the company sold the movie to him. Now that "Flirting Scholar" had made money, it would not be right for him to widely publicize it and show the company lacked foresight.

    Lin Yuan knew these basic matters of human relationships.

    After hanging up.

    Ol'' Zhou suddenly laughed, but this time there was a hint of...

    Expectation.

    Wonder how the mainstream film industry will react?

    Although both fields were about making films, the web films and traditional cinema were essentially different from each other.

    The former was trivial, the latter was the mainstream in the market.

    But when a web film with a budget less than ten million yielded over fifty million within a week of its release, even the cinema industry could not remain indifferent¡ª

    Why make a movie?

    In any industry, even those formed around so-called art, over ninety-five percent of the crowd is there for money.

    It''s not meant to be sarcastic, just to illustrate that it''s not just about the small land owned by web film industry or Starlight''s belated realization...

    With the release of the first week''s box office results and the brewing heat of the movie, the terrifying money-making capability of "Flirting Scholar" began to emerge.

    But this is just a beginning.

    For both cinemas and web films, the first week is only a start, the second week is the true explosion!

    Whoosh!

    When the second week ended, the viewings of "Flirting Scholar" had already exceeded thirty million!

    At that point.

    The popularity of this film had spread across the entire network like some big-budget cinema films¡ª

    "This film is so, so, so, so hilarious! Please pardon my excitement, but this is really the funniest film I''ve ever watched!"

    "Would you believe I have already watched this film three times?"

    "Xian Yu''s thinking process simply amazed me. Besides being funny, there were also some enlightening points. This film is really adept at expressing some concepts in a popular way."

    "What I want to say is...recently the cockroaches in our house have been renamed Xiao Qiang."

    "I thought it would be a costume drama, but the dialogues are extremely modern... This is a costume film with modern colors. From a contemporary perspective, Tang Bohu is definitely a rich, handsome man, while Qiuxiang is a smart and gentle woman of the new era, although she is a maid, she is talent-packed."

    "I always thought the female lead Yu Xilu was just a pretty face, but after watching ''Flirting Scholar'', I think she... is still a pretty face, but a useful one."

    "..."

    Without a doubt.

    The movie was a massive hit!

    With the total count of on-demand viewership on both platforms reaching thirty million in the second week, the total profits of "Flirting Scholar" have reached a terrifying one and a half billion!

    Yes, terrifying!

    Not to mention there has never been a web film with such popularity in the history of web films, even amongst cinema films, a film with a budget of nine million garnering such results could be considered unimaginably successful!

    At this point.

    The mainstream film industry of Qi Continent, and the crowd of insiders who always had their eyes on cinemas were utterly shocked by the performance of this web film¡ª

    "It made fifty million in the first week of release?"

    "Oh my God, is this the same online film I remember?"

    "Only a budget of nine million? That return on investment really is a little terrifying."

    "Which company''s film is this, it''s so fierce?"

    "It seems to be filmed by Starlight..."

    "Pfft, Starlight had high hopes for ''Thunderstorm'' but the performance was mediocre, yet an online film is skyrocketing in popularity?"

    "A mere online film is making more than cinema!"

    "..."

    This is a miracle of leveraging small investments for huge returns.

    But this miracle did not occur in the cinema, it bloomed from the online film industry!

    After the merger of Qin and Qi.

    There are many movie rating websites, including online films.

    The most authoritative movie rating site of Qin Qi is called "Starlight Network".

    On Starlight Network.

    A professional film critic has already posted a lengthy review of "Flirting Scholar".

    The title of this review is called: [This is a revolution about comedy!]

    "A few days ago, a friend recommended me to watch ''Flirting Scholar''. I was quite surprised, because this is the first time someone has seriously recommended an online film to me. It''s not that I look down on online films, but we have to admit that the quality of online films is uneven. Limited by the budget, there often aren''t many exceptional films¡­"

    "But I still watched this film."

    "At the beginning, I didn''t hold too many expectations, I was merely curious as to why a friend, who is usually so selective, would highly recommend an online film. But after watching this film, I was ashamed of my ignorance and prejudice."

    "I''m not trying to hype it up, I genuinely believe that ''Flirting Scholar'' is a revolution about comedy!"

    "There''s no doubt that this film is classified as a comedy, but even comedies should be differentiated. We are familiar with styles such as black humor, physical comedy, and linguistic comedy, but this is the first time I''ve seen a comedy using gratuitous humor¡­"

    "Gratuitous represents a Qi Continent dialect, meaning a little ridiculous but reasonable. I learned this word from a netizen in Qi Continent. I believe that this word is the most apt description, ''Flirting Scholar'' is a gratuitous comedy!"

    "In reality, we know there wouldn''t be a situation where everyone suddenly breaks into song during a conversation...No one would think of using a person as a brush for painting... No one would die for comparison of hardships¡­"

    "But in ''Flirting Scholar'', there are many scenes that seemingly make no sense or are absurdly hilarious, yet we can''t help but laugh till our stomachs hurt."

    "This is gratuitous!"

    "This is a brand new comedic device that every comedian, comedy scriptwriter, and even directors should study."

    "A calm persona suddenly behaving absurdly, seven-day life-insurance disperser, advertisements in the middle of a dialogue. If scenes like this occurred in a regular film, I might scold the director and scriptwriter one by one. However, when it appears in a gratuitous comedy film, I would only applaud and laugh till I choked¡­"

    "This is a period piece, yet I see an ingenious postmodern deconstruction!"

    "I can boldly predict that in the future, many comedies can consider this direction for development. Comedies can not only conform to old models but also adapt the pattern of ''Flirting Scholar''. I believe the audience will love it!"

    "Lastly, I want to mention Xian Yu."

    "It''s hard to imagine that the scriptwriter of ''Flirting Scholar'' is a composer and a very excellent one at that. I''m a semi-fan of Xian Yu, I''ve listened to his songs and I have a deep admiration for his talent. However, I didn''t expect that he also has screenwriting talent. You have to know that this film doesn''t just contain comedic elements, but also poetic and cultural ones.

    I am sure that all the poetry in this film was originally composed by the scriptwriter because I searched the entire internet and could not find any of the same lines¡­"

    "Others laugh at me being mad, I laugh at others not seeing through."

    "I started to think that perhaps Tang Bohu is a projection of Xian Yu''s inner self. ''Flirting Scholar'' might not only be a comedy but also carries a tragic core. For instance, at the end of the film that many might have overlooked, Aquarius invited Tang Bohu to play Pai Gow on the day she marries Tang Bohu. So, who really is the Aquarius that Tang Bohu likes?

    Is it the Aquarius he imagines or is it the ordinary woman in front of him who''s just like his previous wives¡­"

    This analysis may not be comprehensive.

    But the content indeed cuts through some features of ''Flirting Scholar'', and it also provokes thought among audiences who have watched this film. Therefore, as soon as this film review was published, it quickly sparked numerous discussions among netizens.

    "I also want to say, the ending of the movie felt a bit ironic. I don''t know if the screenwriter only wanted to create humor, or was there a deeper meaning?"

    "If you look at how Aquarius treats Tang Bohu, it''s more accurate to say she admires Tang Bohu''s talent rather than likes him. She developed such strong infatuation before even meeting him, isn''t that similar to current star-chasing culture?"

    "The film critic is right, to view the movie as more than a pure comedy is the right mindset. The scene where they compare hardships is funny, but if you think about it, doesn''t that segment remind you of a talent show scenario?

    The contestants try to sell their hardships to gain sympathy from the audience, but it seems like they are not here to showcase their talent, but to show how strong they are."

    "Tang Bohu couldn''t stand being at home so he messed around with the Four Scholars of Jiangnan outside. So, logically these friends should be Tang Bohu''s true friends, right? But then a plotline immediately overturns this view - Zhu Zhishan asked Tang Bohu for a painting to pay off his debt."

    "Think about it carefully."

    "The martial arts scholar painted a picture of Sister Pomegranate, all the house servants said it looked good, then after saying that they threw up. It''s simultaneously funny and sad."

    "Damn, hearing what you said, I even started to question whether I''ve watched this movie."

    "What does ''thinly thinking is horrifying'' mean?"

    "I''m sorry, I was too busy laughing."

    "So, is ''Flirting Scholar'' actually a tragedy?"

    "We all received nine years of compulsory education, but why are you so outstanding that you were able to find so much detail in a comedy?"

    "..."

    The netizens were shocked. Many people even specially re-watched ''Flirting Scholar'' due to the discussions.

    As a result, upon rewatching...

    Even more movie details were found!

 Chapter 247 - 231: Still Saying Youre Not Tang Bohu_1

    The one who found the most details is a person named Deng Chi.

    emmm.

    Yes, it''s that wealthy young man with depression who strongly resonates with "The world laughs at my madness, and I sneer at their blindness."

    After the first watching of the movie, Deng Chi immediately watched it for a second time as he liked it very much.

    After the second time, however, Deng Chi unexpectedly noticed some details that many people would probably overlook. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    For example, at the beginning of the movie, it is in front of Tang Manor.

    A group of elegantly dressed intellectuals are gathered outside the gate of Tang Manor, having been waiting there for three hours. Initially, it seems they are waiting for something; however, all the rubbish thrown out clothes gets snatched up, while the couplets outside the gate of Tang Manor read:

    "Five willows shine by the house of the famous, and three old trees stand in front of scholars."

    "In the mortal world, one''s ambition to reach the sky is yet unfulfilled, whereas in heaven, a jade edifice is already established."

    "Both Queen of the Night and Chang''e are afraid of the cold, showing off in the frost in the middle of the moon."

    The horizontal scroll reads: "To become an immortal!"

    Tang Bohu''s Picture of the Phoenix presiding over the assembly of birds is missing a sparrow head, being played as a mahjong tile. The couplet beside it says: "The deep courtyard has scarce dust and his writings are refined; prosperous wealth comes from hard work and being diligent in farming."

    A self-written quatrain of Tang Bohu also appears briefly in the movie.

    It is a painting titled "Dream in the Paulownia Shade," and the poem beside it reads: "A ten-mile paulownia shade covers the purple moss, the elegantly idle scholar enjoys drunken sleep. The pursuit of fame and wealth is already given up in this life, and clear dreams should not reach the old hackberry tree."

    The couplets on the columns of the ancestral shrine in Tang Manor read: "Ancient literature is the hereditary path of humanity; filial piety brings joy to human relationships under one roof."

    The couplet on the post when Qiuxiang is worshipping Buddha read: "Arriving here, one recognizes a clear body of law; engage with the green lion of wisdom, the white elephant of three flavours. Bordering here are the faithful bones of the scaled ridge, observing the peach blossoms in the jade blood, looking up to the red bird in the waves of the tower."

    In Qiuxiang''s room, the pair of couplets reads: "On a sunny day, the carved trusses are adorned with clouds floating over the Yao terrace; green mountains lie at the doorstep with white clouds passing through the courtyard."

    In the Hua Mansion guest room, a couplet reads: "Clouds hang and cranes wander above, groups of wild geese play in the ocean; winter-flowering plum and summertime algae, the scent of harvested wheat welcomes autumn."

    A couplet in the Hua Mansion study says: "Of all things, one should enjoy doing good; a hundred flowers compete against the fragrance of reading."

    The meaning of the couplet is obvious; it advocates doing good deeds and advocating reading more.

    Also in Hua Mansion, there is a couplet saying: "In society, one must be cautious; in holding an office, one only needs to be polite and modest."

    Deng Chi doesn''t have a deep understanding of the couplets.

    But his strong literary attainment makes him sure that the level of these couplets is very high!

    So when Deng Chi identified these details, he was astounded!

    What shocked him even more was that in this movie, there were some frames featuring verses:

    "The morning rain in Weicheng dampens the light dust, the guest houses are decked with fresh willows. Try another cup of wine, my friend, there is no old friend in the Western Pass."

    "A thousand mountains, no birds in flight; ten thousand paths, no footprints left. A lonely boat, an aged straw hat, one man fishing alone in the cold river snow."

    "Knowledge is gained through diligence; behind the glow-worm window, a myriad of books. Having enough use for three winters, who would laugh at the emptiness inside?"

    "A poem of four verses comes out with ease ¨C whom are you comparing to in your own mind? A white head is also ready to wear a flower bud; the bright moon is hard to illuminate the wine. A day of leisure is boundless fortune; a thousand years of fun is viewed as a fool''s laugh; filled with mundane strife all day, ask me why, I don''t know at all?"

    "The unforeseeable weather brings much wind and rain; human affairs are hard to measure, full of intrigues. When heaven''s timing and human affairs are not aligned, don''t let the spring light be committed to flowing water."

    "¡­"

    That''s insane!

    The verses are too brilliant!

    You should know that Deng Chi majored in literature in college, so his ability to appreciate poetry is quite high.

    So when he noticed these film shots that probably caught nobody''s attention, he was completely shocked!

    He could more or less be certain that these were all the works of Xian Yu¡­.

    Because only Xian Yu, who wrote "The world laughs at my madness," could have such caliber!

    To thoroughly collect these details, Deng Chi watched "Flirting Scholar" five times!

    After five screenings, Deng Chi''s admiration for Xian Yu had reached its peak!

    Deng Chi decided that he must let everyone know about the brilliance of Xian Yu!

    And so¡­

    He posted an article via his Tribe account and collected all the couplets and poems from the movie.

    Unfortunately, Deng Chi is not a star, nor is he a famous film critic.

    He published the article, but not many people noticed it.

    But Deng Chi was not deterred by this.

    It is the digital age, and it''s not difficult to attract attention

    Deng Chi promptly contacted several Tribe influencers with millions of followers.

    There were even a few influencers with tens of millions of followers.

    And he had these influencers share his article!

    You ask why?

    It''s simply because Deng Chi is a super wealthy young man, bored with sports cars and watches already.

    He just needed to give out some pocket money, and the influencers would obediently share his post.

    This is called "financial ability."

    Even some influencers who initially didn''t want to share¡­

    But¡­

    He was giving out too much¡­

    Moreover, the couplets and verses mentioned in the article truly were quite excellent.

    So, many influencers quickly reposted Deng Chi''s article.

    As a result¡­

    Countless internet users who had seen the movie were shocked!

    "Damn! I thought the seemingly hilarious yet satirical plots in the movie were already awesome, but I never imagined something more terrifying!"

    "Are the couplets and verses¡­ all written by Xian Yu?"

    "They must be Xian Yu''s work. Only Xian Yu could have such talent!"

    "Should I start addressing him as "Xian Yu¡¤Tang Bohu"?"

    "A thousand mountains, no birds in flight; ten thousand paths, no footprints left. A boat, an aged man in a straw rain cape alone, fishing in the cold river snow... I''m moved."

    "What a great line: an old man fishing alone in the cold river in snow! I never knew Xian Yu was so profound!"

    "Try another cup of wine, my friend, there is no old friend in the Western Pass! What kind of divine verse is this?!"

    "The blogger is amazing, discovering all of this. These details, what a treasure trove!"

    "The director is such an idiot. Why didn''t he focus the shots more on these verses!"

    "I thought [Others Laugh at Me as a Madman] was impressive, but when I saw the poems in it, I realized that Xian Yu is way more impressive than I could ever imagine!"

    "Don''t just stare at the poems, the couplets contained within are also incredibly strong!"

    "I thought the couplets in the movie were already strong enough. Turns out, there are hidden gems in some of the most insignificant scenes in the movie?"

    "I used to introduce ''Flirting Scholar'' to people as a comedy with no depth... I''m sorry, the one with no depth was me."

    "This is a screenwriter? No, this is a poet!"

    "..."

    It''s no wonder that netizens were shocked. Indeed, these couplets and poems were mind-blowing.

    In the original version, these couplets and poems were borrowed from the works of the ancients.

    Such as Liu Zongyuan, Wang Wei, and so on.

    However, Blue Star didn''t have great figures like Liu Zongyuan and Wang Wei...

    So, having these poems appear in the movie scenes was simply terrifying!

    Some of the audience members who have a high level of literary accomplishment even developed goosebumps when they read these lines...

    Needless to say?

    Share it, share it without hesitation!

    Blue Star is a genuine artistic world, where connoisseurs are aplenty!

    With this.

    As more and more people shared it, some of the big names in the literary world also noticed the article.

    They had no choice but to notice.

    Many netizens had already posted the couplet and poems from the movie under their online comment section.

    Everyone knew how impressive these things were, so they wanted to see how the literary world would evaluate them.

    To their surprise, many people in the literary world were also taken aback.

    "''Persuade you to drink more wine, there''s no old friends to bid goodbye when you depart west from Yangguan''... Although I''m not sure about the specific allusion, I can tell it''s a Farewell poem, with very sophisticated imagery."

    "''Thousand mountains with no birds in flight, Ten thousand paths that mankind does not tread''... This poem has a universal appeal."

    "At least three of these couplets in here can be categorized as unparalleled through the ages. If it were not for the movie providing the second line, I thought 90% of people in the literary world wouldn''t be able to properly match it!"

    "..."

    Starting from the film reviews on Starry Sky Web, many people felt that they had underestimated ''Flirting Scholar''.

    Now, with these couplets and verses being dug out, the fans were thoroughly convinced!

    Show!

    This film is simply a one-man-show of Xian Yu''s talent!

    There are those who see the comedy on the surface layer.

    Those who understand the tragedy are on the second layer.

    Those who notice these details are on the third layer!

    Could there be a fourth layer?

    At this moment, no one can be sure.

    Indeed, that saying was true...

    While I thought Xian Yu was on the first layer, he was actually in the stratosphere¡­

    Whoosh!

    Because of this article, Deng Chi''s popularity skyrocketed to over a million in just a short period of time.

    Of course, this had something to do with Deng Chi constantly showcasing various sports cars, watches, and different beautiful women in his past posts...

    Deng Chi was just a start.

    There''s no need to mention Xian Yu''s official Tribe account!

    Due to the popularity of ''Flirting Scholar'', Xian Yu''s Tribe account already had fifteen million followers.

    But now.

    With the massive success of this film, and various details being dug out little by little, Xian Yu''s fan base, like a rocket, started to rise crazily!

    Twenty million¡­

    Twenty-five million¡­

    Thirty-one million¡­

    Five hours after the posting of Deng Chi''s article, Xian Yu''s fan base reached an astonishing thirty-three million!

    The comment section of his posts had blown up, with comments reaching eight hundred thousand:

    "I''ve come to pay a visit to the master..."

    "Can you play the flute too..."

    "The man is Xian Yu, proficient in all forms of poetry."

    "And you said you weren''t Tang Bohu!"

    "Tang Bohu, stop pretending."

    "I heard that Tang Bohu was unrivaled in poetry and verse..."

    "So ''Flirting Scholar'' is your autobiography, isn''t it!"

    "..."

    In the movie, Tang Bohu knew music and could write poems and couplets.

    In reality, Xian Yu is not only the author of the music, but also a scriptwriter, and his ability to write poems and couplets is simply terrifying!

    At this point, it was hard for the audience, fans, and netizens not to make connections.

    Of course.

    There were also those who noticed that Tang Bohu...

    Oh, no, sorry, it''s Xian Yu.

    Xian Yu was also following Chu Kuang and Shadow.

    Chu Kuang''s fan base used to be larger than Xian Yu''s.

    But with the success of ''Flirting Scholar'', Xian Yu''s fan base is now almost as large as Chu Kuang''s!

    Even more.

    Some fans even made a special trip to comment on Chu Kuang''s Tribe profile, and their comments evidently born out of Chu Kuang''s fame as a writer with literary talent:

    "Xian Yu: ''Little bro, I heard you are quite talented in writing?''"

 Chapter 248 - 232: Ol Zhou Isnt Laughing Anymore (Extra Silver from Lord Phantom Feather)_1

    Chu Kuang, how literary and elegant!

    He wrote not only the best-selling fantasy novels, firmly establishing himself in the book market as a pioneer, but also classical short stories, which many people consider to be among the best in the short-story genre.

    So it''s natural to assume in many people''s minds that Chu Kuang''s writing surpasses Xian Yu''s.

    In fact, people never even thought to compare Chu Kuang and Xian Yu.

    There was simply no need for comparison.

    The former was an excellent novelist, while the latter was an extremely talented composer.

    Comparing two different fields doesn''t make sense.

    Can we simply say that Chu Kuang''s writing surpasses Xian Yu''s, while Xian Yu''s composing does the same to Chu Kuang?

    If these two individuals hadn''t been paying attention to each other and collaborating frequently, their fanbases would likely not intersect.

    But now things are different.

    Following the success of "Flirting Scholar", Xian Yu''s writing skills have been thoroughly demonstrated, and the fans have started to make jokes about it.

    Of course, it''s not meant with any malice.

    As everyone knows, Xian Yu and Chu Kuang are like best buddies; they would never see each other as rivals.

    Oh, and there''s also Shadow.

    This is a trio of "best buddies".

    However, as Shadow is a newcomer in the comic industry and his popularity and influence aren''t as great as Chu Kuang''s and Xian Yu''s, he isn''t paid much attention.

    It''s like in the Little Tiger Team, when everyone knows Ol'' Wu and Ol'' Su, but very few people pay attention to the third member.

    Shadow is like the invisible third in their trio, usually only appearing in Chu Kuang and Xian Yu''s storylines.

    In short.

    As Xian Yu''s writing has been recognized by fans, and considering he is the screenwriter of "Flirting Scholar", who also writes stories...

    People finally unconsciously began to compare the two.

    After such a comparison, it really is interesting.

    Could Xian Yu''s writing skills really be no less than Chu Kuang''s?

    Some fans even feel that they''re close to the truth... Perhaps it''s precisely because Chu Kuang and Xian Yu are both great writers that they became good friends?

    Enough of that, it''s not important.

    What''s most important now is the terrifying influence of "Flirting Scholar"!

    As the second week came to an end, coupled with countless detailed analyses of "Flirting Scholar", the popularity of this film actually soared even higher!

    The media started reporting!

    [Rise of the web giants: low-budget film "Flirting Scholar" rakes in over 150 million in two weeks!]

    [Xian Yu: From top composer to screenwriter of "Flirting Scholar"]

    [Xian Yu makes his film debut, with his first script "Flirting Scholar" becoming an online sensation!]

    [Summer movie season: both web and theatre films flourishing, "Flirting Scholar" leading the online movie trend!]

    [This film already made over 150 million, but only cost 9 million? "Flirting Scholar" made a lot with a little, showcasing Xian Yu''s talent and achieving a miracle!]

    There were also news pieces that reproduced Starlight Network''s movie review.

    Of course, Deng Chi''s article was also reprinted by media.

    It was quite an odd situation...

    For those who didn''t know, they might think "Flirting Scholar" was also a theatre film for this year''s summer season.

    Because during such a hot summer season, media usually wouldn''t pay attention to web films, let alone spend any actual resources covering them.

    This season is filled with blockbusters; what is there to talk about a film with a few million budget?

    But "Flirting Scholar" was impossible to ignore!

    There was even a media outlet that humorously depicted this summer''s film season with a four-panel comic...

    This media outlet was called "Funny News", and they liked to hint at the news with comics.

    In the first panel...

    On a magnificent race track...

    A few dominant and flashy race cars were stepping hard on the gas, revving up to go.

    On the outer lane, a bicycle was also eagerly stepping on its pedals.

    The names of various summer blockbusters, including Starlight''s "Thunderstorm", were fixed on the top of the cars.

    The bicycle, meanwhile, bore the large characters "Flirting Scholar".

    In the second panel...

    The race cars took off, as did the bicycle...

    In the third panel...

    Some cars pulled ahead, while others lagged behind, including Starlight''s "Thunderstorm".

    Next to "Thunderstorm", was the bicycle.

    Above the bicycle was a line: "I''ll wait for you at the front."

    Obviously, it was speaking to its ally "Thunderstorm".

    In the fourth panel...

    The bicycle stayed level with the leading race cars, while beads of sweat were clearly visible on the bodies of the cars...

    Many people in the web film circle had knowingly knowing smiles on their faces; they were quite meaningful.

    Because this comic was too real!

    Isn''t reality just like that?

    Theatre films are the race cars on the magnificent race track.

    Compared to theatre films, a web film with a 9 million investment is at best a bicycle.

    But...

    The popularity of the web film was on par with the theatre films!

    This bicycle, how impressive!

    Not impressive in terms of box office...

    If we''re talking about box office, the films in the summer season usually have a box office of billions.

    But the thing is, "Flirting Scholar" is so cheap to make.

    The film industry has a concept called investment return rate.

    Suppose your film cost 200 million, then your box office needs to reach 6 or 7 billion for the production side to break even.

    The budget for a web giant was 9 million, and they''ve already made 150 million.

    That means "Flirting Scholar" has already earned over 70 million for the production side...

    After all, the profit-sharing model of web giants and theatres is not the same.

    Web giants can retain half of the earnings, whereas theatres usually only give the production side about one-third.

    This competition is not about total box office, but about earning power!

    Compared to the schadenfreude of the web giants, the mainstream film circle is a bit crushed. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Driving a race car, but caught up by a bicycle...

    How could they not be devastated?

    Is your bicycle made by Phoenix?

    As a web film, can you please act more like a web film?

    See that designer, just look...

    Starlight really got lucky!

    Originally, "Thunderstorm" had mediocre box office results, and everyone started to overlook Starlight.

    Who could have known that Starlight would shine brightly in the seemingly insignificant corner of the web films?

    Yes.

    The July summer film season was indeed Starlight''s first battle.

    Clearly, this first battle was just average for Starlight.

    But what can you say when Starlight also released "Flirting Scholar"!

    To say that Starlight was lucky...

    Of course!

    If it was shown through web films, it means Starlight didn''t really care about "Flirting Scholar"!

    However, it turns out that the film Starlight didn''t care about saved Starlight''s first battle!

    Outsiders didn''t know that "Flirting Scholar" had been sold by Starlight to Lin Yuan.

    Everyone thought Starlight was secretly happy now, but little did they know, there was a pall over Starlight''s film department.

    People know their own business.

    Actually, the success of "Flirting Scholar" had nothing to do with Starlight.

    Even Ol'' Zhou did not laugh...

    No matter how he thought about it, it was Xian Yu''s fault...

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Master Huan Yu''s Silver Alliance demands to add ten more chapters, here''s one for now, Polluted White continues writing

 Chapter 249 - 233 All Staff are Tools_1

    The Starlight Film Division seemed to be in a bit of collective self-denial, tinged with an unspoken sense of shame. After all, everyone had openly criticized Lin Yuan''s movie in one way or another:

    "Who could have imagined..."

    "In the end, we were all outdone by a novice."

    "I still don''t understand why ''Flirting Scholar'' was so successful. I watched the movie... but my kid loved it so much. Maybe we''re just too old and out of touch."

    "Perhaps we should just let Admirable Fish run the studios and focus on online productions."

    "I just feel bad for Director Zhou¡­ his decision to sell the movie is now backfiring. I heard he was heavily criticized in today''s high-level meeting."

    "I heard it too; it was a bloodbath."

    "It''s not a big problem; the company has begun damage control. Look how they are celebrating on the official Weibo."

    "..."

    They weren''t lying about that.

    Ol'' Zhou was indeed reprimanded.

    The members of the film crew were also questioning their judgement. After all, it was a serious mishap¡ª

    Specifically, a collective case of ''missing the mark''.

    But Starlight was equally proficient at deceiving themselves.

    On the company''s social media account, they have been sharing all sorts of reviews and data about ''Flirting Scholar''.

    Basically, it was brazen boasting.

    They just stopped short of saying, "Did you see this movie? Cool, right? We, Starlight, made it."

    Then the unsuspecting audiences shouted praises like "666".

    Indeed, those in the industry felt sour like they''d eaten unripe grapes.

    Looking at it this way, the company still managed to gain quite a bit.

    As for Lin Yuan...

    Lately, he spent every day huddled with his calculator, tallying up how much he had earned.

    He had anticipated ''Flirting Scholar'' to be a hit,

    But the revenue this movie churned was truly staggering!

    Tens of millions in profit!

    And given the current trend, ''Flirting Scholar'' would continue to attract viewers and continue to earn!

    Writing novels¡­

    Releasing new songs¡­

    Teaching painting¡­

    None of these could compare to the speedy earnings of making a movie.

    Making a movie was pure joy!

    Online movies did as well as theatrical releases!

    Although, Lin Yuan wanted to correct a widespread misconception.

    The production cost of ''Flirting Scholar'' was not less than nine million Yuan.

    The system props he used for the actors were exchanged for real money and they were very expensive!

    But as the old saying goes¡­

    There must be input for there to be output.

    If the actors hadn''t used any props and messed up their performances, ''Flirting Scholar'' would not have turned out so well.

    The only regret was that Admirable Fish had gained too many followers.

    If those followers could be transferred to Chu Kuang, that would have been perfect.

    Lin Yuan even considered using Chu Kuang''s account to announce that¡­

    The script for ''Flirting Scholar'' was actually written by Chu Kuang?

    The thought came and went quickly; in the end, Lin Yuan decided against it.

    That would be too risky.

    After all, the company knew Admirable Fish was him, and everyone knew that he was always on set during filming¡­

    As for the poems in the movie, they were actually from the system-provided script of ''Flirting Scholar''.

    The script was so detailed that it included such elements.

    Luckily, this was not a problem.

    After all, if you can write song lyrics well, you must also have a good literary foundation.

    Who could deny the formidable literary skills of Fang Wenshan and other songwriters?

    Given this premise, it''s understandable that Lin Yuan, under the pen name Admirable Fish, could write remarkable ancient-style poems.

    This was highly reasonable and logical.

    In the future, Admirable Fish could just focus on songwriting and scriptwriting.

    ...

    When a movie becomes a hit, not only one person reaps the rewards.

    True, the scriptwriter Admirable Fish made quite a splash.

    But the director, actors, and key members of the film''s creative team also benefited tremendously!

    First of all, was the male protagonist, He Sheng.

    As the undisputed leading man of ''Flirting Scholar'', He Sheng instantly shot to fame two weeks after the movie was released!

    Invitations began flooding in, busting down Starlight''s doors¡ª

    After all, He Sheng was Starlight''s artist.

    Previously, he was just a bit player at Starlight.

    Now, he had become the hot new talent in the film industry!

    This delighted the company''s chief agent, Zhao Jue. She immediately arranged for a formidable agent for He Sheng.

    As part of the company''s transition, Zhao Jue now managed artists from both film and music industries.

    Previously, Lin Yuan had discovered a few new singers for her¡­

    Now, he was also helping her scout film talent!

    This was horrifying!

    If Lin Yuan''s success this time was not a fluke and his scriptwriting skills were reliable, then his value to the company would not be inferior to other prominent songwriters¡ª

    He actually might offer even more!

    Given the company chairman''s personality, Lin Yuan would probably be untouchable at Starlight in the future!

    The Little Prince?

    Not quite...

    When Lin Yuan wanted to make a movie, the company let him. There were rumors then that Lin Yuan was Starlight''s Little Prince¡­

    Now, it seems the title "Little Prince" describes him better than "Maestro Junior".

    Naturally, He Sheng was over the moon.

    After the company had him registered with a Tribe account, the first thing he did was follow Admirable Fish. Then, he went ahead and skimmed through all of Admirable Fish''s blog posts, liking each and every one of them...

    Occasionally, he left comments, such as:

    "Go, Teacher Admirable Fish!"

    "Teacher Admirable Fish, you''re the best!"

    "I''m Admirable Fish''s die-hard fan!"

    "..."

    These were the types of comments he generally left, demonstrating his incredibly sincere attitude.

    Sharing similar sentiments to him was Yi Chenggong!

    It was clear that the bigwig of "Flirting Scholar" was Admirable Fish, the screenwriter.

    This film was indeed a textbook example of a "screenwriter-centric" production.

    However, Yi Chenggong was the director after all!

    Even if the screenwriter shined the brightest, the director would certainly be one of the top three contributors to the film''s success!

    Previously, Yi Chenggong had been somewhat disappointed that "Flirting Scholar" hadn''t made it to the big screens.

    But looking at it now, who cared about the big screens!

    Earning internet streaming revenue, wasn''t that delightful?

    Leaving an iconic workpiece behind for online films, wasn''t that cool?

    Furthermore¡­

    With the prestige gained from this film, if Yi Chenggong wanted the company to fund a big-screen film for him now, they would likely not refuse.

    Because after all, one only needed to succeed once to build credentials!

    People previously said that Admirable Fish was talking nonsense.

    Now it seemed, the company would likely beseech Mr. Lin to produce another film like "Flirting Scholar", wouldn''t it?

    Speaking of which.

    Though Yi Chenggong was the one who believed in "Flirting Scholar" the most aside from Admirable Fish, the overwhelming success of the film was equally startling to him.

    Yi Chenggong knew the film had potential, but he didn''t expect it to explode like this!

    ...

    Of course.

    If the director and the lead male actor gained benefits, the lead female actress naturally wouldn''t be left out.

    Flirting Scholar...

    The one being flirted with, was Yu Xilu''s Qiuxiang!

    As the female lead of the film, Yu Xilu realized for the first time that being a vase character wasn''t too bad!

    Others were in charge of the comedy, and she just had to look charming as support...

    However, compared to the excited Yi Chenggong and He Sheng, Yu Xilu thought a bit more about it.

    Being more seasoned in the industry, she had a better understanding of the importance of alliance-building:

    "When is Mr. Lin shooting his next film?"

    "Should I beg him for a part?"

    "I''m sure Mr. Lin wouldn''t mind my vase character¡­"

    "Though I have numerous offers now, if Mr. Lin needs my time, I will definitely reserve it for him¡­"

    Some people might think "Flirting Scholar" was purely a stroke of luck, but Yu Xilu didn''t see it that way.

    There were times when she almost laughed herself breathless during the shooting of this film!

    She had also seen how Mr. Lin turned He Sheng into a comedy master with her own eyes!

    This assured Yu Xilu that Mr. Lin truly had talent!

    In fact...

    Yu Xilu had tried to make conversation with Mr. Lin during the shoot.

    Didn''t they say men love beautiful women? She was so attractive, many male crew members would steal glances at her. Maybe Mr. Lin would show some interest?

    Unfortunately, Mr. Lin didn''t spare her much attention. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    In fact, Mr. Lin paid more attention to He Sheng and Yi Chenggong than to her...

    It seemed her charm didn''t work on Mr. Lin.

    Yu Xilu wasn''t disappointed. After all, she was just trying out.

    And she wasn''t trying to use this to climb up the ladder, she simply had a genuine desire to align herself with Mr. Lin.

    If the big boss was Yi Chenggong, Yu Xilu wouldn''t have had any thoughts whatsoever.

    She would rather never make it in the industry than be involved with Yi Chenggong!

    "I suppose other actresses in the company will soon have their eyes on Mr. Lin... But whether or not Mr. Lin chooses me as the female lead, I must maintain a good relationship with him¡­"

    In the entertainment circle these days, which female actor doesn''t have some tricks up their sleeves.

    Similar cunning was shared by He Sheng, Yi Chenggong, and many others involved in the film.

    But others'' responses were somewhat slower than Yu Xilu''s...

    But no one would forget who made "Flirting Scholar" a success.

    In fact¡­

    Following the film''s success, almost everyone was thinking about how to quickly align themselves with Mr. Lin in their own ways.

    Following, liking and commenting on his Tribe posts were just basic interactions.

    The film''s producer, Shen Qing, was the only one feeling a bit awkward lately...

    Many people around him began to congratulate Shen Qing, praising how good "Flirting Scholar" was.

    Being the main producer, he naturally reaped many benefits.

    But the more he was congratulated, the more awkward Shen Qing felt¡­

    Could he tell everyone that he actually had no hope for "Flirting Scholar" at all?

    Okay, he didn''t dare to say it.

    Shen Qing still had a sense of propriety.

    What he feels most relieved about now is his work attitude. He didn''t neglect his duties just because he didn''t think highly of this film.

    When Mr. Lin asked him for help with the web film negotiations, he duly complied.

    From this perspective, though he didn''t earn Mr. Lin''s favor, at least Mr. Lin wouldn''t detest him, would he?

    But estimating, Mr. Lin wouldn''t go for his cooperation next time...

    After all, for this film crew, including himself and the director, they were tools to execute Mr. Lin''s vision.

    Yes, tools.

    If Mr. Lin had greater ambitions in the future, he wouldn''t be satisfied with such a crew of tools.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: It can''t be denied that I owe you more updates, this is the second bonus chapter from the White Silver Alliance by fantasy feather bigwig, time to call it a day. Inevitably the content becomes diluted with increased word counts, especially in a single day where I wrote over 10,000 words, I hope for your understanding. It would be even better if you don''t rip on my monthly work rate...

 Chapter 250 - 234: Return on Investment_1

    "Do you write scripts too?"

    Sister Lin Xuan looked at Lin Yuan and the more she looked, the more surprised she became. Of course, Lin Yuan''s family knew about his movie''s success.

    Since the Lin family now lived in a villa, they had a home theater setup when they renovated, so Lin Xuan, her sister, and their mother naturally watched the movie together.

    "Just good luck."

    Lin Yuan answered nonchalantly.

    It was now the third week since the online release of "Flirting Scholar".

    From the third week on, the viewership of "Flirting Scholar" inevitably began to decrease.

    As a result, the two websites hosting the movie have started to implement new strategies.

    Such as limited-time discount on demand, or buy one get one free activities, etc...

    Of course, the costs are covered by the websites.

    Either way, the two websites made quite a lot from this movie, so it was only natural to invest some money into promotions.

    The advantage of this was that it could increase the total viewership of the film.

    The effects were immediate.

    With the promotional discounts offered by the two websites, the viewership of "Flirting Scholar" quickly surged back up...

    By the end of the fourth week, that is, the end of July.

    This miraculous web blockbuster had garnered more than 40 million views!

    Based on this trend, the final viewership of the film is bound to surpass 50 million!

    The movie industry pays attention to the return on investment.

    The return on investment for "Flirting Scholar" is roughly estimated to be over ten times.

    This is a record high for a web film!

    Even for films screened in theaters, such a return rate is of the top tier!

    In order to further stimulate the viewership of "Flirting Scholar", both Catmill and Penguin Video, without prior arrangement, extended interview invitations to Xian Yu.

    Lin Yuan declined.

    Showcasing his face too often could lead to his downfall.

    The people from Catmill and Penguin Video did not insist, it''s normal for people, even filmmakers, not to enjoy publicity.

    To promote the film, they could invite the actors, as well as the director and producers.

    Setting aside the video streaming platforms.

    On the fifth week of the film''s launch, Lin Yuan went to the ninth floor of Starlight, which belongs to Mr. Lin.

    "The representative is really talented!"

    "The representative''s movie is so good!"

    "The movie produced by the representative is so exciting!"

    "Our department wholeheartedly supports the representative''s filmmaking!"

    "..."

    Upon entering the composition department.

    The composers under him naturally took turns to heap praise on him.

    Already accustomed to all this, Lin Yuan smiled, and went into his office.

    After entering the door.

    Lin Yuan noticed many gifts on his desk, some large and small exquisite packages were simply placed on the floor because the desk was too full.

    "They are all from the film crew."

    As Lin Yuan''s assistant, Gu Dong appeared right on time.

    She answered Lin Yuan''s questions: "Most of the gifts on the desk are from Producer Shen and Director Yi, and on the ground, the one on the left is from He Sheng, the one on the right is from Yu Xilu...and this...I''ve made a list for you."

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan glanced at the gift list.

    Gu Dong was reliable, she had systematically noted down what each person had gifted, making it easy for Lin Yuan to understand at a glance.

    While Lin Yuan was looking at the gift list, Gu Dong was looking at Lin Yuan, with a hint of admiration in her eyes.

    Since getting to know Mr. Lin, it seemed as though Mr. Lin could succeed in anything he did?

    As of today, Mr. Lin had attained massive success even in crossover filmmaking!

    Gu Dong couldn''t help but wonder...

    Is there anything in this world that Mr. Lin can''t do?

    This thought was of course a bit exaggerated. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    However, having interacted with Lin Yuan for so long, Gu Dong did have this almost incredible feeling.

    This even put a lot of pressure on Gu Dong.

    If she was able to handle Lin Yuan''s assistant work with ease at the beginning, now, working for Mr. Lin, Gu Dong had gradually begun to feel like she was walking on thin ice.

    That''s because Mr. Lin was too amazing!

    So the more she understood Mr. Lin''s excellence, the more Gu Dong felt the heavy responsibility of being a small assistant.

    Of course, while feeling the pressure, Gu Dong also found motivation.

    Being Mr. Lin''s assistant was not only an honor for her but also a precious opportunity in her life.

    She couldn''t allow herself to make mistakes, and she would have to complete Mr. Lin''s assistant work beautifully in the future!

    Of course, Lin Yuan had no idea of his little assistant''s thoughts.

    After looking at the list and roughly remembering who had given what gifts, Lin Yuan finally looked up and asked, "Could you do something for me?"

    "Please tell me."

    Gu Dong immediately replied.

    Lin Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Help me find a young composer in our department who is promising. I''m thinking of training another student to compose music."

    Lin Yuan wanted to continue with the task of taking in students.

    Recently, the System had reminded Lin Yuan that there was less than half a year left for his teaching task!

    If Lin Yuan could not train three students in this time, the Yang Zhongming character card would disappear.

    Honestly speaking, the time was tight.

    Lin Yuan hated the idea of losing the Yang Zhongming character card, so he must hurry up with the task now, and there was no issue with him accepting some special methods for it.

    "Okay!"

    Gu Dong nodded.

    The success of Xue Liang proved that Mr. Lin was really good at teaching students.

    Just like the outside world, Gu Dong was also very curious, could Mr. Lin train a second Xue Liang?

    After Gu Dong left.

    Lin Yuan''s phone rang.

    After he picked up, he heard an excited voice from YangFeng from the phone, "Congratulations to Teacher Chu Kuang, you have been awarded the first batch of GOAT Awards announced by the Literature and Art Association, the list has been published and many people are discussing it online!"

    "Oh."

    It wasn''t unexpected for Lin Yuan, with "Ghost Blows Out the Light" as the foundation, it would be strange if he didn''t get this award.

    YangFeng smiled and said, "Maybe to avoid controversy, they only announced the list and did not publish rankings..."

    "Hmm."

    To Lin Yuan, it was enough to have received the GOAT award.

    YangFeng did not mind Lin Yuan''s calm tone, this was human nature''s innate adaptability: "Teacher Chu Kuang, do you want to attend the award ceremony?"

    Lin Yuan frowned, "Is attendance mandatory?"

    YangFeng quickly said, "Not necessarily, whether you attend or not is up to you. If you need it, Silver Blue Books could send someone to pick up the award on your behalf, or you could designate someone to pick it up, preferably your agent..."

    "Can you guys receive it on my behalf, and then mail it back to me."

    I wonder, is the GOAT award trophy valuable?

    After chatting for a bit, including the news that the second volume of "Ghost Blows Out the Light" had been successfully published, Lin Yuan hung up the phone.

    Whether it''s interviews or awards ceremonies...

    It seems like there have been a lot of occasions recently trying to get me in the spotlight?

    But there was one thing YangFeng said that reminded Lin Yuan.

    Maybe he could find an agent to help him arrange and handle such occasions.

 Chapter 251 - 235: The Next Movie_1

    Having more identities could be troublesome to deal with. Perhaps getting an agent or something similar could save Lin Yuan a lot of hassle...

    He''ll keep an eye out for potential candidates.

    Lin Yuan turned on his computer and looked up the list of fantasy authors selected by the online community.

    Top Three Gods.

    The three were Antarctica, Mercury, and Double-Knife Kid.

    The first two were veteran fantasy authors from Qin Province with the most terrifying book sales, and the third was the face of fantasy authors in Qi Province.

    There were ten spots for the Great Old One (GOAT).

    Chu Kuang''s name was fifth on the list, but there was a cheeky note added to this award:

    The ranking does not indicate superiority.

    In the list of GOATs, Lin Yuan also saw the name of the author, Devil Child, whose new book was released at the same time as his "Ghost Blows Out the Light." The author was placed tenth in the GOAT award...

    He then accessed the Tribe.

    As expected, Lin Yuan saw a lot of people online discussing the award winners.

    "What? Is this ranking really not in order?"

    "Such a blur, it''s the first time I''ve seen the officials with such a strong will to survive."

    "Literature and Arts Association: Whether or not there''s ranking, you decide."

    "Don''t make it hard for the officials. This ranking is actually quite fair, considering each author''s novel sales, impact, and quality..."

    "It''s indeed quite fair."

    "The number of people from Qin Province clearly has the advantage."

    "The next Top God will certainly come from these ten Great Old Ones, right?"

    "..."

    Logging into Chu Kuang''s Tribe account, Lin Yuan saw many comments congratulating him on receiving the GOAT award.

    "Worthily awarded!"

    "I really love ''Ghost Blows Out the Light'', keep it up, Great Chu Kuang!"

    "GOAT doesn''t sound as good as old rascal, right, Chu Kuang the Old Rascal?"

    "Exactly, what Goat, killing Biyao is a crime!"

    "Chu Kuang: Even if I am a rascal, I am a rascal who steals hearts, stealing the hearts of my young readers."

    "You guys wait and see, One day when the editor can''t restrain the Old Rascal Chu Kuang, he''ll kill off Yang Xueli, then you''ll be crying!"

    "Will he really?"

    "If Chu Kuang dares to kill off Yang Xueli, I''ll send him a local specialty."

    "..."

    Yang Xueli is Shirley Yang.

    Because the time period has changed, this character is no longer a Chinese-American and it was not convenient to use an English name.

    So this female character in "Ghost Blows Out the Light" is called Yang Xueli.

    Bold and considerate, this character is popular among readers and is considered the leading lady in "Ghost Blows Out the Light."

    As a matter of fact.

    Over these few days, the second volume of "Ghost Blows Out the Light," "The Lost Caverns," was released, and the response was just as good as the first volume.

    However, Lin Yuan has been focusing on movies recently, so he didn''t pay much attention to it and just submitted his work as usual.

    Perhaps because Chu Kuang''s update speed was terrifyingly fast, there were few readers in his comment section urging him to update more.

    The only surprise for Lin Yuan was...

    Shadow had actually tagged him, congratulating him on getting the GOAT award.

    Was this some sort of supernatural event? Shadow was actually alive? Lin Yuan was surprised for a moment before he remembered that Luo Wei had been managing the account Shadow.

    Luo Wei didn''t know that Shadow, Chu Kuang, and Xian Yu were all his pseudonyms, so it was fine for her to congratulate Chu Kuang on Shadow''s account--

    The problem was with the fans:

    "Why is there no response from Xian Yu''s side, and Shadow was the first to congratulate?"

    "For such a big event like the GOAT award, Teacher Xian Yu didn''t make a sound. Are things not going well with Old Rascal Chu Kuang?"

    "Is Shadow trying to seize the opportunity to rise to the top!"

    "Guys, the stock of Shadow has risen!"

    "You guys are at it again? But I like it."

    "Could it be because everyone has been discussing Xian Yu''s writing skills lately, our Chu Kuang the Goat is feeling a bit insecure?"

    "..."

    Lin Yuan was speechless.

    Of course, Xian Yu would not congratulate Chu Kuang.

    Because such an act would be tantamount to selling and praising herself.

    But Lin Yuan couldn''t stop Luo Wei.

    Because from Luo Wei''s perspective, there was nothing wrong with it, making Shadow look more like an independent person, which significantly reduced her own risk of being exposed.

    ...

    While Lin Yuan was reading the Tribe news, he heard some movement outside his door. Zu Ruiming had come.

    "Director."

    Lin Yuan greeted him.

    Old Zhou chuckled, "Congratulations on the success of ''Flirting Scholar.'' I got some newly launched good tea today, I figured you would like it, so I brought you a box."

    "Thank you."

    Lin Yuan''s eyes lit up.

    As an assistant, Gu Dong naturally followed him, unboxed the tea that Old Zhou brought, and made a cup of tea for each of them. Then he deliberately left the room, closing the door behind him so that the two could chat.

    "Here''s the thing."

    Old Zhou coughed, "For your first film, the company may not have taken it seriously. So I came here to tell you that if you want to make more films in the future, I can help you secure more funding."

    Lin Yuan''s movie was a hit.

    There are now two opinions outside. One is that Lin Yuan got lucky, and the other is that Lin Yuan really has the ability. However, the most widespread view is that Lin Yuan''s own abilities combined with a bit of luck have made the movie ''Flirting Scholar'' a success.

    In other words.

    The company recognises Lin Yuan''s success. Although Old Zhou didn''t handle this matter well and thus the company suffered heavy losses, they have raised their attention towards Lin Yuan and decided to support Lin Yuan''s next movie.

    "Next movie?"

    Lin Yuan did not immediately answer.

    He had tasted the sweetness from the first movie, so he would definitely continue making films in the future. But bringing up this matter now was premature. He would need at least some time before he started to consider the next film.

    "No need to rush to answer."

    Old Zhou smiled, "You can take your time to polish the script for the next film. When the script is ready, just remember to contact me first. I just came here to express the company''s support for your new film."

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    It seems like Old Zhou really did come today to express the company''s attention. After finishing his tea and chatting for another ten minutes, Old Zhou left.

    Once Old Zhou had left.

    Lin Yuan started to ponder.

    Although there was no rush to prepare a new film project now, he could at least set the script first.

    As for the type of script...

    The best choice, of course, would be another comedy like Zhou''s.

    Because ''Flirting Scholar'' had already laid a solid foundation for nonsensical comedies.

    But he didn''t know what the System would say.

    Lin Yuan directly called out the System, "Can I directly specify a certain movie?"

    The System replied, "That function has not been opened yet. For now, the theme and type of custom scripts are random." S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan:"..."

    This damn System would never make people completely satisfied.

    Random scripts...

    Isn''t this the same route as customizing novels?

    According to this System''s behavior, the next "Random Movie" most probably wouldn''t belong to the same genre as ''Flirting Scholar,'' there might even be a stark contrast.

    However, Lin Yuan also noticed a key word from the System:

    "At present."

    This function is not available at present?

    So, does this mean that in the future he can customize movies by himself?

    That might work.

    Lin Yuan spoke up, "Then customize the new script."

    The System:[Script customization in progress...]

 Chapter 252 - 236 Tuner_1

    "In customization..."

    "In customization..."

    "In customization..."

    Lin Yuan suspected that the system had crashed.

    Usually, the system''s customization took only ten seconds to produce work, occasionally a few dozen if it took longer. But this time, the system took a full five minutes before finally responding to Lin Yuan: "Random customization successful, would the host like to accept the price of 25 million for the script?"

    "How much?"

    Lin Yuan thought he had misheard.

    The system said, "Twenty-five million."

    Lin Yuan suspected the system was joking, selling a movie script for such a high price. With twenty-five million, he could probably write quite a few songs, or even a couple of novels, right?

    That being said...

    Lin Yuan''s first movie, "Flirting Scholar," had a terrifying gold-winning ability.

    If the new film still had this level of profitability, then it didn''t seem unreasonable to spend that amount on a script, right?

    They are all tricks.

    The longest road Lin Yuan has walked is the system''s tricks.

    "Anyway, the money has gone to charity, what more can I say? You say how much, then that''s the price. If the film doesn''t make money, I won''t make films anymore,"

    Lin Yuan threatened.

    The system was unmoved: "Do you want to customize?"

    Lin Yuan gritted his teeth and said: "Do it, do it, do it!"

    "Ding-dong!"

    The system prompt: "Congratulations on getting the system''s script ''The Pianist''!"

    At the same time.

    Lin Yuan''s money was deducted by the system by twenty-five million.

    No time to feel the pain.

    Lin Yuan''s attention was concentrated on the script for "The Pianist".

    This is a...

    Crime suspense movie script.

    At this point, Lin Yuan had familiarized himself with the script through quantum reading.

    Well, how should he put it?

    He knew the new film''s genre would definitely be a departure from "Flirting Scholar!"

    The script for this film abruptly shifted him from a comedy film to the genre of crime and suspense...

    Similar experiences occurred when Lin Yuan was writing novels.

    For example, he was doing quite well with his novel "King of the Net," but then the system threw a fantasy novel at him.

    Just as he was doing pretty well with the fantasy novel, the system then had him write "Ghost Blowing the Lamp."

    Well, it''s quite a leap.

    A very big leap, indeed.

    Not to mention that the outside world can''t guess what type Chu Kuang''s next novel will be.

    Even Lin Yuan himself was baffled...

    In the future, will it become a case of Lin Yuan and the outside world guessing together what type Xian Yu''s next film will be?

    Alright.

    No more gripes.

    After Lin Yuan read the script of "The Pianist" at light speed, he had a general understanding of the situation.

    Firstly, what can be confirmed is that the script for "The Pianist" was adapted from an Indian film.

    But it must be said that the Indian side was not original either.

    Because this Indian film was adapted from a French short film.

    In other words... S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    France produced a short film called "The Pianist", which was adapted by India into a full-length film, and the system then adapted the Indian film into a Blue Star film...

    After three rounds of adaptation.

    But the system also gave Lin Yuan a prompt: "The first adaptation was done by the system, and the adaptation of the film background will be done by the host in the future."

    Lin Yuan didn''t mind.

    He''s very proficient in changing backgrounds.

    The only question is, will this movie make a profit?

    It''s no blockbuster, and "The Pianist" is a film that places more emphasis on plot logic. It''s not easy for this kind of film to achieve high box office returns.

    By the way.

    The movie''s title can also be tweaked.

    Aside from the protagonist being a piano player, the film seems to have no real connection with the title "The Pianist".

    Although the original title of the film was indeed "The Pianist", and the protagonist''s profession in the original French film was indeed a piano tuner.

    But in reality, in the Indian plot, the protagonist is a pianist, so it would be more appropriate to call the film "The Pianist".

    Also, the Indian side translated the movie title as "Blind Melody" or "Invisible Melody".

    The director even considered names like "Kill the Pianist".

    All in all.

    No matter what the movie is called, it cannot change the film''s core conflict!

    The central conflict of "The Pianist" revolves around a pianist pretending to be blind, who ends up in a movie star''s home to play the piano.

    As a result, he witnesses a murder.

    Because of his pretense of being blind, the killer temporarily spares the main character.

    After leaving the house, the male protagonist immediately goes to the Patrol House to report the crime.

    However, before he could successfully report the crime, he was horrified to discover that-

    The arrest officer at the Patrol House turned out to be the killer he had just witnessed?

    The plot suddenly becomes tense.

    Lin Yuan had never seen this film before, so the script provided by the system brought a fresh feeling to him.

    This design is really ingenious.

    The protagonist, who has long been pretending to be blind, ends up witnessing a murder...

    Just thinking about it is a bit thrilling.

    Apart from the script, the system also provided Lin Yuan with the original film for reference.

    After watching the film, Lin Yuan compared it with the script provided by the system and found that the system slightly adjusted the film''s pace.

    For example, in the film, many scenes about how the male lead met his girlfriend and their interactions were largely cut out.

    The film enters conflict more quickly now.

    Beyond that.

    There''s another interesting aspect in this film.

    The protagonist plays several original songs, and the sheet music for these piano pieces were also provided to Lin Yuan by the system...

    Wait a minute!

    This couldn''t be the reason why the system wanted him to film "The Pianist," could it?

    If you say that Zhou-style comedy has nothing to do with Lin Yuan''s identity as a composer, then "The Pianist" really needs the existence of a composer!

    Just like the large number of poems and songs in "Flirting Scholar".

    The songs needed in "The Pianist" are of very high quality.

    Right.

    Perhaps the "Mariage d''Amour" that he never got the chance to release can also be released through this film!

    This is what movies are all about.

    Movies can encompass all kinds of art, forming an absolute visual and auditory impact!

    Thinking about this.

    Lin Yuan suddenly felt that the script for "The Pianist" was quite good.

    Whether it''s the cost of the film or the quality of the script, it seems to be a pretty good project.

    But when it comes to actors...

    Originally, Lin Yuan was inclined to use familiar actors from "Flirting Scholar," such as He Sheng.

    But now, it seems that the male lead can''t be used.

    The female lead can be considered for a role, like the male protagonist''s lover.

    What was the name of that actress?

    Anyway, it''s not expensive.

    The director doesn''t matter; he can continue to use Yi Chenggong.

    The reason is simple.

    Because Lin Yuan''s films are definitely core-scripted, and the director is just a tool for Lin Yuan to achieve his goal.

    The film is already detailed in Lin Yuan''s script on how it should be shot...

 Chapter 253 - 237: Dialed the Wrong Number_1

    It was now August.

    Like all movies, the viewership''s demand for "Flirting Scholar" started to dwindle in the following days. After surpassing the major threshold of 50 million plays, every subsequent increase seemed incredibly difficult...

    The potential audience for the movie has become saturated in the short term.

    Lin Yuan was confident that "Flirting Scholar" still had the potential and space to grow in the future, but that would take a longer time.

    Many works become more popular as time goes on.

    As the popularity of the film saturated, Lin Yuan''s film-related Prestige Value reached 35,000.

    At the same time.

    Screenwriter Xian Yu also gained a small degree of fame in the mainstream film and television industry.

    The comedy genre he created, through the hot discussions of netizens, had been given the title "Absurd Comedy".

    Even without being guided by Lin Yuan himself, "Absurd" remained the most standard description for this type of comedy.

    Just like what the film critics said...

    There truly were many comedy talents in mainstream cinema starting to study the unique characteristics of "Flirting Scholar".

    One thing was certain:

    Under the research of many professionals, Absurd Comedy might become the new direction for many comedy developments.

    While Star Grandpa is hard to imitate, the characteristic of absurdity can be used and expanded upon in comedies.

    Of course.

    The impact brought by "Flirting Scholar" does not end there.

    One day.

    Lin Yuan was in his studio, drawing "King of the Net" with Luo Wei.

    Thanks to the speed of Lin Yuan and Luo Wei, half of this comic had already been completed, and its popularity was growing...

    Just looking at the following of the alias Shadow, it had already reached 15 million!

    Well...

    One indisputable point was that part of the reason for the high following of the pseudonym Shadow was due to the contributions of Xian Yu and Chu Kuang.

    After all, the popularity of these three accounts was somewhat intertwined.

    After finishing today''s comic, Lin Yuan handed it over to Luo Wei to upload.

    After a successful upload.

    Luo Wei suddenly laughed and said, "Doesn''t Teacher Chu Kuang seem to be good at solving couplets?"

    Lin Yuan paused for a moment, "Why do you ask that?"

    Luo Wei was also taken aback, "Don''t you know?"

    Lin Yuan out of curiosity, "Know what?"

    Seeing Lin Yuan''s reaction, Luo Wei realized that he rarely goes online.

    So she simply explained to Lin Yuan: "There''s a game that''s really popular these days..."

    It turns out that this had to do with "Flirting Scholar", which was an effect brought about by the film.

    Because numerous couplets in the movie were dug out by netizens, a trendy wave of couplets spread through the internet.

    As a result, a game developer took advantage of this trend and specifically developed a game mini-program for solving couplets.

    This mini-game is called "King of Couplets".

    This game became popular with netizens as soon as it was launched.

    Clearly, "King of Couplets" thus became a joke from the movie "Flirting Scholar".

    In the movie.

    The self-introduction of Prince Ning''s advisor was: "Below is the literary champion and military advisor of the seven provinces, nicknamed ''King of Couplets'' Dui Chuanchang!"

    So, when netizens saw the four characters "King of Couplets", they all smiled knowingly, subconsciously linking it to the scene of this gentleman spitting up three liters of blood.

    The game setting was simple.

    For every couplet solved, the player would proceed to the next stage.

    And with every stage, the difficulty of the couplets would increase.

    As a result, whenever netizens couldn''t solve a couplet, they would post online asking for help.

    These help-seeking posts would often end up in the comment sections of some big shots in literary circles.

    These literary big shots, of course, had the intention of showing off their own literary talent, and would mostly flip through these posts from the netizens, giving the correct responses.

    As a very talented writer, Chu Kuang naturally had fans posting below asking for his help with the couplets.

    Not just Chu Kuang.

    Recently, many similar help-seeking posts have also appeared in Xian Yu''s comment section.

    However, neither Chu Kuang nor Xian Yu seemed interested in handling these help-seeking posts.

    Therefore, Luo Wei abruptly brought up the matter of the couplets.

    She also showed Lin Yuan the comments in Shadow''s section.

    Within the comment section of Shadow, besides discussions about the comics, many netizens were stirring:

    "Ask Chu Kuang to solve the couplets quick."

    "Not just Chu Kuang, Shadow must know Xian Yu too, let Xian Yu also have a try. The couplets in "Flirting Scholar" are too amazing, he is the real King of Couplets!"

    "You guys are discussing the "King of Couplets", aren''t you? What the hell, this game is too hard, I only managed to get to the eighth level."

    "The eighth level is not bad, I got stuck at the third, now you can''t even play games without some culture."

    "Are you the legendary Dui Chuanchang?"

    "Some couplets can be found directly on the internet. These are classic ones that I have memorized a few of before."

    "Yes, many big shots in the literary world are also playing this game, and they''ve published the answers in the tribe."

    "..."

    Lin Yuan shook his head.

    Each knows his burden best, he isn''t good at couplets.

    The couplets in the movie were supplied by the System''s script.

    Luo Wei said enviously: "If only we could match couplets too. The couplets in the game ''King of Couplets'' are getting harder. The professor from Sun City University matched twenty-three couplets in one go, and he instantly gained six million fans!"

    "Wait, how many?"

    Lin Yuan looked surprised.

    Luo Wei said: "Twenty-three couplets..."

    Lin Yuan shook his head: "I mean the fan increase."

    Luo Wei laughed: "Six million, quite exaggerated, right! But that professor can''t match any more couplets now, the latter ones are way too hard; they are new ones created by literary people hired by the game developers, they can''t be found in any books, so now everyone is brainstorming and matching them together."

    "I see."

    Lin Yuan felt a bit envious.

    He really wished Chu Kuang''s account could gain more fans.

    Because Chu Kuang''s account has a task to reach over one hundred million fans.

    At the regular release rate of the book, there would naturally be an increase, but Lin Yuan felt it wasn''t fast enough, and otherwise, he wouldn''t have used Xian Yu''s second account to urge fans to follow Chu Kuang last time.

    Unfortunately...

    Couplets...

    He really couldn''t...

    Luo Wei chatted with Lin Yuan for a while longer before leaving work. Every day, she would draw comics in the studio and go home after finishing.

    After Luo Wei left.

    Lin Yuan opened the Tribe and took a look.

    As expected.

    Whether Chu Kuang or Xian Yu''s comment sections, there were many users seeking help with couplets, but Lin Yuan couldn''t guess any of these either.

    Just then.

    Lin Yuan suddenly noticed many netizens sharing a couplet on the Tribe, this couplet had an extremely high repost count:

    "The hardest couplet in ''King of Couplets'' has appeared, [''The seawater falls morning after morning after morning'']!"

    "What god-like upper half-couplet is this?"

    "So many ''mornings''. Are you sure it''s not randomly written?"

    "Can I reply with [''The fox cries night after night after night'']?"

    "Why don''t you reply ''[The game starts over and over and over]''?"

    "Why not just go with [''All troops attack again and again and again'']?"

    "Enough joking, is there any expert who can match this?''

    "That professor from Sun City has no idea."

    "The big shots from the Literature and Art Association also said that this couplet is hard. It''s been ten minutes since this couplet appeared, and still no one has matched it, seems like the whole net is going to collapse."

    "..."

    Lin Yuan scratched his head.

    Isn''t this couplet straightforward?

    Didn''t you guys pay attention during class?

    Wait a moment...

    Lin Yuan suddenly realized.

    This couplet is from Earth, of course Blue Starians wouldn''t have learned it!

    He was so lucky to run into a couplet that appeared on Earth?

    Even though Lin Yuan didn''t have many memories of his past life, he could remember some poems and famous phrases. He just didn''t expect an Earth couplet to appear on Blue Star.

    What is he waiting for!

    This is a great opportunity for Chu Kuang to gain fans!

    Lin Yuan quickly responded to the bottom couplet: [''The floating cloud disappears day after day after day'']!

    Chu Kuang''s account has quite a few fans.

    As he matched the couplets, plenty of people were bound to take notice.

    But what Lin Yuan didn''t expect was...

    After he managed this couplet. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The comments section actually read: "Teacher Admirable Fish, are you sure this isn''t a random couplet?"

    Teacher Admirable Fish...

    Teacher Fish...

    Teacher...

    Tcher...

    Damn!

    He logged into the wrong account!

 Chapter 254 - 238: Chu Kuangs Outcome_1

    "I got the wrong account!

    Lin Yuan felt a little bit sad.

    Falling off the horse because of this little thing would of course be too much.

    Whether it''s Chu Kuang or Admirable Fish coming up with the lower couplet, it''s not a surprising thing.

    After all, these two aliases both have a reputation for being talented now.

    But the problem is gaining followers!

    Because it''s Admirable Fish who came up with the couplet.

    Wouldn''t all the fans then go to Admirable Fish?

    What does Admirable Fish need so many fans for...

    There''s no mission...

    While Lin Yuan was caught up in his sadness, the netizens had already started commenting.

    However, many people didn''t know what was the deal with Admirable Fish''s lower couplet.

    "What the hell does this lower couplet mean?"

    "You can''t tell at all from the surface."

    "Did Teacher Admirable Fish screw up?"

    "The upper couplet clearly has some hidden meaning."

    "Hahahahaha, I''m gonna die of laughter, The King of Kings is from the movie ''Flirting Scholar'', it can be said without Admirable Fish there hasn''t been this couplets craze, as a result, isn''t it funny that the couplet game got too hard it even stumped Admirable Fish himself?"

    "I feel like I could give it a shot."

    "This can''t be considered a mess up. The upper couplet clearly has a deeper meaning. Not to mention that Teacher Admirable Fish couldn''t come up with it, even the literary giants in the tribe currently can''t come up with anything either."

    "..."

    And in the midst of everyone''s discussion.

    The official Weibo of King of Kings even @Lin Yuan, posting a thumbs-up emoji and accompanying it with text.

    "As expected of Teacher Admirable Fish, we invited a few professionals in the industry for a discussion, and this lower couplet just barely made the cut."

    The netizens were all stunned.

    This lower couplet, made the cut?

    Immediately after, a teacher named Feng Changsheng from the Literature and Art Association also @Admirable Fish, and praised.

    "This lower couplet is awesome, I just solved the riddle of the upper couplet, Teacher Admirable Fish has already thought of the lower couplet, the reading of the upper couplet, should be [sea water tide, tide by tide, tide falls tide after tide], this is a typical homophonic couplet, and the reading of Teacher Admirable Fish''s lower couplet should be [drifting cloud rises, always rising, always rises always fades]."

    The bystanders were stunned!

    So this is how you read the upper couplet?

    At this moment, many netizens felt a sense of their IQ being crushed, so we didn''t even figure out how to read the upper couplet, but Teacher Admirable Fish already came up with the lower couplet, this is too terrifying, isn''t it?

    "Wait."

    "Barely made the cut?"

    "Everyone knows that a couplet needs to be a perfect echo, Teacher Admirable Fish''s couplet is both neat and symmetrical, but King of Kings'' official Weibo only considers this lower couplet to have barely made the cut, then may I ask, does the official have a better lower couplet?"

    "Yeah."

    "Is there anything wrong with Teacher Admirable Fish''s couplet? According to Teacher Feng Changsheng''s interpretation, I think this lower couplet is already very perfect, each sound rhymes perfectly!"

    "..."

    Netizens couldn''t help but feel a little confused.

    Since it''s a perfect match, why does the official say that Teacher Admirable Fish''s lower couplet is barely satisfactory?

    Many people went to ask under the official''s post.

    Some also asked Feng Changsheng, but Feng Changsheng''s response was: "I don''t know either."

    Feng Changsheng doesn''t know either?

    The netizens began to suspect that the official was up to something.

    In the face of the netizens'' confusion, King of King''s official Weibo responded again: "We didn''t mean to offend Teacher Admirable Fish, it''s just that our upper couplet actually has another reading, and Teacher Admirable Fish only got the first reading correct, The second reading is [sea water tide, tide day by day, day by day the tide falls], additionally, we also admit that this upper couplet is indeed very difficult, because after we came up with the upper couplet, we couldn''t even come up with a matching lower couplet."

    Netizens: "..."

    Are they going to rub our intelligence on the ground?

    The reading and word choice of the official''s upper couplet has changed, and the artistic conception has undergone a dramatic change immediately. It''s clear that the upper couplet is still ''The sea water rises day by day'', but in actuality, it has formed another couplet!

    "This upper couplet is dope!"

    "Admirable Fish did his best."

    "To be able to decipher the first reading and come up with a responsive lower couplet, Admirable Fish is already very impressive, after all, this upper couplet has stumped many professionals in the literary world, let alone the fact that even the officials said they couldn''t come up with a matching lower couplet."

    "Admirable Fish is still awesome."

    "The couplet that the officials couldn''t match, Admirable Fish was able to come up with something, which is enough to prove Admirable Fish''s literary talent. Can I just say, worthy of the screenwriter who wrote the classic poems and couplets in ''Flirting Scholar''?"

    "..."

    Although the official rating for Lin Yuan''s lower couplet wasn''t very high, everyone already thought this lower couplet was awesome enough. However, what dazzled all the netizens was that Chu Kuang appeared at this time!

    "Where is the mistake?"

    In front of countless netizens, Chu Kuang @ the official account of King of Kings: "Your lower couplet can change, Admirable Fish''s lower couplet naturally can also change, this lower couplet can also be read as [drifting cloud rises, rises long and long, long and long rises and fades]."

    Holy crap!

    You can play it like that?

    The netizens were initially convinced by the official, believing that Admirable Fish''s lower couplet was indeed less than perfect. They did not expect that Chu Kuang would actually step into the arena and directly move the perfect interpretation to slap the official''s face with a loud pop!

    "Motherfucker!"

    "That works too?"

    "They match again?"

    "Is it neat this time?"

    "This lower couplet from Admirable Fish is freaking awesome. After Chu Kuang''s explanation, it''s freaking perfectly matched again. Only Chu Kuang can keep up with his thinking in this wave. We just can''t react."

    "..."

    Did the officials just get slapped in the face?

    Clearly, the officials had no intention of admitting it.

    They surprisingly changed the reading of the upper couplet for a third time: [Sea water rises, day by day it rises, day by day it falls!]

    My God!

    It can still change?

    Just as netizens were stunned, Chu Kuang once again made a move: [Drifting cloud rises, long and long and long it rises, long and long it fades!]

    Netizens: "..."

    Are you guys playing snake?

    The officials responded a little slower this time. This is the fourth change in reading: "Sea water tide, tide day by day, day by day it falls!"

    Continue on.

    Chu Kuang wasn''t showing any signs of stopping, "The cloud grows long, it grows and grows, then it grows and fades!"

    What the hell!

    Was this the fourth time?

    How many variations could there be?

    Indeed there were more, both sides kept coming up with new variations. The spectators online felt like they were watching the scene from a movie where Tang Bohu and Dui Chuanchang engage in a couplet battle. No one had a chance to comment. They were stunned by the showdown, their eyes couldn''t keep up...

    Actually...

    Not only the netizens...

    On the King of Couplets'' side, they were also stumped. They thought no one could respond to their endless variations of the upper couplets, yet they found that Teacher Admirable Fish''s lower couplets varied just as much and could easily dismantle each move they made!

    The official channel of King of Couplets conceded defeat.

    Up to this point in the battle, the officials of King of Couplets still had some variations of the upper couplet that they hadn''t used. However, it was clear the lower couplet also had many variations that could cancel out each upper couplet, so continuing the battle was meaningless.

    Simply put...

    Teacher Admirable Fish won hands down!

    Realizing this, the officials of King of Couplets stopped posting variations of the upper couplet and instead posted a gif.

    Yes, it''s that gif...

    The one from the movie "Flirting Scholar", where Dui Chuanchang coughed up three liters of blood after being defeated by Tang Bohu...

    That''s the signal ¡ª King of Couplets'' official account conceded defeat!

    By the time the officials conceded defeat with a gif of "Dui Chuanchang coughing up three liters of blood", netizens were already worked up to the max!

    "Holy shit!"

    "A real contest of immortals!"

    "My brain can''t handle this!"

    "What a joke, I''m dumbstruck!"

    "Teacher Admirable Fish is the ultimate King of Couplets!"

    "Even though it was shocking, that final gif made me laugh so hard."

    "Was this a re-enactment of the movie scene?"

    "King of Couplets, weren''t you guys supposed to be formidable?"

    "¡­.."

    Remember this intense couplet competition had already drawn a lot of attention, tons of people were just here to watch the show. The fact that Teacher Admirable Fish was a part of the competition and his lower couplets pushed the atmosphere to a whole new height.

    And when Chu Kuang entered...

    The atmosphere of the couplet battle was taken to the absolute peak, grabbing the full attention of the spectators!

    However...

    In comparison to the excited bystanders, fans of Chu Kuang and Teacher Admirable Fish were thoroughly overjoyed!

    "Ha-ha, is this a hero saving the damsel in distress?"

    "Chu Kuang: Little Fish, they don''t understand you, but I do."

    "Teacher Admirable Fish: Damn, I was the one who wrote the lower couplet, how did you get all the credit?"

    "Ha-ha, they gave you all the credit?!"

    "Chu Kuang didn''t even give Teacher Admirable Fish a chance to say anything, he directly shut the officials of King of Couplets up!"

    "Both Teacher Admirable Fish and Chu Kuang are awesome!"

    "This round obviously goes to Teacher Admirable Fish, but Chu Kuang is probably one of the few people who can keep up with Teacher Admirable Fish, a normal person would never know he could have so many variations."

    "Wait, what are you insinuating?"

    "You''re all putting on a show! The officials were questioning Teacher Admirable Fish''s dark horse lower couplet and Chu Kuang came to his aid."

    "Teacher Admirable Fish and Chu Kuang were made for each other!"

    "Should I call for the local registry office?"

    "Who knows if Chu Kuang and Teacher Admirable Fish are male or female, they never revealed their gender."

    "Does gender matter?"

    "I think they are both male, a match made in heaven, like a double positive!"

    "¡­.." sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    For the hardcore fans who made fun of them daily, this couplet competition was extremely exhilarating!

    Even many renowned figures from the literary circle, who witnessed the competition, couldn''t resist secretly following Chu Kuang and Teacher Admirable Fish.

    Even though Teacher Admirable Fish was outstanding with his perfect lower couplet, Chu Kuang was not bad either, because he was the only one who understood all the variations of Teacher Admirable Fish''s lower couplets!

    This meant...

    Chu Kuang''s skills were frighteningly good as well!

    "Whew."

    Inside the studio...

    Lin Yuan took a deep breath.

    Though there was a major mishap when he posted the lower couplet using Teacher Admirable Fish''s account, he had a quick idea and managed to turn it into publicity for Chu Kuang''s account.

    Yes...

    Lin Yuan deliberately remained silent as Teacher Admirable Fish and then replied using Chu Kuang''s account.

    Doing so allowed Chu Kuang to gather all the remaining attention.

    Anyway...

    By being able to write the lower couplet, Teacher Admirable Fish already gained a lot of attention.

    In fact, Chu Kuang coming forward also helped recognize Teacher Admirable Fish''s achievements.

    Because the quicker Chu Kuang analyzed the lower couplets, the more he demonstrated the sheer brilliance of Teacher Admirable Fish''s lower couplet...

    It''s time to end this...

    Right when Lin Yuan was about to shut down his computer, a notification echoed from the computer.

    Lin Yuan froze for a moment, then looked down to find someone had mentioned him on Tribe.

    Wait...

    This account did more than just mention him, it also tagged Chu Kuang.

    The one who tagged both of them was Feng Changsheng, who had noticed the first variation of the couplet.

    Turns out, Feng Changsheng had made it to the final level of the "King of Couplets" game.

    And the couplet for the final level was [Admire the plum blossom sweeping up the snow].

    "I reached the final level of ''King of Couplets,'' but found I couldn''t come up with a match for it. The officials really know their couplets, don''t they? @Chu Kuang @Teacher Admirable Fish, do you want to give it a try?"

    Lin Yuan: "...."

    Meow meow meow?

    Another couplet from Earth?

 Chapter 255 - 239: Advancing Together to 50 Million_1

    If it were a couplet from Blue Star, Lin Yuan would definitely ask Xian Yu and Chu Kuang to pretend they didn''t see it.

    Although he''d hit the officials in the face, Lin Yuan had taken advantage of the Earth''s predecessors, he knew he had to be sensible.

    But...

    If you were to return the Earth''s couplet, I would be energized.

    Showing off petty skills in front of an expert?

    Great Tianlong!

    Just kidding, Lin Yuan felt that this was a chance to make up for the mistakes.

    This time, he definitely could not let Xian Yu get it right.

    Let Chu Kuang have a go.

    Lin Yuan didn''t rush to operate, but first looked at the reaction of the netizens.

    Not surprisingly, many people''s first reaction to this couplet was...

    Simple!

    Compared to the ever-changing couplet that everyone had just discussed, at first glance, this couplet was really too simple!

    "It''s too simple."

    "I can come up with the answer, ''Pointing out the world and defining the country'' how about this?"

    "It sounds ordinary, but it has some meaning."

    "Mainly, it''s really not difficult, any expert could come up with a response."

    "Could there be a hidden mystery?"

    "Most likely, otherwise it wouldn''t be the final round."

    "¡­"

    The netizens were discussing.

    Before Chu Kuang could reply, Feng Changsheng posted a status update:

    "The couplet I responded to was ''Stepping stone leaves its mark,'' I thought it was a problem with the game''s smart algorithm, but I asked a professor friend in the game''s development team, and he said there was a problem with my response."

    The netizens were stunned.

    ''Viewing plum blossoms alone, sweeping hoarfrost, leaving only the hollow footprints.''

    It seems to have no problem.

    ''Alone'' corresponds to ''Only'', ''View'' corresponds to ''See'', ''Plum Blossoms'' corresponds to ''Slipper Prints'', ''Hoarfrost'' corresponds to ''Step''...

    Could it be because it is not beautiful enough in its response?

    They developed the same doubts as Feng Changsheng.

    Some netizens tagged the official account, and played a joke from the movie "Flirting Scholar":

    "Is it dead? Come over and check if there''s a mistake in this couplet."

    The officials saw the momentum and got more excited, immediately tagging Feng Changsheng with four words, "Huge mistake!"

    They were just bleeding internally before, now they''ve recovered.

    Lin Yuan laughed.

    He felt it was time to let Chu Kuang make his move.

    To avoid any mix-ups, Lin Yuan only released his next line after carefully confirming the account name:

    "Detailed inspection of the mountainous scenery, dancing around the streams."

    This next line, like the first line, is excessively simple.

    The netizens didn''t quite understand because the first and the next lines were both excessively simple...

    Because it was overly simple, people felt, maybe things were not as simple as they seem.

    As for the fans of Xian Yu and Chu Kuang, they were enthusiastic as usual:

    "Chu Kuang is on this time."

    "Chu Kuang: Can''t let Xian Yu hog all the glory."

    "Chu Kuang: Little Fish, step back, let me handle this."

    "Just deciphering isn''t enough, Xian Yu just got a tough one, Chu Kuang may be in a hurry to prove himself worthy of Little Fish."

    "I suspect Chu Kuang will fail."

    "..."

    As expected.

    As soon as Chu Kuang''s couplet appeared, the official account of the "King of Couplet" became excited and posted an animated picture along with the caption:

    "Better let Xian Yu do it."

    The animated picture was a screenshot from a cartoon, a bald hunter caught a big dumb bear in a trap, facing the big dumb bear raging in the trap, the hunter smirked...

    Insinuating that Chu Kuang is a big dumb bear?

    Chu Kuang''s fans were not happy!

    "What''s the problem?"

    "It''s perfectly alright."

    "Isn''t this a good couplet?"

    "And the wording is pretty too."

    "Exactly." S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "The officials had just been slapped in the face, and they''re jumping around again."

    "..."

    The officials definitely wouldn''t dare to face public wrath, Chu Kuang''s fans weren''t few, they quickly explained:

    "Our first line is ''Viewing plum blossoms alone, sweeping away the hoarfrost'', the homophones for these characters are do¡ª¡ªre¡ª¡ªmi¡ª¡ªfa¡ª¡ªso¡ª¡ªla¡ª¡ªsi, the first seven sounds in the musical scale!"

    What the hell!

    These officials are damn cunning!

    All of Chu Kuang''s fans were taken aback.

    Isn''t that right?

    Isn''t ''Viewing plum blossoms alone, sweeping away the hoarfrost'' the homonym of the first seven musical notes?

    No wonder it looks so simple, there''s a hidden threat lurking!

    "I understand."

    Feng Changsheng joined in on the interaction, after all, he was the one who brought up this issue:" I couldn''t decode the mystery of the first line, but I couldn''t come up with anything right now, I''ll let Teacher Admirable Fish try."

    Obviously.

    The meaning of Feng Changsheng''s words is that Chu Kuang indeed fell into the official''s couplet trap.

    It seems that they can only look at Xian Yu now.

    But Xian Yu obviously had an advantage, since the officials had given the answer, Xian Yu just needed to match that answer, the difficulty undoubtedly got significantly reduced.

    Under these circumstances, many people believe Xian Yu will get it right.

    "Teacher Admirable Fish, time to make a move!"

    "Avenge Chu Kuang!"

    "Look, the officials are bullying your Chu Kuang!"

    "Can you put up with this?"

    "Xian Yu quickly fire back!"

    "..."

    These netizens really know how to play.

    But Chu Kuang''s fans really hope that Xian Yu can help Chu Kuang save face, after all, Chu Kuang had just spoken up for Xian Yu.

    Unfortunately¡­

    Chu Kuang''s next line was problematic.

    Even if Xian Yu retaliates for Chu Kuang, Chu Kuang has indeed lost some face.

    However.

    Just when everyone thought that Xian Yu would come up with the next line, Xian Yu unexpectedly tagged the official account, clearly indicating four big words:

    "What''s wrong with that?"

    Everyone still remembered that when the official account said that Xian Yu''s couplet was not perfect, that was how Chu Kuang retorted.

    Instantly, the comment section exploded!

    "Hahahaha!"

    "What''s wrong with that, really?"

    "You can even solve this?"

    "Don''t impose your interpretation!"

    "Stop, I''m fucking moved a bit, Xian Yu is really going all out for Chu Kuang!"

    "An exact same response, Chu Kuang and Xian Yu, totally having each other''s back!"

    "Though Xian Yu''s couplet was indeed flawless, but Chu Kuang¡­"

    Chu Kuang''s couplet is flawed?

    Of course not.

    Because after Xian Yu retorted to the official account, he gave a hint: "Could you guys please read Chu Kuang''s next line a few more times."

    Read several more times?

    Many people did that almost instinctively.

    Examining the mountains, the dance of the creek¡­ Examining the mountains, the dance of the creek¡­ Where''s the mystery?

    "Damn!"

    Suddenly, someone got it.

    What do you mean by "examining the mountains, the dance of the creek"?

    This fucking seems like "one two three four five six seven"!

    People''s minds had just stuck in a rut before, read it more times, and the tune will come out, Feng Changsheng suddenly exclaims:

    "Examining the mountains, the dance of the creek, one two three four five six seven! It fucking perfectly matches!"

    "Xian Yu is awesome!"

    "That makes sense, I surrender!"

    "Xian Yu: nobody understands Chu Kuang more than I do!"

    "You two should just marry on the spot!"

    "Is this why legends can become friends?"

    "I am not acquainted with Xian Yu and Chu Kuang because I''m not worthy¡­"

    "What kind of divine interaction is this!"

    "I am a fan now!"

    "I''ve locked down this couple!"

    "You lock it, give me the key, I''ll swallow it!"

    "..."

    It really matched!

    The netizens never expected this!

    Despite experiencing countless surprises tonight, when Xian Yu perfectly decoded Chu Kuang''s next line in the same way, the shock of the netizens was indescribable!

    These two, interpreting each other, left everyone with faces full of wow!

    Alright then.

    The official had deleted all the doubt-casting posts, so their latest comment was again a GIF of "Dui Chuanchang is coughing up blood".

    Comical and apt.

    As they say, the fandom grows, long and long, with growing laughter¡­

    Xian Yu and Chu Kuang''s Tribe followers increased rapidly, almost breaking the 50 million mark together!

    It''s not just ordinary fans.

    Many verified users also started following the two.

    Because those two couplets were too brilliant!

    "These two are equal in skills!"

    "I thought Xian Yu''s couplet level would have Chu Kuang''s beat, but now I''m not sure."

    "Chu Kuang being able to solve the riddle of the official couplet so quickly, that''s enough to prove Chu Kuang''s understanding of the couplet!"

    "If it weren''t for the same brilliant talent, how could they become such in-sync buddies."

    "No wonder they don''t follow anyone else, only each other."

    "Wait, didn''t you forget about Shadow?"

    "Alright, they also follow Shadow. But if you hadn''t reminded me, I wouldn''t have thought of it normally."

    "¡­"

    Netizens were very emotional, it''s just about a couplet, yet it stirred many emotions, the main reason being the divine interaction between Chu Kuang and Xian Yu.

    "Phew¡­"

    Lin Yuan exhaled again.

    The faux pas was completely salvaged.

    The reason for using Xian Yu''s account to interpret Chu Kuang''s next line was just for some thematic interaction.

    Lin Yuan thought that in this way, it would highlight Chu Kuang''s prowess even more.

    But doing so, Lin Yuan cannot afford a mistake now...

    Absolutely, cannot afford a mistake!

    Otherwise, even if Chun Yuan''s mentality is as stable, he would also face social death.

    He didn''t handle the couplet affairs any more.

    Lin Yuan shut down the computer and went home.

    What Lin Yuan didn''t know was...

    Luo Wei, who had already returned home, was also hanging on to the Tribe account of Shadow, and she also watched the entire process of the interaction between Xian Yu and Chu Kuang.

    "...Teacher Shadow, don''t cry."

    Luo Wei couldn''t help but comfort the account she was logged into, and of course, the image of Lin Yuan appeared in her mind.

    He must be very sad.

    Chu Kuang and Xian Yu, they are too in tune, too in sync.

    If this is a car, Shadow should not be inside the car, but under the car...

    If this is a movie for three people, it''s a movie for three people indeed, but Shadow probably has no name...

    Nevermind!

    She must promote the anime version of "King of the Net" next time, if this manga is adapted into an anime, it will definitely cause a sensation!

    Then, Chu Kuang''s attention won''t just be on Xian Yu, he would also pay attention to Shadow!

    Luo Wei was very determined.

    Because she had long decided to help Shadow win the heart of Chu Kuang!

    But...

    Luo Wei also had to admit, Xian Yu was really impressive, Shadow''s achievements so far were nothing in comparison.

    And¡­

    What was really regrettable is-

    The manga adaptation of "King of the Net", which had made the name Shadow famous, is almost finished.

    After this manga ends.

    Where is Shadow supposed to go?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: The third chapter supplement from great writer Huanyu is done. All your comments were read, the script price for ''The Tuner'' was adjusted to a reasonable level in the previous chapters ~

 Chapter 256 - 240: Insane Luck_1

    Creating couplets was merely a fun and casual action, just like the previous "Balloon Challenge", such internet trends always come and go quickly.

    However, the impact this incident has brought will not easily fade away.

    Many netizens remembered deeply about the level of couplets created by Xian Yu and Chu Kuang.

    The following few days,

    numerous spectators started discussing something related to the couplet event¡ª

    Between Xian Yu and Chu Kuang, who has superior literary talent?

    Such a discussion is destined to be endless.

    Because both Chu Kuang and Xian Yu have excellent writing skills, yet their styles are unique.

    The former excels at writing novels, both long and short, and is skilled at arranging some exquisite and striking narrative plots.

    The latter is good at crafting beautiful sentences, mainly in the form of poems and song lyrics. His talent lies more in rhythm and he has a script for a film that may not be heavy on plot but is hilarious.

    Similar discussions resurfaced ever since "Flirting Scholar" was released.

    It''s just that with this couplet event, the number of participants in the discussion has increased.

    Those who enjoy making jokes always bring up the existence of a third person, Shadow, in these discussions, always full of mockeries:

    "Does Shadow have no reputation?"

    "Obviously Chu Kuang, Xian Yu, and Shadow are three different people."

    "Do they actually think he is just a shadow?"

    "At least Shadow is also a member of the trio."

    "Shadow has such a low presence, haha."

    "As everyone knows, there''s always an invisible one in any trinity."

    "..."

    The only remaining presence of Shadow is probably these kinds of teases.

    After all, compared with the reputation of Chu Kuang and Xian Yu, Shadow is just a relatively excellent newcomer to the comic circle.

    The number of Shadow''s tribe followers is just over ten million.

    Among them, some popularity was borrowed from Xian Yu and Chu Kuang.

    This is the best evidence of Shadow''s low presence.

    It should be noted that the number of fans following Xian Yu and Chu Kuang has both exceeded 50 million due to the couplet event.

    If it weren''t for Xian Yu, Chu Kuang, and Shadow following each other in a closed loop, many netizens wouldn''t even care who Shadow is.

    Luo Wei is very clear about these things, so she feels a little upset.

    For some reason, Luo Wei feels empathetic with Shadow, probably because she manages Shadow''s tribe account, or maybe because of the information Lin Yuan revealed...

    What frustrated Luo Wei was that Lin Yuan, the person involved, seemed completely unaffected.

    Even in the couplet event, Xian Yu and Chu Kuang flirting with each other, this guy turned a blind eye, as if he were invisible.

    Luo Wei felt both pity for his misfortune and anger for his inaction.

    On this day, as usual, she uploaded the comic "King of the Net", pushing it a step closer to completion.

    Luo Wei suddenly called Lin Yuan, who was about to leave the studio.

    "Anything urgent?"

    Lin Yuan asked.

    Luo Wei sighed: "The serialization of ''King of the Net'' is almost over. Don''t you have any plans for the future?"

    One worries more than the one who should.

    Why could he be so calm?

    On the contrary, even though she was just an assistant, she was always concerned for Lin Yuan, or rather, for Shadow.

    "Just continue to draw comics."

    Lin Yuan naturally responded.

    Since he''s been drawing every day, of course, he knew that that "King of the Net" is about to end.

    But for Lin Yuan, this is not a complex problem, he just needs to continue publishing new comics under the pseudonym Shadow.

    As for where to get the content for the new comics?

    Of course it''s from the System.

    Lin Yuan has confirmed this with the System. The System can customize comics.

    Coming back to the point.

    Actually, Lin Yuan attaches great importance to the Shadow pseudonym.

    Because the existence of Shadow is the most important way for Lin Yuan to obtain drawing popularity!

    Whether it''s gouache, sketch or traditional Chinese painting...

    When it comes to gaining popularity, comics are always the fastest!

    "I understand."

    Luo Wei sighed: "I was asking about the content for our next comic. I''ve done some research recently. Chu Kuang has two works that can be adapted into comics: ''Zhu Xian'' and ''Ghost Blows Out the Light''. Are you planning to pick one of these novels to adapt into a comic? To be frank, I''m afraid the effect of adapting these two novels into comics won''t be comparable to ''King of the Net''."

    "No need."

    Lin Yuan also didn''t plan to adapt these two novels into comic, it''s not that they are incapable of being adapted, it''s just, as Luo Wei had mentioned, it''s likely that the effect of adapting these two novels into comics will not surpass the currently serialized "King of the Net".

    Luo Wei''s eyes widened slightly: "You mean, for the next manga, you want to go with an original storyline?"

    "Yeah."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Luo Wei started to feel a little nervous.

    For a manga, the plot is very important. The blockbuster popularity of ''King of the Net'' certainly had to do with Lin Yuan''s character design and art style fitting well with the original story.

    But the storyline provided by Chu Kuang was also a very important factor.

    How many manga artists are there with good drawing skills?

    But the ones that make it big are those with awesome stories!

    Luo Wei trusts Lin Yuan''s drawing abilities, but she''s not sure if Lin Yuan has the plotting skills to match his artistic talents.

    But she didn''t voice these thoughts out for fear of undermining Lin Yuan''s confidence.

    She could only hint delicately: "Why don''t we discuss things when you have an idea for your new manga?"

    "Ok."

    Lin Yuan did not underestimate Luo Wei simply because she was his assistant.

    Luo Wei was far more important to Lin Yuan than an average manga assistant. Her drawing skills, roles, and abilities were equivalent to half a shadow.

    It was also because of Luo Wei''s reminder.

    When he got home, Lin Yuan summoned the System: "I want to create a new manga."

    He had calculated it.

    There was less than two months until ''King of the Net'' was finished.

    If he ordered now, he could create the new manga earlier and be ready to replace ''King of the Net''.

    "System customization in process..."

    This time the system didn''t lag.

    About three minutes later, three virtual boxes appeared in front of Lin Yuan:

    "Host can independently choose a box. Each box contains one manga. Choose one of the three. The custom-made price this time is 10 million. Do you accept?"

    "..."

    Manga customization is also so expensive!

    Even though Lin Yuan''s income isn''t low right now, each customization still feels like he''s cutting off his flesh.

    Fortunately, this time the system wasn''t randomly choosing, but gave three options.

    Three boxes, pick one.

    It was time to rely on his luck. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan sent a hundred dollars cash gift in the group chat with the least number of people on his phone, then frantically tapped his phone screen

    The phone screen was almost crushed.

    "Congratulations, you''ve grabbed Lin Yuan''s cash gift of 100 yuan."

    A prompt appeared on the phone, Lin Yuan calmed his wildly beating heart and heavily breathed a sigh of relief.

    He wasn''t sniped!

    I am the king of luck!

    In the group chat, a series of question marks appeared.

    Sister: "Self-touch???"

    Xia Fan: "Are you happy???"

    Jian Yi: "Are all you rich people so disgusting???"

    Lin Yuan pretended not to see these messages. Anyway, since he was feeling lucky, he should be able to make a good pick.

    "I''ll choose the one in the middle..."

    Lin Yuan mumbled to himself. Because of his OCD, he really wanted to choose the one in the middle.

    But¡­

    Before his voice had finished, Lin Yuan''s hand rapidly clicked on the third box!

    Surprising, isn''t it?

    Lin Yuan was afraid the system would try to trick him, so he pretended to choose the middle box, but actually chose the one on the right.

    Swipe!

    A flash of light passed through his eyes, and Lin Yuan heard a prompt in his ear: "Congratulations to the host for obtaining the manga ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma''!"

    At the same time,

    Lin Yuan saw the dull hues of the manga in the other two boxes, which he hadn''t chosen.

    The first box contained ''Dream Eater.''

    The second box contained ''Himouto! Umaru-chan.''

    At this moment,

    Lin Yuan almost wanted to laugh out loud.

    He had not fallen into the system''s trap and chose the manga that would sell the most.

    I am the insanely lucky one!

 Chapter 257 - 241 Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma_1

    Lin Yuan had heard about the manga inside the three treasure boxes.

    He certainly couldn''t remember the exact sales figures for each manga, but in his vague memory, the "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma" he chose was a very influential manga.

    It also seemed to have high sales.

    After all, it''s one of the famous gourmet manga on Earth.

    But this time, it wasn''t about creating a new type of gourmet manga. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The comic industry on Blue Star was well developed and had produced some popular gourmet manga series long ago, but few people had created gourmet comics in recent years.

    Relatively niche, but not absolutely so.

    All this was discovered by Lin Yuan during casual conversations with Luo Wei.

    Compared to Lin Yuan, Luo Wei knew a lot about manga and anime.

    The so-called hardcore shut-in girl, anime fanatic, modern fujoshi, that was Luo Wei.

    Now that the manga was decided, Lin Yuan was considering how to serialize this manga¡­

    First, establish a premise:

    This manga must make money!

    The "King of the Net" manga serializing in the tribe was more or less done out of love.

    Since Lin Yuan was seriously short of prestige in drawing, he was willing to offer it for free to readers. Besides, the "King of the Net" manga didn''t cost anything, and he benefited from the System''s reformed version of the novel.

    This time, things were different.

    After spending ten million on "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma", wouldn''t it be a loss if it didn''t make money?

    Lin Yuan wouldn''t do unprofitable business.

    Considering this, it''s a given that he intended to monetize this manga series.

    Thinking of this.

    Lin Yuan read through "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma" in a quantum reading manner and also learned the story behind the manga.

    It turned out that "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma" on Earth collapsed later on.

    It was because this manga introduced the concept of abilities in the later period of serialization.

    The concept of abilities was fatal to a gourmet anime series.

    The portrayal of those with abilities in the manga was just strong, the villain with inexplicable strength, powered by abilities.

    When the ability-user defeats the protagonist, it''s due to his ability to use abilities at will, but when he''s finally defeated by the protagonist, it''s because of the inexplicable lineage he carries¡ª

    What the hell?

    A good manga eventually pulled in the theory of lineage often used in battle anime, no wonder it was cut off.

    However, this was also the deleterious result of the publisher forcibly interfering in the manga creator''s rhythm, the author only carried half the blame.

    Interestingly enough.

    "King of the Net" on Earth also ended up with aliens as enemies, leading to a complete collapse of the manga. It seems that every plot breakdown has a process of opening up new possibilities.

    So, just like treating "King of the Net".

    The System categorized and integrated it, shortened the length of "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma", and kept the plot within a reasonable range.

    Of course.

    The length of the manga, inevitably, became shorter as a result.

    Considering Shadow''s reputation, Lin Yuan thought it would be a good option to finish before the collapse of the work.

    Now Lin Yuan''s vision has become a lot more long-term, he''s not only thinking about making money.

    Take Chu Kuang for example. Isn''t it because his books have a good reputation, so many people are willing to buy his new books?

    By the way.

    There''s a little backstory about "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma".

    The author of this manga was once a doujinshi artist. He later "went ashore", so "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma" has an element of fan service, with characters experiencing clothes bursting after eating delicious food.

    Applaud if you understand.

    Lin Yuan didn''t plan to change this feature, if the original version could be accepted by the public, why should Lin Yuan forcibly cut off the reader''s benefit?

    ...

    The next day, Lin Yuan arrived at the studio and uploaded the "King of the Net" content for the day. In front of Luo Wei, he brought out a few character designs he had completed the night before at home.

    "Who is this?"

    Luo Wei saw the first drawing brought out by Lin Yuan. It was an ordinary red-haired boy in a blue-grey coat with a scar on his left eyebrow, looking very spirited.

    "His name is Yukihira."

    Lin Yuan introduced, "He is the male lead of our next manga. His father is one of the best chefs on Blue Star, so his dream is to be one of the best chefs on Blue Star."

    "A gourmet manga?"

    Luo Wei understood instantly.

    Lin Yuan nodded, revealing the second character, a girl in a black school uniform with a short skirt. Her blonde hair reached her waist and her expression was full of arrogance. Her figure was also top-notch. Just by looking at the character design, Luo Wei could infer the character''s personality.

    "The female lead?"

    Luo Wei guessed.

    Lin Yuan hesitated and nodded. This girl was more or less the female lead. "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma" didn''t have much emotional drama. Among the two girls who had emotional entanglements with the protagonist, this one had a stronger presence.

    Afterward.

    Lin Yuan brought the other few important manga characters from the early stages to show Luo Wei. As Lin Yuan''s assistant, it was essential for her to familiarize herself with the characters before getting involved in the manga creation.

    "What about the plot?"

    The character designs that Lin Yuan brought out were okay. The overall style was quite popular and not too different from "King of the Net", but there were indeed some slight differences in the details. Luo Wei was more concerned about the plot of the manga.

    "The plot¡­"

    Lin Yuan began, "The male protagonist, Yukihira, is a middle school student who runs a restaurant at home. He targets his skilled chef father, practising his cooking skills every day, but one day, his father wants him to attend Totsuki Academy."

    "And what else?"

    "Totsuki has a tradition called ''Shokugeki'', which means two chefs duel with each other through cooking. Accordingly, this anime will consist of many ''Shokugeki'' episodes, and of course, the protagonist can usually win."

    "¡­"

    Luo Wei pondered.

    Just by hearing Lin Yuan''s explanation, she didn''t have a very intuitive concept. The only feeling she had was that it was plain ¨C a story where the protagonist constantly competes with others in cooking and keeps winning. Luo Wei had seen some gourmet anime, and they all more or less followed this pattern. This was also the limitation of gourmet works.

    If there were no cooking duels, just boasting about how delicious the protagonist''s cooking was would not attract readers for a long time.

    In the meantime.

    As "King of the Net" neared its conclusion, the comment section in the Tribe platform was getting more lively. The comment that Shadow was a nobody was just a joke in comparison to Chu Kuang and Xian Yu. These two were very successful in their respective fields, weren''t they?

    Compared to them.

    Shadow was a nobody.

    But leaving those two aside, as the author of "King of the Net", Shadow wasn''t really a nobody in the manga field. With a fanbase of tens of millions, he was a rising star in the manga circle who garnered considerable attention.

 Chapter 258 - 242 Pure Painter_1

    Lin Yuan would not slow down the updates of "King of the Net" just because it was about to end, since he now had a new manga on standby. However, the fans of this comic felt increasingly reluctant to let go.

    This was evident from the comments section.

    "I wish Shadow could keep drawing!"

    "As a fan of the original novel, I really don''t know how to take it. I just casually clicked on this manga adaptation, but then I got hooked immediately. Now it feels like I have to endure the ending of ''King of the Net'' twice."

    "I really don''t want it to end!"

    "In my opinion, ''King of the Net'' is a classic success of a novel adapted into a manga. Other adaptions just feel crappy in comparison. This one, however, expertly captures the essence of the original while its illustrations immerse us deeper into the world of tennis."

    "Shadow is helpless too."

    "The novel ended at this part, so naturally, the manga would end too because it''s short. If he wishes to continue, he would have to come up with the original plot, which seems quite unrealistic considering that Shadow is just an illustrator after all."

    "What do you mean by just an illustrator?"

    "I''m new to manga too, what do you mean?"

    "When the manga is drawn by an illustrator, it requires a scriptwriter to write the story for the manga or adaption from novels like ''King of the Net''. The advantage of this is, the manga artist can spend more time improving their drawing skills since they do not have to come up with a story."

    "I see."

    "If it''s not clear, you can look at the credits while reading other mangas. If you see [Original: someone] and [Manga: someone], it means the work is a collaboration between a scriptwriter and comic artist. If you see [Drawn by: someone], it means that it is a standalone work by the artist. Though Teacher Shadow is relatively new, he is already a respected illustrator."

    "..."

    These are the two basic working models in the manga industry - neither could be deemed as superior as they cater to different individuals.

    For example, Takeshi Obata, a world-renowned manga artist, was the illustrator for ''Hikaru no Go'', while someone else wrote the script.

    Earlier, we mentioned ''Dream Eater'' was also illustrated by Takeshi Obata while someone else took care of the plot.

    His illustrations are gorgeous, making him a remarkable artist.

    Take ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma,'' it is also a collaboration.

    The script is written by Tsukuda Yuuto.

    And Saeki Shun is the artist.

    Saeki Shun is the one we''ve mentioned before, the master of sketching.

    Another example would be ''One Punch Man'', which is also a collaboration between different artists and scriptwriters.

    Another guess.

    Have you ever thought about ''Detective Conan'', which has been serialized for so many years on Earth? Do you think all the cases were imagined by the manga artist?

    Most likely, the plot of this manga is no longer created by one person...

    Manga can be a result of win-win cooperation or can be the personal effort of an individual.

    A brilliant illustrator paired with a good script can create a masterpiece, and Takeshi Obata is a perfect example of this type of artist. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    As for those who can do both, there are many who have also created masterpieces. Isn''t Naruto one?

    Here''s an unusual example.

    The manga called ''Attack on Titan'' is a typical work where the illustration quality is poor, but the content is amazing (no offense, Polluted White loves this work).

    So, in manga, both the artwork and the storyline are crucial.

    But overall, those manga artists who can both draw well and create good plots are even more incredible. It''s like being both literary and martial.

    To many, Shadow is a pure illustrator.

    This is why when Luo Wei heard that Lin Yuan planned to create his own original manga plot, she subconsciously found it questionable.

    Luo Wei always saw Shadow as pure illustrator just like herself.

    ...

    There were quite a few people in the manga industry who were keeping an eye on the progress of "King of the Net".

    In fact, with the impending end of this manga, many people have started contacting Shadow for collaboration on Tribe''s platform.

    Of course, it would be separate collaboration.

    Some publishers directly stated their intention to provide the storyline and basic illustrations and let Shadow do the rest of the job as an illustrator.

    Clearly.

    The excellent serialisation of "King of Net" on Tribe has indeed tagged Shadow as an exclusive illustrator.

    "How about considering working with a publisher?" Luo Wei suggested to Lin Yuan subtly after noticing the private messages.

    "If you want to draw a food-based manga, you can also get a scriptwriter who specializes in such themes, and we won''t even need their script, because yours is already very good."

    "No need."

    Lin Yuan understood Luo Wei''s concerns, but he couldn''t elaborate on his situation unless he revealed his pseudonyms.

    "Alright."

    Luo Wei stopped persuading Lin Yuan when she saw his determination to create. After all, Shadow now had a reputation. Once Lin Yuan realized that he couldn''t come up with a plot as good as "King of the Net", he would naturally give up the idea of original creation and be content with being an illustrator.

    After work.

    As Lin Yuan was preparing to leave the studio, he suddenly received a call.

    "Hello."

    Lin Yuan answered the call.

    The other party was taken aback, finding the voice familiar and hesitated before asking: "Am I speaking with Teacher Chu Kuang again?"

    Lin Yuan paused.

    He glanced at the caller ID and realized that the call was made to the number registered to Shadow. And this woman called Han Jimei, it seemed, had called Shadow before.

    "Yes."

    Lin Yuan coughed.

    Han Jimei chuckled: "That''s a strange coincidence. Both times I called, it seemed like Teacher Chu Kuang is answering for Teacher Shadow..."

    "He''s in the shower."

    Lin Yuan made up an excuse on the spot.

    Han Jimei fell silent on the other end, even her breathing seemed slightly uneven. After a while, she stuttered, "Did I... Did I interrupt something?"

    Lin Yuan said, "No, you can speak. I''ll pass on the message."

    Han Jimei seemed to have a lump in her throat and coughed, "I was calling to ask if Teacher Shadow would be interested in serializing a new manga on Tribe?"

    Lin Yuan frowned, "Continue to serialize for free?"

    Han Jimei hurriedly explained, "Actually, Tribe recently launched an online manga site. It''s a paid platform, and we plan to divert traffic from Tribe¡­"

    "I''ll think about it."

    "Are you?"

    "Yes."

    "Oh... uh... I didn''t expect you to make decisions for Shadow... You two must be very close..."

    "..."

    Lin Yuan almost forgot about that and twitched, "That''s pretty much it for now. We can communicate by sending messages, no need to call often."

    "Sure thing."

    Han Jimei was very accommodating.

    After hanging up, Lin Yuan realized that he needed to find someone to handle these matters for him as soon as possible.

    Otherwise, his identities would eventually get mixed up.

 Chapter 259 - 243 Agent_1

    But finding a manager means sharing all his information with another person, something that Lin Yuan was somewhat resistant to, because it meant that his manager had to be someone he could trust one hundred percent!

    Lin Yuan was somewhat frustrated.

    Lin Yuan''s most trustworthy people were of course his family and friends, but everyone had their own stuff going on. Lin Yuan could hardly ask his sister, or Xia Fan, or even Jian Yi to work for him. Besides these people, who else was there?

    Should he have Gu Dong do it?

    Gu Dong was Lin Yuan''s assistant and relatively trustworthy, but Lin Yuan felt Gu Dong''s ability was not yet mature enough. With his multiple identities, Gu Dong may not be able to handle it all. It was better to find an experienced manager after all, as they would have to negotiate work opportunities on his behalf.

    Yes.

    Lin Yuan needed a manager to negotiate work for him. For example, he really hoped someone could speak on his behalf for the animation adaptation of "King of the Net". Luo Wei probably wouldn''t be able to handle this, and if he did it himself, it could easily become problematic, especially considering he wasn''t very experienced either.

    "Ding Dong."

    Just as Lin Yuan was feeling frustrated about this, the System suddenly appeared: "Detected that the host seems unable to cope with his increasingly complex identity background. Does the host need the System to help identify a reliable manager?"

    "Will it cost me?"

    Lin Yuan was somewhat wary.

    System: "No need."

    Lin Yuan hesitated for a moment. When did this darn System become so good-hearted?

    But after thinking it over, Lin Yuan couldn''t figure out what kind of trap the System could have set for him, so he simply nodded and said:

    "Then you can help me find one."

    "Please post a job ad, and you may find a suitable candidate."

    Lin Yuan did as suggested.

    In the following days, job seekers came one after another, but none were quite what Lin Yuan had in mind.

    It wasn''t until the third day that a new job seeker knocked on the door.

    System prompt: "Job seeker detected. This could be a good candidate."

    Was this person reliable?

    Curious, Lin Yuan went forward to open the door, only to see a man in his thirties standing there, looking somewhat weathered.

    The man asked, "Is this where you''re hiring?"

    "Mhm."

    Lin Yuan moved aside, "Come in."

    After thanking him, the man entered.

    "Have a seat."

    Lin Yuan began, "Do you know what work you will be doing?"

    The man explained, "I just saw the job ad downstairs. It seems someone needs a manager. I believe I am qualified."

    Lin Yuan glanced at the man''s resume, "So you came specifically for this job?"

    Jin Mu replied, "Not at first, but now yes."

    Lin Yuan nodded, then said, "Jin Mu?"

    The man, who was now known as Jin Mu, nodded.

    Lin Yuan explained, "I don''t intend to start a company."

    According to his resume, this Jin Mu used to be a company boss. It was unclear why he was out looking for work again, but the most suitable job for him was obviously a management position in a company.

    Oddly, the System thought this man was suitable for him.

    Jin Mu smiled, "I don''t want to go back to my previous work either."

    Lin Yuan asked, "May I ask why?"

    Although this person was chosen by the System, a platform Lin Yuan trusted, he still wanted to understand the details.

    Jin Mu bitterly smiled, "I once opened a company and achieved some success. But then I fell ill. The doctor told me there was no cure for my disease, so my wife left me for someone else and took all my assets... Then a few days ago... you can call it a medical miracle. I did not die as expected.

    Since I didn''t die, naturally I want to continue living."

    Lin Yuan quirked a brow.

    Even a terminal illness couldn''t claim his life?

    Why did this sound so familiar?

    Ah, the System really liked saving people''s lives.

    Lin Yuan questioned, "Can''t your property be reclaimed?"

    Jin Mu shook his head, "I was bedridden for three years, and she took care of me for three years. She has done right by me." Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan nodded in understanding.

    Jin Mu added, "Before I started my company, I did some secretarial work. If you need a manager here, I can give it a try."

    Lin Yuan asked, "Why choose this?"

    Jin Mu hesitated, "If I said I didn''t know why I suddenly wanted to try this job, would you believe me?"

    "I would."

    Lin Yuan looked at Jin Mu sympathetically, "Then let me tell you a bit about the job."

    Jin Mu nodded, "Are you the one hiring the manager?"

    "That''s me."

    Lin Yuan introduced himself, "My name is Lin Yuan, a junior composition student at the Qin Continent Art Academy... I''ll be a senior when school starts in a few days."

    Jin Mu looked surprised.

    Continuing, Lin Yuan said, "This is my studio. On the surface, I am a student, but in reality, I am a cartoonist, who goes by the pen name Shadow."

    Jin Mu asked, "May I look it up?"

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Jin Mu took out his phone and looked up "Shadow". After some research, he laughed and said,

    "This job is better than I imagined. I didn''t expect you to have achieved so much at such a young age."

    Lin Yuan nodded, "Please look up Xian Yu."

    Jin Mu replied, "I''ve heard of Xian Yu... The songs I listened to most while bedridden were Xian Yu''s... What does this have to do with you?"

    Lin Yuan said, "I am Xian Yu."

    The air went quiet for a few seconds.

    Adam''s apple bobbing, Jin Mu asked, "So, are you... are you Shadow or Xian Yu?"

    Lin Yuan confirmed, "They''re both me."

    Jin Mu''s eyes widened slightly, and it took him a while to react. His voice shook with shock as he asked, "So..."

    "So I hope you can help me manage these three identities."

    "Okay."

    Jin Mu thought Lin Yuan was referring to his student identity, and the identities of Xian Yu and Shadow.

    What he didn''t expect was for Lin Yuan to add, "Sorry, I forgot to introduce, you can look up Chu Kuang too."

    "I know about Chu Kuang..."

    Jin Mu didn''t reach for his phone, he just automatically responded.

    Then, as if something dawned on him, he looked at Lin Yuan, rather taken aback, "Are you joking?"

    "No."

    Lin Yuan confirmed, "You may have guessed, but Chu Kuang also me."

    "..."

    Silence fell again. Eventually, Jin Mu asked, "May I have a glass of water?"

    "Help yourself." Lin Yuan said.

    The man took a disposable cup, poured a glass of water, chugged it down, then sighed,

    "So in addition to being a student, you have three other identities, namely the famous writer Chu Kuang, the famous musician Xian Yu, and... a fairly well-known cartoonist, Shadow?"

    "Yes."

    The reaction of the other party was calmer than Lin Yuan expected. It seemed like this man had been through a lot, Lin Yuan thought it was a good sign.

    "So I will be the manager of three people?" Jin Mu asked somewhat laboriously.

    "Yes."

    "Very well."

    Jin Mu displayed a complex smile, "I was planning on finding a more relaxed job... but this is also good."

    Lin Yuan asked, "How much do you expect to be paid?"

    Jin Mu hesitated for a moment, then laughed, "How about thirty thousand for a one-month probation period? After all, I''m working for three people. If you are pleased with my performance, I hope you will consider giving me a raise."

    That''s acceptable.

    Lin Yuan agreed, "Let''s start with that then, let''s talk about the job details..."

    "Okay."

    Unaware, Jin Mu pinched his thigh under the table.

 Chapter 260 - 244 Han Jimeis Wishful Thinking_1

    It was not strange to Luo Wei that Lin Yuan was hiring a manager. She had witnessed Lin Yuan''s interviews over the past few days, and when Lin Yuan decided on the chosen candidate, Luo Wei immediately started a conversation with him: "I''ve been taking care of Teacher Shadow''s account on Tribe recently. Now, it can be handed over to Uncle Jin. A simple password change from Uncle Jin should do."

    Jin Mu was older in age.

    So, calling him ''Uncle'' wasn''t too much.

    Jin Mu said, "I''ve checked the situation, and Assistant Luo has done well, so I think the Tribe account can continue to be managed by Assistant Luo. As for the adaptation of ''King of the Net'' into an animation, I will be responsible for liaising with several companies."

    "Is that fine?"

    Luo Wei looked at Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan nodded. Uncle Jin didn''t need to worry about this basic account management. His main role was to handle some matters that were inconvenient for Lin Yuan himself to face, such as the matter Jin Mu had just mentioned, which involved professional matters.

    Luo Wei smiled.

    She also wanted to continue managing the account.

    Moreover, Lin Yuan had handed over his current main interpersonal relationships to Jin Mu. In the future, many things could be handled by Jin Mu, as long as he reported to him in time. Lin Yuan was quite reassured about the candidate chosen by the System.

    Jin Mu picked things up quickly.

    After a few days of adapting, he was able to discuss formal work with Lin Yuan: "After some investigations, there are eight large online comic websites in Qin Qi, all of which have relatively equal traffic. They can all be the platforms for the release of Shadow''s next comics. However, I personally recommend Tribe Comics."

    "Why?"

    "Firstly, Shadow''s first comic was published on Tribe. Secondly, Tribe has the inherent advantage of attracting streams when it established the comic website. After the website is established, it is bound to attract some excellent comic artists. This is a guarantee for the basic traffic.

    In the short term, this website may not be the optimal choice, but I think this comic website is a good option in the long term. Moreover, they are preparing offline physical channels... "

    "Then select this one."

    Lin Yuan didn''t understand market research. If the comic website established by Tribe was reliable, he wouldn''t mind continuing to cooperate with them. After all, Lin Yuan''s habit was to cooperate as much as possible with platforms he was familiar with.

    "Also,..."

    Jin Mu looked at Lin Yuan and said, "Tribe, like the other publishers and comic platforms, also has the idea of providing scriptwriters for the boss. However, I plan to refuse. Does the boss think there is any problem with my handling?"

    Pure artist!

    This was the definition of Shadow from the outside world. If Jin Mu didn''t know about Lin Yuan''s multiple identities, he would also think Shadow is more suitable for the path of a pure artist. But if Shadow is also Chu Kuang, that would be another story.

    "No problem."

    Lin Yuan would never use a scriptwriter. He had his own good stories, so why would he need others to provide them? Without due cause, an extra person would share his money. As long as his next comic makes a name for itself, the label of pure artist can be removed.

    "Hmm..."

    Jin Mu hesitated for a moment, then added, "As for managing Xian Yu''s work, I think the boss should be responsible for it. It''s difficult for us to hide every alias successfully, and you need a relatively well-known public identity."

    "Is that so."

    Lin Yuan thought for a while and felt it was not a big issue. In some ways, the identity of Xian Yu was the hardest to hide, because many people in the company recognized him, including friends and family, who were also aware of his identity as Xian Yu.

    "Alright."

    In this case, Jin Mu only needed to manage the aliases of Chu Kuang and Shadow. The identity of Xian Yu didn''t require much involvement from Jin Mu: "Then you continue to follow up on the comic website of Tribe."

    Jin Mu nodded.

    Lin Yuan was in a good mood.

    Having Jin Mu advising was quite convenient, as the suggestions Jin Mu offered were generally the optimal solutions for his work. Lin Yuan had long needed someone to provide him with some candid suggestions.

    ...

    Whilecontacting Shadow, Tribe had already begun promoting the establishment of a comic website. As one of the largest online platforms in Qin Qi, the news quickly spread to everyone. Many avid comic fans were looking forward to it and discussing it.

    "A new comic website?"

    "Tribe is actually getting into comics too. The pressure on all major comic websites must be quite heavy, considering Tribe''s platform already has some influential comics being serialized, coupled with Tribe''s unique background."

    "I hope the new website has some surprises."

    "With Tribe''s background, it can certainly attract many excellent comic artists. Recently, several comic artists have stated that they are in talks with the people from Tribe Comics. I guess the list will be announced in the next few days."

    "..."

    Just as the outside world speculated.

    Tribe''s entry into the market made all major online comic platforms in Qin Qi feel an enormous threat. Especially the websites that had their pillar-level comic artists poached by Tribe, they were all shedding bitter tears. This was the impact brought about by the major shakeup in various industries after Qin Qi''s merger.

    A few days went by.

    Tribe directly published the list of thirty comic artists who would be releasing their new works on Tribe Comics. The names of many well-known comic giants that many comic fans were very familiar with appeared on the list. The last few names also included Shadow.

    Of course.

    In this list of names, Teacher Shadow''s presence is not particularly noticeable because the comic artists invited by Tribe are all renowned veterans in the industry, enough to dazzle all comic fans.

    The list is out.

    And the discussions become even livelier.

    However, this does not affect Lin Yuan''s pace of publishing "King of the Net". By August 23, this comic finally comes to its conclusion, and as expected, there are many comments in the Tribe discussion area on the day the comic ends.

    "So emotional!"

    "Congrats on finishing!"

    "My favorite comic has ended, I feel empty inside. I wonder if Teacher Shadow is interested in adapting ''Zhu Xian'' into a comic, if it''s Teacher Shadow, it should be excellently translated, right?"

    "Teacher Shadow''s drawing skills are just too superb." S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "A pure artist, given a good story script, has a high probability of creating a masterpiece. I hope Teacher Shadow''s next work can be a collaboration with top comic scriptwriters in the industry. Of course, collaborating with Chu Kuang is also possible."

    "Looking forward to the next work!"

    "Tribe is launching a comic website on September 1. The promotion is already out. Shadow''s new work will also be published on Tribe. It feels like this new comic website by Tribe is aiming to unify the online comic market."

    "..."

    Over at Tribe Literature,

    Han Jimei, looking at the feedback on ''King of the Net'' comments section, couldn''t help but let out a bitter smile, "It''s a pity that Teacher Shadow isn''t content with being just a pure artist. Like many comic artists, he also wants to script and illustrate his own works."

    ...

    In the initial website assessment, Teacher Shadow was rated as a very highly valued pure artist.

    Evaluation:

    Teacher Shadow belongs to the type who, given a good story, could draw a top-selling work. You could say he is a desirable asset in the comics industry.

    So, Han Jimei has been paying close attention to him.

    Unfortunately...

    Teacher Shadow was determined to take the path of originality, thereby rejecting the scriptwriters provided by Tribe.

    This inevitably led to disappointment for Han Jimei, but she did not readily show it.

    On the contrary!

    In response to Shadow''s stubbornness, Han Jimei simply decided to support his approach to original content.

    Of course, this is not because Han Jimei has faith in Shadow''s walk on the original path, but because she clearly understands that Shadow wouldn''t turn back unless he hits a wall.

    Instead of that, better to offer Teacher Shadow the space to create freely.

    Once Shadow''s new work flops, he will realize how much he lacks an excellent comic scriptwriter.

    At that time, offering him a suitable scriptwriter at Tribe could successfully get him back on track!

    By then, Teacher Shadow might even appreciate Tribe''s provided comic scriptwriter that can help uplift his work.

    This is Han Jimei''s perfect plan.

    It''s foolish to clash with an exceptionally outstanding pure artist like Teacher Shadow.

    Han Jimei is no fool to hold a high position at Tribe!

    Futhermore...

    Shadow and Chu Kuang obviously have a great relationship!

    If Tribe offends Shadow, would they indirectly offend Chu Kuang?

    As soon as Han Jimei considers the close connection between Teacher Shadow and Chu Kuang, she dares not upset Shadow.

    So, she just goes along with Shadow.

    Letting Shadow identify his own shortcomings.

    That way, Shadow will willingly become a pure artist.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Ps: Publish now, edit later, still writing

 Chapter 261 - 245: Gourmet Comics_1

    "August 25.

    Inside Shadow''s studio.

    Jin Mu said to Lin Yuan, "The Tribe wants to conduct an interview with comic artists who are about to publish their works on the new website. The idea is a bit of promotion for their new works. You don''t have to show up in person, it''s just a text-based interview. Are you willing?"

    "Sure."

    Lin Yuan answered.

    Jin Mu nodded, and soon after, a Tribe Comics'' editor added Lin Yuan''s Shadow account on their contact list.

    The editor was very polite, "We have already discussed with Teacher Shadow''s manager, can the interview be started now?"

    Shadow: "Yep."

    Editor: "I''m also a fan of ''King of the Net'', and I''m really reluctant to see it end. But I''m looking forward to your upcoming comic. Can you reveal some information about the new comic to your fans?"

    Shadow: "The new comic is called ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma'', and it''s a food-themed comic."

    Editor: "Just hearing about it makes me hungry! We know that ''King of the Net'' is a work by novelist Chu Kuang. So, is the story of the new comic created by Teacher Shadow yourself?"

    Shadow: "Yes."

    Editor: "Is writing your own story for the first time stressful?"

    Shadow: "Not really."

    Editor: "Teacher Shadow, you are very confident. As our website is newly founded, what are your expectations for the performance of your new work?"

    "¡­"

    The interview lasted about fifteen minutes.

    The editor''s questions were all standard ones, so it didn''t take too much effort for Lin Yuan to answer.

    But then the editor started to gossip, "[Mischievous]Actually, I have a personal question. What is your gender, Teacher Shadow?"

    Shadow: "Male."

    Editor: "Gossip one more time, absolutely the last one, you seem to have a good relationship with Admirable Fish and Chu Kuang. What are their genders?"

    Shadow: "That''s two questions."

    Editor: "Ha ha ha, sorry sorry[Cute]."

    Shadow: "Both male."

    Editor: "Successful gossip[Grin]! Thank you for your answers, Teacher Shadow. It''s a buy one, get one free, n(*¨R¨Œ¨Q*)n!"

    Shadow: "Why buy, you clearly didn''t pay."

    Editor stammered for a few seconds before replying, "...Teacher Shadow has quite a sense of humor."

    Shadow: "My friends say the same thing."

    "¡­"

    Twenty minutes in.

    The text interview finally ended.

    Jin Mu took a look and confirmed that there were no issues, then nodded, "The interview will be published tonight. Other comic writers also have text interviews."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    He didn''t take this to heart.

    However, Lin Yuan underestimated the gossipy nature of netizens.

    That night.

    As the interviews with the comic artists appeared online, the comment section in Admirable Fish and Chu Kuang''s Tribe became lively:

    "I knew it, the three of them are together!"

    "So, all three are boys~"

    "Actually, it''s not too surprising. Although Chu Kuang''s writing style varies, he always seems to be a man."

    "I wasn''t sure about Admirable Fish''s gender before because he has a song with lyrics written from a female''s perspective. Now I get it, Admirable Fish has the heart of a young girl."

    "The three of them are indeed good bros!"

    "Congratulations to Teacher Shadow on the success of his new work. If not, he might be left behind by Admirable Fish and Chu Kuang."

    "The underdog needs to keep going!"

    Many fans don''t really understand comics, so they mostly tease.

    For these people, the most significant value of this interview is revealing Admirable Fish and Chu Kuang''s genders.

    ...

    However, the same interview, viewed by some industry insiders, actually sparked a different reaction.

    "Shadow is going for a self-created comic?"

    "Isn''t he a pure artist?"

    "Looks like another comic artist who is not content with being a pure artist. Every pure artist seems to have the idea of individual creation¡­"

    "Isn''t the focus food?"

    "If Shadow''s new work is not on food, I think his new comic might have a glimmer of hope. But the food-themed comic killed 99% of the suspense!"

    "Yeah, why choose food?"

    "The food-themed comic was once very popular, but now no one is interested in it. Simply put, this theme is out of date."

    "I suggest Shadow continue to work with Chu Kuang, or it would be a waste of a very impressive pure artist."

    "¡­"

    It''s not just the industry insiders who find this unconvincing, even Shadow''s fans are a little stunned upon learning that Shadow wants to go for an original creation.

    "Really?"

    "Does Teacher Shadow not want to be a pure artist anymore?"

    "I think being a pure artist is quite nice. You can focus more energy on drawing and leave the story to the scriptwriter¡­"

    "Wake up, Teacher Shadow, food is out of date!"

    "Absolutely. If Teacher Shadow insists on creating his own original, why not go for a sports theme?"

    "Strongly suggest going with the sports genre!"

    "In the field of comics, sports still have some potential and ''King of the Net'' has proven that Teacher Shadow is best at it."

    "Though I''m not optimistic, I will try my best to support Teacher Shadow."

    "I''ve seen comics drawn by original artists before, there''s no doubt about their drawing style, yet the story is a bit lackluster."

    "¡­"

    Both industry insiders and Shadow''s fans don''t care about the gossip about Admirable Fish and Chu Kuang. They all care about Shadow''s new work.

    But...

    Finding out that Shadow''s new work is actually going along the original creation line, and even choosing the food theme, many fans felt a bucket of cold water being poured on them.

    It''s not Shadow''s problem.

    Many pure artists tried to go for original creation before Shadow, but most of them failed.

    Of course, nothing is absolute.

    There are also those who didn''t fail while going along the original creation line, but their works'' popularity can''t be compared to when they were pure artists!

    ''King of the Net'' is the most popular comic on Tribe!

    It''s going to be tough for Shadow to achieve the same height with his original creation. Let alone the fact that he has chosen food, which is relatively less popular in the market.

    However, clearly. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The outside world''s thoughts can''t affect Shadow''s resolution.

    Even though many people posted comments under Shadow''s Tribe, it was useless.

    On the other hand, Luo Wei, as Shadow''s assistant, was slowly changing her view on ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma''¡ª¡ª

    Yes.

    As ''King of the Net'' came to an end.

    Lin Yuan had already started on the creation of ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma'' with Luo Wei!

    The creative process was tough, and it was a time-consuming project.

    Because Lin Yuan intended to create a full-color comic this time!

    Only a full-color comic can showcase the characteristics of ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma''!

    What is glowing fried rice exactly?

    How can grayscale lines make readers instinctively see how tempting the food in ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma'' is?

    In this process, Luo Wei was attracted by ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma''.

    With the storyboard and story provided by Lin Yuan in clear sight, Luo Wei suddenly felt that this comic might set off a food trend!

    Her passion for drawing seemed to be inspired by the delicious food in the story, and she worked even harder!

 Chapter 262 - 246: Reunite with Gu Xi_1

    The attention drawn by Shadow''s new work is limited only to Shadow''s fans and some professionals in the comic circle.

    If we looked at the entire comic community, it''s bound to say: the news of Shadow''s new work would hardly stir up a big commotion.

    Comic enthusiasts are still immersed in the anticipation of the launch of Tribe Comics!

    Because...

    The lineup of comic artists invited for the launch of Tribe Comics is too luxurious!

    New works from many top comic artists are worth looking forward to!

    Shadow is virtually inconspicuous amidst such a stellar line-up.

    Moreover, many people had not even noticed this pure graphic artist.

    And when this mood all culminated on the first day of September, all the excitement and anticipation exploded with the launch of Tribe Comics!

    Swoosh Swoosh Swoosh.

    Countless comic readers flocked to the comic website established by Tribe on this day!

    However...

    At such a moment, Lin Yuan was not closely following the situation of his comic.

    He had delegated Luo Wei, his assistant, with the task of uploading "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma".

    Because not only was the first of September the day when Tribe Comics launches its new comic website, but also...

    It was the opening day of the school at Qin Art.

    Although Lin Yuan had been on indefinite leave since his second semester of junior year, he still had no reason to skip the opening day of his senior year.

    In his class,

    Meeting with classmates was particularly cordial and enthusiastic, with a hint of looking forward to the new school year.

    Lin Yuan, too, received many warm greetings from his classmates, enjoying the unchanging darling treatment as always.

    Universities in Blue Star are five-year programs.

    However, by the fourth year, there are hardly any classes for everyone.

    The school was also relaxed in its management of seniors.

    No one checked whether students stayed in the dormitory.

    Students could live outside the school and attendance figures dropped sharply. As long as you didn''t fail, everything was fine.

    Nowadays, as long as you study diligently, most college students will not fail the course.

    In this senior year, it''s more about practical activities than attending classes.

    As for the fifth year...

    The fifth year are for graduates-to-be.

    Those who should look for internships did so; those who wanted to start their own businesses were supported by the school.

    For instance, Luo Wei, Lin Yuan''s assistant, was a fifth-year student at Qin Art.

    She didn''t even come to school today.

    In the future, she would not need to come to school often; it was estimated that she would be a bit busy only when she was preparing her graduation thesis.

    Now she was essentially working for Lin Yuan, almost like a half-working part of society.

    The reason it''s half is that, after all, she hasn''t received her graduation certificate from Qin Art yet.

    However, Lin Yuan had a certain plan for his senior year time as well.

    The premise to be established first is that...

    He would undoubtedly be taking more frequent leaves in his senior year.

    Since the senior year courses are sparse and scattered, the cost of taking leave is much lower than that of junior year.

    Moreover...

    Lin Yuan now does not have much time to linger in the painting club anymore.

    Not only did Luo Wei get promoted to fifth year,

    Zhong Yu, a senior at the painting club that Lin Yuan is quite familiar with, also advanced to fifth year.

    After advancing to fifth year, Zhong Yu might rarely show up at the painting club.

    For Lin Yuan, the painting club, which is missing familiar faces, always feels as if something has been lost.

    After all, the painting club that he is familiar with is mainly composed of seniors like Zhong Yu.

    ...

    Although the painting club will be missing many familiar faces, Lin Yuan went there with a touch of nostalgia.

    Because today is the first day of school, there were not as many people in the painting club than usual.

    But there are still quite a few people who know Lin Yuan.

    After all, the Painting club is a mix of students from all grades.

    Even students a grade lower than Lin Yuan had learned sketching or gouache from him.

    After greeting everyone, Lin Yuan went to the piano room for a while.

    The piano room was as it always was.

    He is still familiar with the pianos in a few of the piano rooms.

    Sitting in the room and playing a little bit, Lin Yuan was ready to leave.

    However, right out of the door, he saw a familiar figure.

    Gu Xi!

    The last time he met Gu Xi was at Qi Art. Unbelievably, so much time had passed since then, and Gu Xi had come back from studying at Qi Art.

    But the reason why...

    Gu Xi''s look at Lin Yuan was very complex.

    It seemed to have a touch of surprise, and yet some traces of resentment, also a bit of depression, and a lingering trace of sorrow between her eyebrows.

    "Lin Yuan, we meet again." She took the initiative to greet him.

    Lin Yuan nodded in response: "Hello."

    After the greeting, Lin Yuan was ready to go, but to his surprise, Gu Xi stopped him and forced out a smile. "Lin Yuan, do you not want to see me that much?"

    Lin Yuan shook his head: "You misunderstood."

    Gu Xi paused for a moment, then seemed to have thought of something, she whispered, "I seem to misunderstand Filbert often, but some misunderstandings are difficult to resolve..."

    "Is there something you need?"

    Lin Yuan couldn''t understand what she was saying.

    This was the exact coldness she had expected. Gu Xi sighed.

    Actually, wasn''t'' she treating others the same way Lin Yuan was treating her?

    It could only be said that there were no good outcomes for a sycophant.

    No matter how hard one tries to please others, it is hard to change the heart of someone who disregards you.

    From now on, she would no longer be anyone''s sycophant.

    Not even for the Maestro.

    Dignity was more important than the Maestro!

    "Nothing..."

    Thinking about it, she smiled a little depressingly.

    Lin Yuan nodded, suddenly thought of something, and asked, "Are you free lately?"

    "I''m free, I''m free!"

    Gu Xi quickly raised her head.

    Her sudden, fiery enthusiasm, as if reborn from the ashes, startled Lin Yuan.

    "I am planning to shoot a film..."

    Lin Yuan wanted to invite Gu Xi to help: "There will be some music pieces in that film. Your performance skills are better than mine." S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "No problem!"

    Gu Xi kept nodding and smiled warmly, "Lin Yuan, your skill level is actually not worse than mine, but I''ll certainly help if you need me."

    "Let''s add contact information."

    Lin Yuan said, "We can negotiate the remuneration, you won''t work for free."

    Gu Xi quickly replied, "No, no, I can work for you for free!"

    Realizing that her words were a bit off, Gu Xi''s face turned red quickly and she hastily explained nervously, "I meant that you can work for free, not free..."

    Why is this girl babbling?

    Lin Yuan gave her a strange look: "Your mobile number."

    Gu Xi covered her face and said, "My mobile number is 1008612580..."

    One minute later.

    The two exchanged contact information.

    Lin Yuan left the piano room.

    Gu Xi, on the other hand, danced happily on the aisle of the piano room as if stepping on the tiles of the floor, humming a tune.

    It wasn''t until someone came by that she coughed, regained her expression, raised her white jade-like neck, and walked away with an aloof air like a peacock.

    Meanwhile,

    With the official establishment of the Tribe Comics website, some people have gotten in and opened up Shadow''s new comic, "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma".

 Chapter 263 - 247: Medicine King_1

    The advent of Tribe Comics was a major event for all comic enthusiasts, and of course, that included a seasoned fan like Lu Wei. So, when the comic website made its first appearance, he, like countless other long-anticipated comic lovers, logged into the new website right away.

    The new website had engaged many renowned comic artists to publish their latest works.

    After Lu Wei finished reading the latest works from the most famous comic artists, he felt unsatisfied, so he started to search for more new comics to read.

    To comic enthusiasts, the new website was like a treasure trove, waiting to be discovered.

    Every comic fan aspired to discover more mouth-watering spiritual nourishment from the new website!

    Then he noticed this comic entitled "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma."

    The artist was Shadow.

    Lu Wei hadn''t seen "King of the Net," so he didn''t know much about Shadow.

    The reason he noticed this comic was because of its unusual theme...

    Food!

    Any type of comic has its reader base, it''s just a matter of the size of this base.

    And Lu Wei was among the few who had a fondness for food-themed comics.

    Regrettably, after the food fad had waned, the genre was publicly acknowledged as a low-interest topic.

    So, Lu Wei had not seen any new food comics for a long time.

    And this had always been a regret for him.

    Yet Lu Wei could logically understand that food-themed comics were indeed a genre that had lost its vitality.

    Even he, a long-time enthusiast of food-themed comics, found it hard to avoid feeling that the existing body of work was getting stale ¡ª¡ª

    Lu Wei found it hard to imagine that someone would still want to create food-themed comics under such circumstances.

    And this made Lu Wei feel sort of familiar.

    Perhaps it was this sense of familiarity?

    With a touch of nostalgia and a dollop of enthusiasm for food, Lu Wei opened "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma."

    Let''s just take a casual look and take it as a trip down memory lane for my once-upon-a-time love for food-themed comics.

    The comic begins in the backyard of a small restaurant.

    A red-haired boy is sitting in front of a barbecue stand, a strange grin plastering his face: "Grilled squid legs with peanut butter... disgusting... haha¡­"

    Lu Wei was taken aback.

    What the heck? Is this a food comic? Are you sure this isn''t about grotesque culinary concoctions?

    Just thinking about grilled squid legs with peanut butter was enough to give anyone the creeps.

    Then, a voice came from inside the house: "Yukihira, your friends are here."

    "Alright..."

    The red-haired boy suddenly rose to his feet, unwrapping the long, white strip around his wrist before tying it on his forehead: "Let''s get started."

    The scene focused on the red-haired boy.

    If there were no surprises, this Yukihira should be the protagonist of the comic.

    The scene shifts.

    The protagonist, Yukihira, and his father each cooked a bowl of fried rice, and a girl was the judge, evaluating the cooking skills of the two.

    "Hmm..."

    As the girl took her first bite of fried rice, the camera suddenly paused at a strange angle. The girl''s legs slightly tightened, and her short skirt fluttered as if blown by the wind, then a flush appeared on her face.

    "Ah..."

    The girl let out a fragrant breath, seeming to be in a comfortable state that made her appear almost intoxicated.

    Lu Wei, who was sitting in front of his phone, could not help but suspect that this comic had some naughty elements, but he had no proof ¡ª¡ª

    At the same time, Lu Wei thought it was quite novel.

    This artist called Shadow was really skilled. The two bowls of fried rice on the table looked so appetizing ¨C as if just the drawing alone could awaken the taste buds of its readers.

    As it turned out, Yukihira''s father was the winner.

    It seemed that every now and then Yukihira would have a culinary competition with his father, with the customers acting as judges.

    They had competed hundreds of times, and Yukihira hadn''t won once.

    But what had Lu Wei laughing was ...

    Yukihira and his dad started arguing again about who made the most disgusting dish.

    Yukihira thought his grilled squid legs with peanut butter were the most disgusting, while his father thought his dried sardines with strawberry jam were more horrifying ...

    Goddamn dried sardines with strawberry jam.

    The father-son argument brought a smile to Lu Wei''s face.

    Other food comics were all about who could make the more delicious dish. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    But in this food comic, not only did they compete over who could make the most delicious dish, but they also strived to make the most disgusting dish ...

    Taking into account the customer''s reaction after tasting the food, Lu Wei began to have a little interest in this comic.

    Just a tiny bit.

    Because the protagonist''s culinary skills were not that impressive. He had lost to his father so many times and his father was just a cook in a small restaurant.

    Though it was a bit clich¨¦ ...

    Lu Wei felt that if the protagonist of a food-themed comic didn''t have impressive culinary skills, the story''s excitement would be diminished.

    Who would like a sissy protagonist?

    With a somewhat apathetic attitude, he continued to flip through.

    At night, the restaurant was closed for the day.

    Just then, a woman wearing sunglasses, escorted by her bodyguards, strolled into the small restaurant.

    It turns out this woman was a representative of a property developer, and the developer planned to build a large apartment complex opposite the small restaurant.

    So, she wanted to force the small restaurant to close down.

    Yukihira, with his restaurant''s policy of never letting a customer down, refused.

    As a result, the next day, the kitchen of the small restaurant was completely devastated, with all the meat including what was in the refrigerator, ruined by someone.

    Upon seeing this, Lu Wei felt a hint of anger.

    In order to force the small restaurant to close down, these developers would stop at nothing, just like some real-life developers who forcibly drive out local residents for their own profits!

    They were utterly despotic!

 Chapter 264 - 247 Medicine King_2

    Yukihira was enraged, storming out of the restaurant, noticing paint dripping at his feet.

    Looking up, he saw his own restaurant''s sign covered in white paint.

    Just then.

    The female representative of the developer reappeared, still in her luxurious car, surrounded by her bodyguards, displaying a haughty demeanor: "I suddenly felt like eating meat. I remember the sirloin steak I had at the central restaurant not too long ago was simply delicious."

    She entered and crossed her legs:

    "Hey, young man, how about preparing a top-notch juicy meat dish?"

    Yukihira remained silent with a stern face.

    The woman taunted: "Didn''t you say that if you can''t serve satisfying dishes to customers, you will close your doors? Since your signboard is already ruined, why not close your doors now? I can provide you with generous compensation..."

    She started laughing heartily.

    Lu Wei''s irritation increased.

    However, at that moment, Yukihira suddenly sighed, "A delicious juicy meat dish, is that all you want..."

    He untied the bandages on his wrist.

    As the bandages fluttered magnificently like a living creature, Yukihira''s expression became blurry but his dialogue for the scene was enlarged and boldened: "Swear to me that you''ll never disturb this place again. If you dare to swear, I can make food that will satisfy your tongue."

    The woman was taken aback, and the bodyguards were startled too.

    The next scene had no dialogue, only the protagonist''s piercing gaze at the woman.

    At that moment, Lu Wei strangely felt fired up?

    Hang on¡­

    Why would I feel spirited over a culinary manga?

    Like I''m reading a combat manga?

    Moreover¡­

    Yukihira is just a young chef who has lost to his father countless times, where does his confidence come from?

    At this moment, a strong curiosity and anticipation surged in Lu Wei''s heart!

    The following scenes seemingly shifted into an intense mode.

    Even though he was simply preparing a dish, Yukihira''s speed in cutting the vegetables and his handling of the ingredients exuded a sense of calm and confidence.

    "How is this possible¡­"

    The female representative''s face changed, she coldly looked at her bodyguard: "Didn''t you say you had destroyed all the meat?"

    Sweat trickled down the bodyguard''s face: "I did destroy it¡­"

    Lu Wei frowned. He was certain that all the meat had been destroyed. Without meat, how could Yukihira make a meat dish?

    Soon, the story provided an explanation.

    Indeed, Yukihira had no meat, but he used the bacon he had just bought. Using potato as the main ingredient, he evaporated the moisture from it, mixed in a variety of accompaniments, and created a meat-like dish that closely resembled actual meat!

    Isn''t the protagonist a small dish chicken?

    A small dish chicken who never won against his father...

    How could his cooking skills be so proficient?

    The woman representative seemed to consider it an insult: "I want a meat dish. High-end dishes can only be presented in the finest restaurants, in the most exquisite manner. Your humble shop does not even have a reason to exist!"

    Thud.

    The food was on the table, Yukihira calmly looked at her: "Whether there is value in this place should be judged after you finish the dish."

    The woman didn''t say a word.

    Nevertheless, she picked up her fork and took a bite.

    However, the moment the food entered her mouth, she seemed dazed:

    As her teeth chewed, the carefully baked bacon filled the mouth with aromatic, juicy flavors...

    Her expression became strange, as if she were going to break down.

    The imagery filled the scene.

    The aroma of the food filled every corner of the universe, forming a powerful tornado.

    Even the bodyguard couldn''t help but swallow his saliva.

    This wasn''t real meat...

    Yet the taste and texture surpassed that of the most genuine meat dishes!

    Swallowing that bite, it felt like she had swallowed...

    An aphrodisiac?

    The description might sound strange.

    But it was indeed...

    An aphrodisiac that could send the customers into rapturous delight?

    This isn''t "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma", this is clearly Aphrodisiac no Soma!

    And the protagonist...

    Is like a "Medicine King"!

    The scenes were filled with a sense of shame, yet Lu Wei didn''t feel it was odd. As the guests succumbed to the food prepared by the protagonist, he felt an extremely intense pleasure!

    Thrilling!

    The following scenes left Lu Wei astounded, feeling like he had been run over by a rolling wheel...

    The protagonist collected the food, staring at the woman: "Make your promise. If you want to continue eating, you can''t cause any more trouble here."

    "Impossible!"

    The female representative refused, but her expression wasn''t strong enough. Her face turned slightly red as she couldn''t take her eyes off the food.

    "Although it''s a bit of a shame¡­"

    Yukihira picked up the food, ready to leave.

    After a fierce inner struggle, the female representative suddenly whimpered, "I swear¡­"

    "Oh?"

    Yukihira stopped in his tracks.

    The female representative started to act strangely, "Please¡­ let me¡­ taste¡­ more¡­"

    "Deal."

    Yukihira put the food back on the table.

    This time, it wasn''t just the female representative. The bodyguards made a beeline for the food too.

    When they finished eating, they looked like they had just been through a war, lying haphazardly on the ground.

    Their clothes were a little messy, clearly from eating to the point of bursting.

    Yukihira untied the bandage wrapped around his forehead: "Just a humble host, lacking any grandeur."

    The first episode ended.

    However, Lu Wei seemed to have taken a blow, his gaze slightly vacant.

    Can you really play this way?

    Is this really a fighting show?

    What''s going on with these strange bursts of excitement?

    And what about the customer''s reaction to the food¡­

    How to describe it?

    Although it seems exaggerated, yet it somehow fits perfectly within the world of food.

    Odd dialogue and all, it strangely makes your heart race. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Moreover¡­

    Watching the female representative and bodyguards surrender to Yukihira''s food, Lu Wei feels a refreshing sense of satisfaction directly soaring to his Heavenly Spirit Cover!

    The ringing sensation of a slap in the face!

    And it feels absolutely brilliant!

    Is this really a cooking manga?!

    Can your culinary manga really do this?

    You argue this is unrealistic, that a simple dish can combine with bacon to mimic the taste of meat?

    But the manga explains every step of cooking in a professional and detailed manner!

    According to the theory given by the manga, this kind of cuisine is possible!

    Lu Wei even remembers a culinary documentary he once watched that talked about the same thing¡ªsimple vegetarian food can mimic the taste and texture of meat, even adding certain qualities that meat dishes lack...

    "Gulp."

    Lu Wei swallowed a little.

    He realized he was a bit hungry.

    Especially seeing the food in the picture and the reactions of the female representative and the bodyguards, Lu Wei felt a strong surge of hunger. But it wasn''t a desire to eat anything in his reach, instead, it was a desire to taste the protagonist''s cooking!

    Hold on...

    Isn''t the protagonist referred to as Small Dish Chicken?

    He seemed to have gotten things quite wrong.

    This is a small restaurant, but the protagonist is certainly not a novice when it comes to cooking, he''s a master, or rather, the Medicine King!

    The food made by Small Dish Chicken can cause physiological reactions in customers?

    He''s a master who can make food that excites customers!

    His numerous failed combats with his father are not because the protagonist''s cooking skills are not refined, but because his father is probably an even more fearsome gourmet expert!

    Think back carefully.

    Didn''t the first few images of the manga hint at this?

    This is a restaurant with a large customer flow!

    Every customer who walks out of this restaurant does so with a satisfied look on their face¡ªmarveling at the deliciousness of the food¡ªeven the students around gravitate towards this restaurant when it''s time for a meal...

    "Holy Shit!"

    So this is it!

    His previous disappointment completely disappeared at this moment and Lu Wei suddenly had a strong anticipation for what was coming next!

    You should know¡­

    When Lu Wei first clicked on "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma", it was just out of a sentimental mood. After all, it''d been a while since he saw a new food manga on the market.

    But now¡­

    Lu Wei was thoroughly engrossed in the manga. This was a different kind of food manga, unlike any others he had read before!

    Exciting!

    Blushing!

    Heart racing!

    Incredibly exhilarating!

    It''s a pure world of food, where the food prepared by the chefs are their most powerful weapons!

 Chapter 265 - 248: Gourmet is Kings Path_1

    With just a glimpse of the content, Lu Wei was absolutely captivated by this comic. It was a gourmet manga unlike any of its kind. Only by reading this manga did he truly understand what it meant for food to truly embody color, aroma, and taste.

    The author had uploaded three chapters.

    After finishing the first chapter, Lu Wei couldn''t help but read the remaining two. From the protagonist successfully defending his small restaurant to joining Totsuki Academy under his father''s arrangement, the plot continued to captivate Lu Wei. Moreover, the subsequent plot confirmed Lu Wei''s guess that the protagonist''s father was indeed unusual.

    Although it wasn''t explicitly revealed in the story, this made Lu Wei look forward to the protagonist''s performance in this top-notch culinary school even more!

    Lu Wei was not alone.

    Like him, there were some casual readers who had stumbled upon ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma'' and were completely captivated. So, not long after the manga was released, the comment section went into a frenzy:

    "Such sensual art style!"

    "The author is a master storyteller!"

    "A food-induced climax, really?"

    "The protagonist puts aphrodisiacs in the food!"

    "The plot is so exaggerated and embarrassing, but after finishing the first chapter, I surprisingly couldn''t stop. I thought I would never find food comics interesting again till I read ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma''. The perfect combination of art style and storyline, I''m loving it."

    "Isn''t this ''Aphrodisiac no Soma''?"

    "There''s a fair amount of fanservice, but overall, I feel the manga is very passionate and inspiring. The protagonist keeps challenging his father with such determination and always seeks reasons for his defeat. I''m very curious to see how much of a culinary genius his father is. Judging by the thrill, it''s a masterpiece."

    "Small restaurant, top chef?"

    "Moaning at the aroma, climaxing at the taste, the clothes not ripping is considered a food fail, this art style surprisingly doesn''t feel weird. The food is also incredibly true-to-life and as a chef, I approve of the theories in it. Although I can cook the dishes, I certainly can''t create the explosive excitement experienced by the customers in the comic.

    But this is exactly what makes the manga fun. If it was too connected to reality, it would lose its appeal." S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Very satisfying to read!"

    "From the sizzling sounds of the cooking process and dazzling golden glow when unveiling the dish, it''s a masochistic pleasure. Each dish is exquisitely detailed and enticing, making you crave even when you can''t eat it. ''Medicine King'', my soul has been swept away by you."

    "¡­"

    Compared to the casual readers, the reactions from Shadow''s fans were even more exaggerated: "I initially rejected the news of Shadow creating an original gourmet manga. I won''t blindly follow just because you''re Shadow. But after reading it, I was stunned by Shadow''s imagination. This isn''t something an ordinary artist can dream of, I''m already a fan!"

    "Shadow is awesome!"

    "Am I the only one finding this comic hilarious? The segment where the protagonist challenged his father with a dark cuisine really hit my funny bone. The copy meat episode is absolutely explosive!"

    "Shadow''s embarrassment level is off the charts!"

    "Shadow is both cringey and passionate!"

    "If you didn''t mention this is a food manga, I''d almost think it''s a mainstream anime. Despite its culinary setting, the plot gives a whole new dramatic meaning to cooking. We shouldn''t take for granted that Shadow is a mere artist. He knows what readers like."

    "¡­"

    Readers who choose gourmet manga can inherently accept the exaggerated setting of customers being conquered by food. In reality, people hardly get excited to such an extreme extent when eating delicious food. Most of them just nod their heads affirmatively and say:

    "Not bad."

    "Quite delicious."

    If this realistic reaction was depicted in the manga, it would lose its fun factor. This manga uses exaggerated methods to portray the vulnerability of customers in front of food, combined with the humorous elements abound in the manga, amalgamating both logic and worldview to a consistent degree. Similar to absurd movies, the plot and humor are both exaggerated and unrealistic.

    But everyone chooses to ignore the unrealistic side, simply enjoying the thrill brought by the exaggerated plot and the joy of taste buds blooming.

    before this.

    Many of Shadow''s readers firmly believed that Shadow was just an illustrator. After all, his rise to fame with ''King of the Net'' was largely attributed to the well-constructed plot by Chu Kuang. If he had any creative ability, his first work wouldn''t have been a complete reproduction of the original work, would it?

    But now.

    Without a scriptwriter, Shadow managed to create ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma'' entirely on his own, changing his fans'' perception. Their previous assumptions were completely shattered.

    This reaction was incredibly apparent.

    Some even began analyzing in the comments: "Many people have said ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma'' is very passionate. If you think about it carefully, it''s essentially a mainstream manga disguised as a gourmet one. It even belongs to the highest commercial category of invincible protagonists.

    Judging by the current plot, the protagonist''s father is definitely a super-chef hiding his true identity behind a small restaurant. And the protagonist is clueless about his father''s skills. He constantly learns from his father and even challenges his highly skilled father in cooking. If it''s still hard to understand, just think of the gourmet in terms of power levels in mainstream manga.

    The protagonist is a high-level expert the moment he is introduced. His only weakness is being compared to his master-level father, but the protagonist may already be excessively strong compared to other chefs!"

 Chapter 266 - 248: Gourmet is the Kings Path_2

    This analysis is correct.

    "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma" is a highly commercial food-themed manga, with a strong touch of web novel style. It vividly captures the exhilarating feeling of content creation, and the protagonist''s cooking skills are near unbeatable. He is one of the most outstanding newcomers in the culinary world. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    As for the reaction of diners after they''ve finished eating, everyone should understand it as the ''shock'' often seen in web novels. This constant shock is an important theme in this type of work and one of the crucial elements that contributed to the success of this manga.

    The only difference is:

    While traditional shonen manga emphasize the awesomeness of the protagonist through their battles, "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma" accomplishes this by showcasing the protagonist''s cooking skills that conquer one opponent after another. His adversaries may be talented colleagues or fastidious diners, but the thrill of victory is identical.

    It''s exhilarating to see eaters'' clothes bursting off due to the deliciousness of the food, let alone the fact that food-themed works naturally have a tempting quality.

    ¡­

    Since Tribe Comics was just established, there''s a delay in presenting data on its comics. However, for all manga artists who''ve started serializing new works on the site, the most accurate reflection of their work''s success is still the popularity ranking. The most crucial ranking is:

    The Popularity Ranking!

    The popularity of a manga is determined by a combination of votes, likes, and donations. Only works with the highest overall data can make it to the top of the ranking. Since everyone is freshly launching new works, many manga artists are waiting for the debut of this ranking. Even some readers on the site are paying attention to this list.

    The reason is simple.

    Manga readers often use rankings to find works that suit their taste. High popularity means a work is exciting, and being exciting suggests that the work caters to the general public. This is the most straightforward logic.

    Zhang Wei is a manga artist.

    Specifically, Zhang Wei is a well-known manga artist, one of the first dozens of big-name artists announced by Tribe Comics. Although not the top one among these artists, Zhang Wei is confident about his new work. He believes he could make it into the top ten in popularity!

    So, Zhang Wei has been closely following the ranking.

    When it was the fifth hour after the site was successfully established, the ranking was finally updated. Zhang Wei checked it instantly and excitedly pumped his fist as he saw his manga named "Dragon Fist" was ranked seventh in popularity!

    "Impressive, Bro Zhang..."

    Zhang Wei''s friend must also be an insider. He looked at the computer screen and then congratulated with a smile, "The seventh place is super high. If you maintain this momentum, you could become one of the top authors in Tribe Comics. You''re on your way to superstardom!"

    "Not too bad."

    Zhang Wei grinned, "The main thing is that after the merge with Qin Qi, the reader base of all manga has more than doubled. Whoever can achieve good results at this moment has seized the opportunity. Yet, it isn''t easy, you see, those ranked in the top ten are all top-notch artists on the site..."

    "All of them?"

    The friend pointed to the work ranking eighth and said uncertainly, "Who''s the author of this ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma''? I don''t remember hearing much about it before."

    "Huh?"

    Zhang Wei paused.

    He too found the name "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma" somewhat unfamiliar, not like those from the site''s main artists. Could it be like him,all of a sudden making headlines after the industry reshuffle?

    He instinctively hit refresh.

    Then Zhang Wei''s face darkened.

    After he refreshed, he found himself dropping to eighth place on the popularity list, and stepping into his previous seventh place was the just-following "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma."

    "Got beaten online."

    The friend couldn''t help but joke.

    Zhang Wei just curled his lips, not bothered too much. However, when he clicked on "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma" and saw who the author was, he finally showed a surprised expression, "It''s written by Shadow?"

    "Shadow?"

    The friend''s face also slightly changed after he recalled something, "The author of ''King of the Net'', right? He''s known as a manga artist. I heard his new work planned to go down the original creation path relying on his own drawing and scripting... so this is his original work..."

    The two exchanged glances.

    An original work by a manga artist?

    Without further discussion, they directly read the manga. But halfway through, the friend started laughing, "This Shadow is indeed a rare talent. A food manga painted so enthusiastically, even eating food has a clothes-bursting effect, can you imagine if it was adapted into an animated series?"

    "His dad is awesome."

    "The protagonist''s got some skills."

    "Hahaha, this is so fun!"

    Having finished the comic, his friend was already in fits of laughter, but Zhang Wei was sporting a helpless expression. This manga was indeed spectacular, completely breaking the mold of past gourmet comics. Although still focused on cooking, the emotional build-up was tremendous. Even a casual meal could elicit a sense of fervor. No wonder he had been blown away by the competition!

    "It''s bound to go viral..."

    Zhang Wei came to his own conclusion.

    Just as Zhang Wei finished speaking, a glowing red number appeared on the website:[Applauding and exclaiming with astonishment, this reward is the only way to express my admiration. User Hanyu awarded ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma'' with 1,000,000 Tribe Coins, becoming the Silver Alliance of this work!]

    "Silver?"

    Zhang Wei''s friend was taken aback: "According to the conversion rules of Tribe Comics, a million Tribe Coins is about ten thousand yuan, right? Some big spender just rewarded this manga with ten thousand yuan. That''s quite something."

    Zhang Wei: "..."

    I''m envious, but I won''t say it.

    Just as Zhang Wei was filled with envy, another notification popped up:[Applauding and exclaiming with astonishment, this reward is the only way to express my admiration. User Feather awarded ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma'' with 1,000,000 Tribe Coins, becoming the Silver Alliance of this work!]

    Zhang Wei: "..."

    Friend: "..."

    Another wealthy reader has popped up?

    Seemingly provoked, soon other comics received Silver Alliance-level rewards too. Like ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma'' currently ranked seventh, these comics were also in the top ten hot comics.

    That''s normal.

    The top ten comics are generally created by GOAT-level comic artists. These GOAT comic artists already have many loyal fans. So, it''s quite typical for some affluent fans to be among them.

    However...

    Shadow couldn''t be considered a GOAT-level comic artist yet, but rather a new comic artist. Yet, he received so many rewards which made Zhang Wei''s heart ache a bit. Clearly, his fame was not much less than Shadow in the industry. They were in the first batch of comic artists announced. Why was there no support from any Silver alliances for him?

    Suddenly.

    Another banner floated up, and this time it was actually related to Zhang Wei:[Applauding and exclaiming with astonishment, this reward is the only way to express my admiration. User ''Zhang Wei''s Friend'' awarded the comic ''Dragon Fist'' with 1,000,000 Tribe Coins, becoming the Silver Alliance of this work!]

    "You..."

    Zhang Wei turned to his friend.

    The friend laughed: "You''re welcome."

    Zhang Wei held his forehead: "I mean, your nickname is so embarrassing, it sounds like I made up a friend out of nowhere. Couldn''t you at least change it to a more reader-like nickname to reward me?"

    Friend: "..."

    Fine, this was a misstep.

    However, this had genuinely increased the popularity of Zhang Wei''s work. Just like when the first Silver Alliance appeared, ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma'' attracted a lot of readers too. The comic''s popularity began to rise!

    When refreshed for the third time.

    Zhang Wei saw it already, ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma'' moved up to the sixth spot in the popularity rankings and was showing signs of leaving him behind: "Is this really a work from a pure illustrator?"

    "It''s intense."

    "Shadow is known to be good at original creations. The plot design of ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma'' is really good. Why did he choose to be an illustrator before? Wouldn''t it be better to go original earlier?"

    "The fun is just getting started..."

 Chapter 267 - 249: The Advancing Shadow_1

    The popularity rankings and the high amount of rewards early on exposed "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma" to a large number of people. This degree of exposure was enough to attract many readers who initially were not interested in the comic.

    Many people are like this.

    Regardless of their interest in the subject matter or title of the work, they would at least have some anticipation when they see them appearing on the highly valued list and would likely to take a closer look.

    A normal herd mentality.

    If the work happens to appeal to them, those who clicked on it naturally become part of the audience. As a result, the number of readers who like the comic "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma" increases, causing the comic to eventually climb up to...

    Third place!

    At the Tribe at this moment...

    Ms. Han, the Chief Operating Officer of the literature and comics department, has just finished a senior-level meeting. She is rushing towards the newly established comic department office and asks the second-in-command of the website, the deputy webmaster, while walking:

    "Have the data come out yet?"

    "The rankings have been updated."

    The expression on the deputy webmaster is a bit strange.

    Han Jimei glanced at him, opened the office door, turned on her computer, and asked, "With all the big-name comic artists we''ve dug up and the previous heavy promotion, the traffic shouldn''t be a problem, right?"

    "The traffic is not a problem."

    The deputy webmaster hurriedly said: "Tribe Comics'' daily activity is among the top in all of Qin Qi''s online comic sites. Both initial member registrations and user reviews are pretty good. I will send you the report later, but the works on this ranking list¡­"

    "What''s wrong with the ranking list?"

    "You better see for yourself."

    The expression on the deputy webmaster''s face become increasingly peculiar.

    Han Jimei raised her eyebrows, opened the website interface, and looked at the current popularity rankings.

    When she saw "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma" at third place, her mouth slightly widened, her face full of astonishment -

    Shadow''s comic?

    Ranked third?

    The deputy webmaster seemed to be unsurprised by Han Jimei''s reaction because he had a similar reaction when he first saw the list: "As you can see now, Teacher Shadow''s original comic has been well received."

    Han Jimei was at a loss for words.

    This is the third on the popularity list!

    It''s not just "okay," it''s clearly very impressive!

    You must know that to be able to enter this list, you basically have to be a very influential comic artist in the industry!

    With the backing of the Tribe.

    About half of Qin Qi''s best comic artists are now releasing new works on Tribe Comics.

    A work that stands out on this website, even in the entire industry, is worthy of pride!

    In fact.

    Even if Shadow was truly willing to collaborate with the writer provided by the Tribe, Han Jimei''s expectation would simply be for them to break into the top ten on the list. This is not to mention that Shadow actually rejected the Tribe''s proposal and chose to create her own work. Moreover, she chose the niche subject of gourmet food!

    This doesn''t fit the profile of a pure artist!

    Looking at the performance of "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma", Shadow is clearly an extremely creative comic artist, even arguably a top-tier comic artist on the website!

    It goes without saying what a top-tier comic artist means for a website!

    Thinking of this...

    The expression on Han Jimei''s face gradually changed from astonishment to excitement!

    She turned her head and stared at the deputy webmaster: "The third place... that is considered a pillar-level work, right?"

    This is a term used in the comic circle.

    On any comic website, works ranked in the top three are considered pillar-level works for that website. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Yes."

    The deputy webmaster nodded heavily: "If the popularity of "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma" can be maintained in the top three for a long period of time, then it can be considered a pillar for the website, and the website will tilt its resources and focus on cultivating it!"

    Up to this point...

    The deputy webmaster''s voice grew a little sentimental: "Also, there''s one thing that Ms. Han might not be very aware of. In every large-scale online comic website, all of the pillar works without exception belong to the passionate genre. It''s the first time for me to see a niche genre like gourmet food breaking into the top three. This is truly the most impressive part of this comic¡­"

    "Great!"

    There was a barely concealed smile in Han Jimei''s voice: "This time it seems that we weren''t the only ones who misjudged the situation."

    That''s right.

    Not just Han Jimei.

    The entire comic circle misjudged!

    From the official establishment of Tribe Comics, the comic circle has kept a very close eye on this new website.

    So, people in the comic circle naturally noticed the performance of "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma". For a while, many people were so shocked that their glasses were about to fall off!

    "Shadow ranked third?"

    "Did I see it wrong?"

    "He''s not just a pure artist?"

    "I''ve read ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma'', although the plot is still short, the story creation is very good¡­"

    "It turns out that everyone misunderstood one thing. It''s not that Shadow is not good at original works, but that he didn''t choose to create an original work for his first comic. Perhaps he wanted to practice his drawing skills, or for other reasons?"

    "This is a pillar-level work!"

    "Tribe Comics really made a fortune this time around. Nearly half of the top comic artists in the circle are serializing new works in the Tribe, and now a new star, Shadow, has appeared. Is this website going to dominate the comic circle in the future?"

    "..."

    If Shadow had collaborated with a writer, everyone would not be so shocked.

    But because everyone thought of Shadow as a pure artist, when "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma" was so popular, everyone was dumbfounded!

    That night!

    Shadow''s Tribe fans went into growth mode!

    In addition.

    The comments in his Tribe section were exceptionally lively, with old fans and new readers mixing together:

    "I''m here to shout 666 for the master!"

    "After reading Teacher Shadow''s new comic, I always become listless after my body violently trembles¡­"

    "The person above, beast, what did you do to ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma''!?"

    "Speaking of which, Teacher Shadow is clearly very good at original works, so why did he decide to go the route of a pure artist before?"

    "Don''t you understand yet, of course it''s because of love."

    "The answer is ... Chu Kuang..."

    "I''m a newbie, I don''t really understand, who is Chu Kuang and what does he have to do with Chu Kuang?"

    "Let me explain to the newbie, Teacher Shadow''s first comic work is called ''King of the Net'', which is a comic adapted from a novel. Also, Chu Kuang and Shadow, um... along with Xian Yu, are three good buddies privately."

    " OMG, this is so exciting?"

    "So even though Teacher Shadow is very good at original works, he still chose to illustrate for ''King of the Net'', all for the sake of Chu Kuang?"

    "Hahahahaha, Teacher Admirable Fish needs to work harder!"

    "Does Teacher Chu Kuang feel Teacher Shadow''s love?"

    "As Xian Yu and Chu Kuang''s influence grows, our Teacher Shadow has also started to work hard to keep up with them."

    "..."

    At this time, the number of fans following Shadow on Tribe had broken through fifteen million, and was moving rapidly towards twenty million.

 Chapter 268 - 250 Why Not Continue to Make Comedies_1

    Compared to Chu Kuang and Xian Yu''s positions in their respective fields, Shadow, in terms of fame and influence, lagged far behind the two. Even the fans that simultaneously followed the Three Bros, tended to overlook Shadow. However, with the release and success of "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma", this gap has somewhat narrowed.

    Nevertheless, Shadow''s influence in the manga circle still could not be mentioned in the same breath as the other two ¡ª

    That was Luo Wei''s perspective. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Having witnessed the great success of "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma", Luo Wei stayed up all night in excitement.

    Her mind was filled with fantasies of Shadow becoming a top magnate in the manga circle and joining hands with Chu Kuang, which led to her almost drifting off to sleep when she arrived at the studio the next day.

    However¡­

    Her excitement and expectations triumphed over the drowsiness.

    "The current margin doesn''t mean much. Eventually, Shadow will achieve the same level of success as Chu Kuang and Xian Yu!"

    With that thought in mind.

    Luo Wei felt a tangled mix of emotions when she saw Lin Yuan again.

    When they first met, she never imagined that Lin Yuan could achieve such great success in the manga circle under the pseudonym, Shadow. Not only was he skilled at drawing, but he was also extremely adept at creating manga scripts!

    Lin Yuan was pretty pleased too.

    The significant income generated from the roaring success of "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma" was causing his reputation as a painter to rise steadily.

    "Boss."

    Jin Mu, who has fully embraced his role as an agent, smiled and said, "With the release of this manga, we''ve pulled off your ''pure painter'' label. But we need to keep pushing to firmly secure one of the three pillar positions of Tribe Comics!"

    Lin Yuan was curious, "Three pillars?"

    Jin Mu said, "I only recently learned from research that the top three ranked comics on the website are usually nurtured as pillars by the site. Whether it''s on-site recommendations or off-site promotions, they receive the best resources. This is essential for the website to consolidate its standing in the industry using the influence of their pillar-level manga."

    Lin Yuan nodded in agreement.

    Meanwhile, Luo Wei exclaimed, "We can increase the update frequency! To get good results, we need to update quickly! I''m not afraid of the hard work and exhaustion!"

    "Haha."

    Jin Mu chuckled, "Assistant Luo is certainly enthusiastic. However, famous manga artists in the industry usually have several assistants helping. Even if we want to speed up updates, we may not necessarily be faster than others, unless we continue to hire¡­"

    "Uh."

    At his words, Luo Wei''s face scrunched up, "Is Uncle Jin unsatisfied with my performance?"

    "On the contrary."

    Jin Mu earnestly said, "Assistant Luo is no longer just at the level of a manga assistant. You can now take over half of the boss''s tasks. I''m thinking of hiring two real assistants, one for the boss and one for you, Assistant Luo."

    Luo Wei smiled, "I have no objections."

    She was Lin Yuan''s first assistant. With the studio hiring more staff, the new ones could only serve as second or third assistants. This would not affect her job but instead help her a lot.

    Lin Yuan also nodded in agreement.

    Jin Mu nodded, "Also, about the animation adaptation of ''King of the Net'', I have already discussed it with Divine Wings. Regarding the contract¡­"

    Lin Yuan said, "I''ve reviewed the contract. It''s fine. I''ll authorize Uncle Jin to sign it for me."

    Recently, Jin Mu has been following up on the animation adaptation of "King of the Net", finally deciding to partner with Divine Wings.

    Among the animation companies that showed interest in "King of the Net", Divine Wings was the most competitive, with a consistent reputation for producing high-quality animations.

    Jin Mu had also discussed the contract with Lin Yuan prior.

    ¡­

    In the following days, Jin Mu hired two more assistants for Shadow Studio to serve as the second and third assistants for the creation of "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma", which successfully alleviated some of the workload off Lin Yuan and Luo Wei.

    As the serialization progressed.

    "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma" indeed secured the third place in the website''s popularity chart, showing no signs of a downward trend after a high start.

    But it didn''t advance any further.

    Lin Yuan was not disappointed about this. To secure the top spot on the website''s popularity chart with "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma" would be quite a challenge. While this manga was impressive, the manga artists from Blue Star were not to be underestimated.

    Furthermore...

    The theme always favored most by readers was hot-blooded fighting manga. There hadn''t been any flagships by manga companies that weren''t of the hot-blooded fighting genre. In a sense, "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma" had already created a miracle. Who would have thought that a niche genre like a cooking manga would end up as a pillar work?

    Apart from that.

    Lin Yuan finally started considering his second movie. He sought out Ol'' Zhou.

    "A new film?"

    On hearing Lin Yuan''s intention, Ol'' Zhou instantly perked up, "Is the script for your next film written yet? Let me take it back to evaluate. We need to decide how much investment is suitable!"

    Lin Yuan said, "I also want to invest."

    Having tasted the sweetness of "Flirting Scholar", Lin Yuan was now thinking of investing in films himself.

    Ol'' Zhou was stunned, "You want to invest too?"

    Lin Yuan nodded, "Is that not allowed?"

    Ol'' Zhou laughed, "It''s fine, but the investment ratio needs to be decided by the company. We''ll discuss that later. Can I have a look at the script first?"

    "Sure."

    Lin Yuan took out the script for "The Pianist" that he had worked on for some time.

    The title hadn''t changed yet.

    By the time the movie is released, an alternative title "The Pianist" would be added.

    In Lin Yuan''s presence, Ol'' Zhou flipped through the script for a while.

    After not even five minutes, Ol'' Zhou suddenly looked up at Lin Yuan and carefully said, "This film...well, it seems quite different from your last one, doesn''t it?"

    "It is different."

    Lin Yuan said, "This one is a suspense film."

    Ol'' Zhou instinctively wanted to frown but held it back, only the corners of his eyes twitched, "Why aren''t you continuing with comedy?"

    This was an obvious question.

    Anyone with a normal mindset would know that Lin Yuan should make a comedy for his new film.

    Jumping from comedy to suspense all of a sudden?

    This choice left people puzzled.

    The success of "Flirting Scholar" was already proven.

    As long as Lin Yuan made a similar film following the first one''s formula, preferably with the original cast, the box office was guaranteed to be great!

    Some high-ranking officials even wanted Ol'' Zhou to discuss a "Flirting Scholar" sequel with Lin Yuan.

    But not only was there no sequel, even the genre and style of Lin Yuan''s new script had changed!

    This simply didn''t fit with the style of the film circle.

    Lin Yuan said, "Let''s go with this."

    Lin Yuan couldn''t explain that the system simply provided him with the script for "The Pianist".

    There was no other option.

    Ol'' Zhou wanted to say more but finally nodded, "Alright, I''ll take the script back for study."

 Chapter 269 - 251: Award-Winning Movie_1

    Two days later, Old Zhou notified Lin Yuan that the script for "The Tuner" had passed the evaluation and could be put into production. The initial investment was set at ten million, the same as the previous film. However, the funding would be split between the company and Lin Yuan, with Lin Yuan holding the major decision-making power for the preparation of the crew.

    There was no resistance whatsoever.

    This was not only because Lin Yuan had already achieved success once, but also because the script for "The Tuner" immediately signified a small investment. Tossing five million for the successful Lin Yuan to make a new film with a small investment was a small matter for the company. At least no one would think anymore that Lin Yuan making films was unreliable.

    Then, there was a third reason.

    The reason was something Old Zhou discussed privately with Lin Yuan, "The film department thinks that the script for ''The Tuner'' is very creative, of high quality, and would earn money if the production is decent. However, with the current situation of mystery films, small profits are possible, but large profits are difficult. Therefore, the company hopes that your film can achieve good reviews.

    Reviews are also very important for us at Starlight. If it could win awards, even better..."

    "Hmm," was all Lin Yuan responded.

    He did not say much.

    In fact, he didn''t even know if this film would make huge profits once produced. All he knew was that the script came with a hefty price, and usually, the system''s pricey works were usually quite profitable. He hadn''t yet come across a case where a product provided by the system ended up making a loss.

    As for winning an award...

    Would the trophy be made of gold?

    With this plan set, Lin Yuan decided to first look for actors. He would inform the film department to initiate the project officially once the actor selection was complete. "The Tuner" required a male lead with high acting skills. After all, he would portray a blind man pretending to be sighted, a role with rich layers of performance.

    It was now the second half of September.

    As time went by, "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma" had quite a large reader base. The manga''s update speed accelerated with the addition of two new assistants, allowing the plot to progress quickly.

    Under the comment section of the manga,

    many people had become accustomed to addressing the main character as the Medicine King. The term "Aphrodisiac no Soma" had deeply resonated with the audience. However, there are two sides to a coin. As the manga progressed, the comment section occasionally filled with negative voices.

    "Shameless."

    "Fan service manga."

    "Poor character development."

    Fans of manga were typically young people, who were easily upset. Therefore, when the negative comments appeared, manga enthusiasts would inevitably strike back. The discourse was mainly arguments, but some rebuttals were rational.

    For instance, someone criticized the character development.

    In response, a fan named "Origin Source" commented: "The development of the main character in this manga is quite grounded compared to other cooking manga. Firstly, Yukihira''s inspiration in cooking isn''t from innate talent, but from pure contemplation and relentless attempt and exploration. Which previous cooking manga featured a main character who wasn''t naturally good at cooking?"

    This was indeed a great setting.

    Since the character is not particularly talented, the main character in this manga would lose in cooking battles. Most people tend to think that losing to a talented person is inevitable. People always cover their hearts with such excuses.

    But the male protagonist wouldn''t.

    He could bravely face his weakness, and defeat his opponents through constant learning. Of course, there are parts of the plot that seem to be leaps, but this is unavoidable in manga. However, the plot has done its best to make these leaps seem reasonable.

    As for the fan service comment,

    a user named "Sprite with Rice" responded: "For those who have read this manga, the clothes-bursting scene does not only happen to ladies, but to everyone, regardless of age or gender. Shadow treats everyone equally.

    Instead of adding clich¨¦d and deliberate plots, such as a young girl falling and inadvertently revealing a private place, it''s better to be straightforward and set a rule where clothes would burst after eating. It''s a direct way to deliver fanservice."

    Voicing out loud indeed.

    Regardless of the love or hate for this setting, at least everyone would think of "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma" when the terms "cooking" and "clothes-bursting" come up. That is a success on some level. After all, you cannot just watch anime, this is, after all, a manga.

    In the anime industry on Earth,

    due to voice acting, the voice actors'' interpretation usually doubles the embarrassment. Manga is actually fine, just as there are always some heart-throbbing scenes in novels. The level of "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma" is within the limits, and it doesn''t deliberately hide these scenes.

    Lin Yuan was not very willing to deliberately modify the original manuscript, to ensure the most authentic taste, and so he sees no big deal about the resulting controversies.

    In fact,

    those who like this manga far outnumber those who dislike it. The current data for "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma" is impressive. Just in the list of fan clubs, Silver''s alliance alone had eight fan clubs, not to mention the number of ordinary fans.

    Moreover,

    in more lists developed by Tribe Comics, such as the Tribe Recommendation List, this manga has grabbed high positions and the data seem to resemble that of a mainstream shounen battle manga.

    Because of this,

    the official Tribe account of Shadow finally broke through the 20 million follower mark. Unfortunately, this number is still far less than that of Chu Kuang and Xian Yu, whose follower counts are all in the vicinity of 60 million. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Especially the account of Chu Kuang,

    due to the ongoing popular serialization of "Ghost Blows Out the Light", the pace of gaining followers is among the top in the Tribe. This gives Lin Yuan hope for the completion of the task. After all, the goal of Chu Kuang''s pseudonym is to break 100 million followers.

    At present,

    Chu Kuang''s "Ghost Blows Out the Light" has been serialized into the third volume. With the continued swift updates, the sales have steadily increased. Jin Mu, as Lin Yuan''s agent, was already thinking about negotiating a new contract with Silver Blue Books.

    Jin Mu''s positioning is clear.

    His future position will be the shared agent of Chu Kuang and Shadow. After all, Lin Yuan''s three pen names have a great relationship, and it is not surprising for two pen names to share an agent. But Jin Mu''s performance is much stronger than that of Lin Yuan. Before, Lin Yuan stuck to the norms, while Jin Mu would think on behalf of Lin Yuan, as to how to gain more benefits for his pseudonyms.

    Lin Yuan greatly supported this.

    Expecting capitalists to voluntarily raise wages is less sensible than letting his agent fight for more benefits. This has nothing to do with morals; it is a very normal approach, especially as the costs for the system''s various works continue to rise.

    The system will not limit high consumption.

    Money is still a very necessary thing for Lin Yuan!

    .

    .

 Chapter 270 - 252: The Choice for the Male Lead_1

    "Mr. Lin..."

    In the composers'' office on the ninth floor, Shen Qing, a film producer, looked somewhat uneasy at Lin Yuan and asked, "Did you need something from me?"

    Lin Yuan stated, "I want to shoot a new film."

    Shen Qing queried, "So..."

    Lin Yuan explained, "I need a butler for it."

    Shen Qing broke into a smile. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Having collaborated on a film before, he knew all too well that the "butler" Lin Yuan referred to was a producer.

    News of Lin Yuan''s new film project had already spread within the Film Department.

    Shen Qing had some guesses as to why Lin Yuan had called him prior to the meeting.

    He was just slightly surprised.

    It was unexpected that after his clear lack of confidence in "Flirting Scholar", Mr. Lin was willing to let him continue working as the producer of his new film...

    At this moment, Shen Qing was somewhat touched.

    Of course, Shen Qing also heard that Lin Yuan''s new film was going to be a mystery, and he had no plans to continue with the nonsensical comedy genre.

    But what does that matter?

    After their previous collaboration, now no matter what kind of film Mr. Lin wanted, Shen Qing would not hesitate. All he did was raise his voice a little and said:

    "I have no problem with that."

    Before Shen Qing could finish his sentence, a burst of laughter came from outside the door. "If Mr. Shen has no issues, I surely won''t have any problem either. Just point to what you want done, Mr. Lin!"

    The speaker was none other than Yi Chenggong.

    He, along with Shen Qing, was summoned by Lin Yuan this morning. Both the producer and the director of "The Sound Mixer" were people that Lin Yuan was familiar with.

    "Director Yi."

    Shen Qing cheerfully greeted Yi Chenggong, not surprised that Lin Yuan had chosen him as the director once again.

    Although the genre of the new film differed greatly, Shen Qing was aware of Lin Yuan''s style...

    The scripts that Mr. Lin worked on were typically script-centered.

    Which meant that on Mr. Lin''s film set, the director was merely a tool. All Yi Chenggong had to do was follow the script''s demands and shoot systematically.

    "The scripts are here, why don''t both of you take a look."

    Lin Yuan distributed the newly printed scripts of "The Sound Mixer" to them.

    The two stopped talking and began reading the scripts in silence.

    In less than an hour, they finished reading the script.

    Yi Chenggong exclaimed, "The central conflict is impeccably designed."

    Shen Qing who was sitting beside him added, "The handling of the multiple twists in the script is also superb, very thought-provoking, especially the ending..."

    Shen Qing didn''t quite understand the script of "Flirting Scholar".

    But this script for "The Sound Mixer", was unequally a good story in Shen Qing''s opinion!

    His judgment was not wrong!

    Mr. Lin was very skilled in scriptwriting. Genre and theme could not limit Mr. Lin''s creativity!

    "Let''s not discuss the script for now."

    Lin Yuan stated, "I invited both of you here because I wanted to ask if there''s any actor you would recommend. I mean for the male lead."

    Lately, Lin Yuan had been selecting actors on his own.

    However, Lin Yuan wasn''t very familiar with the actors in Qinzhi, so after such a long time picking, he couldn''t find anyone suitable. He had no choice but to ask for Yi Chenggong and Shen Qing''s help.

    "Zhang Hua!"

    Shen Qing didn''t hesitate at all when he said this name, "I think Zhang Hua is very suitable to play the male lead!"

    "Mr. Shen."

    Yi Chenggong remarked frustratedly, "The total investment for the film is only ten million. Do you think we can afford the acting fee of the actor Zhang?"

    Zhang Hua is an actor from Starlight, and he has won the Best Actor award!

    And the fee and worth of a Best Actor are definitely beyond what a low-budget film could afford...

    Shen Qing replied embarrassedly, "I was just saying the candidate is quite suitable...What about Li Dongming?"

    Yi Chenggong morosely added, "Li Dongming may not be a Best Actor, but he has been nominated twice for Best Actor. He is a genuine first-rate actor in Qinzhi, and his price is also not cheap."

    "..."

    Shen Qing, unable to come up with a solution, named a few more actors.

    However, either the price was too high or the other conditions did not match, the male lead just remained undecided.

    Lin Yuan did not comment.

    Although he was not familiar with the actors in Qinzhi, he had heard of some of the actors Shen Qing mentioned as they all belong to the famous class.

    Indeed.

    At least three of them, like Zhang Hua, were worth considering, but given the film''s budget, it was really quite difficult to hire them.

    In the end, Shen Qing grew impatient and directed his gaze at Yi Chenggong, "Why don''t you suggest a suitable person?"

    Lin Yuan also looked at Yi Chenggong.

    The selection of He Sheng to star in "Flirting Scholar" was Yi Chenggong''s recommendation, which indicated that he had good judgment when it came to selecting actors.

    "I do have an actor to recommend..."

    Yi Chenggong smiled, "What about Liu Zhengwen?"

    "Liu Zhengwen?"

    Shen Qing was stunned, but immediately considered, "That might actually work, although his popularity has dropped due to an accident on set..."

    Lin Yuan asked, "Who is Liu Zhengwen?"

    He had never heard this name before.

    Yi Chenggong explained with a smile, "Liu Zhengwen was a popular actor ten years ago, but there was an accident on set, apparently a problem with the blasting which caused him to be severely injured. He had to take a two-year break from acting, and his popularity plummeted. After all, this entertainment industry has a short memory..."

    "My worry isn''t about his popularity."

    Shen Qing said worriedly, "I just don''t know what Liu Zhengwen''s current status is like. I heard that he was slightly disfigured due to his injuries..."

    If we were to consider popularity...

    He Sheng, a bit-part actor, could star in "Flirting Scholar".

    At least Liu Zhengwen had some fame which certainly put him in a better position than the prior He Sheng.

    Yi Chenggong laughed, "I''ve seen his recent works, and although they weren''t successful, his acting skills have improved since then. His face doesn''t have any issues, the surgery seems to have worked well."

    Lin Yuan said, "Then, invite him for an audition."

    "Sure."

    Shen Qing replied, "Even though Liu Zhengwen doesn''t belong to our company, given his current situation, there''s practically no chance that he would refuse our offer. I will reach out to him later. However, just in case, we should also select a few other options."

    "Okay."

    Soon, the group discussed and came up with the names of a few other potential male leads.

    After establishing the alternate choices for the male lead, Yi Chenggong suggested, "As for the female lead, we have to choose someone from within our company. The films our company invests in must have some of our employees participating. Moreover, the female lead in this film is quite important."

    Shen Qing nodded.

    For the previous film "Flirting Scholar", the female lead could simply be a pretty face, there was no need for high-level acting skills, as long as she was beautiful enough.

    However, "The Sound Mixer" was different.

    Because the female protagonist in "The Sound Mixer" wasn''t the male lead''s lover, but the important villain in the film, who was in opposition to the main character. There was a high demand for acting skills!

    This was a non-traditional female protagonist.

    Conventional female protagonists are usually in a romantic relationship with the main character. However, in the film "The Sound Mixer", the girlfriend of the male lead did not have a significant role. Her role was only to trigger and spur the plot.

    Just like that.

    The group discussed potential actresses for the other important roles in the film and outlined a selection range.

    Next, they would just have to wait for the audition.

 Chapter 271 - 253 Complete villains_1

    Three days later.

    Starlight Entertainment.

    The rather tall Liu Zhengwen and his agent were riding the elevator.

    Liu Zhengwen appeared a bit nervous, adjusting his breathing several times.

    The agent next to him reminded, "Don''t be too nervous, you''re very strong, you just lack an opportunity."

    "Don''t comfort me."

    Liu Zhengwen slightly lowered his voice and said, "Everyone lacks opportunity, there are not a few with strong capabilities, and I don''t have a huge advantage. I can only try to perform well during the audition."

    "That being said..."

    The agent went on, "I''m just a bit surprised, why are you so nervous? Although we aren''t getting many movie offers at the moment, should we be desperate enough to take on a movie with a mere ten million investment?"

    The agent was indeed puzzled.

    After receiving the script for "The Tuner", Liu Zhengwen seemed as if possessed, locking himself in the room for two days, doing nothing but researching the character -

    It had been many years since the agent had seen Liu Zhengwen take a role so seriously.

    "You''re wrong, it''s a must for me to be in this movie!"

    Liu Zhengwen became somewhat stern, "There are indeed plenty of ten million level invested films, but few of them have such a quality script!"

    Quality script?

    The agent opened his mouth to speak, but the elevator had already arrived.

    The two walked into the audition room of the film department.

    Quite a few people had already gathered in the room at this moment, men and women alike, obviously all here to audition.

    Among them, a few of the actors were familiar faces.

    Apparently, the success of "Flirting Scholar" attracted many people to Xian Yu''s new film, including some well-known actors.

    But that was it, they were just well-known.

    The most popular actor in this audition room is only a second-tier star in the industry considering the movie''s investment.

    No one was talking. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Entering the audition room, everyone became potential competitors.

    Shortly after.

    The audition started.

    The first to audition was the most important male lead.

    Liu Zhengwen was the third to enter the audition room.

    The audition was different from the last one.

    This time, only three people were in the audition room: Lin Yuan, Yi Chenggong, and Shen Qing.

    Liu Zhengwen bowed slightly and said, "Good day, teachers, my name is Liu Zhengwen, and I can play the piano¡­"

    He was very humble.

    Shen Qing glanced at Liu Zhengwen, mainly at his face.

    It was said that Liu Zhengwen had slight facial disfigurement from an accident years ago, but it seems that he had recovered very well, with virtually no scars.

    Handsome, with a mature man''s charm, such an actor portraying a pianist wouldn''t feel out of place.

    And Liu Zhengwen himself said, he can play the piano.

    The protagonist of this film is, after all, a pianist, so this is an advantage.

    He also once was a popular actor, Yi Chenggong politely smiled and said, "Let''s have Teacher Liu perform the second part of the script."

    "Sure."

    Liu Zhengwen began his performance.

    Auditioning is pretty procedural. The actors who came in basically introduced themselves briefly, allowed the auditioning teachers to examine their image, then read a line of dialogue and perform a certain scene from the script according to the interviewer''s request.

    There were no problems with the performance.

    Liu Zhengwen''s professional ability fully met the standards.

    After the performance, Lin Yuan asked, "Why do you think Ye Shen pretends to be blind?"

    This was the most critical step in the audition process, equally as important as the performance. The auditioner was expected to discuss their understanding and views on the character.

    Ye Shen is the name of the male lead, named by the System, it couldn''t very well use an Indian name.

    Shen Qing and Yi Chenggong also focused on Liu Zhengwen.

    The previous auditioners, like Liu Zhengwen, had no problem with their performance, it was their understanding of the character that was unsatisfactory.

    What will Liu Zhengwen say?

    Liu Zhengwen began, "Pretending to be blind is for a noble ideal, just as the script says, losing vision can make him more focused on his piano¡­"

    Shen Qing and Yi Chenggong frowned.

    Their response was very similar to the previous auditioners.

    However, just then, Liu Zhengwen changed his tone, "But that was only the original purpose, when Ye Shen discovered the benefits of pretending to be blind, his purpose was no longer pure, because he found that people had no guard against the blind, people seemed to easily believe that a blind pianist was truly skilled¡­ Selling his disability can win people''s sympathy.

    If a blind man can play such a beautifully composed piece, everyone seems to see how much effort Ye Shen has put into piano, see how strongly he lives for art. Thus, he received double the tips, his efforts might be real, but he''s not truly blind."

    Lin Yuan asked further, "Anything else?"

    Liu Zhengwen uttered three words, "Voyeuristic desire."

    Shen Qing and Yi Chenggong looked at each other, their expressions subtly changing.

    Liu Zhengwen continued, "In the script, there is a scene where a girl can change her clothes in front of Ye Shen with ease. This is very frightening, one can imagine that Ye Shen might not have encountered this situation for the first time. Who would guard against a blind man?

    So he could see the side of people that they wouldn''t want to reveal in front of normal people, but he still didn''t reveal this, this is his voyeuristic desire, it should excite him¡­"

    No further discussion.

    Discussing up to this point was enough.

    There were still people waiting for the audition.

    It was not until four in the afternoon that the long audition came to an end.

    Yi Chenggong was the first to speak, "There should be no doubt about the male lead''s choice, right?"

    Seems like Shen Qing knew who Yi Chenggong was referring to, "He was the only auditioner who mentioned voyeurism."

    "Let''s go with him."

    Lin Yuan made the final decision.

    Many of the people auditioning today mentioned that Ye Shen used his guise of blindness to win the sympathy of ordinary people, thus making ordinary people more appreciative of his piano skills, but Liu Zhengwen was indeed the only one who mentioned "voyeurism".

    This has already touched the realm of human nature.

    Maybe other actors also thought of this, but no one brought it up, it seemed that everyone consciously avoided it.

    In other words, everyone subconsciously did not want to admit that the male lead was a so-called villain.

    After all, from the whole script, the male lead should represent justice.

    However, in fact, Lin Yuan''s positioning of the script is very clear.

    Four words: All villains.

    "And the female lead¡­" Ying Steadman said.

    Shen Qing said, "I think Zhou Xue is not bad. There are few women actresses around forty who can maintain such good looks."

    "Agreed."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Zhou Xue is a female actress from the company, very beautiful, she was wildly popular in her youth. However, now she''s older, so it''s hard for her to find a suitable script.

    Male actors, at the age of thirty or forty can still be very popular.

    Rarely do film offers extend towards female actors after the age of thirty or forty.

    This is the general condition of female actors.

    The heroine of this film has the positioning of a venomous beauty.

    Can''t be too young, can''t be too unattractive, yet must have good acting skills. The space for choice is actually not large.

    As for the other supporting roles in this film, Lin Yuan didn''t interfere much, leaving it mostly to Shen Qing and Yi Chenggong to decide.

    Next, it was onto the formal shooting...

 Chapter 272 - 254 No One Understands Composing Better Than the Master_1

    In a world where the film industry system is perfected and developed, the preparation time for movies is inevitably not too lengthy. Of course, it''s unrealistic to believe all these preparatory work can be done within a few days.

    Hence, Lin Yuan simply took this time to take on a second apprentice.

    It was the System''s task of teaching composition.

    The second apprentice came from the composition department on the ninth floor.

    Lin Yuan picked him from the list of potential newcomers given by Gu Dong. His name was Feng Shuo.

    The reason for choosing Feng Shuo was simple...

    Because this young composer had high potential!

    He had just joined the company and had already written two exceptionally well-performing songs.

    Some even secretly referred to Feng Shuo as "Little Xian Yu," highlighting his potential.

    Remember, when Lin Yuan initially took Xue Liang as an apprentice, Xue Liang''s composition ability was just over four hundred. He was just a beginner.

    But Feng Shuo''s composition level was as high as five hundred and fifty-three!

    A score of six hundred meant you had a gold-standard ability in composition...

    With such a strong foundation, wouldn''t teaching be easy?

    No wonder seniors in the art industry prefer talented apprentices.

    Talented apprentices are easy to teach!

    Lin Yuan wanted to exploit the System loophole using his own identity. He aimed to find a rookie with the highest potential and quickly cultivate him into a gold standard composer.

    This would greatly improve the task completion efficiency.

    However, the disadvantage of talented students is their arrogance.

    Of course, Feng Shuo dared not show a rebellious attitude in front of Lin Yuan.

    Even without considering that Lin Yuan was the boss of the ninth floor, just bringing up Xian Yu was enough to suppress Feng Shuo, a young composing prodigy.

    But...

    While Feng Shuo was respectful to Lin Yuan on the surface, his thoughts were another matter.

    In summary...

    Feng Shuo was delighted that Lin Yuan wanted to take him as an apprentice!

    Don''t get me wrong.

    Feng Shuo was not happy because he could be taught by Xian Yu - he, a proud composing genius, didn''t think he could learn anything from Xian Yu.

    What made him happy was...

    Being Xian Yu''s apprentice made him the number one figure in the ninth floor''s composition department!

    Revealing his identity - my teacher is Mr. Lin - who would dare to defy?

    That was Feng Shuo''s primary goal for becoming Lin Yuan''s second apprentice.

    However, what Feng Shuo never dreamed of was...

    Before long, he would revere his own master as one would revere a god!

    This happened exactly on the first of October.

    This world has no such thing as National Day, so October 1st was just another ordinary day of the month.

    Feng Shuo walked into Lin Yuan''s office, respectfully calling him Master.

    "Okay, let''s start the lesson. This is the first class I''m going to teach you..."

    Lin Yuan began.

    As he spoke, Lin Yuan activated the "Yang Zhongming" character card, and his mind was immediately filled with vast composing knowledge.

    At the same time, the Teacher''s Halo completely enveloped Feng Shuo.

    At this point, the effect of Lin Yuan''s Teacher''s Halo was even stronger than when he was teaching Xue Liang!

    Then, Feng Shuo saw his own mentor, who seemed to have descended from heaven, seem like a different person...

    He suddenly felt a sense of innate inferiority.

    He didn''t even dare to look Lin Yuan directly in the eye as he had when he first entered the office.

    It was as if simply making eye contact with him was a form of blasphemy.

    Later...

    When Feng Shuo, who had already gained considerable standing in the composing world, was talking about his legendary tutor, he found it difficult to find precise words to describe his feelings back then.

    All he knew was that that day, he had experienced a baptism-like music composition class.

    During the lecture...

    Lin Yuan''s profound knowledge of composition left Feng Shuo utterly astounded!

    Every single simple sentence the master uttered in that class benefited him immensely, as if he were receiving an inspired enlightenment.

    When the first class after his initiation concluded, Feng Shuo felt as if he had a completely new understanding of composition!

    As a result, when Feng Shuo left Lin Yuan''s office, he was in a daze.

    All he could feel was a buzzing in his head.

    It wasn''t until someone quietly called out to him, "Junior Brother," that he snapped out of it.

    Turning his head, he stammered, "Xue... Senior Xue?"

    Xue Liang holds a high position in the composition department on the ninth floor, everyone is comfortable with him because of his status and his master-student relationship with Lin Yuan.

    "What should you call me now?"

    Xue Liang smiled and looked at the dazed junior in front of him.

    Only he knew what Feng Shuo had been through in class today; he had the same experience, and his reaction was no better than his junior''s at that time, so he did not blame Feng Shuo for his dazedness now.

    "Senior Brother!"

    Feng Shuo corrected himself. Now fully revived, his expression had become eager and desiring. He wished he could turn back and have his master teach him more.

    "You should study well with the master in the future."

    Xue Liang was the epitome of an elder brother, patting Feng Shuo on the shoulder:

    "Cherish this opportunity, once you graduate, the master won''t teach you as carefully as he does at the beginning, just like me, the master doesn''t give me much lesson now."

    Saying this, Xue Liang felt some regret and jealousy towards his junior.

    Because he wanted to continue learning and progressing with the master.

    But the master seemed to have his own thoughts, and once he graduated, he rarely interfered with him.

    So his desperate performances were intended to attract the Master''s attention. His goal was to become the Master''s pride one day!

    "Thank you, Senior Brother!"

    Feng Shuo nodded vigorously.

    If at first, upon learning that he might be taken under Lin Yuan''s wing, Feng Shuo merely viewed it as an opportunity to cling to Mr. Lin''s coattails, by this point, he had grown to hold his master as the light and direction of his career and life.

    This was genuine respect from the bottom of his heart!

    At this moment, in Feng Shuo''s heart, his master was the god of composition!

    Being chosen by the master was like winning a supernatural luck, he was blessed by the god of composition!

    Suddenly.

    Feng Shuo turned around and bowed in the direction of Lin Yuan''s office.

    Lin Yuan couldn''t see this.

    But Feng Shuo just wanted to do it that way.

    He felt ashamed of his previous ignorance and arrogance. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Because in the past, Feng Shuo fantasized about becoming Lin Yuan''s apprentice first.

    Once his future self grew up, he would surely be able to compose on par with Lin Yuan!

    Successor will surpass precursor!

    The new wave will die on the beach!

    However, after attending Lin Yuan''s class, Feng Shuo realized...

    With his own capabilities, he is not even qualified to lace up his master''s shoes!

    Perhaps in this lifetime, he would never reach the master''s stateliness!

    Xue Liang, witnessing Feng Shuo''s actions and considering Feng Shuo''s usual arrogance in the composition department, seemed to understand something.

    He chuckled and said, "My words might not be pleasant to hear ¡ª since you''ve entered the Maser''s door, you should always be aware of your image. Don''t ever think too highly of yourself, and never disgrace the Master. Otherwise, I, as your senior brother, won''t let you off easy."

    "Please rest assured, Senior Brother."

    Feng Shuo assured him, "I want to continue learning from the Master. I won''t disgrace the Master''s name. In front of the Master, I dare not consider myself important."

    At this point, Feng Shuo suddenly felt indignant.

    How dare anyone in the company refer to the master as just a "Maestro Junior"?

    Had they attended the Master''s class, they would know that the word "junior" should not exist!

    Feng Shuo''s understanding of composition told him that his master was the true Maestro!

    In this world, no one understands composition better than his master!

 Chapter 273 - 255: Adaptation of Dream Wedding_1

    Compared to Xue Liang, the eldest apprentice, Feng Shuo, the second apprentice, noticeably learned faster and was much more efficient.

    Even though his composition skills were nearing the gold level, he could still make minor progress every day after class...

    This satisfied Lin Yuan greatly.

    By mid-October, the teaching task unfolded.

    The film crew was finally ready, and the official shooting of "The Tuner" began!

    As before, during the filming process, Lin Yuan was present on set but rarely spoke.

    There was not much need for Lin Yuan''s involvement in the early shooting stages as the initial few days served for the actors and crew to get their bearings.

    However, Lin Yuan''s lessons did not stop.

    He kept teaching Feng Shuo for two hours each day, only shifting the location from the company to the film set.

    As filming got underway, Lin Yuan contacted Gu Xi.

    This took place on the third morning of the "The Tuner" shoot.

    Gu Xi, in a car, set off for the address Lin Yuan had provided.

    Behind the wheel was a woman wearing sunglasses.

    The woman, likely in her forties, asked, "Did you transfer to Qi Art because of the person we are meeting today?"

    Gu Xi replied, "Yes, Aunt Zhou. His name is Lin Yuan."

    The woman named Aunt Zhou seemed helpless: "So you''ve been following him around just because Lin Yuan wrote a good piece of music?"

    Gu Xi nodded.

    Aunt Zhou sighed, "He''s about your age. Even if he''s a prodigy, he''s no Maestro. Has he played any other impressive pieces?"

    Gu Xi thought for a moment and gently shook her head.

    She had only heard one original piece from Lin Yuan, but that piece alone was enough to leave her in complete awe.

    "So..."

    Aunt Zhou glanced at Gu Xi, "Have you considered that Lin Yuan''s piece could be a one-hit wonder? Why else would he have been to the music room so many times yet played only that one original piece?"

    "One-hit wonder..."

    Gu Xi paused, then said, "Even if it was, that doesn''t diminish the excellence of the piece."

    Aunt Zhou nodded, "I certainly believe in your judgment. His piece must be amazing if you''re still dwelling on it, but you don''t have to treat Lin Yuan like a musical god."

    "No, I''m not mistaken."

    Gu Xi insisted.

    Aunt Zhou stopped arguing and just smiled, "Well, I suppose we''ll see how great he is later. If there really is such a young Maestro in this world, you are allowed to idolize him all you want."

    Gu Xi blushed slightly, "Aunt Zhou, that''s a crude way of putting it. I''m not...

    Aunt Zhou teased, "Oh, come on. Don''t young people today use expressions like bootlicker, Ocean King, or gold digger? I do hang out on the internet... Oh, we''re here. Let''s meet the young man you''ve been talking about. I''m a composer too, so I can definitely help you judge."

    Having said that, Aunt Zhou parked the car and the two got out.

    The crew was filming ahead.

    Aunt Zhou curiously asked, "Did this Lin Yuan tell you he was going to shoot a movie? What''s his role in the crew? If he''s doing the soundtrack, he really doesn''t need to be with the crew, right?"

    Gu Xi replied, "I''m not sure¡­"

    Aunt Zhou, helpless, asked, "Then what do you know?"

    Gu Xi thought for a moment, "His name is Lin Yuan, he''s a student in our school''s music composition department."

    Aunt Zhou: "..."

    At this point, an assistant director stopped the two of them who were trying to enter the set, "Excuse me, we''re shooting right now. May I ask why you''re here?"

    Aunt Zhou replied, "We have an appointment with Lin Yuan."

    Upon hearing this, the assistant director''s serious face quickly turned enthusiastic, "So, you''re friends of Mr. Lin. Please wait a moment, and I''ll notify him immediately."

    "Thank you."

    Looking at the assistant director''s retreating figure, Aunt Zhou raised an eyebrow and remarked, "Your Lin Yuan seems to have quite a status on the set?"

    Gu Xi rolled her eyes, "He''s not mine."

    Aunt Zhou smirked, "Indeed, he''s not yours. otherwise, he would be here personally to greet us. You''ve been lingering around him for so long, yet there''s been no progress."

    Gu Xi: "..." S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Not long after, the assistant director returned, his enthusiasm seemed even more pronounced, "Please come in, Mr. Lin is waiting for you inside!"

    "Thank you."

    The two were led into a room.

    Inside, Lin Yuan was tuning a piano. Hearing a noise, he turned his head and greeted, "Hello."

    "Lin Yuan, this is my aunt, Mrs. Zhou," Gu Xi introduced the woman beside her to Lin Yuan.

    "Nice to meet you, Aunt Zhou."

    Lin Yuan greeted, showing his manners towards the elder woman.

    With a gentle smile, Aunt Zhou said, "Hello, is it Lin Yuan? I happened to be free today, so I came with Gu Xi. Don''t mind me, you two can just have your chat."

    Lin Yuan nodded, "Please, make yourself comfortable."

    Gu Xi, curiously, asked, "Why did you ask me here, Lin Yuan?"

    Lin Yuan replied, "I want you to play a few pieces."

    There are numerous scenes in "The Pianist" where the male lead plays the piano.

    Although the male lead, Liu Zhengwen, has a foundation in piano, the final presentation of the piano performance will be completed by Gu Xi. Liu Zhengwen simply has to mimic the action of playing piano-

    Of course, the melody cannot be wrong, or the keys would not match.

    Common people may not discern the discrepancy, but those who know the piano would instantly detect it.

    Just as some actors require post-production dubbing, Lin Yuan''s purpose in seeking Gu Xi was to have her dub the piano performance for Liu Zhengwen-

    This is a post-production task.

    By contacting Gu Xi now, Lin Yuan hoped she could get familiar with the pieces that would appear in the movie.

    Gu Xi said somewhat expectantly, "Are these original pieces by you, Lin Yuan?"

    Aunt Zhou, who had found a place to sit, looked curiously at Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan nodded, "The score is here. Shall I play it first?"

    Gu Xi nodded excitedly, "Yes, could you tell me the name of the piece?"

    Lin Yuan replied, "Mariage d''Amour."

    Gu Xi asked, "Is it the one I heard last time?"

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Gu Xi didn''t press further.

    As Lin Yuan sat down at the piano, he adjusted his posture slightly.

    The next moment, musical notes began to flow from his fingertips.

    A few chord groups under his right hand were like a gentle breeze and rain, then like a spring breeze brushing across his face.

    In silence, the black and white piano keys danced in harmony.

    The round and natural sound filled the entire room and space.

    The score was not that complicated, but this piece of music seemed to have a kind of enchanting power that could easily arouse emotions.

    Gu Xi softly closed her eyes.

    She was not hearing this piece for the first time, but each time, she only caught bits and pieces.

    This was the first time she was appreciating this piece fully, the amazement in her heart was the same as when she heard this piece for the first time.

    In the corner of the room.

    Aunt Zhou, who was originally a bit careless, her expression changed slightly.

    At this moment, she understood why Gu Xi valued Lin Yuan so much!

    Based on the quality of this piece alone, Lin Yuan really seemed to have the aura of a maestro, plus he was still so young...

    If he wasn''t a maestro now, what about in the future?

    At least he had the potential.

    At this moment, Aunt Zhou''s evaluation of Lin Yuan had risen quite a bit.

    Just then.

    Aunt Zhou suddenly saw Gu Xi looking at her with a smug expression, her lips moved:

    "Do you believe me now? He is the maestro!"

    Aunt Zhou understood what Gu Xi meant and couldn''t help laughing.

    This girl...

    Only after one song.

    Mariage d''Amour is indeed a very outstanding piece, but to judge Lin Yuan as having the level of a maestro based on this alone was too childish.

    It was the same old saying.

    Everyone has moments of inspiration.

    This breathtaking piece was likely the result of a lucky burst of inspiration from Lin Yuan.

    The judgment was simple.

    Lin Yuan was simply too young.

    Furthermore, as Gu Xi mentioned earlier, other than this piece, Lin Yuan had not played any other pieces.

    Doesn''t this explain everything?

    Of course, Aunt Zhou didn''t voice this out. Lin Yuan''s performance wasn''t over, it would be disrespectful to speak now.

    Finally.

    Lin Yuan finished playing.

    He looked at Gu Xi, "This is the original version of the song, but I want to make some adjustments in order to incorporate it into the film scenario. Could you give it a listen and give me your feedback?"

    Gu Xi was surprised, "You want to adapt it?"

    Lin Yuan nodded and further explained, he needed some suggestions from Gu Xi as a pianist, "Because the intention of the piece needs to fit with the style of the movie, the original style doesn''t fully match the movie."

    Piano adaptation is a normal practice.

    Any classic piano piece would have countless versions, just slight tweaks can lead to an infinite number of wonderful variations in the piece.

    "Alright."

    Gu Xi nodded in agreement.

    Upon hearing that Lin Yuan intended to rearrange the song, Aunt Zhou couldn''t help but sit upright. This provided a good opportunity to assess Lin Yuan''s actual skill level.

    Lin Yuan was oblivious to Aunt Zhou''s attention.

    He directly activated the character card of Yang Zhongming. The system didn''t allow Lin Yuan to use Yang Zhongming''s character card to do any original work, but it allowed Lin Yuan to use Yang Zhongming''s ability to modify existing piano pieces.

    For the sake of the adaptation, Lin Yuan specifically did not invite Feng Shuo for lessons today.

    He wanted to use today''s character card time for this important matter.

    Sitting back in position.

    Lin Yuan began his adaptation.

    Lin Yuan had previously tried to adapt Mariage d''Amour himself, but the result was just average. The moment he activated Yang Zhongming''s character card, Lin Yuan''s thoughts became clear.

    With the dancing of his fingers, the left-hand chords suddenly improved, occasional variations in the climax part, subtle adjustments in the phrasing, emphasized melody of small motives and etc., allowed Mariage d''Amour to exhibit a rich variety of changes.

    "Is this¡­"

    Aunt Zhou listened to the constantly transforming music, and was a bit taken aback.

    If the original Mariage d''Amour was sweetness accompanied by sadness, then now with Lin Yuan''s continuous adjustments, the piece was being endowed with countless new emotions.

    Each variation was no worse than the original!

    Even more, this seemingly impromptu continual adaptation seemed to add different flavors to the piece!

    An expert in action is instantly recognizable.

    The general public may be puzzled by Lin Yuan''s adaptation, but Aunt Zhou was getting more and more shocked as she listened!

    The adaptation was done impeccably!

    This young man, of the same age as Gu Xi, had a level of piano composition talent far more¡­

    Terrifying than Aunt Zhou had initially imagined!

 Chapter 274 - 256: A Woman Will Only Affect His Speed in Drawing the Sword _1

    Lin Yuan didn''t notice Aunt Zhou''s reaction. He was already immersed in his current state, enjoying it tremendously, he could hardly believe that he had created the arrangement for the piece...

    Well, he didn''t really.

    Yang Zhongming made the adjustments, in fact.

    Yang Zhongming''s musical composition is profound.

    Even a classic like Mariage d''Amour, he could adapt in countless ways.

    With this character card ability, it was only a matter of time before Lin Yuan found a version that was most compatible with the film!

    At the end of the piece.

    Like a poet''s dirge, the curtain slowly closed, leaving only a few lingering piano tones.

    Lin Yuan temporarily stopped playing and turned his head to Gu Xi to ask for her opinion: "Did you notice the adjustments I just made?"

    Gu Xi was stunned.

    Lin Yuan asked: "Are you listening?"

    Gu Xi came back to her senses, feeling somewhat embarrassed and awkward, with the same shock as Aunt Zhou.

    "Yeah, I noticed the changes in the adapted piece were good; the melody is very beautiful. But, I''m not sure if it fits your intended film..."

    "Let me make that call."

    Lin Yuan said, "Go ahead and familiarize yourself with the original piece first because no matter how it is adapted, it is based on the original. I don''t plan to make too many changes."

    "You mean..."

    Gu Xi''s chest rose slightly, seemingly hyperventilating: "Does that mean you can grant me the rights to play Mariage d''Amour?"

    "Of course."

    Lin Yuan said, "As I told you before, I won''t have you work for nothing, you can play this piece, but only after the film is released."

    Gu Xi''s face turned crimson instantly.

    But immediately afterward, she put her shyness aside, feeling elated, as though all her anticipation and pursuit of Lin Yuan had been well rewarded!

    "¡­."

    At the side, the initially shocked Aunt Zhou upon hearing this, her expression became somewhat complicated.

    She did not speak, just stared at Lin Yuan for a while, her eyes gradually grew more profound.

    "Indeed."

    Lin Yuan was oblivious to how his words might have come off: "Not only this piece but there are also a few others that will be in the film. I should give you a demonstration now, so you can get accustomed to it beforehand."

    With that, Lin Yuan settled down at the piano for the third time.

    The script for "The Tuner" provided by the System, included the original film''s pieces, full of Indian flavor, and the quality was pretty good.

    Although not as good as Mariage d''Amour, it was overall well done, very importantly, it had a high compatibility with the film.

    Sometimes, what suits best is the best.

    For example, you can''t possibly match an art film with music like The Fate Symphony, right?

    Only Mariage d''Amour would not be out of place, and could be seamlessly incorporated into the new film through adaptation.

    The room became quiet.

    Gu Xi listened in anticipation.

    Aunt Zhou kept her eyes on Lin Yuan.

    As Lin Yuan settled down for the third time, a new piece flowed from his fingertips shortly after.

    The piece was called "wo ladki".

    Lin Yuan had given it the Chinese name "Missing".

    It was a slow piece.

    With each group of soft twin-notes by his ears, Lin Yuan''s technique adeptly moved over the keys. The crescendo and decrescendo rhythm was calm and elegant.

    "so~"

    "la~"

    "so~"

    His hands chased each other but never overlapped or met, Lin Yuan quickened his rhythm. What Lin Yuan didn''t notice was that Aunt Zhou had already stood up from her seat, with her eyes wide open.

    Gu Xi was fixated on the score, her gaze seemingly frozen.

    In Lin Yuan''s estimation, this piece was not as good as Mariage d''Amour.

    But Lin Yuan overlooked something...

    This piece had a striking Indian style, an extremely novel musical style for the Blue Star piano circle!

    Because Blue Star didn''t have Indians.

    The Indian music style is completely different from the Chinese style, and now Lin Yuan brought this novel style to life!

    Therefore.

    When Lin Yuan played this piece, Aunt Zhou didn''t think this piece was inferior to the last one, instead, her eyes grew wider and wider, her face full of disbelief!

    "This style..."

    "Unheard of..."

    Aunt Zhou could discern it, and naturally, so could Gu Xi. Hence, Gu Xi was as shocked as Aunt Zhou. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Yet Gu Xi was quicker to accept it ¡ª because in her heart, she firmly believed that Lin Yuan truly possessed the talent of a Maestro.

    "Maestro..."

    When Lin Yuan reached the second half of the piece, Aunt Zhou subconsciously found herself uttering these words.

    Although it might seem ridiculous to associate these words with a young composer.

    But after hearing Lin Yuan''s play and arrangements today, Aunt Zhou felt that Lin Yuan truly deserved it!

    Gu Xi''s judgment was actually right!

    "It seems I can make a few changes."

    Lin Yuan suddenly found that this piece was not presented at its utmost excellence.

    The enhancement from Yang Zhongming''s character card ignited a vigorous urge to create within him!

    It seemed that Yang Zhongming''s ability, upon encountering an excellent piece, filled him with an irresistible impulse to experiment.

    So, Lin Yuan truly did revise it, it stank of improvisation.

    It still had its original Indian style, but the rhythm underwent some adjustments.

    The chord progression remained largely unchanged, but that indescribable feeling was somewhat intensified.

    "Dum¡ª"

    Lin Yuan paused as he made changes to the last few notes.

    This spontaneous decision was still not perfect. The original was already very relevant to the plot. He needed to go back and consider it more, and he had to do it while using the character card.

    "Hoo."

    He didn''t continue playing and turned to Gu Xi and said, "I have three scores here in total. I''ll give them all to you later. Once you''ve mastered them, come back to the set and we''ll finalize the version."

    "Okay..."

    Gu Xi nodded dumbly.

    Having said what he needed, Lin Yuan left the two in the room and, leveraging the effects of Yang Zhongming''s character card, made some trial adjustments and modifications.

    Only when the effects of the character card ended did he realize that Aunt Zhou and Gu Xi were still there.

    Lin Yuan apologized, "Sorry. I was a bit engrossed in my playing."

    "Don''t be!"

    Aunt Zhou''s smile was no longer as gentle as before; it now seemed to carry a burning warmth. "Were those modifications just now impromptu?"

    "Sort of."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Aunt Zhou''s face was full of admiration.

    Just then, someone called out for Mr. Lin outside. As a film scriptwriter, Lin Yuan sometimes had to deal with issues, so he could only say to Gu Xi and Aunt Zhou, "I''m leaving."

    "Then we won''t disturb you."

    Aunt Zhou pulled Gu Xi along and said goodbye to Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan nodded and handed the plot summary of "The Tuner" to Gu Xi. "This is confidential. Look it over to facilitate our discussion next time."

    But it didn''t need to be kept strictly confidential.

    Because the plot summary Lin Yuan gave to Gu Xi was quite brief, he just told her what kind of story it is, no detailed content, just reminded her to keep it confidential for precaution''s sake.

    Gu Xi nodded in response again and again.

    A few minutes later, the two returned to the car. Neither of them spoke; nor was the car started. The car was quiet.

    Eventually...

    Aunt Zhou looked at Gu Xi, her smile complex: "Do you think Lin Yuan has a girlfriend?"

    Gu Xi was confused: "What?"

    Aunt Zhou couldn''t help but get excited: "Silly girl! I mean, you should pursue him! If you become his girlfriend, you''ll be set for life. I''ve never seen such a gifted young man!"

    Gu Xi: "..."

    Aunt Zhou seemed unable to calm down her emotions: "His first piece of music was indeed at a maestro level, the second piece was a brand-new style of music. Although not as good as the first one, what''s rare is its spirituality, which is a must for a maestro!"

    "Oh?"

    Gu Xi laughed, "Aunt Zhou, you''ve finally admitted that Lin Yuan is a maestro, haven''t you? If he weren''t, why would I chase him this far."

    "Maestro..."

    Aunt Zhou murmured: "Even if he isn''t, he isn''t far off. Hey, are you sure you don''t want to be his girlfriend?"

    "Give me a break."

    Gu Xi said helplessly: "Do you think Lin Yuan, with his abilities, would lack for female admirers? Or do you think that I stand out in any way in his eyes?"

    "You''re right."

    Aunt Zhou looked at Gu Xi regretfully: "If he had the slightest interest in you, he wouldn''t have had some assistant take us in. I thought you were quite popular with boys."

    Gu Xi: "..."

    I am indeed popular!

    But is Lin Yuan just an ordinary boy?

    With a roll of her eyes, Gu Xi couldn''t help feeling a little annoyed. She felt so low in front of Lin Yuan, like a lickspittle. But the problem is, if she didn''t fawn over him, Lin Yuan didn''t appear to have any interest in dealing with her.

    That said.

    What''s wrong with being a lickspittle? She has now obtained the music piece, she is the performer of ''Mariage d''Amour'', and besides, Lin Yuan gave her some pieces in a new style, which is very beneficial for her future development and even strengthens Gu Xi''s determination to keep toadying!

    Toadying to the end!

    You get everything you need!

    While Gu Xi was pondering these things, Aunt Zhou suddenly cried out in surprise: "Turns out Lin Yuan is Xian Yu?"

    "What?"

    Gu Xi was taken aback.

    Aunt Zhou pointed out the plot summary of "The Tuner" in Gu Xi''s hand, where it said ''Xian Yu'', with ''Lin Yuan'' written in parentheses behind it.

    "So Lin Yuan has this identity too!"

    Gu Xi was very surprised, and then admired even more: "Then Lin Yuan is too amazing! Not only is he skilled at piano composition, but he is also adept at popular music and scriptwriting!"

    "You''re too weak!"

    Aunt Zhou suddenly glared at Gu Xi: "You are acquainted with such a genius but can''t nab him. If I were twenty years younger, he would definitely not escape from my palm!"

    "Aunt Zhou, stop joking!"

    Gu Xi suddenly got a bit angry: "Enough with Lin Yuan not having any interest in me, even if he were, I wouldn''t accept! Because he''s a true genius!"

    "So what?"

    Aunt Zhou looked a bit stunned.

    Gu Xi''s gaze was firm: "Women will only hinder the speed of Lin Yuan''s sword drawing. He only belongs to art!"

 Chapter 275 - 257: Spring Festival Gala Song_1

    In the following days, it was business as usual for the film crew.

    Liu Zhengwen''s acting skills were really good, as he could play both the look of the male lead pretending to be blind and the look of the male lead who was genuinely blind...

    As the director, Yi Chenggong continued to shoot strictly according to Lin Yuan''s script.

    Everything was in good order.

    However, Lin Yuan was still the representative of the composition department of the Ninth Floor, so there were always some matters he had to handle personally.

    In late October.

    On the 23rd, Lin Yuan didn''t go to the set, but came to the company''s composition department to attend a collective meeting of the Ninth Floor.

    Wu Yong was the host of the meeting.

    It should have been hosted by Lin Yuan, but Wu Yong was more familiar with the specifics of the job, so Lin Yuan let him host.

    It wasn''t only the Ninth Floor that was like this. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The composition departments on the upper floors were the same.

    After all, other than Lin Yuan, the representatives of the composition departments on the other floors were Maestros, and some Maestros didn''t even bother to show up for important internal meetings.

    The fact that Lin Yuan was willing to show up already showed a lot of respect.

    Today''s meeting was about some major matters at the end of the year in the department.

    Furthermore.

    Blue Star released a new policy at the meeting¡ª

    The highest government decided that February would no longer serve as the official Spring Festival for some continents.

    Blue Star''s official Spring Festival was January 1st.

    The Spring Festival time varies across continents.

    The Spring Festival of Qin and Qi is usually in February.

    Now Blue Star has forcibly synchronized the timeline of the holidays across all the continents.

    "This is very important for us, as it means all the major music awards will adjust their timelines and will make the competition in January and December particularly intense because one is at the start of the year and the other is at the end."

    "There''s another important piece of news."

    "The merger of Qin and Qi has been happening for almost a year. This historical decision has led to leaps and bounds in development across all industries in the merged Qin and Qi, with tangible improvements in all kinds of data. Therefore, the decision has been made to further expand the scope of the experiment. From next January, Chu Continent will join the merger of Qin and Qi!"

    "The transportation is already covered."

    "Another cultural barrier is about to be shattered. Those of you who have experienced the Qin-Qi merger should know what that means. A broader future is waiting for us!"

    "..."

    The Qin-Qi merger, now with the addition of Chu Continent, is intimately related to the lives of ordinary people, and it''s even more important for entertainment companies like Starlight.

    Because it means the competition in all industries will become even fiercer in the future!

    Even Lin Yuan was deep in thought.

    Next year, another continent will join the merger. Does this mean that he will be able to make even more money?

    "..."

    After the meeting.

    Lin Yuan returned to his office.

    Wu Yong followed him in, smiling, "There was one other thing that wasn''t mentioned at the meeting because I figured it couldn''t be solved just by an ordinary gold medal. Mr. Lin might need to take a hand."

    Lin Yuan asked, "What is it?"

    Wu Yong replied, "In celebration of the first anniversary of the Qin-Qi merger, Qin and Qi will host a joint cultural exchange event at the end of December. They will invite the ''King and Queen of Singing'' from both places to sing each others'' characteristic songs.

    In other words, our ''King and Queen of Songs'' from Qin will have to sing in Qi language, while the ''King and Queen of Songs'' from Qi will have to sing in Mandarin. This won''t be difficult for the Qi ''King and Queen of Singing'', they just have to sing in the official language. But it''s a bit tricky for our Qin ''King and Queen of Singing'', they might not be proficient in Qi language."

    Lin Yuan raised an eyebrow, "Did our company have a ''King or Queen of Singing'' get chosen?"

    Wu Yong nodded, "Our long-standing ''King of Singing'', Lan Yan was chosen. This is not only because of Lan Yan''s standing within the industry, but also because Lan Yan is one of the few big-name singers who is fairly familiar with Qi language. So the company is taking this matter very seriously. The composition departments within the company are all working to write for Lan Yan.

    I was thinking because you, Representative Lin, have experience in composing songs in Qi language, so..."

    "Oh."

    Lin Yuan didn''t give a definite answer.

    These official projects, even for the ''King and Queen of Singing'' level singers, are valuable opportunities.

    Therefore, the importance of this song is very high.

    Wu Yong hopes that he can represent the Ninth Floor Composition Department, submit a song, and try to get it released for this special occasion.

    "..."

    Seeing Lin Yuan''s lukewarm attitude, Wu Yong was nervously saying, "If we get this opportunity, it will be of great significance to Representative Lin. Due to the high requirements for this song, the company has announced that if the song is ultimately chosen, there will be an additional reward of three million. While the money may not be much..."

    "I can try."

    Lin Yuan suddenly said.

    Wu Yong was stunned. He had prepared a lot more arguments to persuade Lin Yuan to give it a shot. He didn''t expect that Lin would agree to try before he had hardly begun.

    He was immediately excited, "It''s great that Representative Lin can participate!"

    Lin Yuan asked, "Are there any specific requirements?"

    Wu Yong eagerly explained, "Actually, there aren''t many specific requirements, just as long as it''s catchy and positive. For example, an inspirational song would be good. The specific choice will depend on Lan Yan''s consideration. The most important thing is that it can be well received by the Qi audience."

    "Hm."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Looking at these requirements, they didn''t seem difficult for him.

    However, Lin Yuan also understood that sometimes, the simplest requirements can be the most difficult.

    Because it means the competition will be even fiercer.

    Songs that are inspirational, that have positive lyrics...

    There are too many of these kinds of songs!

    Because there are so many of these kinds of songs, it''s extremely difficult to stand out!

    "By the way."

    Wu Yong said, "If this song is chosen, in addition to competing in the December season, it may also be performed at the Spring Festival Gala after the Qin-Qi merger. I''m talking about the event on the night of December 31st. So some people predict that this gala''s viewership will break records, as audiences from both Qin and Qi will be watching."

    Wu Yong was indirectly reminding him of just how important this song was.

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Wu Yong chatted with Lin Yuan for a while longer before leaving.

    After Wu Yong left, Lin Yuan called up the System.

    Given the background of the Qin-Qi merger, the importance of the first Spring Festival Gala is self-evident. This might be an opportunity to make a killing, so he was going to start customizing a song.

    "Qi language..."

    "Inspirational..."

    "Positive..."

    "Upbeat..."

    Perhaps that''s the song he can try?

 Chapter 276 - 258 Chu Continent Characteristics_1

    "Customize the song, ''Under the Red Sun''."

    After browsing through the system music library for half an hour, Lin Yuan eventually chose the song which first came to his mind¡ª

    Hacken Lee''s ''Under the Red Sun''!

    Actually, there are quite a few inspirational songs or meaningful songs in Cantonese, but Lin Yuan knows the importance of this song selection, so he chose one of the most influential Cantonese songs, considering one thing:

    The singer''s style.

    The performer of this song has already been decided, it''s Lan Yan, one of the kings of singing in Starlight. Lin Yuan, as a native Qin person, is quite familiar with this veteran singer, including a relatively clear concept of the singer''s vocal range and tone.

    Other songs may be suitable in terms of content and melody.

    But when considering the content, melody and the singer''s unique style, ''Under the Red Sun'' is the best choice.

    "Ding Dong."

    The system responded: "Please confirm again, are you willing to spend three million to customize the song ''Under the Red Sun''?"

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    Can I say I''m unwilling?

    Has the system started to raise the price of songs to this extent?

    Although ''Under the Red Sun'' is indeed a classic...

    But...

    My money didn''t just fall from the sky!

    The three million was a company reward for me, and now you''re taking it all...

    Well, right.

    I''ll actually profit from this.

    With enough discernment, Lin Yuan knew that a song like ''Under the Red Sun'' is a song that people love to hear.

    With the promotion of the Spring Festival Gala, the bonus of being sung by the king of singing, and the factors of the times, the number of downloads this song will get in the future is worth looking forward to!

    It doesn''t matter if the people of Qin land are not familiar with the songs in Qi language.

    It''s not important.

    Because in the world, there are some songs that can break through language barriers, which everyone will love, even if they don''t understand the lyrics!

    Who doesn''t have a few favorite foreign language songs?

    What''s more...

    The gap between Qi language and Mandarin is not very big. Many pronunciations in ''Under the Red Sun'' can actually be understood, even if you don''t understand Qi language, you can still grasp the general idea.

    How to say?

    The system has become clever, and the pricing of each work takes my real situation into account.

    In other words...

    If this song isn''t given such important significance at the moment, perhaps Lin Yuan could have secured the work at a lower price.

    The system pricing this song at three million now, can be accused of jacking up the price.

    Perhaps in the future, I can consider stockpiling some songs, and when needed, I can take them out directly.

    This way, the system wouldn''t be able to take advantage of me.

    This sort of temporary customization is just falling into the system''s trap.

    However, the randomness of stockpiling songs in advance is relatively high.

    Everything has two sides.

    Is it possible that the songs I''ve hoarded might not be used or meaningless?

    He released a deep breath.

    Lin Yuan said: "Confirm."

    System: "Customizing for you... customizing... please wait..."

    One minute later.

    The song customization was successful.

    Lin Yuan listened to it, it was Hacken Lee''s version of ''Under the Red Sun''.

    Many people have covered this song, but Ol'' Li sings it with the most flavor.

    After confirming that there were no errors...

    Lin Yuan didn''t immediately contact Wu Yong and the company; otherwise, this production speed would be too insanely fast. You can''t always say that you''re prepared in advance, right?

    It''s best to wait some time before bringing it up.

    ...

    After customizing the song, Lin Yuan went online to check on Chu Continent''s situation. Each continent has its own characteristics, so what would be the characteristic of Chu Continent?

    As a result, Lin Yuan almost got a virus when he checked.

    Why does a search for Chu Continent bring up a lot of strange things?

    It seems like the computer has become sluggish...

    Culture Wall?

    No, this isn''t a culture wall, these websites just have some issues.

    But looking at the internet, it seems...

    Does Chu Continent also favor films?

    Like Qi Continent in the past?

    There are things like infantry and cavalry films listed on the websites, and there are a bunch of inexplicable asterisks....

    Are these related to war?

    Where did these professional terms come from?

    Ah, it should be porn, right?

    Looking at many sultry character images on the website, Lin Yuan vaguely understood the meaning.

    Not just that...

    In Chu Continent, besides the flourishing porn industry, the level of animation production is also one of the best in Blue Star.

    If we say that Divine Wings is the top animation company in Qin-Qi, then Chu Continent has at least dozens of animation companies of the same level as Divine Wings!

    And they''re doing even better!

    Some animations imported from Chu Continent often dominate the rankings!

    Although Qi land is also good at film and television, Qi Continent primarily focuses on live-action film and television.

    While Chu Continent, on the other hand, primarily focuses on the development of animation!

    Perhaps the number of introverted males and females in Chu Continent ranks first in the world?

    Lin Yuan had a certain concept.

    After the integration of Chu Continent into Qin-Qi, the industry that will undoubtedly be the most impacted is probably Qin-Qi''s animation industry.

    But other industries won''t have it easy either.

    Having experienced a Qin-Qi merger, Lin Yuan can predict that after the inclusion of Chu Continent, all industries will undergo some unpredictable future changes.

    But this is good news for Lin Yuan.

    Becuase songs, films, novels, etc., these works have a wider audience range in the future!

    It''s easier to make money!

    Although making money might lead to changes such as purchasing power, these involve quite professional economics, something Lin Yuan wasn''t particularly concerned about. After all, Blue Star is a whole unit.

    On the Internet...

    Obviously, some people have smelled the news, knowing that Chu Continent might join the merger next year, and many netizens are already discussing it.

    "Watching movies will be more convenient in the future!"

    "Chu Continent is definitely the place that males from all provinces want to merge the most!"

    "Don''t talk nonsense upstairs, as an old man from Qin land, I want to merge with Qi Continent the most. Aren''t Qi Continent''s games fragrant?"

    "I feel that the film-selling industry will be greatly impacted, their films are becoming outdated."

    "Ahem, I can''t bear to see my peers losing money. How about I buy some films at a low price? Any film seller interested can contact me."

    "Brother, lend me one for a chat."

    "The animations from Chu Continent are really good. I remember that Chu Continent''s ''The Bible of Light'' can be regarded as the enlightening work of my animation journey!"

    "Brother, you''re strange."

    "Nah, my friend wants to watch."

    "..."

    Since it has developed to the point where many netizens know, it indicates that the news of Chu Continent joining the merger is basically nailed on the board. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Some people even speculate.

    In the future, a new province will join the merger every one or two years. Even in the later stages, there may be instances where several provinces are simultaneously incorporated.

    "Now, every major province is probably preparing for a future merger."

    Lin Yuan did not join the discussion.

    He suddenly remembered something.

    It seems that ''King of the Net'' is about to be adapted into an animation, probably airing in January of next year. Will it be affected by Chu Continent?

    Since Chu Continent''s animation is very developed...

    Can my ''King of the Net'' compete?

    ---

    Ps: I''m a bit drowsy writing today, so the update will be a bit shorter. I will make up for it tomorrow with an update of over 10,000 words!

 Chapter 277 - 259: Whats Done is Done_1

    Chu Continent has yet to be incorporated, so pondering these issues now is pointless. The animation rights of "King of the Net" have been sold to Divine Wings to produce. The original story is excellent, so it now depends on the production level of the producer...

    As Lin Yuan is lost in thought.

    A noise comes from outside the door.

    It turns out that Ol'' Zhou has come over.

    When Ol'' Zhou came in, Wu Yong, who had just left Lin Yuan''s office not long ago, was with him. For some unknown reason, Wu Yong looked somewhat embarrassed.

    "Director."

    Lin Yuan greeted.

    Without him saying more, Gu Dong, the small assistant who was always on duty at Lin Yuan''s door, skillfully brewed tea for these bosses. Ol'' Zhou straightforwardly said, "You don''t need to worry about Lan Yan''s song."

    "Hmm?"

    Lin Yuan was stunned.

    I''ve already taken off my pants...

    I''ve tailored a song and spent three million for it, and now, you''re telling me not to worry?

    "It''s my fault."

    Wu Yong on the side sheepishly said: "Although we''re colleagues with some composers upstairs, there is some competition, so I secretly thought about taking up the job of completing the song the company needed this time, so that our Ninth Floor could gain some fame. But I didn''t anticipate that Maestro would take up this job¡­"

    "Don''t play smart next time."

    Ol'' Zhou glared at Wu Yong unhappily: "This song will be released in December!

    December is generally considered the battle of the gods, and now December has been officially changed to the end of the year, there will be more Kings of Singing this year than ever before, and the song, which carries the significant meaning of musical exchanges after the fusion of Qin and Qi, do you think the company keeps these Maestros for nothing?"

    Wu Yong was shivering.

    If Maestro takes action, even Lin Yuan might be helpless, not to mention people at the level of King of Singing, even an ordinary singer should know how to choose.

    If it weren''t for Zhou Ruiming''s reminder, Wu Yong almost caused Lin Yuan to waste his precious time.

    "..."

    Lin Yuan roughly understood.

    Perhaps the song was too important this time, so the company sent Maestro to handle it, and no matter what he did, it would be in vain¡ª

    That''s what others think.

    Ol'' Zhou also expressed his thoughts:

    "It''s the end of October now, and the song will definitely be released in December, there''s less than forty days for creation. You still have a film to shoot, how will you have time to write a song? Maestro doesn''t release many songs but has accumulated work, so this job has been accepted by Zheng Jing. You should know Teacher Zheng Jing, right?"

    "Yes."

    Lin Yuan nodded. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan''s only contact with a Maestro was Zheng Jing, the only female composer of Starlight at the Maestro level. When he had just joined the company''s composing department and entered the composing group, he had a brief chat with her.

    "Thankfully, it''s still early, and you haven''t started creating, otherwise Wu Yong would really have wasted your time."

    Ol'' Zhou glared at Wu Yong again, then looked at Lin Yuan and smiled: "You focus on shooting your film first, the company is counting on this film for reputation."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    In old Zhou''s eyes, he came timely, as soon as he received the news from Wu Yong, he came to stop Lin Yuan.

    But Ol'' Zhou couldn''t guess that within this very short time, Lin Yuan had already prepared the song!

    Since the song is ready, ask Lin Yuan to let it go now?

    Impossible.

    If it were any other song, encountering Maestro would have really made Lin Yuan doubtful and consider giving up.

    Because Lin Yuan has Yang Zhongming''s character card and has personally experienced it countless times, so he knows very well how terrifying Maestro can be.

    But the song Lin Yuan tailored this time is "Red Sun!"

    If songs were graded, "Red Sun" would definitely be a top-tier song!

    This level of song is not something that can be easily composed by a Maestro!

    This conclusion is also drawn by Lin Yuan based on the use of Yang Zhongming''s character card.

    Ol'' Zhou did not know Lin Yuan''s thoughts.

    He continued talking: "If you encounter any difficulties in filming, you can tell me. I am not trying to discourage you. The company has its own plans for the event song, and you joining the creation would be unnecessary, because the Kings of Singing from other companies will also use songs from Maestros, after all, this is a special time point of the Qin and Qi first year anniversary..."

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan did not argue for reason.

    No matter what Ol'' Zhou says, I''ve already paid for the song anyway.

    When the time comes, I''ll give the song to Lan Yan and let him choose. Even the song "Red Sun" is not afraid of the Maestro''s action.

    After Ol'' Zhou left.

    Wu Yong said sullenly: "Leader, I apologize for my faulty consideration. This December indeed is the war of the gods, there must be Kings of Singing going down the stage, and there must be a Maestro creating in the background..."

    The company highly approves of Lin Yuan''s songwriting ability.

    But the highest position the company gives to Lin Yuan is only "Maestro Junior".

    He is much stronger than the regular gold medalists, but he still falls far from Maestro.

    This means that in the company, or in the entire industry, Lin Yuan only has the potential to become a Maestro in the future.

    Lin Yuan nodded, but wasn''t resentful.

    Including the system, if using cheats, Lin Yuan might be the most powerful Maestro in Blue Star.

    But if not using cheats, Lin Yuan''s real level indeed can''t compare with Maestro.

    Lin Yuan asked a question he was more concerned with: "Just now, did Director Zhou say that it''s not just our company''s King of Singing who will attend the anniversary event?"

    "Yes."

    Wu Yong adjusted his mood and said: "Speaking of which, the other King of Singing from our Qin land who will participate in the anniversary event has quite a connection with you."

    "Who?"

    "Dazzling Entertainment, King of Singing, Fei Yang."

    Lin Yuan paused: "The one Chen Zhiyu met last time..."

    Lin Yuan occasionally pays attention to these news, naturally knowing about Chen Zhiyu and Fei Yang''s season competition incident.

    "Yes."

    Wu Yong couldn''t help but laugh: "Perennial Runner-up knocked down the old King of Singing, the news was quite big at that time, but the song "Change Myself" was indeed of high quality, and with the official endorsement, so we won. If it were not for this time that Maestro took action, I think we really have a chance to win over Fei Yang again."

    Lin Yuan said: "Fei Yang will also use a song from Maestro?"

    Wu Yong nodded: "This is what Director Zhou told me. Fei Yang''s work this time is created by Maestro, which is why we have to arrange for Maestro to take action on our side."

    "Oh."

    Lin Yuan took a sip of tea.

    Wu Yong took leave: "Then I''ll leave first, I''m really sorry about this..."

    "It''s nothing."

    After Wu Yong left, Lin Yuan thought for a while, pressed the blue button on the upper right corner of the office desk, which was a communication device.

    "Come in for a second."

    This device connects to Gu Dong outside and allows real-time voice communication.

    Gu Dong quickly came in and respectfully said: "Leader, what can I do for you?"

    Lin Yuan thought for a while and said: "Remember to contact Lan Yan in two weeks."

    He is now the representative of the Ninth Floor composing department, and it is not difficult to contact the company''s top singer.

    Gu Dong was surprised: "Didn''t Director Zhou say..."

    Gu Dong had also heard some of the conversation when Zhou Ruiming and Wu Yong came in just now.

    Lin Yuan rarely smirked: "What''s done is done."

 Chapter 278 - 260 Zheng Jing_1

    Two weeks later, Lan Yan arrived at the company.

    As one of Starlight''s Kings of Singing, Lan Yan had a private resting space, somewhat similar to a senior manager''s office.

    The room was spacious and equipped with a treadmill.

    At this moment, Lan Yan was running on the treadmill, drenched in sweat, but showed no intention of stopping.

    Lan Yan believed that a singer needed a healthy physique to sing better, so he always paid attention to his fitness.

    Lan Yan''s manager was nearby, picking up a camera and taking a few photos of Lan Yan.

    These photos could later be posted to the online Tribe as interaction with the fans.

    At that moment. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The manager received a phone call. After a brief conversation, his face abruptly turned peculiar.

    He walked up to the treadmill and said, "Teacher Admirable Fish''s assistant called, he has written a song for you."

    "Click."

    Lan Yan quickly hit the stop button, trotted slowly for a moment due to inertia, then wiped off his sweat with the towel around his neck:

    "Teacher Admirable Fish?"

    As a rising composer in the company, Lan Yan was naturally familiar with Xian Yu. He had even considered the possibility of collaborating with him at some point.

    Within the company.

    Even at the level of Kings and Queens of Singing, it wasn''t possible to always get Maestro''s involvement.

    So, composers like Xian Yu were already worth the attention of the Kings and Queens.

    "Yes, for the anniversary event."

    The manager was a bit puzzled, "The company definitely notified Xian Yu, he should be aware that Teacher Zheng Jing took this job. So, what does it mean that he still wrote a song..."

    Lan Yan laughed, "It means he is unconvinced by the Maestro."

    The manager was taken aback, but then he realized it made sense. "Teacher Admirable Fish, said to still be a student, has achieved such results and holds a company position equal to the Maestros. It''s inevitable he has some arrogance like the Maestros, but he doesn''t understand how formidable the Maestro is."

    Lan Yan replied, "It''s only human nature. I believe Xian Yu will become a Maestro in the future, so we should take good care of him."

    The manager nodded, "Then let''s go to the ninth floor''s music composition department."

    Lan Yan agreed.

    Everybody being in the same company, if the other party were a typical composer, they would definitely come to see Lan Yan. However, since it was Xian Yu, Lan Yan would take the initiative to go see him.

    It''s not that Xian Yu had a higher status than Lan Yan.

    Regarding their current status, Lan Yan and Xian Yu were fairly equal, and even if Xian Yu had the upper hand, Lan Yan was after all also a King of Singing.

    Moreover, this time, it was Xian Yu who took the initiative to write a song for Lan Yan.

    But what makes Xian Yu impressive is that he is very young, and no one can assure how far he will go in the future.

    For this reason, Lan Yan didn''t want to offend Xian Yu.

    On their way to the ninth-floor music composition department, the manager reminded Lan Yan, "Even if you reject using Xian Yu''s song as the anniversary piece, be sure to relay it gently, so they don''t think we don''t appreciate their song."

    Lan Yan nodded, "I''m aware of that."

    They haven''t interacted with Xian Yu before, so they don''t know what his personality is like.

    But considering Xian Yu''s age, young people tend to be sensitive. For such a young representative of the music department, it''s necessary to respect their feelings.

    They entered the elevator.

    Suddenly, Lan Yan chuckled, "Besides, I don''t plan on rejecting it. The quality of the song Xian Yu wrote won''t be bad. It''s just that this song cannot be released in December."

    The manager also started laughing.

    Lan Yan''s thought was the same as his, Xian Yu''s song certainly wouldn''t be bad, it would definitely be worth singing. However, the song that will be released this December needs to participate in the anniversary event of the QinQi merger. The song for the event has to be the best one!

    ...

    Gu Dong entered Lin Yuan''s office, "The representative, Lan Yan and his manager said they would arrive soon. Should we contact Teacher Zheng Jing as well to avoid her feeling upset?"

    "In that case."

    Lin Yuan asked, "How can she be pleased then?"

    Gu Dong was taken aback for a moment, and suddenly realized, the question was indeed something Lin Yuan would ask.

    She chuckled, "You just need to call and explain a little."

    "Alright."

    Lin Yuan asked, "Do you have her number?"

    Gu Dong replied, "Teacher Zheng Jing is now a representative of the tenth floor''s composition department, you have the authority to look up her number."

    Lin Yuan nodded, logged into the company''s backend, and indeed found Zheng Jing''s phone number.

    Without pondering too much.

    Lin Yuan dialed it straight away.

    On the other end of the call, a mature female voice responded, "Who is this?"

    "Admirable Fish, hello, Teacher Zheng Jing."

    Lin Yuan introduced himself using his composer''s name.

    Zheng Jing''s voice had a hint of surprise, "So, it''s you. What can I do for you?"

    Lin Yuan straightforwardly said, "I want to try for the song selection for the QinQi merger anniversary."

    Gu Dong, "...."

    She really wanted to help Lin Yuan explain. Since Lin Yuan didn''t beat around the bush, she should have guided him on what to say earlier.

    However, given the representative''s personality, her suggestion would have been useless anyway.

    The representative was naturally poor with social interactions.

    There was a few seconds of silence on Zheng Jing''s end before she asked, "Are you confident?"

    Lin Yuan replied, "Sort of."

    He wasn''t entirely sure, but judging by the quality of this song, it was more than enough.

    Zheng Jing added, "You''re on the ninth floor, aren''t you? I''m currently at the company, do you mind if I come over and have a listen?"

    Lin Yuan replied, "Sure."

    Zheng Jing laughed, "Seems like you are really confident. To be honest, I''m not even this confident. The composer that Splendid brought in is very skilled."

    Lin Yuan, "Oh."

    Zheng Jing laughed again, "By the way, I have a question, was the song ''Changing Myself'' really about the QinQi merger?"

    "No."

    Regarding Zheng Jing, Lin Yuan had no intention of hiding the truth. In fact, he never thought about hiding it.

    But he was also certain he wouldn''t go about broadcasting it since the company has already defined the song''s context, how could he publicly undermine it?

    "Hahahaha..."

    Zheng Jing seemed to have hit upon her laughter point, she laughed heartily, slightly inexplicably excited, "Just as I guessed!"

    After the laugh.

    Zheng Jing added seriously, "But this is the magic of music."

    "Yes."

    "Alright, I''ll hang up now, I''m almost there."

    "Okay."

    After hanging up, Lin Yuan quietly waited.

    In no time, Lan Yan and his manager arrived.

    "Teacher Admirable Fish, how do you do..."

    Lan Yan was about forty years old, not very tall, just over one and a half meters. His face was not bad, giving people a sense of health and Sunlight.

    "Hello."

    Lin Yuan got up and shook the visitor''s hand, and also greeted his manager.

    Just at that moment.

    Noise came from outside the office.

    It turned out that Zheng Jing had arrived as well.

    Upon seeing Zheng Jing, Lan Yan and his manager were stunned for a moment, then promptly greeted her. One small detail was, their attitude towards her was even more enthusiastic than towards Lin Yuan.

    "No need to be polite, we are all here to listen to songs."

    Zheng Jing said with a beaming smile, then fixed her gaze on Lin Yuan, her eyes visibly brightening:

    What a handsome lad!

 Chapter 279 - 261: ImpressiveÂ·Act_1

    This was the first time Lin Yuan had met Maestro in person.

    Zheng Jing was around the same age as Lan Yan, probably in her early forties. She might not be considered particularly beautiful, but she had an indefinable aura that inadvertently attracted attention.

    "Even though it''s our first meeting..."

    Zheng Jing said with a smile to Lin Yuan, "I''ve listened to all your songs."

    Lin Yuan said, "Thank you, please have a seat."

    Lan Yan and his manager sat down.

    Zheng Jing also took a seat on the couch, "But if you want to compete with me, you''ll have to show me your real talents."

    "Well, let''s see about that."

    Lin Yuan motioned for Gu Dong to turn on the sound system.

    The speakers in Lin Yuan''s office were worth more than a hundred thousand. Once the door was closed and the room sealed, the sound could be immaculately presented.

    "Is it a sample?" Zheng Jing leaned against the couch and asked.

    Lin Yuan said, "It''s already a complete arrangement. It was recorded with synthetic sound. The effect is not as good as the human voice, that''s the reason I need a si¡­ singer."

    Zheng Jing raised her eyebrows inquisitively.

    Had he written the song in advance?

    Normally, it takes time to compose a song. After all, news of the anniversary celebration had only come out less than a month ago.

    Lan Yan exchanged a look with his manager, a hint of resignation in his eyes.

    Initially, it was awkward enough to have to reject Xian Yu.

    And now, to do so in front of Zheng Jing, wouldn''t that be even more embarrassing?

    What if Xian Yu harbored a grudge against them?

    And really, why had Teacher Zheng Jing made a special trip here¡­

    Was she here to embarrass Xian Yu in person?

    "The song is about to play. It''s called ''The Red Sun''."

    Unaware of the thoughts in everyone''s minds, Lin Yuan clicked the play button and a surge of magnanimous electronic melody filled the room.

    "AH... AH... AH~"

    The bass was loud, interspersed with guitar riffs and powerful drum beats, and the chord progression wasn''t complex.

    Zheng Jing still leaned against the couch, quietly savouring the music.

    Meanwhile, Lan Yan listened attentively, his hands tightly clasped together.

    As the drumline hit the last note, a synthetic sound suddenly burst forth as if perfectly timed, like the most precise metronome, slightly raising the temperature within the room:

    "Even if destiny causes me to drift, even if destiny is filled with twists and turns, even if destiny frightens you, life is not interesting."

    "Don''t shed sad tears or give up, I wish to be with you for a lifetime."

    Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding!

    It was as fierce and intense as chambering rounds in a gun!

    The lyrics, depicted through electronic music, were delivered at such a rapid speed that Lan Yan tightened his grip on his hands as soon as he heard it as though he was holding something precious. His knuckles turned white around the edges.

    It''s explosive!

    Zheng Jing''s expression immediately turned serious. The intro was so powerful that it grabbed your attention in a split second.

    Sharp and swift!

    Like a spark in the dark!

    Only someone who is extremely confident of the chorus would put it at the beginning. And, as a matter of fact, the chorus of this song was incredibly powerful. Even Zheng Jing had to admit it as her pupils contracted. But by doing so, it undeniably raised her expectations for the verse of the song.

    "Holy crap!"

    The only one in the room who didn''t understand music was probably Lan Yan''s manager. However, the person who knew the least about music was also the most excited in the room!

    At this moment.

    Lan Yan''s manager''s eyes were wide open, his legs were shaking uncontrollably. It seemed like he wanted to stand up, but he was afraid of causing a scene, so he forcefully held himself back as goosebumps formed on his skin.

    "In the course of life, the many twists and turns, the fear and indecisiveness, sitting alone in a corner feeling helpless."

    "In some year, the younger me tripped and shed many tears on a rainy night."

    The verse came after the chorus.

    But the verse did not lose its shine to the chorus, instead, it added an element of narrative to it.

    Lan Yan suddenly let go of his clenched fists, his forehead bobbing, each beat syncopated with the rhythm.

    At this moment.

    It seemed his heartbeat danced to the melody of the song.

    "In life, many bends and turns I have to go through. From some time, I have you with me, giving me the heated applause

    Like the fire of the red sun, igniting the real me. Even mountains, I will surely cross¡­"

    Bridging the gap between the main and the chorus!

    A seamless transition!

    The verse that did not disappoint, set Zheng Jing''s heart racing.

    At some point, her body had already leaned forward from the back of the couch, and her ears even twitched a few times.

    The tone of the steel-plate piano.

    A pipe organ''s melody.

    The exquisite blend of musical tones.

    The song then moved into its final transition stage, known in professional terms as the bridge, which connected the main song and the chorus, encapsulating the listeners'' feelings and creating a new atmosphere:

    "Let the night wind gently take us along, bringing us the tranquil scent of flowers as if blessing us."

    "Let the stars twinkle softly, reflecting every one of your hopes, like the spray of waves about to drench me."

    "Oh~"

    And then the chorus kicks in again!

    Lan Yan sat upright, his feelings stirred as the waves crashing against the shore. In front of him, countless long-gone years seemed to unfurl, mirrored in his eyes were the storms and rains of yesteryears.

    Those were the sleepless nights of his professional career.

    And the resounding speeches after claiming his successes.

    He felt as if he was standing at the peak of a mountain.

    He wanted to shout at the top of his lungs:

    I am the rising sun, rising bit by bit! S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Time hasn''t aged, but the journey has been arduous.

    The sound of a music box echoed during the bridge like a wind chime.

    It not only played back the echoes of Lan Yan''s youth, but also brought back the stern-faced Zheng Jing to her past.

    There were essential things about humanity that were often the simplest.

    What could move human hearts was sometimes as simple as a few common words.

    There''s nothing more than hard work and struggle.

    It''s all about persistence and never giving up.

    It''s about not bowing your head to so-called fate.

    But it is these words that people often utter yet find hard to live by. That''s why people celebrate and praise it.

    This is a simple representation of these elements in the music, but it goes straight to the heart.

    " ????????... "

    In the room, the music floated, as if countless notes were diffusing.

    The integration of voices seemed to be expressing a resistance against fate and a yearning for the future. That emotion seemed to spread with the notes.

    Lin Yuan was also listening in silence.

    However, he saw some slight regrets in the recording of the electronic sound.

    This song needed an immense amount of passion; it needed the singer to truly let loose. That''s why the current version of the song wasn''t very good.

    This was indeed the importance of the singer''s recording session.

    A good song also needed a good voice to express it, so as to bring out its full potential.

    However.

    The current state of the song was enough because everyone present was a professional and they knew the standards of the song.

    The only non-professional, Lan Yan''s manager, was so thrilled that his scalp tingled!

    His body swayed with the rhythm.

    He was completely controlled by the music.

    However, not understanding the professional evaluation, he simply summed up his gut feeling about the song in two words:

    "Awesome!"

 Chapter 280 - 262: Maestros Standard_1

    "Awesome!"

    That''s what Lan Yan''s agent was thinking, and what he was saying, of course, after the song ended.

    However, this description seems quite out of place, so he coughed awkwardly and said,

    "Sorry, I''m a bit emotional. This song is just too great!"

    Zheng Jing smiled, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Lin Yuan,

    "Using the chorus as the beginning, boldly stepping forward in several consecutive progressions, the span is low but the effect of the tune is quite distinctive, it can catch the audience''s ears at the fastest speed. The natural utilization of variations and needle-threading techniques after that.

    The few big jumps plus the natural and melodious transition at the end, and the strict repetition used in the conclusion. Despite the song''s climax coming one after another, it doesn''t make people feel tired... Hmm, indeed awesome."

    "???"

    Lan Yan''s agent was dumbfounded.

    What''s the difference between what you and I are saying?

    Isn''t it all awesome?

    Lan Yan:"..."

    He felt that his own assessment would be redundant, so he simply echoed,

    "Awesome!"

    After saying that, Lan Yan and his agent looked at each other, their emotions becoming complicated.

    Originally, they intended to reject Xian Yu''s song.

    Normally, no one would refuse Xian Yu''s song, and even would accept it with pleasure, including the King and Queen of Singing.

    But this is a song for the anniversary celebration after the merger of Qin and Qi, it has official endorsement, it will make the Blue Star news, plus the renowned Battle of the Gods in December is always intense, Lan Yan has to play the safest and most effective card!

    Because this song is really important!

    They thought that this card would be one from the company''s Maestro, Teacher Zheng Jing.

    In this industry.

    Below the gold standard, there are both strong and weak composers, but Maestro is the source and answer to all music problems!

    Even people who don''t understand music know what choice to make.

    However, after listening to this song "Red Sun," Lan Yan incredibly began to doubt something he had never doubted before--

    Can Zheng Jing''s song be better than this one by Xian Yu?

    No, this is no longer a mere doubt, but it''s approaching certainty:

    Zheng Jing''s song probably won''t be as good as this one!

    Maestro is the answer to all music questions because Maestro''s works are always the best, but the essence of the problem returns to the work¡ª

    Lin Yuan is not a Maestro, but perhaps he has outdone himself this time.

    In short, "Red Sun" is a work worthy of a Maestro!

    This also aligns with Xian Yu''s "Maestro Junior" status.

    Being able to write a work of this level, it''s unexpected, but it also makes sense.

    Otherwise, why would everyone say Xian Yu has the potential to be a Maestro?

    Even for the Maestro, it''s not easy to come up with a song like this!

    As a singer at the King level, Lan Yan still has this level of judgment.

    Didn''t you see?

    Even Zheng Jing herself was stunned, giving the plain and simple assessment: "Awesome".

    What can be done now?

    "Red Sun" is certainly a song Lan Yan wants, he''s even somewhat eager for it.

    But before he was just thinking about how to tactfully reject Xian Yu, yet now the situation has reversed.

    He''s actually starting to worry about how he''s going to reject Zheng Jing next...

    Oh my God!

    Rejecting the Maestro!

    Lan Yan never dared to think about it before!

    Of course, it''s not a total rejection.

    If Zheng Jing''s song is not as good as "Red Sun", then for this anniversary and the hit song in December, Lan Yan can only choose Xian Yu.

    Just as he had previously considered and deliberated about Xian Yu.

    Zheng Jing''s song, he could only find a way to take it, and then release it next year?

    But...

    Will Teacher Zheng Jing agree?

    Will I offend Teacher Zheng Jing?

    I can''t help but say, this entangled process is a bit painful!

    Same worry, it''s just that the object has changed from Xian Yu to Teacher Zheng Jing.

    Too hard.

    Usually, these are the rare opportunities I come across.

    But today, how the hell did mountains of gold and silver appear all together!

    It seemed like he could see the difficulty Lan Yan faced.

    Zheng Jing suddenly said: "Lan Yan, use Xian Yu''s song for this anniversary celebration. The quality of this song ''Red Sun'' is indeed better than the song I prepared for you this time."

    "Teacher Zheng Jing..."

    Lan Yan suddenly felt a bit ashamed.

    It seemed like he had underestimated Maestro''s magnanimity. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Zheng Jing laughed and said: "My song is not fully composed yet, I will send it to you next month. You can release it next year. It just so happens, I do not intend to pit this song against that guy."

    "That guy?"

    Lan Yan was somewhat curious.

    Zheng Jing glanced at Lan Yan: "The person who composed the song for Fei Yang this time is Yin Dong. In the entire Starlight, the only composer who dares to say he is better than Yin Dong is Yang Zhongming."

    "Yin Dong..."

    Lan Yan''s face changed a bit, then he laughed and said: "We have ''Red Sun'', doesn''t mean we''re necessarily worse off."

    "If it''s this song."

    Zheng Jing seemed to agree with Lan Yan''s judgment, then fixated on Lin Yuan, suddenly saying: "Strive for Song King and Queen a few years from now. After all, it''ll keep getting harder."

    Lan Yan''s complexion shifted slightly.

    Lan Yan''s manager was also staring wide-eyed.

    The implication behind Zheng Jing''s remarks clearly indicated that she considered Xian Yu as a potential Maestro Junior!

    Previously, although the company always touted Lin Yuan as "Junior Maestro", no top-tiered maestros have actually expressed their views.

    And today.

    Zheng Jing unequivocally expressed her optimism:

    She believes that Lin Yuan indeed has potential to become a Maestro in the future, otherwise, she wouldn''t have said such a thing!

    Lin Yuan didn''t understand, he just nodded along.

    The following matter was resolved smoothly.

    Zheng Jing voluntarily withdrew, hand over ''Red Sun'' to Lan Yan.

    The actual contract will be signed later on, at least wait till after the song is reviewed, but that''s just a matter of time.

    After adding each other on communication apps, they all left.

    Lin Yuan then returned to his office, left to face Gu Dong''s shocked gaze¡ª

    It worked!

    It really worked!

    Zheng Jing, as a Maestro, even voluntarily withdrew from this Qin Qi anniversary celebration. Doesn''t that mean she will participate in the December battle?

    That is December!

    Where demons run amok! The battle of all gods!

    In December where the King of Songs and the Queen of Songs, as well as Maestros will be present...

    Lin Yuan didn''t understand Gu Dong''s thinking, he curiously asked: "What did Teacher Zheng Jing mean by making me produce a Song King and Queen?"

    "You don''t know?"

    Gu Dong was surprised, then explained: "Maestro is an honorific used within the industry for top-tier composers. However, behind this honorific, there''s a standard, just like gold medals, which is to have fostered a King of Singing and a Queen of Singing, at that point it''s considered having reached the standard."

    "Foster a King of Singing and a Queen of Singing?"

    Lin Yuan understood the challenge involved in making a singer become the King of Singing.

    "Indeed, to foster a King of Singing and a Queen of Singing, or two Kings of Singing, or alternatively two Queens of Singing also works. Anyway, once successful, they reach the level of a Maestro. For instance, Teacher Zheng Jing, she fostered a King of Singing and a Queen of Singing. But she''s not the most amazing Maestro."

    Lin Yuan asked: "Such as?"

    Gu Dong replied: "There are two other standards as well. By meeting any of them, one can also become a Maestro. One is to win the Music Sage award that the Music Festival has specially set up for composers. This award has been vacant for several years now, so you can infer its difficulty. The other method is the most brutal, which is to claim the Grand Slam in a single season.

    The difficulty is the highest. Up till now, only three people in Blue Star have managed to do it."

    Lin Yuan was surprised: "Grand Slam..."

    Gu Dong sighed: "Yeah, the Grand Slam, do you know what the concept of the Grand Slam in a season is? It''s equal to winning the championship twelve months in a row over a year. This is not something an average person can achieve!"

    Lin Yuan nodded his head.

    To get the Grand Slam, how much do you have to stake on it...

 Chapter 281 - 263: 80% Winning Rate_1

    It''s not that I can''t do it.

    With the System, there''s hope.

    But if you want to take first place, you have to constantly create the best songs, which costs a lot of money. Especially considering the nature of the System, it''s sure to calculate the additional value of the Maestro into the cost of song customization¡ª

    Lin Yuan has seen through this System.

    So even though Lin Yuan does have some thoughts on the Maestro, after hearing Gu Dong''s explanation, he can only put them aside for now.

    He has a lot on his plate at the moment.

    No need to rush, he can take his time.

    In less than a week, Lin Yuan began entering the recording studio to record "The Red Sun" for Lan Yan.

    The melody of this song is not complex.

    Lan Yan had been rehearsing for several days and has reached an optimal state, very familiar with this song¡ªto the point where he knew every lyric and note by heart.

    When he started recording, it can be said that he got twice the result with half the effort.

    And one major reason for this smooth process is that Lan Yan''s pronunciation in the Qi language is extremely accurate!

    It was said that this was the reason why Lan Yan was chosen to represent the Qin land in the anniversary celebration!

    Lan Yan''s explanation was that his wife was from Qi Province, and they often communicate in the Qi language, so that''s why he''s so proficient at it.

    This was Lin Yuan''s first time experiencing the power of the King of Singing first-hand.

    Efficiency.

    Such efficiency.

    Sun Yaohuo can''t compare with Lan Yan, even Chen Zhiyu was inferior to Lan Yan''s professional capability. No wonder Lan Yan could become the King of Singing.

    Lin Yuan is sure of this.

    It''s not just about finding a good songwriter, getting a good song, and then becoming famous. It''s not that simple.

    Rather, it''s that these Kings of Singing like Lan Yan, their own singing skills, their understanding of music, have all reached a certain level, allowing them to perfectly realize the songwriter''s creative intentions.

    Speaking of Sun Yaohuo, Lin Yuan suddenly remembered that he had planned to collaborate with senior Sun Yaohuo on a new song when he was recording for Chen Zhiyu last time.

    Unexpectedly, through a series of misfortunes and coincidences, he ended up collaborating with the King of Singing.

    It''s a special case.

    There''s definitely no time this year.

    He''ll have to make it up to senior Yao Huo next year.

    Lin Yuan can tell that senior Yao Huo truly loves his singing career, but he''s just lacking good songs to perform¡ªsomething Lin Yuan can provide.

    After the recording.

    As soon as Lin Yuan returned to his office, Ol'' Zhou hurried over, surprised: "Is Lan Yan going to sing your song at the anniversary celebration?"

    "Yes."

    Lin Yuan rarely explained: "I didn''t intentionally try to grab this three million. I''ve already talked to Teacher Zheng Jing."

    Ol'' Zhou: "..."

    Is this just about money? Teacher Zheng Jing doesn''t seem to care too much about this three million!

    The real issue is¡­

    You took down the Maestro with a song you wrote?

    Although Ol'' Zhou now dedicated half of his effort to the film department, he was still very dedicated to the Songwriting Department. So when he heard the news, he was utterly bewildered.

    Maestro Junior took down the real Maestro?

    Ol'' Zhou knew Zheng Jing very well and knew that she was a very open-minded person. Besides being a musician who liked painting very much, Zheng Jing was the one with the best temper among all the Maestros in the company!

    But the problem is¡­

    While it''s true that Zheng Jing has a good temper, she is also very strict about music.

    She wouldn''t get angry because someone took her job, but only if the person who took it earned her approval!

    Zheng Jing''s willingness to step back only indicates one thing:

    Lin Yuan''s new song has gained Zheng Jing''s approval!

    That''s right.

    When thinking about "The Red Sun", Ol'' Zhou had listened to it before and it really was an extraordinary piece. It''s not surprising that Zheng Jing would approve of it.

    But remembering Lin Yuan''s age and looking at his achievements in music, Ol'' Zhou always felt a sense of surrealism.

    Lin Yuan asked: "Is there a problem?"

    Ol'' Zhou shook his head: "No problem, absolutely no problem. You''re doing great. Try to write more songs next year and make a splash."

    When Lin Yuan first joined the company, Ol'' Zhou''s expectation of Lin Yuan was that of a golden badge.

    Now, Ol'' Zhou''s expectation for Lin Yuan is at the Maestro level.

    Having gained Zheng Jing''s approval shows that Lin Yuan has the qualifications for this.

    "Oh."

    "Besides, the promotion for the December new song will start in a few days. Let''s hope for a good ranking."

    Ol'' Zhou said.

    As December came to an end, this month officially became the most competitive time of the year for the season, it was the final sprint to the year''s end.

    It''s not just the insiders.

    The fans are also eagerly looking forward to December, after all, these are high-quality songs, the King and Queen of Singing are worth more than first-tier!

    In fact.

    As November arrived, the Kings and Queens of Singing who are going to participate in the duel of the gods in December have already begun their official promotional campaign for the December production!

    Including Fei Yang from Dazzling Entertainment.

    As well as the music companies in Sand Sea and the Qi land.

    For example, Thunderbolt Entertainment, they have a Queen involved as well.

    In total, three Kings of Singing and three Queens of Singing announced one after another, that they would participate in the competition of the December season!

    This would be the most glamorous competition in terms of singer lineup for the entire year!

    Not only is the singer lineup gorgeous.

    The lineup of songwriters is also quite spectacular!

    The song for Fei Yang is written by Maestro Yin Dong with the arrangement also done by a top-tier industry professional!

    In addition.

    The song for the King of Singing from Thunderbolt Entertainment was also created by a Maestro, a big shot called Ye Zhi Qiu.

    This Ye Zhi Qiu was originally a composer from Sand Sea, but with the merger of Qin and Qi, he switched over to Thunderbolt Entertainment.

    At this time.

    Lan Yan also announced the news on Tribe, becoming the seventh Queen or King level person to announce their participation in the December season competition:

    "New song ''The Red Sun'' will be released in December. This song will also be performed at this year''s Spring Festival as part of the anniversary celebrations. Thanks to Teacher Admirable Fish for providing the lyrical and musical creations @Admirable Fish."

    Whoosh!

    The competition in December seems to have the aura of a dragon and tiger fight, and Lin Yuan, as a composer rising in the music scene in recent years, naturally attracted a lot of attention.

    Fei Yang from Dazzling Entertainment was one of them.

    Don''t forget, Fei Yang has stumbled against Lin Yuan before.

    Although Fei Yang didn''t pay much attention to this matter, outsiders often talked about it, which made Fei Yang start to care.

    "What a coincidence, I lost to Lin Yuan before."

    He turned to Yin Dong next to him: "And unexpectedly, I ran into him again, and it''s December, and it''s even the time when Lan Yan and I are participating in the anniversary celebration." Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Your chances of taking the championship song are eighty percent."

    Yin Dong spoke with a straight face, his words filled with strong confidence.

    Fei Yang laughed: "What about the remaining twenty percent?"

    Yin Dong said: "The remaining twenty percent belongs to Ye Zhi Qiu."

    Ye Zhi Qiu is the second Maestro to take part in the year-end competition, besides Yin Dong.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Five more chapters done. This is the sixth additional chapter by Master Huan Yu. Four more to go, keep up the hard work~

 Chapter 282 - 264: Anticipated by Thousands_1

    Fei Yang was not the only one keeping an eye on Xian Yu.

    After all, Xian Yu is currently a renowned composer in the industry, his appearance in December was both unexpectedly anticipated for many.

    The surprise lies in:

    The impression that Xian Yu gave to the industry insiders was a composer who extremely enjoyed collaborating with newcomer singers or second-tier and third-tier singers.

    But surprisingly, Xian Yu had apparently changed his approach and began touching base with big names?

    Last time it was top-tier singer Chen Zhiyu, but now he''s simply chosen the King of Singing, Lan Yan!

    And as for what was within expectations:

    As a successful composer, Xian Yu certainly had the qualification to appear on the battlefield of December.

    Of course.

    It was merely a qualification.

    Xian Yu was not the most eye-catching figure this December.

    Not because Xian Yu was not famous; in the music circle, Xian Yu was already a name worth paying much attention to.

    The reason he didn''t draw the public''s attention was that the lineup this December was just too extravagant.

    Two Maestros!

    Seven Kings and Queens of Singing!

    Not to mention the several top-tier singers.

    Even when considering only the lineup of composers, Xian Yu dare not say that he would be securely listed right after the two maestros.

    Because among the composers involved this time, there were also those who had challenged the position of the Maestro!

    Though their rush had failed, or they were still in the process of rushing, it was enough to set them apart from ordinary golden composers¡ª¡ª

    This was why they were chosen to work with other Kings and Queens of Singing.

    Thus, though Xian Yu wasn''t washed out by these people on the battlefield of December, he unavoidably seemed ordinary.

    This was the music world''s final season carnival at the end of this year!

    "Considered this lineup, wow, it really is the music world''s War of Gods!"

    "The first two places will most likely be taken by the two Maestros, right?"

    "Fei Yang is most likely to be the champion of the War of Gods. After all, the Great Maestro Yin hasn''t done anything noteworthy in almost a year, so won''t his moves be earth-shattering this time?"

    "Are you underestimating Ye Zhi Qiu a bit? Rock n'' Roll Grandpa is invincible."

    Maestro Ye Zhi Qiu liked to call himself "Old Ye," but the young generations in the music world wouldn''t dare to call him that, so they preferred calling him "Grandpa".

    "The singer collaborating with Grandpa is Queen Haitang, who happens to be the most formidable rock female singer in Qi Province!"

    "Although the two maestros are indeed very fierce, the composers of other Kings and Queens of Singing should not be underestimated. For example, the composer for King Tang Zhen is Lonely. Although Lonely failed his rush for Maestro before, he had achieved a winning streak of eight seasons and even beaten a Maestro once. Who would dare say that Lonely has no chance for a win this time?" S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Similar to Lonely''s circumstance, there''s also Momo."

    "Typical. December is not a place for nobodies."

    "With dragons and tigers fighting for supremacy, it''s going to be exciting!"

    "Don''t forget about Xian Yu. Don''t his colleagues at Starlight call him ''Junior Maestro''? I think Xian Yu has the potential to rise to the top. Among the new composers who have sprung up in the music scene in recent years, this guy is the most eccentric."

    "Right, when Xian Yu collaborates with top-level performers, he can knock down Kings. So this time, since he has teamed up with a King, he can only target Maestros, right?"

    "..."

    While the outside world is in heated discussion, official announcement about the Qin-Qi anniversary event was suddenly made by the Spring Festival Gala:

    King of Singing Fei Yang and King of Singing Lan Yan, the two of them, will serve as representative singers of Qin Province and perform Qi language songs at the Gala, expressing the Qin-Qi music exchange¡ª¡ª

    The songs they will perform would be those released in December.

    Meanwhile.

    Two Queen of Singing from Qi Province will represent Qi Province and perform Mandarin songs on the Gala stage.

    This piece of news had been unknown to the industry beforehand.

    Only the parties involved and their relevant companies had received a notification.

    With the announcement of this news, the industry''s discussion finally centered on the anniversary event, especially the composers and representative singers of Qin Province.

    After all, Qin Province is the recognized Land of Music.

    "Qi language songs?"

    "No wonder there are two Maestros coming into play this year."

    "As more and more regions merge in, will this become a permanent program at the Gala in the future?"

    "Now it seems, it''s expected that Lan Yan and Fei Yang were chosen not only because they are both the King of Singing, but also because they are among the few singers proficient in Qi language."

    "Wait, on the Starlight side, why didn''t the Maestro compose for Lan Yan, instead choosing Xian Yu?"

    "That''s what''s puzzling to me too, why Xian Yu?"

    "For such an important song, shouldn''t it be a surefire success if the King of Singing and the Maestro collaborated?"

    "Could it be that Xian Yu''s song this time is explosive?"

    "There can only be this reason. Otherwise, there''s no reason to choose Xian Yu over the Maestro."

    "..."

    There weren''t any objections, really.

    The exposure of this news, on the contrary, heightened many people''s anticipation for the new song composed by Xian Yu and Lan Yan.

    Generally speaking, everyone was more curious about the outcome of the Battle of the Gods in December.

    Insiders excitedly discussed it.

    The fans of the King and Queen of Singing, the Maestro, and the Golden Composers were, of course, brimming with anticipation.

    Because so many people were paying attention to this Battle of the Gods, someone even opened a gambling market for the end-of-year singing scene.

    Some websites even secretly opened betting channels.

    This type of betting is a grey area in Blue Star, as no one usually cares much about it, nor can anyone control it, after all, gamblers are everywhere.

    Where there''s a market, people will take risks.

    In the past, this type of betting was mostly seen in sports events.

    Like football, basketball, etc.

    It''s rare to see betting in the music scene for the end-of-season competition. It shows just how much attention this Battle of the Gods is getting.

    Of course, Lin Yuan didn''t know about this.

    It was his manager, Jin Mu, who told him.

    Although Jin Mu doesn''t handle the financial affairs under Xian Yu''s identity, he still pays attention to the situation regarding the Xian Yu persona.

    After all, he is Lin Yuan''s manager, not the manager for Lin Yuan''s aliases.

    "So, there''s such a thing."

    Lin Yuan was somewhat surprised when he heard Jin Mu talk about betting, and he also felt somewhat helpless: "Can this sort of thing be predicted?"

    Not to mention ordinary people.

    Even Lin Yuan, the person involved, didn''t dare to say he could definitely secure a certain position.

    After all, he can only control the quality of his own songs, he can''t control the quality of others'' songs. While "Red Sun" is definitely very powerful, who can assure that there won''t be more powerful works in December?

    "Gamblers don''t argue with reason."

    Compared to gamblers, even sycophants are more adorable.

    Jin Mu said: "Your predicted ranking is currently fifth, and the most people bet on you getting the fifth place."

    Lin Yuan asked curiously: "Did you place a bet?"

    Jin Mu looked at Lin Yuan and implied heavily: "I don''t have the money."

    After being silent for a few seconds, Lin Yuan said: "I''ll double your salary next month."

    Jin Mu''s been a great manager and has perfectly passed the trial period, so Lin Yuan didn''t feign ignorance and directly agreed to give him a raise.

    "Thank you, boss."

    Being successful in his hints, Jin Mu smiled and said: "Now the most people are betting on the combination of Yin Dong and Fei Yang, their odds for the championship are very low. Next is the combination of Ye Zhi Qiu and Haitang, their odds aren''t high either."

    Lin Yuan asked: "Did nobody bet on me being the champion?"

    Jin Mu was taken aback, then he opened his phone, logged onto a website, and took a look: "Actually, there are people who support the combination of Boss and Lan Yan winning the championship. However, the current rate is up to 3.5!"

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    After all, he was the one predicted to rank fifth.

    The amount of people betting him to win must be an extreme minority.

    Perhaps those who bet on him winning didn''t have confidence in him but just wanted to try their luck. If they hit the jackpot, it would be a big win.

    There will always be people who take extreme risks.

    It even made Lin Yuan a little tempted.

    But in the end, Lin Yuan managed to resist the impulse.

    Gambling is wrong. He couldn''t set a bad example for children.

 Chapter 283 - 265: Youre So Sassy_1

    In fact, it wasn''t just Admirable Fish with the exaggerated odds.

    For instance, the increasing odds for songwriters such as Lonely and Momo, who once challenged Maestro, were also the subject of heated discussions among netizens.

    The lowest odds were still above 2.0.

    In fact, in the gamble dog''s analyisis, besides the two maestros, only Lonely and Momo were considered more promising than Admirable Fish.

    However, while they all admitted that no composer in this group was inferior, they were helpless. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The influence of these two maestros were just too big!

    This was reflected by historical records and available data.

    Even from a professional judgement perspective, the first two spots had an 80% chance of being dominated by these two maestros.

    After all, singers were all kings and queens of singing, and none of them were overshadowed in terms of popularity.

    Given that there was no discernable difference in popularity among the singers, it all came down to whose composer behind them could make a bigger impact.

    "I''m too lazy to bet on myself winning the championship."

    Due to the low odds, Fei Yang said to Yin Dong with a bitter smile in his words, but his pride and confidence were palpable in his tone!

    Coming first in ordinary times was no big deal.

    For a king of singing to get into the competition, how could he not aim for first place?

    Securing the first place in December when kings and queens of songs were battling each other was the true honour!

    The more powerful the opponent, the more it highlighted one''s own strength!

    Well...

    The last time didn''t count, it just couldn''t.

    It was clear that last time, Admirable Fish''s "Change Myself" was endorsed by the officials.

    That was an irresistible factor that only appears once in several years, so it was just his bad luck.

    "Oh, I did place a bet."

    Yin Dong had no particular emotion, and his words were clear and direct.

    Fei Yang laughed, "How much did you bet?"

    He didn''t ask who Yin Dong bet on, because Yin Dong would only bet on himself, asking him would be superfluous.

    Yin Dong replied, "One yuan."

    Fei Yang was speechless.

    He knew that Yin Dong was not joking when he bet one yuan on himself.

    The money wasn''t the point.

    This one yuan represented Yin Dong''s confidence in their duo winning the championship!

    In a similar vein.

    In fact, apart from Lin Yuan, who didn''t place a bet, several other parties did to some extent. For instance, another maestro, Ye Zhiqiu.

    Ye Zhiqiu was much more generous than Yin Dong. He also bet on his own side for a hundred yuan.

    Upon hearing the news, Haitang, the queen of singing who collaborated with Ye Zhiqiu, was dumbfounded, "Why is His Lordship also joining in the fun?"

    "If Yin Dong can bet, why can''t I?"

    Ye Zhiqiu was forty-five years old, but he looked to be over fifty, with quite some white hairs that matched his title of ''His Lordship'' well.

    However, when he spoke, he sounded more like a naughty old boy.

    It was Yin Dong himself who told Ye Zhiqiu about his bet.

    The maestros knew each other quite well.

    After all they were all the top talents in their field, if they didn''t maintain close contact, it would be rather lonely.

    So after hearing that Yin Dong had placed a bet of one yuan, Ye Zhiqiu also placed a bet on himself, for a hundred yuan.

    "That''s a hundred times more confidence!"

    These were the exact words that Ye Zhiqiu said to Yin Dong.

    Yin Dong then let out a cold laugh, his mechanical "haha" was quite unnatural.

    Upon hearing that, Ye Zhiqiu sympathised with him.

    Yin Dong always seemed to be indifferent.

    However, little did people know, Yin Dong was not gloomy, but born with an illness, that he had been suffering from facial paralysis since he was a child.

    Outsiders would only see Yin Dong as aloof and hard to talk to, and Yin Dong would not explain.

    As a maestro, there was indeed no discomfort.

    "You talk so much that I almost want to bet myself." Haitang said.

    Of course, she was only joking, everyone had their own musical philosophy, and she felt that not participating was her way of showing respect to music.

    However, if others placed a bet, she would not stand on a moral high ground to judge them.

    Like His Lordship''s style, or Yin Dong''s, they were just expressing a must-win attitude.

    "If you want to bet, I can recommend one to you, insider news!"

    Ye Zhiqiu said with a mysterious smile, "You bet on Admirable Fish and Lan Yan''s duo, bet on them coming third, it''s a sure win!"

    "Why?"

    Haitang was startled.

    So, there were inside stories about this?

    Ye Zhiqiu shrugged, "I had a chat with an old friend from Starlight last night, a song that could make her back down once shouldn''t be a bad one, and, in my personal judgement alone, Admirable Fish is underestimated. He is not worse than Momo and Lonely."

    Haitang had an undergoing shift in her complexion.

    She wouldn''t place a bet because of this, but she was just caught by surprise by Ye Zhiqiu''s appraisal. It seemed that in this maestro''s eyes, Admirable Fish was receiving undue attention?

    "You don''t believe it?"

    Ye Zhiqiu continued, "If you don''t, you can listen to all of Admirable Fish''s work. Then you will discover an interesting fact."

    "Like what?"

    "Admirable Fish''s works are fancifully free in style. I''m not saying his composition is superb. It surely is superb, but Momo and Lonely aren''t any worse, and they even do better in many ways. However, what''s strange about Admirable Fish is that he seems to always be trying different styles and types of composition."

    This was a characteristic that only a few people would notice.

    Normally, there is a commonality in a composer''s works with a distinct personal label.

    But Admirable Fish''s songs seemed to be from different authors, yet oddly, they were indeed all from Admirable Fish!

    This was what surprised Ye Zhiqiu.

    This genius composer, who rose to fame in the past two years, seemed to wield wisdom from various schools of thought.

    So, even Ye Zhiqiu was somewhat curious as to what kind of style and route Admirable Fish would take for his new song.

    Haitang seemed thoughtful.

    Perhaps because everyone was overly concerned about December, it influenced Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan surprisingly announced several times on the Tribeapp that he was releasing a new song, even using Chu Kuang''s account to repost it.

    In addition, he asked Luo Wei to repost it using Shadow''s account.

    Three pseudonyms in action at the same time.

    "...Understood."

    Luo Wei didn''t seem to be pleased. She thought Lin Yuan was "aiding the enemy".

    She was a little unsure whether Shadow and Admirable Fish were love rivals or frenemies, but she dutifully did as he asked anyway.

    Of course, the fans were buying it.

    The comments were all uniformly filled with a "supportive" attitude.

    Not just fans.

    Many singers who had collaborated with Lin Yuan also reposted the news.

    For instance, Chen Zhiyu, Sun Yaohuo, Jiang Kui, and Zhao Ying Ge...

    Chen Zhiyu and others were relatively conservative. The texts accompanying their reposts were mainly "Aiming for Top Three," "Good Luck Teacher Admirable Fish," "Wishing a Big Hit for Teacher Admirable Fish''s New Song," etc. Clearly, they didn''t think that Lin Yuan could win the championship.

    Only Sun Yaohuo''s accompanying text was the most domineering and confident:

    "I hereby wish ''Red Sun'' to become the championship song of December! On the day the song is downloadable, you can enjoy a 30% discount at Flame Hot Pot Restaurant. On the day when junior brother wins the championship, all consumption at Flame Hot Pot Restaurant will be 70% off for a full 24 hours!"

    Jiang Kuii: "..."

    Chen Zhiyu: "..."

    Zhao Ying Ge: "..."

    You are so ostentatious.

    Is there such a play?

    Even Lin Yuan was moved when he saw Sun Yaohuo''s repost, although most of the comments in Sun Yaohuo''s comment section were asking for the exact address of his hot pot restaurant¡­

 Chapter 284 - 266 Being Human is Interesting_1

    In the days that followed.

    Lin Yuan could feel the storm of December brewing even on the film set. Surprisingly, many people in the crew were discussing the grand event of the music world in December. When Lin Yuan was having lunch, he even heard someone mentioning that they had bought tickets to someone''s concert¡­

    Gambler dogs were everywhere.

    However, no matter how people placed their bets and spoke assertively about the sure winners, they could not change the course of the future. As the discussions heated up, the end of November was inevitably approaching.

    November 30th.

    This night was a rare sleepless one for all in the music industry following the merger of Qin and Qi, with many sitting in front of their computers well in advance, waiting for the midnight chimes, especially the participants involved in the December competition.

    For example, the King of Singing, Fei Yang!

    As the frontrunner for the crown, Fei Yang was looking forward to this moment more than anyone. His eyes kept glancing at the time in the bottom right corner of his computer screen, which was ticking close to 11:59pm.

    "It''s about to start."

    Fei Yang''s spirit lifted.

    As his alarm set for midnight rang, Fei Yang quickly opened his usual music player ¨C amongst the best when it came to sound source and quality. The main page of the player did not simply recommend a single song but showcased a special feature:

    "Battle of the Gods!"

    Although the name might seem overly fantastic, one cannot deny it resonates with the anticipation for the new songs released in December. Anyone could click onto the banner to see the newly released songs from the Kings and Queens of Singing. The first to pop up was the collaboration between Fei Yang and Yin Dong, "New World".

    New World!

    The theme of this song, set against the future of the Blue Star merger, was truly grand. Married with Fei Yang''s voice, the whole song was beyond reproach, be it the melody or momentum.

    This was the order of songs on the player.

    Notably, even the player itself showed utmost confidence in the collaboration between Fei Yang and Yin Dong, placing their song at the forefront within the special feature. In a sense, the order in this feature was a true reflection of the public betting phenomenon.

    Click play.

    Fei Yang put on his headphones and listened to his own song first, like a sacred ritual. After listening, he nodded in satisfaction and then clicked on the second song in the line-up, which was a collaboration between Haitang and Ye Zhiqiu.

    Song title: "Blossom".

    The title seemed pretty inspirational.

    In Fei Yang''s mind, this was a tough competitor in the Battle of the Gods this season. Afterall, they also had the backing of Maestro. While the gap between different Maestros did exist, it wasn''t significant. Hence, while listening to this song, Fei Yang wore a grave expression.

    "The melody is standard¡­"

    "A combination of strings and violin¡­"

    "The processing of the percussion section is stunning with a strong bounce and graininess. As expected of Haitang, the handling of the high notes seemed effortless, and even elements of bel canto were integrated. Despite the minimal soundtracks, it didn''t lose the essence of grandeur¡­"

    Ordinary people listen to the melody when they listen to a song.

    Normally, Fei Yang does the same, but this time he couldn''t resist analyzing as he listened. After all, Teacher Ye Zhiqiu was a Maestro, and music composition by artists at this level should never be belittled. Fei Yang didn''t relax a bit during his analysis until he finished listening.

    "Seems like mine is better."

    Fei Yang was slightly uncertain.

    Songs can''t be judged completely subjectively. Otherwise, many singers wouldn''t remain obscure. Choosing the right song is as important for a singer as selecting a script is for an actor. It is a crucial part of determining the accomplishment of a singer. When there isn''t a stark difference between two songs, Fei Yang could only form a rough judgment.

    But there were things he could be sure about.

    Fei Yang opened the comment sections of the two songs to see how the public felt about them. No one could complain that the songs were only released minutes ago. For an ordinary season, songs released a few minutes prior might not receive many comments. However, this was December!

    There were so many people online listening to music!

    The comment section under Fei Yang''s song had easily surpassed five thousand comments. At the same time, "Blossom" had received over four thousand comments. After observing for ten minutes, Fei Yang finally broke into a relatively relaxed smile.

    It seemed like "New World" had a better response!

    This conclusion was deduced based on the comment data and specific feedback from netizens. Although it''s still not entirely certain, it was hardly inaccurate. At this point, Fei Yang could finally lean back in his chair and take a deep breath.

    "Let''s listen to the rest of them."

    The third and fourth tracks were pieces by Lonely and Momo. Although Fei Yang felt that the chances of him messing up were slim, he still needed to confirm it. After listening to these two songs, Fei Yang''s expression became even more relaxed.

    "I''m going to win!"

    Fei Yang slightly danced his body, then leaned back fully into the chair, lifted his right foot onto his left thigh, and casually played the fifth track. This song, "The Red Sun," was released by the King of Singing, Lan Yan, this season.

    "Ahhh~"

    From the headphones, a string of singing accompanied by bass interwoven with guitar and a not-so-intense drumbeat came out, making Fei Yang, who was completely relaxed, startled inexplicably. Before he could react, the preamble was over.

    Then,

    Lan Yan''s singing resonated with exceptional stability and a clear underlying tone: "If fate makes you wander, if fate plays extraordinary tricks, if fate frightens you and makes life boring, don''t shed tears in sadness and don''t ever give up, I''m willing to accompany you forever!"

    Fei Yang subconsciously straightened his back.

    But because his right leg was on top of his left, or rather, because he was sitting in a cross-legged position, he failed to stand up at the first attempt. By this time, the song had already entered the second section of the chorus, with the same lyrics, the same vehemence, the same fullness.

    His eyebrows itched a bit.

    Fei Yang''s little finger touched his eyebrow, his hand trembling slightly. It was a barely noticeable tremor, but a certain emotion within him was suddenly amplified countless times¡ª

    He finally uncrossed his legs.

    His body also left the chair.

    At this time, "The Red Sun" had moved to the main part. The drumbeat sounded like a bullet being loaded. For some bizarre reason, Fei Yang associated it with the feeling of a handgun being placed against his forehead, which made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

    Countless "?" surrounded him.

    Lan Yan''s voice, aided by these musical notes, kept penetrating Fei Yang''s mind. For a moment, Fei Yang looked somewhat dazed, as if he had lost focus all at once.

    Meanwhile,

    Fei Yang also faintly felt that as the song played, it seemed as if he was gradually losing something, something that was moving further and further away from him. His expression changed from relaxed to serious, and then gradually turned into astonishment.

    If fate makes you wander¡­

    If fate plays extraordinary tricks¡­

    If fate frightens you...

    During the chorus that repeated countless times, Fei Yang unexpectedly felt a sense of empathy towards the lyrics. This sense of empathy came from the ending of the first section of the chorus in the Qi language singing style, a simple phrase of five words:

    "Living ain''t fun." S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Fei Yang found this very reasonable, feeling the so-called Battle of Gods to be dull. Even though the subsequent lyrics sang "Don''t shed tears in sadness, and don''t ever give up," it still couldn''t comfort the abrupt wound in Fei Yang''s heart.

    "I''m...screwed."

    Fei Yang''s face began to falter, his eyes glued to the two words behind the creation of the lyrics and music of "The Red Sun":

    Xian Yu.

    Meanwhile, as Fei Yang''s mentality slightly collapsed,

    Inside a room of a certain community, Chen Zhiyu casually took off his headphones, whistling while feeding his pet fish in the fish tank.

    He was feeding it live food.

    Several unidentified insects dropped into the fish tank. Chen Zhiyu''s fish swiftly ate the nearest mealworm, as though it had tasted something delicious. Watching the tiny insect attempting to escape upstream in the tank, he flashed a smile, seemingly satisfied with his fish''s appetite for the day:

    "Eat."

    "Eat everything."

    Chen Zhiyu quietly cheered on his gluttonous fish: "They''re all doomed!"

    .

    .

 Chapter 285 - 267: The End of the Gambling Dog_1

    The same world, the same night.

    As one of the recognized Maestros in the music world, the competitive Ye Zhi Qiu was also sitting in front of his computer, giving the freshly baked new season''s songs he was interested in a listen¡ª

    Same as Fei Yang.

    Ye Zhi Qiu first listened to Fei Yang''s "New World."

    This was a song composed by Yin Dong.

    The other was a Maestro like himself this season, and despite having the same title, Yin Dong always had a slightly higher reputation in the industry.

    It took a few minutes.

    After finishing listening to the other''s song, Ye Zhi Qiu fell silent for a moment, then opened "Red Sun".

    The song that made Zheng Jing give in, it surely wouldn''t disappoint me. What style would Xian Yu adopt this time?

    He pondered inwardly.

    The playback had already begun.

    At the start, Ye Zhi Qiu''s expression was clearly curious, but about ten seconds in, his eyebrows gradually furrowed, revealing deep forehead lines, and underneath his gaze seemed to carry a touch of surprise¡ª

    As the song progressed.

    The surprise increased.

    When he finished listening to the entire song, Ye Zhi Qiu''s expression was slightly heavy, with a complex meaning. Then, thinking of something, he suddenly chuckled, took out his phone, and dialed a number.

    "Hello."

    A somewhat tired and clearly dissatisfied voice came from the other end.

    It was none other than his old rival, Yin Dong: "What''s the meaning of bothering me so late at night?"

    "Have you listened to the song?"

    Ye Zhi Qiu ignored his discontent.

    Yin Dong''s voice regained composure: "Isn''t it just the same if I listen tomorrow? Or is the song you wrote better than mine this time? If that''s the case, there''s no need for you to show off so urgently. The score between us is twelve to five, I''ve beaten you twelve times."

    "Now it''s thirteen to five."

    Ye Zhi Qiu said laughingly, without getting angry: "You win again, but you also lose. To be exact, we both lost."

    After saying this, Ye Zhi Qiu hung up.

    He believed, the other would soon call back.

    Just as Ye Zhi Qiu had anticipated.

    About five minutes later, Yin Dong called back, and the first thing he said was: "I might have lost a buck."

    Ye Zhi Qiu replied unhappily: "I lost a hundred."

    Yin Dongdao: "The song is well written... Xian Yu, not bad."

    Ye Zhi Qiu took a deep breath: "Do you know how old ''Fish'' is this year?"

    "How old?"

    "She hasn''t even graduated from college yet!"

    "Impossible!"

    Yin Dong almost subconsciously replied.

    Ye Zhi Qiu shook his head: "I couldn''t believe it either, but Zheng Jing told me personally."

    As Ye Zhi Qiu finished his sentence, the line was silent, seemingly digesting this news.

    After a long pause, Yin Dongdao lowered his voice, "Another Lu Sheng, eh..."

    Lu Sheng, one of Blue Star''s Maestros.

    Famed at a young age, became a gold medal composer at twenty-two, took twelve consecutive victories in the seasonal charts at thirty-two, becoming a Maestro and setting the record for the youngest Maestro in Blue Star. He''s recognised as a genius in the Blue Star composing world!

    And now.

    It seems like someone is moving in the same direction.

    Ye Zhi Qiu sighed: "It''s too early to say, but he has the potential. That''s why I''m calling you so late, the younger generation is getting stronger and stronger, we old-timers have to stick together."

    "Interesting."

    Ignoring Ye Zhi Qiu''s joke, Yin Dongdao spoke with a somewhat low voice, no one knowing what he was actually thinking.

    ...

    Maestros and Singing Kings can judge the situation of the new season from the first impression of the songs.

    Perhaps some strong industry insiders can come to a similar conclusion.

    But this group of people is indeed a minority.

    Most people judge the situation from the leaderboard of the season.

    Or maybe the attention to this season is truly too great, Qin Qi Music''s official leaderboard was released the next morning, effectively changing the leaderboard rules.

    And in front of this leaderboard.

    It was bound to shock countless people!

    Nothing else.

    Only because the current number one song on this list was the "Red Sun" written by Xian Yu and performed by Lan Yan!

    Second place: "New World"

    Third place: "Bloom"

    Fourth place is Lonely...

    Fifth place is Momo...

    The rest wasn''t important anymore!

    Because the most unexpected situation had occurred, unexpected enough to make countless industry insiders cry out in disbelief in front of their computers:

    "First place is actually ''Red Sun''!??"

    Before seeing the leaderboard, everyone instinctively assumed that the first place would be claimed by either the duo Yin Dong and Fei Yang, or the duo Ye Zhi Qiu and Haitang.

    No other reasons needed.

    Simply because Yin Dong and Ye Zhi Qiu were the bigshot Maestros in the circle!

    So these guys'' works, no matter who got the first place, wouldn''t shock the industry too much.

    But the result...

    The one who snagged first place wasn''t any of the two Maestros, but the rather under-the-radar duo Xian Yu and Lan Yan!

    "Damn, a major event has occurred!"

    "Are my eyes deceiving me?"

    "Did Xian Yu actually beat the two Maestros?" S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "I can''t believe I''m witnessing the downfall of the two Maestros. Who on earth can stop ''Fish'' now!?"

    "The last time a Maestro failed so miserably dates back years, right...?"

    "Isn''t this ''Fish'' overly terrifying!"

    "You call this a ''fish''? This is a damn great white shark! What did I say before? Is Xian Yu one of the Maestros in disguise!"

    "Pretend to be a sheep, but is actually a wolf?"

    "I''m going to cry, I bet twenty grand, twenty grand, ten grand on Yin Dong-Fei Yang duo for first place, another ten grand on Ye Zhi Qiu-Haitang duo for second place, but neither of the bets won!?"

    "What do you have to complain about, I bet thirty grand!"

    "Thank goodness I didn''t bet, but as far as I know, our manager bet over hundred grand. I don''t know who he bet on, but I''m sure he didn''t bet on Xian Yu..."

    "What were the people who bet on Xian Yu thinking!"

    "I don''t know why they bet on Xian Yu, I just know that it''s gonna be crowded on the rooftop today, gotta go, it''s almost my turn."

    "..."

    This was the first time everyone in Qin Qi collectively felt the shock brought by Xian Yu since the merger.

    And amidst the shock, there were countless cries of anguish, because there were so many circles involved in the December betting pool!

    The industry insiders thought they knew it all,

    And since they did, why not bet?

    As a result of this assumed understanding and betting, things went south.

    Although these guys do know a thing or two¡ª

    We can look at it this way. If you remove the song "Red Sun", every song ranked afterwards would move up one spot on the list, with results identical to the professional predictions previously made by the industry!

    Precise!

    Spot-on predictions!

    But with the unexpected rise of "Red Sun", all these predictions have shifted a spot creating the "the difference of a hair''s breadth is the distance of a thousand miles" situation!

    Just because they misread a single song!

    So, countless punters cried to the heavens and wailed on earth!

    Through one tiny misstep, they muddled through!

    The first of December was not only the day when the initial results of the Battle of the Gods were revealed, but also the last day for countless betting dogs...

 Chapter 286 - 268: The Will of 2_1

    After Lin Yuan got up, he also saw the situation on the new song chart.

    Seeing "Red Sun" ranked first, Lin Yuan dared not say that this was expected, but he had a pretty strong feeling this might happen.

    Because Lin Yuan was previously thinking that this song should at least rank in the top three, no matter what.

    But he had to admit, seeing "Red Sun" rank in first place, Lin Yuan was still a little bit heartbroken.

    "If I had pushed myself harder¡­"

    Shaking his head, Lin Yuan dismissed this thought.

    Who hasn''t suffered setbacks when navigating uncharted waters?

    One must be steady!

    I am the steadiest!

    Only after that did Lin Yuan look at "Red Sun''s" data.

    He realized that the best benefit of releasing a song in December is that there''s enough attention, and as long as the quality of the work is good enough, there will be a high download volume!

    Having this song rank first, only the first day started, the download volume had already exceeded three million!

    In many music apps, the comment section of the song was booming:

    "I generally don''t like Qi language songs, but I fell in love with ''Red Sun'' the first time I heard it!"

    "Admirable Fish is amazing! (Cracking voice¡ª¡ª)"

    "The guy above who shouted until his voice cracked, did you buy Admirable Fish at number one? I didn''t think anyone would bet on Admirable Fish in advance."

    "I regret it, I bet Admirable Fish would come second, my friends thought I was crazy, but now I think, I wasn''t crazy enough!"

    "Those who lost the bet, come and listen to this song. Stay strong in your future life!"

    "Damn, if not for this song, would I lose!? But... it''s indeed very nice."

    "Betting is more dangerous than brown-nosing. I''d better quietly listen to the song."

    "This song is really good, it consoled me after losing two thousand bucks. The scary thing about this song is, even though I lost half a month''s salary because of it, but in the end, I''m using this song to heal the wound..."

    Seeing this comment, Lin Yuan was speechless.

    Because of "Red Sun", you lost the bet, but in the end you have to use this song to encourage yourself, preventing from going into depression?

    Are you sure you don''t feel more upset every time you listen to the song?

    Anyway, just thinking about it makes Lin Yuan feel a bit heartbroken.

    A song that only costs a buck to download has caused many people to lose big.

    However, "Red Sun" is indeed a very inspirational song, with a power that inspires people''s hearts. The original Japanese version of the song has won countless awards upon its debut, proving the strength of the song.

    Not bad.

    There are also formal comments in the comment section, talking about the song itself.

    "I was crying while listening to this song. I failed my postgraduate entrance exam, my family and friends did not support my entrepreneurship, and at this critical moment, I just had an argument with my best friend about my job. I know that everyone who cares about me just wants me to do better, but I wish so much that they would support everything I want to do.

    Thank you for this song, which gave me the strength to carry on."

    "This is the first time I fell in love with a Qi language song."

    "Today looking at the chart, I realized that this song by Admirable Fish prevailed over the songs of two Maestros. It''s a miraculous double kill, but after listening to this song, I feel it thoroughly deserves this honor. Additionally, Teacher Lan Yan is worthy of being the King of Singing, I hope he can continue to collaborate with Teacher Admirable Fish."

    "Collection, download, like, triple combo."

    "I''m from the old Qi continent, and I didn''t expect much from the people of Qin Continent singing Qi language songs. However, after listening to this song, I realized that it truly carried the charm of the old Qi. Thanks to Teacher Admirable Fish for creating this song, and thanks to Lan Yan for the performance!"

    "..."

    Most of the comments were positive, which was worthy of the success "Red Sun" had achieved on Earth.

    The power of music is very powerful. It was said that many pyramid scheme fraudsters liked to use this song to motivate their employees, just like many fraudsters love to use "A Thankful Heart" to stir up emotions.

    Of course, this is not a point of criticism.

    Because the song is not at fault, it''s certain people. If a knife is used to commit murder, surely the knife is not to blame, right?

    ...

    The impact after the chart announcement certainly doesn''t end here.

    Sand Sea Entertainment.

    The company''s music group.

    Today seemed to be especially lively.

    The source of all the excitement was Ye Zhi Qiu''s third place.

    Ye Zhi Qiu was originally a composer of Sand Sea, but then he switched jobs. However, the composition department of Sand Sea still had a soft spot for Ye Zhi Qiu.

    "Boss is actually third!"

    "We originally thought that Boss could at least get second."

    "That Fish''s killing spree is really severe! He led a rookie to take on the first-tier artists, and then he took a first-tier artist to beat the King of Singing, and now he has simply taken the King of Singing to charge towards the Maestro!"

    "That''s just outrageous!"

    "Our Boss was shoved hard from second straight to third, even though December is a battle of the gods, this result really doesn''t match Boss''s status!"

    "..."

    At this time, someone in the group suddenly said, "Actually, this result was destined. Boss would either be first or third, but he would never be second."

    "Why?"

    Group members were all stunned.

    The guy explained, "Because our King Fei, has picked up the mantle of that man!"

    Group member: "..."

    Who was that man?

    Of course, it was the Perennial Runner-up, Chen Zhiyu!

    That''s right, the words "Chen Zhiyu" were like a switch to the composition group of Sand Sea, as it revived the group countless times when it was on the brink of death.

    Just by playing with Chen Zhiyu''s gags, the group chat could easily hit 99+.

    Today.

    Seeing this sentence, many people in the group gradually reacted and the new gag was set:

    "You mean, Fei Yang has inherited the spirit of being second?"

    "Hahaha, oh crap! If you hadn''t mentioned it, I wouldn''t have realized it, Fei Yang is second again?"

    "Should say, because of Admirable Fish, Fei Yang got second twice."

    "Last time Admirable Fish defeated Fei Yang with Chen Zhiyu, that day many people didn''t notice that Fei Yang had become the new victim!"

    "Fei Yang: The spirit of being second, I will guard!"

    "Is the Perennial Runner-up contagious?"

    "Puff, don''t tell me, it truly does seem like witchcraft. Its like a relay baton, Chen Zhiyu passed the second place to Fei Yang, then Fei Yang got cursed? He got second in the spotlight of December?"

    "Go and check the comments in Fei Yang''s record label, I''m dying of laughter!" sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Already arranged?"

    "Well done, the netizens of this age really know how to discover things."

    "I''ve seen this plotline, next comes the memes, right?"

    "..."

    Yes.

    Because Fei Yang, having encountered Admirable Fish twice, got second both times.

    And the first time Fei Yang got second, the one who defeated him was Chen Zhiyu.

    The famous Perennial Runner-up!

    So, when the netizens found out about this, they all went wild!

    This is the power of witchcraft!

    The number of comments in Fei Yang''s label discussion section had exploded!

    In addition.

    Becuase Fei Yang was the King of Singing, in both fame and influence, he was far above Chen Zhiyu. Therefore, his comment section was even more bustling than when Chen Zhiyu got second!

    The first comment in the hot list, had a deep meaning.

    It was a series of mysterious numbers:

    "22222222."

 Chapter 287 - 269 Do You Have Wine for My Story_1

    The top trending topic in the tribe at this moment is #FeiYangtheDualRunnerup#.

    Thanks to the trending topic, my account has gained quite a few followers today and the comments are extraordinarily plentiful, except....

    Fei Yang went through the comments on his tribe account with an annoyed look, a slight twitch apparent on the corner of his mouth:

    "Hail to Mr. Second!"

    "In the dark, there''s a will of number two."

    "Chen Zhiyu: Brother, I entrust my career to you."

    "Admirable Fish: Don''t rush, this is only the second time."

    "Is King Fei about to become the new Perennial Runner-up?"

    "My God, Chen Zhiyu is toxic! Last time, after winning the first place, he secretly passed the baton to King Fei, who was in second place!"

    "A certain fishing rod manufacturing company: King Fei, as Chen Zhiyu''s endorsement is about to expire, after conducting a study, we believe you are the most suitable spokesperson to endorse our fishing rod!"

    "..."

    Fei Yang really wanted to say that this hot search was unnecessary.

    At this moment.

    Hidden at home, Chen Zhiyu also glanced at the comments on Fei Yang''s post and felt a surge of sympathy.

    If he didn''t hold back his laughter, he might seem more sympathetic.

    However, some feelings were genuinely sincere because in this world, only Chen Zhiyu could truly understand how Fei Yang was feeling at this moment.

    He shook his head.

    Chen Zhiyu sighed: "Cyberbullying is terrifying... luckily, I am on the delivering end of the blows."

    Oh¡­

    He made a secondary account and painted a "2" on Fei Yang''s post.

    Agent Liu Mou looked at Chen Zhiyu: "Is there really such a thing?"

    "What?"

    "The will of number two."

    Chen Zhiyu rolled his eyes: "Oh, come on! I''m no longer the Perennial Runner-up, so this has nothing to do with me!"

    Liu Mou grinned, then reminded him: "Don''t accidentally like the post."

    "Although I really want to¡­"

    Chen Zhiyu responded: "Aren''t there these things they say about getting their account hacked?"

    Does liking from a secondary account count as a real like?

    Liu Mou rolled his eyes. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Humming a tune, Chen Zhiyu continued feeding his fish.

    Liu Mou asked, out of curiosity: "Tell me in secret, did you really buy it?"

    Chen Zhiyu looked around and then mysteriously raised one finger.

    Liu Mou got confused: "Only one thousand yuan? That''s even less than me. I bought eight thousand!"

    Chen Zhiyu shook his head: "No, it''s thirty-four thousand and fifty-eight yuan. I put all my remaining balance from that card into it."

    Liu Mou looked at Chen Zhiyu as if he was an idiot: "Then why are you holding up one finger?"

    He sighed.

    Liu Mou once again spoke up, sounding quite upset: "Then you have lost even more than me. Hey, from now on, let''s not touch this betting thing anymore. It''s too risky; we all lost a lot."

    "Huh?"

    Chen Zhiyu corrected him: "Can you leave the ''we'' out? When I held up one finger, I meant to tell you that I bet on Admirable Fish being number one."

    Liu Mou: "..."

    Chen Zhiyu, who was still playing with the fish, continued: "I wanted to buy Fei Yang''s at first, but suddenly I remembered the previous events. I felt a mysterious chill run down my spine, so I chose to bet on Teacher Admirable Fish."

    Liu Mou did not want to talk with Chen Zhiyu anymore.

    After a while, agent Liu Mou looked at the fish in the tank and finally asked again: "These fish are actually well-cared for by you. I plan to raise fish too, anything I should take note of?"

    "There are loads."

    Chen Zhiyu skillfully responded: "First and foremost is maintaining the water quality. If the water quality is poor, the fish will get sick, so it''s essential to learn how to change the water regularly. Ideally, water should be changed once a week, each time replacing a quarter of the water. The best water to use is aged water.

    If you''re unable to age the water, make sure to oxygenate the water for two hours, or use a water purifier. As for my dragon fish here, it''s important to learn how to enhance their color, which is related to feeding. Also, the water temperature in the tank should be maintained between twenty-four to twenty-eight degrees for the optimal growth of the dragon fish..."

    Liu Mou looked at Chen Zhiyu, who was speaking confidently, with a strange expression.

    If it wasn''t known otherwise, anyone would think that Chen Zhiyu was an expert in fish farming, not a top-tier singer.

    All of a sudden, he asked, "Zhiyu, why do you know so much about fish?"

    "..."

    Chen Zhiyu suddenly fell silent.

    I have a story. Do you have wine?

    ...

    Partly to celebrate "Red Sun" topping the season chart, Lin Yuan invited his agent, Jin Mu, to a hot pot dinner at Sun Yaohuo''s restaurant.

    The Flame Hot Pot Restaurant.

    Early on, Sun Yaohuo was waiting at the door. As soon as he saw Lin Yuan get out of the car, he ran over, "Junior, the private room is ready. Also, I brought in some fresh ingredients for you to try!"

    "Thank you, senior."

    Lin Yuan then introduced Jin Mu to Sun Yaohuo, "Uncle Jin is my agent. You guys should get to know each other."

    "Nice to meet you, Uncle Jin!"

    Sun Yaohuo greeted him with a smile, "Since you''re junior''s guy, I''ll get you a membership in return. You can come here at a 50% discount."

    "Thank you!"

    Jin Mu felt flattered.

    Soon, they all walked into the hotpot restaurant. Once inside, Jin Mu was a bit surprised, "The business at Mr. Sun''s hotpot restaurant is doing really well!"

    That''s no exaggeration.

    The Flame Hot Pot Restaurant was full. The staff was busy shuttling back and forth, clearly overwhelmed. The business was booming!

    Moreover.

    At the entrance of the restaurant, there was a long queue of people waiting, each holding a number for their turn to be seated.

    Jin Mu has been to many hot pot places.

    It''s the first time he has seen such a lively hot pot restaurant. A hot pot restaurant like this is definitely making a fortune every day.

    "It''s because we have a 70% discount today!"

    Sun Yaohuo smiled, "Although business is usually good, I announced on my Weibo that if junior''s song got first place, my hotpot restaurant would offer a 70% discount, which led to countless people asking me for the restaurant''s location. I''m too overwhelmed with customers and we''ll definitely have to remain open overnight, until tomorrow."

    Speaking of which.

    Sun Yaohuo''s business acumen wasn''t something intentional. He just wanted to give Lin Yuan a lucky charm. Even though Lin Yuan''s song wasn''t sung by Sun Yaohuo himself, but because he has a strong affection towards him, his support is genuine.

    But what Sun Yaohuo didn''t expect was...

    Because of the charm, his hotpot restaurant gained immense popularity. Even people from other cities drove to Su City to eat hot pot!

    In addition.

    Several businessmen came to collaborate and invested in his restaurant to expand Flame Hot Pot as a brand. However, Sun Yaohuo turned them down.

    The hot pot restaurant belonged to his junior.

    If people invested in the restaurant and Lin Yuan wasn''t happy with it, or if the shareholders didn''t treat Lin Yuan well that would be really unseemly.

    He mustn''t forget his original intentions!

    Though, seeing the business getting better and better, and many people liking the taste, Sun Yaohuo already has a follow-up plan.

    He opened his mouth and said,

    "I plan to acquire the hot pot restaurant near our company and change it to the Flame Hot Pot flavor. There are a few more shops there, I plan to buy them as well and offer something different. Always eating hotpot gets boring, right? This also has to do with me making some money recently. Haha, no one dares to play as ruthlessly as I do! What does the Maestro know about it!"

    Jin Mu: "..."

    Seeing Sun Yaohuo''s crazed face, Jin Mu suddenly felt a chill, realizing that this man was not ordinary!

    How much must he have staked on this?

    But indeed, the hot pot restaurant is well-managed, which leads Jin Mu to admire it. He then couldn''t resist asking, "Mr. Sun, how many years have you been in the catering business? You indeed are a natural-born catering king!"

    "Huh?"

    Upon hearing this, Sun Yaohuo looked at Jin Mu, then at the smiling Lin Yuan. He suddenly felt misunderstood. "Actually, I''m a singer."

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: That''s it for today. Also, I''d like to explain, some people may not like "Red Sun". Writing a book is a difficult task when trying to satisfy everyone''s taste. Maybe you guys will like the next song? Either way, Pollution Bai Xian is now selecting songs that cater to popular taste.

 Chapter 288 - 270 Xian Yus Identity First Revealed_1

    In the following days, "Red Sun" continued to hold the number one spot on the December new song chart. There was no sign of it being overtaken, it was actually the songs of the second and third place maestros that were stuck in a rotation for a period of time--

    Both maestros were giving it their all.

    However, by the middle of December, the situation on the new song chart had become completely clear.

    The final second place was secured by Fei Yang.

    This led people both inside and outside the industry to exclaim the same phrase, "That man truly carries on the will of the number two spot."

    Of course, this was all in jest.

    Despite the jokes, the significance of Xian Yu''s championship song ruling over this year''s God of Music competition is impossible to overlook. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Some believe that this first place finish indicates that Xian Yu is ready to challenge the maestro''s position¡­

    Others feel this number one title signifies that Xian Yu is capable of taking on the title of "Junior Maestro".

    The so-called "Junior Maestro" was initially just an internal nickname within Starlight.

    After all, Xian Yu''s position and treatment within the company was the same as that of other leading composers.

    Not many industry figures would agree with this label, only referring to it occasionally in jest.

    But now, with Xian Yu''s double victory over the two maestros, the title "Junior Maestro" is truly fitting!

    There''s a unanimous agreement within the industry!

    Of course, no one truly regards Xian Yu as the new maestro yet, even though he defeated Yin Dong and Ye Zhi Qiu in this season.

    After all, the Maestro represents the pinnacle of the pyramid.

    Though these leading composers rarely fail, they are not invincible, they can occasionally be beaten by top-tier composers. Such instances have happened before, but they are infrequent...

    It''s just like the top talents in various fields.

    These top talents in various fields are not undefeated, but their overall win rate is unmatched, and even a rare defeat does not diminish their caliber and strength.

    Take the prime Faker as an example.

    Faker in his prime was unquestionably the world''s number one midfielder, a god in the hearts of many. But he also occasionally lost to opponents, such instances occurring a few times did not affect his status at the time, nobody dared claim that by defeating Faker once they were superior...

    The same goes for composing.

    This is a unique field that tests a composer''s relevant abilities and inspiration.

    A capable top-tier composer, when graced with a wonderful inspiration, does have a chance to defeat the maestro.

    Just like a rookie composer, under the influence of inspiration, can occasionally cause a top-tier composer to stumble.

    It is just a matter of difficulty level and probability.

    So Xian Yu is still a "Junior Maestro".

    As for the significance of the "junior" title, it''s actually related to some rumours within the industry.

    "I heard that Xian Yu is very young, and he''s still a college student."

    "That''s ridiculous, it''s impossible for a college student."

    "I once saw Xian Yu from a distance, he didn''t look older than twenty."

    "I''ve heard from my friend too, that he is really young. My friend used to work on the ''Flirting Scholar'' crew, Xian Yu was the screenplay writer for that film."

    "Really? Does he have a baby face? I thought Xian Yu would be at least thirty years old."

    "My friend dined with Xian Yu, and Xian Yu once said at the dinner table: He will become a maestro within five years!"

    "My uncle''s aunt''s neighbor''s nephew said that Xian Yu always ponders about music composition when walking, so he frequently bumps into telegraph poles. That''s why he, despite his young age, became the Junior Maestro."

    "..."

    Various rumours, some true, some not, were difficult to distinguish, but under the aggregation of various rumours, one consistent thread emerged:

    Xian Yu is a young man.

    As to how young, the public doesn''t have a direct concept.

    Although Lin Yuan used Xian Yu as a public identity, he never made it official. It was just that he inevitably interacted with various people on set or within the company, and thus rumors started flying.

    In the absence of strict prohibitions, these rumors were uncontrollable.

    Nevertheless, many people still harbored doubts.

    At this moment,

    A curious person collated all the different clues and dug deeper into Xian Yu''s profile, eventually landing on the account of Sun Yaohuo''s Tribe.

    Before December,

    When Xian Yu''s "Red Sun" was about to be released, many singers who had collaborated with Xian Yu showed their support for him on the Tribe.

    One of them was Sun Yaohuo.

    Sun Yaohuo himself was nothing special, not many people paid attention to him, of real interest was Sun Yaohuo''s address for Xian Yu:

    "Junior!"

    It is known that Sun Yaohuo, an ordinary singer, is a graduate of the Qin Continent Art Academy. His personal data are very transparent due to low fire of his songs, although Sun''s songs were quite popular.

    Xian Yu is his junior...

    Does that mean Xian Yu is a Qin Art''s student?

    Considering which year Sun Yaohuo graduated, Xian Yu''s identity was suddenly narrowed down to a smaller range, then an astonishing fact was about to come out:

    Xian Yu might have just graduated!

    He may even have not officially graduated from Qin Art as a student!

    After all, Sun Yaohuo is not someone who graduated many years ago.

    This is somewhat horrifying!

    Could it be that the gold-tier composer who has gained prominence in recent years, debuted spectacularly, and at the same time defeated two maestros, achieving a double victory, is this young?

    Amidst the plethora of rumors,

    The industry insiders, who had always been skeptical of the news that Xian Yu was very young, were taken aback by this revelation causing a wave of astonishment to ripple out:

    "Is this for real?"

    "Are you sure there''s no mistake?"

    "So-called ''junior'', could it just be some sort of nickname?"

    "So Xian Yu is someone who''s just graduated, or perhaps hasn''t even graduated from university?"

    "Xian Yu is too much of a monster then!?"

    "Even though Qin Province is universally recognised by Blue Star as the ''Land of Music'', I''ve never heard of a genius reaching such a level of composition during university!"

    "..."

    It''s not just the industry insiders.

    Even netizens who know a bit about Xian Yu are kicking up a fuss.

    Even if they don''t have as clear a concept as industry insiders, they also know if Xian Yu is a university student, that''s a big deal!

    It''s simple.

    Just compare Xian Yu''s current achievements with what they remember doing in university...

    Chaotic!

    The scale of the discussion is getting lively, with countless netizens asking those who have interacted with Xian Yu for verification.

    Of course, the comments section of Xian Yu and the likes of Chu Kuang couldn''t escape either.

    The related singers and some of those affected quickly contacted Lin Yuan personally, asking how to handle the situation.

    Sun Yaohuo was of course one of the first to contact Lin Yuan, apologising for his oversight in addressing him.

    He was one of the sources of the clues, so he was somewhat panicked, fearing that this would upset Lin Yuan. After all, his junior did mention before that his identity had to be kept secret.

    "Don''t worry."

    Instead, Lin Yuan reassured Senior Yao Huo: "Anyway, many people already know. This identity will be revealed sooner or later."

    Lin Yuan wasn''t really angry.

    Chu Kuang and Shadow could remain anonymous because they didn''t need to interact with others.

    As for the identity of Xian Yu, as a composer, he would interact with singers and some related staff.

    As a screenwriter, he would need to be present on set with a crew of hundreds.

    How could this be kept secret?

    It was just a matter of time before he was found out.

    It wasn''t the whole truth anyway.

    Outsiders had only roughly confirmed Xian Yu''s age.

    If there was anything unexpected, it was probably that the professor from the composition department contacted Lin Yuan to inquire if he could provide a response.

    Only then did Lin Yuan know that the university already knew of his identity.

    He wasn''t too surprised.

    Lin Yuan agreed to the university''s decision.

    The decision wouldn''t fully expose Lin Yuan.

    Because the university''s response was simple:

    "The rumors on the internet are true, Xian Yu is indeed from our institution. However, as an institution, we have the responsibility to protect the privacy of our students. We can''t reveal more details, and we hope that outside parties can give the people behind the scenes some space and distance. Please respect Xian Yu''s wishes and refrain from prying."

    The response was rather official.

    While acknowledging the fact that Xian Yu is a student of Qin Arts on the one hand, the school did not publicly disclose Xian Yu''s information.

    But this was enough to satisfy the curiosity of the public and give answers to many industry insiders, even though the answer was quite shocking:

    "So... Xian Yu is really a university student?"

    "Before the official statement from Qin Arts, even though the evidence was solid, I still had some doubts... Isn''t he too young?"

    "I thought of someone..."

    "I know, you''re talking about Wonder Lu, right? He also demonstrated amazing composition talent at a young age. He became Maestro in his thirties! But even Lu Sheng''s performance during university couldn''t compare to Xian Yu''s..."

    Lu Sheng, the Maestro of Blue Star.

    But inside the circle, people prefer to call him "Wonder Lu."

    Just like Ye Zhi Qiu is also called "Old Master".

    Before Xian Yu, Lu Sheng was considered the number one genius in composition!

    But after Xian Yu came along, it seems like the title of number one genius may need to be passed on.

    "Could Xian Yu become a Maestro earlier than Wonder Lu?"

    "You know what, it could actually happen!"

    "Wonder Lu was considered a Maestro only after he published the song ''Deep Blue'' at the age of thirty. I wonder when Xian Yu will release a truly universally recognised masterpiece..."

    "I always thought that Xian Yu was at least in his thirties!"

    "He really is a junior Maestro! I can''t believe Xian Yu is so young!"

    "..."

    This is yet another shock Xian Yu has given to the industry after winning the championship title in December with "Red Sun".

    However, the university''s statement did achieve a certain effect of drawing back in order to advance.

    Appeals for protecting Xian Yu''s personal information truly emerged on the internet. With the first exposure of his university student status, there were fewer who continued to dig deeper into Xian Yu''s information.

    After all...

    The mere news that Xian Yu is a university student was enough for both the industry and the public to digest.

    In addition.

    Lin Yuan also responded using Xian Yu''s account, providing a summary to this semi-exposure of identity incident. He quoted a line from Mr. Qian Zhongshu:

    "If you''ve tasted an egg and found it good, you don''t necessarily need to meet the hen that laid it, do you?"

 Chapter 289 - 271: Cultivating a Top Singer_1

    When the person in question responded, it attracted the attention of everyone following this matter, and the comments on this post exploded right away:

    "Nonsense, you''re clearly a rooster!"

    Compared to the university student identity revealed today, the clue that Xian Yu is male was already disclosed by "Shadow".

    "Damn, I''m also a student from the composition department of Qin Art, just graduated this year, I didn''t expect Xian Yu to be my junior, and probably even younger than me! So when I''m out there looking for a job, Xian Yu has already battled with Maestro for 300 rounds? I''ve let the alma mater down!"

    "I''m willing to call Brother Xian Yu the most terrifying composition prodigy in Blue Star history! He is even on par with Wonder Lu!"

    "Teacher Admirable Fish is so low-key!"

    "It seems even if you truly become a Maestro, you could only be Maestro Junior, none could be younger than you¡­"

    "Oh, are you implying that Teacher Admirable Fish is short and small?"

    "You''re clearly a fish, why pretend to be an old hen?"

    "In an era where the words ''genius'' are overused to the point of being cheap, we never expected to actually encounter a real genius!"

    "I had imagined Teacher Admirable Fish as a mature uncle in his thirties or forties, surprisingly turned out to be a college student... But come to think of it, it''s quite refreshing?"

    "Pfft, Xian Yu''s statement is rich with wisdom!"

    "This statement is quite clever indeed!"

    "..."

    Because of Lin Yuan''s classic phrase, many netizens started imitating it.

    For instance, a netizen with the name "Jun v Chen" said:

    "I got a girlfriend who smells nice, why should I know her boyfriend?"

    And another netizen named "Big Boss" said:

    "If you grab a red envelope and feel good about it, why do you need to know the person who sent it?"

    All sorts of trendy jokes appeared one after another.

    But the discussion on Tribe is just the tip of the iceberg.

    After the official statement from Qin Art, the most bustling place wasn''t Tribe, but the internal forum of Qin Art Academy!

    "Turns out Xian Yu is our alumni!?"

    "Could it be that the Maestro Junior we''ve been bragging about all this time is actually among us?!"

    "Quickly, go check out who the excellent students in the composition department are. Teacher Admirable Fish must be hiding among them!"

    "I''m finished, I''m in the composition department and now I feel everyone looks like Xian Yu..."

    "Haven''t you noticed? Now the entire school is discussing who Xian Yu is!"

    "Just now someone asked if the sophomore who is first in the composition department is Xian Yu, the guy was so ecstatic he jumped onto his chair. Handled it carelessly and almost broke a bone when he fell down..."

    "How thrilled one must be if mistaken as Xian Yu."

    "..."

    It is indeed so.

    Following the university''s official statement, a lot of students wandered all over the school, looking for Fish, as if they would recognize Fish at sight.

    Some students, while having their meals in the canteen, were looking around, wondering if Xian Yu was also eating in the same canteen.

    What''s even funnier¡­

    The fish in the school canteen seemed to be selling better than before, for no visible reason, as it was rumored in the composition department that eating fish could enhance the talent and ability of a composer?

    Unfortunately, these people wouldn''t be able to find out.

    In such a large campus, who knows where the Fish is hiding?

    Moreover, this Fish barely attends school...

    At that moment, Lin Yuan was busy filming with the drama crew.

    ...

    As the in-trend Teacher Admirable Fish, Lin Yuan''s daily life on set remained as it had been, which was nothing more than checking the filming status and making time to teach composition to Feng Shuo, who came daily for lessons.

    At this moment.

    The filming for "The Tuner", which had been going on for nearly three months, was about to wrap up.

    It wasn''t a deliberate rush to finish before the New Year. A film with low cost and not a large scale could be filmed in a shorter time.

    If things go smoothly, there''s no problem with wrapping up the entire film in around three months.

    After hanging around the set for a few more days, Lin Yuan felt like he wasn''t really needed, so he made another trip to the company.

    "Mr. Lin¡­"

    "Mr. Lin¡­"

    In the ninth floor composition department.

    Seeing Lin Yuan, people below greeted him one after another, their eyes filled with reverence, and their attitudes seemed to have changed compared to before.

    This was related to Lin Yuan defeating two Maestros in December.

    The composition department of Starlight consisted of several floors, with each floor having a representative who was a resident composer in the industry, except for the ninth-floor representative Lin Yuan, who wasn''t a Maestro.

    This was quite special.

    Furthermore, given Lin Yuan''s age, as the youngest among the representatives, made the composers working on the ninth floor feel somewhat awkward.

    Sometimes, composers from other departments would spread unpleasant rumors, which vexed and irritated the ninth-floor composers.

    But it was different now.

    Following Lin Yuan''s victory over two Maestros, even if the representatives of other floors were Maestros, they wouldn''t dare gossip about the ninth floor.

    What''s a Maestro anyway?

    Admirable Fish has defeated two Maestros, proved his genius, showing that Mr. Lin deserves this position!

    Moreover, company rumors have it that originally, it should have been Teacher Zheng Jing from the Tenth Floor, who was supposed to write songs for Lan Yan, however, as the songs from Teacher Admirable Fish were more excellent this time, that''s why his songs were used...

    This gave the other floors even less room to talk.

    However, Lin Yuan didn''t care about this. Not long after he entered the office, Wu Yong came over.

    "Mr. Lin!"

    With a full smile on his face, Wu Yong walked in: "It''s confirmed that this year''s Spring Festival Gala, Teacher Lan Yan will be performing ''Red Sun''. He''s already rehearsing now."

    "Hmm."

    "Additionally, I need to report some situation to you. The year is anyhow ending, so the company has already made some arrangements regarding next year''s plans. Minor alterations have been made in our work style. The idea from above is that each composing floor should choose two singers for concentrated training.

    These singers should be non-top tier talents, as the market has changed a lot after the merger with Qin Art. A lot of singers have lost their initial dominance in the music industry. We need to launch some fresh faces. They''re specifically requiring....."

    Wu Yong explained the situation to Lin Yuan.

    In essence, the company''s five composing floors should each select two representative singers for cultivation, with the aim of nurturing them into top-tier talents!

    It must be one male and one female.

    The choices between departments should not overlap.

    The timeframe runs until the end of next year.

    By that time, the higher-ups will summarize the department''s training results for each singer.

    This is linked to department performance.

    If the results of the singer training are poor, the performance standards won''t be met.

    And for each floor, performance is directly related to resource allocation, so every department is cautious about their singer selection.

    He confirmed Lin Yuan''s understanding.

    Only then did Wu Yong continue, "So, I wanted to ask Mr. Lin if there are any preferred candidates. We need to make our move soon, or else all the suitable individuals will be monopolized by the other floors. For instance, several floors are eyeing Zhao Yin Ge among the female singers because her fame is high.

    The feedback for all the songs that she has released so far has been good, and hence, promoting her would be relatively simple. There are also two singers similar to Zhao Yin Ge, and I have marked them out on this list."

    Lin Yuan asked, "List?"

    Wu Yong laughed and answered, "The so-called list refers to the range of singers we can choose from. I have already sent it to you. You can take a look. The ones I have marked in red are all high-quality candidates, while the yellow color is the second choice. Only if there are no other options, we may need to fall back on the black color."

    "Hmm, let me take a look." S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan opened his computer and looked at the list Wu Yong sent. As expected, it contained non-top-tier singers, and there were no Kings of Singing. Among the names, Zhao Yin Ge and a few other names were marked in red, indicating that they had the best foundational skills and were the easiest to train.

    There were many more options in yellow, a total of seven to eight names.

    The rest were all marked in black, being the most numerous ones.

    Wu Yong reminded him, "Among female singers, Zhao Yin Ge is the top choice. For male singers, I recommend Shang Boyue as my first choice. Having debuted for three years already, Shang Boyue already has considerable influence in the industry. However, Shang Boyue is highly competitive. It''s also acceptable to choose Huang Xuanyuan, and if worse comes to worst..."

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan responded casually while looking at the list and specifically searching for a name. He had his own target in mind.

    Soon enough, Lin Yuan found the name "Sun Yaohuo" among the black entries.

    The name was not highlighted, making it a bit hard to find, but all Lin Yuan needed was to confirm that his name was on the list.

    "It''s definite that I have to partner with Senior Yao Huo..."

    Without any hesitation, Lin Yuan promptly wrote down Sun Yaohuo''s name.

    Once he confirmed the male singer''s choice, he then looked at the name Zhao Yin Ge, with a little hesitation.

    He began writing down but paused midway.

    "Is Zhao Yin Ge considered a small singer?"

    He looked up at Wu Yong.

    According to Lin Yuan''s contract, if he teams up with a small singer, he gets a higher share. It could be directly settled by himself.

    "Not at all!"

    Wu Yong, oblivious to Lin Yuan''s intentions, made a vigorous effort to upraise Zhao Yin Ge''s status: "The names in red are not small singers. Zhao Yin Ge is the most promising one in the company to become a top-tier singer. She is a budding star that every department wants on their team. Moreover, she already has a collaborative foundation with you.

    Her debut song ''Easy to Ignite and Explode'' was composed by you..."

    "I understand."

    Lin Yuan spoke out, crossing off Zhao Ying Ge''s name.

    Wu Yong was delighted. From his position, he was unable to see Lin Yuan''s choice. However, from his guess, once he made the statement, Mr. Lin would surely start taking Zhao Ying Ge more seriously!

    Lin Yuan didn''t speak, as he was in the middle of a thought process.

    If he wasn''t choosing Zhao Ying Ge, then who should he pick as the female singer?

    Lin Yuan was inclined to select a female singer with whom he was more familiar and also competent enough.

    Right then.

    He noticed "Jiang Kui" among the yellow names.

    Jiang Kui was highlighted in yellow.

    Jiang Kui''s interpretation of ''Balloon'' was quite good.

    More importantly, Jiang Kui could tackle ''Big Fish'' very well.

    The most important point is...

    Uh huh, there was no hesitation this time.

    Lin Yuan directly wrote down Jiang Kui''s name.

    "I have made my choice."

    He voiced out.

    Wu Yong displayed an expectant smile, "Mr. Lin, who are the two you have chosen? I will go and talk to them."

    Lin Yuan replied, "Sun Yaohuo, Jiang Kui."

    Wu Yong: "..."

    His smile instantly froze on his face.

 Chapter 290 - 272 Standard of a Tool Man_1

    "Any issues?"

    Lin Yuan looked at Wu Yong.

    "What the hell with Sun Yaohuo and Jiang Kui! Especially Sun Yaohuo!"

    This was Wu Yong''s internal outcry.

    But he dared not say it.

    He simply tried to maintain a rigid smile, looking at Lin Yuan and said:

    "Mr. Lin, let me analyze the situation for you. The company''s task is to push out two A-list singers. If we choose singers like Zhao Ying Ge, whose momentum has been very good in recent years and are well-known to the public, we can easily push them into the A-list category. However, if you choose to cooperate with singers who are not as popular, we will have to work much harder.

    If we don''t meet the quota, we''ll bear the consequences, which will affect our department''s performance next year..."

    He didn''t understand.

    Wu Yong really didn''t understand.

    If Jiang Kui was a surprise, then picking Sun Yaohuo was downright shocking!

    Wu Yong had to spend a few seconds in deep thought before he could recall the image of the singer in his mind!

    Such a big surprise!!

    Even compared to Jiang Kui, Sun Yaohuo is still a long way off from becoming a top-tier artist!

    Raising Sun Yaohuo to the A-list?

    Was this adding difficulty to the game?

    This singer doesn''t particularly stand out.

    He''s not particularly handsome nor ugly, tall nor short. In short, he''s very ordinary with no distinguishing features.

    His voice is nice enough, not repulsive to the ears.

    But when did "not being repulsive" become a standard for a good singer?

    Even though he worked with Lin Yuan twice and both performances were good, the songs were more popular than the singer -

    This was a strange situation, hard to explain. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Some singers just find themselves in this situation.

    The song might be well-known, and everyone likes it, but the public just don''t really care who the singer is.

    Just like the "old hen theory" Lin Yuan mentioned on his Tribe, which proved to be quite popular.

    Sun Yaohuo was the type of "old hen" that could lay eggs - eggs that tasted fine - yet the public didn''t really care to know him.

    Promoting such a singer would be much more difficult and costly than choosing singers like Zhao Ying Ge.

    Every floor of the composition department had their preferred choices, but Zhao Ying Ge was essentially the main choice.

    Wu Yong was sure of it!

    No floor would have Sun Yaohuo on their list of candidates.

    Moreover, there was another problem with Sun Yaohuo...

    Only the songs Sun Yaohuo collaborated with Mr. Lin on became popular!

    And only the songs were popular, not the singer!

    His collaboration with other composers was average and reaction was mediocre.

    Seeing that Lin Yuan had no reaction, Wu Yong boldly said, "Could we reconsider Sun Yaohuo? We can work with him, but is it a bit... for us to focus on cultivating him?"

    "It''s him."

    Lin Yuan insisted.

    He had always wanted to collaborate with senior Sun Yao Huo again, but due to a series of unfortunate events, it didn''t happen.

    Senior Yao Huo had a dream of being a musician.

    When he heard Senior Yao Huo refer to himself as a singer at the hot pot restaurant last time, Lin Yuan felt a pang in his heart.

    He didn''t know what moved him, but he made a decision to again work with senior Yao Huo.

    "Alright."

    After all, Mr. Lin had the final say in each of the composition floors, and Wu Yong naturally would not argue with him over this.

    "What about Jiang Kui?"

    Wu Yong sighed, "Why not choose Zhao Ying Ge?"

    Lin Yuan said, "Both of them are good."

    Wu Yong helplessly said, "Since both are good, I still think we should focus on training the most promising one. Zhao Ying Ge has an inherent advantage as she came from a talent show. ''Bloom'' has a good viewer base, and Zhao Ying Ge has worked with you before, so she should prefer working with our department..."

    Seeing that Lin Yuan still remained silent...

    Wu Yong could only say, "Actually, Jiang Kui was also within my considerations, but she was only my third choice."

    "Who''s the second choice?"

    "Xia Fan."

    Lin Yuan paused for a moment, then shook his head.

    Of course he saw Xia Fan on the list. Her name was in yellow.

    But it wasn''t that he didn''t want to choose Xia Fan, it''s just that she had told him a while ago that she wanted to venture out on her own.

    Lin Yuan didn''t understand Xia Fan''s rationale, but he supported her.

    Therefore, he chose Jiang Kui.

    Seeing Wu Yong''s confused face, Lin Yuan explained, "Jiang Kui has a better cost-effectiveness."

    The basis for Lin Yuan''s judgment was:

    Jiang Kui took less commission than Zhao Ying Ge, but her singing skills were not weaker than Zhao Ying Ge''s. If that was the case, why not choose Jiang Kui?

    Regarding the basis:

    Lin Yuan believed that as long as the song is good, they could promote the singer with one song or two. With an entire year ahead, they would be able to push someone forward.

    Others might have reservations about writing, but Lin Yuan didn''t.

    Upon hearing this, Wu Yong''s eyes widened.

    Cost-effectiveness!?

    This was certainly not a new term.

    Many composers would mention "cost-effectiveness" when discussing singers privately.

    But mentioning "cost-effectiveness" typically implied that the singer is a tool!

    Only when choosing a tool would a composer consider cost-effectiveness.

    When cooperating with top-notch singers, this idea of ''tools'' didn''t apply.

    But this time, the company''s task was to cultivate A-list talent!

    Who would use the criteria for choosing tools to select the key talents to cultivate?

    This isn''t a beginner''s game!

    Wu Yong looked distressed and said, "The selection is for improving our performance. Can choosing these two people, especially Sun Yaohuo, help us reach our performance goal?"

    "I''ll do it."

    Lin Yuan interrupted.

    Wu Yong seemed much more at ease, and asked unsurely, "Will Mr. Lin get personally involved?"

    He subconsciously dismissed the fact:

    Mr. Lin is a highly productive composer!

    While other departments band together to write songs, in the ninth floor composition department, Mr. Lin enjoyed getting personally involved!

    If Mr. Lin agrees to compose, the lack of a good foundation doesn''t really matter...

    And besides, the company''s requirements are quite high.

    Wu Yong was confident that although other departments also have two choices, it will be enough if they can develop one A-list singer.

    Becoming an A-list isn''t easy after all.

    If Mr. Lin puts in more effort to support Jiang Kui, they should meet their target performance. Whether Sun Yaohuo qualifies isn''t the main issue.

    Finally realizing this,

    Wu Yong felt completely reassured. He nodded seriously and said,

    "That''s all then."

    -------------

    Ps: The last two chapters were a 6000-word guarantee, this chapter is an extra for our biggest donator, Yuanyu. They slid into my DMs, so they get the extra. I have to give it to them.

    Now I can knock off work.

 Chapter 291 - 273 Difficult to Reconcile_1

    "After the company set next year''s task, each floor of the composition department chose their most promising singers..."

    "But I heard that the singers selected by the ninth floor were Sun Yaohuo and Jiang Kui?"

    "It''s really unexpected that Admirable Fish made that decision. The others try to promote the singers who have the best chance of becoming top-tier, while he chose who they didn''t even take into account."

    "What baffles me is that Admirable Fish has worked with Zhao Ying Ge before, but why did he end up choosing Jiang Kui?"

    "Zhao Ying Ge often talks about Teacher Admirable Fish, and it''s clear she wished to be chosen by the ninth floor. However, they didn''t select her. Instead, she received invitations from several other floors, she must be very upset."

    "Jiang Kui is no match for the hype around Sun Yaohuo. Promoting Sun Yaohuo with his background... that''s really tough..."

    "As expected from Maestro Junior. He''s so willful in choosing people."

    "Hehe, isn''t Sun Yaohuo just catching the favor of Admirable Fish? I heard that Sun passed on his ''Ways of Flattery'' to the company''s newcomers, it''s embarrassing."

    "Haha, are you jealous that Admirable Fish chose Sun Yaohuo and not you?"

    "So what if I am? Not only me, I bet eighty percent of the male singers in the company are jealous of Sun Yaohuo! And aren''t you jealous? Your leverage among female singers is even better than Jiang Kui''s."

    "I''m just envious. After all, Jiang Kui started to build a relationship with Maestro Junior early on. Admirable Fish was new to songwriting at that time. If I could go back to two years ago, I would definitely seize the opportunity with him!"

    "..."

    Soon, the list of singers to be highlighted for training by each floor was announced.

    As each floor announced their final list of selected singers, half of the company was discussing the results.

    As the selection of the ninth floor was quite unexpected, this floor sparked the most discussion.

    "Why didn''t Teacher Admirable Fish choose me?"

    In one of the company''s break rooms, Zhao Ying Ge looked a bit disappointed.

    She had already made up her mind, that she would go to Admirable Fish as soon as the ninth floor spoke.

    She even wanted to actively seek him out, but then realized that she wasn''t the same as before.

    It would be somewhat embarrassing to do so.

    She figured that the ninth floor would certainly choose her even without her asking. Almost everyone knew she had the best chance of becoming a top-tier singer in the company!

    And yet¡­

    All the other floors sent her invitations, except for the ninth floor, which didn''t bother with Zhao Ying Ge!

    "Does Admirable Fish not like me? Or did I offend him before...?"

    Facing this outcome, honestly, Zhao Ying Ge felt somewhat wronged.

    While feeling wronged, she was also a bit angry because she somehow felt that Admirable Fish was looking down on her, and it didn''t feel good.

    So, she eventually chose the tenth floor, which was closest to the ninth floor.

    It was more of a spiteful choice!

    The tenth floor wasn''t the strongest, but it was the closest to the ninth floor!

    Zhao Ying Ge wanted to prove her ability in the place closest to Admirable Fish!

    To put it precisely, she wanted to prove to Admirable Fish himself under his watch, that not choosing her was a mistake!

    A nearby assistant comforted her, "It doesn''t matter after all, going by all the floors in the composition department, they all chose you. This already proves that your progress over the past two years has been very successful."

    "..."

    Zhao Ying Ge remained silent. Her feelings were mixed. Maybe it was reversion psychology; the more Admirable Fish didn''t choose her, the more she cared about it.

    Several days later.

    Starlight Entertainment.

    As the singers chosen for grooming by the ninth floor, Sun Yaohuo and Jiang Kui quite literally arrived simultaneously at the composition department to start working.

    "Feels like I got in through the back door."

    Jiang Kui muttered sullenly.

    She of course was aware of the company''s gossip. After all, she was chosen by the ninth floor, stealing Zhao Ying Ge''s spot. In everyone''s eyes, she fell short of Zhao Ying Ge in every way.

    Opposite Jiang Kui. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Sun Yaohuo had a broad smile on his face, seemingly unscathed by the company''s rumors, his spirit appearing strong and full.

    "Doesn''t it make you mad?"

    Jiang Kui looked at Sun Yaohuo with confusion, "Don''t you know the company''s been talking about us? Those words aren''t too pleasant."

    "I know, so what?"

    Sun Yaohuo said with a grin, "Regarding priority, neither you nor I are the best candidates. Being chosen by the ninth floor is purely because of Maestro Junior''s nostalgia. Who cares if people badmouth us? If I were them, I would do the same. Why should I, Sun Yaohuo, be the one promoted? It''s clear the whole composition department is backing us.

    Who couldn''t make it if they were chosen? Don''t you think so?"

    I''d make it if I were chosen too.

    That was the thought of many people when they found out that Sun Yaohuo had been selected.

    When word got out that each major composition department was choosing two singers for intensive training, it sent shockwaves through the singers'' department. Everyone was riled up by the news, some even volunteered...

    Who wouldn''t want to be chosen by the composition department?

    This is an opportunity for prime cultivation!

    Being chosen was equivalent to practically having one foot in the door of an A-list career!

    To the singers, the composition department is a tempting treasure box!

    Upon hearing the news, Sun Yaohuo naturally felt that he wouldn''t be chosen, despite his close relationship with his junior. Thus, he wasn''t holding his breath in anticipation.

    In his mind, it was enough to be treated with a little favor by his junior on good days.

    Because he was cognizant of his situation.

    He''s a singer whose fame hasn''t caught up with his talent, like a hopeless case for improvement.

    But to his surprise, his junior chose him despite the criticism from the company!

    You must know...

    How many male singers with better basic skills than his were dying to get on the list!

    Is there even anything left to say?

    Rather than seething in anger at the singers who belittled him, it would be better to make some achievements to live up to his junior''s high regard for him!

    Jiang Kui was taken aback.

    She suddenly realized that her own status was not as good as Sun Yaohuo''s.

    True, what was there to deny? Wasn''t it through her relationship with Teacher Admirable Fish that she managed to be chosen by the ninth floor?

    Otherwise, Teacher Admirable Fish could have completely chosen Zhao Ying Ge.

    After all, many people in the company know that Zhao Ying Ge is a loyal fan of Teacher Admirable Fish who would love nothing more than to go to the ninth floor!

    So, she might as well openly admit it.

    At such times, all explanations are powerless.

    There''s only one way to counterattack, and that''s to achieve success, shut everyone up, and show them that Teacher Admirable Fish made the right choice!

    Teacher Admirable Fish''s vision is the best!

    Having considered this, Jiang Kui felt relieved and even thought that Sun Yaohuo was quite warm.

    As though infected by Sun Yaohuo, the resentment and anger in her heart were replaced by a strong will to fight. She must never let Teacher Admirable Fish regret his choice!

    "The representative is looking for you two."

    Gu Dong came out to inform them.

    The two nervously entered Lin Yuan''s office.

    At that time, Lin Yuan was thinking about how to cultivate Sun Yaohuo and Jiang Kui in the coming year. When he saw the two coming, he spoke:

    "Please, have a seat."

    They immediately sat down.

    Gu Dong prepared tea for them.

    Lin Yuan''s office is now never short of good tea.

    Because those who know the preferences of this representative, know what he likes.

    "Great tea!"

    The freshly brewed tea was still a bit hot, but Sun Yaohuo took a sip right away, praising it, "I guess I should switch to tea. Coffee can''t compare to this. Junior has a good taste."

    "Isn''t it?"

    Lin Yuan was rather pleased, thinking that his senior was quite similar to him:

    "Take it slow, senior. The tea is a bit hot. If you like it, I''ll send you two... I mean, one box."

    Jiang Kui: "..."

    And she thought Sun Yaohuo was warm earlier.

    In comparison to warm, kisser is a more suitable description for the person in front of her.

    Who would have thought that after such a long time, Sun Yaohuo had advanced even more in kissing up? She was still contemplating how to curry favor, and he had already quickly found the breakthrough.

    So desperate!

    The tea was freshly brewed.

    Wasn''t he afraid of burning his mouth?

 Chapter 292 - 274: Making a Prototype_1

    Unaware of Jiang Kui and Sun Yaohuo''s thoughts, Lin Yuan slowly said, "Can you two cooperate and sing a duet? In other words, harmony."

    "Harmony in a duet?"

    Sun Yaohuo and Jiang Kui exchanged glances, didn''t dare to answer immediately. After thinking for a while, Sun Yaohuo finally said, "We basically can."

    Jiang Kui said, "I can too."

    Both of them were trained professionals, having learned vocal music systematically, of course, they knew how to sing in harmony. However, the ability to harmonize didn''t necessarily equate with singing performance.

    Furthermore. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    They didn''t know what Lin Yuan''s standard for "being able to" was. If it was about the cooperation between two people, it actually needed some time for adjustment.

    Worth mentioning was.

    In professional terms, harmony wasn''t exactly a duet. Non-professionals often confound that harmony is simply the juxtaposition of vocals.

    However, just like dolphin sounds.

    Originally, there wasn''t such a term in the professional field as dolphin sounds, it''s just that it was frequently mentioned by non-professionals, so everyone stopped fussing over it. As long as the meaning is correctly conveyed, it''s fine -- a case of wrong becoming right according to local customs.

    Harmony could be understood as divided parts.

    The lead singer performs the main melody, commonly, another part follows in harmony, usually called second part ¡ª this kind of duet is most commonly and simply performed in a three-five-eight-degree range.

    If the lead singer sings 123.

    The back singer sings 345.

    Based on the harmony, just add three degrees, whether it''s a major third or minor third depends on the chord, of course, according to different vocal ranges, the differences between male and female voice, or for special needs, this three degrees can be flipped to sing in octave.

    Flexible, not rigid.

    But even this kind of duet requires skill. If not practiced sufficiently, disharmony can easily arise, just like when two top vocalists try to perform a duet...

    It isn''t guaranteed that a duet by the King and Queen of Singing will be explosive.

    There will certainly be parts in the duet where they have to harmonize. If they coordinate well, the effect is absolutely more than the sum of their individual efforts. But if their coordination is off, it will feel uncomfortable to the audience.

    The sum can be greater than the parts.

    The sum can even be less than one.

    Hearing Lin Yuan say this, Sun Yaohuo and Jiang Kui both have some idea of each other''s thoughts: "Junior Brother Lin, do you want me and Jiang Kui to perform a mixed-gender duet?"

    Lin Yuan nodded, "Yes."

    The company''s task was to promote a male singer and a female singer. Lin Yuan figured that the easiest way to do so was through a duet.

    Of course.

    Ease was secondary, Lin Yuan was not a lazy person. What mattered most was, this method ¡ª

    was the most cost-effective!

    This was a loophole in the System that Lin Yuan found after much thought. If the system charged for one song per request, why not just request a mixed-gender duet that promoted both singers at the same time?

    "So..."

    Lin Yuan said, "You two can go back and practice some duet songs. It''d be better if you had a professional to guide you. A mixed-gender duet requires a lot of tacit understanding. Both of your vocal ranges and tones match well, so there will not be any vocal clashing."

    "Understood."

    Sun Yaohuo had no objections.

    Jiang Kui naturally had no objections either. With this arrangement, there wouldn''t be any competition between her and Sun Yaohuo. At least for the first song given by the Ninth Floor, the only path to victory was through cooperation.

    ...

    After Sun Yaohuo and Jiang Kui left, Lin Yuan summoned the System.

    Should he customize it thoroughly?

    Or leave it somewhat random?

    Lin Yuan chose the less-costly customization method: "System, I''ll put in a million, customize a mixed-gender duet song."

    Being cost-effective meant risk.

    In a mixed-gender duet, the vocal ranges and tones of both singers had to be considered. If the song provided by the System did not match well with both singers'' voices, that would be problematic.

    But there was another loophole in the system he could exploit to solve this:

    The character card of Yang Zhongming!

    No matter what mixed-gender duet the System offered, Lin Yuan could activate Yang Zhongming''s character card to adapt the song, modifying it to be most suitable for the voices of the two singers.

    He wondered if the System had discovered this loophole.

    Indeed, Lin Yuan couldn''t use Yang Zhongming''s character card for creation, but the System did allow Lin Yuan to use Yang Zhongming''s character card to arrange existing compositions.

    So no matter what song the System provided, Lin Yuan wouldn''t have to worry too much.

    Considering the System might charge at random, he set the customization price at one million.

    "Ding dong."

    The System appeared, "Song customization in progress..."

    Thirty seconds later.

    The System prompted, "Customization of the song is complete, congratulations on obtaining the mixed-gender duet song ''Rooftop''."

    It''s Director Zhou''s song?

    It seems this is the first time getting a song from Director Zhou.

    This song was composed by Director Zhou for Wu Zongxian in his early career. The original version was a duet by Wu Zongxian and Wen Lan, which belongs to the category of classic duets, both quality and recognition were fairly high.

    The System provided two versions.

    The first version was a duet by Wu and Wen, the second version was a duet by Zhou and Wen.

    The former had an older arrangement style, somewhat outdated; the latter fit more with modern musical aesthetics.

    For both versions, Lin Yuan felt they were not bad.

    But maybe because the second version was sung by Director Zhou, it was more popular. Although in Lin Yuan''s opinion, Wen Lan''s voice didn''t match perfectly with Director Zhou''s, and needed studio effects for adjustment.

    The female singer whose voice truly matched Zhou''s should be Jolin Tsai, but let''s not discuss the specific songs now.

    "Wait until their duet chemistry is developed before trying the song."

    "This song isn''t difficult to perform; if Senior Yao Huo and Jiang Kui sing it, it basically won''t need any modifications. This is good news, as it''s best to not change anything if possible."

    With the song confirmed, Lin Yuan prepared to download it.

    But when the download was halfway through, the System prompted, "Download failed."

    Lin Yuan was startled, "No internet?"

    He instinctively wanted to check his wifi.

    "The System does not require internet... The song failed to download because the System hopes that the host would increase participation once again and personally complete the arrangement and the demo recording. This will be the process for all the songs provided by the System in the future."

    "..."

    Lin Yuan said, "Understood."

    He wasn''t angry about it. Lin Yuan didn''t resist increasing his participation in the song. As he said before, he wasn''t a very lazy person.

    If he was going to record it himself, then he would do it ¡ª it was only a demo anyway.

    Having a template for the final arrangement meant that Lin Yuan only needed to exercise his hands-on imitation ability and didn''t need to find someone else to do the arrangement.

    Just like with novels.

    The novels provided by the System in the beginning were directly usable, but later on, the System had Lin Yuan write them himself. The situation was similar now.

    Creating a demo, also known as creating a demo recording, was not difficult.

    All that''s needed is a computer and related software for convenient song recording; Lin Yuan had taken courses on this. Using this as an opportunity to improve his hands-on ability was a good idea, especially since it wasn''t a very formal performance.

    He called over Gu Dong and made the necessary preparations before starting on the demo production.

 Chapter 293 - 275: Kill the Green_1

    The production of the song arrangement sample was completed by Lin Yuan on the same day, although it was just a simplified version. After that, he began to gradually embellish it, but that required more professional equipment and instruments. Hence, Lin Yuan spent the next few days busy with this task.

    In the meantime.

    Sun Yaohuo and Jiang Kui also started to find some duet songs to practice their coordination for singing in a duet. In addition, they found a professional teacher within the company to guide them. Having worked with Lin Yuan before, they knew that Lin Yuan has a very high standard for recording results.

    Hence, they reached a consensus on that aspect quickly, after all, they are now truly on the same boat.

    On the other hand.

    The crew was still shooting "The Tuner," but it was already coming to an end with not many scenes left. Lin Yuan purposely took out a few days to accompany the crew to the moment when the filming would be over...

    That''s the advantage of being a scriptwriter.

    He still has relatively more freedom when it comes to time.

    If Lin Yuan were the director of this movie, for a few months at least, Lin Yuan would have no time for anything else. He would have to lead the crew forward every day, and might not even have time to record songs.

    "Action."

    The last day of filming.

    Lin Yuan is watching from the side on set.

    This is a night scene, and following Yi Chenggong''s instructions, Liu Zhengwen tumbled out. This was his first time leaving the house after he was poisoned and blinded by the female antagonist.

    "Thud."

    Liu Zhengwen bumped into an electric pole and was thrown off. Due to the camera angle, the sponge mattress tied to the electric pole was avoided using a dislocation technique. From the perspective of the lens, Liu Zhengwen genuinely bumped into it.

    There was some redness on his head.

    This was also a filming technique. The sponge mattress was coated with some special paint, creating a wounded effect. Immediately following that, he ran towards the opposite side of the road, but because he was blind and couldn''t see, several cars had to brake urgently.

    The sound of horns blended into one.

    The road was blocked by his car.

    Liu Zhengwen''s panicked posture seemed as if he genuinely couldn''t see. He almost rolled and crawled to the side of the road. The terrified tears mixed with the blood from his scratches made his state absolutely miserable at that moment. Knowing that it was fake, Lin Yuan couldn''t help but feel a hint of sympathy...

    "Cut!"

    Following Yi Chenggong''s command, the shooting for this scene finally ended. In addition, with this command to stop, "The Tuner" also officially ended. The staff had already surrounded Liu Zhengwen. Despite the protection from the props, those falls he took were real.

    "It''s over."

    Lin Yuan smiled, planning to walk over when he suddenly heard a commotion. Yi Chenggong''s voice seemed to carry a bit of anger, "Didn''t they say the clarity was good? Where''s the props team, come out!"

    Lin Yuan was surprised.

    Yi Chenggong is not a hot-tempered person. He rarely lost his temper on set. For some reason, he was angry even though the movie was over. Therefore, Lin Yuan walked over a bit faster, "What''s the matter?"

    "A small problem."

    Liu Zhengwen said with a smile.

    Yi Chenggong glared at Liu Zhengwen, and turned to look at Lin Yuan, trying to temper his anger, "For the authenticity of this scene, Liu Zhengwen suggested that the prop team custom make a contact lens, one that would obstruct his sight when worn. This way, he could better portray the state of a blind person. But I only found out after he''d finished acting that the prop was not done well.

    When worn, the person could not see anything."

    "I could still see a bit."

    Liu Zhengwen tried to explain on the side.

    Yi Chenggong said frustratedly, "I just tried it on myself, I couldn''t see a thing. It was supposed to retain at least 60% of vision. This is as bad as having severe short-sightedness."

    "I''m sorry..."

    The person in charge of the prop team apologized in fright, "We designed it based on the standard that the sky would not be too late. Who would''ve known that the streetlights weren''t effective, and the sky was so dark that it affected our vision..."

    "It''s my fault."

    Liu Zhengwen said with a bitter smile, "I realized my vision was off, but I thought that the more authentic shooting would have a better effect, so I didn''t stop. After all, the stunt teachers knew their limits, safety measures were in place, and I didn''t get hurt. I just fell down for the sake of the effect."

    Yi Chenggong wouldn''t let it go.

    Lin Yuan understood the situation.

    Actually, it was just that the props team was slightly careless, and Liu Zhengwen allowed the mistake to slide, leading to this result. Both the actor and the prop team were responsible. However, Liu Zhengwen was ultimately too persistent with his so-called "effect." Thankfully, no problems arose.

    "Let''s leave it at that."

    He did not let the argument escalate.

    Lin Yuan is the unequivocal core of the crew, what he says holds ground. Even though Yi Chenggong was still dissatisfied with the props and the actor, he did not say much in the end, but let out a sigh,

    "You''re too impatient."

    He was speaking to Liu Zhengwen. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    After Liu Zhengwen had a car accident, his career took a big hit. He was too eager to shine, so that''s why he risked it and shot this scene. In fact, throughout the filming of the entire movie, Liu Zhengwen was very determined. Sometimes, when Yi Chenggong thought a scene was passable, Liu Zhengwen would pull Yi Chenggong to shoot a few more scenes, believing that he could perform better.

    "Sorry, sorry."

    Liu Zhengwen laughed, "Let''s have a wrap party tomorrow, and I''ll foot the bill. Consider it taking responsibility for my mistake this time. Thank you, Mr. Lin, for understanding. I was caught up in the moment just now, so I didn''t stop. It''s my fault."

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan nodded his head.

    Having spent quite some time on set, he had a good impression of Liu Zhengwen. Especially seeing Liu Zhengwen limp as he started to walk away, he didn''t have the heart to blame him anymore. After all, the danger of this scene was getting injured.

    Not too severely, that kind.

    He guessed that Liu Zhengwen probably felt that since today was the last scene, even if he got injured, it wouldn''t be a big problem. This was why he bore the pressure and finished the last shot of the movie.

    The storm subsided for now.

    Lin Yuan then reminded Yi Chenggong to pay close attention to the editing. Post-production work could not afford to be careless. Just because a movie has wrapped up does not mean that it''s over. It could even be said that it has just passed halfway.

    "Phew..."

    After Lin Yuan intervened, the hearts of the crowd settled down, and the crew dispersed. This was the first time Lin Yuan personally experienced the hazards of filming. It seemed that his future crew must implement a variety of safety measures.

    At this moment.

    Liu Zhengwen hadn''t left yet, he just leaned over to Lin Yuan''s ear and whispered a few sentences. The rough idea was not to blame the prop team too much, after all, the prop team had their own negligence as well.

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan agreed, if the one involved was willing to take the blame, then a minor punishment for the prop team would suffice. After all, the one who fell was Liu Zhengwen himself.

    "This line of work is tough."

    After Liu Zhengwen''s departure, Yi Chenggong''s anger had subsided. He sighed, "Actually, everyone is having a hard time. I Believe that for Mr. Lin to achieve such success at a young age, there must have been lots of hard work behind it."

    "..."

    Lin Yuan nodded his head in agreement. His own journey to get here had not been easy either. That''s right, System, isn''t it?

 Chapter 294 - 276: New World Order_1

    The following day, the male lead, Liu Zhengwen, hosted the wrap-up party for the movie.

    After the wrap-up party, Lin Yuan officially recorded the duet "Rooftop" with Sun Yaohuo and Jiang Kui. This song was slated for release in January.

    There were not many bumps along the way.

    By the end of December, both the company and schools were on holiday.

    On the evening of the 31st, Lin Yuan watched the year''s Spring Festival Gala with his family.

    It must be said that the Spring Festival Gala in this world was far more exciting than that of the Celestial Dynasty, perhaps due to the lack of restrictive regulations, and performers were not bound by a myriad of rules on stage.

    Of course, the overall theme was undoubtedly one of positivity and optimism.

    Midway through the Spring Festival Gala, Lan Yan sang the most popular song of the month, "Red Sun".

    As the familiar melody rang out, his family members joined in, humming softly.

    The song, written by Lin Yuan, resonated deeply with his family.

    Just as the Spring Festival Gala was about to end, several special performance segments took place.

    It wasn''t that the performances were peculiar, but the performers who shockingly were all stars from Chu Continent!

    Lin Xuan commented, "The signs are quite clear now."

    Even their mother, a regular person who seldom goes online, nodded in agreement, "It seems that Chu Continent is about to merge in. There will be Qin Province, Qi Province, Chu Province¡­"

    His sister said, "Happy New Year."

    Lin Yuan and the others were taken aback for a moment before they also rang out with "Happy New Year," suddenly feeling a surreal sensation at the moment.

    Another year had passed.

    The new year had truly arrived.

    Just like the signal sent out by the Spring Festival Gala.

    The official announcement came the next day:

    Chu Continent would be merged into Qin-Qi, becoming Chu Province.

    Simultaneously, the cultural wall of the old Chu Continent was eradicated completely with borders between the three provinces dissolved!

    Just like when Qin and Qi provinces merged, the incorporation of Chu Continent triggered a chain reaction across various sectors¡ª

    A brand new round of challenges and opportunities emerged across many fields.

    For the following days, the news reports were constantly focused on these changes. It was a time of extraordinary excitement!

    On the internet, related topics emerged one after another, with the entertainment industry being the most affected:

    "I feel hollowed out, don''t ask me why."

    "Ha ha, the pal above, make sure your nutrition keeps up."

    "Lately, I''ve been reading novels, not sure if it''s because they''re fresh but detective novels from Chu Province seem more exciting than those from Qi Province!"

    "Chu Province''s animated shows are truly matchless!"

    "I''m from Chu continent, guess I should say Chu Province now, Qin-Qi music and movies are great too!"

    "We''ve changed a bunch of furniture at home, and the furniture brands from old Chu are really good." S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "I even changed my car; it''s a Chu-produced car."

    "¡­"

    The impact was felt everywhere!

    Even Lin Yuan''s pseudonyms faced different degrees of impact after the merger.

    Take for instance the pseudonym Xian Yu.

    The song "Rooftop" was recently released.

    Prior to the merger, this song had the potential to top the charts for the season. However, as it turns out, the song ranked sixth for the season based on download numbers¡ª

    Although it didn''t flop, it didn''t meet Lin Yuan''s expectations.

    The more interesting part was...

    Though the song''s seasonal ranking didn''t meet Lin Yuan''s expectations, downloads for "Rooftop" were phenomenally high, with eight million on the first day alone!

    Eight million on the first day.

    This was a record only expected for chart-topping songs in the past!

    Lin Yuan clearly understood what this meant.

    The audience expanded, but this new batch of audience members had slightly different tastes from those in Qin-Qi. The population of Chu Province was not any less than that of Qin-Qi!

    When given some thought, it made sense.

    If the Celestial Dynasty conquered Neon in the real world, the rankings for Neon''s music and anime works would inevitably undergo significant changes!

    This was undeniable.

    Some works may appeal to the people of Qin Province, but not necessarily to those from Qi Province, and even if they appealed to both Qin and Qi, they might not necessarily appeal to those from Chu Province...

    This led to such changes.

    But despite the changes in rankings, these works undeniably brought in significantly more revenue!

    So, when Lin Yuan saw that the song''s ranking didn''t reach his expectations, he wasn''t discouraged. Instead, he was excited!

    In other words...

    The value of a ranking had increased!

    Furthermore, Lin Yuan noticed that the works preceding his also experienced an increase in their statistics¡ªa universal increase!

    This led Lin Yuan to wonder:

    "In the future, many industry standards may change accordingly, such as what constitutes a ''hit songwriter''..."

    Next, let''s look at the pseudonym Chu Kuang.

    The seventh volume of "Ghost Blowing Lamp" also benefited from the merger. Many readers from Chu land became interested in this work and started reading from the first volume, just like the readers from Qin-Qi had started zealously catching up with the works from Chu land...

    However, Chu Kuang''s ranking among short story writers had dropped.

    This was because several short story writers from Chu land had made it into the top ten.

    And the one who reaped the greatest benefits was Shadow!

    Presumably, this was due to the style of Shadow''s works meshing well with the taste of the Chu land audience?

    After merger in the first month not only Lin Yuan released a song, but also the animated adaptation of his comic "King of the Net" was aired!

    Originally, Lin Yuan was concerned that this animated series may be crushed by animations from Chu land.

    However, that was not the case.

    The animation quickly became one of the most popular animations of January, ranking fifth in terms of heat!

    Among the top four on the most popular animated series ranking, three were from Chu Province.

    It was clear, people from Chu Province seemed to love "King of the Net".

    As a result, Shadow, the cartoonist, attracted a massive fanbase from Chu Province, leading to a whopping thirty million followers!

    One could say...

    As the world''s landscape transformed, Lin Yuan was reaping the benefits. He deliberately summarised the achievements of his pseudonyms after the joining of Chu Continent and the subsequent merger.

    In summary.

    The pseudonym Chu Kuang, which handled his works in the literature field, had a fandom surpassing 70 million on Tribe, with a literary prestige reaching 720,000...

    The pseudonym Xian Yu, which handled his works in the music field, had a fandom surpassing 70 million on Tribe, with a music prestige reaching 710,000...

    The pseudonym Shadow, which handled his works in the art field, had a fandom surpassing 30 million on Tribe, with an art prestige reaching 330,000...

    In conclusion.

    Lin Yuan did not feel disheartened about the intensification of competitive pressures across various industries and the decline in the influence rankings of his many identities. On the contrary, he looked forward to more mergers coming about soon!

    His sources of prestige were rapidly increasing!

    Of course, this also served as a reminder to Lin Yuan that the standards for his future works should not just be satisfactory, but they needed to be classic!

    This world...

    Was becoming increasingly challenging.

    Once the seven continents completely merge, Blue Star would likely enter a hellish level of difficulty. Only then would the real battles between gods commence!

 Chapter 295 - 277 - Inflating Ol Chu_1

    It''s worth mentioning that...

    Although the song "Rooftop" did not rank very high this season, relative to Xian Yu''s past songwriting standards, the charts have become increasingly competitive after the merger of Qin, Qi, and Chu provinces. Therefore, this rank does not diminish Xian Yu''s reputation.

    And it''s not just Xian Yu.

    On the same chart, other songwriters from Qin and Qi provinces also experienced various levels of decline in their rankings. Some award-winning songwriters even shockingly fell out of the top ten for the season and were flung beyond the fifteenth place, showing how difficult it is to claim the top spot on the chart now.

    Three of the top five songs are from Chu Province.

    The two songs that took the top spots on the chart were both composed by the Maestro from Chu Province. While it''s true that the Maestro isn''t a special product of Qin Province, and Qin Province''s music does indeed lead the charge in Blue Star, there''s top talent everywhere. It''s just a matter of the quantity and average quality of the talent differing from place to place.

    The third place song is also from Chu Province.

    Although it wasn''t composed by the Maestro, it was sung by Chu Province''s popular King of Singing. Perhaps this is Chu Province''s long-prepared statement, aiming to prove that Chu Province''s music is not lacking and did indeed catch Qin and Qi provinces off guard.

    Judging purely from the reviews...

    The song "Rooftop" is quite good.

    Especially, the listeners from Qin and Qi provinces really enjoy this song. One comment on a music player app sparked numerous likes, stating, "This song unerringly paints a portrait of life after "Red Sun" topped the charts in December."

    Some didn''t understand and asked for clarification.

    Many users responded, "Listen for yourself."

    As a result, a lot of people pondered upon the song "Rooftop" and burst out laughing, "Are you making fun of the gamblers again, suggesting that they''re all on the rooftop watching the moon because they lost their bets?"

    "The rooftop is less crowded."

    "And more spacious."

    "Ah, is that it?"

    "Setting jokes aside, the song is really great. Songs composed by Teacher Admirable Fish are generally above standard, and the melody of "Rooftop" is particularly catchy. Also, I think this is the first time Xian Yu has composed a duet for a male and female. The lyrics and melody are unexpectedly sweet!"

    "My girlfriend and I sang it together at the karaoke."

    "The song didn''t rank particularly high because the Maestro from Chu Province participated. I feel like the competition in the chart in future seasons is going to get tough. However, I trust that the musicians from Qin Province will soon dominate the chart again."

    "..."

    The comment section also saw some listeners from Chu Province downloading and leaving comments on the song. These people even went as far as to confess under Xian Yu''s Tribe page, "Following the merger, the first celebrity from Qin and Qi provinces that we knew of is Xian Yu. We hurriedly downloaded the Tribe app to admire the celebrities."

    And it''s not just Xian Yu.

    Including Chu Kuang and Shadow''s comment sections, many people from Chu Province have confessed there as well. In the past year, the Tribe platform and Qi Province''s blogs have been at each other''s throats!

    The victor is already beginning to emerge.

    Tribe has steadily seized the upper hand, successfully capturing seventy percent of the Qin and Qi market. Therefore, when Chu Province joined, many people from Chu Province also downloaded this most popular social media app in Qin and Qi provinces.

    Chu Province also has a similar application.

    However, Chu Province''s social media platform only has about half the audience that Tribe has, so they have some natural disadvantages. At least for now, they don''t pose a threat to Tribe. Lin Yuan is somewhat curious about what would happen if all countries on Earth merged and unified. Would the social media giants in the Celestial Dynasty like Weibo and Facebook stand a chance?

    ...

    During the Chinese New Year holidays.

    All the major companies have not yet returned to work, but people in the industry are still paying attention to the new season. When they saw the situation on the new song chart, some inevitable discussions arose in the industry, most of which were related to Chu Continent''s joining Qin and Qi provinces:

    "Ol'' Chu has charged in quite aggressively."

    "They deployed two Maestros."

    "I didn''t expect them to scoop up the top three spots!"

    "Can I look forward to a Maestro conflict in December at the end of this year? This is surely because of Chu Province''s market-grabbing entrance. Qin and Qi provinces will undoubtedly retaliate next month, especially with Qin Province being the Land of Music. How could they be willing to be suppressed?"

    "..."

    Even though it''s a merger, regional differences run deep and people from each province still have a stronger sense of belonging to their home province. As Chu Province immediately took the first three spots on the new January song chart, it sparked a lot of Chu Province pride.

    Perhaps spurred by this pride.

    Chu Province immediately launched a media campaign following their dominance of January''s new song chart. Though the wording was subtle, the main thrust of the content was clear: Chu Province is leading the first season after the merger, suppressing local musicians from Qin and Qi provinces. Many musicians from Qin and Qi provinces found these claims a bit nosy: S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Ol'' Chu is acting rather smug."

    "Ignore that they''re claiming to oppress Qi Province musicians in the news, they even dare to include us in Qin Province. Are they unaware of the fear of being dominated by Qin Province''s musicians? They merely took advantage of us not paying much attention to January to steal a temporary victory."

    "They even gave Xian Yu as an example in the news."

    Indeed, there is news in Chu Province comparing themselves to Xian Yu, stating as a renowned songwriter, Xian Yu was suppressed by Chu Province in this season, which shows that Chu Province''s music is indeed among the world''s finest. This is the first time anyone has dared to use Xian Yu as a backdrop.

    This news made a big impression.

    Even though the media that reported this news does not have a significant influence in Chu Province, and the commentary was somewhat attention-seeking, their aim was achieved. Many fans of Xian Yu were very indignant and started criticizing this on Xian Yu''s Tribe page:

    "Xian Yu, quickly rebuke these Chu Province media outlets!"

    "We must harshly educate this wave!"

    "They actually used our musicians from Qin and Qi to highlight their own talent. It''s merely because we didn''t pay much attention to January, mind you. They put forth two Maestros, but our Maestro didn''t even intend to make a move."

    "Why don''t they compare it with ''Red Sun''?"

    "Using one of Teacher Admirable Fish''s works, which is not ranked amongst his most outstanding compositions for the comparison, is downright rogue. If ''Red Sun'' had been released this month, their Maestros couldn''t necessarily have written this month''s chart-winning song."

    "..."

    Even though the media fuelled the comments, the musicians from Chu Province also somewhat intended the same. Just like Qi Province had tried to compare itself musically with Qin Province when they first merged ¨C this is an inevitable side effect of the merger.

    Lin Yuan didn''t feel offended.

    It was not directed at him. The Chu Province media was raising its profile, targeting Qin and Qi Province''s music circles in general. Predictably, Qin and Qi Province''s music circles will fight back fiercely next month. So, Lin Yuan not only refrained from responding to the issue, but he also leisurely began promoting his new film "The Tuner" on Tribe.

    The post-production was fast.

    Unforeseen circumstances aside, "The Tuner" will premiere during February or March of this year. Upon second thought, Lin Yuan realized that promoting the film might also be a kind of retort in itself because the songs in this film...

    Are quite impressive.

 Chapter 296 - 278 He Will Dominate the List_1

    The reason for the promotional activities was that the post-production of "The Tuner" would be completed this month. While other films are directionless amidst countless recorded materials, Xian Yu''s movie shots are purpose-driven. What we call editing is just arranging the sequence, then adding background music, and so on...

    It skips the process of deliberation.

    The speed was as though it were a lousy movie.

    Lin Yuan thought the clamor over the seasonal rankings would subside after a while, but he hadn''t expected that since Chu joined the Qin-Qi alliance, the complications seemed more serious than after Qi joined?

    In the following days.

    Chu''s expansion seemed to get worse, and even some major musicians in Chu publicly claimed that Chu''s music was not inferior to Qin''s. The largest media outlets in Chu have been publicly drumming up support for their musicians, analyzing Chu''s contribution to music from various angles.

    As a result, Xian Yu, the dazzling little Maestro from the end of last year, was once again used by Chu media as a backdrop for illustration...

    At this moment. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The situation intensified.

    This wasn''t just directed at Xian Yu. This also related to Blue Star''s background. Qin''s dominance in the music field is globally recognized as the leader. However, where there''s a first, there is a second. Chu is the second largest musical continent, which Blue Star also basically acknowledges.

    However, Chu doesn''t seem particularly pleased with this, thinking their music is not inferior to Qin Continent!

    Hence, this drama unfolding.

    Chu seemed to want to take this opportunity of joining to confront the musicians of Blue Star head-on. If Chu wins, it will be number one in Blue Star''s music. Choosing Xian Yu as the most significant backdrop is only because Xian Yu just defeated two Maestros last month, and his ranking in this season is not high simply because it was suppressed by Chu.

    "The rhythm of the Qin-Chu music battle?"

    This is the first time that an area has dared to challenge the status of Great Qin as the Land of Music. When Qi merged before, they only dared to brag about their movies and not compete with Qin in music.

    So, when the people of Qi Province, who are also in the merged area, saw that Chu had put on such a fantastic show after the merger, they chose to be spectators even though they lean more towards Qin. It''s a bit like watching a drama.

    As expected.

    Under Chu''s successive challenges, several "Kings of Singing" and Maestros-level famous musicians from Great Qin have spoken out in the next few days, preparing to win this year''s second season. Their evident intention is to strike a blow to Great Chu next month to uphold the reputation of the Land of Music!

    In this process.

    That includes even Lin Yuan''s favorite character card, the strongest maestro of Starlight, Yang Zhongming. It is unclear whether the Chu people have angered this Maestro or if Starlight hopes that Yang Zhongming will make a move to bring prestige to the company, but in any case, Yang Zhongming has decided to step in.

    Wow!

    With the big guns stepping in, the internet was buzzing. The topic of the Qin-Chu music battle unsurprisingly became the hottest search in the tribe. Below the hot search, there were fierce keyboard battles between netizens from Qin, Qi, and Chu:

    "Great Chu is mighty and domineering!"

    "Everyone says Qin Province is the Land of Music in Blue Star, but I think our Great Chu''s music is also very good, it''s just that Qin is too famous, and because of the previous cultural wall, the outside world lacks understanding of us. In fact, we are not inferior to Qin Province!"

    "Listen to Great Chu''s Music!"

    "Doesn''t Great Chu seizing the top three spots of the seasonal rankings as soon as they joined the merger prove something? Don''t say that the Maestros of Great Qin didn''t make a move, we also have many experts in Great Chu who haven''t participated yet."

    "Exactly."

    "In many fields, our Great Chu is actually very advanced in Blue Star, such as our animated films, our electrical appliances, our car brands, etc. Just like these fields, our music should not be underestimated."

    "..."

    It seemed that not only the musicians of Great Chu were confident about their own music, but ordinary people of Chu also had similar thoughts, which is why the prelude to this great battle was unfolding. However, the Qin people naturally wouldn''t accept this:

    "Is the title of ''Land of Music'' for nothing?"

    "The entire Blue Star recognizes the music achievements of Great Qin, only you Chu people do not. In that case, let''s wait and see. Also, stop using Xian Yu as a backdrop. After all the fuss you''ve made, you''ve only been competing with an undergraduate from our Qin Continent Art School who hasn''t even graduated yet."

    "This is boasting without comparing."

    "Most of the top musicians in Blue Star''s music scene are from Great Qin, and whether it''s Maestros or Aces, we Qin people have the most. If you really want to compare strength, you Chu people don''t have much chance."

    "..."

    Netizens from Qin and Chu were at loggerheads, while netizens from Qi Province were fanning the flames and making jokes. They acknowledged Qin''s musical status on the one side while encouraging Great Chu to fight great Qin''s prestige on the other side.

    Below Xian Yu''s Weibo post.

    More and more fans began to call for Maestro Junior to join the battle. To the Qin people, who are inherently proud, Chu in terms of music is just a little brother. Now that Great Chu keeps using Xian Yu as the talking point, if Xian Yu does not respond, it would seem as if he is afraid of them.

    "Stop making films."

    "Teacher Admirable Fish, counterattack quickly!"

    "The Chu people have been very arrogant recently!"

    "If Teacher Admirable Fish brings out another ''Red Sun,'' it will definitely shut the Chu people up. Creation certainly needs time. If not in February then in March, if not in March then in April, something must be said, or else wouldn''t they have consumed the Chu people for nothing?"

    "..."

    Not just the fans.

    The music circle in Qin Province was also guessing whether Xian Yu would make a move. If he hadn''t won the Battle of the Gods in December, there wouldn''t be such high expectations of him in the music scene of Qin Province. But now, many people believe Xian Yu has a chance to defeat the Maestro!

 Chapter 297 - 278: He will sweep the list_2

    "Does it seem like he''s about to make a move?"

    The netizens from both Qin and Chu were extremely invested, even Lin Yuan, who initially didn''t care that much about this event, subtly felt that he needed to respond. Not because he was provoked, but because Lin Yuan saw a business opportunity from it! S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Yes, a business opportunity!

    The Music Battle between Qin and Chu had unified people everywhere, practically delivering an unprecedented opportunity to Lin Yuan. If he seized this chance, he could certainly boost his Prestige Value enormously!

    "Prestige Value..."

    If he could represent Qin Continent''s music in the battle, Lin Yuan felt like he could see numerous Prestige Values waving at him. He didn''t even need to specifically compose a new song, because his work was already available:

    The several piano pieces from the movie!

    This was also a great chance to ride on the coattails of the event''s popularity. Lin Yuan could utilize the music battle to promote his movie "The Piano Tuner", knowing that promotion was greatly important for a movie!

    So what was he waiting for?

    This time, without much hesitation, Lin Yuan immediately posted the poster of "The Piano Tuner" using Xian Yu''s account. In his status update, he dropped a hint, "This movie is also known as The Piano Tuner. As the name suggests, I created some music for this movie, including some piano pieces. You can find the answers you want in this movie."

    Whooosh!

    Though his status update was similar to the previous one, with Xian Yu still talking about the movie, this time the fans were hooked. His comment section immediately exploded with netizens leaving crazy messages:

    "Is he seizing the opportunity?"

    "He composed the movie score?"

    "Stop talking, I''m buying a ticket!"

    Some noticed Xian Yu''s cunning, "This is implicitly promoting the movie. You are indeed a marketing genius. If I don''t hear satisfactory music after watching the movie, don''t blame me for going crazy, Teacher Admirable Fish."

    "Are you the Prince of Ning?"

    "Should I piss myself now?"

    "When will the movie be released?"

    "It seems that Teacher Admirable Fish enjoys mixing his personal stuff in movies. Last time it was poems and couplets, this time he has composed piano pieces for the movie. And the movie is also called ''The Piano Tuner'', so is this a music-oriented movie?"

    "Nice, Xian Yu is stepping up!"

    "Actually, it doesn''t matter whether Xian Yu steps in or not. Many big shots from Great Qin have already stepped up. Great Chu would definitely lose this time. However, who told Chu people to constantly use Xian Yu as an example? If a tiger doesn''t show its might, do you really think that Teacher Admirable Fish is just a fish?"

    "..."

    Even though it seemed like he was riding the popularity wave, no one seemed to mind, as Xian Yu''s new movie perfectly fit the theme. It even appeared as if it was specifically prepared for the Qin-Chu Music Battle, giving people a sense of organic integration.

    Lin Yuan''s strategy worked.

    The moment he rode on the popularity wave, the attention for the new movie soared. Many people started to search for information about the movie. Some movie review websites even had the entry of "The Piano Tuner", though detailed information was not available yet.

    "Brilliant!"

    Number Eight ended his annual leave.

    The day he returned to work, Ol'' Zhou couldn''t stop smiling. He immediately approached Xian Yu: "The promotion you''ve done is excellent. Some cinemas have contacted us about the screening of ''The Piano Tuner''. When will post-production be finished?"

    "On the fifteenth."

    Lin Yuan answered. Since this was not a web movie, like a normal one, it needed time for scheduling. The movie release date was not entirely under his control. However, with the tailwind from the Qin-Chu Music Battle, these problems would no longer be issues!

    In this sense, Lin Yuan even somewhat appreciated the Chu people for constantly using him as a stepping stone. It was precisely because of them stirring up enmity and provoking the unity of the Qin people that so many people started to pay attention to his movie!

    "However..."

    Ol'' Zhou voiced his concern: "I haven''t heard the tracks in your movie. Can you guarantee their quality? If you''re not sure, I can let our company''s Maestros assist you. They should have some unpublished works that are of high quality."

    "No problem."

    Lin Yuan was confident.

    His confidence never came from himself, but from the classic compositions popular in his past life. "Mariage d''Amour" was undoubtedly a killer song. One could even say that this was the time that Lin Yuan had the most confidence!

    "You''re confident..."

    Ol'' Zhou nodded. He had no doubts about Lin Yuan''s music-composing skills. However, since this matter was of significant scale, if the pieces in "The Piano Tuner" were not convincing enough, not only would the movie tank, Xian Yu''s reputation as a composer would also greatly suffer.

    Riding the popularity wave was a double-edged sword.

    The Qin-Chu Music Battle concerning glory could indeed gain enormous attention for "The Piano Tuner". However, it also raised people''s expectations for the pieces in the movie to an unprecedented level. If these expectations weren''t met, the consequences would be unthinkable.

    The blow would be too hard for Xian Yu to bear.

    So, to err on the side of caution, he suggested, "Why not let Yang Zhongming give them a listen? He might offer you some advice. I''m not doubting your works this time, but they''re indeed important!"

    Lin Yuan said, "Sure."

    This time, real gold fears no fire.

    Ol'' Zhou nodded and took Lin Yuan to the fourteenth floor. The fourteenth floor was the highest level of the music composing department and was managed by Yang Zhongming. As a top Maestro in Blue Star, it was certainly inappropriate to have Yang Zhongming visit Lin Yuan. Instead, Lin Yuan visiting Yang Zhongming was more fitting.

 Chapter 298 - 278 He Will Slaughter the List_3

    This is the etiquette due from a junior.

    Lin Yuan didn''t see any problem with it. In fact, he harbored special feelings for Yang Zhongming. Setting aside those pieces provided by the System, Lin Yuan felt that Yang Zhongming was the person who gave him the most gains¡ª

    The latter was Lin Yuan''s true teacher!

    Because most of Lin Yuan''s real knowledge in composition was actually imparted by Yang Zhongming''s character card. Even if Yang Zhongming himself had no knowledge of this, Lin Yuan had indubitably learned a lot from him.

    Not much later.

    They reached the fourteenth floor.

    Old Zhou led Lin Yuan into a quiet office, knocked at the door, and waited till a voice inside invited them in. Then, he pushed open the door and walked in. Lin Yuan then saw a man in his early forties looking up at him.

    The man was about one meter eighty centimeters tall.

    He was tall with somewhat gaunt cheeks, slightly recessed eye sockets as if from chronic lack of rest, and thinning hair, common for a man his age. One could imagine that in his youth he must have been a very attractive man.

    "Hello, Teacher Yang."

    Lin Yuan took the initiative to speak.

    This was the first time the two had met. Yang Zhongming could never imagine that Lin Yuan was already very familiar with this visage of his, and even the composition knowledge Yang possessed was not strange to Lin Yuan.

    Having received prior notice from Old Zhou.

    Yang Zhongming didn''t get surprised at Lin Yuan''s appearance. He just stared at Lin Yuan, curiously studying him, before slowly saying after some time:

    "I know who you are."

    Old Zhou laughed, "I just mentioned the matter to you. Listen to Lin Yuan''s composition this time. If you say it''s alright, then I will be reassured. Poorly handling this matter could ruin Xian Yu. I hope you take it to heart."

    "Xian Yu cannot be ruined."

    Yang Zhongming''s expression was suddenly quite serious, then he said softly to Lin Yuan, "There is nothing wrong with the song ''Rooftop.'' It''s just that the Chu people are playing some sly tricks, which allowed them to take some advantage."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    He, of course, knew there was no problem with ''Rooftop''. However, Yang Zhongming''s words had a comforting effect, so Lin Yuan didn''t say anything more and simply took out his phone, "Shall I play the tune for you?"

    Yang Zhongming said, "Can you play it?"

    Lin Yuan nodded, "I can, a little."

    Yang Zhongming glanced at the piano by the window.

    Lin Yuan got the hint and directly sat down at the piano. He didn''t choose any other song from the film, but chose to play ''Mariage d''Amour,'' which carried the most weight in the film and was a piece he had cherished since drawing it early on.

    Old Zhou sat down.

    However, Yang Zhongming stood straight up. The look of expectation in his eyes was palpable. Many newcomers had appeared in this circle, but not every newcomer could catch the Maestro''s attention. Xian Yu was one of the few who was noticed by many right after his debut.

    Touching the piano.

    Lin Yuan swayed slightly as lean fingers danced expertly across the keys like little fish joyously swimming between water and nature on a rainy riverside. The tranquil piano music gave people the feeling of being caught in the mist.

    It was not intense.

    Yet, Lin Yuan''s piano sound possessed an indescribable force, like a note falling onto the surface of a tranquil lake, stirred waves of ripples in Yang Zhongming''s heart...

    Old Zhou''s eyes slightly changed.

    Even if his music appreciation ability was not up to par with Yang Zhongming, he could still recognize the impressiveness of this piece. What surprised him even more was that Lin Yuan''s performance technique was very professional which could only be achieved with countless hours of training!

    Yang Zhongming gently closed his eyes. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This piano sound seemingly had a kind of magic that made his mood pure as the bright moon is pure. The finger bouncing on piano is like telling a beautiful and moving story, accompanied by an inexplicable sadness.

    Lin Yuan''s left hand quickened its pace.

    The sounds of a piano are always simple yet rich; soft as the sunlight on a winter day, warm and peaceful, and harsh as steel balls sprinkling on the ice, clear and piercing. Amidst such tranquility, deep as the night, there was a soundless, boundless power radiating towards the horizon.

    A few minutes later.

    Lin Yuan stopped playing.

    The last note slipped through his fingers. By now, Old Zhou was smiling from ear to ear, but Yang Zhongming was still moving his fingers in the air as if he was comparing Lin Yuan''s recent sheet music performance, seemingly immersed in it.

    "Ahem, how was it?"

    Old Zhou couldn''t help but break the silence. He needed Yang Zhongming''s professional ability to judge. In his hearing, this piece was very impressive, but if asked him to specifically describe what was impressive about it, he wouldn''t be able to evaluate it professionally. Most people''s feelings when listening to a piano are simply two types:

    Either pleasant to the ear or unpleasing.

    Yang Zhongming slightly widened his eyes, glanced at Old Zhou, seemingly discontented with Zhou''s interruption of his mental state, then his gaze fixed on Lin Yuan. This was the first time he felt he couldn''t completely understand a junior.

    "You played well."

    Old Zhou was a bit speechless. "We are not discussing piano playing skills now, let''s talk about this piece. Teacher Yang, do you think that there is room for modification, or can it be directly used in the movie?"

    "Everything you just said is meaningless."

    Yang Zhongming didn''t leave face for Old Zhou, causing Old Zhou''s face to turn a shade of red. Then he comforted himself internally that after John was the Maestro, and anyway, on normal days Xian Yu didn''t leave him any face either. In a way, these two were quite alike.

    Another moment of silence followed.

    A smile appeared on Yang Zhongming''s face. This was the first smile he revealed since Lin Yuan and Old Zhou came in. But before Zhou could say anything, Yang Zhongming said, "I''ll be leaving in February, Director Zhou, please help me to make an announcement."

    "Why?"

    Old Zhou''s eyes widened.

    Yang Zhongming looked at Lin Yuan, and his smile became a bit warmer, "Because February belongs to him, I won''t join the crowd."

    "But¡­"

    "He will dominate the charts."

    Yang Zhongming interrupted Zhou''s words.

    The eyes of Old Zhou widened immediately. It seemed as if he was choked, he even whimpered several times, then with a slightly trembling voice, he said:

    "Okay!"

 Chapter 299 - 279: When the Wind Rises_1

    It seemed like Yang Zhongming''s approval had given Ol'' Zhou boundless confidence. Immediately aftre the post-production of the movie "Tuner" was completed, he couldn''t wait to take the finished film to negotiate screenings with the cinemas.

    His efficiency was pretty high.

    With the backing of Starlight and the heat generated by the film''s publicity, the movie had finally secured its release date for February 1st of this year under Ol'' Zhou''s hard work.

    Just in time for the start of the new season.

    Subsequently, Lin Yuan announced this news on the tribe. At the same time, he also released the poster and revealed more information about the movie, such as its genre. However, what the public was more interested in were the songs that would be featured in the movie.

    "It''s finally been scheduled!"

    "The timing is just right!"

    "It''s a suspense movie; I thought it would be a comedy like ''Flirting Scholar.'' However, I''ll still go see it, it''s like Teacher Admirable Fish holding a concert in the film."

    "Add one for the comment above."

    "A good film can make a good song. I didn''t expect one day I would pay attention to a movie for its soundtrack. Teacher Admirable Fish is so crafty, he even said that the answer to his response can be found in the movie... "

    "Go Teacher Admirable Fish!"

    "The film''s music better not disappoint, otherwise Chu people might go mad. If we don''t show them some colors, they might think our title as the Land of Music is undeserved."

    "..."

    Everyone''s attention was guided, which was also related to the poster images published by Lin Yuan on his tribe status. In these nine poster images, the most prominent one is the male protagonist Liu Zhengwen playing the piano.

    Playing the piano.

    This scene naturally reminds people of Lin Yuan''s previous response and the upcoming music feud between Qin and Chu. It seems that the message hidden behind this poster is Admirable Fish''s weapon for the second season.

    Besides encouragement from fans.

    Admirable Fish''s tribe comment area also had a lot of comments from Chu people. Although they couldn''t be considered aggressive, they were somewhat defiant. Given that Admirable Fish never liked controlling comments, some sarcastic voices emerged here.

    "Is Maestro Junior from Great Qin really that good?"

    "I advise you to give up the February battle."

    "We, Great Chu, sent out three maestros to compete. The only ones who can compete head-on with our maestros are your maestros from Great Qin. Maestro Junior and such should stop joining in the fun and devote themselves to their movie."

    "Is he a filmmaker or a musician?"

    "This Maestro Junior from Great Qin just wants to ride on the heat, but you''re acting as if he''s really worth waiting for. His focus is on the film; he didn''t even intend to respond to the competition between Qin and Qi music."

    "February 1st, tut."

    "This is where this guy is smart. If his ranking doesn''t look good by then, Maestro Junior can completely argue that his song was created for the film''s theme. He didn''t even participate in the season''s competition. Anyway, my comment stays here; feel free to come back later to contradict."

    "..."

    Everyone could see that Admirable Fish was smartly hitching a ride on the publicity train, a shrewd promotional move. Therefore, this theory had quite an audience for a time, and Admirable Fish''s comment area instantly became a battleground for Qin and Chu netizens.

    During the dispute between both parties.

    Starlight suddenly announced Yang Zhongming''s withdrawal from the February battle. The news was posted by the official account, and Yang Zhongming himself reposted it to express his position. This immediately stirred up a thousand-layer wave among Qin, Qi, and Chu!

    "Why is Father Yang stepping down?"

    "Father Yang, don''t give up!"

    "Is Great Qin showing weakness? "

    "Hahahaha, isn''t Yang Zhongming considered one of the strongest maestros in Great Qin? Why is he chicken before the battle begins? He announced his participation not too long ago, and now he suddenly stops. Is this an admission of defeat?"

    "What''s with Father Yang?"

    "Father Yang must have his reasons for not participating. Don''t listen to those babbles from Chu people. When has Father Yang ever been afraid? Father Yang is the only maestro who is guaranteed to win a championship any time he competes!"

    "..."

    Perhaps the controversy was so great that it could affect Yang Zhongming''s reputation, so Starlight made a direct response: "In February, Starlight already has Teacher Admirable Fish participating, and after hearing Teacher Admirable Fish''s new work, Father Yang didn''t want to cause internal competition in the company. Maestro Junior is capable enough to handle everything. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    In March, Father Yang will officially step in. What''s destined to come will come (funny face)."

    This shut the outsiders up.

    The musical contest between Qin and Chu may last for a while. It''s not too strange for Yang Zhongming to choose to compete in March. However, this narrative again shifted all attention to Admirable Fish ¡ª

    "Are they so confident in Admirable Fish?"

    Not to mention the composers from Great Qin, even musicians from Great Chu were surprised. However, this also led to greater attention on the movie "Tuner." From a publicity perspective, this movie cleverly rode the publicity wave, forming a binding effect on the attention!

    If done well, a blockbuster movie sale!

    If not, Admirable Fish will crash under the hype!

    It''s fair to say that no Blue Star movie has ever garnered such a massive publicity boost before its release like "The Tuner," with millions spent on promotion, an effect you could only attain from countless sums of money. It was uproariously stirred up by a music battle.

    Forget the music industry.

    The film industry is also dumbfounded.

    This Xian Yu is too audacious, last time he made "Flirting Scholar," purely riding on the popularity of online big movies, it vividly competed with in-theatre movies. This time, he got such explosive publicity with super low cost!

    Just so you know.

    Even some big-budget movies screening in February, having burned tens of millions on publicity intending to catch the audience''s eye, falls short on promotional effect when compared to "The Tuner"!

    But...

    Isn''t he afraid of not being able to wrap up this big game in the end? If this doesn''t work out, it could be a total ruin of his reputation, much like the Celestial Dynasty''s delegates representing their district in a competition. Expectations are raised so high, carrying so many people''s hopes, a loss would undoubtedly lead to severe backlash!

    There''s no doubt about that!

    Even though Xian Yu has always been popular with the general public, this wave could land him in a disadvantageous position. This is also why despite feeling Lin Yuan''s confidence, Ol'' Zhou still insists Yang Zhongming have an extra layer of insurance.

    Not to mention industry insiders.

    Even Xian Yu''s fans could not help but sweat. There is a fan group named "Fish''s Joy," where many fans were discussing "The Tuner" and the Qin-Qi music fight in February:

    "Feels like it''s a big game."

    "It''s not ideal for Fish Papa to ride on the coattails of this hot wave, as Maestro does have a hand in the Chu side. Despite Fish Papa beating Maestro before, this time the Maestros have increased significantly. If it''s the Great Qin''s Maestro suppressing Fish Papa, it''s alright, but if it happens to be the Chu people suppressing Fish Papa, Fish Papa''s reputation will totally collapse!"

    "Damn, I''m worried."

    "Isn''t high attention a good thing?"

    Some felt confused about this stand.

    Someone quickly explained in the group: "It''s not that high attention is bad, but it''s rather that Fish Papa is now placed on a pedestal. Out of a full score of 100 points, if Fish Papa can achieve 90 points at most, this round Fish Papa''s work must score 95 points to win hearts."

    There are many people who see through this.

    In simple terms, Xian Yu originally planned to ride the wave, but the flame raged too fiercely. If he''s not careful, the heat could burn him. Playing with fire has always been risky.

    "Indeed."

    "Even if Fish Papa presents another ''Red Sun'', it wouldn''t help, especially after Father Yang suddenly announced his withdrawal. This made many outsiders put their bets on Fish Papa. But do you think it''s realistic for Fish Papa to slaughter a bunch of Maestros? Even as an obsessed fan, I dare not say such words."

    "..."

    The people in this group are all loyal fans of Xian Yu and have been following the matter since Xian Yu officially responded. They watched Xian Yu being raised to such a high position, naturally, there would be worries.

    At this moment.

    The group owner, Winter Plum Blossom appeared. The owner was said to be a mysterious tycoon who seldom spoke after creating the Xian Yu fan group ¡ª only popping up to distribute a bunch of red envelopes. Today was no different. First came a thousand bucks of red envelopes, then came the words: "Fish Papa has this under control."

    "Really?"

    "Does Winter Plum Blossom have an inside scoop?"

    "Fish Papa can stabilize this wave?"

    With the group''s inquiries, Winter Plum Blossom sent another message: "I can''t reveal specifics, but I can tell you that you mustn''t miss ''The Tuner.'' Otherwise, you''ll miss Fish Papa''s classic debut piano composition."

    "Classic debut?"

    "What does it mean?"

    "What''s the situation?"

    People in the group continued to inquire, but Winter Plum Blossom did not show up anymore, leaving many in the group stunned and contemplative. Because the Winter Plum Blossom, this group owner, truly was mysterious, seemed to know some inside secrets and as though could get early access to Xian Yu''s works.

    The outside world is rife with speculation.

    The fire keeps getting bigger.

    As the time moved into late January, the atmosphere of a big battle and an impending storm seemed to become increasingly intense. With Qin and Chu Maestros frequently seen, the Kings, and Queens of Singing refused to lag behind, imbuing the new season with a special meaning. The spectators from the Qi region described February as:

    Battle of the Gods, an upgraded version!

    Compared to last year''s dog betting frenzy, this upgraded Battle of the Gods, with the added territorial conflicts from the new state merger, is an unasked-for product of the era, which brings a unique color to this matter.

    With the anticipation of countless people.

    The bell finally tolled on the 1st of February.

    The works participating in the Qin-Chu music battle have reached their release moment. And in many movie theatres, a movie named "The Tuner" was officially screened¡ª¡ª

    The wind begins to blow.

 Chapter 300 - 280: Reversal_1

    The Hall Three of Suzhou Gale Cinema is buzzing with people who are gradually finding their seats according to the number on their movie tickets.

    In the center of row eight, the coveted ''prime location'',

    Dai Rui, who has already settled down, glances around and mumbles: "What a publicity hound."

    Dai Rui is a native of the Great Chu.

    Since Great Chu had merged, Dai Rui came to work in Qin Province.

    The film he chose to watch is the hotly debated recent movie "The Tuner".

    He was not originally planning on watching this film.

    But his friend Zhang Bin, sitting on his left, insisted they watch it together, so he reluctantly entered the cinema.

    At this point.

    Hearing Dai Rui''s grumble, Zhang Bin on his left responds,

    "This is not riding on the coattails of popularity, but Xian Yu''s confidence. You, as a Chu person, do not understand how amazing our small maestro from Qin Province is. You will understand once you finish the movie."

    Zhang Bin is a Qin person.

    Recently, Zhang Bin and Dai Rui often discussed privately whose hometown music was better.

    Today, Zhang Bin brought Dai Rui to see the film in order to show him Xian Yu''s composing talent.

    ''Our group master Winter Plum Blossom says that the song in this film is a classic, there must be some inside information.''

    Zhang Bin thought to himself.

    He is a member of the Xian Yu fan group "Music of Fish" and a hardcore fan of Xian Yu. He would surely support the premiere of Xian Yu''s new film.

    Dai Rui snorted, saying, "Bin, if your bravado bites you in the end, it''ll be embarrassing."

    Zhang Bin replied casually, "Just listen and see."

    In fact, more than 70 percent of those who chose to watch "The Tuner" premiere came for the music.

    After all, Xian Yu announced that the music in this film was his response to Great Chu.

    While Dai Rui and Bin are chatting, the film has already begun...

    In the black screen, an off-screen voice can be heard.

    It''s a man''s voice: "This is a long story ... what kind of tea do you want?"

    "Coffee."

    The voice of a woman responds.

    Then, the screen light up.

    It''s a field, a rabbit is stealing vegetables, a dark-skinned man holds a hunting gun in the distance, carefully approaching.

    The rabbit senses danger and begins to run.

    The hunter follows, suddenly firing a shot.

    The screen darkens again, the off-screen sound comes again, it sounds like a car toppling, followed by a woman''s scream.

    When the screen lights up for the third time, the shot has switched to a house.

    Inside the room, a young man is playing the piano.

    A rhythmic melody flows out little by little with the youth''s performance.

    Although the opening plot was not understood, the audience in the cinema were instantly captivated by the piano sound as soon as it began.

    This is a very distinctive song!

    Some audience began discussing in a low voice. Zhang Bin''s eyes lit up. He turned to Dai Rui with a hint of triumph, "How about that?"

    "..."

    Hearing the sound of the piano, Dai Rui had to admit in his heart that the song was excellent, but it was still wanting if taken as a response to the music battle with Qin Qi.

    So Dai Rui said,

    "First of all, I''m not a troll or being obstinate. The quality of this song is indeed good, but it''s not persuasive enough for me."

    Zhang Bin furrowed his brows.

    He thought the song was already very excellent, but if Dai Rui insisted on saying that, he seemed to have no way to refute, because this song could indeed not clinch the argument!

    Is this Teacher Admire Fish''s response?

    Indeed very potent, but it seems inadequate to quell all doubts.

    As expected...

    When the anticipation is raised too high, it will create a negative effect.

    If it weren''t for this wave of hype ratcheting up the external anticipation too much, this song would actually have been very impressive indeed. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Zhang Bin started to feel somewhat depressed.

    The situation for Teacher Admire Fish doesn''t look too good...

    What follows is the story setup.

    Although the vast majority of people came for the music, since they''re here, they''re going to see what the movie is about.

    Resultingly, many people''s eyes widened in astonishment!

    Because the story that followed left many people stunned!

    The protagonist, Ye Shen, is a young pianist.

    The film uses jump cuts to show Ye Shen''s work situation.

    He is hired by different families, frequently playing music at different people''s homes.

    Given his blindness, the homeowners are extremely bold.

    For instance, when Ye Shen is playing the piano in a villa, the mistress, home alone, strips herself bare and dances freely to the music...

    In another instance, while Ye Shen plays in a living room, a man and a woman secretly commit an adulterous act in front of him, behind someone in the kitchen...

    Or when Ye Shen plays in a room, an unconventional homeowner, captivated by Ye Shen''s handsome features, does unspeakable things with his dolls...

    "Damn!"

    Though the explicit scenes were obscured, Dai Rui and Zhang Bin couldn''t resist shouting in surprise upon seeing these sequences.

    It wasn''t just Dai Rui and Zhang Bin.

    The other audience members in the cinema also emitted ambiguous sounds.

    In front of the blind Ye Shen, these wealthy individuals exposed their disgusting personalities.

    Ye Shen, as a blind man, seems oblivious to everything happening around him, solely committed to playing his piano.

    "Whoosh!"

    The scene jumps for the second time, apparently a sequel to the previous scenes.

    The woman who had danced naked lightly kissed his cheek as Ye Shen finished playing; the adulterous couple abruptly separated at the end of the piano piece, with a household member unknowingly leaving the kitchen.

    The unconventional male host looked listless, following a parabolic white streak through the air.

    "......"

    By now, everyone had forgotten about anything related to music and was utterly bewildered by those images.

    "Thank you for your performance, you will undoubtedly become a great pianist!"

    A male host handed over his payment to Ye Shen, full of praise.

    Ye Shen thanked the man for his payment, then exited through the door, the man turned around and the camera light fell on his naked behind.

    Ye Shen, wearing dark glasses, left the mansion of the rich.

    The outside world was beautiful and normal.

    The men smartly dressed in suits, looking sophisticated while carrying their briefcases on the streets.

    The women were dressed up formally, quiet, ladylike, and would instinctively cover their skirts when a gust of wind blew.

    Dai Rui couldn''t resist commenting, "It''s so ironic, this film really has something."

    Zhang Bin nodded.

    Like many others in the cinema, who came specifically for the music, he was now captivated by the plot of the movie, even forgetting to argue with Dai Rui about the Qin Chu Music Battle.

    Feeling done for the day.

    When Ye Shen was preparing to go home, he ran into a woman named Sofi.

    Essentially, Sofi accidentally bumped into Ye Shen while riding her bike, and that''s how they met.

    Sofi learned that Ye Shen could play the piano and played it very well, so she became fond of him.

    She didn''t mind Ye Shen''s blindness, in fact, she took extra care of him.

    "How nice."

    Sympathising with the weaker ones is a human instinct.

    Regarding Ye Shen''s blindness, the audience was very sympathetic. Seeing a girl not shunning Ye Shen''s blindness, the audience found it very beautiful.

    One day.

    As usual, Sofi was dropping Ye Shen home.

    After stepping through the door, Ye Shen suddenly took off his glasses and casually shut the door. His movements were natural, completely devoid of earlier hesitancy and groping.

    And then, the audience momentarily paused.

    Then, something that made people scream happened!

    Ye Shen looked in the mirror, extracted something like a contact lens from his eyes, and swiftly moved to the window to watch Sofi leaving¡ª

    As it turns out, Ye Shen was faking it!!

    He was not blind at all!!!

 Chapter 301 - 281: Another Turnaround_1

    Faced with the sudden plot twist in the film, all the spectators in the theatre were gobsmacked!

    Nobody could have expected that Ye Shen was not blind!

    Thinking back to Ye Shen''s employment history, those wealthy individuals had exposed their entire selves in front of this ''blind man''...

    "Wow, this plot twist is insane!"

    "I genuinely thought the protagonist was blind at first!"

    "Doesn''t that mean that the woman who was dancing naked earlier was fully seen by Ye Shen, and so were the couple having an affair, oh god, and that man who was doing strange things in front of Ye Shen..."

    "Who would have thought!"

    "The protagonist had been faking it so calmly all this time, I''m impressed!"

    "..."

    Dai Rui suddenly said, "Come to think of it, if a blind man were playing the piano in my house, I probably wouldn''t be on guard either."

    "That''s the terrifying part."

    Zhang Bin shook his head, "The more I think about it, the more horrifying it is. Everyone appears decent on the outside, but people''s baser instincts are completely unguarded in front of a blind man."

    At this point, there was a voice-over.

    It was the male protagonist''s voice: "Art is the meaning of life for an artist, but he must pay the price for that."

    A woman''s voice asked, "The purpose of peeping?"

    The protagonist paused for a moment before explaining, "I just feel that by shutting down some of our physical systems, people can focus more on the art itself."

    The voice-over ended.

    The plot then resumed.

    Apparently, the male protagonist''s dream was to make money playing the piano, achieving his goal of performing in the Golden Hall of Qin Province.

    He believed that pretending to be blind could earn him more money.

    Ironically, the protagonist''s plan worked. People seemed to have more faith in the artistic achievements of a blind man, even more so than a sighted person.

    Even Sofi, who was attracted to the protagonist because of his blindness, offered him more support, not only dating Ye Shen, but also recommending him for a job at her father''s restaurant.

    The restaurant offered generous compensation.

    Playing the piano there not only earned the protagonist hefty tips but also won him the admiration of some of the elites, such as Su Tai.

    Although Su Tai, who was once a popular movie star, had now retired from the limelight, he was still prominent and successful.

    He had married a female artist named Jiang Yan, who was much younger than him.

    A classic May-December couple.

    Admiring Ye Shen''s exceptional piano skills despite being blind, Su Tai invited Ye Shen to play the piano at his house on Sundays to celebrate his and his wife''s wedding anniversary.

    Ye Shen accepted.

    On that Sunday, as per the agreement, Ye Shen arrived at Su Tai''s home. However, the following scene left the audience gasping!

    Blood!

    There was blood all over the floor!

    Among the blood were shards of broken glass!

    And on the sofa lay a body!

    The audience immediately recognized that...

    It was Su Tai''s body!

    "What happened!"

    Dai Rui''s heart skipped a beat.

    Next to him, Zhang Bin swallowed hard, "Su Tai is dead? No wonder it was Jiang Yan who opened the door, and she was reluctant to let the protagonist in..."

    Faced with another plot twist in the film, the audience''s emotions were once again pulled taut!

    Even Ye Shen, who had been pretending to be blind for so long and could handle various situations with ease, was frightened!

    Jiang Yan began to test Ye Shen, unsure if he was truly blind...

    As Ye Shen nervously responded, he suggested that he needed to use the bathroom, seemingly to relieve his tension.

    As a result, when Jiang Yan led Ye Shen into the bathroom, an even more shocking scene ensued!

    There was a man in the bathroom!

    The man held a gun in his hand, pointing it right at Ye Shen.

    "That man is her lover!"

    This was the third plot twist in the movie, and the audience''s hearts were in their throats!

    Ye Shen bit his lip hard, pretending to be calm as he finished using the bathroom, flushed, and returned to the living room...

    The film went into a flashback.

    As it turned out, the gorgeous young woman, Jiang Yan, was having an affair with the man in the bathroom. The reason for the murder was that Su Tai had fooled his wife into thinking he was away on a business trip that day. But unexpectedly, he returned with wine and flowers, hoping to surprise his wife. This included Ye Shen arriving to play the piano, which was part of the surprise.

    But then...

    The surprise turned into a scare...

    He was shot dead by the man with whom his wife was having an affair...

    "I''m blind, I''m blind, I can''t see."

    Ye Shen kept reminding himself of this as he played the piano in a room splattered with fresh blood. Su Tai, who had been dead on the sofa for God knows how long, was sitting facing Ye Shen, while the lady of the house was pointing a gun at his head from behind.

    The scene was incredibly eerie!

    Within this incredibly eerie and horrific scene, a new piano piece began to play.

    To everyone''s surprise, it was Mariage d''Amour!

    The music seemed to carry an overwhelming sadness, as if mourning the death of Su Tai and mocking the current predicament. It stirred the hearts of the audience along with the rhythm of the piece.

    The audience in the cinema seemed completely immersed in the music at this moment.

    Contrasting with the beautiful piece was the brutal scene of Jiang Yan and her lover starting to move Su Tai''s body, hiding it in a suitcase, then cleaning up the blood...

    All of this was achieved under the watchful ''eyes'' of the male character.

    It was not until the lover dragging the suitcase containing the corpse away did Dai Rui come to his senses.

    His eyes widened abruptly, "That piece just now..."

    Zhang Bin, who seemed to realize something, also started panting rapidly.

    Because the plot was so intense and thrilling at this point, they almost neglected the music.

    But neglect doesn''t mean the ears are closed!

    Although the piano piece had already ended by the time they fully regained their senses, the feelings brought about by the piece had built up, resulting in a great shock based on the plot!

    "No wonder it''s Xian Yu..." S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Zhang Bin muttered, not knowing whether he was praising the ingenious design of the plot or admiring how beautiful the piece was.

    "..."

    Dai Rui was speechless, swallowing a mouthful of saliva, his heart filled with an indescribable feeling, which even caused him to break out in goosebumps.

    Similar feelings also appeared among the other audience members in the cinema.

    "Did you hear that..."

    "That piece just now..."

    "More brilliant than the first one..."

    "I want to listen to it again!"

    "Beautiful, sad, tender, and brutal..."

    "Is this... Xian Yu''s response?"

    "Let''s focus on the movie first..."

    Someone took a deep breath.

    The piece was no longer the main point, as the plot was so intense it made people''s hair stand on end, and they were highly anticipating what would happen next!

    "It''s none of my business..."

    "I didn''t see anything..."

    "I feel very sorry for Mr. Su Tai..."

    "He has helped me a lot, but I..."

    Ye Shen was scared, shivering with cold, his body shaking. After he left, he sat on the street for a long, long time, then chose to take a cab home, all the while comforting himself:

    "Don''t draw fire on yourself..."

    "They will kill me..."

    The male character''s agony at this moment was palpable.

    At this moment, the audience felt somewhat disappointed, thinking that the male character lacked courage.

    However.

    The scene changed.

    The male protagonist appeared at the police station!

    God!

    What a sudden transition!

    The male character decided to call the police in the end!

    At this moment, the audience started to like the male character, as he at least retained the essence of being a human being.

    Isn''t that right?

    However, this movie is destined to keep audiences guessing, because once they arrived at the police station, a terrifying scene unfolded!

    As it turned out...

    The captain of the police station was the same man who the male character had encountered at Su Tai''s house, the lover!!!

    "You''re here to report a crime?"

    The murderer, dressed in his police uniform, was glaring at Ye Shen.

    The hearts of the audience rose to their throats once again!

    Oh my god!

    This movie has too many twists and turns!

    Each twist and turn causes one''s heart to race!

 Chapter 302 - 282 Infinite Reversals_1

    "My cat''s gone missing. I suspect my neighbor killed it ¡­"

    Ye Shen chickened out!

    The Chief of Police was already reaching for his gun!

    Without a doubt, he knew that they would kill him before he got to tell the truth!

    So, he steered the conversation away.

    But it made the Chief suspicious.

    The duplicitous Chief of Police and the adulterous Jiang Yan took turns visiting Ye Shen''s home, attempting to determine if he was truly blind:

    First up, the Chief aimed a throwing knife at Ye Shen to see if he would flinch.

    The knife flew out, but Ye Shen didn''t move.

    Then it was Jiang Yan''s turn to visit Ye Shen''s home. When he turned his head, she put on a terrifying mask...

    Despite her attempts, Ye Shen wasn''t scared.

    In the face of a life-threatening crisis, he was on a roll with his acting!

    "I admire this guy..."

    "He''s truly performing for his life!"

    "When Jiang Yan tried to frighten Ye Shen, I too jumped in fright..."

    "His mental fortitude is otherworldly!"

    "..."

    All these tests conducted in quick succession allowed the audience no respite. Yet eventually, the protagonist''s cover was blown.

    Because Jiang Yan had the audacity to poison the coffee right in front of Ye Shen.

    No matter how great a performance Ye Shen managed to put on, he couldn''t refuse the coffee offered by Jiang Yan, could he?

    He could do nothing but pretend to spill it. Unfortunately, it had no effect.

    In reality, as soon as Jiang Yan walked through the door, she had slipped poison into the snacks she''d given him.

    The poison rendered Ye Shen blind.

    Thus, Ye Shen went from pretending to be blind, to an actual blind man.

    It wasn''t over yet!

    Jiang Yan was a perfect example of a vicious temptress! S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Seizing Ye Shen''s moment of unconsciousness, she deceived Ye Shen''s girlfriend, Sofi:

    "I got too lonely, Ye Shen and I slept together."

    Meanwhile, Sofi had learnt from a child who observed Ye Shen from downstairs that Ye Shen had been pretending to be blind all along...

    Ye Shen''s calm and satisfying life suddenly collapsed!

    He became a true blind man and lost the trust of his girlfriend...

    Yet, the adulterous Chief of Police still didn''t want to let a ''helpless blind man'' go, wanting to kill him once and for all.

    How can a blind man outrun the Chief of Police?

    Fortunately, Ye Shen was lucky enough to be saved by a taxi driver couple who also took him to a hospital and found a doctor to examine his eyes.

    "Phew..."

    The audience finally breathes a sigh of relief at this point in the plot.

    From the moment Ye Shen witnessed Su Tai being killed, he had been in a life or death situation, causing the audience to be on edge.

    Watching the suspenseful narrative, they also felt aggrieved!

    "Jiang Yan is just too wicked!"

    "And that damn Chief of Police is ruthless!"

    "Ye Shen had decided to not go to the police, yet these two still won''t let him off..."

    What comes next, the counterattack?

    Just as the audience started to expect this, they were once again befuddled by numerous plot twists already present in the film!

    The plot once again causes immeasurable damage to the protagonist!

    The doctor and taxi driver couple weren''t trying to save Ye Shen?

    It was apparent that the trio intended to sell Ye Shen''s kidneys!

    And not just one, both of them!

    In other words, they wanted Ye Shen dead!

    Zhang Bin was shocked: "Damn, this protagonist is too unfortunate..."

    Dai Rui was at a loss for words.

    He could never guess the writer''s twists!

    Countless twists have people''s heads spinning, all they could do was go along with the plot!

    Of course.

    No matter how many twists, the protagonist won''t die halfway through the movie¡­

    Depending on his silver tongue, Ye Shen managed to temporarily win over the heartless couple and the kidney-harvesting doctor. He persuaded the trio that his plan could initiate the counterattack:

    How much money can you get from selling a kidney?

    If you help me kidnap Jiang Yan and reveal the truth about veteran actor Su Tai''s murder, you could earn at least ten million!

    The three are convinced.

    With Ye Shen''s cooperation, they kidnap Jiang Yan together and called the Chief of Police to set up a time and place for the ransom exchange.

    At this time, the five cab couple broke trust again:

    They tied up Ye Shen and Jiang Yan together in the warehouse, planning to pocket the whole ten million by themselves.

    During this process, the Chief of Police died.

    In the conflict, the taxi driver was injured.

    Ironically.

    When the taxi driver''s wife took the injured man to the hospital to seek a doctor, she found the ransom the Chief had sent was nothing but blank paper...

    "Yes!"

    Dai Rui suddenly exclaimed.

    Zhang Bin also felt a sense of satisfaction.

    This taxi driver couple were too wicked and greedy, but in the end, they not only failed to grab any money, but the male taxi driver died.

    In the meantime.

    Ye Shen and Jiang Yan who were tied up in the warehouse decided to help each other escape.

    It was an ironic scene.

    Although they wished death upon one another, they had to help each other survive.

    Barely escaping their restraints.

    Jiang Yan was considering killing Ye Shen...

    At that moment, the doctor arrives. In the ensuing struggle, he almost dies, but is saved by Ye Shen.

    This made the black market doctor greatly indebted to Ye Shen.

    He decided to return the favor and told Ye Shen a secret: "Jiang Yan''s kidney is a match with a wealthy man''s kidney, you could earn a lot of money just by selling hers!"

    The doctor decided to share the money with Ye Shen.

    Simultaneously, the doctor told Ye Shen, "Your eyes can be saved, we just need to transplant this woman''s cornea to you¡­"

    "Phew!"

    Dai Rui let out a heavy breath.

    Zhang Bin''s heart finally found some stability.

 Chapter 303 - 282 Infinite Reversals_2

    It''s interesting that...

    At this moment in the cinema, many people are unanimously holding their breaths, indicating that everyone''s hearts are in a state of utmost tension in front of this overwhelming flood of plot twists.

    Jiang Yan is definitely dead!

    That''s what everyone thinks.

    But after Zhang Bin relaxes, he suddenly feels an inexplicable sense of anxiety again:

    Could it be...

    Another plot twist?

    If it were any other movie, Zhang Bin wouldn''t entertain this suspicion, but the movie "The Tuner" is too damned insane, taking plot twists to the absolute extreme!

    Thrilling!

    Shocking!

    No one can guarantee that the next shot won''t reveal another unexpected plot twist!

    The subsequent plot seems to suggest that Zhang Bin''s speculations are excessive.

    Ye Shen and the doctor drive, ferrying the unconscious Jiang Yan, to hand her over to the black market tycoon...

    The scene transitions.

    It''s two years later now.

    In Qin land.

    Inside a music hall.

    Ye Shen, donning sunglasses, passionately plays a piece on the piano, the same piece he played in Su Tai''s living room before he died...

    The plot was so tense before that no one really had a chance to fully appreciate it.

    This time, as the plot reaches its conclusion, everyone is finally able to relax.

    Delicate musical notes are flowing.

    The audience at the music hall immersed themselves in the musical enjoyment.

    Dai Rui also closes his eyes slightly, savouring the beauty of this piece.

    After this exhilarating movie-viewing experience, listening to this piece seems to soothe one''s body and mind.

    "I admit..."

    Dai Rui softly stated.

    Zhang Bin, who was listening to the music, responded, puzzled: "What?"

    "I admit... Xian Yu has given the best response. I''m speechless in front of this piece," Dai Rui said.

    Zhang Bin was taken aback, then chuckled lightly: "I almost forgot about that."

    Yeah.

    How many people in the cinema still remember the real reason they came to watch this film?

    Dai Rui sighed: "The music is great, the movie... is also amazing!"

    A perfect integration!

    Complementing each other perfectly!

    And the movie has not completely ended here.

    After the music finishes, many audience members take the initiative to shake hands with Ye Shen, and some even ask for his autograph.

    Ye Shen moves about by feel.

    "His eyes haven''t recovered?"

    "It seems Ye Shen didn''t end up killing her after all."

    Jiang Yan''s cornea could have rescued Ye Shen''s sight, but the fact that he still can''t see suggests that he ultimately didn''t kill Jiang Yan...

    The audience doesn''t know whether Ye Shen has achieved his dream of performing in the Golden Hall.

    But there''s no doubt that he has already become an exceptional pianist.

    Just then.

    Ye Shen''s ex-girlfriend, Sofi, unexpectedly shows up in the music hall, where she runs into Ye Shen.

    "Sofi?"

    Even though he can''t see, Ye Shen identifies her by the slight touch of their handshake and the sustained silence from the person in front of him.

    "You''ve been tricking people here too?"

    Sofi scoffs, staring at Ye Shen.

    She doesn''t know about everything Ye Shen''s been through.

    Ye Shen gives a wry smile: "It''s a long story... What kind of tea would you like?"

    Sofi said coldly: "Coffee."

    This does relate to the narration at the beginning of the film.

    The film transitions to a new scene.

    Sofi and Ye Shen are sitting outside, drinking coffee.

    Then, Ye Shen begins to recount the events that happened after they broke up...

    "And then?"

    Sofi''s expression is somewhat shocked; she can''t imagine the twists and turns that Ye Shen experienced afterwards. At this moment, her eyes well up with tears.

    "And then..."

    Ye Shen''s voice sounds somewhat ethereal.

    The scene flashes back to the car two years ago.

    Ye Shen sits in the car, persuading the black market doctor to let Jiang Yan go.

    The doctor sneers: "Considering her crimes, the court would surely sentence her to death anyway, we''re not killing her, just making use of the waste. A death row prisoner can be exchanged for a large reward, ensuring a carefree future for both of us. The most crucial thing is, you need her cornea..."

    Noises come from the back of the car at this point.

    The doctor stops the car, pulls out a syringe, intending to keep Jiang Yan unconscious.

    Moments later.

    The car is again on the move.

    But the audience, who had completely relaxed at this point, experiences a jolt to their hearts. Some even cover their mouths, their eyes filled with shock at what''s happening on screen next!

    The doctor got killed by Jiang Yan!

    Covered in the doctor''s blood, Jiang Yan gets back in the car and casually continues driving.

    Man, this woman is truly awesome!

    And truly ruthless, like a venomous scorpion!

    Ye Shen, who is blind, is completely unaware and continues to plead:

    "Doctor, I beg you, if you kill her to cure my blindness, I will never be able to play the piano again. What I said was just to scare her. Why do we have to take her kidney away? Please, stop the car on the roadside. Let us go..."

    Driving the car, Jiang Yan wiped away her tears.

    Suddenly she hit the brakes, coldly saying, "Get out!"

    Perhaps Ye Shen''s pleading moved Jiang Yan.

    She surprisingly spared Ye Shen!

    Ye Shen was stunned...

    He didn''t expect Jiang Yan to be by his side.

    Where''s the doctor?

    Jiang Yan roared angrily, "Get out!" Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    She forcefully pushed Ye Shen out of the car.

    Helpless, Ye Shen got out of the car and stood blankly in place.

    Jiang Yan''s tears flowed freely.

    "This is no redemption... damn it!"

    Just when the audience started to feel moved that Jiang Yan let Ye Shen go, she turned the car around!

    She was still intending to kill Ye Shen!

    Dai Rui stuttered, "Bin, this woman is terrifying!"

    Bin remained silent.

    The protagonist didn''t die after all.

    But why?

    The answer was revealed in the following scene.

    Mainly focusing on Hunter''s view, a rabbit suddenly sprang out.

    The rabbit was struck by the car and caused Jiang Yan''s vehicle to flip over, creating a loud bang.

    An explosion!

    "The rabbit!"

    "A rabbit?"

    Only then did the audience remember the premonition at the beginning of the movie.

    When the rabbit was stealing food and was shot by the owner of Yuan Zi''s garden...

    This was foreshadowing that was hinted at from the beginning!

    The audience had almost forgotten!

    However, this foreshadowing had played its role at the end!

    The rabbit surprisingly escaped and ran into another closeup shot.

    Something seemed wrong with the rabbit''s gaze...

    At this moment, the audience was rendered speechless with shock!

    The entire cinema was filled with gasps of surprise!

    Plot twist after plot twist, infinite twists!

    The final twist, it was as if someone had torn through the silence of the sky!

    When the audience recovered, the flashback had ended, returning to the scene at the entrance of the coffee shop.

    "Sir, is this your order?"

    "Yes, it is."

    In the custom shop next to the coffee shop, the waiter brought a cane with a rabbit-shaped handle.

    "You did nothing wrong..."

    Sofi said earnestly to Ye Shen.

    Ye Shen bitter smile and shook his head. After a moment of silence, he spoke:

    "Thank you. Would you like to come and listen to my performance at the Golden Hall?"

    Ye Shen had finally realized his dream.

    Sofi hesitated and coughed. "I might not have the time... I will try to be there..."

    The two bid each other goodbye.

    Although the film had infinite twists, almost exceeding viewers'' imagination, the ending was particularly satisfying!

    "Awesome!"

    Dai Rui exclaimed.

    Zhang Bin wanted to agree, but had a strange look on his face. "I feel like something is wrong..."

    "What?"

    Dai Rui furrowed his brows.

    Then, the movie unfolded its final scene.

    It was a lonely night. Ye Shen, leaning on his cane, was walking alone in the cold night. His shadow looked rather lonely.

    In front of him was an empty can.

    Ye Shen didn''t stop his walk. And just when he was about to step on the can, he swiftly swung his cane, hitting the can away as precisely as a professional golfer...

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Three thunderous explosions echoed and the big screen displayed three words that seemed to pierce everyone''s heart:

    The! Piano! Tuner!

    Underneath these three words was a parenthesis: Also known as the "Pianist".

    Zhang Bin finally realized where he felt something was wrong.

    If the male protagonist was blind, he definitely wouldn''t know that a rabbit saved him...

    "Fuck!"

    Dai Rui''s body jolted. "Ye Shen was lying!! He''s still pretending to be blind!!!"

    At this moment!

    The entire cinema erupted in gasps of shock. Audiences sat dumbfounded with their mouths agape, their faces showing the same stunned expressions.

    Everyone, was stunned!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: I''ve been trying to speed up the narrative as much as possible. If I skip the movie plot, it would affect the subsequent narrative progression. In an entertainment novel, it''s almost impossible to skip such a part. Also, I threw in today''s extra chapter as well, not publishing it separately to avoid complaints about disrupting the flow of the story.

 Chapter 304 - 283: A Big Brainstorm_1

    Dai Rui and Zhang Bin looked at each other, both seeing disbelief in each other''s eyes. The final scene of the film felt like a sudden black hole, devouring people''s imagination and blowing open the minds of all the viewers ¡ª

    Could Ye Shen really see?

    Was the doctor really killed by Jiang Yan?

    Did that rabbit causing the car crash exist?

    Was the story he told Sofi true or false?

    These questions previously had plausible answers, but with Ye Shen''s throw of the can, all the answers seemed to shatter. Question marks lingered in everyone''s mind.

    "No."

    Dai Rui, who had just exited the cinema, suddenly pulled Zhang Bin, who was deep in thought, and suggested: "Let''s watch the movie again tomorrow. I feel we focused too much on the music and missed quite a few details."

    "Okay."

    Surprisingly, Zhang Bin agreed.

    The film pushed twists to the extreme. The conclusion of the movie, the ultimate twist, completely overwhelmed viewers. With just one detail, the scriptwriter overturned everyone''s understanding of the story!

    Zhang Bin was included.

    This was the first time Zhang Bin had decided to watch a film for the second time immediately after viewing it.

    But without a second watch, many of his questions would remain unanswered. This feeling of seemingly understanding, yet not quite understanding the movie left him particularly intrigued.

    Upon leaving, they noticed that a few other viewers had made the same decision: "The ending proved that the protagonist definitely lied. The question is, when did he start lying? Let''s watch it again tomorrow¡­"

    Of course, only a minority decided to watch it again.

    Most people chose to search for answers online immediately after leaving the cinemas, which led to an entirely predictable scenario.

    All who had watched the movie participated in the overall analysis of the movie plot, full of shock and queries!

    [Eat-sup-sup]: "I got totally fooled by the ending!"

    [Qian Dan]: "The final twist is simply amazing!!! It boosted the attack power by 50!"

    [Bird_Sinking_into_the_Seabed]: "Ye Shen, hitting the can flying with a tap of his walking stick at the end proves that he is not blind, and he has lied to Sofi again.

    But I was so immersed in the piano music at the end ¨C it could have swollen Ol'' Chu''s face, but let''s stick with discussing the movie ¨C it was just brilliant and I didn''t think about the repercussions of the huge plot twist immediately. Can anyone explain it?"

    "If you want explanations, I got them."

    Inside a forum for mystery films.

    A user who goes by the name "All_The_Usernames_Were_Taken":

    "The man who shot the rabbit does not exist. The protagonist just made up a story based on the rabbit-shaped figure on his cane. Jiang Yan didn''t really kill the doctor. In fact, Ye Shen and the unscrupulous doctor handed Jiang Yan to the mysterious tycoon in exchange for her kidney and a large sum of money. He even used the money to hold a concert and cured his own eyes using her corneas.

    Maybe Ye Shen wanted to leave Sofi with a good impression and cover up the fact that he indirectly killed someone, so he chose to lie."

    "So when did the protagonist start lying?"

    "Careful viewers would notice that the story narrated in the movie and the version Ye Shen told Sofi linked through a single scene ¨C a tree by the roadside."

    "In the movie''s narrative, the doctor drove Ye Shen and Jiang Yan past the tree towards the distance. Suddenly, the scene switched to Great Qin two years later, where Ye Shen was narrating his experiences to Sofi."

    "But in Ye Shen''s version, they didn''t simply drive past the tree; they stopped there! The commotion from the trunk as Jiang Yan woke up forced the doctor to stop and attempt to administer an injection. However, Jiang Yan fought back and killed him. So, regarding when Ye Shen started lying, the tree provides the answer!"

    "..."

    This post received a lot of upvotes and was the most widely accepted one because it provided the most direct evidence, making it more reliable than baseless conjectures.

    However, there were alternative analyses as well.

    "I think the protagonist is just a pianist who likes pretending to be blind. Maybe after being caught cheating by Sofi, the lies he told from the time they met in Great Qin until they met again were just excuses he made up after sleeping with another woman and not being able to justify his actions. He then left the girl and came up with a series of excuses after arriving in Great Qin!"

    "The protagonist enjoyed playing the blind man. People''s defenselessness satisfied his voyeuristic desires. He loved prying into the unknown sides of peoples'' lives under the guise of a blind man."

    "Could the man shooting the rabbit at the beginning of the film be real? Jiang Yan didn''t kill the doctor in the car. On the way to the airport, the doctor was accidentally killed by the man hunting the rabbit.

    The protagonist and Jiang Yan were saved, then either deceived or persuaded the man hunting the rabbit to dispose of the doctor''s body and continue the journey to deliver Jiang Yan to the tycoon. In exchange, they got the corneas and money to travel to Qin¡­"

    "Everything is possible, anyway, everyone in this movie is wicked! Only poor Sofi was deceived over and over again."

    "No, Sofi was not deceived in the end. When Ye Shen picked up the rabbit cane, she gave a disdainful smile. That already indicated she knew he was lying. But she believed that Ye Shen did nothing wrong by killing Jiang Yan, which is why she comforted him in the end, saying he should have taken her corneas."

    "So there is no decent person in the whole story..."

    Various online analyses represented the different directions led by the open-ended conclusion.

    And after reading these analyses, most ordinary viewers were shocked to realize that they had overlooked so many details!

    So Sofi discovered the truth too!?

    Damn, are we watching the same movie?!

    We both went to public schools, how are you so clever?

    At this point, a netizen followed up with a comment: "After reading the analysis by this big-shot, I suddenly felt that the male lead should be disappointed with Sofi. Perhaps, he wished his original goodness was still there, just like in his own story where the blind rabbit killed the female lead instead of him.

    And by the way, some people said that the last song and the romance with Sofi are forced, I feel that what Ye Shen liked was not Sofi, but his initial kindness in his heart, but in the end, Sofi did not turn out to be what he thought."

    "..."

    The discussion got livelier, with some film critics also joining in.

    Like everyone else, they analyzed from various angles, but their conclusions mostly pointed towards using the big tree as the reference¡ª

    The part where the tree is told in reverse order is where the male lead starts lying.

    After reading these film reviews and analyses, the audience became even more aware of just how detailed and thorough this movie is!

    The plot is insane! It left me speechless! The evil side of humanity is displayed in all its glory. Before watching the movie, just from looking at the poster and description, I thought it was an inspirational comedy about a blind musician. However, the story unfolded in such an unconventional manner, Xian Yu''s script is mind-boggling!"

    It''s so freaking amazing!"

    I went for the music, but ended up with so much more. It''s unbelievably good! There were countless plot twists, I had goosebumps all over! The recurring theme in the beginning and ending scenes plus the final scene of the male lead really left a lot to the imagination! This is the best mystery film I''ve seen this year!"

    Who would have thought Xian Yu could play with dark humor and storytelling tricks so skillfully! I thought the plot was spiraling out of control in the last 20 minutes of the film, then the ending completely blew me away. Apart from the blind dude''s girlfriend who is somewhat decent, everyone else is evil! The script! The score! The cinematography!

    Every single one is fine! The plot twists were executed brilliantly, and several gags made me burst out laughing. It''s been a while since I''ve enjoyed a film this much with my full intellect. Hats off to Teacher Admirable Fish!"

    "..."

    As the heated discussion among netizens continues, the piano compositions that appeared in "The Tuner" naturally became classics not to be missed!

    In fact, many people initially went to see the movie just for these songs!

    "The piano pieces in the beginning were all great, but the best one has to be the one played at Su Tai''s death scene."

    "That piece is truly amazing!"

    "When I heard that piece again at the end, I felt like just for that song alone, the money I spent on the movie ticket was worth it! Not to mention how interesting the plot of the movie was..."

    "This film is simply a highlight of Xian Yu''s composing talent!"

    "If this is the case, is there any suspense left for the Qin-Chu music battle?"

    "What suspense? The piece played at Su Tai''s death scene was absolutely divine!"

    "The other pieces were also very good. When I first heard the others, I thought Xian Yu''s response was already superb. It was the piano piece at Su Tai''s death scene that made me realize that Xian Yu''s response was even more impressive than I imagined!"

    "Uh... I think I now understand why Yang Zhongming suddenly pulled out of the season''s competition."

    "For this round of Qin-Chu battle, Xian Yu alone is enough for Starlight!" S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "..."

    Amid the sighs, someone reminded:

    "The two most classic songs in the movie have been released, you can download them from any media player. The song played at Su Tai''s death scene is titled ''Mariage d''Amour'', make sure you get the name right"

    Yes

    With the release of "The Tuner", the two piano pieces from the movie have also topped the charts on major music players.

    The first is "Missing".

    This track is mostly praised for its innovative style.

    The most loved though, is the piano piece played at Su Tai''s death scene and at the ending by the protagonist once more, named ''Mariage d''Amour''!

    Those in the music circle weren''t idle.

    With the release of these tracks, many Qin-Chu musicians listened to Xian Yu''s new work for the first time.

    Outcome.

    The musicians in Chu land were silenced after listening to ''Mariage d''Amour''.

    To describe the situation of the Chu musicians using the in-jokes the netizens often tease each other with in games seems quite apropos:

    "I''ve sent my part, have you?"

    "I initiated it."

 Chapter 305 - 284: Massacre_1

    This is obviously just a tease, typically used between two close friends playing cooperative video games -

    The coordination might be dodgy, but when it''s time to surrender in a game, good buddies always have a surprising unspoken understanding.

    However, this indicated the reality of Chu Province musicians.

    "Is this what they call the land of music..."

    "I heard Admirable Fish is still an undergraduate student in Qin province."

    "This song, Mariage d''Amour, has reached a master''s level. Is this the level a university student should have?"

    "Don''t even talk about musicality, just comparing our ages, we''ve already lost horribly!"

    "Although I don''t want to admit it, this song is indeed incredible."

    "The competition of music between Qin and Chu might continue for a while, but I feel that this harsh defeat has already foreshadowed our future."

    "We underestimated the innate musical talent of the Qin people!"

    "Initially, I was unwilling to accept it, but after listening to Mariage d''Amour a few more times, I feel this result isn''t unacceptable."

    "Actually, the score is very simple, devoid of the weight and charm of classical piano, but often, simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."

    "I thought it would be a few good pop songs, but I didn''t expect Admirable Fish to throw out a piano song of this caliber, what is there to compare now?"

    "From pretentiousness to concept to popularity, we''re completely crushed. If we''re not psychologically prepared, even the Maestro can''t play."

    "..."

    If Blue Star people have ever read a certain science fiction novel, they will undoubtedly be able to describe this music war with great accuracy.

    Four words:

    Dimensional reduction.

    In ordinary seasonal disputes, no matter how noisy it is, everyone is still comparing popular songs.

    But Admirable Fish did not play along with them.

    He directly threw out a classic piano song!

    Facing such a result, the Chu people of course will be silent. Should they accuse Admirable Fish of foul play?

    That would mean they lose face big time.

    This is not to say that Admirable Fish has the ability to crush the Maestro.

    It''s to say that even the Maestro didn''t expect that Admirable Fish would pull out his killer move!

    Something of Mariage d''Amour''s caliber, even if the Maestro racked his brains, he wouldn''t dare to claim he could create it!

    Online.

    Apart from countless discussions about the movie, the disputes over the Qin-Chu music battle have completely turned into a one-sided slaughter!

    "Does any buddy from Chu Province have any last words (sly smile)?"

    "I am Chu people, and I must say I was shocked after listening to the song. Admirable Fish is amazing, I am convinced, no way to fight back!"

    "Can''t argue, I quit, next house."

    "I am also Chu people. Now that Qin, Qi, and Chu are united, we are all one family, no need to quarrel non-stop, right."

    "Great Qin is mighty, Junior Maestro is domineering!"

    "Ha ha ha ha I didn''t expect him to just whip out a piano song! As someone who has striven to become a pianist for many years, I almost kneeled when I heard this song! The difference between pop songs and piano composition is like a status gap, it''s as if the Chu people came with cold weapons ready for a big fight, and then saw Admirable Fish slowly pulling out an AK."

    "Admirable Fish, forever the GOAT!"

    "As a Qi people, I was just watching the fun, but I didn''t expect the show to reach its climax just at the beginning. This Fish is too scary!"

    "Honesty without bias, Mariage d''Amour by Admirable Fish can directly challenge the Maestro, right? Maybe he should consider the composition award this year."

    "It''s hard to get the composition award. It''s usually for classical piano. Mariage d''Amour is the pinnacle of pop piano."

    "..."

    Among the Qin people, there are discerning ones.

    Such discussions are also taking place among musicians in Qin Province. Some even guessed whether Admirable Fish might become the Maestro because of this. However, after discussing, everyone felt that this idea was not realistic...

    Pop and classic are different.

    You can understand this by comparing pop music with classical music.

    Pop piano might be softer than classical, while classical piano pays attention to strict rhythm.

    More detailed distinctions involve professional elements, which won''t be elaborated here.

    However, the counterattack by Admirable Fish has indeed achieved a shocking effect!

    "This song can be considered the highest achievement of Admirable Fish''s works to date."

    "If Admirable Fish becomes the Maestro in the future, Mariage d''Amour will definitely occupy a huge weight and be considered by the judging panel."

    "Considering Admirable Fish''s status as a university student, his level is almost demonically exceptional!"

    "The Chu people must be all dazed, aren''t they?" Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Nevermind the Chu people, which of us musicians in Qin Province aren''t dazed?"

    "..."

    Yes, everyone is dazed!

    The chart hasn''t come out yet, but Admirable Fish has already released a work that directly kills all suspense!

    The reality is also the same.

    The next day when the season ranking was revealed, Mariage d''Amour directly became the champion, establishing a victory that belongs to pure music and the land of music!

    The value of this championship is a little excessive¡­

    Because Mariage d''Amour had more than 36 million downloads on the first day making people feel a sense of dreamlike unreality!

    The second place is a piece by a composer and King of Singing from Qin Province, and the download volume barely exceeded 10 million.

    That is to say.

    Even if Admirable Fish didn''t make a move, the victory of February would have still been taken by Qin - The Land of Music.

    And Fish made a move!

    And it was a chart-topping kind!

    No distinction between friend and foe!

    An indiscriminate killing spree!

    Every musician from Qin, Qi, and Chu who participated in this season''s challenge, knelt down one by one, and from data to evaluation, it was all a complete mess!

    What''s even scarier is...

    Another piano piece in the movie, "Missing," also ranked fourth on the new song chart.

    That means...

    Xian Yu alone occupied two of the top ten spots in the season rankings!

    Shocking!

    The three major music circles of Qin, Qi and Chu were all astounded!

    This resoundingly declares that starting this season, Xian Yu officially earned the right to compete for the title of Maestro!

    Aside from the shock, insiders were actually left speechless.

    Especially the Chu people...

    ?????

    More question marks than you can count.

    You, Xian Yu, have such awesome pieces, so why do you want to compete with us in this season''s battle!?

    Even without the movie''s promotion, if you directly released these, you could absolutely prove yourself to the fullest!

    If we knew you had such pieces up your sleeve, even if we picked a Maestro in the Great Qin to compete, we wouldn''t dare to directly contend with you, Xian Yu!

    Are you messing with our mentality?

    After all, "Mariage d''Amour" is an exceptional heavyweight amongst many Maestros masterpieces.

    The Chu people felt a bit wronged.

    The glory attributed to "Mariage d''Amour", of course, wouldn''t stop there.

    The day after the rankings were revealed, the official website of the "Literature and Art Gazette" gave featured coverage to the song on its front page.

    As the most authoritative music media, the "Literature and Art Gazette''s" acknowledgment was like a resounding stamp of approval for Xian Yu''s piece:

    "On February 1st, ''Mariage d''Amour'', a work that best represents Xian Yu''s composition skills was born. Even if it can''t end the ideological conflict of Qin and Chu''s music, it can at least serve as a period indicating the attribution of glory to the hall of fame, and is enough to thoroughly prove the astonishing talent of Maestro Junior Xian Yu..."

    A masterpiece!

    Extraordinary talent!

    The keywords within the long article are easy to search for, and with this declaration from the most authoritative media in the industry, it was pretty much set in stone, and no one dared to question further.

    "..."

    Even the Chu people who still wanted to grumble a bit were silenced immediately after the "Literature and Art Gazette" made its statement.

    This is getting crazy.

    What was supposed to be an exciting season''s contest and a thrilling competition of talent, ended up being completely overshadowed by your performances!

    The media in Chu land cried their hearts out!

    We totally picked the wrong person to compete with!

    After all, the Chu media had some plans to make a name for themselves by putting Xian Yu against a Maestro, but it turned out they had just hit a wall. Now looking back...

    Wasn''t it good just being alive?

    At that time...

    Lin Yuan had just woken up to find his phone filled with messages from various people, which he couldn''t catch up with.

    When he logged into the Tribe...

    It was even more exciting.

    On the Tribe, Xian Yu''s pseudonym had reached more than 86 million followers!

    The comments section was blown up in an instant.

    "Fish Papa is awesome!"

    "This song has blown the minds of the Chu people..."

    "I feel ''Missing'' is also very nice."

    "All the songs in the movie are good, but ''Mariage d''Amour'' is what conquers all. I''m a piano student, and this song has been listed as a compulsory piece in our department today, that''s face!"

    "Our piano teacher said that Teacher Xian Yu''s song is close to becoming legendary."

    "Becoming a legend is inevitable, don''t forget, how old is Teacher Xian Yu this year!"

    "..."

    Lin Yuan was startled by the hustle and bustle, then he thought about something and calmed down.

    It''s natural.

    Although "Mariage d''Amour" is not the most lofty classical piano, but precisely because it''s not classical piano, it could be this successful.

    In other words...

    If an ordinary person hears "Mariage d''Amour" for the first time and compares it to a random fugue of Bach, anyone who dares to say Bach sounds better, is definitely showing off!

    And it''s extremely showy!

    Some people may wonder, how can "Mariage d''Amour" be compared to Bach in terms of pretentiousness, grade, and the connotation of the work?

    It''s like comparing van Gogh''s works with some extremely exquisite and gorgeous paintings.

    Ordinary people will only think that van Gogh''s paintings are a complete mess.

    Of course there''s no comparison, and no need to compare.

    Because Bach is for professionals to listen to, ordinary people don''t listen to classical, not because they aren''t used to it, but because they don''t care.

    So the most popular, widely disseminated pieces are often ones like "Mariage d''Amour" which are ubiquitous.

    However, the term "ubiquitous" here is not derogatory, but rather, it means that the piece is so popular that many people have calloused ears from listening to it.

    Any piece that can cause people to develop callused ears should not be denied by the pretentious lot that wants to highlight their uniqueness.

    The point here is that "Mariage d''Amour" is popular for a reason.

    There''s a saying that over ninety percent of people in the Celestial Dynasty have heard this song inadvertently!!

    So, it''s only natural that this song exploded in popularity!!

    After glancing at the comments for a while and surfing the internet for a bit, Lin Yuan noticed the "Literature and Art Gazette''s" report on him--

    Well played.

    Front page headline.

    This is a report from the music industry''s most authoritative media. This is the first time Xian Yu has made the front page headline.

    What''s even more amazing is...

    The side page, that is, the second largest section, also has content related to Xian Yu...

 Chapter 306 - 285: Do You Understand Now? _1

    "A Discussion on ''The Tuner'' and Xian Yu."

    This was the headline of the news on the sub-section of the Literature and Art Gazette.

    The content was akin to a film review:

    "Speaking of plot reversals in films, it is the most common technique in suspense films and also a touchstone for testing screenwriters. During the viewing process, viewers will constantly guess the next direction based on the existing plot.

    Yet reality often upends the situation and turns it in a completely opposite direction, making the film more eye-catching and whetting the viewers'' appetites, even repeatedly surprising them that it can be done this way?"

    "The first shot of the film actually lays the groundwork."

    "This is a scene that seems to have nothing to do with the story of the sound mixer: a hunter chasing a rabbit in a vegetable field."

    "Who is this hunter? Where is this scene? What circumstances led to this chase? For the rabbit, the director provides a close-up of a rabbit with one eye that can''t open and one that is totally blind, what is this aiming to express?"

    "There are many questions."

    "Only after watching the film do we understand that it is a cyclical structure; the sound at the beginning is the setup for the ending."

    "Metaphor and irony, this film achieves a high standard in suspense movies right from its structure."

    "Only after watching the film do we realize that the closed eye of the blind rabbit is reminiscent of the main character''s choice to remain silent and close his eyes to conscience when repeatedly confronted with the injustice and truths of reality?"

    "This is the impact and thought brought to us by Xian Yu''s new film ''The Tuner''."

    "And speaking of Xian Yu, the most basic impression most people have of him is that of a music composer. But with a work like ''Mariage d''Amour'', perhaps we should call this Maestro Junior a composer. And it was this composer who chose to venture into film while his career was flourishing."

    "I believe many people, like me, were dumbfounded when they first heard that Xian Yu was going to make a film."

    "In a situation where no one was optimistic, Xian Yu completed a film called ''Flirting Scholar'' and broke the view count record for web-based cinema. It added a new style of absurd comedy to Blue Star''s comedies, and we suddenly realized..."

    "Xian Yu is not just a composer, he is also a core screenwriter."

    "But we are still limited by our inherent views. We thought that besides composing, Xian Yu was also good at writing scripts for comedies. But then we were presented with ''The Tuner'', with its genius, plot reversal, astonishing moments, metaphors, and satire."

    "This seemingly incompatible style with absurd comedy, Xian Yu also played it skillfully."

    "Some say that talent is common. I didn''t believe it before, but now, perhaps we can try to believe that there really are people in the world who can handle both music and film concurrently. Xian Yu is not only worth remembering in the music world, but also worthy of attention in the film world!"

    "In the future, we can not only look forward to Xian Yu''s music, but also his films."

    "It is undeniable that ''The Tuner'' actually has some logical flaws. Because it over-pursues plot reversal, it inevitably has logical gaps. The identity of the composer is not an excuse for us to forgive the imperfections of Xian Yu''s works, but it is enough to be the reason why we are willing to wait for this newcomer in the film industry to grow."

    "As the saying goes, things shouldn''t be done more than three times."

    "Xian Yu''s first film, ''Flirting Scholar'', was a big hit, perhaps some people could consider it good luck."

    "But when Xian Yu handed over a film called ''The Tuner'' with a higher level of scripting, we should look forward to the more exciting surprises he can bring in the future. He is a successful musician and a genius filmmaker."

    "..."

    This was the introduction and analysis of Xian Yu on the sub-page. And when such an introduction appears on the page of the Literature and Art Gazette, it is undoubtedly a happy event for the boost in box office revenue.

    In fact.

    The public''s attention has indeed gradually shifted from ''Mariage d''Amour'', to this film by Xian Yu. This can be seen from the comments beneath the piano composition:

    "After listening to the piece, I decided to go see the movie."

    "Everyone says ''The Tuner'' is full of twists, it is itching in my heart, I have already bought the ticket."

    "The piece was composed around the film, it''s worth it for me to buy a ticket for the sake of the composition."

    "Usually it is film and television works that drive music, but ''The Tuner'' has used music to drive the popularity of the film."

    "After listening to the piece, I watched the movie the same day. The last shot was a sight for the audience!"

    "..."

    In the following days, the box office began to skyrocket!

    Starting with billions, this film became an indispensable hit in its release period.

    After the first week, it directly garnered over 300 million at the box office, causing numerous shocks in the film industry!

    It''s not about how high the box office is... this box office performance is not explosive...

    But you have to know that the cost of ''The Tuner'' is only ten million. This is a classic case of making a large amount from a small one!

    Although this is not the first time that Xian Yu has made a large amount from a small one, last time Xian Yu did not participate in the box office battle, there was no direct reflection of the box office, so the impression was not very intuitive.

    This time Xian Yu has shown off his skill of making a large amount from a small one in front of numerous filmmakers!

    Of course.

    Just like last time.

    The market after the merger of Qin, Qi, and Chu is very large, and the box office of ''The Tuner'' in the first week was indeed shocking, but it is still unable to contend for the weekly box office crown with big productions.

    Because there are too many works at the same time...

    This is several times the number of films on Earth at the same time!

    The range of choices for viewers is terrifying!

    But considering the return on investment, this film did indeed explode!

    After all, what everyone compares is not the total box office, but who makes more money!

    This sparked a broader discussion in the film circle.

    "Why is it always a small investment for a big return? Can''t it be done in a different way? I''m so jealous my eyes are red!"

    "Ah, Xian Yu''s operation mode reveals the incompetence of many old industry veterans."

    "It''s not the veterans who are incapable, but this newcomer is a bit uncanny."

    "It seems that in the future, Xian Yu will also be a person who cannot be ignored in the schedule."

    "After riding the popularity of the Qin and Chu music battle, I knew the rhythm of this wave was going to explode when I first found out about the genre and cost of ''The Tuner''. I didn''t expect that it made 300 million in a week!"

    "Why should Starlight dig out filmmakers from Qi Province? They should just hold on tight to Xian Yu."

    "This is a prodigy who has emerged!"

    "..."

    Speaking of the influence of different circles, Xian Yu is still unable to shake off the title of newcomer in the film circle. However, after this wave, everyone''s attention to Xian Yu has naturally taken a step up.

    The outside world is already like this.

    Not to mention Starlight.

    When Ol'' Zhou got the first week''s box office for ''The Tuner'', the entire company''s film department was in a state of stupefaction.

    "Did we make a profit again?"

    "No, we made a killing." sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Or should our film department change its name to the Composition Department? It seems like we, a group of filmmakers, have to rely on this Maestro Junior for our reputation?"

    "But we have to admit, Xian Yu''s script this time was really good."

    Last time, even though ''Flirting Scholar'' was a big hit, there were still voices of disapproval within the company, because many people didn''t understand the script.

    This time was different!

    The pure script quality made ''The Tuner'' a success. Even with the popularity of the music, it couldn''t overshadow Xian Yu''s talent in scriptwriting!

    It almost seems like Xian Yu deliberately won this time in a way that everyone could understand.

    It was as if Xian Yu, in front of the film department, demonstrated the same operation and then asked the film department a question:

    "Did you understand this time?"

 Chapter 307 - 286: Contract Level Increase Again_1

    Of course, Xian Yu wouldn''t say that. It was merely speculation by everyone else.

    However, just because Xian Yu didn''t say it didn''t mean others wouldn''t think of it.

    At this moment.

    Many at Starlight''s film division felt their faces flush hotly.

    However...

    The one who felt the most embarrassed was Du An.

    Du An was the director of "Thunderstorm" and a well-known top-tier director in Qi Province.

    Last year, after the merger of Qin and Qi, Starlight spent a lot to lure Du An over, building an entire film around him as the central director.

    Their goal, naturally, was to make a killing and make a loud statement in the film and TV industry on Starlight''s behalf.

    However, the performance of "Thunderstorm" turned out to be average.

    In contrast, "Flirting Scholar", which the company didn''t value much, ended up carrying the banner for Starlight''s film and TV department!

    At that time, Du An felt rather embarrassed.

    To save face, Du An decided that his next film must showcase his value and let Starlight witness the strength he possessed as a top director from Qi Province.

    But...

    Before Du An''s next film came out, Xian Yu''s new movie, "Sound Engineer", was already a success!

    Du An suddenly felt even more embarrassed!

    Equally embarrassed was Zhang Yu, the famous scriptwriter Starlight had poached from Qi Province. Zhang Yu wrote the script for "Thunderstorm".

    But before Zhang Yu had time to write his second script, his work got overshadowed by the success of "Sound Engineer"!

    It was a script that even Zhang Yu praised!

    When the two men reunited, Zhang Yu sighed slightly: "Heroes come from young, you might want to consider collaborating with Xian Yu."

    "I can''t."

    Du An smiled bitterly: "The scriptwriter-centric model is in conflict with my philosophy." sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The scriptwriter-centric and director-centric models are two different ways a film crew operates, each with its own advantages.

    An ambitious director, of course, would not willingly submit to the command of a scriptwriter, let alone a renowned director like Du An?

    Even for Zhang Yu, his script was in service to Du An, the director. Du An''s ideas determined the way the script would be presented.

    Unless Xian Yu was willing to leave the presentation of the script to Du An''s discretion, Du An would never collaborate with Xian Yu.

    Why did everyone talk about Xian Yu when "Sound Engineer" became a hit?

    It''s because everyone knows "Sound Engineer" is the product of the classic scriptwriter-centric model. The director listed, Yi Chenggong, was merely a tool for Xian Yu to realize his vision.

    "Right."

    Zhang Yu''s words were probing to some extent, which somehow assuaged her concerns. She wouldn''t lose her job just yet.

    "Let''s do our best on our next film."

    "Hmm."

    Du An responded solemnly.

    He came to Starlight thinking he would be the bigshot of the film division, but after joining the company, he ended up losing to a rookie. And it was through internal competition at that.

    Meanwhile...

    With the popularity around "Sound Engineer", Ol'' Zhou, representing the film division, attended a high-level meeting hastily convened by the company.

    The subject of the meeting was Xian Yu.

    Chairman and CEO Li Songhua gently tapped his fingers on the desk, suddenly saying: "Let''s increase Xian Yu''s contract."

    Everyone nodded.

    As an officially recognized Maestro Junior, there has to be a huge differentiation from ordinary hit songwriters. For the company to court Xian Yu, they were willing to pay a greater price.

    This was the consensus of all executives.

    Li Songhua further added: "Increase Xian Yu''s resource allocation in the film division. If he shoots a new film, increase the standards a bit."

    "Sure."

    This was within Ol'' Zhou''s authority.

    If it was only "Flirting Scholar" making it big, the executives might have opposed this decision, but now it''s different.

    After all, when the company decided to fund "Sound Engineer", the initial intention was just to win an award. They didn''t expect the film to have outstanding box office performance.

    But now, the box office hit the mark.

    Moreover, the company''s appreciation for Xian Yu has reached new heights!

    ...

    When Lin Yuan found out his contract was being elevated again, he was quite pleased.

    In fact, his agent Jin Mu had already reminded Lin Yuan to discuss a rise in contract level with the company, but before Lin Yuan took the initiative to speak up, the company very consciously made the relevant decision.

    Of course, Lin Yuan was delighted.

    The new contract met no resistance whatsoever. Since it was the boss''s order, Ol'' Zhou easily wrapped up the process and gave Lin Yuan a detailed introduction to the new contract:

    "If you collaborate with a third-tier singer in the future, you can have 90% of the download earnings."

    Lin Yuan''s eyes lit up!

    Ol'' Zhou continued:

    "If you collaborate with a second-tier singer, you can have 70%. The remaining portion, the company will negotiate with the singer."

    "If you collaborate with a first-tier or King of Singing, you can take 50% share. The remaining part will also be discussed by the company."

    Lin didn''t pay much attention to the last two profit-sharing scenarios.

    If it weren''t absolutely necessary, only a fool would collaborate with second- or first-tier singers, or even the King of Singing.

    Details weren''t addresed further.

    In any case, this contract is much stronger than Lin Yuan''s previous contract!

    It was double!

    Daddy''s share is 100%!

    Lin Yuan isn''t Daddy yet, but to be able to have 90% share, he was close to the Daddy''s share!

    Of course.

    Daddy can take part in the profits outside of the downloads. That''s a treatment Lin Yuan cannot have for now. However, considering Daddy''s experience and his total past works far exceed his own, Lin Yuan was willing to accept this.

    Without any doubts, he signed the new music contract.

    With this matter resolved, Ol'' Zhou looked at Lin Yuan and asked: "Do you have any other requests?"

    "Yes."

    Lin Yuan had already prepared his answer: "In the future, I want to participate in 50% of the investment decisions for my scripts."

    "50%? Like this time?"

    Ol'' Zhou hesitated, then said: "I''ll think about it when I go back. This isn''t a big problem, but aren''t you worried about films losing money? Don''t think that just because you''ve had two successful films in a row, that you will always be successful. The market is unpredictable."

    "I see."

    Lin Yuan spoke.

    The success of films that had been successful in his previous life doesn''t guarantee 100% success in this life, but he felt that the probability of success is at least higher than that of ordinary films.

    "This isn''t a big problem..."

    Ol'' Zhou hesitated for a moment before saying: "But I''d suggest you invest around 30%. The company has larger operations, so if the film succeeds, even though we earn a bit more, if it fails, your losses will be less."

    Ol'' Zhou didn''t have any ill intentions.

    He just felt that even the most impressive directors and scriptwriters have their off days. "Thunderstorm" was a clear example.

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    He didn''t plan to invest as much every time. After all, as a scriptwriter, he can also participate in the profit sharing. He can''t miss out on making money.

    If there''s risk, bringing the company in can lighten the load.

    He couldn''t avoid the company in the matter of film production anyway. Without the company''s support, gathering a reliable crew wasn''t easy.

    "By the way."

    After their discussion, Ol'' Zhou asked: "Do you have any ideas for your next film?"

    "Not yet."

    "Alright, we will wait for your news."

    Ol'' Zhou got up and said, "From now on, at least one third of the resources from the film division will be on standby for you at any time. The company really trusts your scripts now, but in the future we may add a pre-condition, that is, to try and choose actors from within the company as much as possible."

    "Understood, as long as the company actors meet the requirements."

    "You can rest assured."

    Ol'' Zhou smiled: "If the company needs to find people from within, as long as the script is good, even if you want an A-lister, I can negotiate the pay."

    The main creators of the film department are still Du An and Zhang Yu.

    Starlight wouldn''t deny the two''s abilities just because "Thunderstorm" received average feedback.

    However, starting from "Sound Engineer", Xian Yu will also become the second most important figure in Starlight''s film department, next to these two.

    ----------

    ps: I''m feeling a little dizzy, so I''m calling it a day, I will make up for it with an 8000-word update tomorrow.

 Chapter 308 - 287 The Strongest Newcomer in the Film and Television Circle_1

    In its second week of release, "The Tuner" raked in more than two hundred million at the box office, bringing its total to about six hundred million when factoring in first-week numbers. As a result, the popularity of the cast members soared, notably that of the leading man ¡ª Liu Zhengwen ¡ª

    "Liu Zhengwen''s phenomenal comeback!"

    "Liu Zhengwen''s new film a huge hit!"

    "Analyzing the acting skills of Liu Zhengwen!"

    Xian Yu''s new film does exceptionally well, Liu Zhengwen tastes sudden success!"

    "Listing all those once-popular actors we''ve gradually forgotten. Some are still struggling, others have quit the circle. Liu Zhengwen has re-entered the public''s view with this film."

    "..."

    This is the advantage of having had fame before.

    Over ten years ago, Liu Zhengwen was once a very popular actor, whose career was cut short due to an accident on set. When he returned to the industry, he struggled to regain his previous status.

    But the memories he left the audience with from ten years ago have yet to fade.

    And this film, "The Tuner", is like a spell, reviving everyone''s impression of Liu Zhengwen.

    Thus¡­

    Liu Zhengwen found fame once again.

    It is important to note that this resurgence, seemingly simple, is actually the product of countless instances of persistence and hard work. So when the spotlight and flowers were once more showered upon him, Liu Zhengwen cherished the moment intensely.

    "Now I understand why you took this role so seriously back then."

    These words, spoken by Liu Zhengwen''s agent, carried a hint of fear.

    If Liu Zhengwen hadn''t landed that role, he would''ve regretted it bitterly. Would he still be constantly thanking Xian Yu in media interviews like he is now?

    Indeed.

    Lately, Liu Zhengwen has done many interviews, and in every one of them, he has often said:

    "I thank Teacher Xian Yu."

    These words are heartily spoken.

    And when reporters ask if Liu Zhengwen would consider collaborating with Xian Yu again in the future, Liu Zhengwen''s answer is equally resolute:

    "If Teacher Xian Yu needs me, I am ready at any time."

    This is the signal he has put out to the public.

    Actors typically don''t send out such signals because they could affect factors like pay and timing schedules.

    This means that Liu Zhengwen has branded himself with a label ¨C one that belongs to Xian Yu.

    Ordinarily, no actor would dare to show such humility when one''s future prospects are uncertain.

    Meanwhile...

    As the film''s director, Yi Chenggong too has been getting a lot of interviews.

    However, words from Yi Chenggong''s interviews have given rise to quite a shock:

    "Many people don''t know that Xian Yu is actually the real director behind both ''The Tuner'' and my previous slapstick comedy film. I simply followed the instructions of Xian Yu, including for camera shots and so forth, which are clearly written out in the script¡­"

    It is known that Xian Yu''s films are led by the scriptwriters.

    But no one had expected Xian Yu, the scriptwriter, to have such a decisive role!

    "Do you feel that your talents are not being fully utilized? Have you considered directing new films with yourself as the main lead?"

    "Whether it is the scriptwriter or director who functions as the core of a production crew, the essential goal is to make the film as good as it can be. Since we''re all working for the betterment of the film, naturally we should adhere to Xian Yu''s guidelines. I don''t believe following my own ideas to present this script would add any value.

    Furthermore, if I come across shots I think could be improved, I discuss it with Xian Yu. He is quite approachable off the clock, and often adopts the crew''s suggestions."

    ...

    The things Yi Chenggong said in the interview stunned many people, none of whom doubted his honesty. These facts could easily be confirmed by interviewing a few crew members, so lying would be pointless.

    Besides, lying about this would bring no advantage to Yi Chenggong.

    "So Xian Yu is the real director?"

    "Is Yi Chenggong merely a tool?"

    "It must be that Director Yi is being modest. He certainly has made his contribution to the film. With a different director, the film might not have turned out as good. But chances are Yi Chenggong is right, this film''s ultimate director in control is probably Xian Yu¡­"

    "Since the presentation of the shots is determined by the script, hanging a director''s title under Xian Yu''s name would be perfectly fine."

    "This is absolute centralized authority on the part of the scriptwriter!"

    "..."

    People both within and outside the industry are taken aback.

    Some remarked: "It is indeed Yi Chenggong."

    He succeeds with ease.

    However, Yi Chenggong does not think there is anything wrong with this.

    His dream is to be a famous director, to see his own films in cinemas, to see his own movies become box office hits.

    As for whether he directs the film production or is directed by others, Yi Chenggong never pursues this.

    It only goes to show that people are different.

    If it were Du An, he would definitely dislike being directed by a scriptwriter.

    But Yi Chenggong actually likes his current situation and even finds it palatable.

    When he collaborates with Xian Yu, success comes easily.

    Moreover¡­

    People who truly know the business should understand, no matter how scriptwriter-centric the production is, the importance of a director in a film is still undeniable.

    He''s gained fame and fortune.

    So why the need for anything more?

    Yi Chenggong isn''t the type of director who will get jealous just because everyone pays more attention to the scriptwriter, Xian Yu.

    Even in a script-centric production, a director is still a director, isn''t he?

    It''s worth mentioning that...

    The actor Zhou Xue, who played the enchanting vixen Jiang Yan in the film, also gained popularity following the film''s release!

    The vicious vixen was perfectly portrayed from her performance.

    Of course, we didn''t see nasty instances of her being criticized online just because she played an antagonist character¡­

    Some villains, no matter how evil, can still be loved by the audience, thanks to the actors who portray them.

    This has set off a stir within the company.

    First He Sheng¡­

    Then Yu Xilu¡­

    And now Zhou Xue¡­

    Several actors within the company have seen their careers take off because they were involved in Xian Yu''s films.

    This has excited many actors in the company.

    They want to be in Xian Yu''s¡­ films!

    Back when Xian Yu was preparing to film "Flirting Scholar", well-known actors within the company tried to avoid it.

    Even when "The Tuner" was casting, many actors didn''t take it seriously.

    As a result of their lack of interest, many missed out on good opportunities.

    Just like Yi Chenggong publicly admitting that he was the director who followed Xian Yu''s orders in the crew.

    Another twist appeared after the film ended.

    The name Xian Yu, already famous in music, is gaining more and more attention in the film industry as well.

    "The Most Powerful Newcomer in the Film Industry."

    That''s how some people described Xian Yu''s position in the film industry. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 309 - 288 New Short Story is Coming_1

    The box office has basically stabilized.

    In the following days, Lin Yuan didn''t pay too much attention to the follow-up situation of the movie, instead, he put on his "Chu Kuang" pseudonym and started writing the last volume of "Ghost Blows Out the Light".

    That''s right.

    After nearly a year of serialization, the book "Ghost Blows Out the Light" finally welcomed its final volume.

    Because Lin Yuan''s typing speed was very fast, the completion time could have been advanced by a month, but it was slightly delayed because he was previously busy with the comic and post-production music for the movie.

    The final volume is named "Witch Gorge Coffin Mountain".

    Among the eight stories in the serialized novel, "Witch Gorge Coffin Mountain" is not the most popular, but its importance is self-evident.

    Because all the plot holes in this novel have been filled up till the last story!

    This is also the biggest difference between this novel and other novels of the same genre, such as "Grave Robbers'' Chronicles".

    As we all know, there are many plot holes in "Grave Robbers'' Chronicles" that were not filled until the end of serialization.

    Hard to say what plot hole "Ghost Blows Out the Light" has left...

    Could the "Sixteen Characters Feng Shui Secret" be considered one?

    The author didn''t give specifics about the content of the book, just saying it was very powerful.

    But this can''t really be considered a plot hole.

    When Elder Jin was writing wuxia, he couldn''t possibly write out the content of "Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms", could he?

    Besides, there is an explanation in the novel and it was mentioned that...

    Because "Sixteen Characters Feng Shui Secret" would reveal the secrets of heaven, so half of it was burnt.

    The remaining half of the content is explained in the novel.

    This is what makes "Ghost Blows Out the Light" so impressive, it fills all the plot holes, whether they are filled perfectly or not, at least it doesn''t leave readers with doubts after reading the entire series.

    The novel was completed in mid-February.

    After Lin Yuan sent it to Silver Blue Books, they didn''t wait until the first of next month, but directly published it.

    Then, the readers who had been following this novel for nearly a year finally saw the complete version of "Ghost Blows Out the Light".

    As a best-selling book with high popularity, the completion of "Ghost Blows Out the Light" is worth paying attention to for the entire industry.

    Because of the appearance of this novel, many copycat works appeared in the industry, and some of them even had good sales. From this point of view alone, the status of this novel is already affirmed.

    Therefore, as soon as the novel was finished, the sales of the previous volumes all had different levels of improvement.

    In addition, the evaluation of the entire book also reached a very high level.

    The message board of Silver Blue Books and the comment area of "Ghost Blows Out the Light" were very lively at this time:

    "Eight volumes are not enough, Chu Kuang old rascal please give us eight more~"

    "I have mixed feelings. On one hand, I don''t want this novel to end, but on the other hand, I hope it can end, because only then can we see Chu Kuang''s new book."

    "Judging from the content, the word count of Chu Kuang old rascal''s novels is increasing. This novel being serialized to nearly two million words is very conscientious. Think how many words ''King of the Net'' has?"

    "I always feel chilly on my back when reading this novel. When the novel ended, my heart also felt a chill."

    "Weasel Grave and Wrathful Huangxiang are personally considered the most exciting. The fight against the giant centipede in Wrathful Huangxiang, the relationship between Quail Whistle and Lady Red, subtle yet shocking!"

    "The Ancient City of Jingjue is the most stunning, after all, it caught my eye from the beginning."

    "..."

    Not only the readers'' reluctance and summary, but also the evaluation of the industry.

    The chief editor of an editorial department described it as this:

    "This is a work that can keep people up all night reading from the moment it is launched. It has a magnificent imagination, lifelike dialogues, a materialistic atheism challenges the unknown... and then, the status starts to reverse, there are too many things that science can''t handle... readers later read the fear in their hearts...

    the current science has its limits, but the unknown has no limits, we are afraid, so we invented science, but science can''t save all our fears... maybe this is how religion came."

    "Literature and Art Gazette" also reported on the matter:

    "Chu Kuang, with his immense cultural heritage and scientific literacy, powerful penmanship, and structural capacity, has carved out his own path, leading the tomb-raiding novels in Blue Star. The ''Ghost Blows Out the Light'' doesn''t really have any ghosts, but it ends in science, humanities, and nature.

    It''s magnificent and inspiring, like drinking wine, the feeling is intoxicating after drinking it all, and like tasting tea, you can savor it for a long time."

    Meanwhile.

    The forum of Chu Kuang is also full of messages from readers, of course, there are many voices urging Chu Kuang to publish a new book.

    With nothing to do, Lin Yuan read many of the messages.

    Among them, one message caught his attention:

    "Did Chu Kuang old rascal forget that he hasn''t written a short story for a long time? After ''Necklace'', I''ve been looking forward to his new short work, don''t just focus on writing long ones."

    Indeed.

    After finishing "Necklace", Lin Yuan hadn''t touched short stories for a while. When he was lucky, he had gotten five short stories in a row.

    Now he has published four of them, with one still in his hand unreleased.

    Should he find an opportunity to release it?

    Because he can''t start a new long story right away, there is still room for "Ghost Blows Out the Light" to digest.

    He hadn''t released any short story for so long, so he didn''t have this concern.

    With that thought, Lin Yuan surprisingly felt the pleasure of actively publishing his new work, and started chatting with Jin Mu.

    "A new short story?"

    Jin Mu thought for a while and said: "The most suitable platform for publication at the moment is Tribe. Since Qin Qi Chu merged, the author resources have greatly increased, and Tribe is releasing new short stories every month. Also, the top three have long-term bonuses, and this platform can guarantee the maximum number of readers for your novel..."

    Then he continued.

    Jin Mu smiled and said: "Because of Chu''s entry, your short story writer rank has dropped several places. If the quality of this novel is good, our ranking may be higher..."

    Lin Yuan said, "So I''ll publish it first?" sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Jin Mu shook his head: "Big name short story writers like you can negotiate with the website about the fee for new works, which is an income in addition to the prize money. This means we can earn a bit more."

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan laughed.

    This is the advantage of having an agent, before he used to publish directly, then tried to get the prize money. He didn''t realize that he could calculate the fee before publishing. Jin Mu would discuss this with the other party.

    "We could earn at least an additional two hundred thousand!"

    Jin Mu confidently said: "Of course, the premise is that you can get in the top three, plus, your ranking in the field of short story writers also decides the amount of the fee. If you enter the top ten, we should be able to ask for more, because besides Tribe, there are other platforms soliciting contributions."

    Tribe is now the biggest platform.

    But apart from Tribe, desperate competitors like blogs and others have never given up struggling, still trying to find the turning point, after all, the struggle for customers is not a matter of a day or two.

    For now, Tribe just has the upper hand.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Carry on, while keeping an eye on the game, I really want to lazily watch the game, granting a landlady award to Abin, another five kills.

 Chapter 310 - 289: Its All Over_1

    Jin Mu''s actions were swift, and because he hoped to release a new work in March, he had already quickly negotiated cooperation terms with Tribe Literature. As long as Chu Kuang could ensure a top-three placing in the current event, he would receive an extra 200,000 yuan in manuscript fees¡ª¡ª

    This highlights the importance of an author''s worth.

    Currently, Chu Kuang was ranked 14th among the short-story authors in the Qin Chu sector, and his promotional and motivational powers were immense.

    This was why Chu Kuang could demand extra manuscript fees from the Tribe for his new publication!

    This was all due to the eagerness of platforms like the blogging sites.

    If they didn''t concede to Chu Kuang''s requests, what if he turned around and cooperated with the bloggers instead?

    They certainly had to take precautions.

    And the situation proved Tribe''s concern to be valid.

    No sooner had Jin Mu, representing Chu Kuang, signed the new short-story contract with the Tribe, than people from the blogging sites came knocking.

    "The blogs hope you could work with them, offering a manuscript fee of 300,000 yuan, with any resulting awards being separate¡­"

    By the time Jin Mu mentioned this to Lin Yuan, the contract had already been signed.

    There was nothing they could do.

    Lin Yuan did not intend to breach the contract. He took contract spirit seriously; the reputation of all his pseudonyms was vital.

    "Of course, I''m not suggesting you break the contract."

    Jin Mu chuckled, "I''m just considering whether it''s possible to partner with the bloggers for the next short story?"

    Lin Yuan paused, then said, "It''s worth considering."

    His partnership with the Tribe was temporary after all.

    If the bloggers could offer a higher price, Lin Yuan would of course contemplate publishing his new work with the bloggers.

    There are no eternal friends, nor eternal enemies.

    While Chu Kuang had once helped the Tribe against the bloggers, it didn''t mean he couldn''t help the bloggers against the Tribe.

    This could not be considered disloyalty.

    Jin Mu nodded, "I will keep in touch with the bloggers. For the next piece, if they offer more, we''ll consider it."

    At that point, Jin Mu added,

    "With the amalgamation ongoing, there are increasingly more leading authors in various fields, and the Tribe is getting more selective with authors than before. So, it''s common for authors to publish one piece of work with Tribe and the next with the bloggers. Even the Tribe can''t say much about it. We''re all accustomed to this back-and-forth running."

    Tribe offered a cash prize for the top three authors.

    The bloggers also had a similar cash reward program.

    As the sums were similar, authors would naturally look at both sides.

    If the competition of Tribe was too tough one month, why not venture next door?

    While the blogger site had fewer readers than Tribe, the difference wasn''t fatal.

    As things were settled,

    quickly, Tribe announced to the public that Chu Kuang''s new work would be released in March. This was the usual warming-up every large platform would carry out. With Chu Kuang''s fame, the publicity effect was remarkable.

    The reality proved as much.

    Having not released any new work for a long time after "Necklace", many were eagerly awaiting a new piece from Chu Kuang. The promotional column was full of hopeful comments:

    "Finally, a new work is coming!"

    "Chu Kuang''s short stories are exceptional!"

    "I have always felt that Chu Kuang should be ranked higher in the short-story rankings; his several pieces are still classics today. I hope that this new novel can boost Chu Kuang''s ranking. "

    "Oh, is this a new piece from old rascal Chu Kuang? Oh, it''s a short story, no worries then."

    "Hahahaha, too real! Just at a glance, you know it''s a fan of long stories. But Chu Kuang''s short stories are not bad either, they worth reading."

    "Is Chu Kuang preparing to make a run for the rankings with this move?""

    "Looking at Tribe''s line-up, it''s clearly Chu Kuang''s world next month."

    "Yes, I wasn''t looking forward to Tribe''s roster next month, but seeing Chu Kuang, I think I can still hold on."

    "Looks like Chu Kuang is going to get the first place prize."

    "Can''t promise first place, but top three for sure, since there''s also Teacher Shen Jiarui in the same period."

    "..."

    No matter if it''s the Tribe, bloggers, or other platforms, each time they have a new short story writer participating in the next month''s reward contest, they will leverage the author''s fame for promotion.

    At Tribe Literature, the slots for March''s reward contest were almost filled.

    The most impressive one so far was Shen Jiarui.

    This was the currently 26th-ranked short story writer in the Amalgamated Continent, showing substantial prowess.

    With the addition of Chu Kuang, the most dazzling author naturally became Chu Kuang.

    However...

    Compared with the reader''s excitement and anticipation, the authors scheduled to release their new short stories at the Tribe in March were not as delighted.

    Almost as soon as the news came out, their small circle of short-story authors began their lamentation.

    "It''s over, Chu Kuang will be in March!"

    "Blasted! If I had known Chu Kuang was coming out in March, I should have avoided him. Top three just lost one slot!"

    "Teacher Shen Jiarui has already given us a headache, adding Chu Kuang into the mix, we lose two slots from the top three. Are we competing for the third place now?"

    "So we can only watch Teacher Chu Kuang and Shen Jiarui''s battle?"

    "I had my eyes on the third, now it seems unlikely. Fortunately, I managed to negotiate some manuscript fees privately."

    "Tribe doesn''t pay much privately; only big names like Chu Kuang and Shen Jiarui could get a high manuscript fee."

    "..."

    Unwittingly, Chu Kuang had become the boss in many of his colleagues'' eyes.

    His plan to release a new work in March had his contemporaries facing a tricky situation.

    At this moment,

    someone in one of the short-story authors'' chat groups mentioned Shen Jiarui:

    "Teacher Shen, your chance to raise your ranking is here, just defeat Chu Kuang!""

    "Exactly, Chu Kuang is ranked 14th. If he loses, he may not drop in ranking, but Teacher Shen will definitely rise if he wins."

    "A crisis can present an opportunity."

    "I believe any writers who could make the short-story ranking are fearsome. Teacher Shen being in her 20''s is not to be underestimated."

    "..."

    Shen Jiarui was watering his plant at home when he saw the group messages, a glance was enough for his eyes to slightly bulge:

    "Chu Kuang is publishing at the same time as me?"

    He asked the group buddies.

    "Yes,"

    "Tribe just announced it officially. Chu Kuang has not released any new short stories for a long time, but you happen to release at the same time. If he released last month, it would have been fascinating. Last month''s author Chu Province, who''s ranked 8th in the short story, grabbed the championship."

    "This month is also good, it''s Teacher Shen''s opportunity!"

    "If you defeat Chu Kuang, Teacher Shen will skyrocket!""

    "We can do this!""

    "..."

    People replied in the group chat.

    Everyone thought Shen Jiarui was ready for the battle and started to cheer him up, he was the most capable writer in the group!

    If someone had the power to fight Chu Kuang, it could only be Shen Jiarui in this group.

    "..."

    Shen Jiarui sent a few ellipses, his face fell, and he left a message in the group:

    "No, it''s over." S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    He could kiss his first place goodbye!

 Chapter 311 - 290: Detective Novel_1

    If given the choice, Shen Jiarui absolutely would not want to cross paths with Chu Kuang, a formidable opponent who could even match Feng Hua!

    Chu Kuang ranked fourteenth?

    If it were not for Chu Kuang''s lack of experience, he would have been able to break into the top ten!

    One look at the leaderboard would make it clear.

    Among the short story writers ranked ahead of Chu Kuang, who hasn''t been writing for many years?

    The only disadvantage for Chu Kuang is his short entry period into the industry, leading to a lesser volume of work.

    As one of the authors on the leaderboard, Shen Jiarui understood this very clearly.

    That''s why he felt frustrated.

    Because if it weren''t for Chu Kuang, he could have been the first in March.

    "Don''t panic¡­ there''s still hope¡­"

    Taking a deep breath, Shen Jiarui began to comfort himself.

    Yes, firstly his work this time is of top quality, and secondly, what if Chu Kuang does not perform well this time?

    Thinking about this, Shen Jiarui felt he could do it.

    And the more he thought about it, the more it made sense!

    Take a leap, turn a bicycle into a motorcycle!

    Just like what they discussed in the group.

    If he, a writer ranked in his twenties, knocked out Chu Kuang ranked fourteenth, wouldn''t his ranking climb?

    Ranking equates to worth!

    If the ranking goes up, the fee he could negotiate with the platform will also rise!

    That''s a bigger earning than merely winning the first place of a platform in a month!

    "Need to polish it more¡­"

    After having this idea, Shen Jiarui began to work on his new short story, which he had already revised many times, looking for broader room for adjustment.

    While Shen Jiarui started working, Lin Yuan was also busy writing his new short story.

    The title of the new short story is "A Bowl of Clear Soup and Buckwheat Noodles".

    With a quick writing speed, Lin Yuan started articulating: "For a noodle restaurant, the busiest period has to be the New Year''s Eve. The same goes for Beihai Noodle Restaurant..."

    Unlike the previous novels.

    The author of this novel is from Neon.

    Neon has numerous classic literary works, which have caused great repercussions worldwide, including this story about a bowl of clear soup and buckwheat noodles¡ª

    Follows the same tear-jerker route as "Necklace".

    This is the route many short story writers choose.

    However owing to the large number of short stories along these lines, readers have begun to push back.

    Just like the trend of chicken soup literature a few years ago, after everyone had had enough of it, the trend of anti-chicken soup literature began.

    The current market is heading in this direction.

    But this is only because many authors tell heartwarming stories purely for the sake of being heartwarming, leading to reader fatigue. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Real chicken soup, everyone still loves to drink.

    Especially this "A Bowl of Clear Soup and Buckwheat Noodles", which also contains a touch of business wisdom, many companies will promote such short stories.

    In terms of its influence on the business world, this bowl of clear soup and buckwheat noodles is formidable.

    Lin Yuan wrote leisurely¡­

    Because this novel doesn''t require much background tweak, unlike the western backdrop in "Necklace" where many elements can''t be used directly.

    As a work from Neon, which also features oriental culture, Lin Yuan could nearly finish this piece without much adjustment.

    Of course, there must be necessary modifications.

    After all, this is Blue Star, there''s no Neon here.

    Even if the culture in Chu Province is similar to Neon on Earth, Lin Yuan knew clearly, it''s not Neon.

    Only certain things are similar.

    ¡­

    In no time, Lin Yuan finished "A Bowl of Clear Soup and Buckwheat Noodles" and handed it over to Jin Mu.

    Jin Mu is his spokesperson now who will pass his novels to the tribe.

    Having dealt with this matter, Lin Yuan started considering the next long novel to write.

    Although he is not in a hurry to publish a new novel, he plans to set up the story now.

    And before customizing it with the System.

    Lin Yuan had a chat with Jin Mu: "Which type of novel makes more money now?"

    "Make money?"

    Jin Mu took it as casual conversation: "If it''s well written, any of them can make money¡­"

    Lin Yuan said, "I''m talking about a novel."

    Jin Mu realized something: "Are you deciding on the type for your new novel?"

    Lin Yuan said: "More or less."

    This is now work-related communication.

    The pen name Chu Kuang is managed by Jin Mu.

    He pondered: "The trend has changed quite a lot. The hottest novels from the past were mostly adventurous ones, but now they have become richer. The market category is not as distinct as before due to the merger, it''s basically in a state of blossoming, as long as you don''t choose something extremely niche¡­"

    Speaking of this.

    Jin Mu changed his tone: "Niche is also fine, if you want to write it."

    Jin Mu''s shift in tone was for a reason.

    Who doesn''t know that Chu Kuang is a lover of niche genres?

    He just loves to write rare works in the market, be a pioneer, from sports and competitive novels to cultivation novels and to the tomb raiding genre.

    As for genres, they seem to hold no significance for Chu Kuang.

    Lin Yuan paused, considering the System''s nature, he felt he should not pay too much attention to the genre.

    After all, the works the System provides could become popular, even if they are niche.

    "Actually I think¡­"

    Jin Mu suggested: "If it''s something like ''Ghost Blowing Lamp'' which can be divided into eight parts and each part can be published independently, then there''s no need for us to have a serialized novel every month; we can publish one every few months instead"

    "Publish one every few months¡­"

    Lin Yuan thought about this for a while and felt that it was indeed a good idea.

    With more and more things on his plate, a serial that could last for a year would indeed be draining. It would be more convenient to publish one novel at a time.

    Like the eight stories in "Ghost Blowing Lamp".

    Each story can be regarded as a medium-length novel.

    Lin Yuan asked: "If that''s the case, what genre do you think suits best?"

    "Definitely mystery!"

    Jin Mu answered without a moment''s hesitation: "Sure, the atmosphere for mystery novels in Great Qin is a bit off, but with the consolidation of Qi and Chu, detective novels now account for the biggest trend in the market!"

    "Mystery¡­"

    Lin Yuan raised his eyebrows.

    Even if he didn''t pay much attention to the novel market, he could still sense the growing popularity of mystery novels, it seemed more and more people were starting to read them.

    "I was just talking about the market."

    Jin Mu subconsciously thought that Lin Yuan wouldn''t write detective novels, as all of Chu Kuang''s works hardly contained any detective elements.

    Besides, detective novels are renowned for their technical requirements.

    If the detective case is not designed cleverly, readers are not likely to buy into it.

    You could say this...

    Detective fiction readers are the most critical group of readers on Blue Star, they nitpick, and any minor flaws would be magnified by them.

    Writing such a novel requires meticulous logic, strong reasoning ability, and perfectly arranged crimes.

    This is a theme that can''t be handled merely with strange and unpredictable imagination.

    However, Jin Mu didn''t know that Lin Yuan had quietly thought about writing detective novels¡ª

    After writing in the niche genre for so long, shouldn''t it be time to try a mainstream genre?

    Looking at the popularity of mystery novels on Blue Star, such novels truly fall into the mainstream genre, which is no less popular than adventure novels!

 Chapter 312 - 291: A Bowl of Spring Noodles_1

    Since he was interested in detective fiction, he naturally began market research.

    Lin Yuan spent several days studying the mystery market on Blue Star.

    Exactly as he had imagined...

    Most of the mysteries on Blue Star were orthodox, the currently most popular genre, and also the original form of detective stories.

    Therefore, this was universally acknowledged in the mystery genre as the traditional school.

    These types of stories primarily use logic-based reasoning to solve mysteries, featuring thrilling and intriguing plots and clever schemes, often involving murders in locked rooms or on deserted islands...

    In other words, Blue Star readers prefer pure detective stories.

    If it''s pure detective fiction, naturally you would choose the orthodox type of work.

    Blue Star also uses the term "orthodox," although most still call these novels "traditional mystery".

    After all, this was the most familiar pattern.

    On Earth, big names like Agatha Christie and Conan Doyle were representatives of this style.

    Orthodox detective stories can satisfy readers who enjoy solving puzzles. They usually put the readers and the detective on the same level, providing the same number of clues. Some orthodox works even issue a "challenge to the reader".

    For example, Earth''s famous detective novelist Queen liked to do this.

    These novels would explicitly tell readers in the work, "You now have enough clues to solve the mystery."

    This challenges whether the reader can solve the mystery just like detective.

    So, an emphasis on fairness and rational logic characterize this genre of detective fiction.

    Readers can enjoy guessing while reading.

    This genre is definitely the origin of detective fiction. In comparison to fantasies, it would be called Authentic Xuanmen Sect.

    It followed the King''s route, a mainstream detective story!

    Once he learned about the market and knew the general direction he needed to follow, Lin Yuan could customize his novel.

    This time he didn''t have to consider saving money.

    Because his recent film ''The Tuner'' had earned Lin Yuan a fortune!

    So much that Lin Yuan had become somewhat inflated.

    To be specific, Lin Yuan directly told the system: "I want to customize an Agatha Christie detective novel."

    Well, this name should be familiar to everyone.

    Agatha Christie, affectionately known as "Aunt Agatha" by detective fiction fans.

    She was an English detective novelist, a playwright, and one of the three masters of detective literary works!

    On the European and American side of the Earth, alongside Aunt Agatha in the detective genre, was Conan Doyle, the author of the ''Sherlock Holmes'' series.

    The third was Matsumoto Seicho of Neon, who was not discussed in-depth here.

    In short, Lin Yuan aimed at the three masters right from the start and decided to start with Aunt Agatha after some comprehensive deliberation.

    The system, however, was open to all: "Do you want to accurately customize a certain work?"

    "Conditions?"

    "You have to pay extra."

    Lin Yuan felt the system''s text came with a voice effect:

    "I choose random."

    Lin Yuan of course wanted to directly customize a mature work in Agatha''s style, such as ''No One Survived'', which had the most influence.

    However, the price for Agatha''s representative works must be terrifying.

    The more precise the customization, the more expensive.

    Random selection was less expensive.

    Besides, even if it was a random choice, it wasn''t aimlessly random. It was a relative random with precise orientation. After all, Lin Yuan had already specifically decided on the author.

    It was Agatha!

    Most of Agatha''s works were of good quality, so Lin Yuan was not worried about getting a bad one.

    "Dong ding, congratulations to the host on obtaining the work ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd,'' customization price eight million. Would you like to customize?"

    "Customize."

    A twinkle appeared in Lin Yuan''s eyes and he chuckled a little then shook his head.

    He finally decided to write a mainstream genre, intending to follow the traditional detective path, and he didn''t expect the system to provide him with a relatively unique work under Aunt Agatha''s name.

    However, the quality of this work was good.

    So, Lin Yuan could totally accept this price.

    Yes, among all of Aunt Agatha''s works, ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'' might not be universally acknowledged as the best, but it was definitely a can''t-miss work by Aunt Agatha!

    The story was a bit unusual.

    But this was one of Aunt Agatha''s early works which made her famous! S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Especially after reading, and acquiring related memories, Lin Yuan felt more and more that this was a good decision.

    Though he felt it would have been better if he could have randomly selected ''No One Survived'' or ''Murder on the Orient Express''. Yes, ''Death on the Nile'' would be nice too.

    Nevertheless, he was already highly satisfied!

    Even if it wasn''t the best choice, it was still a win.

    However, this novel also had a characteristic:

    Once the reader knows in advance who the murderer is, then reading this novel loses a lot of its appeal.

    So...

    No spoilers here.

    Just a hint:

    If you don''t want to miss out on the fun of reading because of being spoiled by someone, it is strongly recommended that you read the novel as soon as possible.

    Once the novel was customized, the next step was to adjust the background.

    In the following days.

    Lin Yuan got down to business.

    As time went by, it finally became March!

    March in the Qin Continent was spring.

    Even though the air still carried a chill, everything had started to revive.

    And for many short-story lovers, March was the day Chu Kuang released his new short-story on Tribe!

    Thus, many people logged onto Tribe to find Chu Kuang''s new work¡ª

    A short-story called ''A Bowl of Spring Noodles''!

    The correct translation of the original title should be ''A Bowl of Clear Soup and Buckwheat Noodles''.

    Lin Yuan, wanting to make readers more engaged, didn''t use buckwheat noodles, and instead directly chose ''Spring noodles''.

    Some of the Chinese translations from Earth handled it the same way.

    What kind of noodles didn''t matter.

    What mattered was what the content was like.

    Clearly, Shen Jiarui, currently ranking in the twenties, thought the same way.

    At this time, on Tribe, the new works to be released in March had all been published.

    Without any hesitation, Shen Jiarui directly clicked on the work titled ''A Bowl of Spring Noodles''.

    The story started in a noodle shop.

    Very fitting.

    The setting was New Year''s Eve.

    The narrative style was rather descriptive: [Just as the final customer stepped out of the door and the shop owner was about to close the shop, the door was slowly pulled open. A woman with two children came in. Two boys, about six and ten years old, dressed in brand new sportswear. The woman was wearing an off-season plaid short coat.]

    Shen Jiarui raised an eyebrow.

    Chu Kuang''s text style for most of his short stories was quite unique.

    For instance, in ''The Necklace,'' his text was always oddly tonal. Shen Jiarui did not realize that this was the style after translation.

    But this time, Chu Kuang''s text style was more similar to his early short story ''Artificial Beauty''.

    It wasn''t difficult to read; the tonality was normal, this was the more common style.

    Would there be a shocking twist this time?

    What Chu Kuang excelled at most were his groundbreaking plot twists at the end of his short stories. These were twists that, though rational, were unexpected, leaving the reader reeling!

    Shen Jiarui had been shocked by Chu Kuang several times.

    If it was still that style of a twist ending, Shen Jiarui would be a bit scared.

    But as Shen Jiarui read, he gradually realized...

    This story...there was no twist.

    Chu Kuang this time, unexpectedly changed his writing style and wrote a legitimate short story using descriptive text.

 Chapter 313 - 292 Warm and Cold _1

    Opportunity!

    The word suddenly flashed in Shen Jiarui''s mind.

    What was Chu Kuang''s coup de grace?

    That''s right, it was his knack for delivering an unexpected, even shattering, ending to a short story!

    Faced with such an ending, readers often applaud helplessly!

    And such stories were always the most popular among readers.

    Because they provide readers with a kind of intense mental stimulation!

    So, these types of stories were also the most suitable for vying for the top prize on the platform.

    In contrast, narrative stories did not have a similar effect, and the shock factor was much smaller in the face of such a huge reversal from the opponent.

    "Could it be that Chu Kuang is intentionally trying out a new writing method?"

    Shen Jiarui speculated for a moment, then dismissed it, not dwelling over it, and even feeling a bit excited.

    If Chu Kuang didn''t write in his best genre, then Shen Jiarui thought, there might really be a chance for him to turn the tables!

    That idea flashed through his mind.

    The reading continued: ["Ah... Spring Noodles... one bowl... can we have one?" The woman asked shyly. The two little boys were hiding behind their mother, also looking at the lady boss timidly.]

    The background was a Beihai Noodle Shop on New Year''s Eve.

    A woman took her two children to the noodle shop, but only ordered one bowl of spring noodles?

    Without any analysis, it was clear that the family was hard-pressed.

    However, the next plot was heartwarming:

    [On the workbench, there was already a preparation of noodles stacked like small hills, one pile for one person. The owner grabbed a pile and then added half a pile more and put it all in the pot. The lady boss instantly understood that this was extra given by her husband for this family of three.]

    The owner was a good man.

    He noticed the hardship of the mother and her two children, so he intentionally added more noodles.

    As the steaming bowl of scrumptious spring noodles was placed on the table, the family of three immediately gathered around the bowl and started to eat, their heads touching.

    The corner of Shen Jiarui''s mouth unconsciously curved upward, as if the scene of the mother and children eating noodles played out in his mind.

    "It''s so delicious!" the elder brother said.

    "Mama, you should eat too!" the younger brother picked up a chopstick filled with noodles and fed it to his mother.]

    Then, it was the second year.

    After the tenth hour of New Year''s Eve, just as the noodle shop was about to close, the door was pulled open again.

    The woman, wearing the same clothes as last year, came in with the two boys.

    "Can we... have one bowl of spring noodles... please?"

    The owner and the lady boss instantly recognized the family of three and, as they did last year, led them to table number two.

    The owner, like last year, grabbed one-and-a-half serving of noodles to cook.

    The lady boss, though, couldn''t help suggesting; "Hey, hubby, why don''t we give them three bowls instead?"

    "No."

    The owner refused his wife: "If we do that, they might feel embarrassed."

    Shen Jiarui was deeply moved.

    The owner and the lady boss were as kind as ever.

    What''s more, the owner was even considerate enough to preserve the dignity of the family, thus resisting the urge to give them more.

    After finishing the meal.

    They paid fifteen dollars for a bowl of spring noodles.

    The lady boss waved them off, calling out; "Thank you, have a great New Year!"

    Shen Jiarui had to admit it.

    He was somewhat warmed by the kindness of the noodle shop''s owner and his wife.

    What would happen next?

    Shen Jiarui was curious to find out.

    The business of the increasingly popular Beihai Noodle Shop ushered in its third New Year''s Eve.

    The description here was quite interesting:

    [Starting at half-past nine, both the owner and his wife seemed preoccupied, though none of them uttered a word. As soon as the shift of the workers ended shortly after ten, they swiftly turned over the tags indicating the prices of various noodles on the wall and hastily wrote "Spring Noodles 15 yuan".]

    Originally, as the prices began to rise that summer, the price of a bowl of Spring Noodles had already become 20 yuan.

    Table number two.

    About 30 minutes earlier, the wife had already placed a "Reserved" sign on the table.

    By half-past ten, there weren''t any customers left in the shop, but the owner and his wife were still waiting for the arrival of that mother and her two sons.

    At last, the mother and her sons arrived.

    The elder brother was wearing a school uniform, while the younger one was wearing the slightly oversized old clothes that his elder brother wore last year. The brothers had grown up and seemed unfamiliar. However, the mother was still wearing the same off-season, faded short coat.

    Shen Jiarui was overcome with emotion, thinking, this is what motherly love looks like.

    The story does not delineate it in plain words, but the details speak volumes:

    The clothes of her two sons seemed to change every year, but each time this mother appeared, she was "wearing the same off-season, somewhat faded short coat".

    For reasons unknown, Shen Jiarui felt a sour sensation creeping up his heart at this point.

    It was here that the story finally introduced the situation of this mother and her two sons.

    From the dialogue between the mother and her sons, the owners learned about their situation:

    It turned out, their father had died in a traffic accident, but the debt he left behind had to be carried by his wife.

    Over the years, the mother had been repaying that debt, thus their rare luxury on New Year''s Eve was to order a bowl of Spring Noodles at a noodle shop.

    The two sons were very sensible too.

    Her youngest son even wrote an essay at school: [My father died in a traffic accident and left behind a large debt. My mother works tirelessly from dawn till dusk to repay the money. I help her by delivering morning and evening newspapers... on the night of December thirty-first, the three of us shared a bowl of Spring Noodles which tasted amazing...

    Even though we only ordered one bowl of noodles for the three of us, the uncles and aunties at the noodle shop warmly welcomed us, thanked us, and wished us a good year. When I heard their well-wishes, it was clear to me what they meant: Don''t give up! Keep going! Stay strong!

    Hence, when I grow up, I would like to run a large noodle shop and say to my customers: ''Keep going!'' ''Wish you happiness!''...]

    That evening, the mother and her two sons ordered two bowls of Spring Noodles.

    The owner immediately prepared three servings of noodles.

    Suddenly, Shen Jiarui rubbed his eyes which had started to turn red.

    Thirty yuan was the price for those two bowls of Spring Noodles.

    The story continues in this seemingly mundane narrative, progressing slowly.

    In the subsequent years, the couple who ran Beihai Noodle Shop would always reserve table number two on New Year''s Eve, but the mother and her two sons never showed up again.

    A bit later on.

    Thanks to a thriving business, the Beihai Noodle Shop underwent a renovation.

    Tables and chairs were updated with new styles, but table number two remained the same.

    The owners didn''t find it out of place, instead, they placed table number two in the middle of their shop.

    When customers inquired about the reason behind it, the owners did not hide anything.

    And thus, the story about table number two turned it into "the table of happiness".

    The customers repeatedly shared this story.

    Some even traveled long distances just to get here.

    Some were female students, and there were young couples as well, all wanting to have a bowl of Spring Noodles at table number two.

    The reputation of table number two grew tremendously because of this.

    Finally, after ten years, the mother and her two sons reappeared.

    By this time, both brothers had made a good living and the mother had finally put on a new down coat.

    The mother and her two sons specifically thanked the owners:

    "We were the customers who had shared a bowl of Spring Noodles on New Year''s Eve, fourteen years ago. It was this bowl of Spring Noodles and the encouragement that got us through the tough times."

    Shen Jiarui bit his lip, as if holding back some kind of emotion.

    However, all his emotions fell apart with just one sentence.

    Just because of a single, simple phrase spoken by the mother:

    "Manager, three Spring Noodles."

    As if it was a ten-year appointment they were expected to show up for.

    The story also mentioned: ["Okay." He wanted to reply as such, but the husband couldn''t answer, tears running down his face.]

    Outside the story.

    Shen Jiarui wiped his tears and suddenly felt that the last hint of cold in the air had been dispelled by the breath of spring. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 314 - 293 - Reflecting Reality_1

    Shen Jiarui has read many stories and written many stories. If you talk about clever designs, literary metaphors, and satires of reality, Shen Jiarui thinks that this "A Bowl of Spring Noodles" is overly simple, it''s unworthy of Chu Kuang''s esteemed reputation!

    But strangely also here...

    This clearly simplistic story, full of ''chicken soup for the soul'' vibes, has made Shen Jiarui cry unexpectedly. He hadn''t anticipated this, even forgetting during the reading process that this was part of a competition.

    Why did this happen?

    Shen Jiarui doesn''t think that it''s the simple warmth that moved him, as he has read thousands of similar stories, even to the point that he is reluctant to write such stories. This novel must have something unique.

    Shen Jiarui scrolled through the comments.

    Shen Jiarui won''t be the first reader of "A Bowl of Spring Noodles", nor will he be the last. At this point, many people have finished reading this story, so the comments section is quite lively.

    "Feels pretty average."

    "Chu Kuang is below standard."

    "''Chicken soup for the soul'' style melodrama."

    These were some of the negative comments Shen Jiarui saw, which should have made him ecstatic, but instead, he didn''t feel the joy he had expected. He felt a kind of indescribable heaviness. Shortly after, Shen Jiarui saw a trending comment: "As a business, a few bowls of noodles are nothing. But the human care, trust, and support moved people.

    Economically, it doesn''t make sense for the mother and her two children to show up, but comforting the desperate and warming those in need are valuable aspects of a society."

    Shen Jiarui suddenly felt a little enlightened.

    Indeed, people aren''t just living to eat, but there is something very powerful in this world that seems useless but can create greater value in the future. This is the meaning of this story.

    This trending comment got many likes.

    It''s imaginable that for Chu Kuang, the reviews for this short story must be polarized. Some people will find the story melodramatic and feel that Chu Kuang''s latest writing doesn''t meet the standard, lacking the amazing plot twist that used to be in his works.

    But many others will agree with it.

    The latter group is likely those who have experienced kindness from strangers, in gestures or even just a glance. But their power is no less than the simple phrase "A Bowl of Spring Noodles" in the story.

    Let''s look at the ranking again.

    My short story is called "The Killer", a detective thriller type story with an ending readers could never have imagined: the final killer is a brown horse. It''s currently ranked first in the March short stories, receiving very good reviews, while Chu Kuang, who was highly rated by many people, is in second place. It seems not everyone bought into his latest work.

    "My rank is pretty good..."

    It would be hypocritical to say Shen Jiarui is not at all pleased. After all, securing first place would earn him quite a sum. However, inside, he felt that Chu Kuang''s latest short story was quite powerful but not suitable for ranking-oriented competitions like this.

    If described with music:

    It''s like I used rock.

    But he sang a sentimental ballad.

    The former can ignite the atmosphere on stage while the latter is heartfelt. Being heartfelt is not suitable for competition. So, assuming there aren''t any surprises, it looks like I might keep this first-place rank until the end?

    ...

    Chu Kuang hasn''t written a short story in quite a long time. Naturally, his latest release published in Tribe Literature in March has attracted attention from the industry. But when they saw the novel was ranked second, many were taken aback:

    "It''s only second?"

    "Is this an upset?"

    "Shen Jiarui is something."

    "Chu Kuang''s last story was even able to compete with one of the Big Three in Qin Province. I didn''t expect this new one would only rank second, especially without any strong competitors this time. Shen Jiarui couldn''t pose much of a threat to Chu Kuang."

    "This indeed is an upset."

    "I''ve read both stories. Shen Jiarui''s story is superb while Chu Kuang seems to have made some adjustments to his personal style. Those changes seemed not very successful. One progressed, and one regressed, hence the result."

    ...

    Since his debut, Chu Kuang has been invincible!

    Even when people were doubting him, Chu Kuang was capable of creating miracles, turning the tide!

    But unexpectedly, when people had high hopes for him this time, Chu Kuang messed up!

    This created a lot of controversy in the industry.

    And because of Chu Kuang''s defeat...

    The controversy has started to escalate, even leading to some comments claiming a decline in Chu Kuang''s writing level. Some people spoke as if they had insider knowledge:

    "If Chu Kuang is not running out of new stories, why hasn''t he published a new short story for such a long time?"

    Some people thought about it, and it made sense.

    Chu Kuang used to publish short stories frequently before. With just four of his works, he secured his position in the short story arena.

    However, after those four works, it took him so long to publish his fifth one¡­ S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Why?

    People didn'' think too much about it before, but now they feel that it''s very likely because Chu Kuang can''t come up with new good stories, that''s why he hasn''t published any new short story.

    Even if his ranking decreased, he didn''t take any measures in time.

    If that were not the case, why did his new short story "A Bowl of Spring Noodles" that was published after such a long time failed to take off, and didn''t even manage to beat Shen Jiarui, a short story writer much lower in the ranks?

    Logically, after not having published any new short story for such a long time, shouldn''t he have been brewing a staggering masterpiece that would blow everyone''s mind?

    The new short story he took so long to produce... Is this it?

    "Has he run out of creativity?"

    Some voices speculated.

    Indeed, some extraordinarily brilliant writers during their peak period gradually became ordinary after publishing several astonishing works. But nobody thought that this would happen to Chu Kuang, especially after he had just completed a highly popular long novel.

    Nevertheless, there were also many voices refuting this claim.

    "There are always some people with ulterior motives, who scrutinize every move of writers like Chu Kuang with a magnifying glass, and seize on any minor mistake. Just because Chu Kuang came in second, they couldn''t wait to jump out..."

    Turns out this was the mainstream voice.

    The public was mostly willing to give people like "Chu Kuang" some space.

    The use of "them" here is due to the similar rhythms seen online over and over.

    Rival peers have never been too amicable in the literary circle and the traditions of this circle are filled with arrogance and disdain among writers. It is a particularly high-pressure zone, full of infighting.

    So over the years, whenever a writer''s performance failed to meet a perfect standard, they received similar treatment.

    Such a phenomenon, in the eyes of some literati, had become a cancer.

    They aimed not just at Chu Kuang, but at everyone who achieved success, but couldn''t maintain a perfect performance afterward.

    What nobody expected, though, was¡­

    While the outside world was debating whether the quality of Chu Kuang''s latest short story had declined, the ranking of "A Bowl of Spring Noodles" unexpectedly, and unexplainably surged to the top at 9 a.m. the next day!

    Everyone watched in real-time as the votes for "A Bowl of Spring Noodles" continuously soared!

    And by two o''clock in the afternoon, "A Bowl of Spring Noodles" had already claimed the champion''s throne!

    "What the hell is going on?"

    Vote manipulation is strictly forbidden on Blue Star; the platform has zero tolerance for such actions!

    Whoever dares to manipulate votes will instantly earn a horrible reputation!

    Besides, isn''t the technical department of the Tribe too capable to allow such blatant manipulation?

    Everyone was flabbergasted.

    If it wasn''t vote manipulation, why did "A Bowl of Spring Noodles" surge ahead so dramatically, completely overtaking Shen Jiarui?

    "Take a look!"

    Amid the confusion and bewilderment, someone prompted, "Turn on this morning''s news from Zhongzhou Station, Chu Kuang''s new short story got reported by official media!"

    Swoosh!

    Everyone instantly searched for the news from Zhongzhou Station, only to find this headline: [A One-Man Train Station!]

    The subheading read:

    The real-life version of the story "A Bowl of Spring Noodles"!

    Zhongzhou Station holds a comparable status to that of CCTV in Blue Star. It''s a television station that can''t be isolated by the cultural wall. However, no one in the industry could have imagined that Chu Kuang''s new short story would be endorsed by Blue Star''s biggest official media!

    Everyone clicked on the news¡­

 Chapter 315 - 294: A One-Person Train Station_1

    Those just tuning into the news from the industry are at a loss.

    Everyone cannot imagine what a train station has to do with spring noodles until they see the specific content of this news...

    In the news, a female presenter narrates emotionally.

    "A few months ago, a train was about to be suspended in Ye City, Chu Province¡ªevery once in a while, there would be service cancellations in Blue Star, which is a common affair, but why did it grab widespread attention from the public?"

    Yeah, why?

    How did it get connected to Chu Kuang''s new short story?

    Many people were wide-eyed.

    "Turns out, from what reporters learned, this train was, in fact, decided by the Mountain Stone Company who operates it to be discontinued three years ago because this route had been losing money long term. But then, a special discovery made the Mountain Stone Company change its mind."

    The narration paused for a moment.

    In the snowy scenes, a simple-looking girl wrapped in a thick cotton-padded coat and a red scarf appeared.

    Someone accepted the interview:

    "At the time, the railway bureau had already decided to shut down the station, but we discovered that there was a high school girl who would take this train to school every day."

    The camera cuts.

    The girl also accepted the interview: "I am the only passenger at this train station¡­"

    Some people seemed to have made a connection.

    The female host continued to introduce: "This is the route from Bai Tong to Yuanqing operated by the Mountain Sea Company, the largest railway company in Chu Province, with a network covering the entire province. However, before the suspension, the Mountain Sea Company noticed a 17-year-old high schooler that depends on this train to commute between school and her home daily.

    At 7:04 in the morning, she goes to school; at 17:08 every evening, she returns home, punctual and regular over three years."

    By this time, those who had read "A Bowl of Clear Soup Noodles" had vaguely guessed the cause.

    The female host''s voice continued to narrate: "Mountain Sea Company decided, alright, in order not to affect her schooling, we will keep this railway for her. If it''s just her that''s riding, okay then. The train service won''t stop until she completes her high school. So this situation carried on, spanning three years until a few months ago when the girl no longer needed to take that train to school."

    The camera focused on two different train timetables.

    The first timetable had many stations marked.

    The second timetable only showed two time points.

    "Since there were no other passengers, the train timetable was also changed."

    "It used to depart on a set schedule, passing through several stations, with specified departure and arrival times, and the fare for each segment."

    "Then we thought, why should it be so complicated, the phrase ''Only For You'' suffices."

    "Pick you up heading to school every day, pick you up leaving school every day."

    "What''s more, according to the habits of the people of Chu Province, if it''s done, it is done accurately to the second. Even with only one passenger, if it''s said that it arrives at 7:04, it won''t be a minute off. If it''s said that it departs at 17:08, it will leave without fail."

    "Remember, a train is not a taxi. How many people are needed to run a train? Train drivers, conductors, ticket inspectors, security personnel, electrical maintenance staff... Not to mention the wear and tear on the train and the rail track, just the fuel consumption of these two carriages running for an hour would not be insignificant. Thus, it''s not free of charge.

    The Mountain Sea Company isn''t a social charity organization; the student has to purchase a ticket to enter."

    "So, how much is the fare?"

    "Our reporters learned that the round trip fare totalled thirty-six yuan, which is a usual fare for cab rides in Chu Province. Therefore, thirty-six yuan for a train ticket is indeed a fair price. Moreover, because tickets are being sold, there are personnel to inspect and collect them, requiring more human and material inputs."

    Seeing this, many people even doubted if this girl had some connections?

    But...

    The female host stated,

    "According to our understanding, such treatment, if not backed by a powerful background, might be something one could hardly enjoy, especially if it perseveres for three years. Yet, our reporters discovered after some investigation that this is by no means a case of a powerful family.

    In Blue Star, it probably falls within the range of impoverished households eligible for minimum living subsidies, otherwise, they wouldn''t be living so far from the school."

    "The world is full of true affection."

    "Coincidentally, in early March, a renowned author Chu Kuang published on ''Tribe'' a novel entitled ''A Bowl of Spring Noodles,'' which also tells a deeply touching story. The story is simple. A woman''s husband gets in a car accident and owes a large sum of money. The woman raises two children. Every New Year''s eve, they go to a noodle restaurant where the three of them share a bowl of noodles.

    Receiving the owner''s good wish of ''May you have a good year,'' the woman eventually repaid the debt, and the two children also succeeded. Throughout it all, for the mother and her two children, the price of spring noodles remained the same."

    "The society or the public, if they want to treat someone kindly, need not do it in an exceptionally grand manner by showering them with love. A single word could be enough."

    "This phrase can be ''Here''s a bowl of spring noodles.''"

    "It can also be ''For 1095 days, even if you are the only one, this train runs for you.''"

    "I believe that all the good in the world relies on that moment of kindness that you and I possess."

    The girl has no connections, she was just lucky to receive a kind act from a humanistic company.

    It''s just like the mother and her two children in ''A Bowl of Spring Noodles.'' They aren''t impressive and are somewhat destitute, but the owner and his wife of the noodle restaurant are willing to offer their kindness.

    That''s all.

    This real-life news story seems to echo ''A Bowl of Spring Noodles'', a title in this very moment.

    At this moment.

    Many who have read this novel fell into silence.

    Even the industry insiders who once doubted the quality of this novel, who can deny the stirring within them upon witnessing this real-life story?

    Is it mawkishness?

    Is it a comforting pep-talk?

    If kindness is mawkish, please do not skimp on your sentimentality. If the pep-talk warms the heart, do serve me a bowl.

    So, this is the reason for ''A Bowl of Spring Noodles'' comeback today!

    The news didn''t mention the achievements of Chu Kuang nor excessively praised how excellent this novel is. However, the simple quotation at the end says it all.

    One is a story from the novel, and the other is a story from reality.

    The fact that the reality is more dramatic than the novel, yet so similar is quite remarkable.

    So alike.

    Many people unconsciously reopened ''A Bowl of Spring Noodles'', and yet, this time, the feelings gathered from the news were entirely different. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "This could probably be the simplest story ever written by Chu Kuang, with no surprising twists and turns, no earth-shattering reversals, but it has a healing power for the soul. I think Chu Kuang''s talent has already been condensed into a bowl of spring noodles, quietly warming many people''s hearts."

 Chapter 316 - 295 The Number One Chu Fanboy Goes Online_1

    The previous skepticism about whether Chu Kuang had "lost his talent" seemed to disappear abruptly.

    In fact, there are such people on the internet.

    They usually hide in the dark, afraid to show themselves, but they always stir up trouble when people least expect it. Yet when the person they''ve targeted regains their strength, these people scatter like birds and beasts, acting as if they''d never existed.

    These people might be labeled as "trolls" or "internet knights".

    Anyway, with the reports from Zhongzhou Station, the topping of "A Bowl of Spring Noodles", and these people''s return to hiding, Chu Kuang had returned to being the Chu Kuang people knew -

    The one whose works were few since debut, yet always lined with awe-inspiring magnificence!

    Not only that.

    In the following days, the influence of "A Bowl of Spring Noodles" seemed to be expanding as many enterprises actually esteemed the work as a business classic and required their employees to read it!

    Many entrepreneurs affirmed the hidden business strategies in the novel!

    This also had something to do with the background of the Qin and Chu merger.

    Indeed, many companies had a chance to soar after the Qin and Chu merger, but some industries faced disaster.

    They were struggling to survive, but they never gave up.

    Like the mother and her two sons in "A Bowl of Spring Noodles", no matter how difficult or desperate, they were still persevering and seeking new hope!

    This was another unexpected surprise for the industry insiders!

    It was not until many entrepreneurs publicly talked about their view on "A Bowl of Spring Noodles", and praised the caring actions of the owners from the Beihai Noodle Shop to their customers, that everyone realized this work even has the potential to be a commercial Bible!

    In fact.

    The appearance of this novel has a special backdrop, which was the great economic collapse in Neon on Earth.

    At that time, "A Bowl of Spring Noodles" emerged, encouraging many businesses that were struggling to survive.

    When it comes to Blue Star.

    Although there was no economic collapse, the effects of the merger trend for some enterprises were similar. Therefore, the appearance of this novel can be said to be timely, and it instantly became a favorite among many businessmen.

    Of course, the story of "A Man''s Station" from Chu Province, as a real-life version of this novel, also encouraged many people.

    "Hey, Chu Kuang''s luck is too good this time!"

    In a small group chat, someone mentioned Shen Jiarui and seemed to be somewhat unpleased.

    No sooner had this person finished speaking than a wave of retorts rose:

    "You call this luck?"

    "Even if you want to flatter Mr. Shen, you don''t need to spout such nonsense, right?"

    "This novel is clearly underestimated by many people. Isn''t it just a counterintuitive way of thinking? I believe that anything overdone is not good, using it for the sake of using it is certainly undesirable, but if this cup of chicken soup really warms your stomach, why should you forcefully dislike it?"

    "Teacher Chu Kuang is not incapable of using tricky techniques. I feel like he just didn''t bother to go for the fancy stuff this time. Don''t his previous works already prove his skill?"

    "..."

    This person did not expect that his casual pro-Shen Jiarui comment in the group chat would incite general outrage. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    What was even more unexpected was that Shen Jiarui responded, and his tone wasn''t too good, firing off several messages:

    "The four words I hate the most are, ''Writers belittling each other''."

    "There''s plenty of such phenomenon in this industry because some people are insincere. If it''s good, say it''s good. If it''s bad, say it''s bad. Of course, I want to win too, but I wouldn''t make excuses when I lose, and I certainly wouldn''t say it''s just luck. You don''t need to try and make me look good."

    System prompt:[Baby has left the group chat]

    ...

    When Shen Jiarui realized he had been bumped to second place, he wasn''t overly disappointed, as he had liked Chu Kuang''s simple story from the beginning.

    This sense of recognition made him ungrudging when he lost.

    After all, he had always been ranked lower than others.

    Actually, Shen Jiarui even admired Chu Kuang to some extent. He didn''t believe that Chu Kuang wasn''t aware of the disadvantages of "A Bowl of Spring Noodles", but he still published it.

    "I graciously admit defeat!"

    He posted this sentiment on Tribe.

    Comments sections instantly filled up with comforting responses, mostly from Shen Jiarui''s fans.

    A comment said: "Chu Kuang is really amazing."

    Shen Jiarui surprisingly responded: "You should say he is incredibly amazing, especially after seeing many companies esteeming this work as a commercial Bible recently. Although I feel there might be excessive interpretation involved, if such interpretations can help some people overcome difficulties, then whether the interpretation is wrong or not isn''t as important."

    In addition, Shen Jiarui also responded to many other comments with unabashed praise, leaving his fans perplexed, yet amused.

    "What the¡­"

    "We are trying to comfort you."

    "End up you are a[Chu fan]?"

    "I declare the birth of the number one Chu fan."

    "Chu Kuang: You''re praising me so much, I kind of want to give you the first place."

    "Wow, Shen Jiarui certainly knows how to flatter!"

    "Chu Kuang is indeed amazing, but Shen Jiarui''s work this time is also not bad, the twist in the end was excellent."

    "..."

    Shen Jiarui coughed, replying to the last person: "The twist technique was learned from Chu Kuang. I feel this technique is indeed very powerful, highlighting the unexpected but reasonable."

    The fans were completely speechless.

    This person has completely become a Chu fan!

    What''s more, someone actually took the screenshots of Shen Jiarui showering Chu Kuang with praise and posted them. That completely exposed the "Chu fan''s" true nature.

    Shen Jiarui: "¡­"

    How did I become a Chu fan?

    Well, what the hell, there''s nothing wrong with it.

    Shen Jiarui thought he had a dog-like composure.

    Among those with very high rankings and who were very close to Shen Jiarui, a certain writer secretly chatted with Shen Jiarui a few sentences:

    "If I see Chu Kuang in the future, I''ll help you take revenge!"

    Shen Jiarui replied his friend without mercy: "You don''t know how scary Chu Kuang really is."

    The friend was furious: "I''m ranked eleventh!"

    Shen Jiarui: "How many years have you been writing, and how long has Chu Kuang been writing?"

    The friend was silent for a long time before replying: "Hello Chu fan, goodbye Chu fan."

    Shen Jiarui rolled his eyes.

    A fact almost nobody knew was that...

    Blog, on their side, had also been closely following the performance of Chu Kuang''s new work because they had already reached a preliminary agreement with Chu Kuang. Chu Kuang''s next short work would most likely be published on Blog!

    As a result, Blog witnessed Chu Kuang''s strong overtaking and his usual dominance in the short works section!

    "Impressive!"

    "Even without the boost from the news, it''s inevitable given the widespread circulation of this work in various enterprises, that it would overtake and reclaim first place!"

    "Why not strive for someone like this!"

    "Exactly, always letting the people from Tribe taste all the sweetness."

    "The most crucial thing is, Chu Kuang has great cost efficiency. Do you remember how much money we spent on inviting Mr. Feng last time? We barely managed to match Chu Kuang."

    "If you can''t beat them, join them!"

    "..."

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: I''m posting 5 updates today~ Asking for some monthly tickets at the beginning of the month!

 Chapter 317 - 296: Great Detective Poirot _1

    Although the road to the top of "A Bowl of Spring Noodles" was somewhat tortuous, Lin Yuan didn''t feel wronged.

    Compared to novels like "The Necklace" with its dramatic twist ending, this kind of sentimental short story indeed couldn''t make an immediate sensation.

    If there was anything that surprised Lin Yuan, it was the unexpected discovery of his haters...

    There used to be very few online voices discrediting Chu Kuang, but this time, just because the new short story didn''t rank first right away, quite a few people jumped out to set the tone.

    Had he done something wrong recently?

    When Lin Yuan spoke about this to Jin Mu, Jin Mu laughed and said,

    "Even the most perfect person will be ridiculed by haters. There are always some people who inexplicably show hostility towards unrelated people. As a writer, the situation is relatively better. If you were an artist, that would be truly cruel. You haven''t done anything wrong."

    Alright then.

    Lin Yuan didn''t dwell heavily on the issue either.

    Jin Mu brought up another topic: "Do you have any plans for the next film?"

    The film "The Tuner" was off circulation by then.

    The box office for this movie ultimately exceeded one billion.

    However, after various parties took their shares, Lin Yuan ended up only pocketing around two hundred million.

    "Let''s talk about it later."

    Ol'' Zhou had asked about this as well, but Lin Yuan didn''t give a clear answer either. His plan was to first complete Chu Kuang''s new book, "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd."

    The case took place in a village.

    There were two prominent households in the village.

    The master of one of the households was named Roger, a widowed man.

    The master of the other household was Ferrars, and Lin Yuan used the name Flora.

    This was a wealthy widow.

    Flora became a widow because she poisoned her husband.

    Maybe because they had similar experiences, Roger and Flora fell in love.

    At the beginning of the story, Flora committed suicide.

    Roger knew that someone had discovered she had poisoned her husband, and Flora was being blackmailed by this person during her life, which might have been the direct reason for her suicide.

    Roger wanted to know who the blackmailer was.

    Before committing suicide, Flora left Roger a letter.

    But Roger died without finishing the letter, he was seated in the study when his neck got sliced by a knife...

    The story unfolded from there. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Changing the background was not a big deal.

    As for the names of the characters, Lin Yuan didn''t need to change much either.

    Since Blue Star is big, all kinds of surnames existed here, regardless if it''s Mike, David, or Alice, they were all names from Blue Star.

    Especially in Yan Continent, such westernized names were quite common.

    Therefore, Lin Yuan did not worry about the discomfort that such names might bring.

    The story is centered around the doctor named Xie Shepherd.

    Just as in many cases in "Sherlock Holmes," they are unfolded from the perspective of Watson.

    Because Xie Shepherd was a local doctor who knew Roger quite well, and with his alibi, he became Poirot''s assistant, helped Poirot investigate Roger''s case, and finally witnessed the truth revealed by Poirot through his perspective...

    It''s worth mentioning that Poirot is the protagonist of "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd"!

    Poirot!

    Full name: Hercule Poirot.

    In Chu Kuang''s writings, he naturally could only be called Poirot to fit the characteristics of Blue Star.

    The lovers of detective stories on Earth would definitely be familiar with this name, just as everyone knows Sherlock Holmes.

    Because in many of Queen''s detective novels, the male protagonist is Poirot.

    When Poirot dies in the book, he even made it to The New York Times, reflecting the horrifying influence of his character!

    This is a great detective who can be on par with Sherlock Holmes (both are detectives created by mystery writers, and their creators are equally famous)!

    And "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" was exactly a work that familiarized readers with Poirot.

    Poirot was once a policeman. Later, he quit his job as a policeman and became a private detective.

    As a result, after solving a series of major cases, Poirot became world-famous!

    He became a regular in the newspapers and a superstar detective in the eyes of high society!

    Poirot then retired. He moved to the village where "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" took place, with leisure time spent growing pumpkins, and was invited to successfully solve Roger''s case.

    This case made Poirot realize that he still loved solving mysteries, so he came out of retirement.

    Like "Murder on the Orient Express," it was solved by Poirot after he came out of retirement.

    Also, "Death on the Nile," was resolved by Poirot.

    Therefore...

    Many fans of detective stories on Earth enjoy comparing Poirot with Sherlock Holmes, and supporters of both sides continue to debate who''s stronger.

    Of course, such comparisons are meaningless.

    Because it''s like comparing the creators of these two characters, Queen and Conan Doyle, who are both among the top three detective masters in the world and unsurpassable industry figures.

    ...

    Of course, Lin Yuan was fond of Sherlock Holmes, although he couldn''t remember the details of the Sherlock Holmes series, he had to recall them through the system.

    Upon receiving a custom work, the system could always bestow Lin Yuan with plenty of memory about the work, including its achievements, and so forth.

    At the same time,

    Lin Yuan also adored Poirot.

    He did not think of himself as a scum.

    As a matter of fact, many lovers of reasoning are like this, being particularly fond of both Sherlock Holmes and Poirot, as well as Marple and Queen, etc.

    Sherlock Holmes was a man who particularly values evidence, enjoying analyzing a case through the discovered evidence.

    Also, Sherlock Holmes was more emotional and not good at socializing.

    In contrast to the dashing Sherlock Holmes,

    Poirot was an adorable elderly gentleman, who was somewhat behind the times and had a poor adaptability to new things. He had the utmost faith in the "little grey cells" of his own brain.

    Besides, he placed more emphasis on the analysis of the cases and his comprehension of human nature.

    Although he was arrogant, he was also kind and particularly good at social interactions, being comfortable around women.

    Therefore, the main difference between Sherlock Holmes and Poirot lies in their individual characteristics.

    Poirot was of average appearance, standing a little over 1.6 meters tall, sporting meticulously groomed mustache on his upper lip.

    He was extremely fastidious about cleanliness (OCD), a thing that Poirot could never tolerate about Holmes'' always messy room.

    Poirot always kept himself spotless. He''d rather take a bullet than let his clothes be tarnished.

    He also had an obsession with symmetry. He chose to live in his apartment solely because of its symmetry to the buildings on both sides.

    Clearly a terminal patient of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

    Poirot was also very vain. He insisted on wearing brand-name leather shoes, even in rural areas where he should be wearing other types of shoes.

    He always wore an excellently tailored striped suit and waistcoat, along with an inherited pocket watch.

    Additionally, his physical fitness was very poor.

    Many people have ridiculed Poirot''s appearance, but Poirot didn''t mind. He secretly laughed off all the sarcasm and ridicule and confrontations¡ª

    He was Poirot, the world-class detective!

    The world had to accept him as he was, including all his appearances and personality traits!

    In the detective novels.

    Only second to Sherlock Holmes in fame, Poirot''s popularity gradually gained momentum over the years Earth came to an end. As the works of Agatha Christie continued to be adapted for the silver screen, especially those classics of hers that featured Poirot in every place,

    That''s another reason why Lin Yuan was thrilled when he received "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd"

    The novel is presided by Poirot!

    Lin Yuan was certain that in the future he would publish more of Agatha Christie''s works, and one day, Poirot would become a renowned detective in Blue Star!

    Therefore, "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd", being Poirot''s first appearance in Blue Star, was of particular importance.

    This was significant for Lin Yuan.

    He would eventually release the Sherlock Holmes series. However, Poirot''s brilliance should not be obscured!

    After all, they were world-class private detective figures alongside Sherlock Holmes, appearing in more than thirty novels of Agatha Christie.

    Lin Yuan was contemplating¡­

    If Poirot were not an eccentric old man, but was as versatile as Sherlock Holmes, would he be even more famous?

    Yet on second thought, Lin Yuan felt that it was precisely because Poirot was completely different from Sherlock Holmes, which made him popular.

    Poirot was Poirot. Sherlock Holmes was Sherlock Holmes. Both were well-known and unique personalities.

    When Lin Yuan was working on "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd", he always felt delighted while describing Poirot.

    In the book, Shepherd said, "If only these walls could speak."

    Poirot''s response was simply iconic.

    He looked at the wall and touched various pieces of furniture, "To me, sometimes they do speak ¡ª whether it''s a chair ¡ª or a table, always providing me with some clues."

    Poirot liked to say such cool lines.

    What appear to be complex clues in others'' eyes, would always be systematically sorted, formed a clear structure and orderly arrangement, just like his personality, pursuing order to such an extreme!

    Of course,

    Poirot''s most impressive scene should be the ending of "Murder on the Orient Express," which won''t be revealed here.

    Lin Yuan was writing the new piece happily.

    When it came to the last few chapters of the novel, Lin Yuan felt more joyful.

    This novel didn''t follow the traditional logistic reasoning pattern of Agatha Christie''s works, but pioneered a unique detective writing style¨C

    Agatha Christie was recognized as the strongest Pioneer in the field of detective novels!

    So, it was full of innovation and uniqueness, just like the games the system often enjoyed playing.

    Lin Yuan believed that when the readers reached the conclusion, they would surely be caught off guard.

    After all, Poirot had gained his fame from "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd," and Agatha Christie''s reasoning was also held in high regard by outsiders since this novel.

    "Oh¡­"

    Having completed the amount of work he assigned to himself for the day, Lin Yuan remembered that he still had the task of helping Sun Yaohuo and Jiang Kui gain popularity.

    After all, there was only that much time throughout the year.

    And it was already March.

    Perhaps after he wrapped up "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd", he would need to ramp up the publicity for both of them so that the development of the three pseudonyms could go hand in hand.

 Chapter 318 - 297 The 3rd Disciple_1

    Of course, there was a sequence to be followed, the priority was certainly to finish "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd".

    Fortunately, this novel was only a little over a hundred thousand words. Even after Lin Yuan made adjustments to the background, the overall word count didn''t exceed one hundred and fifty thousand. It could be read in half a day at a normal reading speed¡ª¡ª

    Even if the deduction part required slower reading.

    Lin Yuan''s typing speed was fast, he was quick at writing, it was only adjusting the background at the beginning that took a bit of effort.

    March 5th.

    Lin Yuan finally completed this novel.

    After taking a breath, he went through the whole text again. After confirming that there had been no issues, Lin Yuan didn''t rush to contact the publishing house. Instead, he took some time off to visit the company.

    Inside the company.

    The departments were buzzing with gossip, as if discussing some big scoop.

    "What happened?"

    Lin Yuan asked his assistant Gu Dong.

    Gu Dong made Lin Yuan a cup of tea and chuckled:

    "You don''t know! For the March music chart, our Starlight won first place again. This time, Teacher Yang Zhongming made his move, releasing a song he has been grinding for two years. As expected, he crushed the competition, just like you did last month!"

    Lin Yuan then realized.

    There was nothing surprising about Yang Zhongming''s victory.

    Gu Dong chuckled:

    "But you might not guess that just like you, Teacher Yang Zhongming also released a piano piece this time. Some people say that the quality of this piece is not inferior to ''Mariage d''Amour''."

    "Is that so?"

    Lin Yuan became more interested immediately.

    He put on his headphones, opened his computer, searched for Yang Zhongming''s piece, and began to listen.

    It was a pop piano piece just the same...

    That was hardly surprising; for classical piano to be enjoyed by both refined and vulgar, the difficulty level is too high.

    Modern piano music that''s appreciated by everyone without a threshold is more common.

    After listening, Lin Yuan nodded.

    Maestro''s previous pieces lacked a kind of dominating presence that belonged to Maestro. However, Yang Zhongming''s piece this time had genuinely proved why Maestro was Maestro!

    Strong!

    This piece, called "Lucent", would have been a hit even on Earth. It was an excellent piano piece.

    However...

    Considering it took Yang Zhongming, a Maestro, two years to create this piece, Lin Yuan did not find it surprising.

    Without the aid of the System, how many two-year periods could even a Maestro afford to spend?

    When he thought about it.

    His victory against the Maestros before was because they didn''t bring out their best works.

    If the Maestros had all brought out pieces they had been carefully polishing over two years, perhaps he wouldn''t have won so easily as he did.

    "System, a question."

    "Go ahead."

    "What level does Yang Zhongming rank at on Blue Star?"

    "Top three in comprehensive composition ability."

    The System answered without hesitation.

    Lin Yuan was shocked. He only knew that Yang Zhongming was a Maestro but he didn''t know that Yang Zhongming was in the top three Maestros on Blue Star!

    If you consider the entire Blue Star, the total number of Maestros isn''t small. From a global perspective, the base number is necessarily larger.

    "It seems Yang Zhongming''s character card is more valuable than I thought."

    Lin Yuan raised an eyebrow and asked his assistant Gu Dong to call Feng Shuo and Xue Liang.

    ...

    Feng Shuo and Xue Liang were both Lin Yuan''s disciples.

    The two received the message and quickly arrived at Lin Yuan''s office.

    "Master!"

    After the two entered, they looked at Lin Yuan with eager eyes.

    "Hmm." S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan looked at Feng Shuo''s composition ability, which had impressively reached the level of 642.

    In other words:

    Feng Shuo had already graduated!

    Seeing the System''s prompt that Feng Shuo had reached the graduation standard, Lin Yuan smiled and proceeded to check Xue Liang''s composition ability.

    He remembered that the last time he checked, Xue Liang''s composition ability was over six hundred.

    However, he was surprised to find that Xue Liang''s composition ability had reached 777!

    Both his disciples had made him proud!

    Leaving aside how quickly Feng Shuo achieved masterhood.

    The potential Xue Liang has shown is beyond Lin Yuan''s expectations.

    Lin Yuan had initially thought that after Xue Liang surpassed the 600 point barrier to reach the gold standard, he might stop progressing.

    But now he''s passed 700!

    What exactly does 700 signify?

    If we were to categorize the gold standard, in Lin Yuan''s mind, it is divided into three tiers.

    Benchmarks between 700 to 800 belong to the middle tier.

    Those between 800 to 900 are among the strongest gold holders!

    A case of hidden power suddenly unleashed?

    In terms of innate abilities, Xue Liang definitely falls short compared to Feng Shuo.

    But, after granting Xue Liang more autonomy, the fact that he could still progress is really a feat itself.

    Perhaps Lin Yuan should pay more attention towards his apprentices.

    After a thoughtful pause, Lin Yuan began, "Feng Shuo, you won''t need to continue learning with me for a while."

    "Why¡­"

    Feng Shuo instantly turned pale, thinking that he might have made a mistake, he trembled as he spoke, "If there''s something you''re not satisfied with, just speak up, I''ll definitely correct it..."

    "That''s not it."

    Lin Yuan said reassuringly, "You''ve done very well, precisely because of that, you''ve met my conditions to graduate, and like Xue Liang, you can stand on your own now."

    "Graduate?"

    Feng Shuo was startled, his expression slightly loosened, but there was still a hint of loss in his eyes. He wished he could continue learning under his master''s guidance.

    "As for Xue Liang¡­"

    Lin Yuan hesitated and said, "Once I train another apprentice, I''ll resume classes with you, you''ve made great progress lately."

    "Master¡­"

    After hearing these words, Xue Liang was moved to the brink of tears.

    All of the effort he''d put in for so long suddenly felt so worth it!

    He always knew that as long as he worked hard, his master would recognize his efforts!

    What Xue Liang didn''t know was that Lin Yuan had no idea of the efforts he''d been making behind the scenes.

    Lin Yuan had simply been making judgements based on the System''s numerical evaluations¡­

    However, this assessment was the most straightforward.

    "So, I called you here today to ask you who you think should be my third apprentice, after the third apprentice, I''m probably not going to take any new ones easily."

    This was Lin Yuan''s objective.

    He thought this task of selecting the third apprentice should be discussed with the opinions of his two current apprentices, as in his mind, he had decided to further strengthen his bond with his apprentices.

    "A third apprentice?"

    Feng Shuo and Xue Liang exchanged looks and were overtaken by emotion to think that their master would seek their opinions on such a matter.

    "No rush, take some time to think it over and help me identify potential candidates. After all, this will be your future junior brother or sister."

    "Okay"

    "Since the two of you have graduated, I should assign you some tasks. For the next few months, Xue Liang, you will write a song every month for Sun Yaohuo, and Feng Shuo, you will be in charge of Jiang Kui. You should know that these are our department''s tasks."

    Lin Yuan was considering conducting a proper assessment of his two apprentices'' abilities.

    "I accept!"

    Feng Shuo loudly responded, feeling somewhat excited, as long as he completes his tasks successfully, he should be able to continue studying under his master, right?

    "Me too!"

    Xue Liang said excitedly, his thoughts similar to Feng Shuo''s.

    Lin Yuan nodded, "The works you prepare for these two will be subject to my revisions. Now if you do well¡­"

    What rewards would there be for doing well?

    Lin Yuan didn''t say.

    But if they did well, he would continue to tutor them.

    Lin Yuan had a sense that with Yang Zhongming''s character card, plus the effect of the Teacher''s Halo, perhaps he could train a new Maestro junior.

    Feng Shuo¡­

    Xue Liang¡­

    Both have potential¡­

    Lin Yuan noticed that with Feng Shuo''s graduation, the system indicated that the effect of Teacher''s Halo had been enhanced¡­

    As for why Lin Yuan did not plan to take any more apprentices after his third one, it''s because his mission is to train three apprentices.

    For now, it is crucial to focus on the mission.

    While testing the abilities of his two apprentices, Lin Yuan figured he could sneakily take it easy. If his apprentices absolutely need help, he could always step in. In fact, Lin Yuan was prepared for a big outlay, he would just exchange a few classics with the system to give to Sun Yaohuo and Jiang Kui later. He was committed to completing the department''s tasks after all.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps:There are only two updates today, need to organize my thoughts. As per the usual, expect a minimum of 8000 words tomorrow.

 Chapter 319 - 298 The Murder of Roger Ackroyd_1

    With the company affairs taken care of by her two apprentices, Lin Yuan found herself with quite a bit of free time on her hands.

    After some thought, she finalized "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" and handed it to Jin Mu, instructing him to contact Silver Blue Books. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "You really wrote a mystery novel?"

    Jin Mu was somewhat taken aback as he looked at the document for "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" that Lin Yuan had sent him.

    He remembered that Lin Yuan had casually mentioned that mystery novels were popular during their discussion on what genres were leading the book market.

    To his surprise, his boss had indeed produced a mystery novel.

    Just because this genre was popular?

    Although it seemed like a strong enough reason at first, Jin Mu couldn''t shake the feeling that something was off.

    Yet, considering Lin Yuan''s track record of going under three different pseudonyms, each excelling in a different field, he couldn''t find a reason to doubt her.

    "Can I take a look at it later?"

    As a fan of mystery, Jin Mu believed he had a say in this.

    "You can."

    Lin Yuan responded.

    Smiling, Jin Mu didn''t rush to read. Instead, he called "YangFeng".

    "Chu Kuang has a new book?!"

    "YangFeng" received Jin Mu''s call during his office hours.

    His enthusiasm surged at the news, culminating in an excited shout within the office.

    "A new book by Chu Kuang?"

    The announcement was like magic, silencing the entire Fantasy Department at Silver Blue Books.

    Everyone quietly paused their work to look at "YangFeng".

    Ever since the closure of "Ghost Blowing the Lantern", the Fantasy Department at Silver Blue Books had been looking forward to Chu Kuang''s new book.

    Everyone excitedly speculated about the genre Chu Kuang would tackle next.

    There were all sorts of guesses.

    It was known that Chu Kuang never wrote two novels of the same genre. He was a consummate pioneer!

    "What genre is it this time?"

    "YangFeng" swallowed, attempting to ask the question nonchalantly. It was the one thing everyone had their minds on.

    Having been Chu Kuang''s editor for so long, "YangFeng" felt prepared for any genre that Chu Kuang might have chosen.

    No matter what, he wouldn''t be surprised by the genre of the new book this time.

    "After all, I''ve been trained for so long."

    "YangFeng" thought proudly to himself.

    Jin Mu''s voice was oddly hesitant, "A mystery novel."

    "..."

    "YangFeng" turned from confident to stunned. He asked for confirmation, "

    "It''s really a mystery novel?"

    Jin Mu firmly answered, "Yes."

    "YangFeng" felt dizzy, his demeanor crumbling, a hint of disappointment on his face, "A mystery novel¡­"

    He had mentally prepared himself for any genre Chu Kuang might choose. It would''ve still been normal.

    But when he found out the genre of Chu Kuang''s new book, "YangFeng" couldn''t help but lose composure.

    Not only was "YangFeng" thrown off guard, the entire Fantasy Department was left dumbfounded.

    Don''t get us wrong.

    We''re not doubting.

    The pure issue is, the Mystery Department handles mystery novels.

    Indeed, if "Ghost Blowing the Lantern" could barely be categorized under fantasy literature, then a mystery novel was undoubtedly out of its league.

    This was a distinct category.

    The company has a dedicated mystery novel department.

    The genre of Chu Kuang''s new book was not related to the Fantasy Department.

    "Alright, I will have someone from the Mystery Department get in touch with you." "YangFeng"''s voice carried a heavy sense of loss.

    "Alright, the novel has been sent. Please check."

    "Understood."

    After he hung up, the department fell into silence.

    After a while, someone asked, "He really wants to write a mystery?"

    "YangFeng" nodded reluctantly.

    Everyone''s mood had become somewhat melancholic.

    Then Ol'' Xiong came out, his face wearing an excited smile, "I think I heard you all discussing Chu Kuang''s new book. Is it ready?"

    "Yes."

    "YangFeng replied, "It''s a mystery."

    The smile on Ol'' Xiong''s face disappeared instantly: "Mystery?"

    YangFeng shrugged his shoulders.

    Ol'' Xiong stood there dumbstruck for a few seconds, then waved his hand saying,

    "What type of book Chu Kuang wants to write is his freedom, send me the manuscript, I will visit the mystery department."

    "Alright."

    Five minutes later, Ol'' Xiong arrived at the mystery department.

    Mystery, being as popular a genre as fantasy, having its own department was no surprise.

    But the Mystery Department at Silver Blue Books has always been lukewarm.

    In terms of performance, it couldn''t come close to the Fantasy Department. The Fantasy Department was Silver Blue''s biggest money maker!

    So, Ol'' Xiong held the mystery department in contempt. It was a small department after all.

    But today, this small department had snatched away Chu Kuang.

    Alright, then.

    Perhaps ''snatched away'' was not the right term, after all, it was Chu Kuang''s personal choice, and everyone belonged to the same company. Regardless with whom Chu Kuang shared his profits with, it all belonged to Silver Blue Books...

    "Brother Xiong."

    The editor-in-chief of the Mystery Department, Cao Dezhi, seemed surprised to see Ol'' Xiong in the department, "What brings you here?" he asked.

    "Chu Kuang''s new book is a mystery." Ol'' Xiong grumbled: "According to the company rules, your department is responsible for connecting with him."

    "Chu Kuang?"

    Cao Dezhi was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed!

    Chu Kuang was very well known at Silver Blue Books, he was their money tree!

    He couldn''t believe that this money tree wanted to write a mystery novel. Naturally, Cao Dezhi was over the moon about this!

    While he was not sure how good Chu Kuang''s mystery novel would turn out to be, nor had he heard before that Chu Kuang would write such a genre, but as long as Chu Kuang was willing to write-

    Regardless of the genre, there would be readers who would buy it!

    This is the influence of a GOAT-level author!

    At Chu Kuang''s current level of fame, whatever genre he chose to write, the sales wouldn''t be too bad because his reputation had already been established!

    Right now, what the Mystery Department needed most was sales!

    Thinking of this, Cao Dezhi totally understood why Ol'' Xiong looked so unpleasant, he chuckled lightly and said,

    "Brother Xiong, my condolences."

    One of the top authors from the Fantasy Department has come to write mystery, probably causing the editors in the Fantasy Department to collectively go into shutdown mode, while he had unexpectedly hit the jackpot!

    "Go to hell."

    Ol'' Xiong retorted, not in a good mood: "Once Chu Kuang is done playing around with mystery, he''ll come back. By leaving him in your mystery department, you''re wasting talent."

    "Brother Xiong..."

    Cao Dezhi said, feeling glum: "There''s no need to belittle our Mystery Department like that."

    Ol'' Xiong scoffed: "Belittling, huh? Among the top five companies in the publishing industry, our Mystery Department at Silver Blue Books is the worst. I guess Dezhi is more aware of this than I am."

    Cao Dezhi suddenly forced out a bitter smile.

    What Ol'' Xiong said was a fact.

    The author''s strength in the Mystery Department of Silver Blue Books, was grossly mismatched with Silver Blue''s overall standing. It was barely at the same level as the mystery departments of some second-rate publishing houses...

    "Alright."

    O''l Xiong waved his hand: "I have sent the book to your email. Remember to check it. I have relayed the message. Get in touch with Chu Kuang''s agent later."

    "Alright."

    Cao Dezhi nodded.

    After Ol'' Xiong''s departure, Cao Dezhi thought to himself: "I hope Mr. Chu Kuang can give me a pleasant surprise¡­"

    The Mystery Department was in some serious trouble.

    If department performance didn''t improve, he guessed that the Editor-in-Chief would probably replace him. Therefore, Dezhi had been quite worried about it.

    However, Chu Kuang writing a mystery novel brought a ray of hope to Dezhi!

    At least¡­

    The sales performance of the Mystery Department was guaranteed to some extent!

    Chu Kuang was really a good man who brought aid in times of trouble!

    With this hope in mind, Cao Dezhi returned to his office, opened his email, and started reading the novel titled "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd".

 Chapter 320 - 299 Fooling Around_1

    The story began with an introduction of the case:

    Flora poisoned her alcoholic husband, inheriting his wealth and becoming the wealthiest woman in the village.

    There was also the wealthiest man in this village, named Roger.

    Roger''s wife had died many years ago.

    Perhaps both of them had lost their spouses and empathized with each other, so they fell in love.

    Roger planned to marry Flora.

    Before marriage, Flora told Roger: "I killed my alcoholic husband. This secret is known by someone in the village who has been continually threatening me with it recently and has extorted a lot of money from me."

    Roger was shocked.

    He was a just person, unable to accept that the woman he loved had murdered her husband.

    Although he did not plan to report Flora, their engagement ended without a hitch.

    However, Flora was still the woman Roger loved deeply, so he asked Flora: who was the one secretly extorting her behind her back?

    He wanted to help Flora get out of this trouble.

    Flora didn''t answer immediately, but told Roger to wait for two days.

    As a result, Roger received news of Flora''s suicide.

    Before he could grieve, Roger soon received a suicide note from Flora...

    No one knew if Roger had read that letter.

    Because that letter was missing, and Roger was found dead in his study, his neck slashed with a knife.

    The novel was written in the first-person perspective, that is, from the perspective of the village doctor, Xie Shepherd.

    Writing fantasy novels in the first person is often a taboo, but it''s fine for mystery, thriller or detective types of novels.

    The first-person perspective could enhance the reader''s sense of immersion.

    "A quite conventional opening."

    Cao Dezhi commented softly:

    "In all likelihood, the murderer is the one who blackmailed Flora. He likely killed Roger and took Flora''s suicide note for fear that his blackmail would be exposed."

    It wasn''t hard to guess.

    From the current content, the story is moderately compelling.

    Cao Dezhi couldn''t help but feel a bit let down.

    If only pursuing decent sales, Chu Kuang''s pen name is the best guarantee.

    But if he wants a huge success in sales, then it would depend on the quality of the detective novel¡ª

    Compared to steady success, Cao Dezhi naturally hopes for this work to be a huge hit!

    "Perhaps it''s a bit rusty because it''s the first time writing a mystery?"

    Cao Dezhi evaluated inwardly: "For an author who is writing a mystery for the first time, this is really not bad. From this perspective, Chu Kuang is deserving of the title ''GOAT author''."

    Actually, it''s not that Chu Kuang didn''t write it well...

    There''s nothing wrong with Chu Kuang''s writing style in this detective novel.

    The problem is that Chu Kuang wrote too conventionally.

    Out of ten detective novel writers, five could write like this.

    So, it isn''t unique!

    However, Cao Dezhi still read on. A moderate hit was also good, as their mystery department was so desperate that they didn''t even have moderately successful works.

    Moreover...

    As a mystery enthusiast, he enjoyed the process of solving the puzzles.

    And the ultimate pleasure for a mystery enthusiast is undoubtedly discovering who the murderer is before the detective does in the book!

    Soon, the story moved on to Chapter Three.

    A new character appeared at this point, a detective named Poirot!

    According to the novel, Poirot was a renowned private detective who had cracked many major cases, recently moving to the village and spending his days growing pumpkins in his yard.

    "A detective that suddenly appears?"

    Cao Dezhi raised an eyebrow.

    Detecitve Poirot was an outsider to the village. An outsider suddenly moves in, and two people in the town die in succession?

    Is it a coincidence?

    Cao Dezhi was a bit suspicious that the detective was the murderer.

    If this was the set up, this novel might be a bit unconventional and offbeat.

    However, after reading a dozen or so more pages, Cao Dezhi dismissed this suspicion.

    Poirot was indeed a detective, and the first-person narrator, Xie Shepherd, became Poirot''s assistant once the latter started investigating the case.

    Then who was the murderer?

    The police suspects Roger''s adopted son Ralph Paton.

    Yet, Cao Dezhi decisively ruled out him as a suspect. The one who most looks like the murderer in a murder case is often the least likely to be the murderer; they are just red herrings set up by the author.

    As a matter of fact, Poirot didn''t suspect Paton either.

    This detective seemed to be quite competent.

    And as the story kept developing, with more and more characters involved, Cao Dezhi''s reading experience gradually began to change.

    "This is getting interesting..."

    The difficulty of the case was steadily increasing, the number of suspects was increasingly growing, and the readability of the story seemed to be rising gradually.

    First was Roger''s friend, Blunt.

    This was a strong man. At the time of Roger''s death, he happened to be visiting Roger''s house.

    Furthermore, Blunt had no money, but liked Roger''s niece, who happened to have a special relationship with Roger''s adopted son, Ralph Paton!

    So this guy could very well have killed Roger, then framed Paton, so he could get the girl...

    "Could it be him?"

    Cao Dezhi began his brainstorming, shifting his gaze to another character in the book.

    The skinny, meticulous, lively and cheerful manservant Raymond.

    This person didn''t seem to have any major issues, but in detective novels, the ones who seem least likely to be the killer often turn out to be the killer!

    Soon after, Cao Dezhi''s attention was drawn to other characters...

    There were many characters related to the case.

    And with every individual implicated in this case, it seemed everyone had their own secrets!

    Poirot even purposefully gathered everyone together and pointed it out:

    "All of you have concealed some facts from me. Maybe you thought those facts were irrelevant to the case and chose to protect yourselves, but the key to solving the case might be within the facts you''ve concealed."

    Cao Dezhi thought Poirot was frustrated.

    What surprised him was that Poirot was not troubled at all, but rather showing off, "But it''s okay, I will figure out everything."

    How should I put it?

    It was more like a challenge to the murderer.

    "Very soon, I will find you."

    Statements like this one made Dezhi suddenly realize that he was starting to like this detective.

    But who could the murderer be?

    Dezhi was getting anxious.

    As the chief editor of the mystery department with a long history, he had been able to identify the murderer in 80% of the detective novels he had read before the detective in the story had solved the case!

    But this time, he was unable to make a definitive conclusion.

    That was because each character had an alibi, and each character was also hiding part of the truth, making the case even more complex.

    The case was like a line in the grass.

    There must be foreshadowing hidden in the story, indirect evidence of who the murderer is, but after reading two-thirds of the content, Dezhi still couldn''t accurately guess the murderer!

    Chu Kuang was really doing a good job.

    This case, if not prepared and planned with enough patience, it would be hard to write so complexly, yet within the complexity, Chu Kuang continued to clear up the fog through the detective''s hand.

    "Now that I have suspected everybody who can be suspected, who then, is the murderer?"

    This had become the thing Dezhi cared most about, he would rather skip to the end right now and see the truth!

    But he held back.

    The enjoyment in reading a detective novel lies in the reasoning during the reading process, once the murderer is known, it''s hard to feel the thrill anymore.

    At this point, Cao Dezhi suddenly realized that he had been completely absorbed by "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd"!

    This is a really good case!

    The planning and arrangement of the entire case were very beautiful!

    This made Dezhi, on one hand, anxiously want to find out who the murderer is, and on the other hand, finding it more and more interesting!

    It turns out that fantasy writers can also write such beautiful detective novels!

    The initial feeling was average, but perhaps that was because this novel takes a while to get heated.

    Well...

    Drawing conclusions now seems to be a bit early too.

    If Chu Kuang is just bluffing and the final murderer can''t make the reader have a sudden realization, then this book can''t be considered ingenious.

    Thinking of this.

    Dezhi anxiously continues to read the book.

    The last few chapters, he read word by word, sentence by sentence.

    But the further he read, the more uneasy he became because the murderer was still hidden in the mist. Even as the story progressed to the latter part, Dezhi himself couldn''t find the answer!

    "Could it be that the murderer is not on the list of suspects?"

    If that''s the case, Dezhi would definitely curse loudly!

    Because this behavior is just like a horror movie, scaring the audience into jumping from time to time, but when it comes to the end, the director tells you that all of this is because the protagonist has a mental illness, so he is imagining it...

    Go to Hell.

    Chu Kuang wouldn''t play this kind of trick, would he?

    With the frustration of not being able to guess the murderer and the worry about whether the ending can explain everything, Dezhi finally reached the third-last chapter.

    The chapter was titled "The truth is revealed".

    This is the third-last chapter of the novel. Chu Kuang didn''t choose to reveal the solution in the last part; it seems like there''s still a summary of the whole case...

    "I admit, I can''t guess who the killer is."

    Dezhi felt a bit heavy, he began to worry that the ending of this novel couldn''t satisfy him completely.

    At the end of the chapter.

    Poirot revealed the truth: "Who is familiar with Ackroyd and knows that he bought a dictation machine; who knows certain mechanical principles; who had the chance to take the dagger from the silver cupboard before Flora arrived; who had a container that could hold the dictation machine; who had a few minutes alone in the study while Parker was making a call to the police... "

    Reading up to this point, Dezhi suddenly stood up from the computer!

    His eyes, wide open like copper bells!

    His breath, at this moment, became extremely coarse! Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Shock!

    Tremor!

    Never expected!

    The whole book''s killer he guessed turned out to be...

    Xie! Shepherd!

    Yes, it''s "me," Xie Shepherd, the first-person narrator!

    The whole story was shown from Shepherd''s perspective. From Poirot''s appearance to Shepherd becoming Poirot''s assistant, Dezhi never suspected Shepherd during this process!

    It''s not that he''s not smart enough!

    It''s because he, had been fooled by Chu Kuang!

    The fooling was so thorough!

    Who could guess that "I" was the murderer?

    When the reader opens "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd", they would probably rule out Shepherd in an instant!

    This person has witnessed the development of the entire case as a participant, and at the beginning listed an alibi...

    But it was all fake!

    The characters'' alibis started being overturned in the middle of the story, but by that time, Dezhi''s attention was already completely attracted by several major suspects!

    "Damn it!"

    Dezhi felt like he had been thoroughly fooled. Which detective novel would mislead readers like this, with the murderer being "me"?

    It was simply cheating the reader''s feelings¡ª

    Dezhi felt like he should be raging mad.

    But for some reason, after he blurted out a curse, his face suddenly turned red, and his eyes filled with embarrassment.

    He really didn''t want to admit it, but a very subversive fact at this moment was:

    He actually felt...

    ecstatic?

    That was a kind of pleasure that filled his heart after being gorgeously humiliated by the author!

    And when he finished reading the following two chapters of explanation, understanding that the entire story of "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" was actually Shepherd''s confession...

    Dezhi had a thrill.

 Chapter 321 - 300 Wherever the Thigh Goes, Its Still a Thigh_1

    "Could it be that I''m a masochist?"

    "Who would have thought a detective novel could be written like this!"

    Dezhi tends to guess the murderer while reading the novel, suspecting one by one, excluding one by one, almost guessing the motives and methods of every person he suspects...

    But still, he was outwitted by Chu Kuang!

    So, when he saw Poirot reveal the name of the murderer, he was shocked, his hair standing on end, and cold sweat flowing.

    Shocked, he also cursed, feeling like the author was making fun of readers -

    Which was indeed true.

    Chu Kuang was actually making fun of readers.

    From any standpoint, the word "making fun" is not an exaggeration.

    But why did Cao Dezhi feel embarrassed?

    Because this was not a simple April Fool''s prank, it was an intellectual crushing!

    Through confessions and case analysis, it can be seen that...

    Except for some revealing clues that Chu Kuang had to avoid due to the way of narration, he didn''t deliberately hide any clues in the book.

    In some places, there were even strong implications in the textual narration!

    This would only be discovered when looking back and comparing it with the confession.

    Therefore, this book could be considered a fair detective duel between the author and the reader.

    The annoying part for Cao Dezhi was this...

    Chu Kuang had already revealed the identity of the murderer through numerous foreshadowings in the early part of the book...

    But it was Chu Kuang''s utilization of reader''s presumptions that created a blind spot in the deduction, that''s why Dezhi found the ending so unbelievable!

    Dezhi felt like he had defiantly walked into Chu Kuang''s trap.

    The evidence had been shown early on, he just didn''t as a reader spot it.

    There are some detective novels that will keep the key evidence until the end, hidden in the detective''s mind. In such circumstances, it''s understandable for readers to have no clue about the murderer.

    Because the author doesn''t write out the key evidence.

    But Auntie Agatha is a very orthodox author. She almost never hides her evidence until the end!

    She gives the reader the chance to solve the case, challenging the detective''s speed of solving it, it all depends whether the reader is able to spot the details she has hidden in the text.

    "Despite reading so many detective novels..."

    Dezhi was talking to himself, then suddenly slapped his thigh forcefully:

    "No, it''s useless to have read many detective novels, because the narrative method of this novel is groundbreaking. There has never been such a writing style in the mystery novels circle before!"

    That''s why would instinctively think that "I" am not the murderer!

    Because Cao Dezhi identifies himself as "I"!

    Who am I?

    I am Xie Shepherd!

    If Dezhi had seen a TV show called "Legend of the Martial Arts", at this moment, he would certainly see the logic of a character named Ji Wuming.

    "So it was me...who killed me?"

    But who defined that "I" can''t be the murderer?

    There''s no such rule!

    He just subconsciously excluded "I" as the murderer.

    What Chu Kuang did was simple.

    Breaking the rules and redefining the detective''s "anything is possible"!

    "This novel almost subverts the traditional method of writing mystery novels!"

    Dezhi is almost certain that once this novel is published, it will provoke countless mystery writers'' imitations¡ª

    Dezhi''s prediction was not wrong.

    Following the release of Auntie Agatha''s "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" on Earth, many writers imitated this writing technique.

    This style has a unique name.

    "Narrative Trickery"

    As the name suggests.

    It refers to the narrative ruse in which the author deliberately hides or misleads certain facts from the reader through the structure of the article or language skills, revealing the truth of the case only at the end, leaving the reader with a sense of indescribable awe.

    Auntie Agatha is the pioneer of narrative trickery!

    No wonder she''s known as the old pioneer of the world of whodunits.

    Narrative trickery is just one of the methods she introduced, the trends she sparked with her other innovations were even more terrifying.

    In fact, in terms of narrative trickery, later works homage it and imitate it, like "Dondon Bridge" falling and so on.

    "The opportunity has come!"

    After experiencing great shock, Cao Dezhi felt like he was floating: "This novel is sure to become a hot topic!"

    Can''t Silver Blue''s detective novels do anything?

    That was then!

    We have Chu Kuang now!

    At this time, Dezhi remembered the depressed and reluctant look on Ol'' Xiong''s face when giving him the novel.

    Dezhi now understood the other''s feelings more and more, he could hardly help but burst out laughing!

    Hehe.

    Chu Kuang really was precious!

    If Dezhi was now to send Chu Kuang back to the Fantasy Department, his face probably wouldn''t look much better than Ol'' Xiong''s.

    Of course.

    Who would want to lose such a big catch?

    It must be due to our good luck, this big catch, has actually come to our mystery department!

    It has to be said...

    Chu Kuang, wherever he goes, would still be a big catch!

    ...

    There is no doubt that "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" must be published, moreover, it must be properly promoted. For this reason, Dezhi has held a meeting.

    "Everyone, check out this novel!"

    The editors of the mystery department looked at each other, then looked to Dezhi: "Boss, do we have some good news?"

    These editors had never seen Dezhi so happy.

    Dezhi was usually glum, after all, Silver Blue Books held regular meetings and, as the chief editor of the mystery department, Dezhi bore the brunt of any criticism. Over time, how could he keep his spirits up?

    "You''ll know once you read it!"

    Brimming with pride, Dezhi began, "We have about three hours until the end of the day. That should be enough for you to finish it."

    "Sounds great."

    Everyone was thrilled. The chief editor had spoken; work could be set aside for now, so they could relax and enjoy a novel. How delightful!

    Yes.

    It indeed was quite delightful... S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Some leaned back in their chairs, others crossed their legs, taking occasional sips of tea, contentedly engrossed in their detective novels¡ªa truly ideal world for editors!

    Dezhi made no comments.

    It''s not like there was a pressing matter in the department anyway. Having decided to focus on ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'', it was only natural for his subordinates to familiarize themselves with it.

    He himself also used this opportunity to re-read ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd''.

    Knowing the ending and intentionally scouring for clues, Dezhi saw many details this time around which he had overlooked during his first read.

    For instance, when he got to Chapter Three...

    "So right at their first meeting, the ending was foreshadowed. The first appearance of Poirot, misplacing his pumpkin, accidentally hitting Shepherd..."

    Dezhi chuckled.

    The hint reminded him of metaphors in movies, which first-time readers would never concentrate on as much.

    Then upon re-reading Poirot''s character description, Dezhi found himself growing even more fond of him.

    Furthermore.

    Upon re-evaluating Dr. Shepherd, Dezhi couldn''t help but feel moved.

    Poirot says in the book, "Everyone harbors some latent evil thoughts. If not triggered by specific circumstances, one might lead an honorable life. However, if they succumb to temptation, allowing their evil thoughts to overpower their will, they will never recover."

    Dr. Shepherd fits this precisely.

    He wasn''t inherently bad.

    Just imagine that if he had told the truth about Flora''s death, not been greedy for that blood-money, and remained a humble country doctor, he might have led a simple fair life. However, his obsession with wealth ruined everything. After spinning his web of lies, he had to keep adding to it to cover his tracks.

    What''s worse, is he went further down the path, becoming increasingly unhinged and losing self-control.

    Lost in the world of greed, seeking constantly, fearing loss, he met his inevitable downfall.

    But did he have any regrets?

    Maybe this manuscript proves it. He still cared about his reputation, so when the truth was about to be revealed, he went as far as to kill Roger.

    A risky and relentless approach.

    His confession served both as a futile justification for the murder he committed and as a peculiar plea for forgiveness. Constantly highlighting others'' faults to comfort himself. Otherwise, why would he choose suicide to end his life-

    He didn''t want his sister to know the truth.

    Although his sister''s intelligence might have led her to guess why he committed suicide.

    The concluding line in the novel is intriguing, "If only Poirot had not retired here to grow pumpkins."

    This shows Shepherd''s attachment to life.

    By the time Dezhi finished re-reading the novel, it was getting late, and the other editors too had reached the ending.

    "Pfft!"

    The editor sitting to Dezhi''s right almost choked on his tea, spluttering it out, completely forgetting to clean up and blurted out:

    "The killer is Shepherd!?"

    Whoosh!

    It was as if a bomb went off.

    The other editors who hadn''t finished the novel stared at the one who spoiled it, their moods instantaneously shattered.

    "I''ll kill you!!"

    "Why the spoiler!!"

    "I wasn''t finished!!"

    "Even though I almost finished¡­ I still hate you!"

    "So Shepherd is the killer¡­ why did you have to blurt it out! I hate you!"

    "..."

    Quite a few editors were furious.

    But after venting their anger, everyone''s expressions collectively turned to astonishment. Evidently, they, like Dezhi, never saw it coming.

    Amidst the shock...

    Yet another shouted, "The murderer is Shepherd!"

    Everyone gave him a weird look, "We know, didn''t someone already say it?"

    "Huh?"

    He scratched his head, "Sorry, I was so engrossed. I didn''t hear it."

    How engrossed must he have been¡­

    Everyone shared a mutual eye-roll.

    Claimed he hadn''t heard but still blurted it out, another damn spoiler!

    Of course.

    The ensuing discussion among the editors was inevitable:

    "Who wrote this novel, the plot is twisted!"

    "Boss, did you manage to snag teacher Carter?"

    "The case wasn''t top-notch, but that ending, mind-blowing!"

    "Felt like the rug pulled out from under me, demolished my understanding of detective novels..."

    "If it weren''t for the spoiler, I''d have been too shocked to even speak."

    "This novel is gonna be huge!"

    "Ah, I''d suspected Shepherd before, but dismissed it later. Who could''ve thought¡­"

    "I guessed it in the penultimate chapter, but wasn''t quite sure. It''s not impossible to guess the murderer, it''s just... unbelievable. I''ve never seen a detective novel like this!"

    "Who indeed wrote this?"

    "¡­"

    Dezhi met the eyes of everyone present, wearing a faint smile, "It''s by Chu Kuang."

    The author of this novel was Chu Kuang--

    Chu Kuang''s rise to fame in the mystery genre started from this small editorial department!

 Chapter 322 - 301 Chu Kuangs Stupid Fan_1

    "The culprit is him!"

    At the same time, in Lin Yuan''s studio, Jin Mu, who had just finished reading the novel, suddenly let out a massive gasp!

    Luo Wei had knocked off work by then.

    Lin Yuan was about to head home when he heard Jin Mu''s gasp and stopped in his tracks.

    He felt that Jin Mu must have something to say.

    Indeed, Jin Mu did have something to say. He had a lot of questions, but they all boiled down to one fundamental issue:

    "Boss, this detective novel is mind-blowing! The murderer turned out to be Xie Shepherd, the protagonist from the first-person perspective. It''s just unbelievable! How did you come up with such a writing technique..."

    "Narrative Trickery." Lin Yuan said.

    "What the hell?" Jin Mu looked confused.

    Lin Yuan explained: "The trickery of ''Narrative Trickery'' ¡ª narrative deception, this is the technique applied in ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd''."

    Jin Mu opened his mouth wide.

    After a long silence, he muttered, "Narrative Trickery... narrative deception... because of the novel''s narrative approach, readers are susceptible to falling into this textual trap from the very start, but it''s not merely about wordplay. No wonder Chu Kuang..."

    Some novels employing Narrative Trickery simply play games with words.

    However, ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'' isn''t one of them. As one of the earliest novels using this form of narrative, this work simply exploits the cognitive blind spots of the readers. The clues are not hidden, so some readers may guess the murderer beforehand.

    Of course.

    For those who''ve never encountered narrative deception, relying solely on the clues provided in the novel to deduce the murderer''s identity would be next to impossible.

    Unless they receive a strong hint like "you will absolutely never guess the culprit of this case" from the start.

    "Got it."

    After Lin Yuan left, Jin Mu, somewhat excited, stood up and contacted Silver Blue Books to discuss the publication of the new novel.

    Following Jin Mu''s negotiation with Silver Blue Books, they also began researching promotional strategies for ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'' that very night.

    Without a doubt.

    As one of the main pillars of Silver Blue Books, GOAT author Chu Kuang''s fresh detective story naturally needed to be arranged for the highest promotional level.

    It''s a matter of prestige!

    The next day, the promotion by Silver Blue Books kicked off!

    The glamorous headline on the official website was very much in line with the style of Chu Kuang''s new book release. The tone was as unabashedly bold as ever, typical of Chu Kuang''s book promotion:

    [In the name of deduction, declaring war against readers, the new book ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'', Chu Kuang creates yet another new genre!]

    Clicking through to the article, every line ended with an exclamation point:

    "Chu Kuang''s new detective novel shocks with its release!"

    "The ending of the novel will blow your mind!"

    "Completely overturning your understanding of deduction!"

    "Creating a new creative method for detective novels!"

    "Chu Kuang: Always Imitated, Never Surpassed!"

    Look at those words: "Creation", "Shock", "Explosion", "Overturn", "Always Imitated, Never Surpassed"...

    Which one isn''t boastful?

    Especially the last line, "Always Imitated, Never Surpassed," which perfectly reflects Chu Kuang''s position in the industry.

    Becoming a pioneer and an influencer of several novel genres, Chu Kuang has allowed many people to make a living from them.

    So...

    Even if the language is a bit boastful, even if the promotion is a bit loud, readers didn''t find the massive new book advertising inappropriate.

    On the contrary.

    Many people held high hopes for this book¡ª

    "Chu Kuang is taking a crack at mystery? Say no more. I''ll buy it."

    "Mystery? I''m not interested. Chu Kuang? I am. No time to talk, the new book is about to be released~"

    "As a fan of Chu, having recently finished ''A Bowl of Spring Noodles'', I should take a look at Chu Kuang''s new book just for the sake of this novel alone. Moreover, I''m a dedicated mystery enthusiast, and we Chu fans love mystery novels the most!"

    "A detective novel? Heck no... Oh, it''s written by Chu Kuang, well, never mind then."

    "Hahaha, so true. Chu Kuang has completely broken genre boundaries, whatever he writes people are buying."

    "Mostly because, even though the genres are always changing, the remarkable thing about Chu Kuang is that he writes wonderfully in every genre!"

    "Wow, that line is so domineering: ''Always Imitated, Never Surpassed.'' Chu Kuang, the old rascal, is truly impressive!"

    "..."

    Unbeknownst to the readers.

    A maestro from the far-flung planet of the detective novel world also used the phrase "Always Imitated, Never Surpassed" to describe Agatha Christie''s work.

    Sir Conan Doyle made a cake called "mystery" and created the first detective in the detective world, Sherlock Holmes!

    But Christie, in a way that sold explosively worldwide, allowed many more people to taste this cake, and created the second detective in the detective world, Poirot!

    This can be seen from many detective works influenced by Christie.

    Sir Conan and Christie are the true pioneers of the detective literature world.

    If the former is the king, the latter is undoubtedly the queen.

    However, many readers in the detective literature circles still aren''t entirely convinced.

    Chu Kuang has a significant reputation, making it common knowledge that he excels at creating new genres, with plenty of past achievements to prove this.

    But because readers of detective literature have their own comprehension of this genre, they find it hard to conceive of how one could create a novel detective genre?

    Would even the top names like Carter in the detective literature circles dare claim they can create a novel that pioneers a new detective genre?

    The same doubts were also arising in the minds of some writers in the detective fiction circle.

    Quite a few of them were discussing privately:

    "Chu Kuang''s new book is going to be a detective novel, and he claims to invent a new genre of detective fiction. What do you think?"

    Mystery and fantasy are completely different genres and literary fields, but Chu Kuang''s sales are just too impressive!

    He is so well-known among many authors in the detective fiction circle!

    "I''m planning on using my computer to read it."

    "I''ll read it on my phone, so I can lie down while doing so."

    "Enough, you guys... If anyone other than Chu Kuang said this, I would probably slap them in the face. But if it''s Chu Kuang, I will keep my opinions reserved."

    Someone spoke uncertainly.

    Immediately, someone echoed: "Let''s just wait and see. If Chu Kuang does indeed establish a new genre of detective fiction, his contribution to the field would be enormous."

    "There should be some innovations."

    A certain detective author made a more objective judgement:

    "It might not be enough to establish a new genre, but innovation should be present. Otherwise, they wouldn''t dare to make such bold statements in their promotion, considering the risk of a backlash."

    According to the conventions of book promotions, declaring a minor innovation as "establishing a new genre" is not at all inappropriate.

    After all, it''s a widely acknowledged fact...

    A promotion is essentially boasting based on the quality of the work.

    Now, everyone is curious about how much truth there is in the promotion and how much is fluff.

    As long as there is a certain degree of innovation, no one would nitpick the exaggerated claims in the promotion. That''s also a consensus in the industry.

    Otherwise, it''s like sabotaging each other''s livelihood.

    After all, all authors would do some self-aggrandizing in their promotions, which is what we call boasting.

    Just make sure not to overdo it.

    If I stop you from boasting a bit today, what will happen if you forbid me to exaggerate in the future?

    The phenomenon of literary personnel belittling each other? Yes.

    The practice of mutual flattery in the book industry? Also yes.

    So, anyone with a bit of intelligence would know not to jump to conclusions too early at this stage¡ª

    As if!

    There would always be people who jump to conclusions before even reading the work, which is why there is so much backfire.

    This time is no exception.

    When the news of Chu Kuang writing a detective novel spread from Silver Blue Books and most people in the circle were still observing, some people began to habitually jump to conclusions¡ª

    Don''t get me wrong.

    This time it''s not slander, but praise!

    "I learned online today that Chu Kuang is writing a detective novel. Then I saw someone say that Chu Kuang has never written a detective novel before, and there were no detectable elements in his previous works. Therefore, they speculated that the promotion for Chu Kuang''s new detective novel is overhyped. I feel obligated to speak out: Chu Kuang''s new detective novel would not disappoint!"

    "The reason is simple."

    "Those who still doubt Chu Kuang surely don''t understand him. Being a humble man, I have just finished reading all of Chu Kuang''s works. After finishing, I can only say, there were detectable elements in Chu Kuang''s previous long story ''Ghost Blows Out the Light''. In fact, that novel encompasses numerous pieces of knowledge and writing elements. So many that I could list more than seven or eight."

    "Some people will say that even if Chu Kuang''s previous books had detective elements, it doesn''t mean that he is good at writing detective stories."

    "Wrong! Looking back at all of Chu Kuang''s works since his debut, regardless of whether he had written that genre before, as long as he was willing to write, he succeeded! Someone who understands grave robbery would not understand detection?"

    "Chu Kuang is number one in the world! Those who understand, understand!"

    This long post was published in the Tribe, and the one who posted it is named Shen Jiarui.

    A famous short story writer!

    Short story writers might have a disadvantage in this matter, but Shen Jiarui doesn''t have this weakness, because his short stories are all about detection!

    So, Shen Jiarui is actually a detective fiction writer who excels in short stories!

    He holds a certain status in the industry.

    As a result, his statement highlights one thing, "praise"!

    As for why Shen Jiarui praised so highly, it''s because he previously lost to Chu Kuang''s "A Bowl of Spring Noodles" in a short story contest.

    After losing, Shen Jiarui read all of Chu Kuang''s works, the more he read, the more he liked them, the more he read, the more amazed he became!

    Especially after reading "Ghost Blows Out the Light", Shen Jiarui was utterly astounded by Chu Kuang!

    "A true genius of an author! There might not be any genre that Chu Kuang cannot write!"

    This is the conclusion Shen Jiarui came to after reading all of Chu Kuang''s works.

    This guy is a freak!

    So now, Shen Jiarui has become Chu Kuang''s hardcore fan, or to be precise, a crazy fan!

    In the eyes of a crazy fan, no doubt about Chu Kuang is tolerable, hence this long post.

    After the post was published, Shen Jiarui''s comments section blew up:

    "I''m willing to call you the number one Chu Kuang Fan!"

    "Hahaha, did the number one Chu Kuang Fan come online again?"

    "Shen Jiarui: It''s not directed at anyone. I''m saying that everyone here, except Chu Kuang, are all xx."

    "Are you Chu Kuang''s number one fan?"

    "Wow, Shen Teacher, you''re a big shot in the detective circle, and now you''re over-praising a newcomer in detective fiction?"

    "¡­" S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Shen Jiarui''s title as the number one Chu Kuang Fan was solidified, but it was precisely because of Shen Jiarui''s high praise that the detective fiction circle''s attention to Chu Kuang''s new book jumped up a notch!

 Chapter 323 - 302: Who Else Is There_1

    Shen Jiarui''s bluffing left many writers in the detective circle flabbergasted.

    Shen Jiarui...

    Would this be considered the highest level of online troll in history?

    If you, Shen Jiarui, have read this book, then it''s acceptable, but you clearly haven''t. You are so audacious and unashamed, aren''t you afraid of embarrassment afterwards?

    Not only are the mystery writers dumbfounded.

    The publishing circle is also a bit confused.

    While being perplexed, they also can''t help but be wary, especially those few publishing houses that are on par with Silver Blue Books¡ª¡ª

    Chu Kuang is going to write a detective story?

    Everyone knows Silver Blue Books'' mystery department is just for show, are they planning to bring in Chu Kuang to save the day?

    But then again.

    After Chu Kuang has crossed several genres, nobody dares to say that Chu Kuang absolutely can''t write a good detective story, so many people are somewhat panic-stricken.

    Regardless of the public''s perception, after a few days of promotion, "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" was finally released.

    Not following the trend to release at the beginning of the month, given the growing number of authors in various fields as a result of the consolidation of multiple states, everyone has learned to avoid each other, and will not deliberately choose to release new books on any specific day¡ª¡ª

    For instance, the release date of "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" is set on the 12th of March.

    With Chu Kuang''s reputation, numerous major booksellers in the industry have stocked up substantially.

    Reality has also proven that their choice was extremely right.

    On the morning of the 12th.

    As soon as the bookstore opened, eighty percent of the customers who flocked in were here specifically for "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd"!

    "I want a copy of Chu Kuang''s new book..."

    "I can''t recall the title, but it''s Chu Kuang''s new book, right, right ¨C "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd."

    Apparently, some people noticed the promotional stand at the bookstore. On the stand was a gorgeous poster, with this line of words:

    [GOAT Chu Kuang''s new work "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" officially released, store manager recommends!]

    "I''ll buy this one ¨C "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd."

    "Chu Kuang released a new book? I''ll buy one then."

    "Three copies of "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd."

    It seemed evident that some were buying on behalf of others.

    At the front desk of a certain bookstore.

    The manager, who was specifically observing the sales situation, couldn''t help but smile after seeing the sales of "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd," and made a profound remark:

    "The literary circle has gained another author who can live off his fame."

    This is no small praise!

    Usually, readers will flip through a book before buying it.

    Although a novel is not expensive, it is still money spent, so caution is always needed.

    But there are some authors, whose works the readers don''t even flip through, but directly purchase!

    Because they trust this author''s level of skill tremendously!

    The previous''s "Ghost Blows Out the Light" did not have such power, and many readers would still flip through it before deciding whether or not to buy it.

    However, when it came to "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd," readers basically had no hesitation!

    Even though Chu Kuang, as he had done in the past, wrote on a theme he had never touched before, it didn''t affect readers'' enthusiasm to buy.

    This is a typical example of authors who can live off their fame!

    "It also has to do with Chu Kuang becoming a GOAT."

    The secretary next to the manager mused, referring to the GOAT award established by the Literature and Art Association.

    Those who received the GOAT award saw their value double.

    Authors who could make readers decisively spend money were usually of the same calibre who started with the GOAT award.

    "We might have to restock."

    After observing for a while longer, the secretary revealed a smile.

    The manager nodded. The first-day sales of "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" would likely be quite impressive in the data, and the first-day data is the most direct reflection of an author''s influence!

    ...

    Sure enough.

    When the first-day sales of "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" were announced, the entire Silver Blue Books was quite thrilled!

    Because on the first day this novel was released, including online book shopping channels, it directly sold 914,000 copies!

    Almost one million on the first day!

    There is a dedicated agency to keep track of this, under the direct control of the Literature and Art Association, like the movie box office, official counts are announced daily.

    Keep in mind this is just the first day!

    Given the confidence in the reputation of "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd," Silver Blue Books'' mystery department does not believe that the subsequent sales of this book would be weak¡ª¡ª

    "What was it again?"

    Cao Dezhi laughed like an 84.26 kg fool:" A big shot is a big shot wherever they go!"

    The same conclusion also appeared in the Fantasy Department of Silver Blue Books.

    Although Chu Kuang''s new book has little to do with the Fantasy Department, the department is still closely following the news of this novel. Looking at the official sales data, the editors in the department have somewhat complex expressions.

    "The Mystery Department is right, a big shot is a big shot wherever they go..."

    "It''s crude, the correct saying should be, a wolf travels a thousand miles to eat meat!"

    "I was originally hoping that this novel would receive a lukewarm response, and that Teacher Chu Kuang would return to our arms and continue writing fantasy novels..."

    "Looking at the feedback on the Internet, we can''t depend on that."

    "I bought a copy too, I''ll read it tonight. I have a buddy in the Mystery Department who keeps telling me that this book is going to explode."

    "..."

    Inside Silver Blue Books, rumors had been circulating about Chu Kuang''s incredible new book. However, due to the pre-publication confidentiality principle, those outside the department could not access the specific content.

    But as one editor put it.

    With the release of ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'' and the first batch of readers finishing the novel, the online reviews have exploded!

    Blue Star''s mystery readers experienced narrative trickery for the first time!

    On a certain book website.

    The first popular comment about ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'', which avoids spoilers as much as possible, resonated the most:

    "The murderer is him!!!"

    This popular comment got: 34566 likes

    Though a kind of useless correct statement, which is like saying nothing, but considering it avoids spoilers, this comment is a strong hint.

    The second popular comment is even more interesting.

    Simply two words, and a lot of exclamation marks:

    "Damn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

    And a warmer reminder: "To the reader who sees this comment, I suggest you should read ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'' before reading online reviews. You''ll thank me for reminding you afterward."

    Anyway, most early comments were implicitly positive.

    "If only Poirot hadn''t retired here to grow pumpkins¡­"

    "When I got to the ending, I was dumbstruck."

    "No need for fluff words, this is a must-read, you''d regret it if you don''t experience it."

    "No exaggeration, I had cold sweats reading the ending."

    "Damn old rascal Chu Kuang fooled me well, and I was still willingly fooled."

    "Anyone who predicted the killer beforehand, I bow to you!"

    "Ahhhhh! The murderer is Xie Shepherd!!!!!!!!"

    "The person above is too unkind, I suggest the administrator monitors comments, with spoilers this book''s reading experience drops directly by 50%."

    "People are actually liking the short review with spoilers... are you guys serious?"

    "Folks, I love Poirot!"

    "A well-structured mystery, the ending resolves all case doubts; no clues are left, the setup in the early details is perfect too. I can''t believe this is Chu Kuang''s first attempt at mystery! When it comes to cross-genre writing, no one does it like Chu Kuang!"

    "..."

    In the mystery circle, many chatting groups were also going off instantly, many people had read ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'' at the first possible moment.

    In a chat group for mystery writers.

    The administrator suddenly said: "Just a reminder for those who haven''t started reading ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'' to mute the chat history, or life would seem questionable after getting spoiled."

    Some did as suggested, others possessed the curiosity of a cat.

    Then the members who didn''t mute saw many usually inactive writers show up, all discussing ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd''¡ª

    "Silver Blue Books'' promotion didn''t exaggerate, respect, truly started a new genre!"

    "Unprecedented creative method in the history of mystery novels."

    "The case can only be described as decent, the murderer is virtually unpredictable, Chu Kuang set a text trap, fooling readers, but this novel is the type that even after being fooled, you''re still amazed at the ending."

    "Who''d have thought that the murderer is ''I'' in the first person narrative?"

    "Enough, I''m inspired for my next book."

    "Not just you, I bet many authors in the circle are inspired."

    "If this writing method becomes popular¡­damn, the readers will die from exasperation after reading too much of it!"

    "Mystery is about digging a plot hole, ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'' is the biggest hole I''ve ever seen. Even in the antepenultimate chapter, 99% of readers still can''t guess the murderer!"

    "..." sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This group member who didn''t mute the chat out of curiosity sent an ellipsis: "Now how am I supposed to read the book?"

    Suddenly, the group chat sprouted unkind "hahaha" +1 signs.

    Due to some kind of habit, or perhaps compelled, he could only shed a tear and join in the "+1".

    Curiosity killed the cat.

    For other novels, knowing the ending in advance decreases the readability at least by 30%.

    But for ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'', being spoiled in advance might cause a drop in readability by almost 50%¡ª

    A deadly murder on the reading experience!

    With the time sliding into the next day and word of mouth fermenting quickly, the sales of ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'' exploded, jumping straight to 1.6 million copies!

    Higher than the first day!

    Even though Blue Star had started merging, and the reader base is growing, the second-day sales genuinely surprised countless people!

    Bestseller!

    Sensation!

    This is a storm belonging to the mystery genre, henceforth everyone stopped doubting the Silver Blue Books'' blurb about Chu Kuang "inventing a new type of mystery genre"!

    Yes, it did create a new type of writing style.

    The murderer can indeed be ''I''¡ª

    The breakthrough in this thought process made many mystery writers realize, tricks are not only for the case itself but also for every word readers read!

    Truly crafty!

    And the most terrifying thing is¡­

    Even if ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'' is fooling readers throughout, they are still willing to be fooled by the ending!

    On this day.

    The latest update that Shen Jiarui posted on the Tribe may only be a simple three words, but it showcased the essence of ego-boosting, those three words were:

    "Who''s next?!"

 Chapter 324 - 303 Narrative Trick _1

    And who else is there?

    The book is written by Chu Kuang. Why are you so smug? If I didn''t know any better, I''d think you, Shen Jiarui, were the author of ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd''.

    There is resentment within the circle, but they have to admit, what Shen posted about Chu Kuang before was not wrong.

    No wonder he''s the number one Chu Kuang fan.

    Of course, not all of the reviews are positive. ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'', as one of the most controversial works by Agatha Christie, has been getting varying reviews¡ª

    "The narrative approach is too cheeky. In order to achieve the shocking effect at the end, it sacrifices the brilliance of the case. It feels like it prioritizes trivialities over fundamentals."

    "It''s clearly fooling the readers, yet many seem happy to be fooled. While it''s indeed ingenious, I don''t like this kind of detective fiction."

    "I also don''t like this kind of storytelling. But I have to admit, it represents a new approach to detective-fiction writing. I can only hope that my favorite authors don''t pick up this bad habit."

    "The quality of a detective story should not be based solely on whether the outcome is unpredictable... This kind of unconventional writing doesn''t appeal to me. I prefer unraveling mysteries, rather than playing along with the author''s word games."

    "The ending is certainly shocking, but am I the only one who found the initial and middle parts sleep-inducing?"

    "Even though it''s really great, I can''t accept this kind of narrative approach. I have this subtle feeling of being played, which feels a little terrible."

    "..."

    There''s a price to pay for tricking readers!

    Because not everyone can accept such trickery.

    Moreover, there are different types of detective stories, and ''Narrative Trickery'' is indeed a bugbear for some mystery fans.

    When Agatha Christie released ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'', many raised doubts about it, considering it unfair to the reader. Any new development is bound to face controversy.

    At this point.

    Not only some readers feel utterly deceived, so do some authors!

    Yes, some detective novel authors, after reading ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'', felt like they''ve been toyed with. They vented their anger at Chu Kuang after finishing the book.

    Most of them just spouted a couple of obscenities and moved on.

    But some authors just can''t help but vent their frustration, like Leng Guang, a popular detective fiction author from Qi Province.

    Leng Guang started his rant on Tribe:

    "Ever since last night, people have been recommending ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'' to me. I read it with high expectations but ended up extremely disappointed. All I want to say is, this is foul play!"

    To say that he was ''ranting'' might be an overstatement, as his words were still somewhat polite, but Leng Guang was clearly not satisfied.

    Leng Guang, known for his candid and outspoken personality, had previously proposed a ''Five Detective Fiction Rules''.

    These rules are quite popular in the circle.

    Rule One: The detective cannot solve the case supernaturally.

    Rule Two: The criminal must not use an unvented poison or a device that requires an esoteric scientific explanation.

    Rule Three: The detective must not solve the case based on clues not hinted at in the novel.

    Rule Four: The detective must not rely on so-called ''intuition'' to solve the case.

    Rule Five: The detective must not be the criminal.

    There is no controversy over the first few rules; they''re generally accepted within the circle, as they would indeed make the work less interesting.

    But the rule stating that the detective must not be the criminal is disregarded by some.

    There are some unconventional works in the detective fiction realm that portray the detective as the criminal.

    So Leng Guang put forward the ''Five Rules of Detective Fiction'', but the circle deleted the fifth rule, thus becoming the ''Four Principles of Detective Fiction''.

    This once made Leng Guang furiously criticize many people in the circle:

    How dare you simply discard the last rule from my detective fiction principles?

    Although ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'' doesn''t portray the detective as the criminal, the ''I'' in the first-person perspective is the criminal, which is somewhat similar to the situation where the detective is the murderer.

    That''s something Leng Guang absolutely cannot accept!

    However, Leng Guang''s criticism did not elicit much response because Leng Guang is well known in the detective fiction circle as a big complainer.

    Nobody really dislikes Leng Guang.

    Though he tends to criticize a lot, there''s a sense of authenticity about him.

    In fact, there are many detective fiction authors on Earth who also despise the narrative trickery technique and have openly expressed their distaste, such as Queen, a writer only slightly less famous than Agatha Christie (Queen is a pseudonym used by two people).

    Queen wouldn''t dare to criticize Agatha Christie, but he doesn''t like this style.

    However, everything has two sides.

    Take the well-known Higashino Keigo for instance.

    His work ''Malice'' is a classic example of narrative trickery. He pays tribute to Agatha Christie across the ages, which shows that Higashino Keigo approves of this approach. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    In a synchronous manner.

    Another giant in the detective genre of the same era also recognized ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd''. This person, Carter, is a monumental figure among the detective fiction authors in Chu Province!

    Carter is much more renowned than Leng Guang.

    He commented on ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'' on Tribe, praising it abundantly:

    "The scheme set with the text is a brilliant idea. When I got to the fifth-last chapter, I guessed the killer but it didn''t take away from the shock I felt when I finished reading the ending. What a brilliant plot! Chu Kuang has pioneered a new genre of detective fiction! I''m even getting the itch to try this narrative approach.

    Sadly, I haven''t read any of Chu Kuang''s other works, but now I want to say to him, ''Welcome to the world of detective fiction! I''m looking forward to your future works!''"

    The words of a big shot carry a lot of weight.

    Even if some of Carter''s readers didn''t like ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'', seeing their idol saying such things made them start leaning towards Chu Kuang:

    "Upon reflection, Carter''s words really make sense. This is a new type of detective fiction."

    "Previously, I saw many people describing this style as nauseating. But look at Carter''s broad perspective on this! We should view new things from various angles!"

    "Carter is truly broad-minded. This genre will undoubtedly inspire many other works, which is good for the future development of detective fiction."

    "I didn''t expect Carter to also like this book. Hehe, my taste does match that of my idol."

    "..."

    A disgruntled Leng Guang left a message in the comments section: "I beg to differ."

    Carter responded with a "^_^".

    By the way, after Leng Guang proposed his Five Laws of Detective Fiction, it was Carter who first deleted the fifth rule.

    At that time, Carter praised Leng Guang''s Five Laws of Detective Fiction, applauding Xiao Guang Guang''s brilliance, and then turned around and removed the fifth rule, consolidating it into the widely known ''Four Principles of Detective Fiction'' in the detective fiction circle...

    At the time, Leng Guang was almost brought to tears by the upset.

    He was originally quite fond of Carter, but that event made Leng Guang become disillusioned with him.

    Today, seeing Carter praise ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'', Leng Guang nearly had a heart attack.

    With the emergence of some controversy, the official Weibo of Silver Blue Books spoke out and added an important focus to the detective storm:

    "With ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'', Chu Kuang has paved the way for the narrative trickery approach in detective fiction. Narrative trickery refers to narrative deception, which is an outstanding moment for detective fiction. In the future, more innovative works may appear, but none can overshadow the brilliance of Chu Kuang''s work!"

    Of course, we will fervently support our own author!

    Silver Blue Books is keen to set the narrative tone and make it a fact:

    In the field of detective fiction, Chu Kuang spearheaded a new genre with narrative trickery!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Please cast your monthly votes.

 Chapter 325 - 304 Chu Kuangs Signature_1

    "Different worlds yet similar experiences."

    Lin Yuan sighed thoughtfully after noticing these movements.

    In the terrestrial world, "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" is often hailed as the most controversial work in the history of detective fiction, known for its role in launching Agatha Christie''s reputation.

    Perhaps due to his fame trumping that of Christie''s upon the release of "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd," the controversies surrounding Lin Yuan''s version were somewhat subdued. But even fame cannot completely avoid such situations.

    Thankfully, the quality of "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" is indisputable and represents the orthodoxy of narrative trickery in detective novels.

    After all, "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" is the benchmark for works of its genre, fervently imitated but seldom surpassed.

    Bear in mind, it ranked twelfth among the one hundred classical detective novels selected by the Mystery Writers of America.

    In addition,

    In the East and West Detective Novel BEST100 list, it took the fifth place! This list was voted by the Mystery Writers of Neon Association and detective clubs at various universities.

    The number one on the list was also one of Christie''s works, one even more impressive, entitled "No One Survived."

    When Lin Yuan was deciding on the book to be adapted, he was drooling over the idea of coming across this novel.

    "Boss."

    Jin Mu appeared, reporting the current performance of "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd."

    This is the fifth day since the release of "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd," and the novel''s cumulative sales have reached about 5.6 million copies.

    However, judging from yesterday''s sales data, it shows a decline in growth.

    This relates to the distinct characteristic of "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd"¡ªonce the plot has been spoiled, the readability of the book significantly decreases.

    In the internet age, spoilers are ubiquitous. People have the freedom of speech and can hardly be expected to keep secrets.

    "The sales aren''t bad. I wonder if we can break ten million by the end of the month¡­"

    Lin Yuan laughed from the heart. The more readers, the better. Everyone should come join the Blue Star merger!

    "Hard to say."

    Jin Mu continued, "Silver Blue Books contacted me, hoping you could participate in a book signing event¡­"

    Book signing.

    This is indeed a way to stimulate sales.

    Lin Yuan convenient not to reveal his face, he was about to refuse when Jin Mu preemptively said: "No need to show your face, we''ll just sign fifty copies in private and let Silver Blue Books randomly distribute them to various bookstores and online channels."

    "There''s such a tactic?"

    Lin Yuan expressed his surprise and then agreed. He even suggested," How about signing one hundred?"

    "Wouldn''t be ideal to have too many."

    Jin Mu smiled, "After all, it''s your first time doing a book signing and rarity increases perceived value. Fifty copies will suffice as a hype tool."

    "Fair enough."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    He started right away with the signing of his name on the fifty books that Silver Blue Books had sent over.

    "Sign under the pen name Chu Kuang."

    Jin Mu was quick to remind Lin Yuan just before he put pen to paper.

    "Thanks for your reminder."

    Lin Yuan was about to sign his real name.

    Jin Mu reminded again, "Given that you''ll face similar situations with other pseudonyms in the future, you might want to vary your handwriting somewhat."

    "Handwriting?"

    Lin Yuan went blank for a moment before grasping the idea.

    So, he gave it some thought and used flamboyant cursive writing to sign the name "Chu Kuang".

    Wild cursive.

    If someone ever asks for Xian Yu''s autograph, Lin Yuan decided to use regular script.

    As for Shadow, he would figure that out later.

    "The boss has quite the..."

    Jin Mu was taken aback by Lin Yuan''s flamboyant handwriting of "Chu Kuang".

    The boss''s handwriting wouldn''t be precisely described as wild cursive, more appropriately as scribble...

    Yes, Lin Yuan''s handwriting wasn''t exactly appealing.

    It seems the boss is not adept in everything, he has his weaknesses too, Jin Mu thought quietly to himself.

    If it was not for the honesty towards the readers, Jin Mu almost wanted to help Lin Yuan with the signing.

    It would only take a few moments to sign a hundred characters over fifty books.

    Once the signed books are returned to Silver Blue Books, they quickly announced this news to the public:

    Fifty copies of "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" signed by Chu Kuang are now randomly released for purchase.

    It was somewhat late. This sales-boosting proposal should have been presented when the book was first launched, but it was not as heated as it is now.

    In any case, Silver Blue Books merely saw this as a promotional gimmick.

    As a result, Silver Blue Books surely underestimated fans'' demand for Chu Kuang''s signed books.

    The day the news was released.

    Sun City Time Bookstore headquarters.

    To everyone''s shock, a customer actually drove a van to the bookstore, purchasing a thousand copies of "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" in one go and had the bookstore staff help load the books.

    Some spectators couldn''t resist gathering around.

    An unexpected encounter for a journalist passing by, who was startled by the sight.

    He launched into interview mode and asked bewildered:

    "Why are you buying so many? Do you also own a bookstore? Are the bookstores running out of stock?"

    "No." sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The customer chuckled, explaining, "I am a fan of Chu Kuang. I have been following his novels since his first work. This time, I bought so many of Chu Kuang''s new books hoping to get a signed copy of ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd''."

    Pfft!

    People around him were stunned.

    Is this the world of the rich?

    Ordering a thousand copies just to get one signed book!?

    The reporter, who knew the situation well enough, couldn''t help but say, "As far as I know, there are only fifty signed copies of Chu Kuang''s books. According to the daily sales data of the novel, even if you buy a thousand copies, you can''t guarantee you will get a signed one¡­"

    "Exactly."

    The customer nodded, "That''s why I also posted a reward online today. Whoever gets Chu Kuang''s signed book and is willing to sell it, I am prepared to offer a high price for it."

    "That''s going to cost a lot. Is it worth it?"

    The customer shrugged. "A thousand copies of ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'' cost less than 20,000 yuan. The bookstore also gave me a discount. If there''s no signed copy in this batch, I can give the books to friends or donate them so that more people can read this work."

    Reporter: "...."

    Less than 20,000 yuan?

    Are you kidding me?

    It seems you don''t know how difficult it is for an ordinary person to earn 20,000 yuan¡­

    The reporter then interviewed the bystanders, asking for their thoughts on ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd''.

    This place was a bookstore, and the customers were all book lovers. There were many who had read ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'', so they were happy to be interviewed.

    "I am a fan of mystery novels. I loved ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'', especially the ending, it''s extraordinary! Because of this book, I''ve become a fan of Chu Kuang. Maybe it''s related to the fact that I''m from Chu, the word Chu in Chu Kuang''s name gives me a sense of affinity."

    "It''s a great novel. If I had the money, I would also like to get Chu Kuang''s signed book... and then sell it to this guy."

    "I haven''t read ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'' yet, but I came here today to buy it, as many people around me recommended it."

    "I am also a fan of Chu Kuang. I want to say something during this interview opportunity. ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'' is fantastic! It''s not a cheap trick by the author. It''s a completely new way of constructing a mystery novel. It''s called ''Narrative Trickery!''"

    "As a reader of ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'', all I can say is that no one should miss out on the pioneering work of narrative trickery."

    "I understand why this brother bought a thousand copies of ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd''. Since Chu Kuang''s debut, he has never held a book-signing event, so many people want to get Chu Kuang''s autograph."

    "...."

    Not only was this happening at Time Bookstore in Sun City.

    With the news of Chu Kuang''s signed books, there were large-scale book purchases at numerous bookstore entrances and online order channels!

    Obviously, all these were readers who were economically well-off and insanely worshipped Chu Kuang.

    Moreover, there were indeed some rich people on the internet offering large rewards for a signed copy of Chu Kuang''s ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd''!

    As a result, a lucky buyer who managed to get a signed copy of ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'' resold it to a rich second-generation follower for 5,000 yuan!

    You must know¡­

    It''s just a signature.

    And ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'', because of its relatively short content, is priced at only fifteen yuan.

    After the news report, many netizens were dumbfounded.

    "These tycoons really don''t treat money as a problem. For a celebrity''s signature, they almost emptied the little bookstore."

    "A signature for 5,000 yuan is more expensive than those sold by celebrities!"

    "I have a signature from a top-tier singer at home. I offered it for two thousand yuan but nobody wanted to buy it¡­"

    "I heard that a certain basketball superstar''s signed jersey sold for 8,000, but that''s the signatures of the entire team and Chu Kuang is just one person."

    "Probably because Chu Kuang has never held a signed book sale, so it''s relatively rare."

    "I''ve decided to buy a copy of ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd''. The content is the same. Others paid 5,000 yuan, but I''m only paying 15. Round it down, I saved 4,885 yuan!"

    "I humbly call you a mathematical genius, buy a hundred copies and you''ll be rich!"

    "Hahaha, you must''ve returned all your math to your PE teacher. Get out a calculator and do the math. You actually saved 4,985 yuan."

    "..."

    The netizens enjoyed the lively discussion, and with each successive wave of buzz, the term "Narrative Trickery" began to resonate with more people.

    "Stop saying that this novel''s logic is unreliable. This is called Narrative Trickery!"

    "Narrative Trickery is okay, it is cunning."

    "Narrative Trickery, a very accurate description."

    "So this is Narrative Trickery, what a lesson!"

    "What Narrative Trickery... I finished reading this book, and was completely discouraged from reading mystery novels afterward. Completely outweighed in intelligence, Chu Kuang, the old rascal, is such a scam!"

    "..."

    Seeing all these reactions, Lin Yuan was dumbstruck.

    He was seriously considering the possibility of selling his signature.

    Alright then.

    This thought was quickly dismissed by Lin Yuan. He was still aware of the principle of scarcity adding value.

    Now that Lin Yuan was in a better financial situation.

    If it were not for that, Lin Yuan would not care about the principle of scarcity increasing value.

    During these series of events, a small incident occurred that left Lin Yuan rather upset¡ª

    A user shared Chu Kuang''s signature online, but due to the scrawled handwriting, it attracted a few jesters.

    The top comment in his section was actually:

    "Chu Kuang, the old rascal, take a break from typing and practice your handwriting."

    His handwriting was disliked!

 Chapter 326 - 305: The Third Disciple_1

    These people are too much, some of them even commented that my handwriting looks like a primary school student''s.

    Even more outrageous, Jin Mu bought Lin Yuan a few handwriting practice books, the intention behind it was blatantly obvious.

    "..."

    Considering that money was spent on these practice books, Lin Yuan decided to practice his handwriting, adhering to his principles of never being wasteful.

    At this time, the progress related to Chu Kuang has improved again.

    The most significant transformation was Chu Kuang''s fan follower count, it escalated to over eighty million.

    The Prestige Value in literature even breached six hundred thousand.

    All the credit goes to "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd", the innovative nature of Narrative Trickery applied to mystery writing is beyond question, and another significance of this book is that it attracted some mystery enthusiasts to Chu Kuang...

    The mystery genre is a big deal.

    Chu Kuang, although a one-hit wonder in the world of mystery, still has a long way to go to conquer this genre.

    On the other hand, many fantasy readers have been won over by Chu Kuang.

    Keep in mind, with such a huge reader base, the overlap rate between the mystery and fantasy genres is not very high.

    What Silver Blue Books and Lin Yuan didn''t expect was that a few days later, the Literature and Art Gazette also reported about Chu Kuang''s new book.

    "Chu Kuang creates a new type of mystery: Narrative Trickery!"

    "Chu Kuang may not be the first one to dare to jugglery readers, but Chu Kuang is definitely the mystery novelist who has fullest played with fooling readers. And surprisingly, everyone is willing to be fooled.

    That is where he is brilliant, whether it''s character depiction, writing techniques, investigative reasoning, plot-setting or detailed description, it is not too much to describe them as stunning. It is just that we still want to complain about Chu Kuang''s wicked amusement - just like many fans love and hate Chu Kuang, the old rascal always loves to lay traps for readers.

    First, he brought chaos to fantasy readers, now he has extended his evil claws to the mystery circle..."

    The Literature and Art Gazette''s hasty attempt to define Chu Kuang''s achievement with "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" in the mystery genre was premature.

    But no amount of self-promotion about their own author can compare to the words of the official media.

    Right now is when everything is finalized!

    Narrative Trickery was officially recognized as a new creative method in the mystery field!

    In fact, without waiting for the Literature and Art Gazette to make a move, many mystery novelists had already begun to create and apply Narrative Trickery techniques.

    Just like Chu Kuang''s previous works.

    He has once again led a trend in a genre!

    The publishing world is most familiar with this situation.

    Because "following Chu Kuang" is the correct decision that publishing houses inevitably make every time Chu Kuang releases a new work.

    In the past, it was the fantasy authors who were following Chu Kuang, now it is the turn of the mystery novelists.

    This proves that in any field, following a trend is a ubiquitous phenomenon with the emergence of new types.

    Just as Silver Blue Books advertised in "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd":

    "Chu Kuang, always imitated, never surpassed!"

    Having tasted success in the mystery genre, Lin Yuan is now considering whether his next work should continue to be a mystery.

    No matter how the outside world evaluates Chu Kuang, saying that Chu Kuang never writes the same type of story, it is all their assumption.

    Lin Yuan doesn''t have such a taboo.

    ...

    Of course, even if he is considering whether the next book should continue to be a mystery, Lin Yuan does not plan to configure the new book for the time being.

    One day, Lin Yuan came to the company.

    After becoming the representative of the composition department, he started to breeze in and out of the company.

    Anyways, he''s the big boss on the ninth floor. No one will check his attendance, because even if they find he doesn''t attend enough, no one would dare to penalize him.

    Who can afford to offend Maestro Junior?

    Even if the matter is brought up to the higher-ups, they would probably say, "Don''t be too harsh on young people".

    This is how Starlight operates.

    The company has lots of rules and regulations for people without talent, but it''s always indulgent towards those who have real talent.

    As for the extent of indulgence, it depends on the person''s ability.

    Upon entering his office, Lin Yuan called up Feng Shuo and Xue Liang: "You were saying that you found a new apprentice for me?"

    Yes.

    Lin Yuan came to the company upon receiving a call from Xue Liang mentioning that a potential new apprentice had been found.

    "Yes."

    The answer was from Feng Shuo.

    He seemed a little excited: "Master, you will definitely be satisfied with the person we have recommended - Li Lizhi!"

    Lin Yuan was taken aback: "Deuce Li''s daughter?"

    Feng Shuo and Xue Liang changed their expressions slightly:

    "Is Deuce Li the pejorative nickname for the chairman...Master, please refrain from calling him that in the company... Li Lizhi is indeed the chairman''s son, and his only daughter."

    Lin Yuan was stunned again.

    His only response was automatic.

    The historical knowledge from his past life told Lin Yuan that Li Lizhi was the daughter of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty.

    But in this world, there is no Tang Dynasty, no Li Shimin, and certainly no Li Lizhi.

    Unexpectedly, Lin Yuan did not expect this Li Lizhi to be the chairman''s daughter.

    However, Lin Yuan doesn''t care about what identity his third apprentice holds, he cares more about talent.

    Only those with high talent can graduate quickly like Feng Shuo. Those with poor talent can only be rejected.

    "Where is she?" asked Lin Yuan.

    This time Xue Liang answered: "She''s outside."

    Lin Yuan nodded: "Let her come in."

    Feng Shuo hurriedly went to open the door. This younger sister is not strictly speaking their choice, but she volunteered to come over after hearing that Lin Yuan was about to accept a new apprentice-

    Li Lizhi!

    The chairman''s darling girl!

    The little princess of Starlight Entertainment! sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Neither Feng Shuo nor Xue Liang dared to reject this girl''s initiative.

    Even if this girl originally belonged not to the ninth but to the floor under Yang Zhongming.

    "Hello, Mr. Lin."

    A young girl with long hair walked in from outside the door. She was wearing a plain white coat, the whole person exudes a fresh aura, perhaps because of being raised in a nurturing environment and being well protected, her eyes were as clear as stream water.

    She was looking at Lin Yuan curiously.

    After all, she had heard a lot of rumors about this man.

    At the same time, she was wondering why Teacher Yang Zhongming did not accept her but sent her to learn composition with Lin Yuan, and her father even agreed...

    "Hello, you can leave now."

    Lin Yuan checked Li Lizhi''s songwriting talent, the data was 496.

    Better than Xue Liang, inferior to Feng Shuo.

    In summary, her aptitude is average.

    Therefore, Lin Yuan decided to reject Li Lizhi.

    In Lin Yuan''s view, this is a normal thing.

    However, Feng Shuo and Xue Liang looked rather taken aback, even somewhat frightened.

    "Hello, you can leave now."

    If it was someone else, it would be normal for the master to say this, but the person at hand is Li Lizhi, the daughter of the chairman!

    The master actually refused her without hesitation?

    What if the chairman is unhappy?

    That''s not right, the chairman probably wouldn''t be able to say much against the master''s decision, but is this blunt refusal really okay?

    "Huh?"

    Li Lizhi was taken aback for a moment. She did not get angry, but her heart inexplicably sped up.

    Is this what rejection feels like?

    From her childhood to now, this was the first time she had been rejected by someone.

    Lin Yuan thought that refusal might hurt someone''s feelings, so he said well-intentioned words: "You lack talent, I want to find a more talented apprentice."

    Feng Shuo put a hand on his forehead.

    Xue Liang looked down at his toes.

    The master is comforting her, right?

    It''s comforting, right?

    Why it seems as if he is twisting the knife in Li Lizhi''s heart?

    Although it''s commonly known that this little princess has a good temper and is congenial, after being evaluated like this by the master, she should be somewhat angry, right?

    But the two of them once again misunderstood.

    Li Lizhi still did not get angry. Instead, she felt that her body was a bit numb. There was a little shame in her heart that she couldn''t express.

    Is this what being criticized feels like?

    Indeed, from childhood to now, this was the first time she had been criticized.

    She couldn''t help but raise her voice slightly: "I will work hard."

    "..."

    Lin Yuan was not good at refusing others, but this concerned the difficulty of the task, and Lin Yuan couldn''t possibly give in: "You can work hard somewhere else."

    Feng Shuo and Xue Liang dared not breathe.

    It''s not that they were timid, their master was just too unyielding.

    Li Lizhi was a bit unwilling: "I''ll pay..."

    "How much?"

    Lin Yuan suddenly looked up, his gaze fixed on Li Lizhi.

    His stare made Li Lizhi shrink back a bit: "All of my allowance..."

    "Sorry."

    Lin Yuan felt disappointed. How much could one''s allowance be?

    Li Lizhi spoke softly: "If one million is not enough, then I..."

    "How much?"

    Lin Yuan''s gaze became sharp again.

    Li Lizhi''s voice was almost too soft to hear: "One million..."

    But when it came to money, Lin Yuan''s hearing was always superb.

    Since he heard it, so Lin Yuan''s expression changed.

    Corrupted!

    One million in allowance!

    How many times that of my sister?

    This is money that must be earned, to buy egg yolks for my little sister!

    At this moment, Lin Yuan felt a bit ashamed.

    Compared to Li Lizhi, my sister is living in destitution, I''m such an incompetent brother!

    At the same time.

    Feng Shuo and Xue Liang faced each other, they did not expect this daughter of the chairman to be so amiable. As expected of the famous good girl, she took all the master''s words without getting upset. Such a gentle and nice girl!

    "I''ll take it."

    Lin Yuan said solemnly: "From now on, you''ll be my third apprentice."

    "Huh?"

    Li Lizhi was a bit startled. She was about to give up when Lin Yuan suddenly changed his mind.

    "Little sis, I''m your second senior brother!"

    Feng Shuo, who had been eager to call her this from the moment he saw Li Lizhi, couldn''t wait to shout it out.

    "I''m the eldest senior brother, hello little sister."

    Xue Liang also smiled slightly. Since Li Lizhi had entered their master''s door, in his eyes, she was no longer the daughter of the chairman.

    The chairman is just the boss of the company, but the master is a god in his heart!

    Feng Shuo''s thought process was similar, so his demeanor wasn''t as restrained anymore.

    "Hello, senior brothers."

    Li Lizhi obediently greeted them, then looked at Lin Yuan, her voice softer: "Hello, master..."

    "Let''s start the class."

    Lin Yuan waved his hand. Feng Shuo and Xue Liang knew the rules. The master only taught one person at a time, so they both left together.

    At this moment.

    Lin Yuan activated the character card.

    Li Lizhi suddenly felt that her master seemed to have changed...

 Chapter 327 - 306: The Upgrade Effect of Teachers Halo_1

    Not only did Li Lizhi notice that Lin Yuan had changed, but Lin Yuan also felt a shift in himself.

    This change specifically manifested when he began teaching and tailored a teaching methodology for Li Lizhi in his mind¡ª

    Before, when Lin Yuan was teaching Xue Liang and Feng Shuo, he was groping his way through the process, relying on the Teacher''s Halo to enhance the effect.

    There was no clear teaching philosophy to speak of.

    However, in Lin Yuan''s Teacher''s Halo section, a new note appeared:

    "Tailor the teaching to the student! Different strategies for different people! Apply different teaching methods to different people."

    It turned out that this is the right way to utilize the Teacher''s Halo.

    In the past, the effect of the Teacher''s Halo was mysterious. It was a simple and crude bonus to the effect.

    Now, the Teacher''s Halo has a more realistic technical content based on its mystical foundation.

    You see, there are renowned teachers without the Teacher''s Halo, their teaching methods are just superb.

    Now, Lin Yuan possesses not only the metaphysical Teacher''s Halo but also a systematic teaching method.

    What is the most suitable teaching method for Li Lizhi?

    Two words.

    Strict, sharp-tongued!

    He must be extremely fierce in his approach.

    When Lin Yuan was teaching Xue Liang and Feng Shuo, he was relatively gentle. Being strict did not align with Lin Yuan''s style.

    But with the upgraded version of the Teacher''s Halo, Lin Yuan realized:

    The stricter he is towards a student like Li Lizhi, the better the outcome!

    It was a wonderful feeling, definitely a new effect of the Teacher''s Halo, just like when Lin Yuan gained the piano technique, countless piano knowledge would naturally pop up in his mind.

    Lin Yuan is sure this is the right direction.

    Since the direction is right, naturally Lin Yuan will apply the most appropriate teaching method.

    To complete the task promptly, to better teach his third disciple, how does it matter if he has to become a strict teacher?

    After all, "Strict teachers produce outstanding students."

    Therefore, Lin Yuan brought in a significantly different teaching style than before. He didn''t understand why the most suitable teaching plan for Li Lizhi is so extreme:

    "Are you an idiot, summarize the music theory! You forget such basic college knowledge? If it''s a test, this would be a give-away question!"

    "The scale can change! You only know the seven basic scale degrees?"

    "Look at your composition practice...The chord progression is too conventional. Anyone from the composition department can write a melody of this level while using the restroom."

    "What books? Look at the blackboard...Why are you looking at the blackboard? Look at me¡­What are you looking at me for? Do I have words on my face?"

    "Try resting here for four beats...I''m not asking you to sing, but to write it down. Your mind can''t seem to make a turn."

    "Wrong again! Didn''t I just remind you of that? Stretch out your hand, I''m going to tap it to make you remember better."

    "You have to remember next time. The chord progression is going to change... Lost in thought during class? Stretch out your hand, we need to reinforce your memory here."

    "Stand up, don''t sit! You won''t learn anything if you sit!"

    "..."

    Actually, in the beginning, Lin Yuan was a bit conservative, he really wasn''t a very strict teacher.

    Looking back on his student years, Lin Yuan did encounter some particularly fierce teachers.

    Punishments like standing in a horse stance, hands beaten while standing, were common.

    However, for some reason, no matter how stern the teacher was, they were always gentle with Lin Yuan.

    But as Lin Yuan began to adopt this strictness in his trials, he found that it was indeed effective. After teaching only half an hour, he could clearly see Li Lizhi''s improvement in composition¡­

    The effect was immediate!

    So Lin Yuan fully embraced this teaching method and completely submerged himself in the role of a strict sharp-tongued teacher.

    Of course, corporal punishment was only administered ensuring that it did not hurt the student physically or mentally. This subtlety was made easier with the effect of the Teacher''s Halo, Lin Yuan felt it was easy to manage.

    "..."

    Li Lizhi felt as if she was experiencing countless firsts in her life.

    She was scolded for the first time!

    She was punished to stand for the first time!

    She had her hand hit for the first time!

    Yet, strangely enough, she felt incredibly excited, a deep-seated excitement!

    When Lin Yuan picked up the feather duster, not being light-handed at all, her body involuntarily trembled, as though a strange heatwave was stirring deep inside her¡­

    What was even weirder¡­

    The many things she didn''t understand before suddenly became clear after Lin Yuan''s explanation!

    And there were countless moments of such enlightenment!

    At that moment, Li Lizhi truly understood why her father and Teacher Yang Zhongming had suggested that she come to Lin Yuan...

    You must know.

    Li Lizhi''s family, since she was little, hired only top-tier teachers for education. Yet none of those teachers were ever able to impart all of their music theory knowledge to her, like Lin Yuan just did.

    This was a marvelous experience!

    Shame, excitement, an odd sensation, trembling.

    An hour and a half into the lesson, Lin Yuan halted his teaching and looked at Li Lizhi with disappointment, "You are the worst student I''ve ever had!"

    "I''m sorry, Master¡­"

    Li Lizhi hung her head low in shame, her face was turning beet red.

    "That''s it for today. Come back tomorrow. I''m going to check on the tasks I assigned."

    Lin Yuan waved his hand dismissively.

    Class was over?

    Li Lizhi felt a sense of loss.

    She walked out of Lin Yuan''s office in a daze, feeling as though she had been stuffed with a great deal of composition knowledge...

    "Junior Sister!"

    Lizhi didn''t expect to see her Senior Brothers Xue Liang and Feng Shuo waiting for her outside the door.

    "How does it feel?"

    Both of them were awaiting Li Lizhi''s response eagerly.

    Li Lizhi lowered her head: "I upset Master..."

    Xue Liang was taken aback, "Master is actually quite gentle."

    Feng Shuo also looked confused, "Master never scolded me during lessons."

    "Hmm."

    Xue Liang nodded in agreement, "On the contrary, the Master often encourages me and reassures me that it''s okay to have a weak foundation; we can learn gradually. Master is indeed a gentle person at heart."

    Li Lizhi: "..."

    Had her palms not gone red from slapping, had her legs not been aching from standing, and had her head not been hit by the music teaching plan, she might have believed in the nonsense spoken by these two senior brothers.

    She left under the odd stares of the two seniors.

    Arriving at the 18th floor of the company, in an independent room, Li Lizhi plopped onto the sofa without any grace, picked up a cola on the table and drank vigorously through the straw.

    If anyone saw this scene, they would be completely stunned.

    This was because this demeanor was completely inconsistent with the ladylike image Li Lizhi portrayed in front of many others!

    "Miss..."

    Soon, a female assistant appeared, smilingly saying, "Everything has been arranged. Tomorrow, I have prepared an excuse for you to skip class, and the guild battle in the game is scheduled for tonight."

    "Cancel it."

    "Cancel? Then tonight... ah, are you going to play Werewolf again? You''re too good at it and no one likes to play with you."

    "No."

    "Well, are you planning to read novels? You have finished reading Chu Kuang''s new book, you even got the signed copy..."

    "It''s not for reading novels either."

    Li Lizhi sounded tired, "Stop asking, sister, help me massage my legs, they are so sore." sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The assistant approached and softly asked, "Is attending class so exhausting?"

    Li Lizhi''s gaze slightly changed, looking complex she said, "More fun than I imagined...Bring me some composition books."

    "Huh? Why?"

    Li Lizhi puffed out her cheeks and then announced, "To do homework!"

    The assistant got the hint, "As usual, are you going to get someone to help you..."

    Li Lizhi shook her head: "I''ll do it myself."

    It seems like tonight is going to be a late night.

    The assistant paused, finding it hard to believe her ears.

    While few knew, the well-behaved girl who presented a ladylike image to the public, Li Lizhi, was a lazy teen who loved to drink cola, play games, and even watch anime in her private life. She wouldn''t be considered a bad girl, but she definitely did not fit the image of a good girl.

    But something seemed off today.

    Just after one lesson, Li Lizhi was already taking the initiative to do her homework for the first time ever!

    Has she changed her nature?

    No way, this must be just a passing phase, and she should return to her old self after some time.

    The assistant thought privately.

    On the other hand, Lin Yuan called for Xue Liang.

    After giving Li Lizhi an hour and a half lesson, he planned to use the remaining half an hour to conduct an experiment.

    "Master, you called for me..."

    "Class."

    Lin Yuan was to-the-point.

    Xue Liang instantly perked up, his eyes filled with joy, "Okay!"

    "Let''s begin..."

    Lin Yuan started the lesson for Xue Liang while there was still some time left on the character card.

    Lin Yuan found that when facing Xue Liang, the teaching plan provided by the Teacher''s Halo was not as stern as before...

    It was gentle and persuasive.

    Turns out, the strict teaching method was only suitable for Li Lizhi.

    After a fifteen-minute lesson, Lin Yuan stopped, "Call Feng Shuo over."

    "Okay."

    Although the fifteen-minute lesson didn''t help Xue Liang much, he still definitely felt that what Master taught seemed better.

    The lesson for Feng Shuo was also fifteen minutes long.

    And for Feng Shuo, Lin Yuan realized a change in the teaching methods his mind proposed -

    Serious and orderly.

    There was no need for a gentle approach or an overly stern one, just providing the knowledge points seriously was enough for Feng Shuo to absorb them easily.

    After the experiment ended.

    Lin Yuan nodded, signifying them to leave.

    It seems that the teaching under Teacher''s Halo now differs from person to person, and different methods should be utilized for different people.

    Outside the door.

    After leaving, Xue Liang and Feng Shuo exchanged a look and discussed in surprise:

    "Did you notice that Master''s teaching style seemed to have been adjusted a bit? I found today''s lesson was easier to understand..."

    "That''s true."

    Feng Shuo regretfully said, "Just that it was too short, only fifteen minutes, but thankfully, Master won''t be taking any more disciples in the future, so each of us should be able to get a share of the sessions..."

    Xue Liang nodded.

    Even though it was only fifteen minutes, Xue Liang saw it as a hope, that Master seemed to want to continue teaching him.

    You see, ever since he was told by Master that he could graduate, Master hadn''t taught him anymore.

    Therefore, he was extremely eager to have lessons.

 Chapter 328 - 307 Third Script_1

    The new effect of Teacher''s Halo satisfied Lin Yuan very much because he can now teach his students more efficiently.

    Feng Shuo and Xue Liang had already graduated and were up to the standard of gold-level composers.

    Even though Lin Yuan has the Teacher''s Halo, if he continued teaching them, their improvement would be limited.

    However, with the upgrade of the Teacher''s Halo, there seemed to be more room for improvement if these two continued taking classes from Lin Yuan!

    It was good and powerful.

    In the following days, Lin Yuan continued to strictly teach Li Lizhi.

    The class usually lasted an hour and a half.

    He used the remaining half-hour to guide the compositions of Xue Liang and Feng Shuo, as their songs were meant to be sung by Sun Yaohuo and Jiang Kui.

    On another note.

    Jin Mu, as Chu Kuang''s agent, once again requested an increase in royalties for The Murder of Roger Ackroyd from Silver Blue Books due to its success.

    After negotiations, a new royalty share was agreed upon, and Chu Kuang''s royalties will be set at thirty-five percent!

    Jin Mu had conducted special research.

    The royalties of the top authors in the publishing industry are basically around thirty percent. Chu Kuang getting thirty-five percent is due to his versatility!

    The other top authors generally only specialize in one genre.

    But Chu Kuang was different, the genres of his novels covered a wide range, and he even started dabbling in mystery recently and achieved some success. Under such circumstances, Silver Blue Books had no reason not to provide Chu Kuang with a better contract.

    "It will be hard to increase it in the future¡­"

    Jin Mu was clear. This contract was already very high.

    Unless Chu Kuang made bigger breakthroughs, it would be difficult for the contract treatment to continue to improve.

    "Unless the boss wins the election for the best fantasy novel."

    This was the most direct option Jin Mu could think of for Chu Kuang to up his contract.

    But this required qualifications, time, and accumulated sales of works.

    "No rush."

    Lin Yuan really wasn''t in a hurry. He now had many aliases and plenty of avenues for making money. As long as he took everything step by step, all would be well.

    As Lin Yuan was taking things step by step, he received a piece of news.

    The news was from Gu Dong: "Mr. Lin, the company has applied for the Dragon Award for the movie ''The Tuner'', we just received news that the film has been nominated for three awards!"

    "Dragon Award?"

    Lin Yuan was somewhat surprised.

    The biggest music award in Blue Star was the Music Ceremony, whereas the biggest film award was the Dragon Award.

    Due to cultural isolation, each continent had its own Dragon Award in the past.

    But now, at least, the Dragon Awards of the Qin, Qi, and Chu regimes have been unified. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Since Lin Yuan''s debut, he had received some awards for both his writer and composer careers, but none of them reached the highest tier.

    So, he never took these things to heart.

    But if it''s the Dragon Award, Lin Yuan held some anticipation, especially after the unification of the Qin, Qi, Chu regimes. This award had a much larger clout¡ª

    It could be said to be of Oscar-level influence on Earth!

    Gu Dong was also very excited: "''The Tuner'' has been nominated for Best Original Score, Best Actor, and Best Screenplay! With three nominations, we have a high probability of winning at least one."

    "Hmm."

    After all, it was the highest award in the film industry, Lin Yuan was also somewhat looking forward to it.

    If it was in the past, Lin Yuan would definitely not take awards like these to heart.

    But perhaps because he had made a lot of money now, Lin Yuan''s pursuit and attitude towards money was much better than before and he was no longer the host obsessed with money in the system''s eyes.

    This could be seen from the fact that when Lin Yuan was customizing works and buying energy-related items, he became more straightforward.

    After earning a certain amount of money, Lin Yuan thought, if he could win awards, it could also be seen as a recognition of his work.

    In fact, the official award date was very close when the Dragon Award announced all the nominated works.

    In terms of the timeline, "The Tuner" just caught the tail end of the award evaluation.

    If it was any later, this movie would have to compete for the Dragon Award next year.

    ¡­

    By the time it was April, the new season of competition began!

    The difficulty of the season competition seemed to be lower than the previous two months.

    In February of this year, Lin Yuan crushed the Chu people with "Mariage d''Amour".

    In March, Yang Zhongming educated the Chu people once again with the piano piece "Coloured Glaze", accomplishing Starlight''s double kill!

    Afterwards.

    The Chu people completely gave up their covetous desire for the honor of Land of Music and ceased to compete!

    Therefore.

    The April season chart did not feature the chaotic battle of the King of Singing and Maestro.

    This gave many gold-level composers a chance to shine.

    As a result of this, Xian Yu once again attracted the industry''s attention!

    Why did Xian Yu gain attention without releasing any new songs?

    This has to start from the two composers in the top ten list.

    For this season''s chart.

    The song ranked fifth was "Sunset", performed by Sun Yaohuo, composed by Carp!

    The song ranked seventh was "Night Princess", performed by Jiang Kui, composed by Stingray!

    It was widely known that Carp was Xian Yu''s disciple.

    But what the industry didn''t expect was that Xian Yu turned out to have another apprentice¡ª

    Stingray!

    Stingray was naturally the name Feng Shuo chose for himself.

    Unlike Xue Liang, Feng Shuo was already a somewhat famous composer.

    At the time of song release, he used his Tribe''s platform to announce that he was Xian Yu''s second disciple, and that "Stingray" would be his composer''s artistic name.

    This news initially didn''t garner much attention.

    But as Feng Shuo and Xue Liang both entered the top ten of this month''s season chart, the industry was somewhat shocked.

    Is Stingray also Xian Yu''s disciple?

    So the works ranked fifth and seventh are both from Xian Yu''s disciples?

    TWO of Xian Yu''s disciples made it into the season top ten!!?

    Keep in mind, the season ranking is at the combined standards of the three continents!

    Those who make it to the top ten are all powerhouses!

    "Damn..."

    "Xian Yu is terrifying!"

    "Now his disciples are starting to fight for a place on the charts!"

    "Two years ago, there were still quite a few gold ranked composers who could compete with Xian Yu, now those gold ranked composers can only compete with Xian Yu''s disciples..."

    "Why is it fish again!"

    "If Xian Yu also releases a song this month, won''t there be three fish in the top ten?"

    "Carp and Stingray, both have gold level skills, yet turns out to be only Xian Yu''s disciples..."

    "The real question is, does Xian Yu really have the ability to train gold ranked composers?"

    "To become a gold ranked composer, it can''t be that easy to train right? These two songs wouldn''t have been composed by Xian Yu, right?"

    "That''d be stretching it, Xian Yu can only give some guidance at most, if Xian Yu personally took it upon himself, it wouldn''t be any less than first or second."

    "¡­"

    If Xian Yu were to do it, it would at least be first or second.

    From the perspective of Xian Yu, Carp and Stingray''s season rankings are unremarkable.

    But keep in mind, these two are only Xian Yu''s disciples!

    It''s not only the outside world.

    Many people within Starlight were startled as well.

    Personal strength and the ability to train gold-class talents are two different things!

    Even Maestro would not dare to say he could train disciples to break into the top ten of the season!

    Yet Xian Yu has done it!

    This inevitably makes the company re-evaluate Xian Yu''s worth, even though the company had already valued Xian Yu''s skills enough.

    ...

    Indeed, Lin Yuan did guide Xue Liang and Feng Shuo''s new song compositions using the Character Cards, but overall, the credit should still go to his two disciples.

    This point, Lin Yuan knows best.

    As for the outsiders speculating whether Lin Yuan can teach gold-ranked composers, the answer is affirmative.

    With character cards and the upgraded Teacher''s Halo, Lin Yuan can indeed achieve that.

    However, he won''t brag about it everywhere.

    Teaching his disciples takes two hours a day.

    Time is the biggest cost, and he doesn''t have that much time to nurture more disciples.

    Although with the two disciples entering the seasonal top ten, there are such rumors within the company, and even some composers intend to take Lin Yuan as their mentor.

    Lin Yuan disagrees, he does not want to become a disciple-collecting machine, once Li Lizhi is trained, he plans to stop temporarily.

    Anyway, for Lin Yuan, this is good news, both of his disciples performed well in the tasks he assigned.

    Good things come in pairs.

    Just when Lin Yuan was satisfied with the performance of his two disciples, a few days later, a new piece of good news came¡ª

    The Dragon Awards ceremony officially took place.

    The movie he composed, "The Tuner," won the Dragon Award for Best Music.

    Lin Yuan didn''t want to attend, so the company sent someone to accept the award.

    Of course.

    The other two nominations, "The Tuner" did not win.

    Liu Zhengwen missed the best actor award.

    The film also missed the honour of the Best Script.

    However, being nominated and winning, are two different things.

    Being nominated for three awards and successfully winning one of them was already good enough for Lin Yuan.

    That''s a winning rate of one-third.

    Moreover, the nomination itself is recognition.

    But it seems that System doesn''t think so?

    Not long after Lin Yuan learned that he won the Dragon Award for Best Music, System suddenly issued a new task: [We hope the host can receive the Dragon Award again. If the host accepts the task, you can get a superior script for 30 million customized price!]

    "A script better than ''The Tuner''?"

    Lin Yuan had an idea and decisively replied: "I accept!"

    After all, even if he can''t complete this task, the System can''t take back the script. This System task is more like a disguised discount for his next film.

    It seems that the system guessed Lin Yuan''s thoughts: [If the task is completed, the host will be rewarded with a random treasure box!]

    Random treasure box?

    Lin Yuan was taken aback: "Bronze, silver, gold, and even diamond... all are possible?"

    System: "Theoretically, yes."

    Lin Yuan: "¡­"

    Theoretically?

    Who would believe in a pseudorandom system?

    However, this is the first time the system has offered a random treasure box as a reward. Lin Yuan vaguely felt that there might be a good harvest.

    So he said, "Start customizing."

    System finished customizing surprisingly fast this time:

    [Ding Dong, congratulations to the host for obtaining the script "Life of Pi"].

    Immediately after watching the movie.

    Lin Yuan suddenly realized, the difficulty of this task was somewhat too high.

 Chapter 329 - 308: Yu Dynasty (Extra update from Feather)

    First, let''s talk about "Life of Pi."

    This film is adapted from a best-selling novel by an Earth author.

    This novel not only won the Man Booker Prize, but also stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for over a year!

    A best-seller indeed.

    The film adaptation, from preparation to shooting, took several years.

    Even with Blue Star''s advanced industry technology, which could significantly shorten this time, it was impossible for this film to be completed and released as quickly as Lin Yuan''s previous two films.

    Now about the film''s achievements...

    A top masterpiece nominated for eleven Academy Awards!

    Ang Lee won the Oscar for Best Director for this film.

    In addition, the film also took home the Oscars for Best Visual Effects, Best Original Score, and Best Cinematography.

    Four words can sum it up:

    Horrifyingly great.

    The casting process for the role of young Pi in the original film took about six months. Director Ang Lee arranged for three rounds of auditions, ultimately narrowing it down to twelve candidates, and had to perform screen tests with each child individually.

    This is something that Lin Yuan cannot cheat.

    He too must choose his cast very carefully.

    Because the lead male role is too difficult to cast!

    And that''s just one of many challenges.

    Choosing a director is another big problem.

    Lin Yuan is certain that this film is not something that a novice director could handle!

    It''s like some high octave songs, certain people just do not have the ability to perform them.

    Even with Lin''s script description, it would not be easy for director Yi Chenggong to shoot the words into the same practical effect.

    The only way for Yi Chenggong to successfully direct would be to use a vast amount of system props to enhance his directing abilities.

    Two words: burning money!

    Not to mention the top-level demands of this film on various departments, including photography-

    And the movie investment!

    Another challenge for which the system has a solution is the problem of script adaptation.

    The movie involves a variety of beliefs and religions. If Lin Yuan had to adapt it himself, he would probably go blind. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Furthermore...

    The extensive special effects and preparation required for the film are also terrifyingly astonishing.

    Shooting an entire movie in front of a green screen is obviously a major hassle.

    So Lin Yuan is sure that he can''t make this movie!

    At least not in the short term. He can''t shoot now and will have to hand over the script to the company and give them plenty of time to prepare.

    "After selecting the roles, we would have to arrange for the lead actor to learn to swim... It would be a bit easier if the lead actor already knew how to swim. Besides, the crew would also need to experience the vast ocean waves... That''s something many people have never experienced in their lives, how can you shoot something honestly if you haven''t experienced it..."

    Damn.

    The more he thought about it, the more difficult it seemed.

    There was no way the film could be completed within this year.

    The system only charged thirty million for a script like this, one could say it was a noble act.

    It seems the system is very clear about how difficult this film would be to make, which is why the price has been lowered. Mediocre participation would only waste a good script.

    The quality of this script is much higher than that of "The Sound Engineer"!

    "Let''s start preparing for it first."

    Lin Yuan had an idea. This movie would need at least until next year to start shooting.

    That was too long.

    He wanted to order another script from the system.

    A script that could be filmed right now and wouldn''t be so taxing.

    Preferably one that could be finished before starting on "Life of Pi".

    Otherwise, he wouldn''t be able to touch a new film for at least a year. That didn''t suit Lin Yuan''s character. Big productions need to be filmed, but so do films with smaller budgets and lower difficulty levels. After all, the criteria for judging the quality of a film shouldn''t just be based on investment and spectacle.

    On a side note.

    With the achievement of "Life of Pi," Ang Lee can almost be considered the top director in the Celestial Dynasty, far ahead of the national teacher.

    By the way to explain, Ang Lee holds a green card, but hasn''t joined this nation''s citizenship, a fact which sparked controversy.

    The System has thrown a very difficult problem at me.

    This is the greatest test Lin Yuan has faced since entering the film industry.

    So, Lin Yuan is both happy and depressed.

    Getting such a good script but unable to instantly make the film is truly difficult.

    ...

    Lin Yuan is distressed, but the shock he has brought to the outside world has not ended.

    It still has to with Xue Liang and Feng Shuo''s songs entering the top ten of the season''s chart.

    The industry is fervently debating if Xue Liang and Feng Shuo, being Lin Yuan''s disciples, truly result from Lin Yuan teaching them with genuine materials¡ªhe has delved in deeply.

    After all, a similar situation has never occurred before.

    Common knowledge tells us that to become a top-notch composer by education is almost impossible¡ªyou need innate talent.

    However, as they dug more into it, many things became clear.

    "I found songs Xue Liang, also known as Carp, composed early on in Qi Continent. It seems someone has also dug this up before...Saying his early works were harsh to the ears would be an exaggeration, but before he met Lin Yuan, Xue Liang''s music composing level wasn''t too good!"

    "So, Xue Liang really was taught step by step by Lin Yuan to become a top-notch composer?"

    "Not only Xue Liang, but also Feng Shuo. Feng Shuo''s debut work was startling, his talent is evident, but before he became Lin Yuan''s disciple, he had only published four songs, of which only one was stunning ¡ª the other three were relatively ordinary, simply proving he has innate talent."

    "Do you mean, Lin Yuan unearthed Feng Shuo''s talent?"

    "Currently it seems, Xue Liang and Feng Shuo, also known as Carp and Stingray, were indeed trained to be top-notch record producers by Lin Yuan!"

    "Both disciples are so impressive that we can''t help but wonder ¡ª at what level is Lin Yuan''s music composing ability?"

    "There''s only one level, that is, Maestro, and Lin Yuan has also harnessed the teaching ability that other Maestros lack!"

    "I think it''s only a matter of time before Lin Yuan becomes Maestro, just like his two disciples. Though they haven''t yet reached the benchmark for top notch composers due to lack of work, their skills are sufficient. All they need to do is publish a few more songs to increase their sales."

    "..."

    Crash! Bang!

    The sound of common sense getting completely shattered!

    It turns out a top-notch composer can be taught!

    Because Carp Xue Liang is a living example.

    You could argue that Feng Shuo had a high level of natural talent, making it easy for him to learn, but Xue Liang''s previous songs, no matter how you listen to them, didn''t seem to indicate any significant talent!

    Without Lin Yuan, Xue Liang might never have been recognized by the music circle under the alias Carp!

    In the face of these discussions, Lin Yuan is unlikely to respond personally.

    But Feng Shuo certainly loves the attention.

    He released a statement directly via the tribe: "Everyone in the circle is trying to dig up mine and my senior''s past. It''s pointless. As the parties in question, we tell you: our skills were taught to us by our master. Besides, I would like to say, our master is the best in the world!"

    Not long after this statement was issued, Feng Shuo came out with another one:

    "If anyone is still not convinced, wait for our little junior sister to shine. Our little junior sister is learning how to compose from our master, and she will also surely take her place on the season''s chart in the future!"

    When the second statement was released, the entire industry was flabbergasted.

    There''s another "fish" not yet revealed?

    No, not that.

    Lin Yuan... has another disciple who hasn''t debuted?

    If Lin Yuan''s third disciple also formally debuts and reaches the high levels of her two senior brothers, how terrifying that would be!

    A Dynasty of Fish!?

    No composer in history has ever accomplished such a feat, teaching two disciples to the level of Gold Record Producers! How terrifying would it be if there''s another one?

    Hiss.

    Some people drew in a sharp breath, almost not daring to imagine further.

    Later on.

    Some people considered this as the early symptoms of the collective fear-of-fish syndrome affecting the Blue Star music circle.

 Chapter 330 - 309: Handsome (Extra by Alliance Hierarch Feather)_1

    Industry insiders discuss the strategies while netizens are more interested in the excitement--

    Feather''s two apprentices bursting into the seasonal rankings is a spectacle that many netizens love, hence the lively discussions online:

    "Feather is just so freaking awesome!"

    "Did you see how awesome Feather is?"

    "Feather is seriously impressive, both his apprentices have made it into the seasonal rankings. If he were to personally take action, wouldn''t it be an absolute slaughter?"

    "Hasn''t Feather slaughtered many times already?"

    "Whenever this happens, a piece of information flashes through my mind, Feather is actually still a university student..."

    "I can''t help but fantasize about a scenario: Feather''s composition teacher suddenly says in class, ''Why don''t you teach?''"

    "Hahaha, so he is going to teach too?"

    "I heard Feather has a third apprentice, a girl. Tsk tsk, will there be a complete fish feast on the charts in the future?"

    "Those who don''t know might think the composition circle is a fish pond."

    "If Feather continues to teach, the music industry will sooner or later become a fish pond."

    "Maybe it will be an ocean, with Feather as the Sea King!"

    "..."

    Everyone''s discussing.

    While the music industry is discussing Feather''s apprentices, the film industry is also discussing Feather.

    It''s related to the recent Dragon Awards.

    After the movie "The Tuner" was nominated for three major awards and finally won Best Original Score, it wasn''t a surprising outcome.

    After all, "Mariage d''Amour" had dominated the charts.

    The point of interest for the film industry was that Feather, surprisingly, did not attend the award ceremony in person. After all, "The Tuner" was nominated for three individual awards and it was unlikely that it would be ignored for all--

    Normally, only those who think they might be ignored would be absent from such heavyweight awards.

    But with Feather''s low probability of being ignored, his absence surprised many. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Just know this.

    After the Dragon Awards announced this year''s nominees, many discussed whether Feather would attend.

    If he did attend, the award ceremony would be the first public appearance by Feather!

    The odds were high since the prestige of the Dragon Awards was at stake.

    However, Feather''s absence surprised many.

    Many netizens who were looking forward to this couldn''t help but feel disappointed.

    "Because he mainly dabbles in the music scene, he didn''t attend the Dragon Awards?"

    "Feather has won some awards in the music circle. Although they are not Music Festival level, some are quite impressive. I''ve never seen Feather attend though."

    "Could it be because he''s not good-looking that he didn''t show up?"

    "Careful, you might be flamed for daring to insult Feather''s looks. Feather has a lot of fans."

    "Alright, let me flame you back. Fish Papa''s looks are drop-dead gorgeous (dog head)!"

    The person even included a drawing, a very cartoonish image of a fishman.

    As a result, there really was a discussion about why Feather didn''t show his face.

    "It could also be a height problem. Wasn''t there a writer in the writing circle who was always unwilling to show his face? When he finally did, everyone realized he was a bit short."

    "A university student in his twenties - youth is justice, right?"

    "Looking forward to Fish Papa''s appearance."

    "Regardless of whether Feather shows his face or not, I have already imagined what he would look like. Just imagine the handsomest face in your mind, idols look handsome no matter what!"

    "..."

    Some artistically inclined fans have even drawn several cartoonish images of Feather, all of which are so handsome they''re almost falling apart, the ultimate manifestation of a fangirl''s filter.

    The passers-by don''t really expect much from Feather''s looks and even teased the fans: "Don''t let your fantasies be shattered, he''s bound to show his face sooner or later."

    ...

    Indeed, it''s a matter of his face appearing sooner or later.

    As Feather''s identity isn''t completely confidential, there have been too many people in Starlight and other crews who have seen him.

    Even, someone who''s seen Feather has posted on his own:

    "I have worked on the crew of Teacher Admirable Fish. I''ve seen him, but since Teacher Admirable Fish does not want to show his face, I didn''t have a chance to take a photo. If I were caught taking a photo, I might lose my job. But when I see some people doubting whether Teacher Admirable Fish is reluctant to show his face because of his looks, I can only say that you are too naive.

    Liu Zhengwen, handsome, right? Born with a God-like face, he''s considered above average in the entertainment industry. Standing next to Feather, he kind of fades into the background!"

    Similar posts are abundant, tricking the eye and blurring the truth, so most people didn''t believe them.

    Until this person posted the working identity of the "The Tuner" crew...

    Although the key information on it was smeared, the credibility of the post skyrocketed!

    "Do you believe me now? He''s a real charmer! Xian Yu is a handsome hunk, the numero uno! He just prefers to low-key and not show his face. If he did, you all would probably be kissin'' your screens."

    This person sounded utterly sure.

    And then, the post blew up!

    Countless people underneath probed for more information, but this person only emphasized Xian Yu''s super handsomeness and refused to reveal more. It left many netizens itching with curiosity.

    "Is he really that good-looking?"

    "Even better-looking than Liu Zhengwen?"

    "How come I just can''t believe it?"

    "I''ve heard enough from people who claim to have met Xian Yu in real life, saying he''s uber handsome. Should I take a sneak peek at Starlight''s presence?"

    "..."

    Beauty is justice.

    Even though some people may deem it shallow, just the news that "Xian Yu is good-looking" is enough to spark countless discussions among netizens.

    It doesn''t seem strange.

    Even on Earth, a League of Legends anchor named Xiao Zhi, who doesn''t show his face, attracts countless people''s curiosity, let alone the level of Xian Yu.

    Some have even run to the Admirable Fish tribe comment section begging for a selfie.

    Of course, Lin Yuan would not reveal his photo.

    He did not know why, but when the camera was aimed at him, he felt an instinctual discomfort, as if his hands and feet had nowhere to hide.

    Lin Yuan himself couldn''t quite articulate why he felt this discomfort.

    That''s also why he insists on not revealing his face publicly. If he were to do so, the number of cameras surrounding him would probably explode.

    He even rejects requests for group photos from some people, even if they promise not to release the photos.

    He knew he can''t hide it forever, but he would try to avoid as long as possible, to unveil his face later.

    The discussion around Xian Yu''s attractiveness even extended to the people around him, such as Xia Fan who''d worked with Xian Yu before.

    Xia Fan was recently invited to sing the theme song for a TV show. She thought everyone would ask music-related questions, but to her surprise...

    The reporter actually asked her, "What does Xian Yu look like?"

    If it were someone else, they might get angry. But as Xia Fan and Lin Yuan are on good terms, she just laughed and said eight words:

    "Everyone loves him, and flowers bloom for him."

    So, netizens'' perception of Xian Yu took another step forward:

    Xian Yu is as handsome as a movie star!

    This increased the public''s expectation for Xian Yu to unveil his face even more.

    Jian Yi was a bit upset though. After the interview, he @Xia Fan in a small group chat: "Am I less handsome than Lin Yuan?"

    "Can you get the dorm supervisor to let boys into the girls'' dorm?"

    Jian Yi: "..."

    Yes, Lin Yuan can.

    Back in high school, Xian Yu was the only boy who could enter the girls'' dorm.

    That time Xia Fan was sick, and Lin Yuan sent her some cold medicine.

    Initially, it was Jian Yi who was supposed to deliver it.

    Jian Yi couldn''t get in; the dorm auntie felt that it was dangerous for the girls to let Jian Yi in.

    So, he looked for Lin Yuan.

    Even though he didn''t want to admit it, Lin Yuan seemed to receive special treatment in many situations.

    And that time was no different.

    At that time, the dorm auntie looked worried and said something to Lin Yuan that Jian Yi still remembers clearly to this day:

    "Be careful, boys should learn to protect themselves."

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Daily updates over 10,000 words~ Maidens, spread your monthly votes~ Tomorrow, I''ll add more updates for the rest of the Alliance Hierarchs!

 Chapter 331 - 310: Preparations of The Young Party_1

    Lin Yuan showed no interest in the topic of physical attractiveness in reality.

    If someone were to ask Lin Yuan who the handsomest man in the world is, Lin Yuan would have different answers for different age groups.

    Initially, it was the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers; then it became Ultraman; later, it was Masked Rider.

    And now...

    It''s the Transformers.

    So while others are concerned about whether Lin Yuan attended the Dragon Awards and showed his face, Lin Yuan is more concerned about what benefits this award has brought him.

    And it has been beneficial.

    After receiving the Dragon Award for Best Film Score, Lin Yuan noticed a significant surge in his film and television reputation, reaching 280,000.

    This made Lin Yuan realize that the Dragon Awards have a high impact on reputation.

    Thereafter, Lin Yuan thought about the script for "Life of Pi" that he had already received.

    It''s related to his system task.

    Even though it''s currently impossible to film this movie, it''s time to prepare the company for it.

    With the script in hand, Lin Yuan found Ol'' Zhou.

    "A new script?"

    Upon learning of Lin Yuan''s intentions, Ol'' Zhou perked up and showed a face full of anticipation:

    "Let me see!"

    Ol'' Zhou completely respected Lin Yuan''s scriptwriting abilities, so when he learned that Lin Yuan had written a new script, he took it very seriously.

    "Alright."

    After handing the script to Ol'' Zhou, Lin Yuan didn''t wait around for him to finish reading and left.

    At this point, talking too much is useless, what matters is the company''s assessment of the script. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    If the company does not prioritize this script, Lin Yuan plans to invest more money into it.

    Ol'' Zhou didn''t read it alone either.

    He immediately went to the film department, entered the conference room, and asked his assistant behind him with a serious tone:

    "Call for an emergency meeting, all mid-to-high level personnel in the film department must attend."

    "Understood."

    The assistant instantly spread the word.

    The purpose of this meeting is to let the film department set standards regarding the cost for Lin Yuan''s new film.

    Soon.

    The senior executives of Starlight Film Department gathered in the conference room. The success of "The Sound Tuner" had brought Xian Yu into the company''s spotlight, so no one dared to delay.

    "Director Zhou."

    To Ol'' Zhou''s surprise, the company''s top director, Du An, also attended, with the company''s top screenwriter, Zhang Yu, behind him.

    "Can we take a look at the script together?" Zhang Yu asked with a smile.

    "Of course, we could even ask for some advice from industry seniors like yourselves." Ol'' Zhou courteously smiled back, then instructed: "Please take a seat, we will distribute the script."

    Everyone found their seat.

    Du An and Zhang Yu also found a spot to sit down.

    Typically, Xian Yu''s new script would have nothing to do with them, but when they learned that Xian Yu had written a new one, both Du An and Zhang Yu were rather curious.

    So, they decided to come along.

    Soon, the script was distributed.

    Everyone saw the information on the script.

    Title: Life of Pi

    Genre: Drama, Adventure

    Without further ado, the conference room quieted down and everyone started reading the script.

    Generally, reading a script takes between half an hour and one hour.

    During this time, the only sound in the conference room was the flipping of pages.

    The story isn''t complex.

    At least, it''s not described as such.

    The film starts with the introduction of a family. They run a private zoo, and the protagonist is their youngest son, named Pi.

    Let''s call him Young Pi for now.

    The main plot of the script begins when this family decides to move.

    Young Pi''s father decides to sell the animals and settle elsewhere, so the family boards a ship bound for a distant place.

    However, they encountered a shipwreck.

    Except for Young Pi, everyone else perishes.

    Young Pi and a tiger drift in a lifeboat for 227 days.

    The man and the tiger form a peculiar bond, ultimately overcoming their predicament and achieving rebirth.

    If we interpret it solely in a literal sense, the plot structure isn''t complex.

    But...

    When everyone finished reading the script, the conference room descended into deathly silence.

    Meanwhile...

    Screenwriter Zhang Yu''s fingers were trembling slightly when she flipped to the script''s final few pages.

    And director Du An, after he finished reading the script, was slightly short of breath, His eyes clearly flashed with an intense desire!

    "Let''s hear your thoughts..."

    Ol'' Zhou swallowed, breaking the silence in the meeting room.

    To everyone''s surprise...

    The first person to speak was director Du An. His voice was clearly filled with urgency: "Can I direct this script?"

    After saying this, Du An gave a wry smile to Zhang Yu: "Sorry..."

    "I understand."

    Zhang Yu wasn''t angry, but instead took a deep breath: "This is one of the best scripts I''ve seen in my career!"

    "So..."

    An executive seemed slightly incredulous: "Did young Pi eat his own family?"

    Known for her thoroughness, Zhang Yu, a seasoned professional screenwriter, responded: "Based on the script''s metaphors and the conversation between Young Pi and the writer at the end, it appears so. Just like the plot in ''The Sound Tuner,'' the protagonist told a monstrous lie... The quality of this script is exceptionally high, even more impressive than I initially imagined."

    Zhang Yu seemed slightly shocked.

    Soon, the conference room turned chaotic:

    "Cannibalism?!"

    "I broke out in a cold sweat!"

    "I knew something was wrong halfway through the script. On the surface, it looks like Young Pi''s ocean drifting with a tiger, but in reality, there wasn''t a tiger at all!"

    "The script Xian Yu wrote is a little too heavy, and it''s also surprisingly difficult to film!"

    "No, it''s not heavy at all."

    Suppressing the excitement in his voice, Du An said: "The script can be presented in the most elegant way. The so-called ''heavy'' element is just a thought left to audiences after they finish watching the film. For directors, this is a huge challenge! Director Zhou..."

    Once again, Du An turned to look at Ol'' Zhou. After seeing this script, a voice echoed within his heart:

    I want to shoot this! This script, I must shoot it!

    Ol'' Zhou didn''t agree immediately: "We''ll have to see what Xian Yu thinks. Director Du should know that Xian Yu adopts a screenwriter-centric approach for his crew..."

    Du An''s eyebrows furrowed at once, filled with distress and conflict.

    On one hand, he was eager and excited at the sight of the script. On the other, he was persistent in upholding the principle of director-centricity in filmmaking.

    "Let''s not talk about this for now, there shouldn''t be any problems with the quality of the script, right?" Ol'' Zhou said.

    "None!"

    "This script is even better than ''The Sound Tuner''!"

    "The only issue might be the difficulty in controlling the cost."

    "The expectations for special effects are too high."

    "Immersive filming techniques will definitely have to be used."

    "..."

    There are no issues with approving the script.

    Having nodded, Ol'' Zhou said: "I''ll send the script for review later, then we''ll tackle the budgeting and pre-production preparation. Casting would be challenging too, but we''re likely to be quite busy. As for the final choice of director, we''ll consider it later since we won''t be starting on this film anytime this year..."

    As he said this, Ol'' Zhou glanced at Du An again.

    Du An was still in conflict.

    He didn''t want to give up his leadership position in the film crew but was also eager to film this script. Yet Xian Yu was firmly screenwriter-centric.

    However, what''s certain is that the preparations for "Life of Pi" are about to begin.

 Chapter 332 - 311 Playing with Narrative Trickerys Heart_1

    Lin Yuan received a reply from Ol'' Zhou very quickly.

    The film division of the company places great importance on "Life of Pi", and the follow-up preparations can start any day now.

    Considering the film won''t begin shooting this year, Lin Yuan left everything in the company''s hands.

    With the support of the film division, there wouldn''t be a shortage of professionals to take care of the preliminary preparations.

    Having temporarily set this burden aside, Lin Yuan indulged in the luxury of attending classes for a few days¡ª

    Lin Yuan rarely attends school these days.

    Under the guidance of Yang Zhongming''s character card, Lin Yuan''s composition skills improved drastically, and the school could no longer teach him anything.

    Obviously, the school was aware of this.

    Who could teach Xian Yu to compose music?

    Even a professor of music composition would be of no use.

    So, they always approved Lin Yuan''s leave of absence fully and without question.

    Obviously, both parties had different interpretations of whether "Xian Yu needs to continue classes". Fortunately, the result was the same.

    In his spare time from classes,

    Lin Yuan also draws comic strips, treating it as a small diversion in life.

    Here''s the thing.

    As "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma" continues to be serialized, the manga has entered its later stages.

    Because the original work was poorly received, the system made significant adjustments to the latter part of "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma".

    The storyline quickly progressed to the protagonist becoming the new member of Totsuki Elite Ten and started to challenge the previous members to cooking duels.

    That is, Shokugeki.

    It won''t be long before this manga officially ends, by which time Lin Yuan will need to consider what his next manga will be about.

    After spending days leisurely, Jin Mu gave Lin Yuan a heads up:

    "We made a commitment with the blog to submit a draft, it''d be best if we can submit it this month. If you don''t have any inspiration, we can delay it."

    Only then did Lin Yuan recall that he had indeed agreed to submit a draft to the blog.

    "They''ve been hurrying me..."

    Jin Mu shrugged, as Lin Yuan''s agent, he had been enduring the hassle of deadline pressures that he shouldn''t be facing.

    Lin Yuan said: "I''ll submit the draft by the end of the month."

    He had already exhausted his supply of short stories, and needed to order new ones from the system, he could use this time to consider what he wanted to create for the next short story.

    "Sure."

    While Jin Mu responded, internally he was astounded by his boss''s creativity, though this amazement was gradually numbing due to its frequent occurrences.

    No matter what the genre or the story was, it seemed that nothing could stump his boss¡ª

    Probably the only flaw he noticed in his boss was his handwriting?

    "By the way."

    It seemed as if Jin Mu thought of something. He laughed and said, "These days, there has been a lot of discussion online about some mystery authors imitating ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'' by using the Narrative Trickery method."

    "I think I saw it."

    Lin Yuan indeed saw it, through the comments section of the Tribe.

    These days he was quite relaxed, so he occasionally logged into Chu Kuang''s account, and as a result, saw a lot of complaints in the comments.

    They said he started a trend of tricking readers, and now more and more mystery writers were using Narrative Trickery to fool readers, and so on.

    Of course, it wasn''t reader''s complaints, just playful teasing.

    The only one who was actually complaining was a mystery writer called Leng Guang.

    Basically, each time a new work of Narrative Trickery appear in the mystery realm, he would make some sarcastic comments, living up to his reputation for criticism.

    "A pathetic imitation of Chu Kuang."

    "You''ve barely scratched the surface of Chu Kuang''s Narrative Trickery."

    "Narrative Trickery for the sake of Narrative Trickery. Soulless trend following."

    "You need to understand the concept of narrational deception before you try to pay tribute to Chu Kuang."

    "..."

    Interestingly, while Leng Guang criticized these imitation works, he indirectly admitted the value of "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd".

    Internet users mocked him for this: "Didn''t you say ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'' was not good?" sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Leng Guang didn''t mind, but he was a bit angry, and even posted an article explaining:

    "Don''t misinterpret my words. Although I indeed don''t like Narrative Trickery, I didn''t completely deny ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd''. The Narrative Trickery in the novel is indeed cunning, but at least the case setup and logical consistency are fine. If it weren''t for the Narrative Trickery format at the end, this would be a pretty good mystery novel as well."

    Yes, if not for the tricky ending, Leng Guang would have appreciated "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd".

    In contrast, some of the Narrative Trickery imitation works on the market are simply tricking readers for the sake of it. The plot twists at the end can''t hold a candle to Chu Kuang''s "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd".

    So, Leng Guang started to vent his frustration.

    This is the problem of Narrative Trickery. The first time readers encounter Narrative Trickery, they tend to be shocked to the utmost degree. But after getting accustomed to it, the reactions are just standard¡ª

    Wait a minute.

    Lin Yuan''s gaze wavered, suddenly having a new idea for a short story, thanks to someone following the "Narrative Trickery" structure and inspiring him.

    Why not continue to write about Narrative Trickery?

    In the future, there will inevitably be more Narrative Trickery novels on the market, with ones even surpassing "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" in narrative trickery!

    Of course, in terms of originality, "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" is unbeatable.

    But with the development of Narrative Trickery, the stories are destined to become more intricate.

    So, why couldn''t he, after pioneering the method of Narrative Trickery, further promote this writing technique?

    Wouldn''t it give imitators more to reference?

    Admittedly, the idea was compelling.

    Everyone has a streak of wicked humor.

    Occasionally, Lin Yuan did as well.

    Since Biyao''s death, many readers had been calling him "Chu Kuang the old rascal".

    If he didn''t do some things that a rascal would do, wouldn''t he be letting down the readers'' "compliments"?

    Thinking this, Lin Yuan took a trip to the restroom.

    Five minutes later.

    Lin Yuan returned to the studio and asked, "Uncle Jin, after finishing ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd,'' if you were to read another similar novel, could you guess the answer?".

    "I can see through Narrative Trickery."

    Jin Mu was confident, and then conservatively added, "More often than not."

    He was a seasoned mystery fan, already adept at guessing the murderer.

    And with this model of Narrative Trickery, if you''ve never encountered it before, you can certainly be misled. But once you''re prepared, it''s a different story.

    "Alright, then take a look at this conversation."

    Lin Yuan wrote down a conversation on a notepad and even drew a comic.

    In the simple comic.

    An old man asked a young man, "Why did you sleep with her?"

    The young man helplessly replied, "She was lying there naked, what was I supposed to do?"

    The old man was furious, "You should have been performing an autopsy! An autopsy!"

    Jin Mu''s lips twitched slightly when he saw this.

    He kept reading.

    The young man smashed a chair, "You don''t need to teach me how to do my job!"

    The old man angrily stood up, "You''re the worst veterinarian I''ve ever met!"

    Jin Mu: "..."

    He felt as if his whole worldview was about to shatter.

    This short conversation, with its continuous twists and wild displays, made him strain his back, making him somewhat doubtful of his previous assertion that he could "see through Narrative Trickery".

    What the heck is this?

    Was everyone''s hearts who played with Narrative Trickery this dirty?

    No wonder he was... the innovator of Narrative Trickery!

    Lin Yuan said, "That was just a warm-up. Just giving you a small hint, I''ve decided to write a new short story about Narrative Trickery, to challenge all readers who think they can see through it."

    Yep.

    A few minutes ago, when Lin Yuan went to the bathroom, he wasn''t just relieving himself.

    His kidneys are quite fine.

    He was just customizing a short story with the system.

    The name of that short story is: "The Fall of Dondon Bridge".

    As for that comic story just now, it was just a warm-up.

    Don''t underestimate this worn-out joke.

    This joke actually contains one of the very core essences of Narrative Trickery:

    Psychological hinting.

    Which brings us to a simple explanation of an issue.

    What kind of Narrative Trickery is good Narrative Trickery?

    The first important criteria for judging the quality of a Narrative Trickery work is to decide whether the trickery was simply trickery for the sake of trickery, or if it was a grand scheme formed through a series of psychological hints and habitual misdirection.

    This scheme is not only meant to deceive readers, but also to serve the novel''s script, enrich or reverse the character''s portrayal, deepen the thoughtfulness of the novel. This is real Narrative Trickery:

    A spiderweb-like scheme, carefully constructed with each step.

    And similar short stories can give readers a more intuitive understanding of what real Narrative Trickery is!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Same rule as always, only four thousand words today, at least eight thousand tomorrow for an update.

 Chapter 333 - 312 Readers Want to Duel with Chu Kuang_1

    "What''s narrative trickery?"

    Luo Wei, who just completed today''s task for "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma," seemingly caught parts of the conversation between Lin Yuan and Jin Mu.

    She paused for a moment, then realized, "You were discussing Chu Kuang''s detective novels?"

    For some reasons, Luo Wei has been paying a lot of attention to Chu Kuang.

    Even if she doesn''t read detective novels, she knew that Chu Kuang had recently created a new type of mystery called "narrative trickery".

    "Yes."

    Jin Mu glanced at Lin Yuan with a smile. Discussing Chu Kuang under Luo Wei''s nose all the time was bound to get him into trouble with the boss sooner or later.

    Luo Wei curiously asked, "I don''t quite get it, what does narrative trickery mean?" Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan subconsciously wanted to show Luo Wei the comic he had just seen, but Jin Mu stopped him. The comic was a bit inappropriate.

    Understanding the situation, Lin Yuan wrote a new dialogue on a piece of paper and handed it to Luo Wei.

    Luo Wei read what Lin Yuan wrote:

    [Little Bright, time to get up for school!]

    [Mom, I don''t want to go to school anymore, never ever... ]

    [Why?]

    [I don''t want to attend classes anymore!]

    [But you''re a teacher!]

    Luo Wei chuckled, "Little Bright is actually a teacher. Isn''t this just a text game? Like a brain teaser. I love brain teasers¡­"

    "Almost."

    Lin Yuan nodded. This is also the reason why orthodox mystery enthusiasts naturally resist narrative trickery. For this reason, Lin Yuan could fully understand why Leng Guang, a mystery writer online, resists narrative trickery so much.

    The essence of this situation is just like Li Dan resisting puns.

    "Is there more? It''s quite interesting."

    Luo Wei seemed to be interested in this so-called narrative trickery.

    She represents another group¡ªthat is, the readers who enjoy the twists and turns brought by narrative trickery.

    "Yes."

    Lin Yuan casually wrote another conversation.

    He had just thought of it when he went to the bathroom.

    [When I was young, my father always told me to shake after peeing. So every time after peeing, I would shake before leaving the toilet. I didn''t realize until later that only I shake after peeing, other girls use paper.]

    Luo Wei giggled, then her face hardened, and she gave a light cough.

    Did she just reveal something?

    She hastily said, "It''s time to leave work, I''m off."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Jin Mu raised his eyebrows, "So, is the boss''s new novel in this vein?"

    Lin Yuan replied, "Yeah."

    Jin Mu said in a melancholy tone, "Readers are going to send you blades."

    Just reading these jokes made him feel like he was being tricked. What if they were expanded into a short detective story?

    "Well, I am an old rascal." Lin Yuan said indifferently.

    Jin Mu chuckled. He rarely saw Lin Yuan showing such a mischievous side. He made it clear that he wanted to mess with the readers, and he even wrote several vulgar mini-stories about narrative trickery.

    But it didn''t seem so bad.

    Because as Lin Yuan''s agent, he sometimes felt that Lin Yuan was too rigid.

    It was when he played mischiefs like this, he appeared to be a young man.

    Thinking of this, Jin Mu stood up and said, "Then I''ll contact the blog first and register a blog account, and release the news while I''m at it."

    ...

    Releasing the news is a form of pre-publicity.

    Ordinary authors don''t get this kind of privilege; There is always a review process, but the blog started a grand publicity as soon as they trust Chu Kuang''s capability, even before they got the story.

    "Chu Kuang''s new short story is coming!"

    To make the announcement more explosive, the blog emphasized:

    "This will be Chu Kuang''s first attempt at a short detective story."

    When Lin Yuan saw the announcement, he hesitated just a little, and then refrained from making any corrections¡ª

    The "Dondon Bridge Collapse" he had customized with the system was quite long in length, close to the word count of a medium-length story.

    However, short, medium, and long-length stories have no strict word count boundaries, so sometimes the definitions can be quite blurred.

    I would also like to mention this.

    The customization of "Dondon Bridge Collapse" only cost Lin Yuan a hundred thousand yuan.

    The meaning of the system was to give a discount.

    But Lin Yuan felt that the system was worried that readers would want to break his leg after reading "Dondon Bridge Collapse".

    The result.

    Particularly, just one day before the blog released the news, the Tribe''s side exploded with activity!

    "Chu Kuang''s new short story is going to be published on the blog?!"

    "The blog is secretly poaching?!"

    "Is Chu Kuang dissatisfied with our Tribe?"

    "He actually betrayed the Tribe!"

    "Saying he betrayed us might be too harsh. There was no contractual restriction in the first place. It''s Chu Kuang''s freedom to choose which platform he wants. The blog must have offered some incentives to get Chu Kuang. But it still feels frustrating..."

    "..."

    The Tribe''s editors were frustrated.

    Han Jimei, the chief editor of the Tribe Literature, was also frustrated.

    She didn''t expect the blog to be so adaptable.

    Chu Kuang had helped the Tribe to beat the blog more than once.

    But in return, the blog not only held no grudges but instead invited Chu Kuang over with an open heart!

    This just goes to show that there''s no fool in capital.

    The blog understood this too. If they treated Chu Kuang as an enemy, they would be pushing Chu Kuang further towards the Tribe.

    Looks like, in the future, they have to put more effort into getting closer to Chu Kuang.

    Compared to the frustration of the Tribe.

    The readers didn''t care where Chu Kuang''s new work was published.

    As long as Chu Kuang was willing to release new work, that was enough.

    Therefore.

    As soon as Blog''s promotion came out, it attracted many of Chu Kuang''s readers.

    This includes some readers who liked Chu Kuang because of "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd".

    "It''s rare that Chu Kuang, the old rascal, is willing to keep writing detective stories."

    "Normally, the old rascal rarely repeats the same genre."

    "Mystery lovers send their congratulations!"

    "A pity that it''s a short story this time."

    "Short detective stories are also fine. As long as it''s a mystery, that''s enough!"

    "If Chu Kuang, the old rascal, keeps writing narrative trickery, I''m sure I can predict the murderer first and slap him in the face!"

    "Once you have seen narrative trickery, you can figure out the author''s tricks."

    "I beg Chu Kuang to keep writing narrative trickery. I will wash away the shame of being deceived by ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd''!"

    "Come on, old rascal, as a reader, it''s time for me to have a detective duel with you!"

    "..."

    With the appearance of some new pieces of narrative trickery online, readers are now very confident. They believe they have figured out the patterns of narrative trickery completely.

    For this reason, the readers were all calling for Chu Kuang to continue writing narrative trickery-style mysteries. They were even more certain that they could predict the murderer in advance.

    That''s right.

    They all want to slap Chu Kuang in the face!

    But isn''t it a coincidence? Chu Kuang''s new work is indeed a narrative trickery-style mystery.

    However, the official news didn''t reveal this. Whether it was narrative trickery or not, the readers had to see for themselves.

    Everything moved quickly on Lin Yuan''s side.

    Three days rest, he had adjusted the background of "Dondon Bridge Collapse," made some humorous settings, and published it on the blog.

    That day was May 1st.

 Chapter 334 - 313 Mr. Leng Guang is a Monkey_1

    The mindset of the readers is a bit like watching a magic show during the Spring Festival...

    The first time you see a magic trick, you''re astonished. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Once you understand the trick behind it, you can''t help but feel a bit underwhelmed, despite the initial shock.

    They think they''ve completely figured it out.

    If Chu Kuang were to write a similar novel (perform a similar magic trick), they''re confident they could uncover the killer (reveal the trick)!

    It''s not just the readers who think this way.

    Leng Guang, a well-known online critic who''s publicly slammed narrative trickery in whodunit novels for being too cheeky, holds the same view!

    "I will prove that so-called narrative trickery is nothing but a gimmick!"

    With this belief in mind, Leng Guang clicked on Chu Kuang''s newly released detective short story the moment it was published.

    "During the upcoming Spring Festival, while I''m worrying about various things, an unexpected guest arrives at my house. He''s a young man who seems familiar, but I couldn''t remember where I''ve met him before. He calls himself C-jun."

    Like "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd".

    This novel is also written in the first person "I".

    The "I" character is named Chu Kuang, a well-known writer who has written a number of detective stories.

    "Made himself the protagonist?"

    Leng Guang raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

    He doesn''t know that the world-renowned detective novelist Queen names all his protagonists "Queen".

    One day.

    A young author writes a detective novel, finds Chu Kuang, and challenges him:

    "Can you guess the killer before the answer is revealed?"

    Leng Guang raised his eyebrows again.

    The straightforward style, detective writer Chu Kuang interpreting a detective novel.

    It''s like a play within a play.

    In this case, the killer couldn''t possibly be "me" because "I" am just a spectator outside of the mystery.

    Thinking about it, even if Chu Kuang continued to write detective novels, he couldn''t possibly stick with the setup that "I" am the culprit.

    Let''s continue reading.

    The case described in the detective novel is not complex.

    In the story, there are three groups of people.

    They are the Leng Guang clan living in Dondon Village;

    A group of university students visiting the village, among which one student is named Chu Kuang;

    The last group consists of Carter and his dog, Maruko.

    Leng Guang is speechless.

    What the hell is all this?

    Villagers of Dondon Village, the Leng Guang clan?

    Leng Guang?

    Using my name?

    And the university student Chu Kuang?

    Chu Kuang wrote himself into the novel?

    So Chu Kuang could still be the murderer?

    Even Carter is there.

    Many big names in the detective writing circle appear in the novel, Chu Kuang is cheekily making fun of famous authors in the circle within his narrative.

    Leng Guang wanted to complain but didn''t know where to start...

    Moreover, Leng Guang quickly dismissed the suspicion toward the character Chu Kuang in the novel.

    Because Chu Kuang is the victim.

    The description of Chu Kuang in the novel is appalling. It depicts him as a naughty boy who likes to do bad things and cause trouble, without any concept of right or wrong because of his young age.

    As a result, this naughty boy Chu Kuang was pushed off Dondon Bridge.

    If this novel wasn''t written by Chu Kuang, Leng Guang would almost suspect that the author had a grudge against "Chu Kuang". That''s some harsh character assassination.

    The only connections between the two sides of the valley are Dondon Suspension Bridge and a log bridge, without any secret passages or similar.

    At the end of the case, the author listed all the confirmed alibis.

    Everyone''s alibi is very detailed, as tidy as an incident report.

    Carter is among those with an alibi.

    "During these two and a half hours, that log bridge was in my and Maruko''s (Carter''s dog) sight. I can assert that no one crossed that bridge during that time."

    Because Carter was contemplating life beside the bridge at that time, he saw everything.

    The novel emphasizes one thing:

    All these alibis and witness statements are accurate.

    "Damn."

    After pondering for five minutes, Leng Guang suddenly slapped his thigh.

    He seemed to have misunderstood something.

    This novel, it doesn''t seem to be of the narrative trickery style?

    It seems Chu Kuang never stated that "The Fall from the Dondon Bridge" is a narrative trickery whodunit!

    Everyone just assumed that Chu Kuang''s new work would continue to follow the narrative trickery style.

    Even he himself initially thought so.

    Thinking of this, Leng Guang cracks a faint smile.

    Narrative trickery is always a deceitful path, and Chu Kuang knows he should turn back.

    In the novel, "Chu Kuang" ends up dead. Perhaps this metaphor was Chu Kuang''s subtle hint that writing using narrative trickery feels like a "sin"?

    Very well!

    This is his confession!

    Without narrative trickery, we could still be good friends.

    Next, let me figure out who the murderer is!

    Leng Guang quickly launched into the brainstorming mode of a detective fiction writer.

    I have to say, this challenge is no easy feat.

    Dondon Bridge has been partially destroyed; it can''t even hold the weight of a small schoolchild, let alone an adult.

    Also, we have Carter as a witness.

    So how was the "Chu Kuang" killed?

    Keep in mind; this novel even includes a detailed map of the crime scene, allowing readers to clearly see the specifics.

    "It''s him!"

    After about half an hour of contemplation, Leng Guang suddenly guessed the murderer.

    It''s Chu Kuang''s companion, a university student named Ah Rong.

    He''s the only one without an alibi!

    Furthermore, Leng Guang also inferred the method of the crime.

    "Did I guess correctly?"

    Leng Guang hurriedly continued reading.

    What dismayed Leng Guang was that "I" in the book also guessed the same answer.

    But the young author said that Chu Kuang was wrong!

    Not just wrong, but terribly wrong!

    Because the real murderer is Leng Guang!

    In other words, the chieftain of the Leng Guang clan!

    "How is that possible!"

    Leng Guang felt like he was thrown for a loop.

    The "I" in the book was also confused, why was it Leng Guang?

    The semi-destroyed Dondon Bridge can''t even hold a small child, how did Leng Guang get across?

    Does Leng Guang know light kung fu?

    And Carter testified that he didn''t see anyone crossing the bridge!

    Does Leng Guang not only know light kung fu, but also how to become invisible?

    Why didn''t I know that I was this amazing!?

    Leng Guang thought this was a massive loophole!

    However, the young author just lightly smiled and said: [Leng Guang is not a dwarf, nor is he a light kung fu master, let alone someone who can turn invisible. However, he could simply cross over to the other side using the one remaining cable. He did it skillfully and effortlessly.]

    How could this be?

    Leng Guang and the "I" in the book voiced out their indignation in unison.

    "Impossible¡­"

    Leng Guang was outright defiant, this didn''t make sense!

    Wait a minute.

    Logic?

    Leng Guang''s expression suddenly changed again.

    He had a bad premonition.

    He seemed to have been played!

    Right on cue, Leng Guang saw the real reason.

    This reason nearly made Leng Guang smash his computer out of frustration.

    The correct answer to this case is:

    "Because Mr. Leng Guang is, in fact, an ape. The so-called Leng Guang clan is a group of apes living in Dondon Village."

    Narrative Trickery!

    Disgusting!

    Pervert!

    At this moment, Leng Guang just cussed out loud!

    He wasn''t blaming Chu Kuang for making him an ape, if anecdotes could carry ill intentions, Chu Kuang has directed a greater deal of it towards himself. He wrote himself as unflattering, even killed himself off in the book!

    Compared to Chu Kuang''s self-mockery, his own depiction wasn''t too bad.

    Leng Guang was cursing at the narrative trickery!

    He''d been tricked!

    He thought Chu Kuang wasn''t using the narrative trickery this time, but it turned out that this novel was still deploying it, and it was ten thousand times worse than "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd"!

    It was a downright insult to his intelligence!

    .

    .

 Chapter 335 - 314: I Want to Duel with You_1

    Leng Guang was losing it; through the computer screen, he seemed to feel intense malice coming from Chu Kuang!

    To come up with the answer, Leng Guang broad were racked for half an hour!

    And yet, after all that thinking, a line in the novel goes-

    "Leng Guang is a curly-haired baboon"?

    In Leng Guang''s mind, apes and curly-haired baboons are all part of the same species.

    That''s precisely what makes Narrative Trickery despicable!

    As the reader, you can curse the author all you want, but you can''t deny that the author''s explanation is impeccable!

    Carter''s testimony goes:

    No one was seen crossing the lone wooden bridge.

    Indeed, no person had crossed the lone wooden bridge.

    Leng Guang is an ape, a curly-haired baboon, he is not a person!

    And as an ape, Leng Guang can easily reach the other side using a rope.

    This is plausible, reasonable, and logical.

    So cheap!

    No wonder people call Chu Kuang an old rascal!

    He really is an old rascal, and he emphasizes it shamelessly!

    Moreover, even if Leng Guang wants to forcefully poke holes in the argument, the text provides explanations for everything:

    "There is not a single line in the text that refers to the ape as a person, so there is no deception of the reader."

    "In addition, there are several hints in the book. Old Leng is seen gnawing on rice grains while naked children play around; these are all indications that they are apes, right?"

    "The Leng clan regards outsiders as fierce beasts. Why? It hints at their relationship with humans, which is a human-animal relationship."

    "..."

    Damn Narrative Trickery!

    It is flawless!

    This ending is too simple; it forms a huge pitfall, making any logical deductions pointless!

    Leng Guang''s frustration was growing.

    But Leng Guang is certainly not a person.

    He is a curly-haired baboon...

    Coughs, just a joke.

    Leng Guang is indeed not alone, as countless readers who have just finished reading "The Fall of the Dondon Bridge" in front of their computers were also going crazy!

    "Chu Kuang, the old rascal, has a knack for disgusting his readers!"

    "Whoa, Mr. Leng Guang is a monkey, God knows how bewildered I was when I read that line!"

    "Narrative Trickery is just fooling the reader! I initially disagreed, but now I agree!"

    "Chu Kuang is a serious mind game player!"

    "What the hell, does this even qualify as detective fiction?"

    "Leng Guang: I feel offended."

    "Isn''t Chu Kuang being a bit too harsh on Leng Guang? All Leng Guang did was criticize Narrative Trickery a bit."

    "What''s ''too harsh''? Did he describe himself as harshly as that? He''s literally written himself to death in the book, making readers feel that he deserved it!"

    "All right, I admit, I lost; Chu Kuang, this little rascal, really knows how to play!""

    "When I started reading the latter half, I thought it was a serious detective novel and was earnestly guessing the answer. But then Chu Kuang pulls a fast one and gives us a brainteaser, completely twisting my old waist."

    "Unique and endlessly enjoyable."

    "Believe me, from this novel onwards, readers who love traditional detective fiction will probably label Chu Kuang as the heresy of the detective genre."

    "All right, so it''s Chu Kuang who is the real master of Narrative Trickery!"

    "..."

    A fact that the readers don''t want to admit but have to accept.

    Despite being Narrative Trickery, the murderer is harder to guess than in "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd"!

    Some people managed to figure out the former, while the latter wiped out all the readers!

    Not long ago, numerous readers were still boasting in the comments that no matter how Chu Kuang utilized Narrative Trickery, they could guess the answer...

    But indeed, some readers just couldn''t hold themselves back, finding "The Fall of the Dondon Bridge" very boring, and cursed just like Leng Guang did.

    At least for today, there were many people who empathized with Leng Guang.

    The previous "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" was just controversial.

    This time, "The Fall of the Dondon Bridge" led to utter polarization!

    Some people saw this as Chu Kuang''s "cute work," a game playing on the blind spot of fast-paced brain tests with the readers.

    Others thought that the novel was pure boredom, treating detective fiction like child''s play.

    ...

    Being a notorious critic in the detective genre, Leng Guang wasn''t someone who could be fooled by Chu Kuang and just laugh it off.

    As mentioned before.

    He may not mind being a curly-haired baboon, but he couldn''t accept this completely entertaining form of detective fiction! S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    That''s why he lost his temper, and directly issued a long post on the Tribe platform:

    "I tolerated ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd,'' where the murderer is the first-person narrative, but what the hell is this about an ape committing a crime? Is this some kind of ghostly narrative?"

    "Incredible, an unacceptable form!"

    "This is blasphemy against detective fiction. The arrangement of the case was already quite sophisticated; why result in such an entertaining solution?"

    "This is a waste of talent and skills!"

    "Even genius writers don''t need to be this whimsical! If you truly understand detective fiction, please treat it seriously!"

    "I, Leng Guang, hereby formally challenge you to a Literary Duel on detective fiction!"

    "..."

    Leng Guang was truly pissed, he actually wanted to engage in a Literary Duel with Chu Kuang!

    A Literary Duel is a tradition in Yan Continent''s literary circles.

    Just as there is sparring in martial arts literature.

    That would be a martial arts duel.

    If there are martial arts duels, then there are Literary Duels.

    And the literary world just happens to have such a thing as a "Literary Duel".

    Especially in the literary circles of Blue Star''s Yan Continent, writers of the same genre often engage in Literary Duels.

    The Yan People admire this form of literary competition.

    The idea that literature has no first and martial arts has no second is complete nonsense in the Yan People''s concept.

    If literary folks despise each other, then they must compete for supremacy!

    This is why the Yan People appreciate the Literary Duel.

    The form of the Literary Duel is also pretty simple, even somewhat childish; two authors release works of the same genre during the same period and let the public judge their superiority.

    Such a form of Literary Duel also has a certain influence on Blue Star.

    However, outside of Yan Continent, other regions aren''t particularly fond of these literary jousts unless the two writers genuinely dislike each other and would initiate a Literary Duel.

    Leng Guang is no Yan person, so he isn''t keen on the tradition of the Literary Duel.

    This time, Chu Kuang REALLY got under his skin, compelling him to challenge Chu Kuang to a duel!

    It''s not just about the polarization of the controversy anymore.

    Previously, Leng Guang was just a critic, and he hadn''t reached the point where he would duel against someone. But now, he''s actually challenging Chu Kuang to a duel...

    The literary circles were shocked, and the detective fiction lovers were a bit scared too!

    Then, they all started cheering.

    "Is he pissed now?"

    "Hahaha, will Chu Kuang accept the challenge?"

    "If Chu Kuang accepts, it will be interesting!"

    "Literary Duels are a tradition in Yan Continent; their authors challenge anyone they''re at odds with. Very few authors in other regions of Blue Star engage in Literary Duels. This must be Ol'' Leng''s first time doing this."

    "Leng Guang is truly the pioneer of the anti-unreliable narrator!"

    "Actually, I think Leng Guang is overreacting a bit. Don''t forget that the author Chu Kuang in the book also scolded Narrative Trickery."

    "I support Leng Guang!"

    "Hey, don''t even mention Leng Guang, I''m a diehard fan of the old rascal Chu Kuang, and now I too want to punch this old rascal in the chest!"

    "Support the duel!"

    "..."

    It must be said.

    Quite a few people support Leng Guang.

    With Leng Guang issuing a challenge for a Literary Duel, everyone couldn''t hold back their curiosity; will Chu Kuang accept the challenge?

 Chapter 336 - 315: Forced Operation_1

    Leng Guang seemed to have lost control.

    Whether Chu Kuang would take up the combat or not was besides the point.

    The performance data of this short story was still quite impressive. Although many readers had showered the story with curses in their reviews, the voting results for the short story showed many people were criticizing outwardly but appreciative inwardly¡ª

    An excellent first place!

    The blog post of "The Fall of Dondon Bridge" occupied the first position for this month''s new short stories on the blog. The data on the hot list was much higher than the second one, proving the story was quite readable.

    Again.

    The cleverness of the Narrative Trickery was evident in the reader''s ambivalent feeling - being tricked but enjoying the farce at the same time. How would one describe it? Perhaps like the process of squeezing pimples in one''s teenage years?

    Painful yet satisfying.

    Obviously, for a long time in the future, "The Fall of Dondon Bridge" would be Chu Kuang''s most controversial work. However, this incident helped Lin Yuan understand a simple truth: what was the method to deal with a controversy about one''s work?

    The answer was quite simple.

    Write something even more controversial!

    However, Lin Yuan admitted that "The Fall of Dondon Bridge" was not serious enough and was more like a joke on the readers. It was totally unexpected that this joke would provoke Leng Guang.

    In reality.

    When adapting the story, Lin Yuan had purposefully involved Leng Guang as part of a joke, just as the original story had ensnared renowned figures from the mystery genre. Since the apes of this world did not know who Agatha Christie and Edgar Allan Poe were, Lin Yuan had named them after Blue Star''s mystery authors.

    As for Chu Kuang dying in the story.

    This was an adjustment in line with the original story. The author of the original story had also written himself as dead. Therefore, nobody needed to think that "The Fall of Dondon Bridge" was a representation of Narrative Trickery.

    Want to refresh your eyes?

    Turn left next door to "Malice."

    Even many senior mystery enthusiasts, who weren''t enthusiastic about Higashino Keigo, commented that "Malice" was a very excellent work, and even one of Higashino Keigo''s top five personal masterpieces.

    "At least I got first place."

    Lin Yuan was very satisfied with the result, so he decided to ignore Leng Guang''s duel invitation. Let things like Literary Duel go with the wind, as a challenged person had the right to refuse according to another rule of Literary Duel.

    "You can actually accept it."

    Jin Mu said with a smile, "The reason why Literary Duel is popular in Yan Continent is that this form is eye-catching enough. Many young writers often challenge their senior authors in the form of a Literary Duel. Under public scrutiny, if they win, they will become famous overnight.

    However, if the challenger and the challenged are in unequal positions, the seniors generally will not accept the duel. But Leng Guang is not a junior. Whether in mystery or in the entire field of novels, he is considered a senior. Beating him will greatly benefit you."

    "What if I lose?"

    Lin Yuan always believed in the word "stability."

    Jin Mu smiled slightly. He did not think his boss would lose. Chu Kuang had always been victorious along the way, and Jin Mu was the only person who knew about the boss''s three pseudonyms. Such a genius seemed invincible.

    ...

    Lin Yuan thought he was safe by not accepting the fight.

    After all, he had already won the first place, and the prize money was surely in his pocket.

    However, what Lin Yuan didn''t expect was that after a few days, as more and more readers finished reading "The Fall of Dondon Bridge", a dramatic scene unfolded!

    He was surpassed by the runner-up!

    Upon discovering this, Lin Yuan was dumbfounded, "What''s going on?"

    Jin Mu was also keeping an eye on this issue.

    The reason was apparent without any investigation.

    He said with a bitter smile on his face, "Isn''t it because of the disputes about the content of the story. Because some people think that the setting of the murderer in "The Fall of Dondon Bridge" is too childish, so now many mystery enthusiasts who don''t like this story are giving revenge votes for the second-place story."

    Lin Yuan:"..."

    Is there such an operation?

    In the past, it was he who always overtook others. This was the first time he was overtaken by someone else.

    In fact, the runner-up author was also bewildered.

    Originally, "The Fall of Dondon Bridge" was far ahead in first place, and there was no doubt that Chu Kuang would win the championship.

    But out of nowhere, a bunch of people started to vote for him! Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    It wasn''t because they liked his story, but because they wanted to boost the votes of his story to pull down "The Fall of Dondon Bridge"!

    "Am I being used? This is an insult to me - ha ha, no way. What''s wrong with being used?"

    The second-place author had no intention of stopping readers from voting for him.

    Didn''t the prize for first place taste good?

    Plus, luck was also a kind of strength!

    Chu Kuang infuriated the public, and he just happened to benefit from it.

    An additional reason was that the second-place author was quite upset after reading "The Fall of Dondon Bridge".

    What to do if you''re upset?

    Obviously, pull him off the horse!

    There is no more relieving way than this!

    These people were relieved.

    But Lin Yuan began to get angry.

    "I was tricked by the system. No good comes cheaply."

    No wonder the system told Lin Yuan to discount "The Fall of Dondon Bridge."

    In the end, the readers did not break Lin Yuan''s legs, but if he didn''t win the first prize, it would be worse than breaking his legs.

    At least they could be set properly again, right?

    Apparently, being an old rascal was not easy.

    "I need to fix this." Lin Yuan didn''t want to give up like that.

    Jin Mu''s eyes flickered, "Actually, there is a way to remedy."

    Lin Yuan looked forward, "How?"

    Jin Mu laughed, "After all, it''s because people think the Narrative Trickery is too cunning. Since some people feel your detective story is not reliable, or even feel that you only know this Narrative Trickery mode, the boss can completely write a reliable detective story, the reason is ready-made¡ª didn''t Teacher Leng Guang issue a duel invitation?"

    Round and round, it went back to the topic of the Literary Duel.

    It seemed that this duel was unavoidable.

    Why can''t these people see the deep meaning of "The Fall of Dondon Bridge"?

    What a profound work.

    Lin Yuan was helpless, exasperatedly took out his phone, and logged into his Tribe account.

    This wave.

    This wave was forced.

    Then Lin Yuan directly mentioned Leng Guang, fiercely uttering four words as if he were challenging someone to a fight:

    "Time, place!"

    This time, Lin Yuan did not plan to play with Narrative Trickery anymore. He decided to use Leng Guang''s most admired traditional mystery, to fight a tough battle!

    "..."

    Jin Mu took out his phone, looked at Lin Yuan''s status update, and said languidly, "What did you do?"

    "A Literary Duel."

    Lin Yuan was bewildered, wasn''t it you who made me accept the fight?

    Jin Mu held his forehead, "I understand all of that, but why did you challenge him with Xian Yu''s account..."

    Lin Yuan quickly took out his phone and looked at it.

    Indeed, he was using Xian Yu''s account to mention Leng Guang.

    Lin Yuan was petrified on the spot.

    He had made another blunder.

 Chapter 337 - 316: Literary Duel (Extra Episode from Little Dio who loves to read books)

    This was not the first time Lin Yuan had made such a blunder, he had messed up before with the couplets affair.

    After that incident, Lin Yuan had become very careful.

    One could not be too careless, one slip and it''s like dropping the ball.

    Why did he slip up again this time?

    The main reason revolves around Lin Yuan getting ahead of himself. Just thinking about his "The Fall of Dondon Bridge" forcibly ranked second by readers of the anti-unreliable narrator makes his heart fill with resentment.

    As a result, when he logged into the tribe, he forgot to even check if the account was correct and started furiously challenging others.

    "It''s over."

    So thought Lin Yuan.

    Jin Mu, however, had already taken up his phone and started scrolling through the comments on Xian Yu''s tribe page, he couldn''t help but start laughing.

    "Why are you laughing?" Lin Yuan asked, displeased.

    "Read for yourself, boss," Jin Mu said, laughing even louder.

    Lin Yuan was taken aback, then he understood what Jin Mu found so hilarious.

    Because he logged into the wrong account and posted the wrong status, but in the eyes of netizens, there was absolutely no incongruity!

    "Hahaha, Leng Guang pissed off Xian Yu even before pissing off Chu Kuang!"

    "Public knowledge: if you don''t give face to Chu Kuang, it means you don''t give face to Xian Yu."

    "Is Xian Yu going to replace Chu Kuang in the duel with Leng Guang?"

    "It seems Xian Yu has a lot of confidence in his detective abilities."

    "Xian Yu: No one can bully Chu Kuang on my watch!"

    "Teacher Leng Guang must be dumbstruck, what does a composer have to do with all this fuss?"

    "Remembering the couplets incident, I''m tearing up, Xian Yu is really standing up for Chu Kuang!"

    "Chu Kuang also defends Xian Yu intensely."

    "Overbearing CEO''s little sweet wife?"

    "Sure, I can really picture that."

    "..."

    Lin Yuan was rather taken aback.

    Who would have thought that his account mix-up, in the eyes of netizens, was merely another display and testament of their friendship?

    The relationship between Chu Kuang and Xian Yu has deep roots in people''s hearts, no one even thought about the possibility that someone had made a blunder.

    Even Lin Yuan would think there were no discrepancies in this scenario just from looking at the comments.

    What a beautiful misunderstanding this has turned out to be.

    Only that Leng Guang was somewhat puzzled after being mentioned.

    Who is Xian Yu?

    Forgive Leng Guang for being an extreme lover of detective stories, his world is filled with detective stories, but they must be traditional detective stories.

    It''s what he''s most passionate about.

    He can''t even name a few popular stars.

    Luckily, his fans in the comments section explained to him the relationship between Xian Yu and Chu Kuang.

    "Good friends, huh?"

    Leng Guang squinted his eyes, mentioned Xian Yu back and politely wrote: "So you mean, Chu Kuang is taking up the challenge?"

    It couldn''t be a case of offering to take a spear for him, could it?

    Lin Yuan didn''t dare to reply using Xian Yu''s account this time, but switched to Chu Kuang''s account, mentioned Leng Guang, replying with three words:

    "I accept."

    Leng Guang became serious: "In the next detective work piece, we will see who is the superior one!"

    He wanted to defend the glory of traditional detective stories!

    Narrative Trickery was blasphemy!

    What Leng Guang absolutely could not have imagined was that Lin Yuan did not plan to continue writing a narrative trickery style detective story in his next work.

    The experience with "The Fall of Dondon Bridge" made Lin Yuan realize that sometimes overdoing it is not a good thing.

    At a time when the narrative trickery is not fully developing, writing such novel might be a bit presumptuous ideologically.

    ...

    With Chu Kuang''s response, the comments section became lively again, of course, it was inevitable there would be some teasing about Xian Yu:

    "Seems like he was forced to agree?"

    "Chu Kuang: There''s no helping it, Xian Yu already accepted in advance, I can''t let my brother lose face."

    "I suspect that Xian Yu must have agreed to it first, forcing Chu Kuang to comply. Otherwise, why didn''t Chu Kuang respond directly, but instead waited for Xian Yu to speak up?"

    "I smell some gay bromance."

    "I suggest that we get another one like ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd''!"

    The change in tone comes just in time.

    Compared to pinky jokes, a Literary Duel is definitely more exciting.

    Yan Continent has got some tricks up its sleeve, knowing what the masses want, hence the format of the Literary Duel.

    Some people believe that there should be more Literary Duels!

    They''re exciting enough!

    Some Internet users are eagerly waiting for Yan Continent to join the merger, so that the format of the Literary Duel will become popular.

    After all, the literati from Yan Continent possess an inherent "warrior gene"!

    "The ending of ''The Heiress Falling From Dondon Bridge'' is just too tricky. It''s not like the previous narrative trickery, which was full of subversions!"

    "Yes, narrative trickery can be a word play, but ultimately, it should be based on reasoning."

    "Let the narrative trickery come more violently! No more narrative ghosts!"

    "..."

    According to these netizens, ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'' represents narrative trickery.

    And ''The Heiress Falling From Dondon Bridge'' can only be termed as narrative ghost.

    Things are really heating up now.

    The whole world of detective fiction is watching closely!

    "Leng Guang vs Chu Kuang... It''s been a while since we saw such a high-profile Literary Duel!"

    "Why not Chu Kuang vs Leng Guang... If Chu Kuang can produce another work at the level of ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'', he has a high chance of winning!"

    One is the backbone of the detective fiction realm, a truly senior detective writer.

    The other is a rising talent in the detective world, a genius newbie who can handle any subject matter.

    To those inside the circle, this Literary Duel seems more like a battle between tradition and narrative trickery!

    That''s the beauty of keeping it under wraps in advance.

    While reading ''The Heiress Falling From Dondon Bridge'', readers were initially misled into thinking it was traditional detective fiction, until the end when it was revealed that Chu Kuang was still playing with narrative trickery.

    And now, everyone is expecting Chu Kuang''s new work to pit narrative trickery against Leng Guang.

    Few people would think that Chu Kuang is planning to play with traditional detective fiction this time!

    Also known as orthodox detective fiction!

    When people open Chu Kuang''s traditional detective fiction expecting narrative trickery, they''ll certainly be confused for a while, and the surprise when it all comes together will be even bigger.

    You think I''m doing narrative trickery when I''m actually doing orthodox, you think I''m doing orthodox when I''m actually doing narrative trickery.

    In fact, the opening style of many detective novels on Earth is like this.

    Without reading to the end, you can''t guess whether or not they''ve used narrative trickery.

    Such a spectacle is something even the media wouldn''t want to miss.

    Not long after Chu Kuang''s response, news started reporting the start of this Literary Duel.

    [Leng Guang initiates Literary Duel, Chu Kuang fights back!]

    [Showdown between masters in the detective literature field, who do you favor more?]

    [Narrative trickery and tradition, new vs. old - who will take the King''s Path?]

    [Chu Kuang accepts Leng Guang''s Literary Duel invitation, backed by his best buddy Xian Yu!]

    [Leng Guang and Chu Kuang kick off detective duel, Literary Duel attracts wide attention inside and outside the circle!]

    Some netizens have nicknamed it ''''The encounter between the big mouth and the old rascal who likes to tease the reader''''.

    It''s really lively!

    On many novel forums, netizens have started discussions, arguing constantly about who will win the Literary Duel between Leng Guang and Chu Kuang!

    At this moment,

    Lin Yuan began to ponder which work to use for the duel. This time, Lin Yuan dared not let the system randomize it, he needed to choose a piece he could have full confidence in!

    His choices had narrowed down.

    Poirot!

    Or perhaps...

    Sherlock Holmes!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: This time, it''s seriously the cute central character, cute and brainless~ This refers to Polluted White, and we have also chatted a lot in the group, haha, thank you for the constant support from classmate Xiao Diao~ Lin Yuan would feel that this is the combination of Diga and Leo Ultraman o(*£þ¨Œ£þ*)o S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 338 - 317: Murder on the Orient Express_1

    In a literary duel, Lin Yuan is inclined to write about those works that he feels most confident. He sees high chances of winning with both the Hercule Poirot series and the Sherlock Holmes series, hence the indecisiveness between the two most legendary detectives in the history of crime fiction¡ª

    "Let''s go with Poirot."

    Lin Yuan finally made a decision.

    The reason he declined to use Sherlock Holmes was simple.

    Because the origin of Narrative Trickery is "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd". Poirot was the detective unraveling this case, and it was from this novel that Leng Guang had become the pioneer of anti-unreliable narrators; therefore it seemed most fitting to let Poirot win this literary duel.

    What began with Poirot should also end with Poirot.

    It adds a sense of ceremonial completion.

    If he were to use Sherlock Holmes instead, it would seem as if Sherlock was stepping in just to clean up Poirot''s mess.

    Lin Yuan holds both these characters in equal esteem, hence he wouldn''t favor one over the other unjustifiably.

    "Boss, you need to be careful."

    Concerned that Lin Yuan might disregard this literary duel, Jin Mu specifically introduced him to Leng Guang''s works:

    "Leng Guang isn''t considered the top-tier detective novelist, but most of his works have received high praises. Calling him a first-rate detective novelist is not an exaggeration¡­"

    "I know."

    Lin Yuan does take this seriously.

    He specifically requested a set of information from the System.

    As it does not involve any specific content, the System did not charge any fee for it.

    This set of information includes a complete list of all cases that Poirot has solved.

    Poirot has solved many cases.

    Among his most famous are "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd", "The ABC Murders", "Murder on the Orient Express", "Death on the Nile", "Evil Under the Sun" and so on.

    Lin Yuan plans to choose one from these classic Poirot stories for the impending literary duel.

    This time, he needs to make use of precision tailoring.

    "Among all of Hercule Poirot''s cases, ''Murder on the Orient Express'' is an absolute masterpiece worth mentioning. This work tells the story of an intricate game between human morals and the rule of law. It also initiated the plot scheme of a collaborative murder¡­"

    "There is also ''Death on the Nile'', which is also one of the best works by Agatha Christie. This book has been adapted into countless film adaptations and TV series, probably owing to the gripping romance element in the plot?"

    "On the other hand, the storyline in ''The ABC Murders'' is relatively simple and straightforward compared to the other two. The main focus is on the psychological analysis and portrayal of characters, with the serial killer''s predictive murder pattern standing out as a highlight." S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "''Evil Under the Sun'' could be an option too. But it follows a predictable plot pattern. A wealthy and powerful victim who is despised by everyone on an isolated island where everyone has motive and appears suspicious. Plus, the murder scene in a cold, secluded cave is similar to ''Death on the Nile''. It could be an option if ''Death on the Nile'' is not available, but not a priority."

    "..."

    After much hesitation and careful consideration.

    Lin Yuan finally made a decision.

    His choice was: "Murder on the Orient Express"!

    Undoubtedly, this piece is a widely recognized masterpiece!

    If a ranking were to be given to all of Poirot''s cases, 80% of readers will put ''Murder on the Orient Express'' at the top of the list!

    Rumor has it that it was the first Agatha Christie novel many people read?

    There''s no exact data to back this up, but anyway, Lin Yuan has his own reasons for choosing this work!

    "The pioneer of the collaborative murder scheme that proliferated inspiration in many authors and a work that left the readers astounded at the grand reveal of an entire cast of villains."

    Oh no, I stand corrected.

    They should be described as an entire cast of good guys.

    Being a fan of locked-room murder mysteries and trains, a locked-room murder case taking place on a train is particularly tempting.

    The usual crime scenario is:

    Only one amongst many is the perpetrator.

    But in this case, it so happens:

    Only one amongst thirteen people is innocent!

    This introduces a sense of contention in the post-apocalyptic world:

    If the law fails to deliver their version of justice, can they resort to their murder ritual in punishing the perpetrator, who also happens to be a most heinous criminal walking free?

    All twelve people are murderers.

    This displays a contradiction between morality and legality.

    Another reason for the fame of this work is probably Poirot wavering on this very principle.

    He finally made a decision.

    Those were his words after discovering the truth: "Now that I have given you the answer, please allow me the honour of exiting this case..."

    Poirot''s withdrawal is the greatest kindness he could offer.

    From this story onward, Poirot is no longer a cold-blooded crime-solving machine, representing absolute law, but rather, a human being full of warmth and affection.

    In fact, as we often hear in "Detective Conan":

    There is only one truth.

    Yet in this instance, Poirot chose to abandon this belief and for the sake of empathy, provided two choices for everyone, even at the expense of neglecting his duty.

    With a compassionate approach towards justice, Poirot became the true detective in many hearts.

    "They seem unable to escape controversy?"

    Lin Yuan was partly worried that choosing "Murder on the Orient Express" might result in fresh controversies:

    When the law fails to uphold justice, can people take it upon themselves to punish criminals who evade legal punishment?

    Poirot''s decision, which some people may see as compassionate, might seem like condoning criminals to others.

    "That''s probably not the case."

    On second thought, Lin Yuan thought he might be thinking too much.

    Every writer inevitably faces controversies to some extent.

    Even though some people may not agree with the ideology conveyed in "Murder on the Orient Express", those people certainly represent a minority. Lin Yuan believes that many more people will understand Poirot, and even grow to admire him.

    As stated earlier, the most explosive part about Poirot in "Murder on the Orient Express":

    Is when he chooses to acquit murderers!

    This is probably the only case among all of Poirot''s cases where he let go of the murderers. And he spared not just one or two, but a whopping twelve people!

    Coincidentally,

    Another great detective, Sherlock Holmes, also made the decision to let criminals go once.

    However, considering the impact of the scenario, the final scene of "Murder on the Orient Express" is the most thrilling.

    But of course, only those mystery enthusiasts who advocate Poirot''s approach will find it exciting.

    Next, he had to work on a careful adaption.

    With different character stories and backgrounds, the amount of adaption Lin Yuan needs to implement this time is substantial.

    Fortunately, as long as the core story remains the same, everything will be fine.

    This is a story about revenge, the motive for killing is key; the characters'' identities are secondary.

    Actually,

    Another reason for choosing "Murder on the Orient Express" is that Lin Yuan wants to build Poirot''s brand recognition!

    With the release of "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd", readers are already familiar with Poirot.

    With the addition of a deeper character development of Poirot in "Murder on the Orient Express", Lin Yuan believes that Poirot''s popularity will definitely explode!

    Keep in mind.

    This case is not only one of the peaks in Poirot''s life but also one of Agatha Christie''s personal best!

    Agatha Christie wrote numerous detective novels during her lifetime. Posthumously, people always enjoy ranking her works.

    The majority will leave the first position for "No One Survived".

    There are, however, occasional divergences.

    The difference lies in the fact that some readers believe that "Murder on the Orient Express" is Agatha Christie''s best work!

    This debate will not be discussed in the book for now.

    It is a fact that majority of readers agree on, that "Murder on the Orient Express" ranks among the top three in all of Agatha Christie''s works.

    There is no controversy about that.

 Chapter 339 - 318 Two Kinds of Choices_1

    After all, Leng Guang and Chu Kuang are not Yan People.

    They didn''t set many standards for the Literary Duel, just through the dialogues in the Tribe, in front of netizens, they simply defaulted their next works as a duel ¡ª

    This allowed them both plenty of time to prepare their works.

    Upon deciding to write "Murder on the Orient Express", Lin Yuan spent his following days engrossed in the task.

    An introduction to the beginning.

    In a frozen, snowy world, a train is traveling, and our protagonist, Poirot, happens to be on this train.

    Yes, he''s really Poirot instead of Conan.

    Anyway, a murder happened.

    The victim was a passenger, stabbed to death inside his own compartment.

    At the same time, due to a heavy snowfall, the train was forced to stop.

    There was nowhere to go in this deserted place.

    The police officers and the train''s doctor were forced to center their investigation around the famous detective Poirot in the train compartment!

    Only by finding the killer and solving the case could they ensure the safety of the remaining passengers.

    This is the so-called locked-room murder in traditional detective novels!

    Due to the blocked route caused by a heavy snowfall, the train stranded in the frozen wilderness served as the classic locked-room murder environment.

    It''s a classic, a staple, never fading.

    In just Conan alone, countless locked-room murder cases have occurred.

    Then Poirot began investigating, talking to each of the passengers and gradually learning the identity of the victim.

    The victim did not seem like a good person.

    He sat on the train, constantly fearful that he would get shot from who knows where, which showed how much of a detested fellow he was.

    Possibly due to having too many enemies, the victim had once talked to Poirot before his death, hoping that the famous detective would protect him.

    Poirot declined.

    He was a detective, not responsible for protecting others.

    More importantly, Poirot did not like this man with a somewhat cold look in his eyes.

    However, Poirot did not expect this man to actually die.

    So, Poirot had to investigate the truth as a detective.

    After learning the identity of the victim, Poirot discovered a shocking fact:

    There were more than ten passengers on the train, all related to a kidnapping case participated by the victim!

    So their testimonies were all false!

    Because they all participated in the murder!

    The entire case was them cooperating to cover-up their own crimes!

    Then more truth came to light:

    The victim was once a kidnapper, who after brutally killing a little girl, bribed his way to freedom.

    The little girl''s mother was pregnant at the time, but gave birth prematurely ending with a stillborn and subsequently died of illness.

    The little girl''s father died of depression.

    The nanny of the girl''s family was suspected of having severe doubts and committed suicide under interrogation.

    So, the truth behind the case was shocking:

    Apart from Poirot, everyone else on the train, including chairman of the train company, the medical examiner, and the train''s crew, a total of twelve people were all murderers!

    They all knew the tragic family and were greatly indebted to them, so when they saw the perpetrator escape the heavy responsibility of the law, they decided to take matters into their own hands and kill him.

    After understanding the whole story, detective Poirot revealed two possibilities for the case resolution.

    Those who have read the Poirot series know that Poirot likes to give several possible ideas when unveiling the truth at the end, but the correct one is usually the last one.

    It was the same this time.

    The first idea Poirot proposed was (not verbatim):

    "The killer boarded midway, ran off after the killing, could be the mafia or something, had business conflicts with the victim. This explanation is based on believing the testimonies of these twelve people."

    The testimonies of these twelve people could provide each other with alibis.

    Almost no one could guess that all twelve people were the killers!

    However, this theory is obviously flawed, and the train''s doctor disputed it strongly.

    Poirot explained the specific flaws in the book.

    Then Poirot proposed the second possibility, an astonishing possibility:

    All twelve passengers were murderers; they each stabbed the victim once and created what seemed like an unsolvable case by providing each other with alibis.

    Though it seemed absurd, the killers admitted to it. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The twelve people painfully recalled the tragic event of that year.

    The novel also contained textual descriptions of it.

    It was generally about living in immense pain after the tragic death of their benefactor''s family, where the law could no longer help them, so they chose to fight back.

    At this point.

    Poirot asked the man in charge of the train which answer he would accept?

    The person in charge chose the first one, that is, the wrong answer.

    The doctor followed on saying that he would provide some medical assistance.

    Because only the first explanation could help the twelve murderers escape charges and suspicion.

    But the details did not match.

    So, the doctor hinted that he would provide some medical help.

    Poirot never said which possibility was correct from beginning to end.

    He only said, I provide two possibilities, you choose.

    That is, you choose whether to hide the truth for these twelve people or expose their crimes.

    The train''s person in charge and the doctor both chose to hide the truth.

    Poirot, too, seemed to think the same way, otherwise, given his disposition, he wouldn''t have offered them a choice¡ª

    He decided to withdraw from this murder case as a detective.

    It had a rather open-ended feel to it.

    The ending did not explicitly state the outcome for the twelve murderers.

    However, there''s an easter egg in one of Agatha Christie''s other novels, "A Date with Death".

    It explicitly mentioned that Poirot did not expose the twelve people.

    The specific plot was the suspect''s wife (who was also one of the suspects) said to Poirot:

    "I know you let the murderers go in the case of the Orient Express, allowing them to punish that heinous person. Can''t you do the same this time?"

    Poirot asked, "How did you know about the Orient Express case? Not this time, these two cases are different."

    Something like that.

    On the Orient Express, Poirot did indeed let the murderers go.

    As for the cooperative murder model that "Murder on the Orient Express" started, although its influence is not as strong as Narrative Trickery¡ª

    The Narrative Trickery writing method has sustained Neon mystery novels for many years¡ª

    It has indeed pioneered very classic cases.

    After this novel came out, many detective novels began to use the cooperative murder model, drawing inspiration from here.

    Agatha Christie is the mother of many models.

    If people have read similar models, reading her books might not cause a big shock. But if it''s the first exposure, the shock is actually very tremendous!

    Especially the Narrative Trickery and closed circle of suspects models!

    Now that Narrative Trickery is out, but the closed circle of suspects as a major plot device, has not yet been released by Lin Yuan.

    Anyway, at this point, Lin Yuan had completed the adjustment and modification of the character backgrounds in "Murder on the Orient Express".

    What comes next is the formal writing.

 Chapter 340 - 319: Hachiko_1

    Writing from scratch is actually easier than adapting a work.

    At Lin Yuan''s speed, it wouldn''t take more than a few days to finish "Murder on the Orient Express".

    However, he is not in a hurry to publish, so he is not rushing to wrap it up either.

    Isn''t there a rule in many films?

    The rule is called ''the one who moves first, loses''!

    Since Leng Guang challenged him to a Literary Duel, Lin Yuan would wait for Leng Guang to make the first move, and then chuck "Murder on the Orient Express" into the ring.

    This is what you call a defensive counterattack strategy.

    Because he is not in a rush, Lin Yuan''s life rhythm is leisurely and unhurried.

    During his breaks from writing, he even managed to squeeze in a meal with Sun Yaohuo.

    The location was a new restaurant that Sun Yaohuo had just opened.

    Apparently, because his hot pot businesses were booming, Sun Yaohuo had started dabbling in other types of cuisines.

    The place where he had invited Lin Yuan to dinner today was his newly opened Qi-style restaurant.

    Lin Yuan used to live in Qi Province, so its flavors were not foreign to him.

    But after returning to Qin land, he hasn''t tasted anything similar in a while and somewhat missed it. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Today, eating the flavors of Qi at Sun Yaohuo''s restaurant, Lin Yuan was very happy.

    It seems that Senior Yao Huo is opening more and more restaurants.

    There were a few others with them, namely Jiang Kui, Xue Liang, and Feng Shuo.

    So this meal could be considered as Jiang Kui and Sun Yaohuo inviting Lin Yuan and his apprentices.

    It''s just that Sun Yaohuo happened to have opened a new restaurant, so they chose this place.

    The purpose, of course, was to thank Lin Yuan and his apprentices for writing songs for them.

    The meal for five was lively.

    Everyone was young so they didn''t hold back, becoming well-acquainted very quickly, conversing animatedly.

    "Now that I have this Qi-style restaurant, I plan to open a Chu-style one next. Now that Qin, Qi, and Chu are unified, everyone has a keen interest in each other''s culinary styles. That''s the market for you. As interactions increase in the future, I think restaurants offering different styles of cuisines will attract more customers."

    Sun Yaohuo enthusiastically discussed his plans for the food industry.

    Always a man of few words, Lin Yuan picked out his favorite dishes and tucked in.

    Suddenly, Lin Yuan''s hand trembled.

    While eating a lobster, his hand got pricked by a sharp part of the lobster, and it started to bleed slightly.

    "Are you okay?"

    Concerned, Sun Yaohuo got up: "Junior, do you need to go to the hospital?"

    Xue Liang and Feng Shuo were stunned.

    Not because Lin Yuan got hurt, but because of Sun Yaohuo''s words.

    They need to go to the hospital?

    So that a doctor can put a Band-Aid on it?

    Would a doctor get excited and remark, "Lucky you brought him in time, otherwise, the wound might have healed itself?"

    Jiang Kui, however, was not surprised.

    This was typical of Sun Yaohuo.

    Of course, Lin Yuan wasn''t so delicate to need hospital care. He casually replied that it wasn''t necessary, sucked on his injured finger a bit, then continued to tackle the almost glowing red lobster in front of him.

    "As long as you''re okay..."

    It seemed like Sun Yaohuo sighed in relief, and remarked: "Junior, you sure are a tough guy!!"

    Tough...tough guy?

    This time not only were Xue Liang and Feng Shuo dumbfounded, even Jiang Kui looked rather impressed. It was indeed fascinating.

    A little finger injury and now he''s a tough guy? Or was this just an excuse to suck up?

    ...

    This was just an anecdote from everyday life.

    In less than a week, Lin Yuan completed "Murder on the Orient Express". But since Leng Guang hadn''t made a move yet, he didn''t rush to publish it.

    If the enemy doesn''t move, I don''t move.

    But he should do something, right?

    Perhaps because Lin Yuan had been quite idle lately, he took the initiative to add more burdens to himself. And then, he thought about filming a new movie¨C

    Not "Life of Pi".

    The preparation for this movie takes too long, it can only be shot next year.

    So, according to Lin Yuan''s previous plan, in fact, when he drew "Life of Pi", he had already made a decision:

    First, choose a less tricky film to shoot.

    "System, I want to customize a healing movie."

    Healing films mostly have a warm tone and are relatively easy to shoot.

    System: "Customizing for you now, will the host confirm the customization of the movie ''Hachiko''..."

    Lin Yuan paused for a moment: "You call this a healing movie?"

    Taking advantage of my poor memory?

    Even if my memory is not good, I know this movie is extremely sad!

    The system explained: "It is a depressing film customized according to the host''s request."

    Lin Yuan: "???"

    Does the system think it is funny?

    He rolled his eyes, wanting to switch to another customization, but the system suddenly reminded Lin Yuan:

    "It has been detected that the host has exceeded the time limit for the discipleship task. The character card for Yang Zhongming should be confiscated. However, considering the host''s good progress in completing the task and it''s the first time to exceed the time limit, the host can get a chance to remedy this. This opportunity is to shoot ''Hachiko''..."

    Lin Yuan was startled.

    The discipleship task really did exceed the time limit, huh?

    He thought he could muddle through this, but he didn''t expect the system to exchange the task remedy for making him shoot "Hachiko".

    The character card for Yang Zhongming is too important.

    Lin Yuan definitely can''t bear to give it up.

    Since it''s already come to this, why not give it a try?

    Lin Yuan suddenly felt the guidance of this system was quite interesting.

    The first film Lin Yuan made was the nonsensical "Flirting Scholar", which was a film that could make people laugh out loud.

    Now, the system has customized "Hachiko" for Lin Yuan. The goal is obvious:

    It wants to make the audience cry!

    It can make you laugh, it can make you cry...

    The demonstration of screenwriting skills is probably here, it''s just that the system also has a bit of a wicked sense of humor.

    It made people laugh, and now it wants to make them cry.

    Yes.

    If there is a movie that can make the audience sob after watching, "Hachiko" definitely tops the list!

    Even those who haven''t seen this movie have heard how tear-jerking "Hachiko" is!

    "Customize it."

    Lin Yuan decided not to haggle anymore.

    The system''s voice was as steady as usual: "The script for ''Hachiko'' has been customized."

    This story has two versions.

    The Neon version came first, because the script of this movie was adapted from Neon''s real story and received good reviews.

    The American version came later and also received good reviews.

    Lin Yuan prefers the American version of the script because it''s more human.

    It''s probably because in the American version, it''s not a person adopting a dog, but fate bringing them together.

    The thing about someone gifting the dog in the Japanese version was somewhat lacking.

    For instance, the Japanese version mentions multiple times that Hachiko is a purebred.

    While the American version only mentions once what breed the dog is, and doesn''t say whether it''s purebred or not.

    It seems like the Japanese version places importance on Hachiko being a purebred dog, seeing it as noble and therefore worth raising.

    But the American version doesn''t care about the dog''s background at all, which is pretty nice.

    There are many such minor differences between the two versions.

    If you have to describe them, you could say the Neon version is more realistic, while the American version is more like a fairy tale.

    People probably prefer fairy tales, even though this fairy tale is destined to be sad.

    ----------

    ps: Sorry, I had to see the doctor today. It turns out I have wisdom teeth growing in, so I might have a toothache for a few days. I, Polluted White, am currently taking medication, so my updates for the next few days might not be very consistent. I can only guarantee 4000 words because the pain makes it hard to concentrate. If I force myself to write, the quality would really suffer.

    Once my tooth gets better, I will make up for the updates I owe.

 Chapter 341 - 320: The Script that Makes One Fall_1

    After doing some research on Quantum View, Lin Yuan skimmed through System''s script for "Hachiko". Consequently, tears welled up in his eyes and slid down his cheeks, mixing with the mucus from his nose.

    Lin Yuan was a man who was easily moved to tears!

    Even the most cliched and emotional scenes from short videos could bring him to tears.

    Of course,

    If the emotional scene itself was bland enough, and the accompanying music lacked soul, then even the most heart-wrenching plot wouldn''t move him¡ª

    His discernment for music could win over his vulnerability to sentimentality.

    "Humph..."

    Lin Yuan wiped his tears and snivel, then dove into scriptwriting.

    Normally this type of work is straightforward; all he had to do was copy the tasks given by the System.

    But today, Lin Yuan was struggling with it.

    As he was writing, Lin Yuan felt an acid sensation in his nose and a warmth in his eyes, almost as if something was stuck in his throat.

    "I feel like crying, but my tears won''t come out,"

    Lin Yuan couldn''t help but think this as he completed the script for that night.

    As tear-jerking as this script was, its filming difficulty paled in comparison to "The Life of Pi"!

    If anything made it difficult to film, it would probably be the coordination required with a dog.

    A movie needs cooperation between humans and animals, and while humans are controllable, animals are not.

    But this wasn''t a problem for Lin Yuan.

    Because Lin Yuan had special props provided by the System.

    One of the props was called "Emperor''s Charm Potion". Normally, this prop was prepared for actors. It would generate an emperor-level performance based on the actor''s appearance and style.

    But as Lin Yuan read the instructions for this prop,

    He discovered that dogs can use it as well, because dogs too play parts in movies.

    This was a special note added by the system and Lin Yuan had noticed it before. He wasn''t surprised by it since animals are often unavoidable elements in many movies.

    Some movies feature cats; others have dogs.

    Just like in the previous film "Sound Mixer", there were scenes involving a cat. However, since it only had few scenes, simple guidance was enough to shoot it.

    Hence, Lin Yuan didn''t use the Emperor''s Charm Potion.

    The dog in this movie, Hachiko, appeared in many scenes, so Lin Yuan was certain he would need the Emperor''s Charm Potion, or else it would greatly delay progress.

    The hardest part of this film was to coordinate the interaction between humans and the dog, right?

    Once this problem was solved, filming "Hachiko" wouldn''t pose as a challenge.

    Then, there came the second problem.

    "Hachiko" required a male lead with exceptional acting skills, a literary aura, or a scholarly disposition.

    Hachiko was a dog, and its owner was a professor at a university...

    Being a professor at a university obviously required a certain scholastic aura, a look of decency and courtesy, and a face that gave others a good impression.

    Lin Yuan wouldn''t just pick according to the original version.

    Everyone has a different aesthetic taste.

    Blue Star had its own aesthetic taste which leaned more towards traditional values, advocating qualities like gentleness and elegance. It would be hard for foreigners to comprehend.

    Fortunately, Lin Yuan himself could solve this problem.

    This time, Lin Yuan had an ideal candidate for the male lead in his mind. He was certain he had made the right choice without needing any suggestions.

    His name was Zhang Xiuming, a male actor.

    This man was Starlight''s film emperor, a true superstar.

    Although Lin Yuan didn''t particularly enjoy working with big names because they demanded a high pay,

    He wouldn''t insist on using ordinary actors for roles only suitable for superstars.

    Moreover, although the pay for big names would take up a portion of the budget, the company would share the cost with him.

    This time, Lin Yuan planned to invest half the money with the company.

    Why did Lin Yuan know Zhang Xiuming?...

    Because the original owner of this body was a big fan of Zhang Xiuming.

    Zhang Xiuming could play an emperor or a common laborer.

    He could be a kind and gentle good guy, or a cunning and spiteful villain.

    He had done a fantastic job portraying a different persona to each character in acting.

    If Lin Yuan had to name someone Zhang Xiuming reminded him of, it would be a famous actor from the Celestial Dynasty.

    Of course, this wasn''t in terms of physical appearance but in acting skills and style. After all, Blue Star wouldn''t have Earth actors.

    ...

    Lin Yuan didn''t contact Ol'' Zhou because the budget for this script wouldn''t be particularly high.

    If they could reduce the pay for the lead roles, it could even be considered a low to medium budget film.

    Therefore, Lin Yuan contacted Zhang Xiuming directly.

    Being in the same company, it was easy for Lin Yuan, with his status, to get in touch with an artist within the company. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    He just gave a few instructions to his assistant, Gu Dong, and soon the "Hachiko" script was in the hands of Zhang Xiuming.

    "You''re saying, Teacher Admirable Fish wants to work with me..."

    Zhang Xiuming looked up at his agent.

    The agent laughed and said, "Yes, this script was just handed over to me by his assistant. They wanted you to be the main male lead. Of course we will have to reject since you have already accepted Mr. Long''s film, but we should at least read it first to avoid offending anyone."

    Unlike Liu Zhengwen,

    Zhang Xiuming, being an accomplished actor, wasn''t short of script invitations. Therefore, he had plenty of options.

    Moreover, Zhang Xiuming had just accepted an offer for a movie.

    The screenwriter for that film was Long Yang, a representative figure of the screenwriter-centered employment system, who was extremely good at creating compelling scripts. He was a highly respected screenwriter in the industry.

    Zhang Xiuming had previously worked with Long Yang, and naturally, he had chosen to star in Long Yang''s new film this time. Although both parties hadn''t officially signed a contract, they had roughly confirmed the situation.

    "Let me take a look."

    Zhang Xiuming spoke softly.

    If this had only been about Admirable Fish, who made "Flirting Scholar", he wouldn''t have given it much thought and would have declined the offer.

    It''s not because he looked down on it, but because he knew that that style of performance did not suit him.

    But he had recently watched "Sound Mixer".

    This film indeed amazed Zhang Xiuming.

    Therefore, when he found out that Admirable Fish wants him for his new script, Zhang Xiuming was quite happy.

    After all, he genuinely loved "Sound Mixer", and being recognized by the screenwriter of this film was definitely a cause for celebration.

    Under these circumstances, it was impossible for him not to carefully review this script called "Hachiko".

    Even if he didn''t accept it, there was no harm in just reading it right?

    Just because he couldn''t cooperate now, doesn''t mean he can''t in the future.

    That was Zhang Xiuming''s thoughts when he opened the script.

    He had already made up his mind. He was going to participate in Mr. Long''s film, because he really liked that script.

    Yes.

    Until Zhang Xiuming started to read through "Hachiko", he was steadfast about collaborating with Mr. Long.

    Many things always start this way.

    People tend to believe that their choices will never change.

    Just like Zhang Xiuming at this moment.

    But often times, when people believe nothing will change, unexpected surprises strike.

    The surprise this time was called "truly fragrant".

    Half an hour later.

    Zhang Xiuming''s agent witnessed such a surprise.

    Or to be more accurate, it wasn''t a surprise but a real shock.

    Zhang Xiuming''s agent was truly shocked!

    He saw Zhang Xiuming slowly stand up, tears streaming down his face, seemingly at the brink of a breakdown, and resolutely state, "I want to act in Admirable Fish''s film."

    What about Mr. Long''s side?

    Forget it.

    The agent wisely closed his mouth.

    He knew that when an actor is deeply moved by a script, that''s often a sign that they''re hopelessly drawn to it.

 Chapter 342 - 321 Raising a Dog _1

    Three days later, Zhang Xiuming officially agreed to take on the role in "Hachiko".

    With the main male role decided, Lin Yuan informed Ol'' Zhou that he was planning to film "Hachiko".

    "Another new script?"

    Ol'' Zhou was shocked by the pace at which Lin Yuan was creating.

    Lin Yuan had only recently penned "Life of Pi".

    While still in the preparation stages for that film, Lin Yuan had already put forth a new script.

    He looked at the script.

    The content of the script was quite short, just a story about a man and a dog.

    With Ol'' Zhou''s lackluster textual comprehension skills, he found the script touching but not to the point of being brought to tears.

    "It''s good, worth shooting."

    After thinking for a moment, Ol'' Zhou said, "We will prepare a budget for you." sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    After all, Zhang Xiuming had agreed to the script.

    As an actor of top-tier talent in Starlight, Zhang Xiuming''s accordance was of merit.

    Such artists had already qualified for direct communication with the company.

    If Zhang Xiuming wasn''t open to a role, it''d be hard for the company to persuade him to accept.

    But Zhang Xiuming''s willingness to perform in "Hachiko" can only imply that he genuinely liked the script.

    Ol'' Zhou, well-informed as ever, knew that renowned screenwriter Long Yang had also invited Zhang Xiuming to star in a film.

    Under normal circumstances, that could have worked out. But with the emergence of "Hachiko", it seemed Zhang Xiuming had changed his mind.

    "Perhaps dog owners will especially love this kind of story."

    Ol'' Zhou smiled and commented, "I''ve never owned a dog, so I don''t quite understand that kind of sentiment. But Zhang Xiuming does have a dog, and the script is quite moving. Are we keeping the same crew as ''The Sound Mixer'' for director and producers?"

    "Yes."

    Lin Yuan answered.

    This film wouldn''t be difficult to shoot, Yi Chenggong was capable enough.

    Now that they had their leading man.

    Next up was the leading dog.

    In these times, there weren''t many dogs that could act in films.

    If Lin Yuan asked the production team to find suitable dogs, they would surely go to professional pet training centers.

    During official filming, the dog''s owner or trainer would be on hand to guide the animal.

    These dogs were usually of expensive breeds, and those with gentle dispositions, which made them relatively easy to film.

    But Lin Yuan had the Emperor''s Charm Potion and wasn''t concerned if the dog lacked acting skills, so he went by his own standards in searching for one.

    The method to find a dog was simple - just look around at the various pet centers in Su City.

    The original movie used an Akita.

    Lin Yuan was flexible on the breed. He felt that any breed would do as the poignancy of the film had little to do with the dog''s breed.

    However, after several days of searching, Lin Yuan met many adorable dogs but he hadn''t found one that truly resonated with him.

    That feeling, Lin Yuan felt, was quite important. So he patiently continued his search for several more days and also asked people he knew if they knew of any cute dogs.

    Upon hearing this, many people thought Lin Yuan wanted to have a dog.

    Sun Yaohuo immediately put together a PowerPoint presentation for Lin Yuan of different dog breeds and pictures for him to choose from.

    Whichever one Lin Yuan liked, Sun Yaohuo could get.

    But Lin Yuan didn''t end up choosing a dog from Sun Yaohuo''s presentation.

    After learning that Lin Yuan was looking for a dog, his younger sister, Lin Yao, mysteriously recommended a stray dog that lived in their villa''s neighborhood...

    "It''s in the garden up ahead, I often see it. I named it Antarctica because I encountered it in winter, in the south of the neighborhood. It was very cold, so I went home to bring it a coat,"

    Lin Yao explained while confidently leading Lin Yuan to the side of the garden,

    Clearly, she often came to play with this dog.

    Two minutes later, Lin Yuan saw the "Antarctica" Lin Yao had mentioned.

    It was a dog that looked like a German Shepherd, its specific breed was unclear, but it was definitely a large dog.

    It was walking on its front paws; both of its back legs were being dragged along, appearing to be paralyzed.

    "Antarctica!"

    Lin Yao''s face changed, "What happened to your leg?"

    Antarctica whimpered, seeming to recognize Lin Yao.

    Lin Yuan shook his head.

    While the dog was nice-looking, its back legs were compromised, likely paralyzed, which would render it unable to participate in the film''s shooting.

    "Have some dog food."

    Out of pity, Lin Yao stepped up and poured the dog food she brought onto the clean cement slab.

    Then, to the amazement of both Lin Yuan and Lin Yao, an unexpected scene unfolded.

    The dog''s hind leg was apparently quite fine. It sprang up to the dog food, eating eagerly as if it was starving.

    "Was it pretending just now?"

    Lin Yuan had never thought that this dog could be such a drama queen.

    Lin Yao sulkily said, "Antarctica, how could you deceive me too!"

    The young girl''s eyes were red just now.

    Who would''ve thought this dog was pretending to limp?

    Antarctica continued eating the dog food, waving its tail excitedly.

    After eating, it lay on the ground, looking imploringly at Lin Yao.

    With a sudden inspiration, Lin Yuan asked Antarctica, "Did you think pretending to limp would get you food?"

    Antarctica whimpered twice.

    Lin Yuan said, "Then go do a drama with me, I''ll treat you to egg yolk."

    Like it understood, Antarctica stood on its hind legs, then dropped its front paws and started circling around Lin Yuan.

    "Bro, we should take Antarctica home!"

    Lin Yao was itching to do so. She''d always had this impulse, but her sister didn''t like dogs, so she''d never dared to act.

    As long as Lin Yuan was with her, she dared to.

    "Sure thing."

    Lin Yuan found this dog rather clever.

    Of course, it was mainly because his sister liked it.

    When Lin Yuan and Lin Yao got home, the dog followed them, seeming a bit excited.

    We need to give it a bath tonight."

    Seeing the dog all dirty, Lin Yao knew her sister wouldn''t let the dog indoors, so it was best to leave it in the yard for now.

    Lin Yuan agreed.

    Lin Yao did give Antarctica a bath that night. The dog didn''t resist and seemed to enjoy it.

    When Lin Xuan, their older sister, got back from work, she was startled, "What are you guys doing?"

    "Brother wants to keep a dog."

    Lin Yao explained the situation, her voice clear and crisp.

    At the time, she was giving the dog a bath, while Lin Yuan was watching by the side.

    "Keeping a dog?"

    Lin Xuan looked at Lin Yuan, then at Lin Yao, and grumbled, "Suit yourselves, just don''t let it get close to me. I dislike dogs."

    "Alright."

    Lin Yao said, visibly having even more fun washing the dog.

    Lin Xuan curiously asked, "Isn''t Lin Yuan the one keeping the dog? Why are you washing it?"

    Lin Yao replied, "I''m bored."

    Lin Xuan: "¡­"

    She didn''t say anything more and went into the house.

    Lin Yuan scolded, "Isn''t it you who wants to keep the dog?"

    Lin Yao reassured, "Between siblings, why should we sweat the small stuff."

    Lin Yuan considered this, and thought it made sense, "Then, tonight you''ll have to eat more vegetables."

    At home during mealtimes, vegetables were rationed.

    Both Lin Yuan and Lin Yao preferred meat over vegetables.

    Unable to change their preferences, their mother forced them to eat a certain amount of vegetables every day.

    "No way."

    Lin Yao declared without hesitation.

    Lin Yuan raised his voice, "Then we''re not keeping the dog."

    Lin Yao was not backing down, "Then we won''t."

    Suddenly, Antarctica barked twice.

    Both of them understood.

    Antarctica was saying, "I''ll eat."

 Chapter 343 - 322: Bringing the Dog to Work_1

    On Antarctica''s first night staying in the villa, he slept in Lin Yuan''s room.

    Before bedtime, Lin Yuan was watching TV, and Antarctica was watching alongside him, staring intently. It seemed as if there was a chance he might be able to understand it too.

    This reaffirmed Lin Yuan''s belief that Antarctica could indeed star in the movie "Hachiko".

    The dog looked smart.

    Even though the breed was not important, he couldn''t possibly use a Teacup Poodle or Bichon Frise. Otherwise, the viewer''s immersion in the film would be broken.

    Larger dogs gave a better anthropomorphic feel.

    Antarctica''s physique was quite similar to that of the Akita in the original movie, and he also seemed rather honest and down-to-earth.

    The next day, Lin Yuan asked Gu Dong to pick him up.

    "Is this dog bought by Mr. Lin?" Gu Dong looked at Antarctica in surprise.

    "I found him." Lin Yuan concisely replied, "Find a pet shop, check his health, and get him a rabies shot."

    Even though Antarctica didn''t look like a dog that would bite, vaccination was a standard procedure.

    "Understood."

    Soon, Gu Dong drove both Lin Yuan and the dog to a pet clinic.

    The health check and vaccination were standard procedures.

    "The dog has a bit of a skin disease. It might look severe but it''s not difficult to treat."

    The doctor said, "I''ll prescribe some medicine for you. Give him a medicated bath once a week and he should be fine in about a month."

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan nodded. This might be the reason why Antarctica was abandoned by his previous owner.

    After finishing, he brought the dog home and then took Gu Dong''s car back to the company, where he met with Shen Qing and Yi Chenggong.

    Of course, they were discussing the preparations for "Hachiko", a script they all were keen on.

    The two had already collaborated with Lin Yuan twice, and their third collaboration became even smoother.

    Shen Qing said, "Mr. Yi and I will start assembling the crew soon. But we must find the right dog for the movie..."

    "Use my dog."

    Lin Yuan showed a photo he took of Antarctica in the morning to Shen Qing.

    Shen Qing was surprised, "I didn''t expect Mr. Lin to own a dog. Its appearance is alright, but we don''t know if it will cooperate during the shoot."

    "I''ll handle that."

    Lin Yuan didn''t seem worried.

    Yi Chenggong suggested, "We''d better let the dog build some rapport with Zhang Xiuming. After all, in the movie, Zhang Xiuming plays Hachiko''s owner."

    "Makes sense. Should we bring Antarctica over?"

    Having known this earlier, Lin Yuan wouldn''t have sent the dog home. Now, he would have to trouble Gu Dong to make another trip to bring the dog to the company.

    Shen Qing nodded, "Zhang Xiuming will be coming around. Mr. Lin, consider letting him take the dog home for a few days if possible."

    Lin Yuan had no objections.

    Half an hour later, Gu Dong brought the dog back and called Lin Yuan, "The dog is in the car, but it seems inconvenient to bring him into the company. Should he stay in the car?"

    "Wait a minute," Lin Yuan replied.

    He simply called Ol'' Zhou to explain, "Can the dog come in? He can be kept in my office and Zhang Xiuming will take him home in the evening."

    "..."

    On the other end of the line, Ol'' Zhou was silent for a while, then said, "I''ll have to ask."

    "Okay," Lin Yuan replied. "Waiting for you."

    "You wait."

    Ol'' Zhou hurriedly got up and ran out of his office, finally stopping in front of the chairman''s office to knock on the door.

    "Come in."

    An authoritative voice came from inside.

    Ol'' Zhou entered, laughing, "Chairman, it seems that Lin Yuan has brought a dog to the company downstairs. He asked me if he could bring the dog into the office. This doesn''t seem to comply with company regulations..."

    "A dog?"

    The chairman felt a bit of a headache, but in the end, he reluctantly waved his hand, "Let him be."

    "Alright."

    Ol'' Zhou left chuckling.

    He could understand the chairman''s headache, because he felt the same way. Lin Yuan had actually asked him if he could bring a dog into the company?

    If anyone else had asked, Ol'' Zhou would have blown his top.

    Is this a question that a normal person would ask?

    But the other party was Lin Yuan, and for the greater good, Ol'' Zhou had to swallow his pride and went to ask the chairman''s opinion.

    As it turned out, the chairman also had to "grit his teeth" and agree, very considerately.

    Then, something happened at Starlight Entertainment that would go down in history:

    For the first time since its establishment, someone had brought a dog to work.

    Seeing this, some employees were on the verge of having their eyes pop out.

    A dog?

    Where did this dog come from?

    Gu Dong, under everyone''s stares, felt his scalp prickle from surprise. He didn''t expect the representative to persuade the higher-ups, allowing him to bring the dog in.

    The picture was too absurd!

    As he was walking, suddenly, a man who looked like a leader blocked Gu Dong''s way, angrily asking, "What on Earth? Who allowed you to bring a dog into the company?"

    "Woof!"

    Antarctica angrily barked back at the half-bald man.

    The man jumped in fright, becoming even more dissatisfied, and glared at Gu Dong, "Which department are you from?"

    "The Music Composing Department on the ninth floor."

    Gu Dong replied nervously.

    She recognized this man, a member of the company''s management tier, who held the same position as Ol'' Zhou. As Lin Yuan''s assistant, she couldn''t afford to offend him.

    "Music Composing Department on the ninth floor?"

    The man was taken aback, "This dog..."

    Gu Dong hastily explained, "Mr. Lin asked me to bring him in. This is Mr. Lin''s dog. He will be used in a movie."

    "Come to think of it, this dog is quite cute."

    The man laughed very naturally, as if the person who just lost his temper wasn''t him, "Only Teacher Admirable Fish could bring a dog to the company. How amusing."

    Everyone else: "..."

    There''s a short story called "Face Change", written by someone surnamed Feng. He is one of the leading figures in the short story field in the Great Qin.

    Today they saw a real-life "Face Change".

    "What are you all doing standing around? Shouldn''t you be working?" The man glared at the employees around him.

    Everyone dispersed quickly, but the same words emerged in their minds: S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Humans, not as good as dogs.

    Antarctica didn''t seem too happy. He barked at the man again, scaring him, making him take a few steps back, "This dog is really energetic."

    "Yes..."

    Gu Dong said anxiously. After great difficulty, she finally managed to get the dog to Lin Yuan''s office.

    Inside the Music Composing Department...

    Watching Gu Dong lead a dog into the representative''s office, many staff members were taken aback and wondered if they were seeing things.

    Inside the office...

    Lin Yuan was advising Antarctica:

    "In the next few days, you''ll be staying at Zhang Xiuming''s house. Zhang Xiuming is an actor, and you two will be shooting a movie together soon."

    "Yes, that''s right. He is a film emperor."

    "What do we need to talk about pay for? You''ll be adequately compensated, and your dog food will be supplied in sufficient quantity, okay?"

    "When you come back, help me eat some vegetables yet again. You performed well at dinner last night."

    "You can''t sleep on the bed; you shed. I''ll buy you a dog house, and you''ll sleep in there."

    "..."

    Outside the door, Gu Dong was about to come in.

    Then, she heard the endless chatter inside and got stunned.

    Is Lin Yuan conversing with a dog?

    Was it Lin Yuan that was weird, or was this dog weird?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: I''ll make up for lost time when my toothache is better. This message might not be easily read from my facial expression.

 Chapter 344 - 323 The Forgotten Treasure Chest _1

    "Is this the dog that will be acting with me? How did Teacher Admirable Fish manage to bring it into the company?"

    Before finishing work in the evening.

    Zhang Xiuming came to the ninth floor composing department.

    He has two purposes, one is to see Lin Yuan to discuss the script, and the other is to take Antarctica home to build a relationship.

    As a result, the moment he laid eyes on Antarctica, Zhang Xiuming felt very close to it.

    Lin Yuan introduced: "Its name is Antarctica, playing Hachiko this time."

    It''s interesting.

    Antarctica actually circled around Zhang Xiuming, sniffed around a bit, and finally rubbed Zhang Xiuming''s trouser leg, looking very obedient.

    Zhang Xiuming broke into a big laugh: "This dog is quite close to me."

    Antarctica wagged its tail at Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan said: "It smells the scent of its own kind on you."

    Zhang Xiuming: "...."

    What does that mean?

    Lin Yuan asked: "Do you have a dog at home?"

    Zhang Xiuming then realized his misunderstanding: "I do have a dog at home... How do you know, can you communicate with dogs?"

    Lin Yuan said: "I think I can."

    Zhang Xiuming was confused: you think?

    Lin Yuan explained: "There are a few dog hairs on your clothes."

    Zhang Xiuming: "...."

    He''s a very special young man.

    He evaluated in his heart, then returned to the topic: "About ''Hachiko'', I will write a character note, does Teacher Admirable Fish have anything to say?"

    "Yes."

    Lin Yuan said: "What kind of woman do you like?"

    Zhang Xiuming replied almost instinctively: "I like the kind like my wife."

    Lin Yuan said: "Is your sister-in-law an actress?"

    Zhang Xiuming laughed: "So you were asking about the female lead. I didn''t expect Teacher Admirable Fish to ask for my opinion. In my opinion, Zhou Xue is pretty good."

    Lin Yuan nodded: "Then let''s go with her."

    Lin Yuan remembered Zhou Xue, she was the female antagonist in "The Tuner", a classic villainess. But that doesn''t mean Zhou Xue can only play that kind of role.

    As a gorgeous forty-year-old actress, Zhou Xue can handle quite a variety of roles.

    Zhang Xiuming chuckled bitterly: "So I just decided like that?"

    Lin Yuan replied matter-of-factly: "I think it''s quite suitable." Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Zhang Xiuming''s gaze flashed with something unusual.

    With Admirable Fish, a burgeoning new scriptwriter in the industry, and himself, a well-respected actor, the attention paid to the movie "Hachiko" would certainly not be small.

    The selection of the female lead for such a film is actually quite a hot commodity.

    In other words.

    Lin Yuan could totally use this role to get some benefits from many actresses.

    Not necessarily through shady deals.

    With Lin Yuan''s good looks, not being taken advantage of by others would already be a testament to his great success.

    So-called benefits can come in many forms.

    Yet Admirable Fish simply selected the candidate without a second thought, with no intention of using the role for other purposes.

    Film people like these tend to be purists.

    Thinking of this, Zhang Xiuming nodded: "Teacher Admirable Fish, then I''ll be taking Antarctica home first."

    "Sure."

    Lin Yuan waved his hand.

    Without even looking at Lin Yuan, Antarctica happily followed Zhang Xiuming out, not looking sad at all.

    "Mr. Lin is really interesting."

    Zhang Xiuming commented as he led the dog to the garage.

    At this time, his driver drove the car over: "Teacher Zhang, get on."

    "Alright."

    Just as Zhang Xiuming was about to go forward, Antarctica beat him to it by opening the car door first, then jumped in and casually sat down, its white belly exposed, sticking out its tongue and looking out the window.

    Zhang Xiuming was stunned.

    A dog that could open car doors and sit like a human, was Teacher Admirable Fish''s dog actually some kind of supernatural creature?

    ...

    Zhou Xue received the drama invitation from the crew that night.

    When she found out she had been chosen as the female lead for Admirable Fish''s new movie, she was so happy she jumped up and down and gave her assistant a big kiss.

    The assistant was a young girl, she jumped around with Zhou Xue, too excited to stand still, continually muttering:

    "Thank you, Teacher Admirable Fish!"

    "The male lead is Teacher Zhang Xiuming, this is an opportunity to collaborate with a highly respected actor!"

    Zhou Xue was an actress who had naturally fallen out of favor as she aged. She hadn''t had a glorious career when she was young, and being forgotten by the audience as she got older was a common occurrence. It was the fate of many similar actresses.

    Not until she took part in "The Tuner", did Zhou Xue''s career start to pick up again.

    So Zhou Xue was very grateful to Admirable Fish.

    Zhou Xue didn''t expect that after "The Tuner", Admirable Fish would think of her for his new movie.

    If she were a few years younger, if Admirable Fish wasn''t so handsome, Zhou Xue would almost think he had feelings for her.

    For her, being chosen by Admirable Fish twice felt like being hit by a pie falling from the sky.

    Ecstatic!

    In fact.

    Many of the actors at Starlight were hoping to be hit by Admirable Fish''s pie from the sky. Unfortunately, the number of pies is limited, so the vast majority of people are destined to be disappointed.

    Lin Yuan hadn''t realized that now he could change someone''s fate with just a few words.

    In the following few days, the crew of "Hachiko" was always busy preparing.

    On Zhang Xiuming''s end, he constantly communicated situations with Lin Yuan.

    According to Zhang Xiuming, he got along with Antarctica so well that they could even sleep together.

    "This dog understands everything. It can open car doors, use the toilet, even more incredible is that it can watch dramas with me!" Zhang Xiuming described in an exaggerated manner.

    Lin Yuan, curious, asked: "What drama?"

    Zhang Xiuming: "... " Are you concerned about that?

    Thinking that this was Lin Yuan''s dog, Zhang Xiuming felt that Lin Yuan should be aware, and could understand why Lin Yuan was so calm.

    This dog was just very special anyway.

    Lin Yuan indeed didn''t think it was a problem that a dog could do these things.

    Dogs can even help the police catch bad guys.

    He remembered watching a movie in his previous life, where cats and dogs almost ruled the world.

    If they were described as in Xin Xing Yi''s short novel "Cats", these terrifying creatures probably already ruled the world.

    All these are the small details.

    What Lin Yuan is considering now is whether to continue the good tradition of "The Tuner" and add more piano music to it?

    Not forcibly adding it.

    At the very least it can serve as background music.

    Moreover, in the movie "Hachiko", the male lead has a music teacher role.

    Lin Yuan can smoothly add a piece of music without any inconsistencies.

    Last time the piano music added to "The Tuner" had a very good effect.

    Songs like "Mariage d''Amour" are great for promotion in excellent movies.

    "Right, there''s a Silver Treasure Chest..."

    Lin Yuan had a Silver Treasure Chest all this time that he didn''t open, almost being forgotten. It wasn''t until recently that he remembered this.

    Alright then.

    Mainly because he hadn''t stumbled upon any luck.

    When he''s unsure about his luck, Lin Yuan doesn''t want to open the box.

    But people always say, wine gets better with age, could it be the same for a box?

    Having waited this long to open it, this Silver Treasure Chest probably won''t disappoint him, right?

    "Open the box, System."

    Lin Yuan felt somewhat expectant.

    As for what he''s expecting the box to contain, most people probably couldn''t guess.

 Chapter 345 - 324: Antagonist Male Lead_1

    "Congratulations, Host, on acquiring the manga work ''Death Note''."

    With the System''s prompt, an extra manga appeared in Lin Yuan''s backpack.

    "They didn''t arrange a random piano piece for me?"

    Lin Yuan was surprised.

    The System had previously liked to play with "coincidences".

    Well, if there''s no piano piece, let''s just pay homage.

    Have the new protagonist play ''Mariage d''Amour'' in the new movie, like an Easter egg. Those who know will naturally understand.

    If I wanted to release a piano piece through a movie, ''The Legend of 1900'' would be suitable.

    But this film would require fine editing, so Lin Yuan doesn''t plan to spend that money yet.

    As for the manga from the Silver Treasure Chest...

    It''s perfect since I didn''t know what production to take over after "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma".

    Well, that saves me the trouble of thinking about it.

    Through the information in Lin Yuan''s mind, he is very clear on how famous ''Death Note'' is as a manga!

    From its influence to ratings, almost all data indicating that ''Death Note'' is at a top tier level!

    But in fact, it''s a work of cult significance!

    Over in Japan, this manga is one of the few that can outshine countless top-ranked manga, truly a super cult manga!

    What is cult and what is mainstream?

    In general, mainstream manga is virtuous, with positive themes, kind-hearted and pure protagonists, plots usually of a hero fighting demons, and the righteous side winning.

    These types of works have pure-hearted female leads, buddies, and happy companions, with justice as the theme, realizing dreams, etc.

    That''s why mainstream manga''s target audience is the broadest.

    From this perspective, ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma'' is also considered a mainstream manga

    As for ''Prince of Tennis'', it''s more mainstream.

    However, many mainstream manga are passionate and contain a lot of fighting scenes. Apart from the first two manga of Shadow, which were passionate, there was no fighting, only tennis and cooking.

    Cult manga is more of a maverick. These works contain some dark aspects, which may include crime, horror, violence, etc.

    Of course, mainstream manga can also have violence, but they''re not blatantly bloody.

    Furthermore, the protagonist of a cult manga is usually not some harmless bunny, but could be the final villain.

    Because the protagonist may not be a good person, it''s easy to explore human nature, making the manga more meaningful.

    Therefore, cult manga reaches a smaller audience than mainstream manga and can easily cause controversy.

    As for ''Death Note'', it has become a representative work of cult manga in many people''s hearts. This shows how special and controversial this work is!

    In any case, this anime was directly censored in our country. Everyone who wants to watch it can only resort to cloud storage.

    The story begins quite wickedly.

    Yagami Light, a genius high school student otherwise known as the male lead of ''Death Note'', is a student filled with a sense of justice.

    His father is a high-ranking police officer, comes from a prestigious family, and can be said to have an excellent background.

    In school, he is extremely popular with the girls, always comes first in exams, and is as handsome as Lin Yuan.

    In every sense, such a person could be considered perfect!

    Firstly, having a father who is a police officer, especially at the superintendent level, is already quite impressive.

    Not to mention the fact that he himself has a very high IQ, is excellent at exams, handsome, and has a good EQ. Girls are charmed by him.

    If we don''t discuss the subsequent storyline and just look at the introduction of the protagonist, everyone might think...

    Ah, this protagonist is really clich¨¦.

    Full of self-fantasizing by the author and pandering to readers.

    However, that''s not the case.

    This manga, with the theme of a Death Note, emphasizes a battle of wits!

    The protagonist Yagami Light happened to get a ''Death Note.'' He discovered that as long as he writes a person''s name in the notebook, that person will die on the spot.

    That day, Yagami Light decided to test it out on a hoodlum.

    Then, the thug died right in front of Yagami Light.

    Yagami Light was overjoyed and embarked on his journey of upholding justice!

    He is an extreme advocate for justice!

    With the help of the news media, Yagami Light wrote the names of criminals in the world one by one into his notebook. He believed that such actions were justice!

    He is God!

    He wants to create a new world without crime!

    Soon, countries around the world discovered that someone was secretly punishing criminals, but the existence of the Death Note was too magical and unknown to everyone. Everyone only knew that criminals would drop dead out of the blue.

    The Executor is referred to as "Kira" by everyone.

    On the other hand, Interpol invited the world''s number one detective "L" to investigate Kira''s identity.

    So, a battle of wits and courage began between Yagami Light and "L".

    Perhaps it''s due to the uniformity of the common King Road Manga.

    This "Death Note", with its unique style, intriguing game of wits, discussion around good and evil, has a large fan base globally!

    Non-manga fans only know about the Dead Sea of Fire.

    Those who really enjoy reading manga, basically all know about "Death Note".

    Blue Star''s limits won''t lead to the censorship of "Death Note", so Lin Yuan is very relieved about this.

    We won''t discuss here whether Yagami Light is good or bad.

    The controversy about "Death Note" is actually centered around Yagami Light.

    Some people like this kind of protagonist, some people despise it, but whether you like or dislike it, at least everyone agrees:

    Yagami Light is a charismatic antagonist protagonist.

    In manga, there are protagonists that are antagonists, but Yagami Light is considered to embody the extreme charm of such characters. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan is only reading from the perspective of a reader, and then concluded that this manga is great¡ª

    This is not merely based on the data provided by the System.

    What''s even more rare is that the System hasn''t modified "Death Note".

    The manga that Lin Yuan received before were all modified by the System.

    For example, "King of the Net" was heavily modified from its novel version.

    And then there''s "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma", which had a disastrous downfall in the original author''s later stage, leaving the System to tie up the loose ends.

    This time, the System didn''t modify it, suggesting that "Death Note" doesn''t have any faults!

    Even if some people are dissatisfied with the ending of this manga, overall, it is a complete and well-rounded manga.

    The quality just slipped a little bit after "L" died.

    Some people also say that it''s not that the ending of "Death Note" declined in quality, it''s just that after "L''s" death, Yagami Light doesn''t have an equal opponent.

    Just like Ximen Chui Xue''s ultimate battle was against Ye Gucheng.

    It''s difficult to reproduce the same earth-shattering battle after that.

    Estimating the time, Lin Yuan probably figured it out.

    "Perhaps during the movie filming, I can start the serialization of ''Death Note''."

    "Also, ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma'' needs to be adapted into an animation."

    "The revenue brought in by the animation adaptation is much higher than I expected. Once the serialization of ''Death Note'' is nearly finished, I definitely need to continue with the animation."

    "....."

    Lin Yuan has tasted the sweetness of animation adaptation.

    If possible, he even wanted to make a live-action version but considering the failures of live-action adaptations of anime in his previous life, he gave up.

    Instead of believing in live-action adaptations of anime, he might as well have faith in his own novels.

    For example, "Zhu Xian" can be made into a TV series.

    If that''s still not safe, then "Ghost Blows Out the Light" should be ok, right?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Judging optimistically, it seems like I''ll be well in a few more days. I could finally open my mouth to eat today, it feels so good not having to drink porridge anymore. Also, Antarctica, the cat in yesterday''s bonus chapter, is indeed my pet.

 Chapter 346 - 325: Please Teach Me_1

    This May seemed somewhat protracted.

    In the blog''s short story rankings for May, "The Fall of the Dondon Bridge" remained in the same spot after being overtaken by the second place, without any further decline ¡ª

    Yet, it did not manage to regain its top spot either.

    After all, this work was forcibly ranked second by many hardcore mystery enthusiasts who felt disgusted after reading "The Fall of Dondon Bridge".

    If it were not for the group of readers who forcefully granted the second place with votes, Lin Yuan would have easily nabbed the champion of the month.

    Many thought, this must be the final outcome.

    Old rascal Chu Kuang paid the price for his manipulative behaviour towards his readers.

    However, as May was about to come to an end, an unexpected event occurred that left many taken aback.

    "The Fall of Dondon Bridge", which was comfortably sitting in second place, suddenly saw a surge in votes.

    Faintly, there seemed to be momentum for it to return to the top!

    The reason was simple.

    Suddenly, a group of people appeared online with reviews that contrasted starkly with those who were averse to "The Fall of Dondon Bridge":

    "This novel is Chu Kuang''s reflection and play on narrative trickery."

    "This is practically a forward-thinking form of anti-mystery!"

    "Ranking second is the biggest misunderstanding people have of ''The Fall of Dondon Bridge''!"

    The internet does not lack bandwagon riders.

    When many people criticized "The Fall of Dondon Bridge" for treating boredom as fun, some rode the trend and cursed it.

    When many people started to praise "The Fall of Dondon Bridge" for author''s groundbreaking thinking, labeling it as the author''s game and reflection, again people jumped onto the bandwagon to praise it.

    Then the two trends started feud.

    At this moment, Chu Kuang''s fame played a significant role.

    Readers supporting Chu Kuang voiced their anguish:

    "Put your brains to work for a moment, would a brilliant writer like Chu Kuang simply treat boredom as fun and write a narrative trickery to disgust readers?"

    Of course not!

    Many subconsciously thought this way.

    And then people started analysing Chu Kuang''s true intentions.

    Why does Chu Kuang satirize many famous detective novelists in "The Fall of Dondon Bridge"?

    Why in the end, does he say the murderer was an ape?

    Why does he write himself as both the reader and the victim?

    Why...

    As these questions arose, netizens who were exceptionally proficient in reading comprehension flexed their skills and an array of answers emerged.

    "Chu Kuang satirizing detective novelists is perhaps to say that ultimately, detective novelists are just armchair strategists, no detective novelist can truly become a detective in real life, they can only write in a hypothetical scenario, so in the novel they also do not know who the murderer is, at a total loss, implying that they would not be able to identify the murderer when faced with a homicide in real life."

    "The murderer being an ape is the most ingenious part, many times detective novels fall into the situation of not being well liked by readers if they''re not thrilling, not knowing that in real life, a simple identification of the murderer is in fact the best news for the victim."

    "Chu Kuang writes himself as the victim, perhaps because he feels there are too many narrative trickery paths that are easy to go to extremes, becoming this pure word game, and being the creator of narrative trickery, he has the responsibility."

    "This is also why Chu Kuang writes himself as the reader, he feels as depressed as countless readers who have read ''The Fall of Dondon Bridge'' because he also believes that such narrative trickery is pointless, true narrative trickery should provide valuable information to the readers, not pure textual misdirection."

    "The young man in the novel represents Chu Kuang who is obsessed with narrative trickery, it''s a confrontation with his current self!"

    "Wow, after hearing the analysis, I realized that there is so much metaphor in this work, it''s worthy of being Chu Kuang''s work. Many people have misunderstood this novel, Chu Kuang is not such a superficial person!"

    "Think carefully, Chu Kuang is just casually expressing some of his personal understanding of mystery through jokes."

    "..."

    The more people thought about it, the more logical it seemed.

    So Chu Kuang had been labouring over this all along!

    The realm of a great artist, ordinary people can''t grasp it in a short time. Once they do, the wind really shifts towards "The Fall of Dondon Bridge".

    The result is, "The Fall of Dondon Bridge" returns to the top.

    With this novel returning to first place, the novel in second naturally returns to its previous spot as well.

    The author in second place experienced a roller coaster ride from the bottom to the top and back to the bottom, feeling a lump in his throat that remained unsaid:

    "Are you playing with me?"

    He felt like he had been played.

    However, his feelings clearly don''t matter.

    With various interpretations appearing online, fans began to rush to Chu Kuang''s tribe asking which was Chu Kuang''s true intention.

    Not to mention the netizens.

    Jin Mu is also somewhat perplexed and couldn''t help but ask Lin Yuan privately:

    "Boss, what are your real intentions, why are there two Chu Kuangs in the book? Could it be that the other Chu Kuang is really hinting at your other side? Are you writing this way because of Xian Yu? Or does the boss feel lonely and hope that someone like him appears in the world?"

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    When the lonely ones choose not to speak, it''s not that they have nothing to say, but that there''s no one to tell.

    And loneliness is when you have something to say, but no one is willing to listen; when someone is willing to listen, you suddenly have no words.

    Alright, speaking in layman''s terms.

    At this moment Lin Yuan''s thought process is: "I''m happy to reclaim this first place, but everyone seems to have misunderstood me."

    Just as Lu Xun said that he has two trees in front of his house, one is a jujube tree, and the other is also a jujube tree.

    Lin Yuan did not foresee himself becoming those two jujube trees, receiving the same treatment.

    People in this world are highly adept at interpretation.

    No wonder his scores were always low during exams, even when confronting his own published songs.

    What he lacked, was probably this line of associative thinking that the netizens possessed.

    The system''s background information had once mentioned something interesting:

    After Ang Lee finished filming "Life of Pi", countless reporters questioned him on what those metaphors in the movie really signify.

    Ang Lee did not answer any of them.

    This was a wise move, and a practice worth learning.

    So Lin Yuan has also decided not to explain.

    If the misunderstanding is still quite pleasant, then let everyone continue to misunderstand. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    He can''t seriously tell everyone, right? That I wrote this detective story simply because the system was on sale and I just wanted to be a rascal then.

    Lin Yuan even doubted that if he explained it this way, no one would believe it.

    Well.

    On the last day of May, Lin Yuan tearfully received the prize money for first place.

    He initially thought that the battle of mystery would end here.

    But as June approached, Leng Guang''s latest mystery novel was suddenly released!

    At the same time.

    Leng Guang''s tribe tagged Chu Kuang, attaching three words that marked the official start of this literary duel:

    "Advise me."

 Chapter 347 - 326: Steady_1

    He''s here, he''s here...

    He came with a new detective novel.

    Lin Yuan did not rush to respond to Leng Guang, he asked Jin Mu to buy Leng Guang''s new work the next day to read.

    Leng Guang''s new work is called "The Apartment".

    The cover is blue, not too thick, novella-length, and the cover image is a bloody handprint.

    Synopsis:

    "Xiao Guang and his girlfriend have moved into a new apartment. Not long after, a death occurs in the apartment. The police investigation ends without results, and the matter is dropped. But who would have thought, not long after, another death occurs.

    Xiao Guang and his girlfriend decide to leave the apartment, but the day before they leave, Xiao Guang''s girlfriend also dies, so he decides to find the real killer¡­"

    Who is Xiao Guang?

    Is Leng Guang ridiculing himself? S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    No, he should be ridiculing his ex-girlfriend, after all, in the book, it''s Xiao Guang''s ex-girlfriend who dies.

    Mustn''t think too much.

    It''s just a novel, just a novel.

    Lin Yuan respected his opponent Leng Guang very much, as evidenced by his willingness to spend half a day reading "The Apartment".

    In this novel, all the death scenes were inside the apartment.

    "Murder in a locked room theme¡­"

    "The killer has an alibi¡­"

    "Who is the least likely suspect¡­"

    As Lin Yuan read, he wracked his brain, trying to guess the murderer along with Xiao Guang.

    Leng Guang, a devoted traditional detective lover, was a pure aficionado of police procedural mysteries, so he revealed quite a lot of clues.

    Based on the clues, Lin Yuan guessed the murderer and quickly locked on a suspect.

    However, Lin Yuan who happened to read the ending of the novel when about to go out for lunch was startled:

    "The killer turned out to be the bedridden child?"

    Although Lin Yuan had suspected the child during the process, he dismissed the suspicion as more clues appeared.

    Looking back, Lin Yuan had fallen into Leng Guang''s trap.

    "Surprising, isn''t it?"

    Jin Mu seemed to have finished reading "The Apartment" before Lin Yuan, and he exclaimed when he saw Lin Yuan finish the novel:

    "Leng Guang always fills his detective novels with an atmosphere of horror and suspense which makes one''s neck feel chilly after reading. Even if he didn''t write detective novels, he would undoubtedly sell well just by writing horror novels."

    "Everyone is hiding something."

    "It''s the same tactic that was used in ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd''. And the motive for the murder is a precocious child who can''t bear the harassment and even harm from men towards his single mother. He even murders the man who was to be his father."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    This story had a great concept.

    Some things only a child can do. This is a big hint, but he didn''t guess it.

    Clearly, neither did Jin Mu.

    This meant that even having given out many clues, Leng Guang had still managed to defeat the vast majority of readers.

    "We are in a bit of trouble,"

    Jin Mu patted the cover of "The Apartment", saying: "This novel is highly rated online at the moment, and is basically considered Leng Guang''s most representative work to date. It might be thanks to you, boss. To beat you 100 percent, Leng Guang has exploded with potential."

    It''s like two people competing in a test.

    One of them usually only gets eighty points, but this time, under the pressure of competition, they scored ninety points, an extraordinary performance!

    ...

    Many internet users were following this literary duel, which also indirectly promoted the sales of Leng Guang''s novel "The Apartment".

    As a work that Leng Guang dared to put forward in a literary duel, the novel didn''t disappoint its readers.

    As more and more people finished reading "The Apartment", there quickly appeared countless praises online.

    "Teacher Leng Guang has created another masterpiece, this work is even more exciting than his previous detective stories! The murderer, the child, had some mother-spoiling tendencies. The methods of murder were not complex, merely taking advantage of one''s identity to disguise and each had their own secrets that confused the real clues.

    As a fan of Leng Guang, I can declare without hesitation, the victory of this literary duel belongs to Leng Guang."

    "Leng Guang''s win is secured, rock solid, helix solid, the story is terrifying, the ending is thrilling, it''s a shame I guessed the killer, even though I didn''t find any credible clues, I just felt that the author designed it this way."

    "Leng Guang is indeed solid, does this duel need to continue? It''s going to be hard for Chu Kuang to turn the tables."

    "It''s meaningless to blindly guess the killer. It''s like this when reading detective novels. Sometimes, you can guess the killer by relying on your intuition. After all, there are only so many suspects. But if it''s Chu Kuang''s narrative trickery style of writing, your blind guess might be useless, so I don''t think Leng Guang has definitely won."

    "Who would have thought that Leng Guang would suddenly explode with talent? Although I feel that Chu Kuang doesn''t have much chance of winning now, there is still a chance."

    "I wonder if Leng Guang will dominate one-sidedly, or if there will be a back-and-forth battle?"

    "If it''s at the level of ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'', I feel Chu Kuang could definitely put up a fight. The problem now is, the novelty of the narrative trickery has already been used up, if Chu Kuang continues to use narrative trickery, it needs to be more clever."

    "Have you guys forgotten something? The one who goes first is bound to lose, Chu Kuang has the upper hand (sarcastic)."

    "The eerie thing about the old rascal Chu Kuang is, the more you think he won''t make it, the more likely he''ll succeed!"

    "¡­"

    Although the tide seemed to be turning in favor of Leng Guang, there were still quite a few people who supported Chu Kuang. Everyone agreed, though, that Leng Guang''s performance this time had reached his personal limit.

    Horror, suspense, he did it all very well.

    Even Lin Yuan admitted, he even reviewed "The Apartment" again, personally feeling the endless charm of police procedural mysteries.

    In the apartment, anyone could be the murderer. That thrilling feeling is everywhere. People who like this atmosphere will enjoy this process a lot.

    The most ingenious part of this novel is when the detective said:

    "Many adults are like children, morally they have not fully developed."

    The underlying message of this is:

    "Many children, because of their age, have not fully developed morally."

    So, the killer had already been hinted at here.

    Lin Yuan was pleased with this. The biggest reason he was pleased was that "Murder on the Orient Express" had come across a very strong opponent who was bound to lose.

    Both are locked-room murder scenarios.

    Regardless of the motive or the method of murder, "Murder on the Orient Express" is sure to be more unimaginable!

    Now that Leng Guang had taken the initiative.

    Lin Yuan finally responded to Leng Guang using Chu Kuang''s account--

    He specially checked that he wasn''t logged into the wrong account.

    The repayment was also simple, as if it was routine notice: "The new book ''Murder on the Orient Express'' will be released in one week."

    This was the publishing date set by Jin Mu and Silver Blue Books.

    By that time, Jin Mu had finished reading "Murder on the Orient Express". After reading it, he just said two words that made Lin Yuan flinch for a moment:

    "Sure thing."

 Chapter 348 - 327 Must Read Classics_1

    There''s a reason why Silver Blue Books didn''t immediately publish "The Murder on the Orient Express" and instead chose to release the novel a week later for a showdown with Leng Guang.

    Two reasons, in fact.

    Before we delve into those reasons, we should note the reading experience Silver Blue Books had the day they received "The Murder on the Orient Express" ¡ª

    Stunning!

    Praise-worthy!

    Shocking!

    As the first editor at the publishing house to complete "The Murder on the Orient Express," Dezhi Cao, couldn''t hold back his astonishment when he got to the end of the novel. He even exclaimed in his office:

    "Awesome!"

    The outburst was so loud that it echoed throughout the mystery department, startling many of the editors there.

    Not just in the mystery department.

    In fact, his screams reached the magazine department next door and triggered some chatter.

    "Is Dezhi watching another soccer game?"

    "I don''t think there are any games on recently."

    "So why is he freaking out?"

    "..."

    The magazine department next door chatted for a bit.

    It seems they were also taken aback by Dezhi''s loud outburst.

    Everyone remembered the last time Dezhi had made such a racket at work - he was secretly watching a soccer game, and his team, which he had supported for many years, won the championship for the first time.

    As a result, he had 1,000 yuan deducted from his performance bonus.

    Unfortunately, due to the underperformance of Silver Blue Books'' mystery department, Dezhi didn''t get much bonus in the first place.

    It was a big blow for Dezhi, already the poorest editor-in-chief at the company.

    This time, with no passing senior executives, Dezhi got off scot-free.

    Or so he thought that morning.

    However, that afternoon saw the mystery department seemingly infected by Dezhi''s excitement, and they started shrieking. The ruckus spread throughout the entire company¡ª

    Affecting many departments.

    How to describe it?

    It''s like when you were a student, quietly attentive in class, and suddenly the class next door erupts into a frenzy, piquing your extreme curiosity.

    What happened?

    Did all the teachers in the class next door fall ill?

    Is only the physical education teacher healthy enough to teach?

    What happened exactly?

    Why are they so excited?

    Why do I feel a bit envious?

    In any case, the editors of the magazine department next door were certainly curious. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    A few even stealthily came over during their break to inquire.

    "Our department''s performance this year is promising!"

    The editor of the mystery department excitedly explained why they had just erupted into cheers, a faint blush still lingering on their faces.

    "Which bigwig is leading the charge?"

    Being editors themselves, they naturally knew that if a department''s performance was promising, it could often be attributed to a masterpiece by one of their authors.

    In the literary world, supporting a department with a single masterpiece is not a problem.

    "Does the mystery department have other bigwigs?"

    The editor of the mystery department responded naturally: "Chu Kuang, of course! His new work ... eh, you''re not into mystery, so let me tell you this way, Chu Kuang''s new work is destined for greatness!"

    "..."

    The magazine department editor stayed dumbfounded for a moment, then felt a pang of envy.

    The specific reasons remain unmentioned for now.

    Returning to the two reasons the novel can only be published a week later.

    The first reason:

    Dezhi Cao wanted a heavyweight from the world of mystery to write an introduction for "The Murder on the Orient Express" to help promote the novel.

    This takes time.

    The novel is too good, it must have a preface written by a very highly esteemed author.

    Normally, if Dezhi Cao wanted to get a heavyweight from the mystery world to write a preface for a new book by one of their authors, he''d have to pull all sorts of strings, and it wouldn''t be easy.

    After all, writing a preface doesn''t pay, and if an author''s status isn''t high enough, why would they go out of their way to write one?

    But...

    If it''s a preface for "The Murder on the Orient Express," Dezhi Cao believes that even top-tier mystery authors would not refuse!

    They might even be happy about it!

    Who wouldn''t want to write a preface for a piece destined to become a classic? Writing a preface for such a work is also an honor for the author!

    The second reason:

    Dezhi Cao hopes that "The Murder on the Orient Express" can first be sent to the detective association under the Literature and Art Association for scoring. He wants the piece to dominate its rivals in the Literary Duel with its score even before its release.

    This also needs a few days.

    As for the department being too rowdy and consequently being reprimanded by the company for lack of discipline, Dezhi Cao doesn''t care.

    When you''re standing in front of a mountain of gold and your boss calls to tell you that your bonus will be deducted this month, you won''t mind either, you might even find it amusing.

    The analogy might not be perfect, but when Dezhi Cao got "The Murder on the Orient Express," he did feel the joy of hitting the jackpot.

    Dezhi Cao couldn''t help but recall the first time he read "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd."

    While he knew Chu Kuang''s work was fantastic, he never imagined that he was witnessing the rise of a new god in the world of mystery!

    It turns out that Narrative Trickery was just a warm-up for Chu Kuang.

    The truly terrifying Chu Kuang is serious Chu Kuang after the warm-up!

    In fact,

    The publication of "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" alone, has already made the performance of the mystery department less disappointing this year.

    When averaged with the current annual sales of the company, everyone''s data looks pretty decent¡ª

    That''s right.

    The sales of Chu Kuang''s works, combined with the sales of other mystery writers in the department, and then averaged, the results indeed look pretty decent.

    This is the so-called one man supporting a department!

    If you average the property of a group of poor folks with that of Jack Ma, the average wealth will look pretty impressive.

    Chu Kuang is indeed the pillar that raises the average performance of the mystery department.

    Meanwhile,

    Chu Kuang''s new work seems to be taking the whole department to new heights! How can Dezhi Cao not scream in excitement?

    Over the next few days,

    News keeps coming back to Dezhi Cao.

    "Professor Carter has written the preface for ''The Murder on the Orient Express''. He personally sent it over and also expressed that if possible, he hopes that Mr. Chu Kuang could also write a preface for his work."

    "I see."

    Dezhi Cao smiled as expected.

    Even Carter couldn''t resist the allure of "The Murder on the Orient Express" and even wanted Chu Kuang to write a preface for his work¡ª

    Of course, Carter wouldn''t just let anyone write a preface for his work.

    "In addition,"

    Dezhi Cao''s assistant looked a little stunned, "The detective association has also given a score for ''The Murder on the Orient Express'', and their teachers have asked us to submit the work for next year''s mystery award."

    "We''ll talk about awards later. What score did they give?"

    "See for yourself."

    The assistant handed over the document.

    After glancing at the score, Dezhi Cao obviously started breathing more rapidly.

    Mystery Novel "The Murder on the Orient Express."

    Detective Association Rating: 92.4

    By the way, the score for "The Apartment" was 79.3, which is already a great score.

    And another thing, every piece that has received a score above 90 from the detective association is universally recognized as a super masterpiece within the industry!

    There''s a saying in the industry, "Mystery stories that received a score above 90 from the detective association are all considered must-read classics!"

    And this is "The Murder on the Orient Express."

 Chapter 349 - 328 I Forgot to Eat Today_1

    He''s already won!

    Face the windstorm!

    Here comes the soaring dragon!

    For the first time in his career, Cao Dezhi was laughing with such confidence, feeling as if he had finally flaunted the masculinity and the authority of being the chief editor of the mystery department¡ª

    This was the true sense of "assured victory".

    Meanwhile.

    The outside world was still unaware of what Chu Kuang''s new book looked like.

    The result of the literary duel between Chu Kuang and Leng Guang was fueling debates across the mystery community.

    Then, in an unexpected moment, all disputes vanished.

    If you gathered the online crowd into one classroom, it might resemble the lively chatter during self-study period.

    People eating, people talking about love.

    Suddenly, the teacher arrived.

    And then, the classroom fell silent.

    The difference was that people were momentarily stunned by the promotion for "Murder on the Oriental Express", not by the fear of the teacher.

    They doubted if they had misread something.

    [Carter: This is a work that rank amongst the top ten in the Blue Star mystery literary field.]

    [Received a score of 92.4 from the Detective Association, becoming the seventh highest-ranked work in mystery history.]

    [Chu Kuang''s new work, "Murder on the Oriental Express", could be a flawless detective novel.]

    These three lines were pretty much the promotion from Silver Blue Books.

    But for the mystery community, it was no less than a depth bomb!

    Boom!

    The mystery community was exploding in all directions!

    From mystery authors to mystery fans, everyone was swept up by the blast of the torpedo!

    A work in the top ten of the mystery world?!

    Almost a perfect detective novel?!

    After the initial shock, the entire internet exploded!

    "My goodness!"

    "Isn''t this too exaggerated?"

    "It feels like Chu Kuang has unleashed the Bomb this time?"

    "At first, I thought, did Carter take a bribe, but the promotion later told me that what Carter said seems to be the truth. I''m feeling a little confused right now, is Chu Kuang''s new work so formidable?"

    "The Detective Association scored it 92.4 points!? I''m dumbfounded!"

    "This score can be ranked the seventh in the history of mystery writings. Today, all mystery enthusiasts witnessed history because it''s not every year that we see a work that can rank in the top ten of the mystery score chart."

    "The last time the Detective Association scored a novel over ninety was five years ago..."

    "If I remember correctly, the score for ''Apartment'' didn''t break eighty."

    "A literary duel? What a joke."

    "Leng Guang: This disrespectful youngster used a novel that scored over ninety by the Detective Association to attack me!"

    "This is a one-sided massacre, isn''t it..."

    "What the hell did Chu Kuang write to make both Teacher Carter and the Detective Association fall for it?"

    "This is outrageous! The long-awaited literary duel, Chu Kuang hasn''t even officially made his move yet and it seems like Teacher Leng Guang has already lost his standing!"

    "The one who goes first loses, the ancient people did not lie to me!"

    "Did Chu Kuang launch a direct attack from the stratosphere?"

    "..."

    Although the wave caused by the explosion will eventually fall back to the water surface, the shocking ripples take a long time to dissipate, expanding like the concentric circles of a ripple, ultimately touching everyone in the mystery community. It was the collective anticipation raised by the mystery community¡ª

    The anticipation for Chu Kuang''s new work!

    Everyone knew that the Detective Association was very fair. So far, there were hardly any cases where their scores were far from impartial.

    More importantly, there was a mutual validation by Carter and the Detective Association!

    If "Murder on the Oriental Express" were a work that could be written into the history of mystery novels, then Carter would be a figure that could ranked amongst the top ten in the history of mystery literature!

    For the sake of his own reputation, he wouldn''t possibly give Chu Kuang such false publicity.

    So, inevitably, Chu Kuang''s new mystery work might truly be a classic!

    ...

    If the promotional event by Silver Blue Books was likened to exploding fish, then everyone in the mystery genre is a fish at this moment, including Leng Guang, the victim of the literary duel.

    Yes, "victim" is the title everyone just gave to Leng Guang.

    He went to Chu Kuang for a literary duel on mystery novels, but Chu Kuang''s works were recognized and promoted by top-tier figures in the industry even before they were published. Moreover, the initial evaluation was that they would "make history in mystery literature". How would that make Leng Guang feel?

    That he lost?

    I haven''t even seen his book yet, you mean to tell me, I have already lost? S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Chu Kuang is yet to officially make a move, and I''m already down for the count?

    Leng Guang wanted to say:

    I''m not convinced!

    But after looking at the rating given by the Detective Association to "The Murder on the Orient Express" and the evaluation by Carter, Leng Guang sadly realized he truly had lost.

    This was no longer about the lack of etiquette among young people.

    The "literary duel" had basically become nothing but empty words.

    Could an ant and an elephant have a duel?

    The answer is no.

    The rating from the Detective Association and Carter''s evaluation had already declared the outcome in advance. Chu Kuang appeared to be the elephant, making Leng Guang unexpectedly the ant, which made him feel rather stifled.

    Of course, he felt stifled.

    But at the same time, Leng Guang was genuinely curious.

    The curiosity of a person of the mystery genre, at least this curiosity didn''t include any impurities.

    He wanted to know, what kind of work was it?

    Or rather, how did he lose exactly?

    If he didn''t even know this, it would be too much of an injustice.

    Fortunately, this wasn''t an imaginary battle between Leng Guang and Chu Kuang. Even though this literary duel seemed to have already been decided, it ultimately needed to be put into the actual writing.

    Carrying everyone''s expectations, "The Murder on the Orient Express", was... published!

    Later on.

    Some people referred to this day as the start of the "Chu Kuang Era" in the mystery circle.

    On this day.

    Leng Guang got up a bit late, and even after visiting three nearby bookstores in a row, he failed to buy the "The Murder on the Orient Express".

    Many bookstores were out of stock, indicating just how many reader''s expectations were fulfilled by this novel''s booming sales.

    Upon returning home, Leng Guang found a package from Silver Blue Books had been delivered to him.

    Inside was a copy of "The Murder on the Orient Express".

    Without guessing at Silver Blue Books'' intentions, Leng Guang immediately retreated to his study and opened "The Murder on the Orient Express".

    The preface was written by Carter:

    "I don''t remember the first time I read a mystery novel, but I remember how thrilled and shocked I was. Years later, I became a well-known mystery writer, only to find that I was struggling to find mystery novels that moved me.

    I thought perhaps my heart was growing numb, but when I opened ''The Murder on the Orient Express'', I knew it wasn''t that my heart had grown numb, but rather that it had been too long since any groundbreaking masterpiece had been introduced in the mystery genre, depriving our senses of new stimuli for too long.

    I don''t want to let everyone spend too much time on a preface, because excitement can''t wait. I hope you enjoy this ride on the Orient Express."

    It''s a short preface.

    Full of praise.

    Common in other novels, but since Carter wrote it gives it a different significance. Anyway, from what Leng Guang knew about Carter, this was the first time he saw Carter praising a colleague like this.

    "Let''s begin."

    On a quiet afternoon, Leng Guang opened "The Murder on the Orient Express".

    Upon reading the last word, he carefully closed the book and placed it on the easily accessible shelf.

    "When I was a kid, I wasn''t good at studying, didn''t like doing homework, and would make up excuses the next day, saying I forgot to finish it. The teacher would always scold me by asking, ''How come you didn''t forget to eat?'' "

    "Now, I want to tell the teacher that I really forgot to eat that day."

    This was what Leng Guang said later in an interview.

    The interview took place in this study, and in the background on the bookshelf was the eye-catching "The Murder on the Orient Express".

    Later on, the interview inexplicably went viral and sparked a famous and decent admission of defeat in the literary duels of Blue Star:

    "I forgot to eat today."

    Those who lose the literary duel tend to say it in a roundabout way, expressing their admiration and respect for their opponent, while also preserving their dignity.

    The online translation, "I lost."

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Why did I suddenly picture Leng Guang as Luo?

 Chapter 350 - 329 Poirot on Fire_1

    In fact, Leng Guang''s reading speed was not fast, and he wasted quite some time buying books.

    The time he wasted was enough for the first batch of readers of "Murder on the Orient Express" to write a bunch of book reviews, even sparking some topics.

    In fact.

    The real response started with the reviews given by the first batch of readers, and an internet detective forum became the first to blow up on the web!

    The detective forum is a gathering place for detective fans.

    The number of hardcore detective lovers isn''t small!

    Those are the readers who continued to be enthralled by the content of "Murder on the Orient Express", even after being vindicated by the detective association and Carter; it was their almost satisfied moan emanated after reaching ultimate satisfaction.

    Swish Swish Swish!

    An infinite number of posts emerged like bamboo shoots after a spring rain!

    Perhaps no single post could represent everyone''s feelings.

    Everyone had different feelings, but everyone was unanimous in their shock at this novel!

    "I thought I was reading traditional whodunit, Chu Kuang was writing a Narrative Trickery, and I was deceived twice in a row; this time I thought no matter how traditional Chu Kuang''s plot is, I believe this is definitely a dazzling narrative trickery. But when I saw the ending, I actually knelt... Chu Kuang is really starting to write traditional whodunit now!"

    This comment received high praise!

    Just as Lin Yuan planned.

    His works could be narrative trickery, or they could be traditional, but the readers will never guess the answer until the end if they are shifting between reality and fiction!

    The following posts received similarly high praise and replies.

    "After reading this novel, I started to believe that Chu Kuang''s ''Dondon Bridge Falling'' was really a mockery of narrative trickery; and I suddenly felt a bit sorry for Teacher Leng Guang. Why did you mess with his Literary Duel... "

    "This topic is beyond the syllabus!"

    "I almost fainted when I saw Poirot uncover the truth, definitely not exaggerating: when I found out that the lone murderer killed the victim, I almost burst my eyeballs. My scalp tingled and goosebumps erupted all over my body!" Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Carter''s preface didn''t lie to me! Masterpiece! Explosive!"

    "Before reading it, I thought the score of a detective novel was a bit high, but after reading it, I thought, isn''t this score actually low? This is a textbook-level detective novel!"

    "Poirot Poirot Poirot! I am in love with this pineapple!"

    "Hahahaha when the name Poirot appeared, Chu Kuang might just have wanted to eat a pineapple."

    "Sorry, but Chu Kuang is a god!"

    "I apologize, I had a prejudice against Chu Kuang because of the Narrative Trickery, but after reading this new work, I must admit I was impressed. The ending was very touching, I always hoped that in this dirty world, in corners where law can''t reach, there would be an invisible hand holding the sword of judgment, like these twelve so-called murderers.

    When I saw Poirot''s decision and the final lines, I felt incredibly warm. Although I can''t do anything and am a small fry, I still want to use my humble five-star review to show my respect for this kind of action and understanding."

    "The victim is the perpetrator, twelve victims... very shocking. As he turned around in the end, Poirot was super cool! I already heard the battle song in my mind! Too bad the bgm didn''t match Poirot."

    "2333, Chu Kuang has Xian Yu, let Xian Yu write a song."

    "Poirot is probably the first detective in history to spare a criminal, or at least this is the first time I''ve seen it written this way... There may be controversy, but I want to tell Chu Kuang, well done!"

    "..."

    In the discussion, Poirot was repeatedly mentioned.

    Poirot''s decision led to a lot of debate as well.

    Someone screenshot the text from the novel, when Poirot gave two choices and said:

    [Things are either right or wrong, but you...]

    He was silent for a long time before he said these confused words:[I can''t make a decision.]

    He left the choice to others.

    When everyone chose the first conclusion, that the murderer was innocent, Poirot took off his hat, bowed, announced his withdrawal from the case, and slowly turned to leave in the snow.

    What is kindness, and what is evil?

    This was the first time Poirot couldn''t distinguish, yet he charmed numerous readers!

    It seemed as if everyone had seen a lonely figure trudging on in the snow, walking and reflecting...

    In fact, readers who had read "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" knew very well how proud and principled Poirot was.

    Everyone was used to Poirot''s wisdom and intelligence in solving cases!

    For him to say "I can''t make a decision" was unthinkable.

    Just like his eventual withdrawal from the case.

    Because it was so unthinkable, readers felt Poirot''s torment and choice!

    At this moment, Poirot had become a recognized great detective in many people''s minds!

    You have to know, "world-renowned detective" was a setup given to Poirot by the novelist.

    The novelist''s pen can freely set things up in the novel, such as the handsomest man in the world, or the most beautiful woman, etc.

    Inferior writers indulge themselves with their own settings.

    Top-notch writers, the moment their story and settings appear, readers reach a collective climax as if those characters actually exist.

    This is called writing power.

    So for readers to recognize "Poirot is a world-renowned detective" is not an easy thing, but Chu Kuang has effortlessly done it¡ª

    With just two novels.

    The foundation and suspense were laid in "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd".

    "Murder on the Orient Express" opened up a reputation and recognition.

    Poirot''s story may continue in the future, but at this moment, Poirot, the famous detective who has acquitted the murderer, has become extremely popular in the readers'' minds!

    Of course.

    The riddle-lovers were also taken care of, just like this comment says:

    "I can never guess the old rascal Chu Kuang''s tactics! The most hateful thing is that, Chu Kuang, the old rascal, confidently laid out a very complex setup, even listed out the simple drawings of the carriages and time schedules of the characters, only to suddenly throw out his newly invented impossible crime mode after I racked my brains to fill a paper!!"

    Yes.

    Many readers tried to find out the truth before the detective when reading "Murder on the Orient Express", which is a hobby of mystery lovers when reading such books.

    But when everyone reached the end, they were all flabbergasted while being stunned.

    Did you cheat?!

    Chu Kuang, surprisingly, completed a new reasoning mode again!

    The murderer turns out to be twelve people!

    Of course, it''s surprising, all the passengers in the carriage conspired together, helping each other with alibis, leading to the possibility that all testimonies could be false.

    Who could foresee this!?

    Isn''t the normal mindset that there is only one murderer?

    If there are occasional collaborations, wouldn''t there be at most two or three people?

    But in this novel, all conventional reasoning is wrong, and the ending turns out to be everyone being good!

    At the same time, everyone is a murderer!

    Just like the first time I saw Narrative Trickery, no matter how hard I try, I couldn''t guess who the murderer was, Chu Kuang''s "Murder on the Orient Express", this is a whole new reasoning mode!

    Basically impossible to guess!

    So, when everyone finished reading, it''s hard not to be flummoxed!

    Not to mention, right until the answer was revealed, everyone instinctively thought that Chu Kuang was writing Narrative Trickery.

    The media hype had begun.

    The Literary Duel between Chu Kuang and Leng Guang, the duel between Narrative Trickery and traditional reasoning.

    As a result, when Chu Kuang''s new book came out, everyone only realized it after reading, ah, this guy is just genuinely messing with us, this time it''s the same as what Leng Guang wrote, it belongs to the traditional reasoning category!

    Moreover, it''s not much different from the locked-room murder mode!

    "I feel that Chu Kuang is really the author who can tease the readers the most, yet I am still delighted to be teased."

    "Chu Kuang created Narrative Trickery, but Chu Kuang never said he could only do Narrative Trickery, he is just being naughty and tricky, knowing that everyone has inherent thinking, he simply didn''t explain the type of this writing, it''s precisely because he didn''t explain it made me stunned when I realized it was a traditional reasoning yet almost subverted the traditional reasoning mode!"

    "Truly the old rascal."

    "The old rascal is messing with our feelings! He must be hiding somewhere sniggering!"

    "Clearly Leng Guang was the most toyed with, he pulled Chu Kuang into a duel, only for Chu Kuang to beat Leng Guang with traditional reasoning, what Leng Guang is best at."

    "This is equivalent to Chu Kuang defeating Leng Guang with the Martial Skills that Leng Guang is most adept at, this is somewhat awkward."

    "I feel for Leng Guang, even though this guy loves to rant, he doesn''t speak without reason, the reasoning underlying his critique is pretty sound, it''s just bad luck that he ran into Chu Kuang this time."

    "Chu Kuang also slapped the anti-unreliable narrator readers in the face this time. When ''The Fall of the Dondon Bridge'' came out before, weren''t many people criticizing that Chu Kuang only knows how to do Narrative Trickery?

    They even did a second vote, wanting to pull Chu Kuang down, and now Chu Kuang is clearly telling everyone: bro''s traditional reasoning is executed even better than Narrative Trickery."

    "..."

    This is not an over-interpretation or conjecture this time.

    That''s exactly what Lin Yuan thought.

    He didn''t want to leave the impression that he only knew how to do Narrative Trickery.

    So, this time it had to be traditional reasoning, and it had to be an explosive work.

    Now, this work has indeed exploded!

    Traditional reasoning can still innovate and create a mode where everyone collaborates to murder!

    This is just trickery within trickery!

    It has directly swollen the faces of those mystery fans who previously despised Chu Kuang.

    Just like some readers'' comments, who could have thought that Chu Kuang''s traditional reasoning would be played even better than Narrative Trickery!

    Those who voted against Chu Kuang before, one by one, had to admit their mistake in front of "Murder on the Orient Express".

    And the shockwaves of this explosion didn''t just stun the readers, it also toppled countless authors in the mystery circle...

    These are mystery writers, the most sensitive group of people to mystery novels.

    The readers are simply admiring the ingenuity of this story, but the mystery writers clearly understand how difficult it is to create such a story!

    "Chu Kuang is outrageously talented!"

    On this day, a fellow mystery writer, having also finished reading "Murder on the Orient Express", sighed in a group chat.

    In the group chat, there were only +1''s.

 Chapter 351 - 333: Gods Hand_1

    In the face of a masterpiece like "Murder on the Orient Express," all detective novelists can only marvel at the genius of Chu Kuang!

    It''s hard to imagine that such a classic work, highly acclaimed by the detective association, was written by a novelist with little detective writing experience¡ª

    Chu Kuang is indeed prolific.

    He writes fantasy novels, excels in short stories, and straddles two major areas. He is acknowledged as a genius in the world of fiction.

    However, his real detective writing can be summed up in a single work, "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd", and with this one entry into the world of detective writing, Chu Kuang brought a storm of narrative trickery!

    As for his short story "The Fall of the Dondon Bridge" published last month, people didn''t pay much attention to it. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    To put it in kind words, that''s Chu Kuang''s enrichment and complement to narrative trickery.

    Less so, he''s mocking readers out of boredom and taking a large sum of blog manuscript fees by the way, drawing enough attention.

    Up to now, the impression Chu Kuang left on the detective writing circle was still just a genius who enjoyed fooling around and teasing his readers with his narrative tricks.

    Not until Chu Kuang published "Murder on the Orient Express" did all disputes in the detective circle crumble before this work.

    No one called Chu Kuang a frivolous trickster anymore.

    Nor did anyone say that Chu Kuang was just fooling around with readers in virtue of his talent.

    He is more of a master of detection, causing occasional laughter, but with profound insights!

    He completed a detective show, initiated and concluded by Poirot, with an almost devout ceremonial sense!

    From narrative trickery to tradition...

    From playful creation to classical mystery...

    As a constant character, Poirot is already showing a trend toward canonization!

    As the creator of Poirot, at this point, Chu Kuang has also become the "newbie" of monstrous talent in the eyes of detective writers!

    Well, Chu Kuang is still a newcomer by the number of detective works.

    But this newcomer is terrifyingly formidable, and no detective writer is willing to describe Chu Kuang as a "newcomer" anymore.

    So, "monstrous" is the appropriate term.

    This is a title that belongs to Chu Kuang, because it''s hard for everyone to regard Chu Kuang as a newcomer. Who else would have such a high starting point when they debut?

    "Chu Kuang has blurred the boundaries of the detective circle. If we say he is a top-tier detective writer, his works have made it into the top ten in the detective rating. He has overwhelmed Leng Guang, a top-tier detective writer, in the literary duel. Yet if we say he is a top-tier detective master like Carter, he has only written two detective stories!

    Well, I think ''The Fall of the Dondon Bridge'' is not a detective story."

    The industry has a habit of grading different writers.

    However, they found that Chu Kuang cannot be graded.

    His qualifications were too shallow and his upper limit too high. Chu Kuang now only has few works. No one knows what level Chu Kuang will reach in the future.

    Anyway, the wretched loser in this literary duel, Leng Guang, is a bona fide top-tier detective writer. This could be used as a reference to assess Chu Kuang.

    Some shook their heads, "Leng Guang crashed quite badly this time."

    Some held a different opinion, "It''s not disgraceful to lose to ''Murder on the Orient Express'', because anyone would be the same."

    A sigh from the former, "But he nonetheless lost, becoming a backdrop for Chu Kuang."

    The latter seriously retorted, "Didn''t you notice that nobody is scoffing at Leng Guang? He may have lost, but he demonstrated his skills. It''s just that the opponent was too inhuman."

    As the two sides were about to argue, a senior remarked:

    "Nobody has the right to ridicule Leng Guang. For all the detective writers present, anyone who faces ''Murder on the Orient Express'' will experience the same outcome."

    "What would happen?"

    "They will surely perish."

    A silence fell over the detective circle.

    Chu Kuang''s "Murder on the Orient Express" is an almost invincible work. As that senior said, it''s not about Leng Guang. Anyone who confronts this novel will die.

    ...

    The ripple continued to spread, starting from the detective forum and eventually sweeping across various related platforms.

    On the official website of the detective association, "Murder on the Orient Express" has been included in the top ten of the rating leaderboard.

    The comments on the novel were like those of other high-rated detective novels, full of praise.

    "Chu Kuang''s ''Murder on the Orient Express'' adopted the purest traditional flavor, presenting to the readers a grand feast of detection!"

    "With more and more detective novels on the book market starting to use similar templates, we often see a gruesome case occurring. The detective arrives and conducts an unexplainable investigation, following up with some seemingly baseless detective work, or even disappearing for a few days in order to find clues.

    When the truth is revealed, an astounding secret is exposed, and we as readers can only marvel without fully understanding. However, what Chu Kuang brings readers is a fair duel with the detective, and also offers us humanitarian contemplation outside of the case. This is incredibly rare."

    "Yes, in order for the conclusion to be sufficiently unexpected, regardless of the case or the detective''s investigation, the more perplexing they can manage, the more perplexing they will be. So while the conclusion is astonishing indeed, I always feel that what I read before was useless. I only need to see the case occur and the final reveal by the detective.

    The investigation feels like I am complete idiot, not understanding anything, only regularly seeing the detective''s knowing smile. But when the detective finally reveals the solution, I finally understand what happened in the case."

    "Where''s the promised confrontation between the reader and the detective?"

    "The work of Chu Kuang this time is completely different. You don''t have to guess what kind of investigation the detective did. The author lays out every step of the detective''s investigation and the evidence obtained in front of the reader, inviting the reader to join the detective in cracking the case. I inevitably get involved.

    The author does not try to trip up readers in terms of specialized knowledge, investigative situations, or evidence, and makes up for readers'' disadvantaged reading position as much as possible, offering a platform for thinking. He does not dwell on issues such as investigations but leaves room for plot twists, which still make sense.

    The reader is allowed to guess and think according to the development of the plot and the gradual increase of evidence, draw conclusions and overturn their own conclusions, and then continue to guess and think...until the answer is given, the reader''s thinking has been following the plot development, and the answer given both makes sense and is invariably unexpected.

    So the reader can''t help but admire the author''s meticulous thinking and ingenious planning."

    "Those detective stories that are afraid to tell readers the investigative details and case evidence are indeed afraid readers will guess the result too soon and lose interest in the story. But this should involve an exploration into the story structure and plot, rather than a petty cleverness that conceals and confuses readers, or deifying detectives.

    Readers are not just placed in a position equal to the characters in the story, but they also fail to find enjoyment and gain respect."

    "After all this verbosity, there''s actually just one sentence: Chu Kuang was divine this round."

    The tone smacks of a self-media, suspected of either stepping on some or boosting others. However, it reveals a fact implicitly:

    Chu Kuang has won over the discerning traditional mystery lovers.

    It was not long ago that Chu Kuang''s reputation in the detective circle was teetering on the brink due to "The Fall of the Dondon Bridge."

    However, once "Murder on the Orient Express" was published, the world seems to have changed.

    In this world, there is someone who will never change.

    This person is the well-known Chu Kuang advocate, Shen Jiarui, who stated on the Tribe: "It is said that there is a term called ''God''s Move'' in Go. ''Murder on the Orient Express '' is Chu Kuang''s God''s Move!"

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: This chapter was written in the hospital, the circumstances affected the state, it will be revised later, please bear with it.

 Chapter 352 - 331: Chu Kuangs Fans Break 100 Million_1

    "Professional Chu fanatic online."

    "Dedicated to Chu adoration for a hundred years."

    "Opened his mouth and began praising Ol'' Chu."

    "..."

    Shen Jiarui''s nickname as "Chu praiser" is now known all over the internet.

    Even some internet users, who also praise Chu, follow and praise him in the comments, obviously seeing Shen Jiarui as their spiritual leader.

    In his comment section, many people are using the three words Shen Jiarui previously used:

    "Who else?"

    Shen Jiarui responded with a cheering emoji.

    Chu Kuang''s "Who else" has gained popularity through Shen Jiarui''s promotion.

    It is the third day since the release of "Murder on the Orient Express".

    And in these short three days, the sales of "Murder on the Orient Express" have exceeded ten million!

    The booksellers once again witnessed Chu Kuang''s terrifying book sales capability!

    Meanwhile.

    The number of Chu Kuang''s tribe fans is also steadily marching towards the 100 million mark, and it is estimated that it will reach that milestone in the next few days.

    Obviously, this is largely due to the success of "Murder on the Orient Express".

    This work has successfully conquered many traditional mystery enthusiasts!

    Because Poirot in the book is very popular, there are also fans who are good at painting. Based on the character image description and character introduction of Poirot in the novel, create some portrait paintings of Poirot-

    Some are realistic.

    Some are cartoon-like.

    The appearance of these virtual character images of Poirot represents the readers'' love for Poirot and widespread attention.

    At this juncture.

    There was news that several film and television production companies had the idea of purchasing the film and television rights of "Murder on the Orient Express" and had contacted Chu Kuang''s agent on this matter.

    This has stirred up the expectation of many readers, even to the extent of eagerly looking forward to it!

    In fact, on Earth, "Murder on the Orient Express" has been adapted into film several times.

    This is naturally a very suitable work for film and television adaptation!

    Inside the comic studio.

    Jin Mu asked Lin Yuan with a smile:

    "We''ve accumulated a lot of copyright inquiries, should we consider handling some of them?"

    Indeed, some companies are considering adapting "Murder on the Orient Express" for film and television, but not just this one.

    The copyrights inquiries Jin Mu is referring to basically include the ongoing manga "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma" and the eight stories of "Ghost Blows Out the Light", and some even want to buy the rights to "Zhu Xian" along with the latest "Murder on the Orient Express".

    People have been asking about things related to film, television, animation, etc., but Lin Yuan has always kept his mouth shut about this.

    The reason for not loosening up is simple.

    Lin Yuan is afraid that his work will be ruined if it''s adapted.

    It''s too disrespectful to struggle with copyright issues.

    Although Lin Yuan loves money, he''s not particularly short of it, so Lin Yuan asked Jin Mu to investigate these companies.

    If the film and television company that made the inquiry has a good reputation, he is willing to sell the copyright.

    "Have you investigated?"

    "It''s clear now, some companies are trustworthy, for example, the company that wants the production rights of ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma'' is the third-ranked animation production company in Chu Province. Their level is considered first-class in the circle, and they also offered a lot of money."

    "Hmm."

    "There is also this TV drama production company called ''Time Production'', they want to buy the copyright of ''Ghost Blows Out the Light: The Ancient City of Jingjue''. This is the first story in the Ghost Blows Out the Light series, so there are the most requests for copyrights. The contract signed with our company can stipulate the director and actors.

    They are all teams with fairly strong abilities in the industry and can ensure to the greatest extent the seriousness of the television drama shooting."

    "..."

    Following the communication between Jin Mu and Lin Yuan, Lin Yuan decided to sell some copyrights.

    However, he made a rule that the copyrights he let out must have a time limit.

    In the past life, the author of the "Ghost Blows Out the Light'' series didn''t make much money because of copyright issues, even though the film and television adaptations of his work were very popular. The specific reason can be found on the internet.

    Therefore, Lin Yuan is very careful when it comes to letting out copyrights.

    For example, "Ghost Blows Out the Light: The Ancient City of Jingjue", although he plans to sell the copyright, he only gives three years.

    During these three years, the purchasing company can film it into a television drama.

    Whether they film it or not, after three years, Lin Yuan will take back the copyright and the company will not be able to shoot again unless they buy the copyright from Lin Yuan again.

    Of course, the animation production rights of "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma" can also be sold accordingly.

    This manga was originally about to end, and continuing with an animation is a good choice.

    Also planned to be released is "Murder on the Orient Express".

    The only one that no one seems to want to buy is "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd", but this is a problem with the work itself, not a problem with Chu Kuang.

    It''s apparent.

    The charm of this "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" lies in the textual Narrative Trickery, which is more interesting to read in a novel.

    Therefore, on Earth, there is a saying, "Agatha Christie wrote ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'' many years ago, but it took film companies several decades to figure out how to make it into a movie".

    "You go negotiate the specific price."

    Lin Yuan delegated this task to Jin Mu.

    As long as the price and conditions are satisfactory, just bring the contract here for Lin Yuan to sign.

    The total of these copyright fees has already exceeded one hundred million!

    In addition, Lin Yuan''s current annual income is also easily over one hundred million!

    With the increasing number of works under his three pseudonyms, Lin Yuan''s income is becoming more and more horrifying.

    "It seems I need to be a bit more expansive."

    After reckoning how much money he could get from selling the copyrights, Lin Yuan decided to play more freely in the future and make better use of the system to improve the quality of his works.

    For example, films.

    Why not use all those props that assist in making films better?

    After all, props that cost hundreds of thousands, or even millions, are trivial compared to Lin Yuan''s current income.

    Lin Yuan is consciously adjusting his mindset.

    This is probably related to Lin Yuan having read a lot of books recently with the help of the system''s energy potions and other props.

    Having read a lot of books, he feels that his insight has improved a lot and he is no longer as petty as before.

    After changing his way of thinking, Lin Yuan did the following things:

    Increased Jin Mu''s salary.

    Increased Luo Wei''s salary.

    Bought a gaming cabin and other fun things for his home.

    Increased his sister''s pocket money.

    Changed a better car for his sister.

    And...

    On second thought, it seems that he didn''t just do a few things, basically all related to spending money. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "A problem that can be solved with money is not a problem."

    When Lin Yuan watched movies before, every time an actor said this line, he always felt it was too fake, but now he has a bit of understanding of this sentence.

    After all, any of Lin Yuan''s three pseudonyms, when singled out, has a considerable income.

    Even if the least noticeable, Shadow, relying on the serialization of "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma" and the subsequent layoff of royalties, can easily earn tens of millions a year.

    Thinking like this.

    Lin Yuan suddenly received a system prompt:

    [Ding dong! Congratulations to the host for completing the task of having 100 million fans on Chu Kuang''s account, reward: one Silver Treasure Chest, three Bronze Treasure Chests!]

 Chapter 353 - 332: Four Consecutive Draws from the Treasure Chest_1

    Three Bronze Treasure Chests, and a Silver Treasure Chest.

    With tasks that span a long timeline and present a relative high difficulty, the rewards are naturally substantial.

    But I wonder what good stuff would come out this time?

    Given Lin Yuan''s nature, he would probably wait for a lucky moment to claim his rewards.

    But as mentioned earlier, Lin Yuan''s mindset has changed a bit.

    Maybe it''s a good idea to open the chests while they''re still hot!

    If they sit too long, the chests might cool off. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    So no more hesitation, let''s just get straight to it.

    With this thought in mind, Lin Yuan spoke, "Open a Bronze Treasure Chest first."

    System: [Congratulations Host for getting the song "Nervous".]

    The song "Nervous"?

    Well, this song is good.

    This reward is quite generous considering it comes from a Bronze Treasure Chest.

    Without thinking too much,

    Lin Yuan proceeded to open the second chest.

    System: [Congratulations Host for obtaining a basic level in all musical instruments!]

    At this instant, Lin Yuan felt as if countless pieces of musical instrument knowledge were flooding into his brain.

    Guitar, violin, guzheng, guqin, erhu¡­

    He knew a bit of each.

    Well, alright.

    Indeed, only a tiny bit, all at a basic level of understanding.

    In other words, Lin Yuan now understood all the musical instruments but wasn''t a master in any of them. He was at the stage of just being able to play.

    However, this reward was very practical for someone like Lin Yuan, who liked to compose his own music!

    There are so many musical instruments.

    If it wasn''t for the system''s reward, it would be unimaginable how long it would take Lin Yuan to learn about them one by one!

    So, Lin Yuan would not be dissatisfied just because the award for musical proficiency was basic.

    On the contrary.

    Lin Yuan thought that if a Bronze Treasure Chest could come out with such a reward, then its value was already quite high!

    Feeling lucky.

    Lin Yuan decided to take a gamble on a triple draw!

    He proclaimed loudly, "Open another Bronze Treasure Chest."

    Lin Yuan was already feeling the allure of opening chests consecutively. It was as exciting as lottery draws!

    "Ding dong!"

    The system presented the reward from the third Bronze Treasure Chest: [Congratulations Host for obtaining professional level calligraphy skills!]

    Whosh.

    With the opening of the third chest, Lin Yuan''s brain was flooded with countless pieces of calligraphy knowledge,

    Including brush calligraphy, pen calligraphy, and so on.

    "Calligraphy skills?"

    This time, Lin Yuan was more surprised than excited.

    Because Lin Yuan''s time is precious now, and he can''t do as he did before, teaching painting to a wide range of students to earn money.

    The same goes for calligraphy.

    Even if he could teach professional level calligraphy, he wouldn''t actually go out to some university to impart calligraphy skills. So the only advantage of this reward is¡­

    Perhaps in future when signing books for readers, he won''t be laughed at by the crowd?

    See who would dare to say his handwriting is a child''s writing.

    No, that''s not right.

    Since he has acquired calligraphy skills, why not hold a signing event now? It might even boost the sales of "Murder on the Orient Express."

    Lin Yuan was pumped.

    Lin Yuan, who probably cares a lot about his handwriting being laughed at by the group, immediately contacted Jin Mu and asked him to bring over fifty books.

    He was going to hold a book signing event again, to vindicate his handwriting!

    "Okay."

    Jin Mu agreed.

    After hanging up the phone, Lin Yuan looked at the last chest of the system.

    This chest was at the Silver level!

    After opening three Bronze Treasure chests consecutively, Lin Yuan was now really tempted to open the Silver Treasure Chest.

    Should he open it now?

    Hit a quadruple draw now?

    After gritting his teeth, Lin Yuan said, "Open the Silver Treasure Chest!"

    "Ding dong."

    It was the fourth prompt from the system: [Congratulations Host for obtaining Hercule Poirot Complete Series!]

    With the system prompt, Lin Yuan was stunned.

    So items from hot-opening chests could be this amazing?

    The song, basic instrument skills, professional level calligraphy, all are good.

    But all these rewards from the Bronze Treasure Chests added together couldn''t compare to the reward from the Silver Treasure Chest!

    This was the complete series of Hercule Poirot!

    You should know that for every custom mystery novel Lin Yuan had written before, each one required a reward expenditure!

    But this time he was incredibly lucky and directly got the complete series of Hercule Poirot mystery novels!

    This alone covered dozens of Agatha Christie''s mysteries.

    It even included timeless masterpieces like "Death on the Nile"!

    What a windfall!

    Indeed worthy of being a Silver Treasure Chest.

    Lin Yuan was very satisfied inside.

    Last time, a "Death Note" came out of the Silver Treasure Chest, which was given to Shadow.

    But in terms of value, compared to the items from other Silver Treasure Chests, "Death Note" was completely blown out by the Hercule Poirot Series this time!

    There was no helping it.

    The Hercule Poirot Series had too many novels.

    For example, the mentioned "Death on the Nile".

    The value of this novel was almost on par with "Murder on the Orient Express".

    There are also "The ABC Murders", "Evil Under the Sun", etc.

    These novels, when singled out, were no match for "Murder on the Orient Express", but combined as a series, they were formidable!

    In Agatha Christie''s lifetime, she mainly published around 80 detective works.

    There are 38 in which Hercule Poirot is the main character!

    In other words.

    With the Hercule Poirot Complete Series, Lin Yuan had effectively obtained half of Agatha Christie''s works!

    Of course.

    The series doesn''t include "And Then There Were None", because unfortunately, our Hercule Poirot didn''t take part in that story.

    But Lin Yuan doesn''t ask for such generosity.

    After all, excluding the already published "Murder on the Orient Express" and "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd", Lin Yuan had received throughoutly thirty-six of Agatha Christie''s detective works in one shot!

    What a profit!

    Lin Yuan had already started planning the release time of his "Hercule Poirot Complete Series".

    He even considered the possibility of releasing the entire series directly.

    While Lin Yuan was thinking, Jin Mu had someone bring in fifty unpublished copies of "Murder on the Orient Express" into the studio.

    "Begin signing."

    Lin Yuan took out the pen on the table.

    "Chu Kuang."

    The two words, full of vigor and resembling cursive calligraphy, appeared on the first page of the novel, right under the blank space of Carter''s preface.

    After signing, he handed the book to Jin Mu for re-packaging.

    Jin Mu took the book, instinctively inspecting it while preparing himself to see the boss''s infamous primary-school-student handwriting.

    As everyone knows, boss''s handwriting¡­ was ugly, widely acknowledged to be that of a primary school student''s.

    But when Jin Mu saw Lin Yuan''s signature this time, his eyes suddenly widened!

    The signature was bold and flowing, with a strong sense of artistry and a forceful presence!

    The vigorous and round strokes of the pen and ink lines were winding; the structure and layout of the characters were adventurous, varied and continuous!

    Looking back.

    He saw Lin Yuan, pen in hand, deftly writing his pen name. With short lines cutting off abruptly, and long lines flowing smoothly, where was the primary school student handwriting from before?

    Jin Mu was dumbfounded.

    He suddenly felt very tired inside.

    It turns out that the crap that Lin Yuan was writing before was just to mess with us?

    He had bought practice books for the boss, but there''s no guarantee that the teacher who made those books would have a higher writing level than the boss, right?

 Chapter 354 - 333 Chu Kuang the Old Rascal is Fooling Readers Again_1

    In his early days, Jin Mu was quite a character, valuing cultural cultivation.

    He could tell at a glance that the word Lin Yuan wrote was not an ordinary one.

    An average person could not achieve such a standard without a certain amount of practice!

    Look at these skillful strokes and the professional demeanor while holding the pen and writing.

    The boss must be a master of calligraphy!

    Because anyone with a bit of common sense knows that one''s calligraphy can''t leap from a primary school level to a master''s level in a short period of time...

    So why were the boss''s words so ugly before?

    There can only be one truth!

    Lin Yuan was previously intentionally using a primary school font to tease everyone!

    His judgement was correct. Chu Kuang, the man who invented the narrative trickery, was playing with the readers, and his heart must be as black as ink upon dissection.

    He''s full of bad taste!

    "I used to think that the almost perfect boss had a weakness, that his handwriting was as ugly as that of a primary school student, but it turns out the boss was deliberately teasing me."

    Come to think of it, it''s true. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The boss is so good at painting and composing, and he''s proficient in writing novels and scripts, a true all-around artist!

    How can such a person lag in the most basic aspect of handwriting?

    Most arts require acquired practice, except for handwriting, everyone starts to learn it as soon as they start school.

    As expected, the boss has no weaknesses.

    Jin Mu thought as he sorted out the books signed by Lin Yuan and sent them back to the publisher.

    The next day.

    These books were mixed with several batches of newly published goods and distributed through various channels.

    At the same time.

    Silver Blue Books also followed the same approach as with The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, announcing that Chu Kuang''s signed books were randomly on sale.

    There are still a lot of people buying books.

    Soon, the first lucky person got Chu Kuang''s signed book.

    This lucky netizen, named Jianhui, seemed to be from the Qi people. After receiving the first signed copy of Murder on the Orient Express, he excitedly made a post on his blog:

    "Ahhhhh! I got the old rascal''s autograph! I''m going to treasure it like a family heirloom!!!"

    What used to be a mundane internet user suddenly became the object of envy for many people!

    "I''m so jealous that I want to reveal my identity: my name is Zhang Wei, you can call me Wei."

    "Ha, I got Chu Kuang''s autograph. It''s said that only fifty copies of Murder on the Orient Express are signed. It''s an absolute steal to be able to buy a signed edition."

    "Is it real or fake? No picture, no proof?"

    "Are you sure it''s not a scam, is it the real thing?"

    "You''re the first one to claim to have a signed book, share a picture, if it''s confirmed I''m willing to offer five thousand."

    The netizen who left this comment is obviously wealthy.

    Jianhui looked at the comments, and seeing that quite a few people were doubting him, made another post, releasing nine pictures!

    In these nine photos, he showed off the pristine cover of Murder on the Orient Express and the page with Chu Kuang''s signature from all angles.

    You should believe now, right?

    Jianhui felt smug and took the opportunity to reply to the wealthy netizen:

    "I''m not planning to sell it. I''m a fan of Teacher Chu Kuang, I will keep this book as a collection."

    To Jianhui''s surprise, the wealthy netizen replied to him this way:

    "I don''t intend to buy it anymore, you seem to have been tricked by an unscrupulous bookseller, this is not Chu Kuang''s autograph."

    Jianhui was stunned.

    At this point, more comments appeared, saying the same thing as the wealthy netizen.

    "Fake autograph!"

    "Chu Kuang''s handwriting is not this beautiful."

    "Last time The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was released, didn''t he also sign? It was definitely a primary school font."

    "Let me show you a picture, someone posted it online last time."

    A netizen posted a signed copy of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, which was officially approved as a real signature by Silver Blue Books, who even congratulated the lucky guy who posted that picture.

    "Did you see that? This is Chu Kuang''s real signature!"

    "I feel sorry for the original poster."

    "I''m guessing some bookseller wanted to fool consumers and had someone else sign it. It''s disgusting, you can make a complaint to the bookstore."

    "From what I see, the original poster clearly had no idea."

    "Uh, those who noticed The Murder of Roger Ackroyd signed edition last time would know Chu Kuang''s handwriting is worse than a primary school student''s."

    "¡­"

    Jianhui compared the autograph on the title page of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and his expression gradually fell.

    Although the signature on Murder on the Orient Express was more beautiful, it didn''t seem to be Chu Kuang''s!

    If it''s not Chu Kuang''s signature, then there''s no point calling it a "signed copy".

    Thinking this way, Jianhui almost wanted to follow the netizen''s advice and go to the bookstore to demand an explanation.

    However, just at that moment, Silver Blue Book''s official blog account mentioned Jianhui and explained:

    "This copy of Murder on the Orient Express is personally signed by Teacher Chu Kuang, everyone can stop doubting. As for why the handwriting is completely different from last time, we were flabbergasted when we received the signed books. You should probably interview Mr.Chu Kuang himself (dog head emoji)."

    Jianhui: "¡­"

    He felt like he went from heaven to hell, then back to heaven again.

    If the publisher says it''s Chu Kuang''s autograph, how can it be fake!?

    "Holy shit! It''s real!?"

    After seeing the official explanation, the wealthy man quickly messaged Jianhui again:

    "Teacher Chu Kuang''s signature is so beautiful this time, if you''re willing to sell, I can offer ten thousand!"

    The wealthy guy immediately raised his price.

    The other netizens were both surprised and puzzled.

    "Is this really Mr.Chu Kuang''s signature?"

    "Are you sure the official publisher didn''t make a mistake? Isn''t this Chu Kuang''s signature (screenshot of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd signature)?"

    "Huh? Did Chu Kuang have someone else sign for him? Because his handwriting was mocked by the group last time?"

    "Um, I''m starting to suspect that Chu Kuang deliberately made his handwriting look ugly last time."

    "The handwriting this time is too beautiful, right?"

    "This autograph is even more beautiful than our calligraphy teacher''s writing!"

    "¡­"

    In the midst of the comments from the netizens, two more lucky readers who had bought signed books posted pictures of Murder on the Orient Express online.

    They were both in cursive!

    The handwriting is exactly the same as the pictures Jianhui posted!

    Only the font style is slightly different, it seems that the person who signed it had carefully designed it.

    Before the netizens had time to ponder, Silver Blue Books rushed over to authenticate:

    "These two are also genuine signed books, congratulations to the two book fans for buying Chu Kuang''s signed books!"

    Silver Blue Books is really going all out for this signature verification.

    Seemingly wanting to help Silver Blue Books share the workload, on Chu Kuang''s Tribe account, amid the shock and confusion of the netizens, a short video was posted:

    "Chu Kuang!"

    A slender hand, holding a pen, wrote these two words with mature pen movements.

    Then, the speed of the hand changed abruptly and wrote "Chu Kuang" again with a different style.

    The text that accompanied the short video was: "I''ve been practicing calligraphy recently and have made some progress."

    Only then did the readers and fans realize¡­

    Chu Kuang, this old rascal, is teasing everyone again!

 Chapter 355 - 334: So Its Because of Narrative Trickery Again_1

    His calligraphy improved from persistent practice?

    Only fools would believe such a dull explanation from Chu Kuang!

    Just as Jin Mu predicted¡ª

    Any person with common sense knows that it''s impossible for an ordinary person''s calligraphy to escalate from a schoolboy level to master level in a short span of time!

    How long has it been since "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" was published?

    You practiced calligraphy for just that little while and it improved so significantly?

    Impossible! S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    There could only be two explanations for this.

    The first possibility: Chu Kuang had someone else sign for him.

    The second possibility: Chu Kuang''s previous schoolboy handwriting was just a prank on the readers.

    Obviously.

    Everyone believes it''s the second reason.

    There''s no need to have someone else sign for him. Even if Chu Kuang''s signature is ugly, it doesn''t affect his popularity and prestige.

    In fact, everybody finds it rather cute!

    After all, Chu Kuang''s writing prowess is remarkable. A weakness like "poor handwriting" only makes people find him more amusing.

    How sensitive must one be to hire someone else to sign for them just because they were teased a bit by netizens?

    Not to mention, Chu Kuang even posted a video of him signing.

    Although the video didn''t show his face, it made readers more willing to believe that it was Chu Kuang''s real signature and that the previous time was just a joke he played on everyone.

    "You old rascal! You''ve been exposed!"

    "So all this while you were pretending to have bad handwriting?"

    "Be careful, rascal, I might smash your windows. Others pretend to be weak to take advantage of the strong, while you pretend to be weak to play on your fans."

    "Did you think we''d admire you by saying: Wow, Chu Kuang''s handwriting is so beautiful? Dream on!"

    "So it''s another case of emphasizing the importance by underestimating first. No wonder you are the master of writing."

    "This twist is so interesting. I''m learning so much."

    "Although I don''t want to admit it, that signature of the rascal is indeed beautiful. Any experts out there who can comment on his calligraphy skills?"

    "His way of holding the brush seems quite professional."

    "The writing looks even better than some of the calligraphy templates."

    "..."

    At this point, some netizens, who had been studying calligraphy, stepped up:

    "I''ve been studying calligraphy for over a decade. I can say without bias that Chu Kuang''s calligraphy is good enough to be used as a reference for people to imitate."

    "Yes, judging by the signatures shown on the internet, Chu Kuang is quite accomplished in calligraphy."

    "The only word we can analyze is Chu Kuang''s name, so the analysis might not be that good. But based on his brush strokes and how he holds the brush, it''s clear that Chu Kuang knows a lot about calligraphy."

    "At least, the signature can only be written by a calligraphy master."

    "..."

    Only then did netizens realize that Chu Kuang''s calligraphy skills were indeed very high.

    A master calligrapher?

    As anticipated, genius of GOAT level like Chu Kuang and devilish writers are all-rounders, even excelling in calligraphy.

    Too excellent!

    However, the higher Chu Kuang''s calligraphy skills, the worse his previous actions were.

    "So, Chu Kuang was really fooling us?"

    "He intentionally signed "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" with elementary school handwriting, he really is naughty."

    "He has always been tricking us. Didn''t you remember the genre of ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd''?"

    "If you hadn''t mentioned it, I would have forgotten. ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'' was originally a detective novel, aimed at trapping the reader with textual pitfalls. It created the trend of narrative trickery. Isn''t it normal for the author to continue to trap readers even while signing?"

    "So the childish signature had this intention?"

    "Chu Kuang: After all, it''s ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'' that originated the narrative trickery. It would be strange to have a regular signature, so I might as well take it all the way and prank my readers."

    "Hahaha, Chu Kuang is so naughty!"

    "He intentionally made the signature ugly to match the narrative trickery genre. But everyone believed that was his real handwriting. With heated discussion, they felt Chu Kuang''s wicked sense of humor."

    "..."

    Once again, thanks to Chu Kuang''s fame, whatever he said or did would always be interpreted in a way to suit his statements by the public. And these explanations are flawless.

    Even Jin Mu started to believe in these interpretations after seeing them.

    The childish signature really matches the style of "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" that makes fun of readers!

    It''s just that many people didn''t expect Chu Kuang to fool readers so thoroughly by even including pranks in the signatures!

    Now that they think about it.

    If it wasn''t for the narrative trickery trend that "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" initiated, why would Chu Kuang intentionally make the signature so ugly?

    The ugly signature and the narrative trickery are a perfect match!

    They both exist to fool the readers!

    The netizens could only ridicule that Chu Kuang was becoming more and more of a prankster.

    While everyone was laughing at Chu Kuang, someone noticed a rarely noticed detail in the calligraphy video Chu Kuang posted¡ª

    Chu Kuang''s hand!

    In this video, although Chu Kuang''s face wasn''t in the frame, his hand was, allowing netizens to analyze it frame by frame:

    "Chu Kuang''s hand is so beautiful!"

    "It seems like the hand of a young person."

    "The right hand is holding a pen, indicating Chu Kuang is not left-handed. His skin is fair and delicate, and his fingers are quite slender. Looks like the hand of someone who plays the piano. I wonder if Chu Kuang can play piano. Anyway, he should be young. Authors of fantasy novels are not likely to be old men."

    "Just by looking at this hand, I want to lick it (I am a man)."

    "Such a beautiful hand, I already assume, Chu Kuang is definitely handsome!"

    "Oh my gosh, you guys can estimate looks based on a hand too?"

    "Just associating thoughts. If a girl''s voice sounds pleasant, we associate it with a goddess''s face. If a boy''s hand looks nice, we associate it with a male god''s face. But in reality, beauty is often the opposite."

    "How old is Chu Kuang this year? I am so into this hand."

    "We know Chu Kuang and Xian Yu are best buddies, and Xian Yu still hasn''t graduated this year. So it can be inferred that Chu Kuang''s age isn''t much different from Xian Yu''s. Considering the appearance of this hand, Chu Kuang should be around thirty years old!"

    "Everyone says Xian Yu is handsome. Chu Kuang is so young and has a good relationship with Xian Yu. Could he also be really handsome?"

    "Handsome guy with another handsome guy?"

    "I''m sorry, the scene that''s playing in my mind has started to go awry."

    "..."

    Netizens'' thoughts went round in circles, coming back to the initial point. And the ''rotten girls'' discovered a new continent, with their eyes shining brightly!

    Lin Yuan did not expect this.

    When Jin Mu suggested filming a video like this, he didn''t think too much about it.

    But netizens actually inferred a bunch of truths very close to reality based solely on his right hand, which holds the pen!

    Of course.

    Saying that his ugly handwriting earlier was intended to match the narrative trickery genre was just absurd. If Lin Yuan didn''t know his own circumstances, he would almost suspect that what the netizens said was the truth.

    It seems, that the ugly handwriting indeed matches with the narrative trickery genre.

    No, no!

    My handwriting is absolutely beautiful.

 Chapter 356 - 335: Limited Edition Signed Book_1

    Because of the autograph event for "Murder on the Orient Express", most people online were discussing just how good Chu Kuang''s handwriting was, and how terrible Chu Kuang''s deliberate action of writing an ugly elementary school-like autograph last time was¡ª

    As these discussions escalated.

    Some readers who had acquired the autographed copy of "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" couldn''t stand it anymore.

    This netizen named Big Egg immediately posted online questioning whether Chu Kuang''s action was too unfair to the first batch of readers who received the autographs.

    He ranted angrily:

    "Chu Kuang gave us, the first batch of readers, such ugly autographs, and the second batch got such beautiful ones. I''m too embarrassed to admit I have Chu Kuang''s autograph."

    After posting this status.

    A netizen named Sima Yanlong private messaged Big Egg:

    "The autographed edition of ''Murder on the Orient Express'' is so beautiful, and yours isn''t really good. How about you sell your autographed copy to me, 1,000 dollars okay?"

    "Okay."

    Big Egg agreed instantly and completed the transaction the same day.

    For Big Egg, the autographed copy of "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" wasn''t valuable anymore. Who would know that Chu Kuang purposefully wrote an ugly autograph?

    But, what he didn''t expect was...

    Just the night he sold the autographed copy of "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd", the comments area filled up with hundreds of messages. All were surprisingly consistent, they all wanted an autographed copy!

    "I''ll give 2,000!"

    "I''ll pay 3,000."

    "4,000 dollars okay."

    "Author, don''t sell it!"

    "You guys just want to grab a bargain."

    "Can''t even grab a bargain now, I guess the author isn''t stupid enough. Must be showing off that he has ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'' with an ugly autograph. If the author really wants to sell, private message me. I can offer higher than those in the comments."

    "Exactly."

    "Are you guys underestimating the author''s intellect? If you don''t have 10,000 dollars don''t come here; those offering 2 to 3 thousand are simply indecent. Even a fool would know Chu Kuang''s ugly autograph is limited edition; it might increase in value later."

    "..."

    Big Egg was stunned.

    He didn''t expect the autographed copy of "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd", which he detested, was so sought after. Is he the stupid one or are these people stupid?

    "I''m not selling anymore!"

    He hurriedly found the buyer.

    The buyer replied with a triumphant emoji: "The book is in my hands already, I''ve transferred the 1,000 dollars to you. It''s no use wanting to back out now. By the way, I''m going to advertise in your comments section, I don''t think you''ll mind."

    "Damn!"

    Angry, Big Egg sent a series of foul words over, but the recipient refused payment as he had been blocked by the seller!

    This wasn''t the worst part. What was even more outrageous was that the buyer shamelessly posted in Big Egg''s comment section:

    "The autographed edition of ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'' from the author has been sold to me; I got it for 1,000 dollars. I am willing to sell at 20,000 dollars, who wants it?"

    "I want it!"

    "Me, me, me!"

    "Damn, you''re the most bloody indecent one, you actually bought it for just 1,000 dollars and now you''re advertising in the comments section too!"

    "Heartless!"

    "I take back my previous comments, there really are stupid people these days. They can''t even realize the value of ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd''s'' autograph."

    "Hey, the author really is both dumb and pitiful."

    "I thought the author was on level five, turns out the author is on the first level. He really thought Chu Kuang''s authographed ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'' was a rip-off; this is a pitfall that so many people wish to step in!"

    "..."

    Only then did Big Egg realize, Chu Kuang wasn''t setting him up, but giving him a fortune. He was just too stupid, went public with Chu Kuang setting up his readers. It turns out the autograph of "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" increased in value due to its ugliness!

    Pretty simple logic.

    Autographs are more valuable when scarce!

    If Chu Kuang''s autograph in the future is all beautiful then the autograph he signed for "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" in an elementary school handwriting style becomes even more unique.

    ...

    Lin Yuan was oblivious to the fact that the price of the "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" autographed edition had been hyped by netizens online, doubling two or three times over.

    At the moment, he just received a system prompt:

    "Congratulations to the host for unlocking the calligraphy category; you''ve gained one thousand nine hundred prestige points in calligraphy. Additionally, reminding the host that when prestige in a certain category breaks through a certain number, it will receive a large amount of system rewards."

    With the system prompt, the calligraphy prestige was unlocked.

    Including the earlier unlocked music, literature, painting, film and television, all five artistic fields have opened the prestige collection mode.

    "Calligraphy?"

    Lin Yuan contemplated, perhaps calligraphy could be Chu Kuang''s second hidden talent.

    It''s just like Xian Yu being able to compose music and write and direct movies.

    We, the Chu Kuang Tribe and I, not only know how to write but also excel at calligraphy. It''s reasonable and logical, which is perfectly normal.

    Just happened to see someone questioned online whether all I could do was write signatures.

    Exactly.

    There are two main types of comments in Chu Kuang''s tribe area: one is complaining about the old rascal''s shrewdness, and the other is praising the old rascal''s superb calligraphy skills.

    There''s a third voice, not mainstream, but it exists, which questions if it''s reasonable or not.

    These voices declare themselves as sensible netizens.

    "There''s no need to praise Chu Kuang''s calligraphy skills too highly, he''s just an ordinary person with good handwriting."

    "Yes, everyone should have practiced writing their own name. Some people have terrible handwriting, but their names are surprisingly beautiful when they write them."

    "Imitate a well-designed artistic signature hundreds or thousands of times, and anyone can achieve this effect."

    "Some time ago, an actor who only plays a little basketball was hyped up as a basketball star. Actually, there''s really no need."

    "Chu Kuang is excellent at writing, his calligraphy might be about the same as those we encounter in life who write well."

    "..."

    An ordinary person with decent handwriting?

    Lin Yuan thought it sounded like a show-off...

    It''s a good chance to gain reputation, too bad there aren''t many who doubt me.

    If each piece of my work was questioned by the outside world, the impact of a subsequent reversal would certainly be potent.

    Now I can only argue with this handful of people.

    Thinking of this, Lin Yuan said, "Uncle Jin, get the Four Treasures of the Study ready!" S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Huh?"

    Jin Mu was startled.

    Lin Yuan spoke straightforwardly, "I want to write with a brush."

    Jin Mu was surprised, "Posting it on the Tribe?"

    Lin Yuan nodded, "It could be posted."

    Jin Mu made an OK gesture and turned to go shopping.

    He just needed to buy some good quality paper, ink, brushes, and ink stones.

    On Blue Star, calligraphy was mainly done in brush strokes, one of the prevalent forms of art, similar shops are abundant, there are two just a few hundred meters down the road.

    After Jin Mu purchased the writing materials.

    Lin Yuan suddenly called out the System, "I want to custom order some Chinese poetry, preferably in bulk."

    Calligraphy supplies, of course, had to be coupled with brilliant poetry, that''s when the best results were achieved.

    System: "Chinese poetry package special price 50 million, do you wish to customize?"

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    Are you selling me a package of ancient poetry for 50 million?

    It''s definitely worth it. All those poems, their value isn''t something money can measure. This transaction is clearly a bargain.

    But the System is probably kind this time for a specific reason. Lin Yuan had already understood the System''s nature.

    Regardless of the system''s intention, Lin Yuan wouldn''t miss such a bargain, considering the recent sales of his film and television rights, he nodded.

    "Let''s do it."

    With his current income, spending 50 million to improve himself no longer feels painful.

    Lin Yuan feels that his miserly, poverty-stricken persona is starting to crumble.

    "Order complete!"

    The System wasn''t very fast this time, probably because of the heavy workload.

    Fortunately, the System got it all done in ten minutes, after which Lin Yuan felt his head filling up with countless lines of poetry.

    He began to recite:

    "In the peach blossom grotto orchard, peach blossom hermit. Peach blossom hermit plants a peach tree, and picks peach blossoms to exchange for wine money."

    Huh?

    I got that poem, is the System trying to trick me?

    Alright.

    There might be duplicates in the customization, just like in the Poirot detective stories collection that includes "Murder on the Orient Express".

    "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" is also in the detective collection.

    As Lin Yuan''s voice fell, Jin Mu, who had returned after buying stationary, was full of admiration:

    "Sir, you really have a taste for poetry, no matter how many times this poem is heard, it''s always wonderful."

    If it were a hundred years ago on Blue Star, Jin Mu would have called Lin Yuan "Sir", so his cultured remark, paired with Lin Yuan''s poem, was quite fitting.

 Chapter 357 - 336 A Tranquil Night Abed_1

    Of course, the type of writing that best embodies calligraphy is Chinese brush writing. In terms of artistry, anything like pen writing would be completely overshadowed by brush writing. Thus, if Lin Yuan wanted to prove his calligraphy skills, he would naturally choose the most prestigious, brush writing.

    The paper was spread open.

    Jin Mu began to grind the ink.

    Brush writing might seem simple and casual at a glance, as if anyone could do it. However, when people actually pick up the brush, they''d realize how difficult it is.

    There are many specifics when it comes to brush writing.

    For example, the posture of writing, also known as the body method in ancient times. Once this body method is mastered, one is not far from excelling in brush writing. Lin Yuan did not know this before; if he had, his writing wouldn''t have been so bad.

    Now things are different.

    With his skill in calligraphy, he also possesses the corresponding knowledge. When sitting at a desk, one should sit upright with the line of sight approximately 45 degrees to the surface of the desk. Unless one is a master, the head should not be tilted to either side.

    Those who are masters and don''t pay attention to these elements have reached a level where their writing is impressive no matter how casually they write.

    Lin Yuan is at a professional level.

    To ordinary people, he is certainly a master, but to real calligraphy masters, there is still some distance. Therefore, he takes it very seriously. He even spent several minutes selecting the right brush, eventually choosing one suitable for writing large characters. The gray tip of the brush was smooth and slightly soft to the touch.

    How one holds the brush also matters.

    First, the tip of the thumb is held against the inner side of the brush barrel, applying force from left to right. Then, the end of the index finger leans against the outer side of the brush barrel, pinching the brush barrel with the thumb. The middle finger hooks tightly on the outer side of the barrel, with the root of the fourth finger pressing against the right side of the barrel.

    Finally, the little finger naturally closes up against the fourth finger. All of this is quite technical...

    Lin Yuan was going to write in regular script!

    Regular script symbolizes rules and standards. It''s one of the most popular calligraphy fonts. Historians on Earth such as Ouyang Xun, Chu Suiliang, Yu Shinan, Xue Ji, Yan Zhenqing, Liu Gongquan, etc., were masters of regular script. The characteristics of regular script can be described in eight words:

    Moderately ornate and beautiful.

    Calm and peaceful.

    This isn''t the complete summary as there are different ways to write in regular script. However, this style is the most beautiful, so Lin Yuan chose to write in this font. From afar, just the sight of him writing with the brush was a pleasure to watch, a clear sign that he has matured in his skills.

    "....."

    Watching this scene left Jin Mu with complicated feelings. He found his boss too impressive, as he was exceptionally professional in writing brush script, clearly a master among masters. He had previously pretended to be a novice to his readers and managed to deceive even his own manager.

    Immediately afterwards.

    Jin Mu could no longer dwell on Lin Yuan''s actions, because he saw Lin Yuan writing a poem. It wasn''t any verse that he had written before, but a new creation. The first verse written in regular script was:

    "Moonlight floods the whole room."

    Although just one line could not gauge the quality of the entire poem, considering the verses previously created by the boss, Jin Mu was starting to feel a sense of anticipation. Amid this anticipation, Lin Yuan wrote the second verse:

    "I suspect frost on the ground."

    It seemed to be taking shape. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    As Lin Yuan began to write the third verse, he casually explained, "When the brush is pressed down, the strokes become thick. When it is lifted, they become thin. It''s like our feet when we walk. One foot steps down while the other is lifted, constantly alternating. Similarly, during writing, the brush is constantly lifting and pressing down.

    Only in this way can we produce lines of varying thicknesses."

    The Teacher''s Halo activates.

    It was just an unintentional explanation by Lin Yuan, a habit formed after teaching composition. Jin Mu, however, was deep in thought, obviously influenced momentarily by the Teacher''s Halo. However, neither Jin Mu nor Lin Yuan noticed the magic happening at this moment. Right now, Jin Mu''s attention was on the third line of the poem that Lin Yuan was writing:

    "I lift my head to see the moon."

    What would the fourth line be?

    At this moment, the orange glow of the setting sun poured through the window lattice, speckling the fine rice paper. The ink was not yet dry. Lin Yuan was holding a black brush loaded with what seemed like famous ink. He wrote the final line-

    "I bow my head and think of home."

    His brush moved like a dragon and a serpent in a race, the ink flowed as smoothly as clouds and water. The twists and turns as the brush moved, the ups and downs as it was lifted and pressed down. At this moment, the entire poem was clear at a glance.

    With Jin Mu''s slightly amazed eyes watching him, he couldn''t help but read it out loud: "Moonlight floods the whole room, I suspect frost on the ground. I lift my head to see the moon, I bow my head and think of home."

    A nice verse.

    But sir.

    Are you missing home at this moment?

    Lin Yuan remains silent.

    Miss home? But where?

    The poetry and lyrics of various eras are infinite, why did he choose the simplest and most direct "A Tranquil Night Abed"? Lin Yuan couldn''t explain it himself. Perhaps this was the occasional self-reflection and self-release of a transmigrator, revealing his subconscious thoughts.

    He labelled the name of the verse.

    Lin Yuan placed the brush in his hand on the pen rest next to him, feeling quite satisfied with his regular script. Gently blowing on the rice paper, he said to Jin Mu, "You can post this online."

    "Understood!"

    Jin Mu was somewhat excited.

    He turned his head to find a series of equipment and then searched for the shooting angle. Finally, he filmed the beauty of "A Tranquil Night Abed" displayed from different angles and had Lin Yuan review it.

    "It''s fine," said Lin Yuan, who seemed satisfied.

    In order to be a good manager, Jin Mu reportedly went out of his way to learn photography skills. In any case, his photos are better than the average person''s. The short video last time was also Jin Mu''s initiative, and the effect was quite good.

    "I''ll upload it then."

    Jin Mu completed the action and hesitated for a moment. Looking at the "A Tranquil Night Abed" that Lin Yuan had just written, he grinned, "Boss, can I keep this poem as a collection? I really like this poem. If one day I''m too poor to live, I can still sell it for some money."

    The last sentence was a joke.

    There were rumors out there saying that Xian Yu identifies himself as Tang Bohu, and in the movie "Flirting Scholar", Zhu Zhishan made a living by selling Tang Bohu''s paintings and calligraphy. Jin Mu also knew that both Xian Yu and Chu Kuang were pseudonyms of his boss.

    Lin Yuan:"¡­.."

    He nodded, indicating it was no problem.

    At the same time, the "A Tranquil Night Abed" in regular script written by Lin Yuan had been uploaded to Chu Kuang''s account. It was proper brush calligraphy, and it was in regular script. This form of writing most directly showcases a person''s calligraphy skills!

    It''s a beautiful piece of regular script!

    However, what''s even more beautiful than the writing itself is the poem "A Tranquil Night Abed". It''s one of Li Bai''s most famous poems. Although it''s not his most classic work, it''s definitely the one that touches people the most!

    Calligraphy combined with a poem.

    Netizens, bystanders, fans, seeing the newly uploaded image, were briefly stunned, then slowly regained their senses. Following that, the comment section in Chu Kuang''s account blew up, predictably.....

 Chapter 358 - 337 Enjoyed by both Refined and Vulgar_1

    In the beginning, everyone''s attention was entirely captivated by the calligraphy posted by Chu Kuang. The elegant and clear regular script had a sense of proper beauty and peaceful circumstance. Even people who didn''t understand calligraphy could appreciate the exquisite features of this piece.

    It flowed like clouds across the sky.

    Every stroke was as ethereal as a wisp of cloud.

    Lately, due to the matter of autographed books for "The Murder on the Orient Express", many people were discussing whether Chu Kuang really had a solid foundation in calligraphy. By sharing a piece of calligraphy at such a time, Chu Kuang made an extremely powerful statement!

    "This handwriting is breathtaking!"

    "Whoever previously said that Chu Kuang was just an ordinary person with good handwriting, forget about whether ordinary people can master brush writing, even as a participant who has practiced brush writing from a young age, I absolutely cannot achieve the level of elegance that Chu Kuang has. I even have the feeling that my calligraphy teacher is not as good as Chu Kuang!"

    "What beautiful regular script!"

    "I never expected Chu Kuang to be skilled in regular script. The writings of ordinary regular script masters are almost indistinguishable from one another with no variations at all. After mastering the basic strokes and a bit of practice, anyone could write this kind of font.

    But top-tier regular script masters can create a scrutinisable masterpiece with each stroke, adding unpredicted excellences in the most casual way. Chu Kuang''s calligraphy has reached the level of top-tier masters!"

    "This piece of writing is so handsome"

    "I thought you, Chu Kuang, were just talented at writing; you could even effortlessly crossover various genres of novels. It took me a while to accept this setup, and now you''re telling me that you''re actually a calligraphy expert as well?"

    "No wonder they say Chu Kuang is a genius!"

    "Chu Kuang, the old rascal! How are others supposed to survive with this monster around? His regular script is vigorous and upright yet not lacking in femininity. It''s definitely not an amateur level; he''s clearly a calligrapher who has been delayed by novel writing."

    "..."

    Indeed, there were many people who could appreciate the value.

    Anyone with a little knowledge of calligraphy could see what level Chu Kuang''s calligraphy was at. After all, this was calligraphy evaluated at the professional level by the System. People who could make a living with their calligraphy, how could their brush writing be bad?

    Even professional calligraphers gave their evaluations.

    After all, Chu Kuang is a celebrity. Many well-known influencers in the calligraphy field rapidly retweeted Chu Kuang''s "A Tranquil Night Abed" and shared their own views:

    "Chu Kuang''s writing already has a sense of harmony."

    "He can consider developing in the calligraphy field."

    "I would consider buying a calligraphy collection by him." S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "This style of regular script must have the hard work of more than a decade."

    The assessments from everyone were fairly objective. Even those who mentioned Chu Kuang''s decade of hard work did not overstate. Without the System''s prize as a boost, if Lin Yuan wanted to achieve this levelling of calligraphy by his own practice, he would likely need to train for more than a decade.

    In the meantime.

    Those so-called sensible netizens were dumbfounded. They previously swore that Chu Kuang was just an ordinary person with attractive handwriting, only skilled at autographs. They claimed that even his autographs were nothing spectacular. However, this piece of regular script literally swelled their faces!

    This is an ordinary person?

    Is this called "nothing special"?

    Even professional calligraphers, who have published calligraphy collections, commented that Chu Kuang''s writing has already become masterful. How could they persistently claim that the reason Chu Kuang''s writing was good was only because of the hype attributed to his celebrity status?

    It was also at this time.

    Suddenly someone posted a thread: "I just looked it up, this poem ''A Tranquil Night Abed'' doesn''t seem to be some ancient poem, pretty sure the author is Chu Kuang the old rascal himself. The quality of the verse is really damn top-notch!"

    A poem by Chu Kuang himself?

    Everyone noticed the content of ''A Tranquil Night Abed'' quite early on, with some even noticing it immediately. However, due to more people initially discussing calligraphy, everyone didn''t think much about the verse itself. In fact, some even thought it was a poem written by some ancient sage, until a netizen highlighted this poem that finally caught everyone''s attention.

    "This poem is so impressive!"

    Initially, it wasn''t that notable, but after being reminded by some people, everyone took a closer look and found that this poem was indeed exquisitely written. It seems to be a simple five-word quatrain, but it fully depicts the sentiment of longing for home¡­

    The verse seems like a painting!

    A traveler, unable to sleep in the foreign land at late night, finds the inn courtyard particularly desolate. The serene moonlight coming through the window lands on his bed, bringing a cold shiver of the autumn night. On first glance, in his dreamy mood, it seems as if a layer of white frost has fallen on the ground. However, on a closer look, the surroundings tell him that this is not frost.

    It''s moonlight.

    The moonlight inevitably prompts him to look up and he sees a round, plain moon hanging in front of the window. The autumn night sky is so clear, the autumn moon is extraordinarily bright, but also cold. Especially for a lonely traveler, it easily provokes homesick thoughts.

    Compounded by a bleak predicament, time passes quickly.

    Gazing at the moon, feeling sorry for himself, as if his brief dream just ended, he thinks about everything that has happened back home, about his family. His head gradually lowers as he is immersed in these thoughts and the moonlight seems lonelier¡­

    "What a beautiful sentiment."

    "What a tranquil night of thought!"

    "The text is pure and simple. The whole poem doesn''t have any peculiarly novel imagination, nor does it have finely crafted and gorgeous diction. It simply uses a narrative tone to express the sentiment of a traveler missing home. However, it is profound and thought-provoking, firmly captivating the reader.

    From ''doubting'' to ''looking up'', then from ''looking up'' to ''lowering the head'', it vividly reveals the poet''s inner activities, outlining a vivid image of thinking about home on a moonlit night, expressing the feelings of Chu Kuang, the old rascal, when he misses his home in the quiet moonlit night."

    "Are you the class representative above?"

    "The class representative did a good summary."

    Of course, not everyone can understand the aesthetic of this poem. Someone curiously said, "I find the verse quite simple, without any peculiarly novel imagination or finely crafted and gorgeous diction. Especially the last line ''lowering the head to think of the homeland'' is too colloquial. How can this end up being a merit of Chu Kuang?"

    Don''t even mention it.

    Once this voice rose, those sensible netizens became more excited, rushing out to say, "Exactly, I don''t see anything astonishing about this poem. I wonder why so many people are complimenting it. Just because Chu Kuang is a successful novelist and is very good at calligraphy, don''t elevate his poetry too high. We should still be rational."

    The sensible netizens love to parade their sensibility.

    So they still acknowledged Chu Kuang''s calligraphy.

    However, when they started trying to downplay ''A Tranquil Night Abed'', someone shared the post. The sharer was none other than the widely recognized poetry master of Blue Star''s Qin Province, Mr. Quan: "Chu Kuang''s four-line poem is written with a fresh and simple elegance, straightforward as speech, intricate and profound in its conception, spontaneous and completely unpretentious.

    Its content is simple, yet very rich; easy to understand, but inexhaustible to taste. In fact, Chu Kuang left unsaid much more than what he already disclosed. This is a marvelous state of effortlessly achieving perfection, a talented writer indeed displaying his brilliant talent."

    Unexpected!

    Even a renowned poetry master like Gong Quan publicly praised the level of ''A Tranquil Night Abed'', making even readers who initially had no sense for the verse fall into deep thought, wondering whether they may lack comprehension and thus fail to appreciate the brilliance of this poem?

    Fortunately, such people are in the minority.

    As a planet with a highly developed culture and art, one of the greatest benefits of Blue Star is that ordinary people have some ability to appreciate. Because everyone has grown up immersed in such an environment, their basic cultural literacy is pretty good.

    Still not convinced?

    The netizens could only say one phrase, "Are you saying you understand poetry better than a poetry master like Gong Quan?" ''A Tranquil Night Abed'' is indeed not grandiose. It is quite down-to-earth and populist. Some people naturally prefer audacious poems like "I am the killer of all flowers after blooming" and might not resonate as much with more grounded poetry.

    But the great thing about Li Bai is his ability to be enjoyed both by the refined and the vulgar!

 Chapter 359 - 338 South Xian Yu North Chu Kuang_1

    The poem "A Tranquil Night Abed" itself is neither overly popular nor overly elegant, it''s more like Li Bai''s casual exposition and expression.

    It''s like Jay Chou casually singing "Confession Balloon".

    If you really want to evaluate Li Bai''s poetic level, you should look at his other representative works.

    Such as "Bring in the Wine".

    Such as "The Road to Shu is Hard".

    Such as the well-known Milky Way falling from the heavens.

    I won''t list them all here.

    That''s because Li Bai''s wonderful works are so abundant, and some of them can astonish people at first glance.

    Otherwise, Li Bai wouldn''t be recognized as the Poem Immortal.

    Of course, there is a Li Bai in this era too, but this Li Bai''s works are completely different from Earth''s Li Bai''s works.

    In fact, Chu Kuang''s exhibition of calligraphy and verses has had the greatest impact by letting the public see that Chu Kuang has skills beyond writing novels, and these skills are pretty exceptional.

    Witnessing this, people''s past impression of Chu Kuang as "good at writing novels" has been changed.

    Those who had experienced the couplet incident also knew that Chu Kuang and Xian Yu were both "masters of matching couplets".

    Now, Chu Kuang puts forth two more impressions to the public.

    The first one is "a calligrapher, whose talent was wasted on writing books".

    The second one is "a poet".

    Added up, Chu Kuang was really impressive.

    He was not only able to write poems, good at writing couplets, but also adept at novels and skilled in calligraphy.

    Two words: Universal talent!

    This naturally made many netizens associate with Xian Yu.

    "May I say, as expected of close friends, have you guys noticed, what Chu Kuang can do, Xian Yu can do too!"

    "Wow, you''re right when you put it that way!"

    "Xian Yu definitely excels at composing music, but Xian Yu''s screenwriting talent is also undeniable. The verses from ''Flirting Scholar'' were just amazing, not to mention Xian Yu''s last performance in the couplet war..."

    "Non-kin doesn''t live under the same roof."

    "The friend of a genius, is usually a genius too."

    "I can''t stand it anymore, I''ll only say two words: Shadow, those who understand will understand."

    "Hahahahaha, Shadow''s daily invisibility."

    "Shadow really is, becoming more and more invisible."

    "Shadow is somehow a significant figure in the comic industry; ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma'' is very hot, it''s just that these two buddies of his are too weird."

    "So frustrating, when will Shadow stand up?!"

    "..."

    Shadow was indeed becoming less visible.

    But now, as Chu Kuang and Xian Yu partner up more and more, Shadow is teased by netizens more, which somehow gives him some bizarre presence.

    emmmmm.

    Existing in everyone''s jokes.

    Some even jokingly called Xian Yu and Chu Kuang, "Southern Xian Yu, Northern Chu Kuang".

    Don''t ask how north and south are distinguished.

    It''s just that everyone thinks this sounds more rhymic.

    If you must figure it out, possibly, "Xian Yu" sounds relatively gentle, giving a sense of southern elegance.

    "Chu Kuang", on the other hand, implies braveness and has an old jesters-like charm, giving a sense of northern wildness.

    Then, this way of saying spread around somehow.

    Regarding the saying "Southern Xian Yu, Northern Chu Kuang", it surprisingly left profound impressions!

    Some even tried to add candidates to the "east" and "west".

    But unfortunately.

    Everyone found out that there really weren''t any names in "east xx" and "west xx" that could be compared with Xian Yu and Chu Kuang.

    The two of them are indeed oddities!

    So there are only the South and the North, the West and the East, probably they will appear in the future, or maybe they will never appear.

    ...

    When Lin Yuan saw the comments in Xian Yu''s section, many people were typing "Southern Xian Yu, Northern Chu Kuang", he was a bit flabbergasted.

    He had only ever heard the names "Southern Murong and Northern Qiao Feng," so "Southern Xian Yu and Northern Chu Kuang" was a first for him.

    It didn''t rhyme at all.

    Some even truncated the names to "Southern Fish and Northern Mad," which was full to the brim with adolescent pretensions.

    Lin Yuan felt if he fell off his horse at this moment, the embarrassment would knock out a whole two-bedroom apartment from his toenails.

    Jin Mu, however, seemed quite excited:

    "Southern Xian Yu and Northern Chu Kuang, actually, it seems pretty apt. One pen name committed to the field of novels, the other focused on composing. Moreover, both pen names have diverse ventures, Xian Yu in movies and Chu Kuang in calligraphy, perfect."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    Could he at least save some face for Shadow?

    Although they are all pen names, and there is no favoritism, being teased so much made Lin Yuan inevitably affected by online opinions, feeling that Shadow seemed a little underappreciated.

    Fortunately, "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma" is about to end.

    The next comic series is "Death Note," and it''s sure to explode in popularity. Shadow must catch up with Chu Kuang and Xian Yu, at least not to be completely unnoticeable, right?

    With this in mind, Lin Yuan immediately called Luo Wei and the assistants in the studio to discuss the new comic.

    "New comic?" Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Luo Wei sounded somewhat nervous: "Have you decided the theme yet?"

    Lin Yuan took out the materials he had prepared in advance. He prepared these when he was idle at the company: "Story summary, character settings, from image to drawing style, everything is designed. You guys have a look first, ask me if you have any questions."

    "OK."

    Luo Wei said: "Just in time, ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma'' is going to end next month, so we can slightly prepare now to start the serialization of the new comic."

    With that, Luo Wei looked nervously at the new comic material in her hand.

    Just as she felt nervous when "King of the Net" finished.

    What if the new comic isn''t good? What then?

    This is a common worry for writers of novels, comics, and creators of any art form: Will the next work be as successful?

    However, these anxieties gradually disappeared as Luo Wei started reading "Death Note."

    Unless one is naturally disinterested in this type of cult, any boy who loves to act cool, or girl without much princess mentality, will hardly resist the allure of this story!

    Not to mention, Lin Yuan made slight adjustments to the art style of "Death Note"...

    Like the image of the Shinigami, Lin Yuan has made it akin to the hellish ghost image in the mythologies of Blue Star.

    Also, the drawing style of some characters in the story has been tweaked a bit by Lin Yuan to suit the aesthetics of Blue Star.

    This so-called aesthetic of Blue Star, is basically the aesthetics of his previous life''s Celestial Dynasty.

    The aesthetics of Neon manga, though also Eastern in style, have more Japanese-style details, so changes are necessary.

    Lin Yuan has got the hang of it already.

    Not only did Luo Wei like this story.

    The other assistants in the comic studio who were nobodies also got excited when they saw the textual version of the story. Their eyes shined brightly -

    "This story is great!"

    "I feel like it'' ll be amazing when drawn out!"

    "It might be even more exciting than ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma''!"

    "Can''t say about the popularity, but it should be highly rated, Yagami Light is too cool!"

    "This Lin is also very handsome - is Lin the boss?"

    "..."

    This was Lin Yuan indulging in vanity, satisfying his wicked humor.

    In "Death Note," the man who loves and fights with Yagami Light is L.

    Replacing names with letters is influenced by Western culture. Lin Yuan has tried it, but it doesn''t suit him.

    Blue Star rarely does this, even though Blue Star has its own set of alphabetical letters.

    So Lin Yuan changed the "L" to "Lin."

    "Lin" also starts with "L," and, what a coincidence, it exactly matches Lin Yuan''s surname¡ª

    He also wanted to increase his involvement in "Death Note."

    Of course.

    He is certainly not inviting a real Yagami Light with a Death Note aiming for justice to this world.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Once again, thank you [Willow God Whisper] for the Alliance Hierarch''s reward; it feels especially intimate as an old friend. Recently, Polluted White knew he wasn''t updating well, but something did come up in reality. I won''t explain the details, but will catch up once things settle.

 Chapter 360 - 339 Silver Blue Mini Theater_1

    Bringing out "Death Note" now is just to let everyone in the manga studio get familiar with it in advance, after all, this is everyone''s future work.

    And at this moment, the main focus of the studio is definitely on the existing manga.

    No one slacked off on the work of "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma" because of Shadow''s new work.

    Next, the studio is preparing for the final chapter of "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma", and Lin Yuan, who is rarely idle, stays in the studio all day drawing.

    Of course.

    Before diving full-time into the final chapter of "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma," Lin Yuan still found time to write a novel.

    The novel is called "The Styles Manor Case".

    Don''t wonder why the title of the book didn''t change, Lin Yuan actually paid a lot of attention to avoiding typical Western names, but as he learned more about Blue Star culture, he gradually realized there was no need for it.

    Styles is fine.

    In this world, there are too many varied names, like the foreigners in his previous life, let alone names in novels.

    There are names in novels that use characters like "Shang" (meaning death).

    But there is no capricious use of characters like "Wang" (death) for names.

    So now when Lin Yuan writes characters'' names in his novels, he begins to act capriciously.

    Of course, a name like "Nikolai Ostrovsky" is definitely not usable.

    Not to mention the habit of Blue Star people of not adding dots in the middle of their names.

    Just to say, the longest name a Blue Starian can have is five characters, any more and it would lose the readers'' sense of immersion.

    Anyway, that''s why "The Styles Manor Case" didn''t need a name change ¨C

    It''s the first story in the "Hercule Poirot Series", and also Poirot''s earliest appearance chronologically. Poirot''s legendary life began with this story!

    It sounds similar to Conan Doyle''s "Study in Scarlet", where Watson meets Holmes in this case.

    And Poirot''s assistant Hastings, also first met Poirot in The Styles Manor Case.

    Likewise, both Hastings and Watson were injured in war and met their detective friends while recovering from their injuries.

    As everyone knows, Holmes''s era precedes Poirot''s.

    So it is generally believed that Agatha Christie was influenced by the relationship between Holmes and Watson to create the combination of Poirot and Hastings.

    The truth doesn''t matter.

    Because on Blue Star, both Poirot and Holmes probably belong to Chu Kuang.

    After finishing this novel, Lin Yuan sent it to Silver Blue Books for publication.

    For a long time to come, he will serialize Poirot detective stories. Since he got "Hercule Poirot Series", he naturally wants to create his own Hercule Poirot series in the genre of detective novels!

    Silver Blue Books.

    After reading the new story "The Styles Manor Case" and getting the news that Chu Kuang is going to officially create a series of Poirot novels, the whole Mystery Department was ecstatic!

    The editor-in-chief, Dezhi, was so excited that he was almost short of breath!

    This was the first time he felt that he had firmly latched onto Chu Kuang''s coattails!

    "I really like Poirot!"

    "Master Chu Kuang is planning to create the Poirot series, which means we can see more stories about Poirot."

    "This seems to be a new approach to writing detective stories, with a fixed protagonist but changing cases. This can reduce the unfamiliarity for readers ¨C people seeing the detective''s name will feel familiar."

    "Yes, ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'' introduced Poirot to many people."

    "Because people started to know Poirot, so when they saw ''Murder on the Orient Express'' with Poirot appearing again, they quickly got into the mood. This is also somewhat related to the readers'' understanding of Poirot''s way of deduction."

    "I wonder how many stories Master Chu Kuang is going to write."

    "The more stories about Poirot, the better. It might depend on when Master Chu Kuang gets tired of writing about Poirot and arranges for his retirement again. After all, we all know that Poirot in ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'' was planning to retire, he just didn''t succeed."

    "..."

    The Mystery Department passionately debates, while "The Styles Manor Case" also enters the publication and promotion phase.

    Elsewhere.

    The atmosphere in the Fantasy Department was gloomy.

    The Editor-in-chief Ol'' Xiong''s face was so dark, it looked like it was about to rain.

    They also received the news about Chu Kuang''s plan to create the "Poirot Series".

    Chu Kuang has surprisingly settled in the Mystery Department, but we, the Fantasy Department, were there before. Be it in terms of contract signing, improving treatment, or supporting his transition...

    When Chu Kuang first wanted to write detective stories, many people in the department thought he was just playing around.

    After all, Chu Kuang had already written several fantasy novels, and he liked to transition between genres as if he wanted to touch on everything. Given his past records, his desire to try his hand at detective fiction was not surprising.

    But no one expected that Chu Kuang''s detective novels would be so popular!

    And what''s more unexpected, Chu Kuang seemed to have become addicted to writing detective novels that he planned to continue and even develop a "Poirot" detective series.

    So, this group of people had a mental breakdown.

    You must know, Chu Kuang was indeed the walking performance of the department!

    His readership influence, his book sales, his personal fame, all were too massive. The Fantasy Department didn''t want to let Chu Kuang go at all!

    Chu Kuang could have been the darling of any department he ended up in!

    To describe it in a way the Mystery Department would like to say:

    "A pillar is always a pillar, wherever it goes!"

    The situation of the Mystery Department is the best proof!

    Before Chu Kuang joined the Mystery Department, the whole department was lifeless.

    Every time the company held a meeting for all departments, Cao Dezhi would be scolded mercilessly by the Chief Editor.

    As a department that has been lagging in performance for years, the editors from the Mystery Department always felt downcast when they were at work.

    Now that Chu Kuang has arrived, the performance of the Mystery Department has gone up dramatically!

    Simply put.

    Chu Kuang single-handedly saved the Mystery Department!

    His earliest release, "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd", sold pretty well.

    Not to mention the recent sales of "Murder on the Orient Express". Even after a month, the sales didn''t drop too much, and there were still many people buying it continuously!

    Plus, he''s just finished a new title, "The Styles Manor Case", which is about to be published.

    Now the Mystery Department has finally raised its head up!

    Even Cao Dezhi, who could be lightly teased before, started to shake. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    In the past, when the Chief Editor held a meeting, he would keep his head down, wish he could become invisible, and remain submissive. But now, he frequently speaks up, pounces on opportunities, fearing that others might not notice his presence.

    "I, Dezhi, am Chu Kuang''s editor!"

    Of course, Cao Dezhi didn''t say this directly, but it was crystal clear from his actions and words.

    By comparison, the Fantasy Department seemed like a spurned ext-girlfriend of Chu Kuang''s, looking at the Mystery Department with resentment and jealousy.

    What''s more terrifying is that this "ex-girlfriend" is still deeply in love with Chu Kuang...

    Many people in the company were afraid that people from the Fantasy Department and Mystery Department would start fighting over Chu Kuang.

    And the biggest fear.

    If the Fantasy Department and the Mystery Department are considered as Chu Kuang''s ex and current partners, then the other departments could probably be seen as those little bitches jealous of their relationship and hoping for them to break up soon. Because other departments were also coveting Chu Kuang, wishing they could take his place!

    Of course.

    This was just a small drama inside Silver Blue Books.

    Externally.

    With the launch of "The Styles Manor Case", Silver Blue Books also officially announced Chu Kuang''s upcoming Poirot series, and this story, would be the earliest timeline of the Poirot series¡ª

    The reader''s circle was buzzing.

 Chapter 361 - 340 Progress of Health Task_1

    "Poirot is actually getting his own series!"

    "I saw this coming from the first two stories. Chu Kuang used Poirot as the main character. In the past, when people read detective novels, they focused on the case and reasoning, not the characters. Chu Kuang''s detective novels have got me interested in more than just the case, it feels like a breath of fresh air."

    "Chu Kuang''s detective stories are character-focused."

    "After all, Chu Kuang started out writing fantasy novels, his way of thinking is obviously different from traditional detective writers, focusing on character development and exploring human nature is a pretty normal thing. The ending of ''Murder on the Orient Express'' is proof of that. Only Chu Kuang would allow the protagonist to let the murderer go!"

    "I hope they don''t let the murderer go in the future."

    "I guess Chu Kuang wouldn''t dare to do similar stuff too often, after all, fighting violence with violence is not a positive thing, it''s just that when the law cannot protect us, we have no choice but to take up arms."

    "Sure, I like Poirot!"

    "Another fascinating Poirot detective show, Chu Kuang is trying to build Poirot into the top detective in the industry. There aren''t many mystery writers on Blue Star who keep writing about the same protagonist. Perhaps this is a good attempt!"

    "..."

    With Chu Kuang writing two successive novels with Poirot as the main character, Poirot blew up in popularity. Many people have remembered this character, so when Silver Blue officially announced a Poirot series, the readers were generally receptive.

    The fans of crime fiction were also invested in ''Styles Manor Case''.

    If anybody wasn''t too thrilled, it would probably be Chu Kuang''s fans who aren''t interested in detective fiction.

    Chu Kuang has written a lot of novels and has accumulated many fans.

    However, not all of Chu Kuang''s fans followed him in his constant genre-switching.

    A regular reader, even if they really like an author, might not read the author''s new book if it''s in a genre they are not interested in.

    It''s only human.

    So while Chu Kuang is gaining more fans, some fans of certain genres are actually "dropping off" at the same time.

    Like fans of his fantasy novels.

    The truly loyal fans who follow him no matter what genre he writes, are still a minority after all.

    However, the thing about Chu Kuang is...

    His readers aren''t actually "lost", it''s more accurate to say they are "dormant".

    As long as Chu Kuang continues to write the genre they are interested in, these fans would instantly be awakened.

    Also, the number of readers willing to follow Chu Kuang in different genres is constantly increasing. Perhaps due to the genius displayed by Chu Kuang, more and more people are starting to admire him.

    There are always some idols who are charming enough that no matter what they write, the fans are willing to pay for it.

    It''s a bit like chasing celebrities.

    Diehard fans, no matter how bad their favorite artist performs or how poorly they sing, can accept it all.

    Of course.

    Chu Kuang doesn''t belong to that group of terrible ones, on the contrary, he''s so excellent that many people call him "abnormal".

    After all, it''s Xian Yu in the south and Chu Kuang in the north.

    It''s worth mentioning that while the response to ''Styles Manor Case'' has been pretty good, the overall evaluation was definitely not as good as the previous two mysteries.

    This was within everyone''s expectations, and no one will criticize Chu Kuang for being over the hill.

    After all, ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'' pioneered the narrative trickery mode.

    As for ''Murder on the Orient Express'', it''s a work that completely blew up the entire detective circle.

    If ''Styles Manor Case'' was of that caliber, it would be too exaggerated, even the abnormal should have a limit.

    Not to mention, this story is commendable.

    Like all outstanding serial stories.

    The upper limit of the Poirot series is very high, but the lower limit is certainly not low!

    As long as the quality of this series stays within a range that keeps the readers engaged, it''d be a successful series.

    The well-known ''Sherlock Holmes'' series operates on the same principle: the stories vary in quality.

    The important thing is to maintain the minimum standard.

    And as this series continues, Poirot will inevitably ascend to the pantheon of detective fiction one day, Lin Yuan can see this coming.

    Ultimately, this Silver Treasure Chest is too good!

    It directly elicited the Poirot Series for me!

    Does this mean I won''t have to plan too much for long novels for a year or two?

    Lin Yuan worked it out, there are a total of 38 novels in the Poirot series.

    There are 33 medium-length novels.

    Excluding ''Styles Manor Case'' and other already published stories, there are still 30 medium-length stories left.

    These 30 books, following a pace of one book per month, can last more than two years.

    Even if Lin Yuan wanted to shorten this timeframe, it would still take at least a year to complete the serialization of the entire Poirot series.

    Considering the system''s requirements for him, Lin Yuan thought he might need to shorten this time somewhat.

    If that doesn''t work out, he could intermix some other genres in between?

    Plans cannot keep up with changes, so Lin Yuan didn''t make any strict plans.

    After the release of ''Styles Manor Case'', Lin Yuan asked the system to display his data.

    [Name: Lin Yuan]

    [Music Prestige Value: 800,000]

    [Literature Prestige Value: 830,000]

    [Painting Prestige Value: 270,000]

    [Film and Television Prestige Value: 220,000]

    [Calligraphy Prestige Value: 33,300]

    Lin Yuan didn''t pay much attention to the data at the back, he mainly looked at the prestige value for literature and music.

    Because he has a long-term task, many of the things Lin Yuan does are for this task.

    [Task name: Health is the Prerequisite for Revolution]

    [Task content: Prestige for both literature and music categories each breaking one million]

    [Task reward: The host can live to thirty years old healthily without illness or disaster]

    [Task note: The standard for ''health'' refers to a physique carefully maintained by the system, far surpassing ordinary people. Additionally, this task will remain effective until the host reaches twenty-seven years old.]

    This is the task that Lin Yuan took when he was a sophomore.

    He checked the content of this task again today mainly because he realized that this task is almost completed.

    Although the prestige of literature and music has not reached the task requirement of breaking one million, they have both reached around 800,000.

    He only needs another 200,000.

    If Lin Yuan steps it up, he will succeed!

    At that time, Lin Yuan will have a healthy body.

    A healthy body means more time and energy.

    Although Lin Yuan has the system''s energy potion now, which often gives him the effect of a healthy body, it is not as thorough a solution as this task.

    After all, it''s a comprehensive solution!

    Including problems like damaging his vocal cords, you know, without the energy potion, Lin Yuan wouldn''t even dare to stay up late¡ª

    Now, Lin Yuan is considered wealthy. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    For wealthy people, health is the greatest wealth.

    ____________________

    ps: Thanks to the reader "Book-loving Little Dio" for topping up their membership for the second time. I feel a bit guilty, there have been so many tips recently despite my poor updating schedule. I sometimes see the group chats, ahem, it seems I''ve revealed that I''ve been lurking, Little Dio is a very cute girl o(*£þ¨Œ£þ*)o

 Chapter 362 - 341: Movie Star Dog_1

    With the passage of time, Starlight''s long-planned New Movie "Hachiko" finally saw its launch day.

    This day happened to be the first day of July.

    A fortunate day for begging for children, weddings, engagements, and the start of construction. An inauspicious day for funerals, travel, praying for blessings, and planting.

    A perfect day to start filming.

    Yi Chenggong was still the director, and Mr. Shen, the big housekeeper, was still Shen Qing.

    Unless there were special reasons, Lin Yuan was not planning to change the core crew of the production team.

    He remained as unassuming as ever in his role as the principal scriptwriter on set.

    Without making any perfunctory speech at the launch, he left that to the director and the producer. Instead, he played a guessing game with Antarctica, who he hadn''t seen in ages.

    The so-called guessing game was simple:

    He took out three medium-sized opaque cups, one of which covered a coin. He then quickly shuffled the order of the cups and finally let Antarctica guess which cup the coin was under.

    Lin Yuan''s professional piano skills came into play; his hand speed was incredibly fast, almost dazzling, and yet his movements were graceful.

    Soon, Gu Dong, the assistant who was guessing with Antarctica, got dizzy from watching Lin''s moving hands.

    This wasn''t really an issue; after all, Mr. Lin was known for his quick hands.

    The issue was that even though Gu Dong was always guessing wrong, Antarctica was always guessing right. The dog''s paw could easily find the cup hiding the coin.

    This upset Gu Dong.

    She felt like she was dumber than a dog.

    What Gu Dong didn''t notice was that Zhang Xiuming, the male lead of "Hachiko" who had been quietly watching Lin Yuan, coughed lightly to himself. His gaze, filled with bewilderment, rested on Antarctica.

    Clearly, he had also tried his hand at guessing and had failed miserably.

    "You won, here''s your treat."

    Lin Yuan opened a box of dog treats for Antarctica.

    Antarctica wagged its tail, happily eating away.

    Lin Yuan said to Antarctica, "Take your time eating, while I tell you about the script."

    Lin Yuan began to slowly explain the script to Antarctica.

    Gu Dong: "..." sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Zhang Xiuming: "..."

    Is Mr. Lin serious?

    Does such a thing as explaining a script to a dog actually happen?

    If they didn''t know any better, they might think Antarctica was a human in a dog costume!

    Well, okay.

    There are people who communicate with animals this way. It doesn''t matter whether the animal understands or not, as long as they themselves feel that the animal understands.

    In daily life, don''t we often see pet owners seriously chatting with their cats or dogs?

    Mr. Lin is probably like that.

    They figured as much, and didn''t think too much of it at the time.

    However, during the actual filming that afternoon, a startling event left them, and the entire crew, dumbstruck¡ª

    Antarctica began to display its acting skills!

    As strange as that sounds, to be more precise, Antarctica was performing exactly according to the script!

    Whatever Lin Yuan asked Antarctica to do, Antarctica did!

    Even when the action wasn''t perfect, Lin Yuan would intentionally correct Antarctica.

    For example, at this moment, Mr. Lin was seriously telling Antarctica: "You''re running too fast. The camera movement isn''t nice. You need to slow down, follow this path, and if you deviate, you will be out of shot."

    "..."

    The older members of the crew who had worked with Lin Yuan during "Flirting Scholar," for some reason suddenly remembered how Lin Yuan had trained the male lead, He Sheng.

    It was the same back then.

    He Sheng, who couldn''t act well no matter what, suddenly possessed sky-high acting skills after being coached by Mr. Lin.

    Scenes that were previously impossible to get through, as soon as Mr. Lin taught him, he seemed to understand it all, as if Mr. Lin had unblocked his governor and conception vessels!

    Back then, the entire crew found it miraculous. They still marvel at it whenever they talk about that incident.

    But they didn''t expect to see something even more incredible today¡­

    Mr. Lin was teaching a dog to act!

    Normal people teaching a dog to act would be like playing the lute before a cow.

    But when Mr. Lin teaches a dog to act, the dog actually understands everything!

    Lying down, jumping, seemingly upset, or merry, barking loudly, or humming under its breath...

    Good grief!

    The dog is actually acting!

    Unbelievable!

    Even if this is Mr. Lin''s own dog, this is a bit too much!

    The dog does whatever Mr. Lin asks of it, as though it''s attained enlightenment or something!

    "After all, it is Mr. Lin''s dog."

    Someone muttered, "Mr. Lin probably spends a lot of time with the dog and deliberately trained it, so they have developed a mutual understanding."

    Everyone grudgingly accepted this explanation.

    Antarctica is, after all, Mr. Lin''s own dog.

    Unfortunately, this explanation soon became untenable because the next day, the team brought in a puppy.

    To explain:

    When people watch a movie, they see the entire life of the dog on the screen, but in fact, this is just the crew''s Blindfolded Method.

    They need to find three dogs to portray the puppy, the adult dog, and the old dog separately.

    Antarctica is playing the adult dog in "Hachiko."

    As for the puppy''s role, it had to be played by this newly brought in puppy. No matter how good Antarctica''s acting skills are, it can''t shrink in size.

    It''s not a Transformer, after all.

    This puppy was clearly less cooperative than Antarctica when it came to acting, and the crew finally got a taste of the real challenges of shooting with a dog.

    Compared to this puppy, Antarctica was more like a human being.

    In some respects, it even acted better than humans!

    When there was a scene where the puppy refused to cooperate, Lin Yuan stepped in.

    He squatted in front of the dog, held the script, and seriously explained the scene to it.

    The whole crew was in disarray...

    Did he think this dog was Antarctica from his house?

    This dog certainly wasn''t Antarctica. Although Antarctica could cooperate with the film crew without taking medication, the puppy needed to.

    The Emperor''s Charm Potion.

    This puppy, which had taken the Emperor''s Charm Potion, still wasn''t as smart as Antarctica, but it evidently gained some acting talent and could more or less understand Lin Yuan''s commands.

    Thus, when Lin Yuan finished explaining the scene to the puppy, and the crew restarted shooting in a peculiar atmosphere, everyone was utterly stunned!

    This puppy... actually knew how to act now!

    This puppy... had been trained by Mr. Lin!

    "In all my years in the industry, this is the first time I''ve seen someone improve a dog''s acting skills. If Mr. Lin can do this with a dog, wouldn''t training human actors be a breeze for him?"

    "Did Mr. Lin learn dog training before?"

    "Your family''s dog training skills can teach a dog to act? I think Mr. Lin must be psychic¡­"

    "I''d rather believe that Mr. Lin can talk to dogs."

    "Mr. Lin may not be able to talk to dogs, but he can definitely communicate with them in some form."

    "No matter how you put it, this is just too amazing!"

    "Compared to those big directors who only know how to train fresh-faced actors, Mr. Lin can even train dogs!"

    "If you put it that way, I think, after being trained by Mr. Lin, the dog''s acting skills surpass many actors."

    "What, are you hoping for the dog to win the best actor award?"

    "Why not best actress?"

    "Because the best-acting dog, Antarctica, is a male."

    "..."

    What these people didn''t know was that the puppy was obedient because of the power of the Emperor''s Charm Potion.

    When the crew brought in the old dog later, Lin Yuan also used the Emperor''s Charm Potion to communicate with it.

    Only Antarctica can truly understand, so Lin Yuan doesn''t need to spend money on it.

    Some people tried to mimic Lin Yuan and communicate with the dogs.

    But clearly, these three dogs basically only listened to Lin Yuan, especially when acting.

    After these few days, the way the crew looked at Lin Yuan had become somewhat strange.

    Gu Dong remembered the way his father gazed at the golden Buddha statue when he dragged him up the mountain to pray during New Year. It was exactly the same look.

 Chapter 363 - 342 - Shadows Industry Status _1

    Although the filming of the movie had just begun, the entire crew was unanimous in one belief: the dogs in "Hachiko" could very possibly be the most talented ones that Blue Star has ever had in its films. If there were to be an award for the best actor among dogs, Antarctica would undoubtedly win it!

    You can imagine.

    No matter how this movie performs in the box office and receptions, audiences will surely be amazed by these dogs'' remarkable performances. Any future production requiring dogs might even consider the ones featured in "Hachiko".

    The acting of these dogs is absolutely brilliant!

    Of course, the lead actor Zhang Xiuming is also incredibly skilled, yet because he is already known for his award-winning talent, his excellent performance was considered normal, which wasn''t nearly as astonishing as the dogs''.

    During a filming break.

    The comic "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma" serialized under the name Shadow by Lin Yuan finally came to its end. Its last episode was published amidst countless comments and expressions of reluctance from countless fans.

    "The end of an era."

    Shadow posted this status after getting permission from Lin Yuan. Luo Wei, who actually wrote the post, also took the opportunity to reveal the news of their new comic: "Working on a new original comics. Publication details to be announced separately."

    "Time to celebrate the conclusion!"

    "With ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma'' concluding, it''s probably less likely we''ll see another culinary comic. No idea what type of comic Shadow''s new one will be, but we all know you''re not purely a comic artist!"

    "Not merely a comic artist."

    "New readers might not know this. Many people thought Shadow was just an illustrator before ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma'' was launched, so this comic was not expected to perform well at first. It ended up becoming a huge success!"

    "Xian Yu: Shadow''s a hit?"

    "Chu Kuang: Shadow''s a hit?"

    "Haha everyone, don''t be too hard on Xian Yu and Chu Kuang by constantly comparing them with Shadow. Are ''Southern Fish and Northern Madman'' even comparable for ordinary people? Shadow is also famous in the comics industry!"

    "..."

    The readers are not wrong.

    Considering the overall record and impact it has made during its publication period, there''s no doubt that "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma" is splendid and glorious. Red to the point of being purple seems an apt way to describe it, especially when it quickly became one of the three pillars of the Tribe Comics.

    Unfortunately.

    Due to the constant emphasis on the "Food Wars" theme and resulting aesthetic fatigue from monotony of content, together with the entrance of Chu Continent, a major reshuffle happened in the comics industry. This led to the downfall of the comic from the pillar status, showing an obvious decline in performance.

    But overall, it''s not bad.

    This comic is a very commercially successful mainstream comic, and it will soon be adapted into an animation. The production is already underway, and many viewers and fans have high expectations for the animated adaptation of "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma".

    Is Shadow famous or not? S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    To the public, the reason why Shadow seems unpopular is merely because he is always compared to Xian Yu and Chu Kuang. Judging by the influence of his individual work in the comic industry, he has already become a successful veteran comic artist. Shadow''s fans even made a special post to explain:

    "Shadow is indeed popular."

    "Let''s look at the data. Just as ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma'' is concluding, let''s make a summary. In terms of online subscriptions to this comic, the initial success of this work ranked among the top five on the entire Tribe Comics website.

    Considering that Tribe Comics is the largest comic website in the industry, the impact of this work by Teacher Shadow is certainly among the top ten in the same period. The reason for the mediocre performance later on was largely due to the incorporation of Chu Continent, which has a massive comic and animation industry with many talents."

    "Not to mention Chu Continent."

    "Let''s take a look at ''King of the Net''. As Teacher Shadow''s debut as an illustrator, the comic was serialized for free, but as you can see in many popularity rankings of comic characters, the fame of Long Ma and other members of Youth Academy is at the top level!"

    "Then let''s talk about the achievements of the animated adaptation."

    "The popularity of the animated version of ''King of the Net'' has exploded. The voice actor of the main character Long Ma is a rookie who became famous overnight because of this role. Being invited to voice many mainstream animes is sufficient proof."

    "In conclusion."

    "If it had not been for the entry of Chu Continent, Teacher Shadow would have solidly placed among the top ten influential figures in the comic circle. But even with the entrance of Chu Continent, I believe Teacher Shadow is still a big figure not to be ignored in our comic circle. His works can easily rank among the top twenty in terms of sales.

    Let''s not compare Xian Yu and Chu Kuang to Shadow for fairness. Even though they seem to be good friends, they are not in the same field."

    This post is pretty objective.

    Shadow is indeed a top figure in the comic industry. Two of his comic series have achieved success, especially "King of the Net" which became popular due to its animated adaptation; it didn''t lose to Chu Continent''s animated cartoons in any respect.

    But it cannot be denied.

    After the merger with Chu Continent, significant changes took place in the animation market. A lot of new talents emerged in both the animation production industry and the comic industry. In this context, the weakening of Shadow''s position is a fact, just like Xian Yu and Chu Kuang constantly facing challenges from new continents.

    The difference is...

    Whether Xian Yu or Chu Kuang, whenever they encounter talents from newly joined continents, they often sweep through them like a crushing force. These talents usually end up being their fans, whereas Shadow hasn''t yet displayed such a sweeping prowess.

    The merger will continue.

    The merger with Yan Continent will happen after the New Year.

    Luo Wei analyzed: "The best-developed industry in Yan Continent is sports, with their athletes being the top level in Blue Star. Aside from the sports industry, their competitiveness in every other industry isn''t bad either, mainly because they excel in competition, which can stimulate industrial progress. Even their literary world likes using literary duels.

    They are recognized by Blue Star as battle enthusiasts, and this culture has also extended to the comic circle. They too like using battle as a form of expression, so when Yan Continent joins, we might face some combat challenges. Thankfully, ''Death Note'' is not afraid of challenges."

    "honey badger?"

    Lin Yuan thought of an animal.

    Luo Wei was confused: "What badger?"

    Lin Yuan roughly explained what a honey badger is, which made Luo Wei burst out laughing: "The people of Yan aren''t stupid. Although they like to fight, they usually only choose opponents who are similar in level to them. They wouldn''t dare to challenge those who are exceptionally strong.

    Not many people in Yan Continent would dare to challenge Xian Yu and Chu Kuang, unless they are top-tier figures of the same level in Yan Continent."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    He had a literary duel with Leng Guang under Chu Kuang''s alias and had a general understanding of the format. Literary duels indeed have the ability to draw attention. What Lin Yuan did not expect was that not only the literary world of Yan is fond of fighting, they all are, in every industry.

    No matter.

    When ''Death Note'' is officially released, even though there will still be a gap between Shadow and Xian Yu as well as Chu Kuang, no one will dare to say that Shadow is insignificant. Lin Yuan is quite confident in this respect.

 Chapter 364 - 343: Change to a Different Cover Than_1

    Luo Wei laughed, "Almost a year."

    Lin Yuan was taken aback, "A year of what?"

    Luo Wei continued smiling, "Have you forgotten the agreement we made? I lost to you in the traditional painting contest that day and agreed to be your manga assistant for two years. It''s almost a year since then, I''ve even graduated from university!"

    "Still a year left?"

    Lin Yuan realized, "I''m in my fifth year!"

    It was July. Lin Yuan had just begun his summer vacation after his fourth year. Although he hadn''t officially started his fifth year, he would be a true fifth-year student once September came. However, Lin Yuan had taken so many leaves that he hardly noticed this.

    "Huh?"

    Luo Wei blinked her eyes, "You can''t even remember your academic days, let alone our other agreement. You promised that if I did a good job as your assistant, you''d teach me traditional painting. I suppose I''ve done pretty well, haven''t I?"

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    He really had forgotten about that.

    However, Luo Wei did remind Lin Yuan that he had said all those things.

    The main reason Lin Yuan agreed to teach Luo Wei traditional painting was because he received a task from the system.

    The task required him to raise his painting prestige to over 300,000 in a year!

    The task reward was a Gold Treasure Chest containing Master Level painting techniques!

    Now, the deadline for the task was looming very close!

    Thinking of this, Lin Yuan said to Luo Wei, "After the release of ''Death Note'', I''ll make time to teach you traditional painting."

    "Okay!"

    Luo Wei nodded excitedly.

    She certainly loved manga, but her love for traditional painting never faded.

    Lin Yuan didn''t continue chatting with Luo Wei, but silently thought:

    "System, could you give me some hints about the time limits on tasks in the future?"

    Many of the system''s tasks have time restrictions.

    Last time, he went overtime on the apprentice task.

    Although the system eventually gave in, Lin Yuan felt that the system may not always be so accommodating. What a pity it would be to miss the task deadline due to timing issues.

    The system''s mechanical voice replied, "Okay."

    Lin Yuan made a face, then said to Luo Wei who was getting up to pack and go home, "Let''s start drawing ''Death Note'' officially tomorrow."

    Luo Wei was surprised, "Why the rush?"

    Lin Yuan said, "You don''t need to know the specific reason. The earlier it is released, the sooner you can learn traditional painting."

    Luo Wei put on her backpack, "Well in that case, I''m pumped up!"

    Lin Yuan nodded, "Let''s start tomorrow then."

    With a little more than two months left for the task of raising his painting prestige to over 300,000 within a year, Lin Yuan plans to release ''Death Note'' before the deadline.

    Lin Yuan''s current painting prestige sits at 270,000.

    In other words, Lin Yuan is still lacking 30,000 prestige points to complete the task.

    If ''Death Note'' is successfully released, wouldn''t those two or three ten thousand points of prestige be easy to gain?

    This is why Lin Yuan is suddenly eager to release ''Death Note''.

    Tasks are difficult and become null and void if they expire.

    Considering the rich returns this task could bring, it was a Master Level painting technique!

    According to the system''s determination, Master Level is the peak of any industry.

    ...

    Driven by the task, the studio was buzzing with activity from the second day onwards, and a number of drafts for ''Death Note'' were successfully completed.

    Lin Yuan was also hard at work at the studio.

    He was placing more and more trust in Yi Chenggong and Shen Qing, so the number of times he had to supervise the set was reducing. He only needed to go over when the dogs were required for the shots.

    "Instead of calling myself a screenwriter, I would rather say I am a dog trainer."

    Anyway, Lin Yuan believed so. The film crew didn''t need him most of the time.

    While creating ''Death Note'', Lin Yuan let Jin Mu and Tribe Comics discuss the distribution of royalties in the manga contract.

    After the success of ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma'', Lin Yuan had the capital to increase the price.

    "It''s okay to raise the price, but I guess it won''t be too much."

    Jin Mu said bitterly, "Mainly, the comic artists from Chu Continent are so powerful that it has impacted our later results."

    Why did ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma'' lose its steam in the later period and lose its position as the pillar of the platform? Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The first reason was that the manga caused aesthetic fatigue.

    The second reason was that the people of Chu entered the scene!

    The Chu people are best at animation.

    When Chu joined the merger, Tribe Comics attracted dozens of manga GOATs.

    These GOATs from Chu land released new works one after another, with several of them making a big impact, directly suppressing the Qin and Qi people.

    All they could do was sigh that the Chu people were born invincible in the field of animation.

    Just like the Qin people were good at music, it was unbeatable.

    Lin Yuan wasn''t necessarily aiming for a high price either: "You do what you think is best."

    "Okay."

    Jin Mu breathed a sigh of relief, then asked, "So, is our manga scheduled to be released in August?"

    "How about August?"

    "Alright, August is not bad."

    Lin Yuan was puzzled, "What''s good about August?"

    Jin Mu explained, "August is the summer vacation and there are many students around. The majority of the manga audience are students. If we release the manga at this time, the level of attention will be higher."

    "Oh."

    "But while August is a good time, it also means that competition will be intense in August. I just checked, and some quite powerful Tribe Comics artists have already announced that they''ll be releasing new works in August. Among them are two heavyweights who are famous comic artists from Chu land."

    "I see."

    Of course, Lin Yuan knew what Jin Mu meant by intense competition. The website generally promotes new manga releases, but these promotional resources are limited. The top resources of the same period are generally assigned to the hottest comic artist-

    It''s a mechanism to compete for a recommended position.

    If there are no more popular comic artists during the same period than Lin Yuan, the best resources of course would be assigned to Lin Yuan. But if there are two more comic artists who are not inferior to Lin Yuan, then those resources would be competed for by Lin Yuan and the other two.

    Of course, the best resources would be given to whoever''s new work is hotter. After all, Shadow really isn''t worse off compared to the two comic artists from Chu land.

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan was not worried at all.

    Of course, Jin Mu didn''t know about Lin Yuan''s calmness. He was still a bit worried.

    But he was good at comforting himself:

    "Boss, don''t worry too much. After all, you are quite formidable in the field of manga. If we can win this new publication period, we can restore some face for our Qin people''s manga. The people of Chu have been very smug about suppressing our manga."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    This kind of regional rivalry certainly wouldn''t easily disappear just because the states were merged. People always subconsciously compared with each other.

    Speaking of which.

    This was not the first time he had been compared with Chu people. It was just a different alias this time.

 Chapter 365 - 344 The Great Yin Yang Master_1

    Truth be told, Lin Yuan had no interest in these territorial disputes. However, it was often a matter that was not driven by his will alone.

    If Jin Mu held such views, it was even less surprising for the Chu people, who were famously proud in the anime world.

    The next day.

    The news that Shadow would be releasing a new work in August appeared in the website''s information bar, attracting quite a lot of attention from readers and fans alike:

    "Shadow has a new work? He just finished ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma'' and is already working on something new?"

    "That''s pretty fast. Seems like this is another original comic?"

    "Shadow obviously isn''t content with just being an artist. After all, the success of ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma'' has already proven his originality."

    "Although I''m not a fan of ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma,'' I do hope that Teacher Shadow''s new work will be a success because I am a fan of Chu Kuang!"

    "I started following Shadow because of Xian Yu out of curiosity, but I ended up liking this comic artist because of ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma.'' Although people have always joked that Shadow is invisible, I hope he can shed this title soon."

    "Hahaha, it seems that quite a few people discovered Shadow through Chu Kuang and Xian Yu."

    "You could say he''s practically invisible."

    "..."

    Even though die-hard fans continued to emphasize Shadow''s status in the comics world, it seemed that his "invisible" label was not easily shaken off.

    A few days later, Tribe Comics released a live interview.

    Website interviews were a common occurrence ahead of releases by well-known comic artists.

    However, this particular interview had nothing to do with Shadow.

    Shadow''s interview hadn''t begun yet.

    This one was about Sea of Blood and Pacific Saury¡ª

    Sea of Blood and Pacific Saury were the two famous Chu land comic artists who would be releasing new works in August.

    As both of them were Chu people and were releasing new works in August, they accepted a joint interview with the website to hype up their new works.

    Lin Yuan had also done this type of interview before the release of ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma.''

    There was nothing unusual about this.

    However, some of the remarks made by the two during the interview seemed to annoy Luo Wei.

    Like this comment from Pacific Saury:

    "I didn''t expect that Teacher Sea of Blood would also be releasing a new book in August. If I had known, maybe I would have considered changing the date."

    And this one from Sea of Blood:

    "Boss Pacific Saury is very strong. In August, I won''t be lonely with him."

    At first glance, the two didn''t seem to be saying anything too unreasonable. It just seemed like they were casually promoting each other''s work.

    But where''s Shadow?

    In August three GOATs were supposed to compete, but you two were already trying to steal the show. Are you pretending Shadow doesn''t exist?

    Or do you think Shadow doesn''t deserve to be your competition?

    Clearly, these two were intentionally leaving Shadow out.

    They both declared cheerfully, "This August will be a comic derby for Chu people."

    The term "derby" generally refers to a competition between two teams from the same place.

    This was why Luo Wei was feeling frustrated¡ª

    Shadow was being ignored!

    The last few lines of the interview took Luo Wei''s irritation to another level.

    This started when the host pressed the two guests on their opinion of Shadow, who would be releasing his new work around the same time¡ªpresumably because the host felt they should mention Shadow¡ªand forced the topic into the conversation:

    "What do you two think about Teacher Shadow releasing a new work at the same time?"

    "Shadow?"

    Pacific Saury looked at his own shadow: "I can''t see clearly."

    Sea of Blood made a pun: "Isn''t Shadow invisible?"

    Anyone who knew the memes would know that Shadow had often been joked about as being "invisible."

    Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood were clearly making fun of Shadow.

    Then, Pacific Saury said casually, "I''m just joking. Shadow is a quite powerful comic artist. I believe his music talents must be great, since he is a Qin person."

    Sea of Blood followed, "Just like we Chu people are naturally gifted in making comics."

    The two were quite witty, joking back and forth like comedians delivering punchlines.

    But their intention was clear.

    Chu people''s comics were the strongest. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This was why Luo Wei was rolling her eyes.

    Surprisingly,

    The interview drew a considerable response on Tribe Comics, with numerous comments underneath and even a bit of a controversy brewing.

    "Was it really a joke?"

    "Hahahaha, the two teachers are hilarious! Did they arrange this roasting of Shadow in advance?"

    "I feel like the joke went too far and was disrespectful to Teacher Shadow."

    "They actually considered it a Chu competition, not even taking Shadow into consideration."

    "These two Chu people are such masters of sarcasm!"

    "Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood are showing off. You could say they are joking because their words seem to be mocking Shadow, but if you said they are mocking Shadow because they seem to be joking, it doesn''t seem like they said anything too excessive, considering that Shadow being invisible is something netizens joke about."

    "As a fan of Shadow, I feel slightly nauseous from hearing them say all this. These two have really lost my respect."

    "Are Shadow''s fans so fragile? It was just a joke."

    "Here we go again. Fans are considered sensitive if they retort a bit, and fans are considered rude if they criticize a bit. It seems like you are the ones who are the most open-minded."

    "Honestly, these two do have skills, stronger than Shadow."

    "I''m neither of their fans, just a passerby speaking fairly: it doesn''t seem like mocking, just some frivolous bragging. However, it definitely seems like these two don''t hold Shadow in high regard."

    "..."

    People were analyzing this interview.

    Some speculated about how Shadow would react.

    The next day, the routine interview before the release of Shadow''s new work took place.

    But to everyone''s surprise, Shadow didn''t seem affected by the interview with Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood.

    He didn''t discuss much else, just promoted ''Death Note'' dutifully.

    "Well, look at that."

    "Hahaha, Shadow just straight up ignored Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood."

    "Nice, I like Shadow''s attitude!"

    "What grace! Teacher Shadow is truly graceful!"

    "I feel like Shadow has already responded. His response is: I just want to focus on drawing comics."

    "Cheers to Teacher Shadow! Go!"

    "Let them do their petty squabbles. Let''s just focus on what we do best!"

    "I thought Shadow would retaliate. But this is better, why should he stoop to their level?"

    "..."

    Of course, there were some fans of Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood who accused Shadow of chickening out.

    A user named Liangliang commented, "This is because he doesn''t have confidence in his own work."

    However, this kind of comment was soon overwhelmed by criticism.

    "Not responding is chickening out?"

    "So he should just start cursing like a shrew?"

    "Regardless of whether they were being sarcastic, let''s just assume they were joking."

    "I think Shadow handled it perfectly."

    "As expected of the man stuck between Xian Yu and Chu Kuang!"

    "Although I also admit that comics from Chu are amazing, as a casual reader, I enjoy Shadow more."

    "Shadow is the real genius, pretending to ignore Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood while actually completely ignoring them."

    "..."

 Chapter 366 - 345 - Master Level Painting Skills_1

    "Aren''t you angry?"

    Luo Wei said, puffing up her cheeks, somewhat surprised at Lin Yuan''s composure. This guy really knew how to keep his cool.

    Lin Yuan was baffled. "Angry about what?"

    Luo Wei facepalmed, and even Jin Mu couldn''t help but smirk.

    Jin Mu could understand both Luo Wei''s frustration and Lin Yuan''s calm.

    The reason for Luo Wei''s frustration was quite simple.

    She just felt that Shadow was being made fun of, by Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood, with malicious intent.

    However, Lin Yuan''s calm stemmed from his own strength!

    In the eyes of Luo Wei and many others who do not know the truth, Shadow is just Shadow.

    But for Lin Yuan, Shadow could be Xian Yu or Chu Kuang.

    They were all equals.

    Who said Shadow was insignificant?

    Who would dare say Xian Yu or Chu Kuang were insignificant?

    That''s why Lin Yuan didn''t respond to Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood.

    Only those who have their sore spots poked will fly into a rage. If the other party talks nonsense, why should the person involved be angry?

    You should know.

    Outside the realm of comics, Lin Yuan had long been a dazzling big-shot!

    Many Chu people wouldn''t even know that they''ve already been knocked down in the music field by this "Shadow".

    However, just because Lin Yuan wasn''t angry didn''t mean Shadow''s fans weren''t angry.

    At Tribe Comics, many people shared Luo Wei''s discontent!

    They directly criticized the antics of Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood in the comment section of their interview.

    The fans of Sea of Blood and Pacific Saury fought back fiercely.

    A war of words broke out between the two sides.

    Even some Qin and Qi comic artists felt quite unhappy!

    "The Chu people are too arrogant!"

    "There are many comic artists releasing new works in August, but Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood regard it as a competition. It''s not just about dismissing Shadow, it''s about overlooking all the Qin and Qi comic artists!"

    "I really hope someone can teach them a lesson."

    "Easier said than done. The Chu people''s animation and comic skills have always been leading in Blue Star."

    "We have to admit that comics are indeed the Chu people''s forte."

    "Shadow didn''t respond because he didn''t want to get involved, and also probably because he was helpless."

    "Before the unification, Shadow was also a top comic artist, but among the most powerful Chu artists, Shadow doesn''t really have any advantages."

    "..."

    Everyone was just frustrated, just as the Chu people would be displeased about the Qin''s dominance in Blue Star''s music industry.

    If you can''t beat them, you just can''t. There''s nothing to it.

    There were indeed comic artists within Qin Qi who could compete with Chu, but they were few and far between.

    At least if Shadow faced Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood, he wouldn''t have much chance of winning.

    Even though the comment section of Pacific Saury''s and Sea of Blood''s interview was chaotic, everyone understood that the Chu people indeed had reasons to be arrogant in the field of comics.

    Even so, both sides still wouldn''t give up their verbal clashes.

    August hadn''t arrived yet, but the air in Tribe Comics was filled with tension, a storm was brewing.

    ...

    In Lin Yuan''s studio.

    Luo Wei was utterly engrossed in drawing "Death Note," trying to channel her frustration into productivity. She was even more focused than usual.

    Lin Yuan, as always, was leisurely working on his drafts.

    On the 15th of August, Lin Yuan suddenly received a notification that the animated version of "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma" had been completed. The first episode would premiere at six pm that day.

    "It''s done already?"

    Lin Yuan was a bit surprised.

    Jin Mu laughed, "This production company has chosen to broadcast while still in production. ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma'' will air its first episode today because they''ve already completed half of the first season of the anime, and the rest is in production."

    "I see."

    Lin Yuan remembered "King of the Net" was not broadcast in this manner.

    Jin Mu seemed to sense Lin Yuan''s confusion and explained, "They''ve learned this method of production from the Chu people. You have to admit, the Chu people have a lot of experience in this area. They can start airing the anime when it''s half finished and complete the rest with guaranteed quality."

    That''s right. The rights to animate "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma" were bought by a company in Chu.

    Jin Mu continued, "I have watched it already, and it''s very faithful to the original."

    As the author of "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma," Lin Yuan could have gone to the production company to preview the first episode of the animated version, but he didn''t. Therefore, his agent, Jin Mu, had gone to watch the finished product instead.

    "It''s now 5:30. Boss, do you want to watch?" Jin Mu glanced at his watch.

    "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma" would start at six o''clock.

    "Sure."

    Lin Yuan settled into the sofa.

    He could watch the premiere on his studio computer.

    Sure enough, it was six o''clock and Lin Yuan watched the first episode of the official "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma".

    The storyline was basically unchanged.

    How the manga was drawn was how the animated storyline was presented.

    Only some shots and transitions were artistically crafted by the director to make it more visually pleasing.

    With the addition of quality voice acting, the whole effect of the anime was much better than the manga!

    It''s worth mentioning.

    The voice actors in Blue Star were incredible, unlike the Celestial Dynasty in his previous life, where the quality of voice acting was inconsistent.

    Furthermore, the quality of animation in Blue Star was even higher than that of Neon!

    Lin Yuan even turned on the comments.

    The comments for this anime were interesting.

    "Ah, am I watching an adult anime?"

    "Mom, let me explain!"

    "Would you believe if I told you she''s just eating a dish?"

    "Hahaha, "Aphrodisiac no Soma" truly lives up to its reputation!"

    "Hard work pays off, voice actors! Let''s give them a chicken leg emoji!"

    "Are current comics this sexy? I like."

    "Clothes explode, clothes explode, clothes explode! Ahhh, such blinding divine light!"

    "..." sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This animation has been produced to a level of embarrassingly explicit fanservice. Lin Yuan felt somewhat awkward watching it.

    He should be more mindful in creating new works in the future.

    Some fanservice is okay, but too much will affect his image.

    As he was thinking about this, a system prompt suddenly popped up in his mind:

    [Ding Dong! Congratulations, Host, for completing a task to boost your painting reputation to 300,000 points within a year, rewarding a gold treasure chest (Note: The gold treasure chest contains master-level painting techniques)!]

    Lin Yuan was taken aback.

    Previously, wasn''t he still short of twenty or thirty thousand reputation points? This was why he was in such a hurry to release "Death Note", but the new comic hadn''t been officially published yet. How did he suddenly complete the task?

    Could it be...

    Lin Yuan suddenly understood something as he lifted his head to glance at the animated version of "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma". It probably had something to do with this animation.

    The influence of animation was much greater than that of comics indeed!

    Many gentlemen contributed their power to enhance his reputation as well.

    Without hesitation, and with a bit of excitement:

    "Open the treasure chest."

    System prompt: [Congratulations, Host, for obtaining master-level painting techniques!!]

    Whooosh!

    At this moment, Lin Yuan felt his brain teeming with countless top-tier painting knowledge, like streams of golden light coursing through his mind!

    It was a very peculiar feeling!

    At the same time, Lin Yuan could clearly perceive that his understanding of painting had levelled up again.

    As he lowered his head to look at a few drafts of "Death Note" on the table, he suddenly frowned.

    He frowned hard!

    Lin Yuan initially thought that these drafts were not bad. At least this is what he thought before he opened the gold treasure chest.

    But now, Lin Yuan somehow found these drawings too crude.

    The lines were not handled smoothly enough...

    The characters'' gazes were somewhat stiff...

    This storyboard was not impactful enough...

    The hands were drawn poorly, the angle was completely unnatural!

    This person didn''t know a single thing about painting!

    Oh, it seemed these drafts were drawn by himself...

    Upon inspection, his flaws were countless!

    So many mistakes that Lin Yuan couldn''t spot before, were now glaringly obvious in retrospect!

    At this moment, Lin Yuan realized it was not that his previous painting skills were too poor, but his present painting skills were...

    Too powerful!

    Before this, Lin Yuan was only at a professional level.

    At a professional level, one could make a living from painting, become a comic artist, or perhaps they could gain some fame as a painter.

    But now, Lin Yuan had reached a master level!

    Master level equated to standing at the apex in a specific field!

    Although the system had a perfect level in its evaluation, considering that humans were after all, mortals bound by flesh, it was difficult to reach perfection, so Master Level painting had already reached the extreme limit!

    That is to say,

    In the entire comic field, no one''s painting skills could surpass that of Lin Yuan. The most talented comic artist''s painting skills were on par with Lin Yuan at best!

    Moreover...

    Lin Yuan doubted if anyone with such skills even existed.

    However, in the traditional Chinese painting circle, there might be some super experts whose painting skills were on par with Lin Yuan''s skill level now, but he was not sure since he hadn''t conducted any research on it.

    "In the art of painting, I am invincible."

    Such a thought crossed Lin Yuan''s mind.

    As Luo Wei was planning to get off work, she was suddenly caught up in the excitement of watching "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma" on her computer:

    "Is it airing already?"

    "No time to watch the animation now."

    Lin Yuan, with a stern tone, interrupted Luo Wei: "Bring me the drafts you have completed in recent days to check. I want to inspect their quality."

    Luo Wei, without taking her eyes off the computer, muttered: "Didn''t you check it already?"

    Lin Yuan seriously stated: "Check it one more time."

    "Okay."

    Reluctantly, Luo Wei went next door, returning with a bunch of drafts. "Here you go..."

    While talking, Luo Wei smacked her forehead: "There are digitized versions on the computer. Why do you need to look at the originals? They are not even colored yet."

    "Coloring will not make any difference."

    Lin Yuan stared at the drafts that Luo Wei had brought over and shook his head. It was as he expected.

    A golden light seemed to sparkle in his eyes. "None of these can be used, each and every one is poorly drawn."

    "Huh?"

    Luo Wei seemed a little stunned.

    They were poorly drawn?

    Most of these drafts were completed by Luo Wei and the assistant, half of which were even drawn by Lin Yuan himself. Yet Lin Yuan said that each and every draft was not up to par?

    It''s one thing to criticize my drawings.

    But you''re not even sparing your own work?

    Are you being too strict about the job?

    "Redraw everything."

    Lin Yuan said in a resolute manner!

    Actually, it was not that Luo Wei''s drawings were not good enough, but rather, his current level was too high, and as superior artists tend to have higher standards and requirements!

    In fact,

    Even if the original version of "Death Note" were now in front of Lin Yuan, he would still not use it.

    Because he could! Draw! Even! Better!

    But Luo Wei didn''t understand.

    So Luo Wei was left dumbfounded.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Trying to find the rhythm, the novel will resume updates this week.

 Chapter 367 - 346: Avici Hell_1

    "Redraw all of it?"

    After a moment of stagnation, Luo Wei couldn''t help but raise her voice, the pitch slightly sharp, her mood very puzzled:

    "You''re not satisfied with this quality!?"

    She knew that the first few chapters of "Death Note" had already been finalized.

    As early as the late serialization of "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma", the studio had been preparing for the new work.

    So the entire preparation time for "Death Note", including everything, was close to two months!

    But now, with Lin Yuan''s sentence "Redraw all of it," it means that the preparation everyone has done for nearly two months was all in vain!

    Anyone finding out that two months of their hard work was in vain, would not be able to remain calm.

    "But these drafts really don''t work."

    Lin Yuan tells it like it is.

    In his current view, these drafts are simply filled with flaws.

    "Look."

    Luo Wei rubs her temple: "The content from the first to the fourth chapter, excluding the background part, was all personally drawn by you. The parts that we completed later were also approved by you. How could you suddenly think that these drafts are no good?"

    It''s too sudden.

    If it weren''t for the fact that they had worked and got along with each other for a year, understanding Lin Yuan''s character and integrity well, Luo Wei would almost suspect that Lin Yuan was deliberately stalling because he didn''t want to teach her traditional Chinese painting.

    "This level..."

    Lin Yuan tries to find an accurate description: "It''s just at the level of an ordinary professional."

    Luo Wei: "???"

    Every word Lin Yuan says, Luo Wei can understand, but when put together, Luo Wei doesn''t understand.

    It''s just at a professional level?

    Only?

    Luo Wei helplessly says: "This is already the limit of our abilities." Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    What Luo Wei says represents "us," and Lin Yuan is included in this too.

    Lin Yuan''s painting skills are not much better than Luo Wei''s. After nearly a year of collaboration, Luo Wei is very clear about Lin Yuan''s painting skill level.

    "Here''s what we''ll do."

    Lin Yuan says: "I''ll redraw it first, you assist me, let''s work overtime tonight. Uncle Jin will settle your overtime pay later."

    "Then you draw."

    Luo Wei crosses her arms over her chest.

    She wants to see how Lin Yuan will draw it better.

    The finalized drawings have clearly reached the limit of their abilities. Can redrawing it make it better?

    Lin Yuan doesn''t explain, he directly enters the office area, and starts to remake the first chapter.

    The office area of a manga artist is often a bit messy.

    The table has professional painting tools such as pencils of different models, dip pens, ballpoint pens, rulers, and correction fluid.

    He picks up the pen skillfully.

    Lin Yuan begins to draw the initial content of the first chapter of "Death Note".

    The beginning of the original story starts from the realm of death,

    Ryuk, the death god, loses his notebook and decides to go to the human world to find it.

    In Lin Yuan''s original painting, he drew the image of the death god according to the original "Death Note", but with master-level painting skills, Lin Yuan has even greater ambition!

    What realm of the death god?

    Just draw Hell directly.

    The scene of the original realm of the death god, is not shocking enough.

    Lin Yuan is going to challenge the real Hell, Avici Hell!

    What real Hell should look like, everyone should have imagined it.

    A lot of games and films also involve scenes of Hell.

    In Lin Yuan''s painting, Hell is ominous and eerie, consistent with the established impression of the majority of people.

    The sky seems to be covered with a layer of haze, all sorts of ghosts aimlessly floating, unknown hair shuttling through the corners, nameless soft creatures like minced meat squirming in dark corners, unidentified flames burning...

    This scene is really grand!

    Lin Yuan has drawn several ghoulish images in succession, even some plants in Hell, but his speed isn''t slow, it seems that the master-level painting technique has also increased his painting speed.

    Some ghosts, their heads are bigger than their bodies.

    Some ghosts, their bodies are covered in spikes.

    Some ghosts, their whole body is rotting and oozing pus.

    Some ghosts, only have eyes and mouth.

    The images of these ghosts, Lin Yuan all drew according to the descriptions of ghosts in the myths and legends in his memory, while also adding in artistic modifications and considerations, letting the cruelty and unimaginable impact of Hell leap onto the page, like the ghost that Lin Yuan is currently drawing, opening its big mouth to swallow unknown severed limbs and arms, because the image is too vivid it seems like the ghost really exists!

    Luo Wei''s eyes gradually changed ...

    Written expressions have limitations, images are more intuitive.

    This is also why some people prefer to watch movies and animations over reading novels.

    The Hell depicted by Lin Yuan right now, gives people a feeling as if this Hell really exists!

    Every ghost inside it, even the rustling in the corners, is thoroughly taken care of.

    Under the glamorous style, the impact is extremely strong, making people unable to avert their eyes at first glance!

    And when the image of Ryuk, the death god, appears on the drawing paper, Luo Wei, who has her hands crossed over her chest, feels that her arms are knotting.

    Luo Wei is a bit stunned.

    Her eyes are wide open, even her originally prominent double eyelids have disappeared, only her pupils are contracting constantly.

    It is obvious that it has not been colored yet, and even the linework is not fully complete, but this picture of Hell in front of her eyes is already making Luo Wei feel a sense of horror from the bottom of her heart!

    "Hiss..."

    She couldn''t help leaning in closer, her breath turning cold, her body trembling, not knowing whether it was because the picture of Hell was too horrifying, or Lin Yuan''s drawing skill was too terrifying.

    A certain incredible idea, suddenly appeared in Luo Wei''s mind:

    The things that Lin Yuan drew before, might just have been for fun!

    If you take this picture of Hell right now and compare it with the drafts Lin Yuan completed more than a month ago, the latter was straight-up annihilated to the point where not even dust remains!

    But the problem is, both paintings came from Lin Yuan''s hands!

    If Lin Yuan was not hoodwinking before, it simply can''t be explained!

    Luo Wei absolutely did not believe that Lin Yuan''s painting skills had improved so much in these days. No ordinary human being could make such a drastic improvement in such a short time!

    So there was only one explanation that made sense:

    When Lin Yuan was painting comics before, he must have been hiding his true skills; or in other words, he was just messing around, just painting for fun!

    The terrifying part lies exactly here...

    Compared to the current version, Lin Yuan''s previous version did indeed seem like he was just joking around.

    But this did not mean that the version Lin Yuan painted before was inferior.

    Even if Lin Yuan''s previous version were to be shown to top-class comic artists, those artists would only raise their thumbs in approval!

    As for this current version, it might even make those top-class comic artists kneel in admiration!

    Right now, Luo Wei felt as if her knees were somewhat buckling.

    This is a professional artist, instinctively submitting in the face of someone like Lin Yuan who was a master.

    In terms of skill, the gap between her and Lin Yuan was like a chasm!

    "Give me a glass of water."

    Lin Yuan continued to draw, without even lifting his head.

    "Okay... okay..."

    Luo Wei''s voice, filled with reverence, poured Lin Yuan a glass of warm water with the utmost sincerity.

    "Gulp gulp gulp."

    Lin Yuan took a few sips of water and continued painting, paying no attention to Luo Wei''s odd behavior.

    After acquiring the master-level painting technique, this was also Lin Yuan''s first time testing its effects.

    And the result of the test was pleasing - this depiction of hell was absolutely at a level that Lin Yuan could not have achieved before!

    Let''s put it this way.

    Now, Lin Yuan could surpass the original version if asked to draw any manga from his previous life!

    You must know, the original "Death Note" manga was drawn by Takeshi Obata, a top-class chiaroscuro artist in Neon. His level is already very high.

    Yet Lin Yuan, having master-level painting technique, could draw even better!

    Moreover, as Lin Yuan continued to perfect his painting, it was becoming even better!

    He hardly took any breaks.

    For nearly an hour, Lin Yuan''s wrist was constantly moving at a fast pace, with lines, either sharp or gentle, continuously appearing on the paper.

    Next to Lin Yuan.

    Subconsciously, Luo Wei held her breath, staring intently at the painting.

    Only when she felt almost suffocated, did Luo Wei remember to exhale deeply.

    At this moment, Luo Wei finally understood why Lin Yuan said that the previous version only had the skill level of a "professional artist".

    Lin Yuan has the right to say that!

    Compared to Lin Yuan, she herself was as amateurish as a "professional purist artist".

    Luo Wei suddenly remembered Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood''s taunts at the "Shadow".

    Before, Luo Wei was furious and felt that the two of them were going too far.

    But now, not only did Luo Wei not feel angry, she even felt a bit of sympathy for the two.

    Of all people to provoke, why did you guys provoke Shadow?

    You guys are now making Shadow so angry that he disregards the studio''s nearly two months'' worth of work, and unleashes all his strength...

    You two probably can''t handle Shadow''s fury!

    This round, you two may very well be sent straight to Avici Hell.

    If we don''t talk about the plot, speaking only about the painting skill, could anyone in Chu land be nominated as a competitor against this Shadow?

    At any rate, Luo Wei couldn''t think of anyone who could compare with the current Lin Yuan!

    That''s right.

    Although Luo Wei didn''t understand why Lin Yuan didn''t draw in this way before, she firmly believed that Shadow suddenly stopped hiding his incompetence because Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood had angered him!

    The two of them will probably be left with shadows in the future, right?

    Who would have thought that a serious painting by Shadow would be so monstrous!?

    Even though Luo Wei was not on the opposite side of Lin Yuan, she felt a little shaky.

    "Done."

    After almost two hours of tweaking, Lin Yuan finally stopped.

    By this time it was completely dark outside, and only Lin Yuan and Luo Wei were left in the studio.

    But Luo Wei didn''t have the slightest resentment for having to work overtime. Instead, she had a sense of honor for having witnessed a master''s great work!

    "You can handle the coloring."

    Lin Yuan rubbed his sore wrist.

    Normal painting wouldn''t take this long.

    It was simply because Lin Yuan wanted the first few chapters of "Death Note" to truly "shock" the readers, which is why he went to such great lengths to present the scene of hell.

    This painting, in terms of being artistic, was not at all that.

    There were only two words that the entire painting was exuding:

    Show off!

    Crazy show off!

    It was an exquisite kind of show off that one could not take their eyes off!

    "Coloring? Me?"

    Looking at the completed work by Lin Yuan, Luo Wei felt a sense of unworthiness.

    She even wanted to say: "I''m not worthy."

    But soon, a tremendous sense of honor drove her to nod heavily:

    "Got it!"

    Luo Wei felt as if she was experiencing the happiness of being singled out by the master.

 Chapter 368 - 347 Are You Ready?_1

    Lin Yuan''s decision to redraw Death Note rendered all the hard work of the studio in the past two months a complete waste. However, as Lin Yuan''s depiction of Hell laid before Luo Wei in all its vibrancy and lifelike detail, she no longer had any doubt about Shadow, or rather, Lin Yuan himself.

    She spent the whole night coloring.

    She put more effort into it than she did when she was drawing Phoenix''s Pride.

    Not only this evening, but also for the remaining few days before the arrival of August, she devoted herself into an unprecedented creative passion, willingly acting as Lin Yuan''s manga assistant¡ª

    Even Lin Yuan, who was usually slow to notice such things, could feel Luo Wei''s change in attitude.

    Previously, Luo Wei had some respect for Lin Yuan, but they were after all the same age, and Luo Wei was even a year or two older than Lin Yuan, hence their interactions were mostly among peers.

    However, since Lin Yuan started redrawing Death Note, when Luo Wei faced Lin Yuan, she acted more like a student facing their teacher.

    Total respect and extreme caution.

    This carefulness extended to various degrees, even when she spoke, "I thought you were not upset about the Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood incident."

    Luo Wei seldom used such a polite form of address as "you" when talking to Lin Yuan before.

    Although he sensed something, Lin Yuan didn''t mind this change in address. He casually explained:

    "I wasn''t angry."

    It was just that he acquired master-level painting skills, and therefore, he had higher expectations for the quality of the manga. It had nothing to do with Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood. These two just happened to cross his path at the wrong time.

    After acquiring the master-level painting skills, Lin Yuan certainly wanted to test them out.

    Luo Wei gave a smile.

    If you weren''t angry, why would you need to redraw Death Note, and go to such extremes?

    Last time when Luo Wei asked Lin Yuan why he wasn''t angry, he gave a similar response, and Luo Wei really thought that Lin Yuan had a great talent for concealing his anger.

    Now it seems, it wasn''t about concealing his anger at all, Teacher Shadow had actually decided to explode!

    But she also has to thank Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood.

    If it wasn''t for these two guys stirring things up, perhaps Teacher Shadow wouldn''t even have bothered to show off his full abilities.

    She truly doesn''t understand why Teacher Shadow, who obviously possesses such a terrifying talent, deliberately pretended to be at the same level as her previously.

    Did he think it was interesting to be equal with an amateur like me?

    "Maybe this is what makes a big shot."

    So pondered Luo Wei, noting that the minds of the big shots are the hardest to understand.

    Perhaps it''s simply that Teacher Shadow found it interesting to be able to enchant the readers by just doodling?

    Of course, Lin Yuan had no idea how vivid Luo Wei''s imagination could be.

    He never slackened off.

    Although he had successfully obtained the treasure box and possessed the master-level drawing technique, since he announced that Death Note would start to be serialized in August, it naturally required him to prepare a few drafts ahead of time.

    Meanwhile.

    On Tribe Comics'' website.

    The controversy between Pacific Saury, Sea of Blood, and Shadow showed no signs of subsiding, and even involved disputes between different provinces.

    On a certain manga forum.

    A netizen from Chu land teased in the forum: "When it comes to Music, we can''t compete; when it comes to Manga, you can''t."

    Your guys.

    "Your guys" here referred to the manga creators from both Qin and Qi provinces.

    The Qin and Qi people were furious, but they couldn''t do anything about the arrogant Chu people, after all, Chu region''s animation really was popular throughout the Blue Star.

    Anyway, the netizens from the Chu region were quite pleased with themselves for this reason.

    Because earlier this year, Chu''s music was severely defeated by the Qin people, so some Chu people were quite frustrated.

    Now that they were able to make a comeback in the manga field, they naturally had a reason to celebrate.

    Even a media source from the Chu region specially launched a manga special, listing the influence of Chu''s manga to the Blue Star over the years.

    Obviously.

    The Chu region media also wanted to seize this opportunity to avenge their music personnel''s tragic defeat.

    So, the subtext of these news was: "Although we lost to the Qin people in music, we will win back on the manga field."

    It''s just like a home away battle.

    Music was Qin''s home ground advantage, and now it''s Chu''s turn to play their home ground advantage in manga.

    ...

    Nevertheless, the outside world would not distract Lin Yuan. Even though he devoted most of his energy to the manga, he still squeezed some time to visit the company.

    There are two main purposes for his company visit.

    First, to give his third disciple Li Lizhi some lessons on composition.

    Li Lizhi''s class timing was basically waiting for Lin Yuan''s notification. When Lin Yuan had time, she would come for class, and when Lin Yuan didn''t have time, she wouldn''t have to come.

    Although these classes were intermittent, under the teaching of Lin Yuan''s upgraded Teacher''s Halo, Li Lizhi was making rapid progress, even though she was of average talent.

    This could have something to do with Li Lizhi''s diligence.

    Anyway, at this time, Li Lizhi''s composition ability was commendable. It was just a matter of time before she could graduate from being an apprentice.

    Second, to review Xue Liang and Feng Shuo''s works.

    In April this year, Xue Liang and Feng Shuo each wrote a song for Sun Yaohuo and Jiang Kui, and as a result, both Sun Yaohuo and Jiang Kui made it to that month''s new song list.

    This even sparked discussions about "The Yu Dynasty" from the public.

    In the following months, Xue Liang and Feng Shuo maintained the rhythm of writing one song for Sun Yaohuo and Jiang Kui each month.

    All these songs were guided by Lin Yuan using Yang Zhongming character card, and hence, the quality was good. The two singers who were responsible for the singing even made it to the top ten several times.

    Of course, there were also times when they messed up.

    For instance, in June, the previous month, the song that Xue Liang wrote for Sun Yaohuo was met with lukewarm responses, and it finally ranked twenty-third on the new song list.

    For instance, in July, this month, the song Feng Shuo wrote for Jiang Kui also failed, ending up in the nineteenth place on the new song chart.

    Fortunately, the overall situation is not bad.

    With the help of two apprentices and Lin Yuan''s character card, the performances of Sun Yaohuo and Jiang Kui in the past few months have been unproblematic.

    August is just around the corner.

    Lin Yuan plans to continue letting Xue Liang and Feng Shuo handle the songs for Sun Yaohuo and Jiang Kui, while he himself will use the Yang Zhongming character card to assist them.

    That''s the plan.

    After finishing the lessons for the third disciple, and providing some suggestions for the works of the eldest and second disciples, Lin Yuan prepares to leave the company.

    Before he can leave the office, Lin Yuan is stopped by someone.

    "You''re just leaving like this..."

    The person stopping Lin Yuan is the deputy director of the ninth floor, Wu Yong.

    Lin Yuan pauses: "Something up?"

    Wu Yong gives a bitter smile: "You must be aware that August is almost here, and the company has tasked us with promoting two top-tier singers."

    Lin Yuan says: "Aren''t we doing just that?"

    These past few months, Xue Liang and Feng Shuo have been working on this, and Lin Yuan has often been using character cards to guide them, specifically for this company goal.

    "My point exactly."

    Wu Yong reluctantly says: "Your disciples, of course, are doing a brilliant job, but the problem is that the progress is a bit slow. Sun Yaohuo and Jiang Kui do not have a strong foundation, plus we only have a few months until the New Year."

    In simple terms, Xue Liang and Feng Shuo''s efficiency in promoting talent is not high enough.

    Sun Yaohuo and Jiang Kui are average in terms of foundation, especially Sun Yaohuo, it wouldn''t be easy to elevate his status.

    By the progress they are making, by the time New Year comes around, it''s doubtful either of them will be top-tier singers.

    Lin Yuan is deep in thought.

    Wu Yong sighs: "You have promised before that you would personally step in. August is almost here. If you don''t take action now, it might be too late."

    "Got it."

    Lin Yuan nods confidently.

    In September, he considers stepping in to aid Sun Yaohuo and Jiang Kui, but the customized songs must have some weight, as the goal is to make the pair top-tier singers.

    Lin Yuan plans to consider what songs to use when he gets back.

    Besides going to the company, Lin Yuan also visits the set of "Hachiko".

    The progress of the filming seems to be going well, probably because the main scenes are filmed in Antarctica, so there hasn''t been much delay.

    Whenever there are problems with the dog''s cooperation, the film crew knows to call Lin Yuan over to train it.

    The crew hasn''t called Lin Yuan over lately, so it appears they are finally getting into the swing of things.

    Lin Yuan simply takes a stroll around and then returns to the studio.

    After Lin Yuan has made his rounds, time finally comes to the end of July.

    To be precise, it is the thirty-first of July.

    The Tribe Comics website is extremely active that night, with many fans waiting in front of their computers overnight.

    Because tonight, Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood will release their new comics!

    This is currently the hottest news on the site!

    In addition, Shadow will also release his second comic following "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma".

    Although the public doesn''t pay as much attention to Shadow as they do to Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood, because the two previously insinuated something about Shadow in an interview, sparking a dispute on Tribe Comics that went on for half a month, and even reigniting regional conflicts, everyone is also somewhat curious about Shadow''s new work...

    "Pacific Saury bro, go easy on me."

    At eleven forty, with only twenty minutes left before the release of the new works, Sea of Blood suddenly messaged Pacific Saury privately, attaching a battered emoticon, and in a modest demeanor but deep down hoping he came first and Pacific Saury second.

    "Sea of Blood bro, stop messing around."

    Pacific Saury immediately replied, attaching a laughing cry emoticon: "I''ve heard from fan groups that several of your readers are preparing a silver alliance. They want to blow me out of the water. Young people these days have no respect for martial ethics!"

    "Anyway, you are bound to be first."

    Sea of Blood started downplaying his opponent.

    Pacific Saury is an expert and quickly sees through Sea of Blood''s vicious intentions, instantly replying: "You will definitely be first, I''ll be happy with second."

    "You''re first!"

    "No, you''re first!" S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Hahahaha, let''s stop badmouthing each other. Anyway, we are both Chu people. Regardless of which one of us comes first, it will be a win for Chu people."

    "Can''t argue with that!"

    The two happily reach a consensus.

    All while these two are badmouthing each other and inflating each other''s egos, inside Shadow Studio, Luo Wei, who decided to work overtime tonight, glances at the time in the lower right corner of the computer. It is already eleven fifty-five.

    "Are you ready?"

    Luo Wei looks towards her assistants.

    The assistants at Shadow Studio also voluntarily stay to work overtime tonight. In Luo Wei''s words, the release of "Death Note" should be completed in the presence of everyone©¤

    "Beep beep beep beep beep beep beep!"

    The mobile phone alarm set by someone for twelve o''clock rings, like a war song signaling the start. Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood each release their new comics.

    At the same moment.

    Inside Shadow Studio.

    Under the watchful eyes of a group of assistants, Luo Wei releases the first five chapters of "Death Note", which were uploaded in advance.

    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C

    ps: Ending here is a bit awkward. Hit me in the face with your monthly tickets, I''m not afraid of pain, I segmented my chapter, I deserve it...

 Chapter 369 - 348: The Taste of Godly Creations_1

    "It''s out, it''s out!"

    Not just the readers were anticipating, but inside the editorial department of Tribe Comics, the editors were also looking forward.

    When the new works of Pacific Saury, Sea of Blood, and Shadow were officially published, editors from each group accompanied by whispers of conversation, clicked on the works they were interested in the very first time.

    An interesting phenomenon occurred here:

    The first group of editors in Tribe Comics mostly clicked on the manga of Pacific Saury.

    The second group of editors in Tribe Comics clicked on Sea of Blood''s new work.

    And the third group, everyone clicked on Shadow''s "Death Note".

    The rest of the editorial groups chose more randomly.

    Why was this phenomenon occurring?

    Simple.

    Because Pacific Saury is managed by the first editorial group; Sea of Blood is managed by the second editorial group; Shadow is managed by the third editorial group.

    These three groups naturally have more interest in the manga artists they are in charge of.

    Kylin is an editor from the third group, so like the other editors in the group, he chose "Death Note".

    At this moment, the editorial department was still relatively quiet.

    Everyone was just quietly scrolling their mouse and clicking on the manga they found interesting.

    Of course, you had to read comics quietly.

    Moreover, under normal circumstances, if one wanted to comment on the quality of a manga, they at least had to read more than one chapter to make an initial judgment.

    However, today seemed a little odd.

    The silence of the editorial department lasted only a few seconds before it was broken by an exclamation.

    "Holy shit!"

    What could they possibly discern from such a short time that they would start exclaiming?

    Quite a few editors raised their eyebrows, but no one said much.

    But right after that, several more exclamations followed in quick succession, so much so that the entire editorial department was getting irritated!

    Everyone frowned simultaneously and some even stood up.

    All the eyes quickly turned towards the source of the noise.

    The third editorial group!

    Being stared at by so many people, Kylin felt a little awkward.

    He didn''t know why his colleagues in the third group were causing such a commotion that disturbed the other groups while his own screen had completed the jump¡ª

    Three seconds ago, he clicked on the option to read "Death Note".

    Then, the first image of the first chapter of the colored version of "Death Note" appeared in front of Kylin.

    This was a full-colored hell image!

    A bluish-grey mist was covering the entire space.

    The hell ghosts of various forms, either opening their gaping mouths with a ferocious look or staring in a weird direction with peculiar eyes.

    Above a certain flame, a group of humanoid creatures had their tongues pulled out, nailed and hung over the fire to roast...

    Gloomy!

    Horrible!

    Eerie!

    People may have a hundred types of imagination about hell, and the first image of "Death Note" can satisfy 99% of people''s fantasies about hell!

    The shocking visual impact, the exquisite artistry, and the peak of ingenious technique!

    Then, just like the other colleagues in the group, Kylin exclaimed:

    "Oh my!"

    Everyone shows amazement in a different way, but their reasons behind their exclamations are essentially the same:

    This image is too shocking!

    You should know that the editors are the most professional people in the manga circle.

    Many of them might be dealing with a variety of manga artists their whole lives.

    The longer they''ve been working, the more they''ve seen in the manga circle, and because they''ve seen so much, they''re a bit numb towards some decent art styles.

    But at this moment, they just saw the tip of the iceberg of "Death Note", but their nerves are all tensed up, feeling palpitations!

    "What''s going on with you guys in Group Three?"

    A editor finally couldn''t help but open his mouth, he was from the fifth group and had a good relationship with a few colleagues from the third group.

    "Just check out ''Death Note''and you''ll know."

    Kylin''s gaze stayed fixated on the screen of "Death Note", and his eyes were filled with obsession and passion as they moved from the first image to the following contents!

    Check out "Death Note"?

    Hearing Kylin''s words, many editors from other groups paused, then simultaneously clicked on "Death Note".

    A work that elicited such a response from Group Three would naturally make others curious.

    And as more and more editors clicked on "Death Note", the editorial office of Tribe Comics suddenly fell deadly silent.

    All of them, looking at each other.

    At this moment, without needing many words, everyone put down the manga they were holding and started reading "Death Note".

    Luo Wei uploaded five chapters.

    Five chapters of content, not too much or too little, doesn''t take half an hour to finish reading.

    And that was when they were reading very slowly.

    There''s no way to read quickly under the beautiful art style of "Death Note", almost every picture can be appreciated repeatedly!

    Merely skimming through quickly would be an insult to such good artwork!

    However, when everyone finished reading the content that had been published for "Death Note", the editorial department erupted!

    Group Three.

    Someone murmured softly, "Can you smell that?"

    Kylin guide automatically answered, "What?"

    The other party''s voice was trembling slightly, "The scent of a masterpiece."

    Kylin paused, then nodded heavily.

    In fact. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The reaction of the editorial department was just the tip of the iceberg.

    By the same time, many readers had finished the initial chapters of "Death Note".

    Then, the manga comment area boiled as expected!

    "My mom asked me why I was reading manga on my hands and knees..."

    "This is drawn by Shadow?!"

    "This artstyle is too beautiful, I offer my knees to Master Shadow!"

    "Never mind the plot, just looking at the drawing is already a supreme enjoyment!"

    "No, you have to read the plot, paired with the plot, this manga is properly satisfying!"

    "Such a heretical manga, paired with such an elegant artstyle, I''m sorry, I''m wet."

    "Whoever dares to say Shadow is a transparent person again, I''ll fight with them, Shadow is the sun, illuminating the entire manga circle!"

    "This artwork simply crushes ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma''!"

    "I thought the artstyle of ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma'' was already very good in the industry, after all, Shadow made his debut as a pure artist, but I didn''t expect Shadow could draw even better!"

    "My God, compared to this, the art of ''King of the Net'' is just a child!"

    "Why are you comparing it to ''King of the Net''? After all, it''s also Shadow''s work, we should say that compared to this manga, 99% of the mangas on the market are just children in terms of artwork!"

    "Don''t just talk about the artwork, this plot also explodes, Yagami Light is so freaking cool!"

    "Can you explain to me, this is the so-called transparent person by Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood? Chu Land Comics is indeed the number one in the world."

    "Shadow''s art has always been this perverted, where has he been before, were the artworks he drew before ghostwritten by others?"

    "I''m suspecting now, his previous works were all drawn by his assistants."

    "..."

    While the readers were discussing heatedly, a large banner suddenly appeared on the website: [Amazed and couldn''t help but exclaim, this reward is necessary to express my respect, user I''m the Fairest rewarding ''Death Note'' 10 million tribe coins, and has become the Great Gold League of this work!]

    Shadow has taken off.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Ps: First release, will edit later.

 Chapter 370 - 349: Doubting Life_1

    With the emergence of the Gold League, several silvers have already flown on the banner of the website, all aimed at Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood.

    From any perspective, Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood are worthy of such respect.

    However, after the appearance of this Gold League, the silver alliances of Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood, seem to suddenly lose their luster...

    The Silver League is ten thousand dollars, rare indeed, but it does occasionally appear.

    The Gold League, however, is worth a hundred thousand dollars and might not even be seen once in several months!

    Rewards might not represent a book''s success, they only indicate the tycoon''s fondness for a work, a very private taste expression, but they have enough visual impact!

    That''s the scent of money!

    For "Death Note", this Gold League is just the beginning.

    Immediately following that, another Gold League smashed out!

    [Applauding and getting up, this reward is not enough to express my feelings, user Illusion Feather rewarded "Death Note" 10,000,000 Tribe coins, becoming this work''s Great Gold League!]

    After rewarding, Illusion Feather also posted in the comment section:

    "I was careless and didn''t act swiftly, I''m the Fairest managed to snag the first Gold League."

    Illusion Feather, I''m the Fairest, and a few other users, they''re all very famous tycoon readers on Tribe Comics, they all know each other.

    Illusion Feather is an old fan from the ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma'' era.

    While I''m the Fairest only rewarded because of "Death Note".

    After Illusion Feather''s comment, many readers replied below:

    "6666666666!"

    "Big brother rewarded so much, aren''t you going to ask for updates? Let Shadow gkd."

    "Damn, how many best-selling comics don''t even have one Gold League, this comic just got published and already has two Gold Leagues?"

    "Successfully attracted my attention to the tycoons, oh no, to ''Death Note''."

    "..."

    I''m the Fairest even commented below: "It''s been a long time since I''ve seen such an explosive work, I spent all my pocket money on gaming this month, I''ll give another one next month."

    Illusion Feather replied to I''m the Fairest''s comment: "Oh, then I''ll take the lead."

    After that, Illusion Feather rewarded "Death Note" with another Gold League.

    I''m the Fairest replied with a helpless expression: "I''ll replenish two next month, you better shape up or ship out."

    With that, "Death Note" already has three Gold Leagues!

    And the outrageous conversation between the two, coupled with the site-wide announcement, left the bystanders dumbfounded--

    "Is this the world of the strong?"

    "One hundred thousand dollars of pocket money? Do you hear that, is that even human language!"

    "Illusion Feather: I''ll seize the first fan''s position while you''re not paying attention."

    "This comic only has five episodes!"

    "Both tycoons are amazing, we poor can only give silvers."

    "Silver? Poor?" Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "I really can''t imagine the happiness of rich people."

    "..."

    Perhaps the efforts of I''m the Fairest and Illusion Feather have had an effect?

    Before long, several eye-catching banners fluttered across the website, dazzling the eyes of every online reader¨C

    "Congratulations to user [Little Dio Likes to Read] for becoming a Silver League of this work!"

    "Congratulations to user [Willow God Whispers] for becoming a Silver League of this work!"

    "Congratulations to user [[¡Ð¡ò¡Ð]] for becoming a Silver League of this work!"

    "Congratulations to [Nomadic Person i] for becoming a Silver League of this work!"

    "Congratulations to [Smile Again] for becoming a Silver League of this work!"

    "..."

    If someone carefully counts, they would find there are another nine silvers appearing on the fan list of "Death Note" after the Gold League!

    Three Great Gold Leagues!

    Nine Great Silver Leagues!

    This fan list is overwhelmingly flamboyant, even readers browsing other comics on the website have been shocked!

    "Damn, a red packet rain!?"

    "Are the tycoons having a day off today?"

    "All rewarded to ''Death Note''? Whose comic is this, it''s so fierce? I''ve got to check it out."

    "..."

    The rule on Tribe Comics is, each time a Silver or Gold League appears, a random red packet will show up.

    If you''re quick enough, bystanders can snatch up some reading coin red packets.

    With the appearance of three Gold Leagues plus nine Silver Leagues, even a klutz could get quite a few red packets.

    "How many people threw Silver at this?"

    "My god, there are three Gold League members. Just these few Golds, that''s 300,000 Yuan!"

    "Do these big spenders lack accessories?"

    "What kind of household is this? They can tip ten thousand, even a hundred thousand Yuan just for reading a comic?"

    "Haven''t seen such an extravagant rain of gifts in Tribe Comics for a long time. Big shots are amazing, I''m going to check out ''Death Note''!"

    "The money I grabbed probably enough for me to mooch off Shadow for a few months."

    "..."

    Most people knew that ''Death Note'' is Shadow''s new work.

    Because of the previous mockery by Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood, Shadow got the attention in some territorial disputes, so this matter has got quite a lot of attention.

    However, there were some people who did not pay attention to the comic works in August, they were purely shocked by so many tips.

    Is the new work competing for promotional resources?

    Is there any better way to promote than this continuous rain of gifts?

    Without any accident.

    August new works list, ''Death Note'' directly topped the list with the highest popularity!

    Pacific Saury ranked second.

    Sea of Blood is in third place.

    The Internet has a memory.

    People haven''t forgotten that Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood used to mock Shadow, or the arrogance and pride of the Chu people!

    The comment section of the Pacific Saury''s comic.

    Originally, all posts in the comment section of Pacific Saury''s comic were praising Pacific Saury. But after many people saw the first few frames of ''Death Note'', the most upvoted comment turned out to be:

    "Pacific Saury, come out and take your beating!"

    It''s not just a coincidence.

    In the comment section of Sea of Blood''s comic, the most up-voted comment is the same style: "Sea of Blood, stand straight and take your beating!"

    Three Golds, nine Silvers!

    The commotion on the site-wide banner is too big!

    Of course, Sea of Blood and Pacific Saury could not fail to see it, not to mention the wind direction in the comment section is getting increasingly awkward.

    And the two people who realized something was wrong naturally went to see ''Death Note'' first.

    Sea of Blood finished it first.

    After finishing, he felt a little dizzy.

    This feeling of dizziness started when he saw the first image of hell in ''Death Note''.

    What is this?

    What the hell is this?

    Playing dumb to eat the tiger?

    So, you deliberately hid your true skills in the first two comics just to slap our faces?

    Don''t talk about how shocking the plot and settings of ''Death Note'' are!

    Just by the painting skills displayed in ''Death Note'', it''s enough to make Sea of Blood kneel directly!

    And there is no room for resistance!

    This is not a competition of the same level at all!

    Opening the chat box with Pacific Saury, the chat history still stayed on the business mutual praise between them.

    Sea of Blood''s face was burning.

    He still vividly remembers just over an hour ago, both of them were passive-aggressively competing with each other, secretly regarding each other as the biggest competitor in August.

    But in the end, they are just feeding each other.

    This August has nothing to do with either of them.

    If it were only that, it wouldn''t matter, but the problem is, Sea of Blood and Pacific Saury had mockingly ridiculed Shadow before.

    "I want to cut it."

    The chat box suddenly flashed, and Pacific Saury sent a message.

    The so-called "cut" is jargon, which means wanting to be eunuch, wanting to stop updating.

    Only when a comic artist''s new work performs very poorly would he have such an impulse.

    But the problem is, Pacific Saury''s new work is actually not bad, and there are no issues with the data.

    But Sea of Blood could understand Pacific Saury''s current mood very well.

    He was hit by Shadow.

    He was also hit by Shadow and wanted to cut it.

    The force of this hit was enough to make Sea of Blood and Pacific Saury feel helpless on the spot.

    Both even started to question their own lives.

 Chapter 371 - 350: The Painting that Swept Across the Web_1

    With the business abilities of Sea of Blood and Pacific Saury, it''s evident how fucking terrifying the quality of "Death Note" is ¡ª

    It''s at the hegemonic level!

    Don''t be puzzled, "Death Note" is indeed at the hegemonic level of manga!

    From artistic techniques to plot, everything is indisputably top-tier!

    There are some works in the manga world that, right from their publication, emit the unique aura of being masterpieces!

    Such works are something that neither Sea of Blood nor Pacific Saury could create.

    This is the ability possessed only by the most top-notch manga artists!

    However, what Sea of Blood and Pacific Saury are racking their brains to understand is:

    How did Shadow''s "Death Note" make such drastic progress from his previous work!

    The two of them had also seen "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma".

    And Shadow''s "King of the Net" was not unfamiliar to them either.

    But the artistic skills displayed by Shadow in "Death Note" are simply incomparable to these two works!

    Where can one even start to explain such a phenomenon?

    Equally bewildered are all the members of the ChuLand manga circle.

    Because the impact of Shadow''s manga hits the entire ChuLand manga circle!

    "What''s going on?"

    "The plot is explosive, no doubt about that, it''s definitely a top-level work that can create a huge sensation. But how did he manage to improve his artistic skills to this level overnight?"

    "Bullshit! You think this is fantasy manga, are artistic skills something you can break through all of a sudden?"

    "Obviously Shadow hid his true ability before!"

    "You say this isn''t fantasy manga, but now he claims to have deliberately hidden his abilities. This is clearly because he didn''t draw seriously before."

    "Is this even humanly possible?"

    "Before, when he wasn''t drawing seriously, it was already so good. Now when he really means business, his technique is godly!"

    "That depiction of hell is just showing off! And it''s the type where you know he''s showing off, but you can''t help but admit that his painting technique is absolutely invincible!"

    "His art is unbeatable!"

    "I feel only Teacher 22 Cuts'' art skill can be a match for him right?"

    "..."

    All the ChuLand manga artists are discussing.

    A great majority of discussions have mentioned 22 Cuts.

    22 Cuts is recognized as the best illustrator in the Chu Land!

    At the same time, the story of 22 Cuts is also sensational. Position-wise, 22 Cuts is like the ceiling of the ChuLand manga world.

    However. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    While discussing Shadow in a particular group, 22 Cuts himself surprisingly popped up.

    He only sent one message:

    "Just speaking about the art of manga, Shadow should be the top in Blue Star. I am not his match."

    A simple sentence, but it dropped like a bombshell!

    Causing explosions everywhere!

    Creating a meteor shower!

    The whole group went silent for a moment.

    Five minutes later, statements from the real 22 Cuts started to be crazily screenshot and spread amongst various big manga groups in ChuLand.

    More groups fell silent.

    Some people even forwarded the screenshot to some big manga groups in Qin and Qi lands, which caused such a big impact that people doubted their own eyes:

    "Is it really 22 Cuts who admitted it?"

    "Holy shit, Shadow is so fucking awesome!"

    "Words can''t do justice to describe his awesomeness anymore, haven''t you seen the name used by the fans? They used to call him Teacher Shadow, but now he''s called Master Shadow."

    "Master, do you get it?!"

    "He''s already the number one in Blue Star!?"

    "Damn, I''m a bit choked up with how the Chu people have behaved, but now I can''t help but feel that they have a tough time too. First they were beaten in music, and now even their strongest field- manga, has been suppressed by our Qin people."

    "Shadow is from Qin?"

    "Maybe Shadow is a Chu person!"

    "Shadow hasn''t mentioned where he comes from, but I have a feeling that Shadow could be from Qi Land."

    "Bullshit, Shadow started publishing manga in Qin land, he''s definitely from Qin!"

    "Just because he published manga in Qin land proves he''s from Qin?"

    "..."

    Well, the situation has somehow escalated into everyone arguing about which side Shadow is from.

    ...

    The impact brought about by "Death Note" has not ended here.

    Many fans have directly cut some wonderful scenes from "Death Note" and reposted them on platforms like Tribe.

    Some people even posted it in their friends'' circle.

    Two words: super hype!

    This is the late night of August 1st.

    At this time, there are usually many night owls wandering on the internet, many people are mindlessly scrolling through Tribe.

    For instance, Hua Qi.

    Hua Qi is a female high school student.

    She doesn''t like to read comics, so she has no idea who "Shadow" is, let alone what "Death Note" is.

    Her biggest hobby is actually reading about celebrity gossip online.

    She''s the type that just lurks and enjoys the drama without saying a word.

    But that night, she stumbled upon a particular post.

    It was posted by a popular blogger that she follows:

    "High-resolution screenshots of Shadow''s new work, ''Death Note''. Starting from Hell, it''s chock-full of energy!"

    There were five pictures attached.

    The first picture was a terrifying, foggy, cyan-grey hell, filled with grotesque demons emerging one after another. Some were enduring horrible torments, some had black hair billowing out, and some were wandering souls...

    Hua Qi''s eyes went wide.

    This was beautifully drawn, wasn''t it?

    Even though she didn''t understand comics, she could tell how amazing this illustration was.

    She even had this kind of feeling: "So this is what Hell looks like!"

    There were four more pictures.

    The second picture.

    It depicted a long-haired man, with a cold smile playing at his lips. He held a notebook with a skull cover in his arms, and in his right hand he held up a pen. Behind him were obese figures, shackled figures, skeletal figures... all dead, forming a sea of corpses and blood!

    The third picture.

    A young man with dark circles under his eyes, feet propped up on a chair, wearing a long shirt that covered his knees. In front of him, the glow from a computer screen. There were little gadgets on his desk; although the scene wasn''t anything special, it gave off an impression that this young man was formidable.

    The fourth picture...

    The fifth picture...

    There were five pictures in total, all seemingly related to the comic''s plot.

    Even Hua Qi, who had never read a comic before, could feel the visual impact of these comic images.

    The illustrations were simply magnificent!

    They completely overturned Hua Qi''s perception of comics!

    It was indeed filled with energy!

    She couldn''t help but download one of the images - a picture of Yagami Light in the dark, exchanging glances with Lin Yao Yao - and set it as her phone wallpaper.

    Of course, Hua Qi didn''t know the names of these young men, she just thought the image was so cool.

    These characters had such distinctive personalities that were so captivating.

    Actually, a lot of people do this.

    They search the internet for beautiful images to use as their wallpaper. The image could be from an animation, a movie, or a comic.

    They don''t need to know the source of these images.

    As long as they''re attractive, as long as they''re cool or handsome, they save them.

    Hua Qi did the same, and she couldn''t help but comment in the comments section, "Where can I read this comic?"

    As she commented, Hua Qi noticed many others were also asking about "Death Note" in the comments.

    Someone quickly replied to Hua Qi:

    "Tribe Comics, ''Death Note'', it''s a new piece by Master Shadow."

    Even the blogger replied to Hua Qi:

    "These images are screenshots from ''Death Note''. Every chapter has one such level of image as a mini-cover, stunning beyond words!"

    Indeed, stunning beyond words!

    From that moment onward, many screenshots of "Death Note" began circulating all over the web!

    Many people were reposting them.

    Many people were admiring them.

    That particularly popular image of hell was even enlarged several times by some bloggers and studied over and over!

    After the image was enlarged, many people were stunned to find that the image didn''t collapse!

    In fact, many previously unnoticed details were brought to light as the image was magnified!

    For instance, in one corner of the image.

    There was a weird rock.

    And underneath the rock, a group of peculiar insects were crawling around. It was really creepy; each insect feeling so lifelike.

    In another corner.

    There was a face with a weird expression, half-smiling, half-crying. If it weren''t for the enlargement, no one would have noticed.

    "Gave me the creeps!"

    "Scared me into a cold sweat in the middle of the night!"

    "This drawing skill, truly master-level!"

    "Even after being magnified so much, it still holds up. It even seems more amazing. It''s nothing short of a masterpiece!"

    "Reading this kind of comic is a dual pleasure, both visually and emotionally."

    "Is this still a comic? It makes me want to learn how to draw."

    "..."

    And one of the comments was:

    "Now I get why Xian Yu and Chu Kuang follow ''Shadow''. Birds of a feather flock together, freaks really do play with other freaks!"

    This comment appeared just five minutes ago and it already had over a thousand likes.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Could someone give me a monthly vote? I''ll get back to writing after I wake up tomorrow. No promises on how much I''ll write, but I''ll glue myself to the chair starting tomorrow.

 Chapter 372 - 351 This Boss is So Capricious_1

    It''s a well-known fact.

    Xian Yu, Chu Kuang, and Shadow are the Three Bros.

    This was something Shadow himself admitted during the pre-release interview for "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma".

    They do not pay attention to other celebrities or peers, only to each other, forming a perfect cycle. Therefore, netizens often tease their relationship.

    But...

    Even though the trio''s focus is interconnected, for a very long time, everyone''s attention was completely focused on Xian Yu and Chu Kuang.

    A well-suited phrase to describe Shadow''s state would be: The excitement is all theirs, I have nothing.

    Just as there''s always a "transparent" member in many groups.

    Xian Yu of the South, Chu Kuang of the North.

    Even though Shadow had a good relationship with the two, he seemed to be like an overlooked outsider. Netizens who paid attention to all three simultaneously often joked about him being:

    Invisible.

    This was tied to their individual accomplishments in their respective fields.

    Xian Yu was recognized as a genius in the world of music composition and was also talented in scriptwriting for films. His crowning achievement was a masterpiece like "Mariage d''Amour".

    Chu Kuang, on the other hand, had a wide range of literary works, considered as a monster by many of his peers, he swept through the realm of mystery with multiple classic short stories, fantasy novels, and even "Murder on the Orient Express".

    Shadow, in the world of manga, though a significant figure, wasn''t at the top tier.

    Even some believed...

    That Shadow gained his fame thanks to Chu Kuang''s "King of the Net".

    Of course, the subsequent success of "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma" proved that Shadow could achieve good results in the manga world without relying on Chu Kuang.

    But it ended there.

    Therefore, many people had the vague feeling:

    That Shadow simply didn''t measure up to the other two.

    Shadow being friends with Xian Yu and Chu Kuang was simply a stroke of luck.

    His inclusion in their interconnected attention cycle was him punching above his weight.

    However, the emergence of "Death Note" completely shattered this perception!

    Everyone''s views on Shadow were turned upside down overnight!

    That''s why this highly upvoted online comment, "I think I understand why Xian Yu and Chu Kuang keep an eye on Shadow. Like attracts like, birds of a feather flock together, a pervert will only hang around with other perverts." struck a chord¡ª¡ª

    This sentence perfectly expressed the subversion everyone felt at the moment!

    "That''s so true, like attracts like, birds of a feather flock together, a pervert will only hang out with other perverts!"

    "Who dares to say now that Shadow playing with Chu Kuang and Xian Yu is punching above his weight?"

    "How does the old saying go? If you want to know what level a person is on, just look at who they''re friends with. Shadow''s friends are Chu Kuang and Xian Yu, do you need to say what level he''s on?"

    "That''s right, can someone who''s Bros with Xian Yu and Chu Kuang possibly be weak?"

    "From now on, who dares to say Shadow is invisible!"

    "Shadow: I lay my cards on the table, I can''t pretend anymore, actually, I am also the GOAT."

    "There isn''t really anyone out there who thought Shadow was invisible, right? Surely not, surely not?"

    "Turns out Shadow is so cool, why didn''t he show his colors before, allowing everyone to tease him for so long?"

    "Maybe this is the mindset of a GOAT, they simply do not care."

    "Shadow: Fine, I''ll also start playing the game using my hands."

    "Insightful! Judging from ''Death Note'', Shadow was really just playing around before."

    "There are no younger brothers in the Three Bros, they''re all bloody elder brothers!"

    "..."

    It doesn''t matter if you don''t understand manga.

    As long as you have eyes.

    Anyone who has seen Shadow''s drawings is impressed!

    There''s no need for any professional perspectives to judge, simply describing it as "the drawings are too good looking" is enough.

    But netizens couldn''t figure out why Shadow didn''t show his skill earlier if he was so talented?

    Could it be that he really was just too lazy, as netizens had speculated?

    So he was just too lazy to take drawing seriously?

    Even though this was the only explanation that made sense, it seemed absurd to everyone¡ª¡ª

    Or even ridiculous.

    And then, the very next day, many people''s questions were answered.

    Someone came forward to explain exactly why Shadow''s art style in "Death Note" suddenly became extraordinarily magnificent!

    This person was Shadow''s main manga assistant, Luo Wei.

    Luo Wei''s online name was "Luoli".

    She was a famous mangaka in the doujinshi (fan work) community.

    "Mangaka" and "GOAT" carry the same meaning, both terms are used to refer to doujinshi authors with respect and admiration.

    Aside from this, Luo Wei had also been Shadow''s assistant under the pseudonym "Luoli", hence she had a say in "Death Note".

    Luo Wei released a long post:

    "Seeing everyone discussing why Teacher Shadow''s drawing skill has suddenly become so good, as someone involved, I think an explanation is needed."

    "First, I want to correct a misunderstanding. It''s not that Teacher Shadow''s drawing skills suddenly improved or that there was some sort of breakthrough, but rather his drawing skills have always been tremendous!"

    "The reason I originally agreed to be Teacher Shadow''s assistant was because I was won over by his drawing techniques."

    Luo Wei was referring to her past experience competing against Lin Yuan in Chinese painting at Qin Art, but she didn''t disclose too many details.

    In Luo Wei''s view, Lin Yuan''s level of Chinese painting could crush her own!

    Therefore, even though she was initially shocked at Lin Yuan''s frightening manga techniques, after remembering how her Chinese painting was outperformed by Lin Yuan, she suddenly understood why Lin Yuan''s manga drawings could also outperform her own.

    But what was crucial was her following explanation:

    "Actually, Teacher Shadow is a very easygoing person in private and even a bit lazy. He often provides the storyboard, does a simple line drawing, and then hands off the main drawing task to me, his assistant. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Therefore, everyone would think that Teacher Shadow''s previous works were not as good as they are now, because in ''King of the Net'' and later ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma'', a lot of the content was drawn by me.

    That''s why there were some jokes online saying that Teacher Shadow must have found an assistant to ghostwrite for him in the past, it wasn''t entirely wrong, it just wasn''t that exaggerated."

    "In fact, ''Death Note'' was also supposed to be completed by Teacher Shadow and me together."

    "We had accumulated drafts for two months, and the quality of the drawings didn''t differ from the previous two manga works."

    "But just before ''Death Note'' was about to be released, Teacher Shadow suddenly rejected our previous drafts and personally hand drew a new version, the version that everyone is now seeing. The new version had such superb drawing skills from Teacher Shadow that I was not able to keep up, and could only assist from the sidelines."

    "As for why Teacher Shadow suddenly decided to redraw ''Death Note'', maybe everyone can guess even without me saying."

    "I will upload the first version of ''Death Note'', the drafts that were discarded by Teacher Shadow, in a moment. I''ve randomly taken screenshots from a few pages of the content, so everyone can get a feel."

    "..."

    After the long post was published, Luo Wei indeed uploaded the first version of ''Death Note'' onto Tribe.

    As for the first version of ''Death Note'', the discarded drafts, the quality of the drawings were indeed around the same as Teacher Shadow''s first two works...

    Netizens were dumbfounded.

    This GOAT has such an air of incorrigibility!!

 Chapter 373 - 352: The Three Brothers Stand Side by Side _1

    After hearing the explanation from Luo Wei, the manga assistant, everyone finally understood...

    Apparently, Shadow had not originally intended to make "Death Note" so phenomenal!

    You can tell from the first version of "Death Note".

    Shadow hadn''t planned to take it seriously before, just like his previous two manga, this guy is a slacker!

    Even though he has the ability to carry the weight, if he can slack off, he does so with peace of mind!

    If it weren''t for Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood''s mockery and innuendos, along with the public opinion influenced by regional disputes, you probably wouldn''t have seen such a stunning artwork in "Death Note"!

    For the reason that made Shadow take his work seriously, Luo Wei, of course, did not explicitly mention.

    If mentioned explicitly, it would seem that Shadow lacks grace, and at this point, Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood are probably feeling quite deflated, so there wouldn''t be any point in walking all over them again. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    They were already ground to dust.

    However, anyone with a slight comprehension can see what Luo Wei is hinting at¡ª

    Netizens have even retraced Luo Wei''s initial thought process:

    "Because Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood''s innuendos got on Shadow''s nerves, Shadow decided to deal with these two?"

    Logical, flawless reasoning.

    And just like Luo Wei''s initial reaction, everyone suddenly felt a little sorry for Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood.

    Why on earth did you two bother him?

    He''s a seemingly harmless giant dragon who''s actually just taking a nap. Once the dragon wakes up, who can withstand its powerful tail swing!

    Haven''t you seen the Twenty-Two Blade stream, known for its exquisite artwork, feeling a bit inferior?

    But on the other hand.

    If it weren''t for Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood''s ill-conceived provocations, would Shadow have taken "Death Note" so seriously?

    After all, this big shot is too lazy to really put effort into creating artwork.

    The fact is, this big shot can leisurely create artwork and have it dismissed by the readers, whom he leaves none the wiser, thinking that Shadow is quite impressive.

    From this perspective, shouldn''t everyone be thankful for the provocations of Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood?

    If Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood hadn''t aggravated Shadow, would Shadow have been so diligent and shown his true strength?

    He probably would have continued to slack off.

    From now on, there should be more people like Sea of Blood and Pacific Saury to stimulate Shadow.

    "So, we really should be grateful to Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood!"

    "If it weren''t for Teacher Pacific Saury and Teacher Sea of Blood''s self-sacrifice and dedication, we probably would have been hoodwinked by Shadow again!"

    "The key is, even if Shadow casually hoodwinks people, his level still crushes eighty percent of manga artists!"

    "Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood deserve eternal recognition!"

    "With merits so great, I suggest giving Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood a commendation!"

    "..."

    Luo Wei, seeing these comments, couldn''t help but laugh.

    These current netizens are too unpredictable, full of bizarre speculations.

    However, on second thought, wasn''t it also bizarre speculations when Pacific Saury and Sea of Blood previously mocked Shadow?

    Uh-huh.

    Spare the rod and spoil the child, nobody is spared by fate.

    As for the purpose of Luo Wei''s article, it was actually to disgust others in return.

    Shadow can stay quiet, but himself as an assistant must do something else, otherwise the artwork of "Death Note" would have been wasted.

    Of course.

    Even if the artwork isn''t compared, "Death Note" is a very classic work.

    On some rating websites, some people evaluated "Death Note" as follows:

    This is a work with a narrative so classically S-ranked, and a never-before-seen artwork reaching the unprecedented SSS-rank!

    ...

    Thanks to Sea of Blood?

    Thanks to Pacific Saury?

    Thanks to whom, exactly!

    Sea of Blood and Pacific Saury, after reading Luo Wei''s article and seeing netizens'' weird comments, completely lost their composure, as Luo Wei predicted, even developing psychological shadows...

    This wave of defeat is complete!

    However, Sea of Blood and Pacific Saury felt wronged.

    Who could have imagined that a popular work like "King of the Net" was just Shadow being slack.

    Who could have thought that the exquisite artwork of "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma" was merely Shadow drawing casually?

    This is not scientific at all!

    However, this generation of netizens is indeed full of twists and turns.

    Some people even made animated GIFs based on the videos of Sea of Blood and Pacific Saury mocking Shadow previously.

    The scenes of these two mocking Shadow as an unremarkable entity, and then bursting into laughter afterward, have become the latest favorites in many people''s collections of emoji.

    Even some netizens went to Chu Kuang''s tribal comment section to stir up the situation:

    "Shadow didn''t even bring out all his strength when drawing your ''King of the Net'' manga version, how can you tolerate this, Chu Kuang, you old rascal?"

    "I wouldn''t tolerate it anyway."

    "Chu Kuang the old rascal is not that good of a person either, he has fooled many readers with his Narrative Trickery."

    "Birds of a feather flock together, the wisdom of the ancients is truly deceitful. Chu Kuang deceived the readers, Shadow fooled the readers, both of these guys are swindlers!"

    "I hope Xian Yu doesn''t pick up bad habits from these two."

    "Teacher Admirable Fish is very steady, how could he be as despicable as these two."

    "..."

    Because of the enthusiasm of the netizens, Shadow, Chu Kuang and even Xian Yu''s tribal comment sections are exceptionally lively.

    At the same time.

    Riding the momentum of "Death Note", the number of fans who follow Shadow have skyrocketed, and in just one week, it surged to nearly fifty million!

    There''s still a long way from Chu Kuang''s breaking hundred million mark.

    It is also a significant number away from Xian Yu''s current ninety million.

    However, Shadow did start late in putting in his effort, so no one says things like Shadow is an unnotable entity anymore.

    Does your unnotable entity look like this?

    Is your unnotable entity the top artist in the manga world?

    Yes.

    With the spread of "Death Note"''s popularity, Shadow''s artistic skills have been recognized in the industry.

    After all, the Twenty-Two Blade Stream admitted that their art is inferior to Shadow''s.

    And the art that can make the Twenty-Two Blade Stream concede is only the best in Blue Star!

    When it comes to manga, the importance of art and storyline is the same.

    Being number one in Blue Star in either aspect is a remarkable achievement!

    In addition.

    Some netizens wrote a short script for the Three Bros Xian Yu, Chu Kuang, and Shadow, which also became widely circulated in many places:

    "The Chu people say they are number one in music, Xian Yu laughs."

    "The Chu people say they are number one in manga, Shadow laughs."

    "The Chu people say they are number one in novels..."

    "Chu people: Shut up, we never said that!"

    It just so happened.

    Xian Yu was the first person to shatter the Chu people''s confidence in music.

    While Shadow was the first person to shatter the Chu people''s confidence in manga.

    And it happens that these two are bros.

    For this, some netizens are hoping: "Hopefully someone can give Chu Kuang a run for his money in the future, the Three Bros should stick together!"

    Some even joked: "By your standards, are the Three Bros on track to represent the artists of Great Qin in sweeping the six continents?"

    Of course, sweeping the six continents is only a joke.

    The Three Bros can''t represent the art of Great Qin, they are just individuals with very high personal levels of achievement. The art level of the other continents can''t be underestimated because of this.

    However, one undeniable fact is, "Death Note" has put Shadow on track to being a god in the manga circle.

    By now, Shadow has completely banished the label of being an unnotable entity, and has gained the qualifications to stand beside Xian Yu and Chu Kuang!

 Chapter 374 - 353 - Above the Master_1

    Of course.

    It''s not only the art of "Death Note" that shocks the readers, but also its plot.

    The reason why everyone is talking about the artwork is that the artwork of this comic is really impressive!

    It''s just like when an actor gives a great performance in a movie, yet his own attractiveness even overshadows his acting skills.

    But if this actor truly has talent, then as long as you keep watching, you''ll gradually see past his good looks and appreciate his perfect acting skills.

    It''s, after all, a unprecedented SSS-rank drawing skill, and it is undoubtedly attractive.

    Compared to this, although the script and setting of the comic are also excellent, they received an S-rank evaluation.

    Don''t underestimate S-rank.

    In terms of plot, an S-rank is already a top-level evaluation.

    This is also related to the short serialization period of "Death Note."

    During these days of serialization, although Shadow updates quickly, the story line of "Death Note" has not yet fully unfolded, so there''s less discussion about the plot than the artwork. It''s just because--

    The plot needs space to unfold.

    The artwork, however, can be seen from the very first image.

    Situation improved gradually beginning from the third week of the serialization of "Death Note."

    Because the plot began to unfold.

    Readers, having grown accustomed to the artwork of "Death Note," began paying more attention to the plot and thus more comments were generated--

    "Ever since this comic was serialized, almost everyone was chatting about the artwork, but few discussed the plot. In reality, the plot of this comic is also very exciting. It is logically rigorous in every aspect. From the beginning to the currently serialized storyline, they are all impressive. From the standpoint of plot quality, it''s worthy of such a top-notch artwork."

    "What I wanted to say has been stated by the person above. Guys, do not overlook the plot. The plot of "Death Note" truly is awesome!"

    "This comic has more text than others, from the beginning to the current plot, it has been in a tense battle of wits the whole time. This is my favorite type. I, however, don''t fancy Yagami Light''s personality. He''s too cold and too ruthless. Lin is more likable."

    "The two primary male characters confronting each other and their endless reversing plots of wits watching it is really enjoyable!"

    "The plot has a bit of reasoning taste. The discussion about what is justice raises the level of the work. Originally, Yagami Light attempted to overcome legal barrier to assist the vulnerable in punishing offenders, which was a well-intentioned move. However, the hope to create a utopia with an individual''s extreme abilities is the biggest problem. Unfettered power can hardly avoid causing problems.

    I have a feeling that Yagami Light will eventually become completely dark."

    "The topic of personal enforcement of the law reminds me of Chu Kuang''s "Murder on the Orient Express." It''s the same choice of personal enforcement of the law, just that Yagami Light is more extreme. In Chu Kuang''s novel, the practice of using violence to suppress violence is out of helplessness.

    Maybe Shadow and Chu Kuang discussed this topic privately, so their works both happened to discuss the issue of justice. Poirot finally chose to forgive, but Yagami Light has plunged too deeply. I wonder if Shadow will also choose forgiveness?"

    "Explosive style, explosive plot!"

    "This comic is telling a truth; human issues should be resolved by humans themselves. They should not resort to the power of god. Some people knowledgeable in religion can think clearly about this. My world view says that we, humans, come to this world for cultivation and eliminating evil deeds is a major part.

    If we resort to the power of god to remove this evil, it''s actually the equivalent of burying one''s head in the sand; not having solved the problem at all. It''s an irresponsible way of self-deception. Therefore, Yagami Light is the antagonist. I''m very curious how the author will arrange the subsequent plot." S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "..."

    It was outside of Lin Yuan''s expectation.

    The controversy over Yagami Light''s actions was not particularly high among the readers.

    Perhaps this has something to do with the relatively young age of comic readers.

    The process of judging a case in a detective novel is relatively dry; young readers do not have the patience to read through it. Most of them would consider it boring after reading half of it, so the overall age of the readers tends to be older.

    Comics are different.

    Though many people see Yagami Light as a character who goes to the dark side right from the start who has a problematic worldview, there are also countless numbers of readers who worship him because of this.

    Perhaps it is for this reason, considering this factor, that the comic ultimately arranged for Yagami Light''s death to lead readers in the right direction.

    If Yagami Light did not die, the value orientation would be incorrect.

    Having checked the ratings on the website, "Death Note" received a current rating of 9.4.

    This rating comes from Starry Sky Network.

    As the most objective rating site recognized by Blue Star, the rating of "Death Note" is higher than that of Douban in Celestial Dynasty.

    There are two reasons.

    The first one is that System slightly adjusted the quality of the plot of "Death Note" to make the logic of the content stronger.

    The second is that the artwork of "Death Note" had surpassed the original and had reached the ceiling of the comic artwork!

    Furthermore.

    With this wave, Lin Yuan''s drawing reputation also improved significantly, increasing from the original 300,000 to over 400,000 now.

    Maybe when this comic finishes, his reputation might go up even more!

    Not only that.

    "Death Note" also ranks high on the various popularity leaderboard on Tribe Comics.

    Although it hasn''t made it to the top spot, it has begun to show promise!

    Of course, it''s not possible to rush to the top spot directly. After all, the longer a comic is serialized, the more popular it becomes.

    It''s hard to imagine a comic that just launched can beat Dead Sea of Fire at its peak.

    This world doesn''t have comics like Dead Sea of Fire, but there are works of the same level that a comic like "Death Note," which has been serialized for less than a month, can''t topple.

    However, according to the trend of popularity growth, if "Death Note" does not fail, it will undoubtedly become a pillar of the industry in the future!

    This is beyond doubt.

    This is the terrifying influence of Master-level drawing!

    This is also the first time Lin Yuan has received a Master-level reward.

    His other abilities, such as calligraphy skill and piano playing ability, are all at the professional level.

    His professional piano playing ability was the first ability that Lin Yuan obtained, but he has not had the chance to elevate it to the Master level.

    Instead, it was his drawing ability that later surpassed others and first reached the Master level.

    That''s why Lin Yuan''s drawing reputation has been able to grow so rapidly.

    That''s the power of a Master!

    It actually makes Lin Yuan look forward to his other abilities reaching the Master level.

    Only those who have experienced it would know how big a gap there is between the Professional and the Master level!

    System once said.

    Master level is not the limit, and there is a Perfect level above the Master level.

    Lin Yuan couldn''t help but wonder, if the Master level is already so impressive, is the Perfect level still human?

    Alright.

    According to System, Perfect level is indeed not human. The limit of human abilities is the Master level.

    Like how the most skilled go player can''t beat AlphaGo.

    Perhaps the so-called Perfect level is like AlphaGo, at the level of artificial intelligence?

 Chapter 375 - 354: Ten Years_1

    Let''s review.

    The treasure chest is divided into four levels:

    Bronze, silver, gold, and diamond.

    The awards with the Perfect Level Ability are contained only within the diamond treasure chest.

    So far, the highest level treasure chest that Lin Yuan has obtained is Gold Level, so he certainly isn''t expecting any Perfect Level abilities for now.

    For a ''person'', being a master is already enough.

    For example, let''s take the "Six Shrimps" painting that Lin Yuan previously completed using the character card of Qi Baishi.

    If before, Lin Yuan needed the character card to produce such a piece of work, now, he can create similar quality work purely by painting seriously, without needing to borrow any character cards at all¡ª

    This is mastery!

    With the serialisation state of the "Death Note" gradually stabilising, the fervent discussions online eventually quieted down some.

    In contrast on the Tribe forum, there was a sustained enthusiasm from fans in Shadow''s comment section

    And because of the recognition of Shadow''s abilities, many netizens have consciously linked Shadow with Chu Kuang and Xian Yu, whenever they bring up the latter two.

    The connection of the Three Bros, therefore, gets driven even deeper into the hearts of people.

    Laughing about it, Jin Mu comments: "Because Shadow''s comics gained big popularity, the connections between the three aliases became stronger, and there''s a ton of online jokes about the boss''s three aliases."

    Lin Yuan nods.

    Jin Mu then speaks: "Already there are animation production companies inquiring about the copyright of ''Death Note''..."

    "So soon?"

    Lin Yuan is somewhat surprised, as it was only once his prior two comics were halfway in their serialisation that there was interest in their copyrights.

    This time, with ''Death Note'' still only a bit into serialisation, companies are wanting to turn it into an animation already.

    "Indeed."

    Jin Mu curves his lips: "On one hand, it''s due to ''Death Note'' doing really well, and on the other, it''s because the animations based on the boss''s previous two works were really successful. Hence everyone believes that the boss''s third comic can also be adapted well."

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan knows, in the anime circle, that there''s a saying called "suffered from animation adaptation".

    The meaning is that, sometimes, a comic or novel with a splendid original plot ends up having a very poorly-made animation adaptation.

    That''s when netizens would give the comment of "suffered from animation adaptation".

    Luckily, the animation companies Lin Yuan has chosen to work with are all reliable. Until now there hasn''t been a case where the animation adaptation falls short, to the point that the influence of the animations surpasses even the original comics.

    "Don''t sell first, wait till the heat goes up a bit more."

    As the ''Death Note'' can gain more popularity later, by then the copyright will be more valuable. Therefore, Lin Yuan doesn''t wish to hastily sell the copyright now.

    Jin Mu nods, "That''s what I was thinking too."

    Continuing the discussion, Jin Mu then adds: "I''ve already sent the new manuscript of the Hercule Poirot Series to Silver Blue Books; it will be published on the first of next month."

    "Oh." S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The Poirot Detective Collection Series has already started a serialisation schedule of one episode each month.

    As far as Lin Yuan''s writing speed is concerned, penning one Poirot mystery story each month hardly takes up much time.

    And as the serialisation continues, Poirot''s popularity grows steadily.

    Lin Yuan believes that, when Poirot''s influence thoroughly erupts, this gentleman with a mustache will become a true Detective Conan in the world of mysteries in Blue Star!

    ...

    On the 23rd of August, Lin Yuan came to the company.

    Hearing the news, Wu Yong, who was the Assistant Director on the ninth floor, hustled over with an excited expression: "Boss, you''re finally visiting the company!"

    Lin Yuan paused for a moment: "Am I caught skipping work?"

    Wu Yong gave a wry smile: "Who dares to monitor the boss''s attendance? I meant that time is running out. Jiang Kui and Teacher Sun Yaohuo are waiting for your move."

    "Oh, tell me about the situation."

    The reason Lin Yuan came to the company was precisely for this matter.

    When he came to the company at the end of last month, Wu Yong had already mentioned this issue to Lin Yuan.

    "Here''s the situation."

    Wu Yong spoke: "Jiang Kui''s new song is ranked third in this month''s chart, an excellent achievement indeed, while Sun Yaohuo''s new song is ranked eighth. Although its rank isn''t particularly high, its popularity has been holding up well. However, without a song of enough weight, it''s impossible for them to break into the top tier before the end of the year, so..."

    Wu Yong chattered on and on for quite some time.

    After listening to Wu Yong''s explanation, Lin Yuan roughly understood the situation.

    The efforts of Xue Liang and Feng Shuo were not in vain. Under the nurturing of the company and through efforts of these two disciples, both Sun Yaohuo and Jiang Kui are advancing steadily towards first-tier singer status this year.

    If one were to use a progress bar as an analogy, Jiang Kui is probably only about 10 percent away from becoming a first-tier artist.

    Sun Yaohuo is slightly behind but is also only about 20 percent from achieving first-tier status.

    However, with the progress bar, the closer you get to the finish line, the harder it becomes.

    Xue Liang and Feng Shuo have already reached their limits.

    They are unable to provide Sun Yaohuo and Jiang Kui with songs that would allow the pair to completely break into first-tier status.

    If they continue to give Sun Yaohuo and Jiang Kui songs to sing, they could at best barely manage to keep the two from dropping out of the top ten positions.

    Therefore, it is essential for Lin Yuan to step in at this point.

    Because to be able to advance into first-tier status, it isn''t enough just to stay in the top ten; one must have an achievement like a season champion to finalize it!

    This is a display of dominance!

    "The boss shouldn''t feel too pressured,"

    After explaining, Wu Yong slightly slowed down his pace of speaking:

    "Most of the other composition departments have not completed their tasks either. So far, they have basically only cultivated one top-tier artist each, while the company''s requirement is for each of us to foster two. We''re just lagging the most; we haven''t been able to push anyone into top-tier status..."

    "I understand."

    Lin Yuan says: "Notify Teacher Sun Yaohuo to prepare to visit the company and start recording."

    "Huh?"

    Wu Yong is taken aback.

    He thought Lin Yuan would choose Jiang Kui because she is closer to first-tier status, but Lin Yuan chose to promote Sun Yaohuo first.

    This Sun Yaohuo truly is favored by the boss.

    But, is there enough time for this?

    "Boss, can''t we let Jiang Kui go first?"

    "This song suits Sun Yaohuo."

    "I see."

    Wu Yong hesitates for a moment before he finally leaves the room to make the phone call.

    After Wu Yong leaves, Gu Dong, the assistant, comes forward to refill Lin Yuan''s tea, and then tactfully reminds him: "Boss, if you want to elevate Teacher Sun Yaohuo to first-tier status, one song may not be enough..."

    "It''s alright."

    Lin Yuan dismisses it offhandedly.

    Back at the end of last month, after Wu Yong mentioned this issue to Lin Yuan, he has been contemplating which song to arrange for Sun Yaohuo.

    Since this song must carry a certain weight, he has deliberated on this for a long time.

    And, back some time ago, he had already found the solution; even the small sample piece of the song was produced to avoid any delay. After all, it''s already late in August by now, and time left for Lin Yuan to help Sun Yaohuo with the song recording is pretty limited.

    Luckily, there''s a song that suits Sun Yaohuo perfectly.

    Both the vocal range and tone are an ideal match.

    And this song is called: "Ten Years".

 Chapter 376 - 355: The Path of the King of Singing_1

    That''s right, it''s "Ten Years".

    As is well known, this song also has a Cantonese version called "Next Year, Today".

    And it was thanks to this song that Eason Chan first gained recognition in Xiangjiang.

    However, back then, Eason Chan was only well-known on a regional level, with low recognition in mainland China.

    That remained until a certain month in 2003 in the Celestial Dynasty.

    Eason Chan''s management company, Emperor, decided to have him sing the Mandarin version of the song, "Ten Years".

    Initially, Eason Chan refused.

    He felt he had already sung the Cantonese version "Next Year, Today" thousands of times, and the idea of singing a Mandarin version felt like selling second-hand goods to him.

    But Emperor didn''t give up; they presented Eason Chan with a rosy prospect if he agreed to sing the Mandarin version, a promise that it would dramatically raise his profile in mainland China!

    Unable to resist their persuasion, Eason Chan performed the song.

    And as we all know, the song was released and Eason Chan''s popularity in mainland China skyrocketed.

    Since then, the song "Ten Years" and Eason Chan are inseparable.

    Every time Eason Chan holds a concert, "Ten Years" is bound to be on the set list.

    Whenever the melody of "Ten Years" quietly starts, the emotional defenses of the audience crumble in an instant. Countless emotional stories gently flow with the music, leaving the audience utterly moved. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    It can be said that "Ten Years" is one of the most classic songs among the Xiangjang sentimental songs.

    In the must-play song list of countless people who go to karaoke bars, "Ten Years" is invariably present.

    Not only is it is a preferred song choice for contestants in various talent shows, but it''s also an emotional echo that resonates with both middle-aged individuals and young people.

    From a melodic standpoint, "Ten Years" isn''t a lively or upbeat song.

    Unlike "Red Sun," whose intro is enough to liven up the entire audience.

    But, "Ten Years" has a calm sadness that stands for chaotic feelings and endless bitterness.

    The two songs have different styles, but both are equally classic!

    Considering Yao Huo''s predicament, Lin Yuan thought this song was the perfect choice.

    After all, Yao Huo needs a hit.

    Luckily, Yao Huo had previously performed "Red Rose".

    That song is also one of Eason Chan''s classics.

    With a similar style, Yao Huo would be able to handle it effortlessly.

    As for Jiang Kui...

    Lin Yuan was considering whether to let her sing "Nervous".

    "Nervous" was a song Lin Yuan had drawn from the Bronze Treasure Chest.

    As a "divine song", the quality was undoubtedly top-notch.

    In the last life, in the Celestial Dynasty, "divine song" was a derogatory term.

    But while "Nervous" was also labeled a "divine song", it was used ironically, as the song was truly amazing.

    However, the song was extremely difficult to perform.

    The legendary singer Wang Fei had tried to cover it, but had given up and even posted about it on her microblog.

    Lin Yuan wasn''t sure if Jiang Kui could handle the song.

    If Jiang Kui could indeed pull it off, this song would do the most to showcase her singing skill.

    So Lin Yuan decided to have Jiang Kui give it a try first.

    If Jiang Kui couldn''t handle it, Lin Yuan would arrange another song for her.

    ...

    In the composition department on the ninth floor, the composers were working when there was suddenly a noise at the door.

    "Thud."

    Everyone looked up to see Yao Huo awkwardly getting up from the floor, brushing off the dust from his clothes nonchalantly:

    "Sorry to disturb.", he said.

    He received a call from Wu Yong and hurried to the office, almost running a red light in his haste.

    When he made it to the ninth floor composition department, he stumbled and fell due to his fast pace, a greatly embarrassing episode.

    "..."

    At the moment, Wu Yong was chatting with a composer in the corridor. When he turned his head and spotted Yao Huo in this quite embarrassing state, he couldn''t help but sigh.

    What merits did this guy have to be so highly regarded by Mr. Lin?

    He lacked the demeanor of a star.

    Wu Yong said irritably: "Mr. Lin is waiting for you inside."

    "Alright, alright."

    Yao Huo flashed a smile and quickly walked up to the office door, clearing his throat, then adjusting his appearance before knocking.

    "Come in."

    A voice said from inside.

    Only then did Yao Huo push the door and go in. Before he pushed open the door, he could faintly hear his employees'' snickering, which made his steps feel a bit heavy.

    The employees in the ninth floor composition department burst into laughter as they watched Yao Huo''s retreating figure.

    "Of all the male singers in the company, why does Mr. Lin choose to promote him?"

    "He''s a typical case of a singer whose songs are popular but he himself is not."

    "So many of Mr. Lin''s songs are wasted on him. Anyone else would have been famous by now."

    "..."

    These murmurs were not well concealed.

    As they spoke, some were covertly glancing at Wu Yong. Everyone knew that Wu Yong was not satisfied with Sun Yaohuo.

    However, to everyone''s surprise, Wu Yong suddenly growled:

    "Shut up!"

    Wu Yong''s face was serious as his gaze swept over everyone. He said coldly, "If anyone dares to badmouth Sun Yaohuo behind his back again, they can fucking leave!"

    Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked, exchanging glances and lowering their heads to avoid Wu Yong''s gaze, their hearts full of uncertainty.

    What''s going on?

    Doesn''t Wu Yong dislike Sun Yaohuo?

    Why does everyone''s criticism of Sun Yaohuo provoke this deputy director''s dissatisfaction?

    Wu Yong huffily returned to his office.

    Wu Yong''s assistant followed carefully, apparently having the same doubts, and whispered, "Director Wu, don''t you dislike Sun Yaohuo as well¡­"

    "Whether I like him or not is not important, what''s important is that Mr. Lin likes him!"

    Wu Yong looked at his assistant indifferently, "Sun Yaohuo was chosen by Mr. Lin. I didn''t dare to say a word, let alone these useless people outside."

    The assistant was taken aback.

    Meanwhile, in the office.

    Sun Yaohuo discreetly took out some items:

    "Junior, this white watch is for your sister, the red one is for your girlfriend, and this bracelet, I think it''s suitable for your aunt."

    Lin Yuan felt a bit awkward, "This must cost quite a lot right?"

    Sun Yaohuo laughed casually, "Actually, money is just a number to me, what''s important is that your family likes them. Last time when your sister ate in my hotpot restaurant, she mentioned that it was inconvenient for your sister not to have a watch during exams. I figured that she can''t bring an electronic watch to the exam hall¡­"

    "Thank you, senior."

    Lin Yuan thanked him and then pulled out the prepared score and sample of "Ten Years":

    "This song is for you, senior. You need to familiarize yourself with it in the next few days, as we need to release it before September."

    "No, thanks."

    Sun Yaohuo''s smile faded slightly, "Junior, you don''t need to look out for me and give me all the good songs every time. Maybe the company has someone more suitable than me. I won''t waste your good songs anymore."

    Lin Yuan was surprised.

    If it were before, Senior Yao Huo would definitely accept it without hesitation, and then excitedly run off to practice!

    Lin Yuan believed that such excitement couldn''t be faked.

    Senior Yao Huo truly loved music, just like himself before his voice had been damaged.

    But today, was Senior Yao Huo doubting himself?

    The situation was a bit serious.

    Lin Yuan''s gaze became serious, and he said earnestly, "Senior, you''re the most suitable person for this song."

    "Junior, actually I don''t mind."

    Sun Yaohuo had a complicated expression, "I just don''t want people to criticize you because of me. I''ve held back the ninth floor. Every other department has at least launched one front-line star. Give the opportunity to Jiang Kui. I don''t want to hold you back anymore. We need to be content with what we have.

    Otherwise, it will seem like I''m greedy. Besides, I''m not cut out for this anyway, it''s just me not admitting¡­"

    "Senior."

    Lin Yuan began, "Do you trust me?"

    Sun Yaohuo nodded.

    From the moment Lin Yuan insisted on letting him sing "Red Rose," Sun Yaohuo had never doubted Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan said, "Then just sing well."

    Sun Yaohuo was silent for a moment, then said softly, "I''ll sing."

    "Mm."

    Lin Yuan showed a natural smile.

    At this moment, he suddenly heard a system prompt:

    [Host has triggered a new mission]

    [Mission name: Road to the King of Singing]

    [Mission goal: Make Sun Yaohuo the King of Singing within two years]

    [Mission reward: Gold Treasure Chest]

    [Mission note: The higher the completion rate of the task, the richer the reward in the Gold Treasure Chest]

    Lin Yuan was stunned.

    Actually, he had planned to help Senior Yao Huo become the King of Singing anyway, but he didn''t expect to get a system task out of it?

    Senior Yao Huo is awesome!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Calling it a day. How about stabilizing the monthly votes?

 Chapter 377 - 356: Changing Affection_1

    Two days later, on the 25th, Sun Yaohuo entered the recording studio to officially record "Ten Years".

    Of course, the recording studio belonged to the company.

    Starlight started as a music company, and although it also produces films now, its music equipment remains top-notch.

    An outsider may think that all recording studios are somewhat similar, but they are actually very different.

    For instance, matters like room reverb configuration, sound insulation setup, and sound absorption setting etc.

    The better the recording studio, the more its details are carefully considered, even including the size of the room, which is also strictly planned.

    We ordinary folks, when recording songs with singing software, often feel an abysmal difference between us and professional singers.

    And when we use apps like Everyone''s Singer, we get the feeling that the boys and girls in there are not only good looking but also sing well...

    But it''s not always that exaggerated.

    The versions of songs released by singers are all produced in recording studios.

    Some mediocre singers basically only become proficient with sound cards, and even in live performances, they are just a little superior to the most skillful singers found in karaoke bars.

    A person with a decent singing ability can show good results after being meticulously worked on by a professional sound engineer in a recording studio.

    In fact, they may not even need to be autotuned.

    The recording studio is such a magical place.

    Of course, this only applies to average singers.

    An excellent singer is indeed incomparable to an ordinary person.

    You can think of whoever you want, as this is quite subjective.

    However, no matter how good the recording studio is, if the singer does not have enough skills, they won''t be chosen by Lin Yuan.

    The reason Sun Yaohuo is trusted by Lin Yuan is the proficiency of his skills.

    Today, as soon as Sun Yaohuo started recording, Lin Yuan was taken aback.

    "If these two words did not tremble, I would not have realized that I''m in pain, saying it out loud is nothing more than a break-up..."

    Breath, pitch, language sensitivity, and emotion are all criteria for evaluating singing skills.

    If there were a grading scale for singing skills, with 100 being the maximum score, Lin Yuan would have given Sun Yaohuo a 75.

    In comparison, Jiang Kui would score at least 80.

    But today, the singing skills that Sun Yaohuo demonstrated have exceeded 80.

    He has improved!

    Lin Yuan is 100% certain that during this lengthy period in which he has not been working with Sun Yaohuo, Sun Yaohuo must have been quietly putting in hard work; otherwise, Sun Yaohuo could never have made such great progress.

    Without a certain amount of effort, such a remarkable improvement would not be possible.

    If you don''t have a specific concept of improvement in singing skills, you can listen to the level of singing at the early stage of Zhang Jie''s career and compare it with his performance at later live events...

    After a few takes, it felt pretty smooth.

    The recording engineer said: "This song doesn''t have high requirements for vocal range or singing skills. The phrase ''Why not when leaving'' in the lyrics requires a major sixth interval change in resonance location. You just treated it too evenly."

    Sun Yaohuo just nodded.

    The main points of this song are intonation, detailing, and emotional transition. He has basically mastered it in a few days of practice.

    He looked at Lin Yuan: "Do you have any suggestions, junior?"

    Lin Yuan usually likes giving suggestions, but he seems to not have interrupted his performance today.

    After some consideration, Lin Yuan said: "Sincerity."

    Sun Yaohuo could get reminders about technical aspects from the recording studio, and he was professional enough, but the understanding of the emotion had to come from the singer himself.

    Sincerity...

    Taken aback, Sun Yaohuo paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "I''ll try."

    Soon enough, a new round of recording started.

    Sun Yaohuo slightly closed his eyes, tilted his head slightly lower with his right hand covering the headset, and his slightly husky voice rang out, "If these two words did not tremble, I wouldn''t realize I''m in pain..."

    The recording engineer was stunned. The atmosphere suddenly became somewhat melancholy.

    However, Lin Yuan''s eyes lit up just the slightest.

    "If there are no hopes for tomorrow, holding hands is like touring..."

    There was a hint of bitterness in Sun Yaohuo''s voice.

    The song is a typical love song, but it reminded him of the conversation he had with his junior a few days ago.

    He was ready to give up on music, but his junior urged him to persist.

    Would he keep on singing without his junior''s insistence?

    Sun Yaohuo didn''t know.

    He just found himself somewhat upset and reluctant.

    The woman in the lyrics reminded him of what music meant to him.

    "If a hug cannot last, why not enjoy and shed tears while leaving..."

    All emotions seemed to be embedded in the lyrics.

    Sun Yaohuo''s voice wasn''t loud but had an endearing power at this moment:

    "Ten years ago, I didn''t know you, you weren''t mine, we were still next to a stranger, walking past a street that gradually became familiar, ten years later, we were friends..."

    Sun Yaohuo''s eyes turned red.

    He didn''t know whether he was moved by the clich¨¦ love story from the lyrics, or whether the sadness stemmed from his imagination of giving up music a few days ago and what he might face ten years later.

    "Only after years of being friends with you, did I realize that my tears are not for you alone, but also for others."

    In the end, the man misses the woman.

    Sun Yaohuo sang while feeling lost. Uncontrollably, tears began to stream down his face.

    When he snapped out of it, he suddenly saw that the staff in the monitor room were giving him a thumbs up. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "That''s it."

    Lin Yuan nodded at him with a smile.

    Sun Yaohuo quietly clenched his fists and forced a grin.

    Is this the sincerity?

    There is no need for him to go through a decade-long love affair for one song. No singer can achieve this.

    If they do, things could take a turn.

    The so-called sincerity is merely letting their emotions be conveyed through the music.

    The woman can be taken as a symbol in the face of these emotions, which can be a woman, or anything else ¨C

    As long as it is something you can''t bear to leave yet can''t resign to holding onto.

    What Sun Yaohuo thought was the music, he didn''t know that this expression of emotion resembled a phenomenon in performance called transference.

    For example, when an actor needs to perform a crying scene, if they can''t cry, they can mobilize their emotions by thinking about something sad.

    And Lin Yuan''s intention is to locate the emotional fulcrum for Sun Yaohuo.

    But Lin Yuan couldn''t tell him straight out.

    If he did, simply by telling Sun Yaohuo to think of something sad would seem too forced.

    This kind of guidance on emotions should be natural.

    As the facts proved, Sun Yaohuo is emotional, and having rich emotions is actually a good thing for singers, actors, and many other fields of art.

    Lin Yuan can genuinely praise:

    Among all their collaborations to date, "Ten Years" is the most perfect work that Sun Yaohuo has ever recorded.

    Only when you touch your own heart, can you touch your audience''s.

 Chapter 378 - 357 Song Release_1

    "Has Sun Yaohuo gone to record another song with Xian Yu?"

    "Yes, in the number one recording studio. I saw them go in with my own eyes."

    "All the other floors have produced at least one leading singer, but the ninth floor''s composition department still hasn''t managed to bring one up. Isn''t Xian Yu worried? And he is still wasting time with Sun Yaohuo?"

    "Who knows what Xian Yu is thinking about? Why not just focus on promoting Jiang Kui? Jiang Kui has a much shorter journey to becoming a leading singer than Sun Yaohuo does."

    "..."

    In a large company like Starlight, with its many employees, the gossip among them can get quite lively.

    Especially among the several floors of the composition section, each of which is now striving to fulfill the company''s beginning-of-the-year talent promotion objectives. Naturally, they all pay close attention to the ninth floor''s performance.

    There''s no lack of communication between the different departments.

    Everyone knows that the ninth floor''s performance has been the poorest.

    With only a few months left in the year, the rest of the composition departments are all wondering - can Xian Yu promote a leading singer before the end of the year during this final sprint?

    "Looking at the situation, it seems the ninth floor probably won''t be able to promote even a single lead singer this year."

    "If Xian Yu left Sun Yaohuo and focused on promoting Jiang Kui during these last few months, there might still be some hope."

    "September to December, a total of four months, including December''s ''dead group''. It''s going to be difficult."

    "The key thing is, on the current new song charts, not only are other companies pushing forward, but there is also often internal competition from Starlight. After all, all the floors are pushing."

    "..."

    All the while, the company was abuzz with speculation.

    In one of Starlight''s artist lounges.

    Zhao Ying Ge scoffed: "Wouldn''t it have been better if Teacher Admirable Fish had simply chosen me for the ninth floor? It would have saved us from all of this passive waiting."

    The assistant chuckled: "I bet Teacher Admirable Fish now regrets not choosing you back then."

    Zhao Ying Ge was already predicted to make it onto the elite list, and it was considered as good as done.

    Supported by the tenth-floor composition department, Zhao Ying Ge had indeed become one of the leading singers.

    "Does he actually regret it?"

    Zhao Ying Ge appeared somewhat delighted: "Does that mean Teacher Admirable Fish has noticed me? If I asked him to write a song for me next year, would he agree?"

    Assistant: "..."

    Turns out you''re working so hard just to get Teacher Admirable Fish''s attention?

    "What''s wrong?"

    Zhao Ying Ge glanced at her assistant.

    The assistant laughed: "Nothing, I was just thinking about how much pressure must be on the ninth floor right now."

    "Hmph."

    Zhao Ying Ge, full of assurance, said: "If he had chosen me, I could easily have helped him complete the company''s assignment. Plus, the company has plans to make a King of Singing. Next time he''ll surely choose me!"

    The assistant was puzzled: "Why does it have to be Xian Yu? Isn''t the tenth-floor composition section good enough?"

    Zhao Ying Ge chuckled: "The tenth floor is indeed very good, but I just like Teacher Admirable Fish the most. I enjoy the feeling of his attention on me. I just want to sing songs he''s written."

    The assistant grinned, "The way you say this could easily lead to misunderstandings. You don''t actually have feelings for Teacher Admirable Fish, do you?"

    "No, no, no, it''s not a misunderstanding. I indeed have feelings for him."

    Zhao Ying Ge looked at her assistant curiously: "Don''t you have feelings for Teacher Admirable Fish?"

    The assistant was taken aback: "If you put it that way, any woman in the company, whether she''s single or not, who would dare to say she''s not fascinated by Teacher Admirable Fish. But the problem is, he has no interest in me."

    Zhao Ying Ge bit her lip, "How would you know if you haven''t tried?"

    "..."

    Lin Yuan had no idea about Zhao Ying Ge''s thoughts.

    Of course, even if he did know, he probably wouldn''t care too much.

    He had gotten used to such matters after dealing with them frequently.

    The recording and post-production of "Ten Years" took some effort.

    By the time the song was fully completed, it was already the end of the month.

    To complicate matters, because of the frantic demand to finish within time, there hadn''t been much promotion for the song by the company, and it was released subtly at the dawn of September.

    Initially, not many people paid attention to this song.

    September wasn''t a period where fierce competition was common, so there weren''t many fans eagerly awaiting the release.

    But over at Starlight, some people from the composition section were quite interested in Sun Yaohuo''s new song. Many of them deliberately stayed up to listen to it.

    In the early hours of the morning.

    When Sun Yaohuo''s song was released, the chat groups among Starlight''s composition teams lit up:

    "It''s twelve o''clock!"

    "Sun Yaohuo''s new song is out."

    "Tsk, tsk, let''s see if he''s wasted another good song from Xian Yu this time."

    "I predict this will be another situation where the song is popular but the singer is not."

    "I guess the song should be good, after all, it was written by Xian Yu. I''m just curious about how Sun Yaohuo will perform."

    "This is the one who can''t even be promoted by Xian Yu."

    "..."

    Meanwhile.

    At home, in her bedroom, Zhao Ying Ge quickly removed the mask from her face and reached out to her bedside laptop.

    She opened the player, skillfully put on her headphones, and found Sun Yaohuo''s new song.

    Song title: Ten Years

    Lyrics: Xian Yu

    Composer: Xian Yu

    Singer: Sun Yaohuo

    With quick movements of the mouse, Zhao Ying Ge clicked on play, then adjusted the pillow at the back of her head and comfortably closed her eyes.

    What she was looking forward to was not Sun Yaohuo''s voice, but Xian Yu''s melody.

    In the darkness of her closed eyes, a slightly hoarse male voice rang out, laced with slightly bitter undertones.

    "If those two words hadn''t trembled, wouldn''t have found out that I''m in pain, to say it out loud, it''s just a breakup."

    Was it really Sun Yaohuo singing?

    Zhao Ying Ge opened her tightly closed eyes, her gaze flashing with clear surprise.

    The song in her ear was still playing, maintaining its slow rhythm:

    "If there are no expectations for tomorrow, holding hands would have been just like a tour, among countless doorways, one of them has to leave first."

    In her daze, Zhao Ying Ge seemed to see a mismatched man and woman, standing on a broad street.

    The light from the street lamps along the road was dim and lonely, casting long shadows of people.

    "Since the embrace can no longer linger, why not let the tears flow while enjoying the goodbye..."

    The two did have their reluctance. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have been in an embrace.

    However, something was already broken, so like the sudden blow of the night wind, it was blown away.

    They parted ways.

    The man went left, and the woman went right. Neither one of them looked back.

    The music suddenly took an upward turn, and the voice in her ear was tinged with a cruel touch of tenderness:

    "Ten years ago, I didn''t know you, and you didn''t belong to me, but we were still the same, walking through the familiar streets with a stranger by our side..."

    The street scenery in the moonlight.

    Time went by.

    Some things really hadn''t changed.

    It''s just that some things only seemed unchanged.

    "Ten years later, we can still say hello as friends, only, that warmth can no longer be found within an embrace, lovers at last, inevitably become friends."

    Zhao Ying Ge gently sat up.

    Meanwhile, in the internal chat group of Starlight''s composition process, the atmosphere remained quiet for a full ten minutes before someone posted:

    "Xian Yu is still that Xian Yu."

    Immediately thereafter, he added another phrase: "Sun Yaohuo doesn''t seem to be the previous Sun Yaohuo anymore."

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    ps: Ahhh, I can''t believe I''m stuck!

 Chapter 379 - 358: The Return of the King_1

    The dawn of September 1st was nevertheless the opening of a new season.

    Although the level of attention for this season is not high, judging from the audience base of Qin, Qi, and Chu combined, it''s no problem at all for "Ten Years" to pick up some night owls.

    On this seemingly ordinary night, many netizens were hit with a bitter feeling when they heard "Ten Years".

    Some sentimental ones even teared up, tears falling like rain.

    And when everyone saw the two words "Admirable Fish" in the lyrics column, the emotions that were already churning in their hearts seemed to surge to the breaking point¡ª

    The most surprised among them all must be a fan group called "Eel For Fish".

    This is Admirable Fish''s largest fan group.

    When a member of the group discovered this song, he immediately forwarded it to the Eel for Fish fan group.

    Then, the whole group was boiling over!

    "Ah! A new song from Teacher Admirable Fish!"

    "Teacher Admirable Fish finally released a new song! He hasn''t released a new song in over half a year!"

    "In these months, Admirable Fish''s two disciples have released many songs, but today it is finally the master himself who has taken action!"

    "Only after listening to this song, did I realize why Admirable Fish is the master. Although his two disciples are also very good, they are far behind the master."

    "The emperor of the Yu Dynasty is back!"

    "I''ve been waiting for over half a year, and now ''Ten Years'' is on repeat. It seems I''ll fall asleep listening to music tonight."

    "..."

    There''s a reason why the Eel for Fish fan group is so thrilled and surprised.

    It is worth noting that Admirable Fish hasn''t released any new songs for more than half a year since sweeping the music scene by providing the piano accompaniment to "The Tuner" in February.

    Too much time has passed.

    The fans have long been eager for more.

    As for the Yu Dynasty, it refers to Admirable Fish and his disciples.

    If Admirable Fish''s disciples are members of the Yu Dynasty, then Admirable Fish himself is the emperor of the Yu Dynasty!

    After more than half a year, Admirable Fish has released a song again, and the quality of "Ten Years", of course, fans have reason to be excited and thrilled.

    "The king is back!"

    Suddenly a large red envelope appeared in the group, sent by the group owner, Winter Plum Blossom, in the form of a command. As a result, these four words filled the fan group''s screen:

    The king is back!!

    The fans'' reaction was not exaggerated.

    This time, Admirable Fish truly is the king returning!

    This song was released for less than half an hour, and its popularity has already spread to many places. The download volume of "Ten Years" skyrocketed in a very short time!

    I don''t know how many Tribes and other platforms'' KOLs have started to capitalize on the first wave of popularity from Admirable Fish''s new song.

    [Admirable Fish has released a song, brothers, you can charge ahead, it''s still fresh and hot, I''ve already hit the triple repeat.]

    [Wow, it''s the scent of Admirable Fish!]

    [Good news! Fish Papa has finally released a new song!]

    [I found Maestro Junior on my phone at midnight, and I knew then that the speakers and headphones I spent 100,000 last month could finally come into play. By the way, I''ll share the models of the speakers and headphones with everyone.]

    True to form, the KOLs never forget to promote sales.

    In the past, Admirable Fish didn''t have such influence, but ever since February of this year, when Admirable Fish swept the music scene with "Mariage d''Amour," Admirable Fish''s influence has grown larger and larger.

    The name of the Junior Maestro is known to all.

    And as the various groups on Tribe promote in diverse ways, more and more night owls rush to listen to "Ten Years".

    Even some critics were woken up by phone calls in the middle of the night, and they immediately took up their keyboards.

    Of course, the comment sections of the players that have uploaded "Ten Years" are bustling:

    "Although Sun Yaohuo has been continuously releasing songs in recent months, this is his best one! I''m not just talking about Admirable Fish''s lyric and composition, but also Sun Yaohuo''s performance."

    "These lyrics hit me right in the feels, especially ''I want to lose weight, but I can''t stop crying.'' Xian Yu owes me a flood of tears!"

    "Honestly, I was about to cry because this song reminds me of my first love. But then I saw the comment above and broke into laughter."

    "Damn it, ''I want to lose weight, but I can''t stop crying'', even dieting is made ridiculous in this pun. Do we get fined for jokes like these?"

    "I was already having trouble sleeping. Then this song ''Ten Years'' came on, now I can''t sleep at all."

    "These lyrics are really well-written. They reminded me of how I used to get mad easily ten years ago and no one could calm me down; now, as soon as I get upset, I instantly feel like it''s not necessary. I can''t help but think that Xian Yu is warning me through this song that my youth is already gone."

    "Some lovers inevitably become friends. Some lovers can only become the most familiar strangers." sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Later I realized, she was never my flower, I just happened to pass by when she was in full bloom."

    "..."

    There is a saying on the internet: Singers sing other people''s stories, while listeners hear their own feelings.

    A more melodramatic saying is:

    Listening to other''s songs, shedding your own tears.

    "Ten Years" illustrates an ordinary romance between a man and a woman.

    Yet, it resonates with the listeners'' own stories of "Ten Years", especially those who have experienced life and started to reminisce about love and losses.

    Ten years is a long time.

    It gradually brushes off people''s youthful impulsiveness and allows them to come to terms with their own feelings.

    Ten years ago, youthful sensitivity was portrayed with exuberance and excitement.

    After ten years, one remains stoic in painful situations and silent during hardships.

    Ten years ago, young people foolishly pretended to have a grasp on everything.

    After ten years, people start to feign ignorance even when they fully comprehend the situation.

    Growth is about smoothing out the rough edges, as raging passions slowly become calm like still water.

    But some things remain timeless, such as a person you never mention but often think about or certain unforgettable memories.

    That''s why so many of us leave indelible imprints in the memory of others.

    This song has struck a chord within so many.

    Not just Xian Yu, Sun Yaohuo''s voice too has won over a growing number of listeners.

    "I used to think Sun Yaohuo''s vocals were unremarkable. But after hearing ''Ten Years'', my views on him have completely changed. His voice tells a story."

    "Because of ''Ten Years'', I''ve fallen in love with Sun Yaohuo''s voice. I''m not sure whether my admiration for him is simply because I''m a huge fan of Xian Yu, but I believe that every singer chosen by Xian Yu must have saved the Milky Way in their previous life."

    "Sun Yaohuo''s voice doesn''t have the angelic quality that Jiang Kui possesses, but he is incredibly lucky to be favoured by Xian Yu."

    "At least for the song ''Ten Years'', Sun Yaohuo was not simply chosen by Xian Yu due to luck."

    "..."

    No one knows.

    Sun Yaohuo, the man they discuss, was sitting in front of a computer screen, scrolling through these comments with tears streaming down his face.

    He sat there, foolishly gazing at the endless comments, without any sign of fatigue throughout the night, his eyes swollen like goose eggs.

    The next day.

    When music industry insiders, not particularly excited about the September music charts, opened up the monthly rankings, ''Ten Years'' was already the undisputed champion.

    Simultaneously, the musicians who had released new songs in September felt a collective shiver when they saw these rankings-

    King...has returned?

    That day, people finally recalled the terror that was once brought upon them by Xian Yu''s domination.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Ps: I was stuck writing this part and then I played ''Ten Years'' and ''Next Year, Today'' seven or eight times, and suddenly I could write again.

 Chapter 380 - 359 Fish Disaster_1

    It''s been over half a year, and Xian Yu hasn''t appeared on the season''s chart for a long while. Plus, there aren''t any major singers in September. So, many musicians expected to release songs in September fantasized about grabbing the top spot¡ª

    Everyone had a shot at the title.

    The championship was filled with suspense!

    That''s why many insiders weren''t too excited about the September season''s chart.

    But for those musicians dropping new songs in September, it''s still an honor to be the number one for the season, no matter how shabby the competition is.

    That spot was too tempting!

    However, as they were about to make their move, when they saw the name ''Xian Yu'', all the musicians set to release songs in September were dumbstruck. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    A wake-up call!

    They were stunned one after another.

    This surprise attack is deadly, potentially fatal!

    "It''s over."

    "The fish has arrived!"

    "What a bully!"

    "I was such a fool, really. I only knew that there were no A-listers in September but did not anticipate the fish calamity..."

    "Worthy Maestro Junior, instead of messing with those A-listers, why do you compete with us bottom-tier folks for the first place!"

    "With this fish around, even A-listers will have to kneel!"

    "Did I step on dog poo when I left the house today? Why did Xian Yu choose to return in September?"

    "Guys, the fish calamity is here."

    "It''s over, I''ve got fish-phobia."

    "Fish phobia+1¡­"

    "Fish phobia+2¡­"

    "Fish phobia+10086¡­"

    "I''ve had fish phobia for ages! I''ve run into Xian Yu twice when I released songs! Who''s worse off than me!"

    A rather famous second-tier singer, who had a shot at the top spot, lamented.

    Soon another singer popped up complaining:

    "I''ve encountered him three times, have I uttered a word? My manager said I''ve reached terminal stages of fish phobia!"

    Such frustration!

    September was supposed to be a peaceful month when scrubs could peck each other, with everyone having a shot at the crown, but then this fish unexpectedly jumped out!

    If only we knew about Xian Yu this month, we could have released our songs later, right?

    There''s no thought of resistance.

    This fish has put Maestro and ''King of Singing'' through their paces. Isn''t it light work for him to hammer a bunch of weaklings just by pressing his hand down?

    Alright then.

    These people really have bad luck.

    Because the release of the song ''Ten Years'' was slightly rushed, and the company didn''t even have time to promote it properly, many insiders were not aware of Xian Yu''s plan to release a song in September.

    Sun Yaohuo did promote the new song on social media, but he didn''t mention Xian Yu.

    No mentioning of Xian Yu, so who cares about Sun Yaohuo?

    With Xian Yu''s apprentice''s help, Sun Yaohuo has been either releasing songs or preparing for it all year round.

    Although he scored well each month, we''ve never seen him capable of being number one.

    But now, Xian Yu is back, so the peaceful September skirmish between chickens has turned into a "fish calamity".

    On the new song chart, there''s a collective outbreak of fish phobia.

    At this point, fish phobia is showing tendencies of becoming a prevalent disease in the music industry.

    Whenever they encounter a fish calamity, everyone can simply be ready for their downfall.

    Because so many A-list singers, even ''King of Singing'' and Maestro have proved a fact, which is when encountering Xian Yu, don''t struggle.

    They''re all doomed.

    ...

    On the new song chart, the stone tossed by Xian Yu caused all the ripples.

    As the new song chart turned upside down, insiders gradually accepted the fact of Xian Yu''s king-like return:

    It''s September now.

    The end of the year is near.

    Xian Yu is back.

    The good times for some are over.

    "In February this year, Xian Yu swept the music scene, then in March, Yang Zhongming had a massacre, after which, subsequent seasons seemed like eggplants hit by frost, with no more works that could bombard the season''s chart. However, as the end of the year approaches, the yearly supernatural showdown in the music scene is about to begin, Xian Yu has already started warming up."

    "He started warming up a bit too early. He striked in September, that''s brutal."

    "Hopefully Xian Yu won''t release songs next month, I am planning to release my song then."

    "Hard to say, ''Starlight'' looks like it''s on steroids this year, throwing all their weight behind their artists, and Xian Yu, who has exclusive control over the composition department of Nine Buildings, undoubtedly was given a mission. It looks like the upcoming months won''t be peaceful."

    "What''s terrifying is not Xian Yu joining the season''s chart. We can just hide when Xian Yu enters the fray. The scariest thing is that Xian Yu shoots without warning. Who can endure that?"

    "Guess it''s due to the urgency of releasing songs that he didn''t have time to promote, so all the people in September ended up as the unlucky ones."

    "..."

    The stir caused by Starlight is common knowledge inside the industry.

    This year, Starlight have been consistently pushing for their stars relentlessly, the insiders have more or less figured out the true situation based on these news.

    This had cast a shadow over many insiders'' hearts.

    The so-called fish phobia, it''s not limited to one or two people.

    In this music world, there''s no shortage of souls that have been trained by Xianyu Army.

    As for the song ''Ten Years'', insiders could only lament, well-deserving of the man who singlehandedly built the Yu Dynasty.

    "The lyrics and composition of this song are superb, and Xian Yu''s skills hasn''t diminished a bit."

    "A very classic bitter-sweet love song, what surprised me most is that the performer of this song, Sun Yaohuo, seems to have had a breakthrough. The singing and song''s artistic conception perfectly match, making Xian Yu''s support for him all this while worthwhile."

    "I feel there is a signal here, Xian Yu''s return as a king may not just be with ''Ten Years''."

    "If everything goes as expected, Xian Yu will make another move in this year''s showdown among the gods."

    "Nowadays, Xian Yu is becoming more and more like Maestro. Every time he makes a move, it''s a classic starter."

    "More than that, ''Ten Years'' would be no less outstanding even if it was released in the December God-of-war showdown. I even feel it''s a pity, Xian Yu should have waited until December to release this song, by then Starlight could have arranged a King or Queen of Singing to perform it, and he might have reached the top spot."

    "I disagree with that. Sun Yaohuo''s rendition of ''Ten Years'' is already perfect. Replacing him with a ''King of Singing'' may not necessarily improve."

    "..."

    The discussion about Xian Yu''s song this time was different from before.

    When Xian Yu used to release songs, the focus of the discussion was always on Xian Yu himself. People didn''t talk about the performers much.

    But this time, facing the song ''Ten Years'', many insiders mentioned Sun Yaohuo.

    Which meant, many people approved of Sun Yaohuo''s rendition of ''Ten Years''.

    The one thing that proved this best was the sudden surge in Sun Yaohuo''s social media followers by several million.

    Also.

    Shortly after ''Ten Years'' hit the top spot, the company received countless high-end event invitations for Sun Yaohuo.

    But Sun Yaohuo rejected them all.

    Many people speculated about the reason. Only a few people who had access to Sun Yaohuo knew that his eyes were swollen for some reason, and they were considerably puffy, like duck eggs.

    It seemed like he got beaten up last night.

    This look made it a hassle even to go outside, let alone to be the face of some brand.

 Chapter 381 - 360: Next Year, Today_1

    "''Ten Years'' wins championship song, sweeps September season chart!"

    "Xian Yu''s new song ''Ten Years'' surpasses ten million downloads on its first day!"

    "Xian Yu and Sun Yaohuo collaborate again, who will you be to who after ''Ten Years''?"

    "Not disturbing you is my tenderness, Xian Yu makes his king-like return, Sun Yaohuo''s ''Ten Years'' moves listeners to tears."

    "..."

    September 2nd.

    The entertainment sections of all major media are reporting news related to the song ''Ten Years''.

    And the first-day achievement of ten million downloads largely represents the success of this song.

    At this moment.

    A famous music recap show is currently playing ''Ten Years''. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Lovers in the end, unavoidably become friends¡­"

    As the melancholic and helpless final line of ''Ten Years'' concludes in solitude, the resonance of the accompaniment still intertwined with the notes, the host reveals a smile:

    "Hello everyone, I''m Xiao Le. As per tradition, let''s start by listening to a new song, titled ''Ten Years''.

    Let''s talk about the creator of this song, the well-renowned Maestro Junior, Xian Yu!"

    It''s been over half a year since Xian Yu released his last piece, ''Mariage d''Amour'', and we''ve long been eager for his new works. So, when he suddenly released a new song, the large fan base felt genuine joy and excitement.

    However, for other artists on the chart, Xian Yu''s comeback is not good news¡ª

    Especially for Ling Feng.

    As you may have noticed, ''Ten Years'' is undoubtedly number one.

    And the song that ranks second on the chart is the new song ''Dream Chaser'' by the well-known singer Ling Feng.

    In fact, the performance of Ling Feng''s song is also quite impressive, with an encouraging number of four million downloads on the first day, surpassing the third-ranked song by a whopping one million downloads!

    One can imagine that without Xian Yu''s appearance, ''Dream Chaser'' would have comfortably secured the championship title.

    Although it''s a pity, that''s just how it is with Xian Yu.

    After listening to ''Ten Years'', I''m sure you, like Xiao Le, will be moved by its lyrics and melody, immersed in such a beautiful ocean of music, even compelled to put it on repeat.

    However, Xiao Le believes that it''s not just Xian Yu''s composition that moved everyone, it''s also the performer: Sun Yaohuo''s voice.

    In fact, it is not the first time Sun Yaohuo has been favored by Xian Yu, without a doubt, he is lucky.

    Many first-line musicians in this industry desire to collaborate with Xian Yu but fail to do so, but Sun Yaohuo has not just once, but multiple times, sung songs composed by Xian Yu¡ªundoubtedly, many people are envious of this.

    But this time, Xiao Le believes, apart from musical literacy, Xian Yu''s vision is also commendable.

    He doesn''t care about the popularity of the singers, he doesn''t blindly collaborate with A-list singers, not even the King or Queen of Singing, he simply chooses the most suitable performer for the song. As for ''Ten Years'', I think no one could interpret it more perfectly than Sun Yaohuo."

    This song also made me start paying attention to Sun Yaohuo.

    I began to think about why this male singer, who has been chosen by Xian Yu to collaborate with more than once, is so fortunate. Or does he have his own special qualities? The result was that I listened to Sun Yaohuo''s previous songs and gradually discovered the reason."

    Sun Yaohuo is awesome, he is not considered handsome, at least by entertainment industry standards.

    His voice is not the type that astonishes people at first listen, I could only describe it as satisfactory.

    But after I listened to all of Sun Yaohuo''s previous songs, unconsciously, I felt captivated by him, the more I listened, the more I liked him, the more addicted I became. Perhaps many people have underestimated Sun Yaohuo, including Xiao Le himself, but starting with ''Ten Years'', I believe many people will pay attention to Sun Yaohuo and his songs, and appreciate his unique qualities in music¡­."

    *Click*.

    Inside a certain hotel room, a young man raises the remote control high and forcefully turns off the TV, his face full of frustration.

    "Brother Feng, don''t be upset. Sun Yaohuo is just riding on Xian Yu''s coattails. If that song was given to you to sing, your performance would surely surpass Sun Yaohuo''s!"

    Someone tries to comfort him.

    This frustrated young man is none other than Ling Feng, the singer who ranks second on the September season chart.

    Hearing his assistant''s comforting words, Ling Feng sighs, "At least for this song, Sun Yaohuo''s interpretation is indeed very good. Even if Xian Yu let me sing it, I couldn''t bring out that flavor. What upsets me is Xian Yu''s unexpected arrival. I could''ve won the championship."

    "So in your opinion, Sun Yaohuo this..."

    Ling Feng shrugs his shoulders, "He''s going to make it big, huh? Sun Yaohuo, Sun Yaohuo, at least he got a good name."

    In terms of popularity, Ling Feng is a bit more popular than Sun Yaohuo.

    But with the help of Xian Yu, Ling Feng simply can''t compete with Sun Yaohuo.

    Although the host does seem a bit suspiciously biased toward Sun Yaohuo and might even have been paid by Starlight, people in the circle have keen ears.

    Everyone''s musical abilities may vary, but basic musical literacy is not lacking.

    Anyone who understands music knows that Sun Yaohuo truly put his heart into the song ''Ten Years''.

    There are two types of singers, one that can become popular shortly after their debut, and another that slowly rises after releasing some songs, like Sun Yaohuo.

    The latter is relatively rare, but there have been a few in recent years.

    Sun Yaohuo, who sang ''Ten Years'', is the perfect example of the latter, showing a sense of gradual success after years of accumulation.

    In fact.

    Even in the Celestial Dynasty, there are many singers who have achieved success through long-term accumulation. They may not have been popular initially, it often takes years before they gradually gain recognition."

    "Come to think of it."

    Ling Feng tries to cheer himself up "Now I kind of understand how Chen Zhiyu and Fei Yang must have felt."

    The assistant pauses before laughing "Chen Zhiyu was the first generation perennial runner-up, teacher Fei Yang was the second, do you want to be the third?"

    "Isn''t that a nice thought?"

    Ling Feng curls his lips "Chen Zhiyu got second place when he encountered Xian Yu, Fei Yang got second place when he met Xian Yu, and I am also second when I meet Xian Yu. So I''m on par with A-list singer Chen Zhiyu, and also with the King of Singing, Fei Yang."

    The assistant gives a thumbs up "Round it off, you''re on the same level as the King of Singing!"

    "When you put it that way, being second doesn''t seem so bad, does it?"

    "Yes, as long as we don''t compete with Xian Yu. At least your second place crushes the third place, leading by a full million downloads, absolutely safe!"

    Hmm?

    Are you trying to jinx me?

    But what do I have to fear from a curse now?

    I''m already in second place.

    Could I possibly drop to third?

    Thinking about this, Ling Feng bursts into laughter, though as his laughter continues, he starts to feel a lump in his throat.

    Meanwhile, inside the Starlight office.

    Wu Yong is excitedly reporting the success of ''Ten Years'' to Lin Yuan:

    "The first-day download count exceeded ten million, a huge hit! While Sun Yaohuo didn''t become a first-line artist just by this song, his popularity is definitely on the rise. Today, quite a few music critics acknowledged Sun Yaohuo''s performance. Choosing him was definitely a wise decision!

    If it weren''t for the fact that some Qi people naturally prefer their native Qi language songs, maybe the download count of this song could''ve been even higher..."

    "Qi language?"

    Lin Yuan ponders, a few seconds later he suddenly says, "Then let''s release another song in Qi language."

    Wu Yong is taken aback, "What?"

    Lin Yuan looks at the September season chart displayed on the computer screen, whispers softly:

    "Next Year, Today..."

 Chapter 382 - 361 Opportunity Only Stays with the Prepared_1

    "What''s ''Next Year, Today''?"

    Wu Yong could not immediately follow Lin Yuan''s train of thought.

    Without bothering to explain, Lin Yuan simply said, "Contact Sun Yaohuo."

    "Okay..."

    Wu Yong quickly turned around.

    Meanwhile, Gu Dong next to them quietly offered, "I''ll reach out to him."

    She felt as though the Assistant Director was trying to take over her job as assistant.

    Whenever Mr. Lin visited the company, their counterpart practically ran to the representative''s office with more enthusiasm than herself.

    "Sure."

    Wu Yong nodded.

    After Wu Yong left, Lin Yuan began pondering.

    Qi people generally prefer songs in Qi language because it''s the music they''ve listened to the most since childhood - it''s the norm.

    With the merger of the Qin, Qi, and Chu continents, the influence of Qi language seems to have increased somewhat.

    Many Qin and Chu people have also shown an acceptance towards music in Qi language.

    As such, from time to time, songs in Qi language would appear at the forefront of the monthly new song chart. Even those who don''t understand Qi language are fond of listening to them.

    Obviously, songs in this language have quite a large market.

    Considering that "Ten Years" happens to have a Cantonese version, which is essentially Blue Star''s version of Qi language, Lin Yuan decided:

    Why not release the Qi language version of this song, also known as "Next Year, Today"?

    The issue at hand is the release time of this song.

    Should it be released this month, or next month?

    Forget about it.

    Just release it this month. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    It''s already September, and the end of the year is getting closer. If Lin Yuan wants to promote Sun Yaohuo and Jiang Kui to the first tier, they must act quickly.

    Releasing "Next Year, Today" next month seems a bit of a waste of time.

    Moreover, releasing "Next Year, Today" this month has another advantage -

    It can ride on the coattails of "Ten Years"!

    "Ten Years" is so popular right now. If a Qi language version is released, it might generate another surge of popularity, paving the way into the Qi language market.

    No one stipulates that a songwriter can only release one song per month.

    Furthermore, "Next Year, Today" and the Mandarin version have almost no differences in melody. It''s just a variation in singing style and lyrics.

    Thinking about this, Lin Yuan firmed up his decision.

    Of course.

    Releasing two songs in the same month is not without drawbacks.

    The biggest downside is that the two songs would appear on the same chart, creating a competitive situation.

    He didn''t want to harm either of his two children.

    But considering that "Ten Years" was released first, and given that Mandarin has a wider influence, Lin Yuan was not too worried.

    Undoubtedly, "Ten Years" is more well-received.

    Not to mention, the release of "Next Year, Today" would certainly take some time to fall off the charts.

    Hence, it wouldn''t be in a position to compete with the Mandarin version for the season''s charts.

    "I wonder if Senior Yao Huo can speak Qi language."

    Lin Yuan muttered to himself.

    "Next Year, Today" is performed in Qi language.

    If a person who doesn''t understand Qi language tries to learn it in a hurry, the time might be a bit tight. Rushing will affect the quality of the song.

    He has no choice.

    If Sun Yaohuo really cannot speak Qi language, "Next Year, Today" will have to be sung by someone else.

    Lin Yuan remembered that Lan Yan, the King of Songs, is very good at singing in Cantonese, and with his skills, he could also handle "Next Year, Today".

    Before that, Lin Yuan needs to investigate Sun Yaohuo''s language abilities first

    ...

    When Sun Yaohuo received the notification from Gu Dong, he quickly came to the company.

    "Junior, you''ve sought me."

    Compared to the last time they met, Sun Yaohuo seemed to be in a significantly better mood today. However, his eyes were somewhat red and swollen, so much so that he had an egg on hand to soothe them.

    "Is that fun?"

    Lin Yuan looked at Sun Yaohuo''s egg.

    Sun Yaohuo looked flabbergasted, and before he could even think of a suitable response, Lin Yuan shook his head: "It certainly isn''t as fun as a transformer."

    "What''s a transformer?"

    Lin Yuan solemnly announced, "They come from Cybertron, Decepticons and Autobots!"

    Sun Yaohuo: "..."

    He decided to do his research once he got home.

    Lin Yuan gave a lonely wave of dismissal: "Senior Yao Huo, you wouldn''t understand. Can you speak Qi language?"

    Sun Yaohuo nodded.

    This time, it was Lin Yuan who was taken aback: "How do you know Qi language?"

    Sun Yaohuo naturally replied, "Because, junior, you''ve been to Qi Continent."

    Lin Yuan was puzzled: "So what?"

    Sun Yaohuo somewhat embarrassedly scratched his head:

    "When junior went to Qi Continent, I thought that you might need singers. After all, you don''t know the singers there. Coincidentally, songs in Qi language were popular there. How could I not learn Qi language? Therefore, I spent half a year learning Qi language, intending to go to Qi Continent once I have mastered it to see junior. After all, we did agree on it at the time.

    However, before I could go to Qi Continent, it merged with Qin Continent, and junior returned from there to our Qin Continent. So, in the end, I learned a language for nothing and did not get to use it."

    "It will be put to good use."

    Lin Yuan was somewhat pleased.

    In terms of performance, Sun Yaohuo is the most suitable choice.

    Because he sang "Ten Years" very well.

    Although Lan Yan is also good, for the same melody and similar mood, "Next Year, Today" should rightfully be sung by Sun Yaohuo!

    Sun Yaohuo looked puzzled: "What does junior mean by that?"

    Lin Yuan replied, "''Ten Years'' has a version in the Qi language, with a melody that''s almost the same."

    Sun Yaohuo''s eyes widened, "Do you mean that junior wants me to sing another version in Qi language?"

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Sun Yaohuo clapped his hands, speaking in Qi language: "I studied Qi language for half a year and also did research on songs in Qi language. There should be no issues!"

    "That''s great."

    Lin Yuan responded in Qi language, then thought for a moment, realizing that his phrase was not in Qi language.

    Never mind.

    It''s not important.

    Lin Yuan handed over the lyrics to "Next Year, Today": "Prepare for this, then. Here are the lyrics. Familiarize yourself with them as soon as possible and record the song."

    Sun Yaohuo paused for a moment and asked, "Junior, do you wish for the Qi language version to be released this month?"

    "Yes."

    "Alright then, although the time is a bit tight, with junior around, it doesn''t matter much if we delay a bit. It won''t be a problem for the song to chart."

    Sun Yaohuo joyously took the lyric sheet for "Next Year, Today", and practiced a few lines.

    After Lin Yuan listened to a few lines, he knew that Sun Yaohuo was not exaggerating.

    Sun Yaohuo could really sing, and he sang very well!

    To Lin Yuan''s ear, he could not discern any difference between Sun Yaohuo''s performance and that of a native Qi speaker.

    If he did not know Sun Yaohuo, he might have thought that Sun Yaohuo was originally from Qi Continent.

    "I''m going to rehearse the song. I''ll stay in the company for the next few days."

    Sun Yaohuo took the music sheet and bid farewell to Lin Yuan..

    Lin Yuan agreed.

    As he turned around and closed the office door for Lin Yuan, Sun Yaohuo couldn''t help but smile and clenched his fists tightly.

    Suddenly, he was startled.

    It seemed that he had accidentally crumpled the music sheet due to his excitement. He then carefully flattened it again and blew on it affectionately.

    "Have a safe journey, Teacher Sun."

    Someone from the composing department greeted him with a smile.

    Sun Yaohuo returned the smile, seemingly ignoring the idle chatter he had heard the last time he was there.

    Back in the office.

    Having witnessed the entire conversation between the two, Gu Dong suddenly had a profound understanding of an old saying -

    Opportunities often only belong to the prepared.

 Chapter 383 - 383: 362

    After singing "Ten Years", Sun Yaohuo was already very familiar with the melody of this song.

    These days, whether he was taking a shower or using the bathroom, he would hum this melody without getting tired of it.

    Therefore, for Sun Yaohuo, singing the Qi language version of "Next Year, Today" now wasn''t much different, except for the adjustments he needed to make in portraying his emotions and feelings through the lyrics.

    However, because the emotions expressed in the two songs were different, merely transitioning between the mental states delayed the song recording for several days.

    Sun Yaohuo tried to perform this song with his previous state of mind, but naturally, it ended up in failure.

    The taste was completely wrong.

    He could only seek more alternatives.

    Lin Yuan always strived for perfection. He wouldn''t lower his expectations for "Next Year, Today" just because Sun Yaohuo''s Cantonese singing was good.

    But for a competent singer, there''s nothing that cannot be solved with practice.

    If one day doesn''t work, then two days; if two days don''t work, then three days.

    After five whole days of grinding, Sun Yaohuo finally met Lin Yuan''s standards perfectly.

    The difficulties encountered during the recording even made Sun Yaohuo feel as if "Next Year, Today" was a completely new song!

    Not a so-called Qi language version of "Ten Years"!

    Thus, "Next Year, Today" was successfully recorded.

    Unlike the surprise attack at the beginning of the month.

    This time, before "Next Year, Today" even started official recording, Starlight swiftly arranged the song''s promotion, which was pretty generous.

    "Xian Yu''s new song is set to be released on the 10th of this month - it''s the Qi language version of "Ten Years"!"

    Tribes, blogs, and various internet forums with decent traffic became Starlight''s promotional grounds.

    These were also the main bases for promoting many works.

    Sun Yaohuo also posted an update of his own, expressing it via a recorded video.

    In the video, Sun Yaohuo faced the camera and said:

    "The new song is a companion piece to "Ten Years". Listen to the same melody and different feelings. I hope the music lovers in Qi land will like it, it''s in your familiar language."

    After releasing "Ten Years", Sun Yaohuo was gaining momentum.

    Once he posted this video, the number of likes and comments surged compared to his previous posts.

    However, people''s enthusiasm for "Next Year, Today" couldn''t be considered high.

    Why?

    Because both Starlight and Sun Yaohuo stated in their promotional material that the new song was a Qi language version of "Ten Years".

    The same melody, just different lyrics.

    Only the music lovers in Qi province were somewhat excited because the Qi language appealed to the Qi people.

    But the excitement was relative.

    Because the vast majority of songs are their best in their original form. Modifying the lyrics, even if retaining the same melody, would make it taste weird.

    You can refer to the Mandarin versions of many foreign songs.

    Meanwhile, insiders in the music industry, especially musicians who joined the September season ranking, shivered when they first saw Starlight''s promotion!

    Damn it!

    It''s over! sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Does Xian Yu still want to release songs in September?

    Please, give us a chance to survive!

    Not until they saw the content after the dash did they heave a sigh of relief -

    So, it''s the Qi language version of "Ten Years".

    Then, it''s nothing to worry about.

    This way of having two sets of lyrics for one song is merely a gimmick.

    Xian Yu and Sun Yaohuo decided to release the Qi language version of "Ten Years", likely trying to appeal to the musical taste of Qi people.

    ...

    In that same hotel room...

    Ling Feng, still reeling from the shock, looked at the online promotion for "Next Year, Today" and remarked: "I was scared to death, I thought you had jinxed me successfully."

    "I was scared too."

    The assistant said, patting his chest: "Luckily, it is just the Qi language version of "Ten Years", a language that has a small audience. Plus, it''s the same melody, and it''s already the 10th by the time the song is released, so a third of the month has already passed."

    "That''s not the point."

    Ling Feng laughed bitterly: "If it''s Xian Yu, even if he releases a song on the 10th, winning the championship would still be a piece of cake."

    Assistant: "..."

    How to describe this feeling?

    It''s like Xian Yu has a 31-meter long knife and tells the singers of the September season, "I''ll give you a 30-meter head start". It''s just ridiculous.

    Damn it, we''re still going to die anyway.

    "The key here is that the melody is the same, it''s just one song with two sets of lyrics. So technically speaking, "Next Year, Today" shouldn''t be considered a new song."

    Ling Feng sighed,

    "Everyone is already very familiar with the melody of "Ten Years", changing the lyrics won''t bring any surprising effect. However, considering that the new lyrics are also created by Xian Yu..."

    The small assistant became anxious once more: "What''s going to happen?"

    Ling Feng laughed awkwardly and consoled: "Nothing''s going to happen, at most Qi people will like it. It won''t be surprising if "Next Year, Today" ranks in the top ten anyway."

    "The same melody but with different lyrics, and it only enters the list on the 10th. And yet, there''s still hope for it to make the top ten?"

    The assistant was flabbergasted: "This is clearly a scam!"

    Except for Xian Yu, who else would dare to claim that they could change the lyrics of a song released in the same month with the same melody, and still rank in the top ten of the New Songs Chart after delaying its release to the 10th?

    Isn''t that a scam?

    If you change your clothes, do I not recognize you anymore?

    This was not just Ling Feng and his assistant''s thinking, but also the common sentiment of the majority of the internet users and the music industry.

    So although Starlight did the promotion, there wasn''t any particular reaction from the public.

    In addition.

    Even within Starlight.

    Wu Yong didn''t pay much attention to the release of "Next Year, Today".

    The company was willing to promote it just for Xian Yu''s sake and on account of Sun Yaohuo''s popular streak with "Ten Years".

    They didn''t hold much anticipation for "Next Year, Today".

    With the same melody as "Ten Years" and different lyrics, would it still be a hit?

    As everyone was not that concerned, time passed and it was already the 10th.

    The chime at midnight was no different from that of ten days ago.

    Both were dull and boring.

    The moon outside didn''t seem any rounder than usual.

    However, in singer Ling Feng''s memory, that night seemed to be exceptionally cold...

    Ling Feng originally went to bed at nine.

    However, at half-past eleven, he suddenly had a nightmare.

    He dreamed that he fell into a fish pond, and a terrifying shark emerged from the small fish pond and viciously bit at him!

    Snap!

    The shark''s giant mouth was too terrifying. He was scared out of his wits, was shivering all over and was subsequently jolted awake.

    After waking up, Ling Feng realized that he didn''t cover himself properly with his blanket and that''s why he felt cold.

    He got up to use the restroom. After returning, thinking about the horrifying nightmare he just had, Ling Feng hesitated before turning on the air conditioner at home.

    Then, he sat in front of his computer.

    His computer was still on, and it was open to the season ranking chart page, where his song "Dream Chaser" was still firmly in the second place.

    The computer was left unattended because Ling Feng would check his ranking every day recently.

    "Let''s listen to some music."

    The nightmare he just had scared him and since he couldn''t fall asleep right now, Ling Feng casually opened the music player.

    And the song recommended today on the player was "Next Year, Today".

    Only then did Ling Feng remember that today was the 10th.

    The day "Next Year, Today" would take the airwaves by storm.

 Chapter 384 - 363: Meeting You in My Lifetime Seems to Have Exhausted All My Lucky Chances_1

    "What a coincidence."

    Ling Feng muttered, casually putting on his headphones and clicked play.

    If it hadn''t been for the bashing on the leaderboard from the Xianyu Army, Ling Feng would have admitted he really liked the song "Ten Years".

    Now that the song had a Qi language version, Ling Feng was naturally curious to listen to it.

    Wait a second.

    Ling Feng suddenly smelled something fishy.

    If he was interested in this version, wouldn''t other fans who liked "Ten Years" feel the same?

    This realization gave Ling Feng a slight panic.

    Just as Ling Feng was hit by this worry, a voice filled his ears, beautifying the Qi language:

    "If this chandelier falls down or if I cease to exist, even if you don''t love, no need to part..."

    Thump.

    His heart sank.

    Ling Feng''s panic escalated slightly.

    Despite the familiar melody, the song sounded alien to Ling Feng accompanied by the lyrics sung in Qi language.

    The singing continued:

    "If at this moment, I am severely silly, not needing to be loved at all, forever dreaming on my bed, no more sadness for the rest of my life..."

    Ling Feng''s expression hardened.

    The sense of alienation became even stronger!

    He even doubted, is this really "Ten Years"?

    It''s only a change of lyrics...

    Lyrics!

    Ling Feng''s eyes became piercing, glued to the flashing lyrics on the computer screen. It was just transitioning into the chorus:

    "People always need to live bravely; I make a new wish, like learning to bear the pain of heartbreak..."

    Ling Feng''s back stiffened slightly.

    Despite the functioning air conditioner, he felt colder.

    The chorus of "Next Year, Today" echoed in his ears. The climax of the song seemed like a cold gust of wind blasting into his brain, leaving him chilled:

    "Next Year, Today, no more insomnia bed sheets have changed."

    "Should we be lucky to meet up or at a friend''s wedding banquet, anxiously waiting for your appearance."

    "Next Year, Today, haven''t seen you for a year, who would change willingly, leaving you for sixty years, but I wish to recognize your offspring and hear you say goodbye at the farewell."

    Ling Feng wrapped himself tighter in his thin pajamas, he wanted to cry but couldn''t.

    He didn''t know whether it was because he was moved by the song, or for some other reason.

    Anyway, the song wasn''t even finished, and Ling Feng felt like he was fading away.

    Ling Feng''s emotions suddenly surged.

    Deception!

    It''s Starlight''s deception!

    This is not a lyric-altered version of "Ten Years" at all!

    It''s clearly a completely new song. From the emotions it conveys to the singing style and the thematic expression, they are completely different!

    If there''s anything most similar about the two songs, it''s definitely not the melody!

    It''s the fact that...

    Both songs were highly enjoyable and were equally excellent!

    This Fish is way too abnormal!

    How in the world did he manage to make a song sound absolutely different by simply changing the lyrics, not lacking the original version?

    This question, at the end of the song, seemed to have found its answer.

    "In the instant that I could meet you, I used up all my luck. It wasn''t until today that I realized, I had once breathed air."

    Ling Feng was suddenly not agitated anymore.

    The melancholic and helpless ending note was followed by solitary chords that were still spinning with the music notes. For a while, Ling Feng was somewhat lost.

    From start to finish, he never noticed that he had set the air conditioner to cold wind.

    ...

    During the late nights when Ling Feng happened to be playing this song, many others, like Ling Feng, out of their love for "Ten Years," listened to the so-called Qi language version.

    Just as Ling Feng had anticipated.

    But as more and more people listened to the Qi language version of "Ten Years" for various reasons, they all had the same conclusion:

    This is not the Qi language version of "Ten Years"! sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This song should have its own name, it should be called "Next Year, Today"!

    Since then, the comments on this song had been completely overwhelmed.

    The hottest comment with the most likes was:

    "Everyone says that Xian Yu is a master of composing music, almost forgot that Xian Yu''s lyric writing is also at a master level!"

    The subsequent praised comments were even more complimentary.

    "My God, [In the instant that I could meet you, I used up all my luck], I''ve written lyrics for songs as well, but I won''t be able to come up with these kinds of lyrics even if all my brain cells died!"

    "When I listened to "Ten Years," I didn''t cry. But when I listened to this song, I was in tears."

    "Before I played this song, I thought I was going to re-listen to "Ten Years", but after I finished, I realized that what I had listened to was "Next Year, Today"."

    "Personally, I think "Next Year, Today" sounds better than "Ten Years"!"

    "Personal taste doesn''t represent popular taste, both the songs have no high or low,different mood, different brilliance."

    "Who would''ve thought that Xian Yu could create an entirely different song just by changing the lyrics!"

    "I never liked Qi language songs, but why has "Next Year, Today" become an exception?"

    "I''ve only gotten a rough understanding of it, looking at the lyrics while listening to it, I felt myself getting intoxicated."

    "..."

    At the same time.

    Some Qi people''s groups were also passionately discussing it:

    "Go and listen to "Next Year, Today"! My God, the song is so good!"

    "Are you talking about our Qi language version of "Ten Years"? It''s just a normal song, I don''t feel anything when I listen."

    "Go and listen, you''ll understand it''s absolutely wonderful."

    "I didn''t feel anything for Maestro Junior earlier, even when people around me hyped him up, I thought it was exaggerated. Perhaps because I''ve only listened to Qi language songs since I was young. After hearing "Next Year, Today" today, I realize that Xian Yu is genuinely amazing!"

    "Ahhh, I really hope Xian Yu can release a few more Qi language songs!"

    "Xian Yu has had Qi language songs before, "Everywhere Kisses" huh.

    "And "Like You" right? He wrote both the music and lyrics."

    "No way, those songs were written by Xian Yu? I thought they were our Qi people''s songs!"

    "We Qi people only did the singing, Xian Yu''s Qi language song skill has always been high, the song "Next Year, Today" has blown you guys who don''t listen to Mandarin songs to the ends of the earth."

    "Ahem, I''m back, it truly is wonderful."

    "..."

    Everything seemed to be scripting back to ten days ago.

    It felt like the time when "Ten Years" had just been released, everywhere was filled with discussions about Xian Yu''s new song.

    And this time around, apart from Qin and Chu, countless Qi people had also been added to the discussions!

    Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

    The big V''s on the forums and blogs had started their overnight marathon again.

    The music critics had once again begun to burn the midnight oil.

    And Xian Yu''s name was once again making headlines in a grand way.

    The original song was named "Ten Years".

    But everyone went from shock to further shock, in just a span of ten days.

    Through "Next Year, Today", for the first time, the energy everyone spent on discussing the lyrics of Xian Yu''s song, surpassed the energy spent on discussing Xian Yu''s composition!

    Of course.

    No need to mention the fact that many people changed their profile statuses to "In the instant that I could meet you, I used up all my luck" that night.

    In front of the tremendous vibration brought about by "Next Year, Today," along with the change in lyrics and the singer''s pronunciation, this was merely the tip of the iceberg.

 Chapter 385 - 364 Connection of Two Songs (End of the Month - Request for Monthly Tickets)_1

    The discussion around "Next Year, Today" is overwhelming.

    Some even believe "Next Year, Today" sounds better than the Mandarin version!

    As a result, fans preferring "Ten Years" are not pleased.

    There''s an undercurrent of a standoff brewing between both sides.

    The real flurry, however, began late at night when many lyricists started to chime in.

    Indeed, the unexpected rejuvenation of "Next Year, Today" through the mere evolving of lyrics and language caught everyone off guard.

    And when it came to the impact of language change on the music, the most obvious change that the average person could see was the lyrics!

    Lyrics¡ªthat''s the dominion of lyricists!

    And so, whether out of a desire for attention or genuine admiration for Admired Fish''s lyrical skills, many lyricists began to analyze "Ten Years."

    Among them, one lyricist drew particular attention with his opening gambit:

    "Many of you likely just noticed the big change in ''Next Year, Today'' after the lyrics and language adjustments, but few have recognized the true intention behind Admirable Fish''s new version of lyrics!"

    This lyricist''s name is "Rabbit Two Dot".

    Among his peers, Rabbit Two Dot is considered a top-tier lyricist. He''s even written lyrics for a King of Singing and a Queen of Singing, and his work is consistently well received.

    And with the release of "Next Year, Today", Rabbit Two Dot also revealed hisowl-like nature, unable to help but speak out.

    Indeed, no sooner had he spoken than he attracted the attention of his fans and many internet users:

    "Admirable Fish''s true intention?"

    "What does that mean?"

    "Is there any connectiMisn between the two songs?"

    "Which song does Rabbit Second Teacher think is better written?"

    "Go on, go on, I''m all ears for Teacher Rabbit Second''s views."

    "Rabbit Second Teacher staying up late just to study Admired Fish''s ''Next Year, Today''?"

    "Hahaha, Rabbit Second Teacher followed Admirable Fish a year ago, it''s just that Admirable Fish hasn''t followed anyone back, as we all know, the Three Bros loop is eternal."

    "."

    Rabbit Two replied to one of the netizens guessing about the connection between the two songs: "You''ve found the blind spot."

    Eh, what blind spot?

    Well, say it then!

    The netizens couldn''t take the suspense.

    Because Rabbit Two is a professional lyricist and very well respected in the industry, people tend to listen to what he has to say. Famous people''s words always carry more weight.

    Rabbit Two didn''t keep them guessing any longer, instead posting a long explanation:

    [Putting other things aside, I''ll try to analyze from the perspective of the content of the lyrics, the emotions represented, and the thoughts conveyed.

    Firstly, regarding "Next Year, Today".

    This song portrays a heartbroken person lying hopelessly sleepless at night, the uncontrollable grief leading to all sorts of wild musings, and struggling bitterly in the swamp of heartbreak.

    In the beginning, he wonders if it''d have been better had he been crushed by the ceiling lamp prior to the heartbreak, effectively sparing him the torment of her departure. Following that, he contemplates the positive side of surviving whilst turning senile, at least then he''d become insensitive towards love, thereby not having to endure the current agony.

    In the dead of the night, a myriad of thoughts wreak havoc in his mind. He knows he can''t go on like this and determines to bravely confront the heartbreak. Therefore, he attempts to convince himself that he shouldn''t be suffering from insomnia at this same date next year, that it''s about time he changed the shabby bedding after the person beside him is long gone...

    However, as these ideas grow, he falls back into the emotional whirlpool, suddenly reluctant to make the changes, even desiring to meet up once again; perhaps even visualizing a reunion sixty years later, even on his last breath, wishing for one last encounter.

    You''ve noticed, haven''t you? "Next Year, Today" describes the pain of heartbreak, but in the entire lyrics, only one word relates to pain.

    Admirable Fish didn''t directly write about the character''s inner torment, but rather, in the first person, he creates several fictional scenarios:

    Being hit by a ceiling lamp, turning senile, bumping into each other at someone''s wedding, reuniting sixty years later.

    He meticulously delineates the microscopic changes in the heartbroken insomniac, letting listeners place themselves into the shoes of the heartbroken one, experiencing their struggle of a tough goodbye with their ex-partner.

    Now let''s look at "Ten Years".

    It as well portrays heartbreak but differs significantly in its writing approach and the emotions conveyed compared to "Next Year, Today". Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    And so, the protagonist of "Ten Years"...

    Turns out to be the one breaking off the relationship with the protagonist from "Next Year, Today"!

    This is the biggest connection between the two songs¡ªthey are monologues from the two sides of the ex-couple!

    If you don''t believe it, let''s analyze.

    In the first verse of "Ten Years", she realizes that she is a little upset during the break-up; she describes their shared experiences as akin to those of a holiday, but that wasn''t fulfilling enough for her yearning.

    She wants to pursue a better life; then she calmly and rationally advises that emotional separation is inevitable given that they can''t continue, so why not just enjoy the emotional connection that still remains.

    As the song transitions into the chorus, this character''s rationality shines through, like they''ve never been in love before, imagining events from ten years ago and ten years into the future.

    Ten years prior, they were strangers, but haven''t they made it this far today? In ten years, although they would be broken up, to have known one another is still considered an encounter, a polite greeting upon running into each other is justifiable. It''s meaningless to have been in love before, anyway. ''Lovers will inevitably become friends''¡ªhow cruel yet how starkly realistic it is!

    Faced with such advice, there''s virtually nothing left to be said, leaving no room for reconsideration, as if the reasons for sorrow have vanished.

    The concluding line ''my tears won''t flow for you, they''ll flow for someone else'' suggests that there will always be people who will come and go in my life, it just happened to be you. There''s nothing special about it, nothing worth lingering on. With that mindset, you could say she sees the bigger picture or that she''s coldly rational to the brink of numbness.

    While "Next Year, Today" delves deeper into the abyss of heartbreak, "Ten Years" delivers rational persuasion.

    "Next Year, Today" expresses emotions through narratives whilst "Ten Years" emphasizes logical analysis; "Next Year, Today" is more straightforward, allowing listeners to empathize with the emotions upon placing themselves in the protagonist''s shoes, whereas "Ten Years" requires more pondering and contemplation.

    If my hypothesis holds, these two songs are responding to each other, representing a dialogue between the emotional and rational facets of Admirable Fish''s inner self.

    You are still asking which song is better?

    I am not deliberately being evasive, but I just want to tell you all that which song is better written depends on which protagonist your personality aligns more with, and at different stages of your life, you may have different answers. ]

    This interpretation suddenly opened another door for listeners!

    Those netizens who were previously debating about which song was better immediately ceased the debate.

    Considering this interpretation, arguing seems as though it''s entirely pointless.

    "I see, so the two songs present different perspectives of the same couple?"

    "It all makes sense now! I always felt there was some connection between these two songs every time I listened to them."

    "I love this [the dialogue between Admirable Fish''s rational and emotional sides], it clears everything up!"

    "He really nailed it. Initially, I wanted to say that Rabbit Second Teacher might be over-interpreting with his article, but after reading through it all, I found it incredibly compelling. The imagination of lyricists really knows no bounds."

    "Eureka, so that''s how it is. Admirable Fish is so incredible!"

    "Haha, how can I think so much when listening to songs, all I can say is: awesome!"

    "Actually, Sun Yaohuo hinted that ''Next Year, Today'' is the companion piece to ''Ten Years''."

    "."

    By this point, someone in the comments asked Rabbit Two about his evaluation of Admirable Fish''s lyrical ability.

    Rabbit Two responded with a bit of humor:

    "The kind that leaves many lyricists tossing and turning all night long."

    Oh?

    So this is the reason you''re up cultivating at this late hour?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to the great [Rabbit Two Dot] alliance hierarch! Sending flying kisses! biu! The bonus chapter will come next month, I owe quite a bit for this month, please spare me for now~

    .

 Chapter 386 - 365: No Egg Remains Intact Under a Toppled Nest_1

    Although Rabbit Two''s comment, "A level that keeps many lyricists awake at night" was meant to be humorous and self-deprecating, it was true to some extent. It did indeed hit quite a few lyricists hard¡ª

    Aren''t you, Xian Yu, a composer?

    Why are you stealing our jobs as lyricists?

    Why aren''t you sticking to your own profession? If all composers were like you, should we lyricists retire?

    Or should we lyricists also learn composing?

    Should we pursue a dual career in both fields like Xian Yu?

    Not everyone can be as talented as you, Xian Yu. Even many maestros, when it comes to putting lyrics to melodies, still need the help of long-term collaborating lyricists.

    But Xian Yu... doesn''t!

    And what''s more, Xian Yu isn''t one of those composers who insist on writing their own lyrics despite producing subpar work.

    His lyrics are so good they make many professional lyricists feel inferior!

    Can an average person write, "In the years of my life, meeting you has depleted all my luck?"

    The thing is, Xian Yu does this every time.

    Every time, his lyrics mesh perfectly with the melody.

    Starting from his debut song "Life Like a Summer Flower", he began crafting memorable lines like, "Live splendidly like a summer flower, die as beautifully quiet as autumn leaves"¡ª

    Of course, the "Life Like a Summer Flower" lyrics don''t contain the latter half of that sentence.

    To help listeners understand the artistic conception, Xian Yu specifically noted the latter half when he was finding buzz words to promote his composition.

    Then came his song "Red Rose".

    Xian Yu actually penned the classic line, "What is unattainable is always in turmoil, the loved ones have no fear".

    These lyrics have been repeatedly quoted by modern youths, whether they like the song or not. It has even become the signature of many, often recited like a mantra after breakups due to third-party involvement.

    And this doesn''t even cover all of Xian Yu''s slightly less influential, but still brilliant lyrics!

    Hence, many lyricists are distressed.

    There''s an old saying, "Do not challenge my profession with your hobby".

    Xian Yu''s profession is obviously composing, yet his demonstrated lyric-writing capability can virtually kick countless lyricists out of their jobs.

    At this point.

    The biggest solace to the lyricists would probably be the fact that very few composers are as talented at writing lyrics as Xian Yu is.

    Also, on the Tribe blog and various forums.

    With everyone paying attention to "Next Year, Today", the issue gradually evolved into a public discussion about Xian Yu''s historically exceptional lyrics.

    "Come to think of it, the lyrics of every song Xian Yu has released are amazing. The thematic lyrics of "Easy to Ignite and Explode", for example, have won me over."

    "The lyrical dialogue stretching across two versions of the same melody is totally rad."

    "Not everyone can do it like that. Otherwise, why not just write a few alternative sets of lyrics for one melody. Xian Yu alone is capable of releasing a new set of lyrics for "Ten Years" in the Qi language and getting everyone to download it once again."

    "Even Xian Yu wouldn''t dare to do this frequently, I presume. Two sets of lyrics for one song, both of them becoming hits ¨C that''s quite a feat."

    "Rabbit Second Teacher''s review has indirectly proven how professional Xian Yu''s lyrics-writing is."

    "..."

    Intense debates over Xian Yu''s lyrical prowess had been going on for some time, and this time seemed more like a breakout after a long period of fermentation.

    However, the most frustrated ones are not the lyricists, since most composers still need professional lyricists to work with. There''s only one Xian Yu, after all.

    As for the musicians involved in the September season''s competition, they face two Xian Yus!

    Just within a few hours, "Next Year, Today" broke the one million download mark, making its way directly into the top ten of the season''s list!

    Then, the next day came.

    The inscrutable composer, who was betrayed by the season''s list as fifth, woke up pleasantly. He felt he had slept like a log and felt extremely refreshed.

    His work was only ranked fifth, but the company''s expectations for the song were actually to make it into the top ten.

    Making it to the fifth position was a great reward.

    But his expression instantly froze when he saw the ranking on the season''s list.

    Why am I sixth now?

    He was stunned for several seconds before scrambling to find out the reason. Three seconds later, the truth lay bare before him.

    Xian Yu''s "Ten Years" ¨C the Qi language version ¨C had parachuted in.

    This song, simply by changing its lyrics and adopting the alias "Next Year, Today", had risen to the fourth place overnight, pushing him and the original fourth positioner down!

    "He occupies two of the top five spots? Are the listeners stupid, or do they just have too much money!?"

    This unknown singer felt like Xian Yu had driven past with a steamroller, crushing a bunch of people. Realizing something was wrong, Xian Yu drove the steamroller back¡­ Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The singer was close to cursing, but his hand didn''t stop. He hastily clicked on "Next Year, Today" to listen to it once.

    After listening, he stopped speaking.

    This song... fine, maybe he was the one who was stupid.

    He then turned his malicious gaze to all the songs ranked below "Ten Years". The unknown composer cracked a triumphant smile.

    When the nest is upset, none of the eggs are spared, the explanation says. This phrase usually implies that when a collective suffers, individuals or parts cannot avoid being affected.

    In simpler terms, we''re all doomed.

    Similar sentiments were shared by several other contemporary musicians who were in the same predicament.

    As for Ling Feng, who was ranked second, he was mentally prepared after listening to the song last night. Seeing the result the next day, he wasn''t overly upset or depressed. He just felt a little under the weather due to catching a cold the night before.

    As expected, it''s Xian Yu.

    What about parachuting in?

    What about having two different sets of lyrics for one song?

    Isn''t he still wreaking absolute havoc as usual?

    Until the 14th of September, "Next Year, Today" reached the second place on the seasonal list with six million downloads. Every song released during the same period dropped one rank, marking the end of the bloodbath.

    Behind this bloodbath was the further deterioration of what the music circle calls ''Ichthyophobia''.

    Of course.

    Within Starlight, exclamations from the composing colleagues on other floors were inevitable:

    "Is that even possible?"

    "With one melody and two sets of lyrics, he simultaneously seizes the top two spots?"

    "Who the heck can still claim that Sun Yaohuo couldn''t become a sensation?"

    "Even if Sun Yaohuo was a pig, Xian Yu could probably still lift him to the heavens!"

    "We can''t quite put it that way. Sun Yaohuo''s ability to sing in Qi language is unexpected. There aren''t many singers in the company who can do that."

    "Why does it feel like Sun Yaohuo is on the fast track to reaching the top tier?"

    "Securing the first and second places in a single season, that record is good enough for Sun Yaohuo to brag for a few years."

    "We worried about whether the ninth floor could complete the company''s task earlier. Now let''s worry about ourselves. The tears of envy are literally flowing from my mouth."

    "..."

    Probably only Jin Mu, the agent who best understands Lin Yuan''s strength, wasn''t surprised at all. He looked at the top two songs on the list and smiled.

    There couldn''t have been a better return than this.

    A true king must return by triumphantly stepping over heaps of beaten foes.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: I would like to recommend a highly entertaining novel, "My Filial Piety Has Deteriorated". The intro is quite long, so I won''t use up your chargeable word count here. I''ll leave it in the author''s note section. If you''re interested, feel free to check it out.

 Chapter 387 - 366: This Could Reach Me Too_1

    Starlight, ninth floor music composition department, representing the office.

    Lin Yuan, whom Jin Mu described as "dominating, awe-inspiring", was exuberantly playing with a toy car¡ª

    This was no ordinary toy car.

    This was a toy racing car that could transform like a Rubik''s Cube to shape-shift into a robot with slight folding.

    Lin Yuan''s fingers were nimbly moving the toy''s joints, quickly creating a commanding, mighty small robot.

    At the helmet of the robot, the lights flickered and gleamed, utterly cool.

    Where did this toy car come from?

    Of course, Sun Yaohuo gifted it.

    Upon hearing Lin Yuan mention "Transformers" a few times, Sun Yaohuo searched online extensively but found no lead. Eventually, he had to ask Lin Yuan about what exactly these Transformers were.

    Lin Yuan briefly explained, and then Sun Yaohuo had this toy ordered from Han Continent.

    This morning, Sun Yaohuo rushed to the company to personally handover the gift to Lin Yuan.

    And no doubt, this gift was quite similar to Transformers.

    Even though it was not Bumblebee, the design philosophy of the toy was the same as that of Transformers.

    "Shoo!"

    Lin Yuan placed the toy on his desk, staring at the robot while making sound effects with his mouth.

    Seeing Lin Yuan enjoying himself, Sun Yaohuo was cheered as well. Rubbing his hands together, he said, "Junior, do you want to dine at my restaurant tonight? I recently opened a new one specializing in Yan Continent cuisine."

    Reluctantly shifting his gaze from the robot to Sun Yaohuo, Lin Yuan questioned, "Yan Continent?"

    "Mhm."

    Sun Yaohuo laughed and said, "Isn''t Yan Continent about to join the merger? At that time, surely a lot of Yan people will come here to work. I think opening a restaurant catering to Yan tastes will have a good market..."

    Lin Yuan was somewhat intrigued but then said, "Maybe later. Tonight, I want to go home early as I have to go to the set tomorrow."

    Sun Yaohuo quickly responded, "No problem! Just let me know anytime what you want to eat. My restaurants have everything."

    "Senior has opened many restaurants." Lin Yuan was surprised.

    Sun Yaohuo waved his hand dismissively. "Not that many, just three hot pot restaurants and six others that primarily feature different cuisines. Last time, Xue Liang mentioned you have an interest in steak, so I plan to open a steakhouse next year. You should come and try it."

    "Great!"

    Lin Yuan nodded joyfully.

    At that moment, Sun Yaohuo''s phone rang. He apologized and moved away to take the call at the corner of the room.

    Not sure what the other party said, but Sun Yaohuo suddenly became excited. "Really? They want me as an endorser? That''s great! Hahaha! Thank you for getting me this endorsement.

    I''ll treat you to a meal tonight at my restaurant...what did you say? Half price isn''t enough? You think you''re my dad? Bye."

    After finishing his statement, Sun Yaohuo hung up the call and burst into laughter, even humming to himself.

    "Senior."

    Lin Yuan helplessly asked, "Can you be more mature and composed like me?"

    Meanwhile,

    The toy, which Lin Yuan had once again folded back into the shape of a racing car, rolled its wheels on the desk until it collided with a stack of papers and came to a halt.

    "..."

    Sun Yaohuo glanced at the toy racing car, then at Lin Yuan. In the end, he silently nodded his head.

    "What''s going on?"

    Lin Yuan returned to fiddling with the racing car.

    Sun Yaohuo joyfully exclaimed, "Endorsement! A top-tier brand wants me as their endorser. This would be my first time being an endorser for a top-tier brand!"

    "Congratulations, senior."

    Lin Yuan lifted up the race car, observing its rapidly spinning wheels.

    ...

    Clearly,

    Because both versions¡ªthe Mandarin and Qi language versions¡ªof the song "Ten Years" made a strong impact, Sun Yaohuo had completely risen to stardom. Currently, even top-tier brands were approaching him for endorsements.

    As Wu Yong put it:

    Sun Yaohuo''s popularity is soaring. If he could continue this momentum until year-end, he might secure a position as a top-tier singer.

    Furthermore,

    The two versions of the song significantly boosted Lin Yuan''s music-making reputation.

    At this point in time, the impacts of both songs had not yet fully subsided.

    Online,

    Beyond the discussions about the two versions of "Ten Years", there was a new hot topic online. A popular blogger had joked about the September new song list:

    "Do you guys know why Xian Yu released two songs in September?"

    Netizens were naturally curious and started leaving comments asking for more insights. They thought this person might have a new interpretation of these two songs, just as Rabbit Two had analyzed the lyrics of Xian Yu''s two songs.

    As a result, this person replied seriously, "Because not everyone can occupy the second position!"

    "..."

    Netizens understood immediately. Everyone knew this was an implied sarcastic jab at Fei Yang''s Perennial Runner-up stigma!

    "Hahahahaha, you''re so naughty!"

    "Xian Yu: You, Ling Feng, are also worthy of the 2nd place?"

    "Xian Yu: Defending the best in the world, Fei Yang."

    "This interpretation makes perfect sense and is very convincing. Yes, in order to defend the Perennial Runner-up position for King Fei, Lin Yuan released a song named ''Next Year, Today'' to grab the top place himself."

    "Xian Yu: The second place is not for everyone!"

    "Xian Yu: Chen Zhiyu can, Fei Yang can, but you, Ling Feng, are still not up to it."

    "What talk about two unique lyrics for one song? This is probably Xian Yu''s special care for the Perennial Runner-up!"

    "Xian Yu was forced to do this. To make room for Fei Yang or Chen Zhiyu to take up the second place, he had to release ''Next Year, Today'' himself to take up the first."

    "..."

    Following the tradition of joking around, the netizens were playing with memes in the comments and soon the joke spread across many forums, leading many other netizens to follow suit.

    Everyone clearly knew that Xian Yu didn''t mean it this way.

    But it doesn''t matter.

    Who asked for the Perennial Runner-up meme to be relevant to this issue?

    As more and more netizens started playing with that meme, Chen Zhiyu''s comment section inevitably attracted a lot of troll netizens.

    But compared to Chen Zhiyu, Fei Yang''s comment section was truly the epicenter of troll netizens!

    Everyone knew Chen Zhiyu had successfully passed on the torch, giving the title of Perennial Runner-up to Fei Yang.

    Now it''s the era of Fei Yang, the second generation Perennial Runner-up!

    "Fish says: Only you can sit in the second spot."

    "King Fei, what a face!"

    "I wish Fish and you fly together!"

    "Waiting for another double!"

    "Chen Zhiyu took the second place three times, King Fei only twice. One more time and it''ll be perfect!"

    "Sense the deep love from Xian Yu?"

    "..."

    At this time, Fei Yang was doing a show outside. During the break, he intended to update a status to interact with his fans and casually looked at his comment section.

    Looking at the comments, Fei Yang was dumbfounded.

    Dense comments. Every page filled with different jokes. After looking carefully for a while, every page was filled with four words, "Perennial Runner-up". Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    No way, right?

    Can this also be made into a joke about me?

    You guys are not done yet, are you?

    .

    .

 Chapter 388 - 367: Enduring Hardship with Great Perseverance_1

    Fei Yang was upset. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Don''t I have a reputation to uphold?

    It didn''t matter much if Chen Zhiyu was labelled as the Perennial Runner-up, after all, his rival was Xian Yu.

    But things were different for him. He was the King of Singing, and one who was at the peak of his popularity, no less!

    The King of Singing should not be disgraced!

    ... Oops, sorry, wrong set.

    Anyway, Fei Yang was angry.

    The assistant next to him obviously knew what had happened online.

    He kept it from Fei Yang fearing it would upset him. Now that it was impossible to hide the situation, he could only attempt to console him by saying,

    "Brother Fei, you don''t need to take the netizens'' silly memes too seriously. Today''s youngsters just enjoy playing these games. They mean no harm."

    "Uh-huh."

    Fei Yang said, "Last time, I didn''t care even when an internet troll cursed me at a concert. Why should I hold a grudge against these netizens who are just joking around?"

    "An internet troll?"

    The assistant chuckled, "That troll you reported last time was detained for several days."

    "Huh."

    Fei Yang rolled his eyes, snorted unhappily, and said, "That''s because he insulted my family ¡ª I just want to beat Xian Yu for once, and let him taste what it''s like to be second."

    "Alright."

    The assistant certainly knew that Fei Yang''s temper was relatively good among the kings of singing. He was merely trying to lighten the mood: "Actually, beating Xian Yu isn''t that difficult. After all, the end of the year is near."

    The assistant hinted.

    Fei Yang''s eyes flickered slightly, "Yes, the end of the year is coming."

    According to the music industry, the end of the year is the time for the annual Battle of the Gods!

    The Battle of the Gods was always a lively affair.

    At this time, the kings and queens of singing and songwriters never shied away.

    Last year, Xian Yu won the crown for the Champion Track with "Red Sun". There are many who are not satisfied with this outcome, not just Fei Yang, who is eager to claim victory.

    So.

    This end of the year, as a trending King of Singing, Fei Yang is still going to participate in this Battle of the Gods!

    Besides, Xian Yu started his comeback in September, apparently intending to join the Battle of the Gods at the end of the year as well.

    At that time, Fei Yang and Xian Yu will meet again.

    Holding a grudge for a year, Fei Yang is all set to turn tables at this year''s end and win the singing contest.

    "Come to think of it."

    The assistant reminded him: "Xian Yu daring to release the song ''Ten Years'' in September, rather than at the end of the year, shows that he is confident he can produce an even better song by then!"

    "That''s true."

    A serious look crossed Fei Yang''s eyes.

    Netizens had nicknamed him the new Perennial Runner-up, and in such a situation, Fei Yang couldn''t ignore Xian Yu.

    Moreover, the song "Ten Years" was so popular that even if it wasn''t Xian Yu''s song, Fei Yang would definitely want to listen to it.

    Also, a recent song, "Next Year, Today," launched Xian Yu to the top two spots on the music charts, making him the center of attention in the music industry.

    Even Fei Yang, who was determined to seek revenge against Xian Yu, had to admit that the song "Ten Years" was excellent.

    This challenger could not afford to be taken lightly, not even a tiny bit.

    "Unless Xian Yu doesn''t participate in the Battle of the Gods at the end of the year, but if he does, his song must be of extraordinarily high quality!"

    The assistant''s expression was very serious.

    Fei Yang clenched his teeth: "I learned my lesson last year, and this year I made more comprehensive preparations. I started preparing for the end-of-year song half a year in advance, just for this tough battle with him!"

    King Fei was full of determination.

    Preparing for the end-of-year song half a year in advance, such determination isn''t something everyone possesses.

    Everyone says that Xian Yu writes good lyrics, right?

    That''s perfect because the new song King Fei has prepared for the end of the year perfectly weaves the lyrics with the melody. The lyrics have a very lofty and poetic meaning. He fears neither the melody nor the lyrics!

    ...

    Lin Yuan had no idea how eagerly King Fei was preparing, let alone how much King Fei longed to make him taste the bitterness of being second.

    September sixteenth.

    Lin Yuan arrived at the set of "Hachiko".

    He was there for two reasons. The first was that the filming of "Hachiko" was entering its final stage, with the shoot wrapping up at the end of the month. Lin Yuan needed to check on things.

    The second reason was that Yi Chenggong, the director, had hit a snag with one of the scenes. No matter how he filmed it, he wasn''t satisfied. He asked for Lin Yuan''s help.

    So Lin Yuan came.

    Upon seeing Lin Yuan, Yi Chenggong''s eyes lit up, and he rushed over: "Mr. Lin, you have finally arrived!"

    Lin Yuan cut to the chase: "What scene is giving you trouble?"

    Yi Chenggong took out the script and pointed to a specific passage: "In this scene, the professor is preparing to go to the school, but for some reason, Hachiko is acting unusual today. It seems that he doesn''t want the professor to go, unusual for Hachiko who is normally not so clingy. This surprises the professor.

    As he sits at the railway waiting for the train, Hachiko walks up to him with a ball in his mouth."

    Lin Yuan understood.

    This scene needed the cooperation of a dog.

    More accurately, it needed Antarctica''s cooperation.

    Antarctica was the grown dog featured in this scene, a character with a significant amount of screen time.

    This scene was supposed to hint at the impending misfortune to befall the master, as sensed by Hachiko instinctively.

    "The part where he brings the ball to the professor''s side isn''t difficult to film, but after the train departs, Hachiko needs to chase it for a while, and then return to his usual spot where he waits for his master every day. This needs Antarctica to show some emotion..." At this point, Yi Chenggong blushed, "Am I asking too much?"

    Normally, Yi Chenggong wouldn''t demand so much, especially not from the other two dogs in the film. He wouldn''t press them like this.

    But Antarctica was different. This dog was incredibly intelligent.

    Because of Antarctica''s intelligence, Yi Chenggong couldn''t help but want to enhance the role, making the scene more heartfelt.

    "Let me try."

    Lin Yuan walked over to Antarctica, crouched down, and petted her head: "Can you understand the feeling when someone you are close to is about to leave you?"

    Antarctica stuck out her tongue and licked the back of Lin Yuan''s hand.

    "I see."

    Lin Yuan allowed her to continue licking while he mentally summoned the System to arrange a dose of the Emperor''s Charm Potion for Antarctica.

    Antarctica had never used the Emperor''s Charm Potion in all the shoots so far as she was naturally good at acting.

    However, considering the relatively higher difficulty of this scene, Lin Yuan did not hesitate to spend that extra money.

    Antarctica continued licking.

    Lin Yuan couldn''t help saying, "Once we finish filming, you can go home. Yao Yao misses you. She even said she wanted to give you a bath the day before yesterday."

    Antarctica wagged her tail.

    Standing up, Lin Yuan said, "You may start filming."

    Having gotten used to Lin Yuan''s way of talking to dogs as if they were people, Yi Chenggong nodded, "Let''s get ready then."

    The crew got to work at once.

    Then again, the crew witnessed the formidable power of Lin "Druid" Yuan.

    Antarctica, who had been struggling to perform this scene previously, suddenly cooperated perfectly, completing the scene smoothly. When Antarctica looked at the departing train blankly, some people even had moist eyes.

    "Don''t cry!"

    Yi Chenggong scolded, "How many eggs have we fed you all!"

    Just as the crew was about to cry, upon hearing his words, they all burst into laughter.

    It turned out that the plot was so heartbreaking that the crew often got moved and cried. Sometimes, they would cry multiple times a day.

    After a couple of these crying incidents, their eyes would swell up. The crew had to provide eggs for them to soothe their eyes.

    However, they were only peeling and eating the eggs instead of using them to soothe their eyes.

    Someone sighed, "This film is set to leave the audience in floods of tears."

    Someone next to him scolded, "Can''t you get your idioms right? The correct phrase is ''rivers of tears''!"

    The first person shook his head, "Ah, you''re too inexperienced."

    Watching this scene come together, Lin Yuan felt a part of him being affected. The sadness caused a slight ache in his teeth.

    .

    .

 Chapter 389 - 368: All Caused by Sweet Food_1

    Strange, why does my tooth hurt?

    Lin Yuan was a bit puzzled, but didn''t give it much thought.

    After finishing filming, Lin Yuan was ready to go home only to find Antarctica trailing behind him on equal footing.

    Lin Yuan was taken aback, "Why are you following me?"

    According to the plot of "Hachiko", this wasn''t a good sign.

    Antarctica wagged its tail in a seemingly docile manner.

    Helpless, Lin Yuan simply said goodbye to the crew and took Antarctica home.

    Tomorrow morning he would return Antarctica to the set.

    That being so, Lin Yuan took a car and returned home.

    Lin Yao had already finished school by now and was doing her homework at home. Lin Yuan didn''t know what university homework his sister was working on, but he felt she was studying even harder than when she was in high school.

    However, spotting Antarctica returning through the window, Lin Yao uncharacteristically put down her pen and went to open the door.

    "Antarctica!"

    "Woof woof woof!"

    Antarctica pounced forward like a hungry dog -

    Well, it is a dog indeed.

    Looking at Lin Yao, who was squatting down, patting the dog''s head seriously, Lin Yuan couldn''t help but say, "You don''t greet me like this when I come home."

    "Are you as cute as Antarctica?"

    "I bought you egg yolk pastries."

    "You make it sound like you didn''t eat any."

    "I also bought you strawberry-flavored jelly."

    "I like apple-flavored ones, you''re the one who likes strawberry."

    "I also bought you study materials."

    "Well, for this one, I am a bit grateful to you¡­"

    Lin Yao thought about it and reluctantly took out a packet of candy from her pocket: "A classmate gave me this happy candy."

    "Your classmate is getting married?"

    Lin Yao''s expression faltered for a moment: "It''s happy candy for getting first place in the exam."

    Lin Yuan was surprised, "Isn''t the first place always yours?"

    Lin Yao was a top student who always came first in every exam at school. This was the first time Lin Yuan saw Lin Yao take second place.

    Lin Yao didn''t make a sound.

    Lin Yuan lamented, "I have never taken second place. I always get first place; people think it''s boring."

    "I''m also first!"

    Lin Yao looked angrily at Lin Yuan, her bastard big brother clearly trying to hit her where it hurt, "As long as I want to, I can definitely get first place again!"

    "So, were you second this time?"

    "It is second, but I gave her first place."

    With that, Lin Yao pouted, "Every time she gets second, she hides and cries, worried about losing her full scholarship. But giving her first place didn''t make me feel happy."

    "Of course, you wouldn''t be happy."

    Lin Yuan chuckled, "Because you sympathized with her, but didn''t realize that she may not need your sympathy. She might need your respect and efforts more. If she knew the truth, she might be sadder than when she got second place."

    Lin Yao was worried, "Should I tell her the truth?"

    Lin Yuan shook his head, "Since you have already let her have it, just let it be. Just not be like this next time."

    With that said, Lin Yuan suddenly became curious, "What does it feel like to come second?"

    "Eat your candy."

    Lin Yao replied unhappily. She walked into the room with Antarctica. Just before she closed the door, she paused, "Didn''t you come second this time?"

    Huh?

    Lin Yuan paused, realizing that was indeed the case.

    He really did come in second place.

    So that''s what it feels like to come second?

    It doesn''t seem much different from coming first.

    He put the candy in his mouth and chewed. Suddenly, Lin Yuan found that his toothache had intensified.

    ...

    A toothache isn''t a disease, but it can be really painful.

    Lin Yuan thought his toothache would get better soon, but it quickly worsened, especially after he ate a few candies.

    Lin Yuan asked the System, "Did I get a cavity?"

    System: "..."

    Feeling that he wouldn''t get an answer from the System, Lin Yuan decided to ask his sister to take him to the hospital, but she was not home due to overtime work.

    "I''ll take you."

    Lin Yao was worried about Lin Yuan and directly hailed a taxi to the hospital.

    The hospital was still open at this time.

    The doctor did a quick check and smiled, "No big problem, you''ve got a wisdom tooth coming in. Do you want to have it removed?"

    "Yes!"

    Lin Yao responded with a serious face.

    Lin Yuan was a bit worried, "Will it hurt?"

    Lin Yuan was afraid of pain, very afraid. This fear stemmed from his regular childhood illnesses for which he received injections. He had a shadow over syringes.

    The doctor smiled, "Just a little anesthesia."

    Normally, the doctor wouldn''t be this patient, but the brother and sister in front of her didn''t make her lose her temper. Talking with these two seemed to make her feel calm and composed somehow.

    "I need to get an injection again?"

    Getting his tooth pulled and an injection too, Lin Yuan became weak.

    If he could, he would trade ten second place finishes for this painless extraction.

    Lin Yao started looking up information about wisdom teeth on her phone: "If you don''t get it pulled, it will hurt again in the future."

    "Then let''s pull it out."

    Lin Yuan had to resign himself to it.

    Although he was afraid of pain, he preferred short-term pain to long-term pain.

    At this moment, Lin Yuan fervently wished he could finish his task soon. There was another task from the System. As long as he completed it, he could get a healthy body.

    A healthy body definitely wouldn''t grow wisdom teeth, right?

    Hmm, does growing wisdom teeth have something to do with me liking sweets? It''s all the fault of sweets! A certain uninformed guy was thinking to himself.

    "We will start the injection now."

    The doctor looked at Lin Yuan''s fearful face and felt a bit reluctant. The last time she felt this way was when she was treating a six-year-old child.

    "Alright."

    Lin Yuan was resigned to his fate. He finally understood why Antarctica had followed him. This was an inauspicious omen.

    Lin Yao took out her phone and pointed it at Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan asked, "What are you doing?"

    Lin Yao replied matter-of-factly, "Recording it."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    He had no energy to deal with this now.

    Soon, after the anesthesia injection, Lin Yuan felt his mouth was somewhat numb.

    The doctor used a series of tools to fix one of Lin Yuan''s teeth: "I''ll count to three, and then start pulling. Don''t be afraid, it won''t hurt; the anesthesia has already worked."

    Lin Yuan''s mouth was open and he couldn''t reply, so he just blinked.

    "Ready, one..."

    The doctor''s hand suddenly pulled hard and with a click, Lin Yuan felt like something was missing, as if he was incomplete.

    He opened his eyes in astonishment and stared at the doctor.

    What happened to the countdown of two and three?

    Where are your "two" and "three"?

    Lin Yao let out a strange laugh and her hand holding the mobile phone shook slightly.

    "It''s usually like this." S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The doctor explained, "One, two, three is to relax the patient''s guard. Before I count to three, you are relatively less nervous."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    That night, Lin Yuan''s tooth extraction video was uploaded to a small group chat, causing Xia Fan and Jian Yi to laugh endlessly.

    His sister seemed to comfort him with a few words, "I''ll treat you to candy tonight, oh no, you can''t eat them now, so I''ll just have them with Big Yaoyao."

    Lin Yuan did not want to talk.

    Having just had a tooth pulled, he couldn''t speak anyway.

    .

    .

 Chapter 390 - 369 White Rose_1

    Although the toothache was an agonizing experience, Lin Yuan felt better by the next day. His mouth was just a little stiff and he had to avoid eating certain foods.

    He had planned to enjoy a meal at Senior Yao Huo''s hot pot restaurant, but that idea had to be shelved for now.

    The doctor, who seemed to ramble endlessly, instructed Lin Yuan to have only liquid or semi-liquid meals for the next two days.

    Lin Yuan didn''t have specific food preferences. He could handle hot and spicy as well as bland foods. As long as it tasted good, he was fine. So, his current condition didn''t present a great deal of inconvenience.

    "Master, what happened to you?"

    When Li Lizhi arrived for her composition lesson, she noticed Lin Yuan holding his mouth. He waved her away, saying "I had a tooth extraction yesterday. No class today."

    "Oh, well, take care then."

    Li Lizhi looked at Lin Yuan with concern before rushing off to the high-end cafeteria. She asked the chef, who usually only cooked for the chairman and other VIPs, to make a bowl of noodles for Lin Yuan. When it was time for lunch, she hustled back to Lin Yuan, excitedly announcing that the meal was ready, her face screaming "Look at how dutiful I am."

    By noon, just as Lin Yuan had sat down in the cafeteria, he received a call.

    Turns out, Sun Yaohuo heard about his tooth extraction and had a bowl of porridge delivered.

    So there was Lin Yuan, sitting in the cafeteria, with Sun Yaohuo to his left, holding a bowl of porridge, and Li Lizhi to his right, holding a bowl of noodles.

    The porridge was filled with an assortment of delicious ingredients, stimulating anyone''s appetite just by its appearance.

    The noodles, peeking out amidst the gourmet ingredients, were equally mouthwatering.

    "Junior..."

    "Master..."

    Looking at the eager faces on both sides, Lin Yuan decided to eat both.

    It wasn''t because he didn''t want to disappoint them but simply because he was greedy and wanted both meals.

    It was just like how people teased Xian Yu:

    Only kids choose. I want both the first and second places on the season leaderboard.

    Although this meant he ended up bloated, as he wiped his mouth, he couldn''t help but feel immensely satisfied.

    Sun Yaohuo turned to Lin Yuan, saying "Junior brother, if you like it, I can have it prepared for you again tomorrow."

    Li Lizhi, somewhat displeased, turned to Sun Yaohuo and retorted, "The master could have had the same meal in the cafeteria. The chef usually cooks only for my dad and a few specific individuals. He''s a renowned chef."

    I was merely showing my respect for the master.

    Are you, Sun Yaohuo, here to do the same?

    The company rumors were indeed true. When Sun Yaohuo puts his mind to it, he is incredibly meticulous. In comparison, those so-called gold-star nannies should be ashamed and consider changing professions.

    Sun Yaohuo naturally knew who the company''s little princess was.

    By his previous standards, he would''ve pleased her already, but he was different now and even raised a counter-argument: Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "My chef once cooked for high-ranking figures from Zhong Continent and is quite reputable in the catering industry."

    Li Lizhi retorted, "By the time you deliver it, it''s not fresh anymore."

    Sun Yaohuo pointed to the insulated lunchbox and said, "This is a fresh-lock thermal lunch box invented by Chu people. It has a heating element inside it; on the way here, it was still cooking. The food is perfect when it arrives!"

    Do you think I, Sun Yaohuo, wouldn''t consider such details?

    Li Lizhi: "..."

    Lin Yuan couldn''t help but intervene, "Senior brother, there''s no need to trouble yourself, I can manage with the cafeteria food during these few days. I''ll come to your restaurant later. That being said, you need to come to the company tomorrow. I need to discuss something."

    "Alright, then. I must go now, Junior brother, take care."

    Once Lin Yuan had spoken, Sun Yaohuo didn''t insist.

    Continuing to argue with the little princess of Starlight would seem a little petty, plus he wouldn''t stand a chance if she decided to throw a tantrum.

    ...

    After Sun Yaohuo left, Lin Yuan rested a while in the cafeteria.

    He had eaten so much he was stuffed. A bowl of porridge and a bowl of noodles, both were sizable, how could he not be?

    Li Lizhi stayed by Lin Yuan''s side, and timidly asked, "Master, when can I graduate?"

    "In a hurry to graduate?"

    Lin Yuan looked at Li Lizhi. Although this third disciple was average in terms of talent, she had greatly improved her composition skill under his teaching and was almost ready to graduate.

    "No, it would be great if I never graduated."

    Li Lizhi said instinctively, then blushed, realizing her mistake. She waved her hands in a fluster, "No, no, I meant I''m not in a hurry..."

    Lin Yuan said solemnly, "Studying composition requires patience."

    Li Lizhi immediately affirmed, "Yes."

    "Louder!"

    "Yes!"

    "Can you endure the solitude?"

    "Yes!"

    "Any more questions?"

    "No!"

    Lin Yuan was used to being strict with Li Lizhi, and she was accustomed to his strictness, making it feel like military-style discipline.

    "That''s good, then. Help me up."

    "Eh?"

    "I''m too full, I can''t move."

    "..."

    With Li Lizhi''s help, Lin Yuan went back to his office on the ninth floor. He reclined in his chair for a while, pondering some matters.

    There were still three months left of the year.

    He had to release a song in December. There was no way he would miss the much-anticipated Battle of the Gods. Furthermore, he had set goals to achieve for his department.

    His aim was to propel Sun Yaohuo and Jiang Kui into the spotlight.

    With the song "Ten Years" gaining immense popularity and his mastery of the Qi language widely acknowledged, Sun Yao Huo was almost there.

    However, Sun Yaohuo''s foundation was not as solid as Jiang Kui''s and thus needed another hit to solidify his place.

    An A-list singer, albeit not a King of Singing with recognized professional awards, had specific criteria in the Literature and Art Association. This was based on the singer''s popularity, the influence of their work, and their commercial value.

    Lin Yuan was not particularly familiar with the specific calculation formula nor did he need to understand it. Someone would remind him.

    And that person was Wu Yong.

    According to Wu Yong, Sun Yaohuo was just one champion song away from becoming an A-list singer.

    Therefore, Lin Yuan decided to arrange another song for Sun Yaohuo in October.

    He had already decided which song it should be.

    Inspired by the success of "Ten Years" and Sun Yaohuo''s proficiency in the Qi language¡ªremember, Sun Yaohuo also sang "Red Rose"!

    If there was a red rose, why not have a white rose too?

    This was him cutting corners without hiding!

    The melody and arrangement were basically ready-made; they just needed a tweak in the lyrics and voila! A new song was born!

    Yes.

    Lin Yuan planned to release "White Rose" with Sun Yaohuo in October!

    This was why Lin Yuan had asked Sun Yaohuo to come to the company tomorrow.

    Since people enjoyed dissecting the lyrics, why not throw "White Rose" into the mix for netizens to analyze?

    Hopefully, someone could spot the name "Zhang Ailing" tucked between the lines of the two songs.

    .

    .

 Chapter 391 - 370: Feeling Guilty_1

    There are swathes of online discussions about the lyrics of "Ten Years" and "Next Year, Today". When Lin Yuan has nothing better to do, he would go through them, but he hardly ever expresses his own interpretation ¡ª

    He has always maintained that idea.

    The fun of interpretation lies in the deliberate omission of the real intentions by the ones involved. Unless necessary, Lin Yuan doesn''t plan to spoil this fun for everyone.

    Moreover, making two lyrics for the melody of "Ten Years" has made him realise something.

    If the melody of a song is liked by the masses, their enthusiasm for discussing the lyrics is also high.

    Certain classic lyrics will be remembered for a long time. Some even leave a deeper impression in the public memory than the song itself.

    Like the most well-known lyrics from "Red Rose", "What is unreachable always causes unrest; the favored ones are always fearless."

    It''s understandable for those who like the song to like these lyrics as well.

    Even many who are not particularly interested in the song find the lyrics compelling, which is quite impressive.

    After having two lyrics for one melody of "Ten Years", now it''s time to release "White Rose" along with the classic Mandarin lyrics. The timing, place and people are perfect!

    It''s worth noting that the lyrics for "Red Rose" and "White Rose" are both inspired by a novel.

    As mentioned earlier, the novel was "Red Rose and White Rose," a representative work by Ailing Zhang.

    The novel has a famous quote in it: "Every man has two women, at least two. Marrying a red rose, over time, the red turns into a smudge of mosquito blood on the wall, white still remains ''the moonlight in one''s heart''. But if you marry a white rose, the white soon becomes a grain of rice stuck on a shirt, but the red becomes a cinnabar mole in one''s heart."

    When evaluating men''s nature, many people have quoted this phrase.

    As a result of this phrase, the novel was once incredibly popular in the Celestial Dynasty.

    Lin Yuan even considered having Chu Kuang write "Red Rose and White Rose", but considering the different era and the potential lack of interest of today''s readers. Plus, he isn''t particularly fond of some characteristics of Ailing Zhang, so he dropped the idea.

    After all, not all novels can be published without a sense of discrepancy.

    Just like, with "Zhu Xian" around, Lin Yuan couldn''t possibly write another "Shushan Swordsman".

    The essence of the novel can be demonstrated by "Red Rose" and "White Rose" alone.

    Chu Kuang has already released a calligraphic piece of "A Tranquil Night Abed".

    So that when the public sees "moonlight in his heart", they don''t need to search too hard for the source. It''s a special collaboration between Xian Yu and Chu Kuang.

    This is the part where "people" work perfectly with timing and location.

    Yes.

    Lin Yuan plans to reveal the main idea of this novel with the release of "White Rose", combined with the lyrics and connotations of these two songs, to help more people understand these two songs.

    Because compared to the Mandarin version of "Red Rose", the lyrics of "White Rose" are relatively oblique.

    It definitely isn''t as straightforward as "Red Sun"¡ªa Qi language song, but universally understood at the sight of the lyrics.

    The next day.

    Sun Yaohuo came to the company, his first words were, "How''s your tooth, junior? If it still hurts, I know a good dentist who can help."

    "No need, it''s almost better."

    Lin Yuan said, "I called you in today to record a song for October. This time, it''s the Qi language version of ''Red Rose''."

    "The Qi language version?"

    "Yes. This version is called ''White Rose''. Here are the lyrics, and an explanation of the lyrics, as well as the relationship between the two songs."

    "Great!"

    Sun Yaohuo took over the printouts from Lin Yuan, "With your song, I''m sure I can make it to the top tier!"

    No one knew how eager and desirous Sun Yaohuo was to become a first-tier artist!

    On receiving "White Rose", even without seeing the lyrics, Sun Yaohuo was full of confidence.

    He was too motivated.

    On the familiar melody, Sun Yaohuo memorized the lyrics of "White Rose" by heart within a day!

    Then came the recording.

    Just like the recording of "Next Year, Today".

    Although Sun Yaohuo was very familiar with the melody of "White Rose" and had learned the lyrics by heart, capturing the emotional essence was still a major challenge.

    Because the two songs express completely different states of mind, even entirely different lives!

    This contrast was bigger than how "Next Year, Today" contrasted with "Ten Years".

    Just by listening to Eason Chan singing these two songs, one can sense their differences, which are all-encompassing. Sun Yaohuo had to grasp these feelings accurately to express them through his singing.

    This caused a deadlock in the recording.

    During the recording of "White Rose", the company also released publicity about the song.

    Blogs, major forums, everywhere.

    News like "A Masterpiece by Xian Yu, new song by Sun Yaohuo to be released in October" appeared in many places.

    Swish!

    The debate about the two lyrics for "Ten Years" hadn''t yet concluded. And suddenly, this news drew the attention of the entire music scene!

    Instantly!

    Many musicians who were planning to release new songs in October were shocked. Especially those who were hoping to win the seasonal championship, suddenly felt the earth spinning, legs trembling!

    "Damn!"

    "He''s back again?"

    "Xian Yu in October?"

    "I was planning to release my song in October!"

    "Forget it, I am asking my company to change the release date."

    "I''m out!"

    "I can''t afford to provoke this. I am out."

    "Looks like Xian Yu plans to make Sun Yaohuo a hit all at once. I''m out too!"

    "Wow, Sun Yaohuo must''ve saved the Milky Way in his past life!"

    "Ahhhh! Will someone neutralize this amazing Xian Yu, please? If he keeps producing, should I even release my songs?"

    "Xian Yu didn''t produce anything for over half a year and now, he can''t stop?"

    "Sun Yaohuo is set to become a sensation!"

    "Can there be a singer in this world that Xian Yu couldn''t make successful if he wanted to? I may need to cancel my October release plan. If I can''t mess with him, I''d better find a way to avoid him." S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "¡­"

    Even the super-confident musicians eyeing the October season chart, even the top-tier ones, were thinking of retreating after seeing this news.

    Keep in mind, Sun Yaohuo is not what he used to be.

    Although not a top-tier artist, he has already got one foot in the door.

    Plus, with Xian Yu''s help and the bonus of two lyrics for "Ten Years", this is certainly not something every artist can compete with, except perhaps the maestro or the "King of Singing".

    However, the maestro and "King of Singing" are busy preparing for the Clash of Gods in December, who has time to care about the October music scene?

    This has created a scenario where Xian Yu reigns supreme!

    As a few top-tier singers become unsure, something that leaves countless netizens dumbfounded happens!

    .

    .

 Chapter 392 - 371: The Brave Three Brothers_1

    "Due to health issues, the plan to release the new song ''Love it or Not'' in October has been postponed, we hope you understand."

    "Due to having a cold and not being in the best vocal condition, it has delayed the recording of the new song planned to be released in October. It has to be postponed, that''s what the company told me to say."

    "For the record regarding postponing the new song: I want to win the title song, so I won''t compete with Xian Yu."

    "..."

    The three top-tier singers who were originally scheduled to release new music in October have all.....POSTPONED THEIR RELEASES!

    The first top-tier singer gave the excuse of health issues in a roundabout way.

    Although the second one gave a similar elusive excuse, he at least hinted, "That''s what the company told me to say."

    The third one didn''t bother to hide it and candidly stated the reason for the delay: I want to be number one, so I need to stay away from Xian Yu. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This issue led to countless netizens being dumbfounded, even some musicians in the industry were at a loss for words when they saw this scene!

    What the fuck?

    Are they all running away?

    Are they scared to death by Xian Yu?

    You guys are at least top-tier singers!

    Did you guys plan this to avoid Xian Yu together?

    As it turns out, netizens and some insiders guessed correctly. These three top-tier singers really did plan to escape from the October charts together.

    The companies behind them negotiated and at the sight of each other''s shared sentiments, a joint decision was made.

    If only one top-tier singer postponed, it would have seemed quite cowardly.

    But if three people did it together, it wouldn''t single any one person out.

    It can be easily imagined in the music industry that:

    If Xian Yu doesn''t release a song in November, there would be a chaotic fight amongst a group of top-tier singers this November.

    Because these three top-tier singers, who have postponed, will probably join in the competition in November, if they find out that Xian Yu will not be participating.

    For these three top-tier singers, they would rather compete with more top-tier singers in November than stay in October to fight an unequal battle for the title song with Xian Yu-

    If they were bound to lose the first place, why would they push to compete?

    If it''s a competition among top-tier singers, even if things might get a bit crowded, at least everyone would be on equal footing with a chance to reach the top.

    But the top-tier is the top-tier after all.

    The scene where three top-tier singers change their release dates together to avoid Xian Yu is indeed spectacular, leaving netizens in shock.

    "This is real!"

    "Are they avoiding the Fish disaster?"

    "Hahahaha, I heard there''s something called Fish-phobia in the music circle. I didn''t quite get it before but now I understand. Indeed, it''s Fish-phobia!"

    "These three really surprised me!"

    "I would like to call them the Brave Three Brothers!"

    "Against Xian Yu they just nod along, but against the top-tier singers they come blasting?"

    "Xian Yu: Why is it so quiet here? Where are the people? Where have they gone?"

    "Nice, the three brothers jointly postponing, what a sight!"

    "Are these three trying to kill me with laughter, especially the third one postponing, at least follow the first two and show some acting skills. Directly stating the reason is too real, right?"

    "..."

    Originally, October was supposed to be a clash for the title between the three top-tier singers, which would have been a much greater spectacle than September''s skirmish. Now it has suddenly turned into a solo play by Xian Yu.

    On the contrary, non-top-tier singers are not fazed at all, even laughing!

    You have to know, non-top-tier singers are aware of their abilities. They never had any hopes of winning the first place and naturally didn''t feel as much pressure.

    Although Xian Yu is in October, for non-top-tier singers, Xian Yu and those three top-tier singers are the same:

    They are all people we cannot beat.

    If we can''t beat the top-tier, we also can''t beat Xian Yu. So with or without Xian Yu, it''s all the same, at most our rankings would just all drop by one.

    This is the enlightenment of non-top-tier singers.

    As a result, Xian Yu scared the three top-tier singers away, and suddenly, three spots were freed up on the season''s chart!

    How could these non-top-tier singers not be excited and laughing out loud?

    "For the first time, I realized how happy it is to share the same release period as Xian Yu!"

    "I was originally prepared to compete for the fifth place. Anyway, Xian Yu is definitely number one¡ªand second, third, and fourth would be the three who postponed. Now I know that I have the ability to compete for second!"

    "Xian Yu will be number one, but the second place will be our battlefield!"

    "I declare from now on, whenever Xian Yu releases a song, I will follow. After all, if you encounter Xian Yu, the top-tier singers will run anyway."

    "Sun Yaohuo is aiming to reach the top-tier while laying down!"

    "Originally, those three top-tier singers were not completely without hope, but now the three of them got scared and with Sun Yaohuo winning without doing a thing."

    "Do I need to mention Sun Yaohuo''s luck? He''s known in the industry as the luckiest singer!"

    "..."

    The non-top-tier singers participating in the October charts are exulting!

    This is the first time that someone is so happy to be in the same period as Xian Yu. Life is indeed full of dark humor.

    As for Lin Yuan, he didn''t really care about this situation.

    Sun Yaohuo was secretly very pleased, his three strongest competitors had run away, he was definitely winning this round the easy way.

    Perhaps because of this reason, the recording that Sun Yaohuo had later went smoothly.

    September twenty-fifth.

    The song "White Rose" was officially recorded!

    Upon completing the song, naturally more information could be revealed during promotion, including the song name, "White Rose".

    Of course, it also included the fact that this song is the Qi language version of "Red Rose".

    Only then did netizens and the industry know that Xian Yu was playing the one-song-two-lyrics scheme again.

    If it wasn''t for the precedent set by "Next Year, Today", maybe some people would think that this so-called new song by Xian Yu is not that important.

    But considering this month''s situation, no one dared to underestimate "White Rose."

    Those three top-tier singers who had already announced their withdrawal from the new song list in October, someone reminded them:

    "Actually, there''s still some hope, ''White Rose'' is not really a new song, it is just ''Red Rose'' with changed lyrics in Qi language."

    The three singers had the same reaction:

    I''m not listening! I''m not listening! I''m not listening!

    When "Next Year, Today" was released, this was what you guys said, and went on about the theory of "merely changing the outfit"!

    What about the result?

    Do you still dare to harbor illusions when dealing with Xian Yu?

    Arguably, one song two lyrics strategy is indeed just changing the outfit.

    But the example of "Next Year, Today" was still outstanding on the September charts, it was astonishing, who would dare underestimate Xian Yu again?

    Of course.

    There must have been a little regret in their hearts, just like gamblers always feel they can turn the tables, but this kind of regret is just the sprout of wishful thinking.

    The three singers decisively extinguished this dangerous thought.

    However, a lot of onlookers are still hesitant.

    Can Xian Yu really continue the success of the one-song-two-lyrics?

    Could he really change the lyrics into another language and yet give the listener the impression of hearing a completely different song?

    This doubt lasted until the early morning of October, when the song "White Rose" was finally released.

    That night.

    The number of people waiting up at night for the release of this song was significantly higher than at the beginning of September.

    This also shows that the success of "Next Year, Today" indeed affected a lot of people...

 Chapter 393 - 372 Please be Kind_1

    In a bedroom of a large flat on the outskirts.

    At midnight, Wang Qiu was still on the phone with the company:

    "If Xian Yu doesn''t release a song in November, we''ll set our schedule for November. Now that the new artist season has been canceled, we don''t need to give way to new artists in November. New artists have their own charts..."

    Before the integration, November was Qin Continent''s new artist season.

    Every November, only new artists could release songs, and artists who had already debuted would not release songs in November.

    This was Qin Continent''s highly acclaimed new artist protection system.

    Later, with the increase of singers after the integration, November was no longer enough to provide protection for new artists, so the Literature and Art Association issued a new regulation¡ª

    To abolish the rule of November as the new artist season!

    This was not to squeeze the living space of new artists, but to protect new artists. From now on, new artists could release songs at any time. However, their works would no longer compete with artists who had already debuted, but would have a dedicated new artist new song chart.

    When this regulation was released, it was generally well received.

    New artists didn''t have to wait until November for their chance, and artists who had already debuted didn''t have to give up competing for the November new song chart.

    Some music companies even specifically guarded the new artist new song chart and tried to recruit any potential talents that appeared.

    "Okay."

    The person on the other end of the phone said, "Then let''s see what movement Xian Yu makes this month. I''ll also inquire about Starlight, you just wait for my good news here."

    "Um, hang up."

    Wang Qiu looked at the computer. It was already twelve zero five.

    "Eager to listen to the song?"

    "Yeah, let''s see if our departure as three artists was the right decision."

    "Okay, I''ll listen too."

    After hanging up the phone, Wang Qiu looked at the computer.

    Xian Yu released a song in October, three top-tier singers withdrew, and Wang Qiu was one of the three top-tier singers who announced the change of schedule.

    He stayed up this late just to wait for Xian Yu''s new song. So, after hanging up the phone, he immediately put on his headphones and found this newly released song "White Rose," which dominated the largest promo banner on the player.

    Lyrics: Xian Yu

    Composer: Xian Yu

    Singer: Sun Yaohuo

    Seeing the name Sun Yaohuo, Wang Qiu''s eyes flashed with envy, and then he clicked to play the song.

    The prelude was very familiar. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Exactly the same as "Red Rose".

    If you just listen to the prelude without looking at the song name, everyone would think that this is "Red Rose".

    But with the start of the singing, this thought was immediately shattered:

    "White as white teeth, passion swallowed up, champagne has long since evaporated completely; white as a white moth sinking back into the mundane world, looking down at a memorial tablet; but when love suddenly changes into an annoyance, just like a dirty filth don''t mention; silent with a smile, roses with thorns in return, only trust in defense..."

    Wang Qiu raised his eyebrows slightly.

    If read in Mandarin, these lyrics do not rhyme, and are even somewhat obscure.

    But Sun Yaohuo sang in Qi language, and the feeling came out as soon as he sang.

    It''s still such a beautiful melody, with every line of rhyme neatly stressed, and the finish of each breath lands at the most comfortable spot, combined with Sun Yaohuo''s accent which is pure enough to make your ears pregnant.

    The voice broke through the obscure barrier of the lyrics.

    And when the chorus came, even people who didn''t understand Qi language would understand what this song was singing about. Recalling the version of "Red Rose", the feeling of immersion suddenly became profound.

    The music actually isn''t extravagant.

    There were no explosive drumbeats, no resplendent arrangements, just the sound of Sun Yaohuo''s voice, slightly hoarse and helpless:

    "How can you be cruel yet still beautiful; what can''t be obtained has always been valuable; how can one cope with disadvantages without scheming, revealing awe to test your laws. Even if it''s a nightmare, it''s still beautiful, willingly be at the bottom to set off your nobility; a handful of roses simulates the funeral of the heart as love has already faded, in the next life..."

    Wang Qiu was not deeply familiar with Qi language, yet at this point, there was no hesitation in his understanding.

    His eyes suddenly stung a bit.

    Red roses and white roses, huh...

    For a man, two roses symbolise two women.

    If the red rose represents what has been obtained but is not cherished, than the white rose represents what is admired from afar but is unattainable.

    No matter how cold, no matter how dignified and noble, men are willing to be servile.

    It''s as if it was a cruel dream. You know you can''t hold onto to it, but you aren''t willing to wake up from, like a bewitched fool.

    Xian Yu expressed his agitation in "Red Rose".

    And "White Rose" explained the origins of that agitation.

    The same melody, but tells a connected story; one of a red rose''s habits and tiredness in life, and of a white rose''s brilliance and allure in dreams.

    The former suppresses, the latter collapses.

    At this moment, it seemed that a shadow, long forgotten in Wang Qiu''s memory, suddenly re-emerged with the song, like an unwanted nightmare.

    But I shouldn''t think of her.

    I already have a new partner, and the previous white rose has been married and had children since last year. It''s a mistake to even dwell on her, yet this song has stirred up these past memories.

    Memories are unreasonable.

    The more Wang Qiu tried to restrain himself, the more fragmented emotions surged within him, as if he was stuck in quicksand created by the song from which he couldn''t extricate himself, causing his breath to slightly quicken.

    Suddenly, the voice in his ear softened:

    "White, as sugar, mysteriously destroyed, what was initially obtained is no longer there, white as sugar, wrongly thrown into the mundane world, and dissolved within it."

    White sugar, white moonlight...

    Wang Qiu''s heart suddenly calmed, as if being shattered piece by piece, and then slowly reshaped.

    Seemingly sensing Wang Qiu''s emotions, the voice in the headphones continued, but did not intend to linger.

    "Even if it''s a nightmare, it''s still beautiful, ready to be last, bolstering your nobility, giving me roses, coming to the funeral, past relationships are void when I already passed, reincarnated in another life..."

    The song had now ended.

    In the lingering reverberation of the final notes, despite the same melody, it was imbued with an air of desolation.

    Was it lamenting those who haven''t yet moved on, or was the song reflecting on its own obtuseness?

    Wang Qiu suddenly exhaled a breath, his breathing steadied, he gently removed his headphones, and stepped out of the whirlpool of chaotic emotions, escaping far, far away.

    So what if you have attained it?

    It''s nothing more than gaining agitation.

    If it''s lost, so what? It''s nothing more than reincarnation in the sea of suffering, if a person were to split into two halves, how to tell who is the white rose, and who is the red rose?

    It''s nothing more than the devil of the heart making mischief.

    A smile appeared on Wang Qiu''s face, unknown whether he was relieved that he had extricated himself early from the mire of the October season rankings, or was moved that he had timely extricated himself from a whirlpool of emotions.

    He inexplicably opened the Tribe account of Xian Yu, intending to click ''follow'', only to see Xian Yu had just posted an update.

    "Every man has at least two women in his life. Marry a red rose, and over time, the red turns into a smudge of mosquito blood on the wall, while the white one remains the ''moonlight in his heart''. Marry a white rose, and the white becomes a grain of rice stuck to your clothes, while the red one remains a cinnabar mole in your heart."

    Wang Qiu paused for a moment.

    Shortly after, Wang Qiu felt completely relieved.

    The mosquito blood on the wall is actually that cinnabar mole. The sticky rice grain on the clothes is the real ''moonlight in his heart''. Not being able to obtain it is not the reason for your agitation. Please be kind.

 Chapter 394 - 373: The Blessing of Qi People_1

    By the time Wang Qiu saw Xian Yu''s post, many people had already listened to "White Rose" that night.

    Countless people found themselves entrapped by their emotions.

    And there were just as many who had sudden realisations after the song ended.

    In the vast and tranquil ocean of the listeners'' minds, the song "White Rose" was like a boulder plunging into the water.

    Plop.

    Water splashed in all directions.

    Ripples spread out in circles, eventually returning to a state of calm.

    But the thoughts it left for the audience did not fade away with the end of the song. Instead, it spread out like the ripples, growing larger and larger.

    "Xian Yu, in a somewhat boastful manner, reminded everyone once again that his lyric and composition skills are equally excellent!"

    "If someone else did one song with two sets of lyrics, I would think they were just trying to trick me into spending a dollar to download the song. But for Xian Yu, I hope he never stops."

    "Language doesn''t matter, red and white roses, two atmospheres."

    "I love the turmoil of the red rose, the preciousness of the white rose, but these descriptions are ultimately from a man''s perspective. Most people can''t achieve the transparency of Xian Yu, also, because of Xian Yu, I seem to be interested in songs in Qi language."

    "After listening to this and then listening to "Red Rose", I understood how cruel that song really is."

    "If you fall in love with a red rose, and enter the hall with a white rose, perhaps you may still hold the hand of the white rose at the time of death, but your eyes will surely shed tears for the red rose."

    "When I think of my first love, if she was not the white rose, she might have been a grain of white rice."

    "The red rose is loved by someone not loved, the white rose is to love someone who does not love oneself, it doesn''t get more helpless than this."

    "..."

    And as the comment sections of various music sites fell into chaos, the lyricist Rabbit Two, who had previously analyzed "Ten Years" and "Next Year, Today", also posted a new status:

    "Another sleepless night."

    Rabbit Two had previously mentioned that Xian Yu''s songwriting skills were good enough to keep many lyricists awake at night. This combined with his current status, immediately brought a knowing smile to the faces of many fans:

    "Boss Rabbit, aren''t you going to analyze the relationship between the lyrics of the two songs today?"

    "Why not analyze the two songs for us again?"

    "Exactly, I feel like I understand, but also feel like I don''t understand."

    "Boss Rabbit, here''s a reading comprehension question that''s right up your alley."

    "..."

    Some netizens were joking, while others genuinely hoped for Rabbit Two to analyze it.

    Rabbit Two replied to the most popular comment: "Let me put it this way. You are a cheating man, the red rose is your wife, the white rose is your lover. You like the white rose, but if the white rose were to become your wife, you would realize that you actually like the red rose more."

    Immediately after this...

    Rabbit Two reposted a status update from the official Xian Yu about ''all men having had two women'':

    "Xian Yu himself has already analyzed it for you all, what more do you need me to say?"

    The famous lyricist didn''t want to waste too many words this time because the story of the Red Rose and White Rose is easy to understand. Regardless of the different lyrics, both songs essentially tackle the same subject but from different perspectives.

    ...

    In fact, the liveliest spot was the post Xian Yu had published. The comment section was filled with messages from various users.

    Most people, like the commentators, were philosophical and heartfelt in their responses.

    Some however, were playful.

    For example, one comment read:

    "I''m just worried about Sun Yaohuo. When the rhythm starts, which one would he sing, red or white? Would he suddenly think of the lyrics to ''White Rose'' while singing ''Red Rose'', or vice versa?"

    Amid praises of "Go for it, we stand by you", this comment garnered numerous likes.

    Others imitated the form and wrote:

    "When the prelude began, Sun Yaohuo started to sing: ''Next Year, Today, I won''t know you, the bed has changed, yet we remain the same...''" sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Those who were serious dived deep into the music and made thoughtful comments, while others found their own ways to enjoy themselves:

    "The Brave Three Brothers: Thankfully we took off quick."

    "Don''t talk to me about red roses and white roses, I''ll take both!"

    "Xian Yu is really good at changing outfits, every time he changes his outfit, he feels different to me."

    "Sun Yaohuo: Xian Yu is just a costume designer, but I am the one who actually wears them!"

    "Moonlight in his heart, eh? Isn''t that a line from Chu Kuang''s poem? And you say there''s no illicit affair between you two?"

    "I see, so this is how you are supposed to interpret ''moonlight in his heart''!"

    "You may not believe this, but Xian Yu always has me downloading his songs twice."

    "Xian Yu: Thank you for the reminder. I''ve got the password for wealth."

    "..."

    Regardless of how the netizens teased, at the end of the day, they wanted to emphasize that Xian Yu''s one song, two lyrics trick had worked wonders.

    Only Xian Yu could write two versions of a song with the exact same tune.

    Of course.

    The Qi people were always the happiest of all.

    "I am liking Xian Yu more and more. Teacher Admirable Fish, please translate your other songs into Qi language soon!"

    "Xian Yu is forever a friend of the Qi people!"

    "After listening to ''Ten Years'', I felt average. After ''Next Year, Today'', I thought it was impressive. After ''Red Rose'', I wasn''t interested. After ''White Rose'', I was blown away. And then, as I listened to ''Ten Years'' and ''Red Rose'' again, I found them especially melodious. Xian Yu really sings well."

    "Sun Yaohuo: Are you sure?"

    "..."

    The Qi people also started to play along with the jokes, brimming with happiness, even declaring it their fortune as Qi people.

    "God damn it, this is our ''Qi Ren Zhi Fu''!"

    The netizens burst into laughter, "Qi Ren Zhi Fu" comes from "Mencius". Although it doesn''t really have anything to do with the Qi people, it refers to the bliss of having a wife and a concubine. Today, it signifies a prosperous life with a husband and a wife.

    But.

    If you link the conversations around "Red Rose" and "White Rose", "Qi Ren Zhi Fu" is indeed fitting.

    That is, of course, provided a person is allowed to have a red rose and a white rose at the same time. That would truly be a "Qi Ren Zhi Fu".

    And while "White Rose" was causing a stir among the netizens-

    Apart from Wang Qiu, the other two top-tier singers who had narrowly escaped their ranking this October also breathed a sigh of relief after listening to "White Rose."

    The trio even started a private conversation:

    "My god, that was close."

    "Who said there was hope? Is this what''s called hope?"

    "So, I am not listening, not listening, not listening!"

    "Facing Xian Yu, isn''t it the same as participating in the Twelve Gods Battle in December?"

    "..."

    Who chickened out?

    This is being genuine!

    What no one knew was that that same night, Chen Zhiyu also stayed up late, even getting up especially to feed his fish.

    As he fed the fish, he muttered to himself:

    "I had no choice if I did. If I had a choice, I''d be one of the Brave Four right now. I heard Fei Yang is preparing for this year''s Gods Battle..."

    Chen Zhiyu dropped the food.

    The previously calm fish tank suddenly stirred up as the fish skillfully opened its mouth and devoured the food.

    ...

    PS: End of the chapter! Thanks to [AlexG] for becoming the twentieth Alliance Hierarch of this book! Your support means a lot! This month, I will start making up chapters for the Hierarchs. Finally, a gentle request for some monthly tickets¡­

 Chapter 395 - 374: The Color Change of the Fish_1

    Just overnight, "White Rose" swept across the internet.

    The popularity of this song even rekindled interest in the Mandarin version of "Red Rose," resulting in a significant increase in song downloads.

    The next day.

    This song had effortlessly become the champion.

    After all, with three of its same-period competitors absent, there were no rivals for the song.

    Instead, the second place became a position that countless singers from the same period fought over.

    In this process, no one had any thoughts about the first place.

    That was the forbidden realm marked by Xian Yu.

    Meanwhile.

    Backstage in the dressing room of a certain event.

    Zhao Ying Ge, while putting on headphones to listen to a song and looking down at the lyrics, was playing "White Rose".

    From the first time she listened to it before going to bed last night to the single-track loop after she left in the morning, Zhao Ying Ge had listened to this song many times over.

    "So that''s how it is."

    This time, during what she didn''t know was her umpteenth loop of the song, Zhao Ying Ge suddenly murmured, "He doesn''t need to particularly collaborate with anyone because as long as he''s willing, there''s no singer he can''t make famous."

    "Many people in the company say this."

    The assistant beside her chimed in. Recently, several departments of composers had been discussing this, but seeing Zhao Ying Ge''s changing complexion, she quickly shut her mouth.

    "I see."

    Zhao Ying Ge chuckled bitterly, "I purposely collaborated with the 10th floor, intending to become a top-tier player in his eyes as quickly as possible, to show him my abilities. However, it seems like he doesn''t need to care about these things at all.

    It doesn''t matter who he chooses, including Sun Yaohuo, who many in the industry joke can''t be made famous, he can easily lead them through the gates of stardom."

    The assistant chuckled with her.

    The assistant now understood what Zhao Ying Ge was upset about.

    It was nothing more than the sense of loss, feeling that her much valued top-tier status might not be all that impressive in the eyes of Maestro Junior.

    Half the reason why Zhao Ying Ge worked so hard was to prove that Xian Yu''s decision not to collaborate with her was wrong.

    But the fact turned out to be that for Xian Yu, it didn''t matter who he chose, he could make them reach the top.

    Bringing Sun Yaohuo, a singer acknowledged as impossible to make famous, into the top ranks, even more so showed his extraordinary ability.

    "I even feel that Xian Yu is my ''White Rose''."

    Zhao Ying Ge shook her head.

    Just as the lyrics wrote:

    How can you be cold yet still so beautiful, what you can''t get is always precious.

    How not to resort to tricks when at a disadvantage, showing reverence, testing your rules...

    These sentences were incredibly like wanting to attract the attention of Xian Yu, while he probably doesn''t even remember that such a person exists.

    The assistant didn''t say anything.

    There were actually quite a few outstanding women in Starlight Entertainment who wanted to attract Xian Yu''s attention, but it seemed like no one had succeeded yet.

    Most of them, like Zhao Ying Ge, were all secretly in love with Xian Yu.

    A few days ago, the assistant heard a rumour that Xian Yu''s third apprentice, the company''s little princess Li Lizhi, even helped Xian Yu back to his office from the cafeteria.

    Regardless of any teacher-student relationship, this wasn''t ancient society after all. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    In many people''s eyes, Li Lizhi probably had certain special feelings for Xian Yu. She was just using the name of a student to get close to the water first due to her advantageous position.

    ...

    Sun Yaohuo finally became a top-tier singer!

    Xian Yu''s apprentice wrote songs for Sun Yaohuo for several consecutive months, laying a solid foundation.

    The three blockbuster songs that Xian Yu finally provided directly made Sun Yaohuo a top-tier singer, which could be described as a rapid rise.

    Even many Qi people became die-hard fans of Sun Yaohuo.

    With Sun Yaohuo becoming top-tier, various notices and endorsements came rushing in, and Sun Yaohuo reached the peak of his life.

    Because he was the first top-tier singer brought out by Xian Yu, he naturally received massive attention from entertainment media.

    With his rapidly rising singing career, Sun Yaohuo was rarely so busy that he had to work around the clock.

    Meanwhile, inside Starlight Company.

    Lin Yuan was playing with his race car robot when suddenly a knock sounded at the door.

    "Please come in."

    "I''ve brought you some good tea."

    It was Ol'' Zhou''s smiling face at the door.

    It had been a while since Ol'' Zhou had come to visit Lin Yuan, but he still exuded a warm familiarity.

    He sat down on the sofa opposite Lin Yuan, let his assistant Gu Dong open the tea he''d brought, and said to Lin Yuan:

    "Today ''Hachiko'' completed its filming. You are the scriptwriter, didn''t you go to see?"

    Lin Yuan said: "I went there this morning."

    Indeed, the filming of ''Hachiko'' officially ended at noon today.

    The shooting took a little over three months.

    The original shooting time was supposed to be longer, but Lin Yuan, with his ''Druid'' ability, made clear arrangements for the dogs, which were the most unpredictable part of filming.

    Under such circumstances, the filming progress couldn''t possibly be slow.

    "I see."

    Ol'' Zhou coughed, "I came here on behalf of someone, and I wanted to ask you something."

    "What is it?"

    "Will you be releasing a new song in November?"

    "November?"

    Lin Yuan thought for a while and said, "I''ll be off in November."

    Upon hearing his words, Ol'' Zhou laughed, "With your assurance, those guys should be relieved."

    He received several calls this morning, all from friends in the industry, including a few big shots in the music scene.

    They called Ol'' Zhou with one purpose:

    To find out if Xian Yu was planning to release a song in November.

    Ol'' Zhou, having been in and out of the industry for many years, of course understood why these people cared so much about whether Xian Yu would release a song in November.

    Many people were terrified of "Fish".

    Cause when Xian Yu released a song in October, three top singers were scared away.

    If Xian Yu''s going to release a song in November, are the other top singers going to confront Xian Yu head on?

    Or are they going to follow the example of the "brave three brothers" in October and do whatever they want?

    Hence hearing Lin Yuan say he wouldn''t release a song in November, Ol'' Zhou made such a comment.

    Seeing Lin Yuan was somewhat puzzled, Ol'' Zhou took the initiative to explain: "Mainly because everyone wants to avoid you. If you''re releasing a song in November, it''s better to get them prepared in advance. Of course, they would have to express their gratitude later."

    Actually, this was also an unwritten rule in the industry.

    If there were no grudges between companies, top singers would usually announce beforehand when they were releasing new songs so that they could avoid unnecessary competition.

    "Then I won''t release it."

    Lin Yuan gave a solid response.

    His sister could give way to her classmates once, so he could do the same to his peers at least once.

    More, Lin Yuan had already planned to take a break in November. His task was half completed anyway as Sun Yaohuo has already made it to the top tier.

    The next task would be to lift Jiang Kui to the top tier as well.

    As Wu Yong said, Jiang Kui only needed two more songs to reach the top tier, and of course, they had to be of high quality.

    But Wu Yong also said, if Lin Yuan couldn''t keep up with the creative speed, one song could also work. The prerequisite for this was a good result in the end-of-year ''Battle of Gods'' for Jiang Kui.

    At least in the top three!

    Therefore, Lin Yuan planned to rest in November and arrange a great song for Jiang Kui in ''Battle of Gods'' in December, so that Jiang Kui could easily secure a position in the top three.

    He''d been releasing songs frequently lately, which was a bit too high-profile.

    Lin Yuan, when releasing works, always paid attention to the frequency, although his current speed was much faster than when he first debuted.

    As for not mentioning securing the championship spot in ''Battle of Gods'', it was because Lin Yuan didn''t know whether Maestro might have a stroke of inspiration and write a god-level song or something.

    He was always a stable person.

    But there was a voice inside him resounding quite assertively, a statement targeting the ''Battle of Gods'' in December:

    "One Piece, I am coming for you!"

 Chapter 396 - 375: Protect Our Frontline Singer_1

    Xian Yu''s successive success with two distinct lyrics for one song has caused a considerable stir.

    With "White Rose" continuously topping the charts, discussions about Xian Yu''s lyric writing ability remain endless.

    On October 3rd, an article was published in the Literature and Art Gazette, further discussing Xian Yu''s ability to write lyrics.

    The title of the article was: [Does a composer need to have a certain lyric writing ability?]

    "This topic is an old clich¨¦ in the music world. Many talented composers have argued with their companies more than once to defend their right to write the lyrics for their compositions. However, with the birth of some failed cases, an increasing number of composers have given up writing lyrics for their own compositions.

    Musicians like Xian Yu, who persist in writing lyrics for their own compositions, are few and far between."

    "Here, my personal conclusion is: when composers write lyrics for their own compositions, they need to be mindful of their capabilities."

    "The majority of composers do not possess professional lyric-writing knowledge. Their aesthetics of music and lyrics do not align. Therefore, these composers should collaborate with familiar lyricists, and numerous excellent songs have been born from this model."

    "But if a composer has certain lyric writing ability, it is absolutely possible to write lyrics for their own compositions."

    "Especially for a master of words like Xian Yu who can achieve success twice with one song and two sets of lyrics, one should not waste such an ability."

    "The problem is, the number of composers who can use lyric writing techniques skillfully like Xian Yu is simply too low."

    "In fact, most outstanding composers increasingly tend to participate in half of the lyric writing process, that is, they communicate with the lyricist, describe the mood and theme that their compositions want to express, and the lyricist completes the semi-orchestrated composition based on the composer''s understanding and reflection of the music."

    "This increasingly highlights the value of Xian Yu''s ability."

    "The most surprising aspect of Xian Yu''s powerful lyric writing is his research into Qi language. The Qi language lyrics of Xian Yu simply couldn''t be written if one did not have a deep understanding of Qi language. If one does not know the details, upon seeing Xian Yu''s lyrics, they would undoubtedly think it was written by a Qi land lyricist, wouldn''t they?"

    "This gives people reason to expect more beautiful phrases in Xian Yu''s future works."

    "As Rabbit Second Teacher once said, Xian Yu''s lyrics are probably at a level that keeps many professional lyricists awake at night."

    "This statement appears somewhat biased in the lyric writing circle. Here, I quote the evaluation by top lyricist, Neon Dance Teacher: While Xian Yu''s lyric writing ability is slightly inferior to his terrifying composing ability, it is already quite rare. In the lyric writing field, perhaps this evaluation is more impartial."

    It is consistent with the usual style of the Literature and Art Gazette. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    While praising, it also appropriately sprinkles some cold water.

    However, to many people, this cold water is a further recognition of Xian Yu''s composing ability.

    Such good lyrics, in the view of the composing world, still cannot fully match the achievement that Xian Yu has reached in composition.

    No one refutes this.

    Because the person who gave this evaluation is Neon Dance Teacher.

    Who is Neon Dance Teacher?

    Music listeners are not strangers.

    This is a top lyricist, who has been working with first-line and even king and queen of singing for many years. If in the Celestial Dynasty, his status in the lyric-writing field is probably at the level of Jay Chou''s designated lyricist.

    ...

    The Literature and Art Gazette, with its semi-official media attribute, has somewhat finalised Xian Yu''s lyric-writing ability.

    But Lin Yuan has always been indifferent to such things.

    The music world also doesn''t care about such things. What interests them at this moment is whether Xian Yu will participate in the contest in November?

    For the first-line singers who are planning to release songs in November, this is indeed the most nerve-racking issue!

    However, soon, the affirmative answer received by Ol'' Zhou from Xian Yu was passed along through the mouth of some people -

    Xian Yu will not participate in the November season contest!

    Just as Ol'' Zhou predicted, a lot of people breathed a sigh of relief.

    Immediately following this, several top-tier artists began to promote their new songs, which were set to be released in November!

    "Recovered and healthy, new song to be released in November!"

    "The cold is gone, throat healed, see you on the November new song chart!"

    "New song to be released in November, stay tuned!"

    The first to announce that they would be releasing music in November were the brave trio who escaped from the October season chart!

    For a time, many people didn''t know whether to laugh or cry.

    These Brave Trio are so hilarious, all meek in front of Xian Yu but striking hard against the other top-tier singers!

    But it''s not just the Brave Trio.

    After the trio, there are seven more top artists in a row who announced they''ll be releasing new songs in November.

    Thus, this November season chart battle will see a total of ten top-tier singers!

    "Oh, my!"

    "Xian Yu is causing havoc!"

    "Ten top-tier singers, all releasing songs in November?"

    "December is known as the Battle of Gods, but I feel November is shaping up to be the same?"

    "It makes sense."

    "December is for battle of higher gods, November is for lower gods."

    "I guess you''ve gone nutty reading novels, but it''s a good description, November is a prelude to the Battle of Gods."

    "It''s not just about Xian Yu, these top-tier singers have no choice. If they don''t release songs in November, they''ll have to wait till next year, after all, they can''t afford to play the December game."

    "Then release next year, what''s wrong with that?"

    "Of course it''s problematic. Don''t forget that next year Yan Continent is joining the mix. Those guys are all fighters. Once they join, the new song chart will become a bloodbath!"

    "Oh, so apparently November is a safe zone?"

    "As more lands keep joining, competition in all fields gets more intense, especially in our music circles."

    "..."

    Even though many anticipated that November would be tough, the scene of ten top-tier singers competing on the same stage literally knocked their glasses off.

    November used to be the season for rookies.

    Now, November has evolved into a mini Battle of Gods.

    The Brave Trio who were driven to November by Xian Yu have contributed significantly to this battle.

    The music industry seems to have sensed the surging battle of December.

    If November is this intense, how intense the actual Battle of Gods in December will be?

    Even someone maliciously said:

    "What if Xian Yu suddenly changes his mind and decides to release a new song in November, what would happen?"

    Those preparing to compete in November''s new song chart jumped in fright, wishing nothing more but to shut that person''s mouth.

    Xian Yu releasing a song in November?

    That''s just not a joke to crack!

    Everyone has been looking forward to bagging a championship in November to boost their reputation.

    Nurturing the huge momentum in November, even mirroring a prelude to the Battle of Gods, has its own advantages.

    If any top-tier singer can stand out in such intense competition in November, they are indeed a potential King or Queen of Singing!

    Therefore, even if coming together to press Starlight, no major companies will just stand by and watch Xian Yu cause havoc!

    Not just Xian Yu.

    No Kings and Queens of Singing or Maestros will be allowed to enter November.

    This can be regarded as protection for top-tier singers, somewhat continuing the tradition of protecting newcomers in November¡ª

    Just that some insiders may find it odd.

    When on earth did top-tier singers also need special protection from the industry?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: The song for the Battle of Gods has been decided. Here''s a hint: it''s not "Exaggeration". This time we''re playing with lyrics.

 Chapter 397 - 376: Jiang Kuis Nervousness_1

    November was the battle month for top singers, which Lin Yuan certainly would not meddle in.

    With Sun Yaohuo becoming a top singer, half of the department''s task was done, in Wu Yong''s terms, so they could now report their success to the higher-ups.

    However, one person was feeling incredibly uneasy at the moment.

    And that person was Jiang Kui.

    When the Admirable Fish returned as the king of September, he created the song "Ten Years" for Sun Yaohuo. He also utilized the one melody, two lyrics strategy, allowing Sun Yaohuo to dominate the top two spots on September''s music charts.

    At that time, Jiang Kui was utterly envious and her expectations soared:

    If September belonged to Sun Yaohuo, wouldn''t October be her turn?

    The company''s directive was to promote two top singers, and the nominees from the ninth floor were herself and Sun Yaohuo.

    Supporting Sun Yaohuo in September and herself in October was a logical expectation.

    Jiang Kui was even hopeful that she might receive the one melody, two lyrics treatment.

    Because of this, she even learned Qi language urgently!

    But by October, Admirable Fish still hadn''t contacted her. Instead, he continued aiding Sun Yaohuo in clinching victories with the song "White Rose," capturing the October championship title!

    At this point, Jiang Kui was feeling quite jittery.

    Couldn''t she help but feel jittery?

    It was already October.

    With just two months left till the end of the year, and the December battle simply being non-viable, she didn''t have much time left!

    Would it only be her turn in November?

    As anxious as she was, Jiang Kui still retained some hope in her heart.

    She even comforted herself, saying:

    "I have a better foundation than Sun Yaohuo. It took three songs and two consecutive titles for him, plus monopolizing the top two spots on the monthly charts, to finally break into the top singer category. As for me, I don''t need to go through all that trouble, so it''s understandable if Teacher Admirable Fish has focused more on Sun Yaohuo."

    If it were up to Teacher Admirable Fish, even if he only started promoting her in November, there would be quite some risks, but the timing would still be about right.

    But what Jiang Kui never expected was...

    Just in these few days, the industry suddenly learned that Admirable Fish had decided not to participate in the November music charts!

    At this point, Jiang Kui was not just jittery but a little panicked.

    Did I do something wrong?

    Did Teacher Admirable Fish give up on me?

    Even the company started spreading some rumors.

    The gist of it was that Sun Yaohuo was a singer admired by Admirable Fish, so Admirable Fish chose him as the task''s target.

    Now that the ninth-floor team had successfully promoted Sun Yaohuo, they could already report back to the company.

    Besides, none of the other composition departments managed to promote two top singers within a year.

    Given this, Admirable Fish shouldn''t need to bother with Jiang Kui anymore.

    Jiang Kui knew that Teacher Admirable Fish wasn''t that kind of person, but as November was approaching with no clear place for her, she couldn''t help but feel restless.

    Did Teacher Admirable Fish really give up on me?

    Or are they planning to promote me next year?

    Seeing how anxious Jiang Kui was, her agent couldn''t help but console her:

    "Teacher Admirable Fish will not give up on you. With the help from the ninth floor, your foundation is already very solid. As long as Teacher Admirable Fish provides a little help, you can become a top-tier singer. This is a matter of course for him, and he wouldn''t waste the effort he put into training you for the past months."

    That''s right.

    Sending the Buddha to the west.

    The ninth floor had already helped Jiang Kui for so long. If she didn''t strive for herself, so be it. But when she was already 90% close to becoming a top-tier singer, the ninth floor had no reason to give up now.

    Also, even Sun Yaohuo, who was harder to promote, was pushed to the top!

    She looked at her agent in desperation, "Then why hasn''t Teacher Admirable Fish planned for me to release any songs in November?"

    "Isn''t this quite normal?"

    Her agent barely managed a smile: "Do you really think Teacher Admirable Fish is a god? He has already released three consecutive songs, which is highly productive. His song reserves must have been exhausted by Sun Yaohuo. Don''t even mention trying to create two sets of lyrics for a melody. It''s not easy to come up with good lyrics in a short period."

    "So..."

    "So, if the ninth floor wants to promote you, it will likely happen next year. Or I can reach out to other floors now and see if an ace composer can help and let you participate in the November competition."

    "No."

    Jiang Kui shook her head: "Even if there are composers willing to help on other floors, November is a gathering of strong competitors. Without Teacher Admirable Fish, it would be difficult for me to achieve good results. Do you think it''s possible that Teacher Admirable Fish is planning for me to release a song in December..."

    "Impossible."

    Her agent decisively answered:

    "Letting you release a song in December, Teacher Admirable Fish must think very highly of you. You must remember, December is a great scramble for the King and Queen of Singing. It''s industry-wide acknowledged ''Battle of Gods''. Can a singer like you, who hasn''t even reached the top echelons yet, compete with a group of Kings and Queens of Singing?"

    "That''s true."

    Jiang Kui couldn''t help but scratch her head. Even if Teacher Admirable Fish thought highly of her, she wouldn''t have the confidence to compete with the Kings and Queens of Singing.

    Teacher Admirable Fish is indeed amazing.

    But don''t the Kings and Queens of Singing have their Maestro assistances?

    Her agent analyzed: "Going by Teacher Admirable Fish''s moves, he will most likely appear in December, but he should collaborate with one of the company''s Kings or Queens of Singing to ensure the best song outcome."

    Right.

    Although Teacher Admirable Fish didn''t win the Maestro title, he was widely acknowledged as Maestro Junior in the industry and had defeated many real Maestros.

    If he collaborated with a King or Queen of Singing and competed with top musicians of Blue Star, even if he doesn''t take the championship, the result can''t be too bad.

    That''s the top-level competition in music circles.

    When will I be able to participate in such a top-tier competition?

    Jiang Kui''s eyes were a little longing, the previous anxiety had subsided a lot. Next year would be next year, it was just a matter of later breaking into the top tier.

    At this moment, her agent''s phone suddenly rang.

    Her agent was surprised: "It''s a call from Teacher Admirable Fish''s assistant, probably to reassure us."

    Jiang Kui hurriedly said: "Pick it up then!"

    Her agent nodded, accepting the call. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Jiang Kui didn''t know what was said on the other end, but she saw her agent''s eyes widen suddenly, and his mouth gaping open.

    When the agent put down the phone and looked at Jiang Kui, his eyes were extremely strange.

    "What happened?"

    "Teacher Admirable Fish says..."

    "What did he say?"

    "Teacher Admirable Fish said, you should get ready... to release a new song in December."

    "..."

    Jiang Kui was dumbfounded.

    Release a song in December?

    She had considered countless possibilities, but the one thing she had never thought of was that Teacher Admirable Fish would ask her to release a song in December!

    In December, with so many Maestros, Kings, and Queens of Singing coming together, did someone like her who hadn''t even risen to the top yet really qualify?

    "I take back what I said earlier. Teacher Admirable Fish really values you."

    The agent patted Jiang Kui''s shoulder: "Looking at it this way, his expectations for you are even higher than they were for Sun Yaohuo."

    Jiang Kui was left dumbstruck.

    An absurd idea popped into her head:

    Does Teacher Admirable Fish... really like egg yolk cakes that much?

 Chapter 398 - 377 Growth (For Master Origin Source_ Extra From Nine Sources)_1

    The only reason Jiang Kui could think of as to why Teacher Admirable Fish valued her so much was perhaps due to his satisfaction with the egg yolk pastries she had made for him.

    Otherwise, why would he choose me?

    Why does Jiang Kui deserve to be compared with the Kings and Queens of Singing?

    This has nothing to do with confidence.

    Even the most confident person has to consider the actual gap.

    Even achieving something significant in one''s chosen path is full of obstacles, let alone that those Kings and Queens of Singing are even rarer elites.

    "Should I go over first?"

    Jiang Kui spoke with difficulty.

    The manager shook his head: "No need, just be prepared and take care of your throat, because this song requires you to leverage your strengths. Think about what your strengths are, I believe that''s the reason Teacher Admirable Fish chose you."

    My strengths?

    Jiang Kui appeared pensive.

    In the industry, the most common praises for Jiang Kui''s voice is that it is ethereal and clear, her singing voice is very beautiful. Even though it adheres to popular music, it has its unique performance style.

    "But..."

    "No buts, Teacher Admirable Fish chose you, and you should seize this opportunity. If you appear cowardly and anxious before him, I believe he would not hesitate to replace you!"

    Jiang Kui was shocked by this.

    She had been studying music since she was a child and would starve herself for the pursuit of the diversity of voice. Now the stubbornness deep in her bones was instantly ignited.

    "I won''t let Teacher Admirable Fish down!"

    It is said that personal allegiance is worth dying for. Jiang Kui''s self-doubt, in the beginning, was merely a natural fear of Blue Star''s top musicians.

    What was she afraid of?

    The singing prowess of the Kings and Queens of Singing?

    Not really. Jiang Kui''s singing skills are not inferior to anyone''s.

    In essence, what she feared was the prestige and reputation that those Kings and Queens of Singing had built over the years in the music circle.

    That''s what truly demands awe!

    So what else does she need to fear?

    Fear of the Maestros behind the Kings and Queens of Singing?

    Is Teacher Admirable Fish inferior to those Maestros?

    Although rated as a Maestro Junior by the industry, everyone knew that Admirable Fish had the level of a Maestro, and has defeated more than one formidable Maestro.

    He himself had not become a recognized Maestro, purely due to lack of experience and his young age.

    If Teacher Admirable Fish can defeat so many Maestros as a non-Maestro, why can''t I as a non-King or non-Queen of Singing, combat those Kings and Queens of Singing?

    Saying that I''m not an A-list singer is nothing but an excuse for my own cowardice.

    No matter how you look at it, I''m just a step away from being an A-list singer - a thin layer of paper away that could be easily punctured.

    At that moment, Jiang Kui was filled with boundless courage.

    Ultimately, this courage was instilled in her by Teacher Admirable Fish.

    "If Teacher Admirable Fish chose me, it means in his heart, I''m not inferior to those Kings and Queens of Singing. That kind of recognition, that kind of value, if I were to let him down, it would be disrespecting my respect for music."

    Jiang Kui''s eyes instantly cleared up.

    Even she herself didn''t expect that this newly-born courage could carry her so far into the future. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    ...

    Lin Yuan did not immediately ask Jiang Kui to record the song.

    He simply gave her early notice, allowing Jiang Kui to prepare herself mentally.

    It was not that Lin Yuan needed to use Jiang Kui to assert his abilities, but he felt that the song he prepared for December was very suitable for Jiang Kui''s voice.

    Lin Yuan had been paying attention to Jiang Kui.

    From the very beginning when he chose Jiang Kui to perform "Big Fish", Lin Yuan held a high regard for Jiang Kui.

    Although Lin Yuan did not participate much in Jiang Kui''s musical path later on, he would occasionally listen to her songs and judge how she was doing.

    By the time Feng Shuo began writing songs for Jiang Kui consecutively, Lin Yuan was able to clearly feel Jiang Kui''s growth.

    In terms of potential growth, Lin Yuan believed that Jiang Kui''s limit was very high!

    In fact, he saw shadows of two very powerful female singers from the Celestial Dynasty in Jiang Kui...

    Not releasing a song in November also had this consideration.

    Considering Jiang Kui''s position, not releasing a song in November was just fine. The song released in December would be enough to raise Jiang Kui to another level.

    Others saw Lin Yuan tightrope walking, betting on the situation in the last month, and perhaps even giving up on Jiang Kui.

    Only Lin Yuan knew that he didn''t mean to gamble. He was just confident about the next song.

    Of course.

    Not only did Jiang Kui have to prepare, but Lin Yuan also had to get ready.

    After letting Gu Dong inform Jiang Kui to prepare for the December new song chart, he buried himself in his office, producing a sample of the song.

    As for the song, he had already ordered it from the system.

    Having completed the sample, he entered the recording studio, called in a familiar recording engineer, and worked on the arrangement part of the song.

    The so-called arrangement is essentially dressing up a song.

    To use an immature analogy, the melody is a plain person, and the arrangement is to makeup and dress this person according to their appearance.

    In this process, the recording engineer couldn''t avoid seeing the song Lin Yuan was preparing for December.

    Result.

    When the recording engineer saw the lyrics to Lin Yuan''s new song, this top-grade engineer who often worked with Maestro Yang Zhongming, was so astounded he involuntarily stepped back and collapsed into the chair before the instrument.

    As he looked up at Lin Yuan, his eyes were filled with reverence:

    "Teacher Admirable Fish, these lyrics are among the most amazing I''ve seen. Sorry, I''ll omit the ''among''. They are the most perfect lyrics I''ve ever seen."

    He had only shown such eyes to Yang Zhongming, and not even to Zheng Jing, or any other maestro, which had so deep an impact on this recording engineer.

    And Lin Yuan was the second musician in Starlight to win his sincere admiration.

    Lin Yuan couldn''t help but say: "The music is also not bad."

    The recording engineer smiled and nodded: "Did you write such lyrics because the Literature and Art Gazette complimented your composition over lyric writing in the last month, including Ni Hongwu saying the same, so you produced such lyrics to prove them wrong?"

    "No."

    "Let''s say it isn''t then."

    The recording engineer smiled more broadly, if it wasn''t, then hell had frozen over!

    Admirable Fish was a young man, he naturally had a side that was spirited and daring.

    If Ni Hongwu hadn''t said that Admirable Fish''s composition skills were superior to his lyric writing, how could he have dropped such a powerful bomb?

    When Ni Hongwu saw the lyrics of this song, she, one of the top lyricists in Blue Star, would be flabbergasted too

    Of course.

    The reason for the recording engineer to be so happy was because he could participate in the recording of such a song. It was a great honor!

    For those working in music production, the opportunity to take part in recording some classic songs was both prestige and an honor.

    Their names would be remembered in the industry along with the songs they recorded.

    Just based on this, the classic works were enough for many music practitioners to covet!

    "Jiang Kui is fortunate indeed."

    The recording engineer took another look at the lyrics. The excitement and shock in his eyes couldn''t be concealed.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks again to [Origin Source_ Nine Yuan], the cute moderator, Little Yuan is a cute girl, a beautiful student who likes Han clothing, and she has always supported Polluted White. We are extremely grateful. Just like little Dior, she is cute, it makes us proud when thinking that many of our cute moderators are girls, emmm this time it''s really a girl, not a feathery fake cute girl o(*£þ¨Œ£þ*)o!

 Chapter 399 - 378: Prelude to Water Melody: How Long Will the Full Moon Last_1

    Lin Yuan, of course, understands the astonishment of the recording engineer.

    If he were to place himself in the perspective of a Blue Starian, Lin Yuan would also be shocked.

    Just like the shock he felt when he first heard this song in his previous life, and the admiration and fondness for the author of the song, there was the aura of a magnificent work coming right from the first line of the song:

    How long will the full moon last, as I ask the azure sky with a cup of wine...

    If not created by a top master with excellent skills in lyric composition, how could the "Prelude to Water Melody: How Long Will the Full Moon Last" be written?

    Yes!

    The song Lin Yuan prepared for this time is the famous "Prelude to Water Melody"!

    The author of the song...

    Resident of the Eastern Slope, Su Shi!

    If Tang Bohu became a talented man known to all through visual artworks and a certain degree of beautification from people, then Su Shi, as a representative of the highest achievement in literature during the Song Dynasty, truly mastered all areas of poetry, lyrics, singing, and painting, even without any over-beautification!

    The "Prelude to Water Melody" created by him is particularly well-known, a timeless classic that has been passed down for countless years and cherished by people generation after generation!

    Including this work, many of Su Shi''s works are eternally popular, admired, and worshipped by people from generation to generation!

    Unfortunately, such a legendary figure does not exist on Blue Star.

    But now, Lin Yuan brings this classic Song lyric to light in the form of a song!

    Faced with such a classic, it''s no wonder that the recording engineer exclaims that this is the most perfect song lyrics he has ever seen in his life, there is no other!

    Of course.

    As a Song lyric, the true melody of "Prelude to Water Melody" is lost to oblivion. The version obtained by Lin Yuan is a re-composed work based on the original lyric -

    "Hoping for Endless Love" sung by Teresa Teng.

    This song is part of the poetry songs album "Listening to the Faint Melody" released by Teresa Teng in 1983.

    This album is a classic masterpiece of Teresa Teng''s personal entertainment career at its peak, also the first record she personally planned. Different from other albums, all twelve songs in this record are selected from Song lyrics, which are literary masterpieces tested by history of over a thousand years.

    The combination of classical and modern pop music, sung by Teresa Teng with her innate sentimental feelings, is elegant, serious yet gentle, and emotionally rich, quite a Tang and Song style.

    As time goes on, the worldly dust of the years has not been able to cover up the beautiful radiance of Teresa Teng, but rather reveals an extraordinary charm with the passage of time.

    This song "Hoping for Endless Love" received great popularity as soon as it was released, was later covered by many singers, and has been renowned as one of Teresa Teng''s timeless hits!

    Among them, Faye Wong, the Queen of Singing from the Celestial Dynasty, also covered this song.

    Because of Faye Wong''s influence, many people even don''t know that the original singer of this song is actually Teresa Teng, and they think that it is sung by Faye Wong.

    But the original singer is Teresa Teng, this is very important and should be emphasized three times.

    Faye Wong herself is also a fan of Teresa Teng.

    On one occasion, Faye Wong sang at a concert commemorating Teresa Teng. As the music began, the big screen showed photos of Teresa Teng. Faye Wong, who originally had her back to the screen, suddenly turned around, her hands holding the microphone and looked at Teresa Teng in reverence, her posture modest like a student.

    No one has ever seen Faye Wong like that.

    Some people might ask, why is the version by Faye Wong more famous?

    We don''t have to use Teresa Teng''s early death as an explanation here.

    Many people must have heard the song "Don''t Want to Grow Up" by She.

    But few people know that this song is based on the most popular theme from Mozart''s Symphony No.40 as the main melody of the chorus.

    However, Faye Wong has her strength, her version is also very excellent, and the quality of the song is indeed excellent. Therefore, not only Teresa Teng''s version is provided by the System, but also versions by Faye Wong and others are customized by the System.

    Furthermore...

    Regarding this song, in fact, there has been a discussion in the outside world that some people believe that the composition of this song is not up to par with the lyrics.

    This is, in fact, perfectly understandable.

    How many composers can match Su Shi''s lyrics?

    You should know that "Prelude to Water Melody" is regarded by some in the literary world as the pinnacle of Song lyrics, the only one who can contend with it in the field of Song lyric is Xin Qiji, while here Yi An''s Residency might be added as well, only the first two, belonging to the bold style, have more comparability.

    Some even go as far as to claim that "Prelude to Water Melody" dominates today''s music, rated as the first among Song lyrics.

    So this is a lethal proposition.

    First appears "How long will the moon last", then write a melody according to such a high-level Song lyric, it''s not a task that ordinary people can accomplish.

    The ability to make the melody not inferior is already very rare.

    As for the performance alone, it must be solidified by Singers of the caliber of Teresa Teng and Faye Wong, those who do not have extraordinary vocal talents need not apply.

    This is why Lin Yuan chose Jiang Kui.

    Lin Yuan can see the shadow of such top singers as Teresa Teng and Faye Wong in Jiang Kui. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Although it''s not completely the same -

    No one can be completely the same as others.

    But in terms of vocal cords, timbre, skills, and other aspects, Jiang Kui is now the most suitable choice Lin Yuan can think of.

    Lin Yuan did not specifically arrange which version for Jiang Kui.

    He planned to polish a version that belongs to himself and Jiang Kui, blending Teresa Teng''s classic and Faye Wong''s ethereal features according to Jiang Kui''s own voice style.

    Songs should vary from person to person.

    This is why Lin Yuan uses the System''s songs, but tries to produce them according to the vocalist''s voice in the recording process.

    Perhaps by the time the song is officially recorded, adjustments will be made to the arrangement.

    The melody won''t make any drastic changes now, even if Lin Yuan used the character card of Yang Zhongming, he wouldn''t know where to begin the change.

    To recreate Su Dongpo''s "Prelude to Water Melody" in its authentic musical essence, it''s too difficult.

    Even if the outside world comments that "Prelude to Water Melody" is a work where the lyric exceeds the melody, Lin Yuan can only admit it.

    This song lyric is indeed brilliantly attractive!

    In a world without Su Shi, tossing out such a song is tantamount to throwing a bomb that''s heavier than a bombshell!

    "Use ''How Long Will the Full Moon Last'' as the title of the song."

    The song title used by Teresa Teng and Faye Wong is "Hoping for Endless Love".

    Releasing this song during the Mid-Autumn Festival, Lin Yuan would also consider this title, because it''s more suitable for the occasion.

    However, this is the Lunar New Year''s release, so ''How Long Will the Full Moon Last'' is more appropriate.

    This is also the name used by the original lyric.

    The recording engineer surely has no objection to this.

    While Lin Yuan starts to produce the accompaniment for "Prelude to Water Melody", Jiang Kui also starts to ponder about her singing strengths, seriously going to find relevant teachers to do some practice, even turning down all her current appointments...

    It''s not any last-minute cramming.

    The pressure of December is simply too high, she has to do something to feel more confident.

    This December is destined to shake the nerves of the music world!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thank you [Sword Dance Cuts the Sky] for becoming the 21st Alliance Hierarch of this book! Thank you [Easygoing] for becoming the 22nd Alliance Hierarch of this book! Thank you [Innocent Fatty] for becoming the 23rd Alliance Hierarch of this book!

    Thank you [Phantom Wing] for becoming the 24th Alliance Hierarch, truly thank you, I''m a bit overwhelmed, so many Alliance Hierarchs popping up all of a sudden, I don''t know how to repay, only to add more chapters! As long as it doesn''t kill me, I''ll keep adding!

 Chapter 400 - 379: Influence in Three Continents_1

    Of course, there is still some time before December, and even the small-scale team battle in November hasn''t started yet, so Lin Yuan can complete the arrangement and accompaniment production at a leisurely pace¡ª

    When Battle of Gods presented ''How Long Will the Full Moon Last'', Lin Yuan had no intention of relying solely on the composition to win!

    In a world dominated by Maestro, who can be much worse in terms of composition?

    The lyrics are the trump card.

    Unless there are contemporary poets like Xin Qiji and Su Shi in Blue Star.

    Of course, the premise that the lyrics can serve as a winning trump card is that your composition cannot be too poor. If it is, then it would be akin to fighting left-handed.

    The composition of ''How Long Will the Full Moon Last'' is quite competitive.

    Many people in the Celestial Dynasty generally reflect that the song sounds better the more you hear it. It''s a work passed down by Teresa Teng, covered by countless music bigwigs. How could its quality be poor?

    All of these are the sources of Lin Yuan''s confidence.

    Besides producing the music score and accompaniment, Lin Yuan also urged the post-production of ''Hachiko''.

    Starting from last year, Blue Star adjusted the time of the Spring Festival to January.

    With such adjustment, naturally, the movie release dates during the Spring Festival have also been adjusted.

    In other words.

    January has now become the Spring Festival block, which is the most competitive time in the entertainment industry!

    Even the winter vacation has been brought forward!

    It''s October now, and the middle of the month has not yet arrived. At Qin Continent Art Academy where Lin Yuan is located, the fifth year has already started their winter vacation.

    For Lin Yuan, this means that the first semester of the fifth year is completely over.

    By the end of the next semester, Lin Yuan will officially graduate from university.

    If this was in the Celestial Dynasty, a standard four-year university, Lin Yuan would already be considered a graduate. But in Blue Star, we still follow Blue Star''s rules. Anyway, there isn''t much time left in the fifth year, and there aren''t many classes next semester.

    Whether there are classes or not doesn''t really matter, because Lin Yuan hasn''t been to school a few times during his fifth year.

    Now, Lin Yuan''s focus is not on the winter vacation, but on choosing the schedule for the movie release.

    What he has in front of him is the attractive Spring Festival slot.

    Lin Yuan really wants to participate in a box office battle during the Spring Festival.

    Because the audience during the Spring Festival has the highest number throughout the year, students and white-collar workers are all on holiday.

    These people are the main force supplying the box office for movies.

    However, considering that there are so many people and movies in the Spring Festival, after all, everyone wants to grab the box office, Lin Yuan doesn''t want to step into it instead.

    The movie slots aren''t enough to go around.

    Rather than rushing to ride the subway during peak time, why not start earlier?

    With this in mind, Lin Yuan set his sights on next month, which is November!

    Because of the special shooting method of Lin Yuan''s film, the film is edited in sequence, there are almost no extra shots, and with the strong support of Blue Star''s powerful film industry technology, the post-production is very fast. If they want to release it in November, this is completely achievable.

    Besides, the movies in the Spring Festival slots tend to be commercial ones with feel-good atmosphere. If it''s a family-friendly movie, so much the better.

    If Lin Yuan pushes ''Hachiko'' into the Spring Festival slot, he''d make people sob during the big festival?

    That would be rather heartless.

    The Spring Festival should be filled with joy, not so depressing. As for making people cry before the New Year, Lin Yuan could do it without guilt.

    ...

    Lin Yuan discussed his thoughts with Ol'' Zhou.

    Ol'' Zhou totally agreed with him.

    Now is not the time when Lin Yuan''s movies are ignored by the company after completion.

    The higher-ups at Starlight are not fools. How could they still have the same casual attitude towards Lin Yuan, after the success of his last two movies?

    So, on the issue of selecting ''Hachiko'' release date, Ol'' Zhou was very serious.

    He immediately contacted the theater chains to confirm some details, and entered Lin Yuan''s office the next day.

    "How about November 11th?"

    "Double 11?"

    "What Double 11?"

    "I''m talking about Singles'' Day."

    "Indeed, the 11th of November is known as Singles'' Day, but some say that this day signifies ''forever and always''. However, that''s not the main reason why we chose the 1st of November as our release date..."

    "What is the main reason then?"

    "The schedule for this day is relatively empty, with no other major films in competition. This means less competition for ''Hachiko''."

    "Then, let''s release it on that day."

    Lin Yuan had no objections as the timing was just right.

    Ol'' Zhou nodded: "While we''re at it, I might as well fill you in on the current state of the film market."

    "Oh?"

    "You might not be aware, but the merging of three continents has greatly changed the market. It has even drastically affected the release patterns of films..."

    Ol'' Zhou then gave Lin Yuan a detailed run-down.

    Apparently, due to the radical population increase resultant from the continents'' merging - roughly equivalent to that of dozens of Earth''s nations combined - the market has grown phenomenally large. Enough cinema chains exist to simultaneously accommodate the release of dozens of films.

    Hence, both the number of film companies and cinema chains is astoundingly high.

    However, for many cinema chains, the issue was how to allocate daily screening times to the dozens or even hundreds of films. A total of twenty-four hours a day seemed insufficient for such a task.

    Not to mention that after each movie screening, there needs to be a scheduled cleaning period.

    Could they screen movies over the course of several days then?

    That''s not feasible either. It''s undoubtedly unwise to put all your eggs into one basket but that doesn''t mean each egg should get its own basket. Who has that many baskets?

    Therefore, this brings us to the issue of screening choices made by cinema chains.

    Every day, many films vie for screen time. The chains simply cannot accommodate them all, hence they would need to assess the quality of the films.

    Cinema chains would schedule the commercial release of films they deem to be good;

    and if a film doesn''t look promising to them, they would simply pass on carrying it at all. With so many films to choose from, missing out on a few good ones wouldn''t be a big loss; there could be other good films to substitute for them.

    Thus,

    Films that are seen to have bright prospects can earn the favor of ninety percent of theater chains and finalize contracts on the spot.

    As for those films that theater chains aren''t particularly optimistic about...

    Well, with so many chains, there would still be some that would carry the film, unless the film is so bad that no one wants it.

    Although Xian Yu''s films wouldn''t reach a point where no chains want them, they also wouldn''t be able to court more than ninety percent of the chains.

    For this reason, Ol'' Zhou arranged a preview screening that will be attended by representatives from numerous chains.

    Those who approve of the film will draw up a contract over the next few days.

    Those who do not simply won''t make an offer.

    This mode of operation varies greatly from that on Earth - a vast difference indeed.

    On Earth, each country has its own film market. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Each respective nation mainly watches its own films. Their audiences are already content, and they would only bring in a few competitive foreign films.

    However, in Blue Star, the entire world shares a common language and there isn''t much of a cultural barrier. The terrifyingly massive population and correspondingly huge market mean that the audiences'' choices are very diverse ¡ª

    Such intense competition brings with it both benefits and drawbacks.

    Therefore, the attitudes of cinemas toward the films at the preview screening become absolutely crucial!

    Lin Yuan felt a touch of sentiment.

    Once again, he was witnessing the changes brought about by the merging of three continents. And next year, with Yan Continent joining, it would be four continents.

    The population and the market would become even more exaggerated.

    What kind of changes would occur then, no one knows. Even those who made the decision to merge the continents could probably only grope their way forward. The galaxy is vast and anything could happen within it.

    "Then, let Director Zhou be responsible for the preview screening."

    With matters that Lin Yuan was not adept at, it was better to let Ol'' Zhou do it. This was one of the advantages of having company backing. Lin Yuan certainly didn''t have the power to bring together representatives from major theater chains. It required an extensive network of contacts that Starlight possessed, and not something an individual could manage.

    "Alright, I''ll try to get as many theater chains as possible."

    Ol'' Zhou showed a hint of a smile, eagerly anticipating the quality of ''Hachiko''. This would determine how many cinemas the film could capture!

 Chapter 401 - 380: You are the Younger Female Disciple_1

    The decision about the screening schedule also requires the approval of the cinema chain. All of these depend on the quality of the movie. Otherwise, no matter how influential Starlight is, the cinemas would not run the film out of sheer goodwill unless Starlight is willing to bear the cost of production as a kind of publicity¡ª

    Some film companies do this.

    But it usually happens when it comes to promoting arthouse films.

    Having decided on this course of action, the post-production of "Hachiko" became the top priority for the company''s film department in the short term. The best of the post-production resources were earmarked for the film, as there were no other concurrent film projects within the company.

    Generally, Starlight still seems to prioritize music, as it''s not possible to ramp up film production in just a year or two.

    Lin Yuan can''t really contribute much anymore.

    His requests during the filming period have been fulfilled by the production team. All he needs to do now is wait. During this idle time, he started writing his serialized Hercule Poirot Series again.

    Now it is October, and several stories of the Hercule Poirot Series have been published.

    Although in the eyes of the outsiders, Chu Kuang''s Hercule Poirot Series have never produced a classic detective tale on the level of "Murder on the Orient Express", it''s natural.

    Does every piece by Su Shi reach the level of "How Long Will the Full Moon Last"?

    Often, one peak is more than enough.

    As long as the overall quality of the Hercule Poirot Series is ensured, readers will continue to be interested.

    This assertion is evident from the consistently strong sales of the series.

    Throughout the serialization of the Hercule Poirot Series, the fictional detective Poirot, created by Chu Kuang, has already gained a firm place in people''s hearts.

    Awhile back, there was a gruesome murder case. The police swiftly solved it, and many netizens commented that the investigative officer was as brilliant as Hercule Poirot, which demonstrates people''s recognition of Poirot''s deductive abilities¡ª

    And that''s also a kind of recognition for the officer who quickly solved the case. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Netizens in the Celestial Dynasty should be no stranger to such an expression.

    Many people would use "possessed by Sherlock Holmes" to describe someone who suddenly shows wisdom.

    There are similar descriptions such as "possessed by Conan", which further confirms people''s acceptance of Poirot.

    In addition,

    News from some film companies suggested that they were preparing to make a movie based on the Hercule Poirot Series and were currently busy casting. All these have helped to boost Poirot''s fame.

    Apart from this,

    Since Chu Kuang has made it clear that he will continue to serialize the Hercule Poirot Series, there are also production companies interested in buying the TV rights for Poirot, apparently intending to create a TV series named after Poirot.

    Lin Yuan agreed to this.

    If the Hercule Poirot Series is made into a television series, it can be filmed for many seasons. Based on the parts already serialized, the plot has enough material for the first season.

    Sherlock Holmes gained worldwide fame through these sorts of adaptations.

    Lin Yuan couldn''t possibly achieve all these accomplishments on his own.

    Since he has the determination to develop Poirot, he naturally couldn''t refuse the potential influence of turning his novels into films and TV series.

    Just like how "Harry Potter"''s literary influence has spread all over the world with the help of movies.

    There are too many successful cases of similar promotions. These adaptations are needed to break the limitation of text.

    ...

    As Chu Kuang''s alias appears to be stable and thriving, the situation with Shadow is also quite good.

    With the serialization of the comic, "Death Note" has firmly secured its position as one of the three mainstays of Tribe Comics, thanks to the combined influence of the art style and plot.

    As for Lin Yuan, he has finally decided to fulfil his promise and officially teach Luo Wei traditional Chinese painting!

    Upon hearing this news, Luo Wei was so excited: "Are you teaching me now?"

    "Right now."

    "Death Note" was just uploaded for continued serialization today, and Lin Yuan happens to be free, enough to teach for quite a while.

    "I''m ready!"

    Luo Wei took out the tools for painting and sat properly, looking at Lin Yuan with a solemn look.

    Lin Yuan nodded: "Let''s begin then."

    Lin Yuan then picked up his brush.

    Tutoring art is different from tutorsing music composition. No need for a character card possession, Lin Yuan himself is a top-master in the art world. With the help of the Teacher''s Halo, tutoring Luo Wei is not a bother at all.

    The time for teaching art passed little by little.

    Half an hour later,

    Luo Wei looked at Lin Yuan in a daze, her emotions roller-coasting.

    After witnessing Lin Yuan''s painting skills, Luo Wei had always been grateful for choosing to be Lin Yuan''s assistant.

    But it was only after officially learning Chinese painting from Lin Yuan that she realized her decision was a turning point in her life!

    No matter how many years have passed, she will always be grateful for the decision to be Lin Yuan''s assistant.

    Lin Yuan is such a good teacher!

    You must know that Luo Wei has sought advice from many famous artists to improve her painting skills, including several old timers in the world of Chinese painting.

    However, none of these master artists of Chinese painting could offer Luo Wei comprehensive guidance. By just learning from Lin Yuan for a short while, Luo Wei felt that many problems she couldn''t solve before have been clearly addressed!

    And when two hours had passed,

    Luo Wei felt a strange sensation, which was vivid and strong, deep in her heart: "I think...I''ve gotten stronger..."

    "Keep practicing on your own,"

    Lin Yuan said. "I''ll teach you some comic techniques tomorrow."

    "I have to learn about comics too?"

    "How else are you going to ghostwrite for me?"

    "I understand, Teacher..." Luo Wei smiled softly.

    Shadow is still the same lazy Shadow.

    It''s just that her recent level of comic illustration can''t keep up with Lin Yuan''s, so she''s been the one doing all the drawing.

    In order to continue being lazy, he even plans to improve her comic drawing skills to keep co-writing some of the content for him.

    However, Luo Wei enjoys the feeling of improving her skills, so she doesn''t mind.

    "Teacher, here''s your tea."

    After a while, Luo Wei even prepared a cup of tea and respectfully handed it to Lin Yuan.

    Not thinking too much of it, Lin Yuan just drank the tea. However, he didn''t expect Luo Wei to suddenly bow three times towards him.

    "Ding Dong."

    The system notification read, "Congratulations, you have taken a new apprentice. This apprentice is very good at drawing, please cultivate her well."

    "What''s going on?"

    Lin Yuan looked at Luo Wei.

    "It''s a ceremony for accepting me as a disciple."

    Luo Wei stated earnestly, "Teacher drank my tea, taught me how to paint, and accepted my three bows. From now on, I am your good apprentice. This wasn''t formal, though. Tomorrow, I''d like to invite friends and elders from the art circles to witness."

    "No need,"

    Lin Yuan simply answered. He is not a person who likes complications.

    The system has recognized it, so the disciple is unquestionably accepted.

    Furthermore, Luo Wei has a high talent for painting and will certainly help Lin Yuan earn many prestige points in the future. There''s no reason to push her away.

    It''s just that he had already promised Luo Wei that he would teach her how to paint. Today, he was merely fulfilling his promise, so he had never thought about taking on a disciple.

    "Hello, Master."

    Luo Wei smiled sweetly, "If Master takes any new disciples in the future, I''ll be the senior disciple. I love the feeling of being number one!"

    "No,"

    Lin Yuan said, "You''re the junior disciple."

    Luo Wei: "???"

 Chapter 402 - 88 for Alliance Hierarch Bao Shao)

    "Why?"

    Luo Wei wore a puzzled look on her face.

    "I''ll explain it to you when we have time," said Lin Yuan.

    After he spoke, he left the studio.

    In the following few days, Lin Yuan did not go to the company as much. Instead, he frequently visited the studio to draw and teach painting.

    While Luo Wei was learning to paint, she was always contemplating Lin Yuan''s mysteriously profound announcement of "You are the younger fellow apprentice."

    Did other people also learn how to paint from the teacher, she wondered.

    Luo Wei was feeling strangely abandoned by the idea of "I am not the earliest here."

    She had consulted Jin Mu about this. Jin Mu burst out laughing when he heard her problem and said, "Congratulations on becoming the boss''s fourth apprentice."

    "Fourth... Fourth apprentice?"

    Luo Wei thought she''d have one fellow apprentice but, it was beyond her wildest imagination that there were three before her!

    Seeing that Jin Mu was still laughing, she was panicking: "Am I really the fourth one?"

    "Yes."

    Jin Mu had a mysterious look on his face.

    Luo Wei acted a bit cute with a sad voice and said, "Uncle Jin, please tell me who the other three are."

    "The preceding three..."

    Jin Mu paused for a moment, looked around carefully, and lowered his voice: "Can you keep a secret?"

    "Yes, I can!" Luo Wei spoke with a thievingly loud voice.

    Jin Mu pointed at himself: "So can I."

    Luo Wei: "???"

    Is it OK to play her like this?

    Luo Wei was angry now: "Uncle Jin, please be kind-hearted!"

    After she spoke, Luo Wei rolled her eyes and left in a huff.

    Outside the studio.

    Starlight''s post-production department finished the final touches of the movie ''Hachiko'' with a long sigh from Yi Chenggong.

    "Phew".

    Yi Chenggong stood up, thanked the Post-production staff who had worked with him and then called Lin Yuan.

    The first round of quality control certainly needed approval from Lin Yuan.

    Not long after receiving the call, Lin Yuan arrived at the company.

    "Notify Director Zhou to screen it."

    Lin Yuan ordered; the company had an internal screening system that wouldn''t leak any footage.

    "Okay."

    Shortly, Zhou Ruiming arrived, along with several high-level executives from the movie department.

    "Mr. Lin."

    Everyone greeted Lin Yuan politely, who answered back with a socially expected polite smile.

    They entered the screening room to watch ''Hachiko''.

    The film ran for ninety minutes in total. Adding the starting and ending credits, a few more minutes could be counted.

    Lin Yuan was intentionally observing.

    As soon as the professor starts to die on-screen, sobbing can be heard within the screening room.

    With the passage of time, more and more people started crying. As if their emotions were contagious, only a few people held back their tears while rubbing their noses.

    The most horrifying was Ol'' Zhou.

    Everyone else was sobbing quietly, still aware that they were watching a movie.

    He was outright weeping so loudly that Lin Yuan got a shock.

    Also, influenced by Ol'' Zhou, the rest of the high-ranking officials who were sobbing quietly began crying out loud, totally disregarding their dignified image.

    This affected all the leaders who were previously controlling their tears.

    None were spared.

    Lin Yuan believed that if this were a movie theater, Ol'' Zhou would have been thrown out by now for being a jinx.

    As for Lin Yuan himself...

    He was the calmest one in there.

    Not only because he had watched the original version, but also because the dog Xiao Ba was his own pet.

    Whenever Lin Yuan watched the dog on the screen, he remembered how a couple of days ago, his pet had urinated outside his bedroom door.

    Even though accidents like these are bound to happen when you own a dog, but the stink took Lin Yuan out of the movie and saved his tear ducts.

    You must know, Lin Yuan was also a sensitive person.

    If this brilliant dog actor happened not to be Lin Yuan''s pet, his tears would probably not be lesser than others''.

    "I''m getting old," sighed Yi Chenggong, rubbing his eyes.

    He was the one who edited the film, and he was in charge of shooting the movie. But, even the completed version of the movie made him cry, partially because he was moved by the final product.

    Outside the screening room.

    Staff members who were waiting for the bosses to finish watching the movie were having a light chat, then suddenly they heard a burst of crying coming from inside. They were startled and almost couldn''t help but rush in to see if there was any kind of emergency.

    "What''s going on?"

    "Why is someone crying so miserably?"

    "Is something wrong with the movie?"

    "Well, I heard from one of the post-production guys that this movie is a bit emotionally taxing."

    "So, they are crying because of the movie?"

    "Would a normal person cry like this?"

    "..."

    As the staff members were discussing, the crying from inside the room grew louder and more intermittent.

    They didn''t know how much time had passed.

    The door to the projection room suddenly opened.

    The first one to emerge was Ol'' Zhou, but his appearance startled the staff at the entrance¨C¨C

    Ol'' Zhou''s hair was disheveled, his eyes were bloodshot and there was a hint of a runny nose.

    "Director Zhou..."

    "It''s nothing, do you have a cigarette?"

    "Huh?"

    "Do you have a cigarette or not."

    "Yes, yes, yes, the cigarettes are not very good, if you don''t mind."

    One of the staff members hurriedly took out a cigarette from his pocket and handed it to Ol'' Zhou.

    "Give me one too."

    "And me."

    "I''ll smoke one too."

    "I don''t smoke, but I''ll just keep you company."

    Yi Chenggong and several senior executives from the film department also came out from the projection room one after another, quickly sharing a pack of cigarettes that had just been opened.

    Though not as exaggerated as Ol'' Zhou, these executives too had bloodshot eyes and looked as if they had just experienced a traumatic separation.

    As this group of people went into the bathroom with their cigarettes, the staff at the door exchanged glances. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    What kind of movie drives people to smoke like this?

    At this moment, Lin Yuan also leisurely walked out.

    The staff members sneakily peeked at Lin Yuan''s face and found that Lin Yuan did not appear unusual at all. He was not like the middle-aged men before him with red, tear-stricken eyes.

    "Do you want a cigarette?"

    One of the staff members carefully asked.

    Lin Yuan was taken aback for a moment, then waved off, "I don''t smoke, but thank you."

    After saying that, Lin Yuan went back to his office.

    The staff members watched Lin Yuan leave, speculating:

    "Is this movie about a midlife crisis?"

    "Probably."

    "Otherwise, why is Mr. Lin not affected at all?"

    "Ah, he''s Mr. Lin?"

    "Yes, you''ve been in the company for so long and you don''t know?"

    "I never have the chance to go to the music department¡­"

    "If we didn''t know any better, we would thought Director Zhou and his team got beaten up by Mr. Lin in there given how upset they were compared to him."

    "Hahaha, right."

    As they went into the projection room to clean up, they saw the ground was full of tissues.

    It appears that not only did this film cause a smoking spree but also a tissue-wasting frenzy.

    Bloody hell!

    Meanwhile...

    A lower-level leader from the film department was clutching his stomach and dashing into the bathroom, but as soon as he stepped inside, he was choked by the dense smoke and started coughing uncontrollably.

    "Damn, who the hell smokes in here!"

    Looking above to see a thick cloud of smoke, he swore angrily and stormed in.

    "You guys get the hell out of¡­"

    The junior leader''s voice abruptly stopped, as if someone had grabbed his throat.

    The senior executives of the film department, who also happened to be the bosses of this junior leader, collectively looked up at him with their eyes all red. No one said a word.

    At that moment...

    The junior executive suddenly remembered a time from his primary school days when he had caused a big trouble and had been subjected to collective ''death stares'' from junior leaders as he read out an apology letter in front of the whole school.

    Gulp.

    He swallowed.

    The junior leader''s bowel movement was scared back into his stomach.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Thank you, Alliance Hierarch [Treasure Young Master 88], for your support. Although we haven''t met, such a generous gesture deserves my appreciation so I offer you this additional update. The Hierarch seems not to have joined our group chat yet. If interested, please search ''full-time artist'' to join our group chat, and please also join our alliance group.

    Other interested Alliance Hierarchs are also welcome to join.

 Chapter 404 - 383 Ye Hongyu_1

    And so, three days passed.

    The day had come for Starlight to arrange a screening of "Hachiko".

    City center of Su City.

    Inside the lavishly decorated Earth Cinema.

    The director Ol'' Zhou and the senior executives of Starlight''s film department stood at the entrance of the theater with the best effects, welcoming the arrival of representatives from various major cinema chains.

    "Welcome, please come in."

    "It''s been a long time, Manager Wang."

    "Oh, Manager Zhou is here too."

    "You''re the representative of the three-gold cinema chain, aren''t you?"

    "..."

    As the representatives of the major cinema chains arrived one after another, Ol'' Zhou and the senior executives of Starlight''s film department shook hands and exchanged pleasantries with the newcomers. The atmosphere was quite lively.

    At this moment.

    A tall woman in a red coat, wearing sunglasses, appeared, walking in high heels that tapped rhythmically on the floor.

    She exuded a strong aura.

    Instantly, all eyes were on this woman. The expressions in their eyes varied, and some people were whispering, their tones full of playfulness:

    "Ye Hongyu has arrived."

    "Starlight really has some clout."

    "No wonder they chose this theater for the screening, it turns out they''re cozying up to the Earth Cinema chain, but Ye Hongyu''s presence isn''t necessarily a good thing."

    "Who doesn''t know that Ye Hongyu has extremely high standards for movie contracts."

    "She''s the renowned ''Iron Lady'' of the Earth Cinema chain. This is not a joking matter."

    "..."

    Everyone''s attention was on Ye Hongyu, not because she was beautiful.

    These representatives of the cinema chains are all influential individuals within society. If they wished, they would not lack for beautiful women in their lives.

    Despite the fact Ye Hongyu was indeed quite beautiful. Her heavy makeup, paired with her sunglasses, gave her an heroic appearance. It was as if she was walking against the wind, yet she also projected a strong feminine flavour that felt overwhelmingly domineering but endlessly charming.

    But...

    The most notable thing about this woman was the cinema chain she represented - Earth Cinema!

    Cinema chains also had various tiers.

    The large cinema chains controlled a huge number of theaters, something the smaller chains couldn''t compare with. And the Earth Cinema that Manager Ye represented was one of the top cinema chains with the largest scale in Blue Star!

    Therefore, Ye Hongyu was the most significant representative invited today!

    If she agreed to sign "Hachiko" on behalf of Earth Cinema, the contract provided by this one company alone would match the scale of several other cinema chains combined!

    So in the face of this woman, even Ol'' Zhou was a tad more enthusiastic than before:

    "Manager Ye, you''re here!"

    He shook hands with Ye Hongyu: "Thanks to the Earth Cinema for providing the venue for the screening. I hope you will have a favorable impression of our movie!"

    The corner of his mouth hooking up into a slight smile.

    Ye Hongyu removed her sunglasses, revealing her beautiful face. Despite her bold makeup, she didn''t look vulgar:

    "Director Zhou is too polite."

    She shook hands with Ol'' Zhou and smiled: "I have high expectations for Starlight''s movies."

    "That''s what we hope for as well. This movie also happens to be Xian Yu''s new film, and Manager Ye''s name also contains the character ''Yu'', which translates to ''Fish''. In a way, you could say that you are of the same origin. We hope that you will take care of Starlight and Teacher Xian Yu in the future."

    "Director Zhou, you have quite the sense of humor."

    Ye Hongyu''s smile remained: "But my expectations are sincere."

    "..."

    Ol'' Zhou also laughed, but inwardly he was unruffled.

    He, of course, knew that Ye Hongyu''s "expectations" were nothing more than pleasantries.

    She had most likely said similar things at every screening she had attended.

    But if she was ultimately dissatisfied with the movie, even if the movie was made by her father, she would never agree to sign the contract.

    Because she is Ye Hongyu!

    The ''Iron Lady'' of Earth Cinema!

    There was also a rumor about this woman in the industry: during the screening process, nobody could ever guess her attitude towards the movie based on her reactions!

    This woman wouldn''t laugh at comedies, cry at tragedies, nor furrow her brow at horror films.

    No one would know her opinion on a movie until the very end.

    This is why Ye Hongyu was known as the "Iron Lady".

    "I''ll go in first."

    Ye Hongyu said with a slight smile, taking her two sidekicks into the theatre.

    When not watching a movie, Ye Hongyu was rather expressive. However, once in ''movie-watching mode'', she would seem expressionless.

    Ye Hongyu was just a sideshow.

    The remaining theater representatives arrived one after another and entered the theater.

    At this time,

    Some theater representatives who had entered the theater noticed that besides Starlight''s arranged drinks and popcorn next to each seat, there were also individual packs of tissues.

    "Why have they put out so many tissues?"

    One of the theater representatives asked Ol'' Zhou, looking puzzled.

    Is this movie gonna be that intense?

    What''s the deal that could pass censorship?

    And it''s public, isn''t that inappropriate?

    Not to mention, there are ladies present here! Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Ignoring the guy''s imaginative rant, Ol'' Zhou mysteriously said, "It would be terrible if your sleeves got wet."

    The theater representative was startled.

    Meanwhile, after everyone settled down, another high-ranking member of the film department next to Ol'' Zhou was chatting with a familiar theater representative. He suddenly pulled out a cigarette mid-conversation:

    "Want a cigarette?"

    "Thanks, but I don''t smoke, and we''re in a theater, we can''t smoke."

    "I didn''t mean for you to smoke it now."

    "I won''t smoke it even after the movie."

    "Trust me, brother, keeping it won''t do you any harm."

    "..."

    The theatre representative had no choice but to place the cigarette behind his ear, feeling strange about what Starlight was up to.

    Row eight in the theater.

    Ye Hongyu didn''t touch her drinks or popcorn; she just crossed her legs slightly and waited for the movie to start in the most comfortable position.

    It was clear

    that Starlight had special treatment for major theater representatives, especially Earth Cinema, so this was one of the best viewing positions.

    The people sitting to the left and right of Ye Hongyu were her entourage.

    The one on the left whispered, "Sister Red Fish, may I ask a question?"

    "Ask."

    Ye Hongyu responded indifferently.

    The young follower was named Yang An, a newcomer being cultivated by the company.

    Yang An would represent the theater at some screening meetings in the future, so Ye Hongyu brought him out to groom him.

    As for the other follower, he was Ye Hongyu''s assistant.

    Yang An respectfully asked, "Why do you keep reminding us to manage our expressions while watching a movie?"

    Ye Hongyu replied in a low voice, "As theater representatives, if we show a lot of psychological activity during the screening, the film company will seize the opportunity to lower the price when identifying our preferences for the film. So no matter how much emotion you feel, you must hide it.

    Only by doing so can help us keep our thoughts unclear and maintain the initiative when signing the contract even if we really like the movie."

    "I see!"

    Yang An firmly nodded, "Sister Hongyu, rest assured, I will control my emotions. I won''t let people figure out my preferences, regardless of whether the movie is good or bad!"

    Ye Hongyu didn''t say much.

    At this point, the big screen had gone completely dark. There were no commercial slots; after Ol'' Zhou went on stage to remind everyone that the film was about to start, he quickly went back to his seat.

    It''s worth mentioning that...

    Ol'' Zhou''s seat was in the ninth row, a position from which he could see many people''s reactions, which he chose specifically in order to negotiate the final contract with the theater representatives.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Bowing in thanks for the sponsorship from [_PWGSÖÛ], becoming the twenty-fifth Hierarch of this book. The number of hierarchs for this book far exceeded Polluted White''s imagination, and there''s no way to express gratitude other than to continue our journey of extra updates for hierarchs, let''s go!

 Chapter 405 - 384: Its Acting Skills are Better than Humans -1

    The light in the movie theater dimmed. Amidst the relaxed and melodious orchestral music, black subtitles fluttered, listing the names of the crew. However, the representatives of the cinemas didn''t pay much attention to this. The only thing that got their attention was the name Zhang Xiuming.

    Zhang Xiuming is a movie emperor.

    Even more prominent than Zhang Xiuming''s name was the scriptwriter''s name, enlarged and written as "Xian Yu". This name had transitioned from unfamiliar to well-recognized in the film industry after two movies.

    The orchestral music abruptly stopped.

    Simultaneously, a slightly naive off-screen voice vibrated: "Xiao Ba is very mysterious. No one knows where he came from. Maybe from a dog shelter, maybe from someone''s car, maybe from an airport, or maybe from an unknown small city..."

    The darkness gradually faded.

    In the gradually clear picture, a rosy-cheeked child was narrating on the stage, behind him, on the blackboard, were four skewed characters:

    Hachiko.

    The camera swiftly shifted.

    A blue truck appeared on the road. Many cages were placed on the truck, and on the top level, there was a young dog. As the truck sped, the scenes on both sides whizzed by.

    Close-up of the puppy''s eyes.

    Pure innocence.

    The child''s voice was very serious: "On that rainy night, Xiao Ba appeared at the train station of the small town where my grandfather lived. We didn''t know where Xiao Ba came from, but we knew where Xiao Ba was headed ¡­"

    The camera switched.

    A wet railway station, bustling under the dim light.

    On a moving freight train, a dog cage suddenly fell to the ground. The weak cage door broke open, and the dog inside escaped through the small hole.

    No passerby paid attention to this dog.

    The dog''s eyes were filled with confusion and panic.

    This description might sound strange since it''s usually hard for people to tell a dog''s emotions through its eyes.

    But for some reason, when everyone saw this puppy''s eyes, they definitely felt a slight panic and confusion.

    In an instant, a lot of people felt an inexplicable affection.

    The puppy ran about aimlessly, seemingly trying to avoid the crowd, but suddenly halted in the shadow of a lamp post.

    A pair of legs appeared on the camera.

    The camera panned upwards, revealing a handsome and mature face. This man was on the phone.

    "No need to pick me up, I''ll walk ¡­ I miss you too."

    All the cinema representatives knew, this actor is Zhang Xiuming, but nobody broke the storyline.

    When Zhang Xiuming appeared in the movie, he seemed to naturally fall into the role.

    That''s the talent of a movie emperor, naturally making the audience forget reality.

    Ending the call, a man and a dog, face to face ¡­

    "It''s a drama movie as expected."

    In the eighth row in front of the big screen, Ye Hongyu slightly raised her eyebrow: "From the opening music to the camera work, they are all trying to create an atmosphere."

    "What kind of atmosphere?"

    "Yang An quietly asked.

    Ye Hongyu smiled: "An emotional atmosphere. If things go as anticipated, this movie will suddenly switch to melodramatic mode at some point. The scriptwriter and director will use all their tricks to try to move the audience."

    Usually, Ye Hongyu wouldn''t talk during a movie.

    But considering Yang An is a newcomer who needs to be mentored, so she explained a bit: "If you end up being moved, the movie is considered successful."

    Yang An confidently said: "I have high tear threshold."

    Ye Hongyu did not comment.

    In terms of tear threshold, she was professionally trained.

    No matter how touching the film might be, she could remain unmoved.

    Unless...

    Meanwhile, between their conversation, the movie was continuing its undramatic narrative.

    The male protagonist played by Zhang Xiuming tried to hand the dog over to the station security but was rejected. The security guard explained:

    "I''m sorry, but I''m a bit allergic to dog fur. You can take the dog home for now, and if anyone comes looking for it, I''ll let Professor An know."

    Turns out, Zhang Xiuming was playing the role of a professor.

    Professor An, reluctant to abandon the dog, could only bring him home, leading to his wife''s dissatisfaction.

    In this process, whether it was the dog''s natural cuteness, or the interaction between Professor An and his wife, everything brought about a rather warm feeling.

    It was clear this was a loving couple.

    Their love was so deep that even though the wife didn''t like dogs, she still allowed Professor An to temporarily keep the dog at home, waiting for the owner to claim it.

    However, the woman had one requirement; she wouldn''t allow the dog to stay inside the house.

    Helpless, Professor An could only raise the dog outside.

    Some audience members noticed that there was a deserted dog house in Professor An''s yard.

    Why was there a dog house?

    The cinema representatives had no idea, it seemed like a foreshadowing.

    After much fuss, Professor An finally refurbished the dog house and settled the dog there.

    As he turned around to go back inside, Professor An heard the dog softly whine.

    He paused, turned around and looked at the dog, only to find traces of grievance in the dog''s eyes.

    Grievance?

    For the second time, the audience was deeply moved by this strange feeling, their hearts seemed to be melting, wishing desperately to hold the dog and console him.

    They could not understand how they could see emotions in a dog''s eyes.

    At the railway station, the dog''s eyes were filled with confusion, panic and a hint of fear.

    At that time, everyone thought it was a wonderful coincidence formed by the director''s management of the lighting and usage of the camera.

    However, at this moment, the hint of grievance in the dog''s eyes could not deceive anyone, and everyone realized that maybe the emotions conveyed by the dog were not just the coincidences of camera and lighting effects.

    The little guy is really upset!

    Familiar representatives of the cinemas quietly exchanged words:

    "I can''t believe I''m seeing acting skills in the eyes of a dog. This dog''s acting skills are even better than many young actors!"

    "Where did they find this dog? It''s perfect, I want to keep a dog like this."

    "A dog like this could naturally gain the audience''s affection."

    "I''m sure a dog would not understand acting, perhaps it''s genuinely expressing its emotions."

    "What should I do, it''s too cute!"

    "I really like this dog."

    "¡­"

    In the ninth row, Yi Chenggong''s mouth curled into a slight smile. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Just as he anticipated, the audience fell in love with Xiao Ba in record time.

    However, these people could never guess that the dog''s superb acting skills were all down to Xian Yu''s credit.

    If the crew hadn''t witnessed it in person, Yi Chenggong would also find it hard to believe that someone could get a dog to cooperate for a performance.

    "I''m sorry, you''ll have to bear with it tonight. I hope someone comes to pick you up tomorrow."

    Professor An apologised to the dog with a bitter smile, then turned and went back to his house.

    The camera turned to grayscale.

    This was the dog''s perspective. He huddled in the doghouse, looking out from the doorway.

    In the lonely yard, there was only the moon hanging high in the night sky, and the faint chirping of unknown insects in the darkness.

    At this moment.

    The audience started feeling strong sympathy for the dog, and dissatisfaction towards the uncompassionate mistress.

 Chapter 406 - 385 Heart Knot_1

    That night.

    Professor An, cradling his wife, was deep in sleep.

    Suddenly, a flash of light burst through the window, followed by a dull rumble of thunder, accompanied by the pitter-patter of rain -

    It started raining.

    Professor An was suddenly startled awake. He glanced at the window, then carefully got up.

    He tiptoed out of the bedroom, not even having time to put on a robe, and ended up outside the front door, where a seemingly sleepless dog in the kennel began barking at him.

    "Don''t be afraid...

    Professor An felt around with his right hand, presumably looking for an umbrella, but couldn''t find one. He could only rush into the rain towards the kennel, picking up the dog.

    The rain got worse.

    Professor An used his body to shield the dog from the rain, holding it as he entered his study. He then found a blanket from a box and wrapped the dog in it:

    "You might feel a bit cold."

    He said with a laugh, looking at the dog, only to sneeze.

    The dog licked the back of his hand and whimpered as if awkwardly consoling him.

    On the screen.

    The audience watched this affectionate scene, their eyes filled with stars.

    "Professor An is so kind."

    "It''s breaking my heart."

    "Indeed, a dog is the real love."

    "I hope Professor An doesn''t catch a cold."

    "He turned his study into a dog kennel. His tolerance of his wife is actually a form of respect. What a man."

    "..."

    At this moment, female viewers with more delicate emotions seemed to be particularly touched. And Professor An''s personal charm was gradually revealed with his dialogue and demeanor, in combination with the plot.

    He is a gentle, mature, kind-hearted man.

    The dog spent a warm night in the study.

    At seven o''clock in the morning, Madam An got up to find Professor An reading a book on the living room couch with his glasses on.

    "You woke up so early today?"

    "Yeah." Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "It seemed to have rained last night."

    "Achoo¡­"

    "Have you caught a cold?"

    Madam An walked to the door somewhat suspiciously, only to see the dog obediently sitting in its kennel, wagging its tail at her.

    Turns out, Professor An deliberately woke up early to send the dog back to its kennel so his wife wouldn''t find out.

    His expression was calm, and his acting was superb. His wife didn''t notice anything awry.

    Staring at the courtyard after the heavy rain, then looking at the dog, Madam An bit her lip and turned around:

    "Take some cold medicine."

    "I already did."

    "Will you get rid of it today?"

    "Yes."

    "It''s better that way."

    His wife still didn''t want to keep the dog, so Professor An could only go out to find the dog''s owner.

    In the morning, he distributed flyers in alleys and streets; in the afternoon, he went to the pet shelter to inquire; he even contacted a friend who had pets to ask if they were interested in adopting the dog...

    But after several days, he got nothing.

    Professor An could only continue this routine¡ªbringing the dog to his study every night when his wife was asleep, then sending it back to the kennel early the next morning.

    However, when Professor An''s daughter came to visit her parents, she was instantly attracted by the adorable dog and delightedly asked:

    "I like it! What''s its name?"

    Madam An glanced at Professor An: "It''s called ''Send Away Tomorrow''."

    Professor An smiled warmly.

    The daughter ignored her mother''s sarcastic remark towards her father, thought for a moment, and said: "How about calling it Xiao Ba?"

    Professor An''s smile faltered for a moment.

    Madam An, who was pouring a cup of coffee, suddenly paused, then looked out the window at the renovated kennel.

    "It''s been eight years."

    Suddenly, the daughter said quietly, "It''s exactly eight years since Xiao Hei passed away. Maybe it''s Xiao Hei reincarnated to find us, we should take care of it as it grows up¡­"

    Madam An''s expression remained calm.

    Yet, Professor An chuckled abruptly, "Then let''s call it Xiao Ba. What do you think, dear?"

    "Whatever you want, it won''t stay for long anyway."

    Madam An left her steaming coffee behind and fled back into her room, burying her head deep within the bedding.

    A moment later, she got up and took out a picture from the drawer.

    In the photograph was a family of three and at their feet, startlingly, was a dog.

    So, eight years ago, Professor An also kept a dog which passed away for some reasons.

    Madam An was reluctant to keep another dog because she feared to suffer another blow. Perhaps, the appearance of this dog always reminded her of her past beloved pet.

    "So that''s it."

    "That''s why Madam An doesn''t want to keep a dog."

    "I think I understand. I had a cat that ran away and could never be found. I cried for a long time and since then, I dared not keep a cat."

    "Madam An is not that bad after all."

    "Because she had showered love on that previous dog, she is resisting so much now. It''s hard for outsiders to understand such feelings."

    "Did Professor An bring the dog home to comfort his wife?"

    "Being a gentle man, he sure is considerate."

    "..."

    The audience seemed to have a degree of sympathy for Madam An that gradually overshadowed her indifference towards the dog.

    "Xiao Ba!"

    The daughter''s suggestion made Professor An begin to call the puppy Xiao Ba.

    He tried to understand Xiao Ba''s habits and played with him. While Professor An played the piano during the day, Xiao Ba would silently listen, or lick the sheet music on the piano...

    The style of this film is very subtle.

    The story being told doesn''t have many ups and downs.

    But the audience doesn''t find it tedious or boring, instead, they are completely engrossed. The theatre is filled with warmth and joy.

    Everyone is willing to believe that this is a heartwarming story of a family, who lost a beloved dog eight years ago and was comforted by the arrival of Xiao Ba.

    The film utilizes the technique of storytelling through a child''s perspective in a retrospective manner.

    Occasional slow motion, long takes to enhance realism, and the natural pursuit of depth of field in emotional films, are all used in a balanced way over the first twenty minutes to narratively unfold this story of a human and their dog.

    The soundtrack starts with slow piano music.

    The perspective of the dog appears from time to time in the movie, with shades of black, white, and gray, allowing the audience to empathize with Xiao Ba to the maximum extent.

    However, Madam An''s mental block wasn''t that easily resolved.

    One afternoon, half a month later.

    She made the first attempt at driving Xiao Ba out of the house.

    As a rational woman, she didn''t wish to be ruled by soft-heartedness.

    Xiao Ba stood at the door, facing the closed door, crying and whimpering, finally lying flat, showing no intent of leaving at all.

    The camera then moved inside the door.

    The audience was astonished to find out that after closing the door, Madam An didn''t go back to her room immediately, instead, she stood still in a daze, not as heartless as she appeared.

    Dusk arrived.

    Madam An finally took action, she carefully peeked out through the door slit, only to make eye contact with Xiao Ba looking at her.

    "Woof, woof!"

    Xiao Ba started barking, cheerfully...

    Madam An''s tears abruptly fell. She turned around and decisively went back to her room, her footsteps were resolute and heavy.

    Still hasn''t changed her mind?

    Was Xiao Ba abandoned just like that?

    Some viewers felt an overwhelming sense of pity.

    Then in an instant, a ray of light shone through in the hearts of the audience, making their eyes slightly teary!

    Click.

    Amazingly, Xiao Ba nudged the door open with his head and returned to the yard, his bark was even more cheerful. In the suddenly accelerated piano rhythm, his joyous barking sound is beautiful, as beautiful as the approaching dusk in the evening!

    It turns out...

    In the end, Madam An really did unlock the door, only she left it slightly ajar pretending as if it was still locked.

 Chapter 407 - 386 Feel the Pain_1

    People thought this failed eviction might be the catalyst for Madam An to accept Xiao Ba. Her heart was slowly softening, but they didn''t expect this to happen. While Madam An didn''t have the heart to evict Xiao Ba herself, she continued to pressure Professor An. After Xiao Ba accidentally shattered a bowl in the kitchen, a fierce argument between Madam An and Professor An ensued¡ª

    "I''ve had enough! You will send him away tomorrow!"

    "Tomorrow?"

    "You''ve been saying that for over half a month!"

    "I''m sorry."

    Professor An said softly after a moment of silence.

    It seemed like he had made up his mind.

    The camera then naturally switched to Xiao Ba''s perspective.

    Xiao Ba seemed to have sensed something. Through the gaps in the wooden boards in the grayscale world, it watched the figure of Professor An apologizing and slowly stopped wagging its tail.

    "Please don''t!"

    "Don''t send him away."

    "He is your dog."

    "He has already chosen his owner."

    An audience member murmured, their voice laced with a hint of pleading.

    Sensitive female audience members were holding back tears, their eyes full of sympathy for Xiao Ba in the frame.

    "..."

    Yang An, who previously boasted a high breaking point for tears, bit his lip as his nose began to sting.

    He quietly glanced at Ye Hongyu next to him.

    Ye Hongyu maintained the same composure since the beginning of the film, without any unnecessary expressions on her face, just as she always did when watching any other movie¡ª

    The epitome of calm and rational.

    Yang An, as if reminded, sniffed and suppressed his stirring emotions.

    On the big screen.

    The sky had darkened once again.

    Like the past few days, Professor An quietly got up again after his wife fell asleep and took Xiao Ba to his study.

    He took out the canned dog food and dog treats he had bought and fed Xiao Ba.

    Before, he would not let Xiao Ba eat too many snacks as he felt that picky eating wasn''t a good habit, but today, he took out all the cans and snacks.

    "Today, you can eat however you like."

    Professor An smiled at Xiao Ba, though his smile was somewhat stiff.

    Xiao Ba, who used to be extraordinarily excited in front of these snacks, was extremely stubborn today, staring at Professor An without moving a muscle.

    Xiao Ba didn''t touch the canned food or snacks at all.

    As if these things didn''t exist at all.

    Professor An''s eyes were slightly moist. He picked up Xiao Ba, gently patting its back, and softly repeated, "Good boy, good boy..."

    Xiao Ba did not make any noise.

    In past nights, when Professor An secretly brought Xiao Ba into his study, he always had to ask it to be quiet to prevent an excited Xiao Ba from waking up Madam An.

    But tonight, Xiao Ba was particularly understanding. It didn''t utter a whimper of grievance, lying silently in Professor An''s arms.

    At this moment.

    The camera angle subtly shifted.

    Outside the study, Madam An stood wearing her nightgown, looking at her husband. No one knew how long she had been standing there before she quietly turned and went back to the bedroom.

    Perhaps, that night, everyone was especially exhausted.

    The next day, when Professor An woke up, the sun was already high in the sky.

    The wife who used to be beside him was no longer there.

    Professor An abruptly remembered the dog was still in his study. He slapped his forehead in annoyance, put on his robe over his pajamas, messed up hair and all, and bolted towards the study.

    However, when he reached the study, he was stunned by what he saw.

    Madam An was gently stroking Xiao Ba''s head, watching gently as Xiao Ba ate the snacks he refused to eat the day before.

    Before he could say anything, their home phone rang.

    Madam An got up to answer the phone. A kind voice on the other end said, "Hello, I heard you have a dog looking for a new home. I am willing to adopt him, I really like dogs..."

    "I''m sorry."

    On the sunny and relaxed little town, the ancient and peaceful happiness gradually flowed.

    As Madam An watched a nervous Professor An, she smiled and said to the person on the phone: "Xiao Ba already has an owner."

    Thump.

    Xiao Ba seemed to understand; he suddenly stopped munching on his snack and, surprisingly, carried the strip-shaped snack in his mouth and delivered it to Madam An''s feet.

    "Xiao Ba, she doesn''t eat this."

    Professor An chuckled, his body seemingly instantly relaxed, the relief of that moment shining as brilliantly as the sunlight outside the house.

    "Plop."

    Xiao Ba jumped up excitedly, knocking over a chair, causing Madam An''s face to instantly fill with rage: "Xiao Ba, get out of here!"

    "Woof!"

    Xiao Ba barked at her, with the snack in its mouth, and ran off.

    Madam An and Professor An exchanged glances and suddenly burst into hearty laughter.

    "No more getting up in the middle of the night," Madam An warned after laughing a while."Anyway, it is your own study; you can give it to anyone you want."

    "Did you find out?"

    "I knew it long ago."

    The woman had unraveled her misgivings, but the audience couldn''t determine whether it was out of love for her husband or her reluctance to let go of Xiao Ba. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Perhaps, both.

    Some of the audience in the front started to wipe their tears and looked around for tissues, only to find them on the side of their seats, causing them to smile involuntarily.

    Finally, someone understood why tissues were placed here.

    But having tissues at every seat was a bit too dramatic.

    "This is nice."

    Yang An looked at Ye Hongyu, whose expression seemed to be perennially unchanged, and spoke to himself inwardly.

    He didn''t notice that Ye Hongyu had slightly raised his eyebrows.

    The following scenes were entirely about Xiao Ba...

    Xiao Ba had grown up bit by bit.

    The grown-up Xiao Ba was still as adorable as ever, if not more spirited.

    In these intricate and warm shots, the purest and most genuine emotions between humans and animals were displayed without reservation.

    With Xiao Ba''s growth, the movie was able to convey the subtle warmth between humans and dogs to the audience just through gestures and movements, no words necessary.

    The camera more frequently adopted a low angle for filming.

    Black, white, and gray.

    The movie led everyone to view the world from Xiao Ba''s perspective.

    Along with the everyday interactions between Xiao Ba and Professor An, a countless number of warm emotions had already sprung up in the hearts of the audience.

    Becoming the pet dog of Professor An''s family, familiarity and tacit understanding grew bit by bit.

    Whenever the professor was about to board a train for school, Xiao Ba always followed behind. Watching Professor An get on the train, Xiao Ba would sit across from the train station by the flowerbed all day long.

    At first, Professor An often shooed it away, asking it to go home.

    Later, the professor found that Xiao Ba, as though bewitched, always insisted on seeing him walk out of the train station before it would finally leave. Hence, the professor gave up and let it wait.

    Over time, even the uncle who sold egg pancakes and the auntie from the newspaper booth at the train station got to know this little dog that saw the professor off to work every day and waited for the professor to come home-

    Xiao Ba was very loyal.

    Everyone loved it, and some people even gave Xiao Ba food. Whenever this happened, Xiao Ba would express its gratitude in its own way.

    Yang An was particularly fond of Xiao Ba.

    In front of the big screen, watching Xiao Ba dig a hole under the fence to see the professor off to work. Yang An''s mouth curled up into a smile. Watching Xiao Ba''s tail wag excitedly and rush up to greet the professor upon his return from work, Yang An''s eyes shifted slightly...

    Humans and dogs had an attachment to each other.

    Halfway through the movie, no one knew what was going to happen next, but the interaction and growth between humans and dogs were so endearing that no one found it boring. It was a feeling that blockbuster films laden with special effects couldn''t evoke.

    It seemed like realizing the charm of light dishes after having too much rich food.

    However, few people knew it was a warm trap carefully crafted by the movie.

    And the ones with the most say in this matter were Yi Chenggong, who was sitting in the ninth row, and the executives at Starlight who had watched the movie once before.

    "Get ready to feel the pain..."

    Ol'' Zhou muttered in his heart, while glancing at a female audience member in the row in front of him.

    The female audience member was a representative of a medium-sized movie theater. She was looking up slightly, like savoring a sweet ice cream in summer, her face filled with cozy joy...

    Ol'' Zhou''s gaze swept over the others.

    Everyone was completely absorbed, without exception.

 Chapter 408 - 387: Agreement (Added for Alliance Hierarchã€”âŒ’â—ŽâŒ’ã€•)_1

    The gentle trap, it catches people off guard, and they fall into it without noticing...

    Professor An was accustomed to waiting for Xiao Ba.

    Xiao Ba had grown used to Professor An''s returns.

    They were like the most synchronized pair, always understanding each other''s intentions at the very first moment.

    If anything were less than perfect, it probably was that Xiao Ba never showed any interest in fetching a ball.

    Other people''s dogs would fetch the ball tossed by their owners.

    It was a way of playing and interacting.

    But Xiao Ba wasn''t fond of ball-fetching. Instead, it would rather frolic with Professor An, showing no interest in a rolling ball.

    So it went on.

    Days went by.

    At some point, Professor An began to wear glasses, and his hair turned gray. He could no longer play with Xiao Ba as freely as before.

    Yet Xiao Ba was still full of energy.

    It still sent Professor An to his car every day and waited for him at the corner of the station, as if they had an unspoken pact.

    Then one day.

    As usual, Professor An was heading to the station for work. Unexpectedly, he found that Xiao Ba was carrying the ball it never used to play with and was following him.

    "You want to play?"

    Professor An was taken aback. He test-threw the ball to a nearby spot, and indeed, Xiao Ba fetched it back.

    "Well done!"

    It felt as if Professor An had become a few years younger. He picked up the ball again, threw it farther, and Xiao Ba, without hesitation, fetched it back as before.

    Professor An was extraordinarily joyful.

    That day.

    The ball-adverse Xiao Ba suddenly wanted to play fetch with him. For the first time, Professor An missed the first bus due to his immersion in the unexpected joy.

    The scene brought smiles to the faces of those at the station.

    Professor An and Xiao Ba played for a long time before he finally set off for work, reluctantly.

    Throughout his commute, he tightly held the small yellow ball in his hand.

    With this, the gentle trap finally unveiled its long-prepared, shocking snare!

    Not everyone was oblivious.

    Among the representatives of the cinema chains present, some were furrowing their brows, musing over the implications of this scene, sensing a slight discomfort.

    Next to Ye Hongyu.

    Yang An quietly clenched his fists; an inexplicable agitation stirred in his heart. Why had there been such a twist? Was there a special reason why Xiao Ba wanted to play ball?

    At this moment, Yang An noticed that Ye Hongyu, whose leg had been bounced all this while, had lowered it.

    His unease was rapidly magnifying!

    The movie continued.

    Professor An, a music teacher by profession, began to lecture his students on his understanding of music after playing a piano piece.

    Time had aged him, but it had also made his temperament more reserved. This man seemed even more attractive now, but he was somewhat mischievous.

    While teaching a piano lesson, he held in his hand the yellow ball with which he had played with Xiao Ba before work.

    He occasionally squeezed the ball, making it emit a cute sound.

    "We..."

    Professor An glanced at the ball, smiled, and was about to speak when his face changed abruptly. He clutched his chest, reaching out for support, touching the piano.

    "Hum."

    His hand had unintentionally hit the black and white keys, producing a disjointed sound from the piano, which attracted all the students. Amid their startled gaze, Professor An collapsed suddenly.

    Clatter!

    The students jumped up in confusion...

    In the slow-motion shot with just the focus, the yellow ball was still tightly gripped in the professor''s hand, but it was no longer squeezed to make a sound, as if the fallen Professor An on the classroom floor would never wake up...

    Professor An was dead.

    It was like a sinister plot crafted by the scriptwriter, yet it felt like a sudden accident.

    The glow of the big screen illuminated all the faces in the audience.

    Countless pupils were dilating.

    The faces of the audience shifted from disbelieving shock to immediate panic, then overwhelming sorrow, until finally, they were completely covered by enormous grief.

    A small gap in the depths of the soul, slowly enlarging and spreading, until it collapsed.

    At this moment, everyone''s mind was a blank!

    Just like a piece of deadwood that couldn''t think.

    By the time people realized what had happened, some of the audience were already enveloped by the rapidly rising despair!

    All of a sudden, the big screen, like the audience''s mood, dimmed.

    In the darkness, there was nothing, and nothing could be seen.

    Thump thump thump thump...

    There was no contrived sentimental music, only the sound of a heartbeat drumming in the darkness, growing slower and slower, until it disappeared completely.

    Squeak.

    It was the faint sound of the ball.

    The big screen lit up in an instant, but the expressions of the audience were strikingly different from those a few seconds before the darkness, as if it were a movie edit.

    Those were teary faces...

    The shot cruelly switched to the old train station, where Xiao Ba was still squatting by the pool on the opposite side. The camera slowly panned upwards, in the long shot only the helpless silhouette of Xiao Ba was left.

    Alone and sad.

    As though frozen in time.

    In the back row, tears flowed like a broken dam from Yang An''s eyes, unable to be held back.

    Perhaps Ye Hongyu was the only one holding back, seemingly unfazed as though it was her creed, but her lips had turned white from biting down too hard, and she still did not loosen her grip despite the pain.

    Yang An couldn''t see this.

    His ears were filled with the sound of the entire cinema sobbing. As the gentle trap began to close in, few were left untouched. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 409 - 387: Agreement (Extra for Alliance Hierarchã€”âŒ’â—ŽâŒ’ã€•)_2

    In a cinema hall like this, tears are the cheapest form of release!

    The uncles and aunts who set up stalls at the train station financial worker shift one after another.

    The man in the security room glanced at the time on his watch and looked at Xiao Ba squatting on the flower bed, tried to call him, but Xiao Ba did not respond.

    At this time.

    The sky had completely darkened, and Xiao Ba was left with only the ice and snow that had not completely melted this winter.

    The lens zooms in quickly, Xiao Ba''s lower jaw against the ground, his breathing slowly becoming heavier,

    In the end, it was Professor An''s daughter who brought Xiao Ba home.

    The lights in the house did not go out that night.

    Xiao Ba simply refused to enter the study.

    It seemed to have returned to the day it first joined this family, peering through the small gap at this black and white world, like a pitiful orphan.

    The only difference was that Madam An cried all night.

    The next day, a grand funeral was held for Professor An, his face became part of people''s memory, etched onto the tomb.

    Xiao Ba did not show up.

    As always, it went to the flower bed across the station and squatted, watched the morning train heading towards the distance as always, and the passing crowd as always...

    What was it looking for?

    What was it waiting for?

    The answer to this question seemed meaningless, just like Xiao Ba''s aimless waiting, which was also meaningless for many people.

    The snow started to flurry again that night.

    Everything was bleakly white.

    The man in the train station security booth walked up to Xiao Ba and said softly, "You don''t have to keep waiting, he''s never going to come back."

    Xiao Ba remained still.

    In the snowy night, what was reflected in its eyes, was unknowingly the light, or the moonlight.

    The man in the security booth shook his head, but in the eyes of the audience, it was clearly an extreme sadness.

    The big snow covered Xiao Ba''s fur, Xiao Ba seemed not to hear, and the station attendant brushed the snow off Xiao Ba''s body, smiled helplessly, he knew this was Xiao Ba''s stubbornness...

    The sobbing in the cinema had become intermittent, even the crowd that was originally trying to suppress it, could no longer restrain themselves.

    Ye Hongyu''s eyes, as if illuminated by the fire, were filled with red.

    It was then that Yang An noticed that Ye Hongyu''s body was slightly trembling, like himself, his throat was blocked, and he could only try to alleviate the surging tears in a manner close to disgrace.

    That year, Madam An sold the house, as if trying to escape from this city.

    Professor An''s daughter brought Xiao Ba back to her house, but Xiao Ba escaped that same day.

    Only then did Professor An''s daughter realize that the Xiao Ba before her was no longer the one that no matter what could not be driven away or scolded away.

    The black and white grey world still had no color.

    Amidst the passing scenery, it was running out of breath.

    It crossed the forest of withered branches and leaves, and also crossed the endless fields, it returned to the home where the former him lived, this road it would always remember.

    However, this home, already had new owners.

    "Are you lost?"

    The new owner of the house looked at Xiao Ba, the scene was just like the first time Xiao Ba and Professor An met, that man bent down and asked with a gentle face:

    Little guy, are you lost?

    It was not lost, it returned to the flower bed across from the old station again, as if to hold onto a never existed, or perhaps a silent agreement.

    Sometimes when it is tired from squat, it would lie down to rest, it''s just that those eyes which seemed to be able to speak, never left each passing train, and every handful of people arriving at the station.

    Yes, this is where he left, it might never be lost.

    It''s just the person it''s waiting for, could he not find the way home because he was lost?

    Professor An''s daughter took it home again, tried to tie it up, but Xiao Ba refused to eat or drink, refused by fasting, just like the night Professor An tried to send it away--

    After a few days, Professor An''s daughter suddenly understood something.

    She chose to release the chain that held Xiao Ba and opened the tightly shut door, crying and smiling, "Maybe I understand you."

    For the first time, Xiao Ba did not wildly escape.

    It looked at Professor An''s daughter, as if saying a serious goodbye.

    The scene changes.

    It was still the flower bed across from the old station, and Xiao Ba was back in his squatting position here again.

    It looked as if it had grown together with this place, the passing trains always managed to lift Xiao Ba''s spirit right away, but the familiar scent was lost among the passing crowds, so all it received was one disappointment after another.

    Its fur had become disgustingly messy.

    The black, white and grey in its eyes, were cold and chilly, piercing to the bone.

    At night, it would sleep under the wheels of the discarded train carriage.

    Every morning when the first train woke it up, it would, as usual, run to the other side of the train station, sit upright on the unchanged steps, waiting for a certain returnee that will never appear.

    No matter whether it was windy, raining, or when the familiar heavy snow was floating down from the sky.

    No one ever brought it into the study again.

    No one ever gave it a blanket to keep warm.

    Only time hurried by, people hurried by.

    Only the train would continue to hoot, only sunrise would alternate with sunset, only the bright moon turned into a thin moon. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    One year passed, then two years, then three years...

    The people around would provide Xiao Ba with food for survival.

    Everyone was moved by Xiao Ba''s loyalty to his master, and even the newspapers published news about Xiao Ba waiting for his master to return for years, and there were also spontaneous donations from the public...

    "Xiao Ba has gotten old."

    One day, the security guard who still worked at the station quietly said that.

    It started to falter, its dirty fur became sparse day by day, because there was no one to groom it for a long time, it no longer had its previous gloss.

    It was still waiting, day after day, for a full ten years.

    Spring, summer, autumn, and winter, the four seasons cycled.

    No one knew whether Xiao Ba knew that he would never return, the distance between life and death, perhaps a dog really couldn''t perceive it.

    It was just stubbornly believed that his master would return.

    So it waited forever, but its life couldn''t stand the erosion of time, like a flowing stream, little by little on the bluestone platform of the station, year after year it passed and withered away.

    As a dog, this was its own vigil, and also the destination it chose for itself.

    From birth to old age and sickness, to death, never leaving nor abandoning, it used ten years of time to completely become a landscape.

    When the former gleaming Madam An came to the small town station, she saw Xiao Ba as soon as she walked out of the station.

    Xiao Ba, it was already so old that it could only lie there, not wanting to waste even a little bit of strength to move.

    With just one glance, Madam An cried her makeup off.

    Just like the Ye Hongyu in front of the movie screen who claimed to be able to keep her composure forever, for the first time in her life she took the paper from Yang An, crying so hard that she couldn''t breathe.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks again for the reward from the Hierarch of the emoji, thank you very much, I also want to apologize to you all for being a bit lazy in some places of this writing, can''t talk too much cheeky today, I was crying miserably while watching the movie and looking at the previous contents, there will be modifications later, I''m going to write the next chapter, it might take a while.

 Chapter 410 - 388: Laughter and Tears (Extra for Alliance Hierarch [havck])_1

    This was the first time Yang An saw Ye Hongyu''s strength crumble, her heavily applied makeup unable to withstand the relentless assault of her tears.

    Like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

    Boxes of tissues found their ultimate purpose in the cinema, but no one had the time to ponder about this peculiar arrangement.

    The entire theatre was bathed in a thick sadness.

    At this point, almost all the representatives from the various cinemas didn''t dare to continue watching.

    The sides of Ye Hongyu''s nostrils were red from the constant rubbing with tissues, but she still determinedly lifted her head to watch the big screen¡­

    The lights remained dim.

    Xiao Ba''s face as he lay sleeping under the abandoned train cabin was old and lined, and the marks that age had carved into him were clear. But everyone knew that it wasn''t the condition of the train station that was torturing him, but the fact that the familiar call of "Xiao Ba" would never sound again.

    Snow fell like knives.

    It was winter again. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The audience felt a certain dislike for winters like this. The train''s whistle, tirelessly sounding, woke Xiao Ba, who could only watch the train pull away once more.

    Accompanying all this was the heavy, slow rhythm of pianos playing in the background.

    Xiao Ba braved the snow, dragging his weary steps along the train tracks.

    The lights in the homes on either side of the tracks were progressively going out.

    It seemed tired.

    Returning to the familiar flower bed, it lay down wearily, lacking the energy even to whimper. Xiao Ba gently closed his eyes.

    Suddenly, it seemed as though the train had returned.

    The whistle that had sounded for the umpteenth time in the last ten years.

    But this time, the lights of the train were exceedingly bright, and even the street lamps on either side seemed to have lit up again.

    The scene transitioned in a montage-like manner, to the bright sunlight.

    In his dream, Xiao Ba heard someone calling him:

    "Wake up."

    "Xiao Ba."

    "Let''s go."

    Xiao Ba opened his eyes and saw Professor An''s familiar face appearing in the hazy view, waving at him.

    The scene flashed back.

    The sunny spring afternoons spent running around freely; the evenings when the train had returned and they would embrace each other; the moments when the crowds started boarding, and they would bid each other goodbye; the day when it started pouring, and they would seek warmth in the study...

    In the memories, he was still young.

    In the memories, it was still fit and nimble.

    It turns out this was just a dream of Xiao Ba''s, and in this dream of Xiao Ba''s is the world in color.

    The music picked up, faster and higher.

    Xiao Ba suddenly woke up, hearing the sound of train doors opening.

    Before its eyes, to its shock, it was actually Professor An¡ªwaving at it and calling its name fondly.

    It abruptly sat up.

    Its fur seemed to become neat and clean again, its movements nimble and vigorous.

    Whoosh.

    It charged into Professor An''s embrace swiftly as it had done countless times in the past¡ªagainst the snow which fell even more sharply like knives¡ª

    That evening.

    Xiao Ba left.

    The audience''s cries were nearing breaking point now, even if they knew that this was Xiao Ba''s inevitable end!

    From the back of the theatre,

    Ol'' Zhou could keep an eye on the whole theatre, including Ye Hongyu''s reaction.

    Ol'' Zhou wasn''t surprised.

    The second time he watched "Hachiko" he still couldn''t hold back, savoring the sour and salty taste of his tears. What more for these audience members, who were watching the movie for the first time?

    An Iron Lady?

    She was still a woman after all.

    Who was truly heartless?

    Xiao Ba has passed away, yet the movie isn''t over. Amid the audience''s breakdown and tears, the boy''s voice-over begins, the camera slowly shifting back to the bright and clean classroom: "I don''t have much of a memory of my grandpa, but after hearing his story with Xiao Ba, I feel like I understand him. Don''t forget those you love, that''s why Xiao Ba is my eternal hero."

    Next to the podium, the teacher rubbed her eyes.

    Some of the kids in the audience had slightly reddened eyes.

    After school, as the boy stepped off the school bus, in the distance, a dog was quickly rushing toward him. It looked exactly like Xiao Ba when he was young.

    It felt as if the audience was witnessing a great cycle.

    Although this cycle initially seemed cruel, as the boy and the dog crossed the railroad tracks and strolled by the clear creek, amidst the painful sobbing, a sense of comfort took root in everyone''s hearts.

    At that moment, everyone understood Madam An.

    Maybe the audience''s sentiment mirrors the conflicting feelings Madam An had when first accepting Xiao Ba into her life, as depicted in the first half of the movie.

    Fearing the end so one refrains from starting in the first place.

    Regardless of who leaves first, the pain inflicted on the one left behind is everlasting.

    Professor An had once had a dog named Xiao Hei.

    After Xiao Hei''s death, Madam An was left with a mental scar.

    This scar was evident in her repeatedly refusing to let Xiao Ba join the family and in her attempts to get rid of him.

    The passing of a dog leaves a void in one''s heart.

    However, Xiao Ba''s arrival ultimately faced Professor An''s departure.

    A person''s departure, from a dog''s perspective, carries a deeper impact. For this reunion into oblivion, it waited ten years¡ª

    Some lost their dogs.

    Some dogs lost their owners.

    Yet people still harbor a beautiful vision in their hearts, which is the hope that all those who lost their loved ones can meet again in heaven.

    The movie ended.

    No one stood up.

    Ye Hongyu leaned back in her seat, wiping her tears, a thought surfaced in her mind again: "We are professionally trained, no matter how moved, we manage to stay calm, unless we can''t hold back."

    "Sis Hongyu..."

    Fearing Ye Hongyu might feel embarrassed, Yang An quietly said, "Everyone is crying."

    "Hmm."

    Ye Hongyu smiled, "There''s something I forgot to teach you."

    "What is it?"

    "Humans aren''t stones, we can''t be indifferent forever. When we can''t hold back, cry if you want to cry, laugh if you want to laugh. It''s our freedom."

    Yang An was stunned, then nodded in agreement.

    At this time, the staff credits appeared again on the big screen.

    Unlike the indifference at the beginning-

    This time, everyone was watching the credits intently.

    All contributors, whether they were the director, actors, or crew were engraved into people''s hearts.

    Finally, the credits highlighted three main entries.

    Star: Zhang Xiuming

    Director: Yi Chenggong

    Scriptwriter: Xian Yu

    Featured Performer: Xiao Huang (with photo, young dog)

    Featured Performer: Antarctica (with photo, adult dog)

    Featured Performer: Big Huang (with photo, old dog)

    For the years they''ve been watching movies, the cinema representatives witnessed for the first time dog names being displayed in the credits, and even more prominently than Xian Yu. Perhaps this was another comfort for the audience.

    In the movie, Xiao Ba was gone.

    But outside the movie, these dogs who participated in the performance were still alive and healthy.

    At this moment-

    A thunderous round of applause resonated in the movie theatre.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Thanks to the Alliance Hierarch, Lord "havck," for your generous contribution. Thank you, thank you. Although I''ve been saying thank you a lot lately, every thank you comes from the heart.

 Chapter 411 - 389 - Bumper Harvest_1

    "I cried my eyes out."

    "I purposely put on makeup for this."

    "I don''t think I have the courage to watch this movie a second time."

    "Starlight anticipated this reaction, so they provided tissues on each seat."

    "So heartbreaking. Xiao Ba really suffered a lot."

    "From the moment Xiao Ba started picking up the ball, I felt something was off, but I really didn''t expect the professor to leave in such a way."

    "I thought this was a story of Xiao Ba healing a family, but it turns out it''s a story of a dog waiting for its owner for ten years."

    "Even Ye Hongyu cried. She sat not far from me, she cried out loud, I heard everything."

    "So even Ye Hongyu can cry."

    "There''s no Iron lady, just a clever woman trying hard to hide her feelings."

    "...."

    The theatre representatives wiped away their tears as they exchanged thoughts.

    Ye Hongyu too, was trying hard to control her emotions. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    As a representative of the Dadi theatre line, her job was all about watching movies or on her way to watch movies.

    After watching so many movies, is there any scene she hasn''t seen?

    Admittedly, even similar situations like today''s, Ye Hongyu has experienced before.

    The emotional effect created by the movie, if amplified to the extreme, will indeed have this effect. This is the charm of film art, and there must be more than one Xian Yu in Blue Star who possesses this power!

    This is a certainty.

    But in all of Ye Hongyu''s memories about movie screenings ¡­

    Even though she has watched so many movies, if it''s about tear-jerking potency, there are very few that can compare with "Hachiko".

    It could even be described as rare.

    "What''s amazing about this movie is that even though you know it''s going to start playing with your emotions, you are still unknowingly trapped.

    You know that the slow motion scenes and the hope for your tears, you know the sad music score is meant to accentuate Xiao Ba''s ten years of tragic waiting, you know the writer''s purpose is to touch the audience, you are still unable to resist this emotional contagion. This has nothing to do with how many people are watching the movie.

    If we were not in the same theater but watching it privately, we might cry even harder."

    Ye Hongyu seemed to be talking to herself, yet also seemed to be hinting at Yang An.

    Her young confidant, Yang An, nodded seriously.

    Some movies can make people lose control, and "Hachiko" is one of them.

    Ye Hongyu, despite having seen through the writer''s intent and having prepared herself mentally, warning herself that the movie was going to start tugging at her heartstrings towards the end, still ended up losing miserably and crying bitterly at the end.

    In the meantime.

    Ol'' Zhou had already taken the stage, microphone in hand, saying, "Everyone may need some time to calm down. When everyone is ready, we can discuss the cooperation matters next door."

    Everyone stood up unanimously.

    The movie ran a bit over an hour and a half, and many couldn''t hold their bladder any longer.

    The theatre representative previously offered a cigarette by the senior executive of Starlight Film Department, nudged the senior executive on the shoulder, saying:

    "Give me a light."

    "Didn''t I already give you one?"

    "One isn''t enough."

    "..."

    I thought you didn''t smoke?

    This is just a microcosm. "Hachiko" is a tearjerker movie, and also a movie that consumes cigarettes. Ol'' Zhou and his companions have an opinion on this.

    At this moment.

    Ye Hongyu walked up to Ol'' Zhou and said, "Director Zhou, can we have a chat?"

    Ol'' Zhou glanced at Ye Hongyu.

    Ye Hongyu had already repaired her makeup perfectly while sitting in her seat. The fact that she had cried her makeup off was well concealed by her.

    But this didn''t hide the fact that Ol'' Zhou had previously observed Ye Hongyu''s reaction from the back of the room. He knew this woman was just putting on a facade.

    "Sure, let''s meet next door in a bit."

    Ol'' Zhou said with a smile, pretending not to notice Ye Hongyu''s reddened eyes.

    "Hmm."

    Ye Hongyu looked at Ol'' Zhou, and suddenly chuckled, "Speaking of which, Teacher Admirable Fish and I are actually from the same clan. Both of our names have the character ''Fish''. We are all in the same family."

    Ol'' Zhou: "???"

    Are you making fun of me for having a bad memory because of my age?

    When I brought up this matter to relate with you before, you didn''t respond to me, making me feel quite awkward.

    Of course.

    Ol'' Zhou understood that this was merely Ye Hongyu expressing her optimism towards "Hachiko".

    With Ye Hongyu actively reaching out, the contract with the Dadi theater chain was essentially secured.

    Not just Ye Hongyu.

    As the other theater representatives regained their composure -

    Either after addressing their physiological needs, or after puffing away in the bathroom.

    The theatre representatives who came to the neighboring exchange room started to discuss contract matters with Starlight''s senior executives.

    "Hachiko" is a slow-paced drama.

    The so-called drama has this kind of slow pace, but the plot is relatively compact. This kind of movie usually focuses on a social phenomenon and the life condition of a certain group of people as a portrayal, and is easy to resonate with the viewer on an emotional level.

    The main focus is on stirring up sentiment.

    This type is different from the exciting fights in action films, different from the grand scale in science fiction films, different from the sweet romance in love films, and even more different from the humor in comedy films.

    So, in fact, drama movies like "Hachiko" are not really box-office hits.

    Because their popcorn value is not strong.

    As theatre representatives, all of whom have strong judgement skills and business acumen, they certainly understand this.

    But unfortunately, "Hachiko" has maximized the effects of a drama!

    The first and second acts are warm and healing.

    The last part is tear-jerking and depressing.

    Any movie that can maximize a particular effect is one that goes beyond the norm and cannot be ignored.

    Therefore.

    A vast majority of the theatre representatives have developed a considerable interest in "Hachiko".

    After several rounds of negotiation.

    Ol'' Zhou and the senior executives of Starlight Film Department have signed contracts with about ninety percent of the theater representatives present.

    This means that "Hachiko" has secured the basic guarantee of film arrangements.

    Movie schedules could never be fixed. If the audience likes it, more will be scheduled; if the audience doesn''t like it, fewer showings will be scheduled, or the movie may even be discontinued. This is the theater chain''s forte.

    Real and cruel.

    But at the beginning of a movie''s premiere, it''s impossible to know how the audience will react, and the theater can only judge based on the taste of the theater representative. The schedule at this time is very important.

    It can be considered highly contested terrain.

    Because sometimes even very good movies can get buried in the market due to poor initial scheduling. There are not a few examples of this. What Starlight is doing right now is to prevent the possibility of the movie being buried due to a lack of scheduling.

    "Huge harvest!"

    Saying goodbye to the theatre representatives, Ol'' Zhou looked at the stack of contracts on the table, displaying a satisfied smile.

    "Shall we have a drink?"

    "Sure, another round of the movie was a bit too tough to handle, a few drinks would be nice."

    Starlight''s department executives were all joking and laughing.

    The foundation has been laid very solidly. The next focus would be the publicity before the official release!

 Chapter 412 - 390: Strive to the Extreme_1

    For the distributors who were invited to attend the screening of "Hachiko", it was a memorable experience.

    Such an experience is something most screeners could not offer.

    But if you look at the overall Blue Star film market, the impact this movie has had so far is just a small ripple...

    However, everything depends on people''s efforts.

    The next day, Starlight increased the promotion budget for "Hachiko", making the film more widely known.

    Given the high reputation of Xian Yu''s first two films, the promotion of this one indeed attracted more audience attention.

    And with the promotion, more information about the movie was revealed.

    Such as "Hachiko" taking a touching storyline.

    Such as "Hachiko" having a little bit of art film flavor.

    Such as "Hachiko" featuring a very heartwarming and comforting storyline.

    Such as...

    Spoilers are impossible to disclose.

    Major spoilers would simply chase the audience away.

    You certainly can''t tell the audience directly that this movie tells the story of a dog waiting for its owner for ten years and ultimately dying beside the waiting flower bed.

    The promotion can only release some stills and posters, using taglines like "the most touching movie of the year", "redemption between a man and a dog" to attract the audience and so on.

    Such prepared promotion sketches out the public impression of "Hachiko":

    This is a heartwarming drama with a touch of artistic flavor.

    There are those who are interested, and many who are indifferent, but at the very least, the goal of widespread publicity has basically been achieved.

    To make everyone aware demands a bigger promotional push; that would be too high a cost for "Hachiko", so the company''s control over promotion funding is quite rational.

    But Starlight''s ad copy is somewhat innovative:

    "If you say ''Flirting Scholar'' is the ultimate in happiness and comedy, then ''The Tuner'' is the ultimate in plot twist and mind-blowing. Teacher Admirable Fish goes all out, taking it to the extreme, and ''Hachiko'' also has its own extreme. What it is, we will see on November 11th!"

    The purpose of the copy is simple:

    Use the impressions of the first two movies to awaken the audience''s memories, thereby arousing their interest in Xian Yu''s third movie.

    Apparently.

    Starlight has achieved its goal with this ad copy.

    With the release of this statement on Starlight''s official Weibo, many netizens began discussing what "Hachiko" would be the ultimate in.

    "It should be the ultimate in warmth, right?"

    "It really piques my curiosity."

    "It''s not easy to take anything to the extreme."

    "The first two films indeed reached the extreme in some ways, few movies have as many plot twists as ''The Tuner''."

    "In my mind, few movies are as comical as ''Flirting Scholar''."

    "...."

    Meanwhile.

    Lin Yuan received the specific screening schedule of "Hachiko".

    Starlight''s screening invited representatives from 43 theater chains. Nearly 90 percent of them showed interest in the movie and arranged some screenings, but the scheduling rate varied among different chains.

    No need to elaborate on the specific scheduling rate, overall, the initial scheduling arranged by the theater chains is pretty good.

    Especially for a drama like "Hachiko".

    Don''t think that just because representatives of theater chains like "Hachiko" they will automatically arrange a high rate of showcase.

    The movie market is not that simple.

    Liking it is one thing, business is another, never confuse the two.

    After watching the movie, the theater representatives return to being rational, using a commercial perspective to evaluate movies.

    Let''s use an example from Earth''s film industry:

    Regardless of whether it''s in China''s Douban or in various leading film review lists in the West, "The Shawshank Redemption" tops them all!

    Even if movie-watching levels differ in China and abroad, their views on this film are completely unanimous!

    Everyone loves "The Shawshank Redemption".

    The film''s reputation on Earth is indeed top-notch.

    But another shocking fact is that "The Shawshank Redemption" not only bombed at the box office after its release, but it also fell short in terms of awards, in spite of having some very strong competitors at the time¡­

    The box office flop of this film is not an isolated case.

    This is the status quo for many dramas with artistic attributes.

    Audiences endeavor to go to the theater to watch more commercial blockbusters!

    Chain representatives know this, so it is quite extraordinary that they are willing to sign contracts for screenings after the end of the "Hachiko" screening -

    Perhaps they all plan to use the high reputation of this film to exchange for box office revenue.

    If word-of-mouth can''t convert into box office, no matter how highly "Hachiko" is rated, the screening will gradually decrease until it is off the schedule.

    Naturally.

    This also has to do with the fact that the artistic flavor of "Hachiko" is not so strong, it even has a bit of commercial flavor.

    There are not many of those pretentious shots that are common in art films.

    No playing tricks on the audience, the goal of the story is to be heartfelt and emotional, to achieve the ultimate in these aspects, thereby gaining favor from the theaters.

    Comparatively, some of Xian Yu''s diehard fans are the most selfless ones.

    As the film''s promotional campaign kicks off, Xian Yu''s Tribe comment section is filled with cheerleading:

    "Looking forward to Teacher Admirable Fish''s new film, see you in the cinema on November 11th!"

    "The still shots make the film look so comforting, just in time as I''ve been feeling down lately. I hope watching this film can warm me up."

    "Just like what Starlight''s ad says, our Teacher Admirable Fish does take a different route with each film. The first work was the ultimate in comedy, the second film was the ultimate in plot twists, so I''m curious about what the third film will take to the extreme?"

    "Needless to say, it must be the ultimate in comfort and warmth!"

    "I don''t know why, but I always feel things are not so simple".

    "Teacher Admirable Fish''s movies, just like his music compositions, never repeat; each song brings a fresh feeling to everyone, unlike some composers whose songs all have shadows of each other."

    "..."

    Fans'' expectations are effusive.

    In fact, not only Xian Yu''s fans, but heartwarming and comforting dramas like "Hachiko", although not as mainstream as commercial films, have quite a few enthusiasts, which has incited discussions regarding "Hachiko" in many movie forums.

    Equally.

    Audiences who are interested in the film are also wondering, what kind of extremes "Hachiko" will take?

    Is it really warm and comforting?

    And amidst everyone''s curiosity.

    Time moves on to November, with only ten days left before the premiere of "Hachiko". sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 413 - 391 Incompatible Version_1

    There were only ten days left until the release of "Hachiko". Yet, the most exciting event at the stroke of midnight in November was the start of the season''s music chart competition ¡ª

    The November new song chart was here!

    Some people said that the November new song chart was like a warm-up, or even a mini-version, of the Battle of the Gods in December.

    And they weren''t wrong.

    The new song chart was lively indeed.

    Without Xian Yu''s participation, without the arrival of the Maestro, without the King and Queen of Singing stirring up the scene ¡ª

    All these top singers were fighting back and forth. On the first day alone, the champion song had gone up and down several times already.

    One hour you were number one, another hour I surpassed you.

    Yet another hour later, the third place surprisingly came up.

    It was an absolute mess.

    This was a real evenly matched fight.

    And this was the scene the music world liked to see most.

    A big shot dominating everything might be shocking to watch, but there''s no suspense.

    Unlike now in November, the battle was so intense. With news flying everywhere and countless netizens were all paying attention to this season''s new song chart.

    How exciting!

    This scene also added to everyone''s anticipation for the fierce competition in December!

    November was already like this.

    What would December be like?

    However, Lin Yuan didn''t participate in November''s new song chart, so he naturally didn''t pay much attention to it.

    Just like those audience passionately discussing online about what kind of ultimate interpretation "Hachiko" was pursuing.

    Lin Yuan was quietly waiting for the release of "Hachiko" in his routine and miscellaneous work.

    The truth was,

    As more and more discussions were taking place online, people started to believe that "Hachiko" was as warm and healing as it appeared on the surface. Some even interpreted additional meanings from it:

    "Teacher Admirable Fish is truly warm-hearted to choose November 11 for the movie''s release."

    "Huh?"

    "What do you mean?"

    This interpretation baffled many spectators.

    Until this genius of logic revealed his understanding: "Isn''t it obvious? Of course, it''s because November 11 is Singles'' Day, a day that belongs to single dogs!"

    Oh, damn... That''s right.

    This logic genius continued to post and boost his theory: "There are just too many coincidences, ''Hachiko'' is obviously a movie about a dog, warm and healing, and to the extreme."

    "What you''ve said is very reasonable, I am speechless."

    "Haha, so ''Hachiko'' was made by Xian Yu for you single dogs?"

    "It must be! This is Teacher Admirable Fish''s care for single dogs. You know, Singles'' Day is supposed to be the saddest day for us single dogs. Arranging a warm and healing movie for us on such a day is meant to give us spiritual comfort!"

    "The commenter above, remove the ''us''."

    "The commenter above the above, remove the ''us''."

    "The commenter above above above... Damn, don''t remove it, I almost forgot that I''m a single dog too!" sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Hahaha, are you guys trying to laugh me to death in order to inherit my cockroach flower?"

    "So, the single dogs are watching ''Hachiko'' alone on November 11?"

    "I originally had no plans to watch the midnight premiere, but after hearing what you guys said, I''m going to buy two tickets for me and my girlfriend to watch it. I hope not to get beaten up by single dogs."

    "Brother, wake up, the first thing you need is to have a girlfriend..."

    "Couples, don''t come. ''Hachiko'' is a movie for us single dogs!"

    "..."

    The creative interpretations of netizens gave "Hachiko" a bit more attention.

    Of course, no one really believed the movie was made for single dogs. It was a hilarious misinterpretation that a dog movie would be released on Singles'' Day, precisely when single dogs would be shedding collective tears.

    ...

    In such waiting, the days passed without rush.

    Click.

    As if the gears of time finally clicked into the correct node, with a crisp mechanical sound, November 11 officially arrived!

    On this day, Lin Yuan went to sleep early as usual.

    But at midnight, all major cinemas were as brightly lit as ever.

    The heat in the lobby wasn''t cold at all.

    With the start of ticket checking for "Hachiko", the first batch of the audience flooded the theaters, finding their corresponding seats.

    The timeslot was late.

    The ones willing to stay up late for the movie were either night-owls with nothing to do, or hardcore devotees of Xian Yu.

    Of course.

    It did indeed include some lonely hearts.

    They came alone in taxis, bought their cola and popcorn alone, sat in their assigned seats alone, and prayed silently that they wouldn''t be seated next to couples.

    The total number of audience members was limited.

    After all, it was late at night, even though the cinema was still operating, the midnight screening audience was destined to be sparse, and besides, "Hachiko" was not a popular blockbuster.

    If it were a popular blockbuster screening, even at midnight, countless people would be willing to wait.

    Even so, many people were rushing to see the first showing of the movie out of respect for Xian Yu.

    By this time, most people were watching a heartwarming film, and had no idea how this film would portray it.

    But...

    What will come, will come.

    With the screening of "Hachiko", there seemed to be an invisible hand in the theater quietly throwing tear bombs.

    At first, no one noticed.

    By the time someone realized something was amiss, Professor An in the big screen had already fallen powerless in the classroom.

    The abrupt piano forte seemed like a heavy hammer falling, leaving only a close-up of a small yellow ball in the scene.

    Boom!

    The sudden death of Professor An was like a mountain collapsing.

    Accompanied by a sudden wail from inside a certain theater, one after another tear bombs exploded instantly, and all the audience was trapped in a gentle trap-

    "Cry! Everyone fucking cry!!"

    In a bedroom of a high-end residential area, Ol'' Zhou who was still not asleep at this hour looked at the time, and suddenly started yelling excitedly, even waking up his sleeping wife next to him.

    "What the hell are you yelling about in the middle of the night!" his wife scolded Ol'' Zhou irritably.

    Ol'' Zhou didn''t explain, wearing dark circles under his eyes, he sat in front of the computer, grinning like a 170-pound child.

    Like a remote control switch,

    Just as Ol'' Zhou''s malicious laughter rang out, countless viewers of "Hachiko" burst into tears!

    The sea of ??tears instantly swept everything!

    Couples and single watchers were treated the same!

    Meanwhile, in a cinema in the city center, the screening room of "Hachiko" was filled with countless whimpers and curses. These curses were interspersed with sobbing:

    "Xian Yu, you liar!"

    "You call this heartwarming healing?!"

    "Did the boss put in the wrong disc?!"

    "Too misleading, this healing version doesn''t work at all!"

    "Why is the popcorn in this cinema so salty today?!"

    "..."

    This night, was destined to be sleepless.

    Under the peaceful starry sky, as many spectators shed tears like rain, an equal number of people lambasted Xian Yu in the cold dead of night.

 Chapter 414 - 392 Xianyu the Old Thief_1

    The so-called verbal condemnation and written castigation, the former is the continuous swearing in the movie theater, while the latter is people picking up their mobile phones, venting their own emotions by publishing movie reviews online.

    But...

    When many angry viewers actually picked up their mobile phones, opened the movie review websites and prepared to accuse Xian Yu of "deception", the fingers falling on the screens hesitated.

    Should we blame Xian Yu for making such a heartbreaking movie?

    Clearly not.

    Is there anything wrong with the performance of the movie?

    Clearly not.

    After a moment of silence, accompanied by a sigh of helplessness, even the angriest viewer couldn''t find a stance to criticize ¡ª¡ª

    It would be doing injustice to the great movie.

    Their heartfelt love for the movie and the shock from a ten-year wait eventually outweighed all complaints, but the sadness had become so thick that it could not be diluted, lingering for an extended time.

    This is the ultimate of "Hachiko".

    The ultimate of....

    Depression.

    "I was excited to greet Xian Yu''s new work, hoping to experience a warm and healing immersion, but watched a movie that made me cry from beginning to end. I''m trembling while typing this, making many typos and corrections. Well, perhaps this is the only film I immensely love but may never have the courage to watch again."

    On the Starsky website, a renowned movie review site.

    This hot-review seemed to lay a foundation for other reviews. The "Hachiko" review section late at night was filled with heartbroken people:

    "Perhaps Professor An also waited for Xiao Ba at the gateway of heaven for eighty years."

    "Teacher Xian Yu, forgive me for now considering you Xianyu the old thief, why did you make the movie so good that even someone like me who likes to mock others crying over a movie ended up becoming one of those people I once mocked."

    "After you left, I dedicated the rest of my life to you¡­"

    "I''d rather believe that Xiao Ba had no pain, only happiness, on the night of his passing because Professor An came in the train of heaven to take him home."

    "God knows how much I like Zhang Xiuming, but the best performance in the whole film, I have to give it to Xiao Ba."

    "After Xiao Black died, there was a void in Madam An''s heart, and after Professor An died, Xiao Ba gave up the rest of his life."

    "I feel that I''m going to cry out all the tears of my next few years tonight."

    "I wish so much that the movie, as everyone expected, would be warm and healing, showing mutual redemption between man and animal, so that when Professor An passed away, it felt like Xiao Ba''s silhouette solidified into eternal loneliness."

    "..."

    Ol'' Zhou, who still couldn''t sleep, kept refreshing the reviews on the Starsky website.

    His face was full of mischievous laughter at first.

    But as the laughter carried on, he silently lit a cigarette.

    Under the faint glow of the lighter and the computer screen, his smile was strained.

    This is the last one, thought Ol'' Zhou.

    Actually, Ol'' Zhou quit smoking when he was young, but this movie... It was too consuming. Without the tiny numbing sensation brought by the nicotine passing through his lungs, he feared he couldn''t bear it.

    ...

    And on a forum...

    A late-night post suddenly exploded in popularity: "Who the hell said this movie is made by Xianyu the old thief for all the single dogs to watch, step up, I promise I won''t beat you to death!"

    The heat of the post was mainly reflected in the massive replies that followed.

    "As soon as I walked in, I saw a couple sitting next to me, and I was immediately crippled by the shock. When Professor An died, the couple cried their eyes out, but all I could do was hold my knees and cry!"

    "No movie has ever been so unfriendly to single dogs!"

    "Damn it, Singles'' Day is already a bit sad, but after watching this movie, it''s not just a bit sad anymore, I feel like I''m starting to become introverted."

    "Do you think us couples have it easy? After the movie, my girlfriend who always opposed me getting a dog, actually made me get one in the middle of the night. And it had to be the same breed as Xiao Ba. Where the hell am I meant to find a dog in the middle of the night?"

    "You up there can be a bit more flexible in your thinking, you can''t find a real dog in the middle of the night, but there are many sad lone dogs."

    "I returned home and cried my eyes out holding my dog, even though the little rascal took advantage of my absence to chew up my new pair of sneakers."

    "..."

    In the end, even the original poster who claimed that this movie was made by Xianyu for single dogs showed up in the comments section. Obviously, he was one of the first batch of audience: "I''m guilty. I really thought Xianyu the old thief was considering our single dogs. Today''s midnight snack is pickled fish soup, let''s drink to that, brothers!"

    Everyone was trying to soothe their emotions.

    But obviously, most people will have a hard time healing in the short term.

    Meanwhile, through the spread of these movie reviews, Xianyu, once beloved by all, gradually completed his transition from a respectable teacher to an old thief.

    In the words of a certain netizen:

    "Birds of a feather flock together, none of those three bros are good people. Chu Kuang, the old thief, not to mention the countless times he''s killed Biyao, and Shadow, who obviously possesses top-level painting skills yet always deceives the readers, and now even Xianyu has become bad. I used to say that Xianyu is the last moral man among the Three Bros!"

    All those who make fans suffer are thieves! S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Someone even confidently asserted: "Actually, all of this is premeditated. No wonder Xianyu wrote a song called ''Ten Years.'' He is clearly satirizing us in a cryptic way. After ten years, the once inseparable couples meet again, each having found their own partners, becoming the most familiar strangers.

    But in the same ten years, Xiao Ba is still waiting for its Professor An through wind and rain, and never gives up!"

    A so-called couple is really no more persistent than a dog.

    Once this statement appeared, it was immediately shared by many people. The same ten years, whether it''s a coincidence or not, really makes sense if you think about it carefully.

    In ten years, how many human couples have broken up?

    As for Xiao Ba, a dog that supposedly doesn''t know what emotions are, it waits tirelessly in wind, rain and snow, until it completely dies of old age.

    Compared to the fragility of human emotions, the loyalty of dogs really makes one sigh.

    By this time, "Hachiko" on Starry Sky Network has a score of 9.5!

    This score is even higher than Xianyu''s widely accepted "Flirting Scholar", which is a rare high score on the entire Starry Sky Network!

    And with this score, a new trend emerges in the comments section:

    "Damn it, why should only we, a group of people, be tortured by Xianyu late into the night? I hereby solemnly suggest that everyone should recommend this movie to the people around them. Nobody can run away, all of you must cry with me!"

    As soon as this leading comment appeared, it immediately gained strong support from the first batch of viewers!

    "Great idea!"

    "Off to recommend it to my buddies!"

    "A big gift for my bestie!"

    "I''ve already recommended it to my friends and posted it on my circle."

    "Here''s a little trick for recommending, make sure to tell your friends that this is a very warm and healing movie."

    "Got it, keywords, warm! Healing!"

    "..."

    The army of people who trick others is ready.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thank you to the Alliance Hierarch [Destiny in Separation] for the reward, greatly appreciated. My recent updates may have been a bit lackluster, I wish everyone happiness and good health.

 Chapter 415 - 393 The One Who Tricks Others Will Always Be Tricked _1

    "Hey, are you asleep? I recommend you watch a movie."

    Late at night.

    Someone clicked on his buddy''s avatar.

    His buddy replied, "I''m in the middle of cultivation. What movie are you recommending?"

    The other party said, "It''s a very warm and healing movie, ''Hachiko''."

    The buddy sent a confused emoji:

    "Why do I feel something is off? Why would you suddenly recommend a movie to me in the middle of the night?"

    "Because this movie is truly excellent, it''s Xian Yu''s..." he hesitated, "...Teacher Admirable Fish''s movie! Please don''t read any reviews before watching it, you''ll get spoil by the spoilers!"

    He emphasized that again.

    This buddy seems to be an ordinary fan of Xian Yu, and immediately said, "So it''s Teacher Admirable Fish''s new movie? Got it. I''m going to buy tickets."

    "..."

    In another instance...

    On a film forum, someone is making a post inquiry.

    "There''s an internet celebrity on the blog recommending the movie ''Hachiko''. Have any audience seen it and could talk about it?"

    Unexpectedly to the person who made the post...

    Not long after his post, a reply appeared below: "Good movie, very healing!"

    The person who made the post expressed his doubts: "Really?"

    The commenter firmly responded, "Why would I lie to you? Just go and check the ratings on Starry Sky Network. But don''t read the reviews! Most of them are filled with spoilers, which can severely impact the viewing experience."

    Starry Sky Network?

    The person who made the post immediately looked up ''Hachiko'' on Starry Sky Network, and was shocked by the results.

    The movie ''Hachiko'' has a rating of 9.5!

    Holy cow, only classics get such high ratings!

    He quickly replied to the enthusiastic netizen: "Thanks for the recommendation, brother! The rating is really crazy. I''m buying a ticket for the first show tomorrow morning."

    "You won''t regret it!"

    The commenter, who was very enthusiastic, added: "After watching this movie, I feel so warm. I feel like the whole world has become better. I believe you will be just as moved."

    At this time.

    In the forum...

    ...there were also other night owls lurking.

    After seeing the post, some of the night owls that didn''t know much about films were drawn in, filled with curiosity and interest:

    "What movie is this awesome?"

    "A rating of 9.5? That''s pretty brutal!"

    "The movie is called ''Hachiko''? Seems like it''s Xian Yu''s new work. I saw the promotions before."

    "Alright, I''m going to buy a ticket. Starry Sky Network''s ratings are dependable."

    "Xian Yu''s ''Flirting Scholar'' didn''t even score this high! Looks like Xian Yu has made another good movie. I''m definitely supporting this excellent film."

    "..."

    These people didn''t suspect anything fishy and certainly didn''t bother to read the reviews, knowing how Starry Sky Network operates.

    Eighty percent of those so-called movie reviews are spoilers.

    The viewing experience is bound to be lessened after being spoiled.

    Moreover, with the excellent word of mouth for ''Hachiko'', how could the audience be collectively hyping it up?

    So...

    Many people booked their tickets for the next day right on the spot.

    Such is the power of word of mouth.

    At the same time...

    In a small company group chat...

    An employee tagged a close colleague:

    "I saw your Moments and I saw the ''Hachiko'' movie you recommended. Is it good? What kind of movie is it?"

    "Healing! Warm! Touching! Redemption!"

    With a cute puppy avatar, the answer came at lightning speed.

    Apparently, to strengthen the persuasion, the colleague with the puppy-like avatar added: "I can responsibly tell you that this is the absolutely must-see movie of this year. It''s super classic!"

    Perhaps because it was a Saturday, surprisingly many people in the group chat hadn''t gone to sleep yet.

    Seeing a conversation going on, people started joining the chat about the movie:

    "Is that true?"

    "Is the movie really that awesome?"

    "I''m tempted to go see it."

    "It won''t hurt to go to the theater and find out, right? There is a show at 9 AM tomorrow. Who''s going?"

    "Me!"

    "I''m in!"

    "Count me in!"

    "..."

    Since it''s the rare Saturday break, everyone''s enthusiasm for watching movies was really high.

    At this moment, someone asked the colleague with the puppy avatar, "Wanna watch it for the second time?"

    "Not a chance!"

    The guy with the puppy avatar responded without hesitation and hurriedly added: "Mainly because I have some things to take care of tomorrow morning, so I can''t go to the movies with you guys. Enjoy your movie, and also, don''t read the reviews beforehand. I believe you guys know this."

    "Exactly, reviews are filled with spoilers."

    Everyone replied adeptly, not thinking too much about it. They quickly organized a group purchase of movie tickets in the chat.

    Similar situations were happening elsewhere...

    The swindlers were efficiently gathering everyone they could convince.

    They kept recommending to anyone they meet and the keywords were consistent:

    "This movie is really healing''", "It''s a warm and sunny film", "After watching it, I felt full of love", "I don''t usually tell anyone this, but I''m recommending it because we have a good relationship", "Sisters, hurry up and go watch it. This will really touch you as a dog owner"...

    They were inflammations!

    Under the influence of these swindlers, more and more people began to buy tickets for ''Hachiko''."

    The next day.

    A girl, sitting in the theater waiting for ''Hachiko'' to play, happily posted in her Moments:

    "I had a fight with my boyfriend a while ago and I''m not feeling well. Came to the theater to watch Teacher Admirable Fish''s new movie to heal myself. I absolutely love Teacher Admirable Fish''s first movie ''Flirting Scholar''. I still remember Teacher Admirable Fish''s promotional slogan of his film: Rescue the unhappy. Teacher Admirable Fish, save me again!"

    The girl specifically posted about her ''Hachiko'' ticket and a selfie of herself.

    Her best friend commented quickly, "Did you bring tissues?"

    The girl humorously replied to her best friend, "Why do I need a tissue to watch a movie? Am I going to poop in the theater?"

    The friend then replied with an ellipsis.

    She was about to carry on interacting, then the movie started...

    So she muted her phone and sat back, recalling her joke earlier, a smile spread on her lips and she eagerly started to watch the movie.

    Clicking sound.

    The gears of time started to turn.

    Let''s just fast-forward ninety-three minutes later...

    At the same time in countless theaters, most of the viewers silently took out their phones and began to vent their feelings online or texting their friends...

    "Go screw yourself!"

    "Wang Xiaohua, you wait for me!"

    "He Mingxuan, you''re dead!"

    "I swear, next year today, I''ll go and honor your dead body!"

    "..."

    Meanwhile, the girl who posted before going to the movie was now crying so much that she texted her best friend: "I have decided to break up with my boyfriend."

    Her best friend was stunned: "Huh?"

    She sobbed and said: "He''s a far cry from Xiao Ba!"

    Her best friend: "..."

    Not long afterwards, these people also happily joined the team of swindlers. They couldn''t be the only ones who''d cry! Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    So it is said:

    The swindlers are swindled; It''s an endless cycle.

 Chapter 416 - 394 We Love Each Other Very Much_1

    Without a doubt.

    The fleet of people-spiting has grown!

    As the number of people who trick others grows, the number of victims will only increase, especially with the wave of movie viewing that starts on the second day. The internet is simply buzzing.

    On the Star Space network.

    The movie review area for "Hachiko" is in utter chaos, and the resentment there is almost overflowing.

    "How careless of me!"

    "What''s happening to this society!"

    "The internet environment is seriously deteriorating!"

    "Where has the basic trust between people gone?"

    "My goddess actually recommended me to watch ''Hachiko'', I will never be her fawning dog again!"

    "I suspect the movie ticket my mom bought for me was a gift for topping up my phone bill!"

    Someone, who shares his unfortunate fate, comforts him: "No way, it must have been picked out of the trash to dare to be such a cheat. Wipe away your tears, let''s fight back against this sick society."

    "..."

    So many people have been deceived.

    Of course, the audience that got tricked later joined the trickster fleet, which is pretty normal, and the number of victims only increased...

    This led to "Hachiko" becoming hotter and hotter!

    More and more audiences are entering the cinema to watch the movie "Hachiko".

    The reasons for these audiences to enter the cinema are varied.

    Some are tricked by friends, some are bewitched by netizens, and some are attracted by word-of-mouth...

    No matter why they enter the cinema, the nature of this film determines that all audiences enter happily and leave crying.

    "Is this your idea of therapy!?"

    "I''m in tears, Xianyu the old thief owes me tears!"

    "Lured into the cinema by a friend, who said it was warm and healing, but half a bag of tissues wasn''t enough!"

    "This movie cured my cold that lasted for several days."

    "We, the green teas, are the most difficult to subside. In two days, I watched ''Hachiko'' six times with six different boys. How could this movie make people cry every time they watch it? I already know the plot. The seventh boy who invited me to watch the movie was categorically rejected by me. I dare not be such a green tea playgirl anymore."

    "..."

    While the word-of-mouth reviews are alright, the tears are flying as high as the reviews.

    At this point, in addition to Xianyu being called an old thief by netizens, Chu Kuang and Shadow also got implicated.

    Many netizens complained:

    "These three people, really, one is worse than the other!"

    "Southern Xian Yu, Northern Chu Kuang, they all share the same knack for kicking people when they''re down!"

    "I told you that this movie was so healing, I probably wouldn''t have gone to see it. As you get older, you can''t bear to watch these kinds of movies, they''re just too torturous!"

    "You three deserve each other, you all stink alike!"

    "Xianyu, if you dare to make this kind of movie next time, I''ll... I''ll cry for you to see."

    "The threat above is really harmless, look at mine, Xianyu the old thief! If you dare to make this kind of movie again, I''ll curse you! Today I''ll start with a scolding... you big fool!"

    "..."

    Media with sharp senses, of course, would not miss noticing the booming reputation of "Hachiko", and news of the movie''s release flooded the pages.

    "Xianyu''s new tear-jerker hits the screens!"

    "Healing or depressing? ''Hachiko'', a film that touches countless audiences."

    "Xianyu''s new release: From extreme comedy to extreme tear-jerking!"

    "The unmissable film of November, ''Hachiko''!"

    "Xianyu''s third film officially released, starring Zhang Xiuming."

    "..."

    Under the blessings of all parties, by the end of the first week, the box office of "Hachiko" had reached 420 million!

    The growing fleet of people-tricking had a huge part in this.

    For a film, the first week''s box office is always the most exciting, because under the combined market of several continents, the golden period for the box office of a film that is not a "blockbuster" is generally just two or three weeks.

    Basically, by the third week, the box office figures will decline significantly because there are too many new movies in the market.

    However, this does not mask the astonishing box office results of "Hachiko", which even surpassed Xianyu''s previous movie!

    Keep in mind that the first-week box office for "The Tuner" was only just over 300 million.

    And the total cost of this film, from production to promotion, was only around 50 million, with one part of the costs due to Zhang Xiuming''s high price tag as a movie emperor.

    Of course.

    Since it''s a film of his own company, Zhang Xiuming reduced his fee and gave them the internal friends'' price. Otherwise, the cost of this movie might not be covered by 50 million.

    The experience proves that Zhang Xiuming''s decision to play in "Hachiko" was a wise one.

    This film might not be his highest-grossing work, but it''s definitely the one with the best reputation since he started his career-

    For an actor, the box office is important, but reputation is also a must!

    A good reputation is the foundation of box office performance.

    Furthermore, from any angle you look at it, the box office performance of "Hachiko" isn''t bad, even for a drama film.

    Even...

    It''s among the top performing ones in the drama genre.

    And from the third day of its release.

    Zhang Xiuming''s agent started to feel the horrifying influence of "Hachiko"!

    The most direct evidence was the sudden increase in new film invitations!

    And some of these even included offers from top-tier directors.

    Actually, these top-tier directors would also consider an actor of Zhang Xiuming''s calibre.

    But the amount of invitations he was getting was definitely more than usual.

    It can be said that for Zhang Xiuming, "Hachiko" was a milestone in his career where his acting skills were widely acknowledged!

    Of course, there were also netizens teasing online, saying that the best performance in "Hachiko" was Xiao Ba...

    Zhang Xiuming, naturally, wouldn''t be jealous of a dog.

    He also liked Xiao Ba very much and would even joke gracefully when faced with the netizens'' ribbing:

    "I fall short compared to Mr. Antarctica''s performance."

    Antarctica portrayed the grown-up Xiao Ba.

    After the movie was released, the adult version of Xiao Ba was the most loved by the audience.

    Even though it was just a dog, all the viewers unanimously agreed that they saw explosive acting skills in this dog!

    "I feel some actors should really learn how to act from Antarctica."

    "Ah, so the dog''s name is Antarctica, I suggest that all future dog-related movies should cast Antarctica!"

    "There are three dogs in the movie, the performances of the puppy and the elderly dog were very touching, but the performance of the adult dog was the best. I even felt that Antarctica had human thoughts, although this is impossible."

    "Antarctica, make your debut!"

    "When this dog first appeared on screen, I was telling my friends, it''s amazing, how can there be such an interesting dog, it can convey emotions to the audience through its eyes!"

    "Turns out I wasn''t the only one who noticed this dog."

    "No wonder the subtitling team listed the dogs in the cast list. The performances of the three dogs were completely deserving, and Antarctica''s performance was of a level that could debut immediately!"

    "..."

    Film critics were also busy.

    On Starry Sky network, a review titled "Just Asking You to Learn to Cherish" was trending.

    "Five years ago, I experienced the death of my first family member. A month before my grandfather died, my grandmother gave away our 8-year-old dog, I''m inherently scared of dogs, so I never wanted to get close to it. Although every time I visited my grandparents, it would wag its tail at me. Later, I asked my mom why she gave the dog away when it was so old?

    She said, from the time my Grandpa fell seriously ill, the dog already stopped eating and drinking - I don''t know where that dog is now, and I don''t have the courage to ask."

    The author of this review was Han Jiajia.

    At the beginning of the review, Han Jiajia shared her story, and later, she brought up the content of "Hachiko":

    "Xian Yu''s film reminded me of that dog who fasted for my Grandfather, I bring up this story to tell everyone that the story of "Hachiko" might not be a creation of the scriptwriter''s artistic craftsmanship, or stirrings of beauty and invention, please believe that Xiao Ba has such loyalty and perseverance, even if the cost was Ten Years. Actually, I later thought about getting a dog.

    Even though I didn''t manage to get one, my understanding of dogs deepened in the process. For example, an adult dog''s IQ is roughly similar to a four-year-old child, and a dog''s average lifespan is just over ten years - this is why I eventually didn''t get a dog. To you, this dog might have only accompanied you for a part of your life, but to the dog, you mean their whole life."

    In the end, Han Jiajia evaluated the quality of the movie:

    "I wanted to say, disregarding the touching ten-year wait by Xiao Ba, from a professional film critic''s perspective, this movie''s setting is actually quite simple. It doesn''t have the brilliant metaphorical shots of art films, or a strong scriptwriter or director''s personal style, and certainly not shocking plot twists and mind-blowing elements.

    But I don''t want to come to such a conclusion, because the essence of a movie is to tell a story. How well the story is told, shouldn''t be evaluated solely based on professional jargon and esoteric terms but should look directly at our hearts. The question of whether the movie is good, only needs one answer, do you like this movie?"

    Han Jiajia didn''t give an answer.

    But she rated the movie 9.3, which was her answer.

    And during the days when the movie''s popularity continued to rise, Lin Yuan received quite a few endorsement invitations--

    Not for Xian Yu.

    But for... Antarctica! S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Many business owners specifically wanted Antarctica to be their endorser.

    Lin Yuan initially wanted to reject it, but after asking Antarctica, he felt that Antarctica seemed quite eager, so he accepted an endorsement for a dog food brand on behalf of Antarctica.

    Lin Yuan himself didn''t want to be involved, so he had his assistant Gu Dong accompany Antarctica to shoot the commercial.

    "You''re saying, Antarctica can make several million with just one advertisement?"

    That night, upon hearing that Antarctica had accepted an endorsement, Lin Yuan''s sister Lin Xuan couldn''t contain her excitement and kept hugging and kissing Antarctica.

    "Sis, I thought you didn''t like dogs?"

    Lin Yao stared in shock.

    When she and Lin Yuan brought Antarctica home, their sister wasn''t very welcoming, she never touched Antarctica. When has she ever been this friendly?

    "Stop making things up, we''re very much in love!"

    Lin Xuan looked at Lin Yuan and Lin Yao and stressed, "At least I don''t force Antarctica to eat vegetables."

    Afterwards, Lin Xuan looked at Antarctica with a beaming smile. "Why don''t you become a celebrity? Sis can be your manager!"

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    Lin Yao: "..."

    So you''re Antarctica''s sister now?

    How should one calculate these relations?

 Chapter 417 - 395 - Wishing for Longevity_1

    The success of "Hachiko" was also a topic of discussion in the circles of film and television.

    The people in the industry had yet again renewed their perception of Xian Yu--

    This fish is really strong!

    From comedy to mystery, and now he''s even dabbled in drama, these genres don''t seem to match, yet the box office results are consistently high.

    Moreover, his works always receive positive public praise!

    This time, he even historically soared above a rating of nine points!

    This was difficult for the experienced veterans of the film industry to imagine, considering how Xian Yu is still a newcomer to the industry.

    All of Xian Yu''s movies, including "Hachiko", are not very costly, yet they always scare people with how high their box office revenues are.

    People have the impression that:

    Xian Yu is very good at making a lot out of a little.

    Some even believe that Xian Yu''s screenwriting skills are nearly on par with his composition skills.

    However, this claim was quickly rebutted by those who know Xian Yu:

    "Xian Yu''s screenwriting skills can in no way compare to his achievements in composition. He is a maestro junior in the world of composition, but among the new screenwriters in the film and television industry, Xian Yu''s abilities are certainly considered top tier!"

    As for the success of Xian Yu this time...

    What truly shocked the industry was not the box office results of "Hachiko".

    Through the box office data of the first week, you can see the ultimate potential of a film.

    Normally, the final box office of this film is estimated to be around ten billion, slightly better than Xian Yu''s last film.

    But this box office data is something that many films can attain.

    After combining the box office from each state, many films have broken a hundred billion at the box office.

    What''s truly remarkable about Xian Yu is the extremely low production cost of "Hachiko"!

    Also, let''s not forget:

    "Hachiko" is a bonafide drama!

    In the movie market, dramas are never the type to fetch high box office, but to be able to make such a film receive both high acclaim and box office success, this in itself is well deserving of recognition.

    Lin Yuan himself is also pleased with the box office result of "Hachiko".

    Although he didn''t have a good understanding of the current market model, Lin Yuan was well aware of how hard it was for a drama to pull in good box office numbers.

    In Lin Yuan''s initial estimation, as long as the box office of this film was close to that of "The Piano Tuner", it would be considered a good result.

    But to his surprise, the box office of this film likely would surpass that of "The Piano Tuner".

    This was pleasantly unexpected.

    "Next, we should record December''s new song."

    Although still watching the box office trend of "Hachiko", Lin Yuan didn''t forget about "Battle of the Gods" in December.

    He finally contacted Jiang Kui to prepare for the recording of the song.

    The moment Jiang Kui received the message, she immediately rushed to the recording studio.

    "Teacher Admirable Fish ..."

    "Here''s the music, get familiar with it first."

    Lin Yuan took out the score for "May We All Be Blessed with Longevity".

    Originally, Lin Yuan indeed had plans to change the title to "How Long Will the Full Moon Last".

    But after careful deliberation, Lin Yuan decided to keep the original title.

    Because the words "How Long Will the Full Moon Last" do not convey the emotion as directly as "May We All Be Blessed with Longevity".

    The latter''s implication is also more beautiful.

    You must know that the most recognized timeless line in the "Song of Water" is "May we all be blessed with longevity, sharing the beauty of the moon from a thousand miles away".

    "May We All Be Blessed with Longevity?"

    Jiang Kui picked up the sheet music and immediately noticed the title.

    But what astonished her even more were the lyrics of "May We All Be Blessed with Longevity"! Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Teacher Admirable Fish, these lyrics..."

    "Is there a problem?"

    "No, I just want to say..."

    Jiang Kui had a decent literary background.

    The moment she saw the lyrics, countless lavish descriptions flooded her mind, but she ended up uttering the most generic four words:

    "It''s so damn cheesy!"

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    Well, she wasn''t exactly wrong.

    "Give it a try." Lin Yuan said, "We don''t have to record it today, I''ll help you get accustomed."

    "Alright!"

    Jiang Kui brimmed with enthusiasm as she strode into the recording studio with such force.

    The recording studio staff glanced at Jiang Kui, their gazes tinged with a touch of emotion, just like the sound engineer previously said¡ª

    This girl is so lucky.

    Such good songs and lyrics; if those kings and queens of song knew about them, they''d probably fight tooth and nail to sing them.

    "Start with the-beginning."

    Lin Yuan didn''t pay attention to the thoughts of others and simply gave his instructions.

    Jiang Kui nodded, almost reverently, as she tentatively began to sing.

    Lin Yuan remained silent, listening quietly.

    The initial phase was to familiarise Jiang Kui with this song; the specific requirements would come once she was somewhat proficient.

    For outstanding singers, achieving basic proficiency doesn''t take a long time.

    Half an hour later, Jiang Kui had grasped the melody.

    Lin Yuan started to instruct, "In the middle-to-low vocal range, sinus resonance is needed. Also, when in the high vocal range, there is no need to sing so loud, just use the resonant effect of the facial mask to concentrate the voice, making it sound clear and penetrative..."

    "Alright."

    Jiang Kui immediately sang according to Lin Yuan''s instructions.

    Even though it wasn''t a formal recording, from this first attempt, Lin Yuan was already frequently interrupting Jiang Kui''s singing:

    "The resonance should be from your head."

    "The control in the oral-pharyngeal area isn''t natural enough, don''t just focus on techniques when singing, they should come naturally."

    "Voice reduction during high notes is also a skill. Don''t practice now, see if you can use your natural vocal range ¡ª or in other words, the strength and tone of your speaking voice ¡ª to sing the high notes from C5 to G5."

    Voice reduction has always been one of the most difficult techniques to master in singing.

    Teresa Teng was very skilled at high note voice reduction, some music fans even thought Teresa Teng didn''t have a high pitch due to listening too much to overpowering high pitches. However, this is actually a very sophisticated way of dealing with high notes.

    The song, "How Long Will the Full Moon Last", has high notes, but to the singer, they are not particularly high.

    He needs Jiang Kui to exhibit stronger abilities.

    This is also why he gave Jiang Kui the song to practice in advance.

    Jiang Kui sang again following Lin Yuan''s instructions, and this attempt showed a clear improvement, which made Lin Yuan nod slightly:

    "Try it like this."

    Lin Yuan gave Jiang Kui a demonstration.

    Lin Yuan had demonstrated many times in the recording studio, and the staff and others who have worked with Lin Yuan understood that in addition to writing lyrics and composing music, Lin Yuan''s singing abilities were also very strong. However, his throat seemed to be unable to take intensive singing, so nobody was excessively surprised.

    "The ending note should curl up?"

    "Yes, but it should sound natural."

    This is where Lin Yuan excels.

    He is able to communicate to singers like a fellow singer.

    In the film industry, some directors, having been actors themselves and possessing excellent acting skills, can particularly understand actors, therefore, they are also better at coaching.

    Lin Yuan''s situation proved the principle of different methods leading to the same result.

    Just like that.

    While "Hachiko" was still being screened, Lin Yuan was in the recording studio, practicing singing with Jiang Kui.

    This made singing "How Long Will the Full Moon Last" feel easier and more natural for Jiang Kui.

    Not only was the singing getting better and better.

    But Jiang Kui''s confidence for the Battle of the December Gods was also growing significantly during this process.

    The main source of this confidence was the high quality of the song "How Long Will the Full Moon Last" itself!

    They practiced continuously for several days.

    Finally, Lin Yuan announced a halt to practice, "You have basically mastered the song, continue to practice by yourself each day, and then we will officially record it in a week."

    "Okay!"

    Jiang Kui''s response was extremely loud.

    Lin Yuan nodded, then suddenly asked, "What happened to your eyes?"

    Jiang Kui''s eyes had been fine a few days ago, but today they are unusually red; Lin Yuan was worried if she was under too much pressure from singing practice.

    "My eyes?"

    Jiang Kui was taken aback and then looked a little resentful, "I ran into Yao Huo yesterday, and he gave me a movie ticket to ''Hachiko'', saying that the movie was warm and healing. So I thought this is your movie, Maestro Junior, and I went to the cinema to see it last night."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

 Chapter 418 - 396: Brothers Transformation Plan_1

    Since the release of "Hachiko," Lin Yuan had been closely following the film''s reactions, including news of people tricking others into seeing it. However, he never expected to witness a real-life victim right beside him.

    He could only offer his sympathy.

    On the second day, like usual, Lin Yuan got up early, freshened up, had breakfast and prepared to go to work.

    It was almost December.

    The weather was starting to get cold.

    Lin Yuan, being the weakling that he was when it came to handling the cold, was already seriously considering wearing long johns. But considering winter had not officially arrived yet, he dispelled the idea. If he started wearing long johns now, what would he do when winter came?

    He couldn''t possibly wear two pairs of long johns, could he?

    Lin Yuan could only put on a thick jacket and switch to a pair of denim pants with fur lining. He didn''t put too much thought into his fashion choices. Although he wouldn''t go so far as to wear brightly colored garments haphazardly, he also wouldn''t study the art of clothing coordination.

    This was related to his family environment in his childhood.

    When it came to clothing, Lin Yuan was quite unfashionable in his childhood.

    This had nothing to do with personal taste and everything to do with his family''s economic status.

    No matter how tasteful and fashionable a person, wearing patched up, outdated clothes and carrying a military-green backpack that had faded from years of use would inevitably give a rustic impression.

    Lin Yuan didn''t have many options, and he didn''t care anyway.

    It''s just that Lin Yuan''s face had a natural elegance and charm that to some extent overshadowed his rusticity. In contrast to the rustic clothes, it accentuated a sense of other-worldliness.

    Times have changed.

    Now, Lin Yuan had earned a lot of money, and the quality of his clothes had improved. But his childhood habit didn''t change, and he still wore whatever clothes he had without making any intentional efforts to dress up.

    At least, this was the case until now.

    As Lin Yuan dressed in these clothes to go to work, his brother Lin Xuan, who had gotten up late and was still eating breakfast, suddenly called out to Lin Yuan.

    "Stop."

    "What is it?"

    Lin Yuan looked at his sister curiously, ready to transfer money to her via his phone.

    Every- time his sister inexplicably stopped him, it was basically to borrow some spending money.

    However, Lin Xuan wasn''t asking for money this time. She was looking Lin Yuan up and down, tut-tutting, "You need a new wardrobe."

    "I think this is fine."

    Lin Yuan wasn''t interested in this type of thing.

    In his house, only Lin Xuan was fervent about fashion and dressing up. She would read the latest fashion magazines and study the clothes models wore. If she saw something she liked, she would buy it.

    Not enough salary?

    She could mooch off her brother.

    Lin Xuan was no longer the poverty-stricken girl who had to decide whether or not to add a sausage to her instant noodles. The luxuries she had coveted in her childhood were now easily attainable with her brother''s success. In addition to this, her own salary was not low, even higher than her peers'' salaries at the same position.

    Silver Blue (their employer) was always extra generous with her.

    However, today Lin Xuan seemed to be no longer satisfied with changing her own appearance. Her sights landed on her brother: "How can the magnificent Xian Yu dress so casually? Doesn''t your company have dress codes?"

    "I think so."

    "And you dress like this?"

    "No one has said anything to me."

    Lin Yuan''s retort left Lin Xuan speechless. She gave him a dismal look, as if she had been struck by reality. After a moment, she managed to utter, "Anyway, my brother must dazzle. I have a day off today; I''ll take you to buy clothes!"

    "I have clothes."

    "Your taste is too bad."

    Without giving Lin Yuan the chance to refuse, Lin Xuan got in her car, dragging Lin Yuan along: "Ever since I started working, all your clothes have been bought by me online. From now on, let your sister help you buy your clothes."

    "Oh."

    Lin Yuan was amenable.

    Even though Lin Xuan''s current clothes were much higher-end than Lin Yuan''s, when Lin Xuan first started working, the clothes she bought for Lin Yuan cost a few hundred pieces each.

    At the same price, Lin Xuan could have bought several outfits for herself, or even more!

    Don''t ask why the clothes were so cheap.

    Lin Xuan had even bought several skirts online for ten-odd pieces each. She could even wear a single skirt for half the summer.

    If she accidentally pulled and damaged it, she would feel distressed for several days.

    Speaking of being poor, Lin Xuan was genuinely poor back then, nothing like she had told her younger brother and sister before she started working:

    "When I start working and make money, I''ll buy myself the most beautiful dresses, the prettiest shoes, the sexiest black..."

    After she started working, she did buy some nice clothes and pants, but those were all for her younger siblings.

    Anyone who knew Lin Xuan had no doubt:

    After Lin Xuan got married, she would definitely be possessed by a demon of sibling assistance, both for her brother and sister.

    In fact, Lin Xuan has always unabashedly shared her dream of marrying a rich man.

    Unfortunately, this dream was abruptly dashed when Lin Yuan made a name for himself as Xian Yu.

    Now, she herself is the "rich person".

    Taking Lin Yuan to the mall, Lin Xuan demonstrated the manner in which rich people buy clothes. That is, swiping credit cards¡ª

    Swiping the card.

    Lin Yuan seemed to be a natural clothes rack.

    Any clothing on Lin Yuan could always bring out the original design intention of the designer. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    When the fifth outfit was packed up, Lin Yuan finally couldn''t stand it: "That''s too much."

    "Then let''s change the place."

    Lin Xuan reluctantly looked at the mall. There were still several pieces of clothing that she hadn''t bought yet.

    Most of these clothes were ones she had seen male models wear in magazines. From that moment on, she had been fantasizing about how Lin Yuan would look in these clothes. Today was simply the long-premeditated "Great Brother Makeover".

    The results proved that the basic physical limits of those male models had limited Lin Xuan''s imagination.

    If Lin Yuan hadn''t pursued music and had become a model instead, their family would probably be wealthy by now.

    "Change the place? Where to?" Lin Yuan sensed that his sister still had more plans.

    "Barbershop. I''ve made an appointment with Master Toni."

    Lin Xuan grinned smugly, not giving Lin Yuan a chance to refuse. She swiftly drove him to a barbershop that the average person wouldn''t even want to enter just by looking at it.

    "Is this a legitimate establishment?" Lin Yuan was doubtful.

    "Your sister is a Supreme member here."

    Lin Xuan walked in with overbearing steps. Lin Yuan reluctantly followed, and they were warmly greeted by the staff.

    For some reason, Lin Yuan could see Senior Yao Huo''s shadow in the staff''s attitude towards Lin Xuan.

    Of course, Lin Yuan also received a warm welcome.

    During the hair washing, several female staff members nearly fought over who would wash Lin Yuan''s hair.

    Lin Xuan rambled on the side, "Your hair is too long, and you don''t like to groom it. This won''t do."

    Lin Yuan muttered, "Why don''t you bother Big Yaoyao instead?"

    Lin Xuan confidently responded, "She is still a student; it''s not good for her to be too flamboyant. We''ll talk about it after she graduates."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    This was a habit of his since childhood, never cutting his hair until it reached a certain length.

    To save money.

    Latter, to save even more money, their mother bought their sister a pair of hairdressing scissors. Since then, Lin Yuan''s haircuts were mostly done by his sister.

    Initially, the haircut was so odd that he had to wear a hat after it was done, but eventually, it was barely passable.

    It proved that Lin Xuan''s haircutting skills needed improvement.

    When Lin Yuan walked out of the barbershop, he was so dazed that he didn''t even know what had happened, except that everyone on the streets was turning their heads to look at him. Even his sister, who was closest to him, licked her lips¡ª

    Usually, Lin Yuan would also attract quite a few glances. He was used to it.

    Today, however, the rate of turned heads was exceptionally high, so high that even Lin Yuan, who had grown up under people''s gaze, felt instinctively uneasy.

    Of course.

    One of the male clients being attended to in the barbershop excitedly pointed at Lin Yuan, "I want that hairstyle."

    Then, in the face of the barber''s twitching face, he was gently reminded, "Sir, actually your facial features are better suited to your current hairstyle..."

    The client objected, "Are you telling me what to do?"

    The barber was close to tears, "I''m sorry, I have limitations."

    You''re not even compatible with this version, bro!

 Chapter 419 - 397 Top Lyricist Ni Hongwu _1

    After giving Lin Yuan a complete makeover, Lin Xuan finally let him off the hook. She even kindly drops him off in front of Starlight Entertainment''s doorstep:

    "This is only fair to your handsome face. Alright, off you go to the office."

    As Lin Yuan gets out of the car, Lin Xuan sizes him up and down, satisfied, she nods her head in approval, her transformation plan for her little brother, a resounding success.

    "..."

    Lin Yuan scrams and quickly runs into the company.

    The receptionists at the front desk cover their mouths in shock as they see Lin Yuan walk in, their eyes sparkling like little stars.

    Only after Lin Yuan swipes his staff ID card and goes upstairs do they suddenly realize:

    "Was that handsome guy Mr. Lin?"

    "I think so..."

    "How come I feel like Mr. Lin has gotten even more handsome?"

    "I feel the same way, he was like a ray of light..."

    "It seems like he changed his outfit and got a new hairstyle?"

    "Oh my, how can anyone be this delicious!"

    "Ah, I''m going to die!"

    "This is too much, let''s tell everyone on the group chat right away!"

    "..."

    One of the receptionists quietly pulls out her phone and opens a group chat called "Starlight''s Admirable Fish Fan Club."

    This is an internal group chat at Starlight, all of its members are women.

    The group members range from receptionists to mid-level managers, with almost two hundred members.

    A receptionist sends a message in the group chat.

    Receptionist Zhao Yan: "Mr. Lin is in the office, he looks so handsome today!"

    The group chat seems to awake suddenly.

    HR department''s Xiao Liu: "Does our Mr. Lin really need to dress up?"

    Zhang Xin from the Resources Department: "Oh my God! I just ran into Teacher Admirable Fish in the elevator. He looks so handsome when he dresses up, I think he''s trying to kill me, just take my life, it''s all yours!"

    Xiao Qin from the Film Department: "Did you really just run into Mr. Lin? I''ve seen you hanging around the elevator multiple times this morning."

    Publicity Department Wang Xiaoa: "No, I absolutely cannot imagine husband getting even more handsome..."

    Receptionist Li Juan: "It''s a pity that I''m not on duty today, it was Zhao Yan who got the discount instead, not being able to see Mr. Lin dampens the taste of my breakfast."

    Flurry of messages.

    The group chat erupts with a flurry of messages.

    All of a sudden, Ma Lingling from the Composition Department on the ninth floor sends a message in the group chat:

    "Mr. Lin is here. My God, he looks stunning! The whole Composition Department was left speechless. Almost no one recognized Mr. Lin at first.

    When he doesn''t dress up, Mr. Lin is practically the ideal man, but when he does, it''s as if a God has descended upon us!"

    Instantly, the group chat erupts with envy.

    Ma Lingling works in the Composition Department on the ninth floor, so she has the most opportunities to see Mr. Lin.

    At this time.

    A woman staff member from the Administration Department sends a message in the group chat: "The company is updating the office equipment for a few representatives in their Composition Department."

    "As usual, start with the ninth floor first!"

    "Arrange the best equipment for Fish!"

    "Can someone from the relevant departments handle this?"

    "Sisters, rest assured, our department is also responsible for this, I''ll supervise the process."

    "..."

    The group chat''s daily topic is always about Lin Yuan.

    However, Lin Yuan has no idea that there''s such an organization in the company.

    When he enters his office, Gu Dong makes him a cup of tea and then stands aside.

    Lin Yuan lifts his head and asks: "Do you need something?"

    Gu Dong coughs: "No, I just didn''t want to be far off in case you needed me."

    "I''ll call you if I need something."

    Lin Yuan then lowers his head to start reading documents.

    With no other choice, Gu Dong leaves, but not before sneaking a few more glances at Lin Yuan, as though not doing so would mean missing out.

    ...

    The attention from all around seemed to be far more exaggerated than before, but Lin Yuan adapted fairly quickly. After all, he had grown up in this type of environment, and the atmosphere now was just slightly more heated.

    Before long.

    Wu Yong rushed over.

    When he entered and saw Lin Yuan, he paused, then chuckled, "Mr. Lin would certainly attract star scouts if seen walking down the street, wouldn''t he?"

    Lin Yuan replied, "I came by car today."

    Wu Yong: "..."

    What would have happened if he hadn''t taken a car?

    He didn''t ask, nor did he need to.

    "What''s up?"

    Lin Yuan knew that Wu Yong usually came to him when there was an issue.

    Wu Yong hastily explained, "It''s not a big deal. I just wanted to know if you want to start a rumor that you''ll participate in the Battle of the Gods in December. Quite a few Kings and Queens of Singing, along with Maestro, have announced their participation..."

    Lin Yuan replied, "Let''s announce it then."

    Having an opportunity to promote ahead of time was also a good thing.

    Wu Yong nodded, and then added, "Fei Yang has also announced that he will participate in the New Song Chart in December. He''s probably aiming at you since he lost to you twice in the seasonal chart. Considering the buzz online, he seems to be rather unsatisfied. Not to mention that the composer helping him with his song this time is Teacher Yin Dong..."

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan was aware of the buzz online.

    He had also heard of the never-getting-out-of-second-place joke.

    Netizens'' ability to create jokes was quite formidable. Weren''t his own three alternate accounts filled with loads of jokes about him?

    Even his Teacher Admirable Fish account, which had the best reputation, had recently been labeled as an "old rascal" by many netizens because of the heartbreaking movie "Hachiko".

    As for Yin Dong...

    Last December, Yin Dong had teamed up with Fei Yang, but they lost to him. So, not only Fei Yang but also Yin Dong probably wanted to compete with Admirable Fish again. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Oh, yes."

    Wu Yong hesitated for a moment, then expressed his concern: "It''s not just that Maestro Yin Dong has boosted Fei Yang, they''ve also invited the famous lyricist, Neon Dance Teacher, who once said in ''Literature and Art Gazette'' that your composing ability is better than your lyric-writing ability."

    Neon Dance?

    Lin Yuan was slightly surprised.

    He had heard about the famed lyricist, Neon Dance.

    Of course, it wasn''t because this person had evaluated his lyric-writing ability. Lin Yuan never cared about things like that.

    He knew of Neon Dance because she really was stellar.

    Neon Dance was a native of Chu Continent, but even before the Chu Continent was merged, many top composers from Qin Continent used to have Neon Dance write lyrics for their works, which attests to her high status in the lyric-writing world.

    After all, Qin is known as the Land of Music.

    There were plenty of talented composers in Qin.

    The fact that Neon Dance, being a Chu native, was highly recognized by the Land of Music even before the merger, said a lot about her skills.

    "Quite clearly, Fei Yang and his team are out for no good."

    Wu Yong looked at Lin Yuan with a worried expression: "In terms of lyrics, composition, or singing, they''ve put forth their strongest lineup."

    "Indeed, they''re quite formidable."

    Lin Yuan nodded in agreement.

    Wu Yong felt helpless. Apparently, Mr. Lin hadn''t grasped the underlying meaning of his words:

    "Mr. Lin, you are still going to write lyrics and music by yourself for this. I''m not worried about that, but I heard you''ve chosen Jiang Kui as the singer. Isn''t that a bit of a risk?"

    "Isn''t she good?"

    "No, that''s not the issue. The main thing is, our opponents are either Kings or Queens of Singing, backed by powerful teams. I''m afraid Jiang Kui may not be able to keep pace with you..."

    Lin Yuan explained, "Jiang Kui is extremely talented."

    Wu Yong hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded. He feared if he continued urging further, Mr. Lin might whimsically retort:

    "Then I will collaborate with Sun Yaohuo."

    Even though Sun Yaohuo had been propelled to the first line by Mr. Lin, Wu Yong believed that Jiang Kui was more powerful in comparison.

    However, Wu Yong found it quite challenging to envision how Jiang Kui would compete against those Kings and Queens of Singing.

    At eight o''clock that evening.

    Starlight Entertainment officially announced on social media that Admirable Fish would participate in the Battle of the Gods in December.

    November was still not over.

    But the moment many people saw Admirable Fish announcing his participation in the Battle of the Gods, they could suddenly smell a whiff of gunpowder from December.

 Chapter 420 - 398: The Target of All_1

    In the music industry, it was expected that Xian Yu would participate in the Battle of the Gods in December.

    For much of this year''s major seasons, Xian Yu was absent for a long time.

    So when September came around, Xian Yu made a strong comeback with the song "Ten Years," and his return as a king had secretly foreshadowed this moment.

    But when this moment actually came, many people still felt an emotion they hadn''t experienced in a long while: excitement.

    Online.

    Netizens were too excited to even pay attention to the great melee in November, and everyone''s hearts almost simultaneously flew to the unarrived Battle of the Gods in December-

    "He is coming, he is coming, he is walking towards us with the trophy of the defending champion!"

    "Please welcome with a round of applause last year''s king, Xian Yu''s appearance!"

    "Hahaha, I love Xian Yu''s irregularities. He disappears in the first half of the year and attacks heavily in the second half. I don''t know if Xian Yu can still get the championship this time?"

    "Pff, win another championship? Do you understand what that means?"

    "Let me explain; in the Battle of Gods, the chance of consecutive championships is very low. I statistically analyzed the data from the past decade, Great Qin''s historical probability of consecutive championships is only thirty-three percent. These are previous data, now with the unification of the three continents, other continents also have Kings of Singing and Maestros.

    So, the difficulty of the Battle of Gods at year-end has already reached hell mode, Xian Yu''s re-win chances are probably even lower."

    "No matter what, it will be exciting with Xian Yu participating!"

    "Indeed exciting, this year it is the battle of top musicians from Qin, Qi, and Chu!"

    "..."

    Everyone is excited, not because everyone thinks Xian Yu is stronger than others in the Battle of Gods-

    The Battle of Gods is a battle between immortals.

    It is difficult for anyone to stand out alone.

    In the end, it is all about who performs better at the end of the season.

    Even the emperor''s throne is taken turns to rule, and no one has ever consecutively won the Battle of Gods.

    Even to win the championship once is as difficult as ascending to heaven.

    Therefore, Xian Yu''s participation can make countless people excited, and the most important reason is Xian Yu''s status as the defending champion.

    Don''t forget that in December last year, Xian Yu topped the Battle of Gods with the song "Red Sun."

    Now the Battle of Gods is making a comeback.

    If Xian Yu, last year''s defending champion, does not participate, it feels like there is something missing to everybody.

    Therefore, everyone is delighted to see Xian Yu participate.

    Not just the netizens.

    Those Kings and Queens of Singing and Maestros who have already announced that they will participate in the Battle of Gods in December also love this!

    What?

    The music industry changes color when Xian Yu is mentioned?

    Fear of Fish Syndrome in the music circle?

    Sorry, that''s something ordinary people worry about, we Kings and Queens of Singing certainly aren''t afraid of Xian Yu.

    The Maestros fear even less!

    Some people will participate in the Battle of Gods in December specifically to cook up a delicious bowl of fish head soup!

    Now that the fish is ready, it just waits to be slaughtered.

    For the Kings and Queens of Singing and even the Maestros, there is no greater sense of achievement than defeating the last year''s reigning champion, if Xian Yu does not participate in the December season list, some people would actually be disappointed.

    Like Fei Yang.

    God knows how closely Fei Yang has been watching Starlight''s movements recently. The first question he asks his assistant every morning when he wakes up is:

    "Has Xian Yu officially announced his participation in the Battle of Gods yet?"

    Today, Fei Yang finally received a satisfactory answer!

    His wait has not been in vain, nor have all his preparations been in vain; that fish has finally appeared.

    He brings with him the aura of the reigning champion, and as soon as he enters, he becomes the eye-candy for everyone!

    At this moment.

    Fei Yang has already arranged a perfect script for the Battle of Gods. This script is:

    Himself making a magnificent ascent to the top, and clinching the championship song!

    And Xian Yu, as last year''s reigning champion, ideally placing second!

    What?

    Xian Yu is third, fourth, or even lower in ranking?

    No way!

    Absolutely not!

    If Xian Yu''s ranking isn''t high, won''t it indirectly convey to everyone that this year, Xian Yu''s preparations for the Battle of Gods were not enough?

    I, Fei Yang, want to defeat Xian Yu at his peak!

    Only if Xian Yu gets second place will everyone feel that Xian Yu remains formidable.

    But I am the stronger one.

    Besides, Fei Yang''s biggest motivation at this moment is to beat Xian Yu, letting him taste the bitterness of being in second place.

    For the last six months, Fei Yang has been contemplating how he''s going to shake off the label of the perennial runner-up.

    He even took inspiration from the first generation, Chen Zhiyu.

    Chen Zhiyu, the eternal runner-up, chose to join his rivals once he realized he could not beat them.

    He joined Starlight, and managed to rid himself of his ''second-place'' label by riding the coattails of Xian Yu''s success.

    But Fei Yang will not do that!

    Fei Yang is no coward. Even if it means starving to death, or jumping off a cliff, he would not ever join Xian Yu!

    He intends to always stand in opposition to Xian Yu, constantly imposing a threat.

    So, Fei Yang came up with the strategy to defeat Xian Yu.

    Only by making Xian Yu the runner-up, could Fei Yang shake off the label of being the perennial second-place Mr. Second.

    This is the only proper way to shake off that label!

    Fei Yang is confident about this!

    At this point, Xian Yu should already see him as the number one rival in this war of the gods.

    Exactly.

    Those who have made it to the level of King and Queen of Singing, those who are deemed Maestros, are all filled with self-confidence, arrogance, and a powerful urge to win.

    This is true for Fei Yang.

    It''s also true for other Kings and Queens of Singing and the Maestros in December.

    They will not be defeated.

    They will only transform their resentment into motivation, growing stronger after every setback.

    That is the only secret to their success, there are no shortcuts!

    Fear of Xian Yu? Fear at the mere mention of Xian Yu?

    These are simply the products of ordinary people''s fear. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Every King and Queen of singing, and every Maestro, have once brought this level of fear and trepidation to the music industry. They have made ordinary people this afraid.

    Xian Yu is merely walking a path taken by the many before him, facing similar vistas.

    Therefore, the situation is quite delicate.

    Many hope that Xian Yu can do extremely well this year, while at the same time, they don''t want him to outdo them.

    Just the conditions for this situation to arise are sternly rigorous.

    In light of this, the industry insiders heave a sigh:

    "The target of public criticism, indeed!"

    "These big shots all want to slaughter that fish."

    "Who would have thought that the underlying reason for this battle of the gods this year is because they all want to eat the fish."

    "If Xian Yu doesn''t participate in the war of the gods this year, these people will probably suffer insomnia out of frustration."

    "If I were Xian Yu, I might have flinched. The challenge of winning the championship again is plain to see, why should I be a backdrop for others?"

    "You can''t say that, what if Xian Yu wins?"

    "..."

    Many people pause, then start to ponder. It seems like there is indeed a possibility for Xian Yu to win.

    He daringly released a song of the caliber of ''Ten Years'' in September!

    What does that imply?

    It suggests that he thinks the song prepared for December is even better than ''Ten Years''!

    Otherwise, he wouldn''t have any reasons not to save ''Ten Years'' for a December release!

    With this in mind, many start to muse.

    But...

    Just when the music world starts to consider Xian Yu''s winning odds, Starlight suddenly released a message the next day:

    "Xian Yu collaborates with singer Jiang Kui on a new song ''May You Live Long'', stay tuned!"

    The music world was stupefied!

    No one expected that Xian Yu, for this December, chose not to collaborate with one of Starlight''s Kings or Queens of Singing, but rather an insignificant little singer...

    Jiang Kui?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Feeling a lot better than yesterday, I will attempt to write another chapter.

 Chapter 421 - 399 When will the lyricist be able to stand up_1

    Describing Jiang Kui as a ''small singer'' is actually a bit harsh.

    Even if she isn''t an A-list artist right now, Jiang Kui can be at least considered a borderline A-list singer who could easily attain a higher rank with a little push from her company. In terms of her status within the music industry, she''s already very high -

    If anyone doesn''t understand, we can use Chen Zhiyu as a unit of measurement for comparison.

    The current Jiang Kui is almost on par with four-fifths of Chen Zhiyu before he became the perennial runner-up.

    She''s got the fame.

    She''s got the talent.

    But to some extent, it''s not wrong to categorize Jiang Kui as a "small singer".

    Because the point of comparison for Jiang Kui isn''t Chen Zhiyu, it''s the leading singers represented by Fei Yang!

    Xian Yu and Maestro are worthy of comparison. The Battle of the Gods competition in December last year was the perfect proof.

    But what about Jiang Kui?

    How does she compare to the leading singers?

    So when the industry saw Starlight''s official announcement, they were collectively dumbfounded, and metaphorically, their glasses shattered all over the ground.

    Something must be wrong.

    How could Jiang Kui be on the list for the mighty Battle of the Gods?

    With all the top singers present, who could Jiang Kui''s petite figure possibly hold her ground against?

    Suddenly, discussions started brewing within the industry:

    "Who the heck is Jiang Kui, can''t the top-tier music company field a top singer?"

    "What clout does Jiang Kui have to be this brash?"

    "Is there some shady background stuff with Starlight?"

    "If Xian Yu was kidnapped by Starlight, blink twice."

    "Stop guessing, nobody would dare force Xian Yu to do anything in Starlight, unless they''ve gone completely bonkers. Given Xian Yu''s status, he could cherry-pick any top singer within or even outside Starlight. The only plausible assumption for choosing Jiang Kui is that Xian Yu himself wanted to play this way!"

    "Has he gone mad?"

    They are crazy for involving Jiang Kui in the Battle of the Gods. This is as absurd as involving Sun Yaohuo in the Battle of the Gods, even though I concede that Jiang Kui does have strong singing skills."

    "The big shots of the Battle of the Gods might be shocked too."

    "..."

    Blunt words, sound argument.

    Unless every senior executive of Starlight has water in their brains, no one would force Xian Yu into anything.

    If they dared to play this way, in less than an hour, countless music company executives, even chairmen, would personally invite Xian Yu to their companies!

    With offers of courtesy and respect beyond measure.

    That is beyond doubt.

    So, it must be Xian Yu''s own decision.

    Starlight might even be the victim.

    Because they don''t dare to dictate Xian Yu''s actions, they ended up allowing Jiang Kui, a somewhat out-of-place singer, to be listed on the roster for the Battle of the Gods. Otherwise, which company would arrange such a unreliable lineup?

    When Starlight announced this news, netizens also began discussing:

    "What is Xian Yu trying to do?"

    "He''s not collaborating with top singers for the Battle of the Gods?"

    "I only realized today why they say Xian Yu loves to promote newcomers - he''s using even the Battle of the Gods to promote people!"

    "He''s really going all in to promote newcomers."

    "Could this be Xian Yu''s subtle way of providing himself with an escape route? Arrange for Jiang Kui in the Battle of the Gods - if he wins, it shows how capable Xian Yu is; if he loses, Xian Yu can easily pin the blame on Jiang Kui, claiming that he didn''t partner with the top singers, and hence had an inherent disadvantage."

    Some speculated maliciously.

    The fact is, from the moment Starlight announced a collaboration between Jiang Kui and Xian Yu for December, such malicious conjectures were bound to arise.

    But such conjectures are destined to be unpopular.

    Immediately, people began to retort:

    "Though the movie ''Hachiko'' directed by Xian Yu the old rascal is truly a love-hate experience, the Battle of the Gods is not necessarily about winning the top spot. Even Maestro doesn''t have that much pressure, let alone Xian Yu."

    "Xian Yu isn''t that petty."

    "Why don''t you interpret Xian Yu''s move as absolute confidence? Because he has so much faith in his new song, he believes that he can achieve good results even without collaborating with the King of Singing or the Queen of Singing."

    "But this is the Battle of the Gods."

    "So what if it''s the Battle of the Gods? Xian Yu has been champion once before, and last year''s win was undisputed. It''s understandable if he wants to ramp up the challenge this year."

    "..."

    Jiang Kui''s appearance was too strange.

    There were all sorts of interpretations.

    However, just as some industry insiders had imagined, the big players who were participating in the December Battle of the Gods were shocked by the news from Starlight.

    Huh?

    Normally, those who could participate in the Battle of the Gods were experienced warriors who had seen far more trials and tribulations than ordinary folks. After so many seasons of ups and downs, what haven''t they seen before?

    But this, they had not seen before.

    It was like everyone was already rubbing their hands in anticipation of savoring a big, delicious fish head soup, but the kitchen ended up serving up a tiny fish fry.

    Where''s the fish head soup we were promised?

    Even a cat would find such a small fry too little, okay?

    We didn''t even need a single shiver of excitement, because we could already taste the blandness in advance!

    Pfft!

    Glamorous Entertainment Company.

    Fei Yang saw Starlight''s announcement on the Tribal activity feed. He initially intended to slam his fist hard on the desk, but the force ended up taking a twist, landing on the soft leather of the chair:

    "What''s the meaning of this, Xian Yu!"

    Despite the thud on the chair''s cushion being far less authoritative than it would have been on a desk, Fei Yang''s anger was plainly visible: "Is he belittling me, by selecting Jiang Kui for the challenge?"

    "Who knows what composers are thinking."

    Neon, also at Glamorous Entertainment today, casually said.

    She glanced at Yin Dong, with a hint of double entendre.

    Neon was considered a top-tier lyricist in the industry, but her collaboration with Yin Dong this time was full of hiccups. She had submitted countless revisions of lyrics, all of which Yin Dong didn''t like, which further pushed back her hairline due to endless nights of work.

    This was indeed a silent expression of discontent.

    Why are music composers so highly regarded?

    I am a lyricist, too!

    When will lyricists finally raise our head high!

    Make these composers beg for us lyricists to intervene!

    Yin Dong appeared oblivious to Neon''s discontent, he casually said:

    "You have become overly fixated on Xian Yu. Of course, I also want to defeat Xian Yu, but my ultimate goal is not so much him as it is the December championship."

    Fei Yang paused, then nodded vigorously:

    "No matter what Xian Yu is thinking, as long as I win the December championship, I''ll be happy. Xian Yu will pay the price for his rashness and arrogance!"

    "Mmm." sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Yin Dong, as always, was poker-faced.

    Neon at the side shrugged: "Composing and singing are your matters, decisions I can''t make. The only thing I can guarantee you both is that the lyrics I write will not be the weak link. They will be the finest lyrics at the December Battle of the Gods!"

    "I have complete faith in Teacher Neon''s songwriting."

    Fei Yang showed a smile: "Of course, I also have utmost confidence in Teacher Yin Dong''s composing as well as my singing."

    Fei Yang made a slight adjustment to the script in his mind.

    He was still going to take first place, but Xian Yu probably wouldn''t be able to secure second place.

    This made Fei Yang feel regretful.

    He even felt a pang of loneliness.

    A fist that had been wound up for nearly a year ended up punching a ball of cotton. Naturally, Fei Yang would feel both lonely and regretful. In fact, many major figures in the upcoming December Battle of the Gods had the same feeling¡ª

    Where was the glory in such a victory!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to "Smile Again" for the second Alliance Hierarch. I may not be able to add more chapters recently, but I''ll keep track of the debt here. Once I''ve fully recovered, I''ll immediately add the chapters. That''s it for today.

 Chapter 422 - 400: Official Release of May We Live Long _1

    Those crowned the King or Queen of Singing, and the Maestros behind them, chose to collaborate with one another to ensure the flawless execution of the Battle of the Gods.

    Obviously, the lineup of Music Kings, Queens, and Maestros would form the strongest group!

    Jiang Kui''s existence would undoubtedly hamper Xian Yu''s progress, a fact that was clear to anyone with eyes.

    So everyone thought:

    Even if Xian Yu won the Battle of the Gods, it would feel somewhat like a hollow victory.

    But the situation was irreversible.

    As for the upcoming Battle of the Gods, Xian Yu''s significance in everyone''s eyes had dropped to mere participation.

    He was no longer everyone''s imagined nemesis.

    There was no helping it.

    The industry gradually accepted the fact that Xian Yu had semi-given up on the Battle of the Gods and turned its attention to another group:

    "Fei Yang is pretty strong this year."

    "With Maestro Yin Dong composing, top lyricist Ni Hongwu penning the lyrics, and the best music producers and arrangers in the field, their strength on paper was indeed the greatest."

    "The combination of Long Die and Yin Li should not be underestimated, I favor this pair!"

    "Fei Yang is clearly going all out against Xian Yu, but who would''ve known that Xian Yu wasn''t planning to go all out."

    "Fei Yang must be quite upset, the opponent he valued most doesn''t seem to care much for the Battle of the Gods."

    "Unless something unexpected happens, the person who can defeat Fei Yang next month will grab the championship song."

    "Speaking of which, Xian Yu is the defending champion, but Fei Yang was also the runner-up last year. As the defending champion chooses to perform subpar, for many significant figures, defeating the runner-up might be a source of pleasure and motivation."

    "..."

    After Xian Yu, it was Fei Yang''s group that became the most significant obstacle in many people''s eyes.

    At this time in Starlight Entertainment.

    Jiang Kui in the recording studio, looking at the comments about her online, felt a surge of energy building up within her -

    There was a fire in her eyes.

    How dare everyone look down on me?

    Why does everyone think that I will hold back Teacher Admirable Fish?

    When Ninth Floor chose to cultivate Yao Huo and me, that''s what people in the company thought;

    When Xian Yu chose to collaborate with me on a new song for the Battle of the Gods, that''s what people in the industry thought.

    Even netizens don''t understand at all.

    Am I really that terrible?

    Do they think I''m an easy target?

    Jiang Kui bit her lip, her fists clenched under her sleeves, with the nails digging into her flesh.

    She wished she could shout at everyone, "Don''t despise the youth when they''re poor. The east and west of the river may change over thirty years!"

    "Prepare to record."

    Lin Yuan suddenly walked into the recording studio.

    This was the day he had chosen for recording.

    Jiang Kui''s strong empathy as the lead actress in her interior drama abruptly disrupted, standing in front of the microphone, with a more cautious look at Lin Yuan, she tentatively said:

    "Alright then."

    Lin Yuan nodded his head, greeted the staff in the recording studio, was evidently planning to complete the task of recording that day.

    About ten minutes later.

    The official recording began.

    Having rehearsed for some time beforehand, coupled with Lin Yuan''s days of coaching, Jiang Kui had achieved a perfect grasp of the song.

    Seemingly the criticisms from the outside world did indeed stir up Jiang Kui?

    Her recording status today was surprisingly good, the whole song was recorded very smoothly, both emotions and singing techniques, all met Lin Yuan''s standards.

    "That''ll do."

    Two hours later.

    Lin Yuan took off his headphones and declared, "Recording complete."

    Speaking of the performance result, today''s recording by Jiang Kui was the best version she had sung these days.

    Lin Yuan was very satisfied.

    It was not in vain that he had spent so long with Jiang Kui preparing for the official recording.

    ...

    Though Xian Yu was no longer the hot topic for the Battle of the Gods, this did not affect his musical status in the hearts of numerous netizens as the season ended.

    In the following days, news about the Battle of the Gods was ubiquitous online:

    "The Battle of the Gods is coming soon!"

    "Fei Yang''s exclusive interview: This year I am participating in the Battle of the Gods not to show off, but to let everyone know that what I lost must be reclaimed by me!"

    "King and Queen of Singing are ready!"

    "December''s war beacon, six Maestros have arrived!"

    "Yin Dong leads the Maestro line-up in the Battle of the Gods, who will be crowned new king!"

    "Maestro Long Die exclusive interview: My only competitor has always been myself."

    "..."

    The news bombardment of this level was even more exaggerated than that in November!

    At the end of November, netizens'' anticipation for the Battle of the Gods had reached its peak, almost overflowing!

    On November 30th.

    There was a countdown for the Battle of the Gods on the Music Association''s official website. Even the official platform was attaching great importance to the Battle of the Gods:

    "Ten hours until the official start of the Battle of the Gods!"

    "Nine hours until the official start of the Battle of the Gods!"

    "Eight hours until the official start of the Battle of the Gods!"

    The countdown on the Literature and Art Association''s official website kept updating in real-time. All major music platforms followed suit, exacerbating the nerves of netizens and music fans to an exceedingly sensitive degree.

    "It''s about to start!"

    "Why am I so excited?"

    "After all, it''s the annual celestial battle!"

    "Which song to listen to first is a problem. I''m really looking forward to several songs!"

    "In comparison with the battle at midnight, the competition among the top singers in November is like a younger brother."

    "Black Bull is ready, brothers, charge tonight!" sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "I''m so damn excited. I, who never stay up late, can''t help but plan to stay up till midnight."

    "The Literature and Art Association even set a countdown, it feels like New Year''s Eve, hahahaha."

    "Apparently, the rankings will be released directly tonight, no need to wait until tomorrow. Gods are battling in groups online, which Maestro will top the songs?"

    "..."

    A multitude of eyes were glued tightly to the ticking countdown.

    In the wait, the sky slowly darkened, and the moon gently rose into the sky.

    As the prompts of "One hour left until the official start of the Battle of the Gods" were published by various music platforms and the Music Association''s official website, waiting netizens'' spirits abruptly intensified!

    Inside the bedroom of a certain mansion.

    Fei Yang had already sat in front of the computer early. He brewed a cup of instant coffee and quietly waited for midnight to arrive.

    The wind gently swirled outside the window.

    The moonlight drifted faintly inward.

    Excitement and nervousness were intertwined within Fei Yang, causing his legs to fidget restlessly.

    Unknown time passed.

    Fei Yang''s phone suddenly vibrated.

    Fei Yang picked up his phone and saw it was a message from Ni Hongwu in the group: "In the lyrics section, I can crush the gods. I hope someone doesn''t drag us down. If we don''t win the championship, it''s definitely not my fault."

    This was a small three-person group.

    Only Fei Yang, Yin Dong, and Ni Hongwu were in the group.

    This was a small group that Fei Yang had created specifically for the Battle of the Gods collaboration.

    Seeing Ni Hongwu''s message, Fei Yang chuckled, and his nervousness dissipated quite a bit.

    Of course, he knew that Ni Hongwu was taking a jab at Yin Dong.

    The two had quite a lot of friction during the lyrics and composition collaboration process, which left Ni Hongwu very dissatisfied.

    "Don''t worry."

    Then Yin Dong appeared, seemingly in response to Ni Hongwu: "There is no problem with my composition."

    "And there will be no problem with my singing."

    Fei Yang confidently replied, typing with forceful fingers. He wanted to continue the chat, but the alarm he had set on his phone suddenly rang.

    Fei Yang glanced at the time.

    It was precisely midnight right now!

    Fei Yang hastily put his phone down, put on his headphones, and clicked open the music player right away. His expression was as serious as a soldier in uniform, ready to rush to his battlefield.

    "It''s time!"

    "Battle of the Gods!"

    Fei Yang clicked open the music special on his player.

    Meanwhile!

    Within the merged three continents, countless hands were moving their mouse at the same time and forcefully pressing down the confirm left button...

 Chapter 423 - 401 ?_1

    Fei Yang was the first to open the broadcast player focused on the Battle of the Gods. But when a myriad of new works, sung by the kings and queens of song and personally produced by the maestros appeared before his eyes, Fei Yang was suddenly overcome by a sense of bewilderment and pause¡ª

    The list was indeed full of bigwigs.

    The work of a certain maestro in Qin land, the work of a certain queen of song in Qi land, the work of a certain maestro in Chu land, and so on, all of them were considered Fei Yang''s powerful competitors in this Battle of the Gods.

    But with so many works, whose song should I listen to first?

    The sense of solitude that had arisen some time ago when Xian Yu chose Jiang Kui to perform his work suddenly resurfaced.

    Fei Yang was somewhat astounded to realize that he never thought of anyone other than Xian Yu as a competitor in his eyes.

    Even though this was the Battle of the Gods.

    Even though everyone else was pretty insane too.

    And even if someone could be stronger than Xian Yu.

    It seemed to Fei Yang, beating Xian Yu was far more critical than securing a champion track from the Battle of the Gods!

    "So, I really came straight for you."

    The mouse wheel rolls slightly as Fei Yang muttered to himself. His gaze quickly skimmed across the songs lined up in the front row, eventually unable to resist and locking onto Xian Yu. It seemed like this was the only reason for him to participate in the Battle of the Gods.

    "How Long Will the Full Moon Last."

    Subconsciously, Fei Yang murmured this song''s title, a song by Xian Yu.

    Without much hesitation, he clicked play amidst sighs and regrets.

    Due to certain objective reasons, even though Xian Yu was not his opponent this time, the feeling of punching into the void was too overwhelming. So much so that Fei Yang, even knowing that the opponent''s piece posed no threat to him, still chose Xian Yu as his first punch-out target in the Battle of the Gods.

    "Lyrics: Xian Yu"

    "Composition: Xian Yu"

    "Performed by: Jiang Kui"

    This seemed to align well with Fei Yang''s current feelings.

    As the introductory text for the song gradually faded, the prelude to "How Long Will the Full Moon Last" began with a cello, then seamlessly transitioned to piano.

    The mellifluous music carried a subtle melodrama and a vague sense of loneliness.

    "Oh?"

    While adjusting his headphones to a more comfortable position, Fei Yang couldn''t help but grumble:

    "Is this going the sentimental route this time? Seems like he''s given up on the charts. The song ''Red Sun'' last year was much more fitting for topping the charts, with its strong rhythm, soaring melody, and an intro that pulls listeners into the melody, making them feel like grooving along. Winning the championship was well deserved.

    Compared to that, this sentimentality, how could it compete with me..."

    Suddenly!

    Fei Yang''s voice came to an abrupt halt.

    The motion of him adjusting his headphones froze as well.

    This left him in an extremely awkward pose.

    Through the ultra-comfortable foam cover of the headphones, echoed a woman''s voice¡ªit was enchantingly smooth and sophisticated, yet laced with a languid loquacity, slowly magnifying all the unidentifiable emotions:

    "How Long Will the Full Moon Last..."

    "I drink to the Moon..."

    "Not knowing the Celestial Palace up high..."

    "What year is it tonight..."

    Fei Yang''s hand abruptly dropped.

    A crisp sound abruptly echoed, as if a silk cloth being torn.

    All the loneliness and melancholy tangled in his heart were instantly shattered.

    It''s like a bolt of lightning from the sky piercing through the black mist, much like a dazzling lightning bolt shooting through the heart of the sky!

    Bang!

    Fei Yang suddenly snapped back to reality!

    He felt that everything around him had changed.

    The computer and the headphone wires started distorting, and he seemed to be standing in the middle of a vast emptiness filled with darkness, the high heavens and the lonely moon hanging above him, while the corner of the celestial palace loomed in and out of the mist, and the faint celestial music was heard.

    The ethereal scene was devoid of any earthly aura.

    Fei Yang forgot everything and he felt more insignificant than ever.

    In the vast universe, he was just a speck of dust, drifting along with the waves.

    The piano continued resonating.

    The cello continued setting the tone.

    The coffee by the desk hadn''t been touched.

    In the not-so-flamboyant arrangement, only the slightly lifted tail of every line of the song was reminding Fei Yang:

    He was listening to Xian Yu''s new song, not contemplating something profound about life.

    He jerked into reality once again. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The darkness and emptiness disappeared.

    What''s in front of me is still the computer and long headphone cord.

    It seems that a momentary clarity shifted the sound back into focus, the song came in phases, as dazzling as fireworks, as peaceful as a gentle breeze.

    "I wish to ride the wind back home..."

    "But fear the porcelain tower, the jade mansion..."

    "The high places are bitterly cold..."

    "Dancing with the clear shadows..."

    "What is it like in the mortal world..."

    No longer the faintly divine sounds from the celestial palace, but one step in reality of the mortal world, yet still having an unavoidable meaning of refinement.

    At this moment.

    Fei Yang''s pupils contracted to the extreme, almost to the point where even the tip of his heart was trembling.

    If the computer screen was off at this moment, a face with an extremely exaggerated expression would surely reflect from the screen.

    When the song reached "Turn the vermilion tower, lower the lovely door, light up the sleepless, there should be no resentment, who always turn full at times of parting," Fei Yang was already out of sorts.

    Who am I?

    Where am I?

    What am I doing?

    The performance was still going on, but Fei Yang''s brain began to blank out bit by bit, almost incapable of thinking, as if entering a strangely philosophical state.

    Then, his face grew increasingly pale.

    The sound in his headphones gradually became meandering and undulating, going back and forth a thousand times, like a sigh from a thousand years ago, or even from another time and space.

    "People have joys and sorrows, and moons have ebb and flood, this is anciently tough to make perfect...

    The music spreads in a calm transition, like regret, or more like a kind of relief.

    When Fei Yang, who was listening to the music, regained a bit of consciousness, he was already sweating, and in shock, he felt a tingling sensation from his scalp.

    His brain still wasn''t responding.

    But the voice from Jiang Kui was not hoarse, even suppressed at times, yet carried a kind of overpowering force:

    "May we all be blessed with longevity, sharing the beauty of this graceful moonlight even thousands of miles apart."

    Click!

    Fei Yang suddenly stopped the playback.

    He stood silent under the light for a moment, then began to breathe heavily, finally picked up the now-cold coffee and gulped it down.

    "Ah!"

    Cold coffee sliding down his throat, freezing and yet sweet, sour, bitter, spicy, he had not expected this hastily brewed instant coffee to have such complex tastes.

    Not until then did he feel a slight circulation in the stifling atmosphere surrounding him, he couldn''t help but cry out loudly.

    His thoughts slowly returned.

    He could finally speak properly.

    "What the hell!"

    He screamed with his mouth open, seemingly more desirous to express himself to the air, but after opening his mouth for a long time, he couldn''t utter a single superfluous word.

    Thunk.

    While speaking, Fei Yang put down his cup.

    His hand seemed to shake slightly.

    The trembling grew bigger and bigger until it couldn''t be controlled.

    In the end, he accidentally knocked his phone to the floor.

    The phone fell onto the floor, the screen suddenly lit up, a few cracks spread on it, obviously from just now.

    But Fei Yang isn''t focusing on the need to replace the phone screen at this moment¡ª¡ª

    It was a group chat screen.

    The chat history stopped exactly at Ni Hongwu''s sentence "I can kill all gods with the part of the lyrics".

    Ding dong.

    There were message notifications in the group chat, from Yin Dong, there was nothing specific, just a simple punctuation mark:

    "?"

    Fei Yang struggled to breathe again, he tried to control his shaking hand, pressing on the screen that was already less sensitive, the content was basically the same as Yin Dong, just longer:

    "?????????????????"

    - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    PS: Done for the day, I''m very satisfied with this chapter, everyone is rushing, I''m also rushing, because I actually want to finish the climax all at once like before, but I do have limited energy, most of the time I''m sitting dry, today these two chapters together took seven or eight hours?

 Chapter 424 - 402 Su Immortal Descends_1

    "Long Die''s new song is really not bad, whether it''s the melody or the singing, it all has a charm that moves one''s heart. The only flaw is that the lyrics are a bit plain. These lyrics aesthetics of the Maestro really gives one a headache..."

    Around the same time, in Chu land.

    Inside her own office, Ni Hongwu was listening to the new song composed by Maestro Long Die in The Battle of the Gods, with headphones on, feeling somewhat regretful for the imperfect lyrics as she listened.

    After listening to Long Die''s song, Ni Hongwu looked at her phone, and immediately saw the question marks sent by Yin Dong and the thirteen question marks sent by Fei Yang in the small group chat.

    Such an amount of question marks also involuntarily put a lot of question marks in Ni Hongwu''s mind.

    What do you two mean?

    Ni Hongwu was somewhat puzzled. Coincidentally, as Ni Hongwu looked at this group chat, suddenly came a song from the headphones:

    "How long will the full moon appear, I raise my wine and ask the blue sky, no one knows, in the celestial palace, what year it is tonight..."

    This was a coincidence triggered by the shuffle play. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    As it turned out, Ni Hongwu, like Fei Yang, didn''t know who''s song to listen to first, so she chose to shuffle all the songs from The Battle of the Gods. Now it''s just shuffled to Xian Yu''s new song, "Hope for Eternity".

    Only a few lines were sung.

    But Ni Hongwu''s gaze suddenly focused on the computer on the desk.

    The screen was still on the player''s lyrics interface. The distilled lyrics of "Hope for Eternity" suddenly appeared in front of Ni Hongwu. So, this moment became a memorable one for Ni Hongwu.

    Crack!

    Even though the moonlight outside the window was still quietly flowing, and there was neither wind nor rain between heaven and earth, Ni Hongwu felt as if a thunderbolt had appeared above her head in the clear sky, instantly blowing her brain into chaos.

    "Whoosh!"

    Ni Hongwu almost tried to retrieve her chat saying "I could destroy the Gods with my lyrics" at the fastest speed in her life, but time had already passed by nearly five minutes¡ª

    Failed to retrieve it.

    Looking back at the question marks from Fei Yang and Yin Dong, Ni Hongwu suddenly had a sense of social death.

    Even though everyone couldn''t see each other''s faces across the network, Ni Hongwu was already feeling incredibly uneasy, as if a thousand fingers were pointing behind her.

    Like a fishbone stuck in the throat.

    Like sitting on a bed of needles.

    Ni Hongwu''s thoughts cleared within the chaos.

    Her first clear thought was surprisingly, would that message have been safely retrieved if she had listened to "Hope for Eternity" first?

    Could she pretend to be all tranquil, as if she had never said such words?

    Unfortunately, it''s too late.

    And even if that message was really withdrawn, her previous evaluation of Xian Yu''s songwriting ability in the interview with Literature and Art Gazette was also similar in terms of description and expression.

    Ni Hongwu totally gave up her struggle.

    She simply listened to the song several times over.

    With these repeats, it seemed that she had a new insight each time.

    Every time the song sang "People have their joys and sorrows, and the moon has its periods of waxing and waning," she could clearly feel her heart beating faster.

    And when the song sang "Hope for Eternity, a thousand miles share the beauty," she could always feel a resonance coming from the depth of her heart.

    After countless replays, Ni Hongwu finally removed her headphones.

    The lyrics she finally focused on were not the ones just mentioned, but a five-character phrase interspersed therein:

    "Lonely at the top!"

    These five characters represented all of Ni Hongwu''s feelings, it encapsulated all her shock from this song!

    Lonely at the top...

    Taking a deep breath, Ni Hongwu looked at the songwriter''s column and expectedly saw the name "Xian Yu".

    Xian Yu...

    She couldn''t help but give a bitter smile.

    What is the furthest distance in the world?

    Is it me standing on the 18th floor, proud of myself, while you are looking at everyone from the stratosphere?

    It''s not a matter of inferior skills.

    There is simply no comparison.

    We''re not even on the same plane!

    Leaving aside the embarrassment and humiliation of getting bitchslapped, what Ni Hongwu is most certain of now is that she could never in her life write lyrics like this¡ª

    So she surrenders!

    She sincerely concedes defeat!

    No, this is no longer a song lyric; it has reached the realm of ancient poetry!

    Her command of literary language is renowned in the lyrics-writing world, and having been well-versed in poetry and literature since childhood, she would never consider "How Long Will the Full Moon Last" to be some low-quality, melodramatic ancient-style song¡ª

    That would be a blasphemy against these lyrics!

    Blue Star has many niche ancient-style music pieces. Although Ni Hongwu admits there is indeed a great portion of these ancient-style songs that are excellent, the vast majority of them, in her view, are pieces of garbage penned haphazardly just for the sake of rhyming, often rendering the lyrics meaningless.

    What about lyrics like, "Her eyebrows, as beautiful as a painting"?

    What about terms such as "elegance", "youth", and "time of one''s life"?

    What about words like "cinnabar", "hoarse", and "fight to the death"?

    What about expressions like "Tears fell like rain, then, white hair abound"?

    Do they believe using several words they think are romantic, enhancing them with some rhymes, could make them ancient-style songs?

    If the purpose is not to consider connotations and art, she could also casually think of dozens of simple rhyming words ending in ''a'' and piece them together into rhyming sentences while she''s taking a dump.

    But what would be the point?

    She has nothing but pure disdain for these types of lyrics.

    Ancient-style music should be one of the most complex forms, but in the hands of some self-professed ancient-style musicians, it''s been proliferated to the point of being a disaster. It''s as if they are all cut from the same template, with even the accompanying musical instruments remaining the same.

    Those lyrics are not even worthy of shining the shoes of "How Long Will the Full Moon Last".

    Thinking about this, Ni Hongwu''s eyes again fiercely focused on the lyrics of the song:

    "It must be written according to the format of a certain classical verse, and moreover, it''s a poem about mid-autumn moon appreciation. I''ll have to study the specifics later. But the most amazing part is the lower part of the verse; it''s completely on the level of the timeless classic lines ¡­"

    The more Ni Hongwu tasted it, the more startled she was!

    The more she considered it, the more shocked and impressed she felt!

    Only such verses can be called truly mesmerizing!

    At this moment.

    Another message appeared in the three-person chat group.

    It was Yin Dong who sent the message, responding to Fei Yang''s thirteen question marks saying:

    "On par with the melody."

    Fei Yang then replied: "On par with the performance."

    Ni Hongwu''s face instantly darkened!

    Aren''t you two funny?

    Is that my fault, huh?

    It''s easy to nitpick when you''re not the one doing the work, isn''t it?

    Forget about me, you pick anyone from the current lyric-writing world, or even the entire Blue Star, and have them challenge "How Long Will the Full Moon Last" on lyric writing!

    If they dare not to kneel, I will take your surname!

    Ni Hongwu initially wanted to reply with something along the lines of: it''s not that I can''t, it''s that the opponent is too unfathomable. But she suddenly realized that digression was meaningless. -- What do these composers and singers know about poetry? So, she could only slowly type a question mark:

    "?"

    As this question mark appeared, the internet was going wild due to more and more people finishing their first listen of "How Long Will the Full Moon Last"¡ª-.

    Immortal Su has arrived!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-

    PS: Thanks to [Music Lord The Third] for becoming the 27th Alliance Hierarch for this book, a long-time acquaintance from the reign of Godfather of Entertainment...

    Thanks to [Is Dream Blue?] for becoming the 28th Alliance Hierarch for this book. If I remember correctly, they were a long-time reader from the era of Godfather of Entertainment...

    Thanks to Miss [Little Dio likes to read books] for becoming an Alliance Hierarch. This is her third alliance, and she''s very active in the group¡­

    The appearance of familiar readers is really heart-warming. I''m also grateful to the new readers for their support. The bonus chapter tasks have already been noted in my notebook!

 Chapter 425 - 403 - A Mountain in the Lyric Writing World_1

    "Following the ''Song of Water'', all other verses are abandoned!" sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This is a later evaluation of Su Dongpo''s ''Song of Water'', and Su Immortal is another alias many people have for Su Dongpo.

    Here, the ''Song of Water'' is just a verse title.

    In fact, there were many prominent figures in the ancient Celestial Dynasty who wrote the series ''Song of Water,'' but Su Dongpo''s is the most famous. It also has broad public appeal and the highest literary praise, its glory outshining all other works with the same verse title!

    Unfortunately, Blue Star does not have this work.

    So when the people of Blue Star heard the song ''May We All be Blessed with Longevity'' and saw this ancient verse gradually unfold like a picture scroll, their first inner feeling was shock. Even without Ni Hongwu''s literary background, they could intuitively appreciate the grandeur of this verse!

    "Damn, these lyrics are explosive!"

    "What kind of divine lyrics are these, anyway!"

    "My mom asked me why I''m listening to the song on my knees!"

    "Listen to the first sentence, ''How Long Will the Full Moon Last,'' well, quite straightforward. Listen to the second sentence, ''I raise my wine glass and ask the blue sky,'' hmm, interesting. Keep listening, ''In the heavens I see, what is the year tonight,'' I can''t close my mouth already..."

    "You can''t close your mouth just listening to this? Then wouldn''t your jaw dislocate when you hear the rest?"

    "I know Xian Yu is a great lyricist, but I didn''t realize he was this brilliant!"

    "I no longer have the courage to call him Xianyu the old thief...this is not an old thief, it''s clearly an ancestor!"

    "Damn, your ancestor is your ancestor!"

    "My grandpa just entered the room and asked what song I was listening to, and had me write down the lyrics for him..."

    "Why do I feel that this verse is in no way inferior to some of the poems that have been passed down in history?"

    "Upstairs, you are not alone!"

    "Our Chinese teacher has just @ everyone in the group to recite the entire lyrics of ''May We All be Blessed with Longevity''!"

    "Whether Xian Yu is a maestro or not I don''t know, but he''s definitely a master lyricist!"

    "..."

    The song comments area of major streaming apps first exploded!

    Following this, the hashtag #MayWeAllbeBlessedwithLongevity made it to the top of the Tribe''s hot topic chart in less than an hour, as if it was on a rocket!

    Then right after,

    Hashtags starting with #MayWeAllbeBlessedwithLongevity also made it to the top of the blog''s topic chart around the same time!

    The lists of hot topics in both Tribe and Blog were set off by this song!

    At the same time, ''May We All Be Blessed with Longevity'' shook countless literary youths'' circles with its lyrics¡ª¡ª

    "The most brilliant lyrics in the history of the music scene have been born!"

    "If Blue Star has a master lyricist, it would definitely be Xian Yu."

    "Fish Papa, are you intentionally not letting other lyricists sleep in the middle of the night?"

    "Xian Yu, always a god!"

    "What a battle of gods, watch Xian Yu dominate with one verse!"

    "..."

    Not just the public, the shock from the lyric world at ''May We All Be Blessed with Longevity'' is even more unspeakable, their reaction is even more extreme than that of Ni Hongwu!

    "These are not just lyrics, this is art!"

    Famous lyricist Rabbit Two, who has often discussed Xian Yu''s songwriting, voiced his opinion and his admiration was clear.

    "After listening to ''May We All Be Blessed with Longevity,'' my first reaction is, does such a song really need a melody? It was only when I listened to it for the second time that I realized, this verse doesn''t even need a musical tune to express itself, it is still art when considered in isolation. This is the first time I have rated lyrics as ''art'', and probably the only time."

    Not just Rabbit Two.

    Many lyricists of the same caliber within the industry, and even some lyricists close to the level of Ni Hongwu, were bombarded out of nowhere. No one can remain calm in front of such lyrics.

    Lyricist Daoist Monk commented as followed:

    "I don''t dare speak for other aspects as they are not my areas of expertise, but in terms of lyric writing, ''May We All Be Blessed with Longevity'' eclipses everything, including Ni Hongwu''s lyrics this time, as well as all the works I have published and will publish. I hope everyone will not continue to regard Xian Yu as just a songwriter, he is also a top-notch lyricist."

    Lyricist Easygoing then posted a status update: "Ni Hongwu''s lyrics this time have reached the peak of her ability, which I originally thought highly of, but seeing the lyrics of ''May We All Be Blessed with Longevity,'' I find my initial thoughts laughable. If I can write such a work in my lifetime, I would be content."

    Lyricist Dengguo stated bluntly: "Letting Easygoing to write such a work would satisfy him in his lifetime, allowing me to write such a work, I would be willing to die instantly. From today onward, Xian Yu has become a towering mountain in the world of lyrics."

    Lyricist Phantom Wing: "The popular music circle has always had no clear division between lyrics and melody, but the generally recognized model is the melody leading the lyrics. However, Xian Yu''s work this time will become a rare piece that can be driven by the lyrics for song promotion, even if everyone forgets the melody, they won''t forget this verse.

    Anyone who disagrees with this can look back in ten years."

    "..."

    Everyone came out along the way!

    All the experienced lyricists were blown out!

    Note that lyricists like Daoist Monk and Easygoing are actually a step above Ni Hongwu.

    Even they gave such evaluations, even going so far as to belittle themselves to elevate Xian Yu, isn''t that enough to illustrate how amazing the lyrics of this song are?

    This took the shock to the netizens to a whole new level!

    "I thought I had already highly appreciated this verse, but the maestros in the lyricist circle can even praise it more. Hasn''t Xian Yu become a huge mountain in the lyricist circle?"

    "Why do I feel that everyone''s praise for Xian Yu''s lyrics is higher than their praise for his songwriting?"

    "If it''s the lyrics of ''May We All Be Blessed with Longevity,'' I feel the lyricists'' evaluations are entirely justifiable."

    "All I can say is, Xian Yu, please accept my knees."

    "Even if Xian Yu has a mansion, it can''t hold that many knees."

    "..."

    And when the sun rises and the next day comes,

    Someone in a high-end literary exchange group posted the lyrics of ''May We All be Blessed with Longevity.''

    Please note, this group is not for the petty literary elite.

    This is a genuine literary exchange group. Each member is a heavyweight in the literary world, including some top-tier cultural figures who have written authoritative books. Ordinary people simply cannot enter.

    Still, this group was also stirred by the lyrics of ''May We All be Blessed with Longevity'' at this moment.

    "May I ask... who wrote this masterpiece?"

    A famous professor from a university''s literature department couldn''t help but join the discussion in the group.

    Then, other literature big names with a long line of titles also appeared in the group one after another...

 Chapter 426 - 404 Twilight of the Gods_1

    Experts reveal their mastery with just one move.

    Each member of this literary exchange group is a prominent figure in the cultural circle.

    Those who try to fish for reputation in this group must possess a certain level of literary accomplishment. Just a glance is enough for them to appreciate the ingeniousness of this poem!

    Some have even picked up their phones and started reflecting on the content.

    Their recitations strictly follow the rhythm and blend well with the artistic conception, so much so that it feels like it all flows naturally.

    In fact, just the upper part of this poem already reveals the author''s grand narratives!

    It combines ethereal and grand atmosphere with a sense of ancient and solitary mood that seems to seep through the paper!

    "How long will the full moon last..."

    Initially, it poses questions in a straightforward manner, which seems very simple.

    You must know, what the literary world pursues is a kind of implicit beauty, various poets tend to pursue complexity and infinite changes.

    It seems show-offy, but at the same time more artistic.

    In the eyes of some, a poem about the moon would be perfect if it doesn''t contain the word ''moon'' at all.

    However, this author chose to go against the grain.

    The poem starts with the question "How long will the full moon last", like a rebellious "you tell me not to do this, but I''m going to do it anyway" style.

    But¡­

    Combined with the subsequent reading, this kind of rebelliousness seems more like a reflection of returning to simplicity!

    Still disagree?

    Keep reading then!

    Starting from "I wonder what the Celestial Palace above looks like", the poet''s artistic conception has transitioned from babbling brooks to towering mountains and flowing rivers. When people read the lines after "I wish to ride the wind and return", they even feel the momentum of a long river flowing into the sea!

    Yet, the text remains so ethereal.

    Just a few lines depict an enchanting celestial scene.

    By this point, denial is not an option!

    Therefore, even such a high-level literary group is startled, this is almost inevitable. If a masterpiece like "Song of Water" can''t make waves in the literary world, it would surely be a display of incapability of the literary circle...

    However, when that professor asked who the author was, the person who shared the poem didn''t reply immediately.

    Instead, the discussion triggered by this work has been roaring.

    "Excellent poem, almost the best example amongst all moon-chanting poems I''ve read!"

    "Over the many years of development, poems with deep and grand moods are countless. But in our modern times, many works tend to exhaust all their linguistic resources and wander in complexity and variation. Of course, masters who could return to simplicity exist, but when it comes to moon-themed poems, only a scarce few have reached this level of artistic conception, this author is not ordinary."

    "Indeed."

    "As the poem changes, so does its artistic conception, even expanding on it but remaining so effortless¡­"

    "What a great line ''Wishing that people will last forever, sharing the beauty of the moon even miles apart'', it''s extraordinarily brilliant."

    "I like this line better, ''People have sorrow and joy, partings and reunions, the moon has waxing and waning, completeness and lack'', the mutual analogy between the moon and humans is truly wonderful."

    "..."

    The professor who first asked the question tagged the person who shared the poem again: "Little Wang, who is the author of this work? Don''t tell me it''s you, I know very well how much you''re capable of."

    "Professor Wang, don''t say that, can''t I make... alright, I really can''t write this kind of lyric."

    The person who shared the poem, nicknamed "Little Wang", replied awkwardly.

    However, the big shots in the group quickly zeroed in on the keyword in Little Wang''s words:

    "Lyric?"

    "Did you mistype?"

    "This clearly appears to have the rhythm of an ancient poem. If I''m not mistaken, it should be a variant of ''Song of Water''. This is natural considering that ''Song of Water'' has been passed down for so many years and has undergone countless forms."

    "Absolutely, can a songwriter of a popular song compose such a masterpiece?"

    "Little Wang, you must speak more precisely."

    "¡­"

    Although the group is made up of big shots, their statuses vary.

    This "Little Wang", despite being a very famous literary figure outside, is still one of the juniors in this group of big shots. He is considered in the lower rank of the group, anyone can reprimand him:

    "It truly is a song lyric!"

    Little Wang quickly shared the song titled "Wishing that people will last forever" into the group, feeling a bit apprehensive.

    This group has a lot of old fellows.

    Something like the "war of gods" is for youngsters, old fellows wouldn''t care about that.

    They just hold a book, read for an entire morning, then discuss it in the group in the afternoon. Occasionally, when there''s some movement in the academic circle, these old fellows would consider whether to voice out...

    But when they do voice out, the literary world trembles.

    The group chat temporarily quieted down.

    Apparently, everyone has gone to listen to the song.

    After a few minutes is enough for everyone to finish the song, the group started bustling again.

    "Such a good poem is used as a lyric? Absolutely absurd!"

    Some big shot seemed to be very unsatisfied.

    However, differing views were quickly voiced:

    "I think it''s quite good. Young people like to listen to music these days. The popularity of ancient poetry culture can''t compare with that of songs. The combination of the two might ignite more interest in ancient poetry culture."

    "Such a waste!"

    Another big shot made his view known.

    The opposing opinion followed closely: "Liu, why would you say that it''s a waste? Composing music for these words full of ancient charm wouldn''t conceal the poem''s excellency, rather it would contribute to its propagation."

    "..."

    The old guys with differing opinions were increasing, even trends of quarrels emerged.

    Little Wang cautiously made his statement: "I think... esteemed teachers, may I speak?"

    "Speak!"

    The professor who first asked the author spoken up.

    Little Wang nervously typed out: "Old poems were made to be sung. It''s just that most of the old tunes haven''t been passed down. Setting a poem to music is actually something the ancients would do. Moreover, both the melody and lyrics of this song were created by Xian Yu himself, so of course he has the right."

    This statement sparked reflection within the group.

    Although some elders were stubborn, they weren''t unwilling to accept correct opinions.

    "There''s some truth in what you''re saying."

    "The combination of verse and music indeed has ancient origins."

    "Exactly, you old folks are simply outdated, I listen to pop music normally too, this song is sung incredibly, there''s also another pop song titled "Ten Years" that I love, you guys obviously haven''t heard it."

    "It was indeed sung well, the girl who sang it seems to comprehend the poetic imagery."

    "It''s just the ''qi'' in Low Qi Door sounded like ''yi'', it was unclear."

    "..."

    Little Wang, looking at the group chat, didn''t dare to say that "Ten Years" was also written by Xian Yu.

    Then.

    Someone in the group asked again: "The author is Xian Yu, does anyone here know him?"

    "Xian Yu eh, I know him."

    Surprisingly, one of the authoritative figures from the Literature and Art Association also appeared and sent a lengthy message:

    "Didn''t you guys discuss a few poems last year? The line ''Birds extinct as mountains stay, forest paths erased by none in the way'' is from Xian Yu. Also, he wrote the peach blossom poem ''The world laughs at my madness'', it''s from his movie called ''Flirting Scholar''. There are some other works that I can''t recall at the moment.

    I had someone investigate him, this Xian Yu is an ungraduated college student, young and yet so talented. I had considered inviting him to join the Association, but he''s too young right now. It''s not feasible."

    Upon reading this, Little Wang jumped with fright.

    Blue Star''s Literature and Art Association was paying attention to Xian Yu?

    This was a mouthpiece for the arts, an official body that manages artists!

    From seasonal rankings to various novel awards and so on, they were all hosted by the Literature and Art Association!

    The authority that countless people vied to get into was seriously considering the prospect of absorbing Xian Yu?

    They didn''t take him immediately because Xian Yu was too young?

    If he continues to develop, what will become of this fish?

    Shivering, Little Wang began to consider whether he could get in touch with this mysterious Xian Yu at some opportune moment later.

    "He''s Xian Yu?"

    "A college student?"

    "Now that you''ve said all this, I get it. The kid likes music, likes classical literature and culture, likes to fuse them together. There''s nothing wrong with that."

    "He''s a good prospect."

    "To write such poetry at a young age, he''s a genius."

    "I really love his line ''I urge you to drink one more glass, as past Yangguan pass, no more old friends will you find.'' Just don''t know which Yangguan pass? Is it the one in Chu land or Wei land?"

    "In a few years, we should invite him into this group. Good prospects should be protected, understand?"

    A user with gibberish as ID commented.

    One of the representatives of the Literature and Art Association quickly responded, as this user with the gibberish ID was obviously not an ordinary member:

    "Certainly, such a good prospect, we can''t let him grow up twisted. The Literature and Art Association will need talents like him in the future."

    "Also, about the textbooks being recompiled..."

    "We have some other matters, let''s continue in private chat..."

    This group chat, seemingly idle, has a tremendous impact on the outside world!

    About two hours after the Xian Yu discussion, the Literature and Art Association''s official tribe suddenly shared the song "How Long Will the Full Moon Last".

    The accompanying text was:

    "The lyrics are strictly based on the ancient poetic rhythm, named ''Song of Water'', How long will the full moon last, consider this the pinnacle of the moon theme!"

    Immediately after.

    A community account with Blue Star as its profile picture shared it: "Excellent!" sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The official seal was affixed, and the conclusion was made!

    All debate about how excellent the lyrics of "How Long Will the Full Moon Last" were fell silent with the Literature and Art Association''s conclusion.

    The peak of moon-themed songs!

    The official conclusion is more impactful than any songwriter''s praises and any netizen''s heated discussion!

    Meanwhile.

    On the seasonal ranking chart.

    "How Long Will the Full Moon Last", which had led all songs from its release, saw its downloads surge again, leaving the second place far behind!

    In the industry.

    Many hadn''t time to react before they feel like their throats were choked. Still, it was a maestro who finally managed to voice everyone''s inner thoughts, in a moment of trance:

    "Twilight of the Gods..."

    This was the first time in history that a song reached the apex of the Battle of the Gods solely by virtue of its lyrics.

 Chapter 427 - 405 Second Consecutive Championship_1

    What dragon versus tiger?

    What fairy fighting a deity? S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The fierce battle that the industry had expected, the scenario where the music industry''s top bigwigs were locked in a tough fight, didn''t happen in the December season rankings.

    This was only the first day of the Battle of the Gods...

    All suspense was prematurely ended by Xian Yu''s lyrics!

    After the industry regained its senses, there were surprised exclamations one after another, with many people having a surreal feeling:

    "What the heck is this?"

    "Did I time travel or did I open this wrong, how is this outcome different from ''Ten Years'' dominating in September?"

    "If you look at the result and not the intent, indeed there is no difference, both are Xian Yu wreaking havoc."

    "Now that you mention it, I really feel like I''m dreaming of September."

    "But the problem is, those who competed with Xian Yu in September were all underdogs, but those who competed with Xian Yu in December are all singing kings and queens and their corresponding music maestros!"

    "All the big shots brought out their aces in December, only Xian Yu flipped the table!"

    "This is totally against the rules!"

    "Can you even play like this? In a competition for composing, someone eventually won the Battle of the Gods with lyrics?"

    "If you say you don''t accept it, it''s normal for him to win given how he wrote the lyrics; if you say you accept it, the music and performance, although excellent, are not enough to create havoc, isn''t this a hard pill for other big shots to swallow?"

    Someone couldn''t help but exclaim:

    "Although Xian Yu won the Battle of the Gods a bit sneakily, the big shots didn''t lose in vain, the lyrics of ''May We Live Long'' are simply a timeless masterpiece. The official review called it the pinnacle of moon-themed poetry.

    You must know that there are countless pieces of ancient moon-themed poetry after hundreds of years of literary development, and none has been universally acknowledged as the pinnacle of moon-themed poetry."

    "..."

    The industry''s sighs also directly voiced the frustration of the kings, queens and maestros during that time.

    A comparison of performance?

    Everyone definitely admits that Jiang Kui sang very well, better than anyone could imagine!

    So good that no one would doubt that Jiang Kui would officially step into the top ranks with this song!

    But...

    Even if Jiang Kui sang very well, he''s just on par with the kings and queens of singing!

    A comparison of composition?

    Everyone also acknowledges that Xian Yu''s composition is as good as always, in line with his usual output level.

    But, the works presented by the maestros this time are also exceptionally well-composed!

    We won''t say they''re much better than Xian Yu''s.

    But they''re definitely not worse than Xian Yu''s!

    Even, Xian Yu''s composition is a bit inferior.

    Because Xian Yu adopts a lyrical style in his composition, but for a song to top the chart, it needs to have a stronger melody and rhythm, like Xian Yu''s ''Red Sun'' which topped the chart last year, is a good example.

    In other words...

    If everyone only competed in performance and composition, ''May We Live Long'' could not possibly have won the championship without any suspense, Xian Yu might not even be able to secure his position as the champion.

    Everyone admits this.

    But the problem lies with the lyrics.

    The lyrics written by Xian Yu this time are too extraordinary, to the point that they''re impressive, and even more so, the audience downloaded the entire song just because of the lyrics of ''May We Live Long''!

    It''s a strong bundle!

    Those who like this song, even if they''re not that interested in the music, would also extend their love from lyrics to the composition!

    In response to this, a certain queen could only laugh bitterly and say:

    "Xian Yu has provided a new strategy for the competition for the season rankings, but this new strategy is not replicable unless there''s another lyricist who can write a song with lyrics of a timeless classic like ''Song of Water''."

    Yes.

    Everyone is not convinced by the composition and performance, but they can also understand the audience''s choice. ''Song of Water'' is simply a work of art, everyone is willing to pay for the artistry of the whole song!

    How can anyone complain?

    Does Xian Yu cheat?

    Xian Yu didn''t cheat, lyrics are part of a song, and good lyrics naturally enhance the song.

    Let''s not go far, just take a song from Celestial Dynasty from a few years ago as an example.

    Why did Mao Mao''s ''Dissipating the Sorrow'' go viral the moment it was released?

    Isn''t it because of the pleasant melody and superb lyrics?

    If you''re not convinced, why not write a ''Song of Water'' level piece of lyrics?

    Can''t write it?

    Isn''t that it.

    This is Xian Yu''s unique advantage.

    The music scene can''t just obliterate Xian Yu''s enormous advantage because others don''t have it.

    Are black people born to be good at running, so we should ban black people from competing in races?

    Celestial Dynasty is unbeatable in table tennis, so should the Olympics remove this event?

    That doesn''t make sense.

    Because if you maximize your talent and effort, you can do it too.

    That''s why Liu Xiang once dominated a certain event, even suppressing countless black athletes.

    A certain king''s summary of the Battle of the Gods was fairly objective: "All I can say is that in order to retain the title of this year''s champion song in the Battle of the Gods, Xian Yu brought out his secret weapon that he had never used before and successfully achieved a one-hit kill."

    Not just a one-hit kill, it''s a fatal blow.

    And when countless netizens witnessed these reactions from all sectors one after another, and saw the official review of ''Song of the Water'', their shocked hearts added a bit more worship for Xian Yu:

    "Two consecutive Battle of the Gods championships!"

    "Xian Yu really defended his title, wasn''t someone analyzing Xian Yu''s chance of winning based on past Battle of the Gods data before, who could have thought that Xian Yu could seize such a low chance of defending the title."

    "With two consecutive championships, is a triple crown far away?"

    "I was going to say you''re dreaming, but based on Xian Yu''s usual saying half of what he thinks, let''s just withhold this possibility for now, even though the chance of this happening is countless times lower than two championships."

    "I''m just a mindless fan, I just have to say, the day when the Yu Dynasty rules the music scene will come!"

    "Stop talking about this for now, haven''t you guys noticed yet?"

    "Noticed what?"

    "I''ve already felt it, the will of the number two from the universe."

    "Wait a minute!"

    "Don''t tell me?"

    "King Fei..."

    "Did he..."

    "...come"

    "Second????"

    At this moment, almost everyone spontaneously opened the December season rankings, looking for the first figure under Xian Yu.

    Then, all the netizens got shocked!

    The song currently ranked second in the Battle of the Gods is a new song called ''Leap'', and if one opens the details of this song, they will find...

    Lyrics: Ni Hongwu

    Composition: Yin Dong

    Singer: Fei Yang

    The eternal King Fei!

    The will of the number two has quietly arrived!

 Chapter 428 - 406 The Higher You Climb, The Colder It Becomes_1

    "Two, two, two, two, two, two, two, two!"

    When they perceived that the inscrutable will had descended, netizens instantly launched their most potent onslaught. The comments section on Fei Yang''s page was overrun in a flash, that flood of "Twos" was quite a spectacle.

    "I am laughing so hard my stomach hurts!"

    "I feel sorry for King Fei, please leave him alone!" S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Even though I am a huge fan of Fei Yang for a decade, I can''t help but laugh. This is classic. What is meant to come will always arrive. Boss, you can''t avoid your fate of always coming second whenever Xian Yu appears."

    "It''s trending at number one already!"

    "Fei Yang: My songs may only be second, but my trends will always be first. Fellas, at what level am I on this wave?"

    "If it''s two, dive deep into two."

    "Xian Yu: Bro, don''t be so polite, sit wherever you like. In September, someone tried to steal your second place, I didn''t allow that. I secured the second place for you with just one song and two words, and only you can sit at this position."

    "I used to be a skeptic, now I believe that there really is a will of two!"

    "This wave of Xian Yu is also favored by the will of two, the two of consecutive championships, and the two of Perennial Runner-up, actually have the same origin!"

    "..."

    It''s not just the comments section.

    A large number of ghostly video edits about Fei Yang have also started to appear on some original video websites, where netizens have rewritten lyrics according to the melody of "Long Life Wishes".

    For example, this one:

    "When will there be first, I ask the open sky, who will inherit the will next year, today. I wish to ride the wind and return, but fear losing the hot search, too cold at the height, longing for Chen Zhiyu, second place in the mortal world..."

    In the video, Fei Yang''s previous singing clips are edited together, without any sense of discordance.

    The joy of the mischief makers on the Internet is always this simple.

    This happiness, is all built on Fei Yang''s pain.

    At this moment,

    Fei Yang is staring at the comments section on his page, with a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth.

    The assistant next to him gently coughs and says:

    "Look on the bright side, Fei bro, you''ve topped the trending again, everyone is paying a lot of attention to you. Just now, we received a few activity invitations, they said they want to collaborate with you. These activities are sponsored by large brands, initially we couldn''t beat our competitors, but now these brands have unanimously named you as their desired guest!"

    Fei Yang is silent.

    Ever since he landed second the last time, his career has been smooth sailing, welcomed everywhere he goes. But Fei Yang is fully aware of the reason behind his popularity.

    He won in his career, but lost in his life!

    Seeing Fei Yang still looking upset, the assistant continued:

    "Initially, Chen Zhiyu continuously ranked second three times, and then it was your turn, Fei Bro. Now, you''ve consecutively ranked second three times too, the third generation should take the stage now."

    Fei Yang suddenly glared at the assistant.

    The assistant got a scare, that''s when he realized that he was wrong to bring up the subject of the will of two in front of Fei Yang.

    He thought Fei Yang was about to thunder, but to his surprise, Fei Yang raised his eyebrows and blurted out, as if he had seen a glimmer of hope:

    "Really?"

    Assistant: "..."

    He was seriously considering whether or not to tell him that some fish product companies contacted him today, wanting to pay a sky-high price to invite King Fei as their spokesperson?

    "..."

    Of course, not all netizens are playing around this old joke "The will of two".

    Along with the success of "Long Life Wishes", a lot of in-depth interpretation about this song has appeared on the internet.

    Someone said:

    "I''m curious as to why Xian Yu didn''t release ''Song of Water'' during the Mid-Autumn festival, since it''s clearly a Moon-themed song, but instead waited until December?"

    "That''s simple."

    Someone immediately answered: "Perhaps Xian Yu wrote this song in September, but didn''t have the music for it yet, so ''Ten Years'' was released first."

    Another person was puzzled:

    "It''s clear that ''Song of Water'' is expressing the author''s longing for someone, who exactly is Xian Yu thinking about?"

    No one could answer this question.

    The line that most sparked everyone''s interest was "It''s too cold at the height".

    Some people assumed the literal meaning of this sentence, but more interpreted it as Xian Yu''s self-reflection:

    "Think about it, how many times has Xian Yu ranked first since his debut?"

    "There is no position higher than first, but because Xian Yu has always been the first, he would feel ''It''s too cold at the height'', right?"

    "If this is true, then Xian Yu is really arrogant."

    "Xian Yu is young, and it''s hard for young people not to be arrogant because of their talent. However, Xian Yu does possess the loud and arrogant capital."

    "I think Xian Yu might be expressing his feeling for his peers. Although he doesn''t hold the highest position in the music industry, he is on top among his peers. Such a person may not have friends because he is too good, so good that others can only look up to him."

    "Xian Yu surely has friends, but probably not many, just look at the number of people he follows on his personal page."

    "That''s true, Xian Yu only follows Chu Kuang and Shadow in his tribe, and these two happen to be very outstanding figures in their respective fields."

    "..."

    The interpretation continues to escalate.

    Someone even mentioned later, "Hoping longevity lasts and shares the beauty of this graceful moonlight over thousands of miles" is Xian Yu expressing hope for the future merger of Blue Star.

    Everyone is separated by thousands of miles, but can still share the same round, bright moon.

    "You have to know it''s impossible for everyone to share the bright moon, due to the time difference, when it''s daytime in Qin land, it''s nighttime for Yan People. Xian Yu, being a modern person, couldn''t possibly not understand this. However, he still wrote as such, which shows that he''s expressing a point of view: the geographical distances and cultural differences of each state are not a problem.

    In the end, we all share Blue Star, so the ''beauty'' probably not only refers to the moon, but also the entire Blue Star."

    This viewpoint was agreed with by many people.

    As the analysis continued, netizens felt that the lyrics of ''Song of Water'' were more profound than they had imagined, indirectly promoting the song''s further popularity.

    Meanwhile, back at Lin Yuan''s home.

    Even his elder and younger sisters were staring at Lin Yuan with gossiping faces: "Why did you write ''Long Life Wishes''? Who are you missing? Do you have a sweetheart?"

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    Most of the stories in the songs are made up by lyricists and have no specific source.

    However, it seems that everyone believes that ''Song of Water'' was not created out of thin air, but was some sort of self-expression by Lin Yuan, and people loved to analyze it word by word.

    Lin Yuan was caught off guard.

    All he could do was attempt to answer: "Ziyu?"

    "What?"

    His sisters'' eyes widened, their faces looked a little odd. Ziyu doesn''t sound like a girl''s name.

    "..."

    Lin Yuan looked even more helpless: "Su Zhe."

    His sister was surprised: "Two people?"

    His younger sister screamed: "Mom, Lin Yuan is a playboy!"

 Chapter 429 - 407: They Started It First_1

    For the chart-topping success of "Song of Water," Lin Yuan was not surprised because the song deserved such recognition.

    To be more precise, it''s "May People Always "... that deserves such recognition.

    Some listeners in the Celestial Dynasty felt indifferent toward "May People Always ..." because everyone was so familiar with the lyrics that they could recite them instantly. Therefore, they would have preconceived notions about the melody based on the meaning of the words...

    Cognitive bias was inevitable.

    It''s somewhat similar to cognitive blindness. Many people overlook the key point that Blue Star people were seeing "Song of Water" for the first time. Observer with a good taste could intuitively feel the extraordinary quality of this famous verse.

    However, Lin Yuan also knew that his championship song was indeed a clever use of lyrics.

    But this use of cleverness could not be replicated by others; it was his unique advantage.

    Of course, Lin Yuan also listened to the works of other "King of Singing" contestants by Fei Yang.

    For Lin Yuan, listening to music was an enjoyable process, especially listening to good songs. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    It must be said, when the maestros make a move, it is truly frightening.

    Every song from these people was excellent, some even classic, worthy of the standard of the Battle of Gods.

    If it was solely about singing and composition, Lin Yuan felt he might not have been able to rank first.

    "I can''t use this strategy frequently."

    Lin Yuan thought.

    Because Blue Star audience were so surprised by this new and shocking lyric, they naturally felt amazed.

    But if it occurred again, this sense of amazement would be relatively weakened.

    At least the lyrics would make a noticeable decrease in the song''s download rate.

    Everything is most amazing the first time.

    If it happens again or even a few more times, people may still like words, but may not necessarily like the song itself unless the song itself is also uniquely charming.

    This charm should at least be at the standard of "May People Always...".

    And if this song is used as a benchmark, even the System might not have much inventory.

    So, cherish it and take it slow.

    Regarding the benefits derived from the song''s wildfire popularity, Lin Yuan naturally reaped a lot. As the singer of the song, Jiang Kui naturally also benefited greatly¡ª

    She finally made it to the top tier!

    Her career was moving up another level!

    In the next few days.

    Beyond the discussions about the song itself, praise was also showered on Jiang Kui''s singing skills.

    The industry said she "held her ground on the stage competing with the King and Queen of Singing."

    Many mainstream media gave the evaluation that she was "a new generation singer with the potential to become the Queen of Singing".

    Even some magazines said Jiang Kui was "a pearl discovered by Xian Yu".

    Interviews and notices poured in for Jiang Kui, just like when Sun Yaohuo stepped into the top tier, even at a higher standard!

    "I thought you would need two more songs to break into the top tier, but it turns out one song is enough!"

    Jiang Kui''s agent was overjoyed.

    But what the agent didn''t expect was that Jiang Kui didn''t seem as happy as expected.

    "What''s wrong?"

    The agent was startled.

    Jiang Kui said resignedly, "I don''t know if I will ever encounter a song like ''May People Always...'' again..."

    The agent gave a start, and sighed:

    "How many singers get to encounter such a piece in their lifetime, and you want to encounter another?"

    There was something else the agent didn''t say:

    Even Xian Yu might have a hard time replicating the brilliance of "May People Always..."

    This was a thought many people kept in their hearts, but didn''t verbalize.

    Asking Xian Yu to produce another work of this caliber may be a bit too demanding. The poetic artistry of "May People Always.." has reached a kind of peak.

    Who can always stand at the peak?

    ...

    The Battle of Gods was the last chance of the year.

    With "May People Always...", Lin Yuan officially completed the tasks assigned by the company at the beginning of the year, with the highest completion rate among the floors!

    "Your performance remains unrivalled."

    "You started in September and still made it in time, successively promoting two top-tier stars. Our company hasn''t seen such large-scale moves in years!"

    "With one more step up, Sun Yaohuo and Jiang Kui would be Kings and Queens of Singing. If Xian Yu continues to succeed, won''t he directly become the next maestro announced at the musical event?"

    "As expected, once Xian Yu makes a move, he turns the tide!"

    "I actually feel that Xian Yu is already at the level of the maestro. Although he hasn''t met the hard criteria of the musical event, considering his creative energy and the quality of his work, he''s entirely at the level of a maestro!"

    There was lively discussion among the different floors of Starlight.

    The discussion between the floors spoke to a fact.

    That is, although Xian Yu doesn''t have the title of maestro recognized by the musical event, his strength and status already possessed the essence of a maestro!

    Starlight couldn''t possibly turn a blind eye to this fact!

    A few days later,

    There was a rumor circulating in the company:

    The company was planning to elevate Xian Yu''s contract to the level of a maestro, and in future, Xian Yu would enjoy all the revenues from song downloads alone¡­

    The rumor turned out to be true.

    Lin Yuan''s contract level was indeed raised to the maestro standard.

    Although it was only the lowest standard for a maestro, it was indeed at the standard of a maestro.

    "The company doesn''t feign ignorance of your strength as a maestro just because you haven''t officially received the Maestro Trophy from the musical event."

    These words came from Ol'' Zhou.

    The contract upgrade was also arranged by Ol'' Zhou.

    When Ol'' Zhou handed the new contract to Lin Yuan to sign, his old face broke into a grin:

    "In the next two years, you should consider getting the Maestro Trophy from the musical event."

    At this moment.

    Ol'' Zhou couldn''t help but reminisce about the day he brought Xian Yu to the composition department.

    At that time, the young man was still naive, holding a few introductory books on composition, bringing surprise to the composition department time after time with the calmest demeanor!

    But even then, Ol Zhou had never dared to hope that the boy who once calculated his custom music royalty with a calculator could show strength compatible with a maestro in a few short years!

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan''s way of speaking was as succinct as before.

    But Ol'' Zhou knew, while Lin Yuan''s reply was brief, it had perhaps imperceptibly revealed a posture of aiming for the Maestro Crown.

    "Also..."

    Watching Lin Yuan sign the new contract, Ol'' Zhou informed: "The preparation for ''Life of Pi'' seems a bit time and labor consuming, so you may not be able to shoot it yet."

    "Can''t it be shot this year?"

    "At least, it can''t be shot in the first half of the year."

    Lin Yuan nodded, it seemed like he still needed another movie as a transition.

    "By the way."

    Just as Ol'' Zhou was about to leave, he paused and couldn''t help but ask a question: "You seem not to like the Chu people?"

    Lin Yuan was surprised: "Why do you say that?"

    Ol'' Zhou laughed heartily: "Because you''ve bullied the Chu people too much. Not only did you crush them in composition, you even crushed Ni Hongwu, the top lyricist of Chu land."

    Lin Yuan was stunned.

    So it seemed, hadn''t Shadow done the same thing?

    If he were to tell Ol'' Zhou...he probably wouldn''t believe...

    They were the first ones to start it.

 Chapter 430 - 408 The Pitiful Chu People_1

    They really were the first ones to take action!

    The Chu artist initially kept using the inside joke about Shadow being invisible to everybody, causing quite a stir online.

    Although Lin Yuan didn''t use a pseudonym to combat them directly, the release of "Death Note" was indeed a spectacular victory for the Qin people in this territorial dispute.

    The catch was that Lin Yuan had just acquired master-level painting skills at the time...

    Everyone found out eventually. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The scene was incredibly cruel.

    What Ol'' Zhou said hit right where it hurt the Chu people.

    The Chu music scene sincerely felt that Xian Yu was intentionally picking fights with them.

    It wasn''t enough for him to perform a dimensional reduction on Chu music with a piano solo at the beginning of the year. At the end of the year, he took advantage of the Gods'' War, using a classic and timeless composition to strike at Ni Hongwu, one of the top lyricists in Chu, completing a double kill!

    "There must be some kind of grudge," someone muttered.

    "I suspect our Chu media upset Xian Yu. At that time, many media outlets were stepping on Xian Yu to elevate the image of our Chu musicians, so Xian Yu held his grudge, slapping us not just once, but twice. Plus, Ni Hongwu herself once reviewed Xian Yu''s lyrics in the ''Literature and Art Gazette''. Was she even qualified to do so?"

    "Those media outlets should apologize. Out of everyone to pick on, why choose Xian Yu!"

    "We complained about this at that time, but it''s too late now. After all, we''re Xian Yu''s target now!"

    "Damn, I''ll stay away from him in the future, alright?"

    "Why is this man so exceptional? Not only is he talented at composing music, but also at writing lyrics. Is he leaving any room for us to breathe?"

    "Why can''t he be one of us Chu people?"

    "You''re being too biased, insisting on this territorial dispute. Blue Star is still merging, we''re all family with Xian Yu, like a distant glow shared by all under the same sky!"

    "Nice try, you were the one jumping for joy before, and now you suddenly remember we''re family?"

    "Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, and Wei are like a family. Thank you!"

    "..."

    People online actually had quite a bit to say about this.

    Many people supported Xian Yu''s stance against the Chu, but the reasons they gave were different from the conclusions drawn by the Chu music scene.

    "The real culprit isn''t the Chu media, instead it''s within the comics circle!"

    "Exactly, Xian Yu took aim at Chu just because the Chu people had bullied Shadow!"

    "Xian Yu, Chu Kuang, and Shadow are known as ''Three Bros'' with a shared goal and destiny. Shadow was bullied so Xian Yu is helping to take revenge, isn''t that perfectly normal?"

    "Hmm, it seems I misunderstood before. I thought Chu Kuang and Xian Yu were the closest among the Three Bros, but I never realized Xian Yu cared so deeply for Shadow."

    "But didn''t Shadow get revenge himself?"

    "Indeed, Shadow did take his own revenge, but Xian Yu was still upset. What''s wrong with that?"

    "Makes sense..."

    This discourse left the Chu music scene dumbfounded.

    Huh?

    The problem originated in the comic circle?

    Yet, the comic circle was unhappy about this. A comic artist immediately stepped out to refute: "We never provoked Xian Yu. The first ones to provoke Xian Yu were clearly from your music circle."

    "Nonsense!

    We in the music circle are not happy: "It was the media!"

    Even the Chu media started to get uncomfortable.

    Some media people grumbled privately: "When dogs bite dogs, you just know how to shirk responsibility. Both old and new grievances are taken into account."

    The Chu people fell silent in an instant.

    Old and new grievances, sharing the blame equally; what''s important is to learn how to get along with the Qin people and be kind to the Three Bros.

    ...

    After Ol'' Zhou left, Lin Yuan looked over the new contract provided by Starlight again. He felt relieved, as if he had completed the majority of a journey.

    According to the new contract:

    In the future, when Lin Yuan collaborates with any singer below the status of "King of Songs" or "Queen of Songs", he will be the sole benefactor of the download revenue. Neither the company nor the artist will share this portion of the profit.

    This includes first-tier singers.

    The reason "Kings of Songs" and "Queens of Songs" were excluded is primarily because of their significantly high industry status. Therefore, if Lin Yuan decided to collaborate with artists like Lan Yan and the like, both parties would have to negotiate the profit-sharing, although Lin Yuan would still get the lion''s share.

    "In future collaborations, try to work with first-tier artists primarily," Lin Yuan decided on this strategic move. After all, the first-tier artists aren''t splitting the profits any more!

    He wasn''t hung up on the "King of Songs" or "Queen of Songs". In fact, many first-tier singers were as capable, if not more so. The only thing they lacked was the additional push from excellent pieces. Take Jiang Kui, for example...

    But Ol'' Zhou was not wrong in his advice.

    Lin Yuan indeed had to aim for the Maestro''s crown.

    Long before Ol'' Zhou''s advice, Zheng Jing had reminded Lin Yuan to consider competing for the Maestro''s crown at the Music Gala. The approval of the most prestigious music award would interest even someone like Lin Yuan, who isn''t after fame.

    Of course.

    This idea also appealed to him because achieving official recognition as a Maestro could lead to making more money.

    The desire for wealth remained Lin Yuan''s natural instinct, regardless of his current fortunes. This desire was deeply rooted.

    So, how to aim for the Maestro?

    This would depend on which standard was the easiest to meet.

    Gu Dong had previously explained to Lin Yuan that there were three ways to become a Maestro.

    The first method was to promote two "Kings of Songs" or "Queens of Songs". Whether the "Kings of Songs" or "Queens of Songs" were indeed promoted by the composer would be decided by the Music Gala.

    The second method was to win the Music Sage Award specifically established for composers by the Music Gala. Again, the Gala made the decision.

    The third method was continuous success. For twelve months in a year, one must win each month, leading to a grand slam over the year. This was the only way one could succeed without the Music Gala''s adjudication. It was something like proving oneself through sheer force.

    In terms of difficulty, the first method was the easiest.

    Lin Yuan just had to promote Sun Yaohuo and Jiang Kui to be a "King of Songs" or "Queen of Songs", and his task would be accomplished.

    The second method was relatively difficult.

    Who knew what the standard for the Music Sage award was? But winning an award that the Music Gala had not given out for several years wasn''t something just anybody could achieve.

    The third method was akin to hell-level difficulty.

    It was possible in the past because there were separate states.

    Now that all the states have merged, the numbers of Maestros and "Kings of Songs" or "Queens of Songs" have increased two to threefold. How easy could it be to win every single month?

    Lin Yuan didn''t immediately choose any method.

    Who knew that he might just suddenly be awarded the Music Sage Prize one day?

    This might not be the easiest way, but it was undoubtedly the least laborious way.

    Furthermore, Ol'' Zhou had also mentioned that "Life of Pi" still needed some time for preparation.

    With this in mind, Lin Yuan decided to shoot another film in the meantime.

    But which one should he choose?

    Lin Yuan decided to ponder on this for a while.

    Anyway, it was almost the New Year. There would be a holiday then, and even if he picked a script now, it would be too late for the company to make any substantial preparations for it.

    With these thoughts, Lin Yuan packed up and readied to leave work.

    Don''t ask why he is leaving early before the end of the workday. He claims it''s to find inspiration.

 Chapter 431 - 409 Fairy Tale Story_1

    It was now December 8th.

    The online discussions about "May We Forever" were still ongoing. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    However, with everyone''s focus on the lyrics, the popularity of the song was gradually being peeled away.

    The discussions had gradually converged on the lyrics themselves¡ª

    Namely, "Song of Water".

    The song has now become so popular that many people have memorized it.

    At the same time.

    The film "Hachiko" had been in theaters for approximately four weeks.

    Unexpectedly, the box office trend of the movie was stable, even remaining steady for an impressive four weeks!

    This was rare.

    Typically, movies rake in the highest revenues within the first two weeks of release, with a sharp drop in the third week.

    The stronger blockbusters may occasionally maintain high revenues for three weeks.

    But even they could not escape the inevitable slump in the fourth week.

    So movies that manage to hold steady at the box office for four weeks are truly few and far between!

    Of course, saying that "Hachiko" held strong for a complete four weeks might be stretching things a bit.

    To be precise, it stayed strong for three and a half weeks.

    Because by the middle of the fourth week, the movie''s box office inevitably started to decline rapidly.

    By now.

    This movie, which cost around 50 million to make, had maximized the power of word-of-mouth.

    When the fifth week rolled around, "Hachiko", just like all movies, faced the fate of being gradually phased out in theaters due to a decline in box office revenue.

    However, by now, "Hachiko"''s box office had already stumbled past the 2 billion mark!

    This result was not only beyond the industry''s expectations, but also greatly exceeded Lin Yuan''s estimations.

    Based on the trend in the first two weeks, the movie''s box office was projected to be a little over 1 billion.

    But who could have expected it to double that and reach 2 billion?

    Such is the remarkable nature of the film market.

    The market pattern applies to around eighty percent of movies, but there are always a few that can defy these norms.

    For example, "Hachiko" has managed to slightly break these market norms.

    For this, the film and television circle couldn''t help but marvel once again at Starlight''s good fortunes, thanks to the phenomenal presence of Xian Yu.

    As for Starlight, they must be extremely pleased, willing to break company tradition, and specially promote Xian Yu''s music contract to the level of Maestro. Who can deny Xian Yu''s influence in the film industry?

    "Exactly double that of ''The Tuner''."

    Lin Yuan was very satisfied when summarizing at his home.

    As expected from a top-rated movie.

    The elasticity of the box office is great, it may be low, but it can also be high.

    Overall, producing movies has a great potential for profit.!

    However, a drawback of movie production is its lengthy cycle and higher risk; the effort required is far greater than producing a song.

    From this perspective, the difficulty of making money from releasing new songs is much lower than making a movie.

    "I must not become arrogant."

    Having read so many books about the film industry, Lin Yuan knows very well that the film market is the most unpredictable.

    Though several of his small investments have reaped big rewards, it doesn''t mean he can always be successful.

    This was why Lin Yuan insisted on casting Zhang Xiuming as the male lead when he was preparing to shoot "Hachiko".

    Given Lin Yuan''s character, why use an A-lister when there are cheaper actors available?

    A-listers command such high paychecks.

    But sometimes there''s just no choice.

    Some films simply require an A-lister to hold up the sky.

    In fact, it''s proven that while Zhang Xiuming''s price tag is steep, Zhang Xiuming''s acting skills and popularity have been crucial to the box office success of the movie!

    If Lin Yuan were to produce a drama film and not hire any A-list actors, that would indeed be being too out of touch with the market.

    "If the male lead wasn''t Zhang Xiuming, but instead a good actor with little fame, the box office could potentially be halved."

    Lin Yuan has this understanding and absolutely does not harbor any illusions of luck.

    Just then.

    His sister''s knock on the door came: "Time for dinner."

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan stopped thinking and left the room.

    Upon reaching the downstairs restaurant, Lin Yuan surprisingly discovered that today his sister and mother were cooking together, preparing an array of delicious dishes.

    "Is it New Year?"

    But that wasn''t right; the New Year holidays hadn''t started yet.

    There were still more than ten days until the New Year.

    Lin Yao said, "Our sister got promoted today, so we''re celebrating."

    As she spoke, Lin Yao sneakily adjusted the positions of the dishes, placing the meat in front of her and the vegetables in front of Lin Yuan.

    "Antarctica is still outside."

    Lin Yuan casually reminded her.

    Lin Yao nodded her head, only to realize when she got to the door that Antarctica had already come inside and was sticking his tongue out from under the dining table, looking sympathetically at her.

    Looking up, she found that Lin Yuan had already sat down in the spot full of meat dishes that was in front of her.

    Lin Yao angrily said, "That''s my spot."

    Lin Yuan replied, "There''s no name written on the chair."

    Taking off her apron, washing her hands, and sitting down, Lin Xuan resignedly said, "It doesn''t matter where you sit; you both need to eat the vegetables, your nutrition needs to be balanced."

    "Exactly, you can''t be picky."

    Mom also sat down next to the table and said.

    Lin Yao resentfully sat in the spot where Lin Yuan usually sits.

    "Wait a moment."

    Lin Xuan took out her mobile phone, took a photo of the dishes on the table, posted it in her Moments, and then happily said:

    "Congratulations to me on getting promoted today, let''s eat!"

    Lin Yuan curiously asked, "What position have you been promoted to, sister?"

    Silver Blue Books really liked to nurture young people. In Starlight company, people as young as Lin Xuan were generally ordinary employees.

    "Deputy Editor!"

    Lin Yao said joyously, being a Deputy Editor at her age could be considered a successful career.

    Following up Lin Yao asked, "Which department?"

    Lin Xuan''s smile faded a bit, she embarrassingly said, "Fairy Tale Department."

    "Fairy tales?"

    Lin Yao enlarged her eyes, appearing extremely interested, "Like ''Three Little Pigs''?"

    The so-called "Three Little Pigs" is a fairy tale by Blue Star, telling the interesting story of a single mother pig raising three piglets, which has been adapted into an animated series, a reminiscent childhood for kids of Lin Yao''s generation.

    "Yes..."

    Lin Xuan seemed to not want to talk more.

    Mom saw Lin Xuan''s disappointment, "Is there something wrong with this department?"

    Lin Xuan shook her head, "It''s not bad per se, it''s a newly established department in the company, anything could happen, but there are some rumors in the company saying that our department is specially used to install people with connections."

    Mom was stunned, "Are you connected?"

    Lin Xuan scoffed, "How could I be connected? But there are a few high-ranking guys in the department who are indeed connected, their parents are mostly high-level executives at Silver Blue Books, and because there are too many of these connected people, there are as many as three deputy editors in our department."

    While eating his meat, Lin Yuan casually asked, "What about the chief editor?"

    Lin Yao helplessly said, "The department is newly established, there''s no chief editor yet, we three deputy editors basically deliberate the matters, the company is considering who among us three will be the chief editor based on our performances, the decision will be made in half a year."

    "Go for it, sister!"

    While Lin Yao spoke, she sneakily fed the vegetables to Antarctica, but was discovered by Mom and her hand was hit with chopsticks.

    "It''s impossible for my sister to gain any weight."

    Lin Xuan started gnawing on chicken feet, as if to vent her frustrations, mumbling, "I don''t know what the company was thinking, putting me with these connected people, and these connected people all have strong backing, using their family connections, they have contacted some pretty powerful authors of fairy tales, especially the one in the office next to me, who has even arranged a manuscript with Teacher Yuanyuan, the author of ''Three Little Pigs''."

    Lin Yao rubbed her hand, "Sister, you should also make contact."

    Lin Xuan became even more upset, "I don''t know any powerful fairy tale authors, I did try to contact a few using company connections, but they simply ignored me, who made me the only deputy editor in the department who is not connected?"

    "There will always be a way."

    Lin Yuan comforted her, at the same time, he also handed the vegetables to Antarctica, but was tattled by Lin Yao, "Mom, look at him!"

    Without changing his expression, Lin Yuan stuffed the vegetable into his mouth.

    Mom was helpless.

    However, Lin Xuan didn''t notice this and continued chewing on her chicken feet.

    Fairy tales...

    Lin Yuan thought deeply.

 Chapter 432 - 410 Lin Xuans Backing_1

    The next day.

    Lin Xuan drove to the company, using her deputy editor''s work badge to enter the elevator and access the newly formed Fairy Tale Department of Silver Blue Books.

    In the department.

    A number of employees were flattering an attractive woman with long hair:

    "Editor-in-Chief Shui, how did you manage to get a submission from Teacher Yuanyuan?"

    "Teacher Yuanyuan''s stories are the most elusive in the world of fairy tale writers."

    "I heard that last time, Prosperity Publishing House sent their general manager to personally invite submissions from Teacher Yuanyuan."

    "That''s not surprising, Teacher Yuanyuan''s ''Three Little Pigs'' was a childhood favorite for many."

    "Even today, ''Three Little Pigs'' remains popular with children, which sustains Teacher Yuanyuan''s preeminent position in the world of fairy tales."

    "With Editor-in-Chief Shui being so attractive, she must secure submissions with ease."

    "Now that we have a long fairy tale from Teacher Yuanyuan, Deputy Chief Shui should be the only candidate for the position of Editor-in-Chief."

    "..."

    The long-haired woman surrounded by everyone was smiling, and on seeing Lin Xuan, she greeted warmly:

    "Good morning, Deputy Chief Lin."

    The staff in the department turned their heads to see Lin Xuan and greeted her with surprised smiles.

    "Good morning, Deputy Chief Shui."

    Lin Xuan smiled, "Good morning, everyone. It''s about time to wrap up and get ready to work."

    Everyone went back to their seats.

    The long-haired woman, known as Deputy Chief Shui, approached Lin Xuan, asking with a smile, "Deputy Chief Lin, have you found a suitable manuscript?"

    "I''m still missing one," Lin Xuan admitted begrudgingly.

    The long-haired woman reminded her, "The magazine is going to be published before the year-end, we''re running out of time. If you can''t find a suitable manuscript, perhaps you can leave the last spot to me. I can arrange for an additional submission, all for the sake of our magazine." S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "No problem," Lin Xuan nodded.

    The long-haired woman shrugged, turned, and left, revealing a sly smile at the corner of her mouth.

    "Editor..."

    A bald man drew cautiously next to Lin Xuan with a somewhat disappointed expression, "Teacher Qiqi just refused our submission request. Apparently, Zhang Yang has already secured a submission from her."

    This bald man, Zhang Cheng, was Lin Xuan''s former magazine''s editor-in-chief, and is now her assistant.

    "Refused again?"

    Lin Xuan was irritated, "How is it that Zhang Yang also knows so many fairy tale writers like Shui Zhourou?"

    Shui Zhourou was the long-haired woman earlier.

    She, Lin Xuan, and Zhang Yang are the three deputy editors of the Fairy Tale Department.

    Among the three, there''s serious competition.

    Zhang Cheng lamented, "It''s quite normal that Shui Zhourou and Deputy Editor Zhang Yang would have such connections considering their strong family backgrounds. Any fairy tale writers that you can think of, surely they can too. They probably approached them in advance to get one step ahead of us. I even suspect that they''re doing this deliberately to sabotage us."

    "There''s nothing we can do."

    Lin Xuan tried to perk up, "There are submissions in the email, let''s go prospecting. We need to hurry, otherwise, I might really have to give the last spot to Shui Zhourou or Zhang Yang."

    "Prospecting..."

    Zhang Cheng looked helpless, but he knew this was the only option they had.

    The Fairy Tale Department is in its infancy and is preparing to launch a fairy tale magazine, which needs to carry some fairy tales stories. Each deputy editor is responsible for two to three stories.

    When it comes to performance, the other two deputy editors have solicited submissions from well-known writers in the fairy tale world.

    Only Lin Xuan has so far managed to secure one fairy tale story, and the author isn''t even a top-notch fairy tale writer, just someone reasonably famous.

    Better a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big pond.

    Yet, she did not have any leads for the second story.

    Lin Xuan was left with no option but to look through submissions from new writers for a suitable story.

    Lin Xuan had her own email, which was open to the public.

    Following the recent call for fairy tale submissions, she received quite a few submissions.

    However, since most of the submissions were from newbies, Lin Xuan didn''t find any appealing stories in her email. This was why the other two deputy editors had decided to directly invite submissions.

    "Old Zhang."

    She rubbed her temples irritably and called Zhang Cheng, "Did any of the editors recommend any manuscripts?"

    "Well, there are some¡­"

    Zhang Cheng reluctantly stated, "But I''ve mostly checked them, and the quality is just ordinary. Plus, emails from the company''s pool do not count towards our performance."

    "We can''t just think about personal performance."

    Lin Xuan waved her hand, "Alright, I''ll look again, there are still some submissions I haven''t finished reviewing, maybe there''s gold in there."

    "Okay."

    Zhang Cheng left, and Lin Xuan continued reviewing the submissions.

    Half an hour later.

    Lin Xuan sighed.

    All the submissions had been reviewed.

    Unfortunately, she had not encountered any good fairy tale stories. Finding gold in the sand is a rare occurrence in the editorial department, the chances were extremely slim.

    It seemed she would have to relinquish her slot to the other two deputy editors.

    Meanwhile, as Lin Xuan was feeling utterly frustrated.

    In the office next door.

    Shui Zhourou''s assistant relayed the news with a broad smile, "I''ve just learned that Zhang Yang has secured a submission from Teacher Qiqi. Lin Xuan had intended to invite a submission from Teacher Qiqi, but she was beaten to the punch."

    "As expected."

    Shui Zhourou responded indifferently, "Teacher Qiqi and Zhang Yang''s mother are close friends. Even I couldn''t get a submission from Teacher Qiqi, let alone Lin Xuan."

    "But you got a submission from Teacher Yuanyuan. Teacher Yuanyuan is much more influential than Teacher Qiqi."

    The assistant flattered.

    Shui Zhourou shook her head, "Teacher Yuanyuan''s submission is a long story, which can''t be published right now. We''re saving our ace in the hole for later. For now, we''re just using a story by Teacher Jin Shan as a placeholder to get all the short stories needed for the magazine sorted out. Good thing Teacher Jin Shan''s quality isn''t bad, it''s slightly better than Teacher Qiqi''s."

    "True."

    The assistant nodded, "I guess Lin Xuan is pulling her hair out right now. The deadline is fast approaching, and if she doesn''t secure a submission soon, she''ll have to renounce her slot to you or Zhang Yang."

    "Definitely to me."

    Shui Zhourou confidently stated, "At least, I didn''t do anything to her, whereas Zhang Yang cut her off. I believe she''ll understand that."

    "Brilliant!"

    The assistant gave her a thumbs-up, "But if my memory serves me correctly, you informed Zhang Yang that Lin Xuan was intending to approach Teacher Qiqi for a submission. Initially, Zhang Yang didn''t plan on approaching Teacher Qiqi first..."

    Shui Zhourou nonchalantly stated: "All is fair in war."

    As she finished speaking, the expression on Shui Zhourou''s face suddenly turned serious:

    "Don''t go around gossiping about this. I don''t know what background Lin Xuan has, but she was airlifted into our company''s key department as soon as she joined. The person behind her must not be simple, but it seems like they didn''t step in to help her this time, or perhaps they couldn''t provide much help."

    "Of course."

    The assistant nodded hurriedly. Lin Xuan clearly had some clout, but few people in the company knew the truth.

    Some people did try to probe, but Lin Xuan was tight-lipped, insisting she didn''t have any particular background.

    Who would believe that?

    You have no background, yet the chief editor is so considerate towards you?

    You have no background, yet you were able to enter the key department to gain experience as soon as you arrived at the company, and then immediately became the deputy editor of the Fairy Tale Department?

    You should know.

    The Fairy Tale Department is a concentration camp the company set up specifically for insiders!

    Both Zhang Yang and Shui Zhourou had big shots backing them up.

    For example, Shui Zhourou''s father was at the director level of Silver Blue Books.

    And Zhang Yang''s mother was a very influential person in the book industry.

    "I''m also curious about her background..."

    Shui Zhourou''s eyes narrowed slightly.

    She had asked her father, who was a director, but he didn''t reveal anything. He merely reminded her solemnly not to offend Lin Xuan too harshly.

    If she wanted to be an editor, fair competition was enough.

    Just then, there was a sudden commotion outside the door.

    The assistant poked his head out to take a look and quickly said, "Editor, you''d better go greet him. Mr. Cao Dezhi has just arrived."

    "Cao Dezhi?"

    Shui Zhourou was taken aback: "What is he doing here?"

    Cao Dezhi was the editor of the mystery department. It wouldn''t have mattered in the past if Shui Zhourou didn''t go out to greet him.

    But it wouldn''t do this year.

    This year, Cao Dezhi could be considered a star of the company!

    The reason was simple.

    It was all because Cao Dezhi had latched onto Chu Kuang.

    With the publication of Chu Kuang''s series of mystery novels, he directly revitalized the struggling mystery department. Chu Kuang''s Hercule Poirot series of mystery novels was still being eagerly serialized, selling incredibly well, and the performance of the mystery department could only be described as booming!

    Some even said that Cao Dezhi might advance even farther because of this.

    Even Shui Zhourou, a second-generation company employee, had to show him some respect.

    With that in mind, Shui Zhourou walked out the door.

    Meanwhile.

    Zhang Yang, who had slicked-back hair and wore gold-rimmed glasses, also came out.

    "Mr. Cao,"

    Shui Zhourou greeted him with a smile.

    Zhang Yang was curious: "What brought you here?"

    "Acting on someone''s behalf."

    Cao Dezhi politely exchanged pleasantries with a smile.

    At this time, Lin Xuan also came out of the office, having apparently heard news of Cao Dezhi''s arrival.

    "Editor Lin!"

    Cao Dezhi''s eyes lit up, and before Lin Xuan could speak, he quickly stepped forward and said, "Hello, I''m Cao Dezhi. Someone asked me to deliver something to you!"

    "What?"

    Lin Xuan was a little taken aback.

    The expressions on Shui Zhourou and Zhang Yang''s faces were stunned as they looked at each other.

    It seemed like Cao Dezhi''s enthusiasm for Lin Xuan was far greater than for them, wasn''t it?

    "Manuscript!"

    Cao Dezhi laughed: "A fairy tale manuscript!"

    Lin Xuan was even more confused, although since joining the company, she had often encountered these inexplicable situations, like someone submitting a manuscript to her in such a roundabout way:

    "Whose?"

    "Chu Kuang''s!"

    Cao Dezhi announced loudly, as if the name could add respectability to his own; and to be sure, this name had indeed brought him a lot of attention.

    "What!"

    Manuscripts from Chu Kuang?

    Shui Zhourou and Zhang Yang''s faces changed dramatically.

    Lin Xuan stood there dumbfounded: "Chu Kuang''s manuscript?"

    Cao Dezhi quickly explained: "As you know, Chu Kuang is interested in writing all kinds of stories. Well, he just wrote a fairy tale manuscript and specifically instructed me to deliver it to you personally."

    "..."

    Lin Xuan was a bit slow to react.

    Zhang Yang behind her swallowed hard and then couldn''t help raising his voice, an undertone of dryness in his voice: "Chu Kuang also writes fairy tales?"

    Shui Zhourou''s face was also blank as she murmured: "Chu Kuang''s... fairy tale?"

    "I''ll send the manuscript to your email right now."

    Without paying attention to the two of them, Cao Dezhi focused all his attention on Lin Xuan. With a smile on his face, he started operating his phone.

    Zhang Yang and Shui Zhourou were instantly confused.

    You can send emails, so why did you specifically come all the way here?

    Cao Dezhi must have felt awkward. He seemed to hear the voices of the two people behind him, coughed and explained, "I''d feel more at ease if I send it to you in person, in case you forget to read it."

    "Oh..."

    Lin Xuan responded absentmindedly, a spark of realization flickering in her mind:

    It seems that her younger brother and Chu Kuang are good friends, right?

    This was a fact known to all netizens.

    Chu Kuang and Xian Yu were very close.

    Chu Kuang suddenly wrote a fairy tale and even asked for it to be delivered specially. Could it be at her younger brother''s request?

    Wait a minute!

    Oh my gosh!

    The behind-the-scenes supporter turned out to be...

    Chu Kuang!!!??

 Chapter 433 - 411: Unfair Battle_1

    Lin Xuan was stunned!

    Now, everything made sense!

    Why she wasn''t laid off by Silver Blue in the first place; why she was parachuted into a key department as soon as she joined the new company; why she was directly assigned to the Fairytale Department, which was known for favoritism, after accumulating some work experience; why the editor-in-chief took special care of her; why the short story department and the Fantasy Department competed to recruit her...

    Because Chu Kuang was behind her!

    These people were taking care of her, all because they wanted to please Chu Kuang!

    And the ultimate reason was her own younger brother!

    Chu Kuang, Xian Yu, and Shadow were publicly acknowledged as the Three Bros. Chu Kuang would take care of her because of her brother''s request. Otherwise, there was no reason for him to favor her at all.

    They weren''t even acquainted!

    Considering that Chu Kuang had specifically sent over a fairy tale manuscript, her brother''s relationship with Chu Kuang perhaps was even better than she had imagined!

    Even if her brother had learned over dinner last night that she was short of a fairy tale manuscript on her side, he would have had to contact Chu Kuang right away, and Chu Kuang would have had to work overnight to fulfill her brother''s request!

    "A script completed overnight?"

    Lin Xuan was taken aback.

    At that moment, she felt as if she were possessed by Poirot!

    After unraveling everything, in her shock, she finally understood everything!

    Turns out she truly was a beneficiary of favoritism, and not just any favoritism!

    In an instant, thousands of thoughts crossed Lin Xuan''s mind, and she had to maintain her composure:

    "Thank you, Mr. Cao..."

    "No need to be polite!"

    Mr. Cao Dezhi''s smile was warm and inviting, and he confidently declared, "If there''s anything you need help with in the future, Lin, don''t hesitate to come to me. The mystery department is always behind you!"

    Meanwhile, behind Mr. Cao Dezhi.

    Zhang Yang and Shui Zhourou''s expressions had hardened due to the initial shock. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    It was Chu Kuang!

    Many people in the company had speculated about Lin Xuan''s background, but neither of them had ever dreamed that her backer was Chu Kuang!

    God!

    No wonder Lin Xuan was given preferential treatment in the company with GOAT behind her!

    "The manuscript has been delivered."

    After showing his attitude, Mr. Cao Dezhi smiled and said, "I will take my leave now. Lin, you are always welcome to visit us!"

    "Alright."

    Lin Xuan wanted to see him out, but Mr. Cao Dezhi waved his hand, "No need to see me out, Lin. You should get back to work."

    Saying this, Mr. Cao Dezhi coolly turned around.

    As he passed Zhang Yang and Shui Zhourou, his smile became formal, polite yet indifferent, lacking the warmth he showed to Lin Xuan:

    "Sorry for the interruption."

    Lin Xuan also smiled politely at them and then hurriedly turned around to return to her office.

    Right now, Equation, who had witnessed all of this along with some employees, felt extremely fortunate.

    As the saying goes, when one man gets a promotion, even his pets rise to heaven!

    He felt astute for deciding to be Lin Xuan''s personal assistant!

    Indeed, Lin Xuan had someone backing her!

    And this person was extremely influential!

    Meanwhile, Zhang Yang and Shui Zhourou shared a silent glance and then each returned to their offices.

    Just before entering the office, Zhang Yang turned around and looked at some editors who were still in a daze:

    "What are you all looking at? Get back to work!"

    Everyone quickly responded, but their faces still clearly showed the astonishment and shock caused by that name.

    ...

    After getting back to her office, Lin Xuan called Lin Yuan first thing.

    As soon as the call was connected, Lin Xuan couldn''t wait to ask:

    "Did you ask Chu Kuang to help me?"

    "Sort of."

    Lin Yuan calmly replied over the phone, as if he had already expected his sister to call.

    "How close are you two?"

    Even though she had guessed the truth, Lin Xuan still felt a surge of joy.

    Lin Yuan did not respond directly, just laughed and said: "If sister needs any help in the company, just talk to me directly."

    "Alright, I got it, say thanks to Chu Kuang for me."

    "No need to say thanks between family."

    "Who is thanking you? I am telling you to thank Chu Kuang!"

    "Hmm."

    "Wouldn''t it be better to thank him in person?"

    "No need at all."

    "???"

    After hanging up the phone, Lin Xuan settled her emotions and then eagerly refreshed her mailbox.

    The email sent by Cao Dezhi, was lying quietly inside the mailbox, with the name of the email simply titled:

    Snow White!

    Is this the fairy tale script that Chu Kuang wrote overnight?

    Without hesitation, Lin Xuan opened it directly, but her heart was a bit unsettled.

    Although Chu Kuang is very brilliant, fairy tales are after all an area that he has never ventured into. Additionally, the script was hastily written overnight by Chu Kuang, is the quality really comparable to those renowned fairy tale authors?

    Meanwhile.

    Inside Shui Zhourou''s office.

    Shui Zhourou and her assistant returned to the office without saying a word.

    After a while, the assistant exclaimed, "I never thought Chu Kuang would be the one backing her."

    Shui Zhourou gradually recovered from the shock.

    She didn''t shy away from admitting: "This place is originally filled with nepotism, all three of us deputy editors came into position through connections."

    "You can''t say that, your abilities are obvious."

    The assistant flattered, then laughed: "Actually, this is not entirely a bad thing. In a situation where all three deputy editors have strong backgrounds, who becomes editor-in-chief ultimately depends on ability. Even Chu Kuang has to abide by this rule, so he can only help Lin Xuan in the creative aspect. But we all know that Chu Kuang is not a fairy tale author at all!"

    "That''s true."

    Shui Zhourou gradually relaxed.

    What if Lin Xuan has a powerful background?

    All three deputy editors have strong backgrounds, so what everyone eventually compares is performance.

    This is the Fairy Tale Department!

    At the end of the day, it''s about the quality of the stories!

    Meanwhile, in the office next to Zhang Yang.

    Zhang Yang reached similar conclusions: "If this were the Mystery Department, I would have surrendered straightforwardly. With the help of Chu Kuang, the position of editor-in-chief would definitely be Lin Xuan''s in the future. But here we are in the Fairy Tale Department, can Chu Kuang really write fairy tales?"

    The assistant laughed: "Whether he can or not, he did write one already and gave the script to Lin Xuan."

    "It''s Chu Kuang, it''s too normal for him to be this confident."

    Zhang Yang slightly smiled: "Although I grew up in the literary circle, and I know that no author in this world is truly versatile. Even though Chu Kuang is a genius, trying to venture into the fairy tale field for the first time, which is completely unfamiliar, it would be very hard for him to perform well.

    After all, the first opponents he would face in the fairy tale circle are renowned fairy tale authors like Qiqi and Jin Shan."

    "That''s true."

    The assistant also laughed: "But I must admit, when I found out that Chu Kuang was Lin Xuan''s support, I really panicked for a moment."

    "Who didn''t panic?"

    Zhang Yang snorted, "I was panicked too. Not to mention me, didn''t you notice how pale Shui Zhourou turned when she heard? Chu Kuang, this unparalleled legend, is not an ordinary supporter. Plus, he excels in more than one genre. What if he can actually write fairy tales?"

    "He should be able to write since he gave Lin Xuan a script. But how well he can write is still a question. It can''t be that his first attempt at writing a fairy tale would be better than famous fairy tale authors like Qiqi and Jin Shan, no way, I don''t believe it!"

    There was a pause.

    The assistant joked: "Are we about to slay a god now?"

    Zhang Yang smirked, "Keep dreaming. We''re just taking advantage of the fact Chu Kuang has no experience writing fairy tales. If you really want to defeat a god, why don''t you find someone to compete with Chu Kuang on the genres he excels at?"

    The assistant laughed awkwardly.

    Zhang Yang rubbed his hands, "Speaking of which, I am a fan of Chu Kuang. Never thought that one day I would be competing with him, although this competition is really not fair to my idol."

    Once this was clear, Zhang Yang and Shui Zhourou no longer felt nervous.

    Having authors from other fields come here to compete with famous authors in the fairy tale field, and compare who can write better fairy tales?

    That is inherently unfair.

    The assistant said softly: "But this unfairness, is Chu Kuang''s own choice."

 Chapter 434 - 412 Snow White_1

    The news of Chu Kuang writing a fairy tale spread quickly within the company.

    However, this news didn''t cause much of a stir within the company.

    Perhaps for the Fairy Tale Department, this matter might be crucial for the career competition of the three associate editors.

    But for the entire Silver Blue Books, Chu Kuang writing a short fairy tale isn''t something worth fussing over.

    This does make sense.

    It''s just a small story published in one issue of a fairy tale magazine, could it really make a big splash?

    Most people just sigh:

    Chu Kuang really has a lot of energy, he wants to try his hand at any type of story.

    On the contrary, another piece of news has attracted more attention:

    Chu Kuang is Lin Xuan''s secret backer!

    Lin Xuan is not famous in the company, not many people know her.

    But if Lin Xuan is connected to Chu Kuang, she will be known by the entire company instantly!

    Quite a few people began to discuss the relationship between this woman and Chu Kuang.

    When Lin Xuan was having lunch in the company canteen, she clearly felt that employees from other departments seemed to be stealing glances at her.

    "Have I become famous?"

    Lin Xuan was smiling, she didn''t feel uncomfortable and even felt somewhat accustomed to it.

    In the past when walking with her brother, many people would steal glances at him, and she happened to get quite a bit of attention¡ª

    Lin Xuan has been used to being the center of attention since then.

    "That you have, ever since the rumors spread in the department about your relationship with teacher Chu Kuang, many people have been discussing you in private. Teacher Chu Kuang is a very mysterious person, he has never come to the company, other popular authors occasionally come to the company for a visit."

    Zhang Cheng at the side said.

    Lin Xuan pouted, she really wanted to know who Chu Kuang was too, but her brother didn''t seem willing to introduce her to him.

    But she definitely wouldn''t explain anything on her own initiative.

    Only fools would try and explain, it''s easier for her to take advantage of others'' misunderstandings.

    Lin Xuan was not a fool.

    Although her mother often says she''s a bit slow, most of the time, she''s quite smart.

    "By the way."

    Lin Xuan was eating, and asked: "Has the manuscript been sent to the publication department?"

    "It has."

    Speaking of this, Zhang Cheng showed a smile: "As expected of teacher Chu Kuang, even though it''s his first time writing a fairy tale, he''s still so skillful, feels like he''s on par with some known authors. Although I can''t quite make out more of it, as the fairy tales need to be market-tested."

    Lin Xuan nodded: "Have Shui Zhourou and Zhang Yang seen it?"

    Zhang Cheng said: "Because it was sent over in a rush, they didn''t have time to read it. As for the layout, it''s not our department''s responsibility. They are a little pressed for time, they still have to add character and scene illustrations and such. After all, it''s going to be published before the new year, fairy tale magazines are a big hit during the New Year."

    "And the publicity?"

    "The company has arranged it although it''s not on a grand scale. Essentially, the official Weibo account reposts the news of the ''Fairy Tale King'' going on sale and has the bookstores arrange a few banners recommending stories from famous authors coinciding with the magazine going on sale.

    However, teacher Chu Kuang''s reputation doesn''t give him any impressive boost when it comes to writing fairy tales. After all, he isn''t a fairy tale author, the parents don''t know him and his fans are primarily adults, adults don''t really read fairy tales."

    The so-called ''Fairy Tale King'' is a magazine created by the department.

    "Alright."

    Lin Xuan nodded.

    This was expected. She didn''t anticipate the company doing any special promotional activities, since the department was recently established and wasn''t given much attention.

    Besides, short fairy tales are a small category in the market.

    While this category is indispensable, it''s hard to compete with other book genres in terms of sales.

    Compared to short stories, some long fairy tales have a pretty good market presence and are very popular among children.

    ...

    Just as Zhang Cheng mentioned, that evening, Silver Blue Books began the promotion for ''Fairy Tale King''.

    The main focus of the promotion revolved around the two famous fairy tale authors that were featured in the first issue of the magazine, Jin Shan and Qiqi.

    In addition, Chu Kuang was also mentioned.

    The promotional slogan for Silver Blue Books was: "Chu Kuang''s first venture into the realm of fairy tales, creating the short story ''Snow White''..."

    This news didn''t garner much attention.

    Only some fans familiar with Chu Kuang let out a few sighs similar to those of Silver Blue''s internal staff:

    "Old rascal Chu Kuang is actually writing fairy tale stories?"

    No more than that, Chu Kuang writing a small fairy tale doesn''t qualify as any major news.

    A small number of fans with children claimed that out of respect for Chu Kuang, they would buy a copy for their child to read.

    Many people treated Chu Kuang writing a fairy tale as a trivial matter.

    On the other hand.

    When Lin Xuan got home, she called Lin Yuan to her room:

    "It''s not convenient to go into detail on the phone, don''t you think you should explain to your sister?"

    Fine then.

    Her sister finally couldn''t resist her curiosity and started grilling Lin Yuan about Chu Kuang.

    That''s right.

    Since dinner last night when he found out his sister was in need of a fairy tale story, Lin Yuan had decided to lend a hand.

    It''s not like it would take much effort anyway.

    So he took the chance to customize ''Snow White'' with the System.

    With Lin Yuan''s abundant wealth now, he could afford to fund the customization of such a short fairy tale. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Not only was this a minor matter for the readers, but it was also not a big deal for Lin Yuan.

    Including sister''s predictable inquiry, everything was within Lin Yuan''s control.

    When he walked into his sister''s bedroom, he intentionally left the door open.

    Antarctica, who had been instructed by Lin Yuan beforehand, came in swaggering, even attempting to climb onto the bed.

    "Antarctica!"

    Lin Xuan didn''t have time to deal with Lin Yuan anymore.

    She definitely wouldn''t let Antarctica climb up, his paws are dirty from running outside all the time.

    Antarctica had no choice but to give up.

    Lin Xuan turned to Lin Yuan again, intending to continue her interrogation, when her eyelids suddenly twitched.

    Antarctica had lifted one leg in the corner, preparing to pee.

    "Ah!"

    Lin Xuan was exasperated.

    Lin Yuan understood and gave Antarctica an approving look: "I''ll take him out right now."

    Lin Xuan waved him off weakly.

    Lin Yuan left with swagger, Antarctica in tow.

    For the next few days, Lin Xuan didn''t bother asking Lin Yuan again.

    With the Chinese New Year approaching, there was a lot to do.

    Like shopping for New Year''s goods for the house, Lin Xuan was busy taking care of all of that.

    On the other hand, Silver Blue Books was efficient.

    In just a few days, the ''Fairy Tale King'' was published and got into the distribution stage.

    December 25th.

    This newly launched fairy tale magazine of Silver Blue Books, was placed in a conspicuous position on the shelves of major bookstores.

    That said, although the ''Fairy Tale King'' was just launched, the lineup for the first issue was quite impressive.

    Both Jin Shan and Qiqi are famous in the fairy tale world and many parents are familiar with them, so they are willing to buy it for their children.

    Of course.

    This also includes the fans of Chu Kuang who have children. They would buy a copy of ''Fairy Tale King'' for their children to read out of opportunity¡ª

    Snow White is here.

 Chapter 435 - 413 Bedtime Story_1

    As for the launch and sales of "Fairy Tale King", not many people in the book market really cared. Probably only the Fairy Tale Department of Silver Blue Books would constantly pay attention to the response of the first issue of the magazine.

    However, during the day, there wasn''t much valuable feedback online.

    Time moved on to the evening.

    In the living room of a certain residential community.

    A mother, under the light, reluctantly put down the book in her hand: "This issue of the Poirot Series is good, the plot tricks are unexpected, it feels more exciting than the last one..."

    At this time, two children were making a fuss in the living room.

    The mother glanced at the time and said helplessly, "Honghong, Huahua, it''s time for bed."

    "I want to play a little more."

    The seven-year-old son, Huahua, was happily playing with his toy car.

    The mother turned to her nine-year-old daughter, "Honghong, you''re the big sister. Be an example for your brother and go to bed."

    "Okay."

    Honghong obediently went into the bedroom.

    Seeing his sister go into the bedroom, Huahua reluctantly followed, meanwhile yelling, "Then mother, tell me a story!"

    "Alright, alright."

    With an affectionate look on her face, the mother picked up the "Fairy Tale King" which she had bought earlier that day along with the Poirot Series.

    She was a fan of Chu Kuang, especially the Poirot Series, every issue of which she bought.

    There was said to be a story by Chu Kuang in the "Fairy Tale King". With a supportive attitude towards her idol, she conveniently bought a copy.

    Although she herself had no interest in fairy tales, she could tell them to her son at night.

    Ten minutes later.

    Honghong and Huahua lay in bed. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The mother took the unsealed "Fairy Tale King", found the first story and said, "Today mother will tell you a..."

    "Mother!"

    Seeing his mother holding a strange story book in her hand, Huahua protested,

    "I want to hear the story of the little turtle, I don''t want to hear any other stories!"

    The mother couldn''t help but say, "Huahua, look, we''ve already heard the story of the little turtle many times in a row. Why not switch to a new story..."

    "No, only the little turtle!" Huahua insisted loudly.

    Honghong, who was already immune to bedtime stories, scorned, "Infant ghost, only knows about the little turtle story every day, my ears have already developed calluses from hearing it!"

    Mother: "It''s calluses not scissors..."

    Honghong: "Isn''t scissors the same as calluses?"

    Mother: "..."

    Huahua huffed, "I just want to hear the little turtle."

    The mother laughed. The so-called "Little Turtle" is a very classic fairy tale, but she had already told her son the same story dozens of times.

    She was really sick of it.

    She negotiated, "Let''s hear a new story first, if you don''t like it, mother will read you the little turtle..."

    "Alright."

    Huahua reluctantly agreed.

    Honghong, who was on the top bunk, said, "Mother, hurry up and finish his story, only babies like my brother find fairy tales enjoyable. I, being mature, am very tired now and want to sleep."

    "Got it."

    The mother casually turned to Chu Kuang''s fairy tale:

    "Today mother is going to tell the story of Snow White. In a distant land, there lived a king and a queen. They eagerly wished for a child and so they earnestly prayed to the heaven, ''Please grant us a child.'' Soon after, the queen indeed gave birth to a lovely princess. The girl''s skin was as white as snow and her cheeks were as red as apples. The king and queen named her Snow White..."

    The mother was very experienced in telling stories.

    Under her narration, the story of Snow White unfolded smoothly.

    Huahua was initially uninterested, but as he listened on, he became somewhat fascinated.

    When mother talked about the new queen wanting to kill Snow White, he couldn''t help but exclaim furiously,

    "The Queen is so cruel!"

    Smiling, Mother coaxed, "Because she''s a stepmother, stepmothers tend to be cruel to children, so you must never let your father remarry."

    "I don''t want a stepmother!"

    Huahua strongly identified with this.

    Mother caressed her son''s head and continued, "The Queen''s guard had a soft heart and let Snow White go. Snow White ran away and stumbled upon a house with seven beds..."

    "Mother, are there really dwarves in the world?"

    A voice emanated from the bunk above, it was Honghong speaking.

    Mother was surprised, she hadn''t expected her daughter to be interested in the story, considering Honghong was past the age when she enjoyed fairy tales.

    She was still a child after all.

    She gently said, "There are many dwarves in the world, but if you see one, don''t tease them. Be friendly to them. Look how nice the dwarves were to Snow White."

    Honghong exclaimed loudly, "Alright, I like dwarves!"

    Huahua pouted, "Sister, I thought you didn''t like fairy tales?"

    Honghong kicked the bed, "I can''t sleep, so I''m just listening."

    Mother''s lips curved into a smile, "The Queen learned from the Magic Mirror that Snow White was still alive. Enraged, she disguised herself as an old woman and secretly gave Snow White a poisoned apple..."

    "Don''t eat it!"

    "The apple is poisoned!"

    The two children suddenly became agitated.

    Mother educated them, "Now do you understand why I don''t want you eating things from strangers? Who knows, they might be disguised as the Queen."

    Huahua said, "I won''t eat from strangers anymore!"

    Honghong added, "Especially not candy from strange uncles!"

    Hearing the children''s responses, Mother felt that the story had an educational value. She nodded and continued, "Snow White fell unconscious and a handsome prince happened to pass by..."

    "That''s great!"

    "Snow White is okay again!"

    The children''s emotions ran high and then quickly calmed. Hearing that the handsome prince had kissed Snow White awake, they were overjoyed.

    "The Prince returned to his kingdom with the princess, exposed the Queen''s evil deeds, and saw to it that she was punished. The Prince and Princess got married and they lived happily ever after..."

    Mother ended the story and felt a pleasant warmth in her heart.

    Chu Kuang was without a doubt her idol. He wrote his tales masterfully, and it did not seem like this was his first fairy tale. Even as an adult, she felt a liking for the story. The technical proficiency it had surpassed that of the Turtle tale.

    Huahua exclaimed, "Tell it again!"

    Honghong joined in, "I like Snow White!"

    Mother asked, "What about the Little Turtle?"

    "No!"

    The two kids responded in unison.

    Mother, "..."

    It appeared that Snow White had trumped the Little Turtle.

    When she was a child, her mother had shared the story of the Little Turtle with her. She even felt guilty when she had turtle soup in her adulthood, though she knew there was a difference between a turtle and a tortoise.

    Mother indulged in her thoughts, then told the story once more.

    The children listened with as much excitement during the second telling, when they occasionally chimed in with comments.

    Not until the third telling did they start to drift off to sleep. She tiptoed out of the room, making sure to cover both of them with the blankets they had unknowingly kicked off.

    "I am Snow White..."

    As Mother was covering Honghong with her blanket, Honghong began to talk in her sleep.

    Mother chuckled.

    Back in the living room, Mother opened her laptop and joined a group chat: "Dear sisters, have you ever heard the story of ''Snow White''?"

    The other mothers in the group chat seemed clueless.

    However, by the next day, all the mothers knew exactly who Snow White was...

 Chapter 436 - 414 Household Name_1

    "Mommy, I want to watch Snow White!"

    "Daddy, hurry up and buy me ''Snow White.'' Huahua recount the story of Snow White in class today. Lili even shared her spicy snack sticks with Huahua; I''ve never gotten to eat Lili''s snack sticks before!"

    "Mommy, let''s play pretend."

    "You play the Queen and I''ll be Snow White. Quickly, take out your makeup mirror and ask your mirror: Magic mirror, who is the most beautiful woman in the world?"

    "Mommy, you don''t even know Snow White?"

    "Today, Honghong asked us to play pretend. She was Snow White and I was the Queen, the villain. She even made me eat the apple that I brought to school. After I ate it, she said my apple was poisoned; wahhhhh."

    "..."

    After watching an interesting movie or reading a gripping novel, adults will converse and share, creating a certain buzz around the work.

    The same theory holds for children.

    Although the world of children is much simpler, they will also share their favorite stories with each other, spreading beloved fairy tales in various forms.

    In the end, the ones who pay for the children''s interests are the parents.

    So when the next day comes, it''s hard for some parents to not know about ''Snow White.'' After school, many children are hounding their parents about it.

    Children are the heart of every family.

    Parents have no choice but to ask other moms or search the internet for the story of ''Snow White,'' only to find out that it is a fairy tale serialize in a certain children''s magazine....

    By this time, only a few days are left until the Spring Festival, and many schools have started their winter vacations.

    During these times, when children want to read fairy tales, parents generally won''t refuse.

    Over on the Internet.

    A popular blogger also mentioned this fairy tale:

    "I am an uncle now. Before going home for the Spring Festival, as usual, I called my nephew to ask what gift he wants. I was prepared to buy toys, but the kid insisted on having ''Snow White.'' This little rascal usually asks for airplanes and cannons. Who would have thought that this year a fairy tale would excite him."

    The blogger showed a copy of ''Fairy Tale King''.

    Quite a few people replied in the comment section:

    "Haha, my little sister in elementary school also asked me to buy this for her."

    "Ahh, so this is why my daughter has been mumbling about Snow White all afternoon. So it was a newly released fairy tale."

    "I''ve never heard of ''Fairy Tale King'' before. When I was little, I used to listen to stories like ''The Little Turtle'' or ''The Three Little Pigs.''

    "''Snow White'' is becoming popular. I went to buy the magazine today and they were out of stock!"

    "So it''s not just bookstores in our area that are out of stock."

    "Wait, is the author of ''Snow White'' Chu Kuang?"

    "Is it that Chu Kuang, the one we''re familiar with?"

    "Taking a look at the promotion in Silver Blue Books, it seems so. Chu Kuang really wrote a fairy tale!"

    "I saw the news a few days ago, but didn''t pay much attention. Who would have thought that Chu Kuang''s fairy tale would become so popular?"

    "Isn''t Chu Kuang a mystery writer?"

    "Isn''t Chu Kuang a fantasy novelist?"

    "Isn''t Chu Kuang a short story writer?"

    "Now is Chu Kuang also a fairy tale writer?"

    "..."

    At first, it was just a breeze.

    But as more and more bookstores ran out of ''Fairy Tale King,'';

    And as more and more discussions and exchanges about Chu Kuang appeared on the Internet;

    The breeze finally began to howl!

    This little ''Snow White'' story is on fire!

    It seems incorrect to say that ''Snow White'' is a little fairy tale.

    It is one of the most representative stories in the ''Grimm''s Fairy Tales.''

    And ''Grimm''s Fairy Tales'' is hailed as a cultural heritage of the world, UNESCO even praised it as an epoch-making compilation of European and Eastern fairy tale traditions."

    Some publishers even claimed that in Western Christian countries, its sales are only second to The Bible."

    The veracity of this claim cannot be verified as any work related to sales records likes to compare itself to The Bible."

    The poor Bible has become a unit of measurement for publishers."

    But what is certain is that this fairy tale has been widely popular for nearly a hundred years and is known to all."

    Take for example, "Snow White," the story adopted by the first colour animation film on earth!

    Somehow, fairy tales have shaped the childhood dreams of countless children around the world, and "Snow White" is one of the must-mention ones.

    When netizens noticed the storm triggered by this little fairy tale, many were left flabbergasted:

    "My God, can Chu Kuang actually write a fairy tale?"

    "I heard Chu Kuang wrote a fairy tale, didn''t give it much thought, assumed he was just messing around. Didn''t expect this fairy tale to suddenly become a hit!"

    "A single fairy tale can have such a big impact?"

    "I just read ''Snow White'', indeed it''s quite interesting. However, I''m not a child. I don''t understand how much children love this story."

    "My nephew loves this story."

    "Chu Kuang excels at writing too many different types of novels!"

    "The old rascal Chu Kuang has quite a terrifying talent in writing!"

    "Just saw a message in the parents'' group from the teacher saying that they are planning a ''Snow White'' stage play at my daughter''s school. The costumes are already being designed. My daughter dreams of playing Snow White."

    "..."

    Everyone was not stunned by how brilliant "Snow White" was, adults can''t return to the world of children.

    Everyone was just amazed at the children''s passion for "Snow White" and Chu Kuang''s understanding of children''s preferences!

    Of course.

    With such a commotion, Silver Blue Books couldn''t possibly not know.

    Just the sound of the various bookstores requesting more copies of "Fairy Tale King" was enough to immerse the entire Silver Blue Books'' Fairy Tale Department in a joyful yet bizarre atmosphere.

    Joy is natural.

    But the bizarre is also essential.

    No one expected that the most popular author of the first issue of "Fairy Tale King" was not Jin Shan, and even less so Qiqi...

    But Chu Kuang!

    Chu Kuang, who was writing a fairy tale for the first time!

    Inside Shui Zhourou''s office.

    Shui Zhourou and her assistant were stunned. They looked at each other in silence, as if they could see the helplessness and futility in each other''s eyes.

    "Why?"

    Shui Zhourou broke the silence.

    The assistant thought for a moment and said, with a slightly hoarse voice, "Probably because he is Chu Kuang."

    Next door.

    Inside Zhang Yang''s office.

    Zhang Yang and his assistant were also dumbfounded.

    After a while, Zhang Yang cried out, "How can such a person exist? Isn''t it his first time writing a fairy tale? Why does it seem like Jin Shan and Qiqi are the ones who are writing their first fairy tale!"

    "I can''t believe it either..."

    The assistant''s expression was extremely complicated, "But I suddenly remembered something."

    "What is it?"

    "Your favorite, ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'', was also Chu Kuang''s first detective work. Before that, many people didn''t believe that Chu Kuang could write detective stories well..."

    "Are these comparable?"

    "What''s the difference?"

    "..."

    Zhang Yang fell silent. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Just then.

    Cheers from Lin Xuan''s office were heard in both Zhang Yang''s and Shui Zhourou''s offices.

    "What''s there to shout about! Is Chu Kuang really that amazing?!"

    Zhang Yang plopped down on his chair, took a big gulp of water, choked and coughed for a long time because he drank too fast.

    "Having Chu Kuang is really that amazing..."

    Inside Shui Zhourou''s office, this long-haired beautiful woman spoke blandly.

    She was not mad, her words were firm:

    "But we have an even more amazing Teacher Yuanyuan!"

 Chapter 437 - 415 Extracurricular Book_1

    The short story was just a preliminary contest. No matter how outstanding the story of "Snow White" is, it only adds a good weight to Lin Xuan''s competition for the chief editor position. But a single weight won''t be able to turn the final outcome--

    Because the contest is still ongoing.

    It''s far from deciding who the chief editor will be right now.

    Whether it''s Shui Zhourou or Zhang Yang, they both have weights that they haven''t used yet. Before the official decision for the chief editor, they will bring them out in the ongoing competition.

    Among which,

    The most important weight in Shui Zhourou''s hand is Teacher Yuanyuan, who is a top-tier fairy tale author ranked highly in Blue Star. Even Jin Mu and Qiqi together can''t match her!

    But what Shui Zhourou didn''t expect was...

    A few days later.

    The impressive Teacher Yuanyuan she had in mind actually read Chu Kuang''s "Snow White", and gave it a high praise in the comment section of the works on the Star Network:

    "Many friends recommended me a fairy tale today. The fairy tale is called "Snow White", and the author is said to be Chu Kuang. I instantly thought of a novel I really like, which is the slightly terrifying and thrilling Ghost Blowing Lamp series by Chu Kuang.

    Maybe it''s my personal bias, but this made it hard for me to associate Chu Kuang''s style with being a fairy tale author, I believe many people feel the same way as I do..."

    Many netizens raised their hands almost unanimously when they saw this.

    Indeed,

    If it weren''t for this stubborn mindset, Shui Zhourou and Zhang Yang wouldn''t have stumbled this much.

    Who the f*ck would have thought that the serious Chu Kuang could write fairy tales?

    A fairy tale author must have a childish heart and so-called "childish" side in order to enter into children''s inner world.

    It''s not because everyone doubts Chu Kuang''s ability to break boundaries.

    It was known that Chu Kuang could do multi-genre, good at detective and fantasy short stories, but indeed this crossover is a bit too radicle.

    Look at what kind of novels Chu Kuang used to write?

    Short stories like "Necklace" are brief and powerful, with various unexpected twists and always thought-provoking;

    Fantasy novels like "Ghost Blowing Lamp" are terrifying and spooky, with various folk tales, giving a sense of mystery and strangeness;

    Detective novels like "Hercule Poirot Series" are full of energy throughout the process, with various brainstorming tests on logical thinking...

    Can a person like this write fairy tales?

    Yuanyuan''s remarks echoes everyone''s thoughts:

    "I didn''t expect this kind of author can actually write fairy tales, and the fairy tale he wrote, even I, an old sister who has immersed in this industry for many years, have to admit it''s wonderful. Whether it''s the plot structure, educational meaning, or story line, all of them are quite outstanding. Even for many adults, I think it''s worth reading. The story is not lacking in fun."

    In the end, Yuanyuan summarised,

    "I am not good at writing short stories, I''m better at writing long stories. But short fairy tales actually test the author''s abilities a lot. Since Chu Kuang is good at short stories, that he excels in fairy tale class short stories, may not make people feel incredible. I look forward to Chu Kuang''s more fairy tales, to weave children''s dreams together with many excellent fairy-tale authors."

    Yuanyuan''s popularity is beyond doubt!

    She is not only the favourite author among children, but also a well-known figure among many adults!

    That''s because many adults grew up reading "Three Little Pigs."

    When Teacher Yuanyuan praised "Snow White" so highly, everyone increasingly recognised Chu Kuang''s ability to write fairy tales. Some even adult netizens with curiosity read Chu Kuang''s fairy tale again.

    ...

    Yuanyuan''s statement about "Snow White" probably symbolises a microcosm of the fairy tale circle. As this fairy tale became popular, the authors in the fairy tale circle didn''t stop discussing this work privately.

    "The fairy tale creation technique is very mature, ''Mirror Mirror, who is the most beautiful woman in the world'', this sentence is a bit brainwashing, I can''t help but want to ask when I look in the mirror."

    "The key point is that his first fairy tale stepped on the works of Jin Shan and Qiqi."

    "Jin Shan and Qiqi are both old-fashioned famous fairy tale authors, the main promotion of ''Fairy Tale King'', but all the buzz was stolen by Chu Kuang."

    "But it has to be admitted that ''Snow White'' is better than the works of Jin Shan and Qiqi."

    "The children''s preferences have already told everything, even though only one work, but Chu Kuang should also be considered a good fairy tale author."

    "Isn''t it said that the Literature and Art Association officially compiling a collection of fairy tale books next year, will ''Snow White'' be included in it?"

    "It seems very likely. If it''s included, Chu Kuang really takes a leap forward with this opportunity!"

    "I heard about the Literature and Art Association officially compiling a collection of fairy tale books, has the news been confirmed?"

    "I have an inside friend in the Literature and Art Association, the source of information is reliable, and it will probably be announced along with the news of Yan Continent''s joining and merger. By that time, all fairy tale authors will probably go mad."

    "Damn, when this news is officially announced, the fairy tale circle will absolutely go crazy!"

    "..."

    As the industry is discussing,

    Lin Xuan is happily watching her beloved younger brother at home:

    "Are there any more?"

    Lin Yuan was stunned: "What?"

    Lin Xuan was still smiling: "Of course I am talking about fairy tales."

    Lin Yuan said: "Yes..."

    Lin Xuan looked surprised: "Really?"

    "Yes."

    Lin Yuan answered affirmatively.

    If his sister still needed them, he could continue to customise with the System.

    Lin Xuan''s face gradually became serious: "If that''s the case, then there is something I must tell you."

    "What is it?"

    "Although it''s not confirmed yet, it will definitely be implemented next year. The Literature and Art Association plans to produce a series of fairy tale books, including some outstanding short fairy tale stories. If Chu Kuang can still write fairy tales, why not write some more, maybe they will have the chance to be included."

    Lin Yuan was surprised.

    Lin Xuan''s face relaxed a little: "You don''t need to put too much pressure on Chu Kuang. At the very least, ''Snow White'' has a great chance of being included in the series of books.

    It''s been a long time since we''ve had such a famous new fairy tale story on the market, if it was really included, by the time this series is released, Chu Kuang''s work would also have the opportunity to influence a generation." S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    He quickly caught the key point.

    The power of the Literature and Art Association is beyond doubt. The official compilation of a series of fairy tale books will definitely be issued as a task, with countless schools promoting it, advising parents to buy a set as extracurricular books...

    Would parents refuse?

    That''s impossible!

    What parents trust the most are the schools and the Literature and Art Association. They will absolutely support this kind of thing, they will definitely not refuse, they are willing to pay for it!

    With this, the impact would be terrifying!

    It''s almost equivalent to having a series of fairy tale books promoted by the Literature and Art Association appear in many children''s homes in the future!

    In other words:

    In the future, the vast majority of children will start reading these fairy tales promoted officially at a very young age, and the fairy tales included will definitely influence countless children''s childhoods--

    Lin Yuan smelled the scent of prestige.

    --------------------------

    ps: There''s one more chapter, but you don''t have to wait. I guess it will be published around 2 AM.

 Chapter 438 - 416 Yan People Have Arrived_1

    A fairy tale series that could influence a generation!

    Lin Yuan could almost envision the glow of golden prestige value overflowing through the cracks of the fairy tale series, making people salivate with envy...

    What good would endless publication of his own work do?

    Could it be as easily prestigious as an officially recommended book?

    Lin Yuan hadn''t forgotten the fear of being dominated by compulsory extracurricular books throughout his childhood:

    It''s important to know that there are always some extra-curricular books that teachers require must be read.

    Even if these extracurricular books have nothing to do with textbooks.

    In Lin Yuan''s sparse memories from a previous life, he vaguely recalled struggling to chew on "How the Steel Was Tempered," a book he had no interest in when he first entered middle school, and even memorized famous quotes from it.

    Later, on his junior high school exam paper, there were even questions relevant to it, like the author''s long foreign name.

    So many memories have been forgotten, but this one remains quite clear, proving how difficult it was for Lin Yuan at the time.

    And that''s the power of compulsory extracurricular books!

    Now the Literature and Art Association plans to compile such a fairy tale series, apparently to be listed as a must-read for elementary students.

    Lin Yuan had no doubt about the influence of the Literature and Art Association.

    The extracurricular reading books must be compulsory!

    The kind that students can''t skip!

    Thinking about this, Lin Yuan felt a strong sense of responsibility:

    How can we let children read stories they are not interested in by force?

    We must save the children!

    Extracurricular reading is about making use of students'' rest time for further study. How can it be boring?

    Think about the pain the children endure.

    The reading has to be interesting, spectacular enough!

    It should be a treat, not torture for children!

    The more Lin Yuan thought about it, the more it made sense, even implanting an intense sense of mission within him.

    He must write!

    Not just write, but write a lot, for the sake of prestige...

    No, no, *clears throat*, for fostering children''s interest in extracurricular reading!

    "What are you thinking about?"

    Lin Xuan curiously looked at Lin Yuan.

    She saw Lin Yuan stand there, grinding his teeth, then looking solemn, then resolute, then greedy in his gaze...

    "Nothing."

    Lin Yuan laughed, turned his head and ran back to his bedroom.

    As the door closed, he immediately shouted, "System, the most beautiful woman in the world..."

    Oops, wrong line. Let''s try that again.

    Lin Yuan formally asked, "System, what are the best fairy tales on Earth?"

    The system, with the potential of an artist, stated: "There''s no best, there are only equally excellent works."

    "I would like to customize some fairy tales, can you suggest some?"

    "System highly recommends ''Andersen''s Fairy Tales'', ''Grimm''s Fairy Tales'' and ''The Thousand and One Nights''. Host can read these for free and select interesting works for customization. After customization, the memory of non-customized works will disappear."

    "Understood."

    Lin Yuan said, "Start reading, starting with ''Grimm''s Fairy Tales''."

    He had the memory pill, allowing him to speed read, but using it here was meaningless. It would be better to spend some time reading them one by one. Although it would take a bit more time, it could save quite a bit of money.

    But the downside of saving money is that Lin Yuan spent the next few days engrossed in fairy tale books.

    Until¡­ Chinese New Year!

    ...

    What''s the most lively thing about Chinese New Year?

    That must be the Spring Festival Gala, a show watched by the entire family.

    The Spring Festival Gala has always had the highest viewership every year, especially after Blue Star initiated merge mode, the enthusiasm for it has become even more exaggerated.

    No other programs can compete with the Spring Festival Gala in terms of viewership!

    Last year, "The Red Sun", composed by Lin Yuan was performed during the Spring Festival Gala, which greatly boosted the company''s morale.

    This year''s Spring Festival Gala also indirectly involved Lin Yuan.

    An old man stood on the Spring Festival Gala''s stage, passionately reciting "Prelude to Water Melody: How Long Will the Full Moon Last".

    Jin Mu mentioned that someone would be reciting "Prelude to Water Melody" at the Spring Festival Gala to Lin Yuan before, but Lin Yuan didn''t take it seriously, as the copyright fees paid by Blue Star Television were not high.

    It wasn''t until the recitation began that Lin Yuan remembered it.

    Lin Xuan was excited: "It''s your poem!"

    Lin Yao also clapped her hands: "The recitation sounds so good!"

    Mother smiled and said: "Now the Yan people know you too!"

    Mother''s words were not without basis.

    With the arrival of the Spring Festival, even though it''s not yet officially the first of January, the cultural wall of Yan Continent has been removed.

    This also means that Yan Continent has formally joined Blue Star''s grand merger!

    Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, Wei, the integration process of the seven continents is more than half completed!

    Hence, this night, not only can the people of Qin, Qi, and Chu participate in this Spring Festival celebration, but the Yan people can as well!

    Online.

    The newly merged Yan people started interacting with the netizens of Qin, Qi, and Chu on the internet while watching the Spring Festival Gala:

    "This poem is great, the talent in Qin, Qi, Chu is indeed remarkable!"

    A Yan person exclaimed.

    "This poem was written by our Qin man, Xian Yu, there is a song about this poem called "May We All Sustain in Fortitude", friends from Yan Province can give it a listen!"

    A Qin person enthusiastically introduced.

    "It feels weird to have Yan Continent referred to as Yan Province, haha, I will go listen to it now."

    The Yan person replied.

    There were Yan people teasing: "Do you Qin people poop?"

    A troll netizen from Qin replied: "Qin people don''t. We grew up eating dew drops and drinking rainwater."

    A Chu person laughed: "Do you at least need to pee?"

    A Qi person also joined in: "I heard that you Yan people duel at the drop of a hat, if you are not fighting, you are on your way to fight, is that true?"

    "That''s true."

    The Yan person proudly replied: "Yan people dominate all sports events in Blue Star, and the cultural atmosphere of Yan people is also predominantly of a combative nature. For instance, this Xian Yu you mentioned, his poem is not bad, but I estimate someone will challenge him tomorrow.

    We Yan people can write a poem that pacifies the world and ride a horse that stabilizes the universe, we are known to excel in both literature and martial arts! "

    "That''s cool!"

    A Qin person immediately said: "I suggest that your music industry challenges Xian Yu. This person is very popular, but his skills are average, he is all bluff."

    A Qi person followed: "I suggest that your novelists challenge Chu Kuang. This person is a novelist, his skills are alright, but he is too arrogant. Many people can''t stand him anymore, in society he is called the old rascal Chu Kuang."

    A Chu person got excited: "Are your comics good? Go challenge Shadow quickly, I haven''t come up with a reason yet, but a challenge will do, as long as you dare to challenge, I will admit that you Yan people are awesome!"

    "..."

    Ever since the grand merger process began, these interchanges between the merging continents have been a standing item, which happen concurrently with the Spring Festival Gala.

    Following the highly amused netizens. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The Literature and Art Association suddenly issued a shocking piece of news.

    "Our association will invite representatives from various cultural circles to officially compile the "Blue Star Fairy Tale Collection", the initial version of which will include thirty classic short fairy tales..."

    Once the news was out!

    The fairytale circle exploded!

    The Yan people were extremely excited, especially the fairytale authors amongst them: "We like this welcome ceremony, let''s start with fairy tales, please enjoy the storm of combat brought by Yan people!"

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Hoping to make the atmosphere a bit more fiery. I hope the appearance of each region can bring some new energy. You guys don''t have to align this too much to ethnicity, it''s all fictitious. Certain implications are just to give you guys a bit of a base to imagine. That''s it for today.

 Chapter 439 - 417 Storm (Extra update for the update promotion event) _1

    The Qin region is known for its music, Qi is the palace of cinema, and Chu serves as the king of animation...

    As for Yan Continent, it''s synonymous with combat!

    Under the nurturing influence of Yan''s cultural soil, competition has seeped into their very bones, permeating their blood and genes!

    Does the fairy tale circle of Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan intend to collectively vie for the selection of fairy tales in the Literature and Art Association''s Fairy Tale Collection?

    Apologies. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This is an arena the Yan people are most familiar with!

    However, this battle is not the sole madness of the Yan people, but a collective uproar of the fairy tale circles of Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan!

    All fairy tale authors are about to go nuts!

    Every intellectual dreams of their fame spreading far and wide!

    Who wouldn''t understand what it would mean if their work was selected for the "Blue Star Fairy Tale Collection"?

    A tremendous opportunity!

    Considering the promotional strength of the official Literature and Art Association, this could be the chance for fairy tale authors to influence a child''s childhood and even their entire life!

    It might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

    Who wouldn''t be envious?

    Who wouldn''t yearn for it?

    If the "Blue Star Fairy Tale Collection" is successful, it can actually allow some fairy tale authors'' names to be forever etched into the development history of Blue Star''s fairy tales, becoming entities that even some textbooks would have to mention!

    Forget about just the fairy tale circle.

    The entire cultural circle was shaking.

    The matter instantly grabbed everyone''s attention.

    Some even regarded this as an experiment on the part of the Literature and Art Association.

    In their analysis and speculation, fairy tales might just be the first initial trial, the same policy might extend to other novel categories in the future and gradually sweep across the entire cultural circle¡ª

    "Now it''s really exploded!"

    "The fairy tale circles of Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan, all frontrunners will be spurred into action. This is a battle and transformation for the fairy tale circles of the four continents, any fairy tale author with even a bit of ambition will give their all to ensure their work is selected for the ''Blue Star Fairy Tale Collection!''"

    "They''re all after immortality."

    "This event certainly marks a milestone for the fairy tale circle. After this, I can''t think of any other event that could stir up all the authors in the fairy tale circle with as much creative ardor!"

    "This is only for short stories."

    "I expect that in the future, long fairy tales will also face the Literature and Art Association''s compilation and promotion, plus now that the Yan people are here too, that bunch are natural battle enthusiasts. They''ll pull out all the stops to ensure their works make the list."

    "..."

    All stay awake on New Year''s Eve!

    As a whirlwind began to blow through the cultural circle with fairy tales stirring up the storm in the middle of the night, its influence had already seeped outside of the cultural circle, shaking up regular netizens as well:

    ''Blue Star Fairy Tale Collection?''"

    ''Little Turtle must get in!''

    ''Too bad "Three Little Pigs" is a long fairy tale, otherwise Teacher Yuanyuan would''ve been a shoo-in this round. But this is just the beginning, I reckon there''ll be plans for long fairy tales in the future, after all, the influence of long fairy tales is undeniable.''

    ''Looks like this is a storm of fairy tales!''

    ''Suddenly reminded of Jin Mu and Qiqi, their latest works on "Fairy Tale King" were defeated by Chu Kuang. However, Jin Mu and Qiqi do have several really classic representative short fairy tales, there''s a high chance these works could be picked by the Literature and Art Association.''

    ''I recommend "Snow White"!''

    ''Chu Kuang''s "Snow White" certainly has a chance of getting selected, children really love this fairy tale recently, but Chu Kuang''s short fairy tales are just too few, only having one work, he wouldn''t be the main focus of the Literature and Art Association. The key to the official fairy tale collection relies on the established figures in the fairy tale author''s circle.''

    ''...''

    Many people have children at home.

    Anyone with children in their household would pay close attention to this matter.

    Even those without children, foreseeing that one day they will, would become concerned.

    As the future of Blue Star belongs to children, children''s education during their tender years is the first and foremost concern in many people''s minds!

    The truth is¡­

    The fundamental aim of the Literature and Art Association in promoting the "Blue Star Fairy Tale Collection" lies in its basis on children''s education.

    Apart from the teachings at home and school, fairy tales inherently bear the significant task of early childhood ideological education.

    When this moment arrives, all in Qin, Qi, and Chu become Yan People!

    The of fairytale writers collectively going wild!

    ...

    The Lin family''s villa.

    To bring in the New Year with his family, Lin Yuan pulled an all-nighter, with the aid of an Energy Potion of course.

    During the New Year transition period, besides watching the Spring Festival Gala, Lin Yuan spent a lot of time surfing the web.

    Then, Lin Yuan saw the news released by the Literature and Art Association ...

    Blue Star Fairy Tale Collection?

    This moment has indeed come!

    Lin Xuan also evidently saw the latest news posted by the Literature and Art Association online. She immediately looked at Lin Yuan, her face displaying excitement she couldn''t suppress:

    "The Literature and Art Association has decided to officially compile the official fairy tale collection. Chu Kuang''s fairy tales ... "

    Lin Yuan said, "It may take more time to write."

    The effect of official support is unquestionable, this is a surefire way to boost Prestige Value. Lin Yuan plans to play big, releasing only one or two fairy tales which will definitely not satisfy his appetite!

    He plans to stockpile more fairy tales and release them all at once, thus achieving the maximization of his influence!

    Lin Xuan hesitated for a moment, but then nodded.

    She could never imagine Chu Kuang''s actual ambition.

    In her view, this was normal, creation requires time, and rushing won''t help.

    If Chu Kuang wanted to compete for a spot in the Literature and Art Association''s fairy tale selection, the fairy tales he produced must be persuasive in terms of quality, and must certainly meet the standards of "Snow White."

    But ...

    It''s not easy for Chu Kuang, a newcomer in the fairy tale world, to quickly come up with another high-quality fairy tale like "Snow White"?

    You can''t force someone to exceed their limits.

    She didn''t choose to rush, simply smiled and nodded, saying:

    "Remember to let me know once you finish writing."

    After speaking, Lin Xuan, holding her mobile phone, began to contact the outside world.

    The news brought by the Literature and Art Association was shocking, and would definitely affect the entire fairy tale circle. Lin Xuan couldn''t even care about Chu Kuang anymore.

    As the deputy editor of the Fairy Tale Department of Silver Blue Books, she is about to be very busy.

    Because many renowned fairy tale writers will emerge!

    Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and all the other publishing houses'' Fairy Tale Departments will become the busiest departments in all the companies!

    And when the following day came.

    Things indeed developed as everyone had imagined.

    "Top fairy tale name in Qi land, Teacher Xuguang, will release a new fairy tale next week!"

    "Qiqi, Jin Shan, Shiguang, Big Dong and other famous fairy tale writers collectively announce: New work to be released soon!"

    "Famous fairytale writer, Teacher Hua Yueqian, will release a new fairy tale!"

    "Childhood Memory ''Three Little Pigs'' author, Teacher Yuanyuan, will soon release a series of short stories related to the Three Little Pigs series!"

    "Remember the classic Blue Star fairy tale, ''Little Turtle''? New fairy tale work from the author, Turtle Master, is coming!"

    "..."

    This was the expected madness!

    Even the most established fairy tale writers couldn''t stay idle!

    Even those like Teacher Yuanyuan, who are known for their long fairy tales, could not resist wanting a share of the pie.

    In the history of Blue Star Fairy Tales, this is the first time that such a large number of famous fairy tale writers have released new works simultaneously!

    The grandness of such an event was unprecedented!

    The fairy tale storm has officially arrived!

 Chapter 440 - 418 Battle of the Nine Renowned Families with Chu Kuang _1

    And in the midst of this storm, the most noticeable are undoubtedly the Yan fairy tale authors. Amidst this grand fairy-tale wave, their provocative figures can be seen everywhere...

    Literary Duels!

    A lot of Yan fairy tale authors are issuing literary duel challenges to the rivals they perceive to be on their level, and most of them are following local customs by choosing network platforms like tribes and blogs as the launch pads for their challenges.

    No messing around!

    Direct mentions!

    This is a tradition of Yan people!

    Previously there was the barrier of the culture wall, Yan people have a limited understanding of the famous fairy tale authors in Qin, Qi, and Chu. Therefore, starting from last night, many Yan fairy tale writers have been doing emergency homework. This judgement may not be accurate, but it''s generally not far off.

    How to handle a literary duel?

    Almost all famous fairy tale authors of Qin, Qi, and Chu chose to fight back unanimously. This is not only to defend their own prestige, but also to take this opportunity to promote their new work. After all, the nature of a literary duel naturally attracts many gawkers.

    But this time the situation is too special.

    Because there are too many Yan people initiating literary duels, leading to arenas ready to duel everywhere, the gawkers don''t even know which one to watch. This makes these literary duels lose the widespread attention they should have had.

    "They''re all in literary duels!"

    "Can''t keep up!"

    "It''s supposed to be a big brawl of fairy tale authors, but I feel a strange kind of humor, like kids arranging a fight. Fairy tale authors really aren''t suitable for the overly passionate style."

    "The Yan people are terrifying."

    "Currently I''m most interested in the literary duel Mumu has initiated with Teacher Yuanyuan. Mumu is one of the most powerful fairy tale authors in Yan Province. Although Teacher Yuanyuan mainly writes full-length fairy tales, this time she has written a short spin-off of the ''Three Little Pigs''. The nostalgia factor is huge."

    "It''s also exciting on Turtle Master''s side!"

    "Turtle Master made me laugh. ''Little Turtle'' is a fairy tale that really influenced a generation. Even excluding some less prominent fairy tale authors, there are a full six top fairy tale authors from the Yan Continent who have initiated a literary duel challenge with Turtle Master. Turtle Master can''t help but complain about who he should accept challenges from.

    He must be the most challenged fairy tale author, right?"

    "..."

    Literary duel arenas are flourishing everywhere. Among them, the author of ''Little Turtle'', Turtle Master, has become the object of public criticism, causing waves of laughter among netizens.

    However, just when everyone thought that Turtle Master would be the author with the most challenges from the Yan people in this fairy tale storm, a man that no one had expected suddenly attracted the attention of the whole internet:

    "Yan Person Blue Dream challenges Chu Kuang!"

    "Yan Person Treasure Young challenges Chu Kuang!"

    "Yan Person Ou Tianming challenges Chu Kuang!"

    "Yan Person Sky White challenges Chu Kuang!"

    "Yan Person Evil Tyrant Cat challenges Chu Kuang!"

    "Yan Person Desires Fools Himself challenges Chu Kuang!"

    "Yan Person Innocent Fatty challenges Chu Kuang!"

    A full seven famous fairy tale authors from Yan province have challenged Chu Kuang, this new record even surpassing the six-author challenge of Turtle Master. Countless netizens from Qin, Qi, and Chu were dumbfounded and immediately burst into laughter:

    "What the hell?"

    "They''re all going after Chu Kuang?"

    "These Yan people must not have done their homework well. They must think Chu Kuang is also a very powerful fairy tale author, after all, when talking about fairy tales, the media always mentions Chu Kuang''s ''Snow White''.

    But these Yan people can''t imagine that Chu Kuang is not a fairy tale author at all, he only has this one fairy tale work, it''s just that the impact of this one work is quite terrifying."

    "Hahahaha!"

    "I never thought I would live to see so many people challenge Chu Kuang at the same time. Although they''re not challenging his deductive or fantasy short stories, this scene is still a bit hilariously absurd."

    "Chu Kuang: ???"

    "I''m dying of laughter here. It must be due to those netizens who made fun of Chu Kuang, saying he''s the most arrogant writer in the literary circle. This has directly attracted the wrath of all those Yan Province fairy tale writers against him. Poor Chu Kuang is in a serious predicament because of this."

    "So what is Chu Kuang going to do now?"

    "Chu Kuang: You may not believe it, but I''ve only recently begun my career and have only released one story, ''Snow White'', so technically, I''m not exactly what you''d call a renowned fairy tale writer."

    "..."

    It should be noted that those Yan challengers who lack influence are promptly dismissed by the netizens. Therefore, the seven people who are challenging Chu Kuang are all well-known fairy tale writers in Yan Province. Any of them is incredibly remarkable!"

    The netizens are reduced to helpless laughter.

    But the fairy tale circle of Qin, Qi, and Chu is dumbfounded.

    "What on earth are these Yan people up to? Sure, Chu Kuang''s ''Snow White'' is incredibly powerful, but there are so many renowned fairy tale writers in Qin, Qi, and Chu. Is it really worth their time to gang up on Chu Kuang when he only has one fairy tale to his name?"

    "These Yan people are not stupid!"

    Someone shrewdly figured out the potential motives of these challengers: "They probably know Chu Kuang''s situation, but they chose him anyway because challenging Chu Kuang is a hot topic. This is not just because of the influence of Chu Kuang''s ''Snow White'', but also his accomplishments in other areas. By challenging Chu Kuang, they ensure that their own works will receive immense attention!"

    "Is that so?"

    "So choosing Chu Kuang is the smartest move. Firstly, Chu Kuang only has one fairy tale, so he probably won''t be too strong. Secondly, no one would accuse them of bullying because Chu Kuang''s ''Snow White'' received rave reviews. This guarantees both their chances of winning and their standout status amid all the literary duels vying for attention!"

    "..."

    Realizing the motives of the Chu people, the writers from Qin, Qi, and Chu felt frustrated. They''ve prepared so many duels, but the one attracting the most public attention is Chu Kuang''s. What are these renowned fairy tale writers, aiming for attention through the duels, supposed to do?"

    Exactly.

    The reason renowned fairy tale writers from Qin, Qi, and Chu enthusiastically accepted the challenges from the Yan people is that they also wanted to attract attention through the literary duels. The popularity was there for the taking. But now it seems that Chu Kuang has hogged all the attention."

    At this moment...

    Something happened that left countless fairy tale writers from Qin and Qi dumbfounded. Teacher Qiqi from Qin land and Teacher Jin Shan from Qi land also issued literary duel challenges to Chu Kuang one after another!

    Damn it!

    What are you guys doing?

    Isn''t it enough that seven Yan people are challenging Chu Kuang? Now you guys, one from Qin and the other from Qi, are also joining in the challenge. Just because you lost to Chu Kuang in ''Fairy Tale King'', do you have to be so eager to challenge him?"

    "..."

    The renowned fairy tale writers in Qin, Qi, and Chu could only grumble in private. After all, Jin Shan and Qiqi do have solid reasons to challenge Chu Kuang. They had previously lost to Chu Kuang once. Now, they can make good use of the Yan tradition of literature duels and challenge Chu Kuang in the name of revenge!"

    With this..."

    "The number of renowned fairy tale writers challenging Chu Kuang leaps from seven to a staggering nine, instantly making Chu Kuang the center of attention of the entire Qin, Qi, and Chu group. Everyone is guessing, who will Chu Kuang ultimately accept the challenge from?"

    "Chu Kuang ahead!" sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Do you dare to fight!"

    At this moment, the netizens have even imagined the scene of nine renowned writers confronting Chu Kuang. That''s nine towering figures encircling Chu Kuang, their eyes blazing with crazy fighting spirit and strong provocation¡ª"

    As if they''re about to give Chu Kuang a group beating.

 Chapter 441 - 419: One Against Nine_1

    Why are they all coming for me?

    Lin Yuan arrived at the studio early on the first day of the Chinese New Year. As soon as he logged into Chu Kuang''s account in the Tribe, he saw nine renowned fairy tale authors issuing challenges for a Literary Duel. He was taken aback and puzzled. He always considered himself as a low-key persona.

    "Boss!"

    Jin Mu also rushed over.

    After quickly wishing each other a ''Happy New Year,'' Jin Mu hurriedly asked, "I suppose you know about the challenges from the nine great authors today, right? Have you decided which one of them you will take up for the duel?"

    Jin Mu seemed a little nervous.

    Who wouldn''t be? Those are nine of the best authors in fairy tales. Even by Yan Province''s Literary Duel rules, a work can only accept one challenger at a time. But still, being targeted by nine heavyweight professionals all at once, it''s impossible not to break out into a cold sweat!

    "I''ve made up my mind."

    Lin Yuan had pondered quickly.

    He''d already formulated a strategy.

    Lin Yuan had experience with this as he had previously been challenged under the name of "Literary Duel". The last time was when Leng Guang insisted on competing with him in detective stories. This time, the scale was just a tad bigger, going from one to nine challengers instantaneously.

    "Who''s the choice?"

    Jin Mu asked quickly, "Personally I would suggest Teacher Qiqi or Teacher Jin Shan. We''ve already won against them once, so even if we lose the second round of this literary duel, it would only be a tie. It wouldn''t tarnish our reputation. As for Yan People, their duels often get turned down, so that wouldn''t be a problem."

    "Let''s choose Teacher Qiqi first."

    Lin Yuan seemed to have thought it through thoroughly.

    Jin Mu heaved a sigh of relief, showing a smile. This was the best choice since Teacher Qiqi''s fairy tale writing caliber was slightly lesser than Teacher Jin Shan''s. So, choosing Teacher Qiqi meant having a higher chance of winning.

    Unlike the public''s perception,

    Jin Mu had much stronger confidence in Chu Kuang than most people. He didn''t doubt Chu Kuang''s abilities just because Chu Kuang had only written one fairy tale before. It was only because the opponents put on such a great show of force, causing Jin Mu to feel a bit flustered instinctively.

    "Then let''s take Uncle Jin."

    Lin Yuan looked at Jin Shan''s tribe account.

    Jin Mu''s smile froze, and he seemed to understand Lin Yuan''s intentions immediately. "Boss, are you planning on taking on two at a time? The rule is that a single work can only compete with one opponent. There''s no provision for a work to duel against two opponents simultaneously."

    "Who said it was just one work?"

    "Are you prepared with two works, Boss?"

    Jin Mu started to feel nervous again. Competing against two simultaneously was like fighting on two fronts ¨C the difficulty level was seriously different from taking on just one opponent!

    However, Lin Yuan didn''t answer his agent directly.

    In front of Jin Mu, he directly tagged Teacher Qiqi and added a few words:

    "New work ''Cinderella''. I look forward to your guidance!"

    ...

    On the internet,

    Netizens were still passionately discussing the matter of Chu Kuang being challenged simultaneously by the nine renowned fairy tale authors. Many people were speculating about which author''s challenge Chu Kuang would eventually accept. Whoever ended up in a duel with Chu Kuang would certainly garner the most attention!

    "I think it''s Qiqi."

    "Teacher Qiqi is relatively low ranking among these authors. Besides, the story that Teacher Qiqi published in ''Fairy Tale King'' was completely overshadowed by old rascal Chu Kuang. Chu Kuang has a natural psychological advantage over Qiqi."

    "So, Jin Shan could be a possible pick too?"

    "Chu Kuang has always been known for not playing by the book. I think he might not choose either Jin Shan or Qiqi, but rather randomly select one of the authors from Yan Province. Otherwise, wouldn''t those Yan People get too cocky, maybe even start propagating that Chu Kuang dared not to accept their challenge."

    "..."

    As the lively discussion was underway, someone suddenly announced, "Chu Kuang finally responded. It looks like he has accepted Teacher Qiqi''s challenge. But I don''t understand the meaning, is ''Cinderella'' a professional term?"

    "What?"

    "Chose Qiqi?"

    "How boring."

    "Chu Kuang should have chosen someone from Yan People this time. Seven from Yan People challenged him and he didn''t choose any of them. He chose a Qin instead, making it look like we Qin people are fighting amongst ourselves. The Yan People might find that amusing."

    "A little disappointed."

    "I''m a bit disappointed too. Qiqi is the weakest among the nine authors. It seems Chu Kuang isn''t very confident in his work this time, so he chose an opponent he feels most assured of. I understand the rationale, but still, it''s a bit disappointing."

    "My youth is over."

    "It''s true that fairy tales may not be Chu Kuang''s strongest genre, but seeing Chu Kuang playing it safe is quite hard to take. Am I getting old, or is it Chu Kuang?"

    "....."

    The netizens were quite disappointed. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    But before this disappointment lasted too long, they were all bewildered when they saw Chu Kuang tag Teacher Jin Shan.

    "New work ''Little Red Riding Hood.'' I look forward to your guidance!"

    Many netizens were stupefied. What did Chu Kuang mean by this?

    He had already accepted Qiqi''s challenge, why tag Jin Shan?

    "Whoa!"

    Finally, someone regained composure. Actually, Chu Kuang''s reply had made it quite clear. He was planning on taking both of them on at once, a magnificent two-front war, taking on both Qiqi and Jin Shan in a fairy tale duel at the same time!

    "My vigor has returned!"

    "Chu Kuang is the boss!"

    "As expected of Chu Kuang!"

    "Chu Kuang is quite pompous!"

    "But I like it, hehe!"

    "I thought Chu Kuang was being conservative, but he turned out to be utterly arrogant. Clearly, the old rascal Chu Kuang has engaged in malicious mischief again and wants another round with Jin Shan and Qiqi. The subtext being, ''You two still not satisfied? Here is your second chance!''"

    "That''s Chu Kuang!"

    "Although he didn''t acknowledge Yan People''s challenge, the mere fact that he is fighting on two fronts is already very bold. Even those from Yan wouldn''t dare to say anything about it. Would they dare to duel two great fairy tale authors simultaneously?"

    "Chu Kuang dares!"

    The online atmosphere was immediately invigorated, but while the excitement was at its peak, it was abruptly interrupted again!

    Because Chu Kuang made yet another move!

    He directly tagged Lan Meng, a renowned fairy tale author from Yan Province, with a similar format as before:

    "New work ''The Emperor''s New Clothes.'' I look forward to your guidance!"

    The netizens were astounded again.

    This is ...

    A three-front war?

    No, not three...

    While everyone was flabbergasted, Chu Kuang''s moves accelerated, and he tagged every other renowned fairy tale author from Yan Province:

    "New work ''The Ugly Duckling.'' I look forward to your guidance!"

    "New work ''Sleeping Beauty.'' I look forward to your guidance!"

    "New work ''The Frog Prince.'' I look forward to your guidance!"

    "New work ''The Little Mermaid.'' I look forward to your guidance!"

    "New work ''The Little Match Girl.'' I look forward to your guidance!"

    "New work ''The Story of the Fisherman and the Goldfish.'' I look forward to your guidance!"

    "....."

    Fighting on two fronts?

    Fighting on three fronts?

    Sorry, no.

    A nine-front war!

    This is not a storm!!

    This is clearly a goddamn Thunderstorm!!!

    Years later, when people look back on this day, they still get goosebumps all over, and a tingling sensation on their scalp --

    Chu Kuang!!

    Took on nine opponents!!!

    --------

    PS: Sorry for keeping you all waiting, I finish for the day. I somehow got fired up writing a fairy tale.

 Chapter 442 - 420 Who Else _1

    Stunned!

    Everyone was stunned!

    Had it not been for Chu Kuang tagging each of the famous fairy tale authors with different work titles each time, everyone might have doubted whether Chu Kuang had understood the rules of the Literary Duel. They might suspect that he thought one work could accept challenges from nine individuals at the same time.

    But looking at those nine completely different new work titles, such doubts were completely unfounded. This was a fact unambiguous no matter how many times it was verified, he was taking on all nine challenges at once!

    "Holy shit!"

    "This is too exciting!"

    "I bow to this old rascal!"

    "It''s a one-against-nine challenge!"

    "I was joking with a lady from Yan Province I had just met saying Chu Kuang, this old rascal, is the most brazen writer we have in the Great Qin. We should have Yan people challenge Chu Kuang more often. But looking at it now, I wasn''t lying when I said that. Chu Kuang is indeed the most brazen writer we have ever had in Great Qin. This is like regarding all the heroes in the world as nothing.

    He''s accepted all the challenges from the nine great writers. Regardless of the final outcome, the courage he has shown to bravely confront the nine great writers alone is already so freaking impressive!"

    "This is so Chu Kuang!"

    "The nine planets have aligned!"

    "Ever since Chu Kuang made his debut, he''s always been challenging himself. When he started writing fantasy novels, there were so many popular topics on the market he could have written about, but he chose to write about less popular ones. He went an untraveled road, and each of his books established a new genre!"

    "..."

    Previously, netizens had imagined the nine great writers challenging Chu Kuang. They saw nine tall figures, glowing brilliantly, surrounding Chu Kuang. All their eyes were filled with a mad desire for battle and intense provocation, as if they were about to gang up on Chu Kuang.

    And now...

    Netizens'' imaginations had come up with a thrilling continuation. As Chu Kuang was confronted by the nine great writers, he suddenly gestured to them, and calmly said:

    "All of you can come at me together."

    None knows how Chu Kuang''s simultaneous dispatch of nine works can be tied up. But the grand ambition and courage Chu Kuang has shown, accompanied by the imaginative continuations, have already left countless netizens in awe.

    At the same time!

    The Yan people were also stunned!

    Especially the group of Yan territory''s fairy tale greats which Chu Kuang had tagged one by one. They had a collective sense of surprise followed by a surge of sudden anger and embarrassment, their blood rushing to their heads!

    Too arrogant!

    Too conceited!

    What makes you so confident?!

    When Chu Kuang initially tagged Qiqi, these great authors who had challenged Chu Kuang were somewhat disappointed. It seemed that Chu Kuang was not as formidable as the netizens made him out to be. He didn''t even have the courage to face the Yan people, but then they were subsequently tagged by Chu Kuang.

    It turned out Qiqi was just the beginning!

    Blue Star once said that we, the Yan people, are naturally proud and untamed. But Chu Kuang is even more Yan than the Yan people. His battle on nine fronts is insanely audacious. Is it that he respects himself too highly or disrespects our Yan territory''s fairy tale greats?!

    "Have the fight!!"

    "A hard fight!"

    "I''ve been in the Yan Continent''s fairy tale circle for so many years, and I''ve never seen such an arrogant guy. He actually invited us to challenge him together. Does he even realize what a one-against-nine challenge means? It''s equivalent to him writing nine fairy tales at the level of a great writer all at once!"

    "This madman!"

    "Brothers from Yan Territory, this is not a Literary Duel anymore. This is a war initiated by Chu Kuang. He wants to use us Yan People to establish his authority. As long as he can win two or three duels, he would be both famous and profitable. He''s even craftier than us, but unfortunately, he picked the wrong figures for his show!"

    "..."

    The Yan people were completely outraged. Literary Duel was a tradition they had inherited for countless years, yet now someone was provoking the Yan people with this very heritage. No one had ever dared to belittle them so!

    ...

    As for the situation on Qin, Qi, and Chu''s side.

    All the fiction writers were shocked, particularly the renowned fairy tale authors in Qin, Qi, and Chu. An almost surreal feeling arose; some couldn''t help but wonder:

    Am I dreaming?

    Has Chu Kuang gone mad?

    Although his one-against-nine stance was indeed gallant, hadn''t he considered the reality of the situation? His opponents were nine fully committed fairy tale luminaries, which meant that he had to write nine different works, all of the same quality as "Snow White"!

    Meanwhile.

    In the studio.

    Jin Mu saw with his very own eyes as Lin Yuan successively tagged nine fairy tale authors to challenge in the Literary Duel. The entire operation carried out flawlessly, without a pause or hesitation. And so, Jin Mu''s first thought was:

    Has the boss gone mad?

    After completing this series of operations, Lin Yuan, as if it was all no big deal, said to Jin Mu, "We don''t need to serialize these in the magazine this time. The space it offers isn''t enough. Let''s publish a fairy tale collection instead. How about we call it ''Chu Kuang''s Fairy Tales''?"

    "Chu Kuang''s Fairy Tales?"

    Jin Mu foolishly repeated.

    Lin Yuan nodded. He had been reading fairy tales in the System''s library for days on end, almost to the point of exhaustion. His reward was a collection of stories he''d already created: "Including ''Snow White'', which has already been published, we have a total of ten fairy tales."

    Lin Yuan had initially planned to publish more.

    He customized quite a few with the System.

    But on second thought, ten stories would be enough for now to achieve the desired effect. Anything more would be overkill, and a waste of money. The official "Blue Star Fairy Tale Collection" was only planning to include thirty stories, and most of his ten could likely qualify for inclusion by the Literature and Art Association.

    It wouldn''t be fair to take most, if not all, of the slots for himself, would it?

    With the System''s support.

    Lin Yuan could probably do it. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    But Lin Yuan was maturing, understanding things more clearly. The opportunity to be in the "Blue Star Fairy Tale Collection" was eyed by many authors from Qin, Qi, and Chu. If he took more than half, or even all of the slots, it''d be like hogging the meat soup without leaving a sip for others.

    He would inevitably become public enemy number one in the fairy tale world, and not everyone could bear that!

    It would offend too many people.

    Of course, that was not the main point. The Literature and Art Association probably wouldn''t allow it. They were compiling the Blue Star Fairy Tale Collection, not Chu Kuang''s Fairy Tale Collection. They couldn''t possibly only include works from Chu Kuang.

    Additionally, the fairy tales Lin Yuan planned to publish varied in length, some with more content than others; the amount in one story might equate to two of others''. From any standpoint, ten fairy tales wasn''t a small number.

    What about the challenge from the nine major artists?

    Lin Yuan only needed to customize nine desired fairy tales to duel with the other party. Regardless of whether nine or an additional ten top authors challenged Chu Kuang, Lin Yuan would still go all-out. Virgin on the popularity of the Literary Duel, even nabbing nine in one go felt absolutely delightful! That was a crucial reason why he decided to take on nine opponents at once.

    "I''ve sent it to your email."

    While these thoughts flashed through his mind, Lin Yuan instantly forwarded the completed manuscripts from the past few days to Jin Mu, "These manuscripts need to be given to my sister, not anyone else. Try to get Silver Blue Books to publish them before the end of the month."

    "Oh..."

    Jin Mu robotically nodded.

    Lin Yuan thought for a moment, worried about other famous authors challenging him. In that case, the nine new stories wouldn''t be enough. It''d be better to call out on the internet first, and if further challenges arose, he could add a few stories temporarily. So, he operated Chu Kuang''s account again and kindly posted a status. The content was simple and straightforward:

    "Who''s next?"

 Chapter 443 - 421 Perfect Illustration_1

    From the moment Chu Kuang started challenging nine renowned writers one after the other, his tribe''s activities had drawn an extraordinary amount of attention from netizens. So when everyone saw Chu Kuang update his status again, the whole internet went wild!

    "Holy shit!"

    "Who else?"

    "He''s so arrogant!"

    "Are nine not enough?"

    "He''s not even acting like a human anymore!"

    Nobody expected that after already challenging nine, Chu Kuang still wasn''t satisfied. He dared to provoke so brazenly under the watchful eyes of countless people, showing utter disregard for the nine renowned fairytale writers!

    "I can''t tolerate this!"

    "I''m going to kill him!"

    "Bring it on!"

    The Yan People were still discussing Chu Kuang''s one-against-nine challenge. They were already angry and seeing Chu Kuang adding fuel to the fire made them seethe even more. We Yan People, in all of our existence, have never seen anyone this audacious!

    We''ve had enough!

    All of us have had enough!

    These mere three words drove the fairytale writers from the Yan territory to the edge of explosion. It has always been us, the Yan People, who provoked others. Since when has anyone dared to challenge us, the Yan People?

    Are you Chu Kuang?

    Are you Yan Kuang?

    Do you want to challenge ten now?

    The other writers from the Yan Territory who did not challenge Chu Kuang, but instead chose other opponents, were also incensed and even contemplated canceling their literary duels with the other fairytale writers to team up and defeat Chu Kuang first!

    In the face of Chu Kuang''s provocation!

    The Yan People are united!

    But ultimately, this didn''t happen. Some Yan People scorned, "If more people challenge Chu Kuang, that''s exactly what he wants. He''s just trying to grab attention. Given his abilities, there wouldn''t be so many renowned writers challenging him unless there were some special reasons."

    Exactly.

    Seeking attention.

    This is the conclusion that many Yan People have drawn based on Chu Kuang''s behavior. They believe that just like the nine renowned writers challenging Chu Kuang in a literary duel, it''s all about getting attention for their own work, not about recognizing Chu Kuang''s abilities: "Chu Kuang knows he can''t win, so he''s going all out. The more people challenge him, the more important he seems."

    This Qin person is really crafty!

    But there''s no place for craftiness in the face of absolute strength! Challenging nine at once is most likely to result in nine defeats, and then Chu Kuang will have to pay for his arrogance and conceit!

    So, the Yan People have endured!

    Although they''re unhappy, they endured. This made the Yan People even more resentful. When have they ever suffered like this? These Yan People couldn''t wait for the literary duels to start immediately, to vent out the frustration in their hearts!

    On the Qin-Chu side.

    Many people gradually came back to their senses. Then they and the Yan People had similar thoughts. Perhaps Chu Kuang wasn''t planning to win at all. You Yan People wanted popularity, Chu Kuang simply took that popularity for himself. Forget about winning or losing for now, having the courage to challenge nine is enough!

    "The Yan People must be fuming."

    "Chu Kuang''s move was incredibly slick."

    "Although we all know that Chu Kuang can''t challenge nine at once, maybe not even two, the Qin-Chu netizens feel awesome when they see him accept all literary duel challenges. If you guys want to step over me, Chu Kuang, and rise to the top, then I''ll simply take this opportunity to make myself the hottest topic."

    "Such an impressive strategy!"

    "Unless Chu Kuang doesn''t win a single round, if he manages to beat at least one opponent, this wouldn''t be too much of a disgrace. The Yan People, on the other hand, have nothing to be proud of if they beat Chu Kuang, because he''s split into nine and fighting them all simultaneously. They''re supposed to win, right?"

    Indeed.

    This is the only explanation for Chu Kuang''s audacity. Inside and outside the Qin-Chu-Yan circle, nobody believes that Chu Kuang can really go one against nine. The current astonishment comes only from Chu Kuang''s earth-shattering one-against-nine act!

    ...

    As Chu Kuang''s one-against-nine act attracted all the outside attention, Silver Blue Books officially announced a piece of news riding on this momentum: "Master Chu Kuang''s new work will be published as a fairytale collection on January 31st. Please look for the book titled ''Fairytales of Chu Kuang'' in bookstores.

    Moreover, all the works from Master Chu Kuang''s literary duels with the nine fairytale writers will be included!"

    This official announcement was quite interesting.

    Silver Blue Books actually tagged all nine of the fairytale writers participating in the literary duels with their official account, even providing nine colored pictures below.

    Shh!

    When everyone saw these nine colored pictures, they instinctively held their breaths, their eyes glued to them!

    A visual feast!

    The first picture was of a beautiful girl, dirty and working in a house, her beauty evident despite the dirt on her face;

    The second was a cute little girl in a red hat, hopping and jumping around;

    The third was a king wearing a crown, scantily clad in nothing but underwear;

    The fourth was a lonely duck swimming amidst a flock of swans;

    The fifth was a beautiful woman, enchanting and enticing, asleep in a crystal coffin;

    The sixth was an ugly frog wearing a crown, sitting on the hand of a young girl in a long skirt;

    The seventh was a woman so beautiful and lovable at first glance, floating on the sea without legs, but a phosphorescent fish body;

    The eighth was a girl lighting a matchstick in the dark night;

    The ninth was a fisherman couple fishing a beautiful goldfish from the sea!

    All nine pictures corresponded to the nine fairytales participating in the literary duel!

    Beauty at its peak!

    Explosive art style!

    All of these nine pictures could independently be used as phone or computer wallpapers. They were so exquisite they looked like pieces of art. Everyone who saw these pictures instinctively clicked to save them. It was an undiluted visual feast!

    "Such beautiful art!"

    "Are these the illustrations in ''Fairytales of Chu Kuang''? My God, who is this heavenly illustrator? I want to buy the book just for these nine illustrations. The woman in the crystal coffin is so beautiful!"

    "I''ll buy these illustrations!"

    "Is that a mermaid on the sea?"

    "Each painting is breathlessly beautiful!"

    "The little girl with the red hat is so cute!"

    "I want to read the fairytale about the little girl in the red hat!"

    "Such a gorgeous and exquisite painting style. I''ve never seen such beautiful illustrations in all the novels I''ve read. Particularly, the girl in the crystal coffin is so beautiful that it leaves one intoxicated!"

    "These illustrations are phenomenal!"

    "Whose masterpiece is this?"

    "Oh my, look closely, guys. There''s a copyright watermark on the bottom-right corner of the picture. As expected, only he could create such perfect illustrations!"

    Indeed.

    There''s a small watermark in the lower-right corner of the picture, something a lot of pictures have. This represents the copyright and the watermark astonishingly comes from... S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Shadow!

    This was another collaboration between Chu Kuang and Shadow after "King of the Net", and it was an upgraded version because Shadow brought out his best drawing skills!

    Exactly.

    The illustrations were drawn by Lin Yuan under the alias Shadow. If he wanted the "Fairytales of Chu Kuang" to sell better, he had to take care of everything, including the illustrations. Since he now had master-level drawing skills, why not? But this collaboration was not just between Chu Kuang and Shadow ¡ª

    Xian Yu was also involved!

 Chapter 444 - 422: Tragic and Majestic_1

    Of course, no need for afterwards, even just seeing Shadow and Chu Kuang''s collaboration taking place in real time was enough to send countless people into ecstasy. The nine paintings were enough to conquer the eyes of even the most aesthetically discerning¡ª

    "It''s Shadow!"

    "Perfect collaboration!"

    "In the ''living to see this'' series, after ''King of the Net,'' Chu Kuang and Shadow have finally collaborated again. Thank God, Teacher Shadow didn''t slack off this time. He finally unleashed his true painting ability. A serious Shadow is truly insane!"

    "Such thick bro-love vibes!"

    "Seeing Chu Kuang being challenged by the nine famed masters, Shadow finally stepped up. Thinking back to how Chu Kuang and Xian Yu protected each other, and how Xian Yu used music to smack the Chu people in the face to avenge Shadow... these three bros really do love each other!"

    "Xian Yu should release nine songs!"

    "Shadow''s painting skills are unmatched in the world. Xian Yu should indeed release some songs to join in the collaboration. The Three Bros should be nice and neat, right? I bet the Yan People don''t even know about the Three Bros yet. Sooner or later they will find out how terrifying this group truly is!"

    "..."

    The netizens were thrilled.

    Saving images was not enough, they were eager to re-post the news, especially sharing these nine pictures. This also incidentally made the news of Chu Kuang''s upcoming fairy tale significantly popular, with the influence of their collaboration quickly fermenting!

    At this moment,

    A new set of four-panel comics suddenly started circulating online. The artist was obviously a fan of Xian Yu, Chu Kuang, and Shadow, as the comics were clearly inspired by the Three Bros.

    The first panel.

    It featured a young man, tall and slim, wearing a black trench coat, short hair, sword-like eyebrows, and star-like eyes, with a stern expression, hiding in the shadows. He gave off a powerful and mysterious vibe. A speech bubble over his head read:

    "Seems like we have guests."

    "Those who are here mean no good."

    The second panel depicted a long-haired young man as charming as a prince, with a warm and gentle temperament that belied his harmless smile: "Shadow, wake up."

    The third panel,

    A young man with distinctive features and a lazy demeanor was hunched over in his chair, his face still showing traces of sleepiness and discontent:

    "Fine."

    The fourth panel.

    The three of them appear together against a backdrop of magnificent cosmos with bolts of lightning. Behind them there are numerous planets of different colors, each inscribed with the names of all their released works to date.

    Some planets hovered,

    Gradually lighting up.

    This four-panel comic creatively imagined the image of Chu Kuang, Xian Yu, and Shadow, giving an inexplicable sense of dark forces at play. However, the style and character depictions seemed to align with the internet users'' perception of the Three Bros. Therefore, it quickly spread on the internet, and alongside Shadow''s exciting teaser illustrations, it was re-posted by many.

    Boom!

    Chu Kuang''s one vs. nine challenge already had a high internet heat index. Now, with the addition of comic promos and Shadow''s assistance, the ''Chu Kuang''s fairy tale'' seemed to have formed a terrifying popular wave before it was even released!

    ...

    The so-called epic collaboration included not only Shadow''s artwork. Just as the internet was buzzing about Chu Kuang and Shadow''s collaboration, Lin Yuan suddenly got in touch with Xia Fan, whom he hadn''t seen in a long time:

    "Are you free?"

    "What''s up?"

    "Getting ready to record a song."

    "Meet at the company''s recording studio."

    Xia Fan agreed without much thought. She might not deliberately ask Lin Yuan to write songs for her, but if Lin Yuan took the initiative to approach her, she certainly wouldn''t be foolish enough to refuse. Not to mention they were close friends. Moreover, who wouldn''t want to collaborate with the famous Xian Yu?

    The next morning,

    Xia Fan met with Lin Yuan at the company''s recording studio. Looking at the song titled ''Fairytale Town,'' she was a bit surprised: "It seems to be a song related to fairy tales. Were the lyrics written by Chu Kuang?"

    "Sort of."

    "I see."

    Xia Fan gave a smile.

    She is also a fan of novels, so she knows about Chu Kuang. Because of Xian Yu, who is Lin Yuan, and his relationship with Chu Kuang, she has been following Chu Kuang''s literary duel with the famous storytellers recently, albeit from the perspective of an onlooker enjoying the drama.

    In the next two days,

    Lin Yuan and Xia Fan were recording a song.

    And when the song was officially finished recording, one of Chu Kuang''s Literary Duel opponents, Teacher Jin Shan, who had previously lost to Chu Kuang once, was the first to release his short fairy tale work!

    The work was titled "The Sun and Moon''s Love".

    The fairy tale told a story of the sun and the moon falling in love, which was a great disaster for the earth. Day and night became indistinguishable, and the seasons were in total chaos.

    The ending was touching.

    The sun and the moon parted ways. Faced with their respective responsibilities, they chose to sacrifice their love to restore harmony in the world. The sun and moon began to alternate again, the four seasons distinguished once more, and all was well with the passing of time.

    "A masterpiece!"

    Jin Shan''s work was directly recognized by the cultural world, and online reviews on, "The Sun and Moon''s Love" were quite high. On this day, Jin Shan tagged Chu Kuang himself in the Tribe:

    "Please advise!"

    The Literary Duel officially began!

    The next day, Innocent Fatty, a renowned fairy tale writer from Yan Territory, released a new piece; on the third day, Qiqi, another fairy tale writer who had previously lost to Chu Kuang in "Fairy Tale King," also released a new work...

    Swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe!

    By the 29th, eight of the nine renowned writers that Chu Kuang had scheduled for the Literary Duel had sequentially released their works. Almost every famous writer''s work received commendation to varying degrees, and the response from children and their parents was quite good.

    The writers put their all into their creations!

    No one disappointed!

    Chu Kuang''s work was still not released, but there was already widespread controversy online. His unreleased book, "Chu Kuang''s Fairy Tale," seemed shrouded in heavy doubt, especially with the exceptional works produced by the other authors:

    "The writers are incredibly talented!"

    "Even Qiqi, the teacher who is generally considered to be weaker, has exploded this time. Her new fairy tale is so exciting that even I, an adult, find it fascinating. My eight-year-old son absolutely loves it!"

    "Jin Shan has produced a marvelous piece!"

    "The new work by Lan Meng is also impressive!"

    "None of the nine are easy to overcome!"

    "It seems Chu Kuang has bitten off more than he can chew. Given the current circumstances, he doesn''t seem to have any chance of victory. What if Chu Kuang makes a spectacle of himself, his so-called one against nine would turn into a joke, wouldn''t it?"

    "All I can say is, he is brave."

    "The old rascal has to put in the effort. Maybe it''s my bias speaking, but even for the beautiful illustrations in "Chu Kuang''s Fairy Tale," I can''t bear to see Chu Kuang defeated completely. No matter what, as long as the old rascal Chu Kuang wins once, it''s enough!"

    "Is Chu Kuang going to lose?"

    "If Chu Kuang loses all the Literary Duels, it would be normal. After all, fairy tales are not his strength, and he is taking on a crazy nine-way battle. According to ancient warfare, this is like splitting the army into nine directions. It sounds impressive, but actually, the power of each direction is significantly weakened. All the opponents produce one work, which is their strongest."

    "I feel a bit uneasy."

    "Chu Kuang is invincible in my heart. I always have full confidence in Chu Kuang, including that time against Leng Guang. But this time, I know Chu Kuang might fall. Maybe he should focus his energy and choose only one opponent."

    "..."

    While netizens were shocked at Chu Kuang''s one against nine, it did not mean that they were optimistic about Chu Kuang. The works put forth by these Literary Duel opponents were all of high quality, without a single weak link. Under such circumstances, Chu Kuang had no chance of winning.

    And then, when the 30th arrived,

    Chu Kuang''s last Literary Duel opponent, Teacher Sky White from Yan Territory, also gave a shout out to Chu Kuang: "My new work will be released in tomorrow''s ''Fairy Tale King''. Please advise!"

    Silver Blue''s "Fairy Tale King"!

    This was the magazine where Chu Kuang had published "Snow White," and where he officially started writing fairy tales. Sky White''s reminder seemed to lend a sense of ceremony to the ending of the Literary Duel: "I will defeat you at your own doorstep." S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Sky White didn''t say this.

    But everyone could sense his meaning, otherwise, Sky White would not have specifically chosen to publish his new work on Silver Blue''s "Fairy Tale King". This was Yan People''s fury and catharsis!

    Chu Kuang did not respond.

    No one taunted Chu Kuang for overestimating his abilities. A warrior who dared to challenge nine deserved respect. Despite Chu Kuang''s silence which made the scene somewhat inexplicably heroic, while waiting patiently with heavy hearts, his fans finally saw the last day of the month arrive...

    Chu Kuang''s fairy tale has arrived!

 Chapter 445 - 423: Fairytale Town_1

    "Hello, please sign for your package."

    The doorbell rings within Yan Province''s Four Seasons Community, at one of the residences.

    A man with huge dark circles under his eyes, yawning, opens up his front door.

    After signing for the package, the young delivery boy doesn''t immediately leave, but rather stares curiously at the man.

    "Can I help you?"

    "May I ask, are you the famous Fairytale writer Sky White? I''ve seen your picture online..."

    "That''s me."

    The man answers with a smile.

    He is Sky White, one of the Yan People writers challenging Chu Kuang to a literary duel.

    After rallying Chu Kuang last night, Sky White, excited, didn''t sleep all night. The scene of brutally defeating Chu Kuang filled his mind to the point of causing dark circles.

    "I can''t believe it''s really you! Could you please give me an autograph? Just sign it on my bag!" The delivery boy asked excitedly.

    Sky White smiled and indulged him.

    As he was about to leave, the delivery boy suddenly clenched his fist and said, "Good luck in the Literary Duel, Sky White. You must overthrow Chu Kuang, all of us Yan People will support you!"

    Sky White was speechless. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    It seemed that the duel between Chu Kuang and the Nine Great Houses was already well known.

    "I promise!"

    He nodded confidently, "At least when it comes to the Great Houses of Yan Province, Chu Kuang stands no chance!"

    "Absolutely!"

    The delivery boy cheered him on as he walked away.

    Sky White''s lips curved up slightly as he opened the package.

    Today was the day his and Chu Kuang''s new books were released. The package contained Chu Kuang''s new book and the second issue of "Fairy Tale King" from Silver Blue Books, which was specifically released ahead of schedule. Thanks to his good relationship with the bookstore owner, he was probably the first among the fairytale writers to get Chu Kuang''s new book today.

    He understood his own work best. Now, it was time to see what story Chu Kuang had written.

    Sky White pulled out a book with a black cover. Amid the fresh scent of ink, three large characters were boldly inscribed on the cover:

    Fairytale Town.

    Below and to the right of these three characters, there was an added footnote: This book is also known as "Chu Kuang''s Fairy Tales".

    So, the real book title was "Fairytale Town".

    Sky White sneered, Chu Kuang was fond of flashy tricks; like these illustrations and revised book title, but he forgot the most important part of writing a book is its content.

    "Maybe this is why bad movies have great soundtracks?"

    If the theory that bad movies produce great soundtracks hold true, then Chu Kuang''s fairy tales are probably second-rate content paired with first-rate illustrations?

    It would be nice if I could collaborate with that illustrator.

    With this thought in mind, Sky White opened the book formally titled "Fairytale Town", Chu Kuang''s new book.

    The first story was the already published "Snow White".

    "I have to admit ''Snow White'' is pretty good."

    Sky White mumbled to himself, "But I guess ''Snow White'' is the only standout short fable story in this collection."

    If Chu Kuang was facing him one-on-one in the literary duel and pulled out a work of the caliber of ''Snow White'', it wouldn''t be easy for him to win, but Chu Kuang was taking on nine people at once ¡ª

    Can he actually write nine stories that are on the level of ''Snow White''?

    That''s impossible. Managing the creation of nine works is bound to completely drain Chu Kuang''s energy.

    Thinking this,

    Sky White turned to the second fairy tale.

    This fairy tale was titled "Cinderella".

    Seeing the title, Sky White couldn''t help but scoff:

    "He started with Snow White, and now it''s Cinderella. Is Chu Kuang just trying to feed off his own success? Why not just call it Black Princess?"

    It''s not that Sky White was overly hostile.

    Normally, he wouldn''t hold this much animosity towards another author. He wasn''t the narrow-minded type, after all.

    The principle of the Yan People was:

    Even if the other person is your competitor, literary duels should be conducted in a friendly and academic atmosphere. This is what is meant by befriending through literature.

    But Chu Kuang was just too arrogant!

    He actually dared to challenge nine competitors at once in a literary duel!

    For any one of the nine renowned fairy tale masters, this was unacceptable. To put it in a fashionable phrase:

    They felt insulted.

    As some netizens joked, wasn''t Chu Kuang essentially telling the nine masters to "bring it on" all at once?

    Who could swallow that?

    What made these masters even more enraged was that Chu Kuang was not content with challenging nine at once; he audaciously provoked on the Tribe forum:

    "Who else?"

    As if they nine of them weren''t enough for him to take on?

    This phrase became the last straw that ignited the fury of the Yan People. It could be believed that not only the Yan People, but also Jin Shan and Qiqi, who had previously lost to Chu Kuang, would understand Sky White''s current state of mind.

    Without these reasons, how could Sky White have spent a whole sleepless and agitated night?

    "It''s time for you to pay for your arrogance."

    Suppressing his personal anger towards Chu Kuang, Sky White began to read this story called "Cinderella," but there was still a trace of contempt lingering on his face.

    Five minutes later.

    When Sky White finished reading "Cinderella," the contempt on his face had completely disappeared.

    Now, it was all seriousness and contemplation.

    "Hmm¡­"

    Not rushing to any conclusions, Sky White began reading the second story, this fairy tale called "Little Red Riding Hood".

    "This is..."

    When the story of Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf also ended, Sky White''s serious face was now reflecting a hint of gravity in his eyes.

    He pursed his lips.

    Sky White flipped to the third story, this one called "The Emperor''s New Clothes". This story unfolded under his serious gaze.

    "Sis¡­"

    After finishing the third story, Sky White suddenly took a deep breath but continued silently, opening the next story.

    "The Ugly Duckling¡­"

    The fourth story was also over, but when he saw the Ugly Duckling finally transformed into a beautiful swan, he exhaled a deep breath.

    As if sighing.

    His mind was in turmoil, and this rising emotion continued to escalate as he opened the fifth story.

    "Sleeping Beauty¡­"

    By the time he reached the end of the story, Sky White''s right hand, flipping the page, seemed to be playing in slow motion, like in a movie. His back was already breaking out in cold sweat.

    Sleeping Beauty awoke.

    But a strong sense of unwillingness surged in Sky White''s heart. It was under this sentiment that he opened the sixth story.

    It was called "The Frog Prince."

    A clich¨¦d title, yet Sky White didn''t dare make a sarcastic comment about it. Especially after finishing this story, his palms began to sweat, and while flipping to the next story, he was so tense that he left a deep mark on the lower right corner of the page.

    The seventh story.

    This time the story was called "The Little Mermaid." The male protagonist was the familiar prince. However, when Sky White reached the ending, he felt a sudden sense of devastation. He didn''t know if he was moved by the mermaid''s sacrifice or for some other reason.

    tear!

    The force of flipping the page finally exceeded the paper''s limit, and with a crisp sound, a tiny portion of the bottom left corner of the page was torn.

    His eyes were slightly red.

    Sky White nearly forced himself to read the eighth story. As the story unfolded, he felt as if he were in the cold of night, a bone-chilling coldness enveloping his body. In front of him was The Little Match Girl, slowly lighting a matchstick.

    "The Little Match Girl..."

    The book suddenly got a little wet. When Sky White realized, a small portion of the book had already been dampened by his tears, and in his ear it seemed like a childish voice was echoing: "Would you like to buy a match?"

    "Sure."

    Sky White said in a whisper, unaware of how gentle his tone was, as if he were smoothing out the creases on the book page, his actions careful and cautious.

    Finally...

    The last story was also finished. Suddenly closing the book, Sky White stared intently at the three bold and vigorous characters on the cover:

    "Fairytale Town!"

    In the end, his eyes locked on the character for "Town". Suddenly, an inexplicable thought popped into his mind, the so-called "Town" of Fairytale Town - was it "Town" as in a small town, or...

    "Town" as in to suppress?

 Chapter 446 - 424 Chu Kuang Goes on a Killing Rampage_1

    Ding ding ding.

    Sky White''s phone suddenly rang.

    Sky White composed his emotions and answered the call.

    The voice on the other end of the phone seemed excited, "I just bought a copy of ''Fairy Tale King''. Your new fairy tale this time is exceptional, feels like it can be ranked in the top three of all your works, congratulations on having another masterpiece!"

    "Thank you. "

    Sky White forced a smile and thanked, but there was no joy in his tone of being praised, he even felt his face slightly hot.

    He believed.

    Any famous fairy tale writer who just finished reading ''Fairytale Town'' would not want to hear such praises, these praises would only make himself, this so-called fairy tale writer, lose face.

    "Why aren''t you happy? Are you worrying about the literary duel with Chu Kuang, hahahaha ..."

    The friend''s laughter carried some teasing, "Chu Kuang is challenging nine at once, but he won''t be able to win against you, let alone the other eight famous writers. The consequence of a one-against-nine duel is inevitable, nine knee drops in a row!"

    "Hmm."

    Sky White thought for a while and said, "Indeed, nine knee drops in a row, but who is the one dropping his knees is uncertain. In any case, I''ll take the knee first. "

    "What?"

    His friend didn''t quite understand what Sky White meant.

    Sky White said, "You should buy a copy of ''Fairytale Town'' and have a look. Your child likes to read fairy tales, right?"

    "Wait, you can''t have lost by ..."

    "Yes. I was defeated¡ªstruck through by an opponent."

    After saying this, Sky White hung up the phone before his friend could continue speaking.

    Indeed.

    After reading ''Fairytale Town'', Sky White knew he had lost. Not only had he lost, but the other eight famous writers had also lost.

    Chu Kuang had struck through nine!

    Sky White suddenly reveled in a perverse pleasure, "I''m actually looking forward to the reactions of others?"

    Due to the early delivery from the bookstore, Sky White was the first one to receive the book and the first to finish reading it.

    And at the same time Sky White had finished reading ''Fairytale Town''.

    The other writers who took part in the literary duel also got Chu Kuang''s new book through various channels.

    Qin Province.

    Qiqi, who lost to Chu Kuang once before, opened ''Fairytale Town'', couldn''t help but smile, "I hear the tales of revenge in fairy tales are always successful."

    Qi Province.

    Jin Shan, the famous fairy tale writer who had also lost to Chu Kuang once, walked slowly out of the bookstore with a brand new copy of ''Fairytale Town'' in his hand, "I hope you won''t disappoint me."

    Chu Province.

    There were also some famous fairy tale writers in Chu province who bought ''Fairytale Town''. Although no fairy tale writers from Chu province proposed a literary duel with Chu Kuang, it does not mean that they are not interested in this literary duel.

    In the four major provinces of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan...

    Many famous writers bought Chu Kuang''s new book ''Fairytale Town''.

    And of course, many netizens did too.

    As Sky White lamented, the attention to Chu Kuang''s one-against-nine challenge was so high that almost everyone knew about it.

    And like Sky White.

    These groups of people started reading ''Fairytale Town'' the moment they got hold of the book,then they were fully immersed in the fairy tale world curated by Chu Kuang.

    And then?

    Many people no longer had a ''then'', there were only a pair of crimson eyes staring at ''Fairytale Town'' and a serious contemplation about what exactly did ''Town'' mean?

    ...

    It happened to be a weekend that day, chapter four hundred and thirteen, the mother who read ''Snow White'' to Huahua and Honghong before bed, also took the opportunity to go to the bookstore to buy two of Chu Kuang''s new books.

    "One book per person."

    Upon returning home, mother gave the two copies of ''Fairytale Town'' to Huahua and Honghong respectively: "You guys liked the story of the Snow White, didn''t you? This storybook is also written by the same author who wrote that."

    "I want mom to read it to me!" said Huahua out loud.

    "I don''t want to read it, you guys know how to read, the family next door reads their own fairy tale books. "

    Mother was in a bad mood today.

    The new Hercule Poirot Series hasn''t been released yet, no matter how she thought about it, mom felt that it was because Chu Kuang was delayed from updating his detective stories due to writing fairy tales.

    "Alright..."

    Huahua complained.

    Her sister Honghong did not speak nonsense, directly opened ''Fairytale Town''.

    She wasn''t particularly interested in fairy tales, but because she liked Snow White so much, she was willing to read this new fairy tale.

    "I also contributed to my idol."

    Watching her son and daughter quietly reading ''Fairytale Town'', mom thought to herself.

    Being Chu Kuang''s fan, of course she knew about Chu Kuang''s literary duel with the nine great fairy tale writers. And buying two copies of ''Fairytale Town'' from the book store was her way of showing support for her idol.

    She pulled out her phone, and mother entered a chat group.

    This was Chu Kuang''s fans group, with 846 people in the group, all fans of Chu Kuang, who were currently chatting:

    "I bought a copy of ''Fairytale Town'' for my son."

    "We don''t have any children, but I bought a copy, too. I''ll read it myself since it''s Chu Kuang''s new book."

    "I feel like old rascal Chu Kuang is quite dedicated this time. Because of writing ''Fairytale Town'', even the serialization of his detective novels were delayed."

    "He must be under a lot of pressure, right? The works of the nine fairy tale authors are excellent, now everyone says that old rascal is sure to lose."

    "What if he loses? Dare to compare detective stories with Chu Kuang."

    "You can compare fantasy novels too, Chu Kuang can slay with just one hand!"

    "..."

    They are a bunch of idiotic fans, speaking so childish as if a group of kids were making a fuss. Mom thought helplessly and then sent out a message:

    "Regardless of the nine knee drops, Chu Kuang is invincible in my heart forever!"

    With these words being sent, the chat group suddenly became lively.

    Mom also successfully integrated into the group and got more and more excited as she continued.

    Huahua, who was sitting next to her, chuckled.

    Mom turned her head and stared at Huahua: "What are you laughing at?"

    Huahua said joyfully, "The frog is so funny. He actually claims he''s a prince. The one who tells lies needs to swallow a thousand needles, but not the frog!"

    Mom: "..."

    Where did this damn kid learn this kind of talk?

    Unexpectedly, Honghong also joined in the fun: "Mom, the emperor is so foolish, he didn''t wear any clothes. Wouldn''t he be showing his bare butt all day?"

    Mom: "..."

    What the hell is this?

    She ignored the kids and continued to surf the group chat.

    While she was scrolling...

    Suddenly, Huahua burst into tears!

    Mom got startled, thought for a moment, quickly sent a message to the group: "Chu Kuang, forever a god, dominates the world, invincible!"

    After confirming the message was sent, she then turned to Huahua: "What''s wrong, son?"

    "The Little Mermaid is dead!"

    Huahua was crying a river, he furiously wiped his nose with his sleeve, but his tears wouldn''t stop flowing.

    TheLittle Mermaid?

    Mom was stunned.

    Just at this moment, Honghong also burst into tears.

    Mom, at her wit''s end, asked: "What''s wrong with you now?"

    Honghong grabbed a tissue to wipe her nose and said sobbingly: "The little girl has died. She went to heaven with her grandmother. Mom, didn''t you say our grandfather is also in heaven? I miss him!"

    Mom was taken aback, and then said softly: "I miss him too."

    She cuddled Huahua and Honghong: "Those who leave us will watch over us from heaven, so we must live our life to the fullest, we must not let them down."

    "Okay!"

    Huahua and Honghong nodded vigorously.

    At this moment, Mom saw someone in the group chat saying: "I just casually watched ''Fairytale Town'' while I was bored, I don''t know if it''s my fan filter, but I feel that the stories in it are much better than the ones written by the nine famous masters..."

    Thinking of the kids watching ''Fairytale Town'' and their emotional rollercoaster, Mom fell into deep thought.

    ...

    Meanwhile, online.

    Shen Jiarui, the biggest fanatic fan of Chu Kuang, unexpectedly posted a status:

    "Many people have asked me why I, the number one brainless fan, didn''t jump out to support Chu Kuang. Do I also lack confidence in Chu Kuang''s nine-to-one challenge? Actually, that''s not the case. Even if the whole world didn''t have confidence, I would! It''s mainly because Master Chu Kuang snatched my line, ''Who else?'' some time ago, which made me unsure of what to say.

    Now I''ve thought of a new catchphrase, a kind of personal innovation..."

    Someone asked below: "What catchphrase?"

    Shen Jiarui replied with another status: "Kneel!"

    Huh!

    Kneel?

    Netizens joked around: "You dare to stand with Chu Kuang at this point, I admit that you deserve the status of number one brainless fan. After all, one fan equals ten haters."

    Are you kidding me?

    Can Chu Kuang actually win in a nine-on-one battle?

    Can you treat the famous fairy tale masters like cabbages?

    However, just when the netizens were teasing, one of the nine renowned fairy tale masters duelling Chu Kuang, Sky White, posted a tribe status.

    There was no text, only a joking emoticon of a kneeling crybaby.

    Everyone uses this emoticon when they''re messing around in group chats, so it''s nothing special.

    But the fact that Sky White would post such an emoticon at this time, combined with Shen Jiarui''s "Kneel" command, is really thought-provoking.

    What in the world is going on?

    Before the netizens could fully react, they saw other fairy tale masters who were also engaging in a literary battle with Chu Kuang, such as Teacher Qiqi, Teacher Jin Shan, and Teacher Lan Meng, all of them reposted Sky White''s kneeling emoticon.

    What are these nine people doing?

    The netizens were a little dumbfounded.

    If this isn''t clear enough, the following events were enough to awaken everyone to what exactly happened today.

    "Luckily, I didn''t compete in the literary duel with Chu Kuang."

    Turtle Master posted a feeling-filled tribe status.

    And then...

    Teacher Yuanyuan liked it...

    Shiguang liked it...

    Big Dong liked it...

    Teacher Hua Yueqian liked it... S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    A total of over a dozen top fairy tale masters successively gave Turtle Master a like!

    In the comments section, Teacher Yuanyuan even said:

    "I came to the Literature and Art Association today for some reason and found out that the Blue Star Fairy Tale Collection Editorial Committee is holding an emergency meeting about ''Fairytale Town''. The space in the fairy tale collection set by the Literature and Art Association is limited.

    Thus, Chu Kuang''s fairy tale collection might be singled out as one of the official extracurricular books for primary school students. The world of short fairy tales is too dangerous, I''d better go back to writing my long fairy tales."

    Boom!

    Explosion!

    Even the fools understand what this means. It''s unlikely that all the fairy tale masters are joining hands to trick the netizens, right? From this point of view, did Chu Kuang actually win the one-on-nine challenge?

    Did he win?

    At Shen Jiarui''s end, he immediately compiled these screenshots and posted his third status of the day. The text he attached had fully revealed his fanaticism: "Like a demon lord descending from heaven, a truly earthly god of the year!"

    Chu Kuang!

    Has gone berserk!

 Chapter 447 - 425: Trio Cooperation_1

    Chu Kuang is indeed on a killing spree!

    As if snowflakes from fairy tales were showering down from the sky, the petals began to flutter around, and amidst them were filled with tales of Chu Kuang!

    The fairy tale craze ignited by the Literature and Art Association has reached an astonishing climax in a way beyond anyone''s wildest imagination!

    What followed was an inundation of affirmations from netizens, like a scatter of petals before countless eyes:

    "Such a perfect yet heartbreaking story. Perhaps every girl carries a ''daughter of the sea'' within her heart. This gift from Chu Kuang to girls worldwide is indeed a generous gift for the soul."

    "The ugliness and coldness of this world find beautiful and warm interpretations in Chu Kuang''s hands."

    "This is the best collection of fairy tales I''ve ever read, hands down!"

    "I''m used to reading through my child''s extracurricular books to filter out any inappropriate content. However, before my child started reading, I held ''Fairytale Town'' as a treasured possession."

    "Even if the Literature and Art Association didn''t recommend it, I would still have my child read ''Fairytale Town''."

    "My son planned to go out and play after dinner but has been engrossed in ''Fairytale Town''. Even when his friends came over to fetch him, it didn''t work. It''s the first time I''ve seen him so absorbed in an extracurricular book."

    "Despite being twenty years old, I finished it in one go and still craved for more. Either I haven''t grown up, or the world evokes my escape."

    "As a fan of Chu Kuang, even though I don''t have children, I still bought a copy of ''Fairytale Town'' to support my idol. But when I came to the ''Little Match Girl'' story, I couldn''t help but cry. This is the first time a fairy tale has made me feel such sorrow."

    "I hadn''t read fairy tales in years. Thanks, Chu Kuang, for bringing back the joy of my childhood."

    "Many people say the illustrations in ''Fairytale Town'' are incredibly beautiful, but only those who have read these fairy tales truly understand the beauty of these illustrations."

    "I bought one copy of ''Fairytale Town'', and all three of my kids are squabbling over who gets to read it first. I told them to take turns and went out to buy two more copies. I thought they would fight in my absence, but when I returned home, they were discussing the fairy tale they had just finished reading".

    "The illustrations and the content of ''Fairytale Town'' complement each other perfectly. Shadow fills the unimagined part of the void."

    "..."

    Readers have different tastes.

    Seldom can a fairy tale writer appeal to everyone.

    But the fairy tales in ''Fairytale Town'' almost suit everyone''s fancy!

    Comedy and miracles!

    Poetic and whimsical!

    Even many adults are utterly engrossed!

    Of course, most adults would prefer the kind like ''The Daughter of the Sea'', which portrays the greatness and sacrifice of love.

    Or heart-rending stories like ''The Little Match Girl''.

    These few tales were carefully handpicked by Lin Yuan from Andersen''s Fairy Tales.

    Andersen is hailed as "the sun of international juvenile literature".

    And Andersen''s Fairy Tales are touted as fairy tales suited for adults as well.

    That adults favor these tales is completely natural.

    However...

    The norm in Lin Yuan''s eyes appears as an earth-shattering, stunning phenomenon to netizens, especially when they see that nearly all the readers who have finished ''Fairytale Town'' are leaving rave reviews!

    Nine famous authors have shone brilliantly on their own!

    Everyone thought that Chu Kuang would face nine consecutive humiliations. Even Chu Kuang''s most confident fans thought he would lose this round, as Chu Kuang was set against nine others, all renowned fairy tale specialists. But the outcome left everyone dumbfounded with its unbelievable twist!

    "Outrageous killing spree!"

    "Inhuman!"

    "I thought Chu Kuang was surrounded by nine leading authors, but you tell me now that it''s actually the nine authors who were surrounded by Chu Kuang?"

    "He''s descended from heaven for this one-on-nine showdown!"

    "This is ridiculous! One person chasing down nine others!"

    "If the Literature and Art Association designates ''Fairytale Town'' a must-read for elementary students, Chu Kuang will be the god among authors of fairy tale circles!"

    "I suddenly somewhat suspect that Chu Kuang may not even remember which nine leading authors challenged him."

    "Or else, why do you think the book is called ''Fairytale Town''? The ''Town'' part in ''Fairytale Town'' signifies suppression!"

    "Hey, I''m going to buy a copy of ''Fairytale Town'' right now, as a way to relive my childhood."

    "The guy above, you won''t regret it."

    "..."

    Moving on.

    The Internet trolls have finally begun crafting their witty comments with various amusing commentary popping up.

    "Mob attack?"

    "Yes, it is a mob attack. But it''s not a mob attacking Chu Kuang; it''s Chu Kuang mobbing the nine leading authors..."

    "Ninefold humiliation?"

    "Indeed, it is ninefold humiliation. But it''s not Chu Kuang who''s humiliated ninefold; it''s the nine leading authors who have fallen to ''Fairytale Town'' one after another..."

    "Chu Kuang: All nine of you are surrounded by me!"

    "The Nine Leading Authors: We should run, guys. Chu Kuang is everywhere outside!"

    "Chu Kuang: Anyone else? I want to beat ten!"

    "When the leading authors showed off their skills one after another, Chu Kuang slowly took out his SMG. The referees of this contest lay flat on the ground."

    "Chu Kuang: Actually, I can write a bit about fairy tales too."

    Even a line from the film ''Flirting Scholar'' was borrowed by a user for fun: "Nine people hang themselves together, how splendid is that?"

    "..."

    The Internet users are having fun with the memes. It''s because the nine leading authors had themselves shared Sky White''s memes.

    Meanwhile, the culture circle can only watch aghast.

    One against nine for real?

    He''s undoubtedly an alien!

    Some authors in the detective circle suddenly remembered how Leng Guang lost the literary duel to Chu Kuang. They now felt that Leng Guang, the chronic criticizer, did not have it that bad.

    At least he lost in a one-on-one literary duel.

    The real grievances belong to the nine leading authors.

    Their names have since been omitted as people don''t want to waste words on them.

    Now they are collectively referred to as "the nine leading fairytale authors," serving as the background figures for Chu Kuang''s conquest.

    And at this moment.

    Envy Fish''s latest tribe activity caught the netizens'' attention: "The theme song of ''Fairytale Town'' has been released. Hope you all will like it."

    Collaboration!

    Another collaboration!

    This time in the music field!

    And it''s the song of the same name!

    Netizens were all amused, not expecting that Chu Kuang''s one-versus-nine showdown not only led to Shadow''s intervention, but Envy Fish also joined the collaborative movement!!

    The Three Brothers!

    One for all and all for one!

    With little hesitation, no sooner had Chu Kuang started promoting the new song than everyone hurried to have a listen.

    You see.

    This is the very first full-scale collaboration of Chu Kuang, Envy Fish, and Shadow. Previously, the three had only collaborated in pairs and never had the three worked on a project together.

    The fans of the three brothers are ecstatic! S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 448 - 426 Little Red Riding Hood is the Big Bad Wolf_1

    In fact, a lot of netizens had been speculating before, saying that Chu Kuang and Shadow had started to collaborate, as one of the Three Bros, Xian Yu shouldn''t miss out on this¡ª

    The Three Bros should stick together.

    Netizens were half joking when they made these suggestions, but what nobody expected was that this jest from before has now surprisingly turned into reality!

    Xian Yu has really joined them!

    With intense anticipation for the first collaboration of the Three Bros, netizens clicked into this song one after another, and then they saw the information about this song...

    Song Title: "Fairytale Town"

    Indeed, this is the eponymous song, using the exact same title as Chu Kuang''s new work, "Fairytale Town".

    Then they looked at the lyricist.

    Sharp-eyed people immediately noticed that in the lyric section of the song, not only is Xian Yu''s name there, but also Chu Kuang''s name!

    Chu Kuang and Xian Yu both wrote the lyrics together?

    A collaboration between two talented individuals?

    The epic collaboration is confirmed beyond doubt now!

    The netizens, without even really paying attention to who the performer was, couldn''t wait to put on their headphones and hit the play button for the song.

    "????~"

    In the prelude, a melodious and open flute sound arises, followed by a steady piano entering the track, making the base tone less simple.

    The melody is brisk and pleasing to the ear.

    The singer''s voice rings out, "They said Snow White is on the run, Little Red Riding Hood is worried about the big grey wolf, they said that the Mad Hatter likes Alice, the Ugly Duckling will become a white swan..."

    This is good!

    Many people''s first impression of this song was how pleasant it sounds, which wasn''t unexpected at all, given that the two words "Xian Yu" in the composer column basically guaranteed the quality of the composition.

    The real object of everyone''s attention is...

    The lyrics!

    The first line is about Snow White.

    The second line is about Little Red Riding Hood.

    The fourth line is about the Ugly Duckling.

    All these lines make sense.

    All are stories that have appeared in Chu Kuang''s new book, "Fairytale Town".

    But what does the third line in the lyrics, "They say the Mad Hatter likes Alice," mean?

    It doesn''t seem like there are characters with these names in Chu Kuang''s "Fairytale Town", right?

    Did I miss something?

    Or are they from some other novels by Chu Kuang that I haven''t read?

    Many people are questioning themselves.

    There wasn''t much time for reflection.

    There was a brief pause in the music, and the second verse quickly followed, "They say Peter Pan never grows up, Harry Potter has learned magic, they say the King is biased towards new clothes, and Cinderella lost her beloved glass slipper."

    A lot of netizens who were listening became even more curious.

    The King''s inclination for new clothes obviously implies "The Emperor''s New Clothes".

    Cinderella losing her beloved glass slipper, is also clearly a reference from "Cinderella".

    But new confusion has emerged.

    Who is Peter Pan?

    And who is Harry Potter?

    These characters seem different from the ones in the "Fairytale Town", right?

    The song continued, "Only the wise river knows, Snow White ran out of the castle because she was playful, Little Red Riding Hood has a robe that suppresses her from turning into a wolf."

    Pfft!

    Seeing these lyrics, many netizens couldn''t help laughing.

    So Snow White ran out of the castle because she wanted to have fun, and Little Red Riding Hood is actually the big grey wolf herself¡ª

    Wait a minute!

    These lyrics are terrifying when you really think about them!

    Some people couldn''t help but gasp.

    You have to admit, these reinterpretations of the fairy tales in the lyrics have a unique and interesting perspective.

    And amidst all these surprises and puzzles, "Fairytale Town" entered the chorus, the pleasant melody making everyone temporarily put aside their inner questions, feeling as if their souls had been cleansed:

    "There is always a winding, colorful river in Fairytale Town, infused with whimsical magic yet twisted in love, continuously flowing, stirring up splashes only to be drawn into a curtain of time under the water, leading all long, long ago to the moment of a happy ending..."

    A comfortable voice and rhythm.

    Everyone couldn''t help but become lost in this beautiful melody.

    But the questions this song raises for everyone will not stop just because of this.

    The second verse naturally started:

    "I heard Sleeping Beauty was buried, the frog will become a king, I heard the little girl lit the matchsticks, the mermaid princess found true love. I heard Pinocchio always tells lies, the fisherman has a chest full of jewels..."

    Here it comes again!

    Sleeping Beauty, The Frog Prince, the daughter of the sea, and The Little Match Girl were there too, even The Story of the Fisherman and the Goldfish, everyone understands these!

    But who is Pinocchio?

    Why does he lie?

    Some netizens are beginning to suspect something at this point, the surprise deep in their hearts gradually turning into sheer anticipation, fermenting with each upcoming lyric: "I heard the little prince fell in love with a rose, Shuk Bacchetta was a talking mouse..."

    As expected!

    There are new characters!

    Which one is the little prince?

    Who is Shuk Bacchetta? S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The song will not explain the answers.

    Another uniquely interpreted angle: "Only the wise river knows, Sleeping Beauty runs from life''s torment, the mermaid brushed sunlight into her eyeshadow, embracing the foam."

    The lyrics sing out fairy tales.

    But each interpretation seems to cast a relative view of reality, sparking a lot of thought.

    The climax arises again.

    Then the finale gradually falls.

    This time it''s not a bamboo flute, but the sound of whistling, giving a nursery rhyme-like feeling, a kind of heart-penetrating power, yet oddly filled with a hint of inexplicable strangeness.

    But...

    People aren''t focusing on the music itself anymore.

    Even the comments were not discussing the melody of the song itself, but the information revealed by the lyrics: "Damn, I feel like the lyrics of this song are hiding a lot of shocking pitfalls!"

    This was the highest-rated comment.

    Every listener, however, seemed to sense one pitfall after another in the lyrics, the kind you can''t see the bottom of!

    The second top-rated comment asks a question.

    A listener commented: "Could someone explain why I don''t understand some of the lyrics?"

    No one understood.

    What about the Mad Hat Alice, Peter Pan and Harry Potter, the Little Prince and the rose, and Shuk Bacchetta...

    All these characters were mentioned in the lyrics.

    But no one knows what they mean.

    This left many netizens itching with curiosity: "A very good song, perfectly combined with ''Fairytale Town'', but it seems to have expanded into something new?"

    Others exclaimed:

    "Red Riding Hood has a big red robe that prevents her from becoming a wolf, I got goosebumps at this line, and Sleeping Beauty is running from life''s torment, is this a sequel to the fairy tale?"

    "Oh, my!"

    "Snow White ran out of the castle because she wanted to play, then what''s with the queen, is all this made up?"

    "So scary!"

    "Back to reality?"

    "Why do I somehow feel this is a bit dark?"

    "Well, it''s not quite dark, it was always an interesting interpretation. What really matters to me is, what do those lyrics without specific references to stories mean?"

    Yes!

    Everyone is not discussing the melody, even the alternative interpretation of the fairy tale has been temporarily put aside, the lyrics are full of confusion.

    Too many pitfalls!

    The question of who are the characters mentioned in the lyrics but not appearing in Fairytale Town has been lingering in everyone''s mind.

    The most upvoted comment was correct!

    This might be Chu Kuang''s biggest trap!

 Chapter 449 - 427: The New Book is Hidden in the Lyrics_1

    With the release of the song named "Fairytale Town", everyone''s deepest curiosity was piqued.

    This curiosity, strong enough to kill countless curious cats, gripped them all.

    Many who listened to the song felt a nearly unbearable itch in their hearts, a desperate anticipation ¨C eager to get their questions answered:

    Who is Peter Pan?

    Who is Harry Potter?

    What does ''Shuk Bacchetta'' mean?

    What the hell is ''Mad Hat Alice''?

    The Little Prince fell in love with the Rose?

    Confused netizens appeared in droves, flooding the comments section of Chu Kuang''s Tribe. Xian Yu''s comments section also succumbed to the barrage of questions, even Shadow''s comments section was filled with people asking; What does the song "Fairytale Town" mean?

    "Could this be a teaser for a new book?"

    Some suggested this hypothesis, but due to its audacious nature, even those who proposed it found it hard to believe: "Has Chu Kuang already decided which fairy tales he will release after writing nine consecutive ones?"

    "No way, right?"

    "What is his brain made of?"

    "So each name is a hint?"

    "If this is true, then Chu Kuang really is terrifying. "Fairytale Town" includes ten classic fairy tales, and these haven''t come close to exhausting Chu Kuang''s creativity, he has more to offer?"

    "Oh my god!"

    "He''s mad!"

    "I even suspect Chu Kuang has a stockpile of stories like Peter Pan and Harry Potter, and maybe Xian Yu has previewed these stories. That''s why they collaborated on this song, turning the lyrics into a teaser, just to whet our appetites ¨C and damn if it didn''t work!"

    "He wouldn''t have stockpiled."

    "I''m more inclined to believe that Chu Kuang has some outlines. We may not understand the fairy tales, possibly because he hasn''t created them yet, but he already has the rough direction. However, even that would make him a freak ¨C could his mind be housing an entire fairy tale universe?"

    "..."

    Although the assumption was bold, it seemed to have a lot of supporters among netizens.

    Because once all impossibilities are eliminated, what remains, however unbelievable, must indeed be the truth.

    Moreover, netizens didn''t believe that the cryptic lyrics in "Fairytale Town" were merely Chu Kuang and Xian Yu messing around; they could only think that these unfamiliar characters must be related to the fairy tales Chu Kuang might publish in the future!

    Meanwhile...

    In the world of fairy tales, many people, fraught with curiosity, listened to the song "Fairytale Town". They broke out in a cold sweat after hearing it as if they had come upon an unthinkable possibility.

    Just then...

    Activity sprung up in Chu Kuang''s Tribe.

    He shared Xian Yu''s song promotion along with a comment: "The unfamiliar characters mentioned in the same-named song ''Fairytale Town'' will make their appearance in my future fairy tale works one by one"

    As expected!

    With Chu Kuang''s explanation, the internet was set ablaze.

    The unthinkable guess came true. Chu Kuang really had ideas for future fairy tales that he''d yet to reveal. The ten classics included in "Fairytale Town" weren''t his limit!

    Netizens were shocked!

    Those within the industry were stunned!

    As one netizen remarked, many current fairytale masterminds started to question whether Chu Kuang''s brain truly held an expansive fairy tale universe; did he actually have the rigour to conceive future works even after writing ten classics?

    "Shouldn''t be that exaggerated."

    Some considered, voicing their uncertainty, "Having future story ideas only proves that Chu Kuang''s creativity is thriving. But it doesn''t mean that these future works will reach the same height as ''Fairytale Town''. The overall standard of ''Fairytale Town'' is already the pinnacle of short fairy tales!"

    This guess was feasible.

    But since Chu Kuang''s unpredictable stunt, where he challenged nine others alone, everyone had learnt not to make assumptions about him. They would have to wait for the new fairy tales before understanding whether these upcoming works could reach the standards of his current ten.

    Meanwhile...

    Inside the studio...

    Lin Yuan exhaled a sigh of relief.

    After releasing the song "Fairytale Town", he logged into Chu Kuang''s Tribe account only to find his inbox exploding with messages and the comment section filled with doubt and questions from netizens. Although he wanted to play into his mischievous side and work up their curiosities, Lin Yuan was too afraid of being drowned by fan outrage, so he decided to clear the air online.

    The look on Jin Mu''s face next to him was one of amazement.

    Since Lin Yuan challenged nine people at once, Jin Mu had been constantly shocked by his own boss. Now he was looking dumbfounded, truly due to being numbed by too many shocks. This also led to Jin Mu''s perception of Lin Yuan reaching a new height.

    Like he was standing high and feeling cold.

    He stammered, "Isn''t there something a bit dark about the lyrics of ''Fairytale Town''? The Snow White left the castle because she was playful, Little Red Riding Hood is actually a big grey wolf, and the Sleeping Beauty also had her fill of the torment of life?"

    "Who knows?"

    Lin Yuan said with a smile. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The custom fairy tales he created in the System all have a dark version. The System provided them all to Lin Yuan, but he didn''t plan to publish these dark fairy tales. He believed the Literature and Art Association would likely include the stories of ''Fairytale Town'' as mandatory extracurricular reading for children, and the content must have a positive and healthy guidance.

    Fairy tales are not inherently dark.

    Lin Yuan believed that the task of fairy tales is to weave children''s dreams. He didn''t want to ruin children''s childhood with weird, dark fairy tales.

    The few lyric lines from the song version of ''Fairytale Town'' providing a little dose of reality is enough.

    Actually.

    No one can ensure whether these dark-version fairy tales are their original forms, or are they made up by later generations?

    Just like no one knows who first changed the children''s song to "Birds say morning morning morning, why do you carry a bomb on your back".

    "Too bad the song was released a bit late."

    Jin Mu stared at the season leaderboard. ''Fairytale Town'' had rushed to the 8th place of the season leaderboard just less than two hours after it was released.

    The speed was terrifying!

    If it was released at the beginning of the month, with the popularity of Chu Kuang''s original novel and Xian Yu''s own appeal, it would basically have been the champion song.

    Unfortunately, today is the last day of the month.

    No one on Blue Star can release a song on the last day of the month and still grab the crown of the champion song, not even with Maestro and King of Singing working together.

    Others have at least accumulated a month''s worth of data, it''s impossible to surpass just by saying so.

    Lin Yuan didn''t care.

    He was never planning to win this month''s music season leaderboard. Releasing ''Fairytale Town'' was entirely for the upcoming crossover. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have changed a few lyrics to reflect Chu Kuang''s new book teaser.

    "Ding dong."

    At this moment, Lin Yuan''s phone rang. He looked at the phone and it was a mention from his Tribe, Chu Kuang''s account.

    "Lan Meng@Chu Kuang: I forgot to eat today."

    "Bao Shao@Chu Kuang: I think I forgot to eat too."

    "Ou Tianming@Chu Kuang: Same here."

    "Sky White@Chu Kuang: Me too."

    "..."

    Several members of the famous Nine Families took turns mentioning Chu Kuang.

    Lin Yuan turned to Jin Mu, puzzled:

    "What does it mean?"

    Jin Mu went online to check and then laughed out loud:

    "The Yan People have learned to do their homework. They''re copying Leng Guang. After he lost the Literary Duel to you, he claimed that he forgot to eat because he was reading ''Murder on the Orient Express''..."

    Lin Yuan was surprised: "Did the Nine Families admit defeat?"

    Jin Mu nodded: "Though in a fairly roundabout way."

    Leng Guang gave the Nine Families an example. By conceding in this way, they both expressed their admiration for Chu Kuang and saved face for themselves.

    The storm had temporarily subdued.

    As the Nine Famous Fairy-tale Families each conceded to Chu Kuang, when it comes to the field of short fairy tales ¡ª¡ª

    Chu Kuang has become a god after this battle!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Ps: Thanks to [Best Reader a] for becoming the thirtieth Alliance Hierarch of this book. I''ve been having some problems with my schedule recently, and I''ll add more updates once I''ve readjusted~!

 Chapter 450 - 428: King of Short Fairy Tales _1

    "The literary competition in the fairy tale world concludes, Chu Kuang wins nine in a row!"

    "Chu Kuang''s new book ''Fairytale Town'' beats nine renowned writers!"

    "Chu Kuang''s new work ''Fairytale Town'' welcomed by readers."

    "One of the best short fairy tale collections in history is born."

    "A classic fairy tale book that you can''t miss ¡ª ''Fairytale Town''!"

    "A dreamland woven by Chu Kuang for children, the best of their childhood."

    "..."

    It''s February now. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Various media outlets reported on ''Fairytale Town'' in unison.

    Chu Kuang''s literary duel also became widely known through media reports.

    Two days later.

    The Literature and Art Association announced two significant news.

    The first piece of news:

    "The Blue Star Fairy Tale Collection, compiled by a team of academic experts, will include representative short fairy tales from nearly thirty renowned authors, including Turtle Master, Teacher Qiqi, and Lan Meng. The official release of the book will be in March."

    The second piece of news:

    "The Literature and Art Association will no longer consider incorporating Chu Kuang''s works into the Blue Star Fairy Tale Collection. Chu Kuang''s fairy tale work ''Fairytale Town'' will be independently promoted as an officially recognized extracurricular book by the Literature and Art Association, and it will be promoted as a must-read in children''s literature."

    These two pieces of news are not surprising.

    Teacher Yuan Yuan has leaked it a few days ago.

    The Literature and Art Association decided to promote both ''Fairytale Town'' and the official compilation of fairy tales simultaneously.

    This not only guarantees the promotion of Chu Kuang''s work but also does not affect the inclusion of other fairy tale authors'' works. It can be considered a win-win solution.

    It''s just that the children will have more extracurricular books to read now.

    But when the news was confirmed, the industry still felt some emotion, even if they were somewhat prepared in advance.

    Before this storm began in the fairy tale circle, the renowned authors were all striving to get a spot in the ''Blue Star Fairy Tale Collection''. Now, Chu Kuang''s personal fairy tale collection has indirectly become another official selection of the Blue Star Fairy Tale Collection!

    This means that the importance of ''Fairytale Town'' and ''Blue Star Fairy Tale Collection'' will be the same in the future.

    The difference lies in that the works in the ''Blue Star Fairy Tale Collection'' are selected from different renowned authors.

    And ''Fairytale Town'' consists entirely of short fairy tales written by Chu Kuang himself.

    Just think about it.

    If the officials did not make this decision, wouldn''t ''Blue Star Fairy Tale Collection'' have to prepare ten slots specifically for Chu Kuang?

    This result...

    Is even more exaggerated than all Chu Kuang''s works being selected for the ''Blue Star Fairy Tale Collection''. Chu Kuang has effectively forced the Literature and Art Association to change the rules!

    It''s often said that this is a chance for fairy tale authors to influence a generation.

    But others struggle to grasp this opportunity, and among fairy tale authors, less than thirty of them have this chance. But Chu Kuang alone has achieved it ten times!

    On Earth.

    The ancient talent Xie Lingyun once made a bragging statement: "The world''s literary talents share one stone, and Cao Zijian monopolizes eight pecks. The rest of the world shares one peck, and I also get one peck."

    Obviously, Xie Lingyun was bragging and later he was brought down by his own arrogance.

    But Chu Kuang is really tasting this flavor now.

    With ''Fairytale Town'', the Literature and Art Association will promote a total of forty extracurricular short fairy tales, ten of which are monopolized by him alone.

    This is an indisputable fact!

    Additionally, while the Literature and Art Association announced that ''Fairytale Town'' would be promoted as an extracurricular book, they also evaluated Chu Kuang''s short fairy tales in a magazine under their organization. The author was a senior editor.

    The article was titled ''King of Short Fairy Tales''.

    "He is a fantasy novelist, a detective writer, a short story writer, but before this, no one expected him to write ''Fairytale Town'', which is adored by countless children.

    The beauty of Snow White, the kindness of Cinderella, the vanity of the King, all have left a deep impression on us.

    The Frog Prince teaches children not to judge a book by its cover; The Story of the Fisherman and the Goldfish teaches us the consequences of greed; The Ugly Duckling tells us the importance of self-confidence; The Little Mermaid shows us the greatness of love''s sacrifices; The Little Match Girl teaches us to cherish the people around us.

    This is a fairy tale for children, but I hope adults can also read it.

    Between the lines of Chu Kuang''s works, you can feel his humanistic care for children and his patient and tactful teachings.

    A beautiful red apple might be poisonous; the stranger knocking on the door might be a big gray wolf; Sleeping Beauty''s curse will be broken by justice; The emperor''s new clothes do not exist at all.

    It might seem a bit childish.

    But this childlike innocence is the necessary path of growth that we all need to go through. It is the warmest memory in the beautiful childhood of generation after generation. I also believe that after growing up, when children recall ''Fairytale Town'', they will definitely remember Chu Kuang, the weaver of dreams.

    He will be the King of Short Fairy Tales of this generation.

    The King of Short Fairy Tales might not have a medal, but he is the uncrowned king in the hearts of children. He is the real king in the fairy tale world. The fairy tales of Blue Star will be more vibrant because of him, and we have enough reason to look forward to his future fairy tale works, and I believe these works will make his crown as the King of Short Fairy Tales even more radiant!"

    The King of Short Fairy Tales!

    Without mentioning Chu Kuang''s legendary experience of defeating nine competitors, with just one ''Fairytale Town'' and ten seemingly simple fairy tales, Chu Kuang received this level of recognition.

    However, no one in the industry disputed this.

    If Chu Kuang was said to be the Fairy Tale King, long fairy tale authors would immediately vote in opposition, because in terms of the influence of fairy tales, long fairy tales even have a longer-lasting influence than short fairy tales!

    Why should the Literature and Art Association only promote short fairy tales and not long fairy tales?

    But if Chu Kuang is said to be the King of Short Fairy Tales, long fairy tale authors would not oppose this and might even be eager to try:

    Having a King of Short Fairy Tales is quite nice!

    If you grandiosely crown a King of Fairy Tales for short fairy tales, shouldn''t we who write long fairy tales also be crowned a king?

    This is the current mindset of the long fairy tale authors.

    At this time, even if some short fairy tale authors were somewhat unconvinced, feeling that Chu Kuang''s fairy tale works were still too few and that his seniority within the fairy tale circle was too shallow, they had nothing to say.

    What could they say?

    The nine famous authors are still "kneeling" outside the door.

    Thus, Chu Kuang''s title of "King of Short Fairy Tales" has been well-established.

    In Chu Kuang''s followers'' comment section.

    Followers congratulated Chu Kuang on becoming the "King of Short Fairy Tales". Although there are no medals, a magazine under the Literature and Art Association has claimed it, and it is generally accepted by the cultural circle.

    "I just don''t know if the remaining three regions, including our Zhong Continent, will recognize it..."

    Someone started laughing with a mocking face.

    The unification of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, Wei, and Zhong Continent is still in progress.

    The unification is currently up to Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan.

    At least within these four regions, Chu Kuang''s title of "King of Short Fairy Tales" is recognized by the industry.

    A fan replied: "If the rest of the regions don''t acknowledge it? Then they can only challenge Chu Kuang in a literary duel. I strongly suggest that they team up ten to one."

    As soon as these words came out, people started laughing.

    Chu Kuang now has the legend of defeating nine at once on his side!

    In the remaining four regions, is there really any fairy tale author who dares to challenge Chu Kuang?

    There isn''t any.

 Chapter 451 - 429 Shuk Bacchetta_1

    "On a night when the moon was full and the winds were high, the nine renowned families challenged Chu Kuang together. Chu Kuang, with an air of nonchalance, beckoned them with a flick of his finger, stating ''All of you come at me together. I''m quite busy, you know, I still have a mystery to write.'' The nine families were livid and laid siege on Chu Kuang.

    With the blink of an eye, Chu Kuang pulled from his bosom a, oh wait, he whipped out his copy of ''Fairytale Town.'' The nine families were instantly defeated, and with that one battle, Chu Kuang was deified, becoming the unparalleled King of Short Fairy Tales..."

    The dinner table that night.

    Lin Xuan was enthusiastically storytelling.

    Listening, Lin Yao''s little sister''s heart was racing and her face was blushing, as she clapped her hands in praise:

    "Chu Kuang is so awesome!"

    Lin Yuan chuckled, "Big sister, you should consider writing Wuxia novels."

    "uh, who even reads Wuxia novels these days?"

    Lin Xuan waved her hand dismissively, then curiously asked, "Are you really not considering introducing Chu Kuang to your sister?"

    "Little sister, eat your vegetables."

    Lin Yuan loaded up his sister''s plate with a lot of vegetables.

    His little sister pushed the plate with the green veggies towards Lin Yuan and gently requested, "Big brother, eat."

    Lin Xuan: "..."

    Such touching sibling affection.

    She didn''t give up, pressing Lin Yuan with her questions, "Is Chu Kuang married?"

    "Not yet."

    "Is he very young?"

    "About the same age as me."

    "Chu Kuang is young and single, surely he can''t be as handsome as you, but he is talented. As for me, I''m pretty much the female version of you... "

    "Not suitable."

    Lin Yuan immediately shook his head; his sister''s thinking was very dangerous.

    Also, wasn''t the female version of him Lin Yao?

    The person in their family that looked the most like Lin Yuan was Lin Yao.

    Considering character and appearance, Lin Xuan didn''t resemble Lin Yuan as much as Lin Yao did.

    After they finished the meal.

    Lin Xuan suddenly said to Lin Yuan, "Say thanks to Chu Kuang for me."

    Lin Yuan replied, "Didn''t we thank him already?"

    Lin Xuan shook her head, "You don''t understand the significance of ''Fairytale Town'' to me. Because I am responsible for this work, I am getting credited with editorial experience, providing me with a significant advantage in future competitions within the editorial department. At the moment, both of my assistant chief editor competitors are at a disadvantage."

    "That''s good then."

    Lin Yuan laughed, "Big sister, you can ask me for help at any time."

    "Really?"

    Lin Xuan''s eyes lit up.

    Lin Yuan nodded; he typed very quickly and often wrote tens of thousands of words in a day.

    For a keyboard warrior, this absolute dream speed.

    However, Lin Yuan''s advantage comes from the System, as while keyboard warriors need to conceive and write simultaneously, he doesn''t have to worry about plotlines.

    He''s just pure typing.

    Only when he''s writing foreign works does he need to modify some of the background.

    This requires a bit of work.

    If it''s a complete copy, then the number of words he could accomplish in a day would be even larger, but specifics are unknown, because Lin Yuan likes to write a little every day, and occasionally do some other work.

    "Then I''ll say it straight."

    His sister anticipated, "The song ''Fairytale Town'' mentioned some of Chu Kuang''s future works, right? When they''re released, could you ask for them to be transferred to me for publication?"

    "That''s simple."

    On a whim, Lin Yuan said, "Big sister, you''ve also heard the song ''Fairytale Town.'' Why don''t you pick one, and I''ll get Chu Kuang to write it."

    There are many fairy tale plans for the future, and Lin Yuan really hadn''t decided which one to write first.

    "Pick one?"

    His sister''s eyes sparkled.

    This was celestial treatment, being able to pick a work of Chu Kuang''s. If she told others, who knows how many of Chu Kuang''s fans would be envious to death.

    Lin Yuan said, "Pick whatever."

    His sister hesitated, becoming somewhat nervous because her words would now decide what Chu Kuang''s next work would be about.

    "I''ve got it!"

    Recalling the unfamiliar characters mentioned in the lyrics of ''Fairytale Town,'' his sister deliberated, "Then I choose Shuk Bacchetta."

    "Shuke and Beta?"

    "Oh, are Shuk Bacchetta two characters?"

    "Two talking mice."

    "Right, the lyrics do go like that all right. They''re really mice?"

    "Yes."

    His sister immediately shook her head, "Then let''s change to another one. I don''t like mice. You better let Chu Kuang decide this important matter."

    "I''m sorry."

    Lin Yuan said sternly, "You''ve already placed your order, no returns or exchanges allowed. Please wait patiently, your dish will be ready very soon."

    ...

    Now that he was writing fairy tales and ''Fairytale Town'' had forecasted some works, Lin Yuan definitely needed some related plans. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Given his typing speed, he could totally handle such plans.

    However, the works mentioned in the song were basically mid-to-long stories, so Lin Yuan would need a bit of time to produce them.

    His sister mentioned ''Shuke and Beta,'' which is indeed a good direction.

    Stories like Peter Pan, or Harry Potter and even Pinocchio require significant background modifications and are rather troublesome.

    ''Shuke and Beta'' doesn''t require all that.

    The author of this book is the true Fairy Tale King of the Celestial Dynasty, Zheng Yuanjie.

    The book is also one of Teacher Zheng''s representative works.

    Many people''s childhoods were accompanied by these two adorable mice.

    Because the background is the Celestial Dynasty, Lin Yuan doesn''t need to modify anything, and the influence of this fairy tale has long been proven on another planet¡ª

    Speaking of which, this work might help Chu Kuang push his Prestige Value over a million!

    Yes.

    With the serialization of the Hercule Poirot Series and the popularity of ''Fairytale Town,'' Chu Kuang''s Prestige Value has been skyrocketing recently!

    It is soaring.

    Especially after he earned the title "King of Short Fairy Tales," his cultural Prestige Value directly reached 950,000!

    This means he is very close to a million.

    Lin Yuan realized that the honorific title of "King of Short Fairy Tales" is probably similar to the effect of an award. It is a result of countless recognitions coalesced and thus offers high Prestige Value rewards.

    "System, display the taskbar."

    "Ding dong, already displayed for you."

    Lines of virtual text appeared before Lin Yuan''s eyes; he immediately looked at the earliest task on the list, also the task he cares most about.

    [Task name: Health is the Capital of Revolution]

    [Task content: Make Culture and Music Prestige surpass one million each]

    [Task reward: Host can live until thirty years old, without illnesses or disasters, with good health]

    Lin Yuan wore a smile.

    He doesn''t need to worry about the Prestige calculations of the system.

    Maybe it takes a lot of recognition from many people to be condensed into a single point of Prestige, but so what?

    Now the cultural Prestige is around 950,000!

    And his music Prestige has also risen to about 930,000 over time!

    If the task had a progress bar, Lin Yuan''s health task would probably already be almost complete.

    His health recovery was something Lin Yuan had always desired.

    Now it seems that Lin Yuan will be able to confidently complete the task and get a healthy body this year.

    "Good health, that should be all aspects, including vocal restoration, huh..."

 Chapter 452 - 430: Owing You a First_1

    Lin Yuan didn''t immediately start writing his novel. Before his body fully recovered, he tried his best to avoid staying up late.

    Seeing that it was getting late, he freshened up, then happily lay down on his bed and casually checked his chat group on his phone.

    There were only four people in the group chat.

    Lin Yuan, Xia Fan, Jian Yi, and his older sister.

    There weren''t many messages, Lin Yuan randomly scrolled through them, soon reaching the top.

    The last message was from Xia Fan: "Pity we ended up at number eight, we released it a bit late."

    Below was a screenshot of the final seasonal ranking for "Fairytale Town".

    Since "Fairytale Town" was released on the last day of January, there was no time left to move up in the rankings.

    Nevertheless, the eighth-place finish was considered exceptional result.

    You have to consider that other people climbed the rankings for a whole thirty days, while "Fairytale Town" only had one day.

    Then came Jian Yi''s words of comfort: "You''ve already made it big, look at me, still auditioning in various drama groups."

    Then, his sister messaged Jian Yi: "Go to Lin Yuan''s production crew."

    Jian Yi replied: "Isn''t that what I''m trying to do, be like Xia Fan and stand on my own two feet? Although, that might be difficult, I might go and join up with Lin Yuan."

    Xia Fan was indeed someone who depended on himself. Lin Yuan only gave him a song, "Initial Dream", in the early days.

    Add the recent "Fairytale Town", and he only gave him two songs in total.

    Lin Yuan asked Xia Fan if he needed help multiple times, but Xia Fan refused each time, so Lin Yuan didn''t bring it up again.

    However, now he had a legitimate reason to help.

    He directly messaged Xia Fan: "Next time, we''ll take first place."

    Immediately after, Lin Yuan messaged Jian Yi.

    He paused for a moment, left the group chat, and sent a direct message to Jian Yi: "If you have time, let''s make a movie together."

    Jian Yi quickly replied: "Are you trying to save my reputation?"

    Lin Yuan replied with a simple "umm".

    Jian Yi, "..."

    Are you really saying these things?

    Okay, that''s a typical Lin Yuan move. But Jian Yi''s heart must be a bit touched, "What kind of film are you trying to shoot? I can''t act in all kinds of movies."

    Lin Yuan didn''t pay much attention to his friend''s aloofness and told him the truth: "I haven''t thought of it yet."

    Jian Yi: "Alright, at least give me a third male lead... Eh, the fourth is fine too, but four sounds bad, how about the fifth male lead?"

    Lin Yuan chuckled.

    The fifth male lead in a movie was basically an unimportant supporting role. Lin Yuan was a rational person, but he was not necessarily rational when it came to friends and family.

    "First male lead."

    Lin Yuan decisively declared.

    The other end was suddenly silent.

    It took a long time before Jian Yi replied, "First male lead is okay too, isn''t there an MV for the singer''s new song? I can be the first male lead."

    "It''s a movie."

    Lin Yuan insisted.

    This time Jian Yi didn''t pause for long, "I can''t do it."

    Lin Yuan replied, "No problem, I have experience. I''ll contact you later. Remember to report to the set."

    After saying that, Lin Yuan didn''t bother with Jian Yi anymore.

    Of course, he knew why Jian Yi was being hesitating.

    He was simply afraid that he, being a newcomer, would hold back his movie.

    But Lin Yuan had his own methods. He had the system tool. Even if Jian Yi''s acting skills were really bad, he could still help him improve.

    Moreover, Jian Yi studied acting.

    His grades in all his professional courses have always been amongst the best. His acting skills can''t possibly be bad.

    As for the problem of the lack of reputation of a newcomer...

    This is actually not a problem. When Lin Yuan filmed "Flirting Scholar", the lead actor, He Sheng, was also a newcomer.

    Lin Yuan won''t use films like "Hachiko" to promote Jian Yi, because another such film would require a great actor for a lead role.

    But some films can be acted by newcomers, and some might even be more favourable with younger actors.

    ...

    Having decided to find a movie that was suited to Jian Yi, Lin Yuan called out the system, "This film cannot be randomly customized."

    Lin Yuan was not confident about what the system might randomly generate.

    The system chimed a response: "You can choose from the film library. Once disconnected, the memory will disappear."

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan''s thinking instantaneously connected to the system''s film library. It felt as if he had entered a mysterious world as countless film information appeared in his mind.

    "How about this one?"

    Suddenly, Lin Yuan''s gaze locked onto a film.

    The cover of the film was a man, at least based on his physique. He was dressed in a red tight-fitting suit covered in black grids. His head was wrapped in a mask, with the eye area primarily white ¨C

    Spiderman!

    If you want to promote someone, don''t bother with artsy films, but commercial blockbusters. Can any blockbuster be more successful than Marvel''s series?

    Not to mention the famous Spiderman.

    This is definitely one of Marvel''s classic series!

    However, there are many versions of Spiderman movies. The version that Lin Yuan had his eyes on was the first generation of Spiderman, which mainly relied on mutations to fight.

    "Actually, ''Venom'' also..."

    Lin Yuan shook his head. Let''s give Spiderman to Jian Yi. The leading actor of Venom needs to appear more down and out. Jian Yi suits Spiderman better because of his tender and young face.

    "Start customizing!"

    Lin Yuan spoke up. This time he didn''t ask about the price. In fact, he hardly ever asked about the price recently. It''s not that he didn''t care. He just didn''t want to experience the feeling of a painful expenditure.

    As long as I don''t ask the price, I can pretend that I''m not spending money.

    This is Lin Yuan''s theory because with the balance on his card, it would make no difference if the system deducts a portion of the fee.

    "Customizing for you."

    The system directly entered the script customization mode.

    About a few minutes later, the customization was complete, and the script for "Spiderman" appeared in Lin Yuan''s mind. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The plot seemed to be mainly based on the first generation of Spiderman, but the system made minor modifications.

    For instance, in the original world, there were various countries, but now Blue Star didn''t have countries, only continents.

    In order to accommodate this point, the system cancelled the concept of countries in the movie.

    Additionally.

    The first-generation spiderman had the ability to rush out silks from veins, which was too powerful. Therefore, the script slightly adjusted this ability¡­

    Hm?

    Looking at the end, Lin Yuan realized that there were references to other superheroes in the script, which gave him a hint for his next Marvel film.

    Jian Yi didn''t have much reputation.

    But Jian Yi was only 22 this year.

    Spiderman shouldn''t be performed by someone too old.

    The first generation Spiderman was generally fine, but his age seemed a little off. The Spiderman series had been filmed for many years, and the face of many actors showed obvious signs of aging. Lin Yuan definitely wanted to avoid this.

    Because Lin Yuan was very clear¡­

    Once the trend of Marvel series has started, he might not just make one film, he might consider other superhero films as well.

    Of course, it''s still too early to think about that.

    Lin Yuan planned to talk with Ol'' Zhou about the script tomorrow. The investment for this film will significantly be larger than before.

 Chapter 453 - 431 Overflowing Superheroes_1

    "A new script?"

    The next afternoon, holding the freshly completed "Spiderman" script, Lin Yuan found Ol'' Zhou, seeking the company''s filming support.

    "Let me see!"

    A thrill of joy spread across Ol'' Zhou''s face as he hastily took the "Spiderman" script from Lin Yuan, his expression flickering with anticipation, he said:

    "Feel free to sit for a while."

    Lin Yuan nodded and looked at the piano in Ol'' Zhou''s room, feeling an itch in his hands: "May I play for a while?"

    "Of course."

    Ol'' Zhou nodded with a smile. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    As the head of the music department, Ol'' Zhou had some musical skills, such as playing the piano. However, his proficiency was mediocre, hence the piano was mostly decorative in his office.

    "Thank you."

    Lin Yuan sat in front of the piano and began to play extemporaneously, while Ol'' Zhou started reading the "Spiderman" script.

    "???~"

    Recalling the plot of "Spiderman", Lin Yuan''s piano playing varied in tone; sometimes soft, sometimes intense, sometimes even ethereal.

    After a while, Ol'' Zhou finally finished reading the script and Lin Yuan naturally stopped playing.

    "That''s the first time I''ve read a script with someone providing a live soundtrack."

    Ol'' Zhou looked at Lin Yuan at the piano: "That wasn''t bad."

    Lin Yuan got straight to the point: "What do you think of the script?"

    After a moment''s thought, Ol'' Zhou gave three words: "Pretty good."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    Ol'' Zhou chuckled: "What else can I say? A nobody transforming into a superhero to save the world, this is obviously a typical kind of commercial sci-fi movie. The success of this kind of movie doesn''t solely depend on the script, but also hinges on whether the scene is grand enough and the visuals are stimulating enough.

    Unlike your previous movie "Hachiko", artsy plot-driven films always require more focus on the storyline and performances."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Well, that''s true.

    He didn''t expect anyone to be amazed upon reading the "Spiderman" script. That would be unrealistic on Blue Star. Hence he asked bluntly:

    "Can it be filmed?"

    Lin Yuan had plenty of assets. It would be great if the company was willing to invest. But even if the company was unwilling to invest, Lin Yuan would finance it himself and hire the company''s crew to work for him.

    "Of course."

    Ol'' Zhou closed the script: "The story of the script has a good sense of anticipation. There are many superhero-themed movies in the market. However, that''s a solid proof that superhero is indeed a popular movie theme ¡­"

    Lin Yuan had a peculiar look on his face.

    So that''s why Ol'' Zhou wasn''t the least surprised when he saw the "Spiderman" script. It''s a typical clich¨¦ in the Blue Star film industry where an ordinary person transforms into a superhero to save the world. This trend was initiated by the Qi people many years ago, ushering in the era of the superhero genre in films!

    If we trace back to thirty years ago.

    At that time, the Qi Continent filmed a movie called "Dragonman". The plot of this movie is very similar to that of Marvel''s. Two terrifying monsters appeared on Blue Star one day. They seemed to be fighting over a bizarre potion. The male protagonist, being a reporter, captured the battle between the two monsters on camera.

    Then things unwound in a stereotypical way.

    The two monsters died together, the potion they were trying to seize also shattered; the liquid splashed onto the male protagonist. A bizarre transformation happened to him, giving him shape-shifting ability. He could transform into a half-human, half-dragon creature at will.

    More monsters began to appear on Blue Star. These monsters also seemed to be looking for that potion. Upon learning that the protagonist had consumed the rest of the potion, they decided to capture him and extract the potion from his body.

    Then there was the ultimate showdown.

    Under the global live broadcast.

    The protagonist defeated the monsters in the end, becoming the first superhero in the history of Blue Star films. This format later inspired a flood of copycat superhero films. Most of these revolved around the protagonist gaining immense power due to some kind of mutation, and finally saving the world.

    The plot was overly simplified!

    But thirty years ago, this movie was an instant and tremendous success on its release. It sold box office records of over a hundred billion in the Qi Continent alone. Then, the movie was introduced to other continents and historically broke through the two hundred billion barrier in total box office revenue. It''s still among the top ten in box office history on Blue Star.

    Because it was fresh and stimulating!

    It was this movie that sparked the wave of superhero films. So, Ol'' Zhou did not find the "Spiderman" script strange at all. It was the typical plot of a superhero film where an ordinary person evolves and ultimately saves the world.

    However...

    Because there have been so many superhero films, the box office performance of this genre is highly polarized. Good films could explode at the box office, while poorly made ones could cause the film company to go bankrupt. Also, most superhero films are not cheap to produce, so in recent years, there have been far fewer superhero films.

    Everyone needs to consider the risk as it''s no longer the era where simply copying "Dragonman" could easily cause a box office explosion.

    Such is the Qi Continent!

    The hall of fame of Blue Star films!

    Although there is no Marvel on this planet, there are Marvel-like superheroes. The Qi people have initiated this genre and made it one of the most popular film categories on Blue Star!

    For Lin Yuan.

    It''s a mixed blessing.

    The good side is that the audience definitely enjoys superhero films, there''s no problem with the existing fan base. The downside is that the audience has seen too many similar movies and is highly critical of the quality of these films. If "Spiderman" doesn''t have its own unique traits, it would be hard to impress the Blue Star audience, who is already saturated with superhero films.

    On top of that...

    Due to the influence of the "Dragonman" movie, Blue Star has also produced many superhero comics, novels, cartoons, etc. However, superhero novels aren''t that popular, while comics and cartoons have a fairly good influence, which is related to the visual impact of superhero works.

    "Here''s the plan."

    Ol'' Zhou stood up: "I will bring the script to the film department to discuss it. We will figure out a plan, including investment and so on. If someone else was proposing to make a superhero film, I would definitely refuse. But if the proposal comes from you, both I and the company should have a certain level of confidence."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    He could not abandon "Spiderman" just because Blue Star already has many superhero films. He has also watched many superhero films on Blue Star, and he identified two problems.

    The first problem.

    Most of Blue Star''s superheroes don''t emphasize character development. The protagonist tends to be somewhat stereotyped. They are generally ordinary people who have stumbled upon a magical event. The movies tend to stress the power they possess after the transformation, while ignoring the protagonist''s ordinary side.

    This is relative, of course.

    Some superhero films do put a little effort into sketching out the protagonist, but they don''t seem to be very successful. Even if they are, they don''t have a wide influence.

    The second problem.

    Blue star superhero movies do not adopt Marvel''s tie-ins model. Even if a superhero film is made into a sequel, it''s just another monster to fight. There are very few instances of different superheroes appearing simultaneously, and even if there is, the linkage is not high.

    This is Lin Yuan''s advantage.

    He must take full advantage of this.

    In Marvel''s superheroes, "Spiderman" has a relatively clear definition. The protagonist is a super talkative person who can''t stop chatting while fighting monsters. He likes to mingle with ordinary people, making him a very down-to-earth hero. He''s considered one of the most charming superheroes in Marvel.

 Chapter 454 - 432 Preparation_1

    "A commercial film?"

    "You mean a superhero genre?"

    "Xian Yu really wants to dip his toe in every film genre, huh? I thought he''d continue to make comedies, next thing you know, he went off making suspense dramas. When I thought he''d play around with extreme plot twists, he proceeded to make a drama film..."

    "Maybe he enjoys challenging himself?"

    "I never expected Xian Yu to take a leap and make a mainstream film this time. He probably wishes to achieve higher box office results. Although his previous themes attracted noteworthy box office, advancing further is exceedingly hard."

    "..."

    Ol'' Zhou brought the script of "Spiderman" to the film department, and everyone began discussing soon after reviewing the script in a meeting. The atmosphere was rather positive as Xian Yu had gained the department''s trust through his previous successes.

    "Speaking of which,"

    The senior executive on Ol'' Zhou''s right chuckled, "All of Xian Yu''s films have some degree of commercial attributes. Even though ''Hachiko'' does not strictly fall under arthouse films, it''s his relatively pure commercial route this time that surprised us."

    "Back to the film itself."

    Ol'' Zhou knocked on the table, "I think it''s promising. The pacing of this film is excellent. The preservation and persistence of ordinary people towards the end is deeply touching. Additionally, the character has an origin-like growth, something most superhero movies tend to overlook."

    "It''s Xian Yu after all."

    The senior executive sitting in the back row laughed, "In my opinion, I wouldn''t agree with saying Spiderman is purely commercial. Even if Xian Yu is making a commercial film, he won''t completely abandon some profound elements. The line in the movie, ''with great power comes great responsibility,'' struck a chord with me. This is something other superhero movies often neglect."

    "It''s the investment though..."

    "It''s probably going to exceed a hundred million..."

    "Most superhero movies have a budget that breaks a hundred million. If you want outstanding special effects, you''ve got to burn some cash. I believe that an investment exceeding one hundred million is paramount for a film''s success. If a superhero movie fails to deliver compelling visuals, even an excellent script is in vain."

    "..."

    In the Blue Star film market, investments exceeding one hundred million are common. That''s why all of Xian Yu''s successful films come as such a shock. How can someone consistently push box office revenue into the billions using only tens of millions?

    Is achieving high returns on small investments that easy?

    This time, Xian Yu finally stopped his usual technique of achieving grand results from small inputs. This is the typical treatment for film production. If even a superhero movie incorporates minimal investment, even if Xian Yu has succeeded multiple times, people would naturally be skeptical.

    "But we need to make sure we play it safe."

    Someone proposed, "We should budget it according to one hundred million, anything more than that is risky. Superhero movies bear distinctive traits ¡ª when successful, the box office can skyrocket into billions; yet when they fail, it''s as if they disappear into the void without a ripple."

    Everyone nodded in agreement.

    After the meeting, many matters reached a consensus, and " Spiderman" quickly entered project initiation mode. Ol'' Zhou, with the results of the meeting, went looking for Lin Yuan and briefly explained the situation to him.

    ...

    Lin Yuan has now gained a deep understanding of the film industry. When he learned that the budget for "Spiderman" would be around one hundred million, he felt that it was fairly reasonable, even though it''s considered on the lower end for superhero movies.

    But there were some disagreements.

    When Ol'' Zhou found out that Lin Yuan intended to cast a newcomer as Spiderman, he couldn''t help but express his concerns, "There are young and popular actors within the company. Why insist on casting an almost-graduate from a drama school?"

    "Jian Yi is one of my best buddies."

    Lin Yuan responded as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

    Hearing this, Ol'' Zhou was taken aback before letting out a bitter smile. This answer was so typical of Lin Yuan. Sighing, he said, "Then we need to invest more efforts in casting the supporting roles. Plus, your friend needs to sign a contract with Starlight."

    "Mmm."

    Lin Yuan had no objections.

    Starlight can''t simply help other companies boost their status for free. For a film with a budget of one hundred million, it''s only natural that the lead actor is one of their own. Furthermore, Jian Yi would likely be open to the idea of joining Starlight.

    "Let''s have a better contract." sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan sought benefits for his friend.

    Ol'' Zhou nodded, "I''ll see to it. Since you''ve said he''s one of your best friends, the artist department will definitely be more accommodating. As for the roles of director and producer, are we sticking with the previous team?"

    "Mmm."

    With scriptwriters at the core of the crew, Lin Yuan was the soul of the film. In fact, his role even exceeded that of a conventional main scriptwriter ¡ª he had pre-designed even the film''s shots. These were additional perks provided after the System offered the script. Coupled with Lin Yuan''s exquisite artistic skills, he could easily recreate any image he desired, thus saving a lot of explanations.

    Director Yi Chenggong might lack innovative ideas that could aid Lin Yuan''s creation process, but his competency in replicating Lin Yuan''s instructions was commendable.

    In a certain way,

    Lin Yuan was both the director and screenwriter.

    Having collaborated with Lin Yuan multiple times, Yi Chenggong has comprehended Lin Yuan''s mode of operation. As Lin Yuan''s executor of intentions, he rarely conflicts with Lin Yuan, unless he comes up with a particularly brilliant idea.

    After saying goodbye to Ol'' Zhou,

    Lin Yuan gave Jian Yi a call, "The new film is confirmed. You''re the leading man. It''s a superhero movie. I''ll send you the script right now. Study it on your own for now. Also, you need to come over.

    You have to sign an artist contract with Starlight."

    "Huh?"

    Jian Yi on the other end of the phone seemed stunned, "Joining Starlight is a no-brainer for me, but didn''t you say last night that you haven''t decided what to shoot for the new movie? How do you have a script today?"

    "Inspiration struck."

    "You''re so slick."

    Jian Yi didn''t say any words of gratitude.

    The bond he shared with Lin Yuan and Xia Fan was deeply ingrained since childhood. Saying more at this point would only seem pretentious. Didn''t he long to play this lead role?

    He absolutely did!

    However, he wouldn''t use this relationship to compel Lin Yuan to make this decision. Now, Lin Yuan brought opportunities to his doorstep. Saying more could end up disappointing Lin Yuan. The best way to repay him is to take the shooting process seriously and cherish this opportunity that Lin Yuan provided.

    "That''s it for now."

    Lin Yuan hung up the phone.

    Lin Yuan turned on his computer and began searching for popular superhero films. This was a necessary task. After all, he needed to see how others had done it and ideally learn something useful from them.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: There are too many Marvel movies, there''s no need to worry about directly entering the Marvel storyline. Conventional superhero attributes are too similar, basically carved from the same mold, it''s uninteresting to write about them without adding a refreshing twist. There''s no way our protagonist can film all of them.

    If we''re going to shoot anything in the future, it should be about the most unique character, or even the story of a major villain. I''m sure you''ve guessed who it might be.

 Chapter 455 - 433: Cat and Mouse_1

    It really is the same old wine in a new bottle...

    Lin Yuan had watched several popular superhero movies from Blue Star on his computer in a row, only to find that the formula for these superheroes was essentially the same as the early "Dragonman". Even though there have been some changes in recent years, they all were variations on the same theme.

    The same goes for "Spiderman".

    It tells the story of fighting monsters after becoming a superhero, but Spiderman has some unique characteristics that other superheroes lack, such as the numerous depictions of his assistance to ordinary people in the film.

    "The friendly neighborhood New Yorker."

    This is another side of Spiderman as a civilian hero. Most other superheroes in Marvel are high-profile, while Spiderman is the most down-to-earth among them. He''s still a high school student!

    There are immature parts in his thinking.

    But he has a trajectory of growth.

    He truly realized that as a superhero, he should take action after the death of his uncle. His uncle''s death was the trigger of his transformation. This is also why so many versions of the Spiderman series have still put an emphasis on explaining this origin story.

    "With great power, comes great responsibility."

    This line may be clich¨¦ to Earth''s Marvel fans, but newcomers to "Spiderman" are still moved by these simple words. There are no superheroes; Spiderman is just an ordinary person burdened with a sense of social responsibility because of his immense power.

    Moreover...

    In the sequels to the original Spiderman, a scenario came up again and again, where Spiderman stops a ship or a bus with his spider web. This can be seen as homage to the original. In the second "Spiderman" movie, starring Tobey Maguire, there''s a scene where a city train is running on the tracks.

    In the end, Spiderman secures countless surrounding buildings with his web and finally stops the train full of people with his own body, avoiding their deaths.

    The price is...

    Spiderman''s body reaches its limit, his clothes completely torn, his skin shredded. He falls into a deep unconsciousness. As a result, the people on the train grasp onto his body. This scene is considered one of the most iconic in the "Spiderman" series, and a large portion of the audience possibly love Spiderman for it. The scene is simply too shocking!

    The system is considerate.

    Although the "Spiderman" script provided to Lin Yuan starts with Spiderman''s origin story, this thrilling scene from the second movie is also transferred into the script, nicely echoing the famous line "with great power, comes great responsibility".

    Of course.

    These changes still can''t alter the popcorn-flick nature of "Spiderman", but Lin Yuan''s aim was to boost Jian Yi''s fame, he couldn''t let Jian Yi make a film about an old man''s story.

    That''d be too heavy.

    Jian Yi, at his current age, simply can''t handle a heavy superhero film like "Batman," not to mention the Joker. Even with the help of props to reach the acting standard, there are some things that can''t be compensated with acting skills.

    It has to be enjoyable.

    Lin Yuan had previously given the audience a hard time with "Hachiko". Now, he can give them some emotional compensation. Although Lin chose the movie himself, it seems to fit the system''s typical behaviour well: manipulating the audience''s emotions. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Tang Bohu foolishly grins without a brain.

    The sound engineer needs to think with their brain.

    Hachiko makes the audience feel heartfelt pain.

    Spiderman makes the audience overwhelmingly excited.

    Lin Yuan also thinks this is a good idea for making movies. You shouldn''t keep the audience in the same kind of situation all the time. Once everyone has had enough of Spiderman, maybe next time something heavier could be fun?

    Or even something novel.

    To prevent everyone from thinking that "Spiderman" is too formulaic, where the superhero always defeats the monster and gets the girl, ending with a romantic spider-hanging kiss scene.

    In fact, Lin Yuan also considered word-of-mouth.

    After all, not everyone is Nolan. The reputation of a superhero movie is basically hard to explode, but Lin Yuan can''t avoid making commercial movies for the sake of Xian Yu''s word-of-mouth. The public loves it.

    It''s best when it''s enjoyed by both refined and vulgar.

    Lin Yuan believes that so-called word-of-mouth should be compared with movies of the same kind. If the average reputation of commercial films is seven points, then he strives to elevate his own commercial film reputation to eight. That would be fine.

    Let''s not think about this for now.

    The film''s preparation needs time.

    The producers, Shen Qing and director Yi Chenggong, started to gear up the moment they got the news. Having been tremendously successful in their previous few collaborations with Lin Yuan, the two had tasted the sweet fruits of success.

    However, Lin Yuan left the preparations to them.

    He used this time to leisurely write his novel, not just the ongoing Hercule Poirot Series, but also his new fairy tale story that he had mentioned to his sister before, "Shuke and Beta".

    This novel was very relaxing to write.

    Because fairy tales are written for children, the simpler the description, the better. The concise text allows the little ones to understand it. For instance, the beginning of the novel introduces the character Shuke straightforwardly:

    Shuke is a mouse.

    Generally, mice are known for sneaking around and stealing human food. This doesn''t change in the world of fairy tales, but Shuke doesn''t want to be a mouse that likes to steal things. He decides to be independent. So, in the first chapter, Shuke starts his journey, driving his toy plane outside.

    In the beginning, he saves a tiny ant.

    Then Shuke is treated by the Ant King.

    As a genre that combines fun with education, "Shuke and Beta" is no exception. The first chapter reminds everyone not to steal things and to earn their rewards through their own labor.

    Not just educational.

    The book is also very imaginative.

    For instance, an interesting plot in the story is that Beta drives a toy tank, using peanuts as cannonballs to battle with the Meow alien Mili. This scene is quite fun. If put into a web novel, it would perfect for putting on airs and slapping faces.

    Good guarantee of enjoyment.

    The author first gives the protagonist Beta a gold finger, a tank that can fire cannonballs, and then the scene of the weak little mouse slapping the powerful little cat Mili happens. Little cat Mili doesn''t admit defeat and brings her friends to fight back ¡ª

    And continues to be trampled on.

    Wouldn''t you find it hard to believe that the classic scene of showing off and face-slapping in web novels had appeared in the Fairy Tale King''s work many years ago? This book simply portrays cats as villains similar to those in web novels.

    Writing as such.

    Lin Yuan found himself amused.

    While Lin Yuan was immersed in writing "Shuke and Beta" for three consecutive days, Silver Blue Books suddenly announced some news. While Lin himself didn''t pay too much attention to it, and was engrossed in the fairy tale world of Shuke and Beta, the children''s literature circle in general turned its attention to it.

    "Three years of grinding a sword!"

    "Do you remember your childhood memories of the ''Three Little Pigs'' series? Teacher Yuanyuan''s new long-form fairy tale ''Meow'' is about to be released. This time it''s a story about a kitten: this will be the childhood memory of a new generation of children!"

    A long-form fairy tale is coming!

    Teacher Yuanyuan is about to release a new work!

 Chapter 456 - 434: The Urge to Sing_1

    "Teacher Yuanyuan is here!"

    "Indeed, the stories of the ''Three Little Pigs'' series are part of countless people''s childhoods. But to speak of the strength in long-form categories, Teacher Yuanyuan ranks among the top three, or even the top two, in all of Qin Continent. Silver Blue Books is indeed fortunate to have Chu Kuang dominating the short-form fairy tales and Yuanyuan in charge of the long form..."

    "Yuanyuan might be planning something."

    "Ever since Chu Kuang became the ''King of Short Fairy Tales'', many long-form children''s book authors have dreamt of becoming the ''King of Long Fairy Tales''. But this is mostly wishful thinking among ordinary people. However, Teacher Yuanyuan, being among the top long-form children''s authors, does have the strength to compete for the title."

    "Who will be the next Chu Kuang?"

    "Since Teacher Yuanyuan is making her move, other children''s long-form authors definitely won''t just sit idle. I reckon the Literature and Art Association will soon recommend long-form children''s novels as essential reading for primary school students. By then, it will be a grand showdown among the authors of long-form children''s tales."

    "..."

    A heated discussion ensued within the fairy tale circle.

    Due to the popularity of Chu Kuang''s ''Fairytale Town'', and the fact that Teacher Yuanyuan''s new book will also be launched here, the Fairy Tale Department of Silver Blue Books has certainly become a significant department within the company. Consequently, the position of chief editor has become even more important.

    In the deputy editor''s office...

    Shui Zhourou''s eyes are sparkling: "Chu Kuang is currently the ''King of Short Fairy Tales'', and compared to Lin Xuan, we stand no chance when it comes to short tales. But since the three deputy editors are competing against each other to take the position based on their performance, it''s not just about the short tales'' performance. The importance of long-form fairy tales is even greater.

    In the long-form category, we have Teacher Yuanyuan. Chu Kuang can''t even touch her..."

    "Naturally."

    The assistant by her side gently nodded. If Chu Kuang is recognized as the best in the short-form category, then Teacher Yuanyuan is undoubtedly one of the titans in the long-form children''s sector. "But Zhang Yang won''t sit back and watch."

    "Mmm."

    Shui Zhourou gave a grave nod: "Lin Xuan is not a threat when it comes to long-form tales. What I am worried about is Zhang Yang''s side. I don''t know who he will ask for help. There aren''t many people in the long-form fairy tale circle who can compete with Teacher Yuanyuan, but it''s not completely impossible."

    The assistant glanced towards the room next door.

    In the office of another deputy editor, Zhang Yang next door is also discussing with his assistant, "So they invited Teacher Yuanyuan. It seems we have to get Teacher Hu onboard."

    "Don''t worry."

    The assistant smiled, "Didn''t your family promise Teacher Hu a lot of benefits? I don''t think Teacher Hu will refuse. He has competed with Teacher Yuanyuan early on. Even though he narrowly lost, it doesn''t reflect that he is less competent."

    "Hmm."

    Zhang Yang gave a sigh of relief, "Finally, it''s our turn. On the short-form fairy tale side, we can''t hope for anything. Chu Kuang, the ''King of Short Fairy Tales'', is so impressive, so much so that Shui Zhourou and I can only watch as Lin Xuan wreaks havoc. Now it''s Lin Xuan''s turn to nervously watch us compete."

    The war is in two stages.

    The first involves short tales, and the second, long-form tales. But with the advent of ''Fairytale Town'', Zhang Yang and Shui Zhourou no longer stand a chance. Regardless of who they invite, they can''t possibly produce a better short-form fairy tale than Chu Kuang.

    They can only move on to long-form fairy tales!

    Meanwhile, in Lin Xuan''s office, she is quite satisfied with the current situation. She even laughed, telling Zhang Cheng next to her, "Now we alone shine in the short-form fairy tales sector. Let Shui Zhourou and Zhang Yang compete in the long-form sector. In any case, we always have the advantage. Maybe I can continue to commission Chu Kuang, to expand our advantage in short tales."

    Lin Xuan has given up on the long form completely.

    All she needs to do is to consolidate her advantage in the short-form sector.

    Didn''t her younger brother say that Chu Kuang was going to write a fairy tale about Shuke and Beta next? Lin Xuan has unshakable confidence in Chu Kuang. She believes that it will be very exciting and may even surpass the stories in ''Fairytale Town''.

    Yes.

    Lin Xuan subconsciously assumes that Chu Kuang''s next fairy tale would be a short form. This is a natural thought process. The new piece of the ''King of Short Fairy Tales'' should obviously be a short fairy tale; so she never thought that Chu Kuang''s new work would be a long-form fairy tale.

    On the other hand...

    Lin Yuan continued to write his new fairy tale leisurely. The preparations for the movie ''Spiderman'' were also proceeding in an orderly manner. This is Lin Yuan''s most familiar life rhythm, and under normal circumstances, this rhythm would not be disrupted. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    As usual, when he arrived at the company...

    His third disciple, Li Lizhi, showed up.

    As Lin Yuan''s third disciple learning composition, Li Lizhi''s classes were not too structured; they were mostly when Lin Yuan was free. If he wasn''t free, he let her figure things out by herself. As a result of this on-and-off teaching, quite some time has passed. Today just so happened to be a day when Lin Yuan was unoccupied so he could give her a two-hour class.

    "Hmm?"

    Before the class even began, Lin Yuan suddenly heard a system terminal sound by his ear: "Congratulations on the graduation of your third disciple, Li Lizhi. She has met the standard for graduation."

    Li Lizhi has graduated?

    Lin Yuan was somewhat surprised. He subconsciously checked Li Lizhi''s composition ability and found that she was just about to meet the graduation standard. That meant Lin Yuan had successfully gained a third disciple at the level of ''card composer''.

    "Ding dong."

    The system went on to inform him about the reward he had preset: "Congratulations to the Guide for successfully completing the ''mentoring task'' and obtaining permanent right to use the character card of Yang Zhongming!"

    A smile crept onto Lin Yuan''s face.

    Being used to Lin Yuan''s strictness, Li Lizhi rarely saw her master smile. This smile made her dazed, and she immediately became nervous: "Master, have I done something wrong?"

    "No."

    Lin Yuan confirmed, "I think today''s lesson is not necessary anymore. In the future, you don''t need to come if you don''t receive any contact from me, because you and your two senior brothers have reached the graduation standard."

    "Graduation?"

    Li Lizhi was stunned.

    This should have been a happy occasion ¡ª she finally earned Master''s approval. Still, Li Lizhi couldn''t bring herself to feel happy because both of her senior brothers had mentioned that once she graduated from his tutelage, the Master would no longer continue to teach her.

    "Congratulations."

    Lin Yuan said, smiling.

    Not having to teach was one less chore for him. So, he continued to type on his computer, writing the story of "Shuke and Beta". However, while drinking water, he noticed that Li Lizhi hadn''t left: "Is there something else you need?"

    "No..."

    Li Lizhi bit her lip: "I intended to tell you after class, but since there''s no class, I''ll say it now. My father mentioned that a new show wants to invite you as a guest. He asked if you''re interested. If you still don''t want to show your face, then forget it."

    Lin Yuan casually said: "I won''t go."

    He didn''t even ask what kind of show it was. Due to Xian Yu''s identity, he had received countless invitations, even including some exclusive ambassadors for stars. Moreover, "Bloom" had invited Xian Yu as a judge. This was the hottest music show in Old Qin Continent. Lin Yuan simply refused all. Why would he accept any new show?

    "Alright."

    Li Lizhi nodded.

    Truth be told, she just didn''t want to leave and was looking for a topic to continue the conversation: "Because of the merger of Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan, this show may be the most expensive music variety show in history, even surpassing ''Bloom''. That''s why my father asked me to inquire. Some other maestros have accepted the invitation to be judges.

    Could you tell me why you don''t want to show your face?"

    Why?

    Lin Yuan didn''t know himself. He just had a strong aversion to showing his face. The camera made him instinctively fearful. But the young Lin Yuan didn''t show such a problem. Could this be classified as a psychological issue?

    "I don''t know."

    "Such a pity."

    Li Lizhi didn''t dare to ask further and just sighed: "If only the judges could wear masks on stage like the singers. But judges definitely can''t wear masks..."

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan responded casually.

    Suddenly, he realized something. He raised his head in surprise, his expression somewhat peculiar: "What kind of singer can sing wearing a mask? Does the new show you mentioned have such a rule?"

    "Huh?"

    Li Lizhi was surprised: "Master, don''t you know? This new show is co-hosted by the Literature and Art Association and top production company in Qin Continent. There are discussions all over the internet. Singers can wear masks to sing..."

    "What''s the name of the show?"

    "I think it''s called ''The Masked Singer.''"

    Lin Yuan was slightly taken aback. He vaguely remembered a show with a similar concept on Earth. He couldn''t help but call the System in his mind: "Are there any other transmigrators in this world? I vaguely remember a similar show concept on Earth."

    "Ding Dong."

    The System explained: "The host is the only transmigrator on Blue Star. However, there is indeed a similar show on Earth. It''s just a coincidence that the same ideas collide in different times and spaces."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    No wonder it felt familiar.

    Seeing Lin Yuan suddenly ignoring her, Li Lizhi thought he was trying to hint that she should leave. She pouted in grievance: "Then I''ll leave first. If you need anything, Master, remember to find me!"

    "Hmm."

    Li Lizhi left.

    Lin Yuan was filled with curiosity.

    Instead of continuing to write his novel, he opened his web browser and searched for "The Masked Singer." It turned out to be an upcoming music variety show with unprecedented investment. It was rumored that the show would invite countless powerhouses from the music industry of Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan to perform, including some of the Kings and Queens of Music.

    Hence, online discussions about the show were incredibly high, making it the hottest topic in the entertainment industry.

    "The singers wear masks while singing."

    "Each episode will feature six singers performing. The losing singer will have to reveal their face, and the winning singer can continue to perform with their mask."

    "The Masked Singer..."

    If he could sing wearing a mask, should he consider participating? Although he had an inexplicable repulsion towards the camera, if he wore a mask, it shouldn''t be a problem, right?

    Thinking of this.

    Lin Yuan called the System again, asking a crucial question: "After the health mission is completed, will my health include healing my voice?"

    "Yes."

    The System had given the answer.

    Lin Yuan immediately fell into deep thought.

    Due to the original owner''s desires, Lin Yuan''s passion for singing could not be suppressed. It was a deep-rooted love from the heart. But previously, Lin Yuan was troubled by his vocal issues, so he always suppressed this impulse. However, what should he do once his voice healed...

    Should he continue suppressing his desire?

    On the one hand, there''s his innate fear of the camera; on the other, his longing to perform on stage. These contradicting desires seemed to be locked in a stalemate, but the opportunity to sing in a mask seemed to unlock this deadlock!

    "I''ll think about it."

    Lin Yuan was somewhat torn. His consistent life rhythm might change due to his recovery...

 Chapter 457 - 435 - Wearing a Mask isnt a Problem_1

    Lin Yuan''s mind was in chaos.

    For the next two days, he hardly wrote his novel. Instead, he found himself scrolling through internet news about "The Masked Singer". This issue had fully triggered his alarm bells. For the first time in his life, he was so engrossed in entertainment news.

    "This program is legit!"

    "After all, it''s produced by the team behind ''Bloom''. The quality is definitely guaranteed. The investment is the highest ever, and undoubtedly the King and Queen of Singing will participate. Just thinking about it gives me excitement!"

    "Props to the show''s creators!"

    "It''s a merger of the four continents of Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan, boasting countless top-tier singers. To last till the end on such a stage is a tremendous honor for any singer. The unveiling of the final champion will be like a coronation ceremony!"

    "The champion is bound to be either the King or Queen of Singing."

    "I think that''s not necessarily the case. Headline singers also have a chance. Have you all forgotten Jiang Kui from the Battle of the Gods last year? She stepped into the limelight by competing with the King and Queen of Singing. The industry rates her singing abilities on par with them. What she lacks is simply popularity and data!"

    "..."

    According to the rules of "The Masked Singer", singers have to perform masked. Once the mask is on, who can tell if you''re a headline singer or the King or Queen of Singing? Unless the singer has a highly unique voice, most of them would leave the audience befuddled once they put on the mask.

    Moreover...

    The overall caliber of singers from Blue Star is very high. Unless their voices are distinctively memorable, 80% of the singers can disguise their vocal traits. With the large population in the four continents, star singers are numerous!

    Where would you even begin guessing?

    The thought of it was too exciting!

    In fact, not only Lin Yuan was following this show closely, but the music circles of Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan were all paying attention. Insiders were certain that many of the King and Queen of Singing would be tempted by the show.

    It''s simple!

    Attention!

    The show was already on fire even before it started airing. The mere release of its rules caused a collective craze among netizens. With the resulting viewership ratings, who wouldn''t want to prove their mettle before audiences from the four continents?

    "Also..."

    "According to the show''s crew, the judging panel will change every time. It is almost guaranteed that personalities on par with Maestro will appear every episode. Singing in front of Maestro, and even getting evaluated by him while wearing a mask...

    "Impressive!"

    "Feels epic."

    "The performers on stage might be the King or Queen of Singing, and Maestro might be in the judges'' panel. Other judges will guide the audience to keep guessing. It scores full points from professionalism to fun. I can''t see any reason why this show wouldn''t be a hit."

    "Don''t forget!"

    "The show isn''t just made by the company behind ''Bloom'', but is also led by the Literature and Art Association. A good performance on this show can get you recorded in the Association''s files."

    "..."

    Shows going viral before they air isn''t unheard of. However, for a show to reach this level of hype even before broadcast, "The Masked Singer" was a first. Just the announcement of this show had audiences across the four continents on their toes with anticipation!

    ...

    Lin Yuan, being engrossed in this thought, seemed to be in deep contemplation at home. It was baffling for his family. His sister, Lin Yao, even offered him the egg yolk she was about to enjoy.

    "I don''t feel like eating today."

    She sympathetically said, "You have it."

    Lin Yuan quickly popped the egg yolk into his mouth. He then affectionately stroked his sister''s hair and said with gratitude, "To thank you, I''ve decided to leave all the vegetables tonight for you."

    "In your dreams."

    Lin Yao rolled her eyes and walked off.

    Lin Xuan sat on the sofa and turned on the TV. Immediately, news filled the room: "Since the release of the news about ''The Masked Singer'', a new type of music variety show, it has gained widespread attention.

    A number of maestros, including Teacher Yang Zhongming, have publicly announced that they will appear on the program as judges, and they are willing to contribute to the development of Blue Star''s music..."

    "This show is definitely going to be a hit."

    Lin Xuan commented delightedly, "Looks like there''s a new variety show to follow. ''Bloom'' can''t even compare to this one. It''s just a matter of seeing whether my favorite singers will participate."

    Suddenly,

    Lin Xuan turned to look at Lin Yuan, "Has your Xian Yu, alias Maestro Junior, not been invited? If you participate in ''The Masked Singer'', as your sister I would enjoy watching the show even more. I''ve never seen my own little brother on TV!"

    "I''m considering it."

    Lin Yuan replied flatly.

    Lin Xuan nodded and asked again, "When are you planning to release Chu Kuang''s new book? I need to reserve a section for it in advance. However, I''m just giving you a heads up, there''s no need to rush Chu Kuang."

    "Still writing."

    In fact, since hearing about "The Masked Singer", Lin Yuan hadn''t written a word. He suddenly asked his sister, "Didn''t I used to not be camera-shy, or even enjoyed taking photos with you?"

    Lin Xuan was taken aback, "Afraid of cameras?"

    Lin Yuan nodded, "Now, every time I''m in front of a camera, I feel instinctively uncomfortable, like I need to dodge."

    "How could that be?"

    Lin Xuan immediately looked worried, "You used to be quite natural when getting photographed. Besides, your childhood dream was to be a singer, to enjoy standing under the spotlight. Why has it changed to this? Is it because of your voice?"

    Lin Yuan was silent.

    Setting aside the news, Lin Xuan got up and started pacing, "No wonder you looked so uncomfortable when Yao Yao filmed you having a tooth pulled last time. I thought you were worried it might seem embarrassing, but it turns out the camera made you uncomfortable?"

    "That was a good day."

    Being filmed by Yao Yao was just about bearable.

    Lin Xuan bit her lip, "It must be a psychological issue. Let me help you find a psychologist to take a look. Don''t feel burdened. You didn''t have this problem when you were younger. It must be something you encountered later that triggered it."

    "A psychologist?"

    Lin Yuan said, "I''ll find one myself." S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Xuan took a deep breath, filled with various worries, "The people you know are definitely better than the ones I do. Just remember to find a psychologist as soon as possible. I''m afraid it might become a problem later on."

    "Alright."

    Lin Yuan nodded, trying to comfort his sister, "There are no other problems, I''m just a bit uncomfortable with cameras. I''m fine if there aren''t any cameras around. Try filming me with your phone."

    "Film you?"

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    He picked up the hat that Lin Yao had left on the sofa and used a thick mask to cover his face. Then, he let his sister film him with her phone. The discomfort was minimal, completely manageable¡ª

    He was fine with a mask on!

 Chapter 458 - 436 Junior Brother Glowing_1

    Performing masked is not a problem!

    This gave Lin Yuan some confidence, but according to the rules, contestants who lose games have to reveal their faces. Even the winners would eventually have to unmask themselves. So he still had to face this hurdle!

    "Seek a psychiatrist."

    Lin Yuan decided to take the advice.

    The person he sought help from was Sun Yaohuo. Senior Yao Huo was the one who gave him the most peace of mind. However, when Sun Yaohuo learned that Lin Yuan was seeking a psychiatrist he was startled, "Is there something bothering you, junior?"

    "Somewhat like that."

    Sun Yaohuo hesitated for a moment, initially meaning to have Lin Yuan talk to him, but then thought since Lin Yuan was seeking a psychiatrist, the issue might not be something Sun Yaohuo himself could solve, so he took it seriously:

    "No problem!"

    Sun Yaohuo was incredibly serious¡ªas serious as Lin Yuan had never seen him before, not even during their recording sessions. Ultimately, at Sun Yaohuo''s insistence, he found a suitable psychiatrist for Lin Yuan, "This psychiatrist has a great reputation, and she is the best in the Yan Continent. Plus, she can maintain absolute confidentiality, even towards me."

    "Thanks."

    "There''s nothing to thank."

    Sun Yaohuo said earnestly, "It''s more important to help you figure out your problem. I''ve also consulted a psychiatrist before because of some music-related worries. I believe your problems must also be related to music. She already arrived at Qin Continent. I''ll pay her fee. All you need to do is go see her.

    Whether she should visit you or¡­"

    "I''ll go."

    "No problem."

    The next day, Sun Yaohuo drove Lin Yuan to the appointment. Along the way, of course, they also brought up Lin Yuan''s voice change. He dropped Lin Yuan off at a high-end apartment building, "She''s upstairs. However, she doesn''t know who you are. You''ll have to do the talking. I''ll wait downstairs."

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan got out of the car.

    As he arrived at the agreed-upon apartment, Lin Yuan felt a nameless nervousness. Some of his secrets were too deep to be spoken, even to a psychiatrist. Can his problem really be solved under such cautiousness?

    "Knock, Knock, Knock."

    As he knocked on the door, Lin Yuan still had his worries.

    A woman in her thirties opened the door, she was quite beautiful. There was nothing unusual on her face when she saw Lin Yuan. She smiled warmly, "You must be the pre-arranged guest. Please come in."

    She didn''t call me a patient.

    Lin Yuan thought, feeling amused.

    Inside, he was invited to sit on the sofa, and she took the seat opposite him, "There are different beverages on the table. I can prepare whichever you prefer. The curtains are drawn so the room is a bit dim. If you don''t like it, I can turn on the lights."

    "No need."

    Lin Yuan didn''t bother her. He made himself a cup of tea. She introduced herself in turn, "My name is Lin Li. You can call me Dr. Li or Sister Lily."

    "Mm."

    Lin Yuan nodded, took a sip of the tea, mentally bracing himself before he said, "My name is Lin Yuan, and I''m a songwriter who has published some songs."

    "How interesting."

    Lin Li laughed, "We''re kindred spirits. I''ve actually dealt with many artists. You''re not the first songwriter I''ve met in my professional career. Would you mind letting me listen to some of your music that you think is representative?"

    Lin Yuan said, "My stage name is Xian Yu."

    Lin Li paused for a few seconds before slowly saying, "Then I suppose there''s no need to play any music. I''ve listened to all of your work. You can just tell me about your troubles, or you can write them down."

    Lin Yuan was taken aback.

    He remembered Jin Mu was shocked when he found out Lin Yuan was Xian Yu. But compared to that, Lin Li was very calm. Not that Lin Yuan thought there was anything particularly shocking about it, "No need to write it down. I just have a problem; I don''t know why I have a fear of cameras."

    "Fear?"

    "Fear of cameras."

    "Does that include taking selfies?"

    Lin Yuan nodded. He had never taken a selfie. At least not since he''d arrived in this world. He hadn''t taken a single selfie, "Knowing the people there lightens the symptoms, and putting on a mask takes care of the problem."

    "I see¡­ "

    Lin Li smiled, "There is a pathological condition called scopophobia. I don''t know if you''ve heard of it. But in most cases, people with scopophobia have severe insecurity about their appearance. But you''re clearly not the case. I''ve never seen a more handsome client. Even in the entertainment industry, you''d be among the handsomest." sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan remained silent.

    Lin Li continued to smile, "I imagine you''re tired of this sort of praise. What I''m trying to tell you is, no one normally doubts themselves because they look too good, unless you''ve had plastic surgery."

    "I haven''t had plastic surgery."

    "I figured as much."

    Lin Li started counting on her fingers, "Let''s rule out another possibility. Do you ever feel bothered by the attention your appearance draws? For example, stares from the opposite or even the same gender..."

    "No."

    "Okay."

    Lin Li slightly furrowed her brows, "If none of these reasons apply, it''s hard for me to deduce normally. So, let''s consider an abnormal assumption. Have you ever felt, even for an instant, that you''re not you?"

    Lin Yuan was stunned.

    Am I not me?

    While Lin Yuan didn''t answer, his unusual restlessness didn''t go unnoticed by Lin Li. Her surprised look quickly disappeared as she quickly said, "Don''t rush to answer my first question. Listen to my second one. Have you ever imagined a different life?"

    "Yes."

    Lin Yuan spoke.

    Lin Li topped up Lin Yuan''s tea with some hot water, "We all have such fantasies. If I hadn''t become a psychologist, I''d probably be in a classroom teaching children right now..."

    "Today is Sunday."

    Lin Yuan reminded her seriously.

    Lin Li was taken aback, immediately followed by a laugh, "Your problem is a bit tricky, but it''s actually not that severe. Hear me out. You may have another dormant personality. It may have been triggered or hidden for some reason. It disappeared covertly, but its lingering effects remain deep within you."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    Does a previous life count as another personality?

    He decided to be more explicit since he felt a sense of reliability from this doctor, "I seem to have had a different experience, but I''ve forgotten about it. It''s kind of like amnesia symptoms..."

    "Did you actually go through that?"

    "Scientifically speaking, no."

    "I am a believer in science. Although psychology can seem mysterious to some, it doesn''t transcend the realm of science. The only rational explanation I can think of is that you might have been less attractive in the experiences you forgot, but I tend to lean towards the idea that you fantasized about disfiguring yourself."

    Lin Yuan''s brain jolted abruptly.

    Some fragments from his past life flashed through his mind, causing a moment of pain to cross his face. He nodded gently, "I seem to have had a lost dream. In that dream, I was very popular. But then everyone saw my disfigured face. They said they would never leave me, but they eventually did, one by one, until one day everyone was gone..."

    "Your fans?"

    "Who knows."

    "I don''t know why you''d have a dream like that. Maybe it''s because you''re attractive to the point where a backlash occurs. But I can happily tell you a piece of news. This is the traumatic shadow that the dream has left on you. It''s not something that can be cured by medication, and you probably won''t have any sudden bouts leading to a loss of self-control..."

    "Indeed, I don''t."

    "Then give it a try."

    Suddenly, Lin Li pulled back the curtains behind her. The dazzling light instantly filled the room, "Try to step out of your shadow. Try to embrace your new life. Because the past dream is already beyond your reach, but you need to stitch up your scars yourself."

    "I understand."

    Lin Yuan stood up to thank her.

    At the moment he walked out of the room, Lin Yuan activated the System, "I always thought you were blocking my memories. Turns out, I was the one actively avoiding the past. I still don''t want to think about what happened, but I should know how to face the camera now..."

    Lin Yuan came downstairs.

    Sun Yaohuo was waiting for him. From a distance, he could see the slender figure of Lin Yuan suddenly glow under the sun. This vision was so stunning that it got Sun Yaohuo questioning:

    Can my junior shine?

    Meanwhile, upstairs, Lin Li was looking at Lin Yuan through the window. A gentle smile crept onto her lips. Artists always have minds that ordinary people can''t understand. But it''s because of these incomprehensible minds that they can shine in this world, isn''t it?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: This chapter could actually have been left unwritten, and the story could have continued straight to the competition. But as a plot point that was introduced at the beginning, it''s better to fill it in. It helps to add depth to the characters, and it prevents any misunderstanding about why the protagonist always stays behind the scenes. But there won''t be any more information about his past life.

    The psychologist is explaining from a scientific perspective, so there''s no concern about the protagonist revealing any secrets.

 Chapter 459 - 437: Prince of Lanling (Extra update for Alliance Hierarch AlexG)_1

    Lin Yuan was still unable to face the camera with ease, however, he already knew what the issue was, which was just a psychological shadow. Therefore, he decided to actively overcome it. When it was time to unveil himself on "The Masked Singer", he would face the outside world as Xian Yu.

    He couldn''t as Shadow.

    He couldn''t as Chu Kuang.

    But he could as Xian Yu, who was semi-exposed anyway¡ªbecause to the company and those close to him, Lin Yuan was Xian Yu, and Xian Yu was Lin Yuan. He was not hiding behind a pseudonym.

    "Are you okay, junior?"

    "I''m fine now."

    Lin Yuan smiled from the passenger seat.

    Seeing Lin Yuan''s smile, Sun Yaohuo couldn''t help but laugh too. Somehow, he found his junior''s smile to be even better than before. He drove him to the company.

    At the songwriting department on the ninth floor...

    Lin Yuan summoned Gu Dong: "Didn''t ''The Masked Singer'' invite me? Reply to them that I accept, but I don''t need them to make the mask for me. I''ll find someone to custom-make it."

    "Mask?"

    Gu Dong was puzzled and laughed: "Mr. Lin there must be a misunderstanding, the singers in the show have to wear masks, but the judges don''t. The company thought you were apprehensive about revealing your face. I didn''t expect you to....hey, Mr. Lin''s voice seems different..."

    "You don''t need to worry about the voice, what I mean is..."

    Lin Yuan enunciated each word, "I want to participate in ''The Masked Singer'' as a singer, not as a judge."

    Gu Dong was shocked.

    She thought she had misunderstood: "Singer?"

    Lin Yuan nodded: "You might not know, but I''m actually a singer by profession, I only started composing for others due to certain reasons."

    "Really?"

    Gu Dong was drastically surprised.

    Zhao Jue had always kept Lin Yuan''s identity as a singer-turned-songwriter private.

    Probably only the higher-ups in the company knew, but because of Xian Yu''s position in the company, no one revealed it.

    "Of course, no problem!"

    Gu Dong laughed: "I will inform the company..."

    Lin Yuan interrupted: "Don''t tell the company yet. You can just represent me and communicate with the show''s crew. The company will know when I unveil myself."

    Lin Yuan still didn''t like being in the spotlight very much, which was not something that would change overnight.

    Of course, he had to overcome this fear.

    But he needed some time to transition and adjust.

    "Okay!"

    Gu Dong nodded, assuming Lin Yuan was just having fun: "I heard that not only you, but many other celebrities who aren''t singers are also interested in the show. What kind of mask do you want?"

    "Have you heard of the Prince of Lanling?"

    Gu Dong was stunned again: "I''m not well-read..."

    "That''s not your fault."

    Lin Yuan said: "Perhaps nobody''s heard the story of the Prince of Lanling and a mask."

    The real name of the Prince of Lanling was Gao Changgong. He was one of the four great handsome men in ancient times. It was normal that Lil Goodoong, a native of Blue Star, was not familiar it, let alone the story about the Prince of Lanling and his mask.

    Even in the official history of Earth, there were no records of the Prince of Lanling wearing a mask. It was said that he wore a very tight helmet.

    However, the story of the Prince of Lanling and his mask was mentioned in Tanaka Yoshiki''s book "The Prince of Lanling".

    With curiosity all over her face, Gu Dong asked, "Can you tell me about it?"

    Lin Yuan did not mind: "You can consider it a story I made up. The Prince of Lanling was a general in ancient times who was very good at fighting. But he had an exceptionally handsome face."

    "A handsome and brave general?"

    Gu Dong''s heart instantly fluttered.

    Lin Yuan continued, "For a battlefield commander soaked in blood, being too handsome is not a good thing. He might even get ridiculed by the enemy, saying that this general has the allure of a pretty man. So the Prince of Lanling made a very fierce and terrifying mask for himself, like a bloodthirsty Asura from hell."

    "Wow¡­"

    Gu Dong bet: "That sounds so cool!"

    Lin Yuan didn''t understand what was cool about it¡ªit was more of despair.

    "I need a mask like that."

    Lin Yuan wasn''t comparing himself to the Prince of Lanling nor emphasizing the beauty of his face.

    The main reason he chose a mask in the form of an Asura was due to his love for a song.

    The song was called "The Prince of Lanling''s Battle Song".

    It was a sort of synergy.

    The Prince of Lanling would be his identity once he put the mask on.

    This was the build-up, a foreshadowing for the release of "The Prince of Lanling''s Battle Song".

    "That outfit¡­"

    "Would be something like this."

    Lin Yuan took a piece of paper, quickly found a pencil, and began drawing. Drawing was as simple as eating and drinking for someone at master level.

    Swish swish swish.

    Lin Yuan finished drawing.

    He had drawn scenes of hell before, but although the mask of the Prince of Lanling was as terrifying as an Asura, Lin Yuan had his own aesthetic preferences. He would not replicate the Asura''s appearance completely, otherwise, it would most likely fail to pass any review.

    Because the ratings for the show "The Masked Singer" would definitely be high, Lin Yuan did not want to scare children.

    "Let me see¡­"

    Gu Dong took a look at the drawing and instantly widened her eyes: "Awesome!"

    "Really?"

    Lin Yuan looked at the mask he drew and added a few more strokes: "How about now?"

    "Still awesome!"

    "Is there a sense of terror?"

    "Yes!"

    "Really?"

    "Yes, very wicked!" S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan: ???

    This term is not meant for this book.

    "No, it''s more like... even though it''s made to look so terrifying, there''s an extraordinary aesthetic value to it, like art..."

    "Alright then, it should have a gold and silver gradient colour."

    Lin Yuan''s mask was to cover his face. A part of the mouth area was left unobstructed, as it was needed for singing. Approximately three-quarters of his face would be covered.

    "Sure!"

    Gu Dong''s eyes lit up: "The painting Mr. Lin made is indeed beautiful. If this mask is made, it will certainly be a hit. Perhaps many people online will want to custom-make this mask!"

    Lin Yuan said: "Just pay the copyright fees."

    Gu Dong laughed: "That''s not exaggerating at all. These days there have been rumours of singers customising the outfit of dark knights and even gods'' outfits. It''s very funny and interesting. Since you are wearing this mask, you can use the Prince of Lanling as an alias¡­"

    "Yes."

    The nickname didn''t matter, but considering "The Prince of Lanling''s Battle Song", to improve immersion, he would certainly use the name Prince of Lanling.

    "And also¡­"

    Gu Dong grinned: "Since you have a mask, you should have an outfit too, do you want armour?"

    "That''s too heavy."

    Lin Yuan picked up his pen and started drawing again.

    Gu Dong gave a thumbs-up: "This cloak is so fashionable!"

    "Isn''t it?"

    Lin Yuan said, "You can take care of the customisation, I''ll reimburse you later."

    "Of course."

    Gu Dong said: "With this look, they won''t be able to pull off the effect without several thousand yuan."

    Lin Yuan: "¡­"

    Protect our Prince of Lanling!

    --------------------

    PS: Thanks again to Master AlexG for the patronage. Here''s the extra chapter promised. Further chapters for other patrons will follow soon.

 Chapter 460 - 438 Voice Recovered_1

    Lin Yuan''s throat had not yet healed, and by reason, he shouldn''t be able to participate in "The Masked Singer". Lin Yuan himself thought so too. He even planned to rapidly produce several works to impact the million prestige of culture and music.

    But Lin Yuan overlooked one thing:

    Another cultural barrier had been broken down!

    Just as before, when the Chu people joined the merging process, it created a considerable impact. Now, the Yan people began to massively engage with and absorb the culture of Qin, Qi, and Chu after joining the merging process. The works published by Lin Yuan''s few pseudonyms have attracted quite a number of new audiences.

    Now, the prestige provided by this batch of new audiences was gradually coming in with the arrival of mid-January...

    It''s the fifteenth of this month!

    Even before the completion of the long fairy tale "Shuke and Beta", Lin Yuan''s cultural prestige officially broke the one million barriers. Most of it was provided by the Yan People audience, making Lin Yuan feel like he had just inadvertently collected a pot of prestige points.

    During this process,

    Through Chu Kuang''s novels, many Yan people quickly became familiar with Chu Kuang. The simultaneous effect was, the number of followers of Chu Kuang''s tribe also skyrocketed.

    After another day had passed,

    Lin Yuan''s music prestige also finally broke through one million. This speed was no slower than the growth of cultural prestige. After all, Yan people could easily listen to a large number of Xian Yu''s works just by searching. Especially "Mariage d''Amour", which was widely loved by Yan people who were experiencing this piece of music for the first time.

    Totally effortless.

    When his music and cultural prestige broke through the one million mark successively, a smile appeared on Lin Yuan''s face. Meanwhile, two pleasant prompts from the system came to his ear:

    [Ding Dong!]

    [Congratulations to the host for completing the task "The Body is the Capital of Revolution". The host will acquire a healthy body and live until thirty without any diseases or disasters under the protection of the system.]

    [Ding Dong!]

    [Please confirm the surroundings, host. The system will transform the host''s physique soon. This process will last half an hour. It is better to do this in an undisturbed environment; otherwise, the transformation will temporarily pause. Shall we start now?]

    Lin Yuan''s heart was beating faster.

    Suddenly accomplishing the long-awaited health task made him slightly nervous. At this moment, he was in his bedroom. After he locked his door, no one would disturb him:

    "Let''s start."

    Lin Yuan laid on his bed and spoke.

    After saying this, he felt his eyelids growing heavy and soon drifted off to sleep. There weren''t any special experiences; he just felt like he was sleeping really soundly, forgetting everything.

    Half an hour later.

    Lin Yuan opened his eyes.

    The world seemed different. Lin Yuan could clearly feel his eyesight improving. Although his eyesight was good before, it was not in a perfect state, but the world he saw now was clearer than ever.

    Well, it was still within human standards.

    Lin Yuan got out of bed and started pacing around the room. He seemed to have a new sensation this time; it''s as if his body was full of energy, and he didn''t feel a bit dizzy like he used to when waking up. His steps were firm and robust...

    "Do I have some muscles now?"

    Lin Yuan examined his body.

    Although the difference was not noticeable, if he felt himself with his hands, his abdomen definitely got much firmer. Many parts of his body, such as his legs, were more robust, and his heartbeat was steady but unhurried.

    His condition has never been better!

    Lin Yuan shouted, "Transform!"

    In the empty room, only Lin Yuan''s voice echoed. After all, no mutation occurred. Apparently, the ''healthy body'' the system mentioned was literally just a healthy body:

    "What about my throat?"

    Lin Yuan attempted to warm up his pulled voice.

    After his voice damaged, he had never warmed up his voice again. Any high notes would make his throat hurt. Speaking too much also made his voice hoarse. But when he tried to sing high notes today, Lin Yuan could clearly feel his voice recovering.

    His previous voice was back!

    Although he couldn''t transform, which disappointed him a bit, his current condition was something Lin Yuan had never experienced before. He could clearly feel his strength and flexibility were way beyond what they used to be, and the most critical part was¡ª

    He could sing again!

    The change in his body resulted in barely any change in his appearance. Yet Lin Yuan now felt healthier and more energetic than ever before. Both his physical and mental states were better than ever, which was reflected not by external factors but internal feelings.

    "The body transformation is completed."

    The system again voiced out: "The host''s body is healthier than ever before, nearly as capable as a professional athlete. The condition of the voice has returned to its previous state. Neither improvement nor deterioration was observed.".

    Lin Yuan understood.

    He couldn''t help but sing. Lin Yuan sang all of his released songs one after another, gradually gaining a clear understanding of his singing ability. That''s when the system rang out:

    [Ding Dong!] S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    [Congratulations to the host for breaking one million in cultural prestige. He has earned a special reward "Voice Reversal". The host can not only speak in a normal voice but also produce the tone of a woman, making the gender of his voice indistinguishable.]

    [Ding Dong!]

    [Congratulations to the host for breaking one million in music prestige. He has earned a Gold Treasure Chest, which cannot be opened manually. It will automatically open upon triggering significant clues]

    Voice Reversal?

    Lin Yuan was stunned.

    Without thinking, he tried to sing the song "Big Fish" in a female voice he casted. As soon as the voice appeared, Lin Yuan jumped himself; he could actually produce a woman''s voice:

    "A human voice-changer?"

    This ability was terrifying!

    If people didn''t see his face, they might regard Lin Yuan as a girl if he only chatted with them using his female voice. Moreover, Lin Yuan''s female voice was natural and pretty, making people instinctively imagine a beautiful woman!

    As a matter of fact,

    Many singers could produce voices similar to a girl''s voice with acquired training and techniques like falsetto. Some male singers even naturally produced voices similar to female singers, even without the need of falsetto. But these gifted singers were not real women after all, while Lin Yuan could produce a genuinely pure female voice.

    One must know...

    It''s like Lin Yuan naturally has an extra voice box; this tremendously enhanced his singing ability. It was indeed the reward for breaking a million prestige, even more abundant than Lin Yuan expected!

    Right,

    The other reward for breaking a million prestige was a Gold Treasure Chest. Lin Yuan couldn''t help but anticipate the reward inside this Gold Treasure Chest; however, this Gold Treasure Chest couldn''t be opened for now; it must trigger some conditions.

    "It shouldn''t be bad."

    "Didn''t expect that I not only got a healthy body, recovered my voice, but also gained an extra female voice. Although some male singers have similar skills, my female voice is definitely the most natural."

    A true voice with indistinguishable gender!

 Chapter 461 - 439 Singing Talent_1

    After recovering his voice, what''s the first thing he should do?

    Lin Yuan''s choice was:

    Sing!

    Sing!

    And sing some more!

    Pulling out his phone for accompaniment, Lin Yuan burst into song whenever he came across a familiar tune!

    And he tried different ways of singing.

    One line would be a perfect baritone, and the next could be a stunningly beautiful female voice!

    It wasn''t until several hours later that Lin Yuan finally stopped singing.

    Not because he was tired of it, but a few hours of singing couldn''t possibly vent years of pent-up frustration.

    More importantly, if he continued to sing, he would lose his voice.

    Despite being physically healthy now, he''s still just a regular human. And being regular means not overdoing things¡ª

    Things like not straining his voice too much.

    This is basic self-preservation for any singer.

    Anyhow, he was going to participate in "The Masked Singer" in the future. As long as he wasn''t eliminated too soon, he could surely let loose and enjoy singing.

    "Oh right."

    Lin Yuan suddenly called up the System: "Does this mean I won''t get sick in the future?"

    The System replied: "Please remember your human status, Host. Being free from major illnesses and disasters doesn''t mean you''re immune to routine ailments like colds or fevers. If the Host doesn''t take care of his own body, there''s nothing the System can do to help."

    Lin Yuan curled his lip.

    This System is great at making false promises. He formerly believed being disease-free meant he could do whatever he wanted without any consequences.

    Of course.

    Singing isn''t just an outlet for his bottled-up desire to sing. Lin Yuan also wanted to test the capabilities of his voice.

    His conclusion was:

    His vocal talent was indeed quite impressive.

    With a broad vocal range, he could sing many types of songs. He excelled in the middle range, and his high notes were also noteworthy.

    On the other hand, Lin Yuan''s bass singing was rather average. If he were to compete in the future, it would be best not to choose bass-heavy songs.

    Here, "average" is in comparison to singers who excel in bass, not regular people.

    The same goes for his female voice range.

    He sang beautifully in the female midrange, an average soprano, but his female low range was rather poor.

    Take "Big Fish," for instance. Lin Yuan couldn''t sing it as well as Jiang Kui. Despite having a female voice, his voice wasn''t as high, and even if he could force himself to hit the high notes, it wouldn''t be as pleasant to the ear.

    But if the song was "May We Always Be Together," Lin Yuan could sing it without issue.

    The song didn''t require many high notes and Lin Yuan''s female voice was ethereal, somewhat similar to Jiang Kui''s distinctive voice.

    In this regard, the female voice that the System provided as a foundation was not bad.

    Considering that the foundation lays the groundwork, Lin Yuan could always improve his skills through self-training in the future.

    The same goes for his male voice.

    Unfortunately, during the years his voice gave out, his singing skills didn''t improve, remaining at the level they were in his freshman year.

    This could be fatal.

    While talent can get you through, Zhao Jue wouldn''t have signed Lin Yuan without his talent. However, it was clear that this talent alone wouldn''t be enough to put Lin Yuan on par with top-tier singers.

    How to describe it?

    At the moment, Lin Yuan''s skills were about average for most secondary singers.

    Don''t think that this level is low.

    Keep in mind, Lin Yuan stopped voice training during his freshman year, so his current vocal skills are at the level they were when he began his freshman year!

    Having the singing skills of secondary singers right from the start of freshman year is already a sign of extraordinary talent!

    Many excellent singers don''t start with truly invincible voices; they improve day by day through training.

    "I need to train hard," Lin Yuan thought to himself. His bass voice was his weak point, which couldn''t be improved through training.

    Why can''t you train in the lower range?

    The low notes in singing refer to the hardware''s timbre, and there''s little room for Lin Yuan to improve by practicing them, as his vocal cords are fixed and can''t produce sounds that exceed their limit.

    In other words,

    The so-called bass cannons are all natural.

    Here''s a simple example:

    Both Eason Chan and Sun Nan can comfortably hit B4, but Sun Nan definitely can''t do low notes as well as Eason Chan!

    This is determined by the innate vocal difference, and practicing won''t change that, just like how some can easily roll their tongue while others can''t, no matter how hard they try.

    On the other hand, Lin Yuan''s male and female voices still have a lot of room for improvement in the high notes area.

    High notes can be perfected with proper technique. If you can''t reach some notes now, with professional training, you can reach them.

    So, singers with a wide vocal range tend to be comfortable.

    They can sing high notes that most people can''t and sometimes, their low notes are unbeatable too.

    Should I ask the System?

    Because of the limitations of his vocal cords, expanding his low notes is challenging, but perhaps the System has a way?

    This System can even provide a female voice for him, it certainly must have a method for vocal cord modification!

    Thinking of this,

    Suddenly, his mom''s voice calling for dinner came from downstairs.

    Lin Yuan replied and didn''t rush to consult the System. He just calmed his slightly excited mood due to his recovery and the return of his voice, and then went downstairs.

    Though there was an elevator in the villa, Lin Yuan felt like taking the stairs today.

    When only six steps were left, Lin Yuan suddenly felt an impulse. He couldn''t help but leap and then land lightly.

    "Are you crazy?"

    His sister was close to the staircase and watched Lin Yuan in disbelief before coming over, worried: "Did you hurt yourself?"

    "I''m fine."

    After regaining his health, Lin Yuan''s balance and jumping ability have improved a lot. Sensing that he might be able to make the leap, he jumped.

    Perhaps, Spiderman also felt the same way when he was testing his abilities after the mutation?

    "Don''t be rash next time. You should know your body''s limits."

    His sister complained: "I thought I heard some noise in your room earlier, were you singing?"

    "Yes, your voice..." His sister frowned, then her eyes widened: "Wait, your voice sounds like..."

    Lin Yuan''s voice seemed to be back to normal. Though the difference is not significant, anyone who knows him well could tell immediately!

    Lin Yuan said: "I might be recovered from my ill, recently my voice feels much better." S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    He couldn''t explain the existence of the System, so he could only let those around him gradually accept it.

    "Really?" His sister was excited: "Seems like you really are getting better. Your voice does sounds like it''s back to normal and you even dared to jump from so high. Now you can sing a little in your spare time, since it''s your favorite activity. But remember to test your limits, like what you did just now was not okay, got it?"

    "Got it."

    "Hmm, have you seen the psychologist?" His sister asked, referring to Lin Yuan''s fear of cameras.

    "No problem anymore."

    "Really?"

    "Almost."

    Although the problem hadn''t been solved, Lin Yuan had found the root of it. The next step was dealing with his psychological issues.

    "Let''s eat."

    His sister felt relieved and patted Lin Yuan''s arm.

    After dinner,

    Just before Lin Yuan went upstairs, he suddenly said to his sister: "I will send you ''Shuke and Beta'' in a few days."

    His sister exclaimed with joy: "Has Chu Kuang finished it?"

    Lin Yuan nodded, he decided to finish this novel in his spare time, then prepare for ''The Masked Singer'' competition.

    "That''s great!"

    Lin Xuan was ecstatic.

    She can let Shui Zhourou and others deal with the long stories, and she will continue to publish Chu Kuang''s short stories. That''s also a significant achievement!

    The recent fuss in the long-story fairy tales circle made it quite lively.

 Chapter 462 - 440: The Struggle of Qin Yan_1

    The recent long fairy tale circle is indeed lively.

    This excitement initially started because of the news on the latest creation from the veteran and creator of the Three Little Pigs series, Teacher Yuanyuan.

    However, what truly stirred up the fairy tale circle again was a literary duel!

    Indeed.

    Three days after Teacher Yuanyuan announced the imminent release of her new work, Teacher Yuanyuan accepted a literary duel initiated by a Yancontinent person¡ª

    The initiator of the literary duel is Hu, a renowned long fairy tale writer from Yan Province!

    Who is Hu?

    Let''s put it this way:

    If Teacher Yuanyuan''s Three Little Pigs is the childhood of many Blue Starian, then Hu''s fairy tale, the Little Carp Adventure, is the childhood of many Yan Province locals...

    Based on their status in the fairy tale circles of their respective continents, Hu and Yuanyuan are on par!

    Interestingly...

    Teacher Hu''s new work is also published through Silver Blue Books, the title of the work is Little Kitty Adventure!

    Why is it interesting? S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Because this is too coincidental!

    The title of Teacher Yuanyuan''s work happens to be Meow Star!

    The two renowned fairy tales writers from different continents, surprisingly chose "cats" as the protagonist for their new long fairy tales, even choosing the same publishing platform!

    So, the sparks started to fly!

    "It''s like Mars colliding with the Blue Star."

    Some people described the magnitude of this literary duel in this manner.

    Others jokingly said:

    "The short fairy tales of Yan people were butchered by Chu Kuang, so they simply stopped competing in short stories and are competing in long ones now..."

    Short fairy tales have become unplayable.

    Chu Chuang single-handedly defeating nine contenders, becoming a legend with his work Fairy Tale Town winning the title of "King of Short Fairy Tales", this feud is equivalent to a total defeat for the Yan People in the field of short fairy tales!

    So...

    Recently in the Yan Continent''s fairy tale circle, no short fairy tale writer has initiated any literary duels with other states.

    Because there''s no point.

    The intensity of Chu Kuang''s epic fight against the nine top contenders has seen everyone''s fair share.

    Any short fairy tale literary duel by Yan People will inevitably be compared with Chu Kuang''s Fairy Tale Town, then there will be an immediate sense of blandness¡ª

    Without Chu Kuang''s duel, it''s just chickens pecking each other.

    Some people even think that the reason why Teacher Hu initiated a literary duel with Teacher Yuanyuan was to initiate a revenge on behalf of Yan Continent''s fairy tale circle against the Qin Continent''s fairy tale circle!

    In short fairy tales, we Yan people admit defeat.

    Chu Kuang''s short fairy tales are too invincible.

    But in long fairy tales, we Yan people are not afraid!

    "Yan people will never be slaves!"

    Since Teacher Yuanyuan and Chu Kuang are both fairy tale writers from the Qin Continent, it gives all the more reason for hypothesis among peers.

    However, some people think that this literary duel does not necessarily equate to a revenge by Yan People.

    "Even if Hu wins the literary duel, it is at most a moment of glory for the Yan Continent''s fairy tale circle, unless Hu can follow in the footsteps of Chu Kuang, single-handedly overwhelming several same-level long fairy tale writers..."

    This is impossible.

    Creating a long fairy tale and creating a short fairy tale are not the same concept.

    The former runs into millions of words, while the latter is just a few thousand words.

    So Chu Kuang''s shocking victory over nine contenders, pinning several Yan Continent elites to the ground, is destined to be forever remembered in the fairy tale circle!

    "Moreover, it''s not yet certain who will lose and who will win."

    Because of Chu Kuang, there is a hint of regional competition between Qin and Yan.

    Under such circumstances, Qin Continent''s fairy tale writers will definitely support Teacher Yuanyuan.

    Just like the Yan Continent''s fairy tale circle, they also pinned their hopes on Teacher Hu.

    On both sides, it''s like a challenge match.

    The Qin people are in charge of cheering for Teacher Yuanyuan, while the Yan people are in charge of cheering for Teacher Hu.

    After all, both of them are among the leaders who are eligible to represent the long fairy tales of their respective continents.

    Netizens on both sides have also turned on their debate mode.

    "You have Chu Kuang, and we have no chance in short stories, but our long fairy tales on Yan Continent are not bad!"

    "If you have read Little Carp Adventure, you will know how powerful Teacher Hu is!"

    "Victory to the Yan People!"

    "Teacher Hu is a sure win."

    "Since making his debut in Yan Continent, Teacher Hu''s record has been eight wins and no loss, do you realise what that implies?"

    "He''s a born literary duel master!"

    "..."

    The Yan people began to make a commotion.

    The Qin people naturally refused to back down:

    "Why don''t you take a look at the Qin people''s ''Three Little Pigs''?"

    "Chu Kuang has bashed your short stories to the ground, do you think your novels can turn the tables?"

    "Teacher Yuanyuan is the next old rascal... uh, no, Chu Kuang in the realm of Qin Continent''s long fairy tales!"

    "The Yan people like to be defiant; if they still refuse to admit defeat, let''s continue the fight!"

    "Teacher Chu Kuang is the first stick, Teacher Yuanyuan is the second stick. Their two sticks are enough to beat all of you in the fairy tale circle!"

    "Chu Kuang: Blue Star tolerates no one crazier than me!"

    "Chu Kuang: Yuanyuan, you can hit them as you like, this crowd has been dizzied by me."

    "..."

    The Yan people were so angry they were stomping their foot.

    These Qin people just knew how to tout Chu Kuang!

    We''re discussing long fairy tales here!

    Chu Kuang writes short fairy tales!

    The netizens from Qi and Chu regions, however, were excited spectators, possessing the enlightenment of ready spectators.

    Some Chu people could actually understand the feelings of the Yan people.

    Their music and comics have been successively beaten by Chu Kuang''s two best bros...

    Someone had even summarized:

    These Three Bros are a perfect combination of inner sages and outward kings!

    They are fierce as tigers in internal battle!

    And appear magical in external battles!

    Like Xian Yu.

    While fighting local people, at least he normally puts out songs. When fighting Chu people, he straightaway tossed out ''Mariage d''Amour''!

    Another example is Shadow.

    While fighting local people, he lazily draws a few strokes and even makes explicit content in his comics. But when he fought Chu people, he directly threw out the incredibly drawn ''Death Note''!

    Didn''t Chu Kuang recently do the same thing?

    Fighting his own people, the ''Snow White'' sufficed.

    But fighting Yan people, he unabashedly brought out nine Snow Whites, pressing down everything with ''Fairytale Town''!

    At this moment, inside the Silver Blue Books, the Fairy Tale Department.

    There was a standoff between Zhang Yang and Shui Zhourou.

    Because Teacher Hu was invited by Zhang Yang!

    Therefore...

    Whatever the outsiders said about Teacher Hu also choosing to release his new work in the Silver Blue Books as a challenge to Teacher Yuan Yuan was not quite right, as it was Zhang Yang who plotted this for the competition of the chief editor position in the Fairy Tale Department of Silver Blue Books.

    Zhang Yang had to bring Teacher Hu into this fray to compete with Shui Zhourou on performance.

    However, Teacher Hu, while being wronged, was also not completely innocent.

    Because he indeed had the intention to avenge for the Yan People''s fairy tale circle!

    You, Chu Kuang, undermined the short fairy tale circle of Yan by breaking its symbol, the tales, as a strong man of Yan, I, Hu, must slap the face of the long fairy tale circle of Qin!

    That''s how tough the Yan people are!

    Being a Yan person, Hu felt such a sense of responsibility.

    In the midst of such a battle atmosphere, the ultimate literary duel eventually began.

    That was one week later, in the morning.

    New books from Hu and Yuan Yuan were placed on the shelves of bookstores one after another.

    It took three days before the result became clear.

    According to the rules of the literary duel, a comprehensive evaluation was made from various aspects such as sales and reputation of the work...

    Teacher Hu, won!

 Chapter 463 - 441: A Single Stone Stirs up a Thousand Waves_1

    Teacher Yuanyuan lost...

    Even though these one-on-one literary duels are meant to have a fifty-fifty outcome, and Teacher Yuanyuan and Hu''s books are on the same level, it''s not surprising who wins or loses. Yet, this defeat is somewhat of a blow to the Qin people.

    "What a shame."

    "The sales and reputation of Yuanyuan and Hu''s books are similar, the difference is minuscule, but it''s precisely the minute difference that determines the outcome of the literary duel. Now the Yan people will start to strut around."

    "So, is this their successful revenge?"

    "At most, they''ve just saved a bit of face."

    "The Yan people can''t compete in short fairy tales, so they challenge us in long ones. Moreover, Teacher Yuanyuan only lost narrowly, whilst the renowned short fairy tale authors from Yan Continent were completely crushed by Chu Kuang''s ''Fairytale Town''!"

    "..."

    The setback of Teacher Yuanyuan inevitably affected the morale of the fairy tale circle of Qin Continent. Chu Kuang, the King of Short Fairy Tales, became everyone''s last comfort. Shui Zhourou experienced a similar emotion.

    "Lost again."

    Shui Zhourou started to chuckle bitterly.

    In the first round of the deputy editor''s performance competition, she and Zhang Yang both lost to Lin Xuan. She thought she could turn the tide in the second round, but in the second round, she lost to Zhang Yang again. Even though the gap wasn''t significant, just like many people discussed ...

    A loss is a loss.

    The future editor of the Fairy Tale Department would probably be chosen from Zhang Yang and Lin Xuan, depending on whether the company values long or short stories more. Her hope seems the most bleak compared to theirs.

    And in the next office...

    Zhang Yang finally shook off the gloom of being crushed by Lin Xuan in the performance of short fairy tales and became exuberant: "Teacher Hu is indeed a literary duel master with eight consecutive victories, even Teacher Yuanyuan was defeated by him!"

    "It''s a nine-win streak now!"

    The assistant was equally excited: "After eight literary duels in Yan Continent, Teacher Hu has won all of them. Including the duel with Teacher Yuanyuan, he has won nine literary duels consecutively, which is also Chu Kuang''s record."

    "To be fair..."

    Zhang Yang''s smile disappeared slightly: "Chu Kuang''s nine-win streak was one-off against nine, much different from Teacher Hu. Taking into account previous victories, Chu Kuang should have ten victories in a row. He even defeated Leng Guang in the mystery genre."

    "That''s still pretty good."

    The assistant chuckled: "Although Lin Xuan has Chu Kuang, we have the help of Teacher Hu. The situation is not too bad. In terms of importance, long fairy tales are more crucial than short ones. Even though our sales are not as high as ''Fairytale Town'', the advantage of long fairy tales is there."

    "I hope so,"

    A twitch cornered on Zhang Yang''s cheek: "I always get this uneasy feeling as if something bad is about to happen. My right eye has been twitching since this morning, it''s said that twitching of the left eye means gaining wealth while the right means disaster."

    Zhang Yang felt uneasily worried.

    Upon hearing this, the assistant was taken by surprise, then seemingly thought of something, almost simultaneously with Zhang Yang, they turned their sights to the left wall. They knew that the office separated by this wall was the office of Lin Xuan, the third deputy editor in the department.

    "Hu won."

    Inside Lin Xuan''s well-soundproofed office, Zhang Cheng''s face was slightly heavy: "Looks like our biggest competitor for the editor position is Zhang Yang. I originally thought Shui Zhourou would be our main competitor."

    "No competitors."

    Lin Xuan smiled: "We just need to solidify our advantage in short fairy tales. I think Chu Kuang''s new fairy tale will be completed soon. Make sure to reserve space for me then, and leave the cover space for Chu Kuang''s work..."

    "Beep beep beep beep."

    An email alert sounded suddenly.

    Lin Xuan turned her gaze to the computer screen, her smile widening: "It''s better to come at the right time than early. Just as we were talking about Chu Kuang''s new work, Dezhi, the chief editor of the detective department, sent Chu Kuang''s new fairy tale."

    "Shuke and Beta?"

    Zhang Cheng had heard Lin Xuan mention this.

    Lin Xuan nodded and quickly sat down in front of the computer, eager to open the novel. However, when she saw the content, she was left slightly stunned.

    "What happened?"

    "See for yourself."

    Lin Xuan''s expression was priceless.

    Zhang Cheng hesitated, unconsciously leaning over for a glance. His face immediately mirrored Lin''s expression. Chu Kuang''s "Shuke and Beta" seemed to be not a short story as expected, but a bona fide¡­

    Long fairy tale?

    Meanwhile, in the outside world.

    After Hu defeated Teacher Yuanyuan in the Literary Duel, the atmosphere in the Qin Continent''s fairy tale community was downcast. In contrast, the fairy tale circle in Yan Continent was invigorated, as if the humiliation inflicted by Chu Kuang had somewhat dissipated.

    "Awesome!"

    "Satisfying!"

    "Revenge!"

    "Though we lost in short fairy tales, we Yan people have turned the tables in long fairy tales. Teacher Hu is indeed remarkable. Now, the Qin people can only console themselves with Chu Kuang. The reign over long fairy tales is ours!"

    "Teacher Hu, what a man!"

    "If this were a round-based game, our score with Qin people would be one-to-one now. If only Chu Kuang didn''t write long fairy tales. It would have been more satisfying if Chu Kuang were Teacher Hu''s opponent this time!"

    "..."

    The atmosphere in the fairy tale circles of Qin and Yan was starkly different, and this contrast permeated the internet. Finally, Netizens from Yan Continent could proudly declare:

    "We won!"

    Some Yan Netizens arrogantly tagged the Qin people: "I told you before, Teacher Hu is great at writing long fairy tales. You didn''t believe it, but now you know how powerful Teacher Hu is, right?"

    "Teacher Hu is mighty!"

    "Our cats are stronger!"

    "Allow me to revel in victory for a while. Teacher Hu, representing Yan Continent, defeated Qin. Where is your Chu Kuang now? Oh, I almost forgot. You said that Teacher Yuanyuan is the Chu Kuang of long fairy tales in Qin Continent."

    "..."

    The Netizens from Qin and Yan hadn''t held back their banter because of the events between Yuanyuan and Hu. They fired at each other every day. Now that it was time to determine the winner, the Yan people didn''t hesitate to press the attack!

    "What a weirdo."

    "Why are you showing off so much?"

    "Dare Hu challenge nine opponents?" Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Our Teacher Yuanyuan was narrowly defeated."

    "Even though Hu won, I haven''t seen anyone declaring him the King of Long Fairy Tales. Our Chu Kuang is the King of Short Fairy Tales as recognized by the Literature and Art Association. How can you compare with that!"

    "..."

    When the Qin people counterattacked, they seemed a bit filled with indignation. Chu Kuang''s nine consecutive victories had previously been a sharp weapon used specifically to attack the Yan people''s weaknesses. But now, Chu Kuang became the fig leaf of fairy tales in the Qin Continent.

    In Literary Duels, winners rule and losers weep.

    Only the victor gets the final laugh. Regardless of the size of the gap in the outcome, no one will remember the runner-up, except for people like Cheng Zhiyu and Yue Lun. For now, when Yan people claim their superiority in long fairy tales, the Qin people don''t have any solid ground to retort.

    However, that very night¡­

    Silver Blue Books, which drew attention due to successive battles in the fairy tale circle, released another shocking book preview: "Chu Kuang''s first long fairy tale, ''Shuke and Beta,'' to be published in five days."

    This news stirred up waves!

 Chapter 464 - 442: It Starts and Ends with Me_1

    "Holy crap!"

    "A long story?"

    "So, Chu Kuang, the King of Short Fairy Tales, is going to write a long fairy tale? Is he seeking revenge for Teacher Yuanyuan, just like Teacher Hu is seeking revenge for the fairy tale circle in Yan Continent?"

    "Really?"

    "I can''t believe Chu Kuang could also write long fairy tales. I thought he was only going to write short stories. The idea of revenge definitely isn''t realistic. Chu Kuang couldn''t have predicted in advance that Teacher Yuanyuan would lose, it''s just an interesting coincidence, like how Yuanyuan and Hu both choose cats as their protagonists."

    "Wait a moment!"

    "Have you guys forgotten the lyrics of ''Fairytale Town''? There''s a line in the song that says ''Shuk Bacchetta is the talking mouse'', which means Chu Kuang had planned this work a long time ago!"

    "Ah, a mouse?"

    "The characters of Teacher Yuan Yuan and Teacher Hu are cats, and Chu Kuang''s protagonist is a mouse. It is indeed a crazy coincidence. Considering the regional conflicts in the Qin Yan fairy tale circle, does this imply a cat and mouse conflict?"

    "..."

    Exclamations filled both the online and fairy tale circles of Qin, Qi, Chu and Yan. The previously concluded dispute in the Qin Yan fairy tale circle was immediately renewed on a new playing field. Everyone was uncontrollably excited-

    Chu Kuang had joined the fray!

    With a long fairy tale at that!

    His fairy tale features a mouse, a natural enemy to the cat characters of Yuanyuan and Hu. Coupled with the backdrop of the regional conflict between Qin and Yan gives everyone a sense that everything had been preordained!

    Yes!

    Preordained!

    Why was there a regional conflict between Qin and Yan, and not the other continents? Wasn''t the original cause for it Chu Kuang''s shocking nine versus one duel that concluded all of the masters of short fairy tales in Yan?

    Looking at the present.

    Chu Kuang won the regional conflict, but Teacher Yuanyuan lost. The score between the two sides was tied, but Chu Kuang''s presence crushed the balance once more, giving everyone a sense of fate - "where the story starts, it will end."

    Chu Kuang is the beginning of everything!

    And he should be the one to end it!

    The collective shock wore off, and both Qin fairy tale circle and the netizens were stimulated: "You Yan people were bragging about Hu''s win in the Literary Duel, now with Chu Kuang here, do you dare act arrogant?"

    "One versus nine warning!"

    "The old rascal will save the world!"

    "What counts if you just win against Teacher Yuanyuan? Can you make it past this hurdle of Chu Kuang, the old rascal? Hu might have won nine in a row, but we have a ten-win champion who has yet to make his move, do you know about nine-line operation?"

    "Chu Kuang, the eternal god!"

    "Chu Kuang: Teacher Yuanyuan, you step back. I, Chu Kuang, started this conflict in the fairy tale realm of Qin and Yan, so I will be the one to end it. My real opponent is Hu!"

    "Very graphic!"

    "Heroes always step forth in times of crisis. If doctors are heroes to patients, and police are heroes to ordinary civilians, then Chu Kuang is the hero to the fairy tale realm of Qin!"

    "..."

    These Yan people are intolerable!

    Hu''s victory in the Literary Duel had only led to ridicule from Yan. They''ve been making the people of Qin hold back their anger. However, news of Chu Kuang''s new long fairy tale was like gasoline on fire, making the anger of Qin''s people ignite!

    At this time, everyone realised:

    Compared to Teacher Yuanyuan, people from Qin seem to have more faith in Chu Kuang. Even though Chu Kuang, as a newcomer to short fairy tales, had never written a long fairy tale, this level of trust is absolute!

    The Qi, Chu, Yan people were all puzzled.

    Everyone doubted Chu Kuang''s chances at the time of his one-versus-nine duel. Why is it that now, when Silver Blue Books announces he will be writing a long fairy tale, people of Qin not only have faith in Chu Kuang, but they seem to be more passionate about Chu Kuang than ever."I understand now."

    "After Teacher Yuan Yuan lost to Hu, the Qin people had no choice left, and the appearance of Chu Kuang for them was like a lifesaving straw. Whether Chu Kuang could really save the world or not, the Qin people would seize him without hesitation."

    This explanation was popular.

    However, a netizen from the Chu Continent had a different perspective: "The Qin people do not regard Chu Kuang as a lifeline, but truly believe that Chu Kuang has the capacity to save the world. Otherwise, their emotions shouldn''t be so high. It should be as poignant as when Chu Kuang single-handedly took on nine others."

    Someone asked, "Why?"

    Someone explained, "Because Chu Kuang''s previous one-against-nine was cross-field combat, his past theme had nothing to do with fairy tales, so everyone didn''t think Chu Kuang could write fairy tales. But now the situation is different, Chu Kuang has proven his ability to write fairy tales!"

    "Yes!"

    A Qin person appeared: "Last time we didn''t know Chu Kuang could write fairy tales, but now we know, so we trust Chu Kuang''s fairy tale writing ability. Don''t bring up that he hasn''t written a long fairy tale before. Isn''t a long fairy tale a fairy tale too?"

    This is the truth!

    If Chu Kuang can write short fairy tales, wouldn''t it be only natural for him to write long fairy tales as well? Like Teacher Yuan Yuan, she''s a famous long-form fairy tale writer, but when she writes short ones, doesn''t she do it with style too?

    What''s up?

    So a short fairy tale is a fairy tale, but a long fairy tale is not a fairy tale? They might specialize in different areas, but at least they''re the same genre this time. In this same genre, could this little constraint restrict a monster like Old Rascal Chu Kuang?

    That''s why the Qin people are excited!

    However, the Yan people are not intimidated at all, even a bit like enemies meeting with extra bitterness: "We can''t compete with Chu Kuang when he dominates in the short fairy tale field. After all, there isn''t a second person in the short fairy tale authors that can take on nine others. But now that he''s causing trouble in the long fairy tale field, we must cherish this chance for revenge!"

    Winning against Yuan Yuan is an honor.

    Winning against Chu Kuang is a revenge.

    Although no one has challenged Chu Kuang after Silver Blue Books officially announced that he would publish a long fairy tale, after all, you can''t create a long fairy tale in a short period of time. Even if a long-form fairy tale writer from the Yan Continent steps in, it''d be more than they could handle.

    Yet, with the backdrop of the regional dispute between Qin and Yan, the atmosphere of this grand fairy tale war isn''t a literary duel, but it is better than a literary duel!

    The Yan people love this tune.

    As the self-proclaimed representative of the Yan Continent''s long-form fairy tale circle, Teacher Hu naturally likes this tune. To be exact, Chu Kuang''s presence brought back to Hu the long-lost passion. He was even somewhat grateful for Chu Kuang''s move.

    "They weren''t comparable." S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "If it were about short stories, I would certainly be no match for Chu Kuang. As far as short fairy tales are concerned, no one in Yan Continent can match Chu Kuang. But if it''s about long fairy tales, this is giving us a chance!"

    In a hotel in Yan Continent.

    A tall muscular man decisively pushed away the girl beside him, and looked at the news on Tribe with eyes shining. Though challenging Chu Kuang to a contest of long fairy tales was a bit unfair, even taking advantage of someone''s predicament, the temptation to defeat Chu Kuang was too great!

    Hu''s eyes were flickering.

    Chu Kuang is the hero of the Qin Continent.

    If Hu overshadowed Chu Kuang, who had just finished the one-against-nine not long ago, he would be the hero of the Yan Continent, and his status in the Blue Star fairy tale world and in the hearts of countless Yan people would certainly soar in the future!

    "Five more days?"

    Why does Chu Kuang''s new book have to be published only after five days? It''s making people so impatient. Teacher Hu now wished he had a time remote control in his hand, adjusting time straight to five days later.

    Of course.

    Someone big and strong like Teacher Hu obviously wouldn''t have such unscientific things as a time remote control. He could only wait silently, both anxious and excited, until the arrival of the fifth day.

    Finally!

    Five days later!

    Chu Kuang''s first long fairy tale "Shuke and Beta" was officially released. With all sorts of feelings from all sorts of people across the continents, a book-buying frenzy for long fairy tales quietly kicked off...

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Keep writing, after the Fairy Tale storyline is finished, it''ll progress to The Masked Singer. Some readers worry about not wanting the protagonist to take the stage. However, in the case of backstage novels, if they don''t step onto the stage, many plots are inconvenient to develop.

    Polluted White is confident that he can make the Masked Singer plot very exciting, and hopes everyone has more confidence in Polluted White.

 Chapter 465 - 443: Tonnage Crushing the Food Chain_1

    It was 8 AM on the Qin Continent.

    Inside the study room of a country villa.

    Teacher Yuanyuan was sitting in the chair by the desk, receiving a fresh new novel from someone''s hand. On the cover was a striking illustration of two cute mice ¡ª the one on the left was sitting on a toy airplane, while the one on the right sat in a toy tank.

    The title read "Shuk and Beta!"

    And at the back, it says, "By Chu Kuang."

    After tearing open the sealed packaging, the woman who bought the storybook for Teacher Yuanyuan said with a smile, "The New Cathay Bookstore has a clever touch today. They promoted this book and Teacher Hu''s "The Aristocats" together, even claiming it to be the ultimate showdown in Long-form Fairy Tales."

    "They used the same marketing for me before."

    Teacher Yuanyuan casually replied, "But it seems like I''ve held the Qin fairy tale world back. Teacher Hu''s fairy tales are indeed more engaging, and the situation in the field is gloomy. That is, if Chu Kuang hasn''t released a new book..."

    "Think Chu Kuang can win?"

    "Why not read it and see?"

    Teacher Yuanyuan shook the freshly unwrapped novel in her hand, deeply inhaling the scent of fresh ink, "I love the smell of new books. They smell wonderful. This book should be great."

    The woman next to her rolled her eyes.

    Doesn''t ink smell the same everywhere?

    Ignoring the thoughts of the person next to her, Teacher Yuanyuan cheerily flipped open the first page of the novel. The opening of the story jumped out: "Shuk was born in a family with a bad reputation¡­and it went on."

    Fairy tales do not strain the brain.

    For an adult like Teacher Yuanyuan, reading a fairy tale mostly consisted of skimming through the plot. However, as she read through, she suddenly burst out laughing.

    What an interesting story!

    Shuk doesn''t want to be a mouse with a bad reputation, so he disguises himself as a pilot, going around helping others. In the end, he succeeds in earning the friendship of ants, bees, and sparrows. However, when he plans to have a dinner with these new pals, a cat shows up. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The cat reveals Shuk''s true identity.

    Everyone hates mice, the cat thought that revealing Shuk as a mouse would turn everyone against him, but to its surprise, not being deterred by Shuk''s identity, they all plead the kitten to let Shuk go. In the end, the little kitty had to leave in disappointment¡­

    That was why Yuanyuan laughed.

    The main villain in the story is a cat.

    Any sane person who comes across this plot might suspect Chu Kuang had a teasing intention behind it, since Teacher Hu''s fairy tale protagonist seemed to feature a cat.

    Huh?

    Teacher Yuanyuan suddenly remembered that her protagonist was also a cat, which made her laughter more hearty. Especially when she later found that the two protagonists of this book are actually two mice, and the other mouse, Beta, is proficient in commanding a tank.

    We have two cats!

    Chu Kuang has two mice!

    But it is truly a coincidence, rats and cats are natural enemies, so it is granted that the cat serves as the villain in this fairy tale. Despite being the villain, the cat doesn''t really do anything atrocious after all.

    That''s what Yuanyuan thought.

    While Yuanyuan was reading "Shuk and Beta," Teacher Hu, also clutched a copy of the same book, but he couldn''t easily burst into laughter like Yuanyuan while reading.

    ¡­

    Many people purchased "Shuk and Beta," but not everyone chose to read it immediately. Some bought it for their children, as adults usually don''t take an interest in fairy tales.

    In comparison to the content.

    The thing that most concerned everybody is whether Chu Kuang''s long fairy tale can win back the glory for Qin''s fairy tale circle as Teacher Hu''s fairy tales were quite impressive in terms of sales and reputation, and he even surpassed Teacher Yuanyuan.

    "When will the result come out?"

    "If it''s close, it might take a few days."

    "If there''s a large gap, one day will be enough."

    "We can put it this way. If Chu Kuang''s proficiency in writing short fairy tales is ten out of ten, then his long fairy tales would only have to reach eight-tenths of his short fairy tales to easily beat Teacher Hu."

    "Sounds about right."

    "He doesn''t even need eight-tenths. I feel that if Chu Kuang''s long fairy tales have even seven-tenths or even six-tenths of his short fairy tale''s strength, he can win. His short tales are of the one-to-nine level, officially recognized as the King of Short Fairy Tales by the Literature and Art Association!"

    "Five-tenths will do already!"

    "You guys are exaggerating more and more. The current issue is, how much worse are Chu Kuang''s long fairy tales than his short fairy tales? What if Chu Kuang''s long fairy tales are of the same standard as his short stories? That would leave no hope for Teacher Hu."

    "..."

    You can tell at one glance that the above group of netizens are from the Qin continent. When it comes to the Yan Continent, opinions take a completely different turn: "Separately categorize short fairy tales and long fairy tales. Qin people love generalizations."

    "Exactly."

    "Long fairy tales require a more comprehensive outline and a more exciting storyline to connect. Otherwise, those acclaimed fairy tale writers wouldn''t distinguish between short and long tales. Everyone has their own strengths."

    "Victory for Teacher Hu!"

    "Chu Kuang is dizzy from the victory over the nine opponents in the short fairy tale competition. I can understand. Just like when I won the championship in an amateur singing contest and thought I was unbeatable until I went to an entertainment company and discovered how little I know."

    "..."

    They say the mindset depends on where you stand.

    During the discussion between Qin people and Yan people, this argument was proven most fair. However, even fairer than the Qin and Yan netizens would be the netizens from Qi Continent and Chu Continent. Yet, their view was:

    ""It''s a fifty-fifty shot!"

    Both sides have unpredictable outcomes!

    But is the outcome really unpredictable? The answer to this question became clear by evening, because not everyone was chatting online without reading the book. Many people bought ''Shuke and Beta'' and took it home to read.

    Not necessarily out of interest.

    Just out of curiosity.

    As a result, this curiosity turned into the first batch of readers'' reviews of ''Shuke and Beta'', which appeared one by one on the main novel comment section of Starry Sky Network, attracting netizens who hadn''t read the book to the site:

    "Chu Kuang is so interesting!"

    "I originally bought it for my son. I just flipped through it casually but I couldn''t put it down. Shuke flying planes and Beta driving tanks have outsmarted kittens in various ways. I have burst into laughter several times. Now my son wants to compete with me for the book."

    "I really like Shuke and Beta!"

    "Isn''t the most interesting one is the cat? The protagonist of Teacher Yuanyuan and Teacher Hu''s fairy tales are kittens. But Chu Kuang changed the protagonist to two mice. The kittens became villains who were beaten up at the beginning."

    "Shuke and Beta are such great pals."

    "These two Zhi star people are so handsome. I remember I liked model toys when I was a child, which could let my hamster get in and start moving with a remote control. I''m a model enthusiast even now. Shuke and Beta have fulfilled my childhood dream!"

    "It seems like kids really like it."

    "I haven''t finished reading the book yet, so I quickly came online to make my presence known. This round, Teacher Hu is out. Shuke and Beta is probably the type of fairy tale I liked most when I was a child. It''s thrilling and doesn''t make people feel clich¨¦d. With two mice as the main characters, flying planes and crashing tanks directly hits the sweet spot for kids!"

    "..."

    It appears to be quite good?

    These early comments on the Starry Sky Network formed the first impression for those who hadn''t read ''Shuke and Beta'', and this impression didn''t change as more comments appeared. On the contrary, there seemed to be even more excitement.

    Meanwhile.

    Inside many families with children, the little ones were engrossed in ''Shuke and Beta'', flipping the pages from time to time, their faces full of tension and excitement, as if worried about another adventure of Shuke and Beta, yet excited for another victory of theirs.

    ...

    Still in Qin Continent.

    Having read half of ''Shuke and Beta'', Teacher Yuanyuan sipped her tea and smiled at the woman next to her: "Cats and mice are indeed natural enemies. But cats usually dominate the food chain and mice can only scurry away when cats play with them."

    "So?"

    "There are exceptions."

    Teacher Yuanyuan narrowed her eyes.

    The woman next to her slapped her head and said, "Speaking of mice and cats, I saw a very funny animated picture a few days ago. It was probably the situation you were talking about. Let me send it to you."

    The woman took out her phone and operated it.

    Teacher Yuanyuan was taken aback, then picked up her phone to open the image the woman had sent. As a result, she was stupefied when she saw the picture: a mouse bigger than a cat was eating cat food.

    The cat cautiously approached.

    The breed of this cat is bluish-white.

    The mouse looked back at the cat and continued eating its food, its tail swung once, which instantly scared the cat away. The cat hid in the corner, trembling while looking at the mouse eating its food, leaving a very adorable impression.

    "What the hell..."

    Teacher Yuanyuan laughed back and forth. This seemed to be a larger species than cats, so it was quite normal for the cat to be scared. "Your picture is good, but it''s mine in the next second."

    While talking, Yuanyuan logged into the tribe.

    She didn''t say anything else, but uploaded this funny animated picture. As soon as the post was published, many fans began to leave comments underneath.

    "Poor cat."

    Jin Shan reposted the dynamic picture.

    Qiqi also reposted it.

    Turtle Master followed by reposting the dynamic picture, and left an online comment: "I always thought that cats were the natural enemy of mice, but I didn''t expect that there are cats in the world that can''t beat mice. Does this count as the food chain being crushed by the tonnage..."

    A cat and mouse war?

    Where is the promised war?

    Lastly, in the Yan Continent, Teacher Hu, with a change of expression after a few seconds, abruptly sneezed: "Why does the smell of the new book''s ink irritate my nose so much!"

    Then, there was silence.

    Teacher Hu had a dream. His dream was to have a time machine, even a one-time consumable would work. All he needed was to adjust the timeline a bit. Well, this was actually a dream he had just five days ago, when he hoped he could come five days later ¡ª¡ª

    Now he wants to go back to five days ago.

    Saving face is possible, but revenge isn''t.

    The heated regional competition seems to be drawing to a close in an almost humorous manner. From Chu Kuang''s penetrating through nine to the final unique "Cat and Mouse War", it''s as interesting as a long fairy tale.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks a lot to big boss [Zinc Luan] for the reward, becoming the 31st Alliance Hierarch of this book. Additional updates will come, but I owe you guys quite a few updates. I have to jot it down in a notebook and pay it off slowly. I somewhat regret the three-updates-at-least promise I made before (£¾©n£¼).

 Chapter 466 - 444: Playing with Tickets_1

    It was clear that Hu had lost, whether by the public comments on Starry Sky Network or the subtext of the fairy tale authors'' reactions. Despite some stubborn Yan people denying the reality, the results were undeniably clear when the sales volume of "Shuke and Beta" came out the following day. They could no longer muster a counterargument because the outcome was so evident.

    It was not an overwhelming win.

    But it felt like one.

    Chu Kuang''s work didn''t completely crush Hu''s, but in the context of this regional battle, he played two roles in the Qin-Yan fairy tale dispute -

    The story began with him.

    The end came from him.

    Even without intentionally belittling Hu, there''s an air of "I''m still your superior" about him, which undoubtedly added a legendary aura to Chu Kuang. It further reinforced everyone''s understanding of his ability to write fairy tales.

    "The old rascal is still strong!"

    "The old rascal is indeed awesome! Only these Yan people never learn. After being thrashed by the old rascal in short stories, they thought they could challenge him in the realm of novels, and the old rascal won''t have the capacity to handle them?"

    "Offenders of Qin shall be executed, no matter how far they run!"

    "Although Chu Kuang isn''t as explosive in writing novels as he is in short stories, he''s still among the most formidable writers on Blue Star. Hu''s defeat is justified. I personally think Chu Kuang''s novels are about 70% as powerful as his short stories."

    "Shouldn''t it be 80%?"

    "It''s a shame that Chu Kuang didn''t completely crush Hu this time. If he had, Chu Kuang should now be known as the Fairy Tale King instead of merely the King of Short Fairy Tales. Am I having too high expectations for the old rascal?"

    "..."

    Yan people collectively spat blood.

    These statements were too heart-wrenching. Was being the King of Short Fairy Tales not enough? Did they want Chu Kuang to also claim the title of Fairy Tale King in the realm of long fairy tales? Even the bravest of souls need limits. Do they really think the Blue Star fairy tale world revolves around Chu Kuang alone?

    Pure greed!

    Despite their burning anger, the Yan people couldn''t counterattack. Unless another stronger Yan person stepped up to defeat Chu Kuang, but that required a more powerful long-form fairy tale author to emerge in Yan and make a move.

    Such people were rare in Yan.

    To be more specific, there was only one.

    So even though the Yan people were still unwilling to admit defeat, at least for now they had completely ceased their attempts. Both short and long form fairy tales had been dominated by Chu Kuang, and in the short term, no one would dare to directly challenge Chu Kuang again.

    And there was no reason to!

    Chu Kuang had already written so many fairy tales consecutively. Challenging him to a literature duel was equivalent to constant attacks. Shouldn''t they let him rest a bit?

    The Yan people had a sense of honor.

    Even after losing the regional battle, they didn''t show much rage. Instead, some Yan people went on to buy Chu Kuang''s works and read them, contributing to his sales.

    "Our own kind."

    Some Yan people calmly stated, "The different continents of Blue Star are, after all, a family. There''s no need to emphasize differences. The core purpose of fairy tales is to weave dreams for children''s childhoods. Battles have no real meaning."

    The Chu people: "..."

    The noble Yan people could bend or stretch?

    After being pummeled by Admirable Fish and Shadow in music and comics, the Chu people said the same thing, that nothing came out of battles. But everyone on Blue Star knew ¨C no one loved battles more than the Yan people!

    Let''s get back to the point.

    After Lin Yuan posted "Shuke and Beta," he didn''t pay attention to the fairy tale circle anymore. He didn''t even know that he had become a hero for the Qin people. It was his sister who told him about it, and only then did he realize that another regional dispute had ended.

    This gave Lin Yuan some food for thought.

    It seemed that the path to a united Blue Star was still a long way off. Even though Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan had merged, they weren''t wholly united. Often, they couldn''t resist comparing themselves. No wonder the higher-ups decided on the grand unification scheme. If they didn''t infuse the various continents, in the future, each might start governing independently and even become separate nations.

    "The situation is settled!"

    Lin Xuan excitedly informed Lin Yuan that Chu Kuang''s long and short stories set her performance in stone. When the company selected the editor-in-chief, she would probably be the top candidate.

    "Congratulations."

    Lin Yuan said with a smile.

    His sister shook her head: "I didn''t actually do anything. You pulled Chu Kuang onboard. Without him, I would''ve never been able to compete against those two rivals. Chu Kuang truly is a GOAT who can prop up a whole department by himself..."

    "Yeah."

    Lin Yuan took the opportunity to remind her: "Chu Kuang will probably focus on writing detective novels and won''t touch fairy tales for now. When he regains interest in writing fairy tales, I''ll ask him to give you the works for publication."

    "Of course!"

    Lin Xuan nodded seriously.

    She knew that Chu Kuang wrote fairy tales solely because her little brother had asked for his help privately. Now that her situation was temporarily stable, Chu Kuang certainly needed to focus on his own affairs. However, the outside world would never imagine that the reason behind Chu Kuang writing fairy tales was so offhand, right?

    Lin Yuan also nodded.

    He didn''t plan to write any more fairy tales in the short term. He''d pick up this genre again in the future. After all, he needed to complete the many stories in the Hercule Poirot series. Moreover, he was going to participate in The Masked Singer competition next!

    Indeed.

    As the regional turbulence in the fairy tale circle settled, The Masked Singer finally sent out news about upcoming recordings. At the same time, Lin Yuan received his custom-designed mask and costumes.

    "Try them on!"

    When Lil Goodoong brought the clothes to Lin Yuan''s office, her eyes shone. After all, the custom designs for the clothes and mask cost a whopping 120,000. The anticipation for how they would look on him was high!

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan agreed.

    Gu Dong stepped out momentarily. Once Lin Yuan had changed into his custom-made clothes and put on his glamorous mask, she re-entered the room. Upon seeing Lin Yuan''s new look, her mouth formed an ''O''.

    "What do you think?"

    "That''s so cool!"

    "Should I tone it down a bit?"

    "Please, wear it just like this!"

    To Lin Yuan''s surprise, Gu Dong even bowed to make her request.

    Lin Yuan hesitated for a moment, but didn''t say anything. This outfit looked far better than the ones he saw in those Prince of Lanling type dramas on Earth. The effort put into this outfit worth tens of thousands was evident. He took off the mask and asked:

    "Have we finished registering?"

    Gu Dong nodded, "The show enforces strict rules. Ideally, the singer''s identity should be hidden tightly. However, the director of the program needs to know who the singer is. So, they want to have a video call with you."

    "No problem."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Gu Dong made a video call. The person who answered had a very ordinary face, but his surprised expression at seeing Lin Yuan''s new look was anything but ordinary.

    "Teacher Admirable Fish?"

    "Yes, I''m Admirable Fish."

    Lin Yuan replied through a veil of discomfort.

    The person on the other line sighed, "Hello, Teacher Admirable Fish. I''m Tong Shuwen, the director of ''The Masked Singer''. You really are as young and handsome as the internet rumors suggested. We initially planned to invite you as a guest judge for a few episodes, not expecting you to participate as a contestant. Of course, I won''t reveal any more details.

    Are you planning to wear this outfit for the competition?"

    "Yes."

    Lin Yuan donned his mask and let Gu Dong use her phone to take a spin around him, letting the other party familiarize themselves with his appearance, before continuing the conversation.

    "Has the time been confirmed?"

    "Yes, it''s confirmed."

    He laughed and said, "The official filming will begin in February. We''ll inform you in due time. Please prepare yourself, because you''ll be performing in the first episode!"

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan didn''t continue the conversation with him. A few short words and he ended the call -- it was enough to let him know who he was.

    On the other end.

    After the call ended, Tong Shuwen couldn''t suppress his excitement any longer -- his body began shaking involuntarily from exhilaration!

    Admirable Fish!!!

    He hadn''t expected Admirable Fish to join as a contestant. Tong Shuwen could almost imagine the explosive reaction when the mysterious Admirable Fish took off his mask on the stage of "The Masked Singer."

    This was going to be explosive news!

    He specifically arranged for Admirable Fish to perform in the first episode with this intent in mind. The sooner a contestant like Admirable Fish unveiled himself, the better it would be for the show!

    After all, Admirable Fish was just a composer.

    Most of his opponents were powerhouse singers. It was possible that Admirable Fish might bomb out in the first episode, and if that were to be the case, the ratings for the first episode would explode!

    Of course. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    If, due to strong skills, Admirable Fish is slow to reveal his identity, that''s also a good thing. The longer the build-up, the more dramatic the reveal will be when it finally happens!

    But how could that be possible?

    Admirable Fish was not a professional singer, this competition could hide the past glories of the singers, but it could not hide the singer''s inherent singing skills!

    Unless...

    As a composer, Admirable Fish also possessed singing skills comparable to a professional singer. But as for something like this, Tong Shuwen certainly didn''t have high expectations. Just based on Admirable Fish''s looks, if he really had strong singing skills, why would he compose for others?

    He should have debuted himself.

    In this circle that valued both skills and appearance, if Admirable Fish had even a bit of singing ability, combined with his terrifying composing prowess, he could easily become a sensation.

    That was Tong Shuwen''s thought.

    Recently, a lot of people have been contacting Tong Shuwen, like Admirable Fish, other composers as well. Many actors have also joined the fray. There are even sports stars who want to participate in the show. Tong Shuwen understood the mentality of these people.

    They only participated for fun while hiding behind masks.

    Admirable Fish was the same.

    Even if Tong Shuwen''s brain was kicked by a donkey, he wouldn''t refuse Admirable Fish. He''d even considered privately inviting Admirable Fish to be a judge on ''The Masked Singer'' after his reveal.

    "So, who''s the celebrity contestant this time?"

    The assistant director next to him, curious at Tong Shuwen''s excitement, couldn''t help but ask. Although he didn''t know which people were participating, the director had previously revealed some names, giving the impression of a chaotic fight.

    "Indeed, it''s a celeb."

    After some thought, Tong Shuwen added, "But I have to keep his name a secret. I guess it won''t be a secret for long. He''ll probably reveal himself soon. You''ll know by the time we finish recording the first episode."

    Assistant Director: "..."

    It seemed like this was another non-professional singer who''d come to the show just for fun. But if Tong Shuwen nodded in approval, it meant this playful person must be a big shot.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-------------

    ps: Thanks to [Dora-AKM] for becoming the 32nd alliance hierarch of this book, my sincerest thanks! Another task to add more updates has been added, ¡ñ¨€?¨€¨{Kneel before the alliance hierarch ~

 Chapter 467 - 445 How Come You Have So Many Fish_1

    Tong Shuwen played a good hand.

    His way of thinking was indeed correct, who would expect that Xian Yu was actually a singer about to debut, but couldn''t sing because of his damaged vocal cords and thus reluctantly turned to composing, with enormous success as a result?

    As for whether losing the competition would affect Xian Yu''s position as a judge...

    There is even less to worry about with that.

    Here, you can make an incomplete but appropriate analogy:

    The relationship between a composer and a singer is like that between a screenwriter and an actor.

    You say that a screenwriter and an actor compete in acting, and if the screenwriter loses, does that mean he is not qualified to judge the actor?

    There''s no such rule.

    Plus, Xian Yu''s relationship with his collaborating singers is probably not just that of a screenwriter and an actor, but also that of a director and an actor.

    Think about it.

    For Xian Yu''s songs, he writes the lyrics, composes the melody, and even does the arrangements himself. The singers are responsible only for the singing part.

    Even how to sing is mainly up to Xian Yu''s discretion.

    Most top composers in Blue Star control the quality of their songs and choose their singers themselves.

    Of course, this is not absolute.

    If the composer is not high-profiled enough, while the singer is very influential, then the singer does have the right to speak out.

    Just like in a film crew, popular actors can make novice directors listen to them.

    But let''s not discuss unconventional situations.

    Because the judges invited to "The Masked Singer" are all high-ranking individuals in the music industry, including the Maestro.

    No singer can surpass the Maestro, not even the King or Queen of Singing.

    Bear in mind that the Kings and Queens of Singing were created by the Maestros, and there wouldn''t be any Kings or Queens without them.

    "Release some information."

    The program director, Tong Shuwen, said with a smile: "The public is getting impatient."

    "Alright."

    The assistant director nodded.

    On the same day.

    The production team of "The Masked Singer" announced a message:

    "Our program will start recording on February 1, and the six mysterious guests for the first episode are already prepared. We can''t disclose their names here; everyone can guess who they are based on their voices and performances, which is the real fun of this program. Nevertheless, we can share some exciting news with all of you.

    Among the six guests on the first episode, each one is extremely prominent. Not only are there top singers in the industry but even the Kings and Queens of Singing. Also, the panel of the first episode is led by the Maestro. To know who it is, make sure to tune in to the program on time!"

    Boom!

    The news caused a sensation, not only because of the announced date of the recording but also due to the revealed information about the singers -

    "Finally, it''s here!"

    "Each guest is extraordinary. Who will be the first revealed?"

    "Top-level singers?"

    "Huh? Kings and Queens of Singing!?"

    "It was worth the long wait. Not only are top-level singers competing on the same stage, but also the Kings and Queens of Singing!"

    "And this is only the first episode!"

    "Hahaha, the first episode already poses a hellish challenge. I love it!"

    "The judges are damn impressive too! The Maestro is leading the panel right off the bat!"

    "Damn, Maestros are usually elusive figures behind the scenes. They''re the hidden giants in the industry and rarely show up in musical programs!"

    "One million times better than ''Bloom''!"

    "I remember that ''Bloom'' would invite the Maestros to preside only in the grand finale. These Maestros are top dogs in the music industry. Their words are truth and they are not afraid of offending singers. Unlike ordinary judges who prefer to play nice and blindly blow their trumpets."

    "..."

    Who says behind-the-scenes go unnoticed?

    Some are indeed of great interest to the public.

    For instance, those top directors in the film industry, or the key scriptwriters in the core production.

    Or the Maestros in the music industry.

    Therefore, as soon as the production team released the news, it caused a stir both inside and outside the industry. Everyone''s attention was firmly drawn to the anticipation created by the team!

    ... S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    In a certain community,

    Sun Yaohuo called his agent and asked a question: "Why are my songs popular but I''m not?"

    "Because you''re not attractive enough."

    The agent replied without hesitation.

    Sun Yaohuo''s face immediately darkened: "Open your damn eyes and look, aren''t I a million times better looking than you?"

    "Don''t worry about it."

    The agent chuckled: "I mean, your looks are too ordinary for our entertainment industry. Even though everyone cares more about the singer''s ability, no one would deny the bonus points an artist gets for good looks."

    "What about my voice?"

    "Pretty good."

    "What if I cover my face to sing¡­"

    "You want to participate in that program?"

    "Yes."

    The agent said: "I think it''s a good idea. This program suits you well. The audience can''t see your face, so they will pay attention to your voice. And your voice is actually the kind that doesn''t amaze you at first but becomes surprisingly appealing the more you listen to it."

    "Then let''s apply. I''ve even figured out my stage persona. What do you think of the ''Fishman''?"

    "Fishman..."

    The agent laughed: "Sounds good."

    Meanwhile,

    In a hotel,

    Jiang Kui stared at her manager: "I want to participate in ''The Masked Singer''."

    "Even if you didn''t say it, I would suggest you participate. Your singing skills are as good as the Kings and Queens of Singing, but your experience is a big problem. However, this show doesn''t look at experience. After everyone puts on their masks, they can only rely on pure singing skills.

    If the Maestro-level judges announce that you are as good as the Queen of Singing, the moment you reveal yourself will be incredible..."

    The manager''s eyes flickered.

    Jiang Kui said: "I''m confident that no one will recognize my voice. When the time comes, everyone will be guessing who this powerful mermaid is."

    Her manager was stunned: "Mermaid?"

    Jiang Kui smiled: "I plan to make my appearance as a mermaid. There''s a fairy tale called ''The Daughter of the Sea'' that''s popular recently, right?"

    Her manager broke into a hearty laugh: "I''m guessing it''s not because of the fairy tale, is it?"

    Jiang Kui rolled her eyes: "Can''t I pay tribute to my idol?"

    The manager was speechless.

    Meanwhile,

    Chen Zhiyu also contacted his agent: "Did you sign up?"

    "You''re already signed up, you''ll debut in the second installment."

    "Good."

    "Have you decided on your stage persona yet?"

    "What do you think of Fishman?"

    Agent: "..."

    Chen Zhiyu coughed, "The Golden Dragon fish persona."

    His agent, struggling to suppress a laugh, said, "No problem at all, but be prepared for your old quirks to be dredged up once you reveal your identity online."

    Chen Zhiyu retorted grumpily, "Let''s not dredge up the past."

    His agent agreed, "Stay on the show as long as you can. If you can knock off a few Kings and Queens of Singing, it''ll do wonders for your future."

    "I''m aware of that."

    Chen Zhiyu clenched his fist.

    ...

    The waves of popularity from The Masked Singer drew in not only netizens but countless singers, too.

    Everybody''s faces are covered. So what if they''re Kings of Singing?

    Who''s afraid of whom?

    Meanwhile, at the program group...

    Tong Shuwen''s phone was ringing non-stop.

    After hanging up another call, Tong Shuwen couldn''t help but laugh, "The initial applications for the show were enthusiastic enough, but today has been even more intense than I expected!"

    "Naturally."

    The assistant director chuckled, "The further you go in this program, the more you can prove your singing prowess. Following the merger of Qin, Qi, Chu and Yan, there are so many singers, but many are only known within their own regions. This show offers them a chance to be recognized by other regions!"

    "Hmm."

    Tong Shuwen answered another call. After hanging up, he said, "That was a singing queen hoping to be recognized by audiences of other regions. She requested to reveal her identity late in the show, as it would be hugely embarrassing for her if she as a top-tier candidate, even a King or Queen of Singing, were eliminated early."

    "No chance."

    The assistant director said, "The Kings and Queens of Singing didn''t get their titles by bluffing. It would be hard for an average top-tier singer to beat them."

    "..."

    Dazzling Silver Glow.

    Fei Yang''s agent looked at him intently, "Surely you''ll participate?"

    "No!"

    Fei Yang retorted angrily, "What if Xian Yu becomes a judge, publicly evaluates my singing, and even criticizes me? Won''t I lose face then?"

    "Fearful of criticism about your singing?"

    His agent sneered, "More like you''re afraid of appearing in the same program as Xian Yu and everyone dredging up your past, right?"

    "Anyway, I''m not participating!"

    Fei Yang fumed, "Even if I starve to death, or leap from this place, I''d never join The Masked Singer!"

    His agent sighed, "I never heard anything about Xian Yu being a judge. He doesn''t seem to like showing his face."

    Fei Yang snorted, "Even a slight risk isn''t worth taking. Plus, do I really need a show to prove my talents?"

    "But this is a chance for fans from other regions to recognize you."

    "Do you think fans from other regions would find me unfamiliar?"

    His agent held his forehead in frustration.

    Of course not. After all, who doesn''t know the Perennial Runner-Up?

    Fei Yang gained widespread popularity through his "Perennial Runner-Up" quirk!

    Even the newly joined people from Yan Continent, through the enthusiastic introduction of the Qin, Qi and Chu netizens, have learned about King Fei''s glorious track record.

    "Alright,"

    The agent said in disappointment, "This program''s a golden opportunity. As far as I know there are many Kings and Queens of Singing participating."

    Fei Yang waved his hand dismissively.

    His agent didn''t say anything further.

    Back to the program group.

    Tong Shuwen hung up another call.

    He had lost count of how many calls he''d received that day.

    Just then, a strange look came across Tong Shuwen''s face

    "What''s wrong?"

    The assistant director thought something had put Tong Shuwen in a difficult position.

    "Nothing,"

    Tong Shuwen wondered out loud, "Just don''t know why, but many singers seem to like using fish as their stage personas."

    The assistant director stared blankly, "Fish?"

    Tong Shuwen nodded, "There''s a mermaid, a golden dragon fish, and one without a stated type, anything as long as it''s a fish..."

    "Three of them?"

    "Three so far, is there some special significance to a fish?"

    Tong Shuwen thought for a moment, then laughing, said, "I think I''ve figured it out."

    "Figured out what?"

    "Nothing."

    Tong Shuwen was being mysterious.

    His phone rang again.

    On the other end of the call, the voice said, "We''ve decided on the mermaid persona, the color will be..."

    "We already have a mermaid."

    "Ah? There''s already a mermaid. Well, it''s no surprise, they''re really pretty. Let''s go with the golden dragon fish then."

    "We also have a golden dragon fish."

    "Why do you have so many fish?"

    "Perhaps everyone just likes fish. How about we design a carp persona for you?"

    "Sure, but make it pretty."

    "That''s a given. We will tailor it specifically for your singer... No no no, there won''t be any persona clash. Every fish is... er, distinct."

    "..."

    The call ended.

    Tong Shuwen shrugged at the assistant director, "That''s four fish now. I wonder if there''ll be a fifth. Maybe our show should be renamed ''All Fish Banquet''."

    Assistant Director: "..."

    -----------

    PS: My keyboard seems to have malfunctioned, calling it quits for today. I''ll try to fix it with a bit of force, and we''ll start with ''The Masked Singer'' subplot tomorrow.

 Chapter 468 - 446 Live Performance_1

    "Mr. Lin, this is an invitation from the show''s production team."

    A few days later, Lil Goodoong brought a beautifully made invitation into Lin Yuan''s office.

    "Read."

    Lin Yuan was writing the next series of Hercule Poirot Series in front of his computer without stopping. He didn''t have time to read it himself.

    "Okay."

    Lil Goodoong opened the exquisite invitation and cleared his throat:

    "Thank you, Teacher Admirable Fish, for participating in ''The Masked Singer''. The production team sends you their most sincere greetings. You are one of the guests for the first episode. Please arrive at Su City Music Center on February 2nd to participate in the official recording¡­"

    The rest was an introduction of the show''s rules.

    "The program will be aired in the form of a weekly recorded broadcast. There are six contestants in each episode. After each singer performs, they will be scored by an on-site audience of five hundred, fifty professional music critics, and four judges. Each audience member has one vote, each critic has two votes, and each judge has one hundred votes. The total score will be out of a thousand¡­"

    The votes that the judges hold could potentially be critical.

    The show seemed to have considered this issue, so they designed a mechanism to indirectly weaken the influence of the judges:

    "The 100 votes of the judges will be issued in an allotment method. The total number of votes per episode should not exceed 100, while the audience and the critic panel will have the right to vote in each round."

    That''s much better.

    The audience has the right to vote in every round, meaning they essentially have six votes after six rounds.

    Yet, each member of the critic panel would have a total of twelve votes.

    Although, they cannot allocate.

    The judges, on the other hand, have more flexibility as they can distribute their votes.

    They could give all of their hundred votes to a certain contestant, or they could vote for multiple singers, as long as the total does not exceed one hundred...

    Lil Goodoong continued to read:

    "In each episode, the singer with the lowest votes will be eliminated and must reveal their identity, while the next lowest in ranking will be put on hold and does not have to reveal their identity. They will face a ranking challenge in the following episode."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Having the lowest voted contestant eliminated was routine, the second lowest voted contestants still having the possibility to win was intended to provide an opportunity for some really talented, but occasionally underperforming singers a chance to turn the tables.

    "In addition¡­"

    "The show does not interfere with the selection of songs by the singers. The Literature and Art Association will liaise with major companies to acquire the performing rights of the songs for the competition, while also allowing singers to sing new songs during the competition..."

    At this point, Lil Goodoong chuckled and said:

    "The company has received a notice from the Literature and Art Association. Director Zhou asked me this morning whether you are willing to authorize the contestants of the show to perform your songs. The copyright fee will be in accordance with the standard for this type of show..."

    "No problem."

    Lin Yuan didn''t mind if others sang his songs. As a matter of fact, no composer would.

    This was the impressive part about ''The Masked Singer''. They had the backing of the Literature and Art Association. Who would refuse a request from the Literature and Art Association?

    Next, Lil Goodoong read some more instructions from the production team.

    Lin Yuan had no objections to any of the terms mentioned.

    If he could accept revealing his identity, then what other conditions could he possibly refuse?

    ...

    Apart from Lin Yuan''s assistant Gu Dong, there was another person who knew he was going to participate in ''The Masked Singer''.

    That afternoon,

    Lin Yuan went to the manga studio and told Jin Mu the news.

    Jin Mu did not know about Lin Yuan''s camera phobia, so he didn''t think Lin Yuan going to sing was a big deal. The identity of Admirable Fish was semi-public anyway.

    He had only one concern:

    "Being on ''The Masked Singer'' is fine, but after you reveal your identity, you won''t be able to conceal the identity of Shadow anymore."

    Lin Yuan said: "Leave that to you."

    Jin Mu nodded: "Does anyone else at the school know that you are Shadow?"

    "No."

    The school only knew that Lin Yuan was good at drawing, but no one knew that Lin Yuan was actually the manga artist Shadow.

    Only a few people, like Zhong Yu, knew Luo Wei was Lin Yuan''s manga assistant.

    But no one knew exactly what manga Luo Wei and Lin Yuan were drawing, even if someone who knows Luo Wei could guess through subtle hints, it would not cause a great influence.

    The truth held by only a few ordinary people was hard to widely disseminate, plus Jin Mu would surely have some kind of back-up plan on his end.

    "Understood."

    Jin Mu said with a smile, "So the people who know that you are Shadow are basically limited to Luo Wei and the other assistants in the studio. When you reveal your identity formally, I will talk to them about the principle of confidentiality, and also support you in handling the aftermath."

    "Okay."

    For this outing, Lin Yuan was only going to reveal Xian Yu''s aliases; it was preferable for Shadow and Chu Kuang to remain behind the scenes.

    "By the way..."

    Jin Mu asked curiously, "Boss, can you sing too?"

    Lin Yuan replied, "Just a little."

    He didn''t tell Jin Mu that he had switched his career to a composer as his vocal chords had given out.

    "Only a little?"

    Jin Mu looked at him quizzically. "Wow, you really do have a little bit of everything up your sleeve, don''t you?"

    "There are also many things I can''t do."

    "Like what?"

    "I can''t transform."

    Jin Mu: "..."

    Lin Yuan thought for a moment, then added, "I mean ''transform'' as in my physical form. Not the sound of my voice."

    Jin Mu was puzzled.

    Did that clarification matter?

    Was he trying to explain the difference between nasal sounds to me?

    "..."

    After his dialogue with Jin Mu, Lin Yuan took out a notebook and started scribbling away.

    He was preparing for the competition.

    The most important preparation, of course, was song selection!

    Unlike most singers who would cover other people''s songs.

    Lin Yuan did not plan to cover other people''s songs, nor was he planning to sing songs he had written for others...

    He wanted to sing a new song!

    With the high ratings of "The Masked Singer", singing a new song was a great way to gain popularity.

    But the purpose of Lin Yuan doing so was not just to gain popularity, but also because his singing skills were subpar.

    Of course, this subpar singing skill was only when compared to top-tier singers and even the King and Queen of Singing.

    So, to compensate for his poor singing skills, Lin Yuan had to perfectly execute his new song.

    After all, he had the System, so he wouldn''t run into any situations where his creation speed couldn''t keep up with the competition.

    But, singing a new song also had its drawbacks¡­

    The issue at hand was whether the audience would accept the new song.

    If the audience couldn''t get Lin Yuan''s new song at first listen, this feature could not only not becoming Lin Yuan''s strength, but rather, it could become his weakness!

    Thus, Lin Yuan''s song selection needed to be taken very seriously!

    He needed to choose songs that were easily understood by the audience.

    After all, "The Masked Singer" was a live performance competition, which was completely different from a season-long race.

    For seasonal songs, the audience could listen repeatedly, contemplate on them, and ultimately feel the rhythm of the song. Many songs might just seem okay at first, but they grow on you.

    That''s why "May You Live Long" became popular.

    But with live performances, the audience could only listen once. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Performing a song like "May You Live Long" on this kind of stage would surely be disadvantageous.

    Because after listening to it once, many people might not yet comprehend how brilliant the song is by the time they need to vote¡­

    So, the first impression of a live song is the most important!

    If the first impression is not good, even if the lyrics are meaningful, the song''s connotations profound, and the composition techniques top-notch, it''s all for naught!

    "What songs would fit the stage?"

    "It would be best if they could take full advantage of my strengths¡­"

    Lin Yuan summoned the System, entered the music library, and started searching for suitable choices.

    As Lin Yuan pondered and chose songs, time slowly slipped away.

    With the fervent discussions about "The Masked Singer" across the web, people''s enthusiasm grew day by day!

    The competition was drawing near¡­

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thank you to [Lanlan, Laughing at the Nine Springs] for becoming the 33rd Alliance Hierarch of this book. I kneel before you, my dear friend. Even though I often pay back the additional stories, the debts recorded in my notebook increase rather than decrease. I bought a new keyboard on Taobao to reward the Alliance Hierarch with additional stories.

    The current keyboard has a key that does not work, and I''m relying on technical means to compensate, so I write very slowly.

 Chapter 469 - 447: Variety Show Black Hole_1

    February 2nd.

    Music Center.

    Underground parking lot.

    Covered in Prince of Lanling''s costume and mask, Lin Yuan was firmly concealed. The Lil Goodoong sitting in the driver''s seat said, "I won''t accompany you throughout the whole program, Mr. Lin, to prevent anyone from guessing your identity because of me.

    After you go in, the program team will assign you a temporary agent who will be with you throughout the rehearsals and recordings, until you officially reveal your face and leave¡­"

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    The Masked Singer had arrived!

    The recording would take place today. The entire perimeter of the Music Center and its underground parking lot were sealed off. No one could enter without an invitation from the program team. They had done an excellent job at keeping the identities of the singers secret.

    Bidding Lil Goodoong farewell.

    Lin headed toward the elevator, where a beautiful girl was waiting. Upon seeing Lin Yuan''s appearance, her eyes lit up. She took the initiative to say, "Excuse me, are you Teacher Prince of Lanling?"

    "Yes." S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan replied.

    His voice was specially processed by a machine. When he entered the parking lot, the program staff equipped Lin Yuan with a voice modulator. With this device, his real voice was completely unrecognizable. However, even without disguise, it wouldn''t matter, because most people haven''t heard Lin Yuan''s voice, and he is known for being tight-lipped. Even coaxing him to speak is a challenge.

    "Hello."

    The girl introduced herself: "I''m your agent, Tongtong. Welcome to ''The Masked Singer''. I will be your personal assistant for this episode. Now, I will take you to the rehearsal area prepared by the program for all the teachers."

    "Thank you."

    Lin Yuan replied politely.

    Tongtong reminded him, "The rehearsal time is rather tight, as we will start the official recording tonight. Also, when we come out of the elevator, the official recording will begin. Some interesting footage will be edited from this recording for the broadcast."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Rehearsal was indeed important. It was now one o''clock in the afternoon, and the official competition began at six o''clock in the evening. As per the usual, the production team allocated a few hours of rehearsal time for the singers to go through the recording process, test the choreography, lighting, and sound effects. Most importantly, they had to sync with the band.

    As for the song Lin Yuan was going to sing, it had been sent over a few days ago. All the arrangements followed his specifications. The program team wouldn''t change anything. However, if the band had any good suggestions, Lin Yuan would consider adopting them.

    Just play the accompaniment?

    A top-tier music program is not a cheap karaoke room. It does not rely on live accompaniment, as performances with only accompaniment are too low-level for high-end variety shows. It would be awkward for the singer, even more so than having a puppy play a mythical creature in a period drama.

    It would plummet their status.

    To achieve the most breathtaking on-stage music performance, the program providing top-tier band support is vital. The sound of live percussion instruments is incredibly engaging. Such performances can sway the audience''s emotions and better demonstrate the layers of a song.

    In a sense, live music and drama are similar¡ªit may seem like only the actors are performing with all their hearts, but in reality, it''s a culmination of countless behind-the-scenes collaboration. For example, the publicly released audio equipment of this show is unimaginably expensive. ''The Masked Singer'' aims to present the best singing performance that current technology can offer!

    As for the recording...

    Although he has camera anxiety, now that his face is completely covered, how these cameras film him wouldn''t greatly affect Lin Yuan''s state of mind. Just let it be.

    With a ding.

    The elevator opened.

    Several cameras were already aimed at him. At the same time, two crew members in suits came forward to help Lin Yuan. Since Lin Yuan was wearing a face-obscuring mask and was wrapped up tight in clothing, he had difficulty walking. Lin Yuan didn''t resist their help.

    "Are you tired?"

    "It''s okay."

    "Your outfit is pretty. You must be a handsome guy. Especially the mask; did you have someone custom make it for you? A lot of singers customize their own clothes and masks."

    "Yes."

    Tongtong tried to steer the conversation, only to be met with despair as no matter how she tried, Prince of Lanling always kept his responses short.

    ¡­

    No filming was allowed during the rehearsal process. Everything went even smoother than Lin Yuan had imagined, as all the band members were highly skilled. However, after the rehearsal ended, the music director couldn''t resist having a chat with Lin Yuan: "Is this song composed by you, Teacher Prince of Lanling?"

    The music director''s name is Hu Yapeng.

    Hu Yapeng is no ordinary man. He is a top music producer in Blue Star, with master-level skills in piano, as well as proficiency in keyboards, guitars, and other musical instruments. His arrangement techniques are widely recognized in the industry as insane.

    Many of the singing kings and queens invite him to be their music director during concerts, so it''s fitting that ''The Masked Singer'' invited him.

    "Yes."

    Before officially revealing his identity, Lin Yuan must do everything he can to boost the reputation of his Prince of Lanling persona. Therefore, other than the band, all the names in the composition section of his songs had been replaced with "Prince of Lanling". This included lyrics, composition, arrangement, and final performance.

    This was also a means of voting for himself within the rules of the program.

    "Amazing."

    Pang Ban praised, "Although we don''t know who is behind the mask, it''s commendable that you can compose music and voice it as well. There are too few singer-songwriters like you."

    Singer-songwriter!

    This was the character Lin Yuan crafted for Prince of Lanling. Even though most singers and songwriters at Blue Star each had their own speciality, there were some multi-talented artists who could both sing and compose. In the realm of fantasy novels, such talent would equate to a "magician-warrior" of sorts.

    Indeed, they were rare.

    But not nonexistent.

    Lin Yuan nodded in agreement.

    Tongtong took Lin Yuan back to the dressing room, then pointed to the television mounted on the wall. "Prince of Lanling, we can follow the ongoing performances through this television..."

    There was a knock at the door.

    Tongtong answered it.

    It turned out the production team was here for the singers to draw lots. The order of performance tonight was to be decided by this draw. Tongtong became nervous, "Prince of Lanling, should I draw the lot or would you like to do it yourself?"

    "You."

    Lin Yuan said.

    Tongtong nodded, took a deep breath, and drew the lot for Lin Yuan. Upon revealing the lot, she beamed with joy, "Prince of Lanling, is there a particular order you hope to perform in?"

    "Doesn''t matter."

    Lin Yuan didn''t see any difference.

    He would not feel nervous about performing first. The numbers of people did not bother him, it was the camera capturing his every move. With a mask on, however, even that uneasiness was almost entirely gone. So, he was fine with any order.

    "Third!"

    Tongtong unveiled the result.

    Seeing Lin Yuan had no reaction, she tried her best to liven up the atmosphere, "In half an hour, the first singer will be up. What position do you expect for yourself today, Prince of Lanling..."

    "Advance."

    Lin Yuan did not want to be eliminated.

    Tongtong was instantly deflated. This task was way too difficult. No matter who Prince of Lanling spoke to, he was always extremely concise. Even when he was communicating with the music director, he remained the same.

    Elsewhere.

    The filming group was also at a loss. While the other singers just kept talking, it was as if they couldn''t get a word out of Prince of Lanling. It was like he was a conversational black hole, with no entertainment value whatsoever.

    Meanwhile backstage.

    The assistant director was sighing in disappointment at how the filming was going with Prince of Lanling. "Why does it feel like Prince of Lanling is a hole of entertainment gravitas? Even though we''re a music show and it''s ultimately about how they sing, it''s not good that we can''t capture any interesting footage of Prince of Lanling..."

    The assistant director was quite interested in Prince of Lanling.

    Because Tongtong was a relative of Director Tong Shuwen and had been assigned to work with Prince of Lanling, he concluded that Prince of Lanling must be someone of importance. However, after paying close attention, the assistant director found that Prince of Lanling barely talked at all, always responding with:

    "Hmm, okay..."

    If he could respond with one word, Prince of Lanling wouldn''t say an extra one. Despite his aloofness, his lack of humor was negatively affecting the program''s appeal. This concerned the assistant director as even music shows required a sense of fun.

    Prince of Lanling?

    Observing the entire scene through the camera, Director Tong Shuwen cracked a smile. The assistant director was just too naive. The so-called "black hole of entertainment" if pushed to its extreme, could also create a powerful effect on the show.

    Suddenly.

    A noise came from his earphones, instantly turning Tong Shuwen''s face serious. "The audience is in place, all departments get ready. There is half an hour to countdown for the recording of the performances. I need the first singer to be ready in 20 minutes. Host, test your mic again..."

    "Lighting crew ready."

    "Camera crew ready."

    "Sound crew ready."

    Reports from all departments kept coming in. The host''s voice also came over, "Sound check is fine, Director, it''s better to assign two more people to pull the curtain. It''s too big..."

    "Send someone from logistics."

    As the director gave orders, he anxiously watched the time. When the clock struck six, he took a deep breath: "Start the countdown now. Five, four, three, two, one!"

    The countdown ended!

    The Masked Singer started!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Ps: Many entertainment novels bypass rehearsals and just start singing with accompaniment, some even manage with just a guitar. As Polluted White, I feel the need to mention that even though it may seem mundane, the show should have some degree of authenticity. I''ll continue writing.

 Chapter 470 - 448: Silent but Startling When Spoken_1

    "Let go of your obsession with popularity, put aside your prejudice about appearance, throw away your understanding of professions, let''s kick off the purest singing duel of this era. Who will be our first-generation Masked Singer among these mysterious guests who hide their true identities behind masks!"

    The curtain slowly rises.

    An Hong, known as the top music host of Qin Continent appears on stage under stunning lights, and the grand background music leads all the audience''s emotions, "Hello, everyone, I am the host An Hong, here is ''The Masked Singer'' brought to you by the Literature and Art Association. In this era of appearance-consciousness, let''s play a game that doesn''t require a face!"

    This is The Masked Singer!

    A game that doesn''t require a face!

    No need for a plant, the whole venue directly presents the most primitive frenzy. Among the rustling light boards and glow sticks, countless spectators are screaming, they have been eagerly anticipating this show and now is the time to release it!

    At the backstage.

    In the contestants'' waiting area, everyone can''t help but look up at the TV on the wall, and of course, Lin Yuan is no exception. Because the backstage is not far from the stage, he can feel the wave of sound rolling in from the TV and the outside world at the same time¡ª

    He even felt somewhat excited.

    An Hong''s smile was friendly, "I don''t know if this marks the beginning of a new era in the music scene, but I believe this is destined to be a milestone music show in the history of music development. Now let''s introduce our four judges. The first judge is the only person in Qin Continent who has won the ''King of Singing'' crown three times. He is known as the king of kings with ever-changing styles.

    He''s also recognised by the Literature and Art Association as one of the three top male singers in Blue Star, Teacher Mao Xuewang! "

    Gulp.

    Mao Xuewang¡­

    Lin Yuan swallowed, feeling as if his taste buds were suddenly unlocked,

    Tongtong next to him, however, was excited, "So the rumour from the production team is true! Teacher Mao Xuewang is actually the judge of the first episode. He''s a true legend among male singers, one of the three big male singers in Blue Star!"

    On the stage.

    The 40-year-old Mao Xuewang waved at the audience, the audience became even more excited!

    True to its reputation as the strongest music show in history, the first judge is so impressive!

    It''s the top dog in the music scene, Mao Xuewang, who has won the King of Singing consecutively for three times!

    "The second one¡­"

    An Hong continued introducing. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The second judge is a woman called Liu Xu!

    She''s even more impressive than Mao Xuewang, having won the title of ''Queen of Singing'' four times. She''s also hailed as the strongest pop queen in Qi Continent''s history and holds the record for the highest number of single-song downloads for the year. She''s already fifty this year.

    The third judge is Wu Long.

    Wu Long is known as the God of BGM!

    All the top-level anime film soundtracks in Chu Continent are basically his masterpieces!

    However, because Wu Long''s music tends to be commercialized, he has never become a Maestro. But in the hearts of many ordinary people, Wu Long is already a maestro.

    The fourth judge...

    This time it''s a real Maestro!

    However, when Lin Yuan heard this person''s name, the face under his mask revealed a hint of strangeness.

    Because Lin Yuan not only had heard of this man, but also considered him in some ways his teacher:

    Maestro Yang Zhongming!

    Tongtong''s face went red with excitement, almost dancing with joy, "Teacher Yang Zhongming is one of the most invincible Maestros in my eyes. He is the pride of all Qin Continent people. I didn''t expect him to come for the first episode!"

    At the scene.

    The audience seats were also full of people shouting Yang Zhongming''s name!

    It''s hard to imagine that a behind-the-scenes composer can have an even larger reputation than a front-stage star. Only Blue Star can offer such a treatment to composers, right?

    Lin Yuan thought so.

    After the excitement had subsided, An Hong introduced the rules of the show.

    When the audience understood the rules, he officially announced the entrance of the first contestant. However, when everyone saw the first contestant''s appearance, they couldn''t help but laugh.

    It is a robot design!

    This singer is quite skilled at being weird, even his way of walking onto the stage was mechanical, giving away his strong dancing background.

    But what surprised everyone the most was his singing ability, which conquered the whole audience almost as soon as he started!

    "So amazing!"

    "Who''s he?"

    In each dressing room, the singers are discussing with their crew partners. Only in the dressing room where Prince of Lanling is located, it is silent. It''s Tongtong who can''t help but break the silence first, "This singer should be top-tier."

    "No."

    Lin Yuan answered.

    Tongtong was taken aback, "You think the robot is a second-tier singer? This level should be barely top-tier. He''s singing very well; most of the second-tier singers don''t have this singing skill."

    Lin Yuan said, "I mean, he''s a King of Singing."

    "King of Singing?" Tongtong laughed, simply disagreeing, but the camera was rolling, so she didn''t dare to question it directly.

    After a cough, Tongtong continued the awkward conversation, "Whether he''s a King of Singing or top-tier one, judging from the voice he''s definitely a male singer, but there are quite a few singers with a dance background. Do you think you can guess who he is, Prince of Lanling?"

    "No."

    Lin Yuan didn''t even bother.

    Tongtong looked speechlessly at the cameramen, and they returned a sympathetic look.

    While other dressing rooms are passionately playing guessing games, the room where Prince of Lanling is located was as quiet as a cold wind blowing through a deserted area.

    The robot finished singing.

    The judges began reviewing.

    However, to everyone''s surprise, the judges seemed unsatisfied. Mao Xuewang directly said, "If it wasn''t for the good cooperation from the band, you would have collapsed at the beginning."

    "The song was rearranged."

    Liu Xu beside him smiled and said, "It''s quite a novel idea, but it doesn''t cover the flaws in the first section. Besides, the vibrato at the end is a bit deliberate. You should be a top-tier singer. The reason why you top-tier male singers are not as good as the King of Singing is the lack of naturalness."

    "..."

    The third judge started speaking after a brief silence, "If I''m not guessing wrong, you should be a singer from Yan Continent. But I also cannot rule out the possibility of you deliberately learning this singing method, so I''m not sure about your real ability."

    "Interesting."

    Yang Zhongming slightly leaned back, staring at the robot and said, "You''re having fun, aren''t you? Only a King of Singing can sing a top-tier level with a voice style he''s not familiar with. And you have deliberately simulated the Yan people''s singing tone - it''s just that you didn''t mimic it quite well, but I appreciate your challenge to yourself."

    The judges are so strict!

    The audience is a bit dumbfounded and the contestants in each dressing room are also a bit bewildered.

    The remarks from the four bosses were really straightforward, their tone so relaxed, whether they mentioned A-list singers or even talked about the King of Singing, they remained so chilled out.

    However, their conclusions seemed a bit different.

    Aside from Yang Zhongming, the other three judges all thought the robot singer was A-list, who exactly is right...

    Backstage in the dressing room, Tongtong glanced at the Prince of Lanling, only his and Yang Zhongming''s conclusions were the same.

    Several stars from the judges received a chance to speak, it turned out that the judge''s role was not just casting professional votes, but also hinting the audience to guess who the singers might be.

    The rhythm is very comfortable!

    The four judges are unmatched in their professionalism, briefly pinpointing the problems of the singer''s performance.

    And some stars from the judges side in charge of guessing the identities of the singers to boost the atmosphere, at the same time they also interacted and asked questions of the robot.

    The two sides matched wits, one side wanting to dig for key information, while the other side hid their identity, several times making the audience laugh out loud.

    ...

    The second singer is a female singer, a very beautiful image of a white swan.

    The song she performed turns out to be "Big Fish".

    After hearing the song, even the four judges couldn''t help but smile: "This is the voice of a top female singer."

    Yes, a top female singer!

    Unanimously recognized by the four judges!

    This swan conquered the whole room as soon as she started singing, the judges did not hesitate to compliment her.

    However, during the interaction with the star judges, this white swan was extremely arrogant.

    When the judges guessed that the white swan might be a top singer called "Yuan Xi", the white swan directly snapped back:

    "She can''t sing this song."

    This sentence immediately caused an uproar in the scene!

    Tongtong covered her mouth in an exaggerated manner: "This top singer is really daring to say that, she directly said that Teacher Yuan Xi can''t sing this song, the personalities of the singers are so intuitive after being masked!"

    "Um..."

    The white swan seemed to feel that her previous statement wasn''t quite right, and added, "Yuan Xi and I have different styles. There are some songs she can sing which I may not be able to sing, well, um, you know what I mean."

    What a half-hearted fix.

    The audience laughed, but did not hate this arrogant swan, only feeling that this woman is truly authentic.

    Yang Zhongming tapped his finger on the table and said indifferently, "You do sing better than Yuan Xi, Yuan Xi''s voice is too thin and she doesn''t think of changing, um, I''m not just talking about this song."

    The other three judges laughed.

    "Too direct."

    "But indeed it is."

    "I''ve met Yuan Xi a few times, this fellow is very talented but is easily complacent. She becomes complacent once she achieves a little bit of success not knowing that she is only at the bottom amongst top female singers."

    Oh my god!

    Such badass judges!

    The whole site started to cheer!

    But that''s what they want, to be direct!

    Should these bosses consider other people''s feelings when they speak? They''re just stating the facts!

    However, judges of most music programs would not dare to say it directly even if they think so, only top musicians who judge dare to speak so bluntly, this is one of the attractions of "The Masked Singer".

    In various dressing rooms.

    The singers reacted differently.

    Some were silent;

    Some were shouting "so brave";

    Some were afraid that they would not be able to withstand the judge''s attack when it was their turn to perform, even Yuan Xi who was not present was directly attacked!

    So brutal!

    However, regarding the judge''s appraisal of Yuan Xi, the singers in several dressing rooms didn''t dare to express their opinion.

    Meanwhile, inside the dressing room of the Prince of Lanling.

    Tongtong was shivering: "Teacher Yang Zhongming is even more domineering than I imagined. ..."

    "Hmm."

    Tongtong thought the Prince of Lanling would remain silent as usual; she was just trying not to make the room too cold.

    However, to Tongtong''s surprise, Prince Lanling was really nodding his head and said in a calm voice,

    "Yuan Xi''s level is indeed middling among the top female singers, white swan is one of the strongest among the top singers, she sings really well, this version of ''Big Fish'' is almost on par with Jiang Kui."

    Silence!

    Tongtong: "..."

    Photographer: "..."

    Everyone in the room was dumbfounded.

    What did Prince Lanling just say?

    Did he really dare to blatantly say that Yuan Xi''s skills are indeed not as good as the White Swan''s?

    And he even claimed that the female singer, White Swan''s rendition of ''Big Fish'', is only evenly matched with the A-list singer Jiang Kui?

    What the hell!

    Your words are toxic, aren''t they!

    What kind of linguistic genius could offend two top singers at once?

    Isn''t this the legendary...

    Astonishing after a single utterance!?

 Chapter 471 - 449 How Can One Distinguish My Gender_1

    "Cut, cut!"

    Tongtong was on the verge of a breakdown¡ª

    She suddenly yearned for the time when the Prince of Lanling was all about economizing words and keeping quiet!

    Once he started talking, it was nothing less than horror!

    The production team was still shooting, if this segment were to be aired, Yuan Xi''s fans would most likely chew out the Prince of Lanling!

    But that''s not all.

    Once the Swan reveals herself, her fans would directly lash out at the Prince of Lanling:

    Dare to say that our diva sings almost as good as a first-line singer?

    Wake up!

    Do you think you are in an anonymous discussion group?

    In the Masked Singer show, even if you have a mask on, it''s not going to help you!

    It''s not like you can keep your face hidden forever!

    If your words were to be aired, once you reveal yourself, won''t the fans of both divas drown you with their saliva?

    "What''s wrong?"

    Lin Yuan felt that Tongtong was overreacting.

    He had simply commented on two singers, sharing a similar view as Teacher Yang Zhongming.

    Was such a reaction really necessary?

    "....."

    Are you really asking what''s wrong?

    Tongtong had a headache, it seemed like Prince Lanling had a really low EQ.

    He hadn''t realized the problem yet.

    What kind of position does Yang Zhongming hold?

    What are the four judges'' statuses? S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    They of course can say offensive things on the show, especially Yang Zhongming!

    He''s Maestro!

    If Maestro says that a diva''s talent is mediocre, so what?

    No need to think about it.

    Even if the show airs and Yuan Xi finds out that Teacher Yang Zhongming belittled her, she can only earnestly say "Thank you for Teacher Yang Zhongming''s instruction", even her fans wouldn''t dare to talk too much.

    Yes.

    In Blue Star''s music circle, Maestro is indeed incredible, Maestro can do as he wishes.

    But what about you, Prince of Lanling?

    Can you also be the Maestro?

    That''s impossible, at most you''re the King of Singing.

    But even if the face behind your mask is that of the King of Singing, it''s useless!

    The fans of the two divas, are they afraid of a King of Singing?

    And moreover, you speak so offensively, everyone in the music circle will see each other from time to time, who would still dare to play with you in the circle in the future?

    "Listen to me,"

    Tongtong mourned and whispered to Lin Yuan:

    "Although what you''ve said is the truth¡­ ah damn, you''re leading me astray ¡­ although you, as a singer, have the right to speak freely, these kinds of words offend people and would be detrimental to your future development in the music industry¡­"

    "It''s okay."

    Lin Yuan spoke seriously.

    He did have some EQ and knew that some words might upset people when they were heard.

    But Lin Yuan believed a good singer should accept outside criticism.

    Though Yuan Xi''s voice may be thin, there is room for improvement, it seems like this diva doesn''t have the courage to challenge herself.

    Of course.

    Lin Yuan also appreciated Tongtong''s well-intentioned advice and didn''t blame her for being overly sensitive, but he would not deliberately withhold what needs to be said.

    It''s not like he''s never been scolded before.

    He''s been called Xianyu the old thief, and Chu Kuang the old thief. The phrase "old thief" sounds so annoying, doesn''t it?

    "Prince of Lanling, get ready."

    At that moment, an announcement was made over the loudspeaker.

    Tongtong no longer worried about what Prince Lanling had just said and quickly got up saying:

    "It''s our turn to perform soon, Prince of Lanling, adjust your state, I''ll have someone cut the part we just shot."

    "....."

    Lin Yuan rose in silence.

    The two of them moved to the exit area to wait.

    On stage.

    The host, Anhong, laughed, "After experiencing the humor of the Robot teacher and the Swan teacher''s true colours, like everyone else, I''m curious about what kind of surprise the next singer will surprise us with, let''s have a round of applause for today''s third singer, Prince of Lanling!"

    The audience clappedl!

    Lin Yuan, microphone in hand, stepped onto the stage.

    Suddenly countless lights shone on him.

    His cloak floated freely with his movements; his magnificent robe gently swayed, his demon mask carried an intense, yet beautiful, sensation!

    All viewers couldn''t help but shift their attention!

    "Who is this?"

    "Looks so dashing!"

    "Body shape is also fantastic!"

    "Based on my study of psychology, the face under this mask must be mediocre, often the more flamboyant the appearance, the more ordinary the real person. On the contrary, those singers who deliberately make themselves look ugly might actually be handsome. But this clothing is really cool, the mask is even more amazing, I''m going to see if this kind of mask is available online."

    "It looks like it''s a male singer."

    "Of course it''s a male, when have you ever seen a female singer this flat?"

    "I just don''t know what the meaning of Prince Lanling is, does it have any figurative meaning that I don''t understand?"

    "....."

    The audience was discussing.

    No matter how diverse the discussions were, as Prince Lanling had just arrived, at the very least, the new singer''s costume design was universally accepted.

    Even the demon mask carried a form of unique beauty.

    Just not sure about his performing skills?

    The audience was somewhat looking forward to it.

    This was an expectation aroused by the Robot and the Swan.

    The two previous contestants were each better than the last, and the stage was already heating up.

    Backstage.

    Tongtong looked at the Prince of Lanling: "Are you the King of Singing?"

    She seemed to think of something.

    Suddenly, Tongtong''s face changed, turning pale!

    The Prince of Lanling couldn''t be the King of Singing, or else he wouldn''t have guessed that the robot was the King of Singing!

    During the show''s promotion, it was mentioned that the first episode would feature both a King and Queen of Singing!

    The Queen of Singing must be the white swan who just performed.

    But the King of Singing...

    Could very well be the robot!

    Because that was Teacher Yang Zhongming''s judgment!

    Many people, including Tongtong after some thought, trusted Teacher Yang Zhongming''s judgment. He was the most respected judge, and his insights were undoubtedly the most incisive!

    However, this also indirectly suggested that the Prince of Lanling might only be a first or even second-tier singer!

    "I really do have terrible luck."

    Realizing this, Tongtong bit her lip.

    Being the third to perform wasn''t necessarily the best slot, and might even be the worst today ¡ª

    Could the Prince of Lanling keep up the momentum?

    This is bad.

    How could they follow up the performances of the King and Queen of Singing?

    In the judge''s zone

    "Is the robot really the King of Singing?" Wu Long asked Yang Zhongming.

    Yang Zhongming confidently smiled, his meaning clear: the robot could fool all of you and the audience, but it couldn''t fool him.

    "This is getting interesting."

    Liu Xu showed a slight smile.

    However, Mao Xuewang muttered, "The King of Singing concealed his abilities, but the Queen didn''t. The White Swan really brought the house down, so it''s going to be tough to follow."

    If not careful, it could all blow up in their faces.

    Singers don''t need to talk much before performing.

    On stage, Lin Yuan adjusted his breathing and nodded to the band members.

    With countless cameras pointed at him, it was still a little uncomfortable.

    However, with his clothing and mask covering his body, it wasn''t too much of a problem.

    The music started playing softly.

    The audience fell silent.

    The judges stopped talking as well.

    This was a sign of respect for the performer.

    The sounds of flutes and harps echoed around the room, soon accompanied by the string violin and some synthesized sounds.

    Lin Yuan lifted his microphone and began singing:

    "As the dusk grows colder,

    Flowers fall to the ground, turning into frost,

    You watch from the distance,

    Exhausting all dusk light,

    Not thinking for it is too hard to forget¡­"

    The audience''s eyes suddenly widened!

    The four judges exchanged glances!

    It was a female voice!

    This was actually a female singer?

    Based on the clothes, it seemed like a male singer!

    But that wasn''t important.

    Although it''s not uncommon for female singers to dress in male attire to demonstrate their heroism, which was a good idea, the voice possessed an ethereal quality and lacked masculinity.

    The real surprise was¡­

    This was a new song!

    The audience, not as knowledgeable as the judges, couldn''t be certain if it was a new song. However, the four judges were convinced!

    It was indeed a new song!

    This female singer was quite interesting, daring to debut a new song on the first episode of "The Masked Singer". And the melody was quite good, despite some slight flaws in her singing technique¡­

    The judges looked surprised.

    If it were only this, the judges would be just surprised and nothing more.

    This singer''s skills were merely second-tier.

    However, the quality of the new song would definitely score points for this singer, a real game-changer.

    But¡­

    At that moment, the second verse started, and it was still the Prince of Lanling singing, but the voice had thoroughly changed to that of a different person, a man:

    "Young peach blossoms wither,

    In a previous life, how could you leave,

    This vast sea of heartache,

    Pretending not to be hurt, not to long,

    All of it is an illusion¡­"

    A male voice!

    Transitioning smoothly from a female to a male voice, as if a man and a woman were singing a duet on stage...

    But there was clearly only one singer on stage!

    The faces of the judges changed!

    At the same time!

    The audience below the stage revealed shocked expressions, and some even exclaimed:

    "Oh my god!"

    Wasn''t it a female?

    How did the voice turn into a male''s?

    Is the person male or female?

    Lin Yuan''s voice was steady as he transitioned from female to male without any detectable falsetto!

    This was Lin Yuan''s most unique weapon¡ª

    The male rabbit scurries, the female rabbit''s eyes are hazy,

    Both rabbits running along the ground, how can one tell which is male or female!!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: You can search for the video of the Malaysian guy singing "Bracing the Chill" on Bilibili. He plays two roles. Just imagine a more enhanced version performed by Lin Yuan. Lin Yuan''s rendition is better since his female voice is real, and his singing skills are slightly superior o(*£þ¨Œ£þ*)o

 Chapter 472 - 450 Bracing the Chill_1

    On the stage.

    Neither expressive changes on judges'' faces nor the astonished gasps emanating from the audience managed to disrupt Lin Yuan''s performance.

    Lin Yuan did not look or listen to anything in his surroundings.

    With in-ear monitors plugged into his ears, he immersed himself in the melody, achieving an even better state of performance than when he rehearsed. The slight discomfort caused by being in the constant focus of cameras gradually faded away.

    A gentle light cascaded down.

    The backdrop on the large stage screen was a painting of enchanting landscapes.

    High peaks towered.

    Mists swirled.

    Rivers babbled.

    Lin Yuan, amidst reactions of varied descriptions from below the stage, gripped the microphone with great stability, perfectly capturing the beats within the music.

    The ethereal and natural female voice arose once again, eliciting another round of awe from the audience, even though they had already witnessed the Prince of Lanling switch seamlessly between different voices in the main verse sections.

    This was the first part of the high-pitched chorus:

    "Bracing the chill of the night as I think of you, as if I transmute into spring soil to protect you."

    However, in the next line, Lin Yuan effortlessly switched back to a bass-baritone voice, which emanated a sense of deep affection and magnetism:

    "A fleeting span of years brushes love onto your sleeves, one after another, memories of our love flow away like a river."

    Not only the main verse part!

    The climax was also a duet of male and female voices!

    The audience below the stage was stunned speechless!

    ...

    Waiting area.

    Tongtong was filled with worries and self-reproach, thinking that the sequence placement she drew might affect the performance of the Prince of Lanling.

    But, in the next moment!

    When the first seamless transition of male and female voices from the Prince of Lanling resounded, she was dumbfounded, as if struck by a bolt of lightning!

    King of Singing?

    Queen of Singing?

    She could not remember at all; she simply stood there, mouth slightly agape, eyes wide open, gazing blankly at her surroundings.

    Dumbstruck!

    Meanwhile.

    Singers'' lounge.

    The Swan stared transfixed at the television on the wall. Even the robotic treatment of her voice couldn''t conceal her astonishment:

    "Incredible."

    The room next door.

    Inside the lounge of the Robot.

    The Robot, who seemed to have a more lively character, leapt to his feet. One could only imagine the shocked expression beneath his mask, "I can''t tell the gender of this person, they managed to pull off both parts of a male and female duet by themselves!"

    The same went for the other singers in their respective lounges.

    "Who is this?"

    "A prodigy!"

    "I have been in the music industry for so many years, and I''ve never heard such a natural transition between male and female voices. When singing the male part, it''s a complete expression of masculinity. When singing the female part, it''s a perfect display of femininity!"

    How is this possible?

    ...

    Backstage director''s room.

    The director, Tong Shuwen, was also completely taken aback!

    Others may not know who the real identity of the Prince of Lanling is. However, he was privy to the information, and thus the shock was even deeper for him¡ª

    That''s Xian Yu!

    Isn''t he a composer?

    Why has his singing reached the level of a professional singer, capable of mastering both male and female voice parts!?

    This is insane!

    The first discovery was surprising enough, just showing how incredibly talented Xian Yu was; however, the second discovery shocked Tong Shuwen. This was not simply a display of talent, but a manifestation of his unparalleled and unique gifts!

    Reveal his identity in the first episode?

    If the Prince of Lanling reveals his identity in the first episode, nobody would question it.

    Tong Shuwen, the director himself, would suspect that "The Masked Singer" is manipulating the results!

    ...

    Amidst the shock from all parts.

    Lin Yuan''s performance had reached its conclusion. As the final climax approached, his voice soared increasingly higher, whether as the male or the female part:

    "Is there any period in these cold ten miles that will witness the thriving of spring again, seeing beneath the trees a familiar outline;

    Flowers fall on purpose, the river flows indifferently, don''t let quarrels and resentments chill the purity of the flower."

    The lights no longer shifted.

    They all gathered under Lin Yuan''s feet.

    The color of twilight descended on the big screen.

    In the close-up shot, beneath the beautifully chilling demon mask, a voice permeated with tenderness and affection rang out:

    "Unable to bear the burdens of the mundane world¡­"

    During the wistful conclusion, the audience seemed to discern a blend of two voices in their daze.

    Everyone could not even differentiate if the last line of lyrics was sung in a male voice or a female one.

    The scene was silent.

    While many cameras were ready to capture the reactions from the show''s team, every face caught in the lens expressed shock¡ª

    Including the four judges.

    It wasn''t until the last few seconds of the music when Prince of Lanling bowed to the band and the audience that the onlookers were finally able to snap back to reality!

    Whoosh!

    The audience erupted!

    This was something the Robot wasn''t able to achieve, and something that even the Swan, who was consistently touted as a top-tier singer, couldn''t do either¡ª

    "My god!"

    "This is horrifying!"

    "Who on earth is this Prince of Lanling!" S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "When he first transitioned to the male voice, I thought I had misheard, even doubted if there was something wrong with my ears!"

    "I''m still doubting my ears!"

    "Does the stage conceal another singer aside from the Prince of Lanling?"

    "If he''s a male singer, how can he sing so well in a female voice? If she''s a female singer, how can her male voice be so expressive?"

    "My goodness!"

    "While other singers perform solos, Prince of Lanling is delivering a mixed-gender doubles match!"

    ...

    Judges'' panel.

    The celebrity judges even momentarily forgot their role in setting the atmosphere, although admittedly the atmosphere didn''t require any help at that moment.

    From the moment the Prince of Lanling first shifted his voice, the impact of the performance had already reached its peak!

    "Phew..."

    Even An Hong, who was the host, needed to take in a deep breath and moderate his emotions before going on stage.

    "Thank you, Teacher Wang, for your performance!"

 Chapter 473 - 473: 450

    His voice carried a curiosity he could not hide:

    "I think everyone might need some time to calm their own emotions, so let me ask a question that perhaps everyone is most curious about¡ªwhat is the gender of Teacher Prince of Lanling?"

    "Guess."

    Lin Yuan answered in a male voice, but because of the voice changer and the just-concluded performance, no one could be certain of Prince of Lanling''s true gender.

    Smiling helplessly, An Hong remarked:

    "You guess whether I can guess or not. It seems we need to seek the guidance of our four professional judges, Teacher Mao Xuewang!"

    "..."

    Mao Xuewang didn''t utter a word.

    Unable to resist, An Hong called out again: "Teacher Mao Xuewang?" sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "I apologize..."

    Mao Xuewang finally snapped out of his reverie: "I was considering your previous question, whether Prince of Lanling is a man or a woman. The result is, I don''t know either."

    "A singer who can sing both male and female voices is rare, but not extremely so."

    Judge Liu Xu spoke.

    On hearing this, the audience''s eyes widened.

    Isn''t that bragging? Isn''t that extremely rare?

    Even if you''re an expert, you shouldn''t say things like that. Do you think we wouldn''t know?

    But Liu Xu''s second sentence made the audience realize that Liu Xu was actually on their side:

    "Many male singers can employ techniques to mimic a female voice, but those are essentially falsettos. Similarly, female singers too. But you are different from the two types of singers I mentioned. Whether you sing in a male or female voice, you sound too natural. So natural that I can''t detect any tricks. I can only say that both your voices are too sophisticated.

    So sophisticated that I can easily overlook imperfections in your singing technique, and even want to keep listening¡­"

    Yes.

    Many male singers can mimic female voices, but these male singers naturally have voices that lean toward a feminine pitch.

    Female singers are the same.

    But Prince of Lanling is different, he possesses a pure male voice, so pure that no one could imagine his voice being capable of producing a feminine tone!

    He also possesses a pure female voice!

    So pure of a female voice that when he first started singing, everyone subconsciously assumed he must be a female singer!

    Contrast!

    Extreme contrast!

    Liu Xu chuckled, then turned his head: "So, I also can''t judge Prince of Lanling''s gender. This tough question is probably best tossed to Teacher Wu Long."

    "Don''t ask me."

    Wu Long shook his head repeatedly: "I''m just like you, I''m totally unable to guess which of the male and female voices just now is his real one. The real one is used, right?"

    "Yes."

    Lin Yuan admitted.

    Audience members started discussing.

    Why does Prince of Lanling seem a bit aloof and less than enthusiastic towards the judges?

    Unlike the previous two singers.

    Even Swan, who carries herself with such arrogance, managed to maintain a humble demeanour toward the four highly-regarded industry judges.

    Wu Long wasn''t bothered by Lin Yuan''s terse responses: "If your real voice was used, that means one of the two voices used earlier is genuine. The two voices were amazing. Other singers are soloists; you''re like two people on stage, a male-female mixed doubles, straight up two against one!"

    The audience laughed!

    Isn''t that the truth!

    Straight two against one!

    "Let''s not discuss this issue, unless it''s confirmed by the person in question. I will presume based on Prince of Lanling''s image that you are a male," said Wu Long, "But what really shocked me wasn''t that you have two voices, rather the final vocal melody..."

    Liu Xu and Mao Xuewang nodded, seemingly aware of what Wu Long intended to say.

    "The final line was supposed to be a male and female duet but you''re performing solo, either in a male or female voice. I had been pondering how you would handle it if you had arranged a duet segment in the song. The result was that you presented us with a male-female mixed voice, seemingly with two voices blending into one.

    On Blue Star, probably only you can achieve this level!" said Wu Long in earnest.

    The audience glanced over in awe!

    That''s such high praise!

    Prince of Lanling continued to hold his tongue.

    Laughing, An Hong said: "It''s pretty clear that our Teacher Prince of Lanling is a singer who does not like to speak much. This may be a clue. Teacher Yang Zhongming¡­"

    An Hong looks towards Yang Zhongming.

    Everyone is turned to Yang Zhongming.

    Facing such an extraordinary singer, everyone was curious about how Maestro Yang Zhongming would comment. To everyone''s surprise, Yang Zhongming, while staring at Lin Yuan, pointedly said:

    "You have two voices."

    On hearing this, Lin Yuan''s expression behind the mask slightly changed.

    But his expression could not be seen behind the mask.

    After speaking, Yang Zhongming shook his head:

    "But that''s impossible."

    People laughed, the big shot has got jokes.

    Yang Zhongming laughed along: "Are you having fun?"

    This was the first time Yang Zhongming revealed such an easygoing smile.

    Before this, Yang Zhongming had always exuded an indescribable dignity; even when he smiled, there was just something different about him.

    Like Chen Daoming on Earth, born with a confidence that simply cannot be suppressed.

    "It''s fun."

    A smile surfaced on Lin Yuan''s face under the mask.

    He knew, that Yang Zhongming might have deduced something, given that the two had met before, but it was likely just a guess.

    As expected¨C

    Yang Zhongming''s next sentence was: "You remind me of someone I know."

    The audience were surprised.

    Whom was Yang Zhongming referring to?

    The other judges looked at Yang Zhongming, their faces full of curiosity. "Who is it?"

    Yang Zhongming shook his head: "I can''t say who. If I guess correctly and reveal the answer, it would no longer be fun."

    "Ah!"

    The audience was upset, their hearts itching like they''ve been scratched by a cat''s paw.

    Yang Zhongming is the Maestro; he knows too many singers. How could they possibly know where to start guessing from based on such a sparse clue?

    "Let''s talk about the song instead. It''s a new song. What''s its title?"

 Chapter 474 - 450 Bracing the Chill_3

    "''Bracing the Chill'', the chill of chilled tea."

    "Who wrote that song?" Yang Zhongming stared at Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan originally planned to attribute the creation of the song to the Prince of Lanling.

    But seeing the familiar face of Yang Zhongming in front of him, for some reason, he suddenly changed his mind:

    "Admirable Fish."

    The whole place shook in an instant!

    The already quiet audience area got heated again, as everyone was too familiar with the name "Admirable Fish"!

    "Oh my!"

    "Admirable Fish''s song?"

    "So it''s a new song by the big boss Admirable Fish, no wonder it''s so good, I can''t believe Teacher Admirable Fish would help the Prince of Lanling!"

    "Could it be Sun Yao Huo?"

    "Why not say it''s Jiang Kui."

    "It could also be Chen Zhiyu."

    "And it could possibly be Blue Face, the King of Singing!"

    "But the problem is that the Prince of Lanling has sung Professor Admirable Fish''s song in the first round, isn''t this a bit of a waste?"

    "..."

    The scene got slightly restless.

    Meanwhile, in the singer''s resting room.

    The Swan was also stunned: "It''s actually a song by Teacher Admirable Fish... But it makes sense, only the Prince of Lanling can bring out the contrast between male and female voices."

    "Ahhhh, it stings, it stings, it stings!"

    The Robot was as zany as ever, overacting: "Why can''t Teacher Admirable Fish help me, Teacher Admirable Fish, look at me!"

    "I''m envious!"

    "I''m jealous!"

    "I hate it!"

    The other singers were a bit salty, expressing their feelings through jokes.

    Judge Yang Zhongming raised his eyebrows: "Admirable Fish has always had a precise grasp of the melody of pop songs, this song''s composition part indeed feels like his work, but his lyrics this time are just too sloppy."

    "Hahahaha!"

    Wu Long laughed: "I suspect this song was quickly written by Admirable Fish due to a time crunch, so the lyrics were done in a sloppy manner."

    Liu Xu chuckled: "So even Teacher Admirable Fish has lazy days."

    Mao Xuewang nodded: "Teacher Admirable Fish''s lyric writing ability is top tier in Blue Star."

    Lin Yuan: "..." sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Are you all misunderstanding something about me?

    Well, say that Admirable Fish''s lyric writing ability has really carved a deep impression in people''s hearts.

    The benefit of this is:

    Even if the lyrics of one of Professor Admirable Fish''s songs are poorly written, people will only think that he did not take it seriously, rather than his ability is limited.

    But the reality is...

    Lin Yuan also knew that the lyrics of "Bracing the Chill" were a bit meaningless, but the melody itself was excellent, especially in terms of a pop song.

    So he changed a few words and phrases in the song.

    In a stage dominated by public voting like this, singing a pop song is more beneficial!

    Because it''s enough to catch the ear in a short time!

    So even though the lyrics were poor, he still chose this song.

    Most importantly, the male-female duet format of this song allowed him to showcase his vocal advantages.

    Yang Zhongming nodded:

    "The advantage of a new song for you is obvious, and your unique dual-voiced talent is extraordinary. However, your singing skills are not perfect, but the first two advantages are enough to compensate for that, but as the competition progresses, there are some issues you will eventually have to face..."

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan thought that this evaluation was very fair, his skills in singing needed improvement.

    The judges finished their comments.

    Next came the interaction session of the judging panel.

    However, backstage.

    The singer who will be fourth on stage, dressed as a wizard, was already panicking before he had set foot on stage!

    The first one, Robot, performed exceptionally!

    Second, Swan, at the level of the queen of singing!

    Third, Prince of Lanling, astounded everybody!

    Each performance was more astonishing than the last...

    How am I supposed to follow this...

    Chill!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: These competition plot lines typically have to be handled in large chapters, so they take quite a bit of time, but there''s still a lot of content. Hope everyone is satisfied. Splitting chapters isn''t intentional, it''s just that by late night I really can''t write anymore.

 Chapter 475 - 451: Hint (Extra for Alliance Hierarch Forest Spirit)_1

    The situations in the backstage, of course, wouldn''t interest anyone.

    Even the performances of the first two singers were overshadowed by the shock brought by the Prince of Lanling, who would care about the feelings of the fourth singer?

    On stage.

    Host Anhong smiled and said, "As you can see, our jury can''t wait any longer, does Teacher Ding Ming have any questions?"

    This Ding Ming is a variety show fanatic, basically, he appears in all the renowned variety shows on Blue Star.

    Because he has a great sense of variety show, he is also quite bold in his speech.

    As expected.

    Ding Ming''s first sentence drew a lot of laughter: "Does Prince of Lanling use the men''s restroom or the women''s restroom?"

    Lin Yuan replied: "Private bathroom."

    Whether it''s at his company or at home, he has a private bathroom.

    Having no other choice, the other party asked: "Looks like we won''t be able to learn the gender of Prince of Lanling. How about other questions, would Prince of Lanling reject being second place?"

    Puff!

    The whole audience could get the joke.

    Everyone burst into laughter!

    The identity of Prince of Lanling is not without clues.

    Because the song "Bracing the Chill" that he just sang is a song from Teacher Admirable Fish, so everyone suspects:

    Prince of Lanling is a singer that Admirable Fish has collaborated with before.

    Among the singers that Admirable Fish has collaborated with, the only one related to "second" is the perennial runner-up, top-tier singer Chen Zhiyu!

    "No."

    Lin Yuan uttered.

    It''s probably not him, everyone observed the reaction of Prince of Lanling.

    Then the other few stars in the jury asked a few questions, guessing the identity of Prince of Lanling, one after another.

    Some even guessed that he might be Sun Yaohuo or Jiang Kui¡­

    In the end, Prince of Lanling remained silent, just denying by shaking his head.

    Even when he occasionally spoke, it would end the topic in one or two words.

    Very aloof.

    Just like his attitude towards the four judges just now.

    Someone said: "Prince of Lanling seems to like answering questions with just one or two words..."

    "Not necessarily."

    This time it''s three words.

    Everyone was torn between laughs and tears.

    This is a conversation black hole!

    Prince of Lanling has so much character!

    Such coolness, in a sense, hits the taste of some people.

    At this time, a member of the jury named Liu An asked: "Why do you call yourself the Prince of Lanling? Does it have any special meaning?"

    "About this, I would like to share the story of the Prince of Lanling with everyone¡­"

    This time, Lin Yuan did not skimp on words. He retold the story of the Prince of Lanling that he had shared with Lil Goodoong on stage once again.

    The audience was deeply interested.

    The several judges also listened eagerly.

    But after Prince of Lanling finished speaking, Liu An discovered some useful information, and he chuckled triumphantly:

    "Prince of Lanling, you revealed yourself!"

    "What?"

    "You said that Prince of Lanling is a general, a warrior on the battlefield, of course he''s a man, so even though you can sing in a female voice, you are definitely a male singer!"

    Liu An praised his own cleverness, even though everyone can realize this kind of cleverness.

    Lin Yuan was silent.

    Liu An began to doubt.

    There seemed to be female generals in ancient times, his logic was not necessarily correct.

    Ding Ming next to him said: "Looking at the outfit, Prince of Lanling must be a male singer, but it''s hard to say just by his voice. Perhaps Prince of Lanling wants to mislead everyone into thinking that he is a male singer, so he wore men''s clothes, and his just now story was also a kind of misdirection."

    Liu An said: "So, I''m only at the first level, and Prince of Lanling is at the second level?"

    Someone next to him said: "I am known as the Poirot of celebrities. I suspect Prince of Lanling is at the third level. He anticipated that we would suspect him of deliberately misleading the audience, so he used this thought trap to deliberately make us think he is misleading the audience!"

    "It could also be the fourth level!"

    Hearing the jury''s celebrities'' tongue twisters, the audience couldn''t close their mouths from laughter.

    Lin Yuan was speechless...

    Is this The Masked Singer or Brainstorming?

    These folks are even better than Poirot at deduction.

    Problem is, I really didn''t put much thought into it back then.

    Luckily, the host didn''t let them continue on with their deductions, successfully regaining control over the scene, and after bowing, Lin Yuan stepped off the stage.

    As he passed the fourth singer waiting to go on stage, Lin Yuan sighed inwardly.

    He knew, it would be hard for the fourth singer to follow his act.

    That''s the nature of live performances.

    If the previous act is too explosive, and the following act lets loose a bit, it creates a strong contrast for the audience.

    This contrast amplifies the audience''s emotions, making them feel that the worse act is extremely bad.

    Because the audience will subconsciously compare the previous performance with the current one...

    Such comparisons are what you dread.

    If you compare the top student with the worst, the top student clearly wins.

    But if you compare the top student with the genius, the top student suddenly seems no better than the worst.

    Lin Yuan may not be a genius, but he indeed ignited the atmosphere.

    Performing a duet solo, after seeing this many times, the audience won''t be surprised anymore, but being the first time, they would definitely be conquered!

    That''s beyond doubt.

    But that''s the cruelty of the competition.

    Lin Yuan couldn''t purposely hide his abilities for his competitors, that would be disrespect.

    Truth be told.

    If he were to perform after the King and Queen of Singing, he would also feel the pressure.

    The performance of Swan warming up the stage was quite excellent.

    If Lin Yuan didn''t bring out a new song today, as well as the trick of performing a male and female duet by himself, he wouldn''t have been able to take control of the situation.

    "Teacher Prince of Lanling!"

    Tongtong ran over, supporting Lin Yuan, her small face full of excitement:

    "You sang so well, seamlessly transitioning between male and female voices. I always thought you were a male singer, but now I''m starting to suspect that you might actually be a female singer..."

    Lin Yuan remained silent.

    It seems that everyone can''t quite figure out whether I am a male or female singer.

    That''s great, it adds to the mystery.

    If I openly admit to being a male singer, it would take away some of the suspense from the show.

    Meanwhile.

    In the control room.

    The Music Director rushed in quickly, grabbing onto Tong Shuwen''s arm: "Director, there''s something strange about this Prince of Lanling!"

    "What''s wrong?"

    Tong Shuwen was taken aback.

    The Music Director frowned, "This Prince of Lanling told me during rehearsal that he wrote the lyrics and composed the music for "Bracing the Chill," but on the stage just now, he said that the song is Admire Fish''s masterpiece!"

    Tong Shuwen: "...."

    The Music Director looked very serious: "We must ascertain if this song was actually written by Admirable Fish. If it was, then he deceived me earlier!"

    Tong Shuwen had no choice but to disclose a bit of information, otherwise, the Music Director would start doubting Prince of Lanling''s character:

    "What he said is true."

    The Music Director was stunned: "What do you mean?"

    Tong Shuwen just shrugged.

    The color drained from the Music Director''s face: "You mean to say the Prince of Lanling is Admire... "

    He wasn''t a fool!

    Tong Shuwen had hinted quite clearly!

    "Shh!"

    Tong Shuwen cut off the Music Director: "This matter is still confidential, you must not let the cat out of the bag. His identity hasn''t been officially revealed yet."

    "Understood!"

    The Music Director took a deep breath, looking complex: "I didn''t expect that... he''s scary."

    "Who would disagree?"

    A smile tugged at the corners of Tong Shuwen''s mouth. He completely understood the Music Director''s feelings at that moment. It felt rather good to share a secret with someone.

    Right now it seemed that Admirable Fish would not be unmasking anytime soon, his overall strength was formidable!

    Tong Shuwen suddenly looked forward to how far this little maestro could go in this competition for singers? S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps:Thank you to the Alliance Hierarch support from big boss Forest Spirit. He''s too familiar, he''s an old reader who has followed several of Polluted White''s books, and has been the Alliance Hierarch for Polluted White''s previous books. I genuinely appreciate your consistent support!!

 Chapter 476 - 452 - A Program Full of Miracles_1

    Lin Yuan returned to the dressing room.

    The competition on stage continued.

    The fourth singer to go on stage was referred to as the "Wizard," clothed in a black robe, even the mask was black.

    It became obvious.

    The prowess of the first three singers made the Wizard''s performance seem average.

    The audience''s reaction after his performance was lukewarm, though the judges gave reasonable reviews.

    Actually, the "Wizard"''s abilities weren''t weak.

    He just seemed off a bit, affected by the sequence of the competition, and unable to demonstrate his full potential.

    The fifth singer was called "Piggy Qiqi".

    This was a character from the fairy tale "Three Little Pigs" from the Qin Continent.

    The singer dressed up as a cute pig, with a distinct female voice, and as soon as she started singing, many audience members burst into silent laughter.

    "It''s Lu Yumeng''s voice!"

    Tongtong, in the dressing room, also subconsciously said this, mentioning the name of a top tier singer from Qin Continent.

    Some singers'' voices cannot be concealed, regardless of their technical skills.

    Interestingly, during the interactive session, Piggy Qiqi asserted that she wasn''t Lu Yumeng and even explained earnestly:

    "Many people have said that my voice sounds like Lu Yumeng''s..."

    This statement left the panel of judges uncertain since Piggy Qiqi had slightly altered her voice. It sounded like Lu Yumeng''s, yet there was a slight difference.

    This uncertainty was one of the fun aspects of "The Masked Singer".

    Nevertheless, it was interesting that the judges had a low opinion of Piggy Qiqi.

    But the audience seemed to quite like Piggy Qiqi!

    Then came the sixth singer, who was also the last contestant in the first round.

    This singer was called the Wanderer, possessing very artistic wardrobe and scores...

    The result was the opposite of Lu Yumeng''s.

    The judges gave reasonable remarks about the Wanderer, yet the audience''s reaction was comparatively lukewarm.

    Strange?

    Not at all.

    The judges listen to songs from a professional viewpoint, they consider many factors in a comprehensive way.

    But the audience on site doesn''t have such professional knowledge. They judge whether they like a song only based on the melody.

    Compared to them, the panel of judges'' opinions differ substantially.

    Take the Wanderer for instance.

    Some people especially liked Wanderer, while others found it to be quite dull.

    This even caused a dispute among the panel of judges and the judges holding different opinions argued fiercely.

    Different strokes for different folks!

    This was the best way to describe "The Masked Singer". Maybe it was due to the judges'' influence, the star judges became quite bold in their evaluations of the singers.

    The result was unpredictable!

    Even Lin Yuan couldn''t guarantee what his result would be. All he could be certain of was that he wouldn''t come last. The reaction of the audience and the judges towards his song was quite good.

    "Alright then!"

    An Hong, in the spotlight on stage, showed a smile: "All six mystery singers have finished their performances, and we''re currently counting the votes behind the scenes."

    On stage, the host interacted with the audience.

    Backstage where the singers were.

    The director''s voice came from the loudspeakers: "Please ask all singers and their temporary managers to gather in the main hall. We''re going to announce the rankings of the first round of the competition in the main hall..."

    In the various dressing rooms.

    The singers stood up nervously.

    In the Prince of Lanling''s dressing room.

    Tongtong also stood up, her face was extremely nervous.

    But when she turned around and looked at the Prince of Lanling, she amusingly found that he hadn''t reacted at all, as calm as ever.

    The Prince of Lanling isn''t worried, but his chambermaid is."

    Tongtong made a ruthless comment to the camera.

    ...

    The main hall.

    Under the guidance of the temporary managers, the mysterious singers gathered.

    Everyone couldn''t see each other''s faces, so they simply greeted each other and took their seats on individual sofas. The temporary managers stood behind their assigned singers, like lackeys of the singers.

    "Prince of Lanling, will you perform a duet by yourself in the next round?"

    After sitting down, Piggy Qiqi curiously looked at Lin Yuan.

    Robot joked: "So cunning, trying to find out the competitor''s strategy in advance."

    Everyone laughed, making the atmosphere among the singers much lively.

    Lin Yuan said: "Not sure."

    He wasn''t being evasive, but he really hadn''t decided on the song for the next round.

    "I like your song."

    The White Swan looked at Lin Yuan and said.

    Lin Yuan said: "Thank you."

    Robot pretended to be dissatisfied and said: "White Swan, are you saying that we didn''t sing well?"

    The White Swan laughed and said: "At least not as good as I did."

    The singers all gave bitter smiles. This White Swan was indeed quite conceited.

    After they chatted and joked for a bit, Tong Shuwen showed up.

    Tong Shuwen held a card in his hand: "Everyone performed spectacularly, but there has to be winners and losers in a competition, and now it''s time for me to announce today''s results. We''ll start from the third place..."

    The singers suddenly tensed up.

    Tong Shuwen smiled and said: "The third-place singer in the first round of ''The Masked Singer'' is..."

    Tong Shuwen paused deliberately.

    This was a typical suspense creating segment in variety shows.

    When the singers became perturbed, Tong Shuwen finally revealed: "The third-place singer received three hundred and eighty votes from the audience, twenty-eight votes from the professional panel, and seventy votes from the judges, totalling five hundred and six votes. He is our Robot!"

    Everyone applauded.

    Robot sighed in relief: "I thought I was going to bomb today."

    Robot''s remark was quite revealing. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Perhaps he was really the mystery singing king the crew had hyped up in the promotion...

    Tong Shuwen smiled: "And the singer who ranks fourth today, she received three hundred and ninety-two votes from the audience, thirty votes from the professional panel, and thirty votes from the judges. She is our Piggy Qiqi!"

    Everyone clapped again.

    Piggy Qiqi was relieved and said: "I''m glad I came in fourth..."

    The fifth is to be determined!

    The sixth is eliminated!

    She was almost about to be on hold.

    The Magician and the Wanderer looked at each other, as if they could see a bitter smile under each other''s masks, and sighed in unison.

    Perfect synchronization.

    Everyone laughed.

    The Magician helplessly asked, "Am I the fifth or the sixth?"

    The Wanderer replied with a lost tone, "I guess I should be the sixth."

    These two people had a clear understanding of themselves, knowing they couldn''t score higher than the White Swan and Prince of Lanling, whose performances today were stunning.

    "Let''s announce the fifth first."

    Tong Shuwen picked up the card in his hand: "The singer ranked fifth is the Wanderer, and your vote count is..."

    After reading the vote count, Tong Shuwen said, "I''m sorry, the Wanderer is now on hold. The singer on hold must enter the top four in the next ranking, otherwise they will be eliminated."

    "Understood."

    The Wanderer breathed a sigh of relief: "I thought I would be sixth, which is better than being eliminated directly..."

    The Magician muttered with a bitter smile, "Congratulations."

    He must be the sixth.

    His vote count will definitely be less than that of Prince of Lanling and the White Swan.

    As expected.

    Tong Shuwen announced the result for the Magician: "The Magician is ranked sixth this round and will be eliminated. Unfortunately, you need to go on stage for the unmasking ceremony..."

    "That''s okay."

    The Magician sighed, "Drawing lots is a profound science..."

    Everyone nodded in agreement.

    The Wanderer should have been eliminated, but the Magician performed after Prince of Lanling, and due to the Magician''s failure to excite the audience, he was affected.

    This is the characteristic of live competitions where factors beyond performance can also affect the singers.

    Everyone''s eyes turned to the White Swan and Prince of Lanling.

    Which of these two would be the first?

    Tong Shuwen said, "At such a tense moment, should we cut to a commercial..."

    Everyone laughed again.

    The director said to cut to a commercial, but there were no commercials during recording.

    After saying this, Tong Shuwen continued to discuss the competition results:

    "After a thrilling commercial break, let''s announce today''s first place. This mysterious singer received four hundred and fifty-two votes from the audience, fourty-three votes from the public judges, and one hundred and fifty votes from the judges, with a total of 688 votes!"

    Everyone gasped in surprise!

    Out of the five hundred audience members, 452 votes, incredibly high!

    Out of the fifty public judges, also, forty-three of them voted for this singer!

    The four judges together held a total vote count of four hundred, and they gave 150 votes to this singer!

    A very impressive vote count!

    Who is this person?

    The White Swan or... Prince of Lanling?

    Tong Shuwen smiled, "His performance of the song gave the audience an unprecedented novelty, he is..the Prince of Lanling!"

    The applause immediately rang out, and everyone started to congratulate him.

    Tongtong screamed with excitement: "We are first!"

    "Congratulations."

    The White Swan also looked towards Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan nodded and said, "Thank you."

    "It''s not over yet."

    Tong Shuwen humorously looked at everyone.

    Everyone was stunned. Why wasn''t it over? The first place had been announced, so wasn''t the second place the White Swan?

    "Now I will announce the vote count of the White Swan."

    Tong Shuwen''s face looked slightly strange, "Four hundred and fifty audience votes, thirty-nine public judge votes, and one hundred and sixty judge votes, for a total vote count of 688 votes!"

    Everyone: "..."

    White Swan: "..."

    Prince of Lanling and the White Swan actually had a tie!

    "Yes, after congratulating Prince of Lanling, let''s not forget to congratulate the White Swan. In the first episode, the two of them are tied for first place!"

    Everyone hurriedly clapped their hands.

    Tong Shuwen declared with a serious yet solemn expression, "I know you may think the vote count is too coincidental, but this is a vote conducted under the supervision of the Literature and Art Association.

    Every single vote is completely genuine, there is no possibility for manipulation from the program group, the incredibly low probability of this happening is one of the fun aspects of ''Masked Singer'', it''s a show destined to be filled with miracles!"

    Incredibly low probability!

    This is indeed a miracle!

    Nobody would question the impartiality of the Literature and Art Association, it can only be said that the ranking of this episode was very interesting...

    "The Magician, please come to the stage for the unmasking."

    "Also, the rankings of the other singers will not be announced. The audience will only know after the program is broadcasted to retain the suspense."

    Everyone laughed.

    Completely understood.

    Under everyone''s gaze, the Magician was already on his way to the stage, and when he unmasked himself amidst the music, the entire audience gasped...

    The Masked Singer is a first-tier actor from the Qi Continent, Tan Kai!

    In the gathering hall.

    The singers were dumbfounded.

    "Tan Kai!"

    "I''ve seen many of his TV shows!"

    "I''ve seen his movies!"

    "His singing is so good, not inferior to second-tier singers!"

    "..."

    Lin Yuan also looked puzzled.

    Tan Kai had just been seated not far from him, and he didn''t recognize him. This was someone he had collaborated with before!

    When he had gone to Qi Continent to get a tailored order, he had written a theme song for a movie called "Distance Between You and Me."

    The song was called "Like You."

    The song was performed by Tan Kai, who played the leading male role. This selection was made by Lin Yuan himself.

    The studio was already in uproar!

    And as the host wrapped up the show, the first episode of "Masked Singer" came to an end...

 Chapter 477 - 453: The Third Voice_1

    The recording of the show ended.

    It definitely wouldn''t be broadcast for now.

    Today is Sunday, and according to the program''s notice, the show would be broadcast next Sunday.

    Moreover, it would be simultaneously broadcast on the second TV station and several major video websites, to maximize its impact!

    Lin Yuan didn''t linger for long and went straight home.

    He let Lil Goodoong take care of the Prince of Lanling''s costume and other stuff. He would wear them again for the recording of the next episode. However, Lin Yuan needed to thoroughly summarize this competition...

    Winning the first place is a matter of joy.

    But for a show that records many episodes in advance, winning first place once doesn''t mean much, especially since this win was not based entirely on Lin Yuan''s strength.

    The voting situation was the most direct indicator!

    Lin Yuan and White Swan had tied votes, but the distribution of votes was interesting:

    "The audience voted two fewer times for White Swan than for me, and the panel of judges voted four fewer times. But the number of votes from the judges was ten more than mine, so I won the audience and panel votes, but lost to the judges..."

    The audience and the public panel were more emotional.

    It was quite unique for Lin Yuan to perform a male-female duet alone. Plus, the melody of "Bracing the Chill" was catchy, so everyone was willing to vote for him.

    But the judges were relatively rational.

    They also gave high votes. After all, there was no trace of falsetto in Lin Yuan''s performance. This was quite incredible, but ultimately, they preferred White Swan.

    Why?

    Because the song chosen by White Swan was more challenging than Lin Yuan''s, and White Swan''s singing skills were better than Lin Yuan''s. Therefore, Lin Yuan shared the first place with White Swan, but his disadvantage was unmistakable¡ª

    The manifestation of singing skills!

    You should know that Lin Yuan''s first place was enhanced with the freshness of the audience!

    Of course, him singing both male and female voices was quite stunning. The first time seeing this kind of live performance would definitely leave the audience in¡ª

    A stunned state!

    The reality did develop as Lin Yuan envisioned.

    But...

    If Lin Yuan uses the same strategy in the next round, although the audience will still think it''s stunning, the degree of astonishment will definitely be reduced.

    At least, the increased votes won''t be as many as the first time.

    It''s like when a youngster first watches an adult movie, unavoidable blushing and excitement, but after watching many times, the novelty wears off...

    Of course, they still like watching it, but they won''t get so excited anymore.

    "So I still need to work on my singing skills. If my singing skills don''t improve, although I won''t be eliminated within a few rounds, as I encounter stronger opponents, revealing my weakness is just a matter of time."

    Lin Yuan had a strong sense of caution.

    Having two voices was indeed very powerful, and this unique aspect would have global appeal.

    But in a highly professional music program, this strategy won''t work all the time.

    Especially when it comes to the judges who place extreme importance on a singer''s vocal skills.

    His vocal skills must improve!

    Though time was somewhat tight, he still needed to make an effort.

    Lin Yuan decided to start practicing his singing skills seriously tomorrow.

    Just at this moment.

    The System suddenly presented a prompt: "The host''s need has been detected. Would the host be willing to pay for the System''s services and receive professional vocal training provided by the System?"

    "..."

    Lin Yuan was taken aback.

    He originally intended to ask the company''s vocal coach for assistance with his vocal training, but surprisingly, the System was now running a business!

    He asked, "Are there any special benefits?"

    System: "I can assure you that the vocal training provided to the host is the most scientific on Blue Star."

    "How much?"

    "Fifty million."

    Spending fifty million for a bunch of vocal training knowledge?

    For most people, this deal isn''t a good one.

    But for Lin Yuan, it''s worth it!

    He immediately said, "Deal."

    System: "Please ensure that the host is undisturbed."

    Lin Yuan locked the door, and then lied comfortably on the bed: "I''m ready."

    "Countdown in three seconds, three, two, one..."

    With the System''s prompt, Lin Yuan suddenly found the scene before his eyes changed.

    He was in a virtual voice classroom.

    There were many voice instruments around him.

    In front of him was a virtual figure.

    This is the System''s Virtual Space!

    When Lin Yuan used Yang Zhongming''s character card to learn composition, he would also appear in this Virtual Space.

    He looked up.

    Lin Yuan stared at the figure in front of him, feeling very unfamiliar.

    He couldn''t even see their face clearly. Perhaps this was some incarnation of the System?

    "I am your vocal coach."

    The figure spoke in a mature male voice: "I will be training your voice. You have three types of voices. If you can use these three voices flexibly, your voice will have various effects. This is the first lesson I''m going to give you."

    "Three voices?"

    Lin Yuan subconsciously responded: "I only have two."

    He had his original male voice, plus the female voice provided by the System.

    Surely falsetto doesn''t count?

    Falsetto is only a singing technique that makes use of breath control.

    The void figure spoke emotionlessly: "After your throat was injured, you accidentally gained a voice similar to a husky voice."

    Lin Yuan paused: "Husky voice?"

    Boom!

    A flash of insight surged in his brain, Lin Yuan suddenly understood the figure''s meaning:

    "You mean, the voice that formed due to my illness after my throat was injured is still there..."

    Lin Yuan''s vocal cords had been injured before.

    After the injury, Lin Yuan could no longer sing.

    Because his voice was no longer magnetic, instead, it sounded somewhat hoarse.

    It might not be noticeable when talking normally, but once he started singing, the hoarseness was inescapable.

    Technically, this voice wasn''t bad, it certainly wasn''t unpleasant.

    But the problem was...

    Lin Yuan couldn''t use this voice!

    Out of his love for singing, Lin Yuan had tried to sing with this voice.

    But every time he forcefully used it, he would endure pain from his throat.

    The longer he sang, and the higher the pitch, the more intense the pain, like tearing!

    Or in other words:

    This voice did sound nice, but Lin Yuan couldn''t use it. Using it would be torture!

    Once, he had withstood the pain and sang two songs. The pitch wasn''t too high, but he ended up with a severe throat inflammation that night. He couldn''t even eat, and it took a week''s rest before he could speak again.

    This was the direct reason why Lin Yuan gave up singing.

    What kind of a singer struggles to complete a full song?

    Besides...

    Lin Yuan gives people the impression that he rarely speaks.

    Before his throat was damaged, it wasn''t like that. He could even converse happily with others, certainly not cherishing his words like gold as he does now.

    Unfortunately, after his voice broke, he couldn''t speak much. Because the more he spoke, the more he strained his voice.

    "Hmm."

    "Oh."

    "Okay."

    "..."

    Admittedly, he does come off as aloof. Lin Yuan often gives the impression of being a man of few words, preferring to stay silent most of the time.

    But the reason behind it was quite helpless.

    A while ago, the System repaired Lin Yuan''s voice, his voice once again became full of magnetism. Subconsciously, he thought the "smoky" voice he had after being injured had disappeared.

    There''s no regret about that.

    Though that voice was nice, he just couldn''t use it.

    What''s the use of a beautiful voice if he can''t use it?

    But, listening to this Phantom''s words, it seemed like his "smoky" voice has not disappeared?

    "Yes."

    As if guessing Lin Yuan''s thoughts, the Phantom said faintly:

    "This voice is still hidden in your vocal cords and you can make use of it now."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    So, he truly has three voices?

    After the System repaired his throat and returned his original voice, the "smoky" voice didn''t disappear either?

    Hmm. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The voice is not exactly like the commonly known "smoky" voice, but more like a variant of it, and indeed created a very similar effect.

    "Let me try."

    Lin Yuan''s heart started pounding.

    If he could use this voice, Lin Yuan would indeed have three voices! A male voice, an ethereal female voice, and a variant "smoky" voice caused by illness...

    For a singer, this is an irresistible temptation!

    He began to sing anxiously. It was a classic Blue Star song that required a smokey voice to sing.

    Without that smoky voice, one couldn''t capture the essence of the song.

    But singing the first line, Lin Yuan shook his head.

    It was still his original voice.

    He started to recall his voice post-injury. He continued to try but he still failed.

    He couldn''t help but look at the Phantom. Was this System''s incarnation really not tricking him?

    Did that injured voice truly exist?

    "No need to look at me."

    The Phantom said, "This is bound to be a challenging task, but you should be able to find that voice again because it has caused you agony in the past."

    Lin Yuan felt helpless.

    He did indeed detest that voice.

    Because he couldn''t sing with it.

    That voice continuously reminded Lin Yuan that his dreams of music had comprehensively collapsed, and that his throat was useless.

    All he can do now is to keep trying.

    The result was repeated attempts, repeated failures...

    "Keep going!"

    That Phantom''s voice was still utterly devoid of any emotion.

    Lin Yuan paused. "Will my voice be affected?"

    Excessive singing could damage the throat, Lin Yuan''s priority was to protect his vocal cords.

    The System replied: "This is the System''s conscious space. It won''t harm your throat, but the things you learn here still need to be practiced in reality to be mastered."

    Lin Yuan understood.

    This investment of fifty million was totally worth it.

    Since singing excessively here wouldn''t harm his throat, he could fully let loose.

    Keep practicing!

    The dogged determination in Lin Yuan''s bones had been ignited.

    Keep searching for the right feel.

    Then continue failing...

    Ever since he got the System, Lin Yuan hadn''t tasted the bitterness of failure for quite some time.

    But today, in this System Space, Lin Yuan had tasted all the lost failures of his life.

    He had lost track of time.

    When he failed again, Lin Yuan didn''t doubt the System, but himself instead.

    His confidence started to waver.

    He almost lost the courage to open his mouth and sing, even though practicing here won''t overload his vocal cords.

    He fell silent.

    The Phantom also unusually fell quiet, without urging Lin Yuan to continue.

    In a trance,

    Lin Yuan recalled a scene he once experienced.

    It was inside a hospital.

    Lin Yuan was lying on the hospital bed, his eyes vacant.

    From the distance, fragments of conversations floated to him:

    "It''s fortunate we got here in time, otherwise his life might have been in danger..."

    "We used some stimulating drugs. His body will be swollen for some time. Despite controlling the illness this time, there will still be sequelae..."

    "I heard he was a student in a vocal music department..."

    "I''m sorry, but he might not be able to sing in the future anymore. But compared to his life, a damaged voice is nothing. At least he can still talk..."

    Lin Yuan on the hospital bed suddenly sat up, resisting the pain. He opened his mouth.

    He was singing.

    But as soon as his voice sounded, his throat sent a sharp pain.

    But he didn''t care about the pain, he was fearful and shocked to discover how unfamiliar his voice had become.

    "..."

    The memory ended.

    Lin Yuan''s eyes held a touch of sadness.

    He subconsciously started to sing a few lines.

    This time, the voice that echoed in the Virtual Space was rough, possessing a strong grainy feel, a haunting smokiness, and a lingering sense of sadness. It was exactly the same as the voice that had resounded in the hospital that day, and the voice he had retained for several years after he was injured.

    The only difference was...

    Lin Yuan''s throat no longer hurt.

    He had found his third voice.

 Chapter 478 - 454: Give You a Vaccination_1

    "You have already found your third voice. Our next training plan is to learn sound mixing. If you can use all three vocal ranges effectively, you''ll experience wonderful transformations..."

    The shadow continued speaking in a calm tone.

    Lin Yuan''s eyes lit up.

    The virtual shadow was aligning with Lin Yuan''s idea. In fact, ever since he found the female voice, Lin Yuan vaguely had the idea of practice sound mixing. He had two completely different ranges, it would be a waste not to practice mixing. Moreover, he now had a third voice!

    What is sound mixing?

    Technically, mixing is manipulating volume in various ways to ensure a balance between different voices and different parts. It also means merging various recordings into one unified piece while creating various effects.

    This requires technological assistance.

    Just like cooking in daily life, once all ingredients are prepared, mixing is akin to stir-frying these ingredients into a tasty dish - controlling the heat and seasoning, and sometimes adding a twist.

    But...

    Some singers do not need machines to mix sounds. This is one of the must-learn courses in vocal music, as singing involves resonance in four cavities: mouth, nose, chest and head.

    Lin Yuan understood this.

    Of course, understanding is one thing, and doing well is another. Lin Yuan was fairly good at it, even handling the hardest head resonance with flair, but this was just common mixing.

    Lin Yuan was different.

    He now had three voice types. Although it was not possible to use all three at once, Lin Yuan vaguely managed to harmonize them into a chorus-like sound. This balance was very difficult to grasp, but at the end of ''Bracing the Chill'', his final line started to have this taste. Wu Long even specifically praised this point, so this path was indeed feasible.

    "Class is over."

    The shadow stated, "Mixing the three vocal ranges is not something you can master overnight. You should first get a grip on the husky voice. Without it, the effect of sound mixing won''t be perfect."

    "Hmm."

    A thought occurred to Lin Yuan.

    He returned to reality, still on his bed. He found a comfortable position to sing and tried to find the varietal husky voice he discovered in the System Space. However, he found that feeling gone again.

    It was clear.

    His brain understood.

    But his voice was not there yet.

    The Virtual Space was for the brain to research, his own image was also virtual, so practice in reality was most crucial. Since his brain knew what to do, producing that voice should not be too difficult.

    Taking a deep breath.

    Lin Yuan continued to practice.

    Half an hour later, he had basically understood a husky voice, after all it was his voice during the period when his vocal cords were not well. As the System said, it relied on muscle memory, so Lin Yuan did not feel it unfamiliar.

    "This is better."

    Lin Yuan smiled.

    If he chose the right song, he might rank well in the next match: "If the male and female voices are my first wildcard, then the husky voice is my second. There are several days left until the competition, it''s enough time for me to control it."

    ...

    The outside world.

    With the end of the first recording of ''The Masked Singer'', many discussions emerged online. Some netizens were eager to learn which day the recording would be broadcast:

    "''The Masked Singer'' should have finished recording for the first episode today."

    "Damn it! Definitely finished, but we have to wait till next Sunday to watch it!"

    "I can''t wait anymore!"

    "The program team said there will be a King of Singing and Queen of Singing for the first episode. Do you think it''s possible for either to be eliminated?"

    "Stop daydreaming."

    "In an absolutely fair program, as long as the King and Queen perform as usual, they''ll likely be in the top four. This is just a conservative estimate, I think they might take the first two places in the first episode."

    "I see, we can guess the King and Queen by looking at who get the first and second places."

    "I''ve waited till the flowers have wilted ..."

    The expectations for this program were sky-high!

    Moreover, several video websites have already started pre-orders for ''The Masked Singer''.

    This is to remind the viewers to watch as soon as it is aired.

    The total number of pre-orders has already broken the record for a music variety show!

    Besides that.

    Some viewers who watched the live recording also appeared on the internet.

    Due to basic morality and the confidentiality requirement of the programme, they could not reveal too much information online and could only express their excitement in a fragmented manner¡ª

    "After watching the first episode, it did not disappoint!"

    "It''s more spectacular than I could have ever imagined, truly the top tier music show on Blue Star!"

    "The results of the first episode''s unmasking are absolutely explosive!"

    "Some of the masked singers are so strong it''s unbelievable!"

    "After watching this show, I finally understood what singing skills are. I used to hear people talking about singing, but it always seemed mysterious to me."

    "The live feeling is really amazing, an aural treat!"

    "The equipment of this show''s crew is amazing. I wish I could take home the speaker on my right wall and make a fortune with it!"

    "..."

    And it''s not just the regular audience.

    The celebrity judges have also started hyping up the show -

    "The most shocking music show in the history of Blue Star has been born. The shock I''m talking about is contributing in every way!"

    "Surprise! Even the singers who were eliminated in the first episode have absolutely top-notch skills!"

    "Just by watching the process and the final unmasking, without knowing the results of the other singers, people who have seen the show probably have even higher expectations for the broadcast than those who haven''t!"

    "Ah! ah! ah! The line-up of judges is truly a superstar ensemble!"

    "This is the most explosive music show in history, the entire music industry should be trembling, Xian Yu has ''arrived''!"

    "..."

    The hype is obviously effective.

    With online users and celebrity judges expressing their thoughts, netizens'' desire to watch "The Masked Singer" has skyrocketed!

    The show''s booking volume has exploded again!

    People are paying too much attention to these minor spoilers that do not involve key information -

    What does ''judges as a superstar ensemble'' mean?

    What does Xian Yu ''arriving'' mean?

    Could it be that the mysterious Xian Yu will appear!?

    But what do you mean by putting it in quotes!?

    Why should the entire music industry be "shivering"?

    Who is the unmasked person in the first episode that''s got everyone so riled up?

    Damn it!

    Really want to watch!

    Can''t sleep now!

    At this time in Qi Continent, a celebrity from the judge panel suddenly made a phone call to a friend.

    "Yuan Xi."

    "What''s up?"

    The one who answered the call was one of the leading singers in Qi Continent, Yuan Xi.

    "You''re not in ''The Masked Singer'', right?"

    "No."

    "Ok, then I am sure that person is not you. Just want to remind you, don''t forget to watch ''The Masked Singer''."

    "What do you mean?"

    "You''ll know when you watch it. Just prepare yourself mentally. Don''t be angry. Being angry is useless. As a friend, I just want to give you a heads up..."

    Yuan Xi: "..."

    Are you trying to scare me?

    The recent ''The Masked Singer'', seems to be sweeping over the entire music industry. It''s as if the whole world is discussing this show. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The problem is...

    What does it have to do with me, Yuan Xi?

    Is there a masked singer pretending to be me?

    In no time, Yuan Xi''s curiosity found its answer.

    Because seven days later...

    The Masked Singer aired!!!

    All those who couldn''t sleep because of this show seemed to have found an outlet, and eagerly began watching this show...

 Chapter 479 - 455 - Just Because He is Xian Yu_1

    "Here it comes."

    One of the top singers in Qi Continent, Yuan Xi, received a tip-off from a friend. Naturally curious about what happened in the first episode of "The Masked Singer", she decided to watch the show on her computer as she was free that day.

    Meanwhile.

    Gu Dong, who had already returned home from work, immediately turned on her computer, logged into her premium membership account on Penguin Video. She wasn''t able to accompany Lin Yuan during the competition, so she definitely couldn''t miss the broadcast of the show now.

    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

    After the routine broadcast of the advertising for the title sponsor, the words "The Masked Singer", accompanied by gunshots, appeared on the computer screen, followed by a panoramic view of a grand and gorgeous stage from an aerial shot!

    Stage lights were twinkling.

    The red curtain was drawn open.

    Innumerable beams of light focused on a door. A masked man stepped confidently from behind it, his steps echoing through the space, and came to a stop in the center of the stage. He raised his microphone and declared in an electrified voice:

    "Welcome to The Masked Singer!"

    The audience screamed and applauded. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This was in fact a pre-recorded shot by the production team, intended to represent the program''s theme of revealing identities. But of course, the audience watching at home had no idea. As the host removed his mask, the screen was filled with rapid-fire comments from the viewers:

    "So cool!"

    "Awesome!"

    "Top-notch!"

    Some comments read, "I heard Xian Yu is coming", "Is Xian Yu here?", "Xian Yu is about to reveal his face", which confused Gu Dong. Was the representative revealed in the first round?

    Overcome with curiosity.

    The contestants, wearing masks and custom-made outfits, started to come in. Each mysterious singer was given screen time, and when the camera turned to the Prince of Lanling, most comments were:

    "Wow!"

    "So handsome!"

    "Such a show-off!"

    "Best costume!"

    "Who''s this guy!"

    "Love this mask!"

    A smile crossed Gu Dong''s face. The attire designed by Mr. Lin was indeed the most dazzling among all the masked singers. The Prince of Lanling was pretty reserved in front of the camera, implying a cool personality, just like Lin''s real-life demeanor. Other masked singers also had their unique characteristics.

    The Swan was proud;

    The Robot was quirky;

    The Magician was open-minded;

    The Wanderer was mature and stable;

    Piggy Qiqi was girlish.

    The pace of the show was great. Instead of immediately broadcasting the singing part after the stage opened, they first captured some interesting shots to give viewers a general idea of the characteristics of the contestants. But the Prince of Lanling stood out with a significantly different style.

    In the other dressing rooms.

    The singers and their temporary managers were all passionately discussing. When it came to the Prince of Lanling, he was always quiet, preserving his words like gold. Every time the camera was on him, a gust of cold wind sound effect would be added. The production team exaggerated this effect by editing together his one-word answers...

    "Hmm."

    "Oh."

    "You."

    No matter what Tongtong said to the Prince of Lanling, he would end his response within one word as if he was reluctant to strain his vocal cords too much. This left the audience laughing to tears.

    "Ha ha."

    "LMAO."

    "So aloof."

    "He''s a black hole."

    "A black hole in variety shows?"

    The audience watching the show burst into laughter. While some suspected that the Prince of Lanling was putting on an act, Gu Dong smiled knowingly. She knew that it was neither a character setup nor a fault in editing, because that''s exactly what Mr. Lin was like offstage!

    Following that!

    The performance began!

    The Robot took the stage!

    Living up to everyone''s expectations, the Robot''s performance successfully warmed up the atmosphere and set a high standard for the show. The live audience was thrilled, and the online comments were equally passionate:

    "Wonderful singing!"

    "A top singer?"

    "Not bad at all."

    The audience was highly satisfied with the Robot''s performance. The contestants backstage also praised him highly. At this moment, the camera switched to the Prince of Lanling''s dressing room. It seemed pretty dark inside. Unable to bear the silence anymore, Tongtong broke it: "This singer must be a top singer."

    "No."

    The Prince of Lanling spoke.

    This time, he used two words.

    Naturally, Tongtong and the audience didn''t buy it. They thought the Robot, with such impressive performance, should at least be a top singer. Some even suspected that the Prince of Lanling was being arrogant. However, the Prince of Lanling astounded everyone by saying:

    "He is the King of Singing."

    Tongtong was even more skeptical and many disputes arose in the comments. Especially after the on-stage judges pronounced the Robot a top singer. Yet at this moment, Yang Zhongming reached the same conclusion as the Prince of Lanling:

    The Robot is the King of Singing!

    The audience was dubious!

    The doubts about the Prince of Lanling quieted down for a while. His judgement was completely in line with Maestro Yang Zhongming''s. So, were the three judges wrong, or was Yang Zhongming and the Prince of Lanling correct?

    The answer remained unknown.

    The Swan came on stage.

    If the Robot''s performance warmed up the crowd, the Swan just blew the roof off. As "Big Fish" resonated on stage, viewers in front of the screen and in the live audience were dumbfounded. Even those who knew little about singing had a clear thought in their minds:

    This performance is amazing!

    The Swan is the Queen of Singing!

    As a matter of fact, everyone thought the Swan was the hidden Queen of Singing in the first episode. While everyone was excited, a conversation between the Swan and the judges started: "She couldn''t sing this song well."

    Poof!

    The Swan boldly declared in public that Yuan Xi couldn''t sing "Big Fish" well. Following that, all four judges, including Yang Zhongming, expressed their opinions about Yuan Xi, which totally stunned everyone. How audacious for the Queen of Singing, Yang Zhongming, and other big names to indirectly criticize Yuan Xi, one of the top singers in Qi Continent!

    So daring!

    The comments exploded!

    Everyone knew that Yuan Xi was a exemplary singer with numerous fans. Many people rebuked the Swan for being too arrogant. Of course, Yuan Xi''s fans didn''t dare to target Yang Zhongming and the other judges. They simply focused their anger on the Swan, while other netizens strongly supported the Swan, believing she was just being forthright.

    At that moment.

    The camera shifted to the backstage, where all the singers remained silent. The atmosphere was distinctly awkward. Nobody dared to comment on such a sensitive topic. However, to everyone''s surprise, the normally reticent Prince of Lanling suddenly said: "Yuan Xi''s level is just mediocre among the Queens of Singing. The Swan is one of the strongest in that group. Her performance was really good.

    Her rendition of ''Big Fish'' is almost on par with Jiang Kui''s."

    "..."

    On the other side of the screen!

    The viewers were shocked!

    Has the Prince of Lanling gone mad?

    What right does he have to say that?

    Gu Dong, who was also watching this scene, burst into laughter. This was the benefit of being an omniscient viewer. Others just saw a singer audaciously commenting on Yuan Xi, a well-established Queen of Singing in Qi Continent. But Gu Dong saw more than that!

    What right did he have to say that?

    Because he is Xian Yu!!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: The pursuit of the update is too intense, so for votes! I''ll keep writing!

 Chapter 480 - 456 Controversy and Shock_1

    On the internet.

    Ever since "The Masked Singer" began airing, hundreds of thousands of comments from the Tribe had filled up cyberspace, with people simultaneously watching the show and having discussions almost every second.

    "Awesome!"

    "The wait for this show was worth it!"

    "The robot is so cool!"

    "Piggy Qiqi is too cute."

    "Prince of Lanling''s performance is hilarious! He''s so aloof, as if he has no friends."

    "This guy is a black hole of variety shows."

    "..."

    When the White Swan took the stage and all were conquered by her strength, the climatic dialogues in the show set the internet buzzing:

    "White Swan is so daring!"

    "The four judges really are big-shots!"

    "Wait a minute..."

    "Whoah, Prince of Lanling is so harsh!"

    "He actually dared to publicly comment on the two queens of music!"

    "Wow, he really has a death wish!"

    "Is he trying to gain attention on purpose? If so, he succeeded because I really hate him now."

    "White Swan''s pride is confidence, but Prince of Lanling seems fake, putting on a superior act!"

    "I think he''s great. He''s just speaking the truth, isn''t he? The person above must be a fan of Yuan Xi."

    "I like White Swan but I do not like Prince of Lanling. White Swan sings much better than the original singer, Jiang Kui!"

    "Great, with one comment Prince of Lanling offends two music queens."

    "Why do I get the feeling that Prince of Lanling thinks he''s one of the judges? But I like his attitude, it makes the show more interesting!"

    "When White Swan speaks that way, it''s her true nature, but Prince of Lanling doing the same is just putting on an act? Let''s support Prince of Lanling, thank you!"

    "Prince of Lanling is really a mistake."

    "..."

    Controversy!

    Nothing but controversy!

    Everyone is used to variety shows where everyone plays nice with each other.

    Isn''t that the case with all music variety shows? Regardless of what you think internally, externally it''s all flowers and praise for each other.

    Whoever causes a scene is everyone''s enemy.

    Suddenly, a show with such strong aggression appears, it''s too stimulating!

    Yuan Xi''s fans were enraged but didn''t dare to hex the judges. All four judges are powerful enough to be qualified to criticise Yuan Xi!

    Harass White Swan?

    Given the strength White Swan just displayed, even Yuan Xi couldn''t say she''s sure to win, right?

    Besides, White Swan was just unhappy that the panel of judges mistook her for "Yuan Xi".

    So, the Prince of Lanling became the center of controversy!

    Because amidst these successive controversies, Prince of Lanling seemed to be the least qualified to comment -

    He became the target of Yuan Xi''s fans!

    At that moment.

    The host announced the next performer.

    It was Prince of Lanling''s turn!

    Within Yuan Xi''s fan group, excitement was at its peak!

    "Prince of Lanling is up, haha, let''s get to him!"

    ""I really want to see on what grounds does Prince of Lanling have to comment on our Yuan Xi."

    "Brothers and sisters, when he performs, let''s flood the public screen with: Really?"

    "We''ll teach him a lesson!"

    "How dare he offend our Xi Xi, it seems he doesn''t know what the word ''death'' means!"

    "..."

    Yuan Xi''s fans are all watching Prince Lanling!

    The audience in front of the screen is also watching Prince Lanling!

    Because of Prince of Lanling''s just made remarks, his performance was the most eye-catching!

    Just how many of these gazes held goodwill, how many ill intentions, and how many were neutral, were hard to tell...

    Then.

    Under everyone''s gaze, Prince of Lanling began singing the first line of the song: "As night falls, the temperature drops gradually, flowers fall to the ground and turn into frost..."

    "A woman?"

    "Such an ethereal voice!"

    "It feels like this voice could sing ''Big Fish''."

    "So beautiful."

    "I thought it would be a man based on the appearance."

    "Quite unexpected."

    "..."

    The impartial audience thought to themselves.

    However, Yuan Xi''s fans didn''t care whether Prince of Lanling was a man or a woman!

    "That''s it?"

    "I thought she''d be more impressive."

    "Nothing special."

    "So she''s a female singer, no wonder she''s so jealous of our Xi Xi."

    "..."

    Prince of Lanling had only sung a few lines, and Yuan Xi''s fans began to charge!

    However.

    The surge hasn''t ended yet. Under the close-up of the camera, Prince of Lanling''s hand, which held the microphone, suddenly took strength!

    "Oh, the frosty peach blossoms seen in life before, why did you abandon them, this boundless ocean of heart..."

    Male voice!

    Seamless transition!

    And it was a male voice that was completely different from the previous one, unrecognizable by any purposeful change in tone or so-called falsetto techniques!

    The audience were stunned.

    Yuan Xi''s fans were also stunned.

    One of Yuan Xi''s fans in their group chat said, "Is there something wrong with my ears?"

    Of course, there''s nothing wrong with the ears.

    The one with the issue is Prince of Lanling!

    Boom!

    The barrage of messages exploded as expected!

    "Oh, my God!"

    "He must be cheating!"

    "Director, I''m reporting that Prince of Lanling is cheating!"

    "I''m freaking torn!"

    "Mom, hurry up and check out this superhuman!" S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Ahhhh, it''s too horrifying, how does this person have two different voices inside him, is he a male or a female!"

    "..."

    All the mocking messages from Yuan Xi''s fans towards Prince of Lanling were buried under the sea of astonished exclamations almost in an instant!

    When Prince of Lanling got to the climax part of "Bracing the Chill", the direction of the messages even took a complete turnaround ¡ª¡ª

    "Yuan Xi''s fans, come and get beaten up!"

    "What the... is this not too much?"

    "A colossal screw-up by Yuan Xi''s fans this year!"

    "Stop the beating... poor Yuan Xi."

    "You can complain about Prince of Lanling''s lack of EQ, but I won''t let you doubt his singing!"

    "Even more brilliant than the white swan!"

    "What, does Yuan Xi also have two voices?"

    "..."

    The number of neutral netizens was far greater than that of Yuan Xi''s fans. There were just too many viewers for this show!

    The number of Yuan Xi''s fans was just a drop in the ocean.

    Yuan Xi''s fans went silent.

    In the fans'' group chat, it was utterly quiet.

    On the commentary board, there were no more furious posts from Yuan Xi''s fans.

    It wasn''t that they couldn''t find points to attack, but they were simply dumbfounded by the performance!

    The show''s camera was moving.

    The judges were shocked!

    The audience was shocked!

    The singers were shocked!

    The countless faces of shock in contrast with the exaggerated reactions from the viewers in front of the screen were quite a sight.

    Create a spectacle?

    Yes, the previous remarks indeed created a spectacle.

    But the biggest spectacle was the performance!

    This refreshing performance!

    Just like a surprise attack ignited on the battlefield, no one could react in time to organize a counterattack, and could do nothing but let their surging emotions be mercilessly slaughtered by two completely different voices...

    The audience in front of the screen was conquered!

    When Prince of Lanling finished singing, the applause from the audience was like a tidal wave.

    Even in front of the screen, some people couldn''t help standing up.

    Too awesome!

    No wonder this is "The Masked Singer"!

    These singers, they just keep getting more and more explosive!

    Also in front of a screen somewhere...

    Yuan Xi was also flabbergasted.

    On her face, the anger and humiliation still lingered!

    She finally understood why her friend asked her to watch this show...

    She suddenly took a deep breath and made a phone call.

    "Hello."

    "Sign me up for ''The Masked Singer''."

    You all say I, Yuan Xi, am not good enough!

    I will show you then!

    The white swan, huh?

    Prince of Lanling, huh?

    The four judges... nah, forget it.

    Yuan Xi''s gaze finally locked onto Prince of Lanling on the screen:

    She was going to launch an attack!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Keep writing and keep asking for votes!

 Chapter 481 - 457: Dominating the Screen (Seeking Monthly Tickets)_1

    If this were in a game, question marks from the audience would be bursting around Prince of Lanling''s feet...

    Male?

    Female?

    The audience can''t figure it out!

    Nor can the jury!

    The judges are also at a loss!

    Even Daddy Yang Zhongming, always with a know-it-all look, can''t make an accurate judgment.

    The show also inserted an interview with the Swan.

    Swan shook her head: "Prince of Lanling is neither the King of Singing nor the Queen."

    Is she belittling Prince of Lanling?

    No.

    The Swan said next, "But that''s okay; he''s using cheats."

    Immediately, the comment section is buzzing:

    "Swan: Report!"

    "Some Queen openly reported: Prince of Lanling cheats, confirmed!"

    "Swan: This guy has a cloning technique!"

    "Teacher Wu Long has said it, this is a mixed doubles contest!"

    "Other singers are one-on-one, Prince of Lanling is going two-on-one!"

    "The cloning technique is cool."

    "..."

    Everyone is talking about Prince of Lanling!

    From gender to strength!

    And when Prince of Lanling announced that the song "Bracing the Chill" was actually composed by Xian Yu, the comment section set off a new round of climax¡ª

    "Xian Yu''s new song?"

    "I actually heard Xian Yu''s new song in the show!"

    "So this is what ''Xian Yu Is Coming'' means. Damn clickbaiters!"

    "Ah ah ah ah, confessing to Xian Yu!"

    "It would be great if Xian Yu came as a judge!"

    "Give up this thought, Xian Yu won''t come to this show. But it''s not bad for Xian Yu to participate in this way."

    "Did Xian Yu write more songs for Prince of Lanling?"

    "23333, Daddy Yang mocked Xian Yu''s lyrics."

    "I feel the lyrics are okay ah, Fish Papa is already beyond proving himself through lyrics."

    "Compared to Xian Yu''s previous lyrics, this time it''s definitely more laid-back, but it doesn''t matter, the melody delivered!"

    "If Fish Papa came as a judge, he should be the chief judge, just like Daddy Yang."

    "Was Maestro Junior joking?"

    "..."

    Discussions about Prince of Lanling''s gender, Xian Yu''s new song, and Prince of Lanling''s beef with Yuan Xi and so on.

    All these discussions together stimulate everyone''s curiosity and enthusiasm, so much so that they continued even after the Magician finished singing.

    What did the Magician sing?

    People can''t even remember.

    Not until the fifth singer appeared did the audience''s thoughts return to the competition itself from the discussions about Prince of Lanling.

    At this point.

    The competition was nearing its end.

    At this moment.

    Another question from the audience emerged.

    What''s Prince of Lanling''s rank?

    Although the answer has had its twists and turns¡ª

    Alright.

    When Director Tong Shuwen started to play coy, he simply incited countless expletives:

    "Quit stalling!"

    "Hurry up with the results!"

    "I''m itching for action!"

    "Playing with audiences is his forte."

    "This director is something."

    "..."

    Of course, this director is something.

    Although the audience curses, they all do so with a smile.

    Because the effect of this director''s show is excellent. Every teaser he throws out makes people feel amused rather than impatient.

    Eventually, the results came out.

    Prince of Lanling and Swan, tied for first!

    "666666666!!"

    "Greetings from Great Qin Continent, Prince of Lanling rocks!"

    "Greetings from Qi Continent, Swan is invincible!"

    "Hahaha, fans of both are ecstatic!"

    "This is so coincidental, if it weren''t for the Literature and Art Association organizing, I would suspect it''s part of the show effect!"

    "Satisfying!"

    "I was just pondering who should be first between White Swan and Prince of Lanling, as I like them both so much!"

    "A perfect first episode!"

    "I want to mention again to the fans of Yuan Xi, Prince of Lanling and White Swan tied for first place."

    "Unbelievable, two singers who outshone Yuan Xi took the top spot, is this a wealth code?"

    "Got it, in the next episode they should find a singer to overshadow, the one who succeeds will be number one!"

    "....."

    The audience was all abuzz.

    But the commotion was not about dissatisfaction with the results, but satisfaction!

    It was well-deserved!

    No one thought there was a problem with the outcome!

    Of course.

    Everyone was anxious about the unmasking segment, which still came as an expected surprise¡ª

    The A-list actor, Tan Kai!

    The audience didn''t expect that Tan Kai could sing, and sing so well!

    There were even some who thought that if Tan Kai hadn''t performed after Prince of Lanling, he might have advanced!

    In the unmasking music segment, Tan Kai shared his final thoughts.

    He said with a wry smile, "I thought I could sing for a few more episodes, but then I met Teacher Prince of Lanling, so game over."

    The comments followed:

    Bracing the chill... bracing the chill... bracing the chill...

    That said, the phrase "bracing the chill" paints quite a vivid picture, and the way the title of Xian Yu''s song was chosen...

    This was the helplessness of the performance order.

    Such a disadvantage.

    Everyone was discussing Prince of Lanling, so they didn''t really pay attention to the Magician''s song.

    Only the relatively calm judges affirmed the performance of the Magician.

    And the show ended.

    But the aftershock the show brought was explosively impactful!

    On the Starlite Network.

    This show called "The Masked Singer" scored as high as 9.7!

    The top review on it was:

    "The best music program in history, bar none!"

    What followed was an endless flood of short reviews.

    "Better than expected, Tan Kai is really powerful!"

    "Packed with heavyweights, you wouldn''t last without real talent. The most impressive was Prince of Lanling!"

    "White Swan completely outplayed, Prince of Lanling dominated the whole scene!"

    "Using both male and female voices was really impressive, hope Prince of Lanling continues this next show!"

    "Robot is definitely hiding his strength, being a musician, I can hear the level of some high notes sung by Robot."

    "Piggy Qiqi is pretending again, if it''s not Lu Yumeng I''ll eat my shoe!"

    "Cheating again!"

    "Aside from Piggy Qiqi, I can''t guess the others, just like we didn''t expect the Magician to be Tan Kai!"

    "Prince of Lanling is too powerful, and I don''t just mean the singing. Prince of Lanling also said that Robot is the King of Singing!" sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Prince of Lanling and Father Yang''s conclusion is correct, Robot is indeed the King of Singing! Robot himself hinted at that!"

    "Indeed, looked at it all together, Robot is definitely the King of Singing. Prince of Lanling''s god-level prediction, right there with Father Yang!"

    "..."

    Making a splash before the air date is one thing.

    But whether it can catch on is another.

    If "The Masked Singer" didn''t meet audience expectations, any more hype would be meaningless.

    In the end, it''s all about the actual effect.

    And now, the effect was there.

    The discussion!

    Endless discussion!

    The hot searches on social platforms and blogs were completely taken over!

    #TheMaskedSingerLive#

    #PrinceofLanling#

    #WhoIsWhiteSwan#

    #MagicianTanKaiUnmaskingShock#

    #YuanXiCritiqued#

    #PrinceOfLanlingTwoVsOne#

    #IsPrinceofLanlingAManOrWoman#

    #RobotIsTheHiddenKingOfSinging#

    The top ten hot search spots were all taken by "The Masked Singer", a legendary case of a show fully saturating the media!

    And through the hot searches, we could see¡­

    The discussion about Prince of Lanling was the most!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thank you [Fiery Phoenix Dance] for becoming the 34th Alliance Hierarch of this book!!

    Daily offering knees to the big guys ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, Polluted White continues to write, please also continue with your monthly support, there''s more to come!

 Chapter 482 - 482: 458

    There''s so much fervor among the audience following the Prince of Lanling''s performance, and it''s not just because of his outstanding ability to impersonate both male and female singers. It''s also because of his offstage demeanor...

    The first characteristic.

    His black hole-like variety show character.

    His style is simply outstanding. While other singers and their managers are passionately discussing, stark cold winds blow in his dressing room, leaving Tongtong, a woman following him, feeling quite miserable.

    And he stays so calm.

    All other singers would be nervous to some extent. Even the white swan had several deep breaths before stepping on the stage. But the Prince of Lanling showed no emotions.

    The second characteristic.

    His bold and sharp comments.

    When the judges and the white swan criticized Yuan Xi, all other singers remained utterly silent, keeping their mouths shut. But the Prince of Lanling directly counteracted, offending two singing queens at once!

    Yuan Xi''s fans were all up in arms.

    Which normal singer would dare to be so outspoken?

    They all fear offending their colleagues!

    Not to mention that the Prince of Lanling appears to be not a King of Singing, but perhaps a first or even second-tier singer with a unique voice, yet he dared to behave so boldly.

    The third characteristic.

    His synchronized speculation with Yang Zhongming.

    Everyone predicted that the robot is a first-tier singer, but only the Prince of Lanling and Yang Zhongming predicted that the robot is a King of Singing!

    When the official rankings were announced, the robot''s words "nearly capsized" implied that he is indeed a King of Singing!

    This proved the Prince of Lanling was right!

    Countless viewers witnessed his incredible prediction!

    With these unique traits, coupled with his stunning performance of mastering both male and female voices at once, he immediately became the most unique among the mysterious singers.

    Moreover, he was the winner of the first round!

    It''s hard for everyone not to talk about these things!

    Truthfully, there''s always someone standing out in variety shows.

    If everyone is mediocre, then the show will really "chill down."

    The Prince of Lanling''s presence is literally a hot topic generator!

    The show itself is already spectacular, with his uniqueness and personality, how can it not attract attention?

    "Phew!"

    After watching the show, Gu Dong also heaved a deep sigh.

    Even her, who knows Lin Yuan inside out, feels somewhat shocked at this moment.

    She didn''t expect that Mr. Lin could sing so well, even perfectly mimicking a female voice...

    But it seems that Yuan Xi''s fans have gone overboard. Do they know who they are dealing with?

    Gu Dong was very upset.

    They say one fan is worth ten haters!

    Wait till Mr. Lin unmasks himself, let''s see how your idol apologizes then!

    By then, you''ll know whether Mr. Lin is qualified to comment or not!

    Dare to claim that Admirable Fish isn''t Maestro?

    Please, what era is this?

    Don''t tell me people really think that Admirable Fish isn''t the "Maestro"?

    Maestro is recognized by awards, but more often than not, it is also recognized by popular opinion. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    In the eyes of Qin, Chu, Qi, Yan citizens, Admirable Fish is the Maestro. This is an indisputable fact.

    Moreover, isn''t the number of Maestros that Admirable Fish has outshined countless?

    The back-to-back wins in ''Battling the Gods'' Championship, aren''t they convincing enough?

    Didn''t you see the audience agree through the bullet comments, that if Admirable Fish were a judge, his position should be the same as Father Yang''s?

    Not to mention, this show originally planned to invite Teaching Admirable Fish to be a judge, it''s just that Teaching Admirable Fish declined the offer.

    ...

    Once Lin Yuan realized he had a rasp in his voice, he strenuously practiced his raspy voice for several days following.

    However, when the show officially aired, he also checked the online reactions.

    As he is participating in the show, he cares about it and also wants to see what the netizens think of him.

    But Lin Yuan found out that there weren''t many people criticizing him.

    On the contrary, there were many who praised him.

    Some people even became his fans.

    Lin Yuan was quite thrilled: "It looks like Tongtong''s worries were needless, this world still allows us to tell the truth."

    Telling it as it is.

    Lin Yuan didn''t mean to attack Yuan Xi, he simply expressed his honest thoughts.

    If a Qi singer who goes by Yuan Xi invited him to sing a duet, Lin Yuan would say the same thing.

    Upon careful reflection.

    Lin Yuan has collaborated with many singers, and they were all quite gentle.

    Don''t say things like the King and Queen of Singing are different.

    Even when Lan Yan, a King of Singing at that time, was recording "Red Sun," the process went very smoothly.

    But, when Lan Yan had shortcomings, Lin Yuan pointed them out without mincing his words, without any hesitation, as he thought it was for the singer''s benefit.

    Didn''t Lan Yan appear upset.

    Which suggests that just like first and second-tier singers, the King and Queen of Singing also have a very broad-minded personality.

    As for Lin Yuan''s singing skills...

    Admittedly, Lin Yuan''s singing skills are not at par with the King and Queen of Singing.

    But that does not imply that Lin Yuan is not eligible to evaluate singers who are more talented than him.

    Lin Yuan''s understanding of music is thorough.

    It''s like those coaches in the sports world.

    Their skills might not be as good as their athletes.

    But the athletes'' training still requires the guidance of coaches, without which it would be unmanageable.

    Because coaches don''t make a living through skills, but through the overall perspective.

    Thinking like this might be a bit inflated, like self-praise.

    But Lin Yuan has Yang Zhongming''s character card, he has a reference.

    Most of the time, Lin Yuan''s judgement of music actually aligns highly with Yang Zhongming''s perspective.

    Aside from checking out online comments, Lin Yuan also paid attention to some analytic posts.

    There''s an analysis that Lin Yuan agrees with.

    It was presented by a user named "Fire Dance Phoenix Flame":

    "In terms of capability, I personally feel the white swan is the strongest; it''s hard to predict the robot since it''s hiding its actual strength. Then comes the widely discussed Prince of Lanling, who is indeed badass."

    "It''s common sense that a person can''t have two voices, that''s what Father Yang said."

    "If someone gives you this feeling, it can only show that this person has mastered two vocal ranges, making it complete and pure, hence, compared to falsetto, the Prince of Lanling should be among the front-line singers of Blue Star, or even number one!"

    "However, the Prince of Lanling''s shortcomings are also obvious, his singing skills might not be on par with the King or Queen of Singing."

    "It can''t be judged more accurately because the song ''Bracing the Chill'' doesn''t truly exhibit too much singing skills."

    "So based on this, I can predict, if the Prince of Lanling continues on the same pattern without delivering any fresh surprises, then he may last several rounds in the competition but certainly wouldn''t make it to the end."

    "..."

    This person confirmed Lin Yuan''s strength and also pointed out his weakness.

    Amidst the widespread praise for the Prince of Lanling, the cold water splashed by this person made many people shift from awe to calmness.

    It makes a lot of sense.

    Lin Yuan gave him a thumbs up.

    Unfortunately, there''s something new about himself.

    Let alone if three voice ranges are fully combined, it can create an amazing show in the subsequent competitions.

    Limited to the raspy voice that Lin Yuan is currently practicing and has already gotten proficient at, it''s sufficient for him to continue battling fiercely in ''The Masked Singer.''

    "I should consider selecting a song for the next round..."

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Many thanks to [Bookfriend20200919163401994] for becoming the 35th Alliance Hierarch of this book. This is Polluted White''s kneecap ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ. I still have some catch-up writing to do! This chapter is especially for Feather. Big brother, mwah~ Keep writing, seeking the monthly ticket.

 Chapter 483 - 459: Piano (Extra for Alliance Hierarch Winter Plum Blossom)_1

    Of course, the next song for the performance needed to be considered.

    Because the recording for the second round was about to begin.

    The production crew had already sent out the recording notice.

    Lin Yuan would have to rush to the music center for rehearsal tomorrow and start recording that evening, so the selection of his next song was urgent.

    He analysed himself:

    "My husky voice is caused by a disease, not naturally raspy, although I could make it extremely raspy for some rock songs, but it seems unnecessary for now..."

    There are light and heavy degrees of husky voice.

    Lin Yuan thought, it was like the difference between red wine and white wine.

    For instance, a singer called Bruce Liang.

    His voice is charming but not too intense, just like red wine, which needs to be savored.

    As for white wine, or the heavy husky voice, it was like there was phlegm in one''s throat¡ª

    Note that this is not derogatory.

    This kind of heavy husky voice, like white wine, can portray a strong sense of the vicissitudes of life. When taken to the extreme, it can be terrifying!

    For instance...

    Anyway, Lin Yuan leans towards the former.

    His husky voice gives more of a feeling of red wine.

    If he were to forcefully sing an extremely raspy song, although he could do it, it would just be that familiar feeling of rock and roaring.

    But it wouldn''t be stable.

    Lin Yuan wouldn''t have a firm grasp.

    It''s better to wait until he becomes thoroughly proficient before trying.

    There''s a lot of potential for improvement in all three of Lin Yuan''s voice types.

    So Lin Yuan decided to sing a song that suits his atypical husky voice; the main thing was that it should bring out the feeling of a husky voice. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Of course.

    The distinctive features of both male and female voices could not be lost.

    Because Lin Yuan needed the audience''s votes, and for now, the audience was quite fond of Lin Yuan''s effortless switch between male and female voices; there hasn''t been any sign of tiring of it yet.

    It may even never get tiresome, at most, the sensory stimulus would decrease.

    Thinking along these lines, Lin Yuan gradually made up his mind; he directly placed an order for a customized song with the System.

    Later.

    Lin Yuan headed straight to the company.

    Once he arrived at the company.

    As soon as Lin Yuan got into the office, Ol'' Zhou hurriedly rushed over.

    "Lin Yuan, there''s something I want to ask you."

    "What is it?"

    Ol'' Zhou coughed, "There might be some information that can''t be disclosed, have you watched The Masked Singer?"

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Ol'' Zhou chuckled, "You must have watched it because that Prince of Lanling who was singing¡ªhis song was written by you¡ª"

    As he finished speaking, Ol'' Zhou stared closely at Lin Yuan, seeming to want to discern something from Lin Yuan''s face.

    "Huh?"

    Lin Yuan looked back at Ol'' Zhou with a puzzled expression.

    Did Ol'' Zhou figure something out?

    However, Ol'' Zhou seemed to panic a bit, "Don''t get me wrong, I''m not trying to stop you. Although according to company rules, when our company''s songwriters write songs for people from other companies, they have to report it to the company. But you don''t need to do that, on this side, the company is definitely turning a blind eye."

    Ol'' Zhou was afraid that Lin Yuan would misunderstand that he came over because he was expressing the company''s dissatisfaction.

    But factually speaking, even if the company was discontented, they wouldn''t dare speak out too much.

    This ''Maestro Junior'', in a certain sense, was Starlight''s Crown Prince, the higher-ups had to respectfully tolerate his antics.

    Moreover, haven''t there been many company rules violated by the Maestros?

    The majority of music company rules are invaluable in the eyes of a Maestro.

    "Oh."

    Lin Yuan explained, "It''s not exactly against the company rules."

    Ol'' Zhou was taken aback, then suddenly widened his eyes, "You mean, Prince of Lanling is our company''s singer?!"

    Lin Yuan: "Sort of."

    Ol'' Zhou burst out laughing, "Well then, there''s no problem.

    No wonder I felt like Prince of Lanling''s character seemed a bit like yours, haha, one behaves like those with whom one associates, what I actually wanted to ask you was this, because the artist department is making a fuss, several agents from Zhao Jue''s side have asked me to inquire about Prince of Lanling''s news, they want to poach Prince of Lanling!"

    Lin Yuan: "¡­"

    The company really is all-pervasive.

    Ol'' Zhou lamented, "I didn''t know we had such a person in our company, someone who can sing in both male and female voices at the same time, the effect of directly recording a song may not seem obvious, but the effect of a live performance would be absolutely explosive!"

    Indeed.

    If songs were directly published, listeners would just think it''s a duet between two people, and then the shocking feeling would be lost.

    "Since it''s like this, I''ll notify the people in the artist department first, by the way, will you still write songs for Prince of Lanling in the future?"

    "I will."

    "Understood."

    Looks like this Prince of Lanling is Xian Yu''s latest favorite.

    Ol'' Zhou left laughing, but his footsteps paused slightly as he was walking out the door.

    Strange.

    Why did Lin Yuan''s voice seem different to before?

    Never mind.

    Ol'' Zhou didn''t think too much about it and left directly.

    ...

    After Ol'' Zhou left.

    Gu Dong arrived quite quickly.

    She seemed a bit excited, "Mr. Lin, have you seen the news?"

    "What news?"

    "They''re all reports about The Masked Singer."

    Gu Dong showed Lin Yuan her phone.

    "The Masked Singer premiere, mysterious singer Prince of Lanling shocks the entire audience!"

    "Kings and Queens of Singing gathered, White Swan and Prince of Lanling equally outstanding!"

    "Prince of Lanling of indeterminate gender!"

    "Prince of Lanling''s combination of male and female voices, that''s very The Masked Singer!"

    "...."

    Turns out Gu Dong had collected some media reports about Prince of Lanling.

    "I got it."

    Lin Yuan didn''t pay much attention.

    Gu Dong took back her phone, excitedly asking: "Have you decided on the song for the next round?"

    "I have."

    "Can you reveal what kind of song it''ll be?"

    Lin Yuan thought for a while and said, "Kind of a breakup song."

    "Breakup?"

    So, it was a love song?

    Gu Dong pondered, then asked, "Finally, another question, what will the song for the next round be called?"

    Lil Goodoong looked curious.

    Lin Yuan smiled and without hiding anything, he said two words:

    "Boy."

    Gu Dong murmured, "Boy?"

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    He thought of Bruce Liang''s husky voice, so naturally, he thought of this song named "Boy."

    Lin Yuan personally liked this song quite a bit.

    But Lin Yuan was aware that this song didn''t have a strong competitive edge, it seemed unlikely that he could take the first place relying on this song.

    Having said that.

    The show had only recorded up until the second episode; facing all the variables of the stage, Lin Yuan wasn''t hoping to take the first place every episode.

    That wasn''t realistic.

    Furthermore, Lin Yuan''s singing skills were limited now, so he would choose a song that he felt comfortable singing as his work, just treat it as an occasional caprice, who would want to compete just for the first place, who doesn''t have a few songs that they merely want to sing?

    Of course.

    Presently Lin Yuan certainly wasn''t willing to be eliminated, so he planned to add some ingredients to the performance of the second episode, to ensure that even if he didn''t take the first place, his final ranking would not be too bad¡ª

    He planned to play the piano in the second episode.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks for the support of Alliance Hierarch Winter Plum Blossom, this is not the first time he has been a hierarch, he is an old reader of Polluted White, has followed a lot of books, haha, thank you so much for the support along the way, the add-on is here, then continue to ask for monthly passes, Polluted White will continue to write.

 Chapter 484 - 460 Professional Level_1

    The next day.

    Lin Yuan put on his Prince of Lanling''s costume and headed towards the music center by car.

    Qin Continent was the Land of Music, which convenient for Lin Yuan since he did not have to go to other continents.

    Most impressive music programs were basically held in Qin Continent.

    Driver''s seat.

    Gu Dong, with his sunglasses on, said: "Today we''re not going through the underground parking lot, but straight from the main entrance. Shooting starts directly from getting off the car."

    "Sure."

    Lin Yuan had no objections.

    When the car stopped at the entrance, Lin Yuan looked out the window and noticed numerous spectators assembled outside the barricade line at the entrance of the music center.

    Two members of the program crew in suits approached and opened Lin Yuan''s car door.

    As soon as Lin Yuan stepped out of the car, countless screams erupted around him:

    "Prince of Lanling!"

    "Go for it, Prince of Lanling!"

    "I will always support you, Prince of Lanling!"

    "¡­"

    With the first broadcast of "The Masked Singer", Prince of Lanling, as the most trending topic, was already familiar to the audience.

    Perhaps some people came specifically for Prince of Lanling today.

    Even if everyone didn''t know who was under the mask of Prince of Lanling.

    Lin Yuan waved to the crowd and then entered the concert hall under the guidance of two program''s bodyguards.

    Shortly after Lin Yuan, the Swan arrived.

    There were also tremendous cheers, no less passionate than those for Lin Yuan, amongst which a person shouted:

    "I will always support you, Swan!"

    The same guy who shouted he would always support Prince of Lanling.

    Tongtong had been waiting at the entrance: "Prince of Lanling, let''s go to the rehearsal hall first¡­"

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan was leading the way.

    Tongtong kept pace: "Have you seen this season''s music charts? The song "Bracing the Chill" has shot up to the fifth place. It''s unfortunate that our program was broadcasted a week after the competition started, otherwise the ranking would be even higher. But there''s still a long month ahead, so I guess getting into the top three shouldn''t be a problem.

    The only difficulty would be getting the champion song because the first two songs are Maestro''s masterpieces."

    "Okay."

    Yes, "Bracing the Chill" had joined the season''s competition.

    When new songs appear, they are generally added to the music season competition. Under normal circumstances, it''s not impossible for "Bracing the Chill" to take first place, but unfortunately, Maestro had also participated in this competition.

    Once Maestro makes a move, it''s difficult for other songs to get a chance.

    Even if "Bracing the Chill" had a nice melody and the songwriter was Xian Yu, it still couldn''t cover up the inferiority of the lyrics.

    Moreover, the melody was only nice. It really depended on what song it was compared to.

    If compared to songs like "Red Rose", it was obviously inferior. Now that was a real trendy hit!

    A good live reaction?

    That was because the live performance of "Bracing the Chill" was stunning. One person was able to perform two different voices; it was so shocking that it made your scalp tingle.

    But¡­

    When everyone listens to music on their player, there''s no visual effects to enhance the experience; they couldn''t see a person singing with two different voices.

    Even if they knew beforehand that the two voices were sung by the same person, the shock value would be much less.

    So Lin Yuan didn''t care whether he was first or not.

    He originally participated in the competition, not for the competition ranking¡ª¡ª

    Although they seem the same, they are actually very different.

    The biggest difference being:

    If he wasn''t up for the competition, but purely aiming for the competition''s ranking, Lin Yuan would definitely not use "Bracing the Chill" to compete.

    The same logic applies.

    For today''s competition, if Lin Yuan was only vying for first place, he wouldn''t have chosen the song "Boy".

    ¡­

    The rehearsal lasted for an entire hour.

    When he felt that he rehearsed sufficiently, Lin Yuan stopped rehearsing.

    Because the singers who were going to record the second episode tonight needed to maintain their freshness and passion for the song.

    It was pointless to go on singing the same song over and over.

    Moreover, the song was quite long, playing the piano continuously would also be tiring.

    Leaving the rehearsal room.

    Tongtong leaned in towards Lanling Wang and apologized in a whisper:

    "I need to apologize for something. Before the first episode was aired, I kept asking the program crew to cut out the part where you were evaluating Swan and Teacher Yuan Xi, but the director''s team insisted on keeping that part, which resulted in you being criticized by Teacher Yuan Xi''s fans¡­"

    "It''s fine."

    Lin Yuan casually replied.

    Indeed, Yuan Xi''s fans hated him.

    But judging from the broadcast of the first episode, people who like him were also not few.

    Of course, there would be some disputes in between.

    Back in the dressing room.

    There was still some time before the competition.

    Lin Yuan simply took out his mobile phone and started surfing the internet. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    News about "The Masked Singer" could be seen everywhere on the Tribe and Blog.

    At this moment.

    A live stream recommendation online caught Lin Yuan''s attention.

    The live stream was titled "Leng Quan Predicts Ranking in the 2nd Episode of The Masked Singer".

    He clicked on the live stream.

    The host was a man who was discussing while facing the camera:

    "I might join the judging panel for the third episode, I have no time for the second episode, I can only do a live stream to predict for everyone, first of all I''m not sure about the substitute singers'' skills, so excluding them, based on the performance of the five contestants left from the first episode, I think the first place in the next episode will be either Swan or Robot.

    Because it''s apparent that Robot was hiding his skills in the first match, he''s probably a King of Singing from Blue Star. He should really blow off steam in the second match."

    "Prophet Leng Quan?"

    Tongtong suddenly leaned in, then subconsciously said.

    It seemed that this live stream host was quite famous.

    Tongtong saw that Lin Yuan had no response, he started explain: "Leng Quan is a music critic. He had accurately predicted the champion of ''Bloom'' three times consecutively, earning him the title of the Great Prophet of the music industry amongst netizens."

    Prophet?

    That''s interesting.

    Lin Yuan couldn''t help but be intrigued. After the first episode was aired, he was also called a prophet.

    Leng Quan''s live stream went on:

    "First and second place will either be Swan or Robot, depending on who performs better. Next let''s predict third and fourth place. I think it must be either Piggy Qiqi or Prince of Lanling¡­"

    "What about Prince of Lanling?"

    Suddenly someone asked in the bullet screen.

    Leng Quan glanced at this bullet screen message and smiled: "After the first episode was aired, there has been a lot of discussion about Prince of Lanling online lately. But you guys are greatly mistaken. Prince of Lanling is not as strong as you all imagined. Professionals can hear it; his singing is only at a second or third-tier level¡­"

    Tongtong was taken aback.

    He quickly sneaked a peek at the Prince of Lanling.

    Prince of Lanling had no reaction.

    Of course it was hard to see any reaction from behind the mask.

    Unless Prince of Lanling dramatically leaned back.

    Lin Yuan: "¡­"

    In fact, Lin Yuan didn''t have any psychological fluctuations.

    However, this person was quite ambiguous.

    A second-tier was second-tier, and third-tier was third-tier, what did he mean by saying Lin Yuan had second or third-tier singing skills?

    Lin Yuan was definitely a solid second-tier singer.

    Otherwise, he would never have won the first place in the first episode.

    At this moment.

    The program crew''s camera lens, also turned to shooting Lin Yuan watching the live stream¡­

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Ps: Oh my god, let''s revise this, more than a hundred of pings died in these few chapters.

 Chapter 485 - 461: The Wind Has Changed_1

    In the live stream, Leng Quan''s voice rang out loud: "Someone said the Prince of Lanling is the winner of the first episode after all. That''s true, he indeed won the first round, but you need to understand that both the Swan and the Robot were just testing the waters in the first episode.

    They didn''t perform at their absolute best as the Kings and Queens of Singing wouldn''t easily reveal their trump cards. Prince of Lanling, however, used his trump card right off at the first round, and that was his dual voice tone.

    It sounded impressive the first time, but if he employs the same strategy in the second round, neither the judges nor the jury would give him as high a score as he got in the first round."

    With that said,

    Leng Quan sneered:

    "However, the audience seems to like this tactic quite a bit; therefore, it''s plausible for Prince of Lanling to secure third place with the audience''s support. That is, assuming Piggy Qiqi doesn''t make a big splash in the second round. If Piggy Qiqi does step up her game, and assuming none of the other singers make mistakes, Prince of Lanling might be forced into the fourth position.

    And if a wildcard contestant happens to be exceptional, Prince of Lanling might fall further behind to the fifth place and become a contestant on standby..."

    Swish swish swish.

    The barrage was plentiful.

    The vast majority agreed with Leng Quan''s statement. In fact, not only did Leng Quan think so, but there has also been a shift in the direction of public opinion towards Prince of Lanling over the last few days. According to these analyses, aside from his ability to sing in two different tones, Prince of Lanling doesn''t have other advantages!

    And moreover...

    The advantage of having two voice tones will inevitably diminish as the competition progresses, because he won''t be able to rely on that one trick to win the competition forever! S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Heh heh."

    Leng Quan sneered, shaking his head. "Prince of Lanling''s true colors will be exposed in the second round, and as the competition goes on, his true form will gradually come to light. For those who don''t believe me, just wait and see. As for why I seem to belittle Prince of Lanling so much in the barrage, I apologize. I''m not belittling him, I''m merely stating facts.

    But I do admit that I don''t like him as I''m a hardcore fan of Teacher Yuan Xi. I''m truly appalled by his comments about Teacher Yuan Xi."

    "Teacher Prince of Lanling."

    Tongtong''s face was somewhat grim: "Turn off the live stream, don''t let it affect your mood for the competition. Leng Quan is merely making predictions, and he''s often inaccurate..."

    "Hmm."

    Prince of Lanling agreed.

    The expression behind the mask was unreadable, but Tongtong felt Prince of Lanling must have been angry, and immediately treaded lightly. The tension in the room desperately intensified, as if buffeted by a growing cold wind.

    However, Tongtong had misunderstood.

    Lin Yuan wasn''t that angry.

    If Lin Yuan were really angry, he would''ve turned around and picked a winning song to slap back immediately. But he didn''t want to change his original plan over something like this, as that would disrespect his choice of work.

    "Teacher Prince of Lanling."

    A staff member from the production company came knocking at the door with a lottery box, which somewhat eased the tension in the room.

    Tongtong quickly said, "I''m unlucky in draw. I ended up right behind Teacher Swan last time. How about you draw the lottery this time, Teacher Prince of Lanling?"

    "Alright."

    Lin Yuan turned off the live stream and stood up to draw the lot.

    The number six ball.

    It was Lin Yuan''s turn to perform as the sixth artist today.

    Tongtong sighed in relief. The live stream was finally off. Leng Quan''s words were too harsh. It seemed that Prince of Lanling had offended quite a few people with his critique of Teacher Yuan Xi in the first episode...

    Meanwhile,

    The stage up front.

    Even though the curtain has not yet been opened, the audience in front of the stage has filled every seat, and an atmosphere of excitement and anticipation hangs in the air over the audience.

    The bright red curtain of the stage was suddenly drawn!

    Shooo!

    Amid the background music of the show, host An Hong entered the stage.

    After the opening remarks.

    Host An Hong smiled and said, "After the broadcast of the first episode, our show has received an unprecedented response, which has drawn even more attention to our second episode. I believe this is both pressure and motivation for our singers. We look forward to the singers giving more brilliant performances today.

    Now let''s invite our first performer and also the first wildcard challenger of our show; the name of the singer is Pufferfish..."

    Pufferfish?

    Wildcard challenger?

    The audience couldn''t help but feel curious.

    In the spotlight of the stage, wildcard challenger Pufferfish made her appearance.

    With her slender waist, dress designed like a gown, and a mask with a hint of playfulness, she was very likely a female singer.

    When Pufferfish began to sing, the audience was immediately electrified!

    Such intense firepower!

    The act kicked off with a high note!

    A very explosive female voice!

    The singers backstage also looked up at the high-definition TV on the wall to assess the strength of this wildcard contestant.

    "Not bad," murmured Swan.

    Robot nodded: "Such a singing skill is top-tier."

    Piggy Qiqi stood up nervously: "A strong opponent has shown up! Her singing style is similar to mine, she must be a singer I know..."

    The Wanderer sighed: "Looks like I''m out of luck today."

    "..."

    Prince of Lanling didn''t utter a word.

    Tongtong tried to keep the atmosphere lively: "The new singer is pretty good, huh? Does her voice sound a bit like Zhao Ying Ge?"

    "Hmm."

    Prince of Lanling nodded in agreement: "There are indeed some similarities. Zhao Ying Ge tends to show off her skills too much. High notes and explosive power are her strengths, but she has been relying too heavily on these in recent years. However, on this stage, a contestant like her is quite good since she knows how to fully utilize her strengths during the competition."

    Lin Yuan also suspected that Pufferfish was Zhao Ying Ge.

    Zhao Ying Ge is a singer from Starlight and has collaborated with Lin Yuan before, so he had a familiarity with her voice.

    However, there was something a little different about the voice of Pufferfish which was why Lin Yuan couldn''t confirm.

    Huh?

    After he finished speaking, Lin Yuan suddenly noticed an unnerving silence.

    It was only when he looked up did he realize that the cameraman was staring blankly at him.

    The look in Tongtong''s eyes was even more desperate¡ª

    Tongtong was utterly desperate!

    She couldn''t believe that after criticizing Yuan Xi in the previous episode, Prince of Lanling had now fired shots at the popular female singer Zhao Ying Ge!

    Dude!

    Can you be a bit more low-key?

    How many more big-shot celebrities are you planning to offend?

    After all, Zhao Ying Ge was once a champion of "Bloom" and her career has been going great ever since!

    She might not be as successful as the Queen of Singing Yuan Xi, but as a top-tier singer now, she possesses significant popularity and could be easily reckoned as a big name!

    Did you watch the live stream earlier for nothing?

    All because of that one critique you gave on Yuan Xi in the first episode, Leng Quan has been mocking you relentlessly. You heard all of it during the live stream.

    He has been belittling you, hasn''t he?

    If you continue to criticize more big names like Zhao Ying Ge, what''s going to happen?

    Once the episode is aired, won''t Zhao Ying Ge''s fans go berserk at you?

    If this part isn''t cut out, Tongtong could almost imagine what Zhao Ying Ge''s fans would do after this episode airs...

    One simply cannot offend these celebrities.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to Daoist Monk for the two Alliance Hierarch memberships!

 Chapter 486 - 462: Turned into a piano concert_1

    On stage.

    Pufferfish finished singing.

    After the judges gave their feedback, they went straight to guessing Pufferfish''s identity:

    "You are Zhao Ying Ge!"

    Pufferfish laughed and said, "That''s right, I am Zhao Ying Ge!"

    Holy cow!

    He confessed so quickly?

    He didn''t follow the script!

    The panel of judges was momentarily taken aback.

    It was the first time a singer had confessed so bluntly who they were, everybody couldn''t quite believe it.

    Without wasting any more time.

    The second singer to perform was Vagabond.

    Vagabond''s performance was quite similar to the last one, very decent but ordinary.

    The reactions from the judges and audience were muted.

    The third singer immediately brought the audience back to life.

    Swan took the stage!

    What surprised many was that Swan was playing and singing herself in this performance!

    She had prepared a piano!

    After Swan finished singing, the four judges joked, "Starting to pull out new moves, you play the piano quite well! Definitely better than most singers."

    "Not bad at all."

    Swan responded confidently: "I was just giving it a small try. My real skill is yet to come."

    She still had many tricks up her sleeve!

    After a little more interaction, the host took over the stage.

    The next performer was Robot.

    If it were someone else, they might not be able to follow up after Swan.

    But Robot would!

    He was King of Singing!

    However, when Robot started his performance, the audience was amused...

    Piano!

    It''s piano again!

    The King and Queen of Singing, unexpectedly prepared the same kind of performance, both involving self-singing and piano playing for today''s competition!

    And...

    Just like many people predicted before the show.

    Robot exploded!

    He played the piano at a swift pace, the big screen focused on his piano playing, giving off an incredibly cool vibe!

    The rhythm of the song was fast.

    The melody was extremely catchy.

    After he finished the song, the audience broke out into the loudest applause, Robot''s performance was the best so far!

    "No need to guess anymore!"

    "If he''s not King of Singing, I''ll eat shit!"

    "My God, his piano skills are incredible!"

    "Swan''s piano playing can''t compare to his, this round seems to be dominated by Robot."

    "If Swan had known the competition''s piano skills were this good, she probably wouldn''t have chosen to play the piano this round."

    "A perfect combination of voice and piano!"

    "..."

    Including the judges, everyone gave a thumbs up!

    Wu Long exaggeratedly touched his own heart: "This is a counterattack against us judges. Last round we all agreed that you were first-rate, this round you used your real skill to tell us, you were intentionally hiding your power last time!"

    "Oh boy!"

    Robot laughed proudly, speaking in a quirky dialect: "How does Teacher Wu Long know that I''m not hiding any skills this round?"

    The audience got excited!

    He''s this good, and he''s still hiding his skills?

    Anyway, Robot was still quirky, but with this sentence, the King of Singing''s domineering aura had indeed been revealed!

    "I get it."

    Mao Xuewang winked and said, "The big trick always comes last. However, your piano skills have given you away."

    Robot shook his head: "Don''t scare me, not many people know I can play the piano."

    The audience laughed heartily.

    Next to him, Liu Xu commented: "Swan''s piano skill is in the upper-range among singers, but your piano skill is excellent even among singers, it''s almost professional."

    That''s high praise!

    Almost professional level!

    Over ninety-five percent of singers don''t have this level of skill!

    This round, the show reached its peak!

    Backstage waiting area.

    Piggy Qiqi covered her masked face: "I thought it was a good thing that I drew the fifth out of the hat, but why did I have to follow Teacher Robot!"

    Piggy Qiqi is in the same situation as the Magician from the last round!

    She''s having a hard time taking over the stage from the King of Singing!

    However, there is no other choice; when push comes to shove, she just has to plough through it.

    After she finished her song, all the judges were shaking their heads.

    "You were nervous."

    "Your heart wasn''t strong enough."

    "You were clearly affected by the presence of the robot."

    "You performed a bit off today."

    Piggy Qiqi started crying. Even though her face was obscured by a mask and her tears were invisible, her shaky voice couldn''t hide her emotions.

    A good session of evaluation unexpectedly turned into a large scale consolation session.

    However, this is quite a common scene in variety shows anyways.

    ...

    Backstage. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Tongtong sighed, saying: "The Magician was right. Drawing lots is a form of metaphysics. If she was following the wanderer..."

    Tongtong suddenly closed her mouth!

    My goodness, that was a close call to offend someone!

    If my words were broadcasted, I would have offended so many people!

    However, Lin Yuan naturally added: "If she followed the Wanderer, Piggy Qiqi''s performance would have been better. But, this is no big deal. The only solution when this happens, is to catch up with him."

    Tongtong was silent.

    Still so daring, that''s just like you!

    But aren''t your words a bit too arrogant?

    Catch up with him?

    Is it that easy to catch up after the King of Singing finishes his song?

    Okay then.

    Prince of Lanling has already demonstrated to the audience in the last episode how to take over after the King of Singing finishes his song.

    So, while the words are crude, the logic isn''t.

    If you drew a bad lot and your previous opponent is too strong, then you just have to keep up with him.

    "Please prepare, Prince of Lanling..."

    The programme team''s reminder came through the loudspeaker.

    Lin Yuan and Tongtong both stood up to go to the waiting area.

    And with the introduction by the host, Lin Yuan finally stepped onto the stage.

    "Prince of Lanling!"

    "Prince of Lanling!"

    "Prince of Lanling!"Despite the various voices online, there was still a large portion of the live audience who supported Prince of Lanling.

    Not everyone blindly follows the crowd.

    Some audience members genuinely love Prince of Lanling''s magical falsetto!

    However...

    What the audience didn''t expect was that before Prince of Lanling even started singing, a piano was slowly raised onto the stage through a lift.

    The four judges laughed.

    The panel of judges exchanged glances.

    The audience was a bit stunned.

    A piano?

    Another piano performance?

    The Swan played the piano, the robot played the piano, and now Prince of Lanling wants to play the piano too?

    Did they agree to make this a piano-special episode today?

    The problem is...

    If we''re talking about piano playing, the robot had already performed exceptionally well!

    Even the Swan was overshadowed by the Robot!

    The judges had publicly commented that the robot had a close-to-professional level of piano skills...

    And yet, Prince of Lanling dares to play under these circumstances?

    Backstage.

    The Swan shook her head:

    "He has no choice. Before the competition, no one knows how the other singers would perform. The piano was pre-rehearsed, it''s hard to change plans at this point."

    The Swan''s agent consoled: "Your piano playing was also great!"

    The Swan shrugged: "I''m not so ungracious. I admit when I''m beaten. Had I known the Robot would play the piano so brilliantly, I wouldn''t have attempted to ''show off my slight skill before an expert''."

    The agent''s assistant said: "So, this round isn''t looking good for Prince of Lanling..."

    The Swan laughed: "Even if his piano playing is not up to par, it doesn''t really matter. Prince of Lanling''s level of falsetto is undeniable. Advancing should be a piece of cake. At least in the initial rounds, no one can easily eliminate him."

    Did Prince of Lanling reveal his trump card in the first round?

    What does it matter? Some people''s trump cards are such that even if you know about them in advance, you still can''t think of a way to deal with them.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Many thanks to [Under the Moon, a Dance and a Song with Luili]for becoming the 36th Alliance Hierarch of this book. Flying feather, I know it''s your alternate account!

 Chapter 487 - 463: Wind, Rain, Snow _1

    "As if it were planned."

    Back in the dressing room, the robot looks at the man sitting in front of the piano on the TV and chuckles :

    Why is everyone suddenly playing the piano!

    Next room.

    Piggy Qiqi has calmed down.

    She said bitterly, "This is normal. There is always self-play and self-singing in competitions. The piano and guitar just so happen to be the instruments with the highest presence on stage. But after this episode, probably no one will dare play the piano lightly."

    The robot''s piano skills are too strong!

    Other singers playing the piano will find it hard to reach the robot''s level, and they will likely be compared subconsciously by the audience with the robot, which might expose their shortcomings.

    At this moment.

    On stage.

    Lin Yuan doesn''t look at the packed crowd below.

    With his mind completely on the piano, he stretched out his fingers and slammed down the keys in a crisscross manner!

    A virtuosic passage!

    The power of his fingers and wrists applied simultaneously on the keys. They were heavy tones, yet they were rapid, as if the subsequent sound was constantly chasing the echoes of the previous sound.

    Heavy!

    Powerful!

    All the audience''s heartbeats accelerated subconsciously, feeling as though these piano notes held some inexplicable attraction.

    This piano...

    The eyes of the jury simultaneously focus on Lin Yuan, savoring the exquisite points in his performance.

    Jury seats.

    The four judges'' expressions gradually became serious.

    Lin Yuan closed his eyes and his hands began to whirl at high speed, still in a crisscross virtuosic passage!

    Double octaves!

    This is showmanship!

    Blatant showmanship!

    Even though this process was very brief, it was undeniably an intense show of skill. In just tens of seconds, Lin Yuan had captivated everyone''s attention!

    "Hu..."

    Lin Yuan took a breath, clearly transmitted through the microphone.

    This was only the warm-up, just to gather the audience''s attention.

    In a pianist''s solo performance, it''s a common opening technique, just that non-professional pianists might find it hard to achieve this effect.

    After the warm-up, the piano sound softened, like the extreme stillness after intense movement.

    It was as if the explosive sound of the piano just now had never happened.

    The band joins in.

    A female voice resonates, like the breeze fluttering in the soul:

    "Once, by chance, he and she fell in love, in a time when there''s no hesitation; assuming they understood, so they loved heartily, hands clenched tightly, and the determination and future in their hearts..."

    Then, a magnetic male voice sounded, like the raindrops falling:

    "Cannot forget, your love, but the conclusion is hard to change, I couldn''t make you stay, less like him, who can give you a future to look forward to, naive boy..."

    The audience''s eyes brighten.

    Even though they have already heard Lin Yuan''s singing style in the first round, hearing him repeat this genre again with a different song still impresses them.

    Lin Yuan is showing off!

    "I wanted to ask, is your sorrow no more, like the sea lying under the sunlight, like colors painted with heart..."

    Female voice... male voice... female voice... male voice!

    High-frequency transitions!

    Seems like a new song?

    On the judges'' panel, the four judges thought so, then they all raised their eyebrows.

    There''s no issue with the new song.

    It''s not that Lin Yuan sang anything wrong.

    This high-frequency transition is cool.

    But, how was he going to continue, since there were only two voices and no third voice¡ª

    Suddenly, Lin Yuan leaned forward, the piano notes intensified, and at the same time, a slightly raspy voice abruptly resonated:

    "Make you smile, brave!"

    A husky voice appears! S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The third voice!

    It perfectly blended with the previous two voices, achieving almost a "trio" effect¡ª

    Mao Xuewang was dumbfounded.

    Liu Xu was also shocked.

    Wu Long''s mouth dropped open.

    Yang Zhongming abruptly sat upright.

    In the backstage area.

    All the singers were dumbstruck.

    Where did this voice come from?

    Why does he have a third type of voice?

    What kind of freaky throat does he have!

    Even the audience in the auditorium started to fidget slightly.

    Everyone felt the emergence of the third voice, but their feelings were not as intense as the professionals. They just felt like Prince of Lanling''s voice seemed infinitely variable?

    On the judges'' side.

    Many people looked shocked.

    Although it was also a male voice, it was completely different from the previous magnetic baritone. This time it was a very beautiful husky voice!

    A bit depressed, a bit vicissitudinous.

    But it gives people a feeling of a rich story!

    Lin Yuan''s husky voice completely came out, like a blade suddenly drawn in the dark: "I miss you now, I miss you when I wander, all regrets are not the future, all love will inevitably be hurt in the end..."

    The female voice is the wind.

    The male voice is like rain.

    Husky voice is like snow.

    From the softness of spring wind to the crispness of raindrops, and finally turning into the husky voice''s cold and vicissitudes, the notes seemed to dance around him.

    "Thud."

    Lin Yuan''s singing paused, leaving only the piano sounding like a monologue. on the eighty-eight piano keys, ten fingers were ten jumping spirits, each with a different pace.

    A full minute.

    But nobody found it too long.

    It was as if they could never get tired of these piano tones.

    Professional Level piano skill!

    The robot backstage blinked.

    It did not match up.

    The room next door.

    Swan muttered to herself: "Why on earth do I want to play the piano..."

    The other singers shook their heads.

    After the Robot, any singer who wants to play the piano, they would definitely think twice.

    But after Prince of Lanling, no singer would dare to play the piano on The Masked Singer''s stage!

    Unless they are as good as Prince of Lanling, with professional-level pianist skills!

    Yes!

    Many people heard it!

    Prince of Lanling''s piano skills are better than the Robot''s!

    In a certain interlude of the piano sound, Lin Yuan''s voice began to ring again. It was still the husky voice, but it was with a heavier pronunciation:

    "Now I just hope that the pain comes more swiftly, since I can''t go back..."

    The piano sound turned light.

    Lin Yuan, with his eyes closed, lightly hummed.

    The female voice like wind chimes, began to brush against his face again.

    The male voice like raindrops, started to ring again.

    The husky voice like falling snow, served as the finale.

    This song, ended.

    The scene was extremely quiet.

    Some audience members displayed thoughtful expressions.

    In contrast, the judges were nearly unanimous in their shock, and in the judges'' area, four faces each showing a different reaction.

    Applause started to ring.

    If you listen carefully, it was clear that the applause from the fifty judges was the loudest, even drowning out that from the audience.

    When the applause subsided.

    The host walked onto the stage and asked: "Is this another new song written by Xian Yu?"

    "Yes, it''s called Boy."

    Lin Yuan got up from the piano, bowed to the band and the audience below, feeling that he had performed quite well.

    "Wu..."

    The host was preparing to call the judges.

    But before the host''s voice fell, Wu Long was already staring intently at Prince of Lanling, and was the first to speak:

    "Last time, you got the first place, but all my votes went to Swan and Robot; this time, you probably won''t get the first place, but these hundred votes of mine are all yours."

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to Alliance Hierarch[Long Pavilion Deeply Intoxicated Willow Sentiment Over], so much¨{¨€?¨€¡ñthanks to the many Alliance Hierarchs.

 Chapter 488 - 464: Rankings Published_1

    Each judge has one hundred votes to distribute freely. Under normal circumstances, the judges will distribute votes based on the quality of each singer''s performance.

    But...

    If a judge really likes a specific performance, they could give all their votes to that one singer!

    That''s the judges'' prerogative.

    If all four judges give all their votes to one singer, that singer will instantly gather four hundred votes!

    But, that''s highly unlikely...

    Mao Xuewang looked at Lin Yuan: "Teacher Wu Long is quite harsh. I don''t have the courage to give you all my votes, but your performance today really surprised me. Is that really a human voice?"

    Lin Yuan was silent.

    It should be, right?

    Mao Xuewang couldn''t possibly guess any incredible fact from Lin Yuan''s silence.; he simply exclaimed, "I thought your falsetto had reached its limit with two voices. I didn''t expect that you have a third falsetto!"

    "And there''s the piano!"

    Liu Xu added from the side, "If this were a piano competition, you''d definitely be the champion. Your piano skills are at a professional level!"

    "Indeed!"

    Wu Long couldn''t help but interject, "The level of a professional pianist, no doubt. It''s even a level higher than the robot''s piano playing. Many audience members might not feel it, but I really want to tell the audience that Prince of Lanling''s piano skills should be added to his score. Of course, the song is also excellent, but choosing this song is a disadvantage.

    Some audience members might not resonate with this style of music. This is actually a common problem in music - whether the quality of a song should be judged by its degree of popularity..."

    Then it was Yang Zhongming''s turn.

    Yang Zhongming looked at Prince of Lanling, there was a certain strangeness in his eyes. He shook his head and said, "It''s a pity. The song is good, and the piano is absolutely impressive. But you shouldn''t have chosen this song for this stage; the audience might not like it."

    Lin Yuan replied, "I know."

    Yang Zhongming asked, "And you still chose it?"

    After some thought, Lin Yuan replied, "Um."

    Yang Zhongming started laughing, "Very good."

    He didn''t say anything else.

    Wu Long than seriously added, "For this round, Prince of Lanling is my top choice."

    Liu Xu also smiled, "For me, it''s a tie between Prince of Lanling and the robot."

    Mao Xuewang hesitated a moment before saying, "I''m a bit unsure about this round, not sure what criteria to use for evaluation."

    Yes.

    The criteria were tricky to establish.

    Prince of Lanling''s three different voices and piano skills all add points. The current question is - how many points should he get?

    Quite a dilemma.

    The same dilemma was present among the jurors.

    But that is no longer Lin Yuan''s concern.

    He bowed and left the stage.

    Host Anhong started reminding everyone to vote.

    Fifteen minutes later.

    Backstage in the hall.

    The singers gathered together.

    The Swan took the initiative to talk to Lin Yuan, "You''re my number one."

    "Thank you."

    Lin Yuan was a bit surprised.

    He didn''t initially aim for the first place in this round, otherwise he would not have chosen "Boy." Competitive songs are more appropriate for competitions like this.

    In fact.

    On Earth, Bruce Liang was also eliminated in the first round of Singer, but interestingly, Liang was the top pick among the singers themselves.

    "You really sang well."

    The robot gave Lin Yuan a thumbs up, "Especially the piano, I''m really impressed!"

    Lin Yuan just smiled.

    At the entrance.

    The director Tong Shuwen came in with a weird expression, "Everyone, the results for this round are out. The results for today are radically different from the first round. So different that I doubt my own eyes... "

    Everyone was stunned.

    Hugely different from the first round?

    Doesn''t that mean there will be a massive shift in the rankings?

    "As you''re thinking, this round, every singer''s ranking has changed. Let me first announce who is eliminated."

    For those about to be eliminated, waiting means torment.

    The Wanderer immediately showed a grateful look.

    Everyone knew that The Wanderer would certainly be eliminated this round.

    The reactions of the judges, the jury, and the audience had made this clear.

    "The singer who received the sixth number of votes in this competition is..."

    Tong Shuwen quickly announced without any suspense, "Regrettably, Piggy Qiqi, you''re eliminated."

    The Wanderer, who was all set to stand up, paused upon hearing this.

    Piggy Qiqi was the last place. Unexpectedly.

    Piggy Qiqi laughed, "Everyone, I''m going to reveal my identity in a moment. I won''t cry this time. After all, I''m a top-rated singer. You all must be very curious about who I am, right?"

    Everyone laughed, no longer feeling sad.

    It was both surprising and reasonable for Piggy Qiqi to be eliminated.

    Her performance indeed fell short.

    The Robot felt somewhat guilty and hugged Piggy Qiqi, "Keep it up."

    Piggy Qiqi smiled, "It''s okay. You guys are the main players. Remember to win the contest for us!"

    "Main players? Contest?"

    The Robot blinked.

    Tong Shuwen cleared his throat and said, "This news hasn''t been announced yet. How did you know, Teacher Piggy Qiqi?"

    Piggy Qiqi chuckled, "I guessed, but it seems like I got it right..."

    Everyone was intrigued.

    Tong Shuwen coughed, "Then let''s announce the next ranking. Wanderer, you are ranked fifth this time. As you are a provisional contestant, you will be eliminated this round..."

    "Finally, I can breathe a sigh of relief."

    Wanderer got up, laughing, "I''ve gotten fifth place twice, that doesn''t sound too bad, right?"

    Everyone nodded, feeling a hint of sadness.

    Tong Shuwen paused before announcing, "Next, the fourth place in this round is...Swan!"

    The singers were stunned.

    Swan was stunned, too.

    His ranking was too low!

    The atmosphere became subtly awkward.

    Swan suddenly said, "Although it was unexpected, it''s the unpredictability that makes the competition interesting. How many votes did I get?"

    Tong Shuwen said,

    "Swan, you received 380 audience votes, 40 public jury votes and 50 jury votes, bringing your total to exactly 510 votes..."

    The audience votes were not many, and the jury votes were also lacking. The public jury votes were okay, though.

    Shrug off Swan''s shoulders, "I accept this result, but I aim for first place next time."

    Piggy Qiqi immediately said, "Sis, I totally respect you!"

    Robot chuckled, "I also want to be first next time."

    "Just wait and see," Swan retorted.

    Tong Shuwen said, "Next, we will announce the third place. This person''s votes are a little strange. He was the favorite singer in the last round, but he got fewer audience votes this time..."

    All eyes turned to Prince of Lanling.

    As expected.

    Tong Shuwen recited, "Prince of Lanling, the third in this round, won 308 audience votes, 33 public jury votes, and 200 jury votes, totaling 574 votes!"

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan nodded, this result was within his expectations.

    The audience votes were low, the public jury votes were okay, and the jury votes were half of the total jury votes.

    In other words.

    The jury recognized him as the first this round.

    There must have been some advantage in his piano and husky voice.

    But it seemed the audience couldn''t quite get it.

    The third place, as predicted by the so-called prophet, but Lin Yuan himself also guessed this ranking.

    "To be honest."

    Swan said to Lin Yuan, "This time, you were better than the last time."

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan also thought he did better this time, whether it was in terms of difficulty or performance.

    On the other hand.

    Lin Yuan knew some truths, but he couldn''t help but take risks and wanted to sing some songs that might not create a lively atmosphere.

    If it wasn''t for his husky voice, he might have been fourth?

    It was still a bit risky.

    He shouldn''t take any more risks in the next round, he should aim for first place. After all, it''s a competitive show, the atmosphere needs to be upheld.

    "Next, I will announce the first place for this round..."

    Everyone''s eyes fell on Robot. Although Pufferfish also did well, making an excellent debut, the performance of Robot was what the audience responded to most enthusiastically.

    As expected.

    Tong Shuwen read out Robot''s name,

    "Robot received 455 audience votes this round, 45 public jury votes, and 130 jury votes, for a total of 665 votes..."

    Robot stood up, performed a goofy spin, and almost stumbled.

    Everyone laughed. Robot was always this pleasing. Even the flaunting after winning first place didn''t produce any animosity.

    Pufferfish, on the other hand, scored 594 votes in the first round, placing second for the round.

    "Just arrived and already placed second, congrats!" Everyone congratulated.

    "Thank you."

    Pufferfish grinned, she was very pleased with the result.

    The rankings were clear now.

    Robot was the undisputed winner.

    The substitute singer Pufferfish made an impressive debut. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Prince of Lanling, the winner of the first round, dropped to third place.

    Swan, who tied for first in the first round, shockingly fell to fourth.

    The two dominators of the first round shared a common misfortune.

    However, everyone could sense that the next round would be a storm on the horizon!

    Meanwhile.

    Wanderer and Piggy Qiqi made their way to the stage to unveil their identities.

    As expected, Piggy Qiqi was actually Lu Yumeng, a first-tier female singer!

    On the other hand, Wanderer turned out to be Ding Qin, a first-tier male singer who had retired from the music industry for many years. He was already 48 years old at this point.

    It can be foreseen.

    Once this round is aired, it will undoubtedly stir up a whirlwind of attention and discussion!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Thanks to the Alliance Hierarch of [Akhil_Leung]!

 Chapter 489 - 465: Trigger the Gold Treasure Chest_1

    "Everyone."

    After they removed their masks at the front desk...

    Director Tong Shuwen signaled to pause the shooting, then began to speak, "Continuing from our earlier topic, even if Lu Yumeng didn''t bring it up, I was planning to discuss the upcoming competition format with everyone¡­"

    Piggy Qiqi had already revealed his face.

    Tong Shuwen didn''t hold back: "Lu Yumeng guessed right. There will be a team battle in The Masked Singer. In the next two rounds, if none of you are eliminated, you will automatically form the first team of this program!"

    "Two rounds?"

    The Swan keyed in on the crucial point.

    Tong Shuwen nodded, "The selection of each team will need to go through four rounds of challenges. You''ve already gone through two rounds consecutively. Two more rounds will make a month. At that time, we will begin to select the second team. Our principle is each team will have five members, and will definitely include one King and one Queen of Singing.

    Of course, if the King or Queen get eliminated early, we won''t flout the rules just due to their titles."

    "Interesting."

    The Robot remarked with a smile.

    Tong Shuwen sighed, "The number of singers applying for this program is overwhelming. We still haven''t closed the application channel yet, so we''re not sure how many teams there will ultimately be. What we do know is that there will be two replacement singers in the next round.

    It will still follow the format of a six-person ranking battle where the last one is eliminated and the remaining five are safe."

    "There are no undecided spots?"

    "Correct, there are no undecided spots in the third and fourth rounds. However, in the fourth round, we will give singers who have performed fewer times a chance to perform extra. It''s not possible to let replacement singers pass directly because of their outstanding performance in one round. They must also perform an extra song for score determination¡­"

    This was to ensure fairness.

    Replacement singers join midway. The Prince of Lanling and his group had already performed for several rounds. It wouldn''t be fair if replacement singers can advance directly after winning just one round. The program rigorously pursues fair competition rules.

    "....."

    After Tong Shuwen finished explaining the situation, everyone chatted a bit before they all left. The first round didn''t have a chatting segment. This was only after everyone found out that there would be team battles later on. They wanted to get to know each other better since they might become teammates, provided they weren''t replaced by the replacement singers in rounds three and four.

    Lin Yuan didn''t go to the company.

    He went straight home.

    He needed to seize the time to practice his singing skills. While this might seem like cramming for a test, he had to practice his singing skills diligently. The more he can improve, the better...

    "The Swan is strong."

    "The Robot is strong too."

    "Even if we''re only comparing singing skills with Pufferfish, the replacement singer who just appeared today, I''m not a match. What''s more, it''s obvious that Pufferfish is a professional singer who is very good at competitions. This kind of opponent is a formidable threat to even the King and Queen of Singing.

    Add to that the unknown strength of the replacement singers that will appear later, the difficulty is really increasing step by step."

    Lin Yuan was well aware.

    His singing skills were indeed not good enough. Even though he still has a grasp on getting first place now, with the intensifying competition, it''s only a matter of time before he gets eliminated, especially since the King and Queen of Singing haven''t fully shown their strengths yet.

    He had some tricks up his sleeve!

    But others might also have theirs!

    The only thing Lin Yuan regretted was that even though there were countless stage-shaking songs in the system''s music library, and even nuclear-level pieces that could easily stun the audience, due to his own limitation in singing skills, Lin Yuan couldn''t master many of the songs. So, he could only choose some songs that were not as difficult to sing.

    Wasn''t the choice of singing "Boy" also a helpless move due to these circumstances?

    A talented woman is hard put to it without rice!

    He could even build fighter jets and cannons if necessary, and even nukes if he had to. But the problem was that Lin Yuan could build them, but he couldn''t use them himself!

    Who could he vent his frustrations to?

    His spirit was willing, but his flesh was weak!

    Sometimes, Lin Yuan would lament, "If my voice wasn''t damaged, after several years of training, based on the original host''s talent, even if I''m not the King of Singing by now, at the very least, I would have had the singing level of a top-tier singer. And that would be just fine as a top-tier singer can master the vast majority of challenging songs¡­"

    Singing skills require constant refining.

    Other singers have been constantly refining their skills, which is why their singing abilities are constantly improving. Lin Yuan''s talent was very scary, he had the singing skills of a second-tier singer during his college years. Normally, he would at least be a top-tier singer, if not the King of Singing by now.

    But his voice had failed him.

    These years when his voice failed him, Lin Yuan''s singing skills remained stagnant, still at the second-tier singer level. Even though the system had compensated Lin Yuan with a female voice and a husky voice, their help in the upcoming battles was less concrete than proper singing skills.

    However, not all was lost. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The compensation with a female voice and husky voice might not be as helpful as singing skills in the competition, but singing skills can be improved, whereas a natural female voice and husky voice are not possible to be trained technically. One must have a long-term vision.

    Lin Yuan comforted himself.

    While the competition hadn''t yet heated up, he wanted to get better results. He wasn''t satisfied with coming in third this round, but he was the one responsible, as the song choice wasn''t suitable for a competitive stage.

    This was normal.

    The Swan, who is an established Queen of Singing, surprisingly got fourth this round. The root of the problem was the same as Lin Yuan''s. However, the Swan didn''t get high votes from the judges, which was because of the piano¡ª

    Lin Yuan''s piano skills were too good!

    The Robot''s piano skills were not bad either!

    After comparing all three of them, the Swan, whose piano technique was okay originally, suddenly appeared inferior. The judges surely didn''t give her too many votes due to this reason.

    It could be foreseen.

    In the next round, the Swan will definitely do the same as Lin Yuan, she will not choose songs that are not strong in competition anymore. It would be too embarrassing if the Queen were to be eliminated before the team selection is over.

    Having completed the summary.

    Lin Yuan prepared to enter the System''s Virtual Space to train his singing skills. Suddenly, an electronic sound rang in his ear, and the mechanical voice of the System sounded, "Congratulations to the host for achieving the prerequisite condition to open the Gold Treasure Chest¡­"

    Lin Yuan was stunned.

    Of course, he didn''t forget that he still had a Gold Treasure Chest. But he couldn''t open this Gold Treasure Chest himself, it required certain conditions to be triggered. The System had not told Lin Yuan what the prerequisite conditions were to open this chest.

    "Passion for Competition!"

    The System seemed to guess Lin Yuan''s thoughts and explained, "This stems from the host''s desire for victory. Although music may not have a hierarchy, competitions are bound to have winners and losers. The host''s passion and pursuit of music is the prerequisite condition for the second Gold Treasure Chest to be opened. Shall I open it now?"

    "Open it!"

    Lin Yuan didn''t hesitate!

    This timing couldn''t be better! The prerequisite is related to music, which means that the reward in this Gold Treasure Chest must also be related to music. Lin Yuan needed more tricks up his sleeve!

    Yes!

    Though he had already predicted that ''Boy'' had a low chance of getting first place, the final third-place ranking still frustrated him a little. He suddenly understood the feelings of both Fei Yang and Chen Zhiyu from before.

    "Shush!"

    Bright golden light seemed to flash before Lin Yuan''s eyes, then his breathing suddenly quickened. The reward from the second Gold Treasure Chest appeared...

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: After holding it in for so long, I finally wrote about the part where the singing skills weren''t up to mark. The monthly tickets will become invalid in a few hours, so I''m asking for votes!

 Chapter 490 - 466: Singing Skill Book (Extra for Alliance Hierarch Dio)_1

    [Ding Dong!]

    [Your Gold Treasure Chest has been opened for you. Congratulations, Host, for obtaining the Mysterious Singing Skill Book. This book will enhance your singing skills comprehensively after use. It also comes with a Super High Pitch Blessing. You''ll have to discover the details of the enhancement on your own.]

    [Ding Dong!]

    [The Skill Book has been placed in the Host''s backpack. It can be used at any time and shows quick effects. Would you like to use the Skill Book now?]

    "..."

    Lin Yuan''s little heart trembled slightly. He wished he could lean over and give this Gold Treasure Chest a big kiss. A Gold Level chest always reveals legendary treasures!

    Singing Techniques Up!

    And with high notes!

    Without hesitation, Lin Yuan used the Skill Book. Then, he felt a chilling sensation in his throat. When this sensation disappeared, Lin Yuan attempted to shout:

    "Ah!"

    It was a very high note.

    And he hit it with ease.

    Lin Yuan got excited. He usually couldn''t reach such high notes. Suddenly, his lung capacity had improved tremendously. Lin Yuan couldn''t help but want to try an even higher note. So, he gradually raised his pitch:

    "Ah!"

    "Ah!"

    "Ah!"

    "Ah!"

    "Ah!"

    The last note sounded like the call of a dolphin, a highly admired dolphin note that many enjoy. However, it''s essential to explain that many singers can produce this dolphin note because of their natural talents.

    But dolphin notes have levels.

    These notes result from a powerful gust of breath blown from an extremely small gap between the vocal cords and throat. Not only is this a colorful and amusing way to sing in high pitch, but it''s also the highest frequency that a human voice can reach. So, some cannot sing this note, some can produce it but can''t control it, while others can control it freely.

    Lin Yuan''s dolphin note is exceptionally strong, not only can it be controlled freely, but the overall tone is also stunningly beautiful. Even compared to Jiang Kui, who is also highly skilled at these dolphin notes, Lin Yuan''s skill leaves him in the dust...

    Terrifying indeed!

    Subsequently, Lin Yuan began to experiment with more techniques, including challenging ornamentation from bel canto. He began learning these techniques in high school as a vocal major. Even though he knew the techniques for producing the sounds, he couldn''t sing them because he is a baritone, and even the female voice produced by the System was a mezzo, this is his most comfortable vocal range.

    But now, this range was being extended to almost five octaves¡ª

    He can nail ALL high notes!

    And they are pure and authentic!

    Many people can sing high notes, but some are actually forced and lack authenticity. It is a common singing trick to squeeze the throat and strive for higher pitch and end up sounding like a castrato. Here, the intent is not derogatory, just describing what it sounds like.

    Lin Yuan could do that in the past.

    But what''s truly impressive is hitting high notes authentically, because an authentic note is a voice that is resonating with emotion and full, rich texture, produced by the vocal cords at the exact closing point, perfectly supported from the chest.

    The two are not the same.

    The excitement Lin Yuan now feels is probably comparable to having received a Transformer toy, he kept exploring his high notes in his room, his voice shifting from male to female, he was having a whale of a time.

    "Whew..."

    After playing for nearly an hour...

    Finally, Lin Yuan stopped because his throat was a bit tight, it was his brain reminding him not to overdo it. Even with a good high note range, he couldn''t abuse it. Although Lin Yuan didn''t feel like stopping.

    At this moment... S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    He was like a kid with a new toy, and he wanted to play nonstop until he got bored. He might not even get bored because he had admired tenors since he was a kid and now he himself could sing in a tenor''s range!

    And even a soprano''s range!

    High notes do not equal singing ability, but this Skill Book doesn''t only enhance high notes. Lin Yuan can clearly feel that his overall singing skills have improved. This is a comprehensive enhancement of his skills by the System, perhaps also related to the changes brought by increased lung capacity.

    From this moment on!

    Lin Yuan''s singing skills won''t hinder him anymore, and the increased lung capacity that comes with high notes has strengthened his overall voice control. This is an excellent cycle of singing skills improvement.

    What are singing skills?

    In a general sense, singing skills are a composition of elements such as pitch accuracy, vocal range, volume, timbre, voice quality, resonation, breath control, and pronunciation, as well as a sense of rhythm. Most second-tier singers have a pretty good command over these basic skills.

    Factors like timbre and voice quality are more dependent on innate talent than effort, and this is not something Lin Yuan needs to worry about.

    His natural talent is unbeatable!

    As for his current level of singing skills, even Lin Yuan himself can''t clearly quantify it. The only thing he''s certain of is that he can now stand toe-to-toe with the top champions without his singing skills dragging him down.

    Lin Yuan even has a feeling:

    He could win the championship in a show!

    He quietly adjusted his goals for the competition. His eyes gleamed as he looked out of the window, there were so many songs to choose from for the next round.

    You must know¡­

    Lin Yuan now has the ability to master most songs. Many songs he hadn''t considered choosing can now be performed. There''s an arsenal of songs to pick from.

    And he can handle them all!

    If a comparison were to be made, Lin Yuan feels his vocal range is no less than the renowned singer of Earth, Teacher Zhang Yusheng. Of course, the two have completely different timbres. This comparison only pertains to their vocal ranges while singing.

    "Hm?"

    Perhaps because his throat was feeling tense, Lin Yuan tried humming a few notes. He discovered his voice began to slide, bouncing between authentic and non-authentic sounds, making him sound a bit crazy. This made Lin Yuan laugh unconsciously. The joy of having a good voice truly couldn''t be understood by ordinary people.

    He can play freely and uninhibited!

    This spurred an idea in Lin Yuan.

    Without continuing his fun ¨C not because Lin Yuan didn''t want to, but because he received a phone call from the film set: "Mr. Lin, our preparations for the movie are complete. We''re ready to start filming ''Spiderman''."

    "The preparations are done?"

    Faster than Lin Yuan anticipated.

    Considering the film cost over 100 million in budget, but didn''t go over too much, Lin Yuan nodded: "Tomorrow I''ll visit the set, though I might not be able to stay long."

    Time was a bit tight.

    Lin Yuan still needed to practice singing.

    The System gave great singing skills to Lin Yuan, but he still needed to practice control to familiarize himself better with his capabilities. Every upgrade from the System had potential for further improvement. This was the part under Lin Yuan''s control¡ª

    He can still get stronger!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Little Dio has so many Alliance Hierarchs, second only to Lord Fantasy Feather. They''ll have to be added in batches. Dio, the eternal goddess!

 Chapter 491 - 467: The Next Song is Settled_1

    The next day.

    Lin Yuan headed to the "Spiderman" crew.

    Upon arriving, a familiar figure came running over:

    "Lin Yuan."

    "Long time no see."

    Lin Yuan smiled.

    The familiar figure in front of him was none other than Jian Yi, whom Lin Yuan had personally appointed to play the main character in "Spiderman".

    Jian Yi.

    Jian Yi was dressed in a very funny outfit, with several dot-like things on his body.

    This is necessary equipment for green screen filming, used to capture Jian Yi''s movements.

    Jian Yi joked, "You insisted on making me the main character, are you trying to take advantage of me?"

    "No."

    Lin Yuan answered seriously.

    Jian Yi: "¡­"

    Your serious answer makes me feel quite embarrassed.

    He looked at the body double standing next to him, enviously saying, "Did you design that costume?"

    "Yes."

    Lin Yuan also looked at the body double.

    The body double was dressed in Spiderman''s tight-fitting suit.

    The battle suit was mainly red and blue, with spider lines and a spider logo on the chest-

    Lin Yuan thought this was the most representative battle suit for Spiderman.

    "It''s so cool, but unfortunately I don''t get to wear it often."

    Most of the time it was worn by the stunt actors, because their movements were more beautiful, which Jian Yi couldn''t achieve by himself.

    In fact, those faceless armors in Marvel are often worn by stunt actors for filming.

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Indeed, very cool. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    In a superhero movie, the first thing that needs to make the audience love is the image.

    Why isn''t the Hulk popular?

    Because the Hulk isn''t handsome enough, with only a body of green muscles.

    Take a look at Spiderman, and Iron Man, and Captain America...

    Never mind Captain America.

    This character is quite special, always carrying a shield with a "Fifty-Fifty" curse.

    With this shield, even Thanos''s damage could be resisted for a while.

    Only when the battle suit is handsome and the character is charming can they complement each other.

    "By the way."

    Jian Yi asked suddenly: "You''ve watched ''The Masked Singer'', right?"

    "Huh?"

    Lin Yuan thought Jian Yi had recognized him, which wasn''t entirely impossible.

    "I want to ask you, who is this Prince of Lanling, he looks a lot like you, but it''s probably not you, but some guy who likes to imitate you."

    "Why?"

    "Because you can''t sing in a female voice."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    The voice is too confusing.

    Jian Yi was gossiping, "She''s not really a girl, is she?"

    Lin Yuan said, "It''s a secret."

    The gender of the Prince of Lanling has always been a hot topic on the internet.

    Both the male and female voices are too natural, and no one can tell which one is falsetto.

    Jian Yi pouted.

    At this moment, the crew called Jian Yi over.

    Jian Yi agreed and hurried over.

    Yi Chenggong, the director, came to Lin Yuan''s side, smiling and saying:

    "He''s quite suitable to play Spiderman, young and energetic, and he''s also humorous."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    He had searched half the movie library before deciding on this movie, thinking that Jian Yi playing this role would not be out of place.

    Lin Yuan didn''t leave the set until the afternoon and then went to the company.

    Entering the office.

    Lin Yuan started to think about the song selection for the next stage.

    Now that his vocal skills have improved, and he has a high pitch as a secret weapon, Lin Yuan has too many songs to choose from.

    However...

    That doesn''t mean Lin Yuan can choose a song at will.

    Just like Lin Yuan was very cautious in the early days of releasing songs.

    In order to avoid being analyzed, he would always deliberately control the frequency.

    Only when he was recognized as Maestro Junior by everyone, could he relatively freely release his work.

    The same is true for singing.

    Lin Yuan couldn''t possibly show off his strongest singing skills in the next stage, otherwise, it would not be amazing but scary.

    It''s easy to get confused.

    He needs to have a trajectory of progress, giving people the feeling that "Prince of Lanling is hiding strength" and is still improving.

    This, to some extent, narrows Lin Yuan''s song choice range.

    However...

    No matter how much you narrow the range, the number of alternative songs now is much higher than the first two terms.

    "So which voice to use..."

    Lin Yuan wrote three words on the paper.

    "Male voice," "female voice," "smoky voice."

    Finally, Lin Yuan encircled the "smoky voice".

    Audiences might lack a sense of freshness after hearing the male and female voices too frequently.

    Although the smoky voice was showcased in the song "Boy," the audience didn''t fully grasp it.

    At the end of the performance, Lin Yuan observed the audience''s reactions...

    He found that, unlike the judges'' shock, many of the audience members looked confused.

    It seemed they couldn''t clearly distinguish between the "male voice" and the "smoky voice."

    Because they are both male voices?

    Perhaps this is another reason why Lin Yuan didn''t score high.

    Lin Yuan must increase the output of the "smoky voice" part, letting the audience experience his third voice more intuitively!

    To highlight this feeling, Lin Yuan even planned to only use the smoky voice in the next stage, not using the other two voices at all.

    "Also..."

    "The song for the next stage must be competitive enough. Audience preference is the hard truth. All the people love it!"

    "System, open the music library."

    Lin Yuan thought for a moment, entered the system music library, and started looking for a song.

    He directly ignored the songs for the female voice.

    In the end, Lin Yuan picked an old song from Earth. He looked nostalgic for a moment, then shook his head:

    There are some little things missing.

    Although this song is indeed excellent, the format of this version is too old. The audience might not enjoy it.

    He continued searching.

    Suddenly, Lin Yuan''s eyes lit up: "Here''s a newly adapted version, the effect is quite good. It can even be considered one of the best cover versions of this song. I''m just wondering whether to keep this section with a little dialect rap..."

    He thought for a few seconds.

    Lin Yuan decided not to keep it.

    The original song, just adjust the music arrangement to have a better live performance feeling.

    So!

    The next song is a new arrangement of an old song from Earth!

    Interestingly, this song has also appeared on a competitive stage!

    Most importantly!

    Lin Yuan really likes the lyrics of this song!

    "Just to amaze the audience, this song is totally sufficient. Although the trace of the smoky voice is light, it feels right. Even if it''s the audience''s first time hearing this song, they''ll absolutely love it. And it doesn''t require an extremely high level of singing skills. It''ll just make people feel that my singing skills seem to have improved."

    Making up his mind.

    Lin Yuan started composing.

    For the next few days, Lin Yuan mostly maintained the frequency of going to the film crew in the morning, composing in the company in the afternoon, and going home for dinner in the evening.

    In the blink of an eye.

    It was Sunday.

    By that day, Lin Yuan''s song had been completed, sent to the program group, and he left work to go home.

    At dinner.

    His older sister, Lin Xuan, excitedly turned on the TV and said, "The second episode of ''The Masked Singer'' is finally broadcasting!"

    "We can listen to the songs now!"

    His mother and younger sister also lit up. Everyone in the family was a loyal audience of ''The Masked Singer''. The program was adored by many people, even those of different age groups.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: This is mainly to test your song storage, lots of info has been given, so you should be able to guess which song it is~

 Chapter 492 - 468 - 2nd Broadcast_1

    The television was broadcasting.

    The start of the show.

    The first highlighted clip was of the Prince of Lanling watching live, followed by the enlarged live shot from Leng Quan for the audience to view together.

    "The Prince of Lanling is not as strong as you all think¡­"

    Leng Quan earnestly analyzed the situation of the Prince of Lanling, and even directly projected the possible ranking for the second episode.

    The screen was filled with comments of approval.

    On the dining table in front of the TV.

    Lin Xuan said, "The Prince of Lanling is so embarrassed, he happened to watch this live broadcast, and it was shown on the program."

    Lin Yuan remained silent.

    After watching the competition, everyone would probably like Leng Quan''s analysis.

    The Great Prophet, always steady!

    After a few other singers'' shots, the formal singing finally started.

    "This substitute singer is freaking awesome!" S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The first singer who appeared on the TV immediately won the affection of Lin Xuan!

    Mom glared, "What are you saying!"

    Lin Xuan quickly corrected herself, "The voice of this substitute singer is full and passionate, filled with love for life and resistance against darkness, like a crane echoing in the valley, like the lonely call of an eagle¡­"

    Lin Yuan listened in bemusement.

    Maybe sister should join the judging panel?

    Big Yaoyao took advantage of Lin Yuan''s inattention and added some vegetables to his plate.

    At this moment.

    The camera cut to the backstage.

    The Prince of Lanling was seriously criticizing a certain singer, "Zhao Ying Ge is too showy, her high pitch and explosive power are her strengths, but in the recent two years..."

    Is he coming back for season two?

    Lin Xuan was surprised, "The Prince of Lanling dared to say that!"

    The mother commented from the side, "I think this boy looks pretty honest, he looks friendly."

    "Honest?"

    Lin Xuan laughed, "Mom, don''t you remember how the Prince of Lanling criticized Yuan Xi''s singing in the last season, and how he offended the white swan? Considering the white swan''s proud temperament, I wonder how it would react upon liking the Prince of Lanling! How can you find him friendly when he''s wearing a mask?"

    As the discussion was going on, the vagrant took the stage.

    However, while the vagrant was singing, everyone was engrossed in their food.

    Meanwhile, Lin Yuan, gazing at an extra piece of vegetable in his bowl, was lost in thought...

    Weren''t there only two just now?

    Why does there seem to be an extra one?

    Without batting an eye, he discarded the vegetable under his foot.

    Antarctica caught it tidily with its mouth, the practiced movement was somewhat heart wrenching.

    The third singer was the White Swan.

    Big Yaoyao suddenly observed, "The White Swan''s singing is still as good."

    Lin Yao had a fondness for the White Swan.

    Lin Xuan shook her head, "The song is good, but compared to her rendition of ''The Big Fish'' in the last episode, this didn''t offer much variation."

    Lin Yuan retorted, "It is better than the last issue. Her mid-song transitions are incredibly difficult."

    Lin Xuan scoffed:"But we can''t discern that."

    Lin Yuan thought that made sense.

    The audience''s preference was the hard truth.

    Sure enough.

    Once the robot took the stage, a singular hand on the piano, and another playing a fast rhythm melody, the catchy singing style paired with an intense arrangement, that could stimulate people''s emotions robustly, immediately pleased Lin Xuan!

    "What a cool song this is, and the piano play hits hard!"

    Mom also nodded seriously, "The song is indeed good."

    This was a classic song by Blue Star, which the robot had remixed, making it more exciting than the original.

    And then came Piggy Qiqi¡­

    She made a mistake! Even Lin Xuan noticed that Piggy Qiqi''s performance had a problem.

    Lin Yao said, "It''s a pity for Lu Yumeng."

    Lin Yuan was surprised, "You knew she was Lu Yumeng?"

    Lin Yao replied, "When someone guessed that it was Lu Yumeng in the last episode, Piggy Qiqi clenched her fists, though the camera was far, I noticed. It was a subconscious reaction due to her nervousness. When she said the name Lu Yumeng, her tone was different. Though the voice was processed, you can still discern a bit. How we say our own names is different from saying other people''s names."

    Lin Yuan took another look at his little sister in surprise.

    Let me introduce to the readers, this is Madame Lin Yao Poirot!

    Finally.

    The Prince of Lanling''s performance.

    Lin Xuan happily said, "Leng Quan predicted that the Prince of Lanling will rank third or fourth, we shall wait and see."

    The Prince of Lanling was performing "Boy".

    Seeing himself on TV, Lin Yuan felt quite peculiar.

    Last time, he watched it on the computer in high-speed mode, and even skipped his own part, mainly to see the audience''s reaction.

    "The Prince of Lanling can also play the piano. He plays pretty well."

    Incredibly, Lin Xuan, who admittedly knows little about music, recognized the skill in the Prince of Lanling''s piano playing:

    "The song is average, the singing also."

    Yao Yao disagreed, "I think it sounds all right."

    Mom agreed, "These young people nowadays do not understand rock. This is how rock songs should be sung. And this song is not particularly rock, the Prince of Lanling handled it well."

    Lin Yuan sighed, Mom is always understanding.

    Lin Xuan was shocked, "You understand rock music?"

    Mom replied indignant, "Your mother was once a music teacher, known as the ''Rock Sister of Yongning Village Hope Primary School''!"

    Lin Xuan expressed solemn respect!

    A master was by my side!

    They almost forgot that mom was the one who cultivated musical geniuses like Blue Star Maestro Junior, Xian Yu!

    On TV.

    The host asked who wrote the Prince of Lanling''s song.

    The Prince of Lanling answered, "It''s Xian Yu''s new song, ''Boy''."

    Lin Xuan: "..."

    Lin Yao: "..."

    Lin Xuan muttered, "Well, this song does have a unique taste in retrospect. Yao Yao, how could you call it average? You lack taste."

    Lin Yao was dumbfounded.

    Weren''t those your words?

    Lin Xuan slapped Lin Yao on the shoulder, "The song is really good. It''s not your fault, it must be the Prince of Lanling''s poor performance. I''m going to wash the dishes."

    With that, she fled in a panic.

    It was too much to criticize a song in front of its composer, even if he was her brother. But, what if her brother stopped giving her pocket money?

    Lin Yuan ignored his sister''s panic. It was great to hear the comments from ordinary viewers.

    At last.

    The program announced the rankings.

    While washing dishes, Lin Xuan called out, "What place did the Prince of Lanling get?"

    Her sister replied, "Third... But the White Swan did not criticize the Prince of Lanling, he even said the Prince of Lanling performed the best!"

    Lin Xuan laughed out loud, "Well, the program did broadcast Leng Quan''s opening prediction. I thought there would be a twist. So, the Prince of Lanling''s ranking was actually predicted accurately by Leng Quan?"

    Her sister replied: "But he predicted the White Swan''s rank wrong."

    Lin Xuan: "It doesn''t matter. Predictions are always half-right, half-wrong. Otherwise, let me make a prediction, next round the Prince of Lanling is fifth ¨C unless he sings my little brother''s song, then he''s first for sure!"

    "I''m serious."

    Lin Yao mused, "I feel he should still be in fourth place, or maybe remain in third if he sings an excellent song from Brother? The White Swan is bound to change in the next round, and the Robot is so strong. The King of Singing should easily take the first two spots. Pufferfish has only had one performance, she''s a huge variable."

    Mom shook her head, "If the song is good, coupled with his magical voice, he may even make it to the top three... "

    Mom seemed to like the Prince of Lanling quite a lot.

    "First."

    Lin Yuan said solemnly.

    The family all turned to look at him.

    Lin Yuan did not explain further and went upstairs.

    At this time.

    With the airing of the show.

    Various topics about the performances of the second episode of "The Masked Singer" once again dominated the trending list on the internet!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Someone has already guessed the song for the next episode~ The double update period is in these few days, please continue to vote vigorously!

 Chapter 493 - 469: Leng Quans Second Prophecy_1

    "The Swan Piano was at a disadvantage."

    "A serious robot is indeed terrifying. This is the power of the King of Singing, huh, I''m impressed."

    "It turns out Piggy Qiqi is Lu Yumeng. It''s a pity she made some mistakes in her performance or else she wouldn''t have been eliminated. It seems like all the singers like to say ''Bracing the Chill'' after revealing their identities now, haha, that''s so interesting."

    "Ding Qin, the wanderer...the biggest surprise reveal tonight. It''s been a long time since we''ve heard from this first-tier veteran singer. Is it a sign of his comeback?"

    "To be fair, Swan''s ranking is too low."

    "Most surprisingly, the substitute singer Pufferfish turned out to be so strong. He just came to stir things up!"

    "That clear soprano voice was so pleasant to hear!"

    "..."

    Netizens are all discussing.

    And the name that came up the most was none other than Prince of Lanling!

    This bears some similarity to the situation after the first episode aired. This mysterious singer, Prince of Lanling, seems to generate a lot of buzz.

    But Prince of Lanling won the first place last time!

    This episode, he''s dropped to the third place!

    "Prince of Lanling''s performance this time was pretty average."

    "The analysis by the internet GOATs was indeed correct. Prince of Lanling can only alternate between male and female falsettos. Beyond that, he''s not as extraordinary as everyone praised him to be in the first episode. I suspect Prince of Lanling will be eliminated in a few more episodes."

    "The judge said that Prince of Lanling also incorporated a third voice, apparently a husky voice, but it didn''t wow me as much as his male and female voices."

    "Actually, Prince of Lanling''s piano playing was impressive. I''m a piano student myself, and this was definitely GOAT-level. Even though his singing was indeed average, among my friends, only one person liked his song."

    "So what if he is good at playing the piano? This is ''The Masked Singer'', not a piano competition. What''s more, if it weren''t for the piano and the appearance of the third voice, the third spot would have belonged to the Swan."

    "Swan seems to be taking it in stride, not taking a jab at Prince of Lanling. Prince of Lanling scored this round entirely based on the judge''s votes. I suppose we ordinary folks just don''t appreciate his style."

    "Even though it''s a song written by Teacher Admirable Fish, it''s one of the few songs from him that I find mediocre."

    "Teacher Admirable Fish has been really good to Prince of Lanling, writing new songs for him for two episodes in a row. I hope when Prince of Lanling gets eliminated, Teacher Admirable Fish can also write songs for other singers!"

    "..."

    Most netizens expressed indifference towards Admirable Fish''s song this time, feeling it was far less spectacular than his previous songs. Many even felt that Prince of Lanling should have been ranked fourth and Swan deserved the third spot.

    In addition...

    The comments Prince of Lanling made about Zhao Ying Ge in the show have once again sparked controversy, especially among Zhao Ying Ge''s fans who can''t help grinding their teeth in frustration whenever Prince of Lanling is mentioned:

    "I''m so mad after watching the show, how dare Prince of Lanling say such things with his rotten mouth!"

    "Just in the last episode, he criticized Yuan Xi for singing the same songs, and this time he said Zhao Ying Ge only relies on high notes when singing, which is really excessive. If Pufferfish is indeed Zhao Ying Ge, then surely she would be really annoyed with Prince of Lanling after watching this episode!"

    "I''ve said it since the first episode, Prince of Lanling is pretentious. He seems quiet and reticent, but he''s just acting aloof. And yet people praise Prince of Lanling for being genuine."

    "The show''s producers show a lot of footage of Prince of Lanling, he must have some strong backing."

    "No matter how strong his backing is, it won''t be enough to cover for all the people he''s offended in the music industry!"

    "Knowing he won''t last long, he''s just trying to stir up controversy and draw attention to himself before he gets eliminated."

    "What has our Ying Ge done to provoke him? Is he asking for a scolding?"

    "Pufferfish is ranked higher than him, isn''t he ashamed? Moreover, he criticizes singers for relying on high notes and explosive singing. If he''s not convinced, why doesn''t he belt out a high note? Can he even reach it?"

    "Wait till he reveals his identity, I want to see how he faces Zhao Ying Ge and Yuan Xi''s fans!"

    "..."

    Not only Zhao Ying Ge''s fans...

    Yuan Xi''s fans are also fiercely leading the anti-Lanling Prince narrative online.

    This time is different from the previous issue. Prince of Lanling won the first place in the last episode, leaving Yuan Xi''s fans without much to attack.

    Prince of Lanling was ranked third!

    Moreover, most people have already analyzed Prince of Lanling''s capabilities.

    Unlike the Swan, even though she only got fourth place, everyone knows that the Swan did not show her real strength!

    Therefore, Prince of Lanling is not the King of Singing, nor the Queen of Singing.

    He only survives in the show thanks to his unique ability to switch between male and female voices!

    In such a situation, how could Yuan Xi''s fans not seize the opportunity and vent their frustration from the last time?

    On a certain music forum...

    Many of Yuan Xi''s fans started posting, their tone filled with smugness:

    "Prince of Lanling has pretty much shown all his cards this time, using his piano skills and even showcasing a third voice, but he only got third place and that too from the judges'' votes. The audience is already familiar with his tricks."

    "The so-called third voice was just to make up the numbers, right? It was far inferior to his other two voices." sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "I''ll admit his piano skills aren''t that bad, but the key point of this show is singing!"

    "So this is it? Prince of Lanling should just leave, not even Admirable Fish can save you!"

    "Hahaha, not even Admirable Fish can save him, it''s hilarious. I wonder what tricks Prince of Lanling has up his sleeve to get a big shot like Admirable Fish to help him twice."

    "..."

    Yuan Xi''s fans dared to attack Prince of Lanling, as did Zhao Ying Ge''s fans.

    But when it came to Admirable Fish, both sides were very restrained.

    Especially Zhao Ying Ge''s fans, they absolutely wouldn''t dare to complain about Admirable Fish.

    Who doesn''t know that Zhao Ying Ge''s breakout hit ''Easy to Ignite and Explode'' was penned by Admirable Fish?

    "Fish Papa, please stop protecting Prince of Lanling and collaborate with our Zhao Ying Ge," pleaded Zhao Ying Ge''s fans. "She won''t disappoint you, we promise. She did quite well in the song ''Easy to Ignite and Explode'', didn''t she?"

    These comments were specifically left in Xian Yu''s tribe''s comment section by the fans of Zhao Ying Ge.

    Right after that,

    the fans of Yuan Xi also joined in, leaving similar comments.

    "Fish Papa could also collaborate with Yuan Xi. You must know, she is the queen of song!"

    Zhao Ying Ge''s fans were not happy.

    Are they trying to muscle in on our territory?

    Has Fish Papa ever collaborated with your song queen?

    Fish Papa wrote a song for our Miss Zhao Ying Ge!

    They are not even in the same league!

    In conclusion, although Zhao Ying Ge''s fans and Yuan Xi''s fans may both dislike Prince of Lanling''s criticism, they have no intention of uniting, and they simply do not see eye to eye.

    Besides,

    Leng Quan''s ranking prediction at the beginning of the show sparked a lot of discussions.

    Many folks are joking, saying that Leng Quan is indeed the Great Prophet!

    He predicted Prince of Lanling''s ranking just right!

    Thanks to the show''s live clip of Leng Quan, a topic named #TheHumanGreatProphetLengQuan# even went viral!

    In a short amount of time, the attention towards Leng Quan surged!

    At this moment,

    Leng Quan, seizing the opportunity of his rising popularity, started another live stream!

    This time, the number of viewers for Leng Quan''s live stream shot up exponentially!

    The stream had hardly begun when the barrage of comments exploded!

    The whole screen was flooding with comments on the Prophet joke!

    Leng Quan was beside himself with pride, but he remained modest on the outside:

    "I got the prophecy concerning Prince of Lanling right, but honestly, I didn''t expect Swan to be fourth. My prediction was for Swan to be first or second."

    "However¡­"

    Leng Quan looked into the camera and suddenly let out a grin: "My conclusion about Prince of Lanling remains unchanged. He has serious problems and I believe many would understand after watching the second episode. He''s okay with the male and female voices. But the third voice seems forced."

    "It''s all trickery."

    "Singers should focus on their singing abilities. He spends his time figuring out how many voices he can produce, leading him astray. If he had used his energy on singing, he might not have found it so tough what with him playing the piano and showing off his third voice."

    "Oh?"

    "I often see comments saying Prince of Lanling sings well, which I admit is okay. But more than that, it''s the novelty of the male and female voices that has left an impression. That''s why I''ve been emphasising that the false voice can only give him an advantage in the early stages. Once everyone is used to his tricks, they would lose their shock value."

    "Here, let me make a prediction for episode three!"

    "First and second place should go to the King and Queen of Singing. Unless Pufferfish''s high voice gets even better in the next episode and she doesn''t make it to the top two. As a lover of high voices, I think she has a higher voice up her sleeve, but she''s not going to reveal it just yet. So she could bag the third place."

    "As for Prince of Lanling, fourth at most."

    "What I''m saying is, that''s the highest Prince of Lanling could get. Because nobody can predict how good the substitutes will be, it''s hard to tell. If the two substitutes are as good as Pufferfish, then Prince of Lanling might be heading for a fall in episode three."

    Shaking his head, Leng Quan seemed to regret,

    "Prince of Lanling has been praised too highly, which isn''t good for him. He was too full of himself when he assessed the other singers in the second episode."

    "There''s a comment asking if I''m going to interact with Prince of Lanling in the next episode. If the production crew gives me a chance, of course I can... I also saw comments that I was too harsh on Prince of Lanling. Well, I don''t have any ill will towards Prince of Lanling. We simply address the issue as it is.

    If Prince of Lanling can give me a slap, I''ll eat my words in front of a national audience... yes, I''ll bow and apologize to Prince of Lanling on the spot!"

    "But obviously, that''s impossible."

    Leng Quan shrugged: "Also, Prince of Lanling''s attention-grabbing tactic is too crude. Last time he piggybacked on Teacher Yuan Xi, but this time he''s even blackening Zhao Ying Ge. If Zhao Ying Ge has a high note and explosive power, why shouldn''t she rely on it? I hope Prince of Lanling can talk less, and not say anything shocking every time he reviews another singer.

    Singers should focus on singing and not seek attention."

    The live stream lasted for an hour.

    Leng Quan only discussed the topic of "The Masked Singer," deliberately ignoring comments accusing him of seeking attention, as well as a small minority accusing him of double standards.

    Of course, it''s double standards. Of course, it''s attracting attention.

    Otherwise, where would the views come from?

    Moreover, criticising Prince of Lanling has become the trend now, and he''s not the only one doing it. Especially after the second episode, he avoided mentioning that Prince of Lanling is highly skilled in playing the piano, even though he was aware of it.

    His conversations were all centered on Prince of Lanling.

    Because Prince of Lanling is the current hot topic in the comments.

    However, Leng Quan kept his composure, trying hard to feign an objective and straightforward attitude. He knew that netizens enjoy this kind of thing. If he had started by belittling Prince of Lanling, it wouldn''t have been fun at all.

    At the end of the live broadcast,

    the recording of this session started to circulate on the web, setting off another wave of discussion...

    From the astonishing first appearance on the first episode to the increasing voices of criticism now.

    The public opinion of Prince of Lanling has taken a complete turn!

    Some people have even begun to discuss the possibility of Prince of Lanling being eliminated in the next episode...

    Naturally,

    there are still some voices supporting Prince of Lanling, but these are quickly drowned out by a greater number of voices singing his downfall...

    ------------

    ps: Thanks to [Dream Flutters] for becoming the 40th Alliance Hierarch of this book!

 Chapter 494 - 470: Bombing (Added more updates for Separation Fate)_1

    "Whether dictated by predictions or pessimism, everything still comes down to the competition itself in the end.

    The next day.

    Lin Yuan sat in Lil Goodoong''s car, heading to the music center to prepare for the third recording of ''The Masked Singer''.

    During the drive.

    Lil Goodoong was quite indignant: "Those people went too far, Mr. Lin shouldn''t be upset for them."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    The one who was really upset was Lil Goodoong.

    Lin Yuan himself didn''t feel much.

    Of course, Lin Yuan would read the comments online, and he even liked many of them as a guest, some of the evaluations were very objective.

    Yes.

    If his singing skills don''t improve, he wouldn''t last long in the competition, no matter how many trump cards he has, they can''t cover up the deficiency in his singing skills.

    But some comments are not fair!

    Like what Leng Quan said on his live broadcast, Lin Yuan doesn''t believe that with his professionalism, he couldn''t tell anything about the third episode, he doesn''t understand why he chose to play dumb.

    While Lin Yuan isn''t that good, he isn''t that bad either. Even without the skill book from the Gold Treasure Chest to enhance his vocal skills, Lin Yuan was confident he wouldn''t be eliminated in the third round.

    Also, not all powerful songs require extremely high singing skills. A second-rate singing skill is enough to deliver.

    For example...

    And sometimes when singing, emotion may be even more important than singing skills. What''s the difference between that and a singing machine, if you only have singing skills?

    In any case, Lin Yuan has decided!

    This episode today, he''s going to completely reverse some people''s impressions of his performances in the previous two episodes!

    With that in mind.

    The car arrived at the production team.

    When Lin Yuan got out of the car wearing his mask, there was a sudden burst of cheers, far louder than the previous episode. Even the security guards nearby were startled!

    "Prince of Lanling!"

    "Prince of Lanling, keep going!"

    "Prince of Lanling, I will always support you, I only support you today!"

    "Prince of Lanling, you''re great!"

    "I love you, Prince of Lanling!"

    "Don''t listen to the internet, just sing your song well, ''Boy'' is great. I''ve downloaded it to show my support!"

    "Prince of Lanling, I argued with someone over you all night!"

    "I came from Sun City to support you!"

    "..."

    Lin Yuan paused slightly.

    He looked at the faces in the crowd, and suddenly had a strange feeling that he''d never had before.

    If it weren''t for the comments on the internet, Lin Yuan would almost doubt if he''d taken the first place in the previous competition and as a result got so much support right now.

    ''It seems like I''ve overlooked something.'' S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The thought suddenly popped into Lin Yuan''s mind.

    Last night.

    When he read the comments online, he surely didn''t get angry, he even liked some of the comments...

    It was quite calm!

    Rational!

    Cool-headed!

    But at this moment, listening to the cheering voices, he suddenly felt an indescribable emotion forming and rising in his chest.

    It''s not clear, not expressible.

    A lot of words are stuck in his chest.

    Seeing the indifferent, passionate, plain, or smiling faces in the crowd, he finally knew what he had overlooked.

    He suddenly remembered...

    Last night, when many people were talking down his singing, there were actually a few faint voices arguing.

    He suddenly remembered...

    Last night, after Leng Quan ended his live stream, someone had left a comment under ''Boy'':

    "Keep singing, and I will keep listening - no matter where you sing."

    He suddenly remembered...

    Last night, on the music forum, someone was repeatedly sharing ''Boy'', trying to tell more people that the song is worth listening to repeatedly.

    Although such efforts seemed a little futile and even a bit ridiculous.

    And the responses were not very pleasant.

    The poster still stubbornly argued his point.

    Back then, Lin Yuan just felt relieved, as there were still people who could appreciate his sincerity, and that was enough.

    But just that was all.

    But now, when he thought back on these seemingly powerless words of support, they seemed to feel completely different.

    So, there are things that I completely didn''t care about, but some people care so much...

    So, it''s not that I wasn''t upset, but others were upset for me...

    So, I am so important to some people...

    "Teacher Prince of Lanling."

    Tongtong came up to him, puzzled, "Why aren''t you going in?"

    Lin Yuan didn''t say a word, but turned around and bowed to the crowd.

    What is singing?

    Is it because I want to sing, so I sing?

    But when this love can be felt by some people, am I still fighting alone?

    At this moment, it seemed as though the sun was suddenly shining brilliantly.

    His silhouette disappeared from the sight of the crowd.

    ...

    Lin Yuan walked ahead in silence.

    Tongtong looked at Prince of Lanling, her eyes filled with worry.

    She felt that he seemed colder today than the previous two rounds, and she had a vague feeling that he was like a flame gradually burning.

    This felt like a contradiction.

    She bit her lip.

    She didn''t know how to comfort him.

    It seemed that Prince of Lanling was indeed affected by some of the voices on the internet.

    Rehearsal...

    Waiting...

    In the end, the Prince of Lanling didn''t say a word from beginning to end, it was eerily silent.

    Then came the drawing of lots.

    Prince of Lanling remained silent, just shaking his head.

    Tongtong understood his meaning, reached into the box and pulled out a ball.

    "Prince of Lanling..."

    Tongtong bitterly smiled as she revealed the order of performance in her hand.

    The No.1 ball!

    Today, Prince of Lanling was starting the show!

    Prince of Lanling nodded, leaning against the sofa, his emotions accumulating and gradually surging.

    And in Tongtong''s eyes, worry was intensifying.

    Starting!

    He had drawn the first performance slot!

    Despite carrying immense pressure, he had to be the first one on stage, facing the audience''s varied emotions. Seeing him, the audience would most likely think of those online comments; they might even gossip while listening to his song¡­

    This order was terrible.

    Actually, whether Prince of Lanling won or lost had nothing to do with Tongtong.

    If Prince of Lanling were eliminated, new singers would appear.

    Tongtong would still stay on stage as an assistant manager, accompanying new singers.

    But honestly¡ª

    Tongtong liked being with Prince of Lanling.

    Although Prince of Lanling was somewhat casual in his speech, in her heart, Tongtong felt that what he said was reasonable.

    Online, people said Prince of Lanling''s sharp tongue was for gaining attention.

    However, Tongtong didn''t feel a trace of malice from Prince of Lanling.

    When Prince of Lanling spoke about Yuan Xi, the expression hidden beneath his disguise was likely one of regret.

    When he gave his opinion on Zhao Ying Ge, the expression hidden beneath his disguise was likely one of helplessness.

    Would Prince of Lanling be eliminated today?

    Tongtong wasn''t sure, but she had faintly heard some noise.

    The performance of the replacement singer during rehearsal was excellent...

    On TV.

    The stage curtain had been lifted.

    The host was controlling the scene.

    At the same time.

    The loudspeaker sounded a notification: "The first singer Prince of Lanling, please get ready."

    It''s time to start...

    The emotion on Lin Yuan''s face was hidden under the mask. He stood up strongly and walked towards the stage with Tongtong.

    "Prince of Lanling..."

    Tongtong looked at Lin Yuan, her worried gaze deepening.

    "Don''t worry."

    Lin Yuan spoke, his voice hinting a trace of laughter.

    Tongtong was startled. This was the first thing Prince of Lanling has said to her today, and it was the first time she heard such a straightforward expression of his emotions. Is he comforting me? Shouldn''t I be the one comforting him?

    At this moment.

    Lin Yuan had walked to the center of the stage, and no one could see that the smile under his mask had completely disappeared!

    Under the stage.

    The audience''s gaze, along with countless lights, were all focused on him, accompanied by various voices.

    "The first one is Prince of Lanling?"

    "It''s going to be a duet, right?"

    "Sounds pretty good."

    "It just feels a bit dull after listening to it too many times."

    "It''s always the same."

    "This guy really knows how to get attention."

    "Don''t say that, I really like him."

    "Me too, I think his words make sense, it''s just that some people don''t want to hear because of his different status."

    "I''ll still support him even if he gets eliminated."

    "You guys only like him because he did well in his first episode."

    "..."

    At the judges'' front row, the camera captures Leng Quan''s face. As expected, he was one of the judges for the third episode.

    Leng Quan even smiled at the camera.

    However, the expressions of the four judges were somewhat serious, and their eyes seemed to hold some hidden worries.

    In the seats for the 500 audience members, there were all sorts of human reactions.

    Suddenly.

    The heavy sound of drums began to play and the stage lights turned into a phantom blue. The dazzling display on stage seemed to hide a deadly intent!

    Boom!

    Boom!

    Boom!

    In front of the big drum, the drummer was furiously swinging his mallets, the rhythm being heavy and powerful.

    Then there was a brief pause in the sound of the drums.

    The sound of the pipa came through!

    In the center of the stage.

    Lin Yuan''s hand, which was holding the raised microphone, suddenly tightened. In the close-up given by the camera, even his knuckles were turning pale!

    At the same time.

    His voice roared like a cannonball, resulting in a loud explosion!

    "The boundless sea laughs!"

    "Coast to coast, tides surge!"

    "Drifting with the waves, mark this moment!"

    As if some force was gripping the back of their necks, everyone''s scalp went numb and goosebumps appeared!

    Like a quick camera pan.

    The scenes from the doorway and the previous night flashed through Lin Yuan''s mind.

    His hoarse and heroic voice was amplified to mimic a firework''s energetic burst. His emotions, which had been simmering unknowingly, finally exploded¡ª

    "Heaven laughs!"

    "Worldly tides surge!"

    "Who wins or loses, Only the heavens know!"

    The beat of the drums stirred everyone''s hearts, the strum of the pipa struck everyone''s nerves, and the singing resounded in everyone''s eardrums.

    Let the dragons roar and the tigers howl-

    In the silent place, heard the startling thunder!!!

 Chapter 495 - 471: Explosion (Additional update for Alliance Hierarch Rabbit 2)_1

    No one could keep a straight face, not even the members of the audience who, just moments before, had spoken disparagingly about the Prince of Lanling. At this moment, they could only hastily shut their mouths, which they had reflexively started to open in response to their rapidly pounding hearts!

    Gallant!

    Unrestrained!

    Wild!

    Lin Yuan held the microphone in both hands, the screen behind the stage lighting up. A strong wind swept across the desolate land, as heavy strokes of ink color spread across. The ripple of lake water transitioned from a tiny ripple to an ultimate tide¡ª¡ª

    "A single laugh from the vast sea!"

    "Tides surge on both shores!"

    "Floating or sinking, the wave narrates today!"

    Waves crash against the shore, telling a tale of whelming waves. The succinct lyrics filled with power, Lin Yuan''s chest vibrates as if in resonance with the drumbeat and the sound of pipa, his voice filled with a sort of magic power swaying the audience''s heart!

    The audience watched, stunned!

    What kind of song is this, so explosive, even though the lyrics are so simple, and even the accompaniment is so plain. It inexplicably induces a desire to shout along!

    In the line of sight.

    The jury is here!

    Someone has already stood up!

    Is this still the Prince of Lanling who only ever says a few words? Is this still the Prince of Lanling who enjoys singing ballads and changing his voice back-and-forth?

    A single laugh from the vast sea!

    When the traditional pipa and large drum paired with Prince Lanling''s voice, even though he was not screaming, goosebumps covered everyone in the audience. All they could feel was a buzzing in their heads, as if they could really hear the laughter from the vast sea!

    Stunned!

    Everyone is stunned!

    Someone is shouting!

    Someone is screaming!

    All emotions, like a lone boat on the sea being driven to the tip of the wave by rapids, some people didn''t even know what they were doing at the moment, just shouting unconsciously, for this incredibly stunning performance...

    It''s like a Jianghu atmosphere!

    Just like white waves, one after the other, endless, filled with flickers of knives and shadows of swords, lives and grudges. After all the worldly troubles, only a charming smile remains!

    However.

    In such a song, none of the noise from under the stage could cover the sound of the drums, the singing, or the extensive Jianghu atmosphere conveyed by the song!

    The judges'' seat.

    Mao Xuewang has already opened his eyes wide; Liu Xu is also shockingly gaping; Wu Long''s hands are once again covering his head; amidst the mixture of music and singing, Yang Zhongming''s expression has turned from serious to shocked.

    Emotions are linked.

    The camera captures faces full of touching and excitement, and in the current rest room, the singers'' reactions are extremely consistent!

    ...

    "It''s exploding! Awesome! Prince of Lanling is awesome, isn''t he? "

    Robot exclaimed excitedly, slapping his big legs hard.

    In the television on the wall, the song went on in waves. Prince of Lanling seemed to be the chaser of light, yet it also seemed that the light was chasing him!

    ...

    "It''s so horrifying!"

    The Swan''s breathing is hurried for the first time.

    Even though the robot performed so well in the last round, she remained calm.

    But this time, she can''t hold it anymore.

    Not only is the song good, but the singing is also very good!

    So brilliant!

    So explosive! S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    She almost doubted if there''s a different person under Prince Lanling''s mask!

    ...

    Pufferfish is already speechless.

    She''s just staring hard at the figure on the screen, feeling a sudden surge of relief:

    Thank God I''m not the second to go on stage!

    The second draw today...

    It''s simply the key to the door of death!

    ...

    And in the room on the far left of the rest area.

    A substitute singer who happened to draw the second number is already shattered.

    He appears to be a male singer, wearing a lion mask on his head. But at this moment, the lion mask seemed to have lost all its aggression.

    He looks almost desperate at the screen:

    "What the hell is there to compete for!"

    Is the rumored "The Masked Singer" this insane?

    I quit!

    Whoever wants to compete, let them compete!

    I quit, okay?!

    "If your program team doesn''t want me to win, just say it. Do you really need to torture me with such horrifying stuff?"

    Imagine...

    Even if this line isn''t cut when broadcast, some words will probably be muted.

    This situation... I can''t go on, otherwise, I''m doomed!

    King of Singing? Queen of Singing?

    If I call them now, would they dare answer?

    ...

    Next door...

    There''s a stand-in singer.

    This stand-in singer, wearing a rose headgear, doesn''t speak, but his heart is in tumult¡ª

    Is this the opening act?

    This is damn sabotage, right?

    Hell, having the King and Queen of Singing behind us is insane enough!

    And now you''re telling me that the Prince of Lanling, who was assumed to be eliminated this week by an internet poll, is actually a hidden boss?

    Eliminate Prince of Lanling in the third round?

    Show me if you dare!

    ...

    Nobody expected that from the first line of his song, the Prince of Lanling started in full attack mode!

    And it only got more intense from there!

    Lin Yuan suddenly picked up the microphone, turned his back, his left hand raised above his head, pointing to the pale ceiling. His demeanor was unlike anything he had shown before while simultaneously, his voice amped up:

    "The empire laughs!"

    "Near mist and rain so far!"

    "Great waves wash away worldliness, how much do we truly know!"

    The audience''s reaction didn''t impact Lin Yuan''s performance in the least. He seemed to be singing this song for himself, for the audience or maybe for the lovable bunch that foolishly stood by his side:

    "The breeze laughs!"

    "Indeed it triggers loneliness!"

    "Left with a chest full of pride in the evening!"

    I''m not that remarkable, but I want to live up to your love, and to your relentless defense of me...

    Did you hear this song?

    You will hear it!

    The last line of the song, Lin Yuan''s voice, drags on without any deliberate vibrato. It''s all very natural, very piercing:

    "Still clinging on to pride, laughing foolishly¡­"

    Lin Yuan finished singing.

    But the music still hadn''t ended.

    The drums, the pipa, and the guzheng take turns on stage.

    Originally in this round, there was also consideration of whether to try rapping.

    But he tried a few times during rehearsal and ultimately decided not to.

    Can''t rap because the rap in this song requires anger, but Lin Yuan is not angry, he''s just filled with countless complex emotions boiling inside him.

    He needs to find calm within the tumult.

    The end of this song is liberation and enlightenment.

    Lin Yuan found his own calmness.

    This calmness is called "guarding".

    Last night, during the broadcast of the second round, the image of the "Prince of Lanling" couldn''t find peace amidst the noise. Yet someone guarded him.

    It was naive, yet brave.

    This round, it was his turn to guard others.

    It was an apology, but also a belated repayment.

    Want to argue with people?

    Take this song.

    Want to argue with people online?

    Take this song.

    Predicting rankings?

    Take this song.

    If I chose this song, then the final interpretation is up to you. The inevitable silence following the cheers is a destined solitude. Hence, the me today and the me to come choose to accompany you to the very end!

    The music gradually waned.

    Lin Yuan bowed to the stage, but occasionally raised his eyes, as if seeing through the music hall to the figures still fighting relentlessly.

    Who will win, who will lose? Heaven only knows?

    Well, this time, I am Heaven!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thank you to the supporter Rabbit Two_lsp in the alliance, haha, very fun, very active big fan.

 Chapter 496 - 472: A Laughter Across the Sea_1

    The song ended. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The music ended.

    The venue was eerily silent!

    All eyes of the audience were trained on the figure on the stage, but the emotions in their eyes were vastly different from when Prince of Lanling first took the stage.

    Finally...

    Whoooosh!

    The sound of applause rang out!

    From those in the audience who couldn''t help but stand up halfway through the song, the applause he received was overhead!

    Who knows how long it lasted.

    The applause eventually stopped.

    Host Anhong patted his chest and laughed, "If you keep clapping like this, I won''t dare to go on stage. After all, all the cheering and applause belong to our Prince of Lanling!"

    "Prince of Lanling is awesome!"

    An almost broken voice screamed from the audience.

    Anhong couldn''t help but laugh.

    The audience erupted into laughter.

    Meanwhile, the audience finally got a chance to calm their emotions a bit while the host was handling the stage, quickly discussing with each other--

    "That was amazing!"

    "Full firepower!"

    "I must apologize to the guy earlier, I shouldn''t have said that all Prince of Lanling can do is switch between male and female voices. This performance was too damn explosive. Let me show you a live demonstration of turning from a hater to a fan!"

    "It was indeed explosive!"

    "When the first line of the lyrics came out, I got goosebumps. For the first time, I felt that the power of the human voice could match the beat of the drums so perfectly, and the occasional pipa really hit me hard!"

    "That was a guzheng."

    "Who cares what it was, anyway, I absolutely love this song. I used to love watching martial arts dramas, and this song really showed me the spirit of a warrior, with both assertiveness and subtlety."

    "... ..."

    Voices of the audience were reverberating, but when the host called the judges, the audience immediately stopped their discussion. They wanted to hear what the professional big shots would say about Prince of Lanling''s performance.

    "Breathing life into the landscape!"

    The first judge to speak was Mao Xuewang, who used an idiom to describe it: "I heard a strong taste of the martial arts world in this song. I''d even say that this song encompasses the entirety of the martial arts. You have chosen to hold back with a smoky and husky voice for this song, it fits perfectly for mine and everyone''s brain waves.

    I can''t tell if you were holding back before or if this is a recent transformation. Your singing performance tonight was very solid, there are virtually no flaws to pick!"

    "I feel the same."

    The one beside spoke up, Liu Xu.

    Laughter filled the scene, and someone even murmured "me too", but Liu Xu wouldn''t be slack:

    "Your smoky vocal is too good."

    She said seriously: "A very masculine song. I am now more inclined to believe that you are a male singer, even though you have mastered using female voices. But I don''t believe a girl could have such a captivating husky male voice. This song and the last two songs you performed are completely different. Either you were hiding your real strength before, or you have made tremendous progress.

    It is really incredible to achieve this in a week!"

    "It was well sung!"

    Wu Long on the side couldn''t wait: "I am now sweating for the next singer to perform. Your husky voice is the most neglected by everyone, but from today''s performance your husky voice is actually your strongest weapon. Moreover, as Liu Xu said, your progress is obvious. If it''s not progress, maybe you hid yourself before, this is your true strength!"

    "This performance was perfect."

    This time the one who spoke was Yang Zhongming.

    He smiled and said: "I like the term ''great music is simple'', or the greater truth is the simpler. You abandon the flashy composition technique, discard the complicated arrangement procedure, and express your emotions with the most primitive passion. This is a sophisticated creative technique. Xian Yu didn''t slack off this time in lyric writing.

    Although the composition seemed lazy, it is actually the level of a master. Your singing also beautifully conveyed the emotions in the song. I know you were under pressure for this competition and want to address all those who''ve been freely commenting about you. You all have made a mistake."

    "What mistake?"

    The host knew how to play along.

    Yang Zhongming laughed: "You greatly underestimated how terrifying Xian Yu... cough, I mean you all greatly underestimated Prince of Lanling''s abilities from the very start of the first round."

    Lin Yuan was stunned.

    He felt something was off.

    If it hadn''t been for that seemingly natural, yet jarring cough, Lin Yuan wouldn''t have noticed anything amiss. But now, Lin Yuan felt that Yang Zhongming was trying to cover up and remedy a subconscious conclusion he made.

    However...

    No one else seemed to realize how unnatural Yang Zhongming''s cough was. They thought Yang Zhongming just had a bit of a sore throat. What really caught everyone''s attention was Yang Zhongming''s statement.

    Underestimate Prince of Lanling?

    True, after the second round, everyone did underestimate Prince of Lanling. But not in the first round. In the first round, everyone still had high hopes for Prince of Lanling!

    So that was also underestimating?

    The Swan backstage couldn''t help but muse: "Actually, I felt it when he sang ''Boy''. Prince of Lanling is improving. It''s just that the second song required a lot of garnishing, and it''s hard for the audience to take it in at the first listen."

    "Father Yang is right!"

    Robot hummed: "This round was too intense, even more than his first two rounds combined. Am I the third to perform today?"

    He looked towards his assistant manager.

    The assistant manager nodded.

    Robot burst out laughing, despite knowing beforehand that he was the third to perform, he couldn''t help but confirm it again. It wasn''t that he couldn''t handle following Prince of Lanling''s performance, rather, he would be affected, which could potentially lower his rank.

    On stage.

    After the judges'' comments, the host''s gaze turned to the jury.

    But upon seeing a certain sight, the host''s facial expression suddenly became strange--

    There was a slightly chubby figure on the jury side awkwardly trying to hide in the crowd, as if trying to disguise himself using the bodies of the people around him.

    He was also trying to find a place to hide his head. It seemed like he wanted to bury his head in the ground.

    Host Anhong, who had great eyesight, recognized him.

    It was Leng Quan.

    Thinking back on Leng Quan''s comments before the competition, Anhong''s expression became even weirder.

    What was even stranger was that the show''s aerial cameras were accurately capturing Leng Quan''s current situation.

    So...

    All of Leng Quan''s attempts to hide himself were being broadcast by the show''s cameras, which made him appear rather comical!

    "Stop hiding."

    Leng Quan''s buddy next to him couldn''t take it: "You''re about to crawl into my crotch!"

    Leng Quan remained silent.

    In the host''s earpiece, it seemed that there was a voice.

    Then, the host laughed: "Teacher Leng Quan, it seems that you have a lot you want to say?"

    Hearing this, Leng Quan, who was trying to hide, turned pale. He wished he could let out a profanity!

    Does your production team even have a sense of honor!

    "I''ve made such a fool of myself, and you dare to call out my name?"

    He was out of options.

    All he could do was raise his head.

    However, due to the deep bowing earlier, he felt a bit dizzy, and stumbled as he got up.

    Instantly, the whole audience burst into laughter!

    Clearly, everyone was aware of some of the ''predictions'' Leng Quan had made before the competition.

    Swish, swish, swish!

    All eyes were on Leng Quan, even the judges couldn''t help but glance at him, a mocking look in their eyes.

    Leng Quan''s face felt hot and flushed!

    If only he could find a hole in the ground to crawl into, he would''ve done so to provide everyone with a live ''magic show''.

    "Teacher Leng Quan..."

    The host Anhong, called his name again.

    Leng Quan was immediately tongue-tied, "Uh... Okay!"

    And then he began to applaud loudly, "Prince of Lanling sang so well, so well!"

    In the silent room, only his applause echoed awkwardly, softer and softer till it died away¡­

    Clearly...

    Leng Quan was aware how embarrassing his reaction was; by this point, his face had turned from pale to the color of a pig''s liver, and he subconsciously started looking for the exit...

    He was filled with regret.

    Why did he even come today?

    And why on the day of the third competition!

    Why did he come on the best day of Prince of Lanling''s performance!

    It seemed like he had personally delivered his face for Prince of Lanling to slap!

    And to make matters worse, Prince of Lanling happened to be the first on stage to perform!

    Slap, slap, slap!

    The sound of the slap was so loud and it came so fast!

    He felt like a clown, making a spectacular spectacle of himself, ready to burst from the humiliation!

    "Ah, that''s right!"

    A certain bold celebrity judge suddenly piped up, "I watched Teacher Leng Quan''s live stream. He said that if Prince of Lanling could prove him wrong, he would eat his chair on the spot!"

    "Nonsense!"

    Leng Quan immediately retorted and stammered, "How could you... I didn''t... I said I''d bow in apology to Prince of Lanling ... I never mentioned anything about eating a chair..."

    He emphasized the point seriously.

    Everyone rolled their eyes.

    Then why was he hiding?

    No one was asking him to eat his chair!

    By now, Leng Quan knew he couldn''t escape the situation, so under public scrutiny and unable to deny his words, he swallowed his shame, and bowed to Lin Yuan.

    It was quite some time before...

    He got back to his feet.

    Not that he wanted to bow for so long, but he thought that the longer he stayed bent, the less people could see his upset face, and besides, his back was really hurting, so he couldn''t straighten up anyway...

    At this point, Leng Quan was somewhat relieved.

    Luckily, he was clever enough not to say anything absolute.

    He had been sitting on the chair for half a day, and clearly felt that it was made of metal, particularly cold to touch. If he did eat it, not even a steel-eating beast could withstand it.

    It wasn''t about getting his stomach pumped.

    It was about his teeth not being strong enough to chew it.

    "Say something more!"

    The audience started making a commotion.

    Even though among the commotion, there were people who had said similar things to Leng Quan.

    But they had conveniently developed amnesia.

    Leng Quan murmured, "I''m sorry, Teacher Prince of Lanling, I admit, I spoke too soon previously, but I was just commenting on the situation¡­"

    Commenting on the situation?

    The audience laughed aloud.

    He was still arguing!

    However, amidst the laughter, Prince of Lanling suddenly picked up the microphone and spoke softly, "Listen to the song more when you get home."

    Listen to the song more?

    Leng Quan was stunned for a moment, and then felt even more uncomfortable.

    He probably understood the meaning of Prince of Lanling''s words, just like the lyrics he sang today¡ª

    "Laugh, O sea!"

    Probably it would translate to:

    "I don''t care what you said."

    That''s how Leng Quan interpreted it in any case.

    Applause broke out.

    Who dares to say that Prince of Lanling lacks emotional intelligence?

    What he said was so emotionally intelligent!

    Not swaggering...

    Not being pretentious...

    Different people could have millions of interpretations to his words.

    For example, this sentence could also be interpreted nastily as "Listen more, talk less, trouble brews from talks" or "Is this song good enough to swell your face."

    But the host hadn''t forgotten to control the stage, smiling he redirected back, "How about Teacher Leng Quan make a new prediction for the ranking now?"

    Was he trying to smooth things over?

    It was more like a soul-crushing move!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: A small revision, does not affect the plot.

 Chapter 497 - 473: Return to Number One_1

    The competition must go on. Leng Quan''s incident was just a small hiccup in the "Masked Singer" program, and with Prince of Lanling''s exit, this drama also temporarily came to an end...

    "Prince of Lanling!"

    Excitement filled Tongtong''s face. Her admiration for Lin Yuan was now apparent in her gaze. She had not anticipated that under the weight of public opinion and immense pressure from the opening, Prince of Lanling would explode so resoundingly!

    "Let''s go back."

    A smile curled the corners of Lin Yuan''s mouth beneath his mask. He felt like he had become slightly more emotional. He didn''t know if it was the enthusiasm of the fans who had rushed to support him before the recording or the concern he sensed from those around him. Even though he used to get emotional while singing, after the song ended, he would usually maintain a poker face.

    Returning to the green room.

    The second singer, who identified himself as Male Lion, chose a powerful high-toned song. His voice was several tones higher than Prince of Lanling''s. His performance was received well, but compared with Prince of Lanling''s performance just now, it seemed a bit lacking?

    This lion.

    Isn''t fierce enough.

    Judge Yang Zhongming commented: "You have a rare quality that you''ve managed to overcome the influence of Prince of Lanling''s previous performance and brought out your own power. However, the disadvantage is that the audience hasn''t completely forgotten the previous performance..."

    Male Lion felt helpless.

    Being the second fill-in singer to appear was unbearable, as he was directly subjected to the terrifying pressure from Prince of Lanling. If he could have delivered a performance at the same level, it would have been all right, but this wasn''t easy to achieve at all.

    The competition continued.

    The third performer was Robot. Thanks to Male Lion''s performance, Robot was not too affected by Prince of Lanling and easily used his high tones to engage the audience. Like the last episode, he performed at a King of Singing level.

    The fourth.

    Fill-in singer Rose took the stage. However, once Rose began singing, everyone was surprised to discover that this participant had also chosen a high-toned song. If the last episode had been a piano-themed event, this one seemed to be high-tone-themed.

    The fifth.

    White Swan.

    High notes again!

    After hearing so many high tones, the audience felt as if they were constantly being kept on edge. When the sixth performer, Pufferfish, took the stage, the thought in everyone''s mind was... sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Here come the high notes again!

    However, to everyone''s surprise, Pufferfish, who ranked second in the first round with high notes, didn''t continue to sing a high-toned song in this round. Instead, she performed "Big Fish" for the audience!

    The song that White Swan sang in the first round!

    Although "Big Fish" isn''t a low-toned song, it''s different from the other songs which aim for high notes. The audience felt comfortable listening to this song. It relieved the tension that had been building up due to the numerous high notes.

    "Impressive."

    White Swan admired.

    The assistant manager next to her thought White Swan was praising Pufferfish''s good singing. Little did she know what White Swan really meant: "Pufferfish''s competition experience is indeed very rich, after the audience has listened to so many high-toned songs, what they need now is a subdued song. It''s like how people enjoy tofu mixed with green onions after having a lot of meat and fish.

    Choosing songs for live performances is a learned skill that requires tactical thought from the singer."

    Next door.

    Robot also broke into a smile, "Pufferfish is too smart. Why is everyone singing high-toned songs in this round? Isn''t it because of her high-toned song that ranked second in the last round? However, she chose to perform a relatively calm song this time, which makes the audience appreciate it more...."

    Next door to Robot.

    Even Lin Yuan slightly nodded in agreement: "Although Pufferfish''s version of ''Big Fish'' isn''t as good as Jiang Kui''s or White Swan''s, for those hearing it for the first time, it offers a unique taste. This round has plenty of high-toned songs; her choice to not sing a high-toned song is the smartest move."

    Tongtong was left speechless.

    Typical of you.

    Directly saying that Pufferfish wasn''t as good as White Swan and Jiang Kui was too straightforward. However, seeing as how Tongtong had become too tired to impede Prince of Lanling''s occasional shocking remarks, she did nothing.

    Tired.

    Let it be destroyed.

    After all, Prince of Lanling''s performance this round was enough to silence many critics. As for controversy, having some controversy isn''t necessarily bad. Controversy means popularity. As long as not all reactions are negative, it''s fine.

    Competition over.

    Including the two fill-in singers of this round, they all gathered in a room backstage, and everyone''s gaze inevitably landed on Prince of Lanling.

    Six competitors.

    Four high-toned songs.

    Only Pufferfish and Prince of Lanling didn''t use high tones. The song of Prince of Lanling was only powerful because of his good usage of the lung diaphragm, so he could sing loudly. This was entirely different from singing high notes, which doesn''t mean shouting louder and louder.

    "We made a tactical mistake."

    As soon as Robot entered the room, he blurted out the words, showing tendencies of a chatterbox: "We all chose high-toned songs. The audience will become numb after hearing too many high-toned songs, so songs like ''Big Fish'' actually have an advantage."

    "Yes!"

    "We made a mistake."

    The two fill-in singers also chimed in, expressing their remorse. They all wanted to stand out with high-toned songs, but the higher their tunes, the less significant they seemed in front of "A Smile Amid the Vast Sea".

    He has a broadsword without a blade!

    Brilliance lies in the most unsophisticated execution!

    Pufferfish smiled softly. She had guessed that this round would feature many high-toned songs. Since Robot and White Swan were both quite adept at high-toned songs, she decided to take the opposite approach and selected the sentimental song "Big Fish". Of course, there were some other reasons for choosing this song that others wouldn''t know¡ª

    She had something to prove!

    At this point, she also glanced at Prince of Lanling, her gaze tinged with a touch of gloom and dissatisfaction. It seemed as if she wanted to speak up, but in the end, she didn''t say anything and just gloomily sat back down on the couch.

    At this moment, the director entered.

    Of course, Tong Shuwen was there to announce the rankings. He beamed, "This episode has significant reference value for our subsequent competition arrangements. Thank you all for your wonderful performances..."

    The subsequent competition arrangements?

    Reference value?

    Everyone pondered thoughtfully.

    Tong Shuwen didn''t reveal too much. Instead, he announced the list first. Of course, he didn''t forget to add some suspenseful moments. He had done exactly the same during the first two episodes, and it had stirred quite a reaction. Everyone had a love-hate relationship with Director Tong Shuwen.

    Building suspense is adorable.

    Too much anticipation, however, could be quite irksome.

    Today, they began by announcing the second place. Today''s second place belonged to the White Swan. It was clear that despite the high notes being numerous this time around, they were still very popular with the audience. The third place went to the strategically selected song of the Pufferfish.

    Everyone clapped their hands.

    The robot muttered while clapping, "All of a sudden, I have a bad feeling. I hope I won''t be eliminated. That would be embarrassingly humiliating. I still have some tricks up my sleeve."

    Of course, the robot wasn''t eliminated.

    His final rank was fourth, just the same as the White Swan''s in the previous episode. At this point, it was already evident who the first place would be. All eyes were once again on Prince of Lanling.

    "Congratulations!"

    Tong Shuwen showed a smile, "Congratulations to Prince of Lanling for returning to the first-place throne. This time there were no ties. Furthermore, the total vote count for Prince of Lanling was the highest since the commencement of the competition, with 470 audience votes, 45 popular jury votes, and 150 jury votes, making a total of 710 votes!"

    Lin Yuan stood up.

    The vote count was certainly very high. The highest total vote counts in the previous two episodes hadn''t even surpassed 700 votes. It was clear that the song he chose had truly resonated with the public.

    Amidst the applause of everyone,

    Tong Shuwen looked at the two replacement singers. They were sitting pitifully quiet on the couch. They had come here intending to make an amazing debut, but the singers here were all incredibly talented, driving them into a corner.

    Tong Shuwen felt sympathy for them.

    But no matter how much he sympathized, competition rules still had to be adhered to. In the end, the Male Lion was eliminated. His vote count was only slightly lower than the other replacement singer, Rose.

    In other words,

    If the second performer in this episode had been Rose, it would have been her instead of the Male Lion who got eliminated. Today, regardless of who sang after Prince of Lanling, they were bound to lose.

    "I''m leaving."

    The Male Lion stood up.

    For a singer, it''s rather embarrassing to be eliminated in the first round of The Masked Singer. But if his skills had been inferior, he would have had to unveil his mask obediently. Everyone was curious about the identity of the Male Lion. After he had unmasked himself, it turned out he was a quite famous top-tier singer named Mu Shi.

    Mu Shi. Shi, Lion, homophonic.

    When the host asked Mu Shi if he had any final words, continuing the program''s tradition of unmasking, he started to sing: "The moonlight''s chill turns my longing into a river..."

    The whole audience erupted into laughter.

    Another ''chill'' one fell.

    Everyone couldn''t help but sigh, they didn''t expect Mu Shi was the singer behind the mask. Rose even complimented Mu Shi for his good singing. Just at that moment, Prince of Lanling shook his head.

    "Prince of Lanling!"

    Tongtong couldn''t help but intervene.

    She felt that if she didn''t stop him, Prince of Lanling might say something offensive again. However, Tong Shuwen seemed to enjoy stirring the pot, "Does Prince of Lanling have something to say?"

    Lin Yuan looked at Tongtong, then at Tong Shuwen and finally couldn''t help but speak, "Let''s just touch the surface then. Teacher Mu Shi''s high notes are very powerful, but his breaths are too frequent. This song is not suited for him."

    Tongtong rolled her eyes.

    The robot clicked his tongue.

    White Swan chuckled softly.

    Pufferfish remained silent.

    Rose looked embarrassed.

    The managers and assistants all collectively played dead. This Prince of Lanling was really the blunt and direct Prince of Lanling, never considering who he might offend. Even though his straightforwardness had caused him quite a lot of trouble: first with Yuan Xi''s fans, then with Zhao Ying Ge''s fans, and now he had also offended Mu Shi''s fans. Did he intend to never unmask himself...

    With numerous debts, what''s there to worry about?

    With so many lice, do you stop itching?

    Tong Shuwen burst out laughing. In this room, he was the only one who knew the real identity of Prince of Lanling. That''s why he knew that no matter how many people Prince of Lanling offended now, the moment he took off his mask, none of those problems mattered!

    The Masked Singer!

    There''s really a "king" under the mask...

    ---

    ps: Thank you[Thousand Cherry Blossoms LoSeR] for becoming the forty-first Alliance Hierarch of this book, ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ you''re awesome, cheering for you!

 Chapter 498 - 474: Exposure (For the Alliance Hierarch is to Divide and Add More)_1

    "Oh, right..."

    After laughing in a not-very-righteous way for a bit, Tong Shuwen suddenly said: "After we finish recording the fourth episode, we can take a break. There are still many groups that need to record, so I hope everyone would be prepared. The program group will inform us in time about the following competition arrangements."

    Everyone nodded.

    As long as they ensured they were not eliminated in the next episode, they could participate in the team competition. After four consecutive high-pressure competitions, everyone needed to take advantage of this rare rest to prepare some spare songs...

    They chatted for a while longer.

    Everyone dispersed to their respective locations.

    Pufferfish entered the RV in the parking lot, closed the car window curtains, and then prepared to take off her mask. The agent who was driving gasped, "Be careful not to be seen."

    "The mask is uncomfortable."

    "Then put on your sunglasses."

    Pufferfish nodded, took off the mask, revealing a delicate face. If someone else were present, they would definitely recognize the identity of this singer, it was clearly¡ª

    Zhao Ying Ge!

    Putting on the oversized sunglasses handed by the assistant, Zhao Ying Ge covered up another layer of her face with a mask, proudly said: "Everyone is guessing my identity, but unfortunately none of them dares to confirm."

    "How was the competition?"

    "Not bad."

    "That''s good."

    The agent did not ask too many questions, as long as she wasn''t eliminated, that was good enough. However, she was a little worried:

    "Did you have any conflicts with Prince of Lanling?"

    "No."

    Zhao Ying Ge curled her lips:

    "Though I don''t like him much, I do know the big picture at stake. Unlike him, he says whatever he wants to say in front of so many cameras. He even criticized me for relying only on high notes and singing skills. I don''t believe he couldn''t guess that the person he was criticizing might be competing with him..."

    "This sounds a bit sour." S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The agent laughed, "Are you sure you''re angry because of what he said in the last episode? Or because Teacher Admirable Fish keeps writing songs for him, but has never sought to collaborate with you."

    "Don''t even mention that!"

    Zhao Ying Ge was extremely frustrated: "You don''t know, Teacher Admirable Fish wrote a song for him today! What exactly is his relationship with Teacher Admirable Fish, why does he get so much favor from him!"

    The agent teased, "You''re jealous."

    Zhao Ying Ge snorted, "I don''t even know if Prince of Lanling is a man or a woman..."

    "Gender doesn''t matter, you and Sun Yaohuo Jiang Kui are just like Admirable Fish''s harem. Wherever Admirable Fish goes, gives whoever a song, the rest of you will feel sour. After all, you all got famous because of this little Maestro. Why else would you have chosen a fish image for yourself?"

    "I just want to prove to Teacher Admirable Fish that!"

    Zhao Ying Ge was determined: "Those songs he wrote for others, I can sing them too!"

    The agent sighed.

    "Eh, you didn''t even refute me. You really think you''re in the harem, and you''re all trying to be the Main Palace Mistress, now it seems that the most favored one is Prince of Lanling..."

    "Then you don''t know."

    Zhao Ying Ge seriously said: "In those romance novels, the female lead is always overlooked at the beginning, and even bullied by the male lead. In the end, the fun of abusing his wife is short-lived, however, if he crosses the line, a funeral awaits him..."

    "Give it a rest."

    Now it was the agent''s turn to roll her eyes: "No matter how much Admirable Fish bullies you, as long as he beckons, you will crawl over like a little bitch."

    "Phooey! What vulgar language!"

    Zhao Ying Ge blushed terribly, being described as a little bitch was way too embarrassing.

    Even though this description was quite... erm.

    The agent paid no attention to Zhao Ying Ge''s wild imagination, and said seriously: "No more joking, just now, in the parking lot, I think I saw the supplementary singer for the next episode."

    "The supplementary singer for the next episode? They came in advance for rehearsal?"

    "Should be."

    "Did you see their face?"

    "How could that be possible."

    "Then don''t give me random information."

    "I just found it interesting because the image of the next supplementary singer is somewhat similar to you. They''re portraying a mermaid and seem to have a pretty good figure, it should be a female singer!"

    "A female singer, a mermaid?"

    Zhao Ying Ge was a little angry: "Next episode, I''ll kill her. There can only be one fish in ''The Masked Singer''!"

    "You''re too domineering..."

    The agent laughed at this point, as a car drove past them.

    The manager accidentally caught a glimpse of the other side, the laughter abruptly stopped, and he seemed to have been struck by lightning!

    "What''s wrong?"

    Zhao Ying Ge asked curiously.

    The manager murmured: "Something''s not right..."

    "What''s wrong?"

    "The person driving that car just now, I recognize. Do you know Lil'' Goodoong?"

    "Of course, all the girls in the company know her, Teacher Admirable Fish''s as....."

    Zhao Ying Ge''s words also stopped abruptly, and after a moment she said in a somewhat sharp voice:

    "Why would Gu Dong appear here!"

    The manager''s expression was strange: "The only connection I can think of is the Prince of Lanling... and another possibility is that Admirable Fish might become a judge for the program, but he shouldn''t be coming over today."

    Zhao Ying Ge anxiously said, "The person in Gu Dong''s car is the Prince of Lanling?"

    "Most likely..."

    "Has Admirable Fish cared for the Prince of Lanling to this extent, even sending his own assistant to pick up and drop off the Prince of Lanling!?"

    Jealousy, envy, and loss.

    All kinds of emotions surged into Zhao Ying Ge''s heart at the same time.

    "I don''t think so..."

    The manager''s voice trembled a bit: "Have you ever considered a possibility, although this possibility sounds a bit incredible..."

    "You mean...!"

    The manager took a deep breath: "The Prince of Lanling, is... Admirable Fish!"

    The Prince of Lanling is Admirable Fish!!!?

    Zhao Ying Ge was stunned.

    Swipe, swipe, swipe!

    All the past images of these three episodes of the show suddenly flashed through Zhao Ying Ge''s mind in fast-forward.

    The character of the Prince of Lanling...

    The way the Prince of Lanling speaks...

    She suddenly screamed: "Ah!"

    "Quiet down... think about it... the Prince of Lanling is just a singer! Even if he is a King of Singing like a robot, would he dare to openly critique others? Even a person with low EQ should know what to say based on his status... gaining attention is not done in this way!

    Unless he doesn''t care, doesn''t care at all! The only ones on the entire stage who completely don''t care about the thoughts of other singers are, the one in the judge''s seat... and the Prince of Lanling!"

    No normal person would think in this direction.

    But...

    Zhao Ying Ge''s manager is from Starlight!

    She knows Lil'' Goodoong, and through Lil'' Goodoong, it''s too normal for her to have such an association!

    At this moment, the manager is possessed by Poirot, and he subconsciously pushes his glasses: "Besides, you can also hear that the Prince of Lanling is definitely not Sun Yaohuo and others, so on what basis does Admirable Fish always help the Prince of Lanling?"

    Zhao Ying Ge is not stupid, she said in a trembling voice:

    "Because... Prince of Lanling, is indeed Admirable Fish! We just don''t know, that Admirable Fish sings so well! All of us just instinctively think that the Prince of Lanling is a singer¡ªI get it, I get it, ha ha ha, I get it!"

    Zhao Ying Ge suddenly clenched her fists in excitement, her facial expression was very exaggerated.

    "What do you want to do? Let me tell you, you must keep it a secret!" The manager was taken aback.

    "I''m not out of my mind! Only an idiot would say it out, no one else knows who the Prince of Lanling is, only I know, do you know how great this opportunity is!"

    Zhao Ying Ge, holding the mask of Pufferfish: "I won''t wait for him to beckon, I will take the initiative to go to him!"

    Who in the company doesn''t know, Sun Yaohuo got his promotion by kissing up to Admirable Fish?

    Isn''t it all about kissing up?

    Who can''t do that!

    Suddenly.

    Zhao Ying Ge''s face changed wildly: "Are my fans cursing the Prince of Lanling online?"

    Upon hearing this, the manager was also stunned, then looked at Zhao Ying Ge sympathetically.

    Dear infatuated lady...

    Are you sure when you go over there now, you won''t be kicked away?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thank you to the big boss of Destiny Separation for the Alliance Hierarch, the extra chapter is here. This big boss not only raised Polluted White to the level of the Alliance Hierarch, but also created two alliances for Silver, so Polluted White will add three chapters for the big boss.

    This is the second bonus chapter added for the big boss, I owe a lot and can only deliver one by one, the remaining Alliance Hierarchs who haven''t got the bonus chapters will be scheduled on~

 Chapter 499 - 475: Blue and Thin (Added for Alliance Hierarch Daoist Monk)_1

    Zhao Ying Ge was having a total breakdown...

    Her manager was driving, and she sat in the backseat, her face reflecting utter disinterest with life.

    "Snap out of it."

    The manager stopped at a red light, unable to hold back her words.

    Zhao Ying Ge sounded drained and weak, like all her energy had been sucked out of her:

    "Teacher Admirable Fish said that I can only hit high notes and have outbreaks..."

    "My fans even slandered him..."

    "He never thought I was outstanding in the first place..."

    "Now my fans are even more fiercely attacking him..."

    "..."

    The manager was having a headache.

    Zhao Ying Ge had been repeating these few sentences all the way.

    She finally said, exasperated, "We''re only guessing that Prince of Lanling is Admirable Fish or not. Does Lil Goodoong''s presence here necessarily mean that Prince of Lanling is Admirable Fish?"

    "The odds are high¡­"

    "Okay, let''s just assume he''s Admirable Fish, then. Don''t you think this could be your chance?"

    "It was supposed to be."

    "It still is! Didn''t you say that at the beginning, the male and female leads would have some misunderstandings, causing the male lead to dislike the female lead. But later on ¡­"

    "I didn''t bring up the misunderstandings part."

    "Who hasn''t read romance novels... anyway, think about it, aren''t you starting to act like a female lead?"

    "Sort of?"

    Zhao Ying Ge''s spirit seemed to be slowly coming back.

    The manager took adavantage of the momentum, "Now the opportunity is right in front of you. Everyone is in the dark, only you know. You don''t need me to remind you what to do, right?"

    "I do!"

    Zhao Ying Ge pointed at her head, "This thing isn''t listening to my command."

    "..."

    The manager let out a sigh, and stepped on the gas as the traffic light turned green:

    "First of all, you need to pretend like you don''t know anything. At least before Admirable Fish reveals his identity, you can''t give it away. Then, subtly be nice to him. Subtly, you get it?"

    "Somewhat."

    "Then you should tell your fans to be more rational, not to keep harping on Prince of Lanling. I''ll handle the fan union."

    "I know this!"

    "The last and most critical point, Admirable Fish values a singers'' strengths. Just sing and perform well, whether he is Admriable Fish or not, let''s not risk offending him."

    "Is that it?"

    "What else?"

    "What''s the difference than not knowing anything?"

    "The difference is... you won''t be like Yuan Xi and the others, harboring resentment towards Prince of Lanling, or even provoking him."

    "Oh!"

    Zhao Ying Ge suddenly understood.

    If she didn''t know the real identity of Prince of Lanling, she might actually offend him, given her temper.

    If by some unfortunate circumstance she ended up offending him, and the guess turned out to be correct, it would truly be a tragedy.

    The manager laughed, "With Prince of Lanling''s sharp tongue, who knows how many people he will offend before unmasking himself. You keep calm and carry on. By the time he unmasks himself, it will be your chance to turn the tables."

    Turn the tables?

    Zhao Ying Ge''s face suddenly blushed.

    The manager saw this in the rearview mirror, a vein popping on her forehead.

    Why the hell are you blushing out of nowhere, where is your mind wandering off to?

    "I didn''t mean it that way!"

    "But you are driving right now¡­"

    "One more word, and you''re out of the car!"

    "Alrighty!"

    The conversation couldn''t continue, but fortunately, both of them reached a consensus: they absolutely couldn''t let this speculation leak out.

    ...

    Of course, Lin Yuan had no idea he was under suspicion.

    After recording the third episode of the show, he asked Lil Goodoong to take him to the movie set.

    He was still shooting a film over here.

    Upon arriving at the scene, he greeted everyone and then sat down to watch the filming.

    Jian Yi was hanging from a Wire in front of a green screen at that moment.

    That height was making Lin Yuan somewhat nervous.

    "Phew."

    The wire stunt finished, Jian Yi sat down next to Lin Yuan, gulping down half a bottle of water:

    "Scared me to death."

    "Weren''t you afraid of heights before?"

    "I still am, but I''ve gotten used to it after flying around on the wire so much," Jian Yi said, smiling.

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Actors often had to challenge themselves for the sake of filming.

    "Did you hurt your hand?"

    Only then did Lin Yuan notice the multiple injuries on Jian Yi''s hand.

    "I''m fine."

    Jian Yi was unconcerned.

    Lin Yuan wanted to say something, but in the end, he held back his words.

    Jian Yi just laughed it off.

    An actor''s life is like this, getting injured during filming is inevitable, especially when Jian Yi is under a lot of pressure now.

    He''s a newcomer who was parachuted into being the lead male role in a drama, with all the supporting male and female leads being big-name stars.

    Under such circumstances, if Jian Yi doesn''t work hard, he would face criticism.

    This has nothing to do with whether or not Jian Yi can imitate Teacher Admirable Fish.

    Even though nobody dares to criticize Jian Yi openly, who knows what they''re saying behind his back? Therefore, Jian Yi needs to be audacious, daring to fight and struggle, and not let his own issues affect his friends.

    "By the way, have you seen the group message today?"

    Jian Yi didn''t want Lin Yuan discussing his filming, he didn''t plan on complaining to his friend.

    If other newcomers had the opportunity to play the leading male role, no matter how hard it was, someone would willingly take on the hardship.

    Lin Yuan shook his head: "Not yet."

    "Let me tell you then, Xia Fan is planning to join The Masked Singer, but she might not record till later."

    "What image?"

    "I asked her but she wouldn''t say, why don''t you ask?"

    "No need to."

    If she didn''t say anything, it means she doesn''t want to discuss it, just like himself, they''ll chat about it when the time of unmasking comes.

    But...

    This at least excludes the possibility that Xia Fan is the replacement singer for the fourth episode.

    It seems like it should be someone from another team.

    Could it be possible that he will meet Xia Fan in the coming competition?

    Lin Yuan pondered over this.

    He wouldn''t hold back just because his opponent is Xia Fan.

    He often played games with Xia Fan and Jian Yi since they were kids.

    As long as they could win, the three of them would always give it their all.

    Unless under extraordinary circumstances, generally, the competition came first, friendship second.

    After a while.

    Jian Yi went back to filming.

    Because they were filming a commercial film, the process was quite simple. Therefore, Lin Yuan didn''t have to worry about anything and simply took out his phone to play.

    Hmm?

    Lin Yuan stumbled upon a celebrity trend.

    Zhao Ying Ge: "Watched ''The Masked Singer,'' heard Teacher Prince of Lanling''s evaluation of me. As a singer, we should accept public values bravely, keep going (Fist) (Cheer)!"

    Lin Yuan chuckled.

    He spoke straightforwardly on the show, hoping that the singers could recognize their shortcomings and improve.

    Looking at it now, it seems like his words were worthwhile.

    Eventually, someone would listen.

    Zhao Ying Ge''s attitude towards music is pretty good.

    At this time.

    A lot of comments also appeared before Lin Yuan''s eyes¡ª

    "Prince of Lanling, please be kind, look at how generous our Ying Ge is!"

    "Ying Ge doesn''t care about your evaluation because she is tolerant, please also learn to be tolerant of others."

    "Prince of Lanling''s abilities are far inferior to our Ying Ge."

    "Our Ying Ge is indeed magnanimous, Prince of Lanling doesn''t have the vision, hehe, are we sure Ying Ge is not Pufferfish?"

    "Prince of Lanling, if you dare, don''t unmask yourself. Let''s see how the fans will tear you apart after you unmask."

    "..."

    Lin Yuan scratched his head.

    Meanwhile, Zhao Ying Ge was sitting in front of her computer, seeing these comments, she vigorously rubbed her lush hair¡ª

    "You guys want me dead!"

    She immediately put on her alias and argued with her fans in the name of love and justice. She never thought she would communicate with her fans in this manner before.

    "Don''t talk about Prince of Lanling like that."

    "Prince of Lanling only expressed his own opinion."

    "Prince of Lanling is really talented!" S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Maybe, Prince of Lanling knows Zhao Ying Ge."

    "Prince of Lanling said this for Zhao Ying Ge''s sake."

    "Zhao Ying Ge has already said she accepts criticism, which shows that she appreciates Prince of Lanling''s words."

    "..."

    One of Zhao Ying Ge''s junior fans couldn''t help but retort Zhao Ying Ge:

    "From all your posts, it''s clear that you are a fan of Prince Lanling, what do you know about Zhao Ying Ge? Do you understand Ying Ge as much as we do? She is simply beautiful and kind-hearted¡ªshe just doesn''t want this Prince Lanling to feel embarrassed!"

    Do I not understand Zhao Ying Ge?

    Zhao Ying Ge felt tortured.

    This was the most bitter compliment she had ever heard in her life.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Thank you to Daoist Monk, the Alliance Hierarch, this big shot has already joined three alliances, so including this chapter, I still owe him two chapters. Also, thank you to [bookworm''s self-cultivation] who rewarded me as the Alliance Hierarch, ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, I offer my knee to these two big shots.

    The Alliance Hierarch continues to keep track of the add-ons, striving to clear one or two more debts every day...

 Chapter 500 - 476: Seeing the Lifespan Task Again_1

    Zhao Ying Ge helplessly made a phone call to her manager.

    "Ms. Li, save me."

    After hearing Zhao Ying Ge''s complaints, her manager Ms. Li laughed and said:

    "Actually, it''s not a big deal. We just need to cool things down, Yuan Xi''s side is making a bigger fuss. Besides, Yuan Xi has kept silent and let his fans charge ahead, their hatred for Prince of Lanling is way more intense..."

    Zhao Ying Ge hurriedly asked, "Are the fans'' support clubs okay?"

    With a playful smile, Ms. Li answered: "I''ll handle the fans'' support clubs, just need to calm everyone''s emotions. There isn''t really a..."

    As she was laughing, Ms. Li suddenly stopped.

    Zhao Ying Ge panicked: "Why did you stop laughing? Keep laughing!"

    "What''s there to laugh about!"

    Ms. Li''s eyelid twitched as she looked at a topic from the fans'' support group chat and explained:

    "One of Yuan Xi''s fan leaders has just entered our fan group, claiming that they''re preparing to join forces with us and charge ahead when Prince of Lanling reveals his face..."

    Zhao Ying Ge screamed: "Kick them out, kick them out now!"

    How hateful!

    If you from Yuan Xi''s side want to court death, I won''t stop you!

    Don''t drag me down with you!

    The third episode of the show has not yet been broadcast.

    The voices predicting Prince of Lanling''s downfall were still echoing on the internet.

    Given Zhao Ying Ge''s response in the Tribe, her fans were relatively restrained.

    Compared to that, Yuan Xi''s fans were certainly overboard.

    "Kicked out!"

    Ms. Li was also a bit worked up, and immediately tagged the other party: "Tell the fans from Yuan Xi''s side, we''re not teaming up."

    After saying that, she decisively kicked them out.

    You won''t succeed in dragging us into your pitfall.

    Many fans in the group chat were still echoing: "Isn''t it good to join forces?"

    Ms. Li hurriedly typed: "Let''s move on from this, Ying Ge wants to accept criticism openly, and it''s important for us to support her!"

    "Alright then..."

    Seeing that Zhao Ying Ge''s manager had spoken, the group chat finally calmed down.

    Ms. Li breathed a sigh of relief.

    She almost got roped into Yuan Xi''s pitfalls.

    Is Yuan Xi really worth all this hate?

    Ms. Li doesn''t believe that Yuan Xi doesn''t know about the drama happening within his fanbase.

    All celebrities have a support club, and many scenarios are initiated by these support clubs.

    The core fans are managed by the company.

    This is the norm within the industry.

    Ms. Li was somewhat scared: "Is Yuan Xi planning a kamikaze attack?"

    Zhao Ying Ge whispered: "I thought my status already served as a well-intentioned reminder..."

    Ms. Li replied: "They probably think you are chickening out."

    Zhao Ying Ge said: "Asking for trouble."

    Actually, Ms. Li''s guess was correct, after Yuan Xi''s fans were kicked out, they immediately started complaining in Yuan Xi''s fan group:

    "Zhao Ying Ge''s side rejected me."

    "So cowardly."

    "Prince of Lanling is so arrogant, yet she still wants to accept criticism."

    "We won''t indulge him."

    "No compromise, just do it!"

    "Let''s see if Prince of Lanling continues to shoot. If he does, we should contact other fan groups."

    "Definitely."

    "Waiting for him to reveal!"

    "The moment when he reveals his identity, will be our time to charge!"

    "He must understand the true meaning of cruelty!"

    "He thinks he can meddle with the Queen of Singing!"

    "That Yang Zhongming too...."

    "Shut up, don''t mess with Father Yang!"

    "What about Polluted White?"

    "Let''s put him aside for now, Prince of Lanling is the main target!"

    "..."

    Yuan Xi''s fans were itching for action.

    On the other hand.

    Of course, Lin Yuan was oblivious to the drama taking place within the fandom.

    He returned home, lay on his bed, and thought about what song he should sing next.

    Just then.

    The System suddenly gave a notification:

    "The host''s lifespan has been extended till the age of thirty. But this time is still fleeting. The host''s lifespan mission will continue. The next round of mission content is as follows..."

    Lin Yuan sat up straight in surprise!

    The lifespan mission was finally here!

    Though Lin Yuan had recovered his voice and lifespan extended, it''s still time-limited ¡ª

    Thirty years old!

    Lin Yuan''s deadline!

    If the System doesn''t release new missions, Lin Yuan will drop dead someday when he turns thirty.

    The System definitely wouldn''t overlook something this important, there must be subsequent life-extending missions. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Here it comes!

    As Lin Yuan formed a thought, lines of light blue text related to the current mission appeared in front of him:

    [Mission Name: Surviving]

    [Mission Content: The host needs to break through a total prestige value of ten million before the age of thirty. This is bound to be a tough endurance test. Please continue publishing works to gain prestige. The specific lifespan addition will be determined by the speed of mission completion!]

    [Additional Rewards: Gold Treasure Chest]

    The mission name was simple and direct. Mission content didn''t need any explanation either. He just needed to increase his overall prestige level, which included categories like drawings, music, literature, etc.

    The difficulty level wasn''t high.

    Since the mission deadline spans several years, based on the speed at which Lin Yuan''s prestige broke through one million, he could complete this mission before he is thirty, though the specific lifespan addition wasn''t mentioned.

    No problem, since this is a crucial matter, Lin Yuan decided, the sooner he completes the task, the better.

    Doing so will not only advance his peace of mind but also reap the System''s Gold Treasure Chest ahead of time!

    Yes.

    Several Gold Treasure Chests in a row have tasted sweet to Lin Yuan.

    Any Gold Treasure Chest could bring about endless benefits for Lin Yuan. Now that he had another chance to obtain one, of course, he was excited.

    "Accept!"

    So said Lin Yuan.

    After accepting the mission, Lin Yuan considered for a moment and decided to focus on writing in the next few days. The prestige from his novel was quite substantial.

    Especially as of late, while there are many things going on, he doesn''t have to invest much energy.

    For instance, dropping by the drama set when there is no issue, the recording for the competition is finalized within a day.

    With this opportunity, he could write more for the ''Hercule Poirot Series''.

    The serializing of this novel usually takes two to three years!

    Even writing at the current speed, it will take at least one to two years to conclude!

    But he can''t dawdle now, might as well speed up the updates, conclude the ''Hercule Poirot Series'' sooner, rather than let it consume his energy.

    He needs to release more novels!

    So that he can gain more prestige!

    Sure enough, these life-extending tasks were Lin Yuan''s greatest motivation to move forward.

    As for the music prestige...

    Lin Yuan has been collecting it lately.

    He''s been releasing new songs in the competition, all of which can earn him prestige.

    This probably constitutes another reason why Lin Yuan doesn''t want to be eliminated from ''The Masked Singer'' too early. This stage is too suitable for releasing new songs. Thanks to the heat of the program, new songs naturally gain high attention.

    With that in mind.

    Lin Yuan turned on his computer.

    Hercule Poirot is now one of the most famous characters in the detective novel world.

    In this respect, Lin Yuan''s initial intent of serializing the Poirot series has been fulfilled.

    If this novel is completed ahead of schedule, it probably would mean that another renowned character in the detective field¡ª

    The gentleman with a bowler hat and a pipe in his mouth, will have his grand debut in the future!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: First update of today, off to sleep now, Polluted White is! Also, please vote for this month!

 Chapter 501 - 477 Third Broadcast_1

    The next day...

    The third day...

    The fourth day...

    After the system issued the lifespan task, Lin Yuan began writing comfortably. Of course, the location of his writing was in his manga studio, allowing him to serialize his manga during his breaks. The situation of manga serialization wasn''t complicated either. After being instructed by Lin Yuan''s Teacher''s Halo, Luo Wei was barely able to take over the drawing again for him.

    With the help of several manga assistants, it didn''t take too much effort. Additionally, the master-level drawing skills not only enhanced the quality but also significantly improved the quantity. With the same amount of time as before, Lin Yuan''s drawing speed was almost three times faster.

    Swish Swish Swish.

    Tap Tap Tap.

    Between manga and writing, Lin Yuan achieved balance and kept busy until the fifth day of this week, when he temporarily paused to consider the song for the fourth competition. Just then, he received a call from the program director Tong Shuwen.

    "What''s up?"

    "I have a suggestion."

    Tong Shuwen chuckled: "The Literature and Art Association wants to make the fourth stage a special show for the judges. Of course, we let the singers volunteer to see if they''re willing to choose a song from the judges'' previous work. You are the first singer I''ve contacted because all the other singers have submitted alternate song lists.

    However, your situation is a bit special since you''ve always written and sung your songs. Would you be interested?"

    Lin Yuan was taken aback.

    He had intended to release another new song for the fourth stage, but he didn''t expect the program team to consider this. If this was in the past, he would have hesitated. But now, with his enhanced vocal skills, he didn''t worry about it:

    "No problem."

    Lin Yuan had listened to the works of all four judges, and he liked some of the songs. Two singers had already performed his song "Big Fish" on this stage, so he could definitely perform the work of other singers or composers. He even thought that the show''s arrangement suited him perfectly.

    "Great!"

    Tong Shuwen laughed: "Then I''ll contact the other singers. Mainly because the judging panel will change slightly during the battle round, so we are also giving the audience a surprise."

    "Mmm."

    After hanging up the phone, Lin Yuan chuckled. Now, he didn''t need to worry about which Earth song to use for the fourth stage. It would be like taking a casual break, as there were plenty of classic works by the four judges to choose from. The choice for singers, especially those like Lin Yuan who could sing in three different voice ranges, was extremely broad.

    If necessary, they could also rearrange the judges'' works. As for whose song he would choose, Lin Yuan almost didn''t need to think, an answer had crossed his mind. This was what he found interesting about this arrangement -

    Maestro Yang Zhongming!

    There were many reasons to choose Yang Zhongming, but the most important one was actually related to Lin Yuan''s personal preferences. For Lin Yuan, Yang Zhongming was like his half composition master. He had learned a lot of composition knowledge from Yang Zhongming''s character card provided in the system''s virtual space.

    Even though Yang Zhongming didn''t know about this, Lin Yuan respected him and even regarded him as his half teacher. Singing his song on stage could be seen as a tribute.

    "Hmm..."

    Having decided to sing a song by Yang Zhongming, the question was which one to choose. As one of the top maestros on Blue Star, Yang Zhongming had numerous classic works, and the original singers were usually the King or Queen of singing.

    "Got it!"

    Lin Yuan suddenly thought of a song called "Leaving". It was one of Yang Zhongming''s early works, representative of his initial compositions and was very suitable for the stage. Lin Yuan had a precise grasp of the competition''s situation. He felt that choosing this song would secure his position in the top three. It''s noteworthy that the original singer of this song was Fei Yang.

    At that time, Starlight and Splendid had a collaboration, so Yang Zhongming''s song was given to Fei Yang, who was a top singer at the time.

    "I''ll go with this one."

    After deciding on the song, Lin Yuan stopped thinking about it. He had no particular ambitions for the next round of the competition. He didn''t necessarily want to be first; he just didn''t want to be eliminated. After all, only one person would be eliminated in the next round, and there was no risk of that happening to Lin Yuan, who had had a leap in his singing skills.

    Meanwhile, on the internet.

    Those who kept discrediting Prince of Lanling showed no signs of stopping. As the third episode approached, the voices grew even stronger, especially among Yuan Xi''s fans, who led various discourses.

    The only surprise was:

    Leng Quan seemed to have stopped?

    Why had Leng Quan, who had been discrediting Prince of Lanling and riding on his popularity, suddenly fallen silent? He had participated in the recording of the third episode, so was his silence now due to confidentiality about the recording situation?

    That must be it.

    Nobody thought much of it. Amid the bustling noise from the outside world, time finally moved on to Sunday, and the much-anticipated third episode of "The Masked Singer" was officially aired!

    Streaming!

    Countless spectators started watching. The first scene presented to the audience was the Prince of Lanling getting off his car and receiving off-field cheers from fans who rushed from all over the country. This was followed by his utmost silence after entering the door...

    Comment section.

    On the internet.

    Many people were watching the show and discussing at the same time: "I feel that the state of the Prince of Lanling is not right in this episode. He was pretty quiet during the first two episodes, but at least he wasn''t as silent as he is today."

    "Poor thing."

    "He''s isolating himself."

    "Not uttering a word."

    "He must have been affected by the online trolls. Although I also don''t fancy the Prince of Lanling, I don''t dislike him as a person. What he said is pretty much the same as the judges, the only difference is that he''s not a judge."

    "Serves him right!"

    "He criticized our Yuan Xi in the program, and he doesn''t want us to mock him online? This Prince of Lanling is the type of gamer who is mediocre but loves to trash talk."

    "Going down!"

    "''Bracing the Chill, recalling your moonlit memories from afar, the Prince of Lanling''s first song has already foretold his ending, the prophecy from Leng Quan is nothing, this is the real great prophet!"

    "..."

    Some were lamenting.

    Some were mocking.

    Some were worried.

    Some were enjoying the drama.

    During the previous shoot, the production team used a cold wind special effect for the Prince of Lanling''s room, but today they had added a frost effect. Other singers'' rooms were still lively and cheerful as always, warm and bustling. Only the Prince of Lanling''s room was as cold as an ice cave, and gave an intense cold feeling even through the screen!

    "Hissing."

    Even some of Yuan Xi''s fans couldn''t help but shiver for no reason. The next moment they burst into laughter because the Prince of Lanling drew number one. He would be the opening singer for the third episode!

    "That feels good!"

    "That feels good!"

    Yuan Xi''s fans began to comment repeatedly. Some of Zhao Ying Ge''s fans also followed. As the fans of both parties were joyfully commenting, the voice of the Prince of Lanling exploded like a cannon blast!

    Booming!

    Coupled with the extreme depression displayed by the Prince of Lanling in the opening, countless audiences in front of the screen suddenly felt goosebumps all over their bodies. The fans of Yuan Xi and Zhao Ying Ge were completely dumbfounded...

    In the center of the stage!

    The Prince of Lanling''s mask, which was frightful yet almost splendid, was facing the central camera. His slightly husky and smoky voice was echoing on the stage of The Masked Singer!

    It exploded in an instant! sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    -------------------

    ps: The second update today, will continue writing.

 Chapter 502 - 478: Fully Armed_1

    "Oh my god!"

    "Prince of Lanling is fierce!"

    "This battle is full-on!"

    "Fans of Yuan Xi, come out and take a beating! Is this the ''useless'' you were talking about? Is this the ''crappy but love to brag'' you were referring to?"

    "Too awesome!"

    "I''m down on my knees!"

    "His level is on par with the first round, even more exhilarating, it''s explosive!"

    "This song is invincible!"

    "I knew it wouldn''t be ordinary the moment I heard the drum beat at the start. The way he handled the pipa was masterful. His voice hit me like a rush of blood to the head. This is definitely the most explosive performance since the start of the season!"

    "..."

    The comments were flooding in!

    There was so much discussion!

    Yuan Xi''s fans were dumbfounded, Zhao Ying Ge''s fans were also dumbfounded. The most underestimated performance of Prince of Lanling actually took the whole stage by storm!

    The green room.

    All the singers'' reactions were caught on camera, followed by the four judges, the audience and the review panel. The emotional tension was extremely palpable¡ª

    Doubts?

    Contempt?

    At least in the face of such a song, any negative comments prove meaningless. Meanwhile, the audience really got to feel Prince of Lanling''s third voice!

    A smoky timbre!

    That smoky timbre had already appeared in the second episode during the performance of "Boy," but it didn''t prompt much discussion back then, partly because the song''s response was mediocre and partly because only a few lines were sung in that smoky voice. But this song featured a smoky voice all the way!

    So exhilarating!

    So heroic!

    Zhao Ying Ge''s fans disappeared on the spot, they even felt there was no need to continue their quarrel with Prince of Lanling, given that the fan club was calling for calm and saying ''let''s keep things peaceful''.

    Simultaneously.

    Yuan Xi''s fans also backed off. They realized they couldn''t touch this round''s Prince of Lanling. However, they retreated strategically to avoid his edge, waiting for later games to make a comeback. Yuan Xi''s fans would not give up easily.

    The rest of the audience kept on watching.

    The performances of the subsequent singers were also good, maintaining the consistent standard of "The Masked Singer", but Prince of Lanling''s performance left the deepest impression. So much so that when the director announced at the end of the program Prince of Lanling was this week''s number one, many screen comments all expressed the same four words:

    "Well-deserved!"

    During this process, Leng Quan''s small interruption finally made everyone laugh, bringing the audience the greatest off-stage fun, particularly when Leng Quan clumsily tried to hide himself, the screen echoed with countless laughters. People finally understood why Leng Quan stayed silent¡­.

    For the sake of the program''s secrecy?

    This guy is just afraid of losing face!

    But you can''t just hide to avoid losing face. As soon as the program ended, Leng Quan''s ''tribe'' comment section was instantly bombarded, Prince of Lanling''s fans rushed over like they were on steroids...

    "Quit hiding."

    "We see you."

    "You had the guts to predict, don''t hide and don''t talk. I know you''re watching, are you satisfied with this round''s result?"

    "The clown is actually me!"

    "Who wins and who loses, only heaven knows!"

    "Teacher Leng Quan, how many times have you listened to ''A Laughter in the Sea''? Teacher Prince of Lanling wants you to go back and listen to this song more."

    "..."

    Leng Quan still didn''t respond.

    Nor could he respond.

    If people pay close attention, it seems that the crowd of fans of Prince of Lanling has grown somewhat since before?

    The show ended!

    Public opinion reversed!

    No one mentioned that Prince of Lanling was not up to standard. Everyone''s discussion had shifted from whether Prince of Lanling can do it or not to Prince of Lanling''s smoky voice, and his vocal skills, even to his emotional quotient.

    "His EQ is pretty high!"

    Someone commented: "''Listen to this song more,'' this sentence may not be explicit enough but obviously people have gotten countless answers from it. Some people think it''s a mockery, some think it''s a generous remark, and others think it''s wise. Perhaps this is just a testament to Prince of Lanling''s high EQ¡­."

    "High emotional quotient?"

    Many netizens laughed: "If Prince of Lanling''s EQ were as high as you say, he wouldn''t have criticized Male Lion, also known as the famous singer Mu Shi, who was eliminated this round. Mu Shi was already eliminated and yet he added insult to injury, saying Mu Shi had a problem with breath mcontrol. Isn''t this rubbing salt in the wound?"

    "Well..."

    "I also think there''s a problem with Mu Shi''s breath control, it''s too frequent and lacks rhythm. I don''t know if Mu Shi was nervous or something, anyway what Prince of Lanling said is true, his comments these episodes are all faultless." S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "..."

    A new point of controversy emerged!

    Prince of Lanling''s performance this episode had indeed conquered many, but his mouth had also offended many, especially the fans of Mu Shi, the well-known singer!

    "Too much!"

    "Prince of Lanling is malicious!"

    "Show-off as soon as he won!"

    "Mu Mu just underestimated his opponent, he didn''t anticipate that Prince of Lanling would do so well this round. If Mu Mu prepared better, he would certainly not be eliminated. Prince of Lanling should apologize to Mu Mu!"

    "There''s something wrong with this guy!"

    "Do you have no problem with your breath control?"

    "If you dare to take off your mask, we Mu Mu''s fans will definitely rip you to pieces. You should know that you can eat whatever you want, but you can''t speak recklessly!"

    "..."

    Mu Shi fans were furious!

    Many neutral netizens were amused. Since the show started, Prince of Lanling has been an endless topic, and he never stops commenting on other singers, offending one singer in each episode!

    He offended Yuan Xi in the first round!

    In the second, it was Zhao Ying Ge!

    Mu Shi was the victim in the third round!

    The show has only aired for three episodes, yet he managed to offend a diva and two top-tier singers! Are you secretly the fifth judge of the "The Masked Singer"?

    Controversy!

    Controversy!

    Even many passersby were subtly divided into two factions. Some felt that Prince of Lanling should be more restrained; others felt that Prince of Lanling should remain this candid, without Prince of Lanling, the show would lose a third of its fun.

    Thankfully...

    Although there were controversies about the person Prince of Lanling, his talent had gradually gained everyone''s recognition. This time nobody was making speculations about Prince of Lanling being eliminated in the next episode. As it stood, Prince of Lanling was not someone who would be easily eliminated.

    "Haha!"

    At Lin Yuan''s home, his sister, holding her stomach, laughed: "Prince of Lanling takes first place. This should have been the moment when online public opinion completely reversed. However, his big mouth manages to offend Mu Shi''s fans again. You should know that Mu Shi was essentially eliminated by Prince of Lanling. Wouldn''t Mu Shi''s fans hate Prince of Lanling to death?"

    "He came first."

    His sister looked at Lin Yuan: "Only you predicted this round correctly. But ''A Laughter in the Sea'' is indeed worth the first place. I think this is the best song you''ve written recently."

    Lin Yuan didn''t speak.

    He was deep in thought.

    His way of speaking had always been so direct. Why could everyone accept it before, but as soon as he put on the mask so many people disliked it?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Here comes the third update. Continue writing.

 Chapter 503 - 479: Here Again (Added for Alliance Hierarch Xiao Dious Love for Books)_1

    The following day.

    Lin Yuan arrived at the TV station to record the fourth episode.

    Before entering, he paused out of habit, waved to the cheering crowd outside the venue, then entered the music hall.

    "Prince of Lanling''s fanbase has grown," observed an observer.

    Tongtong laughed, she could tell just how loud the cheers for Prince of Lanling were.

    There were significantly more people cheering for Prince of Lanling today than during the third episode.

    "Mhm."

    Lin Yuan was in good condition today: "Let''s rehearse."

    Tongtong nodded: "Let''s head over."

    The rehearsal wrapped up after around half an hour. Lin Yuan had little trouble mastering this song.

    The main appeal of "Departure" was its pleasing melody and mid-level difficulty; it was a typical song for a baritone.

    Before Lin Yuan''s voice broke, he had been a baritone, and it is a range he is comfortable with.

    However, an interesting thing happened when they drew lots:

    Tongtong drew for Lin Yuan, and drew the number one lot again!

    "Pfft!"

    The cameramen couldn''t help but laugh.

    Tongtong was just too unlucky!

    In the first episode, Tongtong drew the third lot, which was right behind the Swan!

    In the third episode, Tongtong drew the first lot, which meant opening the show!

    In the fourth episode, Tongtong drew the first lot again, continuing to open the show!

    Only the lot for the second episode was decent, with Prince of Lanling being the last to perform...

    But the issue was!

    The lot for the second episode was drawn by Prince of Lanling himself, having nothing to do with Tongtong!

    "Ahhhhhh!"

    Tongtong was devastated: "My luck is terrible, next time Prince of Lanling should draw himself!" Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    In a sense, Tongtong truly was unlucky. He never knew anyone could be this unfortunate, though he didn''t really care about the order of performance.

    Not long after,

    The recording began.

    Lin Yuan and Tongtong walked onto the stage.

    The audience''s gaze was locked on Prince of Lanling, curious about the song he would perform this time.

    Surprisingly, when Prince of Lanling started singing, it turned out to be a song by Yang Zhongming?

    Facing the judges,

    Mao Xuewang and the others laughed and turned to Yang Zhongming, "It''s your song."

    Yang Zhongming nodded without saying a word; he was listening attentively.

    "You wanted me to be there, yet you were the first to leave..."

    "That loveless glance as you turned around, disappearing into the sea..."

    "Please depart, taking your so-called love with you; let''s guess each other''s thoughts as the evening winds blow away the dust; you have no expectation for the future; the sunset waits as memories try to let go... So, it turns out that departure was your unexpected arrangement..."

    This song "Departure" was quite familiar to Blue Star.

    Lin Yuan made a few minor amendments to the original song to better fit the stage atmosphere; he didn''t change the main melody though, choosing instead to alternate between male and female voices.

    This trick was really effective on the audience.

    There were quite a few cheers at the scene.

    After the performance,

    The applause began.

    The stage was not as explosive as when "Sea Laughter" was performed, but the audience didn''t expect Prince of Lanling to be explosive in every episode.

    The duet between the male and female voices was very appealing.

    The host turned to the judges, "Let''s start with Teacher Yang Zhongming''s evaluation this time."

    Yang Zhongming nodded, surprisingly gave a slight smile, "I wasn''t wrong. It''s clear that your singing skills have improved in these few episodes, especially this song. Your interpretation of the song is even better than the original singer, Fei Yang..."

    The studio immediately became lively!

    Normally, even if the judges thought Prince of Lanling sang well, they would only comment subtly "on par with the original singer".

    Or "each has its own merits".

    After all, Fei Yang being the King of Singing is a regular judge in other shows; saying someone sang better than him would certainly offend him.

    But this show was different!

    Maestro Yang Zhongming could speak his mind without worrying about who was the King or Queen of Singing; Fei Yang had to listen to it!

    Of course,

    Some of Fei Yang''s fans in the audience quietly grumbled a bit, but eventually shut their mouths.

    Unhappy?

    Hold it in then.

    Even the song is written by Yang Zhongming!

    The other three judges also found it quite amusing.

    Wu Long couldn''t help but add, "I''ve heard Fei Yang sing this song, in a live performance no less. The truth is, it wasn''t as good as this version. The main difference lies in the vocal delivery. The three different tones of the Prince of Lanling are truly powerful. This time he used the two most fitting and harmonious ones."

    Quite obviously.

    Wu Long wasn''t afraid either. His position in the industry might not be equal to Yang Zhongming''s, but it wasn''t far off.

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan thought for a moment, then said, "I think Fei Yang sang this song perfectly. The song really fits his voice."

    The judges are surprised.

    The host is surprised.

    Everyone is surprised.

    The Prince of Lanling, who usually never compliments anyone, was actually praising someone? He even learned how to be humble?

    Did he realize that he was likely offending a lot of people and decided to be tactful?

    Everyone was a tad taken aback...

    Just then.

    The Prince of Lanling added, "There may be some flaws in his rendition of other songs, but at least with this one, I think there''s nothing wrong."

    Huh?

    Brother!

    Are you complimenting or insulting him?

    The scene suddenly erupted in a cacophony of whispers after an awkward pause.

    Just when we thought the Prince of Lanling had changed his ways, one comment managed to upset Fei Yang again. The Prince of Lanling hasn''t changed at all - he thrives on stirring controversy!

    Fei Yang, oh Fei Yang!

    That''s the King of Singing we''re talking about!

    The backstage situation wasn''t much different.

    The robotic voice gradually intensified, "Here he comes, here he comes! He''s coming with his critiques!"

    The White Swan shook his head, "The Prince of Lanling''s criticism may be late at times, but it''s never absent. I thought I was bold, but this guy truly has guts of steel."

    The substitute singer from the last episode, Rose, let out a wry smile, "Here we go again!"

    "That''s quite... ahem..."

    Pufferfish seemed to want to say something, but decided to swallow his words.

    Even An Hong, the host known for maintaining a stone face, struggled to keep a straight face and his comical look was quite ridiculous...

    "Alright then!"

    Yang Zhongming laughed heartily, "You''re right in saying that he sang this song pretty well. After all, not everyone has as many voices as you. However, his new song ''Simple'', which he released a few months ago, was sung too complicatedly. The excessive technical modifications stripped the song of its charm."

    "Right."

    The Prince of Lanling agreed.

    You''re still agreeing over there!

    The audience nearly lost it, some laughed, some shook their heads, and some slapped their thighs.

    Fei Yang''s fans had turned red with anger.

    This Prince of Lanling, he''s pushing his luck!

    "...snort."

    This time, neither Liu Xu nor Mao Xuewang dared to interrupt. They couldn''t control their laughter as well as An Hong and ended up snorting.

    Could they not laugh?

    This Prince of Lanling was just like a mobile turret!

    Firing shots every episode!

    All right!

    Now, the King and Queen of Singing and the top-line male and female singers are all here!

    Are you collecting stamps or what?

    Yang Zhongming laughed, "Alright, that''s enough for now. Thank you for singing my song, I really liked it."

    Almost forgot this is a stage show...

    Got so engaged in discussing music with this kid...

    I''m not the one wearing a mask...

    Wu Long chuckled, "Wearing that Prince of Lanling mask of yours is like tossing a joke around. I suspect you might even get beaten up on the street."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    After yet another round of interactivity and comments, the Prince of Lanling exited the stage.

    But there was no doubt.

    Once the show aired, he would once again become the focus of attention for this episode!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Thank you to Dio - our new Alliance Hierarch ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ. Also, there seems to be a birthday event for Lin Yuan on the activity page. You can go to Polluted White''s main page, follow the link in the updates, send some birthday wishes, and receive a Lin Yuan birthday badge. There''s also a survey on Lin Yuan''s relationship status that you can fill out. Keep writing.

 Chapter 504 - 480: Prince of Lanling, a Terrifying Thought_1

    "Prince of Lanling..."

    Tongtong was looking at Lin Yuan in a trance.

    "Hm?"

    Lin Yuan was also looking at her.

    Tongtong fell silent for about ten seconds, then sighed: "Nevermind."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    The rest of the performances were also good. Everyone sang the judges'' songs, making the judges quite moved. Liu Xu and Mao Xuewang even wiped their eyes. The atmosphere on the scene was very warm.

    This was probably the least competitive round.

    Today, there were no strained performances, all were heart-rendering.

    But...

    No audience found it boring.

    After three consecutive high-flyer rounds, the gentle warmth of the fourth episode was like a healing session, reminding everyone of the classics, and the splendid days of the judges in the past.

    Of course, they are still glorious now.

    It''s just that their ages have caught up with them.

    And the singers were performing their works from their youth.

    Among them.

    The sixth substitute singer to take the stage caught Lin Yuan''s attention.

    This person, who called herself Mermaid, but in her voice, Lin Yuan heard a familiar tone¡ª

    Jiang Kui?

    Lin Yuan was somewhat uncertain.

    The likelihood of meeting acquaintances in this competition seemed not low.

    Lin Yuan pondered.

    After the performance, it was time for the rankings announcement.

    Everyone walked backstage into the gathering hall.

    "You sang well."

    Pufferfish looked at Mermaid.

    Mermaid nodded: "You too."

    Huh?

    Something seemed off with the atmosphere?

    The other singers detected a faint taste of gunpowder.

    "We should know each other?"

    "The possibility is indeed quite significant."

    Mermaid and Pufferfish were still talking.

    When everyone sat down, however, the two deliberately avoided each other, choosing sofas far apart.

    "..."

    Did they clash in terms of image, so they couldn''t stand each other?

    It shouldn''t be that extreme.

    The singers contemplated quietly.

    At that moment, Tong Shuwen walked in and announced the results of today''s competition in his familiar, stuttering manner:

    Swan first.

    Prince of Lanling second.

    Robot third.

    Mermaid fourth.

    Pufferfish fifth.

    Rose was eliminated.

    Perhaps because this round was not inherently competitive, Rose did not show much sorrow. She just smiled and said to the Prince of Lanling:

    "Show me some mercy."

    Everyone burst into laughter.

    Lin Yuan nodded. He hadn''t planned on saying much. Rose sang quite well, but she lacked distinctive features.

    But this was not the singer''s fault.

    Nevertheless, Lin Yuan offered a suggestion: "You''d be better suited to singing some movie and television theme songs."

    Mainly OSTs.

    Rose was taken aback, then seemed to be in deep thought. Eventually, she nodded:

    "Thank you."

    Rose went to unmask.

    This time, it was a second-tier female singer named Yang Yang.

    Interestingly, this second-tier female singer was known for her aptitude in singing movie and television theme songs!

    Everyone''s eyes naturally turned to the Prince of Lanling.

    In a sense, the advice he had just given was very accurate!

    "I''m feeling the chill too."

    Yang Yang said with a smile. Seemingly, saying "Bracing the Chill" had become a tradition for the singers after unmasking.

    "Congratulations to all of you!"

    Tong Shuwen looked at the remaining five singers:

    "After four rounds of fierce competition, you have formed the first team of ''The Masked Singer''. You can all have a good rest for a while."

    The robot asked, "How many teams are left?"

    Tong Shuwen laughed and said, "This is also to be announced to everyone. There are three more teams. That is to say, our show will select the members from four teams four months later, a total of twenty singers. At that time, we will adopt the form of team-to-team duel. For more specific details, please wait for the announcement from the program team."

    "Understood."

    When it came to the dueling stage, the speed of singer elimination would increase.

    For now, the focus is still on performance, and there would be only one singer eliminated per episode unless anything unexpected happened.

    Following the end of the competition.

    Lin Yuan returned to the company by car. The next few months would be quite leisurely for him.

    The competition was temporarily not his main concern.

    ...

    There wasn''t much to summarize this time. After the competition concluded, Lin Yuan continued to write his novel.

    Life was quite calm and peaceful.

    But this tranquility didn''t last for many days.

    On Sunday.

    When the fourth episode aired, the internet exploded once again!

    "Holy shit!"

    "Prince of Lanling is picking a fight again!"

    "This time he takes it directly to Fei Yang!"

    "Hahahaha, I love Prince of Lanling''s mouth!"

    "The expression on An Hong''s face on the side just cracked me up!"

    "Singer King Fei Yang, Song Queen Yuan Xi, first-line male singer Mu Shi, first-line female singer Zhao Ying Ge, Prince of Lanling has pissed off four big-name singers in four episodes. What a lineup, all brought down at once!"

    "There will be no Prince of Lanling in the next episode... I feel somewhat reluctant when I think about it."

    "I hope the next batch of singers can step it up!"

    "I don''t know if the next batch of singers will step it up or not, but I do know that without the Prince of Lanling, there won''t be any explosive topics anymore."

    "....."

    Meanwhile, as expected!

    Fans of Fei Yang were furious!

    After the fan clubs of Yuan Xi, Zhao Ying Ge, and Mu Shi rebelled, the fans of Fei Yang also started to revolt!

    "Wait until you reveal your face!"

    "Do you dare to talk smack without the mask?"

    "You dare to mess with the King of Singing!"

    "Brothers, attack him!" sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "For our singing king, Fei!"

    "No one can bully the singing king Fei...except Xian Yu!"

    "Charge, charge, charge, rush to the tower and kill him!"

    "....."

    Well, there''s nowhere to go.

    Because there''s no competition from the Prince of Lanling later.

    As Prince of Lanling has not revealed his identity, even if Fei Yang''s fans want to fight, they can''t find a place to do so. They can only keep hitting the topics of Prince of Lanling hard on some forums and badmouth Prince of Lanling together with the fans of other singers who were criticized before.

    There are signs of forming alliances?

    But netizens seemed to have grown accustomed to these singers'' fans'' excitement and did not respond much. Instead, some netizens summarized the four episodes'' performance of Prince of Lanling:

    "The strength of Prince of Lanling is a bit confusing now, as everyone hasn''t shown their true selves yet!"

    "The judges have said that Prince of Lanling''s singing is improving every competition. Can this also be understood as him gradually revealing his real strength?"

    "Setting aside the singing skill, I think the fact that Prince of Lanling loves to fire shots indirectly proves his strength."

    "Right, looking at the end of the fourth episode, it''s fascinating when Prince of Lanling was advising Yang Yang to sing more soundtracks for TV dramas in the future. As Yang Yang was unmasked, we all know that this advice is solid. Yang Yang is indeed very suitable for singing movie and TV soundtracks.

    But we came to this conclusion after Yang Yang''s unmasking, while Prince of Lanling understood the other''s strengths and weaknesses before their face reveal."

    "Terrifyingly insightful!"

    "I''d like to talk about the first episode again. All the people at the competition venue, including us viewers before the television, believed that Robot was first-rate. However, only Prince of Lanling and Father Yang, upon hearing Robot''s only one performance, concluded that the other party was the Singing King. This proves how insightful Prince of Lanling is, as precise as Maestro!"

    "Plus, Zhao Ying Ge said she was willing to accept criticism¡­"

    "Looking back, everything Father Yang said is very similar to what Prince of Lanling said. But Prince of Lanling is not copying Maestro. Many times, he even spoke before Yang Zhongming."

    "Yes, Prince of Lanling is just outspoken, but everything he said, I believe, are facts!"

    "There is a problem with how Fei Yang sings some songs, and not only Prince of Lanling has pointed it out. Some big names in the industry have hinted at it before as well. When Prince of Lanling pointed it out on the scene of the competition, Father Yang agreed with him, and Teacher Wu Long also nodded in agreement."

    "That being said, why do I feel like Prince of Lanling is kind of awesome?"

    "At least in terms of commentary, he is indeed very professional!"

    "Hey, what a pity Prince of Lanling won''t be in the next episode..."

    "...."

    Surprisingly enough.

    No matter whether they liked Prince of Lanling, they didn''t like Prince of Lanling, or they were neutral audience members, after seeing the later competition plan of the program, they all felt a sense of discomfort.

    Moreover, for the past month, they had been arguing about Prince of Lanling''s topics every day, and many people had grown used to it.

    Knowing that they would not be seeing Prince of Lanling for a long time, many netizens even felt a strange sense of regret.

    The first day without Prince of Lanling.

    Missing him¡­

    Meanwhile, in a certain company.

    Fei Yang slowly took out his phone, raging:

    "I don''t care, I want to participate in ''The Masked Singer''. No matter how many people there are, I want to participate in the first season. The second season doesn''t have the Prince of Lanling, so it doesn''t make sense!"

 Chapter 505 - 481 Curtain_1

    Actually, Fei Yang had a decent temperament. Among the Kings of Singing across the continents, he was seen as the cool and handsome type¨C

    Plus, he was a guy who cared about his face value too.

    Although he had been criticized occasionally in recent years for his singing style becoming greasy, it didn''t diminish Fei Yang''s reputation as the King of Singing.

    Until later.

    Fei Yang met Xian Yu.

    The title ''Perennial Runner-up'' was directly tied to Fei Yang.

    A phrase started circulating in the music industry:

    "People remember only the champion, never the runner-up. The exception is Fei Yang."

    Because of this phrase...

    Fei Yang, without lifting a finger, instantly became a sensation throughout Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan.

    Other Singing Kings had to appear more in public. They worked hard to sing well and produced some excellent new works to gradually get themselves known to audiences in the other three continents.

    But for him, Fei Yang, he rose to fame in all four continents without even leaving home!

    Many peers of comparable standing were envious of him.

    But Fei Yang was in agony...

    He couldn''t bear to let go of the title ''Perennial Runner-up'', yet it also pained him.

    It wasn''t exactly a pejorative term. There was no disrespect attached to it. It was just light-hearted teasing. Surprisingly, it had boosted his singing career substantially, and his agent was secretly laughing all the way to the bank. Fei Yang was no fool!

    But to accept it silently...

    Fei Yang, being a man who values his pride, felt bitter when people kept teasing him as the ''Perennial Runner-up''.

    So he resisted and struggled.

    But, up until today, he hadn''t succeeded. Instead, it deepened everyone''s impression of him as the ''Perennial Runner-up''.

    Well!

    If I can''t beat them, I could at least avoid them, right?!

    Fei Yang decided that he would avoid Xian Yu at all costs. He really wanted to concede.

    He executed this plan quite well initially.

    He didn''t even participate in The Masked Singer, fearing that he might suddenly spot Xian Yu among the panel of judges when he was performing!

    Who would''ve known...

    Xian Yu didn''t even show up for the show at all!

    Instead, a mysterious singer named Prince of Lanling criticized that he was a poor singer!

    Damn!

    This infuriated Fei Yang.

    Being criticized by Father Yang was one thing.

    He was a maestro, even scarier than Xian Yu.

    But on what grounds did Prince of Lanling do it?

    Who do you think you are?

    Do you really think because I''m the "Perennial Runner-up", that means I suck?

    It''s because I, King Fei, competed against Xian Yu!

    Try replacing him with another opponent.

    I can beat the shit out of him, believe it or not!

    Yes, I''m talking about you, Prince of Lanling!

    As a mere mortal, I can easily crush you!

    What angered Fei Yang even more was:

    The piece where Prince of Lanling was criticizing him was made into a gif!

    Because of An Hong''s face trying to hold back a laugh in the background, it was so wicked that it was being shared all over the internet!

    Which means...

    Now people in Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan all know that the mighty King Fei was criticized by Prince of Lanling!

    But that''s not what infuriated Fei Yang the most.

    The biggest, most infuriating point for Fei Yang was actually the person behind Prince of Lanling.

    Xian Yu!!

    Prince of Lanling participated in four competitions¨C

    Except for the fourth one being somewhat peculiar, Xian Yu wrote the songs for Prince of Lanling in the first three!

    Xian Yu!

    Prince of Lanling!

    The two of them getting together!

    Both old and new grudges combined, Fei Yang exploded!

    Although he''s wary of Xian Yu, he''s not afraid of Prince of Lanling.

    This is a competition of singing skills!

    No matter how good your song is, it''s pointless without singing skills!

    Live performance and leaderboard of the season are not the same concept!

    Fei Yang decided that he would participate in this competition, regardless! This might be his only chance to get back at Xian Yu. Even if he won''t end up as the champion, Fei Yang would still unleash his most terrifying strength to give his opponent a taste of his power!

    Just at that moment.

    Fei Yang came across a popular comment on the internet:

    "Have you guys noticed a mysterious phenomenon?"

    "What phenomenon?"

    "Prince of Lanling sang Fei Yang''s song and then secured the second place."

    "Holy crap! The power of being second is awesome!"

    "Compared to Chen Zhiyu, King Fei outperforms his predecessor, while Prince of Lanling is just singing his songs and is destined to be second!"

    "..."

    Fei Yang: "Damn!"

    He freaking placed second just because he sang my song.

    This must be a coincidence!

    You guys are not human, you''re truly dogs, I will now go and win the first season of The Masked Singer to show you guys!

    Somewhere else.

    Of course, Lin Yuan didn''t know that King Fei was furious, let alone plotting to outdo him....

    The competition was put on hold for now. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    In the following days, Lin Yuan started to focus on writing his novel.

    He could write at home, in the studio, or even on the set of the Spiderman film.

    The filming process was progressing quite fast.

    This is a characteristic of superhero films.

    The shooting isn''t complex, most of the movie scenes are actually shot in front of a green screen.

    What really takes up the time is the post-production of the film.

    However, that is the case on Earth.

    The development of special effects technology for film in Blue Star is much more advanced than Earth, so the time for post-production special effects can be greatly shortened...

    Of course.

    As Lin Yuan was putting all his effort into writing his novel, he was making rapid progress, this was his first attempt at non-stop writing around the clock¡ª

    Swiftly and steadily!

    One story after another from the Hercule Poirot Series came to life under Lin Yuan''s pen.

    This was also related to Lin Yuan''s recovery.

    Lin Yuan''s current health was absolutely great.

    In the past, he could write up to fifty thousand words a day, after which he would feel quite tired.

    But now, he could write up to a hundred thousand words a day. Even if he didn''t feel incredibly energetic afterwards, at least he wasn''t in low spirits.

    Moreover...

    Being healthy brought Another benefit to Lin Yuan: he didn''t need to keep a fixed sleep schedule any more.

    In other words:

    Lin Yuan experienced the joy of staying up all night writing.

    However, Lin Yuan had good self-control, generally staying up until midnight, and then he would obediently go to sleep.

    In System''s words...

    Even if one is healthy, they need to take care of themselves, if they overdo it, health problems may still emerge.

    Under such circumstances, Lin Yuan definitely wouldn''t dare to overdo it.

    He knew better than anyone else how precious health is to mankind.

    Just like that.

    Time entered the month of March.

    On that day, at nine forty in the evening.

    Lin Yuan was about to finish writing "The Hercule Poirot Collection".

    Next, he was going to write the final story of "The Hercule Poirot Collection".

    This was Poirot''s final case.

    The name of the case was "Curtain".

    Yes.

    Hercule Poirot was about to greet the last case of his career.

    However...

    When Lin Yuan prepared to write, he hesitated.

    This was the first time Lin Yuan hesitated.

    He even felt somewhat uncomfortable.

    In the past few days, while writing those previous cases, his hands moved quickly, his fingers on the keyboard were like phantoms.

    But at this moment.

    Lin Yuan''s hand stalled in the air above the keyboard, as if someone had pressed the stop button.

    It wasn''t that he couldn''t bear finishing "The Hercule Poirot Collection".

    Lin Yuan, under the pseudonym "Chu Kuang," had ended too many classic stories, he''d never hesitated, and he''d never felt uncomfortable when writing the grand finale.

    But...

    This novel will be the first time Chu Kuang cruelly kills the male protagonist...

    Yes.

    Poirot, will die!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thank you to the Alliance Hierarch of the Double Silver Brigade, HuanYu for the huge reward. ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ Is this what it feels like to be sponsored by a benefactor?

 Chapter 506 - 482: Distributing razor blades_1

    It''s somewhat ironic.

    This year, with the help of the system, Lin Yuan''s body became incredibly healthy.

    However, his Poirot, the endearing detective with the proud little mustache and gray brain cells, is now growing old.

    When Poirot began to make waves in the detective world...

    When Poirot gradually became a myth in the hearts of mystery readers...

    When Poirot used his wisdom to punish evil criminals time and time again...

    Who could have imagined!

    What such a proud man would look like in his old age?

    Who could have imagined!

    Poirot in his last case of his life, embracing his own...

    Death?

    So, Lin Yuan hesitated.

    He even wanted to petulantly change the ending and let Poirot officially retire, giving him a happy old age!

    He didn''t know if it was because his voice had healed or because of some other influence.

    Lin Yuan felt that he was becoming increasingly sentimental.

    He suddenly sighed lightly, as though a sigh would bring him relief.

    His eyes flickered.

    But finally, Lin Yuan gave up this capricious idea.

    He didn''t know what sort of struggle Agatha Christie had when she wrote ''Curtain''.

    But in a certain sense, rather than letting the readers imagine the figure of the aging Poirot, perhaps death is the release.

    People always deliberately evade some facts...

    For example, people will die.

    Indeed, anyone who is alive will die.

    Even if Poirot is a ''god'' in the eyes of some mystery fans, it is the same.

    Although Poirot''s death was not from natural aging or illness.

    "Huh."

    He let out a long breath.

    Lin Yuan no longer hesitated and began to type the keyboard at a fast speed:[Doesn''t everyone experience the same sort of dreamlike state when they re-experience feelings from the past, or revisit the same emotions from the past?]

    Poirot invited Hastings back to the manor where they first collaborated on a case.

    The manor has now been converted into a luxury hotel.

    What surprised Hastings was that Poirot had become old and weak.

    He could only sit in a wheelchair, and he had dismissed his many-year-old servant George¡­

    Typing sounds.

    It stopped at eleven thirty-two.

    Lin Yuan looked at the document, and finally typed the three words "The End".

    As he was about to close his laptop, Lin Yuan suddenly paused.

    After Poirot, it should be a story about Holmes...

    These two characters should have no connection in the background because the authors are not the same person at all.

    But in Blue Star, these two works should both be written by Chu Kuang.

    Therefore, why not let the two brightest characters in detective history have some connection?

    This connection can be very shallow.

    But the two should intersect at some moment.

    This can also be regarded as an indirect new book teaser.

    The readers will understand.

    After Poirot, there is another man who will achieve outstanding success in the same field.

    "Let''s just do this¡­"

    Lin Yuan started typing on the keyboard, adding a few strokes.

    It was at Poirot''s funeral.

    After Hastings presented flowers and bowed, as he was preparing to leave, he noticed a mysterious man wearing a bowler hat, nodding his head in respect at Poirot''s tombstone.

    ...

    The second day.

    Lin Yuan directly sent the completed ''Hercule Poirot Series'' to Jin Mu.

    "You finished it?"

    Jin Mu knew that Lin Yuan was planning to finish the ''Hercule Poirot Series'' recently.

    But when he received so many manuscripts, he was somewhat shocked. "How many words have you written these days?"

    "I don''t know."

    "Your typing speed is really..."

    Jin Mu sighed for a few moments, then said, "I''ve sent the novel over to Silver Blue Books for publishing. Now that the entire book is done, we should make a Poirot compilation."

    Lin Yuan had no objections.

    That night.

    Lin Yuan suddenly received a phone call.

    The call came from Cao Dezhi, the Chief Editor of the Mystery Department at Silver Blue Books.

    Normally, Cao Dezhi would contact Jin Mu, but this time, perhaps because it was urgent, he directly reached out to Chu Kuang.

    Indeed, it was pretty urgent.

    The voice on the other end of the phone couldn''t help but sound excited: "Mr. Chu Kuang, you can''t do this!"

    For once, Lin Yuan comforted him: "Calm down."

    Cao Dezhi seemed to realize he was being overly emotional.

    He swallowed, lowered his voice slightly: "I don''t mind you concluding the ''Hercule Poirot Series'', even if you don''t write detective novels anymore, but why did you kill off Poirot, and in such a way ¡­"

    Lin Yuan pondered and said: "This is Poirot''s life."

    Cao Dezhi opened his mouth, but eventually, he said nothing.

    He stayed silent for a long time before asking, "So, the mysterious figure who appeared at the end of your story ¡­"

    "Is the protagonist of my next book."

    "So you''re planning to continue writing mysteries?"

    "Why wouldn''t I?"

    "I understand."

    In the end, Cao Dezhi didn''t manage to persuade him.

    Actually, Cao Dezhi was also aware that he probably wouldn''t be able to change Chu Kuang''s mind.

    When had this person''s ideas ever been influenced by an editor?

    Him making this call today was less out of his identity as an editor, and more as a reader.

    Because he not only supervised the ''Hercule Poirot Series'', but he himself was also a hardcore Poirot fan!

    As a hardcore Poirot fan, it was hard for him to accept Poirot''s death, especially in such manner.

    Although he understood that the ''Hercule Poirot Series'' had already been long enough.

    Poirot''s death didn''t mean a cliffhanger or unfinished story, but rather made Poirot''s character image clearer and easier for readers to remember.

    "This old rascal, still handing out blades to readers even after it''s over ¡­"

    Cao Dezhi grumbled in his mind, but he didn''t dare to say it out loud, even though Chu Kuang''s fans often call him that.

    That night.

    Silver Blue Books officially announced this shocking news:

    "The classic detective masterpiece, ''Hercule Poirot Series'' by Mr. Chu Kuang will officially conclude in three days!"

    Boom!

    As soon as the news came out, the mystery field was instantly shook!

    Even the entire novel community was shaken up!

    This is the treatment that the ''Hercule Poirot Series'' deserves! S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    There were too many who adored this series!

    Within the whole mystery field, this novel was undeniably a classic masterpiece!

    And now, such a classic will be concluding.

    For a while, everyone was discussing it!

    However, the most affected by this news were the readers of the Poirot series ¡­

    Swipe, swipe, swipe!

    The comment section on the official announcement was immediately flooded with countless comments from readers, the vast majority of whom expressed a similar sentiment:

    Reluctant to let go!

    Many people had gotten used to following the Poirot series, it was the spiritual sustenance for many mystery fans.

    But now, Chu Kuang was about to cut off their supply.

    However, although the readers were regretful, they accepted the fact that this novel was about to come to an end.

    It''s not the first time that old rascal Chu Kuang has done this!

    No matter how popular the novel, if the old rascal wanted to conclude it, he wouldn''t be merciful.

    Following the old rascal''s novels, you should be prepared for this!

    As long as the ending is satisfying for everyone, even if regret is there, they would have to accept it.

    With this regret, everyone began to anticipate the official release of the novel in three days.

    Then.

    Three days had passed ¡­

    The conclusion of the Poirot series was officially released!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Thank you [Winter Bear Sauce] for becoming the forty-third Alliance Hierarch of this book, a pretty special one, many of the book''s activities were organized thanks to her. Many thanks to her, Polluted White continues writing, next we enter the favorite part of the Alliance Hierarch''s additional updating segment.

 Chapter 507 - 507: 483

    March 3rd.

    The major bookstores finally started stocking the "Hercule Poirot Series".

    As the book was officially released, Jin Mu, Lin Yuan''s agent, who had previewed much of Chu Kuang''s serialized content, remarked, "The benefits of being the boss''s agent is you get to read the updates earlier than the general reader..."

    At this moment, he opened the last story of the Hercule Poirot Series.

    This story was called "Curtain".

    Next to it was a bracket, "The Final Case".

    Jin Mu''s mood suddenly became complicated.

    Even more so when he read the opening content of "Curtain".

    Poirot invited Hastings back to Styles Court¨C

    The place where Poirot and Hastings first met.

    Unlike his original vigour, this Poirot was now old and even confined to a wheelchair.

    According to the timeline of the story, this was perfectly normal, people get old.

    But as a reader, Jin Mu inevitably felt a bit sentimental...

    With this sentiment.

    Jin Mu continued reading.

    Times change.

    The estate where Poirot and his assistant first met was now converted into a high-end hotel.

    There were a variety of people living in the hotel.

    This was a classic opening to a Poirot story¡ª

    Arranging a group of people in a fixed space from which Poirot needs to find the murderer, Poirot never misses!

    Indeed.

    Meeting the assistant Hastings, Poirot took out a stack of clippings reporting on five murders.

    Poirot stated:

    "There is some connection among these people staying in the hotel and the people involved in the previous murder cases."

    Classic start!

    Familiar to the point of intimacy, the following part should also be a classic Poirot-style investigation, right.

    This is so Poirot!

    Thinking so, Jin Mu felt an expectation which took form as a smile on his face.

    But the subsequent development of the story left Jin Mu stunned.

    A victim with a suspicious cause of death showed up.

    It was clear to discerning eyes that the victim was murdered, but Poirot insisted it was suicide!

    This even led to a dispute between Poirot and Hastings.

    "Why?"

    All familiarity was gone.

    Jin Mu suddenly felt suffocated.

    Poirot was acting a bit off, to the point it didn''t seem like him.

    Could it be because Poirot had gotten old and his mind was not able to keep up?

    Jin Mu gritted his teeth.

    This story was a bit heavy.

    But at this point, the following description made Jin Mu shiver, as if he had taken an unexpected hard blow!

    Poirot was dead!

    Just as the cases were still shrouded in mystery, Poirot suddenly¨C

    Died!!

    Heart attack!!!

    At this moment, Jin Mu''s hand holding the book trembled, and he instinctively yelled out:

    "Impossible!"

    The final case had only just begun and it was still unsolved, and Poirot died?

    What kind of bizarre development was this!?

    The author actually killed off the main character!!

    Feeling numb and rigid, Jin Mu began breathing heavily. He got up and paced for a long while, striving to suppress his emotions¡ª

    It''s over!

    Jin Mu was clearly aware what it meant to the readers that the boss had killed off Poirot, the super popular main character!

    Shock!

    The more Poirot fans there were, the more terrifying this shock would be. No one would be indifferent to Poirot''s death!

    Even he finds it hard to accept Poirot''s death at this moment!

    But Poirot is indeed dead ¡ª

    No narrative trickery involved, the story straightforwardly tells all readers that Poirot has died.

    His body is icy cold!

    Even the funeral was held!

    Grief swept over Jin Mu in an instant. Not only was he Poirot''s agent, but he was also a fan of Poirot.

    He can only force himself to continue reading.

    He wants to know if the story will take a new turn ¡ª

    Indeed, there is a new development.

    Poirot''s death may have been a homicide.

    Because Hastings realized that Poirot''s heart disease medication bottle had gone missing.

    A heartbroken Hastings decides to find out the truth.

    The atmosphere is oppressively stifling.

    It used to always be Poirot seeking the truth.

    But this time, Poirot himself has become the victim.

    And Hastings, as Poirot''s assistant, has to find the truth himself.

    In the end.

    Hastings was unsuccessful.

    The one who solved the case was still Poirot himself!

    Undeniably, Poirot is dead; this fact cannot be changed. But he left Hastings a will.

    This will revealed all the truth:

    It turns out Poirot had found out who the real killer was a long time ago.

    But this killer was unique, he never killed anyone himself, instead, he manipulated others'' psychological weaknesses and subtly induced them to commit murder.

    These crimes were conceived and orchestrated by him.

    Yet, he always managed to stay outside the circle of suspicion ¡ª

    Or rather, he could keep himself out of the circle of suspicion.

    The innkeeper, because of a story this man told about a gun accidentally going off, intentionally made it look like a hunting rifle went off accidentally and shot his domineering wife; he just didn''t hit her vitals because he went soft at the last moment.

    It was again this man who induced Mrs. Franklin to murder her husband for her own convenience to remarry.

    However, because the table was rotated, Mrs. Franklin unwittingly drank the poison coffee. To prevent the innocent Mr. Franklin and Hastings''s daughter Judith from being suspected, Poirot declared the woman had committed suicide...

    Yes.

    The reason why Poirot argued with Hastings was simply because he wanted to protect his good friend''s daughter.

    Then ...

    This man led Hastings to misunderstand that his daughter had been seduced by a rogue, which almost led Hastings to kill the rogue!

    Luckily, Poirot discovered it in time and drugged Hastings to make him sleep early so he couldn''t carry out his plan.

    Poirot was furious.

    His upright and kind friend was taken advantage of by the killer''s psychological tricks, and almost became a murderer himself!

    Poirot felt he can no longer tolerate it!

    Unable to bring the killer to justice through legal means, Poirot made a dreadful decision!

    He decided to eliminate the real villain himself ¡ª

    Norton!

    After killing Norton, Poirot hid his own heart disease medicine and let himself die from the outbreak of his illness.

    He was prepared to accept divine judgement.

    Yes, Poirot chose suicide after killing the killer; he killed the killer at the price of becoming one himself.

    There was a feeling of suffocation in Jin Mu''s heart.

    And when he saw Poirot''s last message to his assistant, his chest felt even more congested:

    "Hastings, I''m not sure if what I''ve done is right or wrong. I am confused. I do not believe that a person should hold the law in his own hands... But on the other hand, I am the law. Do remember, many years ago, while I was still a policeman, I once shot a desperate criminal who was shooting at people from the roof. A state of emergency was about to be declared then.

    By taking away Norton''s life, I have saved other lives ¡ª the lives of innocents.

    But still, I really don''t know...

    Maybe it''s better that I don''t know, I''m always so certain ¡ª overconfident even... But now, I feel very inferior. I can only say to you like a child, ''I don''t know...'' Goodbye, dear friend. I have removed the bottle of amyl nitrite from beside my bed. I would rather leave myself in the hands of God. He might punish, he might forgive, I wish it would come soon!

    We will not be together to punish criminals anymore. Our first case was here, and the last is here as well... Those were good times. Yes, those were always my best times..."

    plop.

    Tears fell.

    Unbeknownst to him, Jin Mu''s tears have overflowed.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    ps: Thanks to the Alliance Hierarch of Sword Dance Sky, here''s the fresh update. Regarding Poirot''s death, Polluted White was also very upset when he read it, so this chapter is a bit more detailed, because it is indeed a sad one.

 Chapter 508 - 484: Riot (Additional update for Alliance Hierarch Fire Dance Flamming Phoenix)_1

    Jin Mu was not the only reader who shed tears over the tragic death of Poirot.

    As everyone joyfully bought the latest "Poirot Case Collection", more and more readers gradually came to the ending.

    In fact.

    When the first batch of readers confronted Poirot''s unexpected death in the closing section, they all had similar reactions¡ª

    Their suffering simply came a little later than Jin Mu''s.

    But the intensity of their feelings was no less intense.

    It was as if their hearts were suddenly clutched by an invisible hand.

    Anguish and sorrow, ushered in by Poirot''s death, stormed into their hearts.

    As if a horde of horses were galloping in their chests!

    The mental state of countless people shattered in that instant¡ª

    The old rascal Chu Kuang is at it again!

    It''s hard to pinpoint exactly when it all started.

    The sadness and emotional catharsis brought about by Poirot''s death suddenly swept the Internet¡ª

    Forums!

    Tribes!

    Blogs!

    With the publication of the grand finale of the "Poirot Case Collection," the anticipated uprising of countless readers took place!

    "Aargh, die, old rascal Chu Kuang! You actually killed my beloved Poirot!"

    "Why did you have to write Poirot''s death?"

    "I won''t accept this ending!!!"

    "I sneakily read the big finale in class and bawled my eyes out, even the teacher came to comfort me!"

    "A petition signed in blood by ten thousand people, will you change the ending!"

    "Poirot didn''t die!"

    "You Chu Kuang, only a novelist, what do you understand about Poirot!"

    "Chu Kuang the unrepentant old rascal, I will smash your windows tonight!"

    "The rascal never changes!!!"

    "I''ve been anticipating the big finale for ten thousand years, and you''re feeding me razor blades?"

    "Is it that whoever we readers like, you have to kill off!?"

    "Chu Kuang, I''m going to fight you!"

    "This old rascal is too despicable. Back then, he wrote about Biyao''s death, and I just managed to calm myself down, now he''s killed off my beloved Poirot again. Does he think our hearts are made of iron?"

    "..."

    Chu Kuang''s tribe comment section fell in a very short time, attracting all sorts of readers here.

    The ones who curse.

    The ones who cry.

    The ones who are angry.

    The ones who are wounded.

    An array of emotions united into an ocean, filling the comment section to the brim, all venting without restraint.

    The readers have gone insane!

    At three in the afternoon, #Poirot''s Death# topped the hot search.

    By five in the evening, #Poirot''sDeath# had become the number one hot topic in the tribe.

    In addition.

    Four of the top ten hot searches on the Tribe were also related to Poirot.

    Meanwhile.

    The number one hot search term on the blog section was shockingly "Die, old rascal Chu Kuang"!

    The readers'' resentment was boiling over!

    And a lot of readers who hadn''t seen the finale yet were dumbfounded by this sudden spoiler¡ª

    "What a joke, Poirot is dead?"

    "How could Poirot die!"

    "It''s impossible for Poirot to die!"

    "I don''t dare to keep reading, Chu Kuang the old rascal is so hateful!"

    "I can no longer control my razor blades from flying out!"

    "I can accept spoilers, but I can''t accept Poirot''s death!"

    "..."

    Silver Blue Books.

    Mystery Department.

    Cao Dezhi sat in front of the computer with a bitter smile.

    From the doorway, urgent voices rang out sporadically¡ª

    "Chief Editor, the department''s phone lines are about to be blown up by readers!" S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Chief Editor, a reader just spent ten minutes insulting me on the phone, how is that my fault?!"

    "Chief Editor, I can''t answer all the calls, they''re all demanding Chu Kuang to change the ending."

    "Editor in chief, perhaps we might consult with Teacher Chu Kuang..."

    "Editor in chief, the readers are demanding refunds and calling our office, but this is a matter for the bookstore..."

    "Editor in chief..."

    Cao Dezhi slammed his office door closed with a bang.

    Stop calling me!

    Does it help to call me?

    What the hell is going on?

    Just then.

    Cao Dezhi''s mobile rang.

    After answering the call, a familiar voice emerged from the other end of the line; it was Ol'' Xiong from the Fantasy Department: "Things must be crazier on your end, huh..."

    "You''re here to laugh at my misfortune, too!"

    Cao Dezhi''s mood was emotional and unstable.

    Ol'' Xiong sighed, "I ain''t here to enjoy the spectacle, just to remind you this ain''t the first time our department has gone through this."

    Cao Dezhi was silent for a moment.

    Ol'' Xiong helplessly continued, "This isn''t the first time Chu Kuang has tormented his readers. His ''Zhu Xian'' was so popular, but it plunged when he ruthlessly killed off Biyao. It affected sales for several months, so count yourself lucky that he chose to play this last card in the grand finale."

    "And how did it all end up, eventually?"

    Cao Dezhi had heard of the incident before.

    Ol'' Xiong sneered, "What can you do but ignore it, let the readers vent, they''ll eventually accept it. Since when has Chu Kuang heeded our opinions? Besides, I think the ending is not necessarily a bad one."

    Cao Dezhi: "..."

    I wish the readers saw it your way.

    To be honest, Cao Dezhi didn''t think there was anything wrong with the ending.

    But...

    Emotionally, it was hard to accept.

    Some readers even claimed Chu Kuang killed Poirot himself!

    Well then.

    That theory holds water.

    Also.

    Regarding the finale, where Poirot turns into a criminal to fight crime, the plot has stirred up innumerable debates. Most of the anger toward the ending stems from this:

    "How could Poirot be so extreme!"

    "Chu Kuang''s plot twist is simply too cruel!"

    "I''d rather see Poirot die of natural causes, instead of dying in such a tragic way. He went against the very law he spent his whole life protecting."

    "How could this be..."

    "Why did it have to be this way..."

    "I can''t believe that Poirot would have no alternative to the killer, damn it, I''ve run out of tissues. This is the first time I''ve cried so much over a fictional character."

    "..."

    While the readers were all in uproar.

    Leng Guang, who had once initiated a Literary Duel against Chu Kuang and was defeated by the sharp counterattack of "Murder on the Orient Express", had suddenly posted three intermittent statuses.

    First: "Chu Kuang broke the rule that a detective must not be a criminal!"

    Twenty minutes later.

    Second: "Having read the ending again, it''s not without understanding."

    An hour later.

    Third: "This is the best ending for Poirot."

    From initial criticism to reconciliation, Leng Guang seemed to have undergone a complex psychological struggle. In the end, he too conceded to the finale of "Collection of Poirot''s Investigations".

    What the hell!

    The netizens were all dumbfounded.

    What''s this all about?

    Chu Kuang killed Poirot off and made him a killer, breaking your own rules...

    And yet you say the ending was good?

    Aren''t you notorious for your bad takes, Leng Guang?

    Don''t you hate it when people write like this?

    Didn''t expect you, with your smug face, to betray us?

    Non-stop notification alerts!

    Angry netizens began to confront Leng Guang, among them, the comment with the most likes was:

    "You''ve been sweet-talked by Chu Kuang!"

    Unexpectedly, Leng Guang responded to this comment:

    "With Poirot''s ability, he could have made Norton''s death look like a perfect crime. But he didn''t. Poirot was forced to make a tough choice: either forsake his cherished friend and many innocent lives in the future, and let this evil man continue to break the law; or lift his gun of righteousness against his own principles.

    As for those who say Poirot could never do such a thing, I suggest you reread ''Murder on the Orient Express'' and observe Poirot''s choice then!"

    The netizens were stunned.

    Shortly after, it was as if they woke up from a dream!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to lord Huo Wu Chifeng for the second Alliance Hierarch reward, extra update as promised, Polluted White will continue writing tomorrow''s update.

 Chapter 509 - 485: The Pit Was Dug Long Ago_1

    Yes, everyone has come to this realization!

    Among the cases Poirot solved, the most famous, and the one that readers enjoyed the most¡ª

    is "Murder on the Orient Express"!

    In "Murder on the Orient Express", Poirot chose to let the murderer go.

    Because the law could not punish the murderer who was beyond its reach, a group of people took up the butcher''s knife and killed the murderer using a stunning collective crime methodology.

    Fight violence with violence!

    After uncovering the truth, Poirot hesitated for a long time and eventually decided not to turn this group in.

    Poirot''s handling of the case at the time caused controversy.

    However, in "Curtain", there is another murderer who can''t be punished by law.

    This murderer exploited other people''s psychological weaknesses to instigate them to kill, while he stood far away, watching.

    A real outlaw!

    He even incited Poirot''s good friend Hastings to kill!

    If it wasn''t for Poirot''s perception, Hastings would''ve become a murderer.

    If Poirot can''t control the other party, they will continue to go crazy.

    Under such circumstances, Poirot made the same choice as the murderers in "Murder on the Orient Express"¡ª

    Fight violence with violence!

    Be it right or wrong.

    This act, at least, didn''t violate Poirot''s characterization. Instead, it made Poirot''s character more solid!

    Indeed.

    He could forgive those people because he, too, would make the same extreme choice in the darkest hours!

    However, the difference is that¡­

    Poirot could pardon others for fighting violence with violence to punish murders, but he could never forgive himself for using the same method.

    So after he killed the murderer, he committed suicide.

    He countered the murderer, sharing the same fate!

    And this is exactly the greatness of Poirot!

    After realizing this.

    Many people were silent.

    The torrent of abuse aimed at Chu Kuang quieted down all of a sudden.

    Due to the story mentioned, many people''s grievances were no longer valid.

    Surprisingly.

    It turns out that Chu Kuang had hinted at this in "Murder on the Orient Express". He had been setting the trap all along.

    The difference is, after fighting violence with violence, that group still wanted to live on.

    But Poirot chose death as his redemption.

    He felt guilty for himself.

    He broke the principle he had adhered to all his life.

    When he made this decision, he negated what he had adhered to most in his detective career.

    But that''s Poirot!

    The depth of this arrangement can shake people''s hearts!

    These seemingly unrelated stories actually formed a complete chain of thought due to two choices that had the same effect¡ª

    It all adds up!

    And when making these two choices, Poirot was repeating four words.

    "I don''t know¡­"

    He didn''t know how to deal with others, nor did he know whether his choice was correct.

    No case could stump Poirot.

    Only the contradictions of human nature could.

    Can you accept this ending now?

    The readers didn''t even know.

    But the criticism was certainly quieter.

    The readers'' rebellion gradually simmered down due to Leng Guang''s mention of "Murder on the Orient Express".

    At that moment.

    Someone suddenly said: "I don''t support Poirot''s approach, but it doesn''t stop me from continuing to love him. He will always be the king of detectives in my heart."

    Like a chain reaction.

    More and more readers expressed their agreement:

    "In Poirot''s own words in the book, perhaps this is his retribution. As the long-anticipated gun was raised when the law lost its meaning, Poirot, representing his concept of justice, fired."

    "I love him even more."

    "But this ending is indeed too cruel for Poirot. He has been pursuing the truth all his life, but ultimately, he is pursuing legal justice, only to exit the stage in the most tragic way."

    "He was already in his old age, still so wise, but his body could no longer support him."

    "It is people like Poirot who keep us standing under the Sunlight at all times."

    "I really love Poirot!"

    "..."

    There might still be controversy. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    But compared to the readers'' violent rebellion, everyone seems to have calmed down and accept Poirot''s choice.

    They also came to accept the ending.

    It''s worth mentioning that when Agatha wrote "curtain", she had already passed away, so there was no case of readers jumping up and down.

    But¡­

    As the readers jokingly put it, "dead crimes can be forgiven, crimes committed alive cannot".

    No matter how Chu Kuang handled the ending, he can''t change the fact that he sprung a surprise on the readers in the grand finale.

    "This old rascal is too vicious!"

    "He totally played us."

    "I bet he is feeling smug right now. Look, in ''Murder on the Orient Express'', he had already hinted at Poirot''s fate, that Poirot was bound to receive his own redemption."

    "I hate the old rascal!"

    "Press him down the next time he tries to put a knife in!"

    "Damn, this has become a meme now. Every time when creators attempt to give out daggers in film and television series you''d see comments saying, ''Quick, hold Chu Kuang''s hand!''"

    "..."

    That too is a fact.

    Right now, in the readers'' eyes, Chu Kuang''s image somewhat resembles that of the Earth''s Urobuchi.

    Urobuch refers to the Japanese playwright and novelist, Urobuchi Gen.

    Because his stories are all relatively serious and have a strong logical editing ability, people are provoked to think critically after reading his works, thus he is highly evaluated by the readers.

    However, this is indeed a double-edged sword.

    While Urobuchi''s work is exciting, his work is fundamentally dark. He is not comfortable unless he''s serving pains to his readers, which always keeps them on edge. You never know when your favorite character will die..

    Isn''t that also the case with Chu Kuang?

    The readers never imagined that Poirot would die in the end of "Poirot Detective Collection"!

    How could he?!

    How dare he?!

    Poirot''s popularity among mystery fans is top tier. Normal authors wouldn''t dare to play with such risks.

    Only Chu Kuang dares to!

    This not only tired out the readers but also left many authors and editors speechless¡ª

    "This is terrifying."

    "The title of ''old rascal'' fits him well."

    "I thought him writing Biyao''s death was his limit, I never thought he would dare to write Poirot''s death."

    "Biyao was not the protagonist after all. So her death was passable, but I didn''t expect him even to harm the protagonist!"

    "The key is, Biyao''s popularity was not high before her death, Poirot''s popularity was at its peak when he died!"

    "Chu Kuang is truly wild and arrogant. He is indeed the man who single-handedly took on nine people!"

    "This is so savage!"

    "Most authors these days are careful and aim to please the reader, only Chu Kuang is messing with readers'' nerves constantly."

    Someone concluded:

    There have been two readers'' uproars in the novel circle. The first one was because of Chu Kuang, and so was the second one.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Ps: Please vote for a monthly ticket.

 Chapter 510 - 486: Out with the Old, In with the New_1

    "Finally, it has calmed down."

    When departmental phone calls ceased and the constant clamor of his subordinate editors finally quieted, Cao Dezhi could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

    He thought for a moment, flipping through the pages of the "Poirot Case Collection" next to him and focused on the last paragraph.

    [Hastings suddenly spotted a man.

    The man must have been over one meter eighty, holding a bowler hat in his left hand and bowing to Poirot''s grave.

    Hastings had never seen this man before and couldn''t help but approach him.

    "May I ask who you are...?"

    The man had a slicked-back hairstyle, a defined face like a polished diamond, and a thick and long eagle hook nose made him look especially alert and resolute. Hastings, for some reason, found something eerily familiar about him.

    "Sherlock Holmes."

    The man took off his bowler hat and introduced himself.

    "You''re a friend of Mr. Poirot?"

    "Merely a mourner who has heard many of his tales and traveled from afar to pay his respects," the man named Holmes replied.

    As the man turned to leave, Hastings, staring at his retreating figure, finally understood where his sense of familiarity came from¡ª

    His eyes, they resemble Poirot''s.]]

    This was the final scene of the "Poirot Case Collection" written by Chu Kuang.

    Cao Dezhi had confirmed with Chu Kuang that this would be the protagonist of Chu Kuang''s upcoming mystery novel.

    This excited Cao Dezhi. Poirot''s death was undeniably distressing, but the fact that Chu Kuang was still willing to write detective stories was great news to him as the editor-in-chief of Silver Blue mysteries.

    "But the information is too sparse. There is only a physical description and the character''s name to go on."

    Cao Dezhi mused.

    Not just Cao Dezhi, many others also took note of this paragraph. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    On the internet.

    As everyone began to accept Poirot''s death, many gradually shifted their attention to the new character that appeared at the end of the story, sparking many speculations -

    Obviously -

    Poirot''s death shook everyone, so initially, all discussions were focused on Poirot.

    No one mentioned this new character.

    Furthermore, even though this person appeared at the end of the "Poirot Case Collection", his description was extremely brief.

    It was only when everyone began to calm down that they noticed the exceptionality therein.

    "Why would such a character suddenly appear at the end?"

    "Does this man have no connection to Poirot?"

    "What about Hastings''s feelings? It must be noted that the narrative suddenly shifts from Hastings''s first-person perspective to a third-person perspective, stating in the original language that this Sherlock''s eyes resemble Poirot''s."

    "Could Chu Kuang be implying that Poirot isn''t dead?"

    "If that''s the case, though it''s just a hint, I have to say that the old rascal does have moments of conscience."

    "Wait a minute."

    "I thought of a larger possibility. Could this man be the protagonist of Chu Kuang''s next novel?"

    "No way."

    "Like a sequel to the ''Poirot Case Collection,'' Chu Kuang wants to replace Poirot with a new protagonist?"

    "Impossible."

    "I only accept Poirot, not others. Nobody can replace Poirot."

    "Same here."

    "My heart has already died with Poirot. Chu Kuang, don''t even think about replacing Poirot with a new character."

    "¡­"

    There were small-scale discussions on the internet about this issue.

    Because the signs weren''t clear, many people couldn''t guess what the appearance of this man named Holmes signified. Everyone vaguely felt that there was more to come from this story.

    Because in terms of character directions, it made no sense.

    Unless, for some reasons, this appearance would become meaningful, but what could be behind that?

    ...

    The same question was also asked by Jin Mu: "Who is this Sherlock?"

    "The protagonist of the next book."

    Lin Yuan didn''t hide anything, he had told Cao Dezhi earlier.

    Jin Mu was taken aback, then asked with a frown. "You plan to write another detective protagonist like Poirot?"

    "You''re only half right."

    Lin Yuan said, "Sherlock and Poirot are both detectives, but their personalities, methods of solving cases, and many other aspects are vastly different. The only thing they share is their relentless pursuit of the truth."

    "I see."

    Jin Mu smiled bitterly. "So you didn''t actually tire of writing Poirot''s story, prompting you to end it abruptly?"

    "No."

    The story was, in fact, finished.

    Moreover, Lin Yuan knew that Poirot''s death would cause a major upheaval among his readers.

    But clearly, Lin Yuan had underestimated the scale of this uproar, as well as the depth of people''s feelings for Poirot.

    It''s good that people still have their sensibilities.

    After comparing with the previous text, everyone accepted Poirot''s death.

    Because Poirot was getting old anyway.

    For a heroic figure like him, it''s hard to imagine him growing frail. Letting him live forever in the readers'' hearts in this way wasn''t too bad.

    "As long as it''s not that."

    Jin Mu said with relief, "Take it easy in the future. Don''t throw curveballs out of nowhere. After finishing the novel, even I wanted to smash the windows of your house."

    "Antarctica is on guard."

    Lin Yuan seemed to think carefully for a moment and then gave a very sincere answer.

    Jin Mu, "¡­"

    Of course, he knew that Lin Yuan had a pet dog, Antarctica, who had acted in the movie ''Hachi: A Dog''s Tale.''

    The dog was a real movie star.

    He didn''t dwell on this topic with Lin Yuan, instead changing the subject:

    "The protagonist of your next detective novel won''t end up dead too, right?"

    Lin Yuan was silent for a few seconds before answering, "No."

    In fact, in the story, Holmes was indeed written as dead at one point, but ultimately, he was resurrected.

    Jin Mu took a step back instinctively: "Boss, were you serious just now when you hesitated?"

    "And were you serious just now when you took half a step back?"

    "You can''t do this, I''m sincerely and solemnly advising you to be kind-hearted!"

    "..."

    Being resurrected doesn''t count as dying.

    Jin Mu sighed, "Anyway, you judge for yourself. But with the readers, everyone needs comfort and reassurance. Why not say something?"

    "Sure."

    Lin Yuan also felt that the readers needed some comfort.

    He logged onto Chu Kuang''s Tribe account, confirmed it was the right one, and posted a message:

    "New book announcement, it''s still a mystery novel, ''Great Detective Holmes''."

    The news that he was going to publish a new book could probably make the readers happy¡ª

    Lin Yuan could distinctly feel that whenever he announced a new book, the readers'' mood would improve.

    This was the best consolation he could think of.

    He surely couldn''t claim to be a "warrior of love" like Urobuchi did, stating that his "creative purpose is to bring warm, healing stories to everyone," right?

    But then.

    After Lin Yuan posted the message, Jin Mu suddenly looked alarmed: "Boss, how could you do this? Do you realize what your actions are implying?"

    "Implying what?"

    "It''s provocation."

    The Prince of Lanling being so hated wasn''t without reason!

    You wrote off Poirot and then immediately sought to replace him in the readers'' hearts with a new character?

    Are you implying that without the old, the new will not come in?

    Will the readers accept it!?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thank you, Little Dinosaur Loves Fish, for becoming the second Alliance Hierarch, ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ. Let''s keep writing!

 Chapter 511 - 487: I Dont Accept_1

    Lin Yuan''s tribe update indirectly or directly answered two queries.

    The first question.

    Why did Sherlock Holmes suddenly appear at the end of the "Hercule Poirot Series"?

    It was because the appearance of a new character had the purpose of linkage, that man named Sherlock Holmes, is the male protagonist of Chu Kuang''s new book¡ª

    Some netizens had already guessed this.

    However, for certain readers who were hoping that "the appearance of Sherlock Holmes is Chu Kuang''s hint that Poirot is not dead", this news is undoubtedly a little disheartening.

    The second question.

    Would the readers accept it?

    The answer was actually very simple. It was so simple that the readers almost launched the third uprising when they saw this update.

    Whoosh!

    The internet was in an uproar!

    Faced with Chu Kuang''s new book continuing the detective genre, trying to recreate a detective protagonist similar to Poirot, almost everyone gave the same answer:

    "I won''t accept it!"

    This voice almost immediately rose to a boiling point, and quickly filled up Chu Kuang''s comment section:

    "Old rascal, you''re dreaming!"

    "I, Wang Shang, publicly resist today: even at the cost of my life, I will not jump off the Kang to accept Sherlock Holmes. In my heart, there is only one great detective, he is Poirot, he is forever great and irreplaceable!"

    "I, Liu Jing, openly object!"

    "I, Zhou Ze, also make it clear today, I will not read your new book. I would watch even if you continue to send razor blades, but I won''t read your new detective book. Poirot is god!"

    "Is Sherlock Holmes even considered a great detective?"

    "I haven''t recovered from Poirot''s death, and you are already eager to write a new book, claiming another man is a great detective. You say Sherlock Holmes is a great detective, have you asked Poirot?"

    "Poirot is forever god!"

    "Sorry, but there can only be one to deserve the title of a great detective, and that''s Poirot. After Poirot, there will be no more great detectives. I don''t believe any detective can surpass Poirot!"

    "Does the old rascal want to replicate Poirot?"

    "What else can I say, the so-called great detective Sherlock Holmes is nothing more than a different name for Poirot. You might as well write about Poirot''s reincarnation and rebirth as Sherlock Holmes. In that case, I might consider buying a copy to read."

    "..."

    What kind of joke is this?

    You, Chu Kuang, just killed off the great detective Poirot, and now you''re thinking of writing another one?

    No wonder there was suddenly this Sherlock Holmes at the end...

    You''re trying to ride on the coattails of our Poirot''s popularity, aren''t you?

    Leave Poirot alone.

    We won''t meet!

    Never mind whether this new great detective can reach Poirot''s height, even if he really can, we readers will not recognize him as Sherlock Holmes!

    He is still Poirot!

    The readers won''t agree. You, Chu Kuang, are just capriciously renaming Poirot, and that''s all there is to it!

    You!

    Chu Kuang, the old rascal!

    Ficklegate!

    We readers will always be the most loyal! sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Although the deceased Poirot may never return, we won''t be like you, Chu Kuang, killing Poirot and then writing a new great detective protagonist!

    Our hearts are with Poirot!

    Our hearts have died with Poirot!

    We won''t ever love another great detective after Poirot!

    We are sure.

    We stand firm.

    This is how countless readers express their position regarding Chu Kuang''s actions.

    Following "Old Rascal," Chu Kuang gained another new nickname, "Ficklegate."

    Some readers even joint-signed an opinion, stating they could accept Chu Kuang continuing to write detective novels, but requested him to change the protagonist''s name back to Poirot¡ª

    In other words!

    If you still want to make a living from the detective series, then bring back our dear Poirot! Even a prequel would do if you really don''t want to revive him!

    ...

    After scrolling through the comments, Lin Yuan was dumbfounded.

    He didn''t expect the readers'' response to be this intense.

    He thought everyone would be happy when they saw the news.

    Whenever he announced plans to publish a new book in the past, the readers were always excited, and there were generally only two types of comments in the comment section.

    One was "looking forward to it".

    The other was "support".

    But now, before he even published his new book and merely announced the title, readers had already expressed "boycott".

    For Chu Kuang, this was really an unprecedented situation.

    He didn''t expect that even someone as influential as Chu Kuang would one day have a work that is boycotted by readers.

    "..."

    Jin Mu beside him looked at Lin Yuan''s baffled expression and said with an amused shake of his head:

    "It looks like the new book needs to be delayed."

    Strictly speaking, this is not a big deal. Compared to the death of Poirot, the shock experienced by the readers is quite small, and the amount of boycott is within manageable limits.

    Perhaps this is also related to the fact that Chu Kuang put the readers through so much that their tolerance increased?

    Just look at what Chu Kuang has done to the readers.

    It is cruel and insane.

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    The book must be postponed of course.

    Even if he wanted to publish a new book now, it wouldn''t be possible. He hadn''t even started writing the Sherlock Holmes series yet, this was only a new book announcement.

    However, the new book announcement was genuinely meant to console everyone.

    But it backfired.

    Maybe when the new book is released, everyone would''ve forgotten about this, or so Lin Yuan optimistically thought.

    In fact.

    If Poirot and Sherlock Holmes had many similarities, then Lin Yuan might only write about one great detective.

    But the problem is that these two characters have completely different styles.

    From their case-solving methods to their characters, they are not equivalent at all. They can''t be lumped together simply because they are both great detectives.

    Meanwhile.

    The industry was also very confused by Chu Kuang''s maneuver.

    Not because of the readers'' boycott, that was something that could be foreseen.

    Everyone was just puzzled as to why Chu Kuang wanted to write another great detective¡ª

    "Since Chu Kuang still wants to write in the great detective mold, then why did he end ''The Poirot Case Collection''?"

    "Isn''t it good to continue using Poirot''s name for the same kind of great detective?"

    "After all, it''s just a name. It can also please the readers."

    "Yeah, judging from the sales volume of ''The Poirot Case Collection'', no matter how the quality of the story fluctuates, as long as the protagonist is Poirot, the readers will buy it. Poirot has already become a brand, with a formidable fan effect."

    "I simply can''t understand this guy''s thought process, in every sense."

    "I originally thought Chu Kuang was drained by Poirot, and tired of this kind of deductive writing model for a great detective, so he chose to end the story. I never would''ve guessed that he just wanted to give the readers a new protagonist as a great detective. Does he think this will give the readers a sense of novelty?"

    "What the readers want is Poirot, not a sense of novelty."

    "When Sherlock Holmes can no longer reach the heights Poirot reached, I wonder if Chu Kuang will regret his actions, and think he shouldn''t have killed off Poirot?"

    "..."

    When everyone likes to use the term "possessed by Poirot" to describe a person''s cleverness, it actually means that the Poirot series has achieved unprecedented success.

    Under such circumstances, Chu Kuang''s decision is inexplicable.

    However, Lin Yuan didn''t pay much attention to this matter. He wasn''t even in a hurry to write the Sherlock Holmes series.

    Because on March 7th.

    The latest issue of ''The Masked Singer'' was broadcasted.

    New faces, same brilliance, the show''s topics trended once again!

    However...

    One of the trending topics was interesting.

    This trending topic was called:

    #Why Is It Always Fish#

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Ps: Asking for monthly votes, Polluted White continues to write, the next part is everyone''s favorite additional update from the Alliance Hierarch~

 Chapter 512 - 488 Why is it Always Fish (Added for Alliance Hierarch Little Dinosaur Loves Fish)_1

    Netizens who hadn''t watched "The Masked Singer" saw this trending topic and were left scratching their heads.

    What do you mean, it''s all about fish?

    Has everyone recently developed a love for fish?

    But those who had watched "The Masked Singer" chuckled upon seeing this trending topic after the program aired.

    That''s right!

    So many fish!

    The new episode of "The Masked Singer" introduced a whole new masked lineup, with a total of six singers debuting.

    Maintaining the scale of the first team.

    However, the interesting thing is that, in this episode, half of the singers chose fish as their virtual personas:

    Fat-Head Fish.

    Golden Dragon Fish.

    And a Big Fish.

    Actually, there''s no such species as Big Fish, though there is a song called "Big Fish". So it''s just a general concept of fishman, but it can still be classified as a "fish", and that''s what the trending topic is about¡ª

    "Ha ha, so many fish!"

    "This persona overlap is quite something!"

    "I''m stunned. Can''t these singers come up with new images? How come three more fish have appeared this episode, when there were already two fish in the last episode!"

    "Counting Pufferfish and Mermaid, we''ve got five damned fish already!"

    "I almost thought I was watching ''Under the Sea'' instead of a music variety show."

    "Are you sure this isn''t a fish tank conference?"

    "No, no, no, this is clearly a fish feast, five of them are enough for a team!"

    "Add one more fish and not just a team, even the damn first lineup of the episode will be complete!"

    "..."

    Everyone laughed upon seeing so many fish in this episode.

    More interestingly, at the end of this episode, all three fish advanced to the next round!

    Some people commented:

    "Joking aside, we have to admit that those three fish this episode, as well as the two fish from the last episode, are all very strong. So far, none of the fish have been eliminated!"

    "I see."

    "The advancement password is Fish."

    "But, anyone noticed something? There seems to be some tension among these fishes. They mostly ignore each other and when they do interact, it''s usually to trade barbs. There''s definitely some bad blood there."

    "Pfft, now that you say that, it''s kind of true!"

    "Going by the first team''s situation, there seemed to be discord between Mermaid and Pufferfish. Is this what they call like poles repel each other?"

    "It should be called same species repel each other."

    "I thought I was overthinking when listening to Pufferfish and Mermaid''s conversation in the first episode, but reflecting now, it''s clear they don''t see eye to eye."

    "..."

    The netizens'' observations are indeed true.

    Singers gather to announce the rankings, but from what can be seen on camera, it seemed these marine singers didn''t see eye to eye. Also, Pufferfish and Mermaid from the first group gave off the same vibe. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Netizens started speculating:

    Do these fishes know each other?

    Is there a special significance to these fish having selected a sea creature image at the same time?

    The show''s guessing game feature has been fully activated. Netizens have shown great interest in digging into the identities of the fish singers¡ª

    "The truth is but one!"

    A user named "Little Dinosaur Loves Fish" chimed in, quite fittingly given his handle. He posted a detailed analysis: "I''ve done some thinking and noticed that things are not as simple as they seem. Thinking about who in the music industry is most associated with fish?"

    Netizens paused for a moment before coming up with an answer.

    The biggest fish in the music industry must be Xian Yu, our dear Maestro Junior!

    "Little Dinosaur Loves Fish continued: "Correct, it''s Xian Yu. And that''s why I suspect that these fish singers might be related to Xian Yu. My suspicion is based on the fact that Pufferfish''s voice sounds so much like Zhao Ying Ge, especially after Zhao Ying Ge sang Xian Yu''s song "Big Fish," which further confirmed my guess.

    What''s more, Mermaid''s voice, although well concealed, gives off a vibe of Jiang Kui. Coincidentally, both of them have collaborated with Xian Yu, and the most important songs in both of their careers were composed by Fish Daddy!"

    The netizens got a shock!

    Upon further thought, it made more and more sense!

    If Pufferfish is Zhao Ying Ge and the Mermaid is Jiang Kui, then it''s understandable why these two are competitors. Both are popular female singers, both were promoted by Xian Yu. Surely there must be some tension between them...

    "So this is actually a competition for favour?"

    "Fish Papa''s fishy descendants are all participating in the show?"

    "Wow, this is exciting! Your guesses are probably spot on!"

    "Then, the three fishes from the second team..."

    If these guesses are correct, wouldn''t that be thrilling?

    The netizens eagerly inquired Little Dinosaur Loves Fish, with a thirst for knowledge.

    Little Dinosaur Loves Fish said, "The fish from the second team have hidden themselves well, but the key ''fish'' hint has given them away. Don''t you think the Golden Dragon Fish seems like Chen Zhiyu? Plus those who follow Chen Zhiyu would know that he is a fish lover and has a golden dragon fish at home. Also, this singer''s image is a golden dragon fish!"

    Netizens: "..."

    Isn''t this basically confirmed?

    Why doesn''t Chen Zhiyu try to be more discreet?

    Little Dinosaur Loves Fish seemed rather smug, "I''m not sure who the Fat-Head Fish is, but it probably has something to do with Xian Yu. As for Fishman, I have some idea. It might be Sun Yaohuo. Who doesn''t know that Sun Yaohuo is Fish Papa''s favourite?"

    "Oh my god!"

    "So that''s how it is!"

    "Even if these are just your guesses, I''ve started to believe them!"

    "So it''s really a fight among the fishy descendants!"

    "No, it''s not an internal conflict, like the guy in front said, this is a competition for favour among Fish Daddy''s descendants!"

    "These fish are definitely Xian Yu''s harem!"

    "Haha, Fish Papa''s harem is on fire!"

    "There''s a term ''Yu Dynasty'' in the music composition circle. Never thought there would be one in the singing circle too!"

    "It would be even more interesting if Fish Papa himself joins as a judge. Would these fish abandon singing and start fighting on stage?"

    "..."

    Everyone agreed with Little Dinosaur Loves Fish''s deductions!

    Because all of Little Dinosaur Loves Fish''s guesses were reasonable!

    And most importantly...

    The voice!

    Everyone hears the voices, but it''s really hard to guess without guidance. But if they have direction, it''s a different story!

    Take the Pufferfish for example.

    Upon close examination, focusing solely on her, don''t you think her voice sounds quite similar to Zhao Ying Ge''s?

    "Poirot has taken possession!"

    Netizens gave Little Dinosaur Loves Fish a thumbs-up one after another.

    This netizen truly lives up to his username!

    Who knew that upon receiving this compliment, Little Dinosaur Loves Fish suddenly got angry, "The damn old rascal had to go and kill off Poirot!"

    Many were confused.

    Not everyone reads novels.

    But those who had read the "Poirot Case Files" felt the sorrow, fully understanding Little Dinosaur Loves Fish''s emotions at the moment: "Chu Kuang, you old rascal! I won''t read Sherlock Holmes!"

    Meanwhile.

    Lin Yuan was surfing the internet when he came across this post.

    He was initially engrossed, impressed by how insightful this netizen was, even more precise than his own guesses. But towards the end, something didn''t feel right...

    No way, could this be about me?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Adding to Alliance Hierarch Little Dinosaur Loves Fish''s logic, this username is indeed somewhat appropriate now. Thanks to both Alliance Hierarchs for your support. Still owe you an update, Polluted White will continue to write.

 Chapter 513 - 489 Tear (Added for Alliance Hierarch Little Dinosaur Loves Fish)_1

    "Yes.

    Lin Yuan also watched the program. Based on his understanding of the singers he collaborated with before, he knew the identity of the performer named Fishman almost immediately after listening to his singing:

    Sun Yaohuo!

    Senior Yao Huo indeed altered his voice line. This alteration was enough to conceal his true identity. However, Lin Yuan had collaborated with Sun Yaohuo on so many songs that it was normal for him to guess it out.

    As for people like Chen Zhiyu...

    Lin Yuan could only make an approximate guess. He couldn''t fully confirm, so he held a half-doubtful attitude when he saw comments from a netizen named Little Dinosaur Loves Fish.

    However, when the other party pointed out that the mermaid might be Jiang Kui, Lin Yuan agreed quite much.

    He had suspicions before.

    So it might be a coincidence. Many singers he knew also participated in The Masked Singer!

    However...

    Netizens talked about harem fights. Lin Yuan didn''t feel anything about it. Netizens loved to play tricks.

    Lin Yuan knew this too.

    When he released the preview of his new Holmes series, he was even called a "scumbag" by book fans.

    Is Lin Yuan a scumbag?

    Of course Lincoln is not. Antarctica is.

    Lately, Lin Yuan noticed that Antarctica frequently went around the community, playing with different dogs.

    He even suspected that Antarctica had stolen someone''s girlfriend dog...

    Because one day, he distinctly saw Antarctica laying on a dog.

    Next to it was Xiao Huang--

    In other words, a stray dog in the community--

    This name was given by Big Yaoyao.

    At that time, Xiao Huang, with a bone in its mouth, ran excitedly over. But when it saw Antarctica lying on that dog, it just stood there stunned.

    In the end, Xiao Huang didn''t even want the bone anymore. It turned around and ran away, looking very upset.

    However, this is Antarctica''s personal matter, and Lin Yuan can''t interfere.

    Shaking his head, Lin Yuan no longer paid attention to what was happening on the internet and the program. Instead, he opened up his laptop while the sunlight was just right.

    He''s going to write the Holmes series now!

    About the writing order of Holmes, Lin Yuan thought a lot last night.

    In the end, Lin Yuan decided to start with "A Study in Scarlet".

    This novel emphasized Holmes''s "basic deductive reasoning!"

    The so-called basic deductive reasoning is the fundamental basis for Holmes to solve cases.

    It gives people a magical feeling.

    But this thing, after Holmes''s own explanation, becomes reasonable.

    With this part of the content, the image of Holmes, the great detective, could initially be established.

    It''s worth mentioning that...

    Holmes actually doesn''t consider himself a detective. He likes to introduce himself as a "consulting detective".

    In other words:

    When detectives encountered unsolvable problems, they would come to Holmes for advice.

    Doesn''t this further prove Holmes'' strength? Isn''t it clear that all detectives think Holmes is better than them if they seek Holmes'' help when they can''t solve a problem?

    This design is indeed quite satisfying from a narrative perspective.

    However, although Holmes labels himself as a consulting detective, most of the cases depicted in the novel are only solved when Holmes acts as a detective.

    In addition.

    Holmes'' assistant, Dr. Watson, became acquainted and began to become a partner of Holmes in "A Study in Scarlet".

    With that in mind.

    Lin Yuan began to type on the keyboard.

    ...

    Meanwhile, as Lin Yuan focused on writing the Holmes series.

    On the internet.

    The impact of Little Dinosaur Loves Fish revealing the true identities of the fish-themed singers in The Masked Singer was getting bigger and bigger.

    More and more people started to accept the speculation from Little Dinosaur Loves Fish!

    At the same time, everyone showed great enthusiasm for the "Xian Yu''s Harem Fight", rating it as another highlight of the show following the sharp-tongued Prince of Lanling!

    Even countless netizens were calling for: S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Xian Yu, please come and be a judge on The Masked Singer!"

    All your fish are here!

    If you don''t show up soon, your fish are going to start fighting!

    At this moment.

    Suddenly, a netizen said:

    "It''s inevitable that the fish would fight among themselves, after all, it''s a harem competition, everyone wants the sole favor, but they should have a common enemy, that is Prince of Lanling!"

    Yes!

    Everyone didn''t forget, in the four performances of Prince of Lanling, three of the songs he sang were written by Xian Yu!

    Among them.

    Included a song "A Laughter from the Sea"!

    The previous two songs received fair responses, but after "A Laughter from the Sea" was released, it was very popular!

    The song was downloaded a lot!

    The judges also highly praised this song!

    Yang Zhongming even called this song "A Great Song That''s Easy to Enjoy".

    The words "great song" are very heavy words of affirmation.

    Xian Yu giving such a good song to Prince of Lanling, this favoritism is almost catching up with Sun Yaohuo!

    Can the fish not consider Prince of Lanling their number one enemy?

    In the language of the internet, it would be:

    "If these people really belong to Xian Yu''s harem, then Prince of Lanling should be the most favored concubine at present, because Xian Yu has been promoting Prince of Lanling lately."

    Some even posted synchronized comments while the fish sang in this episode.

    "Overthrow Prince of Lanling!"

    "Overthrow Prince of Lanling!"

    "Overthrow Prince of Lanling!"

    Once this trend starts, it seems it can''t stop.

    In the following two weeks, the show continues to air, every episode there will be new fill-in singers...

    But it''s interesting that...

    No matter how hard it is, no matter how powerful the fill-in singers are, the three fish are still standing, not a single fish was eliminated!

    Moreover¡­

    The fish that everyone has pretty much guessed their identities also seem to be influenced by public opinion, and there''s an increasing sense of tension between them.

    Especially in the third match of the second team!

    Gold Dragon Fish directly stated in front of the other singers and countless audience:

    "I hope I have a chance to compete with Big Fish."

    Big Fish humorously counterattacked without hesitation: "You are just a fish, not evolved yet, while I am a human, Fishman."

    The netizens were screaming with excitement!

    The competition of favoritism among the fish is no longer undercover, there''s even a sense that they''re taking it to the stage!

    Come at each other!

    Pull each other''s hair!

    For a while, all the comments were instigating.

    Xian Yu''s harem competition has completely become another traffic explosion point of the show after the sharp words of Prince of Lanling!

    Many people even exclaimed:

    Turns out, Xian Yu is the biggest contributor to the show''s ratings!

    The reason is simple!

    Prince of Lanling is related to Xian Yu!

    The fish are also related to Xian Yu!

    Xian Yu himself didn''t participate in the show, but traces of Xian Yu can be found all over the show!

    "Wait."

    Amid the carnival of netizens, someone seriously said: "Think about it, isn''t it kind of terrifying, the singers that Xian Yu sees as promising are unbelievably strong!"

    Huh?

    That''s true!

    These five fish haven''t been eliminated so far, which proves their strength, but this also indirectly shows how precise Xian Yu''s choice of collaborating singers was¡ª

    Again, something to think about and be terrified!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Extra update for the Alliance Hierarch "Little Dinosaur Loves Fish", boss, the debt is paid off, will see the situation, not sure if Polluted White will update more.

 Chapter 514 - 490: Chu Kuangs Rival is Himself_1

    Lin Yuan stopped paying much attention to the program.

    During the half a month when the second group''s program was being broadcast, he was either writing novels or watching performances on set.

    He secretly gave Jian Yi the Acting Potion for one scene.

    The scene was about Uncle Spiderman''s death, where Spiderman regretted not stopping the thug, the on-screen spectacle of extreme remorse and pain, which required not only tear-filled portrayals from the actors but also precise emotional delivery.

    It was hard to perform.

    Jian Yi was already good enough, but Lin Yuan believed that the scene could be more touching, so he secretly boosted the other person''s acting skills.

    After the performance.

    Jian Yi softly exclaimed next to Lin Yuan: "I think I broke through! That scene was the most explosive one I''ve ever done since I started acting!"

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    There seems to be no problem with the breakthrough. The existence of this Acting Potion from the System indeed represents a significant breakthrough in technology.

    But the strange thing was...

    It seemed like Jian Yi''s subsequent performances actually improved, even when Lin Yuan didn''t give him the Acting Potion, Jian Yi was still able to interpret the characters very well.

    This was interesting.

    This situation happened with He Sheng''s book before, Lin Yuan couldn''t help but ask the System: "Are we sure the Acting Potion is a one-time use and it doesn''t produce permanent enhancement on acting skills?"

    "Certain."

    The System responds: "But compared to technology, the power provided by human confidence is the strongest."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Jian Yi was exuding confidence.

    It was probably related to Jian Yi''s special situation when he joined the team.

    Jian Yi always felt like he got into the group only because of Lin Yuan''s connections. As a newcomer who instantly nabs the main role, he was somewhat cautious and apprehensive. This nervousness and inferiority complex were huge pressures for him.

    Sure, pressure can be transformed into motivation.

    But when pressure exceeds a certain limit, it''s not a good thing.

    Right now he needs confidence, and the Acting Potion Lin Yuan secretly used provided him with this confidence. The moment a person starts to gain confidence, their mentality would completely change.

    In addition.

    There was another good news for Lin Yuan - "Spiderman" was almost finished shooting, after the green screen section, most of the remaining shots were in outdoor locations, and those parts were not that many.

    The progress was indeed quite impressive.

    The scriptwriter''s meticulous planning and presetting the shots made the shooting of the whole crew resemble a production line. Everyone just needed to do their part well and the project would move smoothly forward.

    But this is only possible in commercial films.

    The shooting of art films is much more difficult.

    On the other side.

    Though Lin Yuan didn''t pay much attention to the competition status of the second group, his family members were die-hard fans of the program.

    Lin Xuan would discuss enthusiastically with Big Yaoyao:

    "Your brother''s harem is too interesting!"

    "I always feel like the fish are going to fight backstage."

    "Like hair-pulling fights?"

    "Men don''t pull hair, they fight martial arts."

    "Like the Five Whip Strikes?"

    "..."

    From this, it can be seen that Xian Yu''s harem fight really brought endless fun to the audience.

    Even without the Prince of Lanling, the show can continue to be exciting!

    Lin Xuan even tried to persuade Lin Yuan: "Why don''t you go on the show yourself? Everyone wants to hear your comments."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    You may find it hard to believe.

    I was indeed on the show, and I am indeed commenting on every episode, but every time I finish commenting, I got criticized.

    ...

    At the end of March.

    The second group''s recording finally ended.

    The joyful spectacle of "Xian Yu''s harem competition" that entertained everyone for a month also finally came to a conclusion.

    In the final group, all the fish made it to the next stage!

    By coincidence...

    On this same day, Lin Yuan just finished writing "Study in Scarlet."

    It can''t be said that it''s a complete imitation, there is still some originality in the work, as "A Study in Scarlet" set its background in the Western world during the chaotic age of Earth.

    This kind of setting played a significant role in the Holmes series.

    Those mysteries revolving around chaos are difficult for Lin Yuan to handle, he had to arrange them in the setting of the Blue Star era, just like when he previously wrote the Poirot series.

    It requires refinement and processing.

    Fortunately, when the Qin Dynasty was overthrown, there were some chaotic periods during the transition to the current regime in Blue Star.

    These chaotic periods now serve as Lin Yuan''s most relied upon source of background material.

    Every time he writes about Western literature, there are always parts that need to be adapted, the era of regime change in Blue Star has become his greatest source of inspiration.

    Of course.

    In the stories of Holmes, Lin Yuan would occasionally mention Poirot, as if paying tribute to the great detective who had passed away.

    Lin Yuan isn''t rigid.

    He is very confident that readers would appreciate such sentiments.

    The part that Lin Yuan isn''t sure about right now is, how will the popularity of Holmes compare to that of Poirot?

    On Earth, stories about Holmes came out first.

    But on Blue Star, it was Poirot who took the first step.

    First impressions can be quite powerful. If everyone has fallen deeply in love with Poirot, would it impact Holmes'' position in the detective world?

    Lin Yuan doesn''t know.

    So Lin Yuan can''t even guarantee that the Holmes series will do better than the Poirot series.

    Let the readers be the judge.

    Rigorously proofreading and checking his novel again, Lin Yuan is ready to send out "A Study in Scarlet". S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    At that moment.

    In the Silver Blue Library.

    In the Mystery Editing Department.

    The chief editor, Cao Dezhi, is discussing the potential trends of Chu Kuang''s new book with his subordinate editors.

    Inside the conference room.

    An editor remarked, "Surpassing Poirot is impossible. Poirot is currently the top detective in the world of mystery. Some readers even suggest erecting a monument to commemorate Poirot. Such influence is terrifying. It''s hard to believe that Poirot is just a fictional character."

    "Indeed,"

    An editor next to him reflected, "Holmes will also presumably follow the great detective narrative. I think it would be decent if it could achieve 80% of Poirot''s influence."

    "80%?"

    "You underestimate Poirot."

    "You must understand that during Chu Kuang''s writing of the Poirot series, the quality also had its ups and downs. ''Murder on the Orient Express'' was the peak work of Poirot. The following ''Death on the Nile'' was also quite splendid. But if you look at Poirot''s other cases, it''s hard to reach the same standard. This shows that there are limitations to Chu Kuang''s abilities."

    "Moreover..."

    "The creative methods of writers will eventually lead to the same results. This Holmes character by Chu Kuang might have difficulty escaping Poirot''s shadow. My current worry is that the resemblance between the two characters would be too high."

    "..."

    Cao Dezhi remained silent.

    He shared the same worries.

    Both characters are great detectives. Once Chu Kuang''s new mystery novel is published, readers will continuously compare the new detective character to Poirot.

    But this would be truly unfair to Holmes.

    With Poirot''s significant influence, how outstanding must Holmes be to stand beside him?

    Furthermore¡­

    Having written so many mystery stories already, how could this Holmes, written by Chu Kuang, completely escape from the Poirot model?

    Just like how successful "Ghost Blowing Lamp" already is.

    What kind of a tomb-robbing novel would Chu Kuang have to write to compete with "Ghost Blowing Lamp", without the two works being too similar?

    It''s too difficult!

    Thinking in this way,

    Cao Dezhi''s mobile phone suddenly vibrated.

    Cao Dezhi checked his phone, and his face turned serious. He murmured, "Chu Kuang''s new book has arrived."

    The crowd turned to look at Cao Dezhi, "Is it that Holmes one?"

    Cao Dezhi nodded.

    The rival of Holmes is Poirot.

    And Chu Kuang''s rival...

    is himself.

 Chapter 515 - 491 Basic Deductive Reasoning (Part 1)_1

    "One each for you."

    Chu Kuang''s new work finally arrived.

    Cao Dezhi had wanted to go back to his office alone to read it -

    But under the gaze of his sub-editors, he had no choice but to let his assistant print a copy for everyone.

    Everyone read it together.

    He himself went back to his office.

    It was also a print version of the script.

    Kneading the freshly brewed tea from his assistant, Cao Dezhi turned to Chu Kuang''s new book.

    Despite all kinds of worries in his heart, the more specific situation still had to be addressed in the main text.

    Could Sherlock Holmes be Hercule Poirot under a different name?

    Maybe the first case could give us some clues.

    [The 78-year-long power struggle began, I earned a PhD in Medicine from the University of Han Continent and undertook a compulsory course in military medicine. Upon graduation, I was assigned to serve as an assistant military doctor in the Blue Star 5th Army 3rd Unit stationed at the Maiwand battlefield in Qi Continent...]

    The story began in the first person.

    The Hercule Poirot series by Chu Kuang also had many cases presented from a first-person perspective.

    For instance, the acclaimed "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" used a first-person perspective and the murderer also pioneered the literary device of narrative trickery.

    Most of the cases in the Poirot series narrated from a first-person perspective were from the perspective of Poirot''s assistant Hastings, including Poirot''s death at the end.

    Chu Kuang''s earlier creations using the first person could be traced back to "Ghost Blows the Lamp".

    Chu Kuang seems to have a fondness for storytelling in the first person and is quite adept at it, and this is a common literary technique in detective novels.

    In the current story...

    The character presenting the story in first person is called "Watson".

    This person is definitely not the protagonist, as Chu Kuang has personally explained in his book title and elsewhere.

    The protagonist is called "Sherlock Holmes".

    Let''s talk about Watson first.

    Watson is an experienced individual.

    He has lived through the shift of power in Blue Star, was injured in the battlefield of Maiwand in Qi Continent, and retired to London due to the physical incapability to meet the demands of the battlefield -

    Cao Dezhi knew about London.

    London is one of the largest cities in Han Continent.

    Chu Kuang''s novel settings were never limited to a specific continent. He had sound geographical knowledge and seemed to have some understanding of each continent.

    Moreover, the character background settings were very realistic, as if those people really existed in that era.

    These are similar to the Hercule Poirot series.

    Let''s continue reading.

    After retiring, Watson was looking for work in London, assuming that he could afford a place to stay and preferably a room partner. Accidentally, he ran into an old medical friend on the street.

    The friend told Watson that a man named Sherlock Holmes was also looking for a roommate recently.

    So, Watson and this old medical friend went together to a medical lab in London -

    The place where Sherlock Holmes was currently working.

    This inevitably reminded Cao Dezhi of when Hastings first met Poirot.

    Maybe Watson served as an assistant to Sherlock Holmes in the same way Hastings served Poirot?

    There were indeed similarities.

    A sense of unease appeared in Cao Dezhi''s mind. He believed that the readers would probably notice this as well. This point seemed to indirectly show that Sherlock Holmes and Hercules Poirot were similar.

    However, when Watson arrived at the lab and met Sherlock Holmes for the first time, Cao Dezhi suddenly got a sense of the difference between Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot.

    Sherlock Holmes was certainly not Poirot!

    "Thud, thud, thud!"

    Under the stunned gaze of Watson, Sherlock Holmes was fervently whipping a corpse. Anyone who saw this scene would think Sherlock Holmes was out of his mind -

    like a pervert!

    Hercule Poirot would never act so rudely. That germaphobe old man always remembered to maintain his elegance.

    What''s going on?

    Cao Dezhi felt that Chu Kuang seemed to be trying a bit too hard to highlight the difference between Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot.

    ["Does he often do this?" Watson asked.

    The friend awkwardly responded, "Maybe he''s not in a good mood today.".

    Just then, Holmes turned to the arriving doctors, "You arrived exactly on time. I need to know his bruise condition in twenty minutes. This is related to one person''s alibi..."]

    Cao Dezhi took a deep breath.

    Oh, so it''s for the purpose of solving a case.

    This approach can easily lead to misunderstandings though.

    But in that era, it was absolutely a scientific manner of investigation.

    [Holmes suddenly looked at Watson: "Maiwand?".

    "Sorry, how did you know?" Watson was slightly confused.]

    It must have been mentioned by the doctor in advance, right?

    Almost subconsciously, this was what Cao Dezhi thought.

    [Holmes continued: "What do you think about the violin?"

    Watson: "Uh..."

    Without lifting his head, Holmes continued: "I play the violin when I think. Sometimes I won''t speak for days. Do you mind? It''s better to let the roommate know about one''s shortcomings in advance."

    "Did you tell him about me?"

    Watson looked at the doctor who shook his head hastily: "I didn''t mention a word."]

    Huh?

    Cao Dezhi was stunned.

    It wasn''t the doctor?

    Then how did Holmes know?

    Watson asked the question that was on Cao Dezhi''s mind:

    ["Who told you all this?"

    "I did it myself."

    As Holmes sketched circles on his notebook, it seemed like he was talking to himself: "It''s difficult for someone like me to find a roommate. I talked to Mike about this matter this morning and he brought you here this afternoon. He introduces an old friend, obviously just being commissioned from a certain unit on the Maiwand battlefield. This isn''t hard to guess."] S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Cao Dezhi was dumfounded.

    Brother, this was not hard to guess?

    Watson asked the second question on behalf of the reader, Cao Dezhi:

    ["How did you know about the Maiwand battlefield?"

    Holmes didn''t answer, but got up and said, "Baker Street 221, that will be our place."

    "Just like that?"

    With so many questions in his mind, Watson asked, "We just met and we''re going to find a house together. We don''t know anything about each other, I don''t even know your name..."

    Holmes stopped in his tracks.

    He turned back and said, "I know you''re a military doctor who has just been sent back from the Maiwand battlefield. I also know you might be suffering from Psychogenic Mobility Disorder. Maybe I can drop the ''might''. As a roommate, isn''t this enough?"

    Holmes got up and left, quickly introducing himself a few seconds later, "Sherlock Holmes." As he said this, Holmes put on his bowler hat, bidding goodbye with a good afternoon.

    Watson looked at his friend beside him.

    The friend shrugged helplessly, "Yes, he''s always like this."]

    In the story, Watson was stunned!

    Outside of the story, Cao Dezhi was stunned too!

    Cao Dezhi was reading the story through Watson''s first-person perspective. Of course, he knew Watson had been to the Maiwand battlefield, knew about Watson''s injuries, and knew that Watson was a retiring military doctor. But how did Sherlock Holmes know?

    Are you a detective?

    You are a fortune teller, aren''t you!

    Even though they just met, he figured out everything about the person. How on earth did Sherlock Holmes do that!?

    Cao Dezhi had a million questions!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: thanks to a token from the alliance hierarch, Diou, little girl, you are electricity and light~

 Chapter 516 - 492 Basic Deductive Reasoning (Part 2)_1

    If the reader happens to be from Earth, they would certainly recognize the beginning of this chapter as a nod to "Sherlock Holmes".

    It''s a bit like the British drama "Sherlock".

    That''s right.

    Lin Yuan has taken inspiration from several TV series about Sherlock Holmes.

    Original works are not perfect, and Lin Yuan would definitely not use them in completion. For instance, Holmes made an incorrect deduction in the Speckled Band case.

    This deduction was based on the assumption that snakes have good hearing and drink milk, but in reality, snakes have poor hearing and can''t digest milk well, rendering the murderer''s method unreliable. also, snakes do not drink milk.

    But we can''t blame the author for that.

    People from that era simply didn''t know.

    A similar situation also occurred in "Poirot''s Casebook".

    As a modern day person, Lin Yuan would never adopt the basis of the original novels that are unscientific due to the author''s time limitations.

    And now...

    Cao Dezhi is too intrigued to look away¡ª

    He is extremely curious about how Holmes knows this information!

    There''s simply no way fortune-telling is involved.

    If that were the case, then the genre of this novel must have been misclassified by Chu Kuang. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Right next door and to the left, there''s a department exclusively for fantasy novels.

    Given that this is a detective novel, it''s evident that Holmes must have arrived at his conclusions through deduction!

    What''s the basis of his deduction?

    With this curiosity in mind, Cao Dezhi read carefully.

    By now, he had refrained from impulsively comparing Holmes and Poirot.

    Judging from the performances in the early stages, Holmes and Poirot, touted as great detectives by Chu Kuang, were distinctly different in ways such as character and style of speech¡ª

    Sherlock Holmes is too arrogant!

    Poirot is also very arrogant, but how should we describe Holmes''s arrogance?

    This man boldly proclaims:

    While others witness various details but are still unable to solve certain problems, he, Holmes, can explain complex mysteries even without stepping foot outside the house¡ª

    Can you believe it?

    Is he even human?

    Even Poirot doesn''t show off like this!

    What''s even more outrageous is, Holmes dismisses all other detectives in London as worthless. He doesn''t even consider himself a detective, but refers to himself as a "consulting detective"!

    Oh, my.

    Consulting detective is a new profession invented by Holmes himself. He believes he is the only one doing this job on Blue Star: [Whenever the police cannot solve a problem, they seek me out, as do the rest of the detectives in London.]

    What he essentially means is, everyone else is a detective, while he himself is a ''god detective''?

    The only man in the entire Blue Star who can make Holmes understand the concept of "humility" happened to be the deceased Poirot.

    Indeed.

    Holmes only acknowledged the capabilities of Poirot.

    When Cao Dezhi read this part, he could hardly maintain his composure.

    Chu Kuang, must we really play this game?

    If you want to write about Holmes, just write about Holmes. Why do you have to mention Poirot? Are you worried readers won''t realize it was you who killed off Poirot in your story?

    Bringing up Poirot is one thing.

    But why do you compare Holmes to Poirot?

    From the looks of it, Holmes appeared to think that only Poirot could be his equal in this world.

    This is too outrageous!

    Although in the narrative, Holmes does not seem the least bit smug and instead speaks in a calm, somber tone, as if he were stating a fact, it is definitely unforgivable to fans of Poirot!

    In the hearts of Poirot''s fans, no one could be named in the same breath as him!

    "You started off with such an over-the-top depiction of Holmes, aren''t you afraid you can''t wrap it up convincingly?"

    This Holmes dude is absolutely unbearable!

    Same here.

    Even Watson in the book thinks Holmes is acting too superior.

    This puts Watson and the reader, Cao Dezhi, on the same side.

    But Watson is soon defeated by a piece of Holmes''s reasoning:

    "''When we first met yesterday, I mentioned the Maiwand battlefield, and you seemed quite surprised.''

    ''How do you know?''

    Watson raised his voice: ''Someone must have told you!''

    ''I did not know, I observed.''

    As always, Holmes''s tone was equal parts dismissive and aloof: ''Your face is quite sunburned, but your wrists are not. As such, you must have been to the tropics, but not for a sunbath. Your hairstyle and demeanor are military-like. Every movement and posture of yours is full of a soldier''s rigor.

    The conversation you had with Mike when you entered implies that, like him, you studied at Han Continent Medical College. Hence, it''s quite clear that you were a military doctor. You limp heavily when you walk but would rather stand than sit down, completely ignoring your disability. Therefore, at least part of the obstacle is psychological.

    Also, you were injured on a battlefield, which elaborates on where a military doctor can be exposed to sun and injuries? Oh yes, the Maiwand battlefield.''

    Watson was dumbfounded by this reasoning!

    Similarly, Cao Dezhi who considered himself on Watson''s side was also shocked. He never expected Holmes to have seen through everything based on the first meeting with Watson!

    Holy shit!

    What an amazing power of observation!

    Poirot also had similar moments of intellectual whirlwinds, equally impressive, but his approach to deduction was decidedly different from Holmes''s.

    Poirot seemed to be more inclined towards human psychology.

    But Holmes derived his conclusions from countless observations and gathered information!

    The former leaned towards intuition, while Holmes privileged rationality above all else!

    This was the first time Cao Dezhi realized that, while Holmes undoubtedly has the potential to be unbearable, the speed at which his brain works is admittedly astonishing, and, more frustratingly, he can''t find a valid point to refute his deduction...

    Was this a coincidence?

    Did Holmes just happen to find the clue?

    Of course not!

    As Cao Dezhi continued to read the book, watching Holmes officialy kick off his first deduction show, his eyes widened in awe.

    Hair...

    Luggage...

    Fingernails...

    At a murder scene, he can deduce countless pieces of information from the dead man''s sleeve to his boots, his pants, his knees, the calluses between his thumb and forefinger, his last facial expression, including cufflinks, etc!

    Detail-oriented!

    Rational!

    Such intricate information can all be pooled in his mind, enabling him to grasp key clues. He can even judge how many people were in the carriage nearby from the depth of the carriage track marks!

    Deduction of logic?

    Not exactly!

    The deduction of logic is to infer the process based on the result, which is Poirot''s field of expertise. Most detectives deduct the process based on results, where the logic occupies a large proportion, but Holmes seems to be more adept at inferring the result through the process. And these processes are derived from the mentioned details, which bear resemblances yet show fundamental differences!

    One can imagine.

    When these deductions appeared before Cao Dezhi''s eyes, he was almost dumbfounded. An image of a hawk-nosed man wearing a round hat and holding a pipe appeared before his eyes. The man''s gaze must be filled with rational wisdom derived from observation, and all these deductions were based on Holmes''s theory:

    Basic deductive reasoning!

    The case can probably be divided into two parts: the first part is Holmes using his method of deduction to identify the serial killer; the second part is the murderer''s motive and the tragic experiences he has suffered. It''s a tale of a sympathetic murderer taking revenge in his own way.

    The story is over.

    But Cao Dezhi was stunned.

    As a Blue Starian, this was Cao Dezhi''s first confrontation with the shock delivered by Holmes and the basic deductive reasoning, while a similar shock also arose from the editors'' hearts in the neighboring conference room--

    Horrible Holmes!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: I do not dare to write in too much detail in fear of being criticized for being too wordy. I will continue to update. The following is the part where the Alliance Hierarch adds more.

 Chapter 517 - 493: Pressing the King (Extra for the innocent Fatty, the Alliance Hierarch)_1

    This is basic deductive reasoning!

    It isn''t a method of deduction based on thoughtless conjectures, but a unique technique confirmed by the actions of Sherlock Holmes himself. In his own words, as published in newspapers: "A logician doesn''t need to personally see or hear about the Atlantic Ocean, yet he can surmise its existence from a single drop of water.

    As life is one big, interconnected chain, just a glimpse of a single link can give away the true nature of the entire chain. For someone starting to delve into the extremely tricky realms of the mind and psyche, it''s perhaps better to begin with the more straightforward issues. For example, attempt to identify a person''s history and profession.

    Such practice may appear childish and boring, but it sharpens one''s observational skills remarkably. It teaches where to look and what to watch out for, like a person''s fingernails, cuffs, boots, knees of their trousers, calluses between their thumb and forefinger, facial expressions, shirt cuffs and so on. No matter from which perspective, these observations hint at what a person does for a living.

    So, if you can''t elicit insights into a case, despite knowing how to connect these observations, it''s quite unfathomable."

    Unfathomable?

    The final statement may seem brazen, but that appears typical of Holmes. He seems to enjoy looking at others'' baffled expressions, right after revealing a complex, intricate and mind-bogglingly detailed deduction.

    As if to say:

    Is it that difficult?

    Similar to when he easily deduces Dr. Watson''s background and then nonchalantly remarks, "It wasn''t difficult to guess." This is something Poirot would never say because he would think it normal for ordinary people to be unable to deduce the same. He, Poirot, is the genius in this respect.

    Just as expected.

    The meeting room erupts as every editor voices their opinions, all previous concerns about similarities between Holmes and Poirot completely forgotten!

    "Mind-blowing!"

    "For the first time, I read a mystery without trying to guess who the murderer was. The beginning of this novel doesn''t seem to intend to offer much in terms of solving a mystery but rather for us to witness the grand entrance of Sherlock Holmes, like Watson!"

    "So grand!"

    "The attention to detail is unbeatable!"

    "Basic deductive reasoning is impressive!"

    Only a detective story aficionado can feel the difference between basic deductive reasoning and general logical reasoning. For the average person, Holmes can draw specific statements from the most general premise and reach a conclusion, or solve some cases just by employing this method. This approach sets him apart from other detective novels.

    "Amazing!"

    "The characters are so appealing. I was wondering why Chu Kuang designed Poirot as a short, elderly gentleman with a peculiar mustache earlier. This character required readers to go through a process to fully accept him. But this time he has certainly changed his style, although Sherlock Holmes is as peculiar as Poirot, at least physically Holmes is more pleasing, easier to fall in love with!"

    Showing off? S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Indeed, they are.

    But a detective in a mystery novel should have this kind of swagger, it''s interesting. If a detective simply lays out his deductions in a straightforward manner without a unique presentation style, it''s better to directly read about a case and its process.

    A narcissist?

    Sherlock Holmes indeed has the potential to be one. His nonchalant statement of "it wasn''t difficult to guess" could be a grand slam in the face of intellectual battles. But if this is coupled with the plot and explained alongside his deductions, not only would the readers not feel offended but instead find it exhilarating!

    That''s correct.

    In terms of the reading experience, it''s thrilling to see Sherlock Holmes cleverly explain everything. Why else would Conan polish his glasses before revealing the truth, with a tense and triumphant backing track playing?

    People simply love it!

    Therefore, it''s all about how one shows off. If everyone is wondering about the result of one plus one, and the protagonist cooly says, "One plus one equals two. Is that so difficult?"

    Brothers!

    Kill him!

    That''s a low-level narcissist. The high-level kind is like Sherlock Holmes who shows off his intelligence in a way that amazes readers. And no matter how much he shows off, they would only find it awe-inspiring and cool.

    At that moment.

    Someone mumbled, "When Holmes stated that only Poirot could rival Blue Star in this aspect, I felt a bit uneasy. But now it feels right. These two are indeed great detectives!"

    What consulting detective?

    Even though Holmes calls himself a "consulting detective" and truly does accept consultation from all sides, the cases that are really worth writing about are those where Holmes cracks them in his capacity as a detective. Hence the title of the book is "The Great Detective Sherlock Holmes".

    It''s worth mentioning¡­

    Because the character of Sherlock Holmes, having been adapted into countless films and television series on Earth, has developed a very distinct personality, not completely resembling the original Holmes character from the novels. Most Earthlings got to know Sherlock Holmes through films and television series, not the original novels.

    So the Holmes persona that Lin Yuan creates leaning more towards the film and television series versions.

    How many people have played Sherlock Holmes?

    Too many to count. For example, Benedict Cumberbatch and Robert Downey Jr are amongst them. Each representation has its own unique portrayal of Holmes, but it''s the effortless swagger that forever remains the most attractive aspect of Holmes. There are two kinds of narcissists¡ªone that actively shows off, the other is passively being one.

    Sherlock Holmes belongs to the latter, and a narcissist has to be a passive one.

    Knock.

    The meeting room door opens, and Cao Dezhi walks in. All the editors start talking at once only to be silenced by his hand gesture. Cao Dezhi looks at Deputy Editor Wang on his left and says: "There''s a coffee stain on your sleeves, your clothes are new today. This means you must''ve had coffee outside during lunch.

    The closest coffee shop is downstairs, thus the person you were meeting is likely in the vicinity, or even within our company. Also, there''s a whiff of perfume about you, which if I''m not wrong, belongs to Little Li. Capturing the scent of perfume means you two were sitting close to each other. An unusual closeness between a man and a woman, unless¡­ are you two dating?"

    The girl called Little Li bashfully twists her fingers.

    Left aghast by Cao Dezhi''s words, Old Wang stares at him, clearly impressed by his ability to apply basic deduction to real life. This spectacle leaves the other editors captivated¡ª

    "Is it really that difficult?"

    Raising an eyebrow, Cao Dezhi then strutted out, leaving behind only an echo of his resonant voice: "Immediately notify the publishing department to prepare for the launch of ''The Great Detective Sherlock Holmes''!"

    Everyone complies.

    At this moment, a junior editor in one of the departments wonders aloud, "Didn''t someone video Old Wang and Little Li having coffee during lunchtime?"

    At a distance.

    Cao Dezhi stumbles, then quickly brushes off the blunder and walks away faster, leaving behind a silhouette that transformed from Sherlock Holmes to Watson.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to [Innocent Fatty] the Alliance Hierarch for the reward, allowing an extra chapter to be served up with tea. I, Polluted White will continue writing.

 Chapter 518 - 494: To Buy or Not to Buy_1

    Following Cao Dezhi''s announcement, the fact that ''Great Detective Holmes'' would be published in five days was confirmed and officially announced by Silver Blue Books. Instantly, Chu Kuang''s new book kicked off its promotional phase.

    At this time.

    The readers had not fully recovered from the shock of Poirot''s death. The discussion about his death continued wave after wave. As a result, when everyone suddenly saw the news of the imminent publication of ''Great Detective Holmes'', anger surged through their hearts¡ª

    A new book?

    A great detective?

    Holmes?

    We''re still mourning Poirot here, and you can''t wait to finish the new book? Do you think about how devastated we readers feel?

    Angry!

    All are angry!

    Although Chu Kuang had previously announced his new book, fans of the Poirot series couldn''t help but get riled up. Time proved inadequate to calm everyone''s anger. Despite understanding why Chu Kuang killed off Poirot in the end, many still refused to accept Holmes as a replacement for Poirot.

    Many even protested directly in Chu Kuang''s Tribe comment section, echoing the reaction to Chu Kuang''s new book announcement:

    "Absolutely boycott!"

    "Sure enough, I underestimated the old rascal''s integrity. I thought he would mourn Poirot''s death, but this old rascal is now pushing the new great detective so quickly. The murderer who killed Poirot!"

    "I won''t buy this book!"

    "I said when Poirot died, no matter what happens, I absolutely will not read ''Great Detective Holmes''. I only have one great detective in my heart, unlike Chu Kuang, an unfaithful scumbag!"

    "Holmes, back off!"

    "We are incompatible with old rascal Chu Kuang, we don''t want Holmes, we only want Poirot. Not everyone can become a great detective!"

    "..."

    The readers'' feelings for Poirot cannot be underestimated. The impact of this character has gone beyond that of a virtual character. When the plot of Poirot''s death was released on March 3rd, even major media outlets have issued an obituary for Poirot. Which virtual character gets this treatment?

    As Jin Mu worried.

    As the release of ''Great Detective Holmes'' approached, the wave of boycotting Holmes reappeared, leaving industry insiders in a bit of a laughing and crying situation, lamenting that Chu Kuang really messed up this time.

    "What will Chu Kuang do now?"

    "The backlash against Holmes among readers is too exaggerated. Chu Kuang''s new book might not sell, it''s hard to imagine that a best-selling author of his caliber would have trouble selling his novel."

    "What will bookstores do?"

    "Bookstores will still stock up. Regardless of the loud voices boycotting Holmes, it is only survivorship bias. Many silent readers are still willing to support Chu Kuang''s new book. However, what proportion of readers they account for is unknown. This could significantly impact the sales of Chu Kuang''s new book."

    "..."

    Meanwhile.

    Major booksellers were also a little dumbfounded. Normally, they would definitely order more of Chu Kuang''s new books. When have his new books ever been unsellable? Moreover, the shadow that ''Zhu Xian'' left on many publishing houses due to insufficient stock and a drop in performance has not yet disappeared.

    But...

    The problem this time seems to lie within Chu Kuang''s readers. Previously, it was always outsiders who were not optimistic about Chu Kuang''s new books. Now, Chu Kuang''s readers are boycotting his new book. These are the main consumers of Chu Kuang''s works!

    Hesitation!

    Conflicted!

    On one hand, everyone can''t ignore the readers'' boycott, but on the other hand, they can''t resist Chu Kuang''s charm. The internal scales seem to be swaying left and right, which is an unprecedented situation for booksellers.

    For this reason.

    Some booksellers surreptitiously conducted a sample survey among Chu Kuang''s reader group. However, the results of the sample survey left these booksellers even more conflicted because they offered three options. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    One, support.

    Two, boycott.

    Three, don''t know.

    Twenty-four percent of readers chose to support Chu Kuang without hesitation, twenty-six percent chose to boycott, and fifty percent simply chose "don''t know".

    What does it mean you don''t know?

    This kind of uncertainty makes it very hard for our bookstore to operate. We might just end up paying the price for your "don''t know", especially considering that based on the survey results, it seems there are slightly more people planning to boycott than support.

    The moment of decision arrives.

    Some bookstores grit their teeth and stock up on Chu Kuang''s books as usual; some reduce their pre-order according to the survey results. The market''s attitude towards "The Great Detective Holmes" appears slightly polarized.

    At this moment.

    In the studio where Lin Yuan works, Jin Mu wears a helpless expression, "The boss has indeed posed a predicament for all the major bookstores, no one can predict the sales of "The Great Detective Holmes" now."

    Lin Yuan asks: "What''s your take?"

    Jin Mu hesitated for a moment, then sneered, "It''s pointless to ask me this. I''ve already read the opening of Holmes and I understand the quality of this work very well."

    Lin Yuan nodded: "Exactly."

    Jin Mu paused, then understood Lin Yuan''s point. Regardless of boycott or support, the sales of the novel ultimately depend on the quality of the work. After all, Chu Kuang didn''t do anything wrong.

    Holmes is a good read.

    Given the charm of Holmes portrayed in the opening, as well as his excellent and powerful basic deductive reasoning, there''s no reason for readers not to like this new character. It''s just that everyone is reacting emotionally at the moment.

    They will eventually calm down.

    Jin Mu revealed a smile. His boss''s IQ always fluctuated. While he could be extremely smart at times, he would also do something speechless at other times.

    Meanwhile.

    Cao Dezhi also worried that the readers'' boycott of Holmes might affect the sales of Chu Kuang''s new book, so he specifically sought out the chief editor, hoping he could think of a solution. However, the chief editor responded with a laugh:

    "There''s nothing to be done."

    "But the situation is not good."

    "When I was young, my dream was to be a basketball player. My mother bought me a basketball, I loved that ball. Later, it accidentally broke, and I cried my heart out. Then my mother tried to comfort me by saying she''ll buy a new one for me. But I didn''t want it. However, when I woke up one day and looked at my bedside¡­"

    "I got it!"

    Cao Dezhi suddenly realized: "Dear chief editor, you''re trying to say, as long as the new basketball is as fun as the old one, everyone will eventually choose to accept it!"

    "Huh?"

    The chief editor shook his head: "I was saying, my mom made a mistake, she couldn''t tell a basketball from a football, so she bought me a football¡­"

    "I understand!"

    Cao Dezhi hesitated a moment, then became more excited: "You mean, you thought you only liked basketball, but then you realized that football is also fun!"

    "No."

    The chief editor stared at Cao Dezhi: "What I meant was, I don''t play every ball, and I don''t have the fucking answers to every question!"

    Cao Dezhi: "..."

    Regardless of the readers'' reactions, nothing can change the fact that "The Great Detective Holmes" will be officially on sale in major bookstores in a few days, and neither the bookstores nor the publishers have any special adjustment plans due to some readers'' protests.

    At the same time.

    Some silent supporters of Chu Kuang have already bought this new book; some undecided readers also bought this new book; even some who claimed to boycott Chu Kuang also...

    "Boycott is real!"

    A guy who has been shouting boycott against Chu Kuang''s new book faced his friend''s doubting eyes, he couldn''t help but smack his brand-new copy of "The Great Detective Holmes" that he had just bought, "Reading gives you the right to speak. If you talk without reading, you become a troll. If you''re going to troll, at least make reasoned arguments.

    If you''re going to troll, at least finish the book first!"

    "But you still bought it."

    His eyes instantly became deep, like a philosopher: "I bought it so that more people wouldn''t have to..."

    ¨C

    ps: Many thanks to "Little Dio Likes Reading" Silver for his support, I owe a lot, there will be extra chapters later.

 Chapter 519 - 519: 495. Sir, times have changed_1

    This day.

    Despite whatever initial feelings they had, many people indeed purchased "The Great Detective Sherlock Holmes," even though for many people, the words "The Great Detective" in the title were somewhat distasteful.

    Eight o''clock.

    On the internet.

    A considerable portion of people were still voicing their resistance to Sherlock Holmes, even though a lot of them had also bought the latest edition of "The Great Detective Sherlock Holmes." Some were even reading it while griping online ¨C

    "The old rascal''s book is not up to par."

    "This Holmes is so perverted. He starts off by thrashing a dead body. Although it''s for the case, his character still comes off as unlikeable. Our Poirot would never be so rude."

    "Too violent."

    "The more I read, the more I feel annoyed. This Holmes is too arrogant and he is just like a clone of the old rascal. Holmes even dared to say that Blue Star''s Poirot is the only one in the detective field who can be compared with him!"

    "What?"

    Some audiences who hadn''t bought the book at all, hearing this, were instantly livid: "He dares to mention Poirot, he really stops at nothing to promote Sherlock Holmes to a higher position, this only makes me more determined in boycotting Holmes!"

    "What does Holmes have?"

    "Is he worthy to be spoken of in the same breath as Poirot?"

    "The issue is that you guys are clearly also boycotting Holmes, so why did you buy this book and are now reading it? Isn''t this just playing into the old rascal''s hands, and contributing to the sales of his new book!"

    "..."

    The group of people who didn''t buy the book were very dissatisfied.

    We agreed to boycott Chu Kuang together.

    You guys actually went and secretly bought the new book.

    Is there no overall perspective anymore? Chu Kuang - the old rascal - is our unanimous enemy right now. Everyone has a duty to boycott Holmes. You guys know that you''re supporting the enemy, right?

    "We need to read it to criticize it!"

    Those who bought "The Great Detective Sherlock Holmes" were still reading into it at this time, occasionally interacting with these online friends who haven''t read the book: "If we don''t buy the book, how will you all know just how outrageous the old rascal is, daring to profit from our Poirot?"

    "Exactly!"

    "I''ve noticed a problem, the old rascal clearly wants Holmes to become the new Poirot, he arranged for Holmes to have an assistant named Watson. This Watson is simply a clone of Hastings!"

    "Yes."

    "Also, the story of Holmes is told from the first-person perspective of assistant Watson, just like how the Poirot series is told from the first-person perspective of the assistant. It''s the same pattern!"

    "I knew it."

    "The old rascal Chu Kuang just wants to change Poirot''s name, since it''s still the same great detective mode, a detective and assistant collaboration, why did he end the Poirot series!"

    Everyone was united in their hatred.

    But something strange was:

    The group of people who were reading and criticizing "The Great Detective Sherlock Holmes" were quite active in the beginning, immediately criticizing any loophole they found with the other netizens. But as time slowly passed, their post frequency seemed to gradually decrease, and they hardly even complained towards the end.

    Speak up!

    Why aren''t you saying anything?

    Those netizens who didn''t buy the book were somewhat puzzled after noticing this. Didn''t you guys say that buying the book gives you the right to speak? So where are your comments now, what happened to banding together for criticism?

    This is strange.

    The people have decreased.

    When it was past nine o''clock, we don''t know from when, but the group of people who were watching and criticizing "The Great Detective Sherlock Holmes" with netizens simply disappeared altogether!

    It was as if they had vanished collectively.

    The remaining netizens who didn''t buy the book were left disoriented, some were desperately mentioning those who were reading the book. This managed to summon a few of them, but the condition of these few seemed a little strange:

    "Reading."

    "Don''t mention."

    "No time."

    Why are they so engrossed in the book?

    Weren''t you guys talking quite eagerly just now? The netizens who didn''t buy the book were all discontented. Then another person who was reading the book appeared: "You all go buy a copy of the book and read it yourselves. Why do you keep asking us?"

    Something is off!

    Something is really off!

    Those netizens who hadn''t bought the book and thus had no book to read all frowned, but they didn''t know where the problem lay. They just felt an unexplained feeling welling up inside them - should we also go and buy a copy to read?

    The other side.

    Lin Yuan didn''t pay attention to the online commotion, he was at the set of "Spiderman" watching the filming. At this moment, with the end of a difficult scene, the director Yi Chenggong suddenly broke into a smile: S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "That''s a wrap."

    After saying that, Yi Chenggong looked at Lin Yuan. The rest of the crew also turned to look at Lin Yuan. Lin Yuan understood Yi Chenggong and everyone''s intention. He went up to look at the scene that was just filmed, then he slightly nodded:

    "That''s a wrap!"

    The crew immediately fell into an ocean of cheers. "Spiderman" finally finished filming. The actor Jian Yi beside him took off his Spiderman suit, held it in his hand and swung it around in excitement. He had finally finished filming his first movie in his life!

    "Next is post-production."

    Yi Chenggong smiled and looked at Lin Yuan: "If there are no surprises, we should be able to finish this film in less than two months. At that time, we can plan the release. Perhaps, Mr. Lin, you can now consider the issue of release dates."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    He was also very happy. This was the fourth movie of his life, a very interesting commercial film. Lin Yuan was not sure if he would shoot similar themes in the future, but this attempt was quite fascinating for him.

    He celebrated with the crew for a while.

    Lin Yuan opened his phone, ready to check the reviews of "The Great Detective Sherlock Holmes" online. He calculated the time, it was 4:30 pm and the first batch of readers should have finished.

    He logged into Tribe.

    Lin Yuan was about to search for related topics to Holmes, but then he saw a recommended post on Tribe displayed right in front of him. It was a post made by Leng Guang, an author of detective novels from Blue Star.

    This so-called big critic, who had once engaged in a literary duel with Chu Kuang and ended up in a devastating defeat, surprising praised the book: "I thought Holmes would be the last vestige of the post-Poirot era created by Chu Kuang, but it turns out to be the beginning of a new era for the great detective series."

    Following this.

    Another author with a bigger name than Leng Guang, Carter, who once wrote the preface for "Murder on the Orient Express", astonishingly shared Leng Guang''s post, and added: "Welcome to the Holmes era!"

    Meanwhile.

    Someone closed "The Great Detective Sherlock Holmes" slowly before a group of stunned friends, and then looked up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle: "This era will not prevent Poirot from shining, but it will also not overshadow others'' brilliance!"

    "I get it."

    A friend was astonished: "But didn''t you say before that you bought ''The Great Detective Sherlock Holmes'' to prevent more people from buying it?"

    "Did I?"

    "Didn''t you?"

    "Someone once said that at each stage of life, he only spoke what he believed in, what do you want him to do, he didn''t do anything wrong."

    "..."

    So now the morning and afternoon can be divided into two stages of life? Why don''t you just say:

    Grown-ups!

    The times have changed!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Thanks to the second alliance of the innocent fatty, caught a fan of Sun Yao Huo alive. The first draft is done. I was a bit out of it today, so the update was a bit late. I''ll continue writing, those who have monthly tickets can also vote, the double-event only has a few hours left.

 Chapter 520 - 496 Truly Fragrant_1

    Of course, the stages of life wouldn''t be divided into morning and afternoon segments.

    The era is still the same era.

    But with the first batch of readers finishing Chu Kuang''s new book, the wind direction did indeed change¨C¨C

    Not just Leng Guang.

    Not just Carter.

    And certainly not only that guy who likes to engage his buddies in philosophical debates.

    The change in wind direction usually takes a collective as its foundation before it sweeps over like a whirlwind.

    Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

    At a time when many internet users still resisting Sherlock Holmes hadn''t fully regained their wits, those readers who initially joined the collective criticism and mockery but later mysteriously vanished, suddenly reappeared.

    Armed with an unexpected: "The magnificent Sherlock Holmes, the brilliant basic deductive reasoning!"

    What the heck?

    Have they been possessed?

    Those internet users who refused to buy the book in opposition to Sherlock Holmes were dumbfounded at this sudden change, then they were swept up by one wave after another of shock, accompanied by one bewitching phrase after another:

    "Chu Kuang is damned amazing!"

    "I''m blown away!"

    "I always thought Poirot was the greatest detective created by Blue Star, never expected there''d be another Mr. Sherlock Holmes, who is on par with Poirot. I, Wang Shang, hereby acclaim Sherlock Holmes as the new greatest detective!"

    "I, Liu Jing, agree with this sentiment wholeheartedly!"

    "Hello everyone, my name is Zhou Ze, and I am here to introduce my new idol, his name is Sherlock Holmes."

    "..."

    Those who hadn''t bought the book finally snapped out of their daze. They didn''t want to be brainwashed. They were still resisting:

    We are an unbreakable alliance!

    I resist Sherlock Holmes...

    I resist Sherl...

    I resist...

    I...

    Their voices were drowned out.

    Their will began to waver.

    Their spirits gradually broke down.

    They stretched out their guilty right hands; they took steps with their guilty legs; they began to order books online; they began to run towards the bookstores...

    Until...

    The front desk staff smiled at them: "All sold out, there''s truly not a single one left."

    They left the bookstore with their heads down.

    Behind the staff, the shop owner clutched his chest, indeed not a single book was left, but the blood in his heart was still dripping down, drop by drop.

    Weren''t you resisting?

    Didn''t you "not know"?

    It seems to me that you all knew quite well!

    Only us booksellers didn''t know!

    Chu Kuang you misled me! Chu Kuang''s readers misled me!

    Birds of a feather flock together, you fans of Chu Kuang are all two-faced creatures, fundamentally the same as that old rascal Chu Kuang!

    Nothing but shit men!

    Cheating us booksellers'' feelings!

    Alright.

    Some bookstores had been regularly stocking up.

    Many booksellers haven''t forgotten the horror dominated by "Zhu Xian", so they played it a little safe.

    That fear had once caused them heavy losses, yet on this day with similar circumstances, it compensated them to a certain degree.

    They wouldn''t have to experience the awkwardness of an emergency restock again.

    A bookstore owner who had stocked up a decent amount of "Sherlock Holmes" displayed a knowing smile, then said to his busy workers next to him: "People often don''t realize their hunger until the food is served, only then they say¡­"

    "So hungry?"

    "I don''t think so, why not test it out."

    The owner looked towards the entrance; it was the takeout he ordered for his employees half an hour ago, the kind with chicken.

    "Really fragrant!"

    The employees enjoyed their takeout. Turns out we don''t say "so hungry", the bookstore was immediately filled with a joyous atmosphere.

    The food tasted really fragrant.

    And in front of the most conspicuous bookshelf.

    Another new client picked up a brand new copy of "Sherlock Holmes", his expression somewhat complicated.

    Meanwhile on the internet.

    More and more people are discussing Sherlock Holmes, fewer people are resisting Sherlock Holmes, their numbers dwindling almost to the point of extinction.

    "It''s really good!"

    "It truly is!"

    "Chu Kuang, this intelligent... courageous and talented writer is just so likable!"

    "I''ve rediscovered the thrill I had when I read the Hercule Poirot series, but Poirot is Poirot, Sherlock Holmes is Sherlock Holmes, they are both my favorite detectives!"

    "Overflowing with nostalgic emotions!"

    "When I read Sherlock Holmes saying that Poirot was the only detective he admired, I felt really moved. I bet Professor Chu Kuang misses Poirot too!"

    "Professor Chu Kuang... is still so amazing!"

    "Sherlock Holmes has an antisocial personality due to his high intelligence, is proficient in multiple disciplines, likes to pay attention to the details and deduce reasoning. While Poirot has a humanitarian style towards life and reality, he is particularly good at psychology and focuses more on logic. The characters are both very distinctive."

    "..."

    People in the industry were dumbfounded.

    If it weren''t for seeing a few familiar IDs, they would almost suspect they had traveled through time.

    Like that guy named Zhou Ze!

    Staring for what? Yes, you!

    Didn''t you say "even if it kills me, I would rather jump from here than read Chu Kuang''s new book"?

    Why are you flip-flopping faster than turning a page?

    Isn''t it quite a shame to have two faces at such a young age?

    Confused.

    Based on the reactions, the people within the industry are absolutely the most dumbfounded.

    Who plays like this?

    In the morning, they were all saying they would resist Chu Kuang''s new book, acting as if they wanted to storm Chu Kuang''s house for a free grab spree.

    But in the afternoon, they all fucking defected?

    Yes.

    They defected. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    They defected completely.

    And when the insiders looked at Chu Kuang''s Poirot comment section, the first hot comment that caught their eye was:

    "Readers can''t always live in the past, I believe Mr. Poirot would be very comforted in spirit, knowing his detective spirit is being carried on by someone else!"

    Insiders held their heads.

    This comment got exceptionally high approval, and all the following comments were similarly themed:

    "The old rascal commemorated Poirot in his new work, it''s comforting."

    Is that what you call commemorating?

    "Let''s admit, grudgingly, that Sherlock Holmes can be considered a great detective too."

    So now you''re acting coy?

    "I knew it, Chu Kuang never lets people down. Sherlock Holmes will lead a new era."

    The hindsight is really quite beautiful.

    "No one can replace Poirot, but someone can stand alongside Poirot in the world."

    The insiders no longer had the strength to ridicule.

    At this time, they noticed someone posted a humorous four-panel comic, from the reader''s point of view.

    First panel: "I''ll beat up the old rascal! How dare he kill off Poirot!"

    Second panel: "Who is Sherlock Holmes? No one can replace Poirot!"

    Third panel: The reader starts to read a book called "Sherlock Holmes".

    Fourth panel: Sherlock Holmes is awesome (in a funny accent)!

    "..."

    The insiders finally had a realization.

    Turns out readers will also wax poetic, turns out readers also know what they are doing. Look at what Chu Kuang has driven his own readers to become.

    Utterly outrageous!

    Not only can he slap the faces of his editors and major booksellers, when he''s ruthless he can even slap his own readers'' faces¨C¨C

    Sherlock Holmes has gotten popular.

 Chapter 521 - 497: The Production Teams Request_1

    Yes.

    Holmes is hot!

    Many booksellers have started to urgently place orders with Silver Blue Books!

    And when the order volume for Chu Kuang''s new book suddenly soared, the senior management of Silver Blue Books held a meeting about this ¡ª

    Small leaders at the editor-in-chief level, like Cao Dezhi, sat below.

    The chief editor and other company executives sat above.

    The executives were thrilled, all of them beaming with red faces.

    "Chu Kuang is indeed our flagship in Silver Blue, he never fails!"

    "I suggest raising the contract level with Chu Kuang."

    "It''s indeed worth considering."

    "The problem is that Chu Kuang''s contract level is already quite high."

    "We can''t think about it now. Other publishers are eager to poach Chu Kuang, If they succeed, we will become a laughing stock. It won''t be a problem of contract regret."

    "Indeed, Chu Kuang must be high priority."

    "But you know, this time I did have some trepidations. I nearly thought that Chu Kuang''s new book wouldn''t sell."

    "..."

    Chief Editor Lu Bei smiled, "You have too little faith in Chu Kuang."

    Everyone looked startled, turning their gaze towards Lu Bei.

    Lu Bei calmly said, "When Dezhi came to me, asking what to do if Chu Kuang''s new book didn''t sell, I told him, ''When I was a child, my mom bought me a football, but when it broke, my mom bought me another....''"

    "I get it!"

    One of the executives suddenly had a realization, "You mean that as long as the new ball is as fun as the old one, there''s absolutely no problem!"

    Lu Bei declared enthusiastically, "Exactly!"

    Cao Dezhi sitting below gaped, but glancing at Lu Bei, he suddenly gave a thumbs up:

    "Chief Editor, you''re wise!"

    Everyone nodded, "Truly wise!"

    Lu Bei coughed, "It''s just a common sense. I have a suggestion, the chief editor of the fairy tale department is still undecided, I suggest we settle on Lin Xuan..."

    Lu Bei looked at everyone, "Who''s for and against it?"

    "Sounds good."

    "I agree."

    "No objections."

    "I also agree."

    Everyone seemed to sense that Lu Bei was in a strong position at this time.

    Lu Bei nodded with satisfaction, "Very well, it''s settled then. Dezhi did a good job, keep it up in the future."

    The meeting ended below.

    Cao Dezhi puffed out his chest.

    Sitting next to Cao Dezhi, Ol'' Zhou looked somewhat resentful.

    After all, he was the first to arrive...

    Well.

    Ol'' Zhou was a little heartbroken.

    The Fantasy Department was still the hottest department in the company.

    But without Chu Kuang, the performance eventually declined.

    He didn''t expect that after sending Chu Kuang to the Mystery Department, Chu Kuang never returned.

    Poirot...

    Holmes...

    The birth of two series in a row rejuvenated the Mystery Department, which was initially at the bottom of the company.

    Even in the company meetings, Cao Dezhi has started to sit close to him.

    Soon after the meeting ended,

    Lin Xuan found out that she had been promoted to department editor.

    "Wasn''t it said that it will be decided in a few months?"

    "Maybe it''s because of your outstanding performance."

    "That makes sense."

    Lin Xuan beamed with positivity, "As long as we work hard and conscientiously, our superiors will see our efforts and contributions!"

    ...

    At home in the evening.

    The table was full of delicious food. Sister Lin Xuan excitedly announced that she had become the editor of the Fairy Tale Department.

    "Congratulations!"

    "Congrats on the promotion!"

    Her sister and mother were delighted.

    Antarctica was wagging its tail happily.

    Lin Yuan smiled, looks like his sister''s work is going pretty well, she managed to get a promotion so quickly!

    For Lin Yuan, this was a double blessing.

    Lin Yuan had been worried about the prospects of Holmes.

    But the current situation indicates that both Holmes and Poirot can be successful!

    After dinner.

    Lin Yuan returned to his room and went online for a while.

    There are now a huge number of topics about Holmes on the internet, Lin Yuan is quite interested in these topics.

    Of course.

    Aside from topics related to Holmes, there were also updates on "The Masked Singer".

    Now in April,

    The recording of the third group of The Masked Singer has broadcasted its first episode.

    New mystery singers have appeared.

    Of course.

    Fish, this time, was not there.

    What surprised Lin Yuan though...

    Many netizens seemed somewhat dissatisfied when talking about the third group.

    In the words of these netizens, it just "lacks excitement."

    Why does it lack excitement?

    A netizen shared their feelings:

    "In fact, the strength of the third group is stronger than the first two, but it feels less interesting than the first two groups. The fun part of the first episode is all about the Prince of Lanling. No matter if it''s controversial or not, at least people are interested. Some people find the biggest joy in the program is to watch the Prince of Lanling critique the other singers."

    "Then the second episode had no Prince of Lanling."

    "But the beauty of the second episode was Admirable Fish''s harem. The rivalry between the fish was also quite entertaining for the audience."

    "Which highlights how ordinary the third episode was."

    "Without Prince of Lanling, and without the scene of Admirable Fish''s harem, the pure competition of the songs is still exciting, but audiences that have followed for so many episodes will certainly feel like something is missing, it feels like I''m starting to miss Prince of Lanling."

    "..."

    In the following comments, many people mentioned "missing Prince of Lanling".

    Lin Yuan was quite moved by reading this.

    He wasn''t the strongest performer in the show after all these episodes.

    But he seems to hold a somewhat special status in the hearts of the audience.

    Just then.

    Lin Yuan''s phone suddenly rang.

    The person who made this call was Tong Shuwen, the director of the program.

    Lin Yuan answered the phone:

    "Hello."

    "I''m sorry for disturbing you, Teacher Admirable Fish. I struggled a lot before making this call..."

    "What''s up?"

    "The program team wants to invite you as a judge ..."

    "My role in the program is a singer." Lin Yuan declined.

    Tong Shuwen chuckled bitterly, "Without you, the TV ratings dropped a bit. While the results are still good, the singers of the third team are too moderate. And don''t misunderstand, we''re not asking you to be a judge as Admirable Fish, but as Prince of Lanling. To be exact, we hope you can be our special critic."

    Lin Yuan was taken aback.

    A special critic in the show?

    Tong Shuwen coughed slightly and said, "The audience wants to hear your comments. I think you can consider coming to the program to critique the other singers. To ensure fairness in the program, the Production Team will not give you a vote. Of course, if you want to vote..." sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "No need."

    Lin Yuan thought for a moment, "I can participate in the commentary."

    Tong Shuwen was overjoyed, "It''s great that you agreed!"

    If the Prince of Lanling was just an ordinary singer, Tong Shuwen would not dare to invite him.

    It would be too offensive.

    But the Prince of Lanling doesn''t care!

    As long as the Prince of Lanling unveils himself!

    No problem would remain!

    "That''s settled then!"

    Tong Shuwen''s voice was overflowing with excitement, here comes the storm, little singers!

 Chapter 522 - 498: Stir Up Trouble _1

    Agreeing to Tong Shuwen''s request to be a special commentator wasn''t a difficult decision for Lin Yuan. He quite enjoyed offering some honest advice to the singers, especially since he would not have much else going on in the upcoming period¡ª

    His movie had finished shooting.

    His novel had been published.

    The only thing Lin Yuan would need to focus on was the occasional writing for a Holmes series. Given that this series'' word count was inevitably high, Lin Yuan planned to adopt the same strategy as he did for the Poirot Series¡ªspeeding up the releases at a certain point during serialization.

    Huh?

    At that moment, Lin Yuan noticed a message in his class group chat that was highlighted for everyone''s attention. It was sent by the class advisor, Hua Li: "Everyone should start preparing their graduation thesis. Our senior year will be ending soon, and if you don''t start on the thesis now, it could impact the issuance of your diploma."

    Lin Yuan was taken aback.

    He had almost forgotten that he was in his senior year. Writing a thesis wouldn''t be a huge problem, but Lin Yuan suddenly realized that he would probably reveal his identity in June. By then, all his schoolmates would know that he is Xian Yu. However, since he had decided to participate in the show, he was already mentally prepared for this.

    Of course.

    Although Xian Yu''s identity would eventually be exposed and he would gain the identity of a singer, Lin Yuan had no plans to participate in any activities as a singer. Lin Yuan had no intention of participating in commercial performances. After all, he didn''t rely on this as a source of income.

    "Got it."

    Lin Yuan responded in the group chat as other classmates were also replying to the class advisor''s message.

    He simply added a ''+1''.

    At that moment, a female classmate named Ye Han tagged Lin Yuan in the chat: "I think I saw you at our company the other day. Are you also working at Starlight?"

    "No way!"

    "Starlight Entertainment?"

    "Ye Han is so stable!"

    "I barely got an internship at a small music company, and here Ye Han is at Starlight, one of the top music companies in our Blue Star University!"

    "Big leagues!"

    "Ye Han, big boss, a kiss for you! Considering I often help clean your place, you have to pull me up with you if you make it big at Starlight!"

    "..."

    Some envied.

    Some were jealous.

    The class group chat hadn''t been this lively in a long time, especially since senior year started. Everyone started finding internships and barely had time to chat in the group.

    The truth is¡ª

    Friendships between classmates are the most pure. However, by senior year, many people start interning and have more interactions with society. Their mindsets start to shift towards becoming a part of working society. Many people even started private messaging Ye Han to build connections, a skill they had learned from dealing with society.

    Meanwhile, many classmates tagged Lin Yuan, asking him about his situation. If Ye Han saw Lin Yuan at Starlight, then it''s highly likely Lin Yuan also found a job at Starlight.

    "Well."

    Lin Yuan responded.

    Ignoring the other classmates, Ye Han directly mentioned Lin Yuan: "Let''s catch up at the cafeteria sometime. My aunt works as an agent at Starlight Entertainment. She sometimes gets access to the executive dining hall card. I can treat you to a meal!"

    "No need."

    Lin Yuan was quite pleased that someone was willing to treat him. However, he and Ye Han weren''t that close. He preferred to dine with people he was more familiar with. Most importantly, Lin Yuan didn''t have to pay when he dined at the executive dining hall.

    So he refused.

    No need for anyone to treat him.

    This was Lin Yuan''s perk.

    Lin Yuan didn''t find Ye Han''s situation strange. Chances are there were several other classmates from Qin Art set to join the company. Maybe there would even be more than one classmate like Ye Han.

    "So cool!"

    "Starlight!"

    "Awesome!" sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Strong connections!"

    While the classmates were still envying, Lin Yuan''s indirect refusal of Ye Han''s invite didn''t seem strange. There were many young girls in the class who had tried to pursue Lin Yuan, and Ye Han was just one among many. Besides, everyone knew that Lin Yuan''s piano skills were top-notch. It didn''t seem far-fetched that someone of his caliber could work at Starlight.

    Lin Yuan stopped looking at the group chat.

    He watched the previous episode of the third battle team and started noting down each person''s strengths and weaknesses in his notebook. Being a special commentator certainly required some preparation work beforehand.

    He can''t just wing it.

    After watching the episode, Lin Yuan noticed that the chat was still active. Most of the discussion revolved around Ye Han. Ye Han herself seemed to be enjoying the conversation. Someone even said, "Xian Yu is also at Starlight, and he''s a big shot from our school. Ye Han, you might be able to figure out who he really is!"

    "I can''t."

    Ye Han replied in the chat: "As soon as I joined the company, my aunt warned me not to bother Fish Papa. Besides, it''s forbidden to take pictures of Fish Papa. I would not dare to break that rule."

    "..."

    After some contemplation, Lin Yuan realized he never explicitly banned pictures. However, he had rejected others who sought to photograph him.

    This must be the reason why such rumors exist in the company.

    Perhaps this was why Xian Yu''s identity had remained hidden?

    Without giving it much thought¨C

    Lin Yuan hit the light and went to sleep.

    A few days later¨C

    Lin Yuan once again donned the mask of the Prince of Lanling and went to the production team of "The Masked Singer".

    Of course, he was not there to participate in the competition. As per the agreement, he was there to be a special commentator for the production team.

    "Prince of Lanling!"

    Director Tong Shuwen quickly found Lin Yuan in the dressing room: "Here''s how we have laid out today''s program..."

    Tong Shuwen introduced the situation to Lin Yuan.

    "Ok."

    Lin Yuan agreed.

    Tong Shuwen smiled, "Then I will go get ready. You should also prepare to go on stage."

    "Sure."

    Tong Shuwen left.

    Not long after, the recording officially began. Simultaneously, Lin Yuan got up to prepare to go on stage with the camera following him.

    Center stage.

    The host, An Hong, took the stage.

    An Hong was quite popular these days, mainly because of a previous episode where the Prince of Lanling criticized Fei Yang. As the host, An Hong was standing by the side, holding back his laughter. The scene was hilarious.

    He became an internet sensation.

    So when he appeared, the stage became particularly lively. The numerous audience roared with cheers!

    After smoothly completing his opening speech,

    An Hong chuckled: "Everyone, please calm down. Before today''s competition begins, a special guest will appear. Allow me to introduce our program''s special commentator, Teacher Prince of Lanling!"

    "Who?"

    The audience, still cheering, suddenly froze. The judging panel also froze at this announcement, including the four judges who looked at each other in disbelief.

    The stage entrance.

    A familiar figure was walking calmly towards the notable chair next to the stage. It was none other than that sharp-tongued singer from the first battle team¨C

    The Prince of Lanling!

    Backstage!

    A masked singer was drinking water through a straw, but choked upon seeing the Prince of Lanling:

    "What the?"

    "Prince of Lanling?"

    "Could that be wrong?"

    "Special commentator?"

    "Why did they invite him?"

    As the Prince of Lanling calmly settled into his seat as the special commentator, the singers were baffled.

    Inviting the Prince of Lanling to give comments?

    Did the show want to stir up some trouble?

 Chapter 523 - 499 Completely Offensive_1

    Although the reactions of the backstage singers were unseen, the audience seating area was immensely lively.

    A few seconds of silence were followed by the resounding sound of applause and gleeful cheers:

    "My goodness!"

    "They actually brought the Prince of Lanling over!"

    "His biting remarks are no joke..."

    "The show''s creators know how to have fun!"

    "The director sure knows what we like to see!"

    "Now we can enjoy Prince of Lanling''s sharp tongue to its fullest!"

    "Thrilling, incredible!"

    "Definitely worth it for this segment!"

    "..."

    The judging panel of four also had smiles on their faces.

    Each team''s judging panel would rotate members, and this time was no exception.

    This season''s judging panel, once again, consisted of Maestro and other three music industry heavyweights.

    Leading the panel was Maestro Yin Dong ¡ª

    For those who need a reminder, Yin Dong is the same Maestro who collaborated with Fei Yang twice, and ended up in second place both times with a somewhat deadpan expression.

    "You''ve watched previous episodes, haven''t you?"

    "This Prince of Lanling''s comments are quite harsh."

    "Sometimes, I feel his remarks are even more brutal than Teacher Yin Dong, but most of the time, I agree with his critiques."

    "...."

    The panelists were discussing amongst themselves.

    The on-stage host, chuckling, said: "Teacher Prince of Lanling will only be providing commentary, not voting, and will only be commenting after everyone has voted for the singer, so there''s no need to be concerned that he will influence the competition. Now, let''s welcome our first singer to perform!"

    The audience applauded even louder!

    Only the heavens knew if the applause was for the singer, or for the Prince of Lanling, or simply because they were excited by all the drama.

    Lin Yuan sat in his chair.

    Quietly watching the stage.

    The first singer was a female masked as a rabbit. Lin Yuan had seen her performance in the previous episodes and guessed that she should be a top-tier singer.

    The song ended.

    The four panelists provided their critique.

    The overall evaluation was fairly good.

    As proceedings were more or less wrapped up, An Hong suddenly laughed and turned to his right: "I''m curious to hear what Teacher Prince of Lanling thinks."

    It''s happening!

    It''s the Prince of Lanling''s segment!

    The audience was instantly perked up!

    At the center stage, the lady Rabbit shuddered subconsciously. The destructive power of Prince of Lanling''s remarks was known to be something not everyone could withstand.

    Lin Yuan was silent.

    All eyes were on him.

    Finally, Lin Yuan spoke: "Rabbit, you rely too much on your singing techniques. I''m not against showing off one''s skills on stage, but not every song is suitable for this. The emotional expression of this song should be valued more than showing off technique. If you prefer displaying your skills, I suggest you choose songs with a more complicated singing method."

    Rabbit: "..."

    What''s expected has arrived!

    Uproar arose from the audience; everyone was eager for the much-anticipated commentary from Prince of Lanling, who always speaks his mind!

    "Splendid!"

    "That''s Prince of Lanling alright!"

    "This guy, so blunt as ever!"

    "He really isn''t afraid to offend people!"

    "Why is he so defiant!"

    "His emotional intelligence is low, that''s why he''s so straightforward!"

    "Oh, An Hong is so trying to hold back his laughter!"

    "...."

    The audience at the scene was holding back their laughter at An Hong''s expression.

    An Hong suppressed his laughter: "Alright, let''s now invite our second singer of the day..."

    The second singer is likely the King of Singing!

    This singer is a man, disguised as a samurai.

    Facing the King of Singing, would Prince of Lanling continue in the same sharp-tongued manner?

    The audience was curious.

    The answer was soon made clear¡ª¡ª

    "High pitch is nothing new on this stage, and your problem is similar to that of Mu Shi''s, struggling to control your breath and having issues when you need to take a breath," Prince of Lanling critiqued Samurai''s performance.

    Here it is again! Here it is again!

    Doesn''t matter if you''re the King of Singing!

    Prince of Lanling is still that Prince of Lanling who dared to critique King of Singing Fei Yang from a distance!

    The audience went even wilder!

    There''s an even wilder commotion at the judging panel!

    "The Prince of Lanling is ruthless; after criticizing Samurai, he even dug up Mu Shi to whip a corpse!"

    "How dare he!"

    "I really want to see the expression of the singer under Samurai''s mask. Didn''t the judges previously guess that he is the King of Singing?"

    "An Hong just couldn''t hold it back."

    "As expected, one would get used to it after some time."

    "When this episode airs, Prince of Lanling will surely get scolded by many people!"

    "But still, I must say he makes sense."

    "What''s the use of making sense? Isn''t Prince of Lanling faultless himself when singing, nitpicking is something everyone can do. But I admit that I really enjoy watching him stirring up trouble, it''s indeed quite fascinating!"

    "..."

    On the center stage.

    An Hong chuckled, "Thank you for Prince of Lanling''s evaluation. Any thoughts you want to share, Warrior Teacher?"

    "Me?"

    Suddenly, the Samurai glanced at the Prince of Lanling and then clearly stated, "I don''t agree with the Prince of Lanling''s opinion!"

    The audience was taken aback!

    Then they became even more enthralled!

    Yes!

    The tension is building up!

    Would there be a physical fight on stage?

    Prince of Lanling was silent.

    The Samurai turned to Prince of Lanling and continued, "Suudenly, I really hope to encounter Prince of Lanling in the upcoming competition, and I hope Prince of Lanling can give me more advice at that time!"

    This Samurai could be the King of Singing!

    A rather outrageous King of Singing at that!

    His aggressive approach was already witnessed in the last episode of the show. He even picked a fight with the judges, and even though it didn''t go beyond the line, the audience knew he was a tough cookie.

    Rabbit chose to remain silent in response to Prince of Lanling''s criticism.

    However, the Samurai chose to...

    Declare war directly!

    The four judges were laughing and exchanging comments:

    "A head-on confrontation, eh!"

    "I knew there would be some singers who wouldn''t stand the criticism."

    "In the past, Prince of Lanling critiqued backstage and never upfront to the singers. Now that he criticizes them openly, singers with less tolerance will certainly fight back."

    "Quite interesting."

    Teacher Yin Dong kept staring at Prince of Lanling, seemingly trying to identify who''s behind the mask, sensing some manipulation in the arrangements of the show''

    How would Prince of Lanling respond?

    All eyes were on him.

    Lin Yuan didn''t give it much thought and didn''t feel provoked. He simply picked up the microphone and said:

    "Ok."

    He agreed!

    Being concise and to the point!

    Just like Prince of Lanling!

    An Hong chuckled, "Warrior Teacher doesn''t seem to be convinced by Prince of Lanling''s comments. It seems like we can already start looking forward to the team competition!"

    "..."

    The Samurai strode off the stage.

    The next four singers took their turns, including the sixth one, who is quite possibly a top-tier female singer.

    However.

    No matter whether they were kings or queens of singing, or top-tier singers, Prince of Lanling treated them all the same. He expressed his thoughts openly in front of the camera and the audience, sticking with his old style from previous recordings, and put it bluntly to every singer:

    "Your high notes aren''t clear enough. This song requires high notes with a stronger sense of penetration."

    "Your baritone voice is nice, but you came in a bit too early during the second part of the song. The fault was obvious. You should thank the orchestra for being able to back you up nicely." Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Among ten male singers, nine would sing it like you, neither good nor bad, but lack uniqueness."

    "..."

    Piercing!

    Sharp-tongued!

    Ruthless!

    Even when Prince of Lanling occasionally had words of praise, they''d always be followed by a "however," serving as a turnabout!

    After six continuous rounds.

    The audience was boiling over!

    This Prince of Lanling was absolute savage. When he used to compete, he''d just offend one singer at a time.

    But this time, acting as a special commentator, he was like a gatling gun!

    Pouring his criticisms on all the singers!

    Every single singer in the third team was offended by Prince of Lanling!

    Especially the last singer...

    She was definitely on the level of the top female singers.

    Yet, the comment Prince of Lanling gave was: "You did okay, middle-level among the top female singers."

    Ok?

    Being middle-level among top female singers?

    Was that a compliment? Because it sure didn''t sound like it!

    It would''ve been better off not complimenting at all!

    However, this masked top female singer didn''t seem offended, and cheekily replied: "I accept your assessment, but I hope Prince of Lanling will officially beat me, the middle-level top female singer, in the next competition. If you can do that, your critique will be more convincing."

    Alright then.

    This seemingly good-tempered singer also declared war on Prince of Lanling. You, Prince of Lanling, like to critique other singers venomously, then beat me if you can!

    "Alright."

    Prince of Lanling responded with his usual brevity.

    The venue was caught in an uproar, every critique after each performance was the climax of the show. As for Prince of Lanling''s words¡ª

    Some were furious!

    Some were thrilled!

    Some were cursing!

    Some were supportive!

    The controversy caused by Prince of Lanling once again became the subject of the hottest debate among the audience, making the show an absolute hit!

    In the director''s room.

    Director Tong Shuwen was overjoyed. With Prince of Lanling, there would be no need to worry about ratings for the next episode!

    Who would you most like to see unmasked?

    Tong Shuwen was very confident. If the audience could only choose one singer to unmask, everyone would choose Prince of Lanling!

 Chapter 524 - 500 Overlord and Revenge Goddess_1

    After finishing the recording, Lin Yuan directly went home. Things like ranking announcements had nothing to do with him. As for a singer from the third team challenging him, Lin Yuan welcomed all comers, because encountering them was inevitable.

    Just like that. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    A few days later.

    The episode of the third team with the special guest commentary by the Prince of Lanling was broadcasted. As expected by the director Tong Shuwen, both the ratings and the topic exploded!

    "So funny!"

    "The Prince of Lanling is here!"

    "Hahahahaha, the production team really knows their stuff, the singers of the third team must have been gobsmacked, they even got Prince of Lanling to comment, sure it''s not the official messing things up?"

    "Too ruthless!"

    "I knew something was up the moment Prince of Lanling showed up and took a seat, he didn''t disappoint, he sprayed bullets all over the place like a Gatling gun, even the King and Queen of Singing wouldn''t escape unscathed!"

    "I admire his guts!"

    "Yuan Xi, Mu Shi, Zhao Ying Ge, and Fei Yang, seems like Prince of Lanling is aiming to offend all the singers, keep it going, what I love the most is Prince of Lanling''s commentary section!"

    "..."

    Many viewers were thrilled!

    Of course, there were many viewers cursing too. Many contestants in the third team were popular. Seeing their favorite singers being attacked by the Prince of Lanling, some viewers, understandably, were angry. This group of audience was not small:

    "Prince of Lanling is courting death!"

    "Wait for the later face-off!"

    "All the Kings and Queens of Singing have declared war on him, I don''t believe he can withstand the subsequent competitions. These Kings and Queens haven''t even shown their best skills yet, Prince of Lanling will definitely kneel when that happens!"

    "Wait till he reveals his face!"

    "Forget about the Kings and Queens of Singing, even A-list singers may not be able to withstand Prince of Lanling, the team knockout stage after this will certainly be intense, I highly doubt he can last several rounds."

    "..."

    Innumerable controversies!

    Naturally, this didn''t exclude fans of singers like Fei Yang and Yuan Xi, his previous offendees, who were adding fuel to the fire.

    These people always formed the main force for the attack against Prince of Lanling, they had been missing the Prince of Lanling for several episodes and were anxious as their anger didn''t have a place to vent, but now, Prince of Lanling gave everyone an eye-catching target!

    Flooded with comments!

    On one side was the satisfaction of countless people, on the other side was the attack of slander from numerous people. The internet was all about the discussion related to Prince of Lanling, even surpassing the fishes of the second team in terms of audience''s attention to Prince of Lanling!

    This seemed to have become the norm.

    Since the first performance of Prince of Lanling, all kinds of controversies had always followed him, but no amount of controversy seems to deter the determination of Prince of Lanling to comment, this episode of the competition was only a beginning...

    For the next two episodes!

    Prince of Lanling was still there!

    To use netizens'' words, Prince of Lanling was either commenting on singers or on his way to comment on singers, and his acerbic style never changed, so when the competition of the third team was over, just the sight of Prince of Lanling made those singers'' eyes emit a faint green light!

    "Killer intent!"

    "I feel Samurai''s gaze wishes to tear Prince of Lanling apart, even Maestro Yin Dong doesn''t speak as straightforwardly as Prince of Lanling, at least he softens his words a bit."

    "Rabbit too."

    "Isn''t the main point about Fairy, the Queen of Singing from the Third Team? Don''t be fooled by their cheerful looks on the show, who knows what they''re saying about Prince of Lanling behind his back."

    Everyone was more and more excited as they watched!

    The relatively low topic quantity of the first episode of the third team significantly increased with the appearance of the Prince of Lanling in the second episode, rekindling the audience''s enthusiasm!

    ...

    Perhaps because the commentary by Prince Lanling had great effects on the show, Tong Shuwen was hoping Lin Yuan would continue to comment on the fourth team, but this time Lin Yuan declined, "I should prepare for the latter part of the competition."

    "Alright."

    Tong Shuwen agreed.

    The team knockout phase was going to take place right after the fourth team''s performance, that competition would definitely be more intense, it was perfectly normal for Lin Yuan to prepare in advance, "The team knockout phase is planning to be broadcasted live, so you probably need to prepare more songs for it."

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan thought so as well.

    He is not sure what the following competitions will be like and who he will be facing, so he must prepare more songs to be safe. This way, he will also have more options during the competition.

    After hanging up the phone.

    Lin Yuan activated the system.

    He needed to search for songs in the song library.

    The process of choosing songs certainly takes some time: "I have to prepare a few high-pitched songs since they appear the most frequently in this competition. But I also need to have songs of other types and styles."

    "This one is quite beautiful."

    "This one tests my ability to control my breath."

    "Songs in Qi language have been performed on this stage a few times and the audience seemed to like them. I should prepare a couple of those too, although I''m not sure if I will use them."

    "..."

    After roughly selecting some songs, Lin Yuan decided to exchange some language cookies with the system. These cookies can help Lin Yuan quickly master other languages. Without them, he wouldn''t be able to sing in any language other than Mandarin.

    Take Qi language as an example.

    Even though Lin Yuan has stayed in the Qi Continent and can speak some simple Qi language, if he sings in Qi language, people can tell straight away that his pronunciation is off, which would affect his performance in the competition. That''s why the system''s props can help solve these issues.

    In the following days.

    Lin Yuan didn''t do anything else but selecting songs and writing his novel. Occasionally, he would stroll around his studio, drawing comics to cultivate his sentiment. Some might consider this work but Lin Yuan took it as leisure. His master level drawing skills enabled him to treat drawing as a pastime.

    Interestingly...

    Although Lin Yuan did not continue to attend the show as a commentator, Luo Wei and the other assistants in his studio spent all of their leisure time watching The Masked Singer. They would even engage in discussions while watching.

    "Overlord is so strong!"

    "Overlord''s performance is dominating! He won first place again in today''s fourth round with the fourth team, making him the only contestant to win four consecutive championships in all the teams. Even Master Level judge Maestro praised him as a potential champion!"

    "The runner-up is also really good!"

    "Indeed, Revenge Goddess is terrifyingly strong, but she''s always been overshadowed by Overlord, consistently taking second place for four times now. Netizens are mocking her, saying that she''s becoming the third generation of the Perennial Runner-up."

    "That''s hilarious."

    "So there''s finally going to be a female singer in Perennial Runner-up, huh? These creative netizens, haha. But I suspect that the Revenge Goddess is Yuan Xi. Her vocal talent is impressive and it reminds me of Yuan Xi."

    "Yeah, kind of!"

    "If she''s Yuan Xi, it would be interesting. Because she calls herself the Revenge Goddess and she is always enveloped in a mysterious black veil. She wouldn''t be seeking revenge against the critics, but against White Swan and..."

    "Prince of Lanling!!!"

    By the end of April.

    The competition in the fourth team was nearing its end and the team battle phase was about to begin. However, public attention towards the fourth team remained high, even without Prince of Lanling''s comments, because the show had produced contestants whom the audience recognized as top-level singers:

    Overlord!

    Revenge Goddess!

    Especially Overlord, who had won first place for four consecutive times, the only contestant with a perfect record in all teams. Just based on that, Overlord definitely exhibited the qualities of a Masked Singer champion!

    Moreover...

    With the broadcast of the fourth episode, there were numerous reports about Overlord and Revenge Goddess. Countless people were speculating their identity. Overlord had kept his identity fairly well hidden, changing his style in every performance.

    In contrast.

    Many people speculated that Revenge Goddess was actually Yuan Xi, the famous singer who had been previously criticized by Prince of Lanling and White Swan. Some media outlets even claimed that Yuan Xi, under the persona of Revenge Goddess, intended to challenge Prince of Lanling and White Swan!

    Especially Prince of Lanling!

    Even Jin Mu was getting a bit worried and specifically went to talk to Lin Yuan, "We won''t discuss Overlord for now, but Revenge Goddess seems to genuinely be Yuan Xi. She''s probably targeting you and White Swan. If you lose to Yuan Xi, things could get interesting."

    "It''s fine."

    Lin Yuan responded casually.

    Jin Mu looked relieved at his response, "Right, you''re not afraid of losing since you don''t mind revealing your identity anyway. Your high hate score wouldn''t care about adding one more from Yuan Xi. The Samurai and the Elf from the third team surely hate you as much as Yuan Xi."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    It was true that his hate score was high.

    At this point, Jin Mu added: "You should already know about the upcoming rules, right? Each round will be an individual competition. Additionally, starting from the next round, the show will be broadcast live, which will likely increase the pressure for the performers."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    The director Tong Shuwen had also informed Lin Yuan about this. Next up was the team battle. The first team''s opponent would be the third team, and the competition would be broadcast live.

    "Are you ready?"

    "I think I''m well-prepared."

    Lin Yuan''s eyes flickered slightly. Only commenting on others felt somewhat monotonous. He was starting to feel like singing...

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Continue writing.

 Chapter 525 - 501 Live Broadcast (Extra for Alliance Hierarch Phantom Wing)_1

    Yes!

    The team competition is coming!

    For nearly four months, the audience has been watching four teams'' positioning matches in a row, and they can''t wait for the legendary team competition!

    Yes.

    When the fourth team''s battle ended, the topic of discussion on the internet was all about the next team competition¡ª

    "A battle of the strong!"

    "Only one person is eliminated in the positioning match, so many singers haven''t revealed their trump cards. But the team competition is different, all the competitors are the elites selected by the teams, anyone who underestimates their opponent may get eliminated early."

    "Interesting!"

    "The first team''s opponent turns out to be the third team, and Prince of Lanling just happens to be in the first team, which means Prince of Lanling will have to face the anger of the third team next!"

    "Hahaha!"

    "Enemies meet in narrow paths, anyone from the third team who encounters Prince of Lanling will probably muster all their strength to fight him, wishing to cram even eggs..."

    "Don''t be vulgar."

    "But you''re right, Prince of Lanling''s criticisms of the third team over the past few episodes certainly offended their singers. When they meet next time, it''s bound to be an explosive situation!"

    "..."

    The audience''s anticipation for the team competition far surpasses that for the positioning matches. Due to some well-known reasons, the positioning matches have a certain degree of performance, but the competitive aspect is not strong enough.

    Seemingly to further ignite everyone''s enthusiasm.

    The program team conducted a support rate survey.

    All twenty singers from the four teams appeared on the support rate survey list, and the current top-ranked singer of support is¡ª

    Overlord!

    This seems to be an unsurprising matter, because Overlord is the only singer who has won first place four times, and his performance on the show is the most dominant.

    Second place is Swan!

    Although Swan''s performance in the show is not dominant, both the judges and the audience seem to agree that Swan has not yet brought out his real strength.

    In third place is Lone Wolf.

    Lone Wolf is a singer from the second team. He is a big name who has won the first place for three consecutive times. Although everyone''s attention was on the fish fight for favor when the second team''s competition was broadcasted, Lone Wolf''s strength was also recognized by the audience.

    The fourth place is Elf.

    Elf is the mysterious singer in the third team that Prince of Lanling rated as a mediocre pop diva. Because of her quirky personality, she has won the affection of many viewers. When Prince of Lanling criticized Elf, he received a lot of backlash and vituperation.

    In fifth place is Samurai.

    Still a singer from the third team, he is generally considered to be a mysterious King of Singing. He has a similar personality to Prince of Lanling and is very straightforward in his speech and demeanor. Netizens rated him as "the most straightforward man in The Masked Singer".

    In sixth place is Revenge Goddess.

    There are many speculations about Revenge Goddess being Yuan Xi, but this has not been confirmed. However, it is certain that Revenge Goddess possesses the strength of a diva.

    In seventh place is Robot...

    Prince of Lanling, who is at the center of the show''s topic, ranks tenth. Although Prince of Lanling has also won first place twice, his most convincing competition seems to be only "Laughing at the Sea". The outside world''s judgment of Prince of Lanling''s strength tends to be a top-tier singer, so this ranking is still pretty much accurate.

    Of course.

    This ranking is only voted by netizens and contains a lot of personal preferences. So, the real ranking still depends on the competition afterwards.

    ...

    No matter how the netizens rank, the real test of the competition will come from their performance. Over the next few days, the singers went to the music hall for rehearsal before the competition. Lin Yuan was no exception. The reason for going to the venue in advance is mainly because each person is rehearsing more than one song.

    Finally!

    The time came to April 7th, the day when "The Masked Singer" team competition started. To prevent the singers from being disturbed, everyone entered the music hall from the enclosed underground parking lot. The live broadcast hasn''t started yet, but shooting is already underway. When the live broadcast starts, these shots will be inserted into the content.

    "Prince of Lanling."

    Seeing Prince of Lanling again, Tongtong''s expression was somewhat complicated: "Today is the live broadcast, you need to be careful. The editing team is a little nervous. If there are any mistakes, we might not have enough time to edit."

    Lin Yuan: "Okay."

    When passing through the corridor, Lin Yuan encountered several singers from the third team. Several gazes instantly focused on Lin Yuan, seemingly eager to try. Even Rabbit, a relatively gentle singer from the third team, eyed Prince of Lanling several times, which was quite intriguing.

    Tongtong was helpless.

    She had watched the third team''s show and knew that Prince of Lanling''s comments on the third team had offended the whole team. These looks were actually declaring war on Prince of Lanling. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    They entered the dressing room.

    This dressing room is collective in nature, with five seats in total, all prepared for the singers in the first team. When Lin Yuan arrived, he already saw four singers including Swan and Robot in the room.

    "Prince of Lanling!"

    Robot started joking right off the bat: "Why did you go and be a special commentator for the third team? Now, I guess the third team sees you as a thorn in their side."

    Everyone laughed.

    Swan gave Lin Yuan a thumbs up, and Pufferfish, who hadn''t spoken much at the side, hesitated for a moment, then suddenly looked at Lin Yuan timidly and said:

    "Good luck..."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    At this time, Director Tong Shuwen rushed over, hurriedly said: "I suppose you all know today''s rules, right? The first team and the third team will draw lots for opponents, so you won''t compete against your own team."

    Everyone nodded.

    Tong Shuwen continued: "In each showdown, the winner advances directly, while the five losers compete again, and only one of them can advance along with the winner."

    "Okay."

    Everyone was serious.

    The elimination rate of the team match is too high, only six of ten people can advance. If Lin Yuan loses the first match, he will have to compete with other singers who lost their one-on-one matches for the only opportunity to revive.

    How troublesome.

    So everyone plans to bring out a song with enough persuasiveness for the first match, to prevent themselves from getting involved in the fierce competition for the revival opportunity later.

    Tong Shuwen leaves.

    The drawing group arrives.

    People glance at each other, either drawing by themselves or letting assistants arranged by the program do it. Tongtong turns to look at Lin Yuan: "I always draw bad rings. If I draw a King of Singing for you, it would be a great mistake. You''d better draw by yourself."

    "I believe you."

    Lin Yuan encourages Tongtong.

    Mainly because he''s too lazy to move.

    Tongtong shakes her head vigorously. She dares not draw lots anymore. However, it seems that there''s no need for her to do it because the other four singers had already drawn their lots, revealing their opponents.

    Swan vs Tiger

    Robot vs Elf

    Mermaid vs Rabbit

    Pufferfish vs Butterfly

    This leaves the Prince of Lanling''s opponent rather evident, it could only be the last yet undrawn contestant from the third team-

    Samurai!

    As Tongtong sees this draw, she screams like a mole rat. If she had known, she too would have drawn earlier. She has left the Prince of Lanling with a King of Singing level opponent, Samurai!

    Such a bad draw!

    With the appearance of the draw result, the mood of the singers became subtly different, mostly quite relaxed. Only the Robot and Prince of Lanling, their opponents were a bit tough. The Robot was relatively okay, at least it was King of Singing vs King of Singing.

    But the Prince of Lanling...

    However, nobody voiced it out.

    Because they couldn''t. After all, not everyone is like the Prince of Lanling who lacks emotional intelligence. If they comfort the Prince of Lanling, wouldn''t they indirectly admit that the Prince of Lanling is not as good as the Samurai?

    ...

    Compared to the silence of the first team, the third team was having a heated conversation. "They have started drawing lots over there. I''m hoping to draw the Prince of Lanling!" the Tiger exclaimed excitedly.

    "Me too!"

    "Same here!"

    The Rabbit quietly chimes in. Not out of sheer hatred, but his fear of being up against the Robot or Swan¡ªthese two bosses of the first team.

    "Me too!"

    Even the Elf seems to want a match against the Prince of Lanling. It''s at this moment that the Samurai quietly says, "The Prince of Lanling is mine."

    Impressive!

    Everyone on the third team wants to face the Prince of Lanling because his grudge value is maxed out. This even triggered some laughter among the cameramen. It''s at this point that Tong Shuwen comes over and announces the result: "The first match is Mermaid vs Rabbit, the second match is the Prince of Lanling vs¡­"

    Everyone looks up simultaneously.

    Tong Shuwen: "Samurai!"

    The Samurai''s eyes suddenly sharpen, he can''t help but stand up and swing his fist. The others give off unintentional reactions as Tong Shuwen continues with her announcements.

    "I''m screwed."

    After Tong Shuwen swiftly leaves, the singer posing as Tiger laments: "Robot is too strong. There''s basically no hope of winning if you''re up against him. But it doesn''t matter if I lose, the Samurai must win!"

    "I''m not relaxed either."

    The Elf shrugs: "If the opponent is a Robot, we''ll have to give it our all. Let''s all do our best!"

    "Fight on!"

    The third team encourages each other.

    But in the end, everyone''s eyes are still on Samurai. Everyone is annoyed with the Prince of Lanling. Everyone on the third team wants the Samurai to crush the Prince of Lanling in a massacre!

    Just then-

    The television on the wall starts to broadcast the live feed from the stage, and the host Anhong has already walked onto the stage.

    The broadcast begins!

    At the same time, countless audiences sitting in front of their computers or televisions are also extremely excited, sending out barrages of comments-

    "It''s starting!"

    "I''m so excited!"

    "Who''s competing with whom?"

    "Live broadcasts are the best!"

    "Looking forward to the Prince of Lanling''s performance!"

    "Will the Prince of Lanling unveil himself?"

    "I wonder if the Kings of Singing from both sides will face each other. It would be fun if they do. Maybe a big shot will be eliminated in this round!"

    "..."

    Back at Lin Yuan''s house, Lin Xuan, Lin Yao, and their mother are all staring intently at the television broadcasting the live show!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thank you to the great Alliance Hierarch, Huan I Yi, for the reward. Here''s an extra update. I will continue writing.

 Chapter 526 - 526: 502

    Live broadcasting begins!

    Anhong walks onto the stage, and with a spirited opening speech, he introduces the audience to the all-new lineup of judges:

    "Teacher Yin Dong!"

    "Teacher Zheng Jing!"

    "Teacher Ye Zhiqiu!"

    "Teacher Yang Zhongming!"

    As the four judges waved at the camera, the emotions of the live audience and those watching the broadcast were instantly ignited¡ª

    "Holy crap!"

    "Four maestros!"

    "Who''s next!"

    "The lineup of judges is unprecedented, isn''t it? There has never been a show that could invite four maestros to be judges. They''ve brought over all the maestros from the four battle team''s judges'' panel!"

    "..."

    Yang Zhongming is the chief judge of the first battle team.

    Zheng Jing is the chief judge of the second battle team.

    Yin Dong is of the third battle team.

    Ye Zhiqiu is of the fourth battle team.

    Any of the four alone could uphold the highest judging standard for a show, and yet the live broadcast has gathered all four maestros together!

    Meanwhile

    The audience also found that the other judges from the previous show, like Wu Long, were sitting on the jury''s side now.

    The lineup is enormous and unprecedented!

    At this point, the camera switches.

    The backstage scene appears in front of the audience.

    Seeing that everyone from the third battle team wanted to compete against the Prince of Lanling, everyone was thrilled.

    This grudge score is off the charts.

    However, the audience nearly jumped up at the sight of Prince Lanling drawing Samurai¡ª

    "Oh my God!"

    "Prince Lanling is done for!"

    "How did he run into Samurai from the beginning?"

    "The Robot team is fierce too, encountering an elf. This is a battle of the King and Queen of Singing!"

    "Superb!"

    "Ha, the third team wants Samurai to take down Prince Lanling."

    "Today, Prince Lanling will have to sing ''Bracing the Chill'' again."

    "Hilarious, Tongtong is forever unlucky!"

    "I don''t get it. Prince Lanling has taken first place twice, and Samurai has also taken first place twice. Why does it seem like you guys think Prince Lanling will definitely lose?"

    "The trump card! The King of Singing, Samurai, hasn''t exploded yet!"

    "Prince Lanling isn''t the King of Singing, he might have already used all his strength in previous competitions and doesn''t have any left now."

    "I see."

    "In the previous competitions, the Kings and Queens of Singing just had to make sure they weren''t eliminated. This is when they''ll bare their fangs. If you don''t believe me, just keep watching."

    "..."

    Amidst the barrage of comments

    And the roaring cheers of the audience

    Anhong finally introduces the first pair of contestants.

    Pufferfish from the first battle team vs Rabbit from the third battle team.

    Rabbit sings first.

    The moment she started singing, the audience was stunned:

    She''s strong!

    She''s really strong!

    Rabbit didn''t stand out during the qualifying period, but today, Rabbit''s performance greatly surpasses her previous ones!

    "Holy crap!"

    "They''ve been hiding their true abilities all along?"

    "Is this the breakout since it''s a direct clash now?"

    "What about Pufferfish?"

    The audience finally felt the cruelty of the team competition!

    Rabbit, who never drew much attention before, had exploded all her qualities. If she sang like this before, she might have had a chance to win first place!

    Before long.

    Pufferfish takes the stage.

    The result? The audience gets even more excited when Pufferfish starts singing!

    As expected!

    Pufferfish was also hiding her true strength!

    She hadn''t shown her full potential before!

    In this round, Pufferfish actually sang Xian Yu''s "White Rose". Her fluent Qi language made the audience start to doubt whether Pufferfish was really Zhao Ying Ge, or an A-list singer from Qi Continent...

    It''s so good!

    A perfect performance!

    In the midst of the audience''s excitement.

    Pufferfish scored 590 votes, while Rabbit got 410 votes.

    Because it''s a live broadcast, the results are announced right after the paired singers finished their performances.

    There are seven hundred audience members today.

    Fifty general judges.

    And four judges.

    Each audience member has one vote, each general judge has two votes, and each judge has fifty votes, so the total number of votes for each round is one thousand.

    Whichever singer gets over five hundred votes can securely win against their opponent.

    "Hahaha, the one who moves first always lose!"

    "Indeed, the one who moves first always lose!"

    "Going second is the King''s Path!"

    "Team competitions are still the most exciting!"

    "There''s no need for small talk, one move determines the winner!"

    "..."

    The barrage of comments jokingly ridicules.

    Rabbit sings first, and Rabbit loses. Isn''t this just proof of the truth¡ª "The one who moves first always lose"?

    "Everyone."

    Host Anhong suddenly laughed: "The two contestants to compete next are Teacher Samurai from the third battle team and Teacher Prince of Lanling from the first battle team..."

    "Here comes the show!"

    "The biggest showdown of today is about to start, Prince Lanling vs Samurai!"

    "A match of rights and wrongs, a match of father and son!"

    "I''m just waiting for Prince Lanling!"

    "This match with Prince Lanling is my most anticipated!"

    "Ahhh, is Prince Lanling going to reveal his identity?"

    "The cool moonlight turns into a river for you..."

    "Drawing Samurai is the death ticket!" sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Once Prince Lanling reveals his identity, we, the fans of Yuan Xi, are ready to explode!"

    "Fei Yang''s army is assembling!"

    "Mu Shi''s army is ready to sail!"

    "Even though the result is without suspense, I''m extremely looking forward to it!"

    "..."

    The main event is finally here!

    Whether it''s the live audience or the netizens watching the screen, everyone''s feelings have been ignited. They''re extremely curious to watch this showdown!

    In terms of anticipation, the audience''s desire for this match even surpasses the battle of the King and Queen of Singing!

    Because this match is all about settling scores!-

    Samurai had previously declared war on Prince Lanling!

    The big screen begins to rotate the order of appearance.

    Finally locked in, Samurai sings first.

    Suddenly, a comment joked:

    "Does the one who moves first always lose?"

    Someone followed: "In the face of absolute strength, all kinds of theories are useless!"

    "This round, the one who moves second will definitely lose."

    "Prince Lanling previously criticized Samurai for not breathing properly, while also stepping on Mu Shi. Today, retribution is coming."

    "Samurai: Heard that I can''t breathe properly? Then why did you lose?"

    "Samurai: Your breathing isn''t that great either."

    "Samurai: The victor is king, it''s my turn to critique your performance, isn''t it?"

    "..."

    The barrage comments were all playing tricks.

    And Samurai has already taken to center stage.

    He picked up the microphone and smiled, "I''ve drawn the opponent I''ve most wanted to draw. Before my performance, I have a thing to say to my opponent..."

    Anhong laughed, "Oh, a declaration of war?"

    Samurai brought the microphone closer to his mouth, " Prince of Lanling has said more than once that I have a breathing problem. Why not listen to the next song and see what my breathing is like."

    Boom!

    The venue was in uproar!

    The tension was palpable!

    Everyone was in high spirits!

    He is provoking Prince of Lanling!

    Samurai gave a small wave of his hand and the venue gradually quieted down. The aura around Samurai began to rise. It was the aura of a King of Singing....

    At this moment

    The camera cut to backstage.

    The members of the first team looked towards Prince of Lanling.

    Following that,

    The camera turned to an area that few people paid attention to.

    Everyone was stunned to find that the singers who had been unveiled before were all here. Even Mu Shi, who had previously been criticized by Prince of Lanling for his breathing problem, was present!

    "Hahahahaha!"

    "The program team knows how to have fun!"

    "The moment Samurai mentioned the breathing issue, the camera cut to Mu Shi!"

    "Creating a drama!"

    "This is Samurai trying to make a face-slapping comeback!"

    "Mu Shi: Brother, hurry up and teach Prince of Lanling how to breathe!"

    "Mu Shi: Avenge my brother!"

    "..."

    The online netizens had already started to have fun.

    They hadn''t come across such an entertaining program team before, the program effects were simply at max level, and the singers were also cooperating one after another!

    Whoosh.

    The lights dimmed at that moment.

    Samurai''s performance began!

    As soon as he started singing, the audience gasped in surprise--

    It''s "Leaving!"

    "Leaving" by Yang Zhongming!

    If everyone''s memory serves them right, this song was also sung by Prince of Lanling previously and it''s precisely this song that ended up offending Fei Yang!

    Holy crap!

    This Samurai!

    He intends to go all out in this face-off!

    Is he planning to defeat Prince of Lanling with the song Prince of Lanling sang?

    But what shocked everyone the most was!

    This song was completely rearranged by Samurai!

    The rearranged version of "Leaving" had a very fast tempo and its key was increased. In the middle, there was even a rap segment. Very quickly, someone discovered the most terrifying part--

    "Can you hear it? He doesn''t seem to be breathing much!"

    "You can tell he''s breathing a little, but the number of times he does it is very small!"

    "My God!"

    "Does he not need to breathe?"

    "Is this the wrath of a King of Singing?"

    "He indeed does not breathe much, what kind of lung capacity is this, especially for this arranged song!"

    "His breathing control is off the charts!"

    "Prince of Lanling is really at a disadvantage this time!"

    "Both ''Leaving'' and the breathing technique, he is not going to stop until he makes a fool of Prince of Lanling..."

    "Hahaha, even Prince of Lanling has these days!"

    "He has met his match!"

    "..."

    There were shocks!

    There were gasps!

    There were people delighting in his misfortune!

    Even without professional music knowledge, the audience could hear that very little breathing was done during Samurai''s song!

    Normally, people would have to breathe while singing, especially when singing songs that need a lot of breath support. But during Samurai''s song, there was hardly any breathing, it was simply terrifying to witness his incredible lung capacity!

    ...

    Backstage.

    The robot was stunned, " His lung volume is incredible."

    Swan nodded, "This kind of breathing control, without a strong foundation, even a few of the Kings and Queens of singing may not be able to do it."

    The robot laughed, "Can you do it?"

    Swan calmly replied, "If it were me on that stage , he would undoubtedly lose in terms of breath control."

    The meaning behind her words was clear.

    She could do it!

    But...what about Prince of Lanling?

    The Robot shook his head.

    ...

    Judge''s seat.

    Yin Dong chuckled, "Samurai is really fussing over the breathing issue."

    Ye Zhiqiu was a little helpless, "He''s too absorbed in one thing. In order to show off his breathing ability, he sacrificed other aspects of the performance."

    Zheng Jing smiled faintly, "I think it''s pretty good. Singers should be using their songs to answer questions. It''s quite interesting."

    Yang Zhongming squinted his eyes and said in a soft voice, "Although he''s completely changed my song, his showcase of lung volume and breath control are indeed commendable. He''s made his point in this round, but it would have been better if he hadn''t forced some of the notes."

    ...

    A few minutes later.

    Samurai finished his song.

    He was panting heavily. Clearly, he had exerted a lot of effort to keep from breathing during the song, but the audience''s shouts made him realize:

    It was worth it!

    His breathing technique!

    Everyone noticed it!

    The waves of cheers from the audience were growing stronger and stronger, and countless people were shouting:

    "Samurai!"

    "Samurai!"

    "Samurai!"

    Samurai''s eyes flashed with strong confidence. Prince of Lanling, do you still dare to say I have a breathing problem?

    ...

    No one noticed.

    In the waiting area, Prince of Lanling suddenly said to Tongtong, "I''ve decided on the next song..."

    "?"

    Tongtong was dumbfounded, "You''re deciding now?"

    Prince of Lanling said, "Put on the eighth song I prepared."

    Tongtong was stunned, "The eighth one... How many songs did you prepare in total?"

    "Go."

    Prince of Lanling didn''t answer.

    His gaze was fixed on the Samurai performing on stage.

    Lin Yuan was somewhat disappointed. Samurai was being too deliberate, there were several notes that he struggled with but still did not want to breathe. It seemed like he was sacrificing the big picture for the small details.

    However, since the other party is using breathing as a weapon...

    I have it too.

    And the name of my next song...

    Well...

    It''s not deliberate.

    ----

    PS: Thanks to the Daoist Monk for his Alliance Hierarch position, another chapter added. I feel like I would get scolded if I stopped here, I will keep writing.

 Chapter 527 - 503 - I Never Left_1

    "Thanks for the Warrior Teacher''s splendid... performance, I''m sorry, after listening too much, I even forget to breathe."

    An Hong said with a smile.

    The audience burst into laughter immediately.

    Indeed, it was unknown how the Warrior managed to finish singing the song under extremely infrequent breaths.

    "Does Warrior Teacher have anything else to say?"

    An Hong turned towards the Warrior.

    The Warrior adjusted his breath: "You might be curious about why I chose the song ''I Surrender''. Actually, there are four reasons. First, I wanted to pay tribute to Teacher Yang Zhongming. Second, I wanted to respond to the issue of my breathing through my rendition. Third, I thought it would be interesting to sing a song that one of my competitors had previously sung. And the fourth reason..."

    The Warrior paused.

    An Hong responded, "What''s the fourth?"

    The Warrior smiled: "I think the title of the song is great."

    An Hong was taken aback and blurted out subconsciously, "I Surrender¡­"

    Pff!

    The audience finally understood the pun!

    What a clever trick with ''"I Surrender"''! He''s actually implying that the Prince of Lanling should ''leave''!

    Doesn''t being eliminated mean leaving the show?

    That''s ruthless!

    He wants to leave the Prince of Lanling humiliated!

    So much meaning packed into one song!

    An Hong''s face twitched, he was holding back laughter again...

    On the screen.

    Barrages of comments were streaming in:

    "Hats off to An Hong for holding back his laughter; these singers are quite the mischief makers!"

    "Fantastic! Hang the Prince of Lanling up and beat him!"

    "The Prince of Lanling is definitely going to be defeated this round!"

    "Damn, is this even allowed?"

    "Well done on the song ''I Surrender''".

    "...."

    An Hong coughed once, "The Warrior Teacher has quite the sense of humor. But now it''s time to invite his opponent, Prince of Lanling, to perform!"

    The Warrior bowed and stepped down from the stage.

    Applause swept through the venue, but the audience members had strange expressions on their faces as they clapped.

    How is the Prince of Lanling going to respond in this situation?

    He''s already at a disadvantage in terms of momentum!

    Are you trying to say that he has an issue with his breathing?

    Well, he just showed off his amazing breathing technique while singing your previous song ''I Surrender''! S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Are you convinced yet?

    The audience was convinced!

    The Warrior is indeed domineering!

    Everyone loved this!

    Even if the Prince of Lanling does well in this round, it''s going to be difficult to win back the hearts of the audience, because they will no longer vote based solely on the rendition of the song. The Warrior''s breathing response in this round alone is impressive enough!"

    ...

    Backstage.

    White Swan sounded somewhat upset: "The Warrior''s approach was too harsh this round. He''s winning over the audience with his breathing technique, but besides that, this song doesn''t seem to have any obvious significance."

    "Exactly!"

    Pufferfish surprisingly echoed White Swan: "He''s forcing the Prince of Lanling to compete with him on breathing techniques. If the Prince of Lanling does not respond, it seems as though he''s intentionally avoiding the fight."

    "It''s understandable..."

    Robot shook his head: "Regardless of what everyone might say, this is a strategic move in the competition. As soon as he brought the audience''s attention to his breathing controversy, he''s already halfway to victory."

    Why?

    Because he''s used his breathing technique as a self-affirming response!

    He''s already proved to everyone that his breathing technique is superior!

    "The result is still unclear."

    The Mermaid suddenly spoke up: "Let''s not forget who wrote the previous song for the Prince of Lanling. Maybe this round too ..."

    Um?

    Everyone was momentarily stunned, then shook their heads. Even if Xian Yu helped the Prince of Lanling write the song, this round was about more than just the song.

    ...

    Compared to the dissatisfaction of the first team, the third team was beyond excited at this moment!

    "Domineering!"

    "That''s the Warrior for you!"

    "It was amazing to listen to this round!"

    "This is the Warrior''s style, you question any part of me, I will use that part to prove myself!"

    "Powerful!"

    The third team''s singers explained to the camera, afraid of offending the audience, "We don''t mean to criticize the Prince of Lanling. We just hope that he refrains from making rash statements in the future after all ..."

    They couldn''t go on.

    The singers of the third team couldn''t help but burst into laughter. Some were bent over laughing, some laughed while kicking their legs on the sofa, some were smacking their thighs hard... The joy radiating from them was infectious even through the screen.

    ...

    The camera switched to Mu Shi.

    Mu Shi seemed to be happy about something and made a heart shape towards the camera.

    The person next to him could not help but laugh and gently patted Mu Shi''s shoulder.

    Apparently...

    Everyone was thinking about the "breathing" joke. The Warrior''s counterattack was too absolute!

    ...

    Among various reactions...

    The Prince of Lanling took the stage.

    He was greeted with the audience''s mixed gaze and, of course, a variety of bullet screen comments.

    How is he going to compete?

    Does he even need to sing now?

    An Hong turned to Lin Yuan: "Do you have anything to say, Prince of Lanling?"

    Lin Yuan shook his head.

    Some audience members sighed.

    He didn''t even want to say a word.

    For not being his usual sharp-tongued self, it''s quite clear that the Prince of Lanling must be feeling confused right now.

    Comments began popping up:

    "Why aren''t you criticizing his breathing technique now?"

    "Can you do this kind of breathing?"

    "Mu Shi: Revenge at last!"

    "Mu Shi: My breathing might indeed have a problem, but do you also think that the Warrior''s breathing is problematic?"

    However, there were comments that defended the Prince:

    "Why are some singer''s fans constantly attacking the Prince of Lanling?"

    "This round, besides the Warrior''s breathing, what else did he bring to the table?"

    "Is song performance all about breathing?"

    "Not good enough."

    "..."

    There were people still supporting the Prince of Lanling.

    But...

    Even those who support the Prince of Lanling can no longer criticize the Warrior''s breathing.

    That breathtaking technique had shocked too many people!

    ...

    Actually, Lin Yuan''s thoughts were quite straightforward.

    He just felt that there was no need for any unnecessary talking before singing.

 Chapter 528 - 503 I Never Left_2

    He turned his head.

    Lin Yuan nodded to the band.

    The lights instantly focused on him.

    Then, gentle piano notes rose up.

    At this moment.

    The title of Lin Yuan''s song appeared on the big screen.

    Song Title: I Surrender

    Lyricist: Xian Yu

    Composer: Xian Yu

    Singer: Prince of Lanling

    In an instant, many people gaped¡ª

    What the hell?

    I Surrender?

    The Samurai just sang a song named "Leave".

    And yet the song Prince of Lanling chose to perform was named "I Surrender"?

    And it''s a song written by Xian Yu?

    Are you doing this on purpose?

    Floods of surprising reactions from the crowd!

    From the judges'' seats.

    Yang Zhongming also froze for a moment.

    Xian Yu''s song is called "I Surrender"?

    Yes, it''s Terry Lin''s "I Surrender".

    Terry Lin, known as "Immortal Lin" among his fans, shocked countless people after performing this song on the singer''s stage. Even the famed Susan Huang was dumbstruck, because no one could hear Terry Lin take a breath, so this song was known as "I Never Took A Breath".

    It is Terry Lin''s unique cocktail singing method, achieving an effect as though he never breathed. Lin Yuan, having prepared this song, of course, studied this singing method¡ª

    He held the microphone and slowly closed his eyes.

    He chose not to imitate any other voices, but sang the first line with his strongest baritone voice: "I''ve loved and lost, tasted the sweetness and bitterness of love, breaking free from the trickery of fate, I know what I want..."

    Huh?

    Some of the audience noticed that they hardly heard him take a breath when the Prince of Lanling was singing:

    "There''s a kind of unspeakable touch, melting all the emotions, why bother with futile pondering, what''s good in this world if I don''t have you..."

    In front of the screen.

    The netizens froze.

    Clearly, there are pauses

    But where did the sound of his breath go?

    Since the song is sung slowly and the melody is a bit low, it doesn''t require high breath control, so no one noticed anything unusual, especially compared to the Samurai''s performance just now.

    However!

    At this moment, Prince of Lanling''s voice suddenly soared as if it leaped from the valley to the top of a mountain, singing the brightest and most clear words in the most spirited tone:

    "I gaze at the mountains in the distance but miss the turning at the crossroads

    Only when I look back do I realise you''ve been waiting for me, never departed

    I search for the end of the sea but overlook the winding river S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    As I sail up the stream, you stay by my side, pushing me along..."

    In that moment, everyone was dumbstruck!

    My god!

    This song is incredible!

    It feels like being hit by a bullet - it''s overwhelmingly powerful!

    The stunning melody intertwined with lengthy high notes and long notes. Through the resonance of the Prince of Lanling''s voice, it was deep yet crystal clear and dazzling, like a brick repeatedly smacking onto the faces of the audience.

    It was fascinating!

    But...

    Where''s the breath?

    Why hasn''t it come yet?

    The audience was dumbfounded!

    Where is the sound of his breath?

    Are you some kind of a humanoid speaker?

    How could you sing such high notes without catching your breath?

    Prince of Lanling was still singing, but it seemed as if he was also answering the audience''s queries:

    "Perhaps I''m too content, because love has fulfilled all the crevices of life, you''ve mended every gap with your sincerity, at this moment I''ll hold you close, giving you double the affection, singing you a special love song..."

    Prince of Lanling finally took a moment''s pause.

    Just when the audience was slightly relieved, the loud percussion suddenly began!

    Together with a crisp sound, the piano notes were suddenly amplified, along with Prince of Lanling''s rising pitch suddenly bombarding the eardrums:

    "Hear me out!!!"

    The booming chorus rang out once again!

    As if all the words were strung together!

    The countless melodies combined to form a grand composition as if there were no breaking points!

    The penetrative power of the Prince of Lanling''s voice fully erupted, the melody seemed endless: "I gaze at the mountains in the distance, but miss the turning at the crossroads. When I look back, I realize you''ve been waiting for me, never departed..."

    Everyone''s nerves were tightened once again!

    Bang!

    It exploded!

    ...

    In front of the live stream screen.

    The comments were flooding in:

    "This song is explosive!!! How did he also manage to not breathe!"

    "His breath control is more terrifying than the Samurai''s!"

    "This song is incredible; at least we could hear the Samurai catch his breath a few times. Why does Prince of Lanling not seem to need to breathe at all?!"

    "What do you mean, he never left? This is more like he never breathed!"

    "Exactly, he never breathed, this song must not allow for breathing!"

    "Doesn''t he need to breathe?"

    "Damn, it makes The Samurai look like nothing!"

    "Compared to the Prince of Lanling, the Samurai is simply no match!"

    "This is brutal!"

    "Is this even possible?"

    "Who said the Prince of Lanling wouldn''t dare to talk?"

    "Not only does he dare to talk, he dares to talk without taking a breath!"

    "Prince of Lanling: let me show you how to breathe."

    ...

    In the audience...

    "I got goosebumps!"

    "He is showing the Samurai how to breathe!"

    "This song is explosive, the Prince of Lanling breathes in such a way that it sounds very impactful!"

    "Damn it!"

    "Slap in the face!"

    "The Samurai played in vain this round!"

    "Now this is someone who really knows how to sing without breathing!"

    "Oh my god! My mom doesn''t let me curse unless I can''t help it!"

    ...

    The judges!

    Zheng Jing exclaimed, "There are no breath sounds!"

    Ye Zhi Qiu opened his mouth wide, "Such perfect control!"

    Yin Dong almost looked expressive, although he seemed a bit constipated, his voice seemed to be scraped from his throat, "He didn''t pant even at the high notes?"

    Yang Zhongming''s eyes were wide open!

    The breath control was too strong, and the song itself was explosive!

    ...

    Backstage!

    The robot looked at the Swan in shock, "Can you...can you do this too?"

    The Swan replied, "Get lost!"

    Pufferfish suddenly stood up.

    The Mermaid clenched her fists.

    In the third team area, the singers who were laughing just a moment ago suddenly fell silent, and the room was eerily quiet.

    ...

    Key raise!

    What does it matter if he sings at a higher pitch?

    No change can be noticed at his breathing points!

    It was live singing!

    But the ever-present microphone in the hand of the Prince of Lanling seemed to negate the need for him to breathe!

    Between the scatters of the spotlight, there was only that penetrating, heavy roar, accompanied by a high-intensity vibrato:

    "Joy and sorrow binding me no longer matters, let my world revolve around you, your happiness is my happiness, your sorrow is my sorrow...let us lift our heads together and receive the love that descends, the sunlight proves that this is not a dream, close your eyes now and feel with your heart, there is a voice that speaks of love¡­"

    Lin Yuan continued to sing, and you said no breathing?

    What nonsense about no breathing, people have to breathe when they sing.

    Only, there is a way to breathe where you absolutely can''t hear it at the breathing points!

    Before others have noticed, the singer has already adjusted the breath again and again during the song performance, until it reaches a state that leaves no trace.

    This is true for the Samurai.

    This is also true for Lin Yuan.

    It''s just that Lin Yuan''s adjustments during his performance are more seamlessly integrated, giving people the feeling that he didn''t breathe at all.

    The lights converged again.

    Lin Yuan''s voice dropped for the first time, he slightly lifted his head as if reminiscing about something, or narrating something:

    "I Surrender..."

    The music gradually faded, and the piano sound echoed with the tail note, the camera then suddenly cut to beneath the stage.

    ...

    Mu Shi was stunned.

    Not shocked, but stunned, continued to be driven by his nature, standing there numbly, dumbfounded.

    When the Prince of Lanling criticized his breathing, he was truly unconvinced, and he truly enjoyed the Samurai''s performance just now.

    But this moment...

    How did he do it, why is his breath control so strong, and this song is simply unbelievable...

    Behind Mu Shi...

    All the other eliminated singers were having the same reaction as Mu Shi.

    Over at the Samurai''s place...

    His face was hidden behind the mask, so you couldn''t see Samurai''s expression.

    But the Samurai''s hand was subconsciously leaning against the "wall", as if looking for something to hold onto...

    "Eh!"

    This was not a wall.

    It was just a poster of "The Masked Singer," it fell to the ground with a thud because it couldn''t bear the strength of the Samurai.

    Rip.

    The poster was ruined.

    The image of the Samurai in the poster was just torn a seam.

    I split!

    ----------------

    ps: Thanks for the alliance hierarch reward from Ah Qi|, kneel to the big boss ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, remember to add more to the small notebook. I really can''t write anymore, goodnight everyone.

 Chapter 529 - 529: 504

    Everyone was taken aback!

    The program''s dozens of cameras captured countless stunned faces, splitting the screen into segments to deliver the most striking shock to the audience in front of the screen!

    Even if the song had finished singing...

    This kind of shock did not diminish in the slightest, but rather intensified with everyone''s momentary reflections!

    Soon after!

    Someone screamed, countless applause erupted from the audience, from the seven hundred spectators to the fifty jury members, all giving a warm applause for this performance!

    "This song..."

    "It''s unbeatable..."

    "Weren''t there people saying that the singing skills of the Prince of Lanling were not good? This is what you call poor singing skills?"

    "He never took a breath!"

    "It''s not just about taking breaths anymore, it''s about connecting the climaxes, unstoppable like a breaking levee, and by the end, my brain is almost blank!"

    "This is insane!"

    "From performance to breathing to the overall structure, Prince of Lanling has almost crushed the Samurai''s performance. Every point of Samurai''s counterattack was perfectly neutralized by the Prince of Lanling, and in a superior way!"

    "....."

    Amid the thunderous applause.

    Many people were discussing.

    Host Anhong took the stage, his voice sounded slightly unusual: "Thank you to teacher Prince of Lanling for presenting us with this musical feast. I see everyone was very excited, moreover, according to our temporary backstage statistics, the barrage from Netizens during this live broadcast was the most intense since the start of our live program today..."

    The reaction from both the stage and the outside world.

    Were all the same!

    The host looked at Zheng Jing, Zheng Jing after several heavy breaths finally spoke with lingering fear: "The singer''s fine, but the people listening to it are almost out of breath. I''m not surprised at all that Xian Yu could write such a song, from composition to structure are really top-quality. I was surprised that the Prince of Lanling could actually handle this difficult song¡ª¡ª"

    "It''s super difficult!"

    Ye Zhi Qiu from next door surprisingly interrupted Zheng Jing, his expression was one of shock: "The demand for breath control in this song is too high. It''s not about how big the lung capacity of Prince of Lanling is, but how he uses and controls his lung capacity without wasting a single bit. This is a textbook-level use of breath.

    If only considering the performance of this song, the Prince of Lanling is at the level of a singing king!"

    "Not only that!"

    The facial paralysis, Yin Dong opened his mouth: "At the same time you can''t hear the breathing, he can sing a long high note for a long time. I believe the audience who listen to the song feel like they''re running out of breath, and he can still increase his volume and increase the pitch of his voice..."

    The audience nodded furiously!

    Isn''t that exactly the case!

    They say about decline after the second attempt and exhaustion after the third, just listening makes people feel like their breath can''t keep up. The result is that he can continue to increase his volume and pitch to push the song to a higher level¡ª¡ª

    It''s terrifying!

    Lin Yuan didn''t say a word.

    Breathing is a science in singing, and Terry Lin found a cocktail way of singing due to his sinus problems, which made all of his songs live almost without hearing too much breathing. And the live version of "I Surrender" is definitely one of Terry Lin''s strongest non-breathing performances.

    Lin Yuan had to go through a lot of hardship to find the trick of this method of singing, even using the system''s teaching space for repeated research to find the right direction, so this result is within expectation.

    Anhong looked at Yang Zhongming.

    Yang Zhongming stared at the Prince of Lanling for several seconds, as if pondering something. Then the words he uttered next suddenly made the whole audience burst into laughter: "Are you breathing through your pores?"

    Even breathing through pores is possible.

    Yang Zhongming did not continue to joke, his expression was a bit serious: "There''s no need for everyone to keep discussing about taking breaths. The breath control in this song is textbook-level, but we should return to the song itself.

    This song is the most perfect I''ve heard from Prince of Lanling in terms of singing skills, the long notes in the song require extreme tolerance of the vocal cords, also the song''s composition is very good, it''s just a pity that due to its difficulty, this song could be many singers'' nightmare."

    ...

    At the backstage.

    The Robot nodded earnestly: "This song is really nightmare-level difficult, it''s not the high notes that are difficult, so any singer who''s good at high notes can reach them.

    The terrifying part is that the high note section is too long, and everyone can reach the high notes but the breath might not last long enough, anyways, I can''t do it, and it seems that teacher Bai Tianshi can''t do it either, how about you guys?"

    Pufferfish shook his head.

    The mermaid shook his head.

    Who can withstand this?

    The First team cannot stand it, the Third team also cannot stand it, to be precise the Third team is still in silence, ever since Prince of Lanling started to sing, it seems that everyone in the Third team has become mute.

    After a long while.

    The Sprite murmured in a low voice: "The high-note section is not really exaggerated, I can sing even higher than him..."

    Everyone looked at the Sprite.

    And still didn''t expose her.

    Yeah, you can sing higher than him, but can you hold your breath longer than him? He can easily go for dozens of seconds without taking a breath...

    On the stage.

    The host looked at the seemingly dazed Samurai next to him and tried to keep his voice natural: "Next, we''ll invite the Warrior Teacher to the stage, to join Teacher Prince of Lanling, and together receive the votes of the audience."

    The Samurai silently moved forward.

    Standing beside the Prince of Lanling.

    He did not dare look at the other man.

    This round has almost sucked all his breaths out, especially after realizing that the breathing of the Prince of Lanling was stable. The Samurai couldn''t help but think of how he was panting after finishing his performance...

    What a freak!

    Is this even human?

    He must be a singing machine!

    Such a slap in the face! I sang about leaving, and you followed up with a song called I Surrender. So, am I the one who should leave?

    The Samurai regrets it!

    If he knew beforehand, he definitely would not have attacked Prince of Lanling''s breath control. That''s the one area he simply couldn''t touch. But after thinking about it, the Samurai despaired once again...

    Changing the song wouldn''t help either!

    The live performance of Prince of Lanling was not only a showcase of terrifying breath control; it was also a comprehensive demonstration of the song''s quality. Even if you disregarded the breath control aspect, the song was still overwhelming!

    Kill gods when they appear!

    Kill buddhas when they appear!

    He sighed inwardly.

    The audience at the site was somewhat empathetic, refraining from laughing out loud. However, the viewers in front of their screens hold no such restraint, bursting into unrestrained laughter¡ª

    "Humiliated on the spot!"

    "We don''t even need to discuss this, right? Even if the audience were to vote with their feet, they should know who to vote for. The judges didn''t even critique the Samurai''s performance, perhaps to save some of his dignity?"

    "The one who moves first always loses!"

    "The ancients didn''t deceive us!"

    "Even Maestro himself said this is a textbook level use of breath control. Who would dare to criticize Prince of Lanling''s critique on other singers'' breathing issues now? Would they dare say something if they aren''t skilled?"

    "..."

    The fans of Yuan Xi fell silent. So did the fans of Fei Yang. All fans of singers who saw Prince of Lanling unfavorably were left speechless now. The slap in the face was just too loud.

    ...

    The music set by the production team for the voting session was quite intense. However, when the results came out and the Samurai turned to look at his score, his heart turned cold. He might have created the largest score gap in this round!

    Samurai: 218 votes

    Prince of Lanling: 766 votes

    The total votes didn''t reach a thousand, implying some people abstained. However, this was also allowed in the competition. When some people didn''t know who to vote for, they would abstain. Clearly, there were still people who liked the Samurai. This was completely normal, as everyone has their own tastes in music. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Congratulations!"

    Host An Hong announced loudly amidst the celebratory music, as if the results were suspenseful: "Teacher Lanling Prince has won this round. Our Teacher Samurai, unfortunately, enters the waiting zone to compete for the only available upgradation spot. Do you two have anything to say at this moment, Teacher Lanling Prince¡­?"

    "Thank you."

    Lin Yuan didn''t say much. He already expressed his opinions of the Samurai during the special review session. It was up to the Samurai to take it to heart or not. He had pointed out a direction for him to improve.

    "Teacher Samurai."

    Host An Hong looked at the Samurai. Even through the mask, everyone could feel the Samurai''s dejection. He really got rubbed in the dirt by his opponent this round.

    "Uh-huh."

    The Samurai exhaled deeply, then picked up the microphone and said: "I don''t know if I will be unmasked today, but it won''t hurt to say something now. I am from Yan Continent, and we Yan people are warlike and believe in the doctrine of the winner as the king. I admit that I was initially unwilling to accept my defeat, but when I think about it carefully, I feel I have lot fairly and squarely.

    I don''t have the right to blame anyone, and I will seriously consider Teacher Lanling Prince''s advice. For me, this is perhaps not a competition but a learning experience. I admit defeat wholeheartedly in this round."

    Admit defeat wholeheartedly!

    The audience below applauded, and beneath his mask, Lin Yuan''s face broke into a smile. Not because of winning, but because he could tell that the Samurai had recognized his problem, which was the reason he gave an honest review initially.

    Both retired from the stage.

    When Lin Yuan returned to the passage, he could still hear the audience cheering loudly. Waiting there was Tongtong, who wiped her tears and hugged Lin Yuan, leaving him confused.

    Why is she crying?

    He didn''t know that after Tongtong heard the Samurai''s performance, she almost was certain that Prince of Lanling was bound to lose. Therefore, she blamed herself for not being able to draw a weaker opponent for Prince of Lanling.

    "It''s okay."

    Lin Yuan comforted her.

    Tongtong wiped her tears and said: "Teacher Lanling is too bad. He hid his strength just like the other singers and only began to show it in the team competition."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    Meanwhile, the audience watching on their screens saw this scene captured on the live broadcast and sent messages filled with agreement. They agreed with Tongtong''s point of view as well. They were sure that Prince of Lanling must have hidden his true strength beforehand!

    "King of Singing-level performance!"

    "I''m even doubting now if we''ve gotten it wrong from the beginning. Actually, the King of Singing in the first team isn''t the Robot but Prince of Lanling. He just hid his strength more deeply!"

    "Impressive high notes!"

    "Weren''t there some netizens saying before that Prince of Lanling can''t sing high notes? The key of I Surrender isn''t low at all. At least you won''t be able to sing it at the KTV!"

    Praise the law of drop key!

    "As we all know, the alias of ''I Surrender'' is ''Never Took a Breath.'' If you sing this song, anyone who takes a breath is a puppy!"

    "Woof!"

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks for the support from Huowuzhi Feng. The second chapter from Alliance Hierarch is up, and I''ll ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ continue writing~!

 Chapter 530 - 505 End (Extra for Alliance Hierarch Liu Shen Whispering)_1

    "You can also hit the high notes!"

    Lin Yuan had just returned backstage when the Swan said that with a smile. Lin Yuan had not revealed this in previous competitions.

    "It''s not that high."

    Lin Yuan considered and then replied.

    Swan: "It''s still pretty good."

    Pufferfish: "It is quite high."

    Mermaid: "Although the high notes are not particularly high, being able to sing that long is not something an ordinary person can do, your singing method is very unique, I hope to have the opportunity to learn from you."

    "Hmm."

    Team One chatted for a while, but what the audience saw in the live broadcast was quite helpless:

    "Not that high?"

    "Pretty good?"

    "These freaks!"

    "Professionals are so picky."

    "If someone else said the song ''I Surrender'' isn''t high, I''d definitely slap them in the face, but it seems that everyone in Team One is good at hitting those high notes, just the high notes of Pufferfish are already freakish."

    "..."

    A scene of braggards.

    The competition continued, the enthusiasm of the audience for "The Masked Singer" did not wane with the end of the battle between Prince of Lanling and the Samurai. On the contrary, the mood seemed to be getting more and more exciting because this issue was too stimulating!

    The singers were all giving it their all!

    While the duel between the Prince of Lanling and the Samurai was indeed thrilling, the real anticipation from the audience for this match mostly came from the Samurai''s previous declaration of war on the Prince of Lanling. Now that the situation of grievances was clear, everyone naturally shifted their attention to the following matches...

    The excitement continued in the next round.

    Because the two contestants who were up next had equally terrifying performances. One was the robot king of singing and the other was the fairy queen of singing. These two were big names in their respective teams!

    The robot sang first.

    As soon as the robot began to sing, the atmosphere on the scene went wild. Each of the judges also showed startled expressions. It turned out to be a song in the Chu language!

    In contrast to the Qi language...

    The Qi language, as a dialect of the Qi Continent, is close to Mandarin, so even non-Qi people can learn it. For example, Qin Continent singer Sun Yaohuo can sing well in the Qi language, and Pufferfish, who performed earlier, can also sing well in the Qi language.

    But the Chu language is different!

    The Chu language is too difficult to learn, apart from the Chu people who understand it, other people feel like they are listening to a bunch of gibberish. However, the appreciation of music on Blue Star is very high, people will not be dissatisfied simply because they cannot understand, because music and melody are universal.

    The lyrics of the song embody the creator''s expression of a certain mood or artistic conception. If this can be interpreted, not only will the Chu language not lose points, but it might add points, not to mention the large screen has lyrics and translations!

    Moreover...

    The audience at the scene includes people from Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan continents, so as soon as the robot''s voice rang out, those audiences from the Chu Continent were already extremely excited, some even stood up!

    It was exhilarating!

    Everyone loved this unexpected feeling. The robot''s fluent Chu accent clearly showed that he was a king of singing from the Chu Continent. He eventually sang in the language he was most familiar with!

    Backstage.

    Swan said in a stunned tone: "He turned out to be from the Chu Continent, it seems I guessed wrong before, this is interesting."

    Lin Yuan didn''t say anything.

    No wonder the robot acted like a comedian, the Chu people have always liked this slightly exaggerated humour. As for the so-called Chu language...

    It''s Japanese.

    Each continent on Blue Star has its own dialect, the Qi Continent''s dialect is similar to Earth''s Cantonese, while the Chu Continent''s dialect is similar to Earth''s Japanese. As for the Yan Continent, like the Qin Continent, they mainly speak Mandarin. The native language does not have much to pass on so it did not develop a music style of its own based mainly on the Yan Continent''s dialect.

    The song ended!

    The whole venue cheered!

    Then the fairy started her performance, and her performance was just as stunning. She didn''t choose a special language, but sung in Mandarin. However, what was surprising about her was...

    Her voice!

    Just like Prince of Lanling, Fairy has different voice lines too. She started the first few lines of the song with a cute voice, which is the voice everyone is familiar with. But when she reached the second verse, she switched to another voice!

    There was no cuteness!

    Only maturity!

    This description might sound strange, but the elf truly brought about a huge contrast. At first, she sang with a playful and adorable voice, which suddenly transformed into a powerful female voice, reminiscent of the contrast between a little girl and a mature woman.

    "Another you."

    The mermaid said, looking at Lin Yuan.

    The elf didn''t have the Prince of Lanling''s male-female voice, but her transition from cute to sexy was something that not every singer could achieve. Coupled with her powerful singing skills, the contrast was taken to the extreme!

    In the end¡­

    The robot lost.

    For a match between the King of Singing and a renowned female vocalist, it wouldn''t be a surprise no matter who lost. The performance of the robot had dispelled many doubts about him not being the King of Singing: his performance wasn''t inferior to his opponent''s. The four judges were divided into two factions, and in the end, the robot only lost by four votes.

    The competition was indeed extremely close.

    Team One.

    No one said a word.

    The competition was brutal.

    The following matches were still exciting. When it was the White Swan''s turn, she won almost effortlessly, displaying her impressive vocal talent. Even the judges felt that the White Swan was far from her limits.

    At the same time-

    The mermaid also demonstrated formidable strength, defeating her opponent from Team Three. The first batch of winners were born: they were the Prince of Lanling, the White Swan, the mermaid, the Pufferfish, and the elf.

    There was one more spot left.

    The five singers who had lost began to compete fiercely. The most exciting match was between the robot and the samurai. In the end, the robot defeated the samurai and won the revival spot. This presented an interesting situation:

    All of Team One advanced!

    Only the elf remained in Team Three!

    When the robot returned to the resting area, the White Swan unexpectedly got up and hugged him. Then, the robot looked at the Prince of Lanling with a smile and said in Chu language, "I should thank you for this match. The samurai was affected after losing to you, and his performance was flawed. If not for that, I might not have won the revival spot."

    "Really?"

    Lin Yuan responded. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Everyone laughed. If the Prince of Lanling impersonated a Chu person and said anything complex in Chu language, they would have believed him. At such a simple level, everyone could understand, especially phrases like "Yameda."

    Lin Yuan: "¡­"

    He didn''t understand why everyone was laughing.

    Meanwhile, backstage of Team Three, the members of Team Three one by one said goodbye to the elf. When the samurai was about to go to the stage to unmask, the elf suddenly said, "I will avenge you. I''m still here in our team."

    The samurai paused.

    He didn''t say anything and eventually went on to the stage to unmask. When all of Team Three had unmasked, everyone finally knew the identities of these singers:

    "Top-tier!"

    "Top-tier!"

    "Top-tier!"

    "King of Singing!"

    The first three unmasked were all top-tier singers, while the fourth, the samurai, was as he claimed- a popular King of Singing from the Yan Continent with considerable fame!

    "Illaoi!"

    "It''s him!"

    "Damn, the Prince of Lanling knocked out Illaoi, that''s impressive. Illaoi is a popular King of Singing in the Yan Continent. He just hasn''t released any new songs in the last couple of years, and his voice has changed. I can''t believe we didn''t recognize him!"

    "The samurai is him!?"

    "Damn, it''s alright if he didn''t unmask, the samurai doesn''t have many fans, but it''s different with Illaoi. Illaoi''s fans must hate the Prince of Lanling now. The Prince of Lanling has provoked another group of people!"

    "It doesn''t matter anymore."

    "He''s practically made the whole world his enemy."

    "Even if the whole world becomes his enemy, it''s fine. You must have read too many fantasy novels. I quite like the Prince of Lanling anyways. Besides, it''s undeniable that he was extraordinary in today''s match. Only the robot and the elf could stand up to him!"

    "..."

    The team contest came to a close.

    The following matches would be between Team Two and Team Four, which had nothing to do with Lin Yuan for the time being. However, the repercussions of this round of competition continued to ferment in the subsequent period¡­

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks, great Alliance Hierarch of Liu Shen Qingyu, the additional chapter is up¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ. I''ll keep writing Polluted White. There should be only a few more matches left.

 Chapter 531 - 531: 506

    The next day.

    Lin Yuan had just gotten up when he heard his sister making a fuss in his little sister''s room:

    "Hurry up and vote for the Prince of Lanling! If we don''t vote, how will he ever come out on top? Every vote counts. Sooner or later, the Prince of Lanling will make his debut!"

    "Okay, okay!"

    Big Yaoyao''s voice was full of resignation, sounding adorably soft.

    Not much later.

    There was a knock at Lin Yuan''s door.

    "Come in."

    His sister poked her head in, "So, I stayed up to finish watching yesterday''s competition and now I''m a fan of the Prince of Lanling. We should vote for him. If we don''t vote¡­"

    "What vote?"

    "Remember that official activity from The Masked Singer, where they asked online spectators to vote for their favorite singer? All the Prince of Lanling''s fans feel like he isn''t getting enough votes. He beat Illaoi in the last round, who was in fifth place, so surely he should now be in fifth place!"

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    Indeed, the show had organized such a voting activity.

    "Alright."

    Lin Yuan mimicked Big Yaoyao''s tone, even his voice was gentle and soft.

    His sister paused for a moment, wondering if she''d heard wrong, then left a bit bewildered.

    Lin Yuan took out his phone and checked the ranking.

    Seems like quite a few new fans like his sister had voted for him.

    In The Masked Singer, he had shot up to eight place from tenth.

    He didn''t give it much thought.

    Lin Yuan cast a vote for himself. According to the rules, everyone had one vote per day.

    There wasn''t too much change in the ranks above him.

    The robot had moved up one place in the ranking, replacing the samurai who was previously in fifth place.

    Samurai was unmasked and had been removed from the leaderboard.

    Underneath the rankings, there was a comment section where netizens discussed their opinions¡ª

    "Prince of Lanling is amazing!"

    "Everyone said the Prince of Lanling had played all his cards, but it seems like he still had a secret weapon. ''I Surrender'' was amazing!"

    "It was okay."

    "I think everyone is overrating ''I Surrender''; the best performance was clearly the battle between the robot and the spirit. That was like divine play."

    "Illaoi really chose the wrong song."

    "If Illaoi hadn''t tried to compete with the Prince of Lanling in terms of breath control, the Prince wouldn''t have stood a chance."

    "The Prince of Lanling is cunning, intentionally luring Illaoi into a challenge on his strongest ground. Illaoi fell right into his trap. One has to admit that the Prince is good at using competitive strategies."

    "How are these crazy fans so stubborn?"

    "Wasn''t the Prince''s performance yesterday enough to shut you up?"

    "We admit the Prince''s breath control is amazing, but someone praised his high notes, what''s up with that? Some people from the first team said his high notes weren''t really that high, it''s just that he has long breath control."

    "Please, the Prince never claimed to sing high notes. He''s so modest." Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Exactly, the Prince even said it wasn''t high. I think that implies he can sing even higher!"

    "Prince of Lanling''s fans are master interpreters. When he says it isn''t high, it shows self-awareness. He means others can sing higher, not that he himself can sing higher."

    "What is there to argue? Everyone will lose when facing the Overlord!"

    "The Overlord is truly terrifying. Also, it''s clear from the team competition; the one who moves first always loses!"

    "..."

    Lin Yuan shook his head.

    The controversy around him didn''t seem to have subsided after the competition. Thankfully, the competition goes on.

    If one competition isn''t enough, there will be more.

    As for the so-called "the one who moves first always lose", that does seem to be true. For some reason, whenever the first team went against the third team, whoever opened the song lost. It was quite bizarre.

    Lin Yuan didn''t think much, he just liked a few comments from those fans who had defended him.

    Of course, he was using his secret account that nobody knew.

    As for the Overlord that the fans mentioned, Lin Yuan paid close attention to him.

    After all, the Overlord was widely recognized as the most likely champion.

    Even the Maestro once commented that:

    In the world of King of Singing, the Overlord is amongst the best.

    Lin Yuan agreed with this statement.

    Each one of the Overlord''s performances was overwhelming, and he was capable of mastering a wide range of song styles. As a singer, he was comprehensive and versatile.

    ...

    Meanwhile.

    In a certain company''s break room, a handsome and tall man was watching the team competition of "The Masked Singer" on a sofa.

    "Greetings, Overlord!"

    His agent entered the room with a beaming smile.

    The man casually turned off the show: "Don''t call me that in the company, it would prematurely expose everything if others hear it."

    "There''s no one else around."

    The agent poured a cup of soda for himself, took a sip, and said, "In a few days, it will be the match between the second and fourth teams."

    "I just need to win."

    The man uttered these words with utmost confidence.

    The agent laughed: "True that. You''ve won first place four times in a row. How could you possibly lose in the team competition? Just finish this match quickly and proceed to the finals...Were you just watching the match between the first and third teams?"

    "Yes."

    "What do you think?"

    "A bunch of weaklings."

    "All of them?"

    The man paused for a moment, then toned down his remarks, "The performances of the Robot and the Elf were acceptable. The Swan is unpredictable for now, but I''ll handle it. The competition for the championship should play out between her and me."

    "What about the Prince of Lanling?"

    The agent asked with a tinge of amusement.

    For an instant, the man''s breath became heavier, "I''m glad he wasn''t eliminated!"

    "Hahaha... If the Prince of Lanling knew he''s been targeted by the Overlord, the top favorite, he''d probably want to eliminate himself in the next match."

    The agent laughed uncontrollably.

    In fact, the Swan is the real threat to the Overlord, but the Overlord deemed the Prince of Lanling more important than anyone else. If the outside world found out about this, it would probably cause quite a stir.

    The man''s gaze was sharp and unyielding.

    The agent put down his soda and remarked, "Speaking of which, we should thank the Prince of Lanling. If he didn''t attack our King Fei, King Fei wouldn''t have slaughtered the stage under the name Overlord."

    Whoosh.

    The man pulled back the curtain, and the light revealed his identity¡ª

    Fei Yang!

    That''s right.

    The current top favorite on stage!

    The one widely recognized as the potential champion of the first-season "The Masked Singer", Overlord!

    It is Fei Yang!

    The agent said, "By the way, the Revenge Goddess who you''ve overshadowed for four episodes, it''s Yuan Xi, isn''t it?"

    "Most likely."

    Fei Yang answered without hesitation.

    The agent nodded his head, "Well, your fourth team is interesting then. Both you and Yuan Xi are targeting the Prince of Lanling. I just don''t know if Yuan Xi will eliminate the Prince of Lanling prematurely, take off her mask, and say, ''I''m out, mission accomplished.''

    "The Prince of Lanling is mine!"

    Fei Yang asserted without hesitation.

    The agent was momentarily stunned and wore a bizarre expression on his face.

    The Samurai had said the same thing in the team competition.

    And then...

    Of course.

    The Overlord is not the Samurai.

    The Overlord is Fei Yang, the King of Singing!

    The Samurai, Illaoi, could never be compared to Fei Yang in any aspect.

    The most obvious difference being, the Samurai doesn''t possess the Overlord''s terrifying stage domination - a power that seemingly suppresses everything.

    A few days later.

    The epic battle between the second and fourth teams.

    The Overlord demolished his opponents with an unprecedented lead of eight hundred votes¡ªcreating the largest gap in any team competition round!

    Everyone online was shocked!

    Some netizens even commented:

    The Overlord reigns supreme in The Masked Singer, who could possibly rival the Swan if she doesn''t appear!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Thanks to the generous tip from Overlord Forest Spirit¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ. An extra chapter as promised, moving on to a new day''s chapter, no hope for a timezone change yet.

 Chapter 532 - 507 Bathing Dog _1

    As Overlord won against his opponent by a large margin, Lin Yuan''s family was having dinner while watching this round of the team match ¡ª

    "Overlord is so powerful!"

    Lin Xuan couldn''t help but marvel.

    Lin Yao, who was sitting beside her, nodded in agreement.

    He was the champion of all four seasons of the ranking competition, and in the team matches, he crushed his opponents by the widest margin. Overlord truly lived up to his name.

    He was simply domineering beyond belief.

    "He''s incredible."

    Their mother, a retired music teacher, commented earnestly, "Based on their current performances, only Swan and Lone Wolf have any hope of defeating Overlord. But even these two seem less impressive than Overlord. Overlord is just like a singing machine..."

    "Our Prince of Lanling is also very strong!"

    Lin Xuan couldn''t help but retort.

    She has genuinely taken a liking to Prince of Lanling; these days, ''I Surrender'' is the only song on her playlist.

    Lin Yao corrected her older sister, "Prince of Lanling is not ''ours''."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    Actually, Prince of Lanling does belong to your family....

    Antarctica barked twice, seemingly wanting to say something.

    Lin Yuan''s face changed swiftly, and he stuffed a piece of rib into Antarctica''s mouth.

    Shut up!

    This dog knows too much!

    Just then,

    His sister exclaimed, "Look! Look! Goldfish is about to reveal his identity!"

    Lin Yuan instinctively looked at the TV.

    Goldfish was about to unveil his identity and it was indeed the same as the netizens'' guess:

    Chen Zhiyu!

    Lin Xuan laughed, "Indeed, the originator of the eternal second place!"

    Lin Yao said, "It seems like all the other ''fish'' moved on to the next round, and surprisingly, Chen Zhiyu is the first ''fish'' to unveil his identity."

    Their mother added, "Chen Zhiyu was unlucky to have Lone Wolf as his opponent, who is a King of Singing."

    "..."

    Lin Yuan remained silent.

    After finishing dinner, he went upstairs to check the online Forums.

    The online discussions were all about ''The Masked Singer'', and many topics intrigued Lin Yuan.

    Such as the public guessing the identities of certain singers...

    Of course,

    there was also the inevitable comparison of the remaining singers'' strengths.

    Currently, there were twelve singers left.

    Approximately weighing his strength in the eyes of the public, Lin Yuan found himself around sixth place.

    This ranking was consistent with his expectations.

    The audience judged him based on his performances so far.

    After receiving the System''s singing enhancement, Lin Yuan had not chosen particularly challenging songs, so his full potential still remained unmanifested.

    The recent ranking was a rough estimate of a slight increase.

    Because Lin Yuan, in the team competition, sang a song that required excellent singing skills, titled, ''I Surrender.''

    This song demonstrated his talent and helped him beat the crowd-favorite Illaoi, the Samurai.

    Furthermore,

    There were also discussions about Chen Zhiyu''s identity reveal on the internet¡ª

    "Finally, a fish has surfaced!"

    "I knew it was Chen Zhiyu!"

    "Hahaha, the eternal second placer indeed!"

    "He''s already retired, now is the era of King Fei!"

    "There was no suspense at all; when Chen Zhiyu chose the Goldfish character, it was practically like tipping off his identity!"

    "So does this mean we probably guessed the identity of the other ''fish'' correctly?"

    "Hahaha, think about it, apart from Chen Zhiyu, all the other ''fish'' will meet in the next round!"

    "The ocean world indeed!"

    "..."

    Lin Yuan began to doubt.

    Next time, I might be up against one of those ''fish''.

    There are just too many ''fish'' in this competition!

    Twelve contestants!

    Four of them are ''fish''!

    The chance of drawing a ''fish'' as an opponent is a third!

    Ah.

    Lin Yuan slapped his forehead.

    My math teacher would be furious.

    Excluding myself, the probability should be four out of eleven.

    What are the chances I''ll draw a fish?

    And if Lin Yuan did draw a ''fish'', he felt that it would likely be someone familiar because he could recognize those voices.

    Just then, Lin Yuan''s phone suddenly rang.

    It was a call from Tong Shuwen.

    "Sorry to bother Teacher Admirable Fish again. I wanted to discuss the rules of the upcoming competition with you."

    "Which rules?"

    "In the next challenge, we''ll split the twelve singers into two groups to compete, and the six singers who lose will have the opportunity to challenge the winners. If successful, they can keep their spot on the stage..."

    "Mmm."

    If that''s the rule, winning the first round is rather pointless. There must be additional rules.

    Naturally, Tong Shuwen considered this:

    "To encourage everyone to focus on the first round, we''ve decided to give the winners a hundred-vote head start. So they''ll naturally have an advantage when the two groups compete."

    "I see."

    The rule was more comprehensive than what Lin Yuan had imagined.

    He completely understood the intended reasoning of the program management.

    Aren''t they just anxious over the unpredictable results of the drawing lots, causing top singers to face each other early and lesser singers to advance?

    But now, things could be different.

    If Lin Yuan were to face the White Swan, even if he makes an error and loses, he can pick one of the six winning singers to challenge¡ª

    It was a safety net.

    What''s a hundred extra votes to his opponents?

    If his skill is truly superior, a hundred vote difference isn''t significant. It''s possible to catch up.

    Of course.

    This hundred-vote advantage can be quite crucial when the contestants are similarly skilled.

    Because when the skill level is equal, a hundred votes can genuinely determine the winner and loser!

    Thus, the intentions of the show management are clear:

    Advance the stronger singers as much as possible to the final round.

    Tong Shuwen smiled: "It''s good that you can accept it, we certainly need to discuss this in advance with the singers."

    "Mmm."

    Lin Yuan ended the call.

    The next several days, Lin Yuan didn''t do much else.

    Just practiced singing.

    The System provided Lin Yuan a singing skill, but it doesn''t mean he can afford to slack. If he wants to fully control his singing skills or even go beyond, it takes practice.

    He practiced until the night before the challenge.

    He didn''t stop until nine o''clock at night.

    He needed to take a bath and go to bed.

    Tommorow he''d need to be at the music center, and he needs a good rest tonight to keep his performance up to par.

    As Lin Yuan got up, Antarctica ran proficiently towards the bathroom and opened the door. Usually, this means Antarctica also wants to take a bath together.

    Yes.

    This dog can now open the door by itself.

    When no one is available to walk the dog, it opens the door and runs out by itself¡ª

    Walking itself.

    It has quite a few buddies around here anyway. It''s just that Xiao Huang hasn''t been playing with it recently.

    Since discovering Antarctica''s behavior, Lin Yuan has started to lock the door. He knew that Antarctica couldn''t be allowed to go out on its own.

    Even though Antarctica doesn''t seem like the type to bite anyone, it''s always better to reassure passersby.

    Entering the bathroom.

    Lin Yuan began to bathe.

    He washed not only himself but also helped Antarctica take a bath. However, halfway through washing, Lin Yuan suddenly felt that something was wrong.

    The temperature of the water seemed to have dropped...

    Many people have probably encountered similar situations. The bath water starts warm, then suddenly turns cold.

    This is embarrassing.

    Because both Lin Yuan and Antarctica''s bodies are covered in body wash, and his hair is foamed up with shampoo.

    Antarctica was anxious.

    "There''s still a chance..."

    Lin Yuan hurriedly tried to rinse off ¡ª

    Himself.

    By the time he finished rinsing himself, the water had completely cooled down. Clearly, there was only enough hot water left for one "person".

    Lin Yuan thought about it:

    Continuing to wash Antarctica with cold water would be intolerable for it. It would be better to dry Antarctica for now, and give it another bath tomorrow. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Thinking of this.

    Lin Yuan began to gently wipe down Antarctica while humming a tune to soothe and comfort it:

    "It''s all just bubbles..."

    Antarctica appeared to have lost all hope, passively allowing Lin Yuan''s manipulations.

    What ill intentions could a cute little dog have?

    His mother called from downstairs:

    "It looks like the water heater is broken. Lin Xuan, call someone to repair it tomorrow. You guys should skip the bath for today!"

    "Thank God I didn''t bathe." Big Yaoyao''s voice of relief.

    "I''ve already taken my pants off, and you tell me this!" His sister exclaimed in frustration.

    Zoom Zoom.

    Lin Yuan took out the hairdryer, drying Antarctica, and simultaneously blowing away the foam behind its ears; all the while continuing to sing:

    "I should''ve known it was only bubbles, fragile to touch, just like your wounded heart, silently suffering..."

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to [Qixi Xi]leader for the contribution. Paying homage to the leader, this is today''s first update.

    Now to recommend a book:

    Last year''s top love story, Guan Wuya''s new book"Actors Get No Vacation". Synopsis: This is the story of Guan Chen... After working hard his entire past life, he planned on taking a good, long vacation. His first step was to sell all the acting books in his house for cash.

 Chapter 533 - 508: How Can We Even Compare?_1

    It was the next day.

    Lil Goodoong drove Lin Yuan to the Music Center.

    Lin Yuan sat in the back seat, looking at his phone.

    Many online were discussing today''s competition:

    "The competition is about to start!"

    "The challenge match! The challenge match!"

    "Today''s match is intense, it''s all filled with the Kings and Queens of Singing along with the Fish Legion!"

    "The Fish Legion probably can''t hold up today."

    "Not necessarily, there might be a chance that the Fish Legion defeats the Kings and Queens of Singing."

    "Speaking of which, is Prince of Lanling considered part of the Fish Legion?"

    "In terms of image, Prince of Lanling is not a fish, but fundamentally, he is still a fish, because all of the new songs he has performed in the competition so far were written by Xian Yu!"

    "Pfft."

    "Hahaha, Huasheng, you''ve found a blind spot!"

    "..."

    Reading this,

    Lin Yuan suddenly sneezed.

    Lil Goodoong, who was driving, said, "Mr. Lin, are you cold? I''ll close the windows."

    "A little."

    Lin Yuan replied subconsciously.

    However, as Lin Yuan''s voice sounded, both he and Lil Goodoong halted.

    Hoarse!

    Lin Yuan''s voice was very hoarse!

    Gu Dong was anxious, hurriedly closing the windows: "Boss, what''s wrong with your throat?"

    "Cough."

    Lin Yuan cleared his throat, only to realize there was a sense of indisposition in his throat. He took a sip of water and it actually hurt when swallowing.

    "Could it be that you are catching a cold?"

    "It seems so."

    Still very hoarse.

    Lin Yuan couldn''t help but recall the water outage last night, his head started to ache.

    He had forcefully bathed in somewhat cool water last night, he didn''t feel anything wrong at the time, but who knew he could end up catching a cold the day after!

    A cold wasn''t a big deal.

    With Lin Yuan''s current physical condition, a minor cold would not affect his condition much.

    But the problem with his throat was significant-

    He had to sing today!

    Lil Goodoong started to panic: "Should I go and buy some cold medicine for you- But there''s no use in taking cold medicine either, your throat wouldn''t be able to recover in such a short time, what to do about today''s competition?"

    "Don''t worry."

    Lin Yuan calmly reassured, then called out to the system in his heart: "What happened to the promised healthy body?"

    The system bleeped:

    "The host was previously reminded that common colds are beyond the purview of the system''s warranty."

    Lin Yuan felt helpless.

    The system indeed reminded him before. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    He was negligent this time.

    No matter how skilled a singer is, it won''t help if your throat is uncomfortable.

    Also, this body was indeed very healthy. It was so healthy that Lin Yuan didn''t realize he was falling ill when he woke up.

    If he had known, he would have heated the water for Antarctica the night before.

    He maintained calmness: "Is there a way to remedy this?"

    With this throat, his performance would inevitably be affected. It would indeed be wrong if he were eliminated for this reason.

    System:

    "There are potions in the system store that can stabilize your throat but they won''t be able to help the host to recover, they can only alleviate the discomfort."

    "Anesthetics?"

    "You can understand it that way. It can only deal with the host''s discomfort but it can''t repair a hoarse voice."

    "How much does it cost?"

    "Ten thousand."

    "It''s that cheap?"

    As he said this, there was a sudden pang of guilt in Lin Yuan''s heart.

    But he didn''t have the luxury of time to worry about that, he could only take the potion from the system and try it at the right moment.

    "Let me buy you some throat calming medicine."

    Upon parking at the Music Center''s car park, Lil Goodoong turned to look at Lin Yuan.

    "No need."

    Lin Yuan took another sip of water: "It''s fine as long as I can just manage."

    "No!"

    Lil Goodoong grew even more frantic: "Your voice is completely hoarse now, how about we just drop out of the competition, since you are a composer and you don''t rely on performing to make a living..."

    "There''s always a way."

    Even with the discomfort in his throat, Lin Yuan continued: "I''m going up first."

    "Are you sure you''re alright?"

    "I''m fine."

    Lin Yuan went upstairs¡ª

    How could he possibly be okay?

    The cold had made his voice hoarse, even drinking water was painful let alone singing. Even his tone was affected.

    In this condition, there were too many songs that Lin Yuan wouldn''t be able to perform well.

    Like "I Surrender".

    For that kind of song, your voice had to be powerful but with his throat being hoarse, Lin Yuan couldn''t sing with that power.

    There were no other methods.

    Right now, he could only use the system''s potion to alleviate the discomfort in his throat. But as for song selection, he had to think hard for today...

    Exiting the elevator,

    Tongtong came over to meet him, with a cameraman following her: "Prince of Lanling, the rules have been explained to you, do you need to rehearse before the competition?"

    "No need."

    Lin Yuan said.

    He had already rehearsed what needed to be rehearsed during the last few days, he could go straight on stage to sing.

    However¡ª

    The moment Lin Yuan opened his mouth, Tongtong froze.

    In confirmation, she asked: "Prince of Lanling, is your voice a bit... hoarse?"

    Because Lin Yuan had only said two words, she wasn''t sure if she had misheard.

    "A minor... cold... cough..."

    Lin Yuan coughed consecutively.

    There weren''t other significant health issues.

    Ever since he was a child, he was prone to illness, he would often exaggerate his condition whenever he felt sick.

    Now, even though he obviously was catching a cold, except for the throat discomfort, there seemed to be no other symptoms.

    "You call this a minor cold?"

    When Tongtong heard his hoarse voice, she paled, how could he sing with such a hoarse voice?

    "I''ll have someone come and put you on a drip!"

    "No need."

    Lin Yuan glanced at the camera: "Besides, there''s no time."

    Filming was ongoing.

    The live broadcast was about to start.

    Tongtong clenched her teeth: "I''ll go discuss with the director, to have you go on stage last."

    Lin Yuan waived his hand: "Let''s just go with the rules of the competition."

    "But..."

    "Teacher Prince of Lanling."

    Pufferfish, who happened to be next to him, saw the Prince of Lanling, quickly greeted him, and then, as if afraid that her voice was too enthusiastic, she slightly lowered the end of her sentence which was involuntarily going upwards.

    Lin Yuan said, "Hello."

    "Your throat..." Pufferfish is very sensitive to voices.

    Tongtong couldn''t help saying, "Teacher Prince of Lanling has a cold, I don''t know what to do about this episode, it will definitely affect his singing."

    Pufferfish anxiously said: "Give him a shot!"

    "No!"

    Lin Yuan was startled.

    He is not afraid of anything, but he is afraid of injections. He has a shadow as soon as he sees a needle. "I had a shot before I left the house."

    Having said that.

    Lin Yuan fled into his dressing room like escaping.

    But not long after, Pufferfish actually brought a robot and a swan, as well as a mermaid over.

    All from the first team.

    Obviously, they also heard about Prince Lanling catching a cold, and losing his voice.

    "Can you still sing?"

    The swan anxiously asked.

    Lin Yuan said, "I can."

    The robot stopped his antics and said, "Don''t push yourself."

    Pufferfish couldn''t help saying, "Did you really get an injection?"

    "I did."

    Lin Yuan started speaking, actually this is not a question of injection or medicine, his body is fine.

    The problem is his throat.

    There is no medicine that can directly restore his voice.

    "Today''s competition is not easy."

    The mermaid spoke softly, then looked at the TV on the wall: "The live broadcast has started."

    ...

    Yes.

    The live broadcast has started.

    On stage, An Hong has already started hosting, there are still seven hundred spectators on the scene, fifty judges, and the four grand judges of the last episode.

    Live cheers!

    On countless screens, the barrage from the audience has already started rushing:

    "Here it comes!"

    "This episode is definitely more exciting than the team match!"

    "Fried fish..."

    "The strength of the Fishmen group, among the twelve contestants, is indeed relatively weaker."

    "All the Kings and Queens of the four teams made it to the top twelve."

    "Overlord is invincible!"

    "Support Lone Wolf!"

    "Swan first!"

    "Prince of Lanling, Keep going!"

    "Looking forward to the Prince of Lanling failing this episode!"

    "..."

    An Hong started to introduce the competition rules.

    At the same time, in front of countless audiences, the big screen started to draw lots to determine the order of the first round of PK:

    Fat-Head Fish vs Prince of Lanling

    Robot vs Revenge Goddess

    Overlord vs Pufferfish

    Swan vs Lone Wolf

    Mermaid vs Daisy

    Elfin vs Fishman

    "Prince of Lanling is playing in the first round!"

    "The robot is not lucky again, it met a top-level opponent!"

    "The match between Swan and Lone Wolf seems to be a preview of the championship match, Teacher Lone Wolf is also one of the strongest championship contenders!"

    "I hope Prince of Lanling runs into a King or Queen."

    "Just say you want to see Prince Lanling eliminated."

    "Prince of Lanling has met a King before, didn''t he still stay on stage?"

    "Fat-Head Fish probably can''t beat Prince of Lanling."

    "¡­"

    Although many fans of the singers were not pleased by Prince Lanling, they had to admit that the strength shown by Prince Lanling was stronger than that of Fat-Head Fish.

    Just at this moment.

    The program played some pre-recorded footage, including Prince Lanling getting a cold.

    Suddenly!

    The barrage became lively¡ª

    "Seriously?"

    "Prince Lanling''s voice has gone hoarse!"

    "So, does this mean he can''t use his three voices?"

    "How can he compete then?"

    "Hahaha, Prince Lanling has no chance this time!"

    "Recommend Prince Lanling to rehearse ''Bracing the Chill'' again, he might need it when he''s unveiled."

    "How did Prince Lanling catch a cold? His voice sounds wrong to me."

    "..."

    At the same time.

    The audience on stage also saw the situation backstage through the big screen, and the whole audience buzzed.

    "Prince of Lanling''s voice is ruined!"

    "He has a cold, it''s indeed likely for him to lose his voice."

    "God, the crucial thing is that the Prince of Lanling is to play in the first round!"

    "This guy always surprises people, even his cold is unexpected!"

    "He can''t even sing now!"

    "..."

    The judges looked at each other.

    On the judges'' side, Yin Dong frowned, "This is bad."

    Zheng Jing shook her head: "It''s a pity to lose due to this reason, I feel that he can exchange moves with the King and Queen again."

    Ye Zhi Qiu smiled bitterly: "This situation is not encountered for the first time."

    Yang Zhongming did not speak.

    In singing competitions, this situation does indeed have precedents and it greatly affects the performance of the singer.

    But as a judge, you must remain impartial, and you can''t give sympathy points because of personal reasons of the contestant.

    Poor guy...

    Are you okay?

    Yang Zhongming squinted slightly.

    For a while.

    People''s emotions varied.

    But whether it was schadenfreude, silent pity, or just watching the excitement, people''s opinions about Prince Lanling are the same¡ª

    How can he compete?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thank you[Clang Clang 111111]for becoming the 46th Alliance Hierarch of this book!!!

    Thanks to[An Changqiu]for becoming the 47th Alliance Hierarch of this book!!!

    To the two lords, my humble service. ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, and now I must go back to writing!

 Chapter 534 - 509 He Must Love You_1

    On stage.

    An Hong helplessly said, "Everyone must have noticed too. It seems that Teacher Prince of Lanling is having some minor issues with his physical condition. However, this is a competition and we hope that all singers will go all out without considering other issues. Let''s warmly welcome the first singer of today, Teacher Fat-Head Fish!"

    Applause rang out.

    Fat-Head Fish took the stage, took a deep breath, then, holding the microphone, said:

    "I''m sorry to see that Teacher Prince of Lanling is not feeling well, but I''ll still deliver my best. This is not only a respect for the audience but also a respect for Teacher Wang!"

    The judges nodded.

    As competitors, they should give their all, no need to consider other things, after all, a competition never involves just one person.

    Soon.

    The singing began.

    Fat-Head Fish was performing a lyrical song.

    She seemed to be born for pop music. She was one of the few in the competition who was not good at high pitches, yet she made it to the top twelve.

    ...

    Backstage area.

    Lin Yuan was silently listening to his rival''s singing. Suddenly, the corner of his mouth under the mask twitched slightly.

    It was Xia Fan.

    In the previous rounds, Lin Yuan hadn''t recognized her.

    But this time, Fat-Head Fish wanted to bring out her best and had to reveal her vocal features. She couldn''t hide her identity by compromising her performance.

    Advancing!

    That''s what matters the most!

    Lin Yuan believed that even if Xia Fan knew that he was Lin Yuan, she would never go easy on him. That''s just how they interact with each other.

    The fact was.

    Xia Fan certainly didn''t go easy on him.

    She performed very well in this competition!

    Pop music might be criticized by some as lacking substance and being too commercialized, but there''s no denying that pop music is popular because it resonates with the general public!

    In everyday life.

    Minor loves and minor affections.

    Ordinary people embrace it.

    Countless songs are about affairs between couples, even the famous Jane Eyre is also about the same theme, and yet, over the centuries, all works related to love never lack an audience.

    ...

    Lin Yuan figured it out.

    Many audiences figured it out too.

    "This voice sounds familiar..."

    "It''s Xia Fan!"

    "That''s right, it''s Xia Fan''s voice!"

    "Xia Fan singing pop music is absolutely stunning!"

    "Her voice is so suited to this kind of music genre!"

    "Fat-Head Fish must be Xia Fan, she can''t hide it anymore in this competition!"

    "You can''t hide as you go on."

    "..."

    When Xia Fan finished singing, the whole audience erupted in warm applause.

    The song she sang was common Mandarin and the most seen pop music. It had no high notes, no complicated singing techniques, and even ordinary people could sing it in KTV.

    It''s not a high bar.

    It just told an ordinary love story of a couple, but this song about love moved many audiences at this moment. They didn''t hesitate to give their applause.

    Who says singing must show off technical skills?

    Who says stage performance requires high notes?

    Pop music belongs to the public, and so does Fat-Head Fish''s voice. Her voice embodied countless people''s best impression of this type of song. What was amazing about Fat-Head Fish was that she brought out a flavor in those well-known pop songs that ordinary people absolutely couldn''t.

    ...

    Tongtong gave a bitter smile, "It''s so pleasant to listen to."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Xia Fan was very stable on stage singing this song.

    Yes.

    She was just that steady.

    The nature of this song might not be able to get particularly high scores, but as long as perfectly performed, the final score surely wouldn''t be low.

    This is pop music for the general public.

    Lin Yuan quietly used the potion provided by the System. Although the potion couldn''t help his throat recover immediately, it could at least prevent him from coughing uncontrollably while singing.

    ...

    The comments would be made later. In this kind of one-on-one duel, the two singers had to sing one after another. So as Fat-Head Fish just finished her song, the host mentioned "Prince of Lanling".

    "I''m going up."

    Lin Yuan said, then walked onto the stage.

    The venue was a little quiet.

    Judges'' seats.

    Yang Zhongming suddenly said, "I won''t pity you for losing your voice and give you a sympathy vote. The stage should still be judged based on the singer''s performance."

    "No problem."

    This is what Lin Yuan wanted to see.

    On the screen.

    As Prince of Lanling stepped onto the stage, the comments started flooding the screen:

    "Is he really going to sing?"

    "Why doesn''t he just forfeit?" sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Can he still compete with this voice?"

    "It''s so hoarse."

    "It feels even more hoarse than before he got on the stage."

    "....."

    No one could imagine what song Prince of Lanling would sing under such circumstances.

    Just at this moment.

    The lights dimmed.

    The song information appeared on the screen.

    Song Title: "He Must Love You Very Much."

    Lyricist: Xian Yu

    Composer: Xian Yu

    Performed by: Prince of Lanling

    Holding the microphone, Lin Yuan began to sing quietly:

    "I''m hiding in the car

    Champagne in hand

    Wanting to surprise you

    On your birthday¡­"

    As soon as Lin Yuan''s voice emerged many members of the live audience were momentarily stunned as if punched by something.

    The four judges also exchanged confused looks.

    This voice¡­

    It was quite hoarse!

    But¡­

    This hoarseness, when singing, somehow possessed an indescribable charm. It seemed as if this song was meant to be sung with such a raspy voice.

    "You''re getting closer

    Two voices can be heard

    I was caught off guard

    And stood there¡­"

    Still that hoarse voice, but it carried an indescribable feeling, subtly stirred the audiences'' hearts. The spectators seemed to see a man sitting in his car, helplessly watching his beloved woman with another man in front of his own eyes, while still having the birthday surprise for her in his hand¡­

    Accompanied by a somber piano note.

    Lin Yuan lowered his head slightly:

    "I should have been under the car

    Not sitting inside it

    Seeing how sweet you two are

    In this manner

    It''s easier for me to let go

    Gives me the courage to walk away¡­"

    In an instant!

    The audience''s faces changed!

    The last two words from Prince of Lanling were hoarse to the point of near collapse. In the scenario presented by the song, the sorrowful feeling resonated with countless people. There were no high notes, but everyone clearly felt a sense of hysteria¡ª

    "He must love you very much

    And has surpassed me

    The breakup took just a minute

    He must love you very much

    Better at pleasing you than I

    Won''t be like me, acting childishly

    Making things difficult for you¡­"

    Upon reaching this part, the eyes of the audience were completely wide open, some even had their mouths agape. The melody of the music combined with this voice, brought about a sense of sorrow and helplessness after a breakup!

    He can actually sing!

    He really can sing!

    No matter how raspy his voice became, it still brought about the most emotional impact to the song!

    "Oh my god!"

    "What kind of voice is that!"

    "How can a hoarse voice sound so good?"

    "How does he do that!"

    "I never thought that a raspy voice could add so much charm to a song, this song is just stunning!"

    "So magnetic!"

    "Even though I haven''t been drinking, I feel like I''m about to get drunk, this is the best husky voice I''ve ever heard!"

    "¡­"

    Welcome.

    The song is "He Must Love You Very Much", the classic work by the Earth singer A-do.

    Mentioning a hoarse voice,

    A-do is a name that everyone has to mention.

    Because Lin Yuan''s voice was hoarse, he naturally thought of this song!

    To be precise...

    It''s quite hard for Lin Yuan to sing this song in his normal voice, but because his voice became hoarse, he could bring out the best performance of this song!

    ...

    Backstage.

    The other singers were also stunned.

    The White Swan muttered, "That voice is just deadly!"

    The Robot slapped his thighs, "It wouldn''t have worked without a hoarse voice!"

    Pufferfish mumbled, "I didn''t know there were songs for hoarse voices!"

    Mermaid bit her lip, "This song and his current voice are a match made in heaven¡­"

    A match made in heaven!

    Everyone thought that once Prince of Lanling lost his voice, his performance would suffer. But little did they know, after his voice became hoarse, he delivered such a song!

    Stunned!

    Completely overwhelmed!

    Just now, Fat-Head Fish delivered a pop song about love, which had its own uniqueness. But now, Prince of Lanling also sang a pop song about love which wasn''t just unique, but something rarely seen in the whole music industry¡ª

    It was a masterpiece!

    ----------

    PS: Thanks to [Tianji00] for becoming the 48th Alliance Hierarch of this book!!!

    Thanks to [Daoist Monk] for the 100000 super reward!!! This is the fifth Alliance Hierarch reward from Daoist Monk. Thank you for your support! Polluted White will continue to write!!

 Chapter 535 - 510 Challenge_1

    Between flashes of light.

    Lin Yuan put down the microphone.

    The song was clearly over, but amidst the smooth piano music of the band, the sadness seemed to still be flowing, seeping into the hearts of countless audience members. All ears still seemed to hear his raspy, enchanting voice.

    "Good Lord!"

    "He lost his voice!"

    "But it became stronger?"

    "Can it get any better than this?"

    "I cried uncontrollably. I am definitely going to download this song and listen to it a hundred times. I shouldn''t have been in the car, but under it. This is a perfect depiction of the day I caught my wife cheating."

    "Hang in there, brother!"

    "Stay strong, bro!"

    "There''s nothing to hang in there for, I also thought that it would be better if I was under the car back then. But what if they did something terrible in the car? I would have felt even worse."

    "..."

    They were both popular love songs, portraying heartbreak, showcasing unique voices. But when the performances of Fat-Head Fish and Prince of Lanling were put together, there was no suspense as to what would happen next.

    Splosh!

    Upon the music ending, the entire venue broke into applause. To praise the voice of the Prince of Lanling, despite sounding hoarse from a cold yet singing persistently, and his unique voice that could be considered one of the most special on the stage.

    "Good job!"

    An Hong stepped onto the stage, and he brought a bottle of water for Prince of Lanling, a straw included. "Thank you, Prince of Lanling, for your performance. I never thought a singer could perform so strong even when he''s lost his voice. Do the four judges have anything to say?"

    "Me!"

    Ye Zhi Qiu was the first to speak up and even imitated a few lines of Prince of Lanling''s just performed song before helplessly saying, "I felt that Prince of Lanling''s tone wasn''t steady last time. It was just as choppy this time. People might have thought he was running out of breath, but this singing style perfectly conveys this song!"

    "Too incredible!"

    Zheng Jing was completely stunned: "We all thought that Prince of Lanling''s performance would be affected due to his voice, but I saw a resilient Prince of Lanling!"

    "Awesome!"

    Yin Dong was still expressionless.

    Yang Zhongming smiled and said, "I said earlier that I wouldn''t have any sympathy points for you because of your voice. So,when I vote later, it will be because I really like this song. It''s a high-quality and extremely successful commercial song. The lyrics, the melody, and singing tone are all perfectly melded together!"

    Positive comments!

    All positive comments!

    Of course, all four judges also complemented Fat-Head Fish''s performance. The problem was, her performance was overshadowed by Prince of Lanling. Therefore, when the scores were announced, she undeniably lost.

    "Great job!"

    Despite the loss, Fat-Head Fish was not heartbroken. She handled it very gracefully, as making it to the final twelve was already her limit. She knew it would be tough to turn the table in the future challenges unless she competes with Prince of Lanling again...

    But she didn''t want to.

    She simply acknowledged the loss.

    Back in his own lounge, Lin Yuan finally breathed a sigh of relief. Tongtong at his side quickly served him tea and even gave him a massage. "Prince of Lanling, your performance was amazing tonight, your raspy voice was killer!"

    Lin Yuan didn''t say anything.

    Good thing he had prepared plenty of songs in advance, or this round would have been tough.

    The next matches were brutal:

    Robot lost to Revenge Goddess, Lone Wolf to White Swan, Mermaid to Daisy, Elf beat Fishman, and Overlord defeated Pufferfish.

    Among them, S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The most surprising was the Mermaid, whose scores nearly matched Daisy''s. Daisy is a well-known singer from the second team. Despite her relatively weaker skills, it''s very commendable for Mermaid to push her to such extremes!

    Of course,

    The King-Queen matches between Robot and Revenge Goddess and Lone Wolf and White Swan were equally splendid. The breathtaking extent of these matches was completely in line with the standards of this competition.

    ...

    According to the competition rules, the victorious singers have to accept the challenge of the losers. So, right after the first round, everyone was called back to the stage, with the winners and losers each occupying half of the stage.

    In an instant,

    All eyes returned to Prince Lanling. He won the first round, but his voice was clearly problematic. Looking at the lineup of the winners:

    Overlord!

    Elf!

    Daisy!

    White Swan!

    Revenge Goddess!

    Regardless of how you look at it, the Prince of Lanling seems to be the easiest singer to challenge. The singers'' gazes became somewhat complicated, considering that in their ranks they have the likes of Lone Wolf and the Robot, both Kings of Singing.

    "It''s over!"

    "Prince of Lanling!"

    "The four singers who lose this round will surely choose Prince of Lanling. The song he just sang was very sneaky, so sneaky that he practically can''t repeat the miracle from the first round!"

    "..."

    The audience was busy discussing.

    Host Anhong smiled and said, "Singers, please choose your opponent. I must emphasize that challengers can''t pick the same singer, because ganging up isn''t fair either. We can let the singer who scored higher in the previous round go first. First off, we invite to the stage, Teacher Lone Wolf!"

    "Overlord."

    The moment Lone Wolf spoke out, the entire venue gasped.

    Instead of choosing the seemingly weakest Prince of Lanling, Lone Wolf has chosen the outwardly strongest Overlord...

    So bold!

    Even Anhong was taken by surprise.

    He laughed and said: "This is indeed an unexpected choice. Teacher Overlord''s opponent in the next round is Teacher Lone Wolf. So, the next singer to choose is Teacher Mermaid!"

    "Daisy."

    The Mermaid spoke up.

    Again, she didn''t pick Prince Lanling but chose Daisy instead, the singer who caused her near-defeat in the previous round. Even the female singer is feisty, going straight for the top female vocalist!

    The spot burst into cheers!

    Anhong''s smile grew bigger: "It seems that our Teacher Mermaid is a little upset about her loss to Teacher Daisy. So, how will the next three singers choose?"

    "Revenge Goddess."

    The Robot glanced at the Prince of Lanling, gritted his teeth, and spoke. He was from the first team; he didn''t want to make it hard for the Prince of Lanling.

    "Elf, I guess."

    Pufferfish glanced at the Prince of Lanling, too, then laughed and said, "I know I don''t have much of a chance, but I hope that Teacher Prince Lanling can keep going."

    "..."

    When Fat-Head Fish decisively chose White Swan, the Fishman looked left and right in confusion, stunned.

    No one was left.

    Only him and the Prince of Lanling remained.

    Facing this outcome, the audience and netizens were all dumbfounded:

    "Goodness!"

    "No one picked the Prince of Lanling?"

    "This round is clearly tailored for choosing the Prince of Lanling!"

    "I suddenly realized that this group of fish is actually very united."

    "Yeah, none of them want to eliminate the Prince of Lanling."

    "The Robot too, he must know that choosing the Prince of Lanling is the most promising option, but the result..."

    "Fishman seems to have had no choice. Otherwise, I suspect he wouldn''t have chosen the Prince of Lanling either."

    "..."

    This outcome defied many people''s expectations!

    No one knew what this group of fish was thinking!

    The real reason...

    Perhaps we will only know when they reveal their faces.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: The contest is about to end.

 Chapter 536 - 511 We are the Yu Dynasty_1

    It has to be said, the defeated side''s lineup was virtually a suicidal attack, with little suspense¡ª

    Lone Wolf lost.

    He chose the Overlord, and the Overlord once again demonstrated his dominance on this stage by defeating Lone Wolf.

    The Robot lost.

    His competitor was the Revenge Goddess, the most regrettable round, because the Robot had won with votes, but the Revenge Goddess was added a hundred votes from her first-round victory.

    Pufferfish lost.

    She chose the Elf, and the Elf, as the Music Queen, had unquestionable ability to tackle first-tier singers.

    Fat-Head Fish lost too.

    The White Swan just put forward a normal performance, crushing Fat-Head Fish with the number of votes.

    But miraculously!

    The Mermaid won!

    With her identity as a first-tier singer, she defeated Daisy, the Music Queen. Even the addition of a hundred votes couldn''t avoid her ultimate defeat!

    At this moment!

    Everyone knew that although the Mermaid was still first-tier, her future upgrading to the Music Queen was almost unstoppable!

    Finally.

    It was Fishman''s and Prince of Lanling''s turn. Their duel was forced, but when it was time for Fishman to go on stage, he suddenly looked back at Prince of Lanling.

    An Hong :"Fishman Teacher."

    Fishman laughed and said: "Even if I win this round by luck, I will surely lose the next one. So I want to seize this rare opportunity to sing a song that had a great significance to my life. Perhaps when this song is sung, everyone can guess my identity, but I have decided to sing this song loudly since I decided to participate in ''The Masked Singer''. With this song, I also want to thank someone!"

    What song?

    Thank who?

    All questions were answered as the classic song "Red Roses" started playing, touching many people''s hearts. At this moment, Fishman''s identity was almost revealed¡ª

    Sun Yaohuo!

    He sang this song!

    He was paying tribute to Xian Yu.

    The person he wanted to thank!

    Was undoubtedly Xian Yu!

    No one knew it.

    This song was once nearly taken away from Sun Yaohuo.

    Nobody knew what kind of hope those words, "Go record the song," gave him in the darkness and icy despair.

    After finishing the song.

    He quietly bowed and retreated off the stage.

    He still complied with the rules of the show and did not remove his mask, even though at this moment, his identity was almost obvious.

    Lin Yuan listened quietly.

    The familiar "Red Roses".

    The familiar Senior Yao Huo.

    I heard him.

    Lin Yuan suddenly remembered that he had a mission to help Senior Yao Huo become the King of Singing.

    Perhaps this task, he should put it on the agenda now.

    Thinking this way.

    Lin Yuan also stepped onto the stage.

    An Hong looked at Lin Yuan with a smile: "Is there anything Teacher Prince of Lanling would like to say at this moment?"

    "Sing a song."

    Lin Yuan was still not fond of talking.

    The host had no choice but to leave the stage.

    The comments were flooding in: S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Prince of LanLing: You, get down."

    "Prince of LanLing: Don''t think I didn''t know you were laughing at my words earlier."

    "Back to the point, do you guys think Prince of Lanling has a chance in this round?"

    "It depends on the song."

    "Can he bring out a song like ''He Must Love You Very Much'' with a hoarse singing style?"

    "It''s tough."

    "..."

    The music started.

    Lin Yuan looked at the audience below the stage and softly sang:

    "It doesn''t matter

    Who falls in love with whom

    It doesn''t matter

    Who lets whom down

    The past happiness

    Is fleeting beauty

    After experiencing happiness

    We will suffer..."

    It was still a love song, and still that raspy voice, but this time it seemed even raspier. Some notes completely collapsed, the audience widened their eyes:

    "Holy (expletive)!"

    "It''s really there!"

    "Again this kind of song that is so raspy you can hardly hear, but it won''t work without the raspiness!"

    "But, it sounds good!"

    "Think about it carefully, the song would seem tasteless without the hoarseness, it''s even raspier than the previous one!"

    "How exceptional!"

    "Oh my God!"

    "Wait a minute, this song... doesn''t it sound like Prince of Lanling is pouring out his feelings about his current situation?"

    "Yeah now that you mention it, it sure does!"

    "Doesn''t matter?"

    "Is it about not caring about the mockery, or what?"

    "..."

    No one knew whether the Prince of Lanling was pouring out about his situation or not, he seemed to be just singing a love song, but also seemed to be doing more than just that:

    "Right or wrong

    Don''t say it so absolutely anymore

    Yes or no

    Don''t say I have no regrets again

    If it''s shattered, then let it be shattered

    Who wants perfection anyway

    Only by letting go of myself

    I can soar high..."

    The judges looked at each other, then simultaneously stared hard at the lyrics of the song, a thoughtful expression appeared¡ª

    At the same time.

    All the audience were also staring hard at the lyrics on the big screen.

    Is this really a love song?

    Why does it so strongly resemble all the portrayals of Prince of Lanling''s experience in the competition?

    Just like the lyrics:

    Because of the obsession with right and wrong, he suffered countless insults; because of the pursuit of perfection, he experienced numerous controversies...

    And now?

    He decided not to dwell on these things anymore?

    Lin Yuan continued to sing,

    "Doesn''t matter doesn''t matter

    Forgiving all the wrongs in this world

    Doesn''t matter

    I don''t care

    Why let yourself go through the painful cycle..."

    Although his voice still occasionally collapsed due to hoarseness, his singing didn''t lose its expressive nature, just like the last song, you can''t sing this feeling without a hoarse voice. By the third time, Lin Yuan''s voice was half-real and half-fake, which was a high-level falsetto skill.

    Lin Yuan''s voice was hoarse and he could not support the whole song, but this song only needed such falsetto once.

    "I don''t care."

    His song was over.

    But¡­

    The thought this song left in the audience''s mind was not over.

 Chapter 537 - 511 - We are the Yu Dynasty _2

    Don''t care?

    Does he really don''t care?

    Or is he deceiving himself with love?

    Or perhaps...

    Is the Prince of Lanling telling everyone, that even if his voice is hoarse, he doesn''t care?

    Can he still sing?

    Or maybe...

    Is this song a response to the previous one?

    He must love you very much.

    This line is self-consolation.

    Not caring is seemingly an easy self-relief, in reality, it''s just self-deception.

    Moreover, it''s like a response to the public controversies.

    "I don''t care."

    The people who have said this line.

    How many of them are sincere?

    How many meanings does Prince of Lanling''s "Don''t care" contain?

    No one knows.

    But at the end of this song, the applause was very enthusiastic.

    The bullet chat was brushing:

    "This round should be won."

    "Even with a hoarse voice, he managed to present two new songs that require a hoarse voice to tackle, and both are of high quality. There''s no reason not to advance."

    "What a great song "Don''t care"!"

    "I''m not sure whether he truly doesn''t care. If there were no messy things, I''d think this is a love song for self-catharsis. But considering these matters, who knows what he doesn''t care about?"

    "..."

    The audience''s discussions have no answers, and the Prince of Lanling also doesn''t seem to have the habit of explaining what his songs are expressing.

    But!

    When it came to the voting part, he won.

    Along with a hoarse voice and two stand-out songs, he won this round of the competition and got the ticket to the subsequent matches.

    Later.

    The six singers who were defeated began to unmask.

    ...

    Lone Wolf was the first to unmask.

    He is a King of Singing from Qi Continent.

    Then Daisy unmasked.

    She''s a Queen of Singing from Qi Continent.

    The two glanced at each other and seemed to recognize each other.

    Robot unmasked. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    From somewhere of Chu Continent, he''s one of the Kings of Singing.

    Next.

    Fat-Head Fish unmasked.

    Without speculation, it was Xia Fan.

    Fishman unmasked, also without doubt, it was Sun Yaohuo.

    And when Pufferfish unmasked--

    A lot of online users guessed correctly, and it just confirmed the judges'' guess when she was singing her first song.

    Zhao Ying Ge.

    Sun Yaohuo laughed, "Finally, I don''t have to wear the mask. Actually, I wanted to say why they''ve left the Prince of Lanling for me. I wanted to choose Revenge Goddess."

    Everyone laughed.

    An Hong couldn''t help being curious, "Why did none of you want to choose Prince of Lanling? Did you think that he couldn''t perform at full strength due to his hoarse voice, so winning against him would not be an honorable victory?"

    "No."

    Xia Fan laughed, "I was thinking, netizens say we are Teacher Admirable Fish''s harem. Since we are the harem, we can''t get defeated collectively at this time, so an internal faction is impossible. At this moment, I particularly hope that Teacher Prince of Lanling can continue with the support of Teacher Admirable Fish."

    Sun Yaohuo immediately said, "That''s exactly what I thought!"

    "I probably also have the same thought..."

    Zhao Ying Ge hesitated for a moment, "Among us, Prince of Lanling is the strongest, of course, the Mermaid is also really terrifying, Teacher Admirable Fish''s harem isn''t destroyed yet."

    Zhao Ying Ge is very clear:

    If the Mermaid loses, it would probably mean the harem''s destruction...

    Prince of Lanling could very well be Teacher Admirable Fish.

    An Hong humorously said, "Can you guys really stick together?"

    Is it a coincidence?

    Though it wasn''t prearranged, you group of descendants surprisingly are on the same page. No wonder everyone avoided Prince of Lanling during the challenge round. You''d rather lose the competition to keep Admirable Fish''s possibly strongest seed.

    The audience broke into laughter.

    Teacher Admirable Fish''s harem momentarily dominated the competition''s topic.

    These fishes certainly did cross paths in the competition!

    But...

    As these few people have mentioned.

    They avoided Prince of Lanling in hopes that he will continue competing. Because this group of fishes knew, Prince of Lanling is stronger than them!

    Continue competing.

    There remains the hope to achieve better results!

    In this situation, the bunch of fishes thought of self-sacrifice.

    "So, the person Teacher Sun Yaohuo wants to thank is exactly as we thought, Teacher Admirable Fish..."

    "Yes."

    Sun Yaohuo looked at the camera, seriously saying, "Before singing "Red Roses", I was just an unknown singer. At that time, a top singer took to this work, he wanted to sing it, I couldn''t compete with him. But Teacher Admirable Fish did something I will never forget in my life, he rejected that top singer, he said, since the song was given to me, he wouldn''t give it to others.

    You may not be able to imagine, I was alone in the bathroom, crying. Teacher Admirable Fish takes care of the small singers. I can straightly say, my promotion, Jiang Kui''s and Zhao Ying Ge''s till Xia Fan''s basic entry into the music scene are all due to the support of Teacher Admirable Fish, at that time, we were nobodies in the music scene¡­"

    Zhao Ying Ge couldn''t resist, "I am the champion of "Bloom"!"

    Sun Yaohuo switched, "Then it''s me and Xia Fan..."

    Xia Fan couldn''t resist, "I am the champion of ''Bloom''!"

    Sun Yaohuo: "..."

    You... sisters!

    Zhao Ying Ge wickedly disrupted, "I remembered that the championship song of the competition that year Xia Fan sung was "Initial Dream" which was created by Teacher Admirable Fish."

    Xia Fan covered her face.

    Zhao Ying Ge''s smile lit up, "But we admit to this fact. Let''s not talk about being descendants, I actually quite like when everyone says we are Teacher Admirable Fish''s harem."

    "Can I say something?"

    The Mermaid on stage couldn''t resist anymore!

    You guys have already started flattering. As someone young, I can''t stand this anymore!

 Chapter 538 - 511 We are the Yu Dynasty_3

    "Of course."

    An Hong laughed as he found the whole scene amusing.

    The Mermaid exclaimed, "I do enjoy being referred to as part of Teacher Admirable Fish''s harem, and I admit that my transformation into a mermaid is due to my love for Teacher Admirable Fish. However, I hope that Teacher Admirable Fish''s Harem Group could show a bit more mettle!"

    "Our abilities are limited!"

    Sun Yaohuo boldly admitted.

    The Mermaid got angry at his indifference,"Are you forgetting about me and the Prince of Lanling? We are still the voices of Teacher Admirable Fish on this stage. We will shine because Teacher Admirable Fish illuminates us! There will be a day, when they will no longer call us Teacher Admirable Fish''s Harem Group, but instead refer to us as..."

    "The Yu Dynasty!"

    After a brief moment of silence, the audience burst into thunderous applause.

    ...

    The judges'' box.

    Zheng Jing covered her mouth, "This little fish is incredible. Not only is he handsome, but...Oh, I shouldn''t be revealing information about this little guy."

    Yin Dong chuckled,"Being able to win over the hearts of all the singers you have worked with is not something that every Maestro can do."

    Ye Zhi Qiu joked, "How come I don''t have a Ye Dynasty? If I''d known, I would have cultivated one too. Does Ol'' Yang have one?"

    Yang Zhongming indifferently responded, "I am the dynasty."

    The other three Maestros, "..."

    Yang Zhongming coughed slightly, "But I can''t sing."

    Huh?

    The others did not understand what he meant.

    We are maestros; of course we can''t sing.

    ...

    Downstairs.

    Sun Yaohuo got pumped up,"How about we all shout a slogan together? Prince of Lanling, join us!"

    The crowd, "..."

    Such a bootlicker!

    So many people are watching. Isn''t it too embarrassing?

    Sun Yaohuo didn''t seem to think that he was a bootlicker. He proclaimed, "We are..."

    "The Yu Dynasty!!!!!"

    The voices of the Mermaid, Sun Yaohuo, Zhao Ying Ge, Xia Fan and an obviously reluctant voice of Prince of Lanling...

    And.

    There was also the voice of the perpetual second-place finisher watching from his screen.

    Alright.

    Even though it was embarrassing, once shouted out loud, everyone felt an unusual sensation in their hearts.

    It''s peculiar.

    "Thump."

    On stage.

    Mr. Overlord''s chair suddenly fell over.

    "Mr. Overlord..."

    The surrounding singers were startled.

    Mr. Overlord patted his butt, coughed, "I''m fine, you guys carry on..."

    Just a harem.

    Nonsense about the Yu Dynasty.

    Sooner or later your dynasty will fall.

    I''m sweating bullets in fright. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Behind his mask, Mr. Overlord rolled his eyes dramatically.

    ...

    Meanwhile, the live chat on the internet had been exploding ever since Xianyu''s Harem Group started revealing their identities-

    "Oh my goodness!"

    "Long live Fish Daddy!"

    "Damn, the Yu Dynasty is awesome!"

    "One must admit, the group of singers that Fish Daddy has nurtured surely has the potential to form a dynasty!"

    "The Mermaid girl is already standing tall, even the top singers have been beaten!"

    "The other fish are also really powerful! Making it into the top 12 is a big deal!"

    "This Prince of Lanling is also very ruthless. Don''t know who he is, must be recently favored by Fish Daddy. Anyway, he is also a member of the Yu Dynasty. Once again, Fish Daddy''s taste is really ''brutal''."

    "Why am I getting teary?"

    "The seeds that Fish Daddy sowed in the music industry have unbeknownst grown into towering trees!"

    "There is also a Yu Dynasty in the composing industry. Those apprentices of Fish Daddy who excel in composing..."

    "This is the first time I heard the backstory of Fish Daddy. So this is how Sun Yaohuo rose to his position. I think I understand why Fish Daddy has such high charisma!"

    "Damn, after watching all this, I don''t even think that the singers are that impressive, only one sentence is in my mind--"

    What is it?

    Xian Yu is the best!

 Chapter 539 - 512: Hesitation (Extra for Alliance Hierarch Zinc Luan)_1

    Too thrilling!

    Too shocking!

    For the audience!

    This is a memorable scene!

    Xianyu''s harem group actually made it to the top twelve of "The Masked Singer" with their own strength!

    Then!

    In front of countless audiences from Qin, Qi, Chu and Yan, they issued a deafening declaration:

    We are Xianyu''s Harem Group!

    We want to become the Yu Dynasty!

    If a group of singers said such a thing in other occasions, the audience would simply laugh it off;

    If this group of singers was eliminated by other singers early on, the audience would still find it interesting;

    But they almost all made it to the top twelve...

    Even the top six!

    We can confidently say this!

    All the singers who could make it to the top twelve or even the top six in "The Masked Singer" are terrifying on Blue Star¡ª

    Competing on the same stage with the King and Queen of Singing!

    Even defeating their opponents!

    Is there a more dazzling medal of honor than this?

    So at this moment, the netizens are excited and even crazy:

    "Fish Daddy, look at the territory you dominated!"

    "Yu Dynasty, it indeed has that flavor."

    "These fish under Fish Daddy''s protection, all of them are the seedlings of future King and Queen of Singing."

    "Mermaid already has the strength of a Queen of Singing, she is likely Jiang Kui, I can''t think of any other female singer who respects Fish Daddy this much, last year, Teacher Admirable Fish was fighting wildly with Jiang Kui in the Battle of the Gods!"

    "No wonder Mermaid made it to the top six!"

    "It turns out that Mermaid defeated countless past Kings and Queens of Singing with Fish Daddy!"

    "When the harem group unveiled themselves, they directly stole the spotlight from others like Robot..."

    "I''m curious about who Prince of Lanling could be!"

    "This person seems to have appeared out of thin air, has he ever collaborated with Fish Daddy in any songs before?"

    "..."

    Netizens have guessed Prince of Lanling''s identity.

    But it''s really hard to guess.

    There are some clues for other singers.

    Only this Prince of Lanling, seems to have sprung out of a rock!

    The moment he appeared on this stage, he became an endless topic of discussion, and stormed into the top six, even a hoarse throat in this issue couldn''t bring him down... S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Whooa...

    The livestream isn''t even over yet.

    The entire internet is already starting to discuss.

    Trending topics on social platforms and blogs are all about the ongoing episode of "The Masked Singer":

    #XianyusHaremUnveiling#

    #WeAreTheFishDynasty#

    #SunYaohuoAndRedRose#

    #MermaidInTopSix#

    #FishDaddy#

    Besides, the songs performed on the stage are also being discussed endlessly.

    Among them, Prince of Lanling''s husky voice is the most surprising.

    Not the best of the whole show.

    But definitely the most sensational!

    "He Must Love You Very Much" rendered in a unique singing style received unanimous praise.

    A song called "Indifferent", many people interpret its meaning, some consider it as Prince of Lanling''s response to public controversy.

    At this moment on the stage.

    As Lin Yuan shouted out "We are the Yu Dynasty" along with them, he suddenly felt a peculiar sensation in his heart.

    Perhaps...

    This isn''t too bad.

    This is your declaration.

    But I said it too.

    So why not try making this declaration come true?

    ...

    The competition concluded amid applause from the audience.

    Backstage.

    Tong Shuwen gathered the remaining six singers together, smiled and said, "Congratulations on making it to the top six, the finals are in the next episode, hope you all prepare well."

    Everyone nodded.

    Tong Shuwen continued, "Then the rules for the finals are still pair-ups. This time we can tell you who your opponents are in advance, this is the result of random matching... "

    Everyone looked at Tong Shuwen.

    Knowing in advance who your opponent is allows for targeted song selection. This new rule is quite interesting.

    "I''ll announce it directly."

    Tong Shuwen pulled out a card: "The lineup for the next episode will be Overlord against Mermaid..."

    Overlord was silent.

    Mermaid was also silent.

    Tong Shuwen continued: "And Swan against Elf..."

    The rest did not need to be announced.

    Prince of Lanling against Revenge Goddess.

    But Tong Shuwen still repeated it once.

    Revenge Goddess suddenly looked at Prince of Lanling, her eyes seemingly blazing.

    The elf helplessly said, "Let''s not play games. I want to face Prince of Lanling¡­"

    "Prince of Lanling is mine."

    Revenge Goddess and Overlord spoke almost simultaneously.

    Swan was dazed.

    Mermaid was stunned.

    It''s normal for the elf to want to challenge Prince of Lanling, as he had criticized her before and she had been seeking revenge for her team.

    But why was Overlord joining in the commotion?

    It would seem that Prince of Lanling did not attack Overlord, right?

    Unless¡­

    The expressions behind the singers'' masks became somewhat interesting.

    Overlord did not explain.

    Lin Yuan didn''t think anything of it.

    Tong Shuwen joked, "Three rounds are not enough. Among the six singers next time, the one with the best performance will be spared by the four judges and advance directly to the final."

    There were different reactions from the six singers.

    Tong Shuwen continued to joke, "The three losers will be directly eliminated. There will be no chances for revival at this stage. The three winners, excluding the one who is spared, will compete with each other, and the winner will compete with the singer spared by judges. The ultimate winner will be the champion of the first ''The Masked Singer!''"

    Everybody nodded in agreement.

    This arrangement was quite reasonable.

    The rules of this show have always been fair, with no unfair incidents occurring.

    In fact, it''s impossible to be unfair.

    With so many Kings and Queens of singing gathered together, even A-list influence is terrifying. Who dare would the program group engage in shady dealings with?

    Not to mention the Literature and Art Association''s involvement.

    The show ended, and all the singers left in their own directions.

    At this time, Swan suddenly pulled Lin Yuan aside.

    "What''s up?"

    "Add me as a friend later."

    "Sure."

    "Also¡­"

    "Please, speak your mind."

    "I''m actually a bit curious¡­"

    Swan stared at Prince of Lanling, who she had been fond of since the beginning of the competition: "Is ''Indifferent'' truly just a love song?"

    Lin Yuan just smiled and didn''t answer.

    However, from Prince of Lanling''s reaction, Swan faintly found her answer. She sighed softly and said,

    "I once felt the same way¡­"

    But Lin Yuan didn''t hear.

    He had already left.

    In fact, he couldn''t clearly express the emotions he felt while singing ''Indifferent''.

    Perhaps...

    He was indeed affected by the external controversy.

    It is said that masked people cannot speak the truth.

    But when Lin Yuan wore the mask, he felt that he heard a lot of truths.

    These were words he rarely heard when not wearing a mask, when he interacted with others as Lin Yuan.

    Then he realized,

    That there are a lot of words that people don''t like to hear.

    That there are a lot of things that people don''t care about.

    Even if he told the truth.

    So what?

    They didn''t care.

    Then should he¡­

    Stop caring?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Extra update time, thanks to the Alliance Hierarch support from Zinc Luan. Although I can''t pronounce these two characters Polluted White, my admiration for you flows like the endless river.

 Chapter 540 - 513: Changes (Extra for Alliance Hierarch As If We Just Met at Bins Child)

    Evening.

    Home.

    From afar, Lin Yuan heard his sister giving a speech: "Our very own Prince of Lanling is so amazing, his voice is hoarse but he can still sing so well..."

    Lin Yao: "Sister, I watched the competition."

    Lin Xuan: "Pretend you didn''t, and listen to me...I look towards the distant mountains... Ah no, I''m off track..."

    "Woof!"

    Antarctica barked at Lin Yuan.

    Lin Xuan turned her head: "Our brother is back, do you want to listen to me too?"

    Lin Yuan went upstairs.

    Antarctica followed.

    Lin Xuan pouted her lips, and continued to chat with her sister.

    Upstairs.

    In his bedroom, Lin Yuan turned the faucet on and, finding the water temperature acceptable, knew that the water heater had been repaired during the day.

    "Time for a bath."

    Lin Yuan looked at Antarctica.

    Antarctica had not rinsed off last night''s shower gel, and was all covered in foam.

    Lin Yuan had to dry him off roughly.

    Antarctica hesitated for a moment, but obediently lay still.

    After the bath, Lin Yuan dried Antarctica once more before lying on his bed to play with his phone.

    He mostly checked out online comments about the latest competition.

    This had become Lin Yuan''s leisure activity.

    Soon.

    Lin Yuan spotted a trending topic.

    There was a topic initiated by someone named [Winter Bear Sauce]. The title read:

    "Prince of Lanling has stopped speaking, not because he has lost his voice, but because some people have choked him silent."

    Winter Bear Sauce, the initiator, first gave their own commentary:

    "It''s a bit sorrowful that in recent episodes Prince of Lanling has spoken less and less, and he no longer comments on the performances of other singers. I initially thought he had forgotten or that the production crew simply didn''t give him any screen time to comment, but it wasn''t until I heard his song today that I realized he''s just tired."

    "Look at the lyrics of ''It Doesn''t Matter.''

    "On the surface, it''s a love song, but actually, it''s telling his inner thoughts."

    "Right or wrong isn''t declared so absolutely anymore; true or false, I no longer say I don''t regret, shattered but what need for perfection, I can soar only when I let go of myself, forgiving the world for all its wrongs, why let oneself go through painful reincarnation..."

    "Indeed."

    "There are too many accusations. Each time he opens his mouth, controversy arises. Some understand and accept his critiques, like Zhao Ying Ge and Illaoi (who has come around), and some, like Yuan Xi (likely the Revenge Goddess), and their fans, are fiercely incensed. It''s a thankless task. After commenting on the third team, Prince of Lanling has no longer discussed other singers.

    He''s been silenced by the criticisms, and the world has lost another person who dares to speak truth."

    "..."

    This analysis got a lot of agreement.

    "Just like the lyrics of his song, Prince of Lanling strives for perfection, so that''s why he points out what he sees as inadequate, but sadly, no one likes to hear it."

    "Some people are obsessed with right or wrong, so others see them as too serious."

    "Everyone likes a genuine person, but nobody wants to be that person."

    "The Masked Singer is also part of the entertainment circle, and people there dislike such an approach. If he continues like this, he won''t have any friends. But I really like someone like Prince of Lanling."

    "It''s simply a matter of perspective."

    "We have no vested interest, we simply feel Prince of Lanling is great. But some fans can''t tolerate anyone criticizing their idols even if the comments are reasonable. It seems the majority of those jumping up and down are fans. Passersby, even if they don''t like Prince of Lanling, don''t say anything too harsh."

    "..."

    On the other hand, there are many who disagree:

    "Just a love song, don''t read so much into it. He shut up for only one reason: he''s scared."

    "Public pressure is huge. Wearing a mask, he doesn''t care, but what about when he takes it off?"

    "His unmasking is due next episode and he knows to behave virtuously now. As for what storm awaits him once his identity is revealed, who needs to speculate?"

    "Too late now, he''s offended too many people. Even if he wanted to backtrack, it''s impossible, he will definitely be overwhelmed."

    "After the unmasking, he will face a barrage."

    "..."

    There were also some arguments.

    "Once Prince of Lanling takes his mask off, I''ll attack him. I''m a fan of Illaoi."

    "Stop pretending, you''re an Illaoi fan, huh? All your posts are about Yuan Xi."

    "Your idol hasn''t said anything, yet you guys are anxious."

    "We''ve been anxious for a long time, isn''t Prince of Lanling also scared silent?"

    "..."

    Such arguments never cease.

    Lin Yuan shook his head, put down his phone, and suddenly lost interest in browsing the internet.

    However, the post did remind Lin Yuan of something.

    Recently, he really hadn''t commented on any other singers. That realization almost made him subconsciously put this into practice. He never thought why he was avoiding commenting...

    Was it because he had nothing to say?

    No.

    Just that subconsciously, it seemed unnecessary to say too much.

    Was it because he was afraid of being surrounded by those who disliked him after unmasking?

    No, not that either.

    Lin Yuan has never been afraid of a barrage.

    Lin Yuan suddenly remembered the fans who had come a long way to the music center that day, just to shout "Good luck!" at him.

    They were fighting for him online.

    Until now, the fight hadn''t completely stopped.

    If he stopped speaking.

    Everybody wouldn''t have to fight anymore.

    In fact, it seemed to be the case.

    Because he hadn''t said anything controversial over the last few episodes, the comments seemed more harmonious.

    People would still bicker from time to time.

    But at least it was much quieter.

    Until it completely vanishes.

    So...

    Maybe it''s better to just not care.

    It turns out that he was still a peace-loving individual after all. With this thought, Lin Yuan felt that he had let go of his resentment.

    But in the following days, he suddenly felt lethargic, and even a little stifled for no reason.

    He didn''t want to practice singing or talk.

    Even his family didn''t notice that Lin Yuan had damaged his throat.

    Ultimately, Lin Yuan didn''t talk much to begin with, so even if he went a day without speaking, no one would find it strange.

    His sister, though, seemed to sense Lin Yuan''s low mood and started behaving much better. At meal times, she quietly ate quite a lot of vegetables¡ª

    Every day their mother would make small portions of vegetable dishes as a daily task for Lin Yuan and Big Yaoyao.

    It was absolutely necessary to finish them within a day.

    If it weren''t for Antarctica secretly helping out, Lin Yuan and Big Yaoyao would have trouble managing.

    And so it went.

    Several days passed.

    Lin Yuan''s throat had finally improved significantly, no longer posing a risk for the competition, and the atmosphere of the finals had begun to subtly pervade.

    Online.

    Discussions on "The Masked Singer" were multiplying, almost reaching the pinnacle since the start of the competition!

    At the same time.

    In the singer support rankings for The Masked Singer, there were now only six singers left.

    The top four were the singing kings and queens.

    Fifth place was The Mermaid.

    And the Prince of Lanling had the lowest ranking.

    This wasn''t particularly surprising, after all.

    Everyone had higher hopes for the singing kings and queens.

    However, what was strange was...

    The Prince of Lanling''s support ratings, even compared with The Mermaid''s, were significantly lower.

    Lin Yuan thought this was just normal.

    Until he was getting ready to leave for the competition venue and heard his sister complaining,

    "Those singers'' fans are so annoying, purposely voting for the top five singers and refusing to vote for the Prince of Lanling. The Prince of Lanling originally had the fifth highest support ratings, but they managed to drag him down to sixth. And it''s not just that, why do they even bother voting so many times for the top five, making the Prince of Lanling''s data look so bad!"

    Sometimes.

    The tree wants peace, but the wind will not cease.

    Lin Yuan didn''t say anything, he just got into Gu Dong''s car and headed for the competition venue.

    Gu Dong, who was wearing a mask to cover his face, said, "We''re entering through the main entrance today. The show''s filming will start as soon as we get out of the car."

    Lin Yuan just grunted in acknowledgment and closed his eyes to rest.

    Twenty minutes later.

    The car was about to arrive.

    Looking out the car window, Lin Yuan saw a diverse crowd and various support banners.

    There were those of the Overlord.

    There were those of the Swan.

    There were those of the Revenge Goddess.

    There were those of The Mermaid.

    There were those of the Elf.

    Of course, there were those of Lin Yuan''s as well.

    However, at a glance, the Prince of Lanling''s support crowd was apparently the smallest of all, with the other singers'' crowds being several times larger than his.

    Lin Yuan said, "I must have offended a lot of people."

    Gu Dong smirked, "You mean in terms of fan numbers? Then Mr. Lin really might not understand. You have quite a lot of fans, it just seems like the other singers have more fans because most of them were pre-arranged by the singers or their companies. Those companies knew about their participation in the competition, so they arranged all this to make a good show for the singers.

    Unlike our company, which had no idea you were taking part in the competition. If they did, they might at least have helped you control some of the public opinion online, or arranged more support for you than for them¡­"

    "Oh."

    Lin Yuan didn''t respond.

    At that moment.

    A stretch limousine appeared in the distance, moving pretty quickly, almost drifting. Then the Revenge Goddess got out of the car under the escort of her own bodyguards.

    "Revenge Goddess!"

    "Revenge Goddess!"

    "Revenge Goddess!"

    As the Revenge Goddess stopped to wave, her fans went wild and started screaming her name.

    If it weren''t for the security guards holding them back, they seemed like they would rush into the hall.

    Still, the momentum was quite overwhelming.

    The Prince of Lanling''s support crowd was forcibly pushed to one side, with one person getting squeezed by the crowd and falling over.

    Lin Yuan''s expression changed suddenly, and his eyes flashed with annoyance.

    Seeing that the person was helped up by a friend before he completely fell over, Lin Yuan managed to calm down a little.

    One of the girls raising a support banner accidentally got it squeezed out of her hand, and as a result, supporters of the other singers endlessly stepped over it.

    The little girl was frantic.

    When the crowd finally moved away, a few of the fans of the Prince of Lanling dared to run and pick up the dropped support banner, wiping off footprints and dusting it off.

    "Thankfully they''re okay."

    Lil Goodoong, who was driving, had also seen what happened.

    She almost rushed out to help them just now, it would have been a disaster if a stampede had occurred: "These people act like they have a death wish when they see a celebrity. The person just now should be injured, Mr. Lin, when you... hey..."

    Turning her head, Lil Goodoong only then discovered that Lin Yuan had already gotten out of the car and was entering the venue under the protection of on-site security.

    Lin Yuan, however, did not go in immediately.

    He stood in an invisible spot at the entrance and suddenly looked back at his support crowd.

    The little girl who had accidentally dropped her support banner was still fervently wiping the already clean banner, tears streaming down her face.

    "Why aren''t you going in?"

    The Swan had appeared from somewhere nearby and seemed to have sneaked in to avoid being mobbed by supports: "The company is always into doing these unnecessary things. Are you today..."

    "It matters."

    Lin Yuan suddenly uttered these three words, then started walking towards Tongtong in the distance, leaving Swan with the view of his retreating figure.

    It took Swan a while to react...

    The Prince of Lanling was answering the question he asked last week. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The answer to that question...

    Seemed to have changed?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Special thanks to "Only Like At First Sight Binzi" for the Alliance Hierarch tip. Extra chapter as a reward!

 Chapter 541 - 514: Enjoy being Extravagant_1

    [At the beginning of this chapter, the lyrics are in Mandarin version written by master Lin because it''s more appropriate for the occasion. For a thorough outpouring of emotions, it''s like the performance version at the doctor''s concert. Listen as per your own taste.]

    Not long after entering the lounge.

    Tongtong suddenly ran over, panting, "Teacher Prince of Lanling, the order of appearance has been decided, the opening performance today is your battle with the Revenge Goddess!"

    The opening act again?

    Lin Yuan seemed to have realised something. He nodded slightly, stood up, and went to the backstage area with Tongtong.

    At this moment.

    The live broadcast had already started and the audience on-site was whispering to each other.

    Amidst the noisy sounds, An Hong suddenly announced,

    "Now, please welcome our Revenge Goddess and Prince of Lanling to the stage. They will start today''s first duel!"

    Lin Yuan took the stage.

    At the same time.

    The Revenge Goddess also entered the stage from another entrance.

    The two stood side by side.

    An Hong smiled, "Today we are not setting who will sing first. The two singers can decide themselves, or they can play rock, paper, scissors."

    The audience burst into laughter.

    The Revenge Goddess looked towards Prince of Lanling, suddenly took the microphone and said, "Rock, paper, scissors are not necessary. I heard there is a mysterious curse on this stage called ''The one who moves first always loses''. I want to try to break the curse, what do you think, Teacher Prince of Lanling?"

    "Oh."

    Lin Yuan had no objection.

    He willingly stepped aside from the stage.

    The Revenge Goddess smiled. Instead of starting to sing immediately, she continued,

    "The song that I''m going to sing next is for myself, my fans, and for all those who have been supporting me all this time. I don''t care about the honour of becoming the King or Queen of Singing because I am already! The! Queen! Of! Singing!" S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    An uproar of applause!

    The Revenge Goddess lifted her head, "There are some words I didn''t say because I want to say them on the stage. There are some things I didn''t do because I want to do them on this stage. Prince of Lanling, have you ever heard of revenge?"

    Lin Yuan didn''t speak.

    However, with this sentence from the Revenge Goddess, the onsite audience suddenly became excited. Even the four judges changed their expressions, and someone even began to scream:

    "It''s Yuan Xi!"

    At the same time.

    The countless viewers in front of the screen immediately shot out numerous barrage comments, obviously everyone understood the hint from the Revenge Goddess:

    "It''s Yuan Xi!"

    "She''s out for revenge!"

    "She calls herself the Revenge Goddess!"

    "Indeed, she came for revenge!"

    "Prince of Lanling''s previous comment about Yuan Xi made Yuan Xi angry, so she transformed herself into Revenge Goddess in order to defeat Prince of Lanling on stage!"

    "..."

    An explosion of hormones!

    This is a declaration of vengeance!

    This is exactly what the audience loves. The Revenge Goddess was pleased with the effect of her speech. After the shouts on-site slightly subsided she suddenly burst into song:

    "This scar."

    "Who left it?"

    "Desert, winds and sands."

    "Blazing summer."

    "The howling storm!"

    "Have you heard it?"

    "Blood for blood, a tooth for a tooth!"

    "If revenge is my obsession, then I''ll sing this song till I''m hoarse; If the blooming and falling of flowers is life''s curse, then despair will become my armour!"

    "Oh, revenge!"

    "Seek it!"

    "My enemy, where are you? Can you hear my voice? Who starts to play the overture of the dead souls, mournful crow, on the day you drew your sword it was snowing heavily, the bitterly cold and desolate cliff, you fell in the wind, the setting sun watched you fall, the crow watched you fall, let me watch you fall ..."

    Furious voice!

    A powerful roar of anger, seemingly filled with all of the Revenge Goddess''s emotions, she was wailing at the end of the song!

    After singing.

    The unassisted Revenge Goddess squatted down.

    Everyone couldn''t see her face behind the mask, but they could hear the sobs, she was trying to control herself, only her upper body was moving uncontrollably.

    She was crying.

    The hearts of countless people on site felt like they were breaking, some people''s faces were covered in tears, they were comforting:

    "Don''t cry!"

    "Revenge Goddess, you are the best!"

    "Revenge Goddess, go for it!"

    "You are our eternal goddess!"

    "Don''t be sad!"

    "Don''t be distressed!"

    "We support you!"

    "..."

    Of course, I know you all will support me.

    The face under the mask of the Revenge Goddess was indeed wet with tears.

    But no one could see, and no one would ever see, the corners of her mouth hooked upwards momentarily.

    Prince of Lanling.

    Thank you for the stage you provided.

    My performance is not just "Revenge".

    I also want to show you...

    The magic of human hearts!

    When my cries go out in this way, not just my fans, but the whole world will be your enemy!

    Singing is a performance!

    Strength can sometimes serve as an embellishment. Who says you can''t perform along with singing?

    Yes.

    After this song.

    Almost the entire audience was touched!

    It''s so apt!

    So shocking!

    The song she chose for today was astonishingly "Revenge"!

    One of the most classic songs from Blue Star themed around revenge!

    And the creator of this song, Ye Zhi Qiu, was sitting right there in the audience!

    The camera focused on Ye Zhi Qiu''s face.

    Ye Zhi Qiu seemed to have been reminded of some memories and appeared slightly absent-minded.

    The Revenge Goddess suddenly turned her head, staring at Prince of Lanling.

    "Now, let''s welcome Teacher Prince of Lanling ..."

    An Hong looked at the Revenge Goddess and announced with a somewhat complicated tone.

    The Revenge Goddess stepped back.

    Lin Yuan stepped onto the stage.

    An Hong asked, "Prince of Lanling, do you have anything to say?"

    Lin Yuan shook his head.

    In front of the screen.

    Despite hearing the news, all of Yuan Xi''s fans felt gut-wrenched.

    "It''s so distressing to hear".

    "Who does Prince of Lanling think he is to pass remarks on our Yuan Xi!"

    "Do you know how much pain your words have caused Yuan Xi?"

 Chapter 542 - 514: Go Ahead and Be Extravagant_2

    "She cried!"

    "Are you satisfied now!?"

    "Yuan Xi joined this competition for Prince of Lanling, she sang this song for him as well, but I truly feel that it wasn''t worth it. Yuan Xi is genuinely hurt!"

    "Do you know how hard she worked, Prince of Lanling?"

    "She worked so hard, how can Prince of Lanling just dismiss her efforts like that!"

    "I feel so bad for Yuan Xi!"

    "Prince of Lanling, brace yourself for retaliation!"

    "You''re about to learn the consequences of shooting your mouth off!"

    "Long live the goddess!"

    "Cherish your last song, then rip off your mask!"

    "None of us will let you off the hook!"

    "Revenge Goddess is not alone, she represents all the singers that Prince of Lanling has attacked!" sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "We can announce the result now, I don''t want to listen to Prince of Lanling singing."

    "I suddenly don''t like Prince of Lanling anymore."

    "...."

    Fans of Yuan Xi and other singers, as well as netizens who dislike Prince of Lanling are present.

    Yes.

    They all have shown up.

    Because Prince of Lanling has been flawless recently, these fans momentarily disappeared.

    But..."

    They have never truly vanished!

    They have been waiting!

    They are waiting for Prince of Lanling to lose the contest!

    They are waiting for Prince of Lanling to unveil his mask!

    They are waiting for Prince of Lanling''s identity to be revealed!

    When Prince of Lanling loses the protection of his mask, he will face a storm of criticism!

    Today is the final contest, Prince of Lanling''s face will be revealed, which is why they have come!

    When the sound of the Revenge Goddess'' crying echoed."

    Even the bystanders felt sorrow.

    Prince of Lanling.

    It seems you have crossed the line.

    Only a small group supporting Prince of Lanling are still defiantly holding their ground.

    He!

    Isn''t wrong!

    ...."

    Judging panel.

    Zheng Jing sighed, said nothing, her expression somewhat intriguing.

    If someone understands micro-expressions they might see a fleeting disdain in her eyes.

    Yin Dong remains silent.

    Ye Zhi Qiu has a conflicted expression.

    Yang Zhongming, on the other hand, straightens up in his seat and looks up at Prince of Lanling.

    The finals.

    How will you sing?

    What will you sing?

    Yuan Xi, you crossed the line.

    You have won the support of the world.

    But you stand against the giants.

    There are more than one of these giants.

    You can''t block them.

    The world can''t block them!

    ....

    The band looks to Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan nods.

    The sound of the various instruments blended together rings out.

    At the same time.

    The song information appears on the big screen.

    This time.

    There''s no other information.

    Just two words:

    Exaggeration!

    Yet, just as the music sets in, Lin Yuan suddenly asks, "Why revenge?"

    Yeah.

    Why revenge?

    What outrageous crime have I committed that someone has to attack me in the name of "revenge"?

    "Grievance."

    This word.

    It''s too big.

    Unnecessary.

    Too exaggerated.

    I can''t handle it.

    I can''t bear it.

    If you''re just a little dissatisfied, you shouldn''t exaggerate it as "vengeance";

    If you only have personal grievances, don''t pretend to be singing in the name of the "fans".

    Your injustice...

    And the fans'' injustice...

    Are they really the same?

    Does Prince of Lanling really deserve to be struck down by your so-called sword of vengeance?

    No one can answer.

    Lin Yuan suddenly laughs.

    His voice rings out amidst the somewhat complicated laughter:

    "In the night sky, you only look at the brightest star."

    "In the crowd, you admire the one with the most, the reddest topics."

    Simple lyrics.

    Calm singing.

    But it seems as if everything will be torn apart.

    Everyone''s faces changed, everyone heard the undeniable laughter in Lin Yuan''s voice.

    The audience is angry!

    The fans are angry too!

    What are you laughing about!

    What right do you have to laugh!

    She''s crying, yet you''re still laughing!

    Is this a joke to you?

    Just then, in front of countless cameras, Yang Zhongming suddenly reveals a smile, a straightforward smile.

    A simple and direct smile.

    Why is Yang Zhongming smiling too?

    Those who saw this moment were stunned. In such a sad atmosphere, no one knows why Yang Zhongming is smiling, the same as no one understands why Prince of Lanling is smiling.

    Yang Zhongming gazed at Prince of Lanling.

    You''re not really "indifferent."

    Go ahead and respond!

    Uncover the truth!

    Yang Zhongming''s smile suddenly faded.

    Lin Yuan''s laughter ceased at the same time.

    This time, his voice carried a touch of mockery, as if taunting the world.

    But in fact.

    He didn''t mock anyone, and he didn''t challenge anyone.

    He was just mocking himself:

    "Everyone craves standing at the center of the stage."

    "The spotlight only flickers for me."

    "Who cares what you think when the show is over and the curtain is down?"

    "Who cares what you do?"

    The barrage kept cursing.

    Some audience members frowned.

    Lin Yuan didn''t see it.

    But he seemed to hear it.

    He slightly shook his head, at this moment he wanted to ask Revenge Goddess another question:

    Is the injustice that big?

    Why were you crying?

    Lin Yuan didn''t understand, but he seemed to get it, so he didn''t ask, and didn''t need to ask anymore:

    "Exaggeration is not a crime."

    "It satisfies a dull and empty life."

    "Those prying eyes, those gossipping mouths."

    "Amuse themselves after every meal."

    Suddenly!

    The tone rises!

    Lin Yuan, looking at the subtly changing faces of the audience, seemed to ask:

    "Must we exaggerate?"

    "Disregard right and wrong, real and fake."

    "Packaging is more valuable than the show!"

    "Who''s speaking the truth?"

    Swipe!

    When this verse appeared, the lyrics hammered onto the big screen one by one, Lin Yuan''s voice seemed wild, and the barrage of curses before the screen came to a sudden halt!

 Chapter 543 - 514: Exaggerate as Much as You Want_3

    Face after face!

    Suddenly stuck in shock!

    Some people were bewildered.

    The eyes of others began unexpectedly to tear up.

    Lin Yuan''s eyes flashed through all the countless moments of the competition, yet his memory fixated on the armies of fans before the show and that trampled sign of support.

    Oh.

    And also that girl, her eyes red, quietly wiping the support sign.

    His doubt suddenly transformed into certainty, and then from certainty into determination!

    "Who tells the truth!"

    "As long as the picture is surprising enough!"

    "As long as the content is shocking enough!"

    "Mouth opened to the heavens!"

    "Tears and laughter, anger and scolding!"

    "Only in front of the mirror in the night can I speak the truth quietly..."

    No longer questioning!

    Only stating!

    Countless mouths turned golden!

    Who cares about the truth?

    In fact, everyone is indifferent! S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    I too once tried indifference.

    But I couldn''t manage it.

    What is right, then?

    The answer is, there is no right!

    Prince of Lanling''s singing was like a monologue, each word striking the hearts of all like a bullet!

    Suddenly.

    Everyone - the angry, dissatisfied, frowning, struggling, supporting - fell silent.

    In the silence, was emotion gradually stirred.

    They finally "heard" the song.

    "Do you like me?"

    "You don''t like me?"

    "That''s your freedom."

    "I just hope to capture your ears at some point."

    "Singing the first note for the dream of music."

    "Have never given up since then."

    If you negate me, please don''t rush to negate my song.

    "Subjectively objective obstructions too many."

    "The good and the bad are borne by myself."

    Those words have been said, but they aren''t the sword that wounds, they are a medicine that tastes bitter, but who will bear the consequences?

    "So, I want to sing, to let emotions be released in the song."

    "There are many choices."

    "How many good songs are there?"

    "What can touch people!"

    He has many songs, but he doesn''t know which one has been truly heard, which one has broken the dispute.

    Doesn''t he?

    Lin Yuan was still singing, so let''s keep singing.

    But he didn''t know.

    The scene had quieted down.

    The barrage had also stopped.

    The whole world quietly settled down.

    "The lucky one isn''t me."

    "Because the path I chose is hard."

    "If it''s good enough."

    "Still can''t stand out."

    "At least there''s no second me!"

    Offstage.

    Sun Yao Huo, who was also at the scene, suddenly cried like rain.

    Zhao Ying Ge next to him tried to comfort him, but before she could say anything, she covered her face too.

    Choked up.

    Only a touch of elegance remained under her covering palms.

    "Must it be extravagant!"

    "There was a struggle inside too!"

    "When a person is trying hard."

    "Does anyone see it?"

    "Does anyone know?"

    "Singing until the thoughts melt!"

    "Singing until the voice becomes hoarse!"

    "Say that I''m possessed, that''s fine!"

    "Say I''m mad, so be it!"

    "If I can''t let it out!"

    "What kind of singer am I!"

    So, this is the real world, they can say so, the four judges can also say so, "Xian Yu" can say so, but the Prince of Lanling cannot say so!

    It turns out that only might is right!

    The strong prevail!

    At this moment.

    Xia Fan stared at the stage.

    She suddenly thought of something.

    She cried.

    It seemed she knew who he was.

    In fact, Lin Yuan''s voice had not fully recovered yet.

    His voice started to show a hint of hoarseness again.

    But unlike the complete hoarseness of the previous period, this time it felt like a hysterical explosion. He was no longer standing firmly on the stage, his steps even faltering slightly ¡ª¡ª

    "Look at me shining for you!"

    "To your liking or not!!"

    "Please take it!!!"

    "The next moment, spark for you!!!!"

    The word "spark" cracked!

    Because Lin Yuan didn''t use any high-pitched techniques!

    He didn''t focus on the so-called singing technique!

    But...

    Nobody was nitpicking about that.

    Even when that voice broke, even when it didn''t match the beat, that shocking experience made people''s hair stand on end!

    Some people even followed along and shouted.

    For the first time, Lin Yuan was singing mad!

    Why can those not wearing masks speak, but those who are, can''t!

    Why did the same sentence turn me into a target?

    Just because I''m the Prince of Lanling not Xian Yu?

    Just because I said something you didn''t want to hear!

    Just because she cried!

    So I''m the sinner!

    So I should fall down the cliff like the villains in all other stories who are revenged against!?

    "Ah!!!!!!!"

    In the end, there were no lyrics, only a scream!

    A sudden scream pierced countless eardrums!

    This time the outpour!

    Was thorough and unrestrained!

    As if it were going to pierce the ceiling of the concert hall!

    No howling!

    Only madness!

    At this moment.

    Zhen Jing suddenly stood up.

    Yin Dong followed and also stood up.

    Ye Zhi Qiu gave thumbs up to the camera, and got up!

    Yang Zhongming glanced behind, his gaze was like electricity, and then suddenly stood up!

    Everybody stood up, including the audience and the judges. The applause at this moment drowned everything!

    Lin Yuan understood.

    It was a moment of enlightenment.

    Because this has always been a world where might is right.

    When you''re powerful enough, when your strength can support your almost insurmountable arrogance¡ª¡ª

    The world will follow your values!!

    This world goes by "If you''re awesome, you make the rules"!!

    Then let''s be extravagant to our heart''s content!

    I am Xian Yu!!

    I am¡­ the Prince of Lanling!!!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: I might have been too carried away. I''ll come back to revise it later when I cool down. Going to write the next chapter now.

 Chapter 544 - 515: Heart Demon_1

    Everyone''s gone mad!

    Lin Yuan''s gone mad!

    The audience has gone mad!

    Netizens have gone mad!

    This stage has exploded!

    When the song ended, it was like a nuclear explosion of devastation had occurred, previously countless people on site and in front of the screens had been calling for the Revenge Goddess, but at this moment, this madness was geometrically present in all the shouts and screams about the Prince of Lanling. All the cursing, all the support, and all the opposition were almost smoke in the madness!

    Suppressed...

    Confused...

    Desperate...

    Painful...

    In fact, everyone has emotions, everyone has moments of anger, everyone has times when they must endure and remain strong silently, everyone has countless sleepless nights of self-doubt. But at this moment, all the feelings of the audience were released in the last heart-wrenching scream of the song.

    On such a stage, in conjunction with the experiences and encounters of Prince of Lanling throughout the competition, it was almost a collective empathy.

    This song made too many people cry!

    It is entirely unreserved!

    It is thorough!

    Xia Fan below the stage was screaming, Sun Yaohuo was also screaming, Zhao Ying Ge next to them was looking in shock at the figure on the stage. She had once thought that he would make the whole world shut up the moment he revealed his face.

    But¡ª

    Why the need to reveal the face?

    If just by revealing the face to make everyone shut up, what''s the difference between him and Yuan Xi, and the numerous fans of singers clamoring for revenge?

    It''s just another competition of who has the higher status!

    Who has the louder voice!

    Although such a scene is shocking, would Prince of Lanling expect the audience to turn their guns around because he is Xian Yu?

    That''s too vulgar!

    Before revealing the face!

    You''ve already lost!

    This is Xian Yu giving you a slap in the face!

    The essential difference in this matter is:

    It''s not because of who Prince of Lanling is that you should listen to this song!

    It''s about listening to this song first and then reconsidering who Prince of Lanling is!

    Some things must happen before the face is revealed, so that Xian Yu after the reveal is truly unassailable!

    He has done it.

    The last note of the song is actually very high; so high that the majority of singers can''t hit it!

    But everyone is no longer paying attention to the meaning of the technical level contained in that high note. They care more about the numerous feelings carried in that high note, which is his most direct summary of his experience throughout the competition.

    A hysterical scream!

    A heart-moving shout!

    If Lin Yuan''s singing of "I Surrender" had caused the number of comments to peak when the show aired, then the emotions pierced by this song had exaggerated the number of comments on the screen to cover all images¡ª

    The audience got goosebumps!

    "What song is this!"

    "I''ve gone mad listening to it!"

    "Prince of Lanling is a freak!"

    "I feel like my soul is leaving my body!"

    "I cried at the climax. It''s not just about the efforts behind the singers, don''t ordinary people also strive day and night, but who the hell cares?"

    "I got goosebumps!"

    "That last scream really sung my soul out. Does Prince of Lanling need to learn from the Revenge Goddess and cry a few times? Crying is the expression of the weak. This stage is about singing, not fucking emotional manipulation. Nowadays, it seems like no one listens to your songs if you don''t cry a few times on a music show. Yes, I''m talking about the Revenge Goddess.

    Who takes revenge by crying? Even if you stick your chest out and take revenge bravely and lose, I won''t laugh at you. But what''s the point of crying after you finish singing, trying to make the Prince of Lanling bear the insults of bullying a girl? No matter how those fans rush towards me after the Prince of Lanling reveals his face, I''ll fight them off!" S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Listen to this song!"

    "This is the perfect war song!"

    "I never like to express any views online, but this time I really couldn''t help it. Prince of Lanling''s song has completely blown me up. Look at those fan groups acting like mad men when the live broadcast started, everyone knows some are hired with money, competing for ostentatiousness and value. This song sings it clearly for these people!"

    Tribes!

    Weibo!

    WeChat Moments!

    Discussions about the song "Exaggeration" appeared in countless corners of the Internet!

    Those who still don''t like Prince of Lanling once again tactfully kept their heads down!

    They can only continue to wait!

    Wait for the moment when Prince of Lanling reveals his face!

    That will be the time for them to blow their horns of attack!

    And that moment is already infinitely close!

    ...

    Meanwhile.

    Backstage rest area.

    The always proud Swan conceded:

    "Only with this song, I had no confidence to win. Just this song, I didn''t have the courage to go up on stage and compete with him. It''s not because the technique is so good or the lyrics are so great, all of these are great, but the most important thing is that he has sung out all his feelings from participating in this competition!"

    Swan suddenly thought back.

    About the nonsensical statement that Prince of Lanling had said when they met before today''s competition.

    It turned out that the introduction to this song had been laid at that time.

    She had the good fortune to participate and witness such a scene.

    If she had the opportunity, she would really like to share this "I don''t care" story with the outside world.

    "Art..."

    Next door in the dressing room.

    Elf spoke softly.

    And when the camera moved to Overlord, Overlord didn''t say anything.

    At some point, he had already stood up, staring intently at the stage shown on the TV on the wall. Underneath his clothes, his body hairs were standing on end!

    On the other side.

    The audience standing under the stage clapped for a long, long time before the scene finally calmed down.

    An interesting scene occurred during this time.

 Chapter 545 - 515 Heart Demon_2

    Following An Hong''s several interrupted attempts to speak was a tsunami of applause.

    However.

    What truly quieted the applause was not Anhong''s struggle to control the stage, but the camera suddenly panning to Revenge Goddess who had somehow grown petrified off to the side.

    She was at a complete loss.

    Her hand was trembling.

    There was a moment when she began to be stunned by the song Prince of Lanling had just sung.

    But when Prince of Lanling finished singing his piece, her awe gave way to just standing there, dumbfounded¡ª

    Like a daydreaming primary school student.

    Revenge?

    Sympathy?

    How to compare?

    How to enact revenge?

    Where is the sympathy?

    If she was still conscious of her performance, she should have kneeled down and sobbed.

    But at this moment, she had no such performance consciousness.

    The expression beneath her mask had become almost as paralysed as Yin Dong''s.

    It''s over!

    Completely over!

    Her sluggish mind attempted to function only for every cell in her body to tell her:

    She had completely lost this match!

    This seemingly glamorous revenge can now be declared a failure in advance!

    "Phew..."

    Anhong could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

    He gave Revenge Goddess a deep look, his gaze ending with Prince of Lanling, who sat silent, "I wish that at this moment Prince of Lanling would say something. You always use songs to express yourself. Do you have anything to say this time?"

    Lin Yuan shook his head.

    Anhong was taken aback, then suddenly laughed:

    "This is so Prince of Lanling. Let''s then ask Revenge Goddess to return to our stage, and have our four judges comment on the performances of the two singers. Teacher Zheng Jing..."

    "I honestly didn''t want to comment anymore."

    After a glance at Revenge Goddess and Prince of Lanling, Zheng Jing said sternly, "I can accept a singer losing their emotions on stage, but there''s a time and place for everything. In the context of today''s competition, I really detest behavior that uses crying to exert pressure on an opponent!"

    Revenge Goddess tried to defend herself: "I think..."

    Zheng Jing curtly interrupted, "I don''t need to know what you think. It is what I think that matters."

    Revenge Goddess'' body trembled.

    Clatter!

    The crowd got stupefied!

    No one ever expected the normally good-natured Zheng Jing to be so blunt with her critique of Revenge Goddess!

    It was as if she was directly accusing Revenge Goddess of being manipulative!

    "Hmm."

    Yin Dong interjected, "I have also had moments where I cried while singing, but it wouldn''t have been for this song. My old friend Ye should understand what I mean."

    Yin Dong meant the same!

    The audience had their eyes widened, it was their first time witnessing a famous singer degraded like this!

    All eyes turned to Ye Zhi Qiu.

    This was originally Ye Zhi Qiu''s song.

    Ye Zhi Qiu sighed, "Actually, there are mainly two problems, first, that Revenge Goddess chose the wrong occasion for this song. It''s quite discordant to use this song here. The second, Revenge Goddess does not understand the meaning of this song. This song should be sung with an upbeat posture, it should denote a fearless charge, even a single-minded wartime charge - this is a life-and-death battle!

    Where are you singing it and why sing it in such a helpless tone that it brought you to tears?"

    Ye Zhi Qiu didn''t say it all outright.

    But everyone knew Yin Zhang was aiming at Revenge Goddess!

    This was a single-minded song!

    Revenge Goddess had too many distractions. According to its nature, this song shouldn''t make you cry.

    She deviated from the topic...

    It was Yang Zhongming''s turn.

    Ye Zhi Qiu looked at Yang Zhongming, as did An Hong and everybody else.

    Yang Zhongming softly said, "Prince of Lanling''s performance might not only be the best stage of the night, but also possibly the best performance since the beginning of the competition. If there is any suspense about it, I would start doubting the world."

    Afterwards.

    Yang Zhongming glanced at Revenge Goddess, his voice somewhat indifferent:

    "You must be Yuan Xi, right? However Prince of Lanling criticized you previously, is how I want to criticize you too. Even up to today''s song, I haven''t changed my mind.

    This is the evaluation from Yang Zhongming, the recipient of hundreds of awards from Blue Star including three times winner of the Best Composer of the Year at the Music Festival and the Lifetime Composition Award from the Literature and Art Association ¨C you, do you want to claim your revenge from me?"

    Furious!

    Yang Zhongming was furious!

    All four composers were furious!

    Revenge Goddess got so scared she didn''t dare to speak. In the end, she broke into tears. Despite having her mask on, her crying could not be hidden.

    The audience frowned.

    Some showed thoughtful expressions.

    Yang Zhongming made the essence of this matter explicit.

    Prince of Lanling was not the only one who criticized Yuan Xi, but Yuan Xi seemed to have targeted Prince of Lanling as if she thought he was the one she could provoke.

    "All right, everyone will need to vote now¡­"

    Anhong tried to mediate, attempting to diffuse the tension, knowing that the aftermath of this segment being broadcasted could severely hinder Yuan Xi''s future career.

    However.

    When the votes for both contestants were announced, the atmosphere grew even heavier. The results were a dreadful slap in the face, and an outright landslide!

    Prince of Lanling: 888 votes.

    Revenge Goddess: 110 votes.

    Very few audience members abstained from casting their votes.

    This result was more than just a landslide, it was a massacre!

    The previous most dramatic gap in votes was from Overlord''s battle with another singer.

    But this duel''s disparity in votes was even more drastic.

    Prince of Lanling bulldozed over his opponent, the Revenge Goddess, with a dominating force.

    This was a new record!

    The Revenge Goddess trembled slightly as she removed her mask, revealing the face of Yuan Xi beneath.

    However, this was the only unmasking that wasn''t met with gasps.

    From what Yuan Xi had said earlier, everyone knew that the Revenge Goddess was Yuan Xi.

    Because Prince of Lanling had never criticized the Revenge Goddess, and she was insistent on seeking revenge¡ª

    She could only be Yuan Xi.

    At the time of unmasking, Yuan Xi was already crying her makeup off, fiercely rubbing away her tears.

    It was like rain falling on a pear blossom.

    I pitied what I saw.

    Her delicate demeanor contrasted interestingly with Prince of Lanling''s bizarrely beautiful mask, which displayed a hint of cruelty.

    This time.

    Yuan Xi sworn!

    She was genuinely crying!

    There was no trace of performance!

    Because this cry was not of grievance but rather fear and panic!

    And yet, at this moment.

    The expressions of the audience seemed somewhat complex.

    Crying again?

    Why is she crying again?

    Everyone had felt a great deal of sympathy for Yuan Xi at a point.

    But after seeing her sobbing in front of the camera over and over again, they suddenly felt¡­

    It lacked novelty.

    Even a little¡­

    Dramatic?

    Is a pop diva this fragile?

    This is just a "boy who cried wolf" story.

    When Yuan Xi was feigning tears, she won countless sympathies.

    But when Yuan Xi genuinely cried, many in the audience no longer believed her tears.

    Many sighed.

    Yuan Xi had no idea how she had exited the stage in such disarray.

    Lin Yuan did not look back at her competitor; she bowed and left the stage.

    The following two duels did not have many surprises either.

    The powerful Overlord and the Swan, each defeated their challengers.

    By this point, the competition was nearing its end.

    An Hong chuckled:

    "Next up is our immunity round. Which singer will the four judges choose for the save to advance to the final? The Overlord? The Swan? Or perhaps the Prince of Lanling?"

    "It''s obvious."

    Yang Zhongming said, "Prince of Lanling."

    "Prince of Lanling!"

    "Prince of Lanling!"

    "I choose Prince of Lanling."

    The remaining three judges did not exchange words, yet their responses were remarkably consistent, as if it was destined.

    Whoosh!

    Underneath his Overlord mask, the face belonging to Fei Yang turned green instantaneously!

    According to the rules, the song of the winner chosen for immunity, becomes the final piece the other singer must compete with!

    To put it plainly¡­

    After Fei Yang had defeated the Swan, he would need to tackle "Exaggerate" in a sing-off!!!

    How in the devil is he supposed to compete?

    Boom Boom Boom . . .

    Fei Yang lost his composure!

    Since joining Battle Four, Fei Yang had crushed countless competitors, he had been a demon-like presence in every match!

    But . . .

    Except for this particular song!

    The Overlord dared not to face it head on!

    Just this song "Exaggerate"; had scared the Overlord!

    In an indistinct way.

    Fei Yang felt a familiar will descending upon him.

    Looking at this Prince of Lanling who seemed always indifferent, he felt something was off.

    What was the problem?

    Fei Yang didn''t know.

    But the nightmare that once kept him up, was now back.

    By the way.

    Here''s a note. Fei Yang was the first man to break the "first mover always loses" stage curse.

    However . . .

    While Fei Yang might break the stage curse, defeating the curse of life wasn''t as easy.

    That curse was called:

    Perennial Runner-up.

    Fei Yang looked at the four judges and really wanted to ask:

    Can I still drop out now?

    All the hotel and transportation costs included in the arrangements will be returned to you. If you''re not satisfied, I can add more money¡ª

    How about double?

    S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 546 - 516: Once Upon a Time (Extra for the Easygoing Alliance Hierarch) _1

    Fei Yang was on edge!

    He was confident that he could win with any song that had appeared on the stage so far. In fact, he had indeed defeated the White Swan in the subsequent match. However, the song he had to face next was ¡ª¡ª

    The song "Pretentious"!

    Prince of Lanling''s "Pretentious"!

    Just his luck. He had to face the most daunting song!

    From below the stage...

    An audience shouted, "Overlord!"

    Following the momentum of Overlord just defeating the White Swan, millions of voices mixed together:

    "Overlord!"

    "Overlord!"

    "Overlord!"

    Someone even shouted, "No one else stands a chance against ''Pretentious''! Only the Overlord can hope to turn the tables! Our Overlord displays the stature of an emperor!"

    On the screen, the barrages of comments began:

    "Our Overlord displays the stature of an emperor!"

    "Our Overlord displays the stature of an emperor!"

    "Our Overlord displays the stature of an emperor!"

    Fei Yang, "..."

    You lot, don''t talk nonsense!

    I really don''t have it!

    Fei Yang''s mentality crumbled even more!

    But...

    These are the rules.

    The song that the judge chose to save will directly serve as the saver''s final song choice. The Prince of Lanling doesn''t need to sing again.

    Fei Yang would directly sing a song and compare it with "Pretentious" one more time.

    If he loses, it''s equivalent to the Prince of Lanling killing both the Revenge Goddess and Overlord with just one song¡ª "Pretentious"!

    Fei Yang felt weak...

    He had to feel weak, "Pretentious" was just too powerful!

    At that moment...

    Host Anhong suddenly said with a smile, "In fact, concerning the rules of song submission, our program team provides flexible options. At present, there are two choices for Professor Lanling: Would you prefer to use ''Pretentious'', which you just performed, as the duel song, or would you like to sing another song?"

    Hidden rules!

    The privilege of the saver!

    That is to say, Lin Yuan could choose not to sing again, and simply duel with "Pretentious". Alternatively, he could sing another song and start a brand-new duel with Overlord!

    But...

    Is there a need to choose?

    Everyone knows how much of a masterpiece "Pretentious" is. Prince Lanling had no need to overreach; one song is enough for a double kill!

    The audience awaited the Prince of Lanling''s answer.

    In front of the screen, countless people were also waiting for the Prince of Lanling''s answer.

    At this moment...

    The audience had mixed feelings.

    On the one hand, everyone hoped Prince Lanling could sing one more song;

    On the other hand, everyone felt that singing another song was too risky. What if he ended up losing?

    Using "Pretentious" was a safe choice. As a duel song, it could likely secure his victory!

    However...

    Just when everyone thought the Prince Lanling would choose "Pretentious", he gave an answer that caught everyone off guard:

    "Let''s sing another song then."

    There was an uproar from the audience!

    "My heavens!"

    "Prince Lanling is awesome!"

    "That was audacious!"

    "He clearly could have won by choosing ''Pretentious'' as the duel song!"

    "I am really convinced this time!"

    "This is what a real man is like!"

    "How do you know Prince Lanling is a man?"

    "It''s obvious, isn''t it? From the beginning of the competition, all the songs Prince Lanling chose were mainly male vocals, which means the female vocals were falsetto. He must be a male singer!"

    "..."

    Users in front of the screen were also exhilarated!

    "He''s going to sing again!?"

    "Not going to use ''Pretentious''?"

    "This is giving Overlord a chance!"

    "I feel that Overlord basically can''t beat ''Pretentious''. That song is too explosive, yet Prince Lanling actually wants to compete with Overlord again!"

    "Prince Lanling really isn''t afraid of Overlord!"

    "What kind of spirit is this!"

    "The Revenge Goddess has lost the competition and lost her dignity!"

    "..."

    As for Lin Yuan, he didn''t find it a difficult decision.

    Although choosing "Pretentious" as the duel song was a safe choice, what Lin Yuan wanted was not to play it safe, but to bring out a new song in each round of duels.

    Moreover...

    The competition was about to end.

    Being able to sing one more song, why would he refuse?

    In a certain sense, this was something more important than winning the championship.

    Besides...

    Who says that Lin Yuan couldn''t win the championship without using "Pretentious"?

    ...

    The Overlord was startled!

    He didn''t expect the Prince of Lanling to not use "Exaggeration" for a duel, he even wanted to have another song contest with him!

    Under the mask.

    Fei Yang did not feel the surprise he anticipated¡ª

    Fei Yang thought he would be surprised because this was a chance his opponent had given him to turn the tables.

    But for some reason, he couldn''t feel any happiness.

    At this moment, he remembered the opinions of the Prince of Lanling and Yang Zhongming and others in the recent years, including some private messages left by fans:

    "There is no emotion."

    "He''s too obsessed with singing skills."

    "King Fei is becoming more and more like a singing machine."

    "King Fei''s high pitch is getting higher and higher, but after I listen to it, I always feel empty, and I even forget what he just sang, even though it felt so exciting when I listened."

    "King Fei''s technique is almost perfect now, but it seems that his classic works are getting less and less over the years."

    "Fei Yang''s singing skills are really great!"

    "..."

    Fei Yang''s singing skills are great?

    Rather than Fei Yang sang really well?

    Fei Yang suddenly felt choked in his heart, I worked so hard to practice singing skills, just to constantly improve myself¡ª

    What did I do wrong?

    At this moment.

    Fei Yang suddenly remembered the "Exaggeration" that the Prince of Lanling had just sung.

    The opponent''s throat has not fully recovered.

    Just now his voice was hoarse at some points¡ª

    Just when he sung the last few lyrics, there were two beats that were off¡ª

    Just now his voice cracked¡ª

    If judged from a professional perspective, that part was a blunder, a terrible blunder!

    But why didn''t anyone think it was a problem?

    Why didn''t anyone even mention it?

    Didn''t everyone notice it?

    No.

    The audience noticed.

    Anyone with ears could tell.

    But he still won the warmest applause of the audience, won the respect of everyone, set a new record for the highest vote count in the competition!

    Even higher than the record he set himself!

    FYI, when he set the record, his opponent was just a headliner!

    And when the other party set a new score record, the opponent was just a song queen!

    Why is that?

    Because of feelings.

    Because he released all his emotions in his singing.

    With his abilities, he could have completely prevented his voice from cracking. Any professional singer could keep the rhythm.

    So there is only one answer.

    The Prince of Lanling no longer cared about anything.

    The most touching song is not about technique, not about high pitch, not about anything professional¡ª

    Although they are all important.

    But the most important thing is feelings, expression, and why we sing¡ª

    The initial intention of singing.

    So no one cared about those flaws, those were not flaws, they were another kind of perfection. It was these flaws that gave the song a bigger shock.

    He also was shocked, wasn''t he?

    The Overlord laughed.

    He bowed to the audience, "The next song, I dedicate to myself."

    He said in his heart:

    I dedicate it to myself, who was willing to scream on the streets in winter for my dreams, to myself who no one was willing to stop and listen to;

    To myself, who was willing to live in the basement for two years for my dreams and not care for anything else but my old guitar;

    To myself, who was willing to eat instant noodles for several months for a new guitar until it was hard to swallow;

    To myself, who was moved to tears by a few coins from pedestrians while singing at the subway entrance for the sake of music;

    The Overlord sang a song.

    The name of this song is "You".

    This song, without high pitch or skill, only the simplest self-expression, even a few lines of lyrics, Fei Yang almost didn''t sing, but spoke out.

    After finishing singing, the Overlord saw some audience crying. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    But he himself, isn''t he also in tears?

    He bowed, with a somewhat hoarse voice, "Thank you to Teacher Yang Zhongming for this song, this song encouraged me through the most difficult times of my life..."

    Also, thank you to the Prince of Lanling.

    You were not wrong in what you said.

    Your song has taught me a lot.

    This is the first time since the Overlord became famous that he let go of everything and spoke with the same voice as he did when he was a street performer.

    he didn''t hide.

    He didn''t fear.

    He was not worried that everyone would say:

    Look, Fei Yang has become the Perennial Runner-up again.

    He just sang a song that moved others, and also moved himself.

    This time, he sings without the heart of gain or loss.

    Fei Yang exited the stage amidst the applause.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thank you to big boss Easygoing for the Alliance Hierarch''s donation, here is an additional chapter, let me write the next chapter.

 Chapter 547 - 517: The Ordinary Road_1

    The Overlord has changed...

    He no longer belts out high notes, no longer uses elaborate vocal runs, no longer showcases countless bizarre techniques, he just uses the simplest voice to sing on this stage, but disappointingly, his song this round sounds better than any time before.

    Everyone is clapping.

    Lin Yuan is also clapping. He probably has guessed who the person on stage is ¡ª he thinks the judges and some people familiar with the singer have probably figured it out too. This is the best song that this person has ever sung on this stage.

    "Teacher Prince of Lanling."

    An Hong looks at the Prince of Lanling.

    All the eyes are on the Prince of Lanling.

    Lin Yuan steps onto the stage, still not yet speaking a word, just nods lightly to the band. This would be his last song on this stage, and he doesn''t want to just leave an impression of hysteria behind.

    The sound of an electric piano rings out.

    Lin Yuan''s voice is very pure:

    "Wandering

    On the road

    Are you preparing to leave

    Fragile, in pride

    Which has also once been my state."

    Lin Yuan''s voice is equally pure and simple, devoid of any technicality, just singing with the most essential voice. The expected scene of the final stage that many have imagined does not occur.

    As if there''s a huge contrast.

    The stage has once been washed with high notes and techniques. However, in the last round of the final, the choice of the two singers somehow coincidentally had a similar flavor.

    But...

    Nobody is disappointed.

    On the contrary, there''s a faint sense of consolation.

    "Boiling, uncertain

    Where are you going

    A mystery, in silence

    Are you really listening to the story..."

    Lin Yuan''s voice slightly elevates. This song, he''s also dedicating it to himself.

    "I have once crossed mountains and seas

    And ploughed through crowds of people

    I once had everything

    But in a blink, it all turned into smoke

    I have once lost and despised, losing all direction

    Until I saw, being ordinary, is the only answer...."

    This is for my past life. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This is for my present life.

    This is for every version of me.

    Some audience members close their eyes slightly.

    This song doesn''t resonate like "Extravagance," but it has a silent force. Many people thought it would be hard for the last song of Prince Lanling to surpass his previous one, but when this song played, everyone suddenly realized:

    No comparisons needed.

    This song.

    Is equally good.

    In fact, the chat in the screen was flooded with comments as the climax approached. At this moment, countless netizens were unable to restrain their emotions:

    "Maybe this is what the final should look like."

    "This is a singing stage, ''Extravagance'' is a slap to the face, a rebuttal, a release, but this song, it''s reconciliation. Not reconciling with the opponent, but opening up oneself to the audience."

    "I like this song."

    "This is a crispy tune."

    "A must-add to the playlist."

    "I can''t imagine how the second season can surpass this one, Prince Lanling is too strong, he didn''t disappoint anyone in this final!"

    "..."

    Lin Yuan''s voice returns to calm, and calmness is the truth of this song:

    "While you are still fantasizing"

    "About your tomorrow"

    "Will it get better or worse"

    "To me it is just another day"

    "I once destroyed everything I had"

    "Just wanted to leave forever"

    "I was once stuck in endless darkness"

    "Where struggling was useless"

    "I was once like you, like him, like wild grass and flowers"

    "In despair and longing"

    "Crying and laughing, being ordinary..."

    He used to be insignificant, to stand out among others, angry and unwilling, blaming destiny. But all of those have become history, now everything is getting better. The tone of the music is uplifted, and Lin Yuan sings as if humming:

    "Keep going forward just like that

    Regardless of what you''ve been given

    Keep going forward just like that

    Regardless of what''s been taken from you

    Keep going forward just like that

    Regardless of what you might miss

    Keep going forward just like that

    Regardless of if you will

    I''ve once traversed mountains and oceans..."

    When the chorus rings out again, it seems Overlord is singing along, and then Swan follows, eventually all the eliminated singers on the stage join in.

    A simple melody.

    After listening to it once, professional singers would have already memorized it. Not only were the eliminated singers from Prince of Lanling''s team singing, but also those from Sun Yaohuo, Zhao Ying Ge, and Jiang Kui. The entire stage seemed to be turning into a grand choir.

    Behind the mask.

    Overlord''s tears fell again. Whether it''s because he knew his end, or a line in the song touched him, no one knew until he broke into, "I''ve been like you, like him, like that wild grass, wild flowers, despairing, desiring, crying, laughing, being ordinary". Everyone then understood his feelings.

    "Time is silent,

    Just like this

    Tomorrow has been

    Blown by the wind

    The road is still long

    How far have you told your story?"

    The final line is like a question, yet it is also filled with boundless hope: Life is on the road, may you and I be both ordinary and extraordinary.

    The song is called, "The Ordinary Road".

    After the performance.

    Lin Yuan bows.

    The venue is once again flooded by applause. There are no gasps of "wow" or "incredible", but everyone''s expressions say that there is no better final song than this.

    In front of the screens:

    The live comments flooded in like a waterfall:

    "Completely intoxicated."

    "May you be both ordinary and extraordinary!"

    "This show may not need a champion."

    "They are just a group of people who love to sing - apart from the Revenge Goddess."

    "Overlord''s last song made me like him. I even thought Overlord would win, but when this song came out, winning or losing no longer seemed important."

    "In this song, I heard life."

    "Three years ago, I was the CEO of a listed company. Three years later, I own several small shops. But there''s actually nothing to complain about. That''s my Ordinary Road."

    "Overlord sang until I wept, while Prince of Lanling sang until I forgot to cry."

    "..."

    Everybody had similar reactions to this song. Some even believed that Prince of Lanling insisted on performing this song in the final to compete with Overlord. It was a tribute to this stage.

    They were both conveying the same message:

    No need for high notes or flashy techniques, just singing sincerely. Those who are willing to listen to your songs can be found all over the world.

    In this round.

    Prince of Lanling won.

    By a huge margin.

    There were many viewers who abstained. It was the round with the most abstentions. Many people could hardly bear to decide who was the ultimate winner.

    But Overlord accepted it gracefully.

    When he took off his mask, he looked relieved.

    Fei Yang''s face appeared before millions of viewers, surprisingly, there were few "second place" comments in the live chat.

    Of course, there were a few.

    But surprisingly fewer than expected.

    Indeed, after the last song, some people had already guessed who Overlord was.

    "I got second place again!"

    Fei Yang looked at the audience, laughing. He looked a bit self-mocking but mostly relieved.

    When the applause subsides.

    An Hong says soulfully, "Thank you, Teacher Fei Yang. And thank you to all the viewers. Now, our Prince of Lanling, as the King of Singing of this competition, it is time for your unmasking..."

    Lin Yuan paused.

    Finally, the time to unmask had come.

    He must have prepared himself, right?

    What Lin Yuan didn''t know was...

    As An Hong''s words echoed, Yuan Xi and all the fan-groups of the singers whom Prince of Lanling had previously challenged were going nearly mad!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: I know you all want to see the unmasking, and indeed, the pacing of the story calls for the unmasking. But I just couldn''t help but write another round. Consider it as Polluted White being sentimental. The unmasking will really happen in the next chapter.

 Chapter 548 - 518: Explosion (Extra for Silver Alliance Huan Yu)

    Prince of Lanling is about to unmask himself!!!

    That person who has been on a warpath since the beginning of the competition, offending countless singers and inciting waves of fans, provoking endless controversies amongst the audience, is finally about to reveal his true identity ¡ª

    Whoosh!

    Insane!

    Completely insane!

    With this moment approaching, countless people who hate Prince of Lanling to the core, their eyes glowing menacingly, ready to pounce on their prey!

    Their mouths are watering!

    They can finally unleash their relentless attacks, their hidden fangs, like a terrifying beast, opened in anticipation before their prey!

    Some things won''t change!

    At least not because of two songs!!

    No matter how impressive Prince of Lanling''s final performance might be, it cannot hide the fact that he has previously openly attacked other singers, those dissatisfied with him have gathered as a formidable force!

    ...

    Within the countless fan groups of Yuan Xi.

    "Xi Xi is crying!"

    "My heart is broken!"

    "Xi Xi is the most pitiful one, because of Prince of Lanling she was misunderstood by the entire world, he is the root cause of all her misfortune and the revenge has not ended yet!"

    "We shall carry on Xi Xi''s revenge!"

    "The real revenge is only just beginning!"

    "Who cares who he is!"

    "So what if he wins the championship!"

    "As soon as he shows his true face, it will be time for our judgment!"

    "Let''s attack him on the fan forum!"

    "We will make sure he won''t have a place in this industry!"

    "What does it matter if he wins the championship!"

    "He has already lost the whole world!"

    "I have already contacted the fans on Fei Yang''s side, he destroyed Xi Xi on this stage, and we will destroy him too!"

    "Prince of Lanling is doomed!"

    There is no doubt about the deep hatred Yuan Xi''s fans have for Prince of Lanling, even though most people don''t understand why fans could be so passionate about their idols.

    ...

    At Lin Yuan''s home.

    Lin Xuan''s eyes were reddening as she watched the screen, her breath becoming heavy: "Almost there, soon we will know who Prince of Lanling really is!"

    "Unmask!"

    Lin Yao couldn''t help but get excited as well.

    Even their mother stopped peeling the apple.

    Antarctica (the pet dog) is barking!

    It seems even this dog cannot wait!

    ...

    Meanwhile.

    Countless industry insiders are glued to "The Masked Singer"!

    "Prince of Lanling is about to unmask himself!"

    "Who is he?"

    "Which company''s singer is he!" S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "This guy is so bold, on what basis?!"

    "Could he be some low-profile big shot in the industry?"

    "Why can''t I figure it out!"

    "Hurry up and unmask, damn it!"

    "I can''t hold it anymore, I''ve been holding in my pee just to watch him unmask!!"

    ...

    But these are just the tip of the iceberg!

    As Prince of Lanling is about to unmask himself!

    The entire music industry!

    All major companies in the industry!

    Thousands of families who are watching this show are all waiting!

    But before this.

    Everyone, absolutely everyone, needs to first get an answer, and that is Prince of Lanling''s identity¡ª

    Who are you?

    Who the hell are you!

    At this moment, the online comments of the show were not just murmuring but completely boiling over!

    Whoosh!

    Even many people who supported Prince of Lanling earlier were shocked by this terrifying momentum!

    "Your end is near!"

    "You''re finished!"

    "No matter who you are!"

    "The moment you unmask will be the time you pay for your actions!"

    "No, it is a thousand times worse!"

    "I can barely contain my rage anymore!"

    "We are the United Fan Army, and when we march, there''s no turning back!"

    "..."

    Oh, my God!

    Such hostility!

    Just how many people has Prince of Lanling offended?

    So many people hate him!

    So many people are waiting for him to unmask!

    So many people are waiting for his face to be revealed so they can start to attack!

    The power of so many people gathering together is terrifying!

    Yes.

    Prince of Lanling has offended too many singers in this show, and all of them are A-list singers!

    The influence of any A-list singer is terrifying!

    Even if the A-list singers themselves don''t say anything, their fans will loathe their common enemy!

    This is an army!

    This is an army closing in!

    When so many people come together and join hands to resist Prince of Lanling, what can prince of Lanling who has lost his mask do to resist?

    Some people can''t stand it:

    "What did Prince of Lanling do wrong for you guys to hate him so much? He won the championship by his own talent, he didn''t resort to any unfair means!"

    However.

    This group of people had almost lost their sanity: "His every word is a mistake, his presence on this stage is a mistake, him using any means to attract attention is a huge mistake!"

    "You guys can''t do this!"

    Prince of Lanling''s fans, though not as powerful as the numerous fans of other singers, but some still stubbornly defended Prince of Lanling.

    This encounter was inevitable!

    But some people were willing to stand in front of Prince of Lanling!

    However, soon these people were dumbfounded by a series of questions:

    "You say that Prince of Lanling achieved this by his own ability, you say that Prince of Lanling''s songs were his responses to the outside world, but have you ever thought about whose songs these are!"

    "Whose songs are these?"

    "And let''s not even talk about the composer!"

    "None of the lyrics of Prince of Lanling''s songs were written by him!"

    "His lyrics are striking, his tunes are beautiful and moving, but these were all written by Xian Yu!"

    "Without Xian Yu, he would not have made it to the finals!"

    "Without Xian Yu, he wouldn''t have won this championship!"

    "What is there to boast about for someone who relies on Xian Yu to win the championship?"

    "Is he strong, what is he without Xian Yu?"

 Chapter 549 - 518: Explosion (Extra for Silver Alliance Huan Yu)_2

    "With the Maestro''s blatant favoritism, obviously he could win, but we don''t accept it!"

    "..."

    Some of those objecting to this felt suddenly hesitant upon hearing these claims.

    After all, everything from the lyrics to the composition was Xian Yu''s doing.

    So was this championship actually belonging to Xian Yu or to the Prince of Lanling¡­

    Just as they were caught in this quandary,

    All the barrage of comments turned into a wild celebration against the Prince of Lanling!

    It was as if these folks had morphed into a prehistoric monster!

    And the sole purpose of this monstrous creature was to tear the universally hated Prince of Lanling to shreds, to devour him utterly!

    ...

    Meanwhile on stage,

    The audience was straining their eyes waiting.

    Where was the Prince of Lanling?

    Why hadn''t he unmasked yet?

    The restlessness in the venue was escalating.

    The noise from the audience was growing louder.

    Some even wondered...

    Had the Prince of Lanling run away?

    Had the pressure gotten too much?

    So he didn''t dare to unmask himself?

    If that was the case, it could somewhat be understood.

    ''Universally hated'' might sound funny and juvenile, but somehow it felt apt when applied to the Prince of Lanling.

    He was indeed hated universally!

    Even if he became the champion!

    Host Anhong could only force a bitter smile to placate the crowd: "Prince of Lanling is changing his clothes. He will unmask himself in front of everybody shortly¡­"

    Suddenly!

    An elevator surfaced from the front.

    The elevator door opened, and a slender figure walked out.

    This person was still wearing the familiar mask of the Prince of Lanling, but he had changed into a simpler costume. Judging from his physique, it seemed...

    Quite youthful?

    In the venue, in front of the screens!

    Everyone was staring at this man!

    The gaze of some was so intense it seemed like they could burn off his mask with just their eyes!

    Finally¡­

    He took off the mask.

    Gently, he removed the mask.

    Countless cameras pointed at him, bright lights, a restless crowd!

    All these circumstances.

    Made Lin Yuan feel a bit lost.

    When he first removed the mask, he instinctively covered his face, his heart rate involuntarily quickened a bit.

    He was still feeling a bit uncomfortable.

    But¡­

    It seemed like he had to reveal his face now.

    This was not only a rule of the competition but also a promise Lin Yuan had made to himself.

    His hand slowly lowered, trying to accept everything he had once resisted¡­

    "Damn it!"

    "Who is that!"

    "Really, who is that?"

    The audience was staring straight at the stage.

    The sparks in some viewers'' eyes were already about to burst! S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Everyone was hoping that hand would swiftly take off.

    Preferably within zero point zero one seconds!

    However, this process lasted four or five seconds. Lin Yuan''s face was finally revealed to everyone.

    Largely exposed to the world with nothing to hide.

    Slanting eyebrows, bright eyes, firm jawline, pursed lips¡­

    Youthful.

    Handsome.

    And, moreover,

    Unfamiliar.

    At this moment, for many the initial reaction was not to gasp or engage in discussion, but rather a nearly collective¡­

    Bewilderment!

    Was this The Masked Singer?

    Was this the champion of the first season?

    He''s really good-looking, as if he had stepped straight out of a comic, so dazzling as if the light was coming from behind him. But why don''t we recognise him at all?

    No recognition!

    Hey handsome, who are you?

    The barrage of comments went crazy, with the program cameramen focusing on his unfairly handsome face, causing a compelling impact based on aesthetics¡ª

    "He''s revealed! He''s revealed! He''s revealed!"

    "Wait!"

    "Who is he?"

    "Who the heck is he!"

    "This is definitely not the Prince of Lanling I had imagined, but¡­"

    "He''s so handsome!!!"

    "Really fucking handsome!!!"

    "Damn it, we can''t be blinded by his looks!"

    "He''s the enemy!"

    "He''s the Prince of Lanling!"

    "His mouth is vile beyond belief!"

    "He''s a handsome devil!"

    "You think just because you''re good-looking you can get away with anything!"

    "No one''s going to save him today!"

    Yes!

    The Prince of Lanling is indeed too handsome!

    So much so that his face could make almost everyone lose their senses!

    But also...

    The Prince of Lanling is a total stranger!

    Did the competition make a mistake?

    Of course, this competition would never make a mistake, nor had it ever.

    Under everyone''s intense gaze, amidst mixed feelings, amidst the confusion of the crowd-

    Sun Yaohuo suddenly roars like a madman!

    Along with his roar, came Jiang Kui''s high-decibel scream!

    Zhao Ying Ge was also infected. With tears streaming down her face, she screamed mindlessly, followed by Xia Fan yelling frantically:

    "Ah!!!"

    And on the judges'' side.

    Yang Zhongming was laughing hysterically!

    He''s been waiting for this moment for too long! He had almost blurted out the truth so many times-

    So many times, he almost couldn''t help but curse at the audience!

    Blind fools!

    But he held back every time. So now he laughs, he laughs wildly!

    Next to Yang Zhongming.

    Yin Dong is watching Yang Zhongming, dumbfounded.

    Ye Zhi Qiu also watches Yang Zhongming, shocked. They''ve never seen him like this before.

    As for Zheng Jing...

    Zheng Jing actually stood up!

    She even...

    She even delivered a fierce punch on Yang Zhongming''s arm!

    However, Yang Zhongming continued to laugh, not feeling any pain, only finding this scene fascinatingly hilarious!

    "You thought telling me earlier would kill you!?"

    Zheng Jing cursed at Yang Zhongming, then disregarded everything and rushed onto the stage. She made a beckoning gesture, her expression somewhat-

    Shocked?

    Is this Zheng Jing?

    It''s the Maestro!

    Is she giving such high regards for the Prince of Lanling?

    The even more jaw-dropping thing was, Yang Zhongming also stood up, heading straight towards host Anhong on the stage.

    Anhong was so frightened that he took two steps backwards.

    Yang Zhongming grabbed the microphone from him, turned to Lin Yuan and questioned sharply, "I''ll ask you again, are you having fun?"

    "Yes."

    Lin Yuan smiled like a child.

    For the first time, he realized that there was nothing to be afraid of the camera.

    "Who are you?"

    Yang Zhongming looked at the audience, as if he was looking at countless flustered faces on the screens. Finally, he turned to the Prince of Lanling, "You shouldn''t let me announce your name. Tell them yourself. Who! Are! You!"

    "Hello, everyone."

    Lin Yuan had thought of many ways to introduce himself, but when the words reached his mouth, he seemed to become speechless, leaving only a simple and boring sentence:

    "I''m Xian Yu."

    What surprised Lin Yuan was, after he introduced himself, the scene suddenly fell silent, like someone had muted a heavy rock song playing.

    This was an event with thousands in the audience!

    But...

    At this scene, with thousands of people, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. It was an ultimate silence, as if everyone had lost their ability to speak, only blank and stupefied faces remained...

    "Xian Yu!!"

    "Xian Yu!!!"

    Sun Yaohuo and his group suddenly broke the silence, reminding everyone with their method, you did not hear it wrong¨C

    He! Is! Xian! Yu!

    Boom! Like a nuclear fallout!

    With Yang Zhongming''s words, with the confirmation from Sun Yaohuo and his group, the entire audience stood up suddenly. As though they had rehearsed countless times beforehand, their faces transitioned from stupefaction to utter shock and hysteria!!

    And on the screen.

    Everyone''s faces were in a state of speechless shock, even questioning if their ears were playing tricks on them¨C

    Who is he?

    Is he Xian Yu?

    He is Xian Yu...

    He is Xian Yu!!!!!!!

    At this moment, in front of countless screens, after a brief deathly silence, terrifying screams were let out, just like the boiling atmosphere on-site as if the pressure was reaching a critical point¨C

    The next moment!

    The music hall!

    This centuries-old building withstood the most horrific audio wave attack in its history, it felt like the whole world was about to explode with these unified screams!

 Chapter 550 - 519: Luminescence (Additional for Silver Alliance Hierarch Huanyu)_1

    This was the most terrifying scream that the music hall had heard in hundreds of years, with some audience members nearly fainting from lack of oxygen due to screaming!

    Exaggeration!

    Shock! S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Horror!

    Countless people were waving their arms, pounding their chests, and widening their eyes to scream, almost all becoming like Sun Yaohuo. At that moment, everyone understood the madness of the fish school ¡ª

    "Xian Yu!"

    "He is Xian Yu!"

    "He turns out to be Xian Yu!"

    "Who the hell berated Prince of Lanling before, stand out now! Is the god I favored for so long someone you can insult? Choose to have a verbal spat online or a physical fight offline, I am not afraid anymore!"

    "He is Fish Papa!"

    "Did I berate Fish Papa before?"

    "I wish I could split my foul mouth, I was lead astray by nonsense online! From the moment I started learning music a few years ago, Fish Papa was my only faith!"

    "..."

    Some people laughed!

    But some cried!

    The audience was nearly out of control!

    As the host, An Hong had completely lost control of the stage. This had turned into a sea of revelry and noise. In his countless years as a host, this was the first time An Hong had encountered such a situation, but his shock was no less than that of the audience, was it?

    ...

    At Lin Yuan''s house.

    The moment Prince of Lanling took off his mask, Lin Yuan''s mom who was halfway through peeling an apple suddenly dropped it to the ground, Antarctica''s shout abruptly echoed in the room. This retired music teacher was suddenly moved to tears, "That''s my son, did you see that, child''s father? Our son is standing there, right there, he is!"

    "Brother!"

    Lin Yao also cried!

    Her tears flowed like they didn''t cost a thing!

    Lin Xuan''s face went from rigid to crazy in just a few seconds. She was both laughing and crying at the same time, "Prince of Lanling turns out to be Lin Yuan, Prince of Lanling turns out to be my brother!"

    What is a dream?

    Everyone in the Lin family knew that Lin Yuan''s dream was to sing, and no matter how much others tried to dissuade him, they could never make him give up. Just recently, he had told his family that his vocal cords were getting better, and now he was acting on his dream in this way!

    Lin Xuan remembered...

    In the first few days when Lin Yuan''s vocal cords were initially damaged, whenever no one was paying attention, he would secretly practice singing in his room. It took him a full half a year to accept the fact that his vocal cords were damaged. He sang until his voice was hoarse, sang until he was hospitalized, sang until he couldn''t say a single word.

    It was thanks to his family''s desperate pleading that he finally gave up struggling!

    And today!

    He has become a phoenix reborn from the ashes!

    Lin Xuan suddenly remembered the derogatory comments about Prince of Lanling online, she used to feel angry, but right now she only felt an endless sense of aggrievement. How dare you bully my brother? Can you handle the consequences?!!

    ...

    In the music world.

    When this unfamiliar but handsome young man composedly finished introducing himself, countless musicians boiled over, with countless shouts of astonishment erupting:

    "Xian Yu!"

    "He is Xian Yu!"

    "He is Maestro Junior!"

    "Holy cow, isn''t he a composer? He can sing, moreover he sings so well! No wonder he dares to critique unabashedly! If he didn''t wear that mask, which singer wouldn''t be standing at attention, waiting for punishment?"

    "Yuan Xi is finished!"

    "Look at Zheng Jing and Yang Zhongming''s attitudes towards Xian Yu. They all belong to the same company, they treat Lin Yuan like their company''s most proud child. Yuan Xi has offended all the Maestros!"

    "Kneel down!"

    "Let alone Yuan Xi, right now I want to kneel, too. How can Prince of Lanling be Xian Yu? How can Prince of Lanling be Maestro Junior Xian Yu? Why is a god competing with mortals!"

    ...

    All major companies.

    A particular leader almost immediately determined as soon as Xian Yu''s true identity was revealed: "Right now, you fuckwits better inform every department in the company to end all forms of collaboration with Yuan Xi!"

    "Fuck!"

    "Our company still has an endorsement from Yuan Xi, what the fuck are we supposed to do now? Yuan Xi''s fans aren''t even enough to fill the gap between Xian Yu''s supporters'' teeth, this wave is going to wipe out so many people!"

    "I don''t care!"

    "No matter how many endorsements Yuan Xi has, pull them all for me immediately. Not even a second''s delay is acceptable. If you want to continue working in this industry, don''t pick a fight with these musical juggernauts. The combined power of Xian Yu, Yang Zhongming, and Zheng Jing will tear Yuan Xi apart without even uttering a word!"

    "Other singers..."

    "Other singers haven''t yet crossed the line entirely, if they decently apologize to Xian Yu, it would be considered done, provided Xian Yu is willing to forgive them. However, even if Xian Yu wanted to, his fans wouldn''t accept Yuan Xi!"

    "Ban Yuan Xi!"

    "We owed Xian Yu a favor earlier, he gave us a month''s grace, creating space for our top singers throughout the competitive season. Now it''s time to pay him back, but truthfully, we don''t really need to do anything. Yuan Xi is doomed, not even a miracle can save her now."

    At this moment!

    Almost all companies are urgently withdrawing from collaboration with Yuan Xi. She''s become like a harbinger of doom, everyone desperately distances themselves from her!

    ...

    Backstage.

    Yuan Xi, clad in cold professionalism and waiting in the shadows to face the Prince of Lanling, was already faltering due to the overwhelming noise around her when his identity was revealed!

    She was stunned!

    She cried again!

    This time her sobs weren''t laced with feelings of injustice, anger, or defiance, but only despair and helplessness. She didn''t know what was coming her way, the figure on stage felt like a mountain, the pressure already making it hard for her to breathe!

    This time it''s really over...

    Why did he have to be Xian Yu...

    He is the founder of the Yu Dynasty, he is the fastest rising Maestro Junior in recent years, he is a legendary musician whom Yang Zhongming and Zheng Jing both treat as an equal. He has already become the ceiling in this industry!

    ...

    Xia Fan rushes to the stage!

    Sun Yaohuo rushes to the stage!

    Zhao Ying Ge rushes to the stage!

    Jiang Kui also rushes to the stage!

    They gather around Xian Yu in a tight, united circle, with Yang Zhongming and Zheng Jing standing on either side like guardian gods.

    Finally...

    Yin Dong rises.

    Ye Zhi Qiu rises.

    No longer able to sit idly by as judges in the auditorium, it would be disrespectful to a peer. From any angle, Xian Yu is on par with them!

    This is respect!

    Respect for colleagues!

    In this industry, there are only a handful of colleagues whom they respect. Xian Yu happens to be one of them. Even more awkwardly, both of them have previously lost to Xian Yu in the Battle of the Gods rivalry.

    Especially Yin Dong!

    He lost twice!

    Including that time at the end of last year!

    This stage does not only belong to the four veteran maestros, there are five, even though he wasn''t crowned the title of maestro, in a sense, he shines brighter than anyone else...

    He is truly shining!

    A shine that cannot be dimmed by the crowd!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Thank you to the great Huan Yu for the third silver, keep writing!!!

 Chapter 551 - 551: 520

    No matter how many seasons of "The Masked Singer" continued after, people would never forget the stunning moment when Maestro Junior Xian Yu first revealed his face.

    It was as if the eyes of the entire world were locked onto that youthful figure!

    Scrolling on!

    The program crew frantically captured everyone''s reactions with their cameras.

    But almost everyone was stunned, with no two reactions being quite the same!

    The sprite was stunned!

    The white swan was stunned!

    The robot was stunned!

    The kings and queens of singing were all stunned!

    "We were actually competing against Xian Yu ¡­"

    "Xian Yu beat us using his identity as a singer, shouldn''t he be sitting on the judge''s seat ..."

    "And he''s so young ... About the same age as my son ..."

    "No wonder Xian Yu always writes songs for the Prince of Lanling, so he is the authentic Envious Fish ..."

    "A judge-level figure is competing with us?"

    "....."

    Among the kings and queens of singing.

    Fei Yang seemed to have lost his ability to think, just gazing blankly at Xian Yu.

    This was the person who had put him in the perennial runner-up seat.

    This was the person who made him always lose to "Fish".

    He once said he didn''t want to be critiqued by Xian Yu on this program.

    But in fact, Xian Yu had already critiqued him, he just didn''t know it ¡­

    So it turns out this round of being runner-up was arranged by Xian Yu.

    And it was as a singer that he once again proved his superiority, in the most convincing manner!

    He couldn''t help but laugh bitterly.

    If there really is a Yu Dynasty, then at this moment the audience would have become the subjects of this dynasty.

    But some changes are actually developing from the details.

    Don''t forget the story behind the program.

    Just before the Prince of Lanling was about to reveal his face, many dissatisfied people had already formed a massive troop.

    However.

    This was clearly not a well-ordered army.

    Because their charges had already scattered before they began.

    The event occurred in an instant, at the moment when Xian Yu revealed his identity¡ª

    A complete silence fell over the multitude of critics!

    A terrifying barrage of comments that was enough to trigger some people''s agoraphobia!

    At that moment, the ton of "Fish Papa" labels could scare all other singer''s fans to pale!

    "Retreat!"

    "Retreat quickly!"

    Fans of singers who had been attacked by Xian Yu were suddenly urgently messaging all group members.

    Even the most aggressive keyboard warriors could only smash their keyboards into pieces at this time; a sea of fire lay ahead.

    "Fuck it!"

    "We must all kneel!"

    "Why is it him!"

    "I actually followed you idiots and insulted Fish Papa, shit shit shit shit shit, what the hell is Mu Shi, I am a die-hard fan of Fish Papa, I don''t want to stay in this shitty group!"

    A singers'' fan group.

    A large-scale heat of exit.

    The atmosphere was abnormal at this moment in Yuan Xi''s fan group.

    Even the administrators who had previously been the most active, organizing attacks on blogs and forums of various tribes, were stunned.

    What did this mean ...

    The inner core of the administrators knew it well.

    The rebellion of Yuan Xi''s fans, actually had more or less the tacit instigation of Yuan Xi himself. Including Yuan Xi''s manager who had appeared in the group more than once, otherwise, Yuan Xi''s fans wouldn''t be so heated.

    The reason was simple.

    Yuan Xi wanted to use the Prince of Lanling to hype up his popularity.

    The Prince of Lanling attracted too many people during the competition. If Yuan Xi were to defeat him, it could terrifyingly increase his popularity.

    This was quite normal.

    Many stars liked to play this hype-up strategy, the Prince of Lanling just gave away the ladder, and Yuan Xi was only to climb up along the pole.

    But with things having progressed to this point, the backlash was also most frightening!

    Just because he is Xian Yu ...

    So Yuan Xi was doomed to fail.

    The group was still exploding, already a boiling mess.

    "Boss, are we still going to charge, charge Xian Yu''s tribe or Xian Yu''s blog, Xian Yu doesn''t seem to be on the blog, he usually plays more in tribes, I suggest we just push over."

    "Push your sister!"

    "Are you nuts!"

    "Don''t you know who Xian Yu is?"

    "I feel so sorry for Fish Papa."

    "Although I also like Yuan Xi a lot, I have many idols, but there can only be one god, sorry you guys play, I''ll go and apologize to Fish Papa, also, I am now anti-Yuan Xi!"

    "..."

    Here too, there''s a mass exodus from the group.

    Yuan Xi''s die-hard fans, his staunch supporters, at this moment dare not let out a peep.

    It''s as if a pack of wolves has turned into a bunch of huskies, sticking out their little tongues in innocence, their eyes portraying as much innocence as possible.

    We have no intention of disrupting Fish Papa!

    You guys misunderstood!

    ...

    The online world is going entirely crazy!

    People are laughing!

    Why is it that these fans of the singers aren''t making a peep?

    What happened to the promised army of thousands, to the vaunted prehistoric monsters?

    Did all the horses die?!

    Did the monster''s teeth all shatter?!

    Didn''t you guys say that Prince of Lanling, this champion isn''t up to mark?

    Didn''t you guys claim that Prince of Lanling only topped because of Envious Fish''s songs?

    My apologies.

    Prince of Lanling is Envious Fish!

    All the songs he''s singing are his own!

    Correct.

    When the fans of Yuan Xi and other singers prepared to attack Envious Fish, they were shocked when Envious Fish''s real identity was revealed, resulting in the collective retreat.

    It made a lot of people''s scalp tingle!

    The trend has already been set!

    The public refreshed real-time topics at a much faster pace than one could imagine:

    #Prince_of_Lanling_is_Envious_Fish#

    #Envious_Fish_Unveiled#

    #Prince_of_Lanling_Unmasked#

    #Envious_Fish_Revealed#

    Blogs followed suit quickly, almost without any changes, as if the two sides were copying each other''s hot topics.

    .....

    Meanwhile.

    Qin Arts alumni group exploded!

    "Did you see The Masked Singer? Envious Fish is from our school!"

    "OMG, I know him, the music department''s hunk, my senior is Authentic Envious Fish!"

    "Please, he''s the campus hunk, just low profile, so many people don''t know there''s this handsome guy in the music department, it was because of a friend that I found out about him!"

    "Oh my, it''s our music department senior!"

    "I''ve seen him too! I love you, senior, crazy in love!"

    "How did I not notice this hunk in our school before, if I had known he was Envious Fish, I would have served him food and drinks every day!"

    .....

    The same reaction is happening in Lin Yuan''s class group.

    The group is abuzz--

    "Lin Yuan is Envious Fish!!"

    "I saw him unmask, I thought I was mistaken!"

    "My God!"

    "I can''t believe I only found out when I was a senior!"

    "Lin Yuan is really low key!"

    "Call him Fish Papa!"

    "No wonder Ye Han saw Lin Yuan at Starlight that day!"

    "Because Lin Yuan is Envious Fish, of course, he was at Starlight!"

    "Never would have imagined, I was actually classmates with Envious Fish, we even lived in the same dorm!"

    "I was even his deskmate!"

    "Next time I see him I need an autograph aaaaah!"

    "....."

    The group is all @Lin Yuan.

    There are also quite a few @Ye Han.

    Ye Han finally appears: "Let me breathe, this is too shocking, I need some time to process....."

    Yes.

    Let''s take it slow.

    Didn''t I just invite Fish Papa out for dinner recently?

    Even though I was rejected.....

    What''s this?

    There''s a hidden gem right beside me?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to the Alliance Hierarch reward from [Drifteri], his previous ID had a ''smoke'' in it, an old friend who I''ve maintained a good relationship with since the "Godfather of Entertainment" era, we would always keep in touch to chat when we had the time, and he''s held more than one Alliance Hierarch position in every one of my books, thank you for accompanying me on this journey, the extra chapters are dedicated to you.

    There might not be any more later, depends on the situation, you guys should go to bed early, goodnight, don''t take lessons on time management from Polluted White! sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 552 - 521: Concluding (Another Added for the Alliance Hierarchs Smile) _1

    A great master was beside me all along!

    This wasn''t just the thought of Qin Art and Lin Yuan''s classmates!

    Inside the Shadow Studio.

    Luo Wei and the studio''s assistants, being loyal viewers of the show, of course didn''t miss the revelation of Prince of Lanling.

    Then they were stunned!

    "Isn''t this Teacher Shadow?"

    "Teacher Shadow is Admirable Fish?"

    "My goodness!"

    "Shadow Chu Kuang Admirable Fish, isn''t actually three people, but two!"

    "..."

    Teacher Shadow doesn''t only draw!

    But also composes music!

    And he can sing!

    What does this signify?

    They were speechless!

    In fact, the most shocked was the Shadow Studio, because other people only saw that the Prince of Lanling was Admirable Fish, but they knew more facts and truths:

    Prince of Lanling isn''t merely Maestro Junior Admirable Fish!

    But also the peak artistic talent, Teacher Shadow!

    This identity!

    Is still unknown to the outside world!

    Luo Wei subconsciously looked at Jin Mu on the couch, who had a mysterious smile on his face and yelled, "Uncle Jin, you knew all along!"

    "Yes, I''ve known for a long time."

    Jin Mu knew it was his turn to step in: "But Teacher Shadow''s identity still needs to be kept secret, I have added a temporary confidentiality contract for everyone. Please sign it later. Of course, there are benefits. From now on everyone''s monthly salary will increase by 2,000 yuan. This is the benefit I fought for you."

    "Long live Uncle Jin!"

    Everyone immediately got excited.

    The fact that the Prince of Lanling is Admirable Fish and also Shadow is just a piece of gossip for the people in the studio, it''s a long way from their real lives. But this secrecy benefit is very real!

    "I would sign without getting extra cash!"

    One of the assistants declared with excitement, "I''m a die-hard fan of teacher Admirable Fish, I downloaded all of his songs in my playlist, I''m willing to keep Teacher Shadow''s secret, I''m willing to work for Teacher Shadow..."

    The rest glared at the assistant.

    The assistant sheepishly closed his mouth.

    Seeing this, Jin Mu couldn''t close his mouth due to laughter, it seemed that keeping a secret wouldn''t be difficult.

    Luo Wei on the side took a deep breath, trying to calm her astonished feelings.

    She suddenly remembered, Teacher Shadow once said that although she was his student, she is not his elder sister.

    Now it seems that this might be because Teacher Admirable Fish has some student''s rights?

    Speaking of painting, she should still be the elder sister!

    She suddenly began giggling.

    This master of hers, he''s simply horrifying!

    After laughing for a bit, Luo Wei''s gaze shifted towards the TV screen in the studio.

    At this moment.

    The live broadcast hadn''t ended yet.

    With the unveiling of Admirable Fish, the venue had been boiling for a long time.

    And the crew didn''t purposely control the atmosphere.

    Even the director of the program, Tong Shuwen, who was behind the scene was grinning from ear to ear.

    Finally unveiled!

    Not only was everyone else anticipating this moment!

    Tong Shuwen, who knew the true identity of the Prince of Lanling, had been waiting for this moment countless times!

    He had been holding it in for several months and finally didn''t have to hold it any longer!

    It was so hard!

    And next to him.

    The deputy director and other crew members were already stunned!

    All these looks gave Tong Shuwen an indescribable sense of joy.

    So satisfying!

    It was only when everyone''s emotions had calmed down a bit, host Anhong walked onto the stage again.

    At this moment.

    Sun Yaohuo and the others had already returned to their seats.

    The stage only had Anhong and Lin Yuan.

    ...

    The venue got quiet.

    Everyone at the moment was looking forward to what Teacher Admirable Fish would say next!

    The host Anhong naturally understood the audience''s anticipation!

    He forced a smile, "Teacher Admirable Fish, it''s actually you. How did you come up with the idea of participating as a singer, the program originally invited you to be a judge..."

    Lin Yuan replied, "I have always been a singer."

    He didn''t feign modesty, yet he wasn''t deliberately cold, he was just in his usual state.

    The feeling of unease brought on by the camera had completely disappeared without him noticing.

    He could now comfortably be himself.

    "By saying you have always been a singer, you mean..."

    "When I first signed with Starlight, I was preparing to debut as a singer, but due to health issues..."

    Lin Yuan hesitated for a moment, not disclosing the specifics of his sickness, but he didn''t realize his hesitation left enough space for the audience''s imagination and exploration.

    He continued:

    "The deterioration of my health led to problems with my voice, the doctor said I would never be able to sing again, so I became a composer, and transferred to the composition department in my second year of university."

    Pfft!

    Everyone was stunned!

    Admirable Fish became a composer just because he couldn''t sing anymore. He had never planned to study composition-

    Is he some sort of deity?!

    A novice composer like you became the little Maestro in the world of composition?!

    Is this genius?

    No, this is wicked genius!

    Host Anhong was also taken aback, he muttered, "So your switch to composing was just out of necessity, but you achieved such great success, now..."

    "My health is recovering, so my voice is back."

    Lin Yuan didn''t explain too much, he just briefly mention why he joined the competition, "I just happened to catch this talent show, and I wanted to fulfill my dream of being a singer."

    "So..."

    Host Anhong said with emotion, "There was never any Admirable Fish writing songs for Prince of Lanling, all the songs you sang in the show...you composed them yourself!"

    "No."

    Lin Yuan had to acknowledge that the songs provided by the system were his own creation, but he had to single out one song: "I also sang Teacher Yang Zhongming''s ''Leaving'' to pay tribute to him. He''s like a teacher to me..."

    The camera focused on Yang Zhongming''s face.

    Yang Zhongming smiled at Lin Yuan, his eyes were unusually gentle, especially when he heard Lin Yuan saying he considered him as his teacher, the corners of his mouth curved upward, barely concealing his smile.

    What a kid.

    Despite the fact that he had never taught him anything...

    In front of the screen.

    The barrage of comments kept at a high pace:

    "I can handle this!!"

    "What''s with the way Father Yang looks at Admirable Fish? It''s doting, it''s full of love!"

    "I finally understand why Teacher Yang Zhongming always seemed to be defending Admirable Fish in the show. He must have recognized Teacher Admirable Fish long ago!"

    "Is this the legendary Father-Son Protection Pact?"

    "I''m drunk with that look!"

    "Expert Auntie Smile Detected."

    "...."

    The live audience also broke into Auntie Smiles.

    Yang Zhongming''s look at Lin Yuan was too affectionate!

    Host Anhong looked at Teacher Yang Zhongming: "It seems that Teacher Yang Zhongming knew about it all along..."

    "No." S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Yang Zhongming thought about it and said, "The first time, I felt a strange familiarity from him, but I didn''t think much about it until the second time when he started playing the piano. That''s when I suspected, because I know how good Admirable Fish is at the piano.

    After the third performance, I immediately went back to the company and pulled out the audition tape from when Admirable Fish first joined the company. His voice was identical to one of the voices of Prince of Lanling, and that''s when I confirmed it."

    Lin Yuan: "...."

    So, they had pulled out the video of my initial audition at the company. With Yang Zhongming''s keen ears for voices, he indeed could confirm my identity.

    "You kept me in the dark about this!"

    Zheng Jing on the side was unhappy. Then she sighed with a reluctant smile, "Admirable Fish is our golden boy at Starlight. I may not spend much time with him, but he has a charm that makes you fall in love at first sight."

    Host Anhong chuckled, "Because he''s handsome."

    Zheng Jing laughed, and the audience both on and off the screen also laughed along.

    "The award presentation is supposed to be done by our host, but how about we let Teacher Yang Zhongming present the award?"

    Host Anhong knows how to build the atmosphere.

    The arena immediately erupted in cheers:

    "Yang Zhongming!"

    Of course, Yang Zhongming wouldn''t refuse.

    Amidst the music, he presented the trophy for the first season of ''The Masked Singer'' to Lin Yuan.

    The background music was the song ''Laughing in the Vast Sea'', which Lin Yuan sung in the third round of the competition.

    The first time they heard the song, nobody knew the identity of Prince of Lanling.

    Now, when they hear the song again, everyone had a different feel for it.

    In fact.

    Revisiting all of Prince of Lanling''s performances on this stage and combining it with Admirable Fish''s basic introduction of himself gave everyone a subtle feeling. Many have decided to go back and watch every round of Prince of Lanling''s performances.

    "Zheng Jing."

    Yang Zhongming looked at Zheng Jing, her eyes seemed pretty jealous, so he invited:

    "Want to sing together?"

    Everyone knew this song by now.

    Without any hesitation, Zheng Jing dashed up to the stage, then suddenly turned around and dragged Yin Dong and Ye Zhi Qiu up as well.

    And thus.

    The scene turned into a grand chorus by Lin Yuan, Yang Zhongming, Zheng Jing, Yin Dong and Ye Zhi Qiu, all iconic figures in the music industry.

    "Laughter over the vast sea

    Waves crashing on either shore

    Remember this moment with the ebb and flow

    Under a smiling sky, the world is but a show

    Who will lose, who will win, the heavens know¡­"

    The first season of ''The Masked Singer'' came to end amidst the chorus of ''Laughing in the Vast Sea'' by Lin Yuan and the four Maestros.

    By the end of the song.

    Everyone was laughing heartily, joyously.

    At this moment.

    At Starlight Entertainment.

    The same song rang out, everyone in the company, including the high-level executives, was watching the show and witnessed Admirable Fish''s unmasking¡­.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to Alliance Hierarch for the reward, extra update is up, also thanks to [Kodori], [Tongyi doesn''t agree], [Illusion82128], [It''s my dream lover], [Forest Spirit], [Fire Dance Phoenix] for your generous contributions. I didn''t expect to gain so many Alliance Hierarchs during this plot, my gratitude, will continue updating!

 Chapter 553 - 553: 522

    Starlight Entertainment.

    The meeting room was very silent.

    Everyone was staring at the big screen.

    The faces of the company''s top executives were full of suppressed excitement.

    Even those who are usually able to hide their emotions couldn''t stay calm when Admirable Fish unveiled himself.

    Even Li Songhua, the chairman, couldn''t hide his unrest at this moment!

    Prince of Lanling, Admirable Fish!

    Who would have guessed!

    This little Maestro, behind the company''s back, had created such big news!

    He finally revealed his face!

    In the most shocking way!

    At this moment.

    A senior executive said with a trembling voice: "Admirable Fish''s value is now immeasurable. The revealing of his identity has caused the company''s stock to skyrocket. It''s like we''re in a frenzy of stock price increases..."

    Thunderous.

    The silence was broken.

    A high-level executive coughed: "Isn''t Admirable Fish''s office a little small?"

    "Indeed."

    "We need to improve Admirable Fish''s treatment."

    "From now on, whatever Admirable Fish requests, don''t even bother reporting it, just satisfy him straight away."

    "Let him do whatever he likes."

    "As long as he doesn''t break the company, let him do whatever he wants. He''s just a kid."

    "Don''t we have to indulge a child however he behaves?"

    "But now, other entertainment companies must be green with envy. We must do something about it..."

    "Our Starlight Crown Prince, is not for outsiders to meddle."

    "..."

    The phrase ''Starlight Crown Prince'' is often used in a teasing manner by the company''s employees, but never uttered by the execs.

    This was the first time.

    But everyone, in this very moment, nodded in agreement.

    Indeed!

    He is our company''s Crown Prince!

    Ours!

    Starlight''s!

    Anyone looking to meddle, break their fingers!

    No one would dare to underestimate the determination of the Starlight execs at this moment.

    For Admirable Fish, they would wage a war against any company!

    "I am considering inviting Admirable Fish to hold some shares in the company. We can discuss the specific shareholding ratio later."

    Li Songhua''s words, spoken while tapping his fingers on the table, suddenly silenced the conference room again.

    "I agree, let''s hold another meeting to discuss that later."

    Finally, a senior executive with real power nodded seriously, his gaze fixated on the grand conclusion celebration image on the program.

    There on the stage, Admirable Fish was shining brightly.

    "I have no objections."

    "Agreed."

    "Let''s do it."

    The other executives nodded in agreement after a slight pause, acknowledging Admirable Fish''s worth.

    "Oh right..."

    "What about Yuan Xi..."

    A high-level executive angrily interrupted: "Not just Yuan Xi."

    Someone couldn''t hold back anymore and wanted to take action.

    Didn''t know Prince of Lanling was Admirable Fish, you can slander him freely.

    But after knowing Prince of Lanling is Admirable Fish, taking everything into consideration, Starlight is furious!

    "No need."

    Li Songhua spoke again: "You''ve all been paying attention to Admirable Fish, you should know his character, these fans who are ignorant are not at fault, they will know what to do next. As for Yuan Xi..."

    Li Songhua paused, and said with a complicated tone: "Is there really a need for us to take action?"

    Everyone was taken aback for a moment and then laughed.

    Admirable Fish''s influence has risen to another level with the stage of The Masked Singer, there''s no need for Starlight to punish anyone under these circumstances.

    Li Songhua said nothing.

    In fact, given Admirable Fish''s personality, he probably wouldn''t hold a grudge against Yuan Xi, he may even forget about it.

    Li Songhua has privately concluded this from studying Admirable Fish''s character countless times.

    The truth is, this matter has nothing to do with Admirable Fish anymore.

    Some insiders decided to stir up some trouble on their own.

    That''s the entertainment industry for you.

    How big a mistake did Yuan Xi make?

    It was nothing more than tacitly allowing, or even inciting fans, while secretly using small means not making it to the table, in order to climb on top of Prince of Lanling.

    This is a common "backstabbing" behavior in the entertainment industry.

    Many celebrities have done similar things, what''s a little backstabbing?

    There have even been cases where the other party was slandered until their career was ruined, and they could no longer show their face in public.

    Starlight doesn''t take action, in order to protect Admirable Fish, and not to leave the impression in the industry that Admirable Fish is too domineering.

    But Starlight is not an old good person who returns gratitude with resentment.

    The precondition to this matter is that someone will take action for Admirable Fish, for Starlight.

    While Li Songhua has been able to steadily control Blue Star, a top music company for many years, secretly his teeth have been poisoned.

    ...

    The show had already come to an end.

    The audience left the stage, reluctant to part.

    Lin Yuan went backstage, and on seeing Tongtong gazing at him absentmindedly, he couldn''t help but laugh:

    "Thank you."

    Tongtong had been defending the Prince of Lanling during the competition. Lin Yuan was vaguely aware of that.

    "You are..."

    Suddenly, Tongtong pulled out a small notebook. "Can you give me your autograph?"

    "Sure."

    Lin Yuan penned his name for her in standard script - two graceful characters spelling out "Admirable Fish."

    "Thank you!"

    Tongtong was overjoyed.

    Knowing the real identity of the Prince of Lanling, Tongtong was profoundly shocked!

    Now it all made sense.

    She completely understood!

    Why the Prince of Lanling dared to critique other singers without hesitation, why the Prince of Lanling never cared about the uproar from the fans...

    Because he was Admirable Fish!

    Whatever he said was golden words of wisdom. If he wanted, he could sit in the judges'' seat.

    Around the corner...

    Sun Yaohuo and Xia Fan, among others, emerged out of nowhere, excitedly calling:

    "Junior Brother!"

    "Lin Yuan!"

    "Teacher Admirable Fish!"

    All sorts of things were being shouted.

    Lin Yuan looked at the singers he was most familiar with, chuckled and said: "We''ve embraced enough already. Go and have some well-deserved rest. I will get in touch with all of you later."

    "Okay!"

    People like Sun Yaohuo instantly nodded.

    Zhao Ying Ge''s eyes widened, feeling faint from the sudden onslaught of happiness...

    "Them!"

    Not "you"!

    "You all," including herself!

    Alright then.

    Zhao Ying Ge was aware of it.

    She knew, in terms of closeness, her relationship with Admirable Fish didn''t match that of Sun Yaohuo and others. But this competition made her stand out in Admirable Fish''s eyes!

    What competition...

    What top twelve...

    None of these could compare to the last sentence from Admirable Fish!

    From now on, she was truly going to belong to the Fish family!

    "Not bad."

    Xia Fan stepped forward and patted Lin Yuan''s arm.

    As childhood friends, she knew much more than others did, like the matter of Lin Yuan''s damaged vocal cords and his poor health since he was little...

    Now that Admirable Fish''s voice had recovered, she was too happy for words!

    "By the way."

    Xia Fan suddenly said,"Jian Yi was cursing at you in the group chat just now."

    "Cursing me for what?"

    "For being an emotionless liar."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    He glanced at his phone''s group chat. Sure enough, Jian Yi was raving mad in there.

    "And also..."

    Xia Fan said with a strange expression on her face, "A few singers just apologized to you online, and some are here right now, wanting to come over and apologize to you in person..."

    Lin Yuan was taken aback.

    Only then did he see not far away, singers like Elf and Mu Shi were standing in a line, looking eagerly at him, like a bunch of guilty school children.

    Lin Yuan could only helplessly walk over to comfort them.

    He didn''t think the issue was severe enough to warrant an apology.

    Seeing Lin Yuan''s reaction, Xia Fan knew:

    Her friend still didn''t fully grasp what the two characters "Admirable Fish" meant for the music scene of today.

    Especially...

    After this unmasking.

    A little while later, the White Swan Robot and some others also came backstage to find Lin Yuan, with one goal:

    To add him as a friend!

    Of course, Lin Yuan also satisfied this group of people.

    Once backstage business was done, he finally managed to extricate himself.

    "Finally, it''s over." S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Sitting in Gu Dong''s car on his way home, Lin Yuan finally let out a sigh of relief, commenting how navigating the suddenly transforming social interactions backstage due to the unmasking was even more exhausting than a singing duel.

    Is it over?

    It might not be

    Lil Goodoong chuckled secretly. This competition had dealt tons of hard blows to countless people.

    Once again, the same statement-

    Lin Yuan somewhat underestimated the impact of "Admirable Fish".

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to the Alliance Hierarch from Daoist Monk for the tips. Here is another fresh and hot chapter. Also, thanks to Feather for the tips that are more effective than cultivated by Polluted White. Every morning, when Polluted White is about to go to sleep, he can see the silhouette of Feather about to ascend, ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ.

 Chapter 554 - 523: The Extraordinary Road_1

    Online.

    The discussion about the Prince of Lanling being Xian Yu didn''t stop with the end of the show.

    On the contrary, it intensified.

    Especially...

    As those singers previously criticized by the Prince of Lanling began to publicly apologize on various platforms one after another:

    "I accept Teacher Admirable Fish''s criticism, @AdmirableFish, I''ve learned a lot!"

    "@Teacher Admirable Fish''s critique has given me the motivation to move forward!"

    "Thank you, Teacher Admirable Fish, your review made me realize my deficiencies @AdmirableFish."

    "@AdmirableFish thanks for guiding my path!"

    "No more talking, I am going to practice breathing techniques @AdmirableFish, (cheer up) (work hard)"

    "@AdmirableFish, I feel guilty about my fans attacking Teacher Admirable Fish. I will control myself strictly in the future, give my fans a good lead, and humbly accept Teacher Admirable Fish''s criticism (love)"

    "..."

    Whoosh!

    Everyone apologized!

    Even some singers who had apologized to Lin Yuan backstage after the show now remembered to self-criticize publicly again.

    Netizens are overjoyed!

    Wow!

    So many people at once...

    No, no.

    So many first-line singers, even King and Queen level singers are apologizing at the same time?

    How spectacular!

    All these people are big shots ah!

    Any one of them is a big star!

    Maybe just this once, the closely followed entertainment circle will never see the same scene again in the future!

    Because no big name in the music industry would be foolish enough to offend Maestro¡ª

    Unless that Maestro wears a mask!

    But who else beside the freakish Xian Yu, can sing and compose like he does?

    On a forum.

    Amusing netizen posts like: "Let me translate all the apologies from these big shots: Daddy Admirable Fish, I was wrong. Please, Daddy, spare me. It was all the fans'' fault, I''ll go back and discipline them!"

    Countless people laughed out loud.

    It really was a shocking turn of events!

    The tongue-lashing from the Prince of Lanling, at this moment, actually became a guidance.

    Although some of the jesting was meant as a joke, it indeed effectively dispelled any hostility.

    Even if Xian Yu is Maestro, he wouldn''t actually make enemies with everyone, and everyone didn''t relentlessly criticize these singers.

    Moreover, they didn''t really say anything wrong.

    Even Xian Yu didn''t mention this kind of thing on stage or offline.

    Compared to that.

    What everyone discussed the most were the songs sung by Xian Yu.

    "I just listened to again, and damn, it''s solid gold. That scene where Fish Papa, wearing the demonic mask of the Prince of Lanling, was incredibly handsome!"

    "I listened to again, didn''t feel much at the time, but now I think it''s good."

    "Hahahaha, so true. Because Xian Yu sung it, you felt that you were capable too?" S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Stop talking nonsense, this song is great, even eating while listening to this song feels truly fragrant."

    "For the , indeed only someone like Xian Yu could sing it out!"

    "Hearty Laughter in the Sea, huh, Xian Yu''s state of mind is almost unfathomable now!"

    "..."

    Furthermore.

    Some of the things said on the show by Xian Yu were also being discussed over and over:

    "Teacher Fish said he had to become Maestro due to his throat issues..."

    "When I heard this, my face was like: (¡Ño¡Ñ)!!!"

    "I can also translate this sentence for everyone: Didn''t have a choice, can''t be King of Singing, can only be Maestro."

    "Xian Yu: Ah, I really didn''t want to be Maestro!"

    "Xian Yu: Eh, I can''t sing anymore, might as well causally be Maestro."

    "Being coerced into becoming Maestro, seriously?"

    "..."

    Of course.

    Xian Yu''s disclosure about his past health issues also became a focal point of interest for many people.

    Everyone could sense Xian Yu''s reluctance to express himself.

    So, someone went digging for Xian Yu''s story.

    As a result...

    Some of Xian Yu''s past was indeed dug up by a zealous netizen!

    In the live broadcast of a TV station.

    A doctor suddenly accepted an interview:

    "I''m a viewer of ''The Masked Singer''. Like everyone else, I was stunned when the Prince of Lanling unmasked himself. My shock not only came from discovering he was Xian Yu, but also because he was once my patient, and at that time, he had been diagnosed with a terminal illness¡ª"

    "Indeed, it was a terminal condition!"

    "I''m not kidding, nor do I intend to reveal Xian Yu''s privacy. I contacted Xian Yu and got his agreement before daring to tell this story. I remember him so clearly because I felt regretful for his condition. That boy had a good nature and was liked by everyone. He even secretly told a nurse that his dream was to become a singer. But such a child, at such a young age, already..."

    The doctor shook his head.

    This doctor did indeed get in touch with Lin Yuan.

    To be accurate, he contacted Lin Yuan''s mother.

    Only after his mother sought Lin Yuan''s opinion and confirmed there was nothing to hide, did she tell the doctor he could share the story.

    So, the doctor accepted the interview.

    "All of us doctors were helpless about his condition; everyone thought he wouldn''t live past twenty-five. During an attack caused by his condition, he even lost his voice. Before that, he loved singing so much, always singing for patients in the hospital ward..."

    The doctor sighed.

    Then, he smiled in relief:

    "But miracles do happen in medicine. For some unknown reason, he magically recovered¡ªeach year, there are always some patients who create miracles¡ªhe survived, and it seems his voice recovered too. He achieved tremendous success. On behalf of all the staff of Cloud City Hospital, we wish him eternal health¡ª"

    Well then.

    He took the chance to advertise at the end.

    After the doctor, some of Lin Yuan''s middle school, high school, and university classmates were interviewed by the journalists.

    As a result.

    All the interviews, directly or indirectly, confirmed the truth of the matter!

    For a moment!

    The whole internet was stunned!

    Nobody expected that Xian Yu''s reluctance to tell his story hid such a desperate tale!

    It turned out...

    The dazzling Xian Yu, who had enchanted countless people, had once faced such adversities in life. His experiences alongside his achievements simply make for a legend!

    No exaggeration!

    Very legendary!

    At this moment, a lot of people suddenly thought of "The Ordinary Road" that Xian Yu sang during the finals. The beautiful and moving melody seemed to echo once again in everyone''s ears:

    "...

    If you are wandering on the road,

    will you choose to go on?

    Treasuring your fragile pride, that was once my demeanor too.

    Keep on moving forward, keep walking on.

    No matter what is taken from you.

    I destroyed everything I once had, wanting to leave forever.

    I once fell into endless darkness, struggling but unable to extricate myself.

    I asked the whole world, but never received an answer.

    I was once like you, like him, like those wild flowers and grass, despaired yet yearned, crying and laughing ordinarily...

    The road the wind has blown open still stretches far off.

    Where has your story reached?

    ..."

    Some people started crying.

    That song didn''t intend to be sentimental.

    At first listening, everyone just found it pleasing to the ear, and a bit carefree, treating it just like any other song, not something that could move them to tears.

    But now.

    Knowing some of Xian Yu''s experiences and then looking at the lyrics of this song, everyone seemed to suddenly touch on a certain period of Xian Yu''s state of mind, almost reaching tear point.

    So, the lyrics were about his own life.

    Nobody had thought about it before.

    The so-called "Ordinary Road" was in fact the road Xian Yu truly travelled.

    That road...

    Was not ordinary at all.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to [A deep drink in the willows at Long Pavilion] and [Dream Filled with Moonlight] for tipping the Alliance Hierarch, ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, the more we owe, the more we get...

 Chapter 555 - 524: The Correct Way to Open_1

    This deeply moving emotion lingered in everyone''s hearts, refusing to fade.

    Fans of Xian Yu couldn''t resist tearing up in the face of such sentimentality.

    Then, someone mentioned "Life Like A Summer Flower."

    It logically followed.

    "If I''m not mistaken, ''Life Like A Summer Flower'' might be a reflection of Xian Yu''s feelings at some point."

    "Fits perfectly."

    "The refrain of that song goes: ''I am this dazzling moment, the fleeting flame across the sky, I would risk everything for you to see me, I will extinguish and never return... Back then, very few people would have associated death with this song."

    Ephemeral as a startled wild goose!

    Radiant like a summer flower!

    The meaning expressed by this song is somewhat similar to ''The Ordinary Road'', yet distinctly different.

    The difference lies in that ''Life Like A Summer Flower'' is about loss of hope, wanting only to shine brightly one more time.

    Whereas ''The Ordinary Road'' is much more broad-minded.

    The phrase "I used to be" in the refrain is ''Life Like A Summer Flower''.

    But now it''s just "used to be."

    The last line ''Where is your story at'' conveys more of a hopeful future.

    Because he is still on this journey.

    He is still creating and delivering new songs to his fans.

    At this moment. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Many people felt relieved.

    Thankfully, Xian Yu has recovered.

    Thankfully, he can still compose creation.

    Thankfully, he has realized his dream of singing.

    For a while.

    Many people felt deeply moved.

    These interviews, these discussions, swept across the internet in a short span of time.

    More and more people learned about Xian Yu''s fragile and desperate past overshadowed by the halo of the Maestro.

    "Unimaginable."

    "The lyrics subtly reveal a tendency¡ªXian Yu once contemplated ending his own life."

    "Thank heavens he didn''t give up."

    "I believe the heavens still took care of him, the chance of recovery from a terminal illness is slim."

    "Enough chit-chat, I''m going to download these two songs."

    "So this is how to truly appreciate ''Life Like A Summer Flower''."

    "So...this is how to understand ''The Ordinary Road''."

    "Now I completely understand why Xian Yu chose to sing ''The Ordinary Road'' at the finals, because only this song can express his current feelings and insights."

    "..."

    If it''s about competitive performance sheathed in the ambiance of that time, ''Exaggerated'' should be the song with the strongest competitive potential and easiest way to captivate the audience on The Masked Singer''s stage!

    So when Xian Yu decided to compete with another song against Overlord, many people didn''t understand.

    Even after hearing ''The Ordinary Road'', they still didn''t get it.

    The song is fantastic.

    But it isn''t as explosive as ''Exaggerated''!

    It was only after learning about Xian Yu''s past and all that he had gone through that they truly understood the significance of ''The Ordinary Road''.

    "Perhaps Xian Yu is not as concerned about winning or losing the competition."

    "This competition was a dream come true for him. The final title of ''King of Singing'' is the best reward he could have received. His dream has blossomed. He is the most deserving contestant."

    "Please be a judge in the next season!"

    "Let''s not talk about the next season anymore. The first season with Xian Yu participating as the Prince of Lanling has already set an unparalleled standard, which can be seen as both good and bad news for the production team."

    Indeed.

    The first season has become a classic, despite it just recently concluding.

    Many people could never forget the moment when Xian Yu won, and the scene of the five Maestros singing ''A Laugh Over The Vast Sea''.

    ...

    Of course, Lin Yuan saw the comments online.

    When he chose to unmask himself and face the camera, whether his past got exposed or not didn''t matter anymore.

    This time.

    Many people still interpreted his song.

    But unlike before, about eighty percent of the interpretations hit the mark this time.

    At least in terms of his emotional journey in choosing ''The Ordinary Road'', it pretty much matched what everyone had imagined. Lin Yuan had a reason to sing this song during the finals.

    At this moment.

    Gu Dong''s car stopped at Lin Yuan''s house.

    Home at last.

    After unmasking himself, Lin Yuan chose to go home instead of returning to the company.

    Because he knew his family must be waiting for him at this moment.

    Lin Yuan got out of the car and bid goodbye to Lil Goodoong.

    Turning around, he saw Antarctica running excitedly towards him from a distance, panting.

    Behind Antarctica.

    Mom, sister, little sister, all standing at the door looking at him.

    He smiled, rubbed the dog''s head, and then said,

    "Let''s go in and talk."

    "When did your voice recover, brother?"

    Behind Lin Yuan, Lin Yao asked curiously.

    Lin Yuan thought for a moment and said, "That day when you ate one less piece of broccoli than I did."

    Lin Xuan: "..."

    Mom: "..."

    Lin Yao suddenly realized, "So, it was January 27th!"

    How do you remember that so clearly?

    Lin Xuan sighed helplessly and said, "Did you want to surprise us?"

    "This surprise is huge!"

    Mom had cried while watching the show. Now she had stopped crying, leaving her eyes dry, "Why didn''t anyone tell me about your voice recovering?"

    Lin Yuan said, "Oh, I told Antarctica."

    "Antarctica, why didn''t you tell me!" Lin Yao was not happy and asked, "Who do you love more, my brother or me?"

    Antarctica: "..."

    I can''t answer that question.

    Because I am just a dog¡ª

    A super star dog.

    After entering the living room, Mom suddenly noticed an apple core on the floor, "Who gnawed this apple?"

    Antarctica ran off in a flash.

    Big sister laughed and said, "I am a fan of Prince of Lanling. This situation is strange... No wonder I felt a kinship when I first watched Lanling. It was my beloved little brother all along!"

    "Big sister became a fan of Lanling after hearing the song ''I Surrender''."

    Big Yaoyao corrected.

    Mom smiled. She was the one who felt that kinship towards Prince of Lanling.

    Even though she couldn''t recognize her own son beforehand.

    "Oh yes!"

    The sister curiously looked at Lin Yuan, "Did you have a feud with Fei Yang?"

    "Not at all."

    Lin Yuan never thought that Overlord was Fei Yang.

    The sister laughed, "Then why are you always having him end up as the runner-up? At least before, it was your Yu Dynasty taking the win, this time you directly stepped in yourself!"

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    The situation was indeed peculiar.

    Who would have thought that Fei Yang would participate in ''The Masked Singer'' as the ''Overlord''?

    Although at the end of the show, the comments were respectful towards Fei Yang and did not rabidly dub him "second."

    But.

    The playful nature of netizens will not change.

    On the internet.

    Aside from countless discussions about Xian Yu.

    Fei Yang''s comment section was once again flooded with the bright red character "¶þ" (second).

    Speaking of which.

    In a similarly luxurious villa.

    The mask and costume of Overlord were thrown onto the sofa.

    Fei Yang stared at the comment section in despair, "He even did it himself to keep me as runner-up!"

    "Actually..."

    The agent next to him hesitated.

    Fei Yang stared at him, "Spit it out!"

    The agent carefully said, "The major music companies have shifted to focus on film production, only Starlight is both working on films and still focusing on music..."

    "Speak normal language!"

    "Reflect on how Chen Zhiyu, the original Perennial Runner-up, solved his curse. Maybe this can be a reference for you."

    Fei Yang: "..."

    If you can''t beat them, join them?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: End of work.

 Chapter 556 - 525: Xian Yus Fourth Movie _1

    The next day.

    Lin Yuan, who had revealed his identity in the show, had finally returned to the company. The moment he walked in, he was greeted by everyone''s attention and whispers. However, Lin Yuan didn''t feel anything was amiss. Whether in the past, present, or the future, wherever he went, he could not escape the attention of others. This had little to do with his fame.

    Therefore, it could be said that unveiling his identity on The Masked Singer did not greatly affect Lin Yuan''s life.

    He wasn''t too bothered.

    Not long after he arrived at his office, Yi Chenggong and others found him. They started off by congratulating him for his successful vocal recovery and for winning The Masked Singer. After a lively chat, they brought up their purpose, "The production of ''Spiderman'' has been completed. Now we have to consider the release date."

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    This was the fourth movie that he participated in as a core scriptwriter and it happened to be the most commercial one. It was an excellent launch pad to make a splash in the box office and Lin Yuan was looking forward to it.

    This matter was decided.

    After a while, a delighted Gu Dong entered. He skillfully brewed a cup of tea for Lin Yuan, then they started discussing work. "Now that you have officially revealed your face, many businesses want you to endorse their products. The offers are even more lucrative than before.

    If you''re interested, I can show you the details.The bottom line is, it''s up to you to decide whether to accept these endorsements or not."

    "I''ll consider it."

    Lin Yuan wasn''t averse to doing advertisements. Now that he has embraced the idea of appearing in public, he wouldn''t resist being in the spotlight. However, he needed to consider these opportunities carefully. "Are there any other offers apart from endorsements?"

    "Of course."

    Gu Dong had been contacted by numerous parties wanting to collaborate with Xian Yu since last night, his phone kept buzzing till date. "Various reality TV shows from Blue Star, as well as dozens of popular reality shows, have sent you invitations. Several magazines and media outlets have also invited you for exclusive interviews after your past was revealed."

    "Deny all."

    Lin Yuan wasn''t interested.

    He didn''t even ask about the pay as he knew that the amount suggested by Gu Dong would be tempting. As a person, Lin Yuan was not good at resisting money, so to avoid temptations, he didn''t ask about it. As for his past, there were already numerous discussions online and his Tribe fan community was filled with messages of comfort and encouragement from his fans¡­

    "Alright."

    Gu Dong wasn''t surprised.

    Mr. Lin had participated in The Masked Singer just for his love for singing. Unlike others who sought fame, he didn''t lack any. Perhaps, Mr. Lin will still be focusing on behind-the-scenes work in the future.

    "By the way!"

    Gu Dong continued, "The download count of all the songs you sang on the show soared after your identity was revealed. I estimate that it won''t be long before you become a frontline singer, although this target may be meaningless for you."

    It indeed was meaningless.

    Lin Yuan did not need to reach the level of first-tier singers in terms of data. He was an exceptional case in Blue Star. No matter where he went, everyone would recognize him as possessing talent on par with the King of Singing.

    Just as everyone regarded Lin Yuan on the same level as the Maestro even though he hadn''t won the title, when influence reaches a certain level, so-called rules can actually be broken.

    Take Earth for example. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Haruki Murakami hasn''t...

    Forget about the Nobel thing.

    Let''s talk about Little Leo instead.

    Even if Little Leo had not won an Oscar at that time, it in no way affected his position in the hearts of his fans. Of course, it would have been even better if he could win an award, as some people value tangible recognition, which is why the internet was abuzz discussing when Little Leo won the Oscar.

    "There''s another thing."

    Gu Dong smiled lightly, "The Prince of Lanling mask you designed has been produced and sold by a merchant who bought its copyright. It is selling very well right now, we have even run out of stocks due to the high demand. Most interestingly, today there was a popular post on the forum where a woman asked her husband to wear the Prince of Lanling mask when they¡­"

    "When they what?"

    Lin Yuan looked utterly confused.

    Gu Dong coughed awkwardly, "Just the usual stuff that happens between a husband and wife. The woman was a bit excessive as she demanded her husband to wear the Prince of Lanling mask and even asked him to play your songs on her phone while they do it¡­"

    Lin Yuan: "?"

    These people are not normal.

    After chit-chatting with Lin Yuan for a while, Gu Dong left. Lin Yuan took a sip of his tea casually, but soon realized something was off with the taste.

    Upon looking down, he saw seven or eight large, red¡­

    Goji berries??

    What''s going on?

    Why are there goji berries in my tea?

    Alright.

    They were left by Sun Yao Huo.

    Of course, Gu Dong was aware of this too.

    She had been given the task to take care of Lin Yuan''s health...

    Not dwelling on the issue of goji berries.

    Lin Yuan logged onto Tribe and released several posters of ''Spiderman''.

    "The new movie ''Spiderman'' has been completed, stay tuned!"

    It was a simple movie promotion.

    Nevertheless, once the promotion was released, the comments section exploded. This was the first update from Xian Yu after he had revealed his identity on The Masked Singer!

    The comments were all over the map.

    Some were urging him to take care of his health, others wanted him to release more songs.

    There were even more miscellaneous comments than the ones discussing the movie.

    Luckily, there were also people who took notice of the movie.

    "Fish Papa''s new movie is going on screen soon?"

    "Is the new movie a superhero one?"

    "Huh?"

    "If I remember correctly, there are other superhero movies releasing soon, not just Fish Papa''s movie."

    "Is Fish Papa also starting to make commercial films?"

    "I''m sick of superhero movies. Fish Papa should consider making some comedies, like ''Flirting Scholar''."

    "Flirting Scholar is indeed a classic!"

    "After this movie, all cockroaches were named Xiao Qiang."

    "That''s not all, this movie has also resulted in the naming of countless dogs as ''Wangcai'' nationwide."

    "..."

    From these comments, it is evident that the superhero genre isn''t novel for Blue Star''s audience.

    Moreover¡­

    It seems like in the near future, there won''t be just one superhero movie being released?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Transitional plot, a little stuck in the storyline, but no big problem. Updates may be a little slow.

 Chapter 557 - 526 Super Piglet_1

    After promoting Tribe with a trailer.

    Lin Yuan contacted Ol'' Zhou, asking about the movie''s release.

    "It should be next month."

    Ol'' Zhou said: "The exact date will be determined after the company''s screening event. However, there is something I need to tell you, we won''t be the only superhero movie released next month."

    "Who else is there?"

    Lin Yuan suspected this as he had seen comments in his Tribe section suggesting that there was a formidable competitor.

    "Long Yang!"

    Ol'' Zhou uttered this name.

    Lin Yuan paused for a moment. Was this name a joke?

    It seemed real.

    Since Ol'' Zhou appeared very serious when he mentioned this name: "Long Yang, like you, follows the writer-centric production approach. He''s a fierce character whose film is titled ''Legend of the Dragonman''. With a budget of nearly 300 million yuan, the leading male role is played by the A-list actor, Jiang Meng. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    You should realize the problem--their investment is higher than ours, and their lead role is played by an A-list actor, while ours is played by a newcomer."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    In fact, he was not really trying to save money this time.

    The movie that tells the origin of ''Spiderman'' certainly doesn''t require a substantial investment.

    Most special effects shots could be focused on Spiderman''s travels and fights among the city''s skyscrapers.

    The charm of Spiderman is that he''s a people''s hero.

    As for the problem of selecting newcomer Jian Yi as the leading actor...

    This movie was intended by Lin Yuan to elevate Jian Yi''s fame.

    Because Lin Yuan believes that when Spiderman shows off his cool moves, he''s always wearing a headcover, so there''s no emphasis on who played the part. There have been many different Spiderman actors around the world, but it hasn''t caused much backlash from audiences.

    "This is actually very common."

    Ol'' Zhou noted: "The Qin Continent is too vast. There''s always an overlap of movie genres in each period. Superhero movies typically start with a floor of a hundred million yuan in production costs, so the frequency of clashing genres is actually quite low, but occasionally it does happen."

    At that moment,

    Ol'' Zhou suddenly changed the subject: "However, we don''t have to worry about our competitors too much. At least your fan base as a writer is quite significant, and your reputation in the film circle has always been top-notch. I believe there will still be an audience willing to pay for our movie. It''s not necessary for us to think about defeating our competitor.

    After all, isn''t everyone making superhero movies just to make money?"

    Ol'' Zhou''s idea was simple.

    Not to compare box office sales or anything like that.

    As long as the movie could make a profit, that would be enough.

    Combining it with the buzz of Xian Yu''s revelation as the real identity of the Prince of Lanling on ''The Masked Singer'', it could definitely lead to sizable audiences for Lin Yuan''s new movie.

    "Yes."

    Lin Yuan thought it made sense.

    As if recalling something, Ol'' Zhou suddenly laughed: "You may not know, but you and Long Yang have actually intersected before."

    "Really?"

    Lin Yuan responded casually.

    Ol'' Zhou laughed: "Long Yang once wrote a script and wanted Zhang Xiuming to play the leading role. Both parties initially had the intention to collaborate, but Zhang Xiuming rejected Long Yang''s offer after reading the script of ''Hachiko''."

    "Oh."

    Such things often happen in the film industry. It''s normal, and Lin Yuan didn''t think it was a big deal.

    That night,

    Lin Yuan and Yi Chenggong, along with other key members of the movie, fully watched the final cut of ''Spiderman''.

    It was touching.

    Exciting points were there.

    After watching it, Lin Yuan was very pleased with the results. Yi Chenggong''s ability to execute the script was getting stronger.

    ...

    Qin Continent, the capital city.

    In a leisure club.

    A person who appeared to be an assistant said to a middle-aged man: "Teacher Long Yang, the theater chain has confirmed that our movie will be released on July 7. However, Xian Yu''s new film, which is also a superhero film, will be released at the same time."

    This middle-aged man was Long Yang.

    Upon hearing Xian Yu''s name, he couldn''t help but laugh: "I seem to be hearing this name a lot recently. The script for ''Hachiko'' was indeed well written; it''s no wonder why Zhang Xiuming rejected me to act in it."

    There was no anger in Long Yang''s voice when he mentioned this.

    There was no reason for him to be angry in the first place.

    Zhang Xiuming didn''t promise him anything. He only said he would consider it. In the end, Zhang choosing Xian Yu was entirely his decision. Therefore, both Long Yang and Lin Yuan didn''t take this small incident to heart.

    "So it''s just by chance?"

    The assistant laughed: "I didn''t expect you two to face competition so soon. This time, instead of fighting for actors, it''s about box office revenue. Coincidentally, both of you have taken the writer-centric approach."

    "Yes."

    Long Yang nodded: "What''s the situation on his side?"

    The assistant recited it as if he were a connoisseur: "Xian Yu''s new movie is titled ''Spiderman'', and the starring role is played by a young newcomer. The production cost is around a hundred million yuan."

    "A small budget, huh?"

    Long Yang felt some relief. Calling ''Spiderman'' a low-budget film was a bit presumptuous, but in terms of superhero movies, the budget is considered low.

    Movies released at the same time are considered competitors, and the competition becomes fiercer when they belong to the same genre.

    Although the market is enormous, to create a blockbuster, you must stand out from the crowd!

    Luckily, the threat Xian Yu posed isn''t significant.

    Compared to his own, both the budget and the cast fell significantly short.

    Under such circumstances, Long Yang wasn''t too worried--

    For some reason, Long Yang had a deep understanding of Xian Yu.

    He was aware of his accomplishments in the music industry.

    However, this was the film industry.

    In the film industry, compared to the highly experienced Long Yang, Xian Yu was still a newcomer.

    Thinking of this,

    Long Yang suddenly made a phone call.

    After the call connected, Long Yang laughed: "Son, how about I take you to a movie in a few days?"

    "I don''t want to."

    A boy''s voice came from the other end of the phone: "I''ve already watched ''Legend of the Dragonman'' at the company with you, haven''t I?"

    Long Yang said: "Not ''Legend of the Dragonman''."

    The boy paused: "Then what movie is it?"

    Long Yang laughed: "Xian Yu''s new movie. It seems to be called ''Piggy Hero''."

    The assistant helplessly looked at Long Yang.

    It''s Spiderman!

    Not Piggy Hero!

    "Xian Yu?"

    The boy on the other end of the phone seemed interested: "Then I will go see ''Piggy Hero''. Xian Yu''s movies are always good!"

    "That''s settled then."

    Long Yang hung up the phone cheerfully, then looked at the assistant: "This child has been quite obsessed with Xian Yu recently."

    "So is my wife!"

    The assistant suddenly became a little angry, as if he had been triggered.

    Long Yang complained: "What I can''t stand the most is that my son actually said that Xian Yu''s movies are better than mine¡­"

    The assistant couldn''t help but laugh: "It looks like you''re unwilling to accept that."

    Long Yang pursed his lips: "Let him watch Xian Yu''s new movie. That way, he can compare it to mine. As his father, I can''t let an outsider surpass me, can I?"

    Assistant: "..."

    How childish can you be?

    But it''s a good idea. Maybe I can take my wife to see it too?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Thanks to the new Alliance Hierarch, Little Dio ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ. I was really stuck on the text today, it gave me a headache. Writing about the movie tomorrow hopefully won''t be as tough.

 Chapter 558 - 527 Palace Intrigue Drama_1

    The following days.

    The movie''s promotion began.

    And Lin Yuan officially graduated from his five-year program a few days later. For this, he made a special trip to Qin Continent Art Academy to participate in the final dissertation defense arranged by the school--

    That''s right!

    He''s a graduate now!

    The thesis was completed by Lin Yuan during his downtime in the competition. With his compositional skills under the guidance of Yang Zhongming''s character card training, completing such a thesis was not tough. However, Lin Yuan was somewhat baffled during his defense as the teacher in charge didn''t ask any thesis-related questions from start to finish, only some random gossiping questions.

    In the end, the teacher even asked for Lin Yuan''s autograph and a chance to take a photo together, to which Lin Yuan agreed.

    Then.

    Taking graduation photos.

    The shooting times of the graduation photos for different faculties were separate, so there were no other students around. However, even the composition department''s people couldn''t help but let out a wave of screams when they saw Lin Yuan.

    Someone first shouted "Admirable Fish"...

    Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

    The entire scene was shouting "Admirable Fish".

    Among them, Lin Yuan''s original roommates and classmates, even his desk-mate, were the most excited. In the end, Lin Yuan himself couldn''t even remember how many group photos he had taken and how many autographs he had given. Even the teachers and many school leaders, including the principal, came to join in the fun, insisting on participating in the composition department''s graduation photo shoot.

    As a result, what should''ve been a simple graduation photo shoot turned into something akin to a fan meeting for Lin Yuan, with both the process and outcome being exceptionally grand.

    The fortunate thing was:

    The school didn''t let in the reporters who had already found out that Admirable Fish was returning to school today to take graduation photos, otherwise these reporters would have been even crazier. Since being unveiled on "The Masked Singer", Admirable Fish hadn''t shown his face in a public setting.

    As he didn''t like attending interviews, the public''s curiosity towards Admirable Fish remained unsatisfied.

    So.

    After the commotion.

    Lin Yuan rode home in Lil Goodoong''s car. Gu Dong suddenly smiled and asked, "Mr. Lin, are you planning on going to a movie tonight? If you need, I can help you book a seat."

    "No need."

    Lin Yuan knew that the movie Gu Dong was talking about was "Spiderman". Not only was today his thesis defense and graduation photo day, but it was also the official premiere day of that movie. However, since he had already watched the movie one time at the company, he didn''t have any interest in revisiting it so soon and opted to take his dog for a walk instead.

    "Alright."

    Gu Dong nodded.

    At this point, Lin Yuan took out his phone to scroll through his friends'' circle, and surprisingly, he saw quite a lot of related content about "Spiderman".

    Such as the post by Zhao Ying Ge in her friends'' circle:

    [Going to watch "Spiderman" tonight.]

    The post was accompanied by a photo of a "Spiderman" movie ticket.

    Then Jiang Kui also posted an update:[Teacher Admirable Fish''s new movie is out. I don''t have a boyfriend yet but I still bought two tickets in support of Teacher Admirable Fish''s new work!]

    The post was accompanied by photos of two "Spiderman" movie tickets.

    And then.

    Chen Zhiyu surprisingly also posted an update:

    [Watching "Spiderman" tonight. If anyone wants to join, you are welcome. I''ve booked the entire theater.]

    Accompanying the post was...

    A screenshot of the purchase of tickets for the entire hall.

    In the end.

    Lin Yuan scrolled to Sun Yaohuo''s post.

    [Tonight, anyone who watches "Spiderman" can enjoy a 60% dining discount at all branches of our Flaming Catering with their ticket stubs. Additionally, you can also receive a free Flaming Catering membership card. As long as you watch Teacher Admirable Fish''s new movie, we''re good friends!]

    Attached was a photo of in-store advertisements and tribal promotion.

    At this point, they had arrived home. Lin Yuan casually liked Sun Yaohuo''s post and then got out of the car.

    ...

    Zhao Ying Ge looked at her friends'' circle and was stunned.

    She had made her post mainly to curry favor with Admirable Fish.

    But she hadn''t expected that her post would look so humble compared to the others.

    "Is this how everyone plays?"

    For the first time, Zhao Ying Ge understood the terror of Sun Yaohuo and the others. She had just recently joined this small circle around Admirable Fish and didn''t understand how brutal this circle could be.

    Now, she sort of got it.

    At the same time.

    Jiang Kui was also a bit confused.

    It''s understood about Sun Yaohuo, but how come Chen Zhiyu had also become so proficient?

    Supporting the movie is support... sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Why did you book the entire theater?

    Can you surpass that guy Sun Yaohuo?

    Of course.

    The most confused was Chen Zhiyu.

    He thought that booking the entire theater was quite impressive already.

    But he hadn''t imagined that Sun Yaohuo would also have such a move!

    What''s this about?

    Wait a minute!

    Under Sun Yaohuo''s friend circle, there was a prominent notice: "Your friend, Teacher Admirable Fish, thinks this is fantastic."

    Admirable Fish liked Sun Yaohuo''s post!

    Chen Zhiyu sighed.

    The agent next to him couldn''t help but look up, his face peculiarly odd, "Why am I having such a strong sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu?"

    Chen Zhiyu: "What?"

    Agent: "Palace harem fighting."

    Chen Zhiyu: "That''s a bit far-fetched, isn''t it?"

    Agent shrugging: "Then how do you explain the fact that you don''t like each other''s posts?"

    Chen Zhiyu: "..."

    Several similar posts had been made by the fish, but none of them mutually liked each other''s posts.

    Either way you look at it, it seems fishy.

    "They''re the ones being weird."

    Chen Zhiyu defended himself earnestly, "We all acted like siblings on ''The Masked Singer''. But after the show, everyone''s true colours came out!"

    The agent just shook his head.

    He felt a sour hint in Chen Zhiyu''s words.

    Chen Zhiyu indeed felt bitter.

    The fish school was gathering perfectly fine, but he somehow fell behind the pack!

    He was, after all¡­

    He was the first one to become a top-tier singer!

    Among the fish in the show, only Chen Zhiyu had collaborated with Admirable Fish after becoming a top-tier singer. Yet, now he felt he was being overtaken by others incessantly.

    No way!

    This can''t go on!

    Chen Zhiyu felt he needed to put in more effort!

    Among this group of fish, Jiang Kui should become the Queen of Singing first.

    Then he must become the King of Singing before Sun Yaohuo does!

    Among this group of fish,

    Only Sun Yaohuo, let out a lonely laugh of an expert, these people were far from catching up.

    He bowed his head, took out his cellphone, and opened his large catering group chat: "All the store managers, put up the Spiderman posters tonight, Flaming Catering will have a Spiderman theme tonight, the designs must be new and interesting!"

    "Received!"

    "Received!"

    "Received!"

    The managers responded one after another.

    At this moment, a newly appointed manager spoke, "Boss, isn''t our discount a bit too steep? From the market research I conducted, ''Legend of the Dragonman'' is going to be a significant competitor to Admirable Fish''s movie both in terms of investment and the cast. So, if Admirable Fish''s movie doesn''t turn out to be a hit¡­"

    "Why are you overthinking things?"

    "You''re not supporting Fish Papa''s movie?"

    "We support Fish Papa unconditionally!"

    "What''s a little loss!"

    "Isn''t it enough to support Fish Papa?"

    The other managers instantly rallied in support.

    Sun Yaohuo nodded approvingly and then tagged the doubting manager, saying:

    "Just do as instructed."

    What''s with all this talk about whether it''s a hit or not?

    This new manager isn''t great.

    Everyone under my Flaming Catering banner, all the managers of my restaurants, must be die-hard fans of Admirable Fish!

    Even the interview questions are related to Admirable Fish.

    Did this guy cheat on the test?

    Maybe, he''s not a real fan at all!

    Let''s investigate a little more and if it doesn''t work out, let''s have him removed and replaced!

    Sun Yaohuo made a mental note of him.

    Meanwhile.

    It was getting dark.

    The cinema was beginning to fill up.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Updates over the next couple of days might slow down a bit, but I can still guarantee an average of three chapters per day.

 Chapter 559 - 528: The Most Down-to-Earth Superhero_1

    Inside a movie theater.

    Long Yang takes his son, Little Tiger, to watch a movie.

    In addition to Long Yang and his son, Long Yang''s assistant and the assistant''s wife have also come along.

    "Four tickets!"

    The assistant distributes four tickets for "Spiderman," then laughs and says,

    "I observed just now, it seems our ''Legend of the Dragonman'' is more popular, most of the audience are specifically here for our movie."

    That''s to be expected.

    Whether in terms of investment cost or casting lineup, ''Legend of the Dragonman'' has a higher profile, and the audience knows how to choose.

    Those who choose ''Spiderman'' largely have their personal preferences at play, for example, they may be fans of Xian Yu.

    Long Yang smiles and nods, then looks at his son, Little Tiger, with a bit of triumph.

    Did you hear that, kiddo?

    Your dad''s movie is the most popular one!

    But then Little Tiger is staring at the poster of ''Spiderman'' with sparkling eyes, murmuring,

    "So cool!"

    On the poster.

    Spiderman is wearing his classic red battle suit, legs apart, showing off his iconic action of shooting spider webs; this is Spiderman''s classic fighting style.

    Long Yang''s smile freezes, he feels a bit awkward.

    Soon after, ''Spiderman'' starts ticket inspection.

    Long Yang and his party enter the theater, sitting in the seventh row, which is perfect for viewing.

    Coke, popcorn.

    The standard setup for watching a movie.

    Without too much waiting, the movie begins.

    The popcorn-munching, coke-drinking audience settles down to watch the big screen.

    The movie starts with a simple narrative, introducing the main character and his relationships with the people around him.

    The protagonist is named Peter Parker, an ordinary student.

    He becomes an orphan at a tender age but is kind-hearted by nature and grows up in his aunt and uncle''s home.

    He harbors a secret crush on a schoolmate and has a good buddy.

    After introducing the characters and their backgrounds, the movie finally bestows the protagonist with a superpower.

    At a science research exhibition, Peter Parker gets bitten by a spider.

    On the subway ride home, Peter Parker faints.

    Inside the subway car, a tattooed guy, amidst his friends'' laughter, tries to prank the sleeping Peter Parker.

    But then Peter, who is deep asleep, suddenly gets goosebumps and abruptly opens his eyes, almost instinctively climbing onto...

    The wall of the car?

    Caught in the surprised stares around him, Peter Parker is stunned himself, and hastily climbs down.

    A woman next to him tries to push him, he resists with one hand yet when he let go, he unintentionally tears apart the woman''s clothes, leaving only the last bit that covered her. The scene gets a bit raunchy¡­

    "Pff!"

    The audience breaks into laughter.

    The ensuing tumultuous scene in the subway car is filmed quite humorously.

    While trying to get used to his strangely familiar superpower, Peter Parker ends up in confrontations with the hoodlums.

    He sporadically attaches himself to the ceiling, or dangles from the subway''s poles, nimble like a spider.

    The playful and fast-paced background score, however, makes this scene very lively and interesting.

    "Comedic approach?"

    Long Yang looks surprised.

    It''s the first time he has seen a superhero movie use comedic techniques.

    The usual tone of other superhero movies largely revolves around the ''save-the-world, avenge-injustice'' theme.

    But watching ''Spiderman'' imparts a relaxed and cheerful feeling!

    Xian Yu is truly audacious!

    This is quite a breakthrough for the other conventional superhero formats.

    Would the audience accept it?

    The audience would, of course, accept it!

    Surrounding bursts of laughter from the audience say it all!

    In the confined subway car space, the protagonist''s cool and anti-human moves, the camera''s alternating fast and slow shots, and the comically chaotic characters meld together seamlessly.

    Little Tiger is also laughing, having a great time!

    Long Yang suddenly gets a bad feeling in his heart.

    The plot continues.

    Peter Parker starts learning about his ability and makes a device that can shoot spider web.

    The movie employs montage techniques to show his growing familiarity and use of his power. And when he perfects his red spider battle suit, and skillfully swings through skyscrapers using his spider webs, a ripple of excitement surges through the audience!

    What a thrill!

    Why are superhero movies enduringly popular?

    Isn''t it because the powers of a superhero let the audience fantasize?

    Watching Spiderman swing through the city, helping the police punish villains, everyone finds it extremely satisfying!

    This kind of thrill is very direct!

    Along with the intense thrill, the hearty laughter this movie brought was genuinely entertaining!

    Because this Spiderman...

    He sure can natter!

    This guy loves to fully utilize his chatterbox nature while fighting, cracking all sorts of humorous comments.

    With his crisp, efficient actions, he gives off a feeling of being cool, dashing, daring but steady!

    Extremely joyful!

    When the police arrived late once again, they found the bad guys already dangling from the bank doors, trapped in spider webs.

    Who knows what place this is, the law and order here is just too bad...

    "Help!"

    "I''m calling the police!"

    "I want to report that guy swinging on that swing on the wall!"

    "..."

    The thieves were as happy to see the police as if they were their own parents!

    Seeing this, the audience was completely amused, saying how Spiderman swinging through the city sky was really quite a sight.

    But please! S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    You guys are thieves!

    Why do you seem so vexed?

    But when they think about how pitifully the thieves were bullied by Spiderman and had to endure his mockery and prattle, everyone suddenly felt sorry for these thieves...

    "Boss."

    The assistant turned to Long Yang.

    He also felt that something wasn''t right.

    The audience''s reaction to this movie was really too enthusiastic!

    In fact, even he himself couldn''t help but be amused.

    This Spiderman, completely different from the superhero he had in mind.

    Other superheroes were often filled with sorrow and vengeance, even self-sacrifice, their characters imbued with heroic traits and a sense of tragedy.

    But what about Spiderman?

    Comic relief!

    Vibrancy!

    Joy!

    Even innocence!

    His mouth is always chattering away without end!

    Possibly he was fighting crime with his face covered as Spiderman one day, making criminals lose their nerve, then the next day he would be racking his brains over his exam papers and figuring out how to confess his feelings to the girl he likes...

    If it weren''t for Spiderman''s hidden identity, he would just be an ordinary student.

    Just like every ordinary person.

    Even after Spiderman puts on his mask, he doesn''t completely become a different person. After he finishes fighting the bad guys, he casually helps a little kid on the street...

    This is the first time!

    Everyone is identifying with a superhero!

    He''s not so grandiose.

    No longer full of sorrow and vengeance.

    He''s not a hero to all of humanity, he didn''t save the world.

    But he''s like a good-natured neighbor who lives amongst us, always more than willing to lend a hand!

    "A superhero of ordinary people..."

    Long Yang finally understood Xian Yu''s intention.

    The same superhero, everyone is increasingly doing it on a larger scale, including his own "Legend of the Dragonman".

    How majestic and powerful dragons are?

    Sacred and dignified!

    Dominant and unrivaled!

    They must save Blue Star!

    But Xian Yu did the opposite!

    While others are creating superheroes with major special effects and grand scenes, Xian Yu''s Spiderman is actually downsizing!

    While other superheroes are fighting for the fate of humanity,

    Spiderman is focusing on beating thugs in his city, spewing whatever comment he fancies, even making a casual detour to run errands for children. He is devoted to saving every ordinary person he sees in difficulty, no matter how big or small the trouble is...

    Such an approach!

    It''s completely reversed!

    But at the same time...

    It also means:

    Spiderman is extremely down-to-earth!

    This almost contradicts the traditional thinking of superheroes, yet it allows the audience to fully invest themselves in the story!

    As Long Yang''s uneasiness grew, it got stronger!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: I might not have rested well yesterday, couldn''t resist the sleepiness, will write more tomorrow, just to adjust the time difference. Sorry, everyone, don''t have to wait.

 Chapter 560 - 529 The Greater the Ability, the Greater the Responsibility_1

    This was the first time that Blue Star''s audience saw a superhero movie portrayed in a comedic style.

    Under the influence of novelty, everyone in the theater was engrossed!

    Long Yang was certain:

    The audience loved the plot so far.

    Spiderman was quirky and chatty, two qualities that were indeed endearing.

    But was it somewhat superficial to base character development solely on light-hearted comedy?

    Xian Yu, being able to think outside the box and use comedy as a wrapper for presenting an unconventional superhero, must have considered this, right?

    Many comedies often conceal a sense of tragedy at their core¡­

    As expected.

    The following plot development was no longer pure joy and silliness.

    At school.

    Because he was provoked by a classmate, Peter used his power to give him a severe lesson.

    The next day.

    Peter''s uncle, an ordinary old man, had a deep conversation with Peter, mentioning the fight at school. He said solemnly to Peter, "Sometimes, the greater the power, the greater the responsibility."

    As you can imagine.

    The conversation wasn''t pleasant, Peter thought his uncle was nagging. It was the other party who provoked him, teenagers in their puberty tend to be brash, especially when they have such great power.

    The uncle helplessly said, "I am not your father..."

    Peter retorted as if stung, "Then stop pretending you are!"

    The uncle looked somewhat disheartened, "Okay..."

    Peter wanted to retort, regretting his outburst, but he ultimately didn''t explain. In his heart, his uncle was no different from a father.

    That night.

    To vent his frustrations, Peter participated in an underground boxing match.

    At home.

    Seeing that Peter had not come back, the uncle thought about the unpleasant conversation during the day and couldn''t help worrying. He went directly out to look for Peter, who hadn''t come home so late.

    Unquestionably.

    Peter defeated all his opponents in the underground boxing match, but when Peter won the championship, he was tricked by the organizer¡ª

    The promotion said the winner would get a 50,000 yuan prize!

    But the person responsible for the prize money made tons of excuses and only gave Spiderman 5,000 yuan.

    Peter wanted to argue with him.

    The person in charge pointed to the last sentence of the promotion, "All explanations are at the discretion of the organizer."

    This sentence was quite significant.

    Some viewers showed expressions of anger.

    Clearly.

    Many people have encountered this situation in real life.

    Peter wanted to punch him. If it was before, Peter would have done it without hesitation, but he clenched his fist and finally held back.

    "The greater the power, the heavier the responsibility."

    His uncle''s words did affect him, after all, he didn''t misuse his power.

    Just then.

    A robber appeared and stole all the money from the person in charge.

    The person in charge asked Peter for help, Peter hesitated for a moment, but ultimately chose to remain silent¡ª

    He thought the man had it coming.

    After all, there was still some resentment that needed to be vented.

    After leaving the underground boxing ring, Peter prepared to go home, but suddenly there were gunshots in the distance.

    Instinctively, he ran towards them.

    But when Peter saw the victim, he trembled!

    His uncle had been shot dead!

    "No, no, no, no¡­"

    Peter was stunned, he held his uncle''s hand tightly.

    The cold wind bit into his mouth, cutting like a blade, his tears fell silently.

    "Peter¡­"

    His uncle was already hanging by a thread when he saw Peter.

    That hand, spotted with age, held Peter''s hand tightly, but finally fell limp.

    The theater.

    There was silence.

    The laughter in the theater paused for the first time, this scene was heartbreaking, the film turned heavy for the first time.

    "The killer is escaping down Fifth Avenue, request for police intercept¡­"

    The police had already arrived, the walkie-talkie called out.

    Peter took one last look at his uncle, then rushed towards Fifth Avenue.

    He was out for revenge!

    In this scene, without any dialogue, Peter became Spiderman, weaving through the city to finally catch the killer.

    But¡­

    When he saw the murderer''s face, it felt like his worldview was completely shattered!

    "It''s that robber!"

    Some in the audience suddenly gasped.

    The man who killed his uncle was the robber from before¡ª

    The robber that Peter didn''t stop during the robbery!

    Which means, his uncle''s death was directly linked to Peter. If only Peter had stopped the robber, this scene might not have happened.

    This was too cruel for Peter!

    Some in the audience couldn''t help but feel a twinge of heartache.

    No one thought Spiderman was reckless, no one would dislike Spiderman for this, because anyone in the same situation would likely make a similar choice.

    After all, Peter was just a kid.

    Realization hit.

    Spiderman broke down.

    The police had arrived. Countless lights shone on Spiderman''s face, countless eyes were locked on him. The police warned Spiderman against any hasty actions, and the crowd''s murmuring voices merged into one¡­ sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Die!"

    In anger, Spiderman threw the murderer from the rooftop.

    If the murderer hit the ground, he would undoubtedly die. Some onlookers couldn''t help but cover their eyes, but in the end, Spiderman shot out his webbing and caught the killer, not killing him outright.

    He chose to handle the murderer as before, by leaving him to the law.

    As for himself, he chose to wallow in immense grief.

    With blood and tears, he swallowed the bitter fruit of his own making.

    He didn''t even dare to tell his aunt the truth.

    In front of the screen.

    Long Yang had a solemn expression.

    This part of the film was brilliantly done!

    Peter was just an ordinary person who suddenly gained superpowers, with all the rebellion that comes with youth.

    But such a person gaining superpowers was uncontrollable.

    But his uncle''s death would be the catalyst for Spiderman''s growth.

    Many truths can only be understood at a great cost, especially for the young.

    "With great power comes great responsibility."

    If this line was bluntly told, it would make the film seem preachy, the audience wouldn''t buy it, they might even feel it''s moral blackmail, because it''s a bit too saintly.

    But¡­

    In a specific context, linking the cause and effect of the events, this line carries a myriad of meanings.

    The audience couldn''t help but ponder.

    The "power" here isn''t just power in a broad sense. It''s more akin to a shorter version of the phrase:

    When poor, keep to yourself for good.

    When rich, aid the world for better.

    Spiderman chose to disappear.

    He didn''t continue doing good deeds, but chose to be an ordinary student again. The internet was flooded with news about Spiderman, newspapers were filled with reports about him.

    People had mixed opinions about this superhero.

    The police were hunting Spiderman.

    Although Spiderman was doing good deeds, he was beyond the law, and he once thought about killing the robber¡ª

    No one knew that the robber had killed Spiderman''s uncle.

    Everyone had seen the video of Spiderman beating the robber. The Spiderman in that video was full of violence and destruction, which was a direct reason some people disliked Spiderman.

    This was also a point worth pondering.

    If in reality, an individual has the power not to be bound by the law, even if that person is doing good, would people like it, or would it cause more fear?

    Meanwhile.

    A new plot twist appeared.

    A new villain appeared in the city, unprecedentedly powerful, his strength was not inferior to Spiderman''s.

    The plot had hinted at this beforehand.

    This villain was the chairman of a scientific research company. Due to his long-term research on weapons, he had lost his sanity and now possessed incredible destructive power.

    He continuously engaged in criminal activities.

    The power of the police couldn''t stop this villain.

    Whether they liked it or not, people suddenly missed Spiderman. Perhaps only the disappeared Spiderman had the strength to defeat this villain¡­

    "The pacing is good."

    Long Yang nodded.

    He admitted that this design was more ingenious than his own film. The death of the uncle set up the emotions brilliantly, almost perfectly depicting Spiderman''s character growth!

    On his right.

    His son, Little Tiger, was looking at the big screen with anticipation.

    Long Yang knew what his son was looking forward to.

    Long Yang knew, not only was his son looking forward to it, all the audience were anticipating¡ª

    Spiderman''s comeback!

    They yearned for Spiderman to rise again and return as a hero, to protect the city once more!

 Chapter 561 - 530 Redemption_1

    Peter seemed to forget his own abilities, he even confessed to the girl he liked.

    The result was not bad.

    He and the girl named Gwen arranged to have dinner together.

    But...

    Just as he was about to leave, Spiderman saw the news on the TV.

    The Green Goblin had appeared again.

    He was recklessly devastating the city.

    Panic was spreading, police were helpless against the Green Goblin''s terrifying destruction power, mingled among the crowd were countless cries...

    At this moment.

    Spiderman suddenly thought of a conversation he had with his uncle.

    "With great power, comes great responsibility."

    He suddenly opened the long-sealed drawer, looking at the Spiderman battle suit he hadn''t worn for so long.

    Meanwhile.

    In a certain coffee shop.

    The girl Peter was dating kept checking her watch and finally couldn''t help but send him a message.

    Peter hesitated for a moment, then put back the battle suit.

    He was going on a date.

    The plot was short-lived, but the audience seemed to feel Peter''s inner struggle.

    However, just as everyone thought Peter was going on a date with the girl he loves, a red figure suddenly shot out of the window of his bedroom--

    It was Spiderman!

    He eventually gave up the date!

    At this moment, the theater burst into a huge cheer!

    Although he''d planned for that date for a long time.

    Although he''d been looking forward to that moment immensely.

    Although he really liked that girl.

    But when the Green Goblin was wrecking the city, when the people were in desperation, he chose to fight.

    Clich¨¦?

    Very Clich¨¦!

    Thrilling?

    Very thrilling!

    The audience''s emotions were completely released! sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    At this time, a train that had been damaged by the Green Goblin had completely lost control.

    Just when everyone in the car was in despair, Spiderman descended from the sky.

    "It''s him!"

    "Spiderman!"

    "Spiderman is back!"

    "..."

    The red figure appeared!

    People''s eyes suddenly brimmed with huge expectations, just like the audience in front of the big screen!

    But...

    As Spiderman''s webs also failed to stop the runaway train and could only break powerlessly, the hope in everyone''s eyes turned back into despair again.

    In Spiderman''s perspective.

    Countless tracks, speeding up fast.

    His mask had been damaged in the battle.

    Then he furiously took off the mask, revealing his face!

    Next.

    Spiderman''s figure appeared at the front of the train.

    Amid the desperate gazes of all the passengers, he grabbed onto the buildings on both sides with his web!

    Shush, shush, shush!

    Countless webs shot out densely, grabbing onto the numerous skyscrapers on both sides, the unceasing force of the oncoming train almost tore Spiderman apart--

    He was actually trying to stop the train with his body!

    Under the terrifying force.

    In Spiderman''s hands were countless webs, his clothes started to shatter piece by piece due to the immense pulling force, spreading from his sleeves to his chest. His legs tried to resist but the iron rails broke one by one with numerous sparks!

    The train didn''t stop!

    The entire theater let out countless gasps!

    This scene was shocking!

    The audience was on edge!

    Some people even couldn''t help but roar!

    He was actually blocking the train by himself, the webs had reached their limit, Spiderman''s body had also reached a certain limit!

    It seemed like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

    He didn''t choose to give up.

    People in the carriage could hardly bear to watch, it was a force that could tear a person apart...

    The roar of the train!

    Spiderman''s shattered battle suit!

    The countless sparks spurting from his feet!

    He had no strength left, resistance seemed like an instinct...

    Finally.

    The train stopped.

    In front of the most extreme sea.

    Spiderman''s body, weakly fell down.

    From inside the carriage, hands reached out, holding his falling body.

    The music fell silent.

    The carriage fell silent.

    The people stretched out their hands one after another, lifting the unconscious Spiderman overhead, and finally gently putting him down.

    People were already weeping uncontrollably:

    "He saved us."

    "He saved us all."

    "He''s just a child."

    "The same age as my grandson."

    "..."

    Men and women, old and young, countless eyes were on Spiderman, each filled with gratitude and heartache.

    Peter finally woke up.

    A little girl handed him his broken Spiderman mask.

    "Thank you."

    He got up, put on the mask, and left the train.

    ...

    Long Yang suddenly heard sobbing nearby.

    He turned his head to see his son, Little Tiger, crying and clumsily handing him tissues.

    The scene had been deeply moving, even he had felt goosebumps all over him. There were no earth-shattering special effects, just a lone figure standing in front of a train, nearly torn apart by inertia to stop it!

    The impact of the shot...

    It came from a strong emotional resonance!

    On the other side.

    The assistant also began to comfort his crying wife.

    Spiderman was injured.

    He returned home to recover, but still had to hide it from his aunt, which made the audience even more distressed.

    On the other side.

    The Green Goblin''s destruction continued.

    The Green Goblin even made a battle suit for a robber.

    As a result, the robber was causing havoc everywhere in the terrifying Mecha.

    The police were holding on desperately.

    Then a child rushed up.

    The child, dressed in a small Spiderman battle suit, stood in front of the terrifying Mecha.

    The robber inside the Mecha was stunned.

    The child''s mother was screaming in despair.

    But the child adopted a fighting stance, and the audience recognized this child as one previously saved by Spiderman.

    "Ha ha ha ha..."

    The robber inside the Mecha laughed out loud, the scene was somewhat comical.

    But the audience didn''t laugh.

    Even a child knew to protect the weak, despite being the weakest among the people.

    The Mecha closed.

    The robber was about to kill.

    The crowd gasped in horror.

    It was that same red figure.

    Spiderman was back!!!

    At this moment, everyone broke into smiles.

    Unbeknownst to them, Spiderman had already created a sense of safety for them.

    In the frame.

    Even the police, who were lukewarm towards Spiderman, also smiled...

    "Hey, Spiderman, thanks... the rest is up to me."

    Spiderman spoke, then bumped fists with the child, sent him back to the crowd, and rushed forward!

    Some viewers had red eyes, smiling.

    This image of a child dressed as Spiderman bravely standing in front of the villain was so touching that it almost brought tears to the eyes.

    Spiderman had unknowingly influenced many people.

    The following scenes were all about fighting.

    When Spiderman defeated the robber''s Mecha, the Green Goblin arrived, and a shocking battle ensued.

    The fight lasted for eight minutes.

    Most of the movie''s special effects were showcased in this section.

    The sharp camera work!

    The dazzling destructive punches!

    Two figures tangled furiously!

    The audience simply felt extremely exhilarated!

    Because of some unforeseen twists, the Green Goblin ultimately died at Spiderman''s hands, but Spiderman also collapsed in the ruins of the great battle.

    "Got him!"

    "Catch Spiderman!"

    The officers'' walkie talkies blared with their superiors'' excited voices.

    "Sorry, officer, he got away."

    The police looked at each other and oddly started playing dumb.

    Spiderman woke up, saw the police who ignored him, left in a sorry state.

    He must have been confused.

    Why didn''t the police catch him?

    Suddenly the crowd erupted in applause, shouting:

    "Spiderman!"

    "Spiderman!"

    "Spiderman!"

    The superior officer roared over the walkie talkie: "He''s right behind you!"

    No officer moved.

    Even though at that moment, Spiderman was so weak that anyone could easily catch him.

 Chapter 562 - 531 Civilian Hero_1

    The movie has reached its finale by this point.

    Spiderman wasn''t able to make it to his date with Gwen.

    There he was, hanging upside down like a spider, dressed in his battle suit, and holding a flower in his hand. On a moving night, he appeared before Gwen.

    "I have a friend who wants to say sorry to you..."

    Gwen was startled, then ventured to ask:

    "Peter?"

    "Yes...my friend, Peter."

    "Why didn''t he come himself?"

    Spiderman looked ashamed: "Perhaps he should apologize to you in person, though he did have a reason for missing that date..."

    Gwen seemed to realize something, her face filled with shock:

    "It''s you!"

    "Not me..."

    "It is you!"

    Gwen snapped angrily: "You saved the train, my mum was on that train, she met you!"

    Spiderman remained silent.

    Suddenly Gwen laughed: "Just kidding, I just saw the news, but you''ve already admitted it."

    Spiderman fell silent again.

    Suddenly, Gwen stepped forward, wanting to remove Spiderman''s mask, but when she reached his mouth, Spiderman held her hand back.

    Gwen exerted strength.

    So did Spiderman.

    He did not want to remove Spiderman''s mask.

    In the end, Gwen did not forcibly remove Spiderman''s mask, she gently kissed it instead.

    Female audience members'' eyes sparkled with little stars.

    Spiderman, hanging upside down, received a devilishly beautiful girl''s kiss beneath the moonlight!

    Wow!

    Too sweet!

    Is there anything more romantic than this?

    Couples in the audience secretly clenched each other''s hands.

    On the big screen.

    Long Yang''s sense of dread fully fermented, finally turning into a bitter smile on the corner of his mouth.

    This Xian Yu really knows what the audience wants to see!

    The whole plot design, while clich¨¦, was not entirely trite!

    After the great battle, the hero received a victory kiss from the beauty, only he chose to do it in Spiderman''s signature upside-down pose!

    This shot was too romantic!

    It gave off a dangerously romantic vibe!

    Whether it was the death of his uncle, blocking the train with his body, or the child in Spiderman''s suit standing in front of the mecha, all these shots were deeply touching!

    There were tears.

    There was laughter.

    There was thrill.

    There was emotion.

    There was familial redemption.

    And there was romantic flavor.

    It had virtually everything a commercial film needed, yet it was not portrayed in a bloated manner, instead the scenes were shown with clear rhythm, providing the audience with one satisfying viewing experience after another.

    Afterward.

    Peter revealed the truth about his uncle''s death to his aunt, her reaction was very thought-provoking.

    She slapped Peter, then tightly embraced him.

    In the end.

    The scene was of a night sky.

    Spiderman was lying in the center of a yin-yang shaped spider web, dressed in his battle suit.

    His suit seemed to have undergone a new transformation.

    Eyecatching!

    More brilliant!

    Riveting to the eyes!

    The suit had come a long way from the simple one he originally made.

    At this moment.

    From an unknown source, a voice came over a walkie-talkie: "There''s a murder, the culprit is fleeing towards First Avenue..."

    Whoosh!

    In the moonlight, a red silhouette leapt out, his legs spread wide apart with his feet together. A white spider-web was suddenly projected towards the screen. The web, like fingers, clung to the cinema screen!

    This was the 3D experience.

    The audience felt as if the spider-thread was flying towards them, some could not resist but to dodge, followed by laughter all around...

    A glorious impact!

    The figure seemed to be frozen in the moonlight, striking an eternal pose in a dramatic fashion!

    So cool it was explosive!

    The movie was over!

    Someone stood up to applaud, and gradually more and more people followed suit.

    "Dad, I want to be Spiderman!"

    Little Tiger looked up at Long Yang, full of hope.

    Long Yang felt a pang in his heart. He reluctantly said, "Sure, sure, sure ..."

    A very helpless fact was lying in front of them:

    The role of Spiderman was indeed likable in terms of character charm. The creation of a civilian hero proved to be very successful, and Xian Yu''s unconventional approach produced excellent results.

    Meanwhile.

    Long Yang''s assistant also stood up to applaud.

    His wife''s voice suddenly heard faintly, "See if there are any Spiderman masks for sale later ..."

    Clap.

    The applause suddenly stopped.

    The assistant slouched in his chair, looking at his wife in indignation.

    Wasn''t Prince of Lanling''s mask enough !?

    ...

    Not many people noticed this.

    The applause continued, interspersed with fragmented discussions.

    "Spiderman is so cool!"

    "I like him so much!"

    "That scene with the train was so stunning!"

    "The death of the uncle was really heartbreaking."

    "With great power comes great responsibility. The movie was really funny, but I actually had tears in my eyes during that part. This movie has more depth than I thought."

    "This is the best superhero!"

    "Spiderman seems different from the other superheroes I know. Other superheroes are representative of all mankind, but Spiderman feels like he''s right among us."

    "The teary part was the little Spiderman at the end."

    "That''s Xian Yu for you!"

    "Even when Xian Yu makes a superhero movie, it''s completely different from others!"

    "The lead actor is pretty good, is he a newcomer?"

    "He played the role very well, I''ve started to like him now."

    "..."

    In the midst of their discussions, many audience members left the theater.

    Some people were feeling hungry and wanted to find a place to eat.

    Just then.

    Someone pointed to a restaurant in front and exclaimed, "Holy shit, isn''t that Spiderman?"

    Far away.

    There was a restaurant called "Flame Hot Pot". At the entrance, a Spiderman statue was prominently displayed.

    If you had not seen "Spiderman", you would be completely puzzled by the statue.

    But for audience who had seen "Spiderman", seeing this theme made them feel an immediate sense of familiarity!

    "Let''s go eat there!"

    Everyone rushed in eagerly. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    And that restaurant, was completely Spiderman themed.

    All sorts of posters were stuck on the walls, making customers feel as if they had left the cinema and entered into the world of the movie...

    This scene was playing out in many places.

    At that moment.

    Sun Yaohuo also stepped out of the cinema.

    The movie by his junior was really good!

    He nodded and glanced at his phone, finding the chat group for his store unusually lively:

    "Business is so good today!"

    "Several customers ordered the hot pot base with the Spiderman theme!"

    "Do you have that?"

    "Of course, I just made a mold in advance, is it that hard?"

    "Don''t talk like Sherlock Holmes!"

    "Our customers took pictures with the Spiderman posters after they finished eating!"

    "The boss is really amazing!"

    "The boss''s business thinking is always so visionary!"

    "Simply a business genius!"

    "When it comes to trend marketing, the boss is always the best!"

    "..."

    Sun Yaohuo was dumbfounded.

    What marketing?

    What business genius?

    Isn''t it just me supporting my friend''s movie? Is it that complicated?

 Chapter 563 - 532 Periphery_1

    Some people went for hot pot after watching the movie.

    Some people went home after the movie and even started writing film reviews. For a movie that hadn''t been previewed, the first batch of hot-off-the-press reviews would inevitably come from the first audience members who have finished watching the movie--

    "A commercial movie worth watching!"

    "Xian Yu provides a new perspective for superhero movies. Whether it''s the thought-provoking line [with great power comes great responsibility] in the movie, or his way of practicing his uncle''s [last words] by using his body to stop a train, all of these are presented to the audience in the most pleasant way to convey the values the film attempts to instill in the audience."

    "Several scenes are perfectly framed."

    "The first fight in the subway car sets a comedic tone for the movie. I couldn''t imagine a superhero desperately trying to save the world could be so funny, and Little Spider talks so much, I can''t even remember exactly what he said. It must have been hard work for this new actor named Jian Yi to have to memorize all those lines."

    "A movie that will not disappoint!"

    "Xian Yu managed to highlight the simplistic heroism without overshadowing the brilliance of Spider-Man. By choosing an ordinary little guy as the protagonist, the familial and romantic elements in the film not only enrich its emotional depth but also resonate with the audience.

    During those scenes depicting Spiderman freely shuttling between skyscrapers, I could savor the scent of youth and freedom. Those special effects were not overdone, but the shots were coolly configured, announcing Xian Yu''s prowess not only in art films but also in commercial cinema."

    "The ending is so romantic!"

    "Spider-Man with half of his mask on and kissing the leading lady in the rain is a classic romantic scene. This might become an unforgettable screen kiss. Through this arrangement, Xian Yu might hint that Spider-Man does not want to admit he is Peter. Even though he and Gwen both know it, Spider-Man doesn''t want Gwen to be involved in his world.

    He knows how dangerous his future is and the instinctive need to protect his loved ones by hiding his identity."

    "Astounding characterization!"

    "While other superheroes are busy saving the world, Spider-Man is committed to protecting civilians around him. His activities are confined within a city, making him a real people''s hero, as approachable as your next-door neighbor, with a bit of youthful mischievousness. After all, he''s just a diligent student off stage."

    "..."

    StarNet''s review serves as a vane for onlookers. Despite the inevitable plot spoilers, many people skillfully avoid spoilers or just look at the movie rating.

    At this moment.

    This "Spider-Man" movie scores 8.8. Among all the films Xian Yu has made, this has the lowest rating. But this is in comparison to Xian Yu''s previous films. If we compare this movie alone or with other superhero films, this rating absolutely stands out!

    Just so you know.

    "Dragonman" next door only has a score of 7.9, which is already considered an above-average rating for superhero films. It''s always hard for these popcorn flicks to get both box office and ratings.

    From this perspective.

    This "Spider-Man" film has already won highly favorable public praise, setting a new rating limit for superhero films.

    ...

    The next day.

    Lin Yuan woke up and checked the movie reviews on StarNet and was generally satisfied with both the audience''s ratings and the movie''s score, though he had once hoped that "Spider-Man" could score 9.

    But that''s nearly impossible.

    There''s basically no chance for a conventional commercial film to get this kind of score, even though Lin Yuan''s version of "Spider-Man" is different from any version on Earth, as it''s essentially upgraded to perfection!

    Yes.

    If Earth''s audience were here, they would surely exclaim that Xian Yu is a weirdo who consolidated several classic scenes from different Spider-Man versions into a brand-new one!

    Spider-Man''s upside-down kiss.

    This was a classic scene in the first "Spider-Man" movie by Toby. A Little Spider standing against the villain was the most touching scene in Garfield''s version of "The Amazing Spider-Man."

    Stopping the train?

    That''s also from Toby''s version, but it''s from the second installment of his "Spider-Man." This scene is arguably the highlight of the second installment, so much so that even the "Spider-Man: Homecoming" featuring Tom Holland pulled a large ship together with spider silk as a tribute to this classic scene. And that tribute was undoubtedly successful.

    And in the end.

    Spider-Man''s battle suit.

    The high-tech suit is designed based on the one Iron Man tailor-made for Holland''s Spider-Man. In terms of splendor and functionality, the suit is undoubtedly the best. This also sets a foreshadowing for the movie "Iron Man."

    It was all done in the flow.

    Lin Yuan might not necessarily make "Iron Man," but he couldn''t guarantee he won''t definitely make it either. What if it turns out to be truly fragrant? Therefore, even though he hasn''t set up a post-credit scene for the Avengers in the movie, the last shot was still this suit. It somehow amalgamates Spider-Men from three generations.

    The awkward thing is...

    After this version of "Spider-Man" was released, Lin Yuan''s Spider-Man movie material library was nearly depleted, because all the classic scenes are integrated into this brand-new version. If there is to be a sequel, it will have to take a completely different path. It may even need to draw inspiration from the comics or Spider-Man''s arch-nemesis, Venom.

    Thinking about this.

    Lin Yuan glanced at his phone and saw that he had received many messages. They''re all from friends discussing his new movie. Everyone seemed to love this movie.

    I wonder what the box office will be like?

    Lin Yuan was looking forward to it. He felt that the box office of "Spider-Man" should be stronger than his previous three movies. His previous three movies were somewhat niche, while this one is more mainstream.

    After browsing StarNet.

    Lin Yuan went to his company.

    Gu Dong''s car was already waiting outside his house. As soon as Lin Yuan got into the car, he heard Gu Dong''s excited voice, "A toy manufacturer wants to buy the rights to Spider-Man. The factory that made the Prince of Lanling mask last time also wants to sell Spider-Man suits. Even figurine companies and masters have expressed interest in creating a Spider-Man figurine..."

    Lin Yuan''s eyes lit up! S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Spider-Man can sell merchandise!

 Chapter 564 - 533 Flaw_1

    Mercandising, huh...

    For some animated films, merchandising is definitely the biggest source of revenue. Those animations with billions of investment do not rely on box office revenue to make a profit. They rely on the merchandise. Do you have any idea how much money Disney has made off this on Earth?

    The number must be horrifying!

    However, not many live-action movies can sell merchandise, but "Spiderman" is one of them. Firstly, the design of Spiderman''s image is really cool. Secondly, the films have received good reviews. I wonder how much they made in box office sales and how the subsequent merchandising rights will be priced based on the influence of this film.

    They''re going to make a fortune!

    Lin Yuan was a bit excited. Even though he already has enough money to last him several lifetimes, considering the vast library of works from Earth, continuous adaptation is still like a bottomless pit. If Lin Yuan wanted to adapt all of Earth''s classic works in one breath now, his current savings would not be enough!

    So, he needs money!

    More and more money!

    Maybe some people''s pursuit of money is engraved in their bones. Lin Yuan is no exception. He has made great progress by learning not to haggle with the system. But it is too much to expect him to see money as worthless. Compared with that, Lin Yuan doesn''t aspire much for fame. The constant release of works is just to satisfy the system''s task requirements for prestige.

    "We''ll talk later."

    Lin Yuan said seriously.

    It''s the safest choice to discuss merchandising income when Spiderman''s influence rises to another level. Lin Yuan doesn''t believe this movie will flop. A commercially successful movie with a decent score has no reason to flop. Furthermore, Spiderman is like Marvel''s own adopted son. In the period before the debut of Little Robert Downey Jr.

    and "Iron Man," the popularity of Spiderman almost overshadowed his colleagues. Even with the huge success of Iron Man, people''s enthusiasm for Spiderman has never waned.

    On the other hand...

    With the premiere of Xian Yu''s new movie "Spiderman," film critics also expressed differing views on this movie through major media outlets, indicating that the movie is really heating up.

    There''s this media outlet...

    Called "Pioneer Entertainment."

    This is a reputable entertainment magazine. Most of their reporting is reliable: "Many people are surprised that Xian Yu has started making traditional commercial films as well. But many people ignore the fact that comedy is also a commercial genre. Xian Yu started on a film journey with "Tang Bohu," and he has already shown a commercial label then.

    It''s just that many people have gotten an impression of him as an art film creator as he pursued depth in his subsequent films."

    "Let''s talk about "Spiderman."

    "This is a very well-constructed commercial piece. The script is solid. The roof-jumping action and upside-down kissing scenes have sparked a lot of discussions among the audience. The scenes where Spiderman stops a train and Little Spiderman stops a villain are in sharp contrast. Their abilities are not on the same level, but their actions have the same meaning.

    The phrase ''with great power comes great responsibility'' is the most memorable line for the audience after watching the film. Xian Yu still hasn''t forgotten to explore the depth of the film."

    "But there are flaws."

    "Xian Yu''s control of the budget is very conservative. Others are pursuing higher special effects, whereas Xian Yu feels that as long as the special effects are sufficient, they''re good. The special effects produced with a budget of one million are, of course, sufficient, but they''re just enough."

    "Furthermore..."

    "While watching the movie, I always felt a regret. That is, the characterization of the villain is a bit flat. To highlight Spiderman, the villain ended up being a mere synonym for ''villain'' without being endowed with a deeper meaning. It''s a pity indeed."

    ...

    Lin Yuan saw the review.

    He felt that "Pioneer Entertainment"''s evaluation of the villain part was quite reasonable. After all, it''s a hybrid movie; it can''t be perfect. After he had put together the best parts of several movies, it''s inevitable to sacrifice the characterization of the villain. Otherwise, the film would need to be half an hour longer. For a film, it''s too risky to just randomly add an extra half hour.

    People watch movies to relax.

    Without sufficient motivation, it''s hard for people to patiently watch an excessively long movie. The Avengers dared to do so because of their strong foundation. Spiderman in Blue Star version neither has the foundation of the Avengers nor the build-up from comics. Lin Yuan definitely had to choose a compromise...

    Yes.

    The script for this "Spiderman" is not only the work of the system; Lin Yuan also added many of his own ideas. Having read so many film-related books, he finally got the opportunity to utilize them. After all, he has to do things himself eventually. Therefore, he had also ordered a few more versions of Spiderman¡ª

    This cost a lot of money.

    The scripts provided by the system are not 100% perfect. They''re only on par with the original version at best. If Lin Yuan were to rely solely on the system, he would find it less exciting. So being able to get more involved is definitely a worthwhile thing. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Moreover.

    Many newspapers mentioned the concept of a "grassroots hero." "Spiderman" is truly a pioneer in this respect. Of all the superhero movies in Blue Star, only Peter Parker is genuinely from the lower class.

    He''s an orphan.

    He doesn''t come from a wealthy family and he''s not a standout in school. In fact, he gets bullied. He, too, would rack his brain to pursue a girl and lose his way in the maze of growing up. These are the most appealing things about Spiderman.

    He has a growth arc.

    A more vivid image.

    Although the villain is depicted in a one-dimensional way, the uncle''s character was very successfully portrayed. Although the uncle doesn''t appear much in the film, his death had a huge impact on not only Spiderman but also the audience. The reason people find it heartbreaking is that they have already accepted that character.

    If the uncle''s character were not well-depicted, "with great power comes great responsibility" would be mere lip service.

    The uncle leads by example.

    He''s just a helpless old man without Spiderman''s agility and strength. But when he faced an armed robber, he didn''t choose to stand by. Instead, he bravely stood up to the robber, albeit at the cost of his own life. Isn''t this also a sense of "responsibility" given to oneself by ordinary people?

    Anyway...

    In order to ease this heartbreak, Lin Yuan magnified the joyful side of Spiderman. This idea also came from the Holland brother version. Toby''s Spiderman is a bit melancholy, with a heavy taste of the loser-turned-hero storyline, even a bit artsy. But most superheroes have this bitter and deep-seated feeling. So Lin Yuan tried hard to create this contrast.

    The truth is.

    The effect is not bad.

    In the next few days, "Spiderman" saw a surge in box office sales. More and more people went to the cinema to watch this movie, and more and more people fell in love with this talkative and playful Spiderman...

 Chapter 565 - 534 Teacher Admirable Fish Understands the Most _1

    "Lives up to the reputation!"

    "After watching ''Hachiko'', I got a bit of a shadow over Xianyu the Old Thief''s movies, thank goodness Little Spider gave me plenty of joy. Although there were some torturous parts in the movie, they all fell within my tolerance level."

    "A different kind of superhero!"

    "I want to try the upside-down kiss!"

    "Compared to Little Spider, the neighboring ''Legend of the Dragonman'' seems lackluster. While Long Yang''s skill level is high, the cliched story of hardship and revenge to save the world is really tiring. There''s nothing eye-catching about it!"

    "Fish Papa finally made a commercial film!"

    "Fish Papa''s movies in the past had good reputations, but I found them pretty average. Instead, his early work ''Flirting Scholar'' hit the spot for me. This film has further proved this, he''s really more suited to commercial films!"

    "Spiderman was so goddamn cool!"

    "Other superhero movies should learn from Spiderman. What it means to be cool, and grow up. Saving the world is just the result, we want to see the interesting process!"

    "..."

    There are more audience members!

    Positive reviews increased!

    The influence is continuously fermenting!

    Xianyu''s Tribe''s comment section has straight up turned into a bragging party mode.

    And in everyone''s discussions, Long Yang''s ''Legend of the Dragonman'' was inevitably mentioned.

    Being a film about a superhero as well as being released at the same time as ''Spiderman'', ''Legend of the Dragonman'' was overshadowed by the former''s novelty and humor, so much so that its mediocrity became a flaw in the eyes of the audience.

    No one was saying that Long Yang made a bad film.

    But since the plot failed to break out of the stereotypical mold and met a superhero like Spiderman who doesn''t play by the conventional rules, it was inevitable that this film by Long Yang would be eclipsed in the box office.

    This contrast became even clearer when the first week''s box office came out!

    One had over 500 million in the first week!

    Another just topped 400 million in the first week!

    The first week''s 500 million, of course, belongs to ''Spiderman''.

    If you simply look at the numbers, Xianyu and Long Yang are tied, with little apparent difference between them.

    But don''t forget:

    The production cost of Long Yang''s movie is three times that of Xian Yu''s!

    It must be said.

    The three hundred million-dollar effects certainly look great, coupled with Longyang''s good reputation. His box office didn''t crumble under the pressure of ''Spiderman''.

    However...

    When transitioning to the second week, the gap between the two films gradually grew. ''Spiderman'' box office even increased!

    Seven hundred million!

    Meanwhile...

    Long Yang''s ''Legend of the Dragonman'' fell below four hundred million.

    In this contrast, the superiority of the two films, both of which tell the stories of superheroes, became clear!

    At this point, ''Spiderman'' was completely on fire!

    In the following days, ''Spiderman'' continues to heat up, even some entertainment shows started to frequently mention this superhero film...

    Meanwhile...

    Starlight finally gave out the rights to develop merchandise.

    It''s worth mentioning that...

    Lin Yuan is the rights holder of Spiderman. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The company is just Lin Yuan''s authorized agent.

    Because merchandise development is an income stream many people hadn''t anticipated, it wasn''t mentioned in the contract beforehand. As a result, Lin Yuan received the majority of the merchandise profits.

    There''s no way Starlight would be foolish enough to cause a conflict with Xianyu over this.

    The value of Xianyu is worth countless merchandise items!

    For the next few days...

    When Spiderman merchandise came out, many video bloggers posted videos of themselves wearing Spiderman battle suits...

    Some were funny.

    Some were cool.

    And some were simply cosplaying.

    The appearance of these videos garnered a great response, a wave of Spiderman imitations quickly swept across!

    ...

    It was expected that the movie would be a hit, but the emergence of the merchandise trend and the Spiderman imitation craze wasn''t anticipated by Lin Yuan.

    His thinking was too simplistic.

    What happened later made Lin Yuan realize:

    He really didn''t have much of a business mind!

    Even though he had a deeper understanding of Spiderman, he never conceived of how to fully develop Spiderman merchandise.

    Here''s what happened...

    When the Spiderman imitation craze began to sweep across, Gu Dong suddenly asked Lin Yuan, "The merchandise developers want to make a female Spiderman battle suit. They need your authorization, will you accept?"

    "..."

    This is what Lin Yuan had overlooked.

    Marvel has a Spiderman Universe!

    And in the Spiderman Universe, there were a number of different Spiders.

    They have Spiderman in different colours for both men and women, and even animal Spiderman...

    Who would have thought that Lin Yuan, someone with such a forward-thinking mind, forgot to consider developing merchandise for the female Spiderman? Instead, the merchandising company suggested it!

    The merchandising company didn''t even know about the Spiderman universe...

    Isn''t it said that businessmen are supposed to be flexible-minded?

    It looks like Lin Yuan should take some time to learn about business thinking from Senior Yao Huo!

    "I agree!"

    Of course, Lin Yuan wouldn''t reject it.

    He would never turn down money-making opportunities that don''t involve selling his body or soul. In fact, he even voluntarily offered to take part in the design of the female Spiderman''s battle suit.

    Not just red!

    Pink also works!

    And black is a must!

    And so, the merchandising company started working enthusiastically on this project.

    However,

    When this news was announced, Spiderman''s fans weren''t pleased!

    What kind of joke is this?

    Spiderman is a man!

    What on earth is a woman doing in a Spiderman battle suit?

    Absolutely outrageous!

    Female Spiderman, is that still Spiderman?

    The gender has been completely changed!

    The loudest protests came from the male fans!

    Because of the movies, male fans are convinced that Spiderman is male, they can''t accept a female version!

    There was none in the movies!

    Peter Parker is a pure man!

    The merchandising company reluctantly tried to explain: "Teacher Admirable Fish agreed..."

    The male fans were outraged.

    Teacher Admirable Fish has fallen!

    He sold out Spiderman''s image for money!

    He''s just a scriptwriter, what does he know about Spiderman!

    Clearly,

    The fans'' resistance wouldn''t stop the merchandising company from carrying out their project.

    Soon,

    The female Spiderman battle suit design was completed. The sales rate was pretty good, showing that women could accept it. It was just some male fans who were making a fuss.

    Subsequently,

    A not very famous cosplayer bought the new red, black and pink female Spiderman suits and uploaded some pictures of herself wearing them online.

    At this time, the male fans were still protesting.

    But soon, these pictures of the cosplayer in the female Spiderman suits went viral!

    It was crazy, everyone was re-sharing!

    "Holy Shit..."

    Looking at these pictures, the male fans were dumbfounded. The same Spiderman suit, while worn by men looked cool, but on women...

    It would be something like this (picture supposed to be here):

    Her exquisite figure, framed by the Spiderman suit.

    That enticing waist...

    That unique charm...

    Some were wearing a mask, mysterious and charming.

    Some were not wearing a mask, with their long hair flowing down.

    The soft and supple female body, fitting perfectly in the Spiderman suit -

    Provocative, attractive, compelling!

    So big, so round, so good looking... Many male fans silently swallowed their saliva.

    After some thoughtful consideration...

    No need to think anymore...

    Quietly saving the picture.

    A male fan silently typed out a sentence:

    "Teacher Admirable Fish really understands Spiderman."

    No more voices of resistance were heard. The female Spiderman suits were selling even better than the male suits!

    The black one, in particular...

    That day,

    A post appeared on a forum: "My husband started forcing me to wear the female Spiderman suit after he put on his own Spiderman suit... It feels so weird..."

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: That''s all for now.

 Chapter 566 - 535 Our Song_1

    Merchandisers: "..."

    When the planning of the Spider-Woman battle suit design was announced, many male Spider-Man fans were boycotting it.

    Vendors once doubted the value of this plan.

    Even waving the big flag of ''Admirable Fish'' did not help much.

    But who knew...

    The Spider-Women battle suits sold out as soon as they were available!

    Weren''t those male fans shouting about boycotting?

    Fuck your boycott!

    You beasts!

    This saying ''harsh in words but supportive in deeds'' describes you perfectly!

    Those who boycott the most are you, and those who buy the most are still you!

    What did a group of rough men like you buy it for?

    LSP!

    No wonder Steve Jobs said:

    Customers don''t know what they want.

    Many years ago on Earth, Boss Jobs had already seen through everything.

    The popularity of the merchandise was another proof of the success of the ''Spider-Man'' movie.

    The popularity of the merchandise also boosted the popularity of the movie to a certain extent, the two complemented each other.

    Meanwhile...

    Jian Yi, who played Spiderman, rose to fame!

    This newcomer, who graduated and became the lead actor in Admirable Fish''s new movie, became another instance of overnight celebrity in the entertainment industry.

    Commercial endorsements...

    Brand notices...

    Celebrity interviews...

    Jian Yi jumped to become the trending newcomer in the entertainment industry!

    Of course, Jian Yi was ecstatic, he immediately renamed the small group he was in with Lin Yuan and Xia Fan to:

    "Yongning Village Entertainment Group".

    Xia Fan couldn''t stand it: "What a shitty name?"

    There are too many points to ridicule, and he doesn''t know where to start.

    First of all, there are only four people in the group. Why is it called a "big entertainment group"? Where did the "big" come from?

    Furthermore.

    Are they serious about the "Yongning Village" in the group name?

    Jian Yi was dissatisfied: "We are all stars now. You should speak to me more politely in the future. Even the contemporaries in the company call me Brother Yi, which is homophonic to Number One Brother!"

    Sister Wei bubbled up: "You are getting arrogant."

    Jian Yi felt guilty: "Sister Wei misunderstood me, the main thing is that everyone in our group is in the entertainment industry. You write novels, I act in movies, Xia Fan sings, not to mention Lin Yuan. Isn''t it an entertainment group?"

    "Brother Yi?"

    Xia Fan questioned from the soul: "Then do you know what Lin Yuan is called?"

    Maestro...

    Fish Papa...

    These are all Lin Yuan''s nicknames, not only do fans call him that, many people in the company also do so.

    Jian Yi suddenly fell silent.

    Xia Fan couldn''t bear it and decided to leave some dignity for Jian Yi. He said to make peace: "No problem, Brother Yi, I''ve thought about it. You''ll each have your own titles."

    Jian Yi: "..."

    He calls me brother, and I call him daddy?

    At this moment.

    The system message hints that "Learning Makes Me Happy" was invited by Sister Wei to join the group chat.

    Jian Yi asked: "Who is this?"

    Learning Makes Me Happy: "Call me Little Aunt."

    Jian Yi: "..."

    Such a quirky name could only belong to Little Aunt...

    Damn!

    It must be Lin Yao.

    Jian Yi was very familiar with the sisters of Lin Yuan and Xia Fan.

    At this moment, Lin Yao circled Lin Yuan, she seemed quite dissatisfied: "Why didn''t you add me to the group earlier?"

    Sister Wei explained for Lin Yuan: "You were not of age when this group was first created."

    Lin Yao was even more disgruntled: "What does this have to do with whether I''m of age or not?"

    Everyone was silent.

    Lin Yao seemed to understand something when she saw those photos of Jian Yi in the fiery Spider-Woman costumes in the group album.

    Legend has it...

    Every group has a "porn guy".

    And Jian Yi was apparently the porn guy of this group.

    She silently uploaded several gigabytes of study materials in an attempt to cleanse the group''s atmosphere.

    ...

    In the following days, the box office for "Spiderman" showed no signs of cooling down, and its performance remained strong.

    Almost every day news reports featured "Spiderman".

    Mixed within these news articles was a story about how a certain restaurant brand was making a killing with a series of Spiderman-themed events, but it drew little attention.

    Until August.

    Only then did the hype around Little Spider gradually diminish. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    While Lin Yuan was contemplating his next step, he suddenly received a call from Tong Shuwen¡ª

    Lin Yuan was puzzled.

    The Masked Singer had already ended, what did Tong Shuwen want with him?

    He answered the call.

    Tong Shuwen laughed and said, "Teacher Admirable Fish, sorry to bother you again. I''m calling because we have another show...."

    "A singing one?"

    "Yes."

    "I''m not interested."

    After participating in The Masked Singer, Lin Yuan was not interested in participating in any other music shows.

    Tong Shuwen paused, then forced a laugh, "This show doesn''t need you to sing, primarily, it needs you to compose songs¡­."

    "Composing?"

    "Yes, our new show is called ''Our Song'', it''s program centered around composers."

    Lin Yuan: "¡­..."

    Why did he encounter a familiar show name again?

    He almost instinctively wanted to ask the system if something was wrong.

    Until Tong Shuwen explained the details of "Our Song":

    "In each episode of this show, we will invite different composers. Initially, composers will be randomly assigned singers, and in the later stages, the production team will give a theme, and the composers will create songs around that theme, then select singers to perform."

    "Like a seasonal Music Chart?"

    Lin Yuan associated it with the Chart, because the Chart was where composers wrote songs, then sought suitable singers for competitions.

    "Exactly!"

    "You can imagine this as turning the seasonal music chart competition into a variety show for the audience to watch, which can further popularize the composers. Additionally, you will have a wide range of singers to choose from, as we will invite the singers from the first season of ''The Masked Singer'' ¡­."

    Lin Yuan was lost in thought.

    If it was a singer he didn''t know, it would be okay, but if it was a singer who had participated in The Masked Singer, he knew quite a few of them. For instance, if he encountered Mu Shi or others, he could arrange songs that required their skills to be improved.

    If he encountered Fei Yang, he could also arrange some heartfelt songs for him.

    If he encountered Sun Yaohuo and others, even better.

    Everyone was talking about the "Yu Dynasty", causing Lin Yuan to feel a sense of identity with the Yu Dynasty. He originally planned to arrange some works for the singers in the Yu Dynasty If there were a variety show to increase the exposure, it would be not bad benefit for the songs.

    "But I don''t have much time ¡­."

    "Of course, your time is the most precious. So most of the content of the show will be powered by the singers. We have also invited some other maestros to participate in the show, like Teacher Zheng Jing who you are familiar with, we are also contacting Teacher Yang Zhongming, but he has not responded yet."

    "I will consider it."

    Lin Yuan did not outright refuse, he was indeed a bit interested.

    If this show would not take up too much time, he would need to think more about the specific situation.

    "Don''t worry!"

    Tong Shuwen laughed and said, "Our show is definitely going to be a hit. With the foundation laid by ''The Masked Singer'', the audience will definitely buy it. Actually, the idea for this show came from you. The audience now has a high demand for composers to step forward¡­."

    "And the judges?"

    "The judges are the audience!"

    Tong Shuwen bitterly laughed and said, "Since the maestros are participating in the show, whoever is chosen as a judge would be a problem. Therefore, we could only hand the judging over to the public. This time, not only can the live audience vote, but the offsite audience also has voting rights. Everyone attached to an ID could vote....."

    Totally public voting?

    Lin Yuan suddenly felt that on this stage, he could present some different kinds of songs, because the gathered aesthetics of the public were the most inclusive.

    "Of course."

    Tong Shuwen laughed, "This is just the initial plan. Our production team is still discussing. If we make any adjustments in the future, we will inform you as soon as possible."

    "Hmm."

    This show seemed like a sequel to "The Masked Singer", but this time Lin Yuan would play a completely different role.

    As a composer...

    Participating in a show purely in this capacity to interact with the singers seemed quite interesting. When Lin Yuan previously participated in shows, he noticed many amusing participants.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: If any of you have good ideas, bring them to the table. We''re now in the phase of crowd-funding for the book. Yesterday''s female Spiderman idea was provided by a reader named [Dreaded Book Emperor], and deserves special recognition and thanks~

 Chapter 567 - 536: Turbulence Rises Again_1

    Overlord...

    Samurai...

    Elf...

    Robot...

    School of Fish...

    Many of the singers on "The Masked Singer" left a deep impression on Lin Yuan. Among them, there were some singers whom Lin Yuan felt regrettable for, including some who were eliminated in the early stages due to their inability to adapt to the competition. Lin Yuan would certainly not object to having a collaborative stage.

    The next day.

    Lin Yuan received a call from Yang Zhongming, inviting him to a meeting. Yang Zhongming had exchanged contact information with Lin Yuan when they first met, but this was the first time Yang Zhongming had phoned him.

    Five minutes later.

    Lin Yuan went upstairs.

    Inside the meeting room were Yang Zhongming and Zheng Jing,

    After exchanging greetings, Zheng Jing fishtailed into laughter and said, "Our company''s representative composers are assembled. It''s a pity that two of our composers left at the beginning of the year."

    Starlight used to have five Maestros last year!

    This was the backbone of Starlight''s position as the No. 1 music company in the Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan areas.

    However, at the beginning of the year, two of the Maestros left Starlight for other companies, therefore the company''s influence in the music industry declined somewhat. Despite that, with Lin Yuan''s recent unmasking as the Prince of Lanling, Starlight regained some of its prestige as a music industry giant.

    After all, Lin Yuan was very accomplished, aside from not having won any awards as a Maestro. So as long as Lin Yuan and Yang Zhongming stayed with Starlight, coupled with the presence of Zheng Jing, the company would continue to maintain a heavy influence in the music world.

    Three maestros.

    Quite an impressive lineup.

    Lin Yuan had heard about this matter.

    In Gu Dong''s words, the senior management of the company had exploded with rage over this. However, it didn''t have much to do with Lin Yuan, so he shrugged it off.

    "Let''s get down to business."

    Zheng Jing said, "Little Fish, you should know why we asked for you? Tong Shuwen wants to do a new show and invited us to endorse it. Of course, the invited composers are not only us, but also Yin Dong and Ye Zhi Qiu. Additionally, Wu Long and others who didn''t win the Maestro award, but are also very strong composers, should also appear in this program."

    Lin Yuan nods.

    As for Zheng Jing''s calling him "Little Fish," he had no objection to it.

    "Let''s discuss our thoughts."

    Zheng Jing said, "I think we three should all participate. Firstly, the company has this idea, hoping that we can consolidate the company''s position. Ideally, we could meet the two who left and strengthen the company''s image. Secondly, I have some accumulated songs that can be released in this show. After all, there are quite a few Kings and Queens of Singing in this show.

    I quite like some of their voices. Of course, the most important thing is that I think the show is quite fun."

    "What about you?"

    Yang Zhongming looked at Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan said, "I can go."

    Yang Zhongming revealed a smile, "Then I''ll go and play as well. Actually seeing you constantly releasing new songs through the competition, I''ve been itching to do the same."

    "What do you mean!"

    Zheng Jing stared at Yang Zhongming, "When I asked you to go, you said you would consider. When Little Fish said he would go, you immediately wanted to join the show. Are you two really going to create some relationship stir?"

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    Yang Zhongming: "..."

    Zheng Jing sneered and said, "I must warn you in advance, I''m not going to get serious with you guys. Some of the songs I''ve written a long time ago, including those from my early years. You guys take it easy."

    Yang Zhongming asked, "Are you suggesting that I should give you some leeway?"

    Zheng Jing rolled her eyes, "Even if I don''t give you leeway, do you really have that many good songs?"

    Yang Zhongming was silent, admiring the sense in Zheng Jing''s words.

    The show didn''t know how many episodes they had to run, or even how many songs they had to provide. Thus, he couldn''t guarantee that each of his songs would be perfect.

    Who could churn out so many good works one after another?

    This was in line with what Lin Yuan was thinking.

    He participated in the competition in order not to be eliminated. He had to come up with explosive songs to feel assured. However, some songs, despite certain flaws, were still somewhat appealing in their own ways.

    It would be a shame not to release them.

    It would be nice to release them through this show.

    ...

    While the three of them were discussing, there came a burst of noise from outside.

    "We need to use the conference room!"

    "I don''t see any department that has applied to use the conference room."

    "Which department is so bossy, without a word, to seize this conference room?"

    "There are so many people waiting to hold a meeting."

    "..."

    The door was pulled open.

    A group of people looking like managers outside the door looked discontentedly at the meeting room:

    Zheng Jing...

    Xian Yu...

    Yang Zhongming...

    In such a large conference room, there were only three people.

    Yet these three people scared a group of middle-level managers.

    The leader apologized tremblingly, "I''m sorry for interrupting you, professors. We''ll choose another room. Please go on..."

    With that said, the door was closed again.

    The hustle and bustle outside the door gradually disappeared.

    The group of middle-level managers who had left looked frightened, their faces pale.

    "Why are the three Maestros gathered together?"

    "Are they planning on making major news?"

    "I was so scared."

    "I was wondering which department was so domineering, without saying a word, used such a large conference room. The chairman isn''t in the company today."

    "The three of them are equal to how many departments..."

    "..."

    In the conference room.

    Neither Lin Yuan nor Zheng Jing nor Yang Zhongming minded this minor interruption.

    The three of them continued to talk about the show.

    About twenty minutes of discussion.

    The three of them eventually returned to their respective offices.

    Lin Yuan called Tong Shuwen, expressing his willingness to participate in the show.

    Tong Shuwen laughed and said, "It''s great that you have agreed to it. The composers are indeed the hardest to invite. The singer''s side, however, is quite easy to handle. Basically, they all agreed to participate. Of course, those you find annoying will definitely not appear."

    Lin Yuan: "???"

    Who is the annoying person? sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Without overthinking it, Lin Yuan hung up the phone.

    Just then.

    Lin Yuan began to receive calls from Sun Yaohuo and others. Even White Swan called.

    These people had clearly also received program invitations.

    "I''ll participate."

    Lin Yuan gave a definite reply.

    And this reply will also become the reply of other singers. The presence of the Maestros is the biggest guarantee of this show!

    A few days later.

    The program group announced the program information of "Our Song," including the participating singers and composers¡­

    Boom!

    Instant explosion!

    The topic shot straight to the trending list!

    At this moment, the first season of "The Masked Singer" was still making waves. The scenes in the program are still being discussed over and over again by countless people.

    Everyone was saying...

    No matter what is done in the second season, it is impossible to surpass the first season. This even affected some people''s expectations for the second season!

    But...

    The second season hasn''t even arrived yet.

    Instead, the sequel to the first season of "The Masked Singer" has come!

    Or you could say...

    This is a spin-off of "The Masked Singer"!

    Now this is definitely more exciting than the uncertainly of the second season!

    On this day.

    The music world stirred once again!

 Chapter 568 - 537: Composers Priority_1

    This production team really knows how to play the game!

    Everyone was worried about what the second season would bring.

    But Director Tong announced:

    The Masked Singer Season 2 is insignificant, isn''t it better to keep riding the wave of Season 1?

    Everyone was buzzing about this online.

    Some joked:

    "Previously, the Prince of Lanling only judged singers, now he will go hands-on and train them. In other words, I want to see the Prince of Lanling teaching Mu Shi and Illaoi how to breathe properly (sarcastic)."

    "I blindly guess Fei Yang will be second!"

    "Just imagine if Fish Papa and Fei Yang team up, would you still think their willpower is effective? Keep in mind that their willpower was given to Fei Yang by Fish Papa himself, but even when Fish Papa sang Fei Yang''s song in the previous show, he couldn''t escape his will (cynical)."

    "..."

    The novelty of this new show hit the internet users'' conversation spots.

    People were curious to see the sparks between the unmasked singers and composers.

    And the unmasked Xian Yu, there''s no doubt, carried the highest popularity.

    So...

    There''s a ton of conversation around Xian Yu!

    The public''s curiosity surrounding the composers was also a key selling point for the show.

    This was the first show focusing on composers and singers!

    Over 90% of the original cast from The Masked Singer can maintain the heat from the previous season.

    In addition,

    The production team also invited some new faces

    This is to bring a fresh feeling to some of the audience members.

    A total of fifty singers were invited, including ten Kings and Queens of Singing!

    Even Mao Xuewang and Liu Xu from The Masked Singer judging panel joined...

    The remaining forty are from Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan respectively.

    Each place had ten top singers!

    And as for the composer lineup...

    The production team invited a total of twenty!

    Out of which, officially certified Maestros were ten people!

    The remaining ten, although not awarded the title of Maestro, were enough to compete with them!

    Like Wu Long...

    Like Xian Yu...

    Prizes do not represent everything.

    Like the Little Leo on earth, whether he wins an Oscar or not, his worth is almost the same.

    Or Haruki Murakami, whether he wins the Nobel or not, his position in the literary world will not degrade.

    Therefore,

    This lineup is on par with The Masked Singer, and might even exceed it!

    This is partly because of the popularity of The Masked Singer being too overwhelming.

    Any singer who joined the show experienced a rise in value after being unmasked.

    Sone singers, who no longer enjoyed much attention, reignited their careers thanks to this show.

    With the production team putting out a sequel spin-off, those in the industry who tasted success are naturally eager to join.

    Those who didn''t join earlier are now envious and would not miss this new opportunity.

    Moreover...

    Singers also want to use this show to intersect with top composers.

    Because under normal circumstances, it''s very hard to get a chance sing for top composers. Even for the King and Queen of Singing, it''s not guaranteed, and even if it is, it comes at a hefty price for the company.

    But with this show, everyone has a chance to work with different top composers.

    Why wouldn''t they gladly accept?

    However, since the singers come from different continents, it''s speculated that the show will present songs in various languages.

    For example, the Qi language.

    Or the Chu language.

    To this end, the production team revealed a list of top lyricists, including Ni Hongwu and Rabbit Two.

    By then,

    These lyricists will be involved in the creation of different songs.

    ...

    With The Masked Singer just having ended, the pace of the production team was very fast, even going as far as choosing the same Qin Continent Music Center for the stage.

    At the end of July,

    Recording began.

    The singers were ready.

    And the twenty composers, including Lin Yuan, were all present and gathered in the grand hall.

    This production company is cheeky.

    They even carried over the stage from The Masked Singer for this show.

    Still the same music center...

    Once again, Lin Yuan was back here and found it strangely welcoming.

    On this stage, he once spent a memorable time under the guise of the Prince of Lanling.

    And now.

    He would resume his identity as the composer Xian Yu and continue to leave his mark on this stage.

    There was a rhombus-shaped table in the hall.

    Lin Yuan, Zheng Jing, and Yang Zhongming sat the closest to it.

    On the right side of Lin Yuan sat Wu Long, who had previously been a judge on ''The Masked Singer''.

    The seating arrangements were up to the participants.

    The show''s team hadn''t set a specific seating order. The rhombus table design was quite clever of them¡ªthey couldn''t exactly be blamed for being calculating.

    The main reason was that it was tough to arrange.

    Everyone already had high status within the industry. If an argument sprung up due to seating order, it would be extremely awkward.

    Who should sit at the head of the table?

    Just because Yang Zhongming, the most influential composer, was seated at the head of the table, did not mean the other composers were necessarily convinced. The room wasn''t short of leading composers after all.

    So, this table design was quite clever.

    Some of the composers were familiar with each other and were whispering to one another.

    Among them.

    A few composers took the initiative to greet Lin Yuan.

    Everyone seemed deeply interested in "Xian Yu" who had become quite popular in recent years. Occasionally, some eyes would turn to Lin Yuan.

    Just as everyone took their seats.

    The director, Tong Shuwen, appeared.

    He spoke with a smile:

    "Greetings old friends, once again we meet. Of course, I also offer a warm welcome to our new friends who have joined us. I hope you all have a great time on the show!"

    Everyone joined in with a round of applause.

    Then Tong Shuwen announced: "A total of fifty singers are ready in the hall. Twenty teachers, please follow me into the hall to freely select your first singer to cooperate with. If different composers select the same singer, the singer will have the right to choose. If a composer is not selected by a singer, they can make another choice from the remaining singers.

    This is the rule for our first competition..."

    Everyone nodded in agreement.

    Everyone''s expressions were quite natural.

    For a composer to have first pick of a singer is a usual occurrence in this industry.

    And if a singer becomes too sought-after, they have the right to choose. This is also an understandable rule.

    To an extent, this rule actually reflects the true nature of the music scene. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The top composers enjoy priority in...

    Choosing rights.

    If a singer''s strength is exceptional, then they are more in demand.

    Meanwhile.

    In the hall.

    Fifty singers stood in a line, as if they were "technicians" in a club waiting to be picked by the boss. Most of the singers looked both expectant and nervous.

    Of course, it was expected.

    Naturally, they were nervous.

    Singers longed to be chosen...

    The King and Queen of Singing, however, were rather relaxed.

    Their strengths were well recognized, and they would be more likely to be favored by composers.

    Suddenly.

    The door was pushed open.

    The bosses...

    Oh wait no.

    The composers finally walked in!

    Each of them seemed to emit a dazzling aura!

    Instantly!

    All the singers looked fervently at the composers!

    Especially the top composers were the targets of countless gazes!

    Of course.

    Lin Yuan also received a lot of attention from singers.

    The Xian Yu brand was still quite bright, not at all weaker than the prestigious composers present.

    In particular, Sun Yaohuo, Chen Zhiyu, Xia Fan, Jiang Kui, and Zhao Ying Ge immediately turned their eyes on Lin Yuan...

    The camera diligently captured this moment.

    When broadcasted, this scene would surely induce a knowing laugh from the audience.

    Was this a singer selection?

    It looked more like the daddies were choosing wives!

    The high status composers held within the industry was vividly displayed in this scene!

 Chapter 569 - 538 Xian Yus Choice_1

    The host Anhong showed up.

    It is no surprise that Anhong continues to be the host for "Our Song".

    Because Anhong has been very successful as the host on "The Masked Singer".

    Especially his ability to hold back laughter...

    Now, with the original team back together, there''s no way they wouldn''t have Anhong as part of the lineup.

    Right off the bat.

    Anhong began hosting cheerily, "Dear composers, and singer teachers, now it''s time for the composers to make their selection. The chosen singers will step forward."

    The singers: "..."

    This scene feels all too familiar.

    Director Tong Shuwen is definitely a sly one!

    Anhong announced loudly, "Now, composers please take your seats and choose your singers. You can circle the names of the singers you like in your notebook."

    The composers sat down one after another.

    The production team distributed notebooks to the composers.

    The cover of the notebook was quite grand. Pens were placed on the tables, everyone just needed to write down the names.

    Lin Yuan''s notebook had the names of fifty singers in it.

    Each singer''s name was followed by a brief introduction.

    For example, for Sun Yaohuo, it read:

    Known for works like "Red Rose", participated in "The Masked Singer" as a fish-man and made it into the top twelve of the first season ...

    After some deliberation, Lin Yuan circled a name.

    Meanwhile.

    The other composers were also making their selections.

    Anhong collected the notebooks and announced with a smile, "Now, I''ll read out the composers'' choices."

    The notebooks were shuffled.

    Anhong randomly picked up a notebook, and announced with a smile, "This is Teacher Wu Long''s choice. His final pick is Teacher Liang Ziyuan!"

    Liang Ziyuan''s eyes lit up as he stepped forward, receiving envious looks from the other singers.

    The composers all smiled.

    No one seemed to be surprised by Wu Long''s choice.

    Not even Lin Yuan.

    Because Liang Ziyuan was the robot from "The Masked Singer", a King of Singing from Chu Continent!

    Wu Long also hails from Chu Continent, so choosing Liang Ziyuan was like a local collaboration. Their musical philosophy should be pretty aligned, and the musical style of each region always has its unique flavors.

    Next.

    Anhong continued to read out the selections.

    When Anhong announced Yang Zhongming''s choice, the atmosphere among the singers became noticeably tense.

    Although the Maestros didn''t have official rankings, their competence was definitely acknowledged among the singers. Among all the composers invited by the show, Yang Zhongming was the most formidable!

    Ultimately, Yang Zhongming chose Shu Yu!

    This was another singer Lin Yuan recognized, because in "The Masked Singer", Shu Yu was:

    The White Swan!

    Shu Yu bowed excitedly and quickly stepped forward. Being selected by the most recognized composer on the scene was definitely something to be proud of!

    Was there any higher recognition than being chosen by Yang Zhongming?

    Some of the composers looked slightly dismayed.

    Obviously, more than one person had chosen Shu Yu.

    Since Shu Yu had a diverse range of styles she could perform and her talent was clear indeed, she was the choice of more than one composer.

    But...

    Even though other composers also chose Shu Yu, she chose Yang Zhongming without hesitation.

    She didn''t even avoid it.

    If it were other female singers, they would definitely have put on a show of struggle then ultimately reluctantly declined the other composers. This would be the most diplomatic way to handle it, but she didn''t.

    The White Swan was, as always, genuine.

    The rejected composers smiled and expressed their understanding.

    ...

    Finally, Anhong pulled out Lin Yuan''s notebook: S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Now, the next composer''s choice is Teacher Admirable Fish..."

    The singers became agitated once again.

    Admirable Fish was clearly a top pick among the singers.

    Especially people like Sun Yaohuo who were especially nervous.

    The Fishmen had the strongest bond with Admirable Fish, so everyone hoped to be selected by him.

    The other composers contemplated...

    In the Fishmen, Jiang Kui was the strongest.

    If limited to the Fishmen, Jiang Kui was the best choice. Would Admirable Fish choose Jiang Kui?

    Or another Fish?

    Or would he completely ignore the Fishmen and choose the more powerful King or Queen of singing?

    Anhong looked at the circled name, seeming a bit surprised:

    "Admirable Fish''s choice is... Singer Chen Zhiyu!"

    As soon as he finished.

    Sun Yaohuo was stunned.

    Zhao Ying Ge was stunned.

    Jiang Kui and Xia Fan were also startled.

    This was a choice that took everyone by surprise.

    He did choose from within the Fishmen, which was true, but if everyone remembers correctly...

    Among the Fishmen who participated in "The Masked Singer", Chen Zhiyu was the first one to be eliminated!

    Admirable Fish didn''t choose his favorite Sun Yaohuo, nor did he choose Zhao Ying Ge who had stayed with the Prince of Lanling the longest. He didn''t even choose Xia Fan whom he was closest to, or Jiang Kui who was widely acknowledged as the most powerful singer in the Fishmen.

    He surprisingly chose Chen Zhiyu who was eliminated first!

    You see, after "The Masked Singer" was aired, people discussed the strength of the Fishmen online.

    Netizens came to the following conclusion:

    Chen Zhiyu used to be the most powerful singer in the Fishmen, but now he''s the weakest.

    He is even weaker than Sun Yaohuo.

    At least Sun Yaohuo made it to the show''s top twelve!

    Even in that episode when the Yu Dynasty made their declaration, Chen Zhiyu couldn''t attend because he was eliminated early-

    He was left behind!

    This made some people wonder whether Chen Zhiyu was really part of the Yu Dynasty, putting it into question.

    The only discussion left about Chen Zhiyu seems to be the taunts about him being the "Perennial Runner-up."

    Even that label has faded since Fei Yang emerged.

    And so.

    At this moment, the same question also appeared in many people''s hearts.

    Among all the kings and queens of singing and frontline singers, Chen Zhiyu, who seemed to have no presence at all, was slightly stunned.

    His eyes suddenly turned red!

    "Thank you, Teacher Admirable Fish!"

    After stepping out, Chen Zhiyu''s voice was even suffused with a hint of a sob.

    He clenched his teeth tightly and bowed deeply!

    Online public opinion.

    Chen Zhiyu read all of them.

    Every Fish made it to the Final 12 except him...

    Did Chen Zhiyu not care?

    Of course he did!

    It was so humiliating!

    At the time when other Fishes were unknown, Chen Zhiyu had already been a very successful frontline singer.

    However, as other Fishes gradually advanced to the frontline, Chen Zhiyu was stuck in place, being surpassed one by one by others. How could he not feel anything?

    He has experienced pain.

    He also has been confused.

    But all he could do was clench his teeth, practice his singing skills submissively, and tried his best to blend into this big family called Fish Dynasty.

    He was afraid that one day everyone would no longer recognize him as a member of the Fish Dynasty.

    After all, he only collaborated once with Admirable Fish, and it was because he proposed to Starlight a condition to join, that Admirable Fish wrote a song for him.

    He had to squeeze hard into the Fish Dynasty.

    Even so, he still felt like an outsider in this small circle.

    But today!

    Teacher Admirable Fish announced to everyone!

    That he, Chen Zhiyu, has not been abandoned!

    He is also a member of the Fish Dynasty!

    Even if he seemed ordinary among these singers, even if he had the worst results in the Fish Clan!

    No one knew that at this moment, Chen Zhiyu made a resolve:

    From now on, "Fish" will be his lifelong belief!

    If initially joining Starlight was because if you can''t beat them, join them, and trying hard to squeeze into Fish Dynasty was for Admirable Fish''s songs, then from now on, Chen Zhiyu will work harder to integrate into the Fish Dynasty for someone...

    Behind Chen Zhiyu.

    Sun Yaohuo, who was just lost in thought, suddenly smiled.

    Jiang Kui, Xia Fan, and Zhao Ying Ge also smiled along.

    This choice, is so Admirable Fish!

    But it''s probably because of this, everyone would stand firmly by their junior''s side ¡ª¡ª

    The one who could understand Chen Zhiyu''s feelings best was actually Sun Yaohuo.

    Because he had also been chosen by his junior with such determination once.

    ¡­

    On the composer''s seat.

    One of the maestros suddenly laughed: "This is interesting."

    The other maestro next to him seemed thoughtful: "I think I understand why all the singers that Admirable Fish has worked with are so loyal and even consider themselves part of the Fish Dynasty."

    The Maestros have all worked with many singers.

    But there seems to be only one "Fish Dynasty".

    This once puzzled the Maestros. What kind of magic power does Admirable Fish have, that enables him to form a circle of singers around him?

    Aren''t we all merely cooperating with the singers?

    Is Admirable Fish''s song better suited?

    That''s not the case. Any maestro, throughout his professional career, has produced many good songs!

    But seeing Admirable Fish''s choice today, everyone understood.

    There was applause at the scene.

    This applause seemed to encourage Chen Zhiyu and simultaneously seemed to praise Admirable Fish''s choice.

    While applauding, Yang Zhongming laughed and said something to Zheng Jing, "This kid is very thoughtful."

    Zheng Jing nodded, "If not for his choice, I wouldn''t have thought about the pressure Chen Zhiyu was under when participating in the competition."

    No one could understand Chen Zhiyu''s feelings.

    But when Admirable Fish made his choice, everyone understood Chen Zhiyu''s feelings based on his reaction, as long as they considered it a little.

    The pressure on Chen Zhiyu was actually immense.

    Only Lin Yuan didn''t understand¡­

    Why did everyone suddenly applaud?

    Was there something wrong with choosing Chen Zhiyu?

    The next song I chose really suits Chen Zhiyu''s style¡­

    Okay then.

    Someone chose the song, not the singer.

    It was really just a beautiful misunderstanding.

    So the picture in the camera was:

    Everyone was clapping, but only Lin Yuan was serious.

    Seeing Lin Yuan''s serious look, everyone was more certain about what was in their hearts¡­

    So warm!

    This is heading for the rhythm of "Not one member of the Fish Dynasty can be less"!

    Is Chen Zhiyu the weakest?

    Was Chen Zhiyu eliminated early?

    Is Chen Zhiyu not a legitimate member of the Fish Dynasty?

    What could be more compelling in response to these claims than Admirable Fish''s actions?

    At the edge of the field.

    Chen Zhiyu''s agent silently wiped away her tears.

    Zhiyu¡­

    Your feeder goldfish was well worth it.

    Teacher Admirable Fish has felt your sincerity.

    Many stories don''t reveal the ultimate outcome until the last moment. The person who has made you the perennial runner-up has eventually become your greatest benefactor¡­

    ---

    ps: I''m going out to grab a bite to eat. I''ll continue writing when I get back. I bet no one expected Lin Yuan''s choice. Also, I wonder if anyone guessed what song Admirable Fish arranged for Chen Zhiyu?

 Chapter 570 - 539 Only Choose the Right, Not the Expensive_1

    Finally, the selection is over!

    Twenty composers have chosen the twenty singers they wish to collaborate with.

    All ten Kings and Queens of Song have been selected.

    The remaining thirty singers, all top-leaguers of the Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan music circles, were not chosen by any composers.

    The camera zooms in.

    Their expressions are a complicated mix of embarrassment and disappointment.

    Only on "Our Song" stage could such a scene of first-class singer being ignored occur.

    This program also used this scene to showcase the priority of composers:

    In front of top composers, even top singers can only passively wait to be selected.

    Only by becoming a King or Queen of Song can they gain the attention of composers...

    Next up is the group battle stage.

    Twenty teams of composers and singers mean twenty songs, which are impossible to record in a single episode.

    The production team plans to record it in two episodes.

    Ten songs will be performed in each episode.

    Ten songs would be divided into five competitions.

    They would be performed in the form of head-to-head battles.

    However, the production crew did not immediately reveal the list of battle participants. Instead, the composers were first instructed to take their chosen singers into the prearranged rooms.

    "Everyone, relax."

    Anhong said with a smile, "The upcoming battles may be tense, but no one will be eliminated in the early stages of the show."

    Laughter rippled through the crowd.

    "Let''s move."

    The composers, each with their selected singers, entered their rooms amid the jealous gaze of the thirty singers who were not selected.

    Chen Zhiyu followed Lin Yuan at a measured pace.

    Lin Yuan looked back at Chen Zhiyu:

    "Are you nervous?"

    Chen Zhiyu cautiously said, "I''m afraid I might hold Teacher Admirable Fish back, after all, my skills are not outstanding..."

    Although no one would be eliminated in the early stages of the show, Chen Zhiyu was still anxious that his lack of skill could cause Admirable Fish to lose the battle.

    "Relax."

    Lin Yuan thought for a moment and said, "This is an easy-going song."

    Chen Zhiyu nodded, but his nervousness didn''t dissipate.

    This competition is not necessarily won by those with stronger composing skills.

    The result of the competition has a lot to do with the singers chosen by the composers.

    Is Yang Zhongming awesome?

    But if the weakest singer in the entire competition was assigned to Yang Zhongming, could he still guarantee his victory?

    It is too suspenseful.

    While Chen Zhiyu was not the weakest of the first-class singers, his overall strength was only mediocre amongst the singers, so it was understandable that he was worried about becoming a burden to Admirable Fish.

    Lin Yuan fell silent.

    It wasn''t until they were in the room that he turned seriously to Chen Zhiyu and said, "Have you ever heard a saying?"

    "What?"

    "There are no useless heroes, only trash summoners!" sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Chen Zhiyu: ???

    Seeing that Chen Zhiyu didn''t understand, Lin Yuan expressed it in a different way:

    "There''s no perfect music in the world, nor is there a strongest singer. The purpose of this stage is to let the right person sing the right song."

    Lin Yuan planned to select singers based on the style of the song, rather than their achievements.

    Since Chen Zhiyu was suitable for the song he was preparing next, he should naturally let Chen Zhiyu sing it.

    This has nothing to do with whether Chen Zhiyu is a first-class singer or not.

    When the song doesn''t dictate the singer and anyone who sings it can achieve a decent result, Lin Yuan would also take into consideration people like Sun Yaohuo.

    It''s worth mentioning that.

    Lin Yuan''s room is pink.

    When he walked in, he felt shocked by the "pinkness."

    Chen Zhiyu chuckled: "Are the other teachers'' rooms also pink?"

    "No, each room is a different color."

    The tour guide staff laughed: "Teacher Admirable Fish was too cold in ''The Masked Singer'', so the production team wanted to use this warm tone to balance it a bit."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    Of all the warm tones, why did it have to be pink? It felt like walking into Big Yaoyao''s room, all pink and messy.

    ...

    Not arguing about the color issue.

    Once he was seated, Lin Yuan took out the song he had prepared: "Here''s the song you need to practice."

    "Okay!"

    Chen Zhiyu''s breathing was slightly hurried.

    This was the second time Chen Zhiyu had obtained one of Xian Yu''s compositions since "Change Myself"!

    He was extremely excited!

    But when Chen Zhiyu saw the song title, he was a bit taken aback, "This song title..."

    Lin Yuan said, "It fits the occasion."

    The name of this song is "Our Song", the original singer is the earth singer Wang Lihong!

    It''s exactly the same as the name of the show.

    Chen Zhiyu''s voice is very suitable for singing jazz hip-hop and rock and roll, but not heavy rock, but the relatively cheerful type.

    Obviously, Wang Lihong''s "Our Song" is very suitable for Chen Zhiyu.

    Previously, Lin Yuan gave Chen Zhiyu "Change Myself", which was also another work of Wang Lihong.

    Chen Zhiyu nodded and looked at the lyrics. When he saw a certain line in the lyrics, he suddenly asked tentatively, "Can I slightly tweak the lyrics?"

    "Which line?"

    "Just a little bit..."

    "You decide."

    On stage, improvisation by singers is understandable by Lin Yuan as stages and recordings are different.

    Moreover, Lin Yuan himself made a small adjustment to the lyrics of "Our Song".

    Mainly in the English words part.

    As the original singer is Chinese, there would always be one or two English words in the song.

    Lin Yuan didn''t think it was necessary.

    Because it''s not quite suitable for this stage.

    The English lyrics in the original song included the names of Wang Lihong''s other songs, which could only be sung by Wang Lihong himself.

    At this point.

    The loudspeaker in the room suddenly aired host Anhong''s voice,

    "The first round of grouping for the first episode is complete. The first round of the first episode is Teacher Wu Long and singer Li Ang Ziyuan versus Teacher Mike and singer Jiang Kui..."

    The singer selected by Wu Long was Liang Ziyuan, also known as the Robot.

    And Mike, who was a composer, not weaker than Wu Long, had selected singer Jiang Kui.

    In the composers'' preliminary selection.

    In the Yu Dynasty only Jiang Kui and Chen Zhiyu were selected.

    Anhong''s voice continued,

    "The second round of the first episode is Teacher Yin Dong and singer Sun Mengmeng versus Teacher Xian Yu and singer Chen Zhiyu..."

    Chen Zhiyu was surprised, "The opponent is Rabbit?"

    Sun Mengmeng appeared as a rabbit in "The Masked Singer" and competed against Zhao Ying Ge.

    Although she lost the competition, Sun Mengmeng''s strength was very well demonstrated in that match.

    In addition.

    Lin Yuan had critiqued Sun Mengmeng before. Sun Mengmeng didn''t resist and her fans were quite Zen-like, they didn''t heavily attack Prince Lanling.

    But.

    When the singers apologised to Xian Yu in the end, Sun Mengmeng also joined the apology squad, which seemed to suggest she was a soft-spoken female singer with a rising career.

    However...

    It was puzzling to many people why Yin Dong, as the Maestro, did not choose the King or Queen of Singing, but chose Sun Mengmeng, who wasn''t the strongest.

    On the other side.

    Yin Dong also heard the announcement on the loudspeaker.

    He showed a smile, "It''s Xian Yu again, we are almost becoming old rivals..."

    He collaborated with Fei Yang and participated in the War of Gods twice in a row, and both times they had lost to Xian Yu.

    Now in "Our Song", he was once again up against Xian Yu.

    At this moment.

    Yin Dong felt that the show''s producers were stirring things up, this match-up was not random.

    Off to the side.

    Little rabbit Sun Mengmeng weakly asked, "Teacher Yin Dong, why did you choose me..."

    Sun Mengmeng was not the strongest among this batch of singers.

    With Yin Dong''s composition skills and experience, he could have easily chosen the King or Queen of Singing, and they generally wouldn''t refuse his offer!

    Fei Yang, for instance, was a good friend of Yin Dong''s, and they got along well privately. Overlord Fei Yang''s strength was self-evident, he was a top singer on this stage...

    Yet Yin Dong did not choose Fei Yang!

    This was probably the most surprising moment in the show since Xian Yu chose Chen Zhiyu.

    "This is what Xian Yu taught me..."

    As always, Yin Dong was expressionless.

    Sun Mengmeng was stunned, "What?"

    Yin Dong remained expressionless, "Choose the right one, not the expensive one."

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: I didn''t mean to be a Polluted White pigeon. I had to bail yesterday due to some unavoidable reasons. I won''t explain the specifics. I''ll try to do more tonight. There was more narration in this episode''s start, but songs will hold the main part going forward. This part was meant to set a joyful atmosphere as "The Masked Singer" was a bit depressing.

    I''ll try not to write about the villains in this novel, so the writing continues.

 Chapter 571 - 540: Its Your Turn, Go Ahead_1

    Different from "The Masked Singer".

    This time, the program is recorded over several days.

    Because the songs that the songwriters come up with are all new, the singers need time to become familiar with them.

    So for the next few days, Lin Yuan occasionally needs to go to the venue.

    The program committee has also arranged a very interesting segment -

    Singers who weren''t chosen can consult with various songwriters every issue. This avoids the embarrassment of the singers who weren''t chosen simply hanging around and doing nothing.

    As a result, basically every day there would be some singers knocking on Lin Yuan''s door to self-recommend themselves.

    Luckily, the distribution of tasks was such that Lin Yuan could just give instructions.

    On the whole, it is indeed more laid back than "The Masked Singer". sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Meanwhile, during the singers'' rehearsals.

    The show''s team, based on the content they''ve shot so far, has edited out the first preview for "Our Song"!

    A full hour-long episode!

    This is a completely new gameplay-

    Every issue''s preview is recorded.

    This process is very interesting.

    Because we have fifty big-name singers, all in one place!

    The interactions between the stars in the music industry, and the entire scheme of things is just one gigantic highlight!

    Like the self-recommendation segment.

    The quiet power struggles between the singers and their attempts to woo the songwriters are also very entertaining!

    The official competition, however, will be broadcast live, interacting with the audience in real-time.

    Audiences can influence the results of the competition while they watch the show!

    Therefore.

    When the "Our Song" trailer aired, discussions online blew up!

    Everyone was talking about it!

    Countless people exclaimed: The lineup for this show is so luxurious!

    In reality, the lineup for "The Masked Singer" was also very luxurious.

    But because the singers were masked, the thrill wasn''t strong enough.

    Now, with the singers'' faces revealed, the audience is bombarded with big names upon tuning into the show. The visual impact is off the charts, as if they''re watching some music award ceremony!

    It feels like the whole music scene is gathered here!

    Additionally...

    The setup of segments in the program also piqued the audience''s curiosity.

    It''s a bit like the scripting of a reality show.

    The high and mighty big-name singers in the face of top-tier songwriters are no different from ordinary people!

    They even seem a bit...

    Humble?

    Turns out, the entertainment circle is also a workplace!

    The singers are like employees, and the songwriters are like bosses!

    Every "employee" strives to perform, hoping to attract the boss''s attention!

    This huge contrast actually naturally generates interest in the audience.

    The previous "The Masked Singer" has already proven that the show committee knows what interests the audience. What many people want from this variety show is to feel like big-name stars are seeking the favor of their "daddies"-

    "Watching this show gives me the impression that the songwriters are really the ''daddies'' of the singers!"

    "You''ve got it wrong, these singers are also ''daddies'' in front of ordinary songwriters, it''s only top-tier songwriters who can make big-name singers so humble."

    "Looking at it from Maestro''s perspective, there''s an inexplicably satisfying feeling."

    "I was laughing non-stop during the selection process. It''s the same procedure when I''m selecting my concubines at the club, the director is definitely an old hand!"

    "Hahaha, the Pink Room of Admirable Fish is so lively!"

    "..."

    The program had set up a segment for singers to visit the songwriters, and Admirable Fish was visited quite frequently, so his pink room was shown on screen quite a lot.

    Therefore.

    Internet users jokingly referred to Lin Yuan''s room as the "Pink Room".

    Other songwriters were, of course, visited by many rejected singers as well.

    The singers, upon entering the rooms, vie to showcase their talents, trying their hardest to perform in hopes that these top-tier songwriters would see their potential.

    Furthermore.

    The behavior of Lin Yuan picking Chen Zhiyu also sparked much discussion:

    "Fish Papa is truly warm-hearted."

    "Chen Zhiyu was the first contestant eliminated from the Yu Dynasty, he has the weakest capabilities among all the fish, but Fish Papa didn''t dislike Chen Zhiyu in the slightest. Instead, he chose to collaborate with Chen Zhiyu in the very first issue."

    "Teacher Yin Dong is also interesting, only choosing those who are right, not those who are expensive, is he trying to become another Admirable Fish?"

    Even Maestro is inclined to work with the King or Queen of Singing.

    But the actions of Admirable Fish indeed have a certain influence, Yin Dong and Admirable Fish''s selection of singers is somewhat similar.

    Moreover, the two share the same viewpoint.

    Admirable Fish said, "Let the right person sing the right song."

    Yin Dong said, "Only choose those who are right, not expensive."

    These two viewpoints express essentially the same fundamental idea.

    Together with Yin Dong''s remark, "this was taught to me by Admirable Fish", has indeed prompted much thought from the audience.

    Some even connect this to last year''s Battle of the Gods¡­

    Lin Yuan, leading Jiang Kui, killed his way through the Gods.

    Perhaps that was when Yin Dong realized that songs should choose singers based on their abilities and styles, rather than the singers'' fame and other factors.

    "This definitely has me eagerly anticipating the competition between Admirable Fish and Yin Dong."

    "I really like the offbeat style of Admirable Fish and Yin Dong, everyone else chooses the King or Queen of Singing, but to see that so often becomes uninteresting."

    "Actually, it''s not that the other songwriters don''t understand this, but after all, it''s a competition."

    "It''s natural to choose the strongest singers to collaborate with in a competition, most people would likely make the same choice."

    "Moreover, during the viewers voting segment, the fans of the King and the Queen of Singing are much more numerous, they certainly have an advantage."

    "So the program committee''s planned competition is very fair."

    "Yin Dong and Admirable Fish, neither chose the King or Queen of Singing, Chen Zhiyu and Sun Mengmeng, their talent gap isn''t too worrisome either."

    "..."

    The program committee claimed it to be a random pairing, but nobody really believed it.

    What are the odds?

    It just happened to be Admirable Fish and Yin Dong, these old rivals?

    And the singers they chose happen to not be the King or Queen of Singing?

    But even after everyone discovered it, they agreed that the program committee''s arrangement was good.

    What everyone objects to isn''t interference in the competition.

    What everyone objects to is targeted internal manipulation. If the program committee intervenes in certain matters for the sake of fairness, the audience is actually quite lenient.

    Also, in the introductory program.

    There was one scene that provoked laughter from the audience.

    That would be during the singers'' rehearsals¨C-

    Every other songwriter would instruct the singers to rehearse, shake their head, or provide direction, quoting all sorts of musical theories left and right.

    Only Admirable Fish directly took the microphone, sang it once, then said to Chen Zhiyu:

    "This is how it should be sung."

    Chen Zhiyu''s expression went from blank to bewildered, and finally to questioning his whole life, successfully bringing laughter to everyone. Some of the live-comments stated it rather aptly:

    "Chen Zhiyu: My songwriter sings better than me, what should I do? Urgently awaiting for answer."

    "Chen Zhiyu: If you''re so good, you do it!!"

    "Chen Zhiyu: You probably wouldn''t believe it if I told you, if my songwriter went on stage to sing, the other singers would have to kneel."

    "..."

    Of course.

    There is also a lot of discussion about the other songwriters and other singers.

    Considering the reaction to the preliminary clip of "Our Song" that was broadcasted, the popularity of the show...

    Is not weaker than "The Masked Singer" at all!

 Chapter 572 - 541: Im not the Perennial Runner-up _1

    August arrived.

    The popularity of the movie "Spiderman" finally faded, and as major cinemas began to end their showings, the movie had already raked in 4.5 billion in box office sales. For a film that only cost one hundred million to make, the success of "Little Spider" was indeed quite glorious.

    Not to mention...

    The blockbuster merchandise.

    The women''s Spiderman battle suit sold so well that it appeared in some inappropriate movies in Chu Continent, but they were soon sued by both the merchandisers and Starlight.

    Everyone is responsible for fighting piracy.

    Even adult movies are not exempted from the law.

    Due to the popularity of Spiderman merchandise, the neighboring "Legend of Dragonman" tried to mimic this form and launched a line of merchandise. Unfortunately, they failed miserably. The fact is that the popularity of merchandise still depends on how popular the character is...

    Also in this August.

    The innovative music variety show, "Our Song", which successfully attracted the attention of the entire internet with its teaser trailer, finally started the live broadcast countdown. The audience who couldn''t wait were punctually seated in front of their screens.

    "It''s about to start!"

    "Got my stool ready!"

    "Selling sunflower seeds and drinks in the front row!"

    "Hurry up, hurry up, it feels like I''m back to the months of watching ''The Masked Singer'', refreshing the show update on my computer desperately after I get off work."

    "..."

    Variety shows are the mental nourishment for many people, but not everyone likes to watch them, unless the show is really attractive. Undoubtedly, "Our Song" is such a show.

    Meanwhile.

    Lin Yuan was in the auditorium, the venue was full of audience. Although the on-site audience was only a fraction of the off-site audience, the atmosphere needed their hype.

    Backstage.

    With the order from the director''s control room delivered by Tong Shuwen, the live broadcast officially began. The host, An Hong, walked onto the stage and read out the opening lines in a suitable rhythm, "Welcome the audience in the venue and in front of the TVs to ''Our Song'', and I am your host An Hong..."

    Downstage.

    The crowd cheered.

    The comments for the show also came in thick and fast, ordinary viewers, fans of singers and composers all gathered around, making this new show lively from the start.

    The first round.

    Wu Long chose a robot, Liang Ziyuan, to compete with Mike''s pick, mermaid Jiang Kui. Liang Ziyuan sang first and as soon as he got on stage, he amused the entire audience: "I''m afraid of going first, the one who moves first always lose."

    The one who moves first always lose.

    This is a joke left over from "The Masked Singer". More than eighty percent of the singers who sang first in the showdown lost the game, which was almost mystically unfortunate. So, the audience at the scene all broke into knowing smiles.

    On the sides of the stage.

    Two large chairs.

    These rather extravagant chairs were prepared for the composers. The one on the left was for the first to go, so Wu Long sat there, and on the right was the second to go, and the composer Mike sat opposite Wu Long, they could just see each other when they looked up.

    Finally...

    Liang Ziyuan began to sing!

    The song he sang was called "Miso Soup", a typical Chu language song. Because Chu people like to drink miso soup, but most people from other continents don''t, the lyrics of the song express the feelings of a Chu person missing home when they are abroad.

    Without any fancy skills.

    Liang Ziyuan took a very humble route this time, the slow tempo of the song, combined with his Chu language, was full of emotion. When the song was over, enthusiastic applause broke out from the audience. This was a touching new song. Both Wu Long''s composition and Liang Ziyuan''s voice expressed the emotions of the song very well.

    The quality of a top-level composer was very well demonstrated in this song, even Lin Yuan was continuously nodding his head, this song was quite good.

    Followed by.

    Jiang Kui stepped forward.

    The new song Mike prepared for Jiang Kui was called "Ding Dong", which seemed somewhat abstract from the name, and the lyrics were also quite abstract, but the melody was very dynamic with a strong style of electronic music, the rhythm was very sharp, bold and avant-garde.

    The audience was thrilled to watch!

    Unlike "The Masked Singer" which showcased all kinds of singing skills and high notes, the styles of the two songs were completely different.

    The former one was relatively sentimental and traditional, while the later one was avant-garde and psychedelic.

    If The Masked Singer was a competition among singers, this show was clearly more about getting everyone to pay attention to the composers! sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    In the end...

    Wu Long and the robot received 35.21 million audience votes!

    While Mike and Jiang Kui received 33.46 million audience votes!

    The so-called curse of going first was broken in the first round.

    The camera switched to Lin Yuan''s room.

    Lin Yuan was listening to the song and eating little fish snacks.

    The production team prepared food and drinks for all the rest rooms, and there were little fish snacks on Lin Yuan''s table.

    The comments were suddenly lively:

    "Hahaha, little fish snacks!"

    "The production team is so mischievous, they actually gave Fish Daddy little fish snacks to eat!"

    "Big fish eating small fish, sounds legit."

    "Is this implying that the mermaid has turned into a little dried fish?"

    "..."

    The bullet screen comments were joking around.

    However, Lin Yuan wasn''t tangled with the little fish snack thing but was somewhat surprised by the popularity of this show.

    The voting situation for the first group was very exaggerated.

    Just the total number of viewers voted in the first round was close to seventy million.

    It shows how terrifying the number of viewers watching this show at the same time is!

    And this is all under the circumstances where these two songs did not explode in popularity.

    It''s pretty clear.

    The composers are relatively conservative at present.

    The most explosive songs are probably yet to be unveiled.

    After all, the competition is not yet in the elimination stage, and there is still a long way to go. No top-tier composer would bring out their secret weapon at the beginning of the show.

 Chapter 573 - 573: 541

    But....

    Despite all this, the strength of the top composers and the coordination between top singers had already turned the first competition into an audio-visual feast!

    At this time,

    An Hong stepped onto the stage: "Thank you for the wonderful performance of the first group. Now, we invite Teacher Yin Dong and singer Sun Mengmeng, to face off against Teacher Admirable Fish and singer Chen Zhiyu!"

    Swish swish swish!

    The scene became lively.

    The popularity of Admirable Fish after unmasking was really too terrifying, so the number of comments for his competition was obviously higher than before¨C

    "It is Fish Papa and Teacher Yin Dong''s turn!"

    "This competition is sure to be interesting!"

    "Yin Dong: revenge!"

    "Hahaha revenge? Do you think Teacher Yin Dong is also that woman?"

    "That woman has already braced the chill, and wasn''t even invited to this program."

    "But Yin Dong has indeed lost to Fish Papa twice."

    "Can Teacher Yin Dong turn the tables in today''s competition?"

    "..."

    In the midst of these lively comments,

    Lin Yuan and Yin Dong sat in their respective chairs, both without showing any emotions.

    The former remained as indifferent as ever, while the latter was naturally poker-faced.

    On stage,

    Sun Mengmeng started her performance.

    The title of this song was prominently called "The Rabbit Song", the opening background vocals were a tender little girl asking:

    "Rabbits are so adorable, why would anyone want to eat rabbits?"

    Music started,

    Sun Mengmeng performed.

    The lyrics were playful and cheerful, the audience was immediately amused!

    Oh my!

    This song was actually written by Yin Dong?

    Yin Dong''s music style is generally more serious, even when depicting love it is usually sad, but this song was not serious at all. From the lyrics to the melody and then to the arrangement, all were filled with a playful taste!

    Sun Mengmeng was very suitable for this song.

    Her voice was quite tender, giving people a cute feeling, combined with this kind of song, it felt naturally appealing.

    When everyone at the site heard this song, they all revealed smiles!

    Even Lin Yuan couldn''t help but his lips slightly curled up.

    This song doesn''t pack much of a punch, nor is it a particularly clever composition.

    But many people liked the feeling of it being adorably naughty. Coupled with Sun Mengmeng''s slightly shy yet absurd feeling, it simply complemented each other perfectly!

    It felt like Yin Dong was playing around,

    And playing very creatively.

    Zheng Jing was visiting Yang Zhongming, and upon hearing this song, she laughed so much that she was doubling over: "I am really considering choosing Sun Mengmeng now, her voice has more potential than I imagined, is this the first time Dong is writing such a light and wacky song?"

    "Fancy and whimsical."

    Yang Zhongming seemed to be criticizing, but he himself couldn''t help but laugh.

    This kind of song certainly conveyed happy emotions easily.

    Sure enough.

    When Sun Mengmeng finished singing, the whole venue echoed with enthusiastic applause!

    "I laughed my ass off!"

    "Sun Mengmeng is really adorable!"

    "A top-tier female singer, almost thirty years old, is actually pulling off a pouting cute act. The key is that it still feels so youthful!"

    "I like this song!"

    "It''s really fun to listen to occasionally!"

    "I thought it was unreliable, but after listening to the whole song, suddenly it feels like it''s not easy for Fish Papa to compete."

    "Did Yin Dong play a trump card?"

    "Mengmeng is so appealing!"

    "She''s definitely the [Adorable Masked Singer]!"

    "Teacher Yin Dong looks very fierce, but he actually wrote such a cute song, I''m somewhat turning into a fan!"

    "..."

    This song, was very entertaining.

    Maybe such a song couldn''t stand the test of time.

    But many people when first hearing this kind of song, can''t help but listen to it a few more times.

    From a tactical point of view, this was really a surprise move!

    An Hong laughed: "Next, let us invite singer Chen Zhiyu..."

    Sun Mengmeng pulled the cords of her hat, causing her two "ears" to stand upright, then bounce happily off the stage.

    The cheering at the venue got even louder!

    When Chen Zhiyu went on stage, he looked back at Lin Yuan, who gently nodded.

    It''s tough to follow up after such a joyous performance.

    He wasn''t sure if Chen Zhiyu could keep up.

    But if they were just comparing songs, "Our Song" was not weaker than theirs.

    Finally.

    The laughter subsided.

    The music started,

    Chen Zhiyu''s voice rang out in the music:

    "I''ve listened to it a hundred times

    No matter how many times I listen, I don''t get tired

    Singing from day to night

    You are always by my side..."

    The song title appeared on the big screen, it was...

    Our Song!

    At that moment, everyone showed an expression of surprise.

    The new song of Xian Yu is actually called "Our Song." It''s the same as the name of the show!

    "That''s awesome!"

    "This song is definitely written by Xian Yu on the spot!"

    "So on point with the theme!"

    "The tune is quite cheerful ¡­"

    "It has a similar style to ''Be Yourself.''

    "..."

    While the audience was discussing,

    Chen Zhiyu continued to sing, "If the world is too dangerous, only music is safe, take me into your dreams, make the lyrics become reality¡­"

    Huh?

    This lyric¡­

    Someone suddenly thought of Prince of Lanling''s situation in ''The Masked Singer.''

    Is Xian Yu expressing his viewpoints through his song again?

    Everyone''s got used to Xian Yu''s style...

    Xian Yu rarely speaks in the show, but his songs seem to always convey something.

    Whoever sees such lyrics will subconsciously make that connection.

    "He''s expressing himself through music again."

    Zheng Jing showed a smile, and Yang Zhongming next to her nodded lightly.

    Isn''t it about how the world is too dangerous and only music is safe when Prince of Lanling was blacklisted all over the internet?

    At this time,

    Chen Zhiyu''s tone suddenly transitioned into rap:

    "Whether I''m happy or sad, my love never changes, whether it''s Xian Yu or music, my love never changes, all the beautiful memories are recorded in it¡­"

    Chen Zhiyu''s pronunciation was very clear.

    The lyrics appeared on the big screen.

    The song actually mentioned Xian Yu!

    The audience is amused. They always love this kind of interaction!

    Chen Zhiyu''s rap was not as greasy as that of many rappers. It was a bit fresh and clean:

    "Change myself, so deep

    Our song, that''s true

    No borders, across the ages

    No longer will they call me the Perennial Runner-up..."

    Puff!

    What the heck?

    Ha ha ha!

    Everyone laughed!

    The scene was filled with laughter!

    "Be Yourself" in the lyrics is the song Xian Yu wrote for Chen Zhiyu. That song was heavily promoted at the time, and people said it was a call for the world to abandon regionalism.

    So the phrase "so deep" is fine!

    The merger of Blue Star indeed spans a new era!

    What made everyone roar with laughter was that Chen Zhiyu incorporated the "Perennial Runner-up" joke into his performance!

    That self-mocking and slightly venting, "No longer will they call me the Perennial Runner-up" was so timely!

    Because it was since that song, Fei Yang replaced Chen Zhiyu and became the new Perennial Runner-up...

    In an instant!

    The entertainment factor was maxed out!

    Lin Yuan was stunned. Was this the part Chen Zhiyu said he wanted to adjust in the lyrics?

    That''s quite¡­

    Interesting?

    Once the mind has a direction, it can fill in a lot of extras. When Chen Zhiyu sang the chorus, the audience''s thoughts were completely following the song:

    " Each line should be moving

    Lovers always part and then reunite

    But our love only grows deeper

    Knowing you makes my happiness so melodious

    Can we not switch songs

    Keep singing our song

    So that the touched memory will last a lifetime..."

    Is the "Our Song" referring to "Be Yourself," or this current song, or even Xian Yu''s music?

    Any are possible.

    But everyone could hear what Chen Zhiyu wanted to express from the last line of the lyrics:

    "So that the touched memory will last a lifetime."

    Indeed.

    The Chen Zhiyu who was the first to be eliminated in ''The Masked Singer'' became the singer that Xian Yu chose to collaborate with at the very start. Perhaps Chen Zhiyu would remember that touching moment for the rest of his life...

    A message floated through the barrage:

    "Your self-mockery hurts me, but I love your singing." S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This comment received a high number of likes!

    All the audience heard Chen Zhiyu''s expression!

    The previous songs were the singers expressing the feelings and emotions of the composer, but Chen Zhiyu was not only singing Xian Yu''s song, he was also expressing himself!

    At this moment!

    The applause from the audience was like a wave!

    In terms of melody and entertainment, this song is not inferior to "Rabbit Song"; in terms of content, everyone truly saw the rapport between the composer and the singer through this song!

 Chapter 574 - 542: You Owe Fei Yang an Apology_1

    "I''m dying of laughter!"

    "Brothers, can you hear it? This song is clearly a shoutout from the original Perennial Runner-up!"

    "Expressing love for Xian Yu through song, really?"

    "The bootlicking has begun!"

    "Other singers, take notes! Sneak in a changed lyric when you have the chance. Lick boots discreetly!"

    "I''m kind of moved by the latter part."

    "The lyrics are not only self-expression for Xian Yu but also for Chen Zhiyu. He sings out many experiences of both individuals."

    "The song is pretty catchy."

    "I suddenly feel a bit sympathetic towards Teacher Yin Dong. After ''Change Myself'' got official promotion, it obliterated Teacher Yin Dong''s work and won first place that season, and now this competition has brought up that song again."

    "Yin Dong: This Xian Yu is messing with my mentality!" sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Chen Zhiyu: Using my own punchline, leaving others without punchlines."

    "Fei Yang: What about me??"

    "..."

    The camera focuses on Fei Yang''s face.

    This round, Fei Yang, who isn''t competing, has a resigned look on his face.

    It''s genuine resignation.

    If you want to sing, just sing, why involve the innocent...

    You''re definitely not the Perennial Runner-up anymore.

    Because the current Perennial Runner-up is me!

    Damn!

    Fei Yang strives to stay strong.

    And next comes the audience voting segment.

    The songwriter appears to be deep in thoughts.

    Looking at the composition standards of the stage, the melody of "Our Song" is at par with the previous three songs, a typical performance by top musicians.

    But the clever part of the song is that it gave the audience a lot of space for imagination!

    Lets them be entertained.

    To enjoy the melody.

    And even brings out a storyline!

    Under such circumstances, would the result still be a mystery?

    The answer is:

    No suspense.

    Sun Mengmeng''s votes this round: 40.13 million

    Chen Zhiyu''s votes this round: 41.11 million

    Total votes for this round have broken through 80 million.

    The vote difference between the two sides is not shockingly big.

    But in a situation where there''s little difference in song and performance quality, the story-rich lyrics of "Our Song" became the final weight tipping the scales!

    For this round!

    Xian Yu and Chen Zhiyu win!

    When An Hong announced the result, Chen Zhiyu threw his fists into the air, shouting loudly, "Thank you, Teacher Admirable Fish, for giving me the opportunity to sing this song and lets me experience the feeling of being number one again!"

    The whole audience burst into laughter!

    The original Perennial Runner-up!

    He has completely let loose!

    Sun Mengmeng''s rabbit ears are not standing anymore, he looks at Yin Dong pitifully. Yin Dong, as always, is poker-faced, but the screen comments in front have exploded!

    Countless people are typing "2222222222"!

    The entire screen is filled with "the spirit of 2 has descended once again".

    Meanwhile!

    The major forums are excitedly discussing the competition.

    Suddenly.

    Someone excitedly says, "Solved the case! The mastermind behind Fei Yang always getting second place is Yin Dong!"

    At that moment.

    Netizens all understood:

    "Hahaha, you''re so wicked!"

    "So Fei Yang has always been picking up the tab for Yin Dong!"

    "The actual source of continually being second place is actually Yin Dong!"

    "We all owe King Fei an apology!"

    "King Fei: No wonder I always come second. Yin Dong, so it''s you!"

    "Yin Dong: Oops, I''ve been exposed!"

    "..."

    Fei Yang came second in two Battles of the Gods, but many people ignored one thing:

    The two times Fei Yang came second, the collaborating songwriter was Yin Dong!

    In this competition.

    After Yin Dong and Sun Mengmeng''s collaboration lost to Xian Yu again, Yin Dong was visited by this "spirit of 2".

    The fact proves:

    The one who is destined to come second when encountering Xian Yu is not necessarily King Fei, it could be Yin Dong.

    Otherwise, how would you explain that Yin Dong, even after changing to collaborate with another singer, still comes in at second place when encountering Xian Yu?

    "But in the Final of ''The Masked Singer'', there''s nothing wrong with Fei Yang coming in second, is there?"

    "So the conclusion is: In the circle of singers, Fei Yang is still the Perennial Runner-up. But in the circle of songwriters, Teacher Yin Dong is also a hidden Perennial Runner-up."

    Everyone agreed.

    Thus, Teacher Yin Dong embarked on a road of no return.

    ...

    Of the five battles, only two have taken place so far.

    The remaining three battles are still full of interest.

    The diverse styles of music on this stage cover almost everything!

    Who expected Yin Dong to write the brainwashing and adorable ''Song of Rabbits''? What else can''t happen?

    Pop...

    Rock...

    Ballad...

    Ancient style...

    Electronic...

    The songwriters'' unbridled creativity, combined with the performers'' renditions, deliver diverse visual and auditory feasts to the audience!

    Among them.

    The fifth round of battle.

    The song from "Maestro", or "Mistress" Zheng Jing, won the highest number of votes for this round of competition:

    52.33 million votes!

    It''s a very casual song, called ''Winter Plum''.

    The perspective of the lyrics is based on the "winter plum".

    It expresses the stubborn spirit of winter plums braving the frost and snow, standing tall in the face of harsh natural tests, and the whole song is filled with a sense of tenacity and unyielding.

    However...

    When facing this result, Zheng Jing appeared somewhat dazed.

    She shook her head: "I didn''t expect people to like this song so much. In my songs, the creative method of this song is relatively risky, with many melodies not following the traditional path, twisting and turning, somewhat experimental..."

    Music is sometimes full of surprises.

    Some songs that songwriters and singers think will definitely be successful end up with a lukewarm public reaction.

    While some songs that songwriters and singers don''t pay much attention to turns out to be unexpectedly popular.

    Even a songwriter at the level of Maestro can''t fully control such outcomes.

    And this live broadcast, with Zheng Jing crushing her opponent, comes to a close.

    Behind the scenes.

    The director, Tong Shuwen, came over and smiled at everyone, "Thanks to all the teachers for your wonderful performances. Tomorrow, Sunday, we will start a new live broadcast. Based on the backstage data of the program, we have replicated ''The Masked Singer''s'' success!"

    Everyone clapped.

    Tong Shuwen continued, "After tomorrow''s broadcast ends, we will announce the rules for the next round of competition. There will likely be many surprises waiting for everyone, please be mentally prepared, all songwriters and singers."

    Everyone stunned for a moment.

    They all knew this program team is good at stirring thing up.

    If Tong Shuwen himself says the future competition is full of surprises, then there is probably going to be some surprise...

    What would it be?

    No one knows.

    The broadcast ended amidst the audience''s reluctance.

    However, on the internet.

    The discussion about this episode of the program becomes more lively.

    Upon returning home.

    Yin Dong glanced at the trending search and then saw the heart-stabbing words at second position on the hot topics list:

    #Perennial Runner-up Yin Dong#

    The top trending search is: #We owe Fei Yang an apology#

    "..."

    Yin Dong suddenly felt the threatening aura of the silly netizens. He finally understood what Fei Yang was experiencing. These silly netizens really know how to mess with people''s mindset-

    They are there but cannot be blocked, so damn annoying!

 Chapter 575 - 543 Random Matching_1

    Strictly speaking, "Our Song" isn''t quite exploding with excitement.

    At least not to the extent of "The Masked Singer".

    But...

    This show is really engaging!

    Composers freely demonstrate their talent, producing a plethora of different music styles, giving the audience a great sense of novelty.

    If you want a electrifying performance, listen to "Plum Blossom in the Cold"...

    If you want something cute, listen to "The Song of the Rabbit"...

    If you want something fun, listen to "Our Song"...

    They say music is an art form that''s hard to cater to everyone, but on this show, there''s something for every taste.

    Furthermore.

    The rivalry between popular singers.

    Design elements like singers seeking advice and guidance from composers are very well crafted!

    Tong Shuwen successfully combines musicality and fun in this show, and that''s why it''s such a success!

    Of course.

    Tong Shuwen certainly had a good hand to play with, the original crew of "The Masked Singer" backing him up. No matter what they do, they''re set to succeed, even if this new show isn''t entertaining, just seeing all these big name singers together is enough to satisfy the gossip appetite of many entertainment enthusiasts.

    The next day.

    The live broadcast of the five competitive groups continued.

    The excitement was on par with the first episode!

    Though, after the broadcasts of the five competing groups ended the next day, and amidst enthusiastic applause from the live audience and a barrage of chat comments on screen, the show did not immediately end.

    In the live feed.

    All of the composers and singers were again on the same screen, appearing in a large hall.

    In which.

    The twenty composers sit in the first row.

    Fifty singers are sitting behind them.

    Host Anhong laughed on stage: "The second episode has come to a close at this point. We will announce the rules for the next stage of the competition: that is, random matchmaking between singers and composers¡­"

    Whoa!

    Random matchmaking!

    The audience perked up, the aspect of composers choosing their singers was definitely interesting and exciting, but if the same pattern continues too much, it can become a little boring. The production team clearly understands the audience''s preferences, adeptly using these new rules to enhance anticipation for the program!

    At the same time.

    The composer''s expressions also became strange, no wonder Tong Shuwen said there would be surprises in the later competition. Random matchmaking was indeed a huge surprise. If the composer''s style is incompatible with the assigned singer, the result is unpredictable. This really tests a composer''s ability!

    Case in point.

    A composer particularly good at ancient-style songs, perhaps the pinnacle in this field, chooses a singer who specializes in this type of music. If this composer then gets matched with a rock singer whose style is completely incompatible with ancient-style songs, what will happen?

    "Haha!"

    "The production team offered these top composers a real challenge. Each singer has their own unique strengths and styles, as do the composers. If two incompatible styles are forced to collaborate, things are bound to be exciting!"

    "The team is pretty thoughtful."

    "Some singers, due to their skill level or style, can''t easily be picked by composers. This may even lead to them not getting the chance to sing at all, only showing up as a filler in the program. Now the production team is mandating matchmaking, ensuring that all singers have the opportunity to work with top composers. Let the composers sort out the rest."

    "Next episode will be a disaster!"

    "Knowing that there might be a huge awkwardness in the next episode, but I still can''t wait to see what happens. The composers are high and mighty, and suddenly I really want to see them humbled."

    "Rest assured."

    "It might not be a disaster. Top composers can write decent songs even when faced with the most difficult of singers. They just can''t fully utilize their own strengths. Maybe it will even spark some new chemistry?"

    "..."

    The singers'' reactions also varied. In fact, they are a mixture of worry and anticipation. If they are matched with a composer of compatible style, then it''s a huge boon. But if styles clash, it really tests the ability of the composer.

    First row.

    Lin Yuan, for this new rule, didn''t feel any resistance. Random matchmaking is just fine. The music styles in the system are diverse. He would have no problem tailoring songs to the fifty singers on site.

    "Let me announce!"

    Anhong paused, then began reading from the card, announcing the list for the next round: "For the first episode of the second stage, the composer, Teacher Yang Zhongming, is matched with the singer Zhao Ying Ge!"

    Zhao Ying Ge was ecstatic!

    Yang Zhongming excels in a variety of styles!

    He definitely has a song that suits her!

    Yang Zhongming just laughed softly. Regardless of who he was matched with, he was not worried, as his research into music styles was very diverse. From lyric, rock and even electronica, Yang Zhongming has had a taste of everything.

    Anhong continued to read.

    As expected, situations arose where the singer and composer styles were incompatible. For instance, Mike, a specialist in electronica, was matched with singer Hu Feng, who was a deep-voiced singer. The genre of electronica was too dynamic and stimulating, a completely different game from Hu Feng''s singing!

    "Ah!"

    Mike is helpless.

    Hu Feng gives a bitter smile.

    They can only go along with the program''s rules, after a while, Anhong announced Lin Yuan: "The singer paired with Teacher Admirable Fish is Wei Haoyun!"

    Boom!

    The scene suddenly got lively. Whether they were a composer or a singer, everyone had strange expressions on their faces. The singer Admirable Fish was matched with had a completely different style. The comments section exploded:

    "Pfft!"

    "This is insane!"

    "What kind of luck does Admirable Fish have? He got matched with Madam Haoyun whose songs are all about local folk culture. Previously, there was even online gossip calling Madam Haoyun the most ''folksy'' singer amongst top-tier singers!"

    "..."

    It''s actually Wei Haoyun!

    As a top-tier female singer, widely known as Madam Haoyun, her musical style has a folk quality, but she mainly sings popular love songs. Therefore, many people deem her the most ''folksy'' female singer. Many listeners, who consider themselves to have a high aesthetic sense of music, criticize Wei Haoyun''s songs as too rustic and ordinary, only appealing to farmers.

    What about Admirable Fish?

    His lyrics are always beautiful.

    His taste is always high.

    In all of Admirable Fish''s compositions, there''s never been a ''folksy'' vibe. His whole line of work leans more towards the refined side. Even when he composed for a commercial movie like "Spiderman", Admirable Fish''s creations were full of depth. Wouldn''t it be stirring the pot to have him collaborate with Madam Haoyun?

    The camera moves.

    Wei Haoyun appears somewhat embarrassed on screen, seemingly aware of her style being scrutinized by many, she can only give a wry smile. Her style actually appeals to quite a broad audience, but because people think it lacks a ''refined'' feeling, it often draws criticism from those who fancy themselves as connoisseurs.

    The camera moves again.

    Admirable Fish''s stunning face appears on the screen but this time, people were not focusing on his good looks. They were trying to read his reaction. However, it turns out to be a disappointment.

    Admirable Fish looked indifferent.

    He seemed unfazed by being paired up with a singer like Wei Haoyun and his calm demeanor sparked a stream of sarcastic comments:

    "He''s panicked!"

    "He''s definitely panicked!"

    "He''s playing cool by staying silent!"

    "Does he have training in controlling facial expressions? He always looks so calm. I don''t believe that he doesn''t understand what having Madam Haoyun as his pair means. His style and Madam Haoyun''s are polar opposites!"

    "Hahaha!"

    "Wei Haoyun''s songs are so folksy, while Fish Papa''s songs can reach the elegance of ''May You Live Forever.'' Even the most popular pop music won''t have a ''folksy'' vibe. How are they going to work together?"

    "It''s his good upbringing."

    "Fish Papa didn''t show any distaste because of Wei Haoyun''s style. That''s his good upbringing. Honestly, I think Madam Haoyun''s songs are quite good. Wasn''t her ''Song of Loess'' a hit in every county a couple of years ago? It''s just that their styles would indeed conflict. I wonder if Fish Papa can elevate Madam Haoyun."

    "..."

    The composer has a higher status than the singer, so the result of this collaboration will inevitably be based on the song style the composer creates. some people think that Wei Haoyun can sing a higher level song with Admirable Fish. However, most believe that once Wei Haoyun starts to sing in her powerful voice, any sense of elegance will instantly disappear.

    "Luckily, there''s no elimination."

    "Let''s just make a fool out of ourselves."

    "I have a feeling this might turn out interesting."

    The audience enjoyed the drama. If the competition involved the risk of elimination, the fans of Admirable Fish would be absolutely against it. Because this pairing is just too unfair! But if the program just aims to entertain, with no risk of elimination, then it doesn''t matter. Some people even want to see Admirable Fish helpless.

    After all, Admirable Fish is too strong; increasing the game difficulty wouldn''t be a bad thing...

    Is Lin Yuan pretending?

    Of course not. Lin Yuan has listened to some of Wei Haoyun''s songs, and he doesn''t have any prejudice against her music. He could appreciate most music styles, making his works enjoyable for both the refined and the common. Thus, Lin Yuan absolutely doesn''t loathe Wei Haoyun.

    The premise is...

    Don''t let Admirable Fish hear songs similar to "Thunder-like cultivation level, the sky collapses and the earth cracks, the purple-gold hammer." That''s one of the few music styles that not even Admirable Fish could bear.

    As for Wei Haoyun...

    Lin Yuan didn''t plan to elevate her to so-called ''refinement''. What is ''refinement''? Is it when the melody changes diversely and the composition direction is unrestricted? That would be nice, but official promotional songs are all catchy and simple in melody; who would dare call those compositions and performances low-level?

    It still boils down to this.

    The right person should sing the right song. The status of the composer is higher than that of the singer, but in a matched collaboration, the style should primarily fit the singer. This is Lin Yuan''s thinking.

    In fact...

    Lin Yuan has already thought of a song suitable for Wei Haoyun. That song once took control of him from the moment the prelude started due to its strong musical rhythm. It was incredibly addictive--

    "Dum

    Dum-dum-dum-dum

    Dum-dum-dum-dum-dum-dum-dum S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Dum-dum-dum-dum-dum

    Dum-dum..."

    Although this hint does not seem obvious, it''s actually quite clear. Surely no one doesn''t know what this song''s name is, right?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Fei Yang will collaborate. The plot has already been arranged.

 Chapter 576 - 544: Stay_1

    Evening.

    At home. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Xuan watched Lin Yuan with a touch of schadenfreude, "You actually got matched with Madam Haoyun, how are you going to perform in the next episode..."

    Lin Yuan''s family also follows the show "Our Song".

    When they saw that Lin Yuan was paired with Madam Haoyun, Lin Xuan and the netizens had exactly the same reaction.

    Even more exaggerated.

    Laughing until short of breath.

    It was only Big Yaoyao who was kind, willingly took a few extra bites of vegetables because she only ate more greens when she pitied her big brother.

    If Big Yaoyao was willing to leave an egg yolk for Lin Yuan, no need to think about it.

    It definitely meant Big Yaoyao felt her big brother was wronged, so she took the initiative to comfort him.

    Mom said unhappily, "I think Wei Haoyun sings quite well."

    Lin Xuan laughed even harder, "Then what the netizens are saying online is correct, our mom and other audience members like Madam Haoyun, most of the people who download Madam Haoyun''s songs are old men and women, my little brother can''t handle this kind of song."

    Who''s saying?

    Lin Yuan wanted to retort.

    Antarctica barked, rushing to rebut for Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan, satisfied, patted the dog on the head and rewarded Antarctica with a piece of meat.

    Just like that.

    The night passed.

    The next day, Lin Yuan arrived at the production team and found Wei Haoyun standing at the door of the Pink Room, lost in thought...

    "Why don''t you go in?"

    Lin Yuan pushed open the door to his own rest room.

    Wei Haoyun bowed and then smiled bitterly, "Teacher Admirable Fish, I''m sorry..."

    Lin Yuan was baffled, "What happened?"

    Wei Haoyun looked distressed, "Being matched with me must have put you in a difficult position..."

    Everyone wanted to be matched with Admirable Fish.

    But Wei Haoyun actually didn''t want to.

    To be precise, it wasn''t that Wei Haoyun didn''t want to.

    She also wanted to cooperate with Admirable Fish, but she was also afraid to cooperate with Admirable Fish.

    Because her style was being ridiculed by many people as very rustic and lacking appeal; whereas Admirable Fish''s external image was always of high appeal.

    The production team had arranged her with Teacher Admirable Fish.

    Teacher Admirable Fish must find her very annoying now, right?

    You know, even some composers weren''t very keen on Wei Haoyun, so Wei Haoyun felt Admirable Fish might not be interested in her music style.

    However, Lin Yuan just said with a smile, "Let''s go in and talk."

    Wei Haoyun had no choice but to enter.

    Inviting her to sit down, Lin Yuan said, "I''ve prepared the song for you."

    Wei Haoyun was stunned, and then stood up again, "Then I''ll definitely match Teacher Admirable Fish''s music style, improve my singing style properly, and bother Teacher Admirable Fish..."

    Lin Yuan frowned, "You don''t like your own style?"

    After a moment of silence, Wei Haoyun said earnestly, "I do."

    Lin Yuan smiled, "Then why do you want to change it?"

    Wei Haoyun was taken aback again.

    By this time Lin Yuan had already pushed the music sheet towards Wei Haoyun.

    Wei Haoyun looked at the music sheet, tried the melody in her heart, and her face changed suddenly ¡ª

    This song!

    It''s her style!

    Wei Haoyun was sure!

    This was not Teacher Admirable Fish''s previous music style, this song from Teacher Admirable Fish seems to be custom-made for her!

    She was dumbfounded!

    Lin Yuan said, "You can sing this song alone, but it would be better with a backup, by then I will cooperate with you."

    Wei Haoyun, "..."

    She was completely stunned.

    Many people looked down upon her music style, even though her songs were popular among certain groups, but Wei Haoyun never expected that a high-profile character like Admirable Fish would be willing to write such "common" music for her!

    Even...

    Teacher Admirable Fish was even willing to do a backup for her!

    He didn''t despise this kind of music as "common"!

    At this moment, Wei Haoyun suddenly turned red, feeling as if her heart was stirred by a warm current!

    ...

    The following days were all about rehearsals and such.

    This time there was no trailer, the production team just shot some interesting pictures, when it was time for live broadcast, they would be interspersed for the audience to watch.

    Just like that.

    A week later.

    The live broadcast of the second stage, finally began!

    "Little bro, here it comes!"

    "Finally starting!"

    "This damn production team updates too slowly, nagging won''t speed them up, it''s so annoying!"

    "While no one is noticing, I should be able to sneak in a bite of shit, right? No one should see it."

    "Selling sunflower seeds, drinks and peanuts in the front row, don''t choke, want something to drink?"

    "Stop it, you guys, don''t disturb me from listening to Madam Haoyun''s singing!"

    "Fish Papa: I really can''t write a song for Madam Haoyun, should I go and consult Father Yang?"

    "I predict Fish Papa is going to kneel this issue!"

    "Hahahaha, Madam Haoyun might be the only woman Fish Papa can''t handle!"

    "..."

    The random matching of the previous episode had sparked a lot of discussions among netizens.

    The "random play" of the production team triggered a frenzy on all the major forums, many people were looking forward to the sparks that could be generated by the cooperation of a few combinations that were completely mismatched.

    Among them...

    The combination of Admirable Fish and Madam Haoyun was the most talked about.

    First, because Admirable Fish was too popular, and second, because Madam Haoyun''s personal style was too distinctive, people couldn''t imagine what it would be like if Madam Haoyun sang Admirable Fish''s song...

    Some people even teased:

    If Madam Haoyun sang "Big Fish".

    Then the song name would probably need to be changed to "Great White Shark".

    With Madam Haoyun''s powerful voice, there was no such thing as "etherealness".

    At this point.

    An Hong came on stage, familiar with the opening remarks, the show began.

    The first performance was a collaboration between Yin Dong and a singer named Sabo.

    This Sabo''s singing style was bold and vigorous, while Yin Dong''s music was mostly lyric and gentle, so the combination of these two was also the result of the production team''s "random play".

 Chapter 577 - 544 Stay_2

    But...

    When Sabo began to sing, the netizens were rolling with laughter!

    The song was titled "Wings of Love", and the prelude gave off the sense of a soft and beautiful melody.

    This was exactly Yin Dong''s style.

    However, Sabo gave it a rough and bold twist!

    Was this really "Wings of Love"?

    This song was more like "Wings of Steel"!

    Was it nice?

    Seemed okay.

    Was it funny?

    It was hysterical!

    Amid the strong sense of incongruity, a weird chemical reaction occurred, covering the screen with "666"!

    "Dong has changed!"

    "The ''Rabbit Song'' was random enough, this is even more chaotic! Daddy Yin has turned this show into comedy!"

    "Did Daddy Yin get inspired by the Perennial Runner-up?"

    "This song is a head banger."

    "I actually like it, am I going mad?"

    "Dude upstairs, you''re not the only one."

    "..."

    Meanwhile on Earth.

    Tengger sang a fitting "Invisible Wings," which left Zhang Shaohan utterly bemused and questioning life.

    At the same moment.

    The "Wings of Love" sung by Sabo was so alike yet so different. The audience wasn''t sure what to make of it, but the entertainment value was off the charts!

    ...

    Backstage lounge. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Zheng Jing was laughing her head off: "Has Dong become an entertaining songwriter now?"

    Yang Zhongming: "..."

    Ridiculous!

    In the past, Yin Dong used to be a stern maestro, with a perpetually poker-faced expression.

    But now, on this show, he''s all about play and fun.

    Coming up next.

    Several other mismatched teams performed.

    Each offbeat performance was met with endless laughter from the audience.

    How to put it?

    It wasn''t exactly a disaster.

    But there was such a sense of dissonance!

    This dissonance made the live broadcast seem very peculiar.

    Whenever there was an explosion of incongruity, the audience would burst into ground-shaking laughter!

    This is so much fun!

    Is this even a music show anymore?

    It''s more like "Joyful Songwriters" now, right?

    Fortunately.

    Not every pair was a mismatch.

    Mike and Hu Feng¡ªan electronic guy and a bel canto guy¡ªended up harmonizing amazingly well! Although their style was odd, their song was definitely good. Even if people laughed a bit less during their performance, the applause was the loudest!

    Finally...

    It was Lin Yuan and Wei Haoyun''s turn.

    This pair was today''s main act and the final performance!

    At this moment.

    The comments were exploding¡ª

    "Madam Haoyun is here!"

    "What song has Fish Papa prepared for Madam Haoyun?"

    "Guessing it''s ''Jaws''!"

    "Hahaha, like ''Wings of Steel''?"

    "I''m dying of laughter this episode!"

    "Waiting for Fish Papa to clinch the last place!"

    "Fish Papa: Bro, it''s not that I''m not striving, but the show producers are messing around."

    "..."

    Among the barrage of comments.

    The audience was astonished to see Lin Yuan, also holding a microphone, stepping onto the stage.

    "Why is Fish Papa going up?"

    "Pfft!"

    "Is he going to sing too?"

    "Is he planning to sing with Madam Haoyun himself?"

    "Look what the show producers have driven Fish Papa to!"

    "If the champion of ''The Masked Singer'' has to go on stage, what''s the point of playing!"

    "Fish Papa is really going all out!"

    "..."

    No one expected Lin Yuan to take the stage!

    The camera panned to the singers'' faces.

    Their expressions were as if they had seen a ghost.

    What the hell?

    Why is Xian Yu going up?

    But An Hong didn''t stop him, rather he chuckled and said, "Please begin your performance."

    Lin Yuan gave a nod to Wei Haoyun.

    Wei Haoyun picked up the microphone.

    The music abruptly rocked the place with its strong rhythmic sense, it was akin to a kitsch dance tune frequently heard in discos.

    Immediately after.

    Wei Haoyun''s voice rang out, carrying a wild and unrestrained feel:

    "The vast horizon is my love!"

    "At the foot of the rolling green hills, flowers are blooming!"

    "What kind of rhythm swings the most?"

    "What kind of singing is the most joyous!"

    In an instant.

    Everyone was dumbstruck.

    Huh?

    What kind of song is this?

    It''s both tacky and western?

    Is this rustic flavor serious?

    This is a song that Xian Yu could write!?

    The brainwashing melody, the vibrating musical frequency, and the powerful female voice inexplicably pumped up:

    "The meandering river comes from the sky,

    Flows into the sea of myriad colors,

    The fiery ballad our expectation,

    Walking and singing along is the most carefree,

    We are gonna sing the happiest song!"

    "..."

    The live audience was dumbstruck.

    Xian Yu actually wrote such a song?

    Xian Yu actually wrote a song that perfectly fits Wei Haoyun''s style?

    My goodness!

    This fish has also turned things around!

    Wei Haoyun sings more and more zestfully. Their voice was rich and resonant:

    "You are the most beautiful cloud in my sky!"

    "Let me keep you with my heart!"

    Lin Yuan picked up the microphone.

    The eyes of the audience flashed with anticipation.

    Although this song is not in Xian Yu''s usual style, everyone really wants to hear Xian Yu sing!

    But...

    Lin Yuan shouted three words in front of everyone: "Stay! Here! Now!"

    Then...

    He put the microphone down.

    The audience looked somewhat confused.

    What?

    That''s it?

    Just three words?

    Stay here?

    Who dares to force you away?

    As Wei Haoyun continued to sing, Lin Yuan suddenly picked up the microphone again and shouted under the gaze of many expectant eyes:

    "Stay! Here! Now!"

    After shouting, Lin Yuan skillfully pulled back the microphone.

    The audience was stunned.

    For a moment.

    Everyone''s ears welcomed Wei Haoyun''s enchanting voice, as well as Xian Yu picking up the microphone from time to time, shouting those three brainwashing words:

    "Stay! Here! Now!"

    The backstage went crazy, all the singers laughed together!

    On the stage.

    A group of middle-aged women suddenly appeared, skillfully dancing and releasing their joy in this delightful music!

    "Ah!"

    "There is even a dance troupe!"

    Zheng Jing also cracked up, even standing up in the rest room and starting to dance!

    Next to this¡­

    Yang Zhongming couldn''t help covering his face, his shoulders shaking, seeming to find it hilarious as well.

    "Oh my!"

    "What is this!"

    "This song is addictive!"

    "Now this song is stuck in my head, can''t get it out!"

    "Help me!"

    "I feel like dancing..."

    "The middle-aged ladies are dancing so excitedly!"

    "..."

    Everyone was brainwashed!

    Everyone was infected!

    More and more backstage singers started dancing chaotically!

    This is the craziest recording of "Our Song" so far!

    Wei Haoyun''s singing voice, in the simplest way, rings out. The repeated melody actually carries a strong charm!

    Xian Yu finally changed his lyrics.

    He sang in accompaniment style, "Yo... yo... check-na... yo... yo..."

    Just when everyone thought Xian Yu was finally going to start their belated performance, he suddenly yelled out:

    "Stay! Here! Now!"

    The microphone was again skillfully pulled back.

    Stay here?

    Stay, my ass!

    Bang, bang, bang!

    The audience was blown away!

    You''re telling me this is Xian Yu?

    You''re saying this is a song written by Xian Yu?

    I don''t believe it!!!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Continue writing.

 Chapter 578 - 545 Terrifying Square Dance Divine Song_1

    The whole place was in stitches!

    Countless people were jumping up!

    The enchanting "The endless horizon is my love" was floating in the air, a half-country-half-western song that had successfully brainwashed everyone!

    And every time Teacher Admirable Fish raised the microphone and belted out:

    "Stay! Here!"

    Everyone''s laughter escalated even further!

    Oh my gosh, is this still that high-profile Fish Daddy?

    You didn''t like it when we described you as refined and sophisticated, did you?

    Do you always have to be this amusing?''

    Are you serious about only singing three words?

    You get on stage and frighten the other singers, they all thought you were going to pull out the big gun!

    Everyone knows you''re The Masked Singer!

    But you, The Masked Singer, took the stage in front of countless audiences from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and belted out a song about feeling lonely?

    Stay here?

    Do these three words really need you to sing them?

    Dare you try some other lyrics?

    Alright then.

    So you finally sing something different, and all that comes out is "Yo yo, stay here!"?

    ...

    In front of the screen.

    In Lin Yuan''s house.

    Lin Xuan was laughing so hard her stomach hurt: "Oh my God!"

    Lin Yao said: "Mom, sister is calling you."

    Mom ignored her, her face was serious, body swaying along with the melody, as if she just heard The Fate Symphony!

    The epoch is beckoning!

    ...

    Meanwhile.

    A lot of people were watching "Our Song".

    The family was lost in laughter.

    But the elder ladies watched with earnest expressions on their faces.

    And their profound comments: "This song... is nice!"

    ...

    On the stage.

    Wei Haoyun finally finished singing: "Forever singing the Most Dazzling Ethnic Style, it''s the most beautiful stance in the whole sky!"

    The music was still banging!

    Budum, du du du dum, dum dum dum dum.

    The sound seemed like it was pouring out from a loudspeaker.

    When the melody ended, the entire venue burst into a sea of laughter!

    ...

    The bullet screen was already overflown:

    "Daddy Fish''s song is divine!"

    "Holy moly, thoroughly brainwashed!"

    "Why do I want to listen to it again?"

    "Don''t stop the music!"

    "Stay here!"

    "Yo yo yo, stay here!"

    "¡­"

    By the end of the song, the audience could all sing along, especially with the three words, "Stay here.", which countless people mimicked!

    ...

    An Hong''s familiar stifling-a-laugh face appeared on stage.

    The audience had just started to calm down, but they were sent into peals of laughter again!

    "I''m done holding it in¡­"

    An Hong was clutching his stomach in laughter for a while before he finally calmed down: "Teacher Admirable Fish''s backing vocals are according to the rules because he really didn''t sing much."

    The audience burst into laughter again.

    Wei Haoyun also chuckled: "Teacher Admirable Fish said he wanted to sing backup for me. After rehearsal, I asked him why he hadn''t sung, and he said he did¡­I had to listen carefully to the song and only then realized he actually did sing¡­"

    The audience shouted: "Stay here!"

    Lin Yuan: "¡­"

    It''s not just those three words.

    There was clearly also "Yo yo, let''s go!"

    An Hong was still laughing: "How could Teacher Admirable Fish write such a song, we were all dumbfounded after hearing it! It doesn''t seem like a song you would write! The singers and composers backstage also burst into laughter, many of them were jumping up and down!"

    Lin Yuan emphasized, in a rare fashion: "This song is amazing."

    This song is indeed extraordinary.

    In the Celestial Dynasty on earth, it swept across the nation after its release and was even performed on the Spring Festival Gala!

    At the same time, this song is one of the most popular pieces played during square dancing!

    Even those who usually look down on this type of music were compelled to appreciate the genius composition of "Most Dazzling Ethnic Style" after listening to it.

    This is something that many professionals have acknowledged.

    It''s hard to define the song''s style because it''s quite a mix, has a dance vibe to it, as well as ethnic elements.

    Countrified and Westernized, the blend is just perfect.

    Most singers couldn''t bring out this kind of flavor, it was only because the program paired Lin Yuan with Wei Haoyun that he brought out this song.

    "Indeed it''s amazing, we''re all brainwashed."

    An Hong laughed: "Tonight''s final performance has ended. Please, Teacher Wei Haoyun and Teacher Admirable Fish, return to your seats. Now it''s time for our ranking stage. Audience on-site as well as in front of the screens, please take out your phones and vote for the songs you support!"

    ¡­

    It''s time to vote!

    Lin Yuan sat in his seat, his eyes showing a hint of curiosity. He had no idea what ranking "Most Dazzling Ethnic Style" would end up with.

    Simultaneously.

    The scrolling comments were also in discussion:

    "I''m voting for ''Wings of Steel''!"

    "That''s called ''Wings of Love''!"

    "I feel like Mike''s performance was the best!"

    "I like Teacher Zheng Jing''s song!"

    "I also want to vote for Zheng Jing... Damn it, my phone was snatched away."

    "Holy crap, my phone got snatched too!"

    "Your mom?"

    "Why are you cursing!"

    "I mean, was it your mom who took it?"

    "...Yes."

    "Me too."

    The comments went silent.

    Because just when a lot of viewers preparing to vote, their mothers showed off their family status!

    Dominance!

    No voting for other songs, just "Most Dazzling Ethnic Style"!

    All the middle-aged ladies fell in love with this song!

    ...

    At the Lin''s residence.

    Mom growled, "Vote for my son!"

    Lin Xuan trembled, "I''ll vote now..."

    Lin Yao glanced at the title she had just written. Because she used "Most Dazzling Ethnic Style" as her background music, she made many mistakes.

    Helpless.

    Voting for older brother.

    Mom looked at Antarctica, "Vote for my son!"

    Antarctica glanced at Lin Yuan on the TV, then looked at the domineering mom, and whined.

    ...

    On the stage.

    An Hong laughed, "Alright, the results of this round are out. Let''s take a look at the voting situation of these songs."

    On the big screen.

    The ten songs started to rise in the bar chart format.

    Some songs gradually stopped.

    One...

    Two...

    Three...

    When the statistics for the nine songs stopped, "Most Dazzling Ethnic Style" was still going!

    There were gasps of surprise from the audience! S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Twenty million...

    Thirty million...

    Forty million...

    Fifty million...

    Finally, "Most Dazzling Ethnic Style" scored 94.13 million votes!

    This was the most crazily voted song since the show aired, receiving almost one hundred million votes!

    "I didn''t do it willingly!"

    "Ah, my mom wanted me to vote!"

    "My mom is too domineering!"

    "I didn''t dare resist!"

    "..."

    The comments rolled in at a high speed!

    People were shocked to find:

    This song''s destructive power against middle-aged ladies was unprecedented!

    This was the power of these middle-aged ladies, as they all urged their family members to vote for this song!

    Tacky?

    Rural?

    It doesn''t matter!

    What''s important is, the middle-aged ladies love it!

    They really, really love this song!

    In a certain household.

    A middle-aged woman took out her phone and yelled in the square dance group, "Ladies, let''s change the song for tonight!"

    In the group.

    The member with the coach title said, "I''m going to arrange a new dance for everyone!"

    Someone in the group was confused, "What song are we changing to?"

    A myriad of middle-aged ladies simultaneously replied, "Most Dazzling Ethnic Style!"

    Even "+1" was skipped.

    All middle-aged ladies, speaking in unison!

    That night.

    "Most Dazzling Ethnic Style" swept across all the squares!

    That night!

    The square dancing ladies of Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan, all found their own theme song!

 Chapter 580 - 547 Dont Come Over Here_1

    Despite the harsh roasts from netizens concerning the song ''Most Dazzling Ethnic Style,'' many of them are not averse to it. On the contrary, they to find it extremely amusing, even learning it¡ª

    Xian Yu is Maestro Junior!

    Under a halo of various genius titles, he is very much idolized¡ªa seemingly perfect being. His looks are top-notch as well, which leaves people feeling a sense of great distance from him. This especially skyrocketed after Xian Yu revealed his identity. His personal fame exploded, yet he seemed even more unreachable to everyone!

    And so...

    Despite countless fans admiring Xian Yu, the sense of distance is very tangible. However, the emergence of ''Most Dazzling Ethnic Style'' shatters this distance. To their astonishment, people find out that Xian Yu can be down-to-earth!

    Bewitching!

    Brainwashing!

    This Xian Yu, who sang "Stay" on stage, seems more like a real person. He isn''t as unapproachable or untouchable as everyone imagines, he knows how to entertain like a normal person!

    His once untouchable image has been shattered!

    Fans can''t help but admit that this version of Xian Yu is adorable. He''s so endearing, in fact, that everyone loves him even more after listening to the song. Xian Yu has stepped down from his pedestal and entered the hearts of many more fans!

    Moreover...

    While others are ususally pulled down from their pedestals, Xian Yu willingly stepped down. He could have continued being the stainless, elevated Maestro Junior, and his fans would have still loved him. However, he chose to show his human side.

    He too can act silly!

    He too has a folksy nature!

    He too can enjoy himself!

    Everyone listens to the song in a stupor, pretending to resist its charm while their bodies involuntarily appreciate it. The entertainment value of the show was very high. Not just Xian Yu¡ªhe too was able to gradually unveil the mysterious aura of other composers, which allowed the audience to see the human side of these influential music industry heavyweights.

    In addition...

    The song also showcased Xian Yu''s songwriting skills. He really knows how to have fun, even with Wei Haoyun, who gives other Maestros a headache. With Xian Yu, however, they make magic together!

    Frightening, isn''t it?

    Many other Maestros find themselves helpless when dealing with Wei Haoyun''s musical style. Yet, Xian Yu can make him shine. This shows that Xian Yu''s songwriting ability and range of musical styles goes far beyond what people imagine. ''Most Dazzling Ethnic Style'' is undoubtedly a display of Xian Yu''s unbridled musical prowess!

    Truly remarkable!

    As ''Most Dazzling Ethnic Style'' went viral, people even started analyzing the song professionally. Various versions started popping up on video websites, including a grand orchestral version!

    People are roasting it?

    The popularity data from the System is honest: Lin Yuan can clearly see the skyrocketing popularity of his music after the release of ''Most Dazzling Ethnic Style'', proving that most of the roasts were simply jests and that there are still many who love the song!

    What song should I choose next?

    As Lin Yuan contemplated, he soon realized that pondering was pointless. What mattered most was what kind of singer he would come across in the future. He enjoyed the feeling of creating customized works for individual singers.

    ...

    The second day. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The live stream began.

    As usual, it was very exciting. As the current round of competition neared its end, the composers and singers were once again conlocated in the great hall. An Hong announced hilariously, "Our next competition will proceed with a random pairing of singers and composers."

    Singer: "...."

    Composer: "...."

    The random pairing model indeed produced a good effect. This goofy production still avidly enjoys throwing tricky problems at composers and singers.

    Meanwhile, in front of the screens...

    As the netizens reveled in joy, someone suddenly remarked, "It''s alright for other composers, but this time, please don''t pair Xian Yu with a strange singer again. Fish Daddy, please go back to your pedestal. One descent from your divine platform is enough!"

    The comment received many likes.

    Xian Yu writing ''Most Dazzling Ethnic Style'' made him seem like a god descending to the mortal world from his divine pedestal. Xian Yu chose to leave his perch, but everyone firmly believes that he can return anytime!

    "For fairness!"

    An Hong announced, "This time, composers will draw lots to decide their opponents. This will hopefully put an end to any suspicions that we are intentionally pairing composers and singers with clashing styles."

    The crowd burst into laughter.

    Reading out the results of the last competition raised suspicion that the production team was intentionally pairing composers and singers with clashing styles. This time, the production team won''t even announce the pairings directly¡ªthey''re letting the composers draw lots themselves.

    Scraping sounds.

    The composers one after another stood up and drew their lots from the large box provided by the production team. When they saw the contents of their chosen lots, most of them could not help showing painful and helpless expressions. At the same time, their faces were filled with inexplicable excitement:

    "Just my luck!"

    "Such bad luck!"

    "Another mismatch!"

    "I am just unlucky!"

    Most composers ended up drawing singers whose styles did not match their own. While they complained about their own bad luck, no complaints were directed at the singers. It is just that the conflicts of styles have made composing more difficult. Nevertheless, the excitement showing on their faces made many viewers question the purpose of this show. These composers must have struck a goldmine!

    At this moment...

    Lin Yuan also drew his singer. His expression turned a bit weird instantly. Then he revealed the name he had drawn. The camera deliberately zoomed in for a close-up, and for a moment, the audience went wild. The card in Lin Yuan''s hand was marked with three familiar characters¡ª

    Wei Haoyun!

    Xian Yu seemed to be tied by fate to Wei Haoyun, drawing him again for the second song. This was the only instance where a composer has been matched with the same singer for two songs consecutively on this stage!

    "Damn!"

    "I''m cracking up!"

    "What the hell!"

    "Wei Haoyun again!"

    "A nightmare begins again!"

    "The worst thing has happened!"

    "When other composers draw singers with mismatched styles, it means they''re simply unlucky, but when Xian Yu draws Wei Haoyun, it means the audience is the one with bad luck. Madam Haoyun is not bringing good luck to the audience at all!!!"

    "...."

    The audience was on the brink of collapse!

    At this moment, the camera switched to Wei Haoyun. The singer had already jumped up from his chair. His face was flushed with excitement as he balled his hands into fists, celebrating his pairing with Xian Yu. For a moment, the netizens could keenly feel the evil intentions of this show!

    Suddenly...

    The audience looked livid!

    A voice echoed in their hearts, soon appearing as a stream of furious barrage comments during the live broadcast. The comments were numerous and startling:

    Stay away!!!

 Chapter 581 - 548 Good Luck Comes_1

    The show ended!

    Countless discussions online!

    "I''m DONE!"

    "Why is it Madam Haoyun again!"

    "All the audience''s misfortune, just to bring good luck to only Madam Haoyun!"

    "As expected of Madam Haoyun, bumping into Admirable Fish twice, this luck is too amazing!"

    "One woman''s luck, backed by the bad luck of countless men!"

    "Is there going to be a new square dance song?"

    "You better not come here (fierce)!"

    "Wuuuuh, I feel sorry for myself!"

    "...."

    Composers who pick out singers incompatible with their style would always grumble:

    The luck was too bad.

    Only when Admirable Fish picks Wei Haoyun, will the audience vehemently spit out:

    The luck is really bad!

    Audiences feel their luck is too bad!

    The show''s arrangement to them is no different than shouting:

    Face the storm!

    But not all the audience think so...

    The Lin family.

    The mother cooked a table of good food, seeming to celebrate, "We''re really lucky, it''s Wei Haoyun again, Wei Haoyun''s singing is really nice!"

    "I understand..."

    Lin Yuan glanced over at Mother''s phone: "Can we turn off the music while we''re eating?"

    Mother was playing the "Most Dazzling Ethnic Style".

    The house has been brainwashed by this song recently, Lin Xuan couldn''t take it anymore.

    Lin Yao recently stopped studying in the living room and returned to her own bedroom, slamming the door shut.

    Even Lin Yuan couldn''t stand it anymore.

    It seems they can''t assign similar songs to Wei Haoyun anymore.

    Anyway, the "Most Dazzling Ethnic Style" has already been representative enough, Lin Yuan doesn''t need to repeat it.

    Wei Haoyun''s voice can sing more than just this kind of song.

    Other genres, Wei Haoyun can also handle, her simple voice, without too many technical embellishments, naturally brings a very sincere feeling.

    Very down-to-earth.

    Also very personable.

    So even though she is the same singer, Lin Yuan wanted to bring something different, as if to help Wei Haoyun further expand her repertoire.

    As for the comments on the web, Lin Yuan had also seen them.

    It seems everyone strongly resists another brainwashing divine song...

    In fact, Lin Yuan didn''t know about a characteristic called "Tsundere".

    There''s a saying, "The mouth says no, but the body is very honest".

    No matter if others believe the netizens'' words.

    Anyway, he believed.

    Therefore.

    When he came to the production team the next day, he handed Wei Haoyun a very special song.

    "Teacher Admirable Fish..."

    The moment Wei Haoyun saw the song title, her voice began to tremble!

    When she received "Most Dazzling Ethnic Style", after Wei Haoyun went through the melody in her head once, she was very certain that it was a song in her style.

    But this time, the song that Admirable Fish brought out, Wei Haoyun did not even need to look at the melody!

    Just a song title lay before Wei Haoyun, she was one hundred percent certain:

    This song was made for her!

    Teacher Admirable Fish custom-made a song for her¡ª

    Because this song is called:

    Good! Luck! Is! Coming!

    Perfectly fitting Wei Haoyun''s name!

    Even if Admirable Fish said that the song title was just a coincidence, Wei Haoyun would not believe it!

    Wei Haoyun, "Good Luck is Coming"!

    How could there be such a coincidence in the world? S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Even!

    Wei Haoyun was very certain!

    This song was written by Admirable Fish recently!

    Because the collaboration between Teacher Admirable Fish and herself was accidental, neither she, Admirable Fish nor anyone else could have anticipated it, so the only possibility was that Admirable Fish had written such a song specifically for her these days!

    Maestro Junior...

    Actually wrote such a song for her in a variety show?

    The song title is her name!

    What kind of treatment is this?!

    Wei Haoyun''s gaze flickered, even showing a hint of crystal-clear emotion.

    Suddenly.

    In her mind, she had an unprecedented impulse, and she made a big decision.

    But she didn''t say anything, she just got up and bowed deeply to Xian Yu.

    ...

    Lin Yuan had no idea how the song "Fortune is Coming" he suggested had shocked Wei Haoyun, and what decision it had induced her to make.

    It was quite a coincidence.

    The song''s title was quite fitting for Wei Haoyun.

    Wei Haoyun happened to be able to sing this kind of song with a rustic voice.

    Under these circumstances, Lin Yuan had no choice but to suggest this song.

    Moreover, he had no intention of retreating permanently from the path of catchy eye-grabbing songs.

    This is the interesting part of "Our Song".

    If it were on "The Masked Singer".

    The songs that Lin Yuan currently suggests are quite risky.

    They might even get eliminated.

    But "Our Song" is aimed at the general public, and the judges are just ordinary audience members.

    There''s no Maestro.

    There''s no judging panel.

    And there''s no discerning music enthusiast audience.

    The most popular music among ordinary people, young and old, is easily accepted on this stage!

    This is what provided Lin Yuan with the opportunity to suggest such songs.

    Of course.

    If one were to perform a show-stopping song like "Exaggerated" on this stage, the effect would be outstanding as well.

    But there''s no need for that yet.

    Wei Haoyun is not a show-stopping type of singer, she has her own unique style.

    The following few days were spent in rehearsals and such.

    And when the fifth match began and the performance order was announced, the audience was stunned!

    Their worst fears had come to life!

    Madam Haoyun was opening the show today!

    If Madam Haoyun were to sing a song like "Most Dazzling Ethnic Style" today, how would they watch the rest of the show?

    It would be impossible to watch!

    Everyone would be brainwashed!

    Everyone would be stuck in the rhythm of the captivating song and not be able to escape!

    Backstage.

    The singers were all dazed.

    "Madam Haoyun is opening the show!"

    "I''m following Madam Haoyun??"

    "How do I follow Madam Haoyun''s act!"

    "After she finishes singing, everyone will be captivated by her song! Stuck! In it!"

    "They simply won''t be able to get out!"

    "This program team, disgusting!"

    "..."

    The songwriters were all equally stunned.

    With Madam Haoyun opening, wouldn''t she take everyone straight to the square dance scene?

    What other songs should be sung afterward, and what kind of competition would there be!

    Might as well go straight for square dances!

    "Such bad luck!"

    Zheng Jing complained with a smile, her partner was right after Madam Haoyun.

    But her song this time was quite emotional and required the audience to calm down to be able to appreciate it.

    But after Madam Haoyun''s performance, could the audience really calm down?

    Madam Haoyun, the reason why she is called Madam Haoyun, is because she brings misfortune to everyone else!

    Only Wei Haoyun, blissfully stepped onto the stage. Her glowing face made the audience shudder!

    Someone even screamed out a popular joke online:

    "Don''t come over!"

    Wei Haoyun actually responded, "I insist on coming over."

    Ha!

    The entire venue burst out laughing!

    The song hadn''t even started to play yet, but it already had a certain flair!

    However.

    When the music started and the words "Fortune is Coming" appeared on the big screen, the whole audience was already more than just laughing!

    They were bending over in laughter!

    They were falling all over each other!

    Everyone, upon seeing the title of the song, laughed so hard they couldn''t catch their breath. The whole internet said ''Don''t come over,'' and yet you insist on singing "Fortune is Coming"!?

    We told you not to come over!

    But you insisted!

    Your presence on stage, is fortune coming?

    This is clearly misfortune coming!!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: You can listen to "Fortune is Coming" in Xiao Yuan''s version on B site, or in the San Wu''s version, or even the classic old version.

 Chapter 582 - 549 Absorbing Aura_1

    Not just at the scene.

    Even the audiences in front of the screen couldn''t handle it anymore, especially after hearing such festive and noisy music. They could almost imagine what this song would be like!

    "You''re already opening the show, and you''re still saying ''Good Luck Is Coming'' to us?"

    "Wei Haoyun is so lucky, she''s met Fish Papa, such a warm-hearted person, twice. He''s willing to play along with her, but we the audience is really unlucky!"

    "Xian Yu is amazing, making up such a funny song title. It''s truly made-to-measure!"

    "Fish Papa is gone down the silly route and can''t get back."

    "Fish Papa, you are a god. Don''t often come to earth to tease us mortals!"

    "Close the door, no one is allowed to leave!"

    "We have welded the car door shut! No one can get off the vehicle!"

    "Everyone''s doomed!"

    "..."

    Come at me!

    Who''s afraid of whom!

    The audience pushes their limits, they have endured through ''The Most Dazzling Ethnic Style'', what else is there to fear!

    The Bear Clan fears nothing!

    Both on-site and in front of the screens, everyone shows a ready-to-die expression!

    On the stage.

    Wei Haoyun picked up the microphone, and with her familiar loud and resonant voice, she flawlessly brought out a delightful melody:

    "Good luck is coming, wishing you good luck

    Good luck brings joy and love

    Good luck is coming, we are wishing for good luck

    Welcome to good luck, prosperity, success and wide connections..."

    Swipe, swipe, swipe.

    The audience was dumbfounded.

    Instead of being brought to a square dance by the song, they felt like they were watching a harmonious spring festival gala?

    Everyone looked stunned.

    This song...

    Doesn''t seem to be what we thought it was?

    It really is ''Good Luck Is Coming'', the ''luck'' of ''good luck''!

    Celebratory!

    Joyful!

    Warm!

    The sudden pleasantness caught everyone off guard!

    No one found this song tacky; on the contrary, they thought it was very pleasant to listen to!

    It''s so likable!

    Wei Haoyun continued to sing:

    "Make a thousand origami cranes, tie a red ribbon, wish good people good luck every day, your hardworking life is beautiful, your health is always in spring, your life''s hard work is for smiles to bloom..."

    Beautiful!

    Truly fragrant!

    Wei Haoyun''s simple and unpretentious voice seems to send the most beautiful wishes to all the audience!

    We Haoyun continued to sing:

    "Knot a lover''s knot, ask the spring breeze to cut the ribbon, wish Blue Star''s sun, moon, and year will be lucky every year, you dance in the peaceful year, you soar in the new era, your happy home welcomes blooming flowers!"

    Backstage.

    The singers looked at each other.

    The composers also glanced at each other.

    "She changed her style!"

    "This song is also amazing!"

    "The melody is simple, but the content is sincere!"

    "This song is not tacky or brainwashing at all, but it leaves a deep impression on people after they listen to it."

    "Xian Yu truly knows how to play!"

    "..."

    She really knows how to play!

    Everyone thought they would be taken to a square dance scene, but they ended up landing at the ''Spring Festival gala'' scene! S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Damn..."

    "I think I''m becoming a fan of Madam Haoyun?"

    "Is it still possible to leave now?"

    "After listening to so many songs of Madam Haoyun, this one exceeds all!"

    "...."

    Not sure who started it.

    Suddenly, countless wishes appeared in the live chat:

    "Madam Haoyun bless me to draw a rare card tonight!"

    "I wish to pass the civil service examination next month!"

    "Pass the professional course with high scores!"

    "Madam Haoyun, bless me to pass the interview tomorrow, I''ll go to the interview while listening to this song tomorrow!"

    "Absorb absorb absorb absorb!"

    "Absorbing Madam Haoyun''s luck, confessing to my crush tomorrow!"

    "Good dizzy milk, wish you good dizzy milk!"

    "The wish from the person above is the most sincere wish I''ve ever heard!"

    "..."

    If "Most Dazzling Ethnic Style" is a song that aunties love;

    Then "Good luck is Coming" is a song that many people enjoy!

    Its composition isn''t complex.

    Its singing doesn''t show off any particular skills.

    But the emotions and wishes it expresses can be conveyed to people''s hearts in an instant through simple lyrics and melody!

    It fits perfectly with Wei Haoyun singing this song!

    No one is more suitable for this song than Wei Haoyun!

    Whether it''s in terms of voice or even the singer''s name, it''s all true!

    ...

    The audience is on fire!

    Some people even clap their hands!

    These applause, combined with the catchy rhythm of the song, enhance the atmosphere of the song!

    The singers backstage are stunned!

    "The audience is so responsive!"

    "Madam Haoyun is truly exceptional this time!"

    "Fish Papa can really play any song!"

    "I want to snatch some luck from Madam Haoyun!"

    "Fish Papa has paved a new musical path for Madam Haoyun!"

    "..."

    The song is too simple.

    Some singers can''t help but sing along.

    At the final climax, almost the entire audience joins in:

    "Good luck is coming, I wish you good luck, bringing joy and love, we are fortunate, facing luck, prosperous and thriving across the world!"

    Madam Haoyun winds up.

    Three concise words:

    "Good! Luck! Comes!"

    Wei Haoyun''s actions, simple and straightforward, eyes firm, the microphone suddenly skewed to the side of her face, as if frozen in time.

    At the same time, the music stops!

    Compared to "Stay".

    This "Good Luck Comes" is beyond criticism!

    Applause breaks out!

    The venue erupts with countless applause!

    Wei Haoyun takes a deep breath, turns her head to look at Lin Yuan, her smile broad and generous.

    Lin Yuan gives a thumbs up.

    This song, Wei Haoyun really sang it well, as if this song was inherently meant for her!

    The atmosphere on site!

    The audience interaction!

    This is the highlight of the show!

    Host Anhong walks onto the stage, his voice full of laughter, "Good luck is coming, I wish you good luck, did you all get the blessings from Madam Haoyun?"

    "We got it!"

    The audience shouts out.

    Some are moved to tears.

    Finally, Fish Papa isn''t messing around anymore!

    Finally, Fish Papa has gotten serious!

    Although this song is still quite different from Xian Yu''s previous works in style.

    But who doesn''t like such a positive and harmonious song!

    And on the screen.

    Some audience members have already dragged the progress bar, replaying "Good Luck Comes", and began to draw cards!

    "Good luck comes!"

    "Good luck comes!"

    Snap, one audience member draws an SSR!

    This audience member immediately shows off online: "This song is so awesome, I''m now a die-hard fan of Madam Haoyun, I must summon Madam Haoyun when I''m drawing cards!"

    Following this.

    Whether serious.

    Or joking.

    More and more people join in: "I''m here to fulfill my vow, just listened to ''Good Luck Comes'' and confessed to my goddess, she agreed!"

    "Madam Haoyun rocks!"

    "Brothers, get her!"

    "No, I''m dizzy!"

    "..."

    Talking about looks and figure, Madam Haoyun is considered above average in the entertainment industry, and she might be a bit off when standing next to beautiful female stars, but she has met the standard of beauty for ordinary people.

    The most important thing is:

    Madam Haoyun''s assets are quite substantial.

    Bouncing along with every step she takes!

    So, inducing some teasing was expected.

    But these teases are actually without much malice.

    Everyone loves this song!

    And because of this song, many people have started to like Madam Haoyun, and even directly became her fans because of this song!

 Chapter 583 - 550 Good Luck Doesnt Favor Fools_1

    After the show ended.

    The song "Good Luck is Coming" was now a hit!

    Especially among the elderly in the audience, they absolutely loved this kind of song!

    After the competition.

    The production team released an official voting statistic:

    Those who voted for "Most Dazzling Ethnic Style" were mainly dancing grannies from the square.

    But those who voted for "Good Luck is Coming" were mainly the elderly men and women...

    Having an elder at home is as good as having a precious gem.

    If we can say, the grannies are the decision-makers of the households;

    Then the elderly men and women are the supreme emperors of the households!

    The supreme emperors don''t often speak, but when they do, who dares not to listen at home?

    Furthermore...

    The elderly men and women enjoy this song; many young audiences actually also really like this song.

    Especially after everyone listened to "Most Dazzling Ethnic Style".

    Compared to that dance craze song, this song is much more sincere and filled with positive energy!

    Fish Papa is making some noise!

    So...

    Either actively or passively...

    Everyone unanimously voted "Good Luck is Coming" as the first-place song for this period!

    However.

    The impact of this song is not just limited to a variety show.

    The next day.

    Lin Xuan rarely took Big Yaoyao out shopping.

    During their shopping trip, they were surprised to find out that many supermarkets and other places were all playing the same song:

    "Good luck is coming, wishing you good luck..."

    They finally changed places, but they were playing the song here too:

    "Good luck is coming, bringing happiness and love..."

    Even though it''s her precious younger brother''s song, Lin Xuan felt exhausted from listening to it.

    She changed places again and once again the song is playing:

    "Good luck is coming, we''re welcoming good luck, thriving and prospering all over the place..."

    Oh my God!

    It''s still not over, isn''t it!

    This good luck is coming, it can''t be chased away, nor can it be avoided!

    After shopping, Lin Xuan and Lin Yao almost had an entire day of "Good Luck is Coming", to the point of having their minds thoroughly washed!

    Finally done with the shopping trip, Lin Xuan drove home.

    While waiting for the red light, Lin Xuan sighed: "Finally, I don''t have to be ruled by ''Good Luck is Coming''."

    Big Yaoyao nodded deeply in agreement.

    However, when the two of them drove past a plaza, an even more horrific song suddenly rang in their ears:

    "The vast horizon is my love, at the foot of the rolling hills, flowers are blooming!"

    It''s "Most Dazzling Ethnic Style"!

    Lin Xuan: "..."

    Lin Yao: "..."

    Please spare us!

    Can''t we continue listening to "Good Luck is Coming"?

    Lin Xuan was on the verge of a meltdown.

    Before Lin Yao rolled up the car window, she heard her brother''s voice coming from the loudspeaker:

    "Stay!"

    With both "Good Luck is Coming" and "Stay", Lin Yao was also on the verge of a meltdown.

    On this day.

    The experience of Lin Xuan and Lin Yao was definitely not an isolated event¡ª¡ª

    Just on this day.

    Almost everyone who went out was thoroughly ruled by "Good Luck is Coming" in the streets and alleys!

    Even if they escaped "Good Luck is Coming".

    There''s still the dance craze "Most Dazzling Ethnic Style" waiting for them.

    It''s as if the entire world is filled with Madam Haoyun!

    As a result, everyone''s minds completely broke down!

    Swipe, swipe, swipe!

    Complaints might arrive late, but they never fail to show up¡ª¡ª

    "Our local market has been completely occupied by ''Good Luck is Coming''!"

    "Supermarkets are playing it, restaurants are playing it, even clothing stores are damn playing this song!"

    "Even the best song, if you make me listen to it all day, I can''t stand it!"

    "Who was it that said ''Good Luck is Coming'' isn''t a brainwashing song, stand up, I can''t even read these three words now, just looking at them makes me automatically start singing!"

    "This too is a brainwashing song!"

    "Madam Haoyun is everywhere!" Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "We''re surrounded by Madam Haoyun!"

    "Stop it, Fish Papa, Madam Haoyun is everywhere outside!"

    "Fish Papa, look at what you''ve done!"

    "What a calamity!"

    "..."

    Netizens finally experienced the fear of being ruled by a street song!

    This song is simply more ubiquitous than "Most Dazzling Ethnic Style"!

    The scariest thing is...

    When someone opened a live streaming website, intending to watch a streamer playing a game, the streamer nervously rubbed his hands.

    "Guys, the game official is doing a skin drawing event, I plan to draw five thousand dollars'' worth of skins in today''s live stream!"

    In that instant.

    Many viewers in the live stream room had a bad premonition.

    Just as they thought!

    The next moment, the streamer opened the player and started playing "Good Luck is Coming"!

    Along with the song.

    The streamer was excited to the point of turning red:

    "The battle song has already started, Madam Haoyun bless, I must draw the Epic Dragon Blind in this round!"

    The bullet screen instantly exploded¡ª¡ª

    "Please spare us!"

    "Streamer, be a human!"

    "One more time and unfollow!"

    "One more time and suicidal!"

    "I''m going to puke, excuse me!"

    "My god, I finally understand today what it means to listen to a song until you''re sick of it!"

    "..."

    Getting sick of it is not going to help.

    The streamer has already entered the zone!

    What''s even scarier is that with the help of this song, the streamer is getting everything he wants!

    In the end, the streamer was almost on his knees:

    "Madam Haoyun, forever a god!"

    The bullet screen looked dumbfounded, and some even had sinful thoughts:

    Should...should I try it too?

    After another day, along with the explosion of "Good Luck is Coming", even the ribbon-cutting ceremonies at some stores started to play this song!

    Why?

    This song is festive!

    This song is auspicious!

    Aren''t businesses hoping for a booming business and continuous good luck when they open?

    Bang!

    This song had completely exploded!

    In just a few short days, it had enabled countless people in Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan to be thoroughly familiar with this song!

    But it''s not over yet.

    Just when everyone thought they could bear through the heat wave of this song in a while, Blue Star Television dropped a bombshell news¡ª¡ª

    The Spring Festival Gala team intends to invite Madam Haoyun to perform "Good Luck is Coming" on stage!

    Yes!

    The Spring Festival Gala is inviting Madam Haoyun!

    At this moment, netizens completely lost it:

    "So I have to listen to this song until Chinese New Year?"

    "It''s still several months until Chinese New Year!"

    "I never thought that by the end of this year, there would be a woman singing to me tirelessly!"

    "She sings to me when she crowds at the market, she sings to me on the plaza, she even sang to me downstairs of my house last night!"

    "Madam Haoyun, don''t come over here!"

    "Madam Haoyun: The door is welded shut, no one is getting out, take off your pants!"

    "A petition signed in blood by ten thousand people, don''t let Madam Haoyun get close to Fish Papa next episode!"

    "If the production team dares to let Fish Papa and Madam Haoyun cooperate again, I''m going to blow up the auditorium!"

    "Fish Papa, save your child!"

    "..."

    More and more viewers can''t stand it anymore!

    But it''s weird if they''re not being masochistic...

    These people say they can''t stand it, but when they themselves go play games or draw prizes, they will also play this song.

    Muttering something to themselves, as devoted as they can be:

    "Blessings from Madam Haoyun!"

    Unfortunately, not everyone can benefit from this tactic.

    In response to this, some netizens teased:

    "Good luck doesn''t favor fools."

 Chapter 584 - 551: Koi Carp_1

    Wei Haoyun is on fire!

    Following the success of "Good Luck Comes", people are not seeking the deities anymore; they are worshiping Madam Haoyun!

    Wei Haoyun herself is flabbergasted...

    She thought "Most Dazzling Ethnic Style" would be her magnum opus.

    Little did she know that she would follow it up with "Good Luck Comes"!

    Wei Haoyun doesn''t know whether to thank her parents for giving her such a fortuitous name or to thank Teacher Admirable Fish for giving her such a great song...

    The song has even caught the attention of the Spring Festival show production team!

    You have to understand!

    For singers, male or female, it''s not easy to get onto the Spring Festival program.

    Yet Wei Haoyun, a controversial top tier singer, has managed to get there with "Good Luck Comes"!

    It''s the Spring Festival show!

    After one performs on such a stage, who would dare to call their songs vulgar?

    That''s not vulgarity!

    That''s the epitome of popularity!

    It''s time!

    An ambition sparks in Wei Haoyun''s eyes!

    She once felt lost about her musical path and disappointed in her career.

    But now, she has found her life direction!

    With this in mind.

    Wei Haoyun logs into her fan club.

    The number of comments on her fan club is hundreds of times more than it used to be!

    All of this happened after she sang two songs by Admirable Fish.

    She opens the e-shop.

    Wei Haoyun pays one hundred yuan and buys a name changing card.

    Her original name was Wei Haoyun, but now she has changed it to:

    Lucky Koi!

    From today onwards, Wei Haoyun is not just Wei Haoyun, she is also Lucky Koi!

    Yes.

    Wei Haoyun has decided.

    She will follow closely behind Teacher Admirable Fish in the future. She wants to join the Yu Dynasty!

    Changing her name now is just Wei Haoyun''s way of expressing her resolution.

    Wei Haoyun is now the focus of attention.

    As soon as she changes her name, the netizens take notice.

    Not all celebrities use their real names for their Weibo accounts, many come up with creative nicknames. So, this is nothing unusual.

    But...

    The name Wei Haoyun changed her name to is so special!

    Lucky Koi!

    This is clearly a fish!

    Even if people try not to think about it, it''s hard to avoid the connection¡ª

    "Madam Haoyun changed her name to Lucky Koi?"

    "Is she going to join the Yu Dynasty?"

    "The members of the Yu Dynasty who appeared on The Masked Singer all adopted fish images. Madam Haoyun also gave herself a fish name, which shows her loyalty to Fish Daddy!"

    "It''s over. Madam Haoyun is completely captivated by Fish Daddy. She''s outright offering her allegiance!"

    "Fish Daddy, stop your sorcery. Don''t let Madam Haoyun join us!"

    "Madam Haoyun is terrifying. She''s everywhere!"

    "Congratulations to the Yu Dynasty on gaining a new general!"

    "..."

    The currently recognized members of the Yu Dynasty are these five:

    Sun Yaohuo, Jiang Kui, Zhao Ying Ge, Xia Fan, and Chen Zhiyu.

    Many people thought the members of the Yu Dynasty would never change.

    But seeing Madam Haoyun''s current trend, could she also be joining the Yu Dynasty in the future?

    The Yu Dynasty is expanding!

    Meanwhile.

    Many people are starting to sense something.

    They have witnessed the process of Admirable Fish capturing Madam Haoyun''s loyalty.

    The way things are going, it''s practically a done deal!

    Everyone knows:

    Madam Haoyun''s success can be completely attributed to Admirable Fish.

    Everyone saw it live.

    So, honestly.

    If anyone else stood where Madam Haoyun is standing now, they would be won over by an impressive composer like Admirable Fish too.

    And not merely won over, they''d be sincerely convinced.

    Because what Admirable Fish gave to Madam Haoyun was not just two songs.

    What Admirable Fish gave Madam Haoyun was a direction in life, and as a songwriter, his respect towards a singer, among other things.

    ...

    Lin Yuan was unaware of Wei Haoyun''s name change to "Koi".

    He only found out when his elder sister mentioned it after he had come home that night.

    His sister asked curiously, "Do you agree with it?"

    Lin Yuan was taken aback, "Agree with what?"

    His sister said, "Of course, it''s regarding Wei Haoyun joining the Yu Dynasty."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    The Yu Dynasty was a label largely attributed by outsiders.

    For Lin Yuan, it was simply a group of singers who got along well and hung out together.

    If Wei Haoyun wanted to be friends with him and Sun Yaohuo and the rest, Lin Yuan had no objections.

    But ...

    Considering the members of the Yu Dynasty, Lin Yuan would have to write songs for them. Hence, he felt that they couldn''t just let anyone join in the future. This small group should have some entry criteria.

    More members would mean a heavier burden.

    Let''s just consider it a fun group.

    When Lin Yuan was a kid, he, Jian Yi and Xia Fan referred to themselves as the "The Three Musketeers".

    To Lin Yuan, "The Yu Dynasty" was no different.

    It was an upgraded version of "The Three Musketeers" from his childhood.

    Ten members seemed just fine...

    Lin Yuan seemed lost in thought.

    In the Yu Dynasty, apart from himself, there were ten singers, which he could manage.

    The group was not too big at the moment.

    Letting Wei Haoyun join would just increase the number to six.

    Lin Yuan suddenly thought of One Piece...

    In the beginning, only Zoro was on Luffy''s ship.

    All the other crew members joined through countless encounters.

    Like Nami.

    Like...

    It seemed like he was playing the role of Luffy now, thought Lin Yuan. He found it quite amusing.

    However.

    He probably wouldn''t encounter Wei Haoyun anymore.

    In this competition, the probability of drawing the same person twice was already very low.

    Three times?

    Even if the program group tried to demonstrate fairness, the audience would definitely not believe it.

    Lin Yuan didn''t want to continue collaborating with Wei Haoyun in the next round, not because he wasn''t fond of him, but because if he continued to collaborate with Wei Haoyun, the style of music would have to be repeated. The audience needed novelty, or else his popularity wouldn''t rise rapidly.

    Lin Yuan hadn''t forgotten his goal.

    He couldn''t slack off in accumulating popularity.

    However, in the next show, there would be no competition involving Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan had to wait until the show after next.

    This gave Lin Yuan some free time to deal with some other things -

    The matter of the movie!

    Some time had passed since the end of "Spiderman", and the crew received adequate rest.

    Lin Yuan was ready to start filming a new movie.

    The new movie was called "Life of Pi".

    Yes, it was this movie.

    Having delayed the release twice since the script was out, Lin Yuan no longer had to procrastinate.

    The preparations at the company were complete.

    So.

    Just a few days later, Lin Yuan appeared on the set to begin the official shooting of "Life of Pi"!

    However...

    This time Lin Yuan did not choose Director Yi Chenggong to continue. The reason being that "Life of Pi" posed high demands on the director. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Even if his script specified how to film, there were many challenges that remained.

    Under these circumstances, Lin Yuan could only opt for another director to collaborate with.

    This director was one the company had poached from Qi Continent early on and was the top director within the company...

    Du An!

    Du An followed the director-centered approach and shouldn''t have collaborated with Lin Yuan in theory.

    But for some reason, Du An was willing to let go of his ego and center the movie around Lin Yuan''s script to make this new film.

    Lin Yuan gladly agreed, of course.

    Leaving aside the issues with the director-centered approach, Du An''s directorial abilities were indeed very strong.

    As a result.

    When the playgroup decided on the project, Yi Chenggong, who had not been chosen as the director, was left feeling lost and distraught.

    It seemed like Mr. Lin no longer needed him...

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps:Thank you to the Alliance Hierarch [ÓûÕß×ÔÓÞ] for their reward. They have become the 53rd Alliance Hierarch for this book. Offering my thanks to the big shot ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ. There''s a lot going on during the Spring Festival, I''ll add more chapters for everyone after a while.

 Chapter 585 - 552: Its Impossible to Work for Others_1

    Lin Yuan had developed a go-to crew through the few films he had directed.

    The core members of this movie crew remained constant, especially the producer Shen Qing and the director Yi Chenggong.

    However, when Mr. Lin announced the new movie project, although the crew stayed mostly unchanged, the director position shifted from Yi Chenggong to Du An, leaving Yi Chenggong inevitably disappointed.

    Though Yi Chenggong understood deep down:

    In terms of directing capability, he certainly wasn''t as accomplished as Du An, the great director Mr. Lin had specifically hired from Qi Continent.

    Moreover...

    Du An even agreed to become a tool for Mr. Lin, in order to serve as the director of "Life of Pi". This was indeed a huge sacrifice.

    Because under normal circumstances,

    A director of Du An''s caliber would not accept a subordinate position.

    So, not only was Yi Chenggong upset, Du An was likewise aggrieved.

    Shen Qing kept his position.

    But seeing Lin Yuan''s new movie go forward with Du An instead of Yi Chenggong, Shen Qing also felt somewhat strange.

    After all, they had been working together for so long, and Shen Qing had built a good rapport with Yi Chenggong. Therefore, he accompanied Yi Chenggong for some drinks to comfort this old friend:

    "I think Mr. Lin must have felt this film''s style is more suited to Du An. When there''s a movie more suited to your style, he''ll approach you again for collaboration. I''ll also talk to Mr. Lin about this..."

    "No trouble."

    Yi Chenggong responded with a bitter smile, "I don''t blame Mr. Lin, he''s already done a lot for me. I wasn''t chosen this time because of my own inadequacies. I hope that Mr. Lin''s film achieves the best results possible. In the meantime, I''ll aim to improve my skills to keep up with Mr.

    Lin''s pace."

    Obviously,

    The scale of Mr. Lin''s future movies will undoubtedly become larger and larger, demanding higher skills from the director. If Yi Chenggong''s abilities stagnate, his being left out would only be a matter of time.

    Just then,

    Yi Chenggong''s phone suddenly buzzed. He took a look and instantly sobered up from his slightly tipsy state. Shen Qing blinked at the unexpected call.

    The call was from Mr. Lin.

    Yi Chenggong cleared his throat and answered the phone.

    He subconsciously thought Mr. Lin was calling to comfort him, but the words on the phone left him stunned. So much so that he was a bit confused when the call ended.

    "So? "

    Shen Qing smiled, "I told you Mr. Lin hasn''t forgotten you. He''s not the type to proactively comfort people. If he did, it simply means he values you."

    "No, it''s..."

    "Then what?"

    Yi Chenggong took a deep breath, exhilarated, "Mr. Lin said he''s got a new script for me to direct, he''ll send the script to me in a few days. His two films will start production in sequence!"

    "Wow!"

    Shen Qing was shocked, then overjoyed:

    "Congratulations! Mr. Lin wrote a new script specially for you as compensation, he must think highly of you!"

    "Yes!"

    Yi Chenggong could hardly contain his excitement, the joy of the alcohol returning, "I''ll definitely make the new movie perfect, I can''t let Mr. Lin''s hope for me go unanswered!"

    ...

    In fact, it wasn''t just to comfort Yi Chenggong, but mainly because Lin Yuan predicted that the "Life of Pi" could take quite some time to produce. The vacuum period could be quite long, so he wanted to let Yi Chenggong direct another movie during this process.

    Based on the difficulty of shooting, the premieres of the two movies can be staggered.

    However, Lin Yuan still had not decided what movie to shoot next, he planned to take a good look at his film library.

    The next day,

    Lin Yuan spent a rare day in his studio drawing comics.

    At this point, the serialization of "Death Note" was in its latter stage and was projected to wrap up by the end of the year. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    After spending a few hours on the comic,

    Lin Yuan continued to write "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes".

    The serialization of this novel has been proceeding in an orderly manner. The update progress is consistent with the original Poirot series, and under the steady serialization, Holmes'' influence has gradually spread. More and more people are putting Holmes in a position equivalent to Poirot.

    This made Lin Yuan breathe a sigh of relief.

    The concept of "first impressions matter" is quite powerful. If the readers of this world have accepted Poirot first, it would not be easy to let them recognize Holmes again; but facts have proven that Poirot does not overshadow Holmes'' brilliance. Due to their relationships in the series, both characters have somewhat complemented each other''s success.

    It''s also part of Lin Yuan''s master plan.

    In the serialization of "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes", he often has Holmes mention Poirot, linking the two characters more closely together through Holmes'' admiration for Poirot.

    Finishing the novel.

    It was already dark.

    Jin Mu made a cup of tea for Lin Yuan, and then sat on the sofa opposite Lin Yuan and said, "Boss, the serialization of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes series hasn''t reached halfway yet, has it?"

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Jin Mu understood. "We probably won''t be able to catch up then."

    "Catch up with what?"

    "The Ultimate God of Fantasy Fiction selection starts at the end of the year and will announce the list in the early of next year. Boss is already barely meeting the qualification for the nomination, but because you''ve been serializing detectives these two years..."

    Ultimate God?

    Lin Yuan was slightly taken aback.

    He remembered that he had won the GOAT award in the fantasy field.

    And above the GOAT award, there was actually an Ultimate God selection.

    However, due to his qualifications at the time, Lin Yuan did not become the Ultimate God.

    Now according to Jin Mu, it seems that his qualifications have barely reached that threshold.

    "Is there anything to say about this?"

    "Of course."

    Jin Mu smiled and said, "The Ultimate God is considered the top tier in the fantasy field. Not to mention Qi Continent, we only have four Ultimate Gods in Qin Continent alone, which shows how demanding this honor is. Therefore, I highly recommend that the boss consider the possibility of writing fantasy literature for his next novel.

    With one or two more excellent fantasy novels, if you successfully become an Ultimate God, I can also negotiate terms with Silver Blue Books..."

    "Like what?"

    "Shares!"

    Jin Mu said seriously, "Boss, your current share of novel revenue with Silver Blue Books is already very high, and it''s almost impossible to go any further in terms of conditions and treatment. But if the boss can get the title of Ultimate God, I think we can discuss the possibility of equity investment with Silver Blue Books.

    The development of Silver Blue Books has been very good in recent years, and its development momentum can be considered as the number one publishing company in Qin Continent. If you can get equity in this company, the speed of making money will definitely be much faster than the share of novel sales!"

    Lin Yuan''s eyes lit up!

    So after maximizing the share, you can still fight for the equity of Silver Blue Books. This made him start to feel eager.

    There are too many works in the system.

    Lin Yuan is spending money to exchange for songs, even if these are songs that he doesn''t need in the near future, he still actively exchanges them. This has led to some of Lin Yuan''s money being deducted by the system.

    Still short of money!

    So why not strive for the shares of Silver Blue Books and make more money?

    If you get the shares, your cooperation with Silver Blue Books is not just working for them anymore.

    In some sense.

    The current Lin Yuan is a king of workers.

    Whether it''s Xian Yu or Chu Kuang, they both work for the company. Although they are cherished by the bosses, compared to equity, being a worker seems less appealing, right¡­?

    "Are you interested?"

    Jin Mu discerned Lin Yuan''s interest and laughed, "Indeed, it''s more suitable to be a shareholder than a worker. If other authors have this idea, Silver Blue Books would definitely disagree. But for the boss, the difficulty is not high. The Ultimate God is our letter of intent for negotiations.

    They have no reason to refuse as countless publishers are lining to cooperate with us as far as the Han Continent. It''s just a matter of how much shares we can get."

    Lin Yuan nodded firmly!

    To satisfy the system''s appetite, being a worker is impossible. There''s no way he could be a worker in this life. He couldn''t run a company as a boss. He could only be a shareholder struggling to make a living like this...

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: The protagonist of this book doesn''t become a boss. His character and personality are not suitable for that. So later on, he will hold shares in some companies, which can be considered as half a boss.

 Chapter 586 - 553 How Can Forget Journey to the West_1

    In fact, Lin Yuan had plans to continue writing fantasy novels from the get-go. It''s just that he has been writing detective novels in the recent years, the kind with lengthy plots, taking up much of his time, so he simply hadn''t gotten around to starting on it.

    But now...

    With the temptation of being an omnipotent deity and the enhancement of his shares within sight, Lin Yuan felt he could do it anew!

    So what if it''s a fantasy novel?

    Write it!

    Not only does he need to write it, but he would also need to write an influential enough piece. After all, becoming an omnipotent deity is no easy task. Even Jin Mu had only said he''d barely met the threshold. To become an omnipotent deity, he still needed one or two fantasy novels.

    One to two novels implies that even one novel could hold the promise of success. However, this one novel must have the quality worth that of two!

    Besides, if the novel isn''t good enough, how is one to negotiate terms with Silver Blue Books?

    With this in mind, Lin Yuan began to consider what sort of novel he should start writing recently.

    Western?

    Or Eastern?

    Lin Yuan hesitated briefly, then decided to continue writing Eastern fantasy novels because all of Chu Kuang''s fantasy novels had been Eastern style so far.

    The reason was simple.

    After writing Western-style detective novels for such a long time, Lin Yuan was growing somewhat weary of it.

    In terms of personal reading preferences, Lin Yuan was certain that he liked the Eastern artistic style better.

    With that thought, Lin Yuan began to have a sense of direction.

    Nevertheless, Lin Yuan solicited the opinion of his agent Jin Mu:

    "What kind of fantasy novel is the most popular at the moment?"

    "..."

    Jin Mu''s heart pounded.

    He always had the feeling that he''d heard this question before.

    Initially, Lin Yuan had asked him a similar question, and his answer then had been "detective novels". S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    At the time, Jin Mu had assumed it was nothing more than idle chatter. However, he never expected that right after he gave his response, his boss would dive headfirst into the realm of detective novels without looking back¡­

    So, this question may be more important than he thought!

    Under such circumstances, Jin Mu had no choice but to think carefully.

    After several minutes, he finally responded hesitantly, "Various themes in the fantasy domain are all quite popular. But in recent years, the most popular genre is Xianxia which you pioneered¡­"

    "Xianxia?"

    "Yes."

    Jin Mu explained with great familiarity, "Ever since you pioneered the Xianxia genre with ''Zhu Xian'', an increasing number of fantasy writers have started to revolve their works around this theme. Currently, among the top six best-selling fantasy novels, three are Xianxia, and three others are adventure novels set in different worlds.

    The remaining spots vary, with different genres having the chance to make the list¡­"

    Lin Yuan suddenly asked, "Has anyone written the origin of Xianxia?"

    Jin Mu paused, "Origin? You mean, the creation myths recorded in the ''Classic of Mountains and Seas''?"

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Jin Mu laughed and said, "Haven''t the past generations summarized it already? Starting from the ''Classic of Mountains and Seas'', and then progressing to the Primordial Chaos series and the Investiture of the Gods series¡­"

    Lin Yuan nodded, realizing it afterward.

    Based on what Jin Mu said, it seemed as if Blue Star already had a complete Primordial Chaos system.

    If there wasn''t one, Lin Yuan would consider writing on the theme of the Primordial Chaos, which was the motivation behind his inquiry.

    Jin Mu was left somewhat confused.

    Unexpectedly, his well-read boss didn''t even know this basic common knowledge...

    Was he toying with him?

    Jin Mu assumed that must be the case.

    Lin Yuan didn''t continue the idle conversation with Jin Mu, as he had turned on his computer to search for novels based on the Primordial Chaos.

    Half an hour later.

    Lin Yuan nodded slightly.

    It seemed there indeed were novels on the Primordial Chaos in this world--

    Of course, Lin Yuan wasn''t toying with Jin Mu.

    If he hadn''t searched the internet for information, he truly wouldn''t be sure whether this world had anything about the Primordial Chaos.

    He was an earthling.

    The ancient Oriental mythology of the Celestial Dynasty on Earth was too scattered, and barely anyone had systematically summarized it.

    It wasn''t until Dreams of Divinity composed ''Buddhism was Originally Daoism'' that numerous myths were summarized and incorporated into a novel. That''s when novels based on the Primordial Chaos started to become popular--

    By epoch, the Primordial Chaos has been regarded as the origin of Xianxia.

    Thus, Lin Yuan subconsciously thought that Blue Star didn''t have any Primordial Chaos related works.

    Who knew the cultural inheritance on Blue Star was this robust? There was no need for Dreams of Divinity here. Through numerous predecessors'' works, the Primordial Chaos of Blue Star already had a well-preserved system.

    Many mythical figures had their original forms.

    The entire chronology had been sorted out rather clearly.

    It seemed he didn''t need to write "Investiture of the Gods"--

    Yes.

    Originally, Lin Yuan had considered writing "Investiture of the Gods" to sort out Blue Star''s Primordial Chaos system, but since someone had already sorted out similar stories, it was unnecessary.

    However...

    While gathering information, Lin Yuan found that the backdrop of the Primordial Chaos lacked further developmental narratives.

    In other words:

    There was no Journey to the West!

    Whether Journey to the West counts as part of the Primordial Chaos may be debatable, but if you were to isolate it, the impact of its story can easily overshadow the Primordial Chaos stories!

    Moreover...

    Many characters in Journey to the West have been in existence since the Primordial Chaos era, such as The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord...

    But Blue Star doesn''t have "Journey to the West"!

    It''s a great pity for a world dominated by Eastern civilization. As a transmigrator, I must not allow this regret to go unaddressed.

    In a moment...

    Even the usually calm Lin Yuan could not help but feel his heart pounding!

    That''s "Journey to the West"!

    It''s one of the Four Great Classical Novels of the Celestial Dynasty!

    And today, a story of such magnitude will be written by Lin Yuan, or Chu Kuang!

    How could Lin Yuan not be excited?

    Sun Wukong was his childhood idol!

    The Great Sage Sun Wukong is the aspiration of many!

    Lin Yuan was completely confident that once "Journey to the West" was out, all Xianxia novels would be overshadowed!

    As to whether "Journey to the West" counts as a Xianxia novel, it doesn''t really matter.

    In this world, immortals are everywhere, and there are as many monsters as dogs.

    The story of Journey to the West is considered mythological.

    It''s similar to the Primordial Chaos.

    But...

    The time at which Journey to the West took place is quite unique.

    From the story''s background settings, there are countless immortals, with the Heavenly Court ruling the world, and even the strong beings from the Primordial Chaos era work within the Heavenly Court.

    Therefore...

    "Journey to the West" can be understood as a story that took place after the Primordial Chaos.

    Yet, it also seems to occur before all the Xianxia novels in Blue Star''s timeline.

    It links the past with what''s to come.

    After all, who would dare say that the story of "Zhu Xian" occurs before "Journey to the West"?

    All the character power values in "Zhu Xian", combined, probably wouldn''t even rank in "Journey to the West".

    That''s the way it is with mythological stories.

    The earlier the period, the higher the power values; even if you put Buddha in the Primordial Chaos era, his power value wouldn''t be considered high.

    But let''s not worry about that for now.

    Lin Yuan''s eyes were ablaze.

    He had decided that his next fantasy novel will be "Journey to the West"!

    This novel combines mythology with Xianxia civilization, also inheriting the era of the Primordial Chaos; it truly qualifies as a top-notch Eastern fantasy novel.

    It is truly a story that can influence not only one generation but many!

    Therefore, Lin Yuan took it very seriously!

    Of course...

    Since the original "Journey to the West" was written by Ol'' Wu.

    Wu Chengen was an ancient person, so his language was primarily classical Chinese.

    Lin Yuan''s "Journey to the West" would definitely need to be turned into modern text that is easy to understand.

    Under such circumstances, can he still maintain the original flavor of Journey to the West?

    Lin Yuan was a bit worried.

    Just then...

    The System chimed in:

    "As the host has chosen to write about Journey to the West, the system has already converted ''Journey to the West'' into a modern narrative, including small adaptations to the background."

    The System highly values the dissemination of culture.

    When Lin Yuan expressed his intention to write a story about Journey to the West, the System didn''t even charge him, and proactively helped him!

    After all...

    How can one forget Journey to the West?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Readers who are well-versed in Journey to the West can provide some inspiration. Polluted White has watched a lot of TV dramas and animations but didn''t finish reading the original, therefore, most of the understanding comes from online analyses and summaries. This novel must be written, after all, the Monkey King is awesome, and there are derivations.

 Chapter 587 - 554: Xian Yu and Fei Yang_1

    There was another reason for choosing Journey to the West:

    The Journey to the West IP was enormous!

    So big that many filmmakers only focus on making a film about the Great Sage Sun Wukong. Over and over, they made countless versions of the monkey, so much so that the monkey''s 84,000 hairs were almost completely pulled out -

    Let alone 84,000 hairs.

    I''m afraid that even if you added the three life-saving hairs given to Sun Wukong by Guanyin Bodhisattva, it wouldn''t be enough for those people to pluck.

    And the audience keeps paying for it.

    This attests to the influence of the monkey.

    People simply can''t get enough of it.

    If it weren''t so profitable, why would everyone compete with the monkey year after year.

    Now everything has changed.

    Blue Star doesn''t have "Journey to the West".

    All those monkey hairs, enough for Lin Yuan to pluck at leisure.

    The prerequisite is that Lin Yuan must also build the influence of "Journey to the West".

    This is undoubtedly a massive project.

    Luckily, Lin Yuan had Starlight support. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    To build the influence of the Journey to the West, TV series and animations of Journey to the West need to be made, all of which require the support of an entertainment company.

    Having made up his mind.

    Lin Yuan spent a huge sum of money to commission a Journey to the West from the System!

    As for the cost, Lin Yuan didn''t dare to mention it.

    It was outrageously expensive.

    When the novel was delivered, Lin Yuan was surprised to find that the system had arranged two versions for him -

    One was the original version of the "Journey to the West".

    The other was a modern version of "Journey to the West".

    Lin Yuan felt that the money was well spent.

    Of the two versions, the classical version had more rhythm and cultural richness; while the modern version was smoother to read, had a stronger story, and was easier for the average person to immerse themselves in.

    It has to be said.

    The system (reader) is quite considerate with this arrangement.

    If you directly take out the original "Journey to the West", it would be almost impossible to please everyone, because the reading threshold is a bit high. Not everyone has enough classical Chinese knowledge to fully grasp the rhythm.

    In contrast.

    The modern version of the text is more in line with everyone''s reading habits.

    Moreover, the so-called modern version still leans towards the classical style, so it''s very comfortable to read, with a bit of traditional Xianxia novel feel, and the dialogues are also sort of classical, as if finding a balance between classical and modern novels.

    It also contains some adaptations.

    It added some of the later interpretations of the Journey to the West.

    Therefore, the entire novel''s story has been enhanced and elevated.

    For instance, when Lin Yuan read the opening scene of Sun Wukong making havoc in the Heavenly Palace in the modern version, he was extremely captivated.

    "Write both versions."

    After all, the length of Journey to the West is not long, the whole text is only about 800,000 to 900,000 words.

    Writing both would be less than 2 million words.

    For an author like Lin Yuan who writes at an "eagle speed", this was not a problem.

    Having made up his mind.

    Lin Yuan began to write.

    He did not focus on writing one version but wrote both versions side by side.

    He would write the first chapter of the classical version, then write the first chapter of the modern version.

    Writing in this manner, Lin Yuan had a fascinating feeling, as if his entire understanding of the Journey to the West had deepened.

    ...

    At the same time as writing "Journey to the West," Lin Yuan also made time to bring out a new script.

    This script was prepared for Yi Chenggong.

    Yi Chenggong''s execution ability was strong so under conditions of not high camera difficulty, he could implement Lin Yuan''s script intentions well.

    So...

    The script that Lin Yuan eventually prepared for Yi Chenggong was called "Truman''s World"!

    This was a movie that wasn''t costly to produce, but was absolutely exploding with creativity -

    The protagonist of the film was named Truman.

    From birth, he became the lead of a popular reality show.

    Countless viewers watched his "life".

    Everything that happened around him was fake.

    His family and friends were all actors.

    But he knew nothing about it.

    Truman''s life was clearly arranged by the scripts of the reality show''s director.

    The turning point of the story was Truman wanting to break free and explore, which would inevitably wrest control away from the show''s control over his life.

    The people around him were all trying to stop him.

    And in the midst of people stopping him, he sensed that something was amiss...

    In terms of the quality of the script, this film was no weaker than "Life of Pi"!

    Lin Yuan believed that with Yi Chenggong''s execution skills, handling this movie would not be difficult.

    The similarity between these two films is that they both have the attributes of an artistic film.

    Indeed, making commercial films is more profitable.

    The revenue from "Spiderman", which has already been released, is not small.

    But for gaining Prestige Value, artistic films are more powerful, so Lin Yuan prepared two artistic films at one go.

    After these two films are released, Lin Yuan will consider continuing filming commercial films.

    One must strive for both money and prestige.

    After handing over the completed script to Yi Chenggong, Lin Yuan does not continue to manage the rest.

    He came to the crew of "Our Song".

    Lin Yuan doesn''t have to compete today, so he only makes an appearance in the drawing of lots at the end of the program, like a bit player.

    However...

    When Lin Yuan appeared on the live broadcast, the chatbox of the program instantly got lively:

    "Fish Papa is here!"

    "Hold down Wei Haoyun quick!"

    "In the next round, Xian Yu and Wei Haoyun can''t team up again!"

    "The two of them together are just an aural nightmare!"

    "No square dance, nor ''Good Luck comes''!"

    "Anyone can partner with Fish Papa, just not Wei Haoyun!"

    "Some kind-hearted composer, come and take Wei Haoyun away!"

    "..."

    The camera focuses on Wei Haoyun''s face.

    Wei Haoyun''s face shows eager anticipation.

    But Lin Yuan''s face was as calm as always.

    Then.

    The composers took turns to draw lots.

    When it was Xian Yu''s turn, countless viewers in front of the screen held their breath subconsciously ¡ª

    Please don''t let it be Wei Haoyun again!

    At last.

    Lin Yuan drew his lot.

    For a moment, all the singers turned to look at the card in Lin Yuan''s hand.

    Simultaneously with this.

    The audience also had their eyes wide open.

    Under the gaze of countless eyes, Lin Yuan lit up the name on the card.

    "Ah, this ..."

    The audience was stunned.

    The singers were also dumbfounded.

    Even the composers showed strange expressions.

    It''s not because Xian Yu drew Wei Haoyun. He didn''t draw Wei Haoyun this time; he drew ¡ª

    Fei Yang!

    King Fei!

    After a few seconds, both the live venue and the broadcast room erupted together, with many people laughing out loud:

    "Isn''t this a coincidence?"

    "What kind of divine collaboration is this!"

    "Fish Papa drew the perennial runner-up!"

    "The person who made Fei Yang the perennial runner-up several times is going to collaborate with him!"

    "22222222!!!"

    "Is this show really unscripted?"

    "Even if it is scripted, I accept it, this arrangement is epic!"

    "I''ve always imagined this scene during each draw, and today my dream came true!"

    "..."

    Fei Yang, the perennial runner-up, owes it all to Xian Yu.

    Including the previous "The Masked Singer", Fei Yang lost to the Prince of Lanling, Xian Yu, as the Overlord.

    And now.

    The perennial runner-up is actually going to collaborate with Xian Yu!

    How refreshing!

    Delightful to hear and see!

    Exciting news for everyone!

    The camera then focuses on Fei Yang''s face.

    Fei Yang''s face is full of astonishment at the moment, he was stunned. The confusion and blankness in his eyes were felt by the audience even through the screen...

    No one knows what Fei Yang is thinking at the moment.

    But Fei Yang''s stunned expression is making the audience extremely excited:

    This pair is too interesting!

    Will Xian Yu continue to take first place, remove the ''Perennial Runner-up'' label that he bestowed on Fei Yang himself; acting out a case of the bell tolling for the one who tied it;

    Or will Fei Yang continue to take second place, using his strength to prove just how strong the will to be second is?

 Chapter 588 - 555 Voice Actors are Monsters_1

    After the show ended.

    The internet was incredibly lively.

    A topic called #XianYuFeiYang# went directly into the hot search!

    They''re all discussing the collaboration between Xian Yu and Fei Yang!

    You should know.

    Before the show started, many people were fantasizing, would Xian Yu collaborate with Fei Yang...

    Now!

    It happened!

    An internet user sighed: "This truly is a historic moment!"

    Everyone felt like they had witnessed history.

    Even lots of people developed a wicked sense of humor.

    They''re all eagerly looking forward to Fei Yang getting second place in the next round!

    There were also people expressing regret:

    We can''t see Wei Haoyun making mischief in the next round anymore.

    Despite their verbal aversion, this group of people.

    A lot of people actually still liked the combination of Xian Yu and Wei Haoyun, otherwise, Wei Haoyun couldn''t have won the audience vote for the first place twice in a row.

    What "maternal command"...

    What "Supreme Emperor command"...

    If they really didn''t like it, these young folks would still give it the rejection it deserved.

    The truth was, their apparent disdain was merely the result of arrogance and unwillingness to admit that they actually liked the song "Most Dazzling Ethnic Style".

    Lin Yuan didn''t care at all.

    Whether he drew Fei Yang or Wei Haoyun, it made no difference to Lin Yuan.

    But Lin Yuan could understand the netizen''s joy.

    Fei Yang''s constant second place finishes has become a running joke in the entertainment industry.

    Just like the running joke about the earth singer, Wang Banbi.

    Every time he was about to make big news, someone inevitably stole the headlines and grabbed the hot search!

    The result caused everyone in the entertainment industry to feel a sense of insecurity...

    Anytime old Wang was up to something big, some star inevitably starts a scandal.

    In order to prevent Wang Banbi from making headlines, some celebrities began to run wild.

    It was simply cruel.

    Wang Banbi must be annoyed to death.

    Although he could become a trending topic, his trending topic would always be #WangBanbiGotHisHeadlineStolenAgain#.

    Fei Yang was also f***ing fed up. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This sh*tty draw?

    He has to collaborate with Xian Yu?

    In this show, the last person Fei Yang wanted to encounter was Xian Yu!

    Whether it''s a collaboration or a showdown!

    It''s not that Fei Yang disliked Xian Yu, it''s just that he was kind of afraid.

    With a multitude of feelings.

    Fei Yang couldn''t articulate it.

    Anyway, he was a little resistant to collaborating with Xian Yu.

    This probably has something to do with Fei Yang being someone who values face.

    But what Fei Yang himself hated about himself was: While he resisted collaborating with Xian Yu, he was also harboring some kind of implicit expectation...

    F***!

    What am I expecting?

    Fei Yang wanted to slap himself.

    The manager on the side teased: "If you can''t beat him, join him. Chen Zhiyu has proved that this path is reliable!"

    Fei Yang loudly retorted: "I was forced to join!"

    Indeed, he was forced, but everyone didn''t care.

    Anyway, it''s an irrefutable fact that Fei Yang jumped aboard Xian Yu''s war chariot.

    Even when posting a Tribe update, all Fei Yang could do was helplessly announce:

    Yes, we have a collaboration.

    On the other side.

    Lin Yuan had already begun to select songs for Fei Yang.

    Fei Yang''s vocal range was broad, his singing skills were unfaltering.

    Besides the flaw of lacking emotion in his singing, this King of Singing was pretty full of substance.

    This also reduced Lin Yuan''s song selection difficulty.

    However.

    Just when Lin Yuan was about to finalize the song, he suddenly received a phone call from Tong Shuwen.

    "Due to some reasons, Fei Yang might be absent from the next episode."

    Lin Yuan paused: "Did he quit?"

    Tong Shuwen explained: "Not quitting, just absent for the next episode, so the program group decided to let you two collaborate after Fei Yang takes care of his things."

    "Fine."

    Lin Yuan didn''t dig deep.

    The program group understood, it meant that he really had something to deal with, Lin Yuan didn''t think much about it.

    "What should I do for the next episode?"

    "Teacher Admirable Fish can sing by himself, I think that''s what the audience is expecting."

    "Sing myself?"

    Lin Yuan said: "Is that appropriate?"

    He didn''t dare to sing more in the previous duet of "Most Dazzling Ethnic Style" with Wei Haoyun, fearing that others might think it''s unfair.

    "Special circumstances require special treatment."

    "Fine."

    Lin Yuan accepted Tong Shuwen''s suggestion.

    ...

    Several days later.

    The new episode of "Our Song" was aired!

    As soon as the live broadcast started, the audience subconsciously searched for the figures of Xian Yu and Fei Yang¡ª¡ª

    This is the duo that the audience is most looking forward to today!

    However.

    Everyone saw Xian Yu, but Fei Yang was nowhere to be found.

    Where did Fei Yang go?

    A lot of people were puzzled.

    At this time.

    An Hong walked onto the stage and announced, "I regret to inform everyone that due to personal reasons, Teacher Fei Yang will be absent from this competition, so the production team has paired Teacher Xian Yu with a new singer..."

    The audience looked at each other in surprise.

    Is Fei Yang absent?

    No way?

    Does Fei Yang not want to cooperate with Xian Yu?

    Just as some people were frowning, An Hong chuckled, "The collaboration between Fei Yang and Teacher Xian Yu has not been canceled, it has just been postponed."

    The audience was relieved.

    Although they wouldn''t see Xian Yu and Fei Yang''s cooperation in this episode, as long as the cooperation between these two wasn''t canceled, everyone could accept this situation and expressed understanding towards Fei Yang''s circumstances.

    Who will the singer partnering with Xian Yu this period be replaced with?

    Mom!

    Suddenly someone panicked, "It''s not going to be Wei Haoyun, is it?"

    No way, right?

    This production team really loves stirring things up!

    They might just lift Wei Haoyun up and use him as a substitute for Xian Yu!

    Meanwhile, in the singer area.

    The singers looked at each other.

    Who''s going to substitute for Fei Yang?

    Wei Haoyun saw that many people were looking at him and quickly shook his head, "Not me!"

    Everyone then turned to Chen Zhiyu.

    Chen Zhiyu also shook his head.

    Then, is it someone else from the Yu Dynasty?

    Under the gaze of the singers, the Yu Dynasty collectively shook their heads.

    Everyone was puzzled.

    Among them.

    A female singer named An''an laughed, "You guys just play dumb, I''m sure my competitor hide among you!"

    Everyone laughed.

    This An''an, she is a Queen of Singing, and her identity in The Masked Singer is:

    An Elf!

    This competition is a head-to-head confrontation.

    An''an is cooperating with the composer Zheng Jing, and they are competing against the combination of Xian Yu and Fei Yang!

    But now that Fei Yang is absent, even Elf An''an doesn''t know who her competitor is. She can only guess that the singer working with Xian Yu is someone in this hall.

    At this moment.

    An Hong called An''an''s name.

    An''an turned around and looked at the other singers, laughing, "Regardless of who it is, I will win today!"

    The singers all suddenly laughed.

    However, An''an''s ability is indeed strong, and everyone had no doubts about her statement.

    A moment later.

    An''an stood on the stage and started her performance.

    At the beginning, everyone was quite composed.

    But¡­

    As they listened¡­.

    Someone''s expression changed.

    An''an''s specialty.

    Two voices!

    A sweet and young voice, and a mature and tempting voice!

    In the composer area.

    Yang Zhongming looked at Zheng Jing, "Did you write this song specifically for her? It suits her quite well, the combination of the two voices is very good."

    "I had no choice."

    Zheng Jing smiled proudly, "The opponent is Little Fish. It would be quite embarrassing to lose to a junior. However, you made a slight mistake just now, this song isn''t two voices¡­"

    Not two?

    Yang Zhongming was stunned.

    The next moment.

    An''an on stage, surprisingly sang in a third voice!

    Her third voice was somewhat majestic, and when you listened, it seemed like both a male and female voice, natural yet beautiful!

    In an instant!

    The entire audience was shocked!

    Even Yang Zhongming had a change of color, "She can sing in three voices?"

    "Correct answer!"

    Zheng Jing snapped his fingers, "She studied voice acting, and among the singers, not many can sing in three voices. As far as I know among all the singers I''ve met so far, only Little Fish can do the same. Even if other singers manage to do it, their voices aren''t as natural as Little Fish''s and An''an''s.

    So, even if Little Fish personally comes on stage without ample preparation, she may not necessarily win."

    Yang Zhongming raised his eyebrows.

    So, are all voice actors monsters?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Can you guess what the next song will be? Continuing to write.

 Chapter 589 - 556: Collapse of Dara_1

    PS: Before reading this chapter, it''s advised to watch Zhou Shen''s live performance of "Dadabengba". It''s hard to imagine otherwise.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    "What the hell!"

    "Three different voices!"

    "I always thought An''an could sing in two voices, that''s her signature act, she used two voices to eliminate the robot in ''The Masked Singer'', I had no idea she had a third voice!"

    "Crazy!"

    "You guys may not know that An''an used to be a voice actor. She can naturally produce three voices because she has practiced for many years. Most singers don''t have this experience. Teacher Admirable Fish can also produce three voices naturally, so I''ve always been curious that if Teacher Admirable Fish has also studied voice acting."

    "Awesome!"

    "Just through novelty alone, An''an has won half the battle this round; Combine that with the pretty good track from Teacher Zheng Jing, I feel that Teacher Admirable Fish''s singer will have a tough time." Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "...."

    The singers were discussing.

    The audience was discussing too.

    The appearance of the first two voices had garnered considerable applause, but since An''an had previously demonstrated them, everyone was not too surprised. However, she had never shown her third voice before, which left many people stunned!

    "Voice actor?"

    "So, Teacher An''an was a voice actor, voice actors are indeed monsters. A voice actor who has become a singer, let alone a diva, is a monster among monsters. Teacher Admirable Fish''s three voices no longer stand alone, An''an is really awesome!"

    "So powerful!"

    "If there weren''t just one person on stage, I would almost think this is a trio. An''an''s three voices are too natural, they don''t seem forced."

    "Pfft!"

    "Suddenly, I feel relieved for Fei Yang. If Fei Yang was on stage for this round, he might have ended up as runner-up. An''an''s coordination of three voices is simply too powerful, I''m already planning to vote for An''an!"

    "Fei Yang''s smart!"

    "Let us observe a moment of silence for the singer who is collaborating with Fish Papa this time, this singer took the hit for King Fei and came second. When King Fei comes back, he should bring a banner to express his gratitude."

    "..."

    Singers, audience, composers were all discussing, but at this moment Lin Yuan, having heard this song, said to a staff member next to him: "Change my next performance to the sixteenth song on the song list."

    Staff member: "..."

    At this moment, all cameras and eyes were on An''an, No one noticed what was happening in the corner. As An''an finished singing, ardent applause erupted across the venue. The stunning effect of three voices was very sharp!

    An''an bowed and left the stage.

    An Hong went onto the stage: "Thanks to Teacher Zheng Jing for his composition, thanks to An''an for her spectacular performance, let us welcome with warm applause, the singer from Teacher Admirable Fish''s team!"

    Clap clap clap...

    The applause rang up.

    Everyone was staring curiously at the stage, wondering who the unlucky singer replacing Fei Yang was from Admirable Fish''s team. Under the focus of the camera and the audience, a slim figure wearing a devilish mask appeared on the stage!

    At that moment!

    The scene lost control!

    Prince of Lanling appears again!

    The substitute singer collaborating with Admirable Fish to replace King Fei this round, turned out to be Admirable Fish himself, and his appearance with the Prince of Lanling''s mask immediately revived everyone''s memories of ''The Masked Singer''!

    "It''s Fish Papa!"

    "He''s singing!"

    "Oh my goodness!"

    "Is this rule fair?"

    "Who dares to say this rule isnt fair? Most of the singers in this show are from ''The Masked Singer'', Fish Papa is also a singer in the show, he can''t be forbidden from singing just because he''s a songwriter, can he?"

    "The production team is too good!"

    "My youth has come back!"

    "If someone else replaced King Fei, I feel it would not be easy to win. But if Fish Papa himself appears on stage, the result could go either way!"

    "...."

    Even though Lin Yuan''s face was masked, everyone instantly recognized him because nobody else would wear that mask. Some people doubted the fairness of these rules, but considering Admirable Fish was indeed the Prince of Lanling, there was no problem with the rule. Besides, Fei Yang''s absence was already an exceptional situation.

    It goes without saying that Admirable Fish''s presence in this show was just too unique. He came onto the stage wearing a devilish mask, wasn''t he reminding everyone of his identity as a singer?

    Lin Yuan did not take off his mask.

    This was arranged by the program team.

    An''an, who had just finished singing, was baffled. Her confident smile was instantly put away. She had never expected that Admirable Fish would personally replace Fei Yang who was absent!

    An''an was panicked!

    Admirable Fish, as the winner of ''The Masked Singer'', still had a considerable deterrent effect on her. She did not know his identity before and that was one thing, but now, knowing who he is, she felt as if she were sitting on pins and needles. Losing would not be good, but winning would also bring high pressure because he was not just a singer...

    "He came himself? My bad luck does exist!"

    Zheng Jing was suddenly full of helplessness.

    Yang Zhongming sitting next to him began to laugh.

    This was getting interesting.

    Suddenly, an audience member recalled that prior to knowing Prince of Lanling''s real identity, the Elf had challenged Prince of Lanling, who commented on her performance without consideration, and even said in unison with Overlord:

    "Prince of Lanling is mine!"

    But they didn''t encounter each other in the subsequent matches of ''The Masked Singer'', and thus their wish wasn''t fulfilled, but today, they accidentally encountered each other in the competition!

    Delayed showdown?

    The audience was completely hooked.

    Amidst the diverse thoughts of everyone, the musical prelude of Lin Yuan''s song had already begun.

    With a pleasing chant, lyrics like narration suddenly echoed onstage:

    "Long, long ago, a dragon suddenly appeared, causing disaster, taking the princess away and then disappearing. The kingdom is in great danger. Who in the world is the bravest? A brave man rushed forward and loudly shouted--"

    The audience laughed loudly!

    What kind of song is this?

    Why does it feel odd?

    The music seems to be a game background sound, it''s very playful, and it carries a style of animation.

    Admirable Fish is being mischievous again this round!

    Furthermore....

    This voice is so special!

    Is this one of Admirable Fish''s three voices?

    Everyone hasn''t forgotten, Admirable Fish also has three voices.

    No time to ponder further.

    Lin Yuan suddenly sings in a male voice.

    This is the second voice: "I will take my best sword, climb the highest mountain, break through the deepest forest and bring the princess back!"

    The audience cheered!

    Both An''an and Xian Yu were singing in more than one voice.

    Does this mean that the third voice of Xian Yu will also appear?

    Three types of voices on both sides?

    Everyone''s expectations will not be disappointed, and they will even be exceeded by someone.

    Because this song is called "Dalaranbaba".

    And the version that Lin Yuan chose is by Zhou Shen.

    When Zhou Shen sang this song on the stage of "The Singer", he made more than one vocal line stand out.

    When the song rang out.

    He once amazed the entire audience, hot searches, and also the major music charts -

    Lin Yuan can too!

    This time it is from the king''s perspective.

    With the tone of a conversation between the king and the brave, Lin Yuan sang in a third voice that was mature and also somehow joyfully fun:

    "Ar is not tired and stubborn is not stubborn ..."

    The place just erupted!

    "It''s here!"

    "Three voices!"

    "Haha, I''m going to laugh to death, what kind of broken name is Dalaranba Biluweng? Father Yang scolded him quickly, Xian Yu''s lyrics have started to slack off again!"

    "This song is hilarious!"

    "Such a cheerful rhythm!"

    "Father Yang: Showy!"

    "I fucking smiled so much my stomach hurt. The princess was taken away by the dragon, the king sent a warrior to save her. Xian Yu''s story in the song is simply childish. Every person spoke in a different voice. They actually sang in three different voices. This stage isn''t a one on one, it''s six singers on stage in a competition!"

    "..."

    This song is so joyful!

    The audience was elated!

    However, just when the audience thought that the competition would evolve into a contest between Xian Yu and An''an with three vocal lines, a fourth voice appeared shockingly!

    This time it became the perspective and tone of the dragon:

    "I am Quntu Kutaka Dickott Suva Silasong, come again Quntu Kutaka Dickott Suva Silasong!"

    The fourth voice!

    It''s totally different from the three previous voices.

    This voice has a heavy nasal quality to it.

    It''s as if a gigantic speaking Dragon is truly speaking.

    The crowd absolutely flipped with excitement!

    "So scary!"

    "Four voices!!"

    "Shocking and Funny!"

    "Is he the only one on the stage?"

    "I suspect my headphones are broken!"

    "Mama asked why I was listening on my knees!"

    "Whoever said sound artists are all monsters, in front of Xian Yu, any kind of monster would step aside. He had one more voice than An''an. When Xian Yu stood on the stage alone, it was as if he was a group!"

    "..."

    And just as the barrage appeared like a waterfall, Lin Yuan''s voice changed, incredibly singing in the voice of a young little girl, the fifth voice that was just as natural, pleasing, and even more shocking:

    "In a distant beautiful village, open all the chests."

    "Along the road, the holy moonlight that guides the path is accompanied by wind and frost, breaking into a cave, the princess and the terrifying dragon, the hero pulls out the great sword!"

    This time!

    The audience was stunned!

    The singers were stunned!

    The composers were stunned!

    Everyone was completely bamboozled!

    Already, it was terrifying that An''an sang in three voices. As a result, Lin Yuan managed to belt out five voices, from the side stand to the hero to the king to the little girl and then to the dragon, a man playing five roles and seamlessly switching between voices...

    Is this a human?

    I fucking have proof!

    Xian Yu is artificial intelligence!

    At this moment, everyone was just dumbfounded listening to this song!

    However, during the song''s interlude, Lin Yuan sang a section of high-difficulty ornamental turns with a highly gorgeous pitch and accuracy!

    Show off?

    Indeed, a show off!

    But, the song itself doesn''t make much sense, the lyrics tell a boring fairy-tale story, the lyrics were mouth-twistingly incoherent.

    Sometimes slow.

    Sometimes fast.

    The vocal lines keep changing!

    It was a personal show for Xian Yu. The stage was splendid beyond comparison. Lin Yuan couldn''t keep himself from dancing slightly in line with the music.

    Although his dance was messy, it had its own charm!

    Backstage.

    All the singers were feeling chills, with goosebumps standing up;

    The composers wore exaggerated expressions, looking collectively constipated!

    This song named "Dalaranbaba" applied all the high-difficulty singing techniques, such as high notes, breath changes, decorative sounds, vocal lines, etc.

    In Xian Yu''s performance, the combination of 5 vocal lines and extremely difficult singing shocked people and made their spirits leave their bodies!

    The scene was exploding!

 Chapter 590 - 557 Hua Lis Stunning Skills_1

    The song is coming to an end!

    "King heard that Dalabengba Spandebadeebdobiruweng defeated Kuntukutaktikot Suvasirason, and so he married Princess Mia Morasunadanniesherlihong to Dalabengba Spandebadeebdobiruweng¡­"

    Lin Yuan was rattling it off!

    "Princess Mia of Dalabengba and her child, who was growing day by day, lived happily ever after in a fairy tale. To avoid future trouble, the child was named Wang Haoran ¡ª his full name is quite a mouthful, why don''t you give it a try¡­" Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    He didn''t even pause to breathe!

    Because "Dalabengba" is originally a song performed by a virtual singers in the 2D world, there''s basically no pause for breath built into the composition. If not handled well, this song is pretty difficult to sing. Finally, on the last few words, it ended on a high note.

    At the same time.

    Lin Yuan slowly removed his mask, revealing his irresistibly handsome face with no bad angles.

    The atmosphere on the scene reached its peak!

    Countless people started screaming "Xian Yu''s" name¡ª

    "Sorry, An''an, I prefer Xian Yu!"

    "Oh gosh, these lyrics are making me feel claustrophobic!"

    "If the grandmas use ''Dalabengba'' as their square dance, I wonder what it would look like¡­"

    "One person played the part of five, and one person was equivalent to a quintet!"

    "What would typically be difficult to achieve in a recording studio with mixing, and you''re telling me that this was a live song!?"

    "Just now my mom was cooking and so she wasn''t watching the TV, but then she suddenly asked me why so many people were singing together, yet the audience was only shouting Xian Yu''s name¡­"

    "Impressed!"

    "Once again, Xian Yu has shown why he''s the champion of ''The Masked Singer''!"

    "..."

    At that moment.

    The camera zoomed in on An''an''s face.

    An''an was dumbfounded, a hand over her mouth, her eyes filled with shock...

    She had said earlier that she was sure to win today.

    As a result, she didn''t expect her opponent to be Xian Yu, the champion of ''The Masked Singer''!

    But even knowing her opponent, An''an thought her chances of winning were high because her song used three different voices, and Xian Yu could also only use the most three voices, and that was already well-known¡­

    Turns out, Xian Yu actually delivered five different voices!

    She had met her ancestor of voice manipulation!

    Seeing An''an''s reaction, the barrage became even more hilarious:

    "An''an: Are you also a voice actor?"

    "Crippling strike!"

    "An''an: I take on three roles at once!"

    "Xian Yu: A gang beating, huh? Okay, I can take on five!"

    "Not severely damaging, but extremely insulting!"

    "Xian Yu is like a human mixer, he doesn''t even need to breathe when he sings!"

    "People say Fei Yang is a singing machine, but Xian Yu was like the luxury version of a singing machine!"

    "Luckily, An''an didn''t run into Xian Yu on ''The Masked Singer''!"

    "Showing off your minor skills before an expert!"

    "No, it should be showing off your vocal skills before the Fish!"

    "Awesome, Tianlong!"

    "..."

    Three voices, against five voices!

    From performing difficulty to the number of voice lines ¡ª An''an lost miserably!

    "Ah!"

    Zheng Jing was losing her mind!

    There''s no need for this contest any longer!

    Yang Zhongming beside her said, "Hua Li¡­"

    Zheng Jing looked at Yang Zhongming.

    Yang Zhongming said, "Exquisite!"

    Zheng Jing solemnly said, "Including the lyrics?"

    Yang Zhongming paused, "What song, what lyrics ¡ª only appropriate."

    Zheng Jing: "..."

    The camera captured this scene.

    The audience was even more amused.

    "Father Yang, where''s your criticism about flamboyance?"

    "God, so exquisite!"

    "Father Yang didn''t even critique the lyrics this time!"

    "Yang Zhongming, notoriously famous for double standards!"

    "Father Yang, could you favor someone a little more!?"

    "..."

    Yang Zhongming, too, liked giving his critiques.

    In this contest, there were often some bizarre songs.

    Each time Yang Zhongming would ridicule, "Too flamboyant."

    This includes Yin Dong''s "Song of the Rabbit".

    But this performance by Xian Yu is so flamboyantly gorgeous to the very extreme. Yet, Yang Zhongming defends it with an aesthetic name:

    Luxurious?

    Flamboyantly Luxurious!

    But one must admit.

    There was definitely no suspense in this performance.

    Zhou Shen carried out this song in "The Singer" and it was also an undisputed win of that episode''s championship.

    Even though this song showcases some skills.

    But when the skillful show is presented in such a joyful manner, then the audience is definitely convinced.

    This song "Dala Bang Ba" is just so lively!

    From the lyrics to the five different singing styles, combined with Prince of Lanling taking off his mask after singing, the whole stage effect was maxed out!

    In the bullet screen, a bunch of people were even chasing to ask:

    Who is Wang Haoran?

    There were also viewers trying to repeat the lyrics.

    Like "Dala Bang Ba Bandebedibu Dobiruweng" and so on, but no matter how they tried, they couldn''t get it right...

    It''s too hard to remember!

    And it''s convoluted!

    There are many similar secondary dimension songs on earth, but they are only liked by anime and manga fans, and few songs have truly broken out of the circle.

    Just so happens, "Dala Bang Ba" is one of the few.

    And the success of this song owes much to Zhou Shen''s rendition on the singer.

    The same is true on Blue Star.

    After the competition, because of Xian Yu''s performance, the song instantly became a hit!

    All over the hot searches!

    Countless people''s friends circle were flooded by this song!

    Meanwhile.

    All major media outlets started reporting!

    "Xian Yu is back with another magical earworm song ''Dala Bang Ba'', lighting up the whole audience!"

    "Personally performed by Xian Yu: This is the strength of a championship of The Masked Singer!"

    "Xian Yu''s new song shows ultimate skills, high pitched and ornamental voice without any break in breath, he''s got everything you want!"

    "Fei Yang couldn''t make it due to some reasons, Xian Yu stepped in to replace, after singing one song, everyone went crazy!"

    "Qin-Qi-Chu-Yan Square Dance Association: Considering incorporating Xian Yu''s new song into square dance, but due to its high intensity, the aunties can''t handle it."

    "From Most Dazzling Ethnic Style to Good Luck Is Coming, to this scene''s Dala Bang Ba, Xian Yu thoroughly lets himself go!"

    "Xian Yu proves with his strength: To what extent can a talent be capricious!"

    "Xian Yu''s new song sets off a collective shake in the secondary dimension circle!"

    "Secondary Dimension Circle: Fish Papa must be an 18-level member of Bilibili!"

    This world also has a secondary dimension!

    And the gathering place for the secondary dimension is called "Bilibili."

    The enthusiasts of the secondary dimension are mostly students.

    Most of these students are fans of Xian Yu.

    However, Xian Yu himself doesn''t have much connection with the secondary dimension, although his songs appear frequently on Bilibili.

    Until he sang "Dala Bang Ba"!

    This song has heavy secondary dimension attributes!

    Even the most popular songs in the secondary dimension seem dull in comparison to the impact brought by "Dala Bang Ba"!

    Firstly, because of Xian Yu''s terrifying influence!

    Secondly, due to Xian Yu''s inhuman five different voice modulations!

    This is an effect that machines can achieve, but Xian Yu can do it with his human voice...

    As a matter of fact.

    Not only Xian Yu can do it!

    After the program ended, many folk singers and even some professional singers tried to mimic his performance.

    The result? A small fraction of highly talented singers can achieve this.

    But...

    When everyone heard these performances, they could only shake their heads in helplessness.

    It''s different.

    It doesn''t have that flavor.

    While everyone can imitate multiple voices, but Xian Yu does it more naturally, with more ease, and seems to be more at ease doing it!

    Therefore.

    Xian Yu''s reputation on Bilibili skyrocketed!

    Countless Bilibili anchors have since posted videos related to Xian Yu!

    As long as the video includes the name "Xian Yu" and is of median or above quality, it can attract countless views!

    It''s a hit!

    This song "Dala Bang Ba" is absolutely on fire!

 Chapter 591 - 591: 558

    "You''ve really let yourself go..."

    Whenever "Our Song" features Xian Yu, the family would tune in to watch.

    After watching these recent performances, Lin Xuan was left dumbfounded like many netizens.

    How did her brother''s songs become more and more cheerful?

    First, there was "Most Dazzling Ethnic Style", dubbed as the "Plaza Dance Anthem"!

    Then "Good Luck Come" was called by everyone the "Market Song"!

    Now "Dadalabengba" has become what netizens recognize as the "Second-dimension Divine Song"!

    All three songs, none of them follows the conventional path.

    All three songs, all are ominously catchy.

    "You''re not thinking of writing a song like these when you collaborate with Fei Yang, are you?"

    His sister curiously looked at Lin Yuan.

    His brother''s style has taken a serious detour recently.

    Lin Yuan shook his head.

    His recent songs were indeed merry, but that''s because "The Masked Singer" had become a bit too heavy.

    So for "Our Song", Lin Yuan didn''t want it to be that heavy again.

    But...

    Everything has a degree.

    Lin Yuan doesn''t plan to make it quirky in the next round, though he doesn''t think there''s anything wrong with these songs.

    He quite likes them.

    Indeed, many people on the Internet have concluded that after encountering Wei Haoyun, Xian Yu has completely let himself go, but no one has said that there is any problem with Xian Yu''s music. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    They are just kidding that he is increasingly mischievous.

    This is also related to "The Masked Singer".

    That show has made Lin Yuan realize some truths and become aware of some problems.

    So he has changed some.

    He''s become more flexible.

    And more entertaining.

    Even though to the outside world, Xian Yu still speaks very little, and always has that calm and composed expression.

    But through his music.

    The changes in Xian Yu can be felt by many people.

    The next day.

    The competition broadcast continues.

    But this round of competition has nothing to do with Lin Yuan.

    Including the drawing round, Lin Yuan did not appear. He and Fei Yang had already been paired---

    Fei Yang returned three days later.

    Knowing that Fei Yang was coming back, Lin Yuan went to the production team to prepare for the next music assignments with Fei Yang.

    Time was a bit tight.

    However, upon meeting Fei Yang, Lin Yuan could clearly sense something off about Fei Yang''s state.

    Fei Yang is a very vibrant male singer.

    He is one of the younger group in the King of Singing.

    The man is brawny, tall and strong, seems very powerful, his spirit has always been full, he always speaks with full breath whether he is talking or singing.

    After all, he is the Overlord in "The Masked Singer".

    But now.

    Fei Yang''s face looked a bit waxy yellow, and his eyes were bloodshot, giving a feeling of heaviness, as if he had recently suffered a major blow.

    Upon seeing Lin Yuan, Fei Yang forced his spirit up and proactively explained:

    "I''m sorry, Teacher Admirable Fish, I missed the last round of competition because something happened at home."

    Fei Yang and Lin Yuan, have already met in "The Masked Singer".

    But this kind of face-to-face interaction, was their first time.

    Lin Yuan nodded, "No problem."

    He could see that Fei Yang''s condition was not good.

    Fei Yang seemed worried that Lin Yuan might misunderstand, he paused briefly, and added an explanation: "My father fell ill and was hospitalized for emergency care, so I rushed over to take care of him for a week....."

    At this point.

    Fei Yang managed a smile: "Fortunately, the emergency care was successful, his condition has stabilized. It''s just that I have been under great mental stress lately, so I look a bit off. I will do my best to adjust before the competition."

    Lin Yuan understandingly nodded.

    If his own family had problems with their health, he would also put down the competition. This is just human nature.

    "Follow me".

    Lin Yuan went to his Pink Room.

    Fei Yang glanced at his manager.

    The manager patted Fei Yang''s shoulder: "Teacher Admirable Fish should not be upset, but you definitely have to adjust your state, don''t delay Teacher Admirable Fish''s competition."

    Fei Yang nodded silently, then followed Lin Yuan''s steps.

    Entering Admirable Fish''s dedicated room.

    Lin Yuan was flipping through his songbook in the cabinet.

    He''d prepared more songs for "The Masked Singer" and they hadn''t been used yet.

    Also.

    He''d prepared quite a few songs for "Our Song".

    The number of these songs was enough for Lin Yuan to handle all the partnered singers on this stage.

    And he was currently looking for one of them.

    He felt that this song should suit the current Fei Yang very well.

    Fei Yang sat on the couch, somewhat awkward.

    Reality can be quite surreal.

    He never expected that one day he would be in the same room with Xian Yu, who was the reason he became the Perennial Runner-up.

    Just like he never thought that his normally healthy father would suddenly have to be hospitalized due to high blood pressure.

    "Where is it....."

    Lin Yuan continued to dig through his little song library.

    Fei Yang curiously asked: "Is it a song prepared for me?"

    While still flipping, Lin Yuan replied: "There happens to be a song that suits you quite well. Strictly speaking, nearly half of the songs here you can sing, because you have a wide range of singing."

    Fei Yang laughed, suddenly feeling very happy.

    Actually, he had heard similar compliments countless times before and his ears were almost numb.

    But the same compliment coming from Xian Yu''s mouth gave him a sense of indescribable achievement, as if it was some sort of terrific recognition.

    Immediately afterwards, Fei Yang quickly collected his thoughts and scolded himself in his mind:

    "Shameless!"

    Admirable Fish only casually complimented him once, and he became so happy-

    Wait a second!

    Xian Yu wouldn''t prepare a song similar to "Most Dazzling Ethnic Style" for him, would he?

    In this show, Xian Yu has played those kinds of songs quite a few times!

    Including the most recent "Dadalabengba" performed by Xian Yu himself, Fei Yang saw that too.

    Right now, Fei Yang suddenly felt a bit nervous.

    He could certainly sing this type of song, but Fei Yang always felt that these songs were not compatible with him, too discordant.

    Of course, Lin Yuan had no idea what Fei Yang was thinking.

    After flipping for half the day, he finally found what he was looking for: "It''s this one!"

    He took out the sheet music and handed it over to Fei Yang: "If you don''t want to sing this one, I can find another one."

    This song was a bit special, not what Lin Yuan originally prepared for Fei Yang.

    Because of Fei Yang''s words, he thought about this song.

    But Lin Yuan wasn''t sure what Fei Yang was thinking, he also respects the singer''s thoughts.

    "Oh, okay..."

    Fei Yang nervously took the song handed over by Lin Yuan.

    Before he even looked at it carefully, just seeing the title of the song in front of his eyes made Fei Yang stunned.

    Several seconds later, he finally moved his gaze down to the lyrics below.

    The lyrics were very simple.

    Simple to the point of being straightforward.

    Yet, these simple, straightforward lyrics stirred up immense ripples in Fei Yang''s heart, so much so that he suddenly tightened his grip on the sheet music!

    "It''s this one!"

    Before even checking the melody, he blurted out without a moment''s hesitation, his voice tremoring slightly, the bloodshot eyes seemed to be even worse ¡ª¡ª

    The song is called, "Father".

 Chapter 592 - 559 Thank You for Being with Me_1

    Following Fei Yang''s return, the production team of "Our Song" announced the news that very night, emphasizing that the Fei Yang and Admirable Fish duo will perform in the next episode. The internet community instantly erupted with excitement¡ª

    "King Fei is back!"

    "I''m so looking forward to the performance of Admirable Fish and King Fei!"

    "I thought King Fei was going to withdraw from the competition altogether to avoid performing with Admirable Fish."

    "King Fei would never do such a thing."

    "Hasn''t anyone seen the news? Fei Yang''s absence last time had nothing to do with Admirable Fish. It was mainly because his father suddenly got sick with high blood pressure and was hospitalized. The reporters even captured Fei Yang caring for his father in the hospital!"

    "So that''s why."

    "Will King Fei''s condition be affected?"

    "Hard to say, but it''s understandable. Right after hearing of his father''s ill-health, King Fei immediately took a leave from the show''s production team. He spent a long time caregiving by the bedside, the stress must have been enormous."

    "..."

    Although the production team and Fei Yang himself did not explain the reason for his absence in the previous episode, his movements were still discovered and reported by journalists.

    This dispelled the rumor for many that Fei Yang''s absence was due to his reluctance to cooperate with Admirable Fish.

    It should be noted.

    When it was first announced that Fei Yang would be missing an episode, many people speculated that Fei Yang was trying to avoid Admirable Fish, leading to some controversy.

    "At this point in Fei Yang''s return, isn''t his rehearsal time a bit short?"

    "From what we can tell, his preparation and rehearsal time is certainly not as sufficient as the other singers."

    "I wonder what kind of song Teacher Admirable Fish will prepare for Fei Yang."

    "Could it be another brainwashing kind of song?"

    "Fish Papa seems to be going all out."

    "Pfft!"

    "I can''t possibly imagine King Fei singing a song like ''Most Dazzling Ethnic Style!''"

    "..."

    Admirable Fish''s recent songs in the competition have all been very catchy.

    Completely different from his previous style of composition.

    As a result, many viewers were wondering if Admirable Fish was going to continue his hypnotic style and potentially skew Fei Yang''s performance...

    In the subsequent days.

    Various discussions about this matter were circulating online.

    During this time, Fei Yang also made every effort to rehearse.

    Finally. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The time came to enter October!

    The composers and singers welcomed the newest edition of the competition.

    It was still broadcast live!

    Just as the program began, countless viewers tossed out their comments¡ª

    "Looking forward to the performance of Admirable Fish and Fei Yang!"

    "How is King Fei''s condition?"

    "Fei Yang is at a bit of a disadvantage as he didn''t have as much preparation time as the other singers."

    "That''s not the point, the point is that Fei Yang has to sing a catchy song!"

    "Given Fei Yang''s current state, it''s not appropriate, right?"

    "Even if Fei Yang came second in this round, it would be understandable¡­"

    "Fish Papa: in the end, I still lost to the will of the second place."

    "..."

    Fei Yang''s father had just escaped a dangerous situation.

    Most of the audience had heard about it.

    Under such circumstances, if Admirable Fish were to have Fei Yang perform an upbeat and catchy song, it would feel somewhat inappropriate.

    Meanwhile, on stage.

    An Hong wore a smile:

    "As everyone knows, due to the absence of Teacher Fei Yang in the last episode, Teacher Admirable Fish took the stage to perform a song himself. Teacher Fei Yang has returned for this episode, so our first performance today will be the collaboration that could not take place during the last episode. Please welcome our Teacher Admirable Fish and Singer Fei Yang with warm applause!"

    Below the stage.

    Applause erupted.

    Lin Yuan sat in the composer''s seat.

    Fei Yang appeared on stage.

    Yet when they saw Fei Yang, the audience noticed that his energy didn''t seem quite right.

    "Fei Yang looks a little out of it."

    "He must be worried about his father."

    "Being a singer is a job, it''s always very busy, constantly running around for promotions and such. This leaves no time to stay with parents."

    "I''ll support him even if he doesn''t perform well for this round."

    "It would feel somewhat enforced if Admirable Fish made Fei Yang sing a catchy song this round."

    "Indeed."

    "A singer''s state of mind really affects their performance."

    "..."

    Although everyone didn''t mind Admirable Fish''s catchy songs, this round, they all felt Fei Yang was not suited to sing that kind of song.

    That being said.

    Even if Fei Yang was in a good condition, him performing a catchy song would still have a bit of a deviation.

    Just then.

    Fei Yang nodded at the band.

    The band began to play.

    The soothing sound of the piano gently flowed forth.

    At the same time.

    Details of the song appeared on the big screen.

    Song Title: Father

    Lyrics: Admirable Fish

    Music: Admirable Fish

    Singer: Fei Yang

    The audience was stunned.

    This song was indeed about "Father".

    Based on the prelude, this song didn''t seem to follow the catchy style of Admirable Fish''s previous three episodes.

    At this moment, everyone felt a surge of emotions.

    This was Admirable Fish.

    Everything that we could think of.

    Of course, Admirable Fish thought of it too.

    The issues people were worrying about did not occur.

    Judging from the song title, Admirable Fish''s creation this time was obviously prepared for Fei Yang.

    When seriousness is called for, Admirable Fish would never make jokes about others'' pain.

    Many people believed that this song was composed by Admirable Fish specifically for Fei Yang.

    ...

    At the center of the stage.

    Fei Yang gently picked up the microphone, singing:

    "I''ve always taken from you, yet never said thank you,

    It wasn''t until I grew up, that I came to understand your hardships."

    ..."

    Many from the audience were whispering, discussing whether this song was written by Admirable Fish in light of Fei Yang''s experiences.

 Chapter 593 - 559 Thank You for Being With Me_2

    But when Fei Yang''s voice aired, the venue fell silent in an instant!

    In front of countless screens.

    The audience was shaken, abruptly falling silent. For a moment, even the comments were much fewer.

    This performance had no explosive high notes or fancy techniques.

    Simple lyrics, yet they instantly invoked countless memories of fathers.

    "Every time we part, you always pretend to be relaxed

    Smiling and saying ''go home'', then turning around with tears in your eyes.

    ..."

    Lyrics describing the most common incidents in life.

    But in Fei Yang''s heart was a flood of deep sorrow.

    The year he left home with a guitar on his back.

    The father secretly put 2,300 yuan into his bag, bills crumpled terribly.

    He could almost imagine the hardship his father faced when he withdrew this amount of money-

    He''s the King of Singing, standing at the pinnacle of glory!

    But he is also a child from the countryside.

    Without a wealthy family, without a comfortable life.

    Those 2,300 yuan came from a farmer''s hand, earned through hard labor on the fields.

    He once thought proudly:

    His current success was all due to his hard work and perseverance.

    His life, filled with inspiration, epitomized the rise from rags to riches!

    His pictures, featured on the cover of numerous magazines, surrounded by throngs of people!

    But it was not until he took care of his father in the hospital recently that he realized how much pressure his father bore to let him pursue his dreams.

    It turns out that in those agonizing years, a man had been carrying heavy burdens for him all along.

    Was he really successful because he was good enough?

    No.

    The flowers and applause should not belong to him. Without his father''s support, he, Fei Yang, is nothing!

    So, Fei Yang blamed himself:

    Why did it take so long to realize?

    Perhaps because the man who propped up his sky had always been so silent.

    "I wish I could, just like before

    Hold your warm hand

    But you''re not by my side

    Entrust the gentle wind to send my blessings

    ..."

    The venue was getting quiet.

    Backstage.

    The singers wore heavy expressions.

    Some of them were biting their lips slightly.

    Composers were also silent.

    All of them felt the song in their hearts.

    The refrain hadn''t started, but the warmth of kinship, accompanied by a faint sourness, was already lingering in everyone''s hearts.

    All of a sudden.

    Fei Yang let out his voice.

    The tone of the song rose, and the faint emotion had its first explosion:

    "Time, could you slow down

    Please don''t let him grow older

    I am willing to trade all I have for his perennial youth

    Father who has always been strong in life

    What can I do for you

    Please accept my insignificant attention..."

    Music swirled around.

    The band played with abandon.

    In front of Fei Yang, it seemed like the image of his father in the hospital bed flashed by again.

    That day. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    He peeled an apple for his father.

    Only when his father struggled to take a bite did he realize his father''s teeth were showing signs of aging.

    The apple was too hard.

    He couldn''t eat it.

    So he peeled an orange for his father.

    It was the first time he saw his father eat so joyfully as he popped a segment of an orange into his mouth.

    His father said, "It''s sweeter than the ones we grow at home."

    At that moment, all Fei Yang felt was acidity in his heart.

    Sourer than an unripe orange.

    At that moment, he just stared at his father.

    He noticed the gray hairs at his father''s temples.

    He finally realized.

    The father, who once stood as tall as him...

    Had gotten old.

    His eyes finally welled up.

    ...

    Not only Fei Yang.

    Some of the singers backstage had quietly started wiping away their tears.

    People passed tissues around.

    Some pretended to blow their noses forcefully, but they were actually wiping away tears.

    Even the usually cold and serious composers were moved at this moment.

    In one room.

    Yin Dong tilted his head slightly, seemingly reminiscing about something.

    His face remained expressionless, but there was a trace of murkiness in his eyes.

    Next door.

    Ye Zhi Qiu let out a deep sigh, didn''t say anything, just took out his phone and looked at a photo he hadn''t had the courage to open for a long time.

    His father had been gone for many years.

    Before he had achieved success.

    But why was he so cowardly that he didn''t even have the courage to write a song for his father?

    What use was this title of "Maestro"?

    In the next room.

    Yang Zhongming was like a frozen statue, only his eyes seemed to lose focus.

    Perhaps women are more sentimental.

    Zheng Jing, who was in the same room as Yang Zhongming, was covering her face with her hands, but tears seeped out from the gaps between her fingers.

    Engulfed in emotion, she couldn''t control herself.

    Most of the composers are no longer young.

    Their fathers were either no longer in this world or were in their twilight years.

    Time is always fair to humanity, but it is also always cruel.

    This song allowed everyone to confront their regrets.

    ...

    Meanwhile, underneath the stage...

    More and more people began to choke up.

    In front of the monitors...

    The barrage of comments reappeared¡ªalmost explosively!

    "I miss my dad."

    "I am actually crying."

    "I feel so suffocated."

    "I would rather have Xian Yu keep acting strangely than be reduced to tears."

    "My dad has cancer, and I''ve recently quit my job to stay with him in the hospital every day, but I haven''t cried until now."

    "Xian Yu really went too far. He made us laugh for three segments, but only took one to bring everyone to tears."

    "I must return home for the New Year this year, regardless of what my boss says!"

    "Dad, I love you¡ªI will definitely say this to your face."

    "Who else would dare say Fei Yang''s singing lacks emotion!"

    "I''ve been a long-time fan of Fei Yang. I think this performance is probably the best he has ever had¡ªnot in terms of technique or voice."

    "He has put his heart into this song."

    "..."

    Everyone could no longer hold back their tears.

    And on stage...

    Fei Yang could no longer hold back either.

    It''s not so much that he was singing the song as he was expressing his deepest feelings:

    "Thank you for everything you''ve done

    Our home was created by your two hands

    You always did all you could to give me the very best

    Am I your pride?

    Are you still worrying about me?

    The kid you cared so much about has grown up

    ¡­"

    An outpouring of intense emotions!

    Fei Yang nearly cried out in pain!

    His voice trembled as he sang, his thick, choked-up voice ringing with a runny nose, and tears streamed down his face!

    As a King of Singing, he was unable to control his voice and emotions professionally, which was really unprofessional.

    Just like his unprofessionalism as a son.

    But please believe...

    This is my most sincere emotion.

    Father.

    Did you hear it?

    This song is sung for you!

    Didn''t you always say:

    Your son sings the best songs, didn''t you?

    ...

    In the face of this emotional onslaught, the audience was as fragile as paper.

    The stirring melody pierced their hearts, evoking memories and sorrow buried deep within many others.

    The unstoppable pain, helplessness, and bitter sweetness freely flowed in their hearts with the music.

    During the performance...

    The tears of countless individuals had long turned into a raging sea!

    Everyone could hear it.

    Fei Yang''s trembling voice was tinged with guilt¡ªa guilt every child felt towards their father.

    ...

    The Lin family...

    Lin Xuan and Lin Yao looked towards their mother.

    She chuckled, "This song is nice."

    But while saying so, she felt a lump in her throat, and her eyes began to tear up.

    Lin Yuan never experienced paternal love growing up.

    That''s because his father passed away when he was very young.

    So Lin Yuan''s mother had to play the roles of both mother and father.

    This song, although about a father, is in truth a song for every family member.

    ...

    In a certain hospital...

    In front of the screen...

    Fei Yang is singing...

    An elderly man, who bears a striking resemblance to Fei Yang, wipes away his tears.

    The old companion next to him hands him a slice of oranges.

    The old man tastes a few bites and shakes his head, "It''s not as sweet as the ones Little Yang bought last time."

    The companion responds, "This was also bought by your darling son."

    The old man looks surprised, tries a few more bites, and queries, "Different kind?"

    His companion retorts, a tad exasperated, "Different person peeling it."

    ...

    The song envelops the stage...

    An Hong suddenly takes off his headset...

    A staff member looks at him.

    An Hong murmurs, "I need to make a phone call."

    The staff member silently nods in approval.

    Soon...

    He connects the call.

    The voice on the other end sounds surprised, "Aren''t you in the middle of a show?"

    "You''re watching it too?"

    "Of course, it''s my son''s show. As his father, how could I not..."

    "Dad."

    "If you have something to say, say it quickly. I''m watching the show." He feigns impatience.

    "Nothing much, just wanted to call¡­"

    "I heard you, just hang up already. Don''t you have to go on stage to host soon? Be careful or the director will dock your pay!"

    "Okay."

    An Hong replies with a smile.

    At this moment, the phone on the other end and the stage are filled with the last line of the song in near-perfect synchronization:

    "Thank you for being there every step of the way!"

 Chapter 594 - 560: Father_1

    Fei Yang''s performance ended.

    Many people seemed unable to recover from the song.

    No one spoke.

    Fei Yang''s tears, unnoticed, had stealthily dried.

    Suddenly.

    Someone clapped.

    A few seconds later, thunderous applause erupted on the scene!

    Lin Yuan was also clapping.

    But after only a few claps, Lin Yuan suddenly felt his face was moist.

    He subconsciously touched it, it was wet and cold.

    Only then did Lin Yuan realize that he, at some point, had also begun to cry.

    He himself did not know why he was crying.

    Was he moved by Fei Yang?

    The camera happened to capture this moment.

    There were also audience members who noticed this scene.

    "Don''t cry!"

    "Keep going!"

    "Xian Yu, keep going!"

    "We will always love you!"

    "Fish Papa is the best!"

    "..."

    More and more people were cheering!

    The applause seemed to be even louder!

    Lin Yuan waved to the audience, then took a tissue from An Hong to wipe his tears.

    He didn''t think anymore about why he was crying.

    Although he didn''t know that the word "heartache" was filling up the entire screen in the comments section.

    Perhaps this scene would provoke countless speculations.

    Fei Yang: "..."

    I also cried!

    Not until An Hong went on stage and his first words caused the applause and discussion to quieten down a bit:

    "While you comfort Teacher Admirable Fish, in fact, we all need comfort. Personally, maybe I won''t listen to this song again without hesitation."

    Yes.

    Xian Yu needs comfort.

    Fei Yang also needs comfort.

    And why wouldn''t the audience need comfort?

    We all share the same sadness.

    Even though for some their fathers are still alive, for others, their fathers are long gone.

    But who doesn''t harbor the same emotions towards their father?

    We are all characters in this story.

    An Hong turned to Fei Yang: "Does Teacher Fei Yang have anything to say?"

    Fei Yang had already composed himself.

    He picked up the microphone and said sincerely, "Only for this song, I would be content with second place."

    The audience laughed.

    For Fei Yang right now, this song must have a very special meaning.

    Especially after his father''s emergency rescue.

    That feeling of having something lost and then recovered, will make people realize the value of certain things even more.

    Fei Yang continued, "Thank you to my father for his support all these years. I always say that my fans have made me who I am, but actually, these are clich¨¦s. I feel that I created myself with my own perseverance, effort, and talent. I know this might upset many people, but I am sorry, this has always been my genuine belief."

    "Oh?"

    If Fei Yang had said this in another occasion, it would have been inappropriate.

    But in this situation and this moment, An Hong laughed, "Your understanding is correct, fans support you because you have various merits. While we thank the fans, we must also remember to thank ourselves."

    "But my thinking has changed."

    Fei Yang took a deep breath and said: "Actually, my hard work and persistence are not as important as my father''s support. Without his encouragement, I wouldn''t be where I am today. The money I earned from my early music endeavors was largely given to me by my father. Without him, I wouldn''t even have money for my first performance outfit. So before I thank myself, I want to thank my father first."

    The applause sounded again.

    In the midst of the applause, Fei Yang turned to Lin Yuan: "Also, I want to thank Teacher Admirable Fish, who has taught me a great deal. During the finals of ''The Masked Singer'', he made me understand that music needs emotion to touch people''s hearts. It was then that I realised I was headed in the wrong direction."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Everyone couldn''t help but smile bitterly.

    You actually admitted it.

    Truly worthy of the Prince of Lanling.

    Fei Yang continued, "When Teacher Admirable Fish gave me this song, I learned something new. I realised that music needs emotion to touch people, but this emotion must come from the heart."

    Fei Yang''s finals song in ''The Masked Singer'' was sung for himself.

    But today, Fei Yang sings for his father, the emotions this time are more sincere than ever before.

    For the first time, he sang until he cried.

    And for the first time, he sang until he lost control.

    His voice lowered: "I would like to share a childhood story with you all. Once during a house move, I came across my father''s diary unintentionally. As a child, that diary was like a treasure, as if it had a magic power that drew me to open it."

    The audience nodded.

    That diary must have recorded a father''s love for his child.

    But...

    Fei Yang shook his head, "The diary didn''t write about how much my father loved me, his diary only recorded his work schedules."

    The audience laughed.

    And then, everyone fell into silence again.

    This is also a form of love, a heavier kind of love.

    Fei Yang smiled, "I know singing this song will make the atmosphere heavy, but Teacher Admirable Fish has made everyone happy for three seasons, it''s time you all paid a little price."

    The audience laughed again.

    This show made everyone both cry and laugh.

    An Hong spoke up, "How about I share another story with everyone? It''s a plot from a novel I read once. A son takes his Alzheimer''s afflicted father out for dumplings. The father picks up the dumplings and stuffs them into his pocket. The son, feeling embarrassed, asks urgently, ''Dad, what are you doing?'' The father whispers, ''My son...he likes to eat.''

    He forgot everything else, but still remembered you.

    The audience was stunned into silence. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Tears began to flow again.

    Some people even started cursing in the bullet comments:

    "Damn it An Hong, you''ve tricked me into crying again!"

    Of course.

    The competition must go on.

    Although, for the other singers, the competition was pretty much over at this point...

    This song was just too "explosive"!

    Not in terms of how amazing the song itself was, but because of the emotional atmosphere it created!

    Especially knowing what Fei Yang has been through before singing this song.

    Now, no one can follow up after this song.

    The next performer can''t, the performer after him can''t, all the performers today will struggle.

    "Anything else you''d like to say?"

    Finally, An Hong asked Fei Yang.

    After a moment of silence, Fei Yang said: "If you have time, hold his hand more often. If you have time, peel an orange for him. If you have time, just accompany him and have a chat. Even a video call or a phone call is good... Just squeeze out some time from playing with your phone or gaming."

    With that said, Fei Yang bowed and exited the stage.

    There were some things Fei Yang didn''t say.

    Because they are too cruel.

    What if he has time now and you don''t?

    Because of work, games, various reasons¡ª¡ª

    When you finally have time, he''s no longer around.

    This is what Fei Yang has experienced in real life, so he feels it more than anyone else.

    Never forget.

    He doesn''t have as much time as you...

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-

    ps: My grandfather loved it when children held his hand. I didn''t know this until my grandmother told me after he passed away. I didn''t feel anything special when I held his hand, but my grandmother said he was really happy inside. Recently, a friend''s mother was diagnosed with cancer, which made me feel very emotional, so I cried while writing this song.

    Like the book says, this song is about a father, but it''s actually about family, and includes all family members. I hope everyone spends more time with their family. I hope everyone stays healthy. This rambling is free of charge, let''s call it a day.

 Chapter 595 - 561: Shadow Old Rascal_1

    [Xian Yu and Fei Yang finally collaborate, their song ''Father'' moves countless to tears!]

    [Xian Yu and Fei Yang''s performance of ''Our Song'' touches the entire audience!]

    [Fei Yang performing Xian Yu''s new song ''Father'' wins the most recent round, Shu YuE Luo Yi ranks second!]

    [Thanks to Xian Yu''s new song, Fei Yang finally clinches first place!]

    [Has Fei Yang''s curse of being the ''Perennial Runner-up'' been broken?]

    [The problem solver is the one who got into trouble. Xian Yu congratulates Fei Yang on ranking first in ''Our Song'', breaking a record of more than a hundred million audience support for the first time!]

    [Xian Yu, who made the audience laugh for three rounds, finally made everyone cry.]

    [An Hong: ''Father'' is a song that one dares not listen to lightly for the second time.]

    Swipe, swipe, swipe!

    The game results were immediately reported by all major media on the same day!

    As reported by the media, ''Father'', sung by Fei Yang, won first place in this round!

    The audience''s voting support rate created a new record:

    A full hundred million votes!

    In addition.

    The White Swan Shu Yu and Samurai Illaoi, ranked second together.

    This result has led to countless discussions and ridicules on the Internet¡ª

    "The problem solver is the one who got into trouble. Fei Yang finally let go of his runner-up complex with Xian Yu''s help, only to be struck back by the "runner-up" complex, with two singers claiming second place this round!"

    "This song is a bit of a smoke breaker."

    "As soon as the first few lines of the lyrics came out, I knew King Fei had it in the bag."

    "The summary of netizens and media is too damn accurate, Xian Yu brought joy for three rounds, everyone listening to the catchy and hilarious song was almost laughing crooked, but ''Father'' really caught everyone off guard, all the audience collectively shed tears!"

    "Xian Yu: Had enough of laughter? Now it''s time for tears."

    "Fei Yang: Everyone, damn it, cry for me!"

    "Chen Zhiyu''s way to break free from perennial second place is to join the opposition when you can''t beat them. Fei Yang has learned from this experience, and he did even better than Chen Zhiyu. He not only joined Xian Yu, he even recognized the thief as his father!"

    "Damn, acknowledging the thief as father, I was crying and you suddenly made me laugh."

    "Fei Yang: Father? Xian Yu: Hmmm."

    "One must admit, Fei Yang really did sing this song well. As soon as this song came out, first place for the season was essentially secured."

    "It''s a pity that Fish Papa won''t be showing up in the next few episodes."

    "..."

    As everyone discusses this. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Just as this episode of "Our Song" was ending, the production team announced the new competition format.

    The next few rounds will be a singer''s knockout battle.

    In this stage of the competition, composers don''t need to participate, all singers will compete amongst themselves.

    But the song selection has been fixed.

    The singers can only choose the works of these composers in the program.

    This rule not only reduces the number of singers but also gives the composers a break.

    After all, the creation process of composers takes time.

    Compared to the singers, composers are actually more fatigued.

    Although Lin Yuan doesn''t need to worry about this aspect, he has enough songs, it''s still nice to have a break.

    He will take this opportunity to write "Journey to the West".

    He will definitely publish this novel by the end of the year.

    Lin Yuan is already mentally prepared for this.

    ...

    Also.

    Fans of Shadow''s manga ''Death Note'' should also be prepared for the end.

    Because.

    In the most recent plotline, one of the two main characters of ''Death Note'', "Lin", bought the farm.

    Everyone knows ''Death Note'' has two main characters.

    One is Yagami Light, the other is L.

    L, was changed to "Lin" by Lin Yuan.

    In this mental battle-themed manga, Yagami Light and Lin compete in wisdom and bravery, both are super smart, so their popularity is explosive.

    Both have countless fans!

    However, Shadow killed off "Lin".

    This has opened a can of worms!

    When readers saw "Lin" dead, the comment section for ''Death Note'' erupts!

    "Lin is dead, really!?"

    "I do not accept this plot!"

    "Shadow is too partial to Yagami Light!"

    "Lin represents justice!"

    "Damn, Shadow really is an old rascal!"

    "Shadow, you actually killed my beloved Lin!"

    "Birds of a feather, flock together! None of the Three Bros are good people, I used to think Shadow was harmless!"

    "Now it seems, the three bros are all full of tricks!"

    "Why did you have to kill off Lin?"

    "Without Lin, ''Death Note'' loses its soul!"

    "When I call Shadow an old rascal, no objections right?"

    "Agreed!"

    "No objections!"

    "Shadow is an old rascal!"

    "..."

    The readers, upset at Shadow for killing off Lin, turned their anger onto the Three Bros!

    Netizens have seen it all!

    All three of these bros have a nasty habit of tormenting fans!

    Take Chu Kuang for instance.

    He''s infamous for his countless misdeeds. From the death of Biyao to Poirot''s suicide, he is rightly called an old rascal!

    At the time, everyone thought Chu Kuang was the worst of the Three Bros!

    At least Xian Yu and Shadow were better.

    But then Xian Yu went and made ''Hachiko'', directly driving the audience into existential crisis!

    Because of this movie, Xian Yu also became the "old rascal" in many people''s mouths.

    At this point, lots of people thought:

    Among the Three Bros, Shadow was the only decent one.

    This was the only consolation they had.

    Then Shadow orchestrated Lin''s death.

    In that moment, everyone lost hope in the Three Bros.

    These three!

    All villains!

    Not a single good one among them!

    Shadow too, is an old rascal!

    He just hides it deeper and only now shows his pointed fangs!

    However,

    Perhaps it is because Chu Kuang and Xian Yu set the bar so low that Shadow killing Lin did not cause a larger uproar.

    There''s also another reason.

    That''s because Shadow posted on social media, explaining to the readers:

    "The subsequent plot won''t disappoint you all."

    Even though that was not much of an explanation, it did offer some psychological comfort to some people.

    Many even expected the story to have some twists.

    In ''Death Note'' with its theme of wits and strategy, plot twists were aplenty.

    However,

    When the readers, clinging onto their remaining hopes, finally got to the climax of ''Death Note'', everyone''s psyche shattered!

    Because...

    At the climax of the comic, the male protagonist Yagami Light also dies!

    "This is the plot that won''t disappoint us?"

    "Killed off Yagami Light!?"

    "I''m freaking done with this!"

    "Shadow is truly a crafty plotter!"

    "Shadow: Lin was killed by Yagami Light, and you guys are not happy, so I''ll kill Yagami Light, to avenge Lin!"

    "My God, what kind of thinking produced such a genius ending?"

    "Shadow, the old rascal should just drop dead!"

    "No wonder this comic is called ''Death Note'', all the main characters are dead!"

    "Died on the spot after seeing the ending!"

    "..."

    From anger, resignation to eventual acceptance, this was the final conclusion ''Death Note'' left to its fans.

    Luo Wei looked at Lin Yuan somewhat dumbfounded: "This is your solution?"

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Lin died, and the readers were dissatisfied.

    Those dissatisfied readers must be Lin fans.

    The person they hated was Yagami Light, because he was the one who killed Lin.

    So let Yagami Light also die. Lin fans will certainly be satisfied then.

    Yagami Light fans unhappy?

    That couldn''t be. An eye for an eye, Yagami Light killed a lot people and even caused Lin''s death. Letting him survive to the end would give off a wrong message.

    So...

    They all had to die.

    Balancing the scales on both sides.

    What a perfect ending!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS:¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ A thousand thanks to [The Falling Leaves][Persistent3160][GumoonmoonÀŸ¦ØÀŸ] for their Alliance Hierarch donations. Kowtowing in your honor!

 Chapter 596 - 562: Sword Points to the Supreme God_1

    Lin Yuan really believed there was no fault in his logic.

    Otherwise, he wouldn''t bother explaining it to the readers.

    When he previously killed off Biyao or Poirot, Lin Yuan felt that explanations were pointless.

    But this time, Lin Yuan was very confident.

    Lin died, and you weren''t satisfied;

    Yagami Light is dead too, aren''t you satisfied now?

    So Lin Yuan didn''t understand why the readers were still making a fuss.

    This was clearly a "happy ending".

    In any case.

    Once he discovered he couldn''t handle the situation, Lin Yuan simply stopped paying attention.

    People might not believe this:

    For situations like this, Lin Yuan had a wealth of experience in dealing with them.

    If he just ignores it, the readers will eventually come to terms with it on their own, and even analyze the ending in detail.

    Sure enough.

    After the readers made some noise for a while, they finally quieted down.

    Online.

    A reader analyzed:

    "Lin''s death is actually inevitable because Yagami Light has the Death Note as a trump card, while Lin only has a high IQ. When watching this comic everyone should have felt that, if Yagami Light wanted to hide himself, Lin might never be able to find out Yagami Light''s identity. However, Shadow portrayed Yagami Light as a character with an IQ not lower than Lin''s.

    Therefore, if Lin didn''t die, it wouldn''t make sense logically."

    Two characters, both with full IQs.

    One of them even has a trump card.

    If the one with the trump card can''t win, then their equal IQ with the opponent is really a waste!

    As for Yagami Light...

    "Yagami Light''s death is also inevitable, otherwise this comic would be too dark. Shadow killed off Yagami Light to express a concept: no one can rise above the law and conduct private judgment, even if it is for so-called justice. Private judgment comes with a cost, so Poirot committed suicide. Shadow''s values are in line with Chu Kuang, so Yagami Light eventually died."

    It''s hard to accept emotionally.

    But logically speaking, everyone could only accept this ending.

    After this analysis, the readers begin to rationalize -

    Just as Lin Yuan had anticipated.

    Although, as a result, Shadow had an additional title of "old rascal".

    Lin Yuan, who had finished his comics, then continued on writing "Journey to the West", this novel was almost completed.

    At the same time.

    Jin Mu passed on the news to Silver Blue Books.

    Silver Blue Books.

    Fantasy Department.

    Chief Editor''s Office.

    Once Ol'' Xiong received the call from Jin Mu, he suddenly stood up from his seat!

    His face was filled with excitement!

    Chu Kuang was finally back!

    Chu Kuang was finally going to continue writing fantasy novels!

    God knows how long Ol'' Xiong had been waiting for this day!

    Ever since Chu Kuang started writing detective stories, he hadn''t touched fantasy novels for a very long time!

    He would rather write fairy tales than continue writing fantasy novels!

    And today, he finally received the news of Chu Kuang''s return to the fantasy genre, how could he not be excited?

    Subsequently.

    Ol'' Xiong received the message behind Chu Kuang''s return to the fantasy genre:

    The Supreme God!

    With this return, Chu Kuang must be coming for the position of the Supreme God!

    Initially, he wasn''t qualified enough.

    But now, he is more than qualified.

    As long as the quality of the work is good enough, he is fully qualified to aim for that position!

    "This year''s fantasy genre will be lively,"

    Ol'' Xiong laughed, very cheerfully.

    ...

    It''s now October.

    Spring Festival is coming soon!

    The Literature and Art Association''s selection of the Supreme God of the fantasy genre will take place at the end of the year.

    Therefore.

    Many highly-qualified GOAT level fantasy authors often choose to release their new works at the end of the year to aim for the Supreme God selection.

    There was some movement.

    Within the fantasy genre.

    Many small circles were discussing this year''s Supreme God selection.

    "The end of the year is approaching, the competition for the position of GOAT and Supreme God has entered its final countdown."

    "Devil Child has already announced the news of his new book, he has high hopes of becoming the Supreme God this year."

    "At the end of this year, not only Devil Child, but another person also plans to aim for the Supreme God."

    "You mean Night South Wind?"

    "Night South Wind attempted it once before, but that book''s performance was slightly off, this year he is making a strong comeback, probably will be a strong opponent to Devil Child."

    "There are four spots for the Supreme God this year."

    "There are three spots that are more or less settled, those three are already ''almost'' Supreme Gods, the last spot will definitely come from Devil Child and Night South Wind."

    "..."

    Night South Wind is also a highly accomplished fantasy author, his level is on par with Devil Child.

    In terms of achievements, he even exceeds Devil Child by a fraction.

    So, many people believe that this year''s battle for the Supreme God would be between Night South Wind and Devil Child.

    Then.

    Someone sighed:

    "When Devil Child initially aimed for the position of a GOAT, he ended up meeting Chu Kuang, which delayed his accomplishment of becoming a GOAT by a year. However, Devil Child''s works have been of very high quality since he became a GOAT, and now he''s even preparing to aim for the Supreme God. Conversely, Chu Kuang never wrote another fantasy novel after becoming a GOAT."

    "The talent Devil Child possesses is, indeed, remarkable." S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Back then, there was also Mister Sea, who was competing for the position of a GOAT with Devil Child and Chu Kuang, but he lost miserably in that round. Up until now, he hasn''t become a GOAT yet and seems to have some difficulties keeping up with his creative output, it''s kind of regrettable."

    "It''s a pity that Chu Kuang no longer writes fantasy novels."

    "If Chu Kuang hadn''t started writing detective novels back then and had continued writing fantasy novels, he might have already become the Supreme God by now."

    "Even if now, if Chu Kuang continues to write fantasy novels, he can still aim for the Supreme God. Even though the number of his works is a little less, the quality of his works can make up the difference. All three of his fantasy novels are groundbreaking."

    "I''m questioning now, will Chu Kuang still write fantasy novels?"

    "Having written detective novels and even fairy tales for so long, will he struggle with writing fantasy novels again?"

    "Others may struggle, but I think Chu Kuang won''t."

    "Discussing this is pointless, as Chu Kuang hasn''t written any fantasy novels recently."

    "..."

    As everyone was discussing.

    All of a sudden.

    Someone in the group exclaimed in shock: "Holy shit, speaking of the devil, take a look at the official announcement from Silver Blue Books!"

    An official announcement from Silver Blue Books?

    Authors and editors within the fantasy genre went to check it out simultaneously. When they saw the announcement contents, they were dumbfounded-

    "[Great author Chu Kuang''s latest fantasy novel ''Journey to the West'' will be released soon, stay tuned!]"

    Boom!

    Many groups exploded!

    "What the hell!"

    "Chu Kuang is back!"

    "Chu Kuang is going to write fantasy novels again!"

    "Is he aiming for the position of Supreme God?"

    "Oh my, it''s hard to predict who will become the Supreme God this year!"

    "Those three who were about to take turns for the position must be getting anxious!"

    "The worst off must be Devil Child and Night South Wind!"

    "Night South Wind is not the worst off, the worst off is Devil Child. When Devil Child aimed for the GOAT position, he was targeted by Chu Kuang. Now, he plans to aim for the Supreme God and he encounters Chu Kuang again!"

    "..."

    Instantly, the industry was in turmoil!

 Chapter 597 - 563: On the Difficulty of Chu Kuang Becoming the Supreme God - 1

    Meanwhile,

    The readers'' community has also become lively.

    "Old rascal Chu Kuang is returning to the fantasy genre?"

    "Finally, you''re back, good thing I didn''t give up!"

    "After finishing writing ''Ghost Blows Out the Light,'' the old rascal hasn''t written any fantasy novel. I thought he was no longer going to write any more fantasy novels."

    "Good, my youth is back!"

    "I''m not interested in the old rascal''s detective stories, not because they are poorly written, but simply because I''m not into detective genre. I still like his fantasy novels."

    "Is old rascal''s comeback aiming for the top?"

    "If he succeeds, he will become the GOAT with the least number of works in history!"

    "..."

    Chu Kuang has actually written a lot of works.

    But the evaluation criteria for GOAT and great authors are based on fantasy novels.

    The performance of detective novels is not counted.

    So to sum it up, Chu Kuang only has three fantasy novels at present.

    The first one is ''King of the Net''.

    The second one is ''Zhu Xian''.

    The third one is ''Ghost Blows Out the Light''.

    This is why Jin Mu tactfully said: Lin Yuan just barely meets the criteria for the evaluation of the GOAT. To successfully challenge, he would need one or two more works.

    His number of works is still too low.

    Fortunately, while he lacks in quantity, he makes it up in quality.

    The sales and influence of these three fantasy novels by Chu Kuang are all there and cannot be dismissed lightly.

    For the time being,

    Both inside and outside the industry, everyone is discussing Chu Kuang''s return to the fantasy genre.

    Many people were taken aback when they suddenly heard the news of Chu Kuang''s return to the fantasy genre.

    But as everyone calmed down, many people realized that Chu Kuang''s attempt to strive for the GOAT is not as simple as many people imagine.

    An editor reasoned analytically:

    "Perhaps Chu Kuang has been too successful since his debut, and the countless halo effects make everyone subconsciously think that if Chu Kuang wants to strive for the GOAT, he will definitely succeed. Even I subconsciously thought so when I first heard this news. It seemed as if the GOAT had already become something in the bag for Chu Kuang.

    But everyone overlooked a fact!"

    This fact is:

    Chu Kuang''s fantasy novels are still too few in number. Although he can supplement the quantity with quality, there is still a significant gap from the standard of the GOAT. He is just stepping over the threshold now.

    Many people may not understand what I mean.

    Isn''t Chu Kuang so powerful that he doesn''t deserve to be the GOAT?

    Worthy, of course, Chu Kuang does have the strength of a GOAT.

    But at the same time, everyone needs to understand one thing, having the ability and actually achieving it are two different things. Here, I can use Chu Kuang''s good buddy Xian Yu as an example.

    As we all know, Xian Yu is known as Maestro Junior.

    Everyone has no doubt that Xian Yu has the strength of a Maestro!

    But because Xian Yu is too young and doesn''t have enough number of works, he has never received the official recognition of the Maestro honor from the Literature and Art Association. After all, he has not yet met some of the hard criteria of Maestro.

    The same goes for Chu Kuang.

    All Chu Kuang now has is the strength to strive for the GOAT, just like the current Xian Yu is qualified to strive for the Maestro, but they are facing the same problem:

    They haven''t met the standard criteria.

    Both are equally excellent in their respective fields. Compared to Xian Yu, Chu Kuang is obviously much closer to the rigid criteria of a GOAT. After all, Xian Yu faces competition from the entire music world, whereas Chu Kuang''s competition this time is not from the entire novel industry but only limited within the fantasy genre. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Still, Chu Kuang needs more than just one work.

    So in conclusion, to become the GOAT, Chu Kuang need at least two works at the level of ''Ghost Blows Out the Light''!

    Even with one, it''s not enough.

    Unless Chu Kuang''s new book is equivalent to two ''Ghost Blows Out the Light'' series!

    But we all know that this is impossible. With regards to fantasy novels, ''Ghost Blows Out the Light'' represents a peak.

    Not to mention Chu Kuang''s new book being equivalent to two ''Ghost Blows Out the Light'' series, even surpassing ''Ghost Blows Out the Light'' is not an easy task.

    Therefore.

    I think everyone is overthinking.

    Chu Kuang''s new book titled "Journey to the West" isn''t actually meant to compete for the position of the Supreme God. Instead, it''s preparing the way for his subsequent works to challenge for that title."

    This analysis made many people understand.

    Indeed.

    Chu Kuang is indeed a strong contender for the title of Supreme God.

    But because he hasn''t written fantasy novels for the past two years, the number of his works is a disadvantage.

    Becoming a GOAT with only three works is already quite terrifying.

    Trying to reach the status of Supreme God with a fourth work?

    That''s too much of a stretch.

    There isn''t a single Supreme God in the industry who only has four fantasy novels to their name.

    Chu Kuang will probably have to wait until his next-next fantasy novel is published before he can successfully challenge for the title.

    Regarding this.

    Someone gave an apt analogy:

    "If this were a long-distance race, Night South Wind would have already covered 95% of the distance, Devil Child would have covered 93%, and Chu Kuang has only covered 80%!"

    It''s like the ''Tortoise and the Hare''.

    In the end, the tortoise was the champion.

    Why wasn''t it the faster rabbit?

    Because the rabbit took a nap halfway.

    Chu Kuang is that napping rabbit.

    For about two years, Chu Kuang has been immersed in the field of deductive reasoning and hasn''t written any fantasy novels.

    But Devil Child and Night South Wind have kept writing, with consistently excellent results.

    Catching up with Chu Kuang''s progress all at once isn''t easy, even if he''s a rabbit that''s much faster than a tortoise.

    Moreover, Night South Wind and Devil Child are stronger than a tortoise¡ª

    Even if compared to Chu Kuang, both of them can definitely be considered top-tier fantasy authors.

    Suddenly.

    A clear understanding of the situation emerged within the circle.

    The editor at Night South Wind''s publishing house couldn''t help feeling relieved: "It gave me a scare. I thought Night South Wind was done for this year as soon as I heard that Chu Kuang was making a comeback."

    The same sense of relief was shared at Devil Child''s publishing house.

    There''s no helping it.

    Chu Kuang''s influence in the fantasy realm is ferocious!

    So ferocious that many people get cold feet just at the mention of Chu Kuang''s name.

    Fortunately!

    Chu Kuang is still a long way off the standards for the Supreme God.

    One work isn''t enough!

    At least two works!

    Unless Chu Kuang''s new book entitled "Journey to the West" can count as two!

    But everyone in the industry is fully aware of the difficulty in that.

    Because "Ghost Blows Out the Light" was too hot when it was first published!

    It was hard for Chu Kuang to even surpass it, let alone write a work that''s twice as popular as "Ghost Blows Out the Light"!

    For a time.

    This kind of analytical voice spread widely, and even some of the media in the literary circle published similar reports.

    "Chu Kuang Challenges for the Supreme God? Not so easy."

    "Detailed Analysis of Chu Kuang''s Odds of Becoming the Supreme God: Night South Wind and Devil Child Have Higher Hopes."

    "Chu Kuang Challenges the Supreme God; One Work is Not Enough."

    "Discussing the Difficulty of Chu Kuang''s Challenge for the Supreme God: Nightmare Level!"

    "Chu Kuang Returns to the Fantasy Realm, Possibly Preparing to Challenge for the Supreme God, but the Industry is Not Optimistic."

    "A Certain Book Industry Expert Asserts: Chu Kuang''s Challenge for the Supreme God This Year is Destined to Fail."

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: This part is quite relevant. Chu Kuang begins his challenge for the Supreme God title, and Polluted White is also currently challenging for the status of Chief Deity in the online literature community. "Journey to the West" is the crutch Chu Kuang relies on to become the Supreme God. I wonder if the full-time artist can make Polluted White become a GOAT?

 Chapter 598 - 564: Literature and Art Association Reads Journey to the West_1

    At night.

    The Yongning Village Entertainment Group.

    Suddenly, my sister forwarded a piece of news: "Why Chu Kuang was destined to miss out on the GOAT award this year from a data perspective."

    Then she tagged Lin Yuan: "Is Chu Kuang really planning on aiming for the GOAT title this year?"

    Lin Yuan lifted his head and silently looked at his sister, who was messing with her phone on the sofa.

    Why ask in the group chat?

    Within the group.

    Jian Yi showed up, and began bragging:

    "Being too famous isn''t good either. I''ve been so busy lately I haven''t had time to read novels. Is that old rascal Chu Kuang already preparing to aim for the GOAT title? Hasn''t he only written three fantasy novels so far?"

    Xia Fan ignored Jian Yi''s bragging and said, "But Chu Kuang became GOAT with just these three novels."

    Jian Yi and Xia Fan are both fans of novels, so they knew Chu Kuang well.

    Lin Yao, who wasn''t into novels, knew of Chu Kuang through her sister, but lacked a clear grasp. She curiously asked:

    "Is it impressive to become GOAT with only three releases?"

    Her sister explained: "I''m not sure about Zhong Continent, and the places like Han, Zhao, and Wei, but among the four Provinces of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, only four fantasy writers have become GOAT with three releases!"

    Lin Yao: "That doesn''t sound scarce though."

    Sister: "Indeed, it''s not scarce, but in terms of quality, Chu Kuang is the best. His three novels are brief, while the other three''s total word count is much greater with each book over three million words."

    This is also what people found fascinating about Chu Kuang.

    Other authors usually extend a successful novel as much as possible.

    But Chu Kuang''s fantasies were over a million words, with his longest, "Ghost Blows Out the Light," at around two million words.

    Lin Yao seemed very interested in Chu Kuang and asked another question:

    "And what would it mean to be GOAT with four releases?"

    Her sister responded without hesitation: "It would mean becoming the first among Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan fantasy writers. No one has ever reached the top with just four fantasy novels, so I believe Chu Kuang needs at least five releases!"

    This is also why the industry is not optimistic about Chu Kuang.

    Reaching the top with three releases is already quite incredible.

    But getting there with the fourth?

    Too difficult.

    At least it would take five, right?

    There should be some buffering, right?

    This is under the premise that everyone has high hopes for Chu Kuang.

    That''s why people say Chu Kuang''s new book needs to be twice as good to top the fantasy genre.

    Lin Yuan did not participate in the group discussion.

    However, he did agree with these analyses.

    He was indeed a bit away from becoming the GOAT.

    Generally speaking, two more fantasy novels would do the trick.

    But...

    If it comes to "Journey to the West," common sense can''t apply.

    Not to mention, doubling the effort.

    Even if all his previous three fantasy novels were combined, they would be dwarfed compared to this book!

    Moreover.

    Compared to his previous three fantasy novels, "Journey to the West" has not only a fascinating storyline but also unquestionably high literary quality.

    This is a monumental piece of work!

    In the current era where fantasy novels generally emphasize storytelling, suddenly there''s a work that balances story and literary quality so well. Its influence can be anticipated!

    But before the novel is written, these words don''t make any sense.

    Lin Yuan spent the next few days writing "Journey to the West."

    By mid-October. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan had finally finished this grand piece!

    He sent the two versions of the story directly to Jin Mu.

    Jin Mu laughed: "I will send it separately to Silver Blue Books and the Literature and Art Association."

    Lin Yuan was taken aback: "The Literature and Art Association?"

    Jin Mu nodded: "Those aiming for awards need to register their works with the Literature and Art Association, because they need time for the selection."

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan had no objections.

    Half an hour later, Jin Mu had successfully sent the message.

    ...

    Literature and Art Association.

    The Fantasy Novel Department was currently holding a meeting.

    A woman in her fifties, wearing glasses, sitting in the main seat, began to speak:

    "The situation for this year''s GOAT selection has pretty much been settled, and it shouldn''t change by the end of the year. But there''s still one slot for the ultimate deity that needs to be deliberated. Currently, we have three nominations."

    The crowd was stunned.

    "Three?"

    "Isn''t it two?"

    "Devil Child and Night South Wind."

    "Besides the three that have already been confirmed, these two have the strongest qualifications, so the fourth slot should emerge from between these two."

    "Three people, are you counting Chu Kuang too?"

    "I see great potential in Chu Kuang, but it seems like he still falls short of the standard."

    "Even though Chu Kuang is releasing another novel at the end of the year, I fear one novel won''t suffice to cover such a large gap."

    ...

    The leaders of the department expressed their views.

    Evaluations of the GOAT and ultimate deity were always topics of repeated discussions during their meetings.

    The list for the ultimate deity was basically confirmed as well.

    The last available fourth slot had always been debated between Night South Wind and Devil Child.

    As per usual, the final decision would depend on how their year-end works performed, providing a more accurate judgment.

    But in today''s meeting, the leader mentioned that there were three nominations...

    The sudden appearance of the third nomination could only mean Chu Kuang, who would be releasing a new book soon.

    The female leader wearing the glasses said: "Yes, the third nominee is Chu Kuang. Don''t rush to conclusions about anything. Since the selection is fair, Chu Kuang, who meets the threshold, should naturally be included. If his end-of-the-year work is good enough, he might just take the fourth spot."

    Good enough?

    The crowd chuckled, then shook their heads.

    The Literature and Art Association had already studied Chu Kuang''s case.

    His previous work, Ghost Blows the Light, was good enough, wasn''t it?

    But even if Chu Kuang releases another work at the level of Ghost Blows the Light at the end of the year, it still wouldn''t meet the standard for the fourth ultimate deity as much as Night South Wind and Devil Child!

    However, the Literature and Art Association had a good impression of Chu Kuang.

    It was said that the bigwigs above also paid close attention to Chu Kuang and had even praised him privately.

    So, no one said much more.

    At this moment.

    An assistant came over and whispered something into the female leader''s ear.

    The woman''s eyes lit up, and she smiled, saying: "Chu Kuang has just sent over the contents of his new book, Journey to the West. How about we take a look first? If it''s not up to standards, we''ll consider Devil Child and Night South Wind for this year."

    "It''s been sent?"

    Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement.

    A few minutes later, the meeting assistant walked in with the manuscript.

    When everyone saw the manuscript in her hand, they were taken aback, asking, "Why are there two copies?"

    "Let me confirm with you all that yes, there are indeed two copies of Journey to the West."

    The meeting assistant explained: "Teacher Chu Kuang has written two versions of the same story, one in Classical Chinese and the other in contemporary colloquial Chinese."

    "Oh?"

    A leader laughed: "People have been saying Chu Kuang needs to produce two more fantasy novels to become the ultimate deity, and he really did write two versions, huh?"

    Another leader shook their head: "But if the story is the same, then no matter how many copies there are, it will still count as one."

    Yet another member said: "I find it quite interesting. Not just anyone can manage to write in Classical Chinese. Chu Kuang''s talent really can''t be underestimated."

    "Let''s take a look first."

    The woman with the glasses spoke up and picked up the Classical Chinese version.

    Of course.

    There were also those who began with the modern colloquial version.

    It wasn''t a matter of not understanding Classical Chinese, just a matter of preference.

    For people at the Literature and Art Association, whether it was Classical Chinese or even a more obscure style posed no reading barriers.

    If they couldn''t understand the Classical Chinese version of Journey to the West, they would simply be padding out their resumes.

    They would have to apologize to everyone on Blue Star.

 Chapter 599 - 565 The Great Sage, Heavens Equal Sun Wukong_1

    The woman over fifty, donning glasses, is named Ming Lan.

    She is the official in charge of the Blue Star Literature and Art Association''s Fantasy Novel Department.

    Most official fantasy literature activities are led by her.

    At this moment, Ming Lan began reading the first chapter of "Journey to the West."

    The title raised her eyebrows slightly: "From Precious Root is Birthed, by Heart and Nature is the Way Acquired."

    "Humankind rises to benevolence, the substances of creation molded into form. To understand the primal work of creation, behold the Journey to the West, the deliverance from hardship."

    Journey to deliverance from hardship?

    This seems to be the name of the classical version.

    Whereas "Journey to the West" is the name of the popular version.

    Why are there two versions?

    Ming Lan continued reading with curiosity:

    "It is said that the universe cycles every 129,600 years. Divide this cycle into twelve eras, thus the twelve earthly branches: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig. Each era lasts 10,800 years.

    Considering a day: at the hour of the Rat comes the Yang energy, and the hour of the Ox begins with the cocks crow; the Tiger''s hour is still dark, while the sun rises in the hour of the Rabbit; after eating at the hour of the Dragon, resting comes with the hour of the Snake; the sun is overhead at noon, in the Horse''s hour, but it starts falling in the Sheep''s hour; the Monkey''s hour begins the afternoon, and the sun sets at the hour of the Rooster; the darkness of evening begins in the hour of the Dog, and people are settled for the night by the Pig''s hour.

    If you compare this to the grand cycle, when it reaches the end of the Dog''s era, both heaven and earth will sink into twilight and all things cease to be..."

    Just from the first paragraph, Ming Lan was sure of one thing:

    The classical version is not suited for ordinary people.

    The threshold for reading is too high.

    Even the meaning of Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, etc., many people have no clear concept.

    They only know these are different hours of the day.

    Not to mention sentences like "If you compare this to the grand cycle, when it reaches the end of the Dog''s era, both heaven and earth will sink into twilight and all things cease to be."

    As Ming Lan continued to read, she became more and more astounded!

    Classical writing and even the techniques of classical Chinese were all employed.

    The profundity of Chu Kuang''s classical literature was terrifying, discarding over ninety percent of fantasy writers!

    Furthermore.

    The book also contained a wealth of poetry.

    For example, the description of the Waterfall Cave on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit:

    "A shelter from the wind, and safe from rain''s harm. Fearless in frost and snow, deaf to thunder''s alarm."

    "Consistently bathed in misty glow, with auspicious signs that blossom and grow. Pines and bamboo that annually show, beautiful flowers that daily stow."

    There were many more similar verses.

    Among these various techniques, the story of the birth of Sun Wukong likewise emerged before her.

    This is a naturally born stone monkey.

    Reigned over the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit as the Handsome Monkey King, yet yearned for the cultivation of Tao.

    He traveled across the sea, conquering difficulties and obstacles, until he met Master Bodhi, entering the mountain of miniatures, the cave of the crescent moon and three stars.

    "The chaos of the beginning bears no name, shattering the obstinate void requires enlightenment."

    Master Bodhi gave the Handsome Monkey King a name.

    Sun! Wu! Kong!

    At this point, the first chapter ended.

    Ming Lan read very slowly, so slow that she was reading word by word, phrase by phrase. By the end of the first volume, her eyes were filled with waves of shock.

    Though the opening story was actually rather simple.

    Its literary value was too strong, with each sentence carefully chosen and composed!

    There were several lines of verse, that left Ming Lan clapping in admiration:

    "Mountains know not the lunar years, unknown is the quantity of the cold''s severities!"

    "Observing chess, firewood diligently chopped, by the valley''s mouth move slowly. Selling firewood and selling wine, drunk with mirth and madness all the time. Autumn scenery high on the desolate road, with moon as the pillow and pine as the abode, waking with the dawn''s glode. Recognizing the old woods, climbing cliffs and crossing ridges, cutting dry vines with the axe''s smidge."

    "..."

    Not only its literary merit.

    In just a short chapter, there were also some original sayings of Taoism, and even some non-original sayings of Taoism!

    Its setting was extremely rigorous!

    The world view was extremely grand!

    An elaborately detailed, sweeping epic unfolds ¡ª

    She continued reading.

    ...

    To Ming Lan''s side was a male leader of the Literature and Art Association. This man, named Chi Rui, was the deputy director of the department.

    And what Chi Rui was reading was the popular version of "Journey to the West."

    At some point, this high-ranking man turned bright red and started trembling slightly!

    With the narration of the text.

    A series of grand and magnificent scenes seemed to unfold before his eyes...

    Sun Wukong obtains the Magic Cudgel!

    He storms through the underworld and changes the Book of Life and Death!

    All mountains and rivers are surrendered, all creatures in the nine underworlds and ten species are eradicated!

    While the Heavenly Court welcomed him, he created chaos in the peach garden, eventually leaving Heavenly Court and attaining the title:

    The! Great! Sage! Heaven''s Equal!

    Sun Wukong fights countless Immortals under the siege of Heavenly Soldiers and Generals in the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    From the Mighty Spirit God to the Heavenly King Li to Nezha, the Third Prince, and even Erlang Shen¡­

    Even when captured, he shatters the Eight Trigrams Furnace and obtains Fiery Golden Eyes!

    The popular version, unlike the classical version.

    If the classical version focuses on literariness, the popular version gives importance to the description of the scene, whether it''s the abilities of gods or their magical weapons, the scenes of these battles are described meticulously!

    Here comes a point.

    The original classical version of Journey to the West, because of its too many poems and songs, is actually weak in its depiction of scenes and plots.

    If only the original Journey to the West is published, it definitely wouldn''t be as popular.

    But the popular version completely makes up for this deficiency.

    Even disregarding its literary nature, just as a novel, Sun Wukong''s experiences are breathtaking!

    Just looking at the early plot, it''s completely a showcase of the Monkey King''s invincibility!

    Even in online literature, these continuous climactic beginning chapters are enough to excite readers!

    That''s why when Sun Wukong comes out from under the Five Finger Mountain, it gives royal expectation and shock to countless people!

    At this time.

    Chi Rui is one of those thoroughly excited readers!

    What Sun Wukong has done has shocked him tremendously, and the popular version''s description of the plot let him lose himself in it as if he were there ¡ª¡ª

    This monkey is so goddamn domineering!

    In addition.

    The popular version also retains many features of the original.

    For example, famous lines like "In the mountains with no sense of years, we do not know the years" and "Emperors take turns, and next year it will be my turn" were not removed but, against the exhilarating backdrop, are accompanied by bold and dramatic literary embellishment.

    Clearly.

    A novel of nearly a million words is not something everyone can finish quickly.

    But you don''t need to read the whole novel, just revealing the story in the first few chapters already brings about a shock that envelops the entire conference room!

    "This novel¡­"

    Ming Lan, reading the part where Sun Wukong thrice defeats the White Bone Demon, finally regretfully put the draft down.

    However, when she started speaking, she realized her voice was slightly hoarse, and she subconsciously cleared her throat.

    "A masterpiece!"

    Chi Rui spoke softly, his expression extremely serious for the first time.

    For a moment, everyone puts down the novel.

    The conference room falls silent.

    One could hear a pin drop.

    Not until Ming Lan cleared her throat again, did everyone glance at each other and gradually start to speak:

    "Chu Kuang is absolutely qualified to sit and discuss who will be the Supreme God with us this time."

    "This novel, both literary and storytelling, is awe-inspiring when read in comparison with both versions."

    "This is more than just a fantasy novel."

    "Chu Kuang has broken the ceiling of fantasy novels by himself."

    "This novel has the grandeur of The Primordial Chaos, but whether it''s the refinement of the text or the author''s layout, it surpasses that mythological work that''s been passed down for so many years."

    "This is what the mythology of Blue Star should look like!"

    "The imagination is unique, it ranges from heaven to earth, it is absolutely ingenious. The characters'' personalities are also extremely vivid, which moves away from the low-level humor often seen in fantasy novels. I believe the Literature and Art Association should arrange for promotion."

    "..."

    Voices full of amazement.

    After speaking, everyone looks at Ming Lan.

    Ming Lan smiled bitterly: "I dare not casually comment on this novel, let''s read both versions first, but to specifically state my feelings about reading this novel, I feel like I am reading a masterpiece of Blue Star."

    Masterpiece!

    Everyone was stunned, but after a moment of silence, no one in the meeting room disagreed.

    This novel contains numerous religious knowledge, and the text also contains many metaphors; those present would not fail to see this, which is why they could more easily feel the magnificent atmosphere of this novel...

    This Chu Kuang.

    Shocks the world!

 Chapter 600 - 566: Paralleling the Primordial Chaos_1

    Meanwhile, when the Literature and Art Association was reading Journey to the West.

    Silver Blue Books had also started making specific arrangements and planning for the publication of this novel.

    Of course, this included the official start of the promotional campaign for this novel.

    Lin Yuan didn''t usually care about such things.

    Promotion was the company''s business, and Chu Kuang couldn''t really show his face.

    But what Lin Yuan didn''t expect was that there were problems with the promotion of this new book...

    And the problems were serious ones!

    When I say there were problems, it actually had nothing to do with the novel itself.

    Nor did it have anything to do with Lin Yuan.

    The main issue was Silver Blue Books'' several promotional phrases for Journey to the West.

    The promotional phrases were roughly:

    "Chu Kuang''s return to fantasy, on par with the mytho-epic of The Primordial Chaos series!"

    "Chu Kuang''s new book Journey to the West will be on par with The Primordial Chaos!"

    "Who says Blue Star''s mythology only has The Primordial Chaos series, check out Chu Kuang''s new book Journey to the West?"

    "..."

    It was these few lines that stirred up the hornet''s nest!

    As mentioned before.

    Blue Star has the foundation of The Primordial Chaos.

    This novel''s historical significance is probably similar to that of Investiture of the Gods on Earth.

    Many people''s understanding and familiarity with Blue Star mythology come from this work.

    Its propagation for countless years has made The Primordial Chaos a masterpiece in the minds of many.

    Its derived TV shows and animations, etc., have accompanied countless people''s youth!

    These people are hardcore fans of The Primordial Chaos!

    Their number is terrifyingly large!

    As a result, in Silver Blue Book''s promotion, they compared Journey to the West with The Primordial Chaos series!

    Can the fans of The Primordial Chaos tolerate that?

    Of course not!

    Therefore, many fans of The Primordial Chaos were outraged after seeing this kind of promotion!

    "Did this Chu Kuang get so arrogant?"

    "Nowadays, novel promotion is full of extravagant claims, we used to just laugh it off, knowing exactly how things actually are, after all, it''s nothing more than the merchants mindlessly promoting their own products. But the publicity for Chu Kuang''s new book directly hit on The Primordial Chaos, do they think we, the fans of The Primordial Chaos, don''t exist?"

    "Chu Kuang is indeed talented, but are you saying his new book is on par with the classic that has been handed down since ancient times?"

    "Hehe, it''s laughable."

    "Retract these promotions immediately, and also, Silver Blue Books and Chu Kuang should apologize to all Primordial Chaos fans!"

    "You want to be on par with The Primordial Chaos, are you worthy?"

    "Because of King of the Net?"

    "Because of Zhu Xian?"

    "Because of Ghost Blows out the Light?"

    "These few books of Chu Kuang''s put together still don''t qualify to be compared with The Primordial Chaos!"

    "Although I really like the old rascal Chu Kuang''s works, to say Chu Kuang''s works are on par with The Primordial Chaos, that''s indeed a bit presumptuous."

    "I''ve got to say, in front of The Primordial Chaos, Chu Kuang''s all books combined are not enough."

    "..."

    Countless fans of The Primordial Chaos launched a furious assault on Chu Kuang online!

    It even included some readers who had read Chu Kuang''s novels!

    As a work from hundreds of years ago, the author of The Primordial Chaos has long disappeared into the river of history.

    But...

    The fanbase this work bred from its development over countless years, is undoubtedly huge!

    To these people:

    The Primordial Chaos mythology is unparalleled!

    For a moment.

    Chu Kuang and Silver Blue Books were lambasted by countless people!

    The comment section of Chu Kuang''s online forum was immediately drowned out by the tirades of The Primordial Chaos fans.

    Chu Kuang''s fans never expected.

    That Chu Kuang, who had been having a smooth journey ever since his debut, and was even criticised by his own readers, was now under a collective attack from The Primordial Chaos fans? S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Suddenly.

    Chu Kuang''s fans became enraged!

    "Damn it, how dare they berate the old rascal?"

    "Can these fans of The Primordial Chaos use their brains, the promotional phrases were conceived by Silver Blue Books, what does it have to do with the old rascal?"

    "They want the old rascal to apologise? Shouldn''t you be the ones apologising to the old rascal?"

    "Do they really think that the old rascal has no fans?"

    "Who gives a damn about you fans of The Primordial Chaos, the old rascal''s readers are no fewer than yours if you really want to compare numbers!"

    "I''m freaking angry, is the old rascal someone you fans of The Primordial Chaos can berate?"

    "Brothers, arm yourselves!"

    "Let''s confront the fans of The Primordial Chaos!"

    "You guys speak of The Primordial Chaos as so awesome, how come I''ve never seen the Literature and Art Association ardently promoting The Primordial Chaos?"

    "Even if we don''t discuss that this promotion was done by Silver Blue Books, even if it was the old rascal''s own idea, so what?"

    "I laughed too. The literary world''s evaluation of ''The Primordial Chaos'' hasn''t yet reached the classic level, but the old rascal''s fairy tales are mandatory reading materials for Blue Star students. They will still be read hundreds of years from now."

    "..."

    Don''t be fooled by how Chu Kuang''s fans call him the ''old rascal''.

    In the hearts of these fans, Chu Kuang''s status is extremely high!

    They can criticize Chu Kuang for killing off Biyao and Poirot, but that''s an internal affair.

    The Primordial Chaos fans aren''t part of the family!

    When these people criticize Chu Kuang, his fans will not tolerate it!

    For a moment, the internet turned into a battlefield for The Primordial Chaos fans and Chu Kuang''s fans!

    Forum discussions, posts, and countless social networking platforms were filled with the struggle between the two sides...

    At the same time.

    There''s a lot of controversy among the spectators.

    Furthermore, with the escalation of the conflict, finally, Xian Yu''s fans couldn''t take it anymore.

    "It looks like Chu Kuang''s side has started a fight with the Primordial Chaos fans?"

    "I checked, and there seem to be a lot of Primordial Chaos fans."

    "The Primordial Chaos series has been around for so many years, there are countless fandom culture, it''s normal that there are so many fans. Because those people are not fans of a specific author, but fans of the culture of The Primordial Chaos."

    "What are we waiting for?"

    "Time to provide support for our allies."

    "Considering the relationship between Chu Kuang and Fish Papa, it would be improper if we didn''t help."

    "We don''t need to wait for Fish Papa to speak up. Fish Papa is a public figure and speaking isn''t suitable, we should take the initiative."

    "Deckling that matter, Chu Kuang and Fish Papa have always been protective of each other."

    "..."

    Several hours later, Xian Yu''s fans surprisingly joined the argument on a large scale!

    By that evening.

    Shadow''s fans came into action as well!

    Don''t forget, Shadow is the author of the comic ''King of the Net''!

    Everyone knows about Shadow''s relationship with Chu Kuang.

    The Three Bros have collaborated more than once, who doesn''t know their relationship is strong?

    So even if Shadow didn''t say anything, his fans voluntarily defended Chu Kuang.

    Not to mention...

    These Primordial Chaos fans slandered ''King of the Net'' until it was worthless.

    Shadow, the comic''s author, was caught in the crossfire as well.

    It was like a pile of dry gunpowder that suddenly met a spark, causing the entire internet to explode!

    For a moment.

    Silver Blue Books was caught off guard!

    The person in charge of ''Journey to the West'' promotion campaign was so scared that his face turned white...

    The promotion for Chu Kuang''s new book was always very domineering.

    This is a consistent starting style for Chu Kuang''s new book.

    Who would have thought that this time it would anger the Primordial Chaos fans!

    The person in charge was trembling when he found chief editor Lu Bei, and stammered: "Should we withdraw the promotional lines that mention The Primordial Chaos series?"

    This is too serious!

    This is the first time Chu Kuang has received such heavy criticism since his debut!

    If this is handled poorly, it could severely damage Chu Kuang''s reputation...

    "Stand down for now."

    Lu Bei''s eyes were somewhat cold.

    This situation isn''t simple.

    It''s understandable that Primordial Chaos fans would feel dissatisfied seeing this kind of promotion.

    But the fact that this has become a hot topic all over the internet in such a short time is definitely due to certain people stirring up trouble.

    Most of the hot topics that have hit the entire internet in a short period of time are led by internet trolls.

    There are people who don''t want to see Chu Kuang succeed.

    Nor do they want to see Silver Blue Books succeed.

    But these trolls certainly didn''t expect!

    The reason behind Silver Blue Books'' promotion was in fact related to the message from the Literature and Art Association...

    After some quiet contemplation, Lu Bei called up someone.

    Chu Kuang''s number.

    When the call was answered, Lu Bei said:

    "Sorry, Mr. Chu Kuang, our promotion has unfortunately entangled you as well."

    "It''s alright."

    Lin Yuan replied.

    He had known about the uptick of activity on the internet a few hours ago through Jin Mu.

    Lu Bei tentatively asked: "Should we alter the promotion?"

    Lin Yuan said: "No need."

    Lu Bei laughed: "I understand."

    This is Chu Kuang.

    The audacious Chu Kuang who dares to challenge the entire fairy tale world alone!

 Chapter 601 - 567: Early Publication_1

    Yes.

    Lin Yuan doesn''t think there''s anything wrong with the promotion of Silver Blue Books.

    If it had been before, Lin Yuan might have actually considered the possibility of modifying the slogan...

    But after going through "The Masked Singer", Lin Yuan changed a lot.

    This incident just happens to remind Lin Yuan of his experience of wearing a mask as the Prince of Lanling.

    Back then, Lin Yuan spoke some harsh truths.

    Then, a lot of fans of other singers, their fragile hearts were scattered all over the place.

    So on the day of revealing his identity, Lin Yuan realized one truth:

    In the world, whoever has the bigger fist has the final say.

    This time, Silver Blue Books just stated that "Journey to the West" and the Primordial Chaos series are on the same level.

    Then the fans of the Primordial Chaos series could not take it.

    As if comparing "Journey to the West" to the Primordial Chaos series was a massive insult to the latter.

    These people clearly have never read "Journey to the West"!

    It would be better to at least read "Journey to the West" before speaking such nonsense.

    But based on their love for the Primordial Chaos series alone, they devalue themselves and "Journey to the West" to be worthless.

    How different is that from those who lashed out at the Prince of Lanling because their idols were criticized?

    The nature of the matter is the same.

    Experiencing this kind of thing again, Lin Yuan feels a bit uncomfortable.

    So, he doesn''t want to withdraw the slogan, nor does he want to change it.

    Even on earth.

    No one would dare to say that the Primordial Chaos is better than Journey to the West ¡ª¡ª

    In all senses!

    So, Silver Blue Books has already taken the feelings of the Primordial Chaos fans into consideration.

    This slogan is somewhat modest.

    Of course.

    Only a few people think this way.

    The noise of the matter was considerable, and within half a day it was known by everyone.

    For a while, countless people in the circle were discussing it amidst the controversy.

    "Chu Kuang seems to be a bit too hasty with this."

    "He probably wants to top the charts with a single book, but has overdone it a bit."

    "All the publicity of new books these years has been about bragging, anyway that''s always been the way in the circle, but Silver Blue Books have been a little impetuous to target Primordial Chaos this time."

    "However, with such a fuss over this matter, it probably has something to do with people fanning the flames."

    "Ever since Chu Kuang joined Silver Blue Books, their performance has been skyrocketing, of course, people would be jealous."

    "Another reason is that many publishing houses want to poach Chu Kuang, but none are successful."

    "But ultimately it''s Silver Blue Books that exposed their own flaws. If they hadn''t targeted Primordial Chaos with "Journey to the West", their competitors wouldn''t have found this loophole to attack."

    "They targeted Primordial Chaos to allow Chu Kuang to directly vie for the highest spot."

    "After all, under normal circumstances, it would be very difficult for Chu Kuang to get the fourth highest spot this year."

    "..."

    Just then, someone suddenly said in the circle:

    "Holy shit, things have completely gotten out of control, you guys quickly look, the Primordial Studies Association has entered the game!"

    Swoosh swoosh swoosh.

    Countless people crowded around in no time.

    On top of the Tribe.

    The Primordial Studies Association released a screenshot of Silver Blue Books'' promo about "Journey to the West", and commented:

    "The promotion of novels in the industry now, one is more boastful than the other, readily shouting: this is a world-shaking masterpiece, you guys come and see ¡ª just like those pharmaceutical companies hyping a few tens of dollars'' worth of medicine as if it can cure cancer is laughable, this phenomenon if not rectified, will only make certain companies lose their credibility completely."

    The Primordial Studies Association, self-proclaimed "Primordial Studies".

    It is said to be made up of a group of experts and scholars dedicated to studying "Primordial Chaos".

    Although not officially recognized by the Literature and Art Association, it still has some influence among the masses.

    Many classic novels from ancient times have similar civilian associations.

    This book also feeds a bunch of so-called professional scholars.

    Following that, the Primordial Studies Association also mentioned Silver Blue Books and Chu Kuang:

    "When you compared Chu Kuang''s new book with "Primordial Chaos", do you know that this book is not just a flight of fancy fantasy novel, it also covers a level of literary connotation that modern writing can never again reach."

    As soon as this statement came out, many people''s faces changed.

    Yes.

    The Primordial Chaos series, not only has a strong narrative, but also, it was written in classical language, full of poetry, prose, lyrics and all, and its literary nature is also widely recognized.

    And modern fantasy novels, for the sake of sales, hardly consider the literary nature, and only care about the narrative.

    Furthermore, even if literary nature is taken into account, modern writers are rarely able to create with poetry, songs and poems, and classical-style texts like classical Chinese.

    It''s nothing.

    They just don''t have enough skills.

    Even if they can write a few chapters, can they ensure that the entire book is written in the same way?

    Impossible.

    Even if a whole book is written like that, it wouldn''t sell.

    Fantasy novels have taken the path of populism, how many of today''s readers can understand ancient texts?

    Some people believe that this is a deceptive analogy.

    Some people, were convinced by that argument.

    It''s indeed inappropriate for Chu Kuang''s new book to be compared to The Primordial Chaos.

    Well, well!

    With the whirlwind of the Primordial Studies Association, Primordial Chaos fans are like divine aid!

    Even if these Primordial Chaos fanatics only learn about Primordial Chaos through animations or TV dramas...

    They have questions!

    "Do you have any literary value?"

    "Do you have any artistic value?"

    "Without these, what can compare the so-called Journey to the West and the Primordial Chaos series?"

    "One side is a newly written novel by a best-selling author, and the other is a long-standing epic piece, can the two really be compared?"

    "The myth of Primordial Chaos, is recognized by countless Blue Star inhabitants!"

    "This is a traditional masterpiece that has been passed down for centuries, not just any best-seller that you can casually match against!"

    "This is traditional!"

    "Tradition, is authority!"

    "Silver Blue Books compare with contemporaries, nobody says anything, Chu Kuang''s novels do indeed have high sales volume, but it''s ridiculous that he has the audacity to compare his works with classic masterpieces like The Primordial Chaos!"

    "..."

    More and more Primordial Studies experts have entered the field!

    While they quibble over Journey to the West, they persistently preach about the greatness of Primordial Studies, interpreting it in various ways to dumbfound onlookers.

    With this moment''s momentum, the voices supporting Chu Kuang were finally suppressed!

    The influence of Primordial Chaos is indeed too terrible!

    Because it''s not just a novel, but also involves the popularity boost of countless derivative works over the years that are so well known to countless people!

    In fact, even Chu Kuang''s fans understand...

    If we''re talking strictly about literary quality, fantasy novels really can''t be compared with The Primordial Chaos.

    And now the Primordial Studies Association is obviously holding onto the literary heritage that The Primordial Chaos has accumulated over the years, along with the power of tradition and authority!

    This power, even the highest selling fantasy novels find hard to break!

    "Still not apologizing?"

    "Still not retracting the advertisement?"

    The Primordial Chaos fan base has grown like never before, uniting like never before, and they''ve even lined up in groups to report the promotional problem of Journey to the West to the official Literature and Art Association....

    They are glaring at Chu Kuang!

    They are glaring at Silver Blue Books!

    They just want to force Silver Blue Books and Chu Kuang to bow down, withdraw the promotion, and then officially apologize!

    However.

    The Primordial Chaos fans are destined to be disappointed.

    Neither Silver Blue Books nor Chu Kuang will apologize!

    Even.

    Silver Blue Books has issued a new promotional post.

    The promotional image is a Handsome Monkey King wearing a phoenix-feather cap, clad in Lock Son Golden Armor, stepping on cloud-walking boots, and holding a Golden Cudgel in his hand!

    He''s sitting on the top of a mountain!

    A big red cape!

    It seems to be fluttering in the wind!

    Surrounding the monkey, there are countless Heavenly Soldiers and Generals, all ferocious and evil!

    It''s a beautiful picture!

    It''s exquisite craftsmanship!

    This amazing work is undoubtedly the work of Shadow:

    "Tomorrow morning, Journey to the West is published ahead of time, The Great Sage, Heaven''s Equal, steps on the Imperial Palace!"

    This monkey, is naturally arrogant! S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to the generous donation from "Yo Shanks", I gracefully daub my knee ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ.

    ps2: Recommending two similar works from friends, Hepburn''s "I Really am a Superstar" and Kunlun''s "Becoming a Superstar by Signing In".

 Chapter 602 - 568: The Return of the Great Saint_1

    Everyone thought Chu Kuang would dutifully keep his head down and apologize.

    And that Silver Blue Books would obediently withdraw their marketing promotions.

    The immense public pressure, created and fostered by countless fans of ''The Primordial Chaos'' together with a vast number of netizens and bystanders, is enormous!

    This is not a force that an individual or a single company can halt easily!

    But nobody expected!

    They would choose to stand their ground to the end!

    Chu Kuang did not back down, and neither did Silver Blue Books!

    Not only did they not back down, but they also opted to publish ahead of schedule!

    The fans of ''The Primordial Chaos'' were completely enraged!

    The President of the ''The Primordial Chaos'' Research Association, a prominent figure within the cultural sector called Jin Pei, voicing his fury:

    ''You are obstinately refusing enlightenment, I, on behalf of myself and the ''The Primordial Chaos'' Research Association, declare a boycott of ''Journey to the West''. Classic masterpieces cannot be so casually belittled and slighted!''

    Following this.

    Within the ''The Primordial Chaos'' Research Association.

    Other figures from the cultural sector, with Jin Pei as their head, successively raised their voices, calling on fans of ''The Primordial Chaos'' to boycott ''Journey to the West''!

    Things have escalated to the point where they are nearly irreparable.

    The firm stance of Silver Blue Books and Chu Kuang shocked many within the industry, leaving everyone perplexed¡ª

    "Isn''t this a bit impulsive..."

    "A simple apology to smooth things over would have sufficed."

    "It was only a few promotional lines after all."

    "The number of fanatical ''The Primordial Chaos'' fans is frightening. If this group boycotts ''Journey to the West'', it will heavily impact the book."

    "This will also greatly affect Chu Kuang personally."

    "If this novel is published ahead of schedule, it''s bound to be compared with ''The Primordial Chaos''. How can the two be compared?"

    "The other is written in classical Chinese, and just from a literary perspective, the sheer amount of poetry and song lyrics it contains is not something a regular fantasy novel can compete with."

    "The fans of ''The Primordial Chaos'' may be overbearing, but they actually have the capital to be overbearing."

    "..."

    The influence of Chu Kuang is indeed terrifying!

    But this time, Chu Kuang''s opponent isn''t just another author!

    Chu Kuang''s opponent is the ''The Primordial Chaos'' culture that has evolved over countless years!

    The fantasy novel circle has many super best-sellers.

    But due to differences in their era and development time, none have formed a distinct culture.

    Nor do they attract countless experts and scholars to study their works...

    On just this point alone, ''The Primordial Chaos'' is not an opponent that best-selling authors can challenge head-on!

    Some even suspect that the publication of ''Journey to the West'' may be halted due to pressure from so many bigwigs in the cultural circle.

    Yet, to many people''s surprise.

    The Literature and Art Association has remained silent, as if they haven''t noticed the literary market''s earthquake at this time...

    Their ambivalent attitude puzzled many.

    Logically speaking, the Literature and Art Association should have stepped forward long ago.

    By that evening.

    The Literature and Art Association finally issued a statement.

    Yet the statement the Literature and Art Association released left many dumbfounded:

    "Disputes within the literary circle have always been settled through works. All uproars before this are meaningless. Please, fans of ''The Primordial Chaos'', cease your reporting of ''Journey to the West'' immediately. The novel has not violated any rules set by related departments. We also ask the fans who support Chu Kuang not to waste their time on the internet.

    Chu Kuang''s new work will be released tomorrow, the situation will become clear then."

    Let the works speak for themselves?

    The day will reveal the truth?

    Finally, someone realized what was going on:

    "Holy shit!"

    "Is the Literature and Art Association trying to pit ''Journey to the West'' against ''The Primordial Chaos'' culture in an arena battle!?"

    "Are they asking Chu Kuang to have a ''Literary Duel'' with ''The Primordial Chaos''?"

    "This..."

    "Is it even comparable?"

    "How can they be compared?"

    "Are they asking ''Journey to the West'' and the ''The Primordial Chaos'' series to face off without taking sides?"

    "¡­"

    It''s over, Chu Kuang is done for!

    Even if the Literature and Art Association takes no sides and implicitly criticizes the ''The Primordial Chaos'' fans for unjustly reporting ''Journey to the West'', asking Chu Kuang''s new book to have a ''Literary Duel'' with the already cultural phenomenon that is the ''The Primordial Chaos'' series?

    How could it possibly succeed?

    Meanwhile.

    The fans of ''The Primordial Chaos'' are pumped!

    They are shooting themselves in the foot!

    Your ''Journey to the West'' professes to stand shoulder to shoulder with ''The Primordial Chaos'', doesn''t it?

    Then come tomorrow, we''ll see just how your ''Journey to the West'' compares to ''The Primordial Chaos''!

    ...

    At this moment.

    The internet went silent.

    The intervention of the Literature and Art Association seems to have completely quelled the tumultuous waves.

    However...

    Everyone knows!

    A storm is on the verge of breaking out!

    Once ''Journey to the West'' is officially published, even greater turmoil will inevitably ensue. The fans of ''The Primordial Chaos'' will certainly spare no effort in comparing the two novels!

    But how can ''Journey to the West'' possibly compete with the ''The Primordial Chaos'' series?

    None of Chu Kuang''s previous fantasy novels were qualified.

    Just in terms of cultural heritage and artistic value, ''Journey to the West'' is already being crushed by the ''The Primordial Chaos'' series...

    During this period of eerie calm.

    The time has finally come for the second day.

    This morning, countless fans of Chu Kuang were the first to head to bookstores to purchase ''Journey to the West''.

    The fanbase of Chu Kuang is still terrifyingly huge.

    And now is when Chu Kuang needs support the most.

    As a result, many people didn''t hesitate to buy ''Journey to the West'' to express their support for Chu Kuang!

    Inside a bookstore.

    Upon purchasing the physical book and casually flipping through it, someone suddenly widened their eyes...

    This novel is actually available in two versions!

    One is a modern version!

    And the other is a traditional version!

    If memory serves, isn''t ''The Primordial Chaos'' also in traditional form?

    A novel handed down from ancient times is naturally in the traditional form, filled with numerous poems and song lyrics.

    At that time, novels tried to balance story with a relentless pursuit of art and culture.

    But Chu Kuang, a modern person, actually wrote an ancient version of "Journey to the West"?

    How confident must one be in their cultural proficiency?

    "Oh, fuck!"

    "Ancient version!"

    "This is truly competing with ''The Primordial Chaos'' now!"

    "I once thought that a modern novel couldn''t be compared with a work passed down from ancient times. But with this ancient version, it''s a whole different story!"

    "Oh my God!"

    "I can''t understand the ancient version at all!!!"

    "Let me see¡­ Fuck, I can''t understand it either!"

    "Whoever can understand this, please tell me what the level is of this ancient version?"

    "We ordinary people surely can''t analyze it. This ancient version is clearly aimed at the bigwigs in the literary world!"

    "I''m just going to go ahead and read the modern version..."

    "Waiting for the bigwigs to analyze the level of the ancient version."

    "Actually, it''s not that the ancient version is completely incomprehensible. If you ignore the poetry inside and just read the story, it shouldn''t be a problem."

    "The story part is still pretty colloquial."

    "But I still feel more comfortable reading the modern version, the way it''s formatted to the writing style is very comfortable, Chu Kuang''s writing style is really extraordinary."

    "..."

    Even though everyone had the ancient version of "Journey to the West," they were still quite puzzled.

    Even if they could understand it, it would be difficult to compare it with "The Primordial Chaos" in a short period of time and distinguish which is better.

    However, the vast majority of people still purchased both versions.

    On the other hand.

    Many bigwigs in the cultural world who were paying attention to this matter also purchased the latest edition of "Journey to the West".

    ...

    In a certain literary exchange group.

    That''s right.

    It''s the same group of bigwigs who offered in-depth critiques of the culture in the lyrics when Xian Yu''s song "May We Last Forever" was released.

    Let''s reintroduce them.

    Every member in this group is essentially a heavyweight in the literary world, which even includes top figures in the cultural world who can articulate their views through contemporary writings.

    These people were also inspired by the uproar between "Journey to the West" and The Primordial Chaos.

    While getting ready to read the book, some discussions accompanied them in the group:

    "Little Li insisted that I read this ''Journey to the West'' and asked me to comment on which is better compared to The Primordial Chaos series."

    "Little Li seems quite confident this time."

    "Little Li also sent me a copy. As the speaker of the Literature and Art Association, the fact that he highly promotes a novel makes me a bit interested."

    "Even though The Primordial Chaos series has its flaws, overall it''s still very good."

    "Hmm, it may not be a classic, but its literary value is not low."

    "Looks like Little Li sent each of us a copy of ''Journey to the West'', interesting."

    "..."

    After a round of discussion, the group quieted down.

    Evidently.

    They went to read the book.

    Not just within this group.

    The internet was also very quiet.

    But behind this tranquility, something was ready to move...

    Lin Yuan did not read the book.

    The novel has been released, but the publication of the "Journey to the West" novel is just a beginning for Lin Yuan.

    Not because he sees The Primordial Chaos as an opponent.

    Lin Yuan just believes that he has the duty and responsibility to develop the culture specific to Journey to the West.

    Only having a cultural world with The Primordial Chaos Myth would be too lonely and too monotonous.

    Movies...

    Animations...

    Fanfics...

    Derivatives...

    Everything that the Primordial Chaos series has, "Journey to the West" must also have.

    Even things that the Primordial Chaos series doesn''t have, "Journey to the West" must have too!

    At this juncture.

    Lin Yuan decides to start this journey with a song.

    For the first song, he would sing himself.

    And the song is titled "Wukong."

    He would do everything he could to popularize the culture of Journey to the West as much as possible.

    For this reason, Lin Yuan didn''t hesitate to use the influence of three masks simultaneously.

    Not until the evening.

    Lin Yuan finally finished recording "Wukong."

    Not in a hurry to release it, Lin Yuan decided to go online to gauge the situation first.

    There should be some activity by now...

    Especially for those who read quickly.

    The seven or eight hundred thousand words of "Journey to the West" can be finished within one day.

    As evidenced, Lin Yuan''s time management was on point.

    When he began to go online, it was just the time when many people had finished reading "Journey to the West."

    Although compared to the previous heated battle between the Chu Kuang fan and Chaos die-hards, the internet at this moment was like a calm sea, deathly still under the sunlight.

    Utter silence.

    But a storm was brewing in the distance.

    Finally!

    Someone took the lead in breaking the silence!

    The one who broke the silence first was the former president of the Blue Star Literature and Art Association!

    Although he has retired, he is still a highly respected elder in the culture industry whose influence remains significant!

    "Picking up ''Journey to the West'' and not being able to put it down. In the twilight, my old and dim eyes couldn''t bear the high-intensity reading. I had my wife read the last few lines to me, but I couldn''t stay calm for a long time. I have three feelings to share with everyone.

    First, the orthodox mythology that the Blue Star cultural world has been waiting for hundreds of years finally arrives, and I look forward to the day it bears fruit; Secondly, what a great ''Great Sage, Heaven''s Equal'', what a smashing through the Cloud Palace; Thirdly, The Primordial Chaos is a classic masterpiece, but ''Journey to the West'' is a contemporary masterpiece, also a temple of mythology."

    On this day. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The winds and clouds are turbulent.

    The Golden Cudgel stirs a mighty wave.

    The Great Sage shattered the Cloud Palace.

    In the stunned horror of countless people, an unprecedented storm began its prelude.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thank you for your monthly tickets, continuing to write, if you have monthly tickets please cast them to Polluted White.

 Chapter 603 - 569: Confronting the Primordial Chaos Enigma_1

    Fantasy novels, despite their significant impact, have always been criticized by the cultural circle for their literary properties and value orientations...

    Some cultural bigwigs praise certain detective novels for their excellent writing.

    Some cultural bigwigs praise certain short stories for their excellent writing.

    But, no cultural bigwigs ever praise a fantasy novel for its excellent writing, because compared to other genres, fantasy novels have a really low pretentiousness level.

    Looking at the disdain hierarchy, they are only better than internet literature on Earth.

    But at this moment, the former president of Literature and Art Association, a bigwig among bigwigs in the cultural circle!

    He personally endorsed "Journey to the West"!

    For the realm of fantasy¡­

    This is the first-ever instance!

    Like a drop of water accidentally falling into boiling oil.

    The internet, which had been quiet for a whole day, exploded in boiling agitation!

    "I thought I was opening up an exciting fantasy novel, but when I finished, I realized that I had opened a contemporary masterpiece of the highest order!"

    "Who the hell dares to say that The Primordial Chaos is the number one present-day myth, I will smash their head for them!"

    "A novel that all men will like, from Sun Wukong''s return from apprenticeship, it''s high-energy and passionately surging throughout. The Great Sage rides a colorful auspicious cloud with seventy-two changes up his sleeve, stirring up East Sea, disturbing Underworld and Heaven, and making friends with demon kings.

    His body is as tough as mysterious iron, his eyes burning with fiery golden eyes, reading it made my blood boil and emotions swirl!"

    "Women like it too, okay. Sun Wukong is too perfect, kind yet rebellious, smart and capable of fighting. I want a boyfriend just like Sun Wukong right now, and have a little monkey from the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit!"

    "I think this is Chu Kuang''s best work, the absolute peak of his career. It feels like his entire life has been condensed into this Journey to the West. Life is simpler than Journey to the West, you can pack your bags and return home like Bajie does; life is also more difficult than Journey to the West, without the help extended by Guanyin."

    "Seeing the monkey being suppressed for five hundred years really hurts my heart, so when he bounced out, I also jumped up with him!"

    "The first few rounds were indeed high-energy, but there is also a deeper expression. Even a monkey born from the fossil of the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit feels birth, aging, sickness, and death like a human. He is wreaking havoc in the underworld and heaven, but he is fighting against his natural limitations ¡ª that is, lack of freedom. When we were young, we were also impulsive like this.

    No matter how many somersaults we make, how many circles we make, how to train our body to be strong, in the end, we return to the long road of fetching scriptures."

    "Seeing the promotional picture of Sun Wukong by Silver Blue Books, I just felt that Shadow''s drawing skills were strong, but after reading ''Journey to the West'' the picture of the Monkey King being surrounded by the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals made me feel like my blood had frozen.

    This is a solitary hero who is positive and optimistic despite the punishment and hardship he faces for his unyielding spirit, making people couldn''t help but love him."

    "This book by Chu Kuang is absolutely terrifying!"

    "His rich imagination and diverse expressions seem to be for this one book, after finishing Journey to the West I was thoroughly awed. Compared to this book, I suddenly feel The Primordial Chaos to be nothing special."

    "Sun Wukong vividly illustrated what it means ''I control my own destiny''!"

    "..."

    After reading the book, ninety-nine percent of readers will like Sun Wukong!

    Similarly.

    Most of the comments revolve around Sun Wukong!

    Of course.

    There are also discussions about other characters.

    Such as Tang Monk.

    However, the comments about Tang Monk are not so friendly:

    "The classic trio of Tang Monk: visual responsibility, yelping cries, rebuking his disciple. If I were Sun Wukong, I wouldn''t wait for him to chant the Tight-fillet Spell, I would have beaten him to death a long time ago."

    "Tang Monk obviously favors Zhu Bajie, because of Sun Wukong''s innate rebellious spirit."

    "Apart from Tang Monk''s attachment to Buddha, I really can''t agree with the rest, he''s timid and loves to shirk responsibility."

    "The images of the master and disciples are too vivid, and that''s why everyone dislikes Tang Monk."

    "To the Monkey King, Tang Monk is a burden, although the Monkey King himself doesn''t think so, this is exactly what makes the Monkey King so charming."

    "Life is a long and hard road to enlightenment, but even if you are as weak as Tang Monk, you can still reach the end."

    "..."

    However, some people have noticed the advantages of the pale-faced monk:

    "Although every time Tang Monk is caught, he cries like a pustule, but he would continue his journey to the west once he escapes from the demon''s grasp, he never complains, he never looks back."

    In addition, Zhu Bajie also encountered many discussions.

    This character did not face one-sided criticism.

    Although this pig loves food and is lazy, and frequently wants to pack up and leave, physically demonstrating to everyone what makes a qualified pig teammate...

    Some people analyzed the reason:

    "Probably because we all long to be like Sun Wukong, but in reality, many people have reluctantly become Zhu Bajie."

    What about Monk Sha?

    The presence of Monk Sha is like that of the White Dragon Horse.

    Even less significant than the White Dragon Horse.

    The White Dragon Horse is a mode of transportation.

    Monk Sha is a manual laborer.

    One is a tool horse, the other a tool man.

    Although Zhu Bajie also carries loads when he''s free.

    No matter how they discuss it, everyone''s overall opinion is the same:

    The entire "Journey to the West" is Chu Kuang letting his brilliance flow everywhere, a transcendental masterpiece created by the collision of imagination and talent!

    Not only readers!

    Even some great authors in the realm of fantasy novels and the absolute top authors were blown away!

    "I thought ''Ghost Blows Out the Light'' would be Chu Kuang''s peak until I read Journey to the West and found out how wrong I was. This novel will probably become the ceiling of fantasy novels in the future!"

    ¡ª¡ªFantasy GOAT Li Zhenghui

    "It''s the original Blue Star mythology. The gods, monsters, and strange beings are written to the full, this is the best mythology ever!"

    ¡ª¡ªFantasy GOAT Drifting Cloud

    "Challenged myself and painstakingly read the classical Chinese version of ''Journey to the West''. I want to say something to all the fans of The Primordial Chaos, Silver Blue Books'' promotion was not accurate. Journey to the West is not on par with The Primordial Chaos, it surpasses The Primordial Chaos!"

    ¡ª¡ªGOAT Antarctica (pen name)

    "The perfect combination of literary and artistic value is achieved in ''Journey to the West''. This book is enough to make Chu Kuang compete for supremacy."

    ¡ª¡ª The Supreme God Mercury

    Many GOATs have stepped forward!

    Before reading ''Journey to the West'', Chu Kuang was attacked by the devotees of The Primordial Chaos, these GOATs dared not speak up, even in their hearts they felt that Chu Kuang''s new book could not be compared with The Primordial Chaos.

    But after reading ''Journey to the West'', these GOATs and even the Supreme Gods all stood firm!

    They all came to the same conclusion:

    ''Journey to the West'' is even more extraordinary than The Primordial Chaos!

    At this moment, the followers of The Primordial Chaos were silent.

    Although they did not want to admit it, for various reasons, many fans of The Primordial Chaos have also purchased and read ''Journey to the West''.

    Their personal reading experience, along with these voices online, made them feel increasingly uncomfortable.

    But still, a few remained unconvinced.

    The literary accomplishment of The Primordial Chaos series is profound!

    However, soon an expert who thoroughly read the ancient version of ''Journey to the West'' compared the merits and demerits of the two novels from various angles.

    He analyzed using the ancient versions of the two novels.

    The final conclusion is:

    The literary foundation of ''Journey to the West'', the poems and songs within it, are absolutely not inferior to The Primordial Chaos series!

    The storytelling of ''Journey to the West'' is not only no worse than that of The Primordial Chaos, but on the contrary, it is more exciting!

    There are quite a few readers who have this kind of appraisal ability.

    Even the stubborn fans of The Primordial Chaos had to reluctantly admit that Chu Kuang''s ancient version of ''Journey to the West'' is indeed artistic.

    At this moment.

    Another follower of The Primordial Chaos couldn''t help but retort:

    "Even if we admit that Chu Kuang''s writing is impressive, how can it cover up the fact that this is fundamentally a fantasy adventure story of teacher-student relationships, and a commercially successful story with a happy ending? Can it match the various metaphors in The Primordial Chaos series? You don''t know how profound some of the stories in The Primordial Chaos are!"

    The Primordial Chaos is not just about chaos.

    The existence of The Primordial Chaos Research Association in this world is due to the intriguing details in this series.

    Although these details were not explicitly written by the author, the various interpretations they sparked, whether correct or not, have been eagerly pursued and recognized by countless people.

    Does ''Journey to the West'' have this?

    Many readers captivated by ''Journey to the West'' were speechless for a while, unable to find an immediate rebuttal.

    After all, the story of ''Journey to the West'' has just been published, and it''s difficult for many people to think of more after a quick read.

    Even less likely to spot the most exquisite part of this novel at a glance.

    But among the vast number of readers, some experts can certainly identify the extraordinary aspects of ''Journey to the West''.

    At this moment.

    An expert appeared.

    This person''s online username is "Poor Kid".

    He is a big figure on the forum, and no one knows his real-life identity.

    Every forum seems to have a few such esteemed figures, they can go from discussing astronomy and geography to modern economic structure and development, popular novels, they can count off immediately¡ª

    They seem to know everything about everything.

    Of course, this is based on the common person''s lack of knowledge.

    At this moment.

    "Poor Kid" stood out and put forward a shocking viewpoint:

    "It seems that some fans of The Primordial Chaos have also completed ''Journey to the West'', but I didn''t expect that you could come to the conclusion that it''s an adventure story of teacher-student relationships and ends happily. ''Journey to the West'' is a tragedy. Which eye of yours saw a happy ending?"

    Not to mention the fans of The Primordial Chaos,

    Even the readers of ''Journey to the West'' were taken aback.

    Isn''t the ending of ''Journey to the West'' very happy?

    The teacher and his disciples reached the Western Heaven, obtained the scriptures, and were even conferred titles. How did this suddenly become a tragedy?

    Can''t blame these people for reacting slowly.

    The story of ''Journey to the West'' has been circulating on the earth for countless years, hence spawning countless interpretations.

    But on Blue Star, it''s still a newly published novel.

    A lot of things are starting from scratch.

    Exactly why?

    Just when some people felt that "Poor Kid" was trying to attract attention, this netizen finally explained: "From ''The Real and the Fake Handsome Monkey King'', Chu Kuang was already giving a clear hint. Do you really think the one that was beaten to death was the fake Wukong?"

    Everyone was stunned.

    Then, cold sweat suddenly broke out!

    Someone even immediately went back and re-read the plot of ''The Real and the Fake Handsome Monkey King'', the more they read, the more terrified they felt.

    The fans of The Primordial Chaos who had read ''Journey to the West'' were also taken aback!

    This train of thought, while terrifying, is also surprisingly brilliant!

    Regardless of whether this viewpoint is correct, the existence of this viewpoint itself is certainly worth thinking about!

    However, they did not know¡ª¡ª

    The real horror was yet to come!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Continue to write.

    S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 604 - 570 Interpretation (Additional for Alliance Hierarch Meng Yinfeng Yue)_1

    At this point, everyone''s minds were racing:

    Was the real Sun Wukong really killed here?

    Was the monkey accompanying the Tang Monk on his pilgrimage actually a fake?

    Though this conjecture seems presumptuous, upon careful consideration it does not seem entirely baseless. Sun Wukong represents a disobedient variable for the West, while the Tang Monk must reach the West.

    Two monkeys asking countless people to discern truth from false, but none can, the listener knows but dares not speak...

    Taking these clues into account, the more everyone thinks about it, the more terrifying it seems!

    If it''s true, then that''s too tragic!

    Could it be that the monkey everyone loves isn''t even a monkey?

    Fortunately.

    The big shot added another point:

    "Just take my irreverent interpretation as a joke. I still believe that Sun Wukong is not dead, because the plot later proves that this Sun Wukong is compassionate and just, not the Six-Eared Macaque who beats up the Tang Monk just for a bit of luggage. The tragedy I''m talking about doesn''t refer to this event."

    Everyone felt a bit relieved.

    But the seed of this interpretation has been planted.

    Perhaps in the future many such opinions will surface.

    Because it''s sufficiently intriguing.

    So why does "Poor Kid" say this is a tragedy?

    Many people became curious.

    To propose that Sun Wukong was killed by a fake Wukong already implies this person is quite bold.

    This big shot explained again:

    "The Tang Monk is a trap set by Buddha and Guanyin. It''s clearly recorded in the 99th chapter of ''Journey to the West'': The demotion of Master Golden Cicada is the first adversity, near-death experiences after he was born the second, throwing himself into a river after the full moon the third, finding family and taking revenge the fourth... The entire record is full of the Tang Monk''s adversities.

    The Bodhisattva targeted their family before the Tang Monk even existed. His entire life was clearly arranged. Imagine, if your life was designed by someone else, would you consider this a tragedy?"

    "Maybe some people will say, if this life is still not bad, then it''s not a tragedy."

    "Alright, let''s continue talking about the monkey. You all probably feel that the status of Victorious Fighting Buddha- is something Sun Wukong earned through his own efforts. But it''s merely a title given to him when Buddha was in a good mood. Master Golden Cicada, as someone directly related to Buddha, should have been called back even without doing anything.

    Bajie and Monk Sha, as the likable and non-threatening suck-up team, naturally needed to be there, only Sun Wukong was recruited...."

    "How free and at ease was Sun Wukong at the beginning?"

    "Just look at the Bull Demon King, he started just as unaffiliated and joyful as Sun Wukong, suffered from the suppression of both Buddha and Dao in the end and almost died. In the end, he had no choice but to submit to Buddha. This, in fact, is very sad. No matter how capable you are, you can''t overthrow feudal rule.

    After you''ve struggled to develop your skills, you''ll still join it in the end; thus, Sun Wukong became the Victorious Fighting Buddha."

    "Therefore, this novel is actually a criticism of ancient feudal rule."

    "Those who think I''m over-interpreting, read the book again. You''ll find a law: all the monsters killed by Sun Wukong are without background, none of the monsters with a background died. They were either taken back by the gods or converted to Buddhism. Isn''t this tragic enough?"

    Readers of Journey to the West were stunned!

    Fans of the Primordial Chaos were even more astounded!

    When they read the novel, they were only concerned about the plot, how could they think about this aspect?

    But when someone went back to check the book, they were shocked to find that all "Poor Kid" said was true!

    Monsters without background, like the White Bone Demon, were killed till there was nothing left of them!

    Some monsters were even allowed to be monsters with their master''s approval, and basically did not receive any punishment, even if they had eaten people!

    Take King Yellow Brow for instance.

    His master, Maitreya, was a bit better, at least allowing Sun Wukong to enter his stomach and create a ruckus to vent some anger.

    But Maitreya didn''t mention any of King Yellow Brow''s wrongdoings at all, just laughed it off and let all the matters slide!

    King Yellow Brow went back without any punishment, still serving as his gong chime boy.

    As for Taishang Laojun, it was even more amusing.

    His mount, Nine-Spirited Lion, allowed his disciple to do evil in the human world, bully and oppress, and even helped him deal with the pilgrimage team.

    But when facing Sun Wukong, he didn''t mention it at all, only said to Sun Wukong:

    "My disciple reached sainthood through cultivation, and wouldn''t eat people."

    He stated this quite proudly.

    At this point, the readers realized that these immortals in heaven always try to defend their own.

    No matter what their subordinates did wrong, they were able to gloss over it in a few words, leaving no trace at all!

    How pitiful!

    How lamentable!

    At this point, "Poor Kid" seemed quite touched:

    "What right do Primordial Chaos fans have to look down on ''Journey to the West''? Just the tip of the iceberg of my interpretation of this novel is already equal to the calculated maneuvers of those so-called Primordial Chaos experts. Not to mention, ''Journey to the West'' by Chu Kuang contains an astounding revelation!"

    An astounding revelation?

    Isn''t the pitfall in front big enough?

    Fans of ''Journey to the West'' were shell-shocked at this point. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Primordial Chaos fans were utterly speechless...

    Primordial Chaos fans loved to study and discuss the hidden "Easter Eggs" in the novel. The Primordial Chaos had many secrets to be revealed. But after listening to this interpretation, they realized that ''Journey to the West'' may have more untold secrets!

    "This revelation just occurred to me while I was reading."

    One of the experts explained, "Did you ever think about reading the story of ''Journey to the West'' in reverse?"

    Everyone''s mind stuttered for a moment.

    Reading it backwards?

    How could that be?

    Finally, this expert dropped a bombshell!

    "Reading ''Journey to the West'' in reverse, it''s about the Buddha sending a master and three disciples to go to the east with the Eight Heavenly Scriptures and Little White Dragon to spread the teachings. Along the way, they encountered all kinds of monsters and demons.

    After much fighting, they realized that these monsters all had powerful backing, and they could commit all the evil they wanted without being punished. Zhu Bajie and Monk Sha find this too corrupt and hopeless, so one hides in Gao Village and the other burrows into the River of Sand. Only Wukong persists in the fight against these evils, protecting his master and spreading the teachings eastward.

    However, the Heavenly Court can no longer stand Wukong''s disruptive ways and they make a deal with Buddha¡ªhe can ensure the safe arrival of Tang Sanzang in Chang''an, but they have to get rid of the thorn in their side, Sun Wukong.

    The Buddha agrees and after a calculated plot, the White Dragon is severely injured and drops into a mountain stream, Wukong loses and is trapped under the Five Finger Mountain by the Buddha while Tang Sanzang abandons him and continues alone to Chang''an.

    There, he completes his mission of spreading the teachings and gets conferred as a royal disciple, enjoying wealth and nobility before passing away peacefully. Fast forward 500 years, Wukong finally escapes from under the Five Finger Mountain.

    Without saying a word, he stirs up havoc in the Heavenly Court, leaving them with no choice but to make a promise¡ªto reward Zhu Bajie with a human form and title of the Marshal Canopy, Monk Sha as the Great General Who Lifts the Curtain, if only they can kill Sun Wukong.

    In the end, a disillusioned and broken-hearted Wukong, after witnessing the killing of his brother, seeks Master Bodhi to resolve the doubts in his mind.

    Afterward, he seals away his cultivation skills and throws the As-You-Will Gold-Banded Cudgel into the Eastern Sea where it transforms into a magic cudgel, returns to Mountain of Flowers and Fruit to spend the rest of his life with his monkey brethren, eventually transforming into a stone at the mountain''s peak..."

    Shocked!

    With the appearance of this interpretation, everyone was stunned!

    What a huge twist!

    Is this over-interpretation or did Chu Kuang pave the way for this revelation in ''Journey to the West'' all along?

    Why does it still make sense when read backwards?

    At this moment!

    Many people suddenly felt...

    They had not understood ''Journey to the West'' at all!

    What kind of a freak is this Chu Kuang!

    A harmless fantasy novel turned out to be full of hidden depths!?

    Full of satire and metaphors!

    And...

    According to this person, the interpretation of ''Journey to the West'' up to this point is just the tip of the iceberg?

    Everyone was shocked!

    Are we all reading the same novel?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to the Alliance Hierarch "Dream Yin Wind and Moon" for their support, here''s an extra update. Also, thank you to the new Alliance Hierarch "Poor Kid", I salute you. That''s it for today, I''m off to plan out the future storyline!

 Chapter 605 - 571: Have I Really Read This Book Before?_1

    It was only after seeing this brief decoding, many readers suddenly realized...

    They didn''t seem to understand Journey to the West at all?

    What the experts saw were the novel''s implications, the metaphors within the plot, and the ingenuity of the structure.

    Yet, ordinary readers were simply busy shouting:

    "Sun Wukong is awesome!"

    "The Great Sage, Heaven''s Equal, is awesome!"

    They completely missed the point!

    Of course, the plot of this novel is exciting.

    However, the truly amazing thing about Journey to the West are the elements that are worthy of deep thought, or even reconsideration.

    Metaphors and implications are everywhere!

    The truly terrifying element is the shocking truth that is not explicitly written, but is revealed between the lines of the novel!

    No wonder the former president of the Literature and Art Association went out of their way to endorse Journey to the West!

    Before long,

    This analysis began to spread among the readers. Soon, fans of Journey to the West were overpowered¡ª

    "The expert is awesome!"

    "So Journey to the West can be read in reverse!"

    "I thought this was a family-friendly story, but the real Journey to the West is so dark."

    "I thought the master and his disciples were traveling west to punish evil and promote good, but those monsters with backstories didn''t die at all. This isn''t a mythological novel, it''s more realistic than reality!"

    "I actually feel a bit sorry for Sun Wukong now."

    "Becoming the Victorious Fighting Buddha sounds nice, but it''s actually a story of a failed rebellion being suppressed and co-opted by Buddha."

    "Sun Wukong, in the end, lost his wildness."

    "After following these thoughts, I can''t help but feel sad. I feel like I''m living my life like Journey to the West: I have pressures like Wukong, a body shape like Bajie, a bald head like Monk Sha, and the nagging and affectation of Tang Monk."

    "The more I look at it, the more Journey to the West feels like a scam?"

    "..."

    The endless reviews sprouted crazily like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

    Any mainstream related forum could easily generate tons of comments that would take dozens of pages to scroll through.

    Moreover,

    This analysis had a ripple effect, sparking deeper thinking about the plot by more people.

    More and more interpretations!

    More and more diverse viewpoints!

    The netizens were simply dazzled!

    Some even said that the so-called pilgrimage was just Tang Monk''s spiritual cultivation!

    Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and others simply didn''t exist!

    Thus,

    This book review, once it appeared, attracted the attention of countless readers of Journey to the West!

    This was not only because this interpretation was incredibly fascinating, but also because the author of this review was a very famous book review expert and scholar in the cultural field on the internet.

    His article was titled: "Perhaps Journey to the West, from Beginning to End, only involves Tang Monk."

    Without reading the content, many people''s first reaction to this viewpoint was...

    Nonsense!

    Artificially shocking statement!

    This is even more far-fetched than the real Sun Wukong being replaced by the Six-Eared Macaque!

    It feels like many interpretations are just attention-grabbing stunts!

    Some people even started arguing on the spot.

    These reviewers love to make bold claims.

    However, when everyone clicked on this review, they were somewhat taken aback.

    "The true Journey to the West is just Tang Monk''s spiritual cultivation, and the three disciples are all him."

    "I know that as soon as I say this, everyone will feel baffled. Don''t rush to criticize, why don''t we have a discussion around the novel?"

    "Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, Monk Sha, and even White Dragon Horse, actually represent Tang Monk''s inner demons. The process of him taming his disciples is the process of him suppressing his own desires!"

    "Otherwise, why would the journey to the West be exactly 108,000 kilometers, and Sun Wukong''s somersault is also exactly 108,000 kilometers? Isn''t it too coincidental? Why didn''t they let Sun Wukong somersault them to the West rather than walking along the long road, going through 81 hardships? Because it does not exist!

    It is just one of Tang Monk''s biggest desires, which is to take shortcuts and reach the sky in one step. Additionally, Sun Wukong also represents impulsiveness and wildness. This monkey is direct, unstable, and not at all modest. He was audacious in the early to mid-stage of the story!"

    "Zhu Bajie, a lusty character, represents sexual desire. The plot in Women''s Kingdom must have left a deep impression on everyone. In Women''s Kingdom, there wasn''t really much danger, so why did Chu Kuang make such a big deal out of it? Simply because Tang Monk is human, and humans have emotions and desires, but a heart that aspires to Buddha should not move with worldly concerns.

    Therefore, this plot is very important; Tang Monk needs to break through his emotional barriers here!"

    "And then there''s Monk Sha..."

    "So, the hardships on the journey are the grinding of Tang Monk''s heart. Taming the mind is Wukong, harnessing the desire is changing into a dragon, renouncing greed and lust are the Eight Precepts, renouncing killing and anger is attaining purity. With a pure mind and body, one can face Buddha, and wherever the heart is, is the Western paradise!"

    "The so-called journey to the West is Tang Monk''s cultivation!"

    It seems like...

    It makes quite a lot of sense?

    The disciples are all of Tang Monk''s obsessions and inner demons?

    In the comments section,

    Some people even started to resonate and chime in:

    "It seems like there''s some meaning to the theory of the five elements. Monkey Sun is Tang Monk''s "mind monkey". The mind monkey is associated with fire and movement, hence he is a "traveler" and needs to attain emptiness. Zhu Bajie represents Tang Monk''s kidneys and is associated with water, representing seven emotions and six desires, hence he is called Eight Precepts.

    What Bajie should and shouldn''t do is represented by his Dharma name, Wuneng. Fire and water are incompatible, so there needs to be the harmony of earth, hence the seemingly unnoticeable Monk Sha, because the earth harmonizes conflicts without disputing, which needs to attain purity.

    Tang Monk is the primordial spirit, also known as the "Tripitaka" in Daoism, which is the place of the mysterious treasure. The movement of the primordial spirit requires the commanding of the desire horse, hence Tang Monk is riding the White Dragon Horse for the pilgrimage!"

    "Yes, yes, yes, I felt something was wrong just by looking at the title of the novel."

    "Reading the chapter titles of the entire book together, it feels like a complete cultivation method!"

    "..."

    Wow!

    They even supplemented the viewpoint!

    They even brought up the theory of five elements!

    They managed to come up with a cultivation method!

    The key point is, these people truly managed to tie some things together, giving a sense of justification!

    At this moment,

    Readers weren''t just dumbfounded.

    Many people even started to feel lost¡­

    Their thoughts have already shifted from "Are we reading the same book?" to "Have I actually read this book?"

    These interpretations are amazing!

    So which interpretation is the correct one?

    What is the real ¡­

    Journey to the West?

    How many implications did Chu Kuang''s Journey to the West hide that were not explicitly stated?

    These interpretations that Chu Kuang didn''t explicitly state will never be understood by outsiders.

    But there is no doubt,

    Regardless of the interpretation, whichever hypothesis, they all prove that Journey to the West is not simple! S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    For a time, some people even couldn''t help but reread Journey to the West.

    The first time, they read it in haste, just for the fun of it.

    The second time, many people reread it, with a serious research mentality, as so many interpretations made many people realize that the story of Journey to the West is worth studying.

    These are the more diligent readers.

    On the other hand,

    For readers who are not so diligent and prefer to see the summaries and discussions by experts, they turned their attention to the Primordial Chaos fans who had been picking on Journey to the West all this time¡­

 Chapter 606 - 572 Official Promotion_1

    It''s time to settle the score.

    Don''t fans of The Primordial Chaos always talk about its high level of cultural significance?

    What about a classical Chinese version of Journey to the West?

    The Primordial Chaos fans say that The Primordial Chaos series is full of symbolism?

    Well, can''t The Primordial Chaos also be read in reverse?

    Can it be interpreted over and over again like Journey to the West?

    Fans of The Primordial Chaos say that Journey to the West is just an adventure tale of a master and his three students journeying to the West to bring back Buddhist scriptures?

    How shallow!

    You are only seeing the surface!

    This Journey to the West, it''s a masterpiece full of cultural connotations, satirical metaphor, and genius problem structures!

    Any point from Journey to the West can counter The Primordial Chaos!

    And each point of Journey to the West is even better than The Primordial Chaos!

    In the end, after reading the interpretation, this is what everyone thought.

    So, readers supporting Chu Kuang, you can finally let it all out!

    All readers who love Journey to the West have stood up!

    "Do fans of The Primordial Chaos have anything else to say?"

    "Does it hurt now?"

    "Back off!"

    "I remember when Journey to the West was being promoted, it only made a casual reference to The Primordial Chaos without showing it off or running it down, so why are fans of The Primordial Chaos so domineering that they can''t even let people mention it?"

    "All the points that fans of The Primordial Chaos rave about, Journey to the West has them, and did even better!"

    "Chu Kuang was being modest before, Journey to the West is clearly better than The Primordial Chaos series!"

    "Is tradition the authority?"

    "The authority of mythology should be judged by professional recognition, Journey to the West has the endorsement of the previous president of the Fantasy Association, The Primordial Chaos has been going on for so many years, but the Fantasy Association barely recognizes it!"

    "Chu Kuang apologize?"

    "The ones who should really apologize are you!"

    "You''ve been badmouthing it even before Journey to the West was released, and you even maliciously reported this book, has your conscience gone bad!"

    "..."

    Chu Kuang''s fans haven''t been shy about clashing with fans of The Primordial Chaos before.

    During these clashes, these fans have been harboring a lot of pent-up anger.

    Now that Journey to the West is unstoppable, everyone''s resentment was finally released!

    Fans of The Primordial Chaos were left speechless...

    However strongly they tried to insist, they couldn''t deny that Journey to the West is a work that can stand shoulder to shoulder with The Primordial Chaos series.

    Even...

    Rather rational fans of The Primordial Chaos have realized that Journey to the West is even more terrifying than The Primordial Chaos series.

    But...

    Who would have thought?

    Who would have thought that Chu Kuang could be this insane!

    Who would have thought that Chu Kuang could write such a work as Journey to the West?

    So, the fans of The Primordial Chaos went silent.

    This is a collective, one that''s hard to single out individuals from.

    But you can''t run away from the temple.

    Fans of The Primordial Chaos can play dead, but the Primordial Chaos Research Institute can''t!

    For a time.

    The Primordial Chaos Research Institute was blown up!

    "Who''s in sorrow and lament?"

    "Chu Kuang''s new book is enough to hang you up and beat you!"

    "Your heads are smacked crooked now."

    "I finally understand why the Literature and Art Association never wanted to give official recognition to the Primordial Chaos Research Institute."

    "Random talk without seeking certification, is just a jackleg institute at most!"

    "I like Journey to the West, but I also like The Primordial Chaos, but I don''t believe that your damn institute can represent the culture of The Primordial Chaos."

    "The so-called experts and professors who consider themselves the orthodox of The Primordial Chaos, who gave you the right, if the reputation of The Primordial Chaos is ruined, the responsibility is definitely not on Chu Kuang, but on you this jackleg institute!"

    "..."

    Not only Chu Kuang''s fans.

    This army that blew them up also included "righteous" passers-by who joined in as the situation turned around.

    Whether these "righteous" passers-by had done the same thing as fans of The Primordial Chaos before, no one pursued it anymore.

    Moreover, it''s not completely impossible to pinpoint individuals.

    At least a few guys in the Primordial Chaos Research Institute who were leading the charge¡ª

    Like the president of the research institute, Jin Pei, he was hung up and beaten by countless people.

    Result.

    Also because the momentum got to this point, and it was widely known.

    For a time, it stimulated another surge in the sales of Journey to the West!

    Some bookstores even ran out of stock in embarrassment.

    Although, these bookstores didn''t reduce their orders due to the Journey to the West vs The Primordial Chaos debate...

    And the media poked their heads out!

    "Chu Kuang''s New Book Explodes in Popularity, Former President of Literature and Art Association: This is a Masterpiece!"

    "Praise from the GOAT: Chu Kuang''s New Book Surpasses The Primordial Chaos Series!"

    "The Journey to the West versus The Primordial Chaos Dispute Finally Resolved: Chu Kuang is the Answer!"

    "The Primordial Chaos Research Institute Incites Public Anger!"

    "Will The Primordial Chaos Culture Be Replaced by Journey to the West?"

    And when the next day came.

    The media stopped harping on The Primordial Chaos and happily joined in the discussion about Journey to the West.

    "Laughing at Journey to the West: The Quest for Buddhist Sutras is Just a Scam!"

    "Shocking! The Most Terrifying Person in Journey to the West is Him!"

    "Why did Sun Wukong Become Weaker After Going to the West to Retrieve the Scriptures? The Truth is Astonishing!"

    "Is Zhu Bajie Really That Weak? After Reading This Book Review, You Might Be Surprised."

    "Just How Cruel Was Monk Sha Before Going West? The River of Flowing Sands Is Filled with Bones!"

    "The Entire Journey to the West is a Contest Between Buddhism and Taoism!"

    These media interpretations follow the same pattern as those online, as if they have found the latest wealth password.

    More than that.

    These messy interpretations, whether they are reasonable or just far-fetched, do have a considerable market.

    Even...

    In the comment section of these interpretations, readers of Journey to the West are engaged in heated discussions, centering around their different perspectives, and all think their understanding is correct.

    And just when everyone was expressing their views.

    The Literature and Art Association, to everyone''s surprise, made another statement. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This was a statement from the official account of the Literature and Art Association, talking about Journey to the West, not mentioning the various interpretations, but judging only from the value of the novel itself:

    "From demons and monsters we learn about human emotions, from spirits and ghosts we learn about worldly affairs, the mythology of Blue Star has become even more brilliant because of Journey to the West..."

    If this was said merely as a verbal compliment, then it wouldn''t be a big deal, but the next words from the Literature and Art Association''s post shocked everyone¡ª

    "After meeting and discussing, the Literature and Art Association has decided to officially list Chu Kuang''s ''Journey to the West'' as one of the mandatory extracurricular readings for students starting next year!"

    An endorsement from the former president of the Literature and Art Association does not fully represent the official stance.

    But this time, it was a real official certification and promotion!

    Chu Kuang hit the jackpot!

    After children''s tales, Chu Kuang''s mythology was also officially promoted!

    Unlike children''s tales.

    This time, the promotion of Journey to the West is aimed at all age groups!

    Previously, The Primordial Chaos had applied several times to be promoted to the whole of Blue Star through the Literature and Art Association.

    However, the Literature and Art Association never agreed due to various considerations.

    As a result¡­

    This recent release of Journey to the West has directly gained the official promotion channel that The Primordial Chaos series has always wanted!

    At this point.

    The Primordial Chaos and Journey to the West finally had a winner.

    In the end, the Literature and Art Association sided with the newborn Journey to the West in the dispute between Journey to the West and The Primordial Chaos!

    Students across the country: "..."

    Why does it feel like this Chu Kuang is constantly assigning us homework?

 Chapter 607 - 573 Apology_1

    Let''s be real.

    At first, students really enjoyed "Journey to the West."

    Even without the official promotion of the Literature and Art Association, they found it captivating.

    But...

    Once the Literature and Art Association started promoting it, the whole thing took a new turn.

    Because next, it''d be like this¡ª

    [Please answer the following questions:

    Where did Tang Monk recruit his disciples¡­

    Please list four hardships the Tang Monk and his disciples faced on their journey¡­] S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Teachers would assign homework:

    [Read all of "Journey to the West" and write a response with at least 800 words.]

    Does it feel familiar now?

    Dammit!

    Wasn''t "Fairytale Town" enough before?

    Now you thoughtfully wrote us a "Journey to the West"?

    Students were losing their minds¡­

    Too much homework, no student who liked "Journey to the West" was innocent!

    We cannot coexist with that Chu Kuang, the old rascal!

    Meanwhile.

    The industry was shocked!

    Who would have thought that Chu Kuang''s "Journey to the West" would completely crush The Primordial Chaos, and even get official promotion from the Literature and Art Association...

    That''s The Primordial Chaos series!

    Though "The Primordial Chaos" isn''t considered a classic in Blue Star, the stories of The Primordial Chaos, thanks to the derived TV shows, animations, and countless paratexts, have long become a household name!

    Some recalled a previous discussion:

    "Didn''t everyone say Chu Kuang''s new book has to equal two "Ghost Blows Out the Light" to reach the top¡­"

    "So, how many "Ghost Blows Out the Light" would journey to the West worth?"

    "Definitely, more than two!"

    "The Ghost Blows Out the Light series may be popular, but Journey to the West obtained official promotion, something The Primordial Chaos struggled for so long to get but didn''t."

    "Considering the power and the countless interpretations it inspires, Journey to the West is simply invincible!"

    As the tables turned, everyone understood that "Journey to the West" will catapult Chu Kuang to the top.

    Amid their shock,

    some started discussing whether the mythology of Journey to the West would replace the place of The Primordial Chaos in people''s hearts.

    "It could, but it''s difficult!"

    "Journey to the West has won public opinion and acclaim, and even the authorities recommend it as a textbook for students, but don''t forget how long The Primordial Chaos has been building up."

    "The TV shows, animations, music, and other cultural products inspired by the novels of The Primordial Chaos series have influenced so many people over time. It''s a status that ''Journey to the West'' cannot reach in the short term."

    "It would take at least several decades for ''Journey to the West'' to develop to the level of The Primordial Chaos."

    "Plus, the Primordial Chaos series still attracts those who don''t like to read novels. The yearly releases of TV shows and movies in the series prove that."

    "To maximize the influence of novels, they inevitably need to be promoted in various forms, such as TV shows, movies, animations, etc."

    "If ''Journey to the West'' had been published a few hundred years ago, The Primordial Chaos wouldn''t be as glorious as it is today."

    "But in the real world, there are no ifs. ''Journey to the West'' was published too late and can only play catch-up."

    "This will hinge on whether the TV adaptations and animations of ''Journey to the West'' will be successful."

    "For instance, the old primordial chaos series was highly praised. Even on StarNet, it scored as high as a nine."

    "Admitting that ''Journey to the West'' is superior to The Primordial Chaos doesn''t mean that people will no longer like The Primordial Chaos once they have ''Journey to the West''."

    "..."

    All these points were true.

    Even though the rivalry between ''Journey to the West'' and ''The Primordial Chaos'' involved many, the ones mostly trampled upon weren''t ''The Primordial Chaos'' fans.

    People''s sentiment towards The Primordial Chaos remained deep.

    The ones they tramped on were the irrational Primordial Chaos fans and the Primordial Chaos Research Association, who thought they could represent the culture of The Primordial Chaos.

    Just like no matter how Liu Xiao Ling Tong has changed, people still love his Monkey King role.

    There is no other way.

    The power of nostalgia and classics is formidable.

    In a sense, the Monkey King isn''t acted out by an actor, but is a real Great Saint!

    In people''s hearts, The Primordial Chaos holds a similar significance.

    The Primordial Chaos does not mean the Primordial Chaos Research Association, or the irrational fans of The Primordial Chaos.

    ...

    Of course, Lin Yuan also noticed the public commentary.

    Right from the release of ''Journey to the West'', he had been closely following the matter.

    Lin Yuan was not surprised that Journey to the West was officially promoted.

    The Celestial Dynasty had a unique attachment and recognition for Journey to the West, and Blue Star, a planet dominated by Eastern culture, naturally fell in love with this story easily.

    Moreover.

    Lin Yuan read the interpretations online.

    Ninety-nine percent of them have all cropped up on Earth before.

    But no one can say for sure which one is correct, including Lin Yuan and the System.

    Only Wu Chengen could clarify?

    Even this is disputed.

    Some researchers claim that Wu Chengen was not the original author of Journey to the West...

    Innumerable mysteries added to the attractiveness of Journey to the West.

    Therefore, it was quite clear.

    Lin Yuan, in the identity of Chu Kuang, would not respond to the interpretations from the outside world.

    Even in this world, who wrote Journey to the West could no longer be a question.

    What Lin Yuan really cared about was the comparison of the influence of Journey to the West and The Primordial Chaos in everyone''s discussions...

    This was closely related to Lin Yuan''s upcoming plans.

    Ever since Lin Yuan conceived the idea of unveiling Journey to the West, he had developed a fairly comprehensive promotional plan around the story.

    Some netizens'' comments were quite reasonable.

    Whether it''s Poirot, Holmes, or the story of Journey to the West, to achieve national popularity, there always needs to be promotions in the form of film and television.

    After all, not everyone reads novels.

    Similarly, the popularity of Journey to the West on Earth was not solely due to its reputation as one of the four masterpieces; it also benefited from different forms of artistic promotion and even incorporated games and the like.

    "Jin Pei has apologized..."

    A single phrase from Jin Mu broke Lin Yuan''s train of thought.

    Lin Yuan almost reflexively asked, "Who is Jin Pei?"

    Jin Mu''s expression changed abruptly. He had been making a fuss, but he didn''t even know who his opponent was:

    "Jin Pei is a member of the Literature and Art Association, an expert on Blue Star''s mythology, and the president of the Primordial Chaos association. The group of scholars who criticized Journey to the West were led by him. His reputation among Primordial Chaos fans is very high. Over the years, he has been claiming to be a descendant of the author of Primordial Chaos.

    Although he just shares the same surname, this matter has been exposed before, but it was eventually suppressed. However, his criticism of Journey to the West lead to significant loss, and he was forced to apologize due to the pressure..."

    "Oh."

    Lin Yuan''s response was indifferent.

    Jin Mu suddenly shook his head and said, "Although he apologized due to pressure, his performance was still a bit ugly. Using an apology to promote the Primordial Chaos drama, it seems the apology is fake, and promoting the new version of Primordial Chaos TV drama is the real reason."

    As he was saying this, Jin Mu showed Lin Yuan a video clip.

    In the video, it appeared to be a press conference.

    A middle-aged man wearing glasses, with scant hair but plenty of hair oil, spoke with a serious expression:

    "I was wrong to have criticized this novel before reading the story of Journey to the West, simply because I love the Primordial Chaos culture too much. I, like every Primordial Chaos fan, can easily lose my way because of my love for the Primordial Chaos. I am deeply sorry for this."

    This middle-aged man was Jin Pei.

    There were many reporters at the scene.

    Clicking cameras captured it all.

    After a brief apology, Jin Pei changed the subject:

    "Speaking of our love for Primordial Chaos, I believe everyone feels the same as I do. Because as the orthodox mythology of Blue Star, the status of Primordial Chaos cannot be denied. And the TV shows derived from Primordial Chaos have always been loved by the audience.

    However, with the advancement of the times and the development of the film and television industry, Primordial Chaos also needs to be updated. Therefore, we have been filming a new version of the Primordial Chaos TV series for the past two years..."

    "In the second half of this year, the new version of Primordial Chaos, co-produced by Qin Qi, has been completed. As the scriptwriter of the drama, I will strive to create a more wonderful Primordial Chaos!"

    "Old and new versions in full bloom!"

    "Promote the culture of Primordial Chaos!"

    "I hope everyone will pay more attention!"

    During the video playback.

    Jin Mu complained discontentedly, "It was supposed to be an apology, but he only mentioned it briefly at the beginning. The rest of the time was just a press conference for the Primordial Chaos TV drama. Jin Pei keeps emphasizing that Primordial Chaos is the orthodox mythology of Blue Star, which is harsh to the ears.

    If you didn''t know better, you''d think he was the author of the Primordial Chaos series..."

    Lin Yuan didn''t say anything.

    He returned to his previous thoughts.

    The promotion of Primordial Chaos was greatly assisted by its TV drama, and it was the same for the Celestial Dynasty''s promotion of Journey to the West...

    So the old version of Journey to the West by China Central Television was a great success.

    And in this life.

    Facing the same problem of promoting Journey to the West, Lin Yuan was considering where to start, and Jin Pei reminded him:

    Start with the biggest impact!

    Of course, it has to be a TV drama!

    At this point, the not-yet-finished "Jin Pei apology press conference" video suddenly started playing a song.

    "A decent apology conference, only one sentence was relevant to the apology, and the rest was all TV drama promotion. At the end, even a promotional song for the new version of the Primordial Chaos TV drama was played!"

    Jin Mu rolled his eyes and turned off the video.

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    This approach is not bad either.

    You can release a song in advance as a promotional track.

 Chapter 608 - 574 Feeding Starlight_1

    Lin Yuan was very grateful for the suggestion provided by Jin Pei.

    However, Jin Mu harbored a deep resentment towards his own kinsman, Jin Pei.

    Meanwhile, on the internet.

    Jin Pei''s apology video went viral!

    "Apologizing to the old rascal Chu Kuang: ¡Á"

    "Promoting The Primordial Chaos TV series: ¡Ì"

    "It was supposed to be a public apology, but Jin Pei spent 99 percent of the time promoting the TV series, The Primordial Chaos, he even played the new promotional music for the TV series at the end. What kind of game is he playing?"

    "Jin Pei: You rode the wave of The Primordial Chaos for the Journey to the West, now watch how I ride it back!"

    "His behavior is truly embarrassing, using an apology to sell his show!"

    "In this video, Jin Pei keeps emphasizing the authoritative position of The Primordial Chaos in mythology. Although he didn''t explicitly state that Journey to the West is non-canonical, the implication is clearly there."

    "The Primordial Chaos has fed so many scholars and experts."

    "Didn''t someone expose earlier that this guy is not even a descendant of the author of The Primordial Chaos? Why is he still leeching off The Primordial Chaos?"

    "..."

    Fans of Journey to the West are furious.

    Even bystanders continuously shook their heads.

    Jin Pei''s apology was even worse than offering none at all.

    He only casually mentioned Journey to the West and didn''t even specify that he was apologizing to Chu Kuang.

    His attitude was extremely perfunctory.

    In addition, he used his apology to promote his new version of The Primordial Chaos, an action that caused widespread discomfort.

    Regardless...

    One can''t deny that the promotion was quite successful.

    The new version of The Primordial Chaos TV series indeed had a huge appeal to those who loved the culture of The Primordial Chaos!

    Furthermore.

    The promotional music for the new version of The Primordial Chaos TV series that was played during the apology meeting also became popular!

    The song was called "Erlang".

    It was sung by the King of Singing from the Qi Continent, Zhong Li!

    The so-called Erlang refers to Erlang Shen, Yang Jian!

    This song told the story of Yang Jian.

    And Yang Jian was the character most explored in The Primordial Chaos series, almost like the male lead.

    Interestingly, Yang Jian also appeared in Journey to the West.

    However, nobody accused anyone of plagiarism, because Erlang Shen was a well-known figure in the mythology of Blue Star.

    Erlang Shen had been famous in the folklore prior to The Primordial Chaos, and there are still temples worshipping Erlang Shen today.

    With the addition of the portrayal of the lead character in The Primordial Chaos, Erlang Shen''s popularity was absolutely explosive!

    In the hearts of ordinary people, he was a mythical character with both high popularity and likability!

    To the fans of The Primordial Chaos, Erlang Shen''s importance to The Primordial Chaos was equivalent to Sun Wukong''s importance to Journey to the West.

    It should be mentioned that The Primordial Chaos is not the same thing as the Earth''s Investiture of the Gods.

    It''s just that some places and the story background are quite similar.

    Therefore...

    As soon as this song came out, it beautifully portrayed Erlang Shen and was sung by the King of Singing, so it immediately became a hit!

    "This song is amazing!"

    "It seems to have sung out the experiences of Erlang Shen in The Primordial Chaos!"

    "After listening to this song, I suddenly became interested in the new version of The Primordial Chaos TV series."

    "In terms of character-specific songs, ''Erlang'' is definitely one of the best!"

    "Fans of The Primordial Chaos were very touched by this song."

    "Although I admit that Journey to the West is great, but Yang Jian from The Primordial Chaos is my belief."

    "Many mythologies have portrayed Yang Jian, but the Yang Jian shaped by The Primordial Chaos is definitely the best!"

    "..."

    As a promotional song, ''Erlang'' ignited the passion of numerous fans of The Primordial Chaos!

    In fact.

    The reason why fans of The Primordial Chaos chose to remain silent rather than rage or swear after watching Journey to the West is also due to this.

    In the Journey to the West story by Chu Kuang, Erlang Shen, Yang Jian, also existed. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The fight between Sun Wukong and Yang Jian was evenly matched.

    Chu Kuang did not arrange for Sun Wukong to have invincible fighting power just because he was the protagonist.

    Nor did he arrange for Sun Wukong to beat Yang Jian easily.

    Looking at the description of Erlang Shen in the novel, Chu Kuang treated Yang Jian with full respect.

    The fight between the two did not have a result.

    Because there were too many chaotic events in the middle that affected their fight, they couldn''t determine the winner.

    This arrangement already satisfied the fans of The Primordial Chaos.

    Moreover, fans of The Primordial Chaos had their own pride.

    The Primordial Chaos TV series had far-reaching influences!

    The music of The Primordial Chaos, each piece was a classic!

    These were something Journey to the West couldn''t compare to.

    To put it simply:

    The Primordial Chaos represents culture, while Journey to the West is currently only a novel!

    ...

    Lin Yuan arrived at the company.

    If he wanted to film a TV series for Journey to the West, he had to seek help from the company.

    Upon hearing Lin Yuan''s opening remarks, Ol'' Zhou abruptly stood up from the sofa:

    "Are you saying, you''ve obtained the TV rights for ''Journey to the West'' from Chu Kuang!?"

    "You know ''Journey to the West''?"

    Lin Yuan thought Old Zhou would ask what novel ''Journey to the West'' is.

    "What a joke!"

    Old Zhou seriously said, "Even people who don''t follow the news should know ''Journey to the West'', let alone that it''s a new book by the old rascal Chu Kuang. Just the Literature and Art Association''s review of it is enough to attract attention from the film and television industry. This is a masterpiece that has surpassed the ''The Primordial Chaos'' series in acclaim.

    So many people are eyeing the film and television rights of this novel!"

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    The connection between the novel and film and television industry is deeper than he thought.

    But how could you call me an old rascal¡ª

    You''re much older than me.

    Old Zhou stared at Lin Yuan, "Did you really get the rights?"

    Lin Yuan nodded, "Kind of."

    Old Zhou was startled by this vague answer, "This is no joking matter, you must have truly obtained it!"

    Lin Yuan nods again: "I did, I can basically get his rights."

    He left some room for ambiguity with that statement.

    Lin Yuan suddenly wondered:

    Should he tell the company he is Chu Kuang?

    Without revealing his identity, it''s inconvenient to handle many things.

    But he can''t rush into this, he has to think it over.

    Xian Yu can essentially get all of Chu Kuang''s rights!?

    Old Zhou jumped up excitedly:

    "So your relationship with Chu Kuang is really that good!"

    Everyone knows that Chu Kuang and Xian Yu have a good relationship.

    But the company has never delved into just how close the relationship between Lin Yuan and Chu Kuang is.

    Because it involves Xian Yu''s privacy.

    The company has regulations specifically for Xian Yu:

    No matter how high your position in the company, you are not allowed to discuss Xian Yu''s private life excessively. From Xian Yu''s behaviour, it would seem he greatly values his privacy.

    It now appears that Xian Yu and Chu Kuang''s relationship is rock solid!

    This is encouraging news for Old Zhou, and even for the entire Starlight!

    You must know!

    The rights to Chu Kuang''s novels are very valuable. All novels from Chu Kuang''s pen cause major film and television companies to scramble for them!

    Starlight didn''t compete before for two reasons.

    First, Starlight does not have a TV drama department; the company''s focus is on making movies.

    Second, the rights to Chu Kuang''s novels are too difficult to obtain. So many film and television companies are competing, driving the price of Chu Kuang''s novel rights sky-high. One can''t play if they don''t have a certain financial strength.

    But if there''s the connection to Xian Yu, things would be different!

    The food is delivered to the front!

    The rights to ''Journey to the West'' have been handed over already!

    How is this different from raining pies from the sky?

    At this time, Old Zhou didn''t mention that Starlight didn''t have a TV department anymore...

    For ''Journey to the West'', for Chu Kuang, what''s the problem with establishing a TV department!

    Chu Kuang is worth it!

    With this relationship between Xian Yu and Chu Kuang, in the future...

    Even if there is none in the future, Old Zhou would be willing to establish a TV department just for ''Journey to the West''!

    Because the Literature and Art Association is going to promote ''Journey to the West'' worldwide!

    All students must watch it!

    The future influence from this will definitely be astronomical!

    Should we refuse this opportunity just because there''s no TV department?

    Unless the senior executives of Starlight get their brains kicked by a donkey!

    It''s not that they don''t have the money!

    Without a doubt, Old Zhou believes if Xian Yu went out now saying he has the rights to ''Journey to the West'', he would immediately be fought over by countless film and television companies!

    "Well, let''s start preparing."

    Lin Yuan said, "Who will produce this drama?"

    "I will and I will also personally oversee the selection of the director and such!"

    Old Zhou was utterly decisive!

    No one could take it away from him!

    Lin Yuan nodded: "The price for the rights won''t be too high, but like with the movie, the company has to share the revenue with me."

    This was the plan Lin Yuan and Jin Mu had discussed in advance.

    Old Zhou nodded: "Of course, no problem!"

    Lin Yuan was somewhat taken aback by Old Zhou''s enthusiasm.

    It seems that Old Zhou has a clear understanding of the value of ''Journey to the West''.

    Lin Yuan nodded: "Let''s leave it at that for now, I''ll write the script later. I''ve finished writing the promotional song, titled ''Wukong'', which I''ll sing myself."

    "Promotional song? ''Wukong''?"

    Old Zhou was taken aback and then started laughing, with a strange look on his face.

    Isn''t this similar to the promotional song for the recent new TV series ''The Primordial Chaos''?

    Old Zhou laughed.

    He felt even more how good a relationship Chu Kuang and Xian Yu must have¡ª

    This clearly is getting revenge for Chu Kuang!

    And to have Xian Yu personally sing it!

    When Xian Yu gets involved, it''s definitely not for laughs.

 Chapter 609 - 575: This Strike Will Leave You in Ashes_1

    That very night.

    Starlight''s official Weibo account announced the news:

    "The epic mythical novel ''Journey to the West,'' promoted by the Literature and Art Association, is about to be made into a TV series, with Xian Yu taking on the role as screenwriter."

    A few seconds later, Starlight updated its Weibo again:

    "Xian Yu devotedly sings the promotional song for the Journey to the West TV series - ''Wukong''!"

    Poof!

    Upon seeing the two messages, everyone was stunned!

    Journey to the West is going to be made into a TV series?

    How many days has it been since the novel was released?

    People couldn''t help but think about Jin Pei using the apology hype to promote his new edition of ''The Primordial Chaos'' TV series¡ª.

    Is this the continuation of the Journey to the West vs The Primordial Chaos war?

    Looking at the current situation, the dispute between Journey to the West and The Primordial Chaos is far from over!

    Both sides are still ready to fight!

    Previously, the dispute was about the novels.

    Now, it''s a competition of TV series!

    More importantly...

    This time Xian Yu has stepped in!

    Everyone knows, Xian Yu and Chu Kuang are close pals.

    When The Primordial Chaos and Journey to the West started feuding, many people were surprised:

    Why hasn''t Xian Yu made a move yet?

    You should know.

    Even Shadow had stepped in to help, drawing promotional illustrations for ''Journey to the West''!

    However, Xian Yu, one of the three bros, had been quiet, leading some to suspect if there was any discord between Xian Yu and Chu Kuang.

    After all, they''ve always been united in the face of trouble in the past.

    Now it seems, is there any discord at all?

    It''s clear that Xian Yu is planning to continue the feud with The Primordial Chaos on behalf of Chu Kuang!

    After all, Chu Kuang is a writer, he doesn''t know how to make a TV series.

    Xian Yu is different.

    Xian Yu is a highly skilled screenwriter who has made several explosive films!

    Having Xian Yu create the ''Journey to the West'' TV series is definitely not a problem!

    Moreover, Xian Yu has also created a promotional song for ''Journey to the West''!

    The promotional song for The Primordial Chaos has just become popular, and now Xian Yu has followed it up with a promotional song for Journey to the West?

    What''s more coincidental is...

    The promotional song for The Primordial Chaos is titled ''Erlang,'' which is about The Primordial Chaos''s lead character, Erlang Shen Yang Jian!

    The promotional song for Journey to the West is titled ''Wukong,'' which is about Journey to the West''s lead character, The Great Sage Sun Wukong!

    You produce something, I produce something!

    This is clearly a direct face-off!

    So, the netizens were all hyped up!

    "Xian Yu finally couldn''t resist stepping in!"

    "Xian Yu: Shadow, Kuang, step back, leave the rest to me."

    "Xian Yu: it''s time for me to avenge Kuang."

    "After ''Fairytale Town,'' the three bros are finally teaming up again!"

    "Chu Kuang: They''re making a TV series now."

    "Xian Yu: That''s my specialty, I''ll take a shot at it."

    "Seeing Fish Papa stand up for Chu Kuang, I''m kind of choked up!"

    "The friendship between the three of them is truly great!"

    "The Primordial Chaos thought their opponent was Chu Kuang, but they didn''t know that they actually had three opponents!"

    "I hadn''t anticipated this confrontation, after the novels now it''s the TV series, the three bros are awesome!"

    "Fish Papa, who usually makes films, is willing to make a TV series for Chu Kuang, it''s true love!"

    "..."

    Not just for the drama, many people even felt quite moved.

    Everyone thought:

    Xian Yu must have been angered by Jin Pei''s actions!

    Jin Pei''s apology was too perfunctory, not even mentioning who he was apologizing to; it was obvious that he had hurt Chu Kuang so much, but after the explosion of ''Journey to the West,'' he merely said nonchalantly that the novel wasn''t bad?

    Then he started promoting The Primordial Chaos TV series...

    Apart from Xian Yu.

    Even bystanders felt Jin Pei wasn''t taking responsibility. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    As Chu Kuang''s good brother, could Xian Yu tolerate it?

    Therefore Xian Yu''s move must be about avenging Chu Kuang!

    Without hesitation!

    Everyone immediately clicked to listen to the ''Journey to the West'' promotional song, ''Wukong''!

    ...

    In a college dorm.

    Little Super excitedly said: "Son, look, even Journey to the West is going to be adapted into a TV series, Fish Papa is at the helm himself!"

    Next to Little Super.

    A guy named Little Bright sneered.

    Little Bright and Little Super are great pals.

    However, lately, Little Bright and Little Super had some disagreements.

    It was all related to the recent Journey to the West vs The Primordial Chaos dispute.

    Little Bright is a fan of The Primordial Chaos, while Little Super likes Chu Kuang.

    During the war of words between the fans of The Primordial Chaos and Chu Kuang, Little Bright didn''t hesitate to tease Chu Kuang when The Primordial Chaos fans slammed Chu Kuang''s promotional campaign for ''Journey to the West'' as overhyped and piggybacking on The Primordial Chaos.

    Then Little Super wasn''t happy.

    Being Chu Kuang''s hardcore fan, there is no doubt that he would stand up for Chu Kuang.

    After the release of ''Journey to the West,'' the countless analyses and official recommendations, Little Super was triumphant!

    Even Little Bright admitted that the story of Journey to the West is very exciting.

    So Little Bright fell silent.

    But recently, Little Bright was back in the game!

    He learned a line on the internet and started to hit at Little Super: "The Primordial Chaos is a culture, with TV dramas and music, but Journey to the West is just a novel."

    The Primordial Chaos fans, who have been recently losing to the Journey to the West fans, came out with the line- "The Primordial Chaos is a culture"- which seems to be quite effective.

    Little Super is a bit unimpressed: "Journey to the West will also have those!"

    Little Bright laughed: "There will definitely be, but it is difficult to reach the level of The Primordial Chaos. The Primordial Chaos has been developed for so many years, yet Journey to the West can hardly catch up in a short time!"

    This time, it was Little Super who remained silent.

    No one would deny the influence of The Primordial Chaos.

    Just like the The Primordial Chaos fans also admit that the story of "Journey to the West" is very good.

    Although both sides are in fierce debate, they still greatly respect the basic facts.

    At that moment, it turned out that "Journey to the West" is going to be filmed into a television series, and a promotional song has come out!

    Little Super immediately became confident!

    Is it just a TV show? We have it too!

    Is it just a promotional song? We have it too!

    This confidence was not only instilled by Chu Kuang, but also by Xian Yu!

    Who doesn''t know about Xian Yu''s skills?

    Little Bright is still a bit unconvinced: "The song ''Erlang'' has sung the passions of The Primordial Chaos. Xian Yu is just imitating The Primordial Chaos."

    "Son, stop whining. Listen to it before you comment!"

    Little Super sneered, immediately clicked on the song "Wukong", and played it in the dormitory through the sound system.

    First came the prelude.

    And then.

    Xian Yu''s voice rang out:

    "The moon splatters the Milky Way, a long road stretches ahead, smoke fades, leaving only a single shadow"

    "Who said I am extraordinary, who made my love and hatred difficult, until my heart was torn apart in the end"

    "Illusions fill the sky, letting go of understanding and forgetting confusion, the six realms remain unchanged"

    "Sad and angry and crazy, whether a person, a ghost, or a demon, they are all just hearts with demon debts "

    The song was tinged with a touch of desolation.

    In the desolation, there seemed to be a hint of heroism.

    Perhaps these feelings were still not enough to describe it.

    This unfinished verse still harbored hesitation and struggle, resolve and obstinacy.

    Those who haven''t watched Journey to the West may not be particularly moved.

    But both Little Super and Little Bright have seen Journey to the West.

    Accompanied by the melody and the lyrics, it seemed as if the lonely figure, who was accompanied yet lonely on the journey to get the scriptures, appeared before their eyes.

    Just like many people''s perception of Journey to the West...

    The life of Sun Wukong is filled with all sorts of joys and sorrows.

    "Well?"

    Little Super looked at Little Bright.

    Little Bright''s lips moved: "It''s about the same as ''Erlang''."

    As a Primordial Chaos fan, in fact, Little Bright really likes the song ''Erlang''.

    To utter these words was quite difficult for Little Bright.

    However, when the next singer sounded, Little Bright suddenly felt a tingling sensation on his scalp:

    "Pray for Buddha''s turn back is shoreless, kneel down for the teacher''s life and death is irrelevant"

    "Good and evil, false and real of the world, dust fate separates and gathers unclearly"

    "Hard to sever!!!"

    Xian Yu integrated the singing of Chinese opera, the word "Buddha" seemed to hit directly to the depth of Little Bright''s heart!

    When it came to the word "Hard to sever", the expression on Little Super''s face had completely changed.

    The climax came at the same time:

    "I want"

    "Whats the use of this iron staff"

    "I have"

    "Even if I have this transformation"

    "Still restless and melancholic"

    "Golden fillet on my head wants to say but stops..."

    Between the feeling of scalp tingling, Little Bright and Little Super looked at each other and they broke out in goosebumps!

    Not just them.

    Even the roommate in the same dormitory couldn''t help but look towards Little Bright and Little Super, and unconsciously pricked up his ears.

    It was kind of lit.

    What song is this?

    Amid the increasing number of listeners, the climax of the song is not over yet:

    "I want"

    "Drunk with this iron staff, dancing with the demon"

    "I have"

    "I have this transformation plunging into chaos"

    "Trample over Lingxiao in defiance"

    "The evil world and the dangerous path are ultimately hard to escape..."

    The melody that twists and turns, releasing an explosive burst like singing, filled the entire dormitory!

    One of the roommates was playing a game.

    In the midst of Little Super playing "Wukong", this roommate suddenly became exhilarated, operating at full steam amid the chaos of the fight, demonstrating a completely explosive hand speed-

    "Double Kill!"

    "Triple Kill!"

    "Quadra Kill!"

    "Penta Kill!"

    For the first time in his life, this roommate got a Pentakill, and he howled excitedly: "Pentakill! Children, I got a Pentakill!"

    It was just at that moment.

    The song reached its final part.

    "This stick, I''ll wipe you out..."

    ------------------

    ps: Today''s triple update word count is still okay, calling it a day, asking for monthly tickets!

 Chapter 610 - 576: Lin Yuan Commands_1

    Little Bright swallowed nervously...

    Xiao Hua was excited and trembling...

    As the entire dormitory began eagerly inquiring about the title of the song from Little Bright and Little Super, "Wukong" had already sparked countless heated discussions on the internet:

    "This song is freaking awesome!"

    "Doesn''t this beat ''Erlang'' in terms of how lit it is?"

    "When it comes to the influence of primordial chaos, even Xian Yu doesn''t dare to claim victory, but if we''re talking about promotional songs, don''t forget who Fish Papa is!"

    "Fish school of tunes!"

    "I can''t stop playing this song, it''s so touching I could cry. On repeat, it interprets Wukong in a way that deeply resonates with my understanding of the Journey to the West. Wukong''s pilgrimage to the west was never voluntary."

    "Goosebumps!"

    "After listening to the song, I had so much I wanted to say, but in the end the Tight-Fillet Spell kept me mute. The last line of the lyrics should be dedicated to the primordial chaos, crush them underfoot with your music and best them with your promotional songs. This single blow will reduce them to ashes!"

    "A true representation of Wukong!"

    "Some people say this song doesn''t excite them, but instead radiates a sense of tragic heroism and helplessness, and I feel the same way. Regardless of whether the song is exciting or not, it doesn''t prevent me from loving it. The song perfectly blends classic charm and deep emotion, unbridled spirit, and popular appeal. The opera-like singing within the song is just brilliant!"

    "Brilliant!"

    "I thought that the opera-like shout of ''Buddha'' was the climax, but it wasn''t. I thought ''What use do I have for this iron staff'' was the finishing touch, but it wasn''t either. There was still ''this single blow will reduce you to ashes!''"

    "..."

    Whether Yang Jian or Sun Wukong is better is difficult to say, as fans of the primordial chaos and Journey to the West will each hold their ground. However, comparing ''Erlang'' to Xian Yu''s promotional song, the difference is clear!

    It''s not that ''Erlang'' is bad!

    It''s just that ''Wukong'' is too good!

    After all, promotional songs are ultimately about the music!

    In fact, when many people first saw Xian Yu singing the promotional song for Journey to the West, they had already anticipated this scene. Xian Yu being the lyricist, composer, and singer...

    Who can compete with that?

    These kinds of character-inspired songs are always quite popular. Therefore, when ''Wukong'' became a hit, many people, even those who had never watched Journey to the West and those not interested in novels, became interested in the TV series. That''s precisely the effect of a promotional song.

    In addition,

    ''Wukong'' also spurred more interpretations of Journey to the West and Sun Wukong, with the public increasingly believing that Sun Wukong''s journey to the west was a reluctant one, and that the Monkey''s eventual transformation into the Victorious Fighting Buddha represented a tragedy.

    He lost his freedom.

    And was bound by constraints. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The unfettered Monkey King who once caused havoc in the Heavenly Court ultimately ended up shackled, just like the Tight-Fillet Spell on his head. This in itself is a form of compulsion. Otherwise, why did the monsters who had connections go unpunished, while Sun Wukong, who merely made a small mistake, was suppressed under Five Finger Mountain by the Buddha for a full five hundred years?

    Yes.

    Everyone likes Sun Wukong because they believe he hasn''t committed any unforgivable sins. If they say the Monkey King refuses to be disciplined, then why should the Monkey King be disciplined by these people? Thus it is that both the Heavenly Court and the West were too harsh on Sun Wukong. The master and disciples of Journey to the West are all walking on predetermined paths.

    As a matter of fact,

    Even scrutinized readers of Journey to the West would find that despite Monkey''s prowess, he never ate humans. Some argue that Sun Wukong''s cannibalism was based on a self-reported passage from Monkey Sun: "Back in Waterfall Cave, when I was a demon, whenever I wanted to eat human flesh, I would..."

    Considering the context,

    Sun Wukong was merely boasting.

    At that time, a White Rat Demon disguised as a beautiful woman was attempting to seduce Tang Monk. Sun Wukong told this story to him primarily to remind him not to be deceived by the demon. Furthermore, he never said he had eaten a human, but repeatedly claimed his fondness for fruits.

    The episode in Black Chicken Country,

    Included this quote: "Zhu Bajie, eager to intervene, was held back by Monk Tang, who said, ''Let Wukong handle it.'' The Master was very judicious: since childhood, Zhu Bajie had committed killings and eaten humans, exuding a foul aura, whereas Wukong, who had consumed only fruits from the bark of pines and cypress since he was young, emitted a pure aura."

    Zhu Bajie had indeed eaten humans.

    Of course, this is not unacceptable to the readers. In the world of Journey to the West, where gods and monsters coexist, if humans can eat pigs, then it stands to reason that pigs can eat humans too. There are also demons clamoring about wanting to eat monkey brains.

    ....

    The media was also buzzing with excitement, the war between Journey to the West and the primordial chaos was a news frenzy:

    "The showdown between Journey to the West and the primordial chaos promotional songs concludes, ''Wukong'' blows up on launch!"

    "Xian Yu''s new song ''Wukong'' sweeps across the nation!"

    "Xian Yu assists Chu Kuang, promotional song triumphs over the primordial chaos!"

    "Following the blast of ''Erlang'', ''Wukong'' sweeps across!"

    "The fans of the primordial chaos fall silent yet again: ''Wukong'' recaptures the fiery spirit of Journey to the West!"

    "Chu Kuang, Xian Yu, and Shadow, the three bros will together fight in The Primordial Chaos!"

    "..."

    The fans of The Primordial Chaos were once again silent.

    In terms of novels, The Primordial Chaos was defeated by Journey to the West.

    In terms of promotional songs, The Primordial Chaos was again defeated by Journey to the West.

    These two blows made some fans of The Primordial Chaos begin to waver.

    Chu Kuang, you are amazing!

    Xian Yu, you are amazing!

    Journey to the West, you are amazing...

    If it weren''t for the centennial influence of The Primordial Chaos, facing the united forces of the Three Bros, fans of The Primordial Chaos would have been terrified.

    Thankfully, this centennial influence was not for nothing.

    Just as "Wukong" was once again adding fuel to the Journey to the West''s popularity, Jin Pei stepped forward!

    As the scriptwriter of the new version of the Primordial Chaos TV series, Jin Pei won''t be scared by a little promotional song!

    He took another interview.

    When the reporter asked, "What do you think about the promotional song of Xian Yu surpassing ''Erlang'' in popularity?" Jin Pei laughed.

    The reporters were surprised.

    You''re still able to laugh after being reduced to this state?

    Jin Pei slightly retracted his smile and said seriously:

    "First of all, there is no hierarchy in music. Furthermore, a TV drama consists of not just a promotional song, but also inserted songs, opening and ending themes, and most importantly, the main theme song. To ensure the quality of these pieces of music, we have invited Maestro and several Kings and Queens of Singing. Everyone will know when the TV drama is broadcast in January."

    Good grief.

    There is no hierarchy in music.

    When these words came out, fans of Journey to the West who wanted to retort were worried about whether their own realms were not high enough.

    "Moreover..."

    Jin Pei casually said, "The quality of a TV drama should not be determined by a promotional song. The popularity of the new version of ''The Primordial Chaos'' after its broadcast will prove the love of the Blue Starian people for The Primordial Chaos!"

    This sentence did not surprise many people.

    The strongest advantage of The Primordial Chaos is the influence it has built up over countless years!

    If the opponent has Xian Yu, when comparing music, The Primordial Chaos dare not be too complacent.

    But in terms of TV dramas, The Primordial Chaos is confident!

    No one doubts the appeal of ''The Primordial Chaos'' TV series!

    All of a sudden!

    The fans of The Primordial Chaos regained their spirits.

    "What does a promotional song matter, there are a pile of excellent music pieces in the upcoming TV series of The Primordial Chaos. Further, the most important thing for a TV series is its ratings. What can ''Journey to the West'' use to compete with The Primordial Chaos in ratings?"

    The Primordial Chaos finally bared its fangs!

    You, Journey to the West, are also making a TV series like our The Primordial Chaos?

    Dare you compete with us in ratings?

    The old version of ''The Primordial Chaos'' TV series once created a sensational rating!

    Now.

    After many years.

    The Primordial Chaos is remade.

    Fans of The Primordial Chaos have no doubt that this TV series can once again create a peak in ratings!

    The anticipation of countless fans of The Primordial Chaos for the TV series is not faked.

    At this moment.

    Starlight finally prepared its TV department and started casting actors for the ''Journey to the West'' TV series ¡ª

    Lin Yuan was chosen as the director!

 Chapter 611 - 577: Would You Like to Audition for Sun Wukong?_1

    Lin Yuan was in charge of casting for "Journey to the West".

    Within the system, there were many versions of "Journey to the West" as reference so that Lin Yuan could discern what actor type suits each role.

    However...

    Nobody expected that...

    The first character cast by Lin Yuan was not any of the four disciples of Tang Monk, rather it was...

    Sky Roaring Dog!

    No choice!

    It was Antarctica''s addiction to acting!

    After starring in "Hachiko", Antarctica actually received a lot of notice.

    But Lin Yuan only arranged one commercial for him, not allowing Antarctica to expose much after that.

    His younger sister even complained that it was not right for Lin Yuan to keep such a good actor as Antarctica in the cold.

    His elder sister even went so far as saying she wanted to become Antarctica''s agent...

    Now, in the planning of "Journey to the West", Lin Yuan thought of this, and had designated the actor for Sky Roaring Dog.

    Antarctica, it''s time for you to emerge!

    The company had, of course, no objection.

    At that time...

    Within the film and television circle...

    A lot of actors learned about the casting of "Journey to the West".

    Obviously...

    Starlight Entertainment alone would not be possibly able to fill so many roles for "Journey to the West", internally. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    So, many actors were eager to contact their agents, hoping to secure a role in the drama.

    Of all, the choice of the actor to play Sun Wukong attracted the most attention.

    "Sun Wukong is the male lead, this role will definitely be the most popular!"

    "Even though the Journey to the West drama is not as attractive as The Primordial Chaos, Journey to the West has official endorsement. With the chance of this show being promoted officially in the future, being a part of this show will certainly benefit future development!"

    "Starlight is probably going to select their own actors for this role, right?"

    "Then should we strive for Tang Monk?"

    "We can also consider playing Yang Jian."

    "Yang Jian is not interesting, he has less screen time, unlike the Yang Jian in The Primordial Chaos. He is the male lead."

    "...."

    Different actors are suitable for different roles.

    For example, some comedy actors were very willing to play Zhu Bajie.

    Though Zhu Bajie may be a pig, remember, he is the third male lead ¡ª

    This might sound strange, but Zhu Bajie is indeed the third male lead of "Journey to the West".

    Tang Monk would be considered the second.

    With this situation, Starlight was comfortable.

    Numerous portfolios of actors from the Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan States were laid out on Lin Yuan''s desk.

    Ol'' Zhou expressed with confidence: "You could pick any of these actors, I''ll be responsible to negotiate with them."

    This was very comfortable.

    Lin Yuan was zealously indulging in the casting process.

    "White Bone Demon is a femme fatale, possessing an allure of bewitching beauty, undoubtedly Zhou Xue should take this part."

    Zhou Xue had previously worked with Lin Yuan on "The Sound Engineer". In that film, Zhou Xue''s portrayal of the female lead had the audience gnashing their teeth with hatred.

    "Yang Jian should be played by Liu Zhengwen."

    Liu Zhengwen was the leading man in "The Sound Engineer". He had once faced a downturn in his career, but his popularity rebounded thanks to Xian Yu.

    He has a handsome image, which resembled a Earthling named Vincent Chiao. He fit Lin Yuan''s impression of Yang Jian.

    This role was very important.

    Lin Yuan had plans to shoot some other Yang Jian-related works in the future.

    "Jade Emperor could only be Zhang Xiuming."

    Zhang Xiuming had collaborated with Lin Yuan in "Hachiko", playing the male lead and moving countless audiences.

    He was the highest-ranked actor at Starlight, having won Best Actor. In his early career, he had played emperor roles several times, making him a perfect fit for Jade Emperor.

    Although this role had limited screen time, which would typically be unattractive for a Best Actor awardee, acting within his own company made things easier. Plus, Lin Yuan had a decent personal relationship with him, so there was not much of a problem.

    ....

    Meanwhile, while Lin Yuan was making his selections...

    Backstage at a theater in Qin Continent...

    A male actor with a monkey face was removing his makeup.

    After removing his makeup, the male actor said with a smile, "Little sister, bring me ''Journey to the West'', I want to read the ancient text version today."

    "Are you still reading it?"

    The woman next to him laughed and asked, "How many times have you read this book since it was published?"

    "You wouldn''t understand."

    The male actor said earnestly, "Our Ren family hails from a long line of Monkey King performers, passed down through countless generations. I, Ren Yan, have been learning from my father since I was six years old and have never slacked off¡ªno one feels deeper for monkeys than us. The portrayal of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King in ''Journey to the West'' is truly exceptional.

    It is undeniably the most vibrant portrayal of a monkey. Therefore, I have always dreamt of staging a play as Sun Wukong, but unfortunately, I don''t have enough money to buy the rights from Chu Kuang."

    "Even though you''re known in the industry as the Little Monkey King, the kind of money that film and television actors make is far beyond what our niche market of monkey performances could earn."

    The woman sitting next to him laughed:

    "But you must admit, ''Journey to the West'' is truly a phenomenon. Once it was published, the audience which came to see our monkey performance at the theatre increased two to three times..."

    "That''s the charm of classic novels!"

    Ren Yan said with blazing eyes, "I believe that in ten years, Sun Wukong''s influence will be even stronger. Before then, I must find a way to get the copyrights for the theatrical adaptation of ''Journey to the West''."

    The woman said wistfully, "I bet you want to play Sun Wukong yourself."

    After saying that,

    The woman suddenly said, "Isn''t ''Journey to the West'' being adapted as a television series soon? I wonder which big star will end up playing Sun Wukong¡ªif you ask me, no one in the whole of Blue Star can play the monkey better than you!"

    Ren Yan gave a bitter smile, "I''m not a star, so how could I play Sun Wukong in the TV version?"

    Isn''t he craving to be Sun Wukong?

    But he is just a small-time monkey performer. Apart from locals who enjoyed monkey performances, who knew him?

    "I was just rambling."

    The woman suddenly said hesitatingly, "By the way, we need to pay the theatre rent again..."

    Ren Yan fell silent.

    A few minutes later, he laughed and said, "Recently, the audience has greatly increased, and we''ve made a bit more money. It''s not a big problem."

    The woman stared at him, "Do you really have the money? Otherwise, I could lend you my salary for this month."

    Ren Yan shook his head, "Even if I have to sell the monkeys at home, I can''t take your money."

    The woman teased, "Sell the monkeys? Isn''t that like signing your death warrant?"

    Ren Yan also laughed.

    The monkeys were his lifeline.

    To him, a monkey was not just an animal, but also a partner, a teammate.

    At this moment,

    There was sudden movement by the entrance.

    The woman got up and looked, spoke nervously, "Here comes the theatre boss, and he''s brought quite a few people with him."

    Ren Yan was startled and quickly stood up, facing the boss who took the lead:

    "Boss, I''m working on collecting the rental fees for this quarter..."

    "Rental fees?"

    The boss, all smiles, said, "You''re the Little Monkey King, no need to mention the rent. Your rent for this quarter is waived. In the future, I only ask that you continue performing frequently at my theatre!"

    Ren Yan was stunned.

    The woman next to him was also stunned.

    Just yesterday, this landlord was still shouting about raising the rent. How is it that today, he was so magnanimous as to waive an entire quarter''s worth of rent?

    "Let me introduce you!"

    The boss giggled, "These men are the professional trainers from Starlight Entertainment in Su City. And this man standing next to me, surely, needs no introduction?"

    Ren Yan instinctively looked at the person next to the boss.

    A tall, slender young man.

    If one didn''t consider the modified faces of the stars on TV, this young man was certainly the most handsome person Ren Yan had ever seen in his life!

    But why did he look so familiar...

    "Ah!"

    The woman next to Ren Yan suddenly screamed, her face flushed with excitement:

    "Fish Papa!"

    "Hello, I''m Xian Yu."

    The young man smiled at the woman, and then looked at Ren Yan, "Have you read ''Journey to the West''?"

    Ren Yan was dumbstruck.

    He finally realized why the man looked so familiar!

    Because this man was Xian Yu!

    The Little Maestro of Blue Star, and more importantly, the playwright of the TV series ''Journey to the West''!

    And he came to find me...

    Ren Yan''s heart began to race uncontrollably, and he forgot to answer the young man''s question in his overwhelmed state.

    At that moment, Xian Yu''s gaze fell on the copy of ''Journey to the West'' sitting on the table:

    "Looks like there''s no need for an answer to that question, let''s go on to the next one..."

    "Would you want to audition for the role of Sun Wukong?"

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to the alliance overlord rewards from [LeonY558] and [Towards the North of the Sun], kneels for the great lords ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, continues to write, and also begs for the base monthly votes at the beginning of the month!

 Chapter 612 - 578 Maestro Goes All in_1

    Lin Yuan was in charge of casting for "Journey to the West," but this TV drama required way too many actors.

    Lin Yuan couldn''t possibly pick them all himself, so he had to only focus on the most important roles, or roles he happened to have the perfect actors for.

    Like Antarctica.

    He picked right away.

    But without a doubt, the most crucial role was definitely Sun Wukong!

    Now, the selection for this role was interesting.

    The company suggested:

    Find a renowned actor with adept acting skills to play Sun Wukong.

    This wasn''t just the company''s suggestion, but also the instinctive thought of many people.

    However, Lin Yuan thought differently. Rather than focusing on the actor''s reputation and acting skills, he preferred to find an actor who had a good understanding of monkeys to play Sun Wukong...

    Why is the CCTV version of "Journey to the West" the most classic version?

    Is it just because of nostalgic sentiments?

    Not just that.

    Be it the choice of director, or the perfect background music.

    Of course, including the acting performances and so on, these were all reasons why the CCTV version of "Journey to the West" became a classic.

    Among them,

    Sun Wukong played by Liu Xiao Ling Tong was an especially significant component.

    The monkey is the soul of the journey!

    Let''s face it,

    No matter how many missteps Liu Xiao Ling Tong has made, his portrayal of Sun Wukong is acknowledged as the number one Handsome Monkey King¡ª

    Many actors have played Sun Wukong.

    But only Liu Xiao Ling Tong managed to perform the "monkey" feel.

    No one else had the "monkey" vibe.

    And Liu Xiao Ling Tong could perform that monkey feel because the most important reason is:

    Liu Xiao Ling Tong was born into a family of monkey art performers!

    Having learned monkey play since young, naturally and with deep influence, he understood the behavior of a monkey very well.

    Actors without such a foundation can''t even perform monkey play.

    So, Lin Yuan overruled everyone and decided to approach the casting from this angle...

    Interestingly, in ancient times on Blue Star, there was a fairy tale called "Monkey Picks the Moon".

    This "Monkey Picks the Moon" is a myth, featuring a monkey as its main character and has quite the significant impact among the folks.

    However, in modern times, the influence of this myth has become negligible.

    But...

    The opera and other performances featuring monkeys as the main character still exist.

    After expansion and extension, these performances are no longer merely restricted to the myth of "Monkey Picks the Moon," but have created many more stories about monkeys.

    This is known as Blue Star''s monkey play.

    Although it''s niche, there are still a small portion of people who love it.

    After making some inquiries, Lin Yuan found out that in the Qin Continent, there was a family surnamed Ren that had passed down the art of monkey play for several generations.

    Someone even showed him a performance of monkey play by Ren Yan, the current generation of the Ren family.

    After watching it, Lin Yuan was intrigued.

    He felt that this Ren Yan had the potential to portray Sun Wukong.

    Thus, he personally went to the theater where Ren Yan usually performed.

    After seeing Ren Yan''s face in person, Lin Yuan was even more convinced that this was a good choice.

    The actor playing Sun Wukong must be handsome.

    Not everyone can pull off the peach heart-shaped face.

    The premise is that the other party agrees...

    Lin Yuan made a special trip over, anxious about whether the other party would refuse.

    But quite obviously,

    Lin Yuan was overthinking things.

    ...

    Ren Yan never expected that Admired Fish would suddenly drop from the sky and personally invite him to play Sun Wukong!

    At this moment, Ren Yan was questioning whether he was dreaming or not.

    "I''m willing!!!"

    Ren Yan agreed hastily.

    As if worried that Admired Fish would change his mind, he quickly added, "I don''t need any salary!"

    Lin Yuan was taken aback before showing a respectful expression.

    "You will still have to receive your salary, only if you pass the audition."

    "I''ll definitely do my best!"

    "Then get ready."

    Lin Yuan nodded, and things were going more smoothly than he anticipated.

    Having settled this matter, Lin Yuan headed back home immediately.

    After sending Lin Yuan to his car, Ren Yan stood there in a daze.

    Next to him, a little girl kept saying with a blushed face, "Fish Papa looks even better than on TV!"

    "Congrats, little Monkey King!"

    The face of the theatre''s owner was blooming with happiness.

    This was the first time Ren Yan had seen the theater owner showing such a friendly and kind expression.

    He nodded in confusion.

    After the owner left, the young girl next to him suddenly nudged him: "Still not awake?"

    "Little sister, why do you think Teacher Xian Yu chose me to play Sun Wukong? I''m not any star. Is it really okay to act in such a big TV series? Can the audience accept it?"

    "Don''t you want to act?"

    "It''s what I''ve been dreaming of!"

    "Then just act well, just treat the audience as our theater audience."

    Ren Yan nodded vigorously, and suddenly his eyes reddened.

    The monkey drama passed on by the Ren family from generation to generation finally had its moment to shine!

    Dad.

    I haven''t given up yet.

    I have not let you down.

    ...

    The casting was still ongoing.

    Lin Yuan no longer micromanaged everything.

    However, before confirming the actors, Gu Dong would let Lin Yuan review the candidates, and only if Lin Yuan gave the green light, it would be officially okay.

    Lin Yuan''s standards were not high.

    One was that the acting skills couldn''t be too bad, and the other was that the image of the actor couldn''t be too out of character.

    For example, several female demoness looked extremely identical, as if they were from the same plastic surgery hospital.

    They looked beautiful indeed, but they lacked the charm of a demoness.

    Actors like these, Lin Yuan decisively crossed out.

    It''s not that he has a bias against plastic surgery, he just feels that in the performance industry, plastic surgery can affect facial emotional expression.

    In the CCTV version of "Journey to the West", many female actors are very beautiful.

    And each had its own unique beauty.

    However, when Lin Yuan just transmigrated, the most annoying problem he encountered when watching a series was that he often confused faces.

    It felt like many actresses were looking more and more alike.

    ...

    In addition to casting, Lin Yuan also did something else.

    It was related to the music.

    Lin Yuan didn''t plan to replace the soundtrack of the CCTV version of "Journey to the West".

    And he couldn''t even if he wanted to.

    The original was too classic!

    The theme song "The Music of the Cloud Palace" accurately expresses Journey to the West, right down to every single note.

    Furthermore.

    There were other songs like "Dare to Ask Where the Road is", which were very popular.

    In 2001 on Earth, the Americans voted on the most loved songs by Chinese people, "Dare to Ask Where the Road is" topped the list.

    Of course.

    There was also the lingering sentiment of "Women''s Love".

    And certainly not to forget the heroic arrogance of "The Road to Heaven is Wide and Spacious". Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Even "Zhu Bajie Gives His Wife a Piggyback" had an indescribable taste in instrumental version¡ª

    The music that Teacher Xu Jingqing composed for "Journey to the West" was very extraordinary.

    If it were someone else, it wouldn''t have the same feeling.

    In the end.

    Lin Yuan added another song to "Journey to the West".

    The song was called "Longing".

    On Earth, there was a TV series called "The Sequel to Journey to the West", which was praiseworthy.

    And there was a song in this series which was very classic, that was "Longing".

    Sung by Mao Amin.

    Lin Yuan felt that this song, like "Women''s Love", could be used to describe the plot of Tang Monk going to the Women''s Kingdom.

    At this moment.

    Lin Yuan suddenly had a thought:

    With so many songs, they''re bound to become a big hit once the TV series broadcasts.

    Could he take this opportunity to seize the crown of the Maestro in one fell swoop?

    Although it was piggybacking on the popularity of the TV series, there shouldn''t be a problem piggybacking on himself, right?

    Lin Yuan wasn''t one to be indifferent to fame and fortune.

    Fame, is reputation...value.

    Fortune, is money.

    Both of these, the current Lin Yuan, liked.

    Becoming the officially recognized Maestro had obvious benefits.

    If that''s the case...

    All these songs, all in!!

    The goal is, twelve consecutive championships!!!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: The main reason for not being able to explode recently is that there isn''t a particularly coherent climax in the plot, but still, three more updates are here for you, asking for monthly tickets!!!!!!!!

 Chapter 613 - 579: Song Proposition Composition_1

    There are three ways to become a Maestro.

    First: Boost two people to become the King or Queen of Singing!

    Second: Ascend to godhood with a single song, and win the Music Sage Award!

    Third: Take home the trophy 12 times in a row in a single season, dominating the charts all year round!

    The difficulty of these three conditions increases progressively.

    And what Lin Yuan chose, is the most difficult one among them, to win the seasonal chart twelve times in a row!

    Proving his worth with power!

    This is the most challenging path to becoming a Maestro!

    It''s not because Lin Yuan wants to challenge himself.

    It''s purely because the status of a Maestro comes in different levels, Lin Yuan wants to become a Maestro like Yang Zhongming--

    That''s where the most money is.

    Of course, he also wants to ride on the popularity of "Journey to the West".

    There are so many great songs in this series, it would be a waste not to seize the opportunity of TV series'' popularity to hit the seasonal chart.

    Of course, "Journey to the West" definitely won''t be broadcast continuously for a year.

    If there aren''t any added bonuses for the popularity of the TV series songs in a given month, Lin Yuan will write some other songs to hit the charts.

    This is also part of Lin Yuan''s plan.

    In fact, from "The Masked Singer" to "Our Song", Lin Yuan has written many songs for these two programs.

    Some of these songs are definitely capable of challenging the charts.

    Like "Exaggeration".

    Like "The Ordinary Road" etcetera.

    All these have the potential to win the seasonal championship songs.

    But because they weren''t released at the beginning of the month, the time for charting was too short, so they ultimately didn''t make it to the top spot in the seasonal chart.

    Thinking about it, it feels kind of a loss.

    "The official sprint will start from January next year."

    Lin Yuan made a decision.

    It''s the end of October now.

    This year is almost over.

    ...

    In the following days, Starlight was busy preparing for the filming of the TV series "Journey to the West".

    November arrives.

    The TV series "Journey to the West" finally started filming!

    The director of the show is a top TV drama director who Starlight has just poached from Qi Continent.

    Starlight''s seriousness about this drama can be seen from bringing in a top television drama director just for "Journey to the West".

    Starlight is very busy during this period.

    Because they are not only filming "Journey to the West".

    In addition, two movies are in production.

    One is "The Truman Show", led by Yi Chenggong.

    The other is "Life of Pi", under the responsibility of Du An.

    Yes. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Both films have begun filming.

    And coincidentally, if you add "Journey to the West", all three motion picture projects are written by Xian Yu.

    Even Du An, this core director with control, has become a tool person for Xian Yu.

    In the words of the company''s film and television studio:

    "The entire Starlight Film and Television studio is serving just one person, Xian Yu."

    However, Xian Yu himself is not part of the film and television studio.

    He is a composer.

    It''s kind of ironically humorous.

    ...

    Starlight is very busy.

    Lin Yuan is also getting busy.

    Not just because he is the scriptwriter for three film and television productions and needs to go between three drama groups.

    But also because...

    The show he is participating in, "Our Song" is in a new round of competition.

    The singers have finished their part.

    This month, Lin Yuan was so busy with Primordial Chaos that he didn''t pay much attention to the rules.

    Anyway, by the time he and the other composers returned to the production team, two-fifths of the singers were gone.

    Only thirty singers are left in the show.

    Everyone from Yu Dynasty is still there.

    This is not surprising.

    In the previous "The Masked Singer" competition, aside from Chen Zhiyu, everyone from Yu Dynasty made it into the top twenty.

    "Among the fifty singers, most are still from the batch that participated in ''The Masked Singer''.

    Given that only twenty were eliminated, it''s only expected for the entire Yu Dynasty to advance to the top thirty.

    ...

    In the music hall.

    The twenty composers have once again gathered in the backstage recording room.

    Host Anhong appeared on stage and said with a smile, "It''s been a long time, composer teachers. This competition is not being broadcast live, we need a few days to record it."

    Zheng Jing shouted, "You haven''t seen us for a long time, but we see you every day."

    A wave of laughter flooded the site.

    Not everyone is as busy fighting with The Primordial Chaos like Lin Yuan.

    Although the composers did not participate in the October competition, many watched the singers'' competition at home.

    Anhong also laughed, "Our competition has reached this stage, and it is already in the second half, so the competition system will become more and more interesting..."

    A composer said: "Looks like there is another new rule coming."

    Zheng Jing followed: "The program''s rules are all flashy."

    Yang Zhongming: "..."

    Flashy, these four words became Yang Zhongming''s catch phrase in the show.

    Anhong nodded, "The upcoming rules do seem somewhat flashy, but I believe you composers definitely have the ability to handle this. After all, you all managed to withstand the random pairing..."

    Wu Long exclaimed loudly: "That''s not true. Even Xian Yu was forced to write ''Most Dazzling Ethnic Style''."

    Everyone laughed again.

    If the program team hadn''t matched Madam Haoyun with Xian Yu, Xian Yu wouldn''t have been forced to write several brainwashing hits.

    "Alright."

    Anhong said seriously: "Next, I will announce the new rules."

    The expression on the composers'' faces also became serious.

    What will the new rules be?

    "As you all know, composers will receive orders to create theme songs according to movies, TV dramas or games. The next rule is to let the composer randomly select a keyword for themselves and then create a song based on the keyword."

    Anhong stated the rule.

    The composers smiled.

    Is that it?

    It seems simple.

    Everyone present is a Maestro, or a composer who is almost at the Maestro''s level.

    A music order won''t stump them.

    However, Anhong''s next words stunned everyone:

    "Since our program is broadcasted every week, the creativity time for each of you is very short. From the moment you get your keywords, you have less than a week to create, and as for the singers, the composer who finishes writing the song first can choose them first..."

    Just a freaking week?

    The top composers present, of course, are not afraid of keyword-based creation, but the premise is that there should be enough time.

    But the time the program team is giving everyone is too short!

    Considering that time is needed for rehearsals after the song is finished, not to mention finding a singer, the pressure is even greater.

    What if the song is written too slowly and their favorite singers are selected by other composers?

    And...

    After getting the song, singers need to familiarize themselves with it through rehearsals. If enough time is not left, the singer may even forget the lyrics on stage!

    "Are they playing too big a game?"

    "Writing a song in a few days?"

    "And it''s still thematic music?"

    "This difficulty is much greater than the random pairing of singers."

    "In fact, it''s not difficult to write a song in a few days, even if it is thematic it''s fine, but who can guarantee that the song written in such a short time will have enough quality?"

    "..."

    Difficult, difficult, difficult!

    Thematic songs with short creation time, they can still write songs.

    But it''s really difficult to guarantee the quality of the music.

    During previous competitions, many songs were not newly written by the composers, but were from their own stock.

    For a moment, the composers started to feel a headache.

    "Can you do it?"

    Zheng Jing looked at Yang Zhongming.

    Yang Zhongming said: "I''ll give it a try."

    Zheng Jing then looked at Lin Yuan: "What about you?"

    "Not a big problem."

    Lin Yuan answered honestly.

    Zheng Jing originally wanted to hear the sigh of "It''s difficult" from these two, and seek some psychological comfort.

    But...

    When these two spoke, not only did Zheng Jing not find comfort, he felt even more overwhelmed instead.

    Among the three Maestros of Starlight, am I the weakest?

 Chapter 614 - 580: See You Tomorrow_1

    People like Lin Yuan and Yang Zhongming are, after all, a minority.

    Other composers, however, are mostly frowning and under great pressure.

    This show, rather than being a competition among singers, is more of a competition among composers.

    Although the competition rules are a bit nonsense¡ª

    Songwriting speed is not the standard to measure the strength of a composer.

    Some composers may take one or two years to write a good song.

    Yet, the quality of that song might be something others can''t achieve in a lifetime.

    But it depends on how you put it:

    Composers who can''t write a good song in a short time aren''t necessarily weak;

    But composers who can write a good song based on a theme in a short time are definitely strong!

    Everyone present is a big shot in the industry.

    No one wants to lose to others.

    So, it''s time to draw the keyword lottery.

    The first ten composers who had their names read get to draw first; Lin Yuan wasn''t on the list.

    In other words:

    This round has nothing to do with Lin Yuan.

    He won''t receive a keyword in this round, but that''s to ensure fairness in composers'' creation time, so he can be a bystander.

    Yin Dong''s name was called.

    At this moment, Yin Dong breathed a sigh of relief.

    Ye Zhi Qiu laughed next to him: "Yin Dong, what''s with the sigh of relief?"

    "Did I?"

    "Absolutely!"

    "I didn''t."

    "I heard it!"

    "Because Yang Zhongming isn''t participating this round."

    The expressionless Yin Dong spoke.

    Ye Zhi Qiu teased, "What a coincidence! Xian Yu isn''t participating either."

    Everyone burst into laughter.

    Only Lin Yuan was confused, having no idea what everyone was laughing about.

    The reason for the laughter was simple:

    Yin Dong had previously lost to Xian Yu, and people online were saying that Yin Dong is the new Perennial Runner-up.

    Under such circumstances, Yin Dong definitely didn''t want to encounter Xian Yu.

    The sigh he just breathed out was certainly due to Xian Yu.

    And indeed it was.

    Yin Dong would rather contend with Yang Zhongming than come across Xian Yu.

    If he were to be ranked second by Xian Yu again, he would be confirmed as the Perennial Runner-up.

    But of course, he definitely wouldn''t easily admit that.

    He coughed once then drew a ball from the lottery box, on it were two words:

    Peach Blossom!

    An Hong immediately declared: "The keyword Teacher Yin Dong drew is Peach Blossom, so in this episode, Teacher Yin Dong is to write a song themed around Peach Blossom."

    Ye Zhi Qiu next to him raised an eyebrow: "Peach Blossom? Seems like you''ll have to write a vintage style song this round..."

    Yin Dong nodded, this was more or less his idea.

    Next, Wu Long drew his keyword.

    Wu Long''s keyword was "Safety".

    "Seems the show group still has some conscience."

    The composers'' facial expressions eased slightly, it seemed these keywords weren''t too tricky.

    Indeed.

    The keywords drawn by the other composers next weren''t too complex either.

    Like "Music".

    Like "Conscience clear".

    Most are either common words or idioms.

    The trickiest keyword was "Balloon".

    Interestingly, Xian Yu did produce a song named "Balloon" in the early days.

    But to suddenly ask a composer to write a song themed around "Balloon" was indeed challenging to find a creative angle.

    ...

    After the drawing was over, An Hong led the composers into a small room.

    According to the show rules, the composers would need to stay in the music center for the next few days, with accommodations arranged by the show crew¡ª

    To be locked in the black room!

    Until they write a successful song!

    The singers, on the other hand, were always on standby, waiting for the composers'' choices.

    Lin Yuan didn''t need to be locked in the black room this round; his turn was next round.

    Even when it was Lin Yuan''s turn next round, he basically wouldn''t be locked in the black room for long.

    Because he has the System.

    After getting the keyword, all he needed to do was find a matching song in the System.

    Regardless of the keyword Lin Yuan drew, he was confident in being able to quickly find a suitable song.

    ¡­

    After today''s recording was over, Lin Yuan went to the "Journey to the West" film crew to see how the shooting was going.

    The role of Sun Wukong had been finalized.

    It was Ren Yan.

    Many people in the crew had objected to Ren Yan playing Sun Wukong because he was not famous.

    But Ren Yan won everyone over by demonstrating a portion of Sun Wukong in the audition.

    Amazing!

    The Sun Wukong performed by Ren Yan had both the monkey side and the human side in perfect balance!

    Now, no one thought Ren Yan was unsuitable for the role of Sun Wukong anymore.

    Lin Yuan also watched Ren Yan''s performance on set for a while.

    He was thinking to himself, if it still didn''t work, he would secretly use the Acting Potion.

    However¡­

    The acting potion wasn''t needed.

    Ren Yan, not bad at all!

    Just like Liu Xiao Ling Tong, six six six six six six!

    I must say, it''s clear that you come from a family of Monkey King specialists.

    ...

    Over the next few days, Lin Yuan aimlessly wandered around several drama sets in his spare time.

    The day before the new episode of "Our Song" aired, his sister suddenly suggested that they eat hot pot at Sun Yao Huo''s restaurant. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    His sister was a hot pot enthusiast.

    About every two weeks, she would drag everyone to Sun Yao Huo''s restaurant for a hot pot meal.

    Lin Yuan said, "Senior Yao Huo is busy recording a show recently."

    His sister responded, "We''re going for hot pot, not to eat Sun Yao Huo."

    Big Yaoyao excitedly said, "I agree."

    Girls seemed to like hot pot more than boys.

    Mom shook her head, "You guys go. I''m not going. I have a competition tonight."

    Lin Yuan was taken aback, "Competition?"

    His mother nodded seriously, "Recently, a group of people has been stealing our turf. They''re doing the ''Most Dazzling Ethnic Style'' dance too."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    Battles between square dance groups?

    It appeared to be a feud among middle-aged women.

    He couldn''t help with that.

    So it was settled.

    Along with his sister and younger sister, Lin Yuan arrived at the Flame Hot Pot Restaurant near their house.

    The Flame Hot Pot Restaurant currently has three branches in Su City.

    One was close to Starlight.

    One was close to their school.

    One was close to Lin Yuan''s home.

    How coincidental.

    All were set up in places where Lin Yuan could easily reach.

    Today, Lin Yuan decided to eat at the Flame Hot Pot Restaurant closest to his home.

    However, shortly after the family had sat down, Lin Yuan heard a familiar voice from the entrance of the restaurant.

    "Why didn''t you tell me you were coming for a meal? I could have arranged some special dishes for you."

    The voice at the entrance unmistakably belonged to Sun Yao Huo.

    The sister was curious, "Aren''t you recording the game?"

    Sun Yao Huo hesitated and said, "Well, we''re not that busy..."

    Sister said, "I thought you were busy recording the show. Why don''t you join us for dinner? Don''t be shy, make yourself at home."

    Sun Yao Huo: "..."

    Big Yaoyao suddenly looked hopeful. "Since you''re not busy, why don''t you invite Xia Fan and Jiang Kui to eat with us too!"

    The sister teased, "So, you want to see Jiang Kui, not Xia Fan, right?"

    Big Yaoyao blushed.

    She was close to Xia Fan but didn''t know Jiang Kui personally.

    After watching "The Masked Singer", Big Yaoyao became a fan of Jiang Kui. She had been constantly asking Lin Yuan to introduce her to Jiang Kui, but Lin Yuan kept forgetting. Today, she finally mentioned her wish.

    Sun Yao Huo looked awkward and said, "Jiang Kui and Xia Fan are busy..."

    Upon hearing this, Big Yaoyao couldn''t help but feel disappointed.

    The sister was puzzled, "Why do they have no time while you do?"

    Sun Yao Huo became even more embarrassed, "They were chosen to collaborate with a songwriter for the next episode."

    The sister thoughtlessly asked, "So, no songwriter chose you?"

    After she said it, she realized that might have been hurtful.

    Sun Yao Huo quietly explained, "Perhaps my style wasn''t quite right for them."

    The atmosphere got even more awkward.

    To break the ice, the sister laughed.

    "Chen Zhiyu and Madam Haoyun should have some time, right? I''ve always wanted to meet your singers from the Yu Dynasty. Tonight''s hot pot dinner would be livelier with more people!"

    "That wouldn''t be appropriate."

    Sun Yao Huo was almost in tears, "Chen Zhiyu and Madam Haoyun also don''t have time tonight. They''ve been chosen by the songwriters as well and need to rehearse their songs."

    The sister: "..."

    Out of all the people from the Yu Dynasty participating in "Our Song", even Chen Zhiyu and Madam Haoyun got chosen by songwriters. Were you the only one left out, Sun Yao Huo?

    The situation became even more awkward.

    Just then.

    Lin Yuan and Big Yaoyao suddenly glared at each other:

    "Why did you order enoki mushrooms?"

    "It wasn''t me!"

    "Sister?"

    The two of them turned to look at Lin Xuan simultaneously. It was too much. They were out for hot pot, but were being forced to eat vegetables.

    Lin Xuan shook her head, "I didn''t order them."

    Sun Yao Huo opened his mouth, "The enoki mushrooms are complimentary from our restaurant..."

    Lin Xuan put a hand on her forehead.

    Breaking the awkward silence was indeed up to these two people.

    Becuase they were completely unaware of the current awkward atmosphere.

    "I''ll eat them. I actually quite like enoki mushrooms."

    Sun Yao Huo quietly adjusted his emotions and sat down graciously, resuming his usual gentle smile.

    "Cheer up~"

    Lin Xuan quietly mouthed these words to Sun Yao Huo.

    Sun Yao Huo felt a tinge of sadness in his heart and was close to breaking down.

    Meanwhile, Lin Yuan suddenly said to Sun Yao Huo, "See you tomorrow."

    Sun Yao Huo paused.

    Lin Yuan sighed internally. It seemed like Senior Yao Huo didn''t get the enoki mushroom joke.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Please check out the new book "Sect Leader, Please Keep a Low Profile" by Yu''er Garden''s head writer. Though the author may not be as handsome as Polluted White, his writing is on point. Give it a try~

 Chapter 615 - 581 You Two Have Inventory_1

    The second day.

    The latest episode of "Our Song" was aired.

    Lin Xuan watched this episode at home.

    Big Yaoyao watched it with her.

    In the show, whenever a composer finished a song, they would pick a singer from the singer''s hall.

    Sun Yaohuo stood up voluntarily every time.

    But each time, no one chose Sun Yaohuo.

    In the end, all the other singers from the Yu Dynasty were chosen by various composers, leaving only Sun Yaohuo unchosen.

    The barrages were all mocking.

    "Sun Yaohuo: What happened to winning easily?"

    "Sun Yaohuo: Choose me, choose me, I guarantee you''ll only be famous for your music, not for being famous!"

    "It''s hilarious, only Sun Yaohuo from the Yu Dynasty was left unchosen."

    "Indeed, Sun Yaohuo must be the weakest in the Yu Dynasty, even weaker than Chen Zhiyu."

    "Chen Zhiyu is actually not weak, he is one of the first frontline singers of the Yu Dynasty."

    "Not just this episode, in the first episode when the composers were picking singers, not a single composer voluntarily picked Sun Yaohuo."

    "Sun Yaohuo, how to put it, he''s just too ordinary."

    "Actually, his singing is not bad, but it''s easily overlooked."

    "Even Fish Papa had chosen Chen Zhiyu over Sun Yaohuo before."

    "Looks like Sun Yaohuo really isn''t up to par, relying mostly on luck to get to the frontline."

    "Sun Yaohuo is so proactive, still looking for opportunities despite being ignored so many times."

    "Alas, it''s kinda heartbreaking to watch."

    "What''s there to be heartbroken about? If the composers are not choosing him, it''s certainly because of his own inadequacy."

    "..."

    Big Yaoyao suddenly showed some dissatisfaction: "Why are these people talking about Senior Yao Huo like that?"

    Lin Xuan said: "That''s because you don''t pay much attention to Sun Yaohuo."

    Before singing "Ten Years," Sun Yaohuo was even more disliked by the audience.

    His songs would always be popular, but he himself wasn''t.

    It wasn''t until "Ten Years" became a hit that Sun Yaohuo''s reputation improved.

    But compared to other singers, Sun Yaohuo was still overlooked by the viewers.

    Among the singers from the Yu Dynasty, and similarly promoted by Admirable Fish, Jiang Kui''s popularity was far higher than Sun Yaohuo''s.

    "I think Senior Yao Huo sings very well." Big Yaoyao was puzzled.

    Lin Xuan said: "Aren''t there singers and actors who are like this? Their abilities are clearly good, but they are easily ignored by everyone."

    Lin Xuan didn''t know.

    Even at Starlight, Sun Yaohuo used to be undervalued by composers.

    ...

    Lin Yuan came to the music hall to record the show.

    Today it''s the turn of the remaining ten composers to draw keywords.

    Yang Zhongming gave Lin Yuan a smile: "You go first?"

    "Sure."

    Lin Yuan reached out and drew a stick.

    "What is it?"

    Zheng Jing, who was also arranged for this episode, eagerly looked at the stick in Lin Yuan''s hand:

    "Open Sky and boundless sea?"

    She laughed: "This theme is good, I''ll draw too!"

    Lin Yuan was stunned.

    The stick in his hand, clearly read four words:

    Open Sky and Boundless Sea!

    This keyword was too easy!

    Everyone knew the reason.

    "I''ll give it a go."

    Zheng Jing drew a stick, the keyword was "Helplessness".

    Zheng Jing pursed her lips: "Quite helpless. It would be better if I had gotten ''Open Sky and Boundless Sea'' but ''Helplessness'' will also do."

    Yang Zhongming did not speak and drew his stick.

    Riding the Wind and Waves?

    The host Anhong laughed: "Your idiom matches well with Teacher Admirable Fish''s. Any thoughts?"

    Yang Zhongming did not speak.

    Zheng Jing made a shushing gesture, pointed to her head: "He''s already started composing."

    Anhong was stunned.

    What? Composing in his head?

    He didn''t know if it was true or not.

    But after Yang Zhongming saw the keyword, he really didn''t say anything and seemed to be immersed in composing...

    The people behind continue drawing.

    When everyone had finished drawing, Anhong chuckled: "Sorry everyone, you have to turn off the comments now."

    ...

    The so-called "turning off the comments" actually meant going to their own rooms.

    Lin Yuan''s ''blackened room'' was the familiar Pink Room.

    The staff prepared drinks and fruits for him and reminded him: "If you need anything you can just tell me."

    Lin Yuan shook his head: "No need to trouble, I''ll be out soon."

    The staff was stunned, then shook his head: "I''m sorry, Teacher Admirable Fish, according to the rules of the program group, you are not allowed to leave before you finish the song unless you need the bathroom or it''s time to return to the hotel for the night."

    Lin Yuan was also stunned: "But if I write it out, can I leave?"

    The staff was somewhat at a loss for words.

    But what happened next left all the staff astonished.

    They saw Lin Yuan sitting there, incessantly fiddling with the composing software as if he didn''t need to think at all.

    This was different from how the composers acted in the "blackened room" in the last episode...

    In the last episode, when the producers in the "blackened room" were writing songs, they kept pulling their hair out.

    Their sparse hair was almost pulled out.

    But now with Admirable Fish, writing a song seems as easy as drinking water?

    About an hour later, Lin Yuan took a sip of water and looked up at the staff:

    "Do I need to complete the arrangement on-site as well?"

    "No need..."

    The staff member said blankly.

    Lin Yuan nodded: "Then I can leave now that I''ve finished writing the song, right?"

    The staff hurriedly said: "Could you wait a moment? May I listen to the whole song first?"

    "Sure."

    Lin Yuan let the staff put on the headphones and listen to the music he had just recorded.

    There was also a section of completed lyrics.

    After listening, the staff looked at Lin Yuan as if looking at a monster!

    Lin Yuan asked again: "Can I leave now?"

    The staff opened their mouth, almost screamed, and it took them a while to say in a somewhat hoarse voice:

    "Yes."

    Lin Yuan nodded, pushing the door open.

    ...

    Director Tong Shuwen was on a "patrol".

    Seeing Lin Yuan coming out of the Pink Room, Tong Shuwen was startled and quickly stopped him: "Teacher Admirable Fish, why did you come out?"

    Lin Yuan said: "I''ve finished the song."

    Tong Shuwen thought he had heard it wrong: "Huh?"

    Lin Yuan could only repeat: "I''ve finished the song."

    After speaking, Lin Yuan bypassed Tong Shuwen.

    Tong Shuwen watched Lin Yuan''s receding figure, wanting to say something, but ultimately chose to remain silent.

    He quickened his pace and entered Lin Yuan''s Pink Room.

    The Pink Room staff member was still wearing headphones, seemingly in complete bewilderment.

    "Has he finished the song?"

    "Yep..."

    "How is that possible? Hasn''t even an hour passed?"

    Tong Shuwen frowned. Was Teacher Admirable Fish displeased with the show''s rules, so he simply performed perfunctorily?

    That simply won''t do.

    He hastily sat down: "Let me have a listen."

    The staff member took off the headphones, appearing dazed and overwhelmed.

    Tong Shuwen frowned and clicked play.

    The song had no vocals, only chord progressions and an overall melody.

    Suddenly.

    Tong Shuwen was stunned as if lightning struck him. He sat there in bewilderment, his eyes filled with shock and astonishment.

    After a while...

    He suddenly thought of a possibility: "Did Teacher Admirable Fish have some songs stockpiled, and they just perfectly matched the theme?"

    "From the looks of it, it seems so."

    The staff member chimed in with a wry smile: "I find it hard to believe that he could create this song in just an hour, the lyrics are also beautifully written."

    Tong Shuwen pondered this.

    The key words just happen to fit the song in his stockpile?

    Isn''t this too much of a coincidence?

    ...

    Meanwhile...

    Lin Yuan had already reached the Singer Hall.

    Instantly, all the singers stared at Lin Yuan, but their faces showed bewilderment.

    Why did Teacher Admirable Fish come here?

    Was he here to choose a singer?

    That wasn''t right.

    It''s only been an hour.

    Could the song be ready in such short time?

    Wasn''t it supposed to be assigned creation?

    Even for free creation, it couldn''t have been this fast, could it?

    Unfazed by the singers'' thoughts, Lin Yuan got straight to the point:

    "Senior Yao Huo, let''s go record the song."

    The other singers were dumbfounded.

    Did he really finish it?

    Did his song stockpile just happen to align with the theme?

    Sun Yaohuo was just as astonished, rising to his feet.

    He suddenly remembered the three words Lin Yuan said last night:

    "See you tomorrow."

    Sun Yaohuo felt like crying.

    At the same moment...

    The loudspeaker from the program crew echoed: "Teacher Admirable Fish has completed the song creation, and chose singer Sun Yaohuo."

    Instantly...

    All the Black Rooms were stunned.

    "This fast?"

    "How is it possible?"

    "Finished the assigned song creation in one hour?"

    "That''s too bizarre!"

    "No way."

    "That wasn''t completed in one hour."

    "He must have matched a song from his stockpile."

    "What a lucky guy! He exactly matched song from his stockpile."

    "It seems like Admirable Fish has a lot of stockpiled songs."

    "I seem to smell the aroma of stockpiled songs."

    "..."

    Everyone thought Admirable Fish had a stockpiled song.

    Finishing a song in an hour was too fast!

    Everyone could finish a song in an hour, but everyone was pulling their hair out because a song completed in an hour couldn''t possibly meet their own standards.

    The quality just wasn''t there.

    This competition had a high standard. Anyone who dared to take it lightly would lose badly.

    Therefore...

    Admirable Fish dared to finish writing a song in an hour because he must have been confident in his song. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Where could this confidence come from?

    It must have been from a stockpiled song.

    With this thought, the composers felt a bit relieved.

    Even so, there was still a bit of envy and jealousy because the pressure of writing songs had them writhing in pain.

    However...

    Half an hour later...

    The loudspeaker suddenly rang again: "Teacher Yang Zhongming has completed the song creation and chose singer Jiang Kui!"

    The Black Rooms were dumbfounded again.

    What?

    How are they all so fast?

    Did Yang Zhongming also finish?

    Does he have stockpiled songs ready too?

    You two have too many stockpiled songs!

    "Impossible!"

    Zheng Jing glared at the staff and said: "I don''t believe they finished their songs in an hour. There must be stockpiled songs!"

    The staff: "..."

    I get your point, but why are you staring at me?

    Looking at the pile of scattered hair in front of Zheng Jing''s computer, the staff member suggested: "We have sesame paste here..."

    For hair growth.

    The song-making process caused hair loss. In the past recording session, the sesame paste was a hot seller among composers in the Black Rooms.

    "Bring me a bowl!"

    Zheng Jing glared fiercely at the computer screen. She hadn''t even written a single chord yet: "And also two bottles of Black Bull energy drink!"

    I''m sticking with it!

    No more sleep tonight!

    Whether it was stockpiled or not, the early completion of Admirable Fish and Yang Zhongming''s songs had all the composers on edge.

    In fact...

    Theoretically, under the condition of an explosion of inspiration, it''s possible to create a good song in an hour, but everyone would rather believe they had stockpiled songs!

    The rhetoric had to be consistent!

    You two definitely had stockpiled songs!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: That''s it for today, it''s late. Do you think the effort deserves a monthly ticket? ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, the sexy dealer is dealing online, the humble Polluted White is appealing for monthly tickets!

 Chapter 616 - 582: The Sky is the Limit_1

    The program was recorded over a week.

    Until November 7th.

    Composer gradually completed their compositions and practiced with the singers.

    The program decided to adopt a mix of pre-recording and live broadcasting, first releasing the recorded parts to let the audience learn about some behind-the-scenes stories, then starting the formal stage competition ¡ª¡ª

    This is the format that the audience really wants.

    Compared to purely recorded versions, everyone prefers live broadcasts because of the real-time interaction.

    While the backstage composers and singers are making their final preparations,

    The materials recorded over the past few days are finally being broadcasted.

    At the same time,

    Netizens started eagerly watching this episode.

    "Finally, there''s a competition with Fish Papa!"

    "I haven''t seen Fish Papa for over a month, I missed him terribly."

    "This episode is interesting, with the three great composers of Starlight competing on the same stage!"

    "Mother Zheng is only participating to make up the numbers, the key is the father-son game between Fish Papa and Father Yang!"

    "Mother Zheng: Don''t I have face?!"

    "Is this the first time Fish Papa directly competes with Father Yang?"

    "Don''t know who will win."

    "Since the competition started, both of them seem to have hardly lost, right?"

    "..."

    Since the competition, Admirable Fish (Teacher Admirable Fish) and Yang Zhongming were never assigned to the same episode.

    As a result, in their respective groups, they were basically in state of chaos.

    This episode finally brought the two of them together.

    So netizens were eager to see what kind of sparks will be ignited between them.

    As a result,

    They quickly saw what they wanted to see ¡ª¡ª

    "Fish Papa completed the song in one hour?"

    "So fucking fast!"

    "I don''t understand and I''ll ask: What does it mean for a composer to write a song in an hour?"

    "I''m a composition student, let me explain: actually it''s not difficult to write a song in an hour, many composers could do this when they are inspired, the most important thing is the quality of the song.

    If the song written in an hour is of superb quality, that would truly be terrifying, but I rather agree with the conclusion of the composers, the keyword that Fish Papa drew must have struck a chord with one of his previous works that he had written but not published."

    "I see."

    "Judging by Fish Papa''s confident demeanor, the quality of the song should be good, it''s likely a prior work."

    "..."

    Meanwhile, amidst everyone''s discussion, Yang Zhongming also finished composing his song.

    "Oh no..."

    "Another prior work?"

    "Should be...right?"

    "Regardless, this is way too fast."

    "I''m kind of skeptical, did these two not use any prior works, but truly composed the songs in such a short period of time?"

    "Or rather, these two have so many prior works, coincidentally making it easy to match a keyword?"

    "..."

    Everyone was engaged in a lively discussion.

    Everyone also watched the last episode.

    In the previous episode, the composers were tortured by the constraints of timeframe and theme.

    The audience was delighted to see this.

    However, the creation style of Admirable Fish and Yang Zhongming in this episode was at odds with how people usually perceive composers.

    It wasn''t until the camera showed other composers pulling their hair, that everyone laughed.

    Indeed.

    This is the normal style.

    Admirable Fish and Yang Zhongming seem to be out of this world.

    A programmer said, "They are exactly like me staying up all night coding."

    At this moment,

    Admirable Fish and Yang Zhongming had chosen their singers.

    All of a sudden,

    The screen became filled with comments:

    "It''s over, Fish Papa chose Sun Yao Huo!"

    "Fish Papa is still so warm, in the last episode Yu Dynasty was all chosen, only Sun Yao Huo was left alone, so in this episode Fish Papa directly compensated for Sun Yao Huo."

    "Chen Zhiyu was left alone before, and Fish Papa chose Chen Zhiyu, he really spoils the singers from Yu Dynasty."

    "The problem is, this guy''s ability is not very good."

    "Choosing Sun Yao Huo is even worse than choosing Chen Zhiyu."

    "Damn, Sun Yao Huo is holding Fish Papa back this round!"

    "It''s quite obvious that Sun Yao Huo can''t compete with Jiang Kui."

    "Yes, Sun Yao Huo enjoys better treatment than Jiang Kui in Yu Dynasty, but sings much worse than her."

    "Jiang Kui can easily defeat the Song King and Song Queen."

    "Fish Papa is getting emotional, he chose Sun Yao Huo probably because he wants to help Sun Yao Huo, but this is a competition, why not choose a more competent singer?"

    "Why didn''t Sun Yao Huo refuse, does he not have a sense of shame?"

    "..."

    Jiang Kui is considered the strongest singer in the Yu Dynasty.

    For a composer, the competition not only depends on the song, but also on how the singer performs the song.

    Based on the singers'' strengths alone, Sun Yao Huo is definitely no match for Jiang Kui.

    Therefore, many viewers felt aggrieved and frowned one after another.

    Everyone wants to see a strong competition between Admirable Fish (Teacher Admirable Fish) and Yang Zhongming!

    As a result, by choosing Sun Yao Huo, Fish Papa was already seven points down before the singing competition even started!

    How could one even compete like this?

    ...

    The content from recording was only aired for half an hour.

    After half an hour, the live broadcast seamlessly transitioned in.

    And today.

    The first performance is by Jiang Kui!

    Yang Zhongming wrote a song named "Riding the Wind and Waves" based on the keywords.

    This song was a hit with the audience from the intro!

    There will always be some songs that the audience loves just from the intro.

    Like "Red Sun".

    Like "Exaggerated".

    Like "The Ordinary Road" and so on.

    And this song "Riding the Wind and Waves" by Yang Zhongming also has this effect!

    "Watch me ride the wind and break the waves!"

    "Be my own sun!"

    "The storm is my direction..."

    "Watch me ride the wind and break the waves!"

    "Wave spray disperses confusion!"

    "Rainbow is my radiance..." S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Don''t need navigation at sea. Call me rebel if you may. Growth inevitably hits reefs, just another set sail after injuries, even without wings, I can fly freely..."

    This is a motivational song.

    The climax starts right from the beginning.

    Jiang Kui''s interpretation fills the song with an exhilarating power!

    The chorus has longer phrases, creating a narrative feel, the interlude even enhances the song''s listenability!

    Father Yang''s talent, complemented by Jiang Kui''s top-notch singing skills, is perfectly displayed on this stage!

    The barrage is completely hyped¡ª

    "Daddy Yang is awesome!"

    "This song is freaking good!"

    "It has a bit of the flavor of Fish Papa''s early song ''Initial Dream'', yet their melodies are completely different. While being simple and catchy, it also carries a full sense of touching and empowering!"

    "Daddy Yang is still as explosive as ever!"

    "For a female motivational song, I always thought ''Initial Dream'' was the pinnacle, but with this song from Daddy Yang, the two songs seemed to complement each other!"

    "When girls sing motivational songs in the future, they won''t all have to pick ''Initial Dream''!"

    "If this song isn''t a stocked song but one Daddy Yang composed in a few hours, how terrifying would that be?"

    "Whether it''s a stocked song or not, I am a fan anyway!"

    "Jiang Kui sings so well too!"

    "Jiang Kui''s voice is so penetrating, she really has a gift from heaven. She can sing songs that are both tender and explosive!"

    "..."

    On the stage.

    Lin Yuan is somewhat shocked as well.

    He has interacted with many Maestros and even competed with them, but among those he interacted with directly, Yang Zhongming is definitely the strongest!

    This song "Riding the Wind and Waves" is too amazing!

    So amazing that Lin Yuan himself admits that this song is almost comparable to "Initial Dream"!

    Today''s competition, it''s hard to call it now.

    Originally, Lin Yuan thought that once "Boundless Ocean, Vast Sky" is played, the victory would be almost guaranteed.

    But now.

    Looking at the reactions of the audience, it is clear that Yang Zhongming''s "Riding the Wind and Waves" also fits everyone''s aesthetic very well!

    Cheers from countless people!

    Applause from numerous people!

    Just with an opening, the combination of Yang Zhongming and Jiang Kui easily set the atmosphere for this competition!

    ...

    The competition continues.

    But the songs that follow are not as explosive.

    Occasionally some eye-catching pieces can''t be compared with "Riding the Wind and Waves".

    The restrictions of time and keywords make it difficult for many composers to fully showcase their abilities.

    So whether it''s the live audience or viewers in front of the screen, they keep discussing the song "Riding the Wind and Waves".

    Even Zheng Jing couldn''t help shaking her head, "The song ''Riding the Wind and Waves'' is set to win today."

    Other composers nodded in agreement.

    There is no doubt about this song.

    Yang Zhongming deserves to be the top boss in "Our Song", the restrictions of keywords and time did not affect his creativity at all.

    And after each group''s performance.

    An Hong finally announced: "Thank you for the performance of the previous group of composers and singers, let''s invite Teacher Admirable Fish and singer Sun Yaohuo to the stage with a warm round of applause!"

    Backstage.

    Sun Yaohuo, who has been silent, took a deep breath and then stood up.

    At the same time.

    Lin Yuan, as a composer, took the seat prepared for composers on the stage.

    On the big screen, information about the next song was displayed.

    Song name: Boundless Ocean, Vast Sky

    Lyrics: Xian Yu

    Composer: Xian Yu

    Performed by: Sun Yaohuo

    Like Yang Zhongming, Fish also used the keyword directly as the song title¡ª

    This is not a hard requirement.

    The program team only requires composers to create around the keywords they draw, not to use the keyword as the song title.

    But...

    In terms of completeness, clearly incorporating the keyword directly into the song title is more impressive.

    It''s like writing an essay.

    Only then can it be more closely related to the topic.

    At this time, the barrage finally is not all about discussing "Riding the Wind and Waves"¡ª

    "It''s Fish Papa''s turn."

    "I don''t doubt Fish Papa''s composing ability, but I have no confidence in Sun Yaohuo''s ability."

    "Sun Yaohuo''s ability is not as bad as you all say, but facing Jiang Kui, it does seem a bit inadequate."

    "It seems that Sun Yaohuo is very nervous."

    "Looking at the song title, it seems like Fish Papa also wrote a motivational song?"

    "Whether it''s riding the wind and breaking the waves or boundless ocean and vast sky, they all fit the theme of motivation very well, there should be no problem with this creative direction."

    "But the key is how it''s sung."

    "..."

    As the barrage discussion was going on, suddenly the stage went dark.

    Music sounded.

    The combination of cello and piano created a slightly heavy feeling, resonating harmoniously.

    Then.

    A restrained voice started singing:

    "I once doubted myself, walking through the desert

    Never yielding, regardless what dream is being planted

    Just spreading the wings, but the wind falls silent

    Are used to the pain, can it be counted as a gain

    ..."

    The scene, instantly quiet.

    There was a light in the darkness, shining on Sun Yaohuo, his ordinary face was full of self-mockery at this moment.

    At this moment.

    A sour taste emerged in everyone''s hearts without agreement.

    With the music and singing, everyone''s expressions subtly changed.

    The barrage also fell silent.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Writing this song was a suggestion (coerced) from the great guru Taotao. You can listen to the song while reading, both versions of Han Hong and Xin Music Group are okay. A friendly reminder, Han Hong''s version at around three minutes also has a sound of humming in coldness.

 Chapter 617 - 583: Thank you, Indifferent People, For Once Underestimating Me_1

    "This song..."

    Zheng Jing''s expression gradually turned serious.

    Yang Zhongming''s eyes lit up, staring at Sun Yaohuo on the stage.

    Many composers, in mutual glances, focused their gaze to the center of the stage.

    On the stage.

    The self-mockery on Sun Yaohuo''s face gradually disappeared, replaced with determination:

    "I''m glad I never looked back,

    Finally found that there really is an oasis,

    Every drop of sweat makes life more substantial,

    Only when stepping out of depression can you see,

    The new universe,

    ..."

    He was once extremely depressed.

    Even thought of giving up.

    But the one time he thought of giving up, someone pulled him back.

    Since then, he has never stopped.

    Never look back.

    Red in song but not in person?

    No distinctiveness?

    Fame is all about lounging?

    Entered the top league because of luck?

    When I made it to the top 20 in "The Masked Singer" on my own strength, did you forget?

    Have you ever seen me singing until I lose my voice in the recording studio?

    It''s fine.

    I''ll keep singing.

    Singing until you see me.

    The agent said, maybe it''s fate.

    Entertainment circle is weird, some people easily become very famous, some people need to put in double effort but still might not catch people''s eyes.

    But what I believe in is not fate!

    Sun Yaohuo took off the microphone, his head slightly tilted back, his voice suddenly became louder, as if rebelling against something--

    "The sea and the sky,

    After the courage,

    Hold on persistence,

    Break the chain of fate!!"

    As if something had really shattered!

    Wu Long suddenly showed his signature constipated expression, as if the chair was burning his butt.

    Zheng Jing gripped her hair! Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Yang Zhongming''s face was extremely serious, and the look he gave Sun Yaohuo seemed to have subtly changed.

    Shocked.

    Appeared on all the composers'' faces!

    They looked at Sun Yaohuo--

    Sun Yaohuo lifted his head, for the first time showing infinite pride and confidence, mixed with anger and complex emotions:

    "To all the indifferent people,

    Thank you for once looking down on me!!!

    Making me stand taller,

    And live life more brilliantly--"

    This line, this melody, it''s like standing on the mountaintop, exploding with a resounding echo!

    And then.

    In the prolonged notes.

    Some people bit their lips tightly;

    Some clenched their fists tightly;

    Many more spectators grew red in the face!

    Like a certain era suddenly crashed into their minds, and countless emotions connected--

    Who hasn''t been underrated?

    Who hasn''t had times when they weren''t recognized?

    We just gritted our teeth and did our best to prove ourselves;

    Made all-out efforts to make those who once looked down on us realize, I''m not as weak as you think!

    Indifference.

    Mockery.

    These are hardships every ordinary person will encounter.

    And this song spoke to many people''s hearts!

    "Looking out the window at dawn, after a sleepless night,

    Watching the daybreak, lifting its head from the clouds,

    The sunset is submergence, the sunrise is maturity,

    As long as it''s light,

    It will surely,

    Be bright,

    ..."

    Today, let me be that light.

    Sun Yaohuo seemed slightly relieved.

    But his voice, in this relief, rose even more:

    "After the wide sea and sky display courage, grab onto persistence, and break the chain of fate--"

    The music abruptly stopped here.

    The stage, at the moment, returned to darkness.

    Sun Yaohuo took a deep breath, a gasp that echoed across the room.

    And then, after a few seconds¡­

    The volume of his voice rose again, his high notes piercing the air and shocking the audience:

    "Cold hearted people¡ª¡ªthank you¡ª¡ªfor looking down on me¡ª¡ªmaking me hold my head high¡ª¡ªliving bravely!!!"

    With a sweep!

    The dark stage came alive once again with vibrant lights, crazily chasing Sun Yaohuo, converging on a single point!

    For the first time, people discovered¡­

    That Sun Yaohuo could shine so brightly!

    It was as if he had truly turned into a ball of fire!

    A ball of fire, burning fiercely!

    Many people felt as if they''d been hit by a thousand-pound hammer, their scalps tingling.

    Some stood up!

    And then, more and more people rose to their feet!

    The chorus that followed featured a mix of familiar voices from the Yu Dynasty, who had prepared this moment as part of their arrangement.

    "Wide sky and vast sea,

    After the storm,

    Turn around,

    Laugh it off, saying goodbye to your old sorrows.

    ¡­"

    The voices of Xian Yu, Jiang Kui, Chen Zhiyu, Xia Fan, Wei Haoyun, and others echoed¡­

    As well as the voice of Sun Yaohuo himself.

    In the splendid arrangement, the group singing part of the Yu Dynasty was filled with enriching tones, filling the last bit of silence.

    Energies seemed to rally together.

    And Sun Yaohuo''s fist had already raised over his head.

    When the music paused.

    Sun Yaohuo''s voice dropped again, no longer repressed.

    It was as if he had found release, and he softly spoke his truth:

    "The ones who know me the best,

    Thank you for staying silently by my side all along,

    Giving me a good story to tell.

    I look forward to the future,

    Moving forward step by step..."

    The music faded, the echoes lingering.

    Sun Yaohuo''s fist dropped back down.

    His eyes had turned red.

    In the area reserved for the singers.

    The artistes of Yu Dynasty started clapping fiercely.

    The others followed, clapping along with them.

    Then.

    The applause erupted from the audience like a thunderstorm!

    Even the composers stood up in silent admiration, clapping their hands.

    His resentment, anger, resilience, release, and in the end, sentiment, were all perfectly expressed through Sun Yaohuo''s singing.

    The complete song was like a condensed version of Sun Yaohuo''s struggle.

    And the real-time comments finally exploded ¡ª

    "Is this the Sun Yaohuo I know?"

    "Sun Yaohuo''s singing made me cry!"

    "People who are cold-hearted, thank you for once underestimating me. It''s the motivation for me to keep moving forward!"

    "Became a fan!"

    "Who dare say Sun Yaohuo is the weakest singer in Yu Dynasty!"

    "Oh my god, Sun Yaohuo rocked the stage!"

    "Sun Yaohuo''s singing is indeed amazing, the high note in the second part went straight to the soul!"

    "I won''t beat around the bush. I posted several comments criticizing Sun Yaohuo before, I apologize."

    "I apologize, too!"

    "Sorry, brother Yaohuo!"

    "This song seems tailor-made for Sun Yaohuo by Fish Papa. Only Sun Yaohuo could sing it, simply because it matches his situation so perfectly. When we were discussing Sun Yaohuo, we all forgot about the pressure he was under!"

    "Fish Papa is still Fish Papa, but Yaohuo is not the same Yaohuo I used to know!"

    "The interpretation is just too good!"

    "This song reminded me of so many past experiences. I may not fully understand Sun Yaohuo''s story, but I can hear the bitterness and cries in Sun Yaohuo''s voice, because I have had these emotions. And so have you."

    "..."

    Out in the world.

    This song "Riding the Wind and Waves" by Xin Music Group reflects the members'' journey since they took on their musical careers.

    And on this stage.

    Sun Yaohuo sang his own story.

    Everyone has their own story and in that story named "struggle," they''ve all experienced the highs and lows.

    And in that moment.

    Nobody doubted anymore that Sun Yaohuo couldn''t carry Xian Yu''s song;

    No one worried anymore; that Sun Yaohuo would be Xian Yu''s burden.

    This song was the only one that could compete with Yang Zhongming and Jiang Kui''s collaboration of "Riding the Wind and Waves"...

    in an face-off!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Another version of "Riding the Wind and Waves" will be used later. However, this version fits more with Sun Yaohuo''s situation.

    You all have raised many suggestions for songs, but Polluted White believes that the release of each song in the entertainment novel should ideally have a plot crossover as a point of connection, unless the song is chosen solely for the popularity chart then the selection of songs could be relatively arbitrary.

 Chapter 618 - 618: 584

    Lin Yuan also applauded.

    Actually, he has two versions of "Vast Sea and Sky", both with different melodies and ambiances, yet both are of excellent quality. But in the end, Lin Yuan chose the Xin Music Group''s rendition.

    There wasn''t any particular reason.

    They all have to be released eventually.

    The System gave a background introduction to this song, explaining that it was a reflection by Xin Music Group after they became famous. They''ve let go of the hardships and misunderstanding they faced, only to strengthen their determination to move forward. They didn''t forget to thank those who had helped them, revealing that they had also suffered a lot before achieving fame.

    Take Xin, for example.

    He started singing in bars in his teens, struggled through extreme poverty to the point where he couldn''t afford food, prepared an album only to be rejected by the record company. Many singers have gone through similar struggles.

    And it''s not just singers...

    Those who''ve struggled can resonate with this song. Lin Yuan knows that Senior Yao Huo is also someone who has struggled. Yao Huo once considered giving up. That was when Lin Yuan brought out the song "Ten Years" and Sun Yaohuo rejected him for the first time, for he didn''t want to waste his own song. This is why Lin Yuan chose Sun Yaohuo to sing this song.

    Lin Yuan knows this very clearly.

    Sun Yaohuo loves music.

    Lin Yuan could feel this love because he share the same passion. This is what they have in common. When he lost his voice, he was profoundly distressed. To have someone refusing a song like "Ten Years" was like a knife through the heart, a choice that was made in pain and helplessness¡­

    On today''s stage.

    Sun Yaohuo sang out his own experiences, meeting Lin Yuan''s ideal standards, and so Lin Yuan did not withhold his applause. Just like how an actor can excel when they find a role that suits them, a singer can do the same when they find their song. So, in today''s competition, Sun Yaohuo matched up to Jiang Kui.

    Of course.

    Sun Yaohuo''s interpretation was different from Xin''s. However, Lin Yuan felt that this was just two different interpretations from two different worlds, presenting two different charms.

    On stage.

    Host Anhong laughed and said, "Thank you for Sun Yaohuo''s performance, and thank you, Teacher Xian Yu for creating "Vast Sea and Sky". Actually, I''m quite curious about one part of the composition, the chorus, which seems like it''s from the Yu Dynasty. Whose idea was that¡­ "

    "It was Zhiyu''s idea."

    Sun Yaohuo, now having exited the emotional immersion of the song, showed a warm smile on his face. "When there were some discussions about me on the internet, Jiang Kui and the rest came to comfort me. In the end, Zhiyu suggested that we simply record a segment of harmonies together for the accompaniment, which led to the chorus part. I''m grateful for everyone''s support."

    Everyone knows.

    Chen Zhiyu has also been an outcast before, so naturally, he could understand the feelings of Sun Yaohuo when he was singled out.

    Actually, at that time, Chen Zhiyu said a somewhat clich¨¦ line, which was, "There are no weaklings in the Yu Dynasty."

    "Finally¡­"

    Sun Yaohuo looked towards Lin Yuan, "I most want to thank Teacher Admirable Fish. He''s my junior. I''ve always liked to call him ''junior'', making it sound more friendly. But in my heart, Teacher Admirable Fish is my¡­"

    Sun Yaohuo paused and then said, "Thank you, thank you..."

    Everyone still didn''t know what role Teacher Admiral Fish played in Sun Yaohuo''s heart.

    He simply kept repeating "Thank you", and then bowed out, leaving the audience to their imaginations.

    ...

    Next, there were other performances.

    But none of those songs left a deeper impression than "Vast Sea and Sky".

    To put it this way:

    In today''s first half of the event, "Riding the Wind and Waves" stood out above the rest.

    And in the latter half, "Vast Sea and Sky" was unmatched.

    These two songs dominated today''s stage!

    However, the final standings of the stage were unknown.

    These two songs were rivals, the first confrontation between Xian Yu and Yang Zhongming, who would prevail was still uncertain.

    An Hong loudly declared, "Now audience, you can use your phones to vote for your favourite singers and composers. Your votes will decide the ranking of today''s contest!"

    With that said.

    The combination of all today''s composers and singers took the stage.

    The giant screen behind them displayed a bar chart corresponding to different songs. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Now, let''s start today''s vote count. Please look at the big screen¡­"

    Brush, brush, brush!

    Each song''s bar chart began to grow longer, the corresponding numbers also crazily increased.

    Fifty million...

    Sixty million...

    One by one, other songs began to stall.

    When the seventy million point arrived, only two songs were still climbing.

    One was "Riding the Wind and Waves".

    The other was "Vast Sea and Sky".

    Eighty million¡­

    Ninety million¡­

    One hundred million¡­

    The audience widened their eyes!

    The singers and composers also stared wide-eyed!

    These two songs were amazing!

    Suddenly, both songs froze at the same time!

    Yang Zhongming''s "Riding the Wind and Waves" won a total of one hundred and eight million two hundred and thirty thousand votes!

    Xian Yu''s "Vast Sea and Sky" obtained the same number of votes!

    It''s a tie!

    This match ended in a draw!

    This result made everyone laugh.

    In amidst the laughter, An Hong said, "What an unexpected result. This is the second draw on our stage, which has a lot to do with our counting method¡­"

    Indeed.

    The counting method was the cause of the two draws on the stage.

    Other shows would include differences calculated to the single digit.

    But the voting method in "Our Song" is based on "ten-thousands".

    This range is much bigger than a single digit.

    You don''t even need to count single digits!

    Even if you only count the thousands, there would probably be a winner between these two songs.

    But for a stage with such a huge audience, a draw within ten-thousands is considered a tie.

    "I know you want to ask for the exact number of votes, but our program team has no intention of revealing that because there is no point contesting over such a small gap. What is evident to us is that today, both composer teachers and the two singers have given us their perfect performances!"

    An Hong concluded.

    There were claps from the audience.

    Everyone actually didn''t bother about the precise win or loss of these two songs because there was no necessity to calculate too clearly in such a close match.

    "Just like Sun Wukong and Erlang Shen fighting..."

    An Hong smirked, "They fought for a year and still couldn''t decide a winner¡­"

    This was undoubtedly a host who had read "Journey to the West".

    Zheng Jing asked, "Didn''t they only fight for a day?"

    Um, Zheng Jing also read "Journey to the West".

    "The setting in the novel was such that one day in heaven is one year on Earth, so, while the celestial beings watched for a day, Sun Wukong and Erlang Shen in fact, fought for a year¡­" An Hong showcased his interpretation of Journey to the West.

    The audience who had read "Journey to the West" laughed.

    This interpretation was spot-on.

    The audience who hadn''t read "Journey to the West" felt...

    Like they were being left behind.

    They needed to catch up on their reading when they got home.

 Chapter 619 - 585: The Terror of Yang Zhongming_1

    The competition was nearing its end.

    The live broadcast was still ongoing.

    The composers had been gathered in the hall.

    Director Tong Shuwen appeared: "All you composers have worked hard these past few days. Everyone has done a great job in this short period of creating, but considering the difficulty of your work, the competition will be among the singers for a while..."

    Everyone nodded in agreement.

    The requirements of the competition were high for the composers, especially the timed creative assignments, which had burnt out many of their brain cells.

    If the next round continued in this manner, some people were likely to go bald.

    "Of course."

    Tong Shuwen smiled, "We''re letting you rest to give you time to prepare for the Gods'' War at the end of the year. We also wish good luck to the composers joining the Gods'' War!"

    The crowd laughed.

    This was probably the real reason why the production team had given the composers another break.

    It was now November, next month was December!

    The annual Gods'' War in the music circle was coming!

    Many of the composers present were preparing to participate in this Gods'' War!

    "Is Little Fish participating?"

    Zheng Jing looked at Lin Yuan on her right.

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    He definitely had to participate in the Gods'' War in December.

    The prestige bonus for topping the Gods'' War was significantly high, so he was contemplating which song to use for the end of year chart.

    "Tsk tsk."

    Zheng Jing teasingly said, "You will be the target this year, with your two consecutive championship songs at the Gods'' War. Many composers want to bring you down, even I''m itching to try..."

    "Are you participating?"

    Yang Zhongming curiously asked.

    Zheng Jing shook his head, smiled bitterly, "I participated several years back, but the perverts in the Gods'' War are too many. It was tough to even make it into the top three, let alone being a champion."

    "I am participating."

    Yang Zhongming declared.

    Zheng Jing''s eyes widened suddenly!

    At the same time, a few composers nearby heard Yang Zhongming''s words, their faces, all of a sudden, turned pale.

    The scene fell silent.

    After a few seconds.

    Looking at Yang Zhongming''s determined face, Wu Long swallowed, "Are you really participating?"

    Yang Zhongming nodded.

    Wu Long, with a grieving expression, said, "I was planning to boost my composer status with the Gods'' War this year, and you are not leaving any room for others!"

    "Good luck."

    Yang Zhongming expressed.

    Wu Long rubbed his forehead, "This is not about good luck or not, everyone knows that you, Yang Zhongming, are the king of charts. You have participated in the Gods'' War three times, each time, you were the champion!"

    Yes.

    Yang Zhongming has won the Gods'' War three times!

    Though not consecutive victories like Xian Yu.

    Yang Zhongming sometimes wouldn''t release a song for a whole year.

    However, no one dared to underestimate him.

    Because every time Yang Zhongming made a move, it was bound to be victorious!

    In Zheng Jing''s words:

    Yang Zhongming can''t afford to lose!

    Others might write a song if they are 70% sure, but Yang Zhongming has only one prerequisite for releasing a song:

    He has to be 90% certain!

    So, when Yang Zhongming said he was going to join the Gods'' War at the end of the year, everyone knew that he must have prepared a song that he was 90% sure could win the championship!

    For a moment.

    The composers who planned to release songs at the end of the year started losing confidence. A song Yang Zhongming believed in wasn''t expected to be simple.

    "Are you nervous?"

    Zheng Jing glanced at Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan shook his head.

    He was not nervous.

    Not because he was confident of winning against Yang Zhongming.

    But because...

    Lin Yuan could accept losing.

    No one is an always-victorious general.

    Especially in a place like Blue Star.

    In fact.

    Today''s competition has already shocked Lin Yuan.

    Many people say that Yang Zhongming and I have stock songs, they just corresponded to the keywords, so they composed so quickly and performed so well...

    But Lin Yuan knew:

    Indeed, I have stock songs.

    But Yang Zhongming probably doesn''t.

    The song that tied with mine, "Riding the Wind and Waves", Lin Yuan could almost confirm, was created by Yang Zhongming in just about two hours.

    Maybe Yang Zhongming just got the relevant inspiration...

    But no matter how explosive the inspiration is, the quality of a song that is created in two hours shows the horror of Yang Zhongming!

    As for why Lin Yuan was so sure...

    Because he heard the flaws in "Riding the Wind and Waves".

    The flaw isn''t big, ordinary listeners can''t hear it, but Lin Yuan heard it, the progression melody in the main song part could be more flavorful.

    And Yang Zhongming''s music shouldn''t have this kind of flaw.

    The appearance of a flaw means only one thing--

    The time was too tight.

    Yang Zhongming wasn''t fully prepared.

    This allows Lin Yuan to directly perceive the horror of a composer at Yang Zhongming''s level for the first time!

    On Earth, which composer dares to pat his chest and say that he can write a song of no less quality than "Under the Broad Sky" within a few hours?

    Only the top composers of Blue Star can do it.

    Of course.

    Yang Zhongming being able to write a song not inferior to "Under the Broad Sky" in two hours doesn''t mean that he could casually write another song of this level--

    Inspiration is also an important factor.

    It''s just a pipe dream for ordinary people to grasp this kind of inspiration within two hours and then write such a great song.

    "Looks like there might be a Starlight Derby situation this year."

    Ye Zhi Qiu sighed.

    Zheng Jing self-derided,"Our company has two freaks, Little Fish is a little freak, and Yang Zhongming is an old freak!"

    Lin Yuan: "¡­"

    Yang Zhongming: "¡­"

    "Then I''ll ask a question everyone is interested in, did you come up with ''Under the Broad Sky'' on the spot?" Zheng Jing stared at Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan shook his head.

    Zheng Jing seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, "I figured. It''s way too unreasonable to write such a complete song in two hours. What about...Old Yang?"

    She looked at Yang Zhongming again.

    Yang Zhongming said, "I was quite lucky."

    Zheng Jing: "¡­"

    All the composers showed bitter smiles.

    This essentially confirms that "Riding the Wind and Waves" is a song Yang Zhongming came up with on the spot.

    Lin Yuan''s judgment was correct.

    Zheng Jing concluded, "It seems this tight match can''t be considered a draw, the old freak is still a bit more terrifying."

    "¡­"

    The composers nearby glanced at Yang Zhongming, then at Xian Yu, and all of sudden sighed.

    Starlight, indeed, is frightening.

    Yang Zhongming represents the present of Starlight.

    Whereas Xian Yu represents the future of Starlight.

    Even if it''s stock...

    Having a song of the caliber of "Under the Broad Sky" as stock is enough to prove Xian Yu''s prowess. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    What''s more commendable is that Xian Yu admitted that he used stock.

    In truth, Xian Yu could totally claim that "Under the Broad Sky" was also a song he came up with on the fly.

    If he were just a bit vain like a young man...

    If he were just a bit showy like a young man...

    Anyway, you can''t really prove it one way or another in such cases.

    But Xian Yu generously admitted that he used stock.

    This kind of magnanimousness is truly admirable in a young man like Xian Yu.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to the adorable host of [Feather], ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, it''s Feather''s umpteenth alliance now, take my knees o(*£þ¨Œ£þ*)o ~

    ps2: The reason I arranged a tie is because Old Yang only spent two hours composing the song, which does not fully reflect Yang''s abilities, so Lin Yuan''s situation is no different from losing. In the setting of this book, Old Yang indeed is a boss-level character. What surprises me is that you guys seem to be ok with the protagonist losing, I had always thought you guys only want to see victories?

 Chapter 620 - 586: Blue Star Maestro Ranking_1

    Actually, the feelings of the composers on the scene also mirror those of the viewers.

    After the program ended.

    There are many discussions online about the final scene of the live broadcast such as:

    "Father Yang is awesome, he really didn''t have any stock-piled songs!"

    "The older the ginger, the spicier. Father Yang actually drew with Fish Papa without any stock-piled songs!"

    "It''s not that mysterious, Father Yang himself said that he was just lucky to get inspired. Sometimes, inspiration comes inexplicably."

    Not all classic songs are painstakingly written over countless years.

    "But Fish Papa is totally fine too, he directly admitted that he used his stock-piled songs."

    "He could have boasted saying that he wrote the song on the spot. We wouldn''t have known."

    "Unlike ''The Masked Singer'' before, the competitive nature of this show is actually quite low, it feels more like a bunch of composers and singers playing music together, it''s quite a soothing experience, not resentful at all."

    "Judging by the rule of the show, I don''t think the final duel will be very aggressive."

    "..."

    The outside world generally sees "Our Song" as a show about playing music.

    There are no messy hype.

    No strong competitive vibes.

    The main drawing points for the audience are the song performances and various challenges the show presents to the composers.

    Like the random piano pairing.

    Or the time-limited, topic-limited composition challenges and so on.

    Although all composers are competitive, losing is just met with a smile.

    Because everyone understands, the wins and losses in this show do not represent the wins and losses among the composers.

    Compared to the wins and losses in the show, the competition on the seasonal chart is more convincing.

    This brings us to the battle for the end-of-year chart.

    The Battle of the Gods is still the most exciting battle in the music industry at the end of each year.

    This time, top composers and maestros are not trying to hit the charts with some entertaining stock songs.

    Especially...

    The Battle of the Gods this year has Yang Zhongming joining too!

    "If you want to see a serious competition among composers, you should check out the Battle of the Gods!"

    "The Battle of the Gods refreshes my song list every year!"

    "Xian Yu has been a two-time champion already, I wonder if he has a chance to win thrice this year?"

    "If he can beat Father Yang, the title is his!"

    "It''s not easy to beat Father Yang, because Father Yang is widely recognized as the King of Charting within the industry. Any seasonal chart with his participation, he''s usually either first or second."

    "Wasn''t there a ranking list for the maestros before? Father Yang''s ranking isn''t low."

    "Isn''t it fifth?"

    "Yes, the ranking was done by a retired official from the Literary and Art Association''s Music Department, and he ranked Father Yang''s overall strength as fifth."

    "So, is Father Yang the fifth in Blue Star?"

    "These rankings are actually questionable. After the list came out, there was a lot of controversy. For example, Lu Sheng, who got the first place, got there mostly because of his age. After all, Lu Sheng is the first person in the history of Blue Star to become a maestro at the age of thirty-three. But if we ignore this halo, is Lu Sheng really stronger than Father Yang and others?"

    "I feel like they should make a new ranking list."

    "If they make a new ranking list, can Fish Papa make it to the top ten?"

    "Fish Papa is only Maestro Junior, and he hasn''t officially become a maestro yet, so I guess top ten may be a bit of a stretch."

    "But I feel that Fish Papa is likely to break Lu Sheng''s record of becoming a maestro at the age of thirty-three!"

    "..."

    In fact, there have been many online discussions about composer''s ranking before.

    Each person has their own arguments.

    According to different people''s views, the rankings of the maestros vary.

    The retired official from the Literary and Art Association put Lu Sheng in first place.

    But in the poll conducted by netizens, Lu Sheng only made it into the top five most times, and couldn''t always secure first place.

    ...

    On the other hand.

    When Lin Yuan returned home and went online, he saw the discussion online.

    "Teacher Yang is ranked fifth?"

    Lin Yuan shook his head. Teacher Yang Zhongming''s ability should rank higher than fifth.

    Lin Yuan remembers the system once mentioned that Yang Zhongming''s comprehensive composing strength ranks in the top three of Blue Star.

    He is very close to the ceiling of Blue Star''s composing ability!

    The system jumped out at this time, "Please do not pay attention to the subjective rankings of netizens. All rankings should be based on the professionalism of the system."

    Lin Yuan asked, "What is the correct ranking then?"

    Lin Yuan plans to compete for the crown of Maestro, so he wanted to see the correct ranking given by the system, as he is likely to encounter these Maestros in the future.

    "You can spend one million to redeem the ranking list from the system."

    "Why don''t you just rob me?"

    "Lin Yuan said discontentedly, guessing it was because he had been more generous with his redemptions recently?"

    This system actually wanted to outsmart him!

    It''s just a ranking, what does it have to do with me?

    I don''t really want to know that bad.

    That''s right.

    I don''t want to know. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan brainwashed himself for a while, suppressing his impulsive consumer behavior.

    He just needed to know that Yang Zhongming''s strength ranks in the top three...

    And going by people''s common phrasing, if he is mentioned as being in the top three, it generally means he is third.

    Lin Yuan hadn''t thought about this in detail before.

    Now that he thought about it, Lin Yuan suddenly felt a bit frightened.

    Even with Yang Zhongming''s ability, there are still two others who can surpass him?

    Who are they?

    Does it include Lu Sheng?

    Or other big shots?

    The top Maestros of Blue Star are just this number of people.

    If he doesn''t make a detailed comparison, Lin Yuan can''t distinguish who is stronger.

    But this certainly doesn''t mean that Yang Zhongming isn''t strong.

    Yang Zhongming''s composing ability ranks third in the whole Blue Star, who dares to say that Yang Zhongming is not strong?

    If it were the director''s circle on earth, Yang Zhongming would at least be at the level of Nolan or Spielberg...

    Lin Yuan thinks that Yang Zhongming is leaning more towards Spielberg.

    Because Yang Zhongming''s music, in terms of commercial property and artistic property, can be considered equal.

    As for Nolan, his artistic characteristics are stronger than his commercial characteristics.

    Next month, Lin Yuan will meet Yang Zhongming in the Battle of the Gods.

    Lin Yuan is really looking forward to this year''s Battle of the Gods.

    He''s more excited than the two previous ones!

    Therefore, Lin Yuan is being very careful with his song selection.

    He wants to bring out a strong song to compete with Yang Zhongming!

    "Which song should I use..."

    Countless song titles appeared in Lin Yuan''s mind, but he wasn''t sure which one could win.

    Because this is a seasonal chart, and also the end-of-year seasonal chart where all the Gods gather.

    Songs that aim to hit the charts generally pursue popularity.

    Some songs might be of unbeatable quality, but they will not necessarily secure first place in the charts.

    Thinking about what to have for dinner.

    Lin Yuan still hasn''t finalized the song.

    But there were a few songs that appeared in his selection.

    Let''s leave it at this for today.

    I''ll think about it again tomorrow.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: That''s it for today, need to think carefully about the next song, after all, it''s my first time challenging a boss. As for the crowdfunding for writing the novel, does anyone have any good suggestions?

 Chapter 621 - 587: Chinese Style Song_1

    He said he would think about it tomorrow, but when the next day truly came, Lin Yuan was still clueless.

    Starlight Entertainment.

    Lin Yuan was sitting in his office, browsing through his collection of short tunes, when there came a knock at the door.

    "Come in."

    Lin Yuan replied casually.

    The door opened, and his assistant Gu Dong, along with few workers, carefully carried in a large, elegantly-shaped vase with an antique coloring:

    "Careful, careful..."

    "This is porcelain, it''s fragile¡­"

    "It wasn''t cheap, supposedly it''s an antique from hundreds of years ago¡­"

    "Just put it down here¡­"

    "Right right right, don''t scrape it¡­"

    "¡­"

    Lil Goodoong was nervously directing until the vase was finally set down, allowing him to exhale easily.

    "Thank you all." S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Gu Dong smiled and sent the workers away.

    "What''s this?"

    Lin Yuan looked at the large vase.

    Gu Dong smiled and said, "These are gifts from the company to the three Maestros. You, Zheng Jing and Teacher Yang Zhongming each get one. Supposedly, these are antiques passed down from hundreds of years ago. The CEO said it''s perfect for decorating your offices."

    "Antiques?"

    Lin Yuan didn''t know much about this, but the vase was certainly beautiful: "How much was it?"

    "Less than ten million¡­"

    Lil Goodoong deliberately said this in a careless and affluent tone before reverting back to his own voice:

    "These were the CEO''s exact words, not mine."

    Lin Yuan nodded, "Celadon?"

    Gu Dong corrected seriously, "To be precise, it''s called blue and white porcelain."

    Blue and white porcelain?

    On hearing these three words, Lin Yuan paused.

    Gu Dong smiled, "I saw Teacher Zheng Jing''s vase when I went to collect the things just now. His was yellow, supposedly a royal item from antiquity. Its price is similar to ours, but I feel ours is prettier ¡ª of course, Teacher Yang Zhongming''s is quite pretty too, that''s a white porcelain vase, very transparent, almost like jade¡­ Mr. Lin?"

    Gu Dong realized Lin Yuan seemed lost in thought, not listening to his speech.

    "It''s nothing."

    Lin Yuan said, "Let me have a look."

    He stood up and approached the blue and white porcelain, studying it for a long time, appreciating its beauty to some extent.

    Maybe the value of the vase itself contributed to the aesthetics of it.

    While touching it, he murmured, "The plain background outlines the blue and white design, the brush strokes vary from heavy to light¡­"

    Gu Dong curiously asked, "You know about antiques?"

    Even though Lin Yuan''s tone was a bit strange, not sounding like a normal person''s speech.

    "I know what to choose now."

    Lin Yuan''s lips curled into a faint smile.

    Now, he had a song!

    Lin Yuan''s previous train of thought was wrong.

    He had only been thinking about how to make a song explosive and lively.

    Because these kinds of songs have an advantage on the charts.

    Otherwise, he would not have used "Red Sun" to participate in the War of Gods two years ago.

    But¡­

    Some songs, perhaps their melody isn''t so lively, yet they can "explode" in a different form.

    Didn''t last year''s victory of "Wishing We Last Forever" prove¡­

    that songs with mellow and touching melodies can also be loved by the public?

    Given this, he could completely introduce a Chinese-style song at the end of this year!

    Yes.

    This blue and white porcelain reminded Lin Yuan of Jay Chou''s song "Blue and White Porcelain"!

    Chinese style!

    A secret weapon!

    How could he forget about this?

    In fact, Lin Yuan had never forgotten about the Chinese-style songs, but he had refrained from publishing them since his arrival at Blue Star.

    Because Chinese-style songs were too important, Lin Yuan wanted to use them at a truly crucial moment!

    Now, facing Yang Zhongming in the Battle of the Gods, shouldn''t this be considered a critical moment?

    If so, then the Chinese music style should make its appearance on Blue Star!

    ...

    After making a cup of tea for Lin Yuan, Gu Dong walked out of the office in a daze.

    Meanwhile, Lin Yuan looked at the blue and white porcelain in the corner with a jovial expression; the more he looked at it, the more he liked it.

    The vexing problem that had troubled him all night was finally resolved:

    Why not use Chinese-style songs to confront Teacher Yang Zhongming!

    Of course.

    Blue Star has no concept of China, so Chinese-style songs in this world probably need a new name.

    Perhaps the people of this world would categorize Chinese-style songs as ancient-style songs?

    In any case, what''s important isn''t the label, but this entirely new musical style!

    Lin Yuan was familiar with all the various musical styles on Blue Star.

    He was well aware.

    This world only has ancient-style music, not Chinese-style music!

    The two somewhat resemble each other, but fundamentally possess significant differences.

    Gong, Shang, Jue, Zhi, Yu...

    Chinese-style songs often use the Gong mode as the main melody.

    In terms of music arrangement, Chinese-style makes widespread use of traditional Chinese musical instruments:

    such as the erhu, guzheng, xiao, pipa...

    Vocals occasionally employ the use of Chinese folk songs or opera methods.

    Chinese-style also has a concept of "three ancients, three news".

    Ancient lyrics, ancient culture, ancient melodies, new singing techniques, new arrangements, new concepts.

    The lyrics must contain a sense of Chinese culture, with innovative singing techniques and arrangement skills emphasising the ambiance of the song; the song combines a nostalgic Chinese backdrop with modern rhythms to create subtle, melancholy, elegant, and lively song styles.

    But even Chinese-style music is of two types.

    One is pure Chinese-style, and the other is closer to Chinese-style.

    The pure Chinese-style songs adhere to all the aforementioned criteria, like the representative works of Jay Chou.

    Songs closer to Chinese-style are the ones that don''t satisfy some conditions but are very close to pure Chinese-style songs -

    After all, the criteria for creating Chinese-style songs are very rigorous, and it''s difficult to adhere to every single one.

    Therefore, if Lin Yuan brought out a Chinese-style song, it would definitely be a groundbreaking move on Blue Star!

    But there are numerous Chinese-style songs.

    Lin Yuan had just recited a line from "Blue and White Porcelain".

    However, this song is too fierce, and Lin Yuan doesn''t plan on presenting it now.

    "Blue and White Porcelain" merely helped Lin Yuan determine the musical style of his next song.

    The song he finally decided on was "East Wind Breaks".

    Two reasons:

    First, "East Wind Breaks" is the first instance in which Jay Chou has created a Chinese-style song in a complete sense, which is very significant.

    Second, directly presenting "Blue and White Porcelain" seems a bit too bold.

    It would be better to start with "East Wind Breaks" first to establish a concept and foundation for Chinese-style music.

    This was a decision Lin Yuan made from a strategic perspective.

    If he were to present "Blue and White Porcelain" directly, he would have to confront a problem.

    That is, if he were to release "East Wind Breaks" later, the impact would be less significant.

    After all, "Blue and White Porcelain" is generally considered more powerful than the former.

    Lin Yuan still hopes that "East Wind Breaks" can hold the same status and significance as on Earth, this song deserves such treatment.

    Worth noting is:

    When considering Chinese-style songs, only five words came to mind for Lin Yuan:

    "I choose Jay Chou."

    Although many singers have performed Chinese-style songs, as the pioneer of Chinese-style music in the Celestial Dynasty, there''s no reason not to choose Jay Chou.

    Chinese-style music by other artists always seems to miss the mark, mostly closer to Chinese-style...

    Besides, considering the influence and popularity of the Chinese-style genre, Jay Chou is undoubtedly the most recognized figure.

    So, who should perform this song?

    More than one person from the Yu Dynasty could sing...

    But after some thought, Lin Yuan still decided to sing it himself.

    Since it''s the first manifestation of Chinese-style music, he wanted to sing it himself.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Ps: A big thank you to [LM7]and[Qian Gu Lu Zuan]for being Alliance Hierarchs, I gracefully kneel ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ before you.Otherwise, I sigh deeply that I''ve finally started writing about Chinese-style music.

 Chapter 622 - 588: East Wind Breaks_1

    Having made up his mind, Lin Yuan directly exchanged for "East Wind Breaks" through the System.

    For the sake of convenience later on, Lin Yuan also exchanged for a few other songs, including but not limited to Chinese style songs by Jay Chou--

    The prices were all sky-high.

    The song recording was scheduled for three days later.

    As soon as Lin Yuan entered the recording studio, he heard Zheng Jing''s voice from afar:

    "Little Fish is here to record his new song for the end of the year?"

    "Yes."

    Lin Yuan nodded and greeted her, "Hello, Teacher Zheng."

    Zheng Jing pretended to be upset and said, "Why are you being so formal, calling me Teacher Zheng, call me Aunt Zheng."

    "Aunt Zheng..."

    Taking into account that she was his senior and about the same age as his mother, Lin Yuan didn''t find it awkward to call her that.

    "That''s better." S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Zheng Jing seemed pleased:

    "Since you''ve called me Aunt Zheng, I can secretly share with you the enemy''s condition. I pestered your Uncle Yang all night yesterday until he finally played his new song for me¡ªit''s simply incredible!"

    When she got to the last few words, Zheng Jing''s eyes flashed with seriousness, and even her smile slightly faded.

    The recording engineer next to her suddenly nodded along.

    Obviously.

    Yang Zhongming''s song, which the recording engineer had also helped produce, was powerful enough for Zheng Jing''s compliment to be far from an overstatement.

    Lin Yuan understood, but he was not surprised.

    The top three composer of Blue Star, Yang Zhongming, had decided to make a significant move in the battle of the gods, so the song he had presented couldn''t be just ordinary.

    And a song that Zheng Jing describes as ''incredible'', must truly be extraordinary.

    However, it remains to be seen how it will perform against the first-ever Chinese-style song in Blue Star''s history. What will the outcome be?

    Lin Yuan also felt a strange sense of excitement and anticipation.

    As for the fact that Teacher Yang Zhongming was referred to as his "Uncle Yang" by Zheng Jing, Lin Yuan didn''t mind.

    He never bothered about such formalities.

    "Don''t feel any pressure, just take it easy."

    Zheng Jing comforted Lin Yuan, fearing he might get nervous: "After all, my taste does not fully represent the taste of the audience."

    That''s what Zheng Jing said.

    But actually, Zheng Jing knew her judgement was correct.

    Once Yang Zhongming''s song is released, its popularity is destined to explode.

    Because some songs, people know from the first listen that they''re going to be hits!

    They''re just too catchy!

    Moreover, the artistic conception, expression and overall structure of that song are all top notch!

    "I''ll get started with the recording then."

    Lin Yuan was not nervous at all. He had lost before.

    And considering that his opponent was Yang Zhongming...

    However, the song he had this time might not necessarily lose.

    In Blue Star where the overall appreciation level is high, Chinese-style songs are only treated better than in the Celestial Dynasty.

    "Sure."

    Zheng Jing found a chair and sat down: "You don''t mind if I listen, right? I''m quite curious about your new song."

    "Of course, as you wish."

    Lin Yuan nodded, then greeted the instructors in the recording studio and entered the recording booth.

    After adjusting the state of his throat, Lin Yuan began to sing.

    Outside the soundproof glass.

    Zheng Jing, wearing headphones, was listening with curiosity.

    As Lin Yuan sang the first two lines of lyrics, Zheng Jing''s face remained composed.

    But as he continued singing, Zheng Jing''s face gradually changed...

    By the time the chorus started ringing in her ears, all that was left on Zheng Jing''s face was pure "shock"!

    With her mouth slightly agape, she stared dumbfoundedly at Lin Yuan who was fully immersed in his performance on the other side of the soundproof glass, her mind filled with a tumult of emotions!

    "Show me the score!"

    She suddenly exclaimed, turning to the recording engineer.

    The recording engineer, who also seemed to be fascinated by Lin Yuan''s song, reacted half a beat late, and not until a few seconds later, he reminded her:

    "It''s right next to you..."

    Zheng Jing didn''t respond, she just eagerly started reading the score.

    The title of the song, "East Wind Breaks".

    The ancient song known as "The East Wind Breaks".

    But that''s not the point.

    As Lin Yuan sang the lyrics and melodies, Zheng Jing''s breaths became more rapid. From her chest to her shoulders, her whole body was heaving dramatically¡ª

    As expected!

    Her judgment was not wrong!

    This song "Xian Yu" really was something!

    ...

    The purpose of a rehearsal is to get into the feel of the music.

    After one round, Lin Yuan felt his voice was more or less ready.

    After practicing on his own a few more times, Lin Yuan took a sip of water and rested for a bit before walking into the room on the other side of the soundproof glass.

    Hm?

    Upon entering the room....

    Lin Yuan could sense something was off.

    The teachers in the recording studio and Zheng Jing who was observing, were all staring at him as if there was something on his face.

    "Is there a problem?"

    Lin Yuan asked, could it be that he had messed up his song?

    "This song...."

    Zheng Jing started, her voice sounding a bit dry, but couldn''t find the words to describe it.

    "It''s wonderful...."

    That was all she could say.

    There was no need for her to point out anything technical.

    Everyone in the room, all being professionals in music, knew all too well the terrifying creativity and artistic expression hidden within the song.

    Finally, Zheng Jing shook off her amazement.

    She suddenly said, exasperatedly: "How did I end up working in the same company as you two freaks?"

    One freak big, one freak small, all freaks nonetheless!

    At this moment, self-deprecating remarks started to surface in Zheng Jing''s mind:

    "Whether it''s the sheep or the fish who''s showing off, it''s Zheng Jing who''s taking a beating."

    "Her status in the company is down one notch."

    "Turns out I am the weakest ''Maestro'' in the company."

    "The joke is on me."

    "....."

    If the audio engineer next to her could hear Zheng Jing''s inner monologue, they''d definitely correct her last sentence:

    "We are the jokes."

    Zheng Jing stood up and patted Lin Yuan''s shoulder.

    This was a battle of the gods.

    "After this year''s Battle of the Gods, Starlight Entertainment will have completely established its position as the best music company on Blue Star. After all, no other music company has both Yang Zhongming and Xian Yu... oh, and me," she said, seemingly lost in thought.

    Lin Yuan was stunned, then he started to feel happy.

    Zheng Jing''s words suggested that the song "The East Wind Breaks" could take on Teacher Yang Zhongming!

    It made sense.

    This was the first time a Chinese-style song appeared on Blue Star.

    If he couldn''t even compete, how high will his standard need to be for song selection in the future?

    His mood was quite good.

    After a quick break, Lin Yuan continued recording and managed to finish recording the song later that night.

    Zheng Jing, however, did not seem to have any intentions of leaving and stayed in the recording studio until Lin Yuan finished recording the song.

    Just as Zheng Jing was preparing to leave after Lin Yuan finished recording, she suddenly smiled and said:

    "Ol'' Yang''s new song is called ''Blue Star''."

    Lin Yuan was taken aback. The title was monumental.

    It was so big that most people wouldn''t dare use "Blue Star" as a title for their songs.

    Immediately afterwards....

    Lin Yuan found it quite curious.

    The first appearance of Chinese-style music on Blue Star was coinciding with Yang Zhongming''s new song named "Blue Star".

    What was this strange, destined-like feeling?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Just finished writing and saw that[LM7] just rewarded me with an Alliance Hierarch, ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, so scared that I, Polluted White, don''t dare to knock off, and quietly went to write the third update...

 Chapter 623 - 589: Sun Wukong and Erlang Shen_1

    It''s now mid to late November.

    The closer we get to December, the intenser the atmosphere of the annual Battle of the Gods becomes. Almost every day more media join in covering and hyping this divine battle, thus an overwhelming number of related articles and stories are circulating online.

    "The Battle of the Gods is about to begin!"

    "A showdown between Yang Zhongming and Xian Yu!"

    "In the variety show, Our Song, Yang Zhongming and Xian Yu ended in a draw, yet in the Battle of the Gods, there is absolutely no possibility of a stalemate. Victory will eventually emerge between these two."

    "Battle of the Gods rankings predictions!"

    "Several Maestros gang up on Yang Zhongming?"

    "Xian Yu''s path to a triple crown maybe brought to an end!"

    "With Yang Zhongming joining the Battle of the Gods, some professionals in the music industry predict that this year''s Battle of the Gods might become an internal competition within Starlight."

    "..."

    The mainstream media reports with caution.

    They maintain relatively neutral statements.

    However, smaller media outlets tend to be rather biased. From their perspective, the outcome of this war is not so uncertain. After all, isn''t it common knowledge that Yang Zhongming is the King of the Charts

    Most netizens also share this sentiment.

    It''s not that they underestimate Xian Yu. By comparing him with Yang Zhongming, it just shows how much they acknowledge Xian Yu''s talent. However, Yang Zhongming''s strength is just too formidable, which all of them are well aware of. Accordingly, they all predict that the highest possibility of this epic clash is Yang Zhongming emerging victorious, making Xian Yu''s prospects of victory rather slim.

    That being said.

    If Yang Zhongming hadn''t appeared, looking at Xian Yu''s recent performances, he might have had a real chance at clinching the triple crown. This led many netizens to joke that what was supposed to be the Battle of the Gods has suddenly turned into an extended match from "Our Song".

    Isn''t it an extension?

    Just so happened that, Yang Zhongming and Xian Yu drew a tie on the "Our Song" show, and it perfectly dovetails into the Battle of the Gods coming in December, where both will compete!

    Such a coincidence!

    This coincidence is of course welcomed by everyone. As for this year''s Battle of Gods where Xian Yu will directly face Yang Zhongming, some people just can''t stop making puns:

    "Fish, fish, fish!"

    "Sheep, sheep, sheep!"

    "The Battle between the Fish and the Sheep!"

    "Land versus Ocean?"

    "Are we watching Animal Planet?"

    "This pair really sparks joy!"

    "Lock Fish and Sheep together for me!"

    "This year''s Battle of Gods might be less explosive than the previous two, but because of the atmosphere of the internal rivalry in Starlight, it feels pretty novel. After all, Father Yang has always been fond of Xian Yu."

    "If we lose, it''s not a loss."

    "Fish Papa, go and act adorable in front of Father Yang! For him being ranked in the top five of Blue Star''s Maestros, he dares to aim for your triple crown at the Battle of Gods. This matter cannot pass without some compensation!"

    "..."

    Netizens love to ship pairings.

    Most of them have been following along from "The Masked Singer". They are well aware of Yang Zhongming''s consistent support towards Xian Yu. There are already numerous online discussions about how good their relationship is.

    Not to mention...

    Yang Zhongming''s attitude towards Xian Yu in "Our Song" is undoubtedly different from how he treats others. Although it''s widely accepted as a senior''s appreciation for a talented junior, there''s no way to stop netizens from letting their imaginations fly!

    The names of the two are also interesting.

    Xian Yu, being a fish, needs no further explanation. The word "Yang" in Yang Zhongming''s name, if phonetically translated, actually means "sheep". This presents a curious correspondence.

    Of course.

    Apart from making puns, not everyone is leaning towards Yang Zhongming''s guaranteed victory over Xian Yu. Xian Yu has performed more than just one miracle since his debut, so who dares to say that he can''t continue to create miracles?

    "On the surface, Father Yang is stronger."

    "But Fish Papa often creates spectacles."

    "Like his ''Laugh in the Sea'', a song of this level could be a challenge even for Father Yang, who back then gave the song extremely high praise."

    "Also ''Flashy''!"

    "And ''The Ordinary Road''!"

    "All we can say is that Father Yang, as the senior figure who debuted earlier, has created more sensation with his songs and thus has stronger solid strength. But in the end, it will still come down to their state and performance on the day. After all, even Father Yang and other top Maestros like Lu Sheng have had slip-ups in their battles."

    "..."

    This is the opinion of the remaining netizens. State and performance are also critical. It''s like the world''s top-ranked athletes, they have not always won, they just win more times than the others.

    In the music industry.

    Professional musicians certainly pay keen attention to the upcoming Battle of the Gods. Some of them also hold a similar objective view. If Xian Yu performs exceptionally well while Yang Zhongming does not deliver his best this time, there''s still hope for Xian Yu to defend his triple crown at the Battle of Gods!

    As for both of them messing up?

    The possibility is not zero, but it''s so low that it can be almost ignored. Despite the presence of other Maestros in the same period, they do not rank among the top few of Blue Star. When they pit against Xian Yu, they still couldn''t dare to claim assured victories, let alone facing a daunting opponent like Yang Zhongming who rules the stage!

    Someone then notices.

    Zheng Jing, a Maestro from Starlight just like Xian Yu and Yang Zhongming, unexpectedly posts a new update on his social media feed. There''s no caption or comment, just a picture.

    On the left of the picture is a monkey.

    The monkey is depicted magnificently, wearing a phoenix-feather cap, a Lock Son Golden Armor, cloud-walking boots, and holding the As-You-Will Gold-Banded Cudgel in its hand!

    To the right of the picture is a man.

    The man looks majestic, clad in gorgeous silver armor with a black cape waving behind his back. There''s a conspicuous golden line running vertically down his forehead, and a three-pointed, double-edged lance in his hand!

    Someone smiles knowingly.

    Those who have seen Journey to the West would know that this image depicts the scene of the battle between Sun Wukong and Erlang Shen. Drawn by a fan based on the storyline of Journey to the West, it was primarily intended to portray one of the most exciting scenes in the novel, and also as a metaphor for the great war in the Primordial Chaos era in Journey to the West.

    Now, it''s being used to metaphorize the competition between Yang Zhongming and Xian Yu.

    In "Our Song".

    When Xian Yu and Yang Zhongming tied in terms of votes, host Anhong once jokingly remarked that their competition somewhat paralleled the battle between Sun Wukong and Erlang Shen.

    Xian Yu is like that Monkey.

    Making grand appearances and creating numerous miracles.

    Yang Zhongming, on the other hand, is like Erlang Shen. As one of the most powerful combat forces in the Heavenly Court, backed by numerous accomplishments, he is one of the most impressive gods in Blue Star in the eyes of many.

    However...

    Many thought this picture posted by Zheng Jing was mocking Anhong''s comment and recalling the tie between Xian Yu and Yang Zhongming in "Our Song". Barely anyone guessed that Zheng Jing was subtly hinting at the upcoming Battle of Gods at the end of the year. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Some people made those guesses.

    But soon others rebutted, "For Xian Yu, Yang Zhongming is not Erlang Shen, a formidable adversary who matches him in combat. Instead, he should be likened to the Buddha, who trapped Sun Wukong under the Five Finger Mountain!"

    So, what does Zheng Jing''s post mean?

    The conclusion is about to be reached, because amid the discussions everywhere and continuous media reports, the horn of the Battle of the Gods is about to sound...

 Chapter 624 - 590: Great Happiness Comes Easily_1

    December!

    Eagerly awaited by everyone!

    In the anticipation of countless people.

    November 30 quietly arrived...

    Since midnight marks the start of the December War of the Gods, countless music fans were guarding music apps that night, waiting for the release of songs by Xian Yu and Yang ZhongMing.

    Of course.

    The other composers who released music during this period were also the focus of public attention.

    Nevertheless, compared to the showdown between Xian Yu and Yang ZhongMing, the works of other composers may lack a bit of spectacle.

    Therefore, people are more interested in these two.

    Qin Continent.

    Rong City.

    Inside a certain top-notch club, a group of people are holding a closed-door gathering.

    This club is called the "Rong City Music Club", which includes thirty well-known top-notch composers.

    These thirty composers may come from different music companies, but because they all live in the same city, they joined together to form this club¡ª

    The lowest threshold to join this club is to become a top-notch composer.

    Among the members of the club, their relationships with each other are also very good.

    They like to get together to exchange ideas about music when they are free.

    The War of the Gods is a significant event for the whole music circle, so today all thirty members of the club are here, making it quite a gathering with a hint of "wine and music discussion".

    It''s like a poetry gathering organized by a group of talents.

    This has been a recurring event before the start of the War of the Gods every year.

    At present, it is eleven o''clock in the evening on November 30.

    While waiting for the official start of the War of the Gods, the attendees are casually chatting:

    "Time flies, and another year is about to pass."

    "From the ''Masked Singer'' that started in February to ''Our Song'' held in the middle of the year, the music scene has been quite lively this year."

    "I feel that most of the exciting events in the music scene this year are centered around Xian Yu, his performance in the Masked Singer as the Prince of Lanling was truly exciting, and his performance in ''Our Song'' was also well recognized!"

    "At the end of the year''s War of the Gods, Xian Yu is still the focus of everyone''s attention."

    "We, a group of top-notch composers, are naturally considered gods compared to ordinary composers, but even for us so-called top-notch composers, the War of the Gods is like a battle of the gods!"

    "Speaking of Xian Yu, Brother Li should have deep feelings!"

    "Yes, Brother Li is the only one among us who has directly competed with Xian Yu."

    "Moreover, at that time, Xian Yu was not yet the famous Maestro Junior, and Brother Li had not yet become a top-notch composer."

    "..."

    Everyone laughed and looked at a tall man with thinning hair. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The man said somewhat helplessly, "Every time the War of the Gods comes around, you guys make fun of me about this."

    While claiming to be helpless, it was apparent from the corners of the man''s mouth that he was actually smiling.

    As if having competed with the nascent Xian Yu somehow gave him a sense of honor.

    In fact.

    When he first joined the club, he often boasted to other top-notch composers:

    "I debuted at the same time as Xian Yu. During the competition for the Newcomer of the Season that year, he came in first. It''s a bit embarrassing, I came in a bit behind him and got third place."

    Despite claiming to be embarrassed, when he was boasting, there was no embarrassment on this man''s face, but rather a sense of self-satisfaction¡ª

    This man''s name is Li Yang.

    Years ago, he debuted at the same time as Xian Yu, and the newcomer Xian Yu took the top spot in that month''s Newcomer of the Season with his song "Life Like A Summer Flower".

    As for Li Yang, he was the third-ranked composer of the Newcomer Season that year.

    "All to die."

    Li Yang''s line, which first appeared in Chapter 9, has been circulating for many years and has been passed along through countless people.

    But at that time, Li Yang could not imagine:

    That one day in the future.

    Xian Yu would become the famous Maestro Junior.

    And even compete on the same stage as legendary figures like Yang Zhongming!

    And that he could only struggle to become a top-notch composer.

    In fact, becoming a top-notch composer a few years after debut is already quite remarkable.

    If we don''t compare him to Xian Yu, Li Yang could be considered a "genius composer" however you look at it.

    ...

    Everyone was laughing and joking around.

    They just liked seeing Li Yang''s seemingly discontented, but actually pride-filled expression.

    After a while of jokes and laughter.

    Everyone began discussing the competition between Xian Yu and Yang Zhongming:

    "Although Xian Yu has been the focus this year, it seems unlikely that he will clinch the triple crown title in the War of the Gods."

    "Just like the character Sun Wukong, no matter how powerful he is, he can''t escape the palm of the Buddha."

    "Father Yang''s strength is truly terrifying."

    "Unless Xian Yu outperforms."

    "It''s still very difficult for Xian Yu to win even if he outperforms. Father Yang would have to perform poorly for that to happen."

    "Brother Li, do you think Xian Yu can become the triple champion?"

    "..."

    Li Yang snorted.

    What can I think?

    I have an idea for you all.

    Just as Li Yang was about to speak, the club''s clock suddenly struck.

    "It''s twelve o''clock!"

    Li Yang suddenly perked up!

    The expressions of the other composers also gradually turned solemn.

    The main event is here!

    Someone suggested, "Shall we listen to Father Yang''s song first?"

    Everyone nodded.

    Someone began to play Yang Zhongming''s song-

    The standard and grade of the club are high, and the external sound system is produced in Chu Continent, and the sound quality is professional.

    "Father Yang''s song is called ''Blue Star''!"

    "Wow!"

    "The name of the song is so bold!"

    "Judging by the name, it''s a big song."

    "I have a feeling this song won''t let us down!"

    "With this title, how can it disappoint?"

    "Moreover, this is Yang Zhongming''s song!"

    "..."

    In the midst of these comments, ''Blue Star'' started playing.

    The performer is Starlight''s King of Singing, Lan Yan!

    Lan Yan''s talent is undoubtedly exceptional.

    The song "Red Sun" that Xian Yu won the first God War with was also sung by Lan Yan.

    The effect was generally recognized as good.

    This time was no exception.

    With Lan Yan''s voice resounding, all the ace composers were instantly immersed in the atmosphere created by the song.

    Magnificent!

    Grand!

    Each line of the prelude indirectly corresponded to a continent.

    And when it reached the main part of the song, it closely followed the theme of "Blue Star Unification".

    This song, is indeed monumental!

    Inside the club, it was incredibly quiet.

    Only ''Blue Star''s'' voice, resonating throughout the hall.

    The composers went from initial enjoyment to wonder and then astonishment.

    When the song ended, the only feeling left in everyone''s hearts was:

    Worthy of Yang Zhongming!

    For a while, no one spoke.

    In the end, it was Li Yang who broke the silence:

    "This song can shame ninety percent of the maestros."

    Everyone finally came back to their senses, but no one denied it, just nodded in agreement one after another.

    They are all top composers. Even though they might not possess the skills of a maestro, they do have a keen ear for music and their judgement of song quality far surpasses that of an ordinary person.

    Yang Zhongming''s song is both artistically and commercially exceptional.

    Despite having the entire Blue Star as its theme, the melody is not too complex. If anything, this simplicity adds a touch of returning to the original state...

    Four words:

    Great music is easy.

    After a long time, a composer laughed bitterly, "Should the other maestros bother to compete?"

    Being the top chart hit maker among the maestros is no joke, but even if the other composers'' songs are not up to par, they definitely hold value in giving a listen.

    Li Yang spoke again, "Let''s play Xian Yu''s song next."

    For this Gods War, everyone was extremely curious and expectant of Yang Zhongming''s song.

    Indeed, Yang Zhongming lived up to everyone''s curiosity and expectations!

    Under such circumstances, everyone believed that Xian Yu had little chances of winning.

    Despite Xian Yu''s song being the second most anticipated piece.

    Not just Xian Yu.

    Other maestros also faced slim chances.

    Yang Zhongming''s song was simply too powerful!

    But Li Yang, he always cared about Xian Yu, even though Yang Zhongming''s song was nearly in an unbeatable position!

    "Xian Yu''s song, titled ''East Wind Breaks'', is written, composed and sung by him..."

    The composer responsible for playing the music began to speak, briefly introducing Xian Yu''s song information.

    While everyone casually nodded, they were still whispering about the composition technique of ''Blue Star'', obviously not yet out of the shock brought by Yang Zhongming''s song.

    However.

    Not knowing from which moment, the scene suddenly became quiet once more, and everyone halted their discussions about ''Blue Star''.

    Meanwhile.

    Xian Yu''s voice slowly emerged in the music, carrying a hint of sadness and loneliness:

    "A light of sorrow, standing alone by the window."

    "I am standing behind the door, pretending you haven''t left yet..."

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Continue writing, also, readers who subscribe to the entire book can see a little extra of "Full-time Artist" written by Polluted White, the small extra will reveal some information about Lin Yuan''s past life.

 Chapter 625 - 591: Bold Faction and Refined Faction_1

    "Revisiting the old place

    The full moon adds to my loneliness

    The night''s half-awake candlelight can''t bear to blame me

    ..."

    The song flows.

    The melody lingering.

    Tasting this song carefully, Li Yang''s heart, suddenly skipped a beat, as if something was quietly melting.

    He subconsciously looked around.

    Wherever his gaze touched, everyone''s expression began to change.

    The venue was filled with the top musicians from across the city, all ace composers, who could hear something extraordinary in this song due to their discerning ears.

    The singing in his ears continues:

    "A pot of wandering

    Drifting around the world, hard to swallow

    After you left

    The wine warms my memory, the missing is thin

    The water flows eastward

    How does time steal

    The flowers bloom just once to blossom

    But I missed it."

    If we say, Yang Zhongming''s "Blue Star" is bold and atmospheric, reflecting the realm of "great music is easy"...

    Then Xian Yu''s song is delicate and refined, like a slowly unfolding "dragon and phoenix painting".

    Boldness contrasts with refinement.

    The song''s faint sorrow and helplessness belong to the feelings of a young boy''s first love.

    The song style is antique, blended with the soul of modern piano, yet it doesn''t feel discordant at all.

    Everything seems so harmonious.

    In sadness.

    Thoughts are flying.

    As if people are on a lake.

    From the boat one sees, the charm of green mountains, the rippling of lake waves, and the passage of time.

    This mood, this scene, is old-fashioned, as if created by nature itself.

    A surge stirs up.

    Between the natural bounces of the classical tune.

    The pipa rolls like jade beads;

    The erhu dances in the years;

    The occasional harp gracefully posed.

    And when the melody for the chorus part resonates, it seems the atmosphere in the hall changes indescribably. Everyone''s heartstrings are suddenly struck:

    "Who''s playing a song on the pipa as the east wind breaks

    Years are peeling off the wall to reveal our childhood

    I still remember when we were all very young

    Now the sound of the piano is faint

    You never heard me waiting for you..."

    Li Yang''s mouth hung open.

    On Li Yang''s left.

    The acclaimed composer who earlier discussed the brilliance of "Blue Star," had his eyes wide like ping-pong balls.

    On Li Yang''s right.

    The acclaimed composer who proclaimed "Yang Zhongming will surely win" looked constipated, like a certain coach at a live singing competition.

    Their shock was clear.

    Actually, the song wasn''t intense.

    The singing of the chorus was as light as the sake sipped before a meal, with only a hint of drunkenness.

    But...

    Without anyone anticipating, the drunkenness seemed to instantly surge to their heads, stronger than any aftertaste from strong liquor.

    Everyone was drunk.

    Drunk in the small courtyard.

    At this time, the solitary lamp was already extinguished. In the dim night, the wanderer, after drinking the wine made from wandering, slowly hummed a song from his childhood memories.

    "Who''s playing a song on the pipa as the east wind breaks

    The maple leaves color the story, I can see through the ending

    Outside the fence, I walked with you on the ancient road

    In the year of wild smoke and grass

    Even breaking up was silent

    ..."

    The drunkenness gradually dissipates.

    At this moment, even though they were in a modern, grand hall, everyone felt as if they were seeing a distant, ancient era slowly becoming blurred through hundreds and thousands of years.

    There were no explosive drum beats.

    There was no intermittent crescendo.

    No need for magnificent singing.

    This is a story told gently and unhurriedly.

    As the second refrain ends, with only the music lingering in the aftermath, there seemed no need for a voiceover or superfluous details. Still, everyone understood the message of the song.

    The end of the song seemed to be the moment of awakening for everyone.

    Suddenly there was a sense of regret...

    Everyone seemed to be lost in a silent disappointment.

    The helpless feeling of that period, neither intense nor mild, neither willing to recall nor able to forget.

    All beauty vanishes in the ancient times;

    All bitterness remains in seemingly deceiving questions:

    "Whom is the playing the lute for the song of the east wind?"

    Thus, those silent people become even quieter, along with someone''s silent sigh that came out of nowhere.

    The silence was finally broken once again.

    Li Yang began to speak with some difficulty, "Never have I felt so hopeless since my debut... I suddenly realized that I probably won''t ever become a Maestro in my life..." Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    A bitter smile crossed everyone''s faces.

    Wasn''t Li Yang''s lament the voice of many others there?

    This evening, the works of Yang Zhongming and Xian Yu laid waste to the pride of many composers, making any personal conceit they had worthless.

    Because the ace composers present understood:

    be it "Blue Star"

    or "Shattered East Wind".

    Both were songs they would never be able to write.

    Songs they would never be able to write in their lifetime.

    "Shattered East Wind" is an ancient style song, but in comprehensive perspective...

    Can it still be considered an ancient style song?

    "If this is deemed an ancient style song, then when "Shattered East Wind" was performed, it seemed all the other ancient style songs were nothing in comparison."

    "The piano, lute, erhu, guzheng, and it seems a harp or yangqin?"

    "It''s a harp."

    "Even the lyrics, when compared to "Wishing We Last Forever", are modern, yet remarkably ingenious."

    "The lyrics do not intentionally express longing and melancholy, but when the music starts, you feel these emotions. Even without lyrics or vocals, describing it as ''sorrow without hurt'' is very apt."

    "Ancient prose, ancient culture, ancient melodies, new singing techniques, new arrangements, new concepts."

    "Whether it is the conception, melody, or style, all are of the highest quality. This is a masterpiece that meticulously combines ancient and modern music."

    "This is a kind of..."

    "New style..."

    "Perhaps it''s not too much to call it a masterpiece of ancient style music. The high benchmark of ancient style music has been raised by this song to a place that many Maestros can''t reach."

    "..."

    Everyone was discussing.

    No one was exclaiming loudly or arguing fiercely.

    But in their seemingly calm tones, lay a more profound shock!

    This shock was not felt again when they continued to listen to the works of other Maestros.

    So...

    After they roughly went through the season''s song ranking, someone asked, "Who do you think won between Yang Zhongming and Xian Yu this time?"

    Li Yang pointed to the ceiling, "Only heaven knows."

    Someone suggested, "Should we vote?"

    Everyone nodded.

    "Raise scissors if you support Xian Yu, a fist for Yang Zhongming."

    Swish, swish, swish.

    Everyone raised their hands.

    Looking roughly, Li Yang couldn''t immediately determine the voting situation amongst the thirty people. There were a good number of both scissors and fists.

    The most outrageous part?

    Li Yang distinctly saw seven or eight people constantly switching their gestures between scissors and a fist.

    Switching back and forth.

    "Can you stop switching?" Li Yang scratched his head.

    "It''s not that I want to switch."

    The ace composer seemed a bit distressed. "When the song of Father Yang resonates in my mind, my brain tells me that Yang Zhongming must win. But when "Shattered East Wind" resounds in my brain, it tells me that Xian Yu has already won three championships."

    You¡­"

    Li Yang wanted to retort, but he stopped mid-sentence.

    Because everyone was nodding.

    Li Yang suddenly remembered a picture posted by his follower Zheng Jing in his Tribe a few days ago¡­

    It was not until this moment that Li Yang understood the meaning of that picture.

    Xian Yu is Sun Wukong.

    Yang Zhongming is Erlang Shen.

    This match, if it doesn''t last for 30 days, perhaps the winner and loser can''t be determined.

    ----------

    P.S.: Since the side story is a new feature introduced by Yuewen, it is only available for premium subscribers. I hope I will have the opportunity to continue the side story in the future. Originally, I planned to write a side story on some character from the Yu Dynasty.

    However, upon reflection, I felt that it would be more meaningful to write about Lin Yuan''s past life, especially since I won''t be mentioning any past life content in the main story. I hope you guys subscribe to the premium package for this feature.

 Chapter 626 - 592 Equal Share of Autumns Beauty_1

    Meanwhile.

    It appears that the same process is being repeated in many places.

    Many listeners first listened to "Blue Star".

    After listening, many people were astounded!

    "Holy crap!"

    "Father Yang''s song is truly grand and heroic!"

    "As expected of Father Yang, his first release already has a groundbreaking rhythm!"

    "Xian Yu''s dream of a triple crown might be directly terminated."

    "Yang Zhongming is really too strong!"

    "Every time Father Yang competes, he shows a powerful force that leaves the runner-up hopeless."

    "..."

    It seems that all listeners who have finished listening to "Blue Star" subconsciously feel that this song must win the championship.

    But¡­

    When they finished listening to "Breaking of the East Wind", they could not help but be dumbfounded, and their previous thoughts began to waver.

    This song seems no worse than "Blue Star"¡­

    "Fish Papa''s song is so beautiful!"

    "In terms of aesthetics and imagery, ''Breaking of the East Wind'' is the best of Fish Papa''s songs to date!"

    "The integration of classical poetry with modern pop music blatantly breaks the existing divide between new poetry and lyrics. The alternative use of ancient and modern lyrics gives a sense of time and space entanglement. Xian Yu''s ''Breaking of the East Wind'' is truly amazing!"

    "After listening to ''Breaking of the East Wind'', I feel slightly intoxicated."

    "Mother God, Xian Yu''s song is scary. As a composition student, this song primarily uses gong scale, and its instrumentation heavily features traditional classical instruments from the Blue Star Kingdom. Even though the lyrics are still colloquial, the musical effect is even more classical than ''Wishing We Last Forever'', a song that went completely classical with its lyrics!"

    "Has this created a new music genre?"

    "Composition student here, Xian Yu''s song is unbeatable!"

    "I don''t understand composition, but I have learned to play the Erhu. To an ordinary listener like me, ''Breaking of the East Wind'' is absolutely a beautiful piece, especially the addition of Erhu in the middle, which is simply divine!"

    "..."

    People who understand music composition excitedly and almost crazily explain to the public the groundbreaking nature of "Breaking of the East Wind" in terms of composition!

    Of course.

    Appraisals that praise "Blue Star" for its magnificence also frequently appear among these explanations.

    In fact, other songs from the Battle of the Gods that were released at the same time also had many internet users discussing them.

    But if someone were to count the number of topics, they would find:

    The songs of Xian Yu and Yang Zhongming have absolutely crushed other songs of the same period in terms of discussion heat!

    For a time, netizens did not know how to judge.

    "I thought Father Yang was sure to win, but now I''m not sure how to judge. Fish Papa''s song doesn''t lose to Father Yang''s work at all!"

    "The two songs are hard to compare, their styles are completely different."

    "One is unfettered grandeur and exuberance, the other is sentimental sorrow and beauty."

    "The former is heroic, the latter is graceful."

    "I like both songs, so I downloaded them both..."

    "I also downloaded both."

    "In terms of composition creativity, Xian Yu''s song is simply of the pioneering master level!"

    "How to compare?"

    "..."

    This result is something that no one expected.

    In the past Battles of the Gods, even if the superiority of the songs wasn''t immediately clear after listening, the strength of each could at least be determined.

    But this year.

    Both Yang Zhongming''s work and Xian Yu''s work seem to have reached the peak in their respective styles!

    It''s like being faced with two completely different but equally delicious dishes, and having to make a choice.

    There''s no way to choose!

    Absolutely no way to choose!

    This is not only true for the audience, but also for the professional music industry. The two songs each stand out in their own right...

    For a while.

    Everyone was a bit stunned.

    Xian Yu and Yang Zhongming¡­ share the limelight?

    In fact, in the previous "Our Song", Xian Yu had already tied with Yang Zhongming once, but at that time everyone did not pay too much attention or struggle over the result, treating it as purely an entertainment competition.

    After all, it was just a variety show.

    Because of the quirky competition system and rules, the outcome couldn''t say much.

    But this is a battle of the gods!

    Despite Yang Zhongming''s all-out effort, he didn''t crush Xian Yu - instead, the two were evenly matched, leaving countless audience members unable to judge who was superior...

    And what this represents is entirely different!

    Yes.

    In many people''s eyes, it was expected that Yang Zhongming would compose a song like "Blue Star". While it was indeed stunning, it wasn''t particularly surprising.

    Any song composer who can rank among the top five with "Blue Star" would certainly possess such ability!

    But the fact that Xian Yu could create a song like "East Wind Broken" was a huge surprise!

    Even though Xian Yu''s previous songs had received high ratings, they were still predominantly pop songs.

    Whether motivational or romantic, they merely represented excellent performances within set boundaries.

    This time, "East Wind Broken" completely broke away from conventional music styles, creating a refreshing and unique melody!

    That melody, resembling ancient tunes, yet possessing the aesthetic of modern simplicity, was irresistible!

    Those who knew composition, once they heard "East Wind Broken", could easily discover the sheer horror of this song!

    Even those who didn''t understand composition could still appreciate the beauty and grace of the song...

    So.

    The vast majority of the audience, after listening to the songs, chose to download both of them.

    Then.

    More and more people recalled the image that Zheng Jing posted before the Battle of the Gods began¡ª

    Sun Wukong battling Erlang Shen!

    The showdown between Xian Yu and Yang Zhongming was indeed like Sun Wukong battling Erlang Shen!

    Even the powerful Yang Zhongming didn''t suppress Xian Yu, who represented Sun Wukong, as effortlessly as Buddha with his Five Finger Mountain!

    "Mother Zheng''s predictions are spot on..."

    "I declare, Mother Zheng has won this round!"

    "Impressive, Mother Zheng predicted this from the start!"

    "The first one to predict it was An Hong, these two are like Sun Wukong battling Erlang Shen, they could fight for a year without a decisive victor!"

    "After listening to ''Blue Star'': Father Yang is unstoppable!"

    "After listening to ''East Wind Broken'': Fish Papa is guaranteed to win!"

    "It''s not that I want to sit on the fence, but they are both so good, this is a real godly battle!"

    "I bet Mother Zheng listened to the new songs from these two in advance, that''s why she foresaw it with an image!"

    "..."

    Everyone online was making light remarks in Zheng Jing''s comment section.

    Just then. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Someone exclaims online:

    "Bloody hell, the seasonal chart is updated, quickly look at the number of downloads!"

    It turns out that the December seasonal chart had started to be calculated.

    Everyone hurriedly opened the chart.

    At the moment.

    The song ranked first on the seasonal chart was "Blue Star", with a whopping more than 36 million downloads!

    Following closely in second place was Xian Yu''s "East Wind Broken", with just over 35 million downloads!

    "Did Father Yang win?"

    Just as someone finished saying this, someone else on the internet exclaimed:

    "Damn, Fish Papa has overtaken!"

    Alongside the shouted surprise, many of them saw that, in an instant, "Blue Star" had fallen from first to the second place.

    Meanwhile, "East Wind Broken" had become the new first place holder with a slight lead!

    "So, did Fish Papa win?"

    Before everyone could sigh again, they saw...

    Yang Zhongming was back in first place!

    What followed was a sight many would never forget in their lifetimes:

    Under the dumbfounded gaze of everyone, Xian Yu and Yang Zhongming''s songs went back and forth in the rankings.

    Yang Zhongming might be in first place five minutes ago, but five minutes later Xian Yu would become the new first place.

    After a while, Yang Zhongming reclaimed his spot...

    And a moment later, so did Xian Yu...

    This top position kept alternating between the two.

    Looking back at the image of Sun Wukong battling Erlang Shen, if they remembered correctly, the battle between Sun Wukong and Erlang Shen was also like this, back and forth.

    Netizens: "..."

 Chapter 627 - 593 Lu Sheng_1

    "Sailing through life, drifting to the ends of the earth, sipping sorrow''s brew, warmed by memories, thinned by thoughts of you¡­"

    In some room.

    Yang Zhongming was sitting quietly, headphones on, listening to the song "Dongfengpo".

    As the lyrics "Who breaks the east wind with a lute?" ring out, a faint smile gradually appears on Yang Zhongming''s calm face.

    "Gong tone, so that''s it."

    He nods slightly, eyes glowing, fully feeling the creative spirit of the song.

    This boy, didn''t let him down after all.

    As for the season ranking, Yang Zhongming did not check.

    Since a few years ago, he stopped checking the seasonal rankings after releasing a song.

    For Yang Zhongming, the release of a song signified fulfilment.

    Being first isn''t his goal.

    Suddenly.

    The phone rang.

    Yang Zhongming looked at the caller ID, it read "Lu Sheng". A faint smile touched his lips, as if expecting the call to come -

    Lu Sheng!

    The youngest maestro in Blue Star''s history, in many people''s minds, Lu Sheng was even more adept than Yang Zhongming!

    Yang Zhongming picked up the call.

    "Brother Zhongming, looks like you''ve met your match. Don''t lose to a junior before you''ve lost to me," the voice on the other end of the line was slightly teasing and challenging.

    "Maybe."

    Yang Zhongming didn''t seem bothered by the banter or the challenge.

    After all these years, he was used to it.

    The voice on the other end of the line grew serious: "Marrying classical and modern music styles in such a uniform manner has always been the direction of my study. I didn''t expect that a junior could write such a song before me¡­"

    Yang Zhongming said, "You''ve been in Han Continent for too long."

    "What?"

    Lu Sheng was confused.

    Yang Zhongming smirked, "If you paid enough attention to Xian Yu, you would know that ''A Sea of Laughter'' was the start of his investigation into pentatonic musical styles. This song is an extension and exploration of that style. Although the Gong tone was reversed in the previous attempt, while this time, it''s in the correct order, it''s all just playing with Gong tones."

    "Don''t hang up, I want to listen."

    Lu Sheng''s voice showed a certain strangeness.

    After a few minutes, Lu Sheng suddenly shouted, "This Xian Yu is the same as you, a monster!"

    Yang Zhongming: "¡­" sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Zheng Jing seemed to enjoy saying, that he was a big pervert, and Xian Yu was a small one.

    Where did that boy even resemble him?

    "Ah!"

    Suddenly, Lu Sheng screams, "Your ''Blue Star'' is plagiarized!"

    Yang Zhongming rolled his eyes for rare, "Did I copy your song?"

    "You plagiarized Xian Yu''s song! You copied ''A Sea of Laughter''!" Lu Sheng''s voice was certain.

    "Great music must be produced with ease."

    Yang Zhongming smiled again, "Gong, Shang, Jiao, Zhi, and Yu, the simplest of scales. Indeed, Xian Yu gave me this idea and hence, there is ''Blue Star''. Using the simplest of scales to create the grandest of feelings."

    Yang Zhongming knew very well what Lu Sheng meant by "plagiarism".

    The inspiration for his song "Blue Star" comes from one of Xian Yu''s previous songs.

    The chord progression may not have anything to do with plagiarism, but Yang Zhongming has to admit that the inspiration for this song came from Xian Yu''s "A Sea of Laughter".

    In The Masked Singer.

    Xian Yu sang this song as the Prince of Lanling and Yang Zhongming just happened to be a judge at that time.

    After hearing this song, Yang Zhongming was inspired to create "Blue Star".

    He seized the phrase "great music must be produced with ease".

    Simple doesn''t necessarily mean superficial.

    Well used, it could even reveal a sense of returning to the origin.

    "Just joking."

    Lu Sheng chuckles, of course, it wasn''t plagiarism, "This Xian Yu might even break my record!"

    Lu Sheng was the youngest maestro in the history of Blue Star.

    Lu Sheng had thought that this record was his alone, and no one could break it in the future. However, he didn''t expect Xian Yu to appear on Blue Star!

    In this man, Lu Sheng saw terrifying potential.

    Yang Zhongming casually replied, "Your record isn''t worth much."

    "I think it''s valuable."

    Disgruntled, Lu Sheng continued quietly, "Seems like there''s no reason for me to stay in Han Continent any longer, they''re about to join the merger soon."

    "Hmm."

    "Brother Zhongming, the years I''ve spent in Han Continent haven''t been fruitless, the music scene here isn''t simple."

    "Oh?"

    Yang Zhongming frowned, "What do you mean?"

    Lu Sheng''s voice held an odd note, "Things are developing too fast here, it''s a bit like Qi Continent. It has its unique music style. This recent years, music composed in the local dialect has been more popular than music in Mandarin. Plus, the quality is ever improving. It''s a bit like when music was booming in Qin Continent."

    "You mean..."

    "The position of Qin Continent as the land of music may be challenged by Han Continent. This brand-new music style will shock the entire world."

    Lu Sheng was quite certain about Han Continent in his remarks.

    "Is that so."

    Yang Zhongming chuckled, "Then I''ll have to study it carefully."

    Lu Sheng said, "It''s indeed worth studying. I''ve been trying in recent years, and the results have been pretty good. The music style here is very mature. Soon, next year, the music from Han Continent will impact the market¡­"

    Yang Zhongming mused.

    Including Zhong Continent, Blue Star consists of eight continents.

    Zhong Continent doesn''t have a distinctive feature because it integrates well.

    However, the other seven continents have their own distinct local cultures, which can be found in their novels, music, and even films.

    "However¡­"

    Lu Sheng interjected, "Qin Continent''s music is undoubtedly the best in Blue Star. I just think that the music of Han Continent also has many merits. It''s the only continent that can keep up with the pace of music in Qin Continent."

    Yang Zhongming nodded.

    Lu Sheng continued, "If nothing unexpected happens, Xian Yu should be vying for the title of maestro soon. He has enough ability, it just depends on the way he chooses to do it. I hope he doesn''t follow the same path as me, it''s not easy."

    Lu Sheng became a maestro thanks to one particular piece of work.

    Back then, people said that Lu Sheng becoming a maestro was sheer luck.

    To prove himself, in the second year after becoming a maestro, Lu Sheng held a twelve-time championship in the seasonal rankings!

    After that, no one dared to say that Lu Sheng becoming a maestro was just luck.

    But now that Lu Sheng thought back, he felt it was a path full of thorns.

    If given another chance, he wasn''t even sure if he could hold the championship for twelve times again.

    Yang Zhongming stayed silent.

    He was actually curious about which route Xian Yu would choose to challenge the maestro title.

    "Speaking of which, could the song ''Dongfengpo'' claim the maestro award directly?" Lu Sheng seemed to be asking Yang Zhongming, while also thinking out loud.

    "It falls a little bit short."

    Upon some thought, Yang Zhongming answered.

    From a creative perspective, it suffices, but it falls short in certain aspects.

    Currently, most of the songs that could directly claim the maestro award with a single piece were instrumental music.

    And "Dongfengpo", while still primarily pop, was hard to break away from the confines of lyrics.

    "That''s true."

    Lu Sheng grimaced, "If I were a judge, I would award the prize directly to ''Dongfengpo''."

    Yang Zhongming said nothing.

    The next day, the fierce battle between Sun Wukong and Erlang Shen had intensified, and the media was reporting non-stop!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Continue writing, also asking for monthly tickets~

 Chapter 628 - 628: 594

    "Looking at ''Breaking Dawn'' in terms of lyrics, composition, background music, rhythm, atmosphere, and emotional arousal, it is almost an impeccable song. Xian Yu''s career is still very long, but so far, this song should be considered Xian Yu''s masterpiece."

    ¡ª Qin Continent Vanguard

    "The beauty of logical rational text, the touching beauty of emotional text, two styles that seem to be opposed to each other, both appear in the hands of the same creator. This is ''Breaking Dawn'', a song that startled the industry, declaring Xian Yu to have created a new genre of neoclassical music and a song that fans of ancient style call the ceiling of ancient style songs."

    ¡ª Qi Continent Pop

    "The whole song is imbued with the style of the pipa (a Chinese lute), crying and lamenting. Xian Yu''s easy grasp of classical music makes people realise more and more that his success is no fluke."

    ¡ª Chu Continent Music Magazine

    "If you still have to use language deconstruction to evaluate ''Breaking Dawn'', it has already destroyed its most beautiful flavour. The music scene at the end of this year has become exciting because of Xian Yu, and Blue Star Music has become even more dazzling because of Xian Yu."

    ¡ª Yan Continent Entertainment

    All the regional media have reviewed this song. Even the official Literature and Art Gazette said: "Xian Yu has created a genre of modern classical music, the song uses three ancient and three new standards and ideas to highlight the jade carving of the work. It is not only a beautiful ancient style song, but also a perfect combination of classical and modern music!"

    Of course.

    In the flurry of reports, there is no shortage of high praise for ''Blue Star''. Unable to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the two songs from the direction of the media, even the Literature and Art Gazette gave a relatively conservative evaluation of both songs: "Bold and tender, rough and sophisticated, in their own styles, both songs have reached their extremes!"

    You can''t blame the media for being conservative.

    These two songs are just too good, not only leaving the third place song far behind, but they are also wrestling for first and second place, just like a stalemated tug of war.

    One day.

    Two days.

    Three days.

    The two songs are still competing back and forth, and no song can warm up the champion''s throne. After this repeated overtaking situation, no one can predict who will win after thirty days. However, the outside world''s evaluation of Xian Yu is getting higher and higher because of the birth of ''Breaking Dawn''.

    After all, this time.

    Xian Yu''s opponent is Yang Zhongming, a top-class maestro whom everyone acknowledges as in the top five ranking in Blue Star. Being able to compete back and forth with this kind of maestro already explains a lot.

    Online.

    The tug-of-war between the two has gradually formed two camps, one camp calling themselves the ''Sheep Party'', supporting Yang Zhongming, and the other camp calling themselves the ''Fish Party'', supporting Xian Yu.''

    On this.

    There are even whimsical netizens who have made fun of whether they like Xian Yu or Yang Zhongming''s song, jokingly asking if they prefer to drink mutton soup or fish soup - both mutton soup and fish soup are famous culinary dishes -''

    "I love fish soup!"

    One fish party member seriously analysed: "Fish soup has a rich collagen, which can enhance the elasticity of the skin, thus having a good beauty effect, and the taste is delicious, which can stimulate the taste buds very well and enhance the appetite!"

    The fish party really knows how to play.

    The sheep party refuted: "Mutton soup is good for the glands and benefits Qi, warms and enriches kidney yang, it''s very good for those with bad kidneys, and it has a very good therapeutic effect on qi deficiency caused by a weak spleen!"

    Someone said:

    This is a competition between fish and sheep for freshness!

    So-called fish and sheep competing for freshness is actually a famous dish in some region. Coincidentally, the words "fish" and "sheep" combined happen to be this word:

    Fresh!!!

    The competition between the two sides doesn''t have a hint of hostility, but rather is full of the scent of delicious food and the common scenery of life. Looking at the download numbers of both songs, they seem to be promoting each other. When one song''s data soars, the other song will make an urgent effort. Even those in the industry marvel at the data of both songs:

    That would be this year.

    If it were previous years'' Battle of the Gods contest, either of these two songs could easily snag the crown. That''s because the performance data of these two songs significantly outshines previous years''.

    At this moment.

    Lin Yuan was writing the Sherlock Holmes series in his studio, occasionally glancing at the season charts. Realizing that a winner wouldn''t emerge in the short term, Lin Yuan broke into a smile, putting on his headphones, listening to music, and continuing to type.

    He was listening to "Blue Star".

    This song has been on Lin Yuan''s loop lately. Putting the competitive stance aside, Lin Yuan personally enjoys this song a lot. He even thought that if there were an Olympics in this world, this song should be much stronger than "Me and You".

    Popularity.

    Artistry.

    Both were stronger.

    As days went by in the competition between the two songs, everyone began to care more about the outcome between Yang Zhongming and Xian Yu as time went by, although even if a winner was determined, the gap would certainly be minuscule.

    Of course.

    The passage of time not only signified the outcome of the Battle of the Gods for Xian Yu and Yang Zhongming but also meant that the Lunar New Year was around the corner. Lin Yuan could already sense the coming of that new year feeling--

    The New Year is coming!

    Lin Yuan suddenly wonders, whether Earthlings are also celebrating the new year. As far as Blue Star is concerned, the New Year is not just the lively Spring Festival; it also coincides with the grand event of merging new continents!

    Next up is the Han Continent!

    The merging of the Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan continents brought various changes to people''s lives in these four continents. The future integration of the Han Continent into Blue Star will undoubtedly bring various influences as well, covering various fields of the five continents. Lin Yuan is quite looking forward to this.

    As a matter of fact.

    This future is not many days away. On Dec 25, when Xian Yu and Yang Zhongming still hadn''t determined a winner, the announcement was finally made that the Han Continent would join the Blue Star''s integration process on Dec 31!

    That very night. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The Literature and Art Association official Weibo suddenly re-forwarded the song "Blue Star" and solemnly stated on the official platform: "As the lyrics of this song say, in the near future, our Blue Star family will be more closely connected!"

    Immediately after.

    The account of "Homeland" also re-forwarded "Blue Star": "Everyone''s hearts are connected in Blue Star Village. The spring breeze of integration is blowing across this vast planet. The horn of the times resonates in more people''s hearts!"

    Official endorsement!

    Immediately, countless official institutions of the Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan continents re-forwarded the song "Blue Star". For some special reasons, this song was suddenly imbued with special significance, and for the first time, the ranking difference between Yang Zhongming and Xian Yu on the season''s chart widened¡ª

    Swipe, swipe, swipe!

    The game''s over!

    Everyone was flabbergasted!

    How is this even possible?

    At this moment, all supporters on both sides were filled with frustration. Even Lin Yuan and Yang Zhongming, the two parties involved, fell into a strange silence.

    What just happened?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: I''ve been holding my breath. I couldn''t tell you guys, it would spoil the fun. In fact, I have been hinting at this ending for a while. Why did I say that Xian Yu and Yang Zhongming are like the battle between Sun Wukong and Erlang Shen? Think about how Sun Wukong lost to Yang Jian?

 Chapter 629 - 595: The Prophet Has Already Seen Through Everything _1

    The so-called "Fish Sheep Controversy" had lasted almost a month of intense chart competition, constantly shifting up and down.

    Countless people were watching the final outcome, you could say they were on tenterhooks.

    Everyone had finally reached the end of the month, but thought that the two songs would fairly decide the winner¡ª

    But then, official intervention came out of the blue!

    Xian Yu and Yang Zhongming''s equilibrium was instantly shattered!

    The scales of victory were completely tipped towards Yang Zhongming!

    At this moment.

    Countless individuals wanted to vomit blood in frustration:

    "What the heck?"

    "Why is there suddenly some official intervention?"

    "This is no longer fun."

    "Official promotion, the deadliest move!"

    "Who can withstand the heat when it''s boosted by the authorities..."

    "Last time when watching ''Our Song'', I just wanted to know the exact number of votes for these two, but the program team considered them tied."

    "I thought the season chart couldn''t continue to be a tie, there must be a result. Geez, the official suddenly got involved."

    "All I wanted was to see Fish Papa and Father Yang outdo each other. Why is this so hard?"

    "Father Yang won, but in this case, Xian Yu didn''t lose."

    "..."

    There''s a victor now.

    But this victory is not what everyone wanted to see, so everyone was so frustrated.

    At this moment.

    Suddenly, someone slapped their forehead, remembering something from the past.

    "Do you remember how Xian Yu got the champion song during the first duel between Fish Papa and Fei Yang?"

    "Seems like, it was also officially backed?"

    "If it wasn''t for the official backing, Fei Yang should have won the first encounter with Xian Yu; but as soon as the authorities intervened, Xian Yu immediately overtook Fei Yang and took the first place."

    "If I remember correctly, that song was ''Change Yourself'' by Chen Zhiyu."

    "At that time, the authorities promoted the song saying that the content of ''Change Yourself'' was a call for unity in all states of Blue Star, advising everyone not to have alienation and bitterness."

    "This time, Father Yang also used the same theme, calling for the unity of all the states in the Blue Star."

    "Well, this is..."

    "..."

    The internet users were left in a state of laughter and tears.

    Every cause has an effect.

    Fate, is indeed wonderful beyond words.

    The initial official intervention gave Xian Yu a boost and forcibly placed Fei Yang in second place.

    That time, Xian Yu was considered extremely lucky.

    Who would have thought that this time, during Xian Yu''s duel with Yang Zhongming, the officials would intervene for the same reason again, but the beneficiary was not Xian Yu anymore, but his opponent Yang Zhongming.

    "Does every official gift come with a price tag in the dark?"

    "Look up, no one is spared by the heavens."

    "Never thought Xian Yu would have this day."

    "Fei Yang: Sweet revenge!"

    "So the authorities'' thought process is so long-term, this is too fair."

    "Help Xian Yu once, so they should help Xian Yu''s opponent once too?"

    "Well, we can look forward to the third duel between Fish Papa and Father Yang."

    "This time, it''s too absurd."

    "..."

    The internet users, while joking around, couldn''t help but laugh and sigh. They didn''t know how to complain anymore.

    What could they complain about?

    Obviously, the official move was not deliberate.

    Blue Star''s big merger is the main theme, and it just happens to be the end of the year, with Han Continent about to join the merger.

    In such circumstances, the promotion of the song "Blue Star" is also for the benefit of the people.

    The funny thing is, during Yang Zhongming''s Battle of the Gods, he just happened to write a theme song that the authorities could promote.

    "Wait a minute."

    At this moment, someone had a sudden realization:

    "The confrontation between Fish Papa and Yang Zhongming, which was described as the battle between Sun Wukong and Erlang Shen, clearly refers to Xian Yu as Sun Wukong, because Xian Yu is the screenwriter of ''Journey to the West''. Yang Zhongming is Erlang Shen. Coincidentally, Erlang Shen is named Yang Jian, which suggests a connection with Father Yang.

    These two characters didn''t have a clear outcome in the novel, but those who have watched ''Journey to the West'' know that Sun Wukong eventually lost to Erlang Shen because the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord, seeing a stalemate between Sun Wukong and Erlang Shen, attacked Sun Wukong with the Vajra Bangle, causing the monkey to be captured..."

    Huh?

    The netizens were bewildered at first, but then they thought the interpretation made sense.

    Xian Yu and Yang Zhongming, like Sun Wukong and Erlang Shen, were evenly matched in their contest...

    But finally, the officials came to help Yang Zhongming, causing Xian Yu to fail.

    From this perspective, the behavior of the officials is exactly the same as that of the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord!

    Not to mention...

    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord belongs to the Heavenly Court, the highest authority in the ''Journey to the West'' world.

    While the Literature and Art Association belongs to the officials, it is also part of the highest authority of Blue Star.

    "This is pretty mystical!"

    "So, did Zheng Jing foresee everything?"

    "Zheng Jing is awesome!"

    "The battle between Sun Wukong and Erlang Shen, it''s not just about their stalemate, but it''s also a metaphor for how the authorities, like the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord, will help Yang Zhongming to ambush Xian Yu!"

    "For this, I''m willing to call Mother Zheng the strongest!"

    "Mother Zheng: Everything is under control."

    "Mother Zheng has already told us the outcome, it''s just that we didn''t realize it, and we even referred to Father Yang as the Buddha. This has nothing to do with the Buddha."

    "..."

    The netizens were thrilled!

    Everyone knew it was just a coincidence.

    But such coincidences are rare, so everyone was taking it seriously and discussing it.

    For a while, it was a popular trend.

    Some even seriously posted about it in their circle of friends.

    Many netizens who hadn''t watched ''Journey to the West'' were at a loss:

    What battle between Sun Wukong and Erlang Shen?

    What about the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord''s sneak attack with the Vajra Bangle?

    Fine then.

    This round is not a loss for Xian Yu either.

    The drama ''Journey to the West'', for which he was the screenwriter, also gained endless publicity through this unusual battle.

    When Zheng Jing saw the comments in her section, she was dumbfounded.

    Especially when Zheng Jing saw that everyone was saying that the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord''s sneak attack on Sun Wukong with the Vajra Bangle was identical to the official''s sneak attack on Xian Yu--

    "Zheng Jing, you have a golden mouth!" S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Zheng Jing, the prophet, is confirmed!"

    "I''m going to knife you tonight!"

    "Give up and quit, it''s boring."

    "And you said you''re not a prophet!"

    "..."

    Zheng Jing: ???

    For a moment, even Zheng Jing herself doubted whether she had jinxed it.

    Did things actually turn out this way?

    However, Lin Yuan accepted the result calmly.

    Although he didn''t get a fair result with Yang Zhongming, the stalemate over such a long period of time showed that in some sense, the two songs were not much different.

    There will be other opportunities to compete in the future.

    When Lin Yuan just saw the official''s promotion of ''Blue Star'', he also had a feeling of karma and retribution.

    Right.

    Sun Wukong later encountered eighty-one hardships and ultimately obtained the Scripture--

    Did the Scripture have something to do with "Zheng Jing"?

    Lin Yuan suddenly felt like he was also babbling.

    He shook his head.

    Lin Yuan decided to believe in science.

    Rather than saying the Scripture has something to do with "Zheng Jing", it''s better to say:

    The 108,000-mile journey to the West that Sun Wukong and his companions had to undergo, signals the difficulties I will face next year in my challenge to Maestro.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: The reason for writing about the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord''s ambush and the confrontation between the protagonist and Father Yang being like Sun Wukong battling Erlang Shen was hinted at before.

    Amid the continuous fireworks and the festive and joyous atmosphere outside, Polluted White also wishes all the brothers and sisters a Happy New Year, good health, a smooth career, a quick reach to wealth, and a move towards the pinnacle of life!

 Chapter 630 - 596: Happy New Year_1

    Although "The East Wind Breaks" lost to Yang Zhongming due to the intervention of the authorities, this result clearly cannot satisfy everyone.

    While netizens are making fun, they also understand in their hearts...

    Xian Yu and Yang Zhongming probably need to compete against each other again to have a proper winner and loser.

    As for this competition, everyone thinks the two songs tied.

    It was like the confrontation under the strange rule of "Our Song".

    But because of the advance loss of suspense in the Battle of the Gods, everyone quickly lost interest in it.

    Everyone has their own life to live, and the old year is about to pass while the new year is just about to begin.

    A lot of people start to go on holiday-

    The Spring Festival is coming!

    Lin Yuan also has his own business to busy with.

    He needs to prepare for the new song in January!

    From January to December next year, Lin Yuan plans to aim for twelve consecutive championships!

    The so-called twelve consecutive championships means-

    Twelve seasons, and he can''t lose any of them!

    If he loses even one season, then all his hard work would have been for nothing!

    Under such circumstances, even Lin Yuan feels a lot of pressure.

    After all, for the Battle of the Gods this year, he doesn''t have any hope of a turnaround...

    Although there were external reasons, even if the authorities didn''t interfere, the championship was always uncertain.

    Besides, he is going to aim for twelve consecutive victories!

    "The toughest season should be the Battle of the Gods next year, but in the eleven months before that, even if the competition is not as intense as the Battle of the Gods, some top-notch maestros might still target me."

    "Therefore, the songs I release must be convincing enough. This experience tells us that prolonging the competition is very risky, so it''s best to kill the suspense in the first few days."

    "There aren''t many songs like that, but there also aren''t few."

    "..."

    Lin Yuan reflected quietly.

    With a whole Earth as a resource library, Lin Yuan could slowly sift through.

    At this moment-

    On the internet-

    Many people think Xian Yu would be hit hard for losing the Battle of the Gods.

    In the comment section of the Tribe-

    A lot of fans are comforting Xian Yu.

    In reality, Lin Yuan is not hit hard. It can only be said that it''s a bit of a pity that he couldn''t achieve three consecutive championships in the Battle of the Gods.

    After all, being a three-time champion sounds very dominating, right?!

    But since there was no hope for the three-time championship, Lin Yuan adjusted his mentality quickly.

    "The Maestros of Blue Star are all very strong."

    "Because I won against a few Maestros before, I subconsciously underestimated their strength."

    "The fact is, not only Teacher Yang Zhongming-

    "Even Teachers Ye Zhi Qiu and Yin Dong, who have lost to me several times, could still have a chance to win if they release a good song and I don''t respond well."

    "..."

    Losing to Yang Zhongming was a wake-up call for Lin Yuan.

    He now has a clearer understanding of the strength of the maestro-grade composers.

    In a way, Lin Yuan is quite thankful for this failure.

    He''ll just fight again next year.

    Just treat it as starting everything all over again!

    If all goes well, he himself next year might become a real maestro, standing on the same level as these powerful opponents!

    Huh?

    Starting all over again?

    Lin Yuan suddenly smiled.

    For the first fight of the twelve consecutive championships, Lin Yuan finally made up his mind on what song to use:

    "I''ll sing this song myself."

    Next year, Lin Yuan has to release at least twelve songs.

    He plans to give most of the songs to Yu Dynasty, or suitable singers to perform.

    But for the start of the season, the first song, Lin Yuan wants to sing it himself.

    After all, this song is about his feelings, not others'' emotions.

    The song is called: "Starting Over"!

    The reason for choosing this song is just as the title of the song says:

    Lin Yuan plans to start anew!

    But Lin Yuan''s choice of this song wasn''t solely based on his current emotions and feelings.

    It was also related to how great this song itself is!

    After all, "Starting Over" is a masterpiece by Liu Huan, one of Earth''s top singers!

    Liu Huan has been a cornerstone in the music industry for decades, boasting numerous classic songs.

    If one had to select a representative work by Liu Huan - it would probably not be just a single one - but it would definitely include "Starting Over"!

    Even Liu Huan''s early fame is closely related to this song.

    In a way, this song has established Liu Huan''s status in the music industry to a certain extent.

    Therefore, Lin Yuan has great confidence in this song.

    The championship title for the January season - he is sure to clinch it!

    With this thought, Lin Yuan called the company and scheduled a recording session.

    Time was pressing. He needed to get this song recorded as soon as possible.

    A few days later, Lin Yuan finally finished recording his January chart-buster "Starting Over".

    Meanwhile.

    Chinese New Year has officially arrived!

    The champion of the "Battle of the Gods" was locked onto "Blue Star".

    Lin Yuan''s "Breaking of the Eastern Wind" was second.

    That night.

    At the Lin family''s villa.

    The sisters were watching the Spring Festival Gala with their mother.

    Lin Yuan was also watching the Spring Festival Gala, but his phone in his pocket was vibrating non-stop.

    There were many messages being sent.

    "Happy New Year, Teacher Admirable Fish! Keep up the good fight next year, in my heart you are always the best!"

    "Happy New Year, Teacher Admirable Fish! ''Breaking of the Eastern Wind'' is very beautiful!"

    "Good luck, Teacher Admirable Fish, wish you good health and success in the New Year!"

    "I hope Teacher Admirable Fish will not be affected by this setback, in the new year, the Fish Dynasty will always be with you!"

    "Lin, the charismatic man, may the new year be smooth-going for you. Let''s strive together!"

    "Lin Yuan, hang in there, Daddy Jian is with you."

    "Happy New Year, Little Fish. Aunt Zheng is not a jinx."

    "Wishing my junior brother, sisters, and mother a Happy New Year. Come to my restaurant when you are free. I''ve recently opened a new lamb restaurant near the company. We slaughter the freshest lambs every day. I invite my junior brother to try our lamb soup!"

    "..."

    Lin Yuan checked the messages.

    Most of the messages were from the Fish Dynasty, as well as from Jian Yi, Xia Fan, and even Zheng Jing.

    At this point, his phone rang again. It was a message from Yang Zhongming:

    "This time doesn''t count, let''s reschedule another time. Also, Happy New Year."

    Lin Yuan smiled and replied: "Okay."

    After replying to the message, a song suddenly came to Lin Yuan''s ears:

    "Good fortune comes, wish you good fortune comes..."

    Lin Yuan looked up and saw Wei Haoyun singing "Good Fortune Comes" on the Spring Festival Gala stage.

    Mother laughed and said, "It sounds good!"

    His sister mumbled, "Even though we''ve heard it too many times, hearing this song on the Spring Festival Gala suddenly makes it feel more familiar."

    His younger sister nodded in agreement.

    Lin Yuan''s smile grew even broader.

    At this moment.

    HIs sister suddenly said, "Happy New Year to you, mom, Da Yaoyao, and my little brother..."

    "Happy New Year!"

    "Happy New Year!"

    Mother and Da Yaoyao responded in unison, even Antarctica, who was watching the Spring Festival Gala, joyfully barked four times.

    "Woof, woof, woof, woof!"

    Spectacular fireworks were exploding in the sky outside the window, making the world seemingly more magnificent. Lin Yuan''s eyes seemed to light up:

    "Happy New Year to you all!"

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to Feather for 10500, I''m a Flower Thief, Xin Yuan Shui for 10000 rewards!! Thanks to Lili, stop being silly, 5000, Purple moon, mysterious rain, 2000, It hurts so much, It''s so painful, The chestnut loves you, once fallen as a star, Night Drunk Heart Drunk Not Arrived, Thousands of Rains, Silk vest walks the night, It''s so painful, JAHR for 1500 rewards!

    (This rewarding thanks is free, once again wishing everyone a Happy New Year.) S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 631 - 597 Start Again_1

    All the best.

    Whole family reunion.

    The Spring Festival brings countless laughter and joy to every household ¡ª¡ª

    It is already the first day of the year.

    After midnight, the Spring Festival officially arrives!

    And the Han Continent of Blue Star has finally joined the merger!

    The continents of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han, will henceforth communicate interactively!

    On the internet.

    The netizens of Han Continent have arrived!

    They are curiously browsing through all kinds of news from Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan.

    The netizens of Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan are warmly welcoming the Han netizens, continuously interacting with them, trying to understand Han''s local culture ¡ª¡ª

    This has been a recurring schedule ever since a new continent joins the merger annually.

    For the netizens of the previously merged four continents, it''s interesting to tease their new friends from Han Continent.

    Meanwhile, in various chat groups.

    Red envelopes are flying all over the sky at this moment.

    For example, in a fan group of Xian Yu, many wealthy users are giving out red envelopes.

    "Millionaires!"

    "Thanks boss!"

    "Wish the boss success on his date!"

    "Why are there red envelopes all over the place again!"

    "..."

    Some have grabbed it, some haven''t.

    The atmosphere in the group is extremely lively.

    Those big bosses who gave out red envelopes are focussed on chatting.

    Many still can''t get over the ending of the God''s war:

    "It''s a pity that Fish Papa lost."

    "I was so looking forward to Fish Papa''s three consecutive championships."

    "If it weren''t for the official interference, Fish Papa would have had at least a 40-50% chance of winning."

    "Before the officials intervened, the votes for both songs were very close, and it was evenly matched."

    "Don''t fret over this anymore, the God''s war has passed, and the new year has begun."

    "..."

    At this point, a group member named "Believe in the Future" says:

    "It''s okay, at the end of this year''s God''s war, Fish Papa will definitely make a comeback!"

    The member named "Believe in the Future" is actually called "Du Wei" in real life.

    Du Wei is an ardent fan of Xian Yu.

    This Spring Festival, he has just turned forty and is currently a management executive in a company.

    He''s considered pretty successful in the eyes of most people.

    In order to support Xian Yu, Du Wei encouraged many employees in the company to download "Dong Feng Po".

    Unfortunately, "Dong Feng Po" still lost the season showdown.

    Du Wei was somewhat frustrated by this.

    He gave out a few hundred bucks worth of red envelopes in Xian Yu''s fan group.

    Then he casually opened his music player, planning to listen to "Dong Feng Po" one more time before going to bed.

    As an ardent fan of Xian Yu, listening to one of his songs before bed has been a habit of Du Wei for several years.

    Even though "Dong Feng Po" lost to a song by Yang Zhongming, it did not lessen Du Wei''s love for the song.

    However.

    When Du Wei opened his music player, he suddenly noticed a headline promotion:

    "Bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, fight for the season list again, Xian Yu''s new song ''From the Beginning'', as long as the heart is dreaming!"

    Du Wei''s body suddenly became hot, and his eyes gradually brightened!

    A new song by Xian Yu?

    The God''s war has just ended, and Xian Yu has immediately released a new song?

    For a senior fan like Du Wei, this is without a doubt a huge surprise!

    He didn''t rush to listen to the song.

    Du Wei immediately forwarded "From the Beginning" to Xian Yu''s fan group.

    Suddenly.

    The fan group became lively:

    "Fish Papa''s new song?"

    "I honestly thought the January season list would be boring, after all, the God''s war was so exciting, I didn''t expect Xian Yu to participate in the monthly chart battle for January?"

    "First ''Dong Feng Po'' in December, then a new song like this in January?"

    "From the beginning? This title is so straightforward!"

    "Releasing a song like this at the turn of the year, it''s just too timely!"

    "Then we will also start anew with Fish Papa!"

    "Why listen to the song first? Let''s discuss it first!"

    "..."

    Rustle, rustle, rustle.

    After the hustle and bustle, the group chat became quiet.

    Obviously,

    Everyone had gone to listen to the song.

    Without hesitation, Du Wei put on his headphones and started playing the song "Start Over from the Beginning".

    The rhythm at the beginning is very soothing.

    After a moment,

    Voices started to sing:

    "Yesterday''s glory

    Has become a distant memory

    After years of hard work

    Tonight, I walk into the storm again..."

    The song title is explicit enough, but the lyrics are even more so. It is so clear that everyone does not need interpretation or imagination.

    This song.

    Is about Xian Yu himself.

    The Battle of the Gods, the shattered three-time champions.

    In the new year, he set foot on his journey once again.

    But Du Wei heard not only Xian Yu''s story from the song, he was also reminded of his past...

    Many years ago, Du Wei had to serve a two-year jail sentence because he got into a fight defending his family from bullies.

    After getting out of jail, Du Wei was isolated from society.

    Once a promising civil servant, he fell so far that no one wanted to employ him.

    "I can''t drift aimlessly

    For my loved ones

    No matter how hard, I must be strong

    Just for those hopeful eyes..."

    The ongoing song slightly brought a red tint to Du Wei''s eyes.

    He was once at a loss. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    But when he saw his family in difficulty because of his situation, his wife getting up early to send the kids to school and then going off to work at the factory, he realized he couldn''t give up.

    He is a man.

    He is the backbone of the family.

    Like the song lyrics, he couldn''t drift aimlessly, he had to be strong no matter the challenges, just for those hopeful eyes.

    At this moment.

    The song reached its climax.

    The uplifting song entered Du Wei''s ears, making his eyes more sore.

    "As long as you have a heart

    The dream is there

    Between heaven and earth, there''s still true love

    Look at success or failure

    Life is heroic

    It''s just a matter of starting over!"

    Success or failure is not predetermined, it''s just a matter of starting over!

    No company wanted him because his life had a stain, so Du Wei took the path of entrepreneurship.

    That path was extremely difficult.

    But after many years, Du Wei finally managed to establish his own business. Although he didn''t become extremely wealthy, at least his family is not stuck in poverty, his parents don''t have to worry about his life, his wife doesn''t have to juggle between taking care of the children and work¡­

    This is Xian Yu''s "Start Over from the Beginning".

    But simultaneously, it is also Du Wei''s starting over!

    The beautiful melody, the impressive singing voice, accompanied by the past scenes, finally draws tears from Du Wei''s eyes!

    It might sound melodramatic, but everyone is the same.

    Listening to someone else''s song, but shedding their own tears.

    Comparing to "Easterly Broken Wind",

    the new song of Xian Yu doesn''t have the creators'' melody, and the lyrics are not as profound and antique.

    From the lyrics to melody, it is quite simple and straightforward, like an old outmoded song.

    However, this song addresses people''s hearts!

    Maybe he is just encouraging himself.

    But as a listener, Du Wei is also inspired.

    At the same time, this song is motivating more people in this simple yet straightforward manner.

    On the first day of the Spring Festival,

    due to Xian Yu''s unexpected visit, the comment sections of all major music players surrendered...

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to the first Alliance Hierarch of the New Year, [Holding One Promise]. Salutes to the Lord ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ. Here comes Polluted White''s sequel!

 Chapter 632 - 598: Easily Taking the First City_1

    "Fish Papa really put his heart into this song..."

    "What a song, Starting Over. I knew what the song was about from the title alone, but I was still moved to tears after listening to it. Perhaps it''s because of my recent experiences that I too need to start over in this new year."

    "Even if a loss means no hat trick, starting over means that Fish Papa can truly achieve it in the future!"

    "Although I despise feel-good songs, listening to this one doesn''t annoy me. Perhaps the world always needs its simple warmth as it comforts the human heart. I believe this song by Xian Yu is not just for self-encouragement, but also to inspire anyone who hears it."

    "Listening to this song during the holiday makes last year''s troubles seem insignificant."

    "Let''s start over, wishing everybody Good Fortune!"

    "I failed in my business, got into heavy debt, my girlfriend left me because of this, after six years of struggle, I ended up with nothing. Though I''ve suffered and resented, I never gave in nor was I fearful. The worst-case scenario? Begging for food. But, as long as I''m alive, I''ll make a comeback, let''s start over together!"

    "My life wasn''t that difficult either, but after failing my college entrance exams, I indeed had to go through a ''starting over'' phase."

    "Just when my career was about to take off, I fell ill and bedridden for a whole year. Now in a new city amidst the teeming crowd, I have to start over. This is the only way I can think to solve my problems."

    "..."

    Not only Du Wei felt emotionally moved by the song.

    In fact, many people share similar experiences and emotions around the world.

    This is Xian Yu''s Starting Over.

    But it''s more than just Xian Yu''s ''starting over''.

    Within Xian Yu''s fan community.

    The fans who listened to the song were all deeply touched.

    "Even Xian Yu''s simplest songs are so captivating."

    But outside the comment section.

    There are doubters online:

    "I feel like this song isn''t just about Fish Papa encouraging himself, but also for the countless people who are dealing with failures and setbacks?"

    "After all, for Fish Papa, this loss is unfortunate, but it''s not like he needs to start over, right?"

    "Isn''t this a bit of an overreaction?"

    "Fish Papa seems more fragile than I expected, did his loss to three consecutive wins hurt that much?"

    "..."

    Soon someone explained:

    "Have you forgotten how Xian Yu was diagnosed with a terminal illness and lost his voice, only to then transition to a composer?"

    "For Xian Yu, giving up singing and learning to compose was completely starting over."

    "This is just a song, there''s an artistic interpretation to it, plus everyone knows about Xian Yu''s past."

    "Switching to composing is starting over; Singing anew on The Masked Singer''s stage is also starting over."

    "..."

    Everyone suddenly realized.

    "I totally forgot about that..."

    "If it refers to that past, then this song couldn''t be more fitting."

    "So the so-called starting over isn''t just referring to the War of the Gods."

    "Of course not, that''s just the surface level. Moreover, it''s clear that Fish Papa''s song isn''t just about him, but also an attempt to encourage others."

    "..."

    What the creator wants to express is sometimes important, but sometimes not so much.

    What''s important is, what did the audience hear in the song?

    After all, there are so many, many people who need a "new beginning."

    ...

    Because of the Spring Festival, many people are "keeping watch over the new year."

    As a result, there are exceptionally many night owls this night.

    And for most night owls, their pastime is surfing the internet.

    So, many more people quickly notice the song Starting Over.

    This includes many people in the music industry.

    At this time, although the topic of the War of the Gods is gradually cooling down, the aftertaste is still there.

    There are still some discussions about the War of the Gods in the music industry.

    As a result, Starting Over suddenly entered the vision of the music industry, instantly stirring up waves¡ª

    It''s only January!

    Xian Yu has already released a new song?

    Doesn''t he rest during the big holiday?

    Is it because he is unhappy about losing to Yang Zhongming so he decided to slaughter the January season chart out of spite?

    At this moment.

    The singers participating in the competition for this season''s chart were all taken aback!

    "Oh no!"

    "Here comes the Fish!"

    "I specifically recorded a song during the holiday hoping to top the seasonal charts, but now I have to contend with Xian Yu. Do you think it''s easy for me!"

    "..."

    An A-list singer was lamenting.

    As everyone knows, the competition for the War of the Gods is the most intense of the year.

    However, precisely because the competition for the War of the Gods is so intense, the competition for the January seasonal chart is generally mild.

    Basically, there would be no big shots making a move.

    Because of the low traffic during the Spring Festival, everyone was busy with New Year greetings.

    And having just listened to the songs from the War of the Gods, the listeners'' ears have become accustomed to high quality, so new songs released in January generally don''t get much attention.

    This gives lesser-known singers the opportunity to choose January to release songs.

    Because January is a month to pick up missing opportunities.

    Even if the traffic is low in January and the songs are not highly noticed, if they can take advantage of the big shots being distracted and score a championship song, wouldn''t that be a delight?

    No matter how low-value.

    It would still be a first place!

    After all, these singers usually don''t have this chance to rank first.

    But if a heavy-hitter like Xian Yu makes a move, these singers obviously have no choice but to accept.

    "I declare, this year''s opportunity-picking strategy has failed."

    "Fish Papa is too fierce, since The Masked Singer, he has released so many songs and yet still has so much creative energy!"

    "Come back in February."

    "Save your energy for February. With Han joining the league, based on previous trends, there''s bound to be a large number of Han musicians making a strong appearance in February!"

    "Damn, I almost forgot."

    "It looks like I have to wait until next year to try and pick up an opportunity."

    "Finding opportunities is getting harder and harder. Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, musicians from five continents are competing for one seasonal chart, who can withstand this!"

    "I miss the old seasonal chart, when only Qin''s musicians were competing."

    "..."

    The difficulty level of the seasonal chart is rising year by year.

    Before the merger, it was only Qin''s musicians competing for the seasonal chart, but now it has become a competition between Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han, the difficulty can be imagined. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    And as someone from the industry analyzed:

    Ham musicians will surely make a strong move in February!

    This is customary.

    Basically, every newly added state wants to flex its muscles in competitions like the seasonal chart to show its state''s strength.

    However¡­

    No matter what happens in February, at least the January seasonal chart has found its winner.

    Because at two o''clock in the morning.

    Starting Over, written, composed, and sung by Xian Yu, has already occupied the throne of the number one song on the seasonal chart with a substantial lead over the second place!

    Seasonal chart twelve consecutive championships;

    Xian Yu easily takes the first city!

 Chapter 633 - 599: Friend of the Criminal_1

    The next day.

    Upon waking, Lin Yuan looked at the season''s rankings and heaved a sigh of relief.

    There were no accidents.

    It seemed like he was going to come out on top for the first month of the season.

    Actually, this was within Lin Yuan''s expectations.

    If it could be said the twelfth season had the divine battling, then every year''s first season was recognized as a free-for-all amongst the weak.

    Of the twelve seasons, the simplest one was January!

    Unless Maestro made a move, even the Kings and Queens of Singing would find it challenging to threaten Lin Yuan''s position.

    Lin Yuan was an exception¡ª

    Xian Yu''s popularity was no less than those Kings and Queens of Singing, his skills were even more substantial, he was the first Masked King of Singing!

    Speaking of which. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    If he can''t take the simplest month of January, then Lin Yuan might as well give up on dreaming about a twelve-time championship.

    Hence, it''s only right that Lin Yuan should seize the championship for the month of January.

    Following that.

    Lin Yuan looked at the prestige value on his data panel.

    [Music 1.94 million]

    [Literature 1.83 million]

    [Painting 970 thousand]

    [Film and Television 900 thousand]

    Among them, his prestige in music was the highest.

    Mainly because Lin Yuan participated in two music variety shows this year. His song release frequency far surpassed previous years, leading to Xian Yu''s prestige soaring the fastest.

    Literature was not much behind.

    Although Lin Yuan''s books were few in number, each one was heavyweight with quality making up for the lack of quantity.

    Moreover, the influence of novels didn''t ferment as quickly as songs. Once all the influence of Lin Yuan''s novels ferment, they would definitely not be inferior to his music.

    The popularity in painting and film and television was still comparatively low as before.

    However, looking at the progress, it was little by little catching up.

    Particularly for film and television, Lin Yuan had three upcoming works to be launched. Once these three works were all released, breaking a million in film and television prestige would be a piece of cake.

    Not to mention...

    The recent addition of the Han Continent.

    As the Han Continent had just joined the merger, the people of the Han Continent were not entirely familiar with the culture of the Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan.

    Once they come in contact with more culture from the Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan, they would inevitably come across Lin Yuan''s songs, watch Xian Yu''s films, read Chu Kuang''s novels, and see Shadow''s comics. The prestige gain from this part should be quite considerable.

    Oh right.

    While Lin Yuan was awaiting the influx of prestige, he also went online to familiarise himself with the situation on the Han Continent.

    As a result, Lin Yuan was surprised to discover that the language of the Han Continent was actually English from Earth.

    That''s right.

    It was miraculous.

    The dialect of the Han Continent, just like on Earth, was called English instead of Korean...

    This had to do with some historical origins, and I won''t go into detail here.

    Just ask about parallel dimensions.

    Plus.

    Lin Yuan obtained knowledge through clarification:

    Not only the Han Continent!

    The dialects used in the Zhao Continent and Wei Continent, which had not yet joined the Blue Star merger, were also English!

    The only difference was in their accents.

    What''s even more surprising is:

    In Blue Star, English is not only a dialect but also retains its own script!

    This left Lin Yuan quite shocked:

    English turned out to be the second major language on Blue Star!

    However, this second major language actually held little influence.

    Because although they maintained the English script, it was seldom used. And after all, it was only featured in three or two of the continents.

    On Blue Star, including the Central Continent, there are eight continents in total.

    Mandarin is the official language.

    Even the people of Han, Zhao, and Wei speak more Mandarin.

    Blue Star''s complete sinicization was implemented flawlessly.

    English, official Blue Star documents do not recognize it.

    ¡­

    What truly grabbed Lin Yuan''s attention was:

    With English and English script, it means that English songs are popular in the Han Continent.

    For Lin Yuan, this is not bad news.

    There are many English songs in his music library.

    If this world didn''t have English, Lin Yuan''s English songs would be quite awkward.

    If he releases them, others would not understand them.

    If he doesn''t release them, it would be a bit of a shame.

    He couldn''t possibly claim that English was a language he invented, could he?

    Who could invent a language with such strict grammar on their own?

    If he told that to people, they would not believe him.

    You must be a transmigrator!

    No such worries now.

    Lin Yuan doesn''t have to bother thinking about how to reword the English songs in his library with Chinese lyrics.

    You must know.

    Many English songs, when translated into Chinese, lose their flavour.

    "Now that the Han Continent has joined the merger, based on past tradition, several English songs should appear in the season rankings for the next few months, especially next month¡­"

    Lin Yuan intends to aim for a twelve-time championship, and he''s only taken the first one now.

    The second one will have to face competition from English songs.

    Why not release an English song myself next month?

    Lin Yuan pondered for a moment and gently shook his head.

    He was uncertain about how accepting the Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan were of English songs, so he decided to continue releasing Mandarin songs in February.

    The language with the broadest audience will invariably be the most popular.

    Wait until the influence of English songs spreads before releasing his own English songs, for safety.

    For the sake of this twelve-time championship, Lin Yuan has become very steady.

    Choosing "Start Again" in January was a steady move.

    This song is not explosive; its composition and lyrics do not contain much depth, but the general public easily likes this kind of pop music.

    For February, Lin Yuan intends to continue his steady strategy.

    He had an idea about the song he would choose.

    One worth mentioning is...

    Lin Yuan had also prepared this song for the Battle of the Gods in February, but considering the groundbreaking action of "Breaking Dawn", Lin Yuan opted for Jay Chou.

    Now, for February, Lin Yuan had to contend with competition from the Han Continent, so he decided to use the song initially shortlisted for the Battle of the Gods.

    He was giving it due importance.

    Interestingly, the contest song Lin Yuan has prepared for February, although it''s a Mandarin song, also has Qi-language and English versions¡ª

    Song title: "Farewell Kiss"!

    Oops, sorry, my mistake. Although this song indeed a fan-favorite, the real song title is "Farewell Kiss".

    Even more of a steady choice than "Start Again"!

    Because this song is not only one of the representative works of the God of Songs, Jacky Cheung, but also one of Earth''s most classic love songs!

    Even if he went to compete in the Battle of the Gods, it would have great potential for winning!

    As for the singer, Lin Yuan intended to pick someone from the Yu Dynasty.

    But there was no rush right now.

    Lin Yuan continued to surf the net, checking out the response to "Start Again".

    Many media outlets were covering this song.

    In programs that assessed music, this song frequently appeared, everyone was discussing the significance of the phrase "Start Again" to Xian Yu.

    As Lin Yuan was engrossed in reading.

    A social news headline suddenly popped up on his computer:

    "In a prison in Yan Continent, thirteen prisoners were released today. Their rendition of this song moved many at the scene, and they hope that they can sing it aloud and start anew!"

    Under the news was a video.

    In the video, a group of bald-headed prisoners in prison uniforms were singing with tears in their eyes:

    "If the heart is there, the dream is there, within Heaven and Earth, there is still true love. Look at the success or failure, life is magnificent, just start again..."

    Lin Yuan was stunned.

    Countless netizens were also stunned.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thank you [Wishing for the author to update and turn into a tentacle monster] for the New Year Alliance Hierarch, kneel to the lord¡ñ¨{¨€?¨€, all the Hierarchs are awesome, GOAT, calling it a day now.

 Chapter 634 - 600 The Influence of Xian Yu _1

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    How did it end up on the social news?

    This should have been entertainment news.

    Well.

    Actually, this scene isn''t wrong.

    Especially for prisoners.

    The life after being released from the prison indeed needs to start over.

    This song appearing in such a scene and is quite convincing.

    But for some reason.

    The netizens always feel something is not right...

    Does this mean that you plan to continue committing crimes after getting out?

    You are not even afraid of losing the boss''s position in the prison, you can just restart when you go out?

    Just kidding.

    Everyone, of course, knows that the meaning of "starting all over again" is to turn over a new leaf and remake oneself -

    This scene is quite moving.

    Don''t think about the double meanings.

    Awakening from stunned, netizens became amused and left comments:

    "Fish Papa is going to become the favorite composer of prison inmates?"

    "Okay, after being released from prison, the required song is ''Starting All Over Again''!"

    "Fish Papa has become the friend of prisoners. ''Starting All Over Again'' has become popular in the jail!"

    "I thought Fish Papa released ''Starting All Over Again'' after losing the Battle of the Gods which was very appropriate, but I didn''t expect that this song could be more fitting in such occasions!"

    "Isn''t this the first time Fish Papa has made it to social news?"

    "Fish Papa''s songs are having a lot of social influence now!"

    "Isn''t it social influence? The previous ''Good Fortune Comes'', our streets are playing it, now those shops are using this song for their opening ceremonies!"

    "Plus, the dance craze caused by ''Most Dazzling Ethnic Style''!"

    "..."

    Having given it some thought, Lin Yuan realized it was true.

    First, the square dances, then the opening ceremonies, and now the prison choirs...

    These popular songs he has released seem to have a great social impact.

    In a way, these songs are more successful out of the circle than winning the season chart!

    After all, the honor of winning the season chart is just a recognition in the music circle.

    But the songs that have social impact can truly influence ordinary people''s lives!

    At this moment.

    There appeared another comment in the comment section:

    "I am a prison guard at a Qi Continent prison, this morning our leader suddenly issued a notice for us to organize the prisoners to collectively study Xian Yu''s new song ''Starting All Over Again''. They want to use Fish Papa''s new song to conduct ideological education for the prisoners."

    Shortly after.

    Many others claiming to be prison guards also stated that similar situations had occurred in their prisons.

    Suddenly, all the netizens burst into laughter.

    "Is this considered an official promotion of Fish Papa''s new song?"

    "Although the promotion channel is a bit special, it can also be considered as compensation for Fish Papa, right?"

    "Literature and Art Association: We will not favor one over the other. Last month we promoted Yang Zhongming''s song, this month we also help you Xian Yu with a promotion."

    "Prison leader: Xian Yu, I can only help you this much."

    "In the future, if you ask me who is the most popular composer in Blue Star, I may not be able to tell you, but if you ask me who is the most famous composer in the prison, I can accurately tell you, it''s that fish!"

    "What a unique perspective and clear thought!"

    "Xian Yu has achieved something that other composers haven''t unlocked yet, that is, social impact!"

    "..." S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Although the comments are somewhat sarcastic, they are genuine feelings.

    Xian Yu''s songs have really started to have some social impact.

    The power of art is sometimes so strong.

    It reminded Lin Yuan.

    If there''s a chance in the future, he should continue to publish some songs with social impact which gain appreciation from both highbrow and lowbrow tastes.

    ...

    In the following days, people of Han Continent gradually got familiar with the culture of Qin, Qi, Chu and Yan continents.

    Meanwhile.

    Internet users from Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan started to come into contact with the culture of Han.

    This included the music of Han.

    As a result, many were surprised when they immersed themselves in it:

    "The music of Han is really interesting!"

    "Especially rock music, it''s absolutely unique!"

    "I''ve listened to dozens of Han songs. There''s this music genre called country music that I particularly enjoy. It''s different from our folk songs and ballads, giving people a very relaxing and cheerful feeling."

    "I''m listening to Han''s blues, the rhythm is fantastic."

    "And there''s jazz, with a leisurely swing."

    "In terms of music genres, Han''s style is quite different from those of Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan, but it''s indeed very nice to listen to, and feels intriguing."

    "Although it''s not as good as Qin, it feels stronger than the music of the other continents."

    "..."

    After a few days of exposure, many people developed an interest in the fresh Han music.

    This is the charm of Blue Star.

    Although there is a process of accepting songs in unfamiliar languages, the overall music appreciation level of the general public is not bad.

    As long as the melody is good, everyone agrees¡ª

    The melody is the focus of music.

    The charm of music is universal.

    This is also the reason why instrumental music is not minor on Blue Star.

    And it''s why a maestro can be superior to singers.

    The gap in music styles across the continents of Blue Star is already smaller compared to that among different countries and even the Eastern and Western world on Earth.

    The same few days.

    Lin Yuan also proactively found some Han music to listen to and studied the different styles of these English songs.

    After studying.

    Lin Yuan had a general idea.

    The Han music in this world is very similar to the western styles on Earth, but overall it''s equivalent to the mid-term development of English songs on Earth...

    There is still room for development.

    Threat exists, but it is not exaggerated.

    Lin Yuan did not plan to change the music he was going to release in February, he started to look for singers.

    Firstly, it must be a male singer.

    Secondly, it must be from the Yu Dynasty.

    After screening with these two conditions, only Chen Zhiyu and Sun Yaohuo were left.

    Then there was Lin Yuan himself.

    But Lin Yuan did not plan to take action in the next few months.

    After all, he is still focusing on his career as a composer.

    "Why not let Senior Yao Huo try."

    After hesitating for a while, Lin Yuan gradually made a decision.

    After all, Lin Yuan also had a system task to complete:

    Help Sun Yaohuo become the King of Singing!

    Anyway, in terms of the type of songs, Sun Yaohuo can actually pull off a wide range of songs.

    "Right."

    Considering that he would release some English songs in the future, and maybe the Yu Dynasty would have a chance, Lin Yuan simply asked Gu Dong to notify members of the Yu Dynasty to learn English if they had the chance.

    It might be used in the future.

    Gu Dong did so, took out his phone and contacted the singers of the Yu Dynasty one by one. He had all their contact information.

    Result.

    When Lin Yuan scrolled through his social media feed at night, he found a sudden trend of learning English, the trend seemed quite interesting¡ª

    Jiang Kui: "Good good study, day day up!"

    Xia Fan: "Are you ok?"

    Zhao Ying Ge: "Fighting!"

    Chen Zhiyu: "Two!"

    Wei Haoyun: "Lucky!"

    Sun Yaohuo: "Any time, any situation, as long as you need me, I immediately come, do my best to do things for you!"

    The picture is of a fish.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Thanks to [Dreamy Wind and Moon][Book reader 20180304215437676][Feather][Xihu]for their generous support, I kneel down to you in skill¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, I got all the poses you like!

 Chapter 635 - 601 The Reputation of the Yu Dynasty is Indeed Not Unfounded_1

    Is the training center now expanding their course sales to the entertainment industry?

    And it''s the newly added Han Continent dialect¡ª

    English?

    Damn, they really keep up with the times.

    That''s the subconscious thought of the insiders who have this group of singer friends.

    Then people thought of something else, like the Yu Dynasty wanting to release an English song?

    That''s not unusual.

    For career development, some singers voluntarily learn dialects from other continents, and then release corresponding songs.

    For instance, Sun YaoHuo had specifically learned Qi language.

    Mastering an additional language is beneficial for a singer.

    ...

    They''re really efficient.

    Lin Yuan applauds them.

    What he doesn''t know is, for this matter, Sun YaoHuo has created an English-learning chat group, with all the members of the Yu Dynasty invited.

    Weihao is included.

    Upon being added to the group, Wei Haoyun saw the member list, was overjoyed, ecstatically grabbed his manager''s hand, and exclaimed:

    "I''m in the Yu Dynasty''s group!"

    The manager was also quite happy: "It appears that you''ve been recognized by the Yu Dynasty."

    "I must get along well with everyone!"

    Wei Haoyun was eager to fit into the Yu Dynasty, so he typed in the chat: "English is so hard to learn!"

    Immediately.

    There were responses in the group:

    Jiang Kui: "I agree. I gave up after a bit of study."

    Chen Zhiyu: "I''ve given up struggling too. Just can''t learn it."

    Sun YaoHuo: "Eh, seems like I''m destined not to sing English songs. My pronunciation is awful."

    Zhao Ying Ge: "Did an hour and I''ve completely given up on English. Thankfully, it''s not on the exam."

    Wei Haoyun said: "We still have to learn. Teacher Admirable Fish said there might be English songs for us to sing in the future. And I''ve seen everyone''s WeChats, your English seems quite good. Unlike me, I learned for half a day and only got the word lucky."

    "Can''t learn."

    "So unlucky."

    "Too hard."

    "You hang in there."

    "WeChat posts were all copied. I''ve given up on English songs anyway."

    Everyone appeared to be defenseless.

    Wei Haoyun paused a bit, looked at his manager, and said excitedly:

    "Great! If everybody doesn''t want to learn English, doesn''t that mean I''ll be the only one who can sing Teacher Admirable Fish''s English song once I learn it? Talk about holding a monopoly!"

    ...

    The manager glanced at the chat, then gave Wei Haoyun a deep look, his back breaking into a cold sweat.

    "The Yu Dynasty, truly living up to its name."

    "Huh?"

    Wei Haoyun seemed puzzled: "Is anything wrong?"

    "Innocent!"

    The manager scoffed: "All this about ''English being too hard to learn'', ''I''m giving up struggling'', is all bullcrap. It''s the Yu Dynasty''s tactic to lull their competitors into a false sense of security.

    They are trying to give you the illusion they''ve given up learning English, to have you lower your guard or even give up too, when in fact, they might be working their tails off learning English behind your back!"

    Wei Haoyun paused: "It can''t be that serious, right?"

    The manager scoffed again: "Have you ever met people like this in school before?"

    "Which kind?"

    "Back in school, there was this group of people who would often say things like ''Damn, I was playing games all yesterday, didn''t study at all'', ''I''m done for, did terribly on this exam'', ''I didn''t listen at all during class'', and whatnot. But when exam results came out, they ended up either first in the class or second in the grade."

    Wei Haoyun was startled: "You know, now that you''ve mentioned it, those top students in our class did that a lot."

    "These people are what we call ''studious posers''!"

    The manager snarled: "People in the Yu Dynasty are representatives of these ''studious posers'', it seems that the internal competition within the Yu Dynasty is bloody!"

    "You''re exaggerating! Don''t make them out to be so sinister."

    Wei Haoyun waved his hand, his manager was good in many aspects, but he was too suspicious and saw people as overly complicated.

    ...

    On the other side.

    Jiang Kui put down her phone and started to seriously read the "Introduction to English Grammar", taking notes as she read.

    Her notebook was already filled with densely packed knowledge points.

    Zhao Ying Ge put down her phone, turned to her manager, and said, "Find me an English tutor for tomorrow. We can push back some of the engagements on my schedule."

    While talking, she opens a Han Continent movie, with English subtitles.

    Xia Fan puts down his phone, skillfully reciting the "phonetics" from a book.

    Chen Zhiyu puts down his phone and looks at his friend from Han Continent, "Continue teaching me how to sing English songs."

    Sun Yaohuo puts down his phone, smiles slightly, and says in absolutely fluent English:

    "Piece of cake."

    Where is there a hint of imperfect pronunciation?

    Just like that.

    A few days had passed.

    A few days later, Lin Yuan suddenly called the singers of the Yu Dynasty to the company.

    Wei Haoyun was also called over.

    Wei Haoyun is not a singer of Starlight.

    But obviously, Wei Haoyun is now "physically in the Cao camp but mentally in the Han".

    This also has to do with Wei Haoyun''s contract coming to an end.

    Once the contract officially ends, she can join Starlight.

    "Miss assistant, can I sneakily ask, what did Teacher Admirable Fish call us over for?"

    Wei Haoyun softly asks Admirable Fish''s assistant Gu Dong.

    Gu Dong smiles slightly, "Perhaps it''s to test your English proficiency."

    Wei Haoyun''s spirit is immediately uplifted!

    She recently put in a lot of effort to learn English. Today, she is destined to leave a deep impression on Teacher Admirable Fish!

    Five minutes later.

    Lin Yuan appears in the office.

    The singers of the Yu Dynasty, all look towards Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan smiled, "Sorry for the delay. I just want to check how your English proficiency is. Here is a simple English text. Everyone, try reading it. Who would like to go first?"

    "Me first!"

    Wei Haoyun excitedly said.

    Lin Yuan nods, "Skip the words you can''t read."

    Wei Haoyun picks up the text and stammers, "today is...sunday,ben and his uncle, jack...are making..."

    It must be said that Wei Haoyun is learning very quickly.

    She identifies all but five words in this text, with a few she recognizes but doesn''t remember how to pronounce, so she substitutes them with Mandarin.

    After finishing, Wei Haoyun reveals a confident smile.

    Her reading isn''t good, and her pronunciation is also a mess, but for someone who has only learned English for a few days, this level is already remarkable.

    The newly hired English teacher even complimented her talent.

    Lin Yuan nods, "Not bad. Who''s next? Let''s change the text. The difficulty won''t differ much."

    "It''s me."

    Jiang Kui speaks up.

    Lin Yuan nods again.

    "Hi Lucy, I was glad to get your e-mail, Let me tell you some-thing about my family..."

    Wei Haoyun is suddenly stunned!

    Didn''t Jiang Kui say in the group chat that he has given up learning English?

    This sounds way too good!

    At this point, Wei Haoyun suddenly notices Jiang Kui''s deep dark circles. She can almost imagine through these dark circles the scene of Jiang Kui studying English all night with great effort.

    Then.

    Zhao Ying Ge, Xia Fan and others also read in turn. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Most are quite fluent.

    Especially Sun Yaohuo and Chen Zhiyu, they not only read the text fluently but their pronunciations are very pure. If you didn''t know any better, you''d think they were from Han Continent...

    Wei Haoyun is completely stunned.

    She looks disorientedly at everyone who has the same dark circles under their eyes.

    Didn''t you guys say that English is hard to learn?

    Didn''t you guys say you had given up on learning?

    Didn''t you say you''re not planning to sing any English songs?

    She suddenly remembers the words her agent reminded her of a few days ago. At that time, she laughed that her agent was overly suspicious, but at this moment, her scalp went numb...

    Is this the Yu Dynasty?

    This group of people is scary!

    Meanwhile, Sun Yaohuo and others exchange glances. They''re not surprised, and even have a bit of ridicule in their eyes, as if they had expected this situation long ago.

    Wei Haoyun is beginning to question her life.

 Chapter 636 - 636: 602

    "That was good."

    Lin Yuan nodded after examining everyone.

    Except for the fact that Wei Haoyun struggled significantly with English, all the other singers performed very well.

    It was evident that they had put considerable effort into preparation.

    In particular, Sun Yaohuo and Chen Zhiyu not only read English well but also pronounced words beautifully¡ª

    Lin Yuan was proficient in English.

    Unlike the singers who needed to work hard on their English, Lin Yuan could gain fluency just by exchanging language potions with the System.

    Although he didn''t have to sing himself.

    Since he planned to release English songs in the future, Lin Yuan had to be adept in English.

    Otherwise, things wouldn''t make sense.

    Lin Yuan encouraged everyone, "Please continue to work hard. I will try to release some English songs in the future."

    He hinted at his intentions rather overtly.

    Lin Yuan still cared about the singers from the Yu Dynasty.

    He would prefer to keep his good songs exclusive within the company unless the singers were really incapable, in which case, he would seek external collaborations.

    However, the prerequisite was that the singers of the Yu Dynasty should be well-versed in English.

    "Okay!"

    Everyone responded loudly.

    Wei Haoyun flushed with embarrassment and also responded with an "okay".

    She had been sternly taught a lesson today.

    Standing awkwardly in place, she had paid her first tuition fee.

    At last, she understood why people said competition within Yu Dynasty was intense.

    She had previously thought it was just fans poking fun.

    Only after joining the company did she realize the truth:

    If Fish Papa were an ancient emperor and the singers of Yu Dynasty were his concubines, the conniving queens might as well step down.

    The beautiful unity of the Yu Dynasty was a fa?ade!

    The internal competition was bloody and brutal!

    After examining everyone''s English, Lin Yuan let everyone take a break, except for Sun Yaohuo whom he asked to stay back.

    When everyone was leaving, they shot envious glances at Sun Yaohuo. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Including Wei Haoyun¡ª

    She was finally starting to fit in.

    "Too crafty!"

    "He says he''ll give up on English, but he speaks it better than any of us!"

    "He was just fooling us!"

    "As naive as I am, I actually believed his nonsense!"

    "He''s the most cunning!"

    "Almost forgot, he''s the only capitalist among us!"

    "...."

    Once outside the room.

    Jiang Kui and the others started grumbling.

    Wei Haoyun looked dumbfounded again:

    Shouldn''t I be the one saying all that?!

    Aren''t you all behaving exactly the same as Sun Yaohuo?

    How dare you call yourselves naive?

    Meanwhile, inside the room.

    Sun Yaohuo grinned: "Junior Brother, feel free to speak up."

    "To record a song," Lin Yuan said bluntly, handing him a new song. "Get familiar with this song, Senior Yao Huo. We''ll start recording it next week."

    "Okay!"

    Sun Yaohuo joyously took the music score.

    "''Farewell Kiss''?"

    "Yes."

    "I promise to learn it by tonight!"

    "Ok."

    "Oh, Junior Brother, I have something for you."

    "What?"

    Lin Yuan was puzzled.

    "Just give me a moment."

    Sun Yaohuo exited the room, returning after a while holding a shopping bag:

    "It''s nothing really expensive, just a woolen sweater. It''s getting cold, you have to take care of yourself. I noticed you had a cold during one episode of ''The Masked Singer''."

    "Thank you."

    Lin Yuan felt a warmth in his heart.

    Sun Yaohuo smiled: "No need to thank me, it''s a woolen sweater, pure wool!"

    As he uttered the words ''wool'', Sun Yaohuo emphasized heavily as though it carried some special meaning.

    ....

    January was still quite cold.

    The next day, Lin Yuan wore the woolen sweater Sun Yaohuo gave him. It was indeed warm.

    Upon arriving at the studio,

    Agent Jin Mu suddenly smiled: "Congratulations, boss! Your name has been listed first on the latest ''Supreme God List'' announced by the Literature and Art Association Affinity Club this morning!"

    "Really?"

    Lin Yuan''s eyes sparkled.

    His reason for choosing ''Journey to the West'' was to achieve this Supreme God status, which he finally succeeded in:

    "How about the stock shares?"

    "The matter of the shares is still under negotiation. I think we can get around 5% of shares, and there''s the possibility for an increase in the future. But in the short term, 5% is the limit."

    "That''s good enough already."

    Lin Yuan was not green in these matters. He understood that 5% of Silver Blue Books'' shares were no small matter.

    After all, Silver Blue Books was a top-ranking novel publishing company in the five continents of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han!

    "To get the shares, there are two options. One is to buy them at a certain price, another is for Silver Blue Books to give them to us directly..."

    "Let''s go with the latter!"

    Lin Yuan blurted out instinctively.

    Jin Mu laughed bitterly: "I haven''t mentioned the conditions yet. The gift comes with certain conditions. All your future works can only be published on Silver Blue Books and they would also want involvement in the copyright development of your works. We can decide on the partner, but Silver Blue Books wishes to take 40% of the profit share...."

    "Is that so?"

    "I think it''s acceptable. Silver Blue Books have significant experience in copyright development. Their vast resources can help us create a higher value for our copyrights. Plus, they guarantee that if we grant them this share, our share can be increased to 10% in a few years. I have prepared a detailed report. You can review it later."

    Lin Yuan had a team built up by Jin Mu.

    With Lin Yuan''s growing responsibilities, Jin Mu couldn''t handle them all. That''s why he set up a team to facilitate business from various aspects, even including a legal team.

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan had great faith in Jin Mu''s competence.

    Jin Mu had diligently worked for years, much to Lin Yuan''s satisfaction.

    Therefore, instead of a salary, Jin Mu now received a share of the profits provided by Lin Yuan, ensuring handsome compensation.

    "By the way...."

    Jin Mu hesitated for a moment.

    Lin Yuan said, "Speak your mind."

    Jin Mu nodded: "I believe, boss, you could consider buying shares in Starlight. You have already created high value for Starlight. If you are interested, I can negotiate with Starlight on your behalf. If necessary, we could disclose Chu Kuang''s identity to strengthen our negotiation stance, of course, only to the decision-makers of Starlight."

    "Is that so...."

    Lin Yuan mused: "I''ll consider it."

    He currently enjoyed maestro-level treatment at Starlight and a considerable share of the movie profits. However, as Jin Mu pointed out, owning company shares would garner more profits.

    But just like Chu Kuang''s shares in Silver Blue Books,

    Lin Yuan needed an opportunity, a convincing recommendation.

    Like becoming a true maestro.

    Or waiting for the grand success of the Journey to the West series.

    What Lin Yuan did not know was that Starlight was already discussing giving him shares.

    Because either way, Lin Yuan''s importance to Starlight was indisputable....

    Meanwhile,

    With the news of Chu Kuang achieving Supreme God status, the internet was buzzing with discussions!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Time to wrap up, also I''d like to explain once again about the all-subscription extras location issue. Polluted White can''t adjust it, this is a QiDian activity and authors do not have the access to alter it. Unfortunately, the QiDian admin is currently on annual leave, so everyone, please bear with it for now. It''s expected to be adjusted later.

 Chapter 637 - 603 No Time_1

    "Chu Kuang has become a Supreme God of Fantasy!"

    "Everyone said before that Chu Kuang''s new book would need the quality and delivery figures equal to two volumes of ''Ghost Blowing Lantern'' to have a chance of securing the title of Supreme God. He really did it, and the influence of Journey to the West is now more than twice that of ''Ghost Blowing Lantern''..."

    "The book is too insane!"

    "Chu Kuang has become the Supreme God with the fewest works in the fantasy literature world of Blue Star now. Other Supreme Gods have had to publish so many works over the years to succeed, but he is the only one who nailed it with just four fantasy books!"

    "Where are the followers of The Primordial Chaos?"

    "Hahaha, so mean, stepping on The Primordial Chaos followers again. I wonder if the followers of The Primordial Chaos are holding back their energy, hoping to suppress Journey to the West with the influence of their TV show?"

    "..."

    That point is indeed true.

    Watching Chu Kuang achieve supremacy with "Journey to the West," followers of The Primordial Chaos must be frustrated, but they can''t refute it--

    The professional reviews of Journey to the West do indeed surpass The Primordial Chaos!

    And they even have the official backing of the Literature and Art Association!

    The Primordial Chaos gang is can''t help but feel envious.

    The only advantage The Primordial Chaos has now is that it has been released for a long time and its influence is greater than Journey to the West.

    So, the only turning point for followers of The Primordial Chaos can only be their TV show!

    Until the new version of the TV series of The Primordial Chaos is broadcast, the followers have opted to lay low and accept ridicule.

    "Wait till The Primordial Chaos TV show is out, and we''ll make you Journey to the West fans kneel down!"

    This was the collective aspiration of some of the more diehard followers of The Primordial Chaos.

    The group had great confidence in the TV show of The Primordial Chaos!

    As for Journey to the West also shooting a TV show, the followers of The Primordial Chaos were not anxious at all.

    The audience base of The Primordial Chaos was already established.

    How long ago was Journey to the West published?

    They wanted to quietly gather strength, silently plan an earth-shattering comeback, and then astonish everyone!

    Lin Yuan, for now, didn''t really have any intentions of a showdown with the followers of The Primordial Chaos.

    That would have to wait until the TV adaptation of "Journey to the West" was completed.

    With Jin Mu and Silver Blue Books negotiations, he successfully bought into Silver Blue Books!

    Even though his shares were only five percent, he was indeed one of Silver Blue Books'' dozen or so shareholders.

    Working people, working spirits, workers are noble...

    But if you can be a shareholder, who would want to work for others?

    However, Chu Kuang''s buy-in to Silver Blue Books was done very low-key, no one knew about Chu Kuang''s identity change overnight.

    Becoming a shareholder didn''t greatly impact Lin Yuan''s lifestyle.

    For Silver Blue''s shareholders, unless there were significant events, they generally wouldn''t participate in company decisions.

    Most of the time, Lin Yuan just had to sit back and wait for the annual dividends.

    This was the advantage of being a shareholder instead of an owner.

    Let Silver Blue''s owner worry about the operations of the company.

    To celebrate becoming the Supreme God of Fantasy, Lin Yuan took a day off for himself.

    He leisurely went to the studio and enthusiastically took a two-hour drawing lesson with Luo Wei.

    After the lesson, Luo Wei asked: "Are you sure you didn''t forget anything?"

    Lin Yuan was taken aback: "What?"

    Luo Wei let out a helpless sigh: "I understand why Shadow would become so obscure, when do you plan on starting work on your new comic?"

    Since "Death Note" had finished, Shadow hadn''t drawn any comics for a while.

    It was as if he had completely forgotten about his alias as Shadow.

    And the last time Shadow had work, it was to draw promotional images for "Journey to the West."

    "I don''t have time."

    Lin Yuan replied seriously, in the manner of a very busy cowboy.

    In reality, he was just being lazy recently, simply not feeling like drawing comics.

    "Okay."

    Luo Wei nodded her head.

    She thought, Lin Yuan probably wasn''t truly busy, he just didn''t have any inspiration at the moment, but was too embarrassed to admit it.

    It''s the same with all comic artists.

    After finishing a comic book, they would always need a break, to think about new ideas for their work.

    In contrast, it was previously when Lin Yuan released new comics consecutively, seamlessly connecting them, as if his creativity was inexhaustible, that was abnormal.

    So, she didn''t urge him any further, instead, she was very understanding:

    Shadow is also a person, when publishing a new comic, you need to have inspiration and an outline.

    "It feels really good to be lazy."

    Lin Yuan sat on the couch in the studio, sipping tea and browsing the internet; he had never felt so relaxed.

    Stealing half a day''s leisure from life.

    Right then.

    Jin Mu appeared.

    He looked somewhat serious and said, "Boss, have you seen the news on the internet?"

    "What''s up?"

    "Someone has challenged you to a Literary Duel!"

    Lin Yuan was curious: "Is it a writer from the Han Continent?"

    After the merger of the new continents, once you understand the culture of Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan, you would certainly hear of Chu Kuang.

    In this situation, someone challenging Lin Yuan to a Literary Duel is really the most normal thing ever.

    "No." S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Jin Mu forced a bitter smile: "It''s Bai Jie, a long-term fairy tale writer from Yan Continent."

    Again Yan People?

    Lin Yuan was taken aback.

    Bai Jie... somehow, this name rang a strange bell.

    He probably heard it somewhere. The man must be of some significance.

    "Why are the fairy tale writers of Yan Continent incessantly targeting me?"

    Lin Yuan stated, previously in "Fairytale Town," Chu Kuang''s record of defeating nine in one go was considered extravagant.

    Later he used the long-term fairy tale "Shuke and Beta" to defeat Teacher Hu.

    He didn''t expect that, after losing so many Literary Duels, Yan Continent was still not disheartened. Couldn''t it be that they regard me as the opposing boss to defeat?

    Surely the people good at fighting reside in the War Continent.

    One by one, like honey badgers.

    They are either in a fight, or on the way to fight.

    "How does your song go again? Oh, that''s right, ''Starting From Scratch.'' The fairy tale world of Yan Continent wants to start from scratch too!"

    Jin Mu surprisingly joked.

    Seeing Lin Yuan had no reaction, Jin Mu''s smile faded slightly:

    "Bai Jie and Hu are different. Hu can only be considered as a leading figure in the long fairy tale genre of Yan Continent, but not the top one. On the contrary, Bai Jie not only has a huge influence in fairy tales but also tops in book sales. When you won against Hu with ''Shuke and Beta'', Bai Jie wanted to challenge you in a literary duel, but he hadn''t finished his work.

    Now that he has, he naturally wants to avenge the Yan fairy tale world."

    Chu Kuang had given Yan fairy tale world quite a hard time.

    Even today, the mention of this sends chills down the spine of Yan''s fairy tale world.

    At that time, many voices in Yan called for Bai Jie, the top long fairy tale writer of Yan, to step up and regain Yan''s face.

    In the minds of the Yanese, if there was a long fairy tale writer who could defeat Chu Kuang, it had to be Bai Jie.

    But Bai Jie, whose work was not yet complete, kept silent at that moment.

    As soon as his work was completed, Bai Jie stood up to challenge Chu Kuang.

    Jin Mu made a serious analysis: "You just have won the honour of the Supreme God of Fantasy, and Bai Jie probably wants to take this opportunity to dampen your enthusiasm."

    Lin Yuan said, "I am not fighting with the Yanese anymore."

    The Yanese are all honey badgers. If Lin Yuan accepts this fight, even if he wins, likely there will still be Yanese challenging him in a literary duel.

    This could go on and on without end.

    He did not wish to become the "villain boss" in the eyes of the Yanese.

    Jin Mu nodded: "Go ahead and respond then."

    Refusing a literary duel was not a big deal, it won''t harm Chu Kuang''s image.

    The Yan''s tradition of literary duels was initially considered fresh.

    But as time went on, writers from all states couldn''t hold up, so many of them recently declined the Yan''s literary duel.

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan logged into the Chu Kuang account and indeed saw a fairy tale writer named Bai Jie challenging him for a literary duel.

    Lin Yuan typed a few keys on his phone and then clicked post.

    "Did you respond?"

    "I did."

    "That fast?"

    For some reason, Jin Mu had a bad feeling about this.

    He immediately checked Chu Kuang''s reply on the Tribe website. To his surprise, Chu Kuang had simply replied with two words:

    "Busy."

    The look Jin Mu gave Lin Yuan suddenly turned strange.

    Busy?

    These two words...

    Why do they seem so mocking?

    Although Jin Mu knew Lin Yuan absolutely did not mean to be mocking.

    The "busy" from Lin Yuan was probably just a literal meaning.

    Just like the time when the nine famous fairy tale writers of Yan declared war on Chu Kuang simultaneously. Chu Kuang suddenly responded:

    "Who else?"

    Even though those three words carried a heavy mocking tone, Jin Mu knew Chu Kuang had no intention of mocking.

    But the Yanese wouldn''t understand!

    When they saw the words "busy," they would definitely imagine Chu Kuang saying it with a condescending expression, as if he didn''t care about the fairy tale circle of the Yan Continent!

    To be precise:

    Apart from these people around Lin Yuan who understand his character, anyone else in this situation seeing these two words would let their imaginations run wild.

    Just like Chu Kuang''s classic "Who else" when he took on nine people.

    Who wouldn''t think those words were mocking?

    Isn''t he a bit too arrogant?

    Yet again now, even if he truly intended to refuse the literary duel, he should have at least been more tactful about it!

    Jin Mu put a hand to his forehead.

    The Yan fairy tale world must be even less pleased with Chu Kuang now.

    "Is there a problem?"

    Lin Yuan thought Jin Mu''s facial expression seemed odd.

    Experience is the mother of wisdom.

    The excuse "busy" was great. It was both tactful and efficient. He had just used this excuse to get rid of Luo Wei.

    Jin Mu was helpless.

    He was now sure that Lin Yuan''s "busy" had no hidden meanings.

    Then he thought some more:

    A realization rose within Jin Mu, and he suddenly laughed and said:

    "Nothing wrong."

    Indeed nothing wrong!

    No matter how arrogant Chu Kuang''s excuse for refusal this time was, could it be more arrogant than the previous "Who else?"

    Even though it wasn''t intentional...

    Chu Kuang''s "Who else" had successfully sculpted him an image of being arrogant and domineering.

    Now everyone in the circle is saying that Chu Kuang is as his name implies - extremely audacious!

    Even more audacious than the Yanese!

    With this arrogant, domineering, and proud image, even if Chu Kuang says, "Busy," everyone could probably accept it.

    So...

    The problem isn''t big.

    This line is very Chu Kuang!

    It''s not like it''s his first day being so audacious!

    In fact, some people might even admire him more for this!

    As long as a person is talented, no matter how arrogant he is, many people will simply see it as a given.

    After all, many people just like this kind of strong, cool, and super compelling character!

    Although, everyone was misunderstanding!

    After all, everyone interacts across the internet. Many words can only be analysed from the surface.

    The same words, depending on tone, can have different meanings when spoken.

    Truth be told...

    After Chu Kuang rejected Bai Jie''s literary duel with the excuse "busy," the reaction from netizens is just as Jin Mu predicted...

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to [May the author turn into a tentacle monster when updating]for the generous tips, ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ. Speaking of, you didn''t come up with this username specifically for me... right? (Trembling.jpg)

 Chapter 638 - 604 Chu Kuang Becomes the Antagonist Big Boss_1

    "Hahahaha, too busy to accept the challenge?"

    "Not very harmful, but extremely insulting!"

    "I can feel the contempt coming from the old rascal!"

    "Chu Kuang: You Yan people just never stop, do you? Including that Hu who writes long fairy tales, I have already defeated ten of you. What else do you want from me?"

    "Chu Kuang: I have no interest in continuing a literary duel with a defeated opponent."

    "The old rascal''s speech is really arrogant. He must be dominant and brazen in reality!"

    "After hibernating for a year, the Yan people initiated a literary duel against Chu Kuang. They must have been fully prepared. But the old rascal dismissed them by saying that he''s too busy. It''s really... satisfying!"

    "I can already imagine the look of disdain on Chu Kuang''s face when he said he''s too busy."

    "Old rascal: I asked last time, who else? You didn''t step up then, but now you''re all energetic?"

    "..."

    Others would also reject the Yan Continent writer''s invitation to a literary duel.

    But when other writers reject, they are very polite, and their tone is very gentle.

    Even if they make up a story, they will come up with a reason.

    Only Chu Kuang, with just two words, "too busy"!

    For a while, fans and netizens were overjoyed.

    This is no different from Jin Mu''s prediction.

    Chu Kuang''s arrogance and pride, along with his one-against-nine duel in the fairy tale world last time, and the deafening "Who else?", have truly become deeply engrained in people''s hearts.

    Besides, Chu Kuang is someone who would dare to go head-to-head with The Primordial Chaos!

    Such a fierce person, who would believe that he''s not arrogant?

    Therefore, although Chu Kuang was brash this time, no one felt anything wrong.

    Very few people thought Chu Kuang''s words were inappropriate.

    Chu Kuang single-handedly suppressed the entire Yan Continent''s fairy tale world early last year!

    He has the right to be arrogant and proud!

    Netizens from the Qin, Chu, and Yi continents merrily gobbled up the gossip, but the netizens from the Yan continent were suffering.

    "Damn, this Chu Kuang is still so arrogant!"

    "Does he not take Teacher Bai Jie seriously?"

    "Teacher Bai Jie is the number one person in our Yan Continent''s long fairy tales!"

    "For a top-notch expert like Teacher Bai Jie to challenge any famous fairy tale master of Blue Star, the latter would only feel honored. Why is this Chu Kuang acting so arrogantly?"

    "As a Yan person, I hate the fact that I despise Chu Kuang on one side, but on the other side, I also like Sherlock Holmes a lot!"

    "I love ''Journey to the West'', but that wouldn''t stop me from supporting Teacher Bai Jie in defeating Chu Kuang!"

    "Art has no continent, but artists have their continents!"

    "Chu Kuang, is like a dark cloud looming over the mountain top of our Yan Continent''s fairy tale world, he must be defeated!"

    "The fairy tale writers of Yan Continent are all brave, sooner or later they''ll take down this evil dragon, Chu Kuang!"

    "..."

    No doubt about it.

    Ever since Chu Kuang battled the Yan Continent''s fairy tale world and miraculously achieved the legend of ''one against nine'', he became the major villain in the hearts of countless Yan people!

    Yan people, though, do like Chu Kuang''s works.

    But when it comes to fairy tales, Yan people would unite against an external enemy.

    One against nine in fairy tales...

    This is a wound that Chu Kuang harshly left in the hearts of Yan people!

    Yan people dream that a local fairy tale writer can defeat Chu Kuang and wash away the shame of the Yan Continent''s fairy tales being suppressed by him alone.

    Therefore, when Bai Jie initiated the challenge to Chu Kuang, all the blood of Yan people was boiling!

    But Chu Kuang''s "too busy" is like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing the spark of hope just starting to light up in their hearts.

    At this moment.

    The people of Han Continent, who had just joined the merge, were bewildered and didn''t know what had happened.

    Until netizens from Qin, Chu, and Yi continents explained to them about Chu Kuang''s legendary experience of one against nine, and his great battle with the fairy tale world of Yan Continent...

    "One against nine?"

    "That fierce?"

    "This Chu Kuang seems to be very amazing."

    "I''ve recently been getting acquainted with the culture of Qin, Chu, and Yan, and Chu Kuang''s novel ''Journey to the West'' is indeed excellent, but it seems to be a fantasy novel, not a fairy tale."

    "I''ve been reading ''The Great Detective Sherlock Holmes'' recently, and the author is also Chu Kuang. But isn''t he a mystery novelist?"

    "Um, I''m reading Chu Kuang''s short stories. Does he also write mysteries, fantasies, and fairy tales?"

    "I just saw the news that Chu Kuang became the Supreme God of Fantasy. Did he write fairy tales last year and suppressed an entire continent single-handedly?"

    "..."

    The people of Han Continent were shocked!

    They are in the process of continuously understanding the culture of Qin, Chu, and Yan.

    But at this moment, the name "Chu Kuang" was resounding in their ears like the sound of thunder!

    The Han people were just getting to understand the concept of "Chu Kuang" in the novel world for the first time.

    This Chu Kuang, is quite abnormal!

    ...

    Yan Continent.

    Looking at Chu Kuang''s reply, Bai Jie''s face was filled with confusion, embarrassment, shock, and regret!

    For a moment, his expression was incredibly varied!

    Last year, he was completely focused on writing his new work, paying no attention to the outside world.

    After coming out, he was dumbfounded:

    Has our Yan Continent''s fairy tale world been bullied to such an extent?

    Suddenly, he felt a sense of mission!

    As the strongest long fairy tale writer in Yan Continent, he had to thoroughly defeat Chu Kuang and vindicate the name of Yan Continent''s fairy tales!

    But...

    He was ignored by Chu Kuang!?

    Bai Jie was pissed off. Yet there was nothing he could do; if Chu Kuang insisted on not accepting the challenge, what could he do?

    Just then.

    On Bai Jie''s tribe, he suddenly received a notification.

    Someone had mentioned him!

    Bai Jie opened it impatiently.

    To his surprise, it was a fairy tale writer from Han Continent who mentioned Bai Jie, along with three words:

    "I''m free."

    Bai Jie was stunned, took a closer look at the other party''s name, and suddenly became furious!

    "David!"

    Although Bai Jie didn''t understand the culture of Han Continent, he had heard tales of top-tier fairy tale writers from the Blue Star fairy tale world.

    He was familiar with this David.

    This guy was not simple at all, he was one of the most powerful fairy tale writers in Han Continent.

    He challenged Chu Kuang, but Chu Kuang dismissed him. Unexpectedly, this David actually came to him!

    "I''m free!"

    The meaning of these three words is self-evident.

    This is clearly a declaration of war!

    The people of Yan Continent are not afraid of challenges!

    After being rejected by Chu Kuang, Bai Jie had already been storing a bellyful of rage. Now, this David was walking straight into the line of fire...

    Hold on.

    After the merger of the five continents, Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han, David''s fame is confined only to Han Continent. He is attempting to ride on others'' popularity!

    "You want to step on my shoulders, attain fame with a single battle, and let the readers of all the five continents recognize you?"

    This utterly ignited Bai Jie''s rage!

    He saw right through David''s intentions!

    Fine then!

    Since Chu Kuang won''t accept a challenge, I''ll handle you first, and let Chu Kuang see my strength!

    "Do you wish for a Literary Duel?"

    He directly mentioned David, declaring war with arrogance.

    David responded quickly, "ok!"

    Bai Jie secretly looked it up and figured out that "ok" meant there was no problem.

    This ghost from Han Continent is fucking trying to show off his dialect to me?

    Quite brazen, isn''t he?

    He thinks he is Chu Kuang?

    Enraged, Bai Jie immediately scheduled the release date of the novel with his opponent.

    The opponent was also very forthcoming and stated that they could release their works on the same day.

    Thus, a Literary Duel commenced!

    However,

    The spectators were dumbfounded.

    What?

    Wasn''t this supposed to be between Bai Jie and Chu Kuang?

    How did a folk writer from Han Continent suddenly appear?

    And Bai Jie directly settled the fight with him?

    Is this because Chu Kuang didn''t agree, so he wants to vent his anger on David?

    Immediately, the people of Yan Continent got excited: "This David really doesn''t know what death is!"

    Bai Jie, being ignored by Chu Kuang, must be outraged.

    This David actually had the gall to tease Bai Jie, wouldn''t he be flatted by Bai Jie''s fury?

    Although the direction of the whole thing became strange, it did not seem to lose its excitement.

    Someone from Yan Continent even shouted the slogan: "First annihilate David, then annihilate Chu Kuang!"

    Meanwhile, in Han Continent.

    Many Han people showed peculiar expressions.

    David is not as simple as you Yan people think.

    ...

    Lin Yuan also briefly went online to follow the aftermath.

    When he saw the netizens commenting that he was "arrogant" and "boastful", he felt strange.

    Where did I act arrogantly?

    And those reactions from the people of Yan Continent...

    They made me out to be a real villain-like boss.

    They even claimed I was a wicked dragon and called for the brave warriors of Yan Continent to slay me.

    But when he saw Bai Jie challenging a Children''s writer named David to a Literary Duel, he no longer worried about whether he was arrogant or a villain.

    He remembered:

    People of Yan Continent are indeed like honey badgers.

    Not to be trifled with.

    This David only said "I''m free", and Bai Jie is ready to duel with him.

    Well, that''s fine.

    It has nothing to do with me now.

    Perhaps because the Spring Festival makes people lazy. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan recently has been really lazy: he doesn''t want to draw comics or write novels.

    He gradually shifted from "Xian Yu" mode to "Salted Fish" mode.

    Of course.

    This also had to do with Lin Yuan focusing all his energy on the twelve consecutive victories.

    He was hell-bent on challenging Maestro, felt pressure in his heart, so decided to relax a bit.

    He even started nibbling on melon seeds leisurely, curious about the outcome between Bai Jie and David.

    Previously, others used to gossip about him, but he rarely gossiped about others.

    Looking at the commotion.

    The people of Yan Continent are already at loggerheads with the people of Han Continent.

    When it comes to regional conflicts, the people of each state can always unite surprisingly.

    It seems this is also the tradition of the merger of Blue Star.

    Every time a new state joins, there will always be some cultural regional conflicts with a state that has already merged.

    Qin Continent has been involved in this several times too.

    Lin Yuan himself has participated in this more than once.

    "This David is not simple."

    Jin Mu, who was also nibbling melon seeds on the side, suddenly said with a smile.

    Lin Yuan was curious: "How so?"

    "I looked at David''s resume. This writer is a bit like the boss. Although his folklore sales are not the highest in Han Continent, each of his folklore sells better than his previous works, and his last work was the third best-seller on the Han Continent''s folklore sales list."

    Jin Mu began.

    "Assuming David can continue to progress, following this trend, David and Bai Jie''s Literary Duel will result in a work with higher sales than his previous records."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    There are two kinds of writers.

    One is a genius type, the other is a progressive type.

    The genius can become famous with one book, but the subsequent works may not be better;

    And the progressive type may be mediocre when they debut, but their later works become better one by one.

    If David is a progressive type writer, even if he loses to Bai Jie this time, he will definitely be better next time.

    Moreover, it''s not even certain who will win or lose in this Literary Duel.

    Anyway, it has nothing to do with me.

    Lin Yuan took a bite of his melon; it was very sweet.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: It''s time to call it a day. I''ve been writing about Xian Yu''s plot recently, so it''s time for Chu Kuang to get some action.

 Chapter 639 - 605 Journey to the West Rhapsody_1

    "Try the chorus again."

    "No need for the vibrato, make it more natural."

    "The first half is about building up emotions."

    "No need to deliberately create a bitter feeling in the chorus part."

    "The drum beats here can be a little stronger. It should give a feeling of emotional release and burst, but not the hysterical kind of burst. Tame your voice a bit, just like you sang the first time."

    "..."

    After the year-end holidays, people started to work again.

    Mid-month.

    A recording studio in Starlight Entertainment.

    Lin Yuan began to guide Sun Yaohuo in recording the song "Farewell Kiss".

    As Sun Yaohuo had practiced beforehand, the recording went smoothly. Lin Yuan just made minor corrections in a few places.

    Unlike before.

    When Lin Yuan recorded songs before, composition and arrangement were basically entirely based on the original design.

    But now.

    Lin Yuan has begun to learn to adjust the composition and arrangement based on the singers'' characteristics when recording songs.

    Not to say that the original version is not good.

    The main reason is that the music of the original song is entirely designed around the original singer.

    For example, the song "Farewell Kiss" has the characteristics of popular music from a certain era in Xiangjiang on Earth, and some small singing designs are specifically arranged for Jacky Cheung.

    After all, the singer is Jacky Cheung.

    However, Sun Yaohuo is not Jacky Cheung, so Lin Yuan also began to try to design some small segments of arrangement for Sun Yaohuo.

    These changes will not be too big.

    Ordinary listeners may not even notice the difference, but they are a true test of Lin Yuan''s ability.

    Fortunately, Lin Yuan has been studying composition and has started to learn about arrangements. After all, music also needs to keep up with the times.

    After a half-day of hard work, the Sun Yaohuo version of "Farewell Kiss" was finally recorded. Technical processing needs to be done later.

    Once all this is completed, it can be promoted.

    In the afternoon.

    Lin Yuan made another trip to the shooting location of the TV drama "Journey to the West".

    The shooting schedule here is not bad. According to the director, the first season can probably be finished by the end of the month, but the post-production also needs some work¡ª

    Yes.

    Lin Yuan doesn''t plan to shoot all of "Journey to the West" at once.

    This is a large project; shooting in several seasons would be better.

    For the first season of "Journey to the West", Lin Yuan has written a script that starts with the birth of the Monkey King and ends with the completion of Tang Monk''s disciples.

    That is to say, the content of the first season can end with the addition of Monk Sha to the pilgrim team.

    In this, the focus of the story is on the part where Sun Wukong causes havoc in Heaven.

    Almost all of the funding for the first season was centered on this part. This is the bomb of the beginning plot of the Journey to the West. All kinds of climax special effects scenes must be made very exciting!

    It is worth mentioning that the Lin Yuan version of the "Journey to the West" TV drama is different from the CCTV version on Earth.

    The CCTV version of "Journey to the West" has made many adaptations to the original.

    The Lin Yuan version of "Journey to the West", although it also has some adaptations to the original, does not necessarily follow the same direction as the CCTV version.

    Of course.

    Overall, it should still follow the base tone of the CCTV version, and it cannot be filmed too dark, even if some parts of the Journey to the West''s story are indeed quite dark.

    If the scope was opened up for filming, the TV drama might even focus on several scenes of demons eating humans.

    Lin Yuan can''t do this.

    If he wants to make Journey to the West a TV drama suitable for all ages, he can''t take this path. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    If the style is so bloody, children won''t be able to watch it...

    The main focus should be on the plot and special effects.

    When the CCTV version of Journey to the West was filmed, Earth''s special effects level was not very high, especially in the technologically limited Celestial Dynasty.

    So the style of the battles can be described as fantasy, but the fights still have a strong sense of martial arts.

    In Blue Star, there is no need to worry about special effects.

    The version of Journey to the West that Lin Yuan is shooting in Blue Star will undoubtedly have the most authentic style.

    Lin Yuan and the company have given a generous budget for the investment!

    If the investment amount that Starlight put into the Journey to the West TV drama is revealed, it would definitely shock the industry!

    What Fiery Golden Eyes...?

    They''d have to literally be on fire for that to work!

    For divine duels, there has to be some natural spectacle. Otherwise, it would be a disservice to Blue Star''s current special effects technology!

    For this, Lin Yuan is going all out.

    He must be willing to spend money, not leaving any regrets behind!

    Actually, investing too much money in a TV series is not really worth it.

    After all, the profits from a TV show have a limit.

    The money you can make from special effects done to 80% versus 90%, might not be much different.

    This is the main reason why investments in TV series are never higher than in movies of the same level.

    Because the cap for movies is much higher.

    Now, Lin Yuan is directly treating the TV series like a big-budget movie.

    As long as it can become popular, even if this TV series ends up operating at a loss, Lin Yuan is willing to absorb it.

    That''s right.

    Lin Yuan is fully prepared to lose money.

    Because he is confident that he can earn back all the lost money from the subsequent development of Journey to the West stories!

    The premise is that the TV series on Journey to the West needs to become well-known and influential first!

    His approach is simple:

    Doesn''t Earth have the Marvel Universe?

    Then he can totally create a Journey to the West Universe on Blue Star!

    In the future, Lin Yuan can revolve around the Journey to the West Universe to make movies and TV shows about characters from the Journey to the West.

    Something akin to A Chinese Odyssey for instance.

    Or even The Lotus Lantern or something.

    Marvel has Spiderman, Iron Man, Thor...

    When they unite, there''s the Avengers; separately, individual characters have their own TV series and films.

    In Journey to the West, there''s Sun Wukong, Yang Jian, Nezha, and other characters.

    When they come together there''s Journey to the West, while they can also have independent TV series when alone.

    As if any of them didn''t have their own individual storyline.

    If Journey to the West is truly developed well, even characters like Marshal Canopy could have TV series like Sunny Piggy and still become a hit due to the popularity of Journey to the West.

    There''s no need to worry that these type of works will conflict with the plotline of Journey to the West TV series.

    Earth''s Marvel and the scriptwriters of X-Men have already taught everyone how to play with this set up:

    When in doubt, rely on quantum mechanics; when explanations fail, time travel; when creativity falls short, parallel universes; when style is inconsistent, virtual reality; when color combinations are an issue, cyberpunk; when the graphics are old, go for vintage; when clarity is lacking, tribute to Cthulhu!

    In conclusion:

    Lin Yuan has big plans for Journey to the West.

    As for scriptwriting, Lin Yuan isn''t rigid about it.

    If the System has it, he can leverage the System;

    If the System doesn''t, he can find his own scriptwriters for modifications.

    As long as he provides the ideas, finding a few talented scriptwriters on Blue Star to polish and fill out his ideas isn''t difficult.

    For instance...

    If Lin Yuan wants to film a derivative work about Yang Jian, he could exchange it for the script of The Lotus Lantern TV series.

    If he wants to get fancier, he''ll just bring out Everlasting Regret.

    The combination of the two would produce an absolutely astonishing effect.

    If he wants to go bigger, Lin Yuan dares to film The Legend of Wukong for you to see.

    Okay then.

    These are some of Lin Yuan''s immature ideas. He''ll have to figure out exactly how to implement them in the future.

    If the TV series fails, it would be an ominous beginning, making the future development of Journey to the West extremely difficult.

    This is also why Lin Yuan hasn''t gone to the sets of the other two movies today and instead went to the Journey to the West set.

    This TV series is currently the project he values most!

    This determines whether he can successfully develop his grand plan of the entire Journey to the West world in the future!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: There should be quite a few Journey to the West works in the future film and television sections. There have been some considerations to creatively reinterpret or even originally create some scripts for certain characters. However, considering the immersion aspect, this entertainment novel will try to minimize original creation, unless Polluted White believes that a piece is worth writing.

 Chapter 640 - 606: Chu Kuang of Qin Continent has the demeanor of a Great Emperor_1

    Nighttime.

    Home.

    Lin Yuan didn''t continue to dwell on the grand blueprint of his envisioned Journey to the West. Instead, he chose to surf the internet, a leisurely activity enjoyed by him and many others.

    There were many news stories online.

    For instance, the second trending topic on Tribe right now:

    "Annual Variety Show ''Our Song'' Top Ten Singers Revealed!"

    Although the composers were resting, the singers were still competing in the show, and the top ten have already been determined.

    The show would probably invite the composers to contribute before it ended.

    Although Lin Yuan hadn''t participated in the recordings recently, he would usually check on the competition''s status.

    Considering the popularity of this contest, it should have been the number one trending topic.

    What explosive news has stolen ''Our Song''s'' trending spotlight?

    Lin Yuan looked curiously.

    At this time,

    The number one trending topic was:

    "This is the darkest day in the fairy tale scene of Yan Continent!"

    What happened?

    Lin Yuan couldn''t help but check.

    Then he understood what was going on.

    As it turned out, the most recent drama involved Bai Jie, the number one long-format children''s author from Yan Continent, and David, a top fairy tale author from Han Continent, culminating in a Literary Duel.

    Just yesterday!

    Bai Jie lost the Duel!

    Below the topic was detailed news report:

    "Ever since Chu Kuang single-handedly suppressed the fairy tale world of Yan Continent, Bai Jie, the leading long-format fairy tale author of Yan Continent, was regarded by the Yan people as the last hope of local fairy tales. In the hearts of Yan people, among all their local fairy tale authors, only Bai Jie could defeat Chu Kuang, reversing the disgrace of last year''s defeat.

    This might also be what Bai Jie himself believed, so he proposed a Literary Duel to Chu Kuang. Unexpectedly, Chu Kuang simply declined the Duel, citing ''no time''."

    "While everyone was lamenting Chu Kuang''s arrogance for his talent, David, the fairy tale writer from Han Continent, started a Duel with Bai Jie."

    "The whole of Yan Continent believed that Bai Jie could easily defeat David, proving his and Yan people''s capability to write fairy tales, while also showing Chu Kuang the real strength of Yan people. However, surprisingly, even in terms of popularity differences, Bai Jie''s work lost to David in sales."

    "He lost."

    "The pride of Yan People''s fairy tales, the last hope of Yan''s fairy tales, shockingly lost to David, a newly joined author from Han Continent, before even having a showdown with Chu Kuang!"

    "..."

    No wonder the number one trending topic calls it the darkest day in the Yan''s fairy tale world.

    Chu Kuang''s one versus nine challenge was already humiliating enough for Yan people.

    Now, Bai Jie has stepped up, initially believed to turn the tide, but was disregarded by Chu Kuang.

    Instead, David from Han Continent appeared, crushing the number one long-format fairy tale author of Yan Continent.

    David, triumphing over Bai Jie and the entire Yan fairy tale scene, becomes recognized after a single battle in the Five United Continents!

    What''s even more infuriating was that David posted a status update afterward.

    Two letters:

    "K.O!"

    When Bai Jie challenged David to a duel, David''s reply was "ok".

    But after winning the Duel, David reversed the two letters to say "K.O".

    People who didn''t understand English looked it up and understood the meaning of "ko".

    The letters... were the same.

    But the meaning... completely different!

    It was like a dagger to the heart!

    In response to this,

    People in all continents discussed:

    "It''s over. Yan children''s literature will never be able to lift its head again."

    "As the number one long-format children''s author of Yan Continent, Bai Jie ''braced the chill'' without even exchanging blows with Chu Kuang."

    "First Chu Kuang, then David, Yan''s children''s literature, it seems no one can win."

    "Though I have to admit, David is really strong. His fairy tales are truly amazing, completely different from the popular prince and princess narrative in the current children''s literature."

    "I never expected that Bai Jie, such a powerful person, would lose the Duel!"

    "I originally thought Bai Jie would defeat David, draw attention from Chu Kuang, and then the two would have a Duel."

    "Chu Kuang: I haven''t even made a move, and you''ve already fallen."

    "..."

    While expressing their feelings, the netizens from each continent of course didn''t forget to ridicule Yan people, especially the newcomers from Han Continent!

    "Isn''t our Han Continent fierce?"

    "If it weren''t for the inconvenience of long-format fairy tales, David could have done a one versus nine challenge!"

    "After all, even your most formidable long-format fairy tale author from Yan Continent was defeated."

    "Han''s fairy tales, invincible!"

    "That''s it?"

    "I thought the number one long-format fairy tale author from Yan Continent would be impressive, but this is it?"

    "War Continent, in front of us Han people, is nothing more."

    "Before, I felt that Chu Kuang''s one versus nine challenge was really incredible, like a legendary character. But seeing our David defeat the number one fairy tale author of Yan Continent, I suddenly feel Chu Kuang isn''t as formidable as I thought."

    "What he can do, we also have a big shot who can do it on our side!"

    "..."

    Han people were proud.

    Each continent on Blue Star had its own characteristics, but the biggest label on Han people was "pride".

    It was as if they didn''t know what modesty was.

    And this kind of pride, once stimulated, would escalate into arrogance.

    David''s victory over Bai Jie triggered Han people''s pride, causing their egos to inflate rapidly.

    They''ve already directly declared the slogan "Han people''s fairy tales are invincible in the world!"

    Meanwhile,

    Yan people had gone into seclusion...

    Facing the ridicule from Han people, they felt incredibly upset.

    After all, they had previously arrogantly stated that David had just run into Bai Jie''s crosshair.

    Bai Jie, having been refused by Chu Kuang, was in anger mode. If David has a Duel with Bai Jie at this time, he will directly become Bai Jie''s emotional punching bag. Bai Jie would transfer all his anger towards Chu Kuang onto David''s head.

    Turns out, Bai Jie just couldn''t beat David.

    At this moment.

    One extremely infuriated Yan person stepped forward:

    "What''s the big deal about winning us? If you have the guts, let David face Chu Kuang!"

    Eh?

    This comment.

    It seemed as if Yan people had suddenly found a way to fight back, each of them turning red and stating:

    Win against Chu Kuang! S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Only if you win against Chu Kuang, we Yan people will admit your Han''s tales are indeed awesome!

    In an instant.

    All Yan people knew how to refute Han people:

    "Comparing David and Chu Kuang, do you really think anyone can challenge Chu Kuang?"

    "Without defeating Chu Kuang, don''t brag about being invincible!"

    "It''s Chu Kuang that scares us Yan people, not David."

    "Chu Kuang is the most terrifying beast!"

    "When it comes to fairy tales, we Yan people only concede to Chu Kuang!"

    "The gap between David and Chu Kuang, at least two Bai Jies are needed!"

    "Compared to Chu Kuang, David is nothing."

    "..."

    Although Chu Kuang is arrogant, the Qin people are more gracious than the Han people.

    When Chu Kuang dominated the Yan Continent''s fairy tales world initially, the Qin people didn''t ridicule like this.

    Han people''s mouth, sharp as a knife!

    Stabbing directly into the hearts of Yan people, one strike after another.

    So infuriating!

    Compared to the Han''s David, the Yan people felt closer to Chu Kuang all of a sudden.

    For a moment.

    Even in the Yan Continent''s fairy tales world, some people agreed, defeating Chu Kuang would show real skill!

    Qin Continent: "..."

    Qi Continent: "..."

    Chu continent: "..."

    What a great move, driving one enemy against another.

    What a strategy of killing with a borrowed knife.

    If David were to really go up against Chu Kuang, regardless of who wins, the Yan people wouldn''t lose.

    If Chu Kuang lost, the Yan people would vent their anger.

    If David lost, the Yan people would also vent their anger.

    To accomplish this scheme, fairy tale veterans from Yan continent, began to set the mood directly, loudly shouting:

    "Chu Kuang of Qin Continent, possesses the posture of a great emperor!"

    Perhaps at this moment, the Yan people still hoped for Chu Kuang to win, David was even more infuriating than Chu Kuang, winning and still mocking!

    As if he hadn''t won before!

    For this, Yan people did not hesitate to flatter Chu Kuang.

    In fact, some Yan people had already started to suck up to Chu Kuang.

    Many Yan people rushed to the comment section of Chu Kuang''s Tribe:

    "Teacher Chu Kuang, I could tell at a glance that you possess the bearing of a great emperor!"

    "The person we Yan people admire the most is Teacher Chu Kuang, yet the people from Han Continent actually said that Teacher Chu Kuang''s achievements in the fairy tale field are mediocre!"

    "Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan all acknowledge Chu Kuang''s strength, only Han Continent with their noses up in the air, denying your renowned ability!"

    "We Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan are all brothers and sisters, but the Han people seem a little bit too extreme, perhaps Great Emperor Chu Kuang could teach the Han people a lesson about who truly is the boss of the United Contintents!"

    "The ancient Great Qin devoured the six nations, now we have Emperor Chu Kuang who dominated all under the heavens!"

    "Teacher Chu Kuang, for the friendship between Qin and Yan continents!"

    "Teacher Chu Kuang is the bridge of cultural communication between us Qin and Yan!"

    "..."

    In an instant, Qin, Qi, and Chu continents all laughed!

    There is such an operation?

    Yan people can''t beat the Han people, so they ask for Qin people''s help?

    The problem is, Qin is not your savior!

    At the beginning of the month, you guys said that Yan people had eight-hundred brave warriors, ready to slay the beast, Chu Kuang.

    You even said that Chu Kuang was the big boss villain at the end of Yan fairy tales.

    Why are you suddenly shouting "Chu Kuang of Qin Continent possesses the posture of a great emperor" now?

    Has anyone ever heard of asking for help from a powerful enemy, join them if you can''t beat them?

    Looks like the Yan people have truly been infuriated.

    To the point of buttering up Chu Kuang!

    To defeat the Han people, the Yan people have truly even let go of their dignity.

    At this moment.

    Lin Yuan, who had been enjoying the spectacle, was stunned.

    Initially, he was happily spectating, but how did it turn out to land on him?

    Spectating is fun, continuously spectating is even more fun.

    But the spectacle always seems more interesting when it''s someone else''s.

    When the spectacle lands on you, it''s not as fun.

    It''s not that he is afraid of losing. Losing doesn''t matter. The main thing is that Lin Yuan was currently feeling lazy and didn''t want to draw comics, let alone write another novel....

    He was already exhausted from continuing Holmes series.

    They want me to multi-task?

    Lin Yuan decided to ignore the Yan people.

    Having made up his mind, Lin Yuan prepared to log off and flee.

    Just then.

    Lin Yuan noticed a system notification, it seemed someone had mentioned his account, Chu Kuang.

    He clicked on it casually.

    The one who used Chu Kuang''s handle turned out to be David:

    "Literary duel?"

    That was the content of David''s mention of Chu Kuang. Below that was a cute cartoon image.

    A body was lying in a pool of blood, and the word "Baijie" was written on the body.

    Although "Baijie" wasn''t directly written, it was obviously a pun.

    Baijie, a pun for Bai Jie.

    In front of the body, a little person was wiping the blood off a knife while looking at another cartoon character:

    "Are you free?"

    The other cartoon character was obviously Chu Kuang.

    This picture even specially added a sweating expression for Chu Kuang''s cartoon character.

    The whole picture, the style was cute.

    But the meaning conveyed in this picture, wasn''t quite as cute.

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    David, your drawing skills are quite ugly.

    Lin Yuan felt the Soul of Shadow in him brimming with anger.

    This is a blasphemy to art!

    Perhaps under the drive of this dissatisfaction, Lin Yuan suddenly didn''t want to log off anymore. If he didn''t accept the challenge, there might be a group of Han fairy tale writers challenging him to a duel.

    According to the past pattern, every time Lin Yuan won, the frequency of being challenged suddenly decreased.

    Then he might as well not evade it.

    Lin Yuan simply returned a mention to the other party, with just two English letters:

    "Ok."

    It''s not that he wanted to play tit for tat, it''s just Lin Yuan thought typing was too much trouble.

    If he replied "ok", it would take three letters.

    English responses only need two.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: The Little Prince''s big move will be put behind, first, something else is coming. Please vote for the monthly pass!

 Chapter 641 - 607 Alices Adventures in Wonderland_1

    On the Tribe forum. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Netizens were still laughing at the Yan people for going as far as to flatter their former arch-enemy, Chu Kuang, just to get back at the Han people. Suddenly, they saw that David had beaten Bai Jie and, astoundingly, had proposed a Literary Duel to Chu Kuang, accompanied by a blatantly provocative image. They were all taken aback--

    "What the--!"

    "Challenging Chu Kuang?"

    "David is so audacious!"

    "The Yan people have been playing this game well, using Chu Kuang as a pawn against David. It looks like David''s been properly stung this time!"

    "Can this really happen?"

    "Everyone is always saying how cunning the Yan people are, but look at the Han people now. They''re even more so, as evidenced by their impressive ability to cause trouble. With this one move, David has both stepped on the Yan people and offended Chu Kuang. So he wants to kill Chu Kuang too, following Bai Jie''s defeat?"

    "..."

    Everyone knew that the Yan people were goading the Han people, continually emphasizing how David was inferior to Chu Kuang. It was meant as a joke, but they hadn''t expected the Han people to actually take up the fight with Chu Kuang.

    The Han people were truly arrogant!

    If it weren''t for this proud nature, the Yan people''s crude tactics wouldn''t have been effective. David, a typical Han man, didn''t hesitate at all. He immediately launched an attack as soon as he felt provoked. Not only did he present a duel invitation, but he also attached a very provocative picture.

    However¡­

    When they saw Chu Kuang accepting the duel, replying with the same two English letters that David had used when accepting Bai Jie''s duel invitation, the netizens began to feel adrenaline pumping!

    "Haha, Chu Kuang said ok!"

    "No one can be more arrogant than Chu Kuang!"

    "Worthy of being the big shot who once took on nine challenges at once. It''s clear Chu Kuang is using David''s own tactic against him. He''s treating David with his own medicine!"

    "I love Chu Kuang''s personality!"

    "The Qin Continent''s Chu Kuang has the demeanor of an emperor!"

    "As always, Chu Kuang''s response is so domineering. David has already demonstrated the correct usage of ''OK'' once. this word reversed means ''KO''!"

    "..."

    The Literary Duel between Bai Jie and David attracted a lot of attention, so much so that it even made the trending list. As a sequel to this duel event, The duel between David and Chu Kuang attracted even more attention!

    "Chu Kuang is about to write a fairy tale!"

    The people of the Qin continent were most excited because Chu Kuang was from the Qin continent and had once suppressed the Yan continent''s fairy-tale circle on behalf of the Qin continent. So, the Qin people all supported Chu Kuang, and many considered this duel as the fairy tale showdown between the Qin and Han continents.

    In addition, the Yan people were also exhilarated!

    They had initially been worried that Chu Kuang would not want to intervene, but unexpectedly, David was very cooperative and was successfully provoked by the Yan people''s goading strategy, directly leading to a duel with Chu Kuang!

    "I''m speechless about this move!"

    Even some Yan people patted their chests and declared, "If Chu Kuang successfully suppresses David this time, I will never say a bad word about Chu Kuang again. I will become his hardcore fan!"

    This was not just empty talk.

    The Han people had been too harsh on the Yan continent''s fairy tales, and no one from the Yan continent could deal with David. So even though Chu Kuang wasn''t from the Yan continent, if he defeated David, he would become the savior of the Yan people, and their resentment would be gone forever.

    ...

    Lin Yuan was not preoccupied anymore. He found this situation neither crunchy nor sweet. Rather than continuing to observe, he thought about how to solve this problem. He began to consider what fairy-tale work he should use to duel David.

    "Harry Potter?"

    Lin Yuan suddenly thought of this work. Although some people say that "Harry Potter" reflects the adult world, when the novel was released on Earth, its genre was indeed classified as a fairy tale.

    This classification is very ambiguous.

    According to the standards of Blue Star, "Harry Potter" could also be considered a fantasy novel. But defining it as a fairy tale is not a big problem either.

    However¡­

    Lin Yuan quickly dismissed the idea of writing "Harry Potter," not because of the controversy over the novel''s classification, but mainly because the length of the book is quite long. Lin Yuan was currently in a hibernation mode and didn''t want to write a long story.

    He would write it later.

    For now, he needed a shorter fairy tale. Just earlier, he had released the song "Fairy Tale Town" which mentioned many fairy tales, and all were the plots that Lin Yuan had set aside before. Why not take this opportunity to fill in one more plot.

    Thinking about it this way.

    Lin Yuan began to look for one.

    About ten minutes later, Lin Yuan finally chose a suitable work. In the song "Fairy Tale Town," there was a lyric that goes, "I heard Mad Hatter likes Alice..."

    Lin Yuan almost sang it out loud.

    The fairy tale referred to by this lyric was "Alice''s Adventures in Wonderland." The Mad Hatter was an important character in the fairy tale, and Alice was the protagonist.

    A little girl.

    Lin Yuan felt that this work was ideal for a literary duel with David. David''s fairy tales tended to lean towards Earth''s Western fairy tales, and Alice''s series was also a western fairy tale from Earth. The styles of both sides of the literary duel would not have too much of a difference.

    Another key point was:

    This novel could make a hit!

    On Earth, the Alice series was considered one of the most influential novels of the 19th century. The renowned Chinese author Shen Congwen had published a satirical novel, "Alice''s Journey to China," mimicking the writing technique and style of this book, even disguising it as a sequel to Alice to reflect the darkness of society at that time.

    Beyond that.

    The famous Western fairy-tales like "The Wizard of Oz" series and "The Chronicles of Narnia" series were partly inspired by "Alice in Wonderland." This novel was translated into more than a hundred languages and its derivative works spanned the areas of art, music, drama, fashion, film, TV series, radio dramas, and games, demonstrating the significant influence of the work!

    Well.

    Lin Yuan admitted that these were all excuses. He chose "Alice''s Adventures in Wonderland" because the length of the novel was not long, and he could write it out in a short period of time. This was a decision influenced by his lazy nature--

    The Alice series has two parts.

    The first part was only about seventy or eighty thousand words, which was not quite enough for a novel publication. So, he decided to write out the second part as well. After all, even both parts combined were not more than two hundred thousand words.

    Lin Yuan gave himself a thumbs-up.

    Even a lazy person must have self-awareness.

    He shouldn''t present such a short novel, even if he was in his hibernation mode. There would be no need to worry about this if he published both parts at once. Even for an online writer with high update frequency, writing nearly two hundred thousand words in a month would signify him as a diligent author.

    Updating five or six hundred thousand words in a single month?

    No question. That person must be cheating somewhere.

    At this moment, Lin Yuan had another idea. Beethoven had a piece which seemed to be called "To Alice." Although this "Alice" was not the same character, who "Alice" referred to was pretty vague and there was no way to trace the exact idea--

    Could this be an opportunity for cross promotion?

    ----------------

    ps: Thank you[Calm 3rd Uncle]for the Alliance Hierarch support, bowing down to you guys¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, continue writing, this round should be a cross-promotion.

 Chapter 642 - 608: Slap and then give a sweet date_1

    Beethoven''s "F¨¹r Elise" is a well-known piano composition, so famous that even numerous non-piano lovers on earth are very familiar with it. The impact of this piece is truly global!

    It''s in no way inferior to "Mariage d''Amour".

    The timing is perfect for Lin Yuan to aim for the Maestro this year. If "Alice in Wonderland" becomes an explosive success, Lin Yuan could choose a particular season to release Beethoven''s song for competition!

    Taking advantage of the popularity of fairy tales...

    This piece is definitely going to be a hit!

    At least it can secure him a season!

    Even without the foundation of the fairy tale, "F¨¹r Elise" could be a hit. But it would be foolish not to take advantage of the popularity. Lin Yuan is very good at self-promotion, stylishly calling it a "crossover".

    With this in mind...

    Lin Yuan''s gaze finally became serious. The significance of releasing "Alice in Wonderland" is not only a fairy tale to counter David in the Literary Duel but also relevant to his final goal this year:

    Becoming the Maestro!

    Anything related to his final goal this year, Lin Yuan will handle it particularly carefully. He may even be able to overcome his recent bout of laziness for this purpose ¨C maybe it''s time for the Shadow to make a move?

    After all, he must stay steady.

    The fairy tale "Alice in Wonderland" is full of wondrous imagination. The protagonist Alice is a sweet little girl who, out of sheer boredom, discovers a speaking rabbit with a pocket watch. She falls into the rabbit hole chasing it, plunging into a magical underground world.

    In this world...

    Drinking a sip of water can make you shrink to the size of a mouse, and eating a slice of cake can turn you into a giant. A single mushroom ¨C eating the right side will make you short, while eating the left side will make you tall ¨C as if all the food in this world has peculiar effects.

    She meets an abundance of strange creatures:

    Like the dodo, the lizard Bill, the Cheshire Cat, the March Hare, the Dormouse, the Mock Turtle, the Gryphon, the ugly Duchess, and of course, the Mad Hatter from "Fairytale Town".

    Besides...

    In a giant garden behind a small door, she meets a full deck of cards, including the tyrannical Queen of Hearts, the good-natured King of Hearts, and the pompous Knave of Hearts...

    A lot of imagination...

    Children''s imagination is said to be limitless. Lin Yuan could release just the novel and let children fill in the various images with their minds. However, if Shadow participates throughout, creating illustrations for this work and designing figures that align with everyone''s imaginary figures, the fairy tale will definitely become more attractive to children!

    In that case...

    Let the Shadow come.

    Lin Yuan suddenly felt speechless.

    Was this digging a hole for himself?

    He had chosen "Alice in Wonderland" as a way to be lazy, but now he had to become even busier, not even stealing a bit of leisure time. The two pseudonyms, Xian Yu and Shadow, will have to be included as well.

    It was as if he didn''t want to engage in a Literary Duel, but in the end, he could only keep eating it till he was stuffed.

    All kinds of things went against his wishes.

    Temporarily casting aside the laziness that coursed through his body, Lin Yuan gave himself a pep talk, then went to his studio to start drawing. As he wrote the Alice series of novels, he also started portraying characters from the novels.

    ...

    In the studio...

    Lin Yuan was busy writing the novel and creating several drawings after writing each segment of the novel.

    The nearby Jin Mu kept nodding approvingly.

    The boss is really in high spirits!

    So diligent!

    So hardworking!

    A good writer!

    Jin Mu was aware of the Literary Duel. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    He was very pleased about this. First, because it showed robust confidence in Chu Kuang''s writing capability. Second, because of the implications of this event. If the boss could win in this round of Literary Duel, what he would harvest would be the hearts of all Yan Continent people!

    What a wonderful opportunity!

    The Yan people urging a Literary Duel between Chu Kuang and David might not have pure intentions, but it was true that the Yan people were being suppressed by the Han people. They desperately needed someone to rescue them, or at least help them preserve their dignity.

    At this point...

    Chu Kuang''s acceptance of the challenge feels like a hugely anticipated emergence.

    If Chu Kuang wins, he who once knocked Yan fairy tales into an abyss, will instantly become the saviour of Yan!

    A strong sense of deja vu, isn''t it?

    Destroy them, then save them!

    It sounds a bit like "Slap the Yan instantly, then compensate Yan People with a sweet date."

    Put it more elegantly, this is called carrot and stick approach!

    One way or another, it aligns with the subtle strategies of ancient emperors.

    No wonder Yan People have been shouting "Lin Yuan of Qin Continent possesses Emperor-like power" for so long.

    Although the approach is sneaky, it is undoubtedly effective, and always successful - otherwise, the ancient emperors would not have been so intrigued by it.

    This is truly the King''s Path!

    Moreover, Chu Kuang is justified in this matter.

    Nobody can accuse Chu Kuang of being cunning.

    After all, it was the Yan People who begged Chu Kuang to intervene, not the other way around.

    The meanings represented by these two scenarios are totally different. When the time comes, Yan People will have no choice but to appreciate it!

    It is quite beneficial for the boss''s future development!

    However, this David has some skills.

    Despite having confidence in my boss, he is not invincible.

    Previously in the season rankings contest, he was beaten by Yang Zhongming, even though the officials had a hand in it.

    But a loss is a loss.

    So Jin Mu remained alert and specifically checked on David''s actions.

    "Hmm?"

    When he saw a fresh update from David, Jin Mu furrowed his brows slightly, a touch of worry flashing in his eyes.

    David''s fairy tale has an inherent advantage in the upcoming Literary Duel!

    "What happened?"

    After working for half an hour on both writing and painting, Lin Yuan casually asked Jin Mu why he looked serious as he took a break to drink some water.

    "It''s about the Literary Duel."

    Jin Mu said, "David just announced on the Tribe''s platform that he has chosen his work that defeated Bai Jie, ''Legend of the Ocean'', for the upcoming Literary Duel with you."

    "Legend of the Ocean?"

    Lin Yuan was puzzled: "According to the rules of the Literary Duel, a work can only be compared with one author, right? Is he planning to use the same book for duels with two different authors?"

    Recently.

    As Lin Yuan was merely a watcher, he knew that "Legend of the Ocean" was the work with which David defeated Bai Jie.

    "Not exactly..."

    Jin Mu said helplessly: "He found a loophole in the rules of the Literary Duel. The work he wants to challenge you with is still ''Legend of the Ocean'' that defeated Bai Jie. But the work he has now released is the next part."

    The next part?

    Lin Yuan got it.

    So, David''s "Legend of the Ocean" is divided into two parts. He defeated Bai Jie with the first part, and now wants to challenge him with the second part. It is undeniably the same book, but the content is different, with the latter being the continuation of the former story.

    "I see."

    Lin Yuan initially thought David would write a brand new story for the duel, but it is the latter part of "Legend of the Ocean."

    "Doesn''t matter."

    Lin Yuan commented casually. Since such loopholes exist in the rules of the Literary Duel, they are essentially allowed.

    "The issue is..."

    Jin Mu said with a bitter smile: "Having defeated Bai Jie with the first part of ''Legend of the Ocean'', David has already established a solid reader base. You are releasing a brand new work, so you start off at a disadvantage."

    "I also have advantages."

    Lin Yuan took it lightly. It''s obvious that David''s work for the Literary Duel can borrow the fame of the first part to gain a natural reader base.

    But¡­

    Lin Yuan has Master-level illustrations, an advantage that he possesses but others can hardly achieve. Shadow is Chu Kuang''s golden ticket.

    Unless...

    David could also find a Master-level illustrator to help with the fairytale illustrations.

 Chapter 643 - 643: 609

    Jin Mu opened his mouth.

    But he did not say anything in the end.

    However, Jin Mu''s concerns did not completely disappear.

    In fact.

    Jin Mu''s concern was also the concern of many Internet users who supported Chu Kuang.

    When everyone saw the official announcement from David that his new book for the Literary Duel with Chu Kuang was actually the second half of "A Legend Across the Sea", some users started questioning online:

    "Is this against the rules?"

    "David has an unfair advantage in this.

    "Unless Chu Kuang''s work is a sequel to ''Shuke and Beta'', this disadvantage could be overcome."

    "Indeed."

    "After all, David defeated Bai Jie. His first half of ''A Legend Across the Sea'' is already famous."

    "Due to the fame of the first half of the book, a large number of readers will undoubtedly buy the second half even if its quality declines."

    "Just like if Chu Kuang wrote a sequel to ''Shuke and Beta'', I would definitely purchase it."

    "..."

    Soon, some people from the Yan Continent expressed their helplessness:

    "The Literary Duel is an established tradition initiated by us, the Yan People. Over these years, similar situations have occurred a few times. However, we have not prohibited such behavior. We only strive to avoid it."

    To put it simply:

    While this approach is controversial in the Yan Continent, it is not explicitly stated in the rules of the Literary Duel that it is forbidden.

    Because this approach is controversial, hardly anyone in the Yan Continent would resort to it, to avoid being criticized for their unworthy method of winning the duel." sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    But David is not from the Yan Continent, he does not share these concerns.

    Even if David took this step, he could completely excuse himself by saying that he had no prior knowledge of this issue.

    In fact.

    That''s exactly how the Han people explained it:

    "The Literary Duel is a tradition of the Yan people, we Han people do not fully understand it, and believe that the same goes for David."

    "If it exists, it is reasonable. Since there is no clear regulation stating that this is improper, then there is no problem."

    "Chu Kuang can write sequels to his other fairy tale stories."

    "The first half and the second half cannot tell the same story, so they can be considered two novels."

    "Besides, the success of the first part of ''A Legend Across the Sea'' was all thanks to David''s efforts."

    "..."

    It is said that "where you sit determines where you stand."

    The Han people definitely stand on David''s side.

    Even though the Han people''s explanation could not satisfy everyone, even those from the Yan Continent who invented the Literary Duel and who were eagerly hoping for David''s defeat, could not criticize David.

    Who was it that did not prohibit such behavior in their own Literary Duel project? The Yan People.

    However, this inevitably casts a shadow over Chu Kuang''s new book.

    Both of their new works haven''t been published yet, but David has already taken the lead through this method.

    "This is a tough situation."

    Some people worried for Chu Kuang: "Although Chu Kuang''s fairy tales are also great, as we all know, Chu Kuang is best at writing short fairy tales. His long fairy tale ''Shuke and Beta'' is indeed wonderful, but it''s not necessarily at a higher level than Bai Jie''s. However, David beat Bai Jie and now he has taken the initiative in the rules."

    Chu Kuang is the King of Short Fairy Tales.

    His long fairy tales are impressive, but both the industry insiders and ordinary readers agree that Chu Kuang''s long fairy tales are not as excellent as his short ones.

    Which is normal.

    Chu Kuang''s "Fairytale Town" includes many top-level short fairy tale stories from Earth. It is the culmination of the works of more than one fairy tale master.

    All are the essence of the top fairy tales on Earth.

    While "Shuke and Beta" is amazing, it is just one long fairy tale written by Teacher Zheng.

    To have this kind of evaluation is completely normal.

    At this time, someone optimistically said:

    "What if the fairy tale by Teacher Chu Kuang is actually a sequel to ''Shuke and Beta''?"

    This eased some people''s minds a bit.

    If it was a sequel to ''Shuke and Beta'', there was still room to play. The foundation of the previous work was equally massive!

    It can tough it out with the second half of ''A Legend Across the Sea''!

    At this time, only Jin Mu knew that there was no sequel to ''Shuke and Beta'' at all.

    Chu Kuang''s new fairy tale is called "Alice in Wonderland". It is a completely new fairy tale story.

    There was no secret, it didn''t need to be kept until the end.

    So...

    A few days later, Silver Blue Books communicated with Jin Mu over the phone and took the opportunity to announce the news of Chu Kuang''s new fairy tale, as a form of early promotion.

    "Chu Kuang''s new fairy tale ''Alice in Wonderland'', the release date is yet to be decided, please stay tuned!"

    The internet was abuzz in no time.

    Chu Kuang''s new fairy tale is called ''Alice in Wonderland''!

    It''s not the sequel to ''Shuke and Beta'' that some people were anticipating!

    David is still getting the better deal!

    Chu Kuang is still at an innate disadvantage!

    At this moment.

    Suddenly, some people find the title "Alice in Wonderland" sounds a little familiar.

    Some make the connection:

    "Holy crap! Could this Alice is the same Alice mentioned in Xian Yu''s song ''Fairytale Town''?"

    The song "Fairytale Town"?

    Many people instantly think of the song lyrics!

    A lot of people can sing that song.

    And the lyrics are deeply engraved in their minds.

    A line in the song says, "Heard that Mad Hat likes Alice."

    When the song was released, Chu Kuang openly said, "The unknown characters mentioned in the song ''Fairytale Town'' will successively appear in my future fairy tales."

    And it was indeed so.

    After the release of "Fairytale Town", Chu Kuang wrote his first long fairy tale novel about Shuke and Beta from the song lyrics.

    And now.

    Alice, from the song, is about to make her debut!

    Some people dug up Chu Kuang''s original post and reflected it emotionally:

    "Chu Kuang is truly amazing. Turns out, even back then, he already had the idea of creating ''Alice in Wonderland''."

    "Weren''t ''Harry Potter'' or something also mentioned in the lyrics?"

    "And Peter Pan. I remember that name because it''s interesting."

    "I recall Pinocchio being mentioned."

    "Right, and the Little Prince."

    "So many of them."

    "Back then, many netizens said that each name in the song lyrics was a plot yet to be revealed."

    "Turns out, Chu Kuang still has many fairy tales to be written."

    "This ''Alice in Wonderland'' is the start, just like ''Shuke and Beta''."

    "Mad Hat likes Alice, that lyric, indicates that Mad Hat should also appear in his new book."

    "..."

    For a moment, many people marveled at Chu Kuang''s brilliance.

    Starting from ''Shuke and Beta''.

    To the upcoming ''Alice in Wonderland''.

    Continually corresponding the song lyrics to characters, validating what he had originally claimed!

    From Shuke and Beta, to Mad Hat and Alice...

    The characters in the song really are making their way onto the stage.

    Even last year, or earlier, Chu Kuang had already sketched out a blueprint for his future fairy tales!

    Some people made a tally and were shocked:

    Chu Kuang has given advance notice for six of his fairy tales!

    Question is:

    How many authors on Blue Star dare to hint at their future works through a song?

    The answer is, not many!

    At this point, the only one is Chu Kuang!

    Many writers don''t even know what their next work will look like.

    After all...

    It''s impossible to predict when inspiration will strike.

    But Chu Kuang did it!

    Not only did he give advance notice for six fairy tales, but he also successively brought those works to life!

    The first one is out, and the second is about to be released!

    This proves that Chu Kuang''s hints were not baseless!

    "If they are short fairy tales, then it''s easier to conceptualize. But if they''re all long tales, then it''s insane."

    Someone said uncertainly.

    At this moment.

    It seems that Silver Blue Books has also noticed the fans'' discussions, and they updated their tribe''s official microblog:

    "Just had a conversation with Chu Kuang''s manager. The unfamiliar characters mentioned in the song ''Fairytale Town'' are from his future long fairy tales, including stories that are millions of words long!"

    Fans: ¦²(¡ã¡÷¡ã|||)¦õ!!!

    There really is a fairy tale universe in Chu Kuang''s mind!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: This explains why we altered a few lyrics in ''Fairytale Town''. We wanted to hint at the upcoming six fairy tales. It would be interesting when people revisit the song after all six fairy tales have been released and realized each tale is a classic. That''s it for today, and as usual, asking for monthly votes~

 Chapter 644 - 610: Originally Came Prepared_1

    However...

    Despite the successive shocks, people''s worries did not disappear.

    Did Chu Kuang pre-release his book title for publicity, intending to use the hype of "Fairytale Town" to promote his new fairy tale?

    It did have an effect.

    But it''s still not enough. The influence of David''s "The Legend of the Sea" is not something that can be matched with just a song...

    For a moment, discussions continued.

    Lin Yuan, however, no longer paid attention to the online movements.

    In the following days, he dedicated himself to writing "Alice in Wonderland".

    During this process.

    Jin Mu brought Lin Yuan a piece of news, which was also related to Chu Kuang:

    "The TV drama version of ''Detective Poirot'' has finished shooting. It''s currently in post-production and is expected to be aired once that''s complete."

    Chu Kuang''s novels have basically sold the rights to their adaptations, but Lin Yuan didn''t get too involved in the filming of these dramas after the rights were sold...

    His energy is limited, he can''t manage everything.

    Jin Mu usually only informed Lin Yuan when these dramas were about to be premiered.

    "I''ll take a look later," Lin Yuan said without asking further.

    The production of this drama is none of his business.

    Although he didn''t involve himself in the shooting, Lin Yuan definitely hoped that the TV adaptations of his novels would be well produced.

    If the production team ruined the drama, then Lin Yuan would not continue collaborating with companies like this in the future.

    They''re utterly ruining the classic works of the world.

    All film and TV production companies in the industry were aware of Chu Kuang''s rules. So when they bought the rights to adapt Chu Kuang''s works, they took it very seriously and put effort into the filming.

    "Hmm."

    Jin Mu laughed and said, "Speaking of which, your old rival, the new version of ''The Primordial Chaos'' should also be premiered soon. The exact date hasn''t been announced yet, and it should be still in post-production as well..."

    "Then ''Journey to the West'' should also be close."

    Lin Yuan had been closely paying attention to the production of ''Journey to the West''.

    Because they were only shooting the first season, the content was not abundant, so the production speed was quite good.

    In fact.

    Not long after Lin Yuan and Jin Mu''s conversation, the production team of ''Journey to the West'' announced that the shooting for the first season was officially completed.

    On the day of wrap up.

    Lin Yuan even personally made a trip to the set, and he rarely attended the completion dinner that evening.

    After all, as the main scriptwriter of the drama, even though Lin Yuan is getting more and more comfortable with a hands-off approach, he still has to attend these key occasions whenever possible.

    At the completion dinner.

    There''s no doubt that Lin Yuan was the center of attention.

    The director, the producer and even the leading actors took turns in toasting Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan didn''t drink alcohol, so he toasted back with tea -

    Everybody knew that Lin Yuan was not in good health and was unaware that Lin Yuan''s physical condition was now better than most people, so nobody thought it improper for him to drink tea at the dinner table.

    Of course.

    Even if Lin Yuan was in good health, if he wasn''t willing to drink alcohol, nobody dared to say anything about it.

    Meanwhile, Lin Yuan is also quietly observing the actors during the dinner.

    The follow-up developments of "Journey to the West" were important, involving independent single-person films, he might need some of these actors in the future.

    But the specific plan was still being weighed by Lin Yuan, so it wasn''t mentioned during the dinner.

    ¡­

    The day after the wrap-up party, Lin Yuan headed to his studio to continue writing "Alice in Wonderland".

    The novel was a sum of fewer than 200,000 characters in total.

    And how long does it take to write a novel of less than 200,000 characters?

    For different authors, the answer is definitely different.

    But Lin Yuan''s answer is:

    Just a few days are enough.

    Yes, in just a few days, Lin Yuan had already written more than half of "Alice in Wonderland".

    This was because he needed to design illustrations for the fairy tale, which had delayed some of his time.

    Without the need for illustrations, he probably would have finished writing the whole novel by now.

    Still, Lin Yuan''s pace was very fast.

    After all, his typing process was different than other authors.

    Other authors are creating the plot while writing the book.

    While Lin Yuan just had to type out the text that was already in his mind.

    As for the drawing part...

    Master-level drawing skills were there. A mere fairytale illustration wouldn''t take up much time.

    "I should be able to finish it tonight."

    Looking at the progress, Lin Yuan had a plan in mind.

    At this moment, Jin Mu suddenly appeared and said, "Boss, the second part of David''s ''Legend of the Sea'' has been released. I''ve bought a copy."

    "Huh?"

    Lin Yuan looked at the book in Jin Mu''s hand, and was surprised to find that the cover illustration was beautifully done.

    Jin Mu smiled bitterly, "The second part of ''The Legend of the Sea'' invited top illustrators in the industry to draw illustrations. Your advantage in illustrations isn''t all that significant anymore."

    Jin Mu flipped through a few pages of "The Legend of the Sea" part two, showing it to Lin Yuan.

    There were many illustrations inside, and most of them were very delicate. Even with Lin Yuan''s picky perspective, he had to admit that the illustrator David found was quite good.

    Of course, it was certainly not as good as him.

    But for a fairy tale, this level of illustration is already very high.

    Jin Mu said in a deep voice, "When I saw the second part of ''The Legend of the Sea'', I realized that they are well-prepared. David probably planned to have a Literary Duel with you even without the Yan People''s involvement. For these new writers who have just joined the United States, your status as Chu Kuang is a target. Everyone wants to rise to fame under your aura."

    Because ''The Legend of the Sea'' part one didn''t have too many illustrations.

    But in the second part of ''The Legend of the Sea'', a large amount of beautiful illustrations appeared.

    This shows that David''s ''The Legend of the Sea'' part two was directed towards Chu Kuang.

    Because it was known to those who studied Chu Kuang that in Chu Kuang''s previous fairy tales, the illustrations were all handled by Shadow!

    The illustrations by Shadow contributed a great deal to the sales of Chu Kuang''s novels.

    So David was smart!

    He also put a great deal of effort into illustrations!

    It''s not that he expects his work to have better illustrations than Shadow; this level of meticulous drawing is hard to surpass, yet by doing this he can at least weaken the advantage of Shadow''s illustrations in Chu Kuang''s works.

    "He''s really prepared."

    Lin Yuan, puzzled, "Then why didn''t he make good illustrations for the first part?"

    Lin Yuan was a bit obsessive-compulsive.

    Why did he rush the illustrations for the first part, but went all out for the second part?

    Jin Mu shrugged, "Of course, he wanted to catch you off guard. Just like when he challenged you in the Literary Duel, he did not state in advance that his new book was the second part of ''The Legend of the Sea''. In terms of the level of importance, David''s regard for you far exceeds that of Bai Jie." S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "That''s okay."

    Lin Yuan said, "Our illustrations are better, and this book can be finished tonight. You can arrange for the publishing matters in the next few days."

    "Do you have other tricks?"

    Jin Mu''s eyes suddenly lit up.

    Lin Yuan casually said, "Everyone who has participated in variety shows knows that ''The one who moves first always lose''."

    Jin Mu: "..."

    We were talking about novels.

    And you''re talking about mystics?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to "¤ï¤¿¤Ì¤­¤­¤ß¤Ò¤í" for the alliance master reward, I kneel to you ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, I (Polluted White) have some matters to deal with, so this chapter was rushed. I''ll revise it later. The next update will probably be really late, don''t wait up.

 Chapter 645 - 611: Nothing At All_1

    "Meanwhile.

    The fairy tale circles from all continents also noticed the illustrations for the ''Sea Legend''.

    Just like Jin Mu.

    At this moment, many people realized and saw David''s meticulously planned strategy-

    "This was all prepared beforehand!"

    "We all thought that David was being instigated by the Yan people to engage in a Literary Duel with Chu Kuang, but we didn''t realize that from the beginning to the end, David''s target was always Chu Kuang, not Bai Jie!"

    "This Korean guy is quite conniving!"

    "Bai Jie was just a stepping stone for David!"

    "First use the method of defeating Bai Jie to make the first part of ''Sea Legend'' extremely popular, then challenge Chu Kuang with the second part."

    "One advantage of Chu Kuang''s fairy tale is that it has Shadow''s illustrations."

    "David also prepared illustrations carefully, but he didn''t use them in the first part, he only exposed them when the second part of ''Sea Legend'' was published, just to catch Chu Kuang off guard!"

    "If David had not known about Chu Kuang beforehand, he wouldn''t have come up with the illustration strategy!"

    "..."

    Did it turn out that Bai Jie was merely a stepping stone used by David to challenge Chu Kuang?

    One could only wonder what Bai Jie felt like when he realized this.

    But you had to admit, David''s plan worked out very well.

    With the popularity base of the first part, ''Sea Legend'' had impressive sales as soon as it hit the shelves!

    The readers were pleasantly surprised to see that the second part of ''Sea Legend'' included beautiful illustrations, which weren''t present in the first part!

    In an instant, ''Sea Legend'' had high sales!

    At ten in the afternoon, reviews for the second part of ''Sea Legend'' came out!

    "David''s fairy tales are unique!"

    "Very suitable for educating children!"

    "It retains the style of art from the first part, and not only that, the quality has slightly improved."

    "Paired with the illustrations, it''s splendid. The scenes feel even grander than in the first part, I really love this fairy tale story that takes place on the sea."

    "The Legend brothers fight a shark in the second part, it''s amazing!"

    "David is indeed a fairy tale author who defeated Bai Jie, he does not write juvenile stories of princes and princesses, older children will also find it very interesting."

    "The part of the story where the Legend brothers face a storm at sea carries significant educational value."

    "I heard that this work entered into a Literary Duel with Chu Kuang. David might just step on Chu Kuang and Bai Jie''s shoulders to become a god in the fairy tale world all at once?"

    "David is steady!"

    "If it was a short fairy tale, even two David''s might not be a match for Chu Kuang, but if it''s a long one, David''s chances of winning already seem very obvious, especially seeing that Chu Kuang might not be able to beat even Bai Jie."

    "..."

    Firstly, one must acknowledge that ''Sea Legend'' is indeed splendid.

    Otherwise, David wouldn''t have been able to defeat Bai Jie.

    The story tells of two brothers exploring the sea in a large ship.

    On the ocean, they face heavy rainstorms and various hardships and dangers.

    Furthermore, the brothers also made friends with some marine animals.

    They would join forces to fight against some powerful and evil marine creatures. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    A fairy tale story full of original ideas.

    This story, paired with the boat illustrations, is beautifully charming and widely welcomed by all.

    "Please enlighten me!"

    The same night, David tagged Chu Kuang again, full of confidence!

    The Yan people fell silent.

    Would Chu Kuang be able to withstand this move?

    However, some netizens from the Qin Continent still held on to their optimism.

    A few even began to comfort the Yan people by recounting a past event with a chuckle:

    "When Leng Guang and Chu Kuang were having a reasoning duel, Leng Guang made the first move, saying please enlighten me, you can look up the rest of the story if you don''t know, the internet has a memory."

    That said.

    While their words seemed very optimistic, many people from the Qin Continent secretly wiped their sweat at this.

    David''s strength was beyond many people''s expectations.

    As for Chu Kuang, everyone knew that long-form fairy tales were not his strongest suit.

    Chu Kuang''s strongest area when writing fairy tales had always been short stories.

    Not to mention that David also had the support of the foundation laid by the first part of the ''Sea Legend''.

    This event was indeed amusing.

    Those Yan people who used to see Chu Kuang as a thorn in their side were now worried about him?

    And those comforting the Yan people turned out to be a group of Qin people?

    This felt slightly off somehow.

    ...

    Lin Yuan finally finished writing ''Alice''s Adventures in Wonderland''.

    The time taken for completion was almost the same as his initial estimation.

    He didn''t bother about the online trends and directly handed it over to Jin Mu and Silver Blue Books.

    So.

    That same night.

    Silver Blue Books released a promotional announcement:

    "The second installment of Chu Kuang''s Fairytale Town universe, ''Alice in Wonderland'', is going to be officially published in a week. ''Heard the Mad Hat likes Alice, and Shuk Bacchetta is a talking mouse.'' The first absurdist fairy tale in the history of Blue Star, now available for pre-sale on ''Amazon''!"

    Behind the promotion.

    Nobody knew how contemplative the editors of Silver Blue Books were after reading ''Alice in Wonderland''.

    The comment "The first absurdist fairy tale in the history of Blue Star" did not attract much attention.

    From netizens'' discussions, it seemed that many people thought ''The Legend of the Sea'' would definitely win.

    David would be the ultimate winner of this literary duel.

    Ning Yi thought so too¡ª

    Ning Yi was the sales manager of Amazon, a well-known online bookstore on Blue Star.

    The bookstore section is divided into online and offline.

    The offline market is controlled by various book wholesalers.

    As for the online market, they don''t operate physical stores, and sell books directly online.

    Some people liked to buy books in bookstores, but others who didn''t like to go out preferred to buy books online, and have them delivered by the bookstore''s courier service.

    As the sales manager of Amazon, Ning Yi placed a pre-order from Silver Blue Books for one million copies of ''Alice in Wonderland''.

    Yes.

    Although Ning Yi thought that Chu Kuang might lose to David in the literary duel,

    it didn''t mean that Chu Kuang''s books wouldn''t sell.

    Every year on Amazon''s annual sales list, Chu Kuang''s works would always be included.

    That was Chu Kuang''s influence in the book market.

    Even if he lost to David, Ning Yi believed the stock of one million copies of ''Alice in Wonderland'' could be sold out.

    As for the so-called online pre-sales...

    This was just a small event that Ning Yi came up with on a whim.

    After all, movies nowadays are keenly into pre-sales, he wanted to see if novels could also have pre-sales.

    Some novels had dabbled in pre-sales before, but the results were mediocre.

    Movie pre-sales relied on various exciting trailers and promotions, as well as the appeal of directors and actors.

    Novels couldn''t possibly reveal the plot in advance, could they?

    That would be a spoiler.

    However, Chu Kuang''s novel having a pre-sale should be more successful than the average authors, after all, Chu Kuang was not an ordinary person.

    Regardless, even if this type of promotion failed, it wouldn''t have much of an adverse effect on Amazon.

    Although Chu Kuang indeed has a certain level of appeal.

    But would everyone obediently purchase the book without knowing how Chu Kuang has written this fairy tale?

    Ning Yi guessed it was unlikely.

    However, there was a strong possibility that Chu Kuang''s die-hard fans would rush to pre-order without a second thought to support Chu Kuang.

    The money that Ning Yi wanted to make, was that of Chu Kuang''s die-hard fan base.

    So, the pre-sale wasn''t entirely without purpose, there were still profits to be made.

    Even a mosquito is meat. It''s better than nothing.

    At least a small number of people would deposit the money to pre-order online.

    With this in mind, Ning Yi organized this event.

    As a result.

    Fifteen minutes after the event started, Ning Yi''s phone rang, it was his attractive secretary.

    "Manager¡­"

    The attractive secretary''s voice seemed shaky.

    Ning Yi said, "How are the pre-sales going?"

    "Something is going wrong¡­"

    The sexy secretary seemed stressed, and her voice wasn''t right.

    "Are there very few people buying?"

    Ning Yi was stunned, something didn''t feel right.

    Doesn''t Chu Kuang have any die-hard fans who unabashedly support him?

    Or was Silver Blue Books just ineffective at promoting it?

    "No!"

    The sexy secretary''s voice trembled even harder:

    "The one million pre-sale quotas for ''Alice in Wonderland'' were snapped up by netizens in just fifteen minutes, the website is now lagging due to the large traffic flow, readers who didn''t get to pre-order the novel are complaining in the comment section, you need to reach out to Silver Blue Books quickly.

    We need more copies of the book, oh, and don''t forget to get the programmers to come and deal with the website issue!"

    The sexy secretary was shrieking!

    Huh?

    Ning Yi was stunned!

    He had a complete brain freeze!

    At that moment, Ning Yi finally realized, the so-called foundation that David''s ''The Legend of the Sea'' had laid down was...

    nothing in front of the name "Chu Kuang."

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Finally finished the second chapter, it''s already late at night, thanks to Feather for being the nth Alliance Hierarch¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ.

 Chapter 646 - 612: I, Chu Kuang, Make Money_1

    "Chu Kuang!"

    This name alone implies a terrifying foundation!

    Apart from the newly merged Han Continent.

    In Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Chu Kuang is as brilliant as a golden signboard!

    Turns out, Chu Kuang has grown so powerful that just by announcing a new book, there will be countless readers willing to buy it...

    Chu Kuang is at a disadvantage from the start?

    Absolutely wrong!

    In fact, it''s David who is at a natural disadvantage!

    Choosing Chu Kuang as his opponent in the Literary Duel, he must face Chu Kuang''s omniscient market position in the readers'' hearts across the four continents of Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan!

    This is a solid foundation laid by Chu Kuang after years of hard work!

    This foundation is far beyond comparison with half of "Legend of the Sea"!

    The fact that Amazon sold out a million copies of "Alice in Wonderland" in the blink of an eye is the best proof of Chu Kuang''s appeal in the book market!

    Ning Yi suddenly thought of a phrase:

    [In the face of absolute strength, any schemes and trickery are meaningless.]

    In order to catch Chu Kuang off guard, David has been too cunning.

    But David and even Han Continent, and in fact, everyone has underestimated Chu Kuang''s appeal to readers.

    Shook his head back to reality.

    Ning Yi immediately contacted Silver Blue Books to talk business.

    Such frenzy over this pre-sale!

    At the same time.

    A slew of news!

    Swept the internet in an instant!

    "Shocking! The new fairy tale by Chu Kuang, a million copies sold out in fifteen minutes!"

    "Amazon''s pre-sales for Chu Kuang''s new book, one million in stock instantly snapped up by netizens!"

    "How terrifying is Chu Kuang''s market appeal: one million new books sold out in just fifteen minutes?"

    "Chu Kuang''s new book is selling like hotcakes on Amazon. The site almost crashes due to the large number of pre-orders!"

    "The level of anticipation for Chu Kuang''s new book breaks records!"

    "..."

    The media''s reaction is swift!

    The news that just happened on Amazon is being reported simultaneously by major media outlets!

    Boom!

    Seeing this news, netizens had the same reaction as Ning Yi.

    Stunned!

    A full million copies sold out in fifteen minutes?

    This is too terrifying!

    This is just an online pre-sale!

    People buying the book don''t even know what is written in it!

    They just know that the author is Chu Kuang!

    With enough stock, what would the level of pre-sales be?

    "It''s crazy!"

    "There have been similar pre-sale events for novels in the book market before, but none have been as ruthless as this one!"

    "Chu Kuang''s appeal is against the heavens!"

    "Has the old rascal become this awesome?"

    "I was worried earlier about the old rascal losing the Literary Duel, given David''s pre-existing heat from "Legend of the Sea", but now it looks like that bit of David''s prior work''s heat doesn''t mean shit compared to Chu Kuang''s big name!"

    "The reaction to this pre-sale just slaps David in the face!"

    "Chu Kuang doesn''t need to write a sequel to "Shuke and Beta". He simply needs to release a new book to attract countless readers flocking in!"

    "In short, there''s just one thing to say:"

    "I, Chu Kuang, am making money!"

    "..."

    This summary is too apt!

    It is crude and unreasonable!

    It''s basically the "I, Chu Kuang, am making money" series!

    It seems like people don''t care how Chu Kuang''s new book is, "Alice in Wonderland" hasn''t revealed any related content about the novel.

    People are buying the book purely for the name "Chu Kuang".

    This highlights a brainless behavior!

    The netizens who wanted to pre-order but found Amazon had sold out smiled bitterly: sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "I selfishly thought that Chu Kuang''s new book couldn''t be that bad, so I decided to pre-order it online, but guess what, it seems like the whole world had the same idea as me!"

    "Amazon must be dumbfounded by this round, right?"

    "This tells me one thing: any random trash story, as long as the author is Chu Kuang, there will be countless readers like me who will buy it without a second thought."

    "May David''s mental shadow area increase manifold!"

    "I saw that ''Alice in Wonderland'' was available for pre-order, and my first reaction was to buy it right away. It seems everyone else had the exact same thought."

    "..."

    Silver Blue Books was quick to react, immediately promising more orders to Amazon.

    Meanwhile, Amazon''s programmers were working overtime to stabilize a website server that was on the brink of crashing due to excessive traffic.

    When people refreshed Amazon''s pre-order page, they found that pre-orders were able to continue...

    It was a presale volume of another million copies!

    Actually, Amazon could allow unlimited amounts for pre-orders. After all, they could get more stock from Silver Blue Books at any time.

    But Amazon was playing a clever trick:

    They wanted to use pre-order numbers to stimulate spending, giving netizens a sense of urgency, as if everything would be sold out if they didn''t hurry and place a pre-order...

    That''s right.

    It wasn''t their intention to use scarcity marketing before.

    But this time they were genuinely using scarcity marketing!

    The effect was obviously great.

    The second batch of a million copies was quickly sold out again!

    Netizens who successfully placed orders even posted screenshots to show off, spreading the news on social media like their story feed or friend circles, etc.

    Readers who failed to secure a pre-order urged for the website to "restock."

    Restock?

    Amazon didn''t have anything physical to restock.

    This was a pre-order! The physical novels haven''t even been printed yet.

    The so-called "restocking" was just Amazon placing yet even larger orders with Silver Blue Books...

    Meanwhile, other online book vendors belatedly realized what was happening. Jealous and seeing red, they quickly contacted Silver Blue Books to place orders.

    They wanted to do pre-sales of Chu Kuang''s new release game too!

    He, Chu Kuang, was stealing...

    ...all the money!

    Silver Blue Books didn''t turn anyone away.

    They weren''t exclusive to Amazon after all.

    With the other major online book vendors also starting pre-sales for ''Alice in Wonderland'', the scarcity marketing finally couldn''t continue.

    In the following days...

    The pre-sale craze for Chu Kuang''s new book began to sweep the globe!

    Qi Continent: Buy!

    Chu Continent: Buy, buy!

    Qin Continent: Buy, buy, buy!

    Yan Continent: Buy, buy, buy, buy!

    Han Continent: To buy, or not to buy?

    Statistics showed that the most orders were coming from the Yan Continent!

    This was completely at odds with the sales distribution from Chu Kuang''s past works!

    Chu Kuang''s previous works were most popular in Qin Continent.

    Because Chu Kuang is a Qin native, he was most famous in the Qin Continent.

    He had established a solid foundation in Qin Continent long before the merger.

    Compared to this...

    Chu Kuang was noticeably less popular in the Qi, Chu, and Yan Continents than in the Qin Continent.

    But this time, the buying power from the Yan Continent was even stronger than that of the Qin people!

    This indicated that the Yan People really hoped for Chu Kuang to win. They were avidly supporting Chu Kuang through their actions!

    Clearly, the Yan people had been seriously irritated by previous mockery from the Han Continent!

    "After all this drama, has the Han Continent inadvertently boosted Chu Kuang''s popularity?"

    Seeing this scene, everyone in the fairy tale circles across the continents was left gawking.

    David''s invitation to the literary duel had inadvertently turned the Yan People into Chu Kuang''s main supporters!

    Earlier, while David had been carefully plotting against Chu Kuang at every turn,

    Chu Kuang''s response, in the eyes of many, was merely to overcome all obstacles head-on, in a crude and straightforward manner.

    But now, some people speculated that perhaps Chu Kuang was actually a master schemer himself.

    He was playing a much larger game with David, and his chess skills appeared to surpass even David''s.

    While David, along with Bai Jie and the first half of ''Legend of the Ocean'', had clearly had the upper hand.

    Chu Kuang, through this literary duel, had practically made the entire Yan Continent''s market work in his favor!

    Prior to this, due to Chu Kuang''s previous feat of single-handedly suppressing the Yan Continent''s fairy tale world, the Yan People had harbored all sorts of negativity towards him.

    Now, he had completely resolved the grudges in the hearts of the Yan People, turning them into his most devoted followers.

    Could all of this really be a coincidence?

    "This move by Chu Kuang, what level is he really playing at?"

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: I, Polluted White, am asking for monthly votes, the old mosquito is chicken fierce!

 Chapter 647 - 613 All beings are equal under Chu Kuang_1

    This result is too incredulous...

    It was so incredulous that everyone started to suspect that the whole reason Chu Kuang accepted the Literary Duel was not to defeat David; instead, it was all designed to earn the Yan People''s endorsement!

    Defeating David might have just been a side bonus.

    How else could you explain Chu Kuang''s previous refusal to accept Bai Jie''s invitation for a Literary Duel?

    "That''s bracing!"

    "I finally understand why Chu Kuang did not accept Bai Jie''s invitation."

    "Because Chu Kuang couldn''t bear to harm the Yan people again. He didn''t want to offend them completely!"

    "Think about it; how much would the Yan People hate Chu Kuang if Bai Jie had been defeated by him?"

    "If even the top-ranked figure of fairy tale genre in Yan Continent was beaten down by Chu Kuang, it would be equivalent to Chu Kuang single-handedly suppressing the fairy tales of Yan Continent. Wouldn''t the Yan People with any sense of collective honor feel resentful towards Chu Kuang?"

    "Look at how much the Yan People despise David after he defeated Bai Jie!"

    "Chu Kuang''s masterstroke lies in letting David defeat Bai Jie first to play the villain. Then, he emerged as the hero, defeating David and winning over the hearts of the Yan People!"

    "Before this, the Yan People considered Chu Kuang as the big villain."

    "Now, everything has been reversed."

    "Even though the Yan People know this, they have to appreciate it, because it was them who pleaded for Chu Kuang''s help!"

    "In this round, Chu Kuang is in the stratosphere, no, he should be in outer space!"

    "David used Bai Jie, and Chu Kuang used David. Everything is linked; it''s the artwork of an emperor!"

    "..."

    It''s like a praying mantis catching a cicada, unaware of the oriole behind!

    After this analysis, everyone in the fairy tale industry from all the continents felt that it made a lot of sense.

    Because these series of happenstances were too coincidental.

    So much so, everyone refused to believe it was a coincidence.

    The Yan People had been shouting "Chu Kuang of Qin Continent has the demeanor of a great emperor" for a long time. They hadn''t shouted in vain.

    This round of calculation completely matches the demeanor of a great emperor!

    ...

    What''s done is done.

    No matter how people interpret it from the outside, it cannot change the fact that Chu Kuang''s new book had an explosive pre-sale.

    And among this pre-sale frenzy,

    it was the Yan People who showed the most fervor.

    And then,

    A scene that left everyone dumbfounded happened:

    One news stated: "Legend of the Sea" sold more than 10 million copies!

    Then another news stated: "Alice''s Adventures in Wonderland" had over 10 million pre-orders!

    One news again claimed: "Legend of the Sea" sold more than 20 million copies!

    And another news followed shortly: "Alice''s Adventures in Wonderland" had over 20 million pre-orders!

    One is sales...

    The other one is pre-sales...

    Not mainly harmful, but greatly provocative.

    The number of physical books that David had sold was only equivalent to the pre-orders of Chu Kuang''s book.

    In other words,

    Chu Kuang''s new book hadn''t officially been released, and it had already tied in sales with David''s!

    Once "Alice''s Adventures in Wonderland" is officially released, how is David supposed to compete?

    ...

    Several days later.

    To be precise, it was the day before "Alice''s Adventures in Wonderland" was released.

    At a villa in Han Continent.

    In frustration, David burst out with obscenities: "Are these people who pre-order online without even seeing the book specially sending money to Chu Kuang?"

    Chu Kuang''s book hadn''t even released a word, not even a damn preview, and he had managed to achieve sales of tens of millions?

    Was that even reasonable?

    Who plays like this?

    The readers, who hadn''t even seen what Alice looked like, were so impatient that they would strip off their pants?

    Aren''t they afraid of falling short of their expectations?

    Are they sure that Alice is as beautiful as a celestial being?

    This situation was beyond David''s comprehension.

    However, his friend by his side wore an odd expression, before quietly comforting him: "The criterion for winning or losing in a Literary Duel isn''t solely based on sales..."

    "Hmm, sales are just one of the standards."

    David nodded and rolled his eyes: "But when the sales are overwhelmingly crushing, do you think other standards are still important?"

    The best outcome would be "Alice''s Adventures in Wonderland" having explosive pre-sales but the reputation nose-diving after its release.

    However, David, in order to defeat Chu Kuang, had deeply studied this opponent.

    The chances of Chu Kuang''s works receiving negative reviews were zero.

    On the contrary, the reputation of Chu Kuang''s works typically exceeded market averages.

    However...

    David hadn''t given up hope.

    Under the inevitable pressure of sales, reputation is his only counterattack.

    If he makes a comeback by reputation, even if he is just a tiny bit better than his competitor, it can be considered a draw.

    ...

    The next day.

    David received a fresh copy of "Alice in Wonderland" from a friend.

    He was thinking:

    A few days ago, Chu Kuang must have been just as nervous and curious when he opened his "Legend from the Sea"!

    Looking at his friend.

    David expressed his gratitude, "Thank you, dear Lawrence, for going out of your way to buy me a book in this cold early morning."

    "Bookstore?" sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The friend laughed, "No need to trouble yourself like that. I pre-ordered it online. The delivery was very convenient, and someone delivered it at 7 in the morning!"

    "..."

    David suddenly stiffened, taking a long look at his friend.

    Such great sadness.

    But he still needs to cheer up.

    David quietly opened "Alice in Wonderland" and began to read.

    ...

    At the same time.

    Many readers from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan and Han Continents also received the novel and began reading.

    Of course, this included individuals from the fairy tale circles in all continents.

    Like Bai Jie.

    ...

    Bai Jie also ordered his copy online.

    However, nobody knew what kind of complex feelings this number one fairy tale author in Yan Continent held when he opened "Alice in Wonderland".

    Bai Jie''s wife-

    A beautiful married woman.

    She seemed to want to see something from Bai Jie''s face, but she couldn''t make out anything.

    Bai Jie was silent.

    He just mechanically flipped through the book.

    ...

    Perhaps it was the fervor of the pre-sale storm that pulled everyone''s expectations towards "Alice in Wonderland".

    Even though it was a fairy tale, many adult readers couldn''t help but seize the chance to read it.

    This process usually did not last long.

    After all, Alice is just a little girl, and the entire story is barely two hundred thousand words.

    This time, Chu Kuang''s brevity was striking.

    The advantage of short length is that some people finished the novel by noon the same day.

    Like David.

    Like Bai Jie.

    ...

    After David finished reading, he fell into a strange silence.

    His friend beside him couldn''t help but ask, "How are you?"

    David gave a faint smile, "I''m fine, thank you."

    His friend was surprised, "Can you win?"

    David''s smile stiffened slightly, "What''s for dinner tonight?"

    "Why change the subject all of a sudden, the novel..."

    David''s mouth twitched, "Let''s not talk about the novel, I''ve sworn off it."

    "Are you really okay?"

    "I''m okay."

    His friend seemed to understand something.

    ...

    On the other hand.

    Bai Jie closed "Alice in Wonderland", and took a long sigh of relief.

    "How is it?"

    The beautiful woman beside him was curious.

    Bai Jie pointed to the edge of the table.

    There was a book propping it up, titled "Legend from the Sea", then pointed at himself.

    "What do you mean?"

    The beautiful wife was confused.

    Bai Jie suddenly laughed, his laughter deranged, simultaneously making a throat-slitting gesture:

    "We''re all doomed!"

    What''s the point of winning?

    Everyone is equal under Chu Kuang!

 Chapter 648 - 614: The Red Queen and The White Queen_1

    What kind of fairy tale is Chu Kuang''s "Alice in Wonderland"?

    The story itself is not very complicated.

    A little girl named Alice enters a world as magical as Wonderland, meets many interesting friends and experiences many absurd and magical encounters.

    In this world, the White Queen and the Red Queen stand against each other.

    Finally, Alice helps the White Queen and defeats the Red Queen.

    In the end, Alice wakes up.

    She realizes that there is no real magic in the world, and her Wonderland was just a dream.

    The real complexity of the story lies in its symbolism.

    Each line of dialogue, each scene in the novel seems to carry a special meaning.

    Different readers are bound to have different feelings about it.

    Some people finish reading and are completely baffled.

    Some think they understand it, but upon reflection, they aren''t sure if they really do.

    So, after the novel was published, the first hot review on the Starry Sky website''s comment section was:

    "A strangely curious and absurd fairy tale."

    And the second hot review seems to be a kind of reply to the first one:

    "Strangely lovable, strangely interesting, strangely absurd, strangely brilliant."

    This strangeness presents itself in many corners of the fairy tale.

    Such as drinking a potion and growing bigger...

    Or eating a cookie and becoming smaller...

    Or rabbits and cats that can talk...

    And that strangely significant dialogue in the novel:

    ''Which road should I take?''

    ''Where do you want to go?''

    ''I don''t know.''

    ''Then any road will do.''

    ''What if I take the wrong road?''

    ''Then I''ll make a road.''

    And those beautifully thought-provoking lines:

    "The only way to achieve the impossible is to believe that it is possible."

    "Going back to yesterday is useless because I''m not the person I was then."

    "People always think that time is a thief who steals everything we love. But time is a giver before it takes away. Every day is a gift, every hour, every minute, and every second."

    "The best of us is a little crazy."

    "In our land, you have to run constantly to stay in the same place."

    Of course.

    There''s also that question for which many people couldn''t find the answer:

    Why is a raven like a writing desk?

    But undoubtedly.

    Everybody loves this fairy tale.

    The storm of book reviews officially begins now.

    "Chu Kuang''s fairy tale is absurd yet lovable. I don''t regret being one of the first batch of pre-order readers. What I love about the story is not how magical the process was, but the last line. Perhaps many years from now, the little girl will become a woman, and I will no longer be a girl suffering from Alice syndrome, but at least I once had beauty in my life."

    "Laid-back and free, I love this carefreeness."

    "I used to have nightmares, always dreaming that someone wanted to kill me, but I was not afraid at all because I knew it was just a dream. If I wanted, I could wake up at any time."

    "I recommend more adults to read this fairy tale."

    "I think it''s a fairy tale for adults. The essence of dreams is absurdity. Beauty is camouflaging extreme sarcasm. Ugly and beautiful, good and evil are always relative. They are contradictory but unified."

    "Why do I feel uneasy reading this fairy tale?"

    "It''s not as profound as it seems. I feel Chu Kuang''s fairy tale is a cautionary tale, urging us not to be restrained by secular norms and outside influences, and to stick to our own desires. Alice has always been a dreamer, not used to the various restrictions of the time. The previous Alice was such a person.

    However, after the death of her father, she gradually lost her characteristic of being brave and appreciative. It wasn''t until her return to Wonderland that she found herself again."

    "..."

    The original story lacks narrative, it''s a bit of an account.

    Lin Yuan didn''t alter the plot drastically, but he emphasized the narrative, for instance, the opposition between the White Queen and the Red Queen.

    This approach benefits character development and allows everyone to feel more immersed when they journey through Wonderland.

    This concept references Earth''s film and television adaptations of the Alice series.

    The results are quite good.

    Paired with Shadow''s illustrations, the effect when consumed is doubled.

    In this slightly modified story, the Red Queen is brutal, and the White Queen is kind.

    But the reason the Red Queen became cruel is that she was hurt by the White Queen in her youth.

    When they were children.

    The White Queen sneaked a fruit tart, but the crumbs fell in the Red Queen''s room.

    Their mother questioned the Red Queen, and the Red Queen denied it, opting for the White Queen to confess. But the White Queen, out of fear, did not admit that she had eaten the tart.

    The mother scolded the Red Queen.

    As the eldest girl, the Red Queen was unjustly blamed. Out of anger, she ran out of the room and bumped her head, transforming into a big-headed monster. This ugly figure was ridiculed by the citizens.

    The Red Queen felt insulted and threatened to decapitate those who laughed at her.

    Furious, their father declared on the spot, the Red Queen lost her inheritance rights, and the White Queen would inherit the kingdom.

    That is the reason for the conflict between the White Queen and the Red Queen in the story.

    Many readers have debated this plot point.

    Some believe that the Red Queen was innocent and only turned dark because of this experience in her youth. They argue that the White Queen should have told the truth instead of letting her sister suffer the unjust blame.

    Others argue that the White Queen was too young at the time to understand these things.

    The Red Queen''s turning evil, they contend, was because the Red Queen was never good to begin with. She had killed too many innocents, and one couldn''t simply blame her actions on a troubled childhood, thus absolving the Red Queen of all guilt. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Nobody loves me."

    The Red Queen often mutters, "In comparison to being loved, it is more useful to be feared."

    The Red Queen rules through force.

    The White Queen rules with kindness.

    As these debates escalated, someone suggested, "The Red Queen is innocent but terrifying, the White Queen is kind yet lacks a certain responsibility. I believe Chu Kuang wants to express that the two queens could learn from each other''s strengths."

    It''s fascinating that...

    In the vast majority of fairy tales, the villains are detested.

    But the Red Queen''s evaluation is not all criticism, many people sympathize with her.

    This is probably because the Red Queen is particularly friendly to deformed individuals, as she herself became a ''deformed big head'' due to an injury caused by her younger sister.

    In the end, Lin Yuan arranged for the Red Queen and the White Queen to have a major reconciliation.

    The Red Queen turned to stone.

    For the first time, the White Queen disregarded decorum, carrying the petrified sister, which consequently led to her petrification as well.

    When the curse was lifted, the White Queen apologized to the Red Queen for their early childhood incident.

    The Red Queen said, "I''ve been waiting for these words all these years, that''s all I ever wanted to hear."

    Lin Yuan''s writing is absolutely neutral.

    The story of the Red Queen and the White Queen is left for the readers to judge.

    But Alice, in reality, has already chosen the White Queen. This is likely because the Red Queen, in response to her personal pain, inflicted suffering on many people.

    This blemish cannot be wiped clean.

    Lin Yuan did not intend to cleanse it either.

    Just like the portrayal of the White Queen, she''s not as pure and flawless as she presents to the world. This is a break from the traditional fairy tale thinking; even the kind White Queen has her own flaws, just like the wicked Red Queen who also has suffered and whose villainy is direct and simple.

    Heightened storytelling...

    The plot''s contemplative nature...

    The absurdity''s humorous appeal...

    The philosophical nature of the language...

    Along with Shadow''s illustrations and control of the visuals, it feels like watching a movie rather than simply reading a fairy tale novel. These are all essential elements of why "Alice''s Adventures in Wonderland" became such a hit.

    Yes.

    Alice.

    Is already a hit.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: I referenced the movie version of the plot. Although there are many weaknesses in the film, I felt that the character development of the Red Queen was quite good. This portrayal aligns with the idea that no person is perfect. The interesting thing about this fairy tale is that it is highly philosophical; it doesn''t contain the absolute good versus evil conflict found in other fairy tales.

 Chapter 649 - 615: Why does the crow look like a desk?_1

    David lost.

    Utterly defeated.

    In fact, from the moment "Alice''s Adventures in Wonderland" without a single word published began to compete with David in sales just through pre-sale, David''s loss was almost inevitable. It was an outright leveling!

    "Chu Kuang is terrific!"

    After being bullied in turn, the Yan people finally experienced the feeling of victory and were almost moved to tears. While this victory belonged to Chu Kuang, the Yan people felt they had contributed to the merit.

    Because this time it''s different!

    We''re on Chu Kuang''s side!

    While the Yan people rejoiced collectively, there was an collective silence among the Han people. This was their first-hand experience of the terror of Chu Kuang in the fairytale circle of Han Continent. Setting aside all the hearsay when they first joined Blue Star, they finally understood what the name "Chu Kuang" meant.

    In fact.

    The four continents of Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan were also surprised by Chu Kuang''s overpowering victory. People began to reevaluate Chu Kuang''s ability to write long fairy tales. Perhaps Chu Kuang''s long fairy tales are not inferior to his short ones?

    "KO!"

    Quite a few netizens specifically went to David''s comment section to leave messages. When David defeated Bai Jie earlier, he had posted the two letters "KO" backwards and forwards respectively. However, Chu Kuang defeated David using the same method David had used to defeat Bai Jie. This is a true implementation of tit-for-tat.

    So they didn''t even wait for Chu Kuang to do it himself, the netizens impatiently went and gloated!

    "I lost."

    David chose to face the music.

    With David''s admission of defeat, this Literary Duel came to an end. But what no one expected was that David actually arranged a farewell performance for himself: "Absurd fairytales, strange Alice, the so-called wonderland turns out to be a mirror image of reality, opposite to it. Reading it for the second time, I was thoroughly convinced."

    He''s still not done with admitting defeat!

    He even wrote a lengthy book review for "Alice''s Adventures in Wonderland." From the story itself to his own interpretation, he lavishly praised Chu Kuang''s book. Without any realization of being the loser in the Literary Duel:

    He said Wonderland is a mirror-world.

    Because the image one sees in the mirror is reversed, in Alice''s dream, all kinds of characters tend to say some peculiar and bizarre things that a normal person would find illogical, but upon careful consideration, they can always rationalize it.

    He also said...

    In the novel, the line "Why is a raven like a writing desk?" is a very subtle line. The real meaning of it is actually Mad Hat''s confession to Alice. A earlier fable and interpretation appeared in a song in "Fairytale Town" last year, the lyrics went like this:

    "Heard that the Mad Hat likes Alice."

    Why is a raven like a writing desk? Because it''s absurd, just like the Mad Hat''s love for Alice. It''s unreasonable, but love is love, without needing any explanation or reason.

    For a moment.

    The netizens were delighted.

    But David''s book review also provoked everyone''s thoughts. A lot of people began to believe David''s interpretation, although they never forget to tease: "David has become the shape of Chu Kuang."

    "But he put it very well."

    "It really is like a mirror."

    "The fairy tale ends by saying that everything happened because Alice had a dream, and we often repeat that everything in dreams is the opposite, the analogy of a mirror is very fitting."

    "No wonder David conceded."

    "I admit defeat, too. ''Heard that the Mad Hat likes Alice'', I originally thought this lyric only represented the title of Chu Kuang''s fairy tale. I didn''t expect that it also explained this big mystery in ''Alice''s Adventures in Wonderland''. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Chu Kuang had already spoiled it for us as early as last year, it''s just that we didn''t recover our senses even after we finished reading the official version of the novel!"

    "..."

    Lin Yuan was a bit dazed.

    With the release of "Alice''s Adventures in Wonderland," he naturally noticed the comments online. He did not have the answer to why a raven is like a writing desk, but David interpreted it through a lyric both wrote last year, and was even acknowledged by countless readers!

    However.

    There were many readers on Earth who interpreted it the same way. In the sequel of the novel where Alice visits Wonderland for the second time, she has forgotten Mad Hat, causing Mad Hat to feel great loss. Perhaps this could justify the Mad Hat''s love for Alice as well?

    "Everything can be rationalized."

    This was Lin Yuan''s evaluation of Blue Star''s readers and writers. These group of people are very good at linking unrelated clues and then drawing a strong conclusion that even Lin Yuan himself can''t dispute.

    "Is this a fairy tale for adults?"

    Jin Mu seemed curious as well.

    Lin Yuan thought for a moment and said: "I can only say that it also can be read by adults, but in the end, it''s for children. It''s just that by the time children understand it, they''ve already grown up."

    This is Lin Yuan''s view.

    When children read about Alice, they would just find it fun and interesting, unlike adults who think so much about it. And there''s an interesting phenomenon in Earth, children in the Celestial Dynasty like Alice''s fairy tales, and in the West, many adults like this work.

    "I see."

    "Fairytale stories are always written for children. Besides, the adventurous nature of Alice''s adventures in Wonderland is indeed quite interesting. There''s no such thing as a fairytale written for adults in the world," Jin Mu said with a smile.

    "Well, that''s not necessarily true."

    Lin Yuan casually replied.

    Jin Mu laughed and didn''t think much more about it: "Regardless, our gain from this round is obvious. Your status in the hearts of the Yan people has obviously risen. They consider you a hero. In the future, Yan people will definitely pay more attention to your works and not have a seemingly distant and resistant attitude like before."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    After finishing writing Alice, his reputation grew rapidly. Most likely, most of it was contributed by the Yan Continent. The pace of the merger between Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han have been quite fast. Other than Qin Continent, Lin Yuan hasn''t fully conquered the remaining states yet. In the future, he will pay more attention to exploring these markets.

    "Also ..."

    Jin Mu glanced at Luo Wei in the distance who was engrossed in practicing ink painting: "As you''ve finished another fairytale, you could consider serializing a new comic. Readers are all looking forward to Teacher Shadow''s new work."

    "I don''t have the time."

    Lin Yuan frowned.

    Jin Mu felt helpless: "You said the same thing to Luo Wei before. But when you were writing ''Alice''s Adventures in Wonderland,'' you were drawing and typing at the same time. That didn''t seem like you didn''t have time."

    This excuse isn''t working.

    Lin Yuan simply changed tack: "It''s tiring to draw a comic by yourself. I clearly have a comic studio to help, so why shouldn''t everyone be busy?"

    "You mean ..."

    "No rush for now."

    Lin Yuan started to speak. Although he did intend to let others draw the comic while he provided the plot and important layout designs. Other times, he would just be a carefree boss.

    There are too many exciting comics.

    Lin Yuan feels like he''s running out of time.

    However, for now, Lin Yuan didn''t want to fuss about it. The second season of the ranking competition results are almost out. Lin Yuan decided to wait until then.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: I''ve to stop working early tonight, I''m not feeling well, I''m in a very bad state. This chapter was written in a state of drowsiness. If it''s not up to par, please bear with me. Polluted White will adjust tomorrow and sort out the rest of the plot!

 Chapter 650 - 616: Xian Yu Aims at Han Continent Music Scene_1

    Lin Yuan''s attention temporarily shifted from novels to music.

    It happened to be on this very day.

    The song "Farewell Kiss" which Lin Yuan prepared for the February season was promoted by Starlight.

    While the performer Sun Yao Huo forwarded it, the composer Xian Yu''s name was seen by countless internet users¡ª

    At this moment.

    Xian Yu''s self-composed and performed song "Start Over" was still monopolizing the championship spot for this season.

    No one expected that.

    In this February, Xian Yu planned to continue competing, and the championship of the January season didn''t satisfy him!

    "Xian Yu''s enthusiasm for releasing songs this year is quite high!"

    "He seldom competes in the season ranking for two consecutive months since his debut."

    "Has Xian Yu not fully vented his dissatisfaction in January and plans to go wild again in the February season?"

    "It seems that Xian Yu is indeed quite unsatisfied with his loss in the Gods'' Battle."

    "We could have let it go if he lost to Father Yang, but it was the interference of the official, which is hard to accept."

    "He must grab a few season championships to cool his anger."

    "So, the way genius composers vent their frustration is by slaughtering the season charts?"

    "Is it really because of the hard-to-accept result of the Gods'' Battle?"

    "..."

    Internet users were in vibrant discussions, however those music artists preparing to release songs in February were quite depressed:

    Why should we bear the consequences of a mistake made by Yang Zhongming and the officials?

    We can''t handle it!

    Temporarily, no one thought that Xian Yu intends to take the twelve consecutive championships.

    Every year in the season charts, occasionally there are singers or composers who release songs consecutively for two to three months, so it''s a normal phenomenon.

    Therefore, everyone was not so surprised. They just discussed it with quite some anticipation.

    Naturally.

    In the music circuit of Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan, there aren''t many singers who plan to release songs in February.

    Because a large number of Han musicians will make a heavy move in February.

    Compared to the area of Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan, Xian Yu''s continued action in February is probably the most troublesome for the Han people.

    Han people?

    Unsure about what they associated it with, someone suddenly said with a puzzled face, "Is Xian Yu releasing a song in February to target the Han people?"

    This hypothesis didn''t catch much interest.

    "Not necessarily."

    "The music scene of Han Continent is not like that of the Chu people at the beginning who displayed an attitude that their music is not inferior to that of Qin Continent."

    "The media in Chu Continent previously, in order to hype up Chu people''s music, had stepped on Xian Yu, offending quite severely."

    "So the education they received was pretty severe."

    "The Han people did not offend Xian Yu."

    "The Han people only offended Chu Kuang."

    "Ah, this..."

    Following several rounds of analysis.

    Netizens also found their blind spots.

    Chu Kuang sought Shadow for illustration, facing off against David''s Fairy Tales.

    In order to cheer up the local authors, the Han people had repeatedly insulted Chu Kuang to boost David online.

    So, it''s not an exaggeration to say they''ve offended Chu Kuang and Shadow.

    And in Qin Qi Chu Yan, who doesn''t know that the Three Bros, Chu Kuang, Xian Yu, and Shadow, have tight relationships?

    Offend Chu Kuang and Shadow?

    That''s the same as offending Xian Yu!

    When fighting with Chu people, and fighting with Yan people, haven''t the Three Bros always been united?

    Now the truth is revealed!

    A media outlet immediately adopted this news title: "Han music scene pointing to the second season, Xian Yu releasing a song, aiming to take revenge for Chu Kuang!"

    As soon as the news came out, it ignited a buzz on the internet!

    "Xian Yu really enjoys holding back until the end!"

    "Turns out he''s standing up for Chu Kuang and Shadow!"

    "The problem is, the Han people have already lost to Chu Kuang and Shadow."

    "David''s novel lost to Chu Kuang, and his invited illustrator also lost to Shadow. The illustrations in "Alice in Wonderland" are top-notch throughout Blue Star!"

    "Do you think Xian Yu would care about these?"

    "Alright then."

    "Three against one is an old tradition."

    "..." Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    In the outside world''s perspective.

    Chu Kuang is aloof, domineering, arrogant, and egotistical.

    This man not only disregards his peers but also treats his readers with disdain, often killing off popular characters in his narratives, thoroughly showcasing his individual caprice and defiant spirit.

    In contrast.

    Xian Yu''s image seems to be the opposite of Chu Kuang''s.

    He is warm, gentle, magnanimous, sincere, approachable, and occasionally a bit naughty.

    These impressions are all thanks to the variety show. Xian Yu would write a specific song for Chen Zhiyu just to comfort him, compose a piece for Sun Yaohuo out of indignation for the unfair treatment Sun received, and even earnestly write a song for Fei Yang...

    This is Xian Yu''s image on the variety show.

    He always takes the singers'' feelings into account.

    But...

    No matter how different Chu Kuang and Xian Yu''s personalities may be, when they stand up for each other, they are always unanimously unyielding!

    Among the Three Bros, even the laid-back Shadow shares this trait!

    Together they are like a blazing fire!

    Apart, they are like stars strewn across the sky!

    This is the impression the Three Bros give to everyone!

    Therefore, everyone unanimously believes that Xian Yu''s continuation of song releases in February intending to counteract the Han people stems from their profound impression of the Three Bros.

    Here, this "everyone" refers to the people of Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan continents.

    As Han Continent has just joined the merge, their understanding of the Three Bros is not clear yet.

    When the Han people heard that Xian Yu was planning to counterattack them on Chu Kuang''s behalf, their people got excited!

    "Counterattack us?"

    "Just him alone?"

    "Even if Qin Continent is the Land of Music, isn''t this Qin guy too arrogant!"

    "I thought it would be one of the Maestros from Qin Continent. Turns out he''s not even a Maestro yet!"

    "Does he really think we Han are weak?"

    "We Han can''t lose again this time!"

    "The substantial gap by which ''Fairy Tale'' lost to Chu Kuang is embarrassing enough."

    "..."

    It was enough of an annoyance for the Han people to lose to Chu Kuang. Now, seeing Xian Yu just added fuel to their old flames!

    If we Han people can''t control that Chu Kuang, can we not control this Xian Yu?

    Qin Continent:"..."

    Qi Continent:"..."

    Chu Continent:"..."

    Yan Continent:"..."

    Suddenly everyone felt a little sympathy for the Han people.

    Of course, not all Han people are blind with rage. Now that the Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han continents are merged, it wouldn''t be hard for Han to find information about Xian Yu.

    As a result, some Han people discovered some of Xian Yu''s accomplishments.

    They tried to deter their less-informed countrymen: "Keep a low profile, don''t talk big, he''s a big shot. His position in the music industry is comparable to Chu Kuang''s in the literary world."

    However, the vast majority of Han are indifferent to this!

    What big shot?

    Don''t we Han have big shots?

    What a joke!

    And it was only Chu Kuang competing against David.

    This Xian Yu is claiming to counterattack our entire Han music scene!

    At this moment.

    The Han people are all cheering for their local music scene!

    However, it''s strange that no one in the Han music industry has openly stated their stance, only ordinary Han people are making a fuss.

    Obviously.

    The Han music scene understands Xian Yu far more than ordinary people do, after all, Xian Yu is a name in the music circles of Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan that cannot be ignored.

    They are dissatisfied!

    But they are also anxious!

    In contrast, Lin Yuan is utterly puzzled.

    His goal was clearly the twelve consecutive championships. How did this suddenly turn into me single-handedly attacking the Han music scene?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Ps: Thanks to the Alliance Hierarch [Feather] for the reward, kneel for the big shot, ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ!!!!!!!

 Chapter 651 - 617: The Sun and The Moon _1

    "What kind of otherworldly feelings are these!".

    Inside the studio.

    Luo Wei looked at Lin Yuan, her eyes full of little stars.

    In the past, she thought Xian Yu and Shadow were competing for Chu Kuang, so she was always thinking about how to help Shadow win Chu Kuang over.

    Later, Luo Wei learned that Xian Yu and Shadow were both aliases of Teacher Lin Yuan.

    There were never any romantic rivals to begin with!

    Chu Kuang and Lin Yuan are just one entity!

    So many feelings have become even clearer now---

    The fondness Shadow showed for Chu Kuang, and the fondness Xian Yu showed for Chu Kuang, were all Lin Yuan''s fondness for Chu Kuang!

    It was double the amount!

    Just like how it was this time!

    To help Chu Kuang, Teacher Lin Yuan not only helped draw the illustrations for "Alice''s Adventures in Wonderland", but now he even plans to teach the Han people a lesson with his music!

    Is it friendship?

    Or romance?

    It no longer matters!

    In Luo Wei''s mind, she envisioned Lin Yuan standing amidst thousands of troops, his sword drawn, guarding Chu Kuang.

    Did Teacher Lin Yuan ever ask Chu Kuang why the crow resembles a writing desk? S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Luo Wei kept imagining wildly.

    Of course, Lin Yuan had no idea about Luo Wei''s thoughts.

    He was complaining to Jin Mu, "Finally, the Yan people start to like me, but now it seems like the Han people don''t like me as much."

    Jin Mu laughed, "That''s because they don''t understand you well enough yet."

    When a new continent joins the alliance, incidents often occur due to a lack of understanding of the previously merged continents.

    In fact.

    The integration of each new continent with the previous ones is always achieved through a little conflict.

    Perhaps only through being enemies can you truly come to understand each other.

    This was the case with Qi Continent, Chu Continent, and Yan Continent.

    Especially Chu Continent and Yan Continent.

    Meanwhile, online.

    The Han people had already started to make their challenges.

    It wasn''t that the Han people were overly optimistic; mainly, the performance of Han music after the inclusion of Han Continent into the alliance was quite popular among the Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan people.

    Quite a few people had acknowledged Han music.

    Although they couldn''t surpass Qin Continent, they still had top-tier music.

    Challenging the whole of Qin Continent was beyond Han Continent''s nerve.

    There was no comparison possible.

    Qin Continent was full of hidden talent.

    Each Maestro was more formidable than the last.

    But if Han Continent only had to face Xian Yu, they wouldn''t be so scared.

    Although the Han music industry was a little apprehensive about Xian Yu, most of this fear stemmed from the possibility that Xian Yu might bring out even more musicians from Qin Continent...

    This competition couldn''t become a regional conflict.

    If Chu Kuang insisted that Xian Yu was attacking the Han people on his behalf, then the Han people would have the guts to fight back.

    That''s another reason why the Han music industry hasn''t taken a stance.

    They were observing.

    Watching to see if any Maestros from Qin Continent would pop up in February.

    The result was...

    None.

    The Maestros seemed to have tactfully chosen to avoid February, or perhaps there wasn''t any Maestro planning to release songs in February at all.

    "It seems that the Qin people are also wary of our Han music."

    Some Han people couldn''t help thinking this.

    What the Han people didn''t know was...

    A Maestro from Qin Continent initially had plans to release a song in February, but withdrew upon seeing that Xian Yu would also be active.

    "That fish is quite nefarious, even Yang Zhongming almost couldn''t control him, I won''t touch this hot potato."

    Yes.

    What made the Maestro hesitate wasn''t the Han people, it was that fish.

    ...

    The Han people, observing that Xian Yu seemed to lack support, began to grow more bold towards the end of the month.

    "Han music fears no one''s challenge!"

    Top Han singers planning to release songs in February responded with smiles.

    Then,

    More and more Han musicians chimed in, promising to prove Han''s strength with the best music in February.

    These musicians were smart.

    To the Han people, Chu Kuang, Xian Yu, and even Shadow, the so-called "Three Bros," had become enemies.

    Once it was confirmed that Xian Yu had no help, the sooner they responded, the more support they received in their homeland, Han Continent!

    In the end, their understanding was still incomplete.

    Many things had happened in Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan Continents, and countless works had been produced in the past.

    How could they fully comprehend Chu Kuang, Xian Yu, and even Shadow, in less than a month since Han joined the union?

    Even if some of them had some deeper understanding, they were still the minority.

    The will of a minority is hard to influence the will of the majority.

    The people of Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan Continents took it all in stride with a knowing smile.

    In a way, the folks of Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan Continents also picked up some bad habits.

    They could have made a big fuss about Xian Yu to let the Han people know that Xian Yu''s terror in the music circle might be even more exaggerated than Chu Kuang in the literary world...

    But they chose not to.

    In fact, they even added fuel to the fire, bolstering the Han people:

    "Xian Yu has always been arrogant. Last month, he even provoked Yang Zhongming. In response, Yang Zhongming gave him a hefty smackdown!"

    "This guy is known as ''Maestro Junior'', now you get it, Maestro Junior, is after all, just a junior."

    "This month, Xian Yu managed to top the season chart with his song titled ''Start From Scratch''. You can listen to it and see if you feel it''s mediocre."

    "All his songs are of the same style. If you listen to ''Most Dazzling Ethnic Style'', you''ll understand. Xian Yu''s songs are all the kind that the older folks enjoy¡ªa bit tacky."

    "I''m sure you heard ''Good Luck is Here'' during the New Year. You couldn''t escape it; it was playing on every street. Xian Yu wrote that."

    "..."

    The Han people were left dumbfounded.

    And there were Han people who went out of their way to search for the songs mentioned by the users from Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan Continents.

    After listening, they began to question life.

    What kind of songs were Xian Yu composing?

    The square dance hit ''Most Dazzling Ethnic Style''?

    The brainwashing ''Good Luck is Here'' that was heard in every street and alley?

    And the song that Xian Yu topped this month, ''Start From Scratch'', was catchy, but lacked substance. It was just a motivational song. It didn''t seem like anything extraordinary.

    And he dares to challenge us Han people?

    And wants to avenge Chu Kuang?

    Avenging what the hell!

    We were the ones bullied by Chu Kuang!

    We didn''t bully Chu Kuang, okay!

    But since you''ve stepped forward, we will teach you a harsh lesson. If we can''t beat Chu Kuang, can we not even beat you, Xian Yu?

    The Han people became confident!

    Of course, we are talking about the majority here.

    At any time, in any group, there will be majorities and minorities. However, oftentimes the truth is held by the minority.

    "It''s all over."

    In a Han chat group studying Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan cultures, an emoji of crying was sent: "I''ve tried to explain to many friends how formidable Xian Yu is, but they are not accepting it. They only know that Xian Yu provoked Yang Zhongming and was brutally beaten by him and then cried while singing ''Start From Scratch''."

    What a coincidence.

    This song happened to be the current number one on the season chart, and it was Xian Yu''s song, so this song shaped many Han people''s first impression of Xian Yu.

    In the group chat,

    someone asked: "Is this Xian Yu really that formidable? Can he suppress so many of our top Han musicians?"

    "You don''t understand."

    The chat member who sent the crying emoji sent another weeping one: "I''ve checked the facts. Chu had been beaten up like this too, taken turns by the Three Bros. If you still don''t understand, go listen to ''Mariage d''Amour'' and such. By the way, let me tell you a popular saying in Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan: ''South Xian Yu, North Chu Kuang, on top is Shadow.''"

    The "on top is Shadow" was added later by someone.

    But what really resonated were the words, "South Xian Yu, North Chu Kuang."

    Both are masters in their field, not just prominent stars, but rather the sun and the moon!

    ----------

    PS: I haven''t forgotten ''Our Song.'' After writing this part, I''m going to wrap up the variety show plotline. Calling it a day now since I''m not at my best. I''ll make up for it with more updates.

 Chapter 652 - 618 - Farewell Kiss_1

    In fact, the netizens of the four continents of Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan were not mocking the Han people...

    Xian Yu did lose to Yang Zhongming.

    The song "Starting Over" was indeed born out of this.

    At the same time, this song is indeed a clich¨¦d, popular chicken soup-type song. Those interested can look into the background to this song.

    All of these are facts.

    But only a part of the facts.

    Many times, telling only part of the facts can easily mislead people, leading to a conclusion that deviates from the truth.

    As a result...

    Many Han people are looking forward to the February competition season!

    They are not just expecting their Han music to defeat Xian Yu.

    At the same time, the Han people are also looking forward to their local music shining brightly in the allied continent!

    After all, this is the first time for the Han people to participate in the season competition!

    This fills the Han people with a sense of novelty!

    And when the starlight of the last night of January lit up, the second season of the year finally kicked off!

    On this night!

    Many Han music fans deliberately stayed up late according to the traditions of the allied continents, waiting for the new songs to be released in February.

    Of course.

    Not just music fans. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Some music artists from Han are also paying attention to the February season chart.

    Such as Jack.

    Jack is a King of Singing in Han!

    The Han music artists attacked the season chart for the first time, and several Kings and Queens of Singing had made their move.

    But if you were to ask who the Han people favored the most, it would definitely be Jack!

    In Han.

    Jack has won the King of Singing title twice in a year, and is a bona fide two-time King of Singing!

    You should know.

    If he were a three-time King of Singing, he could barely serve as a judge on "The Masked Singer".

    From this, you can see Jack''s strength!

    Jack''s mood at the moment was excited and nervous, and there was a bit of eagerness as well!

    Two-time King of Singing!

    Even among the Kings and Queens of Singing in Han, Jack is one of the top singers. His prestige and fame are beyond question!

    But...

    Now that Han has joined the alliance of Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan, Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan do not know Jack.

    Jack is eager to establish his reputation among Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan.

    And the February season chart has become his debut stage for gaining fame among Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan!

    "It''s a pity that our Han''s Maestro doesn''t want to make a move."

    Gazing at the season chart, Jack said.

    There are a large number of Han music artists attacking the chart in February, but the Maestros in Han have no intention of releasing songs at this time.

    "The Maestros not making a move is a good thing."

    The manager next to him solemnly said, "Because once the Han Maestros make a move, it will cause a chain reaction, and the Maestros of Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan will also make a move..."

    Jack seemed thoughtful: "Afraid of causing regional conflict?"

    The manager nodded: "Before we Han joined, even though Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan had merged, there was more than one regional dispute where top business elites from each region would step in to defend their local honor. Now that we Han have just joined the Blue Star alliance, it''s the most sensitive time.

    If our Maestros don''t make a move, the Maestros of Qin, Qi, Chu and Yan won''t easily make a move either. A season competition without involving top musicians will never cause a regional conflict."

    Jack laughed: "But there are always loopholes to exploit."

    The manager laughed too: "We''re exploiting that gap, the song you''re about to release was specially created by our Han''s Teacher Peter!"

    Peter, Han.

    He is not a Maestro, but everyone in Han knows that Peter has a skill level close to the Maestros!

    Because Peter has already turned one person into a singing queen.

    If he turns out another king or queen of singing, he will become a true Maestro!

    Having Peter write a song for Jack is almost the same as having a Maestro write a song!

    This is also why Jack is so confident about the February season chart.

    Two-time King of Singing, collaborating with the near-Maestro-level Peter, is almost a sweeping success in Han.

    If the Maestros of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan don''t make a move, then the combination of Jack and Peter, is almost an unbeatable top musician combination!

    "But I heard that this Xian Yu is not simple."

    This is Jack''s only point of nervousness.

    Unlike many Han people who are blindly confident without detailed understanding, Jack''s understanding of Xian Yu is much more profound than that of Han netizens.

    His manager beside him said seriously, "I''ve also looked up his information, Xian Yu is indeed very strong, terrifyingly strong. But the artist chosen by Xian Yu is just a first-tier singer in Qin Continent, there''s a gap compared to a singer King, and even more so when compared to you, a double-award King. Besides, no matter how strong Xian Yu is, how much stronger can he be than Teacher Peter?"

    "That''s true."

    Jack was slightly relieved.

    A friend told Jack that Xian Yu was very strong, even to the point of tying with Yang Zhongming, so Jack had no intention of underestimating Xian Yu.

    Because Jack''s friend was a real Maestro from Han.

    Jack trusted him very much, this Maestro-level recognition fully indicated Xian Yu''s strength, this person could be much stronger than Peter, at least Peter wasn''t capable of competing with Yang Zhongming.

    But...

    The gap between Xian Yu and Peter should be much smaller than the gap between Jack and Sun Yaohuo.

    Yes.

    Unlike the blind confidence of many Han people.

    As a professional singer from Han, Jack has done his homework.

    He knows that the performer chosen by Xian Yu for his new song in February is Sun Yaohuo, a first-tier singer from Qin Continent.

    Peter is not as good as Xian Yu in some aspects, but he can make up for it.

    It''s like a head-to-head game.

    Xian Yu might have a slight advantage against Peter.

    But if it''s me against Sun Yaohuo, it''s a guaranteed victory.

    After all, the competition for the season''s ranking isn''t a one-man show, but a collaboration between the songwriter and the singer''s team.

    "It''s time."

    The manager glanced at his watch and suddenly said:

    "Get ready!"

    Jack''s spirit uplifted as he adeptly opened a domestic Han music player.

    There''s nothing to hesitate about.

    The only competitor Jack isn''t sure of is Xian Yu, so he decides to listen to Xian Yu''s song first over others.

    Song title: Farewell Kiss

    Lyrics: Xian Yu

    Composition: Xian Yu

    Singer: Sun Yaohuo

    In the opening music, one after another, subtitles flashed by.

    Their manager, watching the subtitles, sighed: "Given that Xian Yu writes his own lyrics and composes his own music, he''s impressive. If the singer he''s working with isn''t famous, it might be tough to beat them. But considering the current situation, you''re sure to win..."

    Huh?

    The manager suddenly went silent.

    In his ear, a slightly sorrowful voice resonated, filled with regret and helplessness:

    "The past has become a cloud of smoke

    Disappearing before your eyes

    Even the goodbyes have been said

    Yet I can''t see your sorrow

    All that you had given me was just pretence

    The more innocent your smile

    The crazier my love for you

    ..."

    The room went silent.

    Jack and the manager looked at each other, their faces stiffening in sync.

    The following lyrics, as if they were written just for them, sounded particularly grating:

    "Always in a fleeting moment

    There''s a bit of understanding

    The words we''ve said will never become reality

    In the blink of an eye

    I realize your face

    Has become a stranger, no longer like before

    My world starts to snow

    Cold enough to prevent me loving one more day

    Cold enough to reveal all hidden regrets

    ..."

    In the room.

    The manager, who was quite knowledgeable about music, had an increasingly grave expression.

    On the other hand, Jack, who knew more about music than the manager, had an expression that had gone well beyond grave. His eyes were wide open, he wanted to cover his ears, but they seemed to instinctively hear even more:

    "Me and You, say goodbye!"

    "On the deserted street!"

    "Let the foolhardy wind laugh at my inability to refuse!"

    "Me and You, say goodbye!"

    "In the wild night!"

    "My heart, is ready to welcome sorrow!"

    "..."

    Earth.

    The year is 94.

    Jacky Cheung''s "Farewell Kiss" takes the world by storm, sweeping all major charts.

    The year is 09.

    In the Golden Melody Award selection for the favorite song of the past 20 years, "Farewell Kiss," with its simple melody and catchy tune, was elected, beating numerous classics.

    In subsequent years.

    When mentioning Jacky Cheung, one must mention "Farewell Kiss."

    At every Jacky Cheung concert, when "Me and You" began, the whole audience would sing along.

    Wonder if the criminals who were arrested at Jacky Cheung''s concert were also part of the crowd¡ª¡ª

    There have been news on Earth:

    Some criminals, in order to attend Jacky Cheung''s concert, took the risk of going to the scene to listen to his songs, and ended up getting arrested by the police.

    This incident was once a hot topic for countless netizens on Earth.

    When they were taken away by the police, the criminals must have felt devastated.

    Just like Jack and the manager right now, they''re not criminals, but they share a similar feeling¡ª¡ª

    My mentality has completely collapsed!

 Chapter 653 - 619: Han People with Great Enlightenment_1

    Meanwhile.

    Many people in Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan continents are listening to "Farewell Kiss".

    "The longing I have for you

    is like a kite that has lost its string

    It can''t enter your world

    nor can it warm your gaze

    ..."

    At the same time in Han Continent.

    Many people are also listening to "Farewell Kiss".

    Including those Maestros from Han Continent who did not participate this time¡ª

    They have a chat group of Maestros in Han Continent.

    In the chat group, it is as quiet as Jack''s room at this moment.

    After a while.

    A Maestro suddenly screenshotted a lyric from "Farewell Kiss":

    "I have seen a tragedy taking place. There is no joy at the end of the play, yet I am still hiding in your dreams..."

    It seems consistent with the current atmosphere.

    The Maestros in Han Continent finally started to speak in turns in the group.

    "The young Maestro from Qin Continent, who once tied with Yang Zhongming, used such a simple love song to effortlessly reach people''s hearts."

    "Jack is going to lose."

    "Didn''t we see this coming?"

    "That''s why we didn''t take part."

    "We talk about fearing to provoke regional conflicts, but isn''t there also the fear that we wouldn''t be able to defeat Xian Yu."

    "In all of Han Continent, how many composers can confidently say they can definitely beat Xian Yu."

    "From what I know, Xian Yu can wreak havoc even with a second-tier singer."

    "Even if the singer is not famous, his songs would definitely hit the charts."

    "¡­"

    The netizens in Han Continent are boiling with enthusiasm to take down Xian Yu, while the Maestros in Han Continent are remaining eerily silent.

    Why?

    Because the Maestros in Han Continent are top musicians.

    Top musicians in Blue Star, even if they are secluded, how could they not pay attention to the music scene in other continents?

    And Qin Continent is the well-known Land of Music, so the Maestros from all continents will definitely pay extra attention.

    With such attention, it''s impossible not to notice Xian Yu!

    Especially during that Battle of the Gods, Xian Yu may have lost to Yang Zhongming, but all the Maestros across Blue Star knew¡ª

    If it were not for official interference, the outcome of that battle would still be unknown!

    Therefore, when the media announced that Xian Yu was targeting Han Continent, the Maestros in Han Continent choose to remain silent.

    Under different circumstances?

    If winning was assured, rather than worrying about regional conflicts, I''m sure the Maestros in Han Continent would be more than eager!

    Yes.

    The Maestros in Han Continent didn''t plan to release any songs in February and indeed, they are concerned about regional conflicts.

    But if someone were to provoke them, they would definitely respond in kind.

    Unless it''s a hopeless cause...

    To them, Xian Yu is that "hopeless cause".

    As for the showdown in the season of February, the Maestros in Han Continent have already discussed it.

    The current outcome is within everyone''s expectations.

    "Let''s wait."

    "Once the acceptance of Han Continent music style increases among all continents, our two should be able to defeat Xian Yu," a Maestro in the group chat replied.

    The Maestros in Han Continent felt heavy:

    "So what if Xian Yu is defeated, Qin Continent still has Yang Zhongming."

    "Oh, there''s someone even tougher than Yang Zhongming."

    "Who?"

    "He''s currently in Zhong Continent."

    "Even if he doesn''t participate, Yang Zhongming alone is enough to sweep through Han Continent."

    "Oh, Qin Continent, the Land of Music, where hall-of-fame level musicians originate from."

    "Defeating Xian Yu should be considered the limit of what Han Continent can achieve."

    "¡­"

    If the people of Han Continent knew what the homegrown Maestros were thinking, they''d probably cough up blood in anger.

    Turns out these guys had been scared off by Xian Yu all along!

    But in fact, the Maestros in Han Continent really have no choice.

    Their predicament is a tough one!

    Are they supposed to tell the people of Han Continent loudly that they can''t beat Xian Yu?

    As established Maestros, they''d get ridiculed by netizens if they showed fear before the fight even began.

    And what if they won?

    Clearly, that "what if" didn''t happen.

    So they had to let the recently enrolled Han people experience this kind of failure to wake them up.

    So other continents are so strong.

    So Xian Yu from Qin Continent is terrifying.

    At this moment.

    Someone in the group had once again screenshot the ranking of the season.

    Sure enough.

    Xian Yu is the first.

    The second is Jack.

    The gap between the two songs is not too small or too big.

    Without any unusual twists, reversing the situation was already impossible.

    In the top ten songs on the list, seven were English songs.

    This was a significant victory for Han Continent.

    But, the critical first place was seized by Xian Yu.

    Those seven English songs in the top ten suddenly appeared bleak.

    After all, this ranking was established under the condition that singers from other continents were not making much effort.

    The Han people have finally realized the horror of Xian Yu.

    Not only that.

    The Han people realized that they have been tricked by netizens from Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan continents!

    "Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan four continents are too deceptive!"

    "This fish must be a great white shark!"

    "Just now a Qin Continent person posted a science explanation about Xian Yu''s history on the tribe, summarizing all the contests Xian Yu had participated in big or small, including songs created in the band, it gave me chills reading through it; this person is a legend. He once used a pure piece of music to blow the brains out of Chu people!"

    "Oh shit, so it seems!"

    "No wonder the forums in Chu Continent have been criticizing Xian Yu, they were trying to let us Han people also experience the feeling of being beaten up by Xian Yu!"

    "I also saw the statement in the summary, the south knows Xian Yu, the north knows Chu Kuang..."

    "Our fairy tale was beaten to the ground by Chu Kuang, and now we are challenging someone as famous or even more terrifying?"

    "I saw that line too earlier, but Yan Continent said that was just Xian Yu boasting."

    "We are irreconcilable with Yan Continent!"

    "..."

    We were deceived!

    We were totally deceived!

    Many Han people had underestimated Xian Yu due to the major contributions from Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan continents.

    If it wasn''t for these four continents'' netizens continuously belittling Xian Yu, the Han people wouldn''t have been fooled!

    And some Han people who have already known about Xian Yu''s exploits sighed helplessly.

    They had tried to convince some irrational Han people earlier.

    But those guys were so excited and didn''t listen at all.

    Now they are all shouting that they were deceived.

    Upon this.

    Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan continents were all delighted!

    And a netizen from an unknown continent imitated various personal styles and created small sketches:

    [Qin Continent: "It should be Zhao Continent''s turn next year, right?"]

    [Qi Continent: "What harm can people of Qi do?"]

    [Chu Continent: "Fellow sufferers, Chu and Han dug their holes together."]

    [Yan Continent: "The loudest got the most severe beating, once upon a time, we were all the same."]

    [Han Continent: Would you guys just go away!"]

    Moreover.

    That summary of the exploits of Xian Yu''s career that appeared in the tribe was featured prominently in the eyes of countless Han people.

    After seeing these scientific explanations about Xian Yu, the Han people were completely stunned.

    What kind of a monster have we provoked?

    Chu Kuang is...

    Xian Yu is also...

    What about taking revenge against Shadow?

    Shadow just draws.

    Of course, this is only a self-mockery. In Chu Kuang''s "Alice in Wonderland," Shadow''s illustrations have once deeply shocked the Han people.

    However, after hearing this, the Chu people became very excited:

    "Right, right, right, look for Shadow. Among the Three Bros, Shadow is the weakest."

    Han people: "..."

    Do they really think all of us Han people have been collectively brain-decreased?

    We don''t need to check the information!

    You Chu people must have been beaten by Shadow! S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 654 - 620 Take Me To Your Heart_1

    Chu person: "..."

    The Han people have already grasped it.

    What else can they do?

    They can only congratulate the Han people''s village for being connected to the internet.

    And the song "Farewell Kiss" finally regained its original luster without being overshadowed by various added topics.

    Major media and music critics have started to appear:

    "Xian Yu''s rendition of ''Farewell Kiss'' can be called the epitome of love songs!"

    "The more you listen to Xian Yu, the more you can feel his mastery and ease in dealing with various musical styles. He can write both catchy dance hits and poignantly moving love songs. Perhaps this is the most charming aspect of Xian Yu."

    "Traditional instrument, the arrangement and melody are exceptionally simple, yet also exceptionally moving."

    "Xian Yu''s song expresses the reluctance and entanglement of the broken-hearted person when the relationship has ended, but the love has not. The moment it was sung, we should understand that the champion of the February season chart has been determined."

    "Xian Yu''s ''Farewell Kiss'' is a highly infectious love song. Both the singer and the audience will fall into a trap step by step with the singer''s performance. Even inadvertently, they will feel a special sympathy for the heartbroken individual hidden between the music lines."

    "If you like Xian Yu, ''Farewell Kiss'' is a classic you can''t miss."

    "If someone said ''Farewell Kiss'' appeared in the battle of the gods, I would not doubt it. It deserves this treatment."

    "Following ''Ten Years,'' Xian Yu has another top-tier love song that even slightly surpasses it."

    "..."

    The media and music critics gave high praise to ''Farewell Kiss.''

    In contrast, the netizens were much more succinct in their comments:

    "A very beautiful piece!"

    "Can''t get enough of it on repeat!"

    "Both the chorus and the climax are so beautiful!"

    "Many songs are only good in the climax, but this song is fascinating from beginning to end."

    "Indeed, it takes a seasonal chart to see Fish Papa''s true strength. Fish Papa dares to write any song in ''Our Song'', and Wei Haoyun dares to sing any song."

    "Fish Papa''s love songs never disappoint!"

    "Using this song to attack the Han people, the importance is given."

    "Add to songlist."

    "..."

    Meanwhile, as netizens have also widely recognized the song ''Farewell Kiss'', a post suddenly popped up online.

    The post title was ''The gap between the Han people and Xian Yu is not as big as you think.''

    The post began with a direct thesis:

    "The Han people have actually been at a disadvantage."

    "In the five continents of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han, each has its own dialect, but the songs that are most easily accepted by the public are still Mandarin songs."

    "Everyone should have heard of Jack''s songs, right?"

    "We can''t deny that the music in Han Continent has its unique characteristics. It''s a very excellent song in its own right, but unfortunately, English songs are a niche in front of the audiences of the five continents of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han, not everyone can accept this completely unfamiliar language."

    "In comparison, the Chu language is also a dialect, but at least it has a lot in common with Mandarin."

    "I''m not belittling ''Farewell Kiss,'' but if it doesn''t take advantage of the language, can this song still beat Han Continent? Even if it can win, it shouldn''t win as easily as it does now. I believe this is also the reason why our Han composers did not choose to release songs in February."

    "They are giving Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan time."

    "They are waiting for the public to have a higher acceptance level of English songs, when everyone can treat English songs and Mandarin songs equally, perhaps they will take action."

    "..."

    As soon as this post came out, many Han people were invigorated!

    Well said!

    They all showed their support!

    Indeed!

    It''s the disadvantage of the English language!

    Everyone knows what ''Farewell Kiss'' is about when they hear it, everyone speaks Mandarin.

    On the other hand, these songs from Han Continent are full of English, if you don''t look at the translated lyrics, you can''t understand them at all!

    Comparatively, it''s normal for ''Farewell Kiss'' to win!

    The Han people losing to Xian Yu, they have already conceded gracefully.

    But this does not prevent the Han people from defending their local music:

    "English songs are disadvantaged because of the audience, Xian Yu''s new song is in Mandarin, which naturally feels more familiar."

    It''s clear when compared!

    One is official and standard, a language spoken all over the Blue Star;

    The other is English, which only Han Continent people understand, it''s understandable that the latter loses.

    Seeing this post.

    Not only the Han people, but even Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan, many people supported this argument.

    These people consider themselves to be very objective.

    While admitting that the music of ''Farewell Kiss'' is more beautiful to the ear, they also feel that English songs are at a disadvantage due to their language, and the gap between the two songs should not be too large.

    Regarding this argument.

    Very quickly, someone unsatisfied stood up to refute:

    "Those who say ''Farewell Kiss'' has an advantage might as well think about it, didn''t Fish Papa give way?"

    "I looked up the information, the second place in the seasonal chart, Jack, is the double-award King of Singing from Han Continent, the king among kings!" S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Now look at who is performing ''Farewell Kiss''?"

    "Sun Yaohuo!"

    "A first-tier singer!"

    "Fish Papa is fighting with you Han people with a first-tier singer, and you still feel that you are at a disadvantage?"

    "If Fish Papa really wants to bully you, he doesn''t even need to find Kings of Singing like Lan Yan and Fei Yang, if he chose a singer of the level like Jiang Kui, you all would be out of the game."

    "Even when given so much leeway, you still find excuses?"

    "I don''t understand English, but I understand the melody."

    "The main thing about music is the melody, if the melody is really good, I can still appreciate English songs. After Han Continent joined the merge, I have collected twelve English songs in my song list."

    "..."

    Because of the sudden appearance of this post, both sides started to argue about whether the seasonal chart was dominated by ''Farewell Kiss'' due to the niche status of English songs.

    However, Lin Yuan had no idea what was happening online.

    After releasing ''Farewell Kiss'', Lin Yuan always felt that something was missing.

    After thinking it over, Lin Yuan finally figured out what was missing.

    Jacky Cheung''s ''Farewell Kiss'' also had an English version!

    This work was the first song in the Celestial Dynasty on Earth to be covered in English and become a great hit!

    Now that the Mandarin version of ''Farewell Kiss'' has been released and widely celebrated, why not take the opportunity to bring out the English version?

    The covered version, with a bit of rock and roll feel, is incredibly captivating, showing a completely different flavor than the original song. It''s a hidden gem for many people on Earth.

    "Let''s release it this month."

    "If we release it next month, there''s not much chance of winning the championship, because everyone is already very familiar with the melody of ''Farewell Kiss''."

    "Besides, the difficulty of the seasonal chart is indeed getting higher and higher."

    "For a song with two sets of lyrics, no matter how much you change the second version, the melody remains the same."

    After figuring these things out, Lin Yuan immediately started looking for people to record the song!

    He plans to use the English version of ''Farewell Kiss'' as his starter!

    There will be more English songs in the future.

    As for whether it''s niche or not, Lin Yuan doesn''t worry, the Blue Star''s music appreciation ability is very high. Everyone listens to Chu language songs with relish, let alone English songs that are popular on Earth?

    There''s no such thing as a niche song.

    It''s just about how good it sounds.

    After all.

    Who doesn''t have a few favourite foreign songs?

    The journey of English songs in this world starts from ''Take Me To Your Heart''!

 Chapter 655 - 621 Xian Yu wants to write English song_1

    Indeed, the song that Lin Yuan was going to present was "Take Me To Your Heart".

    This is the English title for the song "Farewell Kiss".

    The English adaptation is sung by the Danish boy band Michael Learns to Rock, in the style of romantic rock.

    This song made them the most popular foreign band among Celestial Dynasty''s music fans.

    Because of this song, they achieved the legendary feat of selling 250,000 CD''s and millions of online downloads in the Celestial Dynasty in 2004!

    In that era, these statistics are quite terrifying!

    With this in mind, Lin Yuan started to write the English lyrics.

    The melody for the English and Mandarin versions are the same, so no modification is required.

    The arrangement could undergo some technical adjustments.

    As for the singing...

    Lin Yuan originally planned to have Sun Yaohuo sing the English version of "Farewell Kiss".

    Upon further consideration, Lin Yuan felt that Chen Zhiyu could also give it a try.

    Chen Zhiyu actually has quite a good voice, but his style is somewhat limited. This could be an opportunity for Chen Zhiyu to try different styles.

    During the last test, Chen Zhiyu also proved his English to be quite good.

    Among the singers in the Yu Dynasty, Chen Zhiyu and Sun Yaohuo were the quickest and best in mastering English.

    "Let''s let Chen Zhiyu give it a try then."

    After Lin Yuan finished writing the lyrics, he asked Gu Dong to contact Chen Zhiyu directly.

    This year, Lin Yuan planned to work closely with the singers from the Yu Dynasty for his song targeting the 12th consecutive championship.

    Looking at the variety of music styles that the singers from the Yu Dynasty had on offer--

    Lin Yuan should be able to ensure that the majority of the songs are produced in-house.

    Yes.

    In-house production.

    Lin Yuan had now accepted the concept of the Yu Dynasty.

    He felt that he and the Yu Dynasty were in a partnership.

    Partners are supposed to cooperate and help each other.

    Over at another side.

    Chen Zhiyu was at home feeding his beloved goldfish.

    His manager on the side remarked, "Sun Yaohuo has received another good song, and even used the power of ''Farewell Kiss'' to defeat the dual award-winning singer from Han Continent. Teacher Admirable Fish really does seem to favor Sun Yaohuo."

    Chen Zhiyu paused in his movements, said jealously, "I could sing this song too."

    The manager laughed, "In the Yu Dynasty''s internal competition, Sun Yaohuo is clearly leading."

    Chen Zhiyu pouted.

    Just at that moment, the manager''s mobile phone rang.

    After he answered it and heard what the other party had to say, his face suddenly lit up with excitment.

    "What''s up?"

    Chen Zhiyu asked casually.

    The manager exclaimed with excitement, "Teacher Admirable Fish is inviting you to record a song!"

    At his manager''s words, Chen Zhiyu suddenly perked up:

    "Let''s head to the company!"

    Twenty minutes later.

    Chen Zhiyu appeared at the company.

    Lin Yuan took out the English version of "Farewell Kiss"''s lyrics and gave it to Chen Zhiyu, "Can you understand them?"

    Chen Zhiyu began to read the lyrics out loud.

    It was quite fluent.

    He recognized all the words.

    "Try singing."

    "But I don''t have the music score..."

    "This is the English version of ''Farewell Kiss''."

    Chen Zhiyu''s eyes lit up. He began to tentatively sing along to the melody of "Farewell kiss".

    After listening for a while.

    Lin Yuan was surprised.

    Chen Zhiyu sang it quite well.

    Being able to read English doesn''t mean you can sing well in English. The pronunciation of English songs is different from Mandarin and many of the syllable breaks can seem very rigid if you haven''t specially learned them.

    But Chen Zhiyu clearly doesn''t have this problem.

    This probably means that Chen Zhiyu has learned some English singing methods.

    "It''ll be you."

    Lin Yuan got happy.

    If Chen Zhiyu couldn''t sing well, Lin Yuan would have asked Sun Yaohuo to do it. If Sun Yaohuo also couldn''t sing well, he would have to find a singer from Han Continent.

    Fortunately, Chen Zhiyu didn''t disappoint Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan didn''t know how much effort Chen Zhiyu had put into learning English, and even singing English songs, behind the scenes.

    All Lin Yuan needed to know was that Chen Zhiyu could handle this song.

    For the majority of songs, his criteria for choosing cooperative singers is often based on this standard.

    As long as there are singers in the Yu Dynasty that meet this standard, Lin Yuan wouldn''t seek out other singers for cooperation.

    Anyway, the share of the royalty fees would be the same.

    ...

    In the next few days.

    Netizens were still debating whether Han Continent''s music had lost to Admirable Fish due to English songs being too niche.

    Some people argued:

    "The importance of lyrics to a song is undeniable. If the netizens of Qin, Qi, Chu and Yan can''t understand English, then at least one third of the song''s charm is lost."

    Others retorted:

    "Of course, lyrics are important, but the melody is the key point. Otherwise, how could you explain the classic status of instrumental music? At least English songs have lyrics, if translated, everyone can understand. With instrumental music, there aren''t even any lyrics!"

    In the end, each held on to their own views.

    "Blaming the language is certainly unreasonable. Last year''s season chart also had Chu language songs winning the season championship, which indicates that music can break through language bindings."

    "Chu language songs seldom win the season championship, the occasional success is an exception, most of the time, Mandarin songs are more popular on the season chart."

    "..."

    Everyone has his own arguments.

    Everyone is right in their own eyes.

    In fact, those who think English songs lose out due to their niche appeal are mainly Han people.

    Even if Han people have somewhat accepted defeat to Admirable Fish, it''s inevitable they''d want to make a few defensive remarks.

    Normally, this kind of argument wouldn''t have any resolution.

    Unless "farewell kiss" was also an English song.

    But obviously, "Farewell Kiss" is a Mandarin song.

    So, no matter how much they argue about it, it will always end up as an unsolved mystery.

    The Han people knew this very well, that''s why they kept on insisting that English is a niche dialect in the Celestial Dynasty.

    However.

    Just when the argument was reaching its climax!

    On the fourth of February!

    Starlight suddenly announced a piece of news:

    "Admirable Fish''s first English song ''Take Me to Your Heart'', stunning release tonight at eight o''clock!"

    In an instant!

    All arguments came to a halt!

    From the five continents, internet users were all flabbergasted!

    Admirable Fish actually wrote an English song?

    And it''s officially releasing tonight at eight o''clock?

    Is he trying to respond to the online argument with this English song?

    After a while, the Chinese netizens had all regained their composure!

    "Damn, Fish Daddy wrote an English song!?"

    "Is Fish Daddy writing the lyrics himself?"

    "He actually understands English?"

    "Don''t tell me Fish Daddy is planning to beat the Han people with this English song again?"

    "Isn''t that too risky?"

    "English songs are Han people''s forte!"

    "Undergoing an English song competition with Admirable Fish is probably what Han people dream of, right?"

    "Seems like Fish Daddy is getting a bit reckless this time."

    "..."

    Curiosity, surprise, even astonishment!

    Nobody can be sure what it will look like when Admirable Fish writes an English song.

    On the other hand, the Han people were shocked and furious, but also feeling a surge of excitement, their feelings were complicated!

    "Admirable Fish wrote an English song?"

    "Guys, the chance for revenge is here!"

    "We''re not going to be able to compete with ''Farewell Kiss'', but if Admirable Fish wants to compete in English songs, we''re not scared!"

    "What we Han people are best at are English songs!" S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Who the hell said Chu Kuang is arrogant and Admirable Fish is modest and low-key? This Admirable Fish is clearly more arrogant than Chu Kuang!"

    "This Fish, he''s too arrogant!"

    "He thinks he can write English songs just because he knows a bit of English?"

    "We admit defeat to Mandarin song, but if Admirable Fish wants to win us with English song, he''s dreaming!"

    "..."

    This man, thrashing us in his best skill set is one thing.

    But he''s not even satisfied with that, he wants to beat the Han Continent''s music again with an English song?

    Maybe this will feel more exhilarating?

    Isn''t he afraid of becoming overconfident and being taken down a peg?

    How dare he!

    How could he dare!

    Nevermind the ordinary netizens from the Han Continent.

    Even Jack, who ranked second in the season chart as the double king of singing, couldn''t sit still!

    Losing miserably to a Mandarin song like "Farewell Kiss" could be explained away as English songs being too niche.

    But if he lost to Admirable Fish''s English song, that would be a big matter!

    However.

    It can''t happen again.

    "It can''t happen again."

    His agent coldly spoke up next to him.

    Jack thought he accidentally voiced out his inner thoughts. After a moment, he realized these were the words of his agent.

    Uh?

    It''s his agent''s words?

    He silently turned his head to look at his agent.

    Jacksuddenly had the urge to cover his agent''s mouth.

    If he remembered correctly, a few days ago before facing "Farewell Kiss", the agent also said he was sure to win.

    His agent used to be pretty reliable in the past.

    But for some reason, a few days ago, his agent suddenly started jinxing things.

    Is his agent jinxing it again this time?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to [ÀïÀæÁ¨Á¨ÅÞÅÞÅå] for the Alliance Hierarch''s reward, offering my knee in tribute ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ!

 Chapter 656 - 622: An Epic Level Awkward Situation_1

    Although the agent had a record of poisoning the milk, Jack thought about it carefully and felt that it wouldn''t be a much of a problem.

    Lately on the internet, people have been saying that Han people lost to Xian Yu because of their niche English song.

    Jack agreed with this statement.

    In the Five United Continents, English music was indeed a bit niche.

    However...

    Claiming that Han music lost to Xian Yu because of the niche English song market would be a petty excuse.

    Jack understood this as well.

    Even if English songs weren''t niche, he would still lose, but at least the loss wouldn''t be so humiliating.

    Of course, Jack would never admit this publicly.

    He was trying to portray the reason for Han music losing to Xian Yu as solely due to the niche English song market.

    Surprisingly, Xian Yu suddenly wanted to put out an English song too!

    That crossed Jack''s bottom line!

    Losing to Xian Yu was something Jack could reluctantly accept, as Xian Yu wrote Mandarin songs that had a larger audience.

    But if Xian Yu was also writing an English song, Jack absolutely couldn''t lose!

    If he lost, the dignity of Han music would be completely swept away!

    If they lost this time, they couldn''t continue using the excuse of English songs being too niche, could they?

    After all, Xian Yu''s new release was also an English song!

    Therefore, Jack had another solid reason not to lose to Xian Yu!

    In the words of Han netizens, what qualifications does Xian Yu have to win?

    He had never written an English song before!

    So...

    Just like that night five days ago...

    Jack and his agent were again waiting in front of the computer well ahead of time.

    "It''s time!"

    "Log in!"

    When eight o''clock struck, the agent suddenly roared, startling Jack.

    What are you shouting about?

    Immediately afterwards, Jack felt like something was wrong.

    Five days ago, didn''t his agent say the same thing?

    "At least change the line you say!"

    Jack glared at his agent and retorted.

    How inauspicious!

    I damn near thought I had dreamed myself back to five days ago!

    Everything this agent was saying was identical to what he said five days ago!

    The agent sheepishly said, "Then log in, it''s time."

    Jack: "..."

    Jack couldn''t be bothered to argue with his agent any further and directly opened up the music player.

    The front-page promotion was Xian Yu''s new song "Take me to your heart."

    Without any hesitation...

    Jack clicked play.

    In the room, a familiar prelude resonated.

    Jack suddenly stood up!

    "Did I time travel?"

    He stared at his agent: "What''s the date today?"

    His agent looked confused: "February 4."

    Jack listened to the music''s prelude:

    "Isn''t this still ''Farewell Kiss''?"

    Over the past few days, Jack had listened to ''Farewell Kiss'' quite a few dozens of times.

    Even if this song turned into dust, he could still recognize it!

    Even if the Heavenly Father himself came down, Jack could guarantee it:

    Xian Yu''s so-called English song was ''Farewell Kiss''!

    The agent listened carefully, it did seem like it was the prelude to ''Farewell Kiss''.

    "Is there a system malfunction?"

    Jack suspected that there was a bug in the player''s backend.

    Just then...

    The singing in the song suddenly began:

    "hiding from the rain and snow

    trying to forget but i won''t let go

    looking at a crowded street

    listening to my own heart beat

    ..."

    Indeed, it followed the melody of ''Farewell Kiss''.

    But the singer, Chen Zhiyu, was clearly singing in English!

    "Hiding in the rain and snow, trying desperately to forget, yet powerless. How could I just leave like this, gazing at the bustling streets but only able to hear my own heartbeat¡­"

    You don''t need to look at the lyric translation.

    Jack and his manager can understand every lyric, their minds automatically realizing the simultaneous translation.

    The room falls silent.

    The manager and Jack lock eyes, their faces freezing simultaneously.

    This moment.

    It seems like they''ve been transported back to five days ago.

    Jack''s mentality, collapses again.

    This manager is truly a jinx!

    He suddenly shouts, "Damn Xianyu!"

    The manager''s mental state also breaks down, likewise yelled, "What kind of English song is this? It''s just the English version of "Farewell Kiss"!"

    Jack lost to "Farewell Kiss".

    It has nothing to do with the language used in the song, but with the melody of "Farewell Kiss".

    This song had already defeated Jack and the entire Han Continent with its melody!

    And at this moment, even though it''s under the name of an English version, the tune is still that of "Farewell Kiss"!

    The iconic melody that caused the downfall of Hans Continent''s music scene!

    Even...

    Because this time the performance is in English, Jack understands the subtleties of this song better than anyone else.

    It''s not just the lyrics that have been translated into another language.

    Compared to the Mandarin version, Chen Zhiyu''s performance of the English version is less sorrowful, but more affectionate.

    Velvety.

    Intoxicating.

    The depth of this sentiment, instantly penetrates Jack''s heart.

    Jack''s mental state, shatters into pieces like broken glass.

    Tiny, tiny pieces.

    This time, Jack can no longer use the barrier of language to explain his failure.

    Because "Farewell Kiss" has now magically transformed into an English song.

    On the list of English songs for the February season, it''s clear just how much superior it is in comparison to the native English songs of the Han Continent!

    The song continues.

    But Jack returns to his chair, a somewhat lost look in his eyes.

    The manager on the side stays silent.

    Because he feels a stronger connection to this English song.

    The manager even thinks that the English version of "Farewell Kiss" sounds better than the original Mandarin version!

    If the manager himself believes this, what would the other people of the Han Continent think?

    The answer is obvious.

    All of the Han people who heard "Take Me to Your Heart" fell silent just like the manager.

    They never would have expected it!

    When "Farewell Kiss" is performed in English, it turns out the song actually sounds better than the Han people originally thought it did.

    But why does it have to be "Farewell Kiss"?

    You could have covered another song!

    With any other song, our previous objections might have some room for reconsideration, but it turns out to be "Farewell Kiss"!

    It''s exactly the same song!

    It''s exactly the song that we once criticized as winning over Han people due to the popularity of Mandarin!

    This is embarrassing.

    Very embarrassing.

    Later, Blue Star rated this as one of the "Five Epic Embarrassing Moments". This was even regarded as the originator of Epic Embarrassing Moments!

    Before this.

    No one has ever managed to embarrass an entire continent''s population like this, causing countless Han people to collectively close off from the world!

    Xianyu did it.

    He did it in such an easy way.

    Nobody expected Xianyu to slap the Han people in the face with the English version of "Farewell Kiss"!

    Slap! Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This slap was resounding enough to shake this mess apart.

    No Han person would deny how great the English song "Take Me to Your Heart" is.

    Not only would that be insulting the intelligence of the netizens from the other continents, it would be an insult to Han''s native music!

    If they deny Xianyu, it''s almost the same as denying themselves!

    So, with this move, Xianyu is set to leave the Han people speechless!

    In the field that Han people are most familiar with, he defeated Han Continent''s music using the very method Han people excel at¡­

    At this moment.

    Four Continents: Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan fell into chaos!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thank you to [Bai Ye M] for the generous Alliance Hierarch reward, I kneel before you! There''s this baffling sense of closeness whenever I see the word "white".

 Chapter 657 - 623 High IQ Game_1

    "Such a heart-piercing move!"

    "While others slap a face, Xian Yu seems to be beating the Han people till their insides bleed?"

    "Didn''t the Han people say that Xian Yu winning the season championship was due to the advantage of his native language? What about this English version of ''Farewell Kiss''?"

    "So, when it''s in Xian Yu''s hands, English is not niche anymore?"

    "Xian Yu: No one understands English songs better than me!"

    "Suddenly thought of ''Ten Years''. Play one song with two versions of lyrics. Xian Yu is professional. Even if one version of the song is in English, it still sounds so good that you can''t help but kneel!"

    "The English lyrics were also written by Xian Yu!"

    "So, the English songs written by Xian Yu are so formidable!"

    "Both versions of ''Farewell Kiss'' are amazing. The performances of Sun Yaohuo and Chen Zhiyu each have their own unique characteristics. I even like Chen Zhiyu''s English version more!"

    "Xian Yu''s language talent is really strong!"

    "I remember he can also speak Qi language, didn''t expect him to master English as well. The style of the English version of ''Farewell Kiss'', is absolutely authentic!"

    "..."

    Floods of people across Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan are hotly discussing it!

    And with the debates across each continent, the download numbers of the English version of ''Farewell Kiss'' are skyrocketing!

    Not only in Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan.

    The Han Continent is also providing a massive amount of download data for the English version of ''Farewell Kiss''!

    Whether the Han people accept it or not, they have to admit:

    While Xian Yu slapped them in the face, he also promoted English songs to a certain extent with the English version of ''Farewell Kiss''.

    ''Take Me to Your Heart'' will arouse more people''s interest in English songs.

    At this time.

    Some Han people begin to change their attitude: "Actually, there is no need to be so confrontational. We, Blue Star, are a family in all continents, and we, the Han Continent, are now also part of the amalgamation."

    Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan: "..."

    Why does this sound so familiar?

    It seems like we have another continent convinced by the Three Bros.

    Looking back at the wave of amalgamation since it started in Blue Star, more than one continent has been persuaded by the Three Bros.

    February 10th.

    ''Take Me to Your Heart'' forcefully ascends to the second place on the seasonal chart!

    With this.

    Xian Yu is now claiming the first two places on the seasonal chart all by himself, just like the previous news reported:

    Xian Yu, with his own strength, targeted the Han music scene!

    Compared to the wounds Chu Kuang left to the Han, this strike by Xian Yu is almost fatal!

    Xian Yu defeated the Han in the and area where they excel the most. Could there be a more ruthless counterattack?

    At this time.

    Suddenly someone laughed: "Chen Zhiyu going back to his old business?"

    The netizens of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan were taken aback, and then could not help but burst into laughter-- sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Chen Zhiyu actually got the second place again!

    On the seasonal chart, ''Farewell Kiss'' performed by Sun Yaohuo is first.

    ''Take Me to Your Heart'' performed by Chen Zhiyu is second.

    "Hahahaha, he really is the perennial runner-up!"

    "Xian Yu: Only kids make choices. I want both first and second!"

    "If anyone wants to take the second place, is there anyone more suitable than Chen Zhiyu in the Yu Dynasty?"

    "Chen Zhiyu''s posture of taking the second place is still so skilled!"

    "So this is the correct way to be a perennial runner-up?"

    "..."

    Chen Zhiyu''s runner-up position sparked countless people''s memory of the perennial runner-up.

    In Chen Zhiyu''s tribe comment section, the ''spirit of runner-up'' a long unseen meme, came back again, with netizens crazily reposting it.

    But this time, Chen Zhiyu wasn''t upset at all, instead, he even laughed out loud.

    After all, he was commissioned to get second place this time.

    ...

    It wasn''t until Lin Yuan saw the discussions on the internet that he realized that his English version of ''Farewell Kiss'' had inadvertently slapped the Han people again.

    Well.

    Actually, he just thought that it would be a pity not to release such a good sounding English version of ''Farewell Kiss''.

    But Lin Yuan did not care too much about this.

    What he was more excited about was that he had won two championships in a row!

    Claimed another victory on the seasonal chart!

    Only ten more seasonal championships to officially become the Maestro!

    Ten more.

    Lin Yuan suddenly felt the pressure again.

    His journey to becoming the Maestro is still a long and challenging one.

    But too much pressure isn''t good either.

    He needs to balance work and recreation.

    Thinking of this, Lin Yuan sat in his office, legitimately playing a small game.

    Playing games while listening to music, he felt very relaxed.

    Just at that moment.

    Someone knocked on the door.

    It turned out to be Sun Yaohuo.

    Sun Yaohuo seldom came empty-handed.

    As was the case today, he came with a bag of fruit.

    "I saw a fruit shop on the way here, so I brought some for my junior."

    Sun Yaohuo explained with a smile and then skillfully placed the fruit in the office''s fruit bowl.

    "Thank you, Senior Yao Huo."

    Lin Yuan, engrossed in his game, said with a smile.

    Gu Dong at the side pulled a face.

    Fruit shop by the roadside?

    If she didn''t love eating fruit, she might have really believed Sun Yaohuo''s lie.

    Looking at the quality of the fruit Sun Yaohuo bought, which roadside fruit shop could take on such high standards?

    Without a doubt.

    These fruits must be top-grade products imported from various continents.

    Common people couldn''t afford them, and ordinary fruit shops couldn''t stock such premium products.

    But Mr. Lin was always a little bit careless, so he didn''t notice the difference.

    Last time she bought some fruits from a roadside shop for Mr. Lin, he even commented that they were not as delicious as the fruits Sun Yaohuo bought.

    Mr. Lin even asked her to check with Sun Yaohuo to see from which fruit shop he bought his fruits from...

    Really?

    A box of cherries from Sun Yaohuo is worth a few thousand!

    The fruit I buy on the roadside is genuinely bought from a roadside fruit shop.

    "Gu Dong, why don''t you join us and have some?"

    Sun Yaohuo suddenly said to Gu Dong with a smile on his face.

    "Thank you, Teacher Sun Yaohuo."

    Gu Dong smiled sweetly and suddenly found Sun Yaohuo more likable.

    "Lost again!"

    Lin Yuan at the computer grumbled, "My teammates are too weak!"

    Sun Yaohuo curiously peered at the screen.

    The game Lin Yuan was playing was a classic tower pushing game. The hero controlled by Lin Yuan had a score of 0/12/0.

    Sun Yaohuo:"..."

    Men known for his wit, he didn''t know what to say for a moment.

    Lin Yuan reminisced, "My teammates are too weak. I''m more suited to single-player games like ''Plants vs. Zombies''. I can finish that game in a month!"

    Sun Yaohuo finally found an opening, "What is ''Plants vs. Zombies''?"

    Lin Yuan seriously said, "A game to test your IQ."

    Sun Yaohuo was respectful, "Where can I download it? I can play with you and improve my IQ along with yours!"

    Lin Yuan regretted, "Blue Star doesn''t have it."

    Sun Yaohuo was stunned, "Where did you play it then?"

    Lin Yuan thought about it and said, "In a dream."

    His previous life was just like a dream.

    Sun Yaohuo: "..."

    At this moment, Lin Yuan started another round of the game.

    Sun Yaohuo was stunned to see that Lin Yuan''s hand speed was extremely fast. In a fraction of a second, he had already selected and locked his hero.

    Judging from the speed of picking a hero, Lin Yuan seemed really skilled at this game!

 Chapter 658 - 624 - Plants vs. Zombies_1

    The next day, Lin Yuan uninstalled the game.

    Not for any particular reason.

    Essentially, he had been on a losing streak since yesterday. He was repeatedly beaten and pressed to the ground by the opponents.

    He felt frustrated.

    Meanwhile.

    This tower-push game called "Heroes of England" had been completely blacklisted by Lin Yuan.

    He found it totally not fun at all.

    Although it was a tower-push game like "League of Legends" on Earth, many of its designs were overly complicated.

    "Don''t be a slack!",

    Lin Yuan motivated himself and decided to start focusing on work, and not indulge in games anymore.

    At this point.

    Surprisingly, Sun Yaohuo made another appearance.

    Accompanying him were a few young men who appeared somewhat nervous.

    "Junior!"

    The moment he stepped in, Sun Yaohuo greeted with a smiling face:

    "Look at what I have brought you!" Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan was startled and looked at the young men behind Sun Yaohuo:

    "Do we sell people on Blue Star?"

    The few young men behind Sun Yaohuo were dumbfounded.

    Sun Yaohuo burst into laughter, "Junior, you are so hilarious! Of course not, these young gentlemen are professional game designers. Remember how you said yesterday that the game you wanted to play wasn''t available on Blue Star? Well, I had the idea to get these guys to design a game specifically for you. Just tell them what type of game you want and they''ll see to it. I''ll cover the design costs.

    I''ve been considering venturing into the gaming industry lately, and I believe a game designed by you is bound to be a huge hit. Once it is, I''ll give you a share of the profit¨C"

    "Game design?"

    Lin Yuan blinked.

    Senior Yaohuo is even more addicted to games than I am!

    He even got people to design a game specifically for him!

    Does this mean I can play ''Plants vs. Zombies'' on Blue Star?

    This was quite enticing for Lin Yuan.

    "Hello, Teacher Admirable Fish¡­"

    The young men were nervous but excited. The leader among them introduced himself:

    "My name is Pei Qian!"

    Lin Yuan frowned, Pei Qian? Losing money?

    That name didn''t seem very auspicious.

    Of course, Pei Qian had no idea about Lin Yuan''s thoughts.

    He was the owner of a game design studio. With dreams in his heart, he set up the studio a few years after graduation, hoping to make a name in the gaming industry!

    But before his career could take off, he met Sun Yaohuo.

    Pei Qian knew that Sun Yaohuo was a singer, and he had listened to Sun Yaohuo''s songs.

    Sun Yaohuo suddenly appeared yesterday, stating he wanted to acquire Pei Qian''s studio and have Pei Qian work for him.

    Pei Qian refused on the spot!

    He was a game designer with dreams, how could he possibly sell his studio and work for someone else?

    But in the end, Pei Qian agreed to the acquisition¨C-

    The offer from Sun Yaohuo was just too generous.

    Pei Qian found it hard to imagine that a singer could be so extravagantly wealthy!

    The way he made out the check, it was as if the check was just a scrap of paper!

    So, being a singer made that much money?

    After being acquired, Pei Qian was all set to make a big splash.

    Sun Yaohuo was a wealthy boss and would definitely support him in developing the dream game he had in mind!

    However, Sun Yaohuo brought him to Starlight and told him to design a game for a friend.

    Pei Qian initially thought Sun Yaohuo had gone mad!

    This guy had gone through all the trouble of acquiring his studio only to have him design a game for his friend?

    Design a game specifically for a friend?

    Just how boss must this friend be for you to invest so much in him!

    It wasn''t until Pei Qian arrived at Starlight and saw Lin Yuan that he realized what was actually going on¨C-

    Sun Yaohuo wanted him to design a game specifically for Lin Yuan!

    This was a major figure in the entertainment industry!

    That being said, Pei Qian still found it quite a headache.

    Designing a game specifically for someone seemed a tad bit excessive, right?

    "I wonder what type of game Teacher Admirable Fish prefers?"

    For the sake of money, Pei Qian was resigned to playing along.

    "I¡­"

    Lin Yuan wanted to say ''Plants vs. Zombies''.

    It was a game from his past life, which left him with the deepest impression.

    But when he was about to speak he suddenly didn''t know how to describe it. How was ''Plants vs. Zombies'' played again?

    Shit.

    He couldn''t remember.

    Lin Yuan straight away called up the System: "Does the System have any games in it?"

    "Ding-dong!"

    The system responded as it was activated by Lin Yuan: "''Plants vs. Zombies'', Classic Edition, can be redeemed by the host¡­"''

    Lin Yuan was surprised.

    The System did have it.

    He directly redeemed it.

    In an instant, countless details of ''Plants vs. Zombies'' appeared in Lin Yuan''s mind.

    He immediately spoke up:

    "I would like to design a tower defense game. Terrifying zombies are about to invade the plant planet. Each zombie has different characteristics, for example, the buckethead zombie has a strong ability to resist attacks, the miner zombie can dig tunnels to bypass plants planted on the soil surface, and the thief zombie can steal plants¡­"

    Pei Qian was stunned for a moment. He hadn''t expected Lin Yuan to have some actual ideas.

    "Could you demonstrate a little with some sketches?"

    "No problem."

    Lin Yuan picked up a pen and paper and began sketching images of different plants and zombies.

    "See this sunflower? The sunlight it provides is the money the players use to buy other plants, and each plant has completely different functions. The players defend against zombies by planting different plants, such as this cherry bomb, which can obliterate all zombies within a certain range. The classic peashooter is the most cost-effective plant.

    Additionally, I quite like this man-eating plant that can eat zombies. In short, players should plant their plants wisely to counteract the weaknesses of different zombies while managing their funds¡­"''

    Lin Yuan was speaking non-stop.

    Pei Qian''s mouth had unconsciously dropped open.

    The young group that had followed Pei Qian was also dumbstruck.

    Was this man really Lin Yuan?

    Wasn''t he into music and stuff?

    Oh right, he also makes movies.

    But what does that have to do with games?

    Why are his game ideas so clear?

    Indeed, Lin Yuan''s ideas were clear. As he continued describing, he had filled his notebook with various drawings, even including corresponding names.

    Even Sun Yaohuo was somewhat surprised standing by.

    He had brought Pei Qian and the others over just to amuse Lin Yuan.

    Whatever style of game Lin Yuan wanted, he would let Pei Qian and his team tailor-make it.

    After all, it was all about Lin Yuan having a good time playing it.

    Once he got bored, he could ask Pei Qian to design some other games.

    However, much to Sun Yaohuo''s surprise, Lin Yuan''s game designing idea was so well-detailed it was as if he had really played such a game before. By the end, even Sun Yaohuo himself was intrigued.

    "So this is the ''Plants vs. Zombies'' game you mentioned yesterday?"

    "Yeah."

    "Brilliant!"

    Sun Yaohuo suddenly felt that they could release the game later to allow everyone else to play the game Lin Yuan personally designed!

    That should make Lin Yuan happy, right?

    This was Sun Yaohuo''s principle:

    The happiness of Lin Yuan mattered the most!

 Chapter 659 - 625 The Music of the Cloud Palace_1

    If Lin Yuan truly wanted to create a game, he would have to produce a detailed design plan, complete with flowcharts and CG mock-ups, followed by a thorough analysis and design phase. However, Lin Yuan obviously didn''t want to go through such trouble.

    He had ideas.

    But they weren''t professional.

    Lin Yuan simply followed the game content and design provided by the System, rambling his ideas on-the-go, luckily Pei Qian was able to grasp his seemingly random ideas.

    Two hours later.

    Sun Yao Huo and the others left.

    As Lin Yuan picked up a washed cherry and took a bite, the System''s voice suddenly echoed in his ear again, "Congratulations Host on initiating the game category. From now on, games will also be one of your sources of prestige!"

    Lin Yuan was taken aback.

    Game category?

    When he discussed ideas for "Plants vs. Zombies" with Pei Qian, he simply wanted to play a game he was familiar with in his previous life on Blue Star. He never thought that the game would be a source of prestige, but now the System was telling him that games were a separate category?

    Music, Films.

    Painting, Literature.

    Lin Yuan always thought there were only these four categories, it was no wonder he was able to customize games with the System. Did this mean that he could not only bring out "Plants vs. Zombies," but also work on other games?

    That seemed right.

    Games were indeed a significant branch of entertainment as they encompassed a wide range of elements, including music, painting, animation and even scripts, especially for large-scale games.

    Not to mention large-scale games.

    Even with a simple game like "Plants vs. Zombies," the background music of the game is instrumental. If Lin Yuan wanted to recreate this game, he would undoubtedly choose the original background music which was one of his expertise.

    This was a major category!

    It was all-encompassing!

    The word "games" seemed to compile all the contents of the other categories: "It seems that I have to add another task to my workload. Without Senior Yao Huo, I wouldn''t even know the System had a hidden game category."

    Previously, it was for fun.

    Now, it was different.

    Lin Yuan temporarily set aside his playful mindset. Considering that Senior Yao Huo had contributed to the development of the System''s game category, Lin Yuan planned to partner with him in the future to create games, transferring some of the classic Earth games over.

    "I need to start studying." Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Since Lin Yuan had decided to dabble in games casually, he couldn''t be ignorant about the gaming industry. He simply asked Gu Dong to buy him some game-related books for him to read.

    His reading efficiency was very high.

    With the System providing Memory Pills, he could remember anything he had read. His rapid progress from knowing nothing about the film industry to becoming a semi-expert was achieved by taking Memory Pills and reading extensively.

    This time was no exception.

    Gu Dong bought back over ten books related to games. Lin Yuan sat in his office, leisurely absorbing and improving, gradually gaining a certain understanding of the game industry.

    "There''s so much to learn in the game industry."

    Looking at these books, Lin Yuan sighed deeply. The thing he saw from a player''s perspective was too simplistic. Looking at it from a game creator''s perspective, there were many twists and turns.

    ¡­

    A game couldn''t be completed overnight. While Pei Qian had already started working, Lin Yuan took advantage of his free time to read extensively. This routine continued until mid-February.

    On this day.

    Gu Dong brought Lin Yuan some good news. The post-production of "Journey to the West" was more than half-way done, but the music for the TV series needed Lin Yuan''s touch.

    "Understood."

    Lin Yuan''s eyes lit up.

    He had been waiting for this moment. He had prepared music for the first season of Journey to the West in advance, the one he attached the most importance to being the theme music for the TV series "The Music of the Cloud Palace".

    This was a piece of instrumental music.

    To achieve the best effects, Lin Yuan alone couldn''t achieve it. The song contained a plethora of musical elements, such as electronic musical instruments, orchestral music, guzheng, pipa, triangle, and pipe bell, as well as, African drums, conga drums, even drums were all included.

    Coupled with the effects of the bass and soprano opera singing, even those who hadn''t seen "Journey to the West" would be blown away when they heard this song!

    It''s worth mentioning:

    Many professional musicians on Earth refer to "The Music of the Cloud Palace" as the king of electronic music, and Xu Jingqing, the composer for Journey to the West, was canonized in the music industry because of his many musical creations in Journey to the West!

    This was a true masterpiece!

    However, many people don''t know that when Xu Jingqing created "The Music of the Cloud Palace," the leaders at the time were very dissatisfied. China in the 80s had a conservative music outlook, how could they accept electronic music?

    The song was initially rejected.

    It was the director of the CCTV version of Journey to the West, Yang Jie, who insisted on Xu Jingqing''s song being the theme music of Journey to the West despite all opinions. The facts proved that the song was successful, and even more than successful!

    Lin Yuan had no such concerns.

    He had the final say on Journey to the West''s music.

    To maximize the effect of this masterpiece, Lin Yuan hired expert musicians for all the musical instruments mentioned earlier. As far as recording costs go, this was definitely the highest among all Lin Yuan''s pieces!

    Of course.

    The majority of the musicians were from Starlight, for instance, the "King of Bass" from Qin Continent who was under Starlight. After all, Starlight was one of Blue Star''s most successful music companies, it was not short on excellent musicians. This was the advantage of making music at Starlight.

    "What a lineup!"

    When Starlight''s top musicians gathered in the company''s recording studio, Zheng Jing, who was passing by, was startled. She didn''t really just pass by, she had heard the news and had rushed over to see what was happening. Only then did she realise how big a deal Lin Yuan''s piece was.

    "Sit down and listen together?"

    Lin Yuan invited Zheng Jing.

    Zheng Jing readily agreed.

    Twenty minutes later, when Lin Yuan had coordinated the parts for each musician, everyone began rehearsing formally. When the familiar electronic sound first appeared on Blue Star, Zheng Jing''s mouth fell open:

    "Wait, wait, wait, wait¡­"

    Lin Yuan couldn''t help but smile. As the familiar music echoed, he seemed to see the image of Sun Wukong bursting out of the Five Finger Mountain in front of him, and he felt inexplicably excited!

    "Ah ah ah ah¡­"

    "Ah ah ah ah¡­"

    "Ah ah ah ah ah¡­"

    In the intertwining of various instruments, the soprano began to sing along. It was an astounding performance, even Zheng Jing had unknowingly joined in, awe written all over her face. If this song were to participate in the seasonal ranking?

    It would be a massacre!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: I just checked the fan list, Feiyu has actually become a silver member, I am extremely grateful. I never dreamt that I would have four silver members while writing this book. None of my previous works had silver members, which I had always longed for. This book made up for all that and I am deeply touched by our generous readers...

 Chapter 660 - 626: The Legendary Transmigrator Must Copy Books_1

    It''s not only about "The Music of the Cloud Palace".

    After recording this electronic music, Lin Yuan sought suitable singers from Starlight to record other soundtracks needed for the first season of the TV drama...

    "Can it be broadcast in March?"

    He finished dealing with the TV soundtrack.

    Lin Yuan asked Ol'' Zhou about the broadcast schedule.

    Ol'' Zhou shook his head: "The schedule is too tight, there are some finishing works needed to be done in the post-production, a March broadcast is definitely not feasible, but April should be fine."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    It needed to be confirmed in advance.

    If the Journey to the West TV drama could be broadcast in March, then Lin Yuan could rely on "The Music of the Cloud Palace" to hit the charts, this piece of music was indeed solid.

    But if it couldn''t be broadcast in March, he would have to look for other songs to enter the charts.

    Ol'' Zhou smiled: "Since we can''t broadcast for now, we can promote the TV drama well before it airs. We will release the news tonight, and you can repost it on the Tribe to promote our Journey to the West TV drama."

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan nodded again.

    Sure enough, Starlight announced that night that Journey to the West TV drama would be broadcast in April, and Lin Yuan also reposted the news about the TV drama''s April broadcast.

    The news has just been officially announced!

    The enthusiasm of the Internet users was ignited!

    The novel Journey to the West has a high sales volume, and its influence is increasing day by day. More and more people have become fans of Journey to the West. Therefore, everyone has high expectations for the TV drama version of Journey to the West, among them is the hype added by Xian Yu being the screenwriter.

    However.

    When the passion of the fans of Journey to the West was awakened, before everyone could start discussing, surprisingly, The Primordial Chaos Association also posted a status: Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "The new version of The Primordial Chaos is scheduled to be officially broadcast on April 1st, the orthodox mythology of Blue Star, let''s meet then!"

    Half an hour!

    The official announcement of the broadcast schedule of the Journey to the West TV drama and that of The Primordial Chaos TV drama was only half an hour apart!

    It was like the Journey to the West TV drama had just officially announced the schedule, and The Primordial Chaos TV drama immediately followed!

    "Damn!"

    Anyone with a certain sense of perception knew what this meant¡ª

    "So ruthless?"

    "Broadcast at the same time?"

    "This can''t be a coincidence, right?"

    "It can''t be a coincidence, how could they both choose to broadcast in April without prior agreement, and just one hour after the official announcement of the Journey to the West TV drama broadcast date?"

    "The Primordial Chaos is clearly aiming to hit Journey to the West, I say why The Primordial Chaos TV drama has been held back and hasn''t been broadcasted!"

    "Obviously, the loss in the dispute of the novels made The Primordial Chaos unsatisfied, they want to make a comeback with the TV drama."

    "I knew that the two TV dramatics would compete, the fact that both sides produced TV dramas has determined this moment, but I never thought that The Primordial Chaos would play so intensely, specifically aiming at the schedule of Journey to the West, and preparing to broadcast at the same time!"

    "..."

    Internet users knew that there would inevitably be a dispute between Journey to the West and The Primordial Chaos in the TV dramas.

    But broadcasting at the same period was something many people did not expect.

    The Primordial Chaos also showed great confidence in the new TV drama with this action!

    For a time, the morale of the fans of The Primordial Chaos was greatly boosted!

    "It''s finally here!"

    "The rise of The Primordial Chaos!"

    "We The Primordial Chaos should be this tough!"

    "The Primordial Chaos TV drama is definitely not a match for The Primordial Chaos!"

    "The ratings of the old version of The Primordial Chaos TV drama say it all!"

    "It''s finally out, I''ve long been unhappy with the fans of Journey to the West, let''s deflate their arrogance with our TV drama!"

    "Okay, let both choose April to broadcast, face-to-face confrontation can show the gap!"

    "Our The Primordial Chaos''s time to feel relieved is coming!"

    "..."

    It must be mentioned that from the start of Journey to the West''s targeted promotion against The Primordial Chaos, the fans of Journey to the West and The Primordial Chaos have been opposing each other online.

    From the novel to the theme song, both sides have taken turns with each other, with each time Journey to the West winning.

    After a few successive failures, the fans of The Primordial Chaos have held their anger.

    However, the foundation of The Primordial Chaos is strong, and even if they lose a few rounds, they are not desperate, the fundamental reason is because The Primordial Chaos is about to make a new TV drama.

    For the new The Primordial Chaos TV drama, the fans of The Primordial Chaos are full of confidence!

    They feel that Journey to the West''s TV drama cannot be compared with The Primordial Chaos in terms of attractiveness!

    The fans of Journey to the West are a bit provoked.

    "So damn arrogant!"

    "The fans of The Primordial Chaos really don''t remember the beatings!"

    "Comparing the quality of the novel, they lost, comparing the TV theme song, they lost again, still not giving up?"

    "This wave must kill them!"

    "If the TV drama is also knocked down by Journey to the West, let''s see what excuses they can find!"

    "However..."

    "The foundation of The Primordial Chaos is indeed a bit strong."

    "The disadvantage of Journey to the West is that the launch time is not as long as that of The Primordial Chaos, the story of The Primordial Chaos has been circulating for hundreds of years."

    "..."

    Be provoked as they may.

    The fans of Journey to the West also knew where the biggest advantage of The Primordial Chaos was.

    For some ordinary audiences, The Primordial Chaos is a bit like nostalgia, even if the story is well-known, a new version of the TV drama would still cause a huge attention.

    And at Lin Yuan''s home.

    Lin Yuan also noticed the stir online.

    He didn''t expect The Primordial Chaos to target the Journey to the West TV drama, and even specifically chose to hit the same day as Journey to the West''s broadcast.

    "Are they so confident..."

    Lin Yuan was a little curious, he didn''t know what the new The Primordial Chaos looked like.

    Looking at The Primordial Chaos Association''s full confidence, he estimated that the quality is really good.

    They didn''t underestimate the enemy.

    The fact that The Primordial Chaos has a huge mass base in Blue Star is unquestionable.

    However confident Lin Yuan was in Journey to the West, he had to admit the huge influence of The Primordial Chaos among the public.

    "Should I stay safe?"

    Based on the industry experience Lin Yuan gained from reading books, he knew that the TV dramas of Journey to the West and The Primordial Chaos were likely to wage a publicity war next.

    Although TV dramas don''t rely on publicity as much as movies do, good publicity does give you an advantage.

    "Release ''The Music of the Cloud Palace'' in advance?"

    Lin Yuan frowned, this piece of music was indeed amazing.

    But without the support of the Journey to the West TV drama, it seemed to lack a bit of meaning.

    He was a perfectionist and hoped that this piece of music could appear with the TV drama.

    "Maybe I can change my thinking."

    Lin Yuan thought about it for a while and gradually had an idea.

    Publicity is a money-burning game, and such matters should be handled by Starlight, anyway, the momentum should not be lower than the other side''s.

    In addition to traditional advertising, in fact, Lin Yuan could also increase the popularity of the TV version of Journey to the West in his own way.

    The previous "Wukong" was a promotional song Lin Yuan specifically brought out to enhance the popularity of the TV drama.

    With the music ready, why not try something else?

    For example...

    Write some fan-fiction to promote Journey to the West.

    You should know.

    Lin Yuan''s basic fan-base is fans of Journey to the West.

    But not everyone who read Journey to the West would be interested in the TV drama.

    Moreover, among the fans of Journey to the West, there are also many people who enjoy reading The Primordial Chaos novels and watching its TV dramas at the same time.

    Despite the fierce fighting between the fans of Journey to the West and The Primordial Chaos online.

    Both are mythology novels, and the audience overlap is actually quite high.

    So when Journey to the West and The Primordial Chaos''s TV dramas broadcast at the same time, they''re bound to snatch each other''s audience!

    Especially the neutral audience who don''t have a clear preference.

    How do you make these hesitant neutral audience have a better impression of Journey to the West?

    Lin Yuan''s answer was, write a novel that would make everyone who read it like the story of Journey to the West more...

    It''s time to come out.

    A transmigrator must plagiarize books!

    The novel called "The Legend of Wukong"!

 Chapter 661 - 627: The Name of the New Vest_1

    The ongoing influence of the Journey to the West on Earth is partly due to the historical impacts passed down over hundreds of years, and partly because of countless interpretations by modern people, especially from a modern perspective.

    Their fondness for Journey to the West can be largely attributed to various interpretations linked to it.

    Without these layers of interpretation, Journey to the West probably wouldn''t have continued to hold a unique artistic status in people''s hearts into the 21st century.

    Many are willing to believe that Journey to the West, as one of the four great classics of the Celestial Dynasty, is more than meets the eye.

    When it comes to the most striking interpretation of Journey to the West, aside from Star Grandpa''s movie series, many people will mention this novel:

    The Legend of Wukong by Jinhezai!

    The book tells the story of the tragic hero, Sun Wukong, along with Tang Monk and others, in their struggle against destiny.

    The author offers a fresh reinterpretation of some of the plot points in Journey to the West from a modern perspective, imbuing the whole book with thoughtfulness.

    This book is extremely profound.

    Strictly speaking, this novel is a fanfiction of Journey to the West.

    The author added his own spin to the original work.

    For instance, the original work barely touched on any romantic storylines, which are brought to life in The Legend of Wukong.

    This is a strategy that was also applied in Star Grandpa''s A Chinese Odyssey series and even the demon-slaying sequences.

    These interpretations all contributed to the popularity of Journey to the West.

    Now, Lin Yuan wants to use the popularity of The Legend of Wukong''s reinterpretation to boost publicity for his TV drama.

    However...

    There is a delicate issue.

    Even though The Legend of Wukong is a classic, it is, after all, fanfiction of Journey to the West.

    If Lin Yuan were to write Journey to the West under the pseudonym of Chu Kuang, that would be tantamount to an official interpretation.

    By doing so, he would instantly limit the work''s potential for derivative stories by 90%.

    In the short term, this wouldn''t hurt, but thinking in the long-term, the downsides outweigh the upsides.

    What about having Xian Yu write it?

    That also seems inappropriate.

    The relationship between Xian Yu and Chu Kuang is unique.

    If Xian Yu writes The Legend of Wukong, outsiders may well suspect:

    That Xian Yu''s interpretation is undertaken with Chu Kuang''s suggestion.

    Which wouldn''t be much different from an official interpretation.

    The same logic applies to Shadow.

    Previously, Lin Yuan wrote a song called "Fairytale Town" under the pseudonym of Xian Yu, the lyrics of which touched upon the boundary of dark fairy tales.

    As a result, some people began to suspect that Chu Kuang''s "Fairytale Town" story is fundamentally dark.

    This wasn''t Lin Yuan''s intention.

    So, Lin Yuan is now faced with a dilemma. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    However, this is merely a minor trouble, a slight shift in thinking will reveal the solution¡ª

    Create another pseudonym!

    Lin Yuan was originally planning to stick to three pseudonyms, but often plans can''t keep up with changes.

    If he''s going to write The Legend of Wukong, he''ll need to create a new pseudonym.

    That''s it!

    Lin Yuan suddenly thought:

    Not only can the new pseudonym be used to write The Legend of Wukong, but it could also be specifically used to provide interpretations of works by Xian Yu, Chu Kuang and even Shadow!

    Every time Lin Yuan saw netizens interpreting his songs, novels, comics and the like, he felt an itch to join in.

    Blue Star netizens have wild imaginations, always offering splendid interpretations of his work.

    But Lin Yuan has seen many brilliant interpretations on Earth, some of which Blue Star netizens overlooked, yet due to his identity, he found it inappropriate to point them out directly¡ª

    Official interpretations could actually harm the long-term development of the work.

    If he came up with another pseudonym, he wouldn''t need to worry about this.

    The new pseudonym just needs to avoid associating with Xian Yu, Chu Kuang, and Shadow.

    Focus only on interpretations!

    No interactions!

    On second thoughts, creating a new pseudonym seemed like a necessary matter?

    This way, he could rightfully set the rhythm of his own works!

    For instance, Lin Yuan could now write The Legend of Wukong.

    In the future, he could also come up with fan-fiction like "Everlasting Regret" for his Yang Jian character¡ªunder this new pseudonym.

    Right.

    It''s the Yang Jian character from Journey to the West, not the one from The Investiture of the Gods.

    ...

    Having established his line of thought, Lin Yuan directly got a new mobile number and registered another Tribe account.

    Tribe is the best social network platform on Blue Star.

    Although other services like blogging platforms are not bad, their influence and user base still fall short compared to Tribe.

    Now, what should the new pseudonym be?

    Lin Yuan pondered for a moment.

    The name ''Chu Kuang'' was taken from the phrase "I am a madman of Chu, singing and laughing at Confucius."

    ''Xian Yu'' came from that saying "Appease and take a step back rather than hankering after one''s ambition."

    His new pseudonym would be ''Yi An'' then!

    In Tao Yuanming''s poem, ''The Return'', this particular line is written,

    "Examine the comfort of one''s life."

    Even in a simple dwelling, one can enjoy a life of wine-drinking merriment and arrogant self-satisfaction.

    Simple.

    Happiness.

    ''Yi An'' and Li Qingzhao coincide any way.

    Song Dynasty poet Li Qingzhao is exactly known as the alternate name '' Yi An''.

    However, Blue Star has no Li Qingzhao, and certainly not the alias Yi An.

    After registering a new account, Lin Yuan searched for some related information from fanatics on the Internet.

    Blue Star also has fanfic, there are also specialized fanfiction websites, and there are also many derivative fanfictions of classic works in many forums.

    For example, Chu Kuang''s early work ''King of the Net'', several authors have written fanfics about it, mainly leaning towards BL.

    Cough.

    Even authors have written fanfics about characters like Holmes and Watson, Poirot and Hastings, and even stories connecting Holmes to Poirot.

    The most outrageous is:

    There''s even a fanfic about Xian Yu, Chu Kuang, and Shadow on this website. Lin Yuan didn''t dare to look at the details though, he just found the title rather peculiar:

    Three companions?

    Some people might wonder, with Blue Star''s copyright protection so strict, how can fanfic have the room to grow?

    The reason is simple.

    Because the authors approved.

    These fanfics are not used for commercial purposes. Many fanfic authors are completely driven by their love for their work.

    They did not make money out of fanfiction.

    So how could the authors seek to hold them accountable?

    The authors might even hope for more fanfics to appear, to make the original works more popular.

    As long as the fanfic authors do not defame the original work.

    Sometimes.

    The original author even allows fanfiction authors to publish and make money, occasionally granting rights.

    As long as it does not impact the fundamental interests of the original work, the original authors are quite lenient.

    After all, the ones writing fanfics are all fans.

    Moreover, most of the time, fanfic tends to add more depth to the original work.

    For instance, some people developed an interest in the anime and even bought the original work to read after reading the Boys Love fanfic of ''King of the Net''.

    Lin Yuan understood this well.

    After all, he himself has become the protagonist of a fanfic.

    Now, Lin Yuan was mainly searching for fanfic of ''Journey to the West''.

    After searching around, there are actually quite a few interesting fanfics.

    For example, there''s a fanfic where the main character is Tang Monk. In this fanfic, Tang Monk is granted an amazing cheat which he uses while bringing Wukong and the others to the West, wreaking havoc in the Western Paradise...

    One look and you know the author is not satisfied with the Buddha''s suppression of Wukong.

    So in this fanfic, Tang Monk uses his cheat to block the celestial clues, then scolds the Buddha for his dishonesty at every turn, encouraging Wukong to continue fighting back, never surrender, and when he gets the scriptures in the West, to smack them into the Buddha''s face and get revenge for Wukong''s five hundred years under the Five Finger Mountain!

    This is the most popular ''Journey to the West'' fanfic currently.

    The author did not rely on selling the novel to make money, rather the author himself became famous.

    He opened an account in the tribe and became a fanfic author, making money by taking a bit of advertising and such.

    However, this novel has a strong online literature flavor, the plot can''t stand scrutiny, it''s completely aimed at satisfying the reader''s appetite for excitement and doesn''t place importance on logic and profound meaning. It is a good fanfic but it''s not a classic one.

    Meanwhile, Lin Yuan noticed:

    In the same fanfic website, the number of fanfics about ''The Primordial Chaos'' can completely crush ''Journey to the West''!

    Can''t be helped.

    ''The Primordial Chaos'' has been around for hundreds of years and has a profound background.

    Since the early development of the internet, people have been writing fanfic of ''The Primordial Chaos'', among which there are many masterpieces.

    In comparison, ''Journey to the West'' was only released for so long, yet it already has this much popularity in fanfiction, which is quite astonishing.

    Looking at the fanfictions, ''The Primordial Chaos'' has a terrifying suppression over ''Journey to the West''.

    Perhaps this is also one of the reasons why fans of ''The Primordial Chaos'' feel that the TV adaptation of ''The Primordial Chaos'' will definitely explode.

    It appears that he must immediately come up with his own leading work in this ''Journey to the West'' fanfic.

    Lin Yuan''s eyes moved, and he directly registered as an author on this fanfic website, which is said to be the largest in the country, and wrote down the title of the book, ''The Legend of Wukong''¡ª

    ''Yi An'' made his debut, and ''The Legend of Wukong'' was born!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to the Alliance Hierarchs [Little Dinosaur Loves Fish] and [Rest Aniseed] for their support, kneel to the great lords ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ!

 Chapter 662 - 628: What the hell is this crap written_1

    In fact, "The Legend of Wukong" is only over a hundred thousand words long.

    Given Lin Yuan''s typing speed, it could be completed in a few days.

    Taking into account that "The Legend of Wukong," a novel that uses dialogue to drive the plot and leans towards the stream of consciousness, is not suitable for continuous updates and is better read in one go, Lin Yuan didn''t immediately upload the main text after setting up the piece, he planned for it to be serialized over several days.

    He only first decided on the book title and pen name to reserve a spot.

    The novel was actually completed a few days later.

    As he typed the last five words "How can one forget the Journey to the West" on the computer, "The Legend of Wukong" was finally finished by Lin Yuan.

    Then

    the main text, consisting of just over ten chapters, was uploaded by Lin Yuan onto a fanfiction website. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The fanfiction website has a simple and crude name.

    It''s simply called "Fanfiction Library".

    Although the name of the "Fanfiction Library" website is simple and crude, the website''s traffic is genuinely substantial.

    The review sections of many novels are bustling with activity.

    After all, it is based on the crowd of netizens who love Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, and Wuzhou''s fan works.

    In Blue Star where piracy is almost non-existent, the actual influence of this website should not be underestimated.

    Five minutes after the novel was uploaded.

    Lin Yuan checked the data for "The Legend of Wukong".

    Views: 0

    Collections: 0

    Recommendations: 0

    Lin Yuan was stunned.

    This was not what he had imagined.

    Wasn''t it supposed to be that once "The Legend of Wukong" was released, the netizens would be shocked?

    A few seconds later, Lin Yuan finally realized.

    He was accustomed to the previous pattern, where any work he published could attract netizens'' attention immediately.

    But now he is neither Shadow, nor Xian Yu, nor Chu Kuang.

    Now, he is under a new pseudonym called "Yi An".

    Who knows who Yi An is?

    So, it''s normal that there would be a disparity.

    Many readers might see "The Legend of Wukong" on the website but not necessarily click on it.

    Objectively speaking, "The Legend of Wukong" is not exactly an appealing book title.

    Should he think of some ways to attract traffic and promote it later?

    If either Shadow, Chu Kuang, or Xian Yu gives him a little shout-out, it will definitely be effective.

    But wouldn''t that risk exposing his new pseudonym?

    Lin Yuan does not want Yi An to have any connection with his previous three pseudonyms.

    Three Bros are Three Bros.

    Yi An must shine by himself.

    Therefore, Lin Yuan decided to continue to wait.

    Giving the website''s traffic volume, there will definitely be readers who will notice this novel.

    Once the first reader clicks on "The Legend of Wukong", the second one will follow; this novel will definitely get noticed.

    With this in mind, Lin Yuan continued his wait.

    After waiting for a good while, he finally got a few views, but what dismayed Lin Yuan was that these views did not translate into collections¡­

    This meant that some people clicked on "The Legend of Wukong", but were not attracted by the content and left after taking a glimpse.

    This probably had to do with the opening of "The Legend of Wukong".

    If you only look at the beginning of "The Legend of Wukong", you''d just see it as a spoof.

    "Every beginning is difficult."

    Lin Yuan cheered himself on and had his assistant Gu Dong peel a dragon fruit that Sun YaoHuo had sent for him.

    After eating the dragon fruit, Lin Yuan refreshed the page for the third time and "The Legend of Wukong" finally got its first collection!

    "Someone is reading my book?"

    Lin Yuan felt invigorated, this was the first time he felt joyful because there was a reader for his novel!

    Simple and pure!

    If Chu Kuang was here, he would likely flash a supportive smile at Yi An-

    From the outer atmosphere or even outer space, flashing such an encouraging smile.

    ...

    The first reader on Blue Star who dedicated a collection to "The Legend of Wukong" was named Li Zhenghui.

    With over a decade of reading experience, Li Zhenghui was a hardcore bookworm. When he particularly liked a novel, he would always feel not quite satisfied even after finishing it, then he''d specifically pop over to the "Fanfiction Library" to look for some derivative fan works.

    Recently, Li Zhenghui was fond of "Journey to the West".

    To be precise, Chu Kuang''s version of "Journey to the West", which could be said to be Li Zhenghui''s most engrossing novel of late, even over the past few years.

    Even the classical Chinese version of "Journey to the West" was not missed by Li Zhenghui.

    Heaven knows how much effort it took Li Zhenghui to read the classical Chinese version of Journey to the West.

    He who once had poor Chinese language grades can now even write classical Chinese from memory.

    After reading both the ancient and modern versions of "Journey to the West" and still craving more, Li Zhenghui started a mad search in the Fanfiction Library for fanfics about Journey to the West in order to satisfy his interest in the world of Journey to the West.

    The quality of these fanfictions varied, and Li Zhenghui hardly encountered any that met his satisfaction.

    However, out of his love for Journey to the West, Li Zhenghui still patiently read through many related fanfictions.

    Under such circumstances, Li Zhenghui casually added the new book "The Legend of Wukong" in his Fanfiction Library''s search results to his collection and started reading.

    "I''ll have a look."

    When opening this book, Li Zhenghui didn''t have high expectations.

    He is fond of both Journey to the West and The Primordial Chaos.

    These two are not incompatible.

    There are quite a few like Li Zhenghui.

    Fans of Journey to the West and The Primordial Chaos on the internet are always squabbling, but Li Zhenghui never participates.

    For Li Zhenghui, both novels are wonderful and equally significant in his heart.

    He is currently torn between watching Journey to the West TV series or The Primordial Chaos in mini TV series in April.

    Even before Journey to the West showed up, Li Zhenghui had read novels and TV series related to The Primordial Chaos, including all the exciting fanfictions in the Fanfiction Library.

    Compared with The Primordial Chaos, the fanfictions from Journey to the West aren''t as interesting.

    If it wasn''t for his love for the story of Journey to the West, he wouldn''t have persisted in reading so many fanfictions, the quality of which were not on par with the original work.

    That''s also why Li Zhenghui doesn''t have high expectations for "The Legend of Wukong".

    In fact, as long as this novel could barely pass, Li Zhenghui could grit his teeth and finish reading it.

    Who let him love Journey to the West so much!

    Just by seeing the original characters from Journey to the West mentioned in the fanfiction awakened Li Zhenghui''s interest.

    Just like in special circumstances.

    Helpless, if the quality is low, then let it be.

    However, when the opening plot of "The Legend of Wukong" appeared in front of Li Zhenghui, his brow furrowed quickly!

    The opening is a pointless narration and dialogue:

    [Four people arrived here, before them was a dense forest with no paths.

    "Wukong, I''m hungry, bring me some food." Tang Monk sat on a stone and said most pretentiously.

    "I''m busy, can''t you find food by yourself? It''s not like you don''t have legs." Sun Wukong said, leaning on his staff.

    "You are busy? Doing what?"

    "Don''t you think this sunset is beautiful?" Sun Wukong said, his eyes were still looking at the horizon, "The only way for me to keep heading west every day is to observe this."

    "You can search while watching, just don''t hit a big tree."

    "I do nothing other than watch the sunset!"

    "Sun Wukong, you can''t do this, you can''t treat the bald guy so badly, if you starve him to death, we can''t find the west heaven, if we can''t find the west heaven, the curse on us will never be broken." Said Zhu Bajie.

    ...]

    After reading a few paragraphs.

    Li Zhenghui almost burst into swearing!

    What the hell is this crap?

    In the original, the polite and gentle Tang Monk is as overbearing as ever;

    In the original, the respectful Wukong somehow impolitely told Tang Monk to find food by himself;

    In the original, Zhu Bajie, who always flatters his master, dares to call Tang Monk bald directly?

    Things get even weirder.

    Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie start swearing at each other directly!

    In the original, although Zhu Bajie does clash with Wukong, he never has such nerve!

    The most absurd thing is:

    Monk Sha, who is the most good-tempered in the original, is so assertive that he directly asked Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie to go away and fight, so as not to disturb him from sleeping

    That''s totally spoiling the characters!

    Where the hell is this Journey to the West?

    This is clearly a group of thugs!

    Who''s the author?

    Yi An?

    Stupid author.

    The pen name is quite elegant, though.

    Li Zhenghui''s first reaction was to delete the book and leave, but when his mouse pointer was on the "x", he stopped.

    I have to read on!

    If this Yi An smeared the protagonists of Journey to the West too much, he would report this author.

    Fanfictions, in principle, should not blacken the main characters of the original.

    It''s not completely forbidden to criticize, but if the criticism is too exaggerated, it''s a bit disrespectful to the original.

    Just imagine, in some dirty movie, the director lets the female Spiderman get rubbed under the villain?

    He decided to report it without hesitation after spending an hour watching that movie.

    Fanfiction is not beyond the law.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Please vote me~

 Chapter 663 - 629 Journey to the West Conspiracy Theory_1

    With this critical mindset, Li Zhenghui continued to read "The Legend of Wukong".

    The rest of the first chapter is still a parody.

    Strictly speaking, it''s...

    Nonsense?

    It''s utterly absurd.

    Like a farce.

    None of the four disciples seemed to hold a serious conversation. Even the dialogue of the demons were disjointed and disjointed.

    "It doesn''t make sense."

    Li Zhenghui frowned deeply.

    He was quickly losing patience.

    However, a dialogue between the tree demon and Tang Monk was quite interesting: "Don''t wish for death, but also don''t live in loneliness."

    Very surprising.

    A literary line suddenly sprouted in the humorous narrative, seemingly raising the mood of the novel abruptly?

    However, Li Zhenghui doesn''t think there is any mood to this novel.

    He tends to think this line was likely plagiarised by the author from somewhere else.

    Just as Li Zhenghui was about to lose patience, another dialogue caught his attention.

    Tang Monk actually told the female demon, "My cultivation is different from others. They practice Theravada, I practice Mahayana. They perfect emptiness, I pursue completeness."

    Li Zhenghui paused.

    It felt strange.

    The original Tang Monk would never speak like this, even though this line carries a metaphor of the conflicts in Buddhist practices, similar to the debate between Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism in Blue Star''s reality. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The female demon''s response was even stranger:

    "I only heard that a man named Master Golden Cicada once questioned Theravada Buddhism and sought his own enlightenment, but ended up getting lost and was trapped for aeons."

    Master Golden Cicada?

    Of course, Li Zhenghui, who is familiar with "Journey to the West", knows that Master Golden Cicada is the past life of Tang Monk.

    In the original "Journey to the West", it was mentioned that Master Golden Cicada was punished for his arrogance towards Buddhism and disrespect for Buddha, thus Buddha demoted him to go to the West to atone for his sins.

    This plot point is controversial.

    Everyone thought it was not that simple.

    Just because the second disciple of the Buddha, Master Golden Cicada, wasn''t paying attention in class, he was sent to the mundane world to fetch the scriptures from the West?

    Isn''t this explanation too perfunctory?

    Some interpretations suggested that the conflict between Master Golden Cicada and Buddha was not just about not paying attention in class.

    Everyone speculated about the real reason, but few speculations were widely accepted.

    However, the current author of "The Legend of Wukong", Yi An, seems to provide a possibility:

    The reason behind Master Golden Cicada being demoted by Buddha was a divergence in their fundamental Buddhist philosophies?

    Was their conflict due to the difference between Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism?

    Interesting!

    This interpretation that combines the current situation of Buddhism in reality to analyse the conflict between Master Golden Cicada and Buddha opened Li Zhenghui''s eyes!

    A parody is a parody.

    Nonsense is nonsense.

    It seems this author does have some ideas.

    Li Zhenghui finally took some interest in this peculiar Journey to the West fan-fiction.

    He continued reading.

    Sun Wukong eventually came to save Tang Monk. However, to Li Zhenghui''s surprise, the female demon recognized Sun Wukong and seemed to have interacted with Sun Wukong before!

    But Sun Wukong didn''t recognize her.

    He claimed that he was a demon monkey from the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, punished to Five Prison Mountain for disrespecting the Jade Emperor. After 500 years, the Jade Emperor''s mercy had him promise to accomplish three tasks to atone for his sins. He mentioned the first two tasks: "The first one is to escort that bald man to the West. The second is to kill four demon kings.

    They are the Bull Demon King of the West, the Peng Demon King of the North, the Monkey King of the South, and another, the Handsome Monkey King of the East..."

    Li Zhenghui was stunned!

    Those who have read the original Journey to the West would know what Sun Wukong went through before embarking on the scripture mission.

    This Sun Wukong has issues with his memory!

    Replacing Mount Wuzhi with Five Prison Mountain is one thing!

    He even forgot that he himself was the Great Sage of the East, and was shouting about killing the latter!

    "There is a plot!"

    Li Zhenghui instantly smelled a hint of conspiracy.

    Among the many interpretations of the original "Journey to the West", the conspiracy theory is the most marketable.

    It seems that this novel also carries the same intent.

    This author has got something!

    Is he actually going to overlie the Journey to the West with conspiracy?

    Li Zhenghui''s interest was completely piqued.

    He now wanted to see how this Yi An would interpret Journey to the West from the angle of conspiracy theories, especially considering that he himself is a faithful fan of the Journey to the West conspiracy theory.

    As he continued to read, Li Zhenghui''s excitement soared.

    However, the subsequent plot left Li Zhenghui struggling to keep up with the author''s pace...

    A gloomy Sun Wukong surprisingly killed Tang Monk directly with his stick!

    And the story shifted into flashback mode thereafter.

    In the flashback.

    Zhu Bajie had a romantic relationship with a deity called Yue;

    Sun Wukong had a tie with a fairy called Purple Cloud;

    Even White Dragon Horse turned into a maiden and held deep affection for Tang Monk;

    If it weren''t for the previous plot twists, Li Zhenghui would surely have scoffed at the author''s ''creative'' ideas upon reading this.

    But at this moment.

    Viewing this love story which runs totally contrary to the original, Li Zhenghui felt it wasn''t absurd, but was even more curious...

    What on earth happened five hundred years ago?

    It seems that each of the disciples and their master all have secrets of their own?

    This author named Yi An seems to want to lift the veil of conspiracy on Journey to the West.

    But what is the true nature of the conspiracy?

    Do all the disciples and their master share the same standpoint?

    Li Zhenghui wanted to know how Yi An is going to resolve it.

    And the plot continued along this trajectory.

    Apparently, White Dragon Horse once transformed into a carp, was rescued by young Tang Sanzang, and became captivated by Tang Monk.

    About this story, the novel supplied a lament:

    No matter which direction you choose, will you swim into the same fate?

    This sentiment left Li Zhenghui pondering.

    Fate?

    Is it referring to Little White Dragon and Tang Monk, or is it referring to the master and disciples who are going to take on the journey in the future?

    The novel did not give an answer.

    The young Tang Sanzang seemed to have the demeanor of a wise fool; he actually defeated the master by debating Buddhist scripture.

    The temple abbot wanted to teach Tang Sanzang about Buddhism, but Tang Monk shook his head: "You can''t teach what I want to learn."

    The corner of Li Zhenghui''s mouth turned up.

    The young Tang Sanzang''s personality was simply overwhelming compared to the original, the Tang Monk in the original could not say such a thing.

    Now it was only Tang Sanzang''s previous incarnation, Master Golden Cicada, who was qualified to say so.

    Golden Cicada?

    Li Zhenghui suddenly gasped, as if realizing something.

    This Tang Sanzang, won''t have inherited the will of Golden Cicada, would he?

    At this moment.

    The abbot asked Xuanzang: "What do you want to learn?"

    Xuanzang glanced at the shifting white clouds in the sky and said:

    "I want no sky to obstruct my sight; no earth to bury my heart; all living creatures to understand my intent; all Buddhas to vanish like smoke and disperse like clouds!"

    This sentence rang out, like a thunderbolt out of the blue!

    Li Zhenghui''s eyes widened, a sudden chill ran down his spine, his hair stood on end!

    Explosive!!!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to the generous reward from Liu Wei''s account, flexing a kneel to express my deepest gratitude!!

 Chapter 664 - 630: When 500 Years is Just a Scam_1

    Boom!

    The blood was surging up!

    This was the most inspiring line Li Zhenghui had ever seen in all the fan fictions of Journey to the West!

    In front of these words, Li Zhenghui actually started to tremble!

    The character of Tang Sanzang, or should I say, Master Golden Cicada, stood up instantly. He felt the "spirit" of Journey to the West!

    Majestic and domineering!

    Defiant and unyielding!

    Break through everything!

    The previous plot seemed nonsense and irrelevant, almost altering the original characters of the master and disciples beyond recognition. But this line of dialogue suddenly revealed the novel''s theme--

    This is also the Journey to the West!

    This is the Journey to the West!

    The author is just using a seemingly exaggerated, yet subtly ingenious method to correspond with the spirit of the original work!

    At this moment, Yi An''s writing intention was displayed clearly before Li Zhenghui''s eyes for the first time:

    Sun Wukong is fighting against the Heavenly Court!

    Master Golden Cicada is also rebelling against the Buddha!

    They were both born rebels!

    Of course.

    Don''t forget this is "The Legend of Wukong."

    The story of the protagonist, Sun Wukong, is also taking place on another timeline.

    That monkey has finally embarked on the path destined for him...

    It was the heroic fate destined before the journey to the west!

    "Great Sage, where are you heading to?"

    "Stepping on the southern sky and crushing the aerial palaces."

    "What if you can''t return?"

    "Then I won''t return."

    From the moment Xuanzang stood up to all the Buddhas, Li Zhenghui''s goosebumps were already raised all over.

    And when Sun Wukong''s will, like a flame, emerged in his resistance against the Heavenly Court, Li Zhenghui had already applauded in admiration!

    "Bravo!"

    His heart was thumping!

    The spirit of Journey to the West was burning fiercely! S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    If I can''t return, then I won''t return!

    Even if he fails, it''s just a temporary silence!

    He did become a deity, became Protector of the Horses in the heavenly court, and met a girl named Purple Cloud.

    Purple Cloud said, "Perhaps in everyone''s heart there is a heavenly palace, and a piece of darkness. Deep in the darkness is a pool of water reflecting the shadow of his heart. The soul resides there. But when one decides to become a deity, he must give up all these. He must make the water reflect nothing and see nothing. When the water becomes empty and silent, he becomes an immortal.

    But what does it feel like with an empty heart?"

    Purple Cloud was a strange fairy.

    Purple Cloud also said she wanted to visit the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit.

    In her mind, the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit was beautiful, just like how Sun Wukong described it.

    But when Purple Cloud truly saw the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, she realized Sun Wukong had lied.

    The Mountain of Flowers and Fruit was not beautiful at all.

    The mountain was covered with charred soil, burnt trees stretched out like hideous claws dancing, and a thick black fog enveloped the place, blocking out the sunlight all day.

    The cemetery-like wilderness was lifeless, with only some strange birds shrieking sharply, like the wailing of ghosts.

    Rather than a fruit mountain, it''s more like hell.

    "Why did you lie to me?"

    "You said I lied to you, then I did."

    Li Zhenghui felt a pang in his heart.

    He seemed to be able to feel Sun Wukong''s helplessness.

    Perhaps this is the true "Journey to the West."

    The original script glossed over the ordeal of the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, as if it remained untouched.

    But with a little imagination, how could the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit remain intact after the battle between Sun Wukong and a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals?

    There it turned into a scorched land, a hell where ghosts cry and wolves howl, which seemed more realistic.

    At this moment, Li Zhenghui felt sympathy for this monkey.

    Did the monkey admit defeat?

    He seemed to have yielded, yet he seemed to resist.

    Purple Cloud said that deities didn''t have as much disgusting greed as demons.

    But Sun Wukong asked, "If gods are not greedy, why can''t they tolerate a little disrespect from the world? If gods are not evil, why do they hold the fate of millions of creatures in their hands?"

    Li Zhenghui''s fist tightened slightly!

    Indeed, the demons in Journey to the West all have a superior, and demons without a superior are all killed by Sun Wukong.

    Are the deities really as noble as they claim to be?

    At this moment, Li Zhenghui felt it deeply!

    In the end, Sun Wukong still refused to yield!

    The uninvited visit to the Peach Garden was just the fuse for Sun Wukong''s havoc in the heavenly palace.

    The real root cause was the fundamental divergence between deities and demons.

    At the Peach Garden Party...

    Yao was sentenced to be cast down into the mortal world by the Queen Mother just because the peach she picked was too small.

    Yue pleaded for Yao, but nobody paid attention.

    Tian Peng appeared.

    He helped Yue up and walked out of the heavenly palace indifferently, at this moment, all the gods were shocked!

    "Is this still the same Zhu Bajie?"

    Li Zhenghui felt the blood in his body getting hotter!

    Indeed!

    Zhu Bajie used to be Marshal Canopy!

    Why did he turn into a pig?

    A lazy, gluttonous, sly and crafty pig?

    Would such a character have been Marshal Canopy who held immense power in the Heavenly Court in his past life?

    He should be this character!

    He is meant to be this character!

    And Sun Wukong, he helped a girl named Yao back up.

    When he rebelled, it was the same as the Peach Banquet in the original tale. All the gods were no match for him as he remained the invincible Great Sage, Heaven''s Equal!

    He brought Yao to the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit.

    The Heavenly Soldiers and Generals came to punish Wukong, and the underground monsters wanted to help, but they were ruthlessly turned away by Sun Wukong.

    He said, "This is a matter of grudges among immortals."

    He claimed to be an immortal, not a monster. He hurt the feelings of other monsters, but Li Zhenghui clearly saw the sadness beneath this monkey''s tough shell.

    He simply didn''t want to involve others again and relive the tragedy of the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit.

    There isn''t much description of the great battle.

    But as Li Zhenghui read deeper, his blood was boiling. He didn''t know when the climax of "The Legend of Wukong" became a thrilling roller-coaster ride!

    He was completely captivated by these words!

    "If the sky oppresses me, I will break it; if the earth restrains me, I will shatter it. Who dares to dominate me when we are all born free!"

    In a daze.

    Li Zhenghui seemed to see the defiant monkey who dared to challenge the heavens and the earth, facing the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals alone.

    Actually, this part is the plot from the original tale.

    But in this fan-fiction, there were many embellishments and additions, making it bloodier and colder, yet more melancholy!

    Yi An''s Journey to the West is brutal!

    The curtain of "The Legend of Wukong" has begun to rise with the unfolding of the past five hundred years!

    "In this world, I''ve been here, I''ve fought, and I''ve loved deeply. I''m not concerned about the end."

    "I have a dream. When I fly, the sky will clear the way, and when I dive, the sea will part. All gods and immortals will call me brother and there will be no worries. There won''t be anything to restrain me or anyone to control me, or anyplace I can''t reach or anything I can''t achieve or battle I can''t overcome!"

    "Bound by endless wrongs, fosters an immortal heart."

    "What is the use of my birth if I cannot laugh? What is the use of annihilating me? It won''t lessen my pride!"

    Li Zhenghui felt that these words were as if they were ablaze!

    This is the monkey!

    That''s why he would say:

    "I know heaven can be infuriated if its majesty is violated. But does heaven know that humans can also get angry if they''ve lost everything? You scoffed at me arrogantly when I begged, and you were indifferent when I was in pain. Now, I''m angry."

    That''s why he would say:

    "I know heaven can get angry. But do you know, heaven can also tremble? When the celestial sphere shudders, I laugh out loud, swing my As-You-Will Gold-Banded Cudgel, and turn the world upside down. From this day forth for a thousand years, you will all remember my name, Sun Wukong, the Great Sage, Heaven''s Equal!"

    But after the hot blood ebbs, there is only endless loneliness left.

    Just like what Bodhi lamented, "I couldn''t change the beginning, why not forget the ending."

    The rebellion of Sun Wukong and Master Golden Cicada failed.

    How can we forget Journey to the West?

    Seeing the last sentence of the novel, the conspiracy of Journey to the West has been unmasked in "The Legend of Wukong."

    The text mentions twice: "When five hundred years of time is but a ruse, for whom in this void of time do these characters suffer and rejoice?"

    Li Zhenghui''s blood gradually cooled.

    But his mood has not settled down.

    It seems like something is about to break free.

    He finally understands what the beginning of this novel was really talking about.

    The four disciples, including the White Dragon Horse, were all harboring their own secrets and pretending to be happy.

    Sun Wukong forgot the events of five hundred years ago, but instinctively continued to watch the sunset.

    Tang Monk''s westward journey was actually carrying out the mission to undermine Buddha.

    Zhu Bajie was the best at playing the fool, but he clearly remembered everything.

    Monk Sha remembered everything as well, but his purpose had always been clear: to complete the task given by the Heavenly Court and to put back together the porcelain lamp he''d broken, so he could return to hang it for the Queen Mother.

    As for the White Dragon¡­

    He came purely for Tang Monk.

    That''s why she brought a rainfall to the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit at the end.

    Even though she knew that this action violated heaven''s law and she would never recover from it.

    The novel is narrated along several threads.

    In the end, Monk Sha went mad and turned into a laughing stock.

    Zhu Bajie, with his pig''s mind, embraced Yue in the flames and perished together.

    In the final spatiotemporal junction, Sun Wukong, who became the Protector five hundred years later, killed the monkey from five hundred years ago¡ª

    This is the real and fake Handsome Monkey King.

    In fact, they are both the real monkeys.

    In fact, the monkey died five hundred years ago.

    He just preferred to die rather than to lose.

    "I get it now."

    Li Zhenghui felt somewhat relieved.

    Sun Wukong and Master Golden Cicada "failed," but they also succeeded.

    He looked at the second to last paragraph of the novel: "Fallen leaves fluttered down to the earth, the seeds embedded in the snow, the flower bloomed and immediately withered. In the changing light and shadow, constellations transformed.

    In the sea, mountains stood tall, through hundreds of generations of prosperity and decline, there would always be things standing strong against the wind, much like their ancestors."

    The spirit of Journey to the West is indomitable.

    So the seeds have already been scattered over the human world.

    Someday, scenes from the past will reoccur:

    When the sound of thunder is getting closer, Sun Wukong leans on a burnt tree, waiting quietly.

    When the moment comes, the dark sky is suddenly split open by a massive bolt of lightning.

    Sun Wukong leaps up, pointing his Golden Cudgel at the heavens.

    "Come on!"

    At that moment, his silhouette illuminated by lightning remained frozen in the legends even after countless years.

    How could we forget Journey to the West?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

 Chapter 665 - 631 The Legend of Wukong is on Fire_1

    "What a talent Yi An is, and what a masterpiece ''The Legend of Wukong''!"

    Li Zhenghui''s heart was stirred, this was a newly released work.

    Li Zhenghui noted that this book hadn''t gained much attention yet, there were no comments in the comment section, and the amount of recommendations and clicks were pitifully low.

    Chances were, he was one of the first, if not the first, reader.

    Suddenly, Li Zhenghui felt an odd sense of pride.

    At the same time, he felt that he should do something.

    Such a splendid Journey to the West fan fiction, he must let more people see it, he must help promote this novel.

    Even though Li Zhenghui knew:

    Even if he doesn''t promote it, people will gradually find this excellent novel.

    With this in mind.

    Li Zhenghui entered a chat group named the Journey to the West Chat Group.

    The group was filled with Journey to the West fans.

    "I have an excellent Journey to the West fan fiction to recommend, ''The Legend of Wukong'', you could find it by searching in the ''Fanfiction Library'', this novel is truly exhilarating, reading it will get your blood boiling!"

    Li Zhenghui sent this message.

    The members of the group quickly noticed this information.

    "Really?"

    "I''ll check it out."

    "There aren''t any good Journey to the West fan fictions."

    "Although I''m a Journey to the West fan, let''s be honest, the Journey to the West fan fictions in ''Fanfiction Library'' are far worse than those from The Primordial Chaos."

    "Ol'' Li better not be fooling me."

    "But Ol'' Li''s recommendation should be reliable."

    "Out of respect for Ol'' Li, I''ll check it out."

    "..."

    Li Zhenghui had some relevance in the group, many members were familiar with him.

    After seeing this message, some members, out of curiosity, started to read ''The Legend of Wukong''.

    The moment they started, they couldn''t stop!

    At around three in the afternoon.

    The small group of Journey to the West enthusiasts was suddenly abuzz!

    "What the hell!"

    "The ''Legend of Wukong'' recommended by Ol'' Li is amazing, the author depicted Journey to the West in a whole new light!"

    "This Journey to the West fan fiction is absolutely thrilling, it''s a perfect rendition that completely overturns the original, while also adhering to its spirit!"

    "Who is this Yi An, his interpretation of Journey to the West is profound!" Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "It''s so well written, even the most famous The Primordial Chaos fan fictions don''t pack as much punch as ''The Legend of Wukong''!"

    "I cried while reading it..."

    "I feel so sad for the Monkey King after reading."

    "At first, I was confused by the romantic plot, but after reading, I was shocked, Journey to the West could really be interpreted this way!"

    "..."

    Several group members who read ''The Legend of Wukong'' due to Li Zhenghui''s recommendation were deeply engrossed.

    The other members didn''t have much interest in ''The Legend of Wukong'' at first, but after seeing those rave reviews from the early readers, their curiosity was immensely piqued.

    They quickly caught up!

    After a brief exchange of words with those that had read the story and strongly recommended it, more and more group members started reading the novel.

    Meanwhile.

    Other ordinary readers in the ''Fanfiction Library'', just like Li Zhenghui, gradually came across ''The Legend of Wukong''.

    With the influx of some readers, the once silent comment section finally became lively!

    "My god, this book is absolutely incredible, the author is off the charts!"

    "I casually picked a few Journey to the West fan fictions in the ''Fanfiction Library'', and accidentally found a masterpiece!"

    "Did I just discover a hidden gem?"

    "Congratulations to the readers who opened this book, you''ve discovered a masterpiece!"

    "Ah ah ah! This book is mind-blowing! The interpretation of the original Journey to the West and the supplementary love scenes added in the second creation are absolutely fantastic!"

    "The deference in the Heavenly Court, the hierarchy among immortals, the blood and flesh of the Holy Peak, those compulsions, those despairs, those regrets, those ideals. It resonates with us all. Seeing the struggles of the cast of characters in Journey to the West, it feels like seeing our own reflections.

    Just as the author lamented at the end, as a fan of Journey to the West, how can we forget Journey to the West."

    "The opening with the pig character already had me teary, not to mention Sun Wukong and Master Golden Cicada, along with other characters. The simple prose, almost jesting sentences, but hiding behind them is a story heavy as a thousand pounds.

    It''s as if effortless and humorous, yet narrating changes as vast as the sea, the more you read the more stifling it gets, and the colder your heart turns ¨C Yi An is incredible!"

    "Halfway through reading, I got goosebumps, it''s such a great fan fiction. A tip for you guys, play Xian Yu''s song ''Wukong'' while reading this book, it enhances the experience!"

    "..."

    At this point, a reader suggested in the comment section:

    "This novel is so well written, but it seems like the author is a newcomer, not yet famous, let''s help spread the word?"

    "Let''s go!"

    "I''ll announce it in the community."

    "I''ve already posted it on my Moments!"

    "I''ll go and advertise it in some popular Journey to the West fan fictions."

    "Then I''ll promote it on my blogs."

    "Don''t forget the major Journey to the West forums!"

    "It''s rare for Journey to the West to get such a good fan fiction, we must promote it dutifully!"

    "..."

    From one to ten, ten to hundred.

    A spark can start a prairie fire.

    When the first batch of readers of ''The Legend of Wukong'' started promoting the novel spontaneously, the influence quickly began to spread.

    Even more people, hooked by the random recommendations they came across, clicked into ''The Legend of Wukong'', and then naturally joined the ever-growing promotion army.

    By the time it was night.

    There was already a considerable number of readers who had read ''The Legend of Wukong''.

    As the novel wasn''t long and the text wasn''t obscure, it was easy to understand. Even if it was read in one go, it would take just a few hours.

    As per the innate human nature to share, the promotion army for ''The Legend of Wukong'' grew significantly!

    Some well-known book bloggers also noticed ''The Legend of Wukong''.

    "Is there someone behind the scenes?"

    With so many promotions of ''The Legend of Wukong'' appearing online, it was hard for book bloggers not to think in this direction.

    But the effect was obvious.

    Those book bloggers also read ''The Legend of Wukong'' with a skeptical mindset.

    One by one.

    Several book bloggers voiced their opinions:

    "A fan recommended me a Journey to the West fan fiction called ''The Legend of Wukong'' this morning, after reading it, I felt like I was on fire. I highly recommend it to you all, I won''t spoil anything, but I can say this: the interpretation and explanation of Journey to the West in this novel will definitely shock you!"

    "Because of ''The Legend of Wukong'', Journey to the West fans seemed to have hit a high today. For those who haven''t read it yet, I recommend you to go to the ''Fanfiction Library'' to check it out, it''s the most fascinating fan fiction I''ve ever read."

    "As a Journey to the West fan, you may not know who Yi An is, but you can''t not know ''The Legend of Wukong''!"

    "I''ve always thought the Journey to the West fan fictions were a notch below those of The Primordial Chaos, but after reading ''The Legend of Wukong'', suddenly, even the most explosive ones from The Primordial Chaos seem to pale in comparison."

    "Writing Journey to the West with a theme of sadness and despair, showcasing the cruel beauty exquisitely, I love ''The Legend of Wukong''!"

    "..."

    As a result.

    After a day''s fermentation, the popularity of ''The Legend of Wukong'' finally blew up!

 Chapter 666 - 632: Song Selection for the 3rd Season_1

    The next day.

    Lin Yuan opened his computer to find that "The Legend of Wukong" was trending!

    Only after reading the comment section did he understand why.

    Surprisingly, there had been organic promotion.

    It seemed that he didn''t need to think of other ways to publicize "The Legend of Wukong".

    Looking at the comments again.

    Lin Yuan smiled.

    One comment read:

    "After reading ''The Legend of Wukong'', I look forward to the ''Journey to the West'' TV series even more. Even if they air at the same time, now I am no longer worried about whether to watch ''The Primordial Chaos'' TV series first. As it turns out, I still like Monkey the most."

    This was exactly why Lin Yuan wrote "The Legend of Wukong".

    He wanted to compete for the audience with "The Primordial Chaos"!

    And the existence of "The Legend of Wukong" would surely make Sun Wukong''s popularity rise even more!

    After reading "The Legend of Wukong".

    Who wouldn''t feel pity for that proud monkey?

    But when this "Journey to the West" fanfiction went viral, fans of "The Primordial Chaos" felt a bit sour.

    There were countless fanfictions of "The Primordial Chaos" in the "Fanfiction Library".

    But none of them had ever reached the popularity of "The Legend of Wukong".

    Facing such a behemoth as "The Primordial Chaos", Monkey seemed to be even more invincible and formidable.

    This novel also sparked a new wave of interpretation on Journey to the West among its fans ¡ª

    This time, the discussions were all centered on the assertions made in "The Legend of Wukong".

    Some agreed with the novel''s viewpoints:

    Others thought the interpretations were too dark;

    But regardless of whether they agreed with the interpretations of "Journey to the West" in "The Legend of Wukong", it didn''t prevent everyone from appreciating this novel.

    It was simply stunning.

    So, Yi An, a little-known author until yesterday, gained some fame today.

    This could be seen from the fact that not long after Lin Yuan registered Yi An''s Tribe account, he gained millions of followers.

    "Followed, Teacher Yi An truly understands ''Journey to the West''!"

    "I especially like Teacher Yi An''s interpretation of ''Journey to the West''!"

    "No fanfiction of ''Journey to the West'' will ever surpass ''The Legend of Wukong'' in the future."

    "I tried to search, and sure enough there is a Tribe account, I quietly followed the big shot."

    "..."

    The comments were all from fans who had just started following Yi An.

    In terms of scale, Yi An certainly could not compete with Chu Kuang and the Admirable Fish, and even Shadow''s popularity was enough to crush Yi An.

    But Lin Yuan was already very satisfied.

    The previous three pseudonyms had too many excellent works, and Yi An, with only "The Legend of Wukong", was of course not enough.

    There was still a long way to go in the future.

    After thinking about it, Lin Yuan followed Chu Kuang, Admirable Fish, and Shadow with Yi An''s account.

    After all, he might analyze the works of these three pseudonyms in the future, so he might as well look like a fan.

    However, he didn''t follow them back using those three pseudonyms.

    Noticing the three people Yi An followed, the comment section had quite a few jokes:

    "It turns out that Teacher Yi An is also a fan of the Three Bros!"

    "What a pity that Chu Kuang, the old rascal, didn''t follow back."

    "I wonder what Chu Kuang, the old rascal, thinks of ''The Legend of Wukong''."

    "The old rascal Chu Kuang: Isn''t Yi An thinking too much?"

    "The old rascal Chu Kuang: So my ''Journey to the West'' has such a deep intention?"

    "Even with ''The Legend of Wukong'' trending, Chu Kuang doesn''t show any intention to follow Yi An back."

    "..."

    It could be seen from the comments:

    Netizens had no clue about the special relationship that might exist between Yi An and the Three Bros.

    This made Lin Yuan breathe a sigh of relief.

    For now, Yi An had completed his mission.

    This pseudonym could rest for now.

    Lin Yuan had other things to do next.

    Mainly because Tong Shuwen, the director of the music variety show "Our Song", suddenly contacted Lin Yuan:

    "Teacher Admirable Fish, did you watch last night''s battle for the top four?"

    "Yes, I did."

    Lin Yuan answered.

    Even though he was no longer participating in "Our Song", Lin Yuan still cared about the follow-up competitions of the show.

    Basically, he found the time to watch every episode, including the battle for the top four that Tong Shuwen mentioned.

    The competition was broadcast last night, not long after Lin Yuan had uploaded "The Legend of Wukong", so he watched that episode.

    The competition determined the top four singers, who were Fei Yang, Shu Yu, Liang Ziyuan, and...

    Jiang Kui!

    Fei Yang and Shu Yu were respectively the Overlord and the Swan in "The Masked Singer". S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    It was perfectly normal for these two to make it to the final four.

    However, the fact that Liang Ziyuan and Jiang Kui made it to the finals surprised many.

    Liang Zi Yuan was the Robot in "The Masked Singer" and hadn''t made it to the top four in that competition.

    As for Jiang Kui, she was the only singer who wasn''t a King of Singing or Queen of Singing among the final four.

    Her reaching the final four this time made more people believe that Jiang Kui had the chance to become a young Queen of Singing!

    "As long as you saw it."

    Tong Shuwen chuckled, "For the next episode, it''s the semi-finals and finals. The singers choose their own songs for the finals, but for the semi-finals, we gave them the right to choose their own composers, and one of the singers chose you."

    "Who?"

    "Jiang Kui."

    Lin Yuan wasn''t surprised, "So, I just need to write her a semi-final song?"

    Tong Shuwen chuckled, "Yes, and also, Fei Yang chose to collaborate with composer Teacher Yin Dong, Shu Yu chose composer Teacher Ye Zhiqiu, Liang Ziyuan chose composer Teacher Wu Long..."

    Lin Yuan was surprised, "No one chose Teacher Yang?"

    Tong Shuwen sighed, "Shu Yu originally wanted to select Teacher Yang Zhongming, but he did not have time."

    No time?

    Lin Yuan nodded, "I see."

    Tong Shuwen laughed, "So please come to the music hall tomorrow, rehearse with the singer, the program will be officially broadcast on March 1st."

    "March 1st?"

    A thought struck Lin Yuan.

    He was originally planning to release "To Alice" for the charts on March 1st.

    But now it seems, why not directly give Jiang Kui a song that she could use for the March charts?

    It could also ride the wave of "Our Song"''s finals.

    In this case, "To Alice" would not be needed for now.

    So, what kind of song should he give to Jiang Kui?

    After the call, Lin Yuan fell into thought.

    Two minutes later, Lin Yuan''s phone rang again.

    Lin Yuan answered.

    On the other end was the voice of Jiang Kui, "Teacher Admirable Fish, I would like to choose you as my partner for the next episode..."

    "I know."

    "You agreed?"

    "Yes."

    "Thank you, Teacher Admirable Fish!"

    There was a hint of excitement in Jiang Kui''s voice.

    Lin Yuan used the opportunity to ask, "What kind of song do you want?"

    "Huh?"

    Jiang Kui seemed to have never considered this question, and timidly said, "Whatever you give, I will sing..."

    "You choose."

    "I don''t know."

    Jiang Kui was a bit at a loss. Who writes songs like this?

    Seeing that Lin Yuan was silent, she became a bit nervous and tentatively said:

    "Something sweet?"

    Lin Yuan paused, then said, "See you tomorrow."

    He already knew what to choose.

    It would be a sweet song.

    Jiang Kui''s voice singing this type of song might just bring out the effect Lin Yuan wanted.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: The hint for this song seems too obvious, hahaha.

 Chapter 667 - 633 Half-step Maestro_1

    The next day.

    Lin Yuan arrived at the concert hall.

    Jiang Kui was already waiting in Lin Yuan''s Pink Room early on.

    Even though Lin Yuan hadn''t been in the program team for a long time, the team still kept the Pink Room.

    "Good morning, Teacher Admirable Fish!"

    As soon as Lin Yuan entered the room, Jiang Kui hastily stood up.

    "Morning."

    After greeting, Lin Yuan got straight to the point: "How''s your English coming along?"

    "I can do it!"

    Jiang Kui subconsciously answered loudly, only realizing her excitement after she spoke, "I''ve been studying English all this time, and I think my level is pretty good right now..."

    It''s no wonder that Jiang Kui is excited.

    The main reason is that Chen Zhiyu''s English rendition of "Farewell Kiss" has recently been trending.

    Even though the singers under the Yu Dynasty, like Jiang Kui, don''t express their feelings outwardly, they have been internally filled with envy and jealousy.

    After all, it was Admirable Fish''s first English song.

    Now that everyone knows of Admirable Fish''s intentions to write more English songs in the future, the atmosphere for learning English in the Yu Dynasty is pretty intense. They''re all silently competitive, internally hoping to seize the next opportunity.

    If they don''t learn English well, they can''t seize the opportunities even if they are right in front of them.

    "Take a look at this song."

    Lin Yuan took out the sheet music he''d prepared.

    When Jiang Kui looked at the sheet music, it was the English song she has been practicing recently!

    Her English studies weren''t in vain!

    Feeling a bit excited, Jiang Kui subconsciously read out the title of the song on the sheet music:

    "God is a girl?"

    Could it be translated as "God is a Girl"?

    Or "The Divinity is a Maiden"?

    Lin Yuan said, "This is what you wanted, a sweet song."

    God is a girl.

    Just the phrase itself sounds sweet.

    Well, at least that''s what Lin Yuan believes.

    "..."

    After a brief silence, Jiang Kui couldn''t help but smile sweetly: S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Oh, how sweet!"

    She doesn''t feel the song is that sweet, but she herself is truly delighted, as if she just ate some candy.

    She''s the second singer in the Yu Dynasty who has received an English song from Teacher Admirable Fish!

    "Ok."

    Lin Yuan said, "You should be able to get familiar with the song before the competition."

    "No problem!"

    Jiang Kui immediately responded with determination.

    Lin Yuan nodded, "Then go practice."

    As for whether Jiang Kui could master the song, Lin Yuan had no worries.

    This song is quite simple in English. Even those who are not good at English songs could sing most of it fluently.

    In terms of the difficulty level of English songs, this one is just somewhat more advanced than beginner level.

    So why did they choose this song?

    Of course, it''s not just because this song is sweet...

    The main reason is that this song will be a big hit on the charts!

    Yes.

    "God is a Girl" was once a super classic hit that swept across nations on Earth. Right after its release on Earth, it quickly topped international music charts, and the band that performed this song rose to fame due to this single work!

    Furthermore.

    This song also set a record for the highest downloads for the Celestial Dynasty''s overseas music in 2006, and at the time, numerous individuals had this as their ringtone!

    Charging up the charts!

    Lin Yuan is serious about this!

    After all, what other song could be more suitable for the stage than this type of rhythmically distinct music genre?

    As the saying goes.

    In pursuit of his twelfth consecutive title, Lin Yuan has been playing it safe, using songs that have already achieved great success.

    Oh, right.

    In Celestial Dynasty, Jocie Guo has also covered this song called "Goddess of Love".

    An Yixuan also covered it, the song is called "Heavenly Fragrance".

    Unfortunately, this song unlike "Farewell Kiss", doesn''t translate well into both Mandarin and English.

    You really need English lyrics to capture the essence of the song.

    The Mandarin covers aren''t famous, so Lin Yuan never considered making a Mandarin version of this song.

    ...

    Several days later.

    Jiang Kui has now mastered the song "God is a Girl".

    At this time.

    The news that Admirable Fish will make an appearance at the final of "Our Song" was officially announced by the program team, attracting widespread attention!

    "Great, finally there is a composer segment again!"

    "So glad to see Fish Papa in the finals!"

    "During the composer selection segment of the semi-finals, Jiang Kui indeed chose Admirable Fish. As the highest-powered singer in the Yu Dynasty, Jiang Kui is sure to bring out the full power of Fish Papa''s songs!"

    "Come to think of it, if Jiang Kui nails a few more classics, she could seal her victory, right?"

    "Holy crap, it seems so. Starting from ''The Masked Singer'', Jiang Kui has already won more than one King of Singing. Moreover, her songs are still quite popular, and her popularity is growing thanks to two spin-offs."

    "If Jiang Kui clinches the final, wouldn''t Admirable Fish step closer to become a Maestro?"

    "Have you been reading too many fantasy novels? What the hell is a half-step Maestro?"

    "It really is a half-step Maestro. The easiest way to become a Maestro is to nurture two singers who rank as King or Queen of Singing. If Jiang Kui becomes a singing queen, then Admirable Fish would already be half a Maestro. After all, all of Jiang''s representative works are by Admirable Fish, which absolutely fits the standards of being promoted by Admirable Fish!"

    "Oh my god!"

    "Did Admirable Fish unknowingly become a real Maestro?"

    "How old is he after all!"

    "God, he might break the record of Wonder Lu and Blue Star for becoming the youngest Maestro?"

    "..."

    The conversation suddenly went off track.

    Everyone went from anticipating the finals of "Our Song" to discussing when Admirable Fish would become a Maestro.

    Some even planned the direction for Admirable Fish''s progression to Maestro:

    "If Fish Papa gives Jiang Kui the songs releasing this year, it will definitely help her clinch the title immediately."

    "After Jiang Kui clinches the title, Fish Papa only needs to nurture another King or Queen of Singing to become a full-fledged Maestro."

    "I suggest nurturing Yao Huo after Jiang Kui."

    "Because Yao Huo is also a singer completely brought to fame by Admirable Fish, and although Yao Huo may not be as talented as Jiang Kui, his songs given by Fish Papa are the most popular."

    "Admirable Fish becoming a Maestro, suddenly it all seems plausible and not too far."

    "Fish Papa, the script is written, go for it!"

    "..."

    Though everyone called Admirable Fish "Maestro Junior" and knew he had the potential, they also knew:

    There was still a long way to go before Admirable Fish could truly become a Maestro.

    After all, his young age and lack of experience were limitations.

    However, with the sudden rise of Jiang Kui, the Yu Dynasty''s strongest singer, many people realized:

    Admirable Fish has traversed nearly half of that long road.

    It seems like he is gunning for the record of Blue Star''s youngest Maestro ever!

    Suddenly.

    Everyone''s focus returned to the competition of "Our Song".

    Many people started to look forward to Jiang Kui''s performance in the finals and her collaborative song with Admirable Fish.

    Because everyone has realized:

    With each step Jiang Kui takes towards the position of Queen of Singing, Admirable Fish steps closer to the position of Maestro!

    At the end of February.

    People were still unclear about which path Admirable Fish chose towards becoming a Maestro.

    Everyone naturally assumed that Admirable Fish would take the simplest approach to become a Maestro.

    After all, most of the recently made Maestros in the Blue Star followed this approach.

    When March arrived, "Our Song" finally reached its last episode!

 Chapter 668 - 634: Xian Yus Mercy of Not Killing_1

    "Hello to all our audience here on the scene and in front of the screen, welcome to the grand finale of ''Our Song''. Today will be the final round of this competition¡­"

    March is officially upon us.

    On the grand finale stage.

    Host Anhong starts with enthusiasm.

    The audience in the studio is lively. ''Our Song'' is undoubtedly the current hit variety show. The finale has an undeniable attraction to the viewers, filling the studio and screens with an audience bursting with excitement!

    "The final showdown is here!"

    "Looking forward to Fish Papa''s performance!"

    "Fei Yang has the aura of an emperor!"

    "Betting for Shu Yu to take the crown!"

    "I like this show, sadly there are no singers from our Han Continent, so we don''t get a chance to hear our English songs sung on this stage."

    "¡­"

    There are folks from Han commenting in the chat.

    When Han Continent merged, ''Our Song'' was already more than halfway through airing. Thus, many in Han had to catch up all at once. This is partly why some of Han knew of the impressive Admirable Fish.

    But that''s in the past.

    The biggest regret Han people have watching this show now is that when the show began, Han Continent had not yet merged. Consequently, they could not listen to the English songs they were most familiar with. Instead, there have been numerous performances in Qi and Chu languages from singers from many regions.

    "The first round has been determined."

    An Hong smiled as he announced the pairings of the first round, "Our competition begins with the combination of Teacher Admirable Fish and singer Jiang Kui versus Teacher Wu Long and singer Liang Ziyuan!"

    "Uff¡­"

    Fei Yang finally let out a sigh of relief.

    Luckily, he didn''t run into Admirable Fish.

    Then, Fei Yang heard someone else heave a massive sigh next to him. He turned to see Yin Dong, looking a bit strange.

    "..."

    Yin Dong still had a poker face.

    As if nothing had happened.

    Fei Yang seemed to understand something, and felt a sense of shared hardship.

    Throughout the past competitive seasons when he faced off against Admirable Fish, Teacher Yin Dong came runners-up just as many times as he did. Now people on the internet refer to Teacher Yin Dong as the ''Perennial Runner-up'' among the composers...

    Fei Yang did not expose Yin Dong''s faint sadness.

    On the other hand, Wu Long and Liang Ziyuan seemed quite deflated, apparently not too thrilled about facing the combination of Admirable Fish and Jiang Kui.

    On another side.

    Ye Zhi Qiu had a smile on his face.

    Glad he didn''t run into Admirable Fish this time, let Wu Long headache over it.

    Without realising.

    Admirable Fish had become the big bad boss of this show.

    Probably apart from Yang Zhongming, nobody dared to face off directly with Admirable Fish.

    Noticing reactions from all sides, the online chat was laughing uproariously:

    "If I haven''t misunderstood, it looked like Daddy Yin had just breathed a sigh of relief. Has he been scared off by Admirable Fish?"

    "See how happy our old man is."

    "Wu Long seems to be losing his cool."

    "Fish Papa has become the big bad boss."

    "Without Daddy Yang, Fish Papa rules."

    "Wu Long and Liang Ziyuan do have a chance to win, why not Wu Long call over Daddy Yang now?"

    "Gasp!"

    "¡­"

    Amidst the viewer''s lively discussion, the competition finally began.

    The first one up was Jiang Kui.

    Lin Yuan was sitting by the stage as a composer, supporting Jiang Kui.

    "This is an English song." S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Before beginning the song, Jiang Kui introduced it with a smile, "The song is called ''God is a Girl''."

    Once these words were out.

    The entire scene was stunned.

    English song?

    It is actually an English song!?

    At that very moment.

    In Han Continent.

    Many Han people who were watching ''Our Song'', had their eyes widened!

    "Honey, come watch the show quickly!"

    "Admirable Fish appears to have written another English song!"

    Many in Han who were watching the show, were getting their friends to watch too.

    Some Han people were even talking about it:

    "I guess the song is just average."

    "Why so?"

    "If it''s any good, Admirable Fish could have released it last month."

    "True that."

    "Anyhow this song can''t be better than the English version of ''Farewell Kiss''."

    "If this song is better than the English version of ''Farewell Kiss'', then he could have just released it last month and we all would have had to kneel."

    "Speaking of which, we do have to thank Admirable Fish."

    "He is willing to compose an English song on this stage."

    "..."

    The mention of the English version of "Farewell Kiss" is still heart-stopping for many Han people.

    Xian Yu, a Qin, was able to write such an English song, and it was indeed terrifying.

    But the Han people didn''t believe that Xian Yu could write a better song than "Take Me to Your Heart".

    Not in this March, at least.

    Otherwise, why did Xian Yu use "Take Me to Your Heart" in February''s rankings?

    Why didn''t he just use an even better English song for the rankings?

    And yet, as the Han people''s thoughts varied...

    On stage...

    The music starts to rise.

    A few beams of light shone at Jiang Kui''s feet.

    The girl lowered her head and her voice carried a hint of melancholy:

    "Remembering me

    discover and see All over the world

    She''s known as a girl to those who are free

    The mind shall be key Forgotten as the past

    Cause history will last"

    ...

    At this moment!

    Some Han people''s faces have changed.

    There''s something wrong with this song!

    The melody is too catchy.

    It shouldn''t be like this.

    Listen again.

    The climax is the soul of a song.

    .....

    On stage...

    Jiang Kui''s voice suddenly stopped.

    Then...

    She suddenly lifted her head!

    Strong rhythm combined with a fast melody. The song immediately reached its climax:

    "God is a girl

    Wherever you are

    do you believe it

    can you receive it"

    ...

    Continuous climax!

    Endless melody!

    Boom!

    The Han people were stunned!

    "How is this possible!"

    "Better than ''Take Me to Your Heart''!"

    "How come Xian Yu understands English music better than we Han people do!"

    "I got goosebumps!"

    "Why didn''t Xian Yu release this song last month!"

    "If he had released this song last month, we wouldn''t have stood a chance!"

    "Don''t you get it?"

    "Xian Yu was sparing our feelings last month!"

    "He clearly had a better song than ''Take Me to Your Heart'' but didn''t use it, just to save us some face!"

    "How could we Han people resent Xian Yu!"

    "What a broad-minded person!"

    "This is a truly virtuous and talented artist!"

    "I admit, I''m completely impressed!"

    "I am impressed too, Xian Yu is a god!"

    "..."

    The Han people were frightened!

    If they hadn''t known that this song was Xian Yu''s new work, they would have thought it was the work of some top Maestro in Han Continent. Can you imagine if Xian Yu had released this song last month? The Han people would have been laughed at even more. He had even better songs on hand that he didn''t even use!

    From this perspective.

    Xian Yu was clearly holding back last month!

    At this moment.

    On the internet!

    A composer from the Han Continent, who was watching the show, suddenly posted a status on the Tribe:

    "Thankful for Xian Yu''s mercy!!"

    Suddenly, countless Han people followed suit¡ª¡ª

    "Thankful for Xian Yu''s mercy!!!"

 Chapter 669 - 635: Hes Good at Comforting Girls_1

    Not just the Han people.

    The live scene of the variety show "Our Song" was entirely hyped up!

    "This song is so good!"

    The English songs written by Xian Yu are excellent!"

    "The English version of ''Farewell Kiss'' was already amazing, but I didn''t expect Xian Yu to have even better songs!"

    "Why do I feel Xian Yu knows English songs better than Han people?"

    "Looks like Xian Yu was holding back against the Han last month."

    "If he had brought out this song last month, he could have crushed the Han completely."

    "No one understands the Han dialect better than Xian Yu, including the Han people!"

    "I''m not usually into English songs, but this one by Xian Yu is exceptional, it''s too good!"

    ...

    Across from Lin Yuan.

    Wu Long helplessly spreads his hands.

    What the hell is there to compete with!

    Liang Ziyuan beside him is utterly desolate.

    Drawing Xian Yu in the lottery, this scene was already destined.

    Not to mention their group.

    Even the other two groups can''t compete with this song!

    Previously during "The Masked Singer", Wu Long had witnessed Xian Yu''s stunning performances countless times.

    This contest is just a continuation of "The Masked Singer".

    ...

    Online.

    Audiences from all continents were furiously discussing in the live comments.

    "This song is awesome!"

    "I''m dying of laughter, the Han people are thanking Xian Yu!"

    "Aren''t the Han always proud?"

    "You guys don''t know, the Han may be haughty, but they also admire strength."

    "Faced with opponents who are countless times stronger, the Han are humbler than anyone from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan."

    "Fish Papa is still kind, he was targeted by the Han last month, yet he didn''t choose to eliminate them completely."

    "This is called winning people over with virtue."

    "After all, Fish Papa isn''t the cold and ruthless Chu Kuang, he is more like a refined and courteous gentleman."

    "So warming!"

    "This is personality charm."

    "Some Han people were unsatisfied after losing to the English version of ''Farewell Kiss'', but now, they''ve all conceded."

    ...

    The moment this song came out, not just the Han people.

    Netizens from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan all unanimously understood:

    Xian Yu was merciful last month.

    You should know.

    The Han targeted Xian Yu quite a bit last month.

    Yet Xian Yu didn''t take it to heart, he only slightly taught them a lesson with the English version of ''Farewell Kiss''.

    That''s his character!

    That''s his breadth of spirit!

    ...

    Jiang Kui''s performance has finally ended.

    There is thunderous applause on the scene.

    The next round is the combination of Wu Long and Liang Ziyuan.

    After all, he is the King of Singing.

    Although Liang Ziyuan was under a lot of pressure, when he got on stage, he still delivered a perfect performance.

    However, unluckily¡­ sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    When Liang Ziyuan and Jiang Kui both performed excellently, it came down to the songs themselves.

    If it comes to the song, obviously Xian Yu won.

    The audience''s voting also proved this point.

    Ultimately.

    In the first round of the semi-finals, Jiang Kui won and advanced to the next round.

    Lin Yuan has nothing to do next.

    After helping Jiang Kui in the semi-finals, the rest will depend on Jiang Kui.

    However, Lin Yuan was still interested in watching the remaining competition.

    In the second round, Shu Yu faces off against Fei Yang.

    Surprisingly, Fei Yang, who once beat Shu Yu in "The Masked Singer", lost.

    Such is competition.

    Nothing is certain.

    So¡­

    Shu Yu meets Jiang Kui in the final.

    Lin Yuan watched this final match with great interest.

    Jiang Kui lost in the end.

    However, her final score was not far behind Shu Yu.

    Amidst the deafening applause of the audience, Shu Yu won the competition, marking the official end of "Our Song!"

    ...

    In the latter part of the show.

    The season''s leaderboard was in complete chaos.

    Because just as Jiang Kui was singing "God Is a Girl" on stage, the song was also being released on all major music platforms!

    Whoosh!

    Soaring like a rocket.

    Even though this song was released much later than the other songs in the March season''s leaderboard, it didn''t prevent "God Is a Girl" from topping the chart!

    The mental state of the singers competing for the March season''s chart was completely shattered!

    "Why''s it Admirable Fish again!"

    "Isn''t there any room for the rest of us!"

    "Three seasons in a row with Admirable Fish!"

    "The first two months had Admirable Fish, so I didn''t dare release a song. I thought he''d take a break in the third season, but unexpectedly, he released another new song on the variety show!"

    "Admirable Fish is going for the hat-trick."

    "Could it be that he was dwelling on not getting the War of the Gods hat trick, so he decided to console himself with a hat trick over three seasons?"

    "I should''ve released my song next month!"

    "Admirable Fish wouldn''t continue releasing songs next month, would he?"

    "..."

    There are only twelve seasons in a year.

    Admirable Fish alone dominated three of them.

    Not to mention singers.

    Even some of the maestros couldn''t handle it.

    Now that the five continents of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan and Han are merging, almost every month there would be a maestro making a move, except for some special cases.

    But with the presence of this Fish, neither the maestros nor the singers could reach the top.

    Everyone could only pin their hopes on the next month.

    After being through three continuous seasons, this Fish should finally take a break, right?

    After all, he has successfully secured a "hat-trick".

    Even though this hat-trick pales in comparison to the prestige of a hat-trick in the War of the Gods.

    Lin Yuan was unaware of the reactions within the circle.

    After the competition, he saw Jiang Kui, who was squatting alone in a corner, staring blankly at the ground in silence.

    "Are you okay?"

    Lin Yuan asked gently.

    He could slightly understand Jiang Kui''s feelings.

    The feeling of not quite winning the championship obviously wasn''t too beautiful.

    Though Jiang Kui was praised for her performance by many people.

    Upon seeing Lin Yuan, Jiang Kui pouted, and all of a sudden, she burst into tears, saying:

    "I''ve made a disgrace of myself..."

    Even though she managed to restrain her tears when she was at her lowest moment, the empathetic words from Lin Yuan broke her defenses, making her tears burst forth like a dam had been opened.

    "You sang very well,"

    Lin Yuan said with a smile while patting Jiang Kui''s head.

    Jiang Kui, due to her short stature, was just at the right height for a head pat.

    "Wuuuu!"

    Jiang Kui cried even harder, and she even hugged Lin Yuan and started crying.

    Lin Yuan hesitated for a moment, but didn''t push her away.

    His little sister, whenever she did poorly in an exam, would come home and cry while hugging him.

    "I''m sorry!"

    In the midst of her sobbing, Jiang Kui suddenly realized something wasn''t right.

    Did I just lose my mind?

    Did I just cry while hugging Teacher Admirable Fish?

    Did I just make his clothes wet with my tears?

    "I...I..."

    Jiang Kui quickly stepped back half a pace, tried to make some kind of explanation, but she was so flustered she couldn''t get a single sentence out.

    Her tears started falling even more rapidly.

    For the singers from the Yu Dynasty, Admirable Fish was like a respected figure. They wanted to get close but didn''t dare to do so.

    The slightest move closer to him always felt like offending him.

    So, even Yao Huo from the Yu Dynasty, who was familiar with Admirable Fish, also subconsciously avoided any physical contact with him.

    Jiang Kui only did what she did because she had a breakdown, something she wouldn''t dare to do under normal circumstances.

    "It''s fine."

    In Lin Yuan''s view, this type of hug wasn''t offensive in the least.

    Because his little sister used to often come to him for comfort when she was upset, he had some experience in comforting girls:

    "She indeed sang better than you."

    Jiang Kui''s sobbing stopped immediately.

    Lin Yuan quietly breathed a sigh of relief and gave Jiang Kui a mild, comforting smile.

    He indeed knew how to comfort girls.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Thank you, reader [Fate is Separation], for the Alliance Hierarch. This is the second one you''ve gifted. I kneel before you, boss! ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ!

 Chapter 670 - 636: The Emergence of Numerous Zombies_1

    Comforting people is an art.

    You must make them feel that the problem isn''t with them but with their opponents.

    This was Lin Yuan''s secret to comforting people, ponder it at will.

    After comforting Jiang Kui, Lin Yuan headed to the company.

    he left, once he achieved what he needed, without totting up his deeds.

    After a short time at the company, Sun Yao Huo brought Pei Qian to Lin Yuan''s office.

    A meeting had been arranged between them in advance.

    The main reason was that Pei Qian had finished creating ''Plants vs Zombies'' and today intended to invite Lin Yuan to playtest it. After all, this game was created specifically for Lin Yuan.

    "There are not many levels at present, you can play it a bit to see if you like it, personally, I think you will enjoy it."

    Pei Qian stated, his confidence in the game he''d developed was apparent in his words.

    "Alright."

    Lin Yuan began the game, looking over the interface.

    The starting interface was somewhat familiar, though of course, it had some differences from the original, but that was not the critical point. As long as the gameplay and the overall style were not flawed, it was fine.

    The rectangular box displayed sunflowers, peashooters, etc.

    The gameplay was pretty simple.

    The sunflower was the lifeline of your economy, while the peashooters were the weapons protecting your home.

    As Lin Yuan skillfully planted sunflowers, when the zombies appeared, he positioned the first peashooter in front of them. The result was that the zombie was defeated before it could even reach the peashooter.

    "Junior is so incredible!"

    Sun Yao Huo couldn''t help himself but praising him.

    Lin Yuan smiled faintly, feeling somewhat proud.

    Exactly!

    It''s high IQ games like this that suite him!

    Once he had enough money, Lin Yuan''s speed reached its peak, and after perfecting his operations, he positioned the peashooter on every row. The home was completely armed.

    "Junior is so tough!"

    Sun Yao Huo gave a thumbs up, "These zombies are no match for Junior!"

    "It''s alright."

    Lin Yuan felt a bit embarrassed at being praised:

    "The ideas are quite simple, we need to gather resources and use these resources to build other units, the key is when we should develop the economy and when we should increase the military power."

    Senior really has a far-reaching vision!"

    "..."

    The nearby Pei Qian incredulously observed the star boss who had bought his studio-

    This is too flattering, isn''t it!?

    Isn''t this the level that even first-year students can achieve?

    "This peashooter is too powerful."

    Lin Yuan provided his first piece of feedback after a while.

    "Then I''ll adjust the data a bit..."

    "No need, I''ll give you the data directly."

    Lin Yuan immediately gave Pei Qian the game data design that he had printed a few days ago.

    When Pei Qian took a look at it:

    "Name: Peashooter

    Endurance: 300

    Attack: 20

    Range: the entire row in front

    Shooting Interval: 1.4 seconds

    Price: 100 Sunlight

    Cooling Time: 7.5 seconds

    Planting: Grass/Lily Pads/Flower Pots

    Special Characteristics: Shoots a pea with each attack

    ..."

    This document contained the detailed data of all the plants in "Plants vs Zombies", over forty in total.

    Through Pei Qian''s professional eye, he could tell that this design was very rational!

    Pei Qian couldn''t believe his eyes!

    "What, have you been working on this design recently?"

    "Sort of."

    Lin Yuan responded ambiguously.

    He was eager to play the most balanced version as soon as possible, so he created the data in his spare time.

    This game was a redemption from the System; therefore, he was familiar with any data in the game.

    If he was to let Pei Qian figure it out slowly, it would take too much time.

    "You are a born gaming design genius!"

    Pei Qian sincerely praised him.

    If he hadn''t witnessed it firsthand, he would''ve found it hard to believe:

    The person who created this data was a composer and a scriptwriter?

    Wait a minute.

    A composer and a scriptwriter seem to have nothing to do with each other, right? And Admirable Fish seems to have a talent for painting too. He saw it personally that Teacher Admirable Fish could easily sketch the background of the game, which isn''t possible without profound painting skills, so is Admirable Fish a hidden painter? Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Damn!

    It seems Teacher Admirable Fish seems to know a thing or two in all fields!

    "I''ll send you the background music later."

    Lin Yuan was eager for the plot to directly fast-forward to the game release, so the background music was also prepared beforehand.

    "Great!"

    Pei Qian was fired up.

    He now regarded Lin Yuan as a concealed game design master!

    In fact.

    After creating "Plants vs Zombies" and testing it with other members in the studio, Pei Qian concretely understood this game''s potential and value!

    Whether it would explode or not couldn''t be said for certain.

    At least once this game was released, it would make money!

    This game''s playability and interesting elements are far from low, which can be regarded as the top creative concept among casual intellectual games!

    "Senior, you should have a try."

    Lin Yuan invited him.

    Sun Yao Huo immediately agreed.

    Not long after that, a sentence appeared on the screen: "The zombies ate your brain!"

    Sun Yao Huo sighed, "I am far inferior to Junior!"

    Pei Qian by the side was speechless.

    Could you make it any more obvious?

    Can anyone not pass the first level of "Plants vs Zombies"?

    But Lin Yuan seriously comforted Sun Yao Huo: "You''re not bad, it''s just that I''m too strong."

    Pei Qian: "..."

    How to combine the plants, the formation during the battle, whether to choose to fight or guard when a plant encounters a zombie, this in the tactical category of the game.

    The right tactics are the key to the player''s victory in the game.

    From this perspective, this game is a bit tricky.

    But...

    Could we stop talking about this while playing the first level?

    The previous rounds were basically introducing the gameplay to the novices.

    "Let''s not talk about this."

    Lin Yuan spoke seriously: "Senior Yao Huo, I will also invest in your game studio. Why not just establish a company, and we can make games together in the future?"

    "Okay!"

    Sun Yao Huo happily agreed, "Then let Junior be the boss!"

    "No need."

    Lin Yuan responded: "You can be the boss. I will take the shares and be the game designer. The designer''s column can have my real name."

    "I''ll listen to Junior."

    Sun Yao Huo didn''t think too much.

    All he was happy about was that he had actually opened a game company with Junior!

    Will this game company make money or not?

    This matter isn''t as important as "Sun Yao Huo and Admirable Fish have opened a game company together!"

    Which other artists from Yu Dynasty can start a company together with Junior?

    Only I, Sun Yao Huo!

    The basic cooperation intention had been set, and afterwards, Sun Yao Huo excused himself.

    As he left Starlight,

    Pei Qian sighed: "Teacher Admirable Fish is truly incredible, even more so than the rumors!"

    Sun Yao Huo smirked slightly, "Do you think what you see is all there is?"

    Pei Qian was stunned.

    Before he could deeply consider the meaning of this sentence, Sun Yao Huo suddenly said with a sly smile,

    "By the way, this game keeps saying that ''a huge wave of zombies is approaching'', where are the big wave zombies?"

    Pei Qian: "..."

    For a moment, he couldn''t tell if Sun Yao Huo was joking or serious.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Many people suggest that Polluted White should enrich the characters. Polluted White thinks this is a good idea and trying to think about what appropriate plots there are to give the characters more depth. I couldn''t find a good point to cut in for now, is there any plot that can be plagiarized in the chapter? Also, please ask for some monthly votes.

 Chapter 671 - 637: I Strike Hard in Music, I Bow and Scrape in Filmmaking_1

    Soon after Sun Yaohuo and others left, Gu Dong appeared in Lin Yuan''s office:

    "The Shenlong Awards ceremony has begun this year. Your movie ''Spiderman'' that you made last year has been nominated for the Best Costume Award. Do you want to watch the live broadcast? Maybe we can win the award this time!"

    The Shenlong Awards.

    The top movie award in Blue Star.

    Lin Yuan had once won the Best Music for the Shenlong Awards one year with the movie "The Tuner".

    Thereafter.

    Every movie Lin Yuan made was nominated for one or several awards, but he never won again!

    This includes his most critically acclaimed movie "Hachiko".

    This shows how high the threshold for this award is.

    This time for the Shenlong Awards, Lin Yuan was nominated again for "Spiderman". The award he was nominated for was Best Costume.

    It has to do with Spiderman''s battle suit.

    This is the battle suit Lin Yuan designed for the male lead, Jian Yi, which once started a trend that led to the hot sale of Spiderman battle suit peripherals. Being nominated for the Best Costume Design at the Shenlong Awards was not unexpected.

    In fact, Lin Yuan has been following the Shenlong Awards in recent years.

    He really wanted to win the Shenlong Award again, but he has been disappointed in recent years.

    The main reason he cared was not about saving face, but about the additional value the System would give to the award.

    First, the Prestige Value bonus of the Shenlong Awards is terrifying!

    Second, Lin Yuan has a system task related to the Shenlong Awards!

    [Get recognition from the Shenlong Awards, and you can get a random treasure chest provided by the system!]

    Random treasure chests are very enigmatic.

    What if you randomly get a silver or even a Gold Treasure Chest?

    Although Lin Yuan was aware that this dog system would most likely play a pseudo-randomness with him.

    But there''s always a chance.

    Moreover, even if a rubbish treasure chest is randomly chosen, the Prestige brought by the award is at least very substantial!

    When "The Tuner" won the Best Music back in the day, Lin Yuan''s Prestige skyrocketed.

    Thinking of this, Lin Yuan said:

    "Let me watch then."

    He turned on his computer and logged into Penguin Video.

    The Shenlong Awards ceremony is considered an annual event in the entertainment industry, and every video website has a live broadcast.

    Yes.

    Now Han Continent has also joined in.

    So at this year''s Shenlong Awards, the top film people from the Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han - almost half of the entertainment world - will attend. The audience appeal can be imagined.

    Moreover, basically, after the Shenlong Awards every year, it will trigger a nationwide discussion.

    This year is no exception.

    Lin Yuan had just opened the live broadcast of the Shenlong Awards and saw the densely packed barrage:

    "This year''s Shenlong Awards has five continents participating, which is equivalent to half of Blue Star witnessing it together!"

    "It seems like it''s another year where Qi Continent''s movies dominate."

    "Every year at the Shenlong Awards, although Qi Continent''s movies win the most awards, new continents have been joining, and now the Shenlong Awards are blooming."

    "I predict White Night will be the best screenwriter this year."

    "Cheng Nuo has the biggest hope of being the best director!"

    "The competition for the best actor is red-hot this year. The performances of all the nominated actors are top-tier!"

    "The competition for the best actress is also intense. But I''m rooting for Song Yuzhi."

    "..."

    The thing that the audience cares most about are always the best picture, best screenplay, best director, and best actor and actress.

    No one discusses the best costume.

    Compared with these awards, the best costume is actually a very unremarkable award.

    Best Music is a much stronger award than Best Costume.

    At this time.

    Lin Yuan suddenly saw some comments related to him:

    "As expected, Xian Yu didn''t attend the Shenlong Awards ceremony."

    "If you''re always a runner-up, you definitely wouldn''t want to attend."

    "Haha, Xian Yu seems to have been a runner-up for several years now. Every movie he made was nominated for the Shenlong Awards, but every time he left empty-handed."

    "Didn''t he win the Best Music once?"

    "It''s normal for Xian Yu to win the Best Music. Music is his main profession after all, but he never actually won an award that is really related to the movie itself."

    "Let''s see if Xian Yu can win an award this time."

    "Did Xian Yu get nominated?"

    "He was nominated. Didn''t you see the nomination list? ''Spiderman'' was nominated for the Best Costume Award."

    "Does the Shenlong Awards have this award?"

    "It''s a minor award, but it''s given by the Shenlong Awards, so it should have some weight."

    "Not that interesting."

    "..."

    Lin Yuan sighed.

    Don''t treat the village chief like some negligible administrative position!

    What happened to the Best Costume?

    It''s still an award from the God Dragon level!

    Alright then.

    Lin Yuan felt unusually sour.

    If only he could have won a bigger award, imagine the prestige boost!

    Before Lin Yuan could even continue his lamenting,

    The official award ceremony began.

    It was genuinely lively on-site.

    The stage was even more beautiful than "The Masked Singer". You can imagine how much it cost to host such a live event.

    The barrage of comments was even more lively.

    Every time the camera focused on a group of top film and television stars, it would provoke a climax from the audience.

    Soon.

    Lin Yuan saw a familiar film, "Dragonman".

    This film, in the same period as "Spiderman", had been brutally overshadowed.

    But at the God Dragon Awards, this film won Best Visual Effects.

    As the live broadcast continued, the host quickly announced the recipient of the Best Costume.

    "The movie that won this year''s God Dragon Award for Best Costume is¡­"

    Lin Yuan eagerly watched.

    Gu Dong, sitting next to him, also leaned over, somewhat nervous.

    "Congratulations to the film ''The Queen'' for winning the Best Costume Award this time!"

    Lin Yuan''s face sunk.

    It appears that he''s once again just a runner-up.

    Gu Dong sighed and comforted Lin Yuan, "It''s okay, Mr. Lin, we''ll try again next year!"

    At this moment.

    The barrage of comments started swarming in:

    "Hahaha, Xian Yu is running again!"

    "Every year he''s nominated, every year he runs!"

    "Can''t even manage to snag small awards like the Best Costume, whereas ''Dragonman'', the film that was overshadowed by box office next door, grabbed the Best Visual Effects!"

    "It seems that Xian Yu is better at making music than making films."

    "Fish Papa cries in the bathroom."

    "The female Spiderman''s battle suit can''t even win Best Costume? Oh, it''s not from the original movie? Never mind then."

    "Here''s a joke: the only award Fish Papa won from making films is Best Music."

    "Xian Yu: I hit hard in music, but I nod my head in films."

    "Xian Yu: Nobody can beat me in songwriting! Nobody can beat me in filmmaking either!"

    "..."

    Gu Dong quickly turned off the comments.

    All of a sudden, Lin Yuan was disgruntled, "Why isn''t ''Life of Pi'' done with post-production yet?"

    "..."

    Gu Dong weakly replied, "That film''s special effects demands are too high, but ''The Truman Show'' is ready."

    Lin Yuan was somewhat furious, "Then why hasn''t it premiered? What are you waiting for?"

    Gu Dong: "Huh?"

    Lin Yuan realized his anger got the best of him, so he toned down a bit:

    "This one works, tell Director Zhou to schedule ''The Truman Show'' to premiere this month."

    He is bothered.

    Lin Yuan is really bothered.

    Three long years!

    Ever since "The Tuner" won Best Music, Lin Yuan has been nothing but a runner-up for the entire three years!

    Do you know how I made it through these three years?

    I can''t believe it!

    Is it just an award?

    Can the Gods Dragon Awards dare to let "The Truman Show" go unnoticed next year? S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    And "Life of Pi"!

    I may not attend next year''s God Dragon Awards!

    But I must win an award!

    No laughing allowed!

    I will show you what cruelty truly is!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thank you Commanding Lord[Feng Shiguang] for the generous reward. I bow to you, Lord ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ. Suddenly, I feel like there''s hope this book will make the top 100, I''m so happy I could fly~

 Chapter 672 - 638: Either Die As Art, or Be Entertained To Death _1

    Best Film!

    Best Screenplay!

    Best Director!

    Best Actor and Actress!

    After the Shenlong Awards ended, netizens had started a heated discussion about some of the heavyweight awards!

    The strange thing is¡­

    Xian Yu became roped into this lively debate!

    In fact, this year''s Shenlong Awards didn''t really have much to do with Xian Yu either.

    His film "Spiderman" was only nominated for a minor Best Costume award, and didn''t even end up winning in the end. Logically speaking, there shouldn''t be much attention drawn to it, let alone such a high level of discussion.

    But who can contend with Xian Yu''s popularity?!

    Anything related to Xian Yu always attracts attention.

    Therefore, the discussions also included the numerous times Xian Yu had been a runner-up over the years!

    During the live-streaming of the award ceremony.

    A barrage message saying, "In filmmaking, Xian Yu bears everything; In music, Xian Yu fights fiercely." went viral!

    And the saying, "Here''s a joke: Xian Yu''s only win at the Shenlong Awards was for best music," was regarded as a classic by countless netizens!

    Not to mention the profound saying, "In music, no one can beat Xian Yu; in filmmaking, no one can beat Xian Yu".

    These Xian Yu-related messages spread rapidly on the internet.

    Many people jumped on these trends.

    For a time, there was a joyful atmosphere on the internet.

    "Xian Yu won an award from Shenlong only because he''s good at music, is that right?"

    "I''m used to seeing Xian Yu''s invincible status in the music industry, and suddenly seeing him struggling in the film industry is interesting."

    "So, Xian Yu is the best composer among screenwriters, and also the best screenwriter among composers?"

    "Who else could make music and films unbeatable, the depth of Blue Star''s common language is impressive!"

    "Fei Yang: Xian Yu, I didn''t expect this day to come for you!"

    "I''m dead laughing, everyone in the music industry is a runner-up to Xian Yu, but in the film industry, it''s completely reversed."

    "..."

    Not only netizens were laughing.

    The music industry in all continents was also laughing out loud.

    You thought that folks in the film industry would also be repressed like us, unable to move because of you?

    In the music industry.

    No one could suppress Xian Yu.

    Even Maestro was no match!

    Even when Yang Zhongming won against Xian Yu, it was due to the intervention from the officials, which didn''t quite count.

    But in the field of film, someone can suppress Xian Yu!

    Having been a runner-up in the Shenlong Awards in succession, this has proven the fact.

    Of course.

    Although everyone was laughing, there wasn''t any malice involved.

    This wasn''t mockery.

    It was merely playing a joke or teasing.

    In other words:

    These people were purely intrigued by the novelty of seeing Xian Yu struggling in the film industry after witnessing his rampant success in the music industry.

    This kind of novelty provided an immense amount of joy to everyone.

    Just at this time.

    Starlight Entertainment suddenly made an announcement:

    "Xian Yu''s latest film ''The Truman Show'' will be released on the tenth of this month, please look forward to it!"

    Netizens were still discussing Xian Yu, and were taken aback when they saw this announcement.

    Straight after.

    Now, everyone started laughing even more¡ª

    "He''s getting desperate!"

    "He''s really desperate!"

    "Is he trying to shut us up with urgency?"

    "Is he so eager to release his new film that he''s not even leaving time for promotion?"

    "Hold on."

    "Is he aiming at next year''s Shenlong Awards with this new film?"

    "Give it up!"

    "You''re destined to play second fiddle!"

    "But it''s okay, we''ll support you!"

    "Hahaha, why do I suddenly find Xian Yu so cute?"

    "Let''s not say anything more, I''ll buy the movie ticket, is that okay?"

    "I feel sorry for Xian Yu. Although I know his new film will be a runner-up again, it doesn''t stop me from liking his films!"

    "It''s a fact that your film didn''t win the Shenlong Award, and it''s also a fact that I like your film!"

    "The fact has proved that whether Xian Yu''s films win awards or not, and whether the audience likes them or not, are two separate matters."

    "..."

    Be it making fun or teasing.

    Upon seeing the news of Xian Yu''s new film release, the audience was still filled with anticipation.

    Moreover, with the hot topic of the Shenlong Awards and Xian Yu having been a runner-up year after year without earning any awards, the release of his new film came with an immediate boost in discussion!

    Because the audience knew clearly:

    Whether a film is good or not has nothing to do with whether it has won any awards!

    ...

    The film industry.

    Many people took immediate notice of the news that Xian Yu''s new film was about to be released.

    "Huh, is he not convinced?" S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    A certain film director mockingly remarked.

    A middle-aged man next to him laughed, "Whether he''s convinced or not, it''s only a matter of time before he wins an award."

    The director was surprised, "Mr. Long Yang thinks highly of him?"

    The middle-aged man was none other than the scriptwriter of the film "Dragonman", Long Yang!

    Long Yang quietly said, "It''s not that I think highly of him, but that he has the ability."

    The director was curious, "What do you mean?"

    Long Yang''s lips curled slightly into a smile, "He is playing with the art of balance. Once he successfully breaks this balance, it won''t be too hard for him to take the Shenlong Awards, unless the judges of Shenlong Awards have something against him."

    The director was confused, "Balance?"

    Long Yang''s eyes narrowed, "After ''Dragonman'' lost to Xian Yu, I studied his several films and found an interesting phenomenon. His films always balance between artistry and commerce. Therefore, his films have just enough artistry without overdoing it, and the commercial elements in his films aren''t too excessive either. You would say his box office numbers are high, but they''re not top-tier.

    If you say his films are artistic enough, even ''Hachiko'' couldn''t be considered a pure arthouse film, but more of a narrative film. This is what I have been striving for, and in that regard, he''s doing better than me."

    "What do you mean?"

    The director seemed to start understanding.

    Long Yang''s intent was fairly clear.

    Xian Yu''s films, in fact, consider the tastes of many people.

    Those who like to watch art-house films won''t find Xian Yu''s films overly flamboyant and noisy.

    Those who like to watch commercial films won''t find Xian Yu''s films overly boring and dull.

    Because his films are balanced, they virtually cater to the viewership of both types of audience at the same time.

    Long Yang resolutely stated, "If he can break this balance, he might show everyone a completely different Xian Yu."

    "Can he break it? Won''t it lead to imbalance?"

    "In my personal creativity philosophy for films, balance is the most difficult art to master. He has mastered balance well, and if he wants to go extreme, do you think he will fall short?"

    "No ...but is it as simple as you put it?"

    "Of course not."

    Long Yang suddenly raised his eyebrow:

    "The hardest part is still the script. A script that can awe everyone, but the spark of inspiration for such a script might take several years and still be hard to come by. I just think that he will be able to do it sooner or later¡­but perhaps, I might do it before him?"

    "Just like Mr. Long Yang!"

    "In plain words, there are two ways to conquer the Shenlong Awards."

    "Which two?"

    "Either being completely artistic, or being completely entertaining."

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to [Lord Fire Demand Updates Lulilo] for being the Alliance Hierarch, kneel for the lord¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, my knees are starting to go numb qaq

 Chapter 673 - 639 This is a Matter of Principle_1

    "According to your requirements, the earliest the movie can be released is on the 10th. We should be grateful for all the chatter about the Golden Dragon Award. The online discussions about our movie have been productive. Otherwise, it would feel like the promotional time-frame is too tight..."

    At Starlight Entertainment,

    Ol'' Zhou said, laughing.

    Lin Yuan nodded in agreement.

    Then Ol'' Zhou suddenly asked, "How old are you this year, Lin Yuan?"

    Lin Yuan replied, "24."

    It had been five years since Lin Yuan crossed over to the Blue Star.

    Ol'' Zhou sighed, "Twenty-four... You are really young... I remember you joined our company when you were nineteen years old..."

    "Yes."

    "Haven''t you thought about having a girlfriend in all these years?"

    Lin Yuan responded with a shake of his head. His answer was straightforward:

    "Hadn''t crossed my mind."

    Old Zhou chuckled, "You''re at that age where you should have a girlfriend. People start dating in college. Haven''t you ever been in love?"

    Lin Yuan shook his head again.

    Old Zhou sighed in resignation, "Exactly as your mom said."

    "Mom?"

    Lin Yuan was puzzled.

    Old Zhou smiled bitterly, "Your mom mentioned to me that you never dated because of health reasons. Now that you''re healthy, she asked me to introduce a girlfriend to you."

    Even he found it strange.

    Who would believe it if he were to tell them?

    The famous Xian Yu is planning to date and needs a familial introduction?

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    Even he was unaware of when his dance-loving, square-dancing fan mother got in touch with Ol'' Zhou.

    "So, do you have a girl you like?"

    "No."

    "Do you like any boys then?"

    The question was unnecessary, but just to be sure, Ol'' Zhou asked it anyway.

    After all, there had been rumors that Xian Yu and Chu Kuang were an item.

    Chu Kuang was more than likely a boy.

    Lin Yuan said, "No."

    Old Zhou sighed in relief, "Then, allow me to arrange a meeting for you to meet the girl¡ªIt''s not a formal matchmaking, so there''s no need to feel pressured, it''s just to have a pleasant chat!"

    Young people these days are very concerned about appearances.

    If you explicitly say it''s matchmaking, it may cause a negative reaction.

    "No need."

    Lin Yuan had no interest in such matters.

    In haste, Ol'' Zhou replied, "It''s just a meet and greet over dinner. I can''t take credit for the introduction. It was our boss who personally set it up and connected us with the family... "

    "The company is doing matchmaking now?"

    Lin Yuan didn''t remember this clause being in the contract.

    Old Zhou laughed, "What matchmaking? Our boss is just looking out for you!"

    Lin Yuan shook his head.

    He was about to refuse once again when his phone started to ring.

    It was his mother calling.

    As soon as he picked up, his mother''s voice came through:

    "Go and meet her, I''ve seen her photos, she''s very beautiful."

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan didn''t refuse this time.

    When it came to his mother, Lin Yuan rarely refused.

    Even if he did refuse, Lin Yuan would do so in a friendly manner.

    "You agreed?"

    Seeing Lin Yuan hang up the phone, Ol'' Zhou looked hopeful.

    "Yes."

    "I''ll contact them right away!"

    Old Zhou suddenly perked up, "I''ll call the stylist over to give you a makeover..."

    "No need."

    Lin Yuan was very firm in his response.

    "Alright, either way, you look handsome no matter how you are dressed!"

    Ol'' Zhou cheerfully picked up his phone, left the room and contacted the girl''s family.

    Two minutes later, Ol'' Zhou returned to Lin Yuan''s office looking happy, "I''ve sent the address to Gu Dong''s phone, in a moment you can leave with him!"

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan answered dismissively.

    ...

    Ten minutes later.

    Lin Yuan got in Gu Dong''s car and they set off.

    Gu Dong curiously asked, "What is Mr. Lin going to do at Jasmine Manor?"

    "Jasmine Manor?"

    "Don''t you know? That''s our destination."

    "Oh, I''m going there for matchmaking."

    Despite Ol'' Zhou insisting it wasn''t matchmaking, Lin Yuan felt that it was essentially the same.

    "Pu!"

    Gu Dong instinctively slammed on the brakes, then quickly apologized, "I''m sorry, Mr. Lin, I lost my composure."

    Having said this, Gu Dong quickly pressed the accelerator again.

    "Why are you going for matchmaking, Mr. Lin?" Gu Dong asked, clearly taken aback.

    "It was my mom''s idea."

    Lin Yuan said, honestly.

    Gu Dong couldn''t help but laugh, "What I mean is, Mr. Lin, are you okay with the idea of matchmaking, dating, and even marrying someone?"

    "Haven''t thought about it."

    Lin Yuan was sincere again; he hadn''t ever really considered it.

    "Have you ever thought about having a girlfriend?"

    "No."

    "What is your perspective on relationships?"

    "I don''t know."

    "..."

    Gu Dong didn''t know what to say anymore.

    "Love" didn''t seem to be in Mr. Lin''s vocabulary.

    "But people have to get married eventually, right?" Gu Dong could only bait Lin Yuan to continue the conversation.

    "Then so be it."

    "Who would you marry?"

    "A woman."

    "What kind of woman?"

    "Someone I like."

    "What kind of woman do you like?"

    "I will know when I meet her."

    "What if you never meet?"

    "Then I won''t get married."

    Getting married without liking the other person would be disrespectful.

    If anyone treated his sister or other female relatives like that, Lin Yuan would definitely lose his temper.

    "Alright."

    Gu Dong finally understood, "So, Mr. Lin, do you plan on just going through the motions at the matchmaking meet?"

    "That''s all I can do if I don''t like her."

    If he likes her and she happens to like him, then they could date.

    In Lin Yuan''s mind, things were just that simple.

    "Does Mr. Lin know what it means to like someone?"

    "Isn''t liking someone just liking them?" Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Mr. Lin, you''ve never liked anyone. How would you know what it feels like?"

    "I also didn''t understand what it felt like to be angry until someone made me angry."

    "..."

    This is how Gu Dong ended up halfway through her conversation with Lin Yuan.

    Suddenly.

    The car came to a screeching halt.

    Lin Yuan lurched forward, steadied himself and asked, "What''s wrong?"

    "It seems there''s a malfunction."

    Gu Dong tried to start the car, but it wouldn''t budge.

    She quickly got out of the car: "Mr. Lin, just wait a moment, I''ll check it out."

    "No problem."

    Lin Yuan also got out of the car.

    Gu Dong popped the hood of the car.

    Both of them stared blankly, none the wiser.

    Gu Dong sighed, "We should call a mechanic. I''m sorry Mr. Lin, this might take some time."

    "No rush."

    At that moment, another car pulled up opposite them, honked and stopped in front of Lin Yuan and the others.

    "Sorry, the car broke down!"

    Gu Dong was on the phone calling a mechanic while apologizing to the other driver.

    Their car was parked right in the middle of the not so wide road.

    Click.

    The car door of the other vehicle opened, and a tall, pretty young girl got out, gracefully walking over in her high heels.

    "What exactly seems to be the problem?"

    "Not sure."

    Gu Dong gave a bitter smile: "It just broke down suddenly..."

    "Let me take a look."

    The girl walked over to the engine, checked a few things, and then went over to her car to get two toolboxes. She opened them in front of Lin Yuan and Gu Dong.

    Inside were all sorts of tools like screwdrivers.

    "You can fix cars?"

    Gu Dong looked at the girl in surprise.

    From her dress to her makeup, nothing about her indicated that she could fix a car¡ªher face could hold its own even in the entertainment industry.

    "A little."

    The girl spoke up, but her hands didn''t stop. Working vigorously on Gu Dong''s car parts, she was a stark contrast to her elegant demeanor when she got out of the car.

    Gu Dong was dumbstruck.

    The girl sure was strong.

    Lin Yuan spoke up: "Need help?"

    "Yes."

    "What should I do?"

    "Step aside, you''re blocking the sunlight."

    "Oh."

    Lin Yuan obligingly moved aside, offering her a clear view.

    Gu Dong chuckled.

    It was rare to see a girl who wasn''t awed by Mr. Lin''s looks, and who spoke so candidly to him.

    Moreover, it seemed like she didn''t recognize Xian Yu at all.

    After about ten minutes...

    The girl finally finished her job and said to Gu Dong, "Try starting it."

    Gu Dong looked at her a little embarrassed: "Thank you, um..."

    "It''s done."

    The girl urged her.

    Gu Dong nodded and took out a tissue, "I was saying, you''ve got some grease on your face..."

    The girl had gotten herself covered in oil and dust while fixing the car. It was quite comical, but because she was so naturally beautiful, there was something endearing about it.

    "Is that so."

    The girl took the tissue, checked herself in the rearview mirror, and tried to clean her face. Seeing that it wasn''t thoroughly clean, she puffed her cheeks in frustration.

    Meanwhile.

    Gu Dong had started the engine and tried to drive. It was working fine.

    "Thank you!"

    She quickly got out of the car to thank the girl, handing her a bottle of water: "You''re such a beautiful and kindhearted lady!"

    "No need to thank me."

    The girl extended her hand.

    Gu Dong was confused: "What do you mean?"

    "Two hundred yuan."

    The girl said: "For the repair. Normally a garage would charge fifty, but considering the labor cost for someone to come all the way here, two hundred isn''t steep."

    Gu Dong: "..."

    So, it was conditional help.

    She quickly said: "Of course, of course, I''ll transfer the money to you right away!"

    "Wait."

    Lin Yuan narrowed his eyes.

    For some reason, he suddenly sensed a kinship, so he stepped forward:

    "A hundred yuan. You only spent ten minutes here and you didn''t change any parts."

    The girl looked at Lin Yuan and sighed:

    "You''re lucky, I''ll accept a hundred and eighty. I saved you at least half an hour."

    Lin Yuan shook his head, "One hundred and twenty, no more. The garage won''t charge anything because the car is under warranty."

    The girl stared at Lin Yuan: "One hundred seventy, it can''t be less."

    Lin Yuan frowned: "Since you''ve backed down a step, I''ll reciprocate, one hundred thirty, no more."

    "You were blocking my way. I helped repair your car. It''s not too much to ask for some payment, is it?"

    "But a hundred and seventy is too much."

    "..."

    Gu Dong watched the two arguing in confusion.

    Looking at the car this girl drove, it surely cost millions, one could tell at a glance that she was wealthy.

    And Lin Yuan, he needed no introduction.

    Mr. Lin made more than a hundred yuan in a single second.

    And here were these two fat cats, haggling over a car repair fee of just over a hundred yuan?

    Was it that rich people are just too stingy?

    Or were us poor people just living too extravagantly?

    "Stop arguing. One hundred fifty, final offer, I''ll transfer right now!"

    Seeing the two arguing over a bit more than a hundred yuan, and considering they were going at it like it would last until night, Gu Dong finally couldn''t take it and called a halt.

    "Seeing that you are a kind-hearted girl."

    The girl glanced at Lin Yuan and deftly opened up her payment code on her phone.

    "I''ll ask the company to reimburse the expense later." Lin Yuan didn''t persist, talking to Gu Dong.

    "It''s just over a hundred yuan..."

    Gu Dong finished transferring the money and muttered under her breath.

    "It''s a hundred yuan!"

    Lin Yuan and the girl exclaimed at the same time.

    Gu Dong was stunned, and after a while, she whined, "You rich people are too unreasonable."

    The two spoke again at the same time: "It''s a matter of principle."

    Gu Dong: "..."

 Chapter 674 - 640: Trumans World_1

    The car was fixed.

    The girl left first.

    As Gu Dong was about to move on, Lin Yuan suddenly received a call from Ol'' Zhou:

    "No need to go, the girl over there seems to have some urgent things to deal with. She won''t have time to meet you today. This whole thing was done quite inappropriately, I''ve already scolded them fiercely. It was a wasted trip, don''t be too angry, we can arrange it next time, let her come to you!"

    "Okay."

    He didn''t feel much of anything.

    To Lin Yuan, it was merely a leisurely trip.

    The two returned to the company.

    On the way back, Gu Dong suddenly sighed:

    "The young lady just now is clearly rich, and unexpectedly, she can fix cars. Without her, we would have been stranded. Plus, she''s so pretty, even prettier than some female celebrities. It''s a pity though, I forgot to ask her about her skincare routine..."

    Lin Yuan closed his eyes to rest.

    After the battle, rest was needed.

    He felt his bargaining skills were rusty.

    He used to be the Super Bargain King in the eyes of Jian Yi and Xia Fan, normally capable of haggling to half the price. But this time, he felt like he didn''t get much of a deal.

    When they got back to the company, Ol'' Zhou didn''t mention the blind date again.

    At dinner, his mother also didn''t bring up the matter.

    Lin Yuan considered it a little incident in life.

    The next day.

    As Lin Yuan returned to the company, he noticed that Ol'' Zhou and the film department were getting ready to leave.

    "Want to come along?"

    Seeing Lin Yuan, Ol'' Zhou chuckled: "We''re organizing a screening of ''The Truman Show''."

    Lin Yuan was taken aback: "Has the screening not started yet? Hasn''t the schedule been confirmed?"

    Ol'' Zhou explained: "A lot of theaters are prepared to pay for your film, so everyone scheduled it ahead of time. But the specific distribution depends on the quality of the film."

    "Alright, I''ll pass."

    Interacting with theater representatives requires certain social skills, which Lin Yuan isn''t good at.

    His way of dealing with different situations is quite simple.

    All he can do is conjure up a socially conforming smile.

    "Then we''ll get going."

    Ol'' Zhou waved goodbye and led the film department to an early booked screening location.

    The venue for the screening was Su City Times Cinema.

    After Ol'' Zhou and the others arrived, they began to receive representatives from major theaters at the entrance.

    "Representative Zhang is here!"

    "Representative Wang, please come in!"

    "Long time no see, Mr. Li!"

    "..."

    Filmmaking is a cooperative art. Not only do the scriptwriters, directors, and actors have specific roles to play, but people like Ol'' Zhou also have responsibilities, such as arranging screenings.

    After the screening.

    Issues like scheduling screenings and distribution through theaters would require Ol'' Zhou and others to engage in verbal battles with the theater representatives.

    In the crowd.

    Ye Hongyu from Dadi Theaters was also there.

    This was the second time Ye Hongyu attended a Xian Yu movie''s screening.

    The last one she attended was the screening of ''Hachiko''.

    That time, Ye Hongyu who was known as the iron lady, was moved to tears.

    Ye Hongyu kept a low profile when she arrived this time. After a brief greeting with Ol'' Zhou, she went straight into the cinema.

    Accompanying Ye Hongyu was Pan Lei, a market analyst from Dadi Theaters.

    A market analyst''s job is to assess the box office potential of movies.

    That''s really the job of a theater representative, but sometimes, they bring along specialized analysts too.

    That''s because these analysts often have a more accurate judgment of a movie''s value.

    ...

    After they settled down in the cinema.

    Pan Lei joked: "Did you bring enough tissues today, Hongyu?"

    As the Iron Lady of Dadi Theaters, Ye Hongyu was famous for not having emotional fluctuations while watching any movie.

    But last time when she watched ''Hachiko'', Ye Hongyu broke her rule.

    After word got out, many people in the company enjoyed teasing Ye Hongyu about it.

    Today was another Xian Yu film''s viewing session, hence why Pan Lei brought up past incidents.

    "I won''t cry today, but you better take care of yourself."

    Ye Hongyu rolled her eyes.

    Pan Lei said, "We''re only going to laugh today, not cry. After all, this is a comedy."

    He Sheng starred in today''s "The Truman Show."

    He Sheng rose to fame for starring in "Flirting Scholar," and has been a comedian since his debut. All the films he starred in afterwards were comedies.

    The current He Sheng is now quite a renowned star in the comedy circle.

    When Pan Lei saw that "The Truman Show" starred He Sheng and was written by Xian Yu, he instinctively thought that it was a nonsensical comedy.

    So did other cinema line representatives.

    However, at that moment, Ol'' Zhou suddenly walked to the stage and announced into the microphone, "Before the movie starts, I need to remind everyone that ''The Truman Show'' is a drama."

    The scene burst into clamor.

    Ye Hongyu was also a bit surprised.

    Pan Lei blurted out, "What is Starlight doing?"

    This viewing session was not small in scale, and everyone thought that the movie was a commercial comedy film. But Ol'' Zhou actually said that it was a drama?

    Does a drama deserve such a fuss?

    Can it make money?

    We want box office revenues from our cinema line!

    Okay.

    It doesn''t matter if it''s a drama.

    Xian Yu''s drama should not be too self-indulgent in terms of plot, and it should still be able to bring in some box office revenue.

    But why did you choose He Sheng to play the leading role?

    He Sheng is an out-and-out comedian!

    Who''s ever heard of a nonsensical comedy actor starring in a drama?

    Did the casting director get kicked in the head by a donkey?

    Can''t you see the inappropriate casting?

    For a moment, the cinema line representatives were all a bit puzzled.

    However, after the clamor, the scene quickly quieted down.

    The audience wasn''t the average viewer, and they knew that anything could happen in the film industry.

    Now it was up to Starlight to iron out all these issues.

    If they can''t, then the film''s screening would be absolutely dismal.

    After all, no movie theater is invincible.

    Even if every one of Xian Yu''s films performs well, no one dares to say that Xian Yu''s next film will definitely be successful.

    The cinema line representatives had seen too many people who succeeded several times, but fell once and never rose again.

    "The problem is not with the drama, but with He Sheng."

    After observing the representatives'' reactions, Ol'' Zhou quietly exchanged words with a member of his film crew. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The film crew member said, "This is Xian Yu''s insistence. We can''t do anything about it."

    Ol'' Zhou smiled, "But you''ve seen the final product. You should know that He Sheng''s performance is very good."

    "That''s true."

    As Ol'' Zhou and his colleague were discussing, the screen on the scene dimmed.

    The film showed Starlight''s company logo, a group of stars shining in a starry night sky.

    Then, a middle-aged man with glasses and deep-set eyes appeared on the screen, slowly and earnestly narrating to the camera:

    "We''ve grown tired of the affectations of actors, and we''ve grown weary of explosive scenes and computer effects. In some ways, although Truman lives in a fictional world, he himself is not fake at all. There''s no script, no cue cards. Although it may not be considered a great masterpiece, it couldn''t be more real. This is a documentary of life¡­"

    Swoosh!

    This was clearly just the first scene, or even the first line of the film, but Ye Hongyu felt a shiver run up her neck!

    Professional cinema line representatives are always hypersensitive to the intentions of a film.

    Although her expression didn''t change at all, her tone hinted at surprise as she asked, "What is this?"

    Pan Lei didn''t say a word, but his eyes were full of confusion and his scalp felt inexplicably creepy!

    The Truman Show?

    This couldn''t be...

    If his guess was right, the originality of Xian Yu''s script was terrifying. This was simply a divine-level outstanding and absurd idea!!!

 Chapter 675 - 641: Life is a Cage_1

    The movie began with three interviews.

    The first interviewee was a stern middle-aged man;

    The second interviewee was a lovely young woman;

    The third interviewee was a rather muscular young man.

    "My life IS ''The Truman Show''."

    "I find such a life very fulfilling."

    "The content is real, just as you see it, it''s not fake, the only thing that''s controlled is the director."

    "Audiences watch all night, seeing him as a good friend."

    "..."

    After the interview.

    Truman officially made his debut.

    A caption flashed across the screen:

    The Truman Show Day 10909.

    ...

    The start seemed abrupt, random.

    But actually, there were several subtle hints in the beginning.

    Everyone present is a professional theater representative.

    Even those with slower reactions gradually understood what the start of the movie was about after the three interviews.

    Suddenly.

    The expressions of many of the theater representatives changed drastically!

    At the same time.

    Ye Hongyu''s pupils contracted slightly.

    "So it really is that!"

    On Ye Hongyu''s right, Pan Lei''s voice shook slightly!

    He felt something was off about the interview with the middle-aged man from the start.

    And now.

    He finally confirmed his thoughts!

    It seemed to be a show being broadcasted live!

    And those three interviews just now were probably with the director and the lead actors¡ª

    In other words!

    The protagonist''s life is being broadcasted live worldwide!

    All the people around the protagonist are actors, and only the protagonist is oblivious!

    Suddenly!

    The theater erupted in a buzz of whispering!

    "This is crazy!"

    Pan Lei repressed his excitement, this idea shot through his heart like a bullet from the very beginning of the movie!

    And on the big screen.

    The film finally entered the world of "The Truman Show".

    The cinema representatives gradually quieted down, but their expressions were significantly more serious than before.

    "Good morning!"

    Truman greeted his neighbors as soon as he walked out the door:

    "If I never see you again, good morning, good evening, good noon."

    His smile radiated on his face, Truman was full of sunshine.

    "Good morning."

    He seemed to get along harmoniously with all his neighbors.

    The representatives in the theater were intently observing the neighbors'' expressions, perplexed.

    If this was a regular movie, they wouldn''t be interested in supporting characters like neighbors.

    But because of the introduction at the beginning, film critics could hardly ignore these supporting characters.

    To the critics, it''s clear those characters are actors.

    But evidently, the supporting characters weren''t giving much away.

    From this segment alone, the supporting characters seemed to be just ordinary people living in Truman''s world.

    Driving¡­

    Going to the office¡­

    Truman seemed to be an ordinary office worker.

    However, the film''s camera angles were intriguing.

    Across the lenses, Truman was not seen from standard angles, but rather, peculiar ones¡­

    "Hidden cameras?"

    Someone guessed the implication of these shots.

    "Good morning, Truman!"

    A pair of twin men suddenly greeted Truman, seemingly unintentionally pushing Truman in front of a billboard.

    The billboard displayed an ad for a restaurant.

    "A commercial plug-in for a variety show?"

    Pan Lei straightened up, murmuring with a strange expression on his face.

    At the same time.

    Around them, soft laughter erupted.

    Clearly, Truman didn''t realize he unintentionally aided the two bit players in an advertisement.

    He was still trying to sell insurance to the two bit players.

    This revealed Truman''s real job.

    He was insurance salesman.

    No wonder Truman told his neighbors in his morning greeting, "If I never see you again, I wish you a good morning, good noon, and a good night."

    What would happen next?

    Pan Lei kept his eyes glued to the screen.

    The opening of the movie showcased an amazing, high-level concept. How to maximize the impact of such a concept would be a true test of the screenwriter''s skills.

    Upon entering the office.

    Truman sneakily made a phone call; he wanted to go to Su City in Qin Continent¡­

    Su City is where Starlight''s company is based.

    Everyone tacitly understood Xian Yu''s regional promotion.

    However, the movie did not explain why Truman wanted to go to Su City.

    Then, Truman tried to go out to sea.

    But when he saw a small boat sinking in the water, his face turned pale, and he left in fear¡­

    Is Truman afraid of water?

    The movie still did not provide an explanation.

    The experienced cinema representatives understood that the plot was laying out something.

    Back at home.

    Truman''s wife arrived.

    This wife was none other than the actress being interviewed at the beginning of the movie!

    If the advertising method of the twin brothers was somewhat subtle before, the wife''s advertising was straightforward:

    "The supermarket''s on sale, I bought this Chef''s Companion, it doesn''t get dull when chopping and grinding..."

    Some people in the audience laughed.

    If someone in reality spoke in ad slogans, it would look silly, but to Truman, it looked like just a normal scene from his life. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Wow, that''s amazing."

    He responded symbolically, clearly accustomed to this situation.

    In fact, he didn''t understand what his wife was doing, let alone that countless viewers were watching him.

    It was quite humorous.

    Dark humor.

    I am the only one in the world who doesn''t know that I am the protagonist.

    Amidst the laughter.

    The plot finally explains the gaps from before.

    Turns out, Truman has been living in this place called "Eastfield Village" since he was born.

    Yet, he has always desired to venture out of Eastfield Village and see the world beyond.

    The reason why Truman fears water is related to a psychological scar from his childhood.

    While sailing with his father, his father said the open sea was dangerous, but Truman insisted on exploring nonetheless. They ran into a storm and Truman''s father fell overboard and drowned.

    Since then, Truman has been extremely scared of water.

    "It comes together beautifully."

    Pan Lei began to speak, every great idea carries with its potential holes and flaws.

    This movie, however, fills in these flaws with detailed context, making everything seem logical.

    "This is terrifying."

    Ye Hongyu said somberly, "The father must also be an actor. In order to extinguish Truman''s desire to leave, the director set up a death scene for Truman''s father. Truman''s life was explicitly manipulated."

    The question now is: was the father''s death a carefully choreographed hoax?

    Or was it...

    A genuine accident?

    This question remains unanswered for now.

    But soon.

    In the next scene, Truman''s father shows up again unexpectedly!

    "Dad..."

    Truman is dazed.

    Didn''t his father die?

    Just then, someone rushes in and swiftly takes Truman''s father away.

    Truman tries to chase after them, but it feels like the entire world is against him...

    Countless faces block his way.

    Even the cars on the streets obstruct his path.

    In the end, he can only helplessly see his father leave.

    "What''s this?"

    This dramatic scene leaves the theater owners wide-eyed.

    The father''s deaths had definitely been arranged by the crew!

    But why has the father appeared again?

    Has there been a glitch?

    Or has the father had a change of heart and wants to tell Truman that it''s all a hoax?

    A mountain of questions springs up in everyone''s mind.

    Then, a new plot point arises.

    It turns out Truman''s desire to leave Su City isn''t just about wanting to leave Eastfield Village, but it''s also about a girl he met in college.

    Truman fell in love with her.

    She went against the director''s script and tried to tell Truman the truth:

    "Everyone knows everything about you, but everyone is pretending..."

    Before she can finish, someone takes her away. The man claiming to be her father says coldly before they leave:

    "We are going to Su City."

    This gives Truman another reason to leave Eastfield Village.

    Clearly.

    His father''s reappearance made Truman skeptical.

    He noticed everything around him seemed prearranged by an invisible hand:

    The same faces and cars he sees every morning, even the timing could not be more structured.

    Walking down the street, he could feel countless eyes covertly watching him.

    He suddenly rushed into an elevator in a building, only to encounter the clapperboard within the film crew.

    Truman feels pressure.

    Unable to bear it any longer, he resolved to leave Eastfield village!

    This place is too strange!

    But that invisible hand returns, and the feeling that the world is against him comes back¡ª

    At the airfare desk, he''s told there are no available seats for a month.

    He takes the bus instead but it breaks down shortly after boarding.

    His childhood trauma makes him scared to travel over water, so he decides to drive himself only to encounter a "nuclear leak."

    He tries to run out on foot but is intercepted by a group of people in hazmat suits.

    In front of the big screen.

    None of the theater representatives speak.

    All of a sudden, Eastfield village seems terrifying!

    It''s like a huge cage, trapping Truman in place.

    No matter how hard Truman struggles, he can not escape.

    In the film, the many spectators eagerly discussing Truman''s actions in The Truman Show express their fondness for Truman, but none seem to understand his pain.

    No.

    There''s a girl, the same girl who tried to reveal the truth to Truman. She must be watching the Truman Show outside of Eastfield Village, clutching her heart.

    Seeing Truman slowly piece together his own picture, the girl''s eyes well up with tears.

    "Do not give up¡­" she murmured, looking at Truman on the screen.

    Despair seeped into Truman.

    He confesses to his friend Marlon about what he has been suffering, but Marlon simply comforts him:

    "No one is trying to hurt you..."

    Once Truman wanted out, everyone tried to keep him in.

    His wife, with money.

    His mother, with kinship.

    And now, his friend Marlon, is trying to bind him with "friendship."

    At this moment.

    The camera suddenly shifts to the production team, the serious middle-aged man who was being interviewed in the beginning is sitting in the production center, carefully crafting captivating dialogues for Marlon.

    "We''ve been best friends since we were seven..."

    In the theater.

    The silence was unnerving.

    But all of the theater owners suddenly felt a cold shiver from within.

    Unable to sit comfortably, Ye Hongyu adjusted his sitting position.

    Pan Lei also stopped talking, his two hands locked tightly together.

    Helplessness...

    Anger...

    Urgency...

    Sadness...

    A flood of emotions welled up within.

    At this moment, they couldn''t help but want to rush into the movie and tell Truman that Eastfield Village is a hoax!

    Everyone''s acting!

    They are emotionally manipulating you!

    All of these emotions are scripted. Your wife, your mother, and even your brother-- everything is an illusion!

    Yes.

    At this moment.

    Everyone deeply wished for Truman to discover the truth and break free from the seemingly gentle but terrifying cage!

 Chapter 676 - 642: What Doesnt Kill Me Will Only Make Me Stronger_1

    On the stage of lies, everyone was dancing!

    As Truman repeatedly struggled to rise, trying to escape altogether, only to be met with ceaseless futile setbacks, his adversities had subtly tugged at the hearts of all the theater representatives¡­

    Truman was somewhat at a loss.

    He began to be unable to distinguish between what was real and what was fictitious.

    Just then.

    Truman''s father reappeared.

    Marlon said, "I have found the source of it all¡­"

    The show''s producer.

    The stern middle-aged man staged an epochal drama of reunion, Truman and his father embracing amidst billowing dry ice!

    "Cue the music!"

    "Close-up!"

    "Extreme close-up!"

    Magnificent and deeply stirring, all the viewers watching the "Truman Show" in the movie were moved to tears.

    In the control room.

    A huge applause broke out!

    The producer had once more thwarted Truman''s escape. It turned out that the show''s crew had navigated various unexpected challenges over the past countless years, choking every opportunity for Truman to discover the truth!

    This time was no different!

    However, the theater representatives felt a stronger chill. Many people were uncomfortable.

    "This producer is so malicious!"

    "He rules over Truman''s life!"

    "The viewers in the movie are too indifferent!"

    "They find such scenes touching, yet they''re oblivious to the revolting motives of the production crew."

    "The producer is moved by his own creation."

    "''It''s all for your own good'', must be what the producer is thinking."

    "His thought process is dangerous."

    "..."

    Discussion erupted in the theater.

    Everyone felt somewhat hopeless.

    They all felt that Truman had been deceived once again.

    "This shouldn''t be..."

    Pan Lei looked somewhat unsure.

    With a parched voice, Ye Hongyu spoke, "What''s wrong?"

    "Didn''t you notice? Two-thirds of the movie has gone by. If Truman hasn''t discovered the truth by now, the pacing of the rest will be problematic unless Xian Yu plans to keep Truman in the dark till the end of the movie."

    Pan Lei reasoned from a practical perspective.

    Ye Hongyu froze.

    Could the plot be that brutal?

    Did Xian Yu plan to keep Truman from discovering the truth until the end?

    It seemed Xian Yu had indeed crafted these intentions.

    Truman returned to the state he was in at the beginning of the movie.

    Eating when he should and sleeping when he should.

    It''s as if he had entirely given up on leaving.

    The theater representatives frowned in unison.

    This was clearly not the plot they wanted to see.

    Just like a thorn, unless Truman left, this thorn would mercilessly pierce the hearts of everyone in the theater!

    No one could extract it!

    However.

    Just when the viewers in the movie were filled with excitement and the audience outside the movie felt a lump in their throats, the plot took another twist!

    Truman hadn''t given up!

    He had actually fooled the ubiquitous cameras, discreetly escaping in the middle of the night!

    "He''s aware of it!"

    "He''s going to run away again!"

    For the first time, a loud cheer erupted in the theater and all the theater representatives'' faces were filled with excitement and anticipation!

    Inside the movie.

    The movie crew finally realized something was amiss!

    The entire Eastfield village sprang to action!

    All the actors were looking for Truman!

    The whole world was looking for Truman!

    The producer, eager to keep the lighting optimal, directly controlled the sunrise¡­

    It turned out, Eastfield village was one huge filming base. If one were to gaze at Blue Star from space, two constructions would stand out!

    The first was The Great Wall!

    The second was Eastfield village!

    The movie hadn''t revealed the size of Eastfield village before, but when this explanation arrived, the theatre representatives were all left dumbfounded!

    What terrifying ambition!

    This was Truman''s world!

    A magnificent base comparable to The Great Wall!

    But¡­

    Where had Truman gone?

    The frantic search by the production team yielded no leads.

    In the end, on the sea, they found a boat.

    Truman had set sail!

    The one who was too terrified to even walk across a bridge, the one who trembled at the mere sight of the sea, had actually single-handedly sailed out to sea!

    "He''s on the run again!"

    Ye Hongyu''s voice trembled slightly.

    Pan Lei''s hands separated, each forming a fist: "I knew it!"

    Xian Yu always knew what the audience wanted to see!

    Even if this is an art film!

    He wouldn''t make it tragic just for the sake of tragedy!

    He wouldn''t sacrifice the audience''s emotions to fulfill so-called art!

    The audience''s emotions were thoroughly roused!

    Go!

    Truman!

    Go discover the truth of this world!

    Escape this seemingly gentle but horrific prison!

    Not just the theater representatives.

    Even the viewers in the movie were cheering for Truman!

    In the control room.

    The producer finally lost his cool!

    He watched as Truman, who he had painstakingly nurtured for countless years, was attempting to escape his control!

    "Storm!"

    He practically roared!

    This was Truman''s world!

    This was his world too!

    He was the king of this world!

    In this world, he could do anything!

    Like what the movie introduction suggested, the producer indeed was the king of this world because there were devices everywhere in his world. From sunrise to sunset, everything was under the crew''s control, let alone a storm on the sea¡ª

    A storm descends.

    Truman fiercely struggled against it!

    The producer hysterically manipulated everything: "Center the storm on the boat!"

    "Thunder!"

    "Lightning!"

    "Flash again!"

    "Hit him!"

    The viewers in the movie went insane: "Go Truman!"

    The viewers in the theater went even more insane: "Go Truman!"

    Boom!

    The man-made lightning struck the mast. Truman plunged into the depths, but he didn''t give up. He tediously swam towards the boat¡­

    The viewers in the movie were shouting hysterically!

    The viewers outside the movie were also shouting hysterically!

    Inside the movie.

    Outside the movie.

    The voices of the audience in two different worlds almost converged!

    Truman slowly, with every ounce of his strength, managed to get back onto the boat. Amid the howling storm and flashing lightning, he yelled:

    "What else have you got!"

    "If you want to stop me, then kill me!"

    His hair was drenching wet, his entire body was dripping wet, but his eyes were more determined than ever. His veins bulged intermittently in the raging storm:

    "What doesn''t kill me, will only make me stronger!!!"

    What doesn''t kill me!

    Will only make me stronger!

    Inside the theater and outside!

    The audience was ecstatic!

    The producer abruptly turned around, he had gone mad. This was his world, he couldn''t lose, he mustn''t lose:

    "Increase the wind force!"

    "He''s tied himself to the ship..."

    "Increase the wind force!"

    "This will kill him!"

    "He was born here... capsize the ship!"

    "..."

    Everyone was trying to stop the producer, but the producer had gone mad, his emotions completely out of control!

    Hysteria!

    Truman was his most outstanding work!

    If his work gets out of control, he''d rather destroy it!

    When the crew didn''t obey, he took matters into his own hands, activating, one by one, devices that caused waves to engulf the world!

    Thunderbolt!

    Storm!

    The boat was completely capsized!

    Truman was sunk to the seabed!

    He was still tied to the ship.

    "Truman..."

    In the movie, the audience''s eyes were red.

    Outside the movie, the audience''s voices were tinged with a hint of crying.

    There was a sense of tragic heroism amidst the storm!

    No one knew how much time had passed.

    Suddenly, the producer seemed to lose all his strength: "That''s enough..."

    The ship was righted.

    Dark clouds quickly retreated.

    The sea surface became calm again.

    The darkness vanished without a trace, and bright sunlight shone on the sparkling sea.

    This scene was breathtakingly beautiful!

    How was Truman doing?

    In the sad music, it seemed as if the whole world were watching the figure who had tied himself to the ship...

    Suddenly. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Truman struggled to prop up his body.

    The music suddenly became heroic and passionate!

    Truman!

    He was still alive!

    The entire theater was in a state of great excitement!

    In their seats.

    Someone stood up.

    One, two, three...

    More and more theater representatives stood up!

    Truman was still alive!

    He had survived the storm!

    He sat on the boat, enjoying the sea breeze.

    Even with cracked lips, a bruised face, and looking so ragged, his eyes were shining with an unprecedented light!

    Clink.

    The vessel collided with a wall.

    In a daze, Truman stood up and saw for the first time the end of Eastfield village, which turned out to be a man-made wall.

    On the wall, there were paintings of blue sky and white clouds, so lifelike that it was almost indistinguishable from reality.

    "Hmm..."

    "Ah..."

    "Ha..."

    It seemed like he was laughing, or crying, and in the end, only complicated sounds of unclear meaning were left.

    Was this the end of the world?

    No.

    It was just the end of Eastfield village.

    It was just the end of the cage.

    Suddenly.

    All the music vanished.

    All the sounds disappeared along with it.

    In the silent picture.

    He was desperately smashing his body against the wall!

    It seemed as if he didn''t know the pain!

    He swung his arms countless times!

    The long shot was pulled back.

    The man was resisting the will of the world in the most primitive way!

    In the theater.

    People were breathing heavily.

    A few emotional individuals had slightly reddened eyes.

    Tears of emotion whirled in their eyes.

    "He did it!"

    Pan Lei''s words were extremely heavy.

    "Yes, he did it."

    Ye Hongyu tried to keep her voice steady.

    But the tiny tremble in her voice was beyond her control.

    Finally, Truman found a staircase.

    He walked up the steps.

    He forcefully pushed open the door.

    "Truman."

    A voice suddenly rang out from the sky.

    The producer''s voice.

    This was the first direct conversation the producer had with Truman, after watching him silently for countless years.

    "Who are you?"

    Truman stopped, his back to the camera, his expression invisible to anyone.

    "I am the creator, the one who created a television show that is loved by the masses."

    "So, who am I?"

    "You are the star of that show, the absolute protagonist, the world revolves around you!"

    "Is everyone else fake?"

    "You are real...hence the multitude of people watching you...Take my advice, the outside world is as fake as the world I gave you...It has the same lies, the same deceits, but in my world, you needn''t be afraid, I know you better than you know yourself."

    "You can''t install a camera in my brain!"

    "You''re scared, so you can''t leave, that''s okay, I understand..."

    The producer at this moment, surprisingly tender:

    "I have watched over your life, from the moment you were born, from your first steps, I remember when you started first grade, and the day you lost a tooth..."

    The producer even laughed, his laugh was particularly gentle, he even stroked the image of Truman in the camera:

    "You can''t leave, Truman, stay with me..."

    He looked like a kindly elder, patiently coaxing his child.

    Truman was silent.

    The producer''s smile suddenly disappeared: "Answer me, speak, you''re on live TV, you''re broadcasting worldwide!"

    In the movie.

    The audience nervously watched the screen.

    Outside the movie.

    The theater representatives were also staring intently at the screen.

    Truman suddenly turned around.

    He suddenly laughed.

    "If I never see you again, good morning, good afternoon, and good night..."

    His right hand across his chest, he slightly bowed, taking a final bow.

    "That''s it."

    With that, he walked briskly out of the dark door, the destination unknown.

    "Ah!!!!!!"

    In the movie, the whole world is cheering!

    In the theater, the theater representatives clenched their fists tightly, their mouths turning upward!

    Their joy came from deep within their hearts!

    It was as if...

    The Truman who escaped Eastfield village was them.

    The Truman Show, off the air.

    The final shot of the movie.

    The security guards who were eating fast food and watching "The Truman Show" suddenly asked:

    "Are there any other shows?"

    "Let''s see what else there is."

    Inside the theater, the cheering crowd, with their joyous cheers, gradually died down, as if by agreement.

    A moment later.

    Inside the theater, everything returned to utter silence.

 Chapter 677 - 643: Did You Move the Snacks Department Here?_1

    "This ending..."

    Pan Lei gave a bitter smile and said, "In the end, the life of Truman was merely an entertainment show for them. How many in the movie truly cared about Truman?"

    "Aren''t the audiences in the movie just like us?"

    Ye Hongyu spoke softly, "Even for you, me, and the entire cinema, this is just a movie."

    The two could not continue the conversation.

    Applause sounded all around them.

    The two soon joined the clapping crowd.

    Over at Starlight Film Club, Ol'' Zhou, and others joined their hands and celebrated.

    There was no need to worry about the screening arrangements anymore.

    The reaction from the on-site audience had said it all.

    But the world outside did not know anything about what happened at the screening of "The Truman Show".

    In the following days...

    As Starlight worked overtime to promote it, the discussions around "The Truman Show" gradually increased. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Meanwhile...

    Lin Yuan took out time to finish the soundtrack for "Plants vs. Zombies" and handed it over to Sun Yaohuo.

    "Received!"

    After receiving the soundtrack, Sun Yaohuo suddenly asked, "Junior, do you want to watch a movie?"

    "Which movie?"

    "Of course, your movie, ''The Truman Show''."

    "Sure."

    Lin Yuan thought for a moment and agreed.

    It was rare for Lin Yuan to go to a cinema for his own premieres, having already watched the final product at the company, but he occasionally wanted to experience the feeling of watching a movie in a cinema.

    "I''ll book the entire theater!"

    "No need."

    "Understood!"

    Sun Yaohuo voiced out.

    And so...

    March 10th finally arrived.

    The long-estranged audience finally entered "The Truman Show"!

    Su City.

    City center.

    Lumiere Cinema.

    Lin Yuan and Sun Yaohuo were fully equipped.

    Face masks, sunglasses, hats, their faces secured tightly.

    Such was the trouble of being celebrities.

    Walking on the street, they could easily be recognized and cause unnecessary incidents.

    At the time of ticket checking...

    Sun Yaohuo smiled and said, "Junior, you go in first. I''ll come later."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Upon entering the cinema, Lin Yuan took a seat in the middle of the eighth row.

    Both tickets were bought by Sun Yaohuo, both located in the eighth row.

    What surprised Lin Yuan was...

    Though the cinema had plenty of audiences, it seemed like the eighth row only had him as an audience member.

    Did the Blue Star audience dislike the eighth row?

    In a standard cinema, for audiences with normal vision, the seventh and eighth rows should be seats with the best viewing experience.

    However, where Lin Yuan was sitting, all the other rows were filled with the audience.

    Except for the eighth row, where he sat alone.

    Maybe the other audiences of the eighth row hadn''t arrived yet.

    Lin Yuan didn''t think much of it.

    Two minutes later, Sun Yaohuo walked in, carrying several bulky bags.

    "Junior."

    Sun Yaohuo sat next to Lin Yuan''s right side and put the bags down, "Choose what you want to drink, milk tea, cola, juice, coffee, anything you like!"

    "Cola."

    "Cola."

    Sun Yaohuo handed a bottle of cola to Lin Yuan and then took out the rest of the stuff from the bags one by one, placing them on the empty seats surrounding them.

    Popcorn, chips, biscuits, duck neck, chicken wings, sausages, there seemed to be jello and egg yolk crisp...

    All kinds of snacks were available.

    The audience in the rows behind stared in surprise at the eighth row.

    Were these two came to watch a movie, or have a picnic?

    "No wonder I couldn''t get tickets for the eighth row, it seems like these two have booked the entire row."

    "How extravagant for just a movie."

    It''s not that people hadn''t seen such extravagance before, but it was the first time they had seen someone put on such a show for a movie.

    Look at the snacks on the seats.

    Did these two carry the snack bar with them?

    "Mommy, I want to eat!"

    A child sitting in the row behind, likely with his parents, started crying out of desire.

    "What do you want to eat?" Lin Yuan turned around and asked.

    "Sausage!"

    The child answered without hesitation.

    "Here you go." Lin Yuan handed the sausage to the child.

    "Oh, how could I..."

    The child''s mom quickly refused.

    "Want to eat!"

    The child was getting impatient.

    "No worries, it''s non-toxic." Lin Yuan took a bite of the sausage himself, then handed it to the child: "See, it''s okay."

    Mom: "..."

    The kid: "..."

    Noticing this, Sun Yaohuo quickly smiled and said: "There''s more where that came from."

    As he said this, he pulled out another sausage. He''d bought more than a dozen of them.

    "Say thank you to the uncle!"

    Mom didn''t refuse this time.

    "Thank you, uncle!"

    The child happily accepted the sausage.

    "And thank you too, young man." The mother looked at Lin Yuan.

    "Thank you, young man!"

    As long as there was something to eat, the child was game.

    Sun Yaohuo: ???

    The junior brother is a young man, but how did I become an uncle?

    Aren''t we both supposed to be uncles at our age?

    "I want some too..."

    More than one child in the back row seemed to notice the wide variety of snacks in the eighth row.

    "Might as well share."

    Lin Yuan looked at Sun Yaohuo.

    Sun Yaohuo immediately stood up and began to pass around the snacks: "There''s enough for everyone, if we run out, I''ll go buy more!"

    "Thank you!"

    The other viewers were all taken aback briefly, then collectively began to thank him, albeit with somewhat baffled expressions on their faces.

    Is the movie theatre having a promotion?

    By this time.

    The big screen darkened down.

    The movie was about to start.

    Everyone''s gaze turned to the front.

    Occasionally, the sound of the children munching on snacks would ring out, but it wasn''t very loud, as their parents had clearly reminded them to keep the noise down.

    Lin Yuan was also watching the movie, though his heart wasn''t really in it.

    He was more focused on observing the audience''s reactions.

    Sun Yaohuo, on the other hand, was watching quite intently, but didn''t forget to hold up the popcorn for Lin Yuan.

    In the movie.

    When it was revealed that their world was actually a reality show, Lin Yuan noticed that the audience''s eyes were wide open.

    When the character Truman desperately tried to escape, Lin Yuan saw the viewers in the adjacent seat frowning.

    When Truman''s wife was almost exposed but still took the time to advertise a product, some members of the audience burst out laughing.

    Every move of Truman was constantly drawing the hearts of the viewers in the movie.

    At the same time, it was also affecting the atmosphere in this cinema hall.

    The biggest climax of the film was undoubtedly Truman''s venture out to sea.

    In the violent storm, Truman screamed madly:

    "Kill me!"

    Lin Yuan noticed that the girl in the front row was discreetly wiping away her tears.

    When Truman ultimately chose to leave Eastfield Village, there were whispers throughout the hall.

    That lasted until the end of the movie.

    The whispers in his ear had finally turned into countless discussions!

    "This is the most shocking movie I''ve seen this year!"

    "The security conversation at the end of the film was really ironic."

    "If you were Truman, would you choose to escape without hesitation?"

    "I don''t know."

    "If I were Truman, I wouldn''t leave. Just follow the rules in Eastfield village, and Truman''s life can actually be very happy, happier than most of us."

    "Well, that depends on your definition of happiness."

    "If the price of happiness is the loss of freedom."

    "But is the real world we live in truly free?"

    "..."

    As the audience trickled out, these discussions gradually reached Lin Yuan''s ears.

    Lin Yuan grinned.

    He knew that the purpose of this movie had been achieved.

    Wait a minute.

    Besides him and Senior Yao Huo, no one else is sitting in the eighth row.

    This means the viewers who bought tickets didn''t come.

    What a waste of money.

    Lin Yuan thought with a hint of regret.

    --------------------------

    ps: Thanks to the "Cutdown Artery Drinking Pulse ai" for the Alliance Hierarch, I kneel to you ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, continuing to the next chapter, please toss me a monthly vote if you have one.

 Chapter 678 - 644 Chu Men is Sun Wukong_1

    After the first round of audiences finished watching "The Truman Show", the reviews immediately blew up!

    "My goodness, the imagination of Xian Yu is terrifying when you think about it!"

    "I watched the whole movie with my mouth wide open, it was simply too shocking. Despite the absurd and bizarre plot, it somehow manages to stimulate countless thoughts and power!"

    "Who says Xian Yu can''t win awards!"

    "I refuse to believe such a movie doesn''t deserve the Dragon Award!"

    "This is the first time I feel like we might have underestimated Xian Yu''s filmmaking skills."

    "When Truman yelled, ''What else have you got? Kill me'', I was moved to tears from the initial humor to the bone-chilling cold later on. After the movie, all that was left was boundless shock. Perhaps we are all countless Trumans living in this era. Our fate is controlled by others, but most of us have not yet realized it."

    "Fish Papa, this movie is the most fascinating art film I''ve ever seen in my life!"

    "I watched it with my mom, and at the end of the movie, when Truman opened the door leading to the unknown, she said that perhaps it''s blissful for him to live in this little box and to unknowingly live in a lie his entire life. Then I said, a chosen misfortune is better than an imposed happiness.

    My mom sighed and said that she knew I would fly far away someday; I''m the kind of child that can''t be stopped - not everyone would want to escape if they were Truman. At least, my mom thinks it''s not bad."

    "The producer is truly disgusting, and terrifying!"

    "Being an oblivious protagonist in Eastfield village is more terrifying than being abandoned by the whole world!"

    "This is his real life. If he doesn''t discover the truth until he dies, all the supporting characters are forced to stand alert on the edge of this virtual reality, eat, drink, poop and sleep, consumed by billions of people. Apart from this, the only difference in life is there''s no camera pointing at them. There''s no need to distinguish between real or fake.

    It turns out madness and reality are only a hair''s breadth apart, if you are determined till the end you win. It''s just that most people cannot fight to the end like Truman."

    "A carnival of voyeuristic satisfaction for the masses!"

    "The ending is too ironic. They grieve for Truman, they cheer for Truman, but in essence, it is their way of releasing their emotions. Truman is just a medium for expressing their feelings."

    "..."

    Countless discussions!

    This movie hits a lot of people''s feelings!

    Because many people have once fantasized about it, or something similar.

    We fantasize, we are the hero of the world.

    The world around us, might be completely different from what we perceive.

    Our encounters are pre-arranged by an invisible hand.

    We all exist just to please and satisfy a certain demand, our whole life is under surveillance.

    At this moment.

    Starry SkyNet.

    Movie page.

    Although it just premiered, over 230,000 viewers have already rated "The Truman Show".

    The rating of this movie is: 9.4!!!!

    Any movie on Starry SkyNet that can break 9 points represents countless people considering it a classic!

    Among all of Xian Yu''s movies.

    The only one which consistently scored above nine points was "Hachiko"!

    This is the second movie by Xian Yu that has received such universally high-acclaim!

    The media also stirred up¡ª S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "The first movie of the year with explosive reviews appeared, Xian Yu''s new work ''The Truman Show'', life is a play, and a play is life!"

    "From birth he was under the world''s scrutiny, Xian Yu''s ''The Truman Show'' showcases the brilliant fill of plot holes!"

    "Don''t miss Xian Yu''s new film, perhaps it''s the biggest surprise the film industry has for audiences this year!"

    "A film that''s bound to make the Dragon Award take note!"

    "Winning in rankings, explosive movie reviews, Xian Yu is on a roll!"

    Reviews!

    Reports!

    Spreading throughout all realms.

    "The Truman Show" is the talk of all nations!

    This was a movie that was destined to draw countless attention as soon as it was released!

    And when some film critics were recommended to watch it, a feast of interpretation began!

    In a certain online movie report show.

    A number of film critics had a heated discussion about "The Truman Show" in a live broadcast:

    "This isn''t the first time Xian Yu has explored human voyeurism."

    "Remember the initial ''The Tuner''? The male lead voyeuristically explored the true nature of humans by pretending to be blind."

    "Perhaps, since then, ''The Truman Show'' had already been foreshadowed."

    "Only this time, Xian Yu played a bigger game."

    "He presented us with voyeurism on a national scale!"

    "Countless people worldwide watched Truman''s reality show, only Truman was left in the dark. The show wasn''t interesting, but the satisfaction of voyeurism made people passionately follow it for many years."

    "Many philosophers have researched reports, saying that voyeurism is universal."

    "Everyone wants to know what the true state of human existence is like, if you remove all societal packaging?"

    "Everyone has a lot of secrets. Voyeurism allows us to see the real, the secrets.

    Maybe in the embarrassment of others, we can get a comforting sense of superiority, or under the positive energy of others, gain inspiration, strengthen the power of our minds, or in situations similar to ours, get a feeling of not being alone, understanding other people''s privacy often gives some psychological satisfaction."

    "It reminds me of the journey to the west and the fanfiction called ''The Legend of Wukong''."

    "When the passage of five hundred years is just a scam, the so-called journey to the west is actually just a calculation and arrangement by a group of noble gods, why do the people in this scam rejoice and grieve?"

    "How similar is this to Truman''s experience?"

    "Everything is arranged. An invisible hand is manipulating destiny. What you lost, what you gained, all prepared in advance for you. So, I firmly believe that ''The Truman Show'' is actually an extension of the conspiracy theory of the journey to the west."

    "..."

    This group of film critics are very good at divergent thinking.

    They actually associated this film with ''The Tuner'', and even thought of the journey to the west.

    The truth of the matter is far from it.

    But when the audience saw the critics'' discussion, they believed it unquestioningly, even thinking that they have seen the tip of the iceberg of Xian Yu''s creative thinking process for this film:

    "So that''s how ''The Truman Show'' came about?"

    "So Xian Yu had already discussed people''s shameful innate desire for voyeurism with everyone in ''The Tuner''?"

    "So, the journey to the west was also a source of inspiration for Xian Yu''s script?"

    "Is the audience the male lead in ''The Tuner''?"

    "And Truman, is in fact the journey to the west, or rather, Sun Wukong in ''The Legend of Wukong''?"

    "Sun Wukong failed, but Truman succeeded."

    "Could this be considered Xian Yu expressing dissatisfaction with Chu Kuang?"

    "After all, the Monkey King, Sun Wukong''s journey to the west, was orchestrated by Chu Kuang, the whole journey to the west was a tragedy, while Xian Yu gave Truman a perfect ending."

    "That makes a lot of sense!"

    "Look at Truman, why is he called Truman? This name must be associated with Chu Kuang!"

    "In this film, Xian Yu is subtly implying to Chu Kuang, he shouldn''t have let Sun Wukong become the loser in the scam."

    "..."

    When Lin Yuan got home and went online, he was dumbfounded seeing these so-called experts'' discussion.

    It''s understandable ranting about ''The Tuner''.

    But how could these people be ranting about ''The Legend of Wukong'' now?"

    Didn''t you know ''The Legend of Wukong'' was released when the film had already been finished?"

    And another thing!

    What the heck is the connection between Truman and Chu Kuang!

    Are you freaking kidding me that Truman equals Sun Wukong!

    But hold on a second...

    If I were to follow these people''s line of logic, it seems to make sense?

    If Lin Yuan wasn''t part of it, he might have actually believed it.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to [Rabbit Two] for making another alliance, for the big guy with knees ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, I feel more and more skilled haha.

 Chapter 679 - 645: Xian Yu is Going to Hold a Concert_1

    In the following days.

    The movie "Truman''s World" continued to be popular, with a fairly pleasing box office performance, sparking various discussions and interpretations among the audience after watching.

    However, Lin Yuan didn''t pay much attention to it.

    For him, the performance of the movie after its release was up to the audience. Whether people like it or not, the movie had been made in any case.

    Meanwhile, in an office of Starlight Entertainment.

    Assistant Gu Dong was speaking to Lin Yuan, "Mr. Lin, more media want to interview you..."

    "Decline it."

    Lin Yuan reflexively rejected it.

    It''s well known in the circle that Lin Yuan never accepts journalist interviews.

    But over the years, the media has never given up on requesting interviews with Lin Yuan.

    "Alright."

    Gu Dong had gotten used to it: "Also, there''s one more thing. The company wants to organize a singing concert for you. What''s your opinion, Mr. Lin?"

    "A singing concert?"

    Lin Yuan was taken aback.

    Gu Dong tentatively said, "Since you showed your singing skills on ''The Masked Singer'', fans online have been repeatedly asking for you to hold a concert. After all, there''s been very little interaction between you and your music fans, so the company asked me to ask for your opinion. Personally, I think it could be considered..."

    Lin Yuan didn''t say anything.

    A concert should be quite exhausting, right?

    But it had been a while since he himself had sung on stage.

    The last time he sang was on the stage of ''Our Song'', as a replacement for Fei Yang. He found the experience very enjoyable.

    "Alright, then let''s do it."

    Lin Yuan thought for a moment and responded.

    "You agreed?"

    Gu Dong was overjoyed!

    Mr. Lin was not the type who enjoyed being in the spotlight, otherwise, he wouldn''t have rejected countless interviews over the years.

    For him to agree to hold a concert was nothing short of a miracle!

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Although he naturally disliked troublesome affairs, his love for singing was deeply ingrained in him.

    After not singing for a while, he was starting to miss it.

    With a concert, he would have the opportunity to sing to his heart''s content all at once.

    So Lin Yuan agreed.

    It was something he was interested in doing.

    "I''ll tell the company to start preparing!"

    Gu Dong, afraid that Lin Yuan might back out, hurriedly left the office.

    Ten minutes later.

    Many senior members of the music department learned about Lin Yuan''s willingness to hold a concert.

    Suddenly.

    The entire music department leapt into action!

    Ol'' Zhou, as a representative of the music department, came trotting over with a wide grin.

    "I heard you agreed to hold a concert?"

    "Yeah."

    "How about we hold it in Qin Continent?"

    "Sure."

    "How many shows?"

    "Depends."

    "Alright then, let''s fix it that way. I will arrange the highest standard concert for you, with top-notch facilities!"

    "Okay."

    "How about we set the date for April 10th, a Saturday. It''s a day off and it will be convenient to sell tickets."

    "Okay."

    "Let''s book the Grand Stadium in Qin Continent. That''s where the King and Queen of Singing hold their concerts. Let''s be conservative, we''ll first try selling 50,000 tickets to test the market."

    "Okay."

    "Then I will make the arrangements. Remember to share the company''s official announcement on the Tribe network, we''ll release the news tonight!"

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan cooperated throughout.

    Ol'' Zhou came in smiling and left just as gleefully.

    Lin Yuan''s cooperation was somewhat surprising. It seemed like the kid was really interested in holding a concert.

    Speaking of which. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This should be the first time a maestro composer in Blue Star is holding a solo concert, right?

    Of course, there are other maestros who can sing.

    It''s just that no other maestro-level musician has been born with a voice as perfectly suited for singing as Lin Yuan''s!

    ¡­

    Having decided to hold a concert, Lin Yuan definitely needed to prepare a bit. He thought himself to be fairly dedicated.

    "How should I choose the songs?"

    After some thought, Lin Yuan decided that for most of the concert, he would sing the songs he had written himself.

    There must also be new songs.

    The audience should feel a sense of gain.

    But he still needed to further study and decide on the exact songs.

    While Lin Yuan was contemplating which songs he would perform at his concert, Starlight Entertainment announced it online:

    [Teacher Admirable Fish will be holding his solo concert at the Grand Stadium of Qin Continent on the tenth of next month. At eight o''clock this evening, various ticket sales websites will officially open for ticket purchase. Fifty thousand tickets will be available online, we look forward to your participation!]

    It was six o''clock in the afternoon.

    This announcement from Starlight Entertainment attracted the attention of countless people instantly!

    "Fish Papa''s concert!?"

    "Never thought I''d see the day Fish Papa would hold a concert!"

    "Enough said, start selling the tickets!"

    "Damn it, I don''t mind eating dirt next month, I need front row tickets!"

    "My wallet is already thirsting for it!"

    "Eight o''clock, right? I''m buying five tickets, bringing along my family to listen!"

    "I thought I''d never watch a concert in my life, but Fish Papa''s concert, I must go!"

    "I thought Admired Fish would never hold a concert, considering his main job is a songwriter."

    "..."

    Admirable Fish''s fans were exhilarated!

    Ever since Lin Yuan revealed his face on "The Masked Singer," Admirable Fish''s fans have been urging Starlight to organize a concert for him.

    There were always people in Admirable Fish''s tribe comment section asking if he could hold a concert or not.

    But Admirable Fish himself never responded.

    Starlight also did not dare to preemptively promise on Admirable Fish''s behalf.

    The company noticed that after Lin Yuan finished participating in "Our Song", he hasn''t shown up in public, hence they tentatively sought his opinion.

    From Starlight''s perspective, the senior management definitely wanted Admirable Fish to make more public appearances.

    However, the company didn''t hold high hopes for the concert.

    Everyone was accustomed to Admirable Fish''s low-profile nature.

    Admirable Fish saw himself as someone behind-the-scenes.

    A songwriter, a scriptwriter, they are all behind-the-scenes professions.

    The company never anticipated that Admirable Fish would agree to the concert so readily.

    The news, once officially announced, instantly spread all over the internet.

    More and more people were becoming aware that Admired Fish was going to hold a concert.

    The music industry also got wind of it.

    For a while.

    Many musicians were a bit taken aback:

    Admirable Fish is holding a concert?

    He''s actually a songwriter!

    Although Admirable Fish has sung some songs, he can''t even be considered a mainstream singer if we were to base this on a singer''s identity.

    Initially, they decided on fifty thousand concert tickets!

    Will they be able to sell out?

    If they can''t sell out, wouldn''t it be a bit awkward?

    "Looking at the fans'' reactions, they seem pretty enthusiastic, but it''s hard to say how many tickets they can actually sell. Admired Fish is not a conventional singer after all, but he is indeed very popular. His status is more unique than any other singer who has held a concert."

    The music industry.

    In a small circle, someone was analyzing.

    Admirable Fish''s identity is indeed unique, so unique that when he announced he was going to hold a concert, everyone instinctively felt that something seemed off.

    But upon careful thought, it seemed rather okay.

    Admirable Fish is an amazing singer; after all, he''s the champion of the first "The Masked Singer"!

    At this moment.

    Someone suddenly said in the group, "Don''t just wonder around, let me ask you guys, what was your first reaction when you heard that Admirable Fish was going to hold a concert?"

    In the group chat.

    Many music professionals were stunned.

    First reaction?

    They followed their hearts and truthfully replied one by one:

    "Buy the ticket"

    "Buy the ticket"

    "Buy the ticket"

    "Buy the ticket+1"

    "Buy the ticket+10086"

    The entire group chat turned into a broken record.

    "There you have it!"

    The music professional who asked the question sent a laughing emoji: "Who wouldn''t want to attend Admirable Fish''s concert?"

    End of the topic.

    The group chat quietened down afterwards.

    However.

    When the time came around to eight o''clock in the evening.

    Or to be precise, around eight o five.

    This small music industry group chat suddenly blew up again!

    "Holy *beep*!"

    "You''re telling me, fifty thousand concert tickets sold out in the blink of an eye, not even a full second passed!!?"

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to [Seventeen Loves Eating Fish]for the adorable patron, *kneels down in respect*! She is our beloved sister in the reading group~

 Chapter 680 - 646: Movements in all Directions_1

    Yes!

    In the blink of an eye!

    50,000 tickets to Xian Yu''s concert were sold out!

    At this moment.

    It''s only been two short hours since Starlight announced that Xian Yu will be holding a concert...

    All the major ticket-selling websites Starlight collaborated with were dumbfounded.

    This was the fastest time tickets were sold on their platform.

    The server in the back office has a precise time display¡ª

    From the opening of the ticket purchasing channel to all the tickets being sold out, it unbelievably only took a single second!

    That''s considering everyone''s internet fluctuations and purchase times.

    Among them.

    Two larger ticket selling websites'' servers crashed at eight o''clock exactly.

    Everyone thought at the time that their own internet was having issues.

    But when the servers were back up, they were shocked to discover:

    They waited two hours just to buy one single ticket to Xian Yu''s concert, only for countless people to meet disappointment in the end.

    "Where are the tickets?"

    "Where the heck are the tickets?"

    "Didn''t Starlight claim to have 50,000 concert tickets?"

    "You''re selling fake tickets, aren''t you?"

    "Smashed my mouse to pieces and still didn''t manage to snag a ticket!"

    "Darn it!"

    "Who are you looking down on!"

    "Do I look like someone who lacks the money for a ticket?"

    "..."

    The chatroom imploded!

    The netizens exploded!

    The entire music scene blew up!

    "What the hell?"

    "Did Xian Yu''s concert tickets sell even better than the tickets of the reigning King and Queen of pop combined?"

    "Are all ticket buyers single and desperate, rushing to purchase like their life depends on it?"

    "Wake up people, Xian Yu is just a songwriter!"

    "He''s not a professional singer!"

    "Do concerts by songwriters sell even better than those by singers?"

    "Is it me who''s off or is this world off?"

    "..."

    The music scene was shaken!

    Even the great King and Queen of pop could sell 50,000 concert tickets.

    But!

    Nobody could ever sell out in just a second!

    This was the highest record of selling speed for a Blue Star concert!

    And yet Xian Yu wasn''t even a singer!

    Being a singer was just a side job or rather...

    A hobby for Xian Yu?

    Anyway, Xian Yu''s identity as a singer was hardly as eye-catching as his screenwriter identity.

    If we were to categorize it as a side job, it would only be his third side job.

    On the other hand.

    Starlight Entertainment.

    The higher-ups in the music department watched with dumbfounded expressions.

    "Sold out?"

    "In just one second?"

    What kind of rhythm is that?

    Originally, Starlight had plans in place to boost the concert''s promotion.

    Forums ads!

    Car ads!

    Subway ads!

    City center ads!

    Anyway, they wanted to let more people know about the news of Xian Yu''s concert.

    The marketing department even prepared related marketing plans.

    This was a very normal thinking process.

    Starlight had held concerts before.

    Past concerts were all promoted this way.

    And because this was company''s crown prince Xian Yu''s concert, Starlight took the matter more seriously, and the promotional budget was based on the highest standard.

    After all...

    Having prepared 50,000 tickets, it would be kind of embarrassing if they didn''t sell out, as it might imply that Xian Yu''s commitment to his singer persona wasn''t all that professional.

    Now, all these plans were of no use.

    Why the heck would they still need to promote!

    All the f***ing tickets were sold! Out!

    Who''s the one to be awkward now? It''s not Starlight, and certainly not Xian Yu.

    The awkward ones are those singers.

    You must know.

    When the news of Xian Yu holding a concert was released, there were singers who sneered in private:

    "Don''t use your hobby to challenge our livelihood."

    This was the thought of some singers.

    But it turns out, Xian Yu really did challenge all singers'' livelihood with his hobby!

    ...

    Of course, not everyone failed to buy tickets.

    The 50,000 concert tickets indeed all had their own buyers.

    "Taking my girlfriend to watch Xian Yu''s concert in April!"

    A certain guy triumphantly flaunted his tickets on his social media feed, and it was two tickets!

    He already knew just how valuable Xian Yu''s concert tickets are now.

    This post was purely for showing off!

    He bragged about his relationship and showed off his quick fingers!

    He wanted to prove to everyone in his circle of friends with concrete evidence:

    Even non-singles like him can snag a ticket, and even manage to snag two!

    To his surprise, several female friends left similar comments under his post. This guy''s life was at its pinnacle:

    "Do you mind switching to another girlfriend?"

    Five minutes later.

    The original post and comments appeared online.

    The ones who didn''t manage to buy tickets broke down!

    Their mental state shattered to pieces!

    "I thought I only missed out on Xian Yu''s concert tickets, until I realized what I really missed out on was a girlfriend."

    Even those who only bought one ticket were stunned.

    Would life have taken a different turn if they''d bought one more ticket?

    Right then.

    Some netizens were puzzled: "Why are you all fighting over Xian Yu''s concert tickets? He''s just a songwriter..."

    Then followed countless replies:

    "So, are you willing to give me your ticket?"

    "Indeed, Xian Yu sings terribly, like absolute trash, and still manages to make money off his concerts. You guys should totally not buy his concert tickets, let me take on this burden!"

    "Xian Yu cannot sing, his singing is literally torture. If you have a ticket, give it to me, I''ll bear this pain for you!"

    "He''s really not popular, please stop fighting for the tickets, just give them to me!"

    "Who has a Xian Yu concert ticket? Overnight delivery, you don''t have to deliver it, I can air-drop it."

    "The one above, dream on! You''re not worthy!"

    "Even if I remain a virgin for a lifetime, I wouldn''t give my ticket to you unless you perform the ritual three times!"

    "Women are nothing in front of Fish Papa''s concert!"

    "..."

    So many people failed to get a ticket!

    Some of them were rich tycoons!

    Rich tycoons are upset when they can''t buy tickets, but they have their own strategies.

    "I''ll buy Xian Yu''s concert tickets at triple the original price!"

    "You poor guy, I''ll buy them at five times the price!"

    "Does anyone have VIP tickets? You''ll be satisfied with the price I offer."

    "Buying Xian Yu''s concert tickets at ten times the original price. As many as you have, money is not an issue."

    "Where are the scalpers at? Quote me a price!"

    "I pre-ordered concert tickets for Fei Yang, Lan Yan, Shu Yu and seven other Kings and Queens of singing a while ago. Which brother can swap one of these for a Xian Yu''s concert ticket?"

    "..."

    The scalpers wanted to cry.

    They tried to buy the tickets.

    But they couldn''t outcompete others!

    They didn''t know if those who got the tickets were cheating. How could they be so fast!

    Xian Yu''s concert, tickets were so hard to come by!

    Easily, on the internet, the price of a Xian Yu''s concert ticket already increased several times!

    Even at these prices, there were no tickets to be sold!

    Because many people were reluctant to sell the tickets!

    Starlight realized, it couldn''t go on like this.

    The audience that failed to buy the tickets started to gather under the official Starlight platform to complain about the scarcity of tickets.

    "Should we increase the scale?"

    As soon as Ol'' Zhou began to speak, the Starlight Music Department collectively approved.

    "Let''s add another 50,000 tickets!"

    "Director Zhou, save me a few more."

    "And me!"

    "Our phones have been blown up by everyone asking for tickets."

    "..."

    Everyone had to turn their phones off at that point.

    They had no choice, since they worked for Starlight.

    Right now, it felt like the whole world was after Starlight workers for tickets. Their phones literally blew up from the calls.

    "My mother-in-law is also asking me for tickets."

    "My sister-in-law said if I can''t get a ticket, my wife should divorce me."

    "But judging by the situation, even an additional 50,000 tickets might not be enough..."

    "The problem is, the Grand Stadium only has a maximum capacity of 100,000 seats."

    "Open a stage on all four sides, to accommodate 100,000 people, that''s the maximum limit."

    "..."

    Even for top singers, stages were usually opened on three sides.

    Stages open on all four sides were rarely used.

    For those who don''t attend concerts, you might not grasp this concept.

    A four-sided stage is a type of a stage.

    Four-sided stages are placed right in the center of the venue.

    There are no blind spots for the audience on this sort of stage. They can see every detail of the performance on stage.

    But compared to a three-sided stage, it''s much simpler for the event staff to manage things.

    A four-sided stage puts a huge test on the control of the live event!

    On this kind of stage, generally, only the performer stays. They can only gain access to and from the stage through an elevator. Once they step onto the stage, they have to control everything happening on the scene by themselves.

    For instance, the world-famous Hong Kong Coliseum is a four-sided stage.

    The venue Lin Yuan booked this time was of very high standards and was capable of accommodating a four-sided stage.

    "Let''s do a four-sided stage then."

    Ol'' Zhou said seriously: "We need to communicate with the venue, the security staff should be doubled, no, tripled. Furthermore, don''t forget to have proper communication with the officials. We must ensure the control over the security issues..."

    A four-sided stage with 100,000 spectators is extremely dangerous!

    If a stampede occurs, it''s going to be a disaster.

    Not just a stampede.

    With 100,000 people present at the venue, even a slight disturbance could become greatly magnified.

    Therefore, this level of concert must have official cooperation, and mediation in this respect must be taken very seriously!

    As a matter of fact.

    The Qin Continent officials had already started their mobilization.

    An emergency meeting was called.

    A constable coughed: "Can I apply to be in charge of the security inside the venue?"

    "Leave it to me."

    "I''ll take care of the internal security, it''s too hard."

    "It''s much easier outside."

    "Exactly, there are hardly any people outside."

    "Everyone is inside."

    "I can handle this tough task!"

    "..."

    The captain, with a stern face: "Trying to get in without a ticket, want to freeload? Don''t forget you''re people''s constables!"

    Everyone was ashamed.

    The captain casually stated: "I''ll take care of the internal matters." S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Everyone: "..."

    You''re really a good constable of the people.

    Xian Yu''s concert stirred the whole world!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: It''s already been clearly stated, aren''t you going to cast monthly votes? Dear readers, I am also down on my knees for you ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, please consider that I am still typing late into the night.

 Chapter 681 - 647: One Hundred Thousand Audience_1

    Evening.

    As soon as Lin Yuan returned home, he heard his excited sister say:

    "You''re holding a concert?"

    "Yes."

    "Are there tickets?"

    "Yes."

    Though there were fifty thousand concert tickets, not all of them were put up for sale. Starlight still kept some for themselves.

    Like for the chairman.

    Like for department leaders.

    Lin Yuan also had a few.

    For his own concert, he needed to get a few tickets for his family and friends.

    "Give me one!"

    His younger sister''s voice came from the side.

    "I''ll go, too.

    "Their mother said with a smile.

    His sister also added: "And me."

    Lin Yuan nodded and handed over the tickets he had prepared in advance.

    He really hoped his family would come to see his concert.

    His family happily accepted the tickets.

    Then.

    In the group chat.

    Jian Yi tagged Lin Yuan: "I couldn''t get a ticket, you know what I mean."

    "I''ll give it to you tomorrow."

    Lin Yuan replied in the group chat.

    His sister exclaimed: "Your tickets sold out so fast, with your popularity, fifty thousand tickets are far too few!" sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan replied: "I''ll add another fifty thousand tomorrow."

    Ol'' Zhou had already communicated with Lin Yuan, the plan was to have a stage open from four sides, expecting around one hundred thousand audience members.

    "There''s more?"

    His sister''s eyes lit up: "What time tomorrow?"

    Lin Yuan replied: "At eight o''clock, the official announcement will be out soon."

    His sister got excited: "I''ll grab the tickets as soon as I get to the office tomorrow!"

    Lin Yuan was puzzled: "Don''t you already have one?"

    His sister excitedly explained: "Once I get the ticket, I can resell it and make a lot of money!"

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    As Lin Yuan said.

    Starlight officially announced on the same night that they would release an additional fifty thousand tickets for Xian Yu''s concert.

    Suddenly!

    The whole internet was boiling!

    Especially those netizens who didn''t manage to get tickets the first time were eager to try again!

    "Switching to fiber optic network overnight!"

    "All family members have their phones ready, and also three laptops, I don''t believe I won''t be able to get the tickets tomorrow morning!"

    "As long as you don''t compete with me for tickets, Fish fans are family!"

    "Dare to snatch tickets with me, I''ll turn you all into shredded pork in fish fragrance!"

    "Scientifically speaking: the Grand Stadium area in Qin Continent is not very safe, it''s better not to go there (dog head emoji)."

    "Thanks to Xian Yu for helping me kick my habit of oversleeping, alarm clock set for tomorrow morning at eight, let''s go!"

    "..."

    The first batch of the audience didn''t realize the importance of getting the tickets quickly.

    This time, they wouldn''t repeat the same mistake!

    The scalpers were also eager to try!

    The opportunity to become incredibly wealthy was just right before them!

    However, soon after, all the major ticket-selling websites launched a series of restrictive rules:

    No using software to snag tickets; no purchase of more than ten tickets from the same network address; strictly no...]

    All these rules were targeted at speculators.

    Just like that.

    The time came to the next day.

    Eight o''clock, the second round of ticket sales finally began!

    Whoosh!

    In less than a second.

    The additional fifty thousand Xian Yu concert tickets were sold out instantly!

    "I''ve got a girlfriend!"

    Someone''s scream broke through the silence.

    Thanks to the prompt from yesterday''s friend circle, everyone understood:

    Xian Yu''s concert ticket = girlfriend.

    But more so was the painful howling of those who failed to get the tickets.

    Fifty thousand tickets, considering the vast number of people trying to buy tickets, were just too few.

    This time, the tickets sold out even faster than the night before, just a fraction of a second quicker!

    Once again, Xian Yu broke the record for the fastest concert ticket sales.

    Even though he had just set the previous record the night before.

    "Can you add more?"

    "Give it another try!"

    "Try one more time and I''ll definitely get it this time!"

    "I didn''t get any tickets even with my one gigabyte of fiber optic, this is insane!"

    "Only God knows how many times I clicked the purchase button in that one second. My mouse actually broke down, so I not only didn''t get the tickets, but also lost a three hundred dollar mouse. Totally ripped off."

    "You guys are really incompetent at making money!"

    "Do you see my bulging wallet, give me a ticket and all the money is yours."

    "..."

    Countless netizens who weren''t able to get the tickets all left comments under the official Weibo post of Starlight.

    This was the collective resentment they were expressing.

    Just at this moment.

    Starlight''s official Weibo account released a video: "Sorry to those who couldn''t get tickets. The venue can only accommodate one hundred thousand people. We''ll release a full video of the concert in the future. If you''re really upset, just watch this video to relieve your stress."

    The netizens were stunned.

    We''re all upset here and you''re giving us a funny video to watch?

    Someone clicked in and then burst out laughing.

    In the video.

    Xian Yu was seen starting intently at the computer screen.

    "Sir, it''s eight o''clock now, hurry, help me get one too!"

    The voice of a person who seemed to be Xian Yu''s assistant rang out, and then Xian Yu began clicking the mouse like a madman.

    Tap tap tap tap tap!

    Two seconds later, a pop-up box appeared on the screen: "Sorry, the tickets for Xian Yu''s concert have been sold out."

    Xian Yu froze.

    A caption popped up in the video: "This is not a still image."

    That''s right!

    This was a video of Xian Yu trying to get tickets for his own concert in the morning!

    And what made everyone both laugh and cry was that Xian Yu couldn''t even get a ticket to his own concert...

    "Hahaha, what the hell!"

    "How is it possible that Xian Yu couldn''t get a ticket to his own concert?"

    "My goodness, this is exactly what happened to me just now!"

    "I relate to this so much, this is definitely me who was trying to get the tickets!"

    "Xian Yu: I don''t have a ticket, can I still go to the Grand Stadium to sing?"

    "Is there such a thing where a singer can''t even get a ticket to his own concert?"

    "Alright, I''m not mad anymore, at least this morning at eight o''clock, I was synced up with idol Fish."

    "Fish Papa: Oh no, a hundred thousand people are waiting for me to sing at the Grand Stadium, but I can''t get in because I don''t have a ticket!"

    "Xian Yu commanded, and a hundred thousand netizens flocked to the Grand Stadium, the result being that Xian Yu couldn''t enter due to not having a ticket."

    "This video really did relieve my stress!"

    "I feel better now!"

    "..."

    Countless people reposted this video!

    The fact that Xian Yu couldn''t get a ticket to his own concert even made it to the top of the trending searches!

    And the person who filmed this video, Gu Dong, laughed until their face went numb.

    This video was filmed by Gu Dong, who had suggested it, and Lin Yuan had agreed.

    Lin Yuan thought, with his ability to type tens of thousands of words in a day, getting one concert ticket would be a piece of cake?

    The result was a complete failure.

    As for why Lin Yuan joined the ticket-grabbing frenzy?

    You know the reason.

    In any case, the dramatic ticket-snatching battle had come to an end.

    Starlight managed to dissolve the resentment of the netizens who hadn''t been able to snatch the tickets by sharing the video of Xian Yu''s unsuccessful attempt.

    Both those who got the tickets, and those who didn''t, began to look forward to Xian Yu''s concert.

    After all, Starlight said.

    Those who didn''t snatch the tickets could watch the complete video of Xian Yu''s concert later.

    Before long.

    Gu Dong suddenly said to Lin Yuan:

    "Sir, in addition to singing at the concert, performers usually showcase some other talents, otherwise the performance might be too monotonous. How about learning some dance moves or something?"

    "Dancing?"

    Lin Yuan hesitated.

    Seemed like it''s indeed the case.

    Most singers, when holding a concert, not only sing but also perform some other talents.

    Should he try learning some dance moves?

 Chapter 682 - 648: Finally Have a Dance_1

    Lin Yuan was very interested in singing.

    Most people who love to sing also have a desire for good stage performances.

    If dancing could enhance the song, why not do it?

    Those classic stage performances, with cheerful beats accompanied by fitting dance moves, always bring a comfortable experience to the audience.

    Lin Yuan also wanted to bring this feeling to his audience.

    "Let''s give it a try."

    In the end, Lin Yuan nodded in agreement.

    Gu Dong smiled, any matter related to the concert was met with great enthusiasm.

    "Let''s head to the dance room; the dance teachers are there. However, the specific dance content may need to be tailored to the type of your songs. We have top choreographers in the business¡­"

    Lin Yuan nodded his head.

    They arrived at the dance room.

    The dance teacher stated: "Teacher Admirable Fish has no dance foundation. We may need to start from some simple basics."

    The dance teacher had seen Admirable Fish sing.

    For some songs like "Da Laba", Admirable Fish would casually perform some small dance steps.

    However, it could be seen that those dance moves were completely disorganized, totally out of chaos.

    Like some people who go clubbing, they don''t know how to dance, they just lose themselves in the rhythm of the music.

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan knew dancing wouldn''t be easy.

    He only had one month; he definitely couldn''t make himself a master dancer in such a short period.

    But Lin Yuan still underestimated the difficulty of learning to dance.

    "Bend lower."

    "Don''t worry, it''s normal for your legs to be sore."

    "That move was not standard."

    "Teacher Admirable Fish, just now you used your hand and foot simultaneously."

    "It''s better to make small errors in the movements than to make big mistakes, at least the mistakes won''t be so obvious."

    "Step with your right foot first."

    "Teacher Admirable Fish, your right side is the hand that you use for eating."

    "..."

    Seeing Lin Yuan making the gesture of holding chopsticks and then slowly moving his right foot, the dance teacher could only shake his head with a bitter smile.

    Gu Dong standing at the side couldn''t help but facepalm.

    Lin Yuan''s body coordination was too bad.

    Mixing up directions while dancing was a common problem. What was worse was that he often used his hands and feet simultaneously, which looked extremely awkward.

    After dancing for half the day, Lin Yuan only learned a bit of surface stuff, able to barely do two simple movements.

    "It''s okay."

    Gu Dong comforted, after dance class: "There will be professional dancers accompanying you at that time. If you really can''t dance, just focus on singing."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    He knew that dancing would be difficult but he didn''t expect it to be this hard.

    Probably because the original Lin Yuan mostly stayed indoors and rarely made large movements due to his poor health?

    Now that he is in such good physical condition, he should progress with continued practice, right?

    Lin Yuan thought so.

    However, the concert would start in the next month, he wondered if there was enough time to learn.

    "Let''s confirm other things first."

    Gu Dong smiled and said: "Director Zhou asked me whether you want to invite guests for the concert."

    Inviting guests to the concert is a common trend.

    The range of guests can include friends of the singer, teachers who have supported them, or even their idols.

    These guests can also be backup singers or even perform duets with the singer.

    Of course, it''s also fine not to invite guests; there''s no rule stating that guests must be invited.

    "Yes."

    Lin Yuan felt that his first concert in his life was quite significant. He not only wanted his family to participate but also hoped his friends could be there. This was something he had planned early on:

    "How about inviting the singers from the Yu Dynasty?"

    "Of course not a problem!"

    Gu Dong''s smile was meaningful: "I bet their schedules for next month are quite open. Have you decided on your songs yet?"

    "The first one is already set."

    "Which song?"

    "Big Fish."

    "Jiang Kui to open?"

    "I will sing a duet with her."

    Lin Yuan had been practicing his falsetto and had made noticeable progress recently.

    With Lin Yuan''s current level, he could hold up "Big Fish" entirely on his own and the effect of him singing it solo would be amazing for sure.

    However, the song mulled over by the two of them was quite interesting and Lin Yuan wanted to interpret a completely new version of "Big Fish".

    This time, he''ll play the supporting role.

    "Okay."

    Gu Dong continued: "Also, there are some interactive segments in the concert. How do you plan to handle them? There are several backup plans from the creative department, like the audience song request segment¡­"

    "That''s a good idea."

    There are countless songs in Lin Yuan''s prepared music library. Even if the audience had strange requests, Lin Yuan could handle it.

    If push comes to shove, he could always play some new songs.

    "Besides the invited guests, there will surely be many other celebrities at your concert, they might be given a highlight and it''s best if you could greet them."

    "No problem."

    In Lin Yuan''s opinion, Jian Yi would definitely come to watch his concert. Jian Yi even mentioned wanting to interact with Lin Yuan during the concert in the group chat.

    "By the way."

    Gu Dong smilingly shared: "I''ve heard that your fans are discussing custom-made merchandise based on your concert, they plan to wear fan shirts and bring banners with your pictures. So, you''ll need to work with the company later to take some photos."

    "Okay."

    "We can discuss the details later. For now, just try to learn as much dance as possible. If you can''t learn it that''s okay, after all, people are coming to see your singing, not your dancing."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    He was really eager to perform the dance well, deep inside.

    "Ding-dong."

    At this moment, the system interjected: "The host wants to create an unforgettable concert. Yet, he struggles with the dance part. The host just has to make a gentle dance customization request to the system¡­"

    "Dance can be customized?"

    Lin Yuan was stunned for a moment. Wasn''t this system a real full-time artist? It provided game customization last time. Now, it even arranges dance?

    "It''s possible, but the price is slightly high."

    "Money is no problem."

    As soon as Lin Yuan finished this sentence, he regretted it. How could he say such an arrogant phrase?

    Wasn''t this just a clear reason for the system to take advantage of him?

    As expected.

    The system got excited: "Here, we recommend Michael Jackson''s The Moonwalk and the robot dance, etc., which are great for concert effects. The price¡­"

    Lin Yuan saw the price: "That''s too expensive!"

    System: "It''s all for charity."

    Lin Yuan asked: "With all the customizations done, did I benefit a lot of people via charity?"

    "You will know in the future."

    "I understand."

    Lin Yuan just gave himself a sufficiently convincing reason, which could make him less distressed when spending money:

    "Let''s order it."

    As the powerful magic of the system took effect, Lin Yuan suddenly felt his body lighten, then he subconsciously twisted the soles of his feet.

    Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.

    Lin Yuan''s body seemed to tilt at an incredible angle.

    Then.

    He stepped forward, but eerily, although he was walking forward, anyone nearby would scream:

    Because Lin Yuan was actually moving backward.

    It gave a very magical visual effect.

    With one step, two steps, like claws, it was the devil''s steps.

    The dance for the concert, was set.

    Originally, Lin Yuan didn''t plan to perform too much dance. Something simple would do. After all, he wasn''t a singing dance artist.

    Dancing was just a means to serve the stage performance.

    He would still reserve 80% of his energy and concentration on singing.

    His aim was to create a perfect concert!

    sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 683 - 649: The Ultimate Showdown between Journey to the West and The Primordial Chaos_1

    The following day.

    Lin Yuan once again came to the dance studio.

    The dance teacher sent by the company took the initiative to say: "Considering your performance yesterday, I''ve adjusted your learning plan, we will start with more basic movements."

    Lin Yuan started by saying, "I''m sorry."

    "Ah?"

    The dance teacher didn''t expect Lin Yuan to be so polite and hurriedly said:

    "Teacher Admirable Fish doesn''t need to blame himself, indeed learning dancing at the beginning can be quite difficult..."

    "No."

    Lin Yuan said: "I played a joke on you yesterday, actually, I know how to dance."

    Well then.

    The system suddenly assigned a dance to Lin Yuan, there''s no way to explain this, so Lin Yuan had to come over to rectify it.

    "You can dance?"

    The dance teacher was full of disbelief, thinking that Lin Yuan was joking with him.

    Lin Yuan performed the movements taught by the dance teacher the day before, each movement executed very precisely and accurately.

    "This..."

    The dance teacher was dumbfounded.

    Was the Admirable Fish pretending not to be good at dancing yesterday?

    Was he really joking with me?

    The famed Maestro Junior, the Crown Prince of Starlight, spent several hours yesterday messing around with a mere dance teacher like me?

    "I''m sorry."

    Lin Yuan''s apology was very sincere.

    This incident was his fault.

    Even though he really couldn''t dance yesterday, he indeed wasted the dance teacher''s time.

    "It''s okay, it''s okay."

    The dance teacher smiled awkwardly: "I was originally planning to teach you and then get an autograph for my daughter, but now, can I still get that autograph..."

    "No problem."

    Lin Yuan assured very briskly.

    The dance teacher was embarrassed: "I didn''t mean your autograph."

    Lin Yuan was stunned: "Ah?"

    The dance teacher was increasingly embarrassed: "Of course, if you can help with the autograph, it''s not a problem, I am your fan."

    Lin Yuan understood: "But?"

    The dance teacher coughed: "But my daughter is a fan of Chu Kuang, she really likes Teacher Chu Kuang''s works, but his autographed books are too hard to get, so I thought, given your good relationship with him, perhaps you could get Teacher Chu Kuang''s autograph for me."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    The dance teacher''s voice gradually lowered: "If it''s not convenient for you, it''s okay." S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "It''s convenient."

    Lin Yuan started: "I''ll have Gu Dong send it to you tomorrow, which book would you like autographed?"

    "Ideally ''Alice in Wonderland''!"

    "All right."

    The dance teacher was overjoyed: "Can I also get an autograph from Shadow, my son is a fan of Shadow!"

    Lin Yuan: "???"

    His feelings were complex, for a moment he wasn''t sure whether to be happy or bemused, in the end, he agreed to everything.

    The dance teacher likes Admirable Fish, the dance teacher''s daughter likes Chu Kuang, the dance teacher''s son likes Shadow.

    Rounding it off, the whole family are his fans.

    He surely can''t be jealous of himself, right?

    Returning to his office.

    Lin Yuan began to sign autographs.

    Admirable Fish, regular script.

    Shadow, running script.

    Chu Kuang, cursive script.

    Three different styles of characters to distinguish between the three identities.

    Shadow''s first autograph being in running script seems rather fitting, as the style of running script is just right between regular and cursive script.

    It isn''t too neat.

    Nor is it too flamboyant.

    Lin Yuan has professional calligraphy skills obtained from the system''s treasure box.

    The three styles of writing he uses form three distinctly different handwriting styles.

    Now, the reason for distinguishing the autographs is mainly because Lin Yuan doesn''t want to be exposed because of his handwriting.

    Better safe than sorry.

    Using the same font for autographs, even if they deliberately vary the handwriting style, there is still a risk of being caught out.

    ...

    After asking Gu Dong to deliver the autographs to the dance teacher, Lin Yuan spends the following days busy with the concert preparations.

    He needs to first determine the songs required for the performances and the order of singing.

    Settling on the songs now will facilitate rehearsals in April.

    As March roared past, the broadcast of ''Journey to the West'' finally made its way onto the agenda as April approached.

    At the same time.

    The new version of the television drama ''The Primordial Chaos'', which rivals ''Journey to the West'', is also about to be aired!

    Fans from both sides are already eager for this!

    Since the inception of ''Journey to the West'', the dispute between ''Journey to the West'' and ''The Primordial Chaos'' has never ceased.

    From the quality of the novels to the theme songs of the TV series, and even the recent fan fictions, they have all been used by both sides'' fans for various comparisons...

    And now.

    The confrontation between the two dramas has been viewed by fans as the ultimate battle between ''Journey to the West'' and ''The Primordial Chaos''!

    "This time, we are sure to win!"

    Fans of ''The Primordial Chaos'' are claiming this with overwhelming enthusiasm.

    Before the emergence of ''Journey to the West'', ''The Primordial Chaos'' was undoubtedly the top myth series on Blue Star.

    But after the emergence of ''Journey to the West'', ''The Primordial Chaos'' was suppressed at every turn.

    In terms of the quality of the novels, ''Journey to the West'' is superior.

    In terms of the treatment of the novels, ''Journey to the West'' was officially recognized and promoted by the Literature and Art Association.

    The theme song of the TV series, that song ''Wukong'', angered the fans of ''The Primordial Chaos''.

    Even the numerous classic fan fictions that ''The Primordial Chaos'' prided itself on, were overshadowed by a Yi An fan fiction called ''The Legend of Wukong''.

    Fans of ''The Primordial Chaos'' have been suppressed for too long!

    They need to vent their feelings!

    They need a big win to prove ''The Primordial Chaos'' is still as strong as before!

    And indeed, the TV series is the best chance for ''The Primordial Chaos'' to win, given that ''The Primordial Chaos'' has deep roots, and the people of Blue Star have feelings towards the story of ''The Primordial Chaos'' ¡ª

    Just like on Earth.

    ''Journey to the West'' was repeatedly put on the big screen, but its IP value still stood firm.

    People just eat this up.

    "If ''Journey to the West'' wants to surpass ''The Primordial Chaos'', it will have to wait another twenty years!"

    Fans of ''The Primordial Chaos'' now gradually acknowledge the status of ''Journey to the West'', but at the same time, they think:

    ''Journey to the West'' needs countless years of brewing to reach the height of ''The Primordial Chaos''.

    In response to this.

    ''Journey to the West'' fans naturally won''t surrender.

    ''Journey to the West'' has won so many times, which has given its fans confidence.

    Even if ''The Primordial Chaos'' has a profound heritage, ''Journey to the West'' fans now think that the ''Journey to the West'' TV series may not be inferior to ''The Primordial Chaos''.

    Both sides have started the final confrontation!

    At this moment, fans of ''Journey to the West'' are nervous yet excited!

    But speaking of those who are most excited at this moment?

    It is not the fans of ''Journey to the West''.

    Neither is it the fans of ''The Primordial Chaos''.

    Actually, the most excited are those singers and composers who are preparing to take the charts by storm in April!

    The reason is simple.

    Because after dominating the charts for three consecutive months, Admirable Fish finally took a break!

    Right up to the last day of March.

    Starlight did not promote any new songs from Fish.

    This means that there will be no new songs from Fish in April!

    The three-month chart domination has caused many in the music industry to develop Fish-phobia.

    Some unlucky ones, who had been tormented by Fish multiple times, were even seeing their Fish-phobia almost reaching an advanced stage.

    The fact that they could get rid of Fish''s dominance in April caused many to heave a big sigh of relief.

    "It must be the broadcast of the TV series and the preparation of the concert that diverted Fish''s attention."

    A singer planning to hit the charts in April said thankfully.

    A certain top female singer also guessed: "Or it may be the continuous number one hits for three months that temporarily exhausted Fish''s reserves."

    "Enough of this!"

    "I''m going to watch ''Journey to the West'' tonight!"

    "I must support Fish''s new drama!"

    "To express my gratitude for Fish''s mercy of not releasing a new song, I will definitely contribute a view to ''Journey to the West''!"

    "Let''s go, let''s watch together!"

    "Meet at seven o''clock tonight, don''t miss ''Journey to the West''!"

    "Though I''m also interested in ''The Primordial Chaos'', in consideration of Fish not releasing any new songs in April, let''s binge watch ''Journey to the West''!"

    "..."

    Official announcements serve as the weather vane.

    For composers at the level of Fish, the release of new works would certainly be accompanied by some promotion.

    There are exceptions if Starlight wouldn''t promote, then everyone would default to that Fish is not releasing any new songs.

    But it turns out that everyone hasn''t realized that the lack of promotion this time is also an exception.

    Because the TV series itself is the biggest promotion.

 Chapter 684 - 650 Thump Thump Thump Thump Thump Thump Thump_1

    (This chapter is best enjoyed while listening to "The Music of the Cloud Palace".)

    March 31st.

    Seven ten in the evening.

    At a barbecue restaurant in Blue Star''s Qin Continent, Jack was munching on a large piece of kidney, oil dripping from his mouth:

    "The barbecue here is much more satisfying than in our Han Continent. In Han, we only have beef and chicken for barbecue, and the only seasoning used is salt and black pepper..."

    "Your tastes are more Qin than Han."

    His agent found the greasy barbecue to be only passable.

    Each continent has its own style of cuisine. The turkey and steaks popular in Han Continent were seemingly not as well-liked here as the skewered barbecue.

    Jack was a two-time King of Singing winner from Han Continent.

    After being severely outperformed by Xian Yu in Mandarin and English versions of "Farewell Kiss" in February, Jack had not given up on expanding his market in the territories of Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan.

    Lately, he had been participating in some musical events in Qin Continent so as to familiarize the local audience with him as much as possible. However, the effects weren''t significant yet, or else Jack wouldn''t be able to dine undisturbed at a Qin barbecue restaurant without attracting any attention from the crowd.

    "Nobody recognizes me here."

    Jack looked around, continued munching on his kidney, and mumbled:

    "When I win the Seasonal Chart next month, people should start to recognize me. Then we won''t be able to enjoy our barbecue so peacefully and undisturbed."

    "April looks very promising!"

    The agent''s interest was piqued:

    "The most important thing is that Xian Yu isn''t in the April Seasonal Chart. Without his interference, we would have clinched the championship in February."

    "Steer clear of what you can''t overcome."

    Jack stated without any burden.

    He and his company had been observing for a long time, only daring to release a new song after confirming that Xian Yu wasn''t releasing one in April. They aimed to secure the April Seasonal Chart championship.

    Whilst chatting leisurely.

    The big TV in the barbecue restaurant was turned on.

    In the buzzing environment, an ad appeared on screen:

    "''Journey to the West'' will be broadcast in five minutes. Don''t go away, the excitement is about to begin!"

    "Change the channel, boss!"

    One of the customers at table two yelled displeasingly: "Watch ''The Primordial Chaos'', it''s also on today!"

    This customer was clearly a ''The Primordial Chaos'' fan.

    The boss hesitated: "Which channel is airing ''The Primordial Chaos'' again?"

    The customer at table two was about to answer, but the adjacent customer at table three was not pleased:

    "Why change the channel? Let''s watch ''Journey to the West''!"

    Turns out.

    This patron was a ''Journey to the West'' fan.

    The customer at table two glared: "Only you want to watch ''Journey to the West''..."

    "Me too."

    The customer at table one objected.

    A voice also came from table six: "I want to watch ''Journey to the West'' too, I love Xian Yu!"

    It was a little girl.

    Then, the customer at table four chimed in: "Let''s watch ''The Primordial Chaos'', it''s better."

    Table three: "It must be ''Journey to the West''."

    Table five: "Isn''t ''The Primordial Chaos'' on-point?"

    Like a chain reaction.

    The barbecue restaurant erupted in lively chatter.

    Some were clamoring to watch ''Journey to the West'', some were clamoring to watch ''The Primordial Chaos''. It appeared that there were many fans of both series present.

    The online debate between the two parties seemed to have spilled over into the real world.

    Of course.

    The majority were simply chiming in, stirring up some fun.

    After all, not everyone enjoys watching television, and not everyone is a fan of either ''Journey to the West'' or ''The Primordial Chaos''.

    Not to mention that many people in the barbecue restaurant were slightly tipsy.

    Alcohol tends to make people a little more animated.

    Even the introverted ones become extroverted in this situation.

    "¡­"

    The boss threw up his hands: "There''s only one TV."

    Jack was slightly surprised: "''Journey to the West'' is Xian Yu''s drama, right?"

    The agent nodded: "I read part of the novel a while ago, it''s really good."

    "Then let''s watch ''Journey to the West''!"

    Jack yelled out.

    Agent: "¡­"

    Why were you adding to the commotion?

    Jack laughed: "Xian Yu isn''t releasing a song in April, so I should be thankful to him."

    For some reason, the agent felt that made sense:

    "Indeed. He even showed mercy to us in February. If ''God Is a Girl'' had been released in February, we Han people would have been utterly defeated."

    The barbecue restaurant was still filled with arguments.

    Those calling for ''Journey to the West'', those calling for ''The Primordial Chaos'', none were giving way to the other.

    In the midst of the stalemate.

    The drama is finally going to air.

    The patron at Table No. 2, who had asked for "The Primordial Chaos" after drinking who knows how many rounds, started to stagger to his feet, saying:

    "Let me tell you!"

    Before he could finish, the theme song of "Journey to the West" began to play, effectively drowning out whatever he was about to say:

    "Whoosh!"

    "Boom boom!"

    "Wait, wait, wait..."

    The voice at Table No. 2 paused for a moment, as if suddenly sobered up by the music.

    The audience felt a shiver run down their spinal cords, their attention immediately drawn to the television by the captivating music.

    In the lens.

    The waves are crashing violently!

    The mountains are towering!

    A massive mountain peak suddenly explodes in this majestic landscape, waves roar into a storm, and the rhythm of the music rolls in like thunder!

    Earthquake!

    Among the flying grit and stone, a golden light shoots towards the sky. A monkey rolls and leaps into the sky, disappearing among the deep clouds.

    The bass guitar starts to play.

    The orchestration and percussion combine, beating against the audience''s hearts, growing increasingly intense.

    Almost instinctively, people begin chewing the barbeque in their mouths.

    Electronic music with a jumpy rhythm.

    Drenched in psychedelic hues.

    With every earthen tremor and mountain shift, the corresponding sound is illustrated through music. The electronic music mixed with a variety of classical instruments, resulting in a harmonious blend rather than a chaotic mess.

    The Guzheng, Pipa, and Bianzhong!

    The instruments resonate and complement each other!

    Either due to the top-notch special effects or the abrupt music, everyone swallowed their food forcefully, forgetting what it tasted like.

    The atmosphere is magnificent!

    The Five Finger Mountain turns to dust!

    Yellow talismans float away into the distance. Amid the dreamlike mist, Buddha stands solemnly, his single hand pointing skyward, his sacred aura enveloping everything!

    Lotuses blooming fiercely!

    Kuan Yin, tender and compassionate. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Four figures traverse desolate mountains and regions. Wolves and leopards lurk nearby, the setting sun splintering through the dappled shade onto the ground beneath them. Unidentified creatures hide behind the roadside trees.

    "Dum dum dum dum dum dum dum!"

    "Dum dum dum dum dum dum dum!"

    The music takes a sudden turn, merging electronic beats with the rhythm of drums, accompanied by the Guzheng''s trembling notes. It sounds both sturdy and soft, like undulating mountains, each following their own course yet maintaining perfect harmony!

    Lost souls in Hell hovering!

    The Monkey King swings his Golden Cudgel!

    Gods and demons scurry, the earth shakes and mountains tremble!

    Silver-armored heavenly soldiers and generals swarm in masses, their intimidating gaze fixed on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit. The muscular Titan beats his drum frantically. While atop the mountain peak, a monkey draped in a billowing red cape sits quietly!

    "Ah ah ah¡­"

    "Ah ah ah¡­"

    "Ah ah ah¡­"

    The ethereal female vocals begin, tender and melancholic, which only amplify the dazzling magic weapons. As the world changes color amidst the grand battle, a large Golden Fillet sweeps across resulting in a rain of blood!

    "Ah ah ah¡­"

    The only sound left in the barbecue restaurant was the music.

    Everyone had forgotten to continue eating. Their mouths hung slightly open, their eyes seemingly frozen. Some people''s mouths were still half full of partially chewed food, which was still slightly warm.

    "Boom!"

    "Boom!"

    "Boom boom!"

    At every beat, fleeting images of intense battles flashed on the screen. The Monkey King''s eyes were filled with undying flames, the universe seemed to shake with the rhythm of the battle. These were pieces of the westward journey.

    Demons danced wildly!

    Evil spirits ran amok!

    Finally, all the musical instruments converged brilliantly, and the harp flowed out like running water, merging beauty with solemnity.

    Two minutes and fifty-three seconds.

    The duration of a piece of music.

    Two minutes and fifty-three seconds ago, the barbecue restaurant was noisy and chaotic. Two minutes and fifty-three seconds later, the restaurant was dead silent. The normally busy hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

    "What is this?"

    Who knows when.

    Jack stood up.

    The man next to him, who was presumably his agent, struggled to swallow his saliva. He pointed with a shaking hand to the swiftly disappearing information on the screen. There were a few lines in blue text, which were particularly noticeable.

    "The Music of the Cloud Palace"

    "Composer: Xian Yu"

    "Guzheng: Wang Li, Pipa: Zhang Xie, Orchestra: Liu Ran, Bianzhong: Li Keqi, Mezzo-Soprano: Ning Meimei, Harp: Han Han, Violin: Lala, Trumpet: Xiao Gang, Harp: Zhou Li, Guitar: Ping Dahai..."

    Boom boom boom!

    Three large golden characters replacing the flurry of images, and thus leaving an everlasting impression on everyone''s memories. Even years later, many people would still cherish their recollection of it:

    Journey! To! The! West!

 Chapter 685 - 651: Is this something I can watch without spending money?_1

    Inside this quiet BBQ shop.

    No one brought up the topic of switching channels again.

    The customer who was previously clamoring to watch The Primordial Chaos at table two had sobered up considerably and had returned to his seat without anyone noticing, he called out gruffly, "Boss, bring another pound of lamb, I want it insanely spicy!" S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Let''s have some pork over here."

    "Add some lettuce to mine."

    "Two more grilled lamb kidneys."

    The BBQ shop returned to its lively state, it seemed everyone''s appetite had greatly increased. At this time, Jack sat frozen like the stone monkey in the first scene of the TV series.

    Meanwhile!

    Online!

    As if cold water had been poured into a hot boiling pot of oil, with the start of "The Music of the Cloud Palace," all the major forums exploded. Numerous posts directly overwhelmed the forums with comments!

    "Watch Journey to the West!"

    "The start has already blown my mind!"

    "The song "The Music of the Cloud Palace" stunned me, combined with the visuals it was mind-blowing. Just two minutes ago, my parents were indecisive about whether to watch Journey to the West or The Primordial Chaos tonight, but they reached a consensus after two minutes!"

    "I''m floored!"

    "Xian Yu''s work is phenomenal."

    "How did he come up with the idea of composing the theme song for Journey to the West using electronic music? It''s extremely pleasing to the ears and perfectly complements the visuals, making it explosive!"

    "The Primordial Chaos, danger!!"

    "I thought I was at a concert just now, I didn''t expect that the combination of electronic music, folk music, and an orchestra could produce such a wonderful chemistry. Just for this theme song, I must follow this TV series!"

    "..."

    Netizens enthusiastically shared their posts while watching the TV series, whereas those preparing to compete in the April Season rankings were collectively dumbfounded and hopeless. Their reactions were identical to Jack''s at the BBQ shop.

    "What the heck is this!"

    "What''s the point of playing anymore!"

    "I''m having a ''Fear of Fish'' outburst."

    "I don''t know whether The Primordial Chaos is in danger or not, but I know that we''ve already lost the Season rankings for April. This song will definitely join the competition. We''re all just ordinary people amidst unparalleled talent!"

    "I''m cracking up."

    "Didn''t we agree not to release songs in April?"

    "Does electronic music not count as a song?"

    "What''s key is that the song''s lineup is outrageous. Let''s put Xian Yu, the composer, aside for now. The guzheng was played by Wang Li, The pipa was played by Zhang Xie, the orchestra was overseen by Liu Ran, the bell part was wielded by Li Keqi. The soprano was the Queen of China, Ning Meimei. Harp by Han Han, violin by Lala, trumpet by Xiao Gang, harp by Zhou Li, guitar by Ping Dahai.

    How can we compete when these talents come together!"

    "..."

    It''s not just that Xian Yu''s song is amazing; all the different instrumentalists are top-tier powerhouses within the industry. With this kind of lineup, even the King of Singing has to bow down. None of the people on the April Season ranking can dare to have a stroke of luck!

    Everybody was dumbfounded!

    The Primordial Chaos team was dumbfounded!

    The simultaneous broadcast of Journey to the West and The Primordial Chaos meant that the The Primordial Chaos team was naturally attentive to the start of Journey to the West. As a result, all the main creators of The Primordial Chaos were caught off guard by the opening theme of Journey to the West.

    The drama hadn''t even started yet and Journey to the West had already delivered a heavy blow to The Primordial Chaos!

    "As the old saying goes!"

    The main creators of The Primordial Chaos clenched their teeth, encouraging each other: "Maybe Journey to the West is also poorly produced, so the theme song is so impressive. After all, everyone knows that a crappy film is notorious for having a brilliant song!"

    A crappy film producing excellent music?

    Although they were just encouraging each other, everyone had not only heard the music but also seen the opening of Journey to the West. Judging from the quality of the visuals, there''s something off about this show!

    ...

    This show was indeed off. When people gradually emerged from the shock of "The Music of the Cloud Palace" and turned their attention to the storyline of the TV series, they experienced an even greater shock!

    Mountain of Flowers and Fruit!

    Magnificent!

    The entire Mountain of Flowers and Fruit was shrouded in mist, like a land of immortality in the human realm. This was shot in a top-rated scenic spot in Qin Continent, employing multiple helicopters, which achieved stunning results.

    Sun Wukong goes airborne!

    The Heavenly Court trembles violently at the emergence of the stone monkey. This scene was shot with a long wide-angle lens that encompasses the whole Heavenly Court, showing a tracking shot from the Southern Heavenly Gate to the front of the Jade Emperor''s throne, making all viewers feel immersed.

    Glorious!

    Majestic!

    Impressive!

    The stone columns carved with dragons, the coiling bodies of the dragons seem to be alive. The immortals of the Heavenly Court each have unique looks, from their costumes to the special effects, everything is movie-quality. The Jade Emperor looks down upon all living beings from a high position!

    The Primordial Chaos fans were bewildered.

    Is this a TV show?

    Is this damn thing really a TV show?

    Are you belittling us for not having seen a movie?

    All the audience widened their eyes, the visuals in this series were too beautiful. It seemed that any frame could be directly screenshot and used as a screensaver. From the texture to the special effects, everything was movie-level!

    "What kind of play is this!"

    Eventually, the main creators of The Primordial Chaos couldn''t stand it anymore. How much money did the Journey to the West crew put into it? Was it worth it to invest so much in just making a TV series? Weren''t they afraid of losing everything in the end?

    In all the major forums.

    The audience of Journey to the West also realized that the special effects and scenes of Journey to the West were exaggerated beyond the scope of a TV show, even qualifying as a movie. For a moment, everyone was dumbfounded!

    "I''m about to cry!"

    "How was it filmed so well!"

    "This series perfectly recreates my imagination of the Heavenly Palace and the immortals. From the Jade Emperor to the immortals of the Heavenly Palace, all are experienced veterans. How much money does it take to get this effect!"

    "A TV series with conscience!"

    "Is this the same Xian Yu who was notorious for cutting corners on special effects? Even though it''s just a TV series, Xian Yu has shot it according to movie standards. Is this really something I can watch without spending money?"

    "I''m not worthy!"

    "I''m begging for it to be paid!"

    "Is there a big shot who can estimate the cost of this episode? For the first time in my life, I''m seeing a TV series with such elaborate production. Can Xian Yu recoup the cost with this move?"

    "I estimate it''s at least 50 million!"

    "It''s definitely more than 50 million, just the fees for these actors alone is a scary number. The Jade Emperor is just a supporting role, but Xian Yu directly hired a Best Actor to play it. Can any other series on Blue Star dare to be this extravagant!"

    "I''m losing my mind!"

    "How can there be such a considerate TV series? I really love Xian Yu to death! If anyone says Xian Yu likes to use small tricks to achieve big gains, I will lose it. Is this what you call using small tricks to achieve big gains?"

    "..."

    Everyone was shocked!

    Even people who don''t know about TV production could tell the production level of Journey to the West. This is definitely the highest standard in the history of Blue Star TV series. Never has a TV series been able to achieve this level of effect, and the shock is even more terrifying than the theme song!

    The most apt summary is:

    Is this something I can watch without spending money?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Thanks to [v Ni Ma `Bi] for being the Alliance Hierarch. This name is really aggressive, it sounds like a reader who would scold me, hehehe. I''m kneeling to you, and now continue writing.

 Chapter 686 - 652: The Highest Record in TV Drama Investment History_1

    With Sun Wukong setting out to sea in search of immortality, the first episode of "Journey to the West" finally comes to a close. This episode lasted a staggering one hour and twenty-three minutes, equivalent to the length of two episodes of other TV series, so the rest of the series will be broadcast daily.

    With the end of the first episode...

    The internet has set off a Journey to the West frenzy sweeping across the five continents. Eight of the top ten trending topics were related to the series!

    Of all the topics, the two most heated ones were the TV series theme song "The Music of the Cloud Palace" and everyone''s curiosity about the production cost of this series.

    In the first topic...

    Countless musicians are expressing their thoughts on "The Music of the Cloud Palace" on different platforms, offering their critiques from various angles.

    Among them, some accomplished maestros even praised the song!

    "Undoubtedly, ''The Music of the Cloud Palace'' pioneers blending electronic music with traditional folk and orchestral music in a television series. Its innovative musical composition, beautiful melody, and perfect melding of plot and music are unbeatable in the history of television series music."

    ¡ª Yin Dong

    "I was probably one of the first lucky ones to hear this piece. I was deeply shocked when I first heard it. But after watching the Journey to the West series today, I think awe-inspiring would be a better description."

    ¡ª Zheng Jing

    "For those who missed Journey to the West tonight, as a TV series enthusiast, I believe it''s a television feast not to be missed for Blue Star''s audience. As for the theme song ''The Music of the Cloud Palace,'' I think it would be a classic piece that many proficient electronic musicians should dissect and learn from."

    ¡ª Ye Zhi Qiu

    Even Yang Zhongming expressed his thoughts on the platform:

    "I''m not surprised that Xian Yu has such a profound understanding of electronic music. What surprises me is that electronic music can blend so perfectly with a mythological story like Journey to the West. Such an out-of-box idea probably would have been beyond my capabilities."

    Some people think this is Yang Zhongming''s modesty.

    But with so many maestros praising ''The Music of the Cloud Palace,'' it indeed gives people a deeper understanding of the level of this piece.

    There were many musicians analyzing various aspects of "The Music of the Cloud Palace" during this process.

    In their analysis, every instrument in ''The Music of the Cloud Palace'' seems to have its own unique emotional expression.

    The notes are actually a depiction of Journey to the West in a form of artistic language.

    In contrast to the first topic...

    The second topic has an even broader reach!

    Countless people are asking under Starlight''s official Weibo:

    What is the actual cost of Journey to the West TV series?

    When people praise a TV series as good, they often describe it as having a "movie-like quality."

    But when it comes to "Journey to the West," even this praise seems insufficient.

    This series can be described as "surpassing movie quality!"

    Even compared to movies, the first episode of "Journey to the West" is not a bit inferior!

    At that moment¡­

    Starlight suddenly released an interview, titled:

    [Exclusive Interview with Zhou Ruiming, the Producer of Journey to the West: The Production Cost of Journey to the West Sets a New Record for Blue Star''s TV Series Investment!]

    Holy crap!

    A new record!

    Even though everyone already anticipated it, this still shocked everyone, and they all immediately clicked on the interview.

    In the interview,

    The host laughed and said,

    "Tonight, the first episode of ''Journey to the West'' was broadcasted, and its popularity has reached a terrifying peak. Perhaps the TV king of this year has been born ahead of schedule. Now, we''ve invited Zhou Ruiming, the producer of Starlight''s Journey to the West, for an interview. First of all, I would like to ask a question that everyone is curious about, how much does this series cost?" S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "The first season of Journey to the West, a total of ten episodes, was invested with seven hundred million, which averages to seventy million per episode."

    Zhou Ruiming started off seriously.

    The host drew in a cold breath: "This must be the highest record of Blue Star''s TV series production, right?"

    Zhou Ruiming responded proudly: "Yes, for example, the upcoming episode of Sun Wukong wreaking havoc in the heavenly palace could even be screened in cinemas without any problem."

    The host asked, "Starlight has invested so much money, are you confident about getting a return on your investment?"

    Ol'' Zhou burst into laughter: "A TV series with an investment of seven hundred million, you''re asking me about return on investment?"

    The host: "..."

    Ol'' Zhou paused his laughter: "The series is going to lose money, big time. If it hadn''t been for Xian Yu''s insistence, our planned budget for the series would have been around one hundred million."

    The host wore a strange expression: "Didn''t anyone try to dissuade Teacher Admirable Fish?"

    Ol'' Zhou, as if recalling something, suddenly got excited, with his spit flying all over, and his arms waving:

    "Who says there weren''t any objections? I objected! For half a month, more than a dozen high-level executives at Starlight took turns persuading him not to take such a big risk. In the end, even the chairman of the company personally stepped in, but could not persuade him. Instead, Xian Yu added another one hundred million to the investment."

    The host was stupefied.

    That information was pretty heavy-duty.

    Looking at Zhou Ruiming''s expression, the host could almost imagine the sense of despair the Starlight executives must have felt at the time.

    "Teacher Admirable Fish has a lot of sway in Starlight," the host said, trying to keep her voice steady.

    Ol'' Zhou''s voice was mixed with complex emotions, "He''s the crown prince of Starlight."

    At first listen, this comment seemed to voice dissatisfaction with Xian Yu. But upon closer inspection, the host could clearly hear a note of pride and satisfaction?

    This was the first time the outside world got a glimpse of Xian Yu''s position in Starlight.

    "So, Starlight knew they wouldn''t be able to recoup the cost, but still went ahead with the production? Simply because of Teacher Admirable Fish''s insistence?"

    "Yes, but it''s not just that."

    Ol'' Zhou said, "Xian Yu mentioned that the future development of ''Journey to the West'' might not just be limited to a TV series. In the future, there may be animations and even movies related to Journey to the West. This is a grand scheme. Maybe one day in the future, we would be able to recoup the cost of this TV series.

    Anyway, that''s how Xian Yu explained it¡ªwe dare not say anything, we dare not ask."

    "That''s so exciting!"

    The host looked forward to it, then said, "Any interesting experiences during filming?"

    Ol'' Zhou looked a little blank: "Very desperate. Every day when I woke up, I was greeted with the smell of burning money."

    The host: "..."

    Ol'' Zhou twitched the corner of his mouth: "Just kidding, even though it''s true. As for interesting experiences, I guess Xian Yu insisting on casting a newcomer as Sun Wukong counts?"

    The host nodded, "That decision was very adventurous and crazy."

    Ol'' Zhou shared the sentiment deeply, "It truly is madness, which is why Xian Yu''s choice to cast a newcomer in a seven-billion-dollar TV drama lead role also drew opposition from the company. But judging by today''s results, it seems we were wrong, the charm of Sun Wukong is not whether the actor is a star, because Sun Wukong can easily make one a star."

    "¡­"

    The interview lasted for half an hour.

    Ol'' Zhou revealed a lot of behind-the-scenes stories from "Journey to the West".

    After the interview ended.

    Discussion went wild on each continent!

    "Damn it, seven billion!"

    "Is it okay to wake up every day smelling the scent of burning money?"

    "Seventy million per episode on average!"

    "They even dare to shoot a TV show that is bound to lose money!"

    "Typical of Xian Yu!"

    "With an average cost of seventy million per episode, if it was early on, Xian Yu could have used that much to shoot several films!"

    "Is Xian Yu the Crown Prince of Starlight?"

    "Fish Papa is badass!"

    "Hahahaha, this director looks fun, he must have been tormented a lot by Fish Papa."

    "We dare not say, we dare not ask - please, you''re a senior executive at Starlight, why are you so humble in front of Fish Papa?"

    "What do you mean, senior executive? Didn''t she say that even the chairman courteously discusses investment matters with Xian Yu, and in the end, she had to add another hundred million. It''s just too much."

    "You call it the Crown Prince?"

    "This is clearly the Supreme Emperor of Starlight!"

    "Fish Papa is the company''s favorite, this director might be complaining about Fish Papa, but he cares a lot."

    "You guys think he''s complaining about Xian Yu, but actually, he''s just indirectly praising him, playing with words."

    "Just look at how much Zheng Jing and Yang Zhongming spoil Xian Yu to guess the company''s attitude."

    "¡­"

    Netizens were in a heated discussion.

    When the production team of The Primordial Chaos saw this interview, they almost couldn''t catch their breath.

    A total investment of seven billion?

    Ten episodes in total, you guys burn seventy million per episode?

    Are you guys doing charity!

    Is that necessary!

    This is a behavior that breaks industry rules!

    It seriously messes up the market atmosphere!

    You guys wouldn''t be trying to ruin us regardless of the cost, would you?

    What a huge grievance!

    The Primordial Chaos is really about to get ruined...

    Actually, the investment in The Primordial Chaos is not low, close to two billion.

    But The Primordial Chaos shot a full fifty episodes!

    There must be some watering down, it''s an industry norm for TV dramas and the audience is used to it.

    If Journey to the West didn''t exist, everyone would feel that watching The Primordial Chaos was a good value.

    But...

    Being broadcast at the same time as Journey to the West, the comparisons present themselves.

    After watching Journey to the West and then watching The Primordial Chaos, they always had the feeling that their props had a plastic feel, fifty-cent special effects, very cheap.

    Ironically, this was a choice made by The Primordial Chaos itself!

    If The Primordial Chaos had evaded Journey to the West, not insisted on challenging Journey to the West, they might have had a good harvest.

    In fact.

    The shock this interview brought was not only to the team of The Primordial Chaos and netizens, but also to the whole film and television circle!

    Investing seven billion in a TV drama is truly madness!

    Even a movie wouldn''t dare to gamble that much!

    If it were on Earth.

    The investment level of Journey to the West is slightly more than the later seasons of "Game of Thrones".

    In fact.

    When Lin Yuan shot "Journey to the West", he was aiming for that kind of blockbuster.

    But will "Journey to the West" really lose money?

    Ol'' Zhou is not stupid.

    His words were purely to win the favor of the audience.

    As long as the drama is popular enough, it won''t lose much, because if this drama maintains its heat, there would be an extension of a series of interest chains.

    Like games, like movies, like animations, like merchandise, like...

    At the time, the company was not happy with Xian Yu gambling so much, purely because they lacked confidence in the show''s success.

    Note, super hit!

    If it doesn''t reach the super hit level, only a normal hit, it''s definitely not okay.

    The standard of a super hit is everyone following the drama!

    Neighboring Earth''s "Game of Thrones" recouped its cost and earned a lot of money because it was a super hit.

    The only difference is that the money-making cycle of Journey to the West is longer.

    But at the same time, the money that Journey to the West will earn is definitely more than Earth''s Game of Thrones.

    Regarding this, Lin Yuan had full confidence!

 Chapter 687 - 653: Progress of Twelve Consecutive Championships 1/3_1

    During an interview, Ol'' Zhou revealed lots of interesting inside scoop.

    Like how Starlight specifically set up a TV department to film "Journey to the West".

    Before this, Starlight only had a film department, without any layout in the TV drama industry.

    Regarding many Xian Yu-related matters, even a fragment of information is enough to set people''s imaginations wild.

    Like why Xian Yu wants to stage such a grand production for Journey to the West...

    "Talking about subsequent development, I believe, but it''s definitely not all the reason. There''s another critical reason that he didn''t tell everyone, that is, the author of ''Journey to the West'' is Chu Kuang!"

    Yes.

    A lot of spectators think this is a testament to the friendship between Xian Yu and Chu Kuang.

    The rationale behind him investing so much, from getting a film emperor to act, to personally making the top-level soundtrack, has a lot to do with the fact that the author of Journey to the West is Chu Kuang.

    The relationship between these two is too good!

    It can be described as a bromance-made match in heaven!

    After all, Xian Yu has never been so generous with his own scripts. Everyone in and out of the circle knows that Xian Yu''s approach to filming movies is to save wherever he can.

    "Isn''t this exactly how I treat my girlfriend?"

    Someone resonated, saying: "I would rather eat instant ramen myself and let my girlfriend eat her favorite Chu Continent cuisine; Xian Yu would rather cut his own movie investment costs to make Chu Kuang''s novel become the best TV series on Blue Star!"

    This theory is quite popular.

    Xian Yu and Chu Kuang''s mutual fans have started to rave about it.

    In the words of another netizen: "It''s another day of fun without Shadow."

    In the final analysis.

    This is a carnival for Journey to the West fans!

    ''Journey to the West'' filmed by Xian Yu perfectly fits everyone''s imagination of this novel!

    Even over-delivered!

    But for The Primordial Chaos fans, it''s a night of torment.

    People of discerning eyes know it.

    Once again, The Primordial Chaos was crushed by Journey to the West.

    Journey to the West fans didn''t even bother making fun of The Primordial Chaos, because it''s no longer necessary. The TV series from both sides are simply not in the same league.

    This is the ultimate crushing victory!

    The mythological Paradigm of Blue Star has changed.

    From now on, Journey to the West holds the title of Blue Star''s number one myth!

    The Primordial Chaos can only step aside!

    A diehard fan of The Primordial Chaos lamented: "The excitement is theirs, we have nothing..."

    "Who said that!"

    Some fans of The Primordial Chaos quickly chimed in: "We can join the excitement too!"

    This part of The Primordial Chaos fans demonstrated to everyone:

    What it means to have unyielding mettle!

    What it means to have unswerving loyalty!

    Hand in hand, they cheerfully switched sides.

    The turncoats came in droves, and it started with just a few fans of The Primordial Chaos braving internal pressure and criticism, mildly praising the TV series ''Journey to the West'' for its efforts...

    Later on, it developed to countless fans of The Primordial Chaos sneakily watching the Journey to the West TV series.

    The straw that broke the camel''s back was when some fans of The Primordial Chaos clipped a few snippets from the opening song of the ''Journey to the West'', where Sun Wukong and Erlang Shen were fighting:

    "This is the Erlang Shen in my heart!"

    In the video snippet, there was a sky-shattering battle between Sun Wukong and Erlang Shen, with eerie screams and off-the-chart special effects!

    The insolence of the monkey!

    And courageous Erlang Shen!

    Both characters were irresistibly charismatic in this battle!

    How ironic.

    The image of Erlang Shen in The Primordial Chaos TV series was obliterated by Erlang Shen from ''Journey to the West''. The fans of The Primordial Chaos even thought Erlang Shen in Journey to the West is more handsome?

    A diehard fan of The Primordial Chaos who was an assistant to a certain screenwriter almost cried:

    "What''s the difference between this and my wife asking me to put on a Spiderman mask and applauding for our love together!"

    Oh boy!

    This is outright humiliation!

    When the time transitioned to twelve o''clock, and April finally arrived.

    Netizens unexpectedly saw ''The Music of the Cloud Palace'' on major players.

    With a surge!

    The download volume of this song shot up!

    The inevitable had happened ¡ª what those musicians eyeing the April chart had feared the most.

    On the fourth month, Xian Yu did not drop out! S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Through the TV series theme song, he released his April new work!

    Plus, not just one!

    Besides ''The Music of the Cloud Palace'', the ending song of Journey to the West also seized the second place on the season chart!

    The song is called, "Where is The Way"!

    As the ending song of Journey to the West, "Where Is The Way" can hardly be considered a song suitable for the chart.

    Speaking of music...

    After watching the TV series Journey to the West, the song that left the deepest impression on everyone was "The Music of the Cloud Palace".

    This is evident from the discussions about it.

    Because Journey to the West spawned so many topics, it caught countless people''s attention.

    Comparatively, not as many people discussed "Dare to Ask Where the Road Is".

    But there''s no defying the popularity of "Journey to the West"!

    With the cost of the first episode exceeding expectations, many people felt like they were watching a movie, not a TV series. Therefore, when the end credits song started, everyone couldn''t bear to leave so they sat through it all.

    In combination with the storyline, the flavor of this ending song came out.

    "You carry the shoulder pole, I lead the horse, greeting the sunrise and bidding farewell to the sunset, paving the bumpy road into a great thoroughfare, again we set off after fighting the dangers, la la la la la la la la la la, seasons come and go, a mixture of sweet and sour. Dare to ask where the road is? The road is beneath your feet."

    The simple lyrics directly depicted the footprints of the master and the three apprentices.

    Especially for fans of Journey to the West, they found this song to be to their taste.

    That''s why...

    This song came in second on the seasonal download chart, only second to "The Music of the Cloud Palace"!

    This is the case for many songs.

    When singled out, they aren''t that special.

    But when it''s part of the original soundtrack for a TV series, the lyrics combined with the storyline make for a big hit!

    This was a heavy blow for musicians targeting the April seasonal chart!

    "After Xian Yu finished eating, he didn''t even leave us any soup!"

    Actually, upon hearing "The Music of the Cloud Palace", everyone already knew who would take home the crown song for the April seasonal chart.

    Despite a wave of disappointment, many still entertained the idea of striving for second place.

    Until "Dare to Ask Where the Road Is" appeared.

    Also an original soundtrack from Journey to the West, there wasn''t anything special when listened to alone, but thanks to the popularity of the Journey to the West TV series, it firmly grasped second place!

    Just great.

    The other musicians on the April seasonal chart could only compete for third place now.

    Suddenly.

    Someone in the music industry screamed: "Xian Yu has already won the seasonal championship for four consecutive months, is he going for a twelve-win streak?"

    A twelve-win streak?!

    Everyone was stunned.

    No one had considered this before.

    Because it''s been too long since anyone in Blue Star attempted a twelve-win streak.

    Although this is a way to become a maestro, among the three paths to becoming a maestro, this is the most difficult one!

    Yet, with Xian Yu reaching the top for four consecutive months, everyone can''t help but think in that direction!

    "Could it be?"

    "It''s only been four months, if he really wants to strive for a twelve-win streak, he still has to continuously win the seasonal championship for eight months."

    "Who can handle that?"

    "Especially the Battle of the Gods in December..."

    "Besides, now Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, five continents are competing for a spot on the seasonal chart. Could the other maestros just stand by if Xian Yu wants to become one?"

    "True."

    "Xian Yu probably isn''t planning this."

    "If he wanted to become a maestro, the easiest and fastest method would be to produce a hit song, after all, he''s good at promoting others."

    "It''s just that the current situation is rather startling."

    "Let''s observe for another month, if Xian Yu still wants to be number one in May, he might genuinely have this plan."

    "..."

    For the first time, the music industry had considered that Xian Yu might be aiming for a twelve-win streak on the seasonal chart, but at the same time, they didn''t really want to believe it.

    As the various continents of Blue Star were continually merging.

    The competition on the seasonal chart was becoming increasingly fierce.

    It''s been too many years since anyone''s taken this path.

    The difficulties that one would face while aiming to top the list with a twelve-win streak to become a maestro were too numerous.

    Not only the ominous Battle of the Gods at the end of the year.

    There would also be targeted attacks from other maestros halfway through.

    This is an unspoken rule of Blue Star.

    Any composer who wants to go for a twelve-win streak would face all sorts of attacks in the end.

    The music industry wanted to observe for another month.

    Meanwhile, Lin Yuan didn''t bother about the online trends anymore.

    He successfully took the fourth season.

    The progress of the twelve-win streak was already one-third of the way through.

    He began to seriously prepare for his concert this month.

    The songs were basically set.

    He also prepared many backup songs.

    He was about to start the stage rehearsals before the concert.

 Chapter 688 - 654 Dance at a Forty-Five Degree Tilt_1

    The secret rehearsals for the concert were underway, with the specifics of the performances not revealed in advance.

    During this process, Lin Yuan did not only rehearse the songs, but also customised some special shoes for his dance performance...

    He would perform Michael Jackson''s dances like the Moonwalk at the concert.

    No further explanation is required here for Michael Jackson''s status in the world of Earth entertainment.

    He is a top-tier entertainer of the Earth''s entertainment industry.

    The Moonwalk, one of the dances of this top-tier entertainer, is familiar to countless people.

    Among them.

    Michael Jackson has one dance move that''s out of this world!

    He is able to perform a dance move tilted at a forty-five-degree angle!

    When this dance move first appeared, it shocked the world with countless people asking:

    How did he do it?

    Surely even Newton is spinning in his grave!

    The answer is:

    Even though he was a world-class superstar, it was impossible for a normal human being to achieve a forty-five-degree tilt without external support and defy gravity.

    To explain humorously:

    Yes, Michael Jackson cheated sometimes.

    The secret lay in the shoes.

    It was a pair of special shoes.

    The heel of the shoe had a recess, specifically designed to latch onto a fixed point on the floor.

    Once latched on, the performer could lean forward forty-five degrees without falling.

    However, at a concert''s stage performance, it takes time to locate the exact spot and quickly connect, so when Michael Jackson was looking for the spot, he would use some light and shadow effects and intersperse other performances to divert the audience''s attention, allowing the performer to make other operations under these disguises.

    Of course, he could directly adjust his position and design scenarios that make his behavior appear reasonable.

    These setups all require backstage control to create a smooth scene transition for the best results.

    For this, Michael Jackson even applied for a patent.

    If anyone thinks that they can perform this move with just these shoes, they are naive.

    Having the shoes alone is far from enough.

    When the body''s center of gravity leans forward, the waist supports all the force!

    The performer needs strong back muscles.

    In addition, the strength of the legs is highly demanded.

    So without training, it can''t be imitated. Even Michael Jackson has made mistakes during his concert performances.

    Lin Yuan, thanks to System, could perform this move which would be impossible for him to do without it.

    Even if he knew the principle of it, it would still be impossible.

    For Lin Yuan, this was like a magic trick for the audience.

    After solving the mystery of the magic, it may not seem special, but the first time everyone witnesses this magic trick, they will definitely experience the shock of their perceptions being overturned!

    It''s hard for ordinary people to figure out the principle in an instant.

    Of course.

    This was just one of the little surprises Lin Yuan prepared for the concert.

    The appearance of the Moonwalk was more lethal than the forty-five-degree tilt, as the tilt relied on props, whereas the Moonwalk purely relied on skill.

    On Blue Star, a similar dance style has not yet appeared.

    Not to mention, for this dance, Lin Yuan even prepared a new song, an original piece by Michael Jackson himself!

    ...

    Meanwhile, while Lin Yuan was secretly preparing for the concert.

    The TV drama "Journey to the West" was also airing at a pace of one episode per day.

    By the third episode,

    as Monkey Sun wreaks havoc in the Heavenly Court, the internet completely blew up!

    The special effects were off the charts!

    In every frame, viewers could practically hear the sound of money being burned!

    There were scenes of the earth shattering!

    The sun and the moon lost their light!

    Every combat scene was so extravagant to the point of absurdity!

    Even for supporting roles, the production team did not skimp at all, reaching the peak with electrifying and stunning effects!

    People who read "Journey to the West" have countless times imagined the scene of the Heavenly Court battle, and in this TV show, it has been perfectly restored and presented!

    The popularity of this show completely spread across the five continents!

    Streets and alleys were filled with countless people discussing.

    Even the vendors in the market couldn''t help but bring up the latest episode of the Journey to the West television drama that was broadcast the previous night as they opened their stalls in the morning!

    "I am Sun Wukong!"

    "Take this blow from yours truly!"

    Even the children playing house in school have transitioned from narratives like Snow White to Journey to the West.

    Every day, there were a bunch of rambunctious kids quarrelling over who gets to play the role of Sun Wukong.

    They delightedly imitated Sun Wukong''s movements, not finding it embarrassing at all.

    "Heh!"

    Some boys growled from their throats and energetically scratched their faces, as if they were home to a tuft of peach-shaped monkey hair.

    Other boys had their right hands perched near their left ears, striking a looking-out-into-the-distance pose.

    Moreover, some boys picked up branches pretending they were golden cudgels and flailed them about, only to end up being spanked by their parents...

    The children were all imitating the classic postures of Sun Wukong.

    Every household on Blue Star contained a computer.

    Many people have the ability to follow dramas online.

    If there is no internet, and one is forced to watch it on television, perhaps then the broadcast of this drama would recreate a scenario seen on Earth where everyone is glued to their screens.

    Worth mentioning is...

    The distinction between Lin Yuan''s version of "Journey to the West" and that of the CCTV lies in its more systematic nature.

    The original''s strength level was rather all over the place.

    Sun Wukong''s performance of strength seemed to fluctuate inconsistently.

    After all, the emphasis of that drama wasn''t on how powerful Sun Wukong was.

    Lin Yuan strives for meticulousness when setting the performance levels for the Journey to the West, therefore he created an invisible chart for the characters, dictating who was stronger and who was weaker based on their initially set corresponding performance level.

    Even if Sun Wukong encounters demons that he couldn''t defeat, Lin Yuan would come up with an excuse to get himself out of the dilemma.

    Of course.

    In the early stages, Sun Wukong basically had no competitors. Although Sun Wukong wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Court, Lin Yuan didn''t script the Jade Emperor being afraid and hiding under a table.

    This doesn''t comply with the original.

    In the original, it wasn''t as if Sun Wukong threw the entire Heavenly Court into terror, it can only be said that a great majority of the gods felt apprehensive at the sight of this monkey.

    Punching through the Heavenly Court?

    Even with Erlang Shen, Sun Wukong couldn''t do it.

    In Lin Yuan''s design, the Jade Emperor is simply the Jade Emperor, with his reputation off the charts.

    Even if the gods couldn''t restrain Monkey Sun, the Jade Emperor losing composure wouldn''t appear.

    Speaking of the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord...

    Lin Yuan also designs him to be more mysterious and inscrutable.

    In the scene where Sun Wukong is refined in the Eight Trigrams Furnace, Lin Yuan implies through some shots that the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord has profound intentions and his goal is not to kill Sun Wukong.

    Additionally.

    When Sun Wukong confronts the Heavenly Court, Lin Yuan also arranges for Bodhi to secretly assist Sun Wukong.

    This leads to the Buddha taking action.

    In the CCTV version without Bodhi''s help, it was indeed in the CCTV''s animated version of "Journey to the West" where Bodhi secretly assisted Sun Wukong.

    Lin Yuan thought this point in the animated version was well-designed, so he adopted it. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    In summary:

    This is a television drama that both children would love and adults would not find childish, and it even provokes thought.

    Lin Yuan filmed various metaphors without any explicit explanation, trusting that the audience would understand, since the world''s viewers are indeed very good at reading between the lines.

    And indeed it is.

    During the broadcast of this drama, while everyone is admiring the special effects and smooth plot, there are also countless people discussing the underlying metaphors in some of the shots and getting goosebumps.

    The Journey to the West television drama has become a phenomenal success!

    At this moment.

    People haven''t forgotten...

    Xian Yu''s concert is set to begin in a few days!

    On the internet.

    While countless people are discussing Journey to the West, more and more people have started discussing Xian Yu''s upcoming concert happening in a few days.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thank you [Peerless One] for becoming the eightieth Alliance Hierarch of this book, I kneel to you in utmost respect, I am excited because this is the first time I am this close to reaching a hundred alliances, haha, the concert plot is about to start, Polluted White has set quite a few plot points, so I am asking for your monthly tickets here.

 Chapter 689 - 655: Chu Kuang and Shadow Also Come to the Concert_1

    "The Xian Yu concert is about to start!"

    "Just five more days!"

    "Sadly, I didn''t manage to get a ticket."

    "I wonder what songs Xian Yu will sing at the concert."

    "Maybe there will be new songs released at the concert. That''s what I''m most looking forward to!"

    "Will Xian Yu dance on stage?" sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Hahaha, give Fish Papa a break. He''s talented but I doubt dancing is his forte."

    "Looking at Fish Papa''s past performances, there were some dances like when he sang ''Drala banga'', but he just moved a bit. It''s more like he was shaking about on stage, not really dancing."

    "..."

    Fans have been constantly fantasizing about Xian Yu''s upcoming concert.

    The basis of their fantasies stems from Xian Yu''s performances on ''The Masked Singer''.

    Of course, there were also a few performances during his time on ''Our Song''.

    In any case, everyone was exceptionally focussed on Xian Yu''s concert.

    Even those who couldn''t get tickets were enthusiastically discussing it.

    As for those who did manage to get tickets, they were beside themselves with excitement.

    The hearts of these people wished they could already be at the concert venue several days from now.

    Ten thousand fans have bought tickets for the Xian Yu concert!

    Of these ten thousand fans, only a small portion reside in Su City.

    The vast majority of the audience will rush to Su City on the day of the concert after pre-booking hotel accommodations.

    This particularly applies to fans from Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han.

    To watch the concert, they must necessarily leave their continents.

    So a few days before the concert, some fans had already started heading towards Su City in Qin Continent.

    In the vicinity of Grand Stadium in Qin.

    The prices for hotel rooms have multiplied many times over, yet they still remain fully booked!

    Many people have no choice but to stay even further away from Grand Stadium, planning to set off early when the concert begins.

    Meanwhile.

    Lin Yuan was also constantly adjusting his physical and mental state.

    His concert will start at seven o''clock on the evening of April the tenth.

    It''s estimated to run for just over three hours.

    A continuous three- to four-hour performance is a great test of stamina and vocal strength.

    So in preparation.

    Lin Yuan did nothing else in the ensuing days and simply participated in some rehearsals.

    The rest of the time, he surfed the internet alone.

    The topics he recently browsed were all related to him.

    A few days ago, it was mostly discussions around ''Journey to the West''. Now it''s primarily about the upcoming concert.

    As he was browsing.

    Lin Yuan suddenly saw a trending topic on the hot search!

    The topic was boldly titled #FindShadowAndChuKuang#

    Shadow?

    Chu Kuang?

    Lin Yuan was taken aback, immediately clicking on the topic.

    "Attention all fans heading to Xian Yu''s concert, it''s highly possible that this will be your closest encounter with Shadow and Chu Kuang, they will certainly be sitting in the audience watching the concert with you!"

    The initiator of the topic seemed to have channeled both Poirot and Holmes:

    "I believe many of you have guessed why I said this. Do you think that given the deep camaraderie between Xian Yu, Chu Kuang, and Shadow, would these two be absent from Xian Yu''s concert?"

    That was the entire content of the topic.

    The topic successfully sparked enthusiasm in many people who hadn''t even considered this before:

    "Holy cow!"

    "That makes so much sense!"

    "I almost forgot about the relationship between old rascal Chu Kuang, Shadow, and Xian Yu. While I can''t say with 100% certainty for Shadow, I''m sure Chu Kuang will definitely attend Xian Yu''s concert!"

    "Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Shadow will definitely be there too!"

    "With the Three Bros being so close, there''s no reason for them to miss Xian Yu''s concert!"

    "So, does that mean Chu Kuang and Shadow might be seated right beside me?"

    "No, no, no, those in the back row can forget about it. Chu Kuang and Shadow could definitely get VIP tickets from Xian Yu."

    "If you want to find Chu Kuang and Shadow, just look towards the VIP seats."

    "Right, you just need to look for two men attending the concert together."

    "Sounds like they shouldn''t be too hard to find."

    "It would be so interesting if they were actually found by everyone!"

    "..."

    Both Chu Kuang and Shadow are very mysterious people who have never appeared in public or had any personal information leaked online.

    Yet, they are extremely famous!

    Especially Chu Kuang, his fame and popularity rival even that of Xian Yu!

    So, everyone was extremely curious about these two.

    For a moment, many people had the idea of trying to spot Chu Kuang and Shadow among the audience.

    This was also the reason for the topic trending.

    For fans, even if they couldn''t find Chu Kuang and Shadow, just the thought of them sitting among everyone in Grand Stadium to watch Xian Yu''s concert filled them with a strange sense of joy.

    "..."

    Lin Yuan was somewhat dumbfounded.

    The fans had indeed guessed it right.

    Chu Kuang and Shadow would indeed be present at the concert.

    However, the way these "two" would appear was bound to be something no one would have expected.

    In the company.

    Gu Dong also couldn''t resist gossiping with Lin Yuan: "Will Chu Kuang and Teacher Shadow really come?"

    Lin Yuan smiled: "Yes."

    Gu Dong, even though he had anticipated the answer, couldn''t help but become more excited:

    "So, we might actually encounter Chu Kuang and Shadow at Grand Stadium..."

    "Yes."

    Lin Yuan also felt a playful mood coming over him.

    Although this certainly won''t cause any harm to him, he still had a rather peculiar feeling.

    "Are there chances of these two being found by everyone?"

    "Possibly."

    Lin Yuan blinked.

    Gu Dong was instantly more excited.

    Because of Chu Kuang and Shadow, the concert felt like it had an easter egg hidden within.

    Those who hadn''t managed to get tickets were even more heartbroken.

    Chu Kuang and Shadow are also going to watch Xian Yu''s concert?

    This is a total loss!

    Everyone missed the chance to encounter Chu Kuang and Shadow at close quarters!

    For a moment.

    The resale price for Xian Yu''s concert tickets rose even further!

    Many people still hadn''t given up on the possibility of obtaining scalped tickets at high prices.

    According to media reports, the VIP tickets for Xian Yu''s concert, have been reported to have been sold for as high as four hundred thousand, with actual transactions taking place¡­

    Four hundred thousand!

    This is unimaginable for ordinary people. Someone was actually willing to pay hundreds of thousands to hear Xian Yu sing for just two to three hours at a live concert!

    With money, one truly can do anything!

    This price also managed to claim the record for the most expensive ticket in Blue Star concert history, breaking the highest record for concert ticket prices!

    A genuinely sky-high price for a ticket!

    There were also people regretting. If they had initially got Xian Yu''s VIP concert tickets, wouldn''t this be an opportunity to strike it rich?

    It''s like looting a bank!

    All the news combined furthered the anticipation of the audience who had managed to buy tickets.

    And amidst everyone''s anticipation.

    Time finally arrived on April the tenth.

    On this day.

    Xian Yu''s concert was finally about to start...

 Chapter 690 - 656: An Epic Start with the Sirens Song_1

    In the afternoon.

    At six o''clock.

    The Qin Continent Grand Stadium.

    The huge crowd began to enter the venue.

    Several separated lanes had been pulled open, stretching for thousands of meters.

    Just about every few steps, there was a uniformed security officer maintaining order on the periphery of the barriers.

    One hundred thousand spectators were arriving.

    The streets surrounding the Grand Stadium were already heavily congested.

    Groups of traffic police were maintaining order on the streets, everyone communicating road conditions in real time via walkie-talkie.

    And not just traffic police.

    The police were also deployed in large numbers.

    City surveillance was heavily concentrated in the Grand Stadium area.

    In the security check area of the concert, countless security personnel and police officers shared the responsibility.

    Inside the Grand Stadium.

    Tong Shuwen was also coordinating the work of various departments nervously.

    Tong Shuwen was the director-in-chief of Xian Yu''s concert.

    As the chief director of music variety shows like "The Masked Singer" and the "Our Song" series, Tong Shuwen was top-notch when it came to stage coordination.

    Starlight had asked him to take charge of Xian Yu''s concert to bring out the maximum brilliance of the stage!

    At this moment.

    Tong Shuwen was both nervous and excited!

    When he initially received the invitation to be the director-in-chief for Xian Yu''s concert, Tong Shuwen had instantly agreed without much thought, considering it as a payback for Xian Yu''s participation in his two shows.

    Normally, Tong Shuwen would not accept offers to manage concerts.

    His position in the world of show directing was quite high, concert directing was not on par. Only Xian Yu could have the prestige to invite him.

    But at that time, Tong Shuwen considered this to be a regular job.

    Just acting as a chief-in-charge for a concert.

    The job was not too challenging.

    Far less challenging than "Our Song".

    But after Tong Shuwen finished the first rehearsal, his body and mind were greatly shocked!

    This concert!

    It was unbelievably incredible!

    A four-sided stage, welcoming one hundred thousand spectators!

    Maybe this was destined to be a crazy concert!

    This concert would also be a huge test for his professional career!

    If successful, it would be a bright highlight in his career!

    Therefore, Tong Shuwen was placing extra emphasis on this concert now!

    His level of seriousness and commitment was comparable to when he directed the finale of "The Masked Singer!"

    His gaze turned to the backstage of the directing room.

    Tong Shuwen saw that Xian Yu had already started his make-up.

    A few of the industry''s top make-up and stylist artists were working for Xian Yu.

    "Many reporters outside are live broadcasting the interview..."

    The assistant director of the concert informed Tong Shuwen nervously, "The heads of the traffic police team and public security department will come to communicate with you."

    "There''s no problem with security outside, right?"

    "No issues have arisen at present, small traffic disputes have also been resolved by the traffic police team."

    "OK, when will all the spectators enter the venue?"

    "In about half an hour. Many people are now buying support props and posters. The time schedule won''t have any problems."

    "OK, keep paying attention, report to me immediately if there''s any situation."

    "..."

    Tong Shuwen''s gaze swept over the monitors in the directing room.

    Each department was doing its job, the preparations related to the concert were progressing in an orderly manner.

    And when the time reached six fifty.

    All of the one hundred thousand spectators finally entered the venue, and all departments were in position!

    "Get ready to start!"

    At this moment, Tong Shuwen''s voice was tinged with a hint of fanaticism.

    ...

    On the scene.

    While waiting for the start of the concert, the audience was engaging in heated discussions.

    "It''s about to start!"

    In the third row of the east side grandstand.

    Zhou Meng glanced at the time on her phone, her face filled with anticipation, "Just a few more minutes!"

    Zhou Meng was a hardcore fan of Xian Yu.

    She came with her boyfriend, Wang Yu.

    For this, the young couple had both taken leave from their respective companies.

    Wang Yu, her boyfriend, laughed and said, "I wonder what song Fish Daddy will sing first, I want to hear him sing ''Exaggeration'' again!" Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Zhou Meng laughed along, "I''m most looking forward to ''A Chuckle Across the Sea''."

    A nearby spectator joined in the topic, "Will the ending song be ''The Ordinary Road''?"

    Another spectator joined in, "I won''t beat around the bush, I want to see Fish Daddy dance."

    "Hahaha, come on, it''s good enough just to listen."

    "..."

    Everyone burst into laughter.

    They were all fans of Xian Yu.

    The atmosphere at the venue was lively. Unfamiliar audiences communicated with each other, seemingly not feeling awkward at all. This might have had to do with everyone being there for the same person.

    Amidst the laughter of the crowd...

    An unanticipated sound, akin to the onslaught of a tidal wave, echoed through the venue.

    The audience instinctively raised their heads.

    The stage''s giant screen featured an enormous fish circling high in the sky, eclipsing sun and earth!

    Shortly thereafter...

    A beam of light descended.

    With a thud, an ocean formed on the stage floor with multicolored fish swimming freely.

    In the midst of these stunning special effects...

    A distant voice started to hum softly:

    "The silent waves bury the nightfall deep, flooding all corners beyond the sky ends..."

    The song echoed from afar, drawing closer.

    Jiang Kui gradually appeared on the stage lift at the center.

    Applause poured from the audience.

    It wasn''t surprising to see Jiang Kui on stage.

    Concerts typically start with a warm-up act by a guest performer.

    Mainly to avoid the audience having to wait aimlessly, which is why there is always such an arrangement before the official start of the concert.

    The selection of the song "Big Fish" was in fact an original composition by Xian Yu, popular amongst the fans.

    Everyone enjoyed the familiar melody and lyrics flowing from Jiang Kui''s lips, "Each and every tear is flowing towards you, returning to the seabed in the sky...."

    Amidst the applause, the audience started discussing:

    "What beautiful effects!"

    "Based on the various concerts I''ve attended, Xian Yu''s special effects are by far the best!"

    "These effects alone are worth the ticket price!"

    "Jiang Kui warming up the crowd seems fitting."

    "I never get sick of the song ''Big Fish''."

    "Many singers have covered this song, but I must admit, Jiang Kui''s version is definitely the most beautiful!"

    "Jiang Kui''s version is indeed unsurpassable."

    "..."

    Moments after everyone started their discussion...

    The music at the concert suddenly stopped.

    This was a specially designed break in the music arrangement to catch the audience''s attention.

    The crowd instinctively paused their discussions.

    One by one, they raised their heads to watch Jiang Kui gently step forward on stage.

    "Hmm hmm hmm."

    Jiang Kui''s deep humming.

    The colossal fish soars over the sea.

    At that moment, a heart-stopping voice unexpectedly emerged, its haunting harmony touching even the most somber hearts¡ª

    "Ah~ ah~"

    "Ahhh ahhh ahh~"

    "Aah aah~ aah aah~"

    "Aaaahh aaaaahhh~"

    Mist twirled around the stage lift as the voice emerged from the midst of the fog.

    Once the fog cleared...

    A familiar slim figure was now revealed to everyone through the stage and the giant screen.

    It was none other than Xian Yu!

    The mesmerizing entrance of Xian Yu caused Zhou Meng to feel a buzzing at the top of her head. Goosebumps covered her entire body in an instant!

    Almost unconsciously,she let out a scream at the top of her lungs!

    Wang Yu was screaming too!

    But no matter how loud their screams, they were merely part of a tidal wave of ecstatic screams from the crowd, culminating in a collective euphoria!

    "I''m in awe the moment he opens his mouth!"

    "This is what divine singing sounds like!"

    "My ears are pregnant!"

    "How can it sound this good!"

    "My whole body is numb with excitement!"

    "This isn''t Big Fish, this is a marine siren!"

    "This is the most explosive entrance I''ve ever seen!"

    "If there''s a version that can surpass Jiang Kui''s ''Big Fish'', it can only be a duet by Xian Yu and Jiang Kui!"

    "Xian Yu is the greatest backup vocalist!"

    "What a grand opening!"

    "If I were the richest person in the world, I would pay a billion just to hear Xian Yu sing ''Ah'' for me all day!"

    "..."

    Right at seven o''clock sharp, the personal concert of Xian Yu officially began with the enchanting song of a marine siren!

    ----------

    PS: First update, the marine siren concept in this concert was derived from the version of ''Big Fish'' by Zhou Shen and Doris Guo.

 Chapter 691 - 657: Hundred Thousand Audiences Sing for Xian Yu_1

    Everyone thought it was Jiang Kui warming up the stage, but the sudden appearance of Xian Yu gave the audience a huge surprise©`

    This stage entrance was brilliantly executed!

    The greater surprise was Xian Yu''s siren serenade.

    It was like the sound of heaven!

    The unexpected excitement on site, instantly created a memorable scene at the opening concert!

    "Perfection!"

    Backstage in the director''s room.

    The chief director Tong Shuwen slapped his thigh forcefully!

    Originally, Xian Yu planned to appear on stage with Jiang Kui.

    The idea of making an entrance in the middle of the music beat was Tong Shuwen''s. He thought it would be more dazzling this way.

    And indeed, Tong Shuwen pulled it off!

    But the basis for such an explosive effect was that Xian Yu''s entrance had to be impressive, capturing the ears of everyone instantly!

    And Xian Yu did it too!

    By the time "Big Fish" was over, the venue went into a complete frenzy!

    Jiang Kui bowed and exited the stage, her eyes sparkling...

    This was her first time singing on a stage of a hundred thousand people!

    This opportunity was given to her by teacher Xian Yu!

    Lin Yuan did not leave the stage.

    He picked up the microphone and smiled, "Thank you everyone for coming to my concert, I see many familiar faces..."

    "Cut to the celebrity shots!"

    Backstage, Tong Shuwen immediately called out, this was the instinct of a concert director.

    Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

    As Lin Yuan started speaking, the camera quickly panned towards the audience, showing one familiar face after another!

    Xia Fan, Zhao Ying Ge, Wei Haoyun, Chen Zhiyu, Sun Yaohuo...

    And Jiang Kui who had just warmed up the crowd with Lin Yuan, all the members of the Yu Dynasty were present!

    Even Fei Yang and the white swan Shu Yu were there!

    Quite a few people from the film and television industry also attended.

    For instance, Lin Yuan''s good friend, "Spiderman" Jian Yi;

    Also the comedian He Sheng who just starred in "The Truman Show";

    The extremely popular budding actor Ren Yan who played the main character Sun Wukong in "Journey to the West";

    The movie emperor of Starlight, Zhang Xiuming, who played the male lead in "Hachiko";

    There were even some celebrities whom Lin Yuan did not recognize.

    This group seemed to all be Xian Yu fans, they were actually holding glow sticks in their hands!

    Besides,

    Several big shots from the composer circle also attended, all of whom had decent relationships with Lin Yuan, or had crossed paths with him before.

    Yin Dong, Ye Zhi Qiu, Zheng Jing, and Yang Zhongming!

    The camera even gave Yang Zhongming a close-up shot, and Yang Zhongming cheekily raised his eyebrows at the camera.

    The entire audience screamed!

    With a hundred thousand people on site, everyone didn''t know who all were seated in the front rows, until the camera panned to them©`

    "Father Yang is here!"

    "A lot of top stars from the film, TV, and music industries are here! Is this still a concert? It''s clearly a star-studded gathering!"

    "I see King Fei!"

    "Film Emperor, King of Singing, Queen of Singing, Maestro, and I think I saw a movie queen just now¡­ this lineup is insane..."

    "Fish Papa''s powerful influence!"

    "How many celebrities are actually fans of Fish Papa!"

    "Seems like Fish Papa has become an idol to many celebrities now!"

    "Was Shadow given a shot, or did I miss it?"

    "Where is the old rascal Chu Kuang! Show yourself!"

    "So many big shots are here with me, watching Fish Papa''s concert!"

    "..."

    A galaxy of stars!

    Even if they couldn''t find the people everyone was anticipating, Shadow and Chu Kuang, seeing so many top stars at Xian Yu''s concert was enough to stir up excitement!

    In the midst of countless excited screams,

    Lin Yuan suddenly placed his hand over his mouth.

    In an instant.

    The entire audience went silent.

    The hustle and bustle, was as if it never existed.

    "Splendid!"

    In the director''s room, Tong Shuwen slapped his thigh forcefully!

    This was a crowd control technique that some top stars employed, but most people wouldn''t dare to try, as the chances of it going awry were too high.

    Just imagine.

    If the audience is enjoying themselves, and a star suddenly makes a silencing gesture, but the crowd continues to chat as if they didn''t see it...

    Wouldn''t that be extremely awkward?

    The audience would probably feel awkward as well.

    Only when a star''s prestige reaches a certain level, can the audience show such cooperation!

    And as the venue quieted down,

    A piece of music suddenly started playing.

    "Dong, dong, dong!"

    Three consecutive notes, the mixture of the synthesizer and electric guitar together brought the silent venue back to life!

    "It''s ''Exaggerated''!"

    Admirable Fish had written many songs, all of which were widely discussed.

    But if you were to gauge his most popular song, ''Exaggeration'' would certainly be at the top!

    So, when this song sounded, the audience was thrilled!

    Everyone seemed to be transported back to the stage of ''The Masked Singer'', once again witnessing Admirable Fish''s hysteria.

    "In the evening starry sky¡­"

    Lin Yuan picked up the microphone and started to sing.

    As he started singing, the same song erupted from the audience:

    "In the evening starry sky... you only spot the brightest star..."

    Lin Yuan laughed.

    He stopped singing.

    He pointed the microphone towards the audience.

    This was suggested by the director Tong Shuwen.

    During the concert, if it''s a song that everyone is very familiar with, you might consider giving the audience a chance to sing along.

    And the audience indeed complied.

    The average Admirable Fish fan could sing this song:

    "Among the crowd, you admire the one who is most often talked about..."

    Maybe only a few thousand people were singing at first, but as the chorus progressed, more and more people joined:

    "Those prying eyes, those gossiping mouths, entertain themselves after each meal..."

    The climax had arrived!

    This part must be sung by himself!

    Lin Yuan tried to take back the microphone, aiming to sing it himself.

    But before he could take it back, nearly a hundred thousand audiences were singing in unison, deliberately stretching their voices to the highest pitch:

    "Must we exaggerate, meaningless right and wrong, true and false..."

    Watching the audience sing with all their might, Lin Yuan was stunned for a moment.

    Is it not over yet?

    Am I going to sing or are you?

    His expression was twisted, looking like a microphone dominator in a KTV who had his microphone taken.

    Seeing everyone sing so passionately, Lin Yuan didn''t have the heart to take back the microphone, and could only listen to everyone continue to sing...

    One of the most annoying things in KTV is when you snatch the microphone or switch the songs when others are happily singing.

    Lin Yuan was too embarrassed to do such a thing.

    "Hahahaha!"

    Noticing Lin Yuan''s distorted expression, Zheng Jing bent over laughing:

    "Little Fish is too cute!"

    The stars around him also couldn''t hold back their laughter.

    "I am going to die of laughter!"

    "A hundred thousand people are singing for Admirable Fish!"

    "He can''t even sing now even if he wanted to!"

    "The audience only wants to sing their own song; they don''t want to listen to him sing!"

    "This scene will definitely make headlines when the concert is released!"

    "Earlier one, he had the audience under his control successfully, but he couldn''t maintain his charm even for three seconds!"

    "..."

    The audience began to laugh too.

    Zhou Meng smirked and said: "We are not here to spend money to listen to a concert, but to sing songs to Admirable Fish¡­ Subjectively, objectively, there are too many obstacles... good and bad, you have to bear it yourself..."

    Alas.

    They started to sing again.

    A true mass choir of a hundred thousand people!

    While everyone was singing, they were having the time of their lives! S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Inside the broadcast room.

    Tong Shuwen was left in tears of laughter.

    I told you to lead the audience to sing along, not to make a hundred thousand audience members your fans, hey!

    "Does this count as a performance accident?"

    The assistant director, repressing his laughter, coughed before speaking.

    "Even if it is a performance accident, it is the most spectacular one. Immediately capture the close-ups of Admirable Fish''s facial expression. We have our second highlight!"

    Tong Shuwen commanded excitedly.

    Admirable Fish''s expression appeared on the big screen in an instant.

    At that moment!

    The whole audience burst into laughter!

    Innocently bewildered, Admirable Fish''s expression was the hit of the evening!

    Amidst the background singing, the audience was laughing their heads off!

    The on-site singing mixed with laughter created a loud noise, continuing till the end of the song!

    Throughout the song ''Exaggeration'', Lin Yuan, from beginning to end, sang just the first line...well, half of it, he didn''t even finish a sentence.

    In the ending notes of the song,

    Lin Yuan stood on the stage, the microphone was pointed towards the audience, and for a moment he looked rather confused.

    Who am I?

    Where am I?

    What am I supposed to do?

    Who''s performing the concert?

    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    ps: The second update, I''ll continue to write. This segment of fans singing to the singer happens quite a lot. For instance, at Wu Bai''s concert when everyone sang ''Norwegian Wood'', the fans were singing even more excitedly than the singer. Wu Bai ended up just listening to everyone sing.

 Chapter 692 - 658: Sing Exaggeration Again_1

    Xian Yu''s confusion...

    Xian Yu''s indecisiveness...

    Lin Yuan''s cluelessness...

    All these misunderstood expressions appeared in close-up on the stage''s large screen, causing the audience''s laughter to continue far after the end of the song "Exaggeration." The atmosphere was even more lively than when Xian Yu started his siren''s song!

    "Poor Fish Papa is having a hard time!"

    "In the last song, Jiang Kui was the main performer. He chanted a bit, there were no lyrics. And then at the start of the second song, the audience finished singing the whole song before he could!"

    "He didn''t get a chance to sing, really now?"

    "Fish Papa must be afraid to pass the microphone now."

    "Fish Papa''s expressions are too funny. I feel like we could make a bunch of memes when the show airs. How did the style become so hilarious? I, myself, was singing and laughing so hard that my stomach hurts!"

    "..."

    Everyone was excitedly engaging in discussions.

    Just as the audience was eagerly discussing, the stage lights suddenly dimmed.

    The music that played next left everyone stunned:

    "Deng¡ª¡ªDeng¡ª¡ªDeng!"

    The sound of electric guitar accompanied by the effects of a synthesizer.

    That prelude, is unmistakably from the song "Exaggeration" again!

    Pfft!

    In an instant!

    The entire venue burst into laughter again!

    Zhou Meng was laughing so hard that she squeezed her boyfriend''s thigh:

    "Fish Papa is so shameless, he''s actually going to perform ''Exaggeration'' again!"

    Her boyfriend, Wang Yu, grimaced:

    "After all, he didn''t get to sing it earlier, the audience sang it all..."

    "Hahaha, Fish Papa is awesome!"

    "Who let you guys sing first, Fish Papa won''t admit defeat!"

    "Xian Yu declares: This is my concert, you all have to listen to me sing it again!"

    "..."

    The audience is laughing hysterically!

    Look at what Xian Yu has been driven to?

    The same song is going to be performed twice!

    The celebrities in the front rows were quite taken aback.

    Is this necessary?

    Because the audience sang earlier, and he didn''t get to, is Xian Yu planning to perform "Exaggeration" again?

    Backstage, in the director''s room.

    Tong Shuwen looked sly yet secretive, saying mysteriously:

    "An accidental happening produced an unexpected result."

    Don''t forget.

    Xian Yu is very adept at playing two different tunes with the same prelude!

    The same prelude had everyone believing Xian Yu would perform "Exaggeration" again.

    No one felt dissatisfied.

    Everyone found this whole situation hilariously entertaining!

    The cameras panned over the audience.

    The faces across all four sides of the stage were beaming with smiles.

    Some were even prepared to sing along with Xian Yu again.

    At that moment.

    Xian Yu began to sing:

    "Some ask and I will respond, but what if there is no one

    I am longing yet helpless, I have things to say yet no accepting ears

    My feelings like a bottle waiting to be uncorked

    But my mouth is cultivating moss

    In the crowd, the more reserved I am, the more I am ignored

    I have to stir up some surprise

    ¡­"

    The audience''s laughter instantly froze.

    Some wanted to sing along, but found that the lyrics didn''t match at all.

    Everyone glanced at each other, the scene went quiet.

    A few seconds later.

    The entire venue went wild!

    Especially the audience from Qi Continent!

    It was "Exaggeration"!

    But this wasn''t the Mandarin version of "Exaggeration"!

    Xian Yu had prepared a Qi language version of "Exaggeration"!

    And he could actually sing in the Qi language!

    The same melody, but a different style, instantly captivated everyone''s ears!

    Onstage.

    Lin Yuan''s voice was magnetic:

    "Like suddenly singing"

    "Anywhere could be a four-sided stage"

    "Wearing the shiniest shirt"

    "Acting so emotional"

    "If someone takes a picture, remember to pose with a pocket¡­"

    Lin Yuan belted out the song, while the high overhead camera swiftly moved across the stage, projecting images on the large screen, capturing the audience on all sides!

    At the same time.

    Lin Yuan''s voice suddenly deepened, potently striking everyone''s heartstrings:

    "You may think I''m exaggerating"

    "Exaggeration just because I am really afraid"

    "Does speaking as woodenly or stone-facedly"

    "Get any attention"

    "I fear being forgotten so I play it up"

    "I am uneasy can''t be elegant"

    "Does the world still praise silence"

    "Not making enough of a blast"

    "Why won''t you let me exaggerate"

    "To be a great entertainer?"

    The Qi language lyrics appeared on the large screen, each word and each sentence piercing the heart, as if there were a thunderous explosion on the scene!

    Boom!

    Amidst the wild screams, countless audience members held up their cheering signs!

    "This is the Qi language version of ''Exaggeration''!"

    Zheng Jing was astonished: "Why does it sound so good!"

    Yang Zhongming took a deep breath, serious expression on his face: "It''s even more complete than the Mandarin version!"

    Next to him.

    Ye Zhi Qiu was tearing at his hair!

    Yin Dong remained as expressionless as always, but his mouth was now wide open, seemingly unable to close.

    One song in two languages!

    Everyone knew that "Extravagance" was one of Xian Yu''s representative works, hence why people could happily sing along.

    Yet, no one expected that.

    Today, Xian Yu had brought a brand-new version of "Extravagance," artfully demonstrating a single song in two languages!

    And....

    The impact was even more explosive!

    Is Qi language, perhaps, the correct way to sing this song?

    No one knew if this assessment was correct, but they felt a tinge of goosebumps on their scalp!

    They couldn''t sing along!

    Even if they knew the melody by heart!

    Everyone had even forgotten the Mandarin lyrics, with only the Qi language lyrics displayed on the big screen intensely captivating their gaze:

    "That year as a nobody at the school dance at the age of eighteen,

    With tears, I swore that all of you must notice me.

    There are too many paths of mundanity in life,

    Which of these houses in the village do you live in?

    The neglect I''ve suffered in work and love is too much,

    My dignity has suffered greatly.

    Appreciation can quell hunger, having never received it, you''ll know why

    I make such grand gestures, committing these mistakes.

    Do people think my desire to be seen is a disease...."

    This was Lin Yuan''s first time singing a song in Qi language, but even Zhou Meng, who was from Qi Continent, had to admit at this moment:

    Xian Yu''s Qi language was even more authentic than the natives!

    What was scarier was that....

    After singing this song in Qi language, it seemed to transform and take on a new form!

    The lyrics were too good!

    It was even more explosive than the Mandarin version!

    Not just Zhou Meng felt this way.

    Zhou Meng''s boyfriend also agreed. He had to shout to make his girlfriend hear him: "Why do I feel like it sounds better than the Mandarin version...."

    At this moment.

    No one noticed.

    Sun Yaohuo''s eyes were slightly red.

    It seemed like the lyrics of this song had entered his heart.

    In fact, not only Sun Yaohuo.

    Several singers'' expressions more or less blushed with emotion.

    Who hasn''t experienced moments of insignificance and humility?

    Who hasn''t sworn in their hearts to make a name in the entertainment industry?

    Perhaps we were all once underage or not, but many of us had indeed been the overlooked "nobodies" in the lyrics.

    "There are not many fortunate people

    If you''ve never been one, you''ll understand why I

    Exert ten times the effort to be outstanding

    Is it enough for me to be rich for your discussions

    ...."

    The familiar instrumental interludes arrived.

    Then the third chorus shocked the entire venue again, everyone was drenched in sweat:

    "Call me extravagant if you wish

    A few more boos won''t scare me

    If I make a mess on stage, will you still watch my performance

    Is it outrageous enough

    To water the flowers with my tears

    All I wish for is to surprise you

    Is my past as if it never existed

    Increase the stakes

    Even my veins are showing through

    Say, do you acknowledge my existence now

    ...."

    The same lyrics!

    Different impacts!

    People felt as if they were listening to a brand-new song, crazily spreading to every corner of the venue!

    Lin Yuan was not singing about himself.

    But a song in itself was a performance.

    He had his character positioning.

    Without deliberate effort, his voice echoed the core of the lyrics. His current voice had a grainy character with a hint of huskiness:

    "Stare at me, don''t just look at the ceiling,

    I may not be your cup of tea S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    But you can still drink freely

    Don''t forget someone''s wasting his voice for you

    ...."

    At this moment, who dares to say that humans don''t share the same emotions?

    These so-called big shots in the front row seemed to have heard their own stories in the song.

    Their personal stories might vary, but one by one, their eyes turned red.

    The camera panned over their faces!

    Their emotions infected every single viewer!

    In the Mandarin version of "Extravagance," Lin Yuan sang about his own experiences.

    But for the Qi language version of "Extravagance," Lin Yuan seemed to have created it for the ups and downs of everyone in the entertainment circle.

    The entertainment circle entertains people and makes fools of itself. The harsh reality of the industry was vividly pierced by the ruthless lyrics!

    "Ah!!!"

    When the song ended, the hysteric screams marked the nearly perfect performance!

    Lin Yuan''s voice resonated in everyone''s eardrums!

    "Xian Yu!"

    "Xian Yu!!"

    "Xian Yu!!!"

    The four sides of the stage filled with wild screams!

    After claiming his victory in The Masked Singer, Xian Yu once again stunned the crowd with "Extravagance," winning over a hundred thousand people!

    The original version of "Extravagance" was sung true to its roots!

    It shook the world during Xian Yu''s concert!

    The audience then realized:

    Turns out "Big Fish" can be even better to hear!

    Turns out "Extravagance", can be even more shocking!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: As promised, for the third day, here is the update. Some said Polluted White''s update doesn''t count, that it was only to make up for yesterday''s missing update. So, here is another chapter for you tonight, to count as today''s actual update. So, strictly speaking, there will be four updates today, no need to wait, you can check it out tomorrow.

 Chapter 693 - 659 Pleading Fish Papa to write a Song in Chu Language_1

    Bang!

    Watching the surging atmosphere on the spot, Tong Shuwen fiercely slapped his thigh for the third time, then grimaced¡ª

    Ouch.

    Can''t slap it anymore, or else my thigh will go numb. Tong Shuwen rubbed his leg and drew in a cold breath, then laughed like a 180-pound child.

    Come on!

    Sing it again!

    Here''s your microphone!

    Join me in the chorus!

    At this moment, Tong Shuwen was full of devilish delight, amidst the bustling voices on the spot, screams accompanied the waves of discussion:

    "This version is astonishing!"

    "I feel like it''s even better than the original!"

    "Daddy Fish sings so well!"

    "Mainly, the feeling this song gives is so compelling. Daddy Fish is truly a musical genius, using the same melody but playing it differently like early versions of "Red Rose" and "White Rose," which were in Mandarin and Qi language.

    Then there was the song for Sun Yaohuo, "Ten Years," which also had a Qi language version called "Next Year, Today." Not to mention the English version of "Farewell Kiss," which was made to slam the Han people''s face. Truly, no one knows how to two-time a song better than Daddy Fish!"

    "What a blessing for the Qi people!"

    "Even us Qi people can''t find anything wrong with Daddy Fish''s level of Qi language. If I didn''t know Daddy Fish''s identity, I would almost think he is a Qi person. No wonder Daddy Fish''s Qi language lyrics are so good!"

    "..."

    The atmosphere was truly lit!

    In this boiling milieu, Lin Yuan sang several familiar songs in succession, like "Red Rose" that a viewer just mentioned. These songs were all written by Lin Yuan for other singers, and he hadn''t previously sung them in public, so this continuous singing whipped the crowd into a frenzy!

    "The next song is ''Rooftop''."

    Lin Yuan introduced the next song, which is a duet type song. Lin Yuan can sing in both the male and female vocal ranges, which is his specialty.

    This vocal technique is terrific onstage!

    The moment Lin Yuan switched voices, it immediately triggered countless screams from the audience. And when Lin Yuan sang to the climactic part of the second chorus, he was already moving towards the edge of the stage, ready to interact with the audience!

    But Lin Yuan has wisened up!

    He can''t just hand over the microphone to the audience, otherwise, he''d be taken out of his own performance. Instead, he should just hand it to one audience member. He couldn''t mess up if he tried. Lin Yuan praised himself for his cleverness!

    "Admirable Fish!"

    When Lin Yuan walked to the east edge of the stage and gestured to hand over the microphone, the audience in that area started screaming. A short, chubby male audience member was keen to stand up and walk towards Lin Yuan.

    Security on standby.

    Ready to protect our Admirable Fish at any time.

    The male spectator was intensely excited, and as soon as he got near the microphone, he started passionately singing along, "I quietly close the door and carry my hopes upstairs, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha isn''t that person me in my dream ha ha ha ha ha ha..."

    Pff!

    What was that!

    Is this a car crash scene?

    The audience all around was laughing their heads off!

    The male audience member was singing the lyrics perfectly, but he sang every word off-key. Toward the end, he even broke into donkey-like laughter and quickly returned to his seat.

    "..."

    Lin Yuan was stunned. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The close-up shot on the big screen showed his face filled with confusion, seemingly unable to understand how this audience member managed to sing every word off-key. As a result, when he took back the microphone, he didn''t know how to continue singing. Not only was the tune off, but he also mis-sang several lyrics. He finished the song pinching his thigh.

    "Hahaha!"

    "Daddy Fish looks so dumb!"

    "How hilarious!"

    "That guy is such a badass!"

    "He''s even made Daddy Fish sing off-key!"

    "Daddy Fish should never try to interact with the audience again, he never knows what kind of oddballs there could be in the audience. Both times he''s tried to interact it''s ended up being a complete gaffe, this second attempt was actually more outrageous compared to the first one!"

    "Why is Daddy Fish''s concert so hilarious!"

    "It''s so damn funny, when the concert video becomes public, I''m going to watch this part again for sure. I have a feeling that guy might go viral!"

    "..."

    Lin Yuan readjusted himself.

    The concert had to go on. The audience wasn''t laughing anymore. The failed interaction was just an amusing interlude, for the audience was more curious about what song Admirable Fish would sing next.

    "Next up, ''Farewell Kiss''?"

    As the new music started, some in the audience already knew what song it was. The audience was predominately hardcore fans who were very familiar with Admirable Fish''s songs. The moment the prelude sounded, they could immediately follow along.

    However.

    When Lin Yuan sang the first line of the lyrics, the audience below the stage was somewhat stunned!

    Nobody expected that Lin Yuan was going to sing the English version of "Farewell Kiss"!

    Which means... "Take Me To Your Heart"!

    "Hiding from the rain and snow, Trying to forget but I won''t let go, Looking at a crowded street¡­"

    Next moment!

    The whole venue cheers!

    Especially the Han Continent spectators at the venue, they were extremely excited!

    Not everyone could sing English songs, especially for someone from the Qin Continent like Xian Yu.

    Everyone originally thought that Lin Yuan would sing the Mandarin version of ''Farewell Kiss''!

    After all, before this concert, Lin Yuan never sung any Qi language songs, let alone English which is relatively unfamiliar to everyone!

    "Fish Papa is a newbee!"

    "Not only can he sing in Qi language, but his English is so good!"

    "Don''t forget that the lyrics to ''Take Me To Your Heart'' were written by Fish Papa himself, since he could write English song lyrics, him being able to speak English is pretty normal!"

    "The problem isn''t that Fish Papa knows English!"

    "The most terrifying thing is that Fish Papa''s English is too fluent - there''s no difference between his and ours as Han people!"

    "Fish Papa is respectful!"

    "This language talent is really amazing!"

    "¡­"

    Everyone on Blue Star can speak Mandarin.

    But only the Qi people can speak Qi language!

    And English, among the five continents that have united so far, only Han people can speak!

    But Xian Yu can sing both Qi language and English songs, and both sound great!

    For many, this is really impressive!

    Even on Earth, how many people can speak English, Qi language, and Mandarin all at once?

    Front row.

    Zheng Jing was unexpectedly stunned, "He can sing in English? I thought the English lyrics of ''Farewell Kiss'' were composed from a reference book."

    Yang Zhongming said, "He''s a genius, his language talent is excellent."

    Sun Yaohuo sighed, "It turns out my junior''s English is so good. The English version of ''Farewell Kiss'' could actually be sung by him."

    Aside.

    Chen Zhiyu nodded seriously, feeling a little embarrassed and lost for a moment, "Teacher Admirable Fish sings better than I do¡­"

    Chen Zhiyu''s English is already quite good compared to ordinary people.

    But when compared to Xian Yu''s, it lacks some of the authentic accent.

    In this case, it was really kind of Lin Yuan to let him sing the song.

    "Not just you."

    Jiang Kui looked in the direction of the stage, her eyes sparkling,

    "Teacher Admirable Fish could also sing ''Big Fish'' and other songs. If we talk about singing abilities, we singers from the Yu Dynasty are not as good as him, but he has always been selflessly helping us. We owe him a lot¡­"

    Most composers give their songs to singers to perform because they can''t sing their own songs.

    Xian Yu is different.

    The songs he has written for many others, he could actually sing himself, and even better than the chosen singers!

    Sun Yaohuo nodded. "Red Rose," which Lin Yuan just sang, was really good.

    "This is Teacher Admirable Fish."

    Zhao Ying Ge''s eyes were firmly attracted by the stage as she murmured.

    "This is Lin Yuan."

    Xia Fan also spoke, her smile was warm.

    "What about my song?"

    Wei Haoyun asked curiously.

    Everyone: "¡­"

    Your song, he really can''t sing it.

    He only knows "Stay" and "Dance Party."

    At this time.

    On stage.

    Lin Yuan had finished singing "Take Me To Your Heart."

    Amid applause,

    Suddenly a spectator in the audience shouted:

    "I beg Fish Papa to write a song in Chu language!!!"

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C

    ps: The prototype of the concert scene where the fans sing off-key is the interaction scene at singer Della''s concert. It can be considered a classic funny moment in a concert. If you''re interested, you can search to have a look. The fourth update is here, I will continue to write after a sleep, please vote!

 Chapter 694 - 660 lemon_1

    "Fish Papa, please write a song in Chu language¡ª¡ª"

    No one knows who first shouted these words in the venue.

    But without a doubt:

    This shout spoke for the countless fans from Chu Continent! Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Countless Chu Continent spectators in the arena joined in:

    "Chu language!"

    "Chu language!"

    "Chu language!"

    "..."

    Fans from other continents in the same venue laughed.

    Is the citrus too sour?

    Why is the atmosphere in the venue so tarty?

    Listening to Xian Yu sing in the Qi language, then English, these Chu people finally become sour!

    But these Chu people did not go too far.

    They only asked Xian Yu to write a song in the Chu language, not to perform a song in the Chu language on the spot.

    After all, it is a universally recognized fact that Xian Yu has never composed a song in the Chu language.

    On the stage.

    Lin Yuan heard the plea of the Chu Continent audience.

    "Alright."

    Lin Yuan agreed.

    Upon hearing this, many Chu Continent audience members were so excited that their veins almost burst:

    "Brilliant, Fish Papa!"

    Many Chu people shout, merely to join in the fun.

    But they did not expect that Xian Yu would agree so readily!

    Lin Yuan said: "Up next, let''s invite our guest singer, Zhao Yingge to the stage..."

    The guest was ready to go on stage.

    An important role of a guest at a concert is to help the singer transition.

    Lin Yuan had sung ten songs in a row. He needed to go backstage to rest briefly and change his costume.

    Zhao Yingge, who was already prepared, came to the stage.

    The song she was going to sing was her hit song "Easy to Ignite and Explode".

    Lin Yuan went backstage to quickly change his clothes.

    "Teacher Admirable Fish!"

    Tong Shuwen rushed over:

    "Since the call of the Chu Continent audience is so strong, why not move the sixteenth song to the next round of singing and the eleventh song to the sixteenth position?"

    Lin Yuan asked: "Will it affect the rhythm?"

    Tong Shuwen shook his head with a smile: "We are just swapping the order of two songs, leave the stage arrangement to me."

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    The sixteenth song of this concert is a new song from Lin Yuan, which has not been released yet.

    Naturally.

    The new song is not the focal point.

    The real centerpiece is that...

    It''s a classic Chu language song!

    Which means a song in Japanese on Earth!

    Yes.

    Actually, without the suggestions of the Chu Continent audience,

    Lin Yuan had already prepared a song in Chu language in the concert.

    He wants to host a concert that will impress everyone and naturally won''t neglect the fans from Chu Continent.

    In Tong Shuwen''s words, this is called "Even distribution of rewards".

    Now that Tong Shuwen wants to adjust the order of the songs, it should be to give a surprise to Chu Continent and other audiences on site.

    Lin Yuan is certainly willing to cooperate.

    Regardless of the music genre or language, the music style of this concert is extremely rich. He also believes that this new Chu language song will not disappoint the audience on-site!

    A few minutes later.

    Zhao Yingge''s performance was over.

    Lin Yuan had also changed his clothes.

    With a series of screams from the audience, Lin Yuan got on the lifting platform to take over the stage from Zhao Yingge. He appeared in front of the audience again!

    "I just went down for a drink."

    Lin Yuan''s opening remarks amused many people in the audience.

    Amid the laughter, Lin Yuan spoke again: "Next is a new song."

    The laughter immediately turned into cheers!

    "There really is a new song!"

    In the audience.

    Zhou Meng''s voice was almost gone from the continuous screaming, but her excitement was undiminished:

    "I knew it! How could Fish Papa, with such extensive creative energy, not prepare one or two new songs for the concert!"

    Before the concert started.

    Many people speculated that Xian Yu might prepare some new songs for the audience to enjoy.

    Although the Qi language version of "Exaggeration" was a surprise, it technically did not count as a new song.

    After all, the melody of the Qi language version is quite similar to the Mandarin version, with only a difference in arrangement.

    The next song should be a bona fide new song!

    "What will this song be like?"

    Zhou Meng''s boyfriend, Wang Yu, looked forward with anticipation.

    All the audience are anticipating.

    Under everyone''s expectant gaze, a string of information suddenly appeared on the big screen:

    "Song Name:"lemon""

    "Lyrics: Xian Yu"

    "Composer: Xian Yu"

    "Singer: Xian Yu"

    Seeing this song''s title, the audience from Han Continent almost jumped out of their seats!

    "It''s an English song!"

    "Another English song!"

    "Kudos to Fish Papa!"

    "Who would have thought Fish Papa wrote another English song!"

    "He''s been so considerate to us fans from Han Continent!"

    "Fish Papa is so thoughtful!"

    "He must be compensating us Han people!"

    "After all, our Han music had been heavily ''militarized'' by Fish Papa before."

    "Hahaha, no matter the militarization, as long as Fish Papa keeps releasing good English songs!"

    "Wait a minute!"

    "This song is called "lemon", which translated is a lemon, is Fish Papa sure it''s not intentional?"

    "Now the Chu people are going to sour to death!"

    "..."

    The Han people are delighted to the point of madness!

    Audiences outside of Chu Continent are all laughing hysterically!

    Because the song title is in English, everyone instinctively thought it was another English song.

    "Ya Meadie!"

    Wang Yu held his forehead: "I''m so jealous of the Han people!"

    Wang Yu is a Chu native, he also joined when the spectators from Han Continent just called out to Xian Yu, hoping that he could write a song in Chu language.

    "Didn''t Fish Papa promise you Chu people that he''d write songs in Chu language in the future?"

    His girlfriend Zhou Meng comforted.

    Wang Yu had a grimace on his face: "That''s what he said, but I still want to hear Fish Papa singing our Chu language songs at the concert..."

    "Fish Papa is not omnipotent."

    Zhou Meng laughed: "You have to give Fish Papa some time to learn your Chu language."

    Wang Yu: "..."

    I understand all that, but why is this song called "lemon"?

    Wang Yu knows some simple English words and knows that "lemon" means "lemon".

    It''s sour enough already.

    Are we Chu people expected to graciously continue to eat lemons?

    We had enough of lemons!

    Wang Yu and Zhou Meng are in a long-distance relationship.

    Zhou Meng is a Qi native and wouldn''t understand Wang Yu''s feelings.

    In fact, Wang Yu''s feelings are also the feelings of the other Chu spectators.

    Seeing Xian Yu sing several Qi songs in a row and wanting to sing several English songs in a row, the Chu people are really envious and hateful!

    Especially when they saw the song title directly translated as "lemon", the emotions of Chu people became even more complicated!

    At this moment.

    The news that the song "lemon" translates as "lemon" has begun to circulate at the scene.

    The laughter on the spot is getting louder and louder.

    Xian Yu actually sang an English song called "lemon" at the most sour moment of the Chu people...

    Of course, everyone knows it''s just a coincidence.

    But this coincidence is just too hilarious!

    It''s like a piece of dark humor!

    However.

    Just as the Chu people were preparing to forget the regret of language and focus on enjoying the new song from Xian Yu with these complicated emotions,

    A song with a touch of confusion and sadness suddenly rang out:

    "ÃÎ¤Ê¤é¤Ð¤É¤ì¤Û¤É¤è¤«¤Ã¤¿¤Ç¤·¤ç¤¦

    (How wonderful it would be if all of this was just a dream)

    Î´¤À¤Ë¤¢¤Ê¤¿¤Î¤³¤È¤òÃÎ¤Ë¤ß¤ë

    (I still encounter you in my dreams)

    Íü¤ì¤¿Îï¤òÈ¡¤ê¤ËŽ¢¤ë¤è¤¦¤Ë

    (As if to retrieve forgotten things)

    ¹Å¤Ó¤¿Ë¼¤¤³ö¤Î°£¤ò’B¤¦

    (Sweep away the dust that covers the old memories)

    ..."

    Without any familiar instrumental prelude, within breaths, the melody mixed with the singing was already captivating!

    Instantly!

    The entire audience was dumbfounded!

    With the deepening cultural exchange among continents, no one would not be able to recognize the language used in this song sung by Xian Yu.

    Yes.

    Although the song title "lemon" is in English, looking at the lyrics, this freaking song is decidedly a ¡ª¡ª

    Chu language song!!!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: It''s almost the middle of the month, I want to get back to the top ten in monthly tickets, please give me some support, Polluted White will continue writing!!

 Chapter 695 - 661 - Until today, you are still my light_1

    Not an English song?

    Is this selling one thing while advertising another?

    Everyone was misled by the song title!

    What about Xian Yu inviting Chu people to taste lemons? He obviously delivered oranges to the Chu people. Nothing could be more surprising than this turn of events!

    Who said Xian Yu can''t speak Chu language?

    A blockbuster work, "Lemon"!

    This is the first Chu language song sung by Lin Yuan on Blue Star!

    A super production that topped the Billboard Japan Yearly Chart for two consecutive years on earth!

    Breaking countless records of Neon!

    Once out, it became a big hit, winning six consecutive championships, a classic filled with countless awards!

    Such is this song.

    Now appearing in Xian Yu''s concert in this way:

    "There is also irretrievable happiness in this world

    In the end, you taught me that

    Those dark pasts never mentioned to others

    If it weren''t for you

    They would forever sleep in the dark

    There can be nothing more sad than this

    I know it cannot exist

    ..."

    Lin Yuan continued to sing.

    He sang very passionately.

    The Chu language was standard, a complete mess.

    The Chu language lyrics also appear in a bilingual format on the big screen behind him, translated into Mandarin.

    The cold light seemed to make his shadow lonely.

    The dazzling chasing lights disappeared.

    Just like the mood of this song.

    Sour, astringent, cold.

    And yet the melody doesn''t go in a deep and sorrowful direction, it''s very catchy, with no loss of rhythm whatsoever!

    "This song..."

    Wang Yu, who was Chu people, murmured as if he wanted to express something, but in the end he closed his mouth.

    Then he gently closed his eyes, lost in the melody.

    He felt the wind.

    The summer sea breeze was touching his face.

    The air was filled with a slightly salty bitterness.

    Just like a lemon.

    Wang Yu was intoxicated.

    It''s not just Wang Yu, more and more Chu people are immersing themselves in the music.

    The commonality of music was fully demonstrated at this scene.

    Because not only Chu people are attracted by this song.

    Qin people...

    Qi people...

    Yan People...

    Han people...

    On all sides of the stand, the fans of different regions open their hearts quietly in the song and melody.

    After that.

    Magnificent, Monumental!

    Lin Yuan''s tone suddenly intensified, the missing chasing lights became splendid again, exactly like his surging singing: Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "The sorrow of that day

    And the pain of that day

    Together with you, who deeply loved all this

    Turned into the bitter lemon scent

    Deeply engraved in my heart

    Unable to return before the sun shines after the rain

    Just like a halved lemon

    To this day

    You are still my light

    ..."

    People widened their eyes!

    Intense upheaval in their hearts!

    Within the golden lemon, apart from the heart-wrenching sourness, there seemed to be a faint taste of sweetness after the bitterness spread.

    Perhaps this is the meaning of a lemon?

    Because the bitterness of a lemon is followed by a trace of fragrance.

    That''s the first ray of sunlight that finally punctures through the clouds and shines on you after great pain and sorrow!

    "Searching for your shadow in the dark

    That silhouette is still vividly engraved in my heart

    Whenever unbearable pain comes

    My tears inevitably surge

    What have you been through

    What else have they witnessed?

    ..."

    At some unknown moment.

    A sea of lights connected into a whole beneath the stage!

    And in the front row.

    Zheng Jing''s eyes had already changed: "Using a reduced seventh chord on an accented beat, a composition style more audacious than matching red with green. But it still harmonizes so well, if there is such a thing as a genius in this world, it has to be him¡­"

    "A textbook-level key change!"

    Ye Zhiqiu next to her spoke softly, yet his ears were firmly captivated by the rhythm.

    Language has never been a shackle for Maestro to understand music.

    On the other side.

    Wu Long, a top composer from Chu Continent, looked amazed:

    "This section of the melody uses expanding and contracting techniques in its composition. The lyrics and melody are telling us that since certain people had passed away, we who are still alive should learn to let go¡­"

    This is the expression of the song.

    If you''re somewhere, like heaven, living a lonely life of constant weeping like me, please forget all about me¡ª¡ª

    I wish from the bottom of my heart.

    Although I can''t forget.

    Because up to this day, you are still my light.

    Several music maestros seemed to be sighing and exchanging thoughts, speaking softly, their attention actually concentrated on the song.

    Only Yang Zhongming remained silent.

    His eyes were firmly fixed on the slender figure singing passionately on the stage.

    There was a reflection of him in his eyes.

    It seemed that his pupils quivered slightly in a trance.

    Lin Yuan finally finished singing.

    And when the song "Lemon" ended.

    The thunderous applause erupted at the venue!

    The vast sea of lights in the four-sided stands was as beautiful as the spread of ripples!

    "This has got to be the best Chu-language song I''ve ever heard!"

    "Xian Yu is truly a language genius!"

    "Not only is he fluent in Qi language and English, he is also proficient in Chu language."

    "Is there any language that Xian Yu does not speak in Blue Star?"

    "I thought he wouldn''t speak Chu-language, but when he sang in Chu-language, I was not as shocked as I thought I would be."

    "After all, he is best at surprising us."

    "This time, it''s more than just a surprise. Even though I can''t understand the lyrics, looking at the translation with the melody, I felt my heart is a bit choked up."

    "I suddenly recall something."

    "What?"

    "Xian Yu lost his father when he was very young."

    "..."

    The applause was still thunderous, and the lights were still splendid.

    The audience at the scene suddenly became a bit sad, even though some of their understandings were somehow mistaken.

    Zhou Meng bit her lip: "You''ve recommended me many songs in Chu language, but I didn''t listen to them. I must¡­ when I get back¡­"

    Zhou Meng abruptly paused.

    Her boyfriend, who had been beside her, was already in tears without her noticing it.

    "What''s wrong?"

    Zhou Meng held onto her boyfriend''s arm.

    Wang Yu''s voice was struggling to suppress his sobs: "I miss my grandpa..."

    Music is universal.

    But perhaps the people of Chu have a deeper appreciation for the sadness and sorrow in the song.

    The person whom you''ve lost has turned into a beam of light.

    A beam of light that no longer exists, but still shines on the later generations.

    Zhou Meng comforted him, her gaze, however, scanning through countless people, fell once again on a line of words displayed on the big screen:

    "I miss you deeply, even more than I can imagine myself. From now on, every memory of you is as painful as suffocation. You were once intimately by my side, but now you''ve gone like smoke. The only thing I can confirm is that I will never forget you..."

    On the stage.

    Lin Yuan looked towards some direction in the crowd.

    "Mom..."

    Big Yaoyao passed a tissue to her mother.

    Her sister grabbed the tissue away to wipe her mother''s tears.

    At this moment, Lin Yuan really wanted to step down from the stage and go to her side.

    But he couldn''t do that.

    As the venue was jammed with people, any improvised action that exceeded his rehearsal plan could cause chaos.

    He didn''t want to become a burden to the countless staff who had worked so hard behind this concert.

    Perhaps he could understand why she was crying.

    This was a song that could move audiences on a massive scale.

    It was also a song that could remind people of those who had passed away.

    Backstage.

    In the director''s room.

    Tong Shuwen paused word by word: "This is Xian Yu''s first song in Chu language, but he had conquered not only Chu Continent."

    This is Xian Yu''s concert!

    And this is Xian Yu''s kingdom of music!

 Chapter 696 - 662: Confession Balloon_1

    Lin Yuan finished singing the eleventh song.

    Only about a third of the concert program had passed at this point, but the audience already experienced various emotions through these songs¡ª

    Impressive enough to scream!

    Shocking enough to lose their voice!

    Happy enough to burst into laughter!

    Sad enough to cry!

    Observing the countless fans on all four sides.

    Lin Yuan spoke:

    "Next, it''s the fan''s song request session, I will randomly pick someone from the audience to request a song, what do you guys want to listen to?"

    Whoosh!

    The audience was immediately stirred up, with countless voices jumbled together!

    There were all kinds of song requests at once.

    Everyone had their favorite song.

    "Right."

    Within the sound of the audience.

    Lin Yuan said: "The last song was a bit sad. I hope the fans chosen next can request less melancholic songs. I will randomly announce now, the audience member at the west stand second row, seat number six..."

    Tong Shuwen had given him a heads up.

    During this session, Lin Yuan was supposed to mainly select audience members from the front rows.

    Mainly because it''s easier to hand the microphone to those closer to the stage.

    As Lin Yuan''s voice fell, the audience turned their heads towards the west stand.

    At the west stand.

    Zhou Meng was taken aback, instinctively taking out the two concert tickets from her pocket.

    The next moment, she screamed excitedly, nudging her boyfriend, who was still lost in the melody of the previous song:

    "Dear, you''re the lucky audience member that Teacher Admirable Fish picked, you can request a song now!"

    Wang Yu was stunned.

    Request a song from Admirable Fish?

    He did not expect to encounter such an opportunity, and for a moment, he was too nervous to speak!

    Meanwhile, a staff member had already approached him with the microphone.

    "Hello."

    Lin Yuan greeted.

    Wang Yu steadied his nerves, then said nervously: "Hello, Teacher Admirable Fish, thank you so much for giving me this chance, I want to request a song for my girlfriend. We''ve been dating for two years already..."

    Showing affection at the concert?

    The audience was suddenly hit with a display of love.

    Those who came with their partners looked on, their faces filled with envy.

    Even the girls were looking at their boyfriends expectantly: "If you had the chance to request a song, would you request one for me?"

    "Of course!"

    The boys replied with determination.

    Wang Yu, holding the microphone, suddenly turned to Zhou Meng and asked, "What song do you want to hear?"

    Wang Yu looked at Zhou Meng.

    Zhou Meng covered her mouth, her eyes slightly red, but a sweet smile gradually appeared at the corners of her mouth.

    She said into the microphone: "I really want to request ''Rooftop''. We used to sing it together in the karaoke room, but Teacher Admirable Fish has already sung that song earlier..."

    "That''s okay."

    Lin Yuan on the stage said gently: "I know which song to sing now."

    Lin Yuan had prepared many songs for the song request session, it wouldn''t be too difficult for him to pick a love song for a couple.

    The audience looked on with anticipation.

    The people at the front rows, including Sun Yaohuo, were slightly curious.

    They didn''t have enough time to think about which of Admirable Fish''s songs fit his description.

    Most of Admirable Fish''s songs were rather sad love songs.

    It wouldn''t be suitable to sing here.

    Until a slightly unfamiliar and cheerful melody started playing!

    "A new song!?"

    Zheng Jing''s eyes lit up!

    Yang Zhongming also looked surprised!

    Zhou Meng was excited and grabbed her boyfriend''s arm again!

    As a die-hard fan of Admirable Fish, she knew this was likely a new song from the moment she heard the intro, otherwise there was no way she wouldn''t recognize it!

    Swoosh!

    The song''s title, "Confession Balloon," appeared on the big screen on stage, causing the audience to scream in excitement!

    The couples in the audience clung to each other even tighter!

    This new song was called: "Confession Balloon"!

    A new song, another new song!

    The music paused.

    Lin Yuan''s voice rang out:

    "Coffee on the left bank of the Seine

    I taste your beauty in a cup in my hand

    Leaving an impression of lips on the cup

    Whose name is misspelled on the rose in the flower shop

    The confession balloon is blown to the opposite street

    The smile is flying in the sky..."

    So pleasant to the ear!

    That was the audience''s first reaction!

    Although both were new songs, the previous one was sad, but this one is a sweet and happy song, both equally catchy!

    With his song.

    Suddenly, colorful balloons rose up at the scene!

    This song was prepared in advance, so Tong Shuwen was able to conduct it timely.

    In an instant!

    The entire audience screamed!

    What a romantic and sweet scene!

    The appearance of this song immediately diluted the sad atmosphere left by the previous song, bringing everyone back to the emotional climax!

    "So beautiful!"

    Zheng Jing was a bit distracted: "Where is the Seine River?"

    Yin Dong said expressionlessly: "Zhao Continent."

    "What about the fallen leaves of Xiang Xie?"

    "Also in Zhao Continent."

    Wu Long laughed: "Yin Dong''s knowledge of geography is quite good, I must say this song is really fitting!"

    "Exactly!"

    Ye Zhi Qiu also grinned and said: "He is really well-prepared for this concert!"

    Yang Zhongming''s eyes glowed with warmth:

    "Another classic pop song, perhaps it will become the couple''s wedding song, the season chart next month should be interesting."

    On the stage.

    Lin Yuan was singing.

    Lin Yuan wouldn''t sing this kind of sweet love song with a straight face.

    He seemed to enter the perspective of a lover, his voice slightly lowered, carrying a hint of playfulness and tenderness:

    "You said you are hard to chase

    Want me to give up

    The gift doesn''t need to be the most expensive

    Just the fallen leaves of Xiang Xie

    Create a romantic date

    Not afraid to mess up everything

    Having you is owning the whole world~"

    Zhou Meng looked up at the balloons in the sky, listening to Admirable Fish''s singing, leaning her head on her boyfriend''s shoulder.

    At the scene.

    Many couples are doing similar things.

    The lyrics of this song aren''t showing off any skills, it''s just talking about the little things between couples.

    Accompanied by the lyrics and melody, all the sweet past of love flashes through the minds of couples.

    Like the first date, the first hand-holding, even the first kiss...

    This song awakened couples'' most beautiful memory.

    It was filled with a sweet aroma.

    On the four-facing platforms, not only balloons rose, but also countless pink bubbles!

    This is a sweet blow!

    "Dear, love you from that day

    Sweetness comes easily

    Dear, don''t be willful

    Your eyes are saying I''m willing..."

    When Lin Yuan sang this line, the corners of his mouth slightly curled up.

    Don''t be sad.

    Don''t be upset.

    There is so many beauty in this world, waiting for you to taste and discover.

    This is a simple song.

    But maybe because this song is simple yet too sweet, it resonates so much with the listeners in another space¡ª

    The power of music needn''t always be heavy.

    It can also be used to heal one''s heart.

    Love is a kind of strong medicine.

    From a lover''s perspective, this couldn''t be a better remedy.

    "You still have me."

    Zhou Meng softly said in Wang Yu''s ear. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Wang Yu softly said: "Mm, tonight''s concert is so beautiful."

    At that moment.

    Maybe countless of couples were whispering into each other''s ears.

    Maybe it''s a bit cheesy.

    But it''s also genuinely warm.

    On the big screen.

    The cameras captured the interactions of the couples on the scene.

    The couples, hand in hand, were magnified in the close-up.

    During the final melody.

    Lin Yuan''s voice grew lighter:

    "Dear, falling in love with you, love diary, the fragrance of the perfume is our memory, a bottle full of dreams all have you, mixed together, dear, don''t be willful, your eyes are saying...I...am...willing..."

    Surprise?

    Comedy?

    Sadness?

    Shock?

    And the sweetness of "I''m willing."

    The lingering sound, just like the spring breeze, with the smell of flowers and earth, is refreshing.

    One song, "Confession Balloon."

    The whole Grand Stadium seemed to be enveloped in this sweet and happy atmosphere, all the audience lost in rapture...

 Chapter 697 - 663: Three Days and Three Nights _1

    Actually, "Confessions Balloon" is not the most outstanding of Jay Chou''s works.

    But in terms of popularity, this song is quite impressive.

    Simply put, it''s a catchy love song.

    Especially since it was Wang Yu dedicating it to his girlfriend Zhou Meng, the sweet atmosphere was off the charts.

    "These tickets were worth every penny!"

    "Got to hear two new songs from Fish Papa!"

    "And witnessed the birth of the first Chu language song by Fish Papa!"

    "The Qi language version of ''Flamboyant'' also counts as a new song, right? It was explosive live!"

    "The moment the balloons soared, it really felt like the world became more beautiful. Despite the smell of love lingering in the air, I still radiate single freshness!"

    "I almost lost my voice from the screaming."

    "After consecutive shouts, I''m starting to feel a bit short of breath."

    "This new song is so good!"

    "..."

    The fans were excitedly discussing.

    Hearing Xian Yu''s new songs at the concert was something worth being overjoyed about.

    But what was more worth being overjoyed about was:

    The concert was still going on!

    "Call out to Buddha, heading back to shore¡­"

    "Who is playing the lute with a song of the east wind breaking¡­"

    "Da La Ben Ba Bande Bedi Buator¡­."

    "I gaze at the distant mountains, yet miss the winding river¡­"

    "I''ve crossed mountains and seas..."

    "The sea laughs as waves surge on both shores¡­"

    Xian Yu sang many classic songs, each one able to easily ignite the audience, bringing back countless memories from when the songs were released. The atmosphere was explosive!

    Many spectators'' hands were sore from clapping!

    A lot of fans had lost their voices from screaming!

    Excitement and madness enveloped the crowd, and suddenly some attentive fans looked toward the stage: "This concert duration is too generous, how many songs has Fish Papa sung?"

    "A dozen?"

    "Twenty-two!"

    "Yes, twenty-two songs indeed!"

    "I''ve been counting. I initially thought Fish Papa''s concert would end around twenty songs like other artists, but it seems that Fish Papa has prepared more than twenty songs!"

    "Poor guy!"

    "He hasn''t rested yet!"

    "He only took a few minutes break in between?"

    "Can he hold on physically? While his voice doesn''t sound too tired, any professional singer would feel very tired after singing so many songs consecutively. Even us just cheering from below are already quite worn out."

    "..."

    The audience gets anxious!

    Worries are spreading!

    On stage, Lin Yuan adjusted his breathing. Singing for so long was indeed tiring, but it hadn''t impaired his performance. As he was about to prepare for the next song, someone in the audience suddenly shouted:

    "Take a break!"

    At first, only a few spectators were calling out. Then more and more people joined in. Some overly emotional fans were even crying, their voices growing louder and louder:

    "Teacher Admirable Fish, stop singing!"

    "Fish Papa, take care of your health!"

    "We''ll wait for you to recover!"

    Yang Zhongming, sitting in the front, also frowned slightly: "Xian Yu''s energy must be nearing its limit. Why hasn''t Tong Shuwen let him rest yet? Why not let the guest entertain for ten minutes?"

    "Exactly!"

    Zheng Jing was also annoyed.

    Even if they were afraid of breaking the atmosphere, or worried that the guest couldn''t follow through with Xian Yu''s momentum, they shouldn''t ignore Little Fish''s stamina! Who has ever seen a singer perform for so long without resting? Isn''t the effect of this concert exaggerated enough?

    "Junior..."

    Sun Yaohuo had a serious expression.

    The other singers from the Yu Dynasty also had anxious and worried expressions. Being singers themselves, they knew full well the load that singing consecutively for so long can put on the body and throat.

    However,

    Just when everyone thought the show would break for intermission,

    Lin Yuan suddenly picked up his guitar and started to play it energetically.

    Then his pace started to speed up!

    When the rhythm hit the first climax, he had already stood in front of the microphone, his voice piercing the sky:

    "I''m not tired at all!"

    "I''ve been jumping for three days and three nights!"

    "I''m so happy that even drinking soda will make me drunk!"

    Boom!

    Explosive high note!

    The whole venue was stunned!

    Zheng Jing was dumbfounded.

    Yang Zhongming was dumbfounded.

    The singers from the Yu Dynasty were also dumbfounded.

    They had never seen Xian Yu sing so passionately!

    At this moment, everyone hesitated to stop Xian Yu, as if it was against their conscience.

    After everyone''s expressions nearly froze, the whole venue suddenly erupted with terrifying cheers!

    A new song!

    Another bloody new song!

    And it was a very explosive new song!

    Perhaps influenced by Xian Yu''s emotions, the concert''s intensity escalated once again!

    Take a rest?

    Absolutely not!

    Other singers would undoubtedly collapse under this pressure, but Lin Yuan''s body has been systematically transformed!

    At this stage, he is far from needing a break.

    Yes.

    He planned this in advance with Tong Shuwen.

    Tong Shuwen tried to dissuade him, but Lin Yuan was determined to create a perfect concert. He was pushing his limits!

    "I''m not tired at all!"

    "I can dance for three more days and nights!" S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Right now, my spirits are so high, it feels like I could fly!"

    Compared to his piano playing, Lin Yuan''s guitar skills aren''t as excellent, but the euphoria in the venue overshadows any flaws!

    Over twenty songs in a row!

    He is completely in the zone!

    Not just Lin Yuan, the bassist is also rocking out!

    Awe-inspiring!

    The drummer is shaking uncontrollably!

    They seem ready to launch into the air at any moment!

    "Join my ranks!"

    "Dance from dawn till dusk!"

    "Happiness comes with no cost!"

    "No one can resist!"

    The high notes are even more explosive!

    Lin Yuan is drenched in sweat, but in this state, he hits the highest note of the night!

    He''s going straight after the original version''s high key and singing at the top of his lungs!

    There are only a handful of singers who can reach such high notes!!

    "Three days and nights in the dead of night!"

    "No rest for the dancers!"

    "Three days and nights in the dead of night!"

    "Floating on the power of music!"

    "Three days and nights in the dead of night!"

    "Sweat is all that remains!!"

    The audience has gone wild!

    They are screaming unconsciously!

    Look at him on stage, so radiant, so joyful!

    At least this time!

    Let him sing his heart out!

    Let us also enjoy a fantastic show!

    "No chance to get drunk

    I will party for three more days and nights

    My world seems like a cartoon film!"

    Click!

    Dozens of fog machines kick-start!

    White mist rockets several meters into the sky!

    Amidst the mist.

    All the musicians are partying with Xian Yu!

    No one cares about their positions anymore.

    Nobody is concerned about order anymore.

    This show rides on the wave of pure ecstasy!

    The atmosphere is off the charts!

    "Not tired at all!"

    "Not tired at all!!"

    In the last few lines, Xian Yu sings higher and higher!

    The mood at the venue soars higher and higher!

    The final note, sharper than a dolphin''s cry and already near Lin Yuan''s vocal limit:

    "Not tired at all!!!"

    The stadium is like a roaring ocean, the roof of the Grand Stadium is about to blow off!

    The audience''s screaming has reached fever pitch!

    In the front row.

    Amidst this craziness,

    Yang Zhongming is expressionless.

    Unsure when, he has stood up, turning to an equally manic staff member, he says:

    "Tell Tong Shuwen to let Xian Yu take a break."

    The staff member wants to say something, but Yang Zhongming''s expression suddenly becomes serious:

    "Is there a problem?"

    Feeling a sudden panic, the staff member gives a wry smile, nods, and rushes backstage.

    "Alright, alright!"

    Hearing the staff member''s words, Tong Shuwen tries to suppress his overwhelming excitement and frenzy:

    "I will let Xian Yu take a break immediately!"

    Tong Shuwen didn''t expect Xian Yu to perform so incredibly either!

    Those high notes, combined with the audience''s insane screaming, feels like it could shatter glass!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Ps: If interested, you can listen to Zhang Wei''s The Voice team battle cover of "Three Days and Three Nights" as a duet with another singer.

 Chapter 698 - 664: Space Walk, Moonwalk_1

    "So high!"

    "What''s this song called?"

    "It says on the big screen, ''Three Days and Three Nights''!"

    "We wouldn''t get enough of Fish Papa''s concert even if it lasts three days and three nights, but he really should rest now..."

    "Fish Papa is singing so passionately, it''s making us all high too!"

    "This is the third new song already!"

    "Fish Papa''s high notes are so terrifying!"

    "He''s singing so high!"

    "Dolphin sounds are not enough to describe it!"

    "This is a high note that will destroy the world!"

    "I''d like to nominate Fish Papa''s high notes as the world''s strongest!"

    "This is the best concert I''ve ever been to!"

    "..."

    The audience breaks out into a feverish discussion!

    The best way to stir up the atmosphere at a live concert is to hit those high notes!

    Lin Yuan was fully prepared for this, of course!

    He had originally planned to sing in the dolphin note.

    But considering that "Three Days and Three Nights" meets the mood and status of the concert more, he finally chose this song--

    Lin Yuan is a slow starter.

    It''s hard for someone with his personality to get excited.

    He seldom has such passionate outbursts!

    The last time he was this high, it seemed to be the final episode of "The Masked Singer".

    But singing more than twenty songs in a row at the concert has completely ignited his passion for singing, his energy is being released like never before!

    ...

    It''s time for him to step off the stage.

    Although Lin Yuan has not yet come to the end of his song and his physical strength is still enough to support him, he must go off the stage to change costumes.

    For the next performance...

    The stage is then handed over to the guest singer, Xia Fan.

    Lin Yuan, surrounded by the excited screams of the audience, heads backstage to the dressing room to change costumes.

    ...

    A few minutes later.

    The lift platform opens up.

    Lin Yuan reappears on stage.

    Suddenly, all sides of the stage erupt in shouts of surprise, accompanied by roars of laughter--

    "Pfft!"

    "What kind of outfit is this?"

    "A new design by the stylist?"

    "White shirt, black cropped trousers are not a big deal, white gloves and black suit are pretty cool too, but why pair black shoes with white socks?"

    "It feels so out of place!"

    "The stylist''s chicken legs are gone!"

    "Ahem, am I the only one who thinks Fish Papa looks handsome..."

    "Don''t even need to ask, Fish Papa looks handsome regardless of what he wears!"

    "Even though white socks and black shoes really don''t match, but can''t deny that Fish Papa''s looks and figure are spot on!"

    "..."

    Yes.

    The clothes that Lin Yuan changed into at this moment are bizarre, no one knows why Xian Yu would change into these clothes.

    In the audience''s discussion.

    Xia Fan, who had not yet stepped off the stage, smiled at Lin Yuan: "People told me just now that ''Three Days and Three Nights'' was so fitting, but Jian Yi said before I went on stage that this song wasn''t fitting enough..."

    Beneath the stage.

    Jian Yi was baffled.

    When did I say that?

    "For example?"

    The curious Lin Yuan on stage.

    "Like in the lyrics, you have been dancing for three days and three nights, but you didn''t actually dance at all, it was all the backup dancers..."

    Xia Fan winked at Lin Yuan:

    "Looking at you now with the headset on, it should be pretty easy for you to dance, it''s not too much to ask for a few minutes when we don''t ask for three days and three nights, right?"

    That''s the reason why Xia Fan hasn''t stepped off the stage yet.

    This was a prompt from Tong Shuwen, he asked Xia Fan to stay on stage and interact with Xian Yu, to stir up the atmosphere on the set, and to lead into the next round of performances.

    The crowd below immediately started to boo!

    "One dance!"

    Hearing the cry of the audience, Xia Fan started leading the chant: "One dance!"

    In the front row.

    Jian Yi laughed: "Even though I didn''t say it, he has to dance for everyone!"

    "Sure!"

    People like Sun Yaohuo started to join in, in the end, even the composers like Zheng Jing started to join in the boos.

    In the end, the whole audience uniformly shouted: "One dance!!!"

    "Can you dance?"

    Xia Fan asked cheerfully.

    Lin Yuan thought for a bit, and said, "A little."

    Xia Fan smiled at the audience under the stage: "I can only help you this much..."

    She waved her hand and walked off the stage.

    ...

    "Xia Fan is amazing!"

    "Did Fish Papa promise?"

    "Is he really going to dance?"

    "Fish Papa doesn''t seem to dance, when he was on the variety show singing ''Da La Beng Ba'', he danced once, but you can tell he really can''t dance." S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Hahaha, I also saw a video of Fish Papa dancing before, it was circulated internally at Starlight."

    "I saw it too!"

    "What''s it like?"

    "So handsome that it hurts your eyes."

    "You''re talking about that video with the same hand and leg movements, right? Even the dance teacher was stunned then!"

    "So Fish Papa still says he knows a little?"

    "Knowing a little probably means he really only knows a little."

    "..."

    The audience excitedly discussed among themselves!

    Lin Yuan had learned to dance at Starlight, that dance footage was posted online by Starlight before the concert started.

    Many people at the scene had seen the video.

    Xian Yu practicing dance made a lot of people laugh.

    This is also why everyone wanted Xian Yu to dance.

    It''s not for anything else.

    Just for a laugh.

    Just a little joke with his idol.

    ...

    In the front row.

    Jian Yi covered his mouth and laughed: "Xia Fan is too nasty!"

    The stars next to him also chuckled: "What a steal!"

    Zheng Jing gave a wry smile: "I think you''re trying to give Little Fish a hard time."

    Yin Dong joked: "He can''t be troubled by singing, so he can only pretend to dance."

    Yang Zhongming rubbed his head with a smile.

    There was a lively atmosphere in the audience.

    ...

    Amid the laughter of the audience, Lin Yuan suddenly lowered his head, his hand lightly resting on his hat.

    Whoa!

    Can you believe he''s acting all professional?

    The initial movement was made to look very serious.

    The audience laughed even louder.

    The more serious Xian Yu was, the more amusing the audience found it.

    Why is he being so formal?

    Do they really think we haven''t seen his clumsy dance practice videos?

    Just at that moment.

    The music started.

    Under everyone''s gaze, Lin Yuan moved!

    He was moving forward¡­

    No!

    He was moving backward!!!

    Why??

    Even though Xian Yu was walking forward, he was moving backward!?

    This movement completely changed normal action patterns!!

    At that moment!

    All laughter came to an abrupt stop!

    The audience at the scene was dumbfounded!

    It felt as though someone had clutched their throats, and goosebumps instantly covered their entire bodies!

    Stupefying!

    Crackle!

    Just like a chain reaction!

    The gazes of a hundred thousand spectators froze!

    The next moment!

    All the audience fell into an unprecedented frenzy!

    Gazes were fixed forward, not daring to blink for fear of missing what was happening!

    The screams reached tonight''s highest decibel!

    ...

    Audience on the east side:

    "Holy shit!"

    "What is this!"

    "How did he do that!"

    "What the hell kind of dance is this!"

    ...

    Audience on the west side:

    "Magical!"

    "It''s like he''s moonwalking!"

    "I''m going to die!"

    "Ahhhhhh!"

    ...

    Audience on the south side.

    "Is this a new dance?"

    "I''ve never seen it before!"

    "It''s too outrageous!"

    "Is Xian Yu still human!"

    ...

    Audience on the north side:

    "Are my eyes deceiving me?"

    "I doubt my own eyes too!"

    "Is this a real dance?"

    "Are you sure there''s no special effects?"

    "Oh my freaking goodness!!!"

    ...

    The audience erupted!

    The scene was like a nuclear explosion!

    Zheng Jing was stupefied.

    Yang Zhongming was stupefied.

    So were the singers from the Yu Dynasty.

    The hair of a hundred thousand audience members stood on end!

    Everyone was stunned!

    Everyone felt chills on their scalp!

    A hundred thousand people on the scene fell into utter madness!

    Some people stood up!

    One...

    Two...

    Three...

    Large groups of audience members stood up!

    All the cameras on the scene fiercely sprang into action!

    The reactions of these people, one more exaggerated than the other. Some even jumped up as if about to crash onto the screen!

    Shocking beyond belief!

    Backstage.

    For the first time, Tong Shuwen roared!

    "Fake death my ass!!!"

    Amid the hysteria and astonishment off the stage, Ling Yuan twirled elegantly, accompanied by a clear singing voice:

    "They Told Him Don''t You Ever Come Around Here..."

    The iconic rock number "beat it" by Michael Jackson played!

    Spacewalk!

    Moonwalk!

    The most representative dance of the Earth''s King of Pop, Michael Jackson, was brought to life on Blue Star!

 Chapter 699 - 665: Over a Hundred People Fainted_1

    Click Click Click!

    All the concert lights are turned up to their maximum!

    The stage is ablaze in a myriad of colors, dazzling the eyes!

    Lin Yuan, wearing a black top hat, his voice transmitting through the microphone:

    "Don''t Wanna See Your Face, You Better Disappear, The Fire''s In Their Eyes And Their Words Are Really Clear, So Beat It..."

    Several backup dancers suddenly appear on the stage, pursued by shafts of light!

    They stand on either side of Xian Yu, all dressed uniformly in black suits.

    Xian Yu, in white shirt, standing amid these dancers in black suits, stands out like the moon among stars!

    A splash of white!

    Mightily conspicuous!

    Unprecedented dance!

    The roars of the crowd match the rhythm of the music in this fantastical and extravagant scene!

    The stage theatrically shakes everyone to their core!

    Shoulder shimmy!

    Pelvic twist!

    Leg flick!

    All movements of Xian Yu are smoothly and flawlessly executed!

    And then...

    The stage seems like it''s actually in outer space!

    All the dancers begin to slide sideways, their movements coordinated and uniform...

    Lin Yuan wearing white gloves.

    Makes a finger snapping gesture.

    All of the backup dancers spin in synchronization with Lin Yuan.

    They slide around freely, front and back, left and right!

    It''s as if all knowledge of physics on Blue Star has been ignored!

    This dance feels as if it has been infused with a soul!

    It''s as if it''s been gifted with a magical life force!

    "Just Beat It!"

    "Just Beat It!"

    The audience of a hundred thousand lose all sense of reason!

    Backstage.

    Tong Shuwen sings along!

    The only lyrics he remembers from Xian Yu''s rehearsals are: "Fake Dead Beat... Beat... Beat..."

    As the chief director.

    Tong Shuwen practiced with Xian Yu.

    Xian Yu''s rehearsals were phenomenal, the most thrilling and anticipated part for Tong Shuwen was the Moonwalk!

    Yes!

    Moonwalk!

    That''s what Xian Yu named this unprecedented dance move!

    Since the beginning of the concert, Tong Shuwen has been waiting for this moment!

    Now!

    The moment that Tong Shuwen has fantasized about countless times has finally become a reality!

    And tonight''s concert has finally reached an unprecedented climax!

    Go crazy!

    Let''s all lose our minds!

    ...

    At this moment actually, no one cares what Xian Yu is singing...

    Everyone in the audience! S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    All eyes are glued on this bizarre dance move!

    Just as Tong Shuwen is getting swept away in the fervor.

    The assistant director suddenly rushes in: "Trouble!"

    "What?"

    Tong Shuwen''s eyelids twitch violently.

    "An audience member has fainted!"

    The gasped response of the assistant director comes in between heavy breaths, his entire body heaving.

    "Get the medical team over here!"

    Tong Shuwen''s heart races as he yells: "Hurry, hurry!"

    "We can''t get through..."

    The assistant director is almost in tears: "There are too many people!"

    Tong Shuwen''s head buzzes: "You must get through!"

    "Ah¡­look!"

    The assistant director suddenly points at the footage of the concert.

    Tong Shuwen directs his gaze to where he''s pointing.

    He sees countless audience members raising their hands, carrying out fainted audience members over countless heads...

    "They''re out, they''re out, save them!"

    Tong Shuwen''s voice trembles slightly.

    "No good, more people have fainted... another one... and another... why are there so many..."

    The assistant director, watching the images playing backstage, looks panicked and frazzled.

    At the stadium!

    More and more fainted audience members are being passed over the heads of the crowd...

    "All medical team members on the scene!"

    Tong Shuwen quickly grabs the walkie-talkie, forcing himself to calm down:

    "Security, maintain order!"

    The assistant director, still pointing at the concert footage says, "More people have fainted... our medical team is not enough..."

    "The phone!"

    Tong Shuwen quickly picked up his cellphone, the situation had gradually calmed down, a sign of the concert''s success: "We are requesting external assistance, so far there have been more than thirty audience members who have fainted, with the situation still escalating, predicted to be on a very large scale. Please send additional medical teams¡­"

    "Understood, I''ll contact the nearby hospitals immediately!"

    A serious voice came through the phone, there were many on stand-by for this concert and the official units deployed were even equipped to handle some major emergencies.

    ...

    At the scene.

    The stage.

    Lin Yuan hadn''t noticed the commotion in the audience, he was still dancing.

    The screaming hadn''t stopped despite the fainting audience members!

    With a crowd of one hundred thousand, it was easy to drown out some disturbances.

    Many of the audience members didn''t even notice that people were fainting.

    They were screaming obliviously!

    Amid this wave of screams, Lin Yuan''s body suddenly froze.

    The next moment.

    Surrounded by his backup dancers, his body tilted at a 45-degree angle, as if he had escaped the earth''s gravitational pull!

    Snap!

    When the already forgetful audience saw this, their jaws almost hit the ground!

    " How is that possible!"

    Screams!

    Even crazier!

    Hysterical!

    It had almost become instinctive!

    As this shocking scene unfolded, the number of people fainting on the scene was already close to one hundred!

    The commotion finally began to spread!

    Just as Lin Yuan''s song and dance had ended.

    He finally saw the shocking scene at the venue¡­

    Many people were being passed overhead by fellow audience members to be taken out!

    He responded quickly:

    "Everyone, please watch your surroundings. If there are audience members who have fainted, please assist in moving them out for treatment¡­"

    At this point, he couldn''t possibly continue his performance.

    In the safety briefing before the concert started, director Tong Shuwen had mentioned that there was a possibility that some audience members may faint.

    It was not unprecedented.

    But it was different from what was mentioned in the safety briefing¡­

    Those who had fainted were no longer just a few!

    Just by looking at the evacuation operation, it was estimated that hundreds had fainted!

    ...

    Outside the Grand Stadium!

    Lights were flashing everywhere!

    Throngs of ambulance vehicles were arriving!

    The nearby hospitals had obviously received the news, and were rushing to the concert scene as swiftly as possible.

    "What has happened?"

    Outside the Grand Stadium.

    Many people were startled by this situation!

    Isn''t it Xian Yu''s concert inside?

    Has there been a fire or something during the concert?

    Otherwise, why would there be so many ambulances?

    "Snap! Snap!"

    The sound of photos being taken resonated from somewhere.

    Reporters had arrived!

    At the venue of Xian Yu''s concert, there had been a lot of journalists waiting for news.

    When so many ambulances arrived suddenly, the reporters went crazy!

    Besides, more and more journalists were rushing to the scene!

    Amidst the deafening noise of the crowd.

    Countless discussions arose.

    What on earth had happened inside?

    If it was a fire, why wasn''t anyone running out?

    Xian Yu was inside¡­

    Nothing could''ve happened to Xian Yu could it?

    People''s hearts were pounding.

    "Some audience members inside have fainted!"

    Someone who had received the news shouted it out loud.

    "Fainted?"

    The passerby were dumbfounded.

    Do you need so many ambulances for some audience members who''ve fainted?

    The reporters were also flabbergasted.

    It was not uncommon for an audience member to faint at a concert.

    The experienced reporters were not surprised.

    But even at the craziest concert, there would only be a few audience members who fainted¡­

    So how come so many ambulances turned up when someone fainted at Xian Yu''s concert?

    The scale was terrifying!

    How many people had fainted?

    "Break the news!"

    The reporters reacted swiftly!

    Within minutes.

    Countless news flash appeared online:

    "Audience members fainted at Xian Yu''s concert, the exact number is unknown. Nearby major hospitals dispatched medical teams to the scene for reinforcement¡­"

 Chapter 700 - 666 Inside and Outside the Grand Stadium_1

    It was about ten o''clock.

    Quite a number of people were still discussing the Xian Yu concert on the internet.

    "It must be about to end now."

    "What a pity I couldn''t go on site."

    "Couldn''t get tickets."

    "Next time Xian Yu holds a concert, I''m going to make sure I get a ticket!"

    "Well, we might need to resort to scalpers."

    "The fans at the concert are so lucky."

    "I wonder what songs Xian Yu is singing at the concert."

    "It must be super lively inside."

    "There was a live broadcast outside just a while ago, they said the noise inside was so loud it''s scary."

    "..."

    As they were discussing, an unexpected real-time news piece pops up about someone fainting at the concert!

    What the?

    Netizens were stunned and opened their mouths wide!

    The accompanying photo made it clear that the location was outside the Grand Stadium in Qin Continent. Police caution tapes were up, and there were countless police officers and security personnel maintaining order!

    There was a rush in the crowd.

    And a large number of doctors moving around!

    If you didn''t know, you''d think something horrendous had happened there.

    After reading the cause and effect in the news, the netizens were absolutely dumbfounded!

    What''s going on?

    Audience members fainting?

    Someone immediately posted, "This just doesn''t make sense. I went to Fei Yang''s concert last time, and indeed two audience members fainted, but the medical team provided by the concert was able to handle it."

    What''s happening with Xian Yu''s concert?

    There''s no need for so many doctors! S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Didn''t Fish Papa hire a medical team for this concert?

    Someone else chimed in, "Looks like the surrounding hospitals were the ones that sent people temporarily. Judging by the scale, I suspect the number of people who fainted may be significant!"

    "How does one possibly faint at a concert?"

    "Because they cheered too crazily and became oxygen-deprived?"

    "It''s not oxygen deprivation, it''s called respiratory alkalosis. Too frequent lung ventilation, hypoxia is only one of the triggers."

    "Are concerts this crazy nowadays?"

    "..."

    Word of mouth spread like wildfire.

    This real-time news quickly swept across the whole internet, and more and more people were left flabbergasted!

    The commotion was just too big!

    No artist''s concert has ever caused such a scene before!

    ...

    Outside the venue.

    The concert''s assistant director finally came out to face the press, with a crowd of microphones nearly jammed into his mouth!

    The outside was a mess.

    The concert officials needed to give an explanation to placate these reporters, or they wouldn''t know what bizarre stories would get spread on the internet.

    "Apologies!"

    The assistant director wiped the sweat from his forehead, "We''re sorry for the worry, Teacher Admirable Fish''s performance was too thrilling and led to the audience getting overly excited, with many suffering from respiratory alkalosis..."

    "How many people fainted?"

    The reporters simultaneously asked the most burning question.

    The assistant director took a deep breath, then spit out an astounding number:

    "108 people."

    The reporters were all stunned.

    After coughing slightly, the assistant director hastily added,

    "At present, the overwhelming majority of the audience is out of danger. A few fans who were in poor health needed to be sent to the hospital. Luckily, we have the situation under control, and no new fainting cases have been reported."

    The reporters were so shocked, they forgot to ask further questions.

    108 people fainted?

    What kind of joke is this?

    Only after a while did a reporter gather himself and ask, "Exactly what kind of performance could incite the audience to lose their minds to this extent?"

    "Every single one!"

    The assistant director blurted out reflexively, then his tone became serious, "Let''s not go into that now. Our first priority is to ensure the safety of the fainting audience members."

    ...

    Post-interview.

    That video clip got circulated almost instantly.

    Accompanying it are countless news headlines.

    "A whopping 108 audience members fainted at Xian Yu concert!"

    "Six Hospitals Dispatch Medical Teams to Rescue Fainting Audience at Xian Yu Concert!"

    "Massive Case of Respiratory Alkalosis at Xian Yu Concert, 108 People Fall into a Faint!"

    "Historically Crazy Concert, Whole 108 Audience Members Fainted!"

    "Report from Our Correspondent, Xian Yu Concert..."

    With the real-time follow-up reports, netizens were utterly flabbergasted!

    108 people fainted?

    Isn''t this number a bit too exaggerated?

    A hundred thousand people attending the concert would not be a first for a King or Queen of Singing...

    Even the highest record of audience fainting numbers from before didn''t come close to this number, right?

    Others struggle to break into double digits!

    Xian Yu jumps straight into triple digits!

    What on earth did Xian Yu do?

    How extreme a performance would it take for so many audience members to faint?

    "Oh, my God! Did Xian Yu sing some unbelievably amazing new song?"

    "Seriously?"

    "Even a super hit new song couldn''t possibly make over a hundred audience members faint, right?"

    "Could there be a mistake somewhere?"

    "Can someone explain to me what the hell is going on?"

    "I''m so curious!"

    "What on earth happened in there? It can''t be that Teacher Admirable Fish performed live childbirth on stage, right?"

    "Holy shit!"

    "It must have been wild inside!"

    "I now regret so much that I didn''t manage to get a ticket!"

    "I can almost imagine how phenomenal this concert must be!"

    "I hope the official release of the concert video comes soon!"

    "Even a little tidbit of the live performances would suffice to satisfy my cravings!"

    "..."

    Trending everywhere!

    All over social media!

    Countless people are joining the discussion!

    A total of 108 people fainted!

    It started with this number becoming the talk of the town!

    Then, the focus shifted to the question, "How insane was Admirable Fish''s concert?" The thought was just too itching for so many people!

    At this moment!

    Everyone is hoping that the concert footage will be released soon by the official media!

    Everyone is so curious as to what kind of performance could have driven so many people to pass out!

    "..."

    Meanwhile, amidst the public frenzy.

    Inside the Grand Stadium...

    The security is in a constant flurry of activity.

    Lin Yuan is still on stage, helping and guiding.

    As the 108 fainting audience members are gradually carried away, the situation finally comes under control.

    Lin Yuan''s performance can finally continue.

    Luckily.

    By this time, the concert is indeed nearing its end.

    The break is temporary.

    Lin Yuan must continue.

    It''s Lin Yuan''s duty.

    A hundred thousand people paid for a ticket, the performance can''t possibly end just because some audience members have fainted.

    Meanwhile.

    The excitement and screams of the audience were not at all affected by the fainting incident.

    The debut of The Moonwalk is unparalleled!

    All around the stadium!

    The waves of discussion are in full swing!

    "So many people fainted!"

    "That earlier performance nearly made me faint too!"

    "What the hell was that dance!"

    "So terrifying!"

    "The Moonwalk?"

    "I was saying it''s terrifying, but now that you mention it, it''s quite an apt comparison!"

    "It''s indeed like The Moonwalk, an overwhelming Moonwalk!"

    "The most frightening part was that forty-five-degree lean!"

    "That''s simply beyond human capability!"

    "Why can admirable Fish pull it off?"

    "He isn''t an alien, is he!"

    "Those sloping moves of his keep playing on my mind, was it some kind of visual effect?"

    "I was watching through binoculars, it''s definitely not special effects!"

    "Who claimed that Admirable Fish can''t dance!"

    "He''s literally Dancing King!"

    "No, Dancing God!"

    "Is this what Admirable Fish meant by being a bit proficient?"

    "He was quite literally, mind-blowingly proficient!"

    "¡­"

    No one doubts that Lin Yuan can dance now!

    The video released by Starlight earlier was clearly a bluff!

    Not only the audience.

    The stars in the front rows are also whispering amongst themselves.

    Zheng Jing: "No wonder the dance part didn''t appear until much later!"

    Ye Zhi Qiu: "If he started with dancing, who would care to listen to the songs afterwards."

    Xia Fan: "Right now, everyone''s minds are filled with that performance."

    Yang Zhongming nodded: "Actually, the song just now was really good, but obviously everyone only remembers the dance."

    Jian Yi sighed: "Now when I look at his outfit, white shirt and black pants, black hat and white socks, black shoes. It''s incredibly classic!"

    Chen Zhiyu, excited: "This image is so cool!"

    Zhao Ying Ge, with stars in her eyes: "Especially when he snapped his fingers and turned around, I absolutely loved it. The forty-five degree lean was even more phenomenal, he was like a god on stage, I have no idea how Teacher Admirable Fish managed to do it, I couldn''t see any props or nails on the stage!"

    ¡­"

    The shock after the concert announcement was definitely nuclear-level!

    In the midst of everyone''s awe and wonder.

    People hardly noticed that Admirable Fish had already started a new round of performance...

 Chapter 701 - 667: To Alice_1

    The stage around.

    The audience all discussing The Moonwalk.

    Everyone''s attention was greatly dispersed.

    Even Lin Yuan himself could not easily dispel the shock of The Moonwalk on the audience, so that the next few songs were not able to fully grasp the attention of the audience!

    How to follow up The Moonwalk''s performance?

    Yet...

    All of this was caused by Lin Yuan himself.

    The front row.

    Seeing the enthusiastic discussion of The Moonwalk by the audience, Fei Yang suddenly laughed somewhat strangely: "Didn''t expect even Teacher Admirable Fish to miss his cue..."

    Jiang Kui smiled bitterly:

    "That dance just now was too explosive, we couldn''t follow it either if we tried."

    Sun Yaohuo laughed out loud: "Even if we couldn''t keep up, it''s no problem, after all, this is his stage. The effect of today''s concert has completely exploded!"

    "That''s true, but it''s the first time I''ve seen Teacher Admirable Fish helpless on stage."

    Zhao Ying Ge started.

    Professional singers all noticed Admirable Fish''s dilemma.

    Not to mention Maestros like Zheng Jing and Yang Zhongming.

    Yin Dong thought for a moment, and said: "Today, the only one who can defeat Admirable Fish is Admirable Fish himself."

    Ye Xiangdong teased: "Is that your excuse for always losing to him?"

    Zheng Jing laughed wickedly.

    Yang Zhongming raised an eyebrow.

    This conclusion, it''s not Admirable Fish''s style.

    Are they really going to let all the audience immerse in the ecstasy of the dance until the end of the concert?

    Professional musicians each had their thoughts.

    But the audience don''t care about that much.

    They were still discussing enthusiastically.

    In the meantime.

    A piano had appeared on the stage at some point.

    In front of the piano.

    Lin Yuan had switched to a white suit, sitting quietly.

    Suddenly.

    His hand brushed the keys.

    Then.

    His voice spread throughout the venue: "The final performance, a piano piece for everyone."

    Swish, swish!

    The attention of the audience was finally briefly attracted back.

    Although the shock of The Moonwalk kept echoing in their hearts.

    A piano piece?"

    The closing performance is pure music?"

    Could it be "Mariage d''Amour"?"

    It''s likely that one."

    I absolutely love "Mariage d''Amour", it''s Fish Papa''s most beautiful piano piece!"

    Have you guys noticed, Fish Papa is so handsome!"

    No kidding!"

    In a white suit, he looks like a prince straight out of a comic!"

    I still want to see Fish Papa dance."

    I wish I could see Fish Papa''s dance again."

    I will definitely learn that dance when I have the chance!"

    ..."

    The topic was back to the dance again.

    Even if Admirable Fish had brought out the piano and put on a white suit, he still couldn''t fully focus the attention of the audience.

    The scene got lively again.

    In this lively atmosphere.

    Lin Yuan''s hand suddenly brushed the keys...

    In the flowing chapter of music, notes flowed from his fingertips.

    Gentle.

    Sweet.

    Also laced with traces of sadness.

    The voices of the audience suddenly weakened.

    .....

    The front row.

    The expression of Yang Zhongming slightly changed: "A new song?"

    Zheng Jing seemed to have an idea: "I thought it was ''Mariage d''Amour.''

    Yin Dong''s gaze sharpened as he looked at the stage.

    Ye Zhi Qiu turned serious: "This song...."

    "It has a classic taste."

    Wu Long continued with a complex tone.

    While the singers next to him, their expressions gradually became astonished.

    In front of the piano.

    Lin Yuan''s body swayed gently.

    The sound of the piano was like butterflies in flight, their wings vigorously flapping, reaching the ears of all the audience.

    ...

    The audience in the four surrounding stages.

    More and more people stopped discussing.

    More eyes, began looking toward the stage.

    Ordinary audience don''t have the appreciation ability of Maestros, but it doesn''t mean they can''t distinguish good from bad.

    This song, it''s very likeable.

    No less than "Mariage d''Amour"!

    Even.....

    More catchy?

    What song is this?

    Some people widened their eyes, seemingly wanting an answer from their surroundings.

    But nobody could name the song.

    Because indeed, it was a new piece.

    One that has never been released before.

    Beethoven''s ''F¨¹r Elise''!

    This was the piece Lin Yuan chose for the conclusion of the concert!

    Indeed.

    In order to follow The Moonwalk performance, one has to take the opposite approach!

    The Moonwalk was an extreme explosion!

    But ''F¨¹r Elise'' was the epitome of gentleness and silence.

    The soft music was like a clear stream trickling along.

    The piano keys shone with light.

    The music became ever more gentle and touching.

    Gradually.

    Some of the audience gently closed their eyes.

    The restlessness in their hearts caused by The Moonwalk began to slowly calm.

    At the scene.

    It got quieter and quieter.

    This was like a music concert that cleansed the soul.

    The classic rondos intertwined with each other.

    At times ascending.

    At times descending.

    Lin Yuan''s speed was not fast.

    But the rhythm of the music wasn''t dull either.

    No showy skills.

    No heavy piano sounds.

    The pedal under his foot blended with every rhythm.

    "Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump..."

    "Thump, thump, thump, thump..."

    "Thump, thump, thump, thump..."

    "Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump..."

    In the rhythm.

    A girl''s face seemed to surface.

    Gentle.

    Beautiful.

    The venue became completely silent.

    And for the first time, Lin Yuan''s speed picked up.

    As a series of ascending triplets livened up the music.

    Smooth semitones began to present in descending melodies.

    The theme was tightly wrapped around.

    About three or four minutes in.

    Lin Yuan''s hand finally paused mid-air.

    The entire music piece ended in a joyous and lively atmosphere.

    Very short.

    This piece was just a little musical composition of Beethoven''s.

    Although brief, it enjoys worldwide fame in another time and space!

    The audience savored the lingering charm of the piano music.

    They forgot for the first time the shock brought by The Moonwalk.

    It was as if they had a bowl of plain soup after eating food that was extremely spicy.

    Restlessness was gone.

    The heart feeling calm and warm.

    It was as if a morning sun was cast into some parts of the grand stadium, making people feel comfortable.

    This was a different kind of shock.

    No hysterical screams.

    No confusing and explosive lights.

    And no blurry support lights swung everywhere.

    This concert once exploded to the point of leaving everyone breathless.

    But in the end.

    All things returned to tranquility.

    What everyone felt was an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.

    So the biggest surprise was here.

    Sour, sweet, bitter, spicy...

    All condensed in the grand stadium tonight.

    In the countless years to follow, this concert would be etched in the memory of a hundred thousand audience members.

    Applause started.

    And then all the audience members began clapping their hands.

    In the crackling applause, Lin Yuan rose to bow. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    He did it.

    The final performance managed to retain the shock that The Moonwalk brought to the audience.

    In a form that quietly moistened like spring rain.

    In the front row.

    Sun Yaohuo suddenly murmured, "Next month''s season chart is going to go crazy."

    The singers next to him said nothing.

    But everyone nodded without hesitation.

    Several new songs appeared at this concert.

    The quality of these songs, appearing together on the season chart, would create a brutal massacre!

    Everyone at the scene could foresee this!

    "What''s the name of this piece?"

    Zheng Jing asked.

    Yang Zhongming glanced at the announcement appearing on the big screen and said, "F¨¹r Elise."

    The belated announcement.

    As the words "F¨¹r Elise," marking the end of the piano piece, entered everyone''s view-

    The concert ended.

 Chapter 702 - 668: Xian Yu is an Undercover, Right?_1

    Outside the Grand Stadium.

    Around the isolation belt.

    Security guards were in large numbers.

    Policemen in uniforms were maintaining order.

    Representing various major media outlets, the reporters with their camera gear flocked and blocked the exit corridors!

    "It should be ending soon, right?"

    "It''s been several hours already."

    "There shouldn''t be any more audience members fainting."

    "My God, over a hundred have fainted, what more do you want?"

    "I can''t imagine what kind of performance would elicit such an exaggerated reaction from the audience!"

    "Despite the sound insulation of the Grand Stadium being top-notch, we can still hear the overwhelming noise from outside. This proves just how crazy the atmosphere must be inside!"

    "If only we could film inside."

    "Not just us, every netizen from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan and Han wants to know what''s happening inside."

    "..."

    The reporters were having heated discussions while their gazes were glued to the exit, filled with anticipation and thirst for information!

    Suddenly.

    The door to the Grand Stadium opened.

    Following that.

    The first batch of audience members walked out.

    "They are out!"

    The reporters resembled sharks drawn by the scent of blood in the ocean. Their eyes were practically glowing with greed as they stared at the approaching audience!

    A collective restlessness!

    Wanting to grasp what happened inside before the officials made any formal announcements, questioning the audience was the most direct approach.

    "My goodness..."

    Wang Yu and his girlfriend walked out hand in hand, a sudden intake of breath at the sight of the voracious reporters.

    Such a large crowd of reporters?

    Zhou Meng was also taken aback by the scene outside.

    At that moment.

    Countless cameras turned towards them, a flurry of snapping ensued!

    "What are your thoughts on Xian Yu''s concert?"

    The very first group of audience members to come out were immediately surrounded by reporters.

    The audience''s expressions instantly came alive!

    The concert''s various explosive moments had driven the crowd wild.

    Loud and boisterous like drunkards, their shouted responses were one louder than the other, as though they had escaped from a hospital¡ª

    "Awesome!"

    "Explosive!"

    "Heavenly!"

    "Rollicking!"

    "Badass!"

    "Splendid!"

    "Absolutely thrilling!" S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "High-energy throughout!"

    The reporters were perplexed.

    Fortunately, not all of the audience members had lost their senses, and some offered far more understandable responses:

    "This will go down as the craziest concert in history, bar none!"

    "Scream, scream, and more screams, my voice is now hoarse, how can Xian Yu be so amazing!"

    This audience member''s voice was strained from all the shouting.

    "I had no particular feelings for Xian Yu initialy and only attended the concert accompaning my girlfriend, but after watching it, I''ve become a hardcore fan of Xian Yu!"

    A young audience member expressed.

    "Call him Fish Papa!"

    The young man''s girlfriend interjected.

    "Fish Papa is badass!"

    The young man had a strong will to live.

    "This concert was perfect, in every sense!"

    "Xian Yu can make you cry, can make you laugh, can leave you speechless with amazement, and can also allow you to experience an inner peace. If Xian Yu hosts another concert in the future, I will definitely be there again!"

    "This night will be one I will never forget!"

    "If you were not there, you wouldn''t be able to imagine how thrilling the scene was, with the 108 unconscious audience members lifted high above the crowd. Perhaps no other performer will be able to replicate tonight''s epic moment!"

    "..."

    Zhou Meng and Wang Yu were also interviewed by reporters.

    Wang Yu began, "Those who couldn''t buy tickets won''t know what they really missed out on..."

    Zhou Meng added, "Chills, near heart-stops, engorged brains, hysterical screaming, goosebumps covering my body...I should count myself lucky that I don''t have a heart condition, this was absolutely insane!"

    "..."

    These interviewees are responding as if they''ve been injected with chicken blood!

    The more extroverted audience members won''t stop talking during the interviews!

    The journalists are stunned.

    The audience''s enthusiasm and craziness far exceed their imagination!

    Just when the journalists wanted to dig deeper

    At the exit of the concert.

    Suddenly, several police officers are seen escorting a person with a mask on his face...

    What''s going on?

    The audience leaving the concert is flabbergasted.

    The interviewing journalists are also dumbfounded.

    Among these stunned gazes,

    More and more people wearing black masks are being escorted out by the police.

    "What''s happening?"

    Everyone''s heart skips a beat!

    What did these people do?

    Did they cause trouble at the concert?

    After a moment of stupefaction, the journalists frantically surround them, following closely behind the police officers:

    "May I ask who these people are..."

    "Audience."

    The police officer leading the group maintains a stern expression: "Please make way, cooperate with our police work, these people need to be taken to the police station!"

    "Alright, alright!"

    Everyone cooperates with the police work.

    But the journalists'' questions don''t stop, they keep following: "Why are audience members being arrested..."

    "They''re not ordinary audience members!"

    The leading police officer stops, lets the other officers continue their work and explains to the journalists: "They are fugitives. One of them has been on the run for twenty-five years, only apprehended today!"

    "In order to attend Xian Yu''s concert, they took the risk."

    Journalists: ???

    Fugitives in the audience?

    Are they playing this risky game?

    Is this turning from entertainment news into legal news?

    The surrounding audience is also confused.

    So, among us, there were fugitives hiding?

    Fugitives also attend concerts?

    Shit!

    This is big news!

    After their initial surprise, the journalists become excited, their voices trembling: "May I ask how did you catch the fugitives?"

    "Xian Yu''s concert was equipped with the latest face recognition system, which greatly facilitated our work. In the end, the concert identified a total of fifty-six fugitives, including a few with particularly severe charges.

    We successfully carried out their arrest before the start of the concert, while some fugitives were identified in the midst of the concert, detected through a cooperative effort with our inter-state law enforcement systems. In order not to cause a panic, we only proceeded now. At present, all fifty-six fugitives have been caught, you can rest assured..."

    The police officer shows a slight smile:

    "We also have to thank Xian Yu here, who greatly helped our police work. Without the attraction of the concert, maybe these people would have continued to hide and would have remained a destabilizing factor in society."

    Journalists: "..."

    Many of them were experienced senior journalists.

    They have done countless post-concert interviews over their careers.

    What have they not seen?

    Okay...

    They really haven''t seen anything like this before!

    What in the world is going on?

    What kind of concert is this?

    You say a hundred and eight audience members fainting is one thing!

    But police using the lure of the concert to successfully apprehend over fifty fugitives?

    This is insane!

    All for the sake of watching Xian Yu''s concert?

    Aren''t you people pushing your luck too far?

    Others are there to listen to music!

    You guys are playing with your lives!

    At this moment, the well-experienced journalists couldn''t help but feel that their understanding of the world was being overturned!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to the "Trollololol", "Little Dio loves to read" and "Ah Qi|", three great chieftains, heir of my kneels, and a request for monthly tickets, Polluted White continues to write.

 Chapter 703 - 669 My Big Sword is Thirsty for More_1

    Not long after the news report about over a hundred audience members fainting at Xian Yu''s concert had ended, netizens were still passionately discussing just how crazy Xian Yu''s concert had to be to cause so many people to faint, when a sudden piece of explosive news flash flooded across all media platforms, catching countless netizens'' attention:

    [Xian Yu''s hundred-thousand-person concert officially ends, fifty-six fugitives captured at the scene!]

    Huh?

    Fugitives?

    How did a perfectly fine concert suddenly have something to do with fugitives¡­

    Netizens clicked on the news in confusion, only to be dumbfounded by what they read!

    The next moment!

    They burst out laughing!

    Fans from all states had gone crazy with laughter!

    "HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

    "I''m dying from laughter!"

    "There''s actually such a thing happening?"

    "Over fifty fugitives bought tickets to Xian Yu''s concert, only to be caught all at once by the police?"

    "The most absurd news of the year has been born!"

    "If there weren''t video interviews, I would have thought some irresponsible editor made this up!"

    "Fish Papa''s concert is beyond crazy!"

    "National peace and prosperity ¡¤ Xian Yu???"

    "Fish Papa isn''t just some popular artist, he''s clearly the fugitives'' nemesis!"

    "Thank goodness I didn''t go to Fish Papa''s concert (sarcastic)"

    "You wanted to go? Like you could get a ticket!"

    "Well that bunch of fugitives are really skilled in buying tickets¡­"

    "I suspect they got their tickets by robbing (crying laugh)"

    "Fugitive: There is a mole! Terminate the deal!"

    "Fish Papa is definitely a cop under deep cover!"

    "The title of Legal Person of the Year surely belongs to Xian Yu!"

    "Fish Papa is definitely a cop sent undercover to catch fugitives!"

    "..."

    The netizens were really cracking up!

    So much drama from just a concert?

    Over a hundred fainted and fifty-plus fugitives got caught.

    People went too far just to attend the concert!

    "So that''s why we didn''t get any tickets!"

    "Compared to those brutes, we''re still far behind!"

    "I''m not worthy of attending Fish Papa''s concert!"

    "Fugitive: I didn''t mind going to jail, just to hear the song ''Starting Over'' when I got out!"

    "Hahaha, Fish Papa is indeed the friend of the criminals, a star living in legal news!"

    "Before, inmates sang Fish Papa''s ''Starting Over'' upon their release. Now, Fish Papa is directly sending fugitives to prisons?"

    "The first few who got caught were the most unfortunate ones!"

    "Took the risk to attend the concert, only to be sent to jail before the concert even started."

    "Those who got caught after the concert, it was worth it!"

    "..."

    Not only the fugitive incident,

    The elated reactions from audience interviews also left netizens stunned!

    Did these people act out as if they were drunk?

    Was the concert really that smooth?

    Thus it could be said:

    Even if the netizens did not experience the concert in person, they were more than entertained by everything related to it!

    Trending!

    On social media!

    On blog posts!

    A few key phrases regarding Xian Yu''s concert flooded the internet once more!

    While everyone went wild discussing it,

    The anticipation for the public broadcasting of the concert footage reached its peak!

    "Release the video already!"

    "I can''t wait any longer!"

    "Please publicize it!"

    "I''m willing to pay!"

    "Even if I can''t watch the live show, at least let me have a taste of some backstage footage to whet my appetite."

    "Has the organizer heard the public''s outcry?"

    "We want to see how Fish Papa manages to drive his fans wild!"

    "This audience is pathetic, not a single one can dish out any real information!"

    "Where are the film editors? I''ll reward anyone who can provide me with some live footage!"

    "You want to buy this from a film editor?"

    "Film Editor: First, I have to get a ticket, then I have to sneak my phone in, and finally, I have to make sure I don''t get caught."

    "..."

    The audience was scratching their heads!

    They were even more eager now!

    This concert was like a tormenting pixie, stubbornly withholding the main course...

    Everyone was restless!

    They couldn''t wait any longer!

    Just then, a member of the audience, who had watched the concert, suddenly posted a lengthy post in the Tribe:

    "Do you know about the legendary Siren''s Song?"

    "Do you know there''s a more explosive version of ''Bluff''?"

    "Do you know Xian Yu is fluent in several languages?"

    "Do you know about The Moonwalk?"

    "Do you know how high Xian Yu''s high notes go?"

    "Do you know Xian Yu''s latest piano piece is even better than ''Mariage d''Amour''?"

    "Do you know..."

    "..."

    The web users were taken aback.

    Though they had no clue what this user was going on about.

    But it sounds impressive, right?

    What a b*stard!

    We asked you to give us some information about the concert, why are you doing nothing but showing off here?

    Enraged, the netizens continued to gather information about the concert.

    Finally, they got some substantial answers.

    "To give a rough summary of Fish Papa''s concert, it started off with the Sea Siren''s Song, an exquisitely mesmerising voice that makes one''s ears pregnant, then a new version of ''Bluff'' was performed, with an explosive effect on stage. Plus, more than one new song was sung for the very first time, demonstrating Fish Papa''s terrifying linguistic talent.

    The high note in one of the songs is incredibly rare on Blue Star, as for The Moonwalk, that''s indescribable. All you need to know is that a mass fainting occurred amongst the audience when this dance number started. The most spectacular part was the ending piano piece. Fish Papa was divine, a complete knockout!""

    While it was substance, it was without video.

    Just reading the statements made the netizens utterly confused.

    The outcome was...

    Far from being satisfied, the netizens became increasingly restless and itchy all over!

    The anticipation was off the charts!

    They were itching to see the concert footage now! How do we solve this!

    Obviously by urging the official party to release the video ASAP!

    A petition signed in blood, perhaps?

    Swipe, swipe, swipe!

    Countless calls to release the video were made!

    The outcry from all five continents put immense pressure on Starlight!

    As the overall director of the concert, Tong Shuwen''s Tribe comment section was overwhelmed by demands for the release of the video! S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "We are urgently working on the video, so please be patient. We will officially announce it at the beginning of next month..."

    Tong Shuwen had no choice but to pacify the restless netizens with a status update.

    To protect the rights of the ticket-buyers, the concert video can''t be released too soon.

    There''s another crucial reason:

    Xian Yu''s new songs performed at the concert will participate in next month''s chart battles!

    If they are released this month, they will miss the deadline for chart entry.

    As per Blue Star''s season chart regulations:

    Songs released through special channels like concerts can qualify for next month''s chart if they haven''t been publicly released on music websites.

    If the concert''s video is released now, these songs can only compete in this month''s season chart.

    Because of these reasons.

    Even if the netizens are pressuring them constantly, they must wait until the beginning of next month to see the official concert video.

    There''s no other way around it.

    Helplessly, the netizens could only agonizingly wait for the arrival of May.....

 Chapter 704 - 670 Gu Xi arrived _1

    For the following days, the entire internet was abuzz about Teacher Admirable Fish''s concert. Some videos circulated, but most of them were shaky and blurry, making for a terrible watching experience even compared to pirated movies. As a result, no major commotion ensued, and people were still eagerly waiting for the official concert video.

    As for Lin Yuan, he gathered the singers of Yu Dynasty at the company.

    All the Fishes were gathered in Lin Yuan''s office.

    But nobody knew what Lin Yuan''s intentions were.

    They were all anxiously watching Lin Yuan.

    "The thing is,"

    Lin Yuan looked at the Fishes, without beating around the bush:

    "At the concert, I performed five new songs. If any of you like any of these songs, you could give them a try and see if they suit you. If they do, you could go ahead and record and release them."

    The Fishes were stunned.

    Claiming the new songs from the concert?

    The next moment!

    The Fishes were suddenly thrilled!

    "You''re not planning to perform the official versions of those songs from the concert yourself?"

    "You''re leaving them for us to sing?"

    "Why do you always do this?"

    "You could sing them yourself!"

    "You don''t have to always think of us."

    "Plus, we can''t sing them as well as you can."

    Sun Yaohuo, Chen Zhiyu, Jiang Kui, Zhao Ying Ge, Wei Haoyun, and Xia Fan all chimed in.

    Lin Yuan was surprised.

    In the past, when he gave out songs, everyone was happily accepting. He didn''t expect them to seem a bit reluctant this time.

    Maybe the songs weren''t good?

    Clearly, that wasn''t it.

    Feeling a bit off, Lin Yuan maintained his calm facade, his eyes, however, were on Sun Yaohuo.

    He wasn''t good at handling such situations and could only call upon Senior Yao Huo for help.

    "Alright then..."

    Sun Yaohuo reluctantly stepped forward.

    Having been locked in by his junior''s gaze, he knew what were his upcoming tasks.

    He wasn''t sure since when, but he seemed to understand what his junior was saying just by looking into his eyes.

    "The Qi language version of ''Exaggerated''!"

    Sun Yaohuo made his choice immediately:

    "Even if Junior didn''t give me this song, I''d still want to cover it. The first time I heard this song, I felt like it suited me very well. As for the other songs, if nobody wants them, I won''t be holding back..."

    "Me!"

    Initially, everyone was still hesitant, but seeing Sun Yaohuo''s thick-skinned attitude, they no longer resisted. After all, they wouldn''t want all the benefits to go to Sun Yaohuo:

    "I choose ''Three Days and Three Nights.''"

    Zhao Ying Ge was very interested in high-note songs.

    Next to him, Chen Zhiyu''s eyes widened: "I must pick ''Beat It''!"

    He always liked the rock genre.

    "Can I sing ''Lemon''?" Jiang Kui hesitated.

    She liked the song but wasn''t sure if it was suitable for a female voice, and learning Chu language could be a problem.

    "Just give it a try."

    Lin Yuan nodded, then turned to Xia Fan: "How about ''Confession Balloon''?"

    Xia Fan shook her head: "That song is written from a male''s perspective."

    Lin Yuan said: "Then we can each release a version."

    "Okay!"

    Xia Fan nodded.

    Wei Haoyun laughed: "I won''t choose, my style doesn''t suit competing with you guys."

    Lin Yuan said: "I''ll give you another song later."

    He certainly couldn''t give Wei Haoyun ''To Alice'' as that was a piano piece.

    However, Wei Haoyun''s vocal range was quite broad, and her style was unique in the Yu Dynasty. Lin Yuan had future plans for her.

    "Thank you, Teacher Admirable Fish!"

    Wei Haoyun wasn''t too disappointed. She was a very open-minded person, and besides, Teacher Admirable Fish did say there would be songs for her later.

    ...

    Once the songs were assigned.

    Everyone left.

    As they were getting on the elevator, Zhao Ying Ge suddenly said: "Sun Yaohuo, why are you always so proactive?"

    "Exactly."

    "Even though we all like these songs, I think Teacher Admirable Fish should sing these ones."

    "His singing is clearly so good."

    "We should think more about Teacher Admirable Fish and not keep taking advantage of him."

    "After all, he''s different from other composers."

    Everyone began to speak up.

    Sun Yaohuo took a deep breath:

    "I know what you guys are thinking. After the crazy concert we just had, I actually have the same thoughts as you all do. Teacher Admirable Fish is such a great singer, so why does he always give us the songs..."

    Everyone fell silent, apparently Sun Yaohuo had hit the nail on the head.

    That was why everyone was acting so out of character today.

    "But you''re all wrong."

    Sun Yaohuo laughed, "Teacher Admirable Fish gives us songs because he holds our Yu Dynasty in high regard. He''s looking forward to us becoming stronger through these songs, he wants all of us to have a better life..."

    Everyone''s gaze slightly changed.

    Sun Yaohuo gradually raised his voice, "The best way we can repay Teacher Admirable Fish is to accept these songs, seize the opportunity given to us by our younger brother, and one day we will become strong enough to protect our younger brother. Have you guys ever watched ''Holy Light Warrior''?"

    "We have..."

    "I''ve heard of it, it''s about a few ordinary people being chosen by a deity to become Holy Light Warriors, protecting the Child of God."

    "The Child of God provides the energy for the Holy Light Warriors to fight."

    "I remember the Child of God being so handsome!"

    "There are also a few girls in Holy Light Warrior, they''re particularly beautiful."

    Everyone began to speak up.

    Sun Yaohuo snapped his fingers, "So do you understand now? The Child of God doesn''t take action easily, but we''re the Holy Light Warriors chosen by God. We need to protect our younger brother and everyone''s Teacher Admirable Fish. The source of our energy to fight is provided by the Child of God, just like these songs. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    It''s not important that we''ve accepted the gifts from Teacher Admirable Fish, but what''s most crucial is what kind of payback we need to provide in the future after benefiting from Teacher Admirable Fish."

    The elevator arrived.

    Everyone scattered, accompanying a few disdainful remarks:

    "Chunibyo."

    "Childish."

    "So cringey."

    "It''s a cartoon I watched when I was seven."

    "..."

    Sun Yaohuo rolled his eyes.

    The level of awareness of this group still isn''t enough!

    What Sun Yaohuo didn''t know was...

    When the other singers walked out of the company''s front door, the corners of their lips unknowingly curled upwards.

    The world hustles and bustles for profit.

    Everyone is scrambling for profit.

    Aside from Xia Fan, the singers of Yu Dynasty might have had various motives for flocking to Admirable Fish initially.

    But unknowingly, everyone''s thoughts gradually changed.

    Or perhaps it wasn''t so unknowingly.

    All changes can be traced back to its origins.

    Meanwhile in the office,

    Lin Yuan suddenly picked up his phone and made a call:

    "Do you want to try out a piano piece?"

    The person he was talking to was Gu Xi.

    "I want to!"

    The voice on the other end of the line suddenly hurried.

    "The opening performance of the concert later..."

    A second voice appeared on the call.

    "Cancel it!"

    Gu Xi''s voice decisively responded to the person, then lowered her voice to speak with Lin Yuan, her tone greatly contrasting with before:

    "Teacher Admirable Fish, where shall we meet?"

    "You can go ahead with your thing first."

    "I have nothing to be busy with..."

    Just as her words ended, a third voice came from the phone: "The piano discussion forum held by the five regions of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han at 2 o''clock this afternoon?"

    "Cancel!"

    Gu Xi muted her microphone.

    "The meeting with the renowned piano composer Teacher Niu at 4 o''clock this afternoon..."

    "Cancel, cancel, cancel it all..."

    "I think, I know who this person is, right? Teacher Admirable Fish~ Long time no see!"

    The third voice increased, addressing Lin Yuan.

    If he wasn''t mistaken, it seemed like one of Gu Xi''s relatives, who had met Lin Yuan once before.

    Lin Yuan said, "Long time no see, come to the company, Starlight Entertainment."

    Lin Yuan planned to give "To Alice" to Gu Xi.

    In terms of piano skills, Gu Xi was even better and more professional than Lin Yuan.

 Chapter 705 - 671: Broadcast of the Concert Video_1

    That afternoon.

    Gu Xi arrived at Starlight.

    Getting a hold of "To Alice", Gu Xi''s voice trembled slightly:

    "Teacher Admirable Fish is remarkable..."

    Before coming, she had imagined receiving a piece of music from Xian Yu.

    But what she hadn''t dared to imagine was:

    This time, she would receive a piece that was even more subtly exquisite than "Mariage d''Amour"!

    If she hadn''t received a call, she might have even thought that Xian Yu had forgotten about her!

    If Xian Yu hadn''t contacted her, she was considering implementing a new strategic plan.

    Fortunately, her earlier hard work hadn''t gone to waste!

    With the birth of another classic musical composition, Xian Yu had thought of her again!

    "This piece will be released in May."

    Lin Yuan said, "Do you know the Yu Dynasty?"

    Gu Xi hurriedly nodded: "Yes!"

    Lin Yuan said, "They have piano sections in their songs, and I want you to be responsible for this."

    "Of course I can!"

    Gu Xi instantly agreed.

    ...

    In the following days.

    Things became simple.

    The Yu Dynasty began to take action.

    Everyone took turns recording songs.

    Gu Xi was responsible for the piano parts.

    Meanwhile on the internet.

    The netizens were constantly looking forward to the arrival of May.

    Finally!

    May arrives as scheduled!

    ...

    Countless netizens sat in front of their computers early on, filled with anticipation and nervousness!

    There were also countless insiders waiting for the broadcast of the concert!

    They wanted to know what kind of concert could cause more than a hundred spectators to faint!

    What kind of concert could lead to the arrest of more than fifty fugitives!

    In such curiosity.

    The concert finally aired!

    Jiang Kui performed the song "Big Fish"!

    Halfway through the song, Xian Yu made a surprise appearance: "Ahhh Ahhh Ahhh Ahhh Ahhh..."

    The netizens finally understood what the term "Siren''s Serenade," raved by the onsite audience, meant.

    "Woah!"

    "So this is the Siren''s Serenade!"

    "After hearing this part, my ears really got pregnant!"

    "This version is definitely the most beautiful version of "Big Fish"!"

    "It''s already this exciting at the start, what''s going to happen later?"

    "These twenty days of waiting weren''t in vain!"

    ...

    The concert began by stunning the audience!

    Following this.

    The Qi Language version of "Exaggerated" exploded!

    All the spectators took a gasping breath:

    "So this is the new version of ''Exaggerated''?"

    "Someone said before that Xian Yu''s new version of ''Exaggerated'' is more exploding than the original, I didn''t believe it, but it turns out to be true!"

    "That''s too awesome!"

    "Satisfying!"

    "It feels so good to listen to!"

    "Listening to this song makes my blood boil!"

    ...

    Then.

    The Chu Language song "Lemon" was up!

    The audience requested song "Confession Balloon" was up!

    Xian Yu''s high notes in "Three Days and Three Nights" were also up!

    Qi language...

    Chu language...

    English...

    Mandarin...

    Xian Yu was wildly displaying his language talents!

    Watching this concert in front of their computers, everyone was pumped!

    The whole internet exploded!

    "So exhilarating!"

    "I''m getting soaked!"

    "Xian Yu''s high notes are unbeatable!"

    "Even at home, I''m screaming with excitement, I can only imagine how crazy it is onsite!"

    "I''m regretting more and more that I didn''t get a ticket to go onsite!"

    "Xian Yu is so talented, he has all kinds of musical styles, and knows all types of languages!"

    "Even though I''m behind the screen, he''s still blown me away!"

    ...

    At the same time as being amazed.

    Some people started to doubt.

    Although the onsite atmosphere was indeed unprecedentedly exciting, was the news about over a hundred audience members fainting somewhat exaggerated?

    Was it marketing hype?

    Or was it just us not understanding the insanity and passion of the crazy fans?

    In contrast.

    Everyone could more or less understand the arrest of fugitives.

    After all, it was normal for fugitives to like Xian Yu.

    Xian Yu did have a great appeal to everyone.

    But the fainting of more than a hundred people was indeed exaggerated.

    If this is marketing, then it''s clearly been overdone.

    Everybody thought so.

    But.

    That thought didn''t last long.

    On scene.

    With the song "beat it" playing.

    The Moonwalk''s finally arrived!

    White shirt, black tie, black shoes, white socks, white gloves, black trousers...

    At this moment.

    All the audience in front of the screen were collectively stunned!

    Countless people''s eyes were wide open!

    Countless people''s mouths were wide open!

    As if their jaws had been shocked off!

    In the scene on the screen.

    Those audience members and those in front of the computer were collectively in a massive shock!

    "I''m on my knees!"

    "I''m prostrating myself!"

    "What kind of dance is this!"

    "Admirable Fish is forever a deity!"

    "Even gravity can''t stop him now!"

    "Someone in the observer field fainted!"

    "Damn it, I would faint too if I were at the concert!"

    "Never mind being at the concert, I feel like fainting just watching from home!"

    "How can a human lean at a 45 degree angle!"

    "How I wish I was at the concert!"

    "The dance is godly, Admirable Fish is godly!"

    ...

    All doubts cleared!

    No one questioned whether over a hundred audience members fainting was a publicity stunt.

    Do we need publicity stunts for this?

    Such a crazy dance!

    Isn''t it normal for the audience to faint?

    What is happening at the venue!

    I''m in awe!

    All were in awe!

    Especially in some school dorms.

    The current screams are simply terrifyingly exaggerated!

    The dorm supervisors were terrified!

    ...

    All the audience in front of the computers had screamed until they lost their voices.

    Just for a concert.

    Some even felt that their stamina couldn''t keep up.

    At this moment.

    The piano piece "To Alice" sounded.

    The audience suddenly felt an unprecedented level of satisfaction:

    "Such a beautiful song!"

    "No wonder the audience was so excited when interviewed after leaving the Grand Stadium, I would be as well."

    "High energy throughout!"

    "It''s quite a pity I couldn''t attend!"

    "I hope Daddy Fish can hold another concert, I''d brave it through hell to go!"

    "That dance is called the Moonwalk, it was specially explained on the big screen, it''s truly terrifying!"

    "Although this last piece ''To Alice'' is not really exciting, I feel that it is the icing on the cake for tonight''s performance."

    "Right, these songs should be available for download, right?"

    "Let''s check out the seasonal rankings!"

    "I love the songs inside so much!"

    "I must download them all!"

    ...

    Coming back to their senses.

    Everyone couldn''t wait to open their music player!

    Indeed.

    All major music players have linked the songs from "Admirable Fish Concert"!

    All six new songs were there, though most of the singers were changed to those from the Yu Dynasty, but that didn''t affect everyone''s enthusiasm!

    Download!

    Download! S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Download!

    Everyone clicked download simultaneously!

    They couldn''t even be bothered to check out the other songs released in May at the moment!

    At the same time.

    The insiders also finished watching Admirable Fish''s concert.

    For a while.

    The entire music industry was shocked into silence.

    They didn''t know how to describe the concert''s brilliance...

    Thrilling?

    Exploding?

    Cool?

    All of that, but also none of that.

    The concert gave the impression that Admirable Fish has everything you like!

    In the end.

    Someone in the industry finally summarized it: "Once you''ve seen Admirable Fish''s concert, other singers'' concerts are optional."

    It''s helpless.

    Because all the expectations and imaginations people had about concerts were basically played out by Admirable Fish''s concert!

    What would the seasonal charts look like with this earth-shattering concert?

    The musicians who released music in May didn''t dare to imagine...

 Chapter 706 - 672: Xian Yu Aiming for the Twelfth Consecutive Championship_1

    Yes.

    After watching Xian Yu''s concert, musicians releasing songs in May have foreseen the imminent bloodbath on the season''s chart!

    There''s no escape.

    The results of the season''s chart will eventually appear before everyone in a variety of forms.

    Eight o''clock on the first day of May.

    A certain entertainment program began.

    The host seems particularly passionate today:

    "Hello everyone!

    Welcome to [Entertainment Big Events], I''m your forever host, Zhang Shao!

    As you all know, every time the program is broadcast, I will summarize the recent major events in the entertainment circle for everyone.

    Today, the entertainment circle has welcomed a super explosive event, that is:

    The video of Xian Yu''s concert has finally been publicly broadcast!

    I believe many people should, like me, be at home watching the video because they couldn''t get tickets to the concert, and I believe that after watching the three-hour-long concert video, everyone will be as stunned as I am!

    It''s a grand performance that made over a hundred audience members faint on the spot!

    If I have to use an adjective to describe the shock of this concert, I would use three words-

    Epic level!

    What kind of wonderful performances Xian Yu displayed at the concert is no longer needed for me to detail one by one.

    Any viewer who has watched the video has witnessed it, now you just need to open the internet, all major forums are discussing the god-level performances in this concert that have been adrenaline pumping!

    What I''m going to share with you now is the ranking of this season''s chart!

    For this season''s chart, the number one piece is a piano piece called "To Alice"!

    At this point, the audience who watched Xian Yu''s concert will definitely burst out laughing without speaking.

    Isn''t this piano piece called "To Alice" the closing performance that Xian Yu dedicated at the concert?

    Don''t rush.

    The season''s chart of May this year, there are more songs from Xian Yu''s concert than just "To Alice".

    Let''s continue looking down the list:

    The song ranked second this season is "Lemon"!

    Fourth, "Beat It"!

    Fifth, "Exaggerated"!

    Sixth, "Confession Balloon"!

    Eighth, "Three Days and Three Nights"!

    Don''t doubt your eyes, you''re not seeing things!

    Six of the top ten works on the May season''s chart are from Xian Yu''s concert!

    After Blue Star initiated the merging tide, for the first time, one person has taken up six spots in the top ten of the season''s chart!

    The last time there was a situation where a composer monopolized the season''s chart, we have to trace back seven years...

    At that time, Blue Star hadn''t started the merging process yet.

    If the season''s chart is compared to a battlefield, then Xian Yu staged the most inhumane massacre in May this year!

    Just today.

    He gave the entire music scene a case of ichthyophobia!

    Perhaps some people would say that Xian Yu monopolizing the six elements of the season''s chart is due to the heat addition of the concert, but no one can deny that this achievement is historical for Xian Yu and even the entire music scene!

    ..."

    The storm has finally arrived!

    The ranking of the season''s chart is out!

    Xian Yu alone occupies six spots in the top ten!

    On the May season''s chart.

    All musicians have despaired.

    Just as expected.

    No suspense.

    No overturn.

    Since his debut, Xian Yu has for the first time achieved a real chart sweep!

    In the top ten, he monopolized six by himself!

    For the music scene, the season''s chart is like a cake supplied in a limited amount every month.

    Someone had divided it into ten uneven pieces.

    Usually, it was a cake shared equally among all.

    Even if you didn''t get a big chunk, you could still smear some cream on the corner of your mouth.

    But this month, Admirable Fish transformed into a glutton, consuming six pieces all by himself!

    Leaving less than half for everyone else!

    Isn''t he afraid of overstuffing himself?

    Of course, he isn''t.

    Because this time, it''s a full-scale attack by the Yu Dynasty!

    ...

    In reality,

    It''s not just any "major entertainment event".

    That day,

    Almost all major entertainment programs were discussing the season''s chart:

    ...

    "Admirable Fish single-handedly takes six songs in the Top 10 of the Season''s Chart, but he didn''t choose to perform them himself. Instead, he let the singers of the Yu Dynasty perform these songs. Apart from Wei Haoyun, whose style does not match with these songs, everyone else including Jiang Kui, Sun Yao Huo, Chen Zhiyu, Zhao Ying Ge, and Xia Fan got their own works.

    This might be the first step of the Yu Dynasty towards conquering the music scene."

    ...

    "The performer of the championship track "To Alice" is the talented young pianist Gu Xi. This isn''t the first time she has collaborated with Admirable Fish. Gu Xi performed all of his past piano scores. The difference this time is that all the arrangement parts for the other singers in the Yu Dynasty were also completed by Gu Xi.

    Some people believe that this beautiful young pianist who has already made it to the top art stage could potentially be the seventh member of the Yu Dynasty."

    ...

    "Admirable Fish didn''t choose to perform the official version of these songs himself, because he doesn''t need to. The career bonus from singing these songs would not make a significant difference. His focus now is to help the singers of the Yu Dynasty grow faster.

    Jiang Kui, who got the song "Lemon" by Chu Language, has made noticeable progress and is one step closer to becoming the Queen of Singing."

    ...

    "After getting the Qi Language version of "Exaggeration," Sun Yaohuo''s popularity continues to soar. He is steadily progressing towards becoming the King of Singing. If Sun Yaohuo and Jiang Kui manage to clinch the title of King and Queen of Singing, Admirable Fish will undoubtedly become the youngest Maestro in Blue Star''s history.

    But we have an even scarier guess: Admirable Fish is aiming for twelve consecutive wins!"

    ...

    "From January to May, Admirable Fish has constantly made moves and already secured five consecutive wins on the Season''s Chart. This month, he further claimed six spots among the top ten. Does this mean Teacher Admirable Fish is trying to become a Maestro by getting twelve consecutive wins?

    I know this idea is surprising, but after experiencing this crazy concert, do you really think Admirable Fish would be content with becoming a Maestro in the simplest way?"

    ...

    In fact, last month people were guessing:

    Admirable Fish is trying to secure the position of Maestro on Blue Star with twelve consecutive wins!

    Because this idea is too incredible, everyone thought they might be overthinking.

    But now...

    Admirable Fish has already secured five consecutive wins on the Season''s Chart!

    This month, he dominated the Season''s Chart! S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Under such circumstances, the idea that Admirable Fish is aiming for twelve consecutive wins has grown like wild weed in people''s minds!

    More and more people have started to believe:

    Admirable Fish is indeed striving towards this goal!

    The media have also been continuously discussing this speculation!

    Even the netizens are increasingly aligning their voices with Admirable Fish aiming for twelve consecutive wins!

    Then in the midst of numerous discussions and guesswork,

    Admirable Fish suddenly posted a status on the Tribe:

    "Just reached the fifth stage..."

    Suddenly!

    All netizens were taken aback!

    The few words of Admirable Fish''s status declaration was no different to announcing to everyone that:

    He truly intends to become a Maestro through twelve consecutive wins!

    He is really...

    Playing it this way!

    Guessing is one thing, while acknowledgment from the person involved is another.

    After all, guesswork always involves some uncertainty,

    Just like a meteor streaking across outer space.

    No one knows whether this meteor will land, even though its trajectory already indicates a lot -

    And now!

    The meteor has landed!

    Boom, it''s exploded!

 Chapter 707 - 673: Zhong Continent_1

    "Only made it to the fifth round, not bad, huh?"

    "Bros, ''only'' is the key word here!"

    "Fish Papa is so domineering! In the current era of the fusion of the five continents Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han, the difficulty of a twelve-time champion is absolutely unprecedented!"

    "If he can pull this off, it will be even crazier than holding six of the top ten spots in the seasonal rankings!"

    "I knew Fish Papa was fighting hard this year. If he already has five consecutive championships, can the sixth one be far behind?"

    "There are definitely big shots gunning for him in the rounds to come!"

    "It''s always been Fish Papa shooting others down. How many dare to take a shot at Fish Papa?"

    "Only if Yang Zhongming or a few from the Zhong Continent make a move!"

    "Damn Father Yang. He must''ve ended Admirable Fish''s third consecutive win, and now this has provoked Fish, who''s seeking revenge on the music industry with a twelve-time championship!"

    "Hahaha, Yang Zhongming is the biggest villain in the music industry!"

    "..."

    The twelve-time championship has always been the most difficult path to becoming a Maestro.

    And in the era of the fusion surge of Blue Star, the difficulty of a twelve-time championship is hellish!

    Some people in the music industry even believe that the rule of achieving the Maestro title through twelve-time championship has been abandoned.

    Because now there are too many continents merging!

    It''s almost impossible for anyone to achieve a twelve-time championship!

    Yet, Admirable Fish wants to take this path!

    This is utterly against all odds!

    All this has led to a massive eruption across the net!

    ...

    Even some Maestros have been provoked!

    "Has he gone mad?"

    "Seeking a twelve-time championship in the context of the fusion of the five continents?"

    "I thought the twelve-time championship was a thing of the past!"

    "Even Yang Zhongming can''t achieve a twelve-time championship now, can he?"

    "With his talent, isn''t it easy to push Sun Yaohuo and Jiang Kui to be the King and Queen of Singing?"

    "Why does he have to challenge something of a hellish difficulty?"

    "Who the hell said that Admirable Fish was the most modest among the Three Bros, I think he''s crazier than Chu Kuang!"

    "Is the end of modesty self-conceit?"

    "It''s always said that Admirable Fish is the top of the young generation, so is this what they call ''youthful audacity''?"

    "Does he know how many people are going to try to take him down for making such a statement?"

    "Becoming a Maestro through the twelve-time championship is something that even many top Maestros don''t want to see."

    "..."

    Shocking as it is.

    All the truly calm Maestros know how difficult it is for Admirable Fish to take this path - it''s almost impossible!

    There will definitely be Maestros at the level of Yang Zhongming who will take aim at him!

    Why?

    Because some top Maestros haven''t made it through twelve seasons!

    Let alone in the context of the fusion of the five continents ...

    What makes you think you can, Admirable Fish?

    Do you think you are stronger than the top Maestros of Blue Star?

    If you really do pull this off, where would those top Maestros put their faces?

    Not every Maestro is as good to Admirable Fish as Yang Zhongming is.

    Some Maestros will not allow Admirable Fish to successfully pass through the seasonal charts!

    Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, there might not be many people who can stop Admirable Fish.

    But.

    Who can guarantee that the people from Zhong Continent won''t make a move?

    Remember.

    The Zhong Continent, being the absolute core of Blue Star, many top-notch figures in various fields are studying there.

    Those people are the team from Zhong Continent!

    Similar to the national team on Earth!

    Any one of the top big shots they pick from within is an entity standing at the apex of the pyramid!

    Predictably.

    Those people will hear the wind soon.

    Many Maestros from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han tremble inwardly.

    ...

    Starlight.

    Yang Zhongming laughs out loud, his eyes even showing a hint of madness: "I did not choose the wrong man."

    Zheng Jing gasps: "Not only does he want to break Lu Sheng''s record of being Blue Star''s youngest Maestro, but he also wants to reach the top through twelve consecutive championships just like Lu Sheng?"

    Yang Zhongming says solemnly: "Lu Sheng was far behind him at this age."

    Zheng Jing takes a breath to steady herself, then laughs: "Lu Sheng had your guidance after all."

    Only a few people in the music industry know:

    Lu Sheng, the youngest Maestro in the history of Blue Star''s music, was half a student of Yang Zhongming before he became a Maestro.

    "But his biggest opponent is not Lu Sheng."

    The gaze of Yang Zhongming slightly tightens, looking eastward.

    That''s the direction of the Zhong Continent.

    Zheng Jing raises an eyebrow: "Zhong Continent will definitely make a move, but probably not now. Otherwise, those old guys will lose face. After all, it wouldn''t look good for a bunch of old farts to bully a junior."

    Yang Zhongming speaks: "What if those top figures of Zhong Continent make a move?"

    Zheng Jing hesitates for a moment: "That''s unlikely. Haven''t they been into symphony music these past few years? They''ve long lost interest in the seasonal charts. I''m worried about a few guys who play piano music..."

    "Xian Yu''s piano music is impressive."

    Yang Zhongming sneered, "It would be interesting if he manages to make Zhong Continent fall flat on its face."

    Zheng Jing: "¡­"

    Could the team from Zhong Continent be defeated by Xian Yu?

    Is that possible?

    ¡­

    Han Continent.

    An airport.

    In front of a white piano.

    A man enraptured in his performance.

    The piece he''s playing is indeed "To Alice".

    As the final note fell, the man opened his eyes.

    Behind him. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Passengers waiting at the airport all applauded!

    A man in a suit came forward, only to be stopped by security.

    The man in a suit respectfully said: "Hello, teacher. I would like to have a photo...no, I mean an autograph if possible¡­"

    "Sure."

    The man at the piano stood up, autographed the book presented to him:

    Lu Sheng!

    The man in the suit excitedly said, "Thank you, Mr. Lu Sheng! I''m your idol...no, I mean your fan!"

    "You''re welcome."

    Lu Sheng smiled, "I need to board my flight now."

    The man in a suit hastily moved aside.

    Then, the crowd of passengers curiously stared at Lu Sheng:

    "So, this is Blue Star''s youngest Maestro?"

    "His piano skills are incredible!"

    "Did he compose that piece just now?"

    "It''s so nice to listen to!"

    "No, that piece is called ''To Alice'', and it''s a work by Xian Yu."

    "Lu Sheng is playing Xian Yu''s piece?"

    "Isn''t Xian Yu trying to challenge Lu Sheng''s record with a twelve-win streak?"

    "..."

    The hustle and bustle of conversation reached Lu Sheng''s ears.

    Lu Sheng smiled slightly as he entered the boarding gate.

    Next to him.

    His assistant followed, matching his pace: "Mr. Lu Sheng, don''t you feel like you''ve been challenged?"

    "Records are meant to be broken."

    Lu Sheng laughed: "I''m not like those arrogant folks from Zhong Continent. When I was pursuing the twelve-win streak, they specifically brought in a formidable veteran to target me. Fortunately, I am invincible."

    Assistant: "..."

    Isn''t this even more arrogant?

    Lu Sheng continued: "Times have changed. Today''s twelve-win streak is worth much more than it was in my time. Zhong Continent doesn''t even have to take a shot, Xian Yu will have enough trouble. I''m starting to get the itch too."

    "You want to intervene?"

    "Let''s first see how Zhong Continent reacts."

    Lu Sheng raised an eyebrow: "If Xian Yu wants to become the Maestro, no one is stopping him. But to do it with a twelve-win streak, that might hit a nerve for some people... Let''s go to Qin Continent first, have a few drinks with ''Master'', and enjoy the show."

    ¡­

    News of Xian Yu''s attempt to secure the twelve-win streak spread rapidly like the wind across Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan.

    Of course, the Yu Dynasty also heard the news.

    "I never thought Teacher Xian Yu would go that far..."

    Zhao Ying Ge''s eyes gleamed with admiration!

    Sun Yaohuo puffed out his chest: "Our junior is destined to succeed!"

    Jiang Kui earnestly said: "If we get the chance to fight for Teacher Admirable Fish, we must give our all!"

    Chen Zhiyu nodded: "Whether he succeeds or not, we in the Yu Dynasty are committed supporters of Teacher Xian Yu!"

    "But I heard, Zhong Continent might try something..."

    Xia Fan looked a bit worried. Zhong Continent is the artistic hub of Blue Star, and the people there are not easy to deal with.

    Qin Continent is the Land of Music, yes.

    But most of the top musicians who gave Qin Continent its name now reside in Zhong Continent.

    Wei Haoyun exclaimed: "Teacher Xian Yu is best at creating miracles!"

    ¡­

    Regular netizens just saw Xian Yu''s determination to challenge the twelve-win streak.

    But the music industry obviously sees more.

    Only those in the circle know just how challenging it is for Xian Yu to aim for the twelve-win streak!

    This has become a contentious battle for honor within the circle!

    If Xian Yu really succeeds, the glory of winning a twelve-win streak after the unification of the five continents would be too dazzling.

    Dazzling to the point where some people may find it glare to their eyes!

    At this moment.

    Inside Zhong Continent, the place that many fear.

    In a small circle, a musician suddenly said with a playful smirk:

    "Cheng Sang, the cherry blossoms are blooming in our hometown. Aren''t you going back to take a look...?"

 Chapter 708 - 674: Unique Rank_1

    This day is bound to be anything but quiet!

    The uproar caused by the concert broadcast, coupled with Xian Yu''s public declaration to challenge for twelve consecutive wins, swept across insiders and outsiders alike like a hurricane. The higher-ups of Starlight were left dumbfounded one after another!

    "Are you serious?"

    Ol'' Zhou immediately sought out Lin Yuan: "I mean, about the twelve consecutive wins¡­"

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Ol'' Zhou was somewhat speechless.

    Did this kid really understand the situation?

    It took Ol'' Zhou a while to speak up, "The company will definitely support your decision, but in fact, there isn''t much the company can do in such a situation. In the end, you have to fight your own battles, especially when someone from the Zhong Continent makes a move."

    "Zhong Continent?"

    Lin Yuan was taken aback: "Isn''t Zhong Continent not yet included in the merger?"

    The kid really didn''t get the real picture.

    Ol'' Zhou sighed: "Aren''t you wondering why Zhong Continent, which hasn''t been included in the merger, can participate in the season rankings among Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han continents?"

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Old Zhou didn''t rush to explain but instead turned on the office projector first.

    The next moment:

    The map of Blue Star appeared on the projector screen.

    Ol'' Zhou pointed at the map and said: "There are eight continents in Blue Star. Apart from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, Wei, there is also a Zhong Continent."

    Lin Yuan said: "I know that."

    Ol'' Zhou looked complicated: "It''s hard to tell which continent among the Qian, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, and Zhao is stronger. It can only be said that each continent has its own dominant fields, such as Qin Continent''s music, Chu Continent''s animation, Qi Continent''s film, and so on¡­"

    "I know that."

    "No, you don''t. Under the premise of these statements, do you just assume that our Qin Continent has the strongest music, Qi Continent the best films, and as for Chu Continent¡­"

    "Is it not?"

    "Yes, and no."

    "..."

    Seeing Lin Yuan''s confusion, Ol'' Zhou chuckled, "These sayings are actually built on the premise that Zhong Continent is excluded from the equation, because Zhong Continent is a league of its own in every sense!"

    Lin Yuan was surprised: "Zhong Continent''s music is more powerful than Qin''s?"

    Ol'' Zhou raised his voice: "Zhong Continent''s music is more powerful than Qin''s, Zhong Continent''s films are also stronger than those from Qi continent. In other words, Zhong Continent dominates in every art field in Blue Star!"

    Lin Yuan nodded vaguely: "So, everyone doesn''t want to compete with Zhong Continent?"

    Ol'' Zhou couldn''t help but laugh: "Your way of describing it is quite fresh. Indeed, everybody doesn''t like to compete with Zhong Continent. That''s why most Blue Star rankings don''t include Zhong Continent.

    But this is not only because Zhong Continent overpowers the other seven continents in overall strength, but also because the residents of Zhong Continent are mostly migrants from the seven other continents. How do you think Zhong Continent became so strong? It''s all due to the talent supplied by the seven continents over the years!"

    Lin Yuan blinked.

    He roughly understood the situation of Zhong Continent now.

    Ol'' Zhou looked at the map of Zhong Continent: "The highest government of Blue Star is located in Zhong Continent, where Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, and Wei are divided and ruled. The higher-ups have to worry that one day the seven continents will slip out of control. Hence, they promulgated the Zhong Continent Talent Introduction Act.

    The top talents from each field of each continent would be requested to move to Zhong Continent. These top talents are transformed into Zhong Continent people after switching continents. With the resources from the seven continents contributed over the years, Zhong Continent has evolved into the strongest continent in Blue Star.

    Of course, we have to concede that even without the consistent supply of top talents from the seven continents over the years, Zhong Continent, as the power center of Blue Star, naturally possesses a dominance that is unmatched by other continents. This is the additional advantage of being the power center of Blue Star."

    Lin Yuan thoroughly understood Ol'' Zhou''s point. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Zhong Continent was originally the strongest region in Blue Star.

    And with the resource tilt from the highest government over the years, along with the grand seven-continents talent introduction plan, Zhong Continent underwent a transformation and qualitative change in power!

    No wonder everyone didn''t include Zhong Continent...

    Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, Wei are all on one level.

    And Zhong Continent is in a league of its own.

    Old Zhou shrugged: "However, since the merger of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Zhao and Wei started, the talent introduction plan paused. After all, compared to talent introduction, it seems more convenient to manage everybody when they''re all together. But the power of Zhong Continent has already been established¡­"

    At root, it''s still a political factor.

    Lin Yuan summarized: "So, some people from Zhong Continent can participate in the competition for the season rankings because some of them originally come from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, and Zhao¡­"

    "Dual Citizenship!"

    Ol'' Zhou laughed: "It''s very difficult to change your continent citizenship, and it''s even more difficult to gain dual citizenship. This is also one of the perks that Zhong Continent initially offered to win the hearts of the talents. So in Zhong Continent, only half of the residents are native Middle State people.

    The remaining half consists of high-end talents from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, and Zhao and their descendants. It''s a mix of people, and these talents, if they have dual citizenship and their first place of origin is one of the five continents of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, or Han, can participate in the competition for the season ranks and aim for your twelve consecutive wins. Do you understand now?"

    "I see¡­"

    Lin Yuan paused: "But why would they want to target me?"

    Ol'' Zhou: "¡­"

    Does this kind of thing need to be asked?

    Okay then.

    This kind of question is indeed Xian Yu-style.

    He could only continue: "Some people, because they have not managed to achieve something themselves, do not want others to achieve it either, for instance, twelve consecutive wins."

    Lin Yuan furrowed his brows.

    This reason seemed a little far-fetched to Lin Yuan.

    But upon careful thinking, it seems very persuasive.

    "If you want to challenge for the twelve consecutive wins, it is essential to study your competitors in advance. The company is helping you to filter out the potential competitors. These people must simultaneously meet the conditions of having dual citizenship and being born in one of the five continents: Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, or Han.

    Fortunately, there shouldn''t be a significant number of people who meet these conditions. Moreover, most of the maestros from Qin Continent who have gone out won''t make a move, after all, you are a Qin person¡­"

    Old Zhou grinned.

    Regional rivalry exists everywhere.

    Even in Zhong Continent.

    The talents introduced from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han continents by the policy of the Zhong Continent all tend to stick together.

    In this situation, the Qin people from Zhong Continent, no matter how many ideas they have, will restrain their impulse to make a move.

    After all...

    Xian Yu is a Qin person.

    A genius emerged from Qin''s people.

    Even if they''ve lived in Zhong Continent for a long time and practically become Zhong Continent people, the top talents from Qin Continent wouldn''t forget their roots in Qin.

    The Blue Star people have deep hometown sentiments.

    After explaining a few more things about Zhong Continent to Lin Yuan, Ol'' Zhou left.

    Half an hour later.

    Ol'' Zhou sent Lin Yuan a list: "These are the maestros from Zhong Continent who might make a move against you¡­"

    Lin Yuan didn''t respond and casually threw the list into an idle folder.

    The only competitor that Lin Yuan has ever seriously studied was Yang Zhongming.

    After all, Yang Zhongming is Lin Yuan''s half mentor.

    He respects him deeply.

    As for the attack from Zhong Continent, it''s not a question of respect or disrespect.

    Most of the time¡ª

    Lin Yuan isn''t in the habit of studying his opponents.

 Chapter 709 - 675, Future Challenges_1

    "System, System¡­"

    Although Lin Yuan did not persistently research his opponent, there was still a question in his mind that he decided to ask the System for clarification.

    "Ding dong, what''s up?"

    "You mentioned last time the Maestro rankings, is Teacher Yang Zhongming within the top three?"

    "Yes."

    "Nothing else."

    "Would you like to customize a ranking list? The most authentic, most professional ranking, exclusively from Blue Star!"

    "No."

    "..."

    The System giving up.

    Lin Yuan confirmed his guess.

    It''s true that Zhong Continent''s leading talents are incredible, but they don''t own all the world''s heroes.

    At least Yang Zhongming never went to Zhong Continent.

    Although Lin Yuan didn''t know the specific reason why Yang Zhongming didn''t go to Zhong Continent, it at least indicated that among the Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, and Wei continents, there were still some low-key top bosses.

    Lin Yuan thoughtfully.

    He had a long chat with Ol'' Zhou.

    According to Ol'' Zhou, Zhong Continent will not make their move for the time being.

    At least, they don''t need to worry about any targeted attacks from Zhong Continent in June or even July.

    Because most of Zhong Continent''s maestros are elder predecessors.

    Among these elder maestros, at most one or two will take turns to target Lin Yuan.

    If they all take turns to launch attacks, it would be too obvious.

    The scene would be too unpleasant.

    Some Qin people from Zhong Continent would also likely refuse to agree with this.

    But Lin Yuan could not count on Zhong Continent holding back. To forge iron, one must make themselves strong.

    He had to prepare well.

    Now for sure, there will battlefield''s attacks coming from Zhong Continent at the War of the Gods this year.

    "By the way."

    It suddenly occurred to Lin Yuan:

    Since Zhong Continent has gathered top talents from various fields, doesn''t it mean that his other pseudonyms will also face various challenges from Zhong Continent in the future?

    Like the manga from Shadow.

    There must be top Chu Continent manga artists who have been attracted to Zhong Continent.

    And the novels by Chu Kuang again.

    There must be powerful characters in Zhong Continent can rival Chu Kuang.

    Lin Yuan dare not underestimate the artistic development of Blue Star, especially in the field of novels, which occupies a large part of the art category.

    Luckily, he still has some cards up his sleeve for the Chu Kuang pseudonym.

    The countless years of development in Earth''s artistic field were not in vain.

    There are still many classic novels that he hasn''t released yet.

    Moreover...

    It should be a few years before Zhong Continent joins the merger.

    Next, it should be Zhao Continent and Wei Continent joining in order.

    Zhong Continent would be the last.

    Most likely, this is what they are considering.

    After all, for the Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, and Wei, Zhong Continent is an insurmountable mountain.

    Once Zhong Continent joined the merger in the future, it would easily form a dimensional reduction effect, causing the cultures of the various continents to disintegrate.

    After all, not everyone is like Lin Yuan who has the System.

    Without the System, I''m afraid all the seven continents combined may not even be able to face Zhong Continent.

    Never mind.

    No need to think about this for now.

    Lin Yuan once again called out the System.

    He was going to dive into his precious Earth music library.

    It''s a musical conflict now.

    If he doesn''t win this twelve-match streak, Lin Yuan will be depressed to death.

    He had already reached the fifth stage, how could he fail at the last moment.

    System: "..."

    While Lin Yuan was diving into the library of music, the outside world was still buzzing with excitement.

    Not only was there his twelve-match streak, but also the follow-up triggered by the concert.

    Especially The Moonwalk!

    This should have been expected by all the audience at the concert:

    The Moonwalk became popular!

    ...

    How popular was The Moonwalk?

    The most intuitive manifestation was that all the current topics discussed by dance lovers were "The Moonwalk"!

    Countless dancers were studying the Moonwalk video from Xian Yu''s concert over and over again.

    Learning!

    Imitating!

    They didn''t just imitate Xian Yu''s dance, they even imitated his clothing.

    A white shirt, black pants, white socks, black leather shoes.

    And the ceremonial white gloves.

    On the internet.

    Many dancers uploaded imitation videos of themselves doing the Moonwalk.

    However, after users watched these videos, they felt that something was wrong.

    "I don''t know why, but Fish Papa''s dance feels better."

    "Is it because Fish Papa was singing while dancing?"

    "Not just that, but his dance was also more standard."

    "I''m a dancer. When I first watched The Moonwalk, I felt very shocked, but at the same time, I felt that the dance was not too difficult, until I tried myself..."

    "Did you fall?"

    "He definitely did, the teachers in our dance club all said that this dance is very difficult."

    "The Moonwalk makes extremely high demands on the strength, flexibility, and coordination of the performer''s body. Even professional dancers find it difficult to master. I believe many imitators should have experienced slips and falls."

    "Mainly, this dance requires the brain to operate in reverse."

    "I really don''t know how Xian Yu came up with such an amazing dance!"

    "..."

    Xian Yu was the one who created The Moonwalk!

    This had been officially explained by Starlight and made known to the world.

    As a result, people on the internet now referred to Xian Yu as "The creator of the Moonwalk"!

    And in the following days.

    With more and more people joining the imitation of the Moonwalk, the craze began to spread more widely.

    In fact, they even created national fervor with The Moonwalk.

    Even people who had absolutely no foundation in dance would try to walk according to the tutorial on the internet¡ª

    Just that their movements were somewhat comical.

    There were also people who tried to decipher the principle of Xian Yu''s 45-degree incline.

    After repeated attempts had failed, everyone finally drew a conclusion:

    "The 45-degree incline must have been accomplished with the help of props!"

    Humans cannot defy the gravity of Blue Star.

    However, even if they understood the principle, everyone was still amazed at Xian Yu''s imagination.

    You know.

    The invention patent was registered for Michael Jackson''s 45-degree tilt and those shoes he wore.

    Some people even started their journey to dance because of The Moonwalk.

    After this imitation craze lasted for several tens of days.

    In the Blue Star Encyclopedia compiled by the Literature and Art Association, there was an extra line of introduction in Xian Yu''s title:

    "Dancer".

    Before this, Xian Yu already held the titles of "Composer", "Playwright", "Lyricist", and "Singer". sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    It''s worth mentioning:

    The Blue Star Encyclopedia compiled by the Literature and Art Association is very standardized and professional.

    It''s not that you''ve done something and you can naturally get the corresponding title.

    You must have received widespread recognition in that profession before the association will give such an introduction in the encyclopedia.

    In such a situation, Xian Yu holding five titles alone was indeed astounding.

    At this moment.

    Lin Yuan finally selected a few works that he thought were formidable from the System.

    The result.

    Just as he arrived at the company, Sun Yaohuo brought Lin Yuan a piece of news:

    "Junior brother, our game "Plants vs. Zombies" has been officially completed and is now undergoing review. According to your request, we have added the elements of The Moonwalk that you performed at the concert..."

 Chapter 710 - 676: Free Shares_1

    The game has started its review process?

    Lin Yuan couldn''t help but feel excited.

    With the numerous challenges that he will face from the Zhong Continent in the future, Lin Yuan is determined to exchange for many classic works with the system, and all these require significant financial support. He really hopes that Plants vs. Zombies can bring in a substantial profit.

    At this moment.

    Ol'' Zhou arrived.

    After Gu Dong made a cup of tea for both of them, he left the office. Ol'' Zhou took a gentle sip, then suddenly smiled at Lin Yuan, "The company''s executive meeting passed a decision today..."

    "Does it concern me?"

    Lin Yuan knew that Ol'' Zhou had the personality of not visiting without a reason. Whenever Ol'' Zhou appeared in his office, there had to be some company matter, and it seemed that these issues were always communicated between Ol'' Zhou and Lin Yuan.

    "It matters a lot."

    Ol'' Zhou seriously looked at Lin Yuan, his eyes filled with a hint of admiration, then solemnly said, "The company has decided to upgrade your contract terms again. You will soon own ten percent of Starlight Entertainment''s shares!"

    "Shares?"

    Lin Yuan was aghast.

    Jin Mu had always discussed with Lin Yuan the possibility of buying equity in Starlight, even planning to negotiate with Starlight personally. Yet before the plan had even started to roll out, Starlight had already offered him shares, and astonishingly, it was directly ten percent - double what Silver Blue Books had given him under the pseudonym Chu Kuang!

    "Yes!"

    Ol'' Zhou, "The company had long been considering this, but because the specific amount of shares hadn''t been agreed on, it was dragged until today. A ten percent share is a ratio that all shareholders can accept..."

    "What conditions?"

    Lin Yuan, of course, knew that there was a deeper intention behind Starlight''s arrangement. He wanted to see the conditions the company proposed first. If the conditions were too harsh, Lin Yuan wouldn''t impulsively agree.

    "There are no conditions."

    Ol'' Zhou said with a strange expression.

    This time, Lin Yuan was not just surprised, he was somewhat shocked. Even when Silver Blue Books was trying to win over Chu Kuang, it still proposed a few conventional conditions. Starlight was offering him ten percent of its shares with no conditions attached?

    You''re giving them to me for free?

    Ol'' Zhou was watching Lin Yuan''s reaction, feeling somewhat nostalgic. This was the first time he had seen Lin Yuan express shock, resembling the expressions of the company''s senior executives when they learned of the chairman''s resolution.

    "What is your opinion?"

    Lin Yuan suddenly asked.

    Ol'' Zhou was taken aback, before breaking into a light chuckle, a touch of warmth in his eyes. "I thought you''d agree without any hesitation. After all, you were the first to dare bring a calculator to a Music Department meeting to calculate royalties."

    Lin Yuan stayed silent.

    Ol'' Zhou looked at Lin Yuan and said in an unusual tone, "I know you''re asking for my personal opinion, not the opinion of a Starlight executive. But whether as a person or as an executive of Starlight, I suggest you accept. There is indeed no such thing as a free lunch in this world.

    Even this unconditional offer of shares is actually a form of emotional entanglement, but it appears before you in the most gentle form, making it hard for anyone to feel resistant."

    Lin Yuan didn''t respond.

    The company didn''t say that once Lin Yuan took these shares, he would have to serve Starlight for life. But Lin Yuan knew that once he accepted these shares, he would never consider leaving. Otherwise, his conscience wouldn''t let him.

    "The company is gambling."

    Ol'' Zhou''s voice dropped, "To be exact, it''s the chairman who''s gambling. He''s betting that you won''t leave or go solo without feeling a shred of guilt after taking ten percent of the company''s shares."

    "He won."

    Lin Yuan suddenly laughed.

    Ol'' Zhou also started to chuckle, "That''s probably why the chairman could lead Starlight to where it is today. I can''t think of any other company leader who dares have such boldness to make such a decision. If you were to leave Starlight with ten percent of its shares, at most you would endure some condemnation of conscience. But for Starlight, that would be a debilitating loss."

    ...

    Somewhere else.

    Starlight''s Chairman, Li Songhua, looked into the distance through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the eighteenth floor of Starlight Tower. A voice, laced with worry and tension, sounded from behind him, "Do you know how bold your decision today was?"

    "Of course."

    Li Songhua laughed, saying, "I admit that there''s a gamble involved. This might be the boldest decision I ever made in my life, staking everything on so-called human nature. If I lose this gamble, all I''ll lose is ten percent of the shares. But if I win, what I''ll win will be Starlight''s future.

    You think Xian Yu is being faced with an unprecedented temptation, but the temptation facing me is much bigger. Ten percent of the shares is trivial compared to his influence!"

    "What if you lose?"

    "No one can win all the time. But if you think I''m gambling recklessly based on instinct, then you would be greatly mistaken. If you knew the terms those external companies have offered Xian Yu¡­"

    "What terms?"

    The voice from behind vibrated.

    Li Songhua said, "So far, more than twenty entertainment companies of the same tier or even bigger than Starlight wish to poach Xian Yu. Their terms are even more tempting than what we offer Xian Yu, but he has always stayed. My ears haven''t failed in hearing these things."

    "An emotional bond?" Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Why not think of this as an emotional investment? When you give yourself fully to someone, don''t you hope that they''d treat you well in return? You can say that my actions have a purpose, but this purpose does not harm anyone. Whether it''s indulging or pampering, as long as he is willing to stay at Starlight, I would dare to hand over the entire Starlight to him as a playground.

    He possesses a value that makes me willing to give everything. Forget ten percent of the shares, even if I gave him twenty percent or more, what does it matter? You only see me giving away a bit of shares, but I see a future for Starlight that it wouldn''t have without him."

    "Your motives are not pure."

    "I think my motives are pure to the point of being muddled. From now on, Starlight will follow one rule - if I can afford it, I''ll give Xian Yu anything he wants, because what I want, only he can give me!"

    "You still want to challenge Zhong Continent?"

    "I''ve given up before, but then he appeared. He gave me hope. I''ve seen so many stormy years and countless so-called geniuses. Only he gives me a different feeling. Also, only he makes me feel that Zhong Continent is not invincible. Think about all these years, how many people managed to catch Zhong Continent''s attention?"

    "Is Zhong Continent paying him a lot of attention?"

    "Recently, Zhong Continent has only been focusing on two people. One is the novelist Chu Kuang, and the other is right here in our company. I never thought that the phrase ''Xian Yu to the South, Chu Kuang to the North'' would spread throughout Zhong Continent..."

    Ding.

    Li Songhua''s cell phone rang. He glanced at it, and a smile spread across his face, "From now on, the direction of Xian Yu will be the direction of all of Starlight. I''ll be responsible for steering."

    "..."

 Chapter 711 - 677: Ive shown my cards, actually I am..._1

    "Ten percent!"

    In the comic studio, Jin Mu''s voice rose to a shrill pitch due to excitement. He paced back and forth in the room, his mind full of exhilaration: "Is it for free!?"

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    He felt quite happy as well, but he was not the type to express his emotions overtly. The strong fluctuations in his heart didn''t show on his face, but of course, this did not mean that Lin Yuan was as expressionless as Yin Dong: "Actually, there''s an invisible condition."

    "Condition?"

    Jin Mu''s mind gradually cooled down, he said gravely: "Starlight''s generous offer is still fundamentally aimed at keeping you obediently in the company. But rather than binding you with a restrictive contract, they''ve chosen to negotiate business emotionally..."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    After hearing the news, he too had seriously analyzed before understanding the reasons. That''s why he had an intimate, private exchange with Ol'' Zhou. Ol'' Zhou didn''t beat around the bush, he directly explained everything to him.

    "Courage!"

    Jin Mu exclaimed: "The decision-maker at Starlight is so courageous! A ten-percent stake may sound outrageous. But if this were ancient times, it would be seen as a life-indenture contract, especially for a boss. Accepting this stake is equivalent to a promise - a commitment to forever remain tied to Starlight.

    They could have simply added a hard-and-fast rule in the share transfer agreement, such as, [After accepting these shares, Xian Yu must never leave Starlight or the shares will be revoked, along with a breach of contract penalty]. This highly attractive contract wouldn''t seem outrageous then."

    But Starlight didn''t add it!

    Surprisingly, in such an important matter, Starlight played a gentleman''s agreement with Xian Yu. They seemed confident that with Xian Yu''s character, once he accepted these shares, he would never leave Starlight. In principle, there is such an understanding -

    Are they playing with fire?

    The decision maker at Starlight is ruthless!

    High EQ: These shares are for you.

    Low EQ: Sign this contract, exchange ten percent of the shares for your lifetime work for our company. You can never switch to another company until you retire!

    Just one clause.

    Makes all the difference.

    Lin Yuan saw this, Ol'' Zhou saw this, Jin Mu saw it, and the decision-maker at Starlight must have seen it too. There''s no way such a high-level person would be a fool! sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    In fact¡­

    After taking these shares, Lin Yuan indeed didn''t consider the possibility of leaving Starlight. Lin Yuan couldn''t bear to be ungrateful; from this perspective, Li Songhua had bet correctly.

    It''s inevitable.

    Lin Yuan accepted it, because no matter how you look at it, Lin Yuan was the one taking advantage, and a huge one at that. It was an offer he simply couldn''t refuse.

    "Amazing!"

    Jin Mu couldn''t help but praise again and again. Because Jin Mu and his boss, Lin Yuan, had been together for a long time, he knew that once Lin Yuan accepted these shares, the possibility of him leaving Starlight would cease to exist.

    A bold gamble!

    The decision maker at Starlight won the gamble, and the reward is indeed vast. Because Lin Yuan''s significance to Starlight is not just a promising genius composer, even Maestro Junior, but also because Lin Yuan is very good at making films, all the films scripted and invested in so far have made huge profits for Starlight!

    Moreover...

    What t Starlight absolutely does not know is that the boss also has two hidden identities that have not been revealed: Chu Kuang, a pseudonym in the Blue Star literary world no less illustrious than Xian Yu in the music industry; and Shadow, a genius comic artist from Blue Star!

    That''s good luck!

    Starlight is so lucky!

    In a sense, Jin Mu, who knows all of Lin Yuan''s identities, stands from a god''s perspective, seeing more than the decision maker at Starlight. Despite the limited vision, the other party was able to make such a decision, truly pulling out all the stops.

    It''s even a bit foolish.

    They''re too sentimental.

    Winning over Lin Yuan is worth any price, but this approach is unheard of, no wonder Jin Mu was totally shocked: "I used to say that Starlight is not as good as Silver Blue Books, shouldn''t they have proposed the shares earlier? It turns out they were waiting for a trump card."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    His status had changed again. Now Lin Yuan was not only a shareholder of Silver Blue Books but also a shareholder of Starlight Entertainment. Whether in the literary world, the music industry or the entertainment industry, he now had more substantial capital. Perhaps this can provide a considerable help for him in his future fight against the Zhong Continent.

    "Boss."

    Jin Mu suddenly stated: "I think you should consider being a little more honest with the decision-maker at Starlight. Since they''re willing to gamble this big, we could also play a bigger game with them. Reveal one of your pseudonyms, either Shadow or Chu Kuang. It could give Starlight a sense of security.

    Of course, we don''t need to reveal all, we should always keep something for ourselves, at least for now."

    "Is that so."

    Lin Yuan felt that Jin Mu made a lot of sense. One should reciprocate kindness shown to them. Moreover, revealing one of his two identities could help Starlight. After all, both Shadow and Chu Kuang could be linked to films and animation, and films are exactly what Starlight has been focusing on in recent years. Their film business is already showing signs of overtaking the music business.

    The most important thing is:

    Lin Yuan is now a shareholder of Starlight, so of course, he must create value for Starlight. This value will directly contribute to ten percent of Lin Yuan''s revenue. This is the natural advantage of being a shareholder.

    Anways.

    From now on, all copyrights of works from Shadow and Chu Kuang will be given priority to Silver Blue Books and Starlight. These two sides might even be partners, and this would require Lin Yuan''s mediation. He could leave the operation to Jin Mu.

    Thinking about this,

    Lin Yuan took out his phone, made a call to Ol'' Zhou but didn''t state his purpose: "I want to meet the chairman, could Uncle Zhou arrange it?"

    "Uncle Zhou?"

    "New name."

    "I like it."

    Ol'' Zhou''s laughter came from the other end of the phone, and he agreed to arrange the meeting without asking Lin Yuan the purpose behind it.

    Three minutes later.

    Lin Yuan received a message, the chairman had agreed to meet at the company office. Lin Yuan told JinMu: "In accordance with your suggestion, I''m going to the company to reveal a card."

    "Which card?"

    "Still uncertain."

    Both the identities of Shadow and Chu Kuang are crucial, Lin Yuan also wanted to know which card Starlight needed more. But Lin Yuan always felt that it would be better to play the "Chu Kuang" card first, because the Shadow...

    Ugh.

    Forget it.

    Speaking more about it will only cause heartache.

    .

    .

 Chapter 712 - 678 Chairman Goes Mad_1

    "Starlight.

    Chairman''s office.

    Lin Yuan knocked on the door.

    A slightly heavy voice came from inside:

    "Come in."

    Lin Yuan pushed the door and entered.

    On the sofa beside the office sat a man of medium stature. This man was Li Songhua, the chairman of Starlight.

    Li Songhua was slightly older than Ol'' Zhou, of medium stature. He had a neat black beard on his lower jaw, and his gaze seemed peaceful and elegant yet somehow conveyed an aura of restrained power.

    "Hello, Chairman."

    Lin Yuan greeted him politely.

    "Take it easy, have a seat."

    Li Songhua said with courtesy, "I heard you like tea¡­"

    As he spoke, the Chairman of Starlight had already poured cups of tea for both Lin Yuan and himself:

    "Want to try?"

    "Sure."

    In the calming aroma of the tea, Lin Yuan took his seat across from Li Songhua, and gently took a sip of the tea; the temperature was just right.

    "Is it good?"

    "It''s fine."

    "..."

    A moment of silence filled the air.

    They continued drinking tea.

    After one cup of tea, Li Songhua spoke again:

    "Actually, even if you hadn''t sought me out, I would have wanted to talk to you¡ªI heard you have accepted the company shares, have you considered participating in the board meetings in the future?"

    "Can I send someone to attend on my behalf?"

    "Other people might not be able to, but for you, it''s possible."

    "Thank you."

    "There''s no need to be formal. Treat Starlight as your own home; if you want to take your dog for a walk at the company, then take your dog for a walk, if you want to play hooky to go out and play, go ahead. We treat talents preferentially and believe in human-centric management."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Li Songhua, seemingly already familiar with Xian Yu''s taciturn nature, didn''t mind:

    "If you have any future suggestions regarding the company''s direction, you can voice them through the board meetings or communicate directly with me face-to-face."

    "Alright."

    "Did you come here today to talk to me about something?"

    "Yes."

    "Do you know Chu Kuang?" asked Lin Yuan.

    Li Songhua chuckled, "Xian Yu in the South, Chu Kuang in the North; he''s a figure as renowned as yourself. Of course, I know him. I know that both of you have quite the relationship. The acquisition of Journey to the West series was due to the relationship between you two. Why are you bringing up Chu Kuang suddenly?"

    Lin Yuan didn''t immediately answer.

    He was originally planning to reveal his identity as ''Shadow'', but for Starlight, Chu Kuang''s importance was evidently much higher.

    That''s because Chu Kuang''s copyrighted works were much needed by the company.

    After all, Starlight Entertainment was now developing towards the film and television industry.

    Li Songhua didn''t rush him.

    He changed to a pot of hot water and continued pouring tea for Lin Yuan. His technique was much more professional than Ol'' Zhou''s.

    "I am Chu Kuang."

    Watching Li Songhua carefully pour the tea, Lin Yuan suddenly spoke.

    Flow, flow, flow.

    The tea flowed from the pot into the cup.

    Except for the flowing tea, the entire scene seemed frozen.

    Li Songhua''s hand froze in mid-air, his face filled with confusion.

    In the soft patter,

    the tea, hanging in mid-air, had filled the cup and started to overflow widely.

    The green tea spilled, wetting the entire table and swiftly spreading to the edges.

    A mist rose between Lin Yuan and Li Songhua.

    "Ah!"

    Li Songhua came to his senses and quickly put down the teapot.

    Lin Yuan quickly moved his legs aside and took out a napkin to dry the water on the table.

    The frozen scene began to liven up again.

    Nobody said a word.

    It was not until the table was cleaned that Li Songhua, his voice trembling slightly, asked again:

    "What did you just say...I didn''t hear it clearly."

    "I am Chu Kuang."

    Lin Yuan repeated his statement.

    In the end, he chose to play the Chu Kuang card.

    As Lin Yuan knew, compared to Shadow, Chu Kuang would definitely have more intersections with Starlight in the future.

    Whoosh.

    The scene froze once again.

    Following this, Li Songhua stood up from his seat.

    Lin Yuan looked up at Li Songhua.

    Their eyes met, and then Li Songhua suddenly moved as though he was having a fit: "My legs are starting to feel numb from sitting too long."

    "Mmm."

    Lin Yuan picked up the teapot and poured a cup for Li Songhua as well.

    "You''re Chu Kuang?"

    Li Songhua watched Lin Yuan''s movements. His lips twitched as he asked.

    "Yes."

    "Aren''t you Xian Yu?"

    "Is there any conflict between the two?"

    "..."

    With a thump,

    Li Songhua sank back in his chair, his face filled with life''s doubts.

    He really wanted to appear calm but it seemed like he failed¡­

    Li Songhua put his cards on the table.

    He no longer hid his shock.

    Between panting breaths, Li Songhua continued to stare directly at Lin Yuan, his eyes filled with a burning intensity!

    "Can you keep a secret?"

    "Of course, but why would you tell me?"

    "Do me a favor, I''ll do you one."

    Lin Yuan did not provide any elaborate explanation, just a simple sentence.

    He had thought deeply about it, and only revealing this news to the chairman would benefit him more than harm him.

    "..."

    Quid pro quo?

    Li Songhua, for a moment, did not know how to react.

    He only felt an instinctive tremble in his soul!

    Xian Yu is Chu Kuang!!!

    This news hit him like a thunderbolt, completely dumbfounding the worldly Li Songhua!

    After the dumbfounding.

    Li Songhua was ecstatic, excitement swept through every cell of his body!

    The Lin Yuan before him, seemed to be not just a person, but a shining gold mine!

    To win over Xian Yu, he had given up ten percent of the company''s shares!

    Regardless of how bold he was, Li Songhua inevitably felt some pain!

    But at this moment!

    Li Songhua had no regrets at all!

    A freak circumstance, ten percent of the shares, what he, Li Songhua had gained for Starlight Entertainment was not just Xian Yu, but also Chu Kuang!

    Xian Yu in the south, Chu Kuang in the north...

    The two talents that Zhong Continent feared the most were actually the same person, and now, they belonged to Starlight!

    If this news were to leak out, it would probably set the whole of Blue Star abuzz!

    At this moment.

    Yet today, Li Songhua had to bear this excitement alone, no wonder he was so out of sorts!

    Whether Lin Yuan was Xian Yu or Chu Kuang, Li Songhua''s regard for him was unprecedented!

    Now that the talents of these two fields were actually the same person, Li Songhua''s opinion of Lin Yuan was far more than just simple regard!

    Yes.

    At this moment, Lin Yuan''s importance in Li Songhua''s heart had surpassed everything else!

    In the future, Starlight could lose anyone!

    But Lin Yuan, he had to cling to tightly!

    Joy!

    Fear!

    These two completely different emotions emerged from the bottom of Li Songhua''s heart.

    He was delighted that his desperate gamble won Xian Yu''s heart!

    He was also afraid because...

    If it hadn''t been for this gamble, Starlight might not have captured Xian Yu''s heart!

    Neither would they have let Xian Yu admit to his suppressed terrifying identity!

    Li Songhua was not in doubt.

    There was no need to doubt such a thing either.

    An easily debunked lie was meaningless, Xian Yu had no reason to lie about this.

    Perhaps, his unreachable dream now has a chance to come true.

    Xian Yu plus Chu Kuang, in some sense, resemble an unbeatable humanoid nuclear bomb!

    "It was only upon tasting the second cup that I realized this tea tastes pretty good."

    Lin Yuan did not observe Li Songhua''s reaction, instead he picked up the second cup of tea and started drinking. He then made a remark.

    After finishing the tea.

    Lin Yuan saw Li Songhua digging out a bunch of different tea leaves from various boxes and piling them on the office desk:

    "It''s all yours!"

    "Is this okay?"

    "No worries, the company has preferential treatments for talents, besides, I''m not interested in tea leaves!"

    "..."

    A few minutes later, Lin Yuan carried a bunch of tea leaves back to his own office.

    On the side.

    Several executives who were looking for Li Songhua saw Lin Yuan come out of the chairman''s office carrying a bunch of tea leaves. They nodded to each other in acknowledgment as they passed by.

    Once Lin Yuan was gone, the executives'' gazes became curious.

    "That''s Xian Yu, right?"

    "Why did he take so many tea leaves?"

    "Was the chairman robbed?"

    "Doesn''t the chairman treasure tea more than life itself?"

    "It seems even the chairman''s treasured collection was taken by him?"

    "Did he steal it?"

    "Isn''t the chairman in the office?"

    "If he was, wouldn''t the chairman have a heart attack?"

    "..."

    Several executives were freeze-framed as they walked into Li Songhua''s office.

    Only to see Li Songhua in his office doing the moonwalk...

    Did he go crazy?

    Because all his tea had been robbed by Xian Yu?

    "Chairman?"

    An executive hesitantly spoke up.

    Li Songhua paused, cleared his throat and said mysteriously "Forget everything you just saw."

    "Alright..."

    Several executives swallowed at the same time "Just now Xian Yu..."

    "Oh, he likes drinking tea, so I gave him the tea leaves, Ol'' Wang."

    "Huh."

    An executive replied.

    Li Songhua continued: "I remember you have a limited edition tea that you have been hoarding. Send it to Xian Yu later."

    Ol'' Wang: ???

    The chairman really is crazy!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Ps: Not in a good mood, the second update will probably be late.

    S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 713 - 679 Xian Yu Robbed the Chairman_1

    "Xian Yu robbed the chairman!"

    The next day.

    This news spread like wildfire throughout every department in Starlight Entertainment, becoming the most popular gossip!

    Many employees who had just clocked in were dumbfounded by the news.

    Xian Yu robbed the chairman?

    What was happening?

    Only when more rumors began to circulate, did the "truth" gradually emerge:

    "I personally saw Xian Yu come out of the chairman''s office yesterday afternoon carrying countless tea leaves. He had to ask Aunt Zhang, the cleaner, to help him because there were too many tea leaves he took from the chairman''s office!"

    "Some of those teas were the chairman''s personal collection!"

    "Everyone in the company knows the chairman loves tea. Even the senior executives can''t get a few good teas from him, but Xian Yu managed to empty out his tea collection in one go!"

    "So what was the chairman''s reaction?"

    "The chairman almost went crazy. Those who passed by the 18th floor before leaving work yesterday couldn''t ignore the loud noise from the chairman''s office. He must have been smashing things up in there!"

    "I bet he even flipped the table!"

    "How dare Xian Yu be so insolent?"

    "The chairman must be furious but can''t say anything!"

    "After all, the company''s music and film departments are dependent on Xian Yu''s performance. The company accepted Xian Yu''s big spending on drama production. Now Xian Yu has been thoroughly spoiled by the chairman, even daring to steal things right to his face."

    "..."

    The rumors were as sturdy as a wall.

    The employees of Starlight have imagined what happened yesterday in the company:

    Xian Yu hinted to the chairman that he wanted to drink tea, the chairman reluctantly pulled out the tea leaves, but Xian Yu was insatiable, packing all the tea leaves to take away...

    How tragic!

    The chairman really had no one to rely on anymore. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Being bullied by subordinates like this.

    These rumors are actually related to the filming of Journey to the West.

    Last time, Xian Yu was determined to make Journey to the West the costliest drama production in Blue Star''s history.

    Back then, senior executives took turns trying to persuade him.

    In the end, the chairman stepped in personally.

    But no one managed to succeed, the chairman even added a bit of investment after meeting with Xian Yu.

    That was when everyone realized how humble senior executives in the company were in front of Xian Yu.

    They couldn''t even voice their opinions.

    This time the chairman''s precious tea collection was completely taken away, putting him in an even more embarrassing situation.

    "The chairman is sure to take action soon. Xian Yu has become too powerful, completely disregarding the executives. If this continues, it will foster Xian Yu''s arrogance."

    While lamenting Xian Yu''s high status.

    Company veterans made confident analyses.

    Other employees agreed.

    No matter how powerful Xian Yu is, there''s no reason for the chairman to keep backing down.

    Clearly, the chairman is furious this time.

    Many people heard the loud noises from the chairman''s office yesterday. It wasn''t just some fabricated story.

    Starlight''s Crown Prince or not?

    The chairman is the one steering Starlight!

    ...

    In Lin Yuan''s office.

    Ol'' Zhou, looking at the piles of tea leaves in Lin Yuan''s office, was drooling. "Did you really rob the chairman?"

    "He gave them to me."

    Lin Yuan said happily.

    Lin Yuan considers himself very good at reading people''s expressions. Yesterday when the chairman gave him the tea leaves, he seemed very sincere and didn''t look reluctant at all!

    That''s why Lin Yuan accepted them without hesitation.

    Furthermore, the chairman also mentioned that he''s not interested in tea.

    If it were any different, Lin Yuan would hesitate to snatch someone else''s interest.

    "Wuyi Da Hong Pao, Donghu Longjing, Annan Tie Guan Yin, Biluochun, Pu''er, Lu''an Melon Seed, Huangshan Maofeng, Jinyang Maojian, Mount Jun Silver Needle, Fulin White Tea... These are all top-tier teas, only someone with the chairman''s connections could get a hold of them..."

    Ol'' Zhou rubbed his hands:

    "I believe the chairman would spare you ten percent of the shares, but I don''t believe he would willingly give these precious tea leaves to you, unless he had set up a special meeting for you today."

    Lin Yuan was curious: "What meeting?"

    Ol'' Zhou had a weird expression on his face: "The chairman invited us to a meeting as soon as he arrived at work this morning. He told all the departments to take extra care of you, saying that you''ve been working too hard lately. He even asked the finance department to allocate a new car for you. Your current car costs over a million, what more does he want?

    Most importantly, it was an emergency meeting. Everyone thought there was a major issue within the company, but the meeting, lasting an hour, only discussed how to comfort you."

    Not only was Ol'' Zhou surprised.

    All the executives are surprised.

    It seems as if the chairman opening the door to a new world for Xian Yu. Now he''s trying to please Xian Yu constantly, making the company culture unstable.

    Yes.

    The executives know the Fish Dynasty and Film Department are appeasing Xian Yu, but now the chairman and the executives are all doing the same. Is this still a serious entertainment company?

    Ol'' Wang was almost in tears at the meeting!

    Just to protect his precious tea leaves!

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    He has indeed improved in reading people''s expressions.

    This clearly shows the influence of Chu Kuang.

    It seems that revealing Chu Kuang''s identity to the chairman was the right move after all.

    But it might have been a bit too much.

    What if other people feel unbalanced?

    This can''t go on.

    Lin Yuan said to Ol'' Zhou, "Uncle Zhou, pick a box you like."

    "Can I?"

    The light in Ol'' Zhou''s eyes brightened significantly. He has been coveting the chairman''s tea for a long time.

    Lin Yuan nodded, "Yes."

    Ol'' Zhou happily chose his favorite tea and returned to his office, no longer curious about the unspeakable secret between Xian Yu and the chairman.

    After Ol'' Zhou left.

    Lin Yuan called Gu Dong over, "Pick some for Uncle Yang and Aunt Zheng."

    "Alright..."

    Gu Dong looked at Lin Yuan, "Mr. Lin seems to have changed."

    "Where?"

    "You never used to consider these interpersonal relationships."

    "Really?"

    Lin Yuan thought about it and it seemed to be the case.

    Maybe he leant it recently from the chairman?

    We can act with a purpose, as long as our behavior and starting point will not harm others, then it''s good.

    In short, Lin Yuan has grown a bit.

    He probably knows his growth trajectory fairly well.

    "Forget it, let''s not think about this right now, let''s get to work."

    Lin Yuan skillfully turned on his computer. Xian Yu and Chu Kuang always have work to do.

    For example, with Chu Kuang.

    The script for "Sherlock Holmes" next month hasn''t been written yet.

    Where did it leave off this month?

    Lin Yuan thought for a moment, and then his eyes grew serious.

    This is not good.

    It seemed like the plot was arriving at the part where Holmes and Moriarty jumped off a cliff together?

 Chapter 714 - 680: Things Shouldnt Be Repeated Three Times_1

    Many novels feature characters that are similar to ultimate villains, and "Sherlock Holmes" is no exception.

    The ultimate villain of this novel is named Moriarty.

    On the surface, he is a university professor and philosopher with a good reputation in the public eye.

    However, behind the scenes, he is the head of a world criminal organization, a man with no conscience or morals, and a criminal genius whose intellect matches that of Sherlock Holmes!

    He has created a vast criminal empire in London, England, with an underground network spreading across countries. Half of the cases in London are related to him, and after every crime, he leaves no trace, destroying all evidence unnoticed and escaping cleanly without fail. Even Holmes often hits a brick wall in dealing with him.

    There has never been a direct description of Moriarty in the novel.

    This character is mostly portrayed through Holmes''s reports.

    The next chapter Lin Yuan is to write is called "The Final Case."

    Moriarty, as the ultimate villain, will make his formal debut in this story! S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    And his debut is quite spectacular...

    That''s because this ultimate villain dies shortly after his first appearance¡ªalong with the protagonist Sherlock Holmes¡ªfrom falling off a cliff!

    Isn''t that spectacular?

    In other words:

    Sherlock Holmes is going to die!

    And perish together with Moriarty!

    That''s why Lin Yuan felt uneasy.

    He had previously killed off Biyao and Hercule Poirot, causing a reader rebellion each time.

    Lin Yuan could almost foresee:

    If he kills Holmes, the readers will be furious.

    As the serialization of "Sherlock Holmes" progressed, Holmes''s popularity has skyrocketed.

    Biyao can''t compare to him.

    Only Poirot, who Lin Yuan killed off last time, can compete with Holmes.

    That was only because Lin Yuan had built up Poirot''s image first on Blue Star, and thus had the advantage of the first impression...

    In the past life.

    Conan Doyle caused a reader rebellion when he killed off Holmes - the most exaggerated reader rebellion in the history of Earth.

    The consequences were even more severe than Jin Yong''s Dragon Rider incident...

    So severe that, under the threat of public opinion, Conan Doyle was forced to resurrect Holmes.

    This time Lin Yuan''s plan to kill Holmes will definitely cause a big stir.

    But what''s the saying again?

    Once bitten, twice shy.

    Despite a moment of hesitation, Lin Yuan didn''t pause for long, nor did he intend to forcefully change the plot.

    He''s well-practiced now.

    Anyway, Chu Kuang the old rascal had been bearing the brunt for years. This time wouldn''t make much difference. The readers are probably getting used to it.

    Two minutes later.

    Lin Yuan sat down in front of the computer and started typing away.

    He planned to kill off Holmes according to the planned plot!

    This process didn''t last long.

    About half an hour later, Lin Yuan finished writing "The Final Case" and sent it to Jin Mu.

    "The Final Case?"

    When Jin Mu received "The Final Case," his heart suddenly skipped a beat.

    This title reminded Jin Mu of "Curtain," the last chapter of the Hercule Poirot series.

    "Is it the ''final case'' that I''m thinking of?"

    Jin Mu gave Lin Yuan a skeptical look.

    Reason told him that Lin Yuan wouldn''t manipulate readers'' feelings over and over again.

    Last time, Poirot''s death might have taught Chu Kuang a lesson.

    But at the same time, Jin Mu understood:

    A man cheats no more than 0 times or countless times.

    Chu Kuang has played with readers'' feelings more than once already.

    Lin Yuan said seriously, "Three strikes and you''re out."

    "Phew."

    At Lin Yuan''s words, Jin Mu heaved a sigh of relief. "That''s good, then. I''ll send the novel to Silver Blue Books."

    ...

    Silver Blue Books.

    When the editor-in-chief of the mystery section, Cao Dezhi, received the manuscript for "The Final Case," his reaction was somewhat similar to Jin Mu''s:

    "Is this title going to cause trouble?"

    "Three strikes and you''re out."

    Jin Mu replied with a smile, "That''s what Chu Kuang said himself."

    With Chu Kuang''s extensive list of past offenses, anyone who sees the title "The Final Case" would instinctively image something dark and dredge up some not-so-pleasant memories.

    Upon hearing Jin Mu''s assurance, Cao Dezhi''s voice lightened:

    "That settles it, then."

    It seems like even Chu Kuang has learned from the past two reader rebellions.

    Great!

    After hanging up the phone.

    Cao Dezhi began to read the novel.

    Not long after he started reading, Cao Dezhi''s eyes lit up:

    The ultimate villain of the Sherlock Holmes series, Moriarty, has finally made his appearance!

    Many Sherlock Holmes fans have been waiting for this day!

    Who wouldn''t want to see the protagonist face off against the biggest villain in the book?

    Interest and anticipation suddenly skyrocket.

    Cao Dezhi turned the pages with delight, reading on rapturously.

    The process was still interesting.

    Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty battled wits and courage, even Holmes'' house on Baker Street was burned down in the process.

    But after all, Sherlock Holmes is still the protagonist.

    Through his precise calculations, he gradually took the upper hand, and Moriarty''s gang was eventually arrested.

    The only regret is that Professor Moriarty escaped!

    Sherlock Holmes was very annoyed.

    He continued to chase Moriarty with all his might.

    "Could this chapter be the grand finale of ''Sherlock Holmes''?"

    As Cao Dezhi was reading this part, he thought of the title of this chapter and his mood suddenly plummeted.

    Sherlock Holmes was too hot of a topic now!

    He was the second super detective to be famous all over the world after Hercule Poirot!

    The end of such a novel would definitely have a huge impact!

    But Sherlock Holmes has been serialized for so long that it seems to be time for the story to conclude.

    Even though the current popularity of Sherlock Holmes is at its peak!

    But would Chu Kuang care about this?

    When it comes to ending a novel, he never holds back, no matter how popular the novel is at the moment!

    Moreover.

    Compared to his previous works, the Sherlock Holmes series has already had a lot of episodes.

    No wonder this chapter is called "The Final Case".

    Cao Dezhi felt a bit restless, and he subconsciously wanted to immediately call Chu Kuang to confirm.

    If his judgment is correct, this will be a news that shocks the entire novel world!

    But out of curiosity for the following plot, he continued to read on.

    After all, he was almost at the end of this chapter.

    Sherlock Holmes arrived at a place called "Reichenbach Falls."

    The depiction of this waterfall in the text was ominous, and Chu Kuang spent quite a bit of effort presenting this waterfall.

    Could Moriarty be hiding somewhere near the waterfall?

    The experienced Cao Dezhi felt that something was caught.

    All of a sudden.

    His already heavy heart suddenly felt covered by a shadow, with the feeling that something bad was going to happen.

    Chu Kuang won''t...

    Impossible!

    Cao Dezhi shook his head fiercely.

    This is Sherlock Holmes!

    When has Sherlock Holmes ever made a mistake in arresting a criminal?

    Even if the other person is Moriarty!

    I have to say!

    The image Sherlock Holmes has left for readers is too powerful!

    It''s so powerful that everyone thinks that it''s only natural for Sherlock Holmes to always have the last laugh.

    Including Cao Dezhi.

    Cao Dezhi even started to laugh: "How could it be possible, even if the novel is about to end, Teacher Chu Kuang wouldn''t dare to commit such a huge mistake."

    Some people laugh when they watch horror films.

    Experts analyze that this is actually the audience relieving their fear, rather than really not being afraid or finding it funny.

    "Nothing comes in threes, right?"

    Cao Dezhi muttered to himself as he laughed.

    This is what Teacher Chu Kuang said himself, it''s pretty much a spoiler.

    That''s annoying.

    Cao Dezhi continued to read the novel with laughter.

    Three minutes later.

    The smile on Cao Dezhi''s face completely froze. In the quiet office, a breathing sound gradually grew heavier.

    Standing out against the veins that popped out, Cao Dezhi''s rationality was gradually swallowed by anger and resentment.

    At the same time.

    Jin Mu also finished reading the content of "The Final Case" in the studio, staring at Lin Yuan like he was choosing someone to bite:

    "What about the ''nothing comes in threes'' promise?"

    "Hmmm."

    "Biyao was the first, Poirot was the second, Sherlock Holmes is the third, is this the supposed ''nothing comes in threes''?"

    Jin Mu looked at Lin Yuan through gritted teeth, and his voice seemed to come out between his teeth!

    Swipe, swipe, swipe.

    Lin Yuan quickly cleared off all the dangerous objects from the table, and then looked at Jin Mu: "This is absolutely the last time."

    "..."

    Following Biyao and Poirot, Sherlock Holmes became the third ultra-popular character to fall foul of Chu Kuang!

 Chapter 715 - 681: How are you so skilled?_1

    When the final volume of "The Great Detective Hercule Poirot" was released, Silver Blue Books made a lot of effort in promoting it.

    Knowing full well that the Poirot series was about to end, they published its last volume...

    But it''s different this time.

    Perhaps the lesson from the last time was too profound, or maybe there were other concerns.

    Anyway, Silver Blue Books didn''t do any flashy endings or gimmicks for the promotion of "The Final Case" this time.

    The company didn''t even inform the readers in advance that this story represents the conclusion of the Holmes series, but, unusually, published the last volume of the Holmes series quietly--

    Everything was as calm as ever.

    Some readers didn''t discover the new book from "The Great Detective Sherlock Holmes" until they walked into the bookstore.

    With surprise, they spread the news to others!

    As a phenomenally popular detective series, each new installment of the Holmes series could stir readers'' enthusiasm to the highest degree.

    Whether Silver Blue Books promoted it or not, the news would spread amongst the reading community in no time!

    Obviously.

    The popularity of this installment is no less than the previous parts of "The Great Detective Sherlock Holmes".

    Even hotter, in fact!

    Because with the merging of Qin, Qi, Chu and other continents, the fan base of Holmes has expanded to an exaggerated extent!

    The influence of Holmes has spread across each of the five continents!

    The number of readers across the five continents is almost unimaginably vast!

    The impatient readers, after buying the latest Sherlock Holmes volume, couldn''t wait to start reading!

    And before they started reading.

    The title "The Final Case" certainly made many readers'' hearts skip a beat.

    But no matter what assumptions they made in their hearts, such as the possibility that this might be the final installment of the Holmes series, couldn''t suppress readers'' enormous passion for Holmes.

    Until...

    They "witnessed" Holmes and Moriarty perishing together...

    With only a "puff" of a noise.

    Like a raging fire suddenly extinguished by a downpour, leaving only charred ashes, with barely a few wisps of lingering smoke-

    Sherlock Holmes is dead!?

    When the questioning sentence turns into a confirmed one...

    The readers of the Qin Continent were dumbfounded!

    The readers of the Qi Continent were dumbfounded!

    The readers of the Chu Continent were dumbfounded!

    All the readers on each of the five continents were dumbfounded!

    Quickly, quickly, quickly!

    All the major bookstores, as if they had agreed, changed the newest volume of "The Great Detective Sherlock Holmes" promotional posters to a somber, grey series.

    The poster covers had words like "shocked", "grief", "regret", "unacceptable" written in large sizes.

    And the image of Holmes with his hat and pipe looked more lonely than ever before.

    Under the grey backdrop, the scent of sorrow almost ran into you.

    Silver Blue Books appeared to have foreseen this, the company''s official microblog immediately changed to a grey image of Holmes and posted a status update:

    "Deeply mourn the death of Mr. Sherlock Holmes..."

    Less than half an hour.

    Previously quiet internet across all states suddenly became noisy!

    Like it was hit with a nuclear weapon, social networking platforms went into a frenzy of refreshing, the internet experienced a massive surge of activity!

    On each forum, the words "Holmes dies" appeared at an unprecedented rate!

    The bewildered readers gradually came to their senses!

    Back to old habits!

    This old rascal has started killing again!

    He used the pen that killed Biyao and Poirot, to kill the beloved Holmes!

    The scars that had barely healed from the previous two times were torn open again!

    The readers have completely lost their minds!

    "You old scoundrel Chu Kuang, I''m going to fight you!"

    "You''ve murdered the faith of billions of readers worldwide!"

    "Third time, it''s the third time already, Chu Kuang, please, be a human for once!"

    "Chu Kuang you old scum, I will never trust you again!"

    "You''re a malicious executioner, a heartless demon, a maniacal psychopath!"

    "This can''t be true, this must be fake. Rewrite it, I''ll pretend I''ve never seen this nonsense ''Final Case''!"

    "I had a bad feeling when I saw the title, I didn''t expect you to dare to do it, how could you possibly dare to do this!"

    "Whoever the readers like, you will kill?"

    "If you don''t change the ending, I will never read your books in my life!"

    "Chu Kuang, I implore you to be kind, return my Holmes!"

    "I''ve seen this plot, Poirot died the same way, dying with criminals due to some excuse, Chu Kuang you old rascal, have you run out of ideas?"

    "I really am a fool, I actually got hurt by the same person three times in a row, and each time it''s more outrageous than the last!" S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "When I saw that Holmes died, I was shaking with anger, even in this hot weather my whole body is cold and sweaty, hell is empty and the devil is among us, will Chu Kuang ever stop? What do we readers need to do to satisfy you? Tears are streaming uncontrollably, Chu Kuang''s books are filled with oppression against the readers, when will the readers truly stand up!"

    "..."

    Chu Kuang''s tribal comment section has been overwhelmed!

    Silver Blue Books comments section too has been overwhelmed!

    The readers have gone crazy, judging from reactions on the internet, it''s even more extreme than the last time. The hatred and pain from Poirot''s death back then has been stirred up again!

    Boom boom boom!

    A great upheaval has occurred in the entire book industry!

    All the peers were dumbstruck!

    Has Chu Kuang lost his mind?

    There''s no author crazier than Chu Kuang in the entire Blue Star literary world!

    This man really doesn''t act human!

    You killed off Biyao, you killed off Poirot, have you tasted the sweetness of it?

    Other authors are trying their best to please the readers, only you are persistently playing with the readers!

    It seems like when other authors are researching how to write books that would satisfy the readers, you, Chu Kuang, you old rascal, have only been figuring out how to deliver a huge blow to the readers?

    Showing off now, are you!

    Oh, you can really show off!

    The peers don''t know whether to say they are envious or frightened.

    How can there be such a ludicrous author in this world?

    You are ending a popular book unnecessarily, you take no interest in any real money!

    If you are ending it, then just end it! At most people will complain a bit about it being too short, but you had to kill off the protagonist while ending it!

    Compared to this.

    The end is nothing.

    This is Holmes!

    This is the Holmes that helped you alleviate the sorrow brought by Poirot''s death!

    Everyone remembers how the readers collectively rioted when Chu Kuang killed Poirot last time!

    If it weren''t for the publication of Holmes, who knows how long the readers would have yelled at Chu Kuang.

    But Chu Kuang seems to have forgotten so quickly.

    He actually killed off Holmes too!

    Chu Kuang you old rascal!

    Are you happy now?

    Are you satisfied now?

    Do you know how much we love you now, the readers want to give you some local specialties to comfort you!

    How are you so skillful at this?

 Chapter 716 - 682: This Car is Bulletproof _1

    Online.

    As more readers found out about the death of Sherlock Holmes, the criticism became even more fierce!

    Inside the studio.

    Jin Mu''s voice trembled. Although he had anticipated this scenario, he was still rattled by the response:

    "This isn''t good. Silver Blue Books just contacted me saying that their customer service phones are exploding. They want you to change the ending. Readers are even threatening to cancel their subscriptions to the entire ''Great Detective Holmes'' series if you don''t, and even to never buy any publications from Silver Blue Books again..."

    "Please remain calm."

    Lin Yuan comforted him.

    Everyone is just momentarily struggling to accept the fact of Holmes'' death.

    Death is irreversible, so it will certainly take time for everyone to recover. Everyone will be alright once they regain their composure.

    Didn''t everyone also react fiercely when they first heard of Poirot''s death?

    Didn''t they eventually come around?

    Besides, this plot leaves room for adjustment.

    If it really comes to it, why not just resurrect Holmes?

    After all, that''s what the original author, Conan Doyle, did, hence the return of Sherlock Holmes.

    But on further thought.

    Unless absolutely necessary, Lin Yuan will not resurrect Holmes.

    Ending the novel here is actually quite good.

    Just because Conan Doyle couldn''t endure the pressure, it doesn''t mean that Chu Kuang can''t either.

    After all, when it comes to dealing with readers'' revolts, Conan Doyle definitely doesn''t have as much experience as Lin Yuan does.

    After all, Conan Doyle had never faced such a situation in his life, while Lin Yuan has already experienced it twice.

    Practice makes perfect.

    "This time it seems a bit different. I feel that the readers'' patience with you has reached its limit. Look at the click rates and the number of comments on these online news articles, it''s clear that this is more severe than the previous incidents¡­" Jin Mu presented the online news to Lin Yuan.

    "Sherlock Holmes dead, Chu Kuang sparks third readers'' revolt!"

    "Why is that old rascal Chu Kuang so passionate about killing off his most popular characters?"

    "Time and again, Holmes'' death has thoroughly angered the audience!"

    "Mourning the death of Sherlock Holmes: Once again, Chu Kuang has hurt the feelings of the readers!"

    "After Poirot, the second great detective, Holmes, has also died. Is Chu Kuang an angel or a devil?"

    "Thousands of people sign a letter demanding Chu Kuang change the ending!"

    "..."

    Regardless of which news report you clicked on, the reader comments were filled with condemnation, highlighting a general mood of anger.

    There were even readers clamoring to find Chu Kuang''s home address, threatening to smash his windows among other things.

    "Don''t panic, it''s no big deal," Lin Yuan felt this was quite normal.

    After all, "The Final Case" was meant to be the conclusion to the Holmes series.

    Conan Doyle, unable to withstand the pressure, continued writing "The Empty House", arranged for Sherlock Holmes'' resurrection and started a new installment known as "The Return".

    But it must be said¡­ S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The overall plot of "The Return" was somewhat inferior in quality compared to the earlier parts of the series.

    That''s why Lin Yuan felt there was no issue with ending it here.

    "This is no big deal?"

    Jin Mu, like someone stepping on his tail, jumped up in anger: "They might really start mass cancellations. The bookstore can''t withstand so many readers. In the end, it will backfire on Silver Blue Books¡­"

    "Wait a few more days." Lin Yuan felt Jin Mu was overreacting. The readers'' endurance was not that fragile.

    "I¡­" Jin Mu, hating Lin Yuan''s nonchalance, gnashed his teeth. After all, he''s a fan of Sherlock Holmes too!

    Just then.

    Jin Mu''s phone rang.

    Whatever the caller said made Jin Mu''s face turn terribly pale.

    "What happened?"

    "See for yourself!"

    Jin Mu picked up the remote, switched on the studio''s TV, and changed the channel.

    In the live-broadcast on TV.

    Hundreds of people were blocking the entrance of Silver Blue Books'' headquarters, holding up huge red banners!

    "Protest!"

    "We protest strongly!"

    "Old rascal Chu Kuang, give me back my Sherlock Holmes!"

    "We won''t leave until you change the ending!"

    "Bring out Chu Kuang to give us an explanation!"

    "Don''t think we can''t find his house!"

    "I will fast until you resurrect Holmes!"

    "We''re not leaving!"

    "..."

    The crowd is heated!

    A reporter at the scene is saying from behind the crowd:

    "This is a live broadcast from the ''Qin Entertainment Weekly''. Chu Kuang''s Sherlock Holmes series of novels came to a grand finale this morning. Holmes'' death has triggered a massive riot among readers. Ten minutes ago, hundreds of readers started to demonstrate on the streets. They blocked the entrance to ''Silver Blue Books'', the publisher Chu Kuang is signed with.

    They demand Chu Kuang to change the ending. As we can see from the live pictures, Silver Blue Books has called the police. A large number of police officers are on the scene, but even they couldn''t calm down the irate readers. They claim to stay there until Chu Kuang changes the ending of the novel..."

    The reporter''s expression is dramatic!

    This is probably a situation seldom faced by journalists in their lives.

    Lin Yuan is dumbfounded.

    It didn''t happen like this last time.

    Why is this time different?

    They have blocked the publishers entrance?

    "This has blown up now."

    Jin Mu''s face is pale: "More news is coming in about this."

    Lin Yuan hesitates.

    The readers'' reaction has exceeded his expectations. Just as Jin Mu said, have they reached their limit?

    Then Lin Yuan''s phone starts ringing.

    After he answers, he hears Ol'' Zhou''s voice saying in a strange tone:

    "Come to the office."

    "Okay".

    Lin Yuan looks at Jin Mu: "I''m going to the company."

    "Be careful on your way there!"

    Jin Mu glances worriedly at the live broadcast on the TV: "If the readers find out that you are Chu Kuang, things will get out of control!"

    "It shouldn''t be a problem."

    Only the chairman of the company knows he is Chu Kuang, and he had promised to keep it a secret.

    Twenty minutes later.

    Lin Yuan arrives at the company.

    As soon as he reaches the entrance, he is taken aback by a car parked there.

    It''s a brand new black car, showing utmost dominance, one of Blue Star''s high-end car brands. It''s parked at the entrance of the company and attracts everyone''s attention. It obviously costs several millions, if not tens of millions...

    Even Lin Yuan, who doesn''t know much about cars, can sense its extraordinary features.

    "Xian Yu!"

    A voice comes from behind.

    Lin Yuan turns around and sees the chairman, looking at him with a complex expression: "This is your new car."

    Not only the chairman.

    The staff of Starlight are also watching, looking rather shocked.

    Previously, rumors were spreading in the company that Xian Yu stole the chairman''s tea, and strutted around the company. Everyone expected the chairman to strike hard at Xian Yu.

    And this is the result?

    Does this look like punishment?

    It looks more like he is pampering him even more!

    Lin Yuan doesn''t stand in shock, he opens the car door and takes a look at the luxurious interior: "Thank you, chairman. But wasn''t my previous car quite good?"

    "This one is different."

    "What''s different?"

    "This car is equipped with bulletproof glass. The safety measures meet military standards!"

    The chairman seems apprehensive. With a serious face, he looks at Lin Yuan like the previous car had a safety issue:

    "As long as it''s not under heavy weapon attack, you will be absolutely safe in it!"

    With those words, the chairman steps forward and pats Lin Yuan''s shoulder vigorously, almost knocking him off balance:

    "That''s as far as I can help. Get in the car now. I fear I won''t be able to resist."

    Cut to the chairman''s office.

    The latest printed copy of ''The Great Detective Sherlock Holmes'' is spread out on the desk. The last page of the novel has been torn to shreds by someone...

    Lin Yuan: ???

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thank you to [Crunchy Cute Melon] for the generous tip as the Alliance Hierarch. I offer my kneel¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ to the sir. Sir is awesome (in a shrill voice). I will keep writing~

 Chapter 717 - 683: Who Can Bear This?_1

    Why is even bulletproof glass necessary?

    And a car with such high security levels that it matches military standards?

    Is this not a modern city?

    Who on earth would wage an attack on me with weapons?

    As an ordinary citizen, do I deserve such a treatment?

    Lin Yuan wanted to protest, but considering how good this car actually was, he gladly accepted it in the end and even thought of getting a driver''s license¡ª

    Lin Yuan doesn''t have a driver''s license.

    Before, Sun Yaohuo drove for Lin Yuan, and afterwards, it was Gu Dong.

    "This car is even better than the chairman''s." S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Old Zhou retorted jealously from the side.

    The news that the chairman got a new car for Lin Yuan had spread throughout the company, and more and more employees came out to watch the spectacle.

    "Could I possibly sit in there?"

    With a face filled with envy, Old Zhou asked, "This car is even more high-end than our chairman''s!"

    "Of course."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Old Zhou happily sat in it and gave a good feel to the seat, "Damn, it''s so satisfying. This car''s been modified!"

    "Chairman, what about my car?"

    Out of the blue, Zheng Jing appeared, looking at Li Songhua with a resentful gaze.

    "Your car is not bad..."

    Li Songhua backed off half a step guiltily, only to bump into someone¡ª

    Yang Zhongming had arrived.

    Yang Zhongming said, "I am not interested in cars, but you only gave me two ounces of that tea last time I asked, thankfully Teacher Admirable Fish sent me a whole pound more."

    Cold sweat broke out on Li Songhua''s forehead, "Teacher Admirable Fish''s situation is special...."

    "Give me another 2 pounds of tea. I will choose."

    Yang Zhongming stared at Li Songhua, occasionally glancing at the stunning black car.

    "No problem!"

    Li Songhua gritted his teeth.

    "I don''t know anything about tea, but I heard that the chairman''s office has a real masterpiece from Teacher Nan Feng. I am sure the Chairman knows that I''m a simple man who only has an interest in composing music and painting..."

    "I''ll have someone deliver it to you!"

    Li Songhua felt as if his heart was bleeding as he braced himself to appease the two maestros in the company.

    "Chairman, I¡­"

    Old Zhou also wanted to take advantage of the situation.

    "Get out!"

    The domineering side of Chairman Li Songhua was completely revealed!

    Old Zhou wilted instantly.

    The company treats its talents with privileges, while it only exploits its executives.

    The company''s employees watching nearby are all grinning bitterly.

    Is this the corporate culture of Starlight?

    "Ol'' Wang."

    Li Songhua looked at a senior executive nearby.

    Ol'' Wang understood and glared at the employees, "Break up! Don''t you all have work to do?"

    The crowd dispersed all at once.

    Zheng Jing also got into the car, deliberately choosing to sit in the passenger''s seat, admiring the central console along with the excellent atmospheric lights, and exclaimed:

    "No wonder men love cars, they truly are beautiful!"

    Seemingly knowledgeable about cars, Old Zhou tapped on the glass and said, "This glass is no ordinary glass. It must be of bulletproof standard. Looking at the physique of the car, it''s probably of military-grade."

    "Military-grade?"

    Zheng Jing was startled, she blurted out to Lin Yuan: "Little Fish, you can lend the car to your good friend for a ride."

    Lin Yuan was confused, "Good friend?"

    "That old rascal Chu Kuang!"

    Zheng Jing swiftly gritted her teeth, "If I meet him, I swear, I will shoot him in the head!"

    "Are you also a fan of Sherlock Holmes?"

    Old Zhou was excited: "That old rascal''s actions are so despicable, he deserves to be condemned. Should we go protest in front of Silver Blue Books?"

    "What are you talking about?"

    Yang Zhongming suddenly spoke up.

    Old Zhou snorted: "Ol'' Yang must not read novels. Chu Kuang wrote a novel called ''Great Detective Sherlock Holmes'' and he killed off the protagonist. This is already his¡­"

    "Third time."

    Yang Zhongming suddenly chimed in.

    Old Zhou and Zheng Jing were astonished: "You knew?"

    Just by hearing this, it was clear that Yang Zhongming was also one of Chu Kuang''s readers!

    Yang Zhongming took a deep breath: "Very memorable."

    Old Zhou laughed loudly, "Ol'' Yang, you also read novels?"

    Zheng Jing smiled, "The influence of Sherlock Holmes is impressive. That b*stard Chu Kuang is utterly wicked. You won''t be angry with me for saying this, right, Little Fish? In my opinion, your friend is far worse than you¡­"

    Lin Yuan looked at them blankly.

    ¡­

    While they were busy focusing on the car, they also vented their anger against Chu Kuang.

    Suddenly, another employee ran over: "Teacher Admirable Fish, there are so many express packages for you today!"

    "Express packages?"

    Lin Yuan didn''t get what was happening.

    That employee looked at him weirdly, "There are notes on the package that seem to be from readers of Chu Kuang. They are asking you to pass them on to Teacher the old rascal Chu Kuang."

    Lin Yuan: "...."

    He suddenly understood the profound reason why the chairman had given him this car.

    ...

    Lin Yuan trudged back to the studio in a daze.

    On the way back this time, his eyelid kept twitching.

    As soon as he entered the door.

    Jin Mu exclaimed loudly, "It''s over! After the Qin Continent readers surrounded the entrance of Silver Blue Books, readers in the other continents also began to protest!"

    Lin Yuan quickly went into the studio.

    ¡­

    Jin Mu didn''t lie.

    Everyone from every continent is marching!

    Qi Continent.

    "Chu Kuang the old rascal is unpardonable!"

    "Change the ending, old rascal Chu Kuang!"

    "We do not accept the death of Sherlock Holmes!"

    "Sherlock Holmes must be resurrected!"

    ...

    Chu Continent.

    "Old rascal Chu Kuang, apologize!"

    "Reject all of Chu Kuang''s novels!"

    "Support Qin Continent, overthrow Chu Kuang!"

    "Make Chu Kuang the old rascal feel our pain!"

    ...

    Yan Continent.

    "Death to the old rascal!"

    "Paying a high price for Chu Kuang the old rascal''s address!"

    "Silver Blue Books, hand over the old rascal Chu Kuang!"

    "I want to return the book!"

    ...

    Han Continent.

    "We protest!"

    "Accuse Chu Kuang of murder!"

    "Do not accept the ending of Sherlock Holmes!"

    "If you don''t change the ending, the march won''t stop!"

    "Respond to the readers of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, resist together!"

    ...

    The readers are too crazy!

    It''s not just marches on the streets!

    Even crazier readers have marched to the headquarters of the Literature and Art Association!

    Many pedestrians who hadn''t read "Great Detective Sherlock Holmes" were shocked by the situation!

    People from all continents are boiling with indignation!

    If you didn''t know, you would have thought Chu Kuang committed some atrocious act that was offensive both to man and gods!

    Those who knew were even more dumbfounded.

    It''s just a novel, do you have to go so crazy?

    Huh?

    You say Chu Kuang is a three-time violator?

    He used to like killing everyone''s favorite characters?

    Pah!

    Serves him right!

    Do we readers have no temper?

    ...

    Blue Star has had three reader riots.

    One because of Chu Kuang, another also because of Chu Kuang, yet another one again because of Chu Kuang.

    The spectacular reader riot and the considerable force of the marches across all continents have startled Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han!

    Countless news stories are swarming social media!

    Jin Mu''s phone has completely exploded!

    One call after another, it went from full power to automatically shutting down...

    Then Lin Yuan''s own mobile phone was also relentlessly bombarded by the executives of Silver Blue Books!

    Even the Literature and Art Association called to inquire!

    ...

    The industry.

    Everyone is shocked beyond measure!

    Not only was the entrance to Silver Blue Books blocked!

    Even the headquarters of the Literature and Art Association was not spared!

    A grand march by readers from five continents!

    An unprecedented wave of protests!

    This reader riot will go down in history!

    This time, the old rascal Chu Kuang has really made it big!

    "So thrilling!"

    "About to have a heart attack!"

    "If I were Chu Kuang, I wouldn''t even be able to eat in peace at this time!"

    "Still eating? If he can breathe smoothly, I''d say he''s got big guts!"

    "I don''t know why, but I''m kind of jealous¡­"

    "A novel can have such an impact, I have no regrets in this life!"

    "To be an author to this extent, damn impressive!"

    ...

    Keeping up with the movements of each continent through the internet and TV, Jin Mu almost cried: "Boss, I really can''t hold on!"

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan opened his mouth blankly.

    Today''s experience is so bizarre that his entire mind is buzzing.

    What is all this?

    Is it just because of changing the ending?

    Can''t I change it?

    Lin Yuan was resigned.

    Who can stand this?

    Upon opening the Tribe app, Lin Yuan finally published a status update, condensing countless emotions into one word:

    "Change!"

 Chapter 718 - 684: Change_1

    Change it!

    No choice.

    The readers'' reactions completely exceeded expectations, Lin Yuan could only resurrect Holmes. Although some of the chapters in "The Return of Sherlock Holmes" were inconsistent in quality, there was still a solution. The simplest way was to only pick out the chapters with high quality and publish them. After all, all the readers wanted was a somewhat happy ending.

    Finished posting the update.

    Lin Yuan put down his phone and said, "Contact Silver Blue books and plan to publish a few more stories as the ending to the Sherlock Holmes series. Don''t panic, there isn''t a big problem, I am already soothing the readers."

    "You''ve decided to change the ending?"

    Jin Mu who was sitting next to him was stunned but quickly became ecstatic.

    He quickly pulled out his phone, opened the Tribe app, and said with excitement,

    "How did you paci..."

    Screech.

    When the page on the Tribe app was displayed, Jin Mu abruptly stopped speaking, as if the power had been cut off.

    Hmm?

    Lin Yuan looked at Jin Mu.

    Why did he suddenly stop talking?

    Catching a glimpse of the mobile screen, Lin Yuan''s face also changed. He didn''t feel well¡ª

    Damn it!

    The post with the word "Change" he had just posted wasn''t made by someone named Chu Kuang, but it showed a familiar name:

    "Xian Yu!"

    Because the readers'' responses were too exaggerated, Lin Yuan was a bit flustered and didn''t have time to think. He accidentally used Xian Yu''s account to respond!

    "How many times have you logged in the wrong account now?"

    Jin Mu looked at Lin Yuan and spoke in a gloomy tone.

    "Three strikes and you''re out..."

    Lin Yuan started to feel guilty.

    Was this really the third time he had logged in to the wrong account?

    Actually, after the first two times he logged in the wrong account, Lin Yuan had been very careful. This time, things escalated so quickly that it ended up causing trouble.

    "Uh-huh."

    Jin Mu gave Lin Yuan a headache look, then he opened up the comments section of Xian Yu''s post. After reading a few comments, his expression turned strange, he muttered as if he was relieved:

    "No big deal..."

    "Huh?"

    Lin Yuan also opened the comment area, and then he realized why Jin Mu''s reaction was so strange.

    The same as the last two times.

    Not a single reader guessed that this was a mess created by a nested-doll-like figure, the comments were rather intriguing:

    "Good job, Fish Papa!"

    "Didn''t expect Fish Papa to be fed up too, Fish Papa really distinguishes right from wrong in critical moments, didn''t choose to remain silent because of his relationship with Chu Kuang!"

    "Furious praise to Fish Papa!"

    "Chu Kuang old rascal doesn''t have any decency, but the friend he made is reliable, Fish Papa is the light of justice!"

    "Chu Kuang is cold-blooded, while Fish Papa has always been warm!"

    "Chu Kuang, learn from Fish Papa!"

    "Chu Kuang old rascal doesn''t deserve our trust as readers, Fish Papa stood against Chu Kuang for us!"

    "You can always trust Xian Yu!"

    "..."

    These readers have such a rich imagination!

    Even when Lin Yuan messed up for the third time, no reader could detect the truth!

    And yet Xian Yu accidentally received applause and furious praise from countless netizens?

    "If these people knew the truth..."

    Jin Mu looked at Lin Yuan, his voice shaking a bit. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Absolutely not!"

    Lin Yuan interrupted Jin Mu, his attitude unshakeably firm!

    Chu Kuang is evil!

    Xian Yu is righteous!

    This will never change!

    The netizens are cursing at Chu Kuang old rascal, what does that have to do with me, Xian Yu!

    ...

    In a restaurant outside of Starlight Entertainment.

    Ol'' Zhou, Yang Zhongming and Zheng Jing were having lunch together.

    Halfway through the meal, all three of their phones rang simultaneously.

    Picking up his phone, Ol'' Zhou laughed.

    Zheng Jing: "..."

    Yang Zhongming: "..."

    Xian Yu updated his status, causing all three phones to ring at the same time.

    Because all three of them had set up special alerts for Xian Yu on the Tribe app.

    Zheng Jing puzzled, "Could it be that Little Fish decided to let Chu Kuang change the plot because of what we said?"

    Ol'' Zhou agreed, "It might also have something to do with a batch of packages."

    Yang Zhongming spoke: "It''s roughly like that."

    A warm current suddenly welled up in the hearts of the three people.

    ...

    Xian Yu''s remarks quickly spread all over the internet!

    All major news outlets reacted instantly, firing off countless reports!

    Chu Kuang''s fans got super excited upon seeing the news, celebrating and discussing within the ranks of the parade:

    "I love Xian Yu!"

    "We''re not alone after all!"

    "Fish Papa is our comrade too!"

    "Fish Papa is definitely our best supporter!"

    "Teacher Admirable Fish must be the strongest supporter in history!"

    "Who doesn''t know about the relationship between Fish Papa and Chu Kuang?"

    "Even their close friends spoke up, would Chu Kuang have the audacity to refuse?"

    "..."

    Swish!

    A multitude of Holmes fans seemed to get the cue and flooded to Chu Kuang''s comment section:

    "Chu Kuang, old rascal, did you see that!"

    "Your great buddy Xian Yu wants you to change the plot!"

    "Now tell us, will you do it or not!?"

    "If you don''t, your bromance is over!"

    "You may not care about us, but you surely won''t dare to neglect Xian Yu, would you?"

    "Would Fish Papa openly pressure you to change the plot if he couldn''t bear it anymore?"

    "This time, it''s righteousness that''s pushing him!"

    "Shadow is silent, all eyes must land on Fish Papa in critical moments!"

    "..."

    The readers kept up the pressure!

    The screenshot of Xian Yu''s "change" had been spread by countless netizens!

    Of course, this screenshot also glaringly displayed in the comment section of Chu Kuang''s tribe, securing the most likes!

    For a moment.

    Everyone''s eyes were glued to Chu Kuang''s tribe updates!

    It is said that even the editor can''t control old rascal Chu Kuang...

    Chu Kuang has seldom changed the fiction plot because of readers'' complaints...

    The global parade didn''t get a response from Chu Kuang...

    Chu Kuang is too cold-blooded and ruthless!

    When has he ever cared about his readers?

    Clearly, he''s a guy who''s impervious to persuasion!

    Would Xian Yu''s statement really make a difference?

    The Holmes fans didn''t know, they just did everything they could to fight for Holmes''s resurrection.

    However.

    Just one minute after Xian Yu posted his status, under the scrutiny of everyone, Chu Kuang''s tribe update shockingly changed to exactly match Xian Yu''s ¡ª

    "Change!"

    Swoosh!

    All those who had been following Chu Kuang''s updates were stunned. Under this lightning-fast submission, many didn''t even have the time to react, only coming back to their senses one after another after several seconds of confusion!

    Did he agree?

    How did he agree?

    All the online criticism didn''t make him back down!

    The collapse of his comment section didn''t make him back down!

    The global reader parade didn''t make him back down!

    Blocking the main entrance of Silver Blue Books didn''t make him back down!

    The official intervention from the Literature and Art Association didn''t make him back down!

    Just one word "change" from Xian Yu, and he immediately agreed to change the plot?

    Yes!

    This outcome could only be credited to Xian Yu. Otherwise, how can one explain the fact that Chu Kuang agreed to change the plot just one minute after Xian Yu spoke?

    Boom!

    The industry was shocked!

    Readers around the world were shocked!

    There''s actually someone who could so easily make old rascal Chu Kuang, stuck in his own ways, capitulate so easily!

    "Holy shit!"

    Followed by an ear-piercing scream from someone in the parade, many people began to yell:

    "Xian Yu rules!!!"

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: The most embarrassing thing is that I want to write this way, but this chapter''s content was predicted earlier, which makes it seem like I''m copying from this chapter. Just to clarify, I didn''t copy anything this time. At most, only half of the plot of this book is as you guys predicted, and the other half is my own original idea...

 Chapter 719 - 685: The Cunning and Deceitfulness of the Old Rascal_1

    The protest in Qin Continent disbanded...

    The protest in Qi Continent disbanded...

    The protest in Chu Continent disbanded...

    All the protest marches in the various continents called it quits after Chu Kuang made his declaration.

    But the impact of this event didn''t simply end there; it continued in another form.

    Yes.

    Chu Kuang, who stood firm under the pressure of protests from readers of five continents, changed his stance abruptly due to Xian Yu. This had a huge impact on the netizens!

    "Is this what they call a bromance?"

    "The anger of millions of readers is not as powerful as one word, or even one letter from Xian Yu?"

    "Even the most ruthless man has his soft side (the intestines are warm too)."

    "Chu Kuang: For Fish, I''m willing to reconcile with the world!"

    "I''m flabbergasted. Holmes'' fans are countless, but the man who couldn''t be persuaded by readers all over the world, was persuaded by Xian Yu?"

    "Fellow upstairs, seems like ''to say'' is multifaceted (dog-headed)."

    "I used to not believe when people said Xian Yu and Chu Kuang were so close they could share the same pair of pants. I thought everyone was kidding, but reality slapped me hard!"

    "Shadow is indeed a god of war in the garage!"

    "Stop being upset, why can''t Shadow stand up? Today''s incidents explain everything."

    "What a divine friendship this is!"

    "Who would have expected that Chu Kuang agreed to change the plot, just because his best bro wasn''t happy?"

    The web was boiling!

    ...

    Moments later at a restaurant close to Starlight Entertainment...

    Ol'' Zhou, scanning the news online, his faces filled with astonishment, "That was resolved pretty easily?"

    Zheng Jing, her face smug, "Isn''t this indirectly facilitated by us?"

    "Probably was because he couldn''t refuse."

    Yang Zhongming commented, even though Xian Yu rarely asked anyone for favors. But if Xian Yu did ask, it seemed nobody could refuse this kid.

    "Well, from now on, readers shouldn''t bother protesting. If you''re upset with Chu Kuang, go to Little Fish and complain."

    Sheng Jing burst into laughter, clearly entertained.

    Is this a bromance?

    No.

    This is the power of a beloved figure in a group.

    People say Xian Yu in the South, Chu Kuang in the North.

    Now it seems that the one in the South carries more heft when he speaks.

    ...

    Inside the industry...

    Nobody expected the passionate readers'' protest would end in such a laughably anticlimactic way!

    What the hell is happening?

    Are you saying Chu Kuang is easily swayed?

    The readers protested across five continents, rocked half of Blue Star, and even the Literature and Art Association got involved, but still couldn''t persuade him!

    Are you saying Chu Kuang is stubborn and can''t be influenced?

    Then why did he promise to change the plot due to Xian Yu''s one sentence? The speed of this sudden face change can be described by two words:

    Efficient!

    This is a book you''re writing!

    Can you take it seriously?

    Doesn''t the author have any integrity?

    When Biyao died, did the readers'' protest not use the right methods?

    When Poirot died, would things have changed if Xian Yu had spoken?

    Nobody knows.

    ...

    The Tribe website...

    The followers of Xian Yu skyrocketed!

    Most of the new followers turned out to be Holmes fans!

    His comment section was incredibly lively:

    "Thank you Fish Papa!"

    "Sending a banner to Fish Papa!"

    "Fish Papa is the benefactor of us all, the Holmes fans!"

    "It was Xian Yu who saved Holmes'' life!"

    "Fish Papa is a good person!"

    "The old rascal is truly fortunate to have a good friend like Xian Yu!"

    "Next time Chu Kuang stirs things up, please, Fish Papa, lend us a hand!"

    "Don''t worry, Fish Papa, I''ll definitely support your new song next month!"

    "Agreed!"

    "To repay Fish Papa''s life-saving debt to Sherlock Holmes, unconditional support for Fish Papa''s new song!"

    "..."

    Just look at these comments.

    Those who are unaware might think that Xian Yu has recently been performing acts of bravery.

    ...

    Amid the various reactions,

    many netizens are discussing how Sherlock Holmes''s ending would be altered.

    Would forcibly changing the plot be too jarring?

    The chapter on Sherlock Holmes''s death has already been published!

    With so many sold, surely they can''t ask all bookstores to take them back, right?

    This isn''t an online serialization that the author can change at will.

    At this moment,

    one netizen suddenly cursed: "Damn, we fell for it! That old rascal Chu Kuang is truly deceitful!"

    "Fell for what?"

    Other netizens were stunned. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This netizen was filled with rage: "That old rascal Chu Kuang is too cunning. He had a backup plan from the start. You guys remember when Poirot died and his dead body was found, right?"

    The netizens'' gazes changed!

    Many people have read and reread "The Final Case"!

    Now, upon being reminded, many people discovered a huge oversights:

    Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty fell over a cliff together, but the search team only found Moriarty''s corpse...

    But what about Sherlock Holmes?

    His body was never found at all!

    "No way!"

    "Can you even play it like that?"

    "If the body was not found, that old rascal could find any excuse to bring Sherlock Holmes back to life!"

    "The old rascal had set up the foreshadowing long ago!"

    "At first, I thought it was strange. He agreed to it so quickly. Sure, Xian Yu was a factor, but the most important thing is that the old rascal left himself an escape route!"

    "Is this a test from the old rascal?"

    "If we accept Sherlock Holmes''s death, he could set this plot in stone. But if we don''t, he could find a reasonable excuse to bring Sherlock Holmes back to life!"

    "Advance and retreat at will!"

    "Why is the old rascal so crafty!"

    "What a sly old fox!"

    "..."

    Netizens were totally speechless!

    Chu Kuang could have written that they found Sherlock Holmes''s body, just like how Poirot''s death was arranged.

    Not writing that the body was found, isn''t this another plan?

    Otherwise, this setting that the body couldn''t be found is completely unnecessary. The arrangement of Poirot''s death stands as glaring evidence!

    This old rascal isn''t a great person.

    But damn, he sure has a way with writing!

    If not for this, readers from the five continents wouldn''t have such love-hate feelings towards him!

    ...

    Studio.

    Jin Mu also looked helplessly at Lin Yuan: "Boss, did you plan this a long time ago?"

    Lin Yuan''s face remained unchanged: "Better to be safe."

    Conan Doyle was also testing the readers'' reaction when he killed off Sherlock Holmes. But when the readers rejected it, he naturally brought Sherlock Holmes back to life.

    This move indeed was crafty.

    Unlike the lady next door, who declared Poirot''s death without leaving any room for maneuver, you can''t have Poirot pretend to be a zombie, right?

    Jin Mu: "..."

    He had always thought Lin Yuan was so innocent that it bordered on naivety.

    Now thinking about it, how could the boss, who wrote so many beloved characters under the name of Chu Kuang, be such a simple person?

    It''s frightening when you think about it!

    Looking at Lin Yuan, who seemed lost in thought, Jin Mu suddenly felt that his boss was unfathomable.

    Jin Mu doesn''t know.

    At this moment, what Lin Yuan was contemplating...

    Should Xian Yu write a song related to Sherlock Holmes and participate in next month''s chart competition?

    He has been pondering on what song to use for next month, but now all the Sherlock Holmes fans have claimed that they will support him in next month''s charts, so should he take advantage of this rare opportunity?

    Xian Yu truly hit the jackpot with this move!

 Chapter 720 - 686: Nights 7th Chapter_1

    Chu Kuang is Chu Kuang, Xian Yu is Xian Yu...

    Though there is some overlap in their fan bases, because novels and music are completely different forms of art, their main fan groups are certainly not the same people.

    Under normal circumstances, it''s difficult for Chu Kuang''s fans to buy Xian Yu''s songs.

    Similarly, Chu Kuang''s novels don''t usually incite much enthusiasm in Xian Yu''s fans.

    The effect of each borrowing the other''s popularity is relatively limited.

    But this time it''s different, due to an unexpected combination of circumstances, Xian Yu might actually be able to fully capture Chu Kuang''s popularity!

    Lin Yuan''s mind started turning rapidly.

    There are quite a few songs about Sherlock Holmes, even including some instrumental music.

    But considering this song not only needs to satisfy Holmes fans, but also cater to the general public worldwide, it''s safer to lean towards pop...

    In this case, perhaps there''s only one choice of song.

    The name of the song, "The Seventh Chapter of Night"!

    A work of Director Zhou!

    This song is definitely one of Director Zhou''s most representative works, holding an extremely high status among his fans!

    Director Zhou himself also places great importance on this song!

    Right.

    Because energy is limited, it''s completely normal for singers to prioritize some of their songs over others.

    Being impartial is unrealistic.

    The reason Director Zhou places so much importance on this song is because he sought out Zhong Xinmin and Michael Lin, two master arrangers!

    Zhong Xinmin and Michael Lin are among the top arrangers in the Celestial Dynasty on Earth!

    Most of Director Zhou''s classic songs involve these two, they have thus earned the label of Director Zhou''s go-to arrangers.

    However, they don''t often collaborate.

    When these two joined forces to arrange "The Seventh Chapter of Night", their collaborative work transcended their individual talents!

    If this song is an examination, they have almost submitted a perfect answer sheet!

    Later, on a show called "The Strongest Brain", Director Zhou proudly brought up this song.

    He said that being able to create this song made him "The Strongest Brain"!

    This shows how satisfied he was with this song.

    Zhong Xinmin, one of the arrangers, also mentioned in a large lecture that he charges the same for all his arrangements, and that he worked for over seven months on this song, making a huge loss...

    These details are enough to show the power of this song.

    The song narrates the story of the famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, with a suspenseful tone.

    The prelude consists of a hurried typewriter sound, setting the stage for the investigation. Holmes'' diary hides various clues. The highly artistic classical music and relatively trendy electronic music styles blend together, accompanied by fast-paced rap. The singer seems to embody Holmes, leading the audience to uncover the truth of the murder case!

    In the song.

    The singer''s purposely low and coarse voice, paired with a soft high female voice, suggests the detective''s calmness and the killer''s madness.

    In the end.

    The song finishes with a falsetto, showing a rare cinematic arrangement style in pop music-

    It has a strong sense of imagery!

    This is a song that places a strong emphasis on imagery. Listening to this song, it''s as if you are watching a detective movie!

    In the lyrics.

    The various references to plotlines from the Sherlock Holmes novels recreate many classic cases. Those who have read the Sherlock Holmes novels would surely immerse themselves in it.

    What''s more...

    Even those who haven''t read "Sherlock Holmes" would be attracted to this song by its atmosphere and melody!

    Participating in the June chart competition with this song couldn''t be more appropriate!

    You should know.

    Just the frightening number of Sherlock Holmes fans alone could sustain the market for this song!

    Not to mention Xian Yu''s influence in the music scene and among fans, as well as the high quality of this song itself!

    Ultimately, the quality of the song is the key.

    Otherwise, even with popularity to exploit, topping the season chart isn''t an easy task.

    Eyes shining.

    Lin Yuan made up his mind.

    He went ahead and placed a request for the song with the system.

    Of course.

    Having agreed to change the ending, he still needed to continue writing the Sherlock Holmes series.

    Lin Yuan planned to select a few classic chapters from "The Return of Sherlock Holmes" to create the finale of this novel.

    Lin Yuan thought:

    Perhaps for fans of this work, listening to "The Seventh Chapter of Night" after reading the finale of the novel may feel more ceremonial.

    This is a reflection of the entire novel, brimming with nostalgia and powerful emotions.

    Perhaps this song will become an important reason for more people to recognize Sherlock Holmes.

    ...

    Lin Yuan''s bedroom.

    The tick-tock of keyboard keys echoed incessantly.

    The order of cases solved by Sherlock Holmes and the chronological order are not the same, so the novel does not have a clear finale.

    However, Lin Yuan still summarized a finale based on the original order:

    Sherlock Holmes pushed Professor Moriarty off a cliff, and then Moriarty''s criminal associates began hunting Sherlock Holmes to avenge the professor.

    Sherlock Holmes, disguised and returned to Baker Street with the help of Watson, plotted and captured Moriarty''s associate.

    One year.

    Sherlock Holmes''s assistant Watson passed away due to illness. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    With the loss of his assistant and close friend, coupled with the decline of energy due to old age, Sherlock Holmes decided to retire to a village to keep bees and live in seclusion.

    This part of the plot isn''t very long.

    Lin Yuan wrote a third of it that night.

    Getting up the next day, he continued writing, finally giving Sherlock Holmes a relatively complete ending before sunset.

    After finalizing it, Lin Yuan sent the ending to Jin Mu.

    This time Jin Mu was not going to blindly trust Lin Yuan, he first read the finale of the novel with a cautious attitude, then released a heavy sigh of relief.

    "Phew."

    It certainly seems reliable this time.

    The ending of the novel was complete. Holmes'' method of resurrection was also natural, with the logic being very smooth at first:

    Feigning death was to evade the pursuit of Moriarty''s associates.

    Although Moriarty had died, the dark forces he left behind were powerful, so Holmes had to find a way to eradicate them.

    Second, this ending is quite satisfactory.

    Sherlock Holmes can finally retire peacefully.

    Although Watson dies, it''s acceptable to readers because he dies of illness, not from plot development.

    In fact.

    If Chu Kuang had written that Sherlock Holmes died of old age, perhaps readers would have accepted it, after all, it is an ending all humans must face.

    Having verified that there were no problems, Jin Mu posted it on the Silver Blue Books website.

    That night.

    Silver Blue Books announced that "The Great Detective Sherlock Holmes" will officially come to an end this month.

    While readers naturally felt a sense of regret, none were jumping up and down with dissatisfaction.

    Compared to the mutual destruction of Holmes and Moriarty, a regular ending to the novel was more anticipated by everyone.

    Readers'' demands of old rascal Chu Kuang are actually not high.

    At the same time as "The Great Detective Sherlock Holmes" announced that it would end this month, Xian Yu suddenly released a status update:

    "The June new song will pay tribute to Sherlock Holmes in the form of a theme song!"

    At this time, the topic of Xian Yu, Chu Kuang, and Sherlock Holmes were closely linked together, so this status update quickly drew the attention of the entire network--

    South Xian Yun North Chu Kuang, once again collaborated as great buddies!

    Is Xian Yu going to challenge the June seasonal champion with the Sherlock Holmes novel theme song?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to the Alliance Hierarch reward from "Hai Xi" big shot, kneel to the big shot¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, mwah, Polluted White will continue writing after having some food~

 Chapter 721 - 687 Actively Increasing Difficulty for Oneself_1

    "What a show, Fish Papa!"

    "Just love your collaboration!"

    "Is this song a compensation for Chu Kuang?"

    "Helping him write a song because Chu Kuang obediently changed the plot?"

    "This fairy friendship, love it, love it!"

    "Supporting the new song because Fish Papa saved Sherlock Holmes!"

    "Admirable Fish writes original songs for novels, only Chu Kuang''s novel gets this treatment on Blue Star!"

    "Shadow has drawn several comics, but Admirable Fish hasn''t written any related songs."

    "..."

    Sherlock Holmes is a popular topic recently.

    Admirable Fish''s collaboration has completely rode on this popularity.

    Netizens are having a lively discussion around this matter!

    And just when everyone was in the middle of heated discussion.

    A music industry professional called "Towards the North of the Sun" suddenly posted a status:

    "Isn''t Teacher Admirable Fish aiming to win twelve consecutive championship this season? In this case, the song in June is crucial. Is a song composed for a novel really suitable for ranking?"

    This person is quite active online, with a considerable number of followers.

    His post quickly attracted the attention of netizens.

    After some thought.

    Many netizens responded immediately.

    Of course there were some netizens expressing confusion, so "Towards the North of the Sun" patiently explained:

    "I''m not belittling Sherlock Holmes, but we have to face the fact that not all music listeners have read Sherlock Holmes. Can listeners who haven''t read the novel really feel the charm of this song?"

    Everyone got the point!

    For a moment.

    The comments section of this blogger heated up:

    "Almost forgot about that!"

    "Admirable Fish is indeed aiming to win twelve consecutive championships!"

    "If it is the theme song for a novel, wouldn''t it be too niche?"

    "To top in June, this song must satisfy both book fans and those who have not read the novel. Isn''t the difficulty too high?"

    "Perhaps Admirable Fish is intending to ride on the popularity of Sherlock Holmes to rank?"

    "The idea is certainly good, after all, the popularity of Sherlock Holmes is an intangible foundation, but it has also increased the difficulty of song creation. Trying to satisfy both sides often results in favouring one at the expense of the other."

    "I''m reminded of ''Fairytale Town'', wasn''t that song written by Fish Papa for Chu Kuang''s novel?"

    "That''s right, ''Fairytale Town'' is a case in point. Although the song is very nice, it''s a bit of a stretch for it to top the season list nowadays, especially when Fish Papa needs to secure himself the June champion song title!"

    "..."

    Normally, seeing Chu Kuang and Admirable Fish collaborate would be a delight to netizens, but with Admirable Fish evidently aiming to win twelve consecutive championships, this song seems a bit risky!

    Because of this statement.

    More and more people joined the discussion.

    Seeing that his statement attracted the attention of netizens, "Towards the North of the Sun" became more active:

    "Music themed on Sherlock Holmes, the core audience is obviously Sherlock Holmes fans. They can account for a significant download volume. With Teacher Admirable Fish''s contribution to Sherlock Holmes, this download number is bound to be even higher. But the downside is also clear, Teacher Admirable Fish has confined himself to a circle.

    His goal is to top in June, which cannot be achieved only by the support of Sherlock Holmes fans. Unless countless people who have not read the novel also like this song, which means Teacher Admirable Fish''s song needs to break through the circle and go out. Isn''t this difficulty too high? That''s why I say Admirable Fish''s decision is a bit adventurous.

    I hope Teacher Admirable Fish can consider carefully. After all, I''m also looking forward to Teacher Admirable Fish continuing to win the championship!"

    This musician did not belittle Admirable Fish.

    "He simply shared his viewpoint objectively.

    This statement did not upset the fans of Xian Yu and Chu Kuang. On the contrary, it gained numerous approvals. Some people even commented on the announcement for Xian Yu''s June song release, expressing hope that Xian Yu could steady his hand...

    After all, breaking out from the mainstream is so hard!

    Meeting both the expectations of Holmes fanatics and ordinary music fans is not an easy task in and of itself!

    Just think about "Fairytale Town".

    The quality of that song isn''t one of the highest in Xian Yu''s discography.

    Without the hype from the novel, that song, out of all Xian Yu''s works, could even be considered just average or below average!

    It''s clear.

    This is why Xian Yu was caught between attempting to satisfy both the reading fans and the listening fans, leading to some kind of restrictions in his song creation and hence, an average performance.

    By comparison, "Sherlock Holmes" would be more challenging!

    This novel isn''t a fairytale, its style is very distinctive!

    Should anything go wrong here, Xian Yu might fail to meet the expectations of not only the general music fans but also the Holmes fanatics who may feel the vibe is off!

    At this point.

    Someone retorted: "Isn''t the piano piece "To Alice" that topped the charts this month, and that Xian Yu created based on Chu Kuang''s novel, really good?"

    Xian Yu''s concert had recently ended.

    The closing song of the concert, "To Alice," won the champion of this month''s seasonal chart.

    Judging by the title.

    Everyone believes this song is a tribute to Chu Kuang''s fairytale work "Alice''s Adventures in Wonderland," even though Xian Yu himself has not provided an explanation.

    But the name is too coincidental¡­

    The vast majority of people are willing to believe that there''s a connection between the song and Chu Kuang''s "Alice''s Adventures in Wonderland".

    Almost immediately.

    This musician, who goes by the username "Towards the North of the Sun," responded to the critique:

    "Teacher Admirable Fish had mentioned that he will be releasing a song in June, songs and piano pieces have a significant difference; with songs, a wider array of instruments are utilized and lyrics are involved. The lyrics for a Sherlock Holmes song wouldn''t be easy to write. Even though ''To Alice'' is excellent, I personally believe that this music piece isn''t related to Chu Kuang''s novel."

    True.

    Even though everyone believes the song ''To Alice'' is associated with Chu Kuang''s "Alice''s Adventures in Wonderland," many also feel that the artistic conception of the song doesn''t match the story.

    Therefore.

    Some insiders believe that it''s merely a coincidence of the names, and in fact, Xian Yu''s piano piece has no connection to Chu Kuang''s novel.

    With the ongoing discussions and controversy, people gradually recognized the crux of the matter:

    First, the audience''s reception is a concern as Xian Yu''s new song tries to accommodate both music fans and literature fanatics, which is tough.

    Secondly, how would the narrative style of "Sherlock Holmes" translate into song lyrics?

    Third, there''s the issue of style. The somewhat dark tone of Sherlock Holmes could easily lead to the song being niche.

    Fourthly¡­

    In brief, there are many problems and challenges.

    A countless number of netizens believe that for Xian Yu to top next month''s seasonal chart with a Sherlock Holmes tribute song is incredibly challenging!

    And during this collective brainwave among netizens.

    This musician, "Towards the North of the Sun," chimed in again:

    "Even though I have listed so many challenges, there''s a great chance for Teacher Admirable Fish to top the charts, given his popularity and talent. I believe many people want to help him achieve his twelfth win. If Sherlock Holmes fanatics are satisfied, they will definitely give huge support. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    But, the real question is, do you think other Maestros would just sit by and watch if Teacher Admirable Fish aims for his twelfth continuous win? According to Blue Star platform convention, any composer who wants to achieve a twelfth win will face competition, this is an inevitable challenge for those who aim for the twelfth win.

    In the following months, the competitors Teacher Admirable Fish faces will become increasingly competitive. This is the law of the musical world, and if Teacher Admirable Fish fails in June, all the effort put into the last five months will be in vain!"

    Is it necessary for Xian Yu to make things even more challenging for himself when it is already so daunting?

 Chapter 722 - 688: Stay Calm, Dont be Reckless_1

    Netizens agreed thoroughly with the analysis.

    Not only "Towards the North of the Sun", but also many musicians started to voice their opinions.

    They viewed Xian Yu''s adventurous decision to use this song from various professional perspectives, which gave Xian Yu''s fans shivers.

    Everyone began to understand the risks Xian Yu was taking with this song for June¡ª

    "Fish Papa, stay steady, don''t be impulsive!"

    "Sure, a song themed around Sherlock Holmes can be released, but Fish Papa shouldn''t pin such an important task as ranking on this song. Narrowing down his creative scope is like crippling himself!"

    "Writing a song for Sherlock Holmes, isn''t that essentially custom music?"

    "Although I know that Fish Papa is doing this for his friend Chu Kuang, after all, Chu Kuang changed the story ending for you, but you can''t write a custom song just for the sake of collaboration. You have just won the five-time champion, we should play it safe in the future."

    "Who has ever made it to the top of the charts with a tailored song?"

    "Even though Sherlock Holmes'' fans say they''ll support you unconditionally, you can''t take all of that seriously. At least half of the readers will decide whether to download based on the quality of the song. If the quality isn''t up to par, they''ll just think you don''t understand Sherlock Holmes."

    "Fish Papa, please don''t be stubborn."

    "If a capable songmaker takes part, you could easily lose your early advantage. Making a song featuring a dark theme like Sherlock Holmes is difficult, and it''s easy to end up putting in effort without gaining approval."

    "..."

    Comments section of Xian Yu''s fan community.

    Many fans started to advise Xian Yu to play it safe.

    The mainly cited reasons were professional music industry analysis.

    Indeed, these analyses were rational and justified.

    One of the netizens jokingly sighed, "For the sake of Xian Yu''s twelve-time champion, we are really breaking our hearts."

    Result...

    The very thing they were afraid of, happened!

    Xian Yu hadn''t replied yet.

    A songmaker named Chen Hexuan suddenly announced on the tribe''s official site:

    "The fact that ''Erlang'' lost to Xian Yu has always been my regret. Why not have another match in June with Xian Yu, by the way, I am a fan of Mr. Sherlock Holmes too."

    Someone did indeed step up in June!

    Moreover, it was Chen Hexuan, who had previously lost to Xian Yu!

    Chen Hexuan was the composer of The Primordial Chaos promotional song "Erlang".

    At the time, The Primordial Chaos and Journey to the West were battling in the ring, so Xian Yu wrote a song called "Wukong" to compete with it.

    In the end...

    Chen Hexuan''s song''s popularity, assessments, etc., all lost to Xian Yu''s "Wukong".

    "Is this revenge?"

    With Chen Hexuan''s joining...

    The internet instantly became lively.

    At this moment, another female songwriter named Liu Rumei made her announcement:

    "Originally I wanted to claim the number one spot in May, but was defeated by ''To Alice'', and reluctantly took the second place. Since that''s the case, I can only strive again in June."

    Stir!

    The internet became even more lively!

    Liu Rumei is one of the few females in the songwriter business. She released a new song this month, and ended up taking second place.

    The first place went to ''To Alice''.

    Now, Liu Rumei was planning to confront Xian Yu again in June!

    "Another one seeking revenge!"

    Netizens summed it all up quite cleverly.

    However, it seemed like things weren''t over yet.

    After Chen Hexuan and Liu Rumei, a songwriter named Shen Lang also stepped up:

    "I participated in ''Our Song'' along with Teacher Xian Yu before, and ended up losing to Xian Yu three times. Only Teacher Yin Dong had a worse fate than me. But in our Blue Star, there''s a common saying that mishaps thrice repeated may not recur. Wouldn''t it be my turn to win in June?"

    Oh my god!

    Netizens were totally speechless.

    Shen Lang, too?

    And what''s this about ''mishaps thrice repeated may not recur''?

    You three must have planned this together, right?

    Choosing to confront Xian Yu at the same time?

    There can''t be any more right?

    Just when everyone was having this thought, the fourth songwriter, Hua Li, dramatically appeared.

    This Maestro is named An Xin:

    "When ''Mariage d''Amour'' was released back then, it suppressed us six Maestros from Chu Continent, me included. I was in second place at that time. Several years have passed, but I still can''t forget that incident. So why not take advantage of June to compete with Xian Yu again? If I lose to Xian Yu this time, I''ll avoid him whenever I see him in the future."

    Oh my gosh!

    Are they all here for revenge?

    Netizens were completely stunned. Looking at what these four Maestros said, those who didn''t know would think Xian Yu had offended many Maestros!

    After their shock.

    Countless people burst into laughter!

    All the other Maestros were so domineering!

    Why do these four Maestros sound so melancholy?

    It seems they were all beaten by Xian Yu and bear a grudge?

    Normally, you guys wouldn''t dare to challenge Xian Yu alone, but now you all seem eager to do so. Are you sure you''re not seeing Xian Yu being a bit reckless in June and want to take the opportunity to end his six consecutive wins?

    Alright!

    All fun aside.

    Don''t joke about the Maestros.

    After all, they are Maestros, and there are four of them!

    Although no new Maestros appeared to seek revenge on Xian Yu, the lineup with these four Maestros is already quite formidable!

    Remember.

    In a normal month, even if the five continents of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han were combined, usually only one or two Maestros would step forward!

    They would all usually avoid each other tacitly.

    This kind of situation where four Maestros participate in the same season is very rare!

    Nobody dares to underestimate them!

    Not to mention that Xian Yu himself is also a Maestro, one that other Maestros fear. It''s just that he hasn''t received that official honor yet.

    This means:

    The battle in June will involve five Maestros!

    And it''s clear that these four Maestros who stepped up one after another are coming for Xian Yu. This battle is actually a siege by four Maestros against Xian Yu!

    In an instant!

    The whole network is buzzing!

    "What the hell!"

    "I was very worried about Fish Papa at first, but after reading the testimonies of these four Maestros, I find myself wanting to laugh..."

    "These four Maestros are too straightforward, aren''t they? They didn''t keep anything back, popping right in and explaining why they chose to act now."

    "Avengers Assemble!"

    "The timing of their attack is ingenious, after all, Xian Yu''s next song is based on Sherlock Holmes, it''s like dancing with shackles."

    "Won''t Xian Yu change his song?"

    "If he doesn''t change the song, facing four Maestros at the same time, his six-win streak might come to an end!"

    "Experts were right, the twelve consecutive wins, the more difficult it gets towards the end!"

    "It''s only June, and four Maestros have taken action, and they all directly call out to Xian Yu!"

    "I''m impressed by the reasons these four Maestros gave for their actions!"

    "The speeches of the four can be collectively translated to: I''m here for revenge!"

    "..."

    A lot of people couldn''t help but laugh and cry!

    Speaking of these Maestros being tricky.

    One by one, their dynamic statements are worse than the last, immediately mentioning their tragic past of being beaten up by Xian Yu.

    Speaking of their tragedy.

    This round of theirs is clearly aiming to take advantage of Xian Yu''s vulnerability.

    Even ordinary people can see the difficulty of creating music around the theme of Sherlock Holmes.

    The Maestros certainly understand it even better! S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    They chose to attack Xian Yu in June when they knew Xian Yu''s performance would be limited by this song. They''re clearly trying to take advantage of the situation!

    Why hasn''t Xian Yu said anything yet?

    Does he really want to face the four Maestros who seek revenge while dancing in shackles?

    That''s a bit risky!

    He''s only had five consecutive wins!

    Hold on, don''t rush!

 Chapter 723 - 689: The Determination of a Holmes-fanatic_1

    Lin Yuan couldn''t possibly be oblivious to the commotion on the internet. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Although he wouldn''t go so far as to look up news about himself, when Lin Yuan surfed the internet, news related to him would easily pop up in an attention-grabbing way:

    "Four Maestros Gang Up On Xian Yu!"

    "Xian Yu''s Six-Game Winning Streak to Be Ended?"

    "Chen Hexuan Forms the Avengers!"

    "Will Xian Yu Switch Songs Under Pressure?"

    "How Hard Is It to Hit the Charts with a Customized Song?"

    "How to Write a Song from a Sherlock Holmes Novel?"

    Upon seeing the words "the Avengers," Lin Yuan was stunned for several seconds, thinking something was wrong with the world. He only realized this "Avengers" was not that "Avengers" after he finished reading the news.

    Such a misunderstanding.

    At this moment, there was a brief knock on the door.

    Lin Yuan looked up and recognized the company''s chairman Li Songhua, who had previously sent him a car and tea leaves:

    "Chairman?"

    "Switching songs?"

    Li Songhua asked with a smile.

    Lin Yuan shook his head.

    To his seemingly unsurprised response, Li Songhua took out a boxed phone with a somewhat resigned expression, "This is a highly secure phone. You should take it and stop using one phone. It''s too easy to log into the wrong account."

    "..."

    Lin Yuan silently accepted the phone, not mentioning that he actually had two phones already. The mix-up between Xian Yu and Chu Kuang had evidently been guessed by the chairman.

    "Thank you."

    "Keep going."

    Li Songhua turned to leave, then hesitated slightly, "Those four Maestros are all friends of Yang Zhongming and Zheng Jing."

    Lin Yuan was taken aback.

    Leaving, Li Songhua added, "If they strike in June, it will be inconvenient for others. If you lose to them, it means you were not destined for the twelve consecutive championships."

    Lin Yuan remained silent.

    So that''s the case.

    No wonder when the four Maestros called for revenge, Lin Yuan felt something was off. Everyone didn''t seem to hold such substantial grudges.

    Now he understood.

    Yang Zhongming and Zheng Jing were helping him secretly. It was better for these four people to make a move than for some more formidable Maestros to act¡ª

    Yes.

    Lin Yuan had heard music from all four Maestros. If we were to rank them, these four would probably be among the weaker ones. Their stepping forward prevented other Maestros from specifically targeting Lin¡ªwith a four-on-one situation.

    It was indeed quite dramatic.

    With this in mind, Lin Yuan decided to record the song. "The Seventh Chapter of Night" was not easy to sing. Neither Chen Zhiyu nor Sun Yaohuo from the Yu Dynasty would match the style, and the other singers were all female. So this time, Lin Yuan planned to sing it himself. He was confident in mastering the melody of the song, but he needed a woman''s high notes in the middle of the song.

    Who should he choose?

    After brief hesitation, Lin Yuan called Jiang Kui. She was the most promising female singer in the Yu Dynasty, bound to become a singing queen in the future, so Lin Yuan wanted to help her as much as he could.

    Twenty minutes later.

    In Lin Yuan''s office, Jiang Kui''s clear voice chimed in, "Teacher Admirable Fish, you wanted to see me?"

    "Um."

    Lin Yuan looked at Jiang Kui, "Will you record a song with me? You sing the chorus."

    This wasn''t a duet.

    The part Jiang Kui was responsible for took up only a small fraction of the whole song, more akin to a cameo.

    "Sure!"

    Not everyone had the opportunity to collaborate with Xian Yu!

    Jiang Kui nodded vigorously, her pigtails flaring out as she asked excitedly, "Is it about the Sherlock Holmes song?"

    "Um."

    "This song..."

    Jiang Kui glanced at Lin Yuan and hesitated to speak.

    Recently, Lin Yuan had improved his ability to read people''s expressions, "You also feel that this song is not secure enough to compete with?"

    Jiang Kui hesitated slightly then said nervously,

    "A little bit."

    Lin Yuan smiled, "Then listen to the demo."

    As he spoke.

    Lin Yuan turned on the office stereo.

    It was a sample of the song he had finished the night before.

    The stereo played a simple melody, and then the vocal came in.

    Although this was the most simplified version of the song, it quickly caused a change in Jiang Kui''s expression.

    A singer of her caliber has a strong judgment for music.

    A minute later.

    Lin Yuan looked at a somewhat stupefied Jiang Kui:

    "Any questions?"

    Jiang Kui instinctively shook her head.

    Lin Yuan laughed again: "I''ll give you the lyrics and the music score, take some time to familiarize yourself with it, we''ll record it later."

    Jiang Kui nodded vigorously.

    ...

    The recording was somewhat delayed. Because Lin Yuan had high demands for this song, it took a whole week to fully record the song.

    During this week.

    The grand finale of the novel "The Great Detective Sherlock Holmes" was finally officially released, serving as a prelude to the song release in June.

    As expected.

    The audience''s acceptance of this ending was much higher than that of "The Final Case", at least it did not cause any riots-

    Although everyone''s beloved Watson died, it was believed that this was due to Chu Kuang''s petty jealousy.

    He could have written it without killing him off.

    On the internet.

    Around this official ending, countless readers were engaged in intense discussions.

    Within these discussions.

    The topic inevitably touched upon Adorable Fish''s new song next month:

    "After reading the novel, I feel a sense of loss, suddenly looking forward to Teacher Admirable Fish''s new song, really curious what kind of song he will write for this novel, Sherlock Holmes."

    "I thought Teacher Admirable Fish would change the song."

    "Looking at Teacher Admirable Fish''s tribe, there doesn''t seem to be any movement, it seems like he doesn''t intend to change the song, it must be for that detestable Chu Kuang."

    "It''s also for us, the readers of Sherlock Holmes!"

    "I''ve said it before, Teacher Admirable Fish saved Sherlock Holmes'' life, so no matter whether his new song satisfies me or not, I will download it in support!"

    "Same here!"

    "Teacher Admirable Fish has been so persistent for us fans of Sherlock Holmes, we fans of Sherlock Holmes must repay him!"

    "Let''s go, guys!"

    "We must let everyone see the influence of Sherlock Holmes!"

    "..."

    The date was May 31st.

    The countdown to the release of "The Seventh Chapter of Night" had already begun.

    By the time it was evening, the heads of various music apps had already received the official audio file of "The Seventh Chapter of Night".

    "This is the perk of running a music app."

    At the headquarters of a company named "Cool Cat Music".

    Inside the director''s office.

    The man chuckled lightly.

    The man had an encrypted music file on his computer called "The Seventh Chapter of Night".

    The man''s name was Xu Tao, the director of Cool Cat Music.

    "The Seventh Chapter of Night..."

    A trace of curiosity flashed across Xu Tao''s eyes as he put on his headphones

    As a die-hard fan of "The Great Detective Sherlock Holmes", a fan of Adorable Fish, and a professional musician, Xu Tao was immensely curious about what this song would be like!

    What was the reason for Adorable Fish''s insistence on not changing the song in the face of a targeted attack by four maestros?

    Was it merely because of Chu Kuang?

    Maybe it wasn''t just that.

    Smiling, Xu Tao clicked the play button.

    -------------

    ps: Thank you, Patron [Xin Yuan Shui], for your support. I kneel to you, ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ. I would also like to apologize to everyone. I felt under the weather after an outing, the writing might not be up to par. I''ll take a good rest and adjust myself.

 Chapter 724 - 690: Shattered Knees on the Ground_1

    "Lyrics: Xian Yu"

    "Composer: Xian Yu"

    "Arrangement: Xian Yu"

    "Singer: Xian Yu"

    The captions denoting the song information drift about, "Xian Yu''s style," all-rounded and familiar, float by as Xu Tao closes his eyes slightly.

    Inside the slightly dim office.

    The prelude of the song had quietly begun.

    In the melodious music box, notes from a violin weave in strangely.

    The mysterious cello constantly reappears in discordant notes, a tense atmosphere quietly permeates, and then comes the sound of a typewriter, both orderly and chaotic, followed by the official singing of the song¡ª

    "December, 1893, the alley is clear

    The Seventh Chapter of Night, the typewriter continues, advancing closer to the next line of truth

    The smoke from the elder tree pipe wafts towards the withered tree, crying out to me silently

    The circular square adjacent to Baker Street

    The iris badge on the armoured knight''s arm shines faintly

    The sound of an empty carriage echoing in the night visit.

    ..."

    As the first line of the main song begins, Xu Tao''s just-closed eyes suddenly fly open, filled with surprise and admiration!

    Is it actually rap?

    Such a strong sense of rhythm.

    Not a hint of sluggishness.

    This must be Xian Yu''s first time trying rap, right?

    No!

    This is not pure rap...

    The majority of rap is sung in a monotone.

    But Xian Yu''s rap is definitely based on a melody, with an overabundance of lyrics added, making every word in a stanza take up very little time, saturating the lyrics with literary charm.

    Listening all the way down, there''s no harshness or grating sounds, instead, it flows naturally.

    "No wonder he''s the Masked Singer who defeated numerous top singers¡­" Xu Tao thought to himself.

    He had always wondered what kind of music should accompany Sherlock Holmes'' stories.

    Now Xian Yu has given the answer.

    He has actually composed a fast-paced rap song, and once again demonstrated his all-rounded vocal skills in this song!

    Xu Tao had no idea this was the unique style of "Zhou Rap".

    The song is still continuing by his ear:

    "In Victoria''s moonlight, evil makes a bloody start

    The missing gun, the burnt walking stick, the melted wax figure, who wasn''t there?

    The symbols on the jewellery box are but illusions conflicting, leading into his meticulously built dead-end

    The evidence is perfectly buried

    That smirk mocking the Scotland Yard

    ..."

    Shifting his attention back to the lyrics, shock gradually spread across Xu Tao''s face!

    These lyrics!

    "The starting date is the day Watson died, and the lines that follow point to the ''Mazarin Stone'' case where Holmes deduces that Angel was Wintibank through the incomplete letters on the typewriter; the elder tree pipe is Holmes''s usual smoking apparatus¡­"

    Shock gradually spreads across his face!

    Xu Tao sees even more details!

    The line in the lyrics: "wafting towards the withered tree" actually refers to the case ''The Musgrave Ritual'', where Holmes finds the missing crown by measuring an old elm tree that was struck by lightning at the Musgrave estate.

    And "a bloody start" refers to ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first case Holmes and Watson worked on together; when they first met, Holmes was conducting an experiment on the sedimentation of hemoglobin.

    But there''s more than just that!

    For instance, "the melted wax figure, who wasn''t there?" refers to ''The Empty House''!

    For instance, "on the jewellery box, a symbol''s illusion" refers to ''The Adventure of the Six Napoleons''!

    For instance...

    Xu Tao was frightened!

    These lyrics are incredible!

    They''re obsessively twisted!

    Almost every line corresponds to a scene of Sherlock Holmes, such an ingenious lyrical ability!

    How starkly different from Xian Yu''s previous style of lyrics!

    This time, the artistic conception he created in his writings, with its grand narrative style, is enough to cause an uproar in the heart of any die-hard fan of Sherlock Holmes!

    Xu Tao felt exactly this way.

    Listening to this song, he felt as if he was reminiscing through "Sherlock Holmes" all over again. The novel''s settings had completely transformed into a delicately produced movie!

    And just as his feelings surged.

    A sudden, ethereal female soprano appeared, causing his heart to shake violently in tune with the singing and the lyrics!

    "If evil was a gorgeously cruel movement~"

    "I would personally write its finale~"

    "Morning dew drying the last line of sorrow~"

    "Black ink stains tranquility~"

    Xu Tao almost jumped out of his seat!

    If the lyrics from the main verse were enough for a Sherlock to pay respect and homage, then the tearful refrain would surely leave any musician awestruck, even reverential!

    How spectacular!

    How astounding!

    Jiang Kui''s voice, full of distinguishable undertones, perfectly meshed with Xian Yu''s rap, propelling the song to its climax!

    Xu Tao was brought to his knees!

    What kind of song is this!

    The dark tone, astounding lyrics, tantalizing climax ¨C even just having listened to the first part, was enough to stir up everyone''s emotions!

    "The lights dim, red curtains fall

    Facts can only pierce through untraveled ground

    Sudden delicate scent of flowers, attention-grabbing clothes

    Everyone wears a different mask for different reasons, lies

    There''s only one name for motive, it''s called desire

    ..."

    The singing continues!

    There is only sound and lyrics, but it seems like more and more stories are unfolding before Xu Tao, taking on the form of vivid images!

    The song tells a tale.

    The tale becomes a drama.

    The drama is filled with songs.

    The blend of classical aura and modern rhythm is perfect.

    Rapping complementing the melodious singing.

    Tinges of chill amongst etherealness.

    Violin strings, eerie yet vibrant notes, holy prayers, and various instruments clash wildly!

    By now.

    The song has played for around three minutes.

    There was a momentary pause in tempo, and then a flurry of piano notes suddenly emerge!

    Cycling from high to low, the string arrangement drives the song towards an even higher climax. This is the refrain, but this time, it''s Xian Yu''s voice ¨C both wildly emotional and lyrical:

    "If evil was a gorgeously cruel movement, I would personally write its finale..."

    As if the lyrics and expression were perfectly merged together, giving a feeling of the present reality suddenly merging with the song''s timeline.

    The refrains before this were all sung by Jiang Kui.

    This is the first time in the song that Xian Yu was in command of the refrain!

    After being continuously highlighted by the previous female refrains, Xian Yu takes the song to its finale by increasing the pitch by an octave!

    The combination of strings and piano drives the song to its zenith!

    Finally.

    Everything calms down in the sound of the violin.

    Xu Tao sits blankly with his headphones on. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    In the dark room, only silence remains.

    It feels like some mystical ritual.

    At this moment.

    The time ticks to midnight.

    As the clock officially strikes for the 1st of June, "The Seventh Chapter of Night" is officially released on all major music platforms!

    All the fans waiting in front of their screens, especially Sherlock fans, eagerly started this song.

    And then.

    Were a roomful of battered knees.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Thanks to [X_Ä«Ð¡°×]for your big "Alliance Hierarch" reward, the 85th Alliance Hierarch of this book. Kneeling ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ for you, Polluted White, let me grab a bite and continue writing, seeking your monthly votes!!!!!!

 Chapter 725 - 691: The Full Army Strikes_1

    This night!

    In countless people''s headphones or speakers, a song called "The Seventh Chapter of Night" was all playing simultaneously.

    Click, click, click, click, click, click!

    Behind the sound of the typewriter, the dark luxurious melody was mysterious and clear, with great impact. It was as shattering as a soul crying out!

    As the song ended.

    The huge fan groups of Sherlock Holmes blew up in silence!

    Just as Xu Tao had predicted:

    No Sherlock Holmes fan could possibly remain unmoved after hearing this song¡ª¡ª

    The shattered knees were destined!

    "My god!"

    "Fell straight to my knees!"

    "So this is the theme music Fish Papa created for Sherlock Holmes? I got goosebumps all over my body, almost every lyric symbolises a story in Sherlock Holmes, I had worried about whether Xian Yu could manifest the essence of Sherlock Holmes through the song..."

    "As a fan of Fish Papa, I can only say: You know nothing about power."

    "Church bell, classical piano, and the accompaniment of organ, bass drum, pirate ship whistle, constant violin in the background, who doesn''t know that violin is Sherlock Holmes'' favorite instrument? This song is an absolute perfect depiction of the novel world!"

    "The atmosphere of mystery in the song is superb!"

    "Listening to the song, I feel like I could become Sherlock Holmes and solve cases!"

    "The eerie and sinister feel under the mysterious atmosphere, I''ve heard songs from Xian Yu before, but none of them had this sense of darkness. Definitely the best theme song for a novel, it''s like goddamn movie soundtrack!"

    "Listen to this and I want to replay ''Sherlock Holmes''!"

    "Even though I graduated from Yan Continent Music Academy, I feel empty after listening to this song, those five years of my university life... this song will undoubtedly become a masterpiece in the heart of all Sherlock Holmes fans!"

    "Why the hell aren''t we rushing for it yet?"

    "Even if it''s not for the friendship between Fish Papa and the old rascal, or the fact that Xian Yu saved Sherlock Holmes, the quality of this song alone is worth all the Sherlock Holmes fans to go all out!"

    "..."

    Sherlock Holmes fans are shocked!

    This is a moment of celebration for Sherlock Holmes fans!

    Yet, at this moment, who else but Sherlock Holmes fans love this song?

    Even those who hadn''t watched "Sherlock Holmes", became captives of this song!

    "This song is super incredible!"

    "No wonder Fish Papa is not changing the songs, with this quality, why on earth would Fish Papa change songs for the ranking?"

    "Was directly blown away by Xian Yu!"

    "Love Fish Papa''s rap, love it!"

    "When the main song started, I knew that I had my loop for the next few days. It''s an unprecedented music style, I can hardly believe that this is the same Xian Yu that wrote ''Red Roses''!"

    "Jiang Kui''s chorus is astonishing, perfectly complementing Fish Papa''s finale like a god descended!"

    "Those who were worried that they might not get this song because they haven''t watched Sherlock Holmes can rest assured now."

    "Even though your critiques are high, I think it''s just ok."

    "+1 upstairs, I feel like the song is a bit complex?"

    "Fish Papa is really something, following ''Wukong'' led me to watch Journey to the West, and this song directly prompted me to order a collection of Sherlock Holmes novels in the middle of the night."

    "..."

    Ordinary music fans are also shocked!

    However, unlike Sherlock Holmes fans, some of the ordinary fans had doubts about this song.

    In fact.

    At this juncture, it''s not Sherlock Holmes fans, but music professionals who can truly appreciate the awe of this song!

    Xian Yu wants to clear the 12 seasons.

    The Four Maestros gang up on Xian Yu for revenge.

    How could music professionals not pay attention to such a grand event?

    After listening to this song, the knees of the music world are truly the most heavily burdened!

    "Is this his answer for June?"

    "It''s near perfect!"

    "The execution of grace notes is superb!"

    "The design of the counterpoint is unbeatable!"

    "You''re all correct, but the most kickass part of this song is inevitably the arrangement, particularly the chords after two minutes and fifty-two seconds - they''re simply explosive. This is the first time I''ve felt that Xian Yu''s arrangement skills match his compositional abilities!"

    "The key is in the chords!"

    "You haven''t seen Sherlock Holmes. If you''d read the novel, you''d have a higher opinion of the lyrics. Some of the lyrics in this song use filmic contrast, I can''t think of anyone else who could write lyrics like this. After all, not everyone is as well-versed in both music and film as he is."

    "The way he sings is also crucial!"

    "That''s what I wanted to mention too, the way he sings this time is quite unique. I''ve never before heard him personally, or any other Blue Star artists sing this way. Perhaps only this kind of singing can bring out the special flavor of this song."

    "But this song has a big problem."

    "Yes, this problem is a regret that all singers can''t avoid."

    "The appreciation threshold has increased."

    "An increased difficulty in song creation could very likely cause the song''s popularity to increase inversely. Xian Yu''s previous pop songs focused a lot on being catchy, but he chose a dark and mysterious style for this song. Under such circumstances, it''s easy for non-fans to be disinterested in this song."

    "..."

    People in the music industry also identified the problem.

    At the root of it all, is anxiety over a previously worried problem:

    If you make a song themed on Sherlock Holmes, the main audience will be enthusiasts of Sherlock Holmes, and those who haven''t read the novel will inevitably have some limitations listening to this song.

    Even though Xian Yu has done such a great job!

    Even though Xian Yu has taken into account varying tastes on a broad scale!

    But, there are some fundamental problems that are definitely difficult to avoid.

    You can see a glimmer of this from the comments sprinkled with a few unanswered voices.

    In the end, you can''t satisfy everyone perfectly.

    This isn''t Xian Yu''s problem; no composer could achieve the perfect blend for both these audiences, after all, Sherlock Holmes narrative is inherently mysterious with a hint of darkness...

    In fact.

    Lin Yuan also knew about this problem.

    In the bunch of songs most highly acclaimed by Director Zhou, among Earth''s elite, someone would mention "The Seventh Chapter of Night", but when it comes to catchiness...

    This song still falls short of "Balloon of Confessions".

    But, Lin Yuan still has confidence in this song!

    Because there are always some songs that can change the music industry''s value of based primarily on catchiness.

    There are always some songs that don''t need anyone to sing along to. If it just lies quietly in a playlist, you can still experience its abyss-like stare.

    The most crucial point is:

    Blue Star''s situation is different from Earth''s!

    What are the differences exactly?

    Let''s start explaining with some simple data.

    At this time, it was one a.m.

    The June season chart finally updated.

    When countless people opened the season''s rankings, the first thing that caught their eye was undoubtedly Xian Yu''s new song, "The Seventh Chapter of Night"!

    First place!

    The data for this song left the second, third, fourth, and fifth places far behind!

    And in those second, third, fourth, and fifth places were the tracks of the four other Maestros who released new music around the same time!

    They were all stunned!

    Everyone was stunned! S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This had left everyone in the music industry in complete shock!

    Could a song that''s fated to lack popularity top the charts?

    They searched through the comments and all kinds of responses on the internet about "The Seventh Chapter of Night", until they finally found the essential truth in a series of slightly crazy comments...

    A clue can be found in Chu Kuang''s comment section.

    The top comment, with the highest likes is:

    [Guys, for "The Seventh Chapter of Night", let the world see the allure of Sherlock Holmes!]

    Loyal fans of Holmes, unite!

    Holmes fans, unite!

    All out attack!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Many thanks for your monthly votes of support, we''re now up to sixth place. I wonder if we''ll be overtaken tomorrow, we continue to hold steady and seek more votes.

 Chapter 726 - 692: Calm on the surface, but actually panicking inside_1

    The Holmes fans are making their move!

    And it''s a full-on onslaught!

    The result.

    Thanks to these bookworms, they''ve managed to push the download numbers for "The Seventh Chapter of the Night" and secure Xian Yu''s top spot on the music charts!

    Their enthusiasm is unmatched!

    They''re rallying each other!

    "We can''t let Fish Papa''s efforts be in vain, it''s time for the Holmes fans to repay Xian Yu!"

    "As a Holmes fan, I''ve switched six music listening apps and downloaded ''The Seventh Chapter of the Night'' six times just to support Fish Papa in the charts!"

    The seasonal chart competition focuses on download numbers.

    An individual can contribute to multiple downloads.

    Because you can use different music listening apps to download the same song.

    This is a common practice when supporting an idol.

    "Six times is nothing, I''ve already switched to the eighth music listening app."

    "People are saying online Fish Papa''s Holmes-themed song is too niche to make the charts, but this month us Holmes fans will show just how popular Holmes really is!"

    "Even solely based on our Holmes fans'' support, this song can top the charts!"

    "With all the Holmes fans banding together to support, who cares if non-fans don''t appreciate it?"

    "I absolutely adore ''The Seventh Chapter of the Night'', it''s a song tailor-made for Holmes, Fish Papa has done so much for Holmes, it''s time we repaid him!"

    "Located in Qin Continent, our Holmes fan group has six hundred members and we''ve already contributed eight hundred and fifty-three downloads!"

    "You guys are lacking, our Qi Continent group of three hundred has contributed over seven hundred downloads!"

    "Well, the Chu Continent Holmes Fan Club is picking up the pace, we''ll scare you with our numbers later!"

    "The Yan Continent Fan Club is also stepping up, let''s see who has the fiercest fans."

    "If we''re talking about fierceness, our Han Continent isn''t to be trifled with, Fish Papa was kind to us when he released his English songs, now all our Han Continent Holmes fans are raring to join the fight!"

    "..."

    While trying to make it to the charts.

    The fans from different continents have also started a rivalry.

    The five continents are competitive with each other while continuously rallying fans to support ''The Seventh Chapter of the Night''!

    It''s quite rare.

    It''s seldom seen that a group of non-ordinary fans supports, with their utmost dedication, a song to make it to the charts!

    In fact.

    The goal of these Holmes fans is not only to help ''The Seventh Chapter of the Night'' top the charts!

    At the same time.

    This is the first time the Holmes fans are flaunting their terrific influence to the world!

    They want to prove how massive the Holmes fan group is!

    So enormous that solely by their efforts, they can help a song achieve the seasonal championship!

    Isn''t it said that Xian Yu handcuffed himself by composing a Holmes-themed song?

    Sorry!

    We Holmes fans are not Xian Yu''s handcuffs!

    We''re Xian Yu''s powerful boost, an unprecedented boost, even a decisive force, let us determine the trajectory of the sixth season championship of the music world!

    Under this passionate atmosphere.

    The download numbers of Xian Yu''s ''The Seventh Chapter of the Night'' are skyrocketing, the top spot is becoming more and more unshakeable!

    ...

    Music professionals are known for analyzing music, not adept at analyzing the market and public opinion.

    Who would''ve thought that the power of Holmes fans would be so tremendous!

    Xian Yu''s decision to allow Chu Kuang to change the ending of Holmes has finally reaped its rewards!

    In their shock.

    Some music industry insiders even exclaimed:

    "Who the hell can tell me exactly how massive the number of Holmes fans is!"

    "This is just too fierce!"

    "Just because Xian Yu saved Holmes?"

    "This is quite the repayment!"

    "It''s not just repayment."

    "The fact that Holmes fans are helping so ardently to make the charts, the decisive reason is because ''The Seventh Chapter of the Night'' conquered the Holmes fans."

    "If you don''t watch Sherlock Holmes, you definitely can''t appreciate the charm of this song."

    "But those who have watched Sherlock Holmes will find this song is so much more than just a song!"

    "It happened to be released at the time when Sherlock Holmes was just finished, when the fans were flooded with sentiment. A quality song related to Sherlock Holmes suddenly emerges, directly triggering their collective climax."

    "No wonder it''s a novel that sparked massive marches from readers across five continents just because of its unhandled ending!"

    "The fans of this novel, they are freaking fierce!"

    "..."

    The previous music analysis was actually not bad.

    It would be hard for Xian Yu''s song to top the charts.

    Not because of the song itself, but the audience of the work.

    In terms of music style, the dark and mysterious theme is indeed a bit niche.

    But everyone overlooked the power of Sherlock Holmes fans!

    And also underestimated the impact of this song on them!

    Before this, who would have thought that just relying on Sherlock Holmes fans could make "The Seventh Chapter of Night" top the charts?

    What else needs to be taken into account?

    Who cares if ordinary music fans aren''t impressed?

    As long as Xian Yu can satisfy Sherlock Holmes fans, that''s enough!

    More so.

    Who said ordinary fans aren''t impressed?

    Ordinary fans are impressed too.

    It''s just that compared to Xian Yu''s previous songs, ordinary fans might be a little less enthusiastic about this one.

    But this still can''t hide the fact that the quality of "The Seventh Chapter of Night" is excellent!

    With these factors combined, this song finally topped the chart ¡ª

    Xian Yu''s six-wins-in-a-row, done and dusted!

    And this was why Lin Yuan insisted on not changing the song!

    On Earth.

    When "The Seventh Chapter of Night" was released, despite the support from Sherlock Holmes fans, the impact was minimal.

    After all, the majority of his fans are foreigners who don''t usually listen to songs in Chinese.

    Besides, the song was released long after "Sherlock Holmes" had ended.

    But the Blue Star is different!

    Xian Yu does have a connection with Sherlock Holmes.

    Plus, "Sherlock Holmes" had just ended recently, the number of fans is terrifying.

    Not to mention, there are no foreigners on Blue Star.

    All the people in this world understand the songs in Mandarin.

    With these conditions, are you still afraid that Sherlock Holmes fans won''t fall into the trap?

    Besides...

    Xian Yu''s popularity is there.

    Everyone knows that chart performance isn''t just about the song, it also depends on the popularity of the singer and the songwriter.

    How popular is Xian Yu?

    The concert last month said it all.

    For some fans, as long as Xian Yu is the one singing, they would support unconditionally!

    This group is also quite large!

    More so.

    Due to the formation of their worldview and other unique factors, the aesthetic appreciation of the Blue Star is higher than that of Earth.

    Therefore.

    Even ordinary listeners can appreciate the excellence of "The Seventh Chapter of Night" more easily than Earth listeners.

    These reasons combined have given Lin Yuan the confidence not to change his song!

    The facts proved that Lin Yuan''s judgment and analysis were not wrong. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Cough.

    If Lin Yuan hadn''t secretly prepared another song, ready to replace "The Seventh Chapter of Night" at any time, his operation would have been even sharper ¡ª

    Indeed.

    Someone may seem calm on the outside, but he''s freaking out inside.

 Chapter 727 - 693 Extremely High Professional Recognition_1

    "Yes.

    In order to secure his twelfth consecutive win, Lin Yuan is now being very steady.

    So despite saying that he wouldn''t change his song, he actually prepared a new one on the sly.

    He was afraid that ''The Seventh Chapter of Night'' would not meet his expectations.

    It''s a good thing he didn''t have to use it; otherwise there would have been more complications.

    By the time day broke, when people started to wake up and go to work, and reopened the season''s ranking, ''The Seventh Chapter of Night'' had already firmly secured its position at the top.

    ''Six-time champion!''

    ''Halfway to a twelve-time championship already.''

    ''Not even four Maestros could prevent Xian Yu from claiming the top spot this month.''

    ''Xian Yu has proved more than once that he has the abilities of an advanced, even top-tier, Maestro. After all, he once had a 300-round battle with Yang ZhongMing.''

    ''But it has to be said, the seasonal chart has become increasingly brutal.''

    ''Fish Papa''s goal is a twelve-time championship, there will certainly be Maestros aiming to take him down.''

    ''It was very touch and go this time.''

    ''Yes, if it weren''t for the support of the Fu fans, perhaps this song wouldn''t have had the success it does now.''

    ''It was quite a close victory.''

    ''...''

    The netizens are discussing the results of the seasonal chart.

    In the minds of many, ''The Seventh Chapter of Night'' is a song that was forcibly pushed to the top by the Fu fans.

    Like an official endorsement.

    There was a big element of luck in reaching the top.

    Without the Fu fans, perhaps the four Maestros could really have achieved their revenge.

    However.

    Just as this perspective was being formed.

    Chen Hexuan, one of the four Maestros, surprisingly posted a status:

    ''I am happy to lose to ''The Seventh Chapter of Night''. If I had won, I would have felt uncomfortable because for music, audiences are a benchmark, and professional musicians have another set of standards. If the professionals in the industry voted on the seasonal chart, Xian Yu should have been the champion.''

    The netizens paused for a moment.

    Immediately after, the other three Maestros who released songs this month also spoke out.

    An Xin: ''There''s no such thing as luck, ''The Seventh Chapter of Night'' should be number one. Even if it hadn''t topped the seasonal chart, it would still be, in my mind, the deserved number one for this month. I don''t like to use popularity as a standard to evaluate the quality of a song.''

    Liu Rumei: ''Losing is losing. I wish Xian Yu continued success in the coming months. By the way, the arrangement of this song is one of the most outstanding works in recent years.''

    Shen Lang: ''This is a highly professional piece of music that is so sophisticated it risks being too advanced for some. I have added it to my playlist. Maybe not everyone can appreciate this song, but among Xian Yu''s works, this is my personal favourite.''

    The netizens were shocked!

    They thought the four Maestros would be upset, even disgruntled.

    Because, the majority of the data contributing to the song''s top place was provided by the Fu fans!

    However, they didn''t expect the four Maestros to praise ''The Seventh Chapter of Night'' highly, without showing the slightest bit of resentment!

    After all, netizens are not professional musicians.

    Even if their aesthetic level or appreciation ability is good, their overall impression of a song can only be roughly divided into two categories:

    ''Good.''

    ''Bad.''

    Only after seeing the four Maestros'' evaluations did they realize that this song seemed to be quite amazing?

    Indeed, this song is amazing.

    Because with the voices of the four Maestros, even more music professionals gave their evaluations of this song, including some Maestros who had some interactions with Xian Yu:

    ''The one and only dark-themed song by Xian Yu, this song can be named a piece of art.''

    ¡ª¡ªYang ZhongMing

    ''If we don''t talk about Xian Yu''s piano composition, this song is probably the second one that makes me feel Xian Yu has the potential to reach godly status, after ''The Sea Laughs''.''

    ¡ª¡ªZheng Jing

    ''From all of Xian Yu''s songs, ''Boastful'' is my first favorite, this one comes second.''

    ¡ª¡ªWu Long

    ''Among all Xian Yu''s songs, ''May You Always Be Well'' ranks first in terms of lyrics, and this song stands second. Of course, this is for the Fu fans. If you''re not a Fu fan, it''s just okay.''

    ¡ª¡ªMike

    Among these reactions,

    The musician "Towards the North of the Sun", who previously thought Xian Yu released a song in June themed on Sherlock Holmes, also posted a status: "I was slapped in the face by Fish Papa. This lesson tells me that we mortals should not try to speculate the limits of these immortals. Fish Papa''s reason for not changing the song must have been to pre-judge the reaction of Sherlock''s fans.

    As long as this song can sweep all of them, the ranking will not be bad. But I don''t want to talk about rankings now, I just want to say, this song is mind-blowingly awesome, probably the kind that will be repeatedly analyzed by the music world across five continents!"

    Netizens are a little stunned.

    Is it really that incredible?

    Once a certain trend forms, it''s hard for people to swim against the current.

    More people will just follow the trend.

    If professionals are saying this song is awesome, and I can''t see it, wouldn''t that show my aesthetic is too low?

    "Incredible!"

    "Really Incredible!"

    "Such powerful composition!"

    "The arrangement is genius!"

    "The more I listen, the more amazing I think it is!"

    "..."

    Goodness.

    No one mentions how this song was crowed the champion by Sherlock''s fans, everyone has become a fan of Fish, to the point where some people even say this is Xian Yu''s most incredible song, somewhat overzealous.

    Of course.

    Some are mindlessly praising, and some are not.

    Some professionals even made specific videos and articles, properly explaining to netizens the fantastic aspects of this song.

    On Earth.

    The initial reaction to "The Seventh Chapter of Night" when it was first released, was nothing exaggerated.

    Having said that.

    This may also have to do with the fact that all the other works in this album are utterly astonishing.

    As everyone knows.

    Director Zhou''s first few albums are all gems.

    Because the first few were so powerful, the many songs Director Zhou wrote afterwards have all been described as mediocre.

    The explosive professional reputation of this song started with analysis from various GOAT.

    Similar analyses can be found in abundance on various video websites.

    Blue Star was not an exception.

    For some musicians, popularity seemed to have little to do with the depth of their work, but they were certainly experts in analyzing how incredible "The Seventh Chapter of Night" was!

    This only made the song even hotter!

    The difference between this song and Xian Yu''s other songs is that...

    Xian Yu''s other songs, such as "Red Roses" and the like, are often selected in karaoke lounges!

    Only this one, which was the champion of the season, is almost never chosen in KTV.

    It''s just too difficult for ordinary people to sing!

    The industry''s analysis of the song''s popularity problem, in the face of this fact, obtained compelling evidence.

    However, most songs that have problems with popularity can hardly achieve good results.

    This song is one of the rare exceptions.

    And this was beyond what Lin Yuan had expected.

    He didn''t expect "The Seventh Chapter of Night" to experience another surge of popularity because of its rave reviews.

    Is the soaring number of downloads really from people who love it?

    If everyone really loves this song, would they love Director Zhou''s next professional dark themed mega hit even more in the future?

    That song is said to be an upgraded version of "The Seventh Chapter of Night".

    Well.

    No need to fuss about that now.

    That song doesn''t need to be brought up just yet.

    What Lin Yuan needs to think about now is, should Shadow make a move?

    And after Chu Kuang finishes "The Great Detective Sherlock Holmes", what should he write next?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Since there''s been quite a bit of discussion about song selection, why don''t we do a little survey here? Excluding piano pieces and instrumentals, if we rank all the songs released by the protagonist so far, what would be the top three in everyone''s mind? Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 728 - 694: Trinity_1

    Over the next few days, "the Seventh Chapter of Night" continued to hold its champion position steadfastly.

    On the internet.

    Various discussions revolving around the song hadn''t ended yet.

    Just when the discussions were at their peak, the official account of the Qin Continent''s Literature and Art Association suddenly announced a piece of news:

    "Today, Xian Yu is officially a rising first-line singer at Blue Star!"

    In an instant!

    Everyone''s attention was drawn to it!

    At this point, no one went on discussing "The Seventh Chapter of Night"!

    Countless topics!

    Suddenly shifted back to Xian Yu itself!

    Accompanied by many netizens'' amazement and surprise!

    A hashtag called #XianYuBecomesFirstLineSinger# shot directly to the trending list!

    Xian Yu has become a first-line singer!

    He''s plainly a songwriter, isn''t he!

    It''s well-known that out of hobby or something, Xian Yu sings some songs on his own. And surprisingly, he has established himself as a genuine first-line singer!

    Exactly.

    Despite Xian Yu often competes with the singing kings and queens from various continents, being a first-line singer in the music industry is still a high-profile position that not just anyone can achieve!

    Therefore.

    Seeing Xian Yu becoming a first-line singer, many people''s expressions became peculiar.

    Probably even Xian Yu himself didn''t expect that he would become a first-line singer in the music industry as a songwriter, did he?

    "Fucking hell, Xian Yu becomes the first-line singer!"

    "Consider it this way, Fish Papa is the best singer among all the composers in Blue Star, at the same time he is the best composer among all the singers?" sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Fish Papa: I''m obviously a composer, but I accidentally became a first-line singer."

    "I fucking didn''t realize at all that Fish Papa has sung so many popular songs unconsciously!"

    "If Fish Papa is willing to sing more songs, wouldn''t he pick up the title of King of Singing on the way?"

    "So the old saying is indeed correct, Fish Papa doesn''t need to aim for the twelve consecutive championships; if he wants to become Maestro, just prop himself up to be the King of Singing, and push Jiang Kui to be the Queen of Singing, right?"

    "If you have to admit, it won''t be difficult for Fish Papa to become the King of Singing, right?"

    "After all, both Xian Yu and Jiang Kui have already reached the level of the King and Queen of Singing in terms of their strength. It''s just that the sales of their personal performance works haven''t caught up yet. Besides, Fish Papa is stronger than Jiang Kui, after he sings, he has significantly bested quite a few Kings and Queens of Singing!"

    "What is called being awesome!"

    "This is called being awesome!"

    "He can obviously accomplish becoming Maestro in the easiest way, but he chose the hardest road!"

    " ¡­ "

    Not to mention the netizens.

    Even Lin Yuan himself didn''t expect that he would unknowingly become a first-line singer.

    Just as the netizens analyzed.

    For Lin Yuan to become the King of Singing does not seem to be a difficult thing. He just needs to release more songs of his own performance.

    In the entire music history of Blue Star.

    No one has ever simultaneously held both the titles of Maestro and the King or Queen of Singing!

    If Lin Yuan can accomplish this, he would probably also set a precedent in the music industry of Blue Star.

    "Get the title of Maestro first, then turn myself into the King of Singing?"

    This idea springs in Lin Yuan''s heart.

    He has always been clear about his own positioning.

    Even after regaining his voice, Lin Yuan does not intend to be a singer as his main profession. He is still a composer.

    But if he could create an interesting history, he wouldn''t mind realizing it at some point, could this also be considered as a reward for his passion in singing?

    In fact.

    What shocked everyone was not that Xian Yu became a first-line singer, but how he did so effortlessly.

    For other first-line singers, they could finally become a first-line singer through continuous efforts in their careers.

    However, for Xian Yu to become a first-line singer seems to be just "by the way".

    Exactly.

    It''s just "by the way".

    Many have struggled for a lifetime but still could not reach their pursuit of goals, however, Xian Yu achieved this without anyone being aware of it.

    ¡­

    Unexpected but reasonable.

    This is probably the best summary of Xian Yu becoming a first-line singer.

    The unexpected aspect is that Xian Yu wasn''t seen to be particularly active as a singer, many even occasionally forgot about his identity as a singer.

    Because his halo as Maestro Junior is too dazzling!

    The reasonable aspect is that starting from "The Masked Singer", Xian Yu has sung quite a lot of songs on his own.

    All these songs were hits!

    The accumulated popularity and data together have established Xian Yu''s status as a first-line singer.

    "I suddenly had a terrifying thought!"

    On the internet, a netizen posted: "Everyone knows that there are three ways to become Maestro, do you think Fish Papa could possibly achieve all of these at once, that is, he won the twelve consecutive championships, brought up the King and Queen of Singing, and also won an award from the Literature and Art Association for one of his works, becoming the first-ever three-in-one Maestro in history¡­.."

    This post instantly garnered a significant number of discussions.

    "If he really makes this, can Fish Papa''s status directly reach the level of Yang Zhongming?"

    "No way!"

    "Firstly, the twelve consecutive championships is still an unknown. This month''s "The Seventh Chapter of Night" is clearly struggling to win the championship. Without the help of Fu Mi, Fish Papa might have overturned on this."

    "Saying Fish Papa could bring up the King and Queen of Singing and become Maestro based on this is still possible."

    "As for some of Fish Papa''s works directly getting the recognition from the Literature and Art Association, the difficulty of this is just a tiny bit easier than Fish Papa making it through the twelve consecutive championships. The only universally accepted way to become Maestro now is to bring up two singers of the King and Queen level."

    "Not talking about reaching Father Yang''s level, as long as Xian Yu achieves three-in-one, he would directly make it to the top ten composers in Blue Star!"

    "Though I am Xian Yu''s fan, I can only say, this thought is too insane."

    "Absolutely unrealistic."

    "How many composers can do this in Blue Star as of now?"

    "I just counted a bit, currently, only three people are being able to do this."

    "Like Father Yang, currently with two-in-one, he has brought up several Kings and Queens of Singing, reaching the standard of Maestro, and he also has a song that received official recognition by the Literature and Art Association. But Father Yang has never won the twelve consecutive championships."

    "I think it''s because Father Yang has never tried to go for the twelve consecutive championships."

    "Among the top ten composers in Blue Star, several of them should have the potential to hit twelve consecutive championships, it''s just that they chose not to do so due to reasons like their personal energy."

    "..."

    This post indeed stirred up some attention.

    But the ultimate conclusion is that Xian Yu can''t do this.

    This is not a matter of whether he has support or not anymore.

    Purely because there are too few people in Blue Star who have helped him realize this.

    Any person who can achieve this is at the top of the pyramid in the music industry of Blue Star!

    Saying Lin Yuan, at his current age, can achieve this would be almost like a wild flight of fancy!

    Everyone does acknowledge this Maestro Junior''s strength...

    But that doesn''t mean everyone also acknowledges that Xian Yu''s level has already reached the apex of Blue Star''s music industry.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Continue to ask for monthly tickets, Polluted White continues to write

 Chapter 729 - 695 Shadow is Going to Start Business_1

    Lin Yuan also noticed this post.

    The Three-in-one!

    For him, this indeed seemed hard to achieve.

    Handing over a King of Singing''s song was not a difficult task.

    But the journey towards twelve straight wins was only halfway through, and it was hard to predict what would happen next.

    And the uncertainty was even higher for a single work to win the highest award for a single song, depending on the judges'' tastes.

    However, while it may be difficult, it''s not impossible.

    In the future, for the sake of reputation, Lin Yuan might try to achieve this goal.

    With such thoughts in mind,

    Lin Yuan stopped paying attention to the online trends.

    As for becoming a first-tier singer, it didn''t have any impact on Lin Yuan''s life.

    He had too many identities.

    The priority of being a singer wasn''t high.

    There were still two pseudonyms waiting for work.

    The first one was Chu Kuang, who had just finished "Detective Conan".

    Chu Kuang had been writing for several years without any rest. According to usual practice, Lin Yuan should be considering Chu Kuang''s next work.

    But these days, Lin Yuan thought about giving Chu Kuang a break for a while.

    As a result, it was time for Shadow to get to work.

    Primarily because Shadow had been resting for too long.

    If Shadow doesn''t start working soon, his low-profile persona would become even stronger.

    If this continues, everyone would probably forget that Shadow is one of the Three Bros.

    Right.

    Shadow''s task was definitely still to create manga.

    As for the theme of Shadow''s next manga, Lin Yuan already had a general idea.

    He wanted to draw a detective manga based on mystery elements!

    However, when it came to the specific choice of manga, Lin Yuan was somewhat hesitant.

    He had two works that were quite fitting.

    One was a manga paying homage to "Detective Conan", also known as Grim Reaper Elementary Student!

    Well, its real name was "Detective Conan".

    The other was the relatively niche "The Kindaichi Case Files".

    If considering only the breadth of the audience, he would definitely choose Conan.

    But,

    When considering the professionalism of deduction, "The Kindaichi Case Files" was more impressive.

    The professionalism of deduction in this manga reached novel-level standards.

    Many national films and TV detective cases have imitated Kindaichi''s work.

    Including the Celestial Dynasty''s "The Young Detective" and various criminal police case-solving dramas.

    Lin Yuan was torn by this choice.

    If it came to making money, he would definitely look to Conan. However, Lin Yuan is no longer the penny-pinching young man he once was.

    For Shadow, reputation is also vital!

    However, Lin Yuan only wavered for ten minutes before finding his answer:

    Only children make choices!

    Grown-ups want it all!

    He might as well draw both manga!

    Popularity would come from Conan while reputation from the Kindaichi doing both jobs at the same time!

    At most, he would just tire a little.

    Although now Luo Wei and the studio assistants have improved a lot.

    With their help, Lin Yuan could still take it easy.

    Having decided on this,

    Lin Yuan arranged for these two manga with the System.

    In terms of pricing, Grim Reaper Elementary Student outclassed "The Kindaichi Case Files".

    As expected.

    Having a broad audience was crucial.

    Then, Lin Yuan told Jin Mu about his plans to start a new manga.

    Jin Mu laughed, "You finally remembered that you''re also a manga artist!"

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    After teasing Lin Yuan for a bit, Jin Mu asked: "What kind of manga are you planning to make this time?"

    "Mystery."

    "Mystery?"

    Jin Mu was stunned: "Mystery is a popular element in novels, but it''s quite niche in manga¡­"

    "Niche, you say?"

    Lin Yuan looked at Jin Mu.

    Jin Mu tapped his forehead: "Sorry, I was not thinking straight¡­ If it''s you, even a mystery manga could become popular. There shouldn''t be any issue."

    That''s right.

    Even after following Lin Yuan for so long, Jin Mu still subconsciously thought according to conventional rules.

    But who is his boss?

    Does his boss ever care about whether the theme is niche?

    Even the coldest of themes always become popular under Lin Yuan''s hands, don''t they?

    Take Chu Kuang''s novels, for example, though they all have cold themes, they all end up creating a massive impact!

    Even Xian Yu''s songs have started featuring niche elements.

    Who would have thought that the recent "The Seventh Chapter of Night," which had a dark and suspenseful style, would be a hit? sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Even for Shadow, wasn''t "King of the Net" a niche theme?

    Yet, didn''t it end up exploding in popularity?

    What the boss excels at is turning something considered niche into something popular, leaving everyone dumbfounded.

    As if he wouldn''t be able to show off how powerful he is without making a niche theme popular.

    Moreover, Shadow drawing a mystery manga!

    What a great topic!

    Following in Chu Kuang''s footsteps!

    Who knows, maybe he could even pull a "Paying Homage to Conan" stunt like Xian Yu did.

    "That''s decided then."

    "Alright, what''s the manga''s name?"

    "The Kindaichi Case Files."

    Lin Yuan planned to release "The Kindaichi Case Files" first, and Grim Reaper Elementary Student would follow suit.

    "Strange name."

    Jin Mu commented, then pulled up his phone: "I''ll contact Tribe Comics about it. Our contract should be upgraded once again."

    Tribe Comics was the undisputed number one online manga site in Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han.

    With the backing of Tribe, the site''s traffic crushed other manga sites.

    With Lin Yuan launching a new manga, Tribe Comics, a platform they''ve been working with for several years, was the default option unless something extraordinary happened.

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    While Jin Mu was contacting Tribe Comics, Lin Yuan summoned Luo Wei.

    "You''re going to draw a manga?!"

    Luo Wei, upon learning of Lin Yuan''s decision, started jumping excitedly. Only heaven knew how long she had been waiting for this moment!

    "Yes, let''s get to work."

    As Lin Yuan spoke, he began designing the characters for "The Kindaichi Case Files" manga.

    He was designing and conversing with Luo Wei at the same time.

    Lin Yuan, with his master-level drawing skills and high artistic vision, wasn''t satisfied with the original work''s art.

    It wasn''t that the original work was bad.

    The main reason was that the manga''s original art style was too old-fashioned. It had the look of a very classic manga style.

    Even when copying a manga, one couldn''t just mindlessly copy everything. The art style still had to be more in line with the aesthetic tastes of the audience of this era...

    The plot didn''t need to be changed.

    The original manga''s plot was impressive.

    After discussing for a while, Jin Mu suddenly walked into the drawing office:

    "Tribe Comics has agreed to negotiate a contract upgrade with us. The contract upgrade shouldn''t be a problem, but it seems like something happened over their side."

    "What happened?"

    "The person in charge at Tribe Comics has been replaced."

    "Who was it before?"

    "Han Jimei."

    "Oh."

    Lin Yuan recalled the female director.

    Jin Mu lamented a little:

    "Working with Han Jimei was quite pleasant. However, for some unknown reason, Han Jimei has left Tribe Comics¡­"

    "That''s their internal affairs."

    Lin Yuan didn''t care who their person in charge was; it was their internal matters.

    "Yes."

    Jin Mu nodded.

    He was just making an offhand remark.

 Chapter 730 - 696 Polarization_1

    In the following few days.

    Lin Yuan, along with Luo Wei and their assistants, worked on creating "The Kindaichi Case Files" in the studio.

    One week later.

    Jin Mu finalized a new contract with Tribe Comics which offered better terms.

    After the contract negotiation was completed.

    Jin Mu said to Lin Yuan, "Negotiations were not very smooth. The new manager of Tribe Comics is not as straightforward as Han Jimei, but thankfully they agreed to our terms in the end, so it all worked out for us..."

    Lin Yuan nodded: "You''ve worked hard."

    "I wouldn''t say it was hard."

    Jin Mu laughed, "The difficulty in reaching this contract was not just because Tribe Comics changed their manager, but also because Tribe Comics'' influence has grown exponentially these few years. The top comic creators are all gathered on this site, they''ve almost monopolized the resources of comic authors.

    Even if any author were to leave the site, they wouldn''t have anywhere else to go, as they''ve taken all the traffic from other comic sites. It''s precisely because of this that they dare to manipulate the authors."

    This is quite normal.

    Back when Tribe Comics was in its early stages, they were the ones seeking out comic creators.

    Now, Tribe Comics leads the industry in traffic, and they dictate the market trends, which has caused the comic creators to seek them out instead.

    Of course.

    For comic creators like Shadow, the impact isn''t particularly large.

    Tribe Comics still values its top comic authors and is still willing to make concessions in contracts, though the size of these concessions is certainly smaller than before, and negotiations concerning the distribution of profits have become more difficult.

    "It''s normal."

    Lin Yuan speaks up.

    He feels this is because Shadow''s influence isn''t quite big enough yet.

    If Shadow had the same industry influence as Chu Kuang and Xian Yu, then there would definitely not be any similar issues, as the terms Jin Mu proposes are practically never too harsh.

    Chu Kuang and Xian Yu never had any problems concerning contract negotiations either.

    Perhaps things will change once "Detective Conan" is released.

    "The promotion will be launched tonight, we should confirm the exact release date for our comic."

    "Let''s do it tonight then."

    Over the past few days, Lin Yuan, Luo Wei and the other assistants have created enough drafts for the early issues of the comic.

    "All right."

    Jin Mu continued to liaise with Tribe Comics.

    Finally, the message that Shadow was releasing a new comic was officially announced on Tribe Comics'' official platform:

    [Teacher Shadow''s first mystery comic "The Kindaichi Case Files" will be officially released on the Tribe Comics platform at 8 o''clock tonight. Please look forward to it!]

    This sudden surprise hit Shadow''s fans hard!

    This lazy guy Shadow is finally releasing a new comic!

    Since the end of "Death Note" last year, Shadow seemed to have disappeared, with no news of any new works¡ª

    Until today.

    People have been asking online where Shadow had gone.

    Why isn''t Shadow drawing new comics?

    Some of Shadow''s fans even went to the comment section of Xian Yu and Chu Kuang, Shadow''s two good bros, to ask why there had been no news from Shadow.

    Unfortunately, neither Chu Kuang nor Xian Yu responded.

    About this, Shadow''s fans could only guess:

    Shadow''s laziness must have kicked in again!

    Don''t forget that Shadow has a history of this!

    For instance, even though he has exceptional drawing skills, the two comics before "Death Note" were not drawn earnestly.

    Without the criticisms from the Chu Continent comic creators that year, he probably wouldn''t have displayed his best drawing skills in classics like "Death Note", but instead, would have continued to halfheartedly create.

    Never seen such a willful comic creator before!

    Now seeing news of Shadow''s new work, the fans finally breathe a sigh of relief:

    "Looks like he''s still alive."

    "Among the three bros, Xian Yu is the most diligent one, but even Chu Kuang, whose reputation is so rotten, is very diligent in updating his novels. Shadow, however, always thinks about how to be lazy despite his immense talent."

    "I almost thought he had switched his career to become an illustrator."

    "Ever since "Death Note" was completed, only when Chu Kuang was writing his novels could we see Shadow''s name under the column of illustrators. And his drawing skills are still incredibly good."

    "However, the theme of this new comic is really interesting!"

    "It''s a mystery comic! Are there any popular mystery comics in Blue Star?"

    "There has never been a popular mystery comic."

    "Would Shadow end up drawing a detective comic after having watched ''The Great Detective Sherlock Holmes''?"

    "Is this some kind of collab with that old rascal Chu Kuang?"

    "Xian Yu''s ''The Seventh Chapter of Night'' is the definition of a collab. At most, Shadow is just riding the coattails of the detective fad."

    "I have to admit, even though I have no interest in detective stories, when I heard that Shadow was going to draw a detective comic for his next work, I was intrigued. After all, the quality of his comics is undeniable."

    "Who would''ve thought that Shadow would also dip into detective stories? He''s like the Chu Kuang of the comic world, mastering all themes!"

    "In terms of their diverse range of themes, the Three Bros are all rather talented, looking forward to ''The Kindaichi Case Files''!"

    "...."

    Despite his nearly year-long hiatus, Shadow''s popularity hadn''t diminished in the slightest. The number of his followers was still high, given that his three prior comics were all successful.

    In his fans'' anticipation.

    The comic was finally launched and published on schedule at 8 o''clock that evening!

    Swipe swipe swipe!

    Shadow''s fans were the first to open up the comic!

    On the ''Newly Popular'' chart.

    This comic, named ''The Kindaichi Case Files'', quickly soared up to the top five!

    This is the bonus that fame brings!

    Regardless of the theme of the work, as long as the author is renowned, the minute it''s published it can instantly attract numerous readers.

    Not just readers.

    Some fellow comic artists on the Tribe website, out of curiosity, opened up this comic as well.

    If this was an ordinary detective comic, or if it was by another author, everyone would undoubtedly underestimate it due to its niche theme.

    But the themes of Shadow''s earlier comics weren''t exactly popular either, yet they all became more successful than the last!

    Given this, no one dared to make an offhand guess on whether this comic will be a hit...

    However.

    When the insiders, the comic artists, finished reading the initial content, their expressions changed almost in synchrony, becoming hesitant.

    How should they put it?

    This comic is amazing!

    The storyline is of superior quality!

    The detective aspect is rather hardcore!

    But...

    It seems like Shadow hasn''t entirely broken away from the niche aura emitted by detective comics?

    Or perhaps only partway?

    Anyway, it feels different than what they had expected.

    Maybe it''s just because the plot hasn''t fully unfolded yet?

    The fellow comic artists were lost in thought.

    The comment section of the comic.

    It was bustling with activity.

    But the two most popular posts with the highest reply rate revealed two drastically different reader attitudes.

    The first view:

    "Shadow is indeed badass as always. Just judging by the opening chapter, this is definitely the best detective comic I''ve ever read. The detective aspect gives a taste of orthodox mystery, the plot setting is extremely precise, the artwork style is impressively cool as always, and the first story arc is full of twists and turns. Looking forward to the future developments!"

    The second view:

    "The artwork style undoubtedly reigns supreme, as does the detective aspect. But somehow I just don''t enjoy detective stories¡ªI tried to read it but I felt only mildly drawn to it. I''ll wait and see if there will be any interesting twists later."

    The reviews weren''t bad at all!

    However, the two divergent attitudes in the readers'' comments were rather thought-provoking.

    At that time, Lin Yuan was sitting in front of his computer, not at all surprised by the commentary.

    This comic is best suited for building up reputation and earning acclaim.

    If he wants a hype explosion, he still needs ''Detective Conan.''

    The story of ''Grim Reaper Elementary Student'' is perfect for family entertainment. Even those who do not like detective stories can enjoy it, because the character design and story threshold of Conan are very low, and the badass atmosphere and satisfactions are quite popularized. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "I''ll roll out Conan in a while."

    As he switched off the computer, Lin Yuan had already come to a decision.

    -------------------------

    ps: Thanks to the Alliance Hierarch "Meng Ji Sui" for the sponsorship, let me pay my respects to you¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, I''ve been traveling all day and the updates became too late. I need a good sleep tonight; we''ll get three updates tomorrow. Four is not guaranteed but I''ll try my best. I need monthly votes for April!

 Chapter 731 - 697: Applauded but not Popular_1

    In the days to follow, "The Kindaichi Case Files" continued to be serialized, with more and more new content coming out.

    On the Starry Sky website.

    The rating was out.

    The manga called "The Kindaichi Case Files" had unbelievably achieved a rare rating of 9.5 points!

    The reviews were through the roof!

    It was the highest-rated of all the manga Shadow had released, with readers becoming more and more satisfied with its plot twist. Even many people claimed that "The Kindaichi Case Files" was the best quality detective manga among all Blue Star Comics!

    But what was odd...

    Despite being the best-reviewed of all Shadow''s published works, this manga''s popularity didn''t seem to explode in relation to its ratings and reviews!

    On the contrary.

    While Kindaichi''s reputation continued to rise, the popularity of this manga actually dropped slightly from the first day?

    Yes, it was dropping!

    On the new work chart, Kindaichi gradually slipped from the first day''s top position to the second.

    The one to surpass Shadow was a new work from a less famous mangaka.

    It looked like the third place was closing in on Kindaichi fast, maybe it could push Kindaichi to third place in a few days?

    The situation was now clear.

    Shadow''s new manga was critically acclaimed but not popular among readers!

    On one hand, there were waves of positive reviews and ratings, but on the other hand, there was a daily decline in rankings and popularity!

    In the past, this would have been an impossible situation.

    No one ever thought Shadow''s manga could end up being critically acclaimed but not popular!

    The industry finally stopped hesitating and doubting:

    "After all, detective stories are niches. Even Shadow cannot save this category''s low popularity and attention."

    "No matter how good the reviews are, insufficient sales still make it pointless!"

    "This time Shadow chose the wrong theme."

    "Shadow thought he could draw a niche detective story and readers would still be interested, but in the end, he has proved to be overly arrogant."

    "The artwork is really good, the plot is really good, everyone acknowledges that this manga is excellent, but such a theme is destined to not be universally popular."

    "The reason for the high rating is that those who don''t like this manga have given up."

    "The high score is because those who gave up on this manga couldn''t give it bad reviews, because everyone knows the work is actually great, from the plot and artwork you can tell, like a director''s heartfully made movie, the scenes and shots are top-notch, but unfortunately not everyone finds it intriguing."

    "Shadow flopped."

    "..."

    In fact, this achievement is pretty decent for an average mangaka.

    But for a manga artist of Shadow''s caliber, this result is absolutely a flop.

    In terms of popularity comparison.

    Out of Shadow''s four manga, the most popular one is "Death Note".

    The least popular one is Kindaichi.

    Even though Kindaichi''s reputation surpasses "Death Note".

    Almost a year without a new manga.

    The long wait did not cause Shadow''s fans to leave.

    However, because "The Kindaichi Case Files" was of a niche and unpopular genre, it led to a loss of Shadow''s fans.

    Considering this.

    Those readers and fans who like this manga even started to worry:

    Would Shadow end up cutting short "The Kindaichi Case Files"?

    Manga readers were well-experienced.

    They knew it well!

    Some manga artists, when facing disappointing sales of new works, often stopped the unsuccessful work to start a new one.

    Especially a manga artist like Shadow who became super popular right out of the gate!

    The previous three manga each more popular than the last, suddenly the fourth manga was underperforming, successful in reviews but unpopular among readers.

    Under such a huge drop, could Shadow withstand such a blow?

    ...

    Of course, Lin Yuan could withstand such a blow.

    Whether it was a flop or not, "The Kindaichi Case Files" was clearly a popular manga.

    It''s just that everyone subconsciously benchmarked the popularity of this manga with "Death Note".

    Compared to his previous work, the performance of this manga was not satisfactory.

    But in the whole manga circle, this manga was still very successful, not to mention that the reviews were so positive!

    Anyway, Lin Yuan had no plans to stop this manga.

    It would be too hurtful to those readers who truly loved this manga.

    He''d just keep going with the serialization.

    As a matter of fact.

    Not only the readers were worried about Shadow''s serial absenteeism.

    Seeing the success of "The Kindaichi Case Files", Luo Wei and Jin Mu also tested Lin Yuan''s attitude:

    "Have you considered starting a new project?"

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Jin Mu''s face changed slightly.

    Luo Wei hastily asked, "What about ''The Kindaichi Case Files'' then?"

    Lin Yuan replied matter-of-factly, "Continue to release."

    Jin Mu breathed a sigh of relief: "Then you are still considering starting a new project¡­"

    Lin Yuan countered, "Who said we can only work on one project at a time?"

    Jin Mu was shocked.

    Luo Wei was also taken aback:

    "Two at once?"

    Lin Yuan laughed, "That''s the idea. Anyway, ''The Kindaichi Case Files'' will definitely not be cut."

    "..."

    The expressions on Luo Wei and Jin Mu''s faces became strange.

    Just as the two were about to say something, Jin Mu''s phone rang.

    Jin Mu went out to answer the call.

    After the call, Jin Mu returned to the office, his face looked somewhat uneasy.

    Luo Wei asked, "What happened?"

    Jin Mu snapped, "Tribe Comics hinted at us abandoning ''The Kindaichi Case Files'' to start a new project."

    Luo Wei was drawing, her hand paused suddenly, she no longer wanted to continue drawing. She spoke coldly:

    "Didn''t Tribe Comics always refrain from meddling with authors'' affairs? The contract also stipulates that the website should not interfere with the author''s creation. Their hint to cut off the comic is very unfair to readers who are waiting for updates!"

    Luo Wei still loved ''The Kindaichi Case Files'' very much.

    From her personal feelings, she absolutely did not want to abandon this comic. Although this piece did not perform as well as Shadow''s previous three works, it was nowhere near discontinuation.

    Lin Yuan also frowned slightly.

    Tribe Comics had somewhat overstepped their boundaries.

    Jin Mu sighed, "They understand the contract, so it was just a suggestion. I''ve already declined it. This is pure capitalist behavior. They think we can make more money by starting a new project than ''The Kindaichi Case Files''."

    Luo Wei pursed her lips: "But they can''t just think about making money, they have to respect their own users."

    "They have a new person in charge..."

    Jin Mu was helpless.

    If Han Jimei were still in charge of Tribe Comics, this would not have happened.

    This new manager is not very capable.

    Lin Yuan suddenly said, "Then let''s start a new project and communicate with them."

    "Are we really going to take on two projects?"

    Both Jin Mu and Luo Wei were somewhat worried.

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Luo Wei said, "Then the update speed of both comics will be affected."

    Jin Mu added, "Taking on two projects at the same time could also lead to insufficient creative energy, making it easy to pull each other down and not focus on one comic."

    You must know, ''The Kindaichi Case Files'', this kind of comic is very plot driven.

    If there isn''t enough time to brainstorm, the quality of the plot may suffer.

    "It''s okay."

    Lin Yuan had already made up his mind.

    Jin Mu has always had no power to sway the decisions of his boss, so he did not continue to insist: "What is the theme of the new project?"

    Cuisine?

    Competition?

    Or continue following the successful path, drawing a cunningly-crafted intellectual comic like "Death Note"?

    "Mystery."

    Lin Yuan spoke.

    Poof!

    Luo Wei almost fell over.

    Jin Mu was also utterly confused, "What?"

    Lin Yuan had to repeat himself: "Mystery."

    Luo Wei: "..."

    Jin Mu: "..."

    The new project is still a mystery comic?

    Teacher Shadow, is it us or is there something wrong with you?

    sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 732 - 698: He Said He Doesnt Accept_1

    Tribe Comics.

    In the meeting room.

    The new manager, Ling Kong, stated with a stern face, "Tribe Comics is currently the highest-ranking website in the industry, but I don''t want us to grow complacent as we still have plenty of room to grow. The issue I want to raise today is that our company''s contracts with top writers are too lenient.

    I''m not suggesting that my predecessor did a poor job; quite the contrary, they did an admirable job attracting over ninety percent of the industry''s outstanding comic artists to our site under the most favourable terms, making our site grow rapidly. However, now that our site has developed and we can provide better resources for the authors, shouldn''t they contribute more?

    This is where my predecessor fell short... Business isn''t run on goodwill, and no company can sustain itself on it alone..."

    No one speaks up.

    The new manager began drastic changes in the company''s system soon after taking over, showing a clear trend towards "de-Han-jimeization".

    This was only to be expected.

    The new manager didn''t want to be seen as picking low hanging fruit at Tribe Comics.

    Eager to make the website better, he wanted to prove that he was more suitable for his current position than Han Jimei.

    After the opening remarks.

    Ling Kong turned to his deputy editor on the right, "How did the negotiation with Shadow go?"

    The deputy editor replied with difficulty, "They are unwilling to cut the ''Kindaichi Case Files'' in half."

    Ling Kong frowned, "Didn''t you make our point clear? I can offer them the best contract, but Shadow''s current work does not match his treatment. I need him to deliver greater value to justify the company''s concessions in the contract."

    "I made it clear..."

    The deputy editor forced a smile, "But Teacher Shadow doesn''t listen to our company... Ms. Han... cough, Han Jimei also once stated that Tribe Comics would give Shadow the greatest creative freedom..."

    "What I hate the most is the disobedience of my subordinates. Do you all understand now?"

    Ling Kong scanned the audience, "My predecessor spoiled these comic artists, especially the top-tier ones. If Shadow wants to continue drawing, he can do so, but his promotion power will be reduced until he realizes that his achievement doesn''t justify his treatment. My philosophy, I believe, is clear to you all: reputation is worthless compared to sales.

    This will also be the philosophy of our website from now on."

    "Well..."

    The deputy editor began, "But Shadow has agreed to start a new comic."

    "A double launch?"

    The other editors expressed surprise.

    One of them hesitated a little and said,

    "If Teacher Shadow has decided to do a double launch, it means that although he hasn''t completely followed your requirements, he has still made a concession. In his previous three comics, Teacher Shadow never made any concessions to the company..."

    Many others nodded in agreement.

    Many seasoned editors who had been there during Han Jimei''s tenure were present.

    These senior editors knew that Shadow had a strong stance in his interactions with Tribe Comics.

    Before the release of "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma", Han Jimei had tried to persuade Shadow to change his mind, as the market for food comics was tough.

    But Shadow flatly ignored her advice.

    This time, Shadow''s willingness to do a double launch was indeed a rare concession.

    "Double launch, huh?"

    Ling Kong''s face softened slightly, "It seems he''s being sensible. If that''s the case, then we can work with it. These comic artists are not unlike snobbish literati; they cherish their pride, which I understand and can give them. If only pride could be used to pay for meals... What''s the theme of the new work?"

    "Detective story..."

    The voice of the deputy editor was faint.

    "What?"

    Ling Kong thought he had heard wrong.

    "Detective story..."

    The deputy editor''s voice became even fainter, like a mosquito, but everyone in the room heard it clearly.

    The audience''s faces changed instantly.

    Ling Kong''s eye twitched drastically.

    Are they messing with me?

    Continuing with detective stories?

    Isn''t it obvious that the "Kindaichi Case Files" isn''t doing well because it''s a "detective story"?

    This niche is too small!

    And yet his new work also dwells on detective stories, as if he wants to prove something with his obstinacy!

    "I think I can understand Shadow''s choice. He is very accomplished. His resolve to continue drawing detective comics must be because he has learned from the lessons of ''Kindaichi Case Files''..."

    The editor who had previously said that Shadow had made a concession bravely spoke.

    "Shut up!"

    Ling Kong interrupted him coldly. "Either change the theme or decrease the contractual terms. Besides... forget it, I will personally take over the negotiation this time!"

    "But..."

    "I don''t want to repeat myself!"

    Ling Kong spoke coldly, "You call this a concession? This is a provocation! He''s not trying to solve the problem, but walking further down the problematic path!"

    Everyone fell silent.

    Vaguely, everyone could hear Ling Kong growling the word "mad".

    The office became even quieter.

    The leadership styles of the two managers of Tribe Comics were worlds apart.

    Han Jimei was lenient and cared about goodwill. She got along well with the comic artists.

    The downside was that she sometimes cared too much about goodwill, treating the comic artists more favourably than the industry standard.

    Ling Kong put profit first and cared about rules.

    His collaboration with comic artists was purely business. There was no room for favouritism.

    In fact...

    The previous department under Ling Kong''s management was very successful.

    He was not a weak person who replaced Han Jimei due to company ties.

    If he had any flaws?

    The whole company knew that Ling Kong was the kind of person who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals. This was how Han Jimei had lost her job.

    However...

    There were even larger reasons behind it.

    Inside the Shadow Studio.

    Luo Wei turned to a group of assistants:

    "The updates for ''Kindaichi Case Files'' need to speed up. Everyone needs to contribute to the drawing. As you''ve been learning from Teacher Shadow for so long, you should have developed the capability to draw independently by now. Meanwhile, we need to dig another hole for a new project..."

    The group responded with excitement!

    This brings us to the everyday life of the studio.

    Lin Yuan is a manga creator and chief artist, as well as Luo Wei''s teacher, regularly teaching her traditional Chinese painting.

    Apart from traditional Chinese painting, Lin Yuan also teaches Luo Wei how to draw manga.

    Under the Teacher''s Halo, Luo Wei''s manga drawing skills improved rapidly, to the point where she is now worthy of substituting for Lin Yuan.

    In his downtime, Lin Yuan also teaches other studio assistants how to draw manga.

    After activating the Teacher''s Halo, and years of instruction, his assistants'' drawing skills have vastly improved!

    Everyone is now eager to put their skills to the test!

    God knows to what extent they have learned from Teacher Shadow!

    There''s a reason why Lin Yuan is doing this, of course.

    He has many manga to release in the future, and it''s too much for one person, even with Luo Wei''s help, so he must train more helpers.

    Under normal circumstances, Lin Yuan wouldn''t be able to produce a group of master painters in just a few years.

    No one can!

    But Lin Yuan has the Teacher''s Halo, an unorthodox external aid!

    So now, every assistant in the studio possesses an impressive level of drawing skills!

    If these little helpers from Shadow Studio were to go out there, even if they don''t independently create manga, they''d at least be more than capable of being excellent pure painters!

    If these people were to collaborate on a creation, the rate of production would be unprecedented!

    In other words,

    Lin Yuan''s studio boasts a Heavenly King level lineup of artists that no other manga studio in Blue Star could match!

    This small studio!

    Nestled within it are a group of artists who, under Lin Yuan''s Teacher''s Halo, have quietly honed their skills for several years without making their debut yet!

    And now,

    These assistants are about to make their debut!

    Double publication is not the limit!

    What about three, four, or five issues at once!

    If Lin Yuan can keep up with the plot and storyboard,

    Even if more series are launched, Lin Yuan can still maintain control!

    As for Lin Yuan, would the plot and storyboard be a problem?

    For other manga artists this may require deep reflection, but in Lin Yuan''s mind, these are already settled!

    With a slight smile on his face,

    Lin Yuan watches Luo Wei rally the others.

    Meanwhile,

    Jin Mu receives another phone call: "It''s from Tribe Comics."

    Saying this, Jin Mu goes to the next room to take the call.

    Lin Yuan, while watching Luo Wei interact with the assistants, leans in the doorway and listens in for a while.

    The discussion between Jin Mu and the other party seems quite unpleasant.

    Faintly, Lin Yuan hears the man on the phone shouting at Jin Mu: "You third-class agent don''t understand human speech! You''re not worthy of dealing with me, let your boss speak to me before I lose my temper!"

    "Alright."

    Jin Mu keeps a straight face, as if everything is normal, and looks at Lin Yuan: "Boss, the new leader of Tribe Comics wants to speak with you."

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan takes the phone: "This is Shadow."

    "Teacher Shadow, I am Ling Kong, the new supervisor of Tribe Comics, I have some ideas about your new manga¡­"

    "No need."

    Lin Yuan calmly says: "I''ve decided to cancel the cooperation with Tribe Comics."

    "What?"

    The other side was stunned.

    Jin Mu''s expression changed as well.

    Luo Wei and the assistants looked at each other in confusion.

    What did Teacher Shadow just say?

    He''s cancelling the collaboration with Tribe Comics?

    Lin Yuan''s tone remained steady:

    "About the current manga collaboration, we can terminate the contract."

    "Shadow!"

    The voice on the other end become cold: "You''re not thinking clearly now. We can sit down and talk this over. I respect you, I hope you can respect me."

    "I do respect you."

    Lin Yuan says: "I hope you can learn to respect ''The Kindaichi Case Files'', respect your website users, and most importantly, respect my agent." sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "..."

    The other end was silent for a few seconds, his voice became very low and restrained: "There may have been some unpleasantness, but I can personally apologize to him later. There''s no need for harsh words like termination. If you leave Tribe Comics, you will have nowhere to go. The market is controlled by us, but our website also needs talents like you. It''s a win-win situation.

    Don''t let anger cloud your judgment and ruin your future."

    Combining threats and favors, he seemed well-prepared.

    Jin Mu, hearing the voice in the phone, frantically waved at Lin Yuan.

    "Oh, he says: He doesn''t accept your apology."

    Looking at Jin Mu''s gestures, Lin Yuan displayed an understanding expression, then curtly hung up the phone.

    The studio fell silent.

    Luo Wei and the assistants were careful even with their breathing.

    Could Teacher Shadow really be breaking off with Tribe Comics?

    Lin Yuan''s expression remained calm, but everyone could sense a fearsome undercurrent of tension in the room, and no one dared to speak!

    Jin Mu was taken aback!

    Big brother!

    Blood brother!

    I''m not refusing the apology!

    My hand gesture was to fucking tell you not to break off with Tribe Comics!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps:Thanks to [''Fate in Separation''] for their Silver Alliance, ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, kneel to their unparalleled support, it''s imperative to add more updates. Mid-month will start the explosion, have a cup of cappuccino first, Polluted White will continue writing!

 Chapter 733 - 699 Full Blockade_1

    The atmosphere was chillingly cold.

    It felt as if the temperature in the studio''s lobby had dropped to freezing point.

    After an unknown length of time, a sudden wail echoed through the lobby:

    "I accepted the apology. He is a high-ranking member of the Tribe and he humbled himself to apologize to a small agent like me. What makes you think I wouldn''t accept it?"

    Chuckling!

    The stifling atmosphere was abruptly broken, and Luo Wei couldn''t help but laugh out loud.

    Lin Yuan said, "Isn''t that equivalent to refusing?"

    While talking, Lin Yuan imitated Jin Mu and made a dismissive gesture.

    "Hahahaha..."

    The other assistants also couldn''t help but laugh.

    What level of understanding does Teacher Shadow have?

    Jin Mu stomped his foot: "I clearly told you not to fall out with them. I see through you now! This trick doesn''t work on me, I won''t be taken in by you again!"

    Jin Mu''s eyes suddenly lit up with understanding!

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    Perhaps his performance this time wasn''t convincing enough?

    Lifting his eyelids.

    Lin Yuan looked past Jin Mu to everyone else: "Do you accept the apology?"

    "We don''t."

    Luo Wei responded with a smile.

    The assistants turned to look at Jin Mu, then back at Lin Yuan. The room was filled with voices, all uniformly ringing out:

    "We don''t accept it!"

    Jin Mu''s eyes reddened for a moment: "Thanks a lot, you guys. Just look at yourselves, so capable. Just wait until you have no place to eat. Now that we can''t cooperate with the Tribe, where are we going to publish our future comics?"

    "Don''t listen to him."

    Looking past Jin Mu.

    Lin Yuan turned to the assistants: "If there''s no way to afford meals, I will support you guys."

    "Long live Teacher Shadow!"

    Everyone began laughing and cheering.

    At first, when they heard about the fall-out between Shadow and the Tribe, everyone had been taken aback, clearly understanding the seriousness of the issue.

    But they quickly regained their composure!

    Too small!

    Too narrow-minded!

    What''s there to be afraid of?

    Teacher Shadow is Xian Yu after all!

    This was a secret that only members of the studio knew!

    Xian Yu and Shadow are the same person. When you hang out with such a demon, are you afraid of not having food to eat?

    Don''t make this kind of brainless joke.

    Moreover, all the assistants present had learnt from Lin Yuan.

    In their hearts, they had long ceased to see themselves as merely comic assistants.

    Compared to this identity, they felt more like disciples of Teacher Shadow!

    Just like Luo Wei!

    Shadow taught them to draw, enabling them to reach a level of painting skill they might never have achieved otherwise!

    From an emotional and rational perspective.

    Shadow is their teacher!

    The bond between teacher and disciple was very important on Blue Star!

    Being a disciple means they must follow wherever the teacher goes!

    Of course.

    This also has to do with the group''s inflated confidence. The assistants, having learned a lot from Lin Yuan, have become quite arrogant.

    Heaven is the greatest.

    Earth comes second.

    They rank third.

    Heaven represents Shadow, earth represents Luo Wei. At least in the minds of these comic assistants, this was the ranking. The people in the studio had long been boasting that they were unbeatable.

    When things came to this, everyone began to comfort Jin Mu, filled with righteous indignation.

    Our studio is so awesome, why would our agent be bullied by outsiders?

    There''s no reason for it!

    Lin Yuan also comforted him with a smile: "There are so many comic websites, we can just find any other platform."

    "Exactly!"

    Luo Wei said: "With the reputation of our Teacher Shadow, even if we go to other websites, we can still thrive!"

    "In my opinion, the reason why Tribe Comics is the number one website in the industry is because of us!"

    A comic assistant with hands on the hips: "Once we leave, they won''t be able to maintain that number one status!"

    "That''s right!"

    The assistant next to him chimed in: "Wherever we go, that website becomes number one!"

    Luo Wei: "..."

    Who gave you guys this courage? You think you are invincible?

    Jin Mu: "..."

    Since when did these little assistants become so inflated?

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    Even I don''t dare to say these things.

    Oh.

    If I try hard, it seems I might dare.

    Lin Yuan smiled: "Jin uncle, please go ahead with the contract termination negotiations with Tribe Comics."

    -"Dealing with your shit again."

    Jin Mu said grumpily, but an unusual emotion was stirring in his heart.

    He knew who he would never betray in his life.

    ... S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    In the afternoon.

    Lin Yuan entered Jin Mu''s office.

    It seemed like Jin Mu was on the phone with a lawyer.

    Seeing Lin Yuan, he temporarily hung up the phone and said helplessly: "They are pulling their weight. Ling Kong was furious with us, and immediately threatened to block you in the company ¨C Ling Kong is the guy we were just talking to."

    Lin Yuan laughed: "Us?"

    Jin Mu rolled his eyes: "Should I directly say that he was infuriated by you?"

    Lin Yuan asked back: "Aren''t you angry?"

    Jin Mu dodged the question: "I have asked around. This Ling Kong is not simple, he has strong business abilities and also holds power within the Tribe headquarters, but no one knows the specifics. I suspect he is the heir to a key figure within the Tribe. You should be aware of how large the scale of the Tribe is, and our opponent is not a small deal.

    When he was willing to apologize to you and me, I knew this guy was ruthless."

    "But the Tribe doesn''t know how big Shadow''s operation is."

    Lin Yuan said casually: "As for the termination, if they dare not follow the rules, Xian Yu and Chu Kuang will terminate all cooperation with the Tribe in the future."

    "The stakes are too high, will Silver Blue and Starlight agree?"

    "Under normal circumstances, it won''t come to that."

    This is just a normal job-jumping for a website comic artist, Lin Yuan didn''t think the matter was a big deal.

    However, Lin Yuan still underestimated the seriousness of the matter.

    That evening.

    The Tribe Comics made a move!

    Shadow''s "Death Note" was blocked, the reason being that its value orientation was incorrect and had been reported by parents.

    Immediately after, "Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma" was blocked, the reason being that it was involved in adult content, and there were numerous lascivious scenes reported by parents.

    Then the ongoing "The Kindaichi Case Files" was blocked, the reason being that the content was too terrifying, and it was reported by parents.

    Finally "King of the Net" was also blocked.

    This time the reason was that parents reported that their children''s sexual orientation had become abnormal after reading the comics?

    Could they find a more far-fetched reason?

    In short, all of Shadow''s works were blocked!

    Shadow''s official account on Tribe Comics could no longer be found, as if there was no such person at Tribe Comics!

    To kill one thousand, self-harm eight hundred!

    This was the decision of Tribe Comics!

    Keep in mind, these comics of Shadow''s have always been making money for Tribe Comics, and both sides are beneficiaries. Now Tribe Comics is desperate to cut off Shadow''s sources of income, even if it means losing their share!

    Banishment!

    Ling Kong did what he said he would!

    This was a full-scale ban from Tribe Comics!

    This was a power crush from capitalism against individual influence. Anyway, Tribe Comics could afford the loss, but most of Shadow''s income came from these comics!

    In a flash!

    The entire internet was shocked by this sudden move, nobody expected that a good person like Shadow would be banned outright by Tribe Comics overnight!

 Chapter 734 - 700: Breaking Off_1

    "What the hell is happening?"

    Shadow''s ban came as sudden as his unexpected announcement of a new comic release!

    If the last time was a surprise, then this time it is outright shocking!

    So unexpected!

    Many people thought it was an April Fool''s joke!

    When more and more people went to Tribe Comics to search for Shadow, and found no results, the internet went into a complete meltdown!

    "He''s really been banned!"

    "What happened?"

    "Tribe Comics has gone mad, they''ve banned Shadow. After all, Shadow was a top comic artist!"

    "Even if Shadow''s new comic didn''t perform well, they don''t have to do this, right?"

    "Did they dump Shadow because his new comics didn''t do well, hence lost his value to them?"

    "It''s already trending on Tribe!"

    "Hey, where''s the trending news?"

    "Where did the news about Shadow getting banned by Tribe go?" sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "..."

    Netizens noticed that the news of Shadow''s ban quickly reached the top of the trending topics, only to disappear immediately after.

    The topic that replaced it was about some female celebrity''s affair.

    Damn!

    We don''t care about the female celebrity''s affair!

    We only care about why Shadow was banned!

    The reasons given for the removal of those comics are absurd, especially the one for "King of the Net"!

    It''s evident that it was a ploy by the Tribe officials.

    And then...

    In the midst of the uproar, Tribe Comics released a statement:

    "Due to unsatisfactory contract conditions for both parties, Teacher Shadow has volunteered to terminate the contract with our company, which we have agreed to. From now on, Tribe Comics and Teacher Shadow are no longer connected in any way."

    As soon as the statement was released, Shadow''s fans were outraged!

    If they terminated the contract, then why did they remove Shadow''s comics? What''s the meaning of this?

    Were they reported?

    In this day and age, which comic hasn''t been reported?

    As long as it''s not a matter of principle, this kind of issue is obviously easy to handle!

    But obviously, Tribe doesn''t care about these disputes.

    To be precise, it''s not that they don''t care at all.

    There is a comment in the comment section of the statement.

    Someone claiming to be an insider at Tribe Comics commented:

    "The company told me to avoid this controversy, but I can''t help it anymore. Shadow''s manager is too greedy. He made very unfair contract demands. That agent even dared to swear at us when the negotiation reached a deadlock. I admit that Teacher Shadow''s comics are great, but I strongly disagree with the rest.

    I don''t believe that the manager''s actions behind the scenes don''t reflect Teacher Shadow''s interest, so canceling the cooperation might be the best outcome. I will surely get scolded for this comment by my superiors, but I don''t care. Shadow''s fans can scold me if they want!"

    This is inside information?

    Many netizens were puzzled when they saw this comment.

    Was it because Shadow was brooking controversy?

    Or was his agent causing trouble?

    Things started getting confusing.

    Nobody was sure about how much truth there was in Tribe Comics'' words.

    This kind of dispute is always unresolved.

    Meanwhile, inside Shadow Studio.

    When Lin Yuan saw this comment, he directly gave Jin Mu a thumbs up.

    "Damn!"

    Jin Mu was upset: "I can''t believe how awesome I turned out to be!"

    Me, a small manager, dared to swear at the people from Tribe Comics, really?

    They really know how to shift the blame!

    It was actually I who was verbally abused by Ling Kong!

    If I had recorded it on my phone at that time...

    Of course, there were no recordings.

    Jin Mu had rather go all out in the melee, publishing an article to explain that it''s smearing from competitors, while also accusing Tribe Comics of domineering behavior.

    After doing all this, Jin Mu turned around and found Lin Yuan was also logged into Tribe.

    "What are you doing?"

    "Nothing."

    "Let me see."

    Jin Mu took a closer look and was shocked.

    Lin Yuan just posted a status update on Shadow''s account.

    The content of the post read: "Effective immediately, I am permanently exiting Tribe and terminating all cooperation."

    "Calm down!"

    Jin Mu started to panic: "Quickly delete this post, we have indeed severed ties with Tribe Comics, but Tribe Comics is just a division under Tribe. We don''t have to pick a fight with Tribe as a whole!"

    "Too late."

    Lin Yuan remained calm. Jin Mu wanted to keep things within control, but he knew this was not just about the grudge against Tribe Comics.

    Obviously.

    It is a verbal war where both parties defended their points.

    Especially after seeing Shadow announcing his break with Tribe, public opinion was already in confusion!

    Although Shadow''s influence isn''t comparable to Chu Kuang and Xian Yu, he is still a well-known name in the comic industry.

    The conflict between him and Tribe Comics became the headline in major media outlets for a time!

    But...

    As public opinion spread.

    Netizens still stand with Shadow after all.

    The fact that Tribe Comics blocked Shadow''s comics and removed Shadow''s related hot searches is indisputable.

    This domineering capital behavior is something that everyone detests.

    The fact that Shadow has been suppressed is also undeniable.

    No matter how you look at it, Shadow seems to be at a huge disadvantage in this situation!

    "Shadow is so defiant!"

    "Who would have thought he would want to quit the Tribe!"

    "Tribe Comics is the industry''s top comic website. If Shadow is banned by the Tribe, where else can he go?"

    "He can only continue his comics on some smaller websites."

    "But the problem is, those small websites can''t handle the traffic, and you can''t expect them to depend on Shadow''s single comic to generate popularity."

    "What comic website relies on a single comic artist to survive?"

    "That''s unrealistic. Even if the comic is super popular, it won''t work. The Tribe has all the popular comics on them!"

    "Moreover, Shadow''s new comic isn''t even that explosive. In fact, it''s rather disappointing, not as popular as his previous works!"

    "So, is Shadow done for?"

    "Now that I think about it, I totally distrust Tribe Comics. Unless there was a special reason, why would Shadow willingly leave Tribe Comics? This choice brings no benefit to him at all!"

    "All one can say is an individual''s power is truly limited when faced with the might of capital."

    "Indeed."

    "Shadow''s influence, after all, can''t contend with a behemoth like the Tribe."

    "..."

    Seeing Shadow making such a firm decision, the public is pessimistic about his future.

    At this moment.

    Someone suddenly said, "Isn''t Shadow good friends with Chu Kuang and Xian Yu? I wonder what reaction they will have."

    The friendship of the Three Bros is well-known.

    They have stood together on numerous occasions!

    But this time, they wouldn''t be able to stand together, right?

    "While Xian Yu and Chu Kuang may not care about Tribe Comics, behind Tribe Comics is the Tribe itself!"

    "The power this capital can disseminate is too terrifying!"

    "We can''t play the moral card here. Regardless of how close they are, Chu Kuang and Xian Yu can''t directly sever ties with the Tribe!"

    "Yes, the stakes involved are just too huge!"

    "Are you kidding? Xian Yu and Chu Kuang won''t break off relations with the Tribe for Shadow''s sake. There are so many interests involved. And they have companies behind them too. Do you think those companies would agree?"

    "I fear people would say that Xian Yu and Chu Kuang aren''t being loyal if they don''t go against the Tribe. This, this isn''t something to be taken lightly!"

    "..."

    As netizens were discussing, they subconsciously turned to Xian Yu and Chu Kuang''s Tribe accounts.

    Then, all of a sudden!

    Countless people almost popped their eyes out!

    Xian Yu: "Effective immediately, permanently leaving the Tribe and terminating all co-operations."

    Chu Kuang: "Effective immediately, permanently leaving the Tribe and terminating all co-operations."

    At this moment!

    Everyone''s blood rushed to their heads, and they couldn''t help but tremble slightly!

    Fuck!

    The break has happened!

    It really happened!

    Chu Kuang and Xian Yu have actually simultaneously announced a split with the Tribe. The content of their announcements is exactly the same as Shadow''s!

    Boom!

    The music circle exploded!

    The novel world also exploded!

    The comic world is boiling over!

    A terrifying wave of shock swept the country, and Xian Yu and Chu Kuang''s posts directly shook all media outlets!

    This is Xian Yu and Chu Kuang we''re talking about, after all!

    These two actually chose to stand or fall with Shadow in the face of such a terrifying behemoth, seemingly unconcerned with the huge impact this event will cause!

    This is insane!

    The Tribe must be crying!

    They never expected that by offending a small character like Shadow, they simultaneously dragged two prehistoric monsters from different fields into this battlefield!

    In fact, neither did the netizens!

    This is not just about deep feelings!

    The Three Bros, if you provoke one, they all go berserk!

    For Xian Yu and Chu Kuang, the loss brought by breaking with the Tribe is huge!

    But for the Tribe, the loss from severing ties with Chu Kuang and Xian Yu is no less significant, right?

    How many billions of fans do these two have combined?

    Can''t even count, but the influence of Xian Yu and Chu Kuang, can definitely be classified as atom bomb level, regardless of the sphere!

    In fact.

    People from the Tribe are already crying!

    From the moment Xian Yu and Chu Kuang announced their departure from the Tribe.

    An irritating shout of rage filled with infinite anger and frustration erupted in the representative office of Tribe Literature:

    "Fuck Tribe Comics!!!"

 Chapter 735 - 701 Acts of Sending a Persons Head_1

    As one of the top-tier behemoths on the Five Continents, Tribe is involved in many more industries than just comics...

    There''s always a fair bit of competition between the different departments.

    So, when Shadow and Tribe Comics had a fallout, the other departments were simply bystanders!

    Let''s not kid ourselves, we''re all part of the same company.

    What does the comics team''s troubles have to do with the rest of us? Would Ling Kong hand out salaries and also include a late-night snack for us all?

    But who would have thought!

    There is indeed a connection!

    Chu Kuang and Xian Yu actually left Tribe!

    Let''s not talk about Xian Yu.

    Because Xian Yu didn''t have much to do with Tribe Literature anyway.

    Xian Yu leaving Tribe would be a headache for the other related departments and key leaders...

    But Chu Kuang is different!

    Chu Kuang''s short stories have always been a secret weapon for Tribe Literature!

    Have you forgotten?

    How did Tribe Literature suppress Blog Literature?

    Was it not Chu Kuang''s classic short stories that pulverized Blog Literature until it was out of steam?

    That''s right.

    Chu Kuang did help Blog once, and then Tribe Literature experienced the horrifying pressure Blog faced when dealing directly with Chu Kuang...

    He''s a freaking freak!

    Whichever side he joins, he can just lie there and the rest will follow!

    Although Chu Kuang hasn''t made a move recently, his presence is something Tribe keeps a close eye on.

    Beyond any doubt, Chu Kuang has a deeper bond with Tribe Literature than with Blog, which at most, occasionally tosses him a bone.

    As a consequence of a daring move by Tribe Comics ¡ª¡ª

    Hitting the bull across the waters!

    Appearing to target Shadow but actually aiming at Chu Kuang!

    They pushed Chu Kuang away!

    Tribe Literature has suddenly lost its "daddy"!

    Chu Kuang will never collaborate with Tribe again in the future!

    Blog must be laughing their asses off right now!

    If they don''t welcome Chu Kuang as a father with open arms, then their leaders'' brains must be filled with sulfuric acid!

    Will Blog Literature not stir up trouble in the future?

    If Chu Kuang moves, how many in Tribe Literature would dare to fight?

    The current head of the Literature Department, a man named Wei Long, was so furious he was cursing and smashing cups, wishing he could quarter Ling Kong!

    Yes.

    Wei Long was the editor in charge of Chu Kuang earlier. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    After Han Jimei resigned, Wei Long, using the achievements brought by Chu Kuang and some personal maneuvering, became the head of the Literature Department.

    Those who know Chu Kuang best are his former teammates in Tribe Literature.

    As the editor once responsible for Chu Kuang, Wei Long had fought alongside him.

    No one in the department understands Chu Kuang better than Wei Long!

    Therefore, at this moment, the angriest person is Wei Long. He has been severely screwed over by the people at Tribe Comics!

    Outside the office.

    Wei Long heard wailing.

    "We''re screwed!"

    "Chu Kuang left!"

    "There''s a traitor!"

    "Where will Chu Kuang go?"

    "He''s definitely going to Blog!"

    "Are we going to fight with Chu Kuang?"

    "Who can handle him?"

    "Shall we call upon the Buddha?"

    "Buddha your sister! Isn''t Buddha just those few heavyweights? How many times can they intervene?"

    "Besides, would it be assured even if they do make a move?"

    "..."

    Wei Long''s face turned black as coal, and he stormed out of the office.

    We can''t go on like this!

    He has to report this to headquarters!

    ...

    Tribal turmoil is kicking up!

    After Xian Yu and Chu Kuang announced their departure from Tribe.

    Their fans, surprisingly, displayed an unprecedented unity. Their cohesion was frighteningly strong, and countless discussions actually supported the decision!

    "Fish Papa is the reason I''m playing Tribe, without Fish Papa I won''t play."

    "Wherever Fish Papa goes, I go. Blog seems like a good place too."

    "Although the old rascal Chu Kuang rarely posts, I still find him darn entertaining here. For sure I''ll follow him if he moves to another platform."

    "I have always been a fan of the Three Bros, I will for sure follow them this time."

    "For Shadow, the most I consider him is the third party, but since I like Xian Yu and Chu Kuang, I''ve to follow their lead."

    "Just for the friendship of the Three Bros, I have to follow. This is brotherhood!"

    "Chu Kuang and Xian Yu will probably delete their accounts soon, let''s wait for them to settle down on another platform."

    "Damn!"

    "What a bombshell!"

    "What happened now?"

    "Hurry and check out the posts by the Yu Dynasty celebrities!"

    "..."

    Netizens were stunned before they quickly clicked on the Tribe site of the Yu Dynasty.

    Sun Yaohuo: "No more playing Tribe."

    Jiang Kui: "I don''t want to play Tribe either."

    Zhao Ying Ge: "Sorry, Tribe account will be closed."

    One after another!

    Though not as absolute as Xian Yu and Chu Kuang''s announcements of permanently ending the collaboration, all singers from Yu Dynasty declared they were leaving Tribe!

    Not just the Yu Dynasty!

    Jian Yi, Yi Chenggong, and others also put out similar announcements!

    The internet users are baffled.

    They''re playing a really big game!

    The people of Yu Dynasty truly regard Xian Yu as their everything!

    With Xian Yu gone, he''s taken away the whole Yu Dynasty and a bunch of A-list singers!

    Is Starlight just going to let these people create chaos?

    Can they afford to play the game that Xian Yu and Chu Kuang are playing?

    Just as everyone was having these thoughts, Starlight made a post:

    "Our company respects the decisions of our artists."

    One simple sentence, expressing their attitude clearly!

    Internet users were shocked!

    This is definitely the most capricious entertainment company they''ve ever seen!

    Entertainment companies rely heavily on Tribe for promotion. Without Tribe as a promotional channel, Starlight is set to lose big time!

    But then again.

    Starlight only endorsed the artists'' actions and did not announce a break from Tribe.

    Perhaps they are leaving some wiggle room?

    Still, this room seems pretty small...

    "I give up, Fish Papa does whatever he wants at Starlight!"

    "Crown Prince of Starlight, true face!"

    "Starlight: Let Xian Yu create chaos, can''t bear to discipline our own child, right?"

    "Hahaha, Starlight strives to survive, not offending both sides."

    "I suspect Fish Papa is forcing Starlight to break with Tribe, and Starlight dares to follow!"

    "The whole Starlight company is shaped by Fish Papa!"

    "..."

    Perhaps they also got the idea from Starlight.

    Not long after.

    Silver Blue Books also posted a statement: "You know, we have never had power over Chu Kuang, the old rascal''s decisions. But you should know, Chu Kuang, the old rascal is always our family at Silver Blue Books, and this will not change due to any circumstances!"

    Well then.

    Even the old rascal is involved!

    You said Silver Blue is angry?

    Their coverage is real good!

    Calling him old rascal, they''re clearly expressing a supportive attitude!

    It''s just that, like Starlight, they''re not breaking away with the whole company, out of corporate considerations.

    "Tribe has stirred up a hornet''s nest!"

    After all the chain reactions, the internet users are boiling with excitement!

    Xian Yu and Chu Kuang are actually leading Shadow and even united Yu Dynasty to challenge Tribe, the top capital power!

    The companies behind both sides are fully supportive!

    Who said individuals can''t confront capital!

    Depends on who it is!

    At the very least, the surprise attack of the Three Bros could definitely knock Tribe''s teeth out!

    They''re so protective!

    Some of Shadow''s fans have been moved to tears!

    With Chu Kuang and Xian Yu protecting him like this, would you still be lazy in the future, Shadow?

    With their influence, would Tribe Comics dare bully you?

    Stand tall for me!

    What a b*stard!

    You need to work harder in the future!

    Someday, you need to make a big scene for me!

    Otherwise, how can you live up to Chu Kuang and Xian Yu''s dedicated friendship!

    That''s probably what Shadow''s fans most want to see. But considering Shadow''s low-key image, they know this might only be a beautiful fantasy...

    Amidst the commotion outside.

    Wei Long has already arrived at the headquarters.

    His anger has filled his chest!

    But when Wei Long saw the situation in the liaison office at the headquarters, he was completely dumbfounded.

    People!

    People everywhere!

    There were familiar and unfamiliar people!

    The office at the headquarters was in total chaos!

    In the chaos.

    Wei Long heard countless familiar curses:

    "Ling Kong, I swear!"

    "Ling Kong, screw you!"

    "I''ll report Ling Kong for maliciously damaging the company''s interests!"

    "Ling Kong is Tribe''s mole!"

    "Ling Kong must be a spy sent by the bloggers!"

    "..."

    In the hustle and bustle, Wei Long suddenly felt that the world wasn''t so bad after all.

    Oh.

    The blogger must think, the air today, is extra sweet and nice.

    How should I put it?

    He was initially at a disadvantage.

    But now, their opponents suddenly fed him a free kill.

    Who wouldn''t be happy?

    Ms. Han, now is the time for revenge.

 Chapter 736 - 702: Blessings to the Soul_1

    Complaints filled the air!

    The Tribe was in chaos!

    While the Tribe was in complete chaos, the other platforms outside had gone crazy¡ª

    The Blog headquarters!

    The executive meeting room!

    "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, we must invite Admirable Fish, Chu Kuang, and Shadow to join our blog at all costs before other platforms take action!"

    "Give them the best treatment!"

    "The traffic brought by any of these three people joining any platform will be terrifying. Our blog has always been oppressed by the Tribe. It goes without saying that Admirable Fish and Chu Kuang may be the keys to our breakthrough!"

    "We can''t ignore Shadow either!"

    "These three will definitely stick together!"

    "This is fair warning. If anyone dares to screw up this time, they can get out!"

    "Even if we need to carry them on a palanquin, we have to get them here!"

    "We must treat these gentlemen as if they were our own fathers!"

    "What the hell''s the purpose of this meeting!"

    "Immediately invite those two gods over here, and bring Shadow too. Let them name their price!"

    "..."

    Amid the frenzied discussion, the conference room was boiling over!

    The blog leaders, who were usually stern, were now totally covered with excitement, their faces flushed!

    Everyone''s eyes were bloodshot, excitement and tension intertwined¡ª

    It''s happening!

    The Tribe is starting to bring about its own downfall!

    Their action of punishing Shadow has offended Admirable Fish and Chu Kuang, instantly revealing a massive flaw to the Bloggers!

    As Wei Long predicted¡­

    Unless the top brass of the Blog headquarters has collectively lost their minds, they will absolutely not miss this tremendous lure from Admirable Fish and Chu Kuang!

    In fact¡­

    Not just Blog!

    At the same time¡­

    All of the Tribe''s major competitors have already taken action!

    Countless emergency meetings were urgently convened in a similar atmosphere!

    Poach talents!

    hurry up and poach talents!

    The keen sense of the smell of capital was fully demonstrated at this moment, as all major platforms swarmed in like sharks smelling blood in the ocean!

    In an instant!

    Jin Mu''s phone was bombarded with calls!

    All were cordial invitations from representatives of various major platforms.

    Looking for Shadow to join them.

    Looking for Chu Kuang to join them.

    Starlight''s phone was also bombarded with calls!

    Compared to the hidden Shadow and Chu Kuang, Admirable Fish was obviously the most conspicuous target, simply the bullseye of all parties!

    As a result, not only Starlight''s phone was bombarded.

    The doorstep of the company was also soon trampled over by teams sent by various major platforms!

    Some big shots had even come in person.

    Even Li Songhua, the chairman of Starlight, had to personally receive them.

    Half an hour later.

    Representatives of all major platforms gathered in the reception room.

    "As long as Teacher Admirable Fish is willing to join our Panda platform in Chu Continent, any terms are negotiable!"

    "Your Panda platform in Chu Continent doesn''t have any f*cking traffic. You think I don''t know that your user engagement is the worst among the five continents? Come to our Giant, our Giant has been working hard in Yan Continent for many years and can even fight against the Tribe!"

    "What''s so great about Giant? Our Facebook platform in Yan Continent has higher traffic. Let Teacher Admirable Fish come to us!"

    "Haha, Chairman Li should know about our Special Push in Han Continent. Special Push sincerely invites you, Chairman Li. If Teacher Admirable Fish can persuade Shadow and Teacher Chu Kuang to come together, all future promotions of Starlight will get a Special Push on our platform!"

    "I''m not targeting anyone. I''m saying, among all of you present, are there platforms hotter than our Blog besides the stupid Tribe?"

    "That Blog which was beaten into a stray dog by the Tribe?"

    "How dare you talk like that!" Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "I can talk like that, what of it!"

    "..."

    Usually well-dressed big shots, today they''re arguing face to face like market aunties, almost ready to fight at any instant.

    "I need to use the bathroom!"

    Li Songhua found an excuse, and finally managed to beat a hasty and uncomfortable retreat from the reception room amidst the crowd.

    Standing at the door of the reception room.

    Hearing the quarrelling behind him, Li Songhua rubbed his temples, his cheeks twitching uncontrollably.

    What the hell is this all about?

    This morning, Lin Yuan suddenly called and told him that he was going to sever ties with the Tribe.

    Not for discussion.

    But for notification.

    Li Songhua was stunned at that moment.

    By the time he understood the causes and effects of the incident, the declaration of Admirable Fish had already been sent out!

    Along with Chu Kuang''s declaration!

    The die is cast!

    Li Songhua could only brace himself and support them, and he didn''t even dare to obstruct the actions of other followers such as the Yu Dynasty!

    "Chairman, have some water."

    Ol'' Wang, a senior executive of Starlight, appeared and handed over a bottle of mineral water.

    Li Songhua gulped down most of the bottle and then grumbled:

    "The people inside really have no manners!"

    Ol'' Wang gave a bitter smile, "The influence of the troublesome darling in our company is obvious. If the Three Bros manage to persuade even one, it''s almost the same as persuading the other two. I''m actually surprised they didn''t fight over this."

    Li Songhua rolled his eyes, "What do the other executives think?"

    "What else could they think?"

    Ol'' Wang made a face, "Just look at the attitudes of the representatives of the largest online platforms on every continent. The tribe is powerful, but compared to its influence on us, Xian Yu''s mood matters more. They''re clear-headed. At most, they''ll complain about how outrageous Admirable Fish is. Enough about that, things are heating up inside.

    Do you have a preference for which platform to work with?"

    "I''d like to choose all of them."

    "You know that''s impossible."

    "So, it''s unimportant how I choose. What''s important is how Xian Yu chooses. Have someone prepare an analysis of each platform''s situation, and we''ll let him decide."

    "Okay."

    Hopeless, Ol'' Wang said, "I have no idea what kind of shock Lin Yuan experienced. It''s as though Shadow was wronged, yet he acts as if he himself was wronged. Chu Kuang is no different. Their relationship is similar to that of brothers. The folks inside say that the tribe''s action of blacklisting Shadow was foolish, but how could the tribe predict this?

    They merely suppressed Shadow but never expected Chu Kuang or Xian Yu to have such a strong reaction. Not only the Tribe, but no one else could have predicted this result¡­"

    "Wait!"

    An inexplicable flash of insight appeared in Li Songhua''s mind!

    He had a nagging feeling, as though he was missing a vital clue.

    "What did you just say?"

    "No one could have¡­"

    Li Songhua interrupted him immediately, "The previous sentence!"

    Startled by his tone, Ol'' Wang stuttered, "The tribe''s action was foolish¡­"

    "The sentence before that!"

    Li Songhua''s voice gave away his increasing urgency.

    Almost there!

    Just a bit more!

    He could almost grasp the idea!

    Li Songhua stared at Ol'' Wang intensely, applying more pressure with his gaze.

    Feeling a chill go down his spine, Ol'' Wang nervously voiced, "Shadow was wronged, and Xian Yu acted as if he had been wronged¡­"

    Crack.

    It was an epiphany!

    Li Songhua''s pupils shrunk drastically!

    The water bottle in his hand was instantly squeezed tightly!

    The twisted bottle cap shot off, and a third of the remaining water splashed onto Ol'' Wang!

    "Mr. Chairman!"

    Ol'' Wang, scared out of his wits, took a step back, hastily wiping the water off his face.

    What''s happening?

    Having worked with Li Songhua since Starlight''s inception, this was the second time Ol'' Wang had seen the chairman lose his composure!

    The previous time...

    The previous time was when Xian Yu cleaned out his tea stash?

    "Hahahaha!"

    Li Songhua''s face turned red, then he suddenly burst into laughter, a laugh that was filled with smugness and wildness. He was laughing so hard he was almost in tears!

    It all came together!

    A terrifying secret came full circle, with dots connected by multiple clues to form a complete line. The final answer was almost unthinkable, shocking Li Songhua to his core!

    "Mr. Chairman, don''t scare me!"

    Feeling terrified, Ol'' Wang took another step back.

    No way!

    The Chairman must be driven mad by Xian Yu again!

    Everyone knows the importance of that kid to the company. The Chairman can''t bear to hit or scold him, keeping so many emotions bottled up inside.

    He must have been repressed to the point of sickness!

    "Right!"

    Li Songhua ignored Ol'' Wang''s reaction. With a flash of insight, his voice trembled slightly:

    "That''s it..."

    "Definitely..."

    "It can only be this..."

    "I should have figured it out earlier..."

    The Chairman seemed to be babbling today.

    Anyway, Ol'' Wang didn''t understand a single thing he said.

    He stealthily took another step back, "Mr. Chairman, should we get you a psychiatrist?"

    "I don''t need a doctor."

    Li Songhua''s voice had a strange undertone: "Out of humanitarian concerns, I''m thinking about express delivering some Quick-acting heart-saving pills to the Tribe!"

    As he finished, he forcefully pushed open the entrance to the boardroom. With a loud noise, he made an assertive and aggressive impression!

    "Mr. Li!"

    The commotion halted, and the people behind the door stared at Li Songhua. They couldn''t shake the feeling that he suddenly seemed very impressive.

    Li Songhua laughed.

    His smile was slightly sinister:

    "If you want Xian Yu, you might have to cooperate with us at Starlight and create a comic book website. However, deciding which platform to choose will not be up to me today but up to Xian Yu. Only he can make that decision, only¡­ him!"

    After all, they''re all wise old foxes. What''s with all these ghost stories?

    Given the most crucial clue, if Li Songhua couldn''t catch a break, he would not have deserved today''s status!

    If Xian Yu could be Chu Kuang.

    Why couldn''t he be...

    Shadow!!!!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thank you [Rabbit Two] for the silver, I kneel before you (*/¦Ø£Ü*). The one who claimed that they could never get silver finally has it, haha, forgive my inappropriate laughter. All your tickets are very supportive, there should be two updates later, let me continue writing.

 Chapter 737 - 703: Tribe and Alliance_1

    Enlightenment!

    Li Songhua has totally understood!

    Why is it that every time Xian Yu''s Shadow and Chu Kuang face trouble, they move in unison, and even choose to break off ties with Tribe Comics when it''s stated?

    As if, even if one of them becomes an enemy of the whole world, the other two would unwaveringly support that one.

    Because Xian Yu is Chu Kuang!

    And Chu Kuang, is Shadow!

    Damn it!

    Playing me with concluding from things of the same principle!?

    The one Tribe Comics offended, is it Shadow?

    The one Tribe Comics offended is Lin Yuan!

    Chu Kuang, Xian Yu, Shadow¡ªthe three-in-one Lin Yuan!

    So from the beginning to the end, they were all one¡ªthe same person¡ª

    The most insane genius that Blue Star has ever seen!

    The most monstrously twisted perverted entity in the history of Blue Star!

    Genius!

    Monstrous!

    Perverted!

    That''s Li Songhua''s assessment of Lin Yuan!

    And the qualifier he used for each of these assessments is "the most"!

    It''s not an exaggeration, Li Songhua doesn''t find these adjectives exaggerated at all!

    If it wasn''t for him knowing beforehand that Xian Yu was Chu Kuang, he would never have guessed this connection, never even if he broke his head.

    Even if someone thought of this, they wouldn''t dare to continue along this line of thinking!

    After all!

    How could this be possible?

    How could this kind of thing be possible?

    But in Chu Kuang''s detective novel "Sherlock Holmes", there''s a famous quote:

    Once you''ve eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth!

    This is the truth, an incredible truth!

    With Lin Yuan around, who on Starlight could match him in the future?

    Zhong Continent?

    Uh, put that aside for now.

    In any case, this is the entirety of Li Songhua''s psychological journey, and the source of his suddenly unignorable confidence when facing representatives from all the major platforms!

    What''s there to fear!

    I''m not scared of Tribe Comics anymore!

    What makes you think I''ll be afraid of you?

    If it comes down to it, Starlight can just change its surname to Lin!

    With Lin Yuan around!

    I am invincible in the world! S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    At this point, Ol'' Li was so inflated he was bursting. After sending away the representatives from the major tribes, he took a deep breath.

    "Huu."

    Exhaling the breath, he dialed Lin Yuan''s number.

    "Chairman."

    Lin Yuan''s voice rang.

    Li Songhua''s voice was much gentler than how he speaks to his own daughter:

    "Little Yuan, if you are unhappy, how about I take the company and split with the Tribe Comics?"

    "No need, compared to this, I have to apologize, but¡­"

    Lin Yuan knew his decision certainly made things difficult for Li Songhua: "I don''t regret it. I will make up for the company''s loss."

    Li Songhua: "..."

    I (will) don''t (next) regret (time) it (dare)?

    Alright.

    It''s not important.

    Not at all important.

    Let Tribe Comics go to hell!

    "Actually, I did it for a reason, because I..."

    "I''m Shadow!"

    Li Songhua immediately interrupted with the answer!

    Proud!

    After saying that, Li Songhua realized something was not quite correct, and corrected himself: "You are Shadow!"

    "..."

    Silence on the other end of the phone.

    Li Songhua''s heart skipped a beat.

    Damn it!

    What?! I guessed incorrectly?

    Please don''t!

    Li Songhua panicked!

    A few seconds later, Lin Yuan said, "So you already knew, Chairman. You''re indeed smart."

    Li Songhua loudly proclaimed,

    "From the moment you decided to split from the Tribe, I was one hundred percent certain, and I''ve never doubted it for a second!"

    I won''t let you flatter me for nothing!

    Li ''Clever'' Songhua wiped the cold sweat off his forehead.

    Yet, deep inside, he couldn''t help but feel a tremendous surge of emotions.

    Suspecting was one thing, but having the other party admit it was another.

    It seemed that only at this moment did these clues finally come together, like a meteorite crashing to the ground from the sky!

    "Chairman, you''re brilliant!"

    Lin Yuan praised him again, making Li Songhua feel lighter than air.

    God knows why a couple compliments from Lin Yuan made him overjoyed.

    After all, he heard similar flattery daily at the company until his ears were calloused.

    After a round of flattery.

    Lin Yuan said, "After leaving the Tribe, to publish new comics, I need a platform¡­"

    "We can create our own comic website!"

    Li Songhua seemed to guess what Lin Yuan was about to propose: "For promoting a comic website, you just need to affiliate it with a platform. We can start the same way Tribe Comics did. Even if the comic website only serves you, that''s enough!"

    "Good."

    Lin Yuan hadn''t expected Li Songhua to think so comprehensively.

    He even started worrying whether others would guess his three identities like Li Songhua had.

    But on second thought, it seemed improbable.

    The reason Li Songhua could guess his identity was because he knew the key clue: "Chu Kuang and Xian Yu are the same person."

    This clue was crucial.

    Li Songhua reminded Lin Yuan, "We need to choose the platform carefully."

    "I choose the Blog."

    Lin Yuan spoke: "The agents for all major platforms have contacted me. After comparison and analysis, I believe the Blog is our best choice. They promised to help me regain my previous comics. What do you think, Chairman?"

    Us!

    Li Songhua felt light as a feather: "Blog is good. Tribe is the first in terms of traffic, and Blog is the second. Although the gap between the two is quite big, it will gradually narrow!"

    "Yeah."

    Lin Yuan said, "I''ll help Blog increase traffic. Oh, they also promised to give me one percent of their shares¡­"

    "That''s fate."

    Li Songhua seemed to hint.

    The Blog managed to land Lin Yuan without any lead.

    Without the operation of the Tribe against Shadow, Blog probably wouldn''t have had a chance to rise.

    It''s like God spoon-fed the Blog. If Blog can''t swallow it, it might as well close down soon.

    Of course.

    God only gave the Blog a spoonful of rice. What he gave to Starlight, though, was a feast of delicacies.

    Even if overstuffed, Li Songhua would eat every last bit!

    He was increasingly reassured that his decision to grant equity to Xian Yu was full of wisdom and heroic foresight!

    "Let''s start the website then. What''s its name going to be?"

    "Alliance."

    Lin Yuan answered.

    Li Songhua was curious, "Why call it Alliance?"

    "Because the opponent is the Tribe."

    Li Songhua: ???

    What is the reason for that?

    Is there any logical connection between the two?

    Forget it.

    It doesn''t matter.

    As long as you''re happy with it.

    The decision was made joyfully.

    That evening.

    The Blog initiated a splash screen!

    At the same time, they contacted all major media outlets in Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan for a witness!

    This shocking news was put front and center for everyone in Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan:

    "Xian Yu, Chu Kuang, and Shadow officially join the Blog!!!!!"

    And there is a subtitle:

    "Star artists Jiang Kui, Sun Yaohuo, Wei Haoyun, Zhao Ying Ge, Xia Fan, Chen Zhiyu, and Jian Yi leave the Tribe and move to Blog!"

    After completely cutting ties with the Tribe.

    Xian Yu, Chu Kuang, and Shadow, along with the Three Bros and the stars of the Yu Dynasty, joined the Blog with fanfare!

    That night!

    The Blog''s traffic exploded!

    For the first time in years, it surpassed the Tribe in daily traffic!

    Countless internet users from Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan flocked to it, with related topics sweeping the hot search rankings on Blog!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thank you to [White Sword Dance God Sky] for the Alliance Hierarch, a lord who had also given the Alliance Hierarch to the previous book by Polluted White. Thanks a million. Also, thank you to [Is Mingming Na] for the Alliance Hierarch, offering my knee to the two lords. Polluted White continues to write, huh huh huh, don''t stop the monthly tickets, I still want them!

 Chapter 738 - 704: Han Jimei Joins the Alliance_1

    "Throwing confetti! *¡ï*!"

    "This is a great move by the Tribe!"

    "Congratulations on a successful blog tower steal!"

    "The blogger really won without doing much, he got a bunch of heads sent by the tribe without doing anything, including two super valuable big heads!"

    "I''m also joining the blogger!"

    "Following in Fish Papa''s footsteps!"

    "For Old Rascal Chu Kuang, I''m coming to the blog!"

    "Shadow''s fans are reporting in on the blog!"

    "The entirety of the Fish Dynasty is here, so why am I still hanging around the Tribe? I''ve uninstalled the Tribe. After all, the blog and Tribe have essentially the same functionalities, and I even created an account before."

    "..."

    Almost all the fans of Xian Yu, Chu Kuang, Shadow, and others from the Fish Dynasty followed them. Although there was no sudden surge in blog account registration since many people already had blog accounts but rarely logged in. However, there was a significant increase in user registrations that night, proving the influence of A-list stars and top influencers!

    The other platforms are helpless!

    But they can''t do anything!

    No one knows exactly what terms the blog promised. After all, everyone laid out their conditions. They couldn''t choose the Three Bros in the end, and it could only be said that there was no fate between them, given the extreme conditions they provided.

    At this moment!

    The Tribe is outraged!

    After the Three Bros joined the blog, all the trending topics on the Tribe were related. They wanted to suppress it by violently taking down trending topics. But they are dignified users, their previous removal of Shadow''s trend had already sparked widespread dissatisfaction, leading to most netizens standing with Shadow.

    They certainly can''t repeat the same actions, or they will really lose public sentiment. But netizens discussing the Three Bros joining the blog on their doorstep is like a resounding slap in the Tribe''s face, making them swallow their own teeth!

    "Ling Kong is such a fool!"

    "Why did he mess with Shadow for no reason?"

    "Don''t you know the relationship between the Three Bros?"

    "Do you know how much damage the departure of the Three Bros has caused to the traffic of our Tribe, and compared to some traffic loss, the loss of our users is the key. The quantity of these people''s fans is enough to make our Tribe take it seriously!""

    "I suggest that Ling Kong is suspended!"

    "I have never seen such a prodigal!"

    "Since the merger of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han, our Tribe has been seizing all opportunities to grow and expand. The blog has been watching us jealously but they can''t do anything about us. Only this time, we suffered a huge loss. This is a disgrace for the Tribe. Even the trending topics are talking about other people''s business. How many people are ridiculing us right now?""

    "..."

    In the conference room at the Tribe''s headquarters, the scolding comes like a storm. Ling Kong stands alone in the corner, his head buried deep, and no one can see his expression. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Finally.

    The man at the top, with slightly graying hair, spoke up, "Ling Kong will be suspended for three days to reflect. All departments are informed to limit all topics about those who quit the Tribe on the Tribe. If you want to scold someone, you can call Ling Kong to your office to scold him or whip him. I have no objection. But the purpose of this meeting is not to seek accountability.

    Did you smell that?""

    Smell what?

    The executives are all startled, then look at Ling Kong with complex expressions. No one spoke again. For one, Ling Kong has always been among the most competent of the younger generation leaders in the company. He had led his department to achieve the honor of top performance for two years.

    Secondly...

    The man at the top stood up and looked at Ling Kong, "Whether you want to cry or make a fuss these three days, after three days, I want to see the invincible Ling Kong appear in front of me again. Now, go back and reflect seriously."

    "Understood."

    Ling Kong bowed to everyone, for the first time revealing his face, filled with guilt and self-blame, "If all the uncles want to hit me, I have no objection and dare not have one, but I just want an opportunity to prove myself. Not to show how great I am, but to prove that I will take back what I have lost. Please uncles!"

    "Deep love breeds severe blame."

    On the right of the top man, a woman with glasses smiled, "You are a child we watched grow up. Everyone knows how outstanding you are. Occasionally tripping isn''t a bad thing. Nobody is going to hit you, scolding you is to help you grow. But, after all, this is our Tribe''s internal matter. The attitude we should have outside still needs to be maintained."

    "Everyone."

    The man at the top finally spoke again, he was not looking at Ling Kong or anyone else, only looking at the view outside the window, "I smell the scent of gunpowder. War is about to start."

    "Received."

    "Received."

    "Received."

    The executives responded one after another.

    Ling Kong bowed again and left the conference room. The sunlight shined on his face, his expression appeared calm, but his fists were tightly clenched, and there seemed to be a faint light in the depths of his eyes.

    Picking up the phone.

    Ling Kong made a call, his voice devoid of any emotion, "I''m coming to find you. It''s time to respond to our Teacher Shadow who is quite good at handling relationships."

    "Hm, are you okay?"

    "You should be worried about them."

    With a cold laugh, Ling Kong ended the call.

    Meanwhile, in the conference room behind him, the internal meeting continued, "Let''s first see what the blog will do next. They have no way out by playing with comics. Ling Kong is not the kind to take a beating obediently. By the way, call over the person in charge of the Tribe''s literature department."

    "..."

    The Tribe is taking action!

    Starlight is also taking action!

    Website construction can''t be completed overnight, but if Starlight and the blog jointly promote it, many problems can be solved most efficiently.

    And within the studio.

    Including "The Kindaichi Case Files" and several other previous works completely banned by Tribe Comics, Lin Yuan officially brought out his new work, which was the comic he had planned.

    Detective Conan!

    In addition to this comic, he also prepared two new plots to be used later, since new sites certainly wouldn''t have much traffic during their initial construction, and the personal appeal of Shadow alone couldn''t support a whole site. It would be difficult to gain traffic quickly only with "Detective Conan".

    Lin Yuan understood this common sense, and under such circumstances, he could only open a cheat code, even though this would greatly increase the workload of the studio.

    Then a few days later.

    Jin Mu suddenly brought Lin Yuan some good news, "Han Jimei contacted me today. She learned that we are building a new comic website and wants to join us. I think this suggestion is good, considering that she did very well in the Tribe before. The Tribe Comics were originally built up with her help. Most importantly, she also brought two cartoonists.

    These two cartoonists also had some disputes with the Tribe, and their fame and ability not far behind yours. If these two join our new site, they could attract many readers. I think our new site has a lot of potential¡­""

    "Good."

    Lin Yuan showed a smile.

    -----------------------

    ps: Thanks to [Blue v Sky] and [Hua Biba] (this one is the Alliance Hierarch from the era of the Entertainment Empire, an old friend), I kneel before the Hierarchs from the two masters. ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ. The number of alliances these days is frightening. I feel that we can reach the hundred alliances that Polluted White has been dreaming of by the end of the month. Thank you very much for everyone''s support.

    It seems that it''s not the time to rest yet, I (Polluted White) will keep writing!

 Chapter 739 - 705: I Keep Going Even When I Hit a Wall_1

    This was good news for Lin Yuan!

    Lin Yuan really appreciated Han Jimei''s abilities.

    This recognition came not only from Jin Mu''s praise, but also from the previous exchanges between Han Jimei and Lin Yuan within the Tribe.

    He has a good impression of her.

    At least their collaborations have been pleasant, with no complications.

    Unlike with Ling Kong.

    As soon as the latter took the stage, their cooperation ran into problems.

    What made Lin Yuan happiest was that Han Jimei brought two outstanding cartoonists!

    Although Lin Yuan was prepared for his workload to triple, this would inevitably increase the studio''s workload.

    Excluding Jin Mu.

    The current studio, including Lin Yuan and Luo Wei, has six people.

    Six people simultaneously working on three comics would be doable with Lin Yuan there, but it would be tiring!

    Not to mention...

    Once the blog regains the comic rights, the studio would also have to continue serializing The Kindaichi Case Files!

    With this in mind.

    The studio''s six people might have to juggle the updates of four comics, a schedule that is bound to lead to overworking to the point of baldness.

    So.

    Unless absolutely necessary, Lin Yuan still hopes that everyone would be able to work in a relaxed and happy atmosphere.

    Of course.

    Lin Yuan could also continue to hire assistants.

    But compared to hiring more assistants, having other cartoonists would obviously be more convenient.

    "These two cartoonists; one is Tianmen, the other is Yeshenchen, you should know them. After all, they were once top cartoonists of the Tribe too."

    Jin Mu introduced.

    Lin Yuan nodded. He indeed knew these two cartoonists.

    They both have remarkable achievements. If they join the Alliance, they would undoubtedly be of great help.

    Now it is settled.

    There''s no need for him to stretch himself thin.

    "If you have no objections, I''ll get back in touch with Han Jimei."

    He paused for a moment.

    Then Jin Mu continued, "By the way, I also got another piece of news from Han Jimei."

    "What news?"

    "About Ling Kong''s identity."

    "Hmm?"

    Lin Yuan was not overly curious, but he decided to give it a listen.

    Jin Mu spoke seriously, "Let me tell you this, the Tribe''s surname is Ling!"

    Lin Yuan pretty much understood, "High-level connections?"

    "It''s probably at the very top. Ling Kong is being groomed by the Tribe as a future successor. He has a younger brother, but his brother is less proficient compared to him. So unless something unexpected happens, Ling Kong will be the decision maker within the Tribe."

    At this point, Jin Mu''s expression turned solemn.

    This opponent was far more formidable than he had imagined!

    Under normal circumstances, that high level of loss Ling Kong caused the Tribe would likely result in him being kicked out.

    But he''s the successor of the Tribe...

    This changes things completely.

    The punishment that would end up on Ling Kong is likely equivalent to a slap on the wrist.

    After serving this punishment, Ling Kong can continue as before, and even continue to oppose them!

    As for burying the hatchet?

    Ever since Lin Yuan moved his three pen names to the blog, it''s been hard for the two sides to reconcile.

    Because the blog and the Tribe have always been arch-enemies.

    Most importantly!

    The blog had given up one percent of its shares to woo Lin Yuan!

    Keep in mind, the scale of the blog is terrifying, one percent of shares is much more than what people initially think!

    Now, Lin Yuan has been completely tagged to the blog!

    In some ways, could the blog be considered as Lin Yuan''s own enterprise?

    He had become one of the directors!

    So this was no longer a personal vendetta, but a struggle between two internet forces, there''s no room for separating business from personal matters.

    Chances are that Ling Kong will always pose as an adversary to Lin Yuan far into the future.

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    He did not perceive Ling Kong as a threat.

    It wasn''t that he looked down on Ling Kong, rather, he just felt that as long as he handled his own matters well, it would be fine.

    Of Course.

    Lin Yuan is not one to stir up trouble, but he''s also not afraid of it, otherwise, he wouldn''t have chosen to break with the Tribe.

    ...

    The news of the new comic website being prepared couldn''t be kept secret from the industry insiders, and Starlight and the blog did not plan to.

    The new site lacked the most in publicity!

    And now is the perfect time to raise awareness!

    So.

    A week later, Starlight and the blog jointly announced the news about the new comic website, "the Alliance"!

    At the same time!

    The names of two top-level cartoonists who were confirmed to join the "Alliance" were also publicly announced!

    Suddenly!

    The netizens were shocked!

    Establishing a new comic website?

    A netizen mumbled, "Why does it seem to me that Xian Yu and Chu Kuang built a comic website specifically for Shadow?"

    It''s not just similar!

    It''s blatant!

    This is simply too harsh!

    Look at whom Shadow is leaning on!

    These two guys are totally holding their ground!

    "With the backing of Starlight, this big move is Xian Yu''s masterpiece!"

    "I''ve always felt that Xian Yu and Chu Kuang were closer, but it seems all three of them have a strong bond! Xian Yu''s involvement in setting up this manga website for Shadow speaks volumes about his financial strength!"

    "No, no, no. It''s Starlight going all out for Xian Yu!

    "The name of the manga site is rather meaningful. Could the union referred to be between Xian Yu, Chu Kuang, and Shadow?"

    The thing is, neither Xian Yu nor Chu Kuang knows how to draw manga!

    Someone wondered, "Does it refer to the union of Shadow, Yeshenchen, and Teacher Tianmen?"

    "That''s a small alliance if it''s just the three of them."

    "But it''s not bad, these three top-tier manga artists, former tribal heads, are sure to draw in some attention!"

    "If Shadow were to fight solo, he would be in real trouble!"

    "Although they still can''t compete with Tribe Comics, having three top-tier manga artists join forces at least gives them a foothold!"

    "That''s right. Tianmen and Yeshenchen excel at King''s Path Comics. Shadow doesn''t do King''s Path, but a site can''t do without King''s Path Comics. Otherwise, it would be too niche!"

    "..."

    If it''s just Shadow, then the website, even when established, wouldn''t mean much!

    It''s far from being a match for Tribe Comics!

    But if there are two big King''s Path Comics artists joining the ''Union'', although the website might still not compete with Tribe Comics, at least it could attract some users.

    At least, it could make some waves.

    What''s uncertain is, what''s Shadow''s new manga?

    Some guessed Shadow would go for a King''s Path Manga like ''Death Note'' once again.

    After all, what Shadow needs most now is popularity!

    And among all his works, ''Death Note'' is the most popular!

    Only a classic evil-pathway manga like ''Death Note'' could compete with King''s Path Manga in popularity!

    "I already have a premonition. This move by Shadow is going to be explosive!"

    Shadow has recently been loaded with lots of topics and attention, being caught up in numerous public opinions!

    Under such tremendous pressure, Shadow is bound to counterattack!

    Even if ''The Kindaichi Case Files'' performed averagely, no one dared to underestimate Shadow''s capabilities!

    Not only fans and netizens thought so!

    Even the manga artists from Tribe thought the same!

    They are also discussing Shadow''s new manga theme here.

    They are in Tribe.

    Shadow is in Union.

    In the future, each working for their own party, how could they not pay attention to Shadow''s affairs?

    Bringing the topic back.

    Even if they are not competitors, the people in the same industry are certainly keenly interested in Shadow!

    Then someone guessed:

    "Perhaps Shadow''s next piece wouldn''t necessarily be about the evil way theme. Wasn''t ''Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma'' also considered a disguised King''s Path theme?"

    This is one possibility.

    Amidst various conjectures, suddenly someone teased:

    "It definitely won''t be a detective genre."

    Chuckles.

    The other manga artists also laughed.

    Let alone if Shadow is a stubborn person.

    Even if Shadow is stubborn, with all the eyes on him lately, he can''t ignore the downside of the niche genre!

    He needs this new website to prove himself!

    Otherwise, how could he live up to the support of Xian Yu and Chu Kuang?

    But how can choosing the detective genre again prove Shadow''s worth?

    Shadow has already proved with ''The Kindaichi Case Files'':

    Even a manga artist as fierce as him can''t popularize this genre.

    He can''t possibly stumble over the same rock twice, can he? S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Speaking of which.

    Tribe inadvertently did Shadow a big favor!

    By banning ''The Kindaichi Case Files'', they saved Shadow from taking the blame for unfinished story arcs.

    Being blamed for leaving stories unfinished can seriously harm one''s reputation!

    But if it''s banned, Shadow doesn''t have to bear that burden.

    The fans of Kindaichi wouldn''t place the blame on Shadow.

    This way.

    Shadow can entirely justify starting a new project, choosing a genre that he''s most confident in!

    With this in mind.

    Almost everyone is waiting for news about Shadow''s new manga!

    However.

    Just as everyone was eagerly looking forward.

    A post from Shadow left everyone in shock!

    Netizens fell into a collective daze:

    "The new manga is still a detective one."

    Shadow is undoubtedly the most stubborn person on earth!

    Such stubbornness...

    Even after hitting a wall, he''s refusing to turn back!

    You''re clearly at odds with the detective genre, aren''t you!!!

    ----------

    Ps: Thanks to Alliance Hierarchs, "Cangzi Guishao" and "Swallow 523", for their generous support. I bow before you two¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ. Recently, Alliance Hierarchs have been so generous, I feel guilty whenever I don''t update enough. But I''m really too exhausted to write any more today. Will give it my all tomorrow. By the way, Monthly Tickets'' time!

 Chapter 740 - 706 Detective Chu Yu_1

    About what genre Shadow''s new comic would choose, industry insiders and outsiders had all sorts of speculation, but no one expected Shadow to continue writing detective comics, which everyone thought was an implausible choice¡ª

    Are you kidding me?

    Shadow just took a major hit in the detective genre!

    Now with the launch of the new website imminent, the popularity of the next comic is critical for the website''s traffic. Shadow, if he has any brains, wouldn''t do this!

    Who could have thought!

    This guy really is a hardhead!

    Is Shadow trying to pick himself up where he fell?

    This isn''t picking yourself up!

    I mean, you fell and chose to lie down right where you fell!

    "He''s just pigheaded!"

    "Is he too willful?"

    "Although I am a fan of Shadow, I want to make an objective comment. Shadow is too arrogant. He does not accept his detective failure and wants to try again. Normally, this is fine, but at such a critical time, he continues to attempt detective stories, which is really inappropriate. He is risking the new site that Xian Yu and Chu Kuang built for him..."

    "It''s all over."

    "Shadow can already predict that he''s going to take a hit."

    "It seems that the new site can only rely on Yeshenchen and Tianmen, the experts at mainstream comics."

    "Three people working together might support it, but it''s too forced with just two people. Do they really think two comic creators can support a whole site?"

    "But three people are all struggling!"

    "What if the new works of those two are also mediocre?"

    "After all, no one can guarantee their new work will be a hit, even if they are highly skilled, just look at Shadow''s ''The Kindaichi Case Files''."

    "Shadow should have played it safe."

    "I give up. He prefers risky ventures rather than playing safe."

    "..."

    And it''s not just the netizens.

    Even his fans are out of ideas.

    We could say that Shadow is really pushing the boundaries with this move!

    Meanwhile at Tribe Comics.

    The comic creators had mixed reactions.

    Some felt pity.

    Some were disdainful.

    Some were confused.

    Some laughed.

    "Shadow must be mad!"

    "Still holding on to detective stories?"

    "Maybe his pride was hurt. Seeing how successful Xian Yu and Chu Kuang are, especially Chu Kuang''s detective novel ''Detective Holmes'' which became globally popular, compared to his detective comics which were appreciated but not a hit. So he''s upset and wants to prove his detective writing skills."

    "He has his own strengths."

    "Insisting on taking a path he has failed before, does he have psychological problems?"

    "I heard rumors that the falling out with Tribe is due to the inferior performance of ''The Kindaichi Case Files'', perhaps this is his internal struggle, so he wants to overcome and prove that Tribe is wrong."

    "No matter what reason, he''s clearly out of his mind."

    "Actually, I can understand. I''ll analyze his mentality for you guys. Shadow''s friends are Xian Yu and Chu Kuang, these top-tier ones. Their common characteristic is that since their debut, everything has been smooth sailing, with basically every work being a big hit.

    The failure this time is unusual for Shadow, you guys should know for a genius who has never experienced failure, how huge this failure is to him. Hence, he''s pushing himself into a corner."

    "..."

    Netizens think Shadow is too wilful!

    The industry insiders, however, believe that Shadow''s mindset is the problem.

    It might be due to the pressure from the Tribe, or being provoked by the influence of the two big brothers, or it could even be his first failure in life.

    After all, the so-called genius usually has poorer stress resistance...

    Yes.

    Tribes Comics and the newly established alliance will surely become competitors.

    But the authors of Tribe Comics don''t really have any grudges against Shadow.

    In the future, it''s merely a matter of serving their respective masters.

    If anyone dislikes Shadow...

    Some comic authors from Chu Continent might not be so fond of Shadow.

    Because once upon a time, Shadow, representing Qin Continent, dealt a severe blow to the comic circle of the Chu people.

    Apart from those who dislike Shadow, many actually found it a pity.

    "I don''t know if Shadow can pull this off this time."

    Someone voiced out.

    If a creator''s mentality has a problem, it could possibly take years or even a lifetime to get out of it. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    ...

    No matter how outsiders discuss the genre of Shadow''s new comics.

    Time continues to roll forward without caring about human will.

    The construction of the new website is running smoothly.

    And several days later.

    Inside the Shadow Studio.

    Lin Yuan and his assistants were working hard.

    Upon the completion of the content for a new episode, Lin Yuan suddenly said:

    "Take a break."

    "Phew!"

    Everyone let out a sigh of relief.

    The studio indeed faced a significant challenge this time!

    For this, everyone was giving their all for creating the comics!

    The days of continuous work left traces of fatigue on everyone''s faces!

    Of course.

    The fruits of their labor were richly rewarded!

    Now, "Detective Conan" has already completed over fifty episodes!

    This speed is terrifying!

    Probably no other comic studio in the industry could do this!

    "I brought everyone milk tea, coffee, and some beverages, snacks are in the hall, you can help yourself. Thank you for your hard work," said Luo Wei with a smile.

    Everyone cheered and went into the hall. They were drinking their beverages and chatting, thoroughly enjoying the rare break time they had squeezed out of the continuous working days.

 Chapter 741 - 741: 706

    "This work will surely overturn the entire industry''s understanding of detective comics!"

    One of the assistants said confidently while sipping his coffee.

    Unlike the pessimistic opinions from the outside!

    All the assistants in the studio had participated in the creation of the new comic, so they deeply understood its quality!

    Speaking of that.

    When they first learned that Teacher Shadow would continue to create detective comics, even these overconfident assistants were extremely nervous.

    What if the new comic also failed to deliver despite being well-received like The Kindaichi Case Files?

    It wasn''t until everyone was exposed to the script and officially began creating that these worries gradually disappeared!

    In recent days.

    What replaced it is the newly resumed powerful confidence!

    In not too long, the industry will witness a detective comic that is starkly different from The Kindaichi Case Files!

    This time we are invincible!

    "Actually, regarding the quality of the cases, I still think our previous detective comics were better, but our current works are more popular, and popularity means mass appeal!"

    "Even I, who doesn''t understand detective stories well, am attracted by this story!"

    "I laughed to death at the first chapter, Conan becomes a child after drinking the potion and surprisingly changes his name to Chu Yu..."

    "Teacher Shadow is such a joker!"

    "But must admit, the name Chu Yu sounds powerful, as if Chu Kuang and Xian Yu are combined!"

    "..."

    The assistants excitedly discussed.

    Lin Yuan chuckled to himself aside.

    Yes, he had added some personal touches in the comic.

    In the original "Detective Conan," the protagonist''s real name is Kudo Shinichi.

    For some special reasons, Kudo Shinichi drank a shrinking potion and renamed himself Edogawa Conan--

    In the comic''s setting, Kudo Shinichi is a fan of Sherlock Holmes!

    His pseudonym, Edogawa Conan, pays tribute to the author of "Sherlock Holmes" Conan Doyle, and Neon''s top mystery writer, Edogawa Ranpo.

    However.

    In the Blue Star world.

    Chu Kuang is the author of "Sherlock Holmes"!

    In this case, Lin Yuan would definitely not rigidly have Kudo Shinichi rename himself as Conan.

    There''s no need for that!

    With a stroke of his pen, he made Conan the original name of the protagonist in the comic.

    After drinking the shrinking potion, Conan, in order to hide his identity to find the mastermind behind the scenes, changed his name to Chu Yu!

    The reason is:

    Conan is a fan of "Sherlock Holmes," he really likes Chu Kuang, so there''s a "Chu" in his new name.

    As for "Yu"?

    Because when Conan was coming up with a new name, he happened to hear someone playing a song called "The Seventh Chapter of Night."

    This is a song by Xian Yu.

    A Sherlock Holmes-inspired song.

    Coincidentally, Xian Yu is also one of Conan''s favorite composers, and he is quite familiar with this song.

    So----

    The protagonist had a "flash of inspiration," and the detective "Chu Yu" was born!

    Although it contains some personal touches, it won''t affect any of the comic''s plot. Therefore, Lin Yuan felt free to do this, otherwise, he wouldn''t have bothered.

    It''s as if Shadow is pulling some strings for Xian Yu and Chu Kuang to collaborate.

    It feels pretty good to be quirky.

    For the readers, this will also become an Easter egg that everyone will enjoy discussing.

    Just like the origins of the name "Edogawa Conan" on Earth has been discussed over and over again.

    As for the name of the comic?

    Of course, it also needs to change to "Detective Chu Yu."

    Does it sound a little strange?

    Of course it''s strange.

    Fortunately, Lin Yuan knew.

    This is just prejudice on my own part.

    There''s no need for preconceptions. For those who are encountering this comic for the first time, the name "Chu Yu" is not strange. It''s just a normal and even somewhat attractive name.

    Inserting this into the plot does not feel out of place at all.

    ...

    Agent Jin Mu has arrived.

    He looks at Lin Yuan with a worried expression:

    "There is a lot of controversy about the theme of your new comic, and it might affect the popularity of the site on its opening day."

    "Don''t worry, the quality of our comic will prove everything!"

    Upon hearing this, Luo Wei nearby says optimistically. She also believes that "Detective Chu Yu" will definitely become popular!

    "This isn''t about quality. I certainly trust your abilities and discernment, but there are some misunderstandings about Shadow''s decision. We need to eliminate all potential issues at the bud stage." Jin Mu says with a serious expression.

    "There''s a way."

    Lin Yuan asks, "When exactly will the site launch?"

    Jin Mu immediately replies, "In another week. Actually, we can launch now, but since it''s impossible for you three alone to run a comics website, we are actively recruiting middle and lower-class comic artists. Many contracts are being signed urgently. Even if they simply add to the numbers and fill up the comic library, that''s fine."

    "Hmm, one week is enough."

    Lin Yuan smiles lightly, "Have you forgotten how the comic "King of the Net" became popular?"

    "At that time, the Tribe Comics site hadn''t been established, you directly published on the Tribe site for free..."

    Jin Mu says automatically, then paused:

    "So, you want to?"

    Lin Yuan nods, "Release "Detective Chu Yu" in advance, and publish it for free on the blog. A week is enough for everyone to recognize the excellence of this comic. When the new site is set up, we move the comic over, and maintain a good update frequency. Together with the new works of the other two comic artists, the initial popularity should not be too bad."

    "This is indeed a solution!"

    Jin Mu''s eyes light up slightly.

    Releasing the comic in advance can also be seen as an early promotion to draw traffic to the website.

    Of course.

    The prerequisite is that this comic can convince readers to willingly pay for it. It all depends on the quality of the comic. If it fails, it will only have the opposite effect.

    Can they continue with detective comics, really?

    Jin Mu looks at the assistants in the studio. Each of their faces is full of ease and vitality, chit-chatting with great enthusiasm...

    They are too confident!

    In that case, let''s do it!

    Jin Mu makes a decision: "Publish it tomorrow?"

    Lin Yuan says softly, "Better do it today than tomorrow. Let''s do it tonight at 8 o''clock."

    The original "Kindaichi Case Files" also chose to publish at eight o''clock.

    Isn''t it said online that Shadow won''t accept it, and wants to prove that he can rise where he falls?

    Fine.

    Then I will show you!

    See if I can stand high enough!

    "Then it''s eight o''clock!"

    Jin Mu says, grinding his teeth.

    The opinion on the Internet is currently very unfavorable for Shadow.

    Some even say that Shadow''s continuation of detective comics is a little unfair to the great help provided by Chu Kuang and Xian Yu.

    This is not a good sign!

    This adverse public opinion must be curbed as soon as possible!

    In the next half an hour, Jin Mu contacted Han Jimei and other relevant personnel from the comic website, and confirmed the plan to serialize Shadow''s new comic on the blog.

    Having finished the relevant work.

    The blog updates again: "New comic will be released on the blog tonight at 8 o''clock!" Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Together with this update.

    The blog has also done the first publicity to attract traffic!

    "Tonight at eight, Teacher Shadow''s latest comic "Detective Chu Yu" first read, the same reasoning, a different shock!"

    Suddenly!

    The attention of the entire network is attracted over!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thank you [Yan Jiu Wang] and [Queen] (this lady seems to often do voiceovers for characters) for their Alliance Hierarch, kneel to the masters ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, with their help we have reached ninety-four Alliance Hierarches, only a few steps away from a hundred, continue writing Polluted White!

 Chapter 742 - 707: He is in a hurry_1

    Under countless watchful eyes.

    Many were notified the moment it occurred.

    The controversy over Shadow''s new work had yet to subside, sparking even more heated discussions¡ª

    "It''s being released today?"

    "It''s really a mystery genre!"

    "I previously thought this could be some kind of joke, merely a marketing gimmick to attract attention to the new site. But now it seems clear that Shadow''s new work is indeed a mystery genre!"

    "Publishing it on the blog first?"

    "Is this to spark reader interest?"

    "The problem is, I have zero interest in mystery per se! I tried reading ''The Kindaichi Case Files'', even persevered through dozens of chapters, but it truly wasn''t my cup of tea. It''s far too niche!"

    "Detective Chu Yu?"

    "Is it a combination of Chu Kuang and Xian Yu?"

    "The manga name is quite cheeky. ''Chu Yu'' has to be the protagonist''s name, right? I don''t for a second buy the idea that this ''Chu Yu'' and ''Chu Kuang Xian Yu'' have no relation. Shadow is just skillfully riding their wave of popularity. However, I''m still not into the mystery genre. Why is Shadow so determined to go this route!"

    "..."

    Fellow comic artists could roughly guess Shadow''s intention:

    He wanted to use the blog to create some excitement for his as-yet-unreleased work.

    This surprise move does have some benefits, too.

    The main advantage is, people''s attention could indeed be captured by the early release, so when the comics go live on the internet amidst ongoing intense debates, even the readers claiming to be uninterested in the mystery genre might give in to curiosity and have a look!

    But the real problem is:

    Readers genuinely aren''t interested in the mystery genre!

    Perhaps only some fans of ''The Kindaichi Case Files'' would be interested?

    Forcing everyone to read the new work might just have the opposite effect, increasing their dissatisfaction!

    The plan may end up doing more harm than good.

    As the recognized competitor, Tribe Comics also received news of Shadow''s new manga releasing at 8 PM tonight.

    Suddenly, the entire department was clueless.

    Inside the Director''s office.

    Ling Kong remained expressionless.

    Besides Ling Kong, there was another man of average appearance in the office.

    The man giggled and began to speak, "The early release only shows he''s desperate. He knows that letting public opinion ferment wouldn''t do him any favors. However, if the quality of the manga isn''t up to standard, this move might further disappoint readers, even affecting the traffic on their new site on its initial day..."

    "It''s now 7:40.",

    Ling Kong sat in front of his computer with his hands clasped together: "You are one of the most senior editors in the manga industry. I want to see a detailed analysis report of his new work. Stay here and watch it."

    "Fine."

    The man responded.

    As Ling Kong''s expression grew serious, the man couldn''t help but reassure: "You don''t need to worry. From the beginning, Shadow has chosen the wrong path. It''s not that his mystery manga isn''t well-drawn, but the problems lie in the genre itself. He thinks if he draws even better, people will be more willing to buy it.

    I do believe that he could indeed make it better, but the inherent weakness of this genre remains. I''ve been an editor for so many years, and the most popular mystery manga I''ve seen is ''The Kindaichi Case Files''. You should know very well how this manga compares to other popular manga!"

    Ling Kong remained silent.

    He believed in this veteran editor''s judgment, but he believed more in the hard data!

    He wouldn''t slack off in the slightest before seeing Shadow''s new manga.

    After all, Shadow was the first person in many years to make him suffer a significant loss.

    Although the main reason behind his loss was not solely due to Shadow but the forces behind Shadow...

    The fact that Shadow could influence such great forces itself was enough to show that Shadow was not to be underestimated.

    He would not underestimate such an opponent again.

    ¡­...

    In the blogging world. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    There was discussion within.

    "Shadow''s new manga is being released first on our blog, huh."

    "I heard that Shadow''s previous mystery manga flopped. Can this one succeed?"

    "I highly doubt it."

    "I have a friend who''s into manga. He said that Shadow chose to do mystery because he wasn''t satisfied with something. But whether he''s satisfied or not is irrelevant. The problem is that not many people like the mystery genre. If it were a mystery novel, people might be interested. But it seems that''s not the case with manga."

    "Tribe Comics must be thrilled about this."

    "Who cares? Tribe Comics has taken a big hit this time around, Xian Yu and Chu Kuang are now with our blog!"

    "Yeah true."

    "Shadow was just a bonus."

    "All of this started because of Shadow, but he isn''t the key. The key players for our blog are big names like Xian Yu and Chu Kuang."

    "That''s true."

    "Even if Shadow''s new manga flops again, it won''t harm our blog. Of course, I sincerely hope that Shadow''s new manga becomes a hit. That would greatly benefit our blog."

    "..."

    The blogging community viewed this as a casual occurrence, not taking it too seriously.

    The reason is practical.

    Because Shadow wasn''t the main focus of the blog.

    Even though they announced the arrival of the Three Bros with great fanfare, the core purpose was to give Xian Yu and Chu Kuang enough prestige.

    Shadow just didn''t make the cut.

    Even the influential stars like the members of the Yu Dynasty couldn''t compare to Xian Yu and Chu Kuang!

    But since Shadow had a good rapport with these two big shots...

    Why not cater to him?

    It also served to appease the two big shots.

    Having learned from past lessons, the blog would not repeat the errors of Tribe Comics.

    Even if Shadow served as a mascot, for the sake of Xian Yu and Chu Kuang, the blog was willing to hold this mascot in high regard.

    Suddenly.

    Someone said, "It''s eight o''clock."

    Someone nearby immediately pitched in, "Has the manga been released?"

    "Let''s check it out!"

    One of them got excited.

    There were teasing voices around, "I thought you didn''t like manga."

    "Well, Shadow''s competitor is Tribe Comics. If Shadow''s manga is excellent, it''d be a slap in Tribe Comics'' face. Their discomfort would make me happy!"

    He spoke with conviction.

    Everyone nodded, "Makes sense!"

    Perhaps with the same sentiment, they all clicked on this manga named ''Detective Chu Yu''.

    Whoa!

    Quite the update!

    He''s released over twenty chapters all at once!

    He''s come thoroughly prepared!

    Simultaneously.

    Those elsewhere who were following Shadow''s manga also started reading ''Detective Chu Yu''.

    This includes Tribe Comics as well.

    "I will finish reading it quickly."

    The man of average appearance said to the handsome Ling Kong while surfing through it.

    Ling Kong waved his hand: "No rush, take your time and be thorough; I need your most honest feedback..."

    "Understood!"

    The man of average appearance chuckled and began reading the first chapter.

    After an undefined period.

    The man of average appearance suddenly shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his face slightly tense.

    Hmm?

    Ling Kong noticed his fleeting change, causing his eyebrows to twitch a little.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Begging for a monthly ticket, one more chapter to go and I think I could hit rank five?

 Chapter 743 - 708: This Night Begins to Boil_1

    The industry''s judgment wasn''t wrong.

    Releasing a new manga during the peak of external controversy is indeed an excellent timing.

    No matter if they are interested in detective stories or not.

    The topic controversy of Shadow''s new manga, combined with the terrifying upheaval of Three Bros breaking up with the Tribe, has indeed attracted countless readers.

    ...

    In some school dormitory.

    The lights weren''t turned off at eight o''clock.

    Some students were watching "Detective Chu Yu" on their mobile phones.

    Suddenly someone chuckled out loud.

    "The name Chu Yu really is related to Chu Kuang!"

    "The protagonist is actually a fan of ''The Great Detective Holmes''." S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "And then ''The Seventh Chapter of Night'' comes in."

    "So that''s how the name Chu Yu came about, it''s pretty fun."

    "The beginning is quite interesting."

    "It attracts me more than ''The Kindaichi Case Files''."

    ...

    On some subway.

    Two young people were also reading this manga.

    "The main character of Shadow''s new manga is actually a primary school student!"

    "The key is that inside this primary school student, there''s the soul of a seventeen-year-old genius detective."

    "That''s kind of interesting, a primary school detective?"

    "It leaves me a bit excited for the following plot."

    "Chu Yu, that is, Conan, looked handsome before he became smaller, totally cute after he turned small."

    "This doctor seems to be a mad scientist!"

    "I like this setting!"

    "I wonder what the plot will be like later, I''ll keep reading."

    ...

    Inside a certain company.

    It should be close of business at eight o''clock.

    But in reality, many people were still working at eight o''clock.

    However, while they were working, some people were slacking off.

    Like, taking advantage of having nothing to do with their hands, they were reading Shadow''s new manga.

    "Eh?"

    "This new manga that Shadow released ahead of time seems to be quite interesting."

    "Don''t you dislike detective stories?"

    "I indeed don''t like ''The Kindaichi Case Files'', it feels a bit scary, but this one feels a bit different."

    "Where is it different?"

    "Can''t really tell, but at least I can keep reading this one."

    "Then I''ll give it a go."

    "Yeah, you should like it. The protagonist is a primary school student, even wearing a full set of equipment, all the sci-fi gadgets were made by a doctor to help him."

    "Spoiler dog won''t get a house!"

    ...

    In the internal blog.

    There were no breaks either, otherwise, there wouldn''t be a bunch of people chatting idly.

    By this time everyone had been reading the manga for a long time.

    There was little talking during the process.

    Until after a certain plot sequence.

    "This manga is kind of awesome!"

    "It''s so compelling!"

    "Seeing the primary school student solving cases one after another feels so satisfying!"

    "I''ve been reading over a dozen episodes in a row and I don''t feel bored at all!"

    "Same here, I usually get sleepy from watching detective stories or crime tv shows."

    "I don''t know whether to say Mori Kogoro is unlucky or lucky."

    "Mori Kogoro is hilarious, always looking confused but turns out to be the ace detective!"

    "I like the female lead Xiao Lan so much, my husband is actually by my side!"

    "I''m almost done with the updates!"

    "Damn!"

    "Shadow, update more!"

    "I want to see the plot about the organization in black, it feels like it''s the main storyline of the manga!"

    ...

    Tribe Comics.

    Manager''s office.

    The nondescript man hadn''t said a word, the action of flipping through the manga on his mobile phone was getting slower and slower.

    Ling Kong was watching the man closely.

    This veteran editor in the industry seemed to feel a bit hot, wiping the sweat from his forehead from time to time.

    Was the seat under his butt a little too hot?

    Ling Kong had seen him adjust and shift his butt to change his position seven or eight times consecutively.

    This made Ling Kong feel a bit inexplicably anxious.

    Weren''t they saying that detective manga was a no-go?

    Didn''t they say that Shadow was just making desperate moves?

    Why did he always have the feeling...

    Something''s wrong?

    Finally.

    The other party spoke: "Minister."

    "Speak!"

    There was a tension in Ling Kong''s voice, a hint of dissatisfaction in his tension, a touch of anger in his dissatisfaction, and a sense of urgency in his anger.

    "This manga, Shadow, is no ordinary manga!"

    The man hesitated for a few seconds before finally speaking.

    "How extraordinary?"

    Ling Kong thought he would flare up in anger, but his voice surprisingly calmed down when he spoke. However, his calm voice was now tinged with an eerie tone.

    The man swallowed, struggling to say: "It will blow up!"

    "How so?"

    "It''ll be an inferno!"

    After uttering those four words, the man seemed to have used up all his strength.

    A sense of powerlessness washed over him.

    Who would''ve thought detective comics could be played this way?

    Adding sci-fi elements and novel settings, whilst simplifying the complexity of the cases, the once stagnant niche suddenly sprang to life!

    This Shadow, he''s terrifying!

    Suddenly.

    The man heard a strange laugh.

    He looked at Ling Kong.

    Was Ling Kong actually laughing?

    "This is what makes it interesting."

    Ling Kong seemed to be speaking to the man, but also to himself: "The game has just begun."

    ...

    Shadow Studio.

    Everyone else was still at work.

    Lin Yuan was sitting on the sofa in the hall reading comics.

    He was reading Tianmen and Yeshenchen''s previous comics.

    Given that these two intended to join their alliance, Lin Yuan wanted to better understand their abilities.

    He was satisfied with what he found.

    Both of them deserved the title of GOAT comic creators.

    In the next room.

    Luo Wei was nervously staring at her computer with her assistants.

    "How are the responses?"

    "They haven''t come out yet."

    "It should catch on, right?"

    "I can''t think of any reasons why our comic would fail!"

    "Everyone says ''The Kindaichi Case Files'' isn''t welcoming to non-detective genre fans, but we definitely won''t have that problem this time!"

    "Detective Chu Yu even helps people find lost pets!"

    "A primary school student trying to act mature, Mori Kogoro providing the laugh points, Xiao Lan being prettily attractive, the cool science fiction elements¡ª every element of this comic is extremely appealing!"

    "..."

    Everyone indeed had confidence in the comic, but at this moment, they couldn''t help but feel a bit nervous and unsettled.

    After all, detective genres truly are niche.

    That''s one point they couldn''t deny.

    However, at the same time, they all felt that this comic encompassed all the various ways a detective genre could be played with!

    If this diversified detective comic doesn''t hit big, then it could only mean detective comics are beyond redemption.

    Click.

    As Luo Wei refreshed the comment section on her screen, her smile finally surfaced!

    At the same time!

    The other assistants widened their eyes in surprise, expressing their joy!

    So many comments!

    A quick glance and it looks like there are barely any negative reviews!

    Luo Wei refreshed again.

    Suddenly, several more pages of comments appeared!

    "Try again!"

    Luo Wei said, refreshing the page every few seconds.

    And each time she refreshed, more comments would appear!

    "Ms. Luo Wei, you''re refreshing too fast, let us look at what the netizens are specifically saying!"

    One of the assistants couldn''t help speaking.

    On the surface, the comic seemed to have received a great response!

    But for more specifics, they needed to look at the comments.

    "Alright!"

    Luo Wei stopped refreshing.

    The group of people huddled around the computer, going through the feedback comments for their comic one by one...

    In the hall.

    Lin Yuan put down the comic he was reading and stretched.

    The moon had disappeared.

    The night began to boil!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: I''ve kept my promise of an extra chapter. Now, give me your monthly votes, please!

 Chapter 744 - 709: We Were the First Ones in the Tribe_1

    In the studio.

    With Luo Wei no longer updating, countless reader comments about "Detective Chu Yu" appeared clearly in front of these shadow assistants on the blog.

    The comment with the most likes is:

    "All those bastards who doubted the theme of Shadow''s new comic, apologize to Shadow now!"

    The assistants burst into laughter.

    And the comments that followed made everyone high-five and cheer on!

    Because the following comments were all bloody apologies to Teacher Shadow!

    "I was wrong!"

    "I shouldn''t have doubted Teacher Shadow!"

    "This comic is so good!"

    "My face''s been slapped swollen by Shadow!"

    "Never knew an unpopular detective comic could be so exciting!"

    "This comic is way better than ''The Kindaichi Case Files''. After reading all the content so far, I can''t get enough!"

    "I don''t usually like detective stories but for some strange reason, I really like this comic!"

    "Alright, alright, I admit I was wrong. Shadow truly is a genius!"

    "All our doubts are nothing compared to the Tribe Comics. Just after they banned Shadow, he came out with such an amazing new comic!"

    "I wonder if the Tribe Comics has admitted defeat!"

    "Rise where you fall. Shadow really did it, against public opinion and everyone''s doubts!"

    "After two tries, Shadow has completely conquered the detective genre!"

    "..."

    With more and more people finishing the comic, countless feedbacks finally burst out like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, and swept the entire comment section like a storm, causing its popularity to explode for the first time!

    Everyone got slapped in the face!

    But no one is upset about it!

    If Shadow''s new detective comic was met with a lukewarm response again, he would undoubtedly face severely harsh criticism. People only care about the result!

    The reverse is also true!

    If Shadow''s new comic breaks all doubt, proves himself with a detective story, then public opinion will flip completely!

    Now!

    Public opinion has flipped!

    Everyone is praising "Detective Chu Yu", and those who doubted and held a pessimistic view of it have disappeared without a trace amidst countless praises!

    ...

    At the same time.

    The industry insiders were dumbfounded.

    Especially the comic authors who are part of the Tribe.

    Of course, these people also read "Detective Chu Yu". It''s not hard for professionals to see just how amazing this comic is, and that''s exactly why they were so shocked:

    "How is this possible!"

    "He actually managed to pull it off!"

    "This guy is truly a genius!"

    "The same theme, yet he managed to make such a big breakthrough!"

    "Even though they''re all detective stories, he broke his usual way of thinking. The styles of the two comics are completely different!"

    "I won''t say this comic is better than ''The Kindaichi Case Files,'' but at least in terms of achievements, this comic can definitely crush Shadow''s previous one!"

    "Not only the previous one!"

    "It feels like even the popularity of ''Death Note'' might be surpassed by this comic in the future!"

    "Turns out a detective comic really can become popular!"

    "Only after reading Shadow''s new work did I realize, there''s no such thing as unpopular themes in this world, only comic artists who are not skilled enough!"

    ...

    Both inside and outside the industry are discussing!

    And amidst the heated discussion, ''Detective Chu Yu'' has updated a lot of content!

    Without hesitation!

    Everyone excitedly clicked to continue reading the comic!

    "Wonderful!"

    "The pull is still so great!"

    "This update is too powerful, worthy of Shadow!"

    "Did he release all his draft? Shadow is so awesome. Every time I read to the end, I look forward to Chu Yu shouting out that line, ''There''s only one truth!''"

    "There''s only one truth, that''s Chu Yu''s catchphrase, it''s so cool!"

    "I''ve noticed something: wherever Chu Yu goes, a murder occurs!"

    "Hell, that''s not a detective that''s a damn grim reaper!"

    "What''s worse is that the guy is still in elementary school!"

    "I henceforth dub Chu Yu: ''The Grim Reaper Elementary Student''!"

    "Hahahaha, are you kidding me? The Grim Reaper Elementary Student, really?"

    "I think ''The Grim Reaper Elementary Student'' may work as an alternate title for the manga!"

    ...

    As the updates proliferate, the popularity of the manga continues to soar!

    Moreover, the iconic line from the manga, ''There''s only one truth,'' has become a serious craze!

    Of course. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The ''Grim Reaper Elementary Student'' joke, spawned from this manga, has been humorously parodied by countless fans as though it belongs to an erstwhile time!

    In the comments section.

    People barely even mention ''Detective Chu Yu'' anymore, they just refer to it as ''Grim Reaper Elementary Student''!

    Memes are just so much fun!

    So just how popular is this manga?

    Well, no one knows better than Bloggers!

    As soon as the manga began its series, the number of image views explode within mere hours!

    At this moment.

    If anyone could view the traffic monitor on the blog''s backend, they would be astounded to find out:

    Starting from the moment this manga was published, the blog''s traffic showed a steady upward trend!

    Why is that?

    The answer is as clear as day!

    "Didn''t we agree at the company meeting that Shadow was just a bonus accompanying Chu Kuang and Xian Yu''s joining the blog?"

    "This bonus is really something!"

    "Initially, we all thought of Shadow as an extra, with the focus being on Xian Yu and Chu Kuang. Yet before those two even started, Shadow has already brought in so much traffic!"

    "Seems like we owe Shadow an apology!"

    "We shouldn''t have said that Shadow was nothing more than an accessory to Chu Kuang and Xian Yu. What kind of accessory is this impressive..."

    "You guys underestimated Shadow, but I certainly didn''t!"

    "''Xian Yu in the south, Chu Kuang in the north'', people keep forgetting the rest, ''Shadow sits in the center''."

    "Who would ever think that a person that forms the ''Three Bros'' with Xian Yu and Chu Kuang lacks substance?"

    "Although the influence from Shadow can''t compete with Xian Yu or Chu Kuang, this wave of popularity is sufficient for our company to reassess Shadow''s value!"

    "That''s correct!"

    "We definitely need to reevaluate Shadow''s significance to the company!"

    ...

    The blog is abuzz with astonishment and excitement: "I''m really curious about Tribe Comics'' reaction now!"

    ...

    Of course, Tribe Comics has a reaction.

    Compared to the netizens who don''t know the behind-the-scenes story, Tribe Comics knew that Shadow was going to continue drawing mystery stories a while back.

    More precisely:

    The conflict between Tribe Comics and Shadow was instigated by Shadow wanting to juggle two projects, continuing with mystery stories!

    At that time, Tribe Comics thought that Shadow continuing to draw mystery stories is merely a joke. Has Shadow not learned his lesson from ''The Kindaichi Case Files''?

    But now.

    The editors at Tribe Comics are silent.

    The ''other mystery manga'' that Shadow mentioned probably referred to ''Detective Chu Yu'', right?

    This manga should have belonged to the Tribe!

    The Tribe came into the scene first!

    Getting to know Shadow, initiating the collaboration, or even the first to join the new website, Tribe Comics.

    Why did it end up like this in the end?

    "What a waste!"

    With a sigh, the editors at Tribe Comics unanimously turned their heads to glance towards the director''s office right next door.

    There can be only one truth.

    Director Ling Kong, he single-handedly blundered what could have been a great opportunity for the Tribe...

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to ''jctim'' for becoming the 95th Alliance Hierarch of this book, take a knee for the big guy, and here''s Polluted White continuing to write... Could use some monthly tickets!

 Chapter 745 - 710: I will do it myself_1

    Yes!

    Everyone just got slapped in the face by Grim Reaper Elementary Student!

    The echoing sound of slaps could be heard everywhere!

    However, the most embarrassed weren''t the ones who doubted the theme of Teacher Shadow''s new manga.

    Because the loudest slap firmly landed on the face of Tribe Comics!

    "Tribe truly suffered!"

    "The new website has hope now!"

    "With Grim Reaper Elementary Student so popular, it''s bound to bring enormous popularity to the new website called Alliance!"

    "With Grim Reaper Elementary Student spearheading the new website, and the addition of new works by Yeshenchen and Tianmen, the Alliance is set to soar!"

    "If the new website really does take off, the Tribe is going to be spitting blood!"

    "Three comic artists alone cannot make the Alliance soar, but at least Teacher Shadow has ignited the momentum. Once the new website launches, it will definitely have an impact on the traffic of Tribe Comics."

    "I am now very interested in the new website, Alliance!"

    "Even if it''s just for Grim Reaper Elementary Student, we should go to the new website and show some support."

    "..."

    The formerly less-anticipated new manga website, Alliance, has now gained quite a bit of recognition due to the popularity of Grim Reaper Elementary Student. Some people are even looking forward to the launch of this new website!

    In the next few days.

    Lin Yuan didn''t indulge in any more bursts of creativity.

    He continued to serialize "Detective Chu Yu" at a pace of one chapter per day, building up popularity for the opening of the new website.

    Updating too slowly?

    I update a lot more than others!

    Because most serialized mangas only update once a week.

    Releasing so much on the first day was purely because Lin Yuan had enough drafts and wanted to make Grim Reaper Elementary Student popular as quickly as possible.

    The manga is indeed popular now.

    He had almost used up all his drafts.

    Lin Yuan needed to accumulate some drafts again.

    On the opening day of the new website, he needed to release more updates to attract more popularity.

    Meanwhile, when Lin Yuan was quietly preparing.

    The launch of the Alliance was getting closer and closer.

    In the Shadow Studio.

    Jin Mu said, "The website will be officially established at noon tomorrow, are you ready?"

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Jin Mu laughed, "The Grim Reaper, ahem, the popularity of ''Detective Chu Yu'' has already risen. Now the ones we should worry about are not you, but whether the new works of Tianmen and Yeshenchen can bear the weight."

    "Shouldn''t be a problem."

    Lin Yuan had read their mangas.

    Both of them were GOAT level comic artists, with experience in creating more than one manga, the chance of failure is very low.

    Of course.

    If they did fail, Lin Yuan had a backup plan.

    It''s true that "Detective Chu Yu" is popular, and its sustained popularity will surely not be inferior to its former life.

    But Lin Yuan also understood deeply.

    Merely relying on one manga cannot support a website.

    Even if it could, facing an opponent like Tribe, it would seem rather inadequate.

    After all, in the entire manga circle, the middle and high-level comic artists were essentially people from Tribe Comics.

    Even if they don''t compete in quality but on quantity, it''s still quite terrifying.

    Not to mention, many of the mangas from Tribe comics are of very good quality.

    "Hopefully, there won''t be any hitches."

    Jin Mu was very aware of potential dangers in times of peace.

    He didn''t think that just because Grim Reaper Elementary Student had slapped Tribe''s face, the Alliance had already won.

    Objectively speaking.

    There''s still a long way to go for the Alliance.

    After all, Tribe Comics has been around for a longer time.

    Under normal circumstances, there isn''t a shortcut for the Alliance to surpass them.

    "Fortunately, Shadow has strongly proven himself this time. At least the gap between him and Xian Yu, let alone Chu Kuang, isn''t as big as it was before."

    Jin Mu sighed.

    Lin Yuan laughed.

    Jin Mu''s sighing was not wrong. In terms of status and influence, Shadow is still far from comparing with Chu Kuang, let alone Xian Yu.

    Especially after Shadow took a break for nearly a year.

    The gap between this pseudonym and the other two identities has widened even more.

    The gap is even bigger than the gap between soon-to-be-launched Alliance and Tribe.

    But since all three are him, Lin Yuan didn''t particularly mind.

    Well.

    He does care, just a teeny little bit.

    ...

    The following day.

    The Alliance is about to be established!

    Shadow posted a status, "When the new website launches, ''Detective Chu Yu'' will give a small burst."

    Shadow has been posting statuses frequently recently.

    Upon learning this news, the enthusiasm of the netizens was stirred up!

    At the same time.

    The blog also helped with a countdown promotion, attracting even more attention.

    "The launch is coming soon!"

    "Sounds like war is about to break out!"

    "Hahaha, it can also be interpreted that way!"

    "The Alliance is aiming at Tribe Comics, the two websites are bound to fight!"

    "Alliance can''t win."

    "Although they can''t win, both Tianmen and Yeshenchen will also make their moves. Along with Shadow''s Grim Reaper Elementary Student, I think they still have a fighting chance!"

    "That''s true."

    "Not just for Grim Reaper Elementary Student, I am also looking forward to the new works of Tianmen and Yeshenchen!"

    "..."

    The netizens were very supportive, prepared to help prop up the atmosphere, especially Shadow''s fans, who are rushing to become members.

    Inside the studio.

    Jin Mu chuckled, "The data migration is complete. The updated ''Detective Chu Yu'' is all transferred to the new website. We just have to take it up from where we left off. We are just five minutes away from launching."

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    His explosive material was ready to go.

    Just then.

    Jin Mu''s phone rang.

    It was Han Jimei.

    She was now the manager of the Alliance website.

    Jin Mu picked up, laughing, "Manager Han, what can I do for you?"

    "Yeshenchen and Tianmen ran into problems!"

    Over the phone, Han Jimei''s first words plunged Jin Mu''s heart into a sudden abyss!

    His smile vanished as he took a deep breath:

    "What happened?"

    Han Jimei''s breathing seemed erratic, fraught with anxiety:

    "Last night, I met with the two of them on behalf of the website and planned an opening event. I asked them to do some interviews for the launch, but they''ve both disappeared! Their phones are unreachable, it''s like they''ve evaporated into thin air!"

    Jin Mu felt as if he was falling into an icy cavern!

    Lin Yuan, standing nearby, had heard the gist of the phone call, his eyes narrowing slightly.

    "I''m afraid they won''t show up..."

    Han Jimei continued, her voice full of despair.

    Something like this happening right before the launch of the website, even a fool would sense something was amiss. Could it be that Yeshenchen and Tianmen both overslept today?

    "It must be the Tribe playing tricks!"

    Before Jin Mu could respond, Han Jimei spoke again.

    Her voice, tinged with despair, was growing angry, "Ling Kong is so calculating, he quietly took away our two main forces..."

    "No, they''re not forces. They''re fair-weather friends!"

    Jin Mu finally retorted, gritting his teeth, as if squeezing the words from the gaps in his teeth.

    Two treacherous bastards!

    If this wasn''t Ling Kong''s doing, he''d eat his hat!

    "Sorry, it''s my fault..."

    Han Jimei''s voice finally fell, she seemed to have accepted her fate, "Our long planned website launch might get screwed up..."

    "There''s still hope!"

    Jin Mu suddenly let out his breath.

    He forced himself to stay calm, his voice dry and husky, "Maybe when we open the site, they''ll publish their new works as outlined in the contract..."

    "Hope?"

    Han Jimei gave a bitter laugh.

    The call ended.

    Jin Mu turned to Lin Yuan, forcing a strained smile.

    He repeated the sentence he''d just said, it sounded like he was trying to comfort Lin Yuan, but it seemed more like he was trying to comfort himself:

    "There''s still hope..."

    Lin Yuan didn''t say a word throughout the conversation.

    No one knew what he was thinking at that moment.

    Not long after.

    The Alliance officially went online.

    However, as large numbers of users poured in, all they saw was Detective Chu Yu and some lesser-known authors publishing their new works.

    Where was Tianmen?

    Where was Yeshenchen?

    These were the two comic artists many were looking forward to, but after fumbling around the new site''s search bar for a while, not even a trace of Tianmen and Yeshenchen could be found, let alone their works.

    A little while later.

    Jin Mu''s phone rang again.

    Looking over the two empty web pages, his spirits were crushed as he answered the call, seemingly already anticipating what would be said.

    "There''s no hope left."

    That was Han Jimei''s first sentence, "I finally got through to Yeshenchen and Tianmen, but they said they''re planning to break off their contract with our website. I know Ling Kong, this is his doing..."

    "Go fuck their ancestors!"

    Jin Mu rarely swore, but this time he did, and his veins were visibly throbbing!

    Han Jimei was no longer angry, she just sighed, "They were the most important parts of our plans. Our new website needed Teacher Shadow, Tianmen and Yeshenchen to hold up the sky together. Without the two of them, we''ve lost half of our territory. Now, the whole site has only Teacher Shadow''s comic to carry the traffic, which is not, not enough..."

    Jin Mu went pale.

    The sudden betrayal of Tianmen and Yeshenchen had a devastating effect, and the two vacancies were impossible to fill!

    Suddenly. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    He gripped his cell phone tightly, his knuckles turning slightly white and his eyes turning red.

    All of a sudden.

    Lin Yuan reached for Jin Mu''s phone.

    Jin Mu instinctively tried to resist, but almost immediately gave up, standing there in silence.

    The cellphone landed in Lin Yuan''s hands.

    For the first time, Lin Yuan spoke up. He said to Han Jimei on the other side of the phone, "If there''s a big pit, just fill it."

    He paused.

    Lin Yuan continued, still very quietly, "If one part is not enough, then two. If two is not enough, then three. If three is not enough..."

    "Boss! "

    "Teacher Shadow!"

    Both Jin Mu and Han Jimei on the phone interrupted Lin Yuan. They wanted to comfort him, but didn''t know what to say.

    "It''s okay."

    Lin Yuan said with a smile.

    His voice was too calm, yet both Jin Mu standing next to him and Han Jimei on the phone could clearly hear the intense anger hidden beneath his calm exterior--

    Lin Yuan was angry!

    When they sensed the emotion underneath his calm words, both Jin Mu and Han Jimei felt a chill run down their spine, and they suddenly didn''t dare to speak anymore.

    "I''ll do it myself."

    Lin Yuan''s smile disappeared.

    If the Alliance is falling apart, I''ll fill in the gaps. If half the territory collapses, so what?

    I will hold up this sky!

 Chapter 746 - 711: Impossible Task_1

    At a club.

    Two men are having dinner together.

    One of the men, after taking a bite, murmurs, "Tianmen, is this really okay for us to do?"

    "I don''t want to do it either."

    The man across the table speaks, "But the offer from Tribe is simply too good, a condition we can''t reject..."

    Yes.

    These two are none other than the two GOAT cartoonists invited by the New Website Alliance, Tianmen and Yeshenchen.

    These are, of course, their pen names.

    And they prefer to use their pen names when communicating privately.

    "Our reputation might be seriously damaged if we proceed with this, we''ll be seen like corporate spies. The Alliance will be severely damaged and Han Jimei, who has trusted us wholeheartedly, will be blamed for this mess."

    Their moral restraint is indeed there.

    However, Yeshenchen is more concerned about the damage to their reputations.

    Tianmen replied calmly, "For cartoonists, the quality of their work is the foundation of their career. If our works are good, our reputation won''t be greatly affected; if our works are poor, even a good reputation can''t keep us fed. As for Han Jimei, she''s too sentimental in her work and has a soft approach. It''s inevitable for her to suffer defeat against ruthless competitors like Ling Kong.

    If this incident becomes a lesson for her and can help her avoid future losses, it might not be completely bad for her."

    Yeshenchen nods. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    It seems to make sense.

    They indeed betrayed Han Jimei''s trust.

    But it would be too much to say their reputation could ruin their careers. Cartoonists work behind the scenes, they are not celebrities, and there are many creators who have bad behavior.

    After some cursing, it will pass.

    As long as the work is good, the readers won''t care too much about the nasty side of business competition.

    "What I''m afraid of is Ling Kong breaching his promise..."

    "The penalty specified in the new contract that Ling Kong gave us is sky-high, and he has also promised in the contract to help us pay the penalty on the Alliance''s side. So, he wouldn''t breach, since if he were to tear our agreement apart at such cost, no one would trust him when he tries to persuade people from other companies in the future."

    Tianmen isn''t worried about it.

    Ling Kong knows the basic rules of business competition.

    The reason he and Yeshenchen joined the Alliance was to have a stronger hand to negotiate with Tribe.

    And now, his objective has been achieved.

    Now, all they are doing is choosing the best tree to perch on, sacrificing a bit of their reputation for a great reward.

    He just made the decision he thought was right.

    Yeshenchen earnestly nodded, "Then we can only apologize to Shadow and the Alliance. ''A man will do anything for money, and a bird will do anything for food''; we don''t need to refuse Tribe''s generous offer just for the sake of the Alliance. After all, the reason we left Tribe and joined the Alliance in the first place was because Tribe gave us too harsh contract terms.

    Now, even though our method isn''t very honorable, at least we have obtained the contract from Tribe that we have long yearned for..."

    As he was speaking,

    Yeshenchen abruptly asked, "Tianmen, do you think the Alliance has any hope of fighting against Tribe after such a heavy blow?"

    "Heh."

    Tianmen let out a laugh with an ambiguous meaning.

    Several seconds later, Yeshenchen also started laughing.

    The two of them casually raised their glasses, gently clinked them together, and each took a small sip.

    Everything was left unspoken.

    Even if the three of them, including Shadow, had worked together, they could never have been a match for Tribe.

    If the Alliance had truly been a website where they could establish themselves and secure their future, why would they damage their own reputation and return to Tribe?

    Everyone has their own morality.

    The difference lies only in the extent.

    ...

    The newly opened Alliance.

    Readers are repeatedly searching, but can''t find any new works by Yeshenchen and Tianmen.

    At first, everyone thought it was a technical issue and it didn''t cause much disturbance.

    But when everyone finished reading the explosive new chapter of Detective Chu Yu and still saw no new works by the two, people finally realized something was wrong.

    "Why haven''t Tianmen and Yeshenchen made any moves?"

    "It''s been about half an hour since the new website was launched!"

    "Did they run away?"

    "Are they standing us readers up?"

    "If they''ve really run away, then it''s not us readers they are standing up, it''s the Alliance!"

    "It must be a glitch, it''s a new website after all, it''s unavoidable."

    "I don''t think the problem is that serious. Maybe we are overthinking. Let''s just wait and see."

    "..."

    Online users are becoming suspicious.

    Right at this moment.

    A comment suddenly appeared online!

    "Damn, something big happened! Everyone, go look at Tribe''s announcement!!"

    Tribe?

    The users paused for a moment, then quickly opened Tribe''s website.

    And then, a promotional announcement popped up for everyone:

    [Tianmen''s and Yeshenchen''s new works to premiere exclusively on Tribe Comics! Welcome home, gentlemen!!]

    What the-!

    Everyone was stunned!

    What''s going on?

    Did these two return to Tribe?

    "Had my hopes up for nothing."

    "I might as well continue reading comics on Tribe."

    "Don''t these two have any professional ethics? Didn''t they say they went to the Alliance because they couldn''t reach an agreement with Tribe? The Alliance is going to be screwed by these two!"

    "What kind of people are these two!"

    Everyone was startled by the news!

    Shadow''s fans directly cursed at them!

    "It''s just a normal job change."

    Some of Tianmen''s and Yeshenchen''s fans defended them.

    Shadow''s fans were even angrier:

    "Changing jobs is definitely not a problem, but it is a different case if you play out this act just when the Alliance is getting started. The Alliance has no grudges against these two so why such ill-intent?"

    Tianmen''s and Yeshenchen''s fans retorted:

    "Stop criticizing others from a moral high ground. It''s Tianmen and Yeshenchen''s choice to go wherever they want. The two teachers must have paid the breach of contract penalty; they have already paid the money they should have, what more do you want from them!"

    Compensation?

    The fans of Shadow fought back:

    "This isn''t a matter of breaching contract penalties, it''s clearly a matter of character. These two have black hearts, they want to uproot the Alliance!"

    "Stop exaggerating!"

    The fans from both sides instantly started an online brawl!

    Online bystanders collectively sighed:

    "Now the Alliance is done for, there was hardly any chance of winning in the fight against Tribe Comics to start with, let alone now, with these two key figures gone."

    The clash between the Alliance and Tribe had far-reaching consequences.

    Netizens had been following it from start to finish.

    Now with this sudden turn of events, who wouldn''t understand what''s going on?

    It was definitely the Tribe poaching!

    This is a deadly plot, so ruthless!

    Can you believe it?

    There are so few manga artists in the alliance who can make a significant contribution!

    Counting them all, there are only Shadow, Tianmen and Yeshenchen!

    Now, two powerful teammates have switched sides, leaving Shadow to fight alone!

    Is the entire alliance going to survive solely on the comic "Detective Chu Yu" in the future?

    Amid the shock of the entire web.

    The newly established official microblog of the alliance also issued a new post:

    [Tianmen and Yeshenchen have betrayed us and broken their contracts with the alliance, causing serious damage to the website''s interests. From today, we officially declare: we will never work with these two again. Hereby notify everyone!]

    There''s no doubt now!

    Tianmen and Yeshenchen have really stabbed the alliance in the back!

    ...

    What the hell is the point of this!

    Shadow''s fans are falling apart!

    The question now isn''t about working with those two in the future!

    The question is whether this new site can continue to operate!

    Relying solely on Shadow''s work won''t be enough!

    Is he supposed to fight all alone in the future?

    No matter how popular Grim Reaper Elementary Student is, he can''t take on the whole Tribe by himself!

    And when it came to this situation, top influencers Xian Yu and Chu Kuang couldn''t help much!

    They were willing but unable!

    It''s all about manga tactics.

    The competition among manga artists.

    Xian Yu and Chu Kuang couldn''t get involved!

    The opponent was clearly targeting Shadow!

    Even if the alliance won''t collapse because of this, relying on a single comic by Shadow can only maintain a dying struggle at most.

    The Tribe''s capital is too strong!

    This is another ruthless crush on a new website by a large capital force!

    Just like how the Tribe had blocked Shadow before.

    It was so powerless!

    In the face of such wealthy and ruthless capital, Shadow and the newly formed alliance were utterly powerless!

    Even the name "alliance" becomes ironic.

    Alliance?

    The people who allied with you have switched sides!

    Have you ever seen an alliance with only one person?

    At this moment!

    Shadow''s fans were completely desperate!

    The casual netizens who supported the alliance also sighed helplessly.

    A new manga website that originally had great potential, has just suddenly cooled down.

    The story hasn''t even started yet, and the curtain has already fallen prematurely.

    But just at this moment.

    Shadow''s personal blog, surprisingly, updated its status again:

    "Give me a week, and the alliance will have two more outstanding new works to replace Tianmen and Yeshenchen!"

    A blast!

    At this moment!

    Everyone who saw this post froze!

    ?????

    Has Shadow gone crazy with anger?

    He actually said there would be two works to replace Tianmen and Yeshenchen in a week?

    Where did he get the confidence?

    Or rather, where did he get the works?

    And there are two of them?

    Could it be that the Alliance can poach two manga artists from the Tribe who are not weaker than Tianmen and Yeshenchen, and even better?

    How is this possible?

    Would the Tribe give this chance?

    The same tricks, the Tribe can use, how could they not be prepared?

    Besides, there''s no reason for Tribe''s manga artists to join the Alliance!

    In the current state of the Alliance, who dares to go?

    But if they don''t poach from the Tribe, they won''t be able to find any more powerful manga artists from other websites than Tianmen and Yeshenchen!

    Let alone more powerful...

    It''s impossible even if they want to find two manga artists of the same level as these two!

    Tribe Comics has monopolized the entire industry!

    Could it be that Shadow plans to draw two comics himself and fill these huge gap?

    Wait a minute...

    Could Shadow really be planning to draw them himself?

    This terrifying guess emerged in everyone''s mind!

    Considering the current predicament.

    This seems to be the only possibility?

    Is he preparing to produce two comics that are more brilliant than the new works of Tianmen and Yeshenchen in a week''s time?

    Three in a row?

    Impossible!

    This was everyone''s first reaction!

    Creating one is believable, "Detective Chu Yu" can explain everything!

    As talented as Tianmen and Yeshenchen are, their new comics are unlikely to surpass this classic!

    But the problem is...

    Shadow already has "Detective Chu Yu"!

    Where would he get the energy and ability to create two more works of the same level as "Detective Chu Yu"?

    Impossible!

    Not just the first reaction, no matter how everyone analyzed this post, they all came up with this conclusion - the task that Shadow set, is simply impossible to complete!

    Maybe he was provoked too much?

    Shadow has truly gone mad this time!!!

 Chapter 747 - 712: We are Invincible in the World_1

    "Have you lost your mind!?"

    At Shadow Studio, Jin Mu looked at Lin Yuan with disbelief!

    Today, when Han Jimei called to tell him that Tianmen and Yeshenchen had betrayed the alliance, Lin Yuan had said he would fill these two gaps himself.

    But under the circumstances at the time, neither Jin Mu nor Han Jimei took him seriously.

    Because both of them knew that Lin Yuan was angry at the moment!

    When people are angry, they tend to make rash statements, even nonsense.

    While uttering such angry words or nonsense, the person doesn''t take into account the reality.

    They only realize the impossibility of fulfilling their words after they have cooled down.

    Jin Mu thought Lin Yuan should have cooled down by now.

    Out of respect for Lin Yuan''s feelings, he didn''t bring up those rash statements and nonsense again.

    But what Jin Mu didn''t expect was that Lin Yuan posted something akin to a declaration on his blog without telling anyone ¡ª¡ª

    In one week, two more exciting new comics will replace Yeshenchen and Tianmen?

    Impossible!

    Jin Mu''s reaction was identical to the netizens''.

    Even though Jin Mu understood Lin Yuan''s terror more than anyone else!

    "Anything is possible."

    Lin Yuan played two jokes that Jin Mu would never understand, "You can always believe in the light."

    At this time?!

    You still have time for jokes?

    Wearing a mask of pain, Jin Mu said, "I can force myself to trust you, that you might indeed have the ability to have three works simultaneously reach the quality of Grim Reaper Elementary Student, but certainly not within a week!"

    "Where there''s a will, there''s a way."

    This time Lin Yuan didn''t joke anymore. He called Luo Wei and the assistants in.

    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

    Everyone''s eyes were fixed on Lin Yuan.

    Everyone was aware of the declaration that Teacher Shadow posted on his blog.

    For a moment, everyone had mixed feelings.

    Comics were their profession, so everyone knew that what Teacher Shadow had said was impossible to achieve.

    Perhaps Teacher Shadow himself hadn''t realized...

    He had lost his sanity.

    "Do you want to try with me?"

    Lin Yuan calmly met everyone''s gaze, "To create a miracle."

    "You''re my teacher."

    Luo Wei spoke with a smile, then looked at the other assistants.

    "Let''s do it!"

    "Ms. Luo Wei lacks interest."

    "Teacher Shadow is our teacher too!"

    "Stop acting like we weren''t taught by Teacher Shadow."

    "Exactly!" Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "The debt of gratitude to the teacher is hard to pay, we''ll accompany you even at the risk of our lives!"

    Lin Yuan is Luo Wei''s teacher, and their teacher too.

    They would support any decision made by their teacher, even if they knew it was impossible.

    "There''s no need to risk your lives."

    Lin Yuan spoke, a mysterious spark in his eyes.

    Of course, he knew the words he posted were a bit insane.

    Yes.

    Insanity!

    Even Lin Yuan himself thought it was a bit insane!

    Starting a new comic and expecting it to quickly catch on like Grim Reaper Elementary Student, based solely on a few chapter updates, is very unrealistic.

    You need a lot of content!

    Grim Reaper Elementary Student became a hit by releasing a string of stored drafts all at once. You can''t just throw out a few chapters and expect to be bombarded with praise by internet users, right?

    It''s unrealistic.

    If you want the new comics to be equally popular, everyone must provide a large volume of updates!

    How quickly can a comic be updated?

    Besides, this is three!

    But Lin Yuan wanted to give it a try!

    Indulging once!

    Going insane once!

    This time, he not only wanted to fiercely counterattack Tribe''s insidious tactics!

    In the future

    He would also make Tribe Comics pay a much heavier price!

    Such as...

    Taking their place!

    When was the last time he was this angry?

    It seems like it was when he was participating in The Masked Singer wearing a mask.

    The truth he realized back then was indeed correct, the world is ruled by the strong!

    Why does Xian Yu remain unscathed?

    Why didn''t anything happen to Chu Kuang?

    Why did something happen to Shadow, the one acknowledged as the weakest among the three bros?

    Because he''s weak.

    In their eyes, Shadow is very weak.

    In that case, I''ll prove Shadow''s strength in the most magnificent way.

    Lin Yuan wants to push to the extreme!

    With only three series, within a week, he would surprise everyone with the speed at which the next two comics would blow up!

    "Let''s get to work!"

    Lin Yuan walked into the drawing studio.

    Luo Wei and others followed him immediately.

    Jin Mu stared blankly as the crowd entered, his phone ringing off the hook.

    There were calls from Starlight, Han Jimei, even from bloggers...

    All of them were asking what happened to Shadow.

    "He said, have faith in light!"

    Jin Mu was finally overwhelmed by this group of people, and this meaningless phrase was his response to all their questions.

    "Uncle Jin."

    Luo Wei suddenly poked her head out of the drawing room: "Could you go get some elixir?"

    Elixir?

    Jin Mu''s expression twisted.

    Had these people gone mad?

    Luo Wei cleared her throat: "Coffee, Carabao, and some little blue pills!"

    "The little blue pill isn''t..."

    The corner of Jin Mu''s mouth twitched slightly.

    "Alright, in short, coffee and some functional drinks, I want everyone to stay energetic, we''re likely going to be up for a week!"

    Luo Wei clenched her fists.

    Jin Mu: "..."

    Four words flashed through his mind:

    [Fiery, fierce and formidable]

    He had no choice but to comply.

    If this doesn''t work, nothing else will.

    When Luo Wei watched Jin Mu leave and turned her head, she saw Lin Yuan writing the names of two new comics on blank paper.

    They were named:

    One Piece!!!

    Naruto!!!

    These were the two new series Teacher Shadow was planning for the triple series?

    Could these two new comics really replace Tianmen and Yeshenchen, even overtake their new works?

    Luo Wei appeared lost.

    Her doubts disappeared completely an hour later.

    When everyone saw the plot of the story...

    When they witnessed each amazing storyboard script...

    When everyone...

    At some point, their faces began glowing with enthusiasm ¨C their voices were trembling:

    "This is..."

    "King''s Path comics!"

    "Teacher Shadow can actually do a battle-oriented King''s Path comic!"

    "This is the topic Yeshenchen and Tianmen are best at!"

    "Yeshenchen and Tianmen are nothing compared to this!"

    "Compared to these two works, their new works are shit!"

    "..."

    The way they were looking at Lin Yuan was entirely different ¨C it was no longer just a student''s respect for their teacher!

    It was more like...

    Reverence as if to a god!!!

    Even Luo Wei was breathing fast, her whole body was trembling!

    Her skills were higher than the rest of the assistants!

    That''s why, after seeing these two comics, she was even more shocked than everyone else!

    Regardless whether there were gods in the world!

    Once these two comics were published, Teacher Shadow would become a god, receiving the utmost respect from all the comic artists in the industry!

    ["Uzumaki Naruto, here I am!"]

    As Lin Yuan wrote this line in the first comic, he looked at Uzumaki Naruto created by his pen and spoke:

    "What you all said is correct..."

    Without raising his head, Lin Yuan wrote another line on the second comic beside Luffy''s smiling face:

    ["I''m set on becoming the king of pirates!"]

    At the same time, Lin Yuan''s voice continued to echo with an irresistible meaning:

    "We are invincible."

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: I usually write slow and steady, but at the climax, I always try to be explosive. Continuing to write.

 Chapter 748 - 713 Fiery, Fierce and Formidable_1

    That''s right!

    It''s One Piece!

    It''s Naruto!

    They say a serious illness needs a strong remedy!

    These two works, they are the very definition of strong remedies!

    The well-known Dead Sea of Fire, the so-called legendary trio of popular manga...

    If time permits, if energy is sufficient, Lin Yuan doesn''t mind bringing out "Death God" and a series of top-tier manga works all at once!

    Because...

    He is very angry!

    But time and energy are just not enough at the moment.

    So, for now, using these two works, combined with "Detective Chu Yu", let''s turn the world of manga upside down, which is already Lin Yuan''s limit!

    But this wave will uphold the title of the manga world''s unparalleled supremacy!

    Grim Reaper Elementary Student plus One Piece and Naruto, aren''t they deserving of the title ''Matchless Under the Heavens''?

    If this is not enough, there will still be more in the future!

    There will be bread and milk!

    No more laziness!

    Really, no more laziness!

    I can achieve whatever the readers want!

    "Thump."

    Lin Yuan suddenly heard a noise.

    Turning his head, he saw Luo Wei next to him abruptly go weak in the knees...

    She was kneeling.

    "Teacher, please accept my salute!"

    And then the other assistants, following her example, knelt down.

    A man''s knees are filled with gold.

    Kneeling to heaven and earth, the ruler, parents and teachers!

    Kneeling to your teacher!

    There''s no shame in that!

    Ms. Luo Wei?

    We respect her as an absolute bro!

    Lin Yuan: "You guys..."

    Everyone: "Teacher, I want to learn..."

    Lin Yuan: "Play basketball?"

    Everyone: "Ah?"

    Just at that moment.

    Jin Mu returned.

    As he pushed the door open, he saw what was going on in front of him, scratched his head, closed the door, and reopened it.

    Hmm?

    Was it not opened correctly?

    "What are you guys doing?"

    Jin Mu''s brain was a bit laggy.

    He had no idea what had happened in the studio while he was away, the scene was to some extent, bizarre.

    Had these people really lost their minds?

    "Get up and draw."

    Lin Yuan spoke helplessly.

    This round of applause was not accepted in vain.

    But going forward, each person was going to work on a manga.

    Everyone got up, chuckling weirdly, their laughter leaving Jin Mu somewhat shaken.

    "These are the elixirs you asked for..."

    He took out a bunch of functional drinks and some supposedly insanely effective brands of coffee.

    "Get it brewing!"

    Luo Wei yelled out: "Grab your tools, bros!"

    Jin Mu: ???

    Were they planning a midnight raid on a tribe?

    That''s not even close!

    He was stunned by this fantastical atmosphere and stepped out of the room, dutifully brewing the elixir for everyone.

    The work began.

    Everyone was working tirelessly!

    Working as if their lives depended on it!

    But in the end, they were only human.

    No matter how insane, hysterical, or energized by the elixir, people couldn''t go on indefinitely.

    The group had been drawing non-stop till late in the night and began to falter.

    Dark circles appeared under the assistants'' eyes.

    Even if they could hold on, their hands, used for drawing, were somewhat out of control.

    "Go sleep if you can''t cope."

    Jin Mu too was staying up all night with everyone else.

    Even if he couldn''t fully understand the situation, he knew that everyone was giving it their all.

    It wasn''t just for the two new manga.

    The ongoing "Grim Reaper Elementary Student" also needed updates.

    Even though in his heart he doubted the feasibility, at that moment, even he was influenced by Lin Yuan, Luo Wei and the crazy assistants.

    His only regret was his inability to draw manga.

    If he had known how to draw, he would have certainly joined the others.

    In the end, he still couldn''t forget the real reason Lin Yuan broke up with the Tribe¡­

    Wasn''t it just about enduring an insulting tirade?

    I could bear such an insult.

    That was Jin Mu''s thought, but while he could tolerate the insult, he couldn''t stand the affection and protection.

    Therefore, even when he knew it would be futile, Jin Mu still wanted to join them!

    The night was somewhat cool.

    But his heart was warm.

    Luo Wei yawned, and then poured herself a strong coffee, "I''m fine, Uncle Jin, go to sleep. You don''t need to stay with us all night, and anyone who can''t hold on should first take a rest. I, as a seasoned night owl, am okay with it."

    "Who among us isn''t a night owl!"

    An assistant named Zhao Chengming retorted on the side, he was responsible for "Grim Reaper Elementary Student".

    Only God knows how much he wants to be in charge of Naruto or One Piece!

    When someone else fails to keep up, maybe he could take over!

    "Teacher, you go rest first. Your workload is the largest, and the energy you consumed is also the most."

    Another assistant spoke up, looking towards the hardworking Lin Yuan.

    The appellations had already changed.

    Before, everyone called him Teacher Shadow, now it was just "Teacher."

    [Cunning boy]

    The others were also very cooperative:

    "Teacher, you should rest first!"

    "Yes! Leave it to us!"

    "You have explained your storyboard and plot clearly!"

    "We are young, we can handle it!"

    Lin Yuan looked at them, showing a contemplative expression.

    In terms of age, including Luo Wei, all the assistants were older than Lin Yuan.

    Some were a few years older.

    Some were over ten years older.

    Because when Jin Mu was hiring people, he said older people have more experience.

    Right.

    [About my apprentices thinking they are younger than their master.]

    Actually, Lin Yuan was also a bit tired.

    But even if tired, there was no time for rest.

    A week''s time was really too short!

    The bragging he had done himself, even if it means shedding tears, has to be fulfilled!

    In reality.

    Lin Yuan was already regretting it a bit.

    He shouldn''t have been so hasty.

    At the time when he posted that announcement, he was indeed overexcited.

    Now seeing everyone''s state after pulling an all-nighter, Lin Yuan realized how difficult this task really was.

    Because everyone was already struggling to hold on.

    Following this pace, he really wouldn''t be able to achieve his goal within a week!

    You should know, after system modification, Lin Yuan''s physical fitness was actually higher than an average person''s.

    He was already tired so you can imagine the state of others.

    The real key here was himself!

    Moreover, he has things like the Energy Potion from the System...

    Hold on!

    Energy Potion?

    How did he forget about that?

    Lin Yuan felt like he had outdone himself in stupidity!

    Couldn''t he just buy some Energy Potions from the System and continue working?

    Lin Yuan had tested before that the Energy Potion had no side effects and could be used freely!

    If there was any side effect, it was probably that once he stopped using it, he would feel sleepy. Experience more tales on My Virtual Library Empire

    Once Lin Yuan used the Energy Potion to stay up all night, he stayed awake without sleeping.

    After a night, when the effect of the medicine wore off, tiredness surfaced.

    He made up for all the sleep he had lost in one fell swoop.

    Apart from that, this stuff was harmless to the body.

    "Worst case scenario, I will sleep for two or three days after seven days."

    After having such a thought, Lin Yuan immediately exchanged some Energy Potions with the System.

    Though it was somewhat expensive, once his manga is published, it would pay for itself and even make a profit!

    "Hm?"

    After exchanging some Energy Potions, a sudden inspiration struck Lin Yuan, and he came up with another idea:

    "System, can this potion work on others?"

    "That would be for others... extra charges apply!"

    The System''s response left Lin Yuan torn between satisfaction and dissatisfaction.

    "Alright!"

    Lin Yuan looked at everyone: "Is anyone busy with anything important after seven days?"

    Everyone was puzzled.

    Why are we talking about this now?

    "No."

    "Me neither." Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Not really."

    "It would be great if our teacher could give us a break."

    "Does wanting to spend money on games count?"

    "I want to have a good meal!"

    So, you don''t have anything important to do!

    Lin Yuan nodded, "So if anything comes up, just have your family contact our studio directly. Uncle Jin will help you out."

    As he spoke, Lin Yuan exchanged some more Energy Potions with the System until he had enough.

    "Also."

    Looking at the fatigued team, he added, "From now on, everyone''s salary will increase tenfold. Uncle Jin, take note."

    Everyone''s eyes widened!

    Salary increase by ten times?

    Jin Mu was dumbfounded for a while, but he still nodded: "No problem."

    Even though it was the middle of the night.

    Explosive cheers suddenly filled the whole studio!

    "I am full of energy!"

    "I suddenly feel power surging in me!"

    "Help me up, I can still draw!"

    "I am not tired at all, I can still work for Three Days and Three Nights, no, Seven Days and Seven Nights!"

    "Teacher, now you''ve gotten me all pumped up!"

    "..."

    Seeing everyone suddenly full of vigor, as if they had been injected with a shot of adrenaline, now it was Lin Yuan''s turn to be startled.

    You might not believe it.

    But he hasn''t used the Energy Potion on them yet!

    "Keep it down in the middle of the night. I can''t make it. Seriously, I can''t. I''m going to sleep in the living room for a while, you all don''t push yourselves too hard!"

    Jin Mu, yawning incessantly, walked out the door, thinking:

    Everyone''s pay increase tenfold?

    You mean I''m included in that, right?

    Yeah!

    I most definitely am!

    Suddenly, Jin Mu didn''t feel that tired.

    Alright.

    He was still tired.

    He needed to get some sleep.

    Cultivation was no ordinary human''s job.

    Jin Mu lay down on the sofa, closed his eyes, and immediately fell asleep.

    And Lin Yuan finally used the Energy Potion on everyone, constantly apologizing in his heart:

    I''m sorry, I''m sorry, I''m sorry...

    [Selfish]

    The Energy Potion took effect quickly.

    Luo Wei, who didn''t even want to drink coffee and had bags under her eyes, shouted: "Long live Cultivation!"

    Everyone shouted in chorus: "Long live Cultivation!"

    No one found it strange.

    Our salaries increased tenfold!

    Under such a large stimulus, doesn''t it seem normal for us to suddenly feel energetic?

    Very normal!

    They resumed work!

    Lin Yuan also took the Energy Potion, immediately feeling refreshed and awake, and led everyone to work until dawn!

    The coffee and Blackbull drinks and such on the side were long discarded.

    The real elixir is from the System!

    [All-nighters King for All]

    Jin Mu didn''t know how long he slept.

    When he opened his eyes and looked at his phone, he realized it was already ten in the morning!

    The sun was shining outside!

    Those crazy kids should be fast asleep by now, right?

    He had no idea how late they stayed up until last night.

    He felt a pang of sympathy in his heart.

    Jin Mu tiptoed into the studio''s painting room.

    Huh?

    The moment he entered, Jin Mu closed the door again.

    Taking a step back, he took a deep breath and reopened the door.

    "Uncle Jin, good morning."

    Lin Yuan greeted him with a smile and continued drawing.

    Next to Lin Yuan.

    The assistants were discussing the plot vigorously while eating breakfast.

    It seemed that they were discussing the climax of a certain manga.

    Confusion was written all over Jin Mu''s face: "When did you guys wake up?"

    Is the power of money so great?

    Everyone looked at Jin Mu, their expressions sympathetic.

    Wake up?

    We didn''t sleep.

    Luo Wei laughed, "You''re getting old, Uncle Jin, it''s not the same as us young people. We are used to staying up all night playing games."

    Jin Mu: ?

    Am I really that old?

    "Actually, it''s strange, I don''t feel tired at all. I was falling asleep at three o''clock last night, but after the teacher mentioned the salary increase, I haven''t felt sleepy since."

    The assistant named Zhao Chengming began to speak.

    The other assistants nodded one after another: "Maybe this is the power of money!"

    "I''ll sleep tonight."

    An assistant triumphantly declared: "Don''t push yourselves too hard if you can''t hold on. I think I have a knack for staying up all night. I don''t feel pressured at all to work through the day!"

    "I''m the man who parties till the wee hours!"

    The other assistants were not to be outdone.

    Everyone felt like they had awakened some sort of talent for staying up all night. Everyone thought they were extraordinary. Everyone thought the others were just saving face.

    "No more talking, let''s continue drawing. I don''t feel like sleeping."

    After devouring six buns at one go, Luo Wei shouted:

    "I''m the woman who parties till the wee hours!"

    Damn!

    This group of youngsters!

    These are truly spirited and fierce!

    Jin Mu shook his head, when one gets to a certain age, one has to accept getting old.

 Chapter 749 - 714: He Will Be Crowned as King_1

    "Do you believe in..."

    "I will always believe in light!"

    "Miraclem..."

    "Miracles will definitely happen!"

    If anyone had a conversation like this with Jin Mu, his answer would be as above without any hesitation!

    Why would he say that?

    Because he has witnessed miracles with his own eyes!

    Lin Yuan and his team are like liver emperors!

    For others, drawing manga might be a job, but when they do it, it''s like they are staking their lives!

    Jin Mu swore:

    This is definitely not a matter of age!

    When he was young, the maximum number of times in a night, seemed to be seven times?

    But even that can''t compete with what he has witnessed these past few days!

    One day!

    Two days!

    Three days!

    Apart from eating and sleeping Lin Yuan and his assistants...

    Sleeping my ass!

    They''ve never slept at all!

    A pig spends its day eating and sleeping.

    What they do every day is eat and draw, then repeat this cycle over and over again!

    Beyond eating, the only thing left in their eyes is manga!

    The third day.

    Jin Mu is scared!

    He really started feeling scared!

    Is there something wrong with these people?

    One person staying up for three days, while hard, is understandable.

    Scientific research suggests that humans can indeed stay awake for many days without sleep.

    However, a group of people staying awake for three days isn''t normal at all!

    They must be checked in a hospital!

    Jin Mu made a suggestion, but was mercilessly rejected. Everyone felt great, patting their chests and asserting that they''re healthy and in good spirits!

    However....

    Everyone also felt something was off.

    This constant alertness wasn''t normal.

    They indeed needed to sleep.

    They can''t risk any accidents.

    So, everyone started trying to sleep.

    It''s magical.

    Everyone fell asleep as soon as they laid down.

    This is the magic of the Energy Potion.

    It keeps you energized, but won''t make you too excited to sleep. If you want to sleep, you can sleep.

    You can wake up after sleeping for a few hours if you want to.

    However, doing so wastes the effect of the Energy Potion.

    "It looks like there''s no problem."

    People were relieved and continued toiling.

    Lin Yuan didn''t dare let everyone for stay awake for seven days, so he wasted a bit of the Energy Potion''s effect.

    He would even force everyone to sleep for a bit.

    Once he felt that their energy was restored, he''d wake them up to continue drawing.

    Everyone took turns sleeping, usually starting to switch out from midnight.

    Even though the Energy Potion has no side effects, if a bunch of people stay awake for seven days then perform as vigorously as ever, it feels like magic.

    It''s unknown whether it''s due to the passion from the new manga or not, but everyone is very energized now.

    They espouse aggressive slogans at every turn.

    It''s either "Long live Cultivation".

    Or "Sleep your ass off and get up to party".

    Or "I am the man/woman who parties the latest".

    Some are philosophical, such as "Why sleep too much while living, long sleep will come after death".

    There''s only one point in these words:

    Which decent person needs to sleep?

    One third of a person''s life is spent sleeping.

    That''s quite enough.

    Lin Yuan also symbolically slept for a bit.

    Assuming that work can be done, he doesn''t want to end up sleeping for three days and three nights straight when he looks back.

    ...

    During the days when everyone in the studio was working hard on the manga, Jin Mu was still constantly harassed from all sides.

    Still people from Starlight or the website or even bloggers.

    The reason is simple.

    As the date draws nearer, everyone wants to know how Teacher Shadow will conclude the boast he made on his blog.

    ...

    Until the fourth day.

    The harassment finally decreased.

    Let it be whatever it will be.

    There is already no way to conclude it.

    Anyway, no one believed it.

    Only if ghosts believe it!

    Netizens think that Teacher Shadow has gone crazy.

    At the same time, they all express understanding.

    Under such a huge stimulus, it''s understandable that Teacher Shadow is talking nonsense.

    Netizens sympathize with Teacher Shadow and show remarkable restraint and tolerance.

    No one mocks Teacher Shadow for talking big.

    No one says, "Wait for Teacher Shadow''s face to be slapped"...

    The matter destined to be slapped in the face, there''s no need to keep rambling about it. Compared to the harm caused by being slapped in the face, the closure of the Tribe Comics website is really killing!

    The cost has already appeared.

    The traffic of the alliance''s website is decreasing day by day, and the decline is very obvious.

    Only when Grim Reaper Elementary Student is updated, does the traffic jump up a bit.

    This further proves that the entire site relies on Grim Reaper Elementary Student.

    It''s as if everyone on the site was leeching off Grim Reaper Elementary Student.

    ...

    Day Five.

    No one was bothering Jin Mu anymore.

    The site had truly given up.

    Let it be destroyed.

    They were tired.

    Perhaps only Han Jimei was still fighting hard.

    Every day, Han Jimei tried to encourage the editors, serving them motivational speeches like, "We can definitely find some powerful newcomers."

    Although unrealistic...

    What if, among these low-level artists in the alliance, a genius like Shadow emerged?

    Unfortunately, everyone knew this was a long shot.

    Even if this "long shot" did happen, given the current traffic to the alliance, could they really hold on to such a genius?

    But when it came to the sixth day.

    A genius didn''t appear, while some of the comic creators the alliance had attracted began to give up.

    In simple terms, they abandoned their own works.

    The site traffic was too low!

    No one was looking at their works!

    Netizens basically just opened the website to check the updates of "Detective Chu Yu", then closed the page.

    Turning their heads.

    Everyone went to Tribe Comics to read the popular comics there.

    With so few readers, the comic creators of the alliance had no motivation to update.

    A slow death.

    But it wouldn''t really die.

    Because as long as Grim Reaper Elementary Student doesn''t end, there will always be people updating on this site.

    A more accurate description would be "to struggle", Grim Reaper Elementary Student was keeping the site hanging on by a thread.

    ¡­

    Day seven.

    Even Han Jimei no longer encouraged her editors.

    Because she knew that hoping the editors could find newcomers was unrealistic.

    But she still didn''t give up! Continue your journey with My Virtual Library Empire

    She was desperately contacting the comic artists she knew from her time working at Tribe Comics.

    She tried hard to persuade them to serialize new works in the alliance!

    She yearned for two¡­

    No.

    Two were too luxurious.

    One person would be enough.

    She hoped for a GOAT-level comic artist to extend a helping hand, that would at least help the alliance to fill one gap!

    Such behavior was a severe violation of her personal work ethics.

    Before this, she didn''t want to poach from her former employer, she even opposed such actions from the bottom of her heart.

    But now she didn''t care about all these!

    All she wanted to do was to save the site''s losses, then submit a resignation letter and leave this circle forever.

    Han Jimei had a strong sense of self-esteem.

    She no longer had the face to stay in the alliance.

    The betrayals of Yeshenchen and Tianmen were her professional failures, if she had been more alert when signing contracts before, perhaps this wouldn''t have happened.

    It was a fatal error!

    Driven into the abyss by Ling Kong''s unscrupulous business methods, Han Jimei''s views on work and attitude have undergone a tremendous change.

    Unfortunately, the change seemed too late.

    She didn''t succeed.

    Even though Han Jimei had a good relationship with these authors, she didn''t manage to convince anybody to join the alliance. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    It was alright if they just politely refused.

    Some people just hang up when they receive her call.

    Some people did not even want to take the call, as if they were afraid of having any connection with Han Jimei and the alliance.

    She was at her wit''s end.

    She had tried everything she could think of.

    It was of no use.

    It was of no use at all.

    ...

    By the evening of the seventh day.

    Han Jimei called Jin Mu with a bitter smile, her professional career had reached its end.

    However.

    To Han Jimei''s surprise, the one who answered the call was not Jin Mu, it was a woman.

    "He''s asleep, I am Luo Wei."

    Even as desperate as Han Jimei, emotion welled up in her heart upon hearing this.

    Seemingly familiar scenario?

    "Sorry, you guys..."

    "Ah!"

    Luo Wei was shocked, then exclaimed, before soon getting a little annoyed:

    "In these days, we''ve all been staying up late to work at the studio, Uncle Jin has been accompanying us through the night, his elder body can''t take it!"

    What does this woman want to say!

    Han Jimei quickly apologized, "Sorry, that, you guys have been staying up late recently?"

    Han Jimei was stunned.

    Luo Wei didn''t mind, and sighed: "Yes, we''ve been staying up late, and the results of that are now out!"

    "New comics... two?"

    Han Jimei felt a short circuit in her brain, she''d even forgotten the purpose of her call.

    "Yes!"

    The corners of Luo Wei''s mouth curled up slightly: "Teacher Shadow tripled his workload!"

    "Triple workload?"

    "Inform the site''s technical department to prepare for an event tomorrow, at least it''s just in time."

    "What ¡­"

    "I know you are more curious about the quality of the comics, but don''t be anxious, just wait and see!"

    She cut off the other party.

    Luo Wei''s smile fully blossomed: "Tomorrow at eight o''clock, the crowning ceremony of our master needs a witness, we will make the entire comic world come and pay homage!"

    He will...

    Be crowned as the king!!!

 Chapter 750 - 715: Three Starts_1

    During the past seven days when everyone at Shadow Studio worked themselves to exhaustion, the online discussions about Tribe, Shadow, the Alliance, and even the backstabbing of Tianmen and Yeshenchen, never ceased.

    This mega-scandal involving various capitals, magnates, and even the entire comic industry provided countless people with something to talk about over tea or dinner...

    The eighth day arrived.

    8 AM!

    On an online forum.

    "Speaking of which, it''s the eighth day today. The Alliance remains the same, and the idea of Shadow replacing the new works of Tianmen and Yeshenchen with two comics is unrealistic as expected."

    "Pfft!"

    "Still concerned about that?"

    "Are there really people foolish enough to wait around for that?"

    "Obviously, this was never going to happen. This round truly goes to Tribe Comics. Shadow simply doesn''t want to accept the reality yet. But it''s understandable. Such a huge setback would cause anyone to crumble. Let''s just pray that Shadow updates ''Detective Chu Yu''.

    This comic is no worse than Tribe''s popular works. If it weren''t for the traffic issues of the Alliance, the popularity of this comic might be even higher!"

    "By the way!"

    "Have you guys checked out the works of Tianmen and Yeshenchen? Setting aside their character, the quality of their new works is quite good. Plus, with Tribe Comics pouring resources into their promotion, their popularity is quite high."

    "I checked them out too. They are indeed good!"

    "If these two had released their new works through the Alliance, it certainly would have helped the Alliance handle a lot of traffic. It''s a pity that in the end, they chose to use the Alliance as a stepping stone to rise in the ranks of Tribe."

    "..."

    Everyone doubted this affair from the beginning, and whenever it was brought up recently, there were always expressions of regret.

    As the netizens have pointed out:

    The new works of Yeshenchen and Tianmen are very popular now.

    This is due to both the quality of their work and the allocation of site resources.

    Tribe''s promotion of these two also carries the intention of annoying Shadow and the Alliance. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Everyone could see that.

    Just as the forum was getting lively, suddenly, a post appeared:

    "Hurry up and check out the Alliance site, Shadow has released three new works!"

    Thump!

    All the netizens who saw the post felt their heartbeats spike.

    Then.

    They instinctively opened the Alliance site...

    Whoosh!

    The Alliance Comics Website!

    Two banners, each nearly covering half of the website, appeared before everyone''s eyes!

    In an instant!

    Everyone''s eyes widened!

    Two banners, neatly arranged.

    The first banner was dominated by an orange background!

    The Nine-Tailed Fox established the style of the entire picture with its most elegant posture, and in front of it stood numerous figures!

    Naruto... Sasuke... Sakura... Kakashi...

    Of course, netizens who have not started reading the comics would not recognize these characters, but that does not stop them from being stunned by the promotional image.

    Shadow''s drawing skills are so amazing!

    The impact that seems to break out of the picture is too powerful!

    Below the image!

    In bold, breath-taking letters:

    [Shadow''s new work: "Naruto"!!!!!!]

    "..."

    With great difficulty, everyone''s gaze moved to the second banner!

    A blue ocean formed the backdrop of the entire picture, making a stark contrast with the orange hues of "Naruto".

    In the center of the picture.

    Luffy held his straw hat, revealing only half of his face; next to him was Zoro with green seaweed-colored hair, his tough face accompanied by a sword hilt in his mouth, presenting a cool classic three-sword style; there was also Nami''s grand navigator image and her perfect figure...

    These were also characters that the netizens did not recognize yet.

    But they had an equally stunning and beautiful style!

    Shadow''s drawing skills were thoroughly demonstrated in these two promotional images!

    Below that.

    There were these tangible words:

    [Shadow''s new work: "One Piece"!!!!!!]

    Sharp-eyed netizens even noticed a semi-transparent figure connecting the two images!

    That was Chu Yu''s figure from "Grim Reaper Elementary Student"!

    On his left was Naruto, on his right was One Piece, linking the three comics into a joint promo!

    Orange hue, flames leaping!

    Blue hue, waves crashing!

    Everyone was stunned at this moment!

    Innumerable eyes darted back and forth between the two shocking and glorious banners!

    Coming to their senses!

    Astonishment suddenly covered everyone''s expression!

    Triple release!?

    Shadow really did a triple release!

    He hasn''t given up!

    One Piece?

    Naruto?

    Are these the two works he said will replace Yeshenchen and Tianmen?

    How is that possible!

    What could he draw in seven days!?

    "My God!"

    In tremendous shock, someone suddenly discovered an even more terrifying fact: "Take a look at the style of these two manga covers, don''t tell me they are both King''s Path mangas!"

    Everyone was stunned, followed by scalp tingling!

    Goosebumps appeared all over!

    From the style of the covers alone, it seems like it is really the case!

    The same King''s Path route as Tianmen and Yeshenchen?

    This is absolutely insane!

    Not only did he draw two new manga in seven days, but he also chose the battle-oriented King''s Path route, the same as Tianmen''s and Yeshenchen''s!

    Shadow never drew any battle-focused manga before, right? Stay connected via My Virtual Library Empire

    "Is this going to work???"

    "When would one add difficulty to oneself like this at such a time!?"

    "As comparable as Fish Papa using the Sherlock Holmes theme song on the charts!"

    "But Shadow is not a freak like Xian Yu. Even if it wasn''t a battle-style manga, I think he wouldn''t succeed, not to mention him stepping into a genre he never touched before!"

    "These two works are clearly targeted at Tianmen and Yeshenchen!"

    "To surpass Tianmen and Yeshenchen with new works, the popularity of these two pieces must reach the level of the Grim Reaper Elementary Student!"

    "..."

    No manga artist can achieve this!

    Crafting a piece like the Grim Reaper Elementary Student is enough to laugh at the entire manga world!

    But three of such works?

    The entire manga industry must kneel!

    Wait...

    Dammit!

    What are you dragging out for!

    Why not just see if he can do it!

    No more debates!

    No more judging!

    Everyone hurriedly moved their mouses!

    Based on the first impression of the covers.

    Some people clicked on ''One Piece''!

    Some people clicked on ''Naruto''!

    There were slightly more people who clicked on ''Naruto''.

    Because the art style of ''One Piece'' gave a bizarre feeling.

    As a proportion of netizens began to read these two manga separately.

    The news of Shadow''s triple release in the Alliance, like a showers of blossoms from a heavenly woman, quickly spread throughout the entire web!

    Flick flick flick!

    The entire web was stunned!

    All gazes were simultaneously drawn over, and the servers of the Alliance started to become unstable for a time!

    At the same time!

    The Tribe also received news!

    Tribe Comics.

    CEO''s office.

    Ling Kong summoned all the most experienced editors in the department to the meeting room in one breath.

    It also included the unimpressive-looking man from last time:

    "You should know your tasks!"

    As he said these words, Ling Kong''s eyelids twitched uncontrollably. Even he didn''t know what was going on...

    ----------

    ps: Thanks to [Lu Jing Yin Xiang Chu] for becoming the 96th Alliance Hierarch of this book. Kneeling for the big boss ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, Polluted White will continue writing.

 Chapter 751 - 716: Look Down Upon Who_1

    They met at the same club as before.

    Yeshenchen and Tianmen sat across from each other.

    Yeshenchen on the left was staring intently at the alliance''s advertisement on his phone --

    He didn''t expect Shadow to actually plan to replace his and Tianmen''s gap with two new works!

    Across from Yeshenchen.

    Tianmen sneered, "Not only will this not save the alliance, but it will also impact the quality of Grim Reaper Elementary Student due to the dispersion of his creative energy. If Shadow''s two new works truly surpass us, I will eat this table on the spot!"

    Three at once!

    And he targeted King''s Path?

    How low does he think his own level is?

    Yeshenchen also started to sneer, "If these two new works he came up with in seven days really can reach the level of Grim Reaper Elementary Student, make sure to give me half of the table when you eat it."

    He also felt belittled!

    What makes you so special, Shadow, to do something that no one else in the manga industry can do?

    Tianmen smirked, "In that case, why don''t we just sit back and enjoy his two great new works drawn in seven days."

    "Alright."

    The two started reading their respective mangas.

    But it was surprising how many updates these two manga had in just seven days.

    ...

    Tianmen was reading One Piece.

    ''What kind of art style is that?''

    He had only taken a few glances when his expression started to become strange.

    [Subway ¡¤ Old Man ¡¤ Mobile Phone]

    Is this a desperate move?

    With this thought crossing his mind, Tianmen continued reading.

    Huh?

    As he read,

    His expression changed again.

    Pirates?

    Treasure?

    For some reason,

    His heart skipped a beat.

    Frowning,

    Tianmen continued to read.

    ...

    Yeshenchen was reading Naruto.

    As a professional manga artist, he was very good at catching important details and read manga faster than the average reader.

    And the early pace of Naruto was by no means slow.

    In no time, Yeshenchen had read several panels worth of content.

    Chakra...

    The Nine-Tails Seal...

    Uzumaki Naruto...

    The plot and setting were all laid out.

    The hand with which he held his phone suddenly began to tremble.

    In his heart, there rose a sense of foreboding.

    That was the instinct of a professional manga artist.

    ''It''s only just begun; it''s nothing.''

    He calmed himself, adjusted his somewhat labored breaths, and continued reading.

    ...

    At the same time,

    The netizens were reading the manga.

    The editors were also reading the manga.

    Time passed slowly.

    Three minutes.

    Ten minutes.

    Half an hour...

    More and more manga content gradually unfolded in front of the readers.

    The story of Naruto unfolded slowly.

    The story of One Piece unfolded slowly.

    The grand worlds of two manga had quietly opened!

    In the online world,

    Because everyone was reading the manga, the forums related to this event were unusually quiet.

    ...

    Forty minutes later,

    The corpulent Tianmen picked up a tissue from the table to wipe his sweat.

    "It''s so hot today."

    He suddenly spoke in a low voice.

    Yeshenchen subconsciously said, "Why do I feel a bit cold?"

    At this moment.

    Both of them had read about two-thirds of the comics in their hands.

    Their simple conversation did not continue.

    Until they each finished the comics in their hands.

    About an hour or so.

    The two of them finally finished the comics they were reading.

    "What about that Naruto, how was it?"

    It was only when Tianmen spoke that he found that his throat was inexplicably dry.

    Seemed to be even hotter.

    Subconsciously, he reached for a tissue to wipe his sweat.

    The moment he looked up, he saw Yeshenchen tighten his clothes.

    Yeshenchen also looked up to see Tianmen''s forehead and nose sweat.

    Both of their gazes met

    "How was it?"

    Tianmen asked again trying to make his voice sound more natural, but instead he sounded even drier, with a slight tremble even.

    "It was just like that..."

    Yeshenchen avoided Tianmen''s gaze.

    Tianmen suddenly grew angry: "What do you mean just like that!"

    "It was okay..."

    Yeshenchen tweaked his wording slightly.

    Tianmen''s voice suddenly escalated: "Can you be more specific!"

    "Everything about the plot and drawing style was great, ten times better than that lousy comic of yours, satisfied now!"

    Yeshenchen was startled by Tianmen''s sudden raise in voice, then also became furious, as if venting, he stood up and yelled back at Tianmen!

    Tianmen did not expect the other''s response to be bigger than his own, he opened his mouth, but found himself speechless.

    "What about yours?"

    Yeshenchen sat back down, looked at Tianmen, and lowered his voice slightly, "I mean One Piece..."

    "Anyway, there''s nothing wrong with it."

    This time, it was Tianmen''s turn to avoid Yeshenchen''s gaze.

    "Be more specific!"

    Yeshenchen''s tone elevated again: "Didn''t you just tell me to be more specific, how come when it''s your turn you don''t even dare to make a sound!"

    "How can I be more specific!"

    Tianmen could no longer hold back his rage and stood up, his hands waving in the air:

    "I don''t understand what the hell he''s drawing at all, I''ve never seen this style in my many years of drawing comics, yet this comic is so damn unique, and it''s exciting and shocking, don''t you understand? It''s a hundred times more exciting than your lousy comic!"

    "What the hell does that mean!" Yeshenchen slammed the table.

    Tianmen fought back: "I''m saying your lousy comic doesn''t even deserve to carry other people''s shoes, you''ll never be able to create a comic like One Piece in your lifetime!"

    "The hell with you, can you?!"

    Yeshenchen stood up as well: "You can''t even draw Naruto in two lifetimes!"

    Tianmen sneered: "At least my drawing skills are better than yours. Shadow''s drawing skills are enough for you to chase for three generations!"

    Yeshenchen showed no mercy: "So that''s all you have left, your drawing skills. Don''t think I don''t know, some of your story scripts are co-created with help from the company, you are clearly just an illustrator but you still pretend to be original!"

    "Y-y-y-you... you''re despicable! Don''t you think I don''t know, I despise you!"

    "Sorry, I am the manager of this place, could the two of you please keep your voices down? You are disturbing others, if you can''t cooperate, please take your argument outside."

    The manager showed up.

    The two of them glanced at the manager, then at each other, and suddenly stopped arguing. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    They just sat back down dejectedly, and then simultaneously looked down at the table in front of them.

    Manager: ???

    Are these two sick?

    Why do they have the look in their eyes like they''re going to eat the table?

    ...

    Explore more at My Virtual Library Empire

    Of course, Tianmen and Yeshenchen didn''t really eat the table.

    After the manager left.

    The two of them were quiet for a long time, neither of them spoke.

    One grew colder, the other hotter.

    Finally, it was Yeshenchen who broke the silence, four words filled with complex emotions:

    "He''s become a god."

    Tianmen expressionlessly said: "The comic industry has never had a so-called first person before, now it probably has."

    No need for further confirmation.

    They believed each other''s judgments.

    Each other''s reactions had said it all.

    Either One Piece or Naruto, both are formidable works.

    If we add in Grim Reaper Elementary Student...

    That Shadow who declared war on the entire Tribe Comics single-handedly, has won a miraculous victory with the grandeur of a trilogy -

    By stepping on their corpses.

 Chapter 752 - 717 One Person is an Alliance_1

    With the conclusions from Yeshenchen and Tianmen, the rest of the readers from outside have finally finished reading the comics in their hands.

    The mysteries of Naruto and One Piece have finally been unveiled!

    It''s roughly nine o''clock now.

    The related forums inside and outside the circle are still terribly quiet.

    All the gossip posts born before and after this incident are still stuck in the previous phase of Shadow''s three-in-one.

    All kinds of comments seem to be still on their way.

    And in this gap.

    The top-notch comic artist of Chu Continent, who''d already laid down his pen, "Looking through Autumn Water", suddenly broke the silence with a lengthy post!

    The post reads:

    "I read through Naruto and One Piece as fast as I could, and I have three things to say: firstly, the comic genre that Shadow is best at was not brought out before his three-in-one; secondly, Shadow is destined to become a god in this battle; thirdly, the dominance of Tribe Comics in the industry will be shattered by his three comics, he doesn''t need anyone''s help, Shadow alone is the Alliance!"

    Looking Through Autumn Water.

    A top-tier comic artist on Chu Continent.

    Once hailed as the godfather of the comic industry, closest to godliness.

    Several of his comics during his career have led the trends in Chu Continent''s comic scene.

    After he put down his pen, he was still recognized as the top veteran in the industry, and the words from him naturally carry significant weight.

    As soon as the post came out!

    Boom!

    Winds rise and clouds surge!

    Madness starts to sweep across!

    Earthquake in the comic world!

    Shadow alone is the Alliance, as if echoing this post from afar, a storm of unprecedented comic reviews started!

    ...

    The comment section of the comic "One Piece".

    "This comic is so freaking amazing!"

    "Thrilling, hot-blooded, and very touching!"

    "I thought the art style was a bit strange at first. But the more I read, the more I couldn''t escape it. I really like the trio Luffy, Zoro, and Nami. Looking forward to the following plot. Although the current update rate is already very generous, I can hardly believe these are new works created by Shadow in just seven days!"

    "I surrender!"

    "Absolutely a masterpiece!"

    "As a fan of King''s Path hot-blooded comics, I bow down in total admiration. Why didn''t Shadow draw combat comics earlier? He was born to create this genre. He is even more suitable than Yeshenchen and Tianmen, who are both rebellious. They are not even worthy to carry his shoes!"

    "Shadow is truly badass!"

    "Based on my decade-long experience of reading comics, if the length of ''One Piece'' is long enough, it would definitely be a dominating piece in the future for several years. Shadow didn''t even need to go three-in-one, even going double with Grim Reaper Elementary Student was enough. This single comic equals the works of both Tianmen and Yeshenchen!"

    "The theme of pirates is so creative!"

    "I can''t think of any other comic that would be better than this one during the same period. Naruto next door definitely won''t make it, but I have to go and read that Naruto too!"

    One Piece, a stunning debut!

    The comment section is already conquered!

    ... S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    At the same time when One Piece''s comment section is conquered.

    The comment section of the comic "Naruto" also exploded!

    "Absolutely a masterpiece!"

    "What Shadow drew is too good!"

    "My mom asked me why I was reading comics on my knees. As a citizen of Chu Continent, I''m almost moved to tears by the plot. The ninjas are just too cool, aren''t these exactly the best assassins in our Chu Continent''s ancient times? Who dares to criticize Shadow, I''ll fight him! From now on, he is my only faith!"

    "I submit!"

    "Who says you can''t draw immortal characters on your first try with King''s Path combat comics? Who dares to talk nonsense about Shadow''s work now? This directly dominates without any explanation, even if you add up the works of both Tianmen and Yeshenchen, it can''t match up to this level. Isn''t this better than whatever story Tianmen wrote?"

    "Tribe, kneel down!"

    "Crawl away for me!"

    "Uzumaki Naruto is so awesome, but my favorite character is Kakashi, his character setting is just too appealing, and isn''t this comic about two male leads? It seems the weight of Sasuke''s story is no less than Naruto''s. I''ll go see ''One Piece'' in a moment, according to the reviews from teacher Looking Through Autumn Water, it also seems to be an extraordinary work!"

    ...

    Comments from both sides turned out to be strikingly similar.

    Aside from the plot-related stuff, everyone''s comments seem to be of the same nature!

    Cool theme!

    Awesome plot!

    Badass artwork!

    The same comments can be perfectly applied to both comics at the same time!

    And as everyone opens another comic with a shocked mindset, an even bigger shock takes hold of everyone''s hearts!

    Comic World!

    Change is coming!

    ...

    On the other hand,

    Tribe Comics.

    The senior editors summoned by Ling Kong all lowered their heads. The entire conference room fell into a deathly silence. Clearly, they had also finished reading the two comics.

    They were too professional!

    And the more professional they were, the more they could appreciate what it meant for Naruto, One Piece, and even Grim Reaper Elementary Student, to all be from the same person''s hand.

    At this moment, everyone had a surreal feeling!

    Unbelievable!

    How could there be such a messed up comic artist in this world?

    Publishing three comics in seven days, and bringing every one of them to a quality that leaves other comic artists in the dust!

    As if his creativity was limitless!

    As if his energy could be used indefinitely!

    Like a building collapse.

    Everyone''s mood fell into a deep valley!

    They didn''t understand:

    How could Tribe Comics, as the monopolistic behemoth of the entire industry, end up with such a monster of a competitor.

    "How about it?"

    Ling Kong''s voice was somewhat low.

    In fact, Ling Kong could already know the result from everyone''s expressions.

    Even without the analysis of the editors, he had seen the result online himself.

    But he still couldn''t resist asking.

    No one answered.

    If the end it was the man with the unremarkable looks who spoke. He''s played this role before:

    "These two new comics plus Grim Reaper Elementary Student..."

    "Don''t say it."

    Ling Kong abruptly interrupted the man and waved his hand weakly.

    "You guys can go."

    The editors looked at each other.

    "Ling..."

    "Get out!"

    Ling Kong suddenly roared.

    His handsome face was somewhat twisted!

    The editors felt a tremor in their hearts, silently stood up, and left the conference room.

    ...

    The comic world is really going to change!

    This has almost become everyone''s consensus!

    Shadow''s three comics could easily hold up an alliance, though it couldn''t directly let the alliance''s popularity surpass Tribe Comics'' traffic, but the monopoly of Tribe Comics was indeed going to be broken by him!

    Regrettably...

    Such a monster should have belonged to Tribe Comics. He should have been the core guarantee of Tribe Comics'' monopoly in this industry!

    Yet because of some trivial differences, Shadow left.

    Yes.

    Compared to the value that Shadow exhibits now, those differences indeed can be described as trivial.

    "Our future isn''t going to be good."

    An editor from Tribe Comics spoke with a bitter smile.

    After being online for seven days, a miracle. The Alliance has already become Tribe''s formidable enemy!

    This time there''s no help from Chu Kuang, no aid from Xian Yu.

    Shadow, single-handedly shaking the world!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Thank you, [King Never Fears][Windprint King][Dream Yearning Years][Yin Feng Yue Bai Meng][Dream of Evening]five great Alliance Hierarchs, for the collective dedication of your knees¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ. Bai Meng''s goal has finally been achieved, the embarrassing thing is just finished writing the comic chapter, when writing the next big plot, will directly burst to reward your support!!!

 Chapter 753 - 718: Why to C_1 when you can blend?

    "Shadow has become a God!

    The alliance''s comments are just the tip of the iceberg of this critique storm!

    And soon!

    Forums across all continents started discussing!

    "The opening of ''Dead Sea of Fire'' is a milestone for the entire manga world, Shadow''s achievements will be recorded in the history of manga!"

    "Forget Shadow, call him Shadow God from now on!"

    "I thought ''One Piece'' was the zenith of Shadow God''s career until I opened ''Naruto''!"

    "I''m the opposite of you, I thought ''Naruto'' was Shadow God''s most invincible work until I watched ''One Piece''!"

    "''Grim Reaper Elementary Student'' is awesome too, anyways, they''re all created by Shadow, all I can say is ''Dead Sea of Fire'' is unbeatable!"

    "Who dares to call Shadow an unknown figure in the future?"

    "Xian Yu in the south, Chu Kuang in the north, Shadow God is in the center!!!"

    "..."

    Shadow has become the number one person in the manga world in everyone''s eyes!

    Comic fans around the five continents are celebrating!

    This time, no one really makes fun of Shadow being the unknown figure among the three bros!

    Because this time, Shadow didn''t rely on Chu Kuang and Xian Yu, but made a comeback single-handedly!

    But Tribe, on the other hand, is being ridiculed by countless netizens!

    Everyone hasn''t forgotten that Shadow was kicked out by Tribe!

    Slap after slap!

    The Dead Sea of Fire trilogy slapped so loud!

    Amidst the exclamation and praise, someone suddenly said:

    "Why did this wave seem a bit like a forced counter-kill?"

    A forced counter-kill?

    Everyone was stunned, and then they quickly reacted and laughed out loud!

    It seems to be exactly like that!

    Think carefully about what happened!

    Which step did Shadow not take as a forced counter-fight?

    "If Tribe had not forced Shadow to the point of angering him, we wouldn''t have seen Shadow become a God and bring out a masterpiece like the ''Dead Sea of Fire'' trilogy!"

    "The Tribe is also unjust!"

    "Shadow disguises too well!"

    "Who the hell knew that he could create Shonen battle manga, and to such an extreme?"

    "Despite the fact that this kind of Shonen battle manga has the broadest audience, Shadow is reluctant to draw one and insists on drawing some niche and even unusual things. It wasn''t until he had no choice but to show his truly terrifying side!"

    "First of all, you have to push him, if you don''t, you won''t see the extent of his ability!"

    "Wasn''t it also the case last time? If he hadn''t been ridiculed by the Chu Continent manga artists, he wouldn''t have brought out his peak skills in ''Death Note'' that he had kept for a long time."

    "Why can there be such a lazy genius in the world?"

    "He obviously has such incredible talent, but he insists on being a couch potato. He should be called Xian Yu (salted fish) instead!"

    "Shadow really proved that he''s the kind of guy who, if he can slack off, he will. If he can lie down, why even bother?"

    "Despite having unbeatable carry ability, he chose to slack off. It wasn''t until his teammates turned their backs on him that he realized his downfall was near and decided to save the world all by himself!"

    "No one else could be as lazy as him!"

    "If you had taken out any of the ''Dead Sea of Fire'' trilogy earlier, any trilogy like ''Grim Reaper Elementary Student'', the Tribe wouldn''t have kicked you out!"

    "Instead of calling him Shadow God, we should call him Lazy God!"

    Shadow, being so slack, does Chu Kuang and Xian Yu from your family know?

    Netizens analyzed Shadow''s past career and found out the truth.

    While laughing, they also felt a bit frustrated in their hearts!

    This person is fucking awesome!

    So lazy and so slack!

    No wonder he wasn''t active for nearly a year!

    No one knows what he was up to.

    Everyone would believe it if you said he had gone off to play Mahjong for a year!

    Obviously, in the world of manga, he''s an invincible genius no less than Chu Kuang and Xian Yu, his skills could suppress the contemporary manga world. Yet, he disguised himself as an unknown figure, unmoved no matter how much people made fun of him!

    Your true colors are completely exposed now!

    Don''t think you can keep pretending!

    We won''t give you a chance to rely on Xian Yu and Chu Kuang anymore, you have to fight the opposing side yourself!

    As soon as this statement came out, it spread instantly across the internet!

    ...

    In the Tribe Comic''s office.

    Ling Kong is scrolling through the comments on the internet with a blank face.

    He needs to assess the harm this incident has done to Tribe Comics through public opinion.

    But then.

    Ling Kong saw the netizen''s summary of Shadow.

    How annoyed the netizens were when they laughed, Ling Kong didn''t know.

    But he knows he couldn''t laugh at all, he almost had a cerebral hemorrhage and had to be hospitalized!

    Lazy?

    Slack off?

    Lay down?

    It turned out that Shadow had been playing the deceptive game with him all along!

    Which era are we in?

    Still playing this face-slapping routine!

    Is it fun?

    Ling Kong was discouraged! S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    When Conan was born, Ling Kong was not discouraged;

    He was not even discouraged when they were besieged by Headquarters;

    Even in the huge explosion of ''Dead Sea of Fire,'' he managed to maintain his status;

    Only when he learned the reason justifying why Shadow burst through, Ling Kong couldn''t maintain his composure anymore. He got frustrated beyond compare!

    How could there be such a person in the world!

    Ling Kong couldn''t understand!

    Since he was a child, if he was nine parts capable, he wanted to achieve ten parts result, fearing others would underestimate him!

    And what about Shadow?

    Despite being so strong!

    Refused to draw the most famous Shonen battle manga, but chose to nest in the Tribe as a minor manga artist?

    Are you fucking kidding me!

    Ling Kong initially thought to clean up the mess of Shadow first, and then settle accounts with Xian Yu and Chu Kuang.

    After all, Shadow was always a little figure in Ling Kong''s heart.

    In reality, who he really cared for were Xian Yu and Chu Kuang behind Shadow.

    But forget about Xian Yu and Chu Kuang.

    Just Shadow alone was enough to completely defeat Ling Kong!

    Now, Ling Kong''s hatred for Shadow, completely surpasses his anger towards Xian Yu and Chu Kuang!

    He was actually defeated by a couch potato!

    What he hates the most are the people who, despite having enough ability, don''t make the effort to shine!

    Yes.

    The summary of the netizens, Ling Kong just took one look and knew it was all true!

    It''s not difficult to prove this at all.

    Just pull out Shadow''s previous records and you can see it all clearly!

    Indeed, this person does possess tremendous creative ability, yet all he wants to do is draw some low-key manga to lazily pass the time.

    If he didn''t have such an extraordinary ability, he wouldn''t have been able to create a miracle in just seven days that shocked the entire manga world and turned the tide!

    "Just you wait!"

    Just wait and see!

    Ling Kong swore secretly with a livid face.

    He won''t admit defeat.

    With this in mind, he dialed a number.

    "Dad..."

    As soon as he opens his mouth, he softens his voice like a wronged child, not showing the cold decisiveness he had a second ago.

    On the other end of the phone.

    The man''s voice is very cold.

    "This time, I can''t protect you either."

    "Dad..."

    Ling Kong called again.

    The man sighed lightly, "I have to consider the thoughts of other senior management."

    "Dad..."

    Ling Kong''s voice came again for the third time.

    The man''s heart softened, and his voice is no longer cold, "Come home for dinner tonight."

    "Okay."

    Ling Kong hung up the phone and breathed a sigh of relief.

    He knew that this time, he would still be safe.

 Chapter 754 - 719: Dead Sea of Fire_1

    After the release of the Dead Sea of Fire, Shadow Studio took a whole week off!

    Over the next few days.

    The update frequency of the Dead Sea of Fire would drop significantly.

    But there was no other choice, everyone had been working tirelessly for seven days, and they were all exhausted.

    As the effects of the Energy Potion wore off, Luo Wei passed out on the couch.

    She was even snoring!

    Lin Yuan could only arrange for someone to wake Luo Wei and take her home.

    Lin Yuan didn''t immediately go to sleep. He used an Energy Potion to keep himself going and got some more work done.

    He had to ensure a basic update of Dead Sea of Fire.

    Okay.

    Even Lin Yuan now uses "Dead Sea of Fire" to refer to all three comics.

    Who knows how bizarre he felt when he first heard netizens call it that.

    Well, well.

    This could also be called "Dead Sea of Fire"?

    Why not call it "Chu''s Sea of Fire"?

    The three great proletarian comics of his previous life have forcibly resurfaced on Blue Star in a different form.

    Just that the meaning of the word "dead" has completely changed now.

    Perhaps this is the will of the universe.

    Speaking of all this stuff about Shadow, the most baffling thing for Lin Yuan was the netizens'' analysis of Shadow.

    Lazy?

    Capable of carrying but prefer to slack off?

    As if Shadow was nothing more than a slacker waiting for death.

    Forget it.

    They''re talking about Shadow, what does that have to do with me, Lin Yuan?

    Lin Yuan has to admit, he lacks the motivation to draw comics and often neglects this pseudonym.

    From the reader''s perspective, their analysis is not wrong.

    But that''s just how it is.

    Drawing comics is really a time-consuming task.

    He earns way more money in the realms of literature and music than he does from drawing comics.

    The reason he keeps drawing comics is purely for the Prestige Value of painting.

    But now, Lin Yuan feels that he can''t continue this way.

    Not just because Tribe has ticked him off this time, but also because he has realized that Shadow has accumulated a sizeable fanbase.

    Even for the sake of these supporters, he has to keep Shadow working hard.

    And moreover...

    Lin Yuan doesn''t want his retaliation against the Tribe to end so easily!

    His anger hasn''t subsided.

    Not just the Dead Sea of Fire.

    In the future, he wants to completely replace the Tribe with the Alliance!

    That''s a small goal he has set for himself, a minor goal of superseding.

    Next to him.

    Jin Mu carefully pours tea for Lin Yuan: "Boss, have some!"

    "Uncle Jin."

    Lin Yuan looks a bit helpless.

    Jin Mu giggles.

    He personally witnessed a miracle, the impact of which was so dramatic on him that he felt slightly uneasy every time he saw Lin Yuan now, almost as if he was serving a god.

    A single man saves the Alliance, takes down the Tribe all by himself...

    Is this something a human can do?

    Suddenly.

    Jin Mu''s cellphone rings.

    Looking at the caller ID, Jin Mu''s eyelids twitch: "I always get anxious when I see Han Jimei calling now."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    The call was indeed from Han Jimei.

    "Please say hello to Teacher Shadow for me!"

    Han Jimei''s greeting was about Shadow.

    Jin Mu was utterly shocked by the triple release of the Dead Sea of Fire, and so was she.

    This kind of feeling, falling from heaven to hell in an instant, is something Han Jimei will never forget for the rest of her life.

    "I deeply know how much loss my negligence has caused to the website. The money in my bank account is the savings of my past years, and I plan to compensate the website with it..."

    The words Han Jimei said next change Jin Mu''s expression.

    "I have handed in my resignation letter."

    Finally, Han Jimei spoke in a desolate voice.

    The Alliance is a subsidiary of Starlight, and her resignation letter must have already been submitted to Starlight.

    She was calling Jin Mu to thank Shadow for making up for her mistake, and also to say a polite goodbye.

    Jin Mu went silent.

    Then he looked up at Lin Yuan and suppressed the phone:

    "She wants to quit."

    "Quit..."

    Lin Yuan frowned.

    According to the rules of the marketplace, Han Jimei should indeed resign.

    The mistake she made this time was too big.

    But Lin Yuan didn''t really want things to end this way, after all, the problem has been solved now.

    This is precisely why Lin Yuan can''t run a company.

    He doesn''t have the determination of a capital holder or the bottom line of a qualified entrepreneur.

    "Let it be."

    Lin Yuan finally spoke.

    Jin Mu was stunned for a moment, then nodded, telling Han Jimei: "Teacher Shadow said you don''t have to quit. You can continue to manage the website, but we won''t make exceptions in the future."

    "Jin..."

    "This is Teacher Shadow''s decision."

    "But..."

    "Teacher Shadow will communicate with Starlight." S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "I..."

    "That''s it, I''ll hang up now."

    Jin Mu hung up the phone, then curiously looked at Lin Yuan: "Why didn''t you just fire her?"

    "Although I don''t understand business, I know that if she quits, she will have to leave this industry completely. If we don''t use her, no other peers will use her in the future either. "

    Lin Yuan explained.

    Jin Mu laughed: "But she did make a mistake."

    Lin Yuan shook his head: "She''s just too human, too trusting."

    Although he did not know exactly what has happened, he knew that it was probably because the breach of contract clauses in the contracts with Tianmen and Yeshenchen were too lax, and the cost of betrayal was not high enough.

    When he thought about it, his contract with the company was similar.

    Starlight even gifted shares to Lin Yuan.

    If Lin Yuan betrayed them, Starlight would suffer a tremendous loss.

    Only, Lin Yuan wouldn''t leave, but Tianmen and Yeshenchen didn''t have this integrity.

    Who could say for certain that Han Jimei was wrong?

    Ling Kong was intimidating enough, and his one move defeated the Alliance''s momentum.

    But when Han Jimei was managing Tribe Comics before, everything was in order.

    Lin Yuan cooperated with her and it had always been friendly. He had never thought about leaving Tribe Comics.

    Unfortunately, Lin Yuan simply couldn''t get along with Ling Kong.

    How can you explain this?

    But in general, there should be stricter regulations and restrictions, which are the king''s path to corporate management.

    Even if Han Jimei didn''t understand this before, she surely does now.

    "Alright."

    Although Jin Mu seemed to question it, in his heart, he didn''t think Lin Yuan''s decision was inappropriate. Perhaps, he was also a somewhat emotional person.

    "Let me tell you some good news..."

    "What good news?"

    "The several comics of yours that had been held back have now been released. We won the lawsuit and got the copyright for the comics back. Tribe had no reason to keep holding onto our work, so they had to obediently hand it over. Of course, we did pay a tiny price for this, but nothing we can''t afford."

    At this point.

    Jin Mu smiles: "Of course, that also includes the previously banned ''The Kindaichi Case Files'' by the Tribe."

    Lin Yuan:"..."

    You call this good news?

    I''m already struggling with the triple release!

    If we get back ''The Kindaichi Case Files'', that would mean I''m working on four projects!

 Chapter 755 - 720: Shadow in the Center_1

    The studio had a week off, but to Lin Yuan''s surprise, the assistants reported to the studio three days later...

    Lin Yuan curiously asked, "Aren''t you guys tired?"

    Luo Wei laughed, "I''ve been sleeping practically three days and three nights. Each time I had to eat, my mother had to wake me. In her words, if she didn''t make a racket, I probably wouldn''t wake up."

    "What does a racket matter!?"

    An assistant named Qian Duoduo excitedly added, "To wake me up for food, my dad put headphones over my ears and set off a suona. Do you guys understand what a suona is? That sound is unbearable..."

    "Yours are still mild."

    Another assistant called Sun ZhiXiang chimed in, "To wake me up, my sister sprayed water on my face from the showerhead!"

    Everyone was excited.

    They were discussing what had happened over the past three days.

    It seemed that their marathon sleep session had frightened their families. To wake them, a lot of effort was made.

    The only one who was okay was Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan was awoken by an alarm from the system.

    He wasn''t expecting that the system could do that, but the alarm sounded directly in his mind making ignoring it impossible.

    The lively conversation went on for a while.

    Lin Yuan spoke with a smile, "Thank you all for your hard work over the past few days. Since we are all here today, I will assign future work."

    "Okay!"

    Everyone spoke in unison.

    Lin Yuan turned to Luo Wei, "Your drawing style is most suitable for ''Naruto''. From now on, you will be fully responsible for Naruto."

    "Me?"

    Luo Wei was stunned.

    Lin Yuan nodded, "Leave the panel storyline to me, all you have to do is draw."

    "Okay!"

    Luo Wei excitedly agreed, among all the manga in the studio, her favorite was ''Naruto''!

    Based on the reader''s response, this manga was extraordinary!

    The other assistants cast envious looks at Luo Wei, their eyes turning red!

    Previously, although Luo Wei''s status was higher than other manga assistants, she was still mainly responsible for assistant work. But now, she had suddenly become a real manga artist, solely responsible for a piece of work, moreover, a top-tier work like ''Naruto''!

    "Then, Zhao Chengming..."

    Lin Yuan turned to another assistant and made another groundbreaking decision: "''One Piece'' is up to you."

    All the authors were stunned!

    Zhao Chengming was shocked, "Me? ''One Piece''?"

    Lin Yuan nodded, among the manga assistants, Zhao Chengming''s skills were very outstanding, not inferior to Luo Wei.

    With his help, Zhao Chengming could handle ''One Piece''.

    "Thank you, teacher!"

    Zhao Chengming''s heart pounded as he nodded strenuously, he did not want to miss such an opportunity!

    Among the manga in the studio, the popularity of ''One Piece'' was not lesser than ''Naruto''!

    "Then there''s Qian Duoduo."

    Lin Yuan didn''t give everyone much time to react, looking at the assistant called Qian Duoduo, "You''ll be responsible for ''Grim Reaper Elementary Student''."

    No way!

    Qian Duoduo''s eyes widened, then he jumped out of sheer joy, "Please rest assured, teacher, I will do my best!"

    It''s the ''Dead Sea of Fire''!

    Just naming the three manga together indicated that ''Grim Reaper Elementary Student'' has an influence comparable to ''Naruto'' and ''One Piece''!

    Lin Yuan smiled.

    Everyone had different styles they excelled at. Qian Duoduo''s art style matched ''Detective Chu Yu'' very well. He was more suited than anyone else to take over this manga.

    The remaining two assistants stared blankly at Luo Wei, Qian Duoduo, and Zhao Chengming. Their faces had turned blank.

    Their feelings couldn''t be fully expressed with the word "envy."

    "Sun ZhiXiang."

    Lin Yuan looked at the fourth assistant, "''The Kindaichi Case Files'' is available, you''ll be in charge."

    "Okay!"

    Sun ZhiXiang hadn''t expected this manga to be available!

    While this manga couldn''t compete with ''Dead Sea of Fire'' in popularity, he knew his own weight. To be able to handle this manga, he was already very happy!

    "What about me, Teacher..."

    With this, only the last assistant named Zhou An has not been assigned a work to be responsible for. He nervously glanced at the other assistants who had received their works.

    "You and Sun ZhiXiang will draw ''The Kindaichi Case Files'' together!"

    Lin Yuan has already made plans these past few days: "Two people will be responsible for ''The Kindaichi Case Files''. It''ll be faster this way. Once you finish this manga, I will assign you new work. This manga has the shortest storyline compared to the ''Dead Sea of Fire''."

    "Understood!"

    Zhou An quickly nodded.

    He was just afraid that he wouldn''t get anything. Now that he has a manga to work on, even though it''s together with Sun ZhiXiang, it''s not unacceptable. He was even very excited!

    After all, he knew that his abilities were somewhat lacking compared to the other assistants.

    He must work even harder in the future!

    "Let''s proceed like this then."

    After Lin Yuan finished dividing the tasks, he said:

    "There are still a few days left in the holiday, you can continue to rest. I''ll cover the updates for now."

    "No need, I''m ready to work!"

    Luo Wei is eager to get started. After all, she is the one in charge of ''Naruto''! S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The other assistants also said, "We''ve got enough sleep too."

    Three days and nights of sleep basically replenished their energy.

    Most importantly, they all got their hands on popular manga, even ''The Kindaichi Case Files'' is considered super cool to most people!

    "Whatever you like."

    From now on, Lin Yuan will be the main brain of the studio, responsible for the general direction. The specific drawing tasks will be given to the assistants, so that he can free his hands for other stuff.

    "But the problem is, we don''t have any assistants..."

    Luo Wei smiled wryly. They each have their own manga to be responsible for, without any assistants work would be too laborious.

    "Then recruit."

    Lin Yuan looked at Luo Wei: "You were previously the president of the Qin Art Drawing Society. You should know some talent in this area, like Brother Zhong Yu, whom we both know."

    Luo Wei once was the president of the Qin Art Drawing Society, thus she has a wide network.

    Lin Yuan also used to be part of the Drawing Society, so he knows some people, being most familiar with Brother Zhong Yu.

    Lin Yuan even once asked Brother Zhong Yu to look after his little sister at school.

    "Alright, I''ll go find people!"

    Luo Wei, receiving the order, immediately said, "But they don''t know yet that you are Teacher Shadow..."

    "Then it depends on your judgment."

    Jin Mu said from nowhere: "Remember to bring in reliable assistants. We will sign a confidentiality agreement, not allowing the revealing of Teacher Shadow''s identity."

    "Understood!"

    Luo Wei, her eyes flickering as if she has already started selecting candidates in her mind.

    She used to be the president of the Qin Art Drawing Society and knew many talented individuals who were interested in manga.

    "Each of you can recruit five assistants. But at the initial stage, only two or three are enough, and we have to mainly rely on you."

    Lin Yuan spoke. The more people in the studio, the higher the chance of revealing Shadow. Even if he planned to divide everyone into groups later, there would still be chances of interacting with these assistants. Could these assistants not recognize Xian Yu''s face?

    When letting people in, one must be cautious.

    Lin Yuan now planned to use Shadow Studio as a talent training base for the Alliance.

    Later, Shadow Studio will prop up half the world of manga!

    After all, he still had many manga yet to be brought out!

    Among these assistants...

    Those who perform excellently will receive personal training from Lin Yuan, and be responsible for a separate manga in the future!

    Just like Zhao Chengming and others!

    Hmm.

    About the matter of the Alliance replacing Tribe Comics, Lin Yuan was serious.

    It wasn''t enough for Shadow to become a god with the status of the world''s first manga artist.

    To catch up with Xian Yu and Chu Kuang, he must produce even more incredible achievements!

    After all ...

    North Chu Kuang, South Xian Yu.

    Shadow is in the middle!

 Chapter 756 - 721 - Yu Dynasty and Shadow Group_1

    "Ding dong!"

    Not long after Lin Yuan finished assigning the tasks, a prompt suddenly appeared in Lin Yuan''s system.

    "Following Luo Wei, congratulations on receiving four new apprentices in the painting field, they are Zhao Chengming, Qian Duoduo, Sun ZhiXiang, and Zhou An¡­"

    The system panel.

    In Lin Yuan''s painting column, the identity information of Luo Wei and the four new apprentices appeared.

    Apprentices, huh.

    Lin Yuan looked at everyone, his heart feeling waves.

    The number of his apprentices seemed to be increasing.

    The assistants of the Shadow Studio have been promoted to full members, from now on they will be bona fide cartoonists!

    Each of them is responsible for super best-selling popular comics.

    Even the phenomenon-level work like the Dead Sea of Fire...

    Before joining the Shadow Studio, none of these assistants could have imagined this.

    Perhaps from the moment they met Shadow, their fate started to undergo a drastic change!

    It also implies:

    From now on, their names would be written in the drawing panel of these few cartoons!

    In this aspect, Lin Yuan was never stingy.

    With the birth of the Dead Sea of Fire, plus the return of a few of Shadow''s earlier manga like The Kindaichi Case Files, the traffic of the alliance finally started to skyrocket!

    Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

    In a matter of days, the traffic of the alliance has easily become the second largest in the manga world!

    Second only to Tribe Comics which was pretty much monopolizing the entire industry!

    This was the power of the Dead Sea of Fire!

    Of course.

    Thinking that these three mangas plus Shadow''s previous works could defeat Tribe Comics was clearly impossible.

    At least for now.

    The Dead Sea of Fire was still a seedling.

    Only when the manga serial unfolds will the true terror of the Dead Sea of Fire be revealed!

    As of now, there are still too many top-tier manga artists at Tribe Comics!

    Their works individually might be hard to become a rival against the Dead Sea of Fire, but their large scale operations give them their advantage!

    However...

    Even so, it was enough to send shockwaves through the industry!

    The alliance now holds a much greater attraction for other manga artists, after all, the website traffic has already risen.

    At this point, the Tribe could only watch helplessly as their opponents took flight!

    Tribe Comics may still be the largest manga website in the industry, but the number one person in the manga world was in the alliance!

    Was there anything more awkward than this?

    With Shadow''s ascension in the manga world, his followers on the blog also started to skyrocket, actually exceeding a hundred million!

    Well.

    With the merging of the five continents, Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han, with the sharp increase in population, reaching a hundred million followers have become much easier and the value had been greatly reduced.

    But Shadow''s ascension was a fact.

    Industry-related media recently reported this news like crazy.

    "Shadow becomes number one in the manga world by opening three series with the Dead Sea of Fire!"

    "Retired old-school manga artist Looking through Autumn Water praised Shadow as a rare genius in the history of manga that only appears once in a hundred years!"

    "South admires the Fish, North raves about Chu Kuang, with Shadow in the center: the difference in influence among the Three Bros is gradually narrowing!"

    "Completely shedding the title of invisibility: The no longer lazy Shadow is the toughest boss in the entire manga world!"

    "Shadow may lead the Alliance to defeat Tribe Comics!"

    "Tianmen and Yeshenchen become a joke, their popularity drops to freezing point, already affecting the success of their comics!"

    "..."

    The news related to Tianmen and Yeshenchen was true.

    Not knowing if it was because Shadow now had overwhelming popularity, becoming the number one person in the manga world, their backstabbing behavior has now been berated by countless netizens, causing their works to also start being boycotted by everyone.

    The impact was not this big at the start.

    Some people think this has to do with the skyrocketing number of Shadow''s fans.

    Those who are fans of Shadow could not possibly harbor any good feelings towards these two.

    Love me, love my dog.

    Hate me, hate my dog.

    Seemingly affected by public opinion, Tianmen and Yeshenchen''s recent work demonstrated a decrease in quality.

    This was the so-called state of being.

    If the creator''s state was not good, the quality of their work would drop, especially for serialized works. Continuing in such a state would have a lethal impact on their work!

    ...

    The serializations of the Dead Sea of Fire and The Kindaichi Case Files were still ongoing.

    However, readers quickly noticed that the main artist for these comics has been replaced!

    Shadow is the author.

    He still holds the leading role in the content of the manga, acting as the core creators of the manga storylines, but the ones actually drawing them were his assistants!

    "What?!"

    A lot of people were discontented!

    They even started swearing, "This guy really is a terminal case of laziness, giving his manga to his assistants to draw so quickly, you''re not supposed to do this!"

    We knew you were tired!

    We knew long-term encroaching on multiple territories was unrealistic!

    But you should at least try a bit yourself!

    If not, at least one of the flagship works of the Alliance, the Dead Sea of Fire, you should personally draw it yourself!

    What''s the meaning of giving everything to your assistants to draw?

    Alright then!

    Even if you want to find someone to draw, why does it have to be the assistants?

    Are the assistants up to par?

    There are so many amazing artists in the industry, with Shadow''s current influence, how hard could it be to find an artist?

    However.

    When the readers clicked on the content and read the latest updates, they were left dumbfounded.

    Huh?

    Was the latest update really drawn by the assistants?

    Why did it feel like there was no difference from when Shadow drew it himself?

    Not to mention the ordinary readers!

    Even some professional manga artists, after reading the latest updates of the four mangas, were left with their mouths agape!

    Such strong drawing skills!

    How could these be drawn by Shadow''s assistants?

    Are they bullying us because we don''t have assistants?

    Whose assistant is this exceptional?!

    These must surely be personally drawn by Shadow, right?

    This is the first reaction of the fellow artists!

    Even they can''t tell the difference between these updated comics and their previous painting quality!

    At this moment.

    The assistants of Shadow Studio have all registered their own blog accounts and officially certified as the artists for "One Piece", then each posted an explanation:

    "The teacher has always been working on these comics with us, he is responsible for the key parts."

    "We are not just the teacher''s assistants, but also his students!"

    "Yes, our painting skills were all taught by the teacher!"

    "We may not draw as well as the teacher, but he couldn''t keep up with his energy, so his comics have always been drawn by us together, it''s an honor that you can''t tell the difference."

    "Sorry, it''s all thanks to the teacher''s good teaching!"

    Shadow was the one taught them?

    Are the assistants Shadow''s students?

    The previous painting contents, a lot of them are made by the assistants, so everyone has already seen many paintings created by the assistants?

    Splash!

    Everyone was shocked by the assistants'' words!

    Generally, the painting skills of comic assistants are not high, even if occasionally there are some with exceptional talents, they are few and far between.

    But all the five assistants of Shadow Studio, they have exceptional talents too?

    No way!

    Then why are they so skilled?

    Is it really Shadow who taught them?

    Just how terrifyingly talented is Shadow!?

    Boom!

    Everyone was stupefied!

    No one criticized Shadow anymore!

    It''s not that people are unwilling to accept the transition of Shadow''s comics to his assistants.

    After all, they know it''s impossible for Shadow alone to be responsible for four series at the same time for a long period.

    People are just afraid that if the comics were handed over to assistants, they may not be skillful enough.

    But now, what''s there to complain about?

    Any of these assistants, plucked from Shadow''s team, has top-level artist skills!

    Who cares who drew them!

    As long as Shadow is in charge of the story, as long as the images are exciting, there is nothing to complain about, it wouldn''t affect the readers at all!

    Damn!

    After all these times, Yeshenchen and Tianmen have been fighting against Shadow''s students, and they couldn''t even win!

    No one criticized anymore! S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    People were even excited!

    Without the burden of drawing, wouldn''t Shadow have more energy to create storylines?

    No matter how good the drawing is, it''s worthless without a story.

    The story is the soul of the comic, like a naturally beautiful woman, the artist is just responsible for the styling and makeup to make her shine in front of everyone.

    "That''s awesome!"

    Truly fragrant never fails!

    Some even proclaimed directly that the Shadow Studio is a celestial team!

    It truly is a celestial team.

    Under Lin Yuan''s guidance, any assistant in the studio can hold their own!

    ¡­

    At this time, other artists were probably the most dumbfounded.

    Ordinary people don''t know, but they understand very well, what level of artist is needed to cultivate these level of students!

    In the comic world, the master leads the apprentice into the door, but one needs to practice themselves.

    No matter who it is, even if they emptying their knowledge, it is unlikely to produce a prodigy capable of competing with the assistants of Shadow Studio!

    Yet, Shadow has done it!

    And he produced five at once!

    Actually, this is a point that everyone doesn''t know about.

    Luo Wei''s comic talent isn''t entirely taught by Lin Yuan.

    As the president of Qin Art club, Luo Wei''s level is already very high, she is the type who could have made a name for herself in the painting circle even if she didn''t meet Shadow.

    As for the other assistants?

    Their drawings hardly differ from Shadows, but that''s not to say their level can compete with Lin Yuan.

    For instance.

    It''s like a hundred point test.

    Lin Yuan can score a hundred, the assistants can score ninety-five.

    It seems there is a small gap, but the difference between the assistants and Shadow is actually much more than five points.

    Because Shadow scored a hundred because the paper has only a hundred points!

    One can only say, letting Shadow do the examination paper for the comics is like letting a university student in the literature faculty write a primary student''s essay.

    If that''s the case, why should Lin Yuan do it himself?

    With the aide of the system''s Teacher''s Halo, wouldn''t it be better to teach a few assistants to help him out?

    For a moment.

    These assistants of Shadow became famous, and netizens nicknamed this group of people the "Shadow Group".

    A very fitting description.

    Someone even directly compared it to Xian Yu''s Yu Dynasty!

    This was because a certain netizen commented:

    "Shadow now has the Shadow Group, they are all insanely talented, these assistants are now similar to Xian Yu''s descendants!"

    This comment was widely recognized.

    After all, the names of these assistants are now directly associated with several super-popular comics, and Shadow has provided them with a brilliant stage for self-display!

    What''s more important is:

    They are now under the halo of being Shadow''s students!

    The more powerful Shadow is, the more powerful they are; the more powerful they are, the more powerful Shadow seems!

    And when Lin Yuan saw the "Shadow Group", the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, and then a strange thought arose in his heart.

    The Yu Dynasty?

    The Shadow Group?

    Chu Kuang: Am I the clown?

    Are the Shadow''s thoughts drifting, or can I, Chu Kuang, no longer handle the knife?

    Forget it.

    Let''s not dwell into this.

    We''ll continue with the Tribe later.

    The agitation in the comic circle has come to a stop for the time being.

    He is now getting ready to switch over to his main account, Xian Yu, after all, the season leaderboard has only just reached halftime.

    What song should he release next?

 Chapter 757 - 722 Bluelympics_1

    The next day.

    Sunday.

    As Lin Yuan got up, he met Lin Yao who had just come back from outside, her hand always leading the spirited Antarctica.

    Big Yaoyao complained: "Brother has been sleeping a lot lately, these past few days it''s Antarctica who''s been walking me!"

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    Still the aftermath of the seven-day burst of the Shadow comic.

    He had recently been napping a bit more each day than usual to make up for the lost sleep.

    This in turn meant he had no time to walk the dog, so he had to let other people in the house help.

    "Time for breakfast."

    Sister Lin Xuan called out.

    On her Sunday off, she took over cooking for mom.

    Mom, on the other hand, took advantage of the rare rest to sit on the sofa watching the news.

    The older folks always seemed to like to turn up the TV volume.

    The passionate voice of the news anchor echoed through the living room: "The Qin Continent men''s basketball team has recently been training in closed sessions. Four years ago, at the Bluelympics, we lost regretfully to the Zhong Continent due to a certain Zhou''s unexpected pass while competing for the championship. This time we are fighting on our home ground ..."

    "There''s a lot of Bluelympics news lately."

    Mom got up and sat at the dining table, casually saying with a sigh. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Sister said with a mouthful of food, murmuring, "After all, it is the biggest event in the sports world, held once every four years. Our company wants to promote more sports competitive novels on this hot topic."

    Lin Yuan didn''t join the conversation.

    After finishing a bowl of porridge and eating a poached egg, he skillfully rubbed Antarctica''s dog head, wiping off the possibly non-existent grease:

    "I''m off to work."

    "Hmm."

    The family continued to chat.

    Antarctica then began its daily activity of licking its fur.

    It won''t be long before it looks shiny.

    ...

    Lin Yuan took the car the chairman had given him to Starlight Entertainment.

    The driver was not Gu Dong, but the driver assigned to him by the company.

    Unless there''s a special circumstance, the driver would pick up and drop off Lin Yuan to and from work every day.

    The car''s audio system was also broadcasting a piece of morning news:

    "The Bluelympics is to be held on August 1st this year in Qin Continent''s largest Grand Stadium. The countdown has officially begun and athletes from all parts of the continent are actively preparing for the Bluelympics..."

    Lin Yuan''s lips curled up.

    The Bluelympics held every four years.

    Isn''t that just the Olympics on Earth?

    Despite being in different time and space, Blue Star and Earth had a lot in common, a fact that always made Lin Yuan feel at home.

    ...

    Fifteen minutes later.

    Inside the company office.

    Lin Yuan was holding the new toy given by Sun Yaohuo in his left hand, propping his chin with his right hand, thinking about what song to use for the chart next month.

    The matter with Shadow had delayed him quite a bit.

    He had to hurry up and record the songs.

    Luckily, he had quite a few backup pieces. These were songs Lin Yuan had carefully selected from the system''s song library and felt they had a good chance of hitting the charts.

    Just then.

    Lin Yuan suddenly saw Wu Yong, the deputy director of the composition department, rushing in in a hurry.

    "What''s wrong?"

    Lin Yuan looked up at him.

    Wu Yong, out of breath, said: "I just received news that the Bluelympics official committee is soliciting promotional songs for this year''s Bluelympics from the industry!"

    "Bluelympics promotional song?"

    Lin Yuan said, "Does the company want me to write one..."

    "It''s not the company wants you to write, it''s that you have to write, and it must be chosen by the committee. Otherwise, your path to a twelve-time championship on the seasonal chart could be ended by this!"

    Wu Yong sounded anxious.

    Lin Yuan was perplexed: "Why?"

    "Official promotion!"

    Wu Yong said bitter-sweetly: "The Bluelympics promotional song will definitely be promoted by the officials. Add the recent influence of the Bluelympics. This song will inevitably top the charts next month, topping the charts without reason. It''s hard for any song to match the heat of the official Bluelympics promotional song!"

    "Oh!"

    Lin Yuan suddenly realized.

    No wonder Wu Yong said he had to write one that was chosen by the Bluelympics committee.

    Official promotion.

    He had come across it before.

    The song he had previously written for Chen Zhiyu, "Change the World," which was originally destined for second place, ended up becoming champion as it was unexpectedly promoted by the officials and managed to beat Fei Yang.

    At the end of last year.

    In his duel against Yang Zhongming, because Blue Star promoted Yang Zhongming''s song, the suspense ended abruptly, causing Lin Yuan to miss out on a third consecutive championship in the Battle of the Gods.

    It can be said that his success was due to official support, and his failure was also due to official interference.

    Unexpectedly, he now encountered a similar situation, and it happened to be at the critical moment of his contesting for his twelfth championship!

    The difference this time...

    This time he learned the news in advance.

    Fortunately.

    Lin Yuan was somewhat relieved.

    According to Wu Yong, as long as his song gets official promotion, he won''t have to worry about the championship next month.

    Thinking about this.

    Lin Yuan said, "I can submit a song."

    He didn''t plan to compete with official promotional songs for popularity.

    Ordinary official promotions would have been fine, as Lin Yuan is confident of taking a risk, or even using some of his top-notch works if necessary. However, this time it''s the Bluelympics!

    Blue Star''s quadrennial sporting event!

    Considering Blue Star''s enthusiasm for the Bluelympics, any official promotional songs have a natural advantage and are incredibly popular!

    "If you can''t beat them, join them."

    For the sake of his twelfth consecutive championship, Lin Yuan made a heartfelt decision.

    "We definitely have to give it a try."

    Wu Yong added, "Actually, there aren''t any major demands for this song. It mainly needs to promote Qin Continent, preferably in the popular form of a stars collaboration, with lyrics about the host city.

    Because the Bluelympics promotional song is decided by us in Qin Continent, the officials take it very seriously¡ªthey remember it can take decades before each continent gets another chance to host the Bluelympics¡­and at that point, the still-unmerged continents will also broadcast the competitions¡­"

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Wu Yong suddenly sighed.

    "Originally, the song wouldn''t have had such a big impact, but who knew the officials would announce that the song would be released on the first day of next month? If the song is released on the first day, its effect on the championship will be huge. It will almost certainly become the champion''s song, and other composers will wisely give way.

    After all, there''s no way to reason with that kind of power¡ªit''s unstoppable!"

    Lin Yuan: "Mhm."

    Wu Yong looked very troubled, "You do your best this time. Even if it isn''t chosen, it''s not your fault."

    Lin Yuan read between the lines, "Does the official committee have high standards?"

    "It''s not about having high or low standards..."

    Wu Yong reluctantly said, "It mainly depends on the Bluelympics Organizing Committee''s tastes. Every Bluelympics, Blue Star votes amongst the submitted songs. However, a terrifying fact is: the official promotional songs of the previous three Bluelympics have all come from one person, the composer known as Teacher Huang Dongzheng. He excels at official custom songs."

    "Huang Dongzheng?"

    Lin Yuan asked, "Is he a maestro?"

    Wu Yong shook his head, "Like you, Huang Dongzheng hasn''t reached the level of maestro. But his talent is unusual. He always effortlessly wins various official custom song awards, even outdoing the maestros. After all, these types of songs are unique.

    They don''t compete on who has more intricate composition or who has deeper song concepts, but merely on things like how catchy the song is and how universally appealing it is. Those who can get official promotion are often simple melodies paired with straightforward lyrics."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    A lot of official promotion songs are indeed like this.

    They''re more about fitting expression than high technical skill.

    Like "Good Luck."

    Saying it has high technical level isn''t exactly appropriate¡ªit owes its achievement mainly to creating the right mood.

    Simple and festive.

    It easily resonates with people.

    For instance.

    If you ask top game developers to make a game with strong operability and an incredibly grand worldview, they can definitely do it.

    Technical prowess is clear to see.

    But if you make these top developers compete against small game developers on who can make a more popular small game?

    The outcome of who will lose and who will win isn''t guaranteed!

    After all, many popular small games are created by little-known game developers.

    That''s their field of expertise.

    However.

    Who dares say Lin (System) Yuan isn''t good at this kind of thing?

    Wu Yong didn''t know what Lin Yuan was thinking.

    His mind was filled with regret, and it seemed he had already foreseen that this year''s promotional song would again fall into Huang Dongzheng''s hands.

    It''s not because Lin Yuan isn''t capable enough.

    It''s just bad timing that Maestro Junior, who is gunning for his twelfth consecutive championship, has encountered the quadrennial Bluelympics. And that Huang Dongzheng is too good at this type of song, to the point where he''s almost become the spokesperson for official promotional songs.

    "Don''t put too much pressure on yourself..."

    Wu Yong reluctantly reassured Lin Yuan a few times, then left the office with a troubled expression.

    Meanwhile, Lin Yuan went ahead and searched for detailed news about the Bluelympics. The web was full of related news, as the Bluelympics was undoubtedly the most exciting event at the moment.

    In the end.

    Lin Yuan''s eyes fell on the last few words of the official introduction to this year''s Bluelympics:

    ''Location: Beijing, Qin Continent.''

    Lin Yuan suddenly knew which song he should submit.

 Chapter 758 - 723: Welcome to Qin Continent_1

    A few days later!

    Qin Continent, Beijing!

    Bluelympics Organizing Committee!

    Twenty-one leaders of the Bluelympics Organizing Committee were gathered in the same room, seriously discussing the major details of the Bluelympics opening ceremony.

    When some important rules and regulations were set, Zhou Jianqi, the person in charge of the Bluelympics, suddenly asked: sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "How''s the collection of promotional songs going?"

    "After we sent out the solicitation for the Bluelympic songs, the response within the industry was very intense. Many top musicians have joined in, including Huang Dongzheng, who we value the most, as well as some very famous maestros. We have already selected twenty songs, all of which sound excellent. It''s time for us to make the final decision by voting today."

    Someone answered.

    A middle-aged man wearing glasses in the room laughed:

    "Why bother voting? We''ll surely choose the song composed by Huang Dongzheng this year. The quality of those maestros'' works are indeed top-notch, but when it comes to this type of song, no one does it better than Huang Dongzheng!"

    "That''s true."

    Someone on the side followed, "I took a special listen to Huang Dongzheng''s song before this meeting. It''s called ''Holy Fire'', and it fits our requirements perfectly. He indeed deserves his status for creating the promotional song for successive Bluelympics for three editions."

    Everyone laughed.

    Since the Bluelympics are only held every four years, Huang Dongzheng has composed promotional songs for the event thrice, an achievement that has spanned numerous years.

    Some people even said:

    Huang Dongzheng is the chosen one for the Bluelympics promotional song. At each Bluelympics, it''s Huang Dongzheng''s time to shine and outperform all other maestros.

    Of course.

    Saying that Huang Dongzheng''s song would be picked directly was just a joke. The due processes still need to be followed. The Bluelympics Organising Committee would never act irresponsibly in such matters.

    Zhou Jianqi said:

    "We''ve been in this meeting for half the day, it''s time to enjoy some pleasant music."

    Everyone nodded.

    Before playing the songs, the staff introduced the song information:

    "The first song is called ''Come on, Bluelympics Athletes'', created by the maestro Mr. Xinxin."

    Everyone remained silent.

    The song began to play.

    After listening to the first song, they nodded. Then, they whispered, exchanging opinions. They were generally satisfied.

    The standard of the maestro was evident.

    The song was very nice.

    But something seemed to be lacking?

    The discussion ended.

    Zhou Jianqi signaled to play the next song.

    The staff member nodded and continued to introduce the next song before playing it, "The second song is called ''Charming Qin Continent'', the creator is also a maestro¡­"

    And so.

    They had listened to twelve songs in sequence.

    These songs were all good. With them having made it through from the large number of submissions, their quality was assured. However, none of them were yet to completely move everyone.

    Until the thirteenth song!

    When introducing this song, the staff''s voice seemed to change:

    "This song is called ''Holy Fire'', created by Mr. Huang Dongzheng¡­"

    There was a slight change in people''s expressions.

    A few minutes later.

    Smiles appeared at the corners of their mouths!

    "Good!"

    "This one''s good!"

    "As expected, it has to be Huang Dongzheng!"

    "Unless there''s a surprise, this edition''s promotional song will be ''Holy Fire''."

    "Mmm."

    "Huang Dongzheng is really good."

    "It seems he''s set to compose the promotional song for the Bluelympics for four editions consecutively, for a whole ten-plus years. That''s not easy."

    "It''s not worse than the promotional song from the last edition."

    "Honestly, I think it''s not as good as the one from the last edition, but it''s certainly better than the other songs."

    "The main thing is it feels more appropriate overall."

    "He''s a musician who understands the spirit of the Bluelympics."

    "If the lyrics of ''Holy Fire'' could highlight our city, Qin Continent, that would be even better."

    "¡­"

    The Bluelympics has a tradition of passing on the ''holy fire''. Huang Dongzheng''s choice of theme for his song is very fitting.

    "Keep listening."

    Zhou Jianqi spoke softly.

    Even though they liked Huang Dongzheng''s song the most so far, they still had to finish listening to the remaining songs. Everyone agreed.

    The fourteenth song...

    The fifteenth song...

    The sixteenth song...

    The songs that followed didn''t impress them quite as much as ''Holy Fire''. They fell short here or there.

    Zhou Jianqi frowned slightly.

    He was basically satisfied with ''Holy Fire'', but being basically satisfied and fully satisfied were two different concepts.

    He felt...

    Huang Dongzheng''s song this year was slightly inferior to the ones he had created for the previous three Bluelympics.

    He wasn''t a professional musician and so he couldn''t quite pinpoint where the issue was.

    However, it was this unexplainable flaw that was irking him slightly. He hoped that there would be a song coming up that could really dazzle him.

    However.

    As the number of songs left to play began to dwindle, he still hadn''t heard anything better than "Holy Fire".

    His irritation only grew.

    At this point, the voice of a staff member resonated again, "Up next is the nineteenth song. The composer is... Xian Yu, and the song is called "Beijing Welcomes You".

    "Xian Yu?"

    Someone in the audience raised an eyebrow, "I know this young man, he''s an incredibly talented composer. It seems like he''s aiming for his twelfth consecutive season win."

    "My daughter is a huge fan of his, even said something about helping Xian Yu top some chart. I, as an old man, don''t really know what all that means."

    "Who''s this ''Chart'', and why are we hitting him?"

    "I think I''ve heard of this too. You old-fashioned bunch, chart-topping is the act of supporting musicians to win a ranking in the seasonal chart. If I''m not mistaken, Xian Yu has already won six times in a row."

    "No wonder he submitted a song."

    A female director spoke up with a hint of regret.

    "If he wants to achieve a seventh consecutive win, he needs his new song in July to surpass our Bluelympics promotional song in popularity. That''s practically impossible, so his only choice is to gamble on his song being chosen."

    It''s not hard to guess Xian Yu''s intentions.

    Everyone chuckles upon hearing this.

    "Haha, this kid sure is determined."

    "We can''t be blamed though, the Bluelympics is a major event currently, and this is the first time Qin Continent is hosting after waiting in queue for decades!"

    "Too bad we have Huang Dongzheng here."

    "If he could actually write a song better than "Holy Fire", that would be something. I quite like the title though."

    "The title is indeed good, but it is all about the overall quality."

    "Huang Dongzheng''s songs are always spectacular!"

    "..."

    Everyone seemed to have already assumed the song choice, they casually chatted among each other. Of course everyone hoped for a better song than Huang Dongzheng''s, but that just didn''t seem likely.

    Zhou Jianqi quietly sighed.

    So, are they going to choose Huang Dongzheng''s "Holy Fire" after all?

    He was not quite ready to accept this!

    There must be.....

    Hmm?

    Zhou Jianqi suddenly felt something!

    Unbeknownst to him, the room was already filled with music and then a catchy tune was heard.

    Instant silence fell in the room.

    "Welcome another dawn, bringing fresh air,

    The atmosphere changes but the mood remains, filled with the aroma of tea and friendship,

    My home''s doors are always wide open, holding open arms for you,

    An embrace builds an understanding, you''ll fall in love with this place,

    No matter how near or far, you''re all guests here, there''s no need for formalities,

    We made a pact to be together, we welcome you,

    ..."

    The room fell silent, the only sound left was the continued singing.

    Listening to this song, the Bluelympics directors who were previously engaged in casual chatter, were all stunned.

    The next moment!

    Everyone''s faces lit up, quickly exchanging looks of excitement as if they had discovered some priceless treasure!

    Simultaneously!

    Zhou Jianqi''s breath began to quicken, like a rush of exhilaration had surged through him¡ª

    Yes!

    Finally!

    This was the feeling!

    This was what he was seeking!

    This was the message that should be conveyed by the Bluelympics promotional song of Qin Continent!

    This was the sensation caused when our brainwaves completely matched the song "Beijing Welcomes You"!

    The room buzzed with excitement!

    "Such a nice song!"

    "This song feels so good to listen to!"

    "It seems even better than "Holy Fire"!"

    "Remove ''seems'', even though I really like Huang Dongzheng, I have to admit that this is simply better than "Holy Fire"!"

    "Do we even need to vote?"

    "Surely, it has to be this one!"

    "The melody is good, the concept is excellent. Look at these lyrics, it really hits home. Isn''t this song tailor-made for our Qin Continent''s Beijing!"

    "Beijing Welcomes You!"

    "Qin Continent Welcomes You!"

    "We can find some stars in Qin Continent to sing together, leveraging all the star power to help Xian Yu''s song achieve that...."

    "Chart topping!"

    Yes, chart topping!

    We''ll top this chart first!

 Chapter 759 - 724 The Song for Cheering Athletes_1

    "Was it selected?"

    When Wu Yong received the notice from the Bluelympics organizing committee, he was stunned for a few seconds, then his face turned red with excitement!

    They did it!

    Mr. Lin actually beat Huang Dongzheng, the man who composed the songs for the Bluelympics for three consecutive years, to win this opportunity!

    Fantastic!

    Initially, Wu Yong hadn''t held out much hope, and had regretted it for several days, given the massive threat posed by Huang Dongzheng. But now, this surprise news filled him with happiness.

    Because Mr. Lin''s song being selected by the Bluelympics also meant:

    Next month''s season champion will certainly be Xian Yu''s to take.

    What was originally the most challenging goal has now been effortlessly achieved!

    About ten minutes later.

    Lin Yuan received the news.

    With vibrant enthusiasm, Wu Yong told him about the situation: "The Bluelympics committee also wants to invite you over to discuss areas for adjustment in the song. They''re planning to make a video recording of this song sung by over a hundred stars, and it will be broadcast on major TV stations and online networks starting from next month.

    The list of participating stars will also include you as the songwriter in the discussion and decision-making process. As a company, we hope that you can give our artists more opportunities."

    "Got it."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    It''s all about having connections.

    This is why as long as a song is selected by the Bluelympics, it is bound to top the season chart next month.

    Who can stand against the bombardment of all the major TV stations and the internet, and also a chorus by over a hundred stars? Even a mediocre song can easily take off and top the charts in this kind of promotional lineup! S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Moreover, this song is not bad.

    After all, it was the promotional theme song for the 2008 Olympics in the Celestial Dynasty on Earth, with such a wide influence that almost everyone could sing it. Plus, it matches the theme of the Bluelympics on Blue Star very well.

    Since this song was created from the perspective of ordinary people, it eschews fanciful elements, using a common folk song style that is catchy and easy to sing, making it suitable for widespread dissemination.

    Not to mention professional singers.

    As long as they''re not tone-deaf, anyone can sing this song.

    What matters is to express the emotions of joy and welcome; the key point is that the feelings for Qin Continent need to be sincere. That''s why when Lin Yuan first saw the word "Beijing", the first thing that came to his mind was this particular song.

    As for the invitation from the Bluelympics?

    Lin Yuan had no intention of refusing, and he believed that no musician would refuse to collaborate with the Bluelympics.

    We must remember that the Bluelympics, as one of the top sports events on the entire Blue Star, will attract the attention of people worldwide. It''s an event that will be recorded in history. When people recall this Bluelympics in the future, they will undoubtedly remember this song.

    This kind of official collaboration project can not only leave a flamboyant mark on one''s resume, but the potential prestige value is also terrifyingly high!

    Such a great opportunity.

    Lin Yuan wouldn''t miss it.

    He planned to get all of the singers from the Yu Dynasty involved. It''s only natural to bring his own people along for such a good thing. With over a hundred stars participating in the performance in his previous life, it wouldn''t be hard to squeeze in the top-tier singers from the Yu Dynasty. As said before, this is a song that everyone can sing.

    "I''ll reply to them then."

    Wu Yong was already impatient!

    Mr. Lin''s collaboration with the official Bluelympics is exciting news for the entire company! Although the promotional theme songs for the past few Bluelympics were all composed by Huang Dongzheng, Huang Dongzheng was never involved in the song recording or singer selection process!

    This is the Bluelympics!

    You think you can get an official invitation just by writing a few songs that satisfy the Bluelympics committee? That''s too naive!

    Mr. Lin is different.

    As Xian Yu, he''s already become a popular figure in Qin Continent, and all the singers are compliant with Xian Yu''s arrangements. In addition to him composing a well-received promotional theme song, the Bluelympics also invited Xian Yu in hopes of boosting the popularity of this year''s Bluelympics in Qin Continent using Xian Yu''s fame!

    Xian Yu is worthy of this!

    Moreover, Xian Yu''s personal image is excellent. He hasn''t had any negative news since his debut, and if there''s even the slightest unsuitable behavior, the Bluelympics surely wouldn''t invite him. This top-level event on Blue Star won''t tolerate any untowardness.

    ...

    Beijing is the largest city in Qin Continent, and its development is comparable only to Su City where Lin Yuan resides, and a few other cities. This is why the Bluelympics in Qin Continent chose to be held in Beijing.

    That afternoon.

    Lin Yuan headed directly to Beijing.

    The invitation from there seemed quite urgent, as the song would be released at the beginning of next month, so they had to settle everything as soon as possible for the recording.

    At seven o''clock in the evening.

    Lin Yuan arrived in Beijing.

    He was received by an official Bluelympics staff member and directly moved into the official designated hotel with his assistant Gu Dong and a driver.

    The driver chosen by the company chairman for Lin Yuan actually had a part-time identity as a bodyguard, in case Lin Yuan ran into trouble when he was away from Su City.

    When he was alone, it was very likely he would need a bodyguard.

    The company even planned to provide Lin Yuan with a few extra bodyguards, but Lin Yuan declined. He didn''t want to have a crowd around him whenever he did anything.

    Shortly after checking into the hotel.

    There was a knock at the door.

    Gu Dong opened the door to check and then became very careful.

    There were about ten people outside the door, all dressed very seriously, clearly official personnel.

    Gu Dong recognized one of them.

    It was Di Fan, the most famous film and television director in Qin Continent. It was rumored that Di Fan was the overall director for the opening ceremony of this Bluelympics!

    "Hello."

    Di Fan greeted with a smile: "Is Teacher Xian Yu in?"

    "Yes!"

    Gu Dong nodded repeatedly with a submissive look, then stood aside: "Leaders, please come in... Teacher Xian Yu!"

    She turned her head and called out.

    Lin Yuan was lying on his bed playing on his phone. Hearing the call, he got up and came out¡ª

    His room was a high-end suite with several rooms connected together, so the space was very spacious.

    "Teacher Admirable Fish, nice to meet you, I am Di Fan, the chief director of the Bluelympics."

    Di Fan recognized Lin Yuan at a glance and extended his hand with a smile, "Nice to meet you."

    "Hello, Mr. Di."

    Lin Yuan shook hands with him, meanwhile unveiled a smile that met social expectations, "Hello, everyone."

    "Hi, I''m Jin Hong from Qin Continent Sports Bureau ..."

    "Hello, I am Jia Guanhao from Qin Continent Culture Bureau ..."

    "..."

    The others also greeted Lin Yuan.

    These people were all big shots, carrying an imposing aura from their high positions, but no one tried to outdo Lin Yuan.

    Everyone was very enthusiastic and polite.

    Admirable Fish is also not a small figure in the music industry.

    A group of people took turns shaking hands with Lin Yuan.

    After various formalities.

    Di Fan said with a smile: "We all like this song by Teacher Admirable Fish, but we came today to discuss with you about modifying the song. How about changing the title of this song directly to ''Qin Continent Welcomes You''?"

    If it was a song with Huang Dongzheng, everyone could decide on their own.

    However, this song is created by Admirable Fish, so the Bluelympics wanted to give heads up and show respect.

    "No problem."

    Lin Yuan was flexible, of course, he didn''t mind such changes. After all, the song needs to fit the occasion.

    "If the title of the song is changed, the lyrics may need some minor adjustments."

    The leader of the Culture Bureau laughed and said: "The ending of the first verse of the song is ''we welcome you'', the second verse ends with ''Beijing welcomes you'', and we were thinking of changing the ending of the third verse to ''Qin Continent welcomes you'', how''s that?"

    "Okay."

    A leader from the Literature and Art Association said: "It would be better if you also join in. There are a few lines that are quite representative, and we think you would be the most suitable one to sing them."

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan was easy-going.

    Di Fan said: "Actually, there are hardly any modifications in the song, our main purpose of coming here is something else."

    Lin Yuan asked: "What is it?"

    This time it was the turn of the representative from the Sports Bureau to speak: "It''s still about writing songs. We want to ask you to write another song to cheer up our athletes from Qin Continent..."

    Cheer up?

    Lin Yuan laughed.

    Bluelympics is a treasure trove of prestige.

    After clinching the theme song for promotion, Lin Yuan was still considering ways to further tap into the prestige from the Bluelympics, and the opportunity just knocked on his door.

    This did not bother him at all:

    "I will write it tonight."

    Everyone was taken aback, you are writing it tonight?

    Hearing this, it sounded like he could finish it overnight, as if he was a primary school student finishing homework.

    Probably not with that meaning.

    After the initial surprise, everyone continued to discuss with Lin Yuan about the issues related to "Qin Continent Welcomes You".

    "We should also invite some singers from other states, not just from Qin Continent..."

    The discussion went on.

    However, when Lin Yuan expressed his hope to involve singers from the Yu Dynasty, no one was against it.

    The Bluelympics approached Lin Yuan for help, they ought to do him some favors.

    They are not narrow-minded leaders.

    Lin Yuan was easy to get along with, so were they. Plus, the singers from the Yu Dynasty were top-tier, definitely qualified.

    After almost an hour of discussion.

    Everyone was pretty satisfied with each other''s company.

    When leaving, several leaders cheerfully asked Lin Yuan for his autograph, all having the same reason:

    "My daughter likes you very much ..."

    "My son is your fan ..."

    "My grandson loves your ''Spiderman''!"

    "My wife is a fan of yours ..."

    "I like you ..."

    Lin Yuan willingly signed for everyone.

    After everyone had left, Gu Dong was still shocked and overjoyed to have met a group of big shots. If she were not Lin Yuan''s assistant, she might never have had the chance to meet these important figures in her life.

    Inside the master bedroom.

    Lin Yuan was considering what kind of song would be suitable to cheer up the athletes of Qin Continent.

    Such a song should be inspiring, better with a touch of rock.

    A cheer-up song should not be feeble, it''s all about delivering the momentum, regardless of the match results.

    Well?

    With so many choices, Lin Yuan was almost dazzled trying to pick one from the music library.

    Right.

    How about this one?

    After all, this song is not for chart ranking, it suffices to choose a decent one from the music library. Finally, Lin Yuan set his sights on one of the songs in the system''s music library -

    Believe in Yourself!

 Chapter 760 - 725: Who Said The Officials Wont Hype It Up_1

    The next day.

    Lin Yuan started liaising with the Bluelympics staff, undertaking the selection of singers and recording for the song "Welcome to the Qin Continent."

    Meanwhile, in the outside world.

    As the Bluelympics were drawing near, news about the event was increasing rapidly!

    People could hear all sorts of news about the Bluelympics just by turning on the television!

    The trending lists of both Tribes and blogs were dominated by the training updates from various sports celebrities!

    Even a topic about a certain A-list actress having a baby out of wedlock was pushed out of the top ten, which showed just how much impact the Bluelympics had!

    It was all starting from these few days!

    Everyone around the world suddenly became sports fanatics!

    All major forums were discussing the athletes'' strength rankings among the continents, with verbal battles aplenty and everyone acting like a sports expert!

    Each continent was bragging about having the strongest athletes in a certain sport!

    The regional rivalry was one of the major attractions of the Bluelympics!

    Wanted to trend in entertainment news? Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    That was possible.

    But first, these celebrities needed to interact with sports figures to gain popularity!

    The strategy was quite common.

    Some pretended to be basketball fans...

    Others cosplayed as football babies...

    No one knew if it was true love, but the ball they were playing with was certainly big.

    If the ball wasn''t big enough, what should they do?

    They would claim to be fans of table tennis.

    Some celebrities, in a bid for attention, even publicly confessed their love to some sports hunk¡ª

    This was the Bluelympics!

    The Bluelympics that everyone paid attention to!

    Even the entertainment industry had to ride the wave to stay relevant!

    While numerous topics about the Bluelympics were garnering attention, the Bluelympics Committee suddenly announced some news:

    [The 41st Bluelympics promotional theme song has been confirmed and will be officially released on July 1st!]

    All of a sudden!

    Everyone was discussing it on the internet!

    "The promo song for this year is confirmed?"

    "The composer should still be Huang Dongzheng, right?"

    "Do we need even to ask, Huang Dongzheng has been writing promotional songs for the Bluelympics for three consecutive years now!"

    "Dude, it''s happening!"

    "It''s time for Huang Dongzheng to beat all the maestros again!"

    "Huang Dongzheng is undoubtedly the chosen one for the Bluelympics. Normally his songs are just gold medal level, facing the maestros, usually, he gets beaten that it''s even cringe-worthy. But when it comes to times like these, he always manages to transcend and get a Bluelympics buff, beating everyone who dared to disrespect!"

    "Agreed, Huang Dongzheng in July is invincible; the season ranking champion has been announced in advance!"

    "Huang Dongzheng is good at pulling the maestros onto his own turf, where he utilizes his wide range of experience to defeat them!"

    "..."

    While discussing excitedly, someone suddenly felt it was not quite right.

    Alright.

    These people were indeed slow to react.

    The quick-responding netizens noticed the oddity immediately!

    Spit-take!

    Someone spat out a mouthful of soda on the screen, typing frantically, they managed to push Admirable Fish to the top of the trending list, which had been completely dominated by the sports industry recently!

    "Holy crap!"

    "Fish Papa is aiming for a twelve-chain victory!"

    "He has already won six times consecutively. He was supposed to win easily in July since there aren''t many maestros. But now a promo song for the Bluelympics surfaces?"

    "It''s over!"

    "How can he win now!"

    "Given the official promotion of promo songs in previous years, the Bluelympics promo song is definitely going to be champion next month!"

    "Fish Papa got ganked by the officials again!"

    "If I remember correctly, during the last Gods'' Battle, when Fish Papa and Father Yang had a showdown, the officials also ganked Fish Papa..."

    "The officials are Fish Papa''s nemesis, aren''t they!"

    "I can accept Fish Papa falling during the Gods'' Battle since all monsters and ghosts come out during that period, but to fall in July would be too unjust!"

    "The one who ends Fish Papa''s reign is Huang Dongzheng?"

    "Damn it!"

    "Huang Dongzheng can brag about this for a year. During the last three Bluelympics, he not only defeated countless maestros but now even ended Fish Papa''s twelve-chain victories!"

    "..."

    The netizens were dumbfounded!

    No one expected something like this to happen!

    How will Admirable Fish cope with this now?

    Are we expecting Admirable Fish''s new song in July to topple the Bluelympics promo song?

    Don''t be a joke!

    Even the most renowned maestros on Blue Star couldn''t do such a thing!

    It''s physically impossible!

    Ever heard of the phrase a technical expert can be knocked down with a single punch?

    The officials were cheating!

    No one could stop the Bluelympics'' unstoppable momentum!

    Especially now that the Bluelympics promo song would be released on July first!

    Which just happened to be the day the new music ranking season began!

    If it were to be released in the middle or the end of the month, Admirable Fish might have had a chance to fight back!

    In an instant!

    Countless netizens were left regretful!

    Even the people in the music industry were left flabbergasted!

    Was Admirable Fish''s seven-chain victory really going to end just like this?

    It wasn''t taken down by any maestro.

    It wasn''t shot down by the Zhongzhou Universe Team.

    To be precise, it wasn''t ended by Huang Dongzheng...

    Because no matter if it''s Huang Dongzheng or Ma Dongzheng, as long as it is a promotional song approved and launched by the officials, it will definitely crush everything!

    Honestly speaking!

    This kind of ending, even the industry doesn''t want to see it.

    It feels like a repetition of the Battle of Gods last year, and in a more helpless way!

    Blame the officials?

    This kind of thing can''t be blamed on the officials.

    It''s not like everyone in the world has to make way for Xian Yu as he goes for his twelfth championship, right?

    In one sentence, it can be described as:

    Everything is fate, no one can control it.

    On the other side.

    At an official designated recording studio in Beijing.

    The singers arrive one after another.

    The singers of the Yu Dynasty who were named also came.

    Unlike the other singers with smiling faces.

    When Sun Yaohuo and other Yu Dynasty singers arrived at the recording studio, their faces were filled with gloom.

    Not that they didn''t want to participate in the recording of the promotional song.

    What singer would turn down such a good opportunity?

    Even the biggest stars would drop their current projects to participate in the recording of the promotional song.

    It''s a mark of prestige, and an honor!

    Especially for singers from the Qin Continent!

    What bothered Sun Yaohuo and the others is that the song they were going to record could possibly end Xian Yu''s seven-time winning streak...

    Because of this, there has been a huge uproar in the outside world.

    Of course, Sun Yaohuo and others received the news, which is why everyone is in a bad mood. The Yu Dynasty wants Xian Yu to win the twelfth championship more than anyone else.

    However.

    When Sun Yaohuo and others finished recording the song and were about to leave, they were suddenly taken to a hidden room by several officials.

    In the room.

    Lin Yuan said: "Hello everyone."

    Everyone was stunned.

    Why is Teacher Admirable Fish here?

    Lin Yuan revealed a helpless smile.

    In the beginning, Lin Yuan was just as bewildered as everyone else.

    Why wouldn''t the Bluelympics just officially announce that he is the composer of the main theme song for this Bluelympics?

    It looks like...

    They are purposefully misleading everyone?

    It wasn''t until Di Fan explained to Lin Yuan that he realized:

    The officials did it on purpose!

    Everyone knows that Xian Yu is going for his twelfth championship!

    If so...

    Why not take the opportunity to play a little surprise?

    Give this year''s Bluelympics a boost!

    Who knows.

    It could become a beautiful story to tell in the future!

    The officials did put a lot of thought into this, wanting to make this Bluelympics stand out from the beginning.

    You can imagine.

    When everyone thought that Xian Yu would definitely lose in July, all of a sudden they found out that the Bluelympics promotional song was...

    Surprise or not?

    Expected or not?

    Exciting or not?

    Don''t be afraid, everyone!

    This time the officials are on our side!

    What Lin Yuan needs to do is to stay hidden, keep this a secret and the officials won''t reveal the details either.

    Just a few days.

    Because a few days later, the song will be released.

    After hearing Lin Yuan''s explanation...

    Sun Yaohuo and others were both amused and exasperated!

    Who said the officials wouldn''t create hype?

    This hype tactic was clearly well-practiced!

    Lin Yuan didn''t comment on the officials'' hype tactics, he just stated his purpose:

    "I called you here to record another song to boost the morale of the athletes from Qin Continent. Let''s sing it together."

    Lin Yuan defined the Bluelympics as a treasure of prestige.

    To take advantage of the Bluelympics, he must share the benefits evenly.

    "Okay!"

    The surprising turnaround revived Sun Yaohuo and others, making them feel as if they were back on their feet again, no longer dejected like they were before!

    They feel secure now!

    Xian Yu will definitely win!

    Let''s get ready to record the song!

    Just like that.

    A few days later.

    July, has come!

    The starting gun of the season has finally been fired!

    Countless people opened the season leaderboard at the first moment!

    And all the major audio websites had already eagerly arranged for the most recommended spots in their player''s largest traffic streams to the destined chart-topping Bluelympics promotional song, complete with a star-studded song MV ¡ª

    Welcome to Qin Continent!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Second update, continuing to write

 Chapter 761 - 726 Xian Yu Stole Home_1

    The Bluelympics'' promotional theme song naturally piqued the curiosity of visitors online. Many even chose to stay up all night to listen to it, feeling wistful and sentimental about Xian Yu missing his seven consecutive championships.

    At midnight in July.

    All eyes were on the song title of the Bluelympics promotional song, "Qin Continent Welcomes You". With innumerable clicks to play, an MV popped up in the player all of a sudden.

    Familiar song title¡­

    Familiar group of stars¡­

    Familiar faces of Huang Dong¡­

    Huh?

    Where is Huang Dongzheng?

    His face was shown in the last couple of competitions!

    Where did the large image of Huang Dongzheng disappear to?

    The music prelude still echoed in everyone''s ears.

    Before the official singing had begun, all the listeners simultaneously widened their eyes dumbfoundedly, looking at the background information pushed to the lyrics panel¡ª

    Song Title: Qin Continent Welcomes You

    Lyrics: Xian Yu

    Composition: Xian Yu

    Arrangement: Xian Yu

    Xian Yu Xian Yu Xian Yu!

    All eyes were glittering with the name "Xian Yu"!!

    Countless listeners were utterly astounded, the collective amazement seemed enough to string up a classic five-ring between the continents!

    "Huh?"

    "Am I seeing things?"

    "This year''s Bluelympics promotional theme song was actually written by Xian Yu?!!!"

    "Holy cow!"

    "Where did that turn of events come from?"

    "Hahahahahaha, who would have thought, Fish Papa actually surprised us here!"

    "Damn!"

    "He hasn''t been promoting a new song in the recent days, and there was nothing from Starlight too. I actually thought he had given up on his 12 championships chase!"

    "Same here!"

    "But, who would have thought, he secretly scored home!"

    "Xian Yu seems like he''s walked off with the official crystal directly!"

    "Since he can''t beat the Bluelympics promotional song, he simply joined them by becoming the creator of the Bluelympics promotional song?"

    "Sick play!"

    "The official folks played a cunning hand, keeping the identity of the song creator a secret, and it turned out to be Xian Yu in the end. Insult to injury, before that I said Fish Papa lost too unfairly!"

    "..."

    A double plot twist!

    The saying goes, "The Bluelympics changes like flowing water, but ''Huang Dongzheng'' is as steadfast as iron"

    No one thought that, the old sign of twelve years would suddenly disappear without a trace.

    In contrast, Xian Yu, who was judged by everyone as the "biggest victim of this year''s Bluelympics", became the new darling of the official people!

    Huang Dongzheng, who made it through so many years in the Bluelympics knocking out so many song makers, was rightfully called the Maestro terminator!

    But did he really get stymied here by Xian Yu?

    Just at that moment.

    The official account of the Bluelympics tribe, along with the official blog account and other official accounts simultaneously made a post:

    [Cheer on Bluelympics, cheer on Qin Continent, cheer on Xian Yu!] S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Pfft!!

    Everyone burst into laughter!

    "Can''t believe the official people would stir things up!"

    "This could have been disclosed before, but they chose to retain the suspense until the end. They seriously are masters of promotion and hype, I take my hat off to them!"

    "So sneaky!"

    If people can''t see that the officials were intentionally hyping it up, they may as well have not watched any gossips at all. But such promotional tactics aren''t repulsive to anyone. On the contrary, it adds a layer of warmth to the serious face of the officials.

    "Well, this time, the official folks are on Fish Papa''s side."

    "Can Bluelympics supporting Xian Yu''s chase for 12 consecutive championships work?"

    "Isn''t Huang Dongzheng supposedly the terminator of Maestros?"

    "Xian Yu: Sorry, the Maestros you''ve taken down are real Maestros. Although I am a Maestro, I''m not a real Maestro, your buff is ineffective against me."

    "Hahaha, talk about having a God level buff ineffective!"

    "Xian Yu: It''s a good thing I didn''t become a true Maestro!"

    "..."

    The industry insiders were also amazed by the officials'' operations!

    So much so, their scalps felt numb!

    This is how you are playing the game?

    Your Qin Continent Bluelympics this time is really mischievous, huh?

    Is it because Xian Yu is also from Qin Continent?

    He acquired the seven consecutive championships in this way, which everyone thought he had already missed!

    In countless discussions.

    The song was playing in everyone''s ears!

    A succession of stars took turns singing!

    Jiang Kui: "In my home, they grow evergreen, blooming legends in every segment."

    Xia Fan: "Sowing seeds in the soil of tradition, leaving memories for you."

    Zhao Ying Ge: "Strangers or familiar faces, all are our guests, no need for formality."

    Wei Haoyun: "No matter how many times you''ve been here, there are always plenty of topics."

    Chen Zhiyu: "Beijing welcomes you, with open sky and earth just for you!"

    Sun Yaohuo: "Irresistible charm flowing with vibrancy!"

    Xian Yu: "Qin Continent welcomes you..."

    Not just the Yu Dynasty!

    But countless other first-tier artists, even Kings and Queens of Singing, even stars from the film and television industry!

    Youngsters, and veterans!

    From Qin Continent, and even from other continents!

    All these entertainment heavyweights gathered to perform "Qin Continent Welcomes You," cheering for the Bluelympics!

    In the music video.

    For each singer''s part, there will be a shot of that artist, with unique movements and background sceneries!

    All of them are famous sights of Qin Continent!

    Among them.

    Xian Yu was standing alone on the Great Wall in Beijing, dressed in classic ancient attire, performing Blue Star''s most traditional salute to all viewers in his flowing robes!

    "Fish Papa looks so handsome!"

    "Wow, I love this ancient attire!"

    "Such a King''s demeanor!"

    "Damn, the Great Wall, Beijing''s most iconic landmark, Fish Papa definitely has the center position!"

    "''Qin Continent welcomes you,'' only Fish Papa sang that line alone!"

    "Beautiful song!"

    "It''s soothing!"

    "I thought Fish Papa''s song wasn''t explosive, but coupled with the video it becomes stunningly cool!"

    "..."

    The audience, excited by the scene, finally shift their attention back to the song itself.

    It''s good!

    It''s catchy!

    Within two minutes, everyone was already singing along with the lyrics, and the atmosphere of the Bluelympics was fully saturated with the song.

    ...

    Fei Yang was stunned as he listened to the song.

    As a King of Singing from Qin Continent, of course, he had participated in the chorus of "Qin Continent Welcomes You."

    He was responsible for the "We welcome you" part.

    But he didn''t know that the song was written by Xian Yu!

    It left him puzzled.

    Who was singing that line ''Qin Continent welcomes you''?

    Why was I not given the most crucial line?

    Now he understood.

    His feelings suddenly became complicated.

    So even Xian Yu knows the rule of "if you can''t beat them, join them" huh.

    ...

    Meanwhile, at Lin Yuan''s home.

    His family stayed up late to listen to the song.

    They knew the truth.

    Since Lin Yuan had been away for so many days, he must have informed his family about his situation. His sisters and mother kept it a secret as they were assured they would.

    At the moment while listening to the song.

    Antarctica jumped up excitedly:

    "Woof, woof woof, woof woof woof woof!"

    Antarctic was singing along.

    Mom laughed: "It seems the boy has been to the Great Wall!"

    Big Yaoyao was mad: "Without me!"

    Lin Xuan clicked away to take photos of shots featuring Lin Yuan, and then posted them on her social circle. The caption read:

    "Sis will always love you!"

    Comments popped up in quick succession, mostly from female colleagues:

    "Another one trying to snatch Fish from me!"

    "Xian Yu is clearly my little brother!"

    "He''s mine!"

    "Lin Xuan, don''t think that just because your surname is Lin and you look a bit like Xian Yu, you''re his sister!"

    "Xian Yu solely belongs to my family as a younger brother!"

    "Hehehe, so Xian Yu is your brother, huh? He is my husband, greetings to my sisters-in-law!"

    "..."

    Lin Xuan rolled her eyes.

    You bunch of b*stards!

    Xian Yu is truly my little brother!

    And to the one who called him her husband, you can forget about stepping into our Lin family''s house!

    Alright then.

    Lin Xuan and the others never disclosed the fact that Xian Yu is a family member. Revealing such a thing can be too flashy and could invite all sorts of troubles, although Lin Xuan had been tempted to show off on her social circle countless times, she always did it in an ambiguous way.

    That very night.

    All continents resounded with the song "Qin Continent Welcomes You," and Xian Yu easily clinched his seventh consecutive win!

 Chapter 762 - 727: Can Only Settle for Second Place_1

    Dawn breaks!

    News is everywhere!

    "Xian Yu is the creator of the Bluelympics theme song!"

    "Xian Yu breaks Huang Dongzheng''s spell of Maestro, becoming the new favorite of the Bluelympics!"

    "The Bluelympics official cheers for Xian Yu''s twelve consecutive championships!"

    "Xian Yu stuns fans with his ancient costume performance on The Great Wall!"

    "Bluelympics'' promotional song tops the seasonal chart, and Xian Yu takes home his seventh consecutive championship!"

    "..."

    News sweeps the morning!

    After the bombardment of media news, everyone knows that Xian Yu defeated Huang Dongzheng to become the creator of this Bluelympics'' promotional song!

    On the seasonal chart.

    The song became number one without a doubt at dawn!

    Even those who don''t watch the news can find out through other channels.

    Because all major TV stations are playing "Welcome to Qin Continent"!

    Those video websites on the internet are also promoting this song in their ads!

    The official promotion is relentless!

    Whether you like the song or not, you can''t avoid it!

    Soon, everyone was brainwashed, and they could sing along with the melody!

    "Damn!"

    "This thing is even more brainwashing than ''Good Luck''!"

    "Surely, ''Good Luck'' is brainwashing, but the officials are pushing this one hard!"

    "Turn on the TV and it''s this song."

    "Turn on the computer and it''s still this song."

    "Even the radio in the car is playing this song."

    "After listening to the song dozens of times, it''s basically not interesting, but the music video is sensational. I counted, there must be hundreds of celebrities singing!"

    "So many big shots!"

    "Xian Yu can indeed write songs of any genre!"

    "He even managed to snatch the Bluelympics promotional song from Huang Dongzheng''s hands!"

    "..."

    The public''s response is enthusiastic!

    The Bluelympics officials are also very satisfied with the effect this song creates, and it seems that this little gimmick is very effective!

    The topic is hot!

    As people discuss this song, they also debate about Xian Yu''s seven consecutive championships, find the linkage behavior between Bluelympics and Xian Yu amusing, leading to a substantial increase in the comments under Bluelympics.

    "This is a win-win!"

    Di Fan and the others met with Lin Yuan with smiles that they couldn''t hide, "You must support our Bluelympics fervently!"

    "Sure."

    Lin Yuan was as cooperative as ever.

    Having successfully won seven consecutive titles, he is now sprinting on the path to becoming a god!

    At this time.

    The leader of the sports bureau, Jin Hong, suddenly said with a smile: "Teacher Xian Yu must remember to write a song for our Qin athletes, you have to hurry up, only a month left to the opening of the Bluelympics!"

    Obviously.

    The success of the Bluelympics promotional song made Jin Hong even more anticipative about the kind of song Xian Yu would write to cheer the athletes up.

    "It has been recorded."

    Lin Yuan spoke: "Gu Dong..."

    "Alright!"

    Gu Dong understood what Lin Yuan meant and happily fetched a few preprinted lyrics from the printer and handed them to the leaders.

    The leaders, holding the lyrics, were all stunned.

    Already recorded?

    It''s only been a few days?

    Even if most people here do not understand music, they are still the people of Qin Continent, who have been influenced by the Land of Music, and naturally understand what it means for a composer to write a song in a few days!

    The most astonishing part is¡­

    Lin Yuan said the song was already recorded, not written!

    It''s like a package for a house, where one can move in right away - the efficiency is too high!

    Bow your head.

    Everyone saw the title of the song.

    Before anyone could speak, a song echoed in the room.

    It was indeed the song recorded collectively by Lin Yuan and the singers of Yu Dynasty, "Believe in Yourself"!

    A few minutes later.

    The song ended.

    Seated on the sofa, Jin Hong, feeling elated, slapped his thigh:

    "Good!"

    He loved this kind of song! S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    It suits the taste of an old sportsman!

    Di Fan nodded: "The lyrics are positive, full of sunlight."

    The few people around also voiced their approval:

    "Very inspiring!"

    "This captures the spirit of the Bluelympics!"

    "Just like the lyrics say: Victory in the Bluelympics is earned through struggle!"

    "You''ve put your heart into it."

    The leader of the Cultural Bureau praised sincerely.

    He felt that the basketball team''s regret from last year was captured in the lyrics of this song.

    The basketball team failed to win the championship last year, so they should listen to this song before the match this year.

    "Then we will release it."

    Lin Yuan felt another wave of reputation beckoning him.

    "Let''s release it!"

    Jin Hong waved his hand in decisiveness, "I will get the Sports Bureau to help promote it. Our strength at the Sports Bureau might not be as strong as "Qin Continent Welcomes You," but we still carry some weight!"

    "Alright."

    The plan to reap benefits was successful once more!

    Lin Yuan received the answer he most wanted to hear!

    Now, he truly tasted the sweet fruit of official promotion, and found it very addictive.

    ...

    Qin Continent, Sun City.

    Huang Dongzheng was quietly watching TV at home.

    On the television.

    Numerous stars took turns to sing:

    "The gate of my home is always open, welcoming the world with joy, years blossom into youthful smiles in anticipation of this date, everyone is a friend so no need to be shy, poetic ambience with a smile, just waiting for you ¡­"

    He picked up the remote and turned off the TV.

    His wife consoled him, "Your "Holy Fire" is also very good; it''s a pity it wasn''t selected."

    "Yeah, it wasn''t selected."

    Huang Dongzheng sighed, "Speaking of tunes, both songs don''t differ that much. However, his lyrics held an advantage. I highlighted the Bluelympics in my theme, but his theme was Qin Continent. It''s a difference of perspectives, I suppose. But I believe that as a global event, the Bluelympics shouldn''t be confined to regional differences."

    Huang Dongzheng was known as the "Maestro Terminator".

    This title had always been a source of pride for him.

    Although he didn''t have the talents of the Maestro, he excelled at composing officially-encouraged positive songs.

    He attached great importance to the opportunity of the Bluelympics this time!

    He yearned to end Xian Yu''s streak of seven consecutive championships!

    He didn''t have any grudges with Xian Yu, and they didn''t have any intersection. But if he could achieve this feat, regardless of whether there was official intervention, he would capture the attention of all continents. After all, who in the current music scene, didn''t want to be the one to end Xian Yu''s reign?

    The temptation was too great!

    Who knew Xian Yu would sneakily steal this opportunity, grabbing the chance for his own song to be used as the Bluelympics promotional song!

    How could this not make Huang Dongzheng regretful?

    Hate was certainly not the feeling he was experiencing.

    Huang Dongzheng just felt a bit annoyed, coupled with a small sense of resentment.

    He even had a somewhat dark thought:

    Xian Yu''s song was selected, not because it was significantly better than his own!

    The main reason was, the official authorities wanted to collaborate with Xian Yu, who was a resplendently shining star these past few years!

    The explosive effect of the official authorities'' collaboration with Xian Yu was the best proof.

    In other words.

    He didn''t have Xian Yu''s level of popularity!

    If he was more popular than Xian Yu and could generate buzz the same way, the official selection might have been him.

    "Mhmm."

    His wife went along with Huang Dongzheng, as his companion, she knew her husband too well, and knew he was not content.

    "The song should not go to waste."

    Huang Dongzheng said, "I will release "Holy Fire" in a bit, and secure second place in the July season chart."

    Huang Dongzheng''s target could only be the second place!

    But, being the second in this season chart isn''t just about being second!

    It has the potential of becoming a disguised first place!

    Because everyone knows how the first place was acquired!

    Huang Dongzheng really hoped to hear people say that his "Holy Fire" is more suitable as a theme song for the Bluelympics!

    This second place, Huang Dongzheng was determined to grab it!

    "Alright."

    His wife knew that for Huang Dongzheng, getting the second place would be a piece of cake, given that his song was only one step away from being selected by the official authorities!

    Huang Dongzheng had already found this out through his friends and had complained about it to his wife.

    If it weren''t for Xian Yu, who suddenly rose to prominence, "Holy Fire" would have been the song being played on TV now.

    Pulling out his phone.

    Huang Dongzheng made a call, "Release "Holy Fire."

    Since the authorities didn''t choose his song, the copyright was still under his ownership; he had the freedom to use it as he pleased.

    "Alright."

    The voice on the other end of the phone replied.

    Today is the first of July, leveraging the momentum of the Bluelympics, combined with Huang Dongzheng''s years of accumulated prestige, "Holy Fire" was bound to be a hit!

    And indeed it was.

    An hour later, "Holy Fire" was released!

    With the promotion from all major music streamers, netizens from all continents noticed this song!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Special thanks to[One Step Closer to the Moon]for being an Alliance Hierarch, who is also an old friend of dumb cuteness and Polluted White. Every book has Alliance Hierarch, it feels ceremonial to offer a salute, ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, keep writing!

 Chapter 763 - 728 Believe in Yourself_1

    Splash!

    The song had just been released and instantly drew everyone''s attention, sparking a sudden bout of interest!

    Of course.

    What attracted people wasn''t the unfamiliarity of the title "Holy Fire," but rather, the songwriter¡ª

    Huang Dongzheng!

    Whenever the Bluelympics happens, it''s the best time for Huang Dongzheng. This year, Xian Yu was a surprise addition, but Huang Dongzheng was still a frequently mentioned name, even topping several trending charts, as this was the first time in many years that Huang hadn''t been selected to write the official Bluelympics promotional track!

    In this moment.

    Netizens saw the song and immediately guessed that this must be the song that Huang had lost against Xian Yu during the contest for the Bluelympics promotional song slot, right?

    Let''s listen!

    People''s interest was piqued, and they began to listen to the song. Everyone was curious about Huang''s song.

    A few minutes later.

    Netizens finished listening and the comment section of the music players became lively. Everyone was discussing the quality of the song:

    "Not bad, eh!"

    "Huang Dongzheng might be late, but he''s never absent. This song fits the theme of the Bluelympics perfectly. But I don''t know if it''s just me, but I prefer Fish Papa''s ''Welcome to Qin Continent''."

    "Fish Papa''s is better."

    "Comparing the two, it seems like the judgment was fair. Huang Dongzheng fell slightly short. But have to say, it feels strange not hearing his promotional song at the Bluelympics, now it''s not a problem."

    "This song should take the second place."

    "Even without official promotion, I definitely prefer Xian Yu''s song. Of course, I''m also quite satisfied with Huang Dongzheng''s song. It''s like Xian Yu gets the meat, while Ol'' Huang gets the soup."

    "Hahaha, getting the soup, that killed me!"

    "Who would''ve thought, there would come a day when Ol'' Huang would be drinking Bluelympics soup. In the previous Bluelympics, he was the one feasting!"

    "..."

    Everyone was discussing.

    Meanwhile, Huang Dongzheng in front of the computer, was reading the audience''s reactions, his brow getting more furrowed.

    The expected comments weren''t there!

    ''Welcome to Qin Continent'' is still the more popular one!

    Damn it!

    He sighed.

    His mood sort of broke down.

    His wife didn''t seem surprised, she just continued to gently console him:

    "Taking second place isn''t bad either, without official promotion and still being able to get second place says a lot about the quality of your song."

    "Eh."

    Huang Dongzheng sighed again.

    He still wasn''t satisfied!

    But what could he do if he wasn''t satisfied?

    Can''t accuse the netizens'' comments of being unfair.

    He isn''t petty enough to insult the audience''s taste in music, all you can say is that Maestro Junior truly deserves the accolades.

    Second place it shall be.

    Second place isn''t too bad.

    If it hadn''t been for the Bluelympics, he would''ve had a hard time even getting second place. It was the Bluelympics that granted him the opportunity to shine brilliantly after a four-year hiatus!

    Despite not having official support, this popularity must have rubbed off on him as well.

    And Xian Yu, even without the support of the Bluelympics, has been topping the charts for six months straight.

    He''s the true Maestro killer!

    Was this second place difficult to achieve?

    Obviously, it wasn''t.

    Because just a few minutes after "Holy Fire" was released, the download count for the season''s chart has been skyrocketing. It will probably take another hour to charge up to second place!

    That definitely provided Huang Dongzheng with some consolation.

    However.

    While Huang Dongzheng was feeling slightly consoled, a news pop-up suddenly appeared in front of him!

    The headline:

    "Xian Yu releases new song ''Believe in Yourself,'' cheering on all athletes from Qin Continent at the Bluelympics!"

    All at once!

    Huang Dongzheng was stunned!

    Huang Dongzheng''s wife beside him was also dumbstruck for several seconds!

    New song?

    Xian Yu has another new song?

    Is this one meant to cheer on Qin athletes?

    Swipe!

    With trembling fingers, Huang Dongzheng clicked on ''Believe in Yourself,'' which had just been released on various music players.

    ...

    At the same time.

    Netizens also noticed the news of Xian Yu''s new song!

    Everyone was surprised!

    Xian Yu released another song? S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    To cheer for Qin''s athletes?

    Seems like it''s another song related to the Bluelympics!

    Let''s listen!

    Just like Huang Dongzheng''s reaction, everyone instinctively clicked on the song!

    In a flash!

    The music was rousing!

    The song information was fully displayed.

    Song title: Believe in Yourself

    Lyrics: Xian Yu

    Music: Xian Yu

    Sung by: Yu Dynasty

    Surprisingly, "All Stars" was not listed as the performers!

    Seems like this is the first time the top singers of Yu Dynasty formally joined forces, sort of like a music group, to release a new song together?

    Unexpectedly.

    The singing finally started in the music:

    "How many times have sweat poured like rain, pain has filled my memory!"

    "Because I always believe, only by fighting can we achieve victory!"

    "Always encourage myself, to succeed you have to work hard!"

    "Blood boils on the field, giants rise in the east!"

    With simple powerful lyrics, the singers of Yu Dynasty each took turns. And when the song got to the climax, all singers outside of Xian Yu chanted together:

    "Believe in yourself!"

    Xian Yu''s voice appeared: "You will achieve victory, create miracles!"

    "Believe in yourself!"

    The others continued the big chorus.

    Xian Yu continued his solo: "The dream is in your hands, this is your world!"

    The second half.

    Xian Yu was responsible for the connecting harmonies, while the others collectively sang: "You will surpass limits, surpass yourself!"

    "Believe in yourself!"

    "When all this is over, you will be the first!"

    In conclusion.

    Xian Yu joined the collective chorus, they repeated the forceful phrase many times:

    Believe in yourself!

    Excellent coordination between everyone in the Yu Dynasty turned them into a united team.

    Even with a simple tune and lyrics, the song was packed with inspiring power!

    Ordinarily, a song like this would find it difficult to top the charts.

    The melody is too repetitive.

    The lyrics are too simple.

    Even with the addition of the Yu Dynasty banding together, it wouldn''t be enough.

    But if it''s played during the atmosphere leading up to the Bluelympics, it''s a different story!

    Everyone''s empathy was off the charts!

    At this moment, this was the feeling that everyone wanted. You couldn''t possibly play a song like "May you live long" in a sports competition vibe!

    "This song is too good!"

    "Yu Dynasty is actually joining forces!"

    "The voices blend together perfectly!"

    "What a pleasant surprise, it''s the first time hearing a song that''s purely from Yu Dynasty!"

    "This song is not only dedicated to the Qin Continent athletes, but also to the Qin Continent basketball team. The disappointment of the last basketball team was a pain shared by all Qin people¡­"

    "Fish Papa must watch basketball too!"

    "Wow, you guys, check the internet!"

    "The Sports Association is promoting this song!"

    "..."

    In the stunned silence of countless people.

    Basketball star Zhao Ming reposted "Believe in Yourself"!

    Football star Liu Li reposted "Believe in Yourself"!

    Athletics star Zou Lun reposted "Believe in Yourself"!

    Swimming star Yang Yang reposted "Believe in Yourself"!

    Ping Pong...

    The entire sports world of Qin Continent was moving!

    Countless sports stars shared the song!

    This kind of promotion might not outshine Bluelympics'' indiscriminate bombing of "Welcome to Qin Continent", but the effect was still insanely good!

    Boom!

    Before long!

    This song landed at second place on the season chart!

    And "Holy Fire", which finally crawled to second place, was squeezed to third place!

    Netizens: "..."

    At this rate, Huang Dongzheng won''t have anything left...

 Chapter 764 - 729: Nearly the same_1

    Just like a gust of wind!

    Swift and deadly!

    The entire promotional power of Qin Continent''s sports world - it took ''Believe in Yourself'' straight up, directly to the second place!

    This song is an instant hit!

    Countless people opened to listen!

    Especially some of the basketball fans on Qin Continent, upon hearing this song, their hearts burned up with a fire--

    "This song is powerful!"

    "It sounds great!"

    "It suits my taste!"

    "We need this kind of music for a big game!"

    "Uplifting!"

    "Let''s go, the Qin Continent''s basketball team!"

    "I didn''t feel it at first, but talking about it started to fire me up!"

    "..."

    The reaction of the people of Qin Continent was the fiercest, the pains of the last Bluelympics have become the past, we will fight again in the match, this time Qin Continent must win!

    I do not know if the Qin Continent will win or not.

    After all, Huang Dongzheng has lost!

    His head was a bit dazed at this moment.

    I can''t believe I came in third!

    The resources of the official promotion were once his invincible weapon.

    Every time the Bluelympics comes around he was able to eat to his heart''s content, it made the other Maestros envious, but this year''s official promotion has become his death knell!

    "My second place...."

    Watching ''Holy Fire'' being suppressed by yet another new song from Xian Yu, Huang Dongzheng''s gaze seemed to freeze!

    Xian Yu, my man!

    If I can''t have a piece of the meat, let me have some soup, at least leave me a bit will you!

    Roll to third place!

    I don''t want the third spot!

    I only want the second one!

    Season rankings have champions, runners-up and third place. Generally, everyone only remembers the champion, but occasionally some people remember the runner-up, if the runner-up is special enough....

    Except for the third place!

    No one remembers the third place!

    If we talk about before, Huang Dongzheng somewhat reluctantly accepted this "second place".

    But now, he just really wants the second place!

    A super desire of that kind!

    However, he has lost second place forever.

    The promotional power of the home-field advantage of the Bluelympics, and the collective action of Qin Continent''s sports world, is not something he can resist.

    And at this moment.

    The netizens who had come back to their senses were dumbstruck!

    They just felt that "Believe in Yourself", this song, appeared out of nowhere and then became the second song on the season list just as unexpectedly!

    The next moment.

    The netizens burst out laughing directly:

    "Who was it that said Huang Dongzheng could only follow behind Fish Papa and sip his soup?"

    "Well, Huang Dongzheng has run out of soup now!"

    "This time the official people have given it too much support!"

    "Good lord, a collection of big-name sports stars collectively recommending ''Believe in Yourself'', was the timing of the link followed so closely, have you really listened to what the song is singing? Aren''t these people supposed to be training at this time instead of surfing the web?"

    "Some sports star: It''s just a task from the master"

    "Fish Papa: The second place has a special meaning to me. Generally, I don''t like to leave it to others."

    "Pff, I didn''t expect it could happen to King Fei."

    "Bones, bones, there are still bones!"

    "Yes, it doesn''t matter, Teacher Huang Dongzheng, the soup really is gone, but there are still bones, Xian Yu can''t eat the bones too, can he!"

    "At least he is the third on the season chart, gnawing on the bones can barely satisfy his cravings."

    "There just bones left now!"

    "You can tell that you are not a foodie, the marrow hidden in the bones is the most delicious and essential part!"

    "..."

    The netizens have even started comforting Huang Dongzheng, just now they said he had soup, and now they are saying that he has bones.

    All kinds of memes have sprung up.

    Previously, everyone thought that the most miserable person at the Bluelympics was Xian Yu, but now it seems on the contrary. Huang Dongzheng, who bumped into a monster like Xian Yu, is the most miserable!

    ...

    Lin Yuan was not surprised that ''Believe in Yourself'' could take second place.

    Although Lin Yuan also knows that normally speaking, this song would have difficulty entering the top five, but who can control that it is the once-in-four-years Bluelympics now?

    Official promotion, combined with the collaboration of the Yu Dynasty, full of hype!

    That being said,

    Actually, this song is quite good, or else it wouldn''t be frequently sung at university sports events across the Celestial Dynasty.

    What''s not suitable about it?

    Lin Yuan finds that the original singer''s voice lacks vigor and the tone isn''t bright enough, so the climax of the song falls a bit short.

    Therefore,

    Lin Yuan decided to make some adjustments to the song.

    After modulation, the climax of the song hits straight to the lungs, easily moving the listener''s emotions.

    High notes at such a moment are absolutely lethal!

    As for the seasonal chart, Lin Yuan didn''t pay much attention.

    He is now entirely focused on how to continue milking the Bluelympics!

    He noticed:

    The prestige provided by these two songs is too high!

    Even though these two songs aren''t sensational, with the heat of the Bluelympics, the music system''s fame is soaring beyond any sensational song!

    Sun Yaohuo and the others are also very excited!

    To record "Believe in Yourself", they all stayed in Beijing and have not yet moved out of the hotel where they moved in with Lin Yuan.

    For a simple reason!

    Having the opportunity to ride on the coattails of the Bluelympics with Lin Yuan is crucial for the future development of the Yu Dynasty!

    More importantly:

    Their work isn''t over yet!

    At this point.

    The phone of Gu Dong rang suddenly.

    After she answered, her face turned strange, seemingly hearing something unexpected, and she quickly found Lin Yuan.

    "Mr. Lin."

    "Hmm?"

    "Qi Continent just called, they want to invite you to write a motivational song for their athletes too. They think the song you wrote for the Qin Continent athletes is very good and they want something similar."

    "Qi Continent?"

    Lin Yuan was pleased.

    Here comes another opportunity.

    Gu Dong bitterly smiled and said, "I neither agreed nor refused, they''re waiting for your reply."

    After hesitating for a while.

    Gu Dong suggested conflictedly, "Or should I just refuse them? Since you are from Qin Continent and wrote a song for Qin Continent..."

    Lin Yuan shook his head seriously.

    Too narrow-minded.

    The mindset is too narrow.

    Lin Yuan said earnestly,

    "Blue Star is one family, there''s no need to differentiate too much. The Bluelympics is a grand event for all of Blue Star. While it''s true that I''m from Qin Continent, I shouldn''t pass up the opportunity to contribute to this Bluelympics because of it. Our goal is to make this Bluelympics standout, if there''re athletes from any continent in need, I will not refuse!"

    Lin Yuan rarely talks this much in one breath.

    "But..."

    "Let me ask somebody first."

    Lin Yuan decided to play safe. He dialed Di Fan, who had given him his number earlier.

    When Lin Yuan explained the situation, Di Fan at the other end laughed outright:

    "How does it matter if you write for them? As long as it makes the Bluelympics more exciting. Our goal is to have the Bluelympics hosted by Qin Continent capture global attention. The song doesn''t decide the match''s outcome. The more influential your song, the better. Even better if it''s more popular than ''Believe in Yourself''!"

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan felt that the other party, like himself, had a grand vision.

    Just like that.

    Lin Yuan agreed to Qi Continent''s request.

    He called Sun Yaohuo and the others over: "Prepare to record."

    "Now?"

    "There''s not much time." Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan planned to record a few more this time.

    After Qin Continent, Qi Continent came. With everything so lively, aren''t the other continents going to join in?

    "Alright."

    Sun Yaohuo and the others were excited. This kind of thing, the more the merrier!

    "So, which song are we recording tonight?"

    Lin Yuan had brought out several songs today, and they have been practicing in the hotel. Most of them weren''t too difficult and were prepared for the Bluelympics.

    Which song to record first?

    Lin Yuan briefly recalled Qi Continent''s request. They wanted a song similar to "Believe in Yourself".

    So, it should be this one!

    Lin Yuan uttered three words:

    "I Believe."

    It''s similar enough, right!

 Chapter 765 - 730 Want to Fly to the Sky alongside the Sun_1

    Lin Yuan and the Yu Dynasty had been busy in the recording studio for quite a while.

    Two hours later.

    A song was sent to the Qi Continent Sports Bureau.

    What would happen next was certainly going to be arranged by the Qi side; he personally suggested they should make a thematically appropriate music video overnight.

    Sure enough.

    The next day arrived.

    Qi Continent First Stadium!

    This is the largest stadium in Qi Continent.

    Professional athletes from different disciplines in Qi Continent had been intensively training here recently for the Bluelympics.

    The arena was vast, with different training areas for each discipline.

    But the dining hall was shared.

    Athletes from all disciplines were having breakfast in a few large connected dining halls.

    This was right about everyone''s breakfast time.

    The large screen on the wall had been playing songs with strong rhythms to cheer everyone up daily.

    The cafeteria was usually bustling.

    Close-knit athletes huddled in groups, enjoying their self-served breakfast and chatting away, lamenting the physical and mental fatigue brought about by the imminent Bluelympics¡­

    Not many people were paying attention to the songs played.

    It wasn''t until "Believe in Yourself" sounded that someone finally looked at the big screen.

    "I heard this song online yesterday."

    "It seems to be a morale-boosting song by Xian Yu specifically for Qin Continent athletes."

    "The song is indeed good, but it''s a shame it wasn''t written for us Qi Continent athletes."

    "If only Xian Yu could write a song for us too, I''m a fan of his."

    "Stop dreaming, Xian Yu is from Qin Continent."

    "Our leadership sure is bold, playing the battle song of Qin Continent athletes for us."

    "Maybe this is meant to be reverse psychology, to stimulate us to beat Qin Continent on the field?"

    "....."

    Instead of being stimulated, everyone seemed a bit envious; amidst jokes and teasing, "Believe in Yourself" finally finished.

    Just then.

    A voice suddenly came over the stadium''s loudspeaker:

    "In order for Qi Continent to triumph at Bluelympics, we understand that everyone''s training has been tough and diligent. To boost your morale, we''ve specially prepared a song for everyone. In the final month, let''s grit our teeth and give our best! If Qin Continent has a song, we on Qi Continent have one too!"

    The man''s voice broadcasting this on the speaker suddenly became exciting!

    The athletes were taken aback.

    A morale booster?

    Was the management planning to imitate Qin Continent and have a song to cheer on the Qi athletes too?

    Who wrote the song?

    A Maestro from Qi Continent?

    At that moment.

    Someone suddenly exclaimed, "Xian Yu!"

    Whoosh!

    All eyes instinctively turned to the TV screen, and everyone''s expression changed!

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    The rhythmic sound of the drums echoed, and then all the information about the song appeared on the screen!

    Title: I Believe

    Lyrics: Xian Yu

    Composer: Xian Yu

    Performed by: Yu Dynasty

    This morale-boosting song for Qi Continent athletes is also a work from Xian Yu, who after composing a song for Qin Continent, arranged a song for Qi Continent as well!

    The noise level began to rise!

    Without waiting for the athletes to discuss, an image suddenly appeared on the screen!

    What is this¡­

    Upon seeing the content of the footage, the football athletes from Qi Continent immediately clenched their fists and bit their lips!

    It was footage from the 33rd Bluylympics football match!

    The picture was somewhat dim.

    It was permeated with a sense of helplessness and sadness.

    All athletes with a memory of that competition would know that the 33rd Bluelympics was the worst defeat ever for Qi Continent''s football team!

    It was a scar!

    Indeed, what followed next was the footage of the football athletes crying in despair after losing the competition.

    As if they were infected by the sadness at the time.

    The football players suddenly lost their appetite.

    However. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The very next moment.

    The corners of Qi Continent''s footballers'' mouths curled into smiles.

    The 38th Bluelympics: Qi Continent''s football team defeated Zhong Continent, washing away all past embarrassments and made history by becoming the champions!

    In the midst of the laughter, the resounding chorus of the song suddenly burst out!

    Clear!

    Uplifting!

    "Yearning to fly up to the sun, side by side

    The world is waiting for me to bring change

    Never afraid of showing off the dreams I hold

    Here, I can achieve it all

    Laughing out loud and standing shoulder to shoulder, with you beside me

    There''s no limit to the joy we can experience, anywhere at all

    Casting away all worries, face forward with bravery

    I am standing right there on the stage..."

    Splash!

    Not just the football team!

    Almost all athletes in the cafeteria have put down their chopsticks. All their mouths slightly agape, they could only feel their blood starting to rush faster with the melody!

    A certain emotion is quietly spreading!

    With the singing, more and more scenes started to unfold on the screen...

    They are Qi Continent''s athletes working up a sweat on various events at Bluelympics, the countless sublime moments of the past years!

    Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

    Each line of the lyrics corresponds to a perfectly setting scene.

    For instance, when the song gets to "I am standing right there on the stage", the scene just perfectly matches a retired Qi Continent track and field athlete, lifting the medal high above his head after winning the championship nine years ago!

    He''s being celebrated!

    In these rapidly changing images!

    The gaze of the audience suddenly heats up!

    Bluelympics, is the ultimate stage in all athletes'' hearts!

    Who doesn''t yearn for a chance to win a gold medal for their own state in their lifetime, bask in the shower of flowers and glory, even hold up their own trophy amidst the tremendous cheers of their teammates and people!

    Can I...

    Do it?

    Like those successful ones in the pictures?

    Almost everyone had such thoughts flash across their minds.

    And before this thought settles down!

    An even more sonorous song was resounding next to everyone''s ears:

    "I believe I am me!"

    "I believe in tomorrow!"

    "I believe youth has no horizon!"

    "By the seaside at sunset, on the bustling street, they are the most beautiful paradises in my heart!"

    "I believe in the freedom and ease!"

    "I believe in hope!"

    "I believe I can touch the sky just by reaching out!"

    "Having you by my side makes life better, every moment is full of thrill!"

    Screw it!

    I can do it!

    I am capable of anything!

    The feelings are igniting and boiling over, all the athletes'' blood was racing in an instant, the adrenaline was pumping like crazy, a surging strength filled their bodies, and there was no self-doubt anymore!

    In the quickly scrolling images.

    The piano merged with the intense electric guitar, backed by explosive drum beats, as the bass and keyboard were fully engaged, the collective voices of all the Yu Dynasty singers literally poured out all their strength. It seemed to tell all the hesitant hearts:

    "I do believe!!!"

    Please believe, you guys can do it!!

    You have given so much youth for that moment, the stage and the field have been your lifelong pursuit, any self-doubt at this point is a betrayal of all the sweat and tears shed before!

    When the song is over...

    All the athletes, gulped down the food in front of them in a rush, and then stood up one after another!

    The sound of chairs scraping the floor echoed constantly!

    "Damn!"

    A few famous coaches who just entered the cafeteria were startled by the commotion!

    What''s going on?

    The coaches looked at the athletes who were standing up like the tide, thinking these jocks were about to gang up on them!

    ''Have the training assignments been too heavy lately?''

    That''s what the coaches thought with puzzled faces. But a player who usually complained about the hard training hollered:

    "Coach, before Bluelympics, please push me hard, don''t hold back one bit!"

    "Being so proactive all of a sudden, what are you up to?"

    "I want to soar high, shoulder to shoulder with the sun!"

    "..."

    The coaches looked at each other.

    Have they gone insane?

    Looking back at the other athletes, every one of them was as eager and ambitious as though they were injected with a booster...

    Huh?

    You want to soar high too, shoulder to shoulder with the sun?

    July 2nd.

    At six o''clock in the morning.

    About a month before the Bluelympics, Xian Yu''s song "I Believe" is launched on major music platforms. Before Qi Continent officials started to promote it, the song was already sweeping across the four corners of the earth at an astonishingly rapid pace!

 Chapter 766 - 731: What is this rhythm_1

    In fact, even after experiencing the sudden attack of "Believe in Yourself," hardly anyone thought Xian Yu would release another Bluelympics song.

    Why?

    Because Xian Yu''s "Believe in Yourself" was written to cheer on Qin Continent athletes, and him being from Qin Continent, isn''t it standard operating procedure to write songs for Qin''s Sports Department?

    As such.

    When netizens woke up and saw the song "I Believe," there was almost a collective moment of stunned silence.

    When they regained their composure.

    Everyone was exclaiming in surprise! S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Another one!?

    He''s releasing three songs in July?

    This time it''s for the athletes of Qi Continent?

    Believe in Yourself?

    I Believe?

    These two song titles seem similar!

    When the names of the two songs are put together, why does it feel like a conversation between two people?

    Amid their exclamations, everyone clicked on the song.

    And when the song played, the lyrics hit everyone like bullets and got everyone hyped!

    "A total rush!"

    "Sounds amazing!"

    "This song is kick*ss."

    "It''s another Yu Dynasty collective chorus, it makes my blood boil!"

    "The first lyric is enough to ignite the flame, wanting to fly shoulder to shoulder with the sun, it''s too explosive!"

    "I got goosebumps, such a great song!"

    "As someone from Qi Continent, I straight-up bow to Fish Papa. Thank Fish Papa for writing such a great song for us, Qi Continent, this damn well is the Bluelympics song we should listen to!"

    "I feel it''s even better than ''Believe in Yourself''!"

    "The two songs each have their own style, the one for Qin Continent is rock, and this one for Qi Continent is pop. All I can say is the pop genre has a larger audience!"

    The netizens are excited!

    The people of Qi Continent are cheering ecstatically!

    This song not only boosted the morale of Qi Continent athletes, but also stirred Qi Continent listeners to the point of wishing they could compete at the Bluelympics themselves!

    No need for a slow rise to the chart!

    The power of Bluelympics is wicked!

    Apparently, there was no way the launch of ''I Believe'' on 2nd July could slow down its charge up the seasonal chart. With countless people clicking and downloading, and Qi Continent officials starting to push and promote it, this song quickly shot up to third place in the seasonal chart, and it even hinted at surpassing the second place!

    Meanwhile.

    Huang Dongzheng''s "Holy Fire" got squeezed down one notch and became the current fourth place!

    Noticing this.

    Netizens burst into laughter again!

    "Huang Dongzheng is so unfortunate!"

    "He got slammed down to the fourth!"

    "Is there anything left of him now?"

    "Someone said Huang Dongzheng still had bones to gnaw on, Xian Yu ended up finishing off the bones himself!"

    "What''s left for Huang Dongzheng now?"

    "The bones are in Fish Papa''s mouth, Huang Dongzheng may lick the bottom of the pot."

    "He can only lick the bottom of the pot now. He was once the chosen one in the Bluelympics, therefore Huang Dongzheng should taste this Bluelympics."

    "..."

    Right now, Huang Dongzheng had only just gotten out of bed.

    He had a sleepless night with the third-place thing on his mind, grieving over it all night.

    Upon waking up, Huang Dongzheng still couldn''t accept the fact that he got the third place in the seasonal chart during the Bluelympics.

    The netizens were right!

    Third place is like gnawing on bones!

    Who cares about that!

    He picked up his phone and instinctively opened the seasonal chart.

    In an instant!

    Huang Dongzheng sat up in bed, staring dumbfounded at the seasonal chart ranking!

    Where''s my third place?

    It was still there when I went to bed last night!

    His wife, who was outside preparing breakfast, heard his reaction, walked into the bedroom and said in as calm a voice as possible, "Xian Yu released a new song this morning, and because it''s for the Qi Continent, their people have been helping to promote it and have bumped ''Holy Fire'' down to fourth place. Just don''t get too worked up. What do you want for breakfast?"

    "Bones!"

    Huang Dongzheng looked at his wife: "I want to gnaw on bones!"

    Wife: "..."

    How strange human desires for gain and loss truly are, Huang Dongzheng suddenly felt that he could accept being third!

    He even craved to be third!

    The top three in a season, even if it''s third, at least it''s called Third Place, but what do we call fourth?

    Fourth is just fourth!

    An utterly meaningless and worthless fourth place, this time Huang Dongzheng really couldn''t accept it, how could he end up fourth!

    Huang Dongzheng''s mentality completely collapsed!

    He tossed his cell phone aside violently, resulting in it accidentally hitting the TV remote switch at the edge of the bed.

    The TV turned on.

    On the TV screen.

    Qin Continent was holding a Bluelympics pledging ceremony.

    Every year during the Bluelympics, all continents'' sports communities organize similar pledging ceremonies.

    Huang Dongzheng used to enjoy watching it immensely, his favorite being the Bluelympics, but today, Huang Dongzheng couldn''t bear to watch it, because the song being played at the Qin Continent pledging ceremony was none other than "Believe in Yourself"!

    Picking up the remote control.

    Huang Dongzheng quickly changed the channel.

    To his dismay, another channel was also broadcasting the Bluelympics pledging ceremony, this was from Qi Continent.

    And the background song being played at the pledging ceremony was "I Believe", the very song that pushed him to the fourth place.

    Is this ever going to end!

    Huang Dongzheng chose to turn off the TV, angrily turned it off!

    ...

    Yan Continent.

    Several related leaders were discussing some matters about the Bluelympics when a hurried voice suddenly came from nearby: "The momentum of Qin Continent and Qi Continent is too strong, they held Bluelympic pledging ceremony, and the public reaction is very intense!"

    A pledging ceremony?

    One of the leaders frowned: "Don''t we all hold a pledging ceremony before the Bluelympics? If we hold one tomorrow, it should also boost morale."

    "That''s not the point..."

    That voice sounded somewhat helplessly:

    "One reason for the intense public reaction is that Xian Yu wrote them each a new song to boost morale, both Continents played it at the Bluelympics pledging ceremony. We, Yan Continent, don''t have a corresponding new song, so it feels a little lacking when we hold our pledging ceremony."

    "What song?"

    "Let me play it for you, the song is called "Believe in Yourself."

    "I heard that one yesterday, it''s nothing special!"

    "Then listen to this one from Qi Continent called "I Believe."

    "..."

    Before long, the leaders of Yan Continent had finished listening.

    The head leader slammed his hand on the table in frustration: "Qi Continent thinks they can fly up to the sky and stand shoulder to shoulder with the Sun with that level of skill?"

    The leader was very unsatisfied!

    Not unsatisfied with Xian Yu, but annoyed with Qi Continent. Given the intense competition between Yan Continent and Qi Continent in some sports events at the previous Bluelympics, Yan Continent wouldn''t want to just watch Qi Continent steal the limelight!

    "What do you suggest?"

    "Let Xian Yu write a similar song for us too, you guys reach out to him on social media. Make sure to sound confident, we can''t let Qi Continent get ahead of us. I''ll call the person in charge of Bluelympics on this side, they can''t fool me!"

    "Okay!"

    As soon as the leader gave the command, action was taken immediately on the Yan Continent side.

    After ten minutes.

    The official Weibo of Yan Continent''s sports community directly tagged Xian Yu:

    "Wanting to fly to the sky and stand shoulder to shoulder with the Sun, these lyrics are great, Yan Continent Sports Bureau cordially invites Teacher Xian Yu to help write a song to pump up our Bluelympics athletes, we also want to soar, we want to soar even higher!"

    As per the leader''s request!

    Your words must sound confident!

    So Qi Continent wants to fly to the sky and stand shoulder to shoulder with the Sun?

    Then we, Yan Continent, must fly even higher than you!

    That''s right!

    Fly even higher!

    Of course, when speaking to Xian Yu, Yan can''t come off as overbearing, so the post first started off by praising him before vigorously stepping on Qi Continent, showing off the heroic spirit of Yan People!

    All that talk about "friendship first, competition second" is nonsense as far as Yan Continent, full of fierce competitors, is concerned.

    Competition first, friendship second, thank you! Read exclusive adventures at My Virtual Library Empire

    Meanwhile.

    When the netizens saw the Weibo post by Yan Continent tagging Xian Yu with a song invitation, their mouths were already agape in shock!

    Yan Continent is also coming?

    Inviting Xian Yu for a song?

    What''s going on?

 Chapter 767 - 732: I Want to Fly Higher_1

    We want to fly even higher!

    Yan Continent''s approach has a taste of a hot-tempered elder in it, very much fitting with the setting of the War Continent, and Lin Yuan, who is in Qin Continent, quickly found out about this news:

    "Fly even higher?"

    Upon seeing the requirements of Yan Continent, Lin Yuan''s expression turned slightly odd. After the folks from Yan Continent have said what they have, does he still need to think about the next song?

    Yes.

    The Bluelympics occur only once every four years, he has to keep reaping benefits from it. As long as he can stomach it, he will eat as much as he can, because he knows he won''t get full to death!

    At this time, Di Fan also arrived at the hotel.

    He found Lin Yuan and said with a complicated expression:

    "The leaders from Yan Continent side just contacted us and said they hoped you could help out with another song to boost their athletes'' morale..."

    "Okay."

    "Do you still have another song?"

    Seeing Xian Yu agreeing so quickly, Di Fan, who was already gloomy, cringed slightly at the corners of his mouth.

    He somewhat regretted previously letting Xian Yu freely write songs for other continents.

    He even wanted to say to Xian Yu:

    Please, stop writing!

    However, Di Fan did not say anything in the end.

    With the precedent already set, it was useless for him to try and stop it.

    Unless Xian Yu had no more songs left!

    It seems to be almost that way!

    Judging by the trend, Xian Yu probably won''t have any songs left after writing for Yan Continent. He''s already written so many for the Bluelympics!

    Everyone''s creative energy is ultimately limited.

    Even if other continents had similar thoughts, it should already be too late.

    Probably it''s the last time.

    Just let Xian Yu knock himself out!

    ...

    The news of Yan Continent inviting Xian Yu for a song became an instant hot topic in the morning news, and Qi Continent also learned about it.

    A certain leader in Qi Continent was infuriated!

    If you Yan Continent guys want to fly too, fine, but you want to fly even higher?

    Who are you trying to slap in the face?

    Just with your Yan Continent bunch whose brains are full of muscles?

    "It''s not a big problem!"

    Someone optimistically said, "Adding ''I Believe,'' Xian Yu has already written three songs for the Bluelympics. The Bluelympics will start in about twenty or thirty days. Time is very tight for Xian Yu''s creation; he probably can''t produce any new songs."

    The leaders nearby nodded.

    One of them even said, "Even if Xian Yu can come up with another song, it''s difficult for the quality to surpass ''I Believe''!"

    In short:

    Yan Continent is too late!

    Let''s see how you guys are going to fly even higher?

    ...

    The thinking of the people in Qi Continent is also the thinking of many netizens, a habitual thought pattern of most people.

    At first, when everyone saw that Yan Continent invited Xian Yu for a song, they were genuinely shocked.

    What kind of treatment is this!

    Xian Yu suddenly became a hot cake!

    All three major continents have invited him for a song!

    Then, should it be the turn of other continents to invite Xian Yu for a song?

    However, everyone quickly sobered up.

    "How is that possible!"

    "Xian Yu has already written three songs for the Bluelympics!"

    "Can he write a fourth one?"

    "Even if he can write a fourth one, how about its quality?"

    "If given enough time, Xian Yu could probably handle any number of songs, and the quality wouldn''t be a problem, but if we exclude today, there only twenty-nine days left until the start of the Bluelympics!"

    "Twenty days are too short!"

    "But you never know, you guys are aware of Xian Yu''s writing speed!"

    "But it still takes a few days at least!"

    "Twenty-nine days, but each passing day is one less day!"

    "Enough with the nonsense, I have to go vote for our ''I Believe'', as people from Qi Continent, we must exceed the download volume of that song from Qin Continent!"

    ...

    Xian Yu has written two songs for Qin Continent and Qi Continent each.

    Now, the people of Qi Continent want their song to reach second place!

    It seems like the competition between the continents of the Bluelympics has started in advance!

    The people of Qin Continent have also reacted.

    Many Qin people, whether they like ''Believe in Yourself'' or not, have also started to vote for that song.

    The goal is to defend second place!

    Are they all Xian Yu''s songs?

    Yes!

    But these two songs of Xian Yu were specifically written for Qin Continent and Qi Continent!

    On the Bluelympics stage...

    Each continent is competing against each other!

    Regardless of whether it is Qin Continent or Qi Continent, they hope that their own continent''s supporting song can gain more popularity!

    As for the song of Yan Continent?

    Everyone is not overly worried about it.

    The later the release time, the harder it is to top the charts, after all, every continent has its own official promotional support.

    ...

    Yan Continent.

    The leaders also noticed the discussions online. Originally, they didn''t think too much about it, but at this moment, they couldn''t help worrying too.

    "Are we really late?"

    "Is Xian Yu all used up?"

    "Has Xian Yu agreed?"

    "They said on the phone it''s okay, but I forgot to ask when exactly, I don''t know how long it will take for his song to come out."

    "Call them again, we must rush them, there isn''t much time before the Bluelympics starts!"

    "I feel that rushing him might make the situation worse. The more time we give him, the better the song he writes. Even if you don''t understand music, you should know this simple logic, right?"

    "What should we do then?"

    The group of leaders couldn''t help but become anxious, they had to think of a solution.

    Someone suggested, "Xian Yu may indeed be all used up. Why don''t we also look for other maestros in our continent to help write songs?"

    "That''s a smart move!"

    "Right!"

    "We can''t put all our eggs in one basket, let''s look for maestros in Yan Continent to write songs!"

    "Exactly!"

    "Be more flexible in our approach. Instead of just one person, we could hold a contest among our home-grown maestros in Yan Continent. We will use the song that turns out to be the best!"

    "Time is of the essence!"

    "Let''s go and do it now!"

    The leaders of Yan Continent couldn''t stay calm.

    Although it''s been only about two hours since they asked Xian Yu to write a song, every minute and every second of waiting feels like torture to them.

    Just when a staff member was about to head out, his phone rang.

    Once the staff member answered the phone, his facial expression slightly changed.

    "What''s going on?"

    The leaders asked in unison.

    The staff member, being stared at by so many leaders, was feeling a little nervous. He swallowed and said:

    "Xian Yu''s song has arrived!"

    The leaders glanced at each other!

    So soon?

    Completed within two hours?

    Can the quality be guaranteed?

    A doubt rose in everyone''s heart, yet the leading leader suddenly yelled out:

    "What are you standing there for, play the song!"

    Everyone then came to their senses, urging the staff member to play the song.

    They can simply listen to the song to see how good it is, right?

    "Okay!"

    The staff member quickly connected to the Bluetooth speaker, and while the music started, he began to introduce:

    "This song is called¡­"

    "What is it called?"

    "''Fly Higher''."

    The leaders of Yan Continent showed confused expressions.

    ''Fly Higher''?

    Did they ask Xian Yu to outdo Qi Continent and he literally wrote a song called ''Fly Higher''?

    While everyone was taken aback... S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The song began to play: Enjoy more content from My Virtual Library Empire

    "Life is like a big river

    Sometimes calm, sometimes wild

    Reality is like a chain

    That ties me up and leaves me with no escape

    This mysterious life is as sharp as a knife

    Time and time again, it hurts me deeply

    I know the happiness I want is in that higher sky..."

    The voice gradually rose!

    All of a sudden!

    A loud roar exploded in the ears of all the Yan Continent leaders, like the resounding thunder in a heavy rain:

    "I want to fly higher!!!"

    In an instant!

    Everyone felt a chill run down their spine!

    Everyone didn''t know how the other continents would react to this song, but at the scene, everyone from Yan Continent was completely helpless against this song. The hot-tempered guys absolutely loved this song!

 Chapter 768 - 733: Hot-tempered Old Brother Online Rankings_1

    While the leaders of Yan Continent were listening to songs, a fierce battle was taking place on the season leaderboard!

    Qin Continent.

    "Brothers, charge!"

    "Get your father, mother, grandparents, brothers, sisters, and even all your aunts and uncles to help rank us up!"

    "Qin Continent can''t lose!"

    "We must defend the second place of ''Believe in Yourself'', keep Qi Continent firmly in the third place!"

    "This is a prelude to the Bluelympics!"

    "If we lose the season leaderboard, we lose the momentum of the competition!"

    "Let''s fight them!"

    "The Bluelympics will be held right at our doorstep. ''Welcome to Qin Continent'' must be first, and the song cheering for our athletes of Qin must be second!"

    ...

    Qi Continent.

    "Why should the people of Qin be in second place!"

    "The Bluelympics are about to start, and we must take the lead, letting ''I Believe'' surge to second place!"

    "This is how we support our continent''s athletes!"

    "I had my whole family download ''I Believe'', but we released it a bit later, we need to work even harder!"

    "There are still twenty-nine days, steal their second place!"

    "Rise up!"

    "Our song is better, there''s no reason to lose to them!"

    "I have already downloaded this song on all players, but we need to rally more people of Qi to fight together!"

    ...

    Qi Continent is promoting ''I Believe''.

    Qin Continent is promoting ''Believe in Yourself''.

    Both sides are seeing red, viewing the season leaderboard as the momentum battle of the Bluelympics!

    Zhao Continent, Wei Continent, and the Cultural Wall are oblivious to this matter.

    However, Yan Continent, Chu Continent, and Han Continent are all watching!

    Especially the hot-headed big brothers of Yan Continent!

    They are the most anxious at the moment, feeling like they are full of energy with nowhere to use it!

    "When will our Yan Continent''s song be released?"

    "Fish Papa, please make your move!"

    "Are we just going to watch Qin Continent and Qi Continent fight?"

    "No other choice."

    "It takes time for Fish Papa to write a song, it''s only been two hours, and we don''t even know if Fish Papa agreed to the song invitation."

    "I can''t stand it!"

    "Fish Papa should agree, he has a big picture in mind. Since he''s willing to help Qi Continent, there''s no reason to refuse Chu Continent!"

    "The problem is ¡­"

    "Even if Xian Yu comes up with a song to cheer our athletes of Yan on, it might not be as good as the support songs from Qin and Qi. They started earlier, and Fish Papa had more inspirations then!"

    "¡­"

    The hot-headed big brothers were getting even more irritated, wishing they could write a cheer song for Yan Continent''s athletes themselves! sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Just at this moment.

    A sudden promotion pop up on the webpage:

    ''Xian Yu''s new song ''Fly Higher'' has been released, cheering on the athletes of Yan Continent!"

    In an instant!

    The whole network went silent!

    Even the frenzied people of Qin and Qi felt their hearts jump, temporarily stopping their battle, casting glances of attention this way.

    This is¡­.

    It''s Xian Yu''s new song!?

    He really did agree to Yan Continent''s invitation to write a song!

    And it has been released so quickly?

    What kind of godlike speed is this, how long has it been since Yan Continent asked him?

    Does writing songs require no time?

    Does recording songs require no time?

    You couldn''t have prepared this in advance, could you!

    If it was prepared in advance, then what''s the deal with this song''s title?

    It''s actually called ''Fly Higher''?

    Isn''t that the slogan Yan Continent chanted when they invited him to write the song? You really made them a song called ''Fly Higher''?

    What kind of genius interpretation is this!

    Do you really need to be this simple and crude!

    With such a simple and crude title, and such a rushed timing, could the quality of the song be any good?

    All sorts of thoughts flashed through everyone''s minds.

    But for the Yan People, they didn''t think about anything at all!

    "It''s out!"

    That was the first thought of the Yan people, and then they all flocked to listen to the song!

    Hot-headed big brothers are always so impulsively on fire!

    Some of the Yan people even skipped the introduction, wanting to get to the main part of the song in one breath, but because they were too excited, they fast-forwarded straight to the climax¡ª

    "I want to fly higher

    Fly higher"

    A dance rampant as a wild wind!

    Breaking ties and bonds

    I want to fly higher

    Fly higher

    Wings stirring the storm

    A howl rising in my heart

    Fly higher

    ...

    What a stimulating piece!

    The first Yan People old brother who heard this climax was dumfounded and even forgot to return to the main verse, his brain buzzing!

    One minute later.

    Other netizens who heard the climax were directly shocked on the spot!

    What song is this?

    This is freaking awesome!

    It truly is!

    The dogfight of the seasonal chart paused temporarily, countless comments appeared like a storm!

    "Damn!"

    "It''s so freaking amazing!"

    "This song is really awesome!"

    "Why do I feel that every song from Xian Yu is better than the last!"

    "Weren''t we told Xian Yu was completely drained by the first three songs, then what is this!"

    "How does he have so many songs!"

    "This sounds amazing!"

    "If I wasn''t from the Qi Continent, I would have voted for him!"

    "As a Qin People, I''m almost in tears. Fish Papa, please rein in your divine powers. Are you trying to boost the Yan People''s morale!"

    ...

    The Qin people are panicked!

    So are the Qi people!

    No matter how different the positions, everyone can hear how good this "Fly Higher" is!

    Not to mention the Bluelympics atmosphere!

    Even in normal times, this song would be explosive!

    The intense drum beats and the growling howl, coupled with the anger of rock, seem to ignite the already extremely tense battlefield of the seasonal charts!

    Discover exclusive content at My Virtual Library Empire

    "Awooo!"

    Compared to the panicked Qin and Qi people, the old brothers from the Yan Continent are already letting out eager howls, like beasts who have been locked up for a long time finally being let loose!

    They''re starving!

    It''s terrifying when the Yan People are starved. Heaven only knows how tormented they were waiting for this song!

    "What are we waiting for!"

    "Let the Qin and Qi see our fighting strength!"

    "This month''s seasonal chart, it''s not just your two continents'' battlefield!"

    "Yan-men, all of you join the battlefield for me!"

    "Yan-women, don''t doddle!"

    "Rush this chart!"

    "Hehe, this song from Fish Papa really fits my taste. I''ve never called him Fish Papa before, because he''s a Qin People, but this time, I''m willing to call him that!"

    ...

    This pleases my palate!

    Yan People love this kind of angry song, "Fly Higher" seems like an aphrodisiac, raising the spirits of all Yan People to their throats!

    At the same time!

    The Yan Continent official starts promoting this song without any hesitation, boosting their continent''s athletes in this way!

    Soon.

    The Yan Continent athletes also heard this song, and their blood began to boil immediately!

    They had waited so long, and it was worth it!

    We''re going to start the rally right now!

    Bluelympics!

    Wait for the arrival of the Yan Continent!

    Thanks to Xian Yu!

    Praise Xian Yu!

    Although you are a Qin People, please accept the thanks and praise from us, the Yan People!

    At this moment.

    The dogfight of the seasonal chart, upon the arrival of "Fly Higher", went into overdrive, and the Qin and Qi people became nervous. Everyone knows this song is extraordinary!

    But the netizens of Chu Continent and Han Continent looked at each other.

    They seem a bit idle.

    Yeah!

    As soon as Yan Continent made a move, it looked like Huang Dongzheng was going to drop another rank?

    Thinking of this.

    Chu and Han found amusement!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps:Thanks to the Alliance Hierarch of [Wind Listener] for tribute, I kneel before you ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, there should be another chapter at three.

 Chapter 769 - 734: Damn, theres still _1

    Qin Continent, Qi Continent, and Yan Continent are all scrapping it out in the season leaderboards. Chu Continent and Han Continent internet users, despite the anxiety, can''t alter this, the only thing they can do is find some amusement.

    Might as well, given that they''re idle anyway.

    And right now, the biggest source of joy in the two continents is Huang Dongzheng!

    "Well, look at him, ''Fly Higher'' is already in fourth place. Some hotheads in Yan Continent probably didn''t even listen to the song carefully before rallying their friends to vote!"

    "Huang Dongzheng has dropped to fifth."

    "He can''t even lick the bottom of the pot anymore!"

    "You guys are too nasty. First, you encourage Huang Dongzheng to drink soup, then you soothe him with bones, you even come up with the idea of licking the pot bottom. Now that there''s no pot to lick, can you still spin a yarn?"

    "I...I can''t carry on with the tale."

    "Why can''t you carry on? Let him wash the pot and dishes, at least he can get a little oil spillage."

    "Pfft!"

    "I fucking give up!"

    "Cleaning dishes and pots could work?"

    "This shitpost of a user definitely hails from our Han Continent!"

    "Why does your Han Continent love claiming arbitrary relationships, I think this shitpost bro is one of our Chu people, only our Chu people could make such a stunt."

    "What''s there to dispute? It''s not a vote, just ask him, bro, where are you from?"

    "I''m from Qin Continent."

    Chu Continent: "..."

    Han Continent: "..."

    Shouldn''t you go and vote then?

    ¡­

    So let''s not mention the self-entertainment of Chu Continent and Han Continent.

    Huang Dongzheng had blocked all Bluelympics news two hours ago. Your journey continues with My Virtual Library Empire

    The reasons are well known by all.

    However, Huang Dongzheng suddenly remembered after breakfast that he has a book at home, which mentions the various interpretations of rankings. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    One of them got Huang Dongzheng excited:

    The first rank is called the Champion, the second rank is the runner-up, the third rank is the third place.

    And the fourth, is called the Final Guard!

    Yes, there''s also a title for the fourth place.

    From now on, don''t just call the fourth "the fourth position", show some culture!

    It''s called the Final Guard!!!

    I have to say, it sounds pretty good!

    And it sounds just as prestigious as the runner-up or third place!

    Oddly enough.

    After seeing this interpretation, Huang Dongzheng suddenly felt that the fourth place is not that hard to accept anymore.

    "I am the Final Guard!"

    Huang Dongzheng profoundly proved a point: the power of human adaptability to their environment is simply terrifying!

    Perhaps so-called bottom lines are broken time and time again.

    However, Huang Dongzheng doesn''t see it that way.

    Gratitude leads to happiness!

    People must learn to be grateful and to cherish, otherwise even what''s held in hand could slip away through the gaps of fingers!

    And he''s let go!

    After letting it go, Huang Dongzheng decided to stop blocking news related to the Bluelympics.

    He has liked the Bluelympics since he was a kid, surely he wouldn''t stop watching because of a song.

    He took out his mobile phone.

    Huang Dongzheng started surfing the net, catching up with Bluelympics news in each continent.

    A few minutes later.

    A song plays on Huang Dong''s mobile:

    "I''ve been flying, I''ve been searching and I can''t find it. If you really want liberation, you have to first cut this enticing net. I seek a more radiant life, a bluer sky; I know the happiness that I seek is in the higher sky. I want to... Fly higher!"

    Oh, he''s now the fifth.

    Like it''s of no concern to him.

    Huang Dongzheng emotionlessly switched off his phone.

    His wife had just returned from shopping and saw Huang Dongzheng: "Honey, can you help me with something later?"

    "What do you need help with?"

    "I forgot to clean the pot this morning, can you help me?"

    "Alright."

    Huang Dongzheng rose with no expression, and after a couple steps, he turned to ask his wife:

    "Can I really clean the pot?"

    ...

    Huang Dongzheng doesn''t have much to bank on anymore.

    After Han Continent and Chu Continent bragged to each other, it quickly began to feel dull.

    The five continents merge, three continents rank.

    What could their remaining two continents be thinking?

    "We told our authorities to take action!"

    Finally, a netizen from Han Continent couldn''t stand it anymore and spoke out!

    All the other athletes on the other continents have songs to boost their morale. What would our athletes from Han Continent think if we don''t have one?

    It just so happened:

    As soon as these words were spoken, some netizens from Han Continent noticed that there was activity on their official Weibo!

    "The Han Continent sports community sincerely invites songwriters from all continents to help us create a motivational song for our local athletes of the Bluelympics. Our reward will be very generous!"

    Finally, it''s here!

    The people of Han Continent are energized!

    Even though Han Continent didn''t invite Xian Yu, it always feels like something is missing, but something is better than nothing!

    Plus, the people of Han Continent know.

    Inviting Xian Yu now would be too late.

    Four songs!

    Xian Yu has already written four songs for the Bluelympics!

    Looking for Xian Yu now?

    He might be totally drained by now!

    Four songs for the three continents plus a promotional theme song, won''t that completely exploit him?

    There''s nothing that can be done.

    Who told Han Continent to take action not quickly enough, and the reaction was also half slower than its should have been?

    For a moment.

    The netizens of Han Continent stopped competing with the people of Chu, you guys play on your own!

    We are going to prepare to rank the cheering song for Han Continent!

    Looking at the song creation speed of Xian Yu, other maestros won''t be that slow either, right?

    The lonely remaining people of Chu are a bit stunned.

    Han Continent is making moves, why isn''t Chu Continent taking any action?

    We Chu people also want to rank!

    Is Chu Continent really not taking any action?

    The answer is obviously no.

    Just as "Fly Higher" rushed to the fourth on the season charts, Lin Yuan, who was far away in Qin Continent''s Beijing, received a call--

    A call from Chu Continent.

    The person on the other side was very polite, and the core of all the polite words actually meant:

    Teacher Admirable Fish!

    If you haven''t been totally exploited, we Chu people also want to fly together!

    "Alright."

    Lin Yuan agreed.

    It''s not because their promised reward was high, although the reward was tempting, but the wool of the Bluelympics was more attractive!

    He hasn''t had enough yet!

    By this point, the Chu person on the other side thought the conversation was over, but didn''t expect Lin Yuan to suddenly say:

    "The song has been sent, hurry up and rank."

    The person on the other side was stunned.

    After hanging up the phone in confusion, the person found a song in their email.

    The song was named "Beyond Dreams".

    Yes.

    This song was already prepared by Lin Yuan in advance, and that''s what he has been busy with recently in Beijing.

    Everybody flies together!

    It''s just that Han Continent is falling behind a bit.

    Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan have all come already, only Han Continent hasn''t knocked on the door yet, but instead they are soliciting for songs and seem unconfident, even though they still have a few drops left.

    "Should I take the initiative?"

    Lin Yuan was afraid that if he delayed any longer, Han Continent would have no chance to rank, but seeing that Han Continent published news on Tribe, Lin Yuan could only shake his head lightly.

    He didn''t have Tribe on his phone.

    Tribe had long been uninstalled by Lin Yuan who was holding a grudge, and the account was cleanly logged out, including Chu Kuang, Shadow and the sockpuppet which was only used once.

    Just like that.

    Five minutes later.

    The song named "Beyond Dreams" quietly ascended onto all major music platforms.

    At the same time, Chu Continent''s promotion finally started vigorously!

    The netizens from all continents were dumbfounded...

    This feeling seemed like they were playing with Yan Continent''s matryoshka doll.

    It was clear that they had opened many outer shells, and the doll was indeed getting smaller and smaller, but each time when they thought it was the last layer, they would be astonished to find out that it seemed like an infinite matryoshka doll:

    There is more!!!

 Chapter 770 - 735: My Blogging Game_1

    At this point, only half an hour or so had passed since the release of "Fly Higher." The competition on the seasonal leaderboard initially started out between Qin Continent and Qi Continent. But with Yan Continent suddenly joining in, it turned into a three-way battle.

    However, no one anticipated that shortly after the start of the three-Continent brawl, Xian Yu would write another supportive cheer for Chu Continent?

    "Awoo~"

    The people of Chu Continent were excited!

    When the song titled "Beyond Dreams," the support melody for the Chu athletes, was released, they were injected with a shot of adrenaline. Their roars of excitement resembled those of the Yan People!

    Consider this!

    They were initially prepared to wait a few more days, not even thinking that Chu Continent could compete with the three continents that already had their songs for the top spot in the seasonal leaderboard.

    After all, everyone understood that the later a song was released, the harder it would be to make it to the top of the list.

    Contrary to their expectations, Chu Continent''s officials made a strong move by following suit and inviting Xian Yu to write a song for them. Xian Yu surprisingly wrote a support song titled "Beyond Dreams" for the Chu athletes ---

    He still has songs up his sleeve!

    He hasn''t been completely drained!

    Who the hell said Xian Yu was all tapped out?

    Indeed!

    Songs for Xian Yu are like milk... cough, like water in a sponge, always there to be squeezed out.

    Very quickly.

    The Chu people, with trembling fingers, clicked on "Beyond Dreams"!

    Netizens from other continents too, amidst their astonishment and uncertainty, quickly clicked the play button for the song.

    After all, the quality of the song is the key. If the quality isn''t up to par, everything else is for nothing!

    At this point, Qin, Qi and Yan continents began to pray internally for the first time:

    Hopefully, this song from Chu Continent won''t be good!

    Although this malicious prayer seems unfair to Xian Yu, the seasonal leaderboard was becoming a mess, and they couldn''t handle another hit song!

    At that moment.

    The song began.

    "When the Holy Fire is first lit, hope follows

    When the finish line is no longer permanent, the soul feels it

    Doesn''t care how many lifetimes it''s waited

    Doesn''t care about tears of laughter

    Fly beyond dreams together

    You and me, sincerely face each other

    Let life savor this moment

    Let time etch this instance..."

    During the high point of the song, the faces of the Qin, Qi, and Yan Continent netizens change one after another!

    What kind of song is this again?

    Why do they all sound so good?

    Everyone could tell that the quality of "Beyond Dreams" seemed to be on par with the previous Bluelympics songs Xian Yu had written!

    Their hopes were dashed!

    Qin, Qi, and Yan continents were in a panic!

    The thing they least wanted to happen had happened!

    Looking at the quality of this song, Chu Continent was obviously going to join the battlefield!

    "Damn!"

    Someone became anxious:

    "Why is Xian Yu cheering everywhere! Does he think he is a Bluelympics cheer station! Fly together? Why does he only know how to fly fly fly fly fly!"

    Meanwhile, the Chu people were beyond excited:

    "What''s wrong with flying together!"

    "Why is it that only you from Qin, Qi, and Yan continents can fly, and we can''t! Believe in yourself, believe in Xian Yu, fly beyond dreams, fly higher, and then shoulder to shoulder with the sun!"

    "Chu people rise up, this song is so good, I''m crying!"

    "No one underestimated Fish Papa, I''m very satisfied with this song!"

    "It sounds so cool, I finally understand why the Yan People were so vexed before. Now I''m getting vexed. I''m so vexed that I want to smash this list!"

    "Yes, breaking the list!"

    "Break the list quickly. This song is so good; we''re not weak compared to them!"

    "I am playing this song on repeat while breaking the list. It''s so motivating!"

    "Since they treat the competition on the seasonal list as a warm-up for the Bluelympics, we Chu people must not lag behind. We can still catch up now!"

    Fuel to the fire.

    "Beyond Dreams" quickly surged to the number five spot. The already chaotic seasonal leaderboard became even more chaotic with the addition of Chu Continent. People were losing their minds!

    Everyone''s gone mad!

    ...

    Of course, not all the continents were freaking out.

    At this time, the netizens of another continent were watching everything with a dumbfounded expression, completely removed from the situation.

    Han Continent.

    Poor Han Continent.

    Han Continent could only watch dumbfounded as their own officials, unaware of the situation, continued their ridiculous public song invitation.

    After all, who would have thought that Xian Yu would still have songs left.

    Their officials were utterly stupid!

    They suddenly felt as if they''d been forsaken by the world.

    The merger of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han continents started, but Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan were already in a scuffle in the season leaderboard, claiming it to be a dress rehearsal for the Bluelympics. And Han Continent was just standing on the sidelines, eating melons. Could any Han person accept such a reality?

    The Han people had long been unable to hold back!

    "This melon is not sweet at all; it''s sour and bitter!"

    "Though our sporting results in Han Continent are the worst, we also participate in the Bluelympics. We are also part of the merged continents!"

    "The feeling of being shut out is so unbearable!"

    "What is our government doing, skipping out on the correct answer: Xian Yu!"

    "Quickly find Xian Yu!"

    "Does Xian Yu have any song left?"

    "It''s too late now; he has already written five songs..."

    "Give it a try!"

    "Maybe he does have more songs!"

    The Han people were indeed furious!

    Previously, while Qin, Qi, and Yan were fighting, they could at least shoot the breeze with Chu Continent, and discuss Huang Dongzheng...

    Now it''s over!

    Chu Continent has also joined the fight!

    Only damn Han Continent is still standing like an idiot!

    What should we do next?

    Keep discussing Huang Dongzheng? S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Talk about his dish-washing?

    Right now, Huang Dongzheng doesn''t even have a dish to wash; the top five on the season leaderboard are all Xian Yu!

    There''s no way to continue making memes about him!

    Although the first line of "Beyond Dreams" is:

    When the Holy Fire is first lit, hope follows...

    However, this is Xian Yu''s Holy Fire!

    Huang Dongzheng''s "Holy Fire" has long been extinguished!

    There is no hope left!

    Is there no hope left for our Han Continent?

    The entire Han Continent seemed to be shrouded in loneliness.

    But then.

    At that moment!

    Xian Yu''s blog post immediately drove all the Han people into madness!

    [ @Han Continent, this is the last one. If you need to create a song, you can find me on my blog. I don''t play Tribe, so I didn''t know you needed one, sorry. ]

    There''s one more song!

    Xian Yu has the last song!

    But before the Han people could regain their senses, officials from all the continents almost simultaneously tagged Xian Yu on the blog.

    Find your next adventure on My Virtual Library Empire

    Qin Continent: "We don''t mind having one more!"

    Qi Continent: "Give it to us, the reward will be generous!"

    Chu Continent: "Teacher Admirable Fish, we need to fly even higher!"

    Yan Continent: "Respected Teacher Admirable Fish, no matter how many songs you have, we Yan Continent will take them all, we will double the remuneration of Qi Continent!"

    Fuck off!

    No respect for martial ethics!

    You people don''t even want the face?

    You, who have songs, still want to snatch from us, who don''t?

    The Han people are anxious and angry, they rush to the official Han Tribe account to comment:

    "Stop playing Tribe!"

    "Playing Tribe leads to a dead end!"

    "Xian Yu is waiting on the blog!"

    "Where do you get songs faster than going directly to Xian Yu? By the time the song arrives, the season leaderboard will almost be over!"

    "Why are you guys so slow to react? Are you sloths? By the time you realize, the song has been snatched away by others!"

    "Come on!!!"

    "Gogogogogogogo!"

    "Hurry up!!!!!"

    "Go! To! Blog!"

    "..."

    The Han people wish they could hold a knife against the officials, forcing them to go to the blog and invite Xian Yu to write a song!

    Under the Han netizens'' urging, the Han officials finally woke up from their dream:

    "Here we go!"

    Han Continent finally had difficulty logging on to their blog official account, which had been unused for so long they had almost forgotten the password. They invited Xian Yu to create a song!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Haha, everyone, do you know which song Han Continent used?

 Chapter 771 - 736: Hanging by a Thread_1

    How grand the Bluelympics is! The intense battle between Qin, Chu, Yan, and the other tribes in the leaderboards is so exciting. Just when the Tribe was enjoying the excitement, we found ourselves in the eye of the storm ¡ª Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Holy hell!"

    "What the hell does Admirable Fish mean? You three bros have rooted so many of our users over at the blog, and now even these official accounts aren''t spared!"

    "Freaking shit!"

    "Han Continent actually willingly went over, do you have no backbone left? A respected official account from a major continent just leaves like that. You could have sorted this out with a phone call!"

    "Ling Kong!"

    "It''s all Ling Kong''s fault! If he hadn''t persecuted Shadow in the first place, it wouldn''t have triggered the departure of the three bros from the Tribe, resulting in even Admirable Fish showing such hostility towards us!"

    ...

    Several departments in the Tribe cursed out loud!

    How huge is the traffic of an official account during the Bluelympics?

    Even if they returned after the Bluelympics, the fever of the moment would have blown over!

    We must figure out a way to bring them back to the Tribe!

    Meanwhile, in the animation department.

    Ling Kong, who was desperately trying to redeem himself, almost spat out a mouthful of old blood when he heard about this!

    He had been keeping a low profile recenly, yet he could still be blindsided?

    "Just you wait!"

    He roared in a low voice, though it was unclear who the warning was intended for.

    ...

    Attracted by the excitement of the Blogs, one after another, the official accounts from each continent started to mention Admirable Fish.

    They all wanted to request a song!

    Actually, they were aware that they most likely wouldn''t get a song, they just wanted to stir up trouble and spite Han Continent.

    The netizens from each of the continents were right.

    The pre-show of the Bluelympics had begun!

    However, the way Admirable Fish capitalized on the situation to give the Tribe a setback had the netizens in giggles ¡ª

    "This is an insult to the Tribe!"

    "What harm could Daddy Fish do?"

    "The Tribe must be pissed, but the Blog is rejoicing!"

    "The Three Bros settled in the Blog, the Blog is seriously profitable!"

    "Setting aside the Tribe''s problems, didn''t expect Daddy Fish to have another song."

    "Just look at my face, do I look surprised in the slightest?"

    "Since he could write a song for Chu Continent, I knew that Han Continent must have something to do with it as well."

    "Han Continent is going to join the leaderboard this season."

    "Who would be afraid of Han Continent?"

    "Hahahaha, makes sense. With their poor sports performance, even their own continent despises them."

    ...

    Competition amongst Qin, Chu and Yan continents.

    The leaderboards are being taken advantage of.

    Whether Han Continent enters or not at this point, no one cares.

    Let it come!

    Fight!

    Who''s afraid of who?

    And the simple fact as to why everyone is so relaxed is very simple.

    Because Han Continent is weak at sports!

    The total number of gold medals Han Continent has ever won at Bluelympics is the lowest amongst the continents!

    They are the weakest continent in the Bluelympics!

    So what if Admirable Fish wrote songs to cheer you on?

    You guys have always been at the back of the line amongst all the continents. Your next chapter is on My Virtual Library Empire

    No matter how much cheerleading through songs, it wouldn''t change the fact that Han Continent is the weakest!

    Weaklings!

    Mind you,

    Though Han Continent is considered insignificant, all eyes were on what song Admirable Fish would give Han Continent!

    The previous songs were awesome!

    Can the last one maintain the quality?

    Forget about it!

    Who cares!

    We''ll know once the song releases!

    Just go back and fight for the ranking, let''s kick the asses of the other continents!

    It would have been better if Han Continent hadn''t shown up. Now that it''s here, every other continent can bully them!

    The continents took a break for a few minutes, watched the hustle and bustle for a while, and then charged at their competition season leaderboard rivals with a ferocious look!

    ...

    Qin Continent.

    Beijing.

    Lin Yuan saw that Han Continent indeed came to his blog seeking a song. He couldn''t help but smile.

    He still couldn''t resist striking first.

    Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, when five continents merge, the last one''s Bluelympics wool is ripe for the picking!

    As for why Han Continent''s public call for song submissions didn''t bear fruit?

    It''s not that other composers are inadequate.

    Inspirational songs are often simple in melody and lyrics, so they are relatively easy to compose.

    But even the simplest songs require time!

    And sometimes, the simplest can actually be the most difficult.

    Anyone who has experienced song creation can understand this!

    Plus, this call for song submissions really came out of nowhere!

    Unless someone, like Lin Yuan, had prepared in advance!

    Otherwise, even top song composers like Yang Zhongming would struggle to come up with a song that meets their demands in such a short timeframe!

    Ironically, right now, all the continents are fiercely competing on the season leaderboard.

    By the time Han Continent successfully finds a suitable song from the submissions, it could be too late!

    ...

    At this point, Gu Dong took a call and hastily handed the phone to Lin Yuan, not forgetting to remind him that it was from Han Continent.

    "Hello."

    Lin Yuan casually took the phone, not surprised.

    The voice on the other end wasn''t as excited as Lin Yuan had expected: "Thank you, Teacher Admirable Fish, for offering to help us, but it may be too much. We do have requirements for the song. First, it must be in Mandarin, out of respect for the Bluelympics in Qin Continent¡­"

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan felt the caller''s tone lacked fighting spirit, which was unlike the other continents.

    The caller sounded helpless, saying:

    "You probably know that we in Han Continent have always underperformed at the Bluelympics, we almost always come in last."

    "Yeah."

    Lin Yuan was indeed aware that Han Continent wasn''t great at sports.

    It''s rumored that Han Continent has the fewest total gold medals in the Bluelympics.

    "I''m not afraid to air our dirty laundry today, hoping these words can serve as inspiration for your lyrics."

    The caller sighed, saying:

    "Our athletes in Han Continent lack morale due to our poor performance. When they train, I can feel a sense of confusion within them. Their performances aren''t great in any sport, and the fans from our continent often criticize them online for not being ambitious. After being criticized so much by their own people, they''ve become numb to it, even indifferent.

    So, I really hope that Teacher Admirable Fish can write a song that instills a belief in them, they actually are talented, and speaking of this I can''t help mentioning that the song ''Believe in Yourself'' is very good. If only that song had been for us in Han Continent, they are so lacking in confidence despite having so much frustration and ambition."

    "Right."

    "Another thing is that our continent doesn''t have many sports superstars. Other continents all have superstars in various sports, but our athletes are mostly ordinary. No one wants to be that ordinary. You should know that twenty years ago Han Continent wasn''t as weak as it is now. I don''t know why we''ve declined so much.

    Your songs all touch upon the themes of running and soaring, but it seems that our athletes have forgotten what it feels like to run freely and soar in the playing field. I hope these sentiments can be reflected in your song."

    "I understand."

    As Lin Yuan used his phone, he said:

    "Actually, what you need is not ''Believe in Yourself'', but to learn how to be brave first."

    "Huh?"

    "Someone I respect very much once said: Someone has to win in the end, why can''t it be me?"

    The caller was taken aback.

    Lin Yuan said: "I sent the song over. I hope Han Continent finds that feeling."

    The feeling of freedom.

    The feeling of flying.

    After speaking, Lin Yuan hung up the phone.

    On the other end.

    The leader of the Han Continent Sports Bureau was stunned.

    The song had been sent already?

    Had it been prepared in advance?

    Had he heard all the requirements I just mentioned, hoping that he would use them as inspiration for the song?

    What I needed was...

    He opened his email with a bewildered look on his face, and the first thing this Han Continent sports official saw was a somewhat melancholic title:

    Heart of Courage.

 Chapter 772 - 737 I Want a Blooming Life_1

    "Brave Heart?

    The leader from Han Continent had almost believed that to be Xian Yu''s song title.

    It wasn''t until he clicked on the email titled [Brave Heart] that he discovered a whole new world within.

    Whoosh!

    A song danced before the leader''s eyes, accompanied by an audio file.

    Song Title: "Blooming Life"

    An unusual feeling stirred within him, and he promptly played the song.

    Meanwhile, back in Qin Continent.

    Huang Dongzheng was staring blankly out the window.

    He ultimately couldn''t wash the pot successfully.

    His wife thought he was too slow, so she ended up washing the pot herself.

    However, Huang Dongzheng no longer cared about such trivial household chores. When his song''s ranking in the season''s chart fell to sixth place, his mood had plunged to rock bottom.

    Sixth place?

    He presumed he would soon be seventh.

    No longer filtering out news related to Bluelympics, he was aware that Xian Yu was composing a song for Han Continent.

    Once that song is released!

    And with further promotion by the Han Continent official team!

    His ranking would undoubtedly continue to plummet.

    Having given up on his obsession with the season''s chart rankings, Huang Dongzheng still felt a bit dissatisfied, but he was oddly looking forward to the song Xian Yu composed for Han Continent.

    Because Huang Dongzheng is also from Han!

    His reason for staying in Qin Continent these past years was to improve his composition skills in Blue Star, the famous Land of Music, and also for the sake of his Qin wife.

    Therefore, Huang Dongzheng had every reason to look forward to a song Xian Yu composed for the Han Continent athletes!

    He knew about the situation back home.

    During the past few Bluelympics, despite Huang Dongzheng profiting from Bluelympics promotional songs, his good mood would always disappear once the Bluelympics began.

    Han Continent''s performance was too disappointing!

    Any person from Han could not remain indifferent to this!

    This time, his bad mood arrived ahead of time just because of Xian Yu.

    It was bound to happen eventually.

    His wife, who had appeared silently, whispered: "Still not satisfied?"

    "I''ve improved a lot."

    Huang Dongzheng smiled bitterly, "I just think that the concept and scale of ''Qin Continent Welcomes You'' isn''t grand enough. He wrote the song from Qin Continent''s perspective while I composed mine looking at the whole Bluelympics, but that''s just a difference in personal understanding. Who can say for certain that their understanding is more accurate?

    It''s like the ancient palace debates, where loyal ministers wouldn''t necessarily be friends due to differing philosophies. I can only say that his composition skills are indeed superior."

    "Oh, you''re bringing politics into this now."

    His wife chuckles: "Has Xian Yu''s song for Han Continent been released yet?"

    "It will be soon."

    "Are you looking forward to it?"

    "Yeah."

    Huang Dongzheng''s wife let out a sigh.

    Whenever she watched the Bluelympics every year, Han Continent''s competition results always made Huang Dongzheng want to smash the TV. She understood his conflicting anticipation completely.

    Pulling out her phone.

    His wife suddenly smiled: "The song for Han Continent has been released!"

    "Let''s hear it"

    Huang Dongzheng perked up. But when he remembered this was Xian Yu''s song, a complicated expression crossed his face.

    "Mhm!"

    His wife started playing the song; Huang Dongzheng''s eyes scanned the title.

    "Blooming Life?"

    As those five words flashed through his mind, the sound of electric guitar burst through from the phone.

    Next.

    A slightly low voice started to sing:

    "How many times have we stumbled along the way

    How many times have our wings broken

    Today, I am no longer lost

    I want to rise above this ordinary life

    ..."

    A strange feeling stirred within him.

    Huang Dongzheng''s face was gradually changing.

    His wife was consumed by waves of complex emotions, gradually lost in the music.

    Within the music.

    The song''s climax was fast approaching!

    The husky vocals, filled with intense emotion, burst out alongside a chaotic flurry of drumbeats:

    "I crave for a blooming life

    Like soaring in the expansive sky

    Like striding across limitless wild lands

    Possessing the strength to break free from everything....."

    Huang Dongzheng sprung up abruptly, his face flushed and animated. It seemed as though all of his recent resentment and dissatisfaction had transformed into boiling blood, making his entire body slightly tremble!

    "I was wrong, I was wrong! It was my mistake!"

    Huang Dongzheng''s voice vibrated with an excitement that his wife couldn''t comprehend. Who would admit their mistakes with such enthusiasm?

    "Where were you wrong?"

    "I was wrong to narrowly think that Xian Yu only composed from the perspective of Qin Continent. He composed six songs, equal in importance, to cheer on the various continents. This mindset itself encompasses the grand vision he has for the Bluelympics!"

    Even as a Qin, he composed songs in rounds for all the continents!

    These songs were of high quality, without the slightest favoritism or bias!

    Why did he ever think, that he only composed from Qin Continent''s perspective?

    "Furthermore, this song also proves this point. The lyrics are completely untethered from the competition itself. In fact, the competition isn''t mentioned at all. It''s because what we, the athletes of Han Continent, need to find isn''t the direction of the Bluelympics competition, but the direction of our own lives. This is the song that the athletes of Han Continent need to hear the most!"

    This song is perfectly crafted for Han Continent!

    Even if the same song was given to Qin, Qi, Chu or Yan, it wouldn''t be as fitting.

    Because when you listen to the song, it doesn''t seem all that related to the competition.

    However, gifting it specifically to Han Continent was the most appropriate choice!

    This decision was made based on the Han Continent athletes'' state of mind and their performance over the years!

    They are lost!

    How could they talk to a group of athletes, who are life-struggling, about believing in themselves and performing better in the competition? These words might not even register with them!

    Fly together?

    Fly even higher?

    Other continents have the right to say that!

    But Han... Han hasn''t even taken flight once!

    Huang Dongzheng didn''t predict this, and had he written this song, he would undoubtedly have made it revolve around the competition!

    But Xian Yu didn''t!

    Because Huang Dongzheng didn''t anticipate it, when he finally understood, he realized even more!

    Not until this very moment!

    Did Huang Dongzheng truly submit wholeheartedly!"

    "I can''t compete with Xian Yu, not just in terms of composing skills, but also in understanding music, the competition, and even reality. I fall short in every aspect!"

    He stretched his hand out to his wife:

    "Give me your phone!"

    "What are you doing?"

    "Nothing yet!"

    Under his wife''s puzzled gaze, Huang Dongzheng decisively downloaded "Blooming Life" using her account.

    "First, to the charts!"

    Then Huang Dongzheng took out his own phone and used his own account to download "Blooming Life".

    "Get it on several more players!"

    Huang Dongzheng seemed to have completely forgotten that as soon as "Blooming Life" entered the season''s chart, his own song would drop a place.

    At this moment, he was truly one of the Han people!

    A quintessential Han person!

    Meanwhile, the characters on the seasonal charts.

    On a battlefield as turbulent as flaming oil.

    The four continents of Qin, Qi, Chu, and Yan had also tacitly halted their charting, casting their gazes onto the song "Blooming Life".

    Yet the quickest to react were the Han people!

    Despite the harsh words they use for their own athletes, in truth, they offer more support than anyone else!

    Their actions are the best proof!

    Many Han people didn''t even listen to the song, they simply clicked to download it out of support for their athletes!

    Of course.

    They still had to listen to the song.

    As with the launch of the previous songs, "Blooming Life" filled every continent as countless people clicked to play it.

    And then.

    When the entire song finished playing, the continents exploded!

    This was clearly another heart-pounding song!

    It gave people something fresh to think about without resorting to the overused tactic of discussing the competition in the lyrics. This made them reflect on Han Continent''s performance during the past Bluelympics! Enjoy exclusive adventures from My Virtual Library Empire

    "My goodness!"

    "It sounds so good!"

    "This song is so beautifully written!"

    "Fish Papa is indeed the cheer-up station for the Bluelympics!" Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Damn, I can barely resist downloading it!"

    "Don''t concern yourself with where the song is from. If you like it, download it. Don''t be narrow-minded. Even if this is a prelude to the Bluelympics, won''t we applaud if others perform well?"

    "I have to say, this song really sounds amazing!"

    "Although I think that Han''s sporting skills are not up to par, that won''t stop me from thumbing up for this song!"

    "Just download it! The Bluelympics is all about fairness! Their song being released last, it''s only fair to give them the same starting line before the competition. This is the true spirit of the Bluelympics prelude!"

    "¡­"

    The combination of promotion from Han, support from Han people, and the downloads from other continents set the song on fire!

    It spread like wildfire!

    "Blooming Life" quickly rose to the sixth place on the season chart. The song officially joined the competition!

    For the first time, Huang Dongzheng was willing to see his own ranking drop!

    Yes.

    Willingly!

    At this moment, Huang Dongzheng''s eyes were a little red!

    People not from Han might not understand these feelings. Even his wife was puzzled by her husband''s sudden fervor.

    Right now!

    Not just Huang Dongzheng.

    Many Han people who heard the song had their eyes watering. This was indeed the most perfect song for Han athletes!

    Go for it!

    You athletes from Han Continent!

    Can you see everyone''s support?!

    Have you heard this song?!

    ¡­

    Of course, Han''s athletes heard it.

    When the song was released, it reverberated in Han''s largest stadium.

    The athletes from Han all looked up, a glimmer deep in their eyes.

    "How many times have I lost my direction

    How many dreams have been shattered?

    Now, I''m no longer feeling lost

    I want my life to be freed

    I want my life to bloom

    Just like standing on the top of a rainbow

    Like passing through a dazzling galaxy

    Liberated beyond the ordinary...."

    In a moment of distraction.

    Some eyes turned red.

    The athletes who were resting by the sidelines picked up their phones, the screen filled with cheers from their homeland.

    So, what if our performance isn''t good?

    They have never given up on us.

    To get the song from Xian Yu, they passionately posted comments under the official account.

    To cheer us on, they desperately pulled people to help boost the song!

    Even though the harshest and most vicious critics are usually among them!

    Suddenly.

    The resting athletes quietly got up and re-entered the training ground under the cover of the music.

    Afterwards.

    More and more athletes got up, said no word, and started training.

    "Lift!"

    A weightlifter lifted up an enormous barbell, holding it up for a few seconds under his dumbfounded coach''s gaze before putting it down.

    "How did you do that?"

    You broke your personal record, didn''t you?

    "Because we want to try... what it feels like to soar," a nearby athlete said, laughing.

    The coach rolled his eyes.

    You''re a swimmer!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: I know some of you have mentioned Polluted White''s lyrics. Let''s do the math: there are 153 words in the lyrics, and this chapter has just over 3,000 words. It just seems like a lot because of the way it is broken up, and the site doesn''t count words in paragraphs. From now on, I won''t be explaining this anymore. For the song choice, I was torn between Brave Heart and Blooming Life.

    Polluted White preferred the climax part of Brave Heart, but ultimately chose the latter because it better reflected Han''s situation. Also, its quality is indisputable. Lastly, I kept this note within the non-chargeable word count.

 Chapter 773 - 738: Bluelympics Deity Shearing_1

    Songs from the Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han have all been written.

    Although Han''s was the last to come, don''t forget that today is still July 2nd!

    The release interval for Xian Yu''s songs is very short, and there are still nearly twenty-nine days left until the end of the season!

    There is plenty of time.

    No province can slack off.

    Who will be victorious is still unclear.

    By this point, the season''s leaderboard is in complete chaos!

    This is the first time such a situation has occurred since the implementation of the seasonal leaderboard by the Literature and Art Association.

    The clash here is not just amongst composers, or even fans of singers.

    The competition does not purely stem from the quality of the songs.

    The competition is between the provinces!

    The Bluelympics is the competition for all kinds of athletes, while the seasonal leaderboard is the battlefield for the common people in each province!

    This is even more exciting than gods clashing on the battlefield!

    The download volumes of support songs from each province are abnormal!

    Everyone is going on a fighting frenzy!

    "Charge on, people of Qi! Only the second place can eat meat!"

    "Press on. We were the first ones here. Qin people, maintain our ranking!"

    "Chu people must take second place! Are you satisfied with just gnawing on bones?"

    "We Han people have lost so many times in competitions before. Can we afford another loss in the season leaderboard contest, which doesn''t rely on the athletes'' abilities? We wouldn''t even have a chance to clean the pot!"

    "Aoowuuu, rawr!"

    "..."

    Shouts from the different provinces are bubbling up in waves, and the last one, a howl, likely came from the people of Yan.

    The season leaderboard is aflame with competition.

    Some provinces, in order to raise their own support song rankings, even begin to ally with other low-ranking provinces. Mutual benefit and mutual assistance lead to even more unpredictability in the season leaderboard!

    Among all, the biggest beneficiary is Xian Yu, because the top six songs on the July leaderboard are all from him!

    Fact is.

    Even without "Qin Continent Welcomes You," the seemingly unbeatable reigning champion, the result would be the same.

    It doesn''t matter which song wins or loses.

    Any one of them exceeds "Holy Fire" in the rankings.

    Xian Yu has established himself in an unbeatable position, completely carefree!

    He single-handedly swept clean the opportunities brought by the Bluelympics to the music industry, and no one can do anything about it!

    Who can break his streak?

    No one can.

    Because Xian Yu represents the momentum of the Bluelympics!

    Personal capabilities have nothing to do with it anymore.

    As the saying goes, breaking his momentum is equivalent to facing the national influence of the Bluelympics. It''s not something a person can do alone!

    At this moment.

    The most flabbergasted of all are not the netizens. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Netizens are busy ranking their own support songs.

    It''s the music industry of each province that''s truly shocked!

    The music industries of the five provinces didn''t even have time to react.

    Every single one of them was completely stunned by Xian Yu''s six-song attack for the Bluelympics!

    In just two days.

    Xian Yu, all by himself, ignited a battle among the five provinces on the season leaderboard. As effortlessly as flipping his hand, he''s reaping the terrifying download volumes provided by the natural patriotism of the Blue Star people!

    Is this still a fish?

    This is a fishing elder!

    He''s sitting back and reaping the profits!

    He''s caught all of the fish from the five provinces!

    Who knew the Bluelympics could be played this way?

    All the sheep of the Bluelympics have been shorn by you!

    "He''s created a new way to profit in the music industry. Why didn''t I think of it before? In addition to the Bluelympics theme song, we can also write songs to rally support for each province!"

    "This is essentially using the power of the provincial officials for rankings!"

    "In the future, every time the Bluelympics is held, I think each province will start soliciting support songs a few months in advance. Xian Yu is the first to grab the opportunity, there won''t be such a good opportunity next time around!"

    "He must have prepared in advance!"

    "Preparing in advance is a given. There''s no way he could have written and recorded so many songs at once. But being able to prepare in advance is a skill in itself, and it also requires talent. All six songs are of top quality!"

    "This is the god of shearing the Bluelympics!"

    "He really knows how to shear, learnt a lot!"

    "During the next Bluelympics, even I, the Maestro, must get some wool!"

    "Speaking of which, Xian Yu has really written a lot of inspirational songs. He''s like a walking inspirational song creation machine!"

    "I was saying before that the Bluelympics will end his 12-champion streak in July, but he single-handedly put an end to the season leaderboard competition in July!"

    "..."

    Despair and regret!

    Envy and jealousy! Experience tales at My Virtual Library Empire

    Astonishment and a sense of loss!

    The feelings in the music industry are diverse!

    In the past, people didn''t know they could write songs to boost provinces. Everyone was eyeing the piece of meat in Huang Dongzheng''s mouth.

    But this is the Bluelympics!

    The highly anticipated Bluelympics!

    What a feast for gluttons!

    How could the profits of the music industry be so small?

    Now that Xian Yu has set a good example, the future Bluelympics will see everyone looking not just at the Bluelympics theme song, but broadening their horizons even further!

    Xian Yu really hit the jackpot this time!

    Now that the music industry has woken up, no one will be able to enjoy this gluttonous feast all by themselves in the future!

    It''s such a pity this time!

    Xian Yu, having prepared in advance, is enjoying his feast while everyone else could only watch with envy, despite having the same abilities but due to lack of preparation.

    Truth be told.

    What everyone is shocked by are not these songs, or Xian Yu''s capabilities.

    Everyone knows Xian Yu''s abilities. It''s not a surprise that someone like him could pull this off with preparation.

    In fact.

    When Han Continent was collecting support songs from abroad, the music circles of various continents had already taken action, but who could outpace Xian Yu?

    Other people needed time to write songs!

    But his songs were ready-made!

    If everyone else was prepared in advance, no matter how good Xian Yu was, he wouldn''t be able to fleece the wool of all the continents alone!

    ...

    Qin Continent.

    Beijing.

    A certain hotel.

    Lin Yuan stretched lazily, feeling quite full, despite not having eaten much of the hotel''s lunch today.

    Inside the suite''s living room.

    Having participated in the recording of six Bluelympics songs in a row, the singers of the Yu Dynasty were checking their individual stats through some professional systems of the Literature and Art Association. They then burst into tremendous cheers!

    "My stats skyrocketed!"

    "Although these songs were sung by us together as a chorus, and the individual share is not much, we all gained significant benefits by taking action and singing so many songs together!"

    "This is incredible!"

    "I''m one step closer to being the King of Singing!"

    "It seems my stats have almost reached the level of a song queen. If the quality is good, one or two songs may be enough."

    "..."

    The last statement came from Jiang Kui.

    As soon as Jiang Kui spoke, the excited expressions of people like Sun Yaohuo suddenly went down a notch and they started to look dispirited.

    "Just one or two songs short?"

    Lin Yuan looked at Jiang Kui.

    Everyone felt increasingly sour inside, as they understood what Xian Yu''s question might imply.

    Indeed.

    Lin Yuan said seriously, "Then you should start learning more Chu language. I might be releasing some songs in Chu soon and you should be able to handle them."

    "Got it!"

    Jiang Kui nodded like a pecking chicken, then looked at everyone with a slightly smug expression, as if saying:

    I''m sorry, but I have to take the first step.

    Yes.

    Jiang Kui did this on purpose.

    She successfully attracted Lin Yuan''s attention.

    Now everyone in the Yu Dynasty is skilled in palace intrigue and constantly vying for favor, trying to attract Lin Yuan''s attention.

    While they have good feelings for each other, the problem is that there is only one Fish Papa.

    Normally, when one person gets a song, others have to wait at least a month.

    Opportunities for wool gathering like the Bluelympics don''t come often, after all.

    Lin Yuan laughed.

    He probably sensed the atmosphere amongst the Yu Dynasty.

    They say they are close, and indeed they are. They are like siblings.

    This cannot be denied.

    But when it comes to his new songs...

    Well, it turns into a palace drama with plots and schemes flying left and right.

    Even someone as oblivious as Lin Yuan got a wake-up call after experiencing several similar situations.

    That said,

    If it comes to the allocation of resources, even Big Yaoyao would go against her own brother, wouldn''t she?

    Hence Lin Yuan didn''t see anything wrong with it.

    It was time to return home.

    After staying in Beijing for so long, he had nearly milked all the benefits out of the Bluelympics.

    He decided to retreat,

    well fulfilled.

    Thinking about this, Lin Yuan bids goodbye to Di Fan.

    As the director of the opening ceremony of the Bluelympics, Di Fan had been in constant contact with Lin Yuan on behalf of the Bluelympics committee. The two were now acquainted and enjoyed each other''s company.

    That''s how Lin Yuan saw it, at least.

    As for Di Fan...

    He also agreed...

    Although the race for the top of the season leaderboard had almost given Di Fan a headache, so much so that he wanted to hold Xian Yu''s hand and beg him to stop writing, otherwise the ranking of Qin continent''s support songs might be in danger. But in the grand scheme of things, his choice was correct.

    It was even very correct!

    Considering the initial preparations and hype, this Bluelympics has achieved significant success, thanks to Xian Yu''s songs.

    Look at the bustling scene!

    The Bluelympics hadn''t started yet, but the continents were already thunderous with noise!

    So, overall, he was grateful for Xian Yu''s contributions.

    The higher-ups also approved of the lively atmosphere.

    And the committee made a decision:

    In future Bluelympics, besides the regular Bluelympics propaganda songs, each continent should contribute some inspirational songs to cheer for the athletes!

    It''s not difficult to imagine.

    In the future when the Bluelympics are held, when the continents prepare supporting songs for their athletes in advance, everyone will remember where this precedent started from-

    Who initiated it.

    Di Fan also told Lin Yuan about good news, "To thank you for your contribution, all the continents have expressed that the main base of the official account during the Bluelympics will be on the blog, although the tribe side will still remain active."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    The tribe is currently the largest online platform.

    The official bodies of various continents could not directly abandon such a large communication channel.

    It''s satisfying enough for Lin Yuan that they would now lean towards the blog.

    It just so happens that he is not only at odds with the tribe but also a stakeholder on the blog side.

    "The news won''t be officially announced, but our actions will show our intentions."

    The officials can''t side directly, considering the large capital and influence of the tribe.

    "All right, thanks."

    "It''s a win-win situation. Perhaps we can work together in the future. I have a film that''s been in production for six years and still needs a powerful soundtrack. If necessary, I might have to call on you to help..."

    "No problem."

    Lin Yuan readily agreed, looking forward to what benefits the blog may reap from the Bluelympics.

 Chapter 774 - 739: Sports Competition Animation_1

    Su City.

    Evening.

    As soon as Lin Yuan returned home, he heard his sister teasing, "Who moved the Bluelympics cheer station to our home?"

    "Big brother is amazing."

    A rare compliment from Lin Yao.

    Mother, on the other hand, smiled and said, "We''ve been listening to your new songs at home these days. ''Blooming Life'' is my favorite. We need more rock music like this in the future."

    "Sure." S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan agreed and turned to look at Antarctica, noticing that its fur was no longer as shiny as before.

    It seemed Antarctica hadn''t been doing too well without his care over these days.

    "Woof, woof." Antarctica barked.

    "Uh-huh." Lin Yuan nodded in response.

    "Woof woof woof woof woof." Antarctica continued barking.

    Lin Yuan turned to his family, "Have you guys not fed it canned food these past few days?"

    "How did you know?"

    "Antarctica just told me."

    Lin Yuan turned away to go find canned food for Antarctica, leaving his perplexed family behind.

    For the following days, Lin ran back and forth between two places.

    He was at Starlight Entertainment in the morning and at the Shadow Studio in the afternoon.

    No one was controlling his actions anyway.

    With the momentum from Xian Yu''s collaboration with the Bluelympics, Starlight Entertainment managed to significantly regain its face within the industry!

    And when the company''s executives saw the buzz surrounding the Seasonal Chart, they couldn''t help but be ecstatic!

    Chairman Li Songhua even personally visited the composition department to commend Lin Yuan and Xian Yu!

    It''s important to note,

    usually, people would go to the top floor to seek an audience with the chairman.

    It was rare for the chairman to personally make a visit.

    This shocking gesture made everyone at the company take note of the impressive influence Xian Yu possessed!

    So it happened,

    that whether Lin Yuan was slacking off at work, leaving early, or simply skipping, no one cared.

    They simply let him be.

    Meanwhile, during the days when Lin Yuan returned to Su City, there was still much news about the Bluelympics and the Seasonal Chart online.

    Especially the Seasonal Chart!

    The ranking of songs from second to sixth places were unprecedentedly close, their rankings constantly changing. One song might be second for a few hours, and a few hours later, another song would move up to second place.

    Some netizens joked:

    This is Xian Yu''s five fingers bickering.

    After all, the songs from second to sixth places were all composed by Xian Yu.

    It was just a pity that the opening ceremony of the Bluelympics didn''t need a new song, otherwise, Lin Yuan could have reaped more benefits. The way the Bluelympics and Earth were run did have some differences.

    Among all this,

    one thing drew the attention of countless people!

    That was...

    When Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan and Han were releasing some Bluelympics-related updates, they all strangely chose to post them on the blog first!

    For example, yesterday at noon. Discover hidden tales at My Virtual Library Empire

    The official account of Qin Continent posted an update announcing the training status of a certain athlete, and it was first posted on the blog!

    A whole twenty minutes later,

    the official account of Qin Continent then posted the same update on Tribe.

    Don''t underestimate this gap in timing!

    During the Bluelympics, these official accounts'' updates are of top-level interest!

    This slight time difference enabled the blog to take a huge bite of the traffic bonus!

    If one continent were to do this, everyone could dismiss it as a coincidence.

    But if Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan and Han all do the same, it absolutely cannot be a coincidence!

    And let''s not forget, the official accounts of these continents always regarded Tribe as their home base and didn''t pay much attention to the blog.

    Even an idiot could figure out what this implies!

    For a while,

    there was a lot of buzz across the continents ¡ª

    The official accounts of the five continents had recently chosen the blog as their main platform for communication.

    Is this a reward for Xian Yu''s Bluelympics support songs?

    The traffic of these official accounts is at their max during the Bluelympics, but now most of it is being taken by the blog.

    Is Tribe only able to enjoy the leftover leavings?

    "In the past, Tribe caused so much trouble for Shadow God and almost made the site immobilized on its opening day. From the look of things, they must have deeply angered Xian Yu, considering that the site is backed by Xian Yu!"

    "Fish Papa is starting to take revenge for Shadow!"

    "Who would have thought that not only would Xian Yu not be ruined by the Bluelympics hindering his pursuit of a twelfth consecutive championship, but he could even bank on the Bluelympics to win the support of the official accounts of each continent?"

    "Now Tribe has seriously offended Xian Yu!"

    "Although Shadow was brilliant and turned into Shadow God last time, he was still resisting against the damage from Tribe. Now, Xian Yu is purely counterattacking ¡ª charging the capital''s high grounds single-handedly. Impressive!"

    "The traffic on the blog is going to spike!"

    "For instance, I never used the blog before. But because the first-hand news of the Bluelympics from the official account of our Qi Continent is now being posted there, I had to register on the blog to get the news. After all, news is most valuable when it''s first-hand. So how many people like me across the continents would there be?"

    "..."

    Indeed, the blog''s traffic was skyrocketing, on account of having the first-hand updates from official accounts.

    "Damn!"

    A wave of cursing suddenly arose within Tribe!

    "Ling Kong needs to die!"

    "Ling Kong is a menace!"

    "He''s acting like nothing happened now, but we''re the ones paying the price!"

    "Tribe''s traffic has decreased again!"

    "The traffic during the Bluelympics is so high, but we can''t take the lion''s share. This is all Ling Kong''s fault no matter how you look at it!"

    "Ling Kong, this terrible dog!"

    "..."

    Whatever happened, they would blame Ling Kong. This seemed to be the common understanding between all the departments in Tribe.

    The upper management at Tribe also felt anger intensifying and sensed the underlying threat.

    All of a sudden, people with various connections were lobbying higher-ups.

    The lobbying wasn''t ineffective.

    On July 8,

    The official accounts of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han finally stopped giving preferential treatment to the blog.

    Whether on the blog or Tribe, the Bluelympics related official updates had no time difference.

    They were posted simultaneously!

    Although this wasn''t the best outcome, both Tribe and the blog could accept it.

    After all, the blog hadn''t received much attention before.

    The previous few days had already benefited the blog a lot, while Tribe had paid some price in the process.

    At the same time,

    Lin Yuan received comforting calls from the staff of the continents.

    Lin Yuan understood their plight.

    Of course, he knew that these good days would not last.

    The official accounts of the continents were still official after all.

    Except for public affairs, in most cases, they couldn''t have their own stance.

    He didn''t care much about it.

    What really concerned Lin Yuan was that he found Tribe''s software on Jin Mu''s computer ¡ª

    "How can you use our enemy''s products?"

    "..."

    Jin Mu was at a loss for words, apparently, Lin Yuan was still angry.

    "Knowing the enemy and yourself is crucial. Through Tribe, we can get some information that''s not easy to find on the blog."

    "What kind of information?"

    "Nothing much in the past few days..."

    As Jin Mu was saying that, he casually opened Tribe, but his face suddenly turned strange, and he stopped talking.

    Huh?

    Lin Yuan followed Jin Mu''s gaze to his computer, and an ad message on Tribe came into view:

    [The No.1 competitive cartoon producer teams up with the top animation company in Chu Continent to create a basketball-themed competitive animation to cheer for the 44th Bluelympics...]

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Give the little transparent a chance, brush up its existence, didn''t you guys think that the story of the old rascal is about to start?

 Chapter 775 - 740 Dunk Master_1

    You may not believe this when I say it.

    Upon seeing Tribe''s grand promotion, the first thought that flashed through Lin Yuan''s mind was:

    Since when did I agree to producing a basketball sports animation?

    The reason behind his confusion was simple: Lin Yuan has always considered himself to be the number one creator in the sports competition genre of manga.

    Why, you ask?

    Because of "King of the Net"!

    This was Lin Yuan''s debut under the pen name Shadow, gaining him fame instantly!

    So who''s this "number one sports manga artist" being promoted by Tribe?

    "It''s He Dajun!"

    Jin Mu, who was browsing next to him, clicked on the promotional headline, and after making a reflective remark, provided an answer to Lin Yuan''s confusion¡ª

    Despite Lin Yuan still didn''t know who He Dajun was. Discover exclusive tales on My Virtual Library Empire

    "He Dajun is the author of ''Basketball Fire'', a work you must have heard about. It was even imported into Qin Continent, so many of us Qin people have seen it. It might not have been Blue Star''s first sports competition genre manga, but it was definitely the most popular one in the history of Blue Star. Therefore, He Dajun earned the title of the pinnacle of sports competition genre manga.

    And when he created this work, he was only twenty!"

    Jin Mu painstakingly explained, then abruptly shifted the topic:

    "Untill the release of ''King of the Net''!"

    The two mangas belonged to different eras. Details about ''Basketball Fire'' have to be traced back to many years ago. He Dajun is forty five now.

    Before Shadow made his debut, ''Basketball Fire'' was the hottest sports manga.

    After Shadow''s debut, ''King of the Net'' broke He Dajun''s records with its superior performance.

    Let me clarify something here.

    Although sports competition is a completely unpopular theme in the novel genre, in the manga industry, sports competition theme does have a decent market, probably due to the fact that manga can visually depict scenes without the need for imagination.

    Overall, it is still an unpopular genre, but not as much as in novels.

    Especially after ''King of the Net'' took off, sports competition genre manga became more lively. There were even signs of sports competition genre works entering the top ten in popularity on Tribe Comics.

    The major contributor to this phenomenon was Shadow rather than He Dajun.

    Ironically, the one who made the contribution, Shadow, had already parted ways with Tribe.

    After Jin Mu explained, Lin Yuan finally understood.

    Can He Dajun''s success be equated to the classic sports mangas from the early days in the island country?

    The same classic, but also surpassed by later, more popular sports competition manga. After all, there have been two generations of manga artists who are indeed extraordinary in the island country.

    "They''re really going all out."

    Continuing to read the promotional news, Jin Mu said:

    "He Dajun''s new work is called ''Basketball Heart''. It is a sister act to his previous work. However, he has polished this work for many years, and Tribe is taking it seriously. They''ve decided to release the animation and manga at the same time. They have released some content of the manga first, probably to seize the traffic advantage for Tribe Comics.

    The collaborating company is indeed top-notch, and the planned voice actors seem to be from the top-tier ones too. But calling him the number one sports manga artist has stirred up a lot of controversy. Look at the comment section..."

    Peering into it, Lin Yuan saw:

    "As for the number one sports manga artist, are you sure it''s not Shadow God?"

    "After Shadow God''s contract with Tribe Comics ended, Tribe Comics gave the title of the number one sports manga artist to He Dajun. Is this their way of saving face?"

    "Shadow God: ???"

    "I suggest you read ''King of the Net'' again and tell me out loud - who is the real number one sports manga artist?"

    "Could you be more precise in your language? I admit that He Dajun is the number one basketball manga artist, but when it comes to the number one sports manga artist, that title belongs to our Shadow God!"

    "Or you could say, He Dajun was the number one sports manga artist in the early days, after all, the later Shadow God has already surpassed him."

    "..."

    Lin Yuan laughed hysterically.

    Although these readers are on Tribe, they are all good comrades and are eventually bound to switch over to the Alliance!

    Of course.

    There were also some comments in support of He Dajun.

    "First of all, I want to scream out loud: My youth is back! He Dajun''s ''Basketball Fire'' is a memory of a generation. It''s understandable that the youngsters who haven''t seen it don''t understand!"

    "He Dajun pioneered the category of sports competition. Shadow stands on the shoulders of his predecessors to create, what''s there to brag about?"

    "You all admit that He Dajun is the number one basketball manga artist, then I also admit that Shadow''s ''Dead Sea of Fire'' is currently unrivaled, but don''t forget that his ''King of the Net'' is the only work not created by him. Back then, he was solely the artist, while the storyline was provided by old rascal Chu Kuang."

    "The ''King of the Net'' by Shadow is considered a collaboration with Chu Kuang. Comparing two against one, and still accusing Tribe of shamelessness?"

    "Comparing a work from twenty years ago with one from twenty years later is ridiculous on its own, moreover, what''s the relation between tennis and basketball? Uncle Dajun is about basketball, not a niche sport like tennis!"

    "..."

    Lin Yuan shook his head.

    While these are die-hard fans, there seems to be a chance of winning them over, and looking at the proportion, there seem to be more people in this group.

    "That''s the power of nostalgia."

    Seeing Lin Yuan shake his head, Jin Mu smiled and said: "With the filter of nostalgia, everything looks good."

    He knows it like the back of his hand.

    The fans of He Dajun definitely can''t imagine that ''King of the Net'', supposedly jointly created by Shadow and Chu Kuang, is actually entirely the work of Lin Yuan. Thus, Shadow certainly deserves the title of the number one sports competition genre manga artist.

    Lin Yuan didn''t say a word.

    Jin Mu thought Lin Yuan was angry:

    "I think there''s no need to argue with them about the title of the number one sports competition manga artist. No matter how impressive this manga is, it can''t compete with ''Dead Sea of Fire''. Coincidentally, I''m planning to have ''Dead Sea of Fire'' animated as well. We might even broadcast them together to show off our dominance."

    Still, Lin Yuan remained silent.

    Jin Mu''s eyes widened: "You can''t be thinking that Tribe''s promotion is too shameless, so you are planning to create another tennis manga to prove once again who''s really the number one sports competition genre manga artist, are you?"

    Lin Yuan was still quiet. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    But Jin Mu felt he had guessed it right, and he couldn''t help but laugh: "I think it''s feasible. Tribe Comics probably wants to capitalize on the popularity of the Bluelympics to release a sports competition genre manga to attract traffic. They''re even going to such lengths to create the animation prematurely. We can simply nip their plan in the bud. I''m confident in your ability.

    If anything, create another tennis manga..."

    "What did you say, Uncle Jin?"

    Lin Yuan suddenly sounded a bit lost.

    Jin Mu stared, stunned, so you mean I''ve been talking for half a day and you didn''t hear a word?

    "Sorry."

    Scratching his head, Lin Yuan tried to play innocent.

    He shouldn''t have been communicating with the system in his mind while talking to Jin Mu. He probably looked a lot like Sun Wukong being possessed.

    Yes.

    Just now Lin Yuan was calling the system, so he didn''t catch what Jin Mu was saying.

    When talking to the system though, Lin Yuan''s expression was far from innocent. The face changing with his thoughts was filled with murderous intent, accompanied by a threatening statement:

    "Come out, ''Slam Dunk''!"

 Chapter 776 - 741: No One Understands Basketball Better Than Me_1

    The next morning.

    Lin Yuan went to the company.

    While waiting for the elevator, he met colleagues, Zheng Jing and Yang Zhongming.

    "Those songs aren''t bad."

    Yang Zhongming showed a rare smile when he saw Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan''s music education mainly relied on the character card from Yang Zhongming. Naturally, he felt close to him and treated him with great respect, as if he was a teacher:

    "Thank you, Uncle Yang."

    Zheng Jing exaggerated her reaction a bit more: "Little Fish, you''ve been doing great by occupying the top six places of the season chart, something Uncle Yang has never achieved!"

    "I was just lucky."

    Lin Yuan told the truth: "Under the same circumstances, Uncle Yang could achieve it too."

    All thanks to the system.

    Yang Zhongming looked pleased, and barely nodded.

    Zheng Jing rolled her eyes: "But he didn''t, did he? Those songs must have brought in plenty of downloads, it wouldn''t be too much to ask you for a treat!"

    "Sure."

    Lin Yuan had a great relationship with the two songwriters in his company.

    "9th floor?"

    Zheng Jing asked as they got into the elevator.

    Lin Yuan replied: "Top floor."

    Zheng Jing teased: "Off to rob the chairman''s tea again?"

    As she said that, she pressed the button for the top floor for Lin Yuan.

    After a brief chat, the two walked out of the elevator, while Lin Yuan alighted at the top floor and knocked on the door of Li Songhua''s office.

    "Come in."

    Lin Yuan came in.

    Li Songhua smiled and asked: "What brings you here?"

    "Dead Sea of Fire is being adapted into an animation. If the company is considering setting up an animation department, the rights can be transferred to the company. If not, I''m going to work with an external animation production company..."

    Lin Yuan cut right to the chase.

    Without a second thought, Li Songhua instantly agreed: "We''ll keep it. The company will set up an animation department for you later!"

    He was joking.

    The comic adaptation of Dead Sea of Fire was incredibly popular; it was clear how profitable animation adaptation would be. Moreover, Starlight Entertainment was the backing behind the Alliance. As a capitalist, how could he let such a huge profit slip away?

    Not to mention...

    Shadow Envy Fish and Chu Kuang were actually Lin Yuan''s pseudonyms, and Lin Yuan himself was the beloved gem of Starlight!

    In fact,

    Even without Dead Sea of Fire, he would still venture into this field to avoid allowing Shadow''s future comic adaptation rights to benefit outsiders.

    "I''m afraid we can''t wait."

    Lin Yuan explained: "If we want to establish an animation department, it has to be established immediately, or we need to initiate an acquisition straight away. That''s because Shadow is about to publish a work in both animation and comics, ideally before the start of the Bluelympics."

    That''s right. Read exclusive chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

    What Lin Yuan was referring to was "Dunk".

    After finding out about Tribe Comics'' plan yesterday, he didn''t hesitate and decided to adapt this classic sports comic right away.

    He even planned to immediately release it in both comic and animated forms!

    The war between the Alliance and the Tribe had not ended.

    Tribe Comics still had the market''s largest share.

    The Alliance had to fight for the market.

    However, Lin Yuan was doing this not purely to go against Tribe Comics, and not because Tribe Comics had forcefully claimed the title of "Number One in Sports Comics"...

    These were just secondary reasons.

    The real reason was that Lin Yuan hadn''t fleeced enough from the Bluelympics!

    He had never considered before, that comics could also fleece from the Bluelympics!

    Fortunately, Tribe Comics thought about it.

    Ling Kong thought about it!

    If a sports-related comic or animation could be launched during the Bluelympics, like "Dunk", a classic sports-themed masterpiece, then the impact would by no means compare to its usual performance?

    Lin Yuan even had to thank Tribe Comics!

    It was Tribe Comics'' sudden move that made him realize that there were still unclaimed profits from the Bluelympics!

    By strike Tribe Comics along the way, he was killing two birds with one stone.

    "Spell it out."

    Li Songhua''s expression became serious.

    And so,

    They discussed in the office for about an hour.

    In the end, Lin Yuan presented the sections of "Dunk" he had worked overtime to complete the previous night.

    Eventually, Li Songhua was completely convinced!

    He made an immediate decision and confirmed the purchase.

    The company immediately started preparing to acquire an animation production company.

    And the first piece they would produce after the acquisition would be the "Dunk" that Lin Yuan just mentioned.

    In terms of the sequence of adaptation into animation, the priority of this comic had temporarily surpassed that of Dead Sea of Fire!

    Starlight started to mobilize! Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    ...

    Meanwhile, in the outside world.

    The readers'' controversy sparked by Tribe Comics claiming He Dajun as the "Number One in Sports Comics" in their promotional article yesterday quickly fermented overnight!

    The whole internet was filled with discussions in no time!

    The reason why this matter had attracted widespread attention was simple.

    The question of who should be deemed to be the "Number One in Sports Comics", a contentious issue, was always a trigger for fierce debates among differing views. Combined with the ongoing grudges between Tribe, Alliance, and Bloggers, along with Shadow''s current popularity, this news was destined to become the focal point!

    As for the controversial content among netizens, it was more or less the same as yesterday''s.

    It was essentially, a comparison between He Dajun''s works and his influence in the industry with Shadow''s "King of the Net", each expressing their own judgement on what the standard for the "Number One in Sports Comics" should be based on.

    The most vicious point of attack from He Dajun''s fans was the special significance that "King of the Net" held for Shadow!

 Chapter 777 - 741: No One Understands Basketball Better Than Me_2

    After all, anyone who knows a little bit would understand:

    Even though "King of the Net" ranks first in the popularity of sports comics, the plot of the comic indeed came from Chu Kuang''s hand.

    This differs from Shadow''s later works.

    While Shadow became famous with this comic, he came into prominence only as an artist.

    In summary:

    There are various viewpoints.

    What the public doesn''t know is that Ling Kong is extremely satisfied with the influence this matter has caused!

    Because he has preliminarily achieved his goal of promoting "Basketball Heart"!

    This promotion was originally intended to ride on Shadow''s coattails!

    You''re riding high now because of "Dead Sea of Fire," aren''t you?

    Aren''t you hailed as the "Shadow God" by readers?

    If so, why not capitalize on your popularity.

    However, it has not been good for Ling Kong since he escaped heavy punishment and the Three Bros split with the Tribe.

    He had to produce results to keep everyone''s mouth shut!

    He Dajun is the trump card Ling Kong has kept up his sleeve for so long!

    Speaking of which, Ling Kong came up with the idea from Shadow''s friend Xian Yu.

    Seeing Xian Yu helping himself to the Bluelympics'' assets, Ling Kong thought of using the Bluelympics to promote He Dajun.

    Of course, He Dajun''s ability and fame itself are worth promoting by the Tribe.

    Otherwise, Ling Kong''s ideas alone would be useless.

    Perhaps what happened with Shadow served as a lesson for Ling Kong.

    His attitude towards cartoonists has improved significantly now.

    Especially towards He Dajun, whom the department is currently preparing to heavily promote, he immediately showered him with praises, "The new comic from Master Dajun can definitely take off and in my heart, you are indisputably the number one sports comic artist!"

    Keeping his pride in check, He Dajun modestly grinned:

    "You''re too kind, Mr. Ling."

    "Master Dajun, there''s no need to be modest. We have a press conference coming up in a bit. Of course, the main purpose is to promote your new comic. Journalists might ask you questions about Shadow..."

    "No worries, I know what to say."

    He Dajun''s smile faded a little, "I don''t like that junior either."

    Ling Kong, who was initially curious, asked, "Did you know each other before?"

    He Dajun shook his head, "We didn''t, but don''t forget, I am one of the Chu people."

    Ling Kong paused for a moment, then remembered some of the past events in the comic industry.

    It seems like when Shadow released "Death Note," there were grievances between him and the Chu Continent cartoonists.

    Some of the Chu people have moved on, but some still harbor resentment.

    This worked out even better!

    We have the same enemies, huh!

    After the Dead Sea of Fire''s alliance was split into three, Ling Kong was in a good mood for the first time.

    ...

    Twenty minutes later.

    Ling Kong, with He Dajun, held a grand press conference!

    At the press conference site.

    There was a huge banner with the words "Basketball Heart" written on it.

    He Dajun, with his beer belly and an ill-fitting formal suit, wore a full face of smile.

    The interview began.

    A journalist asked He Dajun, "What''s your take on Shadow?"

    He Dajun''s smile disappeared, "Junior, Shadow is an exceptionally talented junior."

    A junior?

    This emphasis is quite significant.

    The reporter then asked, "Are you aware that some have referred to Shadow as the number one sports competitive comics creator?"

    "I''ve heard about it."

    "Have you read ''King of the Net''?"

    "I have."

    He Dajun had a poker face.

    Being provocative, the reporter asked, "Could we hear your assessment of this work?"

    He Dajun rarely let out a smile, even gave a thumbs-up, highly praising it:

    "The plot setting is very brilliant!"

    The reporter looked odd. A brilliant plot?

    Who doesn''t know that the plot of ''King of the Net'' was written by Chu Kuang?

    You barely mention the quality of the drawings, just the plot. It''s hard not to let minds wander when you do that.

    "What''s your take on the popularity of ''King of the Net''?"

    "The old generation plants trees; the younger generation enjoy the shade. I am truly delighted. We, the older generation of manga creators, have opened up the fertile ground for sports manga, and successors like Shadow have planted tall trees in this soil we have created. They have the best creative environment, a privilege we older generation envy.

    But the bright side is, we''ve made our due contribution!"

    Gasp!

    That''s quite a statement.

    The journalist asked a tricky question: "How would you respond to the controversy over who is the number one in sports manga?"

    "Number one?" S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    He Dajun''s face turned serious: "If we''re talking purely about creating competitive sports manga, I''ve never been afraid of anyone since I debuted. In fact, when it comes to basketball, I can even go as far as to tell you this!"

    The journalist asked subconsciously, "What?"

    He Dajun spread his hands slightly apart, then with one hand, he mimed grasping something:

    "No one knows basketball manga better than me!"

    The journalist seemed shocked and took a small step back.

    Such an imposing aura.

    But indeed, He Dajun does have the qualifications to make such a claim.

    No matter how much the outside world disputes, when it comes to manga related to the sport of basketball, He Dajun is invincible!"

    On the sidelines.

    Hearing this, Ling Kong felt spirited:

    "That''s right! There''s no one who understands basketball better than Master He Dajun! Even if it''s the title of ''Number One in Sports Manga'', I believe Master He Dajun truly deserves it. This has nothing to do with the quarrels between Shadow and Tribe Comics!"

    Ling Kong looked great on camera.

    This was his first time stepping to the front as the head of Tribe Comics.

    In front of the camera.

    He was handsome and confident, smiling at the camera:

    "The word ''first'' indicates not only the pioneers but also the ones with the most influence. ''Basketball Fire'' has become a memory for one generation, but the new generation of manga and anime fans need new stories. This is the responsibility and duty that Master He Dajun''s new manga must bear."

    He Dajun turned serious:

    "I dedicate this work to the 44th Bluelympics and also to everyone who loves basketball!"

    Ling Kong chimed in:

    "That''s why I love basketball and Master He Dajun''s works. I hope everyone can feel this love for basketball and then pay attention to our grandly launched ''Basketball Heart''!"

    The music that the organizers had arranged in advance started playing!

    The two of them played off each other, bringing the atmosphere of the press conference to a climax!

    ...

    After the press conference, the related videos and interviews immediately spread all over the internet. The controversy over who is the number one in sports manga finally heated up. Supporters of He Dajun erupted in enthusiasm!

    "He Dajun is amazing!"

    "He truly is the pioneer of sports manga!"

    "Well said!"

    "He Dajun paved the way and grew the reader base for sports manga. When ''Basketball Fire'' was released, there were not many people who liked sports manga, but even so, He Dajun made this niche category popular!"

    "Those were tough times."

    "The head of Tribe Comics called Ling Kong is quite handsome, but that''s not the point. The point is that He Dajun is speaking our mind. Everyone acknowledges that ''King of the Net'' is a hit. But it was released in a period when it had an advantage and Chu Kuang''s plot was superb. If Shadow solely based his comparison with He Dajun on results, that''d be a bit cheeky." Stay updated with My Virtual Library Empire

    "I agree."

    "Strictly speaking, the success of ''King of the Net'' can only credit Shadow with one-third of the merit. Another third belongs to Chu Kuang, and the last third should go to He Dajun and other predecessors who paved the way for sports manga."

    "..."

    Supporters of Shadow were left dumbfounded:

    "I totally didn''t expect one-third of the credit should go to He Dajun!"

    "Such compelling logic."

    "In order to claim the title of ''Number One'', they would even forgo their dignity. Why don''t you just say that ''King of the Net'' is drawn by He Dajun!"

    "They can''t compare with Shadow in other genres, the entire Tribe Comics was beaten up by ''Dead Sea of Fire'', and now they''re picking on sports manga?"

    "Let He Dajun draw ''King of the Net'' and see if he could make it a hit."

    "The head of Tribe Comics is quite funny, talking about having nothing to do with the grievances with Shadow and others. This is clearly aimed at Shadow. If you just claim that He Dajun is the number one in basketball manga, who would bother to refute you?"

    "..."

    While the two sides were at loggerheads, Lin Yuan also saw this interview video.

    So, you like basketball, huh?

    He logged into Shadow''s blog account, carefully checked to make sure he entered the correct account, and then posted a status update:

    "The new work, ''Slam Dunk'', is currently in the animation production and the manga will soon be released on the Alliance. This is a story about basketball, youth, and dreams."

    Everyone was still in the middle of a verbal battle at the time.

    But when this status update from Shadow was posted, the supporters of both Shadow and He Dajun fell silent. The words sounded like a thunderbolt exploding right next to everyone''s ear¡ª

    The netizens were dumbstruck!

 Chapter 778 - 742: Does Being the Number One in Comics Give You Freedom to Do Anything?_1

    "What did he say!"

    It''s a useless question, whatever Shadow said was clearly written on the blog update, but people find it hard to avoid asking such questions after hearing shocking statements.

    A new work!?

    Between Dead Sea of Fire and the return of The Kindaichi Case Files, wasn''t Shadow already hard at work on four projects?

    Even if he doesn''t need to personally illustrate the plot, he might have to brainstorm it, right? However, he''s simultaneously working on four manga and still has the energy to create new ones ¨C is he actually looking to juggle five projects!?

    Basketball!?

    Although there''s some dispute over who''s the number one sports manga artist, it''s undeniable that Shadow is indeed skilled at drawing sports manga. Even He Dajun''s fans admit this. But why did Shadow pick basketball as his new manga''s theme?

    Basketball is supposedly the sport He Dajun is the best at depicting!

    Shouldn''t Shadow''s new manga have focused on tennis, a sport he''s far more familiar with?

    "Has he gone mad?"

    "The people who previously called Shadow mad still hadn''t gotten over their shock. Yet, I also find myself wanting to say, despite the shock from the last time ¨C has he truly lost it? If the four projects aren''t already killing him, does he really aim to tackle five? Is this the Shadow I know who''d rather lie down than stand up on any given day?"

    He''s too hardworking!

    This particular fan even suspected that Shadow was kidnapped by a die-hard reader and locked up, then forced to draw at gunpoint, and if he didn''t draw, they wouldn''t feed him.

    "The key point is the theme!"

    "Let''s not discuss whether he''s working on four or five projects right now, since he''s not the one drawing them all. The heart of the matter is where he gets the confidence to draw a basketball manga instead of the tennis manga he''s most familiar with. Basketball is the sport He Dajun excels at depicting.

    Otherwise, He Dajun wouldn''t have proclaimed so confidently in front of numerous reporters that no one understood basketball manga better than him!"

    "Shadow though? Does he understand basketball?"

    "Last time, Shadow used Tianmen and Yeshenchen''s best themes to beat them. Now he''s chosen basketball ¨C He Dajun''s best sport ¨C to make his point. Has he become addicted to trampling on people in their own territory?"

    "This is a head-on confrontation!"

    "Shadow''s manga skills are undoubtedly the best in Blue Star, but basketball is a different story altogether. There''s a saying ¨C a good cook can''t work without ingredients. No matter how skilled the manga artist, if they don''t understand the rules and charm of basketball itself, how can they create an awe-inspiring basketball manga?

    Trying to cram for the exam at the last minute definitely won''t work, every rule would be enough to throw him for a loop. You should know that He Dajun almost became a professional basketball player in his youth!"

    ...

    He Dajun''s fans were shocked!

    Shadow''s fans were also shocked!

    Those not involved were dumbstruck!

    No one could guess what was going on in Shadow''s mind. Is he really planning to defeat He Dajun with a basketball manga to prove who''s the rightful number one sports manga artist?

    Yes.

    Anyone with half a brain could tell that Shadow was declaring war!

    Not only did he publicly declare on his blog that his next work would be a basketball-theme, he also adopted Tribe Comics'' strategy to release the anime and manga simultaneously!

    If these aren''t signals for a declaration of war, do we still need to wait for Shadow to point at He Dajun and say:

    Watch how I trash you in your own best field?

    "Just courting public favor!"

    "Using an axe to open a sesame!"

    "This is a joke!"

    "Comparing basketball manga with He Dajun, he''s asking for death!"

    "If he came out with another tennis manga, I would still understand. But basketball? He Dajun is the forever god!"

    "No one knows basketball better than Dajun!"

    "..."

    After the wave of shocks calmed.

    He Dajun''s fans were riled up!

    They felt that Shadow''s provocation was just completely disregarding He Dajun!

    Did this first man of manga really think that there''s nothing he can''t draw in this world?

    And you''ve already been drawing four comics!

    You still want to add another one?

    It feels like he just casually wants to take down He Dajun with a basketball manga!

    Yes.

    Tianmen and Yeshenchen had also been furious about this before.

    They felt looked down upon.

    Because this wasn''t a one-on-one match at all, their opponent was only using a portion of his energy to fight them!

    Now it''s the same.

    Shadow is going for five projects now!

    He''s essentially using only a fifth of his energy to challenge He Dajun, and on the basketball court, which He Dajun picked!

    Who''s he looking down on!

    Just because he''s the first man in the manga world, does it mean he can do whatever he wants?

    ...

    At Tribe Comics.

    He Dajun''s face darkened.

    Of course, he would feel belittled as well, especially in his most proud field. This was a great insult to him, so he was incensed:

    "Does he think drawing a basketball manga is easy?"

    "He has drawn a tennis manga; he should know that to use a sport as a manga theme, you need to constantly research, understand, and get in touch with it until you completely appreciate the charm of the sport!"

    "He has four ongoing manga comics!"

    "How does he have the energy to do these things and then challenge me?"

    "Just because he''s the number one figure in the world of manga? Does he really see himself as an all-powerful god in the manga world?"

    He Dajun went on a torrent of questions.

    Ling Kong frowned.

    Shadow''s sudden words left him puzzled.

    But then he thought back to the triple opening of the Dead Sea of Fire.

    When the opponent said he would replace Yeshenchen and Tianmen with two comics, he was equally baffled. Your journey continues on My Virtual Library Empire

    And what was the result?

    Shadow turned into the Shadow God. Like a beast, he serialized three sensational comics, supporting a website that was on the brink of shutting down!

    This made Ling Kong''s eyes twitch continuously.

    He felt uneasy.

    Am I afraid?

    Ling Kong frowned. He despised this feeling. He''d never been afraid of anyone since childhood. But now he was feeling fear because of Shadow? sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    It seems that emotions were playing tricks on him.

    However, this did make Ling Kong become alert.

    He decided to personally get involved and control the animation quality of "Basketball Heart".

    This time, he was doing it not just for the comic, but to get Tribe ready to enter into animation.

    "Don''t worry."

    He Dajun suddenly spoke, seemingly noticing Ling Kong''s unease.

    "I''m not."

    Ling Kong instantly denied it.

    He Dajun chuckled, not exposing him. His mood had already stabilized, and he even felt an excitement that Ling Kong couldn''t understand:

    "I was mad before, because I felt like they didn''t take me seriously, but now I''m not mad, because the less they take me seriously, the more face they''ll lose when my comic is released. This comic will be even better than my last one, I have spent decades polishing it. You may not understand comics, but you should know what this means."

    Ling Kong was taken aback, and then smiled.

    Of course, he knew what it meant.

    Although "Basketball Fire" was not as good as Shadow''s "King of the Net," it was a work that was wildly popular at one point!

    But there was something He Dajun didn''t say.

    That was:

    Shadow was currently the number one in comics, undeniably so. The triple opening of the Dead Sea of Fire was a feat that made everyone in the industry look up to him.

    Even He Dajun had to accept this fact, reluctantly.

    Under normal circumstances, no one could defeat Shadow.

    But if Shadow was to compete with He Dajun on who could create a better basketball comic, that was the opportunity for He Dajun to defeat Shadow!

    Yes.

    A once in a lifetime opportunity!

    Just like Huang Dongzheng could defeat the Maestros with the Bluelympics.

    He Dajun could defeat the number one in comics, Shadow, by relying on basketball, as long as he entered his most familiar and best field!

    That''s why He Dajun wasn''t angry anymore and even became excited!

    He wasn''t short of money. "Basketball Fire" had brought him substantial wealth, but now what he pursued was fame!

    The number one in sports comics!

    This was the title he most desired!

    And now, an even grander title was beckoning him. That was, "defeating the number one in comics, Shadow"!

    Just as he said:

    No one understood basketball comics better than him, He Dajun, not even the number one in the industry!

    In the field of basketball, he wouldn''t allow anyone better than him!

    As for why Shadow was making such audacious claims?

    Others might not understand, but He Dajun could. Shadow became arrogant after being the number one in comics and thought he was invincible.

    Quite normal.

    After He Dajun rose to fame with "Basketball Fire," he too once thought he was the number one in sports comics and became quite arrogant.

    But he hadn''t expected that "King of the Net" would then appear.

    Every person experiences such arrogance, but those who do would always pay a price.

    ...

    Meanwhile, over at Shadow Studio.

    Jin Mu rolled up his sleeves. "Boss, aren''t you tired of drawing for so long? Let''s go play some basketball to relax!"

    Lin Yuan had already started drawing "Slam Dunk".

    Upon hearing Jin Mu, Lin Yuan shook his head, "I can''t play basketball."

    Jin Mu: ???

    Lin Yuan understood his confusion and explained, "Can''t you know about pork without having eaten it?"

    Jin Mu was confused.

    This statement sounded reasonable, but he felt something was off?

    "Do you really understand basketball?"

    "I can''t play tennis either."

    Lin Yuan''s one sentence answered all of Jin Mu''s questions.

    He couldn''t play tennis, but he still managed to create "King of the Net". This suggested that understanding a sport wasn''t necessary to create a comic about it.

    Jin Mu developed a misperception.

    Some things are exceptions.

 Chapter 779 - 743: He Dajun Has No Face Left_1

    The company moved swiftly. Before long, Li Songhua integrated an animation production company into the Starlight System. Immediately after the acquisition was completed, work on the animated version of ''Slam Dunk'' began. On Blue Star, where technology was more advanced, this process was much faster than on Earth.

    As soon as Lin Yuan provided some plot elements, they were able to finish a portion of the animation. The final result was to Lin Yuan''s liking. This demonstrated the advantages of having superior technology. Of course, this was also due to the hard work and overtime put in by the staff, seemingly spurred by the chairman''s promise of massive bonuses.

    Everyone seemed to have awakened their ability to work late into the night, producing work till the heavens darkened with exhaustion¡ª

    Starlight was fast!

    The Tribe was even faster!

    Seemingly with the intent of a pre-emptive strike, while the public was still discussing Shadow''s creation of a basketball manga, Tribe Comics'' ''Basketball Heart'' was officially launched on their stake-holding animation website. He Dajun''s new work, which took many years to perfect, finally met its audience!

    "You want to challenge me to a basketball showdown?"

    "You''re not good enough!"

    "Who says a short guy can''t play basketball?"

    "Can you tall guys even guard me?"

    The boy was like a beam of light, his short stature quickly dodging opponents, making successful layups. This was just the opening climax of the animated series, the main character''s first astonishing display, the showiness only continued from there!

    The thrill of it all!

    The audience called it professional!

    The animation tells the story of a genius basketball teenager who joins a college basketball team. Despite being an undeveloped middle schooler, he joins the high school basketball team and, relying on his amazing skills, he leads the bottom-ranked high school team to beat the other schools. It turns out that the boy''s father is a former top-notch basketball player.

    Because he was unjustly treated by his competitor, his basketball career came to an abrupt end. As a result, he can only train his prodigiously talented son at home¡­

    In an attempt to ride the wave, the first five episodes of the animation were broadcast consecutively!

    Watching it all at once, the plot is thoroughly awesome!

    As the series unveils its mysteries, the manga version of ''Basketball Heart'' appears on the Tribe platform, sparking widespread discussion. He Dajun''s fans are ecstatic!

    "It''s amazing!"

    "Who says short guys can''t play basketball? That line is so inspiring! The protagonist is obviously a middle school student, with a height of less than 1.7 meters, but he could beat a bunch of high school students, even more exciting than the previous ''Basketball Fire''!"

    "He Dajun is awesome, and the soundtrack is incredibly good too!" Experience more content on My Virtual Library Empire

    "Story, visuals, soundtrack, all top-tier!"

    "The protagonist''s father seems really powerful, otherwise he wouldn''t have nurtured such a talented son. I''m looking forward to seeing his father in action. It''s no wonder this piece --- which He Dajun spent years perfecting --- is so anticipated!"

    "Dajun has already won!"

    "Shadow is screwed now!"

    "Even if he is the number one person in the manga world, no one can compete with He Dajun when it comes to basketball manga. Anyone who confronts this animation will die. It''s been a long time since we''ve had such an inspiring and thrilling sports program. Dajun is undoubtedly the number one person in the sports manga world!"

    On the Tribe platform!

    The audience is full of praise!

    He Dajun''s pacing and excitement are completely on point, stirring up a lot of audience emotions. Although there are flaws in character development, and the protagonist''s exploits are shockingly exaggerated, everyone is genuinely thrilled by the plot. Thus, its merits outweigh its demerits. Overall, it can be said to be an excellent animation!

    Meanwhile.

    Some of Shadow''s fans also started watching this manga. As they were watching, Shadow''s fans suddenly felt that something was off.

    It wasn''t because the animation was outstanding.

    Instead, they smelled something familiar in the manga!

    "Damn!"

    "Isn''t the protagonist''s background similar to the one in ''King of the Net''?"

    "Damn, you''re right! No wonder I have a strong sense of deja vu!"

    "Long Ma also joined a senior club at the beginning, Long Ma also has a super powerful retired father, Long Ma isn''t tall, and he likes to say ''you''re not there yet''. This protagonist likes to say ''you''re not good enough'', isn''t that the same thing?"

    "He Dajun has no shame!"

    "Isn''t this a rip-off of ''King of the Net''? He''s just changed the sport from tennis to basketball!"

    "The worst part is, he doesn''t even do a good job of copying!"

    "Forget the similarities in the settings, he can''t even hold a candle to ''King of the Net'' in terms of character development. After three episodes, it''s all about the protagonist showing off, and it''s so blatantly exaggerated!"

    "..."

    Shadow''s fans were angry. The more they watched, the more the protagonist seemed like a rip-off of Long Ma from ''King of the Net''. They didn''t expect He Dajun to have such a thick skin!

    All of a sudden.

    He Dajun''s fans also started to get upset, saying, "What, because we are now hot, you are like a rat running up a beam in desperation?"

    "Why do I feel so sour?"

    "Those who claim that Dajun copied ''King of the Net'' really have a lot of nerve, could you please first acknowledge the fact that tennis and basketball are not the same sport!"

    "Aren''t all sports manga protagonist always set as young geniuses?"

    "So only you can have that? The early protagonist of Dajun''s ''Basketball Fire'' was also a genius. So, can I claim that Shadow and Chu Kuang actually copied Dajun?"

    "The art style of sports manga protagonists is all the same, have you guys even read sports manga?"

    "..."

    Both sides had actually started arguing again!

    Amid the quarrel, ''Basketball Heart'' became a hotter and hotter topic, with its popularity continuously increasing!

    Just then.

    He Dajun suddenly posted an update: S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "It''s true that the more popular you are, the more trouble you encounter. First off, ''Basketball Heart'' is something I created ten years ago as my debut. Back then, I didn''t even know who Shadow was, so how could I have plagiarized his work? Not to mention the big difference between basketball and tennis.

    It seems like people are obsessed with empty reputation, a supposedly number one sports manga artist, fighting with a mob of fans, looks quite unseemly. I have always been indifferent about chasing after such empty titles, but if someone tries to challenge my works because of it, that''s something I cannot tolerate.

    I''d like to say this to a certain fan base, please don''t try to win by defaming others. We manga artists speak through our works, putting all your energy into the work is the most important thing."

    At this time, ''Basketball Heart'' was already on fire.

    He Dajun''s post immediately received hundreds of supportive comments from fans:

    "Well said!"

    "Dajun has always been indifferent, never wanted to compete for any number one title, so why try to throw dirt?"

    "Don''t agree? Let the work speak for itself!"

    "Didn''t your idol also draw a basketball manga?"

    "Ha, why don''t you bring out his basketball manga for comparison?"

    "If you can''t bring out the work, just shouting about it, is really just disgraceful!"

    "Isn''t he the so-called ''number one manga artist''?"

    "A dignified number one manga artist, can''t draw a better basketball manga than Dajun? Seems like there''s nothing amazing about being the top manga artist."

    "..."

    Compared to Dajun, Shadow''s fans were already taken aback and after seeing the quality of ''Basketball Heart'', they were even more awe-struck!

    Damn!

    Shadow''s fans were furious!

    He Dajun''s statement was clearly a case of equivocation!

    But just then, Shadow''s status was finally updated: "Tonight at seven, ''Slam Dunk'' will be officially released, and the manga version will also be logged in Alliance."

    All at once!

    The argument on both sides suddenly halted.

    Further arguing seemed pointless, once ''Slam Dunk'' was released, this drama should come to an end.

    The stronger ones will be known at a glance.

    Both sides temporarily stopped their feud.

    But everyone knew:

    Behind this brief silence was a storm brewing.

    When the clock struck seven that night, ''Slam Dunk'' was finally released.

    At first, people didn''t realize that an unprecedented basketball storm had officially begun...

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thank you, Overlord [Sad Waste Paper] for the reward. I am kneeling in gratitude for you ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ Your movements are getting smoother and smoother.

 Chapter 780 - 744: Sweeping Across Five Continents_1

    Ten minutes ago.

    After posting on his Shadow account at the company, Lin Yuan went home, only to find his sisters and mother sitting on the couch, staring at the gigantic projector on the wall. This projector was rarely used, as his mother preferred watching television and only used it to watch videos online.

    He asked, "What''s going on?"

    His sister replied, "Waiting for The Dunk Master!"

    His younger sister added, "The work of your good friend."

    Their mother complained, "They insisted on dragging me to watch with them."

    Lin Yuan thought for a moment and decided to join them on the couch.

    Suddenly, their mother asked, "I heard that this anime was made by Starlight. Did you participate in it?"

    "Yes."

    Lin Yuan replied, "I did the music."

    His younger sister curiously asked, "Is it good?"

    His sister laughed, "Does that even need to be asked?"

    Lin Yuan laughed along, knowing that the music for The Dunk Master was no joking matter.

    For the opening theme song "I Want to Yell I Love You", he specifically invited Leung Zi Yuan, the King of Singing from Chu Continent, to perform the song.

    Leung Zi Yuan was the robot that joined the The Masked Singer competition with Lin Yuan previously.

    Due to tight timing and the song being in the Chu language, Lin Yuan couldn''t find someone from within the Yu Dynasty to take on the task. Luckily, Leung Zi Yuan accepted Lin Yuan''s invitation without hesitation.

    Upon hearing the demo, Leung Zi Yuan was thrilled.

    In the end, he didn''t even accept a fee and even told Lin Yuan, "Don''t hesitate to find me for any similar opportunities in the future!"

    Lin Yuan nodded in agreement. He had a good impression of Leung Zi Yuan since their interactions on the show had always been pleasant.

    Soon, when the anime started, everyone would be able to hear this song.

    ...

    In a certain villa hallway.

    Tianmen and Yeshenchen, having become good friends, had arranged to meet at Tianmen''s villa.

    "It''s about to start."

    Tianmen was full of anticipation, not for the anime itself, but for its potential failure!

    "We''re counting on He Dajun for our revenge!"

    Yeshenchen also spoke excitedly. As a King''s Path comic artist, he could never compare to Shadow, but he was eager to see Shadow fail for once!

    The first defeat of the number one comic artist!

    Tianmen and Yeshenchen both longed to witness such a scene!

    Stay connected through My Virtual Library Empire

    ...

    In a certain hotel.

    He Dajun was also sitting in front of his computer, his face cold and stern.

    "I want to see on what grounds you dare to compete with me on basketball comics!"

    Yes.

    His manga indeed borrowed elements from King of the Net.

    But so what?

    As long as he firmly denied it, people could only believe it was a coincidence, after all, his manga had started creation quite early on.

    ...

    In Tribe Comics.

    Ling Kong was also sitting in front of the computer.

    This time he didn''t call over the department editor.

    The past two times he''d done so had left him with a lingering sense of unease.

    Now it was time for the anime.

    Even if Ling Kong didn''t understand professional comic creation, he still had the ability to judge whether an anime was excellent.

    ...

    At the exact same moment!

    In Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han Continent, countless netizens sat in front of their computers.

    Including countless insiders.

    They were all waiting for Shadow''s The Dunk Master.

    The significance of this event was not just about who would be awarded the title of "number one sports manga artist"!

    At the same time.

    Everyone also wanted to know whether the top comic artist was truly invincible!

    Even if he was going up against a manga artist who specialised in basketball manga!

    As they waited, they chatted on the internet.

    "It''s about to start!"

    "Does Shadow really understand basketball manga?"

    "Heh, I''m just waiting to see this anime debut to see him make a fool of himself."

    "Don''t underestimate Shadow, everyone who has underestimated him before has ended up being slapped in the face."

    "Oh I''m so scared."

    "Shadow does have skills, I feel like his work won''t be much worse than He Dajun''s, if at all. After all, it''s not like he can''t draw sports manga. For him, it''s just a matter of changing the sport."

    Shadow''s fans.

    He Dajun''s fans.

    Insiders and outsiders were all joining the discussion.

    Right at this moment.

    Seven o''clock arrived.

    The anime started!

    As the first frame appeared on everyone''s screens, a passionate song suddenly echoed, reviving countless people''s memories of their youth:

    "Running through the streets under the dazzling sunlight

    Tatakateta itsumo no you ni kata o

    You regularly pat my shoulder as usual

    Prancing like a dream for no reason at all

    Unable to ever grab your arm

    sono ude wa karamu koto wa nai

    ..."

    This was the theme song of The Dunk Master!

    The unforgettable song, "I Want to Yell I Love You" that countless people had been restless over!

    The story hadn''t even begun, but the emotions of countless viewers were already surging! S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "This song is amazing!"

    "According to the introduction, it''s Fish Papa''s song!"

    "Performed by the King of Singing, Leung Zi Yuan!"

    "Whoa, I didn''t wait in vain. Even just for this song, it would''ve been worth the wait!"

    "Regardless of the quality of the anime, no one can deny this song!"

    "Hahaha, the Xian Yu collaboration is too powerful!"

    "It''s a pity it''s already mid-month, otherwise this song could''ve been a dark horse on the charts!"

    "It doesn''t matter, the charts for the month have been bagged by Xian Yu already!"

    "Haha, a good song from a bad movie."

    "It''s just relying on Xian Yu, it''s not his merit. Just like how King of the Net rode on the back of Chu Kuang."

    "So bitter."

    "Stop talking about the song, talk about the plot, this is a battle between manga and anime!"

    ...

    The song soon ended.

    The screen displayed the caption:

    Birth of a Basketball Genius!

    The scene finally unfolded.

 Chapter 781 - 744: Sweeping Across Five Continents _2

    On a basketball court, two teams are locked in a fierce battle.

    The clash.

    The pass.

    The positioning.

    Suddenly, a figure appears on the court. A tall, imposing youth with red hair catches the basketball and then perfectly executes a classic three-step layup!

    Swoosh!

    The ball is in!

    The handsome redhead holding the basketball, full of vim and vigor, declares:

    "I am the basketball genius, Sakuragi Hanamichi!"

    In front of countless witnesses, Sakuragi Hanamichi makes a cool entrance!

    Then.

    Episode one!

    Episode two!

    Episode three...

    The plot of "Slam Dunk", hailed as the strongest sports manga on Earth, finally unfolds before everyone''s eyes!

    Haruko makes her appearance!

    Rukawa Kaede appears!

    Akagi Takenori steps onto the scene!

    A variety of characters files in one after another in the early episodes!

    Hilarious!

    Youthful!

    Passionate!

    The brilliance of "Slam Dunk", the youth of a generation on Earth, turns into a beautiful butterfly. It merely flutters its wings on Blue Star, and yet it stirs up a storm!

    ¡­

    In the villa.

    At some point, Tianmen and Yeshenchen both freeze, their gaze fixed firmly on the screen.

    After a long while.

    Tianmen finally manages to speak, "How did he turn basketball into a King''s Path theme!"

    Yeshenchen, his breath trembling:

    "How does it compare to ''Basketball Heart''?"

    "That''s just trash!"

    "He lost in character development!"

    "He lost in storytelling!"

    "He still lost in passion!"

    "He only knows how to rush and show off, he doesn''t understand how to shape characters!"

    "Damn it!"

    "Why is Shadow so monstrous, depending on He Dajun, this idiotic He Dajun is even worse than us two!"

    ¡­

    In Tribe Comics.

    Ling Kong is also shocked!

    At this point, Sakuragi Hanamichi headbutts Youhei, who doesn''t seem to fall.

    Ling Kong feels like he too has been attacked by Sakuragi Hanamichi''s signature move, "The Headbutt".

    He can''t take it!

    He doesn''t want to admit it, but the fact is, he''s already enthralled by this anime!

    He''s even desperate to watch Sakuragi Hanamichi show off!

    It''s different from "Basketball Heart"!

    He Dajun lets the protagonist show off right from the start!

    It instantly delighted the audience!

    At the time, Ling Kong also felt great!

    But now, Sakuragi Hanamichi hasn''t shown off at all, but he doesn''t feel tortured at all!

    Instead, he''s incredibly excited!

    He can''t wait to see Sakuragi Hanamichi stun everyone!

    How to describe it?

    It''s probably like He Dajun offering everyone barbecue!

    Spicy and exciting!

    After finishing, feels a bit inexplicably stuffed, cheap seasoning, unhealthy food, having a greasy feeling.

    But Shadow is presenting a Manchu Han Imperial Feast!

    A feast for the eyes!

    It lacks the extreme stimulation of the first bite, but it''s even more addictive and enjoyable. Just looking at it is pleasing to the eye!

    The difference is clear!

    Ling Kong raises his hand intending to turn off the computer, but for some reason, he stops when his hand reaches the switch.

    "I am doing this to understand the competition!"

    He tells himself this, and suddenly feels a level of embarrassment he''s never known before.

    ¡­

    At home.

    At some point, his sister has already started to scream:

    "Aaaaaaaaaa!!!"

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    "Keep it down!"

    Mom''s not happy.

    But his sister doesn''t care, "Rukawa Kaede is so handsome!"

    "I think Akagi Takenori is quite fun."

    His little sister states seriously.

    Mom smiles, "This anime is quite good. This Haruko girl reminds me of when I was young. Back then, I was also pursued crazily by a guy."

    Lin Yuan''s mouth tilted up in a small smile.

    This was also his youth!

    And it was an upgraded version of his youth!

    Because this work was the same as that on earth, and yet different!

    The art was better!

    The production was better!

    And most importantly, the illogical parts in the animation were all made very reasonable by the system!

    Very formal!

    Even professional basketball players couldn''t find fault!

    ...

    In the hotel.

    He Dajun''s mouth began to twitch.

    On the computer.

    Rukawa Kaede gracefully dunked the basketball!

    He executed the move in one fluid motion, not only making the audience shriek but also seemingly dunking on He Dajun''s head!

    "How does he know more than me!"

    He Dajun''s face turned pale.

    Just a few episodes in, and he already felt completely exhausted.

    He truly understood basketball!

    But it was precisely because he understood, he realized what kind of work "Slam Dunk" was!

    Damn it!

    He completely lost control, tried to turn off his computer, but because his hand was slightly trembling, he failed. Once, twice.

    Slam!

    He smashed the power button with his fist.

    The world was silent.

    But some things, you can''t silence, like the subtle sound of electricity after the computer was violently shut down.

    ...

    Countless people fell in love with this animation!

    Online.

    Countless people excitedly discussed while watching it, it was lively like a festival:

    "Why is it so good!"

    "Shadow''s understanding is too great, the part where Sakuragi Hanamichi plays basketball with his feet had me dying of laughter, he even pulled down Akagi Takenori''s trousers!"

    "Isn''t this more exciting than ''Basketball Heart''?"

    "The two can''t even be compared!"

    "I feel like it''s even better than the Dead Sea of Fire!"

    "Hahahaha, Haruko is actually the big gorilla''s sister, are they sure they''re full siblings? I don''t even like watching sports shows, why am I so hooked this time?"

    "No one understands basketball better than Shadow!"

    "He Dajun, kneel!"

    "Where are He Dajun''s fans, crawl out!"

    It was just an animation, they had only watched a few episodes, and yet everyone was conquered by it!

    ...

    Beijing!

    Sports stadium!

    On the training court of the Bluelympics in Qin Continent, the players were also watching this animation!

    This was relaxation time specially arranged for them.

    A huge projector was set up on the training court, and all the basketball players gathered around.

    "Damn!"

    "This is so damn cool!"

    "This is why I love basketball!"

    "This is why I''m determined to make a mark at the Bluelympics!"

    "His movements are so professional, and the basketball tactics are interesting!"

    "The vice-captain Mokuba is pretty good."

    "The training methods are very scientific, even more advanced than ours?"

    "Am I the only one who thinks women like Ayako are the best?"

    "Damn, this Rukawa Kaede is on a professional level!"

    "Captain, you look like Akagi Takenori, your nickname is also big gorilla, hahahaha!"

    "Rukawa Kaede was modeled after me!"

    "Get lost!"

    "He was modeled after me!"

    "I look as handsome as Rukawa Kaede!"

    The captain scratched his head.

    Did Shadow depict Akagi Takenori based on him?

    Oh.

    The only downside was that the background was set in Chu Continent.

    It would be better if it was set in Qin Continent. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    At this moment.

    The basketball team''s director received a call, then laughed and said: "We owed Xian Yu a favor previously, Starlight hopes we can help Shadow promote a bit, as a request from Xian Yu, can you guys help promote this animation?"

    "Of course!"

    Everyone nodded without hesitation, searching for their phones, but their eyes never left the screen!

    At this point.

    The animation was already up to the fifth episode.

    The latest update.

    And this basketball storm had already fully erupted, and was sweeping across the five continents of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han at a very rapid pace!

 Chapter 782 - 745 Coach, I want to play basketball_1

    Qin Continent.

    "Shadow God is ours in Qin Continent!"

    "Feeling unfulfilled even after watching the first five episodes!"

    "Can Shadow GOAT update faster!"

    ...

    Qi Continent.

    "This is the power of the top manga artist!"

    "He actually knows basketball!"

    "This is the best animation I''ve ever seen!"

    ...

    Chu Continent.

    "The story is set in our Chu Continent!"

    "Shadow God is being too good to us Chu people, this is the mindset of an artist!"

    "How good it would be if Shadow God was from Chu people. I don''t even want to admit that He Dajun is one of us Chu people!"

    ...

    Yan Continent.

    "Awooo!!"

    "This is the animation a real man should watch!"

    "The most popular character in this manga is definitely Akagi Takenori!"

    ...

    Han Continent.

    "Surprise mother fuker! It''s so good!"

    "I love Slam Dunk, Sakuragi Hanamichi is just perfect!"

    "I was a bit resistant to accept Shadow as the top manga artist before, but now I truly believe it, he is the top1!"

    ...

    The storm sweeping across the five continents is causing a huge impact!

    In no time!

    The internet is full of discussions about "Slam Dunk"!

    Each continent exclaims!

    While they admire the brilliance of this animation, people have not forgotten to lash out at He Dajun and his fans.

    After all, He Dajun and his fans were quite arrogant before!

    Especially the fans of Shadow, they have been holding their breath for a long time, and now it''s time to vent!

    ...

    He Dajun''s Tribe comment section.

    "Qin Continent sightseeing group has come to visit the scene of He Dajun''s major social demise!"

    "Qi Continent sightseeing group is here, little brother Dajun, does your face hurt?"

    "Chu Continent sightseeing group arrives, just asking: both Tianmen and Yeshenchen have to speak respectfully to Shadow God, who do you think you are, He Dajun, to challenge the top manga artist?"

    "Awooo! Yan Continent sightseeing group is here!"

    "Yan Continent sightseeing group passes by and forcefully spits at He Dajun. After all, Dajun used to be a respectable person."

    "Is this the speaking through work you wanted?"

    "I heard that no one knows more about basketball manga than you?"

    "Shadow: Things like tennis, I''m too lazy to draw, I''ll just draw basketball, sigh, just for fun!"

    ...

    Sightseeing groups from all continents are here! S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Countless teasing and making fun!

    He Dajun directly turned off the comments.

    But when he turned off the comments, netizens became even more excited. Some meme creators immediately made the interview video of He Dajun saying "no one knows basketball than me" into an emoticon. It went viral!

    He Dajun now faces real social humiliation!

    Of course, He Dajun''s fans are also within the range of netizen''s firepower:

    "Why aren''t Dajun''s fans jumping anymore?"

    "Weren''t they making a lot of noise before?"

    "That guy who said[Ouch, I''m so scared], look, I saved a screenshot of what you said in case you deny it after deleting your comment. I''m asking you, are you still scared? Will you keep acting all weird?"

    "Hahahaha, screenshot slapping on the face is really showy!"

    "Alright, I also took a screenshot. This Dajun fan said[Is Shadow even comparable to He Dajun in basketball]. I wonder if this Dajun fan is still doing well."

    "Puf, you guys are so bad, but I like it."

    ...

    He Dajun''s fans are really pissed off!

    However, they can''t retaliate, they''ve also watched "Slam Dunk"!

    Anyone with a normal IQ wouldn''t dare to compare He Dajun''s "Basketball Heart" with it!

    What''s more terrifying is...

    Even He Dajun''s fans were strongly attracted to "Slam Dunk" after watching it!

    Looking back.

    When He Dajun''s fans thought about the plot of "Basketball Heart" again, they suddenly found it dull.

    It''s like going on an outing.

    At first, they were thrilled, but after the novelty wore off, they began to pick things apart like the view, etc.

    After all.

    Those who spend the money get to talk tough.

    Finally.

    Some hardcore fans of He Dajun couldn''t help but fight back:

    "It''s just been the first five episodes, can we not make a conclusion yet!"

    It''s worth mentioning that the momentum of He Dajun''s fans lashing back was much smaller than before, only about a fifth of what it was before.

    The other four-fifths of Dajun''s fans had already quietly run away.

    They left in the middle of the night, carrying trains with them.

    In short.

    In the forums where He Dajun''s fans and Shadow''s fans used to argue, suddenly the name-changing cards that usually nobody cared about started to sell well!

    ...

    There seem to be only a few true fans of He Dajun left.

    These stubborn fans had no choice but to hang by a thread, using the excuse that both animations had only released five episodes, and it''s uncertain who will be stronger in the future to dodge the point.

    This is their last fig leaf!

    They knew that the outcome had been decided and "Basketball Heart" had been badly beaten.

    However, what He Dajun''s fans didn''t expect was:

    Just shortly after they spoke, someone found out that Shadow''s "Slam Dunk" was also serialized in the Alliance, and they updated more than thirty chapters at once!

    "Damn!"

    "So many updates for the manga!"

    "Quickly, let''s watch!"

    "Can''t wait for the animation any longer!"

    "My blade is already insatiable!"

    "Shadow God is really going strong!"

    "Don''t let me down later!"

    "Weren''t He Dajun''s fans going to compete in the follow-up? Hehehe, this round, it''s you who have shown your faces!"

    "Take a good look at how the sequel of ''Slam Dunk'' is doing!"

    ...

    Web users did not expect that so much content has been updated on the comic side, at this moment they even forget to continue stepping on He Dajun and his fans!

    With great surprise.

    After arguing a few words with He Dajun''s fans, they rushed to open the league to see the sequel of the comic!

    Remember this!

    The five episodes of the ''Slam Dunk'' animation have already aroused everyone''s interest, as for these updates, they were actually worked out overnight by Lin Yuan after taking energy potions.

    Chapter Six...

    Chapter Seven...

    Chapter Eight...

    Internet users, viewers and even readers are soon immersed in the sequel of ''Slam Dunk''!

    Even He Dajun''s fans can''t help but peek at the comic.

    On the one hand, it''s an unstated expectation for the sequel.

    On the other hand, there is a glimmer of hope left, thinking what if this work is just exciting at the beginning and then falls apart later?

    Under different thoughts, everyone continues to read the comic.

    ...

    In the comic.

    Sakuragi Hanamichi, Rukawa Kaede and others had a heated conflict with the delinquents outside the school!

    Mitsui Hisashi, on stage!

    Frankly, everyone has a bad impression of Mitsui Hisashi.

    Everybody thinks he''s just a bad boy, a despicable antagonist, so they are looking forward to seeing Sakuragi Hanamichi and others beat him up!

    However.

    As they kept reading, their feelings changed.

    The bond between Mitsui Hisashi and basketball appeared in the form of a memory, making it clear that he was a child who had gone astray.

    In fact, there''s a fire inside him!

    The more they read, the more they felt sorry for this character.

    Before they knew it.

    Some people already had red eyes.

    It seems that certain emotions are brewing at the bottom of their hearts.

    ...

    Still in the comic.

    When the wounded Mitsui saw Coach Anzai standing in front of him, in the face of one of the most respected elders in his life, Mitsui Hisashi was stunned.

    His eyes, gradually moistened.

    The intimate encouragement he received in his middle school years;

    The ambition when he joined Shohoku in his early years;

    The past of giving up basketball due to injuries and choosing self-destruction and self-abandonment;

    These incidents from his past floated in front of Mitsui''s eyes¡­...

    Two years have passed.

    The Akagi, whom he despised back then, still defends this court, and has single-handedly become the absolute leader of the team!

    What about you, Mitsui?

    Thunk!

    Mitsui couldn''t hold it back anymore!

    He knelt down, his hands touching the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.

    Like a wild beast''s howl and sob, yet also like a child who finally saw a glimmer of hope in the darkness of despair:

    "Coach, I want...to play basketball!"

    When Mitsui uttered these words full of regret, his tears blurred his sight like a kite that had lost its string!

    At this moment!

    In front of the screen!

    Countless people were moved to tears!

    ...

    In the midst of overflowing tears.

    Everyone watching Mitsui kneeling at Coach Anzai''s feet was profoundly shocked!

    Swipe swipe swipe!

    Tears poured like rain!

    No reader could withstand this epic tear-jerker in the history of sports comics, forever etched in everyone''s memory.

    "There are stones in my eyes!"

    "Can''t hold it back any longer, I haven''t cried for at least five years, but seeing this scene I''ve ended up crying like an idiot!"

    "Why is it so touching!"

    "Coach, I want to play basketball!!"

    "Seeing Mitsui''s story, I''ve been holding back not to cry, but I really can''t stand this last sentence, from his face I see true love and unwillingness. Shadow God has truly brought out the soul of this character!"

    "My eyes are swelling from crying!"

    "No regret in this life for choosing ''Slam Dunk''!"

    "I feel so sorry for Mitsui!"

    "I really hated him at first, but now I like him so much, I feel like he''s even more charming than Rukawa Kaede, Coach, let Mitsui play basketball!"

    "Shadow God is really good at making people cry!"

    "I thought ''One Piece'' was the most touching comic by Shadow God, until I met Mitsui, he''s the most charming of all the characters so far, even if his appearance is a bit late!"

    "Damn, I''ve used up three packets of tissues and it''s still not enough!"

    "How can it be so tear-jerking, I ruined all my makeup by crying. It feels so awful, Mitsui is really having a tough time!"

    "..."

    Everyone gave in, completely!

    At this moment, countless people are crying rivers!

    Web users don''t even go after He Dajun''s fans anymore!

    Everyone was completely captivated by Mitsui''s turnaround and the remorseful words "Coach, I want to play basketball", and from this moment on fell deeply in love with this character!

    At the same time.

    He Dajun''s stubborn fans were also completely silent. Among them, some people were moved to tears. This single scene is something that He Dajun can''t achieve in his lifetime, even the protagonist created by He Dajun can''t be more charming than Mitsui Hisashi!

    Should they admit it?

    They''ve also fallen in love with ''Slam Dunk''. This is a real sports comic with soul, although only over thirty chapters have been serialized so far...

    This basketball storm finally reached its climax!

    "Coach, I want to play basketball!"

    This sentence went viral online!

 Chapter 783 - 746: Destruction, Tired _1

    Yes.

    The emotions of the netizens who have read the plot extension of "Slam Dunk" have been completely stirred by the Mitsui Hisashi storyline!

    After these people broke down in tears, they almost unanimously posted the same status:

    "Coach, I want to play basketball!"

    The photo alongside it was right from the moment in the manga when Mitsui Hisashi utters this classic line.

    That''s how this phrase became a social media trend!

    In fact, many people do this:

    Whether watching anime, reading novels, or watching TV shows, if they particularly like a scene or a classic line from it, they''ll remember the line, pair it with an image or related text from the piece, and share it on social media.

    It''s like giving the piece a shoutout.

    Those who get it will see the status and smile knowingly.

    Either they''ll give it a tacit ''like'', or they''ll add some comments and exchange views on the piece, even finding a kindred spirit in each other¡­

    Those who don''t get it will just be puzzled:

    Why are you guys suddenly into basketball?

    A generation gap tends to cause such misunderstandings.

    For example, someone posts: xxx''s horse died.

    Those who don''t get it will only be curious and confused, even envious of this xxx, who apparently has such a good family background that they own a horse?

    This is a generation gap.

    Young people generally don''t have such a gap, even if they don''t understand they can probably guess it''s a meme and look it up online.

    Most people have seen the first five episodes of "Slam Dunk", but not everyone has read the subsequent manga.

    So,

    when the phrase "Coach, I want to play basketball" started trending, the league comic of "Slam Dunk" really got a boost of publicity.

    More and more people began to realize that the manga was updated faster than the anime, and they also got a rough idea that there seemed to be an incredible plot twist coming up.

    This certainly raised curiosity and anticipation.

    Under the drive of this curiosity and anticipation, more and more people sought out the manga version of "Slam Dunk".

    The more they read, the more they got into it!

    The more they read, the more addicted they became!

    A lot of people cried after reading it!

    "This plot twist is truly classic!"

    "I''m teary-eyed!"

    "Before this scene, I only thought this was a great piece, but after this scene, I feel like this piece has a soul!"

    "I feel like I''m starting to understand that passion!"

    "I cried harder than Hisashi Mitsui!"

    "¡­"

    This plot twist was indeed classic, and whether people were jumping on the bandwagon or genuinely moved, "Coach, I want to play basketball" was appearing on the internet more and more frequently!

    Eventually, it was trending.

    Some people, oblivious to what was going on, were puzzled: why is everyone suddenly crying out to play basketball?

    He Dajun''s fans had lost their last shred of dignity.

    It was proven that the subsequent plot of "Slam Dunk" was more exciting!

    For a while,

    There were more and more so-called fans who bought name-change cards, changed their facades, pretended that they had never liked He Dajun, and claimed a new identity as Slam Dunk fans!

    What''s scarier is that there seemed to be a chain of contempt between Shadow and He Dajun!

    A bunch of people actually went to barrage He Dajun''s animation with comments:

    "No match for ''Slam Dunk'' at all."

    "''Slam Dunk'' is just way better."

    "People who watch this piece are seriously low."

    "Watching this after ''Slam Dunk'' is just tasteless."

    "..."

    They build up one and tear down another.

    This was devastating for He Dajun''s "Basketball Heart".

    He Dajun was done for.

    At least his work was.

    Not that many people were paying attention to this loser by then.

    Because the basketball storm was still raging on!

    It even had a real impact on some people!

    For instance, a kid in a family who just finished "Slam Dunk" suddenly looked at their dad and said:

    "I know what I want for my birthday!"

    "What?"

    "A basketball!"

    "..."

    This is just one instance.

    It''s a microcosm of many places.

    Undeniably, the release of "Slam Dunk" on Earth impacted some people.

    Many people started liking basketball after reading "Slam Dunk".

    What''s even more eye-catching is that as many kids are nurturing a dream for basketball, athletes from all continents are standing up too!

    A professional player from Qin Continent posted:

    "After watching ''Slam Dunk'', I aspire to perform an incredible dunk at the Bluelympics."

    A professional player from Qi Continent followed up:

    "I strongly recommend ''Slam Dunk''. The training methods in it are highly scientific. Those interested can follow along!"

    A professional player from Chu Continent:

    "After training, I was recommended to watch ''Slam Dunk''. As a boy, I am totally smitten with Rukawa Kaede!"

    A player from Yan Continent:

    "Howl! Watch ''Slam Dunk''. I''m going to be the next Akagi Takenori at this year''s Bluelympics!"

    A player from the Han Continent:

    "I don''t know why the Yan people are so fond of gorillas, I am Sakuragi Hanamichi!"

    Swish Swish Swish!

    Many professional players are recommending it!

    Some players are even shouting things like "Mitsui Hisashi is the best" and the likes.

    Just like that, they inadvertently revealed their habit of slacking off during training.

    After all, you need to read to much later parts of the comic to see that part of the plot. Normal training wouldn''t leave so much time for reading.

    But among it all.

    What amazes everyone most is a piece of information disclosed by the professional players:

    It seems that all the basketball-related knowledge in "Slam Dunk" is extremely professional!

    Some players even speculated that Shadow must have consulted professional basketball practitioners. Because some things inside couldn''t be known without being a professional, it''s way beyond an ordinary fan''s knowledge.

    "No one knows basketball better than Shadow!"

    The words of He Dajun were directly applied to Shadow, and this was officially recognized!

    Meanwhile, in Lin Yuan''s house.

    His sister was excitedly playing with her phone, constantly participating in online discussions about "Slam Dunk"!

    There are discussions about everything online.

    Like the characters that have appeared in the animation, the plot revealed later in the comic, Mitsui Hisashi''s classic quote, and that contagious animation theme song "I Really Want to Shout I Love You" that strikes everyone upon hearing it!

    Sister''s most discussed topic is Rukawa Kaede.

    After watching the animation, Sister looks like a diehard fan of Rukawa Kaede. The character design and abilities of Rukawa Kaede indeed have a natural attraction to females!

    Her younger sister sits next to her, watching and occasionally turning on the phone to play music.

    The song being played is "I Really Want to Shout I Love You", the theme song that launched simultaneously with the animation on all platforms.

    Antarctica was curled up nearby, Lin Yuan boredly stroked its head.

    His mom yawned and said she was going to rest.

    Suddenly.

    Lin Yuan''s phone rang.

    It was Jin Mu on the phone. He was so excited that Lin Yuan was afraid his saliva would splash over the phone.

    "It''s on fire!"

    "I know."

    "I am not talking about this, I meant the merchandise of this comic has boomed. Just now, many companies have called saying they want to collaborate with us for merchandise development. The profit in this is extreme. Do you know how much a figurine''s worth? If well-made, it''s priceless. There are many rich fans who like these things!"

    "Oh, get me some too."

    Lin Yuan thought it would be cool to have some "Slam Dunk" figurines in his office and study. His other animations have merchandise like figurines, which are now placed in his study and office. However, the merchandise of those works were not particularly popular, which may be related to the type of those works.

    "There''s more!"

    Jin Mu laughed, "Have you seen the season chart? The theme song of ''Slam Dunk'' has soared to 15th place. Everyone has shown great enthusiasm for this song. It seems that there is no problem with pushing it to the top ten, and it may even become the seventh. By then, the seventh place on this month''s season list will also be won by you!"

    Lin Yuan was puzzled. "But it''s almost mid-month."

    Jin Mu proudly responded, "Then you''re not aware. This month is special. Because the promotional song of the Bluelympics will definitely be the champion, so the Maestros haven''t made a move. Besides you, there are not many other contenders on the season list. Huang Dongzheng can''t do it either. His song just gained some popularity due to the Bluelympics and doesn''t have the official endorsement.

    Unlike your ''I Really Want to Shout I Love You'', which can take advantage of the popularity of the animation to boost its ranking. And the singer is also a King of Singing, Liang Ziyuan!"

    Lin Yuan didn''t expect such good news.

    Even though it was a special event in a special period, and not a solid achievement, nevertheless, sweeping the top seven spots on the season list is indeed an impressive achievement. This is Lin Yuan''s new personal record.

    ...

    Meanwhile.

    When Huang Dongzheng noticed that "I Really Want to Shout I Love You" was storming up on the charts, he merely shook his head with an expressionless face, feeling no emotional fluctuation and even a sense of humour.

    Just let it end, hurry up. I''m tired.

    ...

    At this moment. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Just like that moment.

    Tribe Comics.

    After reading "Slam Dunk", Ling Kong shook his head as if he felt the same way as Huang Dongzheng:

    "Just end it. I''m tired of this."

 Chapter 784 - 747 What to Write Next_1

    A few days later.

    He Dajun suddenly received an official notice from Tribe Comics: "Due to limited funds, the company has temporarily decided to cut down a portion of the animation production cost for ''Basketball Heart'', from the original investment reduced by half..."

    "Why!"

    He Dajun was furious and eager to confront Ling Kong in person, because Ling Kong had previously promised him to use the highest standard in the industry to create the animation of ''Basketball Heart''. Now they''re suddenly cutting the budget in half?

    That has a massive impact!

    The most direct effect is that the quality of ''Basketball Heart'' will be far inferior to the first few episodes. Many fans must have had a similar feeling, where the characters in the animation suddenly deteriorated in the middle of the series - it''s all due to budget.

    Even if poorly received animations generally don''t end up being cut short, the lacklustre production in the later stages is inevitable.

    One thing is apparent:

    The higher the investment, the better the quality of the animation. ''Basketball Heart'' couldn''t even compare to Shadow''s work, let alone if the budget cuts resulted in lower visual quality than the first few episodes. There would be no way to compete with their rivals!

    ...

    Ling Kong ignored He Dajun.

    He Dajun had lost his usefulness.

    This time, Tribe Comics once again suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Shadow.

    If only He Dajun''s temper were the same as Shadow''s, he would now be considering terminating his contract with Tribe Comics. But a harsh reality is that even if He Dajun ends his contract with the Tribe, he has nowhere else to go.

    The two websites, Alliance and Tribe, are the only ones in the entire industry that can afford to sign a manga artist of his level!

    All other websites are simply minor players in the industry and are not worth mentioning.

    So should he go to Alliance?

    They wouldn''t want him!

    He Dajun is gradually grasping the reason behind the cuts in the investment budget. ''Basketball Heart'' was originally doing great, and this animated series should have been a major hit, without Shadow''s existence.

    But comparisons are the root of all trouble!

    All who''ve seen ''Dunk Master'' have raised their standards since then and would feel somewhat disappointed when they view his work. Adding onto He Dajun''s conflict with Shadow, the significant gap between the two works is all too clear.

    "It''s over..."

    He Dajun lost heart so suddenly that he didn''t even feel like continuing to draw.

    This kind of blow is hard to bear.

    If he could go back in time, he would definitely not believe Ling Kong''s false promises and compete with Shadow for the title of the best sports manga artist.

    Now, he is thoroughly nailed to the pillar of shame.

    The only impression he left to everyone was reduced to a joke:

    "Nobody understands basketball better than I do."

    The popularity of this joke is even catching up to the iconic line from ''Dunk Master'', "Coach, I want to play basketball."

    The difference is:

    The former is mocked while the latter is hailed as a classic by countless people.

    He lost both the battle and the war.

    The career of He Dajun is doomed to plummet.

    Unless in the future he can significantly improve and create works that can match or even surpass ''Dunk Master.''

    But He Dajun knows that he does not have a chance.

    That was a work that made He Dajun despondent after reading it.

    After reading the latest updates of ''Dunk Master,'' He Dajun had started to doubt his life, and even considered giving up drawing.

    He Dajun was devastated.

    Meanwhile, on the other side.

    Contrasted with He Dajun''s despair, the popularity of ''Dunk Master'' kept soaring.

    The popularity of this animation even impacted reality!

    ...

    At a basketball court.

    A group of young people gathered to play basketball, only to find the entire court already fully packed.

    They all looked at each other in bewilderment.

    They had to look elsewhere for a court, but after going through several courts, they faced the same outcome.

    All major basketball courts were full!

    Either basketball enthusiasts itching to play after watching ''Dunk Master.''

    Or newbies who developed interest in basketball after watching the animation.

    "Damn!"

    "There''s no space at all!"

    "Shadow''s ''Dunk Master'' is so popular that we must reserve the court in advance if we want to play in the next few days!"

    "Basketball courts used to be so empty!"

    "The number of basketball fans seems to be catching up with football fans!"

    "Can''t compare to football fans, but after the release of ''Dunk Master,'' the number of basketball fans has indeed increased a lot."

    "I can''t believe this animation has impacted reality."

    "Well, let''s reschedule."

    "I''m going back to read manga. ''Slam Dunk'' updated a bit last night."

    ...

    At a certain store.

    The sales of basketball-related clothing and shoes suddenly skyrocketed.

    "I want number 10!"

    "I also want number 10!"

    "Number 10 is Sakuragi Hanamichi''s number, I prefer number 11!"

    "Number 11? You think you''re Rukawa Kaede?"

    "As a center, I choose the gorilla''s number 4 jersey!"

    "I want number 14." S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Why number 14?"

    "Mitsui wears number 14, he''s my favorite!"

    "Ah, Mitsui, then I''ll also go with number 14!"

    ...

    At a certain basketball training class.

    The staff in charge of recruiting students were stunned. It felt like suddenly there were a lot more people interested in basketball!

    "I want to sign up!"

    "Me too."

    "I want to learn basketball!"

    "You guys play so cool, newbie wants to join!"

    "Can I learn to dunk?"

    "So if I learn basketball, can I dunk?"

    "I also want to learn. I''m not afraid of hardship. Xiaomei likes ''Slam Dunk'', I must show her my heroism on the basketball court!"

    ...

    And it''s not just basketball interest classes.

    The number of people watching the basketball team training at various schools has also increased significantly.

    Most of them are boys.

    But what excites these school basketball players the most is that the number of girls watching has also increased!

    When they make a shot, the surroundings are filled with cheers!

    There are even people shouting "Rukawa Kaede" and the like.

    This made the efficiency of basketball team training improve countless times. Everyone is full of enthusiasm!

    Basketball suddenly became popular!

    All because of the influence of ''Slam Dunk''!

    ...

    When the influence of ''Slam Dunk'' seeped into reality, Lin Yuan also felt this change. He could hear the company staff making plans to play basketball together after work.

    Not to mention the numerous online discussions.

    "It''s about time."

    Lin Yuan called Sun ZhiXiang over: "You draw the next content, I will provide the storyline and storyboarding."

    Sun ZhiXiang was thrilled!

    Even though he had already guessed the result, he still leapt with joy!

    With this.

    Everyone in Shadow Studio now has their own corresponding manga to be responsible for, while Lin Yuan has resumed being his own hands-off boss.

    By the way.

    The recruitment of everyone''s assistants is almost done. Most of them were found by Luo Wei and they''re all very skilled.

    Jin Mu rented separate studios for everyone around them.

    In the future, Lin Yuan just needs to liaise with the main artists, without having to meet those assistants, so as to prevent his identity as Shadow from being revealed.

    Of course.

    Lin Yuan is not completely a hands-off boss. He pays attention to the updated content of these main artists every day, makes adjustments when necessary, and if anyone is falling behind, he would pull them aside for intensive training. The efficiency of Master''s Halo''s training is extremely high.

    He''s working on five comics at once!

    Lin Yuan felt that it is almost at its limit now.

    From now on, even if there are new comics, he needs to wait until later to be worked on. He''s running out of manga artist resources and he doesn''t want to shock the world any more than necessary. Shadow has already proven to be much more of a prodigy than anyone expected!

    Shadow should take a break for now.

    Lately, Shadow and Xian Yu have been in the limelight, Lin Yuan feels that Chu Kuang is eager to give it a try.

    What should he write next?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Transitional chapter. I''m not sure what I should write next. In this chapter, I discussed the fans funding big shots, shall we do a poll?

 Chapter 785 - 748 The mind is suddenly clear_1

    The matter of Shadow has been settled.

    From now on, the work required for the Alliance will be considerably easier.

    Currently, the Alliance has both Dead Sea of Fire and The Kindaichi Case Files, which are steadily increasing the website''s popularity.

    Now, they have the extremely popular Dunk as well!

    Of these five comics, barring The Kindaichi Case Files that falls slightly short, the remaining four are all phenomena-level!

    As these comics release more content, their popularity will definitely continue to climb!

    By that time, even Tribe Comics might not be able to keep up!

    It is important to mention Han Jimei here...

    Han Jimei is indeed very capable.

    As Dunk was becoming popular, she has recently pushed out numerous benefits on the website to appeal to comic artists.

    Previously, comic artists had no choice but to join Tribe since they monopolized the industry.

    Now, however, the artists have a new choice and are starting to consider joining the Alliance.

    Some people have already taken action, including some rather capable comic artists.

    Needless to say,

    The traffic of the Alliance has boomed thanks to the rapid popularity of Shadow''s five comics!

    With such a solid base of traffic, the Alliance is a good choice for the comic artists.

    Of course,

    Despite all this, Tribe Comics remains the industry leader due to their solid foundation. Regardless of how excellent Shadow''s comics are, they can''t instantly overthrow Tribe Comics'' years of achievements.

    It might be possible if these comics'' popularity explodes completely.

    But it would take time.

    In the meanwhile, Tribe Comics remains everyone''s first choice and the Alliance seems more like an alternative.

    Han Jimei, through her actions, has been consistently closing that gap, because the Alliance can''t solely depend on Shadow forever.

    This resolves many of Lin Yuan''s worries.

    One day,

    Upon arriving in the office of Starlight.

    Lin Yuan began to consider Chu Kuang''s situation.

    Ever since he finished "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes", he hadn''t started a new serialization.

    After the fuss between Xian Yu and Shadow, it''s about time for Chu Kuang to make a move.

    "Why not fill in the gaps in Fairytale?"

    Lin Yuan hadn''t forgotten about the unresolved sections in the lyrics of Fairytale Town.

    At this moment,

    Gu Dong knocked and came in: "Mr. Lin, someone wants to meet with you."

    "Who?"

    "The company''s chief agent, Zhao Jue."

    "Ms. Zhao?"

    Lin Yuan got up and walked to the door, "Where is she?"

    Zhao Jue was brought into Starlight by Lin Yuan, so in a way, she was his benefactor.

    Furthermore, Zhao Jue had previously helped Lin Yuan a lot, she even let him stay in her spare house without charging rent.

    Lin Yuan remembers all of these.

    "She''s here."

    The voice came from behind Gu Dong, Zhao Jue was looking at Lin Yuan with a smile.

    "Please take a seat."

    Lin Yuan said with a smile.

    A warm feeling flashed in Zhao Jue''s heart, she could tell that Lin Yuan wanted to personally welcome her at the door.

    A lot has changed over the years.

    Once upon a time, Lin Yuan needed Zhao Jue''s care.

    But now, Lin Yuan held a high position in Starlight; even the chairman was courteous to him.

    Zhao Jue was not even in the same league as Lin Yuan anymore.

    To be frank,

    Zhao Jue''s position was dependent on Lin Yuan''s good graces.

    Under these circumstances, Lin Yuan choosing to welcome her personally touched her heart.

    Although Lin Yuan might seem cold towards other people,

    He is indeed a person who values emotional connections deeply.

    Gu Dong, who was standing at the side, was somewhat surprised; the last time the chairman came over, Mr. Lin did not get up to welcome him...

    It seems that Mr. Lin highly values Zhao Jue, the Chief Agent of the company.

    She quickly moved to pour tea.

    After taking a seat, Zhao Jue remarked with emotion: "Your office is quite luxurious, it''s at least twice the size of mine."

    "Alright."

    Lin Yuan responded: "I''ll ask the chairman to arrange a bigger one for you."

    Zhao Jue: "..." S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Is this the power of Crown Prince?

    She shook her head repeatedly: "That''s not what I meant, I came here today to ask for a favor."

    "Sure."

    Lin Yuan agreed immediately.

    Zhao Jue chuckled bitterly: "I haven''t even mentioned what the favor is."

    "What is it?"

    Lin Yuan took a sip of tea.

    Zhao Jue''s expression became slightly serious: "The company is planning to entrust me as the director of the television department."

    Out of curiosity Lin Yuan asked, "Isn''t Uncle Zhou in charge of the television department?"

    Zhao Jue smiled again: "Ol'' Zhou has too many things to handle, between the television and film departments, as well as situations arising in the music department that requires his attention. He voluntarily recommended me to the chairman to manage the television department, you could say it is also a promotion for me."

    "Congratulations, Ms. Zhao."

    "Let''s not talk about congratulations yet,"

    Ms. Zhao sighed: "Running the TV department is not easy. This department was only established because of Journey to the West, which you and Chu Kuang created. Aside from that, there''s hardly any other work produced by the TV department."

    It was true.

    If it wasn''t for the intent to produce Journey to the West, the company wouldn''t have established the television department. However, since it was hastily set up for this particular show, many preparations were somewhat rushed, which led to the department being poorly developed.

    The only saving grace was the second season of Journey to the West, which brought in some recognition.

    Yes.

    The second season of Journey to the West was now on air. It continued with the adventures of the teacher-student quartet traveling to the West, battling monsters, and was widely accepted. However, due to high costs, it was not easy to recover the investment.

    Besides that, the response to other projects of the department were mediocre at best.

    Being put in charge of the television department is good for Zhao Jue since it''s a departmental position, but it is a challenge to ensure its proper development, a problem that has been troubling her recently.

 Chapter 786 - 786: 748

    After two days of headaches, she thought of Lin Yuan.

    She felt that Lin Yuan could probably help.

    After all, the headline show of the television department, "Journey to the West," was penned by Lin Yuan.

    Zhao Jue did not know that Lin Yuan was Chu Kuang. She only knew that Lin Yuan was the screenwriter of this drama.

    Lin Yuan asked, "Are you asking me to write a TV script?"

    Zhao Jue shook her head, "You are very busy, and I''d feel bad asking you for such a big favor. However, this does have to do with scriptwriting. Do you know about the Wuxia Drama "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange" that is currently being broadcasted by our company?"

    "I do. I watched this TV show when I was a kid."

    Lin Yuan doesn''t watch TV dramas now, but his mother loves them.

    She happened to be watching "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange," which is currently airing.

    Maybe it''s because this drama is produced by Starlight.

    Due to Lin Yuan, his mother has a positive view of Starlight and supports their works.

    However, she does not rate this drama highly.

    It seems that she might be considering dropping it recently.

    In addition, Lin Yuan has some extra knowledge about this drama from his childhood memories.

    No one reads Wuxia novels now.

    But in Lin Yuan''s childhood, Wuxia novels were popular.

    "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange" was a classic Wuxia novel, written by Lancet.

    In the field of Wuxia novels, Lancet''s status is similar to Jin Yong and Gu Long on Earth.

    But the writer has stopped writing now.

    Because now, not many people like to read Wuxia novels.

    Nevertheless.

    Perhaps because TV dramas have visual images and the performance of the actors, even though no one reads Wuxia novels anymore, Wuxia dramas still have a market. This is a remarkable phenomenon.

    As such.

    There are many Wuxia dramas aired every year, and some of them are hit productions.

    As a masterpiece of Wuxia, Lancet''s super popular piece "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange" has been remade by various companies more than a dozen times over the years. Each time, it can attract some audience, even though everyone is familiar with the plot and characters.

    Lin Yuan watched this Blue Star TV drama when he was a child.

    He has quite a good understanding of the storyline.

    "So, you should roughly understand the situation."

    Zhao Jue sighed, "After the company bought the rights to ''Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange,'' we had two top TV drama actors cast. It received a lot of attention. However, the audience may be tired of remakes, so even though our cast is outstanding, people are not buying. Recently, the ratings have continued to drop, and if this continues, the drama will lose a lot.

    So, I thought, could you possibly give our writers some advice, guide them, after all, your screenwriting talent is well understood throughout the company..."

    Lin Yuan was startled.

    He thought Zhao Jue was asking him to help write the script, but she was asking him to save the show: S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Isn''t the TV drama already airing?"

    "That''s not a problem, because we film and air this drama at the same time, the script can be flexible."

    Lin Yuan frowned.

    This touched upon his knowledge blind spot.

    He is better at providing complete scripts rather than modifying others'' plots. He isn''t sure that he can improve them either.

    "I understand if this may make you uncomfortable."

    Only after hesitating did Zhao Jue then speak: "So I thought, if you find this difficult, could you possibly ask teacher Chu Kuang for help? Given your good relationship, it wouldn''t be out of the question to ask him for help with sprucing up the script. I would handle the compensation. The main issue is that the investment in this drama is too high and the company has high expectations for it.

    I feel that the plot can still be salvaged..."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    Zhao Jue coughed, "You also have a friend called Shadow, a comic artist. Although he should be able to come up with ideas for the plot of the TV drama. After all, his creative capabilities are clear to see. As always, I would handle the compensation."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    He was at a loss for words.

    If he told her, Zhao Jue might not believe that if Xian Yu couldn''t do it, neither could he together with Shadow and Chu Kuang.

    At this moment.

    Lin Yuan''s system suddenly made a ''ding'' sound:

    "Congratulations to the host for triggering the task: Save a failing Wuxia TV drama. The task requires the host to double the viewership rating of this drama. The reward for the task is master-level calligraphy. Friendly hint one: Under normal circumstances, the golden treasure chest is required to acquire master-level calligraphy.

    Friendly hint two: The host can adapt the script of this work based on the template of the Earth''s Wuxia drama "Little Fish and Hua Wuque". How to adapt requires the host to explore."

    The task has been assigned!

    Lin Yuan almost thought that the system no longer announced tasks, but today, the system actually gave him a task!

    "Accept!"

    Without hesitation, Lin Yuan accepted the task. Regardless of whether he can do it, there is no punishment for failing the task.

    And there''s the task reward, master-level calligraphy!

    That''s truly desirable!

    And it seems like the system has given him a direction for adaptation!

    "I''ll give it a try."

    After accepting the task, Lin Yuan said to Zhao Jue.

    After thinking it over,

    Lin Yuan added, "Let''s give it a try."

    "You agreed!?"

    Zhao Jue couldn''t contain her joy. With the help of the horrifically creative Three Bros, there might be a chance of success.

    "Yes."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    "Here''s the script for you then. We''ve aired up to the twelfth episode, you can reference the following plot and change it as you see fit!"

    In the meantime,

    Zhao Jue pulled out the script she had brought with her. "You can also watch the first dozen-odd episodes of the drama for inspiration", she suggested.

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    With elation written all over her face, Zhao Jue left. However, a trace of worry still etched on her forehead, since this was a risky endeavour.

    Modifying a script at the last moment, and making it intriguing enough to resurrect the TV ratings was no easy task.

    After all, Lin Yuan had taken over the task abruptly. Would he be able to come up with an exciting storyline that easily?

    Ultimately, it was a desperate attempt to make the dead horse of a script gallop again.

    After Zhao Jue had left,

    Lin Yuan began to contemplate.

    The tasks given by the System usually were not overly difficult.

    Perhaps he should thoroughly watch "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange" and then attempt to improve the show''s ratings!

    The condition that the drama department was in was partly, even largely, due to him but unspoken.

    You see,

    The TV drama "Journey to the West" had eaten up a lot of the television department''s budget!

    The first and second seasons combined,

    had cost billions!

    The show did not turn a profit, even after factoring in merchandising. To date, it was still not breaking even.

    The unprecedented high ratings from the netizens, had been bought with money!

    Under such circumstances, the TV department could not afford to fail. "Journey to the West" was all too draining!

    Because of this,

    Upon inheriting the department, Zhao Jue had been racking her brain on how to boost the ratings for "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange."

    As for this matter, Lin Yuan had to admit his fault.

    Had he not insisted on making "Journey to the West" into a top-tier IP, and in turn spent too much budget, the TV department would probably have done much better.

    They surely wouldn''t have been so tied up and unable to bear even the failure of a single wuxia drama.

    After all, the Starlight conglomerate was a big business, whether it lost money or not.

    Or was it just that the department was too complicated?

    Even for this reason, Lin Yuan was certainly going to try everything to find a solution, let alone considering his relationship with Ms. Zhao.

    "First of all, I definitely need to modify..."

    "Why did the System say that the template of this drama could be applied to ''Little Fish and Hua Wuque''?"

    "It seems to be an extremely popular work on Earth, whose ratings once led the market..."

    "But my memory is failing me, I can''t recall the content of that drama¡­"

    "It seems that show had many death scenes..."

    "The only impression left in my mind, is kill, kill and kill some more¡­"

    "¡­"

    Lin Yuan stopped thinking. He just customized ''Little Fish and Hua Wuque'' outright.

    Then he finally understood why his recollection of this drama was filled with killing attitudes.

    Goodness!

    This show was virtually massacred by a character called "Jiang Yuyan"! Only the show title was left!

    The interesting part is:

    The backdrop of "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange" produced by the company is eerily similar to the drama that was ''massacred''!

    He could probably move the plot of that show here with little effort!

    Lin Yuan''s thought process suddenly cleared!

    Come forth!

    Old rascal Chu Kuang!

    Dishing out boxed meals, this is your forte!

 Chapter 787 - 749 Childhood Shadows Series_1

    Lin Yuan has decided how to revise the script, but he needs to rewatch the aired episodes of "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange" to gain a more precise grasp of the show.

    Sitting in front of his computer,

    Lin Yuan finds the series.

    He spent the whole morning watching all twelve episodes that have been aired.

    Viewing it at triple the speed is very practical.

    The plot is similar to what Lin Yuan remembered from his childhood.

    Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange are the two male protagonists of the series.

    The former being unfettered and humorous, vivacious in character, and possessing a face that draws viewers in.

    The latter, however, is the archetypical cold-hearted handsome man in an ancient costume, lethal to the girls, oozing an unruly charm.

    The background setup is quite interesting as well.

    Both male protagonists are blood brothers who were separated when young and taken in by two different factions...

    Feels remarkably familiar.

    On Earth, there is a representative piece by Gu Long named "The Peerless Twins".

    The novel also focuses on two male protagonists, known as Little Fish and Hua Wuque.

    The work of Blue Star''s martial arts author, Lancet, can be considered Blue Star''s version of "The Peerless Twins".

    Both works seem to be carved from the same mold.

    Sharing the dual protagonist setup, the character designs of Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange are also very similar to Little Fish and Hua Wuque.

    Lin Yuan, however, was not particularly surprised about this.

    In different times and spaces, there would always be similar sparks of inspiration colliding.

    Just like when he originally planned to make a superhero movie, thinking he was the first one to break new ground, yet he found out that Blue Star already had the concept of superheroes.

    This is pretty normal.

    As for the reason why the series had poor ratings, Lin Yuan could summarize it through bullet screen comments and reviews.

    It''s not a problem with the series itself.

    The actors are indeed very good, handsome male leads, beautiful female leads, and their acting skills are commendable.

    Even their costumes and props are not a problem. Starlight had invested quite heavily in this series, ensuring quality production.

    Yet, the series'' ratings are still not good.

    The reason being, the series lacks originality.

    On Blue Star, "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange" has been remade countless times before, and all the characters and plots in the series are already familiar to viewers!

    This lead to viewers not having any sense of anticipation after watching just a dozen episodes.

    Even if some minor adjustments were made to the original plot, viewers still felt it tasted too familiar.

    Lin Yuan knows this situation all too well.

    On Earth, Jin Yong and Gu Long''s martial arts dramas have been repeatedly remade, raising the viewers'' threshold for watching, hardly causing any emotional fluctuation easily. No matter what the protagonist does in the plot, the viewers could tell what would happen next.

    This is because everyone is too familiar with the storyline, even having watched it dozens of times.

    What will certain characters do in the story?

    The viewers can predict it themselves!

    Therefore, no matter how exciting the original plot is, after watching it dozens of times, viewers will certainly not be impressed anymore.

    "This cannot go on."

    After watching the series, Lin Yuan reads through the subsequent scripts again.

    According to the screenwriter''s intent, the upcoming plot will still follow 90% of the original storyline.

    If things go on like this, the series will definitely flop! S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The only way to save the series is to significantly revise the script!

    This will make the subsequent plot unpredictable and raise viewers'' expectations for the revamped version of the script!

    That''s the only way to revive "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange"!

    But how to make such significant changes?

    The System has already provided a clear hint.

    Think about how Wang Jing dramatically revised "The Peerless Twins"?

    In the remake of "The Peerless Twins", Wang Jing created an original female character.

    This woman, Jiang Yuyan, adores Hua Wuque.

    After Jiang Yuyan''s mother died, she was bitterly abused by her stepmother, and even the servants at home would beat and kick Jiang Yuyan, making her sleep in a pigsty.

    Jiang Yuyan''s father, intimidated by the power of her stepmother''s family, did not dare to speak up.

    While he is a renowned righteous martial artist out in the world, at home he is utterly spineless.

    In the end, Jiang Yuyan is even forced by her stepmother to slash her own mother''s memorial tablet with a knife.

    Up to this point.

    Everyone feels heartbroken for Jiang Yuyan!

    Too tragic!

    A soft girl as beautiful as a flower, nearly driven mad by torment!

    This was her body, personality, and even her soul''s dignity being repeatedly trampled upon by the villains!

    As a result, Jiang Yuyan turned dark.

    She began to seek revenge obsessively, relying on her extraordinary intelligence to continually grow stronger, and finally succeeding in her revenge!

    But that wasn''t all.

    She even became the final boss of the TV series!

    All those who stood in her way were killed directly or indirectly by her, including numerous beloved classic characters from "Proud Twins"!

    This woman had gone mad with killing!

    She even aspired to become an empress!

    The ending, of course, was predictable.

    In the final episode of the TV series, Jiang Yuyan was killed by the combined efforts of Little Fish and Hua Wuque.

    After all, the main characters were the dual male leads.

    It can be said that the direction of this drama has completely deviated from the original work.

    But it is precisely Wang Jing''s drastic alteration that made "Little Fish and Hua Wuque" stand out among numerous martial arts remakes at the time!

    The ratings exploded!

    Crushing everything else in the same slot!

    The discussions were intense!

    Judging by the performance of all other classic martial arts remakes, this drama created a miracle, a miracle of drastic alterations!

    There were even people joking about it:

    This series should be renamed "The Legend of Jiang Yuyan".

    Or simply rename it "Empress'' Legend" and be done with it!

    And because of this, Jiang Yuyan became the childhood trauma of countless millennial audiences.

    Those who watched the series still couldn''t forget this woman who annihilated all the other characters, leaving only the title of the drama years later.

    Here, we have to digress a bit.

    Wang Jing is truly a genius in some ways.

    He''s the kind of director who can play with film and television, whether it''s movies or TV shows, with the purpose of making money.

    Prolific in producing bad films!

    But also not lacking in classics!

    His filmmaking is so spontaneous, truly unconventional.

    You should know that the script for "Little Fish and Hua Wuque" was originally filmed according to the original work. But because the character Jiang Yuyan was too outstanding, he decided to add more scenes for this character on the spot!

    Ordinary directors wouldn''t dare to play like this.

    Wang Jing dared. He''s really good at portraying women.

    By continually adding scenes, he forcibly made Jiang Yuyan the female lead, and not the purely auxiliary antagonist. Jiang Yuyan''s transformation made this character complex and contradictory. Even till the end, some people still felt sympathy for her.

    Was Wang Jing remaking the martial arts drama "Proud Twins" with two male leads?

    He was clearly filming a drama with Jiang Yuyan as the main character, one big female lead drama!

    Having said that.

    Lin Yuan''s intention is already very clear.

    He wants to make "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange" experience the terror of being dominated by Jiang Yuyan!

    Kill, kill, kill, kill!

    Under Lin Yuan''s pen, a swath of classic characters from the original novel were destined to die at "Jiang Yuyan''s" hand. Audiences will surely be thrown into existential crises after watching this.

    Too ruthless!

    This is exactly why Lin Yuan couldn''t help but summon Chu Kuang. This kind of thing really needed an expert to handle.

    Xian Yu is still a child.

    Shadow would never be so excessive.

    Bloodthirsty and ruthless matters were better left to Mr. Chu.

    Chu Kuang recently happened to be free, and he was widely seen as a heartless God of death.

    Killing Biyao was a piece of cake, even Poirot wasn''t spared. He even almost killed Sherlock Holmes. Chu Kuang could be considered the first person in Blue Star''s healing literature...

    Chu Kuang: ???

 Chapter 788 - 750: Little Miss Jiang Yuyan_1

    Three days later.

    Television Department.

    The main creators of the TV drama "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange" are having a meeting, and everyone looks a little down.

    The producer shakes his head:

    "Our drama''s viewer ratings on the Star Network have dropped another point, and the number of on-demand views has been decreasing over the past two days."

    "It turns out that remakes are a real pitfall."

    "If we knew it would be like this, we might as well have made an original drama. At least the audience wouldn''t be so familiar with the plot."

    "Maybe there''s hope in changing the plot."

    "Of course, I know there''s hope in changing the plot, but the problem is how to change it. We''ve already added original characters."

    "What a shame, they''re all good actors, and the props and costumes are so well done!"

    "Such a large investment has just been wasted."

    Everyone feels helpless.

    The director sighs: "The scriptwriter should prepare to write the grand finale within the next five episodes. At least, we can cut our losses in time."

    "No rush!"

    Suddenly, a voice comes from the doorway.

    Everyone turns around and exclaims in unison:

    "Director Zhao!"

    Zhao Jue nods.

    She has just come from Lin Yuan and is holding a brand new script: "Have a look at this script..."

    "Where did you get this script?"

    Everyone stares at the script in Zhao Jue''s hand.

    Zhao Jue starts explaining. She didn''t tell everyone that she had asked Xian Yu for help because she wasn''t sure Xian Yu could deliver. Now that it worked out, she dares to talk about what had happened, which also served to boost everyone''s morale.

    Everyone listens and responds with curious expressions:

    "You''re saying you got Teacher Admirable Fish to help write the follow-up script for ''Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange''. When Teacher Admirable Fish felt uninspired, he asked his good friend Chu Kuang to help with the creation of the remaining episodes...?"

    A person''s reputation precedes them.

    Whether Chu Kuang or Xian Yu, either of them continuing the script is enough to capture the drama crew''s attention!

    Everyone''s expressions become serious.

    An air of hopeful anticipation is suddenly visible in their previously desperate eyes.

    Perhaps there''s still a chance?

    The one who took on the task is Chu Kuang after all!

    Dozens of printouts of the script are quickly distributed.

    Including to the few screenwriters of the drama crew.

    These days, many film and television dramas, especially TV dramas, have more than one screenwriter.

    Conveniently, Zhao Jue also wants to hear the original screenwriters'' opinions on Chu Kuang''s adapted script.

    In the blink of an eye.

    The room falls silent.

    Everyone is reading the script.

    Zhao Jue doesn''t read it because she has just arrived at the Television Department and, being the highest-level management here, has no concept of a script.

    After an unknown period.

    One of the screenwriters suddenly jumps up, blurting out two words:

    "Holy shit!"

    Zhao Jue is taken aback.

    What''s going on?

    Immediately after.

    The faces of the screenwriters next to him turn red:

    "This Chu Kuang old rascal is ruthless!"

    "Is this his handwriting?"

    "No one else would dare to write like this!"

    "The audience will go crazy if we film this!"

    "This drastic alteration will make the audience hate us!"

    "..."

    Zhao Jue is astonished.

    Is the plot behind this ridiculous?

    She looks at the director: "What did it say in there?"

    The director doesn''t speak.

    Only then does Zhao Jue notice that the director holding the script seems to have been dumbfounded, just staring at the script.

    "What''s going on?"

    Zhao Jue has a feeling that something''s off.

    Finally.

    The director lifts his head and looks at Zhao Jue, his expression somewhat dazed:

    "She''s dead¡­"

    "Who''s dead?"

    "This woman went on a killing spree¡­"

    "I don''t understand. I''m just asking one thing, can we film it?"

    Zhao Jue is getting impatient!

    The director hesitates for a long time, suddenly gritting his teeth:

    "Damn it!"

    "Director!" sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Everyone looks panicked: "This script..."

    "We''ll treat a dead horse as a live horse doc!"

    The director takes a deep breath, then says: "Distribute the script to the actors. We start shooting the next episode tomorrow. Forget about the previous script; we''re using the one Chu Kuang wrote!"

    ...

    That day.

    When all the actors have read the follow-up script for "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange", the crew is in an uproar early in the morning!

    "I''m dead?"

    "Are you dead too?"

    "Coincidence, we''re both dead?"

    "Looks like the third male lead is going to die too!"

    "This plot, it''s different from the original!"

    "Scriptwriter, do you have a grudge against the original piece?"

    "If we really film it this way, won''t the audience curse our drama?"

    The actors are taken aback.

    Many people thought they were seeing things when they received the script for the remaining shooting. They had to look carefully for a while before confirming that they''d been killed off by an original female character who suddenly appeared. These characters are very important ones in the original, with most surviving until the very end in a happy ending conclusion.

    The audience holds deep feelings for these characters!

    Unfortunately, their arguments can''t change the director''s decision.

    Filming.

    Editing.

    On air.

    The efficiency of the Blue Star entertainment industry remains high. In no time at all new scenes have been filmed and are now being shown to the audience.

    ...

    At home.

    Mom is sitting on the couch, waiting for "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange" to air. Though she proclaims she''ll stop watching the drama, it seems like Mom hasn''t completely lost her patience yet, seeing as it''s her son''s company that made it.

    "Watching that martial arts drama again."

    The sister quips while taking selfies on the balcony.

    "Mm."

    Mom replies nonchalantly.

    The little sister is sitting on the couch with Mom eating fruit. Her eyes aren''t on the TV, though, as she has no interest in martial arts dramas.

    Lin Yuan is in his room playing with his phone.

    He knows that the company has already filmed according to the script he provided, but he isn''t sure if the audience will accept his drastic changes. After all, the circumstances this time are a little special.

    Zhao Jue has already discussed with Lin Yuan.

    If the audience accepts it, they will publicly announce that the author of the follow-up script is Chu Kuang.

    If the audience doesn''t accept it, they''ll pretend this never happened and force the plot back on track if necessary.

    At this point.

    The TV drama is aired.

    Just as this drama is being aired.

    Many drama watchers also clicked through the video website to join the conversation, a small amount of discussion appearing along with the danmaku.

    "I''ve finally caught up to the thirteenth episode."

    "There''s not much else to watch, so I can only watch this one. Who made me fall so much for Yang Xiaofan."

    "This drama is suitable for passing the time."

    "I''ve seen the remake version seven or eight times and don''t have to worry about missing the plot. I can tell at a glance what happened before and what will happen next."

    "The only motivation for me to continue watching is due to Qin Tiange''s looks."

    "This version of Qin Tiange is indeed handsome."

    "The plot has nothing new, I guess I''m not far from dropping it."

    "Indeed it''s not very interesting, I''m just skipping through."

    ...

    Shortly into these discussions, the thirteenth episode gets aired.

    One of the male leads, Qin Tiange, has unintentionally saved a very beautiful girl in distress.

    Under the moonlight.

    Qin Tiange carries the girl across the rooftops and walls.

    The girl is staring at his grimly handsome face, her gaze reflecting starlight, as though she''s been bewitched.

    "The little girl''s name is Jiang Yuyan, dare I ask your honorable name?"

    "Be careful."

    Upon landing, the girl tries to strike up a conversation, but Qin Tiange is as aloof as ever.

    Even though he has just done a good deed.

    Before she knows it, he is far away, leaving the girl staring at his retreating figure in a daze.

    ...

    Netizens were surprised:

    "Who is this girl?"

    "Jiang Yuyan?"

    "I don''t know her."

    "Is this part in the original work?"

    "Seems like an original character."

    "The actress playing the girl is quite good-looking."

    "The female lead, look here, someone is stealing your man Qin Tiange!"

    "Haha, Qin Tiange charms every girl wherever he goes."

    "The actress is almost as pretty as our female lead."

    ...

    The audience wasn''t surprised.

    Such remade martial arts dramas always add some original characters and plots, but ultimately, they still follow the original work, so these added plots are mostly insignificant.

    However, the audience soon found out:

    This female character plays a lot in the drama.

    She turns out to be the illegitimate daughter of a villain who set out with a token to find her father, meeting Qin Tiange by chance along the way.

    Eh?

    This isn''t even about whether Qin Tiange ever saved such a girl in the original work.

    The villain named Shentu Hai doesn''t even have a daughter in the original work...

    This change is huge.

    The audience is also somewhat surprised.

    After all, Shentu Hai is a villain in the early to mid-stage of the novel.

    The parents of the two main characters were both killed by Shentu Hai.

    This character''s appearance directly links the storyline together.

    And at this point, Qin Tiange has no idea he''s saved the daughter of his enemy.

    And this new character named Jiang Yuyan has no idea about the grudge between the older generation.

    She has found Shentu Hai.

    With the token in hand, father and daughter acknowledged each other.

    And Jiang Yuyan, as per her father''s request, changed her name to Shentu Yuyan.

    Jiang is her mother''s surname.

    At the end of the day, she should bear her father''s surname.

    ...

    At home.

    Mom smiled, saying:

    "This girl is indeed good-looking!"

    "Is she as pretty as me?"

    The sister had somehow made her way over.

    "Go."

    Mom didn''t even respond to her.

    The sister pouted and turned her attention to the TV.

    The little sister also looked up curiously at the TV.

    ...

    At this point, Jiang Yuyan has already entered the Shentu family.

    Unexpectedly, Shentu Hai already has a wife, the mistress of the Shen family.

    "This is my daughter, Shentu Yuyan."

    Shentu Hai smiled and said to Jiang Yuyan: "Call her mother."

    "Mother..."

    Jiang Yuyan shyly uttered.

    The mistress smiled, then suddenly slapped her:

    "What did you call me?"

    Jiang Yuyan was stunned.

    Shentu Hai''s face changed, but he forced himself to stay silent.

    "Madam..."

    Jiang Yuyan wasn''t stupid. Holding her face, she changed her address with a trembling voice.

    "What''s your name?"

    "My name is Shen...Jiang Yuyan."

    Slap.

    The mistress slapped her again, her gaze cold: "From now on, your name is Doggie, the lowest and meanest servant girl of our Shen family."

    ...

    The sister was somewhat angry: "That''s too mean!"

    The little sister was curious: "Why treat her like that?"

    I must say.

    Jiang Yuyan is indeed pretty, just like a pure white flower, giving a pitiful impression.

    She shivered after being hit, and that scared look made even the girls feel sorry for her.

    "Shentu Hai''s illegitimate daughter, this woman is her step-mother."

    Mom explained and added, "That''s why you guys don''t have a step-dad."

    Sister was confused: "When did Shentu Hai get an extra wife, and even an illegitimate daughter?"

    The little sister pondered: "It''s a new character introduced by the scriptwriter."

    Everyone was familiar with "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange". Many people could recognize any changes to characters or plots from the original work.

    The following plot revolved around Jiang Yuyan.

    And through the following plot introduction, everyone learned why Shentu Hai was so afraid of his wife, even keeping quiet while his illegitimate daughter was being beaten so harshly.

    His wife turned out to be the adopted daughter of a top eunuch in the palace.

    The eunuch was incredibly powerful, and Shentu Hai owed his position to him.

    "The plot has changed quite drastically."

    The sister seemed interested and stayed seated on the sofa.

    The little sister was also watching the TV.

    Even Lin Yuan was watching the drama upstairs in the room with Antarctica.

    Alright.

    He admitted that he had a bad taste by letting the woman keep the name Jiang Yuyan without any change.

    Who would have thought that the character Jiang Yuyan in Wang Jing''s drama was called the "Yan Emperor" by many viewers.

    "Next is the growth story of the Yan Emperor..."

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: The TV show plot will be briefly mentioned in the main text, with a few minutes of simple introduction to enhance the immersion of this part of the plot.

 Chapter 789 - 751 The Welcome Transformation into Darkness_1

    On the screen.

    The narrative continues.

    Jiang Yuyan entered the Shentu family''s residence as an illegitimate daughter, but instead of a life of wealth and luxury, she was subjected to servitude and humiliation...

    Laundry.

    Washing dishes.

    Cooking.

    She had barely waited for lunch when the cruel maid by the lady of the house in front of her threw a bowl of plain noodles on the ground, looking down on her haughtily as she scavenged for food. Nobility doesn''t subsist on charity, but it was the only food she had for the entire day. If she refused to eat for the sake of dignity, she might starve to death.

    ...

    Forced to kneel.

    Starving.

    Having made a mistake, she was even locked up in a pigsty by the lady of the house, subjected to humiliation and ridicule. Yet the inherently weak Jiang Yuyan didn''t even dare to fight back. Her only act of defiance was to ask her father, Shentu Hai, for a memorial tablet for her mother at the ancestral hall.

    Shentu Hai agreed.

    However, when the lady of the house heard about it, she became furious, throwing the tablet on the ground in front of Jiang Yuyan, and ordered her to cut her mother''s tablet in half personally!

    Jiang Yuyan was kneeling on the ground.

    No matter how much pleading she did, it was in vain. Her head lowered and teary-eyed, and with her father''s silence at the door, she made a silent resolution in her heart: "Shentu Hai, Madam Shentu-Liu, today''s humiliation is unforgettable."

    A gust of wind blew.

    All of a sudden, she raised the blade and cut her mother''s memorial tablet in half. In an abrupt zoom in, her face filled the screen, her once pitiful big eyes filled with despair and resentment!

    ...

    For an entire episode, almost an hour of broadcasting, it was all about Jiang Yuyan''s story. By this point, the audience was fuming, shaking all over in agitation, wishing they could go into the television and kill the villain themselves!

    "Damn it!"

    "Shentu Hai''s wife is so disgusting. If I were Jiang Yuyan, I would just kill her with the knife. I would rather die together!"

    "I feel so bad for Yuyan!"

    "Jiang Yuyan is so abused!"

    "It''s heartbreaking to watch. Shentu Hai is absolutely useless, the creme de la creme of villainous trash. Even when he sees his own daughter being bullied, he doesn''t dare say a word. He has no dignity as a man!"

    "Jiang Yuyan has turned evil!"

    "The acting skill of this actress is fucking insane. In the end, her gaze was simply brilliant. She should''ve resisted a long time ago. Weakness is only inviting insult. I am on my fucking knees hoping for Jiang Yuyan to turn evil!"

    ...

    In the home.

    Lin Xuan was fuming. Having to watch Jiang Yuyan enduring all sorts of humiliation in the Shentu family, even the lowest rank servant would dare to flirt with her in public!

    "Bastard!"

    Her little sister cursed.

    Mother looked at Big Yaoyao, and in the end she didn''t reprimand her younger daughter for swearing; she wanted to swear too. The villains were too cruel. Weren''t they just driving Jiang Yuyan to her death?

    "You can swear?"

    Lin Xuan looked at her sister in surprise, then clapped her hands approvingly: "That was a good curse! These villains are worse than animals. The ending hinted that Jiang Yuyan has turned evil, right?"

    "It''s obvious."

    Mother watched Jiang Yuyan''s eyes transform on the television screen, the actress''s performance was very spirited. Even across the screen, she could feel the hatred and bitterness in her eyes.

    For some reason.

    When Jiang Yuyan unveiled that gaze, all the viewers felt a chill down their spine, yet they also felt a sense of anticipation that they couldn''t quite put into words!

    Think about it!

    Normally with TV series, viewers fear the most when a character turns evil. But Jiang Yuyan was an exception, viewers even wanted to see her turn evil!

    ...

    Jiang Yuyan''s turn to evil was briefly shown, but with just a transformation in her eyes, her transition was like night and day, leaving a profound impression on the viewers. But this didn''t change her powerlessness.

    The fourteenth episode aired.

    Jiang Yuyan was sold by her mistress to the brothel. Clearly, she was going to be mistreated again. Being such a beautiful woman, nobles and officials wanted to get a taste of her. Madame brothel-owner didn''t treat her any better than that!

    She escaped from the brothel.

    A lackey from the brothel pursued her. In desperation, she decided to kill herself with her mother''s hairpin, but at that moment, one of the male leads, Qin Tiange, appeared out of nowhere. He played the hero, and chased away her pursuers.

    "This man..."

    Just like that, Jiang Yuyan no longer wanted to die.

    She fell deeply in love with this man.

    Back in the Shentu family, Jiang Yuyan tried to meekly plead with her father for protection. In the end, the father showed a rare spine by not sending her back to the brothel, the equivalent of hell. But, Jiang Yuyan knew that his intervention was mostly to protect his own reputation.

    Three days later.

    The court summoned women for the royal selection, and among them was the daughter of the Shentu family. This daughter of the Shentu family was the result of the wife''s labor, and she was the only one who showed kindness to Jiang Yuyan. But on a dark and windy night, Jiang Yuyan took a dagger and killed her sister. She was going to take her sister''s spot in the court to participate in the selection!

    During the night.

    The candlelight flickered and the shadows danced. The girl who was once as soft and tender as a white flower had ceased to exist. In her place was a vengeful young girl who had personally obliterated her last shred of morality.

    ...

    Even though the plot didn''t describe the main character in detail, and the director consistently zoomed in on Jiang Yuyan instead, the audience didn''t find it boring. On the contrary, they found it increasingly intriguing. However, when Jiang Yuyan killed her sister, the comment section exploded for the first time!

    "Oh my gosh!"

    "Jiang Yuyan''s villainous transformation is brutal, I can''t believe she murdered her own sister. You know, of all the Shentu family, her sister was the only one who showed compassion and sympathy for her!"

    "That''s too harsh!"

    "Did you see Jiang Yuyan''s expression when she killed her sister? Tears were streaming down her face, but she had a smile on her lips. I never thought I could see such a terrifying expression on such a pretty face!"

    "I don''t blame her." S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Although her sister pitied her, her sister''s mother, the mistress of the Shentu family, insulted her constantly. Ultimately, it''s the mistress''s fault, for driving a good person to become a cutthroat."

    "Still, this is too much."

    "All those who think it''s too much, look back at how much Jiang Yuyan has suffered. She shouldn''t have killed her sister, who was the only innocent person in the Shentu family. But Jiang Yuyan had to survive, she was on a dead end by staying with the Shentu family. Her only hope of survival was to enter the palace and become the Imperial Concubine!"

    ...

    Lin Xuan, watching the drama at home, frowned. Even though her sister''s character wasn''t deeply developed, she never mistreated Jiang Yuyan, yet the first person Jiang Yuyan killed after her villainous transformation was her own sister.

    "How ironic."

    Her little sister couldn''t help but sigh.

    Jiang Yuyan''s villainous transformation certainly makes the audience happy, but the fact that she murdered her sister first after becoming a villain is as if Jiang Yuyan, who was not spared despite her kindness by the mistress, did not show mercy because of her sister''s kindness. Maybe her kindness was completely eradicated the moment she killed her sister.

    Meanwhile.

    Yet, ironically, it is through this contradictory act that Jiang Yuyan''s character has become solidified. The audience has forgotten that she is a character created by the scriptwriter, their focus unconsciously follows this woman.

    Main character?

    In the past two episodes, the main characters have had nothing to do with the story. It feels like Jiang Yuyan is the lead of this series. Her shift from good to evil makes her character rich and full, and her act of killing her sister turns her into the person she once despised the most.

    ...

    Episode fourteen is also over.

    After watching the two new episodes updated today, countless discussions about "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange" have suddenly appeared online. And of course, the hot topic of discussion is Jiang Yuyan''s transformation from innocent to a cutthroat!

    "These two episodes were incredible!"

    "The introduction of Jiang Yuyan''s character has suddenly added countless possibilities to the following story. I watched her transformation scene several times, the change in her eyes gave me goosebumps!"

    "What a performance!"

    "Who played this role?"

    "I waited twelve freaking episodes, and the scriptwriter finally got a clue. Although Jiang Yuyan''s act of killing her sister is controversial, surprisingly I can''t hate this character at all!"

    "I know, right!"

    "She was driven to it."

    "It''s heartbreaking!"

    "The mistress deserves to die! Now, I look forward to seeing Jiang Yuyan kill the mistress, the madam of the brothel, and those servants who bullied her. Yuyan has risen!"

    "Who came up with this plot twist?"

    "Feels like the scriptwriter suddenly got clever, finally not following the original story blindly. This original character''s appearance is a stroke of genius. She fell into misery twice and was rescued by Qin Tiange twice. Now she''s completely in love with Qin Tiange. Added with her father''s identity, it feels like the story will become really interesting!"

    "I can''t wait for the update!"

    "I have to wait until tomorrow to watch the following two episodes. Please continue to release episodes about Jiang Yuyan''s plot, I simply love this original character!"

    ...

    The team behind the TV drama are also chatting in a group chat. They had noticed the increase in attention the drama was getting online, their anxious hearts were finally put at ease:

    "The effect is quite good!"

    "I thought Jiang Yuyan killing her sister would completely ruin the audience''s sympathy for the character. As it turns out, this plot is just highly controversial, but there are still plenty of people stating they love the character Jiang Yuyan!"

    "Audiences are tough to predict!"

    "No wonder Chu Kuang likes to send lunch boxes so much. So, ''giving lunch boxes to characters'' is such an effective strategy. I''m just curious what their reactions will be when they see tomorrow''s update."

    "I''m curious about the ratings."

    "How were the ratings for these two episodes?"

    Their discussion came to a pause, making the atmosphere tense again. Although the online discussion for this new plot is very high, the ratings ultimately decide the fate of this drama.

    "The ratings...."

    The director suddenly replied. From home, he let out a smile before typing a line of text, "Our show''s ratings have nearly doubled compared to the last episode!"

    "No way!"

    "So amazing?"

    "Chu Kuang is awesome!"

    "Who would have thought? Do today''s viewers have such a heavy taste? Director, say no more, let''s continue filming at this pace!"

    "..."

    Everyone became excited!

    Although the current ratings aren''t that impressive, mainly because the previous ratings were so low, and the online discussion only involves a minority of viewers, but considering Jiang Yuyan''s appearance in only two episodes, the response has gone beyond everyone''s expectations. This has also added some confidence for the upcoming plot!

    The audience cannot imagine!

    The madness that belongs to Jiang Yuyan has only just begun!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: I recommend the new book "The Art of Naming the Night" by the platinum rated author, Speaking Elbow. In fact, when we weren''t particularly successful, we used to hang out in a small group and our relationship was quite close. I remember when Da Wang topped the charts, we specially went to Luoyang to gather with Elbow who hosted us of his own accord.

    I just wonder whether this chapter push can get us another grand feast~

 Chapter 790 - 752: After all, Im not a devil_1

    An increase in ratings by two-fold?

    Given the news with Zhao Jue''s excited voice, Lin Yuan himself didn''t feel that surprised.

    Because the audience base for this drama was just too poor.

    Given the poor beginnings, so what if the ratings doubled?

    Compared to the investment scale and cast lineup for this drama, I can say that we''ve only just barely achieved a passing grade, the attention received truly isn''t many.

    How could I make this drama attract attention quickly?

    Lin Yuan pondered, then said, "Publicize that my... my friend Chu Kuang took over the script."

    "Publicize it?"

    Zhao Jue hesitated, "Shouldn''t we wait for a few more episodes?"

    Publicizing Chu Kuang taking over the script is, of course, a good thing, Chu Kuang''s reputation is sure to attract a plethora of viewers!

    But what if viewers are not satisfied with the plot henceforth? Wouldn''t Chu Kuang be carrying the blame?

    "It won''t be a problem."

    Lin Yuan planned to ride on Chu Kuang the old rascal''s fame to push the play forward.

    Through tonight''s two episodes, it could be seen that the role of Jiang Yuyan was a very useful card.

    "Then I''ll really start promoting it..."

    "Hmm."

    It was decided.

    Ten minutes later.

    Starlight officially announced:

    "Due to the low initial ratings of ''Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange'', we invited Mr. Chu Kuang to write the script starting from episode 13. Some viewers guessed it, we did indeed change the writer. So, did you enjoy today''s two episodes (chuckles)"

    Rush, rush, rush!

    The news immediately sparked countless attention:

    "Chu Kuang the old rascal took over ''Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange''?"

    "I thought this drama had already flopped?"

    "With the old rascal stepping in, there''s hope for the drama now, I''m going to check it out now!"

    "Do you think the drama will be saved just by having the old rascal taking over? Are you sure he wouldn''t directly kill off the two leads?"

    "Don''t forget, the old rascal has already killed off the leads in two consecutive books, and Sherlock Holmes actually died too. The old rascal had to revive him due to reader''s pressure!"

    "Yang Xiaofan, Qin Tiange, Danger!!!!!"

    "Fish Papa, hold onto old rascal''s hand!"

    "Although I''m not interested in this drama, both Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange are my gods. If the old rascal dares to kill them off, I dare to bring out my country''s specialty to chase after the old rascal!"

    "Pfft!"

    "You guys are killing me."

    "No jokes, never thought that the old rascal would accept a TV show adaptation from Starlight, must be because of Fish Papa''s face."

    "I''m not bothering anymore, I''m off to watch the show!"

    "I did watch the first two episodes, wasn''t really interested. It just follows the original plot. But now the old rascal took over, and I''m feeling like the following plot seems pretty interesting!"

    "Good, the old rascal might just be the reason that I continue watching!"

    ...

    Chu Kuang''s summoning power was just too strong!

    Once Starlight announced this, the web traffic for ''Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange'' shot up instantly!

    Meanwhile.

    Viewers who had already seen the two episodes were astounded:

    "Damn, so tonight''s two episodes were written by Chu Kuang!"

    "I was wondering why a new character was suddenly introduced!"

    "If you say that this was written by Chu Kuang, I won''t be surprised. After Jiang Yuyan turned evil and directly killed off her sister, there''s no doubt that it''s Chu Kuang''s handiwork!"

    "Is the old rascal going to completely change the plot?"

    "The old rascal does have a knack for killing off characters, but what makes him great is that he makes us love watching it. I fucking love the character Jiang Yuyan!"

    "No wonder the two episodes tonight suddenly became so good!"

    "I thought the previous screenwriter had a breakthrough, so it was the old rascal who ended up doing it. Not bad!"

    "Looking forward to the following plot!"

    ...

    With the addition of Chu Kuang, more and more viewers are tuning into this drama.

    The first twelve were boring for many, but they finished catching up with speed mode, just to keep up with the thirteenth episode where Chu Kuang starts his part.

    In some sense, is this also considered as Chu Kuang''s new work?

    And the result.

    In episode thirteen, Jiang Yuyan appeared; within two episodes, she has incited high amounts of discussion!

    "Sick!"

    "Once you get past the first twelve episodes, the thirteenth episode kicks off in a super god-mode. The characters added in don''t seem awkward at all, and their relationships are logically set up!" S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "The old rascal really does know his stuff!"

    "The moment he took over, the entire show took a different turn!"

    "The original character Jiang Yuyan''s turn to the dark side was thoroughly thrilling!"

    "One episode to turn dark and another to commit murder, Jiang Yuyan''s character was successfully established within two episodes!"

    "I suddenly have a chilling thought..."

    "Me too..."

    "Jiang Yuyan wouldn''t kill Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange, would she?"

    ...

    I must say...

    In the beginning, people were mocking Chu Kuang saying that killing the two main characters that everyone loves is just recycling the old rascal''s old trick. After all, this old rascal does have a habit of killing off his lead characters.

    But everyone understands.

    Even if Chu Kuang can''t resist giving main characters a tragic ending, he wouldn''t do it every time.

    Most of his works have the protagonist surviving till the end.

    A running gag is still just a gag.

    However, after watching the thirteenth and fourteenth episodes of "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange", everyone''s hair started standing on end.

    Jiang Yuyan''s character is too diabolical!

    You never know, Chu Kuang might just have the guts to let Jiang Yuyan kill the main characters!

    Some people even started imagining how Chu Kuang''s narrative would unfold:

    "From the fourteenth episode, it is clear that Jiang Yuyan has fallen for Qin Tiange, but remember that he is in love with the leading lady, Wan Rou. Jiang Yuyan could, out of jealousy, kill Qin Tiange. When Yang Xiaofan finds out that Qin Tiange is his brother and seeks revenge on Jiang Yuyan, he also gets killed..."

    This speculation scares the hell out of everyone!

    That prophet must be silenced!

    Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange are so popular, the old rascal wouldn''t kill them off, would he?

    At least respect the original work!

    Both of these characters survived till the end in the original work and all its adapted TV series. They were invincible!

    Besides...

    Even though everyone seemed somewhat interested in Starlight''s version of "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange".

    If we really talk about feelings for characters...

    Everyone still loves Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange!

    It''s like someone remaking "Journey to the West".

    No matter whether people watch the remake or not, if the screenwriter dares to have an original character kill Sun Wukong, the resulting public outcry would be tremendous, and strong criticism would be the least of it!

    For a moment...

    The discussion grew more intense.

    And Lin Yuan, seeing everyone''s discussions, was torn between laughter and tears.

    After some thought, he decided to log in to Chu Kuang''s account and reassure the audience:

    "I hold much affection for both Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange, so rest assured, this time, no major characters will be killed. After all, I am not a devil."

    In response to the public pressure, Lin Yuan tried to soothe the viewers while also engaging with them to hype up the show.

    Looking at the audience''s reactions...

    They genuinely suspected that he was going to kill off the two main characters of the drama.

    How could that be possible?

    What sort of person do they take me for?

    Flushing, Lin Yuan felt he had to defend himself. But his defense only served to amuse the netizens:

    "Has the sun risen in the west?"

    "The old rascal has times where he feels the need to explain things to the audience?"

    "I am living to see this. If he didn''t explain, we really would have worried. Now that he has, I can continue to watch at ease."

    "I must say, revisiting this story is pretty touching."

    "The show is actually not badly made. The two main characters are in line with the original, it''s just the beginning of the plot that adheres too closely to the original that lost some interest. Just a pinch of unexpected changes got me hooked again."

    "Seeing the old rascal hastily explaining, why am I so happy?"

    "The old rascal''s ''After all, I''m not a devil'' line is so hilarious!"

    "Now you realize that killing off Biyao and Poirot, even attempting to harm Sherlock Holmes is devilish?"

    "..."

    Perhaps Chu Kuang''s promise reassured everyone. For a time, those who watched the show continued watching the show and those who chatted continued chatting, seeming quite contented.

    There was a joyous atmosphere all over the internet.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: The killing can start in the next chapter. I couldn''t control the pace perfectly, so it was a bit slow. I had planned to start the killing in this chapter.

 Chapter 791 - 753: Start Killing_1

    Blue Star''s dramas usually adopt a ''shoot-as-you-go'' process where two episodes air every Saturday and Sunday. Monday through Friday is the main creative team''s shooting time. The benefit of this approach is that the plot can be adjusted at any time, otherwise Lin Yuan wouldn''t have been able to take over the script creation and adaptation halfway through.

    The downside, however, is that the filming schedule is relatively tight. Thankfully, the production level and technology of Blue Star far surpass that of Earth. Thus, the footage can be quickly edited once the actors are done filming. If there is no significant change in the plot later on, several episodes could be released all at once due to ample filming material.

    These episodes can then be purchased for viewing on video websites, achieving a profit in advance. This strategy goes by the name of "First Look Excitement".

    The next day was Sunday.

    The new episodes of "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange" were about to be broadcast, and the audience eagerly waited in front of their computers. By then, the drama''s viewership and online views had increased dramatically. The public''s anticipation for the drama had been roused to the fullest extent by Chu Kuang assuming the role of screenwriter and the appearance of the original character Jiang Yuyan!

    At home.

    Lin Yuan''s mother and sisters, Lin Xuan and Lin Yao, were also sitting in front of the sofa waiting for today''s broadcast. They were obviously captivated by Chu Kuang as well as the special plot of the two episodes from the previous night. All three were discussing how good Jiang Yuyan''s acting was and how she seemed to be an astonishing newcomer, causing Lin Yuan to chuckle to himself.

    Where are all these geniuses coming from?

    The actress playing Jiang Yuyan was indeed quite beautiful, but as for her acting, it could only be regarded as fairly good. The actress was able to perform so brilliantly for two reasons. The first was the vast range in which her character could develop. The second reason was the aid of the Acting Potion.

    After all, it was implausible for Lin Yuan to find a superb actress to play Jiang Yuyan on such short notice. Hence, he made subtle use of the System''s aid and applied it to the actress, who probably had no idea why her acting skills had suddenly improved so significantly and made her portrayal of Jiang Yuyan so noteworthy.

    "It''s started!"

    Mom suddenly said.

    Following her words, the latest episode of "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange" really started airing. It didn''t disappoint the audiences as, yet again, the plot revolved around Jiang Yuyan!

    ¡­

    People following the drama on TV were clearly fewer than those watching it online. The series had partnered with several major video websites, so the moment it got broadcasted on TV, all major online platforms also broadcasted it simultaneously. Netizens could adjust the progress of the TV drama at any time and discuss it while watching.

    On the screen.

    The plot of the latest episode had already begun. Jiang Yuyan killed her sister, through which she got the opportunity to enter the palace. However, before that, she met Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange and got involved in a martial conflict. Hence, she decided to help the two.

    Undeniably.

    Even though Jiang Yuyan had turned dark, she didn''t seem to become a villain at odds with the protagonists. On the contrary, she fell in love with Qin Tiange and was willing to give him everything without any regrets. Upon learning that a universally recognized martial arts villain was opposing Qin Tiange, she directly collaborated with Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange.

    Using her cunning plans, she helped the two main characters kill the highly skilled villain. Moreover, she even obtained a coveted secret manual from the villain!

    Of course.

    Jiang Yuyan hid the secret manual, she didn''t tell Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange. As a result, Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange felt a sense of camaraderie with Jiang Yuyan. Still, both were put off by the ruthlessness shown by Jiang Yuyan in her schemes. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    It was understandable.

    The protagonists in martial arts novels were often somewhat saintly, disdaining to use tricky schemes. Jiang Yuyan, however, in order to assist them, resorted to some means despised by the righteous martial arts path.

    ...

    At home.

    Older sister Lin Xuan couldn''t help laughing: "That evil villain is despicably cunning and has committed countless heinous crimes. The protagonists are simply too kind-hearted. They should treat such a person exactly like Jiang Yuyan did, using even more sinister means to confront him!"

    "Fight fire with fire."

    The younger sister seemed to have figured out the modus operandi of Jiang Yuyan''s dark transformation. She didn''t know if she would use extreme means to kill the villain if she were Jiang Yuyan. All she knew was she would never kill her sister if she were in Jiang Yuyan''s position.

    "It''s heartbreaking."

    Mom sighed.

    This plot might seem like Jiang Yuyan has become friends with the two protagonists, but in essence, they''re walking different paths. This means that people like Qin Tiange could never be attracted to people like Jiang Yuyan.

    But it should be understood that Jiang Yuyan killed the evil villain, even using cunning means, not because she had a high sense of justice in martial arts, but simply to help the man she loved.

    ...

    Online.

    The netizens became more and more excited as they watched: "I really like characters like Jiang Yuyan. Her decisive and deadly approach really wins me over. I always thought that Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange were way too saintly. They are unwilling to kill the villain until the very end, it''s suffocating!"

    "Jiang Yuyan is awesome!"

    "Although Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange don''t understand you, I do. When dealing with such big villains, we can''t talk about righteousness and morality to reform them. We have to kill them ruthlessly!"

    "Yuyan radiates queen vibes!"

    "Darkness is ten times stronger than innocence! Looking at the soft and weak girl, her hand was still trembling when she picked up the knife. But when it came time to do the deed, there was absolutely no mercy!"

 Chapter 792 - 753: Start Killing_2

    "So awesome!"

    "So satisfying to watch!"

    "Jiang Yuyan got hold of the Martial Arts Secret Manual. It contains the art of transference. It seems like Jiang Yuyan is getting stronger. She will become a true queen one day!"

    ...

    The pace of the TV drama is fast.

    Though Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange are dissatisfied with Jiang Yuyan''s ruthless actions, they still acknowledge that she helps rid the Martial World of evil. So, they pleasantly cooperate. They unite and confront the Devil Sect in the Martial World. Surprisingly, Jiang Yuyan turns out to be a martial arts genius.

    She uses the techniques she learned from the secret manual and strides onto a path of obliterating villains. Almost all the famous villains in the novel are vanquished by her and the two protagonists!

    "Damn!"

    "She''s become a killing machine!"

    "In the original story, the villains are killed by the protagonists after strenuous efforts. However, this old rascal Chu Kuang arranged for Jiang Yuyan to do all the killing. What''s more, she enhances her own martial abilities by absorbing the villains'' power as she kills.

    The craziest thing is, the two male protagonists have no clue that this fragile-looking young girl has grown tremendously powerful!"

    "She''s playing the fool to catch the wise!"

    "The male protagonists bear the stigma of killing while Jiang Yuyan actually does all the dirty work. This woman is truly deadly! Her intelligence and methods are unmatchable!"

    "The villains are screwed!"

    "If Jiang Yuyan gets into the palace, there will be chaos. Those experienced court players are no match for her. She didn''t even flinch when she was killing the Flower Picker. She''s become an expert at killing!"

    "..."

    Jiang Yuyan''s progress is remarkable!

    Her kills and power increases rapidly. But as her character grows increasingly cold, the male protagonists start to disapprove of her methods.

    One day.

    When Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange are surrounded and tortured by the enemies, Jiang Yuyan arrives. She confuses the villains with her strategy, then tortures them into a terrible state!

    But why?

    Because her beloved Qin Tiange was bathed in blood from the villain''s attack, and her best friend Yang Xiaofan was at death''s door. She retaliates like a butcher, making the villains suffer severely. She cruelly dismembers them and watches them die amidst their screams.

    In the afternoon.

    Under her meticulous care, the two protagonists wake up to see the hellish scene. They find Jiang Yuyan frightful and decide to stop collaborating with her.

    "What did I do wrong..."

    Jiang Yuyan watches Qin Tiange''s cold retreating silhouette, tears of grievance welling up in her eyes. Though her ways of dealing with villains are ruthless, she is always obedient to Qin Tiange. She even regards Yang Xiaofan as her only friend. Now, because they disapprove of her, they''ve completely parted ways with her.

    ¡­

    Before the screen.

    No viewer hates this woman. Even though she''s quietly transformed into a fearsome assassin, some viewers have sympathy for Jiang Yuyan.

    This woman is so pitiful.

    She rids Qin Tiange of all his enemies but fails to earn his love. For her only friend, Yang Xiaofan, she repeatedly tortures the villains. She even risks her life to save him only to be misunderstood by him.

    "I''m doing all this for you."

    Jiang Yuyan mutters to herself. Her hair stirs on its own, radiant and incomparable. Though she is injured, her injuries are recovering rapidly because she has absorbed many years of martial arts power. At this moment, Jiang Yuyan''s actual strength is not weaker than the two male protagonists, but no one except the viewers knows this!

    ....

    The viewers can of course understand the two male protagonists, who are obviously men of justice. They perform righteously, even when they kill, they do it swiftly without torturing their opponents. Their values obviously don''t align with Jiang Yuyan''s, so it was inevitable that they wouldn''t stay together.

    "Yuyan got it tough!"

    "If I were Qin Tiange, I would absolutely choose Jiang Yuyan. Where are you going to find a woman of such intelligence and strength who is also completely devoted to you? The only advantage the chief female character has over Yuyan is her appearance, nothing else!"

    "The chief female character is kind."

    "Of what use is kindness? If she gets captured by villains, she will implicate the two men who fight over her. If Jiang Yuyan is caught by the villains, she can wipe them out single-handedly and then propose to Qin Tiange with their heads!"

    "Puff!"

    "Presenting heads for a marriage proposal, that''s different. But Jiang Yuyan is indeed very attractive. I really like this character. She really solves many problems for the two protagonists by wiping out villains root and branch!"

    ....

    After this episode.

    Jiang Yuyan''s popularity skyrocketed. Even though her actions are unacceptable to the male protagonists, the audience doesn''t mind her ruthless determination at all. It''s a bloody kind of beauty!

    So cool!

    She''d dare to oppose the world for the two protagonists. Even the black mark of killing her own sister is gradually accepted by some viewers. The story made it clear: if she hadn''t grabbed the opportunity to enter the palace, the chief lady would''ve killed her!

    She''s about to enter the palace!

    S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 793 - 753: Start Killing _3

    The leading lady was caught in a dilemma, not daring to lay a hand on her, yet her daughter was killed and she didn''t know who was the murderer. The mystery made her hate Jiang Yuyan to the bone, seeing Jiang Yuyan benefiting from her daughter''s death.

    However.

    Jiang Yuyan was no longer the weak little white flower of her early days. When the leading lady tried to punish her again, she boldly connected with the official sent from the palace to guide her and condemned the hostess''s actions. After all, Jiang Yuyan was going into the palace and might even become an imperial consort one day!

    Brilliant!

    If this was a drama centered on a female lead, Jiang Yuyan''s action could be described as a real slap in the face, from being suppressed at the beginning to turning the table entirely on her own, it was truly delightful!

    ...

    On Earth. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    In the American series "The Walking Dead," there is a character known as Carol, a woman who, for her team, has done some less than honorable things and was even banished. However, the ultimate truth revealed that Carol''s contributions to the team were irreplaceable, much like Jiang Yuyan saving the two main characters. Audiences never dislike such characters, even loving them to the brink!

    "I love Jiang Yuyan!"

    "Jiang Yuyan is mine!"

    "All you rivals, draw your swords!"

    "You guys are insane. Jiang Yuyan is dangerous. She''s already obsessively in love with Qin Tiange. One guy just criticised Qin Tiange a few times, and Jiang Yuyan almost killed him. Who the hell could handle that?"

    "Who cares!"

    "Besides killing her sister, Jiang Yuyan has been killing only those who deserve to die. Qin Tiange can control her, and the fact that she cares about Yang Xiaofan''s view shows how deeply she loves and respects them."

    "Jiang Yuyan is the real leading lady!"

    "Why do Qin Tiange and Yang Xiaofan like the lead actress so much? The second female lead would be better, she loves Yang Xiaofan wholeheartedly. Unfortunately, Yang Xiaofan is a bit dim and insists on competing with Qin Tiange for the lead actress. Jiang Yuyan is the real deal!"

    ...

    If it can be said that the episode where Jiang Yuyan killed her sister did stir some controversy, the discussions around Jiang Yuyan in this episode was almost negligible. People genuinely liked this character, and even hoped that she would end up with Qin Tiange. Jiang Yuyan even gradually surpassed the main female characters in popularity!

    At this point.

    This drama had massive viewership, and their affection for Jiang Yuyan catapulted her popularity, to the extent that the first instant the next episode aired, the bullets dedicated to professing love for Jiang Yuyan flooded the screen!

    Among all these professions of love.

    Jiang Yuyan, who had parted ways with the two leads, had completely gone off the rails. An old good guy who had a close relationship with Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange accidentally witnessed Jiang Yuyan absorbing the power of the villains. He recognized that Jiang Yuyan was practicing the terrifying Devil Technique that had been lost in the Martial World for many years, and decided to kill Jiang Yuyan to protect the people!

    "Don''t do it!"

    Upon seeing this, the audience''s professions of love came to a halt. This old good guy was extremely popular. He had protected Yang Xiaofan from being bullied since childhood and raised him by his side. In the eyes of many viewers, he was like Yang Xiaofan''s father. However, Jiang Yuyan didn''t know about his relationship with Yang Xiaofan, and at this moment, Jiang Yuyan certainly wouldn''t risk letting the news of her practicing the Devil Technique leak out¡­

    "Die!!!"

    At this point, Jiang Yuyan had become one of the most formidable fighters in the whole drama. She killed the kind old man who had a close relationship with the two leading men, and even absorbed his power. Usually, she only killed the villains, but at this moment, filled with fury and the fear of her practicing the Devil Technique being exposed, she killed him out of rage!

    "Miss, you are possessed."

    With his last breath, the old good guy sighed faintly. A character loved by countless people died at Jiang Yuyan''s hand in this episode¡­

    At this moment!

    The audience was shocked!

 Chapter 794 - 754: Shot all at Once_1

    The audience was stunned!

    From Jiang Yuyan''s transformation to her slapping the female protagonist, the audience had already been deeply attracted to this character.

    Who wouldn''t love this perfect goddess who was compliant, gentle, and delicate around Qin Tiange, carefree and innocent in front of Yang Xiaofan, but could transform into a bloody and brutal antagonist for the sake of these two?

    You should know.

    Even though Jiang Yuyan transformed and started to act more ruthlessly, her actions were all targeted at villains.

    And her interactions with the two main characters were all heartfelt.

    Those feelings were all real¡ª¡ª

    Friendship towards Yang Xiaofan.

    Love towards Qin Tiange. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    However, it was this goddess of everyone, Jiang Yuyan, who killed a classic character equally loved and pupular in the original work. This left everyone''s minds blank for a moment!

    "Ol'' Zhang is dead?"

    "Jiang Yuyan kills even the good guys!"

    "This is one of my favorite supporting characters besides the two protagonists! In the original work, Ol'' Zhang survived till the end, but now he''s dead?"

    "Old rascal Chu Kuang! Give me back my Ol'' Zhang!"

    "How could old rascal Chu Kuang do this? Ol'' Zhang didn''t have to die, why did he arrange for Ol'' Zhang to see Jiang Yuyan practicing, why did he let Yuyan kill Ol'' Zhang!"

    "Dammit!"

    "Hey, have you guys forgotten who Chu Kuang is? This old rascal has promised not to kill the protagonists, but ask him not to kill even the supporting role, aren''t you asking too much of him? His murderous intent is even heavier than Jiang Yuyan''s."

    ...

    After the collective shock, some audience cursed out loud, while some just laughed bitterly.

    Some audience didn''t have much emotional fluctuations, even explained how helpless Jiang Yuyan was in killing Ol'' Zhang, after all, not everyone was deeply attached to Ol'' Zhang.

    Anyway.

    This plot twist didn''t affect the audience''s love for Jiang Yuyan, in contrast, all the hate went to Chu Kuang.

    People are not mad at Jiang Yuyan, but at Chu Kuang for creating this plot twist!

    In an instant!

    All the audience were discussing "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange"''s recent episodes. Jiang Yuyan''s name was repeatedly mentioned, making the drama increasingly popular, and it even attracted people who weren''t initially interested.

    The drama finally became a big hit!

    Someone even edited a montage of Jiang Yuyan''s murders:

    From her trembling hands unable to hold onto the knife at first, to later killing without even blinking an eye, letting the blood of the dead spatter onto her face...

    The female killing machine had finally made her name!

    Although Ol'' Zhang''s death had left the audience dumbfounded, Ol'' Zhang was after all a supporting character with not much screen time and so, the focal point of people''s discussion was not on this.

    This was also related to the deep impression Chu Kuang left on the audience.

    Some netizens teased:

    "Don''t get too caught up in the excitement! Have you forgotten who the scriptwriter of this drama is? He is the infamous old rascal, Chu Kuang. If there aren''t any deaths, would that still fit his style?"

    The old rascal''s style is all about deaths!

    Compared to the popular characters the old rascal has killed before, Ol'' Zhang''s death was, after all, still acceptable.

    Some even joked: "Ol'' Zhang died in place of the protagonists."

    The old rascal does not kill main characters.

    So he killed a supporting character.

    Some even teased that probably another popular supporting character will die later, as there were two protagonists in this drama, and it was unlike old rascal''s style to not kill two supporting characters if none of the main characters were to die.

    ...

    The main creative team of the drama crew was also excited, Jiang Yuyan''s appearance really revived the drama. This level of internet discussion was totally unexpected and the ratings were through the roof!

    "Let''s speed it up even more!"

    The crew made a key decision to speed up filming and air the drama ahead of schedule.

    This way they could charge on the video streaming website.

    This was also a common way for Blue Star TV dramas to make money.

    Now.

    Lin Yuan quietly came to the outskirts of the drama crew to watch the filming.

    He came with his System to provide the crew director and actors with accelerated filming.

    In order to fully unleash the popularity of this drama and gather Prestige Value for Chu Kuang, they had to finish filming the remaining plot in one go. Four episodes a week were far from enough for Lin Yuan.

    One day...

    Two days...

    Three days...

    In the following days, the shooting team was operating at full throttle. The shooting efficiency was unprecedentedly high, the actors'' performances were surprisingly good, and the collaboration between departments was top-notch. No one could understand why the production was becoming smoother and smoother, as if the gods were helping speed up the shooting process!

    "Damn it!"

    "That was fast!"

    "I have never witnessed such rapid progress, we shot nearly four episodes in a single day. This is a stark contrast to the previous gloomy atmosphere of the crew!"

    No one knew.

    Behind their speedy shooting, Lin Yuan was secretly exchanging a bunch of special props with the System.

    Although the expenses made him wince, it was not only for Chu Kuang to harvest Prestige Value, but also for Lin Yuan to compensate for the huge hole that his adaptation of "Journey to the West" had caused in the television department.

    ...

    Lancet was the original author of "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange".

    His work had been adapted countless times. Initially, he had enjoyed seeing how his novel was being adapted, but after a while, he lost interest.

    Bored.

    Lancet had no particular interest in Starlight''s adaptation this time.

    However, a few days ago, Lancet found out that the plot of this adaptation had been drastically changed, Chu Kuang had been employed to contribute, and both the viewership and discussion heat of the series had exploded!

    It was actually popular!

    His interest was immediately piqued!

    After finding the series, Lancet binged the updated content. When he saw Jiang Yuyan''s debut and that Ol'' Zhang - a character he had carefully crafted in the original work - was killed off, Lancet was as dumbfounded as the other viewers!

    Ol'' Zhang is dead?

    Emotionally, Lancet found it hard to accept, but from a plot standpoint, there was nothing wrong with this adaptation, because Ol'' Zhang would indeed stop someone from practising the Devil Technique.

    The conflict was not forced and logically made sense.

    Not just this plot.

    Everything from Jiang Yuyan''s introduction to the relationship setup with the two protagonists was flawlessly logical.

    Jiang Yuyan experienced both love and friendship from the two protagonists.

    Her father stood in opposition to the two protagonists.

    Chu Kuang''s mastery of dramatic conflicts was absolutely brilliant, forcing even Lancet to admit that the adaptation was wonderful!

    Chu Kuang, as expected!

    Speaking of which.

    Thinking about Jiang Yuyan killing the good man he created still tugged at Lancet''s heartstrings for no apparent reason.

    This must be the natural emotion a writer has for his characters.

    "I can understand, actually."

    Lancet convinced himself, choosing not to express his opinion on this matter, but to silently continue watching the series.

    It happened to be a Saturday again.

    He opened the video website immediately.

    Huh?

    When he opened the updates for this week, Lancet was taken aback.

    A whopping thirty episodes of the show had been updated all at once, the kind you pay to watch, even including the grand finale!

    "It''s finished already?"

    Lancet, who was unaware of the shooting details, didn''t overthink it.

    He found himself curious about how this series would develop from now on, especially since Jiang Yuyan''s appearance had completely disrupted the original trajectory of the original work!

    Sunflower seeds.

    Chips.

    Coca-Cola.

    Lancet casually swung an Erlang leg over the other, born ready for a binge-watch, and opened the updated content with great interest. He was determined to watch it till the end!

    Meanwhile.

    Audiences from different regions also noticed that this series had unexpectedly updated to its grand finale and were thrilled.

    Nothing can bring more happiness than the opportunity to binge-watch your favourite series till the end!

    Swipe, swipe, swipe!

    Everyone started watching.

    Lin Yuan, at home, after noticing that the video site had updated, was seriously pondering whether to disable the comment feature on Chu Kuang''s blog¡­

    "Should be okay."

    In the end, Lin Yuan decided not to disable it, after all, he did fulfill his previous promise:

    The two protagonists didn''t die in the end!

 Chapter 795 - 755: Only the Title of the Play is Left After Killing_1

    The same Saturday, the same evening.

    Countless people were watching "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange".

    Ever since Jiang Yuyan appeared on the scene, the ratings of this drama had exploded. The audience had never been so broadly ranged, even before Chu Kuang took over the script.

    On the television.

    The plot continued.

    The focus was no longer centered on Jiang Yuyan.

    After all, the main protagonist of the drama was not actually Jiang Yuyan.

    Every supporting character had their own piece of the storyline.

    Perhaps it was because of Jiang Yuyan''s appearance that the plot was changed. The altered plot kept the audience engrossed.

    Episode seventeen...

    Episode eighteen...

    Episode nineteen...

    During this time, Jiang Yuyan had not killed anyone. Instead, she digested her newly gained skills.

    No one could predict what would come next.

    That''s because everyone''s fate had veered significantly off of the original plot.

    Then...

    Episode twenty played with the audience completely unprepared. Jiang Yuyan had begun her killing spree again!

    ...

    Underneath Lin Yuan''s home.

    The family were also watching the show via a projector, occasionally discussing the altered plot.

    "Jiang Yuyan is becoming more and more appealing, although her killing Ol'' Zhang upset me a lot."

    "Mainly because the plot development after the changes has been so exciting. Of course, the original was also amazing, but we were too familiar with it."

    "I wonder what kind of surprise will come next."

    "Woof!"

    Antarctica barked, and continued to watch the show.

    Suddenly.

    Lin Xuan let out a scream:

    "Ah!"

    Just as Lin Xuan screamed, Jiang Yuyan on the television screen¡ª S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Killed! Again!

    This time she murdered another popular character!

    And this character was the master of Qin Tiange, a woman named Hua Nongying!

    In front of countless screens!

    All of the viewers were stunned, watching Hua Nongying died.

    The look of resentment in Hua Nongying''s eyes before she died made countless hearts tremble intensely...

    Boom!

    The audience exploded!

    ...

    In a certain room.

    Lancet was drinking cola.

    Witnessing this scene, Lancet was choked by his cola, coughing nonstop for a full minute!

    Hua Nongying died?!

    A burning pain seared his throat, his legs suddenly clenching together, even his eyes reddening slightly!

    Why did she kill her?!

    Lancet''s face was filled with disbelief!

    This was a goddess-level character he carefully crafted in the original story!

    Among all the female characters in the entire story, Hua Nongying would be ranked within the top three!

    "Chu Kuang, you old rascal!"

    Lancet growled with an outpouring of grief!

    He suddenly felt a strong heartache, as if his child was being abused by a stepmother!

    ...

    In the Tribe.

    All of the viewers had jumped to their feet!

    "Screw you!"

    "Why is Jiang Yuyan killing good people again!"

    "Hua Nongying is my childhood goddess ahhhh!"

    "I tolerated Chu Kuang for killing Ol'' Zhang, but why did he kill Hua Nongying, too! I''m crying already!"

    "She treated Qin Tiange so well!"

    "Someone quickly take away Chu Kuang''s pen!"

    "I was a total train wreck when Hua Nongying died, she was so good, how could she die!"

    ...

    On the blog.

    The viewers here also went crazy!

    "How could it be like this!"

    "Why is Hua Nongying the one who died!"

    "She is one of my favorite characters!"

    "Even killing women, does he want me to die from crying!"

    "Does that old rascal have a heart of steel, did Hua Nongying offend you in some way!"

    "I''m going to take this fight to that old rascal!"

    "Jiang Yuyan, how can you keep on killing! Stop it!"

    ...

    Earlier in the plot, although Jiang Yuyan was on a killing spree, acting like a goddess of death, she only killed the well-known villains from the original story. Thus, despite her brutal methods, the audience still cheered for her!

    Even when Ol'' Zhang died, it was within everyone''s tolerance.

    But this time, the viewers couldn''t bear it anymore.

    Alongside their curses, countless viewers flooded the blog!

    They were going to harshly criticize Chu Kuang''s mad plot alteration!

    However.

    When they typed up a storm and were about to post, they were stunned to find a system notice popping up...

    "This blogger has disabled comments."

    Upon seeing this notice, the viewers were aghast, their typing hands all hesitated.

    He disabled comments?

    Why did he disable comments?

    What was he feeling guilty about?

    Did he know that by killing Hua Nongying we would come to scold him?

    Is that too much?

    We were just going to curse at you...

    Or is it...

    The anger became stagnant.

    A sense of ill foreboding suddenly flashed through the viewers'' minds, which also raced their heartbeats!

    Yes.

    Lin Yuan eventually did disable the comments.

    What made Lin Yuan disable the comments was his sister''s sudden scream from downstairs.

    "It should be episode twenty."

    Calculating the time, Lin Yuan guessed the reason for his sister''s scream.

    He discerned a multitude of emotions in the screams.

    If you can''t even bear this level of plot, how will you cope with the upcoming story?

    A wise man doesn''t stand under a dangerous wall.

    Lin Yuan chose to follow his heart and turned the comments off.

    ...

    At this moment, although the audience is about to explode with anger, Chu Kuang turned off the comments, forcing them to vent their frustration elsewhere!

    "The old rascal is utterly inhuman!"

    "Can''t face the consequences of your actions, huh!"

    "He knew killing Hua Nongying would upset the audience, yet he still did it!"

    "What''s so great about turning off the comments!"

    "If you won''t kill the protagonist, you''ll kill the supporting characters?"

    "So, that earlier prediction from a netizen was true. If the two main characters don''t die, then two of the righteous supporting characters must die!"

    "Damn, at least the protagonist is confirmed safe."

    ...

    The audience could only console themselves, saying these two supporting characters died for the protagonist.

    After all, these two popular supporting characters had a close relationship with Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange.

    Compared to the death of the protagonist, it seemed easier for everyone to accept the death of supporting characters.

    There''s one undeniable fact:

    Although Jiang Yuyan''s constant killing was distressing to watch, the plot had a seemingly magical allure, still drawing the audience to keep watching!

    This is a very subtle psychological phenomenon.

    Despite the distressing plot, the audience was willing to subject themselves to it while looking forward to future developments.

    So it went.

    They continued to watch.

    In watching, their anger gradually subsided.

    After all, the dead couldn''t be revived, and the plot remained captivating.

    Just as the audience started to regain composure,

    Suddenly!

    Another character met his demise!

    This character was none other than a burly, chivalrous man who was a close confidant of the two main characters!

    "Huff..."

    The audience''s breaths became suddenly labored, their eyes bloodshot!

    The plot continued.

    In episode 26, Jiang Yuyan was murdering!

    Again?

    In episode 29, Jiang Yuyan was murdering!

    Is it over now?

    In episode 33, Jiang Yuyan was still killing!

    Will it ever stop?

    By episode 35, Jiang Yuyan had killed the third male lead!

    Could you please stop killing now...

    In episode 39, Jiang Yuyan had killed the second female lead!

    I''m used to it now.

    In episode 40, Jiang Yuyan had killed the most skilled person on the righteous side!

    I''m tired.

    Let it be destroyed.

    Just go on.

    The audience''s emotions surged wave after wave. Grief and anger were alternately staged. In the end, almost everyone was numb, their eyes filled with a dense network of bloodshot veins.

    Liuhai in the air.

    Smiling like a flower.

    Jiang Yuyan was still as beautiful as ever!

    Even without smoky makeup or black eyeliner for her darkness, she made all the audience feel a chilling fear deep down!

    Fear!

    Even though they knew it wasn''t real, knew it was just a character in a TV show, Jiang Yuyan had cast a shadow over everyone''s heart!

    Yes.

    In the beginning, the backlash was indeed intense, each wave outdoing the last!

    As the audience watched Jiang Yuyan brutally murder popular characters, they became more and more agitated, more and more distressed, and more and more furious!

    Many cried bitter tears when their beloved character died!

    Time passed unnoticed.

    The audience sat with eyes wide, watching as Jiang Yuyan killed, her hand rising and falling like a weaver weaving a river of blood...

    Ol'' Zhang was dead.

    Hua Nongying was dead.

    The second female lead was dead too.

    Even the third male lead was dead.

    Dead.

    All dead!

    The audience was stunned.

    The audience was in despair.

    The audience was numb.

    The audience had become so bewildered that they didn''t know what to say anymore!

    This Chu Kuang wasn''t a devil; he clearly was Yama!

    Jiang Yuyan was the Grim Reaper he had sent!

    All the characters everyone loved, except for the main characters, were almost entirely wiped out!

    Right!

    The first female lead is still alive!

    It seemed as if the audience saw a glimmer of hope. They turned their attention to the TV anxiously, for she was their last ray of moonlight!

    Yet in the midst of their watchful gazes,

    The first female lead was easily killed by Jiang Yuyan. The music playing during her dying moments became sorrowfully beautiful:

    "Now there''s no one to take Tiange away from me."

    In the midst of the heartrending music, Jiang Yuyan softly spoke.

    It felt as if her words were directed at the audience in front of the screen.

    At this moment, everyone''s scalp tingled, and goosebumps erupted all over their bodies!

    They even forgot to be saddened by the death of the first female lead!

    Jiang Yuyan was a yandere!

    She could kill the entire world just to have Qin Tiange!

    But she was destined to never have Qin Tiange. So she decided to kill Qin Tiange.

    Before that, she wanted to kill Yang Xiaofan first, so Qin Tiange would die in endless regret...

    Within the camera''s frame,

    Jiang Yuyan''s smirking face turned into an indelible shadow in the mind of countless viewers.

    At this time, Jiang Yuyan had even planned to kill the Emperor. She wanted to become the Empress, specifically the Yan Empress!

    "It seems like only the two main characters are left?"

    No one knew who said this.

    Almost all the audience fell into a deathly silence!

 Chapter 796 - 756: List of Survivors_1

    In some bedroom.

    The ground is scattered with chips and seeds.

    Cola spilled, soaking the floor.

    The scene is a complete mess.

    Lancet''s hair was disheveled, his eyes scattered, his expression blank and confused.

    Dead.

    All of them, dead.

    All the upright characters under his pen were wiped out!

    Only two protagonists remained.

    The two protagonists were alive, but their hearts were dead.

    Just like Lancet the author, he had a complete mental breakdown!

    "Chu Kuang, fuck your grandfather!"

    With a cry of grief, Lancet erupted!

    Old rascal!

    Do you have a grudge against the characters that I create?

    Whoever the audience likes, you kill off!?

    I, Lancet, swear to the heavens!

    You will never be allowed to adapt my novels again in your lifetime!

    I will write it into the contract!

    Any company can buy my copyright in the future!

    As long as you, Chu Kuang, are not the one adapting it, anyone can!

    Even if it''s adapted into a pile of crap, I''ll accept it!

    I can''t take it anymore!

    Lancet really can''t take it anymore!

    Who adapts like this!

    How can there be such a malicious scriptwriter!

    The death of the leading lady was the final straw that broke the camel''s back. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lancet was going crazy!

    And in the outside world.

    After several minutes of silence, the audience went crazy too!

    They remembered how Chu Kuang had made a deliberate post assuring everyone that he wouldn''t kill off the two protagonists.

    "Is this your so-called not killing the protagonists?"

    "You fucking might as well have just killed them off!"

    "So the non-protagonists don''t deserve to live, right? All the supporting characters died, my favourite classic characters are all dead, Ol'' Zhang, Hua Nongying, Meiyue, Hao... and so on."

    "You''ve driven both protagonists to the brink!"

    "You''ve killed off the whole drama, only the title remains!"

    "The drama is called ''Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange'', the title of the original novel, understand this before your alterations!"

    "This isn''t a list of survivors!"

    "Why don''t you change the drama''s name to ''The Yan Emperor''s Biography''?"

    "Or perhaps ''The Legend of Jiang Yuyan'' won''t be much different!"

    "Chu Kuang, you old rascal! When we ask you not to kill protagonists, you kill off all the supporting characters!?"

    "..."

    The audience remembered again how Chu Kuang used to say that he wasn''t a devil.

    That''s right!

    You''re not a devil!

    You''re fucking Yama!

    The audience''s hearts were spasming. Who would''ve thought that after Chu Kuang took over the script, he would mess it up so terribly? Besides Chu Kuang, who else on Blue Star dares to play it this way?

    Kill everyone not a protagonist!

    No matter how popular, no matter how many audience members love them, no matter how long these characters have lived in the hearts of the audience!

    Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill!

    Killing until the world is dark!

    In the end, every time the audience saw Jiang Yuyan''s face, they shivered!

    At this point,

    Many people finally saw the grand finale.

    The grand finale is Jiang Yuyan''s big fight against Qin Tiange and Yang Xiaofan.

    Qin Tiange and Yang Xiaofan weren''t a match for Jiang Yuyan, both were beaten until they spit up blood.

    Especially Yang Xiaofan, who was directly beaten until he couldn''t stop coughing up blood!

    The audience''s hearts ached in spasms!

    As Jiang Yuyan, dressed in a dragon robe, was about to use her palm to strike Qin Tiange''s head, her movements suddenly stopped. She then squeezed Qin Tiange''s neck and asked him:

    "Do you love me?"

    She grimly asked him as she laughed.

    Qin Tiange coldly replied, "My heart is already dead."

    "Then let your corpse accompany me."

    Jiang Yuyan prepared to strike, but suddenly a bloody dagger jutted out from her chest.

    She slowly turned her head...

    It was Yang Xiaofan.

    Under the intense pain, she turned around and struck Yang Xiaofan with dozens of palm strikes, tears streaming down her face!

    "Didn''t you say you hate it when I sneak attack others from behind?"

    Her smile turned even more mournful: "Didn''t you say a sneak attack was too disgraceful and that we, the people of Jianghu, should kill our opponents in an upright manner?"

    Yang Xiaofan was silent.

    Collapsed in a pool of blood.

    At this moment, Qin Tiange''s eyes were about to split open. He ignited a large fire in the palace, intending to die with Jiang Yuyan.

    In the swirling flames.

    The tear stains on Jiang Yuyan''s face had evaporated.

    Qin Tiange tightly held onto her, not allowing her to escape this sea of fire.

    Jiang Yuyan didn''t expect that she would finally be able to enjoy the embrace she had longed for so many years under such circumstances.

    How ironic.

    This embrace seemed to bring her back to the night she first met Qin Tiange.

    At that time, he was also holding her like this, gliding over the roofs like a dragonfly skimming the water surface.

    The moon was so beautiful that night...

    Jiang Yuyan managed a smile, then suddenly pushed Qin Tiange out of the fire and was completely swallowed by the flames herself.

    Qin Tiange had a surprised look on his face but managed to use the momentum to escape.

    Three years later.

    Qin Tiange was practicing martial arts in front of a thatched cottage.

    In his hands was the forbidden technique named "Transference".

    He suddenly remembered what his master once said:

    "The character of those who practice such devil techniques would be affected. Even if the practitioner was initially kind-hearted, they would eventually be consumed by evil thoughts and lose their sense of self."

    In the thatched cottage.

    Yang Xiaofan, with white hair and beard, was soaking motionless in a medicinal bath with a blank look in his eyes.

    "End of story, complete."

    When Jiang Yuyan killed everyone, leaving only the two main characters, the audience once hated this character.

    But in the end.

    Watching Jiang Yuyan being swallowed by the flames, many viewers suddenly realized they weren''t as happy as they had imagined.

    In fact, they felt somewhat heartbroken.

    Jiang Yuyan was certainly at fault, but did she really bring all of this upon herself?

    "Suddenly I feel so uncomfortable."

    "Yang Xiaofan didn''t die, but he has become a vegetable. The callous old rascal is truly unforgivable. Claiming not to kill the protagonist but then leaving Yang Xiaofan in a vegetative state!"

    "Am I going crazy? I actually feel a bit sympathetic towards Yan Emperor."

    "It''s odd. Yan Emperor has brought nothing but disaster, yet I can''t bring myself to hate her."

    "She''s really pitiful. She held back when fighting Yang Xiaofan, so she was so despairing and angry when she was sneak attacked by him. She never thought Yang Xiaofan would actually go against his principles and launch a surprise attack from behind. He had once reprimanded her for her dishonorable sneaky tactics. She could also have killed Qin Tiange, but she decided to die alone in the end."

    "So the most pitiful episode is the last one, the final person Jiang Yuyan kills is herself."

    "Betrayed by her best friend and taken into the fatal flames by the man she loved the most, she finally lost hope entirely..."

    "There''s nothing wrong with Qin Tiange, after all, if you don''t love someone, you just don''t."

    "So was Yang Xiaofan wrong?"

    "No one is at fault, or perhaps everyone is at fault. But after making these mistakes, they brewed a terrible disaster."

    "The last part about ''Transference'' is really interesting."

    "Those who practice this technique will be swallowed by evil thoughts, so is Yan Emperor''s nature good or bad?"

    "Oh, how sad and pathetic, how pitiful yet lamentable!"

    "..."

    This is a woman who slaughtered "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange" to the point where only the show''s name remained.

    This is a woman who turned "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange" into a list of survivors.

    This is a complex villain who was destined to remain in everyone''s hearts, whether they loved or hated her. In the end, she met her punishment as she was swallowed by the flames.

    Of course.

    Some viewers felt that this was Chu Kuang''s attempt to whitewash Jiang Yuyan''s character, which led to further controversy.

    This character seemed to be forever filled with controversy.

    But here''s the thing.

    No matter how one evaluates this character, the TV show has come to an end now.

    "Darn that old rascal."

    Ultimately, the viewers united against a common enemy. Regardless of how bad Jiang Yuyan was, she was still not as bad as the cunning and treacherous Chu Kuang. He was the one really behind everything!

    They were heartbroken.

    They were enraged.

    They were in despair.

    But they all had to admit:

    This version of Yan Emperor, this kind of plot twist, had created a unique "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange", creating a bloody masterpiece...

    At this time.

    The top trending topics on Tribe and Blog were all related to this series!

    The top trending topic on Tribe was #SurvivalList#

    The top trending topic on Blog was #OnlytheShowNameLeft#

    In addition.

    Including #YanEmperor#,

    and #MainCharacterDidnotDie#,

    and even #SinisterChuKuang#,

    all of these topics stormed into the trending list as the TV series ended!

 Chapter 797 - 757: Scared the Little Lolita to Tears_1

    Before this drama, there had never been a villain like Jiang Yuyan in Blue Star''s shows.

    She had lived an impoverished life with her mother since childhood, doing all kinds of dirty and tiring work for survival. When her mother died, she couldn''t afford a coffin, so she dug a grave in the wild by herself¡­

    And yet.

    This seemingly insignificant woman ultimately became the final boss of the entire drama!

    The Yan Emperor!

    She practically annihilated the entire cast until only the title of the drama was left. So much so that the title became known to the audience as "The Survivors List"!

    This was a huge novelty for the viewers!

    While people loved the plot of this drama and couldn''t find it in themselves to truly hate this woman, even the most fascinating plot twists couldn''t change the fact that Chu Kuang, that old rascal, was completely out of his mind.

    The drama was good, but it was extremely intense!

    The audience practically finished the show while cursing Chu Kuang!

    And when it started trending¡­

    More and more viewers joined in and watched till the grand finale, resulting in everyone condemning Chu Kuang!

    "Chu Kuang is unfilial!"

    "Someone should restrain Chu Kuang''s pen!"

    "Oh, it''s pointless. We can''t control the old rascal anymore¡­"

    "Damn!"

    "How could Blue Star have such a savage writer!"

    "The most annoying thing is, this jerk even turned off the comment section!"

    "Is this not escaping out of guilt?"

    "Turning off the comment section is really cunning, I''m so freaking impressed!"

    "Chu Kuang: If they won''t let me kill the main character, I''ll kill off all the supporting characters. I''ll wipe out the good and the bad in one fell swoop."

    "..."

    While everyone was passionately discussing the plot¡­

    The original author of the novel, Lancet, suddenly posted an update.

    The update was an emoticon of a person coughing up blood in extreme frustration.

    Anyone who has seen the movie "Flirting Scholar" would know, it is the famous scene where Dui Chuanchang is coughing up three liters of blood from frustration after losing to Tang Bohu¡­

    "Puff!"

    The netizens burst into laughter, and their anger towards Chu Kuang was somewhat mollified.

    "This is what you call killing the original author through stress!"

    "Lancet: Here, take the pen. You write... Oh no, I was wrong! Please don''t write anymore! Give me back the pen!"

    "Chu Kuang: This is how ''Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange'' should be written properly."

    "I feel bad for Teacher Lancet!"

    "If Teacher Lancet knew it would turn out like this, he would have definitely stopped that old rascal from taking over!"

    "Teacher Lancet must be going mad!"

    "If we viewers can''t handle it, what about Teacher Lancet, the original author?"

    "..."

    Of course.

    No matter what, the fact that this version of "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange" became popular is undeniable!

    Just in terms of popularity, this version can compete with the most iconic one recognized by everybody!

    This, in turn, proves Chu Kuang''s capability.

    Also, an important thing to note is:

    This was Chu Kuang''s first time writing a screenplay!

    Although Chu Kuang is an author, he had never engaged in screenwriting for films or series before. Achieving such success in his first attempt is extremely rare in this industry.

    The industry insiders are simply torn between laughter and tears for Chu Kuang''s monstrous adaptation.

    Do they dare to hire Chu Kuang as scriptwriter again in the future?

    Look at Lancet, such a composed writer, who was literally coughing up blood from the stress Chu Kuang caused!

    And the worst part is, the drama is insanely popular!

    Probably, Lancet doesn''t know whether he should thank Chu Kuang for making his novel popular again or curse him for killing all his beloved characters.

    ...

    Lin Yuan was glad that he had closed the comment section in advance. Otherwise, how could he have faced the viewers'' torrent of criticism?

    Anyways, he did contribute a lot in filling the gap in the television department.

    When he arrived at the company in the morning, he heard from Gu Dong that there was a company outside willing to pay big money to poach the actress who played Jiang Yuyan.

    Lin Yuan remained silent on this matter.

    Although the actress''s performance was indeed good, if everyone assumes this performance to be her normal standard, they might be in for a disappointment later.

    The Acting Potion was the real reason for the actress''s explosive performance.

    Ignoring this factor, there are countless female actresses in the entertainment industry who are good looking and equally talented.

    In fact.

    Not just the actress who played Jiang Yuyan, but other actors in the drama also garnered fame one after another.

    Why?

    Probably because the characters they played in the drama died so miserably, which aroused the audience''s sympathy.

    In the company.

    The actors who participated in this drama were all bewildered. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "I got written out in the twentieth episode, and yet I still became popular?"

    "I had this few scenes and still caught fire?"

    "So getting a boxed lunch early has this advantage?"

    "At first, I was cursing out how many scenes they cut me. But when my episode aired, my followers increased dramatically, and a bunch of fans came to sympathize with me, saying that I died too tragically..."

    "Can I die even more tragically next time, please? Don''t hold back on the brutality!"

    "We misunderstood Chu Kuang, the old rascal!"

    "So he was doing us a favor by letting us take our boxed lunches early!"

    "..."

    What a twist of fate.

    Of course, this has to do with the script''s explosive popularity.

    If there wasn''t a mass death, and if their deaths hadn''t touched the audience''s hearts, even if they continued with the original script till the end, it would not have had the effect it has now.

    Even so...

    Other entertainment companies are arranging for their writers to deeply study Chu Kuang''s scriptwriting approach.

    "Learn well from the old rascal!"

    Upon hearing this, the writers began to question their life choices.

    No one had ever dared to do something like this, killing off everyone in the play, both protagonists and antagonists. But Chu Kuang has set an example, showing them that the audience loves to see tragedies!

    They''ve learned it all wrong!

    Who knows, there might be a lot of Chu Kuang imitators in scriptwriting in the future, but no one knows what kind of an impact it will have.

    Lin Yuan, the initiator of all this, will definitely not take such risks lightly in the future.

    But just when Lin Yuan thought that this play''s influence would fade over time, the Chairman suddenly sent him a video.

    "What''s this?"

    Lin Yuan opened it and his face turned somewhat awkward.

    In the video.

    A cute little girl was facing the camera, and suddenly burst into tears:

    "Grandpa Zhang died, Lady Hua died, and Hao... everyone I like is dead. They were all killed by Jiang Yuyan. Jiang Yuyan is a bad woman..."

    There was also inappropriate laughter in the shot, coming from the little girl''s mother.

    "Don''t cry, don''t cry, do you want mommy to read you Chu Kuang''s ''Fairytale Town''?"

    "No!"

    "Then how about ''Shuke and Beta''?"

    "No!"

    "There''s also ''Alice in Wonderland''!"

    "I''ve heard them all!"

    The little girl cried harder, gasping for air, shedding buckets of tears:

    "Chu Kuang is a bad man, Mommy, you can''t like him!"

    This mother is clearly a fan of Chu Kuang. All the stories she reads to the child are written by Chu Kuang!

    The video was only a few minutes long, but its content was very interesting.

    Beneath the video, were numerous comments from internet users:

    "That''s me when I am chasing the show!"

    "Exactly the same!"

    "I cried my eyes out!"

    "Baby don''t cry, big sister hug!"

    "This kid is going to be traumatized."

    "Childhood trauma series!"

    "Hahaha, the kid is so cute!"

    "The little sister is right, Chu Kuang is a bad guy!"

    "..."

    Perhaps it was because the little girl was too cute, or perhaps her plaintive cries resonated with many, but the video''s reposts skyrocketed!

    Countless users @ Chu Kuang:

    "Come out and take the beating, Chu Kuang, the old rascal!"

    "Old rascal, come and see, this is the sin you committed!"

    "Your Yan Emperor has traumatized this young girl!"

    "This childhood trauma is not going away."

    "When I was a kid watching a certain series, I was also scared to tears by the villain. Chu Kuang, the old rascal, come out and soothe the child!"

    "Oh my god, this is melting my heart, you heartless old rascal!"

    "Jiang Yuyan has scared the child, your fairy tales are not working anymore!"

    "..."

    In the studio.

    Jin Mu also saw this video, and he laughed until he nearly lost his breath:

    "I can''t be your PR at times like this ..."

    "I''ll handle it."

    Lin Yuan glared at Jin Mu then logged into Chu Kuang''s account and decisively @ the account that posted the video:

    "(Pat head) (Hug), Can I write a new fairy tale for you (crying face) ~"

 Chapter 798 - 758 - The Adventures of the Puppet_1

    Actually, this mom had already appeared in chapters 413 and 424.

    Her name is Yu Qin.

    The little girl who complained that Chu Kuang is a bad guy,

    is her daughter Honghong.

    The little girl also has a brother named Huahua.

    Mother Yu Qin is a hardcore fan of Chu Kuang and has read all his novels.

    Because of her, her son and daughter have been reading fairy tales written by Chu Kuang.

    Upon learning that Chu Kuang was involved in the scriptwriting for "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange".

    She took her daughter, Honghong, to watch the series.

    Her son, Huahua wasn''t interested in the series, after watching for a while, he went back to his well-read "Fairytale Town".

    Honghong and her mother watched the entire series together.

    Watching Jiang Yuyan''s indiscriminate killing, Honghong ended up crying bitterly at the end.

    Yu Qin found it amusing, so she simply filmed a video and uploaded it to her blog.

    She used to play in a Tribe, but when Chu Kuang moved to blogging, she followed him there.

    Yu Qin believes this to be a form of self-cultivation for a diehard fan. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    To Yu Qin''s surprise, the video she casually filmed went viral!

    Shared by countless netizens!

    What surprised Yu Qin even more was that Chu Kuang had seen the video and even @her on his blog!

    Instantly, Yu Qin was overjoyed to the point of dizziness!

    ...

    The netizens were all smitten by the cuteness of Honghong, they started @Chu Kuang, but their intention was only to tease him.

    Who made him post that strong lunchbox?

    So, everyone was equally surprised when Chu Kuang responded to the little girl, and even announced:

    He would write a new fairy tale for this little girl!

    Suddenly, the whole internet was abuzz!

    Especially some sentimental netizens, they were deeply moved!

    "My God, he''s so spoiling her!!!!"

    "I cried too! I want a head pat too! I want a hug too!"

    "To pacify the little girl, he''s actually going to write a new fairy tale?"

    "Are these words that the old rascal would say?"

    "For the first time, I found out that the old rascal actually has such a gentle side!"

    "I''m melting! So the old rascal''s... cough, heart is warm too!"

    "So warm!"

    "Suddenly I feel a bit embarrassed to continue dissing the old rascal, he''s really going all out for the little girl!"

    "Chu Kuang, the old rascal, really knows how to pamper his fans!"

    "I wouldn''t be surprised if Xian Yu did this, but I really didn''t expect the old rascal to do this!"

    "..."

    Despite being mysterious and never revealing his face, Chu Kuang''s public image has always been cold.

    Don''t ask where this impression came from.

    Just based on his adaptation of "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange", you can tell how ruthless he is, not to mention his past misdeeds while writing books!

    But no one expected Chu Kuang to also have such a side!

    The contrast is just too great!

    Just look at the status he posted.

    All kinds of comforting emojis, even with a crying face, it seems a bit aggrieved.

    At this moment.

    The mum reappeared: "Daughter said: Uncle Chu Kuang, don''t lie. In fact, she really loves GOAT Chu Kuang''s fairy tales, under my influence, hehehe."

    As a result.

    To everyone''s astonishment, Chu Kuang responded again:

    "If I lie, my nose will grow long, wait for me two hours."

    This response, while warming and touching, also aroused many people''s curiosity.

    "What does the old rascal mean by this?"

    "Why would his nose grow long if he lies?"

    "Is this a new internet meme?"

    "What does ''wait two hours'' mean?"

    "Is Chu Kuang preparing to write a new fairy tale on the spot?"

    "Really?"

    "Can it be done so quickly?"

    "A short story?"

    "Even if it''s a short story, two hours is still too quick, isn''t it!"

    "Let''s wait and see!"

    "Chu Kuang is the Fairy Tale King, just because others can''t write that fast doesn''t mean he can''t!"

    "..."

    Netizens started to look forward to it!

    What kind of fairytale would Chu Kuang write in two hours to amuse children?

    ...

    Lying will make your nose grow longer.

    Many parents on Earth like to say this when educating their children.

    Actually, this is a plot device about the protagonist Pinocchio in the fairy tale "The Adventures of Pinocchio".

    Yes.

    The novel that Lin Yuan plans to write next is this fairytale called "The Adventures of Pinocchio".

    Why this one?

    Because there is a mention of this fairytale in the lyrics of "Fairytale Town".

    "It is said that Pinocchio is always telling lies..."

    Lin Yuan wants to amuse the child while also filling in the gaps of the song lyrics.

    This was a promise he made when he released the song.

    Lin Yuan takes his promises very seriously, like when he said he wouldn''t kill the protagonist in "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange", he didn''t.

    Actually, he could also write something like "Harry Potter".

    But that novel is too long and can''t be written in two hours.

    The key is that the later parts of "Harry Potter" are pretty bleak, with many beloved characters dying, which isn''t suitable to comfort children.

    "The Adventures of Pinocchio" is different.

    The short story version is only about ten thousand words long. Lin Yuan can finish it in two hours - it''s not hard at all.

    It''s true!

    Lin Yuan plans to write the short story version of this novel in two hours and directly post it on his blog.

    It will help to attract traffic to his blog.

    After all, "The Adventures of Pinocchio" is an excellent fairytale, with high ratings in all aspects.

    The writer Ba Jin once said:

    "After spending a few minutes reading ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'', even though I am no longer a child, I was still captivated."

    With that in mind,

    Lin Yuan began to write.

    Jin Mu watched him in awe.

    He started writing already?

    In two hours?

    Write a fairytale?

    Just to make a child happy?

    Your PR game is really strong!

    As Lin Yuan started writing, some fairytale authors in the industry heard the news that Chu Kuang was going to write a fairytale story to satisfy a little girl.

    For a moment,

    Many fairytale authors were paying attention, after all, Chu Kuang was known as the Fairy Tale King!

    "Write a fairytale to calm a little girl?"

    "This Fairy Tale King is truly talented and capricious!"

    "If the quality of this fairytale is enough, it could become a great story."

    "Two hours, how good can the quality be?"

    "No matter what, that little girl is lucky. Chu Kuang wrote a fairytale story just for her. I guess she will only understand how big this is when she grows up."

    "Isn''t it Chu Kuang himself who caused this?"

    "If he hadn''t set up the vicious plot for Jiang Yuyan to kill, kill, and kill, how could the little girl cry so... cutely?"

    "..."

    Everyone found it interesting.

    For a moment, there were quite a few people who actually waited for two hours.

    Two hours later.

    Someone refreshed Chu Kuang''s blog and found out:

    "Hey!"

    "He really wrote a fairytale called ''The Adventures of Pinocchio''!"

    "It seems like it took less than two hours!"

    "This writing speed is impressive!"

    "Let''s take a look!"

    "@ Little Girl, come and check out your spoils of war!"

    "Two hours, the old rascal didn''t just phone it in, did he?"

    "The story may not be very exciting, but it was written in two hours. Just enjoy the fun!"

    "..."

    Click, click, click!

    Many netizens clicked into this fairytale with interest.

    The story of Pinocchio, for the first time, appeared in front of the readers of Blue Star!

 Chapter 799 - 759 Pinocchio

    Lin Yuan wrote a short-story version of "The Adventures of Pinocchio."

    Actually, there is also a full-length version, which is the original text, consisting of thirty-six chapters and about a hundred thousand words.

    Of course.

    Even as a short-story version, Pinocchio''s tale still maintains a considerable level of interest.

    So.

    After this fairy tale was published, Yu Qin read through the content herself first and then showed a surprised expression.

    It''s a very interesting fairy tale!

    More precisely, "The Adventures of Pinocchio" seems not just a fairy tale but also has a touch of a fable.

    The difference between them lies in:

    Fairy tales aim to tell a story that children like;

    Whereas fables often aim to elevate the theme, expounding on some educationally rich morals from the angle of mixing education with pleasure.

    Speaking of which.

    Adults and children view fairy tales from different angles.

    Stories that adults might find juvenile could be beloved by children, and those that adults think look good may not be enjoyed by children.

    Different ages, different feelings.

    Yu Qin liked this story very much, but she didn''t know how the children would react.

    "Mommy, tell it!"

    Honghong was already sitting eagerly across from her mother.

    In Honghong''s mind, although Chu Kuang was a bad guy, the fairy tales he wrote were all very good.

    "Alright." Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Yu Qin smiled, then began to narrate gently, "In Fairytale Town, there was a piece of wood that could talk."

    "How can a piece of wood talk?"

    Huahua suddenly interjected from the side.

    Honghong was unhappy, "Shuke and Beta can talk, and they are mice!"

    Mom smiled, "Ordinary wood can''t talk, but this is a talking piece of wood, so Grandpa Zhang decided to carve this piece of wood into a person."

    Honghong asked, "Didn''t Grandpa Zhang die?"

    Grandpa Zhang is that upright character from "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange" who was the first one to receive the ''takeaway meal'', and now the carpenter in this fairy tale was also called Grandpa Zhang.

    "..."

    Yu Qin was stunned for a moment, but soon guessed the purpose behind Chu Kuang naming the character that way, feeling more moved in her heart.

    She smoothly said:

    "Actually, Grandpa Zhang didn''t die; he just entered Fairytale Town and became a carpenter."

    Children who have read Chu Kuang''s fairy tales, like Blue Star, know that Fairytale Town is a beautiful place, inhabited by various princes and princesses, mermaids, and of course, including Shuke and Beta, among others.

    In short, all the characters in Chu Kuang''s fairy tales live in that little town.

    Yes.

    Lin Yuan spared no effort in crafting Fairytale Town.

    He unified the background of all his fairy tale stories, allowing them to all take place in this place called Fairytale Town.

    As a result.

    Fairytale town became a place many children yearned for.

    After all, there in Fairytale Town were the beautiful Snow White, Alice who could grow big, and mermaids...

    "Good, Grandpa Zhang didn''t die!"

    Honghong was very happy and urged her mother to continue, "Keep telling it!"

    Yu Qin smiled slightly and then continued the story about Pinocchio.

    "Pinocchio can''t lie..."

    "Every time he lied, Pinocchio''s nose would grow longer..."

    "After he told many lies consecutively, his nose had become as long as the room, and it was not even convenient for him to turn around on the spot."

    "..."

    Yu Qin narrated the story vividly.

    Honghong gradually became mesmerized by the story.

    At that moment, Yu Qin noticed that, unbeknownst to her, Huahua had also come over, listening seriously.

    ''The children really like this story.''

    She thought to herself with some joy, narrating even more earnestly.

    She didn''t notice that the children''s faces were gradually changing.

    "...Finally, Pinocchio''s nose finally became as it was originally."

    A ten-thousand-word story didn''t take too long to tell.

    When the story ended, Yu Qin wanted to ask the children for their thoughts, but she saw Huahua suddenly stand up with a worried face.

    "What''s wrong?"

    Yu Qin was a bit concerned. Was there something wrong with the story?

    Wasn''t she absorbed in it just a moment ago?

    "Mommy..."

    Huahua said with a downcast face, "My nose is getting longer, I don''t want my nose to grow long, everyone will laugh at me!"

    "What?"

    "I won''t lie again next time, actually, the toy snake in Xiaomei''s bag was put there by me, and during the last test, I actually didn''t pass, and the time before that I accidentally broke the classroom window, but didn''t admit it..."

    Yu Qin was speechless.

    Honghong started to feel scared too, touching her own nose, feeling like it was different than usual:

    "Has my nose gotten longer too?"

    "You lied too?"

    Yu Qin was instantly covered in metaphorical black lines.

    Honghong was close to tears, "I only lied once. Last time when mom went out, I secretly watched a cartoon at home. I turned off the TV before mom came back, I only watched for a little while..."

    Yu Qin was caught between laughter and tears.

    She patted the little heads of the two children, "Your noses haven''t grown long because you bravely admitted your mistakes."

    "Really?"

    The two kids were sceptical and even ran to look at themselves in the mirror to compare.

    Yu Qin said, "You can''t lie again next time, if you lie too much you will end up like Pinocchio with a really long nose..."

    "I won''t ever lie again!"

    Huahua spoke loudly, then subconsciously touched their nose again.

    "Me neither!"

    Honghong became much more righteous.

    While Yu Qin found it amusing, she also felt an inexplicable stirring in her heart. It was the first time she directly felt the educational significance a fairy tale could carry.

    "Actually, Chu Kuang is a really good person."

    She thought this to herself, filled with emotion and warmth.

    Then, she instinctively touched her own rather prominent nose and felt an inexplicable flutter of anxiety.

    ...

    And the scene at Yu Qin''s home was just the tip of the iceberg.

    Similar situations were happening in many families.

    "Mom, I was wrong!"

    "Dad, I won''t ever lie again!"

    "Please make my nose go back to normal!"

    "I didn''t lie, why has my nose grown longer?"

    "You got stung by a mosquito."

    "So, don''t lie, okay? The nose of a liar will grow long!"

    "..."

    This was probably a different kind of childhood trauma.

    It was like the education method of "cry any more and you''ll be eaten by a tiger."

    The difference was that the former was much more reasonable, with a very strong effect of teaching through fun, filled with positive significance, while the latter could easily affect the healthy development of a child''s body and mind.

    ...

    And as the influence of this fairy tale began to spread from individual to collective, the internet finally became abuzz!

    The fairy tale became an overnight sensation!

    Countless netizens left excited comments!

    "This story is so fun!"

    "After listening to the fairy tale, my child confessed to all the mistakes he recently made. I was so mad I could have jumped up and down. So it turns out my little goldfish was killed by this mischievous kid!"

    "The nose growing when lying, isn''t this creating a new childhood trauma haha."

    "The old rascal is tough on adult readers, but all soft knives for children. However, I like it, and there''s an interesting detail. The supporting characters mentioned in this fairy tale are basically those who ''left the stage'' in ''Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange.'' It''s like they''ve been resurrected in Fairytale Town!"

    "I''m very grateful to Teacher Chu Kuang for writing such a wonderful story for children!"

    "Even though the story is full of educational color, it does not preach with tedious morality throughout and can be understood by children. It is indeed a very exciting fairy tale!"

    "My child keeps clamoring to go to Fairytale Town and play, saying they want to make friends with Pinocchio (laughing while crying)."

    "Interesting Pinocchio, the nose growing when lying, this setting is too fun!"

    "This fairy tale is even more interesting than ''Snow White''!"

    "Alright, for now, I''ll forgive the old rascal''s ruthless behavior. The effect of this fairy tale is perfect for coaxing children!"

    ...

    At the same time.

    Authors in the fairy tale industry also finished reading the content of "The Adventures of Pinocchio."

    "Oh my!"

    "What a fantastic story!"

    "This was written in two hours?"

    "The nine well-known fairy tale masters who had a Literary Duel with Chu Kuang, they really weren''t unjustly defeated!"

    "This is one of the best fairy tales I''ve ever read!"

    "Wait a second..."

    "Doesn''t the name Pinocchio sound familiar?"

    "Damn!"

    "Isn''t that a lyric from the song ''Fairytale Town''?"

    "Have you heard Pinocchio always telling lies?"

    "This isn''t a two-hour effort, the old rascal had thought of this story long before that song was released!"

    "..."

    Everyone finally found the blind spot!

    This wasn''t a fairy tale written in two hours, but the message it revealed was even more terrifying!

    The song named "Fairytale Town" truly represented a series of fairy tale plots!

    The entire Fairytale Town linked together had already formed a fairy tale universe with a significant influence on contemporary children!

    And Pinocchio was the new member of this fairy tale universe!

    For a time!

    Pinocchio became a smashing hit!

 Chapter 800 - 760: Jiang Kui

    For Lin Yuan, the short story "The Adventures of Pinocchio" was just meant to entertain children, but the impact of this fairy tale was quite beyond his expectations.

    This short fairy tale actually garnered a very high readership so much so that the blog''s traffic also increased!

    This was related to the copyright protection in Blue Star.

    Many people interested in this story could only read it under Chu Kuang''s blog account.

    He hadn''t granted permission for reposting.

    And as more and more people read this story, parents teaching their children not to lie no longer needed to earnestly say, "Only bad children lie."

    They simply had to tell the children, "If you lie, your nose will grow long."

    The effect was very significant! Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Even more unforeseen by Lin Yuan was that children''s interest in Fairytale Town was growing more and more!

    Some children would even gather to discuss:

    "There''s a new friend in Fairytale Town!"

    "Who is it?"

    "You don''t know Pinocchio?!"

    "Is he friends with Snow White?"

    "I don''t know, they live in the same town, they''re bound to meet."

    "I wish I could go to Fairytale Town too."

    "You can''t, there are not only good people in Fairytale Town but also many bad people."

    "Aren''t all the bad people punished? It''s very safe there."

    "..."

    Heaven knows how many children yearn for Fairytale Town!

    This wasn''t the influence of just one or two works; it was a chain reaction brought about by Lin Yuan setting many of his fairy tales in Fairytale Town, which gradually elevated its stature in children''s hearts.

    He, the Fairy Tale King, truly lived up to his name increasingly.

    Lin Yuan even couldn''t help but think:

    Could he perhaps one day create a "Fairytale Town Theme Park"?

    Something along the lines of "Disneyland."

    However, this was just a fleeting thought for Lin Yuan; it wasn''t enough yet. He had to wait until these fairy tales turned into animated productions and had a bigger impact on children.

    In the following days,

    Lin Yuan simply wrote out the full-length "The Adventures of Pinocchio" and sent it to Silver Blue Books for publishing.

    With this, another piece of the "Fairytale Town" puzzle was finally put into place.

    It was only at this time that Lin Yuan finally dared to boldly open up the comment permissions on Chu Kuang''s blog.

    When netizens noticed this, they laughed uncontrollably.

    "Do you think you''re up to it now?"

    "Now you dare to open up the comment permissions."

    "Permission dog!"

    "Well, considering ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' isn''t bad, I won''t scold you."

    "Dare again and see how I''ll blast you!"

    "..."

    Lin Yuan didn''t pay attention to the netizens'' teasing.

    Mainly because he didn''t have time to.

    After letting Chu Kuang stir up activity for a while, July was almost at an end.

    He still had rankings to fight for in August!

    He was getting closer and closer to the goal of twelve consecutive victories, and Lin Yuan could not afford to slack off in these last few months.

    One wrong move could spoil everything.

    Musing on this,

    Lin Yuan began to consider what song to use in August.

    Right,

    Jiang Kui seemed about to become a queen of pop music.

    Lin Yuan thought he should collaborate with Jiang Kui in August.

    He wanted to help Jiang Kui skyrocket, thereby presenting the Yu Dynasty''s first pop queen¡ª

    Lin Yuan usually chose the song first, then considered which singer would be more suitable for it.

    It was rare for him to decide on the singer first and then consider the song.

    The former was easier to manage.

    After all, the number of good singers outnumbered good songs.

    And once a singer was pre-selected, Lin Yuan''s song style would have to conform to the singer''s own style.

    Fortunately, Jiang Kui''s range was broad enough that Lin Yuan had many suitable songs for her.

    If one were to rank the ability of Yu Dynasty''s singers, Lin Yuan couldn''t be specific.

    After all, everyone''s potential was exploitable.

    But no matter how much everyone''s potential was tapped, Jiang Kui''s level was absolutely among the top!

    ...

    Switching to his Admirable Fish alias, Lin Yuan went to the company and made a phone call to Jiang Kui.

    The phone rang for a long time.

    Just when Lin Yuan thought the other party was too busy to pick up, a slightly tired voice finally came through:

    "Teacher Admirable Fish..."

    "Can you come to the company?"

    "I can''t right now..."

    "When will you be free?"

    "How about tonight at seven..."

    "Okay, seven o''clock, I''ll be in the office waiting for you."

    After Lin Yuan hung up the phone, he suddenly felt that Jiang Kui''s mood seemed off.

    He didn''t think much of it.

    Lin Yuan began to consider which song to give Jiang Kui.

    Previously in Beijing, he had encouraged Jiang Kui to practice Chu language extensively, as he planned to have her perform a Chu language song in August.

    There were many options to choose from.

    Lin Yuan leaned toward a Chu language song named "Bluebird."

    The song itself was of exceptional quality.

    Most importantly, it was the theme song for "Naruto"!

    Yes.

    Lin Yuan planned to produce "Naruto," leveraging the song to hit the charts.

    Many chart-topping experiences had proven:

    Capitalizing on popularity could double the effect!

    It was a shortcut to the charts.

    Of course, this was based on Lin Yuan''s strong confidence in the animation version of "Naruto."

    "Let''s settle on this one for now."

    Lin Yuan had backups, as there were plenty of Chu language songs. If Jiang Kui''s performance was not up to par, Lin Yuan could consider other Chu language songs or even switch to a Mandarin song, as ultimately, Mandarin songs had the broadest appeal.

    Turning on the computer.

    Lin Yuan began simple production work.

    His office was spacious and well-equipped with various musical instruments, making it convenient to produce any music.

    Just like that.

    He worked until the end of the work day.

    The dismissal time varied across different departments; the composition department where Lin Yuan worked was considered leisurely, since composers'' creativity did not require sitting in the office.

    Looking for inspiration was a trick not only Lin Yuan used.

    Even without such excuses, the composition department still finished work at five o''clock.

    Seeing Lin Yuan still in the office, his assistant Gu Dong expressed surprise:

    "Mr. Lin isn''t leaving work?"

    How unusual.

    Usually, Mr. Lin would leave before four o''clock, slapping his buttocks as he walked out.

    Not to mention, sometimes Mr. Lin wouldn''t come to the office for several days.

    "Waiting for someone."

    Lin Yuan responded succinctly, "You can go back."

    "Alright, then I''ll make you a cup of tea."

    Gu Dong skillfully brewed tea for Lin Yuan and then smiled, "Who''s the special person that you''re waiting for?"

    "Jiang Kui, to record a song."

    "Jiang Kui?"

    Gu Dong paused, hesitant, then whispered, "Have you heard about the incident with Jiang Kui?"

    "What incident?"

    Gu Dong shook his head, "Nothing serious, just some gossip. Apparently, a few days ago, Jiang Kui''s mom came to our company looking for her, and it seems they had an unpleasant exchange."

    "Oh."

    Lin Yuan frowned and said, "Don''t spread rumors."

    Gu Dong quickly responded, "I was just mentioning it to you. No one in our department dares to gossip, everyone knows Jiang Kui is your person."

    Lin Yuan didn''t say anything.

    No wonder Jiang Kui seemed somewhat upset during the previous phone call. It seemed to be related to this incident.

    Shortly after Gu Dong left, Jiang Kui appeared.

    As soon as she entered, Jiang Kui apologized softly, "Sorry for making Teacher Admirable Fish wait..."

    "No worries."

    Lin Yuan looked at her and could clearly see the fatigue between her brows.

    Without bringing up her family issues, Lin Yuan straightforwardly said:

    "Here''s a song for you to check out."

    "A new song?"

    "Yes."

    Jiang Kui immediately understood Lin Yuan''s intention and perked up, "I''ll get it right tonight!"

    "See you in the recording studio tomorrow."

    Lin Yuan intended to discuss specific details with her, but seeing Jiang Kui''s poor condition, he chose not to say more.

    If it were before, Jiang Kui would be thrilled to get a new song, eager to try humming it immediately.

    He got up to leave.

    As he approached the door, Lin Yuan suddenly turned around and said, "Let me know if you need any help."

    "Ah¡­ okay¡­"

    Jiang Kui seemed dazed, then quickly nodded, appearing somewhat surprised:

    "Thank you."

    "You''re welcome."

    Lin Yuan turned and left.

    Jiang Kui watched Lin Yuan''s retreating figure, biting her lip, and then sighed softly.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thank you to Alliance Hierarch "Sweet or Salty Maruko" for the reward; my charm is everywhere, and judging by the ID, it seems like a girl¡ªkudos to your support! ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ

 Chapter 801 - 761 Im That Fool

    The next day.

    Recording studio.

    Lin Yuan was recording a song with Jiang Kui.

    "Again."

    "It''s not good enough."

    "Record it again."

    "This note is dragged out too long."

    "There''s not enough emotion."

    "It''s still not good enough."

    "Pause."

    "..."

    Recording went on for several hours, but Jiang Kui''s singing never met Lin Yuan''s standard, and the atmosphere in the studio was somewhat downcast.

    Normally, this song wouldn''t have been difficult for Jiang Kui.

    But today was different.

    Her state was too poor.

    Lin Yuan had no choice but to call for a break in the end.

    Jiang Kui hung her head in silence, her expression one of shame. She knew her problem was serious; her personal emotions were seriously affecting her work.

    "Let''s stop here for today,"

    said Lin Yuan. "We''ll record again tomorrow."

    Jiang Kui spoke in a low voice, timidly, "I''m sorry for taking up so much of Teacher Admirable Fish''s time; I will try my best to adjust my condition by tomorrow."

    Then, she apologized to the other staff members.

    Lin Yuan nodded without saying much more. Even if Jiang Kui couldn''t finish recording by the end of the month, it didn''t matter.

    He had a backup plan.

    If it came to it, they could release the song later.

    Back in the office.

    While Lin Yuan was considering his next moves, he suddenly received a call from Sun Yaohuo:

    "Junior, do you want to have dinner tonight? Everyone will be there."

    "Everyone" in Sun Yaohuo''s mouth was undoubtedly the singers from Yu Dynasty.

    "Alright,"

    Lin Yuan didn''t decline.

    That evening at seven o''clock.

    He arrived at a restaurant owned by Sun Yaohuo and saw everyone in a private room.

    Indeed, all the singers from Yu Dynasty were there,

    including Jiang Kui.

    When Jiang Kui saw Lin Yuan, she seemed somewhat embarrassed, keeping her head down, especially after her poor performance during the day.

    Lin Yuan didn''t say much either.

    After dinner, Sun Yaohuo suggested they all go to KTV to sing.

    "Sure!"

    Everyone happily agreed, and Lin Yuan had no objections.

    So, the group made their way to the KTV.

    Sun Yaohuo had booked a large private room, with an assortment of fruit platters being served one after another, and of course, beer to boost the fun.

    Tsst.

    Jiang Kui opened a beer and began drinking.

    "Slow down,"

    Sun Yaohuo cautioned her.

    Everyone else started to choose songs.

    No one chose their own songs; instead, they picked songs by other Yu Dynasty artists.

    For example, Sun Yaohuo chose Chen Zhiyu''s "Change Myself."

    Hm?

    You''re going to sing my song in front of Teacher Admirable Fish? What are you trying to prove?

    Chen Zhiyu snorted and decisively picked "Red Rose," taking out the guitar he always carried with him.

    Out of all the Yu Dynasty singers, it was Chen Zhiyu who liked to carry his guitar everywhere, even bringing it to KTV to accompany himself.

    Xia Fan and Zhao Ying Ge naturally didn''t want to be outdone.

    Even Wei Haoyun picked a song, "Easy to Ignite and Explode."

    Jiang Kui didn''t choose any songs; she just ate fruit and drank beer.

    Everyone failed to notice.

    They only realized something was wrong when they were fighting over the microphone, and suddenly, a cry echoed through the room.

    It was Jiang Kui.

    Everyone was a bit flustered.

    "Why is she crying now?"

    "It''s all Sun Yaohuo''s fault for hogging the mic, Jiang Kui hasn''t even sung one song!"

    "Come on, let''s have Jiang Kui pick a song!"

    "What do you want to sing? I''ll pick it for you!"

    "How about ''Initial Dream''? I always thought you could outshine Xia Fan with that song!"

    "What are you implying, Zhao Ying Ge!"

    "Cough, just my personal opinion."

    "Go for the high notes; your high notes are especially bright and clear!"

    "..."

    Everyone nearly forced the microphone into Jiang Kui''s hands.

    Jiang Kui put down her beer, fiercely wiped away her tears, and then went to select the song "Father."

    "Always taking from you but never saying thank you..."

    Jiang Kui''s singing was far from pleasant; it was the voice of someone inebriated, lashing out in a drunken frenzy.

    It was at that moment everyone realized Jiang Kui was drunk; they looked at each other, uncertain what to do.

    Even the slowest to react could tell Jiang Kui was troubled.

    "Time, oh time, slow down a bit..."

    During the high notes, Jiang Kui''s voice cracked; unaware of her own dissonance, she continued emotionally and immersed in the song, tears streaming down her face.

    "Is she missing her dad?"

    Sun Yaohuo whispered.

    Wei Haoyun gave a bitter smile. "I remember her father passed away quite early..."

    "I see."

    Xia Fan shook his head, "We can''t let her drink anymore later on." sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Zhao Ying Ge frowned, "We let her drink too much without realizing it, she''ll probably throw up soon."

    "She''s better at drinking than me."

    Chen Zhiyu muttered a comment.

    Everyone had already noticed the empty beer bottles all over the floor.

    Lin Yuan had been silent, sitting on the sofa, listening to everyone sing.

    He had long noticed that Jiang Kui was continuously drinking, but he didn''t stop her.

    If she had troubles on her mind, it might be good to let them out.

    Jiang Kui was still singing, and when she reached the last line, she shouted it out:

    "The child you worry about, has... grown... up!"

    After shouting that line, Jiang Kui started to cry even harder, fiercely wiping her tears away.

    Everyone was in a flurry trying to comfort her.

    "You don''t need to comfort me, you''re all steel-hearted macho men and tomboys, you don''t know how to comfort people, last time Teacher Admirable Fish even said that a white swan sings better than me!"

    Jiang Kui even lashed out, but combined with the sobbing, it just didn''t have any force.

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    He hadn''t expected Jiang Kui to still remember that incident.

    After complaining, Jiang Kui began to throw a drunken tantrum:

    "My dad died a long time ago, and my mom remarried; she doesn''t care about my brother and me at all. She married a rich man, and even had twins with him..."

    Everyone exchanged looks.

    Sun Yaohuo seemed to know the company gossip: "I heard that day your mom came looking for you..."

    "She wasn''t looking for me, she was asking me for money!"

    Everyone was stunned.

    Jiang Kui was thoroughly drunk, slurring her words:

    "That new husband of hers got into financial trouble, now he''s in jail, and his company has gone bankrupt... Her twin sons lost their jobs, their house was lost to debt, she has nothing left... So she came to me, saying I''m a big star, saying I could repay her husband''s debts, do you know how much money she wanted... She just opened her mouth and it was a hundred million!"

    Everyone''s expression changed.

    No one had expected Jiang Kui to encounter such a situation, and they had certainly not realized her life was so tragic.

    "Only an idiot would give her the money!"

    Jiang Kui cursed out loud: "I have my own little brothers, I bought houses for my two brothers. Those twins are her and another man''s children, she never cared for us, why should I solve her problems when her family is in trouble? Where was she when my brother and I were starving? Where was she when my brother and I had to work at relatives'' houses just to eat? I don''t have your high education; I taught myself music, and only after I debuted did I start reading the books you all read years ago. Let me tell you, I am freaking awesome! Now that I''ve got some ability, she comes begging to me, asking me for money!"

    "It''s okay."

    Xia Fan hugged Jiang Kui, whispering softly, "Don''t cry."

    "We support you."

    Zhao Ying Ge came over with tissues to wipe Jiang Kui''s tears.

    Wei Haoyun also spoke up: "You don''t need to feel any burden."

    The singers from Yu Dynasty were actually quite close. Seeing Jiang Kui like this, everyone felt heartache.

    "I came from the mountains, I carried my two little brothers on my back, everyone praises me for being amazing, I have real talent, my singing is so beautiful, so many people love listening to my songs!"

    Jiang Kui wasn''t paying attention to what anybody else was saying, she just kept shouting by herself.

    The servers outside couldn''t help but peek inside, but were sent away with a look from Lin Yuan.

    "Only idiots would give money!"

    Jiang Kui used her sleeve to wipe the tears and shouted again, then grabbed a beer and started chugging.

    Sun Yaohuo nodded in agreement: "Exactly, only an idiot would give money."

    Chen Zhiyu saw where this was going, quickly snatched her beer away, and echoed in agreement:

    "Only idiots would give money, really."

    When Jiang Kui saw her beer taken away, she cried out even louder, standing up to snatch it back.

    Chen Zhiyu ran off.

    Jiang Kui was short and couldn''t reach it even when she jumped. Out of frustration, she climbed onto the table, then burst into laughter:

    "I am that idiot!"

    She laughed with tears streaming down her face, while everyone else froze, their expressions complex.

    "I am that idiot!"

    Jiang Kui finally got ahold of another can of beer, but just as she took a sip, she choked on it, coughing repeatedly.

    Crash.

    She bent over, and as a result, her foot slipped, causing her to fall down.

    "Ah!"

    Amidst everyone''s cries of alarm, Lin Yuan got up and caught her.

    "Lin Yuan!"

    Jiang Kui, oblivious to her near fall, just stared at Lin Yuan, calling his name for the first time.

    Everyone''s mouth hung open in shock.

    But Jiang Kui continued with another bombshell: "Zhao Ying Ge has a crush on you!"

    "Jiang Kui!"

    Zhao Ying Ge''s face instantly turned beet red.

    "She lusts after your body!"

    Jiang Kui didn''t care about Zhao Ying Ge''s feelings, the words of a drunk lacked any sense: "Xia Fan said that when you were in junior high..."

    "Shut up!"

    Xia Fan quickly covered Jiang Kui''s mouth.

    "Mmm mmm!"

    Jiang Kui struggled uncomfortably.

    Xia Fan hesitated to let go, but when she did, Jiang Kui threw up all over Lin Yuan.

    Instantly, the room fell silent.

    Everyone looked nervously at Lin Yuan, a bit inexplicably scared.

    "Don''t let her drink next time."

    Lin Yuan said nonchalantly, then said, "Xia Fan, take her home."

    "Alright."

    Xia Fan breathed a sigh of relief and responded quickly.

    Jiang Kui was still shouting: "Let me introduce myself, I''m the idiot..."

    Sun Yaohuo suddenly got heated:

    "It''s just money, so give it to her. I''ll take you to make big money from now on. Xia Fan, you''re busy, I''ll take her home later. What a mess over some petty issue, and you vomited all over your junior!"

    Everyone cast odd glances at Sun Yaohuo.

    Lin Yuan spoke up: "Well, that''s it then, let''s call it a night."

    Chen Zhiyu called out: "I''ll buy you some clothes..."

    "Wear mine, they''re new; make do for now, junior."

    Sun Yaohuo took off his outer jacket and handed it to Lin Yuan.

    Everyone: "..."

    In the end, everyone went their separate ways.

    Wearing Sun Yaohuo''s jacket, Lin Yuan sat in the car, looking at the receding scenery, and suddenly hummed a tune softly.

    From the driver''s seat.

    The driver silently turned off the car stereo and, listening to the humming from behind, his expression subtly shifted.

    "You are Diao..."

    "You are a free bird..."

 Chapter 802 - 762 Diao

    Jiang Kui woke up at noon the next day.

    She had a bit of a headache after the hangover.

    She shouldn''t have drunk so much last night.

    Last night¡ª

    As if she had just remembered something, Jiang Kui suddenly sat up!

    "Ah!"

    She screamed, her hands vigorously rubbing her hair!

    Some people have no recollection of what happened after getting drunk; others, after sobering up, can roughly remember what they did...

    Jiang Kui belonged to the latter.

    She remembered pouring her heart out to her best friend about her recent troubles, remembered climbing onto a table in a drunken frenzy, and even more distinctly remembered vomiting all over Teacher Admirable Fish...

    That''s right!

    Did she also blurt out the fact that Zhao Ying Ge has a crush on Teacher Admirable Fish?

    Wait!

    Did she actually call Teacher Admirable Fish by his name yesterday?

    "It''s over, it''s over, it''s over..."

    Jiang Kui was completely in a panic, her face burning with embarrassment even though there was no one else around, wishing she could just crawl into a hole!

    Isn''t it good to be alive!?

    What on earth did I do!

    Jiang Kui hurriedly grabbed her phone, and just as she turned it on, she received a bunch of messages.

    Wei Haoyun: [If you''re short on cash, tell sis, I''ll lend you some.]

    Zhao Ying Ge: [Jiang Kui, I''m gonna fight you!]

    Xia Fan: [(smile) (smile) (smile)]

    Chen Zhiyu: [Beautiful, do you remember what happened last night? (sinister)]

    Sun Yaohuo: [I give up, it''s just a billion yuan. I''ll help you with your financial problem, did you really have to puke on your junior?]

    It was true!

    Jiang Kui''s face turned pale!

    Just then, her phone buzzed.

    Teacher Admirable Fish: [You are late.]

    Whoosh!

    Jiang Kui threw her phone out as if it were a death warrant!

    Oh no!

    She had forgotten she had to record a song today!

    The next moment.

    She jumped out of bed, not even caring that she put her shoes on the wrong feet, and rushed into the bathroom to wash up at breakneck speed!

    Half an hour later.

    Jiang Kui was lingering outside Lin Yuan''s office door, dragging her feet, not daring to enter.

    "Whoo!"

    After giving herself a strong pep talk, Jiang Kui gathered the courage to push the door and enter.

    Inside the office.

    Lin Yuan was looking down at his phone; upon hearing the noise, he looked up at Jiang Kui.

    "I was wrong!"

    Jiang Kui bowed deeply, her head lowered, not daring to look at Lin Yuan''s face, the image of "bowing down to the boss.gif"

    "I''ve changed your song."

    Lin Yuan acted as if nothing had happened, took out a sheet of lyrics and music, and casually opened a demo track.

    Jiang Kui, still stunned, lifted her head to take the sheets.

    At that moment.

    The room was filled with the demo Lin Yuan had previously recorded: "Diao lives in a faraway place..."

    As the lyrics played one by one.

    The nervousness and tension on Jiang Kui''s face gradually vanished, replaced by a rising admiration from the bottom of her heart.

    When the demo ended.

    Jiang Kui suddenly spoke, her tone quivering slightly:

    "This song..."

    "The song is called ''Diao.'' Can you sing it?"

    "Yes!"

    "Then go practice it, and get it recorded in the next couple of days."

    "Okay." S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Jiang Kui nodded seriously and resolutely, but her eyes had unknowingly reddened, despite the fact that they were already swollen from last night''s tearful breakdown.

    "Thank you, Teacher Admirable Fish!"

    "You can call me Lin Yuan."

    Jiang Kui''s knees nearly buckled, almost sending her to the ground.

    She practically fled the office.

    As she closed the door behind her, a light suddenly shone in her heart.

    ...

    At the end of July.

    The hottest news on the internet was about the upcoming Bluelympics in August.

    Conversely.

    The season''s chart naturally made for a lively scene, after all, it was a preview of the Bluelympics!

    This month, the fan support songs for each continent gained plenty of attention!

    All these songs came from the hands of Xian Yu.

    Because of this,

    Despite the Bluelympics being in full swing, Xian Yu''s name was still repeatedly mentioned!

    "Fish Papa is truly invincible this July!"

    "Speaking of which, August is coming."

    "Xian Yu''s path to twelve consecutive championships will face a new round of challenges."

    "I wonder what song Fish Papa will bring in August."

    "I guess the news will come out soon."

    "There''s no official promotion spot in August, so the competition should be pretty intense."

    "Quick, look at Starlight''s official announcement, the info on Fish Papa''s new song is out!"

    "..."

    With some reminders, netizens hurriedly clicked on Starlight''s official announcement:

    [Xian Yu''s new song in August will be a collaboration with Jiang Kui, who will officially vie for the title of Song Queen this August!]

    The official announcement had a picture, Xian Yu''s poster on the left, and Jiang Kui''s poster on the right.

    At that moment,

    Everyone saw through Starlight''s promotional intentions!

    "Is Fish Papa helping Jiang Kui to strive for the title of Song Queen?"

    "Jiang Kui''s professional stats are really high, it seems she''s just a bit short of becoming Song Queen. If Fish Papa can continue to top the charts in August, then it shouldn''t be a problem for Jiang Kui to become Song Queen!"

    "Jiang Kui has had a tough life."

    "Jiang Kui''s singing talent is really strong. You know, she taught herself to sing. Originally a street performer, she was scouted by a Star Scout from Starlight and entered the company. Then she met Xian Yu, and her career skyrocketed!"

    "Jiang Kui doesn''t have formal training?"

    "Somehow there are people who don''t know. Jiang Kui has mentioned her past in many interviews. A girl from the mountains, her father died, her mother remarried, and she had to make a living outside with her two younger brothers. Her experience is particularly inspiring!"

    "I can''t believe she''s already aiming for the title of Song Queen!"

    "I remember an entertainment show once showed pictures of Jiang Kui when she was young, emaciated and holding her two younger brothers. It was really heartbreaking to see, that''s when I started following her!"

    "..."

    In the internet era, information is transparent.

    As the highest-rated singer of the Yu Dynasty, Jiang Kui''s past was dug up by many reporters after she became famous.

    After much digging, the public became informed.

    When Jiang Kui participated in some interviews, she also revealed some of her past.

    Previously not much discussed, but as Jiang Kui started aiming for the title of Song Queen, these old stories were again dug up by netizens.

    Inspirational stories are always something people enjoy discussing.

    Otherwise, shows like "The Voice" wouldn''t tirelessly craft tear-jerking stories.

    While everyone was discussing Jiang Kui,

    Suddenly, new explosive news appeared online:

    "There''s a big scoop circulating in the industry recently, Jiang Kui''s mother demanded one billion from her and filled her husband''s accounts with it. They say her mother made a scene at Starlight trying to get the money, completely cleaning out Jiang Kui!"

    The affairs of stars can never stay hidden.

    The commotion caused by Jiang Kui''s mother at Starlight ultimately attracted some attention. Celebrity family issues always have a strange allure to the public.

    At first, it was just rumors.

    Many people considered it boring, false gossip.

    Jiang Kui isn''t a fool, how could she possibly agree to her mother''s outrageous demands?

    But by that evening,

    The reports from journalists were already quite detailed!

    They included everything about Jiang Kui''s mother, who remarried and neglected her children, but then came back begging her daughter to bail out her new husband''s debts, even listing a series of compelling evidence from sources unknown...

    After reading the reports,

    Netizens were shocked!

    The hell, this is actually true?

    "One billion?"

    "She really gave it?"

    "To a mother who didn''t care about her and her brothers?"

    "My god, how can a mother be so heartless?"

    "The mother didn''t care when her daughter was struggling, but now she comes asking for money, moral blackmailing too?"

    "If it were me, I would never give!"

    "Damn, I can''t believe this outrageous news is true!"

    "Her mother doesn''t dare to accept interviews, claiming she owes her daughter, but damn, what she owes is more than just one billion!"

    "Insiders can responsibly tell everyone that Jiang Kui''s assets are definitely not one billion. Without additional business interests, a top singer can''t make that much. She must have borrowed money to fill this gap."

    "Damn!"

    "As a daughter, how could her mother ignore her for so many years without a care? If it were me, I would be heartbroken!"

    "..."

    Netizens were completely flabbergasted!

    This girl is really naive!

    Suddenly, Jiang Kui''s story spread wide and far!

    Amongst the sighs and sentiments of countless netizens, August finally arrived...

    The song "Diao" was officially released!

 Chapter 803 - 673: The First Diva of the Yu Dynasty is Born

    Xian Yu aimed for eight consecutive championships.

    Jiang Kui aimed to become the Queen of Singing!

    When a song is bestowed with two significant meanings, the expectation and curiosity from the public about this work are tremendously high¡ª

    Not to mention, Jiang Kui''s news was everywhere in recent days.

    And it wasn''t just the general public.

    Following the release of "Diao," insiders also cast their attentive gazes.

    Even among the famous Kings and Queens of Singing from Blue Star.

    After all, this involved whether a new name would emerge in the upper echelon of Blue Star''s music pyramid.

    Like the proud white swan from "The Masked Singer":

    Queen Shu Yu.

    Shu Yu had once vied with Jiang Kui for the championship position in "Our Song."

    Although Shu Yu ultimately won the championship, Jiang Kui, as her opponent at the time, left a deep impression on her.

    In this junior, she vaguely saw the shadow of her younger self.

    Especially when she saw the recent explosive news about Jiang Kui.

    The sentiments in her heart were probably deeper than anyone else''s, and the reasons for this were likely clear only to her.

    This gave her an inexplicable urgency.

    An urgency to hear this new song by Jiang Kui.

    For this, she waited until midnight, the moment the song was released.

    Click play.

    With that action, an exotic prelude sounded from the speakers.

    Hey ya yi ya yi yo...

    As the prelude paused briefly, a ethereal and clear voice suddenly rang out by Shu Yu''s ears:

    "Diao~

    Living in a faraway place

    Perching on the mountain top like a vulture

    Diao~

    The temple gates are flooded with sunlight

    Brew a pot of sweet tea, and we chat about the past

    ¡­"

    Shu Yu''s gaze rippled slightly, and a sudden query stirred in her heart.

    Who is Diao?

    Perhaps listening further would provide an answer:

    "Diao

    You always dress like a boy, sturdier than a tundra rose

    Diao

    The hypocrites have a thousand kinds of laughter, when you descend the mountain, remember to bring your knife¡­"

    The singing continued.

    Continuing the story about Diao:

    "Under the gray brim of your hat, your sunken cheeks, you speak little, simple answers

    Where is tomorrow? Who will care for you? Even if you die on the road¡­"

    Connecting it to Jiang Kui herself, the answer gradually became clearer.

    "Diao, will you have a full meal tomorrow, you''re accustomed, loneliness is a belief; Diao, you won''t be smoothed by reality, you are not of this world, no need to care about the truth¡­"

    Diao is Jiang Kui. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "A life fraught with difficulties, obsessed yet indifferent, waving goodbye to youth, countless stations, willing to be ordinary yet not content with a mediocre defeat, you are Diao¡­"

    Is Diao just Jiang Kui?

    Shu Yu continued to ponder, but the song suddenly soared clear and high, as if piercing through the clouds:

    "You are a free bird!"

    This high note was a perfect cathartic release!

    Shu Yu finally found her answer in the song.

    Diao is Jiang Kui, but also herself, and indeed, myriad others who have struggled earnestly in life!

    In the unceasing song.

    Shu Yu revealed a trace of a smile.

    She suddenly let go of everything and simply indulged in the song: "Accepting exile and confusion as freedom, like the wind blowing over a rugged, uneven path, dancing steps stretch on¡­"

    At the same time.

    The clear and penetrating voice of Jiang Kui resonated in the ears of countless listeners, affecting all those who followed her and the seasonal charts.

    In that moment.

    Everyone''s hearts were fiercely shaken!

    ¡­

    In the industry.

    Listening to this song, all the Kings and Queens of Singing suddenly realized a fact:

    "Blue Star is about to gain another Queen of Singing."

    "The Diao she mentions is clearly herself!"

    "After hearing Jiang Kui''s story, I just thought she was foolish, but after hearing this song, I suddenly admired her. She was just using the money to clear the boundaries between herself and her mother, after all, it was her mother who gave her life, and life is priceless. No one should judge her as a fool from their own perspective."

    "Even though it''s not a particularly stirring melody, it filled me with strength."

    "This is a song that only Jiang Kui could sing!"

    "Xian Yu chose Jiang Kui because only she could become one with this song. No matter how others sing it, they are just looking on from an outsider''s perspective, but Jiang Kui can sing herself into the character of the story."

    ...

    In the industry.

    Producers, composers, and others in the music circle were all feeling emotional.

    "There''s no suspense anymore."

    "This song has sung Jiang Kui''s entire story."

    "If it weren''t for Jiang Kui singing, it''s hard to say how the song would''ve done, but with her, this song will definitely take first place."

    "Anyone who has heard this song must truly feel for this girl."

    "There are always some fools in the world who make you laugh yet you can''t help but admire them."

    "This is probably one of the most perfect collaborations between a composer and a singer."

    "We can congratulate this young Queen of Singing in advance."

    ...

    Online.

    Netizens have been deeply shocked by this song!

    "So it turns out this song is about Jiang Kui!"

    "Cried listening to it..."

    "It''s really, really, really good listening!"

    "After seeing the news about Jiang Kui and hearing this song, I was really shocked. I didn''t expect her to sing such a song this time. Becoming the Queen of Singing is the best reward for her, it''s just fantastic!"

    "Even though not every line hits the high notes, I heard the loudest shouts between the lines."

    "I always feel it''s pretentious to say a song moved me, but this time I was truly touched by her. I hope this brave and resilient girl can achieve all the happiness in life!"

    "Tears in my eyes, Jiang Kui sang with all her heart!"

    "Honestly, she sang right into my heart. She''s not foolish; she just cherishes her feelings too much, even if all that''s left is the bond of blood..."

    "Those who have been through similar experiences can really resonate. There are many Diao''s in this world, like me. I''ll learn to be as strong as her, she is my role model!"

    "''You are Diao, you are a free bird,'' this line really hits hard!"

    ...

    Perhaps there were doubts in the first few lines, but as the lyrics unfolded layer by layer and as the singing became more captivating, everyone grasped the essence of this song.

    This is a song Xian Yu tailored just for Jiang Kui!

    Her efforts, her strength, her entire past, all echoed through the melody and lyrics in the hearts of countless people!

    Just as the professionals commented.

    This song topping the charts in August is a foregone conclusion, just as Jiang Kui will fit the final piece to become the Queen of Singing with this song!

    It''s not that the song''s quality is impeccable.

    It''s just that this song captures Jiang Kui and then infects countless listeners, and even if it may not be a very widely sung song, it still holds a very important place in people''s hearts!

    Then someone noticed:

    The singers of the Yu Dynasty, including Xian Yu himself, had all shared this song on their blogs.

    This is a silent strength.

    They didn''t say anything but expressed their support for Jiang Kui through their actions.

    This is the Yu Dynasty; they might quarrel and vie for Xian Yu''s songs usually, but when someone faces a crisis, they are surprisingly united!

    And when dawn came.

    The relevant news was rampant!

    "Xian Yu''s New Song Again Tops the Seasonal Chart!"

    "Jiang Kui''s New Song Released, Making Countless Netizens Cry!"

    "The First Queen of Singing Born in the Yu Dynasty: Jiang Kui!"

    "Jiang Kui Crowned in the Singing World, Xian Yu May Take Eight Champions in a Row!"

    "No Suspense in the Seasonal Chart, No Doubt in the New Song Topping, Did You Truly Understand Jiang Kui''s New Song?"

    "Diao, You Are a Free Bird!"

    "..."

    On the seasonal chart, "Diao" led by a significant margin in downloads, occupying the number one spot this month. Without any surprise, Xian Yu had achieved his goal of eight consecutive titles, but the fervor around Jiang Kui as she became the queen was so intense it even slightly overshadowed the discussion about Xian Yu likely clinching his eighth consecutive title this month!

    Jiang Kui...

    Crowned in the Singing World!!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Asking for monthly votes at the end of the month. At the start of the month, I wrote smoothly, but by the end, both updates and my state were a bit off, looks like an old problem of Polluted White. This kind of block wouldn''t last too long, I will adjust it next month, and it coincides with double vote period, I''m shamelessly asking for your votes although it''s a bit embarrassing...

 Chapter 804 - 674 The Bluelympics Begins

    Jiang Kui was crowned Queen of Singing!

    This is a big deal for the entire music industry!

    After all, there''s only a limited total number of Kings and Queens of Singing across all the continents, and every time Blue Star hails a new King or Queen, it creates a powerful impact on the existing form and pattern of the industry''s singers!

    Especially for the other singers of the same level.

    You see, Jiang Kui now possesses the qualifications to compete with them¡ª

    There is competition in every industry.

    Of course, it''s the same for singers, and even more fierce.

    For example, when Maestro composers release new songs, they will undoubtedly prioritize Kings and Queens of Singing, as these singers are best able to showcase the value of the composer''s work.

    And, Kings and Queens of Singing are one of the market guarantees.

    The more Kings and Queens, the smaller the chance for each individual.

    Then there''s the competition for endorsements.

    If Jiang Kui was just a top-tier singer, the top brands of Blue Star wouldn''t consider her.

    Even though everyone in the industry knows that with Jiang Kui''s level, plus having the backing of Xian Yu, becoming a Queen was only a matter of time, it didn''t matter.

    Capitalists don''t like to settle, even less to make concessions.

    As long as Jiang Kui doesn''t meet the rigid standards of a Queen of Singing, she''s not considered a true Queen, and she won''t win the favor of top brands.

    One must admit.

    Certainly, many capitalists are shameless.

    But on some matters, they care more about face than anyone, such as the choice of an endorsement representative.

    The more prestigious the endorser, the more prestigious their brand seems.

    So, without the status of a King or Queen of Singing, they wouldn''t even glance at you.

    But now it''s different.

    Since Jiang Kui was crowned Queen of Singing, her value has skyrocketed!

    Amid a plethora of congratulations and celebrations, top businesses have already started contacting Starlight, offering Jiang Kui endorsement deals!

    Major brands have this kind of keen instinct.

    Along with her rising fame from being crowned Queen, Jiang Kui''s ability to drive sales can no longer be compared to before!

    In short, there are many similar benefits.

    Even the ratio of business revenue split for both Jiang Kui personally and the company will increase.

    It can be said that there is a qualitative leap in all aspects!

    This is the influence of a Queen of Singing!

    The so-called Queen is not just an empty title, especially in Blue Star, where the entertainment and arts atmosphere is extremely rich!

    And at the same time Jiang Kui was crowned Queen of Singing,

    A glaring fact was laid before everyone:

    All of Jiang Kui''s representative works in her singing career so far were written by Xian Yu!

    In other words:

    Jiang Kui is a Queen of Singing completely built up by Xian Yu!

    No one can deny it!

    Don''t forget, one of the three major criteria for a composer to become a Maestro on Blue Star is to have brought up two Kings or Queens of Singing!

    Now that Xian Yu has brought up a Queen,

    All he needs is to bring up another King or Queen, and he will naturally claim the badge of Maestro!

    And Xian Yu is still on a streak for twelve consecutive championships!

    Moreover, he''s already at eight in a row; if he does manage to achieve twelve consecutive championships, he can also become a Maestro!

    This means that Xian Yu''s distance to the Maestro badge has been dramatically shortened!

    You don''t need to analyze to come to a conclusion.

    Even netizens slow to react have gradually realized what Jiang Kui''s crowning as Queen of Singing means through countless discussions.

    "Is Fish Papa adopting a dual-track strategy?"

    "That''s insane!"

    "This is like double insurance, even if the twelve consecutive championships fall through, he can still reach for the Maestro title by bringing up another King or Queen!"

    "It looks like by next year, Blue Star will hail its youngest Maestro ever!"

    "Even if the twelve consecutive championships fail, Fish Papa can still easily become a Maestro."

    "Honestly, twelve consecutive championships is too hard; I was already surprised by the eight in a row."

    "That''s true."

    "..."

    On the surface, Xian Yu had already won eight consecutive championships.

    But everyone knew. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The path to a twelve-win streak for Xian Yu would only get tougher as it progressed.

    Especially the battle of the gods in December, who knows what would happen!

    By comparison.

    Boosting another King of Singing or Queen of Singing instead became a shortcut for Xian Yu to compete for the title of Maestro!

    In terms of difficulty, the two were worlds apart!

    Lin Yuan himself had realized this point as well.

    If he failed to achieve the twelve-win streak, bringing up another King or Queen of Singing could also make him a Maestro.

    But...

    Lin Yuan was not willing.

    It wasn''t that he was unwilling to promote another King or Queen of Singing; he just didn''t want to give up on the road to the twelve-win streak.

    An eight-win streak, a rhythm of supremacy.

    Who would want to be stopped at such a time?

    So, in Lin Yuan''s view, only the twelve-win streak could best prove the worth of his title as Maestro.

    It was a misunderstanding on the part of the outsiders.

    Promoting Jiang Kui to become the Queen of Singing was not him preparing a fallback plan for failing to secure the twelve-win streak.

    But there was no need to explain such things to the public.

    Instead, Jiang Kui, to thank Lin Yuan, bought a pile of gifts and hung them all over herself to deliver to Lin Yuan''s office.

    Lin Yuan rifled through the gifts with anticipation.

    Jiang Kui had a curious expression on her face as she watched Lin Yuan go through the gifts before her.

    After going through the gifts, Lin Yuan''s face fell.

    "That..."

    Jiang Kui jumped, thinking Lin Yuan wasn''t satisfied, and tentatively said,

    "I don''t have much money now, but when I have some more time..."

    "How come there''s no egg yolk pastry?"

    Lin Yuan was a bit annoyed and cut her off.

    I''ve given you so many songs, and you can''t even make me egg yolk pastries to eat, not cool at all.

    The best egg yolk pastry Lin Yuan had ever tasted was made by Jiang Kui''s hands.

    Jiang Kui: "..."

    With a mix of laughter and tears, she said, "Then I''ll make you some later."

    "Make plenty."

    Lin Yuan was thinking of getting some for his sister as well.

    "Make plenty!"

    Jiang Kui nodded vigorously, then said somewhat nervously, "Can I ask Teacher Admirable Fish for a favor?"

    "What is it?"

    "At the beginning of next year''s music festival, I''d like Teacher Admirable Fish to go with me to receive the Queen of Singing trophy..."

    Jiang Kui had become the Queen of Singing.

    But the trophy would be awarded during the music festival ceremony.

    The event is an annual ritual of the Literature and Art Association, regarded by every musician as the highest temple of music, on par with the focus on the Dragon Awards of the film and television circle.

    "Sure."

    Lin Yuan agreed.

    He never attended such award ceremonies, but this year he definitely would go, and not just to accompany Jiang Kui to receive her Queen of Singing trophy, but also to bring home the Maestro award himself!

    This was Lin Yuan''s biggest goal for the year.

    Jiang Kui nodded excitedly.

    She walked away in little scurrying steps, humming the tune of "Diao" as she left the office, only the melody was different from the version she recorded.

    Her singing was very cheerful.

    And not long after Jiang Kui left, Lin Yuan turned on his computer¡ª

    The Bluelympics had started!

    Although he was not a sports fan, Lin Yuan had a deep involvement with the Bluelympics, and for a moment, he felt quite interested in watching the event.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: I need to think carefully about the plot below, abandoning all shame, and continue to ask for monthly tickets~

 Chapter 805 - 665: Life of Pi Comes

    Lin Yuan was really not a sports fan.

    Even at the Bluelympics, which took place every four years, he lost interest after just half an hour.

    He barely understood the rules.

    However, when the Qin Continent women''s volleyball team beat the Chu Continent team and advanced, Lin Yuan was quite happy.

    This was probably due to his natural sense of belonging to Qin Continent.

    Just then,

    Ol'' Zhou suddenly came over.

    Gu Dong was about to make tea for Ol'' Zhou, but Ol'' Zhou waved his hand, found a box of tea from the third cabinet on the right side of the office, and smiled broadly, "I knew there was a box of premium Pu-erh here."

    Gu Dong: "..."

    How are you so familiar with this place?

    Ol'' Zhou often visited Lin Yuan and knew the storage locations of different types of tea here as if it were his own home, but his visit today wasn''t for tea:

    "Our movie has started its promotions recently."

    He said while making tea for himself.

    Upon hearing this, Lin Yuan knew exactly which movie Ol'' Zhou was referring to.

    He currently had only one movie that hadn''t been released yet, "Life of Pi"!

    Speaking of which, the movie had indeed been delayed too long.

    Although the movie demanded high-quality special effects and had a long production cycle, it shouldn''t have taken as long as it did now.

    It was purely because the company hadn''t found a proper release slot and was involved in all sorts of other messy reasons like negotiating with cinemas for screening.

    There were many aspects involved in releasing a movie.

    Upon hearing this news, Lin Yuan was quite expectant:

    "Has the release date been set?"

    "Ten days from now, the cinema arrangements aren''t bad. The promotion started a while ago, and we have a broad setup for this movie. Considering the variety of movies on the market now, and the ongoing news about the Bluelympics everywhere, we don''t need to make too much of a fuss, just standard promotional efforts will do."

    "Good."

    Lin Yuan asked, "What do I need to do?"

    Ol'' Zhou said, "There''s not much to do, just cooperate with the blog for some promotion. The blog is putting in a lot of effort to maintain a good cooperation with us. As for the Tribe, we couldn''t agree on terms, and in the end, no cooperation was reached."

    "Tribe..."

    Lin Yuan raised an eyebrow.

    Ol'' Zhou pursed his lips: "Our relationship with the Tribe isn''t great. Negotiating business with them is a hassle, our chairman got annoyed by them, and in the end, he decided to ignore them, after all, Blue Star can operate just fine without them!"

    "It''s my fault."

    Lin Yuan knew why the Tribe wasn''t cooperating.

    Since "Life of Pi" was a film he scripted and invested in, and he had already publicly declared no further cooperation with the Tribe, a feud had developed between them.

    Given his background, it was normal for the Tribe to have reservations.

    Even though "Life of Pi" wasn''t solely his work but also that of the entire production team behind it.

    No matter how broad the involvement, they still held grudges.

    "It doesn''t matter, don''t blame yourself." S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Ol'' Zhou casually said, "If the Tribe won''t join, other platforms are willing. It''s just some commercial promotions after all, and there are many promotion channels; it doesn''t make a difference with or without them."

    Lin Yuan didn''t speak.

    He knew Ol'' Zhou was just trying to comfort him, things weren''t as easy as he stated.

    The Tribe was currently the social platform with the highest user volume.

    Having poor relations with the Tribe was inconvenient for Starlight.

    It seemed he needed to help increase the number of users on the blog again.

    The thought crossed Lin Yuan''s mind, knowing no one likes to feel restricted.

    Although it wasn''t possible to take down a mammoth capital like the Tribe, helping the blog to beat the Tribe and capture some of its market share wasn''t difficult, especially since Lin Yuan himself was a shareholder of the blog.

    In fact,

    With the help of the Three Bros, the blog''s situation had already improved significantly against the Tribe.

    These changes were intangible.

    Only those who monitored the daily traffic changes on the blog would notice the impact.

    As for the movie "Life of Pi," the time had indeed come when it had to be released.

    Lin Yuan hadn''t forgotten how he had been snubbed by the Dragon Awards.

    He was counting on this movie to conquer the Dragon Awards!

    If it weren''t released this year and postponed to the end of the year, it would be the Spring Festival slot, and a slew of high-investment movies would emerge.

    The competition would be fierce.

    The Spring Festival slot was always the most volatile time in the market, with too many uncertainties.

    Lin Yuan wasn''t entirely sure.

    This movie "Life of Pi" also wasn''t the type that could recklessly dominate the market; it still needed some strategic planning.

    Postponing it to next year was unacceptable.

    Because movies released next year would have to participate in the Dragon Awards the year after, and timing wouldn''t wait, not to mention that this movie was also linked to a specific System task.

    "You must have thoughts about the Dragon Awards, right?"

    Ol'' Zhou didn''t continue discussing the Tribe but instead brought up the Dragon Awards.

    Who in Qin, Chu, Yan, and Han didn''t know the jokes between Xian Yu and the Dragon Awards?

    Things like "The biggest award Xian Yu received at the Dragon Awards was for best music."

    And "Nobody can beat Xian Yu in music, and nobody can beat him in movies" and the like.

    The first statement was true.

    The latter was a jest about Xian Yu being a perennial runner-up at the Dragon Awards over the years.

    If it really came to reputation, Xian Yu''s movies, even the lowest-rated "Spiderman" on Starlight Network, far surpassed similar-genre films.

    Furthermore, the box office of these movies he scripted were never poor; all of them made a fortune with relatively low budgets, creating a perception in the industry that Xian Xu was adept at achieving great returns with small investments.

 Chapter 806 - 665: Life of Pi Part 2

    "Yes."

    Lin Yuan nodded, not denying it.

    He indeed wanted to achieve something at the Dragon Awards.

    The jokes and teasing online had indeed made him a bit depressed, and even angry to the point of puffing out his beard and glaring.

    But the real reason was that he had a related System task.

    Yes.

    The System task made it very clear, as long as he could win an award at the Dragon Awards, he would get a treasure chest and the offered Prestige Value was very enticing; as expected, the bigger the award, the higher the Prestige Value.

    "As expected."

    Ol'' Zhou smiled, "Actually, I felt that even without this next special movie, you could have achieved something at the Dragon Awards next year. ''Truman''s World'' really is a work worthy of making the Golden Dragon Awards bow down. It''s a pity the art film market was too bustling this year, and you faced quite a few competitors, especially that art film from Qi Continent..."

    Lin Yuan said, "Qi Continent, ''Nightfall''?"

    Ol'' Zhou nodded, "It seems you know about this film."

    At the beginning of the year, netizens were teasing Xian Yu about consistently being a runner-up at the Dragon Awards, which enraged Lin Yuan and he immediately demanded his company rush the release of ''Truman''s World''.

    After this film was released, the response from the audience was huge!

    Everyone believed that this film would definitely secure some major awards at the Dragon Awards, and Xian Yu would officially break the embarrassing position of consistently being a runner-up without winning major awards.

    However...

    In May this year, suddenly an art film from Qi Continent exploded.

    That film was called ''Nightfall''.

    After watching that film, the audience was stunned, ''Truman''s World'' obviously had met its match!

    The industry evaluation of ''Nightfall'' was too high!

    It could definitely compete with Xian Yu''s ''Truman''s World''!

    Even very likely causing Xian Yu to fail again at the Dragon Awards!

    Because ''Truman''s World'' still contained many elements of a drama.

    And ''Nightfall'', although not emotionally strong, had a richer artistic atmosphere!

    According to the tastes and standards of the Golden Dragon Awards judging committee over the years, a film like ''Nightfall'' seems to better fit the judges'' tastes!

    And as a part-time filmmaker, Lin Yuan, of course, also knew about ''Nightfall''.

    He still paid some attention to the movie market.

    Whenever there was a blockbuster release, he would be curious and even go to the cinema with his family to watch.

    Including the critically acclaimed ''Nightfall''.

    He had to admit, ''Nightfall'' truly was an excellent art film with various metaphors that could be interpreted from different perspectives, profound in meaning.

    Very meaningful and thought-provoking.

    If it came up against ''Truman''s World'', it could indeed achieve the effect of targeting Lin Yuan, causing him to miss out on the major awards once again.

    Keep in mind.

    In his past life, ''Truman''s World'' also didn''t stand out in terms of awards because it was released in a year of fierce competition.

    Those interested could check how many masterpieces were released that year.

    It''s also destiny.

    Blue Star still has many top artists.

    Ol'' Zhou smiled a bit slyly, "But none of them could have guessed you had prepared a fallback. The release of ''Truman''s World'' at the beginning of the year was just one of them."

    Yes.

    Lin Yuan had prepared a fallback!

    This film, ''Life of Pi'', was also an art film!

    An art film that led the Chinese director Ang Lee to win an Oscar for Best Director!

    Compete in metaphors?

    How many films have more metaphors than this one?

    Interpretations?

    ''Life of Pi'', which millions of people had interpreted in countless ways, even sparking massive controversies, was not a joke.

    This was a film tailor-made for winning awards!

    The major awards at the Dragon Awards were something Lin Yuan was determined to win!

    Moreover, even if only ''Truman''s World'' was released, who would win was still uncertain, as tastes are the most mysterious.

    With ''Truman'' in his left hand and ''Life of Pi'' in his right.

    Double insurance.

    After discussing the situation of the films with Ol'' Zhou, Lin Yuan logged onto his blog account.

    Just as Ol'' Zhou had said.

    There was already some promotion for ''Life of Pi'' on his blog, but its influence had not yet spread.

    "Share."

    Lin Yuan proceeded to share the promotion and added an official-looking tagline:

    "The new movie is about to be released, please look forward to it."

    He didn''t need to say much, the promotion itself already provided some information about the movie.

    [Xian Yu''s brand new movie "Life of Pi: An Extraordinary Voyage" is about to be released.]

    [Did you know, he survived 229 days at sea with a tiger!]

    [A survival challenge drifting on the sea: The untold story between Pi and the tiger!]

    [The highest-budgeted work among Xian Yu''s screenplays: A fantasy masterpiece that will shake your soul!]

    [...]

    A sea survival challenge!

    This was the apparent theme of the movie.

    Actually, the film had deeper themes internally, but they couldn''t be outright stated in the promotion.

    You can''t exactly say in the promotion how many metaphors this movie has...

    These elements must be discovered by the audience within the movie itself to be meaningful, otherwise, the surprise would be lost.

    And as Xian Yu also began promoting, the movie finally garnered widespread attention!

    The comment section became lively:

    "Survival at sea? Not interested. What? Fish Papa''s movie? Hmm, survival at sea sounds fun."

    "Hahaha, the comment above is so true!"

    "Looks like Fish Papa has completely given up on the Dragon Awards, new movie and it''s not an art film!"

    "Wasn''t his previous ''The Truman Show'' a kind of art film? I think that movie could have won Fish Papa some Dragon Awards."

    "It''s not as simple as you think."

    "Why? Wasn''t that movie good?"

    "The movie was indeed good and could indeed have won Dragon Awards, but this year ''Nightfall'' was too popular, I feel that it will be the favorite at next year''s Dragon Awards."

    "Have to admit, ''Nightfall'' was indeed great." sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Who needs the Dragon Awards? The excellence of Fish Papa''s films doesn''t need awards to prove it."

    "In my heart, ''The Truman Show'' is the best."

    "About this new film by Fish Papa, I can imagine the plot: Pi and the tiger outsmarting sharks, eventually feasting on shark meat and drinking their blood!"

    "Sounds like a big special effects commercial movie."

    "Pi? The protagonist is a guy? No bikini beauties? Fish Papa really doesn''t follow the usual patterns! Aren''t these types of movies supposed to have a great white chasing the male protagonist and several bikini girls, providing all kinds of benefits along the way?"

    "..."

    The audience took this movie as one of those sea shark-fighting commercial films, which are quite common in the market.

    A commercial film, indeed.

    These kinds of movies generally feature a brave and clever hero, plus one or two buffoons, and a few vase-like bikini girls.

    The buffoons are there to drag things down, making the hero look awesome.

    The bikini girls scream, get scared witless by the shark, then have their clothes ripped, providing a feast for the audience''s eyes, and finally, the hero saves them to find love amidst the disaster.

    A few people might even die in the process to augment the atmosphere of despair.

    Anyway, that''s how these commercial movies are usually made.

    The difference in the routine of Lin Yuan''s movie was that it didn''t mention bikini girls and long legs, just the protagonist and a tiger on the ocean, and it was uncertain whether the tiger was male or female, but if it was male, it definitely needed to be kept in a zoo.

    Was this meant to stage a battle between the land''s alpha and the king of the seas?

    The protagonist in charge of commanding the tiger?

    Everyone''s thinking had already gone off track.

    Their imagined scenario was miles apart from the content of the movie.

    But Starlight didn''t explain.

    Letting them think so wasn''t a problem, after all, it sounded fresh.

    This was the gimmick.

    If they told the audience it was actually an art film, probably the anticipation would diminish.

    From any angle, a commercial film drew more attention from viewers than the rare art film.

    Only when the audience walked into the cinema would they find:

    This movie was actually far beyond their imagination!

    An extreme horror series!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Quietly filling the plot hole, finally got to this movie, asking for monthly votes on the last day.

 Chapter 807 - 766: Before the Movie Viewing

    After the promotion of the movie began, it didn''t matter how high the expectations were pulled, at the very least it caught the attention of many people. Aside from Xian Yu''s own fans, internet users interested in this type of movie had already become the potential consumer group for the box office¡ª

    "Adventure."

    "Big investment."

    "Special effects movie."

    These were the initial impressions the promotion gave to everyone, and it actually wasn''t strange to conclude from these impressions that this movie was a commercial film, especially after Xian Yu had filmed "Spiderman." Everyone knew that this crossover player was also skilled at making commercial films; after all, it was rare for art films to have investments of several hundred million. Using normal logic, which company would dare to bet so much money on the success or failure of an art film?

    And this conclusion of the internet users was also the conclusion of the creative team behind "Nightfall."

    The movie named "Nightfall" was a work of Qi Continent from the Blue Star Film Pantheon.

    After the movie was released, it received a wave of positive reviews.

    Many people said that "Nightfall" would reap huge rewards at the Dragon Awards, including the inner belief of the movie''s creative team.

    "It seems Xian Yu has already given up on next year''s Dragon Awards."

    Director An Xu of "Nightfall" said with a smile. He was one of the most famous art film directors in Qi Continent and had won Best Director at the Dragon Awards eight years ago, making him a significant figure in the film industry.

    "Even if his new film continues to be an art film, we still don''t need to worry."

    The head screenwriter of the movie, Jiang Zhu, followed with a laugh. Jiang Zhu and An Xu were old partners.

    Eight years ago, the screenwriter for An Xu''s film that won Best Director was Jiang Zhu.

    However, An Xu''s films were director-centered, with screenwriter Jiang Zhu in a subordinate position.

    "I''m just playing it safe."

    An Xu''s eyes flashed with admiration and he said, "That ''The Truman Show'' at the start of the year was excellent. It''s amazing that Xian Yu could write such a script. If his new movie were also an art film, then I really wouldn''t dare to take it lightly."

    An Xu recognized "The Truman Show."

    No matter whether this movie could win the ultimate award or not, it could not change the fact that the movie was a classic. After all, awards are not the only standard for measuring whether a movie is good or bad, just as box office cannot represent everything.

    In fact.

    Even if Xian Yu had only released "The Truman Show," an art film this year, it would still be taken seriously by An Xu and Jiang Zhu.

    This movie was still the strongest competitor for "Nightfall" at the Dragon Awards.

    "His creative energy is very robust, and the quality of each script is notable. I truly admire that, but your concerns are still superfluous. Art film scripts aren''t that easy to write. ''The Truman Show'' at the beginning of the year was a rare gem. I don''t believe he could produce another of this type. His new film taking a commercial route is within my expectations," Jiang Zhu analysed calmly.

    An Xu''s mouth curled up slightly, "I''ll be free in a few days. How about we go watch Xian Yu''s new movie together?"

    Jiang Zhu nodded, "I was thinking the same."

    Xian Yu now held a certain status in the film circle, and his peers in the industry were curious about his movies.

    "By the way."

    Jiang Zhu suddenly said, "It seems the genre of Xian Yu''s new movie has left some film critics quite dissatisfied. Some of them have such a prejudice against commercial films that I have to consider their views when I think about writing a commercial script..."

    "There''s a bunch of pretentious literati among the film critics."

    An Xu scoffed, as he was not only a director of art films capable of winning the Best Director at the Dragon Awards¡ªhow could he possibly only make art films?

    He also had some commercial works to his name, including some that were big box-office hits.

    Pure art film directors have difficulty winning the Dragon Awards, because box office is also one of the considerations for the awards.

    "To make a commercial film is to fall from grace, those critics who say such things, I seriously doubt their professional integrity. Looks like Xian Yu''s ''Spiderman'' caused quite a backlash from some film critics. These people honestly don''t seem to want others to make money," An Xu said.

    "You have a point, I think I''ll also ignore them," Jiang Zhu spoke up. "However, Xian Yu''s commercial films are different from others. Even for a commercial movie like ''Spiderman,'' he added his own thoughts and understanding, which is something I should learn from. Let''s see how he does with his new film, it might bring me some interesting inspiration."

    People from Qi Continent in the film industry still have a strong spirit of learning.

    That''s probably also why Qi Continent is the Blue Star Film Pantheon.

    Of course.

    The reason the two could chat so easily and happily in the end was because they both agreed that Xian Yu''s new movie was a commercial film, which did not pose a competitive threat to their "Nightfall."

    In this day and age.

    A big investment with high special effects in a commercial film, unless its box office explodes to a certain extent, would have difficulty competing with a work like "Nightfall," which had both critical acclaim and box office success, for the significant awards at the Dragon Awards.

    ...

    In the following days, the promotion of "Life of Pi" remained quite lively.

    There were indeed other films being promoted at the same time, but the name "Xian Yu" still carried weight in the hearts of movie fans.

    This was because Xian Yu''s name could now provide a certain quality assurance for movies.

    During the promotion process.

    Starlight also released a few minutes of promotional footage for the film!

    The promotional footage didn''t offer much in terms of content, focusing instead on special effects:

    A flying fish darting through the seabed...

    Jellyfish emitting a magnificent light...

    Dolphins leaping out of the water one after the other...

    Of course, there were also whales, as everyone imagined, but they appeared in groups, with one creature that resembled a whale causing countless waves to leap over a small boat...

    Below the whales.

    A tiger and a boy, one on the bow and one on the stern.

    It''s hard to imagine this being a sea disaster¡ªcould there be such a romantic survival at sea?

    All the scenes were breathtakingly beautiful!

    For those who like such lavish visuals, this kind of promotional footage was fatally attractive!

    "Such a beautiful ocean!"

    "The use of color is really amazing!"

    "The director is Qi Continent''s Du An, he and Xian Yu together, indeed, took the visual quality to the next level!"

    "I almost thought it was a documentary about the ocean!"

    "The visuals are stunning!"

    "I''m going to see this movie with my girlfriend, just not sure if the ticket checker will let me in."

    "Not let you in? Is your girlfriend made of some kind of silicone material?"

    "Xian Yu makes commercial films with a unique perspective. For example, when he directs a superhero movie, he focuses on the character''s inner growth rather than saving the world. It seems he''s taken the same approach with ''The Fantastic Voyage of Pi.'' While others make their stories thrilling with long legs and beach bikinis, his focus is on the beauty of the ocean!"

    "..."

    This trailer indeed attracted a lot of netizens.

    The director''s talent is so important, which is why Lin Yuan chose to work with renowned directors like Du An!

    If Yi Chenggong were to direct, he couldn''t make it more beautiful than Du An!

    Of course.

    Everyone has their own strengths. Yi Chenggong did a great job with ''The Truman Show.'' That movie didn''t need fancy visuals, just to convey the story well, which is Yi Chenggong''s forte.

    He is very skilled at bringing a script''s story to life.

    The precondition is that the script''s story has to be good in itself, which is precisely what Lin Yuan can satisfy.

    And so.

    August 7th arrived.

    The release date advertised in the movie trailers!

    That day.

    The major cinemas were bustling!

    An Xu, holding a movie ticket, was waiting for the film to start and also observing the crowd buying tickets in the lobby:

    "There really are a lot of people buying tickets."

    Jiang Zhu, who came to watch the movie with An Xu, laughed and said, "Xian Yu is very popular, and the quality of his movies has always been superb, so he''s naturally attracting more and more audiences."

    "Mhm."

    An Xu thoughtfully said, "Maybe one day Xian Yu will stand at the top of the movie industry''s food chain, becoming a force capable of challenging Zhong Continent."

    "Zhong Continent..."

    Jiang Zhu started to smile bitterly.

    Qi Continent might be Blue Star''s hall of cinematic fame, but all Blue Starian''s knew that the true center of art was Zhong Continent, which wasn''t considered in others'' calculations.

    Zhong Continent was too strong.

    In the past, everyone could ignore how strong Zhong Continent was, since each continent had cultural barriers. But a few years later, Zhong Continent would join the process of merging with other continents, and the entire artistic and cultural scene of Blue Star would become unified.

    At that time.

    How to compete with the genius minds of Zhong Continent was something every top-tier artistic talent on each continent had to consider.

    Meanwhile, as they chatted.

    The theater showing ''The Fantastic Voyage of Pi'' began checking tickets.

    "Let''s go."

    An Xu stepped forward. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Jiang Zhu followed, and they checked in together.

    Inside the theater, An Xu took his seat in the seventh row, a spot he had carefully chosen when buying his ticket.

    Jiang Zhu sat next to him.

    This was a top-tier screening hall, with superb 3D effects.

    In front of the audience was a gigantic screen, nearly thirty meters wide and twenty meters high!

    The sound system and other equipment, everything was top-notch!

    Such a premium theater was only used for blockbuster movies - a single ticket cost hundreds of yuan! Smaller budget films didn''t even qualify to be screened here.

    For instance, non-3D movies wouldn''t be shown in this hall.

    Furthermore.

    This hall also used glasses-free 3D effects, meaning audiences didn''t need to bother with wearing 3D glasses.

    It''s worth noting.

    Earth''s movie technology hadn''t reached the point of glasses-free 3D, with only Hollywood''s number one tech enthusiast Cameron tirelessly exploring this field.

    On Blue Star.

    Glasses-free 3D was nothing new for audiences, with 3D glasses becoming obsolete.

    But that''s not all.

    Beyond the glasses-free 3D effect, the seats in this hall were smart-enabled, adjusting to the movie''s atmosphere with even mild movements. However, this was a feature the audience could control, choosing to disable it if desired.

    The lighting in the theater wasn''t fixed, either.

    In short, normally only movies with an investment of over half a billion could afford such top-tier technology, which is why Blue Star''s big-budget VFX blockbusters were so successful at the box office ¨C watching them felt like being transported into the movie''s world!

    This was something low-budget films couldn''t match.

    It''s also worth mentioning that this was Lin Yuan''s first film equipped with such advanced Blue Star technology.

    In Ol'' Zhou''s words:

    This was Lin Yuan''s first time, and Blue Star had never seen an art film using this screening standard!

    And now.

    ''The Fantastic Voyage of Pi'' had officially begun!

    As the movie company logo flickered,

    All the audience members, including An Xu and Jiang Zhu, looked up at the immense screen.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thank you, [UPcoo] for the Alliance Hierarch''s reward. I bow to your generosity ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, and there''s one more chapter tonight. Begging for monthly tickets at the start of the month, it''s double rewards time!

 Chapter 808 - 767: This is Actually an Art Film

    The movie began.

    What first appeared before the audience was a wildlife zoo.

    It somewhat resembled a documentary about wildlife.

    Various animals appeared one after another.

    Because the movie effects were good enough, it made the audience feel as if they were touring the zoo.

    "Did you grow up in the zoo?"

    "I was born there too, in a small town in Han Continent..."

    Two people were chatting, and to the audience''s surprise, one of them was played by Jian Yi!

    The other wasn''t a well-known actor, but a nondescript man with dark skin.

    ...

    In the audience.

    "Memory?"

    An Xu immediately understood the intention of the film.

    Xian Yu''s "The Tuner" also started with a dialogue between two people and then unfolded through memories, which reassured An Xu even more.

    "The Tuner" was a suspense film.

    It also did well commercially.

    "The colors are very beautiful."

    Jiang Zhu''s attention was on the zoo seen earlier.

    The myriad of fascinating animals was interesting, which is why people like watching wildlife¡ªwild animals have a strange attraction to humans.

    ...

    On the giant screen.

    Two men were eating.

    Their relationship revealed itself through their conversation.

    Jian Yi played an ambitious writer who visited the man''s home for material for his book.

    He was a man who was very strict with his work, once destroying text that had taken him two years to write because he was dissatisfied with the story.

    He had heard:

    This man named Pi had ventured across the sea, and the process was bizarre, exciting, and almost unbelievable, making it perfect material for a novel''s story, so he sought out Pi.

    Pi did not refuse.

    He invited the writer to dine with him, then began to tell his story starting from his birth.

    The pace of the story was very slow.

    Pi spoke about his childhood, even his schooling experiences, and his family''s religious beliefs.

    ...

    It was strange.

    An Xu slightly furrowed his brows. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Pi''s recounting of his story seemed irrelevant to the adventure itself, which didn''t match the pace of a commercial film at all.

    Surely Xian Yu wouldn''t be unaware of the rhythm a commercial film should follow?

    Not right!

    A sudden realization dawned on An Xu; this didn''t appear to be a commercial film, at least not purely so.

    "It''s been almost half an hour."

    Jiang Zhu checked the time on his phone, his expression becoming a bit odd.

    The movie was promoted as a story about survival and adventure at sea, but nearly half an hour had passed and the sea adventure hadn''t even started?

    This pace was frighteningly slow!

    What exactly was Xian Yu trying to convey with this film?

    Jiang Zhu, an experienced screenwriter, didn''t believe Xian Yu would waste the limited runtime of a movie on pointless plots; surely there was something he wanted to express with such a long introduction.

    But the problem was...

    At this pace, it was very risky. The patience of the audience was limited, and everyone''s tolerance was almost at its limit!

    Indeed, it was crucial.

    An Xu and Jiang Zhu could clearly sense that the audience was becoming restless.

    Whispers began to rise in the theater.

    "So boring."

    "Why has it taken so long to get to the main point?"

    "This is nothing like what I imagined."

    "I could understand the part about the tiger¡ªPi was trying to show that tigers and humans can have emotions, but the rest of the introduction seemed a bit excessive..."

    "So dull, I''m about to fall asleep."

    "This movie by Xian Yu is a bit below standard."

    "Isn''t this buildup a bit too long?"

    "Who cares who Pi''s family members are."

    "His dad, mom, and brother have too much screen time."

    ...

    The audience was becoming dissatisfied.

    The movie spent half an hour recounting the story of Pi''s childhood and school days, including countless plots about his father, mother, and brother, which seemed utterly unrelated to the main theme of the film!

    And just as the audience was about to lose patience,

    the plot finally took a turn!

    Pi''s father suddenly announced one day that he had sold the zoo and was transporting the animals to Qin Continent across the ocean!

    Amid Pi''s dissatisfaction and confusion, his family set out to sea!

    An Xu and Jiang Zhu exchanged glances, both detecting the oddity in each other''s eyes.

    Clearly.

    Both realized that something was amiss with the movie, and it seemed very different from what they had imagined!

    Fortunately, it finally got to the main topic.

    ...

    On the giant screen.

    Pi and his family were on a ferry at sea.

    Countless animals on the ferry resided in the lowermost deck of the ship, which was as vast as a continent and resembled a fortress at sea, moving slowly but resolutely.

    That night.

    Pi couldn''t sleep and decided to go for a walk.

    Upon opening the cabin door, Pi discovered that a fierce wind was sweeping outside, and the sea was tumultuous with waves crashing against the ship!

    "A storm!"

    It was the first time Pi had seen such a spectacular scene. He waved his arms, letting the seawater drench him.

    Splash.

    He fell.

    He panicked momentarily but noticed that all the lights on the ship were on, and someone was shouting:

    "The cabin is taking on water!"

    Pi was terrified and wanted to wake his parents and family, but he fell again after taking just a couple of steps. The sailors had already lowered the lifeboats: "Old people and children first!"

    Suddenly, cries and shouts filled the air!

    Pi was almost pushed into a lifeboat by the sailors.

    He wanted to save his family, but the sailors stopped him because the situation was very dire, and amidst the chaos, the animals locked below deck had somehow managed to escape.

 Chapter 809 - 767: This is Actually an Art Film_2

    Boom!

    The zebra crashed into the lifeboat, snapping its tethering ropes. The white lifeboat fell into the sea and became adrift like a rootless weed.

    "Parker!"

    In the midst of the chaos.

    Pi saw a tiger also climb aboard the boat in the sea; Parker was the name Pi had given the tiger.

    In the midst of the disaster at sea.

    Humans and animals alike were following their instinct to survive!

    And when the storm calmed and daylight broke.

    Pi clung tightly to a pole on the lifeboat and climbed into the cabin.

    At that moment.

    A orangutan floated aboard on a bunch of bananas in the distance.

    This orangutan was also an inhabitant of the zoo, named Orange Juice.

    Suddenly.

    A hyena leaped out, aiming to attack Pi.

    It turned out that in the midst of the shipwreck, not only the zebra but also this hyena had made it aboard, and of course, the tiger that had hidden in the cramped boat cabin as well.

    Things just got lively.

    This tiny lifeboat was now occupied by various creatures.

    They were the zebra, which had broken its leg upon crashing into the boat, the orangutan that had floated aboard on bananas, the hyena that had come aboard at some unknown point, and the tiger that had retreated into the cabin upon boarding, and of course, the protagonist of the movie!

    The hyena bared its teeth and snarled.

    The zebra lay immobile.

    Sorrow filled the orangutan''s face.

    Pi was hiding at the bow of the boat.

    The tiger lurked in the shadows.

    On the cramped lifeboat, several different animals coexisted, along with a helpless human hiding at the bow. Adrift on the boundless sea, what kind of story would unfold between them?

    ...

    Pi was recounting the past events.

    The writer''s expressions changed, clearly captivated by the story.

    Meanwhile, in front of the screen.

    The audience gradually ceased their complaints, their gazes locked onto the giant screen.

    This tense and thrilling tale of shipwreck had almost made the audience forget the dreary thirty-minute lead-up. When the disaster struck, even their seats seemed to rock slightly, as if they too had just experienced a shipwreck!

    "What a bizarre scene!"

    "Four animals on a lifeboat, plus a spooked protagonist!"

    "When will the tiger come out?"

    "It''s making me so nervous!"

    "The zebra and orangutan are harmless, but this hyena clearly has aggressive intentions toward the protagonist!"

    "That hyena is going to end up dead by the tiger, isn''t it?"

    "The first half-hour was too boring, this part is a bit more interesting."

    "..."

    Familiar audience members conversed with each other; however, the discussions were barely audible over the movie''s background noise within the whole theater.

    "Sigh."

    An Xu let out a breath: "Such wild imagination."

    Past adventure stories always featured a group of people together, with men and women each playing their roles. But Xian Yu''s tale of survival at sea was of a bunch of animals on a boat with only one human protagonist.

    "The audience is hooked."

    Jiang Zhu glanced around, then spoke up.

    Not just the regular viewers, but her, a screenwriter, was drawn in by this astounding brainchild. Who wouldn''t be curious about what story might unfold on such an oddly assembled lifeboat?

    It should be noted...

    Land creatures at sea was already against logic, only a shipwreck that set all onboard animals loose could result in such an eerie and miraculous scene.

    And it was entirely a screenwriter''s wild imagination!

    Nevertheless, Jiang Zhu and An Xu still couldn''t make sense of why the first thirty minutes of the movie were such an extensive setup.

    No matter how they looked at it, those thirty minutes were boring.

    Compared to the current scenario, there seemed to be no significant connection, a hefty prefix that could have been cut, simplified into a setup completed within ten minutes.

    Meanwhile.

    The two of them found it hard to see the movie as just a simple commercial film anymore, for a commercial film wouldn''t be shot this way!

    For the time being, they did not dwell on this thought.

    Both of them, along with countless other viewers, were curious about the same question, which was how the protagonist would break the deadlock next?

    On the narrow boat.

    Four animals and one human¡ªcould they possibly coexist peacefully?

    Let alone the fact that among these animals were the vicious hyena and the fearsome tiger hidden in the shadows!

    Clearly.

    The intrigue had been established.

    Just then, an audience member gasped!

    ...

    On the giant screen.

    The hyena, unable to attack Pi hiding at the bow, turned and began to viciously bite the zebra!

    "No!"

    Pi had developed a deep bond with the animals from a young age, and his eyes reddened upon witnessing this scene, while the orangutan named Orange Juice violently attacked the hyena in an attempt to protect the zebra.

    Accompanied by a mournful cry, the zebra was killed by the hyena.

    At the same time.

    The orangutan knocked the hyena unconscious.

    However.

    The hyena regained consciousness after a few minutes and tore into the orangutan!

    The orangutan died as well.

    The audience was gripped with anguish.

    The hyena was too savage!

    Just then.

    A tiger''s roar filled the air.

    The tiger named Parker rushed out, biting the hyena to death before immediately turning towards Pi!

    Pi hastily retreated.

    The tiger''s attempt was thwarted as it growled at him, causing the audience to shudder! sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The pattern of wildlife coexistence was utterly destroyed!

    The zebra, the orangutan, and the hyena, all were dead!

    On the boat, only the tiger and the protagonist Pi remained!

    The fantastic voyage of the young Pi had, at this moment, truly begun!

    ...

    The audience''s eyes widened, thoroughly captivated by the plot!

    A brutal survival scenario unfolded before them in the wilderness, presented graphically to the audience!

    There was no melodramatic treatment, no heroic protagonist taming the hyena and tiger to lead the animals in a desperate fight for survival¡ªonly the law of nature''s survival of the fittest!

    The hyena was hungry!

    It couldn''t eat humans!

    So it wanted to eat the zebra and orangutan!

    The tiger was also hungry, so it killed the hyena!

    "The tiger is emotionless, regardless of whether it''s the hyena, the orangutan, or the zebra; they all could become its food, and Pi is its backup food. Once the animals are eaten, it will find a way to eat humans!"

 Chapter 810 - 767: This is Actually an Art Film_3

    "As a child, I steadfastly believed that animals have emotions."

    "Whether such wild animals have emotions is hard to say, but surviving at sea like this, such brutality is normal. To survive, the tiger would inevitably have to consume other animals. There was a scene set up in the first thirty minutes, where Pi''s father put it well¡ªanimals will always be animals. They only have their animal instincts, while humans possess humanity. That''s why when animals are hungry they eat other animals, but when people are hungry, they don''t eat people."

    "I''m too curious about the latter part of the story. How is Pi going to contend with the tiger?"

    "The promotion says Pi has to coexist with the tiger for over two hundred days. Wouldn''t the tiger have him down to his bones in that time?"

    "Little sister, ever heard of the protagonist''s halo?"

    "Let''s see how Xian Yu is going to resolve the upcoming plot."

    "..."

    Now, the audience was thoroughly enjoying themselves, having endured the boring set-up of the first half hour. The current scenes were quite interesting and anticipation for the storyline was high.

    How can a man coexist with a tiger for over two hundred days?

    Everyone was greatly curious about this.

    ...

    As the film progressed, An Xu was also thinking, but he considered much more than the average viewer!

    He wasn''t stupid!

    After about an hour into the movie, to still treat it as a normal commercial film would be foolish!

    It wasn''t that An Xu was slow to react.

    In fact, the monotonous set-up of the first thirty minutes had already made him realize that something was off about this film.

    He smelled something!

    It was the scent of an art film!

    An art film?

    Investing hundreds of millions, employing the highest level of production standards, only for Xian Yu to come out with an art film?

    An Xu felt his understanding of cinema had been greatly shaken!

    This was the reason he dared to be sure only now!

    Who would have the guts to do such a thing?

    To throw in so many hundreds of millions and bet on the profitability of an art film!?

    That''s crazy!

    Do you really think that with the approach of an art film, if you tell an interesting story, audiences will buy it!?

    Too greedy!

    Xian Yu wants both the reputation of art films and the box office of commercial films, so he made such a film!

    From boring to interesting ¨C a full hour!

    Only then did the film begin to enter into the rhythm of the story between man and tiger!

    How much of a ripple would the subsequent plot need to justify this investment?

    An Xu couldn''t dare imagine!

    And as An Xu fully came to his senses, Jiang Zhu also came back to reality. Her expression was one of shock, her tone filled with strong disbelief:

    "This is an art film!"

    An Xu''s gaze flickered:

    "Weakness is a sin, so even with the protection of a gorilla, a zebra with a broken leg has no chance against the hyenas, and the gorilla trying to protect the zebra is killed by the hyenas too. This proves that if you want to protect others, you must have the strength to do so; otherwise, you will just end up getting both of you killed."

    This wasn''t a difficult lesson to grasp.

    Jiang Zhu gradually understood the idea: "The hyenas represent evil forces, and the tiger represents an even greater evil force. This can be understood as a kind of ''dog-eat-dog'' scenario, where the wicked will ultimately be consumed by something even more wicked. But isn''t that too simple?"

    This is an art film! S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Recognizing the essence of the film, many scenes couldn''t just be taken at face value and should instead be considered from a deeper and more comprehensive perspective. However, this level of contemplation seemed insufficient for an art film''s exploration of depth and substance.

    "Xian Yu is too greedy and too hasty this time."

    An Xu shook his head: "The film already has bugs."

    "What bug?"

    Jiang Zhu''s gaze slightly sharpened.

    An Xu said, "Think about how the gorilla got on the boat before. It boarded using floating bananas. Setting aside whether bananas can float in the sea, even if the bananas could float, do you think they could carry the weight of a gorilla?"

    Jiang Zhu''s eyes widened!

    Yes!

    A gorilla weighing hundreds of pounds, how could the bananas carry it?

    There really is a bug in this plot!

    As for the movie''s reviews after it was released, let''s not go into that. In any case, Xian Yu''s knowledge of physics is bound to get criticized by the professionals.

    "Actually, this is just a trivial matter."

    An Xu shook his head, "The real point is, it took him an hour to get to the main topic. With such a slow pace, it simply can''t support the investment cost of this movie. Wanting to grab the reputation of an art film and the box office of a commercial film, there were greedy people like this before, but you, as an industry insider, should be as aware as I am of the outcome."

    Jiang Zhu nodded.

    Xian Yu''s ambition is too great, but judging by the current level of this movie, although exciting, it can''t support such grand ambitions and expectations. It can only be said that the concept of humans and animals struggling for survival at sea is indeed a splendid idea.

    ...

    In reality.

    Inside the major cinemas, many industry insiders watching the film started looking stunned one after another upon realizing Xian Yu''s grand ambition!

    Among them.

    There were directors, screenwriters, film critics, and more. Xian Yu''s film indeed attracted a lot of attention from industry insiders!

    "This is actually an art film!?"

    "The key point is, it lacks the flavor of an art film and instead just explores the relationship between humans, animals, and nature?"

    "What on earth is he thinking?"

    "Is this plot worth such a high investment?"

    "He wants to take the commercial film path and also the art film path, doesn''t he know that you can''t have the best of both worlds?"

    "It''s too crazy!"

    "The plot is interesting now but the pacing at the beginning is too slow, taking a full hour to get going!"

    "The structure is too bloated."

    "Since when is an art film represented by a group of animals!"

    "It''s not that the structure is bloated, on the contrary, it feels too simple. Man and tiger surviving at sea, such content isn''t enough to express anything profound, and yet he spent an hour setting it up for just this!"

    "Xian Yu is better suited for smaller investments."

    "Large productions don''t suit him."

    "It just shows that everyone excels at different things. From the script level alone, it''s interesting, at least it doesn''t make you want to stop watching halfway through."

    "..."

    For industry insiders, the movie was just okay, not as exceptional as some may say!

    But the investment in the film was too high!

    With such an approach, even breaking even is tough!

    In the meantime, a small number of people remained silent.

    Because the movie had another hour to go, and Xian Yu might still have a chance to turn it around in the next hour, even though the possibility was very slim.

    And at this point.

    The movie was still ongoing.

    What nobody realized was that from the moment the hyenas started eating humans, the movie had turned sinister and terrifying!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to the Alliance Hierarch, Swallow 523, for the support. Taking a bow to you, ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, I am immensely grateful. Polluted White is going out for a meal.

 Chapter 811 - 767 Hes Lying

    Above the giant screen.

    Man stands face to face with a tiger.

    Ocean currents surge in darkness.

    This tiny lifeboat quietly floats on the sea''s surface, its final destination unknown to all.

    Pi begins to fight for survival.

    He discovers some food supplies and fresh water in the lifeboat, along with a survival manual that teaches him how to live on the open sea until help arrives.

    There is a raft on the boat.

    He pushes the raft into the sea and stays on it, keeping his distance from the tiger on the boat¡ª

    He attempts to tame the tiger.

    But he is not a qualified animal trainer, and his plan to tame the tiger concludes with Parker marking his face with a spray of yellow urine.

    Pi knows that the tiger can swim.

    When the tiger is desperately hungry, it will surely swim over to eat him, so he has no choice but to try and catch fish from the sea to feed the tiger.

    There is not much water.

    When it rains, he collects rainwater for drinking and shares it with the tiger.

    A man and a tiger, they survive day by day like this.

    The process doesn''t seem long or boring.

    The emerald sea, tranquil as a painting when calm.

    At night, the stars make the sea mesmerizing and magnificent.

    When the ocean rages, waves sweep and churn with towering fury, the boat rocked countless times amidst violent storms.

    Flying fish...

    Bioluminescent jellyfish...

    Schools of dolphins swim by...

    And whales roam in groups, stirring up countless waves.

    However.

    Food and fresh water aren''t always available, and the tiger becomes extremely hungry; it tries to fish in the water and swims toward Pi.

    It wants to eat Pi!

    Pi jumps from the raft onto the boat and retracts the raft, isolating the tiger in the sea.

    Just when the audience thinks the tiger is doomed, Pi suddenly has a change of heart and decides to save the tiger onto the boat.

    The next few days.

    He tries to tame the tiger little by little by feeding it chunks of fish meat.

    This time, he succeeds.

    ...

    This is a fantastical adventure journey; when the tiger is tamed, some audience members can''t restrain their excitement and let out a small cheer!

    "It''s so beautiful!"

    "This ocean journey is fraught with dangers, but the scenery is truly beautiful, including the glowing jellyfish!"

    "Those fish are so pretty!"

    "The part with the swordfish cracked me up. A group of swordfish flew by, and the largest one got taken by Pi; the poor meerkat was left to eat the smaller fish."

    "I thought Pi would kill the tiger!"

    "After spending so many days together, he couldn''t bear to kill it. He''s wanted to be friends with a tiger since he was a child, and being alone on the ocean, he really needed companionship, even from a tiger."

    "The special effects are really amazing!"

    "You watch big-budget films for the effects, so exhilarating. The plot finally got thrilling too; previously, Pi was just being bullied by the tiger, and it made me so anxious that my palms sweated."

    "The tiger is kind of cute, like a cat."

    "They should have shown this part earlier. Luckily I made it through the first thirty minutes of boring flashbacks until about an hour in, when the story became exciting!"

    "..."

    The audience chats in hushed tones.

    An Xu gently raises an eyebrow. Even as a director, he couldn''t find fault with the recent scenes¡ªthe beautiful ocean captured perfectly by the camera almost took his breath away.

    The budget is definitely burning!

    And the segment of Pi interacting with the tiger, all the way to taming it, is also very impressive, sustaining excellent pacing. The atmosphere of despair juxtaposes with several amusing moments without feeling forced.

    "It seems pretty good."

    Jiang Zhu speaks up, her feminine longing for beautiful imagery evident when such scenes are displayed, almost making her forget this is about survival at sea.

    Stunningly beautiful!

    Wonderful images, the seabed''s myriad of strange creatures, the occasional shark fins gliding by, gorgeous yet deadly!

    But let''s not forget.

    The problem of survival weighs heavily on both Pi and the tiger. After days of drifting, they are nearing their limit¡ªthen a storm hits!

    ...

    This storm is too intense!

    Its ferocity is comparable even to the day the huge ship capsized!

    Pi always does foolish things, like thinking such scenes are awe-inspiring, gifts from God, until he sees the tiger struggling desperately in the waves.

    Pi suddenly yells at the sky:

    "Why are you scaring him!"

    "I have lost my family, I have lost everything!"

    "I submit!"

    "God!?"

    "What else do you want from me!"

    Pi completely breaks down; perhaps from that moment, he no longer believes in God, his faith starting to crumble!

    ...

    An Xu''s expression shows he is moved.

    Jiang Zhu also has a look of sympathy in her eyes.

    The audience''s faces are filled with concern.

    Everyone has unwittingly grown fond of the man and the tiger; they like this mode of coexistence.

    "It reminds me of ''The Truman Show''."

    An Xu speaks up. The protagonist in ''The Truman Show'' also experienced a terrifying storm, the difference being that storm was manipulated by humans.

    The difference is:

    Truman did not give in!

    But Pi shouts out that he submits!

    "Truman had no attachments, so he feared nothing, not even losing his life. But Pi has developed an attachment. The tiger has unknowingly become the pillar supporting his existence. Once a person has an attachment, they reveal weaknesses..."

    Jiang Zhu shares her thoughts.

    This has the characteristic flavor of an art film, always able to provoke contemplation. The scene seems to be a fascinating crossover with ''The Truman Show''.

    ...

    When the storm calms, the tiger is at death''s door, Pi''s lips are cracked, and his spirit is on the verge of collapse.

    "We''re going to die."

    He holds the tiger, which can no longer open its eyes and has severely damaged skin.

    However.

    Just when they are completely hopeless, they arrive at an island.

    This is a magical island.

    The island had edible plants and swarms of meerkats that weren''t afraid of people, and there was even a beautiful freshwater pool in the center of the island!

    Parker gobbled up the plants!

    The tiger feasted on the meerkats to his heart''s content!

    After days of drifting, they finally had a place to settle and feel secure. With this island, Parker and the tiger no longer had to worry about survival!

    However.

    When night fell, Parker saw the tiger scrambling onto the boat, and the meerkats crazily climbing the trees, so he also climbed a tree in fear, along with the meerkats. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    At that moment.

    He suddenly noticed that the freshwater pool where he had swum during the day was filled with countless fish carcasses.

    Furthermore.

    He found a tooth in the tree!

    A human tooth!

    In the distance, the island emitted a faint glow and was long in shape.

    The next day.

    He decided to leave the island, taking some food with him.

    He blew his whistle and called for the tiger.

    And the tiger actually followed him off the island.

    "What kind of island is this?"

    When Parker got to this part of his story, the writer suddenly asked a question.

    If it hadn''t been for the sudden shift in the camera angle, everyone might have forgotten that this scene was just a part of Parker''s narration and memory.

    "Haven''t you realized yet? This is a carnivorous island!"

    "Like a Venus flytrap?"

    "Yes, every night the water in the center of the lake turns into sulfuric acid, killing all the life in the water. The entire earth is slowly corroded and digested. That''s why I thought about the fate of those who stay there¡ªlonely, and eventually forgotten, like that tooth left in the tree."

    ...

    Pi''s incredible odyssey, in reality, wasn''t magical. But combined with his experiences, it seemed to take on a kind of magical hue.

    The audience was mesmerized.

    However.

    An Xu furrowed his brows at some point without anyone noticing.

    "Something''s not right..."

    He suddenly spoke up.

    Jiang Zhu heard him: "What''s not right?"

    An Xu didn''t respond, but in his mind, he replayed the scene from that night.

    It was a long shot.

    Directors are highly sensitive to camera angles, so it puzzled him why the island was long in shape, rather than round. It made the island look like...

    A lying person?

    A lying person!?

    An Xu was startled by his own thought. He didn''t know why such a terrifying association had come to mind. Could it be because the island really resembled a lying person?

    Too bad they were in a cinema.

    An Xu couldn''t rewind the scene as if it were film to watch it again. He even doubted if he had seen it correctly.

    Jiang Zhu didn''t receive a response from An Xu but was also struck by a thought.

    "Don''t you feel there''s something off about this island?"

    "Like what?"

    "Countless meerkats that aren''t afraid of people, a lake that turns into sulfuric acid at night due to some chemical reaction, but is indistinguishable from a normal freshwater lake during the day..."

    "A bit."

    An Xu spoke: "But it''s possible if there are no natural predators for the meerkats on the island and if it''s some area of the ocean. Nature is amazing; there are many phenomena that can''t be explained without research."

    "Hmm."

    Jiang Zhu didn''t say more, but she somehow felt uneasy.

    Perhaps it was from the moment Parker found a human tooth on the island that she felt there was something disturbing about this island.

    "The Cannibal Island, huh..."

    She muttered to herself, yet her eyes never left the big screen, each frame compelling her to keep watching. Judging by the time of the movie, it was nearing the end.

    Cannibal Island?

    An Xu caught Jiang Zhu''s mutter, and a light flashed through his mind, making him more convinced that something was amiss.

    Parker.

    The Tiger.

    Cannibal Island.

    Human Tooth.

    The sulfuric acid in the lake''s center.

    The supplies for survival.

    From the start of the drift after the ferry disaster, a number of significant details interconnected by an invisible thread replayed in An Xu''s mind. He suddenly realized there were many strange aspects in this story.

    The clue lay with the bananas.

    An Xu didn''t believe those bananas could support the weight of a gorilla.

    And from this doubt, An Xu thought of the shipwreck.

    Could the ferry capsize that easily?

    Did Parker really survive over two hundred days at sea just with the existing supplies and a survival manual?

    Parker was seventeen years old at the time of the disaster!

    Could a seventeen-year-old tame a tiger at sea?

    The so-called fantastical voyage ¡ª was the fantasy in its incredulous unfolding?

    Wait!

    This segment about Cannibal Island, why switch suddenly to the conversation between the writer and Parker?

    There are no useless shots in a movie!

    If there are useless shots, that''s a sign of the director''s incompetence!

    An Xu knew the director of this film, Du An.

    He was a big-time director from Qi Continent. Although not as skilled as An Xu himself, he still had talent.

    A director like that!

    In combination with Xian Yu''s script!

    Would they produce a meaningless shot?

    "He was reminding the audience that the story is being told by Parker, so why did he use that particular shot to remind us? The writer''s expression seemed subtle; he was doubting! That interpretation shouldn''t be wrong; it''s clear he suspected something off about the island. But why would he suspect that?"

    An Xu''s mind raced!

    Suddenly!

    He understood!

    Lying!

    The writer was suspecting that Parker was lying!!!!!!

    Once this idea leaped into his mind, An Xu felt a chill down his spine, and he shivered uncontrollably!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to the Alliance Hierarch "Liao Zi Wen Yuan" for their support, here''s a salute for you¡ªyour monthly ticket has been a lifesaver. To repay everyone''s support, Polluted White has decided to write one more chapter to complete the whole movie. However, I don''t want you all to keep waiting; the next chapter might be posted very late.

 Chapter 812 - 768 Terrifying Boiling

    An Xu''s back was already drenched in cold sweat!

    Was he lying?

    Why would he lie?

    If he lied, which part specifically was the lie?

    In this story, what is real and what is fictitious?

    Was the fantastical drift real?

    Or could it be...

    that I misunderstood?

    For the first time, An Xu realized that this story wasn''t as straightforward as it seemed on the surface, and his previous understanding and interpretation were too one-sided!

    However.

    No matter how hard An Xu racked his brain, he couldn''t understand why he would lie, but he faintly felt that there was a terrifying truth behind it all!

    It made him very uneasy!

    "What''s wrong?"

    Jiang Zhu noticed that something was off with An Xu¡ªthe famous director from Qi Continent seemed restless.

    An Xu still didn''t answer.

    He looked up at the big screen.

    He wanted to know what the truth really was!

    What exactly was the story that Xian Yu wanted to tell!

    He didn''t realize that his hands were trembling slightly.

    ...

    On the giant screen.

    After leaving the island, he finally reached another shore.

    This time, it wasn''t an island!

    This was the Zhao Continent of Blue Star!

    He was saved!

    As he stepped onto the shore, immense exhaustion overtook him, and he collapsed.

    In a daze.

    He saw the tiger jump off the lifeboat, stretch mightily, and then walk into the jungle.

    Reaching the edge of the forest, the tiger stopped.

    "I was sure it would look back at me, ears turned back, emitting a roar, ending our relationship in some way,"

    he said, but the tiger did not look back.

    This fearsome companion, the animal that had helped him survive, vanished from his life from then on.

    He was rescued by passersby.

    As he left, he was in tears.

    Not for being saved, but because the tiger left him so easily.

    The tiger was without sentiment.

    He remembered the lessons of his father from childhood, but he insisted on believing:

    In the tiger''s eyes, he must have been more than just a reflection.

    "We didn''t say goodbye properly."

    He hadn''t said goodbye properly to a girlfriend, to his family, to the tiger. He seemed to repeat such words more than once, but this time tears flowed.

    ...

    The audience seats were silent.

    When he was rescued, no one cheered; instead, like him, they were immersed in the sadness of the tiger''s departure.

    Indeed.

    There''s always sadness, accompanying each other for over two hundred days, depending on each other for survival, struggling to live, transitioning from adversaries to companions.

    Nobody disliked the tiger.

    In fact, they liked the tiger.

    "If only the tiger could have continued accompanying him," someone said.

    "He lost everything, and he only had the tiger left, but the tiger belongs to the jungle, so it left him."

    "I feel the tiger had feelings for him."

    "After more than two hundred days together, maybe the tiger started to see him as a master or even a friend."

    "This story is a bit more fascinating than I thought."

    "The first half-hour was genuinely boring; indeed, the build-up with family was meaningless."

    "The pacing is problematic in the beginning. The movie is about two hours long, and it only gets exciting after an hour in."

    "It feels like this movie is quite thought-provoking."

    "I thought it was a commercial film, but towards the end, it started to feel like it had some arthouse elements."

    "..."

    The audience''s instincts were not as sharp as the professionals'', but they too gradually realized that this movie was not commercial; rather, it was filled with contemplation.

    About humans and nature.

    About survival and perseverance.

    About the power of faith.

    About the importance of companionship.

    Such metaphors and implications abound, and these are the hallmarks of arthouse films. Yet the process wasn''t boring, especially once the shipwreck started, almost entirely capturing the curiosity of the audience, an aspect rare in commercial films.

    Yet An Xu''s brows furrowed even more.

    "No!"

    He kept shaking his head.

    It couldn''t be that simple!

    He didn''t believe it was that simple!

    Jiang Zhu didn''t know An Xu''s thoughts; she was sharing her opinion: "The beginning was boring; after the shipwreck, it became exciting, but such an ending seems to lack some power, feels like it''s still missing something..."

    If Jiang Zhu were to rate it, she would give it an eight out of ten.

    It was a movie worth eight points, quite good, but that was all.

    But this wasn''t the official ending.

    The movie wasn''t over yet.

    ...

    On the giant screen.

    The movie appeared to be heading towards an official conclusion.

    "Since I was the only survivor, the Japanese shipping company sent two people to find me. They needed to find out the cause of the ferry accident to process the compensation matters..."

    he told the writer.

    The scene switched.

    The shipping company''s employees didn''t believe his story.

    How could an island exist with thousands of meerkats undetected?

    How could bananas float?

    A brief argument ensued.

    They believed this wasn''t the truth!

    Finally.

    He spoke again:

    "You don''t want things you haven''t seen, no surprises, no fantasy, no animals, no islands..."

    His expression changed for a moment.

    Inside the movie theater, the audience was taken aback.

    They had believed what he had told them, but his words seemed to suggest something was amiss?

    At that moment.

    Pi told the second story.

    "Four people survived; the cook and sailor had already relayed their accounts. The cook pulled me aboard with a lifebuoy, my mother climbed up on a bunch of bananas and drifted to the ship. That cook was disgusting, he ate a rat, that man was like a beast, the sailor broke his leg jumping off the ship..."

    As Pi narrated, the shipping company employees'' faces shifted with emotion.

    And in front of the giant screen.

    Some viewers looked utterly bewildered.

    Others furrowed their brows tightly.

    They realized a problem.

    It was a problem An Xu had already realized before.

    Pi¡­

    lied!

    Two stories, one true and one false!

    The author understood and he connected the two stories:

    "In both stories, the zebra and the sailor broke their legs, the hyena killed the zebra and the orangutan, so, the hyena is the cook, the sailor is the zebra, your mother is the orangutan, and you are... the tiger."

    An earth-shattering twist!!!

    ...

    Ssshh!

    With the author''s last word, a jarring noise suddenly erupted in the cinema hall, like the harsh scrape of shoe soles against the floor!

    It was painfully ear-piercing!

    Extremely uncomfortable!

    The light from the giant screen shone on the audience''s faces, reflecting faces that, unknown when, had become utterly horrified, ghostly pale and rather frightening!

    Inside the cinema!

    It was as if the temperature suddenly dropped, the air turned frigid, oppressive to the point of almost becoming stagnant!

    "Huff¡­ huff¡­"

    Jiang Zhu gasped heavily, his chest heaving violently, his eyes filled with disbelief!

    The truth!

    This was the truth!

    The blood-soaked truth!

    The sailor was the zebra, he broke his leg and lacked the power to defend himself; the cook was the hyena, extremely aggressive; the mother was the orangutan who had protected the protagonist, and the protagonist was the tiger who ended it all!!!

    Therefore!!!

    The cook killed the sailor, then killed the mother, and Pi killed the cook!

    What kind of magical adventure at sea?

    It was nothing but a human bloodbath, in the quest for survival, blades drawn against one another!

    That tiny lifeboat was the scene of a terrifying series of bloodshed, simply a living hell!

    Underneath the magnificent packaging of the movie, lay filth and sin!

    Just like the calm ocean!

    Calm on the surface, but with raging undercurrents below!

    Those beautiful, elaborate shots, the more resplendent they were, the more lethal!

    Wrong.

    It was more than just slaughtering!

    Every slaughter has its reasons, but on that tiny lifeboat, the slaughter had only one reason¡ªthey were starving!

    For survival!

    They were eating people!

    "Ugh¡­"

    Jiang Zhu felt queasy.

    Boom!

    After the utmost silence, the entire cinema hall suddenly exploded!

    All the viewers started to clamor as if they had gone mad, some even screamed, some couldn''t help but to stand up!

    "My God!!"

    "I''m getting chills all over!"

    "This is too scary, too horrific!"

    "It turns out that there wasn''t really a zebra, an orangutan, a hyena, or a tiger in the magical adventure, everything was a story made up by the protagonist. In reality, all these animals were people, they were killing each other, they were eating people!!!!"

    "Holy shit, so there were no animals on the boat, just people!?"

    "Eating corpses?! I''m gonna throw up, damn it!"

    "How can this be so terrifying!"

    "I really thought this was a story about the protagonist and animals, but it turns out not to be about the law of the jungle among animals, but about people who lose their humanity and resort to cannibalism in order to survive!"

    "I get it now! Crap! Where did the teeth on Cannibal Island come from? They came from corpses!"

    "Humanity has been annihilated, such a beautiful story, such a stunning ocean, why is the truth so cruel!"

    "I''ve been deceived by Xian Yu!"

    "All the previous plot points were traps, so many traps were dug!"

    "I''m convinced, Xian Yu is GOAT, I''m in awe, truly in awe!"

    "I''s worldview is shattered!"

    "¡­"

    The audience was paralyzed by fear, the horror boiling over!

    The movie did not explicitly state that they were eating corpses, but by using animal metaphors, even the most naive audience understood!

    This was why their faces turned deathly pale and even trembled!

    A shocking twist instantly shattered everyone''s beliefs, making them question every single shot they had seen before!

    At this moment.

    Looking back, every piece of the plot was utterly terrifying in hindsight!

    Even...

    The seemingly insignificant mouse in the movie, almost unnoticed by everyone, had an extremely symbolic significance!

    "I won''t be able to sleep tonight!"

    Jiang Zhu, struggling to contain the discomfort in his stomach, trembled as he spoke:

    "Xian Yu is too twisted, how did he come up with such a terrifying story, I''ve been writing scripts for so many years, watching movies for so many years, and this is the first time I''ve been scared by an art film!"

    Scared!

    Truly scared!

    What was terrifying wasn''t the imagery; there wasn''t even a depiction of animals being eaten in the movie, but this was precisely what made it more chilling!

    Because everyone would imagine it!

    The more they imagined, the more panic-stricken they became!

    However, as Jiang Zhu reacted so dramatically, An Xu suddenly let out a long breath and said something that made Jiang Zhu go completely stiff:

    "You think this is the truth?"

    You think the second story is the truth?

    You think Xian Yu didn''t deceive you twice in a row?

    You think, this is the most horrifying answer?

    An Xu pressed his hand to his heart, where his heartbeat was excessively fast and his whole body was cold, as if his breathing had almost stopped.

    He thought more, saw more than the audience.

    Therefore¡­

    He was more horrified by the story''s terror than anyone else!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    ps: Thank you to Alliance Hierarch [Liu Martin] for his support; I kneel before the great benefactor ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ. I know many people are indifferent to this movie, but as described in the book, after enduring the first thirty minutes of setup, as the shipwreck saga unfolds, it becomes very exciting, and the ending twist is overwhelmingly terrifying¡ªassuming you''ve not been spoiled by any reveal. Now those who haven''t seen it have been spoiled by me, my apologies, time to wrap up for today and ask for your monthly votes!

 Chapter 813 - 769: There is a 3rd Version (Double Requests for Monthly Tickets)

    Giant screen.

    The finale.

    Pi''s eyes fixed on the author,

    "I told two versions of the story about the sea accident, so which one do you prefer?"

    The author did not answer immediately.

    After a few seconds of silence,

    The author spoke up, "The one with the tiger, that one is more exciting."

    "Thank you."

    Pi seemed relieved.

    In fact,

    Pi''s question was less directed at the author and more at the audience.

    Which of these two versions of the story do you prefer?

    In the cinema,

    The boisterous audience fell silent for a few seconds, as if they were scrutinizing their own hearts.

    Which of these stories do they like?

    "Like the author, I prefer the one with the tiger, where a man and a tiger become an unusual duo, staging a fantasy struggle for survival over more than two hundred days at sea. I can''t bear to shatter such beauty of strength and will."

    "I prefer the version without the tiger."

    "Although the movie didn''t make it explicit, Pi''s reaction has already told everyone that the second story is the real one, and although the truth is cruel, reality itself is cruel. I think choosing the tiger itself is a form of evasion."

    "The whole movie was a deception, Fish Papa''s twist was stunning!"

    "If there hadn''t been the final twist explained, I might have left the cinema thinking I really just watched a fantastical ocean adventure of a young Pi¡­"

    "Despite so many clues, I never noticed them!"

    "The key is, I wasn''t angry after realizing I''d been deceived; instead, I willingly fell into the trap because there were many clues planted, and if I had watched carefully, I would''ve noticed something was amiss."

    "..."

    The answer might be hard to unify.

    Screenwriter Jiang Zhu was also contemplating her answer.

    Just then, An Xu suddenly turned to look at Jiang Zhu, who was lost in thought,

    "Buy tickets."

    "What?"

    "I want to rewatch it."

    An Xu had many things to reconfirm, one viewing wasn''t enough to fully understand.

    The movie was like a mystery told in Narrative Trickery.

    The screenplay was rife with deceit from the screenwriter, covered by the director''s cinematic shots, and only at the end did it pull off a shocking twist!

    It can be said,

    Without this earth-shattering twist, the movie would just be a very exciting ocean survival film.

    With this twist, everything changed!

    It almost gave the audience the illusion of having watched two movies at once!

    One thing was certain; the film''s rating was destined to soar several levels because of the final twist, turning it into a classic that would remain in people''s hearts. Retracing the plot after the ending was the most charming part of the movie!

    "Okay!"

    Jiang Zhu nodded.

    She took out her phone, ready to buy tickets when she noticed that a screenwriters'' chat group she was a part of was exceptionally lively at the moment.

    Countless people were discussing the movie.

    Without opening the group chat,

    Jiang Zhu began to repurchase her ticket for a second viewing.

    She wanted to use the plot to trace back through the film again, but this time, she was watching with a mindset of learning, as this was a script worth studying by all screenwriters!

    Of course,

    Jiang Zhu and An Xu had tacitly avoided discussing next year''s Dragon Awards, although both sensed the impact this movie would have on the awards after watching it.

    ...

    In a screenwriters'' group on Blue Star,

    Just as Jiang Zhu noticed, the group was abuzz!

    All the screenwriters who had seen the movie were dumbfounded by the ending''s shocking twist!

    "Holy crap!"

    "The ending twist scared the hell out of me!"

    "I''m sweating buckets; the entire movie was a massive deception!"

    "Back when ''The Piano Tuner'' came out, it was twist after twist, but the twists in that movie felt a bit contrived. This movie''s twists, however, are pure genius, utterly seamless!"

    "This movie is going to blow up!"

    "The ending twist is nothing short of brilliant, Xian Yu is truly the king of twists!"

    "Thought it was a commercial flick at first, then I thought it was an art film, halfway through it seemed like an inspirational movie, but after finishing, I realized, it''s a horror movie!"

    "One twist completely overturned the entire movie; it''s insane!"

    "The real horror is retracing the story after the ending, who would''ve thought those animals were actually people!"

    "At the beginning of the movie, daddy says the difference between animals and humans is that animals lack humanity, but the film tells us that humans just have a higher threshold for their bottom line, and when pushed to the edge, humanity can be abandoned!"

    "Don''t forget humans are animals too, of course we have beastly instincts!"

    "So the tiger represents the protagonist''s animalistic side, which is why, when Pi was rescued and the tiger left, his humanity returned. This metaphor is so clever!"

    ...

    At various cinemas,

    The first batch of audience members who saw the movie at the same time also went wild; no one expected the true nature of the film to be so horrifying!

    "I kneel before Fish Papa''s boundless imagination!"

    "Fish Papa, such a gentle soul, yet he wrote such a cruel and desperate horror story!"

    "I''m never scared by horror films, but this movie actually got to me a bit!"

    "I''ve got goosebumps all over!"

    "When Pi told the second version of his story, I felt my scalp tingle and hair stand on end!"

    "Looking back at the whole story after watching the ending, those beautiful scenes seem so ironic!"

    "The visuals are so beautiful, yet who knew there were so many secrets hidden beneath them!"

    "Leaving the plot aside, the special effects alone are top-notch!"

    "This is Fish Papa''s first time shooting a big-budget film, and it feels like the big stage is where Fish Papa truly excels¡ªsomething small budget films could never achieve!"

    ...

    Online.

    The same excitement, the same buzz, the same shockwaves¡ªtribe blogs and major forums alike were all boiling over.

    Countless people were discussing the plot!

    "This movie is freaking amazing!"

    "Who exactly did Pi eat?"

    "Definitely his mother. You might not have noticed, but when Pi leaves the carnivorous island, if you look at it from a distance, it clearly resembles the shape of a woman''s body. And Pi found the tooth because he bit into the teeth part, which is why he decided to leave the island, realizing that if he continued like this, he would go completely mad!"

    "Damn, is it really like that?"

    "I think the carnivorous island is his girlfriend, so he tied the rope his girlfriend gave him around the island. Moreover, when he mentioned his girlfriend, he said, ''I can''t remember how I said goodbye to her...'' Isn''t that hint clear enough?"

    "So many metaphors, man. Who does the rat metaphorically represent then?"

    "I feel like the island is the mother, and the rat is the girlfriend. She must have hidden aboard the boat as a stowaway because Pi doesn''t remember saying goodbye to his girlfriend. But the truth is he never said goodbye to her at all. They boarded the ferry together."

    "Holy cow, so many GOATs in the comment section. I didn''t really get it!"

    "What does the meerkat on the island symbolize then? Since the island doesn''t exist, the meerkat must be fake too, right?"

    "Don''t you get it? The meerkat isn''t afraid of people, and the island is a corpse. What things on a corpse aren''t afraid of people?"

    "Maggots!?"

    "The meerkat is... maggots!?"

    "Ugh, stop it, I was planning to eat!"

    "My whole worldview is shattered. I told my girl during the movie that the meerkat was cute!"

    "Meerkats are creatures of the desert; there''s no way they could be on the island. So Pi lied about this part. Considering the island''s meerkats aren''t afraid of people, and indeed maggots aren''t afraid of people either, and since maggots are a source of protein, the equation ''meerkat equals maggots'' holds true. They drifted at sea for over two hundred days, so it''s inevitable for the body to get maggots. What Pi ate later must have been rotten, and don''t forget that tigers can eat carrion too!"

    "I can''t even look at this movie straight anymore!"

    ...

    GOATs frequented major forums, with countless interpretations appearing, some of which perfectly fit the plot!

    Some had an epiphany!

    Others held different views!

    Regardless of what the real answer was, these interpretations were repeatedly striking the hearts of the audience!

    Because these interpretations weren''t far-fetched.

    While the movie left things ambiguous, it also provided many hints!

    It''s precisely because the movie didn''t explain the process directly, and the second version was only covered in a few minutes, that the audience was given unlimited space for interpretation!

    A textbook example of disturbing subtleties!

    Some even started arguing over which interpretation represented the truth!

    Everyone had their own theories.

    Everyone had their own explanations.

    Each one was terrifying, completely overturning all conclusions made before the movie''s twist!

    And just when netizens thought they were getting close to the truth.

    Someone noticed that Blue Star''s famous screenwriter Long Yang had personally posted a thread in a movie forum, and the title of the thread was:

    [Still too naive. Do you think Pi''s second story is the whole truth?]

    This renowned core screenwriter dared to write a film review for "Life of Pi"?

    Of course, that''s not the point.

    The point is, Long Yang is suggesting that Pi''s second story is not the entire truth?

    In an instant!

    Netizens widened their eyes!

    Holy crap! S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The second version isn''t the truth?

    We''ve interpreted the truth to be so horrifying already, and he''s calling us naive?

    Are you sure you''re not just seeking attention?

    If Long Yang weren''t a top screenwriter, he would have been blasted, but considering his professional status, netizens held back and couldn''t help but wonder¡ª

    Long Yang seems intent on overturning the twist at the end of the movie!

    You know, regardless of the debates, the starting point for everyone was the second version of the story told by Pi, and no one ever doubted the authenticity of the second version!

    Alright then.

    Considering Long Yang''s generally good reputation as a very capable screenwriter, netizens were still curious and clicked on his thread.

    And what they saw.

    Upon entering the thread, everyone saw the first line:

    [Before reading this interpretation, please answer three questions for me. Actually, there are many questions, but I won''t trouble you with all of them.]

    The first question:

    "Why has Pi never explained the cause of the ferry accident? Does he really know nothing about it?"

    The second question:

    "Why did the mother slap the cook but he didn''t fight back, given his character was previously portrayed as rough and aggressive?"

    The third question:

    "Why didn''t they delete the first thirty minutes of the movie''s family background, which was so dull? With Xian Yu''s capabilities, wouldn''t he know that the first thirty minutes drag on for too long?"

    Why?

    Netizens were stumped by Long Yang''s three questions.

    Suddenly!

    A terrifying thought crossed everyone''s mind:

    Did Pi also lie in the second version of the story he narrated?

    If the first version is a lie, then who could say for sure that the second version...

    ...didn''t contain lies as well?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to the great Swallow 523 for another Alliance Hierarch sponsorship. This big shot has rewarded several Alliance Hierarch tickets already. Kneeling in appreciation ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, requesting monthly tickets!

 Chapter 814 - 771: Which Version Do You Like?

    After this idea emerged, netizens were thrown into confusion...

    No one could provide definite answers to the three questions raised by Long Yang.

    For a moment.

    Everyone''s curiosity was piqued, and they continued to read on.

    Indeed, after throwing out the three questions, Long Yang offered explanations in his subsequent film reviews:

    "Let''s start with the first question, why did the ferry meet with disaster?

    Many people overlooked the scene where the father feeds the animals since animals can get seasick; therefore, the father hoped to calm them with tranquilizers during the voyage.

    But the accident lay in the fact that...

    Servants had always done these tasks; the father had never administered tranquilizers to the animals before, so he accidentally mixed the tranquilizers into the crew''s food.

    And due to the argument between the mother and the cook, the protagonist''s family didn''t eat during the day.

    As a result.

    When the storm hit, everyone on the boat was knocked out by the tranquilizers, with no sailors awake to take timely and effective measures. That''s why the ferry met with disaster, which is precisely why Pi continually avoided addressing the cause of the shipwreck.

    Top filmmakers won''t give you meaningless shots.

    Those seemingly nonsensical scenes could be critical information hidden in the dark, easy to miss without careful thought. The fact that the protagonist''s family didn''t eat and the tranquilizers given to the animals are what I''m referring to as critical information!

    ..."

    Netizens'' eyes widened!

    No one had anticipated this issue beforehand!

    The shipwreck...

    Was it actually due to the father''s blunder?

    Some netizens wanted to object instinctively. How did the cook and the sailor manage to get into the lifeboat?

    However.

    The interpretations of the following two questions provided explanations and shut the netizens up.

    "Once the first question was answered, the answers to the second and third questions could directly refute the second story narrated by Pi.

    Some of you might have already guessed.

    There were actually no sailors or a cook!

    All crew members were wiped out; it was the protagonist''s family who boarded the boat!

    The so-called zebra was not a sailor, but the protagonist''s father; as for the hyena, it was the protagonist''s brother; and the mouse was the protagonist''s girlfriend, who also sneaked on board as a stowaway, which I believe many netizens have already guessed. After all, ''mouse'' is a term used to describe stowaways.

    This is the answer to the third question.

    Why did the mother hit the cook, yet the cook didn''t fight back?

    Because the cook was the hyena, that is, the protagonist''s brother.

    It was perfectly normal for a brother not to retaliate after being hit by his mother. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The brother used the father''s amputated leg as bait for fishing, which of course the mother couldn''t bear, but the brother was a rational person. The thirty minutes of foreshadowing at the beginning were not for nothing; it was just that the father died due to the lack of effective treatment for his amputation, so the brother had to survive by eating his father''s flesh.

    ..."

    Netizens were utterly dumbfounded!

    No cook and no sailors?

    It was actually the protagonist''s family who boarded the ship?

    This interpretation was infinitely more terrifying than the previous one, sending shivers down the spine!

    "You all probably guessed what happened next, the mother and brother had a conflict, and the brother accidentally killed the mother.

    The protagonist was completely enraged, and he killed his brother!

    If the brother really were a cook, he would have fought back long ago, but he was actually the brother; thus, he did not retaliate because he knew he had done something wrong.

    Then, only the protagonist and the brother were left on the ship.

    The protagonist said he remembered every detail of the last day he spent with his girlfriend but couldn''t recall how they parted. It''s not that he didn''t remember; they had not parted but the way they parted was too cruel for Pi to even attempt to fabricate.

    ..."

    Ending his exposition there, Long Yang summed up:

    "My guess might not be completely accurate, but it''s definitely closer to the truth than the second version. There are so many metaphors in this movie, like the acid that appears in the lake at the center of Cannibal Island at night, which is actually human stomach acid, and so on. But I can be sure that there are holes in the second version of the pie; the movie has given us hints, especially the debate about whether a banana can carry an orangutan, which is the biggest hint. And it had to be the protagonist''s family on the boat¡ªthat''s why the first thirty minutes of the movie kept showing the backstory of the protagonist''s family!"

    It''s the same saying.

    Clever filmmakers don''t include meaningless shots. The seemingly useless foreshadowing in the first thirty minutes is actually about the cook and the sailor also being family. Once you understand this, you''ll really grasp the horror of this movie.

    ..."

    The film critique ended.

    After reading the critique, netizens were stunned!

    Cannibalism itself is already terrifying, but nobody expected the real truth to be countless times more horrifying than the plot of the second version!

    The people on the boat were a family!

    This has completely changed the concept from the second version of the story!

    "I want to argue, but I can''t find a standpoint!"

    "Holy shit, did the protagonist eat his girlfriend and mother in the end?"

    "Ahhhh, bring back the first version!"

    "The first version was so beautiful, and the third is just as dark!"

    "So the tiger represents the protagonist''s animal instincts, taming the tiger is the process of human nature taming its animal side!"

    "This interpretation is absolutely brilliant!"

    "I knew there was a reason the first thirty minutes were so boring, talking about a bunch of family stuff, and then after the ferry disaster, all the family members died except for the mom and the protagonist who got on the boat. It was all because of this!"

    "Such a dark story, yet filmed so beautifully, my worldview has collapsed!"

    "This is the movie with the most metaphors I''ve ever seen, what happened to the promised commercial film!"

    "Xian Yu''s ideas are really unbeatable!"

    "Oh my God!"

    "..."

    The interpretation reached a frantic climax!

    In the comments, of course, there were some who refuted Long Yang, but it led to even more interpretations, and versions that could never be unified.

    Even.

    Some mentioned God and the power of religion and belief, which also made a lot of sense.

    Clearly.

    The movie didn''t provide a standard answer, and the creators wouldn''t offer one outside the movie either, which is exactly what makes art films so enchanting.

    Just like in the stories of Journey to the West, they always interpret Sun Wukong from a myriad of bizarre perspectives...

    Whether it''s the facts or the retellings, they are destined to be shrouded in mystery!

    The only certainty is that the story is far darker than anyone could have imagined!

    After all the analyzing, netizens were almost going mad!

    And Pi''s actions sparked endless controversy!

    Some thought Pi was heartless and insane.

    Others felt Pi went from being lost to redemption and found liberation in his humanity.

    This seems to return us to the question raised at the end of the movie:

    Do you prefer the version with the tiger, or the version without?

    Strangely enough.

    When the second version came out, many people felt that the absence of the tiger was more thrilling; but when the interpretation of the third version emerged, everyone suddenly wanted to opt for the first version.

    The movie itself conveys this message.

    Whichever you prefer, just believe in that one.

    So the question left by the movie becomes thought-provoking¡ª

    Which version do you prefer?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: This movie''s mysteries are almost fully explored. I haven''t decided what to film next. Could you please cast your monthly vote and suggest any good ideas you might have?

 Chapter 815 - 772: Heart of a Fierce Tiger, Gently Smelling the Rose

    ```

    The answer to this question still cannot be unified.

    Just as it is impossible for a movie to be liked by everyone, amidst countless positive reviews, some negative ones are inevitably interspersed, which are all too normal.

    For instance, some people are repulsed by metaphors about cannibalism.

    The discomfort further intensifies upon learning that it was a family who boarded the ship.

    Others have drawn comparisons to "The Truman Show" to argue that it is the film that truly has a profound impact on life¡­

    All right.

    Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

    Either way, it''s Xian Yu''s movie.

    Anyhow, "Life of Pi" really became a hit.

    The myriad interpretations and discussions broadly drove box-office sales, drawing countless viewers to the theaters.

    The next day.

    Lin Yuan logged onto Blue Star net to scroll through movie reviews, reading netizens'' interpretations, including Long Yang''s.

    He was astounded to discover:

    Everything that could be said had been said; the film had been thoroughly dissected.

    "What a pity,"

    Lin Yuan shook his head in the studio.

    Jin Mu, who saw Lin Yuan reading reviews of "Life of Pi", curiously leaned in and asked, "What''s a pity?"

    Lin Yuan did not answer.

    What he regretted was that Yi An had no chance to make an appearance.

    Lin Yuan had three big online personas: Xian Yu, Chu Kuang, and Shadow.

    Besides these, he actually had another lesser-known persona named "Yi An."

    This persona was the least conspicuous, created initially to fill in the gaps for the three main personas and draw attention to some of the derivative works besides the main pieces produced by the three main personas, thereby generating more buzz for the original works.

    Like "The Legend of Wukong" was related to "Journey to the West."

    This time, Lin Yuan wanted Yi An to write a movie review for "Life of Pi", to uncover the hidden depths of Xian Yu''s movie that had not been discovered and further fan the flames of its popularity.

    However, he embarrassingly found:

    The netizens had already interpreted it very comprehensively, even the powerful "third version" and its hidden foreshadowing had been deciphered and unearthed by the screenwriter Long Yang!

    There were still many GOATs on Blue Star.

    Long Yang''s interpretation, in particular, made Lin Yuan hold him in even higher esteem.

    This was a very impressive screenwriter who had managed to study the film so thoroughly in such a short amount of time.

    "That''s right!"

    An idea suddenly flashed through Lin Yuan''s mind¡ªYi An wasn''t entirely without something to contribute!

    That poem could perhaps be used here!

    Yes.

    Lin Yuan thought of a poem.

    The poem was called "To Me, Past, Present, and Future," a representative work by the English poet Siegfried Sassoon.

    While many may not know this poem, there''s a certain line within it that most will find memorable.

    That line is:

    In me the tiger sniffs the rose.

    If the phrase still doesn''t ring a bell, or if you have returned all the English you learned back to your English teacher, then poet Yu Guangzhong''s translation will surely sound familiar to everyone:

    [There is a fierce tiger in my heart, sniffing the rose delicately!]

    How many people have quoted this line, even using it as a motto without really understanding its meaning?

    The essence of the phrase is actually to emphasize the duality of human nature.

    "Pi" too, has two sides.

    One represents humanity, and the other, the animalistic instincts transformed into the fierceness of a tiger.

    Accordingly.

    Back in my previous life, when this movie was released, countless people were reminded of this poem; Pi''s journey perfectly matched the verse¡ª

    The human heart embodies both the fierce tiger and the rose.

    Lacking the rose, one becomes impulsive, descending into vulgarity;

    Lacking the tiger, one becomes timid, thus losing boldness.

    With this in mind.

    Lin Yuan exchanged a work with the System and logged into Yi An''s blog account to post the poem in the form of a movie review on Blue Star net.

    ...

    Although the interpretations of "Life of Pi" were becoming increasingly profound, the enthusiasm of netizens for discussing the film had not waned.

    Online.

    There were still countless people discussing various aspects of this movie.

    At this moment.

    Someone noticed this special movie review.

    The movie review''s title was: "To Me, Past, Present, and Future."

    When they initially scrolled past this review, most people didn''t pay attention, ignoring it until someone recognized the author.

    Yi An!

    Yi An actually wrote a review for "Life of Pi"?

    Some recognized Yi An, but clearly his fame was limited, and not everyone was familiar with him. To be precise, the majority of people were unaware of Yi An.

    "Who is Yi An?" someone asked.

    "Haven''t you read ''The Legend of Wukong''? The classic ''Journey to the West'' fanfiction was written by Yi An, who has a deep understanding of ''Journey to the West''" someone replied.

    "Oh, it''s ''The Legend of Wukong''s'' author!"

    "I have read ''The Legend of Wukong'', Yi An''s level of analysis is really impressive, I am a bit curious to see how he evaluates the story of ''Life of Pi''." Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Let''s check it out!"

    "This title seems pretty interesting, past, present, and future are likely referencing the protagonist, could it be that Yi An has an even more fascinating insight into the movie?"

    "..."

    While people may not be familiar with Yi An, ''The Legend of Wukong'' is much better known among netizens.

    Almost everyone who likes ''Journey to the West'' has read that fanfiction!

    For a time.

    Quite a few netizens, curious about the title, clicked on it, and came across the special movie review published by Yi An¡ª

    "Debating at the gathering, everyone sticks to their guns, endlessly arguing

    The plethora of desires snatches at my present

    Strangling rationality upon its throne

    My love surmounts the fences of the future

    Freeing dreams to dance on their feet

    ```

    For me, the cave dwellers have seized the prophet,

    The god adorned with garlands sings laments to our ancestors'' deaf ears

    There''s a fierce tiger in my heart, I sniff the roses gently

    Examine my heart, dear friend, you should tremble

    For that is your true face

    ..."

    Wow!

    This isn''t a film review.

    It''s clearly a poem!

    That line "There''s a fierce tiger in my heart, I sniff the roses gently" instantly attracted countless people''s attention!

    "This guy named Yi An is pretty awesome!"

    "There''s a fierce tiger in my heart, I sniff the roses gently; this sentence has such a high level of swagger!"

    "It''s the first time I''ve seen a film review written with poetry; it''s very precise."

    "There''s a fierce tiger in my heart, I sniff the roses gently, got it, I''ll copy this as the Tribe''s personal signature!"

    "This sentence is really cool; is the human side depicted by that rose?"

    "The whole poem is full of charm; this review is not inferior to Long Yang''s, even higher in artistic standard, Yi An''s understanding of literary works is indeed deeper than most!"

    "Such impressive literary talent!"

    "..."

    Classic lines that have been passed down for countless years indeed have such charm.

    Just as the netizen said.

    The swag of "There''s a fierce tiger in my heart, I sniff the roses gently" is indeed very high!

    But after all, it is a poem.

    Not everyone can understand the obscure verses.

    While numerous praises and compliments sprung up, a lot of questions emerged in the comment section.

    "I''m totally confused after reading this, what''s it all about?"

    "Could any GOAT explain what this poem means?"

    "Poets love to be obscure, afraid others might understand."

    "Actually, it''s not that hard to understand; wasn''t it said in the review that Pi has both human and tiger aspects? If the tiger represents Pi''s animal nature, then the rose would represent the beauty of humanity, both inseparable from each other."

    "So that''s what it is!"

    "To examine the heart, to feel the tremor, that is your true face, the concluding part talks about the tiger, the hidden beastliness of humans!"

    "The beginning feels like our current state, the endless discussions and debates around the movie?"

    "Let love kill reason to attain redemption, just like Pi finally came to his senses when he tasted teeth?"

    "So that''s what it is!"

    "Such an apt description, such brilliant lines!"

    "Alright, worthy of the author of ''The Legend of Wukong'', instantly a fan, going to follow them right away!"

    "This Yi An reads Chu Kuang''s novels and watches Xian Yu''s movies; seems to be a fan of the Three Bros, even a GOAT-level fan, both the poetry and the fanfics are top-notch!"

    "..."

    The poem was not as obscure as imagined.

    As people started to explain and add their interpretations, confused netizens gradually began to understand the meaning of the poem.

    Mainly because this poem could be connected to the plot of the movie.

    With corresponding interpretations, it''s not difficult to understand, with each line having targeted implications.

    Of course.

    In different contexts, the verse could represent different expressions.

    Everyone''s explanation might not perfectly match the expression of the poem, but for the movie ''Life of Pi'', the poem illuminates the meaning of each line.

    It''s as if the poem was entirely based on the movie!

    This is a wonderful coincidence.

    Also, it''s because of this coincidence, the poem became famous!

    You know.

    It''s precisely when everyone''s passionately discussing ''Life of Pi'', and suddenly such a poem emerges, how could it not attract widespread attention?

    Swipe, swipe, swipe!

    The poem quickly spread far and wide, more and more people conquered by the line "There''s a fierce tiger in my heart, I sniff the roses gently".

    The most badass part of the entire poem is this line.

    Without it, the poem wouldn''t become one of Siegfried Sassoon''s signature works.

    In fact, all famous poems are known because of some particularly awesome lines within them.

    If a poem has more than one mind-blowing line, then it''s a timeless masterpiece.

    Like Su Immortal''s ''Song of Water''.

    For a time.

    The line "There''s a fierce tiger in my heart, I sniff the roses gently" became the tool for many artsy hipsters to show off, appearing in countless personal signatures swiftly!

    Don''t be fooled by the harmless exterior I wear.

    In fact, I''ve got a man-eating tiger inside!

    Anyway, many who hadn''t carefully figured out the meaning, only attracted by that sentence, understood it this way.

    Soon.

    Lin Yuan noticed that Yi An''s blog subscriber count started ticking up, marking the second massive increase in followers since ''The Legend of Wukong''.

    The comment section was also bustling with activity.

    "So this is the author of ''The Legend of Wukong''!"

    "Yi An''s writing style and swagger are so high-end; while you all are hyping up ''There''s a fierce tiger'', I''m reminded of the classic lines from ''The Legend of Wukong'', like ''I want the skies to no longer hide my eyes, I want the earth to no longer bury my heart...''"

    "I know this line, is it from Yi An''s ''The Legend of Wukong''?"

    "Yes, ''The Legend of Wukong'' contains many awesome classic lines, I strongly recommend you read it. After seeing Yi An''s review, I''m planning to reread that fanfiction."

    "Okay, I''ve started liking this big shot, their words match my aesthetic perfectly, so domineering!"

    "Fans of showing off will absolutely adore Yi An''s style!"

    "Even writing a film review is freaking different from others, full of swagger, that''s very ''The Legend of Wukong''!"

    "When literati show off their talent, it really leaves one with no resentment but to look up to these big shots!"

    "..."

    The effect of this poem was better than Lin Yuan had imagined.

    No wonder that in his previous life, many web novel authors including Fenhua loved using this line; the effect was as terrifying as the early days of "My fate is mine, not heaven''s!", truly fearsome!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to the GOAT ''Swallow 523'' for another Alliance Hierarch tribute, offering my knees to the big shot ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, remember Swallow also recommended a Polluted White''s English song ''here with you'', thank you very much, Polluted White will keep writing.

 Chapter 817 - 774 A Butterflyâ€™s Love for a Flower

    Su Dongpo''s poetry is well-known for its bold and unconstrained style, but actually, he was also very skilled at composing the gentler and more delicate Refined Faction poems. For example, this famous "A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower" has been evaluated as possessing a delicacy not inferior to that of Liu Yong, and this is the second appearance of Su Immortal''s lyrics on Blue Star, the effect of which is still immediate and striking!

    On the internet.

    Netizens who saw this poem were boiling with excitement!

    "Damn, what a poem!"

    "Where the hell did this Yi An pop up from? His talent is just too incredible!"

    "Where in the world can''t you find fragrant grass? What a line, where in the world can''t you find fragrant grass!"

    "This line is just so fitting to console Jiang Yuyan. Didn''t she walk the path of destruction just because she loved Qin Tiange too much? One should know that there are not many willow catkins blowing on the branches, and he isn''t the only man in the world!"

    "And there''s also this line, the passionate often vexed by the heartless!"

    "This line is simply the true portrayal of a fawning dog. After fawning over the goddess for three years, she only found me annoying. Passion met with heartlessness, and now I will never be a fawning dog again!"

    "A stroke of genius!"

    "They really should send this poem to Jiang Yuyan. If she could understand its essence, she wouldn''t have ended up like that. No wonder the drama review''s title is ''What Love Is In This World.'' It seems Yi An is someone with a story!"

    "Although ''The Legend of Wukong'' is awesome, I previously only thought he was a fanfic author. Only now have I realized, this person is far more than just a fanfic writer. He can write lyrics and modern poetry, and write them so well!"

    "..."

    Netizens might not understand everything, but overall, most can get the gist, and with the tie-in to the TV drama, it''s even simpler. Instantly, countless exclamations arise!

    Inside the poetry society group where Wu Dun was a member.

    Professional poets felt an even deeper impression of this "A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower!"

    This group is full of poetry experts!

    "The use of words and phrases is very particular. This is the work of a master!"

    "For example, the opening line describes the scene of late spring; the sentence means that in the late spring season, the almond blossoms wither, and only small, green almonds hang on the branches. The author''s view starts with an almond tree: the flowers have withered, the remaining redness fading bit by bit, and small green almonds begin to form on the branches, outlining a vivid picture in just a few lines..."

    "The crowning touch of the first stanza is this line: ''Where in the world can''t you find fragrant grass!''"

    "The text leading up to this line is a setup. When this line arrives, images burst forth, and the scope of the piece suddenly widens. It is no longer just a description of scenery but is elucidating the author''s philosophy and breadth of mind. This line is definitely on the level of classic verses!"

    "The second stanza''s ''the passionate often vexed by the heartless'' is even more divine!"

    "This line perfectly captures the loneliness and frustration of countless unrequited loves in the world. Haven''t we all experienced the moments of loving yet not being loved in return? Clearly, we pour out our hearts, but they find it only an annoyance."

    "President Wu, whose masterpiece is this?"

    ..."

    Curious, countless people tagged Wu Dun in the group!

    "It''s Yi An again."

    Upon seeing the tags, Wu Dun looked deeply at "A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower" and then straightforwardly provided an answer.

    There was a buzz!

    The group became even more lively!

    "Another work by this Yi An?"

    "Where the hell did this Yi An come from?"

    "When did such an incredible figure emerge in the poetry scene of Blue Star?"

    "His previous line, ''though the heart harbors a tiger, gently it sniffs the rose,'' was already classic, but I didn''t expect him to churn out a love poem with such rich flavor this time!"

    "The former is modern poetry, the latter is a lyric poem, and he can write both so well. Truly impressive!"

    "But the scale isn''t as grand as ''though the heart harbors a tiger, gently it sniffs the rose,'' because ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower'' is a lyric poem about love."

    "Affairs of love, after all, lack a certain flavor."

    "..."

    Lacking a certain flavor?

    Upon reading this, Wu Dun sighed softly and then sent a message in the group:

    "Do you really think this is just a lyric poem about love and affection?"

    Could it be otherwise?

    The group members hesitated, then fell into thought, rereading the entire poem several times.

    The first stanza of the poem.

    The fading petals, the waning spring, a late spring scene...

    In a trance.

    Someone seemed contemplative, as if they had grasped something.

    Wu Dun didn''t keep them in suspense any longer and shared his own interpretation:

    "The second stanza speaks of love because the poem''s background relates to a TV drama, but the first stanza is not merely describing the scenery. I believe you have already noticed that it subtly expresses a lament for unrecognized talent. Thus, after finishing the depiction of late spring, he uses ''Where in the world can''t you find fragrant grass'' as a way to comfort himself. Unfortunately, I do not know the author''s personal circumstances, otherwise, I could better understand the meaning of the first stanza..."

    After pondering deeply, the group members started to respond one by one.

    "It does seem to be the case."

    "Yi An clearly possesses such great talent, yet remained obscure in the past. It''s only natural that a person like him would feel the sorrow of unrecognized genius."

    "How about we invite him to join the group?"

    "This person is remarkable. He might become a major poet in the future!"

    "I''m also puzzled; how is it that such a formidable individual was only discovered today."

    "It seems I need to take a look at ''The Legend of Wukong.'' I shouldn''t have prejudices about fan works."

    "Xian Yu, a songwriter, has such high poetic literacy. It seems understandable now that Yi An, a fanfic author, is proficient in poetry."

    "..."

    Wu Dun is indeed knowledgeable, managing to discern the desolation of unrecognized talent in the poem, although there is a misunderstanding.

    At the time Su Shi wrote this poem, he indeed harbored feelings of unrecognized talent, but Yi An did not.

    However, that someone could taste this nuance was not to let this masterpiece go unnoticed.

    Before long.

    "A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower" was widely reposted, with countless netizens sharing it with others excitedly!

    Not long after.

    Just like ''though the heart harbors a tiger, gently it sniffs the rose,'' this poem caught fire, and Yi An''s fan base also began to grow once more!

    Lin Yuan noticed this development and couldn''t help but laugh.

    Blue Star''s netizens indeed have a high level of artistic appreciation.

    Their ability to understand poetry surpasses the average level of Celestial Dynasty, likely due to the richer artistic atmosphere on Blue Star.

    Without a doubt!

    Yi An was starting to become popular!

    He was no longer a nameless fanfic author but a budding literary talent with a very high cultural level in the poetry world!

    Even a large number of netizens were tagging Chu Kuang:

    "Old rascal, come and see, this big boss named Yi An adapted ''Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange'' for you, writing an extremely awesome set of verses!"

    "Old rascal: My fans are this talented?"

    "Hahaha, does the old rascal feel the pressure?"

    "Your fan''s talent is hardly any less than yours!"

    "Old rascal, you brute only know about slashing and killing, look at someone like Yi An, how poetic and picturesque!"

    "Old rascal, aren''t you happy to have a fan like Yi An?"

    "Hehehe, what does the old rascal think about the phrase ''There are plenty of other fish in the sea''?"

    "..."

    In the comments section, someone had even posted the full text of ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower''.

    Yi An hadn''t set the prohibition against reposting, so everyone could freely share it around.

    However.

    What nobody had expected was.

    Just after a large number of netizens tagged Chu Kuang, Chu Kuang actually posted a status update:

    "There are plenty of other fish in the sea, why should one pine over a single flower."

    In an instant, netizens burst into laughter!

    "What''s this all about?"

    "Why should one pine over a single flower?"

    "Old rascal, your words have ruined the mood completely, ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower'' is so classic!"

    "Well, when you think about it, it does make sense."

    "Simple and crude, yet it rhymes nicely and the meaning also connects very neatly."

    "From now on, is this what we should use to comfort the heartbroken?"

    "Chu Kuang and Yi An give all the dog lickers in the world a phrase: There are plenty of other fish in the sea, why should one pine over a single flower. Don''t ask why this phrase is said by two people (dog head)."

    "Seriously though, when you put these two lines together, the reasoning is indeed very thorough."

    "Old rascal that''s such a show-off, are you writing fan fiction for Yi An''s ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower''?"

    "Asked how you evaluate Yi An''s verses, and you went ahead and added this line to it."

    "Yi An: Never would have thought, after I wrote a fanfic for Chu Kuang, he went and wrote one for me."

    "..."

    The netizens found it amusing.

    As for Lin Yuan, he was purely adding to the fun himself, serving to heat up Yi An''s popularity.

    After all, he remembered this phrase, even without having to order it from the System, as it wasn''t such an earth-shattering sentence. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    In fact.

    In Su Dongpo''s ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower'', there was only the first line.

    The so-called "why should one pine over a single flower" was added later on.

    Because it was so fitting, many people even thought that both lines were from the same work, which shows how widely the phrase had spread.

    It''s just that Lin Yuan hadn''t expected...

    His casual addition had made it seem as if Chu Kuang had written a fanfic for Yi An''s ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower''.

    But the effect had been achieved.

    Yi An''s ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower'' was revolving around the TV drama adapted for Chu Kuang.

    With Chu Kuang himself participating in the interaction, it effectively accomplished a stealth transfer of fans.

    Just that being teased by the netizens that the old rascal was shown up by a fan''s literary grace, made it somewhat hard for Chu Kuang''s pride to stay intact.

    Lin Yuan, who had quietly switched to Chu Kuang mode, thought so.

    Especially after he saw some of the comments from the netizens.

    For instance, some netizens said:

    "What''s the skill in creating something following another''s famous line? You come out looking weaker than Yi An right from the start. If you''re so great, why don''t you come up with a set of verses yourself!"

    It would be fine if just one netizen said it.

    The key was a bunch of netizens were saying it.

    There were even netizens who said, "Chu Kuang''s literary talent is indeed awesome, but his mastery of poetry seems average at best, certainly far less than his achievements in the field of novels, not like Xian Yu, who came up with a bunch of classic poems in his movie ''Flirting Scholar'', now that''s awesome!"

    How could this happen?

    No, this wouldn''t do!

    Yi An was just someone to make up for any shortcomings for Chu Kuang and Xian Yu!

    Where is the sense in the original author being overshadowed by a fanfic writer?

    Order must not be confused!

    Priorities even more so!

    Considering this.

    Lin Yuan suddenly exchanged another ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower'' with the System and began rapidly typing away!

    Done in one go!

    Lin Yuan clicked to publish.

    But the moment he published, Lin Yuan suddenly paused.

    Eh?

    Isn''t Yi An also me?

    What am I competing against myself for?

    To think I fell for the netizens'' goading!

    Well, okay.

    Having published it already.

    If Yi An wrote one, Chu Kuang could write another, it''s not that big a deal.

    Three minutes later.

    Netizens noticed that Chu Kuang had updated his status again, and the content was shockingly...

    Butterfly! Love! Flower!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to [Swallow 523] for the generous Silver League sponsorship!!! Offering the most sincere kneels to the big boss ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, feeling the thrill of clinging to big thighs once more, I shall continue to write, and continue to ask for monthly votes!

 Chapter 819 - 776: The Scourge of the Literary World

    ```

    It''s not about being schizophrenic or not.

    Primarily, Lin Yuan hadn''t forgotten the original purpose of Yi An writing poetry.

    In the end, it was still for the movie "Life of Pi."

    Chu Kuang has diverged from the topic.

    And Lin Yuan''s initial purpose had been achieved.

    In the following days, the movie "Life of Pi" saw rising popularity, and its box office performance was also very delightful!

    The entire Starlight was bubbling with excitement!

    "Director Du is awesome!"

    "Director Du is incredible!"

    "Director Du, your movie is so beautifully shot!"

    "..."

    Walking through Starlight''s film department, Du An was greeted with enthusiasm from his colleagues wherever he went, prompting him to walk with his head held high, chest out!

    Yes.

    "Life of Pi" was a huge hit, and Du An received countless praises!

    Even though he wasn''t the core of the crew, he played a crucial role in the movie!

    At this moment.

    Du An was genuinely glad that he had dropped the main director''s stance and proactively adopted a subordinate attitude to collaborate with Xian Yu on a movie.

    Perhaps a bit too keen on the experience.

    Du An found that he was no longer so opposed to working with a core screenwriter.

    After all, cinema is a collective endeavor. No matter how good the script is, can the director''s contribution really be overlooked?

    One should know.

    Du An didn''t always think this way. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    In the past, Du An saw the screenwriter as the core system, as a cancer of the industry; those screenwriters didn''t understand proper filming at all!

    Movies are the art of the director!

    Screenwriters are only responsible for the storyline; they are there to assist the director. How can they be the core of a movie?

    This was not just Du An''s prejudice.

    Throughout Blue Star''s film industry, there is a clear divide between the director-centric system and screenwriter-centric system.

    That''s right.

    The leaders of Blue Star''s director-centric and screenwriter-centric systems have been at odds with each other for more than a day or two.

    Both sides have very compelling reasons.

    Screenwriters who are at the core of a film crew believe that the storyline is key to a movie; without a good storyline, the director''s skills are useless.

    Director-centric proponents argue:

    The director''s macro-management is crucial. What Blue Star lacks isn''t good stories, but directors who can bring flavor to those good stories. No matter how much those screenwriters learn about filming, they can''t be more professional than directors.

    This time, despite everyone praising "Life of Pi."

    There were no shortages of criticisms against Du An.

    Those came from individuals who staunchly support the director-centric system.

    They saw Du An as having fallen from grace, a traitor to the director-centric system, bowing to the writers and meekly becoming their tool!

    This made Du An somewhat tormented.

    He had always been at the core of the crew since he entered the industry. "Life of Pi" was his first film where the screenwriter called the shots, and this collaboration turned out to be a huge success, leaving Du An somewhat lost.

    "That''s not right."

    Sitting in his office, after deep thought, Du An suddenly realized he had entered a misconception.

    Xian Yu was screenwriter-centric, yes, but Xian Yu was different from other core screenwriters; he didn''t interfere too much with his filming, and even allowed Du An free rein, even if the shooting didn''t fully adhere to his script.

    Xian Yu was only responsible for the final product.

    If he was satisfied with the final product, regardless of whether it was consistent with his script and designs, Xian Yu would generously agree.

    Perhaps.

    He shouldn''t avoid the screenwriter-centric system like the plague, at least he didn''t need to resist working with Xian Yu. As long as the story was compelling enough, he wouldn''t mind being a so-called "tool" for the other party again!

    As for the criticism from the core directors?

    Let them talk.

    ...

    Lin Yuan was unaware of Du An''s thoughts.

    Regardless, he was quite satisfied with Du An; not every director could do justice to "Life of Pi."

    Different scripts produce different effects in the hands of different directors.

    Even if Lin Yuan''s script included storyboard details, not everything could be realized perfectly; the director''s talent and the sparks of inspiration during the filming process would cause the movie to exhibit different artistic effects.

    This is particularly true for art films.

    In this respect, Yi Chenggong stood out. His ability to restore the script had always been highly regarded by Lin Yuan.

    Speaking of which.

    Thanks to the overwhelming success of "Life of Pi," the public opinion online about Xian Yu and the Draco Awards had changed.

    This time, netizens believed that Xian Yu would definitely win big next year!

    "The Truman Show!"

    "Life of Pi!"

    If these two classics were ignored by the Draco Awards, it would simply be a disregard of the public''s taste!

    As for "Nightfall," although good, it couldn''t compete with "The Truman Show" in terms of setting, nor could it match "Life of Pi" in metaphors, putting it in an awkward position.

    It''s just that when gods war, there are winners and losers.

    On this matter, Lin Yuan could only wait and see and not think too much about it.

    He had other things to focus on.

    For instance, the animated version of "Naruto" had already started production.

    It was Starlight''s second new series after "Slam Dunk," and given the popularity of the original manga, the outside world had high expectations for this animation.

    "One Piece" was also entering the animation planning phase.

    Moreover.

    Animations like "Grim Reaper Elementary Student" had to be produced in the future.

    After the chairman became aware of Lin Yuan''s alter ego, Shadow, the company placed great importance on the animation department.

    And so.

    Days passed by.

    These few days had been bustling with activities, such as the excitement of the Bluelympics, the hot screening of "Life of Pi," and the media reports on the two poems, "A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower," by Chu Kuang and Yi An¡ª

    The latter two reports were related to Lin Yuan.

    That day.

    As usual, Lin Yuan took the car to the company, but halfway through, he suddenly realized the car had stopped moving.

    "Traffic jam?"

    Lin Yuan looked up at the road ahead, densely packed with cars.

    "Yes, Mr. Lin. We took a detour today because the usual route through Xichun Road is temporarily closed."

    Li Bingwang, the bodyguard doubling as a driver, replied.

    Lin Yuan wasn''t particularly concerned, merely asking casually:

    "Roadwork?"

    "No, students are taking the college entrance exams."

    "The college entrance exams?"

    Lin Yuan was taken aback, as the college entrance exam dates on Blue Star were different from those on Earth.

    ```

    Li Bingwang laughed and said, "It seems Mr. Lin''s family doesn''t have a child taking the college entrance exam. My nephew is taking the exam today, and even if we have to take a detour, we are not allowed to honk the horn. We''re afraid of disturbing the kids during their exams."

    After driving Lin Yuan for so long, he was able to chat casually with Lin Yuan now.

    "It''s only right."

    Lin Yuan didn''t complain; after all, he had nothing urgent. Even if he arrived at the company by noon, no one would say anything about it.

    Just being able to make it was good enough.

    In fact, Lin Yuan didn''t even get stuck in traffic for that long, arriving at the company only about half an hour later than usual.

    Meanwhile.

    Nobody knew.

    At this moment, students in various examination halls across Qin Continent were going through a kind of torment.

    Lin Yuan himself didn''t know.

    The torment many exam-takers were experiencing was, in fact, due to none other than him, the instigator of their woes.

    ¡­

    Li Huai was a high school student.

    Today was the day he was taking the college entrance exam.

    The first subject of the exam was Chinese.

    As a diligent student entirely devoted to studying, Li Huai neither browsed the internet nor played games. If he ever did go online, it was to search for study materials.

    The only recent news he paid attention to was the Bluelympics.

    Since the Gaokao might include current events, he had to understand a bit about them.

    He was very confident about this exam!

    Indeed.

    Such a diligent student would perform well in the Gaokao as long as he didn''t get nervous.

    After Li Huai received the Chinese test paper, he indeed did quite well.

    However.

    When he reached the reading comprehension section, Li Huai suddenly became bewildered.

    This year''s reading comprehension for the Gaokao was a "ci" poem, with the title "A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower"!

    Li Huai had memorized an impressive five different "A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower" poems. In theory, this kind of reading comprehension should not be difficult for him at all!

    According to his Chinese teacher, this type of question was supposed to be a giveaway!

    However.

    Li Huai was flabbergasted because he had never heard of this particular "A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower" before.

    What "leaning on the railing of the high tower as the wind gently blows, staring off into the boundless spring melancholy..."

    What "though the belt grows looser, there''s no regret, as I waste away for you until drawn and emaciated..."

    The "ci" was exceedingly well-written!

    Although Li Huai''s literature analysis skills were decent and he quickly sensed the brilliance of this "ci," what baffled him was this:

    How had he never heard of such a fine piece of writing before?

    What made Li Huai doubt his life even more was that the first question under this reading comprehension was:

    [Please write the name of this "ci"''s author.]

    How the hell am I supposed to know who wrote this "ci"?

    The second question.

    [Please provide the modern Chinese translation of this "ci"!]

    It''s my first time seeing this "ci," and I barely comprehend its content!

    The third question.

    [Please analyze the line, "Though the belt grows looser, there''s no regret, as I waste away for you until drawn and emaciated."]

    Damn it, who came up with this question!

    The fourth question.

    [What sort of thoughts and feelings is the poet expressing with this "ci"?]

    Don''t ask, if you ask it''s missing home!

    There were more questions, but Li Huai''s brain already felt scrambled.

    Damn!

    Where did this never-before-seen "ci" come from? Despite the beautifully written words, why had he never heard of it before?

    This question is too hard, I don''t know how to answer it!

    A student like Li Huai, who had strong memorization skills for Chinese literature, could recite many classic poems from ancient times by heart.

    However, when faced with an article he had never memorized, he found it quite challenging.

    With no choice.

    He could only grit his teeth and write based on his own understanding.

    Meanwhile.

    Other students in the examination hall also wore odd expressions when faced with this question.

    Not everyone was as oblivious to worldly affairs as Li Huai¡ªsome had seen this "ci" online and knew that its author was Chu Kuang.

    But the problem was...

    Who the hell knew what kind of thoughts and feelings Chu Kuang was expressing in this "ci"?

    Who knew why Chu Kuang chose to use words like "to waste away" in his verse?

    Who knew how to translate this "ci"?

    Who knew the answers to these questions posed by the examiners?

    Especially students like Li Huai, who left the Chinese exam without a clue about what they had written for the reading questions, learned about the situation of this "ci" only through brief discussions during the break.

    "The reading comprehension was a "ci" by Chu Kuang!"

    "Damn, so the author is that old rascal!?"

    "Dang, I answered Li Bai, why would Chu Kuang bother writing such a crappy "ci", get lost!"

    "How did literature end up with such a disaster!"

    "Li Bai might be acceptable, but this "ci" was just written by Chu Kuang a few days ago. To have a Gaokao question so rooted in such recent events, who the hell could have predicted!"

    "If the reading comprehension was about ''Sherlock Holmes,'' I definitely would have aced it!"

    "Why not say they asked you about ''Ghost Blows Out the Light'' knowledge."

    "I was utterly screwed over by that old rascal, I hate him so much!"

    "He''s starting to wreak havoc on the Gaokao now, an old rascal who doesn''t die is always a plague!"

    "Damn it, that old rascal is truly deadly, I''ve been poisoned by him too deeply. I didn''t even have time to do my homework because of his novels, and now he writes "ci" to torment me, Hu!"

    "¡­"

    In the examination hall!

    Students were cursing Chu Kuang the old rascal!

    Li Huai cursed as well.

    Who says good students don''t swear!

    Although Li Huai hadn''t really read any of Chu Kuang''s works since he was a student who didn''t read extracurricular books.

    A chorus of curses!

    The students vented their grievances against the old rascal''s misdeeds, and when they listed them one by one, they realized just how egregious his actions were!

    By noon.

    The news that Chu Kuang''s "A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower" had become a Gaokao question finally spread online...

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thank you to "Swallow 523" for another silver contribution, I offer my knees to you ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, you have been rewarding these days and I''m starting to feel guilty, really thank you very much for the support!!

    ps2: Thank you to "PhantomFeathers" for the Alliance Hierarch, I offer my knees to you ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, you are invincible...

 Chapter 820 - 777: Overwhelming Generosity

    ```

    When netizens saw this news, they were all shocked, especially those from Qin Continent who were absolutely dumbfounded!

    "What!"

    "Really keeping up with current events, huh? The Qin Continent''s college entrance exam for reading comprehension actually used Chu Kuang''s ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower''?"

    "This can''t be happening!"

    "How long has this poem even been out?"

    "There must have been some issue with the original questions, so they changed the exam content, right? This poem is still very new to high school students, will they be able to do it?"

    "This is too hard!"

    "I can''t even do it!"

    "Hahahaha, the old rascal is getting more and more insane, now starting to torment high school students."

    "This year''s university students are going to hate Chu Kuang to death!"

    "I feel sorry for my niece who is taking the college entrance exam; she''s a huge fan of Chu Kuang''s books!"

    "When my kid came back, he was so mad he almost ripped up Chu Kuang''s ''Detective Poirot''. Many of this batch of high school students in Qin Continent are fans of Chu Kuang. Young people just like this guy!"

    "Hahahaha, the cost of being a fan of Chu Kuang is too high!"

    ...

    Compared to the netizens'' schadenfreude, the students from Qin Continent were furious!

    "I swear I''ll never share the sky with that old rascal!"

    "Why the hell did the old rascal write such a difficult poem for no reason!"

    "I had looked over this poem beforehand, but when it came to reading comprehension, I couldn''t answer a single question!"

    "Chu Kuang''s reputation as an old rascal is well-deserved indeed!"

    "Chu Kuang, come out here, I promise I won''t kill you!"

    "Chu Kuang, the old rascal, be a human being!"

    "This totally screwed me over!"

    "Why is Chu Kuang the old rascal harming us, the examinees of Qin Continent? Why doesn''t he go and mess with the students from other continents!"

    "This year''s language exam was too difficult!"

    "Chu Kuang''s reach has expanded; he used to target only readers, and now it''s all high school graduates!"

    ...

    Parents were also torn between laughter and tears.

    The students from Qin Continent, after finishing the language exam, actually banded together to curse the old rascal Chu Kuang. But from another perspective, it didn''t seem like a big deal, because it wasn''t just one person who found Chu Kuang''s poem difficult¡ªall the students did!

    The outcome was the same.

    It won''t affect everyone''s college admission.

    Additionally.

    This matter really couldn''t be blamed on Chu Kuang.

    Chu Kuang couldn''t decide the college entrance exam questions; they were certainly determined by the people setting the papers. The one who should be scolded is the exam setter, and yet all the scolding has fallen on Chu Kuang!

    There''s nothing to be done about it.

    Who asked this old rascal to have such an infamous track record.

    Anything associated with Chu Kuang is bound to spell trouble.

    Think about the previous ''Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange''; what a classic martial arts story it was, yet he had it drenched in blood!

    Tormenting in all sorts of ways!

    Besides.

    It wasn''t just the reading comprehension in Qin Continent that was difficult; the ones in other continents were also challenging, as Blue Star is paying more attention to flexible education for high school students, and language tests across all continents contained many topics related to current hot events.

    ...

    Lin Yuan was completely dumbfounded when he learned about this.

    Indeed, he was unaware of Chu Kuang''s ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower'' being used as a college entrance exam question, and the Qin Continent''s exam-setting team definitely wouldn''t have given him early notice, because that would have been leaking the questions, wouldn''t it?

    As for the timing being too tight.

    Lin Yuan felt that there must have been some adjustments made by the exam-setting team, as it normally wouldn''t use such recent material. But even without such new content, most reading comprehension passages are likely to be ones the students haven''t seen before.

    Whether it was ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower'' or not didn''t matter.

    Even if it had been an article from a few years back, most students still wouldn''t have read it. This was really about testing the students'' ability to understand the text. The only reason this issue got so much flak from netizens was because it involved Chu Kuang.

    But complaints aside.

    Lin Yuan clearly noticed that his literary reputation had risen.

    He wasn''t sure if the reputation came from the students, or if ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower'' being a college entrance exam question had contributed, or perhaps both?

    ...

    After noon.

    The news came out.

    There were reports everywhere about Qin Continent''s college entrance exam using Chu Kuang''s ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower'' for the language reading comprehension section.

    "The language exams across continents keep up with current events, with Qin Continent using a poem by Chu Kuang for reading comprehension."

    "Qin Continent''s students lash out: Chu Kuang, you old rascal!"

    "Has Chu Kuang started wreaking havoc on high school students?"

    "Qin Continent''s inclusion of Chu Kuang''s work in the college entrance exam may signify a reform in the exam."

    "This year''s most difficult questions in the language college entrance exam: Chu Kuang''s work ranks in the top three."

    ```

    "..."

    The "A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower" trend was already popular online.

    Stimulated by the Qin Continent''s college entrance exams, even more poetry bigwigs couldn''t resist and also started writing "A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower"!

    Although Chu Kuang was viciously cursed by the students,

    in truth, countless people in the poetry circles were envious!

    This was clearly a good thing, ah!

    Ask anyone in the poetry circles who wouldn''t want their work to become a college entrance exam question?

    This meant that their work was recognized!

    And officially recognized, at that!

    The approval of those top-level exam paper setters!

    The officials believed "A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower" was of sufficient literary value to be used like this!

    "It might sound a bit shameless, but I really want to be cursed by the examinees!"

    "If only they used my work for the reading comprehension section!"

    "Now, Chu Kuang''s ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower'' has become universally recognized as a classic. If it weren''t a classic, it wouldn''t be chosen as an exam question."

    "I heard that the reading comprehension section was originally using an article by Tu Gang."

    "Didn''t Tu Gang go to jail last month for committing a crime?"

    "No wonder the reading comprehension section used Chu Kuang''s freshly written article, Tu Gang''s article definitely couldn''t be used anymore, his was a last-minute conscription!"

    "That luck is truly unbeatable."

    ...

    The poetry circles were truly green with envy at Chu Kuang, but everyone understood.

    As for why the college entrance exam didn''t use Yi An''s "A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower", everyone also understood.

    Although Yi An''s "A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower" was not bad, whenever netizens mentioned Yi An''s version, their minds were filled with "Why seek a companion in the ends of the earth?", always feeling it wasn''t serious enough.

    Speaking of which.

    There was this impact, largely due to Chu Kuang adding the line "Why pine for a single flower?"

    Originally, Yi An''s lyric was quite serious.

    And just as everyone was discussing this matter,

    the Literature and Art Association suddenly issued an announcement that attracted countless attentions in the cultural circles!

    "We are currently working on the recompilation of textbooks. The textbooks of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han, as well as those that will be integrated next year from Zhao Continent, will be unified, and in the future, Wei Continent and Zhong Continent..."

    The notice was lengthy.

    To summarize, the message was that they were going to change the textbooks for students and unify the education across all continents!

    In an instant!

    Countless people smelled something special!

    Especially in connection with the recent Qin Continent college entrance exams.

    The cultural circles were as frenzied as sharks smelling blood!

    To know.

    This wasn''t the first time the Literature and Art Association had made adjustments and plans in education.

    Originally.

    The decision of the Literature and Art Association to promote fairy tale extra-curricular reading to students had a similar nature to this event.

    And at this time.

    Inside the Shadow Studio,

    Lin Yuan had also received this news from Jin Mu.

    Before he could express his opinion, Jin Mu, with a face full of joy, continued:

    "Textbooks from elementary school to university will all be recompiled. This matter reveals very unusual signals. I feel that your ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower'' has a very good chance of being selected for the Chinese language textbooks. This time the college entrance exams choosing your ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower'' as a question is a sign, and in addition to that, some of your previous works may be selected for textbooks from elementary to university..."

    Lin Yuan was slightly startled.

    What Jin Mu said seemed quite likely.

    In recent years, the Literature and Art Association had many huge initiatives, and all actions were preparations for the complete unification of Blue Star. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Previously, the continents were governed separately.

    Students from different continents received various education and even their textbooks were somewhat distinct.

    And these measures were obviously aimed at unifying the educational foundations of all continents.

    Probably by the time they fully merge, the textbooks would undergo some revisions.

    It seemed he was participating in a very special historical process of Blue Star; maybe in the future, the Literature and Art Association might introduce even more initiatives.

    Right.

    Wasn''t "A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower" trending online recently?

    Many netizens were shouting for Xian Yu to write a "A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower" too.

    Initially, Lin Yuan had no interest.

    But now, Lin Yuan suddenly felt that he couldn''t refuse such an enthusiastic request!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thank you [A Dong] for the big reward of Alliance Hierarch and offering my knees ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, continuing to write!

 Chapter 821 - 778: Xian Yu Takes Action

    Jin Mu and Lin Yuan could realize this, and so could the cultural circle.

    The notification from Literature and Art Association had made it very clear.

    The education across the continents had to be unified, and some contemporary literary works would have the chance to be selected for the newly compiled textbooks.

    And this matter was not just about the cultural circle.

    This issue was closely related to the ordinary people of all continents, as education was always a top priority!

    Online.

    The discussions about this topic even surpassed the attention given to the ongoing Bluelympics across the continents, and the public was quite supportive of this change.

    "That''s good."

    "With Blue Star united, it''s fitting for the textbooks of all continents to be unified as well; otherwise, it feels all messy. Studying the same knowledge in textbooks can also foster better relations between the continents."

    "From what the Literature and Art Association suggests, a lot of modern works will be selected too."

    "In the past, the textbooks of all continents mainly contained ancient works. It''s not wrong to study ancient works, but modern outstanding works are also worth learning and promoting. After all, we need to keep up with the times, and it''s not like we don''t have top-notch literati and scholars today. I personally recommend Xian Yu''s ''Song of Water'', which though released as song lyrics, the quality of the lyrics themselves is definitely not inferior to those of the ancients, and might even surpass some ancient masters!"

    "What about Chu Kuang''s ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower''?"

    "Hahahaha, still on this ''Butterfly''s Love for a Flower''? After the national exam in Qin Continent added a push, poems and lyrics from various authors creating new ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower'' are all over the internet. I could recite the format by heart."

    "Now when I see the words ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower'', I get a headache!"

    "Whether Chu Kuang''s ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower'' will be selected or not is uncertain, but some of his short stories are sure to be selected, and not just one!"

    "Don''t forget, Xian Yu also wrote some poems in ''Flirting Scholar'', some of which are extremely marvelous!"

    "So, are Xian Yu and Chu Kuang likely to have many works selected?"

    "If the two of them really have many works selected for the textbooks, that would be a big deal, as this could influence countless students!"

    "¡­"

    Of course, not only Xian Yu and Chu Kuang but also many literary giants were mentioned by the netizens, and there are plenty of contemporary works qualified for the textbooks!

    Elementary school, middle school, high school, university.

    The re-compilation involves too many textbooks, which means there are plenty of opportunities.

    Especially for elementary, middle, and high school, the content of the textbooks during these periods can directly affect children''s growth!

    Outside attention.

    The cultural circle also values this, even eagerly!

    Who in the entire literary circle of Blue Star wouldn''t want their works printed in textbooks?

    For literati, reputation is the most important thing, and having works appear in textbooks is a high pursuit for many top literati, an unprecedented opportunity!

    At that moment.

    Countless literati were in action!

    The public could clearly feel the literary circle becoming more active, with many literary magazines and the like soliciting heavyweight literati to release works!

    Of course.

    This "A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower" craze was also a very good entry point.

    With Yi An, Chu Kuang, and the national exam driving it, the public has recently paid enough attention to the poetic form name ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower''!

    This led to literati continuously releasing ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower'', like a relay race!

    Even some literature-loving netizens began creating their own ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower''!

    And as more and more ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower'' were released, more and more high-quality works emerged. Surprisingly, netizens even began ranking these similar types of works!

    "Not talking about the ancient pieces, the modern ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower'' of the highest quality is definitely Chu Kuang''s version."

    "Yi An''s isn''t bad either."

    "Yi An ranks second, but the ending of Chu Kuang''s piece is too classic!"

    "Hard to say in the quality duel between these two, but the national exam choosing Chu Kuang''s piece suggests it''s more suitable for promotion."

    "Considering Chu Kuang''s own fame, he should rank first, but if not, these two pieces should tie."

    "Who is third?"

    "Currently, it seems to be Teacher Wu Ji''s ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower''. I even think Teacher Wu Ji''s piece is no less than those two."

    "Indeed, Teacher Wu Ji''s piece is also good."

    "Chu Kuang, Yi An, and Wu Ji, there''s no doubt they are the three giants of ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower''."

    "Then the fourth¡­"

    "The fifth is¡­"

    "¡­"

    Netizens always have a particular enthusiasm for various rankings.

    Even in a martial arts novel, everyone would rank the strengths of the characters.

    They even make rankings for weapons and the like.

    Rankings always significantly stimulate netizens'' enthusiasm.

    As for the mentioned Wu Ji, he is a top literati from Qi Continent, best known for writing classical poetry, sometimes also creating some splendid classical lyrics!

    Today, the Literature and Art Association announced the news of the textbook re-compilation.

    Many people believed that Teacher Wu Ji would have more than one work selected for the textbooks, demonstrating his strength!

    He also wrote a ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower'' this time.

    This is the only version that netizens believe can compete with Chu Kuang and Yi An''s versions.

    Though there are many exemplary versions of ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower'', compared to Chu Kuang and Yi An''s works, they ultimately lack a certain flair.

    ¡­

    Wu Ji himself was quite satisfied with the quality of his ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower''.

    Actually, Wu Ji was most skilled at classical poetry, and his level of writing classical lyrics was slightly below his poetry skills, but this time his inspiration burst forth, leading to the creation of a very classic ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower''.

    "The only version that can compete with Chu Kuang and Yi An¡­"

    Although there''s a saying that literati often belittle each other, Wu Ji found this assessment quite validating.

    He acknowledged that Chu Kuang and Yi An''s versions were classic, no inferior to those handed down from ancient times.

    But that did not mean he was inferior to these two men.

    There are many formats for lyrics, and ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower'' is just one of them.

    Every tune title, different people will have different interpretations.

    Just one tune title cannot distinctly compare the level of literary talent.

    For example, with the tune title "Song of Water", Xian Yu''s "Only Wishing for Longevity" is simply unbeatable!

    Yi An and Chu Kuang, and even myself, none of us could surpass Xian Yu''s version when writing "Song of Water".

    He brought this tune title to its ultimate!

    As a matter of fact.

    Including the big names like Xin Qiji, they also wrote "Song of Water", but none were as classic as Su Dongpo''s.

    But who would dare say that Xin Qiji''s skill is lesser than Su Dongpo''s?

    In some other tune titles, Xin Qiji''s level is also dominating!

    Such as "Breaking Open the Ranks".

    Such as "The Case of the Green Jade" and so on.

    And now.

    Wu Ji, Yi An, and Chu Kuang, the three of us, also overwhelmed others in the "A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower" of the same kind!

    It goes without saying.

    Someday, a textbook might feature three versions of "A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower", each by me, Chu Kuang, and Yi An.

    This has precedent.

    For example, the current grade one textbook in Qi Continent already includes three classic versions of the ancient "Longing for Love".

    If it''s not possible, including it in extracurricular readings works as well.

    After all, if comparing modern literary works, my version of "A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower" has already securely made it into the top three!

    Even some friends called to praise:

    "Your version of ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower'' is exceptional, hardly inferior to those by Yi An and Chu Kuang!"

    "Still, it''s a bit lacking."

    Wu Ji modestly replied, and it wasn''t just false modesty, indeed, it was slightly less impressive compared to the other two. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Anyway, in the modern literary versions, your composition definitely makes it into the top three of ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower''."

    "That''s hard to say, what if there is an even better one later?"

    Wu Ji said this, but he didn''t really think so, this time he truly was being modest.

    Excellent poetry creation needs not only talent but also the blessings of inspiration, and even for the extraordinarily talented, inspiration is something that comes serendipitously, not on demand.

    Otherwise, why would history have works considered peerless masterpieces?

    Such peerless works really do push the limits of a genre to the extreme!

    Even the authors who wrote those works can''t surpass themselves because such dazzling displays of inspirational fireworks might appear only once in a lifetime for many people.

    "There won''t be anyone more impressive from here on."

    A friend lamented, who is also a top-tier literary figure: "Even Yamamoto, known as the minor king of lyrics in Chu Continent, failed. Have you seen his version? It''s indeed very impressive, but compared to your versions, it fell short."

    Wu Ji chuckled, slightly prideful.

    Literary figures are lofty, yet they also enjoy such indirect flattery, even love it passionately, easily getting intoxicated by it, which is one of their motivations for creating.

    Creators always say they create to find resonance.

    Yes, but that''s not all.

    The pursuit of their work sparking countless followers is also their ambition.

    This provides them with immense spiritual satisfaction.

    And just as he was about to hang up the phone.

    His friend''s voice suddenly changed, as if encountering something extremely unexpected:

    "Xian Yu¡­"

    "What?"

    Wu Ji slightly startled.

    His friend was silent for a long while, and Wu Ji didn''t know what happened on the other end, just as he was about to ask, his friend finally spoke in a very complex tone:

    "You really called it, there are many talented individuals in the current lyric scene."

    "What did I call?"

    "Didn''t you say there might be an even better version of ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower'' later?"

    "I..."

    Wu Ji''s eyes widened!

    What do you mean by that!

    I was being modest!

    Unaware of Wu Ji''s mindset, his friend seemed to be savoring something silently: "This version can definitely rank alongside Yi An''s and Chu Kuang''s versions in the top three!"

    Rank alongside the top three?

    What about mine then?

    Wu Ji was flustered: "Whom are you talking about?"

    His friend sighed: "Xian Yu also just wrote a ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower'', written superbly."

    "¡­"

    Five minutes later.

    Wu Ji blankly stared at the computer screen, feeling a strong sense of disappointment emerge.

    That was Xian Yu''s blog interface.

    It displayed the following verse:

    The courtyard deep, how deep it is, smoke drifts from the willows, curtains hanging weightlessly. Jade bridles and carved saddles everywhere, the high tower hides the path to Zhangtai.

    Stormy winds and rain at the twilight of March, doors shut at dusk, no way to make spring stay. Tearful eyes ask the flower, the flower stays silent, scattered red flying past the swing.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to the mighty Swallow 523, another cute god, kneel before the mighty, only found out today that the mischievous big sister Swallow is a lady~ Wrapping up work today to rest, because tomorrow I have to take a long car ride to Zhejiang, updates probably after eight o''clock.

 Chapter 822 - 719: A Butterflyâ€™s Love for a Flower in Chinese Painting

    The courtyard is deep, how deep it is...

    Wu Ji felt the disparity as soon as he read the first line of Xian Yu''s "A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower".

    And on Earth,

    Some say this poem was Ouyang Xiu''s work, others claim it was written by Feng Yansi. It''s quite normal for there to be disputes over the origins of ancient works.

    Miss Li Qingzhao believed it was a work of Ouyang Xiu.

    She held this poem in high esteem and even quoted it in her own work;

    Wang Guowei also liked this poem, though he tended to think it was Feng Yansi''s work.

    There might be controversy over who the author was, but there was none about the quality of the poem itself.

    After reading the entire poem, Wu Ji sighed lightly.

    He knew that when contemporary literati created "A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower", he was no longer in the top three.

    "This Xian Yu, his literary talent is certainly extraordinary."

    This was not the first time Xian Yu had created a work of poetry.

    He didn''t produce many works, but almost every one he did was a classic.

    No wonder there was an adage within and outside the industry, "Xian Yu in the south, Chu Kuang in the north," that had taken such deep root in people''s hearts.

    At the same time Wu Ji saw this work,

    Netizens also noticed Xian Yu''s version of "A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower".

    The internet was abuzz, and the comments section exploded with activity!

    Everyone was conquered by this poem!

    "Fish Papa''s poetry rocks!"

    "This version is absolutely stunning!"

    "''Xian Yu in the south, Chu Kuang in the north'' isn''t just a saying!"

    "What a masterstroke!"

    "Taken on their own, these lines may not be as shocking as those by Chu Kuang and Yi An, but read the poem in its entirety, and it flows beautifully, inviting continuous reflection, with every word carefully chosen, bursting with boundless inspiration!"

    "This one will definitely make the top three!"

    "Before, I thought only Teacher Wu Ji''s version could stand side by side with the other two, but now that I see Xian Yu''s, I realize that Teacher Wu Ji''s work is slightly less superior."

    "Teacher Wu Ji is good, just that Xian Yu is better."

    "Fish Papa''s the guy who wrote ''Song of Water'', how could his work be anything less than impressive?"

    "They say the Three Bros rise and fall together, let''s have Teacher Shadow write one too!"

    "Shadow: Scram!"

    "Hahahaha, it would work if Shadow God does one, cartoonists are in agony!"

    "The top contenders for ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower'' have been decided, it can only be Chu Kuang, Yi An, and Xian Yu!"

    "..."

    Xian Yu''s poem received high praise!

    Even industry insiders were expressing their approval!

    This craze for "A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower" was ignited by Yi An, fueled to a climax by Chu Kuang, and was now culminating with Xian Yu!

    However, netizens'' calls for Teacher Shadow did prompt laughter.

    It was unfair to put Shadow on the spot like that, wasn''t it?

    After all, Shadow was a comic artist!

    Not like Chu Kuang and Xian Yu, who could effortlessly craft poetry as if it were second nature.

    Well, alright.

    It was mainly because the Three Bros had captured the hearts of the people so deeply.

    Seeing that Xian Yu and Chu Kuang both wrote "A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower", netizens instinctively thought of Shadow.

    But Shadow was different from the other two.

    Lin Yuan had plenty of stunning "A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower" poems to use for Shadow, but he didn''t feel it necessary.

    This concerned the strategic positioning of his three personas.

    Chu Kuang''s persona was a writer; having a talent for poetry wasn''t inconsistent;

    Xian Yu, as a musician and a screenwriter, dealt with lyrics and scripts, where a poetic talent was understandable.

    Shadow was all about painting.

    Though comic works involved scripts and text, the focus lay in the art itself.

    Having Shadow write a "A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower" posed a risk; it could lead to speculation among netizens. Therefore, Lin Yuan restrained himself from letting Shadow join in on the spur of the moment¡ª

    Indeed.

    Lin Yuan did feel tempted in this regard.

    As netizens said, with Chu Kuang and Xian Yu having participated, how could Shadow not join in?

    Hold back!

    There will be other chances in the future.

    Keep a few "A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower" poems in reserve; they might come in handy someday.

    Lin Yuan thought to himself.

    Speaking of which,

    Who said Shadow must be left out?

    Let''s not forget that "A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower" isn''t just a lyric genre; it could also be a painting!

    Butterflies, flowers.

    These are common themes in traditional Chinese painting!

    Why not paint "A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower" using the identity of Shadow directly? Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Just do it!

    Lin Yuan immediately went to his studio and began his painting, the theme being "A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower"!

    The reason for doing so was not merely so that his three personas could advance or retreat together; more importantly, Lin Yuan wanted to change some of the fixed perceptions netizens had of Shadow...

    Shadow was a painter!

    Not merely a comic artist!

    While related, the significance represented by the former was starkly different from the latter.

    Lin Yuan was not content to let Shadow be just a comic artist!

    Wouldn''t that be wasting Shadow''s Master Level painting skills?

    Especially since Shadow had reached the summit of the comic world, advancing further was truly difficult.

    In such a situation, it was even more necessary for Lin Yuan to diversify the fields in which Shadow''s avatar engaged. Otherwise, Shadow would eventually fall behind, becoming the invisible presence sandwiched between Chu Kuang and Xian Yu!

    After all, a comic is just a comic and cannot become an "art" recognized by everyone.

    But painting itself is undeniably art!

    But now the situation is...

    Although Shadow has illustrated for Chu Kuang''s novels, everyone''s impression of Shadow as a comic artist is too profound!

    Almost no one pays attention to Shadow''s identity as a painter!

    This requires Lin Yuan to consciously guide the public to truly notice Shadow''s painting talents beyond comics, thus shaking off everyone''s entrenched perception of him as merely a comic artist.

    In the north, there''s Xian Yu, in the south, Chu Kuang, and Shadow is in the center.

    Shadow''s desire to achieve renown on par with Chu Kuang and Xian Yu still needs to be backed by more substantial merit.

    ...

    Inside the studio.

    Lin Yuan painted with a free hand.

    He painted earnestly, his gaze intensely focused, showcasing his master-level painting skill without reservation.

    As Lin Yuan painted,

    to the side,

    Jin Mu had, at some point, drawn nearer without notice.

    Jin Mu didn''t disturb Lin Yuan, merely fixating on the painting under his brush with glints of amazement in his eyes.

    He didn''t possess professional appraisal skills, but he thought the painting was incredibly beautiful!

    The flowers in the painting were indescribably lovely!

    And the butterfly swirling around the flower seemed to come alive, fluttering its wings silently close to the petals.

    Though plainly a still image, Jin Mu could feel a dynamic beauty to it!

    "A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower..."

    Seeing the content of the painting, Jin Mu had a rough idea of Lin Yuan''s intent.

    After an unknown amount of time,

    Lin Yuan finally finished the painting.

    He blew gently on his work and felt relatively satisfied, although by Lin Yuan''s master-level standards, some aspects of the painting still lacked a certain essence.

    "May I take a photo?"

    Jin Mu, seeing Lin Yuan had finished, couldn''t help but ask.

    "Of course."

    Lin Yuan had no objections; paintings were meant to be appreciated, after all.

    Click.

    Jin Mu captured the painting with his camera, but upon careful comparison with the original, he couldn''t help shaking his head, "The effect from the photo still doesn''t match the experience of viewing the original piece."

    "If you like the original, I''ll give it to you," Lin Yuan said with a smile, knowing full well that the effect captured by the camera could never compare to the original.

    "For me?"

    Jin Mu was delighted, "Then I''ll have to frame it when I get back. It will be perfect for showing off. Don''t forget to sign it. ''Shadow'' will do!"

    "Alright."

    Lin Yuan wrote the date and the word "Shadow" in the specific handwriting and font that he had designated for Shadow.

    Lin Yuan was very careful.

    The handwriting of Chu Kuang, Xian Yu, and Shadow was distinct, purposefully differentiated to prevent any chance of linking his pseudonyms through penmanship.

    "Are you planning to upload this photo online?"

    Jin Mu didn''t hurry to take the painting away but regarded it thoughtfully instead.

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Jin Mu shook his head, "I don''t mind you doing that, but as you''ve seen, the effect captured by a smartphone doesn''t do it justice compared to the original piece. How about I arrange an art exhibition instead?"

    "An art exhibition?"

    "Isn''t your ultimate goal to formally introduce Shadow into the realm of painting?"

    "Yes."

    "Then let''s organize an art exhibition. More discerning eyes gather there. Placing it directly online lacks gravitas. Even if it''s eventually put online, it shouldn''t be snapped with a phone camera but should use higher-level technology to recreate as much of the painting''s essence as possible."

    "You handle it."

    Lin Yuan found Jin Mu''s words quite reasonable, "I''m headed home."

    Jin Mu nodded.

    Handing the painting over to Jin Mu, Lin Yuan didn''t concern himself much further with it. This painting wasn''t one he was particularly proud of; it was just a test for dipping into the painting world. If he truly wanted to improve it, he needed to delve deeper into capturing the essence of the eye, the flowers, and the butterfly, which wasn''t a task to be completed in a day or two.

    After Lin Yuan left,

    Jin Mu thought for a moment and then made a call to Luo Wei.

    Jin Mu knew of Luo Wei''s in-depth research on traditional paintings, and it seemed her family had roots in that field as well, so she was likely more aware of any upcoming art exhibitions than anyone else.

    Soon, the call went through.

    Luo Wei, hearing the entire story from Jin Mu, couldn''t help expressing excitement, "Are you saying the teacher is preparing to venture into traditional painting?"

    "He used a brush and added color at the end, no doubt it''s a traditional painting."

    "I see!"

    Luo Wei was inexplicably thrilled, something Jin Mu couldn''t quite understand.

    In truth, Luo Wei had been waiting for this day!

    She knew ever since their competition in traditional painting when Lin Yuan had soundly defeated her, that her teacher''s skill in traditional painting was definitely top-tier within the industry. Yet such a person remained unknown in the painting world, a hidden gem obscured by dust, causing her to lament the waste.

    Her teacher, always so unassuming.

    One with such fearsome painting talent had no aspirations for glory, instead storming the comic world with her, creating the number one name in comics.

    Luo Wei liked comics as well.

    However, she had always believed that the painting world was where the teacher truly belonged, and traditional painting was his most terrifying secret weapon. In both influence and artistic value, comics and traditional painting were incomparable!

    To give the simplest example,

    Twenty years after a comic''s conclusion, it might only influence one generation; the next generation will have new comics to read. In a way, it''s fast food, an entertainment product.

    Art like traditional painting, however, is different.

    If the quality is high enough, such art can become timeless classics with age. Their artistic significance and influence don''t fade over time but might even grow more distinguished, enduring through the ages!

    Now the teacher was finally entering the painting world!

    Luo Wei believed that with her teacher''s capability, he could rise meteorically in the painting industry, achieving success in traditional painting not unlike the achievements in comics!

    "As for the art exhibition..."

    "There are no top-tier art exhibitions this year, but there''s no need to wait for one. In a while, there will be a mid-tier exhibition in Su City. Many from the painting industry will attend. Let''s present Teacher Shadow''s work there. With the teacher''s skill and reputation, the organizers surely won''t refuse!"

    "Do you need me to step in?"

    "There''s no need. You probably know a bit about my family''s situation; it can be considered a painter family with some modest influence in the field. For a mid-sized exhibition, it''s completely manageable."

    Luo Wei was already eager to proceed!

 Chapter 823 - 780: Galloping Horses Painting

    Back home.

    A notification suddenly appeared in Lin Yuan''s mind:

    "Ding dong! Congratulations to the host for completing the adaptation task of ''Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange'' and obtaining Master Level Calligraphy!"

    Lin Yuan was stunned for a moment.

    It was a reward for the mission.

    This one arrived quite late.

    It seemed that it was because the network had aired the finale in advance, while the TV station had just finished broadcasting it, right?

    Without dwelling on this point, Lin Yuan''s eyes lit up with a hint of anticipation.

    He wondered what the difference was between Master Level and Professional Level calligraphy.

    Sitting at the desk.

    Out of curiosity, Lin Yuan took out a notebook and wrote a few characters.

    The moment he did, he could feel it.

    It was a very strange sensation.

    It was as if the structure of each character could manifest countless beautiful forms in his mind.

    Cursive, regular script, grass script...

    Lin Yuan handled all different styles of writing with ease.

    It was far better than his previous Professional Level calligraphy skills!

    It was a very comfortable state!

    The beauty of Chinese characters was infinitely magnified in Lin Yuan''s eyes.

    It''s just a pity...

    Although he now possessed Master Level calligraphy skills, apart from helping Lin Yuan better disguise the differences in his handwriting, there was no significant immediate use for it.

    Perhaps it would be useful in the future.

    Just like that.

    After excitedly writing for a while at home, Lin Yuan''s novelty finally faded a bit, but looking at his neat and beautiful handwriting, he was still in a very good mood.

    "What movie to shoot next..."

    Lin Yuan wrote this sentence on the notebook, the handwriting beautiful.

    Actually, there was no need to write it down; a thought could just circulate in his mind.

    However, with Master Level calligraphy, Lin Yuan intentionally made an extra effort, enjoying the feeling of writing well.

    Of course, it wasn''t just about writing it down, Lin Yuan was genuinely reflecting.

    Rustle rustle rustle.

    The names of many movies appeared in his mind.

    Unable to make a choice for the moment, Lin Yuan decided not to think about it anymore.

    He put away the notebook.

    A fun idea suddenly occurred to Lin Yuan:

    After obtaining Master Level calligraphy skills, his control over the brush seemed even more effortless.

    Could this also enhance his painting skill?

    In ancient times, when mentioning talents, emphasis was inevitably placed on music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.

    Among them, there is actually a connection between calligraphy and painting.

    Many people with high levels of calligraphy skill are not bad at painting either.

    Because whether it''s calligraphy or painting, both heavily emphasize the use and control of the brush.

    For instance, Tang Bohu was renowned for excelling in both calligraphy and painting.

    If one were to say that Tang Bohu''s achievements were embellished with fictional tales and exaggerated, surely Su Dongpo''s weren''t, right?

    He was a true artistic genius.

    In poetry, prose, lyrics, calligraphy, painting, and other areas, Su Shi achieved peak accomplishments.

    This is also the real reason he was known as Su Immortal.

    Lin Yuan originally had only Professional Level calligraphy, but his calligraphy was prettier than many Professional Level experts because Lin Yuan had Master Level painting skills.

    Now, his calligraphy skill had also been elevated to Master Level.

    In this way, his Master Level painting skill also seemed to improve with the advancement in calligraphy skill, after all, the two complemented each other to some extent.

    With this in mind.

    Lin Yuan couldn''t help but want to experiment a bit.

    He went straight into the study.

    This was his private study; family members would not come in, respecting each other''s privacy.

    And naturally, this study was not lacking in brushes, ink, paper, inkstone, and painting materials.

    He spread out the rice paper and began to grind ink, also selecting some brushes he used for painting.

    "What to paint?"

    Having ground the ink, Lin Yuan hesitated for a moment, then suddenly remembered that there seemed to be a painting in the chairman''s office.

    The painting depicted a horse. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    There was also a model of a horse on the chairman''s desk, clearly indicating his fondness for the creature.

    So, let''s paint a horse!

    I''ll give it to the chairman afterwards.

    With a plan in mind, Lin Yuan began to paint.

    Although he was painting a horse, Lin Yuan couldn''t conjure it out of thin air; he had a reference work from Earth in his mind.

    Mr. Xu Beihong''s "Galloping Horse"!

    Mr. Xu Beihong was one of the masters on Earth most proficient in painting horses.

    Only after attaining Master Level painting skills did Lin Yuan realize that he could recall some of the masterpieces of past painting masters, perhaps an extra reward given by the System?

    If that''s the case.

    He might as well paint his own version of "Galloping Horse."

    He wanted to see if Master Level painting skills combined with Master Level calligraphy skills could allow him to create a piece as powerful as Mr. Xu Beihong''s work!

    He dipped his brush in ink.

    Lin Yuan began to sweep his brush across the paper.

    Ten minutes later, Lin Yuan looked at the form of his work with bright eyes!

    There''s a chance!

    It really worked!

    After obtaining Master Level calligraphy skills, his painting skill had indeed slightly improved!

    Do not underestimate these slight improvements.

    You must know, Lin Yuan already had Master Level painting skills!

    And for someone with Master Level painting skills to improve even slightly was immensely difficult, usually requiring countless hours of painstaking effort!

    This excited Lin Yuan!

    Perhaps this excitement was very beneficial for enhancing his state, as Lin Yuan continued to paint for an hour without feeling tired at all!

    During that hour.

    Lin Yuan''s "Galloping Horse" had already taken on a very robust and powerful framework!

    Although not yet complete, Lin Yuan could feel:

    Once this painting is finished, its quality will rival the original "Galloping Horse"!

    "In this comparison, ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower'' really doesn''t measure up."

    Lin Yuan grew increasingly dissatisfied with his performance in ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower,'' even though for many people, that piece was already excellent.

    Another two hours of painting, and Lin Yuan finally felt a trace of fatigue.

    Continuous painting, with intense concentration, it''s quite normal to feel tired.

    Especially since Lin Yuan''s investment in "Galloping Horse" was completely incomparable to ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower.''

    In fact.

    Although he had been painting for three hours, this piece was still incomplete, because it featured four horses.

    Each horse needed its own spirit and posture.

    Otherwise, the painting would not be considered good; at least, those were Lin Yuan''s standards for himself.

    "I''ll continue painting tomorrow."

    Lin Yuan stretched languorously and decided to rest.

    Haste makes waste.

    Painting also requires a balance of work and rest.

    Especially when painting something complex, spending several days on it is perfectly normal.

    While there are masterpieces that are completed in one breath, they do not apply to "Galloping Horse."

    The details needed to be meticulously added.

    Of course, this painting did not use flamboyant colors, just straightforward ink painting.

    Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

    Ink painting, when taken to the extreme, can undoubtedly produce a visual impact as stunning as a riot of colors!

    In the hands of a painter, the combination of black and white can evolve into infinite artworks!

    It''s worth mentioning...

    Although he was painting "Galloping Horse," Lin Yuan was not completely imitating Mr. Xu Beihong, but rather incorporating his own understanding while referencing the other''s work, mainly in capturing the essence.

    This kind of referencing might result in Lin Yuan''s work having a similar essence to Mr. Xu Beihong''s style.

    From this perspective, Lin Yuan''s painting skills were already very impressive.

    Previously, when he painted "Six Shrimps," he had to rely on Qi Baishi''s character card bonus.

    Now, while painting "Galloping Horse," he didn''t need to use Mr. Xu Beihong''s character card to successfully complete it!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Today is the last day of double monthly tickets, Polluted White continues to write, asking for monthly votes!

 Chapter 824 - 781: Masters Touch

    In the following days,

    Lin Yuan had spent countless efforts and finally completed the painting with the artistic conception of Xu Beihong, "Gallop"!

    It was now noon.

    After having lunch at home, Lin Yuan took the painting and headed for the company.

    Not in a hurry to give the painting to the chairman, Lin Yuan spread the painting out by the window of his office for one more admiration, then nodded in satisfaction.

    With Lin Yuan''s current level, there weren''t many paintings that could satisfy him.

    Yesterday he was also in a good state.

    If Lin Yuan were to paint "Gallop" again today, it probably wouldn''t be as stunning as this one.

    Even Xu Beihong himself, after so many paintings of horses, could not guarantee that each one would be of the same caliber.

    For a moment, Lin Yuan was somewhat reluctant to give this painting away.

    While Lin Yuan was narcissistically admiring "Gallop," suddenly there came some noises from the doorway.

    "Little Fish..."

    It turned out to be Zheng Jing.

    Among those Lin Yuan knew, only Zheng Jing would call him "Little Fish."

    "Aunt Zheng."

    Lin Yuan turned around and greeted her; the two seniors he respected the most in the company were Yang Zhongming and Zheng Jing.

    "Black tea."

    Zheng Jing said to Gu Dong, who was standing by, then looked towards Lin Yuan:

    "I came to tell you something about the twelve consecutive championships."

    "Hm."

    "This morning, Teacher Yang Zhongming told me that Lu Sheng is releasing a song in November. You should be careful not to let him break your streak."

    Zheng Jing''s expression was very serious.

    Lin Yuan was stunned.

    Lu Sheng?

    That was one of Blue Star''s top-ranking Maestros.

    In the eyes of some netizens, Lu Sheng''s level was even higher than Yang Zhongming''s, though Lin Yuan felt that this statement was a bit unreliable. Lu Sheng was likely still not as good as Yang Zhongming.

    He had asked the System about it.

    The System had vaguely revealed this idea as well.

    However, it was undeniable that Lu Sheng was a very powerful Maestro, and his plan to release a song in November certainly warranted his attention.

    "I got it."

    Lin Yuan understood the purpose of Zheng Jing''s reminder; she wanted him to be mentally prepared:

    "Thank you, Aunt Zheng."

    "I thought you''d panic, but you seem not to worry at all," Zheng Jing said with a smile as she looked at Lin Yuan.

    "It''s okay."

    Lin Yuan was fully prepared to face all sorts of opponents since he aspired to achieve twelve consecutive championships.

    After all, Lu Sheng wouldn''t release his song until November.

    It''s only August now.

    He still had two months to prepare.

    "The enemy intelligence I''ve gathered isn''t just this. Otherwise, I wouldn''t have specifically come over. There''s another thing that you should pay attention to. Lu Sheng''s new song in November will be a classical-style song, just like ''Dong Feng Po''."

    Zheng Jing seemed to be well-informed.

    Yet, Lin Yuan felt a slight stir in his heart.

    Like "Dong Feng Po"?

    Isn''t that a Chinese-style song?

    "Classical style, ''three old and three new,'' that''s the unique classical style created by ''Dong Feng Po.'' Lu Sheng''s work in November must have learned from your song''s creative technique, which I don''t doubt. That guy has a strong ability to learn; he can even master almost all of Teacher Yang Zhongming''s creative techniques..."

    Zheng Jing''s voice seemed to hold a hint of emotion.

    "Teacher Yang Zhongming?"

    "You might not know, but before Lu Sheng became famous, he actually studied music with Ol'' Yang for a while. He''s kind of like Yang''s half-apprentice. But this isn''t known to the public, and you don''t have to spread it around."

    Lin Yuan was taken aback for a moment, then nodded.

    He hadn''t expected Lu Sheng to have such a connection with Yang Zhongming.

    Coincidentally, he also considered himself half a disciple of Teacher Yang Zhongming.

    He still used Yang Zhongming''s character card to learn some musical knowledge to this day.

    "You should be aware that the greatest challenge for the twelve consecutive championships is the Battle of the Gods at the end of the year. But if you lose to Lu Sheng in November, winning the Battle of the Gods won''t mean anything, because the streak for the championships will have been broken."

    Zheng Jing really hoped Lin Yuan would succeed:

    "Compared to that, September and October should be easy for you. There probably won''t be any strong musicians challenging you these two months. After all, you''ve already won for eight consecutive months, and there''s no great benefit to competing against you anymore. It would only result in a bad reputation. Besides, many people know that Lu Sheng will make his move in November."

    Lin Yuan understood.

    This was rather good news.

    If there were no significant opponents in September and October, his pressure would be lighter.

    Although his repertoire was filled with classics, Lin Yuan couldn''t guarantee a win every time.

    Now it seemed, his focus should be on November and December.

    Let''s not talk about December''s Battle of the Gods.

    He must first overcome the challenge posed by Lu Sheng.

    If the opponent was composing a Chinese-style song, he should counter with a song of the same genre.

    At this moment,

    Lin Yuan already had an idea of what song to release in November.

    "It seems you already have a rough idea."

    Zheng Jing took a sip of the tea prepared by Gu Dong, relaxing her demeanor:

    "You shouldn''t stress too much, just handle Lu Sheng well in November. December will be the toughest time. The Zhong Continent might take action then, to be precise, someone from the Zhong Continent team will definitely make a move. There are many prodigies over there, some of whom even Ol'' Yang would have to face with all his might."

    "Hm."

    The Battle of the Gods would undoubtedly be hellishly difficult.

    But Lin Yuan also had a plan for what to release in December.

    If he lost in December, Lin Yuan would accept his defeat. He had already prepared ample ammunition for that month.

    "I''ve delivered the message, so I''ll be heading back now,"

    Zheng Jing took another sip of tea, then stood up to take her leave.

    Lin Yuan nodded his head.

    Zheng Jing waved her hand, preparing to turn around and leave, but at the moment she turned, her footsteps suddenly halted.

    The next moment, she looked towards the window and let out a surprised shriek of delight!

    It was a shriek filled with a girlish tone, a subtle feeling, even with a hint of coquettishness, as if a girl in love had just seen her heartthrob!

    Her whole demeanor shone with excitement!

    Lin Yuan followed Zheng Jing''s gaze only to realize that what made Zheng Jing scream was the painting of "Galloping Horses" he had just spread out by the window.

    Zheng Jing''s visit was so sudden.

    Lin Yuan had forgotten to put the painting away.

    Whoosh.

    Zheng Jing rushed over and stopped in front of "Galloping Horses", staring fixedly at the painting, her eyes filled with unbounded desire!

    "Where did this painting come from?"

    Zheng Jing turned her head, and the intensity in her eyes gave Lin Yuan a start.

    "I have a friend..."

    Lin Yuan coughed, and his tone became smoother, "A friend of mine painted it."

    "Was it painted by Shadow!?"

    The painting had no signature or date, yet Zheng Jing guessed half the truth.

    Lin Yuan felt increasingly nervous,

    but upon further thought, it seemed normal.

    His only well-known friend with impressive painting skills was Shadow.

    "Yes."

    With that realization, Lin Yuan admitted it.

    Staring at the "Galloping Horses", Zheng Jing was profoundly shocked; she had never expected such a piece to come from the hands of a comic artist.

    Indeed.

    Because of Xian Yu, Zheng Jing was aware of Shadow, but she didn''t know much, only that he was a fairly skilled comic artist. She had never imagined that this comic artist could have such mastery in traditional Chinese painting.

    Meanwhile.

    Gu Dong leaned in close to Lin Yuan and whispered, "Teacher Zheng Jing is a painting fanatic. Her passion for painting even surpasses her love for music..."

    Lin Yuan understood.

    Reminded by Gu Dong, he remembered hearing rumors within the company.

    It was even said in the industry that Zheng Jing loved painting profoundly.

    If it weren''t for her limited talent in painting, she might have already been deeply rooted in the art world, working hard, instead of achieving today''s success in the music scene.

    Even so, Zheng Jing was still madly in love with painting.

    She had even held her own personal painting exhibition, but unfortunately, due to her average talent, her artwork hadn''t caused much of a stir.

    "Little Fish..."

    Zheng Jing didn''t hear Gu Dong''s mutterings; she was completely captivated by the "Galloping Horses"!

    After examining the painting closely for quite some time, Zheng Jing was extremely careful, even with her breathing!

    Her gaze never shifted, but her voice rose with a touch of longing and nervousness,

    "Aunt Zheng wonders if I might ask you for a favor?"

    For someone like Zheng Jing to say the word "ask" was truly not easy.

    Lin Yuan was no fool.

    He had a vague idea of what Zheng Jing was about to say next, "Aunt Zheng likes this painting?" S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Love at first sight!"

    Zheng Jing answered without hesitation.

    Lin Yuan smiled, "Then it''s yours."

    Although he had intended to give the painting to the chairman, seeing how much Aunt Zheng loved it, Lin Yuan chose to do a good deed.

    After all, this elder had always taken good care of him.

    As for the chairman, if he was in good form another day, he could just paint another one for him since Lin Yuan''s painting skill was well established.

    "For me!?"

    Zheng Jing finally moved her gaze away from the painting, a motion that seemed particularly difficult for her, but she turned to Lin Yuan with an earnest expression, "Do you know the value of this painting?"

    "Roughly."

    "Alright, it''s settled then!"

    Zheng Jing, as if afraid Lin Yuan might go back on his word, confirmed it immediately, then felt a bit embarrassed.

    She seemed to have lost her composure.

    "Aunt Zheng won''t take advantage of you for nothing, you can name a price."

    "If it''s a gift, naturally I can''t take money for it."

    Lin Yuan liked money, but once he said he would give it away, he wouldn''t go back on his word.

    "If you put it that way, I would seem mercenary to haggle, Aunt Zheng owes you a favor. If you ever need anything, just ask,"

    Zheng Jing took a deep breath,

    "Shadow''s skill in traditional Chinese painting is truly incredible."

    In the midst of speaking, Zheng Jing carefully packed up the painting, treating it like a treasure, as if worrying that any exertion might wrinkle the artwork.

    Lin Yuan smiled.

    He was pleased to hear others praise his painting.

    "Oh, by the way."

    Zheng Jing suddenly said, "Would Shadow mind if I took this painting..."

    "Since it''s a gift to Aunt Zheng, naturally you can do as you wish with it."

    "Good boy, this is a big favor Aunt Zheng owes you. Rest assured, I will treasure this painting like a jewel. I won''t waste the effort of a master level artist!"

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    He felt almost bashful from all the compliments.

    ------------------------

    ps: Shouting out again for monthly votes; I''ve hit a bit of a writer''s block these past few days with fewer updates, but I''ll write more once I''m in a better state.

 Chapter 825 - 782 Exhibition (Part 1)

    In Qin Continent, August is the hottest month of the year, when the sun spews tongues of flame, searing the earth. Even Antarctica, who usually loves the bustle, seems to have lost the desire to go out and play, choosing instead to stay quietly in an air-conditioned room most of the time.

    On this day.

    Lin Yuan stayed at home playing with Antarctica when his cellphone suddenly rang. It was a call from Jin Mu.

    "It''s Saturday today, does the boss want to see an art exhibition?"

    "Art exhibition?"

    "A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower is being displayed at this exhibition¡­"

    "No, I won''t go."

    Lin Yuan firmly rejected the offer.

    In such scorching weather, Lin Yuan had no desire whatsoever to go out, not to mention that A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower was not a work he was particularly proud of.

    Jin Mu didn''t insist any further.

    Just because Lin Yuan didn''t want to go out didn''t mean others felt the same; people are often driven by some motivation or force.

    At that moment.

    In an art center in Su City.

    A medium-sized art exhibit was taking place.

    In Blue Star, a place with a rich artistic atmosphere, visiting art exhibitions is a reason some people choose to go out on a Saturday, even if they inevitably arrive at the venue sweating profusely after walking a few hundred meters because cars can''t get through.

    A promotional board was displayed at the entrance of the exhibition.

    The board listed information about the painters whose works were on exhibit.

    This was a medium-sized traditional painting exhibition. Most of the exhibiting painters were moderately famous within the circle, known to traditional painting enthusiasts but not yet among the top tier.

    "Yulian''s works are on display."

    "Ren Feifei is here, too."

    "Yuan Liu''s work as well, I saw it last year at a high-end exhibition¡ªvery impressive skill level."

    "I''m familiar with Shi Xiang, a promising figure in the traditional painting community. I came today just for him."

    "This exhibition has a decent scale."

    "There aren''t any top-name masters, but none of the participating painters are obscure."

    "Especially Yulian, who won a big prize last year and received accolades from many top artists."

    "..."

    The crowd around the promotional board exchanged thoughts.

    At that moment.

    Suddenly, one of the onlookers exclaimed with surprise, "Shadow''s work is also on display?"

    Everyone was startled.

    Soon enough, they indeed found Shadow on the promotional board.

    And in a moment.

    There was a buzz among the crowd.

    "Isn''t Shadow a comic artist?"

    "A comic artist can participate in this kind of formal traditional painting exhibition?"

    "Why would the organizers put works from a commercial comic artist in here?"

    "That''s interesting; as far as I know, Shadow''s painting skill is actually quite remarkable."

    "I didn''t expect Shadow to be part of this traditional painting exhibition. I happened to see some illustrations Shadow did for Chu Kuang Novelist''s stories, and the person''s foundational skills are truly solid, with a very lavish style. It makes sense for them to do traditional painting."

    "What''s the meaning of this?"

    "Having a nice appearance and conveying artistic conception are two different things, just like comics and traditional paintings are not the same concept. The presence of Shadow has brought down the prestige of the exhibition."

    "Disappointed."

    "What a joke, works from a commercial comic artist can be exhibited, the organizers must have been looking at Shadow''s fame, right?"

    "Shadow must have paid the organizers a bribe."

    "I have no good feeling towards these commercial artists. His presence is simply a desecration of traditional painting; all they know is to create eye-catching imagery and now they dare to dabble in traditional painting?"

    "..."

    Although Shadow has a decent reputation among online followers.

    At this kind of exhibition, many people actually feel indifferent or even hostile towards him as a comic artist.

    The reason is simple.

    They are not the same community.

    Those willing to brave the August sun to view the exhibition are traditional painting enthusiasts who consider themselves to have refined tastes.

    These people generally don''t read comics.

    They often possess a strong sense of artistic superiority, capable of discussing various masterpieces at length. They appreciate high art, so how could they be interested in a commercial comic artist?

    It''s not only the painting enthusiasts who think this way.

    Even in Blue Star''s professional artistic community, comics are often seen as the lowest rung on the esteem ladder, with many traditional artists looking down on pure commercial illustration.

    This is somewhat reminiscent of the literary community on Earth.

    Earth''s literary world, traditional novelists, and those who live by traditional literature also look down upon online writers.

    It''s the general environment.

    Whether it''s prejudice or generalization, such views and notions are deeply ingrained in many people.

    Therefore.

    The presence of Shadow at this exhibition irritates many, their faces plainly displaying disdain as if their own prestige has been diminished.

    ...

    Meanwhile, behind the noisy crowd, under an umbrella, a middle-aged man spoke indifferently:

    "Do you see? This is the attitude our traditional painting community has toward comics."

    Standing beside the middle-aged man, a woman with her hair tied into a bun retorted discontentedly, "Everybody else''s daddy supports his little girl, so why do you always have to rub salt in my wounds?"

    What''s wrong with comic artists?

    Did they steal your rice?

    Eh?

    Maybe the comic artists really did eat the rice from home since she herself was a comic artist.

    "Luo Wei¡­"

    The man spoke with a hint of frustration, "Daddy isn''t trying to discourage you, he is just afraid of you taking the wrong path!"

    Indeed.

    The woman with the bun was none other than Luo Wei.

    Today she wore a blue floral dress, looking uncharacteristically ladylike and charming, unlike her usual disheveled image as a tomboy when working on comics in her studio.

    And the man was Luo Wei''s father, the master of traditional painting, Luo Cheng!

    Luo Wei pouted and replied, "No matter what you say, I''ve already acknowledged Teacher Shadow as my master. You''ve always taught me since I was little that ''one day as a teacher means a lifetime as a father'', so you two are both my dads."

    "You¡­"

    What outrageous nonsense!

    What a bizarre analogy!

    Luo Cheng felt an urge to hit someone, his heart sour beyond measure. That person called Shadow had even become the father to his precious daughter?

    Who''s taking advantage here!

    And yet Luo Cheng had always been extremely indulgent towards his cherished daughter, never uttering harsh words.

    All he could do was to swallow his discomfort, maintaining a stern face as he said:

    "Then I''ll see what level your teacher is at in a moment. If he''s just a charlatan seeking fame, your whims end here!"

    What a joke!

    The Luo family is a renowned painter family in the Qin Continent, and throughout its history, many master painters have emerged. Yet, his own daughter is learning from a manga artist, even acknowledging this manga artist as her mentor?

    This was something Luo Cheng could not accept.

    Where would that leave Luo Cheng''s face if word got out?

    Today, in front of his daughter, Luo Cheng was determined to thoroughly assess Shadow''s work, to show his daughter, whose painting skill was still immature, just how much Shadow, who liked to play the teacher, really weighed.

    "Hmph."

    Luo Wei defiantly lifted her head.

    Her father had his motives, and she had hers.

    She intended to show her father Teacher Shadow''s skill in traditional painting today, and make him see just how outstanding her teacher was, or else the old antique at home would always be biased against manga artists.

    This was a war between father and daughter.

    As father and daughter were having their conversation, suddenly a passerby exclaimed in surprise:

    "Are you Teacher Luo Cheng?"

    As soon as this voice sounded, the crowd ahead turned around all at once, their gazes turning towards Luo Cheng with immense enthusiasm.

    "That''s me."

    Luo Cheng smiled slightly, not surprised to be recognized.

    There were many lovers of traditional painting at the exhibition, and Luo Cheng had always held a significant status in the world of traditional painting, his skill easily overshadowing the artists who came to exhibit their work today, having been famous for nearly thirty years.

    All at once!

    The crowd became excited, no longer discussing Shadow!

    "Teacher Luo Cheng, I''m a fan!"

    "Did Teacher Luo Cheng come by invitation today?"

    "Are there any works by Teacher Luo Cheng exhibited today?" sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Could Teacher Luo Cheng sign something for me?"

    "Teacher Luo Cheng, how about we take a photo together?"

    "Teacher Luo Cheng, I love you!"

    "Teacher Luo..."

    "..."

    Luo Cheng was surrounded by warmth and excitement.

    Usually, Luo Cheng didn''t like this kind of attention, but today, with his daughter by his side, he seemed quite pleased, even deliberately glancing at her a couple of times as if to flaunt his status in this world.

    Luo Wei pursed her lips.

    Meanwhile, at the height of the crowd''s excitement, a woman''s voice suddenly sounded from the side:

    "Teacher Luo, long time no see."

    Luo Cheng was taken aback for a moment, his gaze moving through the crowd to the woman. His eyes then brightened, and he called out instinctively:

    "Teacher Qiu!"

    This woman, named Qiu Yu, had just turned forty, with long hair cascading over her shoulders and a face not deeply marked by the years, exuding an intellectual aura. She was a goddess-like figure in Blue Star''s painting world.

    "Teacher Qiu Yu!?"

    Following Luo Cheng''s gaze, the crowd also turned to look at the woman speaking, and as soon as they saw Qiu Yu''s face, ripe with mature charm, everyone became excited!

    Young men''s faces even flushed with excitement!

    The goddess of the traditional painting circle, Teacher Qiu, had arrived!

    This goddess recognized by the painting circle was even more beautiful in person than in her photos!

    No one had expected that this modestly scaled exhibition would attract two big names from the traditional painting circle at the same time!

    "Teacher Qiu, I don''t want to work hard anymore... ah, that''s not right, please sign an autograph!"

    When Qiu Yu appeared, she was immediately surrounded just like Luo Cheng had been, with the crowd even more frenzied, and she was quickly enveloped. There was a tendency for the crowd to grow, and for a while, the entrance to the exhibition was jam-packed.

    The crowd around Luo Cheng quieted down quite a bit all of a sudden.

    "Your goddess?"

    Luo Wei teased her father, poking his arm without any formal respect.

    Luo Cheng''s heart skipped a beat, and he replied irritably, "My conscience is clear, I simply admire Teacher Qiu Yu for her skill!"

    "Oh."

    Luo Wei rolled her eyes.

    Luo Cheng coughed and said, "Don''t tell your mom."

    Luo Wei replied with a smile, "Weren''t you clear in your conscience?"

    Luo Cheng: "..."

    Fortunately, the crowd considered themselves to be cultured, and after a round of adoration around Qiu Yu, they gradually made way.

    "Shall we go in together?"

    Qiu Yu, gracefully walking along the path the onlookers had parted, spoke to Luo Cheng, who was feeling somewhat left out at her side.

    Luo Cheng nodded, "Let''s go."

    The two of them entered the exhibition side by side.

    The crowd didn''t hesitate, decisively following behind these two authorities!

    Many were already taking photos with their phones and boasting on social media about meeting the masters of traditional painting at an exhibition, naturally following in step.

    "???"

    Luo Wei was taken aback for a moment, realizing her father had already gone inside.

    This man had actually forgotten his own daughter at the entrance!

    Damn it!

    Luo Wei felt like giving the middle finger, but in the end she held back.

    Taking out the ticket for the exhibition, she quickly slipped inside, and while doing so, Luo Wei noticed a commotion behind her.

    It seemed like...

    Reporters had arrived?

    It was quite normal for journalists to come to a medium-sized exhibition, especially since her father and Teacher Qiu Yu were there, attracting the attention of some reporters.

    The exhibition was much more lively than she had expected.

    But for Teacher Shadow, this was a good thing.

    Luo Wei curled the corners of her mouth, entered the exhibition hall, and quickly made her way to her father.

    Her father had come because of her.

    She wondered why Qiu Yu would be present too?

    Was the scale of this exhibition enough to invite someone as influential as Qiu Yu?

    Luo Wei knew just how formidable Qiu Yu was, her skill no less than that of her own father.

    Under normal circumstances, only large-scale exhibitions could invite big names like her father and Qiu Yu to attend at the same time...

    Forget it.

    No point in wondering anymore.

    After all, this was Teacher Shadow''s debut in traditional painting, and it was more interesting with a grand setup.

    --------------------------

    ps: Thank you to the generous "Swallow 523" for the two Alliance Hierarch positions to you, I kneel before your support ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, Swallow has been donating recently, and I greatly appreciate such continued support, Polluted White will keep writing!

 Chapter 826 - 783: Art Exhibition (Part 2)

    Inside the exhibition hall.

    The temperature set by the air conditioning is comfortable, feeling pleasant against the skin.

    Displayed on the walls all around are the works exhibited at this art show, each professionally framed.

    Luo Cheng and Qiu Yu walk ahead.

    Bystanders attending the exhibition follow behind, chatting quietly as they move.

    No one wants to explore alone; everyone tacitly follows the two masters as if by doing so, they can share the same insights as the esteemed duo.

    Luo Wei stays on the periphery, not moving closer to the front but making faces at her father instead.

    "Why would Mr. Qiu come here?"

    Luo Cheng ignores Luo Wei and stops by the first painting, casually starting a conversation with Qiu Yu.

    Qiu Yu brushes her hair aside, "A friend asked me to come and have a look, mentioning there was a very impressive painting here. Though it seems she herself has been delayed."

    "A remarkable painting?"

    Luo Cheng raises an eyebrow, "Now you''ve piqued my curiosity. If they''re all on the level of what we''re seeing now, then this trip today would be a waste."

    As he spoke, Luo Cheng nodded towards the first painting.

    Qiu Yu glanced at the signature and the artist''s introduction next to it, then casually laughed:

    "So it''s a work by Ren Feifei; no wonder the style looked familiar. The flaws are the same as her previous work¡ªtoo much craftsmanship."

    The two spared no criticism for the first painting!

    Even with a crowd following behind, these two big shots didn''t hold back at all, discussing as if no one else was there.

    Behind them.

    The crowd''s expressions brighten at the uninhibited comments of the two big shots!

    This is the very reason they wanted to follow the two masters!

    They can listen closely to the evaluations the experts give these artworks!

    But no one expected the two titans to be so direct¡ªthe first painting they saw was immediately criticized.

    You have to know.

    The author of the first painting, Ren Feifei, is also a painter with considerable fame in the Chinese painting circle.

    Of course.

    These two big shots hold extremely high status, akin to venerable figures in the realm of Chinese painting, and are certainly qualified to critique the works at this exhibition.

    If we were to translate this status into the music industry:

    Luo Cheng and Qiu Yu would be the equivalent of maestro-level composers.

    And Ren Feifei, along with the other artists at this exhibition, would be akin to ace composers in the music industry.

    Moving on.

    The two proceed to the second painting.

    At this moment, the exhibition organizers send someone over:

    "We didn''t expect Mr. Luo and Mr. Qiu to grace our exhibition. Your presence truly honors our event. If you wouldn''t mind, may I offer you a guided tour? You can also ask me any questions you may have."

    "Sure,"

    Qiu Yu replies with a smile.

    Luo Cheng does not refuse either.

    The employee from the exhibition brightens up, "In that case, allow me to introduce this painting. It''s by Mr. Yuan Liu, and the theme concerns landscapes..."

    "No need for introductions,"

    Luo Cheng interjects abruptly, his words unsparing, "I don''t care who the author is. The ink shades are so heavy¡ªare you worried that I''m nearsighted and won''t see them clearly?"

    The employee''s face stiffens.

    Are you here to cause trouble?

    Criticisms fly in the employee''s mind, but they dare not voice them aloud, instead looking helplessly at Qiu Yu for rescue.

    "The painting is too deliberate,"

    Qiu Yu sighs and moves towards the third painting.

    Employee: "..."

    Subdued, the employee watches as the works at the exhibition receive harsh critique from the two honorees, but the crowd is thoroughly enjoying the commentary!

    "I like Mr. Luo Cheng''s straightforwardness!"

    "Mr. Qiu Yu didn''t spare the painter''s feelings either."

    "Why spare feelings? Chinese painting is all about skill!"

    "If artists only knew how to flatter each other, that would be truly dull."

    "Yuan Liu''s painting is indeed not up to par."

    "Ren Feifei''s work, as Mr. Qiu said, is indeed too craft-heavy."

    "..."

    Actually, Luo Cheng is usually even-tempered, but today he''s disgruntled, so his words are less diplomatic than usual.

    Perhaps it''s because this exhibition includes works by Shadow?

    Because of his daughter, Luo Cheng currently holds a very poor impression of that Shadow!

    "No need to introduce this painting, it must be Shi Xiang''s work, right? He likes to combine elements from oil and Chinese paintings¡ªa fine concept that he utterly botches in execution."

    Affected by his mood, Luo Cheng critiques the third painting directly.

    "There are aspects to commend, yet, overall, it is as you say,"

    Qiu Yu adds, sensing Luo Cheng''s foul temper but not minding it.

    As long as the critique is reasonable, that''s what matters.

    They continue onward.

    Continuing their critiques.

    Luo Cheng leads the way today, pointing out flaws without hesitation; no artwork is spared:

    "Copying the beauty of nature verbatim, capturing the form but not the spirit."

    "Messy; the work lacks focus."

    "The muscular lines of the male and female rabbits are a bit rigid."

    "Another animal portrait, and this phoenix is not even as good as what my daughter could paint."

    "..."

    Qiu Yu supplements with explanations at Luo Cheng''s side, but similarly, she doesn''t offer a single compliment.

    The employee breaks into a sweat.

    If every painting is criticized by these two authorities, the exhibition will be ruined!

    There are still two days of visitation ahead!

    Fortunately, Luo Cheng isn''t here to wreck the show, nor is he nitpicking. His critiques are emotional, true, but they are substantial.

    When a painting titled "Tiger Descending the Mountain" appears in front of Luo Cheng, he finally halts his critiques.

    "This is interesting."

    He examines it for a moment and murmurs softly.

    The employee, hearing this, feels like someone who has miraculously survived a catastrophe and hastily says:

    "This is a work by Mr. Yulian. This painting..."

    "No need for an introduction, we know,"

    Qiu Yu says with a smile, "Yulian has improved rapidly. He also painted tigers last time and even won an award¡ªpity though, his excessive pursuit of vigor made him overlook the vividness of the image."

    "He deserved that award,"

    Luo Cheng interjects," But it was also because his competition that time consisted of clueless painters."

    Qiu Yu nods.

    Luo Cheng nods, a rare smile playing at his lips:

    "But Yulian''s work today is really not bad. Though he still tends to deliberately pursue pomp, it should still be considered the best of today''s exhibition. Mr. Qiu, the friend that mentioned a striking painting at this exhibition¡ªwere they referring to this one?"

    ```

    "I''m not sure."

    Qiu Yu frowned. Was it this painting?

    She didn''t think this painting was good enough to warrant a personal visit.

    Her friend might have just average painting skills, but her aesthetic appreciation and taste were definitely at the Master Level.

    "Then let''s keep looking."

    Luo Cheng moved forward again, even Yulian''s painting had only held his attention for three minutes.

    The paintings that followed made Luo Cheng furrow his brows even more.

    Just when he was about to lose patience and ask his daughter directly where Teacher Shadow''s painting was,

    a work up ahead suddenly caught Luo Cheng''s attention.

    "Huh?"

    While Luo Cheng was drawn in, Qiu Yu also saw the painting!

    An unusual light flashed in her beautiful eyes!

    It was a landscape painting.

    In the painting, there was a pale yellow flower.

    At the top of the stamen, a butterfly was flapping its wings.

    A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower!

    The composition was incredibly simple, yet it instantly attracted her and Luo Cheng!

    "Such a unique color combination, the flower isn''t intricately carved out, but it has a sense of natural perfection as if the scent of flowers is wafting out of the painting!"

    Qiu Yu couldn''t help but exclaim.

    A stir went through the crowd behind them.

    Previously, Luo Cheng spoke while Qiu Yu added comments.

    This was the first time Qiu Yu had taken the initiative to comment on a painting, and she started with such high praise!

    What surprised everyone even more was that Luo Cheng actually nodded:

    "This butterfly seems like it''s about to fly out of the frame. It''s not easy to achieve such lifelikeness with traditional Chinese painting!"

    "Better than Yulian''s, right?"

    "Hmm, it seems I made conclusions too hastily. Today''s best should indeed be this ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower''."

    Luo Cheng rarely showed a smile.

    For a while.

    The commotion within the crowd became even more pronounced!

    Everyone started to scrutinize the painting carefully.

    And upon closer inspection, many were captivated!

    It wouldn''t be right to say this group was just there to show off.

    If it were just for show, they wouldn''t have come to the exhibition on such a hot day.

    They really had a bit of appreciation!

    And those with a bit of appreciation could of course discern the extraordinary aspects of this painting!

    "Such a beautiful painting!"

    "This butterfly is so lovely!"

    "How did they achieve this? The flower is sketched so simply, but it doesn''t feel rushed, it has a particularly natural feel."

    "Impressive!"

    "Better than Yulian''s ''Tiger Descending the Mountain''!"

    "Teacher Luo Cheng is right, this must be the best work of the day!"

    "Who painted this?"

    "There''s an artist''s introduction below!"

    "..."

    Each painting had a small introduction below it, but the print was small and one needed to get quite close to read it.

    This was to ensure that the audience saw the painting first and not the artist''s name, to prevent overshadowing the artwork.

    "Everyone!"

    The staff finally saw a glimmer of hope again!

    He hadn''t expected such a simple painting to draw such widespread praise.

    What a relief!

    The exhibition was saved!

    Seeing everyone curious about the artist and wanting to get a closer look, the staff finally puffed out his chest:

    "No need to look closer, everyone, this ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower'' is a piece by Teacher Shadow, who is a comic artist. This is the first time he has publicly presented his own traditional Chinese painting!"

    The staff''s voice was loud and proud!

    As if he was sharing in the glory!

    The two big shots'' high praise for the painting had given him enormous confidence!

    However.

    Just as his voice fell, the surroundings went silent!

    Swish, swish, swish!

    Countless expectant faces froze on the spot!

    Even some wondered if they had misheard!

    Unfortunately.

    They hadn''t misheard.

    Some had already seen the small print in the artist''s introduction section:

    The word "Shadow" revealed under the painting wasn''t hard to recognize.

    This was Shadow''s work!?

    Had they just praised this piece!?

    Luo Cheng''s face suddenly turned bright red, shifting his feet uncomfortably, actually taking a half step back!

    In his eyes, a trace of embarrassment surfaced!

    For a moment, the scene turned exceedingly awkward!

    "..."

    Why did it suddenly become so quiet?

    The staff member was somewhat bewildered by everyone''s reaction. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Had he said something wrong?

    "Pfft."

    From a distance, Luo Wei finally couldn''t hold back her laughter.

    She had been observing her father''s expressions since everyone arrived at ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower''.

    And at this moment, she finally saw her father looking deflated!

    Of course.

    She also noticed the unpleasant faces of the group of painting enthusiasts who had previously criticized Teacher Shadow so harshly.

    That''ll teach you to underestimate my teacher!

    Luo Wei couldn''t help feeling a little smug inside!

    Actually, Luo Wei''s family had Lin Yuan''s early creation ''Six Shrimps'', but she had never shown it to others, since her teacher had expressed the wish to keep a low profile in the past. But now, it obviously wasn''t necessary.

    She would show her father after he returned home!

    His reaction would definitely be even more interesting then, because this ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower'' was not such a big deal for her teacher!

    ```

 Chapter 827 - 784 Art Exhibition (Part 2)

    "Shadow''s work..."

    Qiu Yu stared blankly, a flicker of surprise passing through her eyes, almost shattering her perception of comic artists.

    In fact.

    It was everyone''s understanding of Shadow that this painting shattered.

    Seeing Shadow''s name on the publicity board at the entrance, many people were dissatisfied.

    Why should the work of a commercial comic artist be featured in such a professional traditional painting exhibition?

    However.

    Upon seeing this A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower, many faces began to flush with heat.

    No one had expected that Shadow''s skill in traditional painting would reach a professional level, even surpassing that of many professional traditional painting teachers!

    Luo Cheng hadn''t expected it either.

    But after all, Luo Cheng was one of the big names in the traditional painting world. Although he felt a twinge of embarrassment, he quickly adjusted his mood.

    In the silent exhibition hall.

    Luo Cheng spoke again, "It is indeed rare for a comic artist to possess such level of traditional painting, yet while this painting is beautiful, it still lacks a certain charm. The criteria for judging the quality of a painting is not just how closely it resembles the subject. Otherwise, why not just take a photo? What would be the point of us painters? This is probably the regret that comes with his identity as a comic artist..."

    Luo Cheng wasn''t deliberately changing his tune.

    The painting indeed, as he said, was not without flaws.

    In terms of artistic realm, it fell short of the top tier.

    For a moment.

    Everyone seemed to take Luo Cheng''s words as the golden rule, echoing him in order to alleviate the awkwardness of the situation:

    "Exactly!"

    "Well said, Teacher Luo Cheng!"

    "This painting isn''t flawless."

    "It''s just that the other works in this exhibition aren''t that great, which is why this one stands out."

    "Comparing with the works of master traditional painters, there''s still a significant gap."

    "After all, it''s the comic art world; there''s some skill, but that''s about it."

    "It''s a limitation inherent to the comic industry itself."

    "In traditional painting, aside from resembling the subject, we also pursue a certain artistic conception. Shadow''s work lacks that conception, that charm Teacher Luo Cheng speaks of!"

    "..."

    Hearing the words of Luo Cheng and the other onlookers, Qiu Yu frowned:

    "Isn''t Teacher Luo being a bit too demanding of Shadow?"

    This was a mid-level art exhibition.

    The quality and level of A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower had already crushed the entire competition.

    Yet Luo Cheng insisted on judging it by master-level painting standards!

    Indeed.

    Qiu Yu admitted that Luo Cheng''s words had merit.

    But the problem lay in the fact that these criteria were intended for top-level traditional paintings.

    And if you used the standards of a master-level painting, A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower really wasn''t particularly breathtaking.

    But the question was:

    Was it necessary to set the bar so high for an exhibition of this caliber?

    If those top-level standards were applied, an exhibition of this caliber was doomed to fail.

    Though more isn''t always better.

    "Just stating the truth," Luo Cheng said, aware internally that his expectations were too high, but he simply didn''t like Shadow.

    If this A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower had not been Shadow''s work, he probably would have given high praise to the artist, even offering guidance.

    If it was Shadow...

    It still wasn''t enough.

    Such work, such skill level, was not enough to warrant his daughter''s admiration, let alone being considered a teacher!

    Despite that.

    Luo Cheng still took several more looks at the painting, the intensity of his gaze and the duration of his attention far exceeding that for Yulian''s work.

    Qiu Yu raised an eyebrow and once again focused on enjoying the painting, saying no more.

    Although she was unaware of the relationship between Luo Cheng''s daughter and Shadow, she had a clear understanding of the situation at hand.

    It was nothing more than the inherent bias of traditional painters and lovers of traditional painting against comic artists.

    "Commercial draftsmen."

    "I don''t understand art,"

    "Reeks of money."

    When comic artists are mentioned, some traditional painters always turn up their noses like this, so although this painting of A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower was already very well executed, people were still reluctant to readily acknowledge its excellence.

    This scene was a microcosm of the industry''s disdain hierarchy.

    The crux of the issue was ultimately the identity of Shadow as a comic artist.

    And in the midst of this slightly eerie ambiance,

    a familiar voice suddenly rang out in Qiu Yu''s ear:

    "Sorry, little Yu, I got caught in traffic and am late."

    Qiu Yu smiled and turned to the newcomer: "I thought Sister Zheng had stood me up."

    "How could I?"

    The newcomer spoke and glanced behind Qiu Yu, laughing, "It''s quite lively here, isn''t it?"

    "It''s Teacher Zheng Jing!"

    Someone recognized the woman who had greeted Qiu Yu.

    The crowd immediately livened up.

    Zheng Jing, a Maestro-level figure from the music industry, definitely counted as a celebrity, and it was unexpected that not only could one meet two Master Level artists from the traditional painting world at this art exhibition, but also encounter a music industry Maestro!

    Indeed.

    The newcomer was Zheng Jing.

    The art exhibition was exactly what Zheng Jing had invited Qiu Yu to come to see.

    Luo Cheng turned his head: "Teacher Zheng Jing, is this the friend Teacher Qiu mentioned?"

    "Yes, Mr. Luo Cheng."

    "I know." S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Zheng Jing smiled and greeted Luo Cheng, then turned to look at the painting of A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower on the wall, exclaiming in surprise:

    "This painting is beautiful!"

    Qiu Yu smiled wryly: "Sister Zheng doesn''t need to play coy, you specifically invited me here to show me this painting, didn''t you?"

    "Not at all."

    Zheng Jing shook her head: "Although this painting is nice, the one I wanted you to see is absolutely incomparable to this one."

    Zheng Jing said with extreme confidence!

    Qiu Yu was taken aback, not this one?

    Luo Cheng also looked surprised; could there be an even better piece than A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower at this exhibition?

    As if he thought of something,

    Luo Cheng''s smile suddenly blossomed, saying with enthusiasm:

    "May I ask Teacher Zheng Jing to lead the way, I am most curious about this painting you mention."

    "Sure."

    Zheng Jing readily agreed.

    The crowd following behind widened their eyes and got excited too!

    Originally, because Shadow''s A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower overshadowed everything else, it left a bad taste in many people''s mouths; suddenly hearing Zheng Jing say there was a better piece here, of course, everyone was happy!

    Meanwhile, in the distance,

    Luo Wei furrowed her brows slightly.

    There was a better piece than Teacher''s at this art exhibition?

    She couldn''t help but feel worried.

    It would be so unjust if Teacher''s work got overshadowed by someone else''s.

    Luo Wei knew all too well.

    The Teacher hadn''t been entirely serious when painting A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower; it did not represent Teacher''s true level of skill!

    She even considered bringing over Six Shrimps from home!

    But obviously,

    she couldn''t just casually bring out Six Shrimps.

    Many students from Qin Continent Art Academy would recognize that painting as Lin Yuan''s work. Once it was made public, it would be easy for Teacher Shadow''s identity to be exposed.

    Feeling more and more conflicted,

    Luo Wei followed the large group being led by Zheng Jing towards the front.

    In this manner,

    the group of people passed seven or eight paintings and finally stopped in front of a work.

    It was a traditional Chinese painting themed around "horses"!

 Chapter 828 - 785: Shadow Again

    Yes.

    Zheng Jing had brought out Teacher Shadow''s "Galloping Horse" for the exhibition!

    For this, she specifically invited her friend from the Chinese painting circle, Qiu Yu, to come and appreciate the painting together!

    In Zheng Jing''s view, this painting should not remain unknown!

    At this exhibition, with Qiu Yu, a leading figure in Chinese painting, just a few objective comments could definitely make "Galloping Horse" and its creator, Teacher Shadow, famous in one fell swoop!

    That was Zheng Jing''s goal.

    The moment the staff saw "Galloping Horse," they almost instinctively said:

    "This is also a Shadow..."

    As the words reached his lips, the staff member stopped.

    Today, whatever he said seemed wrong, so he might as well not say anything at all.

    However, the people didn''t care about the staff member.

    To be precise, everyone''s attention was completely captured by "Galloping Horse"!

    The horse was outlined with robust, rounded lines, and the thick ink merged into calligraphy styles of Wei steles and cursive script;

    The horse''s head left large white spaces to create highlights, enhancing the three-dimensionality and the solid texture of the head;

    Using heavy and direct strokes, the brisk touch depicted the robust yet flexibly twisting posture;

    The body was washed with slightly lighter ink, clearly defining the mass of the torso;

    With vigorous lines, highlighting joints and solid hooves;

    The horse''s mane and tail were most imposing, with sweeping broad strokes that burst forth with a flying momentum!

    Seeing this painting, everyone instinctively held their breath! Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    A few seconds later.

    Today, for the first time!

    Before Luo Cheng and Qiu Yu could speak up, a group of Chinese painting enthusiasts started excited discussions, bringing the exhibition its first climax of viewership!

    "This painting is amazing!"

    "The muscle lines on this horse are so beautiful!"

    "The ink rendering is just right, with a spirit that could swallow mountains and rivers!"

    "I used to think that Yulian''s ''Tiger Descending the Mountain'' was full of momentum, but compared to this painting, that tiger seems to have no momentum at all!"

    "This is what you call momentum!"

    "Elegant and energetic, high-spirited, the background is just a piece of rice paper, yet these few horses bring limitless imagination!"

    "This truly is a great painting that embodies both spirit and form!"

    "The artist with his exuberant strokes fully expressed his emotions, capturing the essence of the warhorses with direct and vigorous lines as if conveying his uncontrollable passion, simply masterful!"

    "..."

    A masterstroke!

    Luo Cheng was slightly lost as he stared at this "Galloping Horse," forgetting Teacher Shadow for a moment, his entire mind immersed in the painting.

    "It completely washes away the mediocrity of all other horses forever!"

    Shock filled Qiu Yu''s beautiful eyes, and after a long while, she uttered such an exclamation, "I didn''t expect to see such a master''s touch at this small exhibition, no wonder Sister Zheng esteemed this painting so highly!"

    Zheng Jing smiled.

    The reaction of the crowd was within her expectations; this painting indeed had the power to enchant those who understood art!

    "The greatness of Chinese painting lies in its pursuit of embodying nature."

    Luo Cheng finally came to his senses, he took a deep breath, "This is why I said before that ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower'' was not good enough, a truly complete work should be like these horses, which possess everything nature has endowed them with, not only vigorous energy but also a noble spirit, through this painting, we can feel the freedom and passion of the artist!"

    He was somewhat overwhelmed!

    This painting almost overturned the traditional techniques of painting horses, expressing realism with romantic ideals.

    Resembling, yet not pursuing complete likeness.

    The painting maintained a realistic style while not losing the traditional Chinese painting''s ink charm, arguably portraying the heroic grace and strength of the horses to perfection!"Who is the artist of this painting?"

    "Why is there no signature on the painting?"

    "..."

    The frustration of the painting enthusiasts over "A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower" was instantly swept away!

    At last, a cartoonist hadn''t come out on top at a traditional Chinese painting exhibition!

    Immediately after, new perplexity surged within their hearts.

    This was a painting without a signature.

    Someone tried to look for the artist''s introduction at the bottom of the painting.

    Luo Cheng and Qiu Yu also looked curious, glancing at the artist''s column.

    However.

    When everyone clearly saw the small font of the artist''s introduction beneath the painting, everyone was stunned!

    Faces frozen, expressions silly, as if locked in time!

    Shadow!

    Shadow!!

    This painting was also made by Shadow!!!

    Zheng Jing, with a smile in her eyes, looked at the incredulous faces of Luo Cheng and Qiu Yu, "Yes, such a painting came from the hands of the cartoonist Shadow, who is a hidden master of traditional Chinese painting!"

    Boom!

    When the already known fact was spoken from Zheng Jing''s mouth, the scene instantly erupted!

    "Oh my god!"

    "How is that possible!"

    "Another work by Shadow?!"

    "Isn''t Shadow a cartoonist!!"

    "Such a perfect traditional Chinese painting was made by a cartoonist?"

    "His painting skills are too terrifying!"

    "Is this the cartoonist I remember?"

    "Damn!"

    "Why the slap in the face!"

    "Just when we encountered a painting better than ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower'', this one turns out to be made by Shadow too!?"

    "..."

    All the painters were stunned into silence!

    Cries of astonishment rose one after another!

    They felt their conventional understandings being shattered by Shadow''s relentless approach!

    Pride?

    Taste?

    Grace?

    All the superiority of these painting enthusiasts turned into a complete joke in front of this painting of a horse!

    "Shadow, oh..."

    Qiu Yu was somewhat lost.

    Inside Luo Cheng''s heart, however, a storm surged, his chest heaving dramatically!

    The more knowledgeable the person, the more they understood what this painting meant.

    Was Shadow truly a genius!?

    At this moment, Luo Cheng could no longer entertain the thought of preventing his daughter from considering Shadow as her teacher.

    This painting, and even he himself, felt an overwhelming sense of inadequacy.

    He didn''t even know that his precious daughter had only just found out that this painting was made by her own teacher!

    "So Teacher Shadow also has other works on exhibit?"

    Luo Wei''s eyes widened upon hearing the answer, then her brows danced, and her eyes sparkled with laughter.

    I knew it!

    "A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower" couldn''t possibly represent the teacher''s level!

    Using such a painting in the exhibition would have been far too perfunctory!

    Looking at this painting of a horse again, its level is entirely not inferior to "Six Shrimps", and even surpasses it to some extent because the creatures depicted are more complex!

    Amidst everyone''s shock, this traditional Chinese painting exhibition was completely stirred up by a cartoonist!

 Chapter 829 - 786 Zhao Continent

    Lin Yuan had no idea about the stirrings at the art exhibition, but the commotion was too big to escape the attention of reporters.

    Especially involving Shadow and two traditional painting bigwigs, and after Zheng Jing, the Maestro!

    That very noon.

    Shadow''s traditional painting works in the exhibition caused a tremendous shock and garnered high praise from two traditional painting bigwigs¡ªthis news was broadcast by the media!

    "Shadow can do traditional painting too?"

    "A great masterpiece by Shadow spotted at a traditional painting exhibition!"

    "Traditional Painting Sage Qiu Yu highly praises Shadow''s entry: A master''s strokes!"

    "Traditional painting bigwig Luo Cheng: Shadow changed my impression and views about manga artists." S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Shadow''s first Traditional painting show: Galloping Horses!"

    "At an art exhibition, Shadow''s traditional painting debut ''Galloping Horses'' stunned the audience, attracting countless painting enthusiasts!"

    "..."

    Along with the news report, a professionally edited image aiming to restore the original look of "Galloping Horses" also appeared online!

    Suddenly, netizens were shocked!

    "Damn, is this Shadow''s traditional painting?"

    "This ''Galloping Horses'' looks quite imposing!"

    "The manga world can no longer contain Shadow God, is he now invading the traditional painting circle? This painting is freaking amazing!"

    "Even though I don''t understand painting, this painting is indeed beautiful!"

    "The vibe it''s giving off, seems even better than many masters'' works!"

    "The bigwigs in the traditional painting world always looked down on the manga world, didn''t they? I remember some bigwig publicly blasting the manga world before, saying they''re not real artists but just businessmen. Now they''ve been slapped in the face by Shadow God, right?"

    "Damn, even I feel slapped in the face, Shadow is too strong!"

    "Traditional painting and manga aren''t the same thing; I always thought Shadow God''s painting skills were about manga, but he paints traditional paintings just as well as his manga!"

    "This news is ridiculous, would those traditional painting enthusiasts actually praise Shadow?"

    "Hehehe, whether they praise him or not, ''Galloping Horses'' is enough to shut all those traditional painting enthusiasts up!"

    "Weren''t traditional painting enthusiasts saying that manga artist''s works are unbearably vulgar?"

    "..."

    The netizens were not oblivious to the disdain within the painting world.

    Those traditional painting enthusiasts, always flaunting their high profile, have always scoffed at manga.

    Even Shadow, known as the top figure in the manga world, might not win their approval.

    Perhaps there would even be people specifically disparaging Shadow to elevate their own sense of superiority.

    However¡­

    No matter how much they looked down on manga, in front of this "Galloping Horses", those traditional painting enthusiasts had to hold their noses and accept it!

    This, the netizens could guess without needing any media reports!

    Not to mention...

    Soon, people who were at the scene began to share the story of what happened at the exhibition online.

    It should be noted, not everyone at the scene claimed high-profile status as traditional painting enthusiasts; there were also a few fans of Shadow.

    These fans of Shadow had been suppressed by the traditional painting enthusiasts at the exhibition, not daring to speak up.

    Now that "Galloping Horses" was out, they couldn''t hold back any longer!

    The sequence of events that took place at the exhibition was completely narrated by some netizens who were present.

    Some conversation records revealing the truth were forwarded across major chat groups.

    Suddenly, the online world heated up even more!

    "Pfft!"

    "Was there such a story?"

    "I can imagine the scene then."

    "So there was also a piece by Shadow titled ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower'' at the scene!"

    "Shadow God really did it, he ended with such a piece¡ª''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower''!"

    "Those traditional painting enthusiasts must''ve been mortified, right?"

    "Hahahahaha, a bunch of traditional painting enthusiasts, trying to discredit ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower'', went crazy praising ''Galloping Horses'', and then realizing that ''Galloping Horses'' was also Shadow''s work, they looked so stupid at the moment!"

    "That''s what happens when they act high and mighty; they need a harsh slap in the face!"

    "These people always looked down on us manga enthusiasts, saying we only like flat paper characters and are dead fat nerds, today Shadow God really gave our manga circle a severe venting of anger!"

    "..."

    The disdain chain is everywhere.

    Many traditional painting masters do not regard manga artists highly, and those who love traditional painting also look down on manga enthusiasts.

    This has been happening for a long time.

    Both sides have been in conflict for many years.

    Yet the appearance of Shadow''s "Galloping Horses" has in some way struck a blow to traditional painting enthusiasts, even some traditional painting masters!

    For a time.

    Many traditional painting enthusiasts were silent.

    Damn!

    There''s no justice!

    A manga artist, to have such mastery in traditional painting!

    Not just that.

    Many big names in the painting industry were shocked by the level of "Running Horses", as a master level painting skill is no joke!

    "Was this painted by Shadow?"

    "Is there such a level of artist in the comic scene?"

    "With such impressive skill, why bother with comics? It''s simply a waste of talent!"

    "This Shadow really has some skill, yet insists on creating comics, a true self-degradation."

    "I think comics are also a form of painting, and shouldn''t be dismissed outright. Over the years, comics have developed quite well, producing a considerable number of excellent works."

    "Comics are ultimately minor, the reason why Zhao Continent''s paintings are world-renowned is because they are not commercial!"

    "Who says painters from Zhao Continent aren''t commercial?"

    "Are those exorbitantly priced works from Zhao Continent just for show?"

    "..."

    In the traditional painting circles, some debates even arose because of "Running Horses".

    But it was undeniable that with the shocking debut of "Running Horses", Shadow had successfully taken his first step into the realm of traditional painting!

    ...

    Inside the studio.

    Jin Mu excitedly said to Lin Yuan,

    "Right now, you''re just starting to make a name for yourself in the traditional painting circles; wait till you become a big name, your paintings will then really become valuable!"

    "Aren''t the works of painters only worth something after they''re dead?"

    Lin Yuan smirked.

    Jin Mu paused:

    "What kind of theory is that? Although a painter''s works do become more valuable posthumously, that''s because the works become posthumous creations. Most impressive painters, while alive, have already sold their works for very high prices."

    "Really?"

    Lin Yuan was not very knowledgeable in this area.

    Jin Mu chuckled, "Of course, you know about Zhao Continent, right?"

    "Yeah."

    Zhao Continent would be joining the merger with Blue Star in a few months.

    Lin Yuan had some understanding of Zhao Continent; he had browsed information about it online when he was bored.

    The most distinctive feature about Zhao Continent was:

    Its admiration for ancient styles!

    It was said that even ordinary residents liked to wear ancient attire during festivals.

    Not just clothing culture.

    Zhao people also particularly enjoyed zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting.

    Especially in calligraphy and painting, the Zhao people were exceptionally skilled.

    The classical arts passed down from ancient times were well preserved in Zhao Continent.

    Even the ancient architecture was maintained quite excellently by Zhao people.

    This resulted in people from all over Blue Star enjoying trips to Zhao Continent.

    The ancient temples and towers, old towns, and other well-preserved ancient buildings were endless!

    Lin Yuan was also thinking about visiting Zhao Continent whenever he got the chance.

    When Blue Starans mention Zhao Continent, they often remark, "In Zhao, it feels like you can touch the traces of ancient life. Their way of speaking is even classical."

    This connection to the traditional pursuits of Zhao Continent through the years was significant.

    Jin Mu said, "Since you know about Zhao, you should know that the Painting Sage from Blue Star was a Zhao person. Although the Painting Sage lived hundreds of years ago, his works are extremely popular, with one classic painting auctioned off for nearly a billion, setting a record in the painting world. The buyer was a wealthy person from Zhao Continent!"

    Lin Yuan: "Isn''t it still after-death value for his works?"

    Jin Mu shook his head, "I am just describing the passion for painting in Zhao. In reality, many contemporary renowned painters from Zhao also have valuable works, with several famous individuals whose auction prices have exceeded a hundred million!"

    Lin Yuan was astonished, "Contemporary works auctioned off for over a hundred million?"

    Jin Mu smiled, "That was twenty years ago; the market isn''t so exaggerated now, but there are still works selling for millions, even tens of millions, and they are all from contemporary artists."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    Jin Mu continued, "Every year, Zhao hosts a huge painting and calligraphy auction that catches the attention of the whole of Blue Star. Every year, artworks by contemporary painters fetch sky-high prices at the auction, disproving your theory that an artist''s works only gain value after their death. However, it''s true that only Zhao''s auctions frequently feature such high-priced works, with traditional painters from other continents falling short in comparison."

    At this point,

    Jin Mu expressed his longing, "At the auction, works by contemporary renowned artists from Zhao draw fierce competition from mysterious wealthy buyers, continuously refreshing record-high prices. It''s a sight to behold, and I''ve once experienced it. It''s truly staggering. Unless you''re in the middle of it, it''s difficult to comprehend their extreme pursuit of calligraphy and painting, that top-tier wealthy scene where fortunes are spent on a scroll or a painting isn''t commonly witnessed."

    "..."

    Lin Yuan remained silent, but the keywords "Zhao Continent", "painting and calligraphy auction", "wealthy bidding" had already deeply rooted themselves in his heart.

    This grand event, should he have the chance, could he not participate?

    That being said,

    with his own popularity, even if he brought out some classics from Earth, would those wealthy individuals, even the super-rich, really take interest?

    Suddenly,

    Lin Yuan found himself looking forward to Zhao Continent''s integration.

    "You can imagine, once Zhao Continent becomes integrated, painters and calligraphers from all over will flock there. Who wouldn''t want their works to be sought after at Zhao''s painting and calligraphy auctions?"

    Jin Mu asserted confidently.

    Lin Yuan nodded. Blue Star was a magical place, each continent with its own artistic uniqueness, and Zhao Continent seemed to align perfectly with Lin Yuan''s abilities.

    After all,

    Lin Yuan possessed not only the master level painting skill but had also just acquired the master level calligraphy skill!

    And both these skills were highly esteemed and pursued by the people of Zhao!

 Chapter 830 - 787: Mitsui Hisashis Exclusive BGM

    Of course.

    Zhao Continent had not yet joined the merger.

    It was still too early to start considering the book and painting auction in Zhao Continent.

    Lin Yuan quickly set this matter aside.

    As for the media''s erroneous reports that "Galloping Horse" was Shadow''s debut traditional painting, Lin Yuan couldn''t be bothered to correct them.

    To Lin Yuan, this wasn''t something very important.

    In the days that followed, however, there were a few occurrences that were of some significance to Lin Yuan.

    By late August, the animation "One Piece" officially aired.

    Simultaneously, the "Naruto" animation was also launched.

    Three days after the first two animations aired, "Detective Chu Yu" made its grand debut.

    Even "The Kindaichi Case Files" had been outsourced to another animation company for production by Starlight!

    There was no helping it.

    Resources were limited.

    The animation department''s workload was heavy.

    Apart from the three newly launched animations, "Dunk" was also being serialized amidst much fervor.

    In such a situation, it was difficult for Starlight to take on "The Kindaichi Case Files" as well, so they simply outsourced it to another company since this title''s popularity couldn''t quite compare to the others.

    Following the airing of these animations, the response had been extremely enthusiastic!

    Audiences had expressed a high degree of approval for Starlight''s production quality!

    This was all within expectations.

    Just look at how many people in the Alliance were following updates of "Dead Sea of Fire" to know.

    Besides, Starlight had invested a lot of money in these three animations, the chairman had personally participated in supervising, and they had even poached some highly skilled animators from Chu Continent, showing utmost dedication.

    As long as the production team accurately adapted the storylines, maintained a consistent art style, and had effective voice actors, success was inevitable.

    However, speaking of popularity, the current hottest animation was still "Dunk"!

    This title, due to its simultaneous release in both animation and manga, its leveraging on the Bluelympics, and controversies and promotions involving Shadow, Tribe, and He Dajun, began with an exploding popularity!

    A work that had everything in its favor.

    Under immense attention combined with these days'' serialization, "Dunk" had indeed become the hottest animation across the Zhao, Qin, Chu, Yan, and Han Continents!

    Especially among young viewers, they deeply loved this work!

    Every week, countless people would discuss the latest plot developments of "Dunk."

    Shadow''s title as the number one in comics had thus become even more well-deserved.

    Perhaps in the future, the popularity of this animation might be surpassed by "Dead Sea of Fire."

    But at least for now, "Dunk" was unrivaled among all contemporaneously serialized animations!

    In the world of anime and manga.

    Such works were referred to as dominant!

    The most direct manifestation of dominance was that, following every update of "Dunk," Lin Yuan''s older sister and younger sister would always catch up immediately.

    It should be noted that both his sister and his younger sister were girls.

    Yet this "Dunk" was an animation aimed at male audiences.

    Its ability to be loved by countless female viewers exemplified the charm of this animation.

    It was also because "Dunk" was too hot.

    Lin Yuan couldn''t help but consider leveraging this animation.

    It was related to the ranking of the season in September.

    It was already late August, and Lin Yuan had to consider the matter of the September season''s chart.

    Which type of song would be the steadiest to hit the charts?

    Numerous practices told Lin Yuan that what really decided the rankings on the seasonal chart wasn''t just the quality of the song itself!

    The fame of the composer, the fame of the performing artist, and the background of the song were all indispensable factors!

    Among these.

    The fame of the composer and the fame of the performing artist, Lin Yuan could ensure.

    As for the background of the song representing whether it had any connection to a certain work, Lin Yuan could also create those conditions for himself.

    For instance:

    Could his song in September ride on the popularity of "Dunk"?

    Leveraging his own heat.

    This move was something Lin Yuan had already become quite skilled at.

    And so, as Lin Yuan pondered this, he truly found a way to ride the wave of popularity.

    At this point, "Dunk" had updated to its twenty-sixth episode.

    In the twenty-seventh episode, there would be the iconic scene where Mitsui Hisashi says, "Coach, I want to play basketball."

    Along with this iconic scene, there would be a song called "Until the End of the World"!

    This song was widely considered to be written specifically for Mitsui Hisashi in "Dunk," constituting Mitsui''s exclusive background music!

    In the animation "Dunk."

    The most outstanding track was "Until the End of the World."

    Even among all the background music in the world of animations, this song was considered a rarity!

    The opening bass guitar and drum rhythm gave the audience a broad sense of space, the lyrics were beautifully emotional, and the rendering was powerful.

    The song itself was of high quality and, combined with the plot, it was regarded as a divine song by many Dunk fans, evoking a feeling of youth as if looking back suddenly after many years.

    And in the animation.

    Whenever Mitsui Hisashi began to show off his moves, this classic background music would play, awakening the passion in countless people!

    Actually, many works have reflected similar situations.

    Classic characters always have their own exclusive BGM and such.

    For example...

    Indeed, the famous scene "Coach, I want to play basketball" had already been updated in the manga version of "Slam Dunk" a while ago.

    However, the anime is slower than the manga, and the anime viewers haven''t seen this episode yet, even those who have read the manga have certainly never heard this song.

    And Lin Yuan had already prepared this excellent song before the anime even started broadcasting.

    The singer is none other than Liang Ziyuan, the singing king of Chu Continent who previously sang "I Want to Shout Out Loud That I Love You".

    "How about we use this song to hit the charts in September?"

    This was not hard for Lin Yuan to manage, he just had to ensure that the 27th episode of "Slam Dunk" would broadcast on the first of September.

    By then...

    This "Until the End of the World" could logically join the competition for the seasonal charts.

    Releasing a new song on the stage of the hottest current animation in the five continents and pairing it with one of the most climactic classic scenes in the "Slam Dunk" anime, Lin Yuan could definitely ride the wave of popularity to the fullest!

    In fact, this was not the first time Lin Yuan had thought about leveraging the popularity of his own anime.

    Just last month...

    Lin Yuan initially even planned to have Jiang Kui sing the background music "Bluebird" from Naruto.

    Unfortunately, things didn''t go as planned.

    In the end, Jiang Kui sang a song called "Diao" and claimed the title of best female singer.

    Now that he thought about it, "Bluebird" was not suitable.

    It wasn''t an issue with the song itself but in the Naruto anime, this song wouldn''t appear until after 200 episodes.

    It was a song meant for "Naruto Shippuden".

    Borrowing it earlier would be too forceful and didn''t fit well with the storyline.

    Unlike "Until the End of the World," which could currently be postponed to correspond with the relevant plot. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "The usual rule, keep one backup song."

    Although Lin Yuan felt the song by Mitsui Hisashi was great and could help "Slam Dunk" win the September seasonal charts, he feared the unexpected.

    Lin Yuan had prepared another song just in case.

    If things went south, he would take out the backup song to hit the charts.

    Once the preparations were finished, Lin Yuan especially went to the chairman to discuss this matter.

    "Arrange for the 27th episode of ''Slam Dunk'' to broadcast on September 1."

    If Lin Yuan didn''t notify him, this episode would have aired on August 30th, and then it couldn''t participate in the September seasonal charts.

    "You mean to..."

    The chairman guessed Lin Yuan''s intention right away!

    The 27th episode of "Slam Dunk" was special.

    Accompanying Mitsui Hisashi''s redemption, there would be a very explosive song that would appear, which had deeply moved the chairman when he heard it!

    Lin Yuan: "Yes."

    The chairman was really astute.

    The matter was settled in a simple conversation.

    Not long after, the news that the next episode of "Slam Dunk" would be broadcast on September 1 was officially announced.

    "Dang it!"

    The audience was not happy!

    How could Starlight delay it further!

    The next episode was clearly supposed to update on the 30th!

    The grief of those eagerly awaiting the update instantly filled the screen.

    Many were dissatisfied.

    Especially the readers who had read the manga:

    "The next episode features Mitsui Hisashi''s famous scene, how can Starlight delay it at such a critical moment!"

    "Update on September 1, doesn''t that mean I have to wait an extra day?"

    "Dude, wake up, August has thirty-one days."

    "What, why does August have thirty-one days, who decided that!"

    "Isn''t every month thirty days!"

    "So you''re telling me, that line ''Coach, I want to play basketball'' has to wait two more days?!"

    "After reading the manga, what I anticipated most was this episode in the anime!"

    "No choice, just wait."

    "..."

    Discontent is discontent.

    Everyone could only wait.

    And in this waiting, time finally approached September.

    Ding-dong.

    Midnight on September 1st.

    The much-delayed "Slam Dunk" finally updated!

    At the same time...

    Someone noticed that Xian Yu''s new song had been released.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: I recommend a friend''s new science fiction book, "Revival Empire". Those interested in science fiction may want to check it out.

 Chapter 831 - 788: Until The End Of The World

    Audiences, whether they had read the manga or not, all immediately took notice of the updates to "Slam Dunk"!

    "It''s updated!"

    "They actually released two episodes!"

    "Awesome!"

    "This one''s worth it!"

    "Even waiting another two days would be worth it!"

    "I''ve read the manga, this episode is iconic!"

    "Mitsui, here I come!"

    "..."

    Although the connection between the manga and the anime is deep, the addition of voice actors, visuals, and music in anime makes it far more engaging than the manga, which is why many manga only explode in popularity after being adapted into anime.

    Therefore,

    even those who had read the manga were still full of anticipation for the anime!

    Of course,

    most were viewers who hadn''t read the manga.

    Take Lu Bin, for instance.

    Lu Bin was a high school student from Chu Continent.

    He loved "Slam Dunk," and although he hadn''t read the manga, he''d been spoiled by those who had. He knew Mitsui held a very high regard in the hearts of manga fans.

    About this, Lu Bin was doubtful.

    Because in the previous plot, Mitsui had already appeared.

    This guy with the long hair, surrounded by a bunch of delinquents, started a conflict with Sakuragi Hanamichi and others, beating Rukawa Kaede and his teammates until they were bloody.

    A total villain image!

    Anyway, Lu Bin couldn''t bring himself to like a character like Mitsui and even disliked him a bit.

    Why then was Mitsui so revered in the hearts of manga fans?

    It must be because the character was redeemed later in the manga.

    Many works use this technique: starting with a disgusting villain and then redeeming them.

    This was one of Lu Bin''s least favorite tropes.

    Yet, annoyingly, it worked. Many redeemed villains often ended up more popular than the heroes.

    About this, Lu Bin said:

    It''s just the creators'' tactics.

    Go ahead and redeem him, if I end up liking the character, then I''ll concede defeat.

    With this subtle resistance, Lu Bin clicked on episode twenty-seven.

    This episode didn''t involve any physical conflicts.

    The plot mainly consisted of verbal conflicts and Mitsui Hisashi''s flashbacks.

    At first, Lu Bin sat with his arms crossed, a stance that read "I''m just going to watch how you try to redeem him." S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    However...

    When Lu Bin saw Mitsui getting injured while scoring for the team;

    When Lu Bin saw Mitsui in the hospital, looking lost because he couldn''t compete;

    When Lu Bin saw Mitsui ignoring the doctor''s advice, struggling with all his might to return to the court;

    When Lu Bin saw Mitsui standing outside the court, turning away lonely and melancholically;

    When Lu Bin saw...

    Mitsui''s youthful memories came flooding in like a tide, silently but overwhelmingly stirring up tumultuous waves.

    The quiet room.

    Unknowingly, Lu Bin''s crossed arms had dropped.

    With eyes slightly stinging, a sudden pang of sympathy stirred within him,

    Sympathy?

    Lu Bin suddenly shook his head vigorously!

    It''s just Shadow''s creation tactics!

    Realizing this, Lu Bin continuously reminded himself, as if brainwashing himself, still unwilling to easily accept the character''s redemption!

    "Mitsui is a villain!"

    No matter how much you redeem him, that fact can''t be changed!

    While Lu Bin was internally conflicted, the flashbacks and reality kept overlapping on the screen.

    "You''ve never actually given up on your love for basketball!"

    "It''s you who is trapped in the past and can''t get out!"

    Questioning and counter-questioning, arguments and struggles, the plot took a turn with the appearance of Coach Anzai.

    The door clicked open.

    In the glaring light, the coach stood there and said two words:

    "It''s you."

    Mitsui''s expression changed instantly.

    The young ace who had made a name for himself by leading his team from defeat to championship victory with his solo endeavor in the county finals, had received offers from prestigious basketball schools. Yet, he resolved to follow Coach Anzai to the obscure Shohoku¡­

    All because of the coach in front of him.

    Coach Anzai, the man he respected the most in his life.

    In a daze,

    Mitsui felt as if he was back on the court.

    Coach Anzai''s teachings echoed again in his ears:

    "You mustn''t give up hope until the last moment because the moment you give up, the game is over."

    At that time, he had picked up the basketball resolutely and charged into the crowd.

    ...

    In front of the screen.

    Lu Bin''s face changed.

    His heart was churning like never before!

    It felt as if countless ants were crawling over his heart, a sensation that was slightly painful yet tingling.

    Then,

    The ants crawled over his head and skin, making his scalp tingle and his body break out in goosebumps!

    His eyes stung again.

    Hold on!

    It''s all a trope!

    He desperately tried to stop that overwhelming feeling, but it was to no avail, as if something was choking his throat.

    Just like the once arrogant boy on screen, no matter what, he couldn''t hide the injuries he suffered after leaving the court.

    That face, once filled with negativity and disdain, showed pain and regret for the first time.

    Trembling face, tears of self-reproach slid down the face and chin.

    Memories began to flash back again.

    In Lu Bin''s desperately constrained emotions, a surging song suddenly erupted as if to pierce through his soul!

    "Until the end of the world,

    (Until The End Of The World)

    I won''t part from you

    (I won''t wish to be separated from you)

    I hoped,

    (Countless nights I wished)

    through thousands of nights

    (Made my wish)

    only the irretrievable time

    (Time that never returns)

    why does it shine so brightly?

    (Why is it so radiant?)

    ..."

    Like a dam releasing a flood, breaking through the last line of defense, Lu Bin''s tears completely burst forth amidst the intense fluctuations in his chest!

    In the surging song,

    Mitsui knelt before the coach, his hands scarred, supporting the ground and sobbing uncontrollably:

    "Coach... I want to play basketball."

    Whether it was the influence of the song or the shock of the scene before him, Mitsui''s sudden realization at that moment became a scene Lu Bin could never forget.

    Who hasn''t made mistakes?

    Who hasn''t taken detours?

    Who hasn''t felt lost and disheartened?

    And who else, like him, would cast aside all dignity and pride for a distant, dazzling dream, to dive in recklessly once more?

    For the first time,

    Lu Bin completely fell in love with this character!

    And at this moment,

    there were countless Lu Bins shedding tears around the world!

    Even if they had read the manga and were mentally prepared, it was useless!

    When that song "Until The End of The World" played, nobody could remain indifferent!

    Let alone the many viewers who initially felt indifferent or even negative towards Mitsui, they were instantly mesmerized in the blast of the last wave of the song!

    ...

    Tribes.

    The emotions brought by the song and Mitsui crazily spread!

    "Even if I read the manga, watching the animation again still made me cry, and I cried harder than when I read the manga!"

    "What is that song?"

    "The moment I heard it, I couldn''t help but cry!"

    "This song is so tear-inducing!"

    "That insert song had just started one line, and I couldn''t take it!"

    "Ah, I thought having read the manga and watching the animation wouldn''t move me as much, but I was broken down a second time by this song!"

    "..."

    Meanwhile,

    Blogs also fell one after another!

    "Thank goodness I prepared tissues in advance!"

    "A prodigal who returns is more precious than gold, Mitsui is a real man!"

    "This song is so apt, willing to give up pride for a dream, well done!"

    "In the song, Mitsui kneeling didn''t lose dignity, instead, he earned everyone''s respect, not everyone has his courage to start over from scratch!"

    "I really like this song!"

    "This song is even better than ''I Really Want to Shout Out I Love You''!"

    "What''s the song title?"

    "..."

    All netizens were shocked!

    Amidst this massive shock, finally, someone in the chat provided the song information:

    "This is Fish Papa''s new song, titled ''Until The End of The World,'' I''ve downloaded it!"

    The animation hadn''t completely ended yet.

    Netizens were already rushing to open their music players!

    At the same time,

    The comment section of this song exploded!

    "The only song that makes me want to cry from the first line!"

    "This is Mitsui''s exclusive BGM!"

    "Combined with the plot, this song made me cry terribly!"

    "Beautiful, so beautiful!"

    "Fish Papa''s song must top the charts!"

    "This is one of the best songs among all the anime background music I''ve heard!"

    "I love basketball, I love Mitsui, Until The End of The World!"

    "..."

    No one has ever fully counted just how many fans of "Dunk" there are, but the fact that the download numbers for this song soared to the top of the seasonal charts is an undeniable fact!

    This isn''t just from the song''s own quality!

    It''s also because it soared high together with the anime''s popularity!

    In fact,

    Even some who hadn''t seen the animation listened to this song, but some feelings are consistent, and some even became interested in watching "Dunk" after learning the background story of this song!

    Some thought so, and some actually did so.

    And when they saw the latest updates, they only fell deeper!

    For a time,

    The entire network was discussing Mitsui and this song!

    The long-missed line "Coach, I want to play basketball" swept across the screen again, even more tumultuous and fierce than before!

    Even...

    Due to countless topics and discussions, even the anime "Dunk" got even more popular!

 Chapter 832 - 789: A Unique Fan Meeting

    After dawn!

    News was flying everywhere!

    "Xian Yu Season Chart could win nine consecutive crowns!"

    "Dunk''s Spirit: Until The End Of The World!"

    "Xian Yu''s new song ''Until The End Of The World'' is a huge hit!"

    "A song that has moved countless people to tears!"

    "Xian Yu creates textbook-level anime background music!"

    "Xian Yu has won nine consecutive crowns, can the tenth be far behind?"

    "..."

    Xian Yu was blatantly riding the wave of popularity, yet no one had anything to say against it.

    Not to mention his relationship with Shadow, just the quality of the songs he produced was enough to win everyone over!

    Regarding this.

    The industry was abuzz!

    "He''s got ''Slam Dunk'' fans on board the charting battle wagon too!"

    "I must say, Xian Yu''s ability to write songs for film and anime themes is really strong. ''Slam Dunk'' fans'' admiration for this song easily secured its top spot on the September season chart!"

    "He''s always very good at creating custom music!"

    "Wasn''t ''The Seventh Chapter of Night'' also a song that completely capitalized on the Sherlock Holmes trend? That time, it was the power of the Holmes fans that propelled the song, with the Three Bros fans seemingly in full agreement."

    "Riding on the popularity of dominant anime for charting is quite a clever strategy."

    "What are you joking about? Xian Yu didn''t take any shortcuts. In fact, it''s not as simple as you think; if his music didn''t fit the theme of the work, it would have been pointless."

    "That''s true."

    "If others tried to copy this tactic, they''d likely sink into a quagmire instead."

    "The most typical example is ''The Black Emperor''. So many people have wanted to create theme music for that work, but over the years, hardly anyone has succeeded. Both the anime and TV drama versions keep using the original theme music created by two big names from Zhong Continent back in the day; fans simply don''t accept anything else."

    "Few dare to touch the theme music of that work these days."

    "..."

    Xian Yu''s song was considered one of the custom music types.

    Everyone in the industry knew that custom music wasn''t so simple; this kind of popularity wasn''t something just anyone could ride on.

    Especially with top-tier works.

    One careless move and you might end up losing more than you bargained for.

    This was also why many people in the industry didn''t think Xian Yu was taking shortcuts.

    What was more impressive to the industry was:

    Xian Yu had unwittingly won nine consecutive crowns!

    Although September hadn''t ended yet, ''Until The End Of The World'' had easily topped the charts on its first day, making it very unlikely for any other song to surpass its momentum afterward.

    And when Xian Yu declared his goal for twelve consecutive crowns, who could have imagined he would reach this point?

    Keep in mind.

    Xian Yu was formidable, but so were the maestros of the Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han states on Zhong Continent.

    Yet the reality was, in the nine months that started this year, many maestros had made their moves, but not one had been able to successfully end Xian Yu''s streak for twelve consecutive crowns!

    "Even if Xian Yu''s streak was broken in October, he would still have much to be proud of."

    Privately.

    A certain King of Singing spoke softly, with a hint of respect:

    "In the era of Blue Star''s big merger, when top musicians from five continents competed on the same stage, topping any season chart is quite an accomplishment, let alone his continuous dominance over the season chart for nine months..."

    "I feel like no one can stop him in October either."

    A prominent music producer next to him spoke with certainty, "The real challenge for Xian Yu will probably be in November or even at the end-of-year Battle of the Gods."

    The King of Singing was curious, "I can understand the Battle of the Gods, but who in November?"

    The music producer lowered his voice, "I''ve heard some rumors that a top maestro from Blue Star will make a move in November."

    "Someone from Zhong Continent is aiming to take down Xian Yu before the Battle of the Gods?"

    "Not from Zhong Continent, but a man who has contended with Zhong Continent without falling short."

    The King of Singing''s expression sharpened upon hearing this.

    ...

    As ''Until The End Of The World'' successfully topped the charts, Lin Yuan let out a sigh of relief.

    He didn''t need to release his backup song.

    Nine consecutive crowns were indeed a very impressive achievement, even Lin Yuan himself felt that the chart battles over the past half-year had not been easy.

    Thinking of taking a break, Lin Yuan skipped work and went straight home.

    However, on the way, Lin Yuan suddenly received a call from Sun Yaohuo.

    "Senior Yao Huo, is there something you need?"

    "I have good news for my junior!"

    "What''s the good news?"

    "Our ''Plants vs. Zombies'' game is officially going live on the Lang Yue gaming platform at seven o''clock tomorrow!"

    "Ah?"

    Lin Yuan had almost forgotten about this, but thinking about it, ''Plants vs. Zombies'' should have been launched already, so this timing was actually quite late.

    "It was supposed to be launched earlier."

    Sun Yaohuo laughed, "But when it was about to go live, we encountered some issues during testing, which took some time to resolve. After that, there was the whole process of getting approvals, which also took a while."

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan responded.

    This game was just a whim; he hadn''t paid much attention to it, and hearing this news didn''t stir any particular emotions in him.

    But on the other hand.

    It was, after all, the first game he had designed.

    If the game were to be successful, he could gain some fame, which did stirred a slight sense of anticipation in Lin Yuan.

    The next day.

    After Lin Yuan got up, he logged onto the Lang Yue gaming platform and searched for ''Plants vs. Zombies''.

    As expected, the game had gone live, and it cost ten yuan to download.

    However, since it had not been long since the game''s launch, there weren''t many downloads yet, and the comment section was sparse.

    People are usually cautious about paying for games.

    He figured that over time, people would discover the charm of this game.

    Lin Yuan wasn''t too concerned and downloaded the game to play for a while before setting it aside.

    Just then. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Someone knocked on the door.

    Lin Yuan opened the door and saw his sister, Lin Yao, at the doorway.

    "Brother."

    "Sis."

    "I got my diploma today."

    "Diploma?"

    Lin Yuan smiled, "Congratulations on your graduation."

    Lin Yuan knew his sister had been busy with her thesis work recently, as they had discussed it a few times at family dinners, and it seemed she had successfully passed.

    "Yeah."

    "So, what do you want to do after graduation?"

    Lin Yuan was enthusiastic, showing interest in offering advice, "You majored in painting, are you interested in drawing comics, or do you prefer traditional painting?"

    Lin Yao shook her head, "I don''t want to."

    "You don''t like it?"

    "I don''t have the talent."

    She rolled her eyes, "You have a friend! He''s really good at drawing. I''ve compared his work with mine, and it''s a level I''ll never reach in this lifetime."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    The influence of family on children is indeed immense.

    "Then what do you want to do?"

    "I''ll tell you when I''ve figured it out," said his sister. "Right now, all I want to do is chase stars."

    "Who are you chasing?"

    "Jiang Kui. I''m going to her fan meet-up."

    "Wait a moment."

    Lin Yuan closed the door and made a phone call.

    Twenty minutes later.

    In the Lin family''s villa.

    Jiang Kui and Lin Yao sat staring at each other.

    It was a fan meeting like no other.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Today, I successfully got an appointment with the GOAT, offering a book to celebrate, "Rebirth: I Want to be a Rich Second Generation," a story about longing for a father (like) Jackie Chan.

 Chapter 833 - 790: The water is too deep, you cant grasp it

    No matter for Jiang Kui or for Lin Yao, this fan meeting was destined to be unforgettable.

    When she left the Lin family''s place, Jiang Kui looked utterly bewildered.

    Who am I?

    Where am I?

    What am I doing?

    If it weren''t for the selfie with Lin Yao on her phone, Jiang Kui would have thought it was all a dream.

    Right.

    It seemed she had made plans with Zhao Ying Ge today, to hang out at her place.

    Getting into the car, Jiang Kui set off.

    Half an hour later, Jiang Kui arrived at Zhao Ying Ge''s home.

    Zhao Ying Ge, dressed in a silk red pajama set that left little to the imagination, greeted Jiang Kui with a complaint as she opened the door:

    "I thought you stood me up, why did it take you so long to get here?"

    The relationship between Yu Dynasty''s singers depended on Xian Yu, sometimes good, sometimes bad.

    When things were good, the girls were like besties, occasionally meeting in private.

    Today, the two of them were on very good terms, sitting together in the same little boat of friendship.

    "Sorry."

    Jiang Kui stuck out her tongue and explained, "I had to make a last-minute trip to Teacher Admirable Fish''s place, which caused some delay."

    Boom!

    Upon hearing this, Zhao Ying Ge seemed as if she had been struck by lightning, standing frozen with her normally large eyes now bulging, the phrase "went to Teacher Admirable Fish''s house" echoing ceaselessly in her mind.

    Jiang Kui stamped her foot:

    "Let''s not talk about that, I need to use the restroom."

    "Take your time thinking!"

    "I''m asking where your bathroom is!"

    "Figure it out yourself!"

    Zhao Ying Ge said coldly.

    The little boat of friendship had just capsized.

    Eventually, Jiang Kui still found the bathroom and had a huge relief.

    Coming out, feeling refreshed, Jiang Kui looked up to meet a pair of deep, dark eyes.

    Jiang Kui got a fright:

    "What''s your problem, Zhao Ying Ge? You actually hang around sniffing while someone''s using the bathroom?"

    "Did you really go to Teacher Admirable Fish''s place?"

    "Yes."

    Jiang Kui thought back to the awkward eye contact with Lin Yao at Teacher Admirable Fish''s home, her expression becoming complex.

    ...

    I''ve never been there!

    Zhao Ying Ge felt sour inside.

    As far as she remembered, only Sun Yaohuo had been to Teacher Admirable Fish''s place within the Yu Dynasty.

    Suddenly, she stepped forward and grabbed Jiang Kui''s hand:

    Jiang Kui stepped back half a step, her face wary:

    "What are you trying to do?"

    "You have designs on Teacher Admirable Fish too, don''t you?"

    "I don''t!"

    Jiang Kui''s face immediately flushed red.

    Zhao Ying Ge shook her head: "Kui, don''t blame me for being blunt, but because you''re young, you don''t understand, you''re not as clear on these things as your sister here."

    Jiang Kui: "..."

    We''re about the same age.

    If you had to say what''s bigger about you than me...

    Jiang Kui glanced down at her own flat chest, then looked back up at the other''s Mount Everest, sighing inwardly.

    "Kui."

    Zhao Ying Ge tightened her grip on Jiang Kui''s hand, speaking earnestly:

    "Listen to your sister''s advice, a lot of things are illusionary, the waters here are deep, you''re too young to handle it, let sister take care of it for you."

    Jiang Kui: "???"

    You taking care of it for me, sure.

    I think you''re just daydreaming.

    With a huff, Jiang Kui shook off Zhao Ying Ge and said with a pout, "Although I also like Teacher Admirable Fish, my liking doesn''t quite have the same yellow trashy quality as yours. I went to Teacher Admirable Fish''s place because her little sister is a fan of my songs."

    It''s the influence of the family environment.

    Jiang Kui was completely disinterested in romance.

    After staring at Jiang Kui for a few seconds, Zhao Ying Ge revealed a joyful smile, and the ship of friendship made its return, although she still felt a sour twinge about Teacher Admirable Fish''s sister liking Jiang Kui:

    "Come on, beauty, log in, let''s game!"

    "So you called me over just to play games?"

    "You haven''t played it, you don''t understand, this game is so much fun. Sun Yaohuo recommended it to me. At first, when he said this game was very interesting, I didn''t believe him, but once I started, I was totally hooked, I couldn''t stop!"

    "What game?"

    Jiang Kui followed Zhao Ying Ge to the computer and then saw the name of the game, "Plants vs. Zombies."

    "Is it fun?"

    "Give it a try."

    Ten minutes later, Jiang Kui sat in front of the computer, a screen with ghastly green font appeared, accompanied by a spine-chilling laugh:

    "The zombies have eaten your brains!"

    Jiang Kui was startled. Was this damn thing actually a horror game?

    Her body was small, but her spirit was defiant.

    Another round!

    Meanwhile, next to her.

    Zhao Ying Ge was also trying hard to clear levels; she had several computers at her home.

    Before long.

    The same words appeared on her screen too.

    "Brains eaten by zombies again."

    Zhao Ying Ge said in frustration, "This level is really hard, but the game is so much fun."

    "It is fun, but what about the team-up we talked about? Don''t bull me just because I''m not a bookworm, how are we supposed to team up in a single-player game?"

    "Just wait."

    Zhao Ying Ge turned her head and pulled back the curtains.

    In the pitch-black room, Zhao Ying Ge said with a smile:

    "Team up!"

    Jiang Kui: "..."

    Another hour passed.

    The two of them became full-blown internet addicts, thoroughly enjoying themselves, their cheerful laughter echoed through the room, and they were constantly sharing their gaming insights and experiences with each other.

    "How come this zombie is shielded by doors and windows from bullets!"

    "Doors and windows are nothing, this zombie is even wearing armor!"

    "This one''s awesome!"

    "Ah, Zhao Ying Ge, you''re so dirty!"

    "What are you thinking? Who is dirty here? I''m talking about that dancing zombie, it''s clearly doing Teacher Admirable Fish''s Moonwalk. Could it be that it''s based on Teacher Admirable Fish himself? I just wonder if they paid the royalties, there''s even a damn zombie doing backup vocals!"

    "Hahahahahaha!"

    "What''s so funny?"

    "Don''t you think that the zombie doing backup vocals for the Moonwalk zombie looks a lot like Sun Yaohuo? Hahahahaha!"

    "Pfft, it really does!"

    "Was this game recommended by Sun Yaohuo? Could it be that he paid to make it himself?"

    "He wouldn''t know the first thing about games."

    "..."

    The two were completely immersed in the game.

    Besides the main campaign, they also discovered the adventure mode, which included many interesting mini-games. It was different from the campaign mode, but it was just as refreshing and highly playable!

    Of course.

    Every time the zombies ate their brains, they sighed in dissatisfaction, then rallied with even more determination.

    At the same time.

    Online, platforms had set up some small ads to promote the game. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Soon, people began to discover the appeal of "Plants vs. Zombies."

    For just ten bucks to download, there were always people willing to give it a try, and once they did, many quickly became addicted to it.

    Fun!

    Fresh!

    And a little thrilling!

    After playing the game, some sharing enthusiasts immediately began passionately recommending it to their friends!

    And so it went.

    One told ten.

    Ten told a hundred.

    As more and more people discovered "Plants vs. Zombies," the game finally began to gain popularity online!

 Chapter 834 - 834: 791

    In fact, not only did Sun Yaohuo arrange a little online promotion, but he also organized corresponding promotions offline.

    The next day.

    At the Blue Moon Game Exhibition.

    Sun Yaohuo, wearing a face mask, stood not far from a game booth.

    And on this game booth was emblazoned "Plants vs. Zombies" in big letters.

    In front of the booth,

    a group of beautifully dressed girls held up promotional signs that read:

    [Play the game for ten minutes and receive a 30% off coupon at any Flaming Catering restaurant, one coupon per person only!]

    "Playing games to get coupons?"

    "Flaming Catering?"

    "I know them; their hotpot is super tasty, with many branches in Su City!"

    "Let''s go grab a coupon!"

    "There are restaurant coupons at the game exhibition? There''s actually a Flaming Catering restaurant near our home, let''s snag some coupons!"

    "Play for ten minutes, scoop them up!"

    "Just ten minutes? Then let''s just play casually."

    "..."

    Game enthusiasts in the exhibition hall originally had little interest in a game like "Plants vs. Zombies," described as a minor puzzle-strategy game, and most gamers at the exhibition looked down on such small productions. But this promotion caught their attention, and soon there was a rush of people playing to get those Flaming Catering coupons.

    Not much later.

    Ten minutes had passed.

    Though the coupons were already in hand, the crowd that came to try out the game lingered on, forgetting about the coupons and continuing to play with relish.

    "This game is really creative!"

    "I was reluctant to waste ten minutes initially, didn''t expect it to be this interesting. It''s quite addictive!"

    "Feels like a real-time strategy game."

    "More exciting than any other game at this exhibition!"

    "How do you play this game? How come I got my brain eaten by zombies right off the bat?"

    "You need to plant Sunflowers. Sunflowers will produce Sunlight, which you collect to buy other plants."

    "Damn, is this the approach of a management-style game?"

    "I checked just now, this game is available for online download!"

    "I''m downloading it when I get back!"

    "..."

    At this world''s game exhibition, many games were being promoted, taking advantage of both online and offline opportunities to push hard simultaneously.

    Sun Yaohuo watched this scene from a distance, a smile spreading across his face.

    The game my junior developed is awesome!

    Staff had already begun urging the first batch of players to give up their spots.

    More and more people were gathering behind them.

    Some came for the coupons, while others, having seen the fun others were having, wanted to try it out themselves.

    "Hurry up, bro in front!" S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Ten minutes are up!"

    "It''s our turn now!"

    "This game is interesting, let me have a go!"

    "That guy sucks; got his brain eaten by zombies several times in ten minutes!"

    "Watch me breeze through in one go!"

    "..."

    The boisterous noise was quite chaotic as many urged the players in front to hurry up. For a time, the "Plants vs. Zombies" booth was so lively it even drew attention from other booths.

    People at various booths looked at each other.

    What game is this?

    Why is there such a long queue?

    Wow!

    Puzzle-strategy game?

    Can it measure up to our own graphically stunning action-packed blockbusters?

    What''s the catch!

    Of course, this was just the tip of the iceberg.

    Because it was also available online, many were playing the game at the same time.

    After all, online, the game had already started to catch fire.

    ...

    In a certain dorm.

    A student sat in front of the computer, clicking the mouse to collect Sunlight and planting peashooters.

    His roommates crowded around.

    "Eh?"

    "What game is this?"

    "Looks pretty fun."

    "Watch out, that zombie is coming!"

    "How come so many zombies appear at once!"

    "Lost that level."

    "Dude, that red pepper is fierce, wiped out the zombies in one go!"

    "This blue thing can slow them down?"

    "Interesting, what''s this game called?"

    "Plants vs. Zombies?"

    ...

    At a certain company.

    A clerk stealthily played the game while the supervisor wasn''t looking, expertly hiding the window whenever the boss walked past.

    A few colleagues noticed.

    "Damn."

    "Caught playing games again."

    "So boring, you''re slacking off at work just to plant Sunflowers?"

    "That''s not it."

    "There are zombies behind."

    "So that''s how you play it."

    "Is this a new mini-game?"

    "The game is called ''Plants vs. Zombies''; where can I download it?"

    "You can download it from the Blue Moon platform for ten bucks!"

    ...

    In an internet cafe.

    Someone logged onto the Blue Moon platform and started ''Plants vs. Zombies''.

    His buddies were stunned.

    "Weren''t we going to team up for a game?"

    "Why are you playing a mini-game?"

    "Come on, let''s log in. ''Heroes of England'', let''s go!"

    "What''s so fun about this thing."

    "Just exit it."

    "Hmm, is that zombie doing The Moonwalk?"

    "It seems more fun than I thought."

    "Shall we give it a try?"

    "Damn, it''s actually pretty fun!"

    ...

    What started as a few spread to many, and soon it went viral.

    By evening, this game had become a trend!

    Many gaming forums were discussing it!

    "Have you guys played the new mini-game that just came out?"

    "What game?"

    "Plants vs. Zombies!"

    "Plants, zombies, what the heck?"

    "I''m playing it right now, I''ve reached level thirty-two, don''t know how many there are in total, it''s getting harder!"

    "Turns out I''m not the only one playing; this game is so fun. The old zombie carrying the little zombie, that little zombie is really cute!"

    "This game is so addictive, I haven''t even done my homework because of it!"

    "How do you pass level forty-two? I''ve been at it all day and I''m stuck on this level!"

    "Man, the zombies ate my brain again!"

    "That wave of zombies is really thrilling!"

    "Damn, a wave of zombies? It''s that intense? No way, I''ve got to download it and see for myself!"

    "What are you talking about, big wave zombies? I searched dozens of times, even used software to slow it down four times, and I couldn''t find a single female zombie, let alone ''big wave'' zombies. Hey GOAT, how do you find the big wave zombies?"

    "Play up to level fifty, the big wave zombies won''t disappoint you; you''ll be wanting to reward the designers with drumsticks by then!"

    "Level fifty?"

    "Are there even that many levels in this game, damn, now the zombies can swim too, it''s really hard, but for the big wave zombies, I''m going all in!"

    ...

    More discussions attracted even more players.

    Nobody knew until what time some people played.

    Finally, a player with enough willpower reached level fifty!

    This determined player went online and ranted, "Liars, there are no big wave zombies at level fifty!"

    Someone sighed, "The zombies destroyed the plants in the mini world, entered the mini house, caught the terrified mini, eagerly opened your brain... and then the zombies left disappointedly."

    All right.

    No matter how many hilarious events took place during the levels, no matter how many plants were praised or cursed for poor cost-effectiveness, the game truly became a hit.

    More and more people began discussing this game.

    Of course.

    Some also noticed that in some levels, there were zombies doing The Moonwalk.

    "Zombies doing Teacher Admirable Fish''s Moonwalk, I''m dying of laughter!"

    "Yeah, there''s even backing vocals!"

    "Zombies can dance now, that''s ridiculous, haha!"

    "The higher-level zombies can do anything!"

    "If the apocalypse comes and zombies are all this skilled, humanity is truly Bracing the Chill."

    "Wait a second."

    "This backing vocal zombie kinda looks like Sun Yaohuo from Yu Dynasty, doesn''t it?"

    "Now that you mention it, could the dancing zombie be Fish Papa?"

    "Pfft."

    Someone pointed out the inside joke.

    Besides such discussions, there were also plenty of players stuck at certain levels asking for tips from the GOATs.

    The game got tougher towards the end.

    For a time, netizens showed off their skills, each revealing their secret strategies for passing levels.

    Some weren''t satisfied with just one method and began experimenting with different plant combinations to beat the zombies, analyzing which combinations were the most effective and cost-efficient.

    Of course.

    Some casual players were just quietly planting flowers.

    Others focused on adventure mode to explore even more novel ways to play.

    Overall, this game totally blew up!

    Even Lin Yuan felt the game''s booming popularity!

    Because when he went downstairs, he was shocked to see his sister, after getting off work, pulling their younger sister Lin Yao in the living room fighting zombies.

    "How did you know about this game?"

    "Everyone in our company was playing this game during our break today!"

    Lin Xuan said without looking up, "Do you want to join us?"

    His sister chimed in, "It''s so much fun!"

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    No wonder it was a classic game that had led a trend in his previous life.

    Meanwhile.

    The gaming world also noticed this spectacular game!

 Chapter 835 - 792: The Abyss Fire Game

    Chu Continent.

    Employees from the research and development department of a game company were buried in their screens, playing "Plants vs. Zombies" and exploring the game''s different modes of gameplay.

    This game became a huge hit as soon as it launched!

    Many companies in the gaming industry were studying this game to figure out what made it so unique.

    Who knows how much time had passed.

    Some planners and designers in the company began to exclaim one after another:

    "This game designer is no ordinary person!"

    "The pacing of the upgrades is controlled so well, zombies keep leveling up, and the plants available to the player are also constantly getting stronger."

    "To prevent players from getting bored with the levels, there are special modes to choose from, all with fun little gameplay elements, like this one where you use fruits as bowling balls to smash zombies. It''s really interesting, and these special modes can only be unlocked after clearing certain levels, which can definitely motivate a lot of people to keep playing¡­"

    "Not only that, but the level progression also incorporates a lot of variety."

    "Repeated levels would definitely cause player fatigue, but then they introduced variations like night mode, pond mode, and fog mode, etc. The design concept is brilliant!"

    "Every time I finish a level, I think about stopping, but then I just can''t help but start the next one!"

    "The creativity is amazing, which company made this?!"

    "Yuan Huo Games? Seems like a new company, I''ve never heard of it before!"

    "..."

    The company''s registered name is indeed "Yuan Huo"!

    It was a name Sun Yaohuo came up with, short and impactful, taking one word from his and his junior brother''s names.

    Lin Yuan owned fifty percent of the shares, while Sun Yaohuo owned the other fifty.

    Actually, Sun Yaohuo initially intended to offer Lin Yuan a larger share, but Lin Yuan declined.

    Lin Yuan had only been involved in the game design work from beginning to end, so there was no need for one person to hold the largest share. He even felt that Sun Yaohuo had offered too much.

    Besides, Lin Yuan enjoyed the feeling of being a shareholder without needing to do the work, rather than being a dedicated boss.

    Meanwhile.

    Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han.

    A similar scene was unfolding everywhere.

    Major game companies had basically all studied "Plants vs. Zombies"!

    Yuan Huo Games, this brand-new game company, also entered the game industry''s field of view for the first time.

    Meanwhile, on some gaming websites,

    Many strategy evaluations about "Plants vs. Zombies" were being published.

    Professional media within the industry rated this game very highly!

    Even some non-gaming media have also reported on this game.

    On video websites.

    There were many professional gaming YouTubers reviewing the game.

    For instance, a top YouTuber named "Conscience" was one of the first to review this game.

    "Hello everyone, I''m your little Conscience!"

    "The game we are going to review today is ''Plants vs. Zombies,'' which has been very popular these past few days."

    "At first when fans asked me to review this puzzle game, I refused. As you all know, puzzle games often feature simple graphics, simple programming, and simple operations. I never review these kinds of games for you. Aren''t those new 3D top-grade games delicious?"

    "Until I tried it myself¡­"

    "Oh my, it''s really fun, the designer is damn good, okay!"

    "I assure all of you, I definitely haven''t taken crappy money this time. Many players who have already played it can testify for me. This is a classic masterpiece that brings a whole new concept to puzzle games!"

    "Look at this¡­"

    "Isn''t it fun? Instant strategy gameplay, tower defense thinking, as well as the special satisfaction found only in collection and cultivation games. Not to mention these endlessly entertaining minigames. Compared to similar games, this one is certainly one of the most brilliant puzzle games I''ve ever played. And what''s most important is that this game costs only ten bucks to download, and there are no ads or in-app purchases inside, absolutely great value for money!"

    "There''s one more thing that cannot be left unmentioned: the music score of this game is classic!"

    "I believe players who have played ''Plants vs. Zombies'' are already very familiar with the music. After playing a lot, hearing the soundtrack might even feel comforting. However, you might not have noticed who the composer of these pieces is, Teacher Admirable Fish!"

    "That''s right, the music score for this game was written by Teacher Admirable Fish!"

    "For those playing the game, I suggest you listen carefully to the music. Teacher Admirable Fish is a forever genius!"

    "..."

    This YouTuber is a top influencer in the gaming category!

    With such an influential YouTuber recommending and making a thirty-minute long video to promote the game, talking about everything from its playability to its music score among various praises, the effect was incredibly positive!

    Soon enough, those who had not played the game became curious and fell into the rabbit hole.

    As for those who had played it, they were unanimously posting in the comments:

    "This game really gives you a bang for your buck¡ªI''ve been playing the bottle-smashing game all day. Sometimes you smash out zombies, other times you can smash out plants to eliminate the zombies!"

    "Every time I win, I just want to shout, ''Eat your brain out, zombies!''"

    "Conscience said he really didn''t take any money this time and I believe him, the game''s undeniable, but did Conscience reveal something?"

    "Hahahahaha, who would''ve thought that Conscience would one day review puzzle games?"

    "Conscience is such a tsundere who typically doesn''t review anything but AAA titles."

    "But Conscience''s reviews are indeed professional¡ªI never thought this game had so much to it."

    "The designer rocks!"

    "The music was composed by Fish Papa?"

    "This game''s got something special if it managed to get Fish Papa involved!"

    "No wonder the music feels so classic, Fish Papa''s skills are genuinely high!"

    "I''m going to launch the game right now, just to listen to the music!"

    "..."

    After the review was published.

    This UP named Conscience quietly opened a chat window on his phone and typed:

    "Boss Yao, would you take a look at this video?"

    "Not bad."

    Half an hour later, a reply finally came from the other side.

    Although the response was particularly late, this top-tier UP had not a trace of discontent but was even more respectful.

    Because the other side didn''t just type¡ªa red envelope with 10,000 yuan was sent!

    You should know.

    For this job, the other side had already given a very generous payment, far exceeding any other clients!

    As for this red envelope, it was completely extra!

    "Thanks, Boss Yao, if you need anything else, just ask!"

    Conscience was incredibly excited!

    There was no further reply from the other side.

    But Conscience still had not a bit of discontent and even felt that the other side should be this aloof!

    This was a big shot!

    Sun Yaohuo, the owner of Flaming Catering!

    With Flaming Catering emerging as a new force in the catering industry, it had developed dozens of branches in just a few years.

    The brand had an excellent reputation!

    Sun Yaohuo, as the boss, was seen as a business prodigy!

    And one of the restaurants under Flaming Catering had even been certified as a five-star establishment by Blue Star''s top food magazine, Gluttonous!

    Keep in mind, the entire Blue Star had only about sixty Gluttonous listed five-star restaurants!

    Ordinary people couldn''t even afford a meal at these kinds of restaurants without shelling out at least five thousand yuan!

    Let alone...

    This Boss Yao''s first foray into the gaming industry produced a game on the level of Plants vs. Zombies.

    Someone destined to make waves in the business world in the future, Conscience couldn''t wait to work with him!

    Yes.

    Conscience took the money.

    But Conscience took the money with a clear conscience.

    The game was already good, his review was just icing on the cake, not deceiving consumers or fans!

    Oh, and...

    Besides being a businessman, Sun Yaohuo was also a frontline singer, an old-timer of the Yu Dynasty, with a great relationship with Teacher Admirable Fish!

    Had it not been for his foray into the gaming industry, I might never have crossed paths with such a big shot!

    And what Conscience didn''t know was...

    The big shot Boss Yao he idolized was cheerfully watching the download numbers for Plants vs. Zombies soar, happily thinking:

    "My junior must be very happy!"

    The game review was indeed well-done. The fact that he even made a point to mention the game''s music score warranted a red packet as encouragement.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Thanks to the big shot Swallow 523 for yet another magnificent sponsorship, on my knees for you ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 836 - 793 Lin Yuan Xian Yu

    Lin Yuan was indeed very happy, especially after he noticed the surge in prestige the game had brought him...

    He went online to check out the reactions of netizens.

    The game had become popular in just a few days!

    In addition.

    Thanks to a reminder from an up master, everyone noticed that the background music for the game was provided by Xian Yu!

    It wasn''t that everyone''s observational skills were lacking.

    It was purely because the game had just become popular two days ago, and everyone was too busy playing the game to care who wrote its background music.

    Now everyone knew.

    "So the background music was created by Teacher Admirable Fish, no wonder it sounds so classic!"

    "Haha, I don''t know if it''s just the Fish Papa filter, but after listening carefully, I immediately fell in love with the soundtrack."

    "The soundtrack fits super well with the game''s art style!"

    "Truly, Fish Papa is the strongest at making custom music!"

    "Xian Yu: Writing songs, my favorite is theme-based composition."

    "Got it, I''m going to download it right now!"

    "No wonder there''s Fish Papa''s Moonwalk in the game, turns out Fish Papa collaborated with the game company!"

    "And that backup-singing zombie looks so much like Sun Yaohuo, but with so many singers in the Yu Dynasty, why was Sun Yaohuo picked to be Fish Papa''s backup singer?"

    ...

    Xian Yu was very skilled at composing music for various works, and this had become widely recognized.

    And the game''s soundtrack was yet another proof of this.

    As for Xian Yu''s relationship with this game, everyone was unaware.

    Because in the game designer section, the name was not Xian Yu, but Lin Yuan''s real name.

    But such things cannot be hidden for long.

    Someone soon discovered this not-so-secret secret.

    It was the third day since Plants vs. Zombies was launched.

    Yu Dynasty chat group.

    Xia Fan: "This game that Sun Yaohuo recommended is so fun!"

    Wei Haoyun chimed in: "Plants vs. Zombies, right? My niece is fighting with me over the computer to play this game."

    Zhao Ying Ge appeared: "Was it also recommended by Sun Yaohuo for you guys? What''s his relation to this game? I saw zombies in the back doing Xian Yu''s Moonwalk."

    Jiang Kui: "Ying Ge and I were just talking about it, it''s hilarious, the backup-singing zombie looks just like @Sun Yaohuo!"

    Just then.

    Chen Zhiyu suddenly chimed in: "After hearing what you guys said, I checked, and you guys look what I found!"

    Everyone was startled, and then they saw Chen Zhiyu drop a screenshot in the group.

    The screenshot read:

    "Yao Huo Game Company backer Sun Yaohuo... flagship project Plants vs. Zombies designer... Lin Yuan..."

    The text was lengthy but the information it revealed was astonishing!

    In an instant!

    Silence in the group!

    Everyone was just flabbergasted!

    This is Sun Yaohuo''s company?

    Isn''t he supposed to be running a restaurant?

    How did he also end up owning a game company?

    Wait a minute!

    That''s not the point!

    The point is the designer!

    Was this game actually designed by Teacher Admirable Fish!?

    Teacher Admirable Fish understands games too!?

    After the shock, everyone in the group began frantically tagging Sun Yaohuo:

    "@Sun Yaohuo, what''s going on!?"

    Outsiders might not know Xian Yu''s real name, but people in the Yu Dynasty did!

    Lin Yuan is Teacher Admirable Fish''s real name!

    Sun Yaohuo owning a game company is one thing since he also started a restaurant business after becoming a singer, but how did Teacher Admirable Fish get involved with this game company?

    And he''s even the game designer!?

    After being tagged repeatedly, Sun Yaohuo was finally smoked out.

    When he saw the screenshot in the group, Sun Yaohuo gave a wry smile and confessed since he couldn''t hide it anymore: "This game was indeed made by my junior brother, I''m responsible for setting up the company, keep it down a bit, the junior doesn''t like to show off."

    "..."

    With confirmation, everyone was stunned!

    This game was indeed designed by Teacher Admirable Fish!

    The next moment, messages in the group started popping up nonstop!

    "How can we keep this low-key, this game is making a killing!"

    "You, Sun Yaohuo, are a top-tier singer, and it''s not like we don''t know you!"

    "Even if it''s Teacher Admirable Fish''s real name, there are quite a few people who know it in real life; over the years, Teacher Admirable Fish has always had to use his real name to interact with others." Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "It''s out of control, there are so many transparent messages online."

    "Never mind whether the news can be kept secret, Teacher Admirable Fish is too awesome, he can even design games!"

    "Kneeling before Teacher Admirable Fish!"

    "Damn, now even if you tell me Teacher Admirable Fish can fly a plane, I wouldn''t be surprised!"

    "..."

    The group was in shock!

    ...

    The claims of the people from Yu Dynasty were quickly verified!

    The speed was even faster than everyone had imagined!

    Because information on the internet is quite transparent, especially company information which is easily accessible, including key information such as legal representatives and investment funds, particularly when "Plants vs. Zombies" was still so popular.

    That very night.

    Similar information screenshots were also flung out by a netizen!

    Title: "Shocking! Do you know who designed those plants and zombies?"

    Who designed them?

    Why all the secrecy?

    Could it be some big shot in the gaming world?

    This post attracted some people''s attention, and curious netizens clicked into the post to see the content inside:

    "Lin Yuan is Teacher Admirable Fish, Teacher Admirable Fish is the designer of ''Plants vs. Zombies,'' and the official owner of the gaming company is Sun Yaohuo, a top singer from Yu Dynasty..."

    Click!

    Jaws dropped!

    After reading that, many people were stunned!

    People''s eyes widened in disbelief, then, coming to their senses, they quickly shared the news, spreading it far and wide!

    Whoosh!

    After the message was widely circulated, this time the discussion was not limited to gaming forums:

    "Holy shit!"

    "Am I seeing this right!"

    "This game was actually designed by Teacher Admirable Fish?"

    "Teacher Admirable Fish''s real name is Lin Yuan?"

    "I thought Admirable Fish''s real name was Fish Papa!"

    "A company founded by Sun Yaohuo?"

    "No wonder the zombies can moonwalk, and no wonder the game''s background music is handled by Teacher Admirable Fish. It turns out it''s not because the gaming company collaborated with Fish Papa, but because the game was actually Fish Papa''s own creation!"

    "Fish Papa can actually design games!"

    "Fish Papa being a musician and filmmaker was impressive enough, but to think he understands games too!"

    "I can''t believe the game I''ve been playing for two days was designed by my Fish Papa!"

    "Is it confirmed? Could there be some mistake? Is Lin Yuan really Fish Papa''s real name?"

    "It''s confirmed. Someone in the industry who has collaborated with Teacher Admirable Fish has seen his real name on contracts!"

    "People from Starlight also say Fish Papa is often called ''Mr. Lin'' at the company, which proves his surname is definitely Lin!"

    "Am I the only one who thinks Fish Papa''s real name sounds nice? Lin Yuan, haha, Yuan, probably means ''profound,'' right?"

    ...

    From skepticism to confirmation, and then collective shock, the internet abruptly burst into a frenzy!

    Admirable Fish!

    This game that took the internet by storm in just a few days was actually designed by Admirable Fish!

    Musician!

    Filmmaker!

    Apart from these identities, Admirable Fish now had yet another one as a gamer!

    Meanwhile.

    The gaming industry.

    Various major companies were also dumbfounded upon receiving the news!

    "A game designed by Admirable Fish?"

    "That Maestro Junior?"

    "Damn!"

    "Isn''t Admirable Fish into music and film?"

    "Shit, how does he even know how to make games!"

    "This is a true genius!"

    "While it''s incredible, history has always seen some astonishing cross-disciplinary geniuses, and over on the Zhong Continent, there are a few who claim to have crossed several fields as current geniuses. Not sure how much of that is true, but there definitely are genuine talents, and Admirable Fish is one such genius!"

    "He must have just provided the idea for this game."

    "With the idea in hand, it''s not strange to be labeled a designer, but he surely couldn''t have been involved in the detailed level design himself."

    "That''s true, but even so, that alone is impressive enough!"

    "To create such a popular game requires not only luck but also brains and inspiration, as well as a certain level of professionalism!"

    ...

    At the Lin family villa.

    Lin Yuan''s mom laughed, "You designed this game?"

    His sister speechless, "No wonder I and Big Yaoyao asked you to play, and you ignored us, it turns out you were the one who made it."

    His younger sister rolled her eyes, "You''re incredible."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    In the designer section, he had specifically used his real name to cover up a bit, but he didn''t expect it to be exposed so quickly.

    It looks like he still needs to be cautious.

    Some netizens are like a collective incarnation of Poirot, Holmes, and Conan.

    Just don''t dig out his other internet personas one day.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: The game chapter won''t cover much, and there won''t be a lot of game-related plots later because there really aren''t many games that are so popular that everyone knows them, and Polluted White only wants to write about games that everyone is familiar with, which are just those few in the entire outline.

 Chapter 837 - 794: Better to Retreat and Weave a Web

    Lin Yuan went viral!

    Due to his identity as the lead designer of "Plants vs. Zombies," the real name behind the alias Xian Yu became widely known to the public for the first time!

    Online.

    With the relationship between Xian Yu and the game being revealed, many celebrities sprang into action!

    The King of Singing from the Yu Dynasty, Jiang Kui, was the first to repost the download link for "Plants vs. Zombies" and then added:

    "I''ve been playing this game a lot lately, friends who''ve played it, raise your hands!"

    Xia Fan also posted an update:

    "A game designed by Lin Yuan, are you guys sure you don''t want to give it a try? Don''t tell me you don''t know who Lin Yuan is."

    Wei Haoyun commented:

    "Teacher Admirable Fish is really a genius, ''Plants vs. Zombies'' is the most fun game I''ve played this year!"

    Other singers from Yu Dynasty were certainly not idle either.

    Chen Zhiyu gives it his wholehearted recommendation!

    Zhao Ying Ge gives it her wholehearted recommendation!

    Sun Yaohuo gives it a blood-spitting recommendation!

    Even some celebrities outside the Yu Dynasty joined in!

    Among these people, some had interacted with Xian Yu before, some had benefited from collaborating with him, and others simply wanted to curry favor with Xian Yu, actively promoting the game on their own initiative!

    With so many celebrities recommending together, the scene was incredibly spectacular!

    All the major game companies turned green with envy!

    Keep in mind.

    When major game companies release games, if they want a celebrity to advertise for them, they have to pay!

    The bigger the celebrity, the higher the fee!

    But what about Xian Yu?

    This little Maestro Junior simply revealed his identity as a game designer, and a bunch of A-list celebrities took the initiative to recommend the game he designed!

    "Comparing yourself with others will only make you envious!"

    "The last time I wanted He Sheng to recommend our game to his fans, his agent demanded an advertising fee starting at one million. Yet now Xian Yu designs a game, and this guy recommends it so happily without even taking money!"

    "The last time I wanted the White Swan Shu Yu to make a recommendation, her price was straight up two million!"

    "Those A-list celebrities charge an outrageous fee for a single advertisement, and now they''re all over Xian Yu''s game, recommending it like crazy!"

    "Could it be that Xian Yu paid them?"

    "Paid my ass, I just asked an agent from a celebrity we worked with before, and they said that the stars took the initiative to recommend Xian Yu''s game without him even contacting them!"

    "Damn!"

    "Exactly as I thought!"

    "In front of Xian Yu, these celebrities are no different from a bunch of sycophants!"

    "When we ask those celebrities to do promotions, don''t we behave just like sycophants too, unless you''re a top game company that can make the stars actively seek cooperation, but even then it''s not for free."

    "Suddenly I''m reminded of a saying: you never know how proactive your goddess can be in front of others!"

    "Stop it, I can''t hold back the tears!"

    "..."

    Indeed, just as some game companies knew.

    Lin Yuan didn''t take the initiative to ask any celebrity for help with the promotion.

    The promotion of "Plants vs. Zombies" by these celebrities was entirely spontaneous.

    It wasn''t only the companies within the industry who were emotional about this.

    Many netizens also left comments in the celebrities'' comment sections saying "this is real life."

    It''s too real!

    When nobody knew that "Plants vs. Zombies" was designed by Xian Yu, even though many people liked the game, no celebrities took the initiative to recommend or promote it.

    After the news about Xian Yu being a game designer came out, these celebrities suddenly got energized!

    One by one, these big names eagerly recommended the game to their fans, showing an overwhelming love for it!

    Hmm?

    Where were you all earlier?

    Isn''t it all just to score brownie points with Xian Yu?

    Sure enough, celebrities are just like ordinary people.

    When facing someone who can influence their prospects, they turn into fawning sycophants too.

    ...

    The comment section of Xian Yu''s blog was also incredibly lively at this moment!

    Many fans amused themselves by teasing:

    "Scriptwriters who don''t want to become game designers are not good musicians!"

    "Some people seem to be musicians, but they are actually scriptwriters for film and television, and behind the scenes, they''re game designers!"

    "No more nesting dolls!"

    "When it comes to crossing genres, I only respect Xian Yu!"

    "Fish Papa, don''t neglect your proper job. Start working on a new movie, write new songs, and don''t get addicted to games. You''re still young and might not be able to control yourself¡ªlet me do it!"

    "Lin Yuan, Fish Papa''s real name sounds so nice!"

    "I''m curious why you chose to debut with the name ''Xian Yu''?"

    "Do the two characters of ''Xian Yu'' have some special meaning?"

    "..."

    Besides teasing Xian Yu, many people were also curious.

    Why did Lin Yuan choose to debut with the name "Xian Yu"?

    It''s essentially a stage name.

    It seems to have some special significance.

    Surrounded by this question, many netizens began to discuss it with interest:

    "Could it be because Fish Papa himself likes to eat fish?"

    "Pfft, why don''t you say that Fish Papa envies the freedom of fish?"

    "I think it should be related to Fish Papa''s real name, which contains the character ''Yuan,'' and ''Yuan'' refers to a pool of water, so his stage name being ''Xian Yu'' makes sense, since fish live in water after all."

    "I''m more inclined to think that he envies the freedom of fish."

    "Fish roam freely, but Fish Papa, in his early years due to health issues, faced a lot of restrictions."

    "That does make sense, and matches the literal interpretation. His health problems were severe in the early days, preventing him from freely doing what he loved, such as singing."

    "Perhaps it''s a combination of both."

    "Fish is related to the character ''Yuan,'' and because of the reasons everyone mentioned, his stage name is Xian Yu."

    "..."

    Lin Yuan was also browsing the internet.

    He saw the discussions among his fans about the origin of his stage name.

    Why is it called Xian Yu?

    Actually, this was not some secret that needed to be hidden.

    After thinking for a while.

    Lin Yuan used his blog account to post an update, which served as an explanation for the origin of his pseudonym, and he shared this message with countless Blue Starian:

    "It''s better to go home and weave a net than to stand by the pond and envy the fish."

    There was no need for a detailed explanation; the sentence was easy to understand.

    Originally, it was because of this saying by an ancient sage on Earth that Lin Yuan chose this name.

    At this moment.

    The netizens who were discussing the stage name "Xian Yu" were stunned after seeing Lin Yuan''s post.

    It''s better to go home and weave a net than to stand by the pond and envy the fish?

    Stand by the pond, Lin Yuan?

    This saying is too classic!

    Is Xian Yu explaining the origin of his stage name?

    "Worthy of being Fish Papa, the implication behind this stage name is truly unmatched!"

    "This sentence is so philosophical!" S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Without a bit of culture, you can''t even understand it!"

    "Fish Papa''s literary grace is freaking amazing, even his stage name is so meaningful!"

    "I kind of understand the literal meaning of this sentence, but is there a GOAT who can explain it in detail?"

    "No need for a detailed explanation, actually, the principle is very simple: rather than standing by the pond and watching the fish swim merrily in the water, fantasizing about having the fish in hand, it''s better to go back and make the effort to weave a fishing net to catch fish and fulfill your wishes."

    "I understand the meaning, my question is why did Fish Papa say this sentence?"

    "..."

    Many people were at a loss for an answer.

    Why did Xian Yu say such a sentence?

    Beyond its original meaning, did this sentence have any special significance?

    The philosophy contained in the sentence was not hard to understand if you simply translated it literally from classical text, but not everyone could see through the true starting point of Xian Yu''s statement.

    For a moment.

    Many netizens were guessing.

    There were also netizens who forwarded this sentence.

    As a famous saying written into the textbooks of the Celestial Dynasty, the saying caused quite a stir, and because Xian Yu was so famous, more and more people started trying to figure out why Xian Yu said this sentence.

    And just when everyone was at a loss.

    A forum GOAT with the id "Swallow" appeared:

    "I thought long and hard before I figured out a bit of the flavor. To understand the meaning of this sentence, everyone needs to consider it in the context of Teacher Admirable Fish''s own experiences."

    The netizens were taken aback.

    Consider it in the context of Teacher Admirable Fish''s experiences?

    This Swallow was a GOAT on the forum, well-known by many. They were always active on the forum, and their insights were always insightful, with many fans and therefore a high level of attention.

    In the post.

    Swallow continued to speak, revealing the truth:

    "Those who know about Teacher Admirable Fish are aware that his childhood dream was to be a singer, but due to health reasons, he couldn''t sing anymore. So, do you all still think he only envied those fishes in the water?"

    This statement awakened the netizens!

    Many people suddenly saw the light!

    That''s it!

    He envied the singers!

    Are the fish in the water referring to the singers?

    Yes!

    Xian Yu''s throat was ruined because of his poor health before, but after recovering, he even participated in the variety show "The Masked Singer" to fulfill his singing dream, which showed his passion for singing!

    This was common knowledge!

    So the meaning of "weaving a net" became clear!

    If he couldn''t be a singer, then he would be a composer, a Maestro!

    Instead of envying those singers, he would write songs for them to sing, realizing his dream in another form!

    Looking back!

    The birth of the Yu Dynasty was indeed due to Xian Yu laying down a net of music; although he was once unable to sing to his heart''s content, his songs were widely circulated!

    What talent was that?

    What a decision was that?

    Many netizens were moved!

    "I never imagined the back story behind the name Xian Yu would be so sad..."

    "Standing by the pond envying the fish, Lin Yuan envying the fish..."

    "We only saw Fish Papa''s talent but didn''t know the pains and struggles he went through. Who would have thought his becoming Maestro Junior was a decision made out of helplessness?"

    "I don''t see it as helplessness but rather as open-mindedness, this is the grand realm of life!"

    "I have to say, Xian Yu is genuinely awesome!"

    "Lin Yuan envies the fish, then let''s weave a net and harvest these fish with the identity of Maestro!"

    "Xian Yu, what a spirit!"

    "Swallow GOAT is freaking awesome too, to be able to interpret this much!"

    "..."

    This interpretation directly gained the recognition of all the netizens!

    And after understanding the meaning behind the sentence, the netizens felt even more the terror of Xian Yu!

    The two characters Xian Yu, revealed talent and decisiveness to an extraordinary degree!

    Meanwhile, at home.

    Lin Yuan looked at the interpretations of the netizens and was somewhat baffled:

    Ah huh?

 Chapter 838 - 795 Which short story to write below

    Is the interpretation of "Rather than envying the fish from the bank, it''s better to retreat and weave a net" really possible?

    Meow Meow wondered.

    Of course, it had nothing to do with the regret of not being able to become a singer.

    Lin Yuan made his debut under the name Xian Yu simply because he liked this phrase.

    However, when Lin Yuan saw the interpretations of netizens, even he couldn''t help but doubt whether he had that kind of intention in mind at the time?

    They made too much sense!

    Alright then.

    It didn''t exist.

    The so-called connection between Lin Yuan and being at the bank of the river.

    It was just a cheesy pun!

    Lin Yuan purely liked the phrase and thought the name "Xian Yu" sounded pretty good, nothing more.

    But netizens wouldn''t think so!

    After hearing Swallow''s interpretation and combining it with Xian Yu''s own experiences, everyone thought it made more and more sense!

    This must be the truth!

    This has to be the truth!

    It spread quickly.

    This interpretation of Xian Yu went viral along with the phrase "Rather than envying the fish from the bank, it''s better to retreat and weave a net!"

    Countless netizens forwarded it!

    No one doubted that it was an overinterpretation.

    Everything fitted perfectly with the phrase, a perfect closed loop!

    The most crucial point was...

    Netizens were moved to tears by their own assumptions!

    Online, there even appeared a huge wave of "sympathy for Xian Yu"!

    "I''m crying!"

    "Feels like I''m about to tear up."

    "Fish Papa really had it tough."

    "For the first time, a stage name has moved me!"

    "Perhaps it was precisely such an arduous journey that forged Fish Papa''s unparalleled talent!"

    "The Yu Dynasty, and even every singer who has worked with him, is a voice that Xian Yu has chosen for himself!"

    "Since I cannot sing, let the best singers of Blue Star spread my music!"

    "Thinking this way, Fish Papa is really awe-inspiring!"

    "With Xian Yu''s retreat, how many singers have been made!"

    "Even heaven couldn''t bear to see it, and finally, Fish Papa got his voice back."

    "..."

    System felt very pissed off.

    It seemed that everyone liked this kind of dramatic interpretation, which truly moved Blue Star.

    The media were brainwashed by this interpretation, competing to report on it.

    Titles such as "The meaning behind Xian Yu''s name moved people to tears" were everywhere.

    Of course.

    Not all reactions were of a serious and moved nature.

    There were also plenty of silly netizens who made fun of the interpretation after seeing it:

    "Xian Yu: Life''s so hard, I can''t become a singer, so I can only be a Maestro."

    "Xian Yu: These movie scripts are really terrible, I might as well write my own and weave my own net."

    "Xian Yu: As usual, if there are no interesting games, then I''ll just design a fun game myself!"

    "Xian Yu: None of these singers satisfy me fully, forget it, I might as well get my voice fixed and sing on my own."

    "Xian Yu: ..."

    The originally proper "Envying the fish at the riverbank" was played out by this group of people.

    Lin Yuan never expected to relate the design of a game to this phrase.

    What surprised Lin Yuan even more was...

    It seemed even his family had seen the online interpretations of the word "Xian Yu" and believed them without doubt!

    It was noon.

    Lin Yuan was having lunch with his family.

    He suddenly noticed that Big Yaoyao was unexpectedly quietly eating vegetables.

    "Why aren''t you eating meat?"

    Lin Yuan was used to his sister competing with him for meat, so seeing her voluntarily eating vegetables felt as if the sun had risen from the west.

    The last time his sister was this sensible went back to when Lin Yuan had just been discharged from the hospital due to an illness.

    "Brother, eat the meat."

    Big Yaoyao actively served Lin Yuan some meat.

    Lin Yuan looked at his mom.

    His mom would definitely tell him to eat vegetables.

    But to his surprise, his mother said tenderly, "Eat more meat, mom won''t force you to eat veggies today."

    His sister laughed on the side, "My little brother is really awesome."

    "Wuu wuu."

    Antarctica rubbed against Lin Yuan''s trouser leg.

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    Is it me that''s off, or is it you guys?

    After lunch.

    Lin Yuan arrived at the company and ran into Zheng Jing and Teacher Yang Zhongming.

    "Little Fish, you need to buck up!"

    Zheng Jing raised her fist and said to Lin Yuan.

    Yang Zhongming, standing beside her, spoke up, "You''re doing very well."

    Entering the office.

    Lin Yuan saw a pile of tea leaves on the desk.

    Gu Dong said softly, "The chairman just had it sent over, it''s this year''s new tea, he said you should try it."

    Lin Yuan: ???

    It''s this world that''s off.

    ...

    Several days later, that sense of oddness finally disappeared.

    Everyone''s life returned to normal.

    Lin Yuan finally broke free from that uncomfortable atmosphere.

    That day.

    Lin Yuan came to the studio.

    Jin Mu hurried over, "The blog side called, they want you to make a move!"

    Lin Yuan asked, "What''s up?"

    Jin Mu began, "You remember the Tribe has a tradition of holding a short story competition every so often, right?"

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    He used to write quite a few short stories in the Tribe, even earned some prize money, but after leaving the Tribe he no longer touched short stories.

    "Short stories have brought a lot of traffic to the Tribe."

    Jin Mu continued, "Our blog side has followed the Tribe''s lead and organized a similar short story competition. Although it''s not as effective as the other side, we still managed to snatch a good deal of traffic from them, but lately there''s been some trouble..."

    "What trouble?"

    "Feihong is going to make a move!"

    "Feihong?"

    Lin Yuan was stunned.

    He had heard this name before.

    In the short story scene of Qin Continent, there are three leading figures.

    They are Chang Qin, Feihong, and Feng Hua.

    Lin Yuan had dealt with one of the trio, Feng Hua.

    This was a short story writer of great caliber.

    And in the short story writers'' ranking, Feihong even ranked higher than Feng Hua.

    "If we look at the ranking of influence among short story writers, Feihong is now the foremost figure in our Qin Continent''s short story scene. Previously, it was Chang Qin who held the title, but with Chang Qin advanced in years and having retired from writing several years ago, his influence has been surpassed by Feihong. The Tribe inviting him to contribute will surely attract a tremendous amount of traffic. Now, the blog''s only hope lies with you, who also ranks highly on the short story writers'' leaderboard."

    "What''s my current ranking?"

    "Tenth."

    Lin Yuan went online to look up the short story writers'' leaderboard and indeed saw the name "Chu Kuang" at the tenth position.

    "My rank hasn''t dropped?" S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan was somewhat surprised; with the integration of the five continents, logically his ranking should have fallen.

    Jin Mu laughed, "Don''t be puzzled; although you have fewer short story works, your previous stories continue to ferment and grow in influence, especially ''Necklace'' and the like, which are still much beloved by readers. They are remembered even after this long."

    Lin Yuan came to a realization.

    That''s how it was.

    Works like ''Necklace'' were inherently tenacious.

    Just like the charts for a season, the number-one song of a season might not necessarily leave a lasting impression.

    Some songs may have mediocre chart performance upon their release, but years later, they are still deeply memorable.

    It''s the same with stories.

    The initial stats for ''Necklace'' upon its release might have been matched by other excellent short stories.

    However, years later, people will still remember ''Necklace''.

    And those works that once rivalled ''Necklace'' in performance gradually lose their luster as time goes by.

    Perhaps in a few more years, the influence of works like ''Necklace'' will grow even larger.

    After all, it''s a classic from Maupassant.

    That was the reason why Chu Kuang''s ranking hadn''t fallen.

    Continuing to check further up.

    At the fifth spot in the ranking of short story writers, Lin Yuan saw the name Feihong.

    And Feng Hua, also one of the Qin Continent''s trio, had fallen to eleventh place.

    Just edged out by Chu Kuang by one spot.

    This was a leaderboard created by the Literature and Art Association years ago, which had been growing in influence year by year and was still highly regarded externally.

    No wonder when Feihong released a new work on Tribe, the blog would go into crisis mode.

    "I get it now."

    Lin Yuan was a shareholder in the blog and intimately connected to its interests. When the time came, he certainly couldn''t slack off.

    It was time to take action.

    Chu Kuang also needed to stretch his muscles.

    Besides, due to Shadow''s antics, Lin Yuan''s three pen names already had a beef with the Tribe.

    Now, which short story should be written?

 Chapter 839 - 796: King of Short Stories

    Blog.

    Literature Department.

    A group of editors were frowning in worry.

    Someone sighed, "I guess our Literature Department is going to get scolded by the higher-ups again."

    The Tribe and the blog had always been old rivals.

    Every now and then, the Tribe would hold short story events to attract traffic to their platform.

    The blog, too, had been imitating such events, striving to compete with the Tribe.

    However, with its more influential status, the Tribe''s lineup of short story authors was stronger, hence their short story events were consistently more popular than those of the blog.

    Because of this, the editors from the blog''s Literature Department had been reprimanded by the company''s leaders more than a few times.

    Despite not being able to defeat the Tribe, the blog had managed to hold its own and had not completely collapsed, so the higher-ups, even when they scolded, were not too harsh.

    But this time, the blog was really struggling to hold on.

    Who could have expected the Tribe to enlist Feihong to take part! Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    That was Feihong!

    After Chang Qin stopped writing, Feihong became the number one figure in the Qin Continent short story circle!

    The leader of the short story trio!

    With such a person boosting the event, the Tribe''s latest short story competition was bound to be explosively popular!

    The blog side, fearing that it couldn''t even manage a feeble resistance as before, might be facing a complete collapse!

    Keep in mind,

    the Tribe''s short story events had always overshadowed those of the blog. Now, with Feihong, the leader of the trio, strengthening their writer lineup, they were outright crushing the blog!

    "How can we even compete?"

    "We''re not in the same league at all; we''re going to get utterly trounced."

    "Unless we can get a short story author ranked higher than Chang Qin to help out."

    "There are only four authors ranked higher than Chang Qin on the short story authors leaderboard."

    "The chief editor tried contacting those four authors, but none of them had suitable works ready for release. You can''t just produce a short story whenever you want; it requires inspiration. Plus, those four are very conscious about their own status. Unless they''re sure they can beat Feihong, they won''t act rashly. Losing could potentially affect their rankings."

    "Eh."

    "Let''s wait for the chief editor. He said he''s going to find a solution. Maybe there''s still hope."

    "..."

    Everyone sighed.

    Just then, the chief editor arrived at the editorial department.

    Swipe, swipe, swipe!

    All eyes quickly turned to the chief editor.

    "Boss, did you find a way out?"

    "What''s the panic? The sky isn''t falling yet!"

    The chief editor was irritated to see his editors looking so downcast, but he understood the pressure they were under; he felt it too. He sighed inwardly and softened his tone:

    "No big problem. I just contacted Teacher Chu Kuang, and he has agreed to intervene."

    At these words, the editors were all surprised and excited!

    "Teacher Chu Kuang is willing to help out?"

    "Right, how could we forget about Teacher Chu Kuang? He''s now with our blog!"

    "When Teacher Chu Kuang was with the Tribe, he helped them defeat us many times. We''ve all seen his strength!"

    "The blog is saved!"

    "Teacher Chu Kuang really is always ready with his works!"

    "Short stories are so hard to write, yet he agreed with just one phone call. Competing against someone like him before was really tough."

    "Now it''s the Tribe''s turn to worry about how to handle Chu Kuang!"

    "Wait a minute."

    "Chu Kuang is ranked tenth among short story authors, while Chang Qin is fifth. Can he really win?"

    "..."

    Beyond the surprise, concern was voiced.

    Yet the chief editor just gave a slight smile and said, "Whether we can win is a different matter; our goal isn''t to defeat the Tribe. As long as we can ensure that one of us can stand up, preventing the Tribe from monopolizing as usual, do you really think Chu Kuang can''t even manage to hold them off?"

    That indeed reminded everyone.

    Indeed.

    The blog only needed to ensure that the Tribe didn''t monopolize the situation.

    That was already much better than the outcome of being directly crushed by the opponent!

    Moreover, who dared to say for sure that Teacher Chu Kuang wasn''t a match for Feihong?

    While Chu Kuang''s ranking wasn''t as high as Feihong''s, don''t forget the years Feihong has been in the field, how many works he has!

    How long has Chu Kuang been writing short stories?

    He''s the short story author with the fewest works in the top ten of the rankings!

    This indicated that Chu Kuang''s position in the top ten was not based on the quantity of works, but purely on quality!

    With this thought, the editors breathed a sigh of relief.

    And just as they were no longer downcast, the chief editor''s phone suddenly rang.

    "Let me take this call."

    The chief editor asked everyone to be quiet, then picked up the call.

    Whatever was said on the other end, it caused the chief editor''s face to darken rapidly.

    After hanging up,

    the chief editor was even more distressed than the editors had been earlier, his fists clenched tightly.

    A lump formed in everyone''s throat.

    "Chief editor..."

    He lifted his head and looked at his anxious staff, and sighed:

    "Besides Feihong, they''ve also enlisted other top-ranked short story authors including Feng Hua, Zhou Yu, Huang Yaoqing, and even Zou Ge. With such an extensive lineup, one that''s the biggest in their history of events, they must''ve guessed we''d call on Chu Kuang."

    Faces turned pale with the news.

    "Is this for real?"

    "One of the short story trio, Feng Hua?"

    "After Chang Qin''s retirement, only Feng Hua and Feihong remained from the trio, and the Tribe has invited both at once?"

    "And other high-ranking authors too?"

    "What can we do now? We only have Chu Kuang, and the rest of our short story authors are rather average in ranking!"

 Chapter 840 - 796: King of Short Stories_2

    "What the hell is this?"

    "Why have so many big-name short story writers suddenly released new works? This isn''t logical!"

    "Damn, are they looking for a group fight?"

    "A group fight is one thing, but they''ve got Feihong and Feng Hua. Even just Feng Hua can go head-to-head with Chu Kuang. These two are ranked tenth and eleventh!"

    "Is Feng Hua trying to snatch Chu Kuang''s top ten spot?"

    "..."

    The hope ignited by Chu Kuang was snuffed out again with the mention of Feng Hua.

    The editors at the blog''s literature department knew exactly what this meant.

    The difference in line-up is too big!

    Feihong alone was enough to cause headaches, and now there was Feng Hua and a group of high-ranked short story writers!

    The editors at the blog still remembered something from the past:

    Once, Feng Hua and Chu Kuang had competed in the field of short stories.

    At that time, Feng Hua had been on the blog''s side, while Chu Kuang had stood with the Tribe.

    That time, the two had ended in a tie.

    Now, not only did Chu Kuang have to face his old rival Feng Hua, he also had to watch out for the hungry eyes of Feihong and the glamorous line-up rallied by the Tribe.

    "The Tribe has already started promoting it."

    The chief editor checked the Tribe''s updates, then put down his phone and rubbed his tired temples:

    "These many big-name short story writers popping up isn''t without reason. It''s probably related to the Literature and Art Association''s recent announcement about standardizing textbooks."

    Great short stories also have a chance to be included in textbooks.

    Everyone was stunned.

    That was the reason?

    No wonder there was such a big stir!

    The Tribe had seized a timely and advantageous opportunity!

    It''s over!

    ...

    The chief editor wasn''t wrong.

    So many short story writers weren''t acting just because the Tribe had spent a lot of money or because they had experienced a collective burst of inspiration.

    Ultimately, some people wanted their works to have a chance to appear in future textbooks!

    The Literature and Art Association''s official announcement made it clear:

    Contemporary literary works also have many opportunities to appear in textbooks!

    Such an opportunity is rare!

    Not only wouldn''t poets and lyricists let it go, these short story writers wouldn''t either!

    The reason they all chose the Tribe was simple.

    The Tribe has the highest user base, and good works on this platform receive the most support!

    This is exactly what the chief editor of the blog''s literature department said.

    The Tribe indeed had already started external promotions.

    Feihong and Feng Hua, along with a group of high-ranking short story writers, had all taken action simultaneously!

    The stir in the realm of short stories was unprecedented!

    Soon the entire network was shaken!

    "Holy shit!"

    "So many top short story writers have come out!"

    "The Tribe''s short story event has a top-tier line-up!"

    "Why has everyone suddenly popped up?"

    "Is this related to the Literature and Art Association deciding to standardize textbooks?"

    "It has to be, since some short stories also appear in textbooks and naturally fit as reading comprehension topics for students."

    "It looks like many excellent short stories will be born now!"

    "The Tribe really does handle short story events well, the blog always seems to lack something."

    "Not necessarily, Chu Kuang is now with the blog, and everyone knows what level Chu Kuang''s short stories are!"

    "To put it broadly, even if Chu Kuang is there and even if his works beat those two big names, the blog can''t possibly match the Tribe, this time the Tribe''s line-up is too overpowering, not to mention he can''t simultaneously beat both!"

    "If the blog insists on facing off with the Tribe, Chu Kuang is in for a group beating!"

    "..."

    The feud between the Tribe and the blog can''t be told in tens of thousands of words.

    Netizens from all over Qinqiu are accustomed to the constant rivalry between them.

    Especially when it comes to short story events, the competition is almost head-to-head.

    This time, however, no one is optimistic about the blog.

    That said,

    People were hardly ever optimistic about the blog in the past.

    The only difference is, now the blog has Chu Kuang, but just as Chu Kuang arrived at the blog, the Tribe got the chance to rewrite textbooks in collaboration with the Literature and Art Association!

    In fact.

    Even without other top short story writers taking action, just Feihong and Feng Hua releasing new works in the Tribe is enough to cause quite a stir.

    For a while.

    News about the world of short stories was everywhere.

    Some media even began to discuss:

    After Chang Qin retired for several years, is Qinqiu going to select the new three big names in short stories?

    If there were a selection, Chu Kuang must be chosen!

    Because Chu Kuang''s current professional ranking in short stories is just ahead of Feng Hua.

    If Feng Hua is one of the three big names, what about Chu Kuang, who is ranked higher than him?

    ...

    The new three big names!

    This is a great angle for the news. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Everyone knows Qinqiu has three big names in the short story world.

    And with Chang Qin retired for several years, it''s time for new big names to emerge.

    Focusing on this point,

    A reporter specifically interviewed Feihong, currently the highest-ranking short story writer in Qinqiu.

    Feihong accepted the interview.

    The number one short story writer in Qinqiu looked at the reporter and smiled, asking:

    "Who do you think are the new three big names in Qinqiu?"

    The reporter carefully answered, "Personally and according to netizens, it should be you, Mr. Chu Kuang, and Mr. Feng Hua."

    "Not quite."

    After a brief thought, Feihong spoke, "Myself and Feng Hua make two, and Chu Kuang makes half."

 Chapter 841 - 796: King of Short Stories_3

    "Why do you say that?"

    The reporter''s eyes widened, "Chu Kuang''s ranking is higher than Teacher Feng Hua..."

    "Feng Hua has been famous for many years and has produced a large number of works, and I fully acknowledge Chu Kuang''s short story writing ability, but he has written too few works. Of course, I am referring to the number of short stories he has written. Currently, his number of works is not enough to place him ahead of Feng Hua. In the short story field, he still has a long way to go."

    This has nothing to do with the Tribe''s attitude.

    Feihong was not targeting Chu Kuang.

    He truly believed that.

    "I have read every short story by Chu Kuang, and I particularly love ''The Gift of the Magi,'' but what disappoints me is that he has written fewer than ten short stories of this kind, even if we count his mystery short stories as well. This is the inevitable result of a person crossing too many categories. Chu Kuang excels in writing multiple genres and themes, which leads to a very limited number of works in each genre..."

    This interview was lengthy.

    The discussion about the new troika only lasted about five minutes, and the rest was about Feihong''s new work.

    Essentially, Feihong agreed to the interview to promote his new work.

    However.

    When the news was released, the headline focused entirely on Feihong''s comments about Chu Kuang!

    No choice!

    Everyone loves to see controversy!

    Covering it this way creates a buzz!

    And indeed it did.

    As soon as the interview was published, numerous media outlets followed up!

    "Feihong: Chu Kuang is not yet qualified to be one of the new troika!"

    "The top short story writer of Qin Continent states, ''Chu Kuang''s number of works is too few, ranking doesn''t explain everything.''"

    "Is Chu Kuang qualified to be one of the new short story troika in the Qin Continent?"

    "In terms of short story writing, is Chu Kuang really stronger than Feng Hua?"

    "Can the number of works serve as a standard for evaluating a short story writer?"

    "Feihong''s statement gains widespread agreement from experts: Chu Kuang''s biggest weakness is the low number of his short stories!"

    "..."

    This was merely one aspect of the hot news, yet it unexpectedly garnered a great deal of attention.

    After all, Chu Kuang''s popularity was undeniable.

    Not to mention that this issue also involved Feihong, the leader of the Qin Continent''s troika, personally commenting, and the great hype of "the new short story troika of the Qin Continent."

    Online.

    There were those who agreed.

    There were those who refuted.

    Suddenly, everyone had something to say.

    In the end, this matter ultimately reverted to another speculation.

    That was how the Tribe was making such a big fuss, how would the blog respond?

    If the blog followed up, considering Chu Kuang had recently split ways with the Tribe, would he take action?

    And if Chu Kuang chose to represent the blog, how could he withstand the "mass attack" from the Tribe?

    The Tribe''s lineup was formidable! S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    In the midst of all the chaos.

    The multitude of voices was summarized by Jin Mu and relayed to Lin Yuan''s ears.

    "..."

    On the studio''s sofa.

    Lin Yuan looked at Jin Mu, who was full of indignation, with a peculiar expression.

    He was still pondering which great work by an Earthly short story master to write about next for his upcoming work, and suddenly, things outside had gotten heated.

    Everyone wants their works to be in textbooks?

    The Tribe is planning to gang up on me?

    Chu Kuang''s short stories are too few?

    Alright then.

    Immediately, Lin Yuan''s train of thought became clear.

    Half an hour later.

    The blog released a message:

    "Chu Kuang''s latest short story will soon be published in the blog''s special event ''King of Short Stories''. Stay tuned!"

    The blog was ready to make a move!

    Chu Kuang was also going to make a move!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Going out for dinner and will write the second update later in the month. Please vote for us.

 Chapter 842 - 797: Wearing the Same Outfit Isnt Scary, Its Embarrassing If You Look Worse

    Followed!

    The blog followed!

    Seeing the Tribe''s momentum like a raging storm, netizens almost thought this wave of blogs wouldn''t respond, considering the Tribe''s lineup was really too powerful, but to everyone''s surprise the blog chose to respond, and even directly named the event¡ª

    King! Of! Short! Stories!?

    And the countless people obsessed with Chu Kuang, the old rascal, also represented blog literature, participating in this tide sweeping from the realm of short stories!

    The internet exploded!

    "The blog is really tough this round."

    "Where do they get the courage to face off against the Tribe like this!"

    "Is it Chu Kuang giving them the courage?"

    "The problem is, the blog only has one Chu Kuang!"

    "Even throwing out a gimmick like the King of Short Stories, aren''t they just asking for hatred!"

    "Was the so-called King of Short Stories title especially prepared for Chu Kuang by the blog?"

    "Definitely, the blog only has the old rascal Chu Kuang who can fight, ''King of Short Stories'' obviously refers to Chu Kuang."

    "It''s over, the Tribe is really going to gang up on Chu Kuang now!"

    "The blog dares to confront directly probably because the old rascal Chu Kuang is in charge, speaking of which, this old rascal is truly fierce, I have never seen him chicken out!"

    "Think again, that time Xian Yu made him change the ending, wasn''t he not quick enough to chicken out?"

    "Pfft, hahaha, he really was chicken then!"

    "Okay, except for that one time when Xian Yu spoke up, the past deeds of the old rascal have proven that his character is unrivaled and utterly proud, Feihong said that the old rascal is not yet qualified to be part of the big three of the Qin Continent''s short story field, it would be strange if he didn''t react."

    "That time that little lolita was made to cry online, he chickened out too."

    "..."

    Damn!

    Can''t chat about this anymore today!

    But the netizens'' excitement was genuinely palpable, especially the fans of Chu Kuang, who were filled with anticipation!

    So what if you gang up?

    We want it this crazy!

    Though millions oppose me, I will go!

    The old rascal is fighting for exactly this breath!

    And this is exactly why so many people like Chu Kuang!

    Moreover, many of Chu Kuang''s fans already expressed their dissatisfaction!

    Why should Chu Kuang, already in the top ten of short story writers, be ranked lower than Feng Hua, who is in eleventh place?

    Not enough quantity?

    Quality is everything!

    Anyway, many of Chu Kuang''s supporters held this view.

    And regarding the blog and Chu Kuang confronting head-on, the Tribe''s short story writers were not pleased.

    What the heck?

    King of Short Stories?

    If your blog event''s champion is called the King of Short Stories, then what are our writers?

    So, we must participate in your blog''s event to qualify as the King of Short Stories?

    Not even looking at your lineup.

    Besides Chu Kuang, who else has the power to fight?

    The real King of Short Stories can only emerge from our Tribe!

    Therefore, there was a lot of disarray on the blog''s end.

    "I laughed."

    "The blog really thinks Chu Kuang is invincible."

    "Our Tribe has so many top-notch short story writers, are we still afraid of just one Chu Kuang?"

    "Just Feng Hua alone is not afraid of him, Chu Kuang!"

    "Not to mention, we also have Feihong, professionally ranked fifth!"

    "No need for two teachers, any group of us could easily gang up and suppress the other side from the blog''s literature."

    "No way!"

    "Our event also needs a powerful name!"

    "Exactly!"

    Poets always cherish fame.

    Everything else is negotiable, but on the matter of being the "King of Short Stories," they are determined not to be outdone by the other side.

    Soon.

    The Tribe also officially announced!

    "Mid-month this month, the Tribe Literature will officially launch the [King of Short Stories] event, please cast your votes seriously, who will be this edition''s King of Short Stories is up to you to decide!"

    That''s right!

    The Tribe''s event name, also called [King of Short Stories]!

    How about that?

    "Just because you guys use that gimmick on your blog?"

    "Our Tribe used it too!"

    The moment the Tribe made the announcement, the air was instantly thick with tension!

    "Good gracious!"

    "Both events are called the ''King of Short Stories''?"

    "The Tribe copied that copy very quickly."

    "Is this the legendary ''fashion collision''?"

    "What''s the old saying? A fashion clash isn''t scary, it''s only embarrassing for the one who looks worse."

    "That''s really thrilling!"

    "I still can''t figure out what this blog is taking on the Tribe with."

    "Could it be that apart from Chu Kuang, they have other big moves hidden?"

    "We''ll know in a few days."

    "I wonder what Feihong''s new work is about."

    "I''m more excited about Feng Hua''s work. I''ve grown up reading his books."

    ¡­

    In the studio.

    Lin Yuan was rapidly typing on his keyboard.

    What to write for the next piece?

    Maupassant?

    O. Henry?

    Chekhov?

    Mark Twain?

    Or Xin Xing Yi?

    Previously, Lin Yuan had been agonizing over choosing among these individuals, like someone with decision paralysis, but now he was no longer indecisive.

    On his computer screen.

    Several documents were already pre-titled, respectively:

    Mutton Fat Jade!

    Inner Circle!

    The Million Pound Note!

    Hey¡ªget out!

    My Uncle Yule!

    The Cop and the Anthem!

    The Last Leaf!

    All were extremely famous short stories from Earth, and could even be called the representative works of some masters of short stories.

    For example, "Mutton Fat Jade" is to Maupassant.

    For example, "Inner Circle" is to Chekhov.

    For example, "The Last Leaf" is to O. Henry and so on.

    "The Million Pound Note," due to the absence of British Pounds in Blue Star, would be renamed by Lin Yuan.

    A total of seven stories!

    Lin Yuan has named this campaign with a cool name:

    Seven Swords Beneath the Heavenly Mountains!

    Many said that Chu Kuang didn''t write enough short stories. Lin Yuan agreed¡ªit indeed seemed a bit few.

    This time, he treated it like patching a gap.

    He guessed these seven should be convincing enough. Writing any more would worry Lin Yuan about overdoing it, making it seem as if these works were as common as cabbages.

    Especially since each high-quality short story was hard to write, yet these seven were enough to compensate for the so-called shortfall of Chu Kuang''s works, guaranteed by the authors from the past lives.

    Lin Yuan typed very fast.

    Several had already been completed and were sent over to the blog by Jin Mu.

    This was also why the blog had the courage to contend with the Tribe, even daring to tout the title "King of Short Stories."

    After taking a sip of tea, Lin Yuan flexed his fingers, resting for a while.

    "The event is set for mid-month." S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Jin Mu took the opportunity while Lin Yuan was resting to state the rules of this event:

    "Like the previous short story events, the blog will initially publish these works anonymously, allowing the netizens to vote based on the quality after reading the content. The final ranking of the works in the event is solely determined by the netizens, which largely prevents authors from leveraging their personal influence to solicit votes."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    He had participated in short story events before and was familiar with this format.

    One of the pleasures for netizens in such events, was guessing the identity of the author based on the quality and style of the stories in the event.

    But...

    On the blog side, Lin Yuan had prepared seven stories for release. In the initial phase of complete anonymity, how would netizens guess?

 Chapter 843 - 798: The Last Leaf

    In the following days,

    Tribes and blogs extensively promoted their respective "King of Short Stories" events.

    Through their words, a fierce rivalry was apparent, an open and secret contest.

    The competition between two major capitals sparked numerous heated discussions among netizens!

    Under the foreboding atmosphere of an impending storm,

    Undercurrents surged within the realm of short stories.

    Lin Yuan had always been quietly typing away in his studio.

    The remaining manuscripts were completed one after another.

    And when he had finished his work, the time had already moved towards the middle of the month.

    That day,

    Morning,

    Jin Mu suddenly knocked on Lin Yuan''s office door and brought him a piece of news,

    "The Tribe has just launched this event. They''ve changed their usual play, releasing the first anonymous short story as a signal to start the battle. Today, for each upcoming hour, they will release one anonymous short story."

    "What about the blog?"

    "Continue to follow."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    The stories Lin Yuan had written were already completed, which were his ace in the hole prepared for the blog, and how to play these cards against the Tribe was now for the literary editors at the blog to consider, and the Tribe had already made their move.

    Bang!

    The starting gun fired.

    The battle for the King of Short Stories had officially begun!

    ¡­

    The first short story released by the Tribe was named "Mirror."

    As soon as this story was published, it immediately sparked rave reviews from the netizens.

    "This story is quite good!"

    "The Tribe truly boasts a golden lineup, the quality of the first story is quite impressive!"

    "It''s a pity the ending lacks something, but overall, it''s already a very outstanding piece."

    "This one doesn''t seem like Feihong and Feng Hua''s work, feels more like Zhou Yu''s style. If it were in previous terms, this story could easily rank in the top three, but this time the Tribe''s lineup of writers is too strong, the final ranking is hard to say."

    "I feel it''s a bit like Zou Ge''s work."

    "If this story had been released on the blog''s side, it would definitely make the top three. Except for Chu Kuang, I can''t think of anyone else on the blog''s side whose work can top this!"

    "Speaking of the blog, has their event started yet?"

    "¡­"

    The netizens were curious.

    The Tribe had already made a move. How would the blog respond? Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Someone tried opening the event page of the blog.

    Swoosh!

    The event page of the blog also updated, revealing the first short story!

    The title of the work, "The Last Leaf!"

    "Ah, this!"

    "The blog is quite swift!"

    "It seems both sides are really putting their energy into this, the Tribe just showed their first short story, and the blog is quick to follow with a short story of their own!"

    "Both sides are playing the same game!"

    "Comparing them side by side like this, doesn''t it highlight the blog''s disadvantage even more obviously?"

    "Compared to the Tribe''s lineup, probably only Chu Kuang''s work from the blog''s side can compete, right?"

    "Let''s check out this one first."

    "I bet a pack of spicy sticks that the quality of the blog''s first story won''t match the Tribe''s, Chu Kuang''s works are definitely held back to be the finale, to salvage the pride!"

    "¡­"

    The netizens discussed as they switched to the blog and clicked on "The Last Leaf."

    In fact,

    The only reason everyone paid attention to the blog''s side was because of Chu Kuang.

    The writers from the blog, only Chu Kuang''s works were truly anticipated by everyone.

    ¡­

    Han Continent Art Academy.

    Inside Literature Academy 1313 Classroom.

    Professor Logan''s special public lecture!

    Professor Logan was the prestigious banner of the Literature Academy at the Han Continent Art Academy, aside from his professorship, he was also a very successful short story writer, with numerous works to his name and highly respected by students in the school.

    Today''s class was specially prepared by the school for Professor Logan.

    Professor Logan wasn''t lecturing today, instead, he directly had the students read the short stories released by the Tribe and blog via their smartphones and computers, then discussed the works based on their personal understanding.

    A novel teaching method integrated with the real-time dynamics of the literary world.

    Everyone had just finished discussing "Mirror" by the Tribe, and the enthusiasm was very high.

    Professor Logan looked at the blog and said with a smile,

    "You all made some good points just now, next please read ''The Last Leaf'' released by the blog, and then share your interpretation with me."

    "Okay!"

    The students cooperatively responded and then clicked on "The Last Leaf."

    Professor Logan also opened the story.

    The short story competitions held by the Tribe and the blog were major events in the literary world, and holding a public class around this big event was what Professor Logan had specially requested from the school, and so far, the effect seemed quite good.

    This was also Professor Logan''s intention.

    He felt that doing well in this class could deepen the students'' understanding of short stories.

    "I wonder which one is Chu Kuang''s work, and when it will be released."

    Before opening the story, this thought flashed through Professor Logan''s mind.

    There were many writers from the Tribe whom Professor Logan looked forward to, while the blog only had Chu Kuang.

    However, although the blog''s lineup of writers wasn''t as strong as the Tribe''s, they were still well-known short story writers in the industry, and their works were mostly worth the students'' research and reflection.

    Besides,

    What if "The Last Leaf" was created by Chu Kuang?

    Several thoughts flickered through Professor Logan''s mind as he began his official reading.

    "In a neighborhood on the west side of a certain square, streets stretch out haphazardly, fracturing into tiny alleys..."

    The story''s background was introduced initially.

    A very conventional way to start a short story.

    With his mind undisturbed, Logan continued to read along the lines.

    Two minutes later.

    Suddenly, an inexplicable sound escaped Logan''s mouth.

    "Hmm?"

    His heart sped up slightly for a few beats, and Logan slowed down his reading pace.

    The content of this short story wasn''t complex¡­

    The female protagonist, Johnsy, contracted severe pneumonia in the cold November, and her condition was worsening.

    As a painter, she pinned her hopes of living on the last ivy leaf outside her window.

    She believed that the day the leaf fell would be the day her life ended.

    Many people who give up in the face of illness tend to harbor such ethereal thoughts.

    Distressed by this, Johnsy''s best friend told the old painter, Behrman, about her thoughts.

    Behrman was a hot-tempered man who constantly accompanied by alcohol. He had painted for nearly forty years without success, always talking about creating a masterpiece, yet it was all talk.

    After hearing this, he cursed and ranted, but was still at a loss.

    However, in the days that followed, a miracle occurred:

    Despite the severe winds outside and the jagged edges of the leaf turning yellow and withered, it still clung to the high vine branch.

    Seeing that the last leaf remained on the tree deeply moved Johnsy.

    If the leaf could survive the bitter cold winds, why couldn''t she?

    She regained her will to live and stubbornly survived¡­

    What did this mean?

    If you just believe in miracles, will they really happen?

    If the story ended in such a fashion, Logan would definitely have harshly criticized the author.

    Force-feeding readers with moral lessons, huh?

    He frowned slightly.

    Logan continued reading.

    Actually, there wasn''t much content left.

    The story ended with the best friend saying to Johnsy:

    [Mr. Behrman died of pneumonia in the hospital today. He had been sick for only two days. The first morning, the janitor found him in his own room downstairs, in so much pain he couldn''t move. His shoes and clothes were completely soaked and ice-cold. They couldn''t figure out where he had gone on that stormy night. Later they found an unextinguished lantern, a ladder that had been moved, several scattered paintbrushes, and a palette smeared with green and yellow paint, and¡ªdarling, look outside the window, look at that last leaf on the wall. Haven''t you ever wondered why, despite the fierce winds, it never stirred or moved? Ah, dear, that leaf was Behrman''s masterpiece¡ªhe painted it there forever the night the last leaf fell.]

    Gulp.

    He swallowed subconsciously.

    The furrow in Logan''s brow spread to his forehead, forming a series of clear frown lines!

    At that moment!

    Logan was dumbfounded!

    In a trance.

    He envisioned a scene before his eyes:

    On a stormy night, the old painter Behrman, over sixty, struggled with his paintbrush on a ladder.

    The last leaf took shape amidst these extreme challenges!

    In the final moments of old Behrman''s life, this painter, who achieved nothing in his technique, finally completed a breathtaking masterpiece!

    A twist!

    A classic twist!

    Logan''s scalp tingled slightly!

    Countless emotions surged within him!

    At this moment, a name flashed through Logan''s mind¡ª

    Chu Kuang!

    Logan could almost be certain that "The Last Leaf" was definitely penned by Chu Kuang!

    He had studied Chu Kuang''s short stories.

    This was a very classic Chu Kuang-style ending.

    Chu Kuang excelled at delivering a stunning twist at the conclusion.

    This was also why Logan admired Chu Kuang so much!

    He exhaled deeply.

    Logan reflected inwardly:

    "That truly was a marvelous twist, just like ''The Gift of the Magi'', unexpected yet perfectly logical."

    He looked up to the audience below.

    In this classroom, filled to capacity with students¡ªa dense crowd of hundreds¡ªsome had finished reading the story.

    Logan could clearly see the subtle changes in the expressions of the students in the front row.

    Surprise!

    Moved!

    Astonished!

    All these varied emotions were apparent on the students'' faces, with some sentimental girls already teary-eyed.

    And when everyone had finished reading the story, the entire classroom burst into uproar!

    The students excitedly discussed:

    "This work must be written by Chu Kuang!"

    "Beautifully written!"

    "The final twist was so touching!"

    "I''ve never been so moved by a short story before!"

    "Up until the ending, I almost thought this was a tacky piece glorifying miracles¡­"

    "That piece from the tribe is completely overshadowed by this!"

    "There''s absolutely no comparison; this story completely overshadows that one from the tribe!"

    "I can''t find any faults at all!"

    "¡­"

    After several minutes of heated discussion, Logan tapped the desk unhurriedly, his voice somewhat solemn:

    "Next, let''s analyze why this story is so good."

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: I''m certain this chapter will be critiqued heavily, but don''t worry, it''s necessary for the pace. Being the first piece as a sample, it inevitably requires detailed depiction. The subsequent chapters won''t be as detailed.

 Chapter 844 - 799: The Second God

    This scene at school was just the tip of the iceberg.

    Online.

    Countless netizens who were following this top event in the short story world had also finished reading "The Last Leaf."

    The netizens were shocked!

    "This short story on the blog is simply a masterpiece!"

    "Chu Kuang, this is definitely a Chu Kuang story!"

    "Such a concise and powerful work; apart from Chu Kuang, I can''t think of anyone else who could write such a classic short story on the blog!"

    "It was so good!"

    "The ending made me cry!"

    "The familiar Chu Kuang-style twist is really amazing!"

    "In the first round of the novel competition, Tribe was completely defeated by the blog!"

    "The blog really did well by throwing out the Chu Kuang Bomb right from the start. Even though they''ve made a strong start, how are they going to compete with Tribe later?"

    "Yeah, how will they compete later?"

    "..."

    While the netizens were excited and admiring, they were also somewhat puzzled.

    Chu Kuang''s story was so impressive; although it was shocking, it was actually within everyone''s expectations.

    The old rascal''s strength was never to be underestimated!

    The real issue was that the blog had used Chu Kuang''s story right from the start; what else do they have to compete with Tribe?

    It was like two people playing cards.

    One of them threw out the Bomb right at the start, and it was normal for the opponent to be unable to respond!

    However, a card game consists of more than one round!

    The blog had thrown out the Chu Kuang Bomb this round, successfully suppressing the opponent, but what about later?

    The Tribe''s big cards hadn''t even been played yet!

    ...

    Blog.

    The departments outside of literature were also paying attention to this matter, and the Literature Department''s first move scared everyone!

    "What is the Literature Department doing!"

    "Such a good story by Chu Kuang, used in the first round?"

    "There are many novels participating in this event, and we still have more rounds to compete!"

    "This is bad!"

    "Chu Kuang''s story should have been reserved for later!"

    "Chu Kuang won one round, but losing all the rest would look terrible!"

    "Wouldn''t it be better to place Chu Kuang''s work at the end, so we could redeem some face?"

    ...

    Tribe.

    They didn''t expect the blog to throw out the Chu Kuang Bomb right from the start!

    Yes.

    Although the blog didn''t announce the author''s name, no one doubted it; everyone was sure that Chu Kuang was the author of "The Last Leaf!"

    "Has the blog gone mad!"

    "Such a great story by Chu Kuang, used in the first round?"

    "This short story is terrifying, but what does the blog mean by playing this way right from the start; are they planning to give up later?"

    "Just for this thrill?"

    "Who plays like this?"

    "Isn''t it a common practice to save the best novels for later?"

    "Since they are playing this way, they should be prepared to be trounced by us later; we have so many people, and they have only one Chu Kuang."

    "They''ll be finished by the second round!"

    "..."

    The Tribe was left with bumps on their heads by the blog''s Bomb.

    There was anger!

    There was dissatisfaction!

    The Tribe immediately took measures!

    They didn''t even wait an hour.

    Just half an hour later, the Tribe directly released their second novel!

    A short story titled "Antique."

    ...

    Swipe, swipe, swipe!

    The first round of competition directly brought Tribe and Blog''s story contest to a climax, so the moment Tribe opened the second round, countless netizens clicked to read "Antique."

    "This novel is also not bad!"

    "Obviously better than ''Mirror''."

    "Indeed better than Tribe''s first one, but still visibly lacking compared to Chu Kuang''s ''The Last Leaf''."

    "Damn, my taste has been spoiled by Chu Kuang!"

    "I know ''Antique'' is well-written, but I just can''t feel it, constantly unconsciously comparing it with Chu Kuang''s work!"

    "Me too, while reading this novel, all I could think about was the ending of ''The Last Leaf''!"

    "This novel must be Huang Yaoqing''s work."

    "It looks like his style, and it matches his consistent quality."

    "Just read it for now, only looking forward to Feng Hua and Feihong''s works later."

    "The novels from the blog''s side probably won''t even match up to Tribe."

    "No choice, the blog has only one GOAT, the rest are just small fries."

    "..."

    Although Tribe''s novel in this round was definitely not as good as "The Last Leaf," everyone knew that was the story of the first round of competition.

    Given the level of the second round, everyone thought Tribe would definitely win over the blog.

    Although Tribe''s novel wasn''t as impressive due to the brilliant work from Chu Kuang that preceded it,

    It was still a superior piece.

    And the blog?

    After using Chu Kuang''s story, they probably couldn''t even produce a superior piece, could they?

    Just then.

    The blog''s second novel was officially released!

    The name of this novel was strange, it was called "Mutton Fat Jade."

    ...

    Blog.

    Outside the Literature Department.

    The atmosphere in all departments was heavy.

    For example, the blog''s Logistics Department.

    "The second round has started, and the celebration of the first round ends here."

    "The second round''s work from the Tribe side is called ''Antique,'' still maintaining quality."

    "After all, it''s a work from a highly ranked professional writer."

    "Don''t be so down, our Literature Department has also launched a second work."

    "Are you talking about ''Mutton Fat Jade''?"

    "I don''t feel like reading it; even the name is annoyingly awkward."

    "There''s no need to watch; we''ve already lost. Besides Chu Kuang, there are no more authors in our department who can face them head-on."

    "..."

    The blog''s various departments were actually quite united, supporting and sharing in each other''s glories and failures.

    Losing to the Tribe, every employee at the blog was dissatisfied!

    However.

    Just as everyone was sighing and lamenting.

    In a corner of the department.

    An employee named Wan Wu wasn''t engaging in any chat but instead chose to read "Mutton Fat Jade" directly.

    Initially, like everyone else, Wan Wu held no hope for this short story from the blog.

    That was the consensus in the company!

    For this event, apart from Chu Kuang, the blog had no one formidable.

    So he just casually flipped through "Mutton Fat Jade," skimming over the lines.

    However, when he reached a certain part of the story, he suddenly froze!

    "This is..."

    A flash of astonishment crossed his eyes, and his expression turned solemn!

    Five minutes later.

    Wan Wu abruptly stood up, gripping his phone tightly, his face flushed with excitement, his voice trembling:

    "Who said we were definitely going to lose!"

    People around him turned to look at Wan Wu, their faces filled with confusion.

    "What do you mean?"

    "Why are you so agitated?"

    "Could we possibly win in the second round?"

    "Stop kidding."

    "You can''t pull another Chu Kuang out of your hat."

    Wan Wu became anxious, "Take a look at ''Mutton Fat Jade,'' and then you''ll understand what I mean!"

    Everyone paused.

    An older man in the department raised an eyebrow and said, "Let me see."

    Hearing this, others also curiously opened their phones to start reading "Mutton Fat Jade."

    "It''s just okay."

    "Such a long introduction, too much setup."

    "So Mutton Fat Jade is the protagonist''s nickname."

    "The protagonist is not only a woman but also a prostitute?"

    "How can this novel compare with ''Antiques''?"

    "Little Wang, you must be mistaken."

    As they read, they couldn''t help but critique, but Little Wang just silently watched everyone.

    Gradually.

    The discussion quieted down.

    Ten minutes later, the room was completely silent, and you could hear a pin drop in the entire department!

    Everyone was staring at their phones, engrossed in "Mutton Fat Jade," seemingly deeply struck!

    After the silence.

    The department burst into uproar!

    "Where did this short story GOAT come from!"

    "Aah, this is killing me!"

    "Those aristocrats are really detestable, disgusting!"

    "Although Mutton Fat Jade is a prostitute, she is nobler in my heart than anyone!"

    "There''s something in my eye!"

    "Compared to this novel, ''Antiques'' is nothing!"

    "Such spicy satire, such sharp language, this novel is in no way inferior to Chu Kuang''s work!"

    "I really like Mutton Fat Jade, she''s so heartbreaking!"

    "It turns out that besides Chu Kuang, there''s another hidden boss in our department, but who is this boss!"

    "..."

    People were somewhat frantic!

    This story had no earth-shattering twists, but it was incredibly captivating, making readers feel a tightness in their hearts, their emotions completely following the plot!

    It was so good!

    Wan Wu said loudly, "I suspect we were trapped in a thinking pitfall. Maybe the first story wasn''t Chu Kuang''s work; this one might be!"

    Upon hearing this, everyone gasped!

    This...

    At the same time.

    On the internet.

    Netizens had also gradually finished reading "Mutton Fat Jade."

    Just like some people in the blog, many started off indifferent towards this novel.

    However.

    When everyone had thoroughly finished the novel, they were utterly shocked, and the comment section exploded!

    "Holy shit!"

    "How can it be so exciting!"

    "The blog''s second round novel, kind of sick!"

    "This short story feels more classic than ''The Last Leaf''."

    "I feel the same!"

    "Mutton Fat Jade really tugs at the heartstrings!"

    "Damn!"

    "Where did the blog find this master?"

    "This second round''s novel is every bit as good as Chu Kuang''s work!"

    "No wonder the Tribe had Chu Kuang come out in the first round!"

    "Are you guys mistaken about something? Who said ''The Last Leaf'' was definitely by Chu Kuang, remember the author column is anonymous..."

    "Oh my, don''t scare me!"

    "Are you saying we fell into a thinking pitfall, that the first story was someone mimicking Chu Kuang''s twisted technique, and the second was actually written by Chu Kuang?"

    "Now that you mention it, it does seem plausible!"

    "Nowadays, there are indeed many people imitating Chu Kuang''s twist endings, including some very capable mimics."

    "Mainly, the quality of the second piece is too extraordinary!"

    "If the second piece''s author is Chu Kuang, I wouldn''t be surprised at all!"

    "Anyways, one of them is definitely written by Chu Kuang!" Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Then who is the other genius, way too strong!"

    "..."

    Netizens were bewildered!

    As anticipated, the blog didn''t suffer a crushing defeat in the second round.

    Just like the first round, the blog once again overwhelmed the Tribe with absolute quality!

    "Mutton Fat Jade" was stunning!

    It seems the blog isn''t just backed by Chu Kuang alone!

 Chapter 845 - 800: The 3rd Monster

    The blog was hiding a second Chu Kuang-tier short story GOAT!

    Not only the netizens didn''t see it coming, but the Tribe side didn''t expect it either!

    As a matter of fact.

    When "Mutton Fat Jade" was released, all the short story writers of the Tribe were silenced.

    Even though they were among the top-tier writers in the short story realm, having seen all sorts of short stories, they were still deeply shocked by the work named "Mutton Fat Jade"¡ª¡ª

    War erupted.

    Ten people fled together in a carriage.

    Nine of them belonged to the upper class, at the very least wealthy.

    Only one, a prostitute nicknamed "Mutton Fat Jade," had the lowest status.

    On the carriage.

    Several well-bred ladies learned of Mutton Fat Jade''s identity and hurled various insults at her, calling her a lowly prostitute.

    Meanwhile, their husbands discussed money and gastronomy with a disdainful tone that looked down on the poor, as if they weren''t fleeing a disaster.

    After fleeing for a while, everyone in the carriage became hungry, with only Mutton Fat Jade having enough food for three days.

    Mutton Fat Jade generously invited everyone in the carriage to share her food, completely indifferent to the previous insults from the wealthy.

    Soon, the food in the basket was completely divided, and everyone was freed from the plight of hunger, and their attitude towards Mutton Fat Jade changed just like their bellies.

    The scorn turned into affection, the insults into compliments.

    The carriage continued on its journey, arriving in territory occupied by the enemy.

    The enemy officers detained the carriage, demanding that Mutton Fat Jade spend the night with them.

    Mutton Fat Jade sternly refused the invader''s shameless request, so everyone in the carriage was detained.

    Besides Mutton Fat Jade, the rest were in a frenzy, devising countless schemes and conspiracies to force Mutton Fat Jade to comply for their own goals, for the sake of preserving their interests.

    In the end, Mutton Fat Jade sacrificed herself for the benefit of everyone.

    The Prussian officer''s lust was satisfied, and they were allowed to leave the next day.

    Yet, far from grateful to the poor girl, everyone shunned her, and the previous praise and closeness reverted to the original contempt and spurning.

    This time, everyone brought plenty of food except for Mutton Fat Jade, who hadn''t had the chance to prepare.

    The carriage moved on, with everyone feasting on their own food, except for Mutton Fat Jade, who huddled in the corner of the carriage, cold and starving...

    For the professional writers of the Tribe.

    The impact of this story was even greater than that of "The Last Leaf".

    The former was just praising.

    The latter was doing more than just praising.

    It delved into critique and satire.

    It explored human nature and the backdrop of the time.

    It described the most ferocious facets of people revealed against the backdrop of war.

    Amid the shock.

    They had countless questions!

    Why would two freaks appear on the blog?

    Didn''t they have just one Chu Kuang to showcase?

    Was the author of "Mutton Fat Jade" Chu Kuang or not?

    If one of them was Chu Kuang, then where did the other top-tier short story writer come from? Could it be that one of the top ten from the short story ranking had secretly struck a deal with the blog?

    Questions!

    Endless questions!

    This mysterious writer bursting onto the scene had caught everyone''s attention with the most dazzling of entries!

    In any case.

    The Tribe had suffered another defeat!

    Two consecutive losses!

    And at last, the Tribe started to get angry!

    After half an hour, they launched their third work, "Bomb"!

    Unlike the reaction to the Tribe''s first two works.

    After reading "Bomb," the netizens became excited!

    "The Tribe is finally throwing down the Bomb!"

    "This one''s so good!"

    "Feng Hua''s handiwork?"

    "Looks like it."

    "Could be Feihong, too."

    "In terms of writing style, it''s a bit more like Feng Hua."

    "This level is almost on par with ''The Last Leaf,'' though it doesn''t feel as profound as the story of Mutton Fat Jade. Overall, it''s still a top-tier piece."

    "Now let''s see what the blog can come up with."

    "Not another monstrous short story, right?"

    "You think they''re cabbages?"

    "Hey!"

    "Look quick!"

    "The blog''s third short story is out too, and the name is as weird as ''Mutton Fat Jade''."

    ...

    And while the netizens were excitedly discussing this work, presumably by Feng Hua.

    The blog''s novel also made its debut!

    The title of the work, "Hey! Come Out."

    As the name suggests, just from the title, no one knew what kind of story it was.

    Considering the astounding nature of the blog''s first two works, this time everyone clicked into this work immediately¡ª¡ª

    Including Feng Hua himself, who was closely following the battle from inside a room!

    That''s right.

    Feng Hua was the author of "Bomb"!

    As the main force representing the Tribe in the third round, Feng Hua was naturally keeping an eye on his opponent.

    Clearly, his opponent was the work "Hey! Come Out."

    Feng Hua had also read the first two novels from the blog.

    Very scary!

    Truth be told, Feng Hua was somewhat relieved his work wasn''t up against the blog''s first two works.

    In terms of quality alone, he wasn''t confident he could beat those two!

    At best, he was merely close to the level of those two pieces!

    However, for the blog''s third release, Feng Hua wasn''t as worried.

    Just like the netizens said.

    Could it be that the blog had a third demon up its sleeve?

    Impossible!

    Feng Hua even suspected that the so-called second monster didn''t exist.

    He had an even bolder conjecture:

    Perhaps both the story of Mutton Fat Jade and "The Last Leaf" were the work of Chu Kuang!

    Chu Kuang had the experience of challenging fairytales one against nine.

    Although the difficulty of writing top-notch short stories was far greater than fairy tales, with only two pieces, perhaps Chu Kuang could indeed achieve it, despite the terrifying implications of this guess!

    But so what if Chu Kuang wrote two top-notch works?

    It surely couldn''t be that the third one was also his handiwork, right?

    With that thought in mind, Feng Hua clicked on the work titled "Hey! Come Out." sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The story was very short.

    It seemed to have a bit of sci-fi flavor.

    The novel talked about a bottomless hole discovered somewhere, which even top scientists couldn''t investigate to find out the cause of this mysterious entrance.

    "Hey! Come out!"

    Children shouted into the pit, but there was no response.

    A child threw a stone into the pit and, just like that, the stone disappeared without a trace.

    Thus, the pit became a place where people dumped their garbage.

    All kinds of human waste, including corpses and nuclear waste and other hazardous materials, were tossed into the deep hole.

    And so, the world became clean!

    A period of time later, a voice faintly appeared in the sky:

    "Hey! Come out!"

    Along with this voice, a pebble fell from the sky, sadly unnoticed.

    People were still exclaiming:

    With the mysterious pit for garbage disposal, the environment of Blue Star is getting better and better!

    The story abruptly ended there.

    However.

    After reading this story, Feng Hua suddenly shivered violently!

    A terrifying chill surged from the bottom of his heart!

    His whole body felt like it had plunged into an ice cellar!

    Who wrote this work!

    A flair that was no less than the previous two works on the blog!

    What kind of monster is this!

    With Feng Hua''s level, of course, he could understand how twisted the concept and purpose of this novel were!

    At this moment, Feng Hua began to doubt his previous conjectures!

    It couldn''t possibly be another work of Chu Kuang, could it?

    Could it be that the blog really had a second, or even a third monster?

    This terrifyingly thought-provoking short story was deeply impactful, leaving readers with an extremely dreadful space for imagination!

    Feng Hua was somewhat scared!

    In all sorts of ways!

    ¡­

    Netizens also gradually finished reading this work.

    In the beginning, many netizens didn''t find anything extraordinary about the novel, even after reaching the end.

    Some didn''t even react immediately upon seeing the ending.

    However.

    After some netizens pondered a bit over the meaning represented by the ending, they shivered all over!

    "Damn!"

    "This is a horror story, right!"

    "The open ending is the most brilliant part!"

    "At first glance, this novel doesn''t seem as good as Tribe''s ''Bomb'', and certainly not as good as the first two works on the blog, but after careful consideration, I feel deeply unsettled. It turns out to be an environmental-themed story, with such a terrifying implication that I''ve got goosebumps all over!"

    "What do you mean?"

    "Haven''t you understood? The voice appeared in the sky at the end, shouting, hey, come out, which was what a child initially yelled into the pit. Yet, these words appeared again in the sky!"

    "So, did the child''s shout travel to the future?"

    "If you still don''t find it scary, then look at how the novel ends. After the shout echoed again, a stone fell from the sky. Don''t forget that after the child shouted into the hole, he just happened to throw a stone in!"

    "You mean..."

    "What if the mysterious pit actually connects to the future, and everything that people initially tossed into the black hole would fall from the sky in the future?"

    "¡­"

    The netizens gasped in shock, their scalps tingling!

    Shh!

    After reading the detailed explanation, everyone understood the implication of the ending!

    Extremely thought-provoking!

    From "Hey! Come Out," would all the trash that humanity initially dumped into the black hole pour down just like the first stone thrown into the deep hole?

    Including corpses!?

    Including nuclear waste!?

    Oh my god, who knows how much trash humans have thrown into the deep hole, who knows what all is included in this trash!

    Imagine.

    Someone walking down the street, suddenly hit by a falling corpse, with intestines and blood spattering everywhere, how terrifying that scene would be!

    Not to mention things like nuclear waste also falling from the sky!

    This is the environmental message communicated by the short story, which is:

    All the damage humanity has done to the environment of Blue Star will be paid for with a painful price in the future!

    This short story, through the exaggerated form of science fiction, depicted this concept more vividly!

    At this moment!

    Everybody was stunned!

    Who the heck wrote this, too!

    Not at all inferior to the first two works!

    Equally classic!

    Equally shocking!

    Could the blog have a third monster!?

    What on earth is going on here!

    First, it was "The Last Leaf"!

    Then there was "Mutton Fat Jade"!

    And now a "Hey, Come Out" has popped up!

    The blog has already presented three twisted short works in a row!

    Which of them is the work of Chu Kuang, the old rascal?

 Chapter 846 - 801: Seven Swords Descend from Heaven Mountain

    Netizens were stumped!

    Everyone knows that the most formidable writer on the blog is Chu Kuang.

    Without a doubt, the novel of the highest quality on the blog must be written by Chu Kuang.

    Old rascal writes short stories, and so far, he still hasn''t slipped up.

    However, who could have imagined?

    The blog consecutively published three works, and the quality of each was so terrifying that nobody could clearly discern which one was penned by Chu Kuang!

    At that moment!

    The Tribe and the blog went wild with discussion!

    And on all major forums, there were countless related threads!

    Amidst these numerous discussions,

    suddenly someone posed a series of daring hypotheses!

    "Have you guys ever considered that maybe Chu Kuang, the old rascal, wrote more than one short story this time?"

    "I know this guess is bold, even somewhat inconceivable, but don''t forget, the old rascal, when writing fairy tales, once completed the feat of taking on nine alone!"

    "Of course, I also know that the difficulty of writing classic short stories is higher than that of fairy tales."

    "But I didn''t say he wrote nine classic short stories in one breath this time, did I?"

    "For the old rascal, writing two classic short stories at once shouldn''t be too much, should it?"

    "If we dare to be bolder, we might guess that all three classic short stories currently released by the blog were written by Chu Kuang, the old rascal¡ªit''s not entirely impossible!"

    "Otherwise, how do you explain the sudden appearance of two monster talents on the blog?"

    "Do you really think short stories of this caliber are cabbages, that any short story writer can just churn out?"

    "..."

    At first, everyone thought this speculation was too far-fetched.

    However,

    when they saw this person''s detailed analysis, they started to waver.

    "I, damn, actually think you make a lot of sense?"

    "Chu Kuang, the old rascal, has a record of doing this sort of thing, it''s not his first time!"

    "Does that mean, among these three works from the blog, at least two are by Chu Kuang''s hand?"

    "Let''s also be bold, bet that all three were written by Chu Kuang!"

    "Thinking back, hadn''t Feihong mentioned that Chu Kuang didn''t have enough works to be one of the new Three Giants of short stories in the Qin Continent?"

    "Could this be the motive for Chu Kuang writing more than one short story?"

    "Today, when ''Mutton Fat Jade'' was released, someone guessed like the topic starter did, but I didn''t pay attention; now, having seen the topic starter''s analysis, I''m a bit uncertain. Could it be that Chu Kuang finds writing short stories as easy as writing fairy tales?"

    "..."

    After this statement appeared, netizens started to doubt.

    Many of them subconsciously followed this bold train of thought.

    However, regarding this theory, there were more netizens who refuted it: S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "The guess is logical and well-founded, but I tend to think the blog secretly hired a few masters."

    "The professional leaderboard for short stories doesn''t just include Chu Kuang and Feihong, there are several other famous experts, too."

    "No matter how I look at it, I feel this possibility is greater."

    "The blog''s brilliant move is in promoting Chu Kuang publicly while secretly getting several masters, no less monstrous than Chu Kuang, to take action behind the scenes."

    "Once the author names are revealed, we will know which masters made their move."

    "I suspect ''Mutton Fat Jade'' was done by the one who''s ranked second."

    "..."

    Many people didn''t guess that Chu Kuang, the old rascal, was pulling a fast one because there was a more reasonable speculation.

    They felt that the blog had secretly hired some of the big shots from the leaderboard, intentionally keeping it vague, waiting until the battle began before suddenly revealing top-tier works to catch the Tribe off guard!

    Both possibilities had their market!

    Those with differing views had a significant disparity on this issue.

    Amidst the contention between both sides supporting their respective arguments,

    The Tribe made its fourth move!

    Instantly.

    All netizens'' attention was drawn over!

    The work released by Tribe this time is titled "The Bell Ringer."

    The quality of this piece is extremely high.

    After reading it as soon as it was published, netizens became very certain about something they had suspected:

    "It must be Feihong who made a move!"

    "This work is definitely in Feihong''s style, no one else can write with that flavor!"

    "What seems to be rambling speech is actually filled with innumerable foreshadowing; although it tends more towards novella in terms of word count, if you have the patience to finish it, you''ll find it immensely enlightening!"

    "Feihong''s piece is better than Feng Hua''s!"

    "After all, Feihong''s ranking speaks for itself. I feel like this piece by Feihong is not at all weaker than the one just released by Blog, ''Hey! Come Out.''"

    "Finally, Tribe has managed to turn the tables."

    "Feihong is definitely not going to have any problems this round."

    "Before, everyone thought that the battle between Tribe and Chu Kuang would end with Chu Kuang''s work ''Saving Face'' for Blog, but it turned out that Tribe needed to rely on Feihong''s work to save face."

    "..."

    The netizens'' comments on Feihong''s work were extremely positive, almost reaching the praise level of "The Last Leaf"!

    Of course.

    Compared to "Mutton Fat Jade," it still falls short.

    Maupassant''s pinnacle works are not to be taken lightly.

    How will Blog respond next?

    All eyes converged on Blog''s side.

    In the center of widespread attention.

    Blog indeed fought back!

    [King of Short Stories competition piece number four, "Monopoly"!]

    This is the name Lin Yuan modified for "The Million Pound Note," after all, there are no British Pounds in this world.

    And just when everyone thought this novel was Blog''s response.

    Blog actually updated three statuses in a row while everyone was still catching their breath:

    [King of Short Stories competition piece numbr five, "Inner Circle"!]

    [King of Short Stories competition piece number six, "The Cop and the Anthem"!]

    [King of Short Stories competition piece number seven, "My Uncle Yule"!]

    Swish swish swish!

    No longer following Tribe''s rhythm.

    Four statuses, four works, all released in one go!

    Paired with the previous three pieces, Blog for the first time adopted an offensive stance!

    ...

    Inside the studio.

    Jin Mu looked at the activity online, then glanced at Lin Yuan playing a virtual game next to him, and commented with feeling, "Who exactly is ganging up on whom here?"

    All released?

    Hearing Jin Mu''s remark, Lin Yuan stopped playing the game and took a glance at his phone.

    Sure enough.

    All seven had been published, and he believed netizens were already starting to open them and read.

    He looked up.

    Lin Yuan saw that his game character''s ID on the computer screen was:

    Seven Swords Beneath the Tianshan Mountains!

    It''s just that in the game, "Seven Swords Beneath the Tianshan Mountains" was quite miserably defeated and could be forced into player-kill situations and slain while walking down the road.

    Shaking his head.

    Lin Yuan decided not to play the game anymore and directly started focusing on the activity on the internet.

    He opened the blog.

    He casually glanced at the netizens'' comments, and the first sentence that caught Lin Yuan''s eye was:

    "Damn, those who said the first three works might all have been written by Chu Kuang, do they still dare to challenge me now; surely these four can''t all be written by Chu Kuang too, right?"

 Chapter 847 - 802: Which Articles Author is Chu Kuang?

    Previously, many people boldly speculated that the three heavyweight pieces at the beginning of the blog were all written by Chu Kuang alone.

    However.

    When another four pieces, almost as strong as the first three, surfaced, nobody dared to guess that anymore. Netizens felt that their inherent understanding of short stories was being overturned¡ª

    Seven heavyweight pieces!

    They couldn''t all be written by Chu Kuang, could they!

    The blog must have secretly hired some help!

    And not just one helper!

    Yes.

    Netizens had already finished reading the remaining four novels!

    After reading the blog''s four consecutive releases, all readers were hugely impacted!

    ...

    The first to ignite the reading frenzy was "The Tycoon," as it was the first of the four novels to be released.

    In terms of order, this piece was almost directly targeting "The Bell Ringer"!

    Don''t forget, this piece called "The Bell Ringer" was confirmed by countless netizens to be a work by Feihong, one of the top three in Qin Continent!

    However, when the first group of readers finished "The Tycoon," the comment section exploded!

    "My God!"

    "It''s so brilliant!"

    "How could another piece of this caliber just pop up again!"

    "I thought the Tribe could rely on Feihong to regain some ground, but now it seems it''s still anyone''s game!"

    "Using comedy to play with satire, that''s so sophisticated!"

    "Capitalist society''s worship of money is depicted in this novel most vividly!"

    "Whose masterpiece is this again!"

    This short story describes two tycoons who want to find out what an outcome a poor man would face upon receiving a huge banknote; unexpectedly, people aggressively courted this suddenly wealthy pauper. From free meals and clothes to free accommodation, everyone treated him like a beggar trying to please him, continuously elevating his social status. Moreover, this lucky young man even got a good wife and a high bank interest rate, securing a very happy life ever after!

    Comedy, satire, this piece received rave reviews!

    ...

    The second piece to ignite the reading frenzy was "Inner Circle"!

    The protagonist is a quirky person who wears rain boots and carries an umbrella on sunny days, always covers his bed with a mosquito net, and has a habit of putting everything inside covers. He is constantly paranoid about messing things up. When someone tries to set him up on a date, the mere thought of marriage and the responsibilities it entails overwhelms him, to the point that the marriage plan falls through. He then begins to fear that people will laugh at him, and eventually, he dies from a disease driven by his pent-up frustrations.

    "Awesome!"

    "This story is so educational!"

    "I saw myself in the protagonist, too pessimistic about life, always thinking about the worst-case scenarios, and missing countless opportunities. The author made me realize my own faults in the most exaggerated way."

    "The character''s personality is exaggerated yet logical!"

    "How many masters has the blog hired!"

    "This narrative is just as good as the previous ones!"

    "No wonder the blog''s approach this time is so fierce, they must have hired several creatures not weaker than Chu Kuang to take part!"

    ...

    After finishing the second piece, netizens couldn''t wait to open "The Cop and the Anthem"!

    It''s a hilariously absurd story, where the protagonist, unable to make it on the outside, decides to live in jail for free food and lodging. No matter how much he tries to get in trouble, the police simply won''t arrest him, but just when he''s moved by an anthem and resolves to live honestly, he''s arrested by the police for an ironically ridiculous charge and ends up in jail!

    "Pfft!"

    "I died laughing!"

    "This piece is even funnier than ''The Tycoon'', and is equally filled with satirical effects!"

    "Absolutely master level!"

    "From beginning to end, the satire, I kept wondering why the inactive police would arrest a loiterer, perhaps this also reflects the incompetence and ridicule represented by the police back then!"

    "This story is so interesting!"

    "The author is also a master, a top expert in writing short stories!"

    "Who is this one by!"

    ...

    The blog''s four consecutive releases, three of consistent high quality, left the readers extremely satisfied!

    The fourth piece didn''t disappoint the readers either!

    The story is called "My Uncle Yule."

    The theme of the story is actually human nature. When the protagonist''s family hears that the uncle made a lot of money, they praise the uncle until he''s put on a pedestal. But when they randomly meet Yule and realize he''s actually very down-and-out, their attitudes take a swift 180-degree turn, and they start to belittle him...

    "A reflective story!"

    "In a noisy world poverty goes unnoticed, wealth in the mountains finds distant relatives; this story is so realistic, I love it!"

    "This piece made me crave oysters!"

    "Human absurdity, real magic, you think it''s satire, but it''s actually reality!"

    "With money, he''s an uncle, without it, he''s a stranger. How much influence do parents'' values have on their children, couldn''t you at least let the child taste an oyster!"

    "This story, in my opinion, is not weaker than ''Mutton Fat Jade''!"

    "Any of these seven stories could stand up to the works of Feng Hua and Feihong!"

    "Madness, how can the blog have so many classics, did they rally all the great short story writers not affiliated with the Tribe?"

    ...

    Seven heavyweight short stories!

    Seven heart-stopping tales!

    The blog''s release of these seven works had the world of short stories turned upside down, everyone flipped backwards!

    On the Tribe''s side.

    The professionally highly-ranked short story writers didn''t know how to express their inner turmoil anymore!

    "Where the hell did these come from!"

    "Seven top-class pieces, how many geniuses did the blog hire!"

    "I can''t beat even one of them!"

    "They said the blog only had Chu Kuang worth mentioning, but now, I can''t even figure out which of the seven stories was written by Chu Kuang, they''re all true classics!"

    "Classic short stories are just cabbages, huh!"

    "I give up, I truly give up, please stop hitting me!"

    "My brain''s been knocked out, who on earth are the authors of these works? Can the blog reveal the authors now? At least let me know how I died!"

    "It must be those top-ranked ones!"

    "Thinking about it, only a few have that level of skill!"

    The short story writers in the Tribe were getting a bit carried away, it was obvious the blog was playing them!

    Although it seemed like the Tribe had gathered a glamorous array, each writer more famous than the last, the blog wasn''t idle either¡ªit had secretly assembled an even more terrifying lineup, possibly the ultimate lineup in the short story circle!

    ¡­

    Facing the blog''s seven breathtaking pieces, Feng Hua and Feihong reached a consensus. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    It must have been the blog secretly asking some monsters to step in!

    The two immediately contacted each other and exchanged their thoughts.

    Feng Hua, "Fei bro, what do you think?"

    Feihong, "It should be those old rivals from the other continents."

    Feng Hua sighed, "Why didn''t they give us a heads-up?"

    Feihong was also somewhat dissatisfied, "Although they are rivals, we are also long-time friends. If they had said something earlier, we could have also gone to the blog to publish and compete with them. Why bother mixing it up in the Tribe and the blog''s arena and making things so tense?"

    "What annoys me most is that they previously told me they''ve been uninspired recently. This is what they call uninspired?"

    "That''s what they also told me."

    "Let''s find them!"

    "Yeah, I''ll go tag everyone in the group chat, no more pretending if they play dumb!"

    Both were figures at the pinnacle of the short story arena.

    And this group of people at the peak of the short story circle actually consisted of just a few people, who were all old friends knowing each other for many years and had several common chat groups privately.

    They even kept each other informed about when they would publish new pieces.

    With a mindset of settling scores.

    Feng Hua opened the largest industry chat group and started calling out names:

    "Ol'' Li, Ol'' Huang, Ol'' Zhou, Ol'' He... You guys, come out and voluntarily claim your works, don''t think I don''t know it''s your doing just because the author column is anonymous!"

    Feihong then appeared:

    "The blog released seven top-notch short stories, and except for the piece corresponding to Chu Kuang, the other works are definitely some people in this group''s new creations. Stop playing dead (angry)"

    This group also contained several short story masters who had published new works in the Tribe.

    Seeing the two leaders take the initiative, one by one they also started popping up:

    "It''s time to come out."

    "No more anonymity."

    "I know you are reading the messages."

    "Guess the big timers are having a chuckle right now."

    "Big timers, you''ve really crushed us!"

    "I''m crying to death!"

    As they popped up, the few capable of writing top-notch short stories in the group were all called out.

    When these individuals appeared, they directly denied with a triple rejection:

    "It wasn''t me, ah!"

    "Don''t talk nonsense!"

    "I told you two already, I''ve been uninspired recently!"

    "We were just discussing this too. These seven short stories from the blog, which high-skilled authors'' works are they?

    "These seven novels are truly incredible; there are two among them where I feel utterly inferior!"

    "Damn, where did all these freaks come from? Now, many of my fans are also asking if I secretly helped the blog. They even said ''Mutton Fat Jade'' was my work, I could wake up laughing from a dream if I could write that!"

    "I''m more curious about, which of the pieces was written by Chu Kuang?"

    "¡­"

    The writers from the Tribe were dumbfounded.

    Not you?

    Then where did the blog''s seven classic pieces spring from, stones?

    Feng Hua and Feihong were also stunned.

    As top-tier short story writers, they knew these people''s characters quite well.

    At this point, denying it was pointless and might even seem like they were dismissing them.

    But if not them, then who else could it be?

    Could it be a batch of emerging talents within the industry?

    Stop joking!

    The sophistication showcased in those seven short stories, could they be the work of newcomers?

    Three minutes later.

    Feihong messaged Feng Hua privately: "I''ve called each one to confirm; it really isn''t them."

    Feng Hua jumped in frustration, replying subconsciously, "If not them, could all seven pieces have been written by Chu Kuang?"

    Eh?

    Eh, Eh, Eh?

    After responding, Feng Hua suddenly felt a twitch in his eyelid.

    At the same time.

    On the other end, Feihong, as though struck by the same thought, felt a slight tremor in his laughter lines.

    Feihong, "It couldn''t be¡­"

    Feng Hua, "¡­right?"

    Feihong, "¡­"

    Feng Hua, "¡­"

    In the chat box, both sent out a string of ellipses.

 Chapter 848 - 803: Chu Kuang Chu Kuang Chu Kuang Chu Kuang Chu Kuang Chu Kuang Chu Kuang

    While Feng Hua and Feihong were full of doubts, the Tribe and the blog released the remaining works in the event.

    Unfortunately, none of the subsequentially released works by either side managed to impress the audience as much.

    At the same time.

    The blog and the Tribe both opened up voting channels!

    On the Tribe''s side.

    The work suspected to be by Feihong, "The Bell Ringer," ranked first.

    The work suspected to be by Feng Hua, "The King," ranked second.

    The works that followed lagged far behind in terms of votes.

    There was no suspense.

    In contrast, the blog side was bustling with activity!

    The seven works previously released all had high vote counts, and the gaps between them were minor!

    One moment this one was in the lead, the next moment another took over.

    The top seven rankings were stuck in a deadlock!

    The works beyond the top seven had very few votes.

    Regarding these seven works, the blog''s netizens were extremely enthusiastic about voting!

    On the Tribe''s side, even the number of voting participants couldn''t compare with the blog''s, let alone the netizens'' enthusiasm for voting!

    There was no helping it.

    The seven pieces on the blog were just too classic!

    All the netizens'' attention was drawn to the blog''s side!

    It wasn''t just about voting!

    Netizens from all over started to interrogate Blue Star''s top short story writers, believing that some of them had covertly collaborated with the blog!

    "Ol'' Huang, is it you?"

    "Ol'' Zhou, out of the seven pieces on the blog, which one is your work?"

    "Ol'' Li, the style of ''Inner Circle'' resembles yours a bit, doesn''t it?"

    "Teacher Zhu, stop pretending; I know ''The Last Leaf'' is yours. You''ve said before that Chu Kuang''s kind of ending is worth learning from, this must be your study result!"

    "Mr. He, admit it, you''ve definitely secretly contributed!"

    "..."

    Screens full of questioning!

    The top short story writers were getting anxious!

    Dammit!

    Why are they suspecting us!

    We really haven''t had any inspiration lately!

    This kind of questioning is embarrassing us!

    It''s not very offensive, but a bit insulting.

    So many top short story writers competing on the same stage and we can''t produce any work; it''s pretty awkward for us too, alright!

    Not to mention, their works are so well written, each one better than the last¡­

    Deny it!

    The top writers all vehemently denied it!

    Pushed to the brink by netizens, a certain top short story writer simply swore curses as their pledge!

    For a while.

    The netizens were scratching their heads.

    If not you guys, then who wrote them?

    Right!

    Let''s ask Chu Kuang!

    What could be confirmed was that Chu Kuang definitely took part; one of these seven had to be his work!

    Soon enough.

    Chu Kuang''s blog comment section was besieged!

    "Old rascal, which one did you write?"

    "I suspect you wrote more than one!"

    "Tell us, out of these seven, how many are yours?"

    "Two?"

    "Or three?"

    "Judging by the style, ''The Last Leaf'' resembles your work the most; you wrote it, didn''t you?"

    "I feel like ''Hey! Come Out'' is written by the old rascal."

    "This piece''s style is a bit like the old rascal''s early work ''Artificial Beauty,'' also with a sci-fi element and leaving things open at the end."

    "Maybe ''Mutton Fat Jade'' is actually written by the old rascal."

    "Hey, look at this!"

    "Quick, the old rascal left a like!"

    "..."

    Inside the studio.

    Lin Yuan noticed the comments from the netizens and suddenly revealed a mischievous smile.

    Should I give a hint?

    Upon this thought, Lin Yuan silently maneuvered the mouse¡­

    It was still Chu Kuang''s comment section.

    Amidst countless comments.

    Suddenly, a sharp-eyed netizen noticed that Chu Kuang had actually liked a comment from someone who guessed "The Last Leaf"!

    "Damn!"

    "Is the old rascal indirectly admitting he''s the author of ''The Last Leaf''?"

    "Definitely!"

    "I knew it!"

    "This work, just by looking at it, you can tell it''s the handiwork of the old rascal. The ending is unexpected yet makes perfect sense; this is a classic Chu Kuang-style ending!"

    "Case closed!"

    "This is only the first case, who knows who wrote the remaining six pieces."

    "Let''s not start with that. I feel something is not right. How can the old rascal use likes as a way to indirectly admit it? Isn''t he using his popularity to campaign for his own work?"

    "That''s true."

    "Perhaps the other six works have put pressure on the old rascal as well."

    "..."

    Some netizens frowned, feeling Chu Kuang''s actions were inappropriate.

    The anonymous author voting was designed to prevent authors from using their popularity to campaign for their own works.

    Then it''s no longer a pure competition of work quality.

    However.

    Just when netizens were puzzled by this behavior, everyone discovered that Chu Kuang had started liking comments again!

    "What does he mean by this?"

    "Someone guessed ''Mutton Fat Jade'' was written by him, and he liked it too?"

    "The one who guessed ''Hey! Come out'' received a like from him as well!"

    "And the one guessing ''My Uncle Yule'', the old rascal liked that too!"

    "He liked all of them, all the guesses that Chu Kuang wrote the seven works got likes from Chu Kuang!"

    "Is he just playing around with the likes?"

    "Old rascal, stop stirring the waters!"

    "It seems ''The Last Leaf'' might not be the work of the old rascal after all."

    "..."

    The netizens were speechless.

    The usually aloof old rascal had liked all seven works guessed by netizens, as active as a copycat account!

    What thick skin!

    Are you trying to muddy the waters even more so we can''t guess which work is really yours?

    What good does this do you?

    Some people have thick skin!

    Some people are naughty!

    You are both naughty and thick-skinned!

    It''s just like you, to have a knack for playing with readers!

    And it''s not like we don''t know that you might be up to no good this time, possibly having written more than one work. But you can''t just go liking everyone''s post!

    Surely, all these seven high-quality works can''t possibly be written by you!

    These seven works¡ª

    Huh?

    The atmosphere in Chu Kuang''s comment section suddenly turned eerie.

    Chu Kuang, going against his usual demeanor, began frequently liking netizen''s guesses, finally hitting a nerve with some.

    An incredible guess abruptly surfaced in everyone''s minds!

    Could it be¡­

    Perhaps this possibility was too incredible, a kind of horror quietly spread.

    And in the midst of this eerie atmosphere,

    The blog''s official Weibo suddenly updated with a post!

    [According to the rules of the King of Short Stories competition, we should wait until the event is over to reveal the author''s name. However, the bloggers participating in this event unanimously requested to reveal the author names early. After soliciting everyone''s opinions, we decided to respect their decision and are now announcing the authors and their respective works participating in the blog''s King of Short Stories event:

    Mutton Fat Jade ¡ª¡ª Chu Kuang

    Inner Circle ¡ª¡ª Chu Kuang

    Monopoly ¡ª¡ª Chu Kuang

    Hey, Come Out ¡ª¡ª Chu Kuang S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    My Uncle Yule ¡ª¡ª Chu Kuang

    The Cop and the Anthem ¡ª¡ª Chu Kuang

    The Last Leaf ¡ª¡ª Chu Kuang

    ...]

    In the eerie silence.

    Thunder is heard without a sound!

    Across the five continents, as far as the eye can see:

    Chu Kuang Chu Kuang Chu Kuang Chu Kuang Chu Kuang Chu Kuang Chu Kuang!!!!!

 Chapter 849 - 804: Everywhere Outside is Chu Kuang

    When the author column for all seven novels on the blog displayed the same name, every netizen on this side was dumbfounded!

    Chu Kuang!

    Chu Kuang!

    All of them were Chu Kuang!

    The topic on the blog was instantly overwhelmed by countless exclamations!

    "My god!"

    "Am I seeing things?"

    "Is the blog sure there''s no mistake?"

    "These seven super classic short stories, all written by Chu Kuang, has the blog been featuring only Chu Kuang fighting the Tribe from start to finish?"

    "Mom asked me why I''m kneeling while surfing the net!"

    "Who guessed earlier that Chu Kuang wrote two or maybe three, I already found that ridiculous, but now you''re telling me all seven were crafted by this old rascal alone?"

    "Is reality more magical than fiction?"

    "No wonder the event is called ''King of Short Stories,'' if this doesn''t qualify him as the King of Short Stories, who else deserves the title!"

    Previously, some had already guessed that Chu Kuang wrote more than one!

    However, even if they borrowed courage from others, no one dared to guess that Chu Kuang had written all seven!

    These are classic short stories!

    Even for highly skilled short story writers, writing a single piece that reaches the level of these seven is enough to be proud of!

    Yet Chu Kuang alone wrote seven!

    ...

    The same news was also reposted on the Tribe side.

    It exploded instantly!

    Countless netizens of the Tribe jumped up!

    "I''m kneeling!"

    "What kind of monster is this!"

    "We were supposed to see the top short story writers of the Tribe gang up on Chu Kuang, but who ended up getting ganged up on, with Chu Kuang surrounding the Tribe''s writers all by himself!" S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Chu Kuang: Good, the Tribe''s writers are isolated (heavy fog)"

    "Last time the Fairy Tale King took on nine, and now here comes a barrage of top-tier short stories, with others struggling to write book by book, the old rascal is tossing them out by the basketful!"

    "I''m off to the blog to watch the old rascal, this Tribe is no place to stay!"

    "Chu Kuang: Tribe writers, put down your weapons, you are surrounded by me alone!"

    "Naruto''s Shadow Clone Technique must have been learned from you, right, Chu Kuang?"

    "Back off, Tribe, it''s all Chu Kuang out there!"

    Even though the Three Bros had already left the Tribe, Chu Kuang continued to carve a path of destruction through the Tribe''s trending searches!

    ...

    Inside the industry.

    When it was revealed that all seven works were penned by Chu Kuang, the news triggered a massive earthquake in the field!

    Every chat group in the short story sector, big or small, was boiling over!

    A short story writer who recently posted a new work on the Tribe stared in disbelief for a while before speaking in a dry voice:

    "Have we just been hammered by Chu Kuang alone?"

    "Quit sending voice messages, they sound worse than a dog barking, can''t your damn voice stop trembling, it''s making my hands shake as I type!"

    "Not gonna lie, guys, I peed my pants¡­"

    "I am so naive, really, I only knew that Chu Kuang could take on nine with fairy tales, being Blue Star''s King of Short Fairy Tales; I had no idea he could fold out so many Bomb cards in short stories at once."

    "Kneeling before the King of Short Stories¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ"

    "There might be something wrong with my eyes, I should see an ophthalmologist in a few days, when the blog counted up to the seventh author''s name, I felt a severe case of double vision."

    "Was that double vision Chu Kuang by any chance?"

    "Those of you publishing books on the Tribe are hopping mad, but have you considered how we authors on the blog have been invisible from start to finish, I''m beginning to understand why Shadow felt that way before."

    "Turns out, here in our Tribe it''s basically Chu Kuang playing himself."

    The Tribe authors got smashed!

    The mood among the blog''s authors was also a mix of feelings!

    The blog may have won, but it seems to have nothing to do with them?

    While all the chat groups in the industry were blowing up, Feng Hua and Feihong remained silent.

    They were quietly lurking.

    After a while.

    Feng Hua messaged Feihong privately: "Fei bro, why the heck are you picking on him?"

    Feihong: "?"

    Feng Hua typed furiously: "Didn''t you say before that Chu Kuang still wasn''t up to par with Qin Continent''s big three because his work was too scant?"

    Would he have gone this wild if you hadn''t said that?

    Feihong''s face darkened: "Screw off!"

    Whoever wants to carry that blame, carry it, I can''t!

    ...

    Where there are winners, there will be losers.

    Some pass the buck, and some take the blame.

    As the Tribe became the biggest loser in the King of Short Stories series, a curse suddenly echoed in the Literature and Art Association of the Tribe!

    And then, all the major Tribes'' chat groups exploded with cursing!

    "Ling Kong that damn cur!"

    "I knew this demon Chu Kuang was lurking in the blog, he was bound to become a major threat to us; if Ling Kong hadn''t driven away Shadow, how could Chu Kuang ever become our rival!"

    "Ling Kong, you cursed scoundrel!"

    "Fear not the god-like adversary, but dread the pig-like teammate, I''m so furious, all thanks to Ling Kong, it''s all his fault!"

    "Why hasn''t the higher-up deposed Ling Kong yet?"

    "I suggest we drag Ling Kong out and beat him to death!"

    "What kind of enemy has Ling Kong brought upon us in the Tribe, who the hell did he have to piss off if not those three freaks!"

    "The blog must truly be splitting its sides with laughter by now!"

    The Tribe guessed right, the blog was already splitting its sides with laughter!

    Cheers rose and fell!

    ...

    Ling Kong could not hear the cheers from the blog, but he could hear the curses from the Tribe!

    Some Tribes were quite close by.

    Voices from the loud ones reached directly into the Comics Department!

    Inside the Comics Department.

    The editors looked down, each silent and maintaining a poker face, though their expressions were somewhat complicated.

    This has become the Tribe''s reserve project since their defeat at the hands of the Three Bros.

    Editors privately refer to this situation as the "Daily Humiliation of Ling Kong".

    Inside the director''s office.

    The sound of objects being thrown could be heard constantly.

    Coffee table.

    Tableware.

    Crash bang boom.

    Along with Ling Kong''s intermittent roars, unfiltered:

    "A bunch of losers!"

    "What''s it got to do with me?"

    "Whenever there''s trouble, it''s blamed on me!"

    Ling Kong was in a state of rage!

    This was not the first time!

    Every time the Tribe lost to the Three Bros, he would be dragged out by various departments for a thorough scolding!

    And it wasn''t just the departments!

    Higher-ups joined in the scolding too!

    I''ve moved on from that issue a long time ago; it''s you guys who are not up to par, stop trying to pin every blame on me!

    ¡­

    Media.

    News was already coming in thick and fast!

    "Chu Kuang Creates a Miracle Again, Stunning the Cultural Sphere with Seven Short Stories!"

    "Chu Kuang, King of Short Stories in Qin Continent?"

    "Once Criticized by Feihong for Lacking Works, He Now Returns with Seven Short Stories!"

    "Breathtaking: Chu Kuang Writes Seven Classic Short Stories All by Himself, Each One Acclaimed!"

    "Who Would Have Thought, the Blog Featuring Seven Super Classic Short Stories All Originated from Chu Kuang!"

    "Feeling Envy Fish Shadow''s Impact: A Genius''s Bombardment!"

    "..."

    As the news spread far and wide.

    Chu Kuang suddenly shot up to fourth place on the Blue Star Short Story Writers'' Ranking, rightfully earning the title of King of Short Stories in Qin Continent!

    Higher even than Feihong''s previous ranking!

    And Feihong, due to Chu Kuang''s rise, fell to fifth place.

    This was because Chu Kuang''s seven new short stories were still new, their cultural impact hadn''t fully spread. Once the influence of these works fully exploded, maybe there would be an astonishing change in the rankings!

    For a time.

    Feihong was in an awkward spot.

    Many high-ranking short story writers, old pals of his, privately messaged him, saying things remarkably similar to Feng Hua:

    "Why on earth did you say Chu Kuang had too few works?"

    "Great, now this freak has released seven stories at once!"

    "Your ranking dropped, and mine dropped along with it!"

    "Damn, I can''t cope anymore. I was tenth, now I''m eleventh. Do you know how big the difference is between tenth and eleventh!"

    "If you hadn''t mentioned his lack of works, would he have suddenly published so many short stories?"

    "..."

    It wasn''t just old friends who were saying this; netizens were also mocking Feihong with this matter.

    The top liked comment in his Tribe''s comment section was:

    "Are Chu Kuang''s works still too few?"

    With a whopping sixty million likes, it was essentially sixty thousand slaps to Feihong''s face!

    Ouch!

    Feihong was close to tears.

    How could such a person exist in this world!

    But that wasn''t all.

    Amidst the intense reactions from all quarters, the authorities actually chimed in too!

    The Literature and Art Association suddenly reposted the news of Chu Kuang''s seven short stories, giving tremendous affirmation to the quality of the stories: "Among Chu Kuang''s seven short stories, ''Hey! Come Out'' talks about the importance of environmental protection, which is why we advocate for everyone to take responsibility for protecting Blue Star''s environment; ''My Uncle Yule'' teaches us not to let money tarnish family bonds; ''The Last Leaf'' tells us that miracles are not always created by the heavens..."

    Unlike ordinary netizens.

    The official statement carried a lot of weight!

    In a sense, any move by the authorities had a profound intention behind it, and this time was no exception.

    It didn''t take long for people to understand the official hint.

    The most intense reaction to this nearly explicit hint came, quite surprisingly, from some of Blue Star''s students!

    Everyone hadn''t forgotten about Chu Kuang''s ''A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower'' being turned into an exam question before.

    Speaking of which.

    The students from various continents were initially very excited, watching the online buzz, watching Chu Kuang dominating all quarters, many young kids getting their blood pumping!

    But reading the move by the Literature and Art Association, they were dumbfounded.

    "Damn it!"

    "So, the authorities mean that Chu Kuang''s short stories could become reading comprehension material we will have to face in the future?"

    "Got it, time to read Chu Kuang''s short stories!"

    "Is this old rascal trying to say our Chinese books aren''t thick enough yet!"

    "Thanks to Teacher Chu Kuang for adding a few more pages to our Chinese books (smile)"

    "Feihong, look what you''ve done, do you really think we students don''t have enough homework already!"

    "Shall I recite the whole thing?"

    "I was really enjoying these seven short stories, but ever since the official statement came out, they suddenly lost their flavor."

    "..."

    To the students, the Literature and Art Association''s move meant exactly that!

    Suddenly, Chu Kuang almost became the public enemy of students!

    The name of the old rascal became ever more far-reaching, now even escalating its impact on the younger generation.

    What a calamity!

    We''ve come to a point where the old rascal can''t be avoided!

    Nowadays, kids from kindergarten onwards start reading Chu Kuang''s fairy tales.

    Once they get to elementary school, high school, even college, who knows how many of the old rascal''s works they''ll have to face!

    This guy has truly devoted himself to the educational endeavor of Blue Star!

 Chapter 850 - 850: 805

    Chu Kuang kept contributing to the educational efforts on Blue Star.

    It wasn''t Lin Yuan''s original intent, but he didn''t resist it.

    The works he produced were excellent enough and could be considered a "blessing" for the students.

    Inside the studio.

    Lin Yuan thought to himself.

    Following the publication of seven short stories that shocked the continents, Silver Blue responded quickly, with someone calling soon to express the desire to publish a collection of all of Chu Kuang''s short stories.

    To this, Lin Yuan naturally had no objections.

    The volume of his short stories was already sufficient for a collected publication, titled "Chu Kuang''s Short Stories Collection."

    "You are on the track to becoming the nightmare of countless students."

    After the Literature and Art Association officially endorsed those seven short stories by Chu Kuang, Jin Mu teased.

    Lin Yuan said, "That''s Chu Kuang."

    Jin Mu was stunned for a moment before bursting out laughing loudly.

    In the following days, Chu Kuang''s seven short stories continued to be discussed by various parties.

    The publication of "Chu Kuang''s Short Stories Collection" by Silver Blue capitalized on the momentum, making a good amount of sales.

    It was mainly parents who bought them for their children.

    The reason for purchase was, "It wouldn''t hurt to read Chu Kuang''s books now, you never know if it might be on the exam¡­"

    The kids were against this, but unfortunately, their opposition was ineffective.

    It''s like the "Three-Year College Entrance Exam, Five-Year Simulation", you might not like it, but you still have to buy it.

    Of course, Chu Kuang''s works hadn''t reached that point yet.

    Moreover, these short stories were educational and entertaining, and overall, they still possessed strong readability.

    It''s worth mentioning that¡­

    Some companies within the industry also showed strong interest in several short stories like "Monopoly," seemingly intending to adapt them into movies. Lin Yuan left these matters to Jin Mu to handle. He himself didn''t resist, the only standard being that the quality of the filmed works must have a basic guarantee.

    This rule was well-known within the industry.

    Previously, a major company had bought the film and television rights to Chu Kuang''s "Ghost Blows Out the Light," but the production was perfunctory, choosing stars with popularity but no acting skills, leading to the work flopping badly in terms of reputation. Since then, the company had been blacklisted by Chu Kuang, never obtaining the film and television adaptation rights to any of Chu Kuang''s works again, no matter the amount of money offered.

    Since then,

    Any film and television company took the film and television rights to Chu Kuang''s works very seriously, daring not to treat them perfunctorily once obtained, as many of Chu Kuang''s works were extremely popular when adapted into dramas or films, and no one wanted to completely lose the opportunity to collaborate with Chu Kuang.

    The old rascal, indeed.

    The public image of Chu Kuang had long been linked directly to descriptors like "aloof," "strict," "domineering," and "arrogant."

    Even the imagined image of Chu Kuang by the public was predominantly wild, cool, and awe-inspiring.

    This was by comparison.

    Xian Yu in the north, Chu Kuang in the south, just reverse the image of Xian Yu to get it right.

    As gentle and refined as Xian Yu is; the old rascal is that domineering and aloof.

    That said, Lin Yuan was also consciously differentiating Xian Yu, Chu Kuang, and even Shadow, aligning with the fantasies of netizens to refine their characters.

    The identity closest to his true self was still Xian Yu.

    Only this identity was completely public, as he needed to interact with different people under this persona.

    ¡­

    Several days later.

    The buzz about Chu Kuang''s seven short stories gradually cooled down.

    That day.

    Lin Yuan arrived at the company.

    While others were working, he expertly started a game.

    Since the release of "Plants vs. Zombies," Lin Yuan''s interest in gaming had increased significantly.

    He played all types of games.

    Sometimes tower defense games, sometimes online games, but today, the game he was playing was a shooting game.

    "Bang bang bang..."

    Following a gunshot, the player with the ID "Chu Kuang10086" was headshot.

    "Old rascal, time to die!"

    The opponent taunted Lin Yuan in the public chat, causing his face to flush with anger.

    Angry in more ways than one.

    "Chu Kuang10086" was Lin Yuan.

    He originally used the name "Chu Kuang," but it was already taken.

    Lin Yuan tried naming himself "Chu Kuang1", "Chu Kuang02", and similar variants, but they were all occupied, even "The real Chu Kuang" had been claimed by another player.

    No choice.

    He could only settle for "Chu Kuang10086."

    This name, at last, passed the System''s verification smoothly.

    Unfortunately, while Chu Kuang was a powerhouse in the literary world, in the game, he was merely someone others bullied.

    After being headshot repeatedly, Lin Yuan angrily quit the game.

    He also reported a user with the ID "Specialize in killing small chickens," accusing them of cheating.

    The reason was "hacking."

    Feeling slightly better, Lin Yuan happily opened "Plants vs. Zombies."

    Just then, Sun Yaohuo came over, carrying a load of stuff:

    "Junior, have you had lunch?"

    "No."

    "Want to try the craftsmanship of the new chef at my restaurant?"

    "Sure."

    Lin Yuan beamed with joy; the chefs at Sun Yaohuo''s restaurants indeed had great skills.

    "Were you just playing a game?"

    Sun Yaohuo glanced at the computer screen, which displayed the login interface of a recently popular shooter game.

    The game was called "God of Guns."

    Lin Yuan said fiercely, "Trash game."

    Sun Yaohuo was startled, then nodded, "Indeed, it''s no good. I uninstalled it when I got back. I''ll have someone design a fun shooter web game later, create a godlike account, and let you dominate!"

    "A shooter web game?"

    "Yes, a web game. It''s suitable for sneaking in some game time at work, much faster-paced than ''God of Guns'', and the killing is way more fun and suits our skills better!"

    "Can it make money?"

    "Who cares."

    "..."

    After pondering for a moment, Lin Yuan asked, "Are you interested in making such a game?"

    As Sun Yaohuo opened the lunch box, the aroma of the food filled the air: "I don''t mind, as long as Junior is happy. Let''s eat first."

    "Thanks."

    Lin Yuan began to eat heartily in the office.

    After eating, Lin Yuan took the napkin handed by Sun Yaohuo and wiped his mouth:

    "Then let''s make a shooter-based game."

    It was a spur-of-the-moment decision, but there were reasons behind it. Lin Yuan and Sun Yaohuo had set up the Yuan Huo Game Company, and sooner or later they needed to release some new games. It just so happened that Lin Yuan had a few potentially popular game genres in mind,

    Like the classic shooter game, "Fall and become a box!"

    "Okay!"

    Sun Yaohuo agreed readily without asking for details:

    "Then I''ll call over the team from the game company later, and they''ll follow Junior''s lead!"

    "Mm."

    Lin Yuan was getting excited.

    The players in this world hadn''t played "Fall and become a box." They would definitely be terrible at it when they first tried it. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Not him!

    Lin Yuan had played this game in his past life!

    He could take advantage of his advanced experience and utterly dominate his opponents when this game was just released!

    "Ding Dong!"

    The System couldn''t stand it anymore.

    Swearing to itself about its incompetent master who was hopeless yet addicted, Lin Yuan''s misremembering had absolutely nothing to do with the System:

    "This game is called ''PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds''!"

    What kind of painful past did you go through to misremember the game''s name as "Fall and become a box"?

    Is this a boxing game?

 Chapter 851 - 806: Seabed Restaurant

    "Customize ''PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds.''"

    Lin Yuan didn''t fuss over the game''s name; he directly customized it with the system, then summarized the required design materials within a day and handed them to Sun Yaohuo.

    Considering Blue Star''s technological level, Lin Yuan felt that the production time for the game wouldn''t be too long.

    "PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds?"

    Sun Yaohuo unconsciously read out the name of the game.

    Lin Yuan nodded his head but didn''t explain much.

    Sun Yaohuo didn''t inquire further about the specifics of the gameplay, as he saw all shooter games as more or less the same.

    He smiled and said,

    "I''ve invited everyone out, do you want to join us for dinner tonight, junior?"

    "Sure."

    Lin Yuan nodded his head.

    By "everyone," Sun Yaohuo definitely meant the singers from Yu Dynasty.

    Every so often, the singers from Yu Dynasty would hold a gathering of some sort.

    The location of the gathering was arranged by Sun Yaohuo.

    Lin Yuan would generally attend upon receiving a notification.

    This time was no exception.

    That evening.

    Lin Yuan arrived at the location Sun Yaohuo had provided.

    To Lin Yuan''s surprise, it turned out to be an Under the Sea-themed restaurant.

    Upon entering the restaurant, Lin Yuan saw that all around him was glass; the whole restaurant was filled with embedded fish tanks, and he could see groups of tropical fish drifting by¡ª

    This wasn''t the real ocean, just an environmental simulation.

    However, being there felt no different from being in the ocean.

    Upon entering the private room.

    Everyone was already there.

    After exchanging greetings, everyone''s gaze fell on Sun Yaohuo.

    Wei Haoyun said with a somewhat shocked expression, "Every time we gather, the restaurant is different, but they all have one thing in common: the boss is always you, Sun Yaohuo. Is this Under the Sea-themed restaurant also yours?"

    "Not bad, right?"

    Sun Yaohuo, upon hearing this, gave a proud smile and nodded in acknowledgment, "This restaurant is the one that I''ve put the most thought into among all my restaurants; it''s specifically designed for us at Yu Dynasty. Don''t you think it''s awesome to dine in the ''Under the Sea'' world?"

    Everyone was dumbstruck.

    This restaurant was obviously very expensive, looking too upscale, even for celebrities who were present; they couldn''t help but marvel at the size of the restaurant!

    "So this restaurant is run by Yao Huo."

    Chen Zhiyu remarked with a peculiar expression, "This is one of the two restaurants in Su City to be rated five stars by ''Gluttonous'' magazine; similar tier restaurants across the whole Blue Star are fewer than a hundred. I came here twice before with my manager, and just ordering a table of dishes cost over forty thousand..."

    "Fat cat!"

    Everyone turned their eyes to Chen Zhiyu.

    Chen Zhiyu said irritably, "Isn''t the real fat cat the owner of this restaurant?"

    Everyone thought there was reason in his words and all stared at Sun Yaohuo, "Aren''t you going to say something?"

    Sun Yaohuo retorted, "Even brothers settle accounts clearly; many ingredients here are air-shipped. Later, if you want to eat here, you''ll have to pay properly; I can only offer a discount of sixty percent if you mention my name. If you come to eat every day, I would lose a lot!"

    "Brother Sun is so generous!"

    Everyone cheered, throwing out flatteries.

    Sun Yaohuo coughed, then looked at Lin Yuan who was sitting and watching the sharks dance outside the glass,

    "Junior can come and eat for free." S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "..."

    Everyone puckered their lips.

    This guy really couldn''t change his bootlicking nature.

    Lin Yuan nodded, "Then I will bring my family here for dinner sometime."

    Sun Yaohuo grinned, "Eat all you want, I''ll have the head chef serve junior specifically!"

    Damn!

    Everyone rolled their eyes dramatically.

    Jiang Kui suddenly asked, curious, "Yao Huo, how many shops do you own?"

    Sun Yaohuo didn''t hide it, "Right now I own forty-six, mostly concentrated in Su City. There are some in neighboring cities but not many; anyway, I don''t have any plans to expand further by the end of the year. I plan to cooperate with the company to set up a five-star hotel in Su City."

    Everyone was floored.

    "You''re still going to make a five-star hotel!"

    "How rich are you now?"

    "Is all this money from your restaurant business?"

    "Damn, I don''t want to be a singer anymore!"

    "If you''re this rich, why even be a singer?"

    "..."

    Sun Yaohuo''s wealth had completely exceeded everyone''s expectations; it certainly wasn''t typical for a top-tier singer!

    "Interest is interest."

    Sun Yaohuo said earnestly, "Wealth is just material possessions, my dream is to become the King of Singing."

    Chen Zhiyu said with a strange look on his face, "You''re a businessman hindered by singing, earning this fortune is much harder than becoming the King of Singing."

    "Now you''re talking nonsense."

    Sun Yaohuo shook his head. "If only singing were as easy as making money."

    Was that even something a human would say!

    Everyone became silent.

    At that moment.

    The waiter began serving the dishes.

    Considering the cost of the meal here, everyone dug in, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

    Lin Yuan joined in the feast too.

    While eating, Lin Yuan suddenly noticed that Xia Fan across the table seemed distracted.

    "Here, you like eating crab."

    Lin Yuan broke off a snow crab leg and passed it to Xia Fan.

    He had known Xia Fan for many years and knew her preferences.

    "Thanks."

    Xia Fan took the crab leg, ate a few bites, but still looked listless.

    "Xia Fan?"

    Sun Yaohuo couldn''t help but show concern, "Is the food not to your liking? Tell me what you want, and I''ll have it made."

    "She lost a role to someone else, and it''s upsetting her."

    Zhao Ying Ge couldn''t help but speak up, then served Xia Fan some dishes. "Cheer up, maybe that''s a blessing in disguise, it might have been a terrible film."

    "What role?"

    Everyone paused, curious.

    "Let''s not talk about that, let''s eat."

    Xia Fan forced a smile and started eating eagerly.

    Lin Yuan frowned slightly, "What happened?"

    Jiang Kui glanced at Xia Fan and said, "I''ll tell you, it''s going to come out through the reporters anyway."

    Xia Fan didn''t say anything, implying consent.

    Jiang Kui looked at everyone, "You all know that Xia Fan has been developing not only in the singing industry but has also taken on some film and TV shows."

    The group nodded.

    Lin Yuan also knew about it.

    Xia Fan had mentioned it in their small group, saying she not only loved singing but also enjoyed acting, and thus had taken on some collaborations for films and TV shows.

    Back then, Jian Yi had even boasted that he would teach Xia Fan how to act.

    Lin Yuan also thought to himself, to find an opportunity to have Xia Fan act in a movie.

    "Just recently, Xia Fan landed a lead role in a movie, but right before shooting began, the role was snatched by another actress. Xia Fan had been working out for two months for this role, but it all went to waste, so she''s feeling down."

    Only Zhao Ying Ge and Jiang Kui knew about this from Yu Dynasty.

    Lin Yuan looked at Xia Fan, "Why didn''t you tell me about this?"

    Xia Fan looked at the others, "Isn''t it being discussed now... "

    "I''ll arrange a movie script for you."

    Lin Yuan spoke up.

    If anyone in Yu Dynasty faced injustice, Lin Yuan would do his best to help.

    And if it was Xia Fan, Lin Yuan would certainly not stand idly by.

    Xia Fan and Jian Yi shared a bond with Lin Yuan since childhood.

    That being said.

    Even if this incident hadn''t occurred, Lin Yuan had already been considering involving Xia Fan in acting after she expressed interest in it.

    Under the concerned gazes of everyone.

    Sun Yaohuo looked at Xia Fan, "What role did you lose out on before?"

 Chapter 852 - 807 Resident Evil Arrives

    The next day.

    Starlight Entertainment.

    Inside the representative office.

    Gu Dong made tea for Lin Yuan, looking somewhat surprised¡ªMr. Lin hadn''t played any games today?

    In front of the desk.

    Lin Yuan was typing away at the keyboard.

    If anyone stood behind Lin Yuan, they would definitely discover that Lin Yuan was writing a script.

    The name of this script was:

    Resident Evil!

    This was the movie Lin Yuan had prepared for Xia Fan.

    Lin Yuan had already asked about Xia Fan''s situation last night.

    Qi Continent Pictures had started off a major film with a leading female role called "Lady Blade," which had a substantial budget of a few hundred million. The original lead actress was Xia Fan.

    Logically speaking, Xia Fan shouldn''t have gotten this role.

    However, the film''s director was initially so impressed by Xia Fan''s physical appearance that he overruled all objections to support her playing the lead role.

    After all, Xia Fan had her own unique advantages.

    She had a larger frame than most girls, standing tall at one meter seventy, which was relatively high among females.

    Her appearance also carried a touch of heroism.

    In a major female lead film, the female protagonist mostly needs to be both tough and cool.

    Though the entertainment industry has many beautiful actresses, few meet these requirements. It was understandable that the director favored Xia Fan, who met these criteria.

    That settled the matter.

    However, unbeknownst to others, one of the film''s financiers encountered problems and withdrew their investment.

    Recently, a tribe aggressively entering the film industry successfully took over, becoming the largest investor of "Lady Blade."

    Following the tribe''s acquisition, they replaced Xia Fan.

    They even directly switched out the director for one of their own from the tribe.

    Although Xia Fan had already signed a contract with the production team, the set compensation wasn''t substantial. So, the withdrawing company split the compensation with the tribe and paid off Xia Fan.

    Xia Fan was depressed about this situation.

    She particularly loved the role in "Lady Blade" and had obsessively gained weight and specifically worked out for two months to better fit the physical description required by the script.

    Major female lead films with such investment scales were actually few and far between on Blue Star.

    This miss meant she didn''t know when the next opportunity would arise, because most of the movies, whether on Earth or Blue Star, were still centered around male protagonists. Even if the female protagonist wasn''t just a decorative figure, her screen time and significance in the film couldn''t compare with that of the male protagonist.

    Sadly, Xia Fan''s physical appearance made her unsuitable for playing delicate and charming types of female leads.

    Initially, the situation wasn''t complicated.

    But once the tribe was involved, it was hard for Lin Yuan not to think more about it.

    He didn''t know if the tribe was specifically targeting him.

    After all, his relationship with Xia Fan was well known to everyone.

    And his overt identity as Xian Yu had long fallen out with the tribe.

    Of course, even if the tribe wasn''t targeting Lin Yuan this time, Lin Yuan had absolutely no fondness for them.

    Especially after learning from the company''s upper management about various disagreements between Starlight and the tribe, Lin Yuan became even more convinced of one thing:

    His conflict with the tribe was irreconcilable.

    Even the chairman, during exchanges with Lin Yuan, had indicated that it would be difficult for the company to collaborate with the tribe in the future.

    Not to mention, as Xia Fan was Lin Yuan''s close friend, he naturally wanted to help her.

    ¡­

    Women held up half the sky.

    However, in most film and television productions, women often only served as embellishments, acting as mere backdrops for the male lead to triumph and win his woman.

    For female leads to shine brighter than male leads is even harder.

    Yet, in Earth''s cinema, there have been several female characters who dazzled through the ages. One of the most talked-about female lead films is the very "Resident Evil" Lin Yuan was writing!

    The female protagonist, Alice!

    When all the global forces of justice couldn''t destroy Umbrella Corporation and the zombie virus it unleashed, Alice became a glimmer of hope in the disaster.

    A true major female lead script.

    In the first installment of this script, the female lead''s aura was so great it made the male lead practically invisible.

    The male lead didn''t have much of a story and ended up dying in the end.

    Zombie humans, zombie dogs, zombie monsters...

    Alice fought everything with her body, knives, and guns.

    As the netizens would put it:

    The comrades change like flowing water, but Alice remains as solid as iron.

    If we set aside the film''s own issues, "Resident Evil" is one of the few female-led film series with such enduring vitality.

    In fact,

    If it weren''t for the later films in the series having scattered plots and the fact that the female lead''s actress was getting older and gradually losing her ability to fight, this film might have stood even more tenaciously among numerous influential series films.

    This wasn''t an issue Lin Yuan needed to consider temporarily.

    The script he wrote was for the first film, the "Reset" of "Resident Evil."

    And whether in terms of reputation or adaptation effect, the first "Resident Evil" is a classic.

    Yes.

    This "Resident Evil" was adapted from a game, making it one of the most successful examples of game-adapted films on Earth.

    However, Lin Yuan wasn''t worried that this world lacked the "Resident Evil" game.

    When "Resident Evil" was hugely popular in his previous life, many people liked the film not just because of the game.

    There were even countless viewers who had never played the game.

    What made Lin Yuan even more confident was the research he had done that morning.

    In this world, zombie films did not have any particularly influential works; Blue Star filmmakers mostly used zombies as just one of the regular elements in horror films.

    Yes,

    Some Blue Starians were very keen on horror films.

    And in the eyes of Blue Star filmmakers, eerie ghost films were far scarier than zombie horrors.

    Under such circumstances, "Resident Evil" was novel.

    This film would let the audience see a zombie tide.

    Let the audience see zombie dogs.

    Show the audience how humans face zombies...

    Lin Yuan was certain that the tension and thrill of zombies appearing in dense masses were definitely something those ghost films couldn''t provide.

    The audience also needed a cool and tough Alice.

    As for changing the female lead''s name, Lin Yuan had no plans to do so. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    In this world, regardless of what face, names were bizarre and of various styles.

    Just like that.

    After spending a day, Lin Yuan finally completed the script for "Resident Evil."

    After some thought, Lin Yuan felt that the scale of this film needed to be upgraded.

    The original film was shot on Earth in the year 2002.

    Back then, due to limitations in technology and investment, the scale wasn''t grand enough.

    Now that Lin Yuan was in Blue Star, with its higher level of technology and movie theaters that included glasses-free 3D technology,

    there was no reason for Lin Yuan not to produce a more visually stunning "Resident Evil."

    As for whether to shoot a second or third part later, Lin Yuan couldn''t be bothered to think about that for now.

    First, successfully shooting the first part was the real deal.

    Having decided on this affair, Lin Yuan found Ol'' Zhou and handed over the script to him.

    "A new film?"

    Ol'' Zhou looked somewhat excited.

    Lin Yuan nodded, "The female lead is set to be Xia Fan."

    Ol'' Zhou: "..."

    Fine then.

    Crown Prince.

    You call the shots.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Ahem, if you want to upgrade the plot of the first part of Resident Evil to something more thrilling, does anyone have any good suggestions?

 Chapter 853 - 808 Sugar

    "Oh, right."

    After receiving the script, Ol'' Zhou hesitated for a moment, then spoke,

    "Uncle Zhou was wondering if I could ask you for a favor?"

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan said, "Uncle Zhou, there''s no need to be polite."

    Ol'' Zhou said sheepishly, "This is a personal favor, nothing to do with company matters."

    "It''s fine."

    Since joining the company, Lin Yuan had received a lot of care from Ol'' Zhou, and he kept all these in mind.

    "Alright then."

    Ol'' Zhou pulled out a red invitation from his jacket, "My daughter is getting married at the end of the month, and she is a huge fan of yours, so I''d like to invite you to her wedding. Of course, I won''t tell her in advance; that way, it can be a surprise at the event."

    "Sure."

    Lin Yuan accepted the invitation without much consideration.

    Seeing Lin Yuan''s unhesitant action, Ol'' Zhou couldn''t help but smile, "If you''re free, feel free to bring your family along too."

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan said with a smile, "Congratulations, Uncle Zhou."

    Ol'' Zhou became sentimental, "She''s my only daughter, and I''ve been too busy with work in the past, owing her a lot. I''ve always thought about making it up to her. Later, when she went to college and studied abroad in the Han Continent, she brought a boyfriend back home, and now in a blink of an eye, she''s getting married."

    Ol'' Zhou rambled on, then suddenly changed the topic,

    "Speaking of marriage, you should also hurry up. Didn''t that girl ask you out last time?"

    "Who?"

    "Look, you even forgot. Well, if forgotten, then forgotten, maybe it just wasn''t meant to be."

    "..."

    The two chatted for a while, and Ol'' Zhou left.

    Back at home.

    Lin Yuan took out the invitation and happened to mention Ol'' Zhou''s daughter''s wedding to his family, and casually asked them,

    "Do you guys want to go?"

    Mom said, "It''s your boss''s daughter''s wedding, I should go."

    "Then I''ll go too."

    His sister was recently unemployed and just hanging around at home.

    His sister was curious, "Are you going to sing on stage? Your song ''Love Balloon'' is quite popular among newlyweds."

    "Sing?"

    Lin Yuan was taken aback; he really hadn''t thought about that.

    Seeing Lin Yuan''s reaction, his sister knew there was no such arrangement and smiled,

    "That''s true, with your current status, singing on such a small stage doesn''t seem quite fitting. Let''s just go there and have a meal together."

    Lin Yuan raised his eyebrows.

    In fact, he wasn''t burdened by such thoughts; he just hadn''t considered it before.

    Ol'' Zhou had always taken good care of him.

    His daughter''s wedding, performing a song for the newlyweds, wouldn''t be a problem.

    If he did so, Ol'' Zhou would probably be happy too.

    But perhaps Ol'' Zhou was too shy to suggest it.

    Considering this.

    Lin Yuan flipped open the invitation and checked the date:

    September 30th?

    The wedding day was just before the season ranking day.

    A thought crossed his mind.

    Maybe he could leave the couple with an unforgettable wedding.

    Meanwhile.

    The words Ol'' Zhou had said to Lin Yuan came back to him:

    His daughter had studied in the Han Continent...

    His son-in-law seemed to be from the Han Continent...

    Got it.

    Soon Lin Yuan made a decision.

    He had a song that would be perfect to sing at a wedding.

    ...

    Lin Yuan didn''t plan to perform this song alone.

    Back in his room.

    Lin Yuan made several phone calls.

    "Xia Fan, I''ve prepared a new script for you. We plan to start shooting next month, but before that, do me a favor and come to the company tomorrow..."

    "Senior Yao Huo, are you free tomorrow? I remember you can play the bass..."

    "Jiang Kui, come to the office tomorrow. We''ve got a song to practice. I''ll send the score over first."

    "Zhao Ying Ge..."

    "Madam Haoyun..."

    "Chen Zhiyu, you played the guitar well... "

    After a few phone calls, Lin Yuan directly gathered everyone from Yu Dynasty.

    The next day.

    Yu Dynasty assembled in Lin Yuan''s office.

    Lin Yuan presented a song, "This is the song I''ll be using to compete in the charts next month, and I''d like to invite all of you to sing it with me. Of course, your parts are very small; I''ll be handling the majority of the singing."

    "A group song?"

    Everyone couldn''t help but get excited.

    Last time they all sang a bunch of Bluelympics songs, and their popularity surged tremendously. Since then, everyone had been looking forward to a similar opportunity.

    Now the opportunity had arrived.

    As for how much singing each person was allotted, nobody really minded; the main appeal was the collective format of the Yu Dynasty.

    They received the scores.

    Everyone was surprised, "A Korean song?"

    Lin Yuan nodded, "Can you manage Korean?"

    "We can!"

    Everyone chimed in unison.

    Lin Yuan nodded, "Then we''ll record in a few days."

    "Alright."

    Everyone nodded again and soon began humming a few lines from the score.

    A few minutes later, everyone exclaimed:

    "This song is so good!"

    "The melody is perfect for the charts!"

    "Looks like Teacher Admirable Fish''s championship song for next month is secured!"

    "The rhythm is just perfect!"

    "Such a sweet song!"

    "The song''s name is ''Sugar,'' how could it not be sweet!"

    You''re right.

    The song in everyone''s hands was indeed ''Sugar''.

    A famous piece by the rock band Magic Power, it''s considered one of their signature songs.

    Originally, the song was solely sung by the lead singer.

    Lin Yuan planned to make a few minor changes, allowing everyone a chance to sing some lyrics, but overall, the feel would still lean towards the original.

    Once everyone calmed down,

    Lin Yuan spoke up, "I have an idea for the music video for this song. Since Uncle Zhou''s daughter is getting married, I plan to bring everyone to crash the wedding, and there will be a filming crew recording the whole thing..."

    The music video for ''Sugar'' is classic!

    The concept was inspired by a film called ''Wedding Crashers.''

    In the music video,

    led by lead singer Adam, the band Magic Power crashes various wedding scenes.

    As the curtain falls and the music begins, the bride, groom, and guests all start to boil with excitement, dancing along with the song.

    Lin Yuan thought this concept was very interesting.

    As a semi-realistic music video, it could significantly boost the song''s sales during the season.

    Most importantly, he could use the original music video''s creative idea to surprise Uncle Zhou and his daughter.

    As Lin Yuan finished explaining, everyone was stunned by the creativity! sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "That is so romantic!" Wei Haoyun praised.

    "Such a great idea!" Xia Fan, who had been feeling down recently, couldn''t help but smile.

    "I''ll play the guitar!" Chen Zhiyu volunteered immediately.

    "I can handle the bass pretty well!" Sun Yaohuo also looked expectant.

    "And I can play some synthesizers!" Jiang Kui added eagerly.

    "Sounds fun!"

    Zhao Ying Ge exclaimed excitedly.

    Everyone was eager to give it a try.

    After discussing it, Lin Yuan also shared his ideas with Uncle Zhou, as they needed his cooperation.

    "Then I can''t thank you enough!"

    Uncle Zhou, upon hearing this, was thrilled and his face flushed red, "Uncle Zhou owes you one!"

    "You''re welcome."

    Lin Yuan waved his hand.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: I recommend that everyone check out the music video for ''Sugar'' on B Site. I''m not sure where to find the high-definition version, but after watching it, you''ll get an idea of this plot segment.

 Chapter 854 - 809: The Yu Dynasty Crashes the Wedding Scene

    In the following days,

    Lin Yuan felt he was being brainwashed by "shaving a coconut skin, but you freaking give a pear."

    Heaven knows why the song''s pun was so bewitching.

    By then, the song had been recorded, and the Yu Dynasty eagerly awaited the end of the month.

    Online,

    Fans began discussing Xian Yu''s new song for October.

    "It''s almost the end of the month again."

    "Has Fish Papa''s new song for October been recorded yet?"

    "I''m so nervous for Fish Papa, the final sprint for the twelfth consecutive crown is about to begin!"

    "October should be no problem."

    "For Fish Papa, the toughest is December, that battle of the gods won''t be easy."

    "We can''t take it lightly now though."

    "True, it would be utterly ridiculous to flop in October."

    "Hehehe, I wonder whose card Fish Papa will turn over with his October new song."

    "..."

    Xian Yu''s fans were the most nervous.

    And when September 30th arrived, the discussion wasn''t just limited to Xian Yu''s fans anymore. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    It was also on this day.

    Starlight Entertainment.

    At the entrance,

    Several cameras had been set up at some point.

    In the frame,

    A group of men in suits streamed out one after another.

    Some carried ladders, some carried heavy musical instruments, mostly instruments and speakers of sorts.

    Later,

    Lin Yuan, leading the singers of the Yu Dynasty, exited the company''s main gate,

    Pausing in front of the cameras.

    Lin Yuan smiled and said, "At 7 o''clock on September 30th, we''ll be driving through Su City to attend a wedding."

    The director, from a distance, gave an OK gesture.

    Lin Yuan, getting the hint, walked through the cameras.

    Afterward, every singer of the Yu Dynasty walked past the cameras.

    As they passed,

    Jiang Kui flashed a "peace" sign at the camera;

    Zhao Ying Ge cheekily stuck out her tongue at the camera;

    Chen Zhiyu, carrying a guitar, coolly flicked his hair;

    Xia Fan struck a pose as he passed by the camera...

    Each singer of the Yu Dynasty left a brief moment on camera.

    "We''re going to be late!"

    Sun Yaohuo, holding a bass, hurried past.

    Four cars were parked at the entrance.

    Two black vans at the front,

    followed by two four-seater convertibles,

    one red, one blue.

    Lin Yuan got into the red convertible at the front.

    The other singers of the Yu Dynasty also got into the two convertibles.

    Once in the cars,

    everyone was a bit excited:

    "Where did these sports cars come from?"

    "This model seems to be close to twenty million!"

    "The one behind is also at least ten million!"

    "So cool!"

    "Did the company arrange this?"

    "I arranged it."

    On the red convertible, Sun Yaohuo said with a grin, showing off his extravagantly indulgent side.

    "Wow~!"

    An unknown cheer sounded, and the three cars officially set off.

    Sitting in the convertible, with the wind blowing in their faces, everyone was a bit exhilarated.

    And as the cars navigated through the city,

    on the roads,

    Skyscrapers soared skyward!

    On some massive billboards and some downtown screens, there prominently were collective posters of the Yu Dynasty singers!

    On the posters,

    Lin Yuan stood at the center in an absolutely dominant position!

    The other Yu Dynasty singers were harmoniously positioned around him!

    Countless posters, billboards, and big screens created a lovely reflection with the singers of the Yu Dynasty in the cars!

    On a certain van,

    cameras captured this scene.

    Clearly, this was prearranged.

    At a certain red light, the few cars stopped.

    In the lane next to them, some cars also stopped on either side.

    Shoosh, shoosh, shoosh!

    With a flurry of exclamations from pedestrians, several car windows simultaneously rolled down as if rehearsed beforehand!

    "Xian Yu!"

    "Jiang Kui!"

    "Xia Fan!"

    "Sun Yaohuo!"

    "Madam Haoyun!"

    "Perennial Runner-up!"

    Chen Zhiyu''s mouth twitched helplessly.

    People inside the cars excitedly shouted and screamed, calling out various names, and some children inside the cars waved their arms and danced around energetically!

    The atmosphere instantly turned frenetic!

    The cameras continued capturing the scene.

    For ordinary people, encountering several celebrities on the streets of Su City, especially a star lineup of singers and superstar divas like Xian Yu, was absolutely a breathtaking sight!

    "Ah!!!!"

    "Look!!!!"

    "Yu Dynasty!"

    "I love you guys!"

    "My idols are here!"

    "What are they doing here!"

    "Ah ah ah, what are they up to!"

    "Fish Papa, I want to have your babies!"

    Next to them was another convertible, where four girls sat.

    At that moment, the girls were screaming madly at Lin Yuan and the others, with one unable to resist taking out her phone, holding it up for a selfie, perfectly framing herself with the Yu Dynasty singers, which then prompted other bystanders to follow suit.

    No telling how their social circles would be bombarded with this group of pedestrians later.

    Click, click, click!

    Lin Yuan and the others didn''t stop the numerous people taking photos, but instead waved back at everyone.

    Sun Yaohuo and others also reached out and high-fived some hands stretched from the car windows.

    At this point,

    the traffic light turned green.

    Lin Yuan and the others quickly drove off, the screams of the crowd still lingering behind them.

    This novelty and thrill equally excited the singers of the Yu Dynasty.

    Everyone has a bit of vanity.

    Usually, as celebrities, they would travel as inconspicuously as possible, but today they thoroughly enjoyed the experience of flaunting themselves through the city.

    Everyone also relished this rare feeling of being pursued by the public under broad daylight.

    Finally,

    The vehicles stopped in front of a luxury hotel.

    Several staff members first got out, carrying various musical equipment.

    Then the doors of the convertible also opened.

 Chapter 855 - 855: 809

    "We''re here,"

    Lin Yuan said as he pulled out a pair of sunglasses he had prepared earlier, putting them on to somewhat disguise his face.

    "gogogo!"

    Sun Yaohuo and the others also donned their pre-prepared sunglasses, and the group headed toward the building.

    The camera filmed from the front.

    Lin Yuan and the others trailed behind.

    By climbing the stairs, Lin Yuan and his group crossed the corridor and entered the hotel''s kitchen.

    Ol'' Zhou had arranged this route to prevent them from being spotted by the guests beforehand, which would have spoiled the surprise.

    "Bump..."

    A chef who saw Lin Yuan and the others was stunned, and the pot he was washing by hand unfortunately fell into the sink.

    Following the noise,

    all the kitchen staff saw Lin Yuan and the others!

    The sunglasses couldn''t prevent everyone from recognizing a few of the celebrities that they usually only saw on TV!

    "Excuse us."

    Amidst countless frozen gazes, Lin Yuan and his group apologized as they hurried toward the hall.

    What''s going on?

    The kitchen staff were stupefied, watching them depart.

    ...

    Meanwhile,

    inside the hotel lobby,

    a couple was tying the knot.

    There was applause, and the guests had smiles full of well-wishes on their faces.

    During the applause,

    the bride and groom took their seats.

    The guests conversed with each other, glasses clinking.

    At one of the tables,

    Lin Xuan looked around: "Where''s my younger brother?"

    Big Yaoyao was skeptical: "Did my brother stand us up? What a good pigeon he is."

    Mom smiled lightly: "Maybe something held him up, let''s start eating."

    Elsewhere,

    Ol'' Zhou was also anxiously checking the time, muttering to himself.

    Next to Ol'' Zhou,

    a woman in a wedding dress pouted, saying:

    "Dad, why do you keep checking the time? Do you have other matters to take care of today?"

    "No, I''m not going anywhere, today is my daughter''s big wedding day!"

    Ol'' Zhou quickly shook his head, looking at his daughter Zhou Ting in the wedding dress, and cooed softly:

    "My Ting Ting is really beautiful!"

    "Ting Ting inherited her father-in-law''s good genes."

    The groom Hank interjected slyly, pleasing Ol'' Zhou, who responded:

    "She takes after her mother more."

    Ol'' Zhou''s wife nodded, "At least my old man is somewhat self-aware."

    Zhou Ting laughed.

    Just then, a group of people burst through the door.

    As soon as this group entered, they squatted down and started banging on something.

    Instantly, all the guests'' attention was drawn.

    "Who are these people?"

    "What are they doing?"

    "It looks like they''re setting up a curtain?"

    "Is there some sort of event planned?"

    "That must be asked from the wedding planner."

    "Must be some sort of performance?"

    This sudden scene was indeed peculiar, some people asked those next to them, who just shrugged their shoulders indicating they had no idea.

    Similar reactions continued.

    Many were curiously looking around.

    Hidden cameras silently recorded.

    Zhou Ting appeared puzzled: "What are they doing?"

    Hank frowned slightly: "Don''t we have no extra activities planned?"

    "Dad..."

    Zhou Ting was worried, instinctively turning to look at Ol'' Zhou, but found that he had already stood up.

    "What is he doing?"

    Ol'' Zhou''s wife was also stunned.

    Ol'' Zhou blocked the wedding planner and the person responsible for maintaining order from intervening.

    It was unclear what Ol'' Zhou said to these people, but he quickly sent them away.

    Soon, a white curtain was drawn, which blocked all the guests'' view.

    Meanwhile, Lin Yuan and others with their sunglasses took the opportunity to move behind the curtain while everyone was focused on it.

    "It seems no one noticed."

    Chen Zhiyu whispered nervously.

    Lin Yuan took off his sunglasses and nodded:

    "Get ready."

    The group hurriedly tuned the musical instruments they had set up.

    ...

    What''s this?

    Lin Yuan''s family, like the other guests, stared at the curtain with bafflement.

    Is there an event?

    Suddenly, someone was talking to Ol'' Zhou in front of the curtain.

    Ol'' Zhou, after hearing the whisper, hurriedly turned and walked towards his daughter and son-in-law.

    "What is this?"

    "What''s going on?"

    Seeing Ol'' Zhou return, Zhou Ting and Hank almost asked at the same time.

    Zhou Ting, dressed in her wedding gown, had been incessantly looking around at the group of odd intruders, her curiosity nearly spilling over.

    "Come with me first."

    Ol'' Zhou smiled mysteriously, then, accompanied by unfamiliar staff, led the newlyweds to a massive curtain.

    Zhou Ting and Hank exchanged glances, then shared a silly smile in their stare.

    The couple had guessed that this was an activity Ol'' Zhou had arranged in advance.

    Some of the guests, finding it dull, were bowing their heads and continuing to tackle the food in front of them or chatting in small groups.

    Just then,

    a series of synthesizer melodies filled the hall:

    "Dum... Dum... Dum..."

    The music recaptured the guests'' attention: "Where is this music coming from?"

    In the guests'' curiosity,

    a sudden surge of singing boomed through:

    "I''m hurting baby, Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    I''m broken down

    I need your loving, loving

    I need it now

    When I''m without you

    I''m something weak¡­"

    This was clearly a voice singing from behind the curtain, prompting everyone to turn their heads toward it.

    Rip!

    The next moment!

    The white curtain suddenly dropped!

    And behind the curtain, those familiar faces¡ªsuddenly appeared before everyone!

    At the forefront.

    Lin Yuan, clutching the mic, tall and handsome, instantly dazzled countless onlookers!

    "Ah!!!!!"

    A massive scream pierced through the roof!

    Lin Yuan, Jiang Kui, Xia Fan, Sun Yaohuo, Chen Zhiyu, Zhao Ying Ge, Wei Haoyun¡ªseven people!

    The complete Yu Dynasty!

    A glamorous lineup of stars!

    When the faces familiar from TV suddenly appeared so vividly before everyone, and in such a setting and amid such singing, the surprise and shock were absolutely unprecedented!

    "!!!!!"

    Zhou Ting, dressed in a white wedding gown, covered her mouth tightly with both hands, her beautiful eyes filled with amazement and disbelief!

    She was so excited that she lost her voice!

    Hank''s mouth gaped open, his face blushing with excitement, red all the way to his ears, as if he was drunk!

    The entire hotel lobby suddenly erupted!

    "Oh my god!"

    "Holy crap!"

    "Oh my god!"

    "My lord!"

    "They are..."

    "They are the Yu Dynasty!"

    "Xian Yu!"

    "Fish Papa!"

    "And Sun Yaohu Jiang Kui Xia Fan..."

    "Ahhhhhh!"

    "How could they appear here!"

    All the guests were extremely excited, getting goosebumps all over!

    The whole place was shocked by the sudden appearance of the Yu Dynasty!

    In the boiling screams, the guests gradually stood up, continually getting closer to Lin Yuan and the others!

    People took out their phones and frantically took pictures!

    No one didn''t recognize this group, with each person knowing at least a few of the seven!

    Lin Yuan and the Yu Dynasty singers continued with the surprise concert with smiles on their faces:

    "You got me begging, begging, I''m on my knees, I don''t wanna be needing your love..."

    Sun Yaohuo and the others joyfully accompanied them!

    In the midst of the singing, Zhou Ting suddenly burst into dance excitedly!

    While dancing, she suddenly embraced Hank, and the newlyweds passionately kissed each other!

    Ol'' Zhou, watching his daughter, had a smile spreading across his cheeks.

    Ol'' Zhou''s wife was also incredibly thrilled!

    The electrifying atmosphere infected everyone; the dynamic music filled the air, and more and more people joined in the dance.

    Nobody had imagined!

    That at this couple''s wedding, they would witness such a group of stars suddenly take the stage!

    The scene had turned into a sea of songs and excitement!

    And on the left-hand seats.

    "It''s brother, brother looks so cool!"

    Big Yaoyao murmured.

    Mom also had a face full of smiles, looking at her son with pride.

    Lin Xuan was so thrilled she was about to burst: "How come he''s there, the entire Yu Dynasty is here!"

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Just realized it''s already three o''clock, back to a nocturnal schedule, please can I ask for a monthly ticket, considering how hard Polluted White has worked?

 Chapter 856 - 810: Shooting Complete

    The boiling hotel!

    The reveling guests!

    The passionate singing!

    The wedding hall had become the most joyful party scene!

    The men laughed loudly as they raised their glasses, while the women twisted their waists with abandon.

    Their eyes glazed!

    Everyone was ecstatic!

    The adrenaline was pumping wildly!

    After the entire song had finished, Lin Yuan and the artists from Yu Dynasty were immediately surrounded by the guests at the venue.

    After a flood of good wishes, everyone signed autographs until their hands went numb, finally managing to extract themselves from the crowd.

    The guests were just too enthusiastic!

    A quiet corner of the hotel.

    Ol'' Zhou''s face was alight with excitement.

    He was somewhat incoherent while talking to Lin Yuan and the others:

    "My daughter is so happy... Everyone is so happy today... Thank you all for your performances... This is the best live performance I have ever seen!"

    "Director Zhou, don''t be polite. It was all Teacher Admirable Fish''s idea; we just cooperated."

    "Well, then I won''t stand on ceremony with you. You all will be busy next, and personally, I hope you can bring this wedding blessing to many more newlyweds!"

    "Sure."

    Ol'' Zhou had discussed beforehand with Lin Yuan that they should film more of this kind of material.

    In the end, Lin Yuan agreed.

    The theme of the original music video was to burst into various wedding venues, creating unexpected surprises.

    But just the current amount of material was not enough to sustain the length of the entire song.

    "Then let''s get going."

    The locations for the following events had all been pre-selected by the company.

    At other weddings, there were roles similar to Ol'' Zhou to cooperate.

    Lin Yuan spent some time with his family, then left the hotel with the singers from Yu Dynasty.

    The group set off once more.

    But as the Yu Dynasty departed, the feverish atmosphere at the wedding scene barely cooled down!

    All the guests were excitedly discussing:

    "I''ve screamed myself hoarse!"

    "Yu Dynasty actually performed here!"

    "What was that song just now!"

    "It sounds so good!"

    "It seemed to be a new song!"

    "I must download it later!"

    "I just shook hands with Admirable Fish!"

    "I got Jiang Kui''s signature!"

    "Xia Fan is so beautiful!"

    "I even hugged Madam Haoyun for a moment, hahahaha, Madam Haoyun is like a goddess of luck, I''m going out to buy a lottery ticket later!"

    The guests were excited!

    Bride Zhou Ting was even more excited; her favourite star was Admirable Fish, and she had previously asked Ol'' Zhou to get an autograph for her!

    "Thank you, Daddy!"

    Zhou Ting, her eyes reddening, hugged Ol'' Zhou.

    Ol'' Zhou smiled contentedly, "As long as you like it!"

    This wedding was not an end but merely a beginning.

    As Yu Dynasty drove through the city, they visited many more weddings.

    A similar scene was still playing out continuously!

    ...

    Eight Wonders Hotel.

    "I just wanna be deep in your love, And it''s killing me when you''re away..."

    The white curtain was drawn.

    Screams rose and fell at the scene!

    "Oh my god!"

    "It''s Yu Dynasty!"

    "Am I seeing this right!"

    Confetti flew through the air, fine and glittering, as Sun Yaohuo opened his arms wide.

    ...

    Winter Hotel.

    "Ooh baby, cause I really don''t care where you are..."

    At the sight of Lin Yuan and the others.

    Due to overwhelming excitement, the bride blurted out a swear word!

    "What the f*ck!"

    "Oh my goodness!"

    "Ahhh!"

    Amidst the cheers of all the guests, Chen Zhiyu found a clear space and freely broke into a street dance, completely getting into the groove!

    ...

    Pearl Hotel.

    "I just wanna be there where you are..."

    On this side, the groom was shouting even louder than the bride!

    His veins were bursting out!

    "My idol!!!"

    "Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn!"

    "I cannot be dreaming right now!"

    Lin Yuan smiled at the crowd below, then, with his hands clasped behind his back, led Yu Dynasty in a bow before exiting the stage.

    ...

    Eight Wonders Hotel.

    "And I gotta get one little taste..."

    The curtains dropped, and the whole room stood up!

    The bride and Xia Fan hugged tightly together, causing countless eyeballs to almost pop out!

    "Xian Yu!"

    "Oh my gosh!"

    "What''s going on here!"

    In the same screech, the Yu Dynasty left the stage together. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan, raising his glass with everyone, sent out blessings to everyone:

    "May all lovers eventually become spouses!"

    ...

    A whole day of busyness.

    Lin Yuan didn''t even know how many hotels he had run to.

    After rushing from wedding to wedding, he even went back to the company with everyone to shoot a few more scenes.

    When they officially started their journey back, it was already nearing midnight.

    "So satisfying!"

    "That was super satisfying!"

    "Haven''t had this much fun in a long time!"

    "This is why I love music!"

    "Everyone was so happy!"

    "I think a girl took the opportunity to kiss me in the chaos!"

    As they drove through the crisscrossed streets, the colorful city flashed by in the backdrop.

    Despite the fatigue, it couldn''t suppress the excitement of the Yu Dynasty''s singers.

    Actually, they enjoyed it just as much as the surprised guests at the weddings.

    Lin Yuan, with the evening breeze on his face, revealed a slight smile.

    In the end, everyone went their separate ways.

    ...

    What Lin Yuan and the others did not know, however, was that their daytime activities had already been exposed online.

    Social media.

    A hot search topic was staggeringly named #YuDynastyFullForce#

    This was not hard to predict.

    After all, it was the first time for the Yu Dynasty to mobilize collectively in this manner.

    In the era of the internet.

    So many top-tier celebrities sitting together in flashy sports cars, with Xian Yu participating and making no effort to hide his movements, it was difficult to keep a low profile.

    That day, they encountered too many passersby!

    Many of them even captured this on their cameras.

    Many passersby who encountered them uploaded similar scenes online.

    This instantly sparked a lot of attention from netizens.

    "The Yu Dynasty taking sports cars for a spin?"

    "They''ve mobilized collectively!"

    "It must be more than just a casual outing."

    "There seems to be a photographer following them; are they shooting a film?"

    "They interacted with passersby too, my goodness, why didn''t I encounter them today!"

    "Where were they going?"

    "Several cars on the go, including two vans, looks like a big operation!"

    "Could they be filming some reality show?"

    "All my favorite idols are there, I wish I could have been there!"

    ...

    In the midst of myriad discussions, someone said:

    "Stop guessing, guys, the Yu Dynasty was attending a wedding today. My best friend got married, and suddenly, the Yu Dynasty burst in and performed a new song!"

    This was a comment from a guest at the wedding.

    It wasn''t just passersby.

    Many guests at today''s wedding also took photos, even of the live performance by the Yu Dynasty singers, although the audio and video quality were not good, shaking violently.

    This too was unavoidable.

    A few netizens who noticed this comment were stunned.

    The Yu Dynasty attending a wedding?

    Performing for the newlyweds?

    Who got married with such clout to have the entire Yu Dynasty perform at the ceremony?

    That must be someone with serious influence!

    The artists in the Yu Dynasty are all top-tier celebrities in the entertainment industry!

    Not to mention Xian Yu, the Maestro Junior!

    Before the discussion could go further, the clock struck midnight quietly.

    October had arrived!

    Across all major music platforms.

    Xian Yu''s new song was officially released!

    Netizens temporarily set aside their discussions about the Yu Dynasty''s group outing to attend the wedding, focusing instead on Xian Yu''s new song.

    "Eh?"

    "Sugar?"

    "It seems to be an English song."

    "Fish Papa''s got guts, releasing an English song at a crucial moment aiming for twelve consecutive hits, especially when its audience might not be as large as that of Mandarin songs."

    "No worries, Fish Papa''s English songs are always great!"

    "The language doesn''t really matter to me, but what surprised me is that this song is sung by the Yu Dynasty collectively, and there''s even a corresponding MV?"

    "I''m up for it!"

    The interest of the netizens was piqued!

    If it had been a single artist from the Yu Dynasty, it might not have been that compelling, but the appeal of a song sung collectively by the entire Yu Dynasty was even greater than an individual song by Xian Yu alone; people simply loved to see the Yu Dynasty united!

    Among countless clicks.

    Netizens opened the MV for the song...

 Chapter 857 - 811: Peeling a Coconut Shell

    Han Continent.

    Art Academy.

    Junior Music Department Dormitory. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Underneath the bunk bed.

    A male student playing on a computer suddenly spoke up:

    "It''s out!"

    "What''s out?"

    "It''s midnight, Xian Yu''s new song for October just got released, and it''s an English song too!"

    "Damn, what are you waiting for, play the song!"

    "Aren''t you going to watch the music video?"

    "There''s a music video for this song too?"

    "Yeah, and it''s a collective performance by the Yu Dynasty."

    "It''s a Yu Dynasty ensemble, then hurry and open it; your computer has a clearer screen."

    "Okay."

    The dormitory suddenly came alive!

    All the members of this dormitory are music students.

    These days, many music students are fans of Xian Yu.

    The four people in this dormitory were no exception.

    Very soon.

    All four were huddled around the computer screen.

    "At seven o''clock on September 30th, we will drive through Su City to attend a wedding..."

    The beginning of the music video.

    No background music.

    With a sequence of frames, Xian Yu appeared in front of the camera, starting the music video with a mysterious revelation.

    ...

    With this opening, the four students started whispering among themselves:

    "Attending a wedding?"

    "Isn''t that today''s gossip?"

    "I was wondering who had such clout to get the entire Yu Dynasty to appear at a wedding, turns out it''s because the Yu Dynasty is filming a music video."

    "There''s the music."

    The four paused their conversation, ready to listen to the song attentively.

    However, when the singing started, they couldn''t help but be drawn to the visuals, momentarily forgetting to savor the strong rhythm of the music in their ears.

    Unlike the lengthy filming process.

    The music video''s pacing is very fast after editing.

    Cars had just set off when the scene switched to the inside of a hotel.

    Starlight''s staff began setting up the backdrop.

    Guests looked on curiously.

    The bride and groom looked utterly confused.

    Some hotel staff tried to intervene but were stopped by Ol'' Zhou.

    Several scenes were shot in one go.

    Meanwhile.

    The Yu Dynasty entered the hotel lobby through the kitchen.

    The head chef''s reaction even got a few seconds of screen time.

    "What is this..."

    "A wedding crash?"

    "These people had no idea the Yu Dynasty was coming? The chef''s reaction is hilarious!"

    "This move is so slick!"

    Finally, the music video''s backdrop was set.

    The purpose of the Yu Dynasty was now very clear!

    The four in the dorm looked at each other!

    They almost simultaneously saw the anticipation in each other''s eyes!

    Despite knowing that the Yu Dynasty''s entrance would shock everyone, a tremendous sense of anticipation surged in all four of them at the same time!

    This was one of the remarkable aspects of this music video!

    Anyone who saw this part would be filled with immense anticipation!

    ...

    Finally, the Yu Dynasty moved behind the white backdrop.

    The guests stopped peering, holding glasses of wine, chatting in small groups throughout the room.

    The bride and groom were brought in front of the backdrop.

    Suddenly!

    The backdrop fell!

    The splendid lineup of the Yu Dynasty was suddenly exposed to everyone, with Xian Yu leading the front, looking incredibly cool!

    Sharp screams suddenly resounded across the venue!

    The bride''s reaction!

    The groom''s reaction!

    The reactions of everyone were precisely captured by the camera, in full view!

    At the same time!

    Xian Yu''s distinctly recognizable stunning falsetto suddenly brought the song to its climax, instantly igniting the atmosphere of the entire hall:

    "Sugar!!!"

    "Yes please!!!"

    "Won''t you come and put it down on me!!!"

    The climax arrived!

    A perfect timing!

    Classic vocal style, combined with the visuals of the music video, perfectly fulfilled everyone''s anticipation of the narrative!

    While the guests were either screaming or stunned.

    The four in the dorm were staring at the screen, overwhelmed by the burst of music!

    "Oh my gosh!!!"

    The male student in front of the computer was the first to exclaim, mirroring the reactions of the guests at the scene!

    "Cool!!!"

    "This song is so good!!!"

    "Oh, my God, I''m getting goosebumps, this visual combined with the song is absolutely soul-stirring!"

    The other three also exclaimed one after the other!

    In the video.

    Each singer of the Yu Dynasty was given a close-up.

    Each one of them was smiling, singing line by line:

    "Oh right here, cause I need

    Little love and little sympathy

    Yeah, you show me good loving, make it alright

    Need a little sweetness in my life..."

    Wow!

    So handsome!

    The entire hall had almost turned into a grand ball!

    The bride and groom kissed passionately!

    Mutters of awe and amazement intertwined, fiercely striking the hearts of the viewers!

    ¡­

    And just as the four of them exclaimed,

    in other dormitories across different dorm buildings, a series of exclamations could also be heard!

    "Amazing!"

    "I love the Yu Dynasty!"

    "This music video sounds so good!"

    "This song looks amazing!"

    "How could there be such cool creativity!"

    "Are these weddings real, are these events real, everyone''s reactions seem so genuine!"

    "It must be real, it was discussed online today, the Yu Dynasty just descended from the sky without any prior arrangement, this is the most spectacular music video I''ve ever seen!"

    "How can it be so romantic!"

    Clearly.

    There were also quite a few people in other dormitories watching the music video for "Sugar."

    The entire campus seemed to have been somewhat shaken!

    In fact.

    The October competition chart had started.

    Xian Yu was vying for the twelfth consecutive crown, how could attention be scarce?

    What happened on campus was merely an epitome, the same shock had already spread across the entire internet!

    ¡­

    Tribe.

    Netizens were extremely excited!

    In the music video,

    the Yu Dynasty had entered another wedding scene.

    The interactions along the way with passersby were another highlight, but the biggest highlight was still the wedding scene!

    It was the climax, the reactions of the live guests, the Yu Dynasty did not just attend one wedding!

    "This music video looks so good!"

    "The Yu Dynasty is really super warm!"

    "I can feel the bride''s happiness!"

    "If I saw this scene at my wedding, I''d probably faint from excitement!"

    "The moment the curtain opened, Fish Papa was truly stunning!"

    "The song fits the music video so well!"

    "I always said Fish Papa''s English songs are never unpleasant to hear!"

    "Even if I don''t understand, it doesn''t stop me from loving it!"

    "What''s there not to understand?"

    "Shave a coconut husk, yet you give a pear, isn''t that simple enough?"

    "Pfft."

    Shaving a coconut husk, really?

    This pun really does sound like it, and the more you listen, the more it sounds, absolutely addictive!

    ¡­

    Blog.

    The related topic exploded in no time!

    By then, the song had progressed to the halfway point, all the wedding scenes edited together!

    Scene by scene of wedding ceremonies!

    Pieces of curtains suddenly falling!

    Wedding halls boiling with excitement!

    The visuals and the song seemed to have created the most compatible mix, forming a subtle chemical reaction, affecting everyone who watched the video and listened to the song!

    "This song sounds too good!"

    "The creativity of this music video is stunning!"

    "The moment the curtain drops to welcome the climax of the song, a good song at the perfect moment makes me feel utterly exhilarating, this is definitely the most spectacular music video I''ve ever seen!"

    "Hahaha, the Yu Dynasty turned into a wedding planner!"

    "Yu Dynasty Wedding Planner, you deserve it!"

    "Fish Boss is skilled at business!"

    "This isn''t just any wedding planner, this is blatantly a mooching squad of seven!"

    "Hahahahaha, laughing so hard it hurts, the mooching seven-member squad, really acceptable!"

    "Ahhh, this makes me want to get married!"

    ¡­

    Singing!

    Dancing!

    Petals flying!

    Xian Yu bowed with his hands behind his back!

    The Yu Dynasty''s stunning entrance, the bride and groom''s surprises, and the sweetness almost spilling out of the screen, along with the reactions of the guests at these wedding scenes, had directly formed a sweet strike to the audience!

    They had never seen such a realistic music video!

    Every single wedding scene, without any trace of performance!

    Groom, bride, guests!

    All the reactions came genuinely from the heart!

    The Yu Dynasty''s luxurious lineup was also enough to cause such a stir at various wedding scenes!

    The lively style and catchy lyrics, coupled with this heartwarming music video.

    The entire song''s conveyed energy felt so comfortable!

    This song, this segment of the video, can be called the sweetest "scene crash" in history!

    And at the end of the song,

    there was the sound of clinking glasses.

    Xian Yu raised his glass high and said,

    "Here''s to all lovers finding their destiny!"

    Amid laughter, the video ended.

    However, eighty percent of the viewers almost instinctively clicked to replay it!

    Not just to listen to the song again!

    But more importantly, to watch this unprecedented music video another time!

    October!

    This night.

    Countless people were brainwashed by "shaving a coconut husk," repeating the song along with the video...

 Chapter 858 - 812: Ten Consecutive Crowns

    After dawn.

    The news came out!

    "Teacher Admirable Fish''s new song dominates October chart!"

    "Admirable Fish''s new song MV sparks hot debate among netizens!"

    "A realistic MV? Yu Dynasty''s new song pioneers a path in the music industry!"

    "Led by Admirable Fish, Yu Dynasty crashes multiple newlyweds'' weddings with new song!"

    "Yu Dynasty goes all out: Have you listened to this explosive English song?"

    "Do you know what ''shave a coconut husk'' means?"

    "..."

    Overnight, "Sugar" exploded!

    Yu Dynasty''s wedding crasher MV flooded countless social media circles.

    Countless people shared it!

    Even some video sites acquired the song and video rights.

    Even more miraculous was that the MV''s comment section had more activity than the song itself.

    Even the listeners in the comments were mostly talking about the MV:

    "I didn''t think the song was that good at first, just felt like a catchy pop tune, but paired with the MV it suddenly felt explosive, especially the climax part, when the white curtains fell, it was insanely cool, and the ''shave a coconut husk'' part is an epic misheard lyric!"

    "This MV somehow feels so satisfying, made me forget all my troubles!"

    "Madness: Yu Dynasty, to freeload food and drinks, actually crashed weddings to perform!"

    "Art imitates life and then transcends it, Yu Dynasty is so down-to-earth!"

    "Hit the jackpot, managing to drink at several wedding feasts in one day without giving a red packet, truly heavenly skill!"

    "Wedding guest: Who are these people? Never mind, scream first, so nobody calls me out of touch."

    "If this happened at my wedding, I''d be moved to tears!"

    "Just afraid that after the wedding ends the groom might find the bride gone ¡­"

    "Regarding the company''s lack of funds and having to perform at weddings (dog head)"

    ... S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Of course.

    With the song becoming a hit.

    It didn''t take long for some people to question the authenticity of the MV.

    However, not long after these doubts surfaced, many involved parties refuted these claims.

    They informed the public:

    Ninety-nine percent of the people at these weddings had no prior knowledge!

    At most weddings, only the groom or the parents of the newlyweds had been tipped off by Starlight and were aware of this surprise arrangement.

    This kind of thing isn''t hard to verify.

    After many media outlets conducted their investigations, things became even clearer.

    Several grooms and brides featured in the MV gave interviews to journalists, sharing their stories:

    "I was completely clueless, only my mom knew the truth. When Yu Dynasty appeared, I didn''t know what words to use to describe my emotions!"

    "I am so lucky, this wedding is something I will never forget for the rest of my life!"

    "Although it happened yesterday, it still feels as if it just took place, making me wonder if I''m living in a dream, my favorite Madam Haoyun blessed my marriage!"

    "The appearance of Teacher Admirable Fish made my wedding magical!"

    "This was the most wonderful wedding I''ve ever experienced!"

    The news from the last bride had a bit more information.

    I wonder how many weddings she''s had.

    Everyone could feel the happiness of the people involved.

    These proof-laden interviews provided an even more comfortable feeling for the netizens!

    If these videos were not genuine but staged, their charm would be greatly diminished.

    It might even make some people feel deceived, creating a subtle backlash.

    This is precisely why Starlight made sure to arrange everything with such care, avoiding hiring any actors.

    This was a full-scale outing by Yu Dynasty!

    Five A-list singers, and one Queen of Singing!

    Not to mention Admirable Fish himself leading the charge!

    This impressive lineup, appearing at any event, would undeniably cause a sensation!

    Why bother going to the trouble of hiring actors to perform?

    People didn''t need any rehearsals, nor did they need actors to prepare in advance, they could give the most genuine reactions right on the spot!

    ...

    In the industry.

    Professionals who were closely monitoring Xian Yu''s October seasonal chart were shocked by this song!

    There''s such a move?

    This Xian Yu, his savvy tactics for topping the charts, are simply endless!

    Especially this MV!

    The creativity is simply unbeatable!

    "Last month he relied on the popularity of ''Slam Dunk,'' and this month he''s directly using a wedding as a gimmick, these moves are perfect for generating momentum for topping the charts!"

    "This MV''s concept is something many top singers could learn from!"

    "Using celebrities'' real-life influence to shoot the MV makes the song itself more down-to-earth."

    This is an MV that has received high recognition within the industry!

    And it was this song, coupled with the intensely popular MV, that propelled "Sugar" to the top of the seasonal chart!

    Keep in mind,

    judging by its own quality, "Sugar" is actually just a superb pop song.

    With the collective effort of the Yu Dynasty, and a formidable popularity boost, this song might have hoped to top the charts, but there would still be some suspense.

    After all, it wasn''t a completely overpowering song.

    Moreover, the song ranked second this month was also not bad, created by a maestro.

    However, the impact of this MV was simply too grotesque, doubling the charm of the song!

    Just like how Mitsui Hisashi''s storyline gave a powerful boost to the song "Until The End Of The World."

    Before this,

    even when the kings and queens of the music industry released new works, they didn''t pay much attention to the MVs.

    After all, listeners tuned in for the songs, not so much for the MVs.

    Some didn''t even need an MV, just releasing the song was enough.

    Because what truly determines the song''s potential is the quality of the song itself.

    Now,

    Xian Yu has shown the industry what a kickass MV can add to a song!

    In the future, there will surely be more singers who place greater emphasis on MVs.

    And the chart-topping strategies brought forth by Xian Yu has inspired many to consider emulation.

    ...

    Lin Yuan indeed had the idea of using the MV to help the song top the chart.

    If it weren''t for this MV,

    he wouldn''t have chosen this song if he wanted to securely claim the top spot on this month''s seasonal chart.

    There were more dominant songs in his catalog.

    But with Ol'' Zhou''s daughter''s wedding as a lead-in, the appearance of this song was only natural.

    As for why the audience loved this MV so much?

    There were plenty of analysts.

    Some thought it was because the MV was shot in a way that felt authentic.

    Others felt the song conveyed a touching sense of beauty.

    There were also those who thought the story in the video was engaging¡ª

    from the very start it allowed everyone to step into the shoes of the Yu Dynasty, and the shock of seeing them appear at the wedding brought endless thrills to the audience.

    It matched the core routines of some feel-good stories.

    Perhaps all these reasons applied.

    Anyway, the song topped the October seasonal chart.

    Seasonal chart ten-time champion!

    Lin Yuan succeeded in clinching it!

    Even if his journey on the seasonal chart ended here, the impact he left on the industry was absolute; consecutively winning ten seasons'' number one titles during the merger of five continents was a monstrous achievement!

    But of course, Lin Yuan was not satisfied with just ending it here.

    With just the last two months left, he wanted to win all the way to the end!

    By the way,

    hadn''t Aunt Zheng mentioned that Lu Sheng would bring out a classical style song next month?

    "If he goes for the style of ''East Wind Breaks''..."

    Lin Yuan was muttering to himself when suddenly he drew a sketch on a piece of paper.

    If someone were by his side, they would surely recognize the object Lin Yuan was drawing:

    Blue and White Porcelain.

 Chapter 859 - 813: Crafting the King and Queen of Singing

    ```

    In the following days, nothing unexpected occurred.

    The season charts were still dominated by "Sugar".

    And as this advantage held for nearly a week, Xian Yu''s ten consecutive championships were virtually secured.

    If nothing unexpected happened, this first place was locked in.

    It''s worth mentioning that...

    As "Sugar" reached the top, Yu Dynasty profited once again.

    Although apart from Lin Yuan, the main vocalist, the six singers of Yu Dynasty merely rode on the coattails with an assist, who could deny the impressive response to the music video and its significant influence?

    All of these contribute to the popularity!

    You should know, for these singers who have been mixing in the top-tier for a long time, every step forward means they are one step closer to the position they yearn for day and night.

    King of Singing!

    Queen of Singing!

    This is the glory all singers dream of.

    Among the entire Yu Dynasty, including Lin Yuan, no one except for Jiang Kui has achieved the status of a second King or Queen of Singing.

    On the internet.

    People have already started discussing this matter.

    After Jiang Kui, who will be the second singer from Yu Dynasty to vie for the title of King or Queen of Singing?

    That day.

    In an office at Starlight.

    Lin Yuan happened to see this discussion online and couldn''t help but be moved.

    He clearly hadn''t forgotten that launching two Kings or Queens of Singing was also one of the standards to become a Maestro.

    After a brief moment of thought.

    Lin Yuan suddenly turned his head to look at his assistant, Gu Dong, who was watering the office plants, "There should be data references for how much more a singer needs to become a King or Queen of Singing, right?"

    "Yes."

    Gu Dong answered, "Considering several factors such as the singer''s popularity, the impact of their works, and their commercial value, we can draw a rough conclusion, although it''s just a rough estimate."

    "Help me analyze it."

    "I''ll make an analysis chart for you."

    Gu Dong spoke and then went out, carrying the computer to start the calculations.

    An hour later, Gu Dong handed a printed chart to Lin Yuan, "Actually, there are some similar things online for reference, but they''re not updated in time. I calculated the data of the singers from Yu Dynasty after the release of ''Sugar'', which is more accurate than what''s online."

    "You''ve worked hard."

    Lin Yuan said, as he started looking at the analysis chart.

    The analysis showed the data ranking of the singers from Yu Dynasty, excluding Jiang Kui. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Currently, the one closest to the status of King of Singing is Sun Yaohuo.

    Following that is Chen Zhiyu.

    The gap between Chen Zhiyu and Sun Yaohuo is not significant.

    After all, it''s all about the experience.

    He had become a top-tier singer when Sun Yaohuo and others had not even debuted.

    In third place was Wei Haoyun.

    Although Wei Haoyun''s singing style is different from the others, she has a following that appreciates this kind of style.

    However, style can be both a boon and a bane.

    Not everyone can appreciate Wei Haoyun''s powerful vocals.

    Zhao Ying Ge and Xia Fan rank at the bottom.

    Both are champions selected from "Bloom".

    Zhao Ying Ge, after all, debuted earlier than Xia Fan, so her data in various aspects is slightly higher.

    Of course.

    This is also related to the fact that Xia Fan has recently been subtly moving towards a career in film and television.

    ```

    Her singing career seemed to have stagnated somewhat as her focus shifted to film and television.

    It appeared that despite the signs of decline in male artists and a rise in female artists within Yu Dynasty, the most anticipated to reach the top were still the two male singers, Sun Yaohuo and Chen Zhiyu.

    "Everyone''s numbers have been climbing quite rapidly this year."

    Seeing that Lin Yuan had roughly finished looking over the analysis chart, Gu Dong said with a smile beside him:

    "Especially after the Bluelympics, where Yu Dynasty made their first appearance as a group image and sang the support songs for each continent at the Bluelympics, everyone''s numbers surged tremendously. Mr. Lin, your popularity to some extent also drove theirs. This is why the entertainment industry loves to curry favor with popular artists. If there''s an opportunity to collaborate with a popular artist, it can bring immense benefits for those with lower fame. Not to mention this time you all even shot such an imaginative music video."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Gu Dong''s words were easy to understand; simply put, it was about riding the wave of popularity.

    If we set aside the factor of talent, how can a newcomer be quickly promoted?

    It''s quite simple.

    In the film and television circle, you can have the person play an important role, acting alongside big names.

    The same goes for.

    In the music industry, you can have them work with an ace composer or even Maestro, or they can collaborate with some kings and queens of singing, such as duets.

    This is basically the standard method for promoting new artists in the entertainment industry.

    For the more famous party, there is essentially no benefit to this; for the less famous, the benefits are substantial.

    The relationship between Yu Dynasty and Xian Yu follows this principle.

    This group of singers became popular by riding on countless tailwinds from Xian Yu, which is an undeniable fact.

    Just like crashing the wedding this time.

    Without Xian Yu leading, the impact of this music video would have been greatly reduced.

    After all, Xian Yu''s popularity is truly terrifying. He is the soul of this team.

    Of course.

    Yu Dynasty also provided Lin Yuan with some popularity.

    It''s just that Lin Yuan was not keen on monetizing his popularity in commercial terms.

    That being said.

    When Lin Yuan was not around, the singers of Yu Dynasty were also developing on their own.

    The sporadic songs Lin Yuan put out, resembling toothpaste squeezed out bit by bit, were not enough to sustain their popularity.

    There were simply not enough songs to go around for such a large team.

    And for artists, popularity is not something that only goes up; if they are quiet for too long, their numbers will also drop, so they also sing songs from other composers.

    Xia Fan even quietly started getting involved in film and television.

    From the current situation, everyone seems to be doing quite well developing on their own.

    "Speaking of enthusiasm, Sun Yaohuo is the highest. He even held several small concerts this year and participated in all sorts of events. Additionally, he''s been very active in charity work, and judging from online reports, he must have donated quite a chunk of money. All these have added to his popularity; otherwise, his numbers wouldn''t be a notch above Chen Zhiyu, who on the other hand is..."

    Gu Dong shared some personal development of the singers with Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan, being preoccupied with managing three different personas, wasn''t very clear about everyone''s individual progress.

    After hearing Gu Dong''s words, Lin Yuan seemed pensive.

    He now regarded Yu Dynasty as his closest ally and naturally hoped that everyone could develop better.

    To know that Yu Dynasty was now not just relying on Lin Yuan for a boost, they could even provide some support to Lin Yuan.

    Take this "Sugar" for example.

    Without the collective effort of Yu Dynasty, Lin Yuan alone would not have been able to create such a great atmosphere.

    This reinforced a resolve in Lin Yuan''s heart:

    He wanted to mold every member of Yu Dynasty into Kings and Queens of Singing!

    Before that, there would be no change to the lineup of Yu Dynasty.

    Jiang Kui was just the beginning.

    The next King or Queen of Singing was...

    Lin Yuan''s gaze began to wander over the data analysis chart of Yu Dynasty''s singers.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: This transitional chapter is to sort out the situation of Yu Dynasty and also to go back and revise Sun Yaohuo''s King of Singing task time limit, which won''t affect everyone''s reading experience. By the way, a question that might have a more unified answer: Which of the Yu Dynasty singers do you all favor more?

 Chapter 860 - 814: Yuan Style Involution

    Alright.

    As for whom Yu Dynasty should promote as the next King of Singing or queen, Lin Yuan already had an answer in mind.

    His gaze seemed to roam, but in reality, he was just thinking about which song to use to boost someone''s popularity.

    Some time later,

    Gu Dong, who was tidying up nearby, suddenly asked,

    "Mr. Lin, are you having lunch in the company?"

    "What time is it?"

    "It''s eleven thirty."

    "Then let''s go eat together."

    Lin Yuan stood up, feeling hungry as well.

    "Is Mr. Lin treating?" S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Thank you, Mr. Lin!"

    Gu Dong showed a happy smile.

    Lin Yuan dined in the executive canteen, where the food tasted even better than outside restaurants, which she normally couldn''t enter.

    Soon, the two arrived at the canteen.

    After the food was prepared, Lin Yuan hadn''t yet started eating when suddenly a piece of music reached his ears:

    "Just crossed a few mountains, captured a few demons..."

    It was the theme song from the fourth season of Journey to the West, "The Broad and Wide Avenue to Heaven."

    Looking up,

    Lin Yuan saw that the company canteen''s TV was playing Journey to the West.

    An adjacent shareholder said with a smile, "So the executive canteen is also showing Journey to the West. My dad follows each season closely; his favorite is this theme song. However, personally, I prefer the song ''Love of a Daughter'' that appears in the Women''s Kingdom segment. The song Mr. Lin wrote is so beautiful!"

    The series started airing at the end of March this year, spanning four seasons.

    A new season was released every two months.

    It was now October, aligning with the broadcast of the fourth season.

    The song "Love of a Daughter" that Jiang Kui mentioned was actually from the third season.

    "The Broad and Wide Avenue to Heaven" and other related songs also appeared in the third season.

    These songs were naturally also penned by Lin Yuan.

    However, most of these songs only entered the seasonal charts midway through the month, ranking inconsistently.

    Lin Yuan didn''t pay too much attention to it.

    After all, one can''t always deliberately adjust the broadcast timing of film or animation just to achieve a good ranking on the seasonal list.

    Fortunately, the reception for these songs was fantastic.

    Just like the overwhelmingly positive reputation for the production quality of Journey to the West.

    By the fourth season, Journey to the West consistently scored above nine on the Starry Sky Network''s ratings every quarter.

    Music, plot, special effects...

    Everything was endlessly praised by the audience!

    This achievement could be considered the most successful film and television series in terms of reputation and viewership in recent years.

    The only downside to the entire series was the slow pace of cost recovery, after all, the investment was too high.

    "It looks like the Journey to the West series is going to conclude next month."

    Lin Yuan spoke.

    The series had made an enormous contribution to promoting the Journey to the West IP.

    Lin Yuan''s expectations were met.

    Now, Journey to the West had amassed a terrifying number of fans in the lands of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han.

    Sun Wukong''s popularity had soared to frightening heights, making him arguably the most popular mythological figure.

    This character''s influence even surpassed that of the lead in The Legend of Erlang Shen, Yang Jian!

    From this perspective, Lin Yuan''s scripted Journey to the West achieved unprecedented success!

    "Yes."

    Gu Dong, beside him, said with a smile, "The company contacted us a while back, saying they wanted to create an animated version of Journey to the West. Seeing the popularity of the TV series, I bet the animation will perform well too."

    Lin Yuan nodded his head.

    The chairman himself had personally informed Lin Yuan, making an animation for Journey to the West was inevitable.

    This was also to promote Journey to the West more vigorously.

    ...

    After finishing lunch.

    Lin Yuan had not been back in the office for long when he suddenly heard some noise outside.

    "Ms. Zhao?"

    Lin Yuan looked at the visitor in surprise.

    Zhao Jue smiled and said, "I''m here to bother you again."

    "Not at all, please have a seat."

    Lin Yuan invited Zhao Jue to sit down while Gu Dong skillfully prepared the tea.

    In Lin Yuan''s office, if nothing else was guaranteed, it was that every drawer and cabinet was crammed with various types of tea leaves.

    The company rumor was that Xian Yu had looted all these teas from the chairman.

    "I''m here because I have something to discuss."

    Zhao Jue looked at Lin Yuan, "You must know that ''Journey to the West'' is going to end next month, right?"

    "Mhm."

    Lin Yuan said, "I even watched an episode at the canteen during lunch."

    Zhao Jue laughed, "The chairman ordered that the canteen can only show our company''s productions at lunch, and the only one that everyone never tires of watching is ''Journey to the West''. Some time ago they did broadcast ''Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange'', which caused quite a protest. Everyone said that the drama made it impossible to eat."

    "Pfft."

    Gu Dong, who was nearby, couldn''t help but laugh out loud and then quickly apologized before slipping quietly out of the office.

    Lin Yuan often ate in the canteen, so of course, he knew about this, but he never thought there was anything wrong with it.

    It''s a martial arts fantasy, after all. How could there be no deaths?

    He took a sip of tea.

    Finally, Zhao Jue revealed the reason for her visit:

    "I came here to talk to you about ''Journey to the West.'' The TV series has been so successful that our TV department wants to create spin-off scripts for some of the significant characters of ''Journey to the West'', but we need the authorization from the original author, Chu Kuang. I''ve heard that this was also part of your post-production plan for investing so much in the ''Journey to the West'' TV series, so I believe you can understand."

    "Spin-off scripts for ''Journey to the West'' characters?"

    Lin Yuan was taken aback momentarily but then nodded, "Indeed, I''ve had this idea. Do you guys have a script? If you do, my friend needs to see it first to check the quality. If the quality is up to standard, then of course there''s no issue."

    "We haven''t started writing the script yet..."

    Zhao Jue said somewhat embarrassedly, "But we''ve already set our sights on a target and are trying to get in touch with him!"

    Lin Yuan: "Who?"

    Zhao Jue: "You must have heard of this person, the author of the ''Journey to the West'' fanfic ''The Legend of Wukong'', Yi An!"

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    Finding oneself in a conflict of interest?

    Yi An didn''t notice the subtle look on Lin Yuan''s face. She seemed quite excited, "Yi An is really amazing. ''The Legend of Wukong'' is so well written, which is why we want to invite him to write an exclusive TV series for Sun Wukong to try. The TV department has already reached out to him on the blog, and if successful, I mean if the script quality passes, I hope you can discuss it with Chu Kuang then. You''re the one who has the most influence with him; Chu Kuang might not give Yi An face, but it''s impossible for him not to give you face."

    Face?

    Lin Yuan''s expression became even more peculiar.

    If one were to disregard Yi An''s relationship with himself, Zhao Jue''s idea wasn''t exactly whimsical.

    In his past life.

    Zhou Xingchi made a movie called ''Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons''.

    He had also collaborated with ''The Legend of Wukong'' author Jinhezai on the script.

    The difference was, that was a movie, and Zhao Jue wanted to work on a TV series.

    Should he agree?

    After pondering for a bit, an idea suddenly flashed through Lin Yuan''s mind.

    This seems like a rather good idea?

    It would be natural for the company to get in touch with Yi An while completely distancing himself from the matter.

    The only thing was the identity of Yi An!

    An identity that Lin Yuan absolutely wouldn''t reveal to anyone.

    For convenience in his work, only Jin Mu knew of this pseudonym''s existence.

    You know why.

    As for the spin-off TV series for the ''Journey to the West'' characters?

    With so many characters in ''Journey to the West'', it doesn''t necessarily have to be about Sun Wukong''s story!

    After all, Lin Yuan''s head was filled with plenty of stories to choose from.

    At that thought.

    Lin Yuan spoke up, "Then you guys first get in touch with Yi An; I will take care of Chu Kuang."

    Oh boy.

    Look at the mess he''s caused.

    After all this roundabout, it was still all up to him.

    Xian Yu was himself; Chu Kuang was also himself; Yi An, even more, was himself¡ª

    The ultimate in internal strife.

    Bring on the struggle.

    Let''s just go for it.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Everyone, take a guess at which ''Journey to the West'' character is getting their own spin-off TV series?

 Chapter 861 - 815: A Warm and Heartwarming Healing Story

    After Zhao Jue had left, Lin Yuan quickly booted up the computer and logged into Yi An''s account.

    He opened the private messaging backend.

    As expected, among the countless private messages, Lin Yuan saw a message bearing the Starlight company''s logo:

    "Hello, Teacher Yi An, I am Miao Feng, the deputy director of the television department at Starlight. I apologize for the intrusion but would like to invite you to collaborate with our company!"

    Zhao Jue had indeed sent someone to contact Yi An.

    Lin Yuan prepared to type a reply, but just as he was about to type, he put his hands down again.

    He needed to be cautious.

    After an entire hour, Lin Yuan reopened the chat box and replied, knowing full well what he was asking:

    "How to collaborate?"

    "We really appreciate your ''The Legend of Wukong'' and would like to invite you to write an independent TV script for the character of Sun Wukong. The authorization of the original ''Journey to the West'' will be communicated by our company and Teacher Chu Kuang, and we won''t disappoint you with the compensation (grin)."

    The reply came very quickly.

    Lin Yuan typed: "I won''t write about the monkey anymore."

    The other party was stunned for several seconds before replying: "May I ask if there''s any problem on your end? Our company will do our best to resolve it!"

    "I want to write about another character."

    "Who?"

    Lin Yuan typed two characters.

    The other party sent a string of ellipses.

    A moment later.

    The two of them communicated further.

    After communicating for ten minutes, the other party typed reluctantly: "I need to discuss this with our leader."

    Lin Yuan did not reply further.

    ...

    Meanwhile.

    Zhao Jue returned to the television department and was dealing with some work in his office when suddenly he heard the deputy director knocking on the door:

    "Director, we have made contact with Yi An!"

    Yi An has been contacted?

    Zhao Jue became somewhat excited! S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Yi An''s contact details had been extremely difficult to find.

    Zhao Jue had exhausted a great deal of effort without finding a way. In the end, he had to let the deputy director contact him through a blog private message, and it took many days for the other party to finally see it.

    "What did the other side say? Did they agree?"

    Zhao Jue couldn''t wait to ask the deputy director.

    The deputy director smiled wryly: "They agreed, but he doesn''t plan to write the story of Sun Wukong."

    "Then whose story?"

    Zhao Jue was stunned for a moment, then he quickly said: "Whether it''s Sun Wukong, Tang Monk, or even the story of Zhu Bajie, I can accept it."

    "None of those, he wants to write about Yang Jian!"

    "Who?"

    Zhao Jue thought he had heard wrong.

    "Yang Jian!"

    "Is he trying to sabotage this?"

    Zhao Jue''s expression collapsed. Who in Blue Star didn''t know that Yang Jian was the protagonist of The Primordial Chaos?

    The deputy director understood Zhao Jue''s feelings.

    He had reacted the same way initially: "Yi An explained that Erlang Shen Yang Jian is also a character in our ''Journey to the West.'' His thought process was based on the Yang Jian portrayed in our ''Journey to the West'' TV series by actor Liu Zhengwen."

    Zhao Jue was speechless.

    He almost forgot Yang Jian was also in Journey to the West.

    However...

    Although Yang Jian was in Journey to the West, except for the earth-shattering battle representing Heavenly Court against Sun Wukong in the early stages, the character doesn''t get much development.

    It''s an undeniable fact:

    Even though Journey to the West currently outshines The Primordial Chaos in popularity, when people think of Erlang Shen Yang Jian, their first thought is still of The Primordial Chaos, not Journey to the West.

    "What do you say?"

    The deputy director waited for Zhao Jue''s decision.

    Zhao Jue gritted his teeth: "Let him give it a try. If the script is bad, it''s a dud, but if the script is good enough, it''s not unacceptable. Who decreed that Yang Jian is exclusively theirs from The Primordial Chaos? The image of Erlang Shen predates The Primordial Chaos by countless years!"

    "Okay!"

    The deputy director nodded strongly: "I''ll go tell them right away!"

    ...

    The scene returns to Lin Yuan''s office.

    Seeing Miao Feng''s reply from the Starlight TV department, Lin Yuan smiled.

    That''s right!

    The character Lin Yuan wanted to write about was Yang Jian!

    In fact, his memory did not contain any independent stories about Yang Jian.

    However, the script library in the System had a TV show called ''The Magic Lotus Lantern''!

    This show had extensive content about Yang Jian!

    And this show had also spawned an extremely classic fan fiction.

    Its name: ''Everlasting Regret''!

    This novel, based on ''The Magic Lotus Lantern'' with Yang Jian as its main character, had triggered countless readers to tears after its publication!

    Tragic!

    Heart-wrenching to the core!

    After watching "Everlasting Regret," the vast majority of people felt deep sympathy for Yang Jian.

    Some even fell completely in love with the character of Yang Jian because of this fan fiction.

    Yet, this fan fiction basically did not violate the settings of "The Lotus Lantern."

    In fact, the fanfic still unfolds from Chenxiang''s perspective, merely centering on Yang Jian and restoring the drama from the TV series.

    Now.

    Lin Yuan plans to launch "Journey to the West?The Lotus Lantern?Everlasting Regret"!

    As the name suggests.

    It aims to blend the backdrop of Journey to the West, weave together "The Lotus Lantern" and the fanfic about Yang Jian, creating a story that highlights the image of Yang Jian.

    Yes, combining Journey to the West.

    As the first TV drama featuring an independent character, the background of Journey to the West definitely can''t be lost.

    This connection benefits both the TV drama of the stand-alone character and Journey to the West itself.

    It makes the outside world steadfastly believe,

    This Yang Jian is the same one from "Journey to the West" who battled fiercely with Sun Wukong!

    Fortunately, the story of Chenxiang and Yang Jian doesn''t contradict the setting of Journey to the West too much, making it easy for Lin Yuan to adjust in the script.

    As for why not choose other characters?

    Because this is the first fan fiction derived from "Journey to the West."

    Lin Yuan wants to make the first fanfic of Journey to the West achieve a sensational effect!

    And Yang Jian, as an extremely popular celestial being amongst Blue Starian audiences, inherently has a topical nature.

    With another heart-wrenching story popping up, the effect should not be too bad.

    Lin Yuan has figured it out.

    The audience on Blue Star, they love things that are crushing.

    Otherwise, why are the ratings for "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange" so high?

    Why is the reputation of "Hachiko" so explosive?

    They''re just verbally harsh, but actually, their bodies are sincere.

    Such people are colloquially known as tsunderes in anime.

    Since the audience enjoys this, Lin Yuan will definitely cater to their tastes.

    Life is too heavy.

    Everyone needs healing.

    And when it comes to healing, is there a story more healing than "Everlasting Regret"?

    That''s joyously decided.

    "System, add..."

    "Customize ''The Lotus Lantern''!"

    "Customize ''Everlasting Regret''!"

    Lin Yuan adeptly spent his money.

    Ding-dong.

    The System appeared, and although it was still the mechanical sound of an electric current, Lin Yuan always felt that the System''s voice sounded somewhat excited today:

    "Reporting to the host!"

    "The script ''The Lotus Lantern'' has been successfully customized!"

    "The script ''Everlasting Regret'' has been successfully customized!!!"

    Swipe!

    In an instant.

    Details of "The Lotus Lantern" story filled Lin Yuan''s mind.

    This was akin to quantum reading technology; Lin Yuan could instantly finish reading the script of "The Lotus Lantern."

    "Not bad."

    Lin Yuan nodded in satisfaction.

    Immediately afterward.

    The successfully customized script of "Everlasting Regret" also appeared in Lin Yuan''s mind.

    One second.

    Two seconds.

    Three seconds.

    Lin Yuan''s eyes suddenly reddened.

    Even though he had mentally prepared himself, he was still unexpectedly healed by it.

    This was too intense!

    Gu Dong, who came in to add tea for Lin Yuan, was startled by Lin Yuan''s almost crying appearance and exclaimed,

    "Mr. Lin, what''s wrong?"

    "I read a heartwarming story and got healed by it."

    "What story, let me check it out too!"

    "No rush, this time no one''s getting away!"

    As Gu Dong looked at him baffled, Lin Yuan said this.

    He forcibly held back his tears and then adeptly opened a computer document.

    It can''t just be me crying!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Damn, someone guessed it, forced to write a book review.

 Chapter 862 - 816: The Director Has Gone Mad

    Writing a screenplay does require some time, especially for a TV drama, but fortunately, Lin Yuan had already decided on the chart-topping song to be released next month, so there wasn''t much else to worry about. As long as he had nothing else to do, he would just tap away on the keyboard in the company or his studio.

    The first episode...

    The second episode...

    The third episode...

    The speed of completing this TV script was very fast, especially since it heavily incorporated the original plot of "The Legend of the Magic Lamp" in the early stages.

    Lin Yuan hardly needed to make many adjustments.

    He planned for the entire series to be around thirty episodes.

    About fifteen episodes for the first half of the TV drama. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    He wanted to present the story from the original TV version of "The Legend of the Magic Lamp" and through Chenxiang''s perspective.

    The audience would also initially adopt this perspective.

    And from the perspective of Chenxiang,

    Erlang Shen, Yang Jian, was undoubtedly the Heavenly Court''s lapdog, a major villain who hindered the protagonist from saving his mother and persecuted his own sister by all means.

    The perspective in the latter half would shift to Yang Jian.

    Rooted in the plot of "Everlasting Regret," a complete reversal would unfold.

    Plot holes from the early stages would be filled in the latter half of the story.

    The story was compact, and Lin Yuan directly shortened or even deleted some meaningless filler episodes.

    About thirty episodes were just right for finishing this story.

    And such a screenplay, Lin Yuan had completed it within just a week.

    Had he been willing to spend on the System to use the Energy Potion, he could have finished even faster, but Lin Yuan wasn''t in a rush, so he didn''t employ any special methods to speed up the process.

    A week later.

    One evening, after work.

    Upon returning home, Lin Yuan sent the script for "The Legend of the Magic Lamp" to Starlight TV drama department''s contact, Miao Feng, under the name Yi An.

    That''s right.

    The title Lin Yuan chose for the drama was simply "The Legend of the Magic Lamp."

    After all, this story originated from the mythology drama produced by Celestial Dynasty''s central television, so Lin Yuan didn''t go for any bizarre names.

    On the blog.

    Miao Feng, who received the script, exclaimed in surprise:

    "Teacher Yi''an finished it so soon (shocked)?"

    "The story was prepared in advance, and it just so happened you sent an invitation."

    "I see, but I thought you wrote novels, I didn''t expect a script to come directly..."

    "I have some experience in this area."

    Lin Yuan responded smoothly, as all his excuses had been thought through in advance.

    After all, the other party couldn''t verify Yi An''s information, so he could make up anything he wanted.

    Moreover, he wasn''t talking nonsense.

    Lin Yuan''s experience in scriptwriting was indeed quite extensive; this was as if his alter egos, Shadow, Chu Kuang, or even Yi An, could write scripts.

    It seems this Yi An might also be an insider!

    Miao Feng pondered thoughtfully and then cautiously tried:

    "How about we exchange phone numbers?"

    Lin Yuan replied: "Let''s just use the blog''s private messaging; we''re friends there after all."

    The other party had no choice but to give up, guessing that Yi An didn''t like to be disturbed.

    Speaking of which,

    The outside world didn''t even know whether Yi An was male or female.

    But this was irrelevant to Starlight''s needs, and Miao Feng didn''t dare to ask too abruptly.

    ...

    Closing the blog,

    Lin Yuan went downstairs for dinner.

    Lin Xuan looked at her brother: "Where''s Big Yaoyao?"

    Lin Yuan, too lazy to go upstairs and call, turned his head and signaled Antarctica with a glance.

    Understanding, Antarctica swiftly ran upstairs to call Big Yaoyao down for dinner.

    Their mother frowned:

    "Recently she''s always locking herself in her room, I don''t know what she''s up to."

    "She just graduated; playing at home for a few months isn''t a problem,"

    Lin Xuan said with a smile.

    After graduation, Big Yaoyao had not gone out to look for work, but the family was not pressing her; after all, there was no need for her to go out and earn money to supplement the family''s income.

    Soon afterward,

    her sister was called down by Antarctica.

    Lin Xuan was curious: "What have you been up to upstairs?"

    Lin Yao said: "Studying."

    Their mother was puzzled: "Didn''t you graduate already?"

    Big Yaoyao said earnestly: "Learning never ends."

    Seeing the strange expressions on her family''s faces, Big Yaoyao explained: "I''ve been spending money on online courses recently, learning video editing techniques."

    "Video editing?"

    Her older sister realized: "No wonder you specifically asked me to buy you a camcorder the other day, are you planning to make short videos and stuff?"

    A few days earlier,

    Big Yaoyao had asked her sister for a camcorder.

    Her sister helped buy it, yet did not know what her younger sister needed it for.

    "Yeah."

    Big Yaoyao said: "It is related to my major, mainly about artistic composition and the like, but there is much more I need to learn slowly; it''s quite a deep field."

    "Not bad!"

    Her sister seemed very interested: "Help your sister make some videos someday, get them nice and pretty, and with your sister''s looks, maybe you can even become an internet sensation overnight!"

    "Okay,"

    Lin Yao nodded.

    Their mother asked curiously: "Is what you''re doing similar to the short videos I usually scroll through?"

    "It''s that kind of thing."

    Her sister laughed: "Scrolling through short videos is definitely one of the most popular forms of entertainment for modern people, even our mom likes to browse them when she''s free, accidentally spending hours on it. Some talented short video creators have even become internet stars, earning more than some celebrities!"

    Lin Yuan was eating his meal while listening on the side.

    He naturally understood the topic of his family''s discussion.

    Blue Star has many short video apps.

    Similar to Earth''s Kuaishou and TikTok.

    The most famous software seemed to be something called "Butterfly Short Video," which Lin Yuan would occasionally see Gu Dong scrolling through at the company.

    And as for his sister wanting to become a short video content creator, Lin Yuan had no objections, of course.

    Success or failure wasn''t that important.

    As long as the family was happy, that was all that mattered.

    Who knows, maybe he could even offer his sister some professional advice.

    ...

    The next day.

    After Lin Yuan got up, he checked Teacher Yi''an''s blog private messages:

    "Teacher Yi''an, we have already reviewed your script, and the company is very satisfied and has decided to invest in its production!"

    "All right."

    This response did not surprise Lin Yuan.

    If the company didn''t like the script, Lin Yuan would have to consider having a talk with the chairman or Ms. Zhao about whether some people in the TV department had a problem with their vision.

    After all, he was also a shareholder of the company and had to think about the company''s best interests.

    After chatting a few more sentences with the other party, Lin Yuan went to the company.

    Before long, Zhao Jue arrived, accompanied by a middle-aged man.

    "Mr. Lin, hello!"

    The middle-aged man greeted him proactively.

    Zhao Jue smiled and said, "This is Director Ding Xiao; you know him."

    "Hmm, hello, Director Ding."

    Lin Yuan indeed recognized the man, who was the director of "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange."

    Lin Yuan had met him before.

    However, Lin Yuan found it strange, as Ding Xiao didn''t seem quite right.

    His hair was messy, apparently not combed before leaving the house, his eyes were bloodshot, yet he exuded an eerie fervor.

    "My apologies."

    Noticing Lin Yuan observing him, Ding Xiao quickly stood up and said, "I apologize for my appearance. It''s just that I stayed up all night reading Teacher Yi''an''s script, and I was so emotionally stirred that I rose early and hurried to the company. I wanted to make sure the company secures this script, so please, Mr. Lin, do talk to Teacher Chu Kuang!"

    Indeed, Ding Xiao had spent the entire night absorbed in "Lotus Lantern."

    He hadn''t found anything wrong with the earlier parts of the script, but upon reaching the latter twists, Ding Xiao went completely mad!

    It was a feeling he still couldn''t forget!

    "Okay."

    It seemed that the company wanted Ding Xiao to direct "Lotus Lantern."

    Considering the shooting quality of "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange," Lin Yuan thought highly of Ding Xiao''s directing ability, so he nodded and said:

    "Leave it to me."

    "Thank you for this; here''s the script."

    Zhao Jue handed the printed script to Lin Yuan: "Please have Teacher Chu Kuang take a look. If things go smoothly on his end, we plan to continue casting Liu Zhengwen as Yang Jian, since this is a derivative work of ''Journey to the West,'' and using the original cast will maximize the popularity boost from ''Journey to the West.''

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan accepted the script, though he was the one who wrote it and didn''t need to read it again, nor did he want to.

    "We''re really counting on you for this, Mr. Lin!"

    Ding Xiao still seemed somewhat excited on the side: "I''ve been making TV dramas for so many years, and it wasn''t until ''Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange'' became a hit that I truly understood what the audience loves to watch. They like heart-wrenching content, and we creators don''t need to worry about their tolerance. Only by strongly stimulating them can their reactions be even more passionate. And Teacher Yi''an''s script has grasped this point exactly. My biggest regret now is not killing off Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange at the end of the last drama. That would have been truly divine. What a pity, it''s such a pity!"

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    Should he say great minds think alike?

    No, that''s not right.

    Watching Ding Xiao beating his chest and stomping his feet, Lin Yuan felt a chill in his heart.

    What grievance did he have against the audience?

    This was a real devil!

    Ding Xiao had clearly become obsessed, embarking on a path of sheer madness.

    It was as if ''Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange'' had opened a new door in his life?

    Whether this was good or bad, who knew.

    But Lin Yuan was confident about such a director taking on "Lotus Lantern."

    Zhao Jue, on the other hand, was speechless for a moment.

    She didn''t know what the plot of "Lotus Lantern" was like; too busy with work to read it, and even if she did, she wouldn''t have as accurate a judgment as the professionals¡ª

    As a leader, she wouldn''t interfere in professional matters lightly, avoiding the mistake of a layperson directing an expert.

    Ding Xiao certainly knew better than she did.

    However, she could glean something from Ding Xiao''s reaction.

    When she arrived at the office that morning, she saw Ding Xiao waiting for her in her office.

    He was in even worse shape than now, clenching the script tightly, looking insane, and mumbling under his breath:

    "You''ll regret it!"

    "Tremble!"

    "You must all die!"

    At that moment, Zhao Jue knew, this director had gone crazy.

    Perhaps this script was even more ferocious and deranged than "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange"?

    But that wasn''t a bad thing.

    What the audience had to endure was outside of Zhao Jue''s consideration.

    As long as the drama was a hit, that''s all that mattered.

    When "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange" was broadcast, how many viewers cursed? Yet Zhao Jue watched with great enjoyment.

    Because that meant the company''s drama was a hit!

    She even planned to enjoy watching "Lotus Lantern" when it aired.

    The more intense the audience''s reaction, the happier Zhao Jue would be!

    A script that could drive Ding Xiao to such fervor, the very thought excited her!

 Chapter 863 - 817: Only Pity for Sister

    The subsequent events unfolded as expected.

    Chu Kuang "agreed to authorize."

    The TV series "The Lotus Lantern" was set up and would start filming soon.

    Because the series required post-production special effects, it couldn''t be shot and broadcast simultaneously.

    However, considering Blue Star''s filming speed, it probably wouldn''t take long to shoot all thirty episodes.

    This project was entrusted to the television department, and Lin Yuan didn''t interfere.

    He didn''t think that Ding Xiao, the director, needed his worry.

    This tough guy obviously had learned a lot under Chu Kuang, and getting Yi An''s script was like adding wings to a tiger, even with the possibility of surpassing the master.

    After dealing with these matters, it was four in the afternoon.

    Lin Yuan glanced at the time and felt he could call it a day.

    Gu Dong watched Lin Yuan leave without surprise.

    Leaving at four o''clock meant that Mr. Lin was already putting in a lot of effort.

    That evening, Starlight officially announced the project plan for "The Lotus Lantern."

    This was a standard operation for early publicity of a TV series.

    In the announcement, Starlight roughly outlined the details of "The Lotus Lantern":

    "The story of the series will revolve around Yang Jian and many other Journey to the West characters, with the original cast from the Journey to the West series returning to continue their roles. Teacher Liu Zhengwen will reprise his role as Erlang Shen, and preliminary agreements between both parties have been reached. This will be the first independent character series derived from Journey to the West, and Starlight plans to shoot more such independent series in the future. The screenwriter for this independent series will be the famous writer, Teacher Yi''an, the author of The Legend of Wukong..."

    Background of the story.

    Identity of the actors.

    Choice of the screenwriter.

    These key pieces of information quickly caught the attention of countless netizens!

    Especially since the final season of Journey to the West was currently a hit, this spin-off series was even more eye-catching!

    "A spin-off of the Journey to the West series?"

    "An independent series on the character Yang Jian?"

    "Liu Zhengwen''s portrayal of Yang Jian is really cool; no problem there. I''m looking forward to Starlight''s Journey to the West spin-off. The original cast is so exciting, I was just worrying about what to watch after Journey to the West ended!" S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "The screenwriter is Yi An?"

    "Starlight actually collaborated with Yi An!"

    "Who is Yi An?"

    "If I told you Yi An is a fan of Chu Kuang, would you roll your eyes?"

    "Haha, Teacher Yi An is the author of The Legend of Wukong and has written some poetry. If you''re interested, you can search for his work. He''s even contested in A Butterfly''s Love for a Flower with the old rascal, and he''s extremely talented!"

    "A TV series penned by Yi An, could it be another classic like The Legend of Wukong?"

    "Why not directly adapt Yi An''s The Legend of Wukong? I feel that''s a real classic!"

    "Although I would love to see The Legend of Wukong adapted into film or TV, that work really isn''t easy to shoot."

    Yi An''s popularity was still quite good at the time.

    Most netizens recognized him.

    Because Yi An had written The Legend of Wukong, fans of Journey to the West didn''t object to him as a screenwriter.

    However, while fans of Journey to the West had no objections, fans of The Primordial Chaos did.

    In fact.

    When they saw that Starlight was going to shoot a series related to Yang Jian, many fans of The Primordial Chaos were outraged!

    "Yang Jian?"

    "What a joke!"

    "Isn''t Yang Jian the main character of The Primordial Chaos?"

    "Why is Journey to the West stealing our protagonist from The Primordial Chaos!"

    "Sorry, but I only accept the Yang Jian from The Primordial Chaos as the true Yang Jian. The Yang Jian in Journey to the West has never showcased his true charm!"

    "Journey to the West sure has some nerve!"

    "The popularity of Journey to the West has already overshadowed The Primordial Chaos, and now they want to make our main character Yang Jian one of their own. Doesn''t everyone know that Yang Jian is the male lead in our Primordial Chaos!"

    "I agree with the view of a certain brother above; I only acknowledge The Primordial Chaos'' Yang Jian!"

    "Only recognize The Primordial Chaos'' Yang Jian, plus one!"

    ...

    Fans of The Primordial Chaos were indeed declining.

    If this controversy had arisen in the past, the thread would have easily reached 10086 posts.

    However, now, nearly half of The Primordial Chaos fans had switched sides to Journey to the West.

    It''s not that they had become complete devotees of Journey to the West, but at least they wouldn''t clash with fans of Journey to the West over The Primordial Chaos anymore.

    The remaining fans of The Primordial Chaos had just started to rant when they were immediately rebutted by fans of Journey to the West.

    "Yang Jian is the main character of The Primordial Chaos?"

    "Oh my goodness, do fans of The Primordial Chaos really believe that? No way, no way. Someone who has read a bit more would know that Yang Jian is a character from folklore and has never belonged exclusively to any one work!"

    "Only you guys from The Primordial Chaos can use Yang Jian as the protagonist?"

    "If Yang Jian were an original character from The Primordial Chaos series, then what Journey to the West is doing would indeed be wrong. But the thing is that Erlang Shen does not belong to The Primordial Chaos; it''s also based on folklore!"

    "Damn, I knew some fans of The Primordial Chaos would jump out and make a fuss, and I guessed right."

    "I quit the fandom because of some overzealous fans of The Primordial Chaos; isn''t Journey to the West delightful?"

    "..."

    When it came down to it, The Primordial Chaos had no leg to stand on.

    Many mythological characters have been used by countless works and have never been the exclusive property of any one storyline.

    The reason for fans of The Primordial Chaos being so radical was simple:

    The mythological character Yang Jian could become hugely popular, and this was indeed linked to The Primordial Chaos. Without The Primordial Chaos featuring Yang Jian as the male lead, he wouldn''t have the influence he has today.

    Many fans of The Primordial Chaos thus took pride in the ownership of Yang Jian.

    If this issue had surfaced back when Journey to the West had just been released, the combativeness of fans of The Primordial Chaos would have been off the charts. Sadly, times had changed, and now with the larger fan base of Journey to the West, the leaps and bounds of The Primordial Chaos fans were quickly suppressed.

    Some fans of The Primordial Chaos were infuriated and even claimed:

    "You use Yang Jian, then we''ll also use Sun Wukong to make a drama!"

    Unfortunately, this statement was met with even worse criticism.

    Because Sun Wukong and Yang Jian are not the same.

    Yang Jian is a mythological figure passed down through generations among the people.

    Whereas Sun Wukong is definitely an original creation from "Journey to the West".

    Before "Journey to the West," Blue Star didn''t know who Sun Wukong was!

    And before The Primordial Chaos, ancient people had already begun worshipping the image of Yang Jian!

    In other words,

    The Primordial Chaos couldn''t successfully sue Journey to the West for copyright infringement.

    But if The Primordial Chaos really used Sun Wukong, then Journey to the West would surely win a lawsuit.

    In the end, when they couldn''t win the argument, The Primordial Chaos fans became exasperated:

    "Fine, go ahead and shoot it!"

    "Let''s see what kind of crap you can make."

    "Don''t end up with the whole plot being our The Primordial Chaos style."

    "Yang Jian as a character has already been standardized by The Primordial Chaos plot; you won''t get the audience to accept a Yang Jian that goes against that."

    "It''s not just The Primordial Chaos fans who recognize The Primordial Chaos''s Yang Jian!"

    "So many Blue Starian viewers acknowledge The Primordial Chaos''s Yang Jian!"

    "If Starlight doesn''t get Yang Jian right, just wait for the backlash, and don''t say we The Primordial Chaos fans won''t accept it, even the general audience who watched The Primordial Chaos won''t accept it!"

    "..."

    Despite being exasperated, they did make a valid point.

    Due to the influence of The Primordial Chaos, the image of Yang Jian had already taken root in people''s hearts.

    If Journey to the West follows The Primordial Chaos''s footsteps in creating an independent series for Yang Jian, that definitely wouldn''t be proper;

    However, if Journey to the West doesn''t follow The Primordial Chaos''s portrayal of Yang Jian, the audience will surely face inertia in accepting it.

    This has to be acknowledged.

    Because what Yang Jian looks like and what he has experienced, everyone is familiar with him based on The Primordial Chaos''s plot.

    Even if The Primordial Chaos doesn''t entirely adhere to the folklore, its influence over many years is undeniable.

    ...

    In the television department of Starlight.

    Zhao Jue looked somewhat troubled.

    What was expected eventually arrived.

    When the company decided to shoot "Lotus Lantern," Zhao Jue had already guessed that The Primordial Chaos fans would be dissatisfied.

    It''s normal.

    The Primordial Chaos fans have regarded Yang Jian as their own property for many years.

    After all, he''s their leading man, how could they allow others to interfere?

    It''s only because Journey to the West is now more influential, and the fanbase of Journey to the West has surpassed that of The Primordial Chaos, that they''ve been able to suppress the protests from The Primordial Chaos fans.

    Yet the statement issued by The Primordial Chaos fans in their agitation was not without reason.

    Zhao Jue genuinely worried that the Yang Jian portrayed in "Lotus Lantern" might conflict too much with The Primordial Chaos''s Yang Jian.

    This kind of preconception is truly formidable.

    For example,

    If "Journey to the West" completely opened up its commercial rights and someone adapted Sun Wukong, but the resulting portrayal of Sun Wukong deviated greatly from the original, crafting a completely different personality, it would definitely cause discomfort among viewers, and they would find it difficult to accept.

    It might even provoke a wave of criticism!

    The same is true for Yang Jian.

    Although Yang Jian isn''t an original character from The Primordial Chaos, when you mention Erlang Shen, people do indeed immediately think of The Primordial Chaos'' protagonist.

    This fact has been undeniable from start to finish.

    "This is troublesome."

    Zhao Jue immediately shared her concerns with the director Ding Xiao, wanting to hear what suggestions he might have.

    "Has The Primordial Chaos fandom started?"

    Ding Xiao sneered, "Director Zhao, answer me one question first. In your opinion, do these fans of The Primordial Chaos love the show itself or the protagonist Yang Jian?"

    "Yang Jian."

    Zhao Jue replied without hesitation.

    She also watched The Primordial Chaos, and virtually everyone on Blue Star had seen it.

    Those who love The Primordial Chaos mostly adore Yang Jian just as those who love "Journey to the West" mostly adore Sun Wukong.

    "Then that settles it,"

    Ding Xiao snorted, "Since they like Yang Jian, that makes things easy. These people are all potential audience members for our drama because our Yang Jian won''t disappoint them. Although our Yang Jian is indeed quite different from The Primordial Chaos''s protagonist, and the difference is quite drastic."

    "Are you sure?"

    Zhao Jue frowned.

    This director was acting crazy now, his words as bloated as could be, it was hard to grasp what kind of charm Teacher Yi An''s script had to give him such immense confidence.

    "Heh, it seems that the number of The Primordial Chaos fans is going to decrease even further."

    Someday, all The Primordial Chaos fans will transform into the image of Journey to the West fans!

    As this thought flashed through his mind,

    Ding Xiao lifted the script in his hand, slightly raising his head and said,

    "Director Zhao, please rest assured. I, Ding Xiao, put my word down here. Before The Primordial Chaos fans watch ''Lotus Lantern,'' they will think that The Primordial Chaos''s Yang Jian is the most classic Yang Jian. After watching our drama..."

    "What will happen?"

    "They will only feel sorry for Weiwei."

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Got hooked on a drama today, sharing it with you all, "The Youth of the Great Song," it''s quite enticing.

 Chapter 864 - 818: Its Time to Counterattack the Tribe

    The next day.

    Lin Yuan didn''t go to the company after getting up, but went to his own Shadow Studio instead. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Luo Wei and the others were getting increasingly adept at drawing comics, and basically didn''t need Lin Yuan to worry about them. He only needed to give them some storyboards.

    He even started to draft the storyboards more casually.

    For example, the storyboard for Naruto he gave Luo Wei last month was simply stick figures, just a rough composition, but Luo Wei managed to perfect it.

    Lin Yuan was surprised himself.

    He had thought Luo Wei would ask him to redraw the storyboard.

    This led to Lin Yuan''s visits to the studio becoming much less frequent.

    However, this didn''t mean Lin Yuan wasn''t paying attention to his comics.

    From time to time, Jin Mu would report to him about the situation on the League''s comic website¡ª

    Which was different from before.

    With the unfolding plots of Dead Sea of Fire and Slam Dunk as well as the influence of the animations, these comics were becoming hotter and hotter!

    Now, the traffic of the entire League had been propped up!

    This rapidly rising new comic website was flourishing because of Shadow!

    Similarly.

    Due to the drive of these phenomenon-level comics, the League''s appeal in the industry was also increasing constantly!

    At present.

    The website had already cultivated some excellent comic artists on its own.

    Some mid-tier artists in the industry who were dissatisfied with the Tribe were gradually being absorbed into the embrace of the League.

    This resulted in the League and Tribe Comics'' traffic becoming very close to each other.

    Jin Mu spoke of this matter with some vigor:

    "If nothing unexpected happens, in at most half a year, our traffic will be on par with Tribe Comics!"

    "Still half a year?"

    "Do you think it''s still slow?"

    Jin Mu said with a wry smile, "You should know that our website started from scratch, whereas Tribe Comics had already attracted countless top-tier comic artists. It''s only recently that our site''s traffic has completely taken off, and the League has begun to attract some formidable comic artists. In the past, those powerful artists wouldn''t even consider sites other than Tribe when releasing new works. Moreover, Tribe would occasionally create obstacles, tripping us up. Otherwise, our current traffic would already be on par with theirs."

    "Tripping us up?"

    Lin Yuan asked, "What has Tribe done now?"

    Jin Mu said, "The same old tricks, poaching talent, stealing comic artists from our League. However, Han Jimei is not someone to be trifled with. She has set strict penalty clauses in the contracts for the comic artists, which has made the cost of Tribe''s poaching increasingly hefty. After all, Tribe Comics is just a sub-department of Tribe, and they don''t really have such deep pockets. So, they have almost stopped poaching from us lately. If they continue, they''ll be shooting themselves in the foot, as they have to consider the cost-effectiveness of these comic artists."

    "Why don''t we poach talent?"

    "Because we don''t have the money and backing they have."

    Jin Mu was unfazed: "But the pressure is on them. We just need to hold on. Looking at the current situation, I estimate that the League can catch up to their website traffic in half a year, and if it''s a year from now, it''s possible that our traffic will surpass theirs, becoming the comic website with the highest traffic in the industry!"

    That''s right.

    The League was playing defense now.

    Just like the final stages of a basketball game.

    The League didn''t need to chase points, as long as they ensured the opponent didn''t score, that would be enough.

    Because the pace and score were in the hands of the League, as long as they controlled the ball and dragged it out, they would win.

    The reason why Tribe was overpaying to poach talent was to find a way out with a frantic offensive; otherwise, what awaited them was a slow death.

    Seemingly powerful, they were in fact hollow inside.

    After all, the League''s pillar was Shadow, and unless Tribe could poach Shadow back, no matter how much they struggled, the outcome couldn''t be changed.

    "Just wait and see."

    Jin Mu sneered: "A year from now, it''ll be our turn to attack. At that time, the League will be the most attractive website in the industry. Whatever talents they have poached from us, we''ll eventually be able to poach back."

    Still, it was somewhat frustrating.

    After all, the League had been on the defensive all along, and they would have to continue to endure for another half a year to a year. Anyone would be annoyed by an opponent''s constant frantic offense without being able to fight back directly.

    "Why wait so long?"

    Lin Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Actually, we could poach their people too."

    Jin Mu immediately shook his head, "That would mean playing their game of offering inflated salaries to poach talent. We could do it, but I don''t feel it''s necessary."

    "No need for inflated offers."

    Lin Yuan said, "I have an idea."

    Lin Yuan wanted to fight back.

    Although his career had always been smooth sailing, Tribe had recently been obstructing Starlight''s work, and the company was being dragged down by him.

    The chairman supported Lin Yuan, so he never complained.

    However, Lin Yuan''s conscience wouldn''t allow him to take this for granted.

    He even suspected that Xia Fan losing his role had something to do with him.

    "What idea?"

    Jin Mu looked at Lin Yuan with curiosity.

    Without explaining, Lin Yuan just said, "Ask Han Jimei to contact the comic artists at Tribe, mainly the top-tier pure illustrators. Those should be the easiest to poach. Also reach out to other talented artists; have a chat with them. Who knows, maybe they''ll be willing to join us."

    Jin Mu was startled, "You really want to poach people?"

    "Why not?"

    Lin Yuan''s mind was filled with comics.

    He wouldn''t be able to finish them all in his lifetime.

    Even with the help of his studio''s apprentices, Lin Yuan couldn''t possibly reproduce all those classic comics.

    Under such circumstances, Lin Yuan had to think of another solution.

    And if this strategy succeeded, it would definitely crush Tribe in one fell swoop.

    "Could it be..."

    A thought flashed through his mind, Jin Mu suddenly widened his eyes, "Are you planning to supply comics to them all by yourself!?"

    If it had been earlier, Jin Mu would never have dared to guess such a thing.

    It was too preposterous!

    But after witnessing the rise of Lin Yuan leading Shadow Studio, Jin Mu had to consider the boldest possibilities!

    "Yes."

    Lin Yuan spoke.

    He had recently provided Luo Wei with the simplest stick figure storyboards, and Luo Wei was able to draw them so well.

    This showed that top-tier comic artists have very strong drawing and comprehension abilities.

    This gave Lin Yuan enough room to operate.

    For him, creating some "stick figure" storyboards was not a difficult task.

    Why not just wholesale stick figure storyboards, take those globally influential comics that weren''t top-tier but still had a huge impact, and hand them over to artists willing to join Tribe to work on!

    He believed that these comics would be attractive enough for many artists.

    Inflated prices?

    Nonexistent.

    The comics provided by Shadow would be the offer.

    "Can this really work?"

    Jin Mu''s heartbeat accelerated, "How many can you cover? There are already five people in our studio waiting for you to provide the plots..."

    "Try to pull in as many as possible."

    There''s no shortage of stick figures.

    Lin Yuan even suspected that some pure illustrators wouldn''t need his stick figures at all.

    If the plot is solid, everything else is negotiable; they could organize a beautiful storyboard presentation on their own.

    "Song of the Wind..."

    Lin Yuan said with a smile, "Tribe should..."

    Jin Mu suddenly interrupted him, "You''re making me feel all fired up, and I just turned on the electric fan."

 Chapter 865 - 819: I Am the Tribes Number One Loyalist

    Mid-October.

    The weather had cooled down.

    There was hardly any need for air conditioning or even a fan.

    That day.

    Tang Yi looked around furtively before guiltily sneaking into a club, as if afraid of being discovered.

    Don''t get the wrong idea.

    This wasn''t the White Horse Club.

    As a renowned female comic artist of the Tribe, Tang Yi didn''t indulge in the pleasures of the wealthy, although she herself was quite the elegant and wealthy woman.

    In fact, Tang Yi was here because of a friend''s invitation.

    And this friend of Tang Yi''s was none other than Han Jimei, the current arch-rival of Tribe Comics, the chief of the Alliance.

    This was the reason for Tang Yi''s surreptitious behavior.

    She was a comic artist from the Tribe, yet meeting privately with the chief of the Alliance was rather inappropriate.

    Even though no one around recognized her.

    In fact.

    If it hadn''t been for Han Jimei''s help at the beginning when she was with the Tribe, Tang Yi wouldn''t have even wanted to come today.

    After all, she had no immediate plans of switching to the Alliance.

    Yes.

    As soon as Han Jimei invited Tang Yi to meet, Tang Yi guessed that the other party might be trying to poach her for the Alliance.

    After all, it wasn''t the first time Han Jimei had extended an olive branch to her.

    When the Alliance was first established, Han Jimei had called her, inviting her to join the Alliance.

    Today, Tang Yi attended purely to make things clear to Han Jimei:

    No matter what terms were offered, she would not join the Alliance. There was no use in wasting time on her!

    Just because the Alliance was doing well now didn''t mean she should switch sides.

    What would that make her?

    Moreover, Tang Yi didn''t believe that the conditions offered by the Alliance could surpass what she received at the Tribe.

    Thinking this.

    Tang Yi entered a room that had been previously arranged.

    "Eh?"

    Upon entering the room, Tang Yi was stunned.

    Apart from herself, there were five other people in the room!

    And Tang Yi knew all of them!

    Like her, they were all top comic artists from the Tribe!

    If not, they were first-class comic artists!

    Three of them were pure illustrators.

    Two, like herself, created both the story and the illustrations.

    At the same time.

    The five people in the room also turned to look at Tang Yi, each with different expressions, clearly recognizing her.

    "Hello."

    Tang Yi greeted them with an odd expression:

    "Dragon King, Brother Wolf, Wildsword, Grassheart, and Bai Li, you guys were also invited by Han Jimei, right?"

    She knew everyone''s names here.

    All of them were well-known comic artists in the circle, and they occasionally met each other at Tribe Comics.

    "Tang Yi."

    Everyone nodded in greeting.

    Dragon King, being somewhat familiar with Tang Yi, smiled and asked, "Are you thinking of switching to the Alliance?"

    "No!"

    Tang Yi was startled and immediately shook her head, "I am a loyal member of the Tribe. I''m here today only to tell Han Jimei to stop trying to lure me to switch."

    After saying this.

    Tang Yi''s eyes darted, "Instead, it looks like I''ve caught you guys red-handed. Are you planning to switch to the Alliance?"

    Dragon King smirked, "I''m just here to see."

    Grassheart laughed, "I''m curious about the terms the Alliance offered."

    Bai Li said indifferently, "An old friend invited me; it was necessary to come."

    Brother Wolf appeared nonchalant, "If the offer is good enough, I might join the Alliance; otherwise, forget it."

    Wildsword''s expression was the coldest.

    This person had always been somewhat aloof among the comic artists, speaking in a stern voice:

    "No matter what, I would never join the Alliance."

    Tang Yi laughed.

    None of them were planning to join the Alliance, it seemed.

    Like her, probably because they had all been helped by Han Jimei in the past, they had reluctantly come to meet.

    It seemed Han Jimei''s scheme was not going as planned. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    What was Han Jimei thinking, gathering everyone together?

    This only made poaching more difficult for the Alliance.

    In the presence of so many peers, who would have the gall to switch allegiance and betray the Tribe?

    Wouldn''t it be better to meet in different places?

    Just as Tang Yi was puzzled over what Han Jimei was thinking, Han Jimei appeared.

    The woman had numerous documents in her hands, and it was unclear what they contained. After walking in, she scanned the room with a confident smile and began speaking:

    "Thank you all for honoring the invitation."

    As everyone nodded, Grassheart smiled and went straight to the point:

    "Does Ms. Han want to poach us?"

    "Grassheart, you''re really impatient," someone quipped.

    Han Jimei smiled, "All of you are top comic artists, of course I want to poach you, otherwise I wouldn''t have invited you here."

    "How much money did you prepare to be so bold?"

    Tang Yi couldn''t help making a joke: "Just so you know, I will not join the alliance. Tribe Comics'' number one loyalist, that''s me, Tang Yi!"

    "Then maybe, Tang Yi, you should take a look at this."

    Han Jimei pulled out a document: "After reading it, Tang Yi, you could decide whether to join our alliance or not."

    "What''s this?"

    Tang Yi took the document, her face curious.

    The others also looked puzzled at the document, wondering if it contained some leverage against Tang Yi.

    This isn''t a movie, after all. It wouldn''t make sense.

    Han Jimei said mysteriously, "Open it, and you''ll know."

    Tang Yi rolled her eyes but opened it anyway, and then she exclaimed in surprise:

    "A comic?"

    In Tang Yi''s hands was indeed a comic, named "Magical Girl Madoka."

    "How about you give it a read?"

    "Ms. Han really knows how to keep us in suspense. Who drew this comic?"

    "Shadow."

    "Shadow God''s new work!"

    Tang Yi''s expression changed dramatically!

    The expressions of the other artists also turned serious!

    If there were gods in the world of comics, it would only be Shadow!

    Even in the eyes of his peers, Shadow was an insurmountable peak!

    No one dared to treat his works lightly!

    Even Wildsword, who was notoriously aloof, now stared intently at the comic in Tang Yi''s hands, feeling an impulse to feast his eyes on it.

    On the sofa.

    Brother Wolf suddenly laughed, "I once managed to work on three comics simultaneously, and countless readers and peers were amazed by my brain capacity, until Shadow started working on five and I realized there are always greater heights. I didn''t expect Shadow God to have quietly started a new work, really curious how this big shot''s brain works, it''s like he''s on a whole new level of multitasking!"

    "That''s not necessarily so."

    Han Jimei blinked and handed over another document, "Maybe Brother Wolf should check this out?"

    "What?"

    Brother Wolf was taken aback, then took the document, which also turned out to be a comic.

    The comic''s title: "Death God!"

    His voice suddenly became a bit hoarse: "Is this also Shadow God''s new work?"

    "Who says it isn''t."

    Han Jimei seemed a bit emotional, remembering her brain nearly crashed when she received these from Jin Mu.

    Especially after she read the contents.

    Han Jimei was out of it for quite a while.

    The storm inside her heart was not enough to describe her shock at the time.

    "Let me see."

    Brother Wolf said, his voice trembling a bit.

    The remaining three artists looked at Han Jimei, a terrible suspicion forming in their minds.

    "No need to ask, everyone has one, Teacher Shadow''s new series, and you are the first batch of readers apart from me."

    Han Jimei smiled and handed the comics to the remaining three people.

    Grassheart received a comic named "Doraemon!"

    Dragon King got "Gundam!"

    Wildsword received "Attack on Titan!"

    Each artist had a different specialty, and Han Jimei had chosen these five, each receiving a comic that matched their particular style.

    Right remedy for the ailment!

    As everyone received their comics, Han Jimei said with a smile, "There are fruits and tea here, take your time to read, I''m going next door for a skincare treatment, ring the bell if you need anything, and a staff member will come."

    After saying this,

    Han Jimei walked out of the room in her high heels, clacking away and closing the door behind her.

    Inside the room.

    Three people were reading their comics.

    Grassheart whispered to Brother Wolf, "What does Han Jimei mean by this, are these really all Shadow''s new works?"

    "Why not read them and find out?"

    Brother Wolf spoke, already believing it somewhat, hence his eyes twinkled:

    "As for her intention, she probably wants to use Shadow''s comic quality to convince us that Tribe is doomed, and we should embrace the alliance."

    "Shut up!"

    Wildsword suddenly spoke up, holding "Attack on Titan," his voice uncharacteristically trembling.

    "..."

    The two exchanged glances, neither arguing with him, and also began reading their comics.

    The guy has a really bad temper.

    He''ll probably get beaten up sooner or later.

 Chapter 866 - 820: A True Eye for People

    ps: "Ghouls," "Titans," and "Doraemon" were all removed for various reasons. Considering the influence of each work, I''ve adjusted and edited the list of six manga works presented in the last chapter. By now, everyone should have seen at least three of them.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Shadow Studio.

    From clenched to outspread.

    Lin Yuan constantly flexed his fingers that were slightly sore.

    Actually, five fingers were not enough, as he had drawn an entire six new manga series in recent days. If it weren''t for the Energy Potion he''d consumed, he might still be fervently "drawing."

    And after such a prolonged effort, the results were pleasing indeed.

    Gundam!

    Death God!

    Digital Monsters!

    Saint Seiya!

    Fullmetal Alchemist!

    Magical Girl Madoka!

    Each of these six manga was handpicked by Lin Yuan with great care!

    Any one of these, even the relatively short "Magical Girl Madoka," had caused a craze on Earth and remained a classic that manga fans still talk about with great enthusiasm!

    This was Lin Yuan''s counterattack against the Tribe!

    He didn''t have to wait half a year or even a year; with these six manga, he believed the Alliance would definitely suppress the Tribe and completely extinguish the enemy''s last hopes.

    Yes.

    Lin Yuan had encountered countless "rivals."

    But the Tribe alone, Lin Yuan treated them as "enemies."

    If it weren''t for this reason, Lin Yuan wouldn''t have fought so hard.

    Of course.

    There were even more impressive works that Lin Yuan had not brought out yet, intending to keep them for his use.

    For instance, "Doraemon," which after translation was named "DingDang Cat."

    This was the work with the widest audience on Earth, unparalleled!

    It could be called truly suitable for all ages!

    Take the famous "Dragon Ball," for example.

    Although the power levels in this manga got out of hand later on, even a mainstream work like "Naruto" would have to call "Dragon Ball" junior; it was a work that had once dominated an era!

    Especially "Dragon Ball."

    In various manga influence rankings, "Dragon Ball" almost always ranked first, a peak of mainstream perfection.

    Of course, Lin Yuan wouldn''t take it out for recruitment now.

    Probably, he would wait until the integration with Zhong Continent to consider releasing such high-level works.

    By that time, manga would have been played to the extreme by Shadow.

    But that''s okay.

    On Blue Star, there''s a saying about the traditional ten arts.

    The ten arts include:

    Literature, music, film, painting, calligraphy, sculpture, drama, dance, gaming, and architecture.

    Most forms of art are interrelated.

    As one of the arts, the realm covered by painting is very broad.

    Manga is just one branch of painting.

    Having pushed manga to its extreme, Lin Yuan could have Shadow delve into other realms.

    For instance, Shadow had already begun to dabble in traditional Chinese painting, and might even consider oil painting in the future.

    Of course.

    Now was not the time to think about these things.

    Lin Yuan gazed into the distance.

    He wondered how those Tribe comic artists invited by Han Jimei would make their choices.

    Will they agree?

    If they don''t, it''s no big deal; there are quite a few top Tribe comic artists, and someone will agree eventually.

    That was Han Jimei''s opinion.

    She was very confident in those manga works.

    ...

    Inside the club.

    The silent room, with only the rustling sounds of manga pages being turned.

    The six Tribe comic artists didn''t interact with each other, as if they were completely absorbed in the manga in their hands.

    Time passed by.

    At some point, Tang Yi''s expression changed.

    Her gaze at "Magical Girl Madoka" became increasingly sharp. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump!

    The speed of her blood flow was accelerating, and she could even hear the sound of her own heartbeat speeding up.

    If Tang Yi looked up at that moment, she would have noticed:

    The behaviors of the other comic artists in the room were also somewhat abnormal.

    Among them:

    Brother Wolf was holding "Death God," his mouth agape.

    Dragon King stared at "Gundam," eyes bulging wildly.

    Bai Li bit into "Digital Monsters," as if starved for it.

    Grassheart flipped through "Saint Seiya," her eyes shining with a dazzling light.

    Even the coldest Wildsword was holding "Fullmetal Alchemist," breathing with a tremor of excitement!

    This was the manga that Wildsword felt was most in line with his taste!

    Even among all of Shadow''s works that Wildsword admired the most, "Naruto," he could pick out flaws¡ª

    Wildsword used to think that was normal.

    Shadow had to juggle the creation of several manga, and it''s impossible to be perfect in just one particular work.

    That was a very normal thing.

    It wasn''t until he read "Fullmetal Alchemist" that he realized, Shadow could achieve perfection in a certain work!

    In Wildsword''s opinion, the one in his hands was Shadow''s most perfect work!

    The plot was near perfect, with the story development almost perfectly interlinked, the logic rigorous, without contradictions, and the flow was devoid of excessive nonsense. There was no forced inspirational nonsense, no gratuitous trash-talking or whitewashing. Characters fought when it was time to fight, spoke when they needed to speak, and everyone''s actions had a purpose and direction...

    The later story was just summarized in text, but Wildsword could imagine the thrilling dramatics within!

    He loved this work too much!

    "If this work were entrusted to me to draw, what an exciting thing it would be!"

    Caught up in his wild imaginings, Wildsword couldn''t help but think.

    As one of the strongest pure artists in the Tribe, Wildsword''s greatest dream in life was to wield a brush over a work that could completely please himself while incidentally delighting the readers!

 Chapter 867 - 820: A Good Judge of Character_2

    The former is more important than the latter.

    Wildsword always believed that the happiness of the author was paramount!

    If the author lost the joy of creation, then no matter how happy the readers were, Wildsword wouldn''t be happy either.

    Of course, if possible, he still hoped everyone could be happy.

    Unfortunately, such works were rare.

    The previous works he created either left him thrilled while the readers'' response wasn''t as enthusiastic,

    or the readers were highly enthusiastic, but Wildsword himself lacked motivation, leading to delayed updates, and it would only be under the editor''s earnest pleas that he would reluctantly make a move.

    After all, he still needed to make a living. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Only this "Fullmetal Alchemist" before him!

    Wildsword felt that if he were to draw it, he would absolutely enjoy himself tremendously, and the readers would be satisfied too!

    Unfortunately¡­

    This was Shadow''s work!

    Only someone like Shadow, the God of Comics, could create such a work in the entire Blue Star.

    Such a pity!

    Wildsword was grieving!

    The great story he had sought for countless years was right before him, yet he could only sigh in vain as he faced this treasure trove.

    He even regretted coming here, it was like a beauty being offered to him, but he couldn''t partake¡ªit was that agonizing.

    No, that analogy isn''t quite right.

    Compared to this comic, women are worthless!

    At this moment.

    Wildsword was not alone.

    The other manga artists, holding their comics in hand, all had similar thoughts.

    This could be glimpsed from everyone''s expressions.

    ...

    Eventually.

    The silence in the room was broken by Grassheart.

    Reluctantly closing "Saint Seiya," he looked at Tang Yi and asked,

    "How is the manga you''re holding?"

    "Masterpiece!"

    Tang Yi was currently re-reading "Magical Girl Madoka," and even on the second read, she was still captivated by it, which made her voice full of wonder as she instantly declared it a masterpiece!

    Everyone looked up at her.

    She earnestly said, "You all know my manga protagonists are all females, but for manga with female protagonists to reach the top isn''t easy, yet the manga I hold shows the quality only top comics possess. Shadow truly deserves to be called the God of Comics in the industry; his imagination is frighteningly impressive. It''s said that he is a male artist, yet he draws female-led comics so effortlessly, and his work not only portrays more than one female character but also features a story with twists and turns¡ªtruly a masterpiece!"

    "Exactly."

    Grassheart smiled and said, "This ''Saint Seiya'' I hold follows the King''s Path of manga, the creativity hit me directly, and after finishing it, I only had one thought: why can''t I produce such a manga?"

    "Are you serious?"

    Brother Wolf looked curiously at his own copy of "Death God" in his hands," I feel like the work I hold is also a masterpiece, what about you guys¡­"

    "Perfect."

    Bai Li, holding "Digital Monsters," commented.

    Dragon King, holding "Gundam": "Let''s not beat around the bush, once this comic is released, I intend to follow suit."

    Finally, everyone looked towards Wildsword.

    Wildsword didn''t engage with everyone, still intently reading "Fullmetal Alchemist," his frenzied manner making the result self-evident.

    "Eh!"

    Tang Yi sighed, "This show of force by Han Jimei is quite magnificent."

    Grassheart puzzled, "Show of force?"

    Brother Wolf smirked, "She means that Han Jimei intentionally called us here to look at these new works by Shadow God, as for the reason, well, do you think the Tribe has any chance against the Alliance in the battle for traffic once these comics are out?"

    "Yes."

    Dragon King analyzed, "She probably wants to show us with Shadow''s works that the Tribe is doomed, and joining the Alliance is the most promising for us, especially since the Alliance has Shadow. Now in the comic world, no matter which website, those who have Shadow could rule all."

    "Good thought, but it''s useless on me."

    Bai Li took a deep breath, "Tribe Comics offers more generous terms, enough to support me."

    "You have all misunderstood me."

    The door opened quietly without notice, and Han Jimei appeared again.

    She looked at everyone, a smile curling her lips, as if she saw exactly what she wanted on the faces of this group of Tribe artists: "I invited you all here today not to show force, but to show you the sincerity of our Alliance."

    "Sincerity? Where is it?"

    Tang Yi asked reflexively.

    Han Jimei looked at the comics in everyone''s hands, "Haven''t you noticed yet? The comics you''re holding all match your own style of work."

    "All I see is homogenized competition."

    Tang Yi looked helplessly, "''Magical Girl Madoka'' launches, my comics will definitely be impacted."

    The others nodded.

    Everyone''s work would be impacted by Shadow.

    In a head-to-head comparison, everyone would be outclassed by Shadow.

    Seems you''ve seen through the situation quite clearly.

    Han Jimei arched an eyebrow, no longer keeping them in the dark, "The Alliance isn''t as wealthy as the Tribe, but what if I said these comics could be handed over to you to draw? Shadow would provide everyone with the ideas, even the plot and panels, on the condition that you join our Alliance, and the profit distribution would also follow your usual contract terms."

    As Han Jimei''s words concluded.

    The room fell silent once again!

    The pupils of the several Tribe artists contracted, shocked on the spot!

    Fuck...

    I''m shamefully tempted...

    Tang Yi lowered her head guiltily, her expression somewhat awkward, yet internally, a voice kept echoing like devilish whispers, making her feel quite disturbed:

 Chapter 868 - 820 Spotting People Accurately_3

    Promise her!

    Promise her!

    Promise her!

    "I promise you!"

    Someone suddenly spoke up in the room.

    Tang Yi abruptly looked up, thinking she had accidentally voiced her thoughts, only to find everyone gazing at Wildsword!

    "I''ll join the alliance!"

    Wielding the comic tightly in his hand, Wildsword had already stood up, "As long as this comic is given to me to draw, I''m willing to work for the alliance!"

    "Then let''s look forward to a pleasant collaboration."

    Han Jimei started to laugh, then glanced at the other five people.

    Their expressions were strange.

    Damn it!

    This Wildsword!

    He had said he would never join the Tribe no matter what, but he was the quickest to turn coats!

    At some special moments.

    As soon as someone takes the lead, the rest gradually come to a realization.

    "I agree too." S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Bai Li said urgently, "Anyway, I''m just an artist. I only accept good stories. If the story is good enough, why not join the alliance?"

    Just here to see?

    Not joining the alliance?

    Bai Li had long forgotten his own words, and his agreement even seemed a bit eager!

    The others were increasingly shaken.

    Grassheart was the third to start, giving a grand-sounding reason for herself, "Can''t help it, we artists just can''t refuse a good story. If the condition is to join the alliance, then I have to accept."

    What a joke!

    If I have such an amazing story in my hands and I have the chance to draw it, why would I leave it to other artists?

    In the blink of an eye.

    Three artists directly defected!

    The remaining three comic artists looked at each other.

    Han Jimei was not in a hurry, just waiting for the three''s response.

    "Okay."

    Brother Wolf shrugged, "I''m someone who loves money. Although the alliance can''t offer more money, I can''t help but like this story. I''ve joined too."

    "..."

    How hypocritical.

    Everyone rolled their eyes.

    Still says you don''t love money?

    Liking the comic in hand is just one of the reasons, perhaps a bigger reason is that you, Brother Wolf, feel this comic can rake in a lot of money, right?

    Each comic artist has their own character.

    Brother Wolf is the more active type.

    Now only Tang Yi and Dragon King were left.

    Tang Yi was incredibly conflicted as she anxiously looked towards Dragon King, only to hear him sigh:

    "I was thinking of following the trend in the next comic and drawing something like ''Gundam,'' but no matter how I thought about it, it seemed better to draw it myself. However, I don''t want to use all of Shadow God''s templates completely. I will only refer to his story and want to incorporate some of my own ideas into it."

    "Then I''ll ask Teacher Shadow about it."

    Han Jimei smiled, then turned to Tang Yi, who was now the only one left.

    Tang Yi: "..."

    She suddenly felt like she didn''t fit in with the people around her.

    Witnessing a group of Tribe''s top comic artists stab in the back, I won''t be silenced, right?

    These people are defecting too quickly!

    Earlier one by one, they were pounding their chests, saying they wouldn''t join the alliance or anything!

    Turns out it was all crap.

    The louder the shout before, the faster the turn!

    Especially that Wildsword, with a demeanor of being the top guy under the heavens, yet he was the quickest to kneel!

    "I disagree."

    Tang Yi said loudly, "I am a loyal servant of the Tribe!"

    Han Jimei''s expression remained unchanged, "Sister Tang thinks that the ''Magical Girl Madoka'' series is too short?"

    The comics brought by Shadow, this one had the shortest length.

    To attract this group of comic artists, actually, a longer series works best.

    Tang Yi''s eyes dodged slightly, "Ms. Han, you''ve misunderstood me, I''m not that kind of person!"

    Han Jimei smiled slightly, "Teacher Shadow said that for the shortest series, he could provide another one after this one finishes. The quality can be guaranteed under Shadow''s name..."

    "Spot on!"

    Tang Yi suddenly burst into laughter, "Ms. Han, rest assured, I will be a loyal servant of the alliance from now on!"

    Everyone: "..."

    The most shameless one is you, right!

    You say you aren''t that kind of person? Come on!

    "Good."

    All have been turned!

    Here comes the betrayal, Ling Kong!

    Han Jimei suppressed the ecstasy in her heart and said:

    "There''s food prepared outside, I''m treating, let''s discuss the details while we eat."

    "Thanks."

    The scene was suddenly harmonious, and the meal was delicious.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Due to limited length, more classics will come out later.

 Chapter 869 - 821: The Gambling Game of Zhong Continent

    Lin Yuan soon received a notice from Han Jimei through Jin Mu.

    The deal was done!

    The result was even smoother than Lin Yuan had anticipated, saving him some unnecessary trouble.

    "Tribe Comics is finished!"

    Jin Mu couldn''t help expressing his excitement. Having borne the brunt of Tribe Comics'' various assaults, he had long harbored a grudge.

    And now, at last, the Alliance was going to strike back.

    This counterattack would completely change the industry''s ecology; the days of Tribe''s monopoly over the comic world were gone for good!

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Tribe was no easy adversary, and while the impact on just one comics division might not cripple this giant capital, it would certainly have an effect.

    "I guess things will be settled once the contract is signed in a while."

    Jin Mu spoke with a smile: "Not letting Han Jimei go was the right decision. In the end, it was your comics that attracted that crowd, but the candidates Han Jimei picked out were also key."

    Originally, Han Jimei had offered to resign due to a mistake at work.

    It was only after Lin Yuan personally intervened with the company that Han was retained.

    With his contributions this time, Han had made amends for many of his previous errors.

    Before Lin Yuan could respond, Jin Mu''s phone suddenly rang.

    After speaking for a few moments, Jin Mu''s expression turned grim.

    Lin Yuan frowned: "Complications?"

    Could there be a problem with the comics?

    Jin Mu shook his head, his gaze serious: "I''d rather it were some hiccup with Han Jimei, than receive this bit of news¡ªit has nothing to do with the comics. It''s related to your twelve consecutive championships."

    "What do you mean?"

    "Wonder Lu, one of the top maestros within Blue Star''s top ten, you must be familiar with him. He''s the last one who achieved a season''s twelve consecutive championships before you. At thirty-two, he ascended to become the youngest Maestro in Blue Star''s history. However, there''s been little news about him in recent years¡ªhe''s said to have been traveling the Continents, studying the various musical styles. But now he has returned to Qin Continent, and through the media, he''s announced that he will be releasing a new song in November. He''s going to be your most formidable challenger since you began your streak for the twelve consecutive championships..."

    "I know."

    "You already knew?"

    Jin Mu was startled: "Then are you prepared?"

    "Somewhat."

    Although the song hadn''t been formally recorded, Lin Yuan had already decided on the song with which he''d confront Wonder Lu in November.

    "That''s good."

    Jin Mu let out a slight sigh of relief: "When Wonder Lu was interviewed, he said the new song would be in the ancient style, and he was generous enough to admit that the inspiration for his song came from your ''Dong Feng Po'', probably a similar type of song."

    It was as Zheng Jing had mentioned before.

    Wonder Lu''s new song was in the Chinese style, also known as the classical style on Blue Star.

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan knew he had his work cut out for him now.

    It was already the middle of October.

    Since his opponent had appeared, it was time for him to start working on a musical accompaniment for his song.

    ¡­

    Without a doubt.

    When Wonder Lu, one of Blue Star''s premier Maestros, announced he would release a song in November, it sent shockwaves through the entire industry!

    One media outlet reported it, and others followed suit!

    "Maestro Wonder Lu to Release New Song in November!"

    "Wonder Lu Returns to Qin: New Song to Feature Classical Style, Inspired by Xian Yu!"

    "Xian Yu''s Road to Twelve Consecutive Championships Finally Meets Its Strongest Challenger!"

    "¡­"

    Under the deluge of media coverage, the whole network was abuzz with heated discussion!

    "Guys, something big has happened!"

    "Wonder Lu is actually making a move in November!"

    "What do you mean Wonder Lu is making a move? Is Fish Papa''s streak of twelve going to be broken?"

    "I knew it wasn''t going to be easy to achieve twelve consecutive championships. Fish Papa is up against Wonder Lu before the battle of the gods, the youngest Maestro in Blue Star history!"

    "It''s over!"

    "Being called ''Wonder Lu'' isn''t just because it''s a play on his name. It''s mainly because the man himself is freakishly talented. He''s the last one to achieve the twelve consecutive championship feat, and Wonder Lu has even won the singles composition award. It''s said that even the Zhong Continent team has suffered at his hands!" S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "I say it''s not certain. Xian Yu is soon to be the youngest Maestro on Blue Star."

    "Folks, times have changed. With the merger of the five continents, it seems unlikely that even Wonder Lu could take the twelve in a row now, and Fish Papa has already clinched ten in succession; he''s just two months away from that formidable achievement."

    "I admit that, but can Xian Yu hold on for the last two months?"

    "If he doesn''t get it, it''s just a streak of ten victories. I don''t think Wonder Lu can''t achieve that."

    "I like both Wonder Lu and Xian Yu, but if you were to compare the two, Wonder Lu is definitely stronger than Xian Yu. I remember in the beginning, some media even called Xian Yu ''Little Lu Sheng,'' if you think about it."

    "Little Lu Sheng is okay, I don''t know which crappy media outlet made that stuff up."

    "It''s a toss-up between these two, even if Lu Sheng is great, it''s at most a 60-40 split."

    Netizens were passionately discussing.

    Xian Yu''s fans were sweating bullets.

    This was the strongest opponent Xian Yu had ever faced.

    In many people''s minds, Lu Sheng was even more formidable than Yang Zhongming!

    After all, compared to Lu Sheng''s early accomplishments, Yang Zhongming seemed more like a late bloomer.

    Actually, everyone could guess.

    The path to Xian Yu''s twelve consecutive victories would only get harder as it progressed.

    A big name making a move in November isn''t surprisingly, but a heavy hitter of Lu Sheng''s caliber was a bit beyond everyone''s expectations.

    ...

    No one expected Lu Sheng''s move, nor did anyone foresee that this news would draw even higher level attention.

    Zhong Continent!

    Inside a certain teahouse.

    On both sides of a rectangular solid wood table sat three people each, both men and women included.

    "Just received the news."

    The leading middle-aged man was pouring tea for the others, smiling as he said:

    "Lu Sheng is going to make a move in November, he wrote a classical music piece similar to ''East Wind Breaks.''"

    "Lu Sheng? He''s writing a song like ''East Wind Breaks''?"

    The others had various expressions, a few frowning, apparently not too keen on this name.

    "Heh."

    One of the men with a moustache above his lip laughed and said, "Maybe Cheng Sang doesn''t need to bother going back to his hometown."

    "Hmph, you seem quite confident in Lu Sheng."

    The man known as "Cheng Sang" took a sip of his tea, his words laced with meaning.

    The moustached man suddenly got a little annoyed: "Lu Sheng is arrogant, but his skill is undeniable!"

    The woman sitting next to the man chuckled and smoothed things over, "I think it''s hard to call. If Xian Yu dares to aim for twelve consecutive victories, wouldn''t he have some trump cards prepared for the last month? Despite being younger, he has already won two year-end honors. He should know how difficult the battle of the gods at the end of the year can be."

    The tea-pouring man''s interest was piqued:

    "You mean to say, Lu Sheng''s surprise attack might force Xian Yu to play the trump card he intended for December. How will he then deal with an opponent in the year-end battle of the gods who''s no less formidable than Lu Sheng?"

    The woman countered, "What would you do if you were in his shoes?"

    After thinking, the tea-pouring man said, "If it were me, I would first try to win in November. If I lose in November, then even if I win in December, it wouldn''t mean much."

    Everyone nodded in agreement.

    The man called Cheng Sang rubbed his temple: "If that''s the case, won''t December be easy pickings for me?"

    "You seem quite optimistic about Xian Yu."

    The moustached man spoke with a hint of irritation, "You say it as if Xian Yu is going to beat Lu Sheng in November."

    Cheng Sang raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

    "Old rules, let''s place bets, just betting tea leaves. I don''t know why, but recently the price for good tea leaves in Zhong Continent has skyrocketed, supposedly because some mysterious people have been buying in bulk and have spent a lot of money. I didn''t manage to buy much of this year''s new tea."

    The tea-pouring man spoke with a laugh, then continued:

    "Anyway, regarding these two, our music circle in Zhong Continent hasn''t been paying little attention; we should be aware of their situations. I''ll start off by betting that Xian Yu will win, what about you guys?"

    "Lu Sheng."

    "Lu Sheng."

    "Xian Yu."

    "Lu Sheng."

    One after another, people called out their bets.

    Cheng Sang hesitated for a moment before finally saying, "''East Wind Breaks'' is Xian Yu''s work. I''ll bet on Xian Yu."

    How coincidental.

    Three to three.

    Unlike the laypeople, this team from Zhong Continent clearly placed Xian Yu and Lu Sheng at an equal level.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Thank you to the Alliance Hierarch Yu Yang0711 for the generous reward. I kneel before you ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, seems like your name includes a student number~

 Chapter 870 - 822 Blue and White Porcelain

    After spending two hours in the studio, Lin Yuan went to the company for lunch.

    After lunch.

    As soon as he entered the office, he noticed that there were several more packs of tea leaves on the table, mainly the white tea he had recently taken a liking to.

    "Who sent this this time?"

    "Sun Yaohuo."

    Gu Dong stared at the tea leaves on the table, somewhat vexed, "The office cabinet is almost full. If this keeps up, I will have to make tea-leaf eggs for Mr. Lin with top-grade tea leaves."

    Alas.

    No one knew who started the rumor that Mr. Lin was a tea enthusiast who even dared to take risks and robbed the chairman of his tea leaves.

    Now, those who gave gifts to Mr. Lin didn''t send anything else, just picked out fine tea leaves to give.

    "Simple."

    Lin Yuan said without hesitation, "Later, give some to Uncle Yang and Aunt Zheng. It seems your father also drinks tea, send him several boxes. There''s no need to give any to Director Zhou; he''ll come and take some himself."

    "Alright."

    Gu Dong hesitated for a moment then said, "Have you heard about Lu Sheng''s song release in November?"

    "I have."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Gu Dong sneakily observed Lin Yuan''s expression but didn''t notice anything unusual.

    Lin Yuan suddenly looked up, meeting Gu Dong''s eyes.

    Gu Dong panicked, thinking he''d been caught in the act of spying, but then he heard Lin Yuan say,

    "Has Senior Yao Huo left the company?"

    "He should still be here. He just went to the artist department."

    "Ask him to come over."

    "Okay."

    Gu Dong quickly nodded.

    Before long, Sun Yaohuo appeared in Lin Yuan''s office.

    "Junior, do you like the tea I sent this time?"

    "It''s good, but you sent too much. I can''t finish it all. The chairman is also sending some, including a few others from the Yu Dynasty, and some from the industry we''ve collaborated with..."

    "So many people?"

    Sun Yaohuo raised his eyebrows.

    Why didn''t he think of opening a tea shop or something before?

    "Let''s not talk about this now. I want you to sing my song in November."

    Lin Yuan began, revealing his plan.

    The System task involving Sun Yaohuo had yet to be completed; it was time to bring it to the agenda.

    After all, within the Yu Dynasty, the closest to the King of Singing position was Sun Yaohuo.

    Lin Yuan felt that he should prioritize helping Senior Yao Huo to that position, no matter how he thought about it.

    Whoosh!

    Sun Yaohuo''s spirit was electrified, his eyes shining brighter than when making a lot of money.

    To Sun Yaohuo, Lin Yuan''s simple sentence was like a thunderclap!

    The long-absent excitement caused Sun Yaohuo''s heart to thunder like a drum, his voice trembling,

    "Junior... do you mean the song for November... the one to go up against Wonder Lu?"

    Not long had passed since the news of Lu Sheng releasing a song in November came out, just half a day.

    However, in the land of the five continents now, as long as a village was connected to the internet, everyone knew that Maestro Lu Sheng of Blue Star was going to release a new song in November, not to mention Sun Yaohuo who was eagerly watchful of Lin Yuan and the number one fan of the Yu Dynasty!

    It was obvious.

    The seasonal chart for November would definitely be a pinnacle duel between Lu Sheng and the junior, with others on the seasonal charts only being able to watch helplessly!

    It was a battle of immortals.

    Mortals had no way to intervene.

    And different songs have different values! S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Aiming for twelve consecutive championships, the junior definitely wouldn''t be satisfied with faltering in November, so the song for November must be one he considered capable of arm-wrestling with Lu Sheng.

    What quality would a song that the junior brought out to compete with Wonder Lu be?

    Sun Yaohuo knew without having to think with his butt!

    The quality of this song would even surpass the battle-worthy songs of past years!

    Only...

    He had thought that for such a crucial game, either the junior would sing it himself or Jiang Kui¡ªwho had already been crowned Queen of Singing¡ªwould take charge!

    It had never occurred to him that the junior would entrust such an important task to him!

    That was the reason for Sun Yaohuo''s excitement.

    If not for this reason, he wouldn''t have been unable to restrain his composure.

    The junior really trusts me so much!

    This is a critical moment for the twelve consecutive championships!

    If he wins this round, the junior will be able to get the ticket to participate in the battle of the gods!

    If this round fails, however well the junior performs in the battle of the gods, it''s useless because his goal of twelve consecutive championships will have already failed...

    "Yes."

    Unaware of Sun Yaohuo''s thoughts and feelings, Lin Yuan produced the score he had prepared in advance.

    "Blue and White Porcelain?"

    Sun Yaohuo, with sharp eyes, spotted the song title at once!

    "Mm."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    The song he prepared to compete with Lu Sheng for the November seasonal chart was "Blue and White Porcelain"!

    How amazing was this song?

    In his previous life.

    Not only did this song make it to the Spring Festival Gala, becoming the most unforgettable act of that year, but it also swept major awards such as Best Song, Best Lyrics, and Best Composition in the professional field, and it even appeared on college entrance examination papers more than once.

    Its social impact was enormous!

    Even among Director Zhou''s countless excellent works, this song was definitely among the top!

    In terms of popularity and professionalism, it was off the charts!

    Mentioning Director Zhou''s songs, this one was absolutely a work that had to be mentioned.

    Even the ground-breaking "Farewell," which pioneered the China Wind genre, couldn''t compare in terms of notoriety with this song.

    But speaking of which.

    Actually, Sun Yaohuo singing this song, stylistically, was not quite a perfect match.

    In terms of singer selection, it would be best if Lin Yuan could sing it himself.

    However, Lin Yuan had recently been studying the System''s props and had seen several good items.

    Among them were props that could improve singing skills, expand vocal range, and even enrich vocal timbre.

    The only drawback was, they were expensive!

    So expensive that even wealthy Lin Yuan found them staggeringly so.

    But using them on Senior Yao Huo was not a waste.

    Although Lin Yuan felt the pinch, he gritted his teeth and bought them.

    With these props, Sun Yaohuo can grasp "Blue and White Porcelain."

    At this thought.

    Lin Yuan said, "The demo isn''t ready yet, so I''ll just sing it a cappella for you to listen to."

    Having said this.

    Lin Yuan sang "Blue and White Porcelain" following the melody in a simple manner.

    "With plain clay, a delicate brush outlines the blue and white, the brushwork shifts from thick to light..."

    Just from the first line, Sun Yaohuo''s eyes lit up!

    And as more and more of the melody was sung, his eyes were leaping with innumerable sparks!

    Excitement!

    Thrill!

    Fever!

    As a professional singer, Sun Yaohuo instantly recognized the terrifying appeal of the song. This rare style of music was just like the impact-making "The East Wind Breaks" his junior had released at the end of last year, and in some aspects, it even made a huge leap forward!

    However.

    When Lin Yuan finished the first chorus and stopped, Sun Yaohuo suddenly seemed to remember something, his face abruptly filled with countless hesitations and struggles!

    In his eyes, even a trace of wandering flashed.

    "What''s wrong?"

    Lin Yuan noticed Sun Yaohuo''s abnormality.

    Complex emotions intertwined on Sun Yaohuo''s face, but eventually, he suppressed his excitement and followed his heart, speaking in a low and hoarse voice:

    "Junior, can you answer me a question?"

    "Sure."

    "Am I the most suitable person for this song?"

    "..."

    Lin Yuan didn''t answer, but quietly used a series of props purchased by the System on Sun Yaohuo.

    "Junior, I''m not suitable, you sing it yourself."

    Sun Yaohuo, oblivious to Lin Yuan''s actions, spoke with some difficulty, as if mustering all his strength.

    Sun Yaohuo knew.

    Saying these words meant that he was giving up a song for himself that he might never encounter again in his life.

    Sun Yaohuo had heard it.

    This song could be one of the best among all of his junior''s current works.

    He could sing it well.

    But to say who could sing this song to the best, unleashing its full potential, that should be his junior himself.

    November is too important to allow any mistakes.

    If a problem arises because of him, Sun Yaohuo might blame himself for a lifetime; to avoid that, he would rather give up the song.

    Because of these reasons, no matter how much regret and desolation he felt, he could only grit his teeth and swallow it down.

    "You are."

    Whether or not he was the most suitable person before didn''t matter.

    Because now he was.

    Having said that, Lin Yuan handed the sheet music over to Sun Yaohuo:

    "Give it a try."

    "Junior..."

    I''m not, how could I be the most suitable person for this song?

    Sun Yaohuo took the sheet music with both hands, wanted to speak, but in the end, swallowed back a thousand words.

    He took a deep breath.

    He adjusted his emotions, cleared his throat, and with the utmost seriousness, tried to sing a line.

    Hm?

    The first line came out, and Sun Yaohuo suddenly felt a very strange sensation, as if he had more control over his voice.

    He felt an inexplicable excitement within.

    He continued singing according to the melody in the sheet music.

    Although he stumbled slightly due to unfamiliarity with the melody, his excitement grew, and his heartbeat sped up!

    It seemed like he could really sing this song!

    And it seemed like his skills had made a leap in improvement!?

    Could it be a breakthrough under pressure?

    As if he had gained special powers!

    Recently, Sun Yaohuo had been reading some fantasy novels where the protagonist would always break through under pressure, creating one miracle after another. He felt like he was in that state, getting smoother with each line he sang, until he finished the first chorus and stopped with reluctance!

    "Not bad."

    Lin Yuan praised.

    If Sun Yaohuo now adds proper training to his skill level, he could likely be no weaker than the King of Singing grade like Fei Yang.

    This was something Sun Yaohuo himself hadn''t realized. He only knew he had improved.

    Lin Yuan was not surprised by the power of the System''s props.

    If the System could turn a dog into a skilled actor, what difficulty would it have in crafting Sun Yaohuo into a true King of Singing?

    Although the price was outrageously expensive.

    Forget it, as Senior Yao Huo said well, money is an external object...

    Li Bai also said:

    Wealth spent can be regained!

    Senior Yao Huo has the spirit of the Immortal Poet Li Bai!

    I should learn well from Senior Yao Huo!

    Right, with Senior Yao Huo becoming the King of Singing, I will have a reward too!

    Lin Yuan psyched himself up, and after convincing himself, he felt less heartache.

    "Junior, I think I can do it!"

    Sun Yaohuo could no longer suppress the excitement in his heart, exclaiming loudly!

    Lin Yuan was also happy: "Then you go back and practice well. Once you''ve got it, we''ll record."

    "Sure!"

    Sun Yaohuo left the office, and as he walked out the door, suddenly hugged the sheet music and kissed it passionately!

    Swish, swish, swish.

    Outside was the office, and the composers all turned to look at Sun Yaohuo''s act of kissing the sheet music, their expressions odd.

    This guy is acting strangely...

    Deputy Director Wu Yong passed by, asked in surprise, "Teacher Sun, what is this about?"

    "Leave November to me!"

    Laughing, Sun Yaohuo said to Wu Yong, then left the office blissfully under countless astonished gazes.

    Strangely enough:

    Sun Yaohuo wasn''t thinking about the song or his progress in singing at the moment, but rather, his thoughts were spinning on something completely unrelated:

    "The wood of the cabinets in junior''s office isn''t top-tier, and the space is lacking too, seems not quite big enough for storage. I should replace it with a bigger one for him."

    This thought spun as naturally as an instinct.

 Chapter 871 - 871: 823

    As it turned out, Sun Yaohuo really could do it.

    Several days later.

    The song "Blue and White Porcelain" was successfully recorded.

    With system props, Sun Yaohuo''s ability to master songs had improved significantly, he now could perform this song perfectly.

    It was a pity, however.

    When Lin Yuan tasted the sweetness and wanted to buy more props that could change one''s singing skills, the system no longer sold them.

    Even offering more money was not an option.

    Lin Yuan suspected that maybe he didn''t offer enough, but he couldn''t afford any more anyway, so he had to let it go.

    Not long after the recording was completed.

    All the wooden furniture in Lin Yuan''s office, including desks, chairs, and cabinets, had been replaced.

    Sun Yaohuo had specially ordered those.

    They were said to be rare and fine items.

    Lin Yuan couldn''t specifically tell how good these items were, but he felt the desks, chairs, and cabinets looked better and the user experience had improved quite a bit.

    It was Gu Dong who had an understanding of these things.

    She excitedly explained to Lin Yuan that the new furniture was made from some top-grade timber, and whether it was the rarity of the wood itself or the craftsmanship in all aspects, they were all master-level works of art and so on.

    Lin Yuan still didn''t have much of a concept.

    Not until one day the chairman passed by, his eyes lit up as he looked at Lin Yuan''s office, and he couldn''t help but caress the cabinet, which was just the right size for the room and much larger than the original, for a while, did Lin Yuan roughly understand that these items must indeed be very valuable.

    Soon after the chairman''s departure.

    Lin Yuan''s office became inexplicably lively for a while.

    Quite a few company executives found various reasons to come and stroll around his office, inevitably casting wandering eyes on the desks, chairs, and cabinets.

    Quite a few imitated the chairman, taking the chance to touch.

    "Mr. Lin, our office is now the most luxurious in the whole company. If someone comes in and casually takes something, they could make a killing, to say nothing of the Blue and White Porcelain that the chairman brought last time. Even if someone casually took some tea leaves or ran off with a chair, they would definitely leave with a bounty," Gu Dong later said with a laugh.

    Lin Yuan figured that this must be why everyone came to visit.

    These were all little episodes in life.

    Some time after the many executives had visited Lin Yuan''s office, Yang Zhongming and Zheng Jing also came.

    Upon entering.

    Zheng Jing smiled and said, "Little Fish, I heard your office has become quite the hotspot recently?"

    "Zihong Pear Fragrant Sandalwood."

    Yang Zhongming tapped the desk, then nodded, "Fine stuff."

    "Jealous?" Zheng Jing teased Yang Zhongming.

    Yang Zhongming didn''t engage her, instead, he looked at Lin Yuan, "Is the song for November ready?" S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan nodded, "Yeah."

    Yang Zhongming said, "In a couple of days, we are going out to meet someone."

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan had no objections.

    Zheng Jing asked curiously, "Little Fish, aren''t you curious about whom we are going to meet?"

    "Lu Sheng," Lin Yuan said.

    Yang Zhongming looked at Lin Yuan in surprise while Zheng Jing''s face was full of bewilderment, "How did you know?"

    "Because you want to help me," Lin Yuan said with a smile, feeling somewhat warmed inside.

    These two senior figures had always taken good care of Lin Yuan, and their sudden invitation was certainly related to the upcoming season''s charts. The person most closely associated with this was his biggest rival of the year, Lu Sheng, and coincidentally, Lu Sheng had a rather special relationship with Yang Zhongming. Although Lin Yuan didn''t know the specifics, their purpose was surely to ensure he secured the entry ticket to the Battle of the Gods without fail.

    ...

    Lin Yuan''s guess was correct.

    It was indeed Lu Sheng that Yang Zhongming and Zheng Jing wanted him to meet.

    The last day of October.

    Outside the company.

    Inside a certain club.

    Lin Yuan met with Lu Sheng.

    Lu Sheng looked very young, clearly someone who took good care of himself. He dressed meticulously, and always seemed to pay great attention to his personal image, with every hair in perfect place.

    "Teacher Admirable Fish,"

    Lu Sheng greeted with a smile, emanating a distinguished air.

    Lin Yuan regarded the man before him, once the youngest Maestro in Blue Star''s history with twelve consecutive wins, and replied politely, "Mr. Lu Sheng."

    "Now that we''ve met, I''ll get to the point,"

    Zheng Jing interjected from the side, "You shouldn''t have chosen November to act, Lu Sheng. It will force Little Fish to reveal the song he has painstakingly prepared for the Battle of the Gods ahead of schedule. Even if Little Fish beats you, it will be difficult for him to compete with Zhong Continent anymore after that. Don''t tell me you aren''t aware that people from Zhong Continent will make their move at year-end, targeting him¡ªyou know their style."

    "Today is the last day of October,"

    Lu Sheng said with a smile, "Is Ms. Jing suggesting that I announce my withdrawal from November right now?"

    Zheng Jing urged, "Nobody is asking you to back out completely, just release any song for November, that shouldn''t be too difficult for you, right?"

    "Is that also what Brother Zhongming thinks?"

    Lu Sheng turned to look at Yang Zhongming.

    Yang Zhongming said, "Do me this favor."

    Lu Sheng raised an eyebrow.

    Lin Yuan didn''t speak; however, through the conversation of the three, he completely understood.

    Uncle Yang and Aunt Zheng believed that since he dared to aim for the twelve-consecutive-win barrier, he must have an ace up his sleeve.

    A so-called ace is often a composer''s most confident ''Bomb'' level song!

    And any composer would choose to release such a song at the most critical moment.

    For Lin Yuan at the moment, the most critical time was none other than the Battle of the Gods at the end of the year.

    Now that Lu Sheng had emerged halfway through.

    These two seniors were worried that he would have to reveal his ace for the Battle of the Gods ahead of time.

 Chapter 872 - 823 The Best of Chinese Style_2

    After all, this is Lu Sheng, the Maestro among maestros.

    Defeating him without using trump cards was essentially impossible.

    But if Lin Yuan used the song he had prepared for the Battle of the Gods, what would he do at the end of the year?

    You should know.

    At the end of the year, the opponents Lin Yuan was about to face might be on the same level as Lu Sheng.

    What if he didn''t use his trump card?

    Then losing in November would be even more painful.

    It was a paradox.

    In November and December, there were wolves in front and tigers behind.

    That was Yang Zhongming and Zheng Jing''s worry.

    So they approached Lu Sheng, hoping he would step back and not force Lin Yuan to reveal his trump card prematurely.

    "..."

    Realizing this,

    Lin Yuan felt both amused and a little helpless.

    He could completely understand their worries and was even touched, as their concerns were entirely reasonable from a conventional line of thinking.

    The one that was unreasonable was himself.

    More precisely, it was the System.

    Indeed, in November and December, there were wolves in front and tigers behind.

    However, the premise considered by these three was entirely mistaken.

    It was true there were wolves and tigers,

    But who said he had only one bullet in his gun?

    In November, facing Lu Sheng and using a trump card, so what?

    He had also made very adequate preparations for the end-of-year Battle of the Gods.

    ...

    Lin Yuan''s thoughts raced as he analyzed the situation. Just as he was about to speak, Lu Sheng suddenly smiled.

    "I can''t dismiss Brother Zhongming''s face, but..."

    Lu Sheng''s tone shifted, "I''ve always been conceited, especially since Ms. Jing has said that the song Teacher Admirable Fish prepared for the Battle of the Gods could beat me. In that case, let''s see if Ms. Jing''s judgment holds true."

    "Hey!"

    Zheng Jing was not pleased, "You said you were going to give Ol'' Yang face, so why are we still competing? Besides, I only said Little Fish''s trump card might beat you, not that it certainly would."

    "Ms. Jing, don''t rush."

    Lu Sheng suddenly turned to Lin Yuan, "To drop out of the November season ranking is to let you step on me to fight in the Battle of the Gods. By then, the whole network will be saying my new song is inferior to yours. That''s quite a sacrifice for someone who cherishes his reputation like me. Teacher Admirable Fish, would you like to use that trump card and compare it privately with my song?"

    That''s more like it.

    Zheng Jing pursed her lips and didn''t stop him this time. They were only comparing privately, and the outside world would not know.

    And Lu Sheng wasn''t wrong.

    Whether he suddenly dropped out of the November season ranking or casually released a song to deal with the issue, he would ultimately lose to Xian Yu. That was like actively letting Xian Yu get one over on him.

    In the end, it was still a loss for Lu Sheng.

    After all, Lu Sheng had the freedom to choose when to release his songs.

    Was it his obligation to step aside in November because Xian Yu wanted the twelfth consecutive championship?

    There is no such rule.

    It was only because of the great face of Yang Zhongming and Zheng Jing that Lu Sheng took this step back, even actively allowing Xian Yu to get the upper hand and achieve an even more dazzling halo.

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan agreed, "I''ll release my song first."

    Lu Sheng shook his head, "Please wait a moment. I''ll take the loss in November for Brother Zhongming''s sake. At that time, laypeople can say my new song is not as good as yours; I don''t care about that. But I, Lu Sheng, can''t lose face in front of people I know, or I''ll likely become the laughing stock among those guys, so you wouldn''t mind if I invite a few friends over, would you?"

    "You really care about face."

    Zheng Jing glared hard at Lu Sheng.

    Lu Sheng''s meaning was simple. He wanted some songwriters in the industry to witness this private contest.

    At that time,

    No matter what the outside world said about him losing to Xian Yu, the truth would be clear to the songwriters in the industry.

    "His request is reasonable."

    Yang Zhongming said, "I''ll call some people over. Xian Yu, do you have any objections?"

    Lin Yuan shook his head.

    Yang Zhongming nodded and made several phone calls.

    Lu Sheng reminded him from the side, "Remember to invite Yin Dong over."

    Zheng Jing held her forehead, "Are you trying to provoke Yin Dong?"

    Lu Sheng said with a smile, "Just recently, I returned to Qin and met up with a few old friends. At that gathering, everyone was saying Yin Dong always loses to Fish. I''m just trying to help brother Yin Dong win one back, right?"

    "The word ''brother'' sounds so twisted coming from your mouth."

    Zheng Jing said irritably, "You''re just trying to annoy him. If something goes wrong, it''ll be interesting. After all, Little Fish''s song is a trump card for the Battle of the Gods."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    Of course, he remembered Yin Dong. He had collaborated with Fei Yang several times and had many interactions with himself.

    Lin Yuan also listened to others'' songs in his spare time.

    There were several songs composed by Yin Dong on his playlist, which he quite enjoyed.

    "Bring them on then."

    Lu Sheng seemed quite confident.

    ...

    This club was where Yang Zhongming and Zheng Jing met privately with other songwriters in the circle.

    Shortly after Yang Zhongming made the calls, the club started bustling.

    Several songwriters arrived one after another. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This included Yin Dong, whom Lu Sheng specifically reminded Yang Zhongming to invite.

    Within the hour,

    The club''s room was filled with more than twenty songwriters!

    This lineup, if placed in the music industry, could scare people to death!

    Some of them even took the initiative to greet Lin Yuan, showing considerable friendliness.

    Because Lin Yuan had participated in "Our Song" and had decent relationships with some of the songwriters, such as Ye Zhi Qiu, who had once competed with Lin Yuan for the season''s chart, was also present and greeted Lin Yuan.

    But when it came to age, Lin Yuan simply didn''t fit in with the other songwriters.

    If it were anyone else at Lin Yuan''s age, they wouldn''t even have the right to speak among these songwriters, let alone be greeted by them with utter equality.

 Chapter 873 - 873: 823

    ```

    It seemed that the Maestros had already determined Xian Yu was going to be the new Maestro.

    Inside the room.

    The Maestros were also exchanging thoughts.

    As the situation was introduced, everyone quickly became aware of what was happening here, and the atmosphere on the scene heated up:

    "Fascinating!"

    "To witness a fight between Xian Yu and Lu Sheng, my trip here is really worth it!"

    "Actually, I''ve been meaning to say this, Lu Sheng, why did you choose to release a song in November, forcing Xian Yu to reveal his trump card for the Battle of the Gods? Isn''t that letting Zhong Continent take advantage of the situation? It''s better to have this kind of private contest."

    "Come to think of it, without this drama, we wouldn''t have had the chance to hear the song Xian Yu prepared for the Battle of the Gods beforehand."

    "Fortunately, it''s Teacher Yang Zhongming. Otherwise, who could have such a big face to make you, Lu Sheng, step back."

    "Haha, there''s a good chance Lu Sheng might lose."

    "The older ginger is spicier; you think Lu Sheng put on such a big show without having something up his sleeve?"

    "That''s true."

    "I guess he just staged this act on purpose, to show us how impressive he, Lu Sheng, is."

    "..."

    Everyone chatted away merrily.

    Many of the Maestros knew each other well. It was rare for them to have the opportunity to gather together, and they were quite excited.

    Furthermore, the upcoming duel was between Lu Sheng and Xian Yu. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The former is the youngest Maestro in the history of Blue Star and a recipient of the Maestro Award;

    The latter is about to break the former''s record as the youngest Maestro, a demonic-level genius who has risen to fame in recent years!

    The peak duel between these two can be imagined to be spectacular!

    Even for the Maestros, this was a matchup worth looking forward to!

    Only Yin Dong had a sour expression on his face.

    He certainly knew that Lu Sheng was trying to show off, to demonstrate in his presence how Lu Sheng would defeat Xian Yu.

    Thus, with Yin Dong''s naturally deadpan face, his expression looked even uglier now.

    Next to him, Ye Zhi Qiu caught sight of Yin Dong''s state and snickered for a few seconds before coughing and saying:

    "Everyone is almost here; shall we get started?"

    "Alright, please take a seat."

    Lu Sheng looked at Lin Yuan and asked, "You first or me?"

    "Whatever."

    Lin Yuan said nonchalantly.

    Lu Sheng shrugged, "I''ve heard some of you mentioned there''s a curse about the one who moves first always losing on ''Our Song''. I''m the type who doesn''t believe in superstitions; I''ll play my song first."

    Everyone laughed.

    Of course, no one took such a joke seriously.

    The room had the necessary equipment, and Lu Sheng began to fiddle with the sound system himself.

    A moment later.

    Lu Sheng''s expression became serious, "This song of mine is called ''Water Rhyme.'' It''s a classical style and took half a year to create. It''s also, at present, a work I''m proud of. Please enjoy."

    Inside the room, the Maestros quieted down.

    A song that Lu Sheng called a work he is proud of warranted everyone''s attention!

    Despite the banter earlier.

    Everyone understood the gravity of the occasion.

    Lin Yuan, too, was earnest in his expression. He did not underestimate Lu Sheng, a top-level Maestro, just because he had ''Blue and White Porcelain'' in his possession.

    "Begin."

    Teacher Yang Zhongming spoke up, his eyes narrowing slightly. Next to him, Zheng Jing too stayed quiet.

    She smiled.

    Lu Sheng clicked play.

    Inside the room, the sound of a bamboo flute rang out.

    The crisp melody instantly captivated everyone''s ears.

    As various classical instruments took turns entering the stage, the singing also began slowly.

    ...

    Lu Sheng had said in an interview that the inspiration for this song came from ''East Wind Breaks.''

    However, in reality, Lu Sheng''s song, both in melody and artistic conception, had nothing to do with ''East Wind Breaks.''

    If one really had to point out a similarity, it was probably that stunning classical style.

    The song was titled ''Water Rhyme.''

    In the music, there seemed to be the sound of water drops falling.

    Unconsciously.

    The expressions on everyone''s faces changed.

    Even Teacher Yang Zhongming showed a look of deep intoxication.

    Lin Yuan was also silently feeling the spirit of the song, and he almost felt as if he was being drawn into it.

    This song was only just over three minutes long.

    ```

    However, when the whole song had finished playing, everyone seemed to yearn for more.

    The room, however, became even quieter.

    "What do you think?"

    Lu Sheng found a chair to sit down, smiling.

    "Perfect."

    Ye Zhi Qiu said emotionally, "I thought ''East Wind Breaks'' by Xian Yu was the pinnacle of the classical style, unrivaled by anyone, but your song shines in parallel with it."

    "Your ability to ''borrow a chicken to lay an egg'' is undeniable."

    A Maestro nearby also sighed with some admiration, "To take the essence of ''East Wind Breaks'' and make it your own, yet to walk a completely different style, expressing emotions through water and confiding in landscapes, is impressive."

    "What about you, Brother Zhongming?"

    Lu Sheng eagerly awaited Yang Zhongming''s evaluation.

    Yang Zhongming nodded, "Classical, refined, elegant, from melody to arrangement it''s all perfect. You didn''t use the pipa as the main sound but chose the guqin instead. The whole song is naturally flawless, I can''t find faults with it."

    "Pointing out faults is my strength, though, Lu Sheng, you seem a bit crafty."

    Zheng Jing winked at Lu Sheng, "Clearly learning from the creative techniques of ''East Wind Breaks,'' yet you forged your path, creating a world of your own."

    "I admit that."

    Lu Sheng looked at Lin Yuan, "I believe it''s almost impossible to surpass ''East Wind Breaks'' in this style of music, so I chose to write my own East Wind Breaks. What do you think, Teacher Admirable Fish?"

    "Good!"

    Lin Yuan said earnestly.

    Lu Sheng couldn''t help but give a wry smile.

    This assessment was simple, but the other party''s sincere expression was not lacking in solemnity, so he didn''t feel it was perfunctory:

    "It''s your turn."

    "Alright."

    Lin Yuan took out his smartphone, connected it to the sound system, and then proceeded to introduce the song to everyone in imitation of Lu Sheng:

    "This song is called ''Blue and White Porcelain,'' neo-classical music."

    Blue Star didn''t have the concept of ''Chinese style.''

    Neo-classical music was the label the professional field had given ''East Wind Breaks.''

    Lu Sheng''s expression changed.

    Yang Zhongming''s mouth corners curved up ever so slightly.

    Zheng Jing''s eyes lit up.

    The other Maestros looked at each other in surprise.

    This was something that no one had anticipated.

    Xian Yu had also written a classical-style song, directly clashing in style with Lu Sheng.

    And Lu Sheng''s song creation technique was learned from ''East Wind Breaks''!

    Meanwhile, Xian Yu was the pioneer of this neo-classical style found in ''East Wind Breaks''!

    As the pioneer, would the quality of Xian Yu''s neo-classical style song be inferior?

    The answer was, of course, no!

    Not to mention that this song was prepared for the Battle of Gods!

    Ye Zhi Qiu glanced at Lu Sheng with a smile, "We''re in for a treat."

    Lu Sheng didn''t speak.

    He was thinking, could Xian Yu surpass his ''East Wind Breaks''?

    Impossible!

    He quickly came to a conclusion.

    This allowed him to relax slightly.

    A similar line of thought appeared in the minds of others as well, and they came to similar conclusions.

    In the neo-classical style, ''East Wind Breaks'' was already perfect.

    Even Lu Sheng could only take a different path rather than surpass ''East Wind Breaks'' based on its foundation.

    For ''East Wind Breaks'' was already stylistically impeccable.

    It seemed today, it would be hard to distinguish a winner between these two.

    While the various Maestros were engaged in their different thoughts, Lin Yuan had already clicked to play the song ''Blue and White Porcelain.''

    The flute...

    The guqin...

    The zither...

    Traditional Blue Star instruments took turns playing.

    They were accompanied by plucking, percussion, and woodwind techniques, instantly immersing one into the world of the song.

    What sets a Chinese style song apart?

    In terms of the intricacy of the music and adherence to formal standards, the best Chinese style song is actually ''East Wind Breaks.''

    But the song that truly took the Chinese style to its peak, called the ultimate in Chinese style, was ''Blue and White Porcelain'' that was currently resonating in the room.

    That was the difference between the two.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: I wanted to write this plot in more detail, hence a combined chapter, and the song will be finished in the next chapter.

 Chapter 874 - 824 Wonder Lu Admits Defeat

    In the clubhouse.

    Inside the room.

    The music carried a faint melancholy.

    Within the melancholy, a hint of heaviness was mixed.

    The maestros in the room were savoring the prelude of "Blue and White Porcelain".

    The main verse, for the first time, resounded:

    "The plain white porcelain is sketched with cobalt blue, the dense ink fades to light

    The peony depicted on the body is like your initial makeup

    The gradual scent of sandalwood through the window, my thoughts of you are clear

    The brush travels on the rice paper and stops halfway..."

    As the first part of the main verse began, Lu Sheng, who had been full of confidence, suddenly lifted his head, as a ripple passed through his heart.

    Pure.

    Elegant.

    The gentle and delicate lyrics, accompanied by the melody, still had the flavor of new classical style, but these lyrics instantly dazzled him!

    And it wasn''t just Lu Sheng.

    Everyone else in the room also showed a hint of astonishment, clearly impressed by the lyrics!

    "The glaze renders a painting of elegant ladies, its charm privately hidden

    And your smile, blooming like a flower yet to unfold

    Your beauty drifts away

    To a place I cannot reach..."

    Still as mesmerizingly beautiful lyrics, and as the song continued, Lu Sheng''s heart finally began to undulate!

    Plop!

    Like a pebble falling into the heart of a lake, ripples spread out in all directions!

    He subconsciously adjusted his seated posture, causing the chair to grate against the floor with a somewhat grating noise.

    The friction was fleeting.

    No one spoke aloud at the scene, but the maestros seated around began lifting their heads one after another, with a clear change in their eyes!

    Among the crowd.

    Yin Dong and Ye Zhi Qiu exchanged glances, both seeing the amazement in each other''s eyes!

    Just then.

    The singing abruptly climbed in pitch!

    Sorrow and desolation, like the drizzle of an autumn rain, quietly cascading, as if the song was the only thing left between heaven and earth!

    "The azure sky awaits the misty rain, and I await you

    The smoke from cooking fires spirals up, across a thousand miles of river

    At the base of a vessel, Han clerical script is written, emulating the elegance of bygone days

    Consider it a foreshadowing of my encounter with you

    The azure sky awaits the misty rain, and I await you

    The moonlight salvaged spreads out and blurs the conclusion

    Like heirloom Blue and White Porcelain, being beautiful unto itself

    Your eyes carrying a hint of mirth..."

    Pitter-patter, like pearls and jades falling onto a jade plate!

    The sublime melody, still tinged with a trace of hesitance and coldness, like a cool breeze blowing through the persistent drizzle, penetrating the hearts of all present!

    Chilling!

    Yet scalding hot!

    Everyone''s expression changed, a look of astonishment creeping onto the faces of all maestros simultaneously, forming a standardized and unified look of utter astonishment in the melody-imbued room!

    Stunned!

    Completely stunned!

    Lu Sheng''s face lost its prior confidence!

    His body tensed instinctively, while his mouth was slightly agape!

    The musical instruments were being played with fervor.

    Traditional playing techniques composed a slow, leisurely tune, the deep and shallow currents of love and separation flowed within the room, the song bearing an indescribable sense of antiquity and depth, as if both history and time were mottled.

    Gong, shang, jiao, zhi, yu!

    The ultimate simplicity!

    The ultimate shock!

    When the entire song ended, the whole room was silent as a tomb!

    The next moment.

    The silence shattered.

    Loud voices melded together, making the entire room boil! Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "This is a masterpiece of the new classical genre!"

    "I thought no song could surpass ''The East Wind Breaks,'' even Lu Sheng''s work could only try a different approach, but this song did it!"

    "The five notes have been used to their utmost!"

    "How is this possible!"

    "The beauty of scenery, the beauty of metaphor, the beauty of emotion, so many elements combined yet so harmoniously blended, this song is simply more flawless than ''The East Wind Breaks''!"

    "..."

    Amidst the tumultuous voices, gazes converged on Lin Yuan''s expressionless face, though everyone''s mindset was now utterly different!

    Nobody expected it!

    Xian Yu had actually written a song that surpassed ''The East Wind Breaks''!

    In a daze.

    Some looked towards Lu Sheng.

    A wry smile flickered across Lu Sheng''s lips and he couldn''t help but ask Lin Yuan, "Can I take a look at the lyrics?"

    "Sure."

    Lin Yuan took out the score and handed it to him.

    Instantly.

    All the maestros crowded around Lu Sheng, peering at the score of "Blue and White Porcelain," their appraisal still accompanied by intense whispering.

    "Indeed."

    Looking at the lyrics, Lu Sheng glanced at Lin Yuan with a bittersweet expression: "Your talent for writing lyrics is truly astounding."

    The azure sky awaits the misty rain, and I await you.

    What kind of genius creativity does it take to write such lyrics?

    If the classical-style ''May We All'' is undoubtedly the pinnacle, then Xian Yu''s song is the peak of vernacular-style lyrics, and it''s beyond dispute!

    Next to them.

    Ye Zhi Qiu mused, "Whether it''s composing the music or the arrangement, the two songs are neck and neck, but the lyrics put a gap between them."

    "Yes."

    Zheng Jing sighed from the side: "But overall, ''Blue and White Porcelain'' is a little more impressive."

    "Taken individually, every standard of the song is nearly on par."

    Yang Zhongming spoke up, and even his voice couldn''t help but carry a hint of emotion: "We can only say that Xian Yu''s song named ''Blue and White Porcelain'' has reached the pinnacle of the new classical genre in terms of overall score."

    Everyone nodded in agreement.

    In composing, writing, arranging, and so on, "Blue and White Porcelain" scored extremely high in every category, not much better than Lu Sheng''s song, and it wouldn''t be an overstatement to say they''re equally matched.

    This is true even when compared with ''The East Wind Breaks''.

    However, when considered as a whole, "Blue and White Porcelain" clearly has the upper hand, especially the lyrics of this song seem tailor-made for the new classical genre!

 Chapter 875 - 824 Wonder Lu Admits Defeat_2

    The entire song''s mood is half derived from the melody and the other half from the lyrics.

    Combined, "Blue and White Porcelain" reached a height that no one else could surpass!

    "I could have gone up too."

    Suddenly, Yin Dong said this to Lu Sheng.

    Lu Sheng rolled his eyes.

    Everyone burst into laughter.

    Indeed.

    This round really was such that anyone who went up would do.

    After all.

    Whoever went up would lose.

    ¡­

    The maestros arrived quickly and left just as fast.

    When everyone left with countless emotions, only Yang Zhongming, Zheng Jing, Lin Yuan, and Lu Sheng remained in the room.

    "I admit I was outplayed."

    Lu Sheng gave a resigned smile, "I truly embarrassed myself today."

    Lin Yuan shook his head seriously, "The victory of ''Blue and White Porcelain'' lies in the lyrics. Mr. Lu Sheng''s composition was not inferior, and I truly respect your piece as well."

    He wasn''t being modest on purpose.

    Lin Yuan was telling the truth.

    In terms of composition, "Blue and White Porcelain" did not assuredly beat Lu Sheng.

    Lu Sheng''s competition wasn''t me, but the combination of Director Zhou and Fang Wenshan!

    If it were just about the composition, Lu Sheng''s "Water Rhyme" could entirely contest with Director Zhou!

    Ultimately, "Blue and White Porcelain" just won owing to Fang Wenshan''s hand.

    You know, Fang Wenshan is a top lyricist on Earth, and the lyrics of this song are a peak masterpiece of Fang Wenshan himself!

    Just think about it.

    If "Blue and White Porcelain" lacked Fang Wenshan''s perfect lyrical performance, could this song stand out among the numerous similar songs by Director Zhou and become the pinnacle of Chinese style in many people''s hearts?

    "You don''t need to comfort me."

    Lu Sheng smiled resignedly, "Although I am vain, I am not someone who can''t accept defeat. Use this song in December, I''ll withdraw from November."

    "That''s not necessary."

    Lin Yuan shook his head, stunningly saying:

    "Actually, ''Blue and White Porcelain'' was intended to be released in November."

    Lu Sheng stiffened, his face suddenly changing!

    Yang Zhongming and Zheng Jing also showed astonished expressions!

    The three exchanged looks.

    Was this song not Admirable Fish''s secret weapon prepared for the battle of the gods!?

    The fact that these three were shocked shows just how astonishing Lin Yuan''s words were!

    "Do you have an even better song in December?"

    Lu Sheng''s voice changed, "Please don''t act out of pride. I''m the one stepping down voluntarily; you don''t need to feel like you took advantage, especially since you''ve already beaten me!"

    "There''s another song in December."

    Lin Yuan hesitated for a moment, then added, "It might not necessarily be better, but it won''t be far off."

    Yang Zhongming''s expression was strange, "Are you serious?"

    Zheng Jing couldn''t help but say, "You really should not mess around, if you release this song in December, even if Zhong Continent makes a move, it would be hard to compete with this song!" S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "It should be fine."

    Lin Yuan also had his doubts, but he ultimately decided to release "Blue and White Porcelain" in November, despite the song''s quality being more than sufficient for December.

    Moreover...

    Why should someone else step down for him? Everyone has the freedom to choose their song release timing. In this matter, Lin Yuan knew he wasn''t being reasonable, but inevitably, it felt like letting down the kindness of Uncle Yang and Aunt Zheng.

    With this in mind.

    Lin Yuan said to Yang Zhongming and Zheng Jing, "Thank you, Uncle Yang, thank you, Aunt Zheng."

    "Since you''ve made this decision, there must be a reason behind it. Seems like I still underestimated you," Yang Zhongming waved his hand, "I hadn''t planned to intervene. It was Aunt Zheng who insisted I step in, plus, I couldn''t bear to see you play your ace in November. Now that you still have something for December, it actually eases my guilt towards Lu Sheng."

    "This is my fault; I should have discussed it with you in advance."

    Zheng Jing laughed heartily, "I was afraid you might feel slighted, so I informed you at the last minute. However, you shouldn''t feel this goes against principles all too much; the music industry has a tradition of giving heads-up. Maestros to some extent always have such an understanding among themselves; there is no need to make a big deal out of it, looking back, haven''t you also stepped aside for others."

    "That is true."

    Lu Sheng looked at Lin Yuan and smiled, "The year I got the twelve consecutive titles, Brother Zhongming stepped aside for me once. If Brother Zhongming hadn''t, I really wouldn''t have gotten the twelve consequtive crowns that year. In that regard, you are stronger than me."

    For this outcome, the three of them were somewhat amused yet sad.

    Everyone thought Admirable Fish had only one secret weapon.

    And that it would be played in December!

    However, who could have imagined that Xian Yu still had an ace up his sleeve!

    Whether it was November or December, Xian Yu''s side was quite confident!

    The three of them never doubted that Lin Yuan was bluffing.

    By December, things would be clear, and there was no point in bluffing at such a time, especially as it involved the crucial twelve consecutive championships, no one joked about such a thing!

    "Let''s have dinner together tonight."

    Lu Sheng suddenly said, "Just release my song as usual, there''s no need to purposely choose a date, since you''re not planning on changing the schedule anyway."

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan agreed.

    Lu Sheng''s song had shown Lin Yuan the capabilities of a world-class composer.

    If his song hadn''t been "Blue and White Porcelain," but just another Chinese-style song, Lin Yuan might not have any other songs in November that could definitely beat the opponent.

    Of course.

    This just meant that apart from "Blue and White Porcelain," Lin Yuan had no other songs that could definitely win, but he still had songs that could compete on an equal footing with the opponent''s.

    That settled it.

    The four made a dinner plan.

    During the meal...

    Lin Yuan and Lu Sheng exchanged contact information and found they quite hit it off.

    "Actually, for you, the battle of the gods isn''t scary. I have experience in this as someone who''s been through it."

    "What experience?"

    "The experience is, when a composer can win for eleven seasons, the twelfth season, no matter what the quality of your song, many people will support you; it''s called letting a gentleman finish his journey."

    "The righteous are helped, the unrighteous are few?"

    "Your words are interesting. No wonder you could write a song like ''Blue and White Porcelain''. Overall, the season chart is not purely a stage of strength. You cannot expect everyone to be completely fair; if people like certain singers or composers, what can you do? For example, if you''re a newcomer, even if your song in November is better than mine, I would still win because I''m Maestro, and these off-stage factors all affect the season chart rankings, but you have momentum to leverage, and by then you will find a group of people helping you. Of course, if your song isn''t good enough, off-stage factors can''t play a decisive role."

    "Hmm."

    The two talked a lot.

    Mostly, Lu Sheng did the talking while Lin Yuan listened.

    Lu Sheng didn''t mind Lin Yuan''s quiet demeanor.

    Geniuses differ in character.

    In Lu Sheng''s eyes, Lin Yuan''s character suited him very well.

    Yang Zhongming, sitting nearby, busied himself with his food and occasionally chipped in a word.

    Only Zheng Jing looked at Lin Yuan and Lu Sheng with an odd expression:

    Who would have thought these two were about to compete in the November season chart?

    After the meal ended...

    Lin Yuan drove home.

    It was just past ten-thirty in the evening.

    Less than two hours remained until the season chart update.

    Online...

    The November season chart competition between Lu Sheng and Xian Yu was trending!

    "Only one and a half hours left!"

    "Wondering who between Fish Papa and Wonder Lu will win or lose!"

    "I like both sides, so I can accept any outcome. But comparing their achievements, I feel like Fish Papa''s chances are slim."

    "Didn''t GOAT analyze it? It''s slightly in favor of one."

    "Some say it''s more tilted the other way."

    "Saying Fish Papa is like Little Lu Sheng is just too much. Isn''t that implying Fish Papa will definitely lose?"

    As for the November season chart competition between Xian Yu and Lu Sheng, countless people online were analyzing it.

    The most widely accepted conclusion was "slightly in favor of one."

    Xian Yu slightly less favored, Lu Sheng slightly more favored.

    However...

    As this opinion took deep root and time ticked ever closer to the season chart update...

    On his blog...

    Lu Sheng, a top composer from Blue Star and the youngest Maestro to score twelve consecutive championships, suddenly posted a special update:

    [Today I listened to Teacher Admirable Fish''s new song and I was dumbfounded. I give up for November, but I certainly won''t flake. I recommend everyone listens to my song first; it should not disappoint you, but if you listen to Admirable Fish''s song before mine, you might be disappointed. Am I spoiling something here?]

    The update was accompanied by a photo.

    In the photo, Lu Sheng''s cheeks were flushed as if he had drunk quite a bit; he and Xian Yu were standing shoulder to shoulder, both making a classic scissor-hand gesture at the camera.

    Duang!

    Netizens across continents were stunned!

    --------------------

    ps: Asking for monthly votes, will continue writing.

 Chapter 876 - 876: 825

    Netizens from all over the continents were almost baffled as they watched this update!

    What''s going on?

    The whole internet was anticipating your November showdown, the tension was almost palpable, and then you two sneak off to meet in private?

    You even had the nerve to make scissor hands at the camera?

    How childish can you guys get!

    Even more baffling than their private meeting was what Lu Sheng mentioned!

    Lu Sheng had already listened to Xian Yu''s new November song?

    And...

    He had already conceded?

    "Damn!"

    "Can someone tell me what''s going on, how did Lu Sheng concede already?"

    "He isn''t trying to throw the game, is he?"

    "He wouldn''t throw the game so blatantly, I think Xian Yu wrote an incredible new song!"

    "Is this the Bomb?"

    "Damn, so Lu Sheng couldn''t end Xian Yu''s eleven-match winning streak either?"

    "Looks like Xian Yu''s November song is worth a good listen. What kind of level must a song be to make Lu Sheng concede in advance?"

    "I don''t believe it!"

    "Believe it or not, just listen to the song later and you''ll know!"

    "I was planning to sleep, but now it seems I don''t need to. I won''t be able to sleep tonight without listening to their new songs."

    Amid countless expectations and curiosity.

    I wonder how many netizens were too excited to sleep after seeing this update.

    Tribe!

    Blogs!

    All major forums!

    Everywhere, people were guessing whether Lu Sheng really conceded, or if there was some other reason.

    ...

    Amid countless discussions.

    The eagerly awaited midnight finally arrived.

    Lu Sheng''s new song "Water Rhyme" was released!

    Xian Yu''s new song "Blue and White Porcelain" was released!

    Perhaps because Lu Sheng had given a heads-up, many people''s first choice was indeed "Water Rhyme".

    Soon.

    Everyone had listened to this song.

    The song''s comment section exploded immediately:

    "Damn, Lu Sheng''s song is kind of sick, it gave me goosebumps, so freaking good!"

    "Hehe, I knew Lu Sheng was trying to throw the game!"

    "Wonder Lu, come clean, how much did Xian Yu pay you!"

    "Hello? You concede with this song? Fit yourself right! Bring back a championship song!"

    "What a joke! No matter how good Xian Yu''s song is, could it really win against this one?"

    "Case closed, Lu Sheng''s update was definitely a joke, just to trick us into listening to his song first."

    "Good one, Lu Sheng, acting all pure and fresh, literally conceding with four twos."

    Netizens rolled their eyes!

    What do you mean he conceded early!

    Lu Sheng''s song was obviously too good!

    With such a song, it would be hard for Lu Sheng to lose!

    Why on earth would he concede?

    We don''t agree!

    ...

    Just then.

    A comment suddenly popped up in the section:

    "Damn, you guys need to listen to Xian Yu''s new song, if Lu Sheng brought four twos, then Xian Yu brought two Kings, the Bomb annihilates everything!"

    The Bomb?

    An annihilator?

    Netizens'' brains crashed for a few seconds, then they hurriedly clicked on Xian Yu''s "Blue and White Porcelain"!

    In fact.

    Not everyone did as Lu Sheng said, some people listened to "Blue and White Porcelain" first.

    And when the song ended.

    The countless listeners in front of their computers were dumbfounded!

    Especially after listening to Lu Sheng''s song and then this one, the impact was even more profound!

    If Lu Sheng''s "Water Rhyme" is the sky;

    Xian Yu''s "Blue and White Porcelain" is a fairy flying beyond the sky!

    It''s hard to describe the initial shock of hearing "Blue and White Porcelain" for the first time.

    Considering that this song isn''t one with a very explosive melody.

    On the contrary,

    the melody of this song is rather gentle, with a tinge of melancholy and wistfulness.

    Yet,

    it was such a song that, when it reached the listeners'' ears, it blew up more than any explosive melody!

    It exploded!

    ...

    The first to blow up was naturally the comment section of "Blue and White Porcelain"!

    Here gathered the first batch of listeners after the song''s release, and their initial reactions were the simplest and most straightforward!

    "Damn, I''m convinced!"

    "What a masterpiece, ''Blue and White Porcelain'' is definitely a masterpiece!"

    "This song was so explosive it made all my hair stand on end, Fish Papa yyds!"

    "This is way too awesome, I think it''s even more insane than Lu Sheng''s ''Water Rhyme,'' definitely a signature work of Fish Papa!"

    "What a beautiful song title, ''Blue and White Porcelain''!"

    "The lyrics are even more beautiful than the title, this is one of the best lyrics I''ve ever seen!"

    "Like ''East Wind Breaks,'' this song created a new classical style by Xian Yu, and it''s even better than my favorite ''East Wind Breaks,'' what baffles me the most is, how could Fish Papa not save this song for the battle of the gods!?"

    ...

    The tribe forums and blogs were soon flooded with comments about "Blue and White Porcelain," affecting all major forums!

    Related trending topics soared high!

    "What kind of song is this by Fish Papa!"

    "If Lu Sheng is a god, then Fish Papa is a god-slayer with this move!"

    "No wonder Wonder Lu conceded... It''s not that Wonder Lu wasn''t strong, it''s just that Xian Yu went too hard this time!"

    "Indeed, Lu Sheng''s song was already perfect, but Xian Yu''s ''Blue and White Porcelain'' is just on another level, a level above perfection!"

    "Cough, as everyone knows, Lu Sheng is called Little Xian Yu."

    "Damn Little Xian Yu, but in this classic duel, Lu Sheng really does have a bit of Little Xian Yu in him."

    "No more to say, let''s loop the single!"

    ... sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The industry was also blown open by "Blue and White Porcelain"!

    Apart from a few Maestros, most people in the industry were hearing this song for the first time, and if it made the Maestros pale, how could the industry not recognize its value!

    "Never thought Lu Sheng would actually lose."

    "Wasn''t it all said to be a fifty-fifty chance before?"

    "All I can say is, the song Xian Yu brought out this time is too terrifying, he must have used his ace song that was prepared for December release ahead of time."

    "The significance of Xian Yu defeating Lu Sheng is not small, he is following a path very similar to Lu Sheng''s from years ago, aiming to become the youngest Maestro in Blue Star history, also aiming to win twelve consecutive championships, only Xian Yu''s path is even tougher because he is younger and the challenge of winning twelve consecutive championships is greater!"

    "He is already showing signs of surpassing Lu Sheng."

    "I feel like one era has ended and a new era is about to arrive."

    "Could it be the era of Xian Yu from now on?"

    ...

    But to talk about the level of shock, perhaps the most profound impact of "Blue and White Porcelain" was on the lyricist community!

    All major chat groups in the composition community are discussing it!

    "This person''s lyric writing has reached the pinnacle, ''the blue of the sky waits for the mist and rain, and I wait for you''¡ªI wish I could write lyrics like this in my lifetime!"

    "The beautiful imagery, Xian Yu''s lyrics could be directly enshrined!"

    "That part [''Outside the window, the banana plants provoke a sudden rain, the door knocker provokes verdigris, and as I pass by that Jiangnan small town, I provoked you''] is truly enshrined, the use of the three ''provokes'' is simply brilliant!"

    "Being able to write classical-style lyrics like ''But Wish Longevity,'' and now a vernacular, he has almost explored the limits of lyric writing in two different directions."

    "However, ''But Wish Longevity'' was lyrics outweighing the composition, but this time it''s a true complement to each other."

    "Indeed, the lyrics of ''But Wish Longevity'' are so good that any composition paired with it feels unworthy; this time it''s a perfect match, and this kind of compatibility can make compositions and lyrics achieve each other, I don''t know how many years this song can be passed down."

    ...

    The media also reacted immediately!

    Though it was late at night, countless eyes were watching Xian Yu and Lu Sheng, and as the rivalry on the seasonal chart had just concluded, numerous press releases began bombarding simultaneously!

    "November seasonal chart begins, Xian Yu takes the lead!"

    "Xian Yu embodies the culmination of new classical music, Lu Sheng concedes early!"

    "Eleven consecutive championships? Xian Yu stands undefeated!"

    "Xian Yu breaks the even-split rumor: Lu Sheng''s new song narrowly defeated!"

    "November''s hit, Blue and White Porcelain!"

    "Four twos and two kings: Xian Yu and Lu Sheng, a battle of gods!"

    "A timeless classic? Xian Yu and Blue and White Porcelain!!!"

    When "Blue and White Porcelain" was released, there were few who remained indifferent, especially since this song had also defeated Lu Sheng''s new work, and both songs took the same path!

    Countless discussions!

    Countless shocks!

    Countless loops!

    For many, tonight was destined to be a sleepless night!

 Chapter 877 - 826: King of Singing Sun Yaohuo (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

    Some people listened to "Blue and White Porcelain" and couldn''t sleep all night.

    But Lin Yuan slept until dawn, sweetly and deeply.

    Get up.

    Wash up.

    Brush teeth.

    Lin Yuan went downstairs for breakfast and heard the song playing downstairs:

    "The color white with blue, the koi fish seems to leap at the bottom of the bowl, while imitating the Song typeface''s signature, yet you ponder about you, Hide in the kiln''s secrets of a thousand years, so exquisite like a needle dropping on the floor from an embroidery..."

    Mom said, "Blue and White Porcelain is so nice to listen to."

    Sister looked at Lin Yuan, "I''ll reward you with an extra egg."

    Sister thought for a moment, "The yolk is yours."

    Antarctica drooled with envy.

    And when the driver came to pick up Lin Yuan, the same song was playing in the car:

    "In the splash-ink landscape painting, you are hidden in the depths of the dark ink..."

    Even upon arriving at the company.

    Passing by some departments, Lin Yuan could still hear the song.

    Overnight.

    This song "Blue and White Porcelain" became popular throughout Jiangnan and beyond!

    And when Lin Yuan went online, his eyes were met with numerous discussions about "Blue and White Porcelain"!

    Among them.

    Ni Hongwu, a lyricist who wrote songs for Fei Yang in the battle of the gods the year before last but encountered "May You Live Long," published a long review on Starlight Network about this song:

    "Nothing is more beautiful than ''Blue and White Porcelain.''"

    This is the title Ni Hongwu used for her long review:

    "In terms of artistic conception, ''Blue and White Porcelain'' is like a misty Jiangnan ink wash painting, where the fluttering movement of the water and clouds just barely reveals the figure of a lady in white, with her skirts and ribbons flying; in terms of lyrics, ''Blue and White Porcelain'' is like a plain-hearted letter written by the window, its twists and turns only due to the heart being a double-silk-net, with thousands of knots; as for the melody, ''Blue and White Porcelain'' is like a mountain spring whispering on stones in a gentle breeze, cool and clear yet meandering with an endless intention.

    When these three elements combine, ''Blue and White Porcelain'' is true to its name.

    Just like the ''self-absorbed beauty'' of fine celadon, stripped of all pretension, simple and elegant, refreshing and smooth, with the guzheng strings plucked crisply and the pipa bubbling...

    When researching, I came across a legend.

    The legend says that to achieve the sky-blue glaze color, the right humidity and kiln temperature must be met, so one must wait for a smoky rainy day for a chance of successful firing. The refrain of the lyrics seems to draw from this legend, and it''s truly beautiful, so beautiful that I no longer need to question the authenticity of the legend.

    And yet, the most exquisite part of the song does not stop there.

    The following verse about the initial encounter is nothing short of astonishing; so much so that this morning, countless lyricist colleagues have been analyzing it, with an old friend even joking that this verse could be used as a reading comprehension question in a Chinese language college entrance exam.

    Blue Star''s number one lyricist is none other than Xian Yu.

    And if the lyricist happens to also be the composer, with such a perfect integration of both, it''s no wonder that Wonder Lu admitted defeat. For Wonder Lu, he might not fear any opponent when it comes to composing, but if the opponent possesses such terrifying lyrical talent, then it''s a different story."

    Just as Ni Hongwu said.

    Many lyricists online were analyzing the lyrics of "Blue and White Porcelain" word by word, sentence by sentence.

    Netizens were stunned.

    Especially when Ni Hongwu mentioned the story behind "waiting for the smoke and rain."

    The beautiful legend deepened the connotation and the richness of the lyrics, sparking countless emotions.

    Beyond "Blue and White Porcelain".

    There were also many discussions about "Water Rhyme".

    The same neo-classical style, the same divine level of composition, from public reaction, "Water Rhyme" didn''t tarnish the name of Wonder Lu.

    When Lu Sheng admitted defeat, he joked:

    If you listen to Xian Yu''s new song first, followed by my "Water Rhyme," listeners will be disappointed.

    But that is not the case.

    Even professional music critiques ranked the songs of Xian Yu and Lu Sheng at the same level.

    Including on the seasonal chart for November.

    Xian Yu did not pull far ahead of Lu Sheng.

    For a simple reason, because the composition of "Water Rhyme" is also perfect.

    It is not inferior to "Blue and White Porcelain".

    Just like Lin Yuan said.

    As Blue Star''s top Maestro, Lu Sheng only lost because of Fang Wenshan.

    In terms of composition alone, the two songs are actually on par with each other.

    For both insiders and outsiders of the industry, the November season chart contest was indeed a battle of immortals, it was just that after showing off their powers, Xian Yu performed a "flying immortal outside the sky."

    Lu Sheng''s "Water Rhyme" is that "heaven" that mortals look up to.

    Lin Yuan, too, downloaded "Water Rhyme" with excitement and listened to it more than once, feeling deeply impressed.

    And in this pinnacle showdown.

    The biggest beneficiary was undoubtedly the performer of "Blue and White Porcelain"¡ª

    Sun Yaohuo!

    It''s kinda strange.

    In the numerous discussions about "Blue and White Porcelain" Sun Yaohuo initially didn''t draw much attention.

    Alright.

    It''s not strange.

    All the news of the November season''s charts revolved around Xian Yu and Lu Sheng. Naturally, everyone''s focus was on Xian Yu and Lu Sheng, not Sun Yaohuo himself. This included who sang Lu Sheng''s song, which also failed to spark widespread discussion at first, because at times like these, it''s usually the Maestro who is the soul of the song.

    So.

    It was only when everyone snapped back to their senses that Sun Yaohuo, the singer of "Blue and White Porcelain," burst into everyone''s field of vision with a slightly abrupt flair!

    Hot damn!

    How could we forget about Sun Yaohuo!

    This song, it''s actually sung by Sun Yaohuo!

    This exclamation might seem a bit exaggerated. After all, everyone obviously knew that "Blue and White Porcelain" was performed by Sun Yaohuo.

    None of us grew eyes and ears for nothing.

    What actually surprised netizens was:

    Sun Yaohuo could sing "Blue and White Porcelain" so well!

    Perhaps a certain netizen''s comment hit the nail on the head:

    "The halo of Xian Yu is just too dazzling, almost overshadowing Sun Yaohuo the singer, until I listened to the song on loop numerous times and suddenly realized, Sun Yaohuo as the singer performed too well!"

    This remark garnered countless agreements.

    "Honestly, he sang incredibly well, almost completely overturning my impression of Sun Yaohuo!"

    "I feel like Sun Yaohuo''s vocal skills have improved so drastically, did I not pay enough attention to him before? He shouldn''t have been able to handle this song with his previous skills, right?"

    "He could handle it, but he got the flavor so right, Sun Yaohuo really made a huge breakout!"

    "Fan for life, this is the first time I fell for Sun Yaohuo''s singing!"

    "Fish Papa really favors Sun Yaohuo, to give such an awesome song to someone else to sing."

    "Actually, whether Fish Papa sings his songs himself is meaningless since he''s not aiming to be a singer. Besides, his own halo is too dazzling. Whether he sings it himself or not, his songs will always be his songs, it doesn''t make much difference."

    "Exactly."

    "I also think that Fish Papa''s songs are as if he''s singing them all himself, singers from the Yu Dynasty are just like his voice and mouth. Considering singing involves nasal sounds, we might as well add a nose to the list."

    "Lungs are also involved."

    "Chest cavity too."

    "Well then, singers from the Yu Dynasty turned out to be Fish Papa''s various organs, the tool people of the Yu Dynasty confirmed."

    Netizens had a good laugh.

    Despite being a jest and joker, it is in some sense, a fact.

    Every single song by Xian Yu is stamped with his signature.

    People may forget who the singer of those songs is, but they don''t forget the songwriter. Blue Star is ultimately the world of composers.

    And within the Yu Dynasty.

    No matter who sings the songs of Xian Yu, it always feels like Xian Yu himself is singing.

    Others are merely different vocal tones chosen by Xian Yu to express his voice.

    Of course. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The inherent value of the singer himself is still irreplaceable.

    Especially now in the Yu Dynasty, any one of them stepping out could stand on their own.

    And just as outside discussions began to center around Sun Yaohuo.

    Someone discovered an unbelievable fact!

    Sun Yaohuo''s comprehensive data in all aspects seemed to have reached the standard of the King of Singing?

    Upon learning this.

    Countless netizens were dumbfounded for a few seconds:

    "Holy crap!"

    "Sun Yaohuo has become the King of Singing?"

    "Speaking of which, when others are crowned king or queen, it''s usually discussed extensively beforehand. Like with Jiang Kui''s time, I remember before "Diao" was even released the whole world was discussing whether she would clinch the title of Queen of Singing with it. How come when it gets to Sun Yaohuo ascending to King of Singing it''s so sudden, with none of the grandeur you would expect of someone about to become the King of Singing!"

    "Hahaha, I died laughing, but not entirely."

    "Because we barely take any notice of Sun Yaohuo, this guy''s truly a dark horse, quietly making a huge fortune. Normally unassuming, and by the time we regain our senses, he''s already the King of Singing!"

    "The Yu Dynasty really has great fortune behind it!"

    "Who would''ve thought that Fish Papa would actually boost Sun Yaohuo to the King of Singing position, and with Jiang Kui before, the Yu Dynasty now has two¡ªhey!?"

    Suddenly, the air was silent!

    As quiet as if all the birds had ceased to chirp!

    So quiet you could hear a pin drop!

    The next moment, everyone''s eyes bulged as they leaped up, screaming!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thank you to big brother Swallow 523 for the two adorable sovereigns, and a huge thank you to big brothers "Willing to Be Blank" and "That Touch of Style XY" for the Alliance Hierarchs, bowing down before you all ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, was taken aback by the sudden emergence of so many Alliance Hierarchs, asking for monthly votes in the name of the King of Singing Sun Yaohuo at the start of the month, Polluted White will keep writing!

 Chapter 878 - 827: Maestro Xian Yu (Seeking Monthly Pass)

    Queen of Singing, Jiang Kui!

    King of Singing, Sun Yaohuo!

    The Yu Dynasty now has both a King and Queen of Singing!

    Xian Yu personally produced both the King and Queen of Singing!

    Even the slowest to react should understand what this means!

    "Maestro, Maestro, Maestro¡­"

    "Maestro your head, call him Maestro Junior!!!"

    "Junior your head, he''s still called Maestro Junior now, which of your eyes sees him as junior!?"

    "My goodness!"

    "Are we just going to drop the ''Junior'' from our Maestro Junior like that?"

    "So, Xian Yu = Maestro!?"

    "Did Xian Yu really just become the Maestro like that!?" sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "My heavens!"

    "How old is he?!"

    "The age listed on the encyclopedia is¡­"

    "24 years old?"

    "Terrifying to this extent!"

    "This is going to scare someone to death in broad daylight!"

    "The record held by Lu Sheng as Blue Star''s youngest-ever Maestro, has it really been broken by Xian Yu!?"

    "Maestro has descended!"

    "Xian Yu really became Fish Papa!"

    "Welcome to the era ruled by Xian Yu!"

    Boom!

    The tribe exploded!

    The blogs exploded!

    The whole internet blew up!

    This was so sudden!

    Even more sudden than Sun Yaohuo becoming King of Singing!

    After the suddenness, there was a boiling over the entire internet, with the force of a nuclear explosion!

    Who on Blue Star doesn''t know that one of the ways for a composer to become a Maestro is to produce two Kings or Queens of Singing?

    And now!

    Xian Yu has done it!

    He really has done it!

    Jiang Kui in his left hand, Sun Yaohuo in his right!

    No matter how one might nitpick, the undeniable fact was right in front of them. Keep in mind, all of Sun Yaohuo''s hit songs were composed by Xian Yu, just like Jiang Kui who had become Queen of Singing. Before meeting Xian Yu, Sun Yaohuo was just an unknown newcomer, and even their debut works were crafted by Xian Yu. Who else but Xian Yu could be credited for their rise to stardom?

    But...

    Xian Yu is only 24 years old!

    For young people who started school late or who''ve had a history of being held back a grade, some of them haven''t even graduated from university yet, and even the lonely graduates are struggling with jobs and salaries. Meanwhile, Xian Yu has already produced both a King and a Queen of Singing, achieving the music world''s most honorable title:

    Maestro!!

    Don''t be fooled by how everyone casually calls Xian Yu "Fish Papa", "Maestro Junior", or holds no doubt about his future as a Maestro. But as long as Xian Yu wasn''t officially a Maestro, his name wasn''t truly justified, and he could only enjoy a nominal reputation endorsed by fans without an official stamp of approval. Even some Maestros, no matter what they said out loud, in their hearts they did not truly see Xian Yu as an equal, but looked down on him as a junior because they were the true Maestros!

    And now.

    Everything has changed!

    With Xian Yu ascending to Maestro, he will officially take his place at the pinnacle of the music world, joining the ranks of those who once dominated Blue Star''s music scene, smiling proudly above the rest. Even the Literature and Art Association of Blue Star will have to grant him the most prestigious award and recognition, with no one daring to say that "Maestro Junior" is mere chatter!

    To describe it without exaggeration:

    Becoming a Maestro of the Blue Star music world is like ascending to the heavens in broad daylight for any composer, changing their status completely!

    Just at this moment.

    The official Literature and Art Association account suddenly released a global statement: [We extend early congratulations to Qin Continent''s composer Xian Yu for becoming the new youngest-ever Maestro in the history of Blue Star, at the ripe age of twenty-four, breaking Lu Sheng''s record of becoming the youngest Maestro at the age of thirty-three, and also congratulate Xian Yu for joining the battle of gods in December with divine status!]

    The official congratulations were out!

    Now the whole world will know about the 24-year-old monster from Qin Continent who ascended to Maestro, because the official account used its global publication privileges, and no cultural wall from any continent could hold it back!

    A storm!

    This is a storm!

    The entire Blue Star was shaken by this terrifying earth-shaking storm, the news spreading its wings and flying to every corner of Blue Star!

    ...

    Zhao Continent!

    Although Zhao Continent has not yet joined the great unification of Blue Star, the moment the Literature and Art Association issued the announcement, the netizens here all saw this message aimed at the whole world!

    In an instant!

    The whole Zhao Continent was shaken, followed by an outcry of shock and disbelief, wave after wave!

    "????????"

    "What is this?"

    "Who is Xian Yu!?"

    "A new Maestro from Blue Star!?"

    "Only twenty-four¡­ and he''s already vying for the title of Maestro?"

    "How is this possible, even Wonder Lu only became a Maestro at thirty-three, how can there be such a freak who becomes a god at twenty-four, and this person isn''t even from Zhong Continent, what kind of monster has Qin Continent produced!?"

    "Are those from the merged continents really that terrifying?"

    "Are you sure there hasn''t been some mistake?"

    "How could the Literature and Art Association get it wrong, there''s really a twenty-four-year-old musical prodigy who vied for the title of Maestro in the Blue Star music scene!"

    ...

    Wei Continent!

    It''s another continent that hasn''t joined the merge.

    The announcement from the Literature and Art Association was like a heavy nuclear bomb dropped on Wei Continent!

    "A Maestro only twenty-four years old!?"

    "Are my eyes playing tricks on me?"

    "What on earth is going on with the world, why are such insane things happening!"

    "I saw a bunch of strange news this morning and none of it was as scary as this message, who the hell is this Xian Yu!"

    "Freak, monster, utterly insane!"

    "Don''t tell me the official account of the Literature and Art Association has been hacked..."

    "Tired of living, hacking an official account like this, this message is clearly announcing to the whole Blue Star that Qin Continent has a genius the likes of which appears once in a millennium!"

    "Feels like our Maestros in Wei Continent are going to wet themselves."

    ...

    Merged Continent.

    Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han!

    The music composition community of the five continents faced an unprecedented and unparalleled earthquake!

    "This day had to come eventually."

    "We all knew that this day would inevitably come, just a matter of timing."

    "But this day has come sooner than I imagined, the boast of twelve consecutive crowns has not been realized, the Battle of the Gods has yet to begin, yet he has already vied for the title of Maestro. No matter the outcome in December, his age is already unsurpassable."

    "Twenty-four years old, ah, how wonderful."

    "What were we doing at twenty-four?"

    "Many Maestros back then were wracking their brains over a single song, only to fall flat on the season chart; struggling with all their might for a job, only to watch as famous composers slaughtered all around."

    "He brushed aside Lu Sheng''s record by nearly ten years."

    "With such a new record, will anyone be able to break it in the future?"

    "An announcement for the whole Blue Star, the record has been beaten too severely. This year''s music festival will turn into Xian Yu''s solo show, with all Maestros focusing on him."

    ...

    At home.

    His mother looked at the message on her phone, and suddenly her eyes reddened!

    "This is my son!"

    "Mom, brother has become a Maestro!"

    Big Yaoyao, who was usually as reticent as Lin Yuan, couldn''t help but get excited, her hand holding the phone turned white from the grip!

    "Truly worthy of being Lin Xuan''s brother!"

    The sister almost roared it out; she was so overwhelmed with excitement that she immediately posted on her social circle: "My brother Lin Yuan has the aura of a great emperor!"

    In an instant a heap of comments!

    "My husband is so awesome!"

    "My husband will dominate the era!"

    "Ah! Fish! My treasure!"

    "Treasure, you''ve finally become a Maestro!"

    By her side, Antarctica howled: "Awoo!"

    Who knew how that dog managed to howl like a wolf.

    In his twenty-fourth year, Lin Yuan, known as Xian Yu, astounded the whole world!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to the Alliance Hierarch [Willing to be Blank] big boss for the knees¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, it feels like watching a child grow up, finally got to write about the protagonist becoming a Maestro, asking for a monthly ticket to celebrate the occasion.

 Chapter 879 - 828 Universal Admiration

    Zhong Continent.

    It was still that teahouse.

    It was still those six people from last time.

    Someone was playing a song.

    The melody lingered in the thick tea aroma, seeming to add a touch of antiquity even to this small teahouse.

    The song was "Blue and White Porcelain."

    And when the song ended, the expressions of the six people each had changed.

    This song was not simple.

    All present were elites of Zhong Continent and immediately recognized the terrifying aspect of "Blue and White Porcelain"!

    "It seems this time the bet is won by me."

    The middle-aged man who was brewing tea for everyone smiled and broke the silence. His expression fleetingly complex, so much so that he didn''t even mention the matter of the wager:

    "What does Cheng Sang think?"

    "As for the bet, I''ve won too."

    Cheng Sang spoke, hesitated for a moment, then suddenly uttered a self-contradictory phrase:

    "At the same time, I''ve also lost."

    Someone frowned, "Where did you lose?"

    Cheng Sang, expressionless, replied, "I bet on Xian Yu to win, which I did; but if this is the ace Xian Yu prepared for the Battle of the Gods, then my songs likely won''t stand a chance, so I''ve lost as well, unless I try music of a different genre. But such a comparison would be meaningless. Are you suggesting I switch to piano pieces or even symphonies?" S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The expressions of everyone slightly shifted.

    Clearly, everyone knew Cheng Sang was speaking the truth.

    Any person here facing a song like "Blue and White Porcelain" dared not claim they were sure to win.

    Just then.

    The leader suddenly received a call.

    Whatever was said on the other end of the phone, his face changed dramatically.

    He put down the phone.

    He suddenly revealed a piece of news that shocked everyone:

    "Today, Xian Yu has become a Maestro..."

    In an instant!

    Tea sloshed!

    Even though this group was the elite of Zhong Continent, they were inevitably taken aback, one after another!

    "Today?"

    "How did it happen so fast!"

    "He''s already a Maestro?"

    "According to the data, that Xian Yu is only twenty-four years old, right? I remember we were just talking about how young he is, and now he''s broken Lu Sheng''s record of nearly ten years?"

    "It seems that no matter the outcome of the Battle of the Gods, he has already secured an invincible position."

    "A twenty-four-year-old Maestro; today not just Zhong Continent''s music scene, but the entire musical world of Blue Star won''t be calm."

    ...

    Indeed, the music scene of Blue Star was far from calm today!

    And now, one of the most excited groups was Yu Dynasty!

    "My god, Teacher Admirable Fish has become a Maestro!"

    "Hahahaha, that''s fantastic, congratulations to Teacher Admirable Fish!"

    "Teacher Admirable Fish has ascended to Maestro, and Yao Huo has also become the King of Singing following Jiang Kui. Our Yu Dynasty''s power is becoming increasingly formidable; from now on, we shall be invincible!"

    "Yao Huo is on fire, ah!"

    "This is a dual celebration!"

    "Isn''t Yao Huo going to distribute a hefty red packet now?"

    The Yu Dynasty''s chat was bubbling with excitement, tagging Yao Huo incessantly!

    And amidst the crowd''s clamor, Yao Huo sent a 10,000-yuan red packet!

    [My King of Singing Red Packet!]

    Just as everyone had finished grabbing the first, not even having had the chance to thank him for his generosity, they saw Yao Huo send out a 50,000-yuan red packet!

    [Junior''s Maestro Red Packet, keep up everyone!]

    This was the first time the group saw such exaggerated red packets. After receiving them, people weren''t surprised anymore; rather, they were stunned!

    Has he gone mad?

    Isn''t this too much?

    Of course, Yao Huo hadn''t gone mad, but nobody knew just how tumultuous his emotions were at the moment!

    It could be described as turning the seas!

    The ecstasy was half from becoming the King of Singing, and the other half from Lin Yuan becoming a Maestro!

    "Junior, thank you..."

    In a place unseen by others, Yao Huo''s eyes reddened as he sent a message to Lin Yuan.

    I know.

    You could sing this song yourself, including many of the previous ones, but you chose to give them to me, to give them to us.

    I''m aware of all.

    You''ve made me who I am.

    In this life, I dare not forget you.

    Although he had a myriad of words in his belly, in the end, they all condensed into a heavy "thank you," weighing a thousand pounds.

    He was well aware of his own situation.

    From his first meeting at Starlight, his life was rewritten by his junior.

    It''s a pity he was too mediocre.

    But even so, no matter what the junior needed, Yao Huo would try everything to accomplish it.

    You have treated me with great honor, and I shall repay you in kind.

    This was the only way Yao Huo could think of to repay him:

    "Perhaps Junior will encounter trouble in Zhong Continent, and the Tribunal is also against Junior. Last time, Xia Fan suffered because of this.

    Hmph!

    Bullying the Yu Dynasty is bullying the junior, bullying the junior is bullying me.

    The junior is not involved in worldly desires, unlike me, who only has money.

    No, in the end, it''s my fault for being too poor to resist such capital as the Tribe.

    I must earn more money to help the junior solve his problems, one day I will make the Tribe apologize to the junior obediently!"

    With this thought in mind,

    Sun Yaohuo clenched his fists.

    ¡­

    Starlight.

    The same excitement swept through all the departments of the company!

    "Teacher Admirable Fish is too awesome!"

    "Unconsciously, he has become a Maestro!"

    "Invincible, invincible, invincible!"

    "With Yang Zhongming and Teacher Zheng Jing, our Starlight is invincible!"

    Almost within ten minutes of the Literature and Art Association announcing the news, the threshold of Lin Yuan''s office was nearly worn out by the executives!

    The entire ninth floor was vibrating.

    The Chairman actually brought the entire company''s executives to offer congratulations!

    Admirable Fish becoming a Maestro, this was exciting news for the whole of Starlight!

    That''s the influence of a new Maestro!

    Not to mention that Admirable Fish had seized this honor as the youngest Maestro in history!

    "Crazy!"

    Gu Dong exaggeratedly shouted, "Mr. Lin, look, there are so many people sending congratulations online too!"

    ¡­

    As Gu Dong said,

    The tremors online had not subsided yet.

    Maestro Lu Sheng was the first to send his congratulations to Admirable Fish, "Twenty-four years old, young and promising!"

    Maestro Ye Zhi Qiu also quickly sent his congratulations, "Congratulations to Admirable Fish for becoming a Maestro, may you move forward unhindered from now on!"

    Maestro Yin Dong exclaimed, "Welcome to the Maestro club!"

    Maestro Zheng Jing said, "Little Fish, you have created a new history in the Blue Star music circle."

    Maestro Yang Zhongming said, "Lin Yuan, rather than envying Fish, you succeeded by casting your net."

    All from Maestro-level masters!

    All the Maestros who had interacted with Lin Yuan basically sent their congratulations!

    This massive wave of support made the whole internet turn its eyes!

    ¡­

    Wave after wave of congratulations.

    An overwhelming flood of well-wishes.

    Wave after wave, Lin Yuan himself was a bit dazed, feeling that everything before him was somewhat surreal.

    I am already a Maestro?

    He had thought it would still be some time before Sun Yaohuo could become the King of Singing, as the popularity of the songs needed to ferment, but he hadn''t expected that, in no time at all, he had shot up the charts!

    One could only say, "Blue and White Porcelain" was too fierce!

    This song alone was worth a thousand troops!

    This also made Lin Yuan realize that giving Sun Yaohuo the opportunity to sing "Blue and White Porcelain" was the right decision!

    Even though he could sing it himself, he wouldn''t reach the level of the King of Singing because the data was quite off, and moreover, the pioneering song of the Chinese style, "The East Wind Breaks," was sung by him, there was no need to sing it again.

    Sun Yaohuo was different.

    Senior Yao Huo was already very close to the level of the King of Singing, so he could break through the threshold from a top-tier singer to the King of Singing with the help of "Blue and White Porcelain"!

    Maestro, ah...

    He had finally taken this step.

    All kinds of past events appeared before Lin Yuan''s eyes.

    Unknowingly, he had reached a position in the entire Blue Star music circle that everyone looked up to.

    Even Lin Yuan himself couldn''t help but feel a joy from the bottom of his heart at this moment!

    Just then,

    The phone rang again.

    From the moment Lin Yuan became a Maestro, friends and family had been calling non-stop.

    This time the call was from Jin Mu:

    "Congratulations, boss, the studio here is thrilled, everyone is clamoring for a treat from the youngest Maestro in history!"

    "You''re amazing, Teacher!"

    Through the phone, Lin Yuan could hear the excited shouts of Luo Wei and others; many people at the studio already knew that the real identity of Shadow was Admirable Fish.

    "Sure."

    Lin Yuan agreed readily.

    Debts more don''t oppress, before this, he had already agreed to a bunch of dinner invitations:

    First was his family, then the Yu Dynasty, then the company side, including the few apprentices Lin Yuan had at the company clamoring for their teacher to treat them, and now there was the studio...

    So this is the feeling of becoming a Maestro?

    That''s nice.

    Lin Yuan''s lips curled up.

    "Ding dong."

    The System suddenly appeared.

    Lin Yuan thought there might be some task, but the blue text that appeared in front of him was:

    "Congratulations, Maestro Lin."

    Lin Yuan burst into laughter at this,

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to the Alliance Hierarch "Swallow 523," kneeling to you, may Sister Swallow strike it rich!

 Chapter 880 - 829: Playing Xian Yuâ€™s Song for You...

    The following days.

    Major media outlets reported the news of Xian Yu becoming the Maestro everywhere.

    Lin Yuan kept shuttling between various banquet engagements.

    With good news, one had to treat others to a meal or send out red envelopes.

    This seemed to be a glorious tradition at Blue Star.

    And becoming the Maestro was an occasion that certainly couldn''t escape social interactions.

    Lin Yuan didn''t resist this, or else he wouldn''t have accepted them one by one.

    That day.

    Lin Yuan finally faced the last banquet.

    The gathering of the Maestros.

    The invitation was sent out by Zheng Jing and Yang Zhongming.

    And the meeting place was the same club where Lin Yuan had met Lu Sheng before.

    The club was named "Wisdom".

    Obviously.

    This Wisdom club was a gathering headquarters for some well-acquainted Maestros.

    "In the future, you can come over whenever you want. Our chairman is one of the shareholders of this club, and the other shareholders are the bosses of several large entertainment companies at Blue Star. So all the facilities here are provided free of charge to Maestros. Without a Maestro''s lead, ordinary people have no way to get in, no matter how rich they are. The identity of a Maestro is the only pass to get here,"

    Zheng Jing explained to Lin Yuan with a smile.

    Lin Yuan curiously surveyed his surroundings.

    He hadn''t paid much attention the last time he was here, but now that he looked around, he realized that the club was decorated very luxuriously and subtly, built entirely around the theme of music. As he walked along the corridor, he saw rooms filled with various musical instruments, including top-notch sound equipment and other expensive-looking items. There were also high-end food and drinks available for the taking, or one could ask the waitstaff for assistance.

    "How does the club make money?"

    Zheng Jing couldn''t help but laugh at Lin Yuan''s question:

    "This is a private gathering place for a group of Maestros. Just the resource itself is worth a fortune. Moreover, apart from the Maestros, occasionally some people looking for collaborations with Maestros manage to get in through relevant channels. They have to pay each time they come here, considering they might strike a big deal. Not to mention, the bosses of the companies the Maestros belong to are already shareholders here. Take our chairman''s shares, for instance. Do you think the chairman would charge you?"

    "I see."

    Maestros have their own world.

    It wasn''t until Lin Yuan officially became a Maestro that Zheng Jing and Yang Zhongming could bring him into this circle.

    This was normal.

    People from different levels have different circles. Certain communications can only take place among people in the same field and at the same level. Otherwise, it''s like talking to a wall.

    "This is the case in Zhong Continent as well."

    Zheng Jing said with a smile, "Each place has its circles. This club is the exclusive circle for Maestros of Qin Continent. Maestros from other continents have their own meeting spots. Now that I''ve brought you in, many people are quite looking forward to you joining."

    With that, Zheng Jing pushed open a room door.

    As Lin Yuan entered, he immediately saw several familiar faces.

    Yin Dong.

    Ye Zhi Qiu.

    And Lu Sheng.

    Including some other Maestros that Lin Yuan had interacted with on the variety show "Our Song".

    "Xian Yu, welcome,"

    a Maestro said with a smile as he spoke up.

    "Hello,"

    Lin Yuan recognized the man, Maestro An Xin, whom he had encountered once in a previous season''s charts.

    The other Maestros also showed friendly smiles, all turning their attention to Lin Yuan as soon as he entered.

    "Xian Yu!"

    Lu Sheng wasn''t shy, and as soon as he saw Lin Yuan, he stood up and said with a smile, "Congratulations on becoming a Maestro. You don''t have to feel constrained here, there are no special rules; it''s just about sitting down, eating, and chatting together."

    Lin Yuan was taken aback and nodded.

    The room was spacious, with different tables and sofas where everyone was chatting in small groups.

    This place was completely different from the other banquets he had attended before.

    "Feel free to sit anywhere,"

    Lu Sheng lead Lin Yuan to a table.

    Zheng Jing and Yang Zhongming joined them at the same table.

    Another Maestro at the table was listening to music with headphones on. Seeing the others, he took off his headphones and said with a smile:

    "Xian Yu, hello, I''m Chen Hexuan. We''ve interacted before."

    "Hello."

    Lin Yuan realized that he had dealt with quite a few Maestros, most of which involved battling it out on the seasonal charts.

    "Still fiddling with your crappy headphones, huh."

    Lu Sheng said with a smile, clearly familiar with Chen Hexuan.

    Chen Hexuan pouted, "If I''m being paid, I have to do the job. These headphones are pretty good, I''ll send you a pair once they''re released."

    "Chen Hexuan has the best ears among the Maestros."

    Seeing Lin Yuan''s curiosity, Yang Zhongming spoke up to explain, "This new pair of headphones developed by Nai Technology was tested by him; they wanted him to provide feedback for the tech department to make improvements."

    "That''s impressive."

    Lin Yuan exclaimed, surprised. Could Maestros earn extra money like this?

    "I''m not as impressive as you are."

    Chen Hexuan laughed, then turned to Lu Sheng, "You listen too, does the bass part for the male vocals lack something?" S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Hmm."

    Lu Sheng put on the headphones to listen for a while and began discussing with Chen Hexuan.

    "Without dinner parties, things here are simple, we all help each other out."

    Seeing Lin Yuan still curious, Yang Zhongming continued to explain, "Like at that table to the south, Yin Dong is discussing his new song with Ye Zhi Qiu and others, seeking their opinions; or at the north side, Liu Rumei is asking people to write a song for her niece, after all, Maestros aren''t necessarily adept at all styles..."

    "Basically, this is a mutual aid society," Zheng Jing said. "Here, you can see some collaborative intentions from companies. The pay is good, and the goal is to invite the Maestros present to help write songs, just like on that big screen on the wall behind you."

    Lin Yuan turned his head to look, and it was true.

    The big screen advertised offers of a certain amount of money for a Maestro to come forward and tailor-make a new song for some company''s artist.

    There was also a game company seeking a Maestro to take on the game background music.

    Other offers for custom-made songs from different continents were abundant as well.

    Even some advertising companies were collecting music for their commercials here.

    Zheng Jing said, "If you''re interested in a collaboration, just let the waiter know, and they will contact the parties and our company for you."

    Lin Yuan understood.

    Lu Sheng seemed to have finished his discussion with Chen Hexuan and looked toward Lin Yuan, "There''s another thing. Here, if someone wants to release a new song, they''ll notify in advance, except for the ''Battle of the Gods,'' ya know. This way, everyone can avoid overlapping and prevent the competition among Maestros from getting too fierce. This is only for Qin Continent''s Maestros, though. We don''t need to coordinate with the other continents; we''ll just roll up our sleeves and get to work."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    No wonder the number of Maestros releasing songs each season is limited.

    Turns out it''s mostly pre-arranged among the Maestros of different continents.

    "By the way."

    Yang Zhongming suddenly added, "The ''Battle of the Gods'' at the end of the year has confirmed that there will be composers from Zhong Continent aiming to snipe, and there are two of them¡ªone should be in pop music, the other in classical piano. Climbing to the top with a piano piece isn''t easy, so that should be about getting a professional reputation. Your biggest competitor on the seasonal charts is still pop music."

    "Two?"

    Lu Sheng was a bit stunned, then snorted, "That''s ruthless, sending out two just to stop Xian Yu''s twelve successive championships?"

    "Xian Yu''s recent prominence is too much."

    Yang Zhongming said, "If it were not for his record as Blue Star''s youngest Maestro after eleven consecutive championships, they probably would have only sent one."

    "Actually, it''s no different than facing one person."

    Zheng Jing told Lin Yuan, "I know the one responsible for the piano piece. He''s into the classical piano style. It''s quite difficult for that genre to top the seasonal charts, so he''s aiming to beat you on professional acclaim, as the barrier to appreciating classical piano is quite high. But it doesn''t matter if we lose in terms of acclaim as long as we secure a ranking. However, you should really watch out for the other one¡ªa top-notch Maestro from Chu Continent, Ito Makoto. After entering Zhong Continent fifteen years ago, he hasn''t been back to his homeland for a long time. His return this time is definitely for you."

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan nodded thoughtfully.

    A pop song, and a classical piano piece?

    Lu Sheng suddenly laughed, "They still underestimate him. Ito Makoto is less proficient at writing pop songs than at pure music. They definitely thought you had no more tricks up your sleeve, so they came up with this lineup they consider to be a safe bet. But if you can produce another song that''s not weaker than ''Blue and White Porcelain'' their plan won''t be hard to deal with. The key is that you''re accurate with the timing of your final move."

    "As good as ''Blue and White Porcelain''?"

    Lin Yuan considered it. Would ''Nocturne'' qualify?

    Different people would give different answers, but what''s certain is that both songs are first-tier masterpieces of Director Zhou. ''Nocturne'' ringing out on a stage to accept awards is no joke¡ªit''s the most awarded song among all of Director Zhou''s works, without any equal.

    As for the classical piano piece... what about adding Chopin''s ''Nocturne''?

    Combining the two, it''s not simply a matter of one plus one equals two.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: The ''Battle of the Gods'' strategy is ''Nocturne'' plus ''Nocturne.'' Actually, some people guessed it. Among all of Director Zhou''s works, my personal favorite is this one, unfortunately, I didn''t get to write about it in the previous books. As for the symphony and the like, that requires being in Zhong Continent to play; releasing it now would be a bit premature.

 Chapter 881 - 830: Lotus Lantern Airing

    Indeed, the song Lin Yuan planned to release in December was "Nocturne."

    This song, along with "Blue and White Porcelain," belonged to the same batch of works.

    The lyrics were written by Fang Wenshan.

    The composition was still personally done by Director Zhou.

    In terms of behind-the-scenes setup, it was the same as "Blue and White Porcelain."

    For Lin Yuan,

    both songs were eligible to participate in the battle of the chart-ranking gods.

    He had two reasons for choosing to release "Blue and White Porcelain" first.

    First, his opponent Lu Sheng''s work was also in Chinese style, which was Blue Star''s new classical;

    Second, "Nocturne" being released in December allowed more flexibility in dealing with the opponent¡ªif the opponent proved tougher than expected, Lin Yuan was prepared to add the piano piece as leverage.

    Yes.

    "Nocturne" could merely be a pop song, but if necessary, it could also transform into a classical piano piece, linking with pop music.

    As it seemed now,

    this change was indeed necessary.

    Lin Yuan thought so, and a strange feeling suddenly surged within him.

    The name Ito Makoto seemed familiar¡ªwhere had he heard it before?

    Never mind.

    It wasn''t important.

    Lin Yuan then learned a lot more.

    At the Wisdom Clubhouse, Lin Yuan was initially exposed to Maestro''s world.

    It seemed that after securing the twelve consecutive championships, if he wanted to make money or play around, he could totally accept missions here.

    The large screen in the room occasionally refreshed.

    Lin Yuan noticed that some of the missions here were actually quite suitable for him.

    But now, Lin Yuan wouldn''t take on any missions since the twelve consecutive championships weren''t officially in his hands yet.

    If he had already become a Maestro, then he certainly had to be the more prestigious kind.

    Having just promoted one King of Singing and one Queen of Singing wasn''t enough.

    This level of Maestro couldn''t be mentioned in the same breath as one who had managed twelve consecutive championships.

    Besides, Lin Yuan had painstakingly secured eleven consecutive championships.

    Even if the final step was as long as the Long March, how could he ease up simply because he had become a Maestro?

    December was the decisive battle!

    For this decisive battle, Lin Yuan even planned to take the stage himself.

    There was no choice.

    Lin Yuan needed to maximize the download numbers for "Nocturne."

    And in the entire Yu Dynasty, the most capable of rallying support was Lin Yuan himself.

    Or rather, the identity of Xian Yu.

    Furthermore, the Yu Dynasty only had two male singers¡ªSun Yaohuo and Chen Zhiyu.

    Director Zhou''s songs, nowadays Sun Yaohuo could sing them, but Senior Yao Huo had already become the King of Singing, and his new identity was enough for him to digest for now.

    As for Chen Zhiyu, he had his own vocal style.

    Giving Director Zhou''s songs to Chen Zhiyu would fit less than the greatly improved Sun Yaohuo.

    This was somewhat regrettable.

    If Chen Zhiyu''s voice matched, Lin Yuan wouldn''t mind letting Chen Zhiyu sing "Nocturne."

    Perhaps this song could also make Chen Zhiyu a King of Singing.

    After all, the gap between Chen Zhiyu and the King of Singing wasn''t notably large.

    What''s different now was:

    Previously, each continent in Blue Star could only yield one King and Queen of Singing every year.

    If Chen Zhiyu reached the data of the King of Singing, he would have to compete directly with Sun Yaohuo.

    After all, there was only one quota for the King of Singing.

    But the rules of the game have changed now.

    Related to the mergers of continents in recent years, one quota for the King and Queen of Singing definitely wasn''t enough.

    So the authorities revised the rules in a very flexible manner:

    As many continents as are merged, there will be that many quotas for the King and Queen of Singing.

    For instance, now, the Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han continents have merged.

    By the time the awards are settled next year, there will be five male Kings of Singing and five female Queens of Singing born.

    The downside is:

    It''s possible for one continent''s quota for Kings and Queens of Singing to be overtaken by singers from other continents, resulting in a total loss for their own continent.

    The continents speak through strength!

    If capable, it''s even permissible for one continent to snatch all ten spots!

    Many people suspect that this system was intentionally designed like this, to ensure that continents always maintain a competitive mindset, which is essential for progress.

    Of course.

    Lin Yuan didn''t feel too sorry for Chen Zhiyu for long.

    In his conception, it was only a matter of time before the singers from the Yu Dynasty became Kings or Queens of Singing.

    He just needed to free up his hands.

    Jiang Kui and Sun Yaohuo were just the beginning.

    Just like becoming Maestro was only a beginning for him as well.

    ¡­

    After leaving the Wisdom Club.

    Lin Yuan was marveling at the convenience of being a Maestro, being able to eat and drink for free at the club, when he suddenly received a message from Zhao Jue saying that the TV series "Precious Lotus Lantern" was set to premiere on a streaming website tonight.

    "So soon?"

    Lin Yuan was quite surprised.

    Even for Blue Star''s technology, this speed was indeed fast.

    Zhao Jue replied, "One month was just enough to finish shooting, and we are currently doing post-production. The post-production for the first ten episodes has already been completed. The rest will definitely be done by the time they are streamed. Our film and television industry values efficiency the most; time is money, and every day delayed means hundreds of people''s living expenses. If it can be premiered earlier, then there''s no delay. Especially with web dramas, they start promoting from the moment shooting begins, and now we''ve reached the base where it can be screened, with the star-studded cast ready..."

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan understood.

    It really was that way.

    Lin Yuan had spent quite some time on set, after all, he had also served as the core screenwriter for many movies. He noticed that any of Blue Star''s production teams placed a high premium on efficiency. The shooting pace was never too slow, and if any actors performed poorly, they would be mercilessly replaced by the director. This was different from Celestial Dynasty and even more ruthless than the Hollywood norms. Moreover, these production crews pursued not just speed but also quality, which always amazed Lin Yuan. Being an actor was clearly more tiring than being a singer under the same star status.

    The conversation didn''t last long.

    Lin Yuan returned home.

    His mom was sitting in front of the projector with Lin Yuan''s sister.

    Lin Yuan asked, "What''s going on here?"

    His sister said, "The ''Precious Lotus Lantern'' is about to start!"

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    It seemed that everyone was quite interested in "Precious Lotus Lantern."

    He hadn''t noticed any intense online promotion.

    But thinking about it, it made sense.

    After all, the drama was a derivative work from "Journey to the West," and many of the actors were from that series.

    Without knowing the storyline, just seeing familiar faces from "Journey to the West" in "Precious Lotus Lantern" must have made the audience quite happy.

    At that moment,

    Mom suddenly said, "It''s eight o''clock!"

    His sister urged Lin Xuan, "Quick, play it!"

    Lin Xuan turned on the computer connected to the projector and played "Precious Lotus Lantern."

    Lin Yuan thought about it, and decided to just sit down and watch together.

    As a result,

    the TV show hadn''t even started, and the theme song of "Precious Lotus Lantern" had already caught Lin Yuan''s attention:

    "This song is really good."

    His mom said, "Seems the song is called ''Splitting the Mountain''?" S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    His sister checked the TV subtitles, "Wow, no wonder, the theme song was written by Zheng Jing!"

    His sister nodded, "That explains it."

    Lin Yuan also had some songs related to "Precious Lotus Lantern," but he felt their quality was average, so he simply handed them over to other composers in the company. He didn''t expect the TV department to directly ask Zheng Jing to take charge, which showed that they highly valued this drama. The fact also proved that even without Lin Yuan''s involvement, the other composers in his company could still perform their tasks excellently.

    Two minutes.

    The song ended.

    Whether a theme song is worth listening to can be judged by whether viewers set their player to skip the intro. Zheng Jing''s song passed the test ¡ª the sister did not choose to skip the intro¡ª

    The actual episode finally began.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to the Alliance Hierarch [±±¼ÂØ¼°²Á¹] for the support, offering my knees to the great lord ¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, updating like hell because of participating in the QiDian annual meeting.

 Chapter 882 - 831: A Rather Beautiful Beginning

    The drama officially began.

    In the scene.

    Countless Heavenly Soldiers and Generals clad in armor tightly surrounded a humble grass hut.

    A solemn air.

    A cloud floated in the sky.

    A lone, proud figure stood amidst the mist.

    He was dressed in silver armor, his face handsome yet indifferent, with a vertical silver eye on his forehead resembling twisted lightning.

    Behind him, a cape fluttered fiercely.

    Erlang Shen, Yang Jian!

    The opening scene was Erlang Shen capturing the Third Goddess!

    ...

    My sister''s eyes lit up, "So handsome!"

    In the TV drama ''Journey to the West,'' Yang Jian was played by Liu Zhengwen.

    At that time, Liu Zhengwen''s portrayal of Yang Jian sparked numerous discussions.

    Everyone felt that Liu Zhengwen''s Yang Jian, both in appearance and attractiveness, was truly outstanding.

    And in ''The Magic Lotus Lantern,'' Liu Zhengwen continued the look from ''Journey to the West,'' and with the director''s specially arranged cool, impressive, and explosive shots, the visual impact was still very strong!

    Just then.

    A dog appeared beside Erlang Shen.

    My sister was instantly dumbfounded, turning to look at Antarctica, jokingly teasing, "You''re playing Sky Roaring Dog again, and I lose immersion every time I see you!"

    "Woof!"

    Antarctica was smug, perking up.

    Lin Yuan laughed; Antarctica was brought by him to the crew.

    In fact, Antarctica only filmed for a few days before the production wrapped up.

    Most of the time, the character of Sky Roaring Dog was portrayed in human form by a specific actor.

    And as the camera continued.

    What the Magic Lotus Lantern was, the plot finally explained.

    It turned out to be a treasure that, reportedly, only someone with gentle mana could control, a truly precious item.

    The Third Goddess only managed to contend with Yang Jian temporarily using this treasure.

    Unfortunately, there was a problem with the treasure. She was no match for Yang Jian and ultimately, her brother, Erlang Shen, personally imprisoned her in Mount Hua, though her husband and son escaped with their lives.

    Seeing this.

    My sister said in dissatisfaction, "Why do I vaguely feel that this Yang Jian doesn''t seem very kind?"

    The Third Goddess having gentle mana indicates she''s a good person.

    Yang Jian imprisoning the Third Goddess, not sparing even his own sister, clearly sets him as the villain.

    "Hard to say, the plot has just begun."

    Mom shook her head, obviously an old hand at this.

    My sister analyzed, "From the beginning, it seems that the Third Goddess violated heavenly laws by marrying a mortal and having a child. As the Judiciary God, Yang Jian had to capture his sister to enforce the law, it''s just a matter of perspective, we''ll understand as we watch more."

    Indeed.

    We''ll find out as we watch.

    In the first episode, when Yang Jian imprisoned his sister, nobody felt particularly shocked; after all, at this point, they had not yet developed feelings for the characters, and Yang Jian was the only one they were familiar with.

    ...

    In the second episode.

    Chenxiang had grown up.

    Unlike his honest father, this Chenxiang was a bit mischievous and unexpectedly ended up in the underworld.

    The underworld judge prepared to throw him into the eighteen layers of hell for intruding into the underworld without permission.

    Black and White Impermanence were also demoted because of Chenxiang''s involvement.

    Then.

    Erlang Shen entered the underworld and directly requested Yama to modify the Book of Life and Death, adding twenty years to Chenxiang''s life.

    ...

    Mom said, "He still cares for his nephew."

    My sister remarked, "It seems that Yang Jian isn''t a bad guy after all. He imprisoned his sister as a last resort. It''s just that I''m a bit confused by the protagonist; it seems like Yang Jian isn''t the main character of the drama, but Chenxiang is."

    "Chenxiang is the protagonist."

    My sister also nodded, "Yang Jian seems to be the secondary male lead? It''s a bit different from the promotion."

    "Yes, but the plot is quite interesting."

    Mom seemed intrigued; the quality of ''The Magic Lotus Lantern'' was quite appealing.

    The sister next door nodded, "Could this plot be about the uncle helping Chenxiang in various ways?"

    Lin Yuan remained silent.

    There was nothing wrong with what the family said.

    If only they could stick to their own opinions, it would be even better.

    ... S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Not just Lin Yuan''s family.

    On the internet at this moment.

    Countless viewers had watched "The Lotus Lantern"!

    As the first spin-off drama from Journey to the West, this show garnered a massive amount of attention right after its release, attracting numerous people to jump on the bandwagon!

    "Not bad at all."

    "This drama is quite interesting."

    "Erlang Shen is really handsome!"

    "I originally thought Yang Jian was the antagonist, which gave me a scare, but seeing him being so nice to Chenxiang has reassured me."

    "What are you thinking? How could Yang Jian possibly be the antagonist?"

    "Teacher Yi''an''s script is still quite good. The segment where Yang Jian enters the underworld in the second episode has a bit of a ''Monkey wreaks havoc in the underworld'' vibe. The difference is that after the Monkey''s debacle, Yama sued him, while Yang Jian altered his nephew''s lifespan, and old Yama was so scared that he didn''t dare to say a thing!"

    "I just love it when characters are protective!"

    This segment was actually a very exhilarating one.

    It had elements like showing off and being protective, which are points web novelists have tried and tested repeatedly.

    The only surprise was...

    This drama was said to be about Yang Jian''s storyline, but the protagonist turned out to be Chenxiang.

    Although Yang Jian also had a lot of screen time, from the standpoint of the story''s orientation, it obviously unfolded from Chenxiang''s perspective.

    Luckily, Chenxiang was quite likeable.

    Even though he is an original character, he was well crafted.

    "It seems that Yang Jian isn''t the main character, but Yang Jian indeed has ample screen time."

    "I''m now a bit worried that when Chenxiang finds out that his mother was imprisoned by his uncle, it might lead to a fallout between him and his uncle, turning it into a heart-wrenching drama."

    "Damn, don''t scare me!"

    "Let''s not, just watching him protect his nephew''s growth is nice too."

    "It''s up to how Teacher Yi An writes it."

    "Considering how good ''The Legend of Wukong'' was, this drama should be decent too."

    Overall, the reactions to this drama were pretty good.

    However, because just two episodes were released so far, people couldn''t discern much more.

    Of course.

    Among the positive comments, there were some slightly harsh critiques.

    "What''s there to talk about in this crappy show? The first episode just has Yang Jian imprisoning his sister, which absolutely doesn''t fit Erlang Shen''s character!"

    "That''s ridiculous, since when did Erlang Shen become a Judiciary God?"

    "Adaptation is not about making stuff up, Yi An should apologize. She has completely deviated from the setting of Erlang Shen, and it''s so awkward for me to watch."

    "I only recognize the Yang Jian from the Primordial Chaos!"

    "If it were the Yang Jian from the Primordial Chaos, he definitely wouldn''t imprison his sister; he''d fight the Heavenly Court for her!"

    "The Erlang Shen in Journey to the West is just a joke."

    Clearly, these were fans of The Primordial Chaos stirring up trouble.

    However, the number of fans of The Primordial Chaos wasn''t doing too well these days.

    The provocative pacing was quickly suppressed by everyone''s discussions about the plot.

    The key point is...

    Everyone didn''t think that the drama''s portrayal of Yang Jian was in any way overdone.

    The only controversial point about Yang Jian so far was that he had imprisoned his own sister.

    Beyond that, he didn''t have any other issues.

    On the contrary.

    He was very caring towards his nephew, showing a sense of familial concern.

    Even towards Liu Yanchang, Chenxiang''s father, Erlang Shen didn''t do anything.

    As for discrepancies with the character setup and The Primordial Chaos?

    Who said this is the Journey to the West version of Yang Jian?

    Overall, "The Lotus Lantern" had a quite promising start.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: I didn''t rest well today because of traveling, so I felt that my writing was not very smooth, and I didn''t want to take a day off. I''ll revise these two chapters tomorrow.

 Chapter 883 - 832 Turning Point

    The next day.

    When Lin Yuan went to the company to work, he took the opportunity to go online and check the response to "The Legend of the Lotus Lantern."

    There was still a lot of discussion among netizens.

    The audience''s comments were mostly very positive.

    For instance, Erlang Shen''s appearance won the hearts of countless people.

    Lin Yuan had previously invested heavily in promoting "Journey to the West," and at the time, many people thought that such cost-ignorant investment could not possibly recoup its costs, even facing resistance from the company side, feeling there was no need to pour so much money into it.

    But now.

    The related benefits had already become evident.

    Riding on the popularity of "Journey to the West," "The Legend of the Lotus Lantern," having only released two episodes, had gained considerable attention!

    On the three major video streaming platforms the company partnered with.

    "The Legend of the Lotus Lantern," with merely two episodes aired, almost simultaneously climbed to the top of the playback charts on several video websites!

    The daily streaming volume, all entering the top three!

    On one website, it even squeezed into the top spot on the daily charts!

    This was the trend of a hit drama; if there were no issues with the later plot, it was a surefire hit.

    "The beginning is very smooth."

    Lin Yuan quietly let out a sigh of relief.

    This was the first derivative work of "Journey to the West."

    In his plans, there would be other derivative works from "Journey to the West" in the future.

    If the first one failed, it might affect the other derivatives, so the current successful launch was indeed pleasing.

    However...

    The part of the drama that belonged to "Everlasting Regret" had not yet unfolded.

    The later plot was too heartwarming.

    As to what the future held, Lin Yuan himself couldn''t say for sure but was generally optimistic.

    The Blue Star audience could even accept "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange," so a drama that was more extreme in its playfulness shouldn''t pose any problem, right?

    Thinking this way.

    Lin Yuan arrived at the company.

    Inside his office.

    A lovely figure sat on the couch, anxiously waiting.

    Suddenly.

    The door opened.

    The lovely figure immediately stood up and looked towards Lin Yuan as he entered, her tone slightly excited:

    "Teacher Admirable Fish!" S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Sorry for the wait."

    Lin Yuan spoke and looked at the woman in front of him.

    It was November by now, and there was a hint of chill in the air; the woman in front of him wore a slim-fitting white jacket for warmth, and underneath her delicate makeup, she had a perky nose and large eyes, the very image of a goddess.

    Indeed, she was a goddess, the "Piano Goddess," to be precise.

    That''s right.

    This woman was Gu Xi.

    Gu Xi was summoned by Lin Yuan.

    For the Song of Gods battle in December, Lin Yuan planned to perform "Nocturne."

    Considering that Zhong Continent was sending two individuals, one of whom was Maestro, who excelled at classical piano, Lin Yuan had already decided to release Director Zhou''s "Nocturne" while also taking Chopin''s pieces out!

    To let Chopin go up against Maestro!

    And he had chosen Gu Xi as the performer.

    After all, Gu Xi was the only pianist Lin Yuan was familiar with and whose level was sufficiently high.

    Lin Yuan could also perform himself, yet his piano skills remained at a professional level.

    Compared to the near-master level of Gu Xi, there was still a gap.

    So, Lin Yuan thought it would be better to save his effort.

    Just as one would choose a singer for a song.

    Lin Yuan was certainly going to choose the most suitable pianist to play "Nocturne."

    Since his own level wasn''t enough to be the most suitable interpreter for "Nocturne" at the moment, there was no need to force it.

    But speaking of which.

    There was another reason for choosing Gu Xi:

    She had previously helped Lin Yuan out a bit.

    Sometimes when recording songs at Yu Dynasty, they would get her to handle the piano part.

    Any one of Chopin''s "Nocturnes" could be considered a classic masterpiece.

    Lin Yuan could casually give any one of them to a capable pianist, and it would directly contribute to their career to a certain extent because performing this piece had huge benefits!

    And Lin Yuan chose to give this opportunity to Gu Xi.

    When it comes to matters of assistance, there must be reciprocity; otherwise, even if he didn''t know any other piano masters, he would surely be able to find some if he tried.

    He believed there wouldn''t be a pianist on Blue Star who could resist the charm of "Nocturne."

    "What is it that Teacher Admirable Fish wanted to see me about?"

    Gu Xi looked at Lin Yuan with eagerness and anticipation.

    Upon receiving his call, she immediately postponed many things and rushed to Starlight, even arriving before Lin Yuan.

    There were generally only two reasons when Lin Yuan sought out Gu Xi.

    The first reason was that Lin Yuan needed help; the second reason was that Lin Yuan had a new piece of music.

    "I have two pieces that I''d like you to perform."

    This time it was the second reason, and the one that Gu Xi was most looking forward to!

    Lin Yuan directly brought out the sheet music, which turned out to be the "Nocturne" he had prepared in advance.

    There were two pieces in total.

    The first: "Nocturne in E-Flat Major."

    The second: "Nocturne in B-Flat Minor."

    In fact, Chopin''s "Nocturnes" are not the title of a work, but rather a genre of piano solo pieces on Earth.

    This style belonged exclusively to Chopin!

    Created by Chopin himself!

    The complete "Nocturnes" certainly consist of more than two pieces.

    It''s a series, and together with the posthumously edited pieces of Chopin, there are twenty-one "Nocturnes" in total.

    Lin Yuan hadn''t brought out all twenty-one pieces.

    The two he had chosen were the most representative pieces of Chopin''s "Nocturnes" series.

    Having these two "Nocturnes" was sufficient.

    Even one was enough.

    The rest could be supplemented later.

    After all, the impact of the entire series rested on the quality of these two pieces.

    Time was mainly the issue.

    If he presented all twenty-one pieces, Gu Xi would find it hard to master them all before the end of the month.

 Chapter 884 - 832 Turning Point_2

    Lin Yuan couldn''t wait that long.

    He directly handed the sheet music to Gu Xi.

    "Thump, thump, thump!"

    His heart inexplicably started racing.

    Gu Xi hurriedly took the music and began to read!

    She dared not show the slightest negligence toward Xian Yu''s piano compositions!

    Past collaborations had taught Gu Xi that whenever Xian Yu released a piano piece, it was bound to be extraordinary, not to mention that this time there were two.

    "I''ll start by demonstrating ''Nocturne in E-flat Major'' for you."

    Lin Yuan said, then seated himself at the piano in his office.

    Lin Yuan''s office was very spacious.

    The white piano was situated by the window.

    "Thank you for the trouble."

    Gu Xi said quickly.

    Lin Yuan nodded, his fingers swept over the keys, and he began his performance.

    Notes poured forth.

    The tranquil melody, softly sounded.

    As if in the silent night, a candle was suddenly lit, accompanied by the flickering glimmer.

    Gu Xi compared the sheet music with Lin Yuan''s performance.

    Serenity and lyricism.

    Melancholy and contemplation.

    Unconsciously, Gu Xi became intoxicated.

    She seemed to forget everything around her, even forgetting when the music had started, her eyes only reflecting an unusual splash of color.

    An indescribable romantic atmosphere was quietly spreading.

    It was a very unique charm.

    Under Lin Yuan''s fingertips, the piano began to chant poetically with its distinct voice.

    The individuality of the music and the characteristics of the piano merged together like water and milk.

    It appeared to be melancholy.

    Like a lingering contemplation.

    The rhythm was long and dreamlike.

    In the piano''s lower register, Lin Yuan''s playing was fast then slow, unpredictable, as if a myriad of emotions were entwining!

    His fingers danced upon the keys.

    Unbeknownst to her, the steps became increasingly brisk.

    This caused the piano''s sound to grow more animated, as if it was spiraling upwards!

    Within the intensifying melody, waves began to rise!

    Excitement, sighs, exhilaration, and restlessness¡ªa range of rich and subtle emotions emerged one after another in the music! sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Is this ''Nocturne''?"

    The style of the night was so consistent, yet the mood within it was so different!

    Nocturne!

    Gu Xi stared at the name on the sheet music, the unusual hue in her eyes slowly blossoming, as if she were drunk!

    And as the climax approached.

    Her breathing became hurried, her chest heaving violently, and a flush quickly spread across her beautiful face!

    It was as if her entire being was enveloped in a colossal shock!

    "This is..."

    With the sheet music in hand, matching it with the piano''s melody.

    Gu Xi''s naturally gifted piano hands actually began to tremble!

    A rondo form, andante, 12/8 time!

    The right hand, throughout the decorative notes, maintained a luxuriant chant while the left hand provided a rhythmic accompaniment that preserved the same shape from beginning to end!

    "Innovative?"

    Not being a professional concert pianist, it was hard to understand the excitement Gu Xi was feeling now:

    This piano piece turned out to be pioneering a whole new genre of piano solo!

    This style differed from that of all current piano solo styles in the music scene!

    What mattered most was the incredibly high quality of this piece!

    Unlike ''Mariage d''Amour''.

    The former was modern piano, but this was a typical classical piano piece!

    The melody to her ears seemed calm, but underneath were surging undercurrents, painting a poetic beauty before Gu Xi''s eyes and in her ears!

    Yes, like poetry!

    At that moment.

    Lin Yuan, to Gu Xi''s eyes, seemed like a piano poet, completely indulging in his talent!

    At a certain change in the music.

    Gu Xi even felt a sensation like alcohol numbing her heart, lungs, and scalp!

    Goosebumps arose!

    An unprecedented impact!

    This impact was tremendous for any Blue Star pianist!

    In the midst of these surging emotions, Gu Xi''s mind flashed back to the various encounters she''d had since meeting Xian Yu.

    At this moment, she felt fortunate!

    Fortunate to have met Xian Yu; fortunate to have ultimately earned his favor; fortunate to have the honor to play the piece that Xian Yu was interpreting at this moment!

    Suddenly.

    The piano music stopped.

    Lin Yuan turned to ask Gu Xi:

    "How did it go?"

    There was no immediate answer.

    Gu Xi seemed to have lost herself in a moment of reverie, having forgotten when the piece began.

    And just as she was inadvertently immersed in it to the point of intoxication, the music gradually ceased, stirring in her a myriad of reluctant feelings, wishing the performer would play it once more.

    "How did it go?"

    Lin Yuan had to ask again, "Can you play it?"

    "Yes!"

    Finally, Gu Xi snapped back to reality!

    Her response was almost without any hesitation.

    It was as if anyone who dared to compete with her for this piece would face her fierce determination!

    Because Gu Xi knew!

    This was a composition that could get her another invitation from the Golden Hall, stunning the entire piano world ¨C a divine masterpiece!

    This is Teacher Admirable Fish''s level!

    Expectations were high, yet she was still utterly astonished!

    Realizing she might have acted inappropriately,

    Gu Xi tried to calibrate her tone, "The structure of this piece is very unique. The first section has a dream-like, lingering melody; the second section is passionate, expressing a myriad of emotions; and the third section returns to a calm atmosphere. Is this an unprecedented and unheard-of composition form, a brand-new style created by Teacher Admirable Fish himself?"

    "Uh-huh."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Without Chopin''s world, he certainly had to accept this title.

    This was something he was very familiar with, no need to be pretentious, otherwise, it would seem duplicative and self-defeating.

    "Alright, the first piece is roughly like this; now try the ''Nocturne in B-flat minor.''"

    Lin Yuan stated, then gave up his seat.

    Hearing what Lin Yuan suggested, Gu Xi almost immediately sat down at the piano.

    She had been eager to start!

    But less than thirty seconds into the second piece, Gu Xi''s mood was stirred once again!

    The quality of this piece was hardly inferior to the first!

    The two pieces Teacher Admirable Fish brought out today were absolutely divine works!

    Gu Xi treasured them like the most precious gift!

    Her performance, of course, was not smooth sailing.

    Gu Xi even stumbled occasionally, far from the fluidity Lin Yuan had just displayed.

    It wasn''t that Gu Xi''s skills were inferior to Lin Yuan''s.

    It was just that this was her first time seeing the pieces, so she wasn''t as practiced.

    Lin Yuan, on the other hand, had memorized the scores by heart and could play fluently without looking at them.

    But that''s besides the point.

    Lin Yuan didn''t expect her to play perfectly.

    He just needed to get a general feel for how well Gu Xi could handle them.

    Ten minutes later.

    Lin Yuan nodded in satisfaction, trusting in Gu Xi''s skill: "Go back and practice thoroughly. You must finish recording before the end of the month."

    "No problem!"

    Gu Xi nodded vigorously!

    Actually, she didn''t even need Lin Yuan''s reminder.

    Even if it meant going without sleep, she would master these two pieces!

    If Teacher Admirable Fish weren''t satisfied and sought another pianist for collaboration, she would have nowhere to cry!

    "Truly worthy of Chopin''s ''Nocturne.''"

    Lin Yuan saw Gu Xi''s excitement and wasn''t surprised.

    As a signature work of Chopin, the ''Nocturne'' could awe any piano master.

    And as the musical idol most admired by Director Zhou, Chopin wasn''t called the "poet of music" for nothing. Though he was sickly and not well-suited to perform grand, loud works, his delicate emotions and jewel-like musical changes were the charming qualities of the ''Nocturne.''

    ¡­

    In the following days.

    Gu Xi contacted Lin Yuan from time to time, reporting her practice progress with unprecedented enthusiasm.

    Meanwhile.

    The TV series "Lotus Lantern" was broadcast in an orderly fashion, its popularity rising, firmly securing the number one spot on the hotlists of the three major video websites.

    Lin Yuan also kept an eye on this.

    He knew the turning point of the show was coming soon.

    Sure enough.

    That day, the latest episode of "Lotus Lantern" aired.

    Chenxiang finally learned of his own background!

    Immediately, he harbored the thought of rescuing his mother, the Third Goddess, to reunite his family.

    However.

    Yang Jian, who had been caring and warm towards Chenxiang, turned cold upon learning of his nephew''s intentions!

    He not only refused to support Chenxiang but blocked his rescue plan at every turn!

    To dissuade Chenxiang from his mission, he even went as far as to hurt those close to Chenxiang!

    Cold!

    Heartless!

    In that moment, Yang Jian seemed to revert to that unrecognizable Judiciary God from the first episode, the one who didn''t acknowledge any kin and forcibly suppressed his sister, the Third Goddess!

    On major forums.

    This plot twist suddenly sparked a huge controversy!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Thank you to the Alliance Hierarch [Infinite] for your support. Finally managed to update, thank you for waiting.

 Chapter 885 - 833: The Audiences Anger and Outburst

    No one expected the latest plot twist in "Lotus Lantern," where Yang Jian suddenly turned evil!

    This sudden turn of events made many viewers jump out of their seats!

    "Damn it!"

    "What the hell is going on with the latest plot in ''Lotus Lantern''?"

    "Wasn''t Yang Jian supposed to be a good guy? How could they portray Erlang Shen so negatively?"

    "Though I understood when Yang Jian previously suppressed his own sister, the Third Goddess, since he was the Judiciary God of the Heavenly Court and couldn''t help but follow orders, this latest development is outrageous! The director and scriptwriter have actually portrayed Yang Jian as a villain who bullies the weak and fears the strong, and is cold-hearted and merciless!"

    "I feel the same way, this plot twist is infuriating!"

    "Yang Jian didn''t have the courage to defy the Heavenly Court and save his own sister, and now he''s even trying to stop Chenxiang from rescuing his mother, really just bullying the weak and fearing the strong, and they call it for his nephew''s good?"

    "Is this the Erlang Shen I remember?"

    "What the heck is Yi An thinking? The previous ''The Legend of Wukong'' was great, why suddenly create such a disgusting plotline!"

    "What kind of junk is this?"

    "Magic changing Erlang Shen''s personality, magic changing his background, magic changing his identity, and even inventing a sister and a nephew for Erlang Shen¡ªI can accept all of these. But making Erlang Shen a villain¡ªI absolutely cannot accept!"

    Yang Jian''s image suddenly collapsed!

    Audiences across the continents are outraged!

    The previous episodes were just fine!

    No matter what trouble Chenxiang caused, Yang Jian always chose to be understanding.

    Whatever Chenxiang wanted, Yang Jian would give, creating an enjoyable image of a good uncle for the audience.

    Over several episodes.

    Everyone had a very positive impression of this Erlang Shen!

    Even though Erlang Shen started off ruthlessly suppressing his own sister, everyone firmly believed that Erlang Shen had no choice, given that he was fulfilling his duties as the Judiciary God.

    However.

    When Chenxiang learned the truth and wanted to save his mother, Yang Jian suddenly turned cold-hearted!

    He did everything to stop Chenxiang, even going so far as to fall out with Chenxiang and even harm Chenxiang''s friends, which made it hard for the audience to accept!

    Turns out Yang Jian is a villain?

    Is there something wrong with Chenxiang wanting to save his own mother?

    Moreover, what wrong did the Third Goddess do?

    The Third Goddess simply bravely pursued her own love!

    And the prudish rules of the Heavenly Court are unreasonable to any modern person!

    The plot is also telling everyone:

    This heavenly decree is a scourge across the realms!

    Under such circumstances, by choosing to stand on the opposite side of the protagonist and uphold this heavenly decree, Yang Jian has directly become a villain!

    So the audience is angry!

    Some are angry about Erlang Shen''s behavior;

    Others are angry that Yi An, as the scriptwriter, dared to turn Erlang Shen''s character into a villain!

    The latter group far outnumber the former.

    Yes.

    In the end, what everyone finds most intolerable is Erlang Shen transforming into a villain.

    If Erlang Shen were not Erlang Shen but just a regular character, then no matter whether this character turned evil or whatever, audiences across all continents wouldn''t be so upset.

    You should know.

    Through "The Primordial Chaos" and other works, Erlang Shen Yang Jian has already made a very deep impression on audiences across all continents.

    People deeply love this character.

    Just like how everyone who watches "Journey to the West" likes Sun Wukong.

    In any audience''s concept, Yang Jian is absolutely unrelated to being a villain.

    But this show just went ahead and made Yang Jian a villain!

    That is the root of the controversy.

    Some people even started cursing loudly because of this!

    In fact.

    Not just ordinary viewers. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Even fans of "The Primordial Chaos" were baffled by "Lotus Lantern''s" move!

    What the hell?

    Why did the antagonist suddenly self-destruct?

    They had always been trying to set the narrative for "Lotus Lantern," but never managed to take off.

    The audience didn''t strongly resist the departure from traditional character and background settings of Erlang Shen in "Lotus Lantern."

    This deeply disappointed the fans of "The Primordial Chaos."

    They could only watch helplessly as "Lotus Lantern" became more popular, watching a portrayal of Erlang Shen that didn''t fit with the traditional setting of "The Primordial Chaos" being accepted by the audience.

    Result.

    Just when the fans of "The Primordial Chaos" thought they could no longer malign "Lotus Lantern" and could only helplessly observe its success, this show suddenly self-destructed!

    That''s right.

    Self-destructed!

    Erlang Shen was actually portrayed as a villain!

    How is that different from self-destructing?

    How brainless must Yi An be to dare to tarnish the image of Erlang Shen like this?

    Doesn''t she realize how highly regarded Erlang Shen is in the hearts of the audience?

    Or is it that:

    Yi An wants to follow the pattern of Chu Kuang adapting "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange" to completely overturn the audience''s impression of the classics?

    What a joke!

    Are these two things even comparable?

    "Self-destruction!"

    "Intending to draw a tiger but ending up drawing something akin to a dog!"

    "Wait, this director is actually the director of ''Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange,'' and that series was a huge success due to Chu Kuang''s subversion of the classics, so the director tasted sweetness and thought that playing with subverting classics would always succeed? What kind of bizarre thought process is this? Just blindly applying the same formula?"

    "One really dares to write, and one really dares to film!"

    "Yi An and this director are challenging the audience''s tolerance!"

    "Heh, tarnishing the image of Erlang Shen, ''Lotus Lantern'' is really asking for its own destruction!"

    "This is slander against Yang Jian!"

    At this moment, the feelings of the fans of "The Primordial Chaos" are actually quite mixed.

    Excitement and anger!

    Two completely different emotions, strangely intertwined.

    The thrilling aspect is:

    They finally found a point to criticize in "Lotus Lantern!"

    This gives them a bit of a guilty conscience.

    A beloved character is portrayed as a villain, and yet they feel somewhat excited?

    The rage stemmed from:

    This show was defaming the protagonist of The Primordial Chaos, Yang Jian!

    That was Yang Jian!

    He was their beloved and their faith!

    For a time.

    All fans of The Primordial Chaos went crazy setting the pace, their presence dominating numerous forums!

    "Yi An is defaming Erlang Shen and tarnishing a classic!"

    "Journey to the West is suppressing The Primordial Chaos by portraying Yang Jian as a disgusting villain!"

    "Using Yang Jian''s popularity for promotion, yet the show portrayed him in such a negative light, such a work should be vehemently boycotted!"

    "Journey to the West''s behavior is too ugly!"

    "I don''t acknowledge the Erlang Shen in ''The Lotus Lantern'' as Erlang Shen, only The Primordial Chaos''s Erlang Shen is the real Erlang Shen!"

    "Let the Erlang Shen of ''The Lotus Lantern'' go to hell."

    "There''s only one Erlang Shen in the world, and that''s the protagonist of The Primordial Chaos, Yang Jian!"

    The rhythm!

    The rhythm of boycott rolled in wave after wave!

    It must be admitted, the fans of The Primordial Chaos led the rhythm very successfully this time.

    If it weren''t for the self-destruction of ''The Lotus Lantern'', no one would have paid attention to their voices, as the fans of Journey to the West were simply too numerous.

    But now, no one knew whether it was Yi An or the TV show''s director whose brain had malfunctioned.

    The tables had turned!

    Blackening of Erlang Shen was not only unacceptable to fans of The Primordial Chaos.

    It was unacceptable to the general audience!

    So much so that even though everyone knew The Primordial Chaos fans were leading the rhythm, some still empathized deeply.

    Shortly after.

    ''The Lotus Lantern'', which had been smooth-sailing since its broadcast, was sucked into a vortex of controversy and criticism for the first time.

    Everyone naturally assumed:

    Journey to the West, in order to suppress The Primordial Chaos, had deliberately vilified the image of Yang Jian.

    Now that The Primordial Chaos was waning, yet it was suppressed like this by Journey to the West, this ignited the sympathy of many people.

    Empathy for the underdog is human nature.

    Moreover, no matter how much The Primordial Chaos had declined, people''s affection for Erlang Shen still existed; Yang Jian was a classic character who had accompanied countless people as they grew up, how could he be so defiled!

    Fortunately.

    There were still some rational voices soothing everyone:

    "Guys, don''t rush to conclusions, trust in Teacher Yi''an''s character. Perhaps Erlang Shen has his own reasons for targeting Chenxiang, just watch a few episodes before making a judgment, after all, Erlang Shen was extremely concerned about his nephew, Chenxiang, in the earlier episodes."

    These voices somewhat calmed the audience.

    In the following days.

    Apart from The Primordial Chaos fans and a few extreme viewers who were still protesting, most people temporarily suppressed their anger, patiently continuing to follow the drama.

    However.

    The seventh episode¡­

    The eighth episode¡­

    The ninth episode¡­

    The tenth episode¡­

    As the audience continued to follow the subsequent episodes of ''The Lotus Lantern'', the expected turnaround never happened!

    On the contrary.

    A brutal fact gradually unfolded before everyone:

    Yang Jian had no hidden motives at all; he was merely the lapdog of the Heavenly Empress, an unmitigated villain!

    All his actions were for the sake of the Judiciary God''s power!

    Blinded by greed, Yang Jian showed no regard for familial bonds, ruthlessly persecuting Chenxiang, even intensifying his malice!

    Sky Roaring Dog abused his power through association!

    The Mount Mei Brothers pursued and blocked Chenxiang!

    In innumerable instances of targeted oppression by his own uncle, Chenxiang struggled to survive and grow, enduring relentless suppression!

    The audience''s patience was gradually worn thin.

    Dissatisfaction with Yang Jian''s character kept accumulating.

    If the plot of the drama itself hadn''t been captivating, the audience would have exploded long ago.

    Not to mention that during this process, The Primordial Chaos fans continued endlessly stoking the fire and leading the rhythm.

    The Primordial Chaos fans were desperate!

    After watching so many episodes!

    Why hasn''t this darned TV show cooled down yet!

    Yi An has already blackened Yang Jian so much, why are you still watching, and watching so eagerly at that?

    Alright.

    The reason is actually quite simple: although the portrayal of the character Yang Jian has displeased countless viewers, the plot of the drama itself is very exciting, which is why everyone temporarily suppressed their inner frustrations.

    But¡­

    No matter how exciting the plot, it could not withstand the constant provocation by the scriptwriter Yi An, some feelings, if not exploded, only accumulated deeper.

    That day.

    The plot finally progressed to the fifteenth episode.

    This episode.

    Yang Jian pushed Chenxiang to a complete dead end!

    He wanted to kill Chenxiang!

    As Chenxiang grew up, Yang Jian actually harbored the intention to kill his own nephew!

    However.

    Just as Yang Jian made his move.

    The Fourth Princess of the East Sea blocked Yang Jian''s fatal blow with her body!

    Under Chenxiang''s desperate gaze, the Fourth Princess of the East Sea was instantly killed, her life extinguished!

    The Fourth Princess of the East Sea.

    This character was kind-hearted and had an excellent reputation in all three realms, and she was Chenxiang''s aunt who had always silently helped him from behind.

    The audience had a very positive impression of this character!

    Yet such a character was executed in front of Chenxiang by Erlang Shen!

    This moment!

    Even without The Primordial Chaos fans leading any rhythm.

    The audience''s eyes reddened, their dissatisfaction accumulated over many days completely erupted!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to the Alliance Hierarch [Label0v0], I bow down to the big boss. I''ll drop everything tomorrow and burst out with a 10,000-word update, seeking a monthly pass~

 Chapter 886 - 834: Everlasting Regret

    Because the plot of "The Lotus Lantern" was exciting enough, the audience had been restraining themselves, but this time the story touched their bottom line, and Erlang Shen, as portrayed by Yi An, had been vilified to the point of no return, which finally ignited the viewers'' fury!

    Countless curses!

    Many people were implicated!

    The comments section of the TV show director Ding Xiao''s social media was besieged!

    "Crap director, did Erlang Shen eat your family''s rice, to be so smeared by you!"

    "Director Ding''s bias is too obvious, made a show to smear Erlang Shen, The Primordial Chaos'' protagonist, all for the sake of Starlight''s ''Journey to the West''!"

    "Is this the ''The Lotus Lantern'' director? thumbs down!"

    "I didn''t find you hateful when you made ''Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange,'' but this time you really crossed the line!"

    "Director, your conscience is broken!"

    "After finishing ''Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange,'' the director has completely gone to an extreme, creating such an image of Erlang Shen definitely for the controversy, and he succeeded, but such behavior is truly disgusting!"

    ...

    As a director, Ding Xiao cannot shirk responsibility.

    He must have known the show would vilify Erlang Shen, yet he still made it this way, so the audience did not let him off the hook!

    Similarly,

    Liu Zhengwen, the actor playing the lead male role, who had always been well-liked by passersby, was also sprayed by the audience.

    His situation was similar to the director''s. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Why did Liu Zhengwen take up the role of this villainous version of Erlang Shen?

    "Liu Zhengwen, you really dare to pick up any drama!"

    "Why did you choose to play such a character, aren''t you afraid of losing fans?"

    "Are you happy earning dirty money?"

    "I can''t believe you didn''t read the script before picking up the role; knowing the script, you should realize that the play obviously vilifies Erlang Shen, don''t you feel guilty playing such a role?"

    "So disappointed, I used to ''Like You''."

    "From fan to hater, and now my last advice to you, shape up or ship out!"

    ...

    And after the audience erupted in anger,

    The worst-hit area was without a doubt Yi An''s blog comment section!

    Whether it''s director Ding Xiao or actor Liu Zhengwen, they just followed the script, and even if they were at fault, they were not the masterminds.

    The real culprit behind turning Erlang Shen into a villain was Yi An!

    Therefore,

    Yi An''s blog comment section suffered the most complete collapse!

    "This is like turning a winning game into a complete mess; the goodwill ''The Legend of Wukong'' brought has all been squandered by this drama!"

    "What gives you the right to smear Erlang Shen like that!"

    "You could have easily created a similar villain; why insist on making Erlang Shen the antagonist? Do you hate him that much?"

    "I''ve turned from fan to hater of Yi An; I admit Yi An''s scriptwriting is top-notch, but no matter how exciting the plot, it doesn''t change the fact that Yi An is maliciously defaming Erlang Shen!"

    "Really fed up!"

    "I smell the nauseating stench of fandom manipulation; don''t forget that Yi An is a Chu Kuang fan, and the dispute between ''Journey to the West'' and ''The Primordial Chaos'' has been longstanding, so Yi An just took the liberty to smear Erlang Shen in the drama. No matter how talented, this does not change the fact of poor character!"

    "I will never acknowledge this Erlang Shen as the one I know!"

    "Fans of ''The Primordial Chaos'' are right, there''s only one Erlang Shen, and that''s the Erlang Shen of ''The Primordial Chaos''!"

    ...

    And that''s not all!

    Director, actors, screenwriters.

    The TV drama "The Lotus Lantern" core behind-the-scenes team was thoroughly blasted by the audience, not to mention under the official Weibo of Starlight was also filled with countless curses!

    "Starlight really lost integrity with this move."

    "Why invest in such a drama that smears Erlang Shen?"

    "Butt dictates brain; ''Journey to the West'' is Starlight''s ace work, ''The Primordial Chaos'' and ''Journey to the West'' are at odds, so Starlight has no burden in smearing Erlang Shen."

    "What''s infuriating is that Starlight used to promote Erlang Shen!"

    "Using Erlang Shen for promotion and now smearing him in the drama, I am really sold on this tactic!"

    "Riding on the coattails of ''The Primordial Chaos'' is how ''Journey to the West'' started."

    "Because of Fish Papa, I have always had a good impression of Starlight, but even Fish Papa can''t salvage Starlight''s reputation this time."

    ...

    In the entertainment industry,

    Many people were flabbergasted.

    Starlight has truly botched it this time!

    As the first standalone character series derived from ''Journey to the West,'' since the broadcast of "The Lotus Lantern," the situation had been overwhelmingly positive!

    It was a wildly successful beginning.

    The industry was also closely watching this drama, everyone thought the IP of ''Journey to the West'' was going to explode!

    But who would have thought that "The Lotus Lantern" would cause an audience''s reputation to collapse because it excessively vilified Erlang Shen in the story?

    "Looks like Starlight has really messed up this time."

    "Yi An''s script is indeed problematic, the relationship between ''Journey to the West'' and ''The Primordial Chaos'' is too sensitive, yet this drama just had to target Erlang Shen, turning him into a major villain."

    "No matter how ''Bracing the Chill'' ''The Primordial Chaos'' gets, Erlang Shen still has popularity."

    "Perhaps Starlight thought ''The Primordial Chaos'' had already cooled down, so stepping on Erlang Shen was no big deal, they got a bit too arrogant."

    "Actually, ''The Lotus Lantern'' plot is still very exciting."

    "The drama''s plot is indeed amazing, or else the audience''s dissatisfaction with the collapse of Erlang Shen''s character wouldn''t have erupted until today; if Yi An were any smarter, he would''ve swapped Erlang Shen with another deity, and in the end, it would have surely been both critically acclaimed and popular. He cleverly outwitted himself by using Erlang Shen as the antagonist; compared to Chu Kuang''s grasp of the audience''s bottom line, Yi An still has a lot to learn."

    Provoking the readers?

    Stirring up the audience''s nerves?

    That''s what Chu Kuang is best at!

    However, the terrifying thing about Chu Kuang lies in:

    No matter how he plays with the audience, he always stays clear of crossing their bottom line, he has complete control over everyone''s psychology, so the audience''s perception of Chu Kuang is a blend of love and hate!

    Ultimately, everyone still loves Chu Kuang.

 Chapter 887 - 834: Everlasting Regret Part 2

    The so-called old rascal is often just a topic of jest, a little insider joke shared between the readers, the audience, and Chu Kuang, or even a bit of harmless fun.

    Yi An seems to have a leaning in this direction too.

    As a fan of Chu Kuang, Yi An is indeed talented; the plot of "Lotus Lantern" is fantastic!

    However, Yi An is ultimately not Chu Kuang, and she crossed a line with the audience she should never have crossed, resulting in a total loss of control and a thorough crash and burn.

    I''m afraid no one will seek Yi An to write scripts anymore.

    A screenwriter who alienates the audience, no matter how good their scripts, only increases the audience''s aversion.

    Even Yi An''s future development may be negatively affected by this.

    Being notorious for excessively vilifying Yang Jian in "Journey to the West" will likely be an indelible stain on Yi An''s record.

    ...

    In the midst of the overwhelming criticism directed at "Lotus Lantern,"

    the Blue Star Primordial Chaos Association finally spoke out!

    "Recently, a TV drama titled "Lotus Lantern" has smeared and besmirched the classic image of Erlang Shen, which we find deeply distressing. We accept the scriptwriter''s reimagining of Yang Jian, but we cannot accept the disordered storytelling. We hope that such chaos can be controlled, and we hope someone will restore justice to Yang Jian. We have reported to the Literature and Art Association, requesting a ban on the drama, and we strongly condemn Yi An..."

    The Primordial Chaos Association snitched!

    Previously, due to its connection with "Journey to the West," the association was severely criticized and had kept a low profile for a long time.

    Not until the reputation of "Lotus Lantern" took a nosedive did the Primordial Chaos Association dare to emerge, seizing the opportunity very well!

    The adversary has given them a chance!

    If the Primordial Chaos fans know to seize the opportunity, how much more so the Primordial Chaos Association?

    Under these circumstances, even netizens indifferent to the association felt that its statement had merit.

    And at this moment,

    something unexpected happened!

    Tribe also made a statement!

    It''s strange to say, as logically, Tribe wouldn''t have much to do with Primordial Chaos or Yang Jian.

    But just now!

    Tribe suddenly announced that it would be collaborating with the Primordial Chaos Association to create a film starring Erlang Shen, Yang Jian!

    Quite sudden?

    Not really.

    Because the broker of this partnership turned out to be...

    The head of the comics department under Tribe, Ling Kong!

    After taking over the project, the first thing Ling Kong did was publish a long essay, criticizing Starlight for smearing Erlang Shen, Yang Jian!

    In the article.

    Ling Kong claims to be a die-hard fan of The Primordial Chaos, with Erlang Shen, Yang Jian, being his most adored spiritual idol since childhood. He could not sit by and watch "Lotus Lantern" tarnish Yang Jian and decided to make a movie to vindicate him... Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Yang Jian is our hero since childhood. How can such a hero be smeared?"

    Ling Kong''s indignant accusations!

    He is upholding justice!

    It seems that in fear his long essay might not draw enough attention, Ling Kong shockingly exposed his identity at the end, claiming his father helped him secure the position to oversee the filming related to Yang Jian.

    And his father is none other than the helmsman of Tribe:

    Ling Zhou!

    This revelation was powerful, instantly making Ling Kong a hot topic. Netizens were surprised to see such a figure becoming involved!

    "Holy crap, it''s the Crown Prince of Tribe?"

    "Ling Kong... sounds vaguely familiar..."

    "Damn, Ling Kong is the head of Tribe Comics, the one who drove Shadow away!"

    "Pfft, so it was this second-gen who forced Shadow out?"

    "One thing at a time, Ling Kong is a man of character. Whatever his beef with Shadow, I fully support his actions this time!"

    "There''s a picture on Ling Kong''s account, so handsome!"

    "Wow, dreamy!"

    "I suspect Ling Kong has ulterior motives. His relationship with Shadow is so bad; he must be enemies with the Three Bros too, likely seizing the chance to step on Starlight. I don''t believe capitalists have any conscience or sense of justice."

    "Why assume the worst in people? I think Ling Kong is fine!"

    The allure of being the Tribe Crown Prince is undoubtedly dazzling, and the exposition of his identity as a top-tier rich second generation immediately escalated the incident''s impact!

    ...

    The media side is bustling!

    "Primordial Chaos Association Reports Starlight''s New Drama!"

    "Tribe Crown Prince Ling Kong Blasts Lotus Lantern!"

    "The True-Hearted Heir of Tribe, Ling Kong: Yang Jian is a Hero, Not to Be Smeared!"

    "Should ''Lotus Lantern'' Be Banned?"

    "When the Wall Falls, Everybody Pushes: Tribe Crown Prince Blasts Starlight!"

    "Capital Competition or Genuine Sentiment? Big Reveal of Tribe Crown Prince Ling Kong''s Identity, Discovering What Kind of Rich Second Generation He Is!"

    "..."

    In these news stories, Ling Kong''s deeds were brought to light.

    Apart from creating friction with Shadow and causing Tribe Comics to stumble in the league, this Ling Kong turns out to be quite impressive.

    He invested in a state and reaped astonishing profits, earning several times the returns.

    He led a department within Tribe to dominate 80% of the market in a certain field.

    He has...

    In short, Ling Kong''s resume is impeccable!

    This has also garnered Ling Kong higher attention and even a significant boost in followers. The news has shaped him into a successful, hardworking second generation rich kid.

    By comparison, "Lotus Lantern" is in a bind.

    Director, screenwriter, actors, and even Starlight have all come under fire!

    The united front of the Primordial Chaos Association and Tribe, along with the rhythm set by the fans of Primordial Chaos, has pushed "Lotus Lantern" into the spotlight!

    Moreover...

    Due to Tribe''s influence, after Ling Kong''s identity revelation, many well-known vloggers joined in the siege!

 Chapter 888 - 834: Everlasting Regret Part 3

    Tribe, the large capital, is never short of pawns.

    At this moment,

    anyone with discernment could see:

    Tribe was making a move against Starlight, looking to cut at Starlight through "Lotus Lantern".

    In fact,

    the feud between this massive capital and Starlight had been brewing ever since Xian Yu led the Yu Dynasty to leave Tribe.

    There were not a few who saw clearly.

    The cooperation between Starlight''s films, TV series, and artists with Tribe was becoming increasingly sparse, which many could perceive.

    Yet no one expected Tribe to intensify the conflict and choose this moment to take action.

    It appeared that going forward, Starlight and Tribe were thoroughly burnt bridges.

    Come to think of it,

    Starlight had connections with the Three Bros.

    And guess what, Xian Yu, Chu Kuang, and Shadow were linked to the bloggers, inflicting no small blow on Tribe.

    In such circumstances,

    a complete break between Tribe and Starlight was almost inevitable sooner or later.

    Now that Starlight had exposed its own weakness, Tribe merely seized the opportunity at hand.

    At this time,

    even die-hard "Journey to the West" fans found it hard to defend "Lotus Lantern".

    The portrayal of Yang Jian as a villain by Yi An is an undeniable fact, and attempting to defend "Lotus Lantern" at this juncture might only worsen the situation.

    ...

    Tribe.

    Ling Kong watched his account''s followers skyrocket with a slight smile on his lips.

    "It''s my turn to counterattack."

    His eyes narrowed with unprecedented exhilaration!

    Ever since the Shadow incident, every time Tribe got the short end of the stick from the Three Bros, he would be blasted by his colleagues!

    He had long been suffocating with resentment!

    If he had to rank the three people he hated most, Shadow would be in the first place!

    Xian Yu and Chu Kuang would tie for second!

    Even though Xian Yu and Chu Kuang had no direct conflict with Ling Kong, their indirect clashes were too numerous.

    He was the Crown Prince of Tribe, while the Three Bros belonged to the bloggers. Such conflict was inherently irreconcilable!

    "Mr. Ling is playing a clever game!"

    The assistant beside Ling Kong exclaimed excitedly, "By exposing your own identity, Mr. Ling, you can deter internal company disputes with the fear of your status and prevent others from opposing you openly. On the other hand, you can gain instant fame and leverage your status to create influence, keeping the public focused on your every move¡ªkilling two birds with one stone!"

    "The identity of a celebrity is indeed useful."

    Ling Kong smiled slightly: "This time, I''m going to make Starlight shed a layer of skin!"

    When Xiang Zhuang dances, his intention is to kill Pei Gong.

    Ling Kong might not have heard this saying, but his actions matched its meaning.

    He seemed to be targeting "Lotus Lantern", but really, he was targeting Starlight, Xian Yu of Starlight, Chu Kuang the original author of "Journey to the West", and even Shadow closely associated with Starlight.

    If anything went wrong with "Lotus Lantern", the impact would be far beyond just the drama itself!

    It would also affect the "Journey to the West" IP.

    If Starlight ran into trouble, the Three Bros would be affected as well.

    At this moment, Ling Kong even felt grateful to that Yi An. What a great assist!

    If he didn''t know it was impossible, he would suspect Yi An was a mole Tribe had planted in Starlight!

    Next, he didn''t need to do anything.

    He just had to sit back and enjoy the drama.

    In a good mood, he actually patted his assistant''s shoulder: "Play ''Lotus Lantern''. The sixteenth episode should have been updated by now, right?"

    "Yes."

    The assistant smiled and said, "Please wait a moment."

    Ling Kong nodded.

    He had been following the drama "Lotus Lantern".

    Not because he liked it, but because it smelled of opportunity.

    And why continue watching now?

    Of course, to add to the fun!

    The more the drama vilified Yang Jian, the happier Ling Kong became!

    What?

    I''m a fan of Yang Jian?

    Heh heh.

    If it could strike his opponents, Ling Kong could be anyone''s fan!

    "It''s starting."

    The assistant suddenly spoke up.

    Ling Kong didn''t respond, focusing his eyes on the projector.

    ...

    In the sixteenth episode of "Lotus Lantern", Yang Jian, after accidentally killing the Fourth Princess of the East Sea, was punished by the Heavenly Court.

    Meanwhile,

    Chenxiang, having escaped from death, gained a great opportunity and his strength soared!

    He joined forces with friends to besiege Erlang Shen.

    The battle was fierce, turning the sky and earth dark!

    In the end, Erlang Shen fell.

    But during this process, something strange happened:

    No matter how hard Chenxiang tried to activate the Lotus Lantern, it failed to unleash its power to attack Yang Jian.

    "Despicable and shameless!"

    One of Chenxiang''s friends, the Eighth Prince of the Dragon Palace, stated coldly: S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "He must have tampered with the Lotus Lantern, causing it to malfunction. We should hurry up and end his life to avenge my sister!"

    The Fourth Princess was the Eighth Prince''s elder sister.

    However, Chenxiang ultimately could not bring himself to kill his uncle.

    Still, he stripped Yang Jian of all his mana, turning Erlang Shen into an ordinary man.

    During this process,

    Sky Roaring Dog loyally protected its master and was also beaten to within an inch of its life.

    In fact, if not for Sky Roaring Dog, Chenxiang might indeed have taken Erlang Shen''s life.

    After all,

    though Sky Roaring Dog targeted Chenxiang due to Erlang Shen''s orders, it wasn''t truly evil and had never seriously attempted to kill Chenxiang.

    This fact was clear to both Chenxiang and the audience.

    Sky Roaring Dog was a good dog.

    As the story developed to this point, Erlang Shen was isolated and had received his comeuppance for his cold-bloodedness and ruthlessness!

    Even the Mount Mei Brothers, who were originally loyal to Erlang Shen, turned against him!

    It turned out that the Mount Mei Brothers couldn''t stand Erlang Shen''s deeds either.

    Only Sky Roaring Dog remained by his side.

    Blind loyalty.

    Erlang Shen sought the Queen Mother''s help, but she coldly dismissed him.

    Having lost his mana, Erlang Shen was no longer of any use.

 Chapter 889 - 834: Everlasting Regret Part 4

    ```

    Moreover, because Erlang Shen killed the Fourth Princess of the East Sea, violating the celestial decree, the Heavenly Court could no longer harbor him.

    Erlang Shen was beyond redemption!

    He lost his mana and was bruised all over.

    In order to eat, he demeaned himself and begged a peasant family for food.

    At that time.

    The Sky Roaring Dog was extremely hungry.

    Yang Jian snatched a steamed bun but couldn''t bear to eat it himself, instead, he gave it to the Sky Roaring Dog.

    The Sky Roaring Dog wolfed it down.

    The peasant who had his steamed bun stolen punched and kicked Erlang Shen, but Erlang Shen held onto the man without letting go, only urging the Sky Roaring Dog to eat faster¡­

    It turned out that this peasant was the deity of the land!

    As the Judiciary God, Erlang Shen was ruthless and callous.

    His reputation in the Three Realms had already soured, with nearly everyone calling for his execution.

    The land deity was deliberately taking this opportunity to beat Erlang Shen severely, venting his deep-seated resentment!

    ¡­

    After this episode ended.

    Ling Kong''s assistant suddenly said, "A whitewash?"

    How could Erlang Shen, such a bad person, be willing to starve himself and even to endure beating by a peasant, just to let the Sky Roaring Dog have a few bites of steamed bun?

    Ling Kong didn''t speak.

    The assistant burst into laughter!

    Ling Kong said impatiently, "What are you laughing at?"

    He was somewhat uneasy because he had actually begun to feel a bit of sympathy for Erlang Shen, a sentiment that seemed very wrong.

    Could Yi An be trying to whitewash Erlang Shen?

    To let Erlang Shen realize his wrongs when he was utterly desolate?

    The assistant, as if having seen through everything, said with some profoundness, "You''re probably worried that Yi An is whitewashing Erlang Shen."

    "Isn''t he?"

    Ling Kong frowned but did not deny it.

    If Yi An did whitewash Erlang Shen, although "The Legend of Lotus Lantern" would still be criticized, his own efforts to undermine Starlight would be greatly diminished.

    "This time you are wrong, young Ling!"

    The assistant''s eyes shone brightly: "But that''s precisely the cleverness of Yi An. Although his action of smearing Erlang Shen''s image is foolish, his screenwriting skills are indeed high!"

    "What do you mean?"

    Ling Kong was a bit confused.

    The assistant, holding wisdom like a gem, as if possessed by Conan:

    "This sequence is actually still mocking Erlang Shen. Yi An wants to tell the audience: Erlang Shen can be so kind to a dog, yet he can be cruel enough to kill his own sister and nephew, which clearly means, in Erlang Shen''s heart, dogs are more valued than people!"

    "So that''s it!"

    Ling Kong suddenly realized! S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This plot twist was indeed satirical, ultimately aimed at discrediting Erlang Shen!

    There was a news report online before.

    It was about a rich man who took every care of his dog, and when the dog had a cold or a fever, he would be so worried that he couldn''t eat. But the same rich man showed no gratitude to his parents and refused to spend money on their medical care when they were ill.

    At that time, this news sparked a lot of discussion online.

    Everyone was struck by the thought: "Dogs are treated better than humans."

    In Yi An''s pen, Erlang Shen might also be such a person.

    Such brilliant satire!

    Unfortunately, it was directed at the wrong subject.

    Why did Yi An choose to satirize Erlang Shen of all people?

    Ling Kong''s worries eased quite a bit, and he patted the assistant''s shoulder again, saying, "I hadn''t realized you were quite smart."

    "All thanks to your teachings, young Ling!"

    The assistant subconsciously lowered his body to make Ling Kong''s pat more comfortable.

    "Let''s keep watching tomorrow. It''s such a good show!"

    Ling Kong praised and couldn''t resist taunting, "Assuming the show hasn''t been banned by then."

    Someone had reported it to the Literature and Art Association.

    "The Legend of Lotus Lantern" had now sparked a myriad of criticisms, and it was possible that the Literature and Art Association would ban the work.

    In fact, Ling Kong did not want the show to be banned.

    It would be better to let Yi An continue on his path, smearing Erlang Shen beyond recognition, which would, in turn, have the most damaging influence on Starlight.

    At the same time.

    Netizens had also finished watching the sixteenth episode''s update.

    At this moment, they had not yet realized that the perspective of the show had started to shift.

    The main character was previously Chenxiang.

    But now, Erlang Shen Yang Jian, had become the protagonist of "The Legend of Lotus Lantern!"

    What they were even less aware of:

    The groundwork that Yi An had laid for Erlang Shen''s image reversal was already densely woven!

    Just as the saying goes:

    Everlasting Regret!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Thank you, GOAT the Alliance Hierarch, for your patronage. I offer my knee, with just one-quarter left to reach the goal of ten thousand words for today, I continue writing!

    ```

 Chapter 890 - 835: Heartache

    Starlight.

    Television Department.

    Liu Zhengwen looked at the man in front of him with a face full of helplessness:

    "These days I''m not getting invited to any events, even my fans are starting to disdain me. I''m worried that if this continues, someone is going to smash the windows of my home."

    "No big issue, our plot behind is going to be explosively amazing!"

    The man opposite Liu Zhengwen was none other than Ding Xiao, the director of "The Lotus Lantern," comforting him.

    Explosively amazing?

    Liu Zhengwen''s expression turned weird.

    The shooting of "The Lotus Lantern" had already been completed, and the subsequent plot was in post-production.

    As the male lead, he certainly knew how dreadfully mad the subsequent plot of "The Lotus Lantern" was.

    Just then.

    Zhao Jue''s voice came from the side: "All post-production work for ''The Lotus Lantern'' is officially complete. I plan to start the early-access streaming tonight, but I haven''t had time to see the specific plot yet. Director Ding, are you really confident?"

    "Director Zhao."

    Liu Zhengwen greeted him.

    Ding Xiao then showed a smile: "It''s finished? Let''s just air it all in one go tonight then. Director Zhao can watch it himself this evening; it just so happens that the audience needs to be soothed."

    Soothed?

    Liu Zhengwen''s expression turned strange once again.

    In this world, probably only Ding Xiao would think that the subsequent plot of "The Lotus Lantern" would soothe the audience.

    Zhao Jue was still somewhat doubtful: "Really?"

    Because of "The Lotus Lantern," the company had been under a lot of pressure.

    Everyone outside was saying Starlight deliberately demeaned the protagonist Erlang Shen of The Primordial Chaos for the sake of Journey to the West.

    This had even affected Starlight''s stock price today!

    As the company''s stock fell, many executives sought answers from Director Zhao.

    Zhao Jue had no choice but to brave it out and explain that there would be a plot twist later to reassure the leaders.

    However, the truth was:

    Zhao Jue had been dealing with various public relation crises brought by "The Lotus Lantern" all day and simply had no time to finish watching the subsequent plot.

    She had only followed the parts of the story that had already been aired, just like the ordinary audience.

    If she were to consider "The Lotus Lantern" from the audience''s perspective, Zhao Jue also felt that the character portrayal of Erlang Shen was ludicrous, and excessively vilified.

    As for the explanations she gave to the leaders, they all came from the main creative team of the show.

    Tonight she had to finish watching the remaining plot to see how the portrayal of Erlang Shen could be reversed.

    At the same time.

    Lin Yuan also received the news.

    "The Lotus Lantern" would start early-access streaming tonight.

    The final fourteen episodes about Yang Jian could be watched in one go!

    Lately.

    Lin Yuan had been paying attention to the sniping "The Lotus Lantern" encountered.

    But he didn''t have much of a solution. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Unless he spoiled it, telling the audience there would be a twist later on.

    However, Lin Yuan felt that spoilers were the least interesting thing; many stories needed to be experienced firsthand to truly be impactful.

    Luckily, Starlight didn''t have to continue bearing this pressure anymore.

    Now that the plot had been completely filmed, the truth would be revealed tonight.

    As for the audience''s reactions before the truth came out, Lin Yuan was somewhat prepared.

    It was only a pity that Yi An had unfairly received quite a bit of scolding.

    The only unexpected point for Lin Yuan was that Tribe had actually made a move!

    This made Lin Yuan realize that behind Xia Fan losing her role, there really might have been manipulations from Tribe.

    Now with Tribe stepping into the film and television arrangements, it was the most obvious evidence.

    On another note.

    Without this round of targeting, Lin Yuan and Tribe would have already become openly hostile.

    Luckily, Lin Yuan had prepared two big surprises for Tribe.

    Tonight''s "Everlasting Regret" was the first gift.

    ...

    Time ticked by.

    Online, the voices decrying "The Lotus Lantern" for smearing Erlang Shen still hadn''t stopped and were even intensifying!

    "Ban ''The Lotus Lantern''!"

    The fans of The Primordial Chaos spared no effort in stirring the pot!

    "Yang Jian must not be slandered!"

    All sorts of demons and goblins emerged as well!

    Boycott!

    Protest!

    This was a coordinated campaign targeting Starlight!

    And then, when the clock hit seven, the update time for "The Lotus Lantern" arrived!

    The netizens who were furiously calling out the slanderous actions against Yang Jian in "The Lotus Lantern" noticed a very unexpected situation.

    The website of Qiyigu Video.

    A recommendation suddenly popped up.

    "Watch ''The Lotus Lantern'' tonight with early access! Pay to view the grand finale in advance. Have you really understood this drama?"

    Immediately after.

    Catmill Video.

    A similar recommendation appeared:

    "Tonight ''The Lotus Lantern'' grand finale passionately airs, a plot reversal that moves the heart to the extreme, completely overturning your understanding!"

    Then came next.

    Penguin Video.

    The website pulled up a huge banner:

    "Unlock the grand finale of ''The Lotus Lantern'' with payment, binge-watch fourteen episodes for a shocking ending, high energy ahead, non-combatants please evacuate!"

    All three websites!

    All were broadcasting platforms in partnership with "The Lotus Lantern"!

    Instantly!

    The curses directed at the creators of "The Lotus Lantern" all paused for a moment.

    Some sneered.

    Was Starlight unable to bear the pressure, afraid that dragging it out would cause trouble, so they decided to release the grand finale early?

    Many more were puzzled.

    What did the recommendations from the three websites mean?

    A subverting finale?

    Wasn''t the portrayal of Yang Jian already disruptive enough?

    High energy ahead?

    Wasn''t it just Chenxiang successfully rescuing the Third Goddess? What''s so high-energy about that, when everyone could guess it, it''s just that the process might have a few more twists, right?

    Netizens began to complain:

    "How much money did Starlight give to the three websites, giving ''The Lotus Lantern'' such a huge recommendation, when the show is being criticized so badly?"

    "Even directly pushing notifications to phones?"

    "Doesn''t this recommendation feel like there might be a twist?"

    "It might mean there''s a twist. Could it have something to do with Yang Jian?"

 Chapter 891 - 835: Heartbroken_2

    "Stop talking nonsense, even if there was a reversal, it has nothing to do with Yang Jian. Yang Jian should be logging off soon."

    "Right, Yang Jian was already ruined by Chenxiang. Yi An is really hateful!"

    "Yi An is so lame, he¡ª¡ªtui!"

    As they spoke, the netizens started cursing again!

    As they cursed, everyone still honestly clicked on the video.

    Although they were furious about the smearing of Yang Jian in "Lotus Lantern," the plot itself still drew everyone in, all wanting to see Chenxiang successfully rescue the Third Goddess.

    Meanwhile.

    In a certain wealthy household.

    Ling Kong, dressed in pajamas, sitting cross-legged on the living room couch, lit a cigarette and turned on the latest episode of "Lotus Lantern."

    Suddenly.

    The seventeenth episode of "Lotus Lantern" began, playing on the big projector.

    This episode.

    Chenxiang was about to save his mother.

    He had already arrived at Mount Hua with his friends.

    Suddenly!

    An anomaly occurred!

    A mysterious shadow, brandishing the ancient artifact, the Kunlun Mirror, surrounded Chenxiang and his companions, preparing to deal a deadly blow!

    Just as Chenxiang and his friends fell into despair.

    The Lotus Lantern on Chenxiang suddenly transformed into a stream of light, flying towards a very distant direction!

    Whoosh!

    In the distance.

    A hand grabbed the Lotus Lantern.

    The Lotus Lantern emitted an unprecedented radiance!

    And in the glow, the audience was dumbstruck to see the owner of this hand:

    Yang Jian!

    He was actually using the Lotus Lantern to repair his broken body!

    Right after that.

    The camera abruptly switched!

    In Heavenly Court, inside Erlang Shen''s palace.

    A lonely figure, gazing towards the human world, his face filled with worry, murmured:

    "Yang Jian..."

    This figure turned out to be the Fourth Princess of the East Sea, the Dragon Princess, previously killed by Erlang Shen himself!

    "Cough!"

    Ling Kong, who was smoking, was directly choked by the smoke at this scene, and started coughing violently!

    He had followed this drama for so long not for nothing.

    A certain premise repeatedly emphasized in the TV drama was that only merciful Mana could wield the legendary Lotus Lantern!

    Now, Ling Kong just wanted to know:

    How could Yang Jian wield this thing?

    Why does the Lotus Lantern act like Yang Jian is its daddy?

    And!

    Who the hell can tell me how the Dragon Princess is not dead and is just fine inside Erlang Shen''s palace?

    Wasn''t she killed by Erlang Shen while trying to save Chenxiang?

    If not for that, the Queen Mother wouldn''t have given up on Erlang Shen!

    This plot!

    It doesn''t make sense!

    The screenwriter must be brain dead!

    Ling Kong suddenly felt a strong sense of unease!

    ...

    At this moment, Yang Jian''s lips were cracked, his body covered in scars and blood, once radiant, he now looked more wretched than a beggar!

    But it was he who personally grasped the Lotus Lantern!

    The Lotus Lantern, which was said to only be wielded by using merciful Mana!

    The Lotus Lantern swirled around him, as if sentient, scattering countless points of light, helping him to repair his body.

    Right after that.

    The supposed dead Dragon Princess reemerged before the audience, and she was in Erlang Shen''s palace!

    At this moment.

    Countless viewers couldn''t help but exclaim!

    "Holy crap!"

    "The Dragon Princess isn''t dead?"

    "How can Erlang Shen use the Lotus Lantern, it looks like the Lotus Lantern actively sought him out and even helped him repair his body, could this Lotus Lantern be in cahoots with Yang Jian?"

    "What is this even?"

    "I don''t understand what''s going on!"

    "Did I miss an episode or something?"

    "Isn''t it said that only merciful Mana could use the Lotus Lantern, could it be that Yang Jian is¡­"

    The air suddenly fell silent!

    An astonishing guess appeared in everyone''s minds!

    The audience was stupefied!

    Without further discussion, almost everyone hurriedly opened the next episode!

    Meanwhile.

    Zhao Jue was also at home following "Lotus Lantern."

    When she saw Yang Jian using the Lotus Lantern, and the Dragon Princess reappearing, she exhaled a breath.

    "There was indeed a twist."

    She had borne a lot of pressure.

    If the subsequent plot didn''t twist, the loss for Starlight would have been huge.

    To directly feel the impact of the twist, she even avoided reading the following plot in the script.

    She just wondered if this twist could convince the audience?

    Worried about a recurrence, Zhao Jue, like the other viewers, opened the eighteenth episode.

    ...

    This episode.

    Outside the Kunlun Mirror.

    The mysterious shadow wielding the Kunlun Mirror prepared to kill Chenxiang and his friends, only to be stopped by a dazzling figure!

    Yang Jian had arrived!

    He donned his armor again, wielding the three-pointed, double-edged lance, exhibiting overwhelming presence!

    "Yang Jian!" Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The shadow was extremely surprised, apparently recognizing Yang Jian!

    Yang Jian then spoke, revealing a shocking secret:

    "Queen Mother, you have been possessed."

    "You! Deserve! To! Die!"

    The suddenly enraged mysterious shadow lunged at Yang Jian!

    This furiously blushing terrifying shadow turned out to be the Queen Mother!?

    The camera shifts.

    Inside the Kunlun realm.

    While Chenxiang and his companions were at a loss, an animated image suddenly appeared in front of them.

    The image depicted a child, his brows exuding a spiritual aura.

    Chenxiang perplexedly asked, "Who is this?"

    Also trapped in the Kunlun Mirror, Sun Wukong realized:

    "This is the Kunlun Mirror, capable of reversing time, sending people back to the past to observe the past, originally used by Fuxi to check on karma. Now it seems someone has activated the Kunlun Mirror, but who is this person reflected in the mirror, could it be this person is fighting that mysterious demon?"

    He is Yang Jian.

    The Third Goddess recognized the child.

    ...

    In front of the computer.

    Zhao Jue opened her mouth wide!

    This design is simply brilliant!

    Yang Jian doesn''t need to explain anything himself.

 Chapter 892 - 892: 835 chapter Heartache_3

    This ancient treasure, the Kunlun Mirror, would reenact Yang Jian''s life, reflecting the past!

    She continued to watch.

    One episode, then another.

    Yang Jian''s life unfolded in the Kunlun Mirror, eloquently narrated.

    ¡­

    The first scene.

    Young Yang Jian, in order to save his sister, the Third Goddess, who had fallen down a cliff, opened the third eye on his forehead, revealing his terrifying mana talent, but consequently, he received a merciless slap from his mother, Yao Ji, "How many times have I warned you? So eager to show off at such a young age; do you sincerely want to get our whole family killed?"

    Outside, there was a flash of lightning and thunder.

    Yao Ji''s face turned pale.

    She had descended to the human world and mingled with mortals, violating heavenly laws, and had been pursued by the Heavenly Court for years. This time, Yang Jian''s use of mana had finally drawn the Heavenly Court pursuers.

    "Slap!"

    Another fierce slap, Yang Jian''s face swelled up red, and Yao Ji, still furious, screeched, "I knew the moment I gave birth to you that you would be nothing but trouble, that you''d get our whole family killed. If you hadn''t shown off those innate divine eyes today, how could we have attracted these Heavenly Court pursuers? You''ve killed our entire family!"

    Another clap of thunder.

    The young Third Goddess, scared, burrowed into Yang Jian''s embrace, as his tears circled in his eyes, yet never fell, and he explained not a word, only gently patting his sister''s back.

    ¡­

    The fifth scene.

    Yao Ji was seized; she had sent her family away on a cloud, which dissolved midway, resulting in the deaths of Yang Jian''s brother and father along the way, leaving only Yang Jian and his sister alive.

    The young Third Goddess burst into tears.

    Yang Jian said, "Don''t be afraid, your second brother is here."

    The young Third Goddess, angrily, "I don''t want my second brother; I want Daddy and Mommy! It''s all your fault, you made Mommy angry, and now she doesn''t want you or Lian''er!"

    "Silly."

    Yang Jian wiped away his tears and smiled, "Daddy and mommy are playing hide and seek with us. Let''s find them together, and when we do, they''ll be happy and reward you, right?"

    ¡­

    The thirteenth scene.

    With neither parents nor brothers around.

    Young Yang Jian thus took on the responsibility of caring for his sister, carrying her across mountains and rivers.

    When his sister cried out in hunger, he fought with wild beasts.

    When his sister craved sweets, he ventured deep into poisonous bee nests to find honey.

    He gave everything he found to his sister, not allowing himself even a bite.

    Bee poison struck, and he convulsed, his limbs swollen frightfully everywhere.

    In intense pain, he submerged his face in water.

    "Is he playing in the water?"

    Chenxiang asked, puzzled.

    The Third Goddess, witnessing the events of her youth, was at a loss, with tears rolling in her eyes again, and after a long time, sighed, "My second brother was such a proud man; observe his face closely."

    The crowd then saw clearly.

    On Yang Jian''s pale face, among the rolling droplets of water, were indeed tears flowing down.

    The Third Goddess said, "I only knew my second brother''s tough personality; he never wanted to be seen weak in front of others, but I never knew he also hid his tears before heaven and earth."

    ¡­

    The nth scene.

    Finally, the Kunlun Mirror moved to the part where Yang Jian killed the dragon princess.

    The reason why the dragon princess didn''t die was finally clarified by the Kunlun Mirror reflecting the past.

    It turned out that Yang Jian had fixed the soul of the Fourth Princess.

    ¡­

    The n+1th scene.

    In the True Monarch Palace, alone.

    The dragon princess saw the notes Yang Jian had written.

    She flipped through them hurriedly but noticed the annotations in cinnabar, detailing faults in heavenly decrees; it was not only about the romantic entanglements she resented but also included issues like disproportionate punishments and undefined powers. She found everything, expected and unexpected, clearly written by Yang Jian.

    Her hands trembled.

    Something was roaring in her mind.

    The Fourth Princess flipped through the pages faster and faster, yet not a single word entered her eyes. She was just frantically turning the pages, trying to give herself something to do.

    So much.

    No time for a detailed look.

    Finally regaining some composure, her eyes landed on a stack of papers that Yang Jian had recently been writing.

    She forgot she had no physical body, and after taking a deep breath, she picked up a page and read it aloud. But immediately, the paper drifted from her hands, and she froze.

    ...

    Inside the Kunlun Mirror.

    Following the scene.

    Chenxiang and the others also saw the writing on the paper.

    It was clearly a new heavenly decree!

    Chenxiang read a few sections, then could read no further.

    Because he had been so close to Yang Jian yet had never cared about what Yang Jian was writing.

    If he had taken a look back then, would everything have been different?

    ...

    The scenes reflected in the mirror continued.

    Yang Jian appeared quietly and said softly to the Fourth Princess, "I''m sorry."

    The Fourth Princess asked, "Why?"

    Exhaustion was written all over Yang Jian''s face.

    This was the first time he had revealed such tiredness in front of others, "Chenxiang was entrenched in the affairs of the heart, often running after Little Fox, and with the magic lantern, he became lazy and loved to sleep. His third sister was after all too far away from him, and a mother was only a natural genetic connection. How could I make him hate me to the bone and truly understand the kind of enemy he faces, and truly use all his courage and perseverance, wholeheartedly embarking on this perilous path if he didn''t see familiar faces splattered with blood?"

    The Fourth Princess was in tears.

    From that day on, a woman who often sat silently crying occupied a room in the True Monarch Palace. Even though Yang Jian, who habitually pretended to be indifferent, never paid her any mind, she refused to be resurrected and insisted on staying in the True Monarch Palace to accompany and compensate Yang Jian in this manner.

    ...

    The past was still constantly being reflected!

    Yang Jian was the absolute protagonist in the latter half!

    Every event, every occurrence! Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    All had a cause!

    For example, Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie taking Chenxiang as a disciple was because Yang Jian had planned and schemed, choosing his words wisely. He predicted that, given the character of Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie, they would certainly not bear to see Chenxiang persecuted by himself!

    The fact proved.

    He succeeded.

    Everything, every bit of it!

    Was Yang Jian''s strategizing!

    ...

    Inside Zhao Jue''s room.

    As the scenes from the past emerged one after another, at some unknown time, continuous sobbing could be heard!

    In front of the computer.

    Under the illumination of the screen''s light.

    Zhao Jue''s eyes were thoroughly swollen into the shape of walnuts!

    It was Zhao Jue who was crying.

    And on her desk.

    Countless tissues, all forcefully scrunched up, almost covering the entire desk!

    Zhao Jue didn''t even know how many episodes she had watched in one go!

    She only knew that her heart felt like it was breaking, a gut-wrenching sensation; the tears flowed as if they cost nothing!

    Pain that ripped through her!

    Agony that stemmed from the soul!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: I confess candidly to everyone that the part about reflecting the past reused over a thousand words from "Entertainment Empire." After all, those were the scenes I summarized based on the original plot of "Everlasting Regret" when I wrote the previous book, and unless Polluted White didn''t write about the reflections, it''s unavoidable. Considering I also summarized the content myself, I used it; thus, I wrote an extra thousand words to make up for it to everyone.

 Chapter 893 - 836: Epic Awkward Moment Part Two

    Zhao Jue knew that although "The Magic Lotus Lantern" would vindicate Yang Jian in its later stages, she had always been worried¡­ sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Would the audience accept the twist?

    Was the plot persuasive enough?

    Wouldn''t people feel it was an attempt to forcibly whitewash a character?

    Not until Zhao Jue had seen the past reflected in the Kunlun Mirror did her worries finally vanish.

    This was a trap!

    Reflecting on the plot, this drama recalled countless details worth scrutinizing¡ª

    Despite being a mythological drama, it portrayed the cruelty of reality so vividly!

    A carefully woven benevolent conspiracy, a group of gods with high mana, yet blinded by appearances just like the mortals.

    Life''s furnace, the dazzling mortal world, who is the pawn, and who is the grandmaster?

    It turned out that those foreshadowings had been laid down since the very first episode; Yang Jian had turned himself into a chess piece, and he was the one who sacrificed the most!

    At this moment!

    Tears streamed down Zhao Jue''s face!

    And at this time, across the continents, there were countless people staying up late in front of their computers watching "The Magic Lotus Lantern."

    Tonight.

    Everyone was Zhao Jue!

    Compared to them, Zhao Jue was even lucky.

    Having a director''s godlike perspective, she had known all along that the drama never intended to smear Yang Jian; on the contrary, it was reshaping him in a very special way.

    And the real protagonist of "The Magic Lotus Lantern" wasn''t Chenxiang.

    Chenxiang''s existence was merely to provide an external perspective for audiences to view Yang Jian''s actions.

    The more it was so, the more the twist played out in the Kunlun Mirror was heart-shaking!

    This impact was not only conveyed to the characters in the drama but to every viewer!

    Therefore.

    When the truth was revealed.

    Everyone''s perceptions of Yang Jian, established over the previous dozen episodes, shattered like a violently broken mirror!

    In the clinking sounds!

    Glass shards littered the ground!

    At this moment, the whole network was stunned!

    It turns out Yang Jian was never the villain; persecuting Chenxiang or even killing the dragon princess were just acts of his self-sacrifice!

    Is he a good person?

    No!

    It should be said:

    In the world of "The Magic Lotus Lantern," is there anyone better or greater than Yang Jian?

    Wrong!

    Everyone was wrong!

    Recalling the countless curses thrown at "The Magic Lotus Lantern" for allegedly smearing Yang Jian, numerous people''s hearts trembled!

    Shame!

    Heartache!

    Withdrawal!

    From the moment the Kunlun Mirror first unveiled the foreshadowing, related topics exploded online, causing unprecedented shock and a mental breakdown across the network!

    "I''m going crazy!"

    "I feel so sorry for Second Master!"

    "Do they have to be this torturous in the middle of the night!"

    "Why does Yang Jian have to do this? You give so much for friends and family, even for the Three Realms, what do they give you back? After years of meticulous planning, suffering indignities in the Black Waters, only to be hated by even your closest ones. Knowing this path is despised by heaven, you almost died at Chenxiang''s hand, was all this worth it? Sorry, I got a bit emotional, this part of the drama really killed me!"

    "We all misjudged Yi An, the director, and the actors!"

    "Just cried like crazy in my room, my mom thought I''d had a breakup. She came over to comfort me in the middle of the night, ended up watching two episodes of ''The Magic Lotus Lantern'' with me, and then I had to comfort her. Now we''re both sitting here crying like fools!"

    "Yi An, sorry!"

    "Everyone owes Yi An an apology. From the start, he never once smeared Second Master. It''s our fault for not watching the show closely enough, not noticing the many clues already planted!"

    "Instant shutdown!"

    "Got treated to a full-on depressive episode in the middle of the night, I''ve watched countless TV dramas over the years, and ''The Magic Lotus Lantern'' is by far the most torturous. It made me want to jump through the screen and hug Yang Jian!"

    "Just a heads up, you should delete your posts now; we''ve all been smacked in the face by Yi An!"

    "..."

    Damn, almost forgot!

    This reminder came just in time!

    Netizens began deleting their posts!

    Throughout the broadcast of "The Magic Lotus Lantern," numerous people had vehemently criticized the drama for slandering Yang Jian.

    Curse the scriptwriter!

    Curse the director!

    Curse the actors!

    Curse Starlight!

    Stereotypical internet troll!

    Not until this moment did everyone realize that they hadn''t smeared Yang Jian, but instead had painted a Second Master for whom everyone felt pity!

    This moment.

    Everyone was stirred into action!

    The symmetry with which everyone was deleting posts was incredible!

    Online, a deletion storm like none ever seen before suddenly occurred!

    God knows what the netizens felt when they saw the vitriol they had previously posted about this drama!

    There''s no better example of public humiliation than this, right?

    The meaner everyone had sprayed earlier, the louder their faces were slapped now!

    At this moment, would you still not delete your posts and keep them for the New Year?

    Some people were practically crying while they deleted their posts, clearly not yet over the depressive shadow of "The Lotus Lantern."

    Likewise.

    Someone described this scene as "one of Blue Star''s five most epically embarrassing moments."

    Each case among Blue Star''s five most epically embarrassing moments made onlookers want to curl their toes from cringe, the common feature being the wide swath of people getting slapped in the face. It was truly terrifying!

    Previously.

    The same Blue Star''s five most epically embarrassing moments also traced back to the Han people reviewing "Farewell Kiss," saying that the song only topped the season charts due to the advantage of being in Mandarin, only to be severely slapped by the quality of the song''s English version. That incident pioneered Blue Star''s history of epic embarrassing moments (manual prompt, chapter six hundred and twenty-two).

    Years later.

    Many still couldn''t forget that night, when they cried like dogs while frantically deleting posts.

    At the same time.

    In a wealthy household.

    In the spacious living room, the scenes reflected from the Kunlun Mirror completely overturned the entire plot of the previous dozens of episodes...

    In front of the screen.

    Ling Kong was dumbfounded.

    He suddenly felt parched and weak all over, with a slight sour sensation in his nose.

    His face also felt a bit cool.

    Ling Kong instinctively touched his face, only to realize it was his own tears.

    He had actually...

    Cried?

    A strange sense of numbness suddenly covered his face as though someone had furiously slapped him countless times!

    Ling Kong was instantly enveloped in immense shame!

    He had actually cried!

    He was actually sympathizing with Yang Jian!

    He was actually experiencing such a shameful response to this drama!

    "To hell with it!"

    Ling Kong cursed, the voice that came out was a crying tone.

    It was as if he thought of something.

    Ling Kong quickly pulled out his cellphone, his fingers trembling as he logged into his Tribe account, opened an article, and frantically pressed to delete!

    "Confirm deletion?"

    "Cancel!"

    "Confirm deletion!"

    "Cancel!"

    Ling Kong intended to delete the post.

    He had capitalized on the "The Lotus Lantern" timing to write a whole article, and not deleting it now would surely be disastrous, but because he was moving too fast, he almost always inadvertently clicked the cancel button.

    "Did the product team grow up eating shit!"

    He angrily said, if you''re gonna delete, just delete, why even give a chance to cancel?

    Even if they had to include a cancel feature, why put "cancel," which is easier to hit than "confirm," in such a spot?

    Suppressing his frustration.

    He slowed down by a lot, finally managing to delete the post.

    And before deleting the post.

    He saw a comment that read:

    "Making a prediction: this idiot''s gonna delete his post soon. If he doesn''t, I''ll eat shit standing on my head. If he does, he''s the one who will eat."

    Suddenly, a wave of nausea.

    Ling Kong actually did feel like he had eaten shit.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Will continue writing, aiming to fix my jet lag tomorrow. It''s really hard to update at this time.

 Chapter 894 - 837: The Male Lead Has Been Snatched Away

    This was a post-deletion tidal wave!

    Netizens were deleting their posts, and Ling Kong was deleting posts too!

    It''s just that ordinary netizens'' actions of deleting posts went unnoticed, while Ling Kong had now become a celebrity and, consequently, a focal point of attention for many!

    Once he started deleting posts, a wave of scolding followed in the comments of his other updates:

    "This guy deletes posts faster than I do!"

    "Heard you''re planning on making a movie related to Yang Jian?"

    "Still going to shoot it?"

    "You think you''re worthy of portraying Yang Jian?"

    "Sorry, when it comes to Yang Jian, I only recognize Journey to the West and ''The Lotus Lantern''!"

    "You''ve deleted your posts, let''s not beat a dead horse, we''ve silently deleted ours too."

    "Deserving of criticism, we had a bit of a misunderstanding earlier and spoke out for Yang Jian, but this guy here wanted to stir up trouble amidst the turmoil!"

    "I don''t believe for a second that he''s a fan of Yang Jian!"

    "Don''t tell me you believe in the sense of justice from capital!"

    Ling Kong began to regret the fame he had sought after earlier, but in this world, there''s no such thing as a pill for regret.

    And after Ling Kong.

    The vanguard of the Tribe¡ª

    Those big V internet celebrities who had followed Ling Kong in angrily criticizing ''The Lotus Lantern'' also started deleting their posts!

    Similarly!

    These popular internet celebrities with large followings also got scolded!

    A contrasting amusing point was:

    Right after the plot reversal of ''The Lotus Lantern''.

    Some netizens apologized to the creators of ''The Lotus Lantern''.

    ...

    In director Ding Xiao''s comment section.

    "Director, I wronged you, I''m sorry, but saying you had a bad conscience wasn''t unjustified at all."

    "Sorry, he¡ªtui (dog head)"

    "Director Ding is really something. ''Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange'' was harsh enough, I didn''t expect you to go even harder, I''m sorry, I spit and walk away (dog head)"

    "Chu Kuang opened the door to the New World for you, and Yi An led you through it."

    "Sorry¡­ Damn it, I really can''t stand it, why the hell should I apologize to you, the later part of the drama made me cry my eyes out!"

    "It''s so hard to apologize when my heart and spirit are unwilling!"

    This scene of apologies was indeed a bit eerie.

    The audience did indeed misunderstand Ding Xiao, but thinking about how torturous the later part of ''The Lotus Lantern'' was, everyone felt like scolding Ding Xiao all over again.

    At home.

    Ding Xiao, seeing these comments, laughed so hard his mouth almost reached his ears, radiating an unusual excitement!

    Indeed!

    The audience just loves this!

    In making TV dramas, one must be cruel!

    I love this about you all, how you say you''re unwilling with your mouths, but your bodies are so honest!

    Scold me!

    Scold all you want!

    The more you scold, the more it shows you like it, if you don''t scold me, that means I''m not doing well enough!

    ...

    In actor Liu Zhengwen''s comment section.

    "Cough, my fans have returned."

    "Erlang Shen, kisses, I still support you!"

    "Your portrayal of Yang Jian was too good; I shouldn''t have criticized you, it was all Yi An''s fault!"

    "Promise me, continue playing Yang Jian, you do it better than the actor from The Primordial Chaos!"

    "The best Yang Jian ever!"

    "Tragically beautiful!"

    "Shouldn''t have criticized you, to make up for my mistake, I joined your fan group, I''ll definitely support you from now on!"

    The comments here were much more normal.

    Liu Zhengwen let out a big sigh of relief upon seeing these comments.

    His agent excitedly said, "Zhengwen, you''re going to be on fire with this, Yang Jian could be the peak of your career, you must hold on to this role well. Starlight will definitely continue to make Journey to the West stories, and your role is very important!"

    "Yes!"

    Liu Zhengwen looked at his account and nodded vigorously!

    Previously, because of the harsh criticism during the early stages of ''The Lotus Lantern'', he had lost many fans.

    However, now.

    Not only had his fans returned, but their number had even far surpassed the previous count, a very rare situation. He might really become extremely popular because of this role!

    He would seize such an opportunity no matter what!

    ...

    In Yi An''s comment section.

    Compared to the first two, Yi An''s comment section was definitely the most lively!

    "Sorry, Yi An¡­"

    "Teacher Yi An, I was wrong!"

    "We shouldn''t have wronged Teacher Yi An!"

    "Teacher Yi An, just like Yang Jian, was wronged by us but couldn''t explain, after watching the drama I truly understand the helplessness."

    "Remorseful."

    "Bowing to Teacher Yi An."

    "Teacher Yi An, you truly are an excellent writer and screenwriter!"

    At this time.

    Lin Yuan was browsing through comments at home.

    Seeing the apologies from netizens, he showed a smile.

    To err is human, to forgive, divine.

    However.

    As he continued to scroll through the comments, his expression became somewhat strange.

    The comments seem to have taken a turn.

    Someone''s setting the pace, suspecting it''s The Primordial Chaos fans!

    "Alright, the apology has ended."

    "Brothers, do we follow procedure next, or go straight to roasting?"

    "Brothers, I''ll start with a roast to pay my respects!"

    "Teacher Yi''an, b*stard, die!"

    "There''s someone to take over for the old rascal Chu Kuang. Everybody''s going to have to work harder in the future, hold down the old rascal with your left hand, and keep a grip on Yi''an with your right, this guy is also crazy."

    "Worthy disciple of the old rascal, behave like a human being!"

    "Bastard, the old rascal just likes to hand out boxed lunches, but you''re giving the audience arsenic!"

    "Damn Yi''an, who the hell taught you to be like this? Of all people, you had to imitate Chu Kuang, that''s just a pitfall!"

    "Yi''an, give me your home address, I''ll send you some local specialties from our place."

    "Ever since ''The Legend of Wukong'', I knew you weren''t up to any good, as expected, who the hell likes Chu Kuang if they''re decent?"

    "..."

    Lin Yuan''s smile froze.

    What the hell?

    Wasn''t this supposed to be an apology?

    Where the hell is the promised apology?

    Do you guys even know how to apologize?

    If you truly don''t want to apologize that''s fine; the earlier part of the story was indeed deceptive. But why the hell are you cursing?

    I learned it from Chu Kuang!

    If you want to curse, curse at Chu Kuang¡ª

    Wait a minute!

    Chu Kuang is me too!

    Lin Yuan was almost driven to depression by these netizens, angrily putting down his phone.

    ...

    Amidst the ever-changing currents of the internet.

    The Primordial Chaos fans always maintained their silence.

    At this moment.

    In the largest chat group of The Primordial Chaos fans.

    Suddenly someone broke the silence: "Have you seen the latest plot of ''Lotus Lantern''?"

    The whole group instantly became lively.

    It seemed everyone had been paying attention to the group messages, just keeping quiet until now. With someone taking the lead, The Primordial Chaos fans started popping up one after another.

    "They did not demonize Yang Jian, but his character has changed too drastically."

    "But I feel that this kind of Yang Jian is more fleshed out."

    "Yeah."

    "Compared to how The Primordial Chaos shaped Yang Jian, although glorious and righteous, it always felt like lacking depth."

    "What are you talking about? It''s nothing but a forced whitewash!"

    "The screenwriter''s whitewashing tactics are truly nauseating, it''s clear they are just exploiting Yang Jian!"

    "It''s pointless to be stubborn now, I''m starting to like this Yang Jian."

    "I''ve realized, actually, I don''t really like The Primordial Chaos; I just like Erlang Shen. The Erlang Shen in ''Journey to the West'' fits my aesthetics perfectly, tragic and beautiful, obedient yet unproclaimed, this is the Erlang Shen I imagine!"

    "You''ve turned traitors, all been brainwashed by Yi An!"

    "It''s you who are stubbornly in denial, always unwilling to acknowledge the excellence of ''Journey to the West''. I used to be like that too, but such a ''Lotus Lantern'', such an Erlang Shen, I''m thoroughly convinced."

    The group actually started arguing.

    A moment later.

    Some people left the group. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    One, two, three...

    Numerous The Primordial Chaos fans began leaving the group!

    The admin panicked: "Let''s talk it out, don''t leave, The Primordial Chaos fans are all one family!"

    "It''s better this way."

    The group owner suddenly appeared.

    The admin quickly said: "Group owner, please say something, we shouldn''t ruin our harmony over this!"

    "This isn''t about ruining harmony."

    The group owner said: "As you all know, I am a die-hard fan of Yang Jian. I created this group even for Yang Jian. Now, this group has diverged from my original intention."

    The admin became anxious: "What do you mean by that?"

    The group owner said: "I don''t feel like talking, it''s too painful. Seeing you argue is even worse. I don''t like The Primordial Chaos as much as you do, I only care about my dear brother."

    ???

    The next moment, the remaining group members received a message alert:

    "The group owner has dissolved the group."

    Some wanted to privately message the group owner, only to find that the owner''s profile picture had turned into Yang Jian from ''Lotus Lantern''.

    From that day on.

    More The Primordial Chaos fans became fans of ''Journey to the West''.

    To be exact, they became fans of ''Lotus Lantern'', became fans of Yang Jian.

    The remaining The Primordial Chaos fans were dumbfounded!

    It was one thing for ''Journey to the West'' to snatch The Primordial Chaos''s position as Blue Star''s number one myth. But now?''Journey to the West'' even took away The Primordial Chaos''s male lead!?

    ''Journey to the West'' was directly undermining The Primordial Chaos''s foundation!

    The great battle between ''Journey to the West'' and The Primordial Chaos, following ''Lotus Lantern'', came to a definitive end!

    Of course.

    Not everyone was in a rush to declare their love online.

    Most were still watching the show, posting comments on the internet, while opening up the finale of ''Lotus Lantern''.

    The question on everyone''s mind:

    What will become of Yang Jian''s finale?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: This part of the story wraps up the plot, and I definitely won''t touch on ''Everlasting Regret'' again in future cultural writings. I''ve received your suggestions, criticisms, and encouragement. I decided to write this part because many readers haven''t read Polluted White''s earlier works, and judging by the performance and subscriptions, the results are still okay. However, Polluted White has decided to deepen communications with you all in the future, considering ''full-time artist'' is probably the only book on the starting point that was written together by the author and the readers. Maybe it''s because I''ve been thinking about asking you for plot outlines every day, has it led to a dependency?

 Chapter 895 - 838: Blades Worth Hundreds of Millions

    "Alright, it''s not a one-time deal after all."

    "The Journey to the West story must go on."

    Yang Jian did not die like the ending of ''Everlasting Regret.''

    The grand finale.

    The divine law rewritten.

    After knowing the truth, all the realms were grateful for Yang Jian''s kindness.

    Nuwa, who had once intended to take Yang Jian as her disciple, specifically left a lifeline for him.

    This is Lin Yuan''s magical modification.

    Actually, the Earth CCTV''s ''Lotus Lantern'' didn''t write off Yang Jian either.

    That''s quite normal.

    If Yang Jian were written to die, it would have too great an impact.

    Especially in this world, Yang Jian''s popularity is simply terrifying.

    Just the first dozen episodes of ''Lotus Lantern'' slightly smearing Erlang Shen caused such a storm, let alone the cost of killing off Second Master.

    Moreover, Lin Yuan intends to create the Journey to the West Universe.

    In his vision.

    Whether it''s Sun Wukong or Yang Jian, both are indispensable soul figures in the future Journey to the West Universe.

    However, this ending still triggered countless viewers to curse.

    There''s no other reason!

    It''s just too torturous!

    But as much as everyone criticized, the drama''s ratings still went up.

    On Starlight Web.

    The TV series ''Lotus Lantern'' scored a high 9.1!

    For a TV series, this is a very good achievement!

    Under normal circumstances.

    A Starlight Web rating of over 8 signifies a quality work already.

    Reaching nine points, that''s considered a classic.

    Well.

    It''s safe to say the rating trend of ''Lotus Lantern'' has been pretty twisted.

    When this drama first came out, the Starlight Web rating was just around eight points.

    When the plot made Yang Jian a villain, the ratings for ''Lotus Lantern'' crashed, at one point falling to around six points, showing just how deep viewers'' grudges were towards the blackening of Yang Jian.

    Until the plot twist occurred.

    The rating of this drama suddenly surged against the trend, finally reaching the current 9.1 points.

    Ups and downs.

    More thrilling than the stock market.

    Indeed, because of the adverse effects of Yang Jian being made a villain earlier in ''Lotus Lantern'', many viewers actually quit watching midway; even when early viewing of episodes was introduced, they did not watch, protesting with their actions against this smear of Yang Jian.

    However.

    As the ratings and reputation of ''Lotus Lantern'' counterattacked, viewers who didn''t continue watching the later episodes were shocked!

    What happened to the protest?

    What happened to the boycott?

    How did this drama end up exploding in ratings after finishing?

    What''s the deal with this drama?

    Many netizens who hadn''t been following the issue began to get confused.

    Someone online voiced their doubts.

    At that point.

    Many enthusiastic netizens appeared to reply:

    "You quit midway, right? Seriously, I strongly suggest you pick it back up and keep watching; the later part of the drama is just too healing. Yang Jian is actually a good guy!"

    "Yes, don''t worry, Yi An didn''t smear Yang Jian!"

    "The ending is really healing; it definitely won''t disappoint you!"

    "Absolutely don''t read online comments; it''s easy to get spoiled, and once spoiled, it''s no fun. Start watching now, and I guarantee it''ll heal all your unhappiness!" S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "This is the warmest story I''ve ever seen!"

    "The story is very warm, filled with love and Sunlight!"

    "Didn''t expect this story to be so heartwarming, it has a strong healing effect. You''re missing out if you don''t continue watching. We all misunderstood Teacher Yi''an before!"

    Warm, healing?

    Heartwarming, therapeutic?

    Yang Jian is actually a good person?

    We misunderstood Teacher Yi''an?

    Everyone seems so enthusiastic in their recommendations!

    Is this why ''Lotus Lantern'' ratings exploded afterward?

    Could it be that the later plot really had some divine twists and vindicated Yang Jian?

    It must be!

    Ratings wouldn''t fool people, right!

    Let''s go see!

    The viewers who quit midway are moved!

    With great anticipation, they all began to watch the continuation of ''Lotus Lantern''!

    After watching¡­

    The group of viewers lost their minds!

    "Damn it!"

    "Who the hell said the later plot was very healing? Stand up; I promise I won''t kill you!"

    "Damn, turned into a tear man!"

    "This is clearly depressing!"

    "I just knew it, why was everyone recommending it so enthusiastically? It''s a trap. I was tricked the same way into watching ''Hachiko'' before, and I fell for it again; why don''t I ever learn!"

    "This thing is even more depressing than ''Hachiko''!"

    "I can''t take it anymore; I have to trick someone else. Last time my classmate tricked me into watching ''Hachiko'', which left me crying my eyes out. Now it''s his turn to pay the price!"

    The latecomer viewers cursed wildly!

    The enthusiastic netizens who promoted the drama before were so thrilled they slapped their thighs in excitement!

    The highest realm of lying is to mix countless truths within a lie!

    This drama indeed did not vilify Yang Jian, everyone wronged Teacher Yi''an, right?

    Healing?

    Well, that might have been a typo on our part.

    Who can blame us when "healing" and "depressing" sound the same?

    "zhiyu"

    The case was finally solved.

    It''s all the fault of the pinyin typing method.

    And these spectators are misleading others too?

    Welcome aboard!

    Our goal is:

    No moth...

    To trick one person at a time!

    After all, the rating of this drama is the best cover!

    It''s not just the ratings.

    Starlight''s stocks began to rise too!

    This drama is magical, it actually influenced Starlight''s stocks!

    When thousands criticized it before, Starlight''s stocks plummeted;

    Now that the reputation has reversed, Starlight''s stocks surged again!

    ...

    At this time, at home.

    Lin Yuan had just finished watching "Lotus Lantern" with his family.

    "Why is it so heartbreaking!"

    His sister, wiping her tears, was terribly upset.

    His younger sister''s eyes were also red. "Yang Jian is so great."

    Their mom sighed.

    She was one of the few who remained clear-headed.

    While everyone else was criticizing the drama for vilifying Erlang Shen, she remained silent.

    It was the intuition of an old TV buff, a remote control holder.

    But even mom felt deeply sad by this ending.

    "I''m going to scold him online!"

    His sister angrily logged onto her blog.

    Lin Yuan''s ears perked up, "Scold whom?"

    His sister replied matter-of-factly, "Teacher Yi''an, of course, this man is too wicked."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    Yang Jian must have felt similarly wronged when misunderstood by the Third Goddess, right?

    "He deserves it!"

    His other sister chimed in and then also opened her blog, intending to scold Teacher Yi''an.

    However.

    Before the sisters could start scolding, they burst out laughing.

    The older sister laughed the loudest, "Hahahaha, look at this, the new razor blade poll on the blog is hilarious, I could laugh my head off, such a mischievous poll!"

    "I saw it too."

    The younger sister read aloud: "Which celebrity do you most want to send razor blades to... Brother, you made the list too!"

    Lin Yuan was stunned.

    What kind of ridiculous poll?

    Lin Yuan glanced at his sister''s phone. Indeed, the blog had launched such a poll¡ªThe Celebrity Razor Blade Poll. Of course, the sent blades were virtual props, similar to the flowers and votes in typical polls, each netizen having a chance to send a razor blade.

    The list was full of familiar names!

    First place, Chu Kuang, 93.45 million blades.

    Second place, Teacher Yi''an, 35.29 million blades.

    Third place, Shadow, 23.47 million blades.

    Fourth place, Xian Yu, 10.26 million blades.

    Fifth place...

    Lin Yuan''s face darkened.

    His mom came over and couldn''t help laughing, "My son is in fourth place; if these blades were real, we would never run out of knives for cooking in our house!"

    Gosh!

    Lin Yuan protested, "What did Xian Yu do wrong?"

    His sister looked at the comments, "Netizens said it''s because of ''Hachiko''; that movie really was heartbreaking. For a while after that movie, every time I saw Antarctica, I just wanted to hug and cry."

    "Woof!"

    Antarctica barked once and then hopped in front of the TV. The Sky Roaring Dog in the "Erlang Shen" show on TV was also played by him,

    "What about Shadow?"

    "Shadow is because of ''Death Note'' and other mangas that often have heartbreaking plots. His comics are numerous, and it''s inevitable to avoid some scenarios where characters are ''sent boxed lunches'' or other depressive episodes."

    "And Teacher Yi''an?"

    "Do you even need to ask?"

    "And Chu Kuang?"

    "That needs even less asking!"

    "Actually, it''s nothing; you''re only in fourth place. You still have Chu Kuang, Teacher Yi''an, and Shadow ahead of you. Especially that Chu Kuang, who is unsurpassed and takes the lead. The number of blades you three received combined doesn''t even match the number he got alone¡ªabsolutely infuriating, how hated he must be!"

    No one paid attention to Antarctica.

    His mom was consoling Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan grumbled as he logged off the chat.

    He alone received over a hundred million blades?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Starting today, adjusting my schedule!

 Chapter 896 - 389: Ito Makoto and Matsushima Rain

    Lin Yuan was frustrated, but the netizens were thrilled, tirelessly casting their votes.

    The comedic effect of this blog post was done brilliantly.

    "There''s nothing quite like the craftiness of old age!"

    "Chu Kuang, you old rascal, is slashing votes like crazy!"

    "Pfft!"

    "The old rascal just broke a hundred million!"

    "This old rascal''s votes are shooting up the fastest!"

    "Even Yi An, with all his schemes, can''t beat Chu Kuang, the old rascal!"

    "Yi An is just a small-time thief at best, it''s Chu Kuang who truly deserves the title of the old rascal!"

    "Xian Yu on the list is just hilarious, it''s so unjust."

    "Well, since Shadow also made it to the list, our aim was to reunite the Three Bros. We did it all out of good intention, plus, the Hachiko wave was something I just couldn''t take."

    "Those behind need to step it up and try to surpass Chu Kuang!"

    "It''s so embarrassing, Yi An, Shadow, and Xian Yu combined don''t have as many votes as Chu Kuang."

    "Why are you even cheering them on? Is it necessary to compete for first place in this kind of thing? Besides, is there anyone in the world who deserves to be number one more than Chu Kuang?"

    Lin Yuan couldn''t help himself.

    When he returned to his room, he couldn''t resist checking out the comments from the netizens, and he ended up feeling even more dejected.

    Competing for first place?

    Aren''t all these nominations me?

    You may not believe it, but even if you pull out everyone from fourth place on, their combined votes probably wouldn''t match mine!

    He sighed.

    Lin Yuan silently cast a vote for the person in fifth place.

    Although he didn''t really know the guy in fifth place very well.

    He didn''t dwell on it any longer.

    The next day.

    Lin Yuan went to the studio and had a chat with Jin Mu, mainly about one issue.

    "Have the Tribe comic artists switched over yet?"

    "Not yet."

    Jin Mu explained, "They have a few ongoing comics that haven''t concluded yet, and there are other miscellaneous issues to sort out. They''ll switch over all together after a while. Having several big-name artists from Tribe announce their move to the Alliance at the same time would be more impressive and hit Tribe Comics harder. Otherwise, if we have them switch one by one, it somehow feels a bit lackluster."

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    That was understandable.

    Speaking of which, he hadn''t been picking on Ling Kong lately, but he didn''t expect Ling Kong to try to retaliate with "The Legend of Lotus Lantern." S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Now that the issue with "The Legend of Lotus Lantern" was resolved, Lin Yuan wasn''t content to just let it go. Poaching several top artists from the Alliance was the second gift he had prepared for Ling Kong.

    By then, Tribe Comics should be finished.

    If not entirely, then at least gasping for air, thoroughly surpassed by the Alliance.

    "Speaking of which, I just cast a vote for you!"

    After discussing the matter, Jin Mu said with a sly smile, "About the knife gifting, I voted for Chu Kuang. Everyone''s so enthusiastic. Right now, Chu Kuang''s votes are more than double the total of your other aliases combined. Who could have imagined that the top four on the list are all the same person? Simply breathtaking!"

    Lin Yuan replied irritably, "Go away."

    This morning, he had deliberately not looked at the tally just to avoid feeling upset, but Jin Mu had laid it all out for him anyway.

    The blog was evidently bored out of its mind.

    Despite being a shareholder of the blog, they staged this voting event as a way to ''thank'' him.

    ...

    After leaving the studio, Lin Yuan went to the company and met Gu Xi again.

    Gu Xi was here to submit her assignment today.

    She had been practicing "Nocturne" lately and now had it down pat.

    Lin Yuan didn''t beat around the bush and had Gu Xi perform it for him on the spot to make sure there were no issues with the performance before arranging the recording.

    This process went rather smoothly.

    Starlight had professionals in charge of the recording, and Lin Yuan was very satisfied with the final outcome.

    He was certain.

    If he were to play himself, he certainly could not outperform Gu Xi, as his piano skills were merely professional level, whereas Gu Xi''s were close to Master Level.

    What does being Master Level imply?

    One simply needs to consider the level of Lin Yuan''s Master Level drawing skills to understand.

    It wasn''t just the piano piece.

    Lin Yuan also planned to take some time in the next few days to record the singing version of "Nocturne."

    December was drawing closer, and both classical pieces as well as this song had to enter the seasonal charts.

    However, there was a problem with "Nocturne."

    In the chorus of "Nocturne," there was a line of lyrics:

    For you, I play Chopin''s nocturne...

    Clearly, Blue Star did not have Chopin.

    So what to do?

    Change the piece to "Chopin''s Nocturne" directly?

    In this way, the song wouldn''t need any changes, but Lin Yuan felt somewhat awkward about the fact that Blue Star didn''t have Chopin, it seemed too forced.

    Subsequently.

    Lin Yuan thought about not changing the name of the piano piece and directly modifying the first line of "Nocturne''s" chorus to:

    "For you, I play a nocturne I wrote"

    It still seemed a bit odd, didn''t it?

    Having no other choice, he came up with two decent alternatives:

    The first was to change the lyrics to "For you, I play Xian Yu''s nocturne."

    The second plan was to change that line to "For you, I play Lin Yuan''s nocturne."

    Without any surprises, Lin Yuan would ultimately choose from these versions.

    He leaned towards writing "Lin Yuan" or "Xian Yu."

    Maybe he should take another look later and see if he could ask everyone for their suggestions...

    After all, the meaning was the same, but Director Zhou''s line "For you, I play Chopin''s nocturne" carried with it an impression that once set in, could significantly affect one''s judgment.

    He would think it over later.

    On the other side.

    Chu Continent.

    Airport.

    An airplane from Zhong Continent landed.

    At the exit of the VIP passage, a man and a woman emerged.

    "Teacher Ito, Teacher Matsushima!"

    As soon as the two stepped out of the passage, a formally dressed group approached to greet and wait for them, the leader of the group excitedly said.

    "Hello."

    The man and woman spoke one after the other, and they were the Maestros sent by Zhong Continent to target Lin Yuan.

    Slurp.

    Ito Makoto took a deep breath of the air, then sighed with emotion, "This is the scent of home."

    "You must be tired from your long journey."

    The person responsible for the reception was beaming with an overly enthusiastic smile, "We''ve already arranged accommodations for both teachers at our company, as per Teacher Ito Makoto''s request, we arranged the place where Teacher Ito used to live!"

    "Thank you."

    Ito Makoto nodded, feeling somewhat emotional inside.

    After leaving his hometown, he had moved to Zhong Continent with his family.

    However, the affection for his hometown was something he could never let go of.

    Returning to his hometown, he felt an indescribable sense of emotion:

    I wonder if the cherry tree at the end of the road by my old place is blooming?

    Suddenly.

    His gaze became distant, experiencing a flash of inspiration, and countless musical notes surged in his mind, making him oblivious to the words of the people around him.

    "Cheng Sang?"

    Teacher Matsushima beside him spoke up.

    Only then did Ito Makoto snap back to reality, laughing, "I just had some inspiration; when I get back, I must compose a piece for my hometown."

    "It seems this inspiration is not a simple matter."

    Teacher Matsushima spoke, seeing the sparkle in Ito Makoto''s eyes.

    "Yes, accompany me for a walk later, the scenery of my hometown is always beautiful."

    Ito Makoto said with a smile, this unexpected flash of inspiration had already surpassed the purpose of his homecoming.

    But...

    The task at hand still needed to be attended to.

    I wonder if that young man named Xian Yu is prepared?

 Chapter 897 - 840 How to Fight Without a Trump Card

    Lin Yuan was unaware that Zhong Continent had already sent someone over.

    In the following days,

    he was still struggling with how to choose the lyrics for the chorus part of "Nocturne".

    Just then,

    Ol'' Zhou suddenly approached Lin Yuan:

    "News from the Dragon Awards says that your two films this year are nominated for several major awards. I don''t understand the details yet, but we can certainly look forward to this year''s harvest."

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan nodded his head.

    The films Ol'' Zhou was referring to were "The Truman Show" and "Life of Pi".

    Both movies were well-suited for award considerations.

    If neither of these films ended up getting nominated, then there would definitely be something wrong with the Dragon Awards, because even Blue Star''s formidable artistry would not stand up to the top-tier masterpieces that Lin Yuan brought out from Earth''s art.

    Speaking of which,

    there were quite a few award-winning films in Lin Yuan''s memory.

    Like "Forrest Gump";

    like "The Shawshank Redemption";

    and like "The Legend of 1900", among others. So even if it wasn''t these two films getting nominated, Lin Yuan had countless other options to achieve the goal of winning awards for his films¡ª

    Huh?

    Seeming to think of something, Lin Yuan''s heart skipped a beat, and a happy expression appeared on his face as he blurted out:

    "Got it!"

    "Got what?"

    "Nothing much, just suddenly thought of a new film closely related to music. We can decide on the name of the main character of this film ahead of time."

    "A new film?"

    Ol'' Zhou became interested immediately.

    The company was very serious about Lin Yuan''s new films.

    If it weren''t for the fact that top-level management considered Lin Yuan aiming for twelve consecutive hits this year and might not have the energy for other projects, Ol'' Zhou would have urged him to release a new film much sooner.

    Lin Yuan said, "You could say that."

    Ol'' Zhou asked, "When will it be filmed?"

    Lin Yuan replied, "It definitely won''t be this year."

    Ol'' Zhou felt a bit of regret; it seemed he would have to wait until at least next year. Nevertheless, he casually asked:

    "What''s the name of the movie going to be?"

    Lin Yuan answered with five words: "The Legend of 1900."

    That''s right.

    Lin Yuan decided he would find time next year to write the script for "The Legend of 1900".

    The quality of this movie was still very outstanding, with excellent reviews and a praised plot, qualifying as a classic masterpiece in the forest of films.

    Most importantly...

    The attributes of this movie were very much in sync with Lin Yuan.

    To be exact, they were very much in sync with Xian Yu. Any film related to music, with Xian Yu in charge of the screenplay and filming, was sure to be a hit with the audience.

    But why this film and not some other work?

    Quite simply,

    because Lin Yuan suddenly no longer planned to change the lyrics of "Nocturne"; he had found the perfect solution.

    "Playing Chopin''s nocturnes for you..."

    He had fallen into a cognitive trap before; in fact, these lyrics could be used, and it wasn''t necessary to change them.

    So what if Blue Star doesn''t have Chopin?

    He could create a character named "Chopin".

    All he had to do was write "Chopin" as the protagonist of the movie "The Legend of 1900".

    When the outside world wondered who Chopin was, Lin Yuan only had to explain that this Chopin was the male lead of his next film, and then everyone would believe that Lin Yuan mentioned this unknown Chopin in his song to promote a future film.

    Releasing a song could also promote the movie.

    Wasn''t this killing two birds with one stone?

    Moreover, the protagonist of "The Legend of 1900" had no real-life prototype anyway.

    The film was adapted from a certain literary script, telling the legendary story of an unnamed orphan who bonded with a piano on an ocean liner and eventually became a piano master.

    The story itself was purely fictional.

    The protagonist''s name could have been anything. Even using "Chopin" would not have felt out of place since Lin Yuan never intended to use the original movie protagonist''s name to begin with.

    Moreover...

    By filming "The Legend of 1900", Lin Yuan could also use this movie to release more popular piano music.

    For instance, the entire "Nocturne" series?

    His thought process was gradually becoming clearer, and Lin Yuan finally didn''t need to worry about the lyrics of "Nocturne" anymore.

    ...

    On the other side.

    The news that Ito Makoto and Matsushima Rain, both holding dual citizenship and having recently returned to their hometown in Chu Continent, had finally been leaked!

    On Blue Star.

    The fame of any Maestro is incredibly high!

    Just think about Xian Yu becoming a Maestro. Even before he officially won an award, the Literature and Art Association had already issued a global announcement right away. One could roughly understand just how prestigious the status of a Maestro is, let alone what it means for two Maestros from Zhong Continent to make an appearance!

    And after the news of their return was exposed.

    Neither Ito Makoto nor Matsushima Rain kept it a secret.

    The two openly accepted interviews with Chu Continent media, explaining their purpose for returning:

    They were participating in this year''s Gods of Music Battle!

    Suddenly.

    Netizens from all five continents were shocked!

    Two Maestros from Zhong Continent were going to participate in this year''s Gods of Music Battle?

    "This year''s Gods of Music Battle is insane. It even attracted two Maestros from Zhong Continent to return!"

    "Teacher Ito is not simple at all. His level of instrumental music is very high. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have been invited to Zhong Continent back then. Before he left Chu Continent, he had already been superior to the other Maestros."

    "Matsushima Maple is also a freak!"

    "Teacher Matsushima is indeed a freak. There are several master creators of piano music on Blue Star, and Matsushima Rain is one of the very best. He may not be top-notch in pop music and the like, but when it comes to piano music, there are only a few who are stronger than Matsushima Rain!"

    "Either of these two could give Wonder Lu a run for his money!"

    "Wonder Lu is not inferior to them. Just because they came from Zhong Continent doesn''t mean they should be completely mythologized. In fact, at a certain level of Maestro, the differences in skill are not so pronounced. Results of the music ranking battles also see wins and losses, and only a few real top GOATs dare to say they fear no one."

    "It seems that this year''s Gods of Music Battle is going to be even more exciting than previous years!"

    "Hold on, why do I feel like these two are targeting Xian Yu?"

    "You''re right, it really seems like that!"

    Although Xian Yu had already reached the standard of a Maestro, everyone had not forgotten that Xian Yu was just the last Gods of Music Battle away from a twelve-time consecutive championship. If Xian Yu succeeded in securing the twelve-time consecutive championship, then his status as the youngest Maestro in the history of Blue Star would be even more valuable!

    Yet, at this crucial moment, people from Zhong Continent had arrived!

    They didn''t come earlier or later, but just as Xian Yu was about to attempt the twelve-time consecutive champion, their timing was too coincidental not to think they were targeting Xian Yu! Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Compared to the netizens'' belated realization.

    In the musical circles of the five continents.

    Almost instantly, as the news of Ito Makoto and Matsushima Rain''s return broke, many professionals already knew the score!

    No doubt about it!

    The two of them were targeting Xian Yu!

    "As expected, they came!"

    "I just knew Zhong Continent wouldn''t just watch Xian Yu win a twelve-time consecutive championship."

    "That''s Zhong Continent for you. There are many people there who don''t want to see Xian Yu achieve the twelve-time grand slam of the five continents because it would be embarrassing for many Maestros from Zhong Continent. Plus, Zhong Continent has maintained a superior position in various fields for many years. Xian Yu''s presence has posed a threat to them, and they need to take down Xian Yu to prove that Zhong Continent is still the invincible leader in all fields."

    "Xian Yu has quite some influence!"

    "Zhong Continent sent not just one person, but two Maestros, showing the high priority they place on dealing with Xian Yu!"

    "Isn''t Zhong Continent being a bit too domineering?"

    "Isn''t it bullying for two Maestros to team up against a junior?"

    "Didn''t you see their interview? Ito Makoto said that his new work is a pop song, you know. His forte is really instrumental music, so this time he has given half of his advantage. He''s not going all out."

    "What about Teacher Matsushima?"

    As the discussion reached this point, musical professionals couldn''t help but pause.

    During the silence.

    Someone sighed and said, "The worst news for Xian Yu isn''t that two people from Zhong Continent have come to target him, but that his ace in the hole was used up early in this November..."

    Without an ace in the hole, how was he going to compete?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Today''s delay wasn''t due to my sleeping habits; my laptop keyboard was acting up, the F key mysteriously stopped working, leaving me with no choice but to use a desktop to write. I''m not used to writing on a desktop anymore, and there''s another chapter to come.

 Chapter 898 - 841 Golden Hall

    Yes!

    Music circles from all five continents and the maestros from Zhong Continent agreed, they also believed that "Blue and White Porcelain" was the ultimate move Xian Yu prepared for the Battle of the Gods!

    What is an ultimate move?

    An ultimate move is the biggest card a person has in their hand! S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    And for maestros, the so-called ultimate move is the most explosive piece they can present!

    Was Xian Yu''s "Blue and White Porcelain" from November explosive enough?

    The answer is obvious!

    Therefore,

    everyone believed that "Blue and White Porcelain" was Lin Yuan''s biggest card!

    Don''t forget who made a move in November.

    It was Lu Sheng, the big shot who once made Middle State suffer!

    The two maestros from Zhong Continent are impressive, right?

    Yet, even these two former maestros of Zhong Continent had a hard time against Lu Sheng, which was clear even to ordinary netizens, let alone these professional musicians!

    Unfortunately, Xian Yu encountered Lu Sheng in November.

    Without dealing with Lu Sheng, he couldn''t participate in the Battle of the Gods.

    So what could he do?

    He had to play his ultimate move.

    If Xian Yu didn''t use his ultimate move against Lu Sheng, he couldn''t even speak of joining the Battle of the Gods, let alone win eleven consecutive championships.

    Therefore, everyone drew up this well-founded conclusion:

    In November, Lu Sheng made a move and successfully forced Xian Yu''s ultimate move "Blue and White Porcelain" out.

    Using this, Xian Yu won eleven in a row, simultaneously helping Sun Yaohuo become the King of Singing and securing his own triumph as a maestro!

    At the same time,

    this also meant that Xian Yu had no ultimate move left for the Battle of the Gods.

    It was like a dark sense of humor.

    Becoming a maestro in November was something Xian Yu was compelled to do.

    If he won in November, it''d be very difficult for him to win the Battle of the Gods; but if he lost in November, the hope for twelve consecutive championships would be shattered even earlier.

    A dilemma!

    The music circles of the five continents all saw Xian Yu''s reluctance.

    In the end, Xian Yu chose to reveal his ultimate move in November to ensure he secured his ticket for twelve consecutive championships, otherwise his plan for twelve consecutive championships would perish before even being born.

    As for the Battle of the Gods?

    It was like a game.

    As long as you''re alive, there''s hope.

    You can only continue to output if you''re alive.

    Maybe the intensity of the Battle of the Gods isn''t even as great as November''s?

    Moreover, given Xian Yu''s talent, even if he can''t produce another song like "Blue and White Porcelain," crafting another high-quality song should not be difficult, and with a bit of luck, he still might have a chance at twelve consecutive championships, since Lu Sheng''s terror might not necessarily be less than that of the Battle of the Gods.

    However,

    things went against his wishes!

    Ultimately, Xian Yu''s hopes were strangled by the two unexpected guests from Zhong Continent. Facing two maestros from Zhong Continent without his ultimate move, and they were not much less skilled than the terrifying Lu Sheng, it was difficult for Xian Yu to win on luck alone.

    What?

    Xian Yu still had an ultimate move?

    Basically, no one in the industry was thinking along these lines.

    Even Yang Zhongming and Zheng Jing, or even Lu Sheng, did not initially think this way.

    An ultimate move is so called because there''s supposed to be only one.

    Isn''t that common sense?

    That''s why when people like Yang Zhongming learned that Xian Yu still had an ultimate move in December, their reactions were so astounded.

    Dude,

    you''ve already used a song like "Blue and White Porcelain," and now you''re telling me you still have another card up your sleeve?

    If you weren''t truly desperate, who would be willing to...

    Fine.

    If you weren''t truly out of options, who in their right mind would throw out a bomb like "Blue and White Porcelain" right before the Battle of the Gods?

    Everyone knows Xian Yu is a monster.

    But even if you, Xian Yu, are so awesome, having created countless songs over the years, how many of them can reach the quality of "Blue and White Porcelain"?

    This is a very simple thought process.

    It''s considered logical, reasonable, and sound.

    This judgment is so simple that not only can Middle State people come to a conclusion, but the music industry of the Five Continents and even some netizens can arrive at the same conclusion, especially after some reminders from professionals, even those slow-reacting netizens began to have their sudden realizations!

    Turns out "Blue and White Porcelain" is Xian Yu''s trump card!

    This song was originally meant to be released during the Battle of the Gods, but Xian Yu encountered Lu Sheng this month, so he had to use it against Lu Sheng first.

    What a pity!

    If Xian Yu hadn''t faced Lu Sheng this month, he could have won with a song that wasn''t as awesome. After all, why use a butcher''s knife to kill a chicken?

    But Lu Sheng is a bull, so Xian Yu brought out "Blue and White Porcelain," his butcher''s knife.

    Unfortunately, this butcher''s knife is a typical consumable that can only be used once. Now there are two more bulls in December, how will Xian Yu deal with them?

    "Lu Sheng, this pitfall!"

    "If it weren''t for Wonder Lu, I feel like Fish Papa''s twelve consecutive championships would have been in the bag. Even against the two from Middle State, ''Blue and White Porcelain'' is not inferior!"

    "Fish Papa: No choice but to aim for Maestro in November."

    "Damn genius, everyone always used to joke that Xian Yu became a Maestro reluctantly because he couldn''t sing due to physical reasons. This time, it''s all too true ¨C Xian Yu''s choice to become Maestro in November is really out of helplessness!"

    "Too many people relying on one or two Kings of Singing to claim the title of Maestro."

    "And to become a Maestro by the achievement of twelve consecutive wins, there are only a few in Blue Star, let alone considering this is Xian Yu''s twelve consecutive wins across the Five Continents, a feat never achieved in history. Missing this opportunity would make it difficult afterward, especially with three more continents yet to merge, including Middle State, filled with prodigies."

    "Is there no hope at all?"

    "There is still hope. Many people from the Five Continents support Fish Papa right now, and everyone is indeed eager to see Fish Papa achieve twelve consecutive wins. The public''s sentiment can be leveraged, but it requires that Fish Papa''s song in December has to be persuasive enough. Even if it''s not as good as ''Blue and White Porcelain'', it can''t be too far off."

    It''s too hard!

    If Middle State doesn''t step in, Xian Yu''s hope for twelve consecutive championships still exists.

    But that''s the price of aiming for twelve consecutive wins.

    Everyone has long understood that if Xian Yu goes for the twelve wins, the last few months are bound to get tougher. Which Maestro would want to see a composer who relies on a bit of luck to claim twelve consecutive wins?

    It''s not all about the bigger picture.

    Anyone would feel uncomfortable with this kind of thing.

    So.

    Lu Sheng appeared in November.

    And Middle State showed up in December.

    This is the test that Xian Yu inevitably had to face.

    Regarding this.

    Matsushima Rain and Ito Makoto see it the same way.

    In Chu Continent.

    Matsushima Rain said, "Although our involvement will cause controversy, and people will say that Middle State is bullying the young, we cannot say that we are entirely driven by self-interest."

    "Mostly self-interest," Ito Makoto pierced through the pretense: "After all, ''Blue and White Porcelain'' is already quite persuasive."

    "You''re pretty upfront."

    Matsushima Rain forced a smile, "So you chose to use a pop song to compete against him?"

    Ito Makoto spoke indifferently, "After all, I can''t just take advantage. I''ve given him this opportunity. If he doesn''t seize it, he can''t blame me. As for what plans you have, that''s none of my business."

    "Heh."

    Matsushima Rain laughed, "Let''s not talk about that for now. There''s a concert at the end of the month in Golden Hall. Many top composers in the industry will release new works. I received an invitation as soon as I got back. Let''s go together. It''s an opportunity for you to hear my new composition. Haven''t you always been curious?"

    "Oh?"

    Ito Makoto was intrigued. Golden Hall was a stage even Middle State people respected, "Which masters are invited to this concert?"

    "Let me check the list."

    Matsushima Rain looked at his phone, "There''s Teacher Tian Luo, Abigail is coming, and there''s Light of Time and Kristin, as well as Pan Long, etc. Oh, Yang Zhongming and Lu Sheng will also be there. It''s been so long since I''ve seen Big Yang. Once Middle State merges, I''m afraid many will have ideas about him. After all, he''s the one who beat a bunch of self-important Middle State folks into submission back in the day. Yang Zhongming hasn''t released many works these years; I suspect he''s been waiting for this Middle State wave..."

    "Tsk tsk, I haven''t offended him."

    Ito Makoto seemed to recall something, his eyes narrowed, then he said thoughtfully, "But there are quite a few old friends on this list. It looks like not just the two of us flew over from Middle State, but their purposes are different than ours¡ªthey came for the Golden Hall concert. What about the performers?"

    "They''re all masters."

    Matsushima Rain laughed, "Oh, there''s also a young lady who''s not quite a master yet, but she''s very young and has an incredible piano talent. It''s rare for Golden Hall to lower its standards this once, allowing such a young girl to perform on stage."

    "You''re wrong," Ito Makoto said gravely, "Golden Hall does not easily lower its standards, unless there''s a reason that makes it necessary to do so."

    "What do you mean?"

    "This young lady is worth looking forward to, perhaps because of her own strength or her compositions. What''s her name?"

    "Gu Xi."

    "Then let''s go and see for ourselves at the end of the month."

    The number of tickets Golden Hall opens to the public is very limited.

    Top-tier individuals from Blue Star are basically impossible to get tickets to the actual event.

    Only Maestros can barge in uninvited, regardless of whether they receive invitations or not, because the title of Maestro itself serves as a pass to all major music venues, including Golden Hall!

    It has been joked within the industry:

    The right of preemptive play or perform by decree¡ªthat''s the privilege of a Maestro.

 Chapter 899 - 842: Stop Nitpicking

    In the concept of the music industry, Golden Hall is basically linked with Maestro.

    This top-tier concert venue is never without a Maestro presiding, and usually more than one.

    Occasionally, during bustling times, dozens of Maestros might appear in Golden Hall.

    Although Lin Yuan was previously known as "Maestro Junior" within the industry, he had never actually received an invitation from Golden Hall; that threshold had always been there.

    Now, Xian Yu vies for the title of Maestro!

    Lin Yuan finally received his first invitation from Golden Hall in his life!

    The invitation was sent directly to Starlight by Golden Hall.

    This also meant that Lin Yuan, the new Maestro, had truly gained recognition from the top figures in the music industry.

    However.

    The decisive factor for Lin Yuan''s invitation was not because he was a newly promoted Maestro.

    The key reason was:

    Gu Xi had gotten the opportunity to perform "Nocturne" at Golden Hall!

    As the original composer of "Nocturne," it was quite understandable that Lin Yuan, the new Maestro, would be invited by Golden Hall.

    At that time.

    Starlight Entertainment.

    Lin Yuan''s office.

    Gu Xi was somewhat uncontrollably excited, her face flushed with a hint of crimson, and her whole being danced with joy:

    "Thank you, Teacher Admirable Fish, for giving me this opportunity!"

    "Haven''t you been to Golden Hall before?"

    Lin Yuan remembered that Gu Xi was called the "Piano Goddess" because she had performed at Golden Hall''s stage at a young age, a fact many had informed him about.

    "It''s different!"

    Gu Xi became somewhat embarrassed, "Actually, my last performance at Golden Hall was purely luck, a family elder had maneuvered it for me, and I played at the end of the concert when most people had almost left, it''s a bit harsh to say, but it was just picking up a garbage time slot to perform..."

    "Oh."

    Lin Yuan suddenly understood.

    Garbage time is when the official concert has ended and everyone is leaving; Golden Hall also arranges a performer to play background music, but after all, it is still Golden Hall, even performing during garbage time is a remarkable feat for a young pianist, and it''s fine to brag about it.

    It appears the prestige of Golden Hall is even higher than he imagined.

    Golden Hall, a venue where even someone of Gu Xi''s caliber cannot perform during a formal show, is worth a visit at the end of the month to broaden one''s experiences.

    "I know this is not my own merit."

    Gu Xi dared not take credit, which was also why she specifically came to Starlight to thank Lin Yuan:

    "Golden Hall is not interested in me, but in ''Nocturne''."

    Strictly speaking, this would be Gu Xi''s first performance at Golden Hall; her previous time was merely a garbage time performance, facilitated by an elder''s help.

    Gu Xi understood in her heart:

    Any pianist of her level, if they had "Nocturne," would have the opportunity to perform at Golden Hall!

    That was why she was desperately trying to win the favor of Teacher Admirable Fish.

    In the music industry, whether one is a singer or a pianist, once taken under the wing of a Maestro, the career boost is absolutely terrifying; if one can seize the opportunity, they might skyrocket to stardom!

    "That''s great, because of you, I also received an invitation."

    Lin Yuan smiled and tapped the invitation from Golden Hall on the desk.

    Gu Xi chuckled, "Please don''t say that; a Maestro-level musician can do as they please in Golden Hall, and your status is the best pass."

    Lin Yuan remained silent.

    Not long after Gu Xi left.

    Zheng Jing suddenly called:

    "Little Fish, if you''re free at the end of this month, join me on a trip to Golden Hall. Your Uncle Yang is also going."

    "Okay, I''ve received the invitation."

    Lin Yuan had already decided to go and see for himself.

    It''s better to go with familiar faces, and they could also help introduce him to the situation.

    Zheng Jing laughed, "It seems Golden Hall values your new Maestro status quite a bit, so let''s head out together then; it''ll be good to have company on the way."

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan happily agreed.

    ...

    Whenever Lin Yuan had any travel plans, he always informed his assistant, Gu Dong.

    Upon hearing about it, Lil Goodoong became excited at once, his face full of longing for Golden Hall:

    "Mr. Lin, can you bring me along too?"

    "Sure."

    "Hehehe, Mr. Lin is powerful! I never thought in my lifetime I''d also get a chance to go to Golden Hall to listen to music; it''s not a place just anyone can enter. They don''t sell tickets online; only a Maestro like Mr. Lin could freely go in and out, especially to the concert at the end of November!"

    "Is there something special about the end of November?"

    "Of course, there''s a reason; Golden Hall''s concerts are held quite frequently, almost every month there are several, but the vast majority of concerts are closed to the public; only a few special events each year are broadcasted live, because after the November concert, Golden Hall won''t open until next year."

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    A live broadcast is quite good.

    It could give the audience a preview of Chopin''s "Nocturne."

    The concert would just coincide with December''s season chart, and the song "Nocturne" would be released along with the piano piece.

    Lil Goodoong laughed:

    "It seems you didn''t know about the live broadcast, huh? Recently, many people online have been discussing it. Whenever Golden Hall broadcasts live, it attracts a lot of onlookers, as many celebrities and tycoons also attend, and a red carpet is arranged at the venue; before the merger with Blue Star, we didn''t have such perks. This format of live broadcasting started after Qi Continent joined the merger. I remember many were dissatisfied at the time, but Golden Hall didn''t care; with so many concerts each year, there are only so few open to outside broadcast..."

    Lil Goodoong was indeed an industry insider.

    She knew a lot about the music industry.

    After briefing Lin Yuan, Lil Goodoong began dialing the number on the invitation to confirm Lin Yuan''s attendance with Golden Hall; this was necessary for them to arrange his seat in advance.

    After the call.

    Gu Dong turned to Lin Yuan, "Golden Hall asked whether you''re willing to sell the copyright for the piano version of ''Nocturne'' that Gu Xi will perform."

    "It''s possible."

    Lin Yuan thought for a moment and replied.

    Gu Xi chuckled, "That''s one of the perks of being able to perform at the Golden Hall. Having the Golden Hall''s stage as a platform for publicity, it''s quite easy to sell the copyright of a quality piece within a few months. As for selling the copyright on-site, that''s relatively rare, unless a piece really fits certain people''s tastes."

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan nodded and took the opportunity to glance at the online discussions. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    As Gu Dong had said.

    There indeed were quite a few discussions about the Golden Hall concert online, but the topic volumes weren''t as high as those in the December Season List, as not everyone is interested in the concerts at the Golden Hall.

    However, insiders were very interested in the Golden Hall''s concerts.

    This interest even surpassed the importance those insiders placed on the Season List.

    Lin Yuan had seen similar discussions in the company''s composer group.

    "The Golden Hall''s end-of-year concert is set to start."

    "I heard our Father Yang is going, and so is Teacher Zheng Jing."

    "I also heard some news: Matsushima Rain''s new work from the December chart will be performed at the Golden Hall."

    "Oh?"

    "That will be something to listen to carefully."

    "The last concert of this year at Golden Hall will be live-streamed. It''s definitely going to be a bustling scene, and it''s said the number of Maestros visiting this year has exceeded last year''s."

    "The problem is, if the Maestros don''t go onstage, they won''t get any camera time."

    "It doesn''t matter, the main character of the concert is the music itself."

    "I wonder which Maestro''s works will be played at the Golden Hall this year."

    ...

    Time flew by.

    November 29th arrived.

    That afternoon.

    Lin Yuan, Yang Zhongming, and Zheng Jing took the same car to the Golden Hall.

    The Golden Hall was located in the neighboring city.

    Still within Qin Continent, the drive took two hours.

    The three chatted along the way, so they hardly felt the time passing.

    Lin Yuan even mentioned that one of his pieces would be performed at the Golden Hall, which piqued their curiosity considerably. The conversation mostly revolved around this topic.

    Two hours later.

    They arrived at the Golden Hall.

    Zheng Jing looked out the window and smiled, "Look."

    Lin Yuan and Yang Zhongming followed Zheng Jing''s pointing finger outside.

    It was the main entrance of the Golden Hall.

    A nearly thirty-meter barrier tape was stretched out, and a red carpet extended from the doorway.

    Outside the barrier line, a group of reporters was on the lookout.

    Security personnel stood next to the tape to maintain order, and their number was frighteningly high, but since all attendees at the Golden Hall were distinguished, such an arrangement wasn''t considered exaggerated.

    "Gentlemen,"

    Zheng Jing asked, "Do you want to walk the red carpet?"

    "No."

    "Not interested."

    Lin Yuan and Yang Zhongming almost spoke simultaneously.

    Zheng Jing chuckled with a wry smile, "You two sure keep a low profile. If it were those stars, it would take a good few minutes to finish walking this red carpet, and even some Maestros really enjoy it, after all, it''s the Golden Hall''s red carpet."

    The red carpet of the Golden Hall was a stage for celebrities.

    Stepping onto this carpet provided the press with news.

    Some people enjoyed this feel and would step onto the red carpet to go inside.

    And for those who didn''t like the hustle, it was fine. The parking lot of the Golden Hall had a special elevator passage that let people enter without disturbance from reporters.

    Lin Yuan and the others chose the latter.

    The car went straight into the parking lot.

    Soon, Lin Yuan and his group entered one of the lounges of the Golden Hall.

    "Ol'' Yang!"

    "Brother Yang!"

    "Big Yang!"

    Many people in the lounge sat together chatting, all of them Maestros. Upon seeing Yang Zhongming enter, many stood up.

    There were distinctions even among Maestros.

    The order in which everyone greeted each other reflected these differences in status.

    Yang Zhongming held a very high position among the Maestros, being greatly respected by the others, which is why they greeted him first.

    Afterward.

    Some of the Maestros then gradually greeted Zheng Jing and Lin Yuan.

    Some of these people Lin Yuan recognized, and some he was meeting for the first time.

    After some mingling.

    Zheng Jing whispered to Lin Yuan with a smile, "You may not know how impressive your Uncle Yang is. He''s hosted more than one solo concert here, and that''s a record many Maestros look up to."

    "A solo concert?"

    Lin Yuan''s eyes lit up.

    Yang Zhongming, who seemed to have overheard their conversation, slightly raised his voice, "If you ever have the chance to hold a solo concert at the Golden Hall, I''ll help you organize it."

    As soon as he finished speaking.

    Throughout the lounge, all the Maestros had different expressions on their faces.

    Everyone understood.

    Yang Zhongming was intentionally using this Maestro-filled occasion to publicly make a statement, sending a message to all Maestros:

    Admirable Fish is someone Yang Zhongming believes in, so don''t mess with him.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Thanks to "Yu Yang0711" for the second Alliance Hierarch, here''s my kneeling tribute¨{¨€?¨€¡ñ, boss, you''re mighty!

 Chapter 900 - 843 Twilight

    A seemingly simple sentence, but Yang Zhongming displayed a kind of dominance.

    Some Maestros were surprised.

    They hadn''t expected Xian Yu to be valued so highly by Yang Zhongming; it certainly wasn''t just because of the company relationship that Yang would take such a stance.

    However, everyone could understand why Yang Zhongming made his declaration.

    Xian Yu, the rising star Maestro, was becoming too prominent and needed to be put in his place.

    So, Zhong Continent made its move.

    Are there no such people outside of Zhong Continent?

    Of course there are.

    It''s inevitable that there would be feelings of jealousy among peers.

    This isn''t exclusive to the music industry; it''s the same in every circle.

    In such a situation, there were plenty of people who hoped Xian Yu would encounter some problems.

    The atmosphere became slightly awkward for a while, but soon everybody resumed chatting and laughing; such matters were best left unspoken.

    However, Lin Yuan could distinctly feel:

    The attitudes of the other Maestros towards him seemed warmer than before.

    "You''ve spoken too soon."

    Zheng Jing looked around and muttered, "Not everyone has arrived."

    But that didn''t matter.

    They would hear about it.

    Zheng Jing smiled and led Xian Yu into the conversation.

    Meanwhile, at the entrance of the Golden Hall.

    The red carpet was already buzzing with activity.

    Many celebrities made their appearances on the red carpet.

    "The King of Singing from Qin Continent!"

    "The Queen of Singing from Qi Continent is here too!"

    "Look at Chu Continent''s hottest film star, his legs practically growing on the red carpet; the Golden Hall''s popularity sure is ''truly fragrant''."

    "Pfft, what a show-off!"

    "President Wang from Puling Capital!"

    "Everyone knows President Wang loves music, he has to hear the Golden Hall''s performances several times a year."

    "Is that his son, Prince, behind him?"

    "Indeed, that''s President Wang''s son, but the guy next to Prince Wang looks familiar."

    "That''s Ling Kong, the Crown Prince of the Tribe!"

    A reporter exclaimed, as the recently publicly revealed Ling Kong also arrived.

    Ling Kong was very handsome, smiling and greeting the camera.

    Behind.

    Suddenly a somewhat indifferent voice rang out, "Make way."

    Ling Kong frowned and looked back, coughing discreetly and quietly stepping aside.

    This woman was someone he couldn''t afford to offend.

    If his father, Ling Zhou, were here, maybe he could have gotten her to be a bit more polite.

    "This woman''s temper really stinks, and she''s dressed so provocatively; why doesn''t she just debut in a girl group."

    Prince Wang beside him curled his lips.

    "Keep it down, Prince,"

    Ling Kong said with an awkward expression, thinking how this woman could buy countless girl groups and still bother to debut in one.

    Prince scoffed, "I''m not afraid of her."

    Ling Kong grew even more embarrassed. You''re not scared, but I am!

    The woman whom Ling Kong was wary of was in her twenties, frighteningly beautiful, wearing a floor-length black gown adorned with countless pearls, and a necklace on her neck that almost blinded people. She had garnered immense attention from reporters the moment she appeared!

    "Lilia!?"

    "The thorny rose from Zhong Continent''s top socialites."

    "What socialite, who among them has skills like hers?"

    This woman was no simple character.

    As Lilia briskly walked down the red carpet, her companion laughed, "Do you have a grudge against that little second-generation from the Tribe?"

    "No."

    "Then why did you snub him?"

    "He was blocking my photographer."

    "..."

    With so many reporters around, do you really need to bring your own photographer?

    Her companion smiled wryly, used to her ostentatious character, "Let''s go straight to the box; hopefully, today you''ll find a tune to your liking."

    "Mm."

    Lilia nodded, fiddling with her phone. Soon, she saw a piece of news online:

    [Zhong Continent''s number one businesswoman Lilia spotted at the Golden Hall, outshining everyone!]

    This press release was quick.

    A pre-prepared "outshining press release" if ever there was one.

    Pleased with the speed, Lilia smiled and continued upstairs with her friend.

    ...

    Lin Yuan was unaware of the situation outside.

    After a short stay in the lounge, he entered the VIP box with Yang Zhongming and Zheng Jing.

    The Golden Hall''s main area was filled with seats.

    Above the main hall, however, were countless boxes prepared for top-tier guests.

    A Maestro, of course, was considered a top-tier guest.

    Inside the box, Zheng Jing smiled at Lin Yuan, "When you''re truly ready to hold your own concert, remember to find Uncle Yang. He''s already made his offer; you can''t let him off the hook."

    Lin Yuan asked, "Is there any significance to it?"

    Zheng Jing chuckled, "If Uncle Yang helps you organize a concert, he can invite some people that ordinary Maestros couldn''t, and your peers will be more cautious in their dealings. If he weren''t there to support you, your peers and the media might be critical. Of course, there are other benefits, which you''ll know about later. Don''t be fooled by Zhong Continent sending two people to target you. In the eyes of some, you''re not yet a competitor. They''ve moved beyond pop music and hardly give it any attention. Flaunting their work here in the Golden Hall is their real pursuit."

    "Hm,"

    Lin Yuan mused thoughtfully.

    There seemed to be quite a lot to this.

    The gap between Maestros probably lay in this.

    So-called solo concerts would inevitably involve piano pieces or even symphonic compositions.

    These were areas he had yet to explore.

    Even with the piano, he had only taken a half step in, with very limited work.

    It seemed even after becoming a Maestro, there was still a long road ahead.

    "By the way,"

    Zheng Jing smiled, "When I went upstairs earlier, I think I saw some second-generations. The Golden Hall always has some kids looking for excitement. But some of them are quite discerning, like Lilia from Zhong Continent. Those second-generations over there are heavily groomed by the older generation; it''s only a few who can''t be saved."

    Lin Yuan didn''t join in on this topic.

    Second-generations were, undoubtedly, from very powerful families.

    The scions from formidable families are not an unfamiliar sight for Lin Yuan; among those he knew, Ling Kong left a particularly unimpressive impression on him.

    "Which round is Little Fish in?"

    Yang Zhongming suddenly spoke up, and he, too, liked to follow Zheng Jing''s lead in calling Lin Yuan "Little Fish."

    "The sixth round."

    Lin Yuan responded, having had this confirmed by Lil Goodoong earlier, though she wasn''t eligible to enter the box and had an arranged seat in the hall below.

    "Hmm."

    Yang Zhongming nodded.

    At that moment.

    Zheng Jing suddenly said, "It''s starting."

    Indeed.

    In the center of the stage below in the Golden Hall.

    Applause broke out, and a pianist bowed before sitting down at a white piano.

    On the large screen on the stage.

    The background was deep twilight, with a full moon hanging in the sky, gradually obscured by darkness.

    At the same time.

    An elegant piano melody began to play.

    This piece was deeply poignant, like a kind of lament, characteristically feminine in its sorrow, likely because Matsushima Rain herself was a female composer, expressing the twilight from her perspective.

    Under the twilight.

    Crows were flapping their wings.

    Bats skimmed across the sky.

    A chill seemed to spread, giving the sensation of night winds engulfing one, as if an inexplicable emotion was welling up from the depths of the heart.

    Gradually.

    The melody slowed down.

    The moon reappeared in the sky, only now it looked as though it had been bitten by a celestial dog, leaving just a half-moon hanging there, a beauty in its incompleteness.

    This was a rather powerful composition.

    The more chilling the first half, the more consoling the second half became, especially the ending''s flaw mixed with a tinge of helplessness, which left a lingering feeling deep within one''s soul.

    The piece concluded.

    The details of the work appeared on the big screen.

    Piano piece: Twilight

    Composer: Matsushima Rain

    Performer: Casio

    The screen showed an introduction to the piece.

    Zheng Jing raised an eyebrow, "The rumors weren''t wrong; Matsushima Rain did participate in this concert, and this piece must be that which you''ll soon face, Little Fish. The difficulty seems rather high."

    "Yeah, it''s impressive."

    Lin Yuan knew that Matsushima Rain was a competitor, not expecting to face their work in the first round. This was the level of a Zhong Continent master...

    "Indeed, not bad."

    Yang Zhongming suddenly spoke up.

    Zheng Jing said, "If it''s a piece that even you commend, then it must be quite something. But I have faith in our Little Fish!"

    They talked quite a bit on the way there.

    Zheng Jing and Yang Zhongming were aware that Lin Yuan had his pieces presented as well.

    ...

    Viewing the details of the works.

    Within the various private boxes.

    Discussions about the compositions were progressively emerging.

    "This one by Matsushima Rain is his best work in the last two years." Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "They did a great job with the atmosphere."

    "The handling of the quadruple tonality is solid. The melodies of the principal and response phrases are quite pleasing, and the imitation of the same melody in different parts is well executed. It''s a shame though, the crafted flaw at the end feels a bit forced..."

    "I actually like it quite a bit."

    "It''s a bit too mild. Many of Matsushima Rain''s works have this tone, but overall, it''s considered high-quality."

    "That high-quality is not easy for a maestro to achieve."

    Most rooms in the private boxes had no fewer than three people in them.

    After all, with limited box numbers, even maestros needed to huddle up a bit.

    In a box on the east side.

    Lilia revealed a smile, "It seems coming here wasn''t in vain. The first work is quite to my liking."

    "Buy it?"

    The young lady beside her spoke up.

    Lilia shook her head, "We''re not there yet, let''s deliberate further."

    Lilia had invested in many industries, especially in the entertainment sector. She placed significant importance on one movie in particular, which still lacked a sufficiently beautiful score, mainly capturing the feeling of the night, which had been tough to grasp. Matsushima Rain''s piece seemed like a close fit to Lilia''s liking.

    "Let''s keep it on hold then."

    The young lady noted the piece down, expressing her stance.

    Meanwhile.

    In the box where Ling Kong and the Prince were present.

    The Prince said impatiently, "I really don''t have any interest in this stuff. My dad insisted on dragging me here to listen, so boring."

    "This piece..."

    Ling Kong''s expression was serious; unlike the Prince, he listened very attentively. However, just as he was about to provide insights, he clearly saw the Prince yawn, so he swallowed his words back down.

    It''s like playing the lute to a cow.

    In another private box.

    Ito Makoto clapped, "Brilliant."

    "Quite interesting, isn''t it?"

    Matsushima Rain was slightly proud, "Though it''s still not quite perfect, I''ve thought long and hard, yet I haven''t found a way to improve it."

    "At this level, it''s very difficult to make changes," Ito Makoto sighed, "often, a piece that''s composed in one go comes to life, and further changes might just spoil its original charm."

    "Can you beat me in the season ranking?"

    "I should be able to beat you in downloads, but I''ll lose in reputation."

    Ito Makoto contemplated only briefly before arriving at a conclusion, classical music wasn''t for everyone to appreciate.

    "No matter."

    Matsushima Rain said, "Zhong Continent is considering a change in the billboard system, separating pop music and piano pieces, among other musical forms. It''s not necessary to lump things that aren''t part of the same system together. It''s on you to deal with Xian Yu."

    "No."

    Ito Makoto shook his head, "I''ve heard that Xian Yu is here at this concert too, he came with Yang Zhongming. Yang Zhongming even said something quite interesting. If I''m not mistaken, Xian Yu should have a piece performed today."

    "What a coincidence?"

    Matsushima Rain showed a surprised expression¡ªwas the other party presenting a piano piece? Did that mean he was the main act?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Places like the Golden Hall play a significant role in the latter part of the story, hence the detailed writing. I wanted to delve deeper, but that would slow down the pace, so let''s wait until the Golden Hall becomes Little Fish''s home ground.

 Chapter 901 - 844: Chopin in November

    Discussions swirled around Matsushima Rain''s "Twilight," with various parties slightly engaging in conversation.

    As the topic of this piece neared its conclusion, inevitably someone mentioned Xian Yu, and everyone knew that this song would become one of the strong contenders in the Battle of the Gods.

    Online.

    Before the live broadcast, many viewers were discussing:

    "Teacher Matsushima truly deserves to be a big shot from the Zhong Continent, just this song almost... put me to sleep."

    "Pfft, you still listen even if you don''t understand?"

    "The capability of a Zhong Continent big shot is indeed terrifying. Analyzing this song is a bit complicated, from the modality to the melody and so on, all are very impressive, like the transition after the first pause is quite profound..."

    Some were educating.

    The artistic senses of the Blue Star audience are generally not bad, hence why classical music maintains such an exalted status on Blue Star, listening again with this explanation gives more direction and feeling.

    Meanwhile, in the Golden Hall.

    The concert continued.

    Soon the second song began.

    This round was a violin solo.

    The performance in Golden Hall was not limited to just piano, various instruments could appear, and the violin was a frequent guest at Golden Hall.

    Clean.

    Smooth.

    The violin is an instrument very close to the human voice.

    This instrument has a wide range and a strong expressiveness.

    The first part of the music is quiet and tranquil, the second part distinctly features some key changes and variations, expressing the creator''s mood.

    During the next round of performance.

    More instruments appeared, even including ensembles with instruments like flutes and zithers, accompanied by the effect of a symphony, easily pulling one into a world of music.

    Among them.

    The most memorable for Lin Yuan was the fourth piece of the evening.

    Quite strange.

    He always felt this song was somewhat familiar.

    Composed by one of Zhong Continent''s top Maestros, Abigail, its name is "Winter Symphony"!

    Symphonic structure!

    The stage featured an ocean backdrop, waves lapping at the shore, with a red sun slowly rising in the distance.

    Vibrant!

    Unrestrained!

    Exuberant!

    The entire symphony orchestra was responsible for the performance, divided into four movements and nearly half an hour long, the longest duration of all tonight''s performances, but no one seemed impatient.

    The audience was enraptured!

    Online.

    The guy who claimed earlier that he was almost falling asleep listening to piano music could not help but get excited:

    "This is thrilling!"

    "Abigail, a Maestro ranked steadily in the top five on Blue Star, how could it not be thrilling?"

    "Almost a perfect masterpiece!"

    This piece felt utterly devoid of any redundancy, numerous emotions expressed through the music, the overall impact of the work was very striking, even surpassing Matsushima Rain''s first round performance tonight.

    But that was normal,

    The scales of the two pieces were not the same.

    Abigail himself, as one of the top Maestros from Zhong Continent, was inherently at a higher level than Matsushima Rain.

    Lin Yuan remembered the first piece he learned in his life was one of this great man''s early representative works, "Wish."

    Such a personality was known even to those not following music.

    And as this song ended, enthusiastic applause erupted from the audience.

    Following the applause.

    The big screen displayed the names of all four pieces performed so far, a routine for each round, only this time it was different from the previous three.

    Ding!

    A pleasant sound suddenly rang out!

    Under everyone''s gaze, the title of Abigail''s "Winter Symphony" suddenly turned red and the background of this line turned golden, standing out sharply among the four works!

    At that moment.

    The venue erupted in thunderous applause again!

    "This is¡­"

    Lin Yuan looked curiosly at Zheng Jing.

    Zheng Jing said with a smile, "The font turning red and the background turning golden means that the copyright for this song was just sold."

    "That quickly?"

    Lin Yuan was somewhat surprised.

    "It''s usually not that quick."

    Zheng Jing sighed, "Being able to sell the copyright just after its first performance isn''t easy. Pay more attention to the Golden Hall and you''ll see, it''s quite an impressive achievement, but for Abigail it''s no big deal."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Just then, someone knocked on the door.

    The next moment.

    An old face peeked in through the door.

    Lin Yuan turned around, and instantly recognized the other person.

    Abigail!

    This person actually appeared in the box they were in?

    However, Abigail didn''t look at Lin Yuan and Zheng Jing, but instead fixed her gaze on Yang Zhongming, leaving a phrase without any expression:

    "I''ll be waiting for you in Zhong Continent."

    Having said that, Abigail left directly.

    Lin Yuan was completely baffled, while Zheng Jing burst into laughter, looking at Yang Zhongming:

    "He came for you!"

    "Petty."

    Yang Zhongming said indifferently.

    Zheng Jing winked at Lin Yuan, "Abigail has always considered your Uncle Yang as one of the most important rivals in his life; he used to be bullied by him."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    Bullied Abigail?

    No wonder the System had ranked Uncle Yang among the top three Maestros on Blue Star¡­

    Just then.

    Another voice sounded.

    "Ding!"

    To the surprise of many, Matsushima Rain''s "Twilight" also turned red!

    Against the golden backdrop.

    This music piece had also sold its copyright right there on site!

    Applause erupted.

    The audience once again burst into applause, many showing surprised expressions.

    Tonight''s concert was bustling, with four pieces played and already two having sold their copyrights!

    "Damn."

    Zheng Jing cursed.

    The situation was very unfavorable for Little Fish.

    Lin Yuan''s expression, however, remained unchanged.

    It didn''t matter.

    He had Chopin''s November.

    Meanwhile, online, some people were also unclear about what the change in font color meant.

    "What does this mean?" S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "The piece has sold its copyright if it''s this color. I was thinking just now that Abigail''s work could likely sell on the spot and it really did happen. Unexpectedly, Matsushima Rain''s piano piece was also snapped up, and you could look up how challenging it is."

    "Impressive, but I don''t understand!"

    Elsewhere.

    Inside another box.

    Someone else also let out a swear:

    "Damn!"

    Lilia''s expression was somewhat grim.

    She was very interested in "Twilight" and was seriously considering whether to buy its copyright, but someone beat her to it before she had even decided!

    Of course, Lilia also liked "Winter Symphony" and the other two pieces.

    But as much as she liked them, the copyrights were of no use to her; buying them would be meaningless.

    Only "Twilight" was quite suitable for Lilia''s movie.

    The girl next to her gave a wry smile, "An old saying goes, ''Hesitation leads to defeat.''"

    "Check who bought it!"

    Lilia raged with frustration, "Dare to snatch from me, get lost!"

    Indeed, Lilia might not have actually bought the copyright to "Twilight."

    But that''s how it was.

    Even if Lilia ultimately wouldn''t buy "Twilight," having it snatched away still inevitably made her heart sour.

    It was like finding out that a backup boyfriend suddenly got someone else, which would be annoying.

    So petty.

    Lilia certainly didn''t consider her actions very calculating, but she was feeling extremely irritable now and was walking back and forth in the box.

    Just then.

    Suddenly, music reached Lilia''s ears¡­

    This music was like a refreshing spring water, suddenly soothing Lilia''s irritability and inexplicably calming her down.

    "Hmm?"

    Lilia''s gaze gradually brightened, then she focused her attention across the distance, looking at a figure on the stage.

    Meanwhile.

    In another box.

    Ling Kong''s expression also suddenly shifted!

    The Prince beside him asked, "Kong, interested?"

    Ling Kong nodded, "You know I recently took on a movie project from the company. I wanted to do Erlang Shen, but never mind that¡­ Anyway, I''m definitely interested in this piece."

    "It seems quite ordinary."

    The Prince frowned slightly.

    Yet the piece the Prince found ordinary had indeed attracted the attention of many maestros¡­

 Chapter 902 - 845: The Golden Legend

    Indeed.

    The fifth round of the performance had begun, and what was being played now was a Nocturne in E-flat major.

    On the stage.

    Gu Xi was fully immersed in playing the piano.

    For her, playing in the Golden Hall was like an important examination in life.

    She had given everything she could at her highest level of performance.

    At andante tempo.

    The first theme was tranquil and splendid.

    The background of the grand stage turned into the dark night sky, with stars twinkling above, creating a sense of loneliness and isolation.

    The night deepened, silent.

    It was poetic and picturesque.

    Without excessive technical embellishment, the feeling of ornate variation was integrated, as if it made the stars flirtatious, like someone gently blinking in the heavens.

    The night grew hazy.

    The stars slowly dimmed.

    An inexplicable sorrow spread through the night, the melody gradually becoming complex as different emotions seemed to interweave, creating a tremendous emotional impact.

    In a daze.

    Moonlight poured down.

    It was a vast light that captured attention, coming from the cosmos and piercing through the clouds.

    The ornamentation grew more intricate.

    The melody line was still captivating, the fast, nimble, and exuberant flow of notes racing to the very end of the piano then circling back to the start, with a wealth of varied forms appearing through groups of notes, as if the piano itself was singing!

    No one knew how much time had passed.

    The night once again became tranquil.

    In that increasingly comforting atmosphere, the performance finally ended with the audience, who had been listening to the music all along, finally able to savor the aftertaste of the piece.

    ...

    Within the Golden Hall.

    The Maestros'' expressions were somewhat serious, their eyes clearly expressing sincerity and astonishment.

    "Whose piece is this?"

    "This work has adopted a new piano genre!"

    "It has a theme similar to ''Twilight'', also depicting the sentiment of the night, but this one is obviously more technically skilled, and it can even be listened to in one breath without any deliberate dramatic conflict... "

    "The rhythm has a bit of the feeling of a boat song swaying."

    "Matsushima Rain''s piece has been completely overshadowed, whose work is this?"

    "Strange."

    "Why hasn''t it been announced yet?"

    Many Maestros were curious as to why the information about the piece had not been disclosed in the Golden Hall.

    And there was more!

    The Maestros exchanged glances, each seeing the surprise in the others'' eyes.

    Regulars of the Golden Hall could realize, not disclosing the information could only mean one thing¡ªthe work of this mysterious Maestro was not yet over!

    As expected.

    It didn''t take long for another piece with a similar theme to start playing.

    This time, it was the Nocturne in B-flat minor.

    The minor form was completely different from the major.

    If the former gave the sense of a vast starry sky, the latter leaned more toward relaxation.

    The emotions conveyed by the piece were very coherent, yet the ornamentation of the melody underwent substantial changes and had a strong improvisational element.

    "The same theme, different thoughts."

    "These two pieces are interesting, they are actually creating a new genre."

    "I thought Abigail was the biggest surprise tonight, but I didn''t expect there to be two such impressive pieces hidden here."

    "Such distinctive piano pieces."

    "Could it be a Maestro from Zhao Continent? This poetic and picturesque style fits the creative flair of some Maestros from there."

    "Different, this one is more melancholic."

    "Most likely a Maestro from Zhong Continent."

    "It seems that the circle will have two more pieces worth a good discussion."

    ...

    In a certain box.

    Lilia was somewhat dazed after listening to the two Nocturnes.

    Her expression reflected contemplation.

    After a moment, Lilia''s eyes firmed up!

    "The first one she just played!"

    She no longer hesitated; that piece was very fitting for the tone of her movie!

    Although it wasn''t a perfect match for the theme¡ªafter all, the piece wasn''t created exclusively for her film; it would be strange if it were a perfect match.

    In that moment.

    Lilia had thrown ''Twilight'' out of consideration.

    In terms of satisfaction with the work, this piece completely surpassed "Twilight". Even if we were just comparing the quality of the music itself, not thematic compatibility, this piece was much stronger than the other!

    "Contact Golden Hall immediately..."

    Lilia''s voice had barely begun when it was abruptly cut off, as if strangled by fate itself.

    She looked at the big screen, filled with indignant sorrow:

    "How frustrating!"

    The girl next to her muttered softly, "I told you, hesitating leads to defeat..."

    ...

    In another box.

    Ling Kong was exhilarated!

    He had found the piece he wanted!

    Ling Kong, of course, didn''t know about Lilia''s situation, and even if he did, it wouldn''t matter because Gu Xi had played two "Nocturnes".

    What Lilia was interested in was the "Nocturne in E-flat Major"!

    What Ling Kong was interested in was the "Nocturne in B-flat Minor"!

    Even though they were both "Nocturnes", the major and minor keys had completely different flavors, and there was no conflict between the two.

    The commonality was:

    Ling Kong also wanted it for a film.

    After less than a minute of deliberation, Ling Kong made a decision, "I''ll take the second piano piece played by the pianist!"

    He turned to an assistant behind him.

    But before he could give the instruction, the Prince next to him yawned:

    "You can save some money and treat me to chase girls."

    "What?"

    Ling Kong was taken aback.

    The Prince gestured towards the stage''s big screen with his lips.

    The moment Ling Kong turned to look at the big screen, his expression soured, and when he noticed a particular detail, he suddenly slipped and nearly fell to the floor!

    Completely disheartened!

    ...

    Still inside a box.

    Matsushima Rain complained with a bitter face, "There''s a saying ''Don''t hit a man in the face''!"

    With the night as the theme, either of these two pieces easily surpassed the level of his "Twilight"!

    Such bad luck!

    Running into a thematic collision!

    After the clash, it''s all about who''s more embarrassed!

    Now Matsushima Rain felt extremely awkward, even the excitement from selling the rights to "Twilight" on the spot had significantly faded, heaven knows how much he bragged about it with Ito Makoto when the rights were sold!

    "Who is this!"

    "Maybe it''s Teacher Tian Luo''s work?"

    Ito Makoto speculated, he''s a top talent in Zhong Continent.

    If it was his work, it wouldn''t be strange for Matsushima Rain to be less talented. Abigail would also be at a fifty-fifty advantage with him, and it so happened that Teacher Tian Luo was also here today.

    At that moment.

    With the flickering of lights on the big screen, the information for the fifth and sixth pieces appeared simultaneously!

    "Here it comes!"

    Ito Makoto''s eyes sharpened.

    Matsushima Rain also focused his attention.

    However, when the two saw the composers of the two piano pieces, the air suddenly fell silent.

    "Could it be any more coincidental!"

    Matsushima Rain''s voice shot up an octave!

    Ito Makoto''s breathing almost ceased!

    Facing the information of the two works displayed on the big screen, the pupils of both shrank to the size of pins!

    ...

    Piano Piece: Nocturne in E-flat Major

    Composer: Xian Yu

    Performer: Gu Xi

    ...

    Piano Piece: Nocturne in B-flat Minor

    Composer: Xian Yu

    Performer: Gu Xi

    ...

    Ding!

    Ding!

    Two sounds rang out simultaneously!

    Among the pleasant notes, the names of the two "Nocturnes" simultaneously morphed into dazzling red, enveloped in a gorgeous golden background! S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 903 - 846: Potential

    "Little Fish..."

    Zheng Jing looked at Lin Yuan with a somewhat serious expression, "If you can create more works of this level in the future, let alone the Golden Hall, any of the five major music halls on Blue Star would welcome you to hold a concert!"

    Lin Yuan didn''t dare to respond.

    Chopin was too prestigious, Lin Yuan needed to stay low-key.

    Next to him, Yang Zhongming narrowed his eyes slightly, as if savoring the moment.

    The quality of Xian Yu''s two Nocturnes didn''t need his evaluation anymore; basically, no one at the scene couldn''t recognize the excellence of this piece.

    He found that Xian Yu always managed to surprise him.

    For example, those two works today were of an entirely new genre of classical piano!

    Before this, Yang Zhongming did not know that Xian Yu had such deep research into classical piano music.

    Don''t most young people prefer modern piano?

    Like "To Alice."

    Like "Mariage d''Amour."

    Xian Yu''s previous piano compositions were very few, and they were all modern piano pieces.

    Composing is a profound field, composing for pop songs is just one aspect, but it is the most familiar to everyone because it has the widest audience base.

    And in the Maestro rankings,

    to evaluate the level of a Maestro, in the end, mastery of various instruments and forms of music like symphonies are the main criteria.

    Take the piano and guitar, two common instruments, as examples.

    The piano focuses more on melodic lines and color, while the guitar has a richer sense of rhythm and beat.

    For instance, Director Zhou''s works.

    Songs like "Silence" or "Secret" are typical piano-minded compositions.

    While songs like "Simple Love," "Rice Field" and similar pieces are typical guitar-minded compositions.

    The compositional thinking of different instruments is distinct.

    Even for Maestros, how many can truly be masters of all?

    Yet now, Xian Yu has shown potential in this area, and his future is very promising.

    ...

    As the information about the two Nocturnes was released, all the major private boxes reacted swiftly.

    Before, everyone was guessing who the author of the two works was.

    No one expected that these two classical piano compositions were actually from the hands of Xian Yu!

    "The name of the work, ''Nocturne''?"

    "The name and mood fit very well."

    "Is the creator the newly-risen Maestro of Blue Star?"

    "As expected of the youngest Maestro in the history of Blue Star, his mastery of classical piano even slightly surpasses Matsushima Rain. This young man is remarkable."

    "Interesting."

    "Matsushima Rain represented Zhong Continent, aiming fiercely at Xian Yu, but unexpectedly, he hit a solid wall."

    "They decided the superiority directly in the Golden Hall, Matsushima Rain really lost face today."

    "Mainly because of this direct comparison, Matsushima Rain''s works are indeed elegant and refined, but that lyrical scope is a bit narrow, too sorrowful, and too sentimental. This is the salon emotion always championed in all of Matsushima Rain''s works. Xian Yu''s ''Nocturne,'' on the other hand, has a more substantial emotional content, rich thoughts and colorful textures, as well as a strong emotional and intensity contrast, like a romantic poet. It is said that Xian Yu can write poetry too, so it''s not an exaggeration to call him the poet among Maestros."

    "''Maestro poet'' doesn''t sound good, ''piano poet'' is quite fitting though."

    No matter how large the personal skill gap between Maestros is, anyone who can become a Maestro is undoubtedly a presence with extremely high standards of musical appreciation.

    In their mouths, "Nocturne" received very high praise.

    Just how powerful this piece was couldn''t be understood by everyone after just one listen, even Maestros couldn''t.

    After all, they would need to refer to the score later on and study it to provide a more substantial evaluation.

    Based on the initial impression of "Nocturne," this was a piece worth studying further.

    ...

    Online,

    many viewers who were watching the live stream suddenly got excited!

    Damn!

    The composer, Xian Yu?

    Those two pieces just now were actually from Fish Papa?

    Xian Yu just became a Maestro a few days ago, yet his work has already started to feature in one of the five major music halls, the Golden Hall!

    Immediately following that,

    everyone suddenly realized something:

    "So that means, for the War of Gods, Fish Papa is using these two compositions?"

    "That should be the case, and the one by Matsushima Rain must also be for the War of Gods. Looks like both of them had already clashed at the Golden Hall!"

    "Damn!"

    "I didn''t listen closely, classical piano isn''t really my thing, but from a general experience standpoint, I feel like Xian Yu''s work is better than Matsushima Rain''s."

    "A professional here to tell you, Xian Yu''s piece is amazing!"

    "Such a comfortable piece to listen to, sweet and romantic. It''s the first time I''ve heard this style, feels like it would be more impactful when listening alone at night, fitting the name ''Nocturne''."

    "It sounds good, but if you ask me to evaluate it, I can''t really articulate."

    "I expect in a few days the evaluations will come out, let''s see what the professionals say. From my perspective, Xian Yu''s piano piece this time is anything but simple. But that''s also an obvious point to make; very few pieces showcased at the Golden Hall are simple."

    It''s unrealistic to expect everyone to understand classical piano.

    But music is about the melody after all.

    It''s like listening to foreign songs, people may not understand them, but that does not mean they don''t enjoy them.

    Many people on Blue Star have been immersed in the arts since childhood, so a piece like ''Nocturne'' could really resonate with some, it''s just that those who truly enjoy this kind of music don''t tend to speak up online.

    Classical piano has a high barrier to entry?

    Wait until the rankings start and you''ll see ¨C some classical music that seems to have a very high barrier can unexpectedly unleash enormous energy that astonishes countless people, and this wouldn''t be the first time that has happened.

    And amongst all the discussions,

    suddenly someone reminded everyone:

    "It''s almost twelve o''clock."

    "I know."

    "I''ve been watching."

    "The War of Gods, man, today is a big day."

    "Anyone who hasn''t gone to bed yet is probably watching the Golden Hall''s live stream and waiting for the season''s rankings to update."

    "Xian Yu and Matsushima Rain''s pieces are out. It''s all on Ito Makoto now."

    "Already halfway to victory, Matsushima Rain''s piece got wrecked by ''Nocturne''!"

    "It seems Ito Makoto is using a pop song, not a piano piece. Wonder if Xian Yu can outdo Teacher Ito."

    Netizens wait with tense anticipation.

    The number of people waiting for the War of Gods to start surpasses any previous seasons. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    And in this waiting,

    twelve o''clock finally arrives.

    Countless people can''t wait to open their music player.

    It''s not all about Xian Yu and the two maestros from Zhong Continent.

    It''s no surprise, given that the pieces by Xian Yu and Matsushima Rain are probably those already performed at the Golden Hall.

    But everyone''s enthusiasm doesn''t diminish in the slightest.

    Because for numerous listeners on Blue Star, the War of Gods is the perfect occasion to refresh their playlists with a vengeance!

    This season,

    there''s no shortage of maestros.

    Kings and queens of singing have made their appearances.

    Countless works await discovery.

    Just as the netizens had guessed,

    among the War of Gods songs, Matsushima Rain''s ''Twilight'' from her Golden Hall release was indeed among them, prepared for the season''s rankings.

    Ito Makoto''s piece was also released.

    It was a pop song named ''Cherry Blossom''.

    Moreover,

    Xian Yu also presented the same two pieces from tonight''s performance at the Golden Hall...

    Wait a minute!

    How come there are three ''Nocturnes''?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: The portion of the plot concerning the Golden Hall will be thoroughly revised tonight. Reasonable adjustments will be made regarding the issues raised by the readers. There is no need to go back and check, as explanations will be provided in the text to come. Any delay in updates caused by the revisions to the earlier text will be made up for tomorrow.

 Chapter 904 - 847 Golden Legend (Two-in-One Chapter)

    Midnight.

    The season leaderboard updated.

    Meanwhile, inside the Golden Hall.

    The music concert was approaching its end.

    Some audience members began to stand up and prepare to leave.

    At this time, on the stage of the Golden Hall, a black lacquered grand piano stood in the center, accompanied by a white microphone next to it.

    Lin Yuan, was sitting in front of this piano!

    Emmm.

    Why was Lin Yuan on the stage of the Golden Hall?

    Let''s go back to half an hour ago.

    ...

    Half an hour ago.

    Around 11:30.

    Not long after two pieces of "Nocturne" had just ended.

    Lin Yuan was chatting with Yang Zhongming and Zheng Jing in a private box.

    Suddenly, an official from the Golden Hall approached Lin Yuan with a beaming smile,

    "Teacher Admirable Fish, there''s half an hour left until the concert ends. For the closing number of this concert, could you perform on stage? Any music-related performance will do. Our list is drawn randomly by Maestro, and it just happened to be your name~"

    Lin Yuan had a peculiar expression on his face.

    This "just happened to be" seemed quite suspicious.

    The closing number, as the name implies,

    was the performance on stage as the audience exited.

    The purpose of this piece was not to make the audience sit down and appreciate it, but rather to serve as a send-off as they left the venue.

    It was highly entertainment-oriented.

    Compared to a formal performance, it was considered garbage time, since the audience was leaving continuously, anyway.

    This was a staple at every concert held at the Golden Hall.

    Gu Xi first took the stage at the Golden Hall by performing a closing number.

    Under normal circumstances.

    The Golden Hall would recruit some of the guests present.

    For example, if there were celebrity singers at the venue, even Kings and Queens of Singing, the Golden Hall would occasionally invite these people to showcase their vocals. This place wasn''t limited to just instrumental performances.

    Compared to singers.

    Composers were a more preferred choice by the Golden Hall.

    After all, these Maestros frequently came to take advantage of the occasion and the private boxes.

    The Maestros generally wouldn''t refuse to perform the closing number, considering that most of these composers had some skills and wouldn''t have assumed the position of Maestro without knowing a few instruments.

    "Go ahead."

    Yang Zhongming said with a smile.

    Admirable Fish''s piano skills, performing a closing number in the Golden Hall, would definitely be impressive, no need to worry about any blunders.

    "Show off your skills!"

    Zheng Jing also egged him on.

    Many Maestros had experienced being recruited, and she and Yang Zhongming were no exception, having been tapped to perform a closing number as well.

    Some people got on stage and it was quite embarrassing, causing a lot of laughter.

    But no one took it too seriously, it was just entertainment time after all.

    Some people got on stage and were quite impressive, Zheng Jing remembered the time Yang Zhongming was recruited, he had performed the violin to a professional standard, surprising many people.

    "Oh."

    Lin Yuan agreed under their urging, somewhat dazedly.

    This was why Lin Yuan was sitting alone in front of the stage piano during Golden Hall''s closing time, as everyone was preparing to head their separate ways.

    That being said.

    Since he was on stage, he was definitely going to perform well.

    Although it was the garbage time of the closing number, Lin Yuan never lacked respect for the stage.

    The piece he prepared to perform was "Nocturne."

    Not the "Nocturnes" by Chopin, but the song by Director Zhou!

    This was the reason for the microphone set up on the piano, Lin Yuan was going to sing it himself.

    This scene created a particular coincidence:

    Lin Yuan''s performance of the closing number and the official release of three "Nocturnes" on various music players happened almost at the exact same time!

    ...

    The closing number, not many people would pay attention to.

    Many audience members had already begun to rise and walk toward the exit.

    As they walked, they shared their thoughts on the concert.

    The noise was somewhat loud.

    At this point, there wasn''t room to discuss whether or not to respect the stage, the closing number was intended to send off the guests.

    However.

    Just then.

    A melodious piano sound suddenly rang out.

    Inside the Golden Hall.

    The first to leave was a female viewer whose foot was about to step over the threshold, but at the arrival of the piano note, she stopped dead in her tracks!

    Bang.

    A man behind accidentally bumped into her.

    "Sorry."

    "Shh..."

    After a brief exchange, the woman turned her head to look at the stage, her eyes slightly brightening.

    Hmm?

    The man also paused, his gaze likewise fixed on the stage, a flash of amazement in his eyes.

    The venue gradually quieted down.

    The noisy chatter slowly came to a halt.

    At this moment, not just these two viewers.

    Nearly half of the audience, as if Sun Wukong had cast a spell, remained rooted to their spots¡ª

    The prelude was killer!!!

    Director Zhou had many pieces known as "prelude killers."

    The meaning of "prelude killer" is that you''ve been completely captivated just by hearing the prelude.

    And the prelude of his "Nocturne" wasn''t just well-loved¡ªit blew people away!

    This was why Lin Yuan''s prelude had just begun, and the audience suddenly stopped in their tracks!

    Not just the piano!

    Besides the piano, Lin Yuan had also prepared the accompaniment for "Nocturne" in advance, like the main melody on the guitar and so on.

    Thirty minutes of preparation had been enough to handle this scene.

    And as the prelude reached a certain point,

    close to the microphone,

    Lin Yuan''s lips began to move:

    "A group of bloodthirsty ants were attracted to the decaying flesh.

    I watch the lonely scenery with an expressionless face, sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Losing you, love and hatred begin to clarify.

 Chapter 905 - 847 Golden Legend (Two in One Chapter)_2

    If I lose you, what else is there to care about?

    When doves no longer symbolize peace,

    I''m finally reminded that what''s being fed in the square are vultures,

    using beautiful rhymes to describe a love plundered empty."

    The singing.

    The guitar.

    The piano.

    Every note enters the ear, converges, seeps into the heart.

    More and more spectators on site stopped in their tracks as if they had forgotten to leave.

    ...

    Box 022.

    Lilia had barely gotten up from her seat when she harshly sat back down, as if an invisible hand was pressing her down!

    "Xian Yu?"

    The girl next to her recognized the silhouette on stage and exclaimed, "The closing number is performed by him?"

    Lilia didn''t speak.

    This was the first time she saw Xian Yu in person; she had only heard some news about him before.

    This guy''s looks are somewhat otherworldly, not at all what you''d expect from Maestro.

    No, that''s not right.

    The focus here is the work itself.

    Compared to pop songs, Lilia preferred instrumental performances, but this song seemed different!

    ...

    Box 044.

    Ling Kong hadn''t turned into one of the Seven Fairies immobilized by Sun Wukong''s spell; he was somewhat anxiously urging the Prince beside him:

    "Let''s go."

    "What''s the rush?"

    The Prince wasn''t in a hurry to leave anymore.

    He had previously been eager to leave midway. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Throughout the entire concert, not a single piece had engaged the Prince; yet, paradoxically, it was the final closing number ¨C not even an official performance ¨C that bizarrely captured his attention.

    Damn!

    A plant.

    Ling Kong wanted to vent, but faced with this spoiled second generation, he simply couldn''t.

    He couldn''t just leave; doing so would offend the other party, so he could only stand there with a look of agony on his face.

    Feeling like a fishbone stuck in the throat, like a thorn in the back, like sitting on pins and needles!

    ...

    Box 007.

    Matsushima Rain closed the door she had opened and turned to look at Ito Makoto.

    "This is¡­"

    Ito Makoto focused on the stage, lost in a daze.

    This song was unfamiliar to his ears, and it stunned him.

    The intro was killer, an assault on the ears!

    Even Maestro''s ears were not spared!

    "Could it be¡­"

    Matsushima Rain suddenly thought of something, her expression becoming somewhat horrified.

    It couldn''t be, right?

    His secret weapons prepared for the Battle of the Gods in December weren''t two piano pieces?

    What was this?

    Matsushima Rain noticed that Ito Makoto was uncomfortably twisting his body.

    Didn''t she have a similar reaction when she discovered the two piano pieces were composed by Xian Yu?

    She suddenly felt like laughing.

    A bitter laugh.

    From her angle looking down, the audience was in complete disarray.

    Some stood at the door, some rose from their seats, some still sat, clearly disorganized, but everyone''s posture while listening to the song was strikingly uniform.

    ...

    Box 013.

    Yang Zhongming and Zheng Jing didn''t rush to leave at all; both sat there, looking completely relaxed.

    They were certainly going to wait for Xian Yu to leave together.

    However, when the introduction to "Nocturne" began to play, both of them had slightly strange expressions on their faces.

    Huh?

    It seems like they''ve instigated an extraordinary song?

    "It''s twelve o''clock now."

    Zheng Jing suddenly remembered something, looking at the time on her phone.

    Twelve o''clock.

    December.

    The meaning behind this song wasn''t hard to grasp now.

    Yang Zhongming said with a smile, "So there really is a song that is not inferior to ''Blue and White Porcelain.'' I thought he only had those two piano pieces as his trump cards."

    A song not inferior to "Blue and White Porcelain"!

    Without even listening past the first stanza of the main theme, Yang Zhongming reached his own conclusion.

    ...

    The subsequent singing seemed to be continuously proving Yang Zhongming''s judgment!

    "Ah~ The dark clouds start to mar the night sky''s purity,

    Memories of funerals in the park fly throughout the sky,

    The white roses I sent you wither in the pure black surroundings,

    Crows perch on the branches, eerily quiet,

    Listen as my black coat seeks to warm your memories that grow colder by the day, lives that have been lived,

    Ah~ Fog spreads all around,

    Ah~ I am in the open cemetery,

    Still loving you as I age."

    Lin Yuan sat in front of the piano, gently closing his eyes.

    With each press of the keys, the folded hammers struck the strings, black and white keys alternated under Lin Yuan''s ten fingers.

    The singing paused slightly.

    The lacquered piano body reflected streamline lights!

    ...

    Gu Xi also hadn''t left the scene yet.

    The scenery of the Golden Hall was naturally golden.

    But at this moment, this golden tint shone brightly within the song "Nocturne"!

    Whether genuinely attracted by the song and so standing still, or simply following the crowd, or because the doorway was blocked by some lingering spectators, one undeniable fact was:

    The closing music did not dismiss the audience of the Golden Hall!

    On the contrary, everyone''s listening posture was as earnest as they would be for an official performance!

    This made Gu Xi realize a vast difference.

    She only thought that performances for the closing number belonged to the Golden Hall''s trash time, which no audience would care about, and everyone would just leave gradually during the music.

    However.

    What happened today completely overturned Gu Xi''s understanding of trash time!

    It turns out that the closing number could also become an official performance?

    No.

    Perhaps only he could turn the closing time into his own concert, captivating all the spectators!

    It''s downright unscientific!

    ...

    For the Golden Hall, today''s closing performance was certainly one of the most special stages.

    Classical.

    Melancholic.

    Romantic.

    Listening to Xian Yu''s singing and piano, some couldn''t help but be reminded of the two performances of "Nocturne" that Xian Yu put on in the Golden Hall today.

    A very odd association.

    This song, in spite of having no relation to the two classical piano pieces titled "Nocturne," nor any melodic similarity, strangely conveyed a feeling of reaching the same goal through different means.

 Chapter 906 - 847 Golden Legend (Two in One Chapter)_3

    Like a minor tune?

    A very sad minor tune.

    This was an immersive experience, where someone who had just stood up not long ago could sit back down yet forgot to do so, surrounded by echoing melodies.

    Another person, though tired of standing, chose to sit.

    The moment his bottom touched the seat, it was as if he was electrified, and he plopped firmly onto the chair!

    "I play Chopin''s Nocturne for you

    To commemorate my deceased love

    With a voice like the night wind

    Heartbreak sounds so beautiful

    Fingers tapping on the piano keys

    The Missing I gave was with great care

    Your burial place is called the netherworld."

    ...

    I play Chopin''s Nocturne for you?

    Who Chopin is might not be the most concerning issue at this moment.

    Everyone was just amazed at the wonderful connection between this song and those two piano pieces.

    It felt like there were three performances tonight centered around Xian Yu, strung into a line, and this song served as the tail of that line, bringing the three pieces together with an infinitely poetic song!

    At this moment.

    As the chorus finally started, the sadness deepened.

    Ants lingered bloodthirsty, pigeons and vultures scattered, roses lost their red, crows bore to cry, various emotions accumulated and became tragic yet piercing!

    The audience sank deeper!

    All the Maestros on site gradually changed their expressions.

    Some twitched their brows and eyes, some appeared contemplative, some slightly opened their mouths, some breathed faster.

    ...

    At the same time.

    In different spaces.

    Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han had time differences.

    In some places, it was deep night, while in others, it was daytime.

    For instance, a certain dorm room.

    It was nighttime here, with the song playing on a computer.

    "I play Chopin''s Nocturne for you

    To commemorate my deceased love

    And for you, I hide my name and play the piano under the moonlight

    I still feel the warmth and closeness to your heartbeat

    Remembering your bright red lipstick mark."

    The students in the dorm who hadn''t slept were stirred up, whispering and discussing!

    ...

    Or a certain mall.

    It was daytime here, and the customers were shopping in the supermarket, yet the same song echoed.

    "Those wing-broken dragonflies scatter across the forest

    And my eyes show not a shred of sympathy

    Without you, my tears become muddy and heartless

    Without you, even my smile has a shadow"

    Some customers quietly asked their companions for the name of the song. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    As the companion shook their head, the customer pulled out their phone.

    Shazam.

    Then the phone screen displayed the words "Nocturne," and the customer swiftly clicked download.

    It''s really captivating.

    It seemed like he was moved, leading his companion to do the same.

    ...

    And at Lin Yuan''s home.

    His family was, of course, watching the live broadcast at the Golden Hall.

    On stage.

    Lin Yuan lost himself in his performance:

    "Those wing-broken dragonflies scatter across the forest and my eyes show not a shred of sympathy

    Without you, my tears become muddy and heartless

    Without you, even my smile has a shadow

    The wind mocks my sadness on the moss-covered rooftop like a dry well without water

    I use a tragically beautiful font

    To portray the love we regretfully missed."

    Through the cameras, the audience at the Golden Hall standing still was fully captured!

    ...

    Countless places.

    Countless reactions.

    The concentrated voices eventually culminated online!

    Accompanied by the exclamation "How is there a third Nocturne?" the netizens finished listening to the song.

    Wow!

    The comment section was overwhelmed!

    And the comment that raced to the top in likes was:

    "Twelve victories in a row, let''s go!"

    Needless to say, even for Xian Yu''s die-hard fans, even the casual onlookers were inevitably shocked at the moment:

    "Is this the third Nocturne?"

    "So touching that it makes me cry, the prelude alone is killing me!"

    "Who the hell says Fish Papa has no cards left to play? This doesn''t look like having no cards, does it? Throwing three cards in your face and asking if it hurts!"

    "No cards, you think you can take me out in a second? Damn..."

    "What kind of divine work is this, just for the lyrics ''I play Chopin''s Nocturne for you'' and wrote two explosive piano pieces for the Golden Hall?"

    "Who is Chopin?"

    "Who knows, just understand it as ''I play Xian Yu''s Nocturne'' and that''s it!"

    "I''m convinced by this linkage!"

    "Just after releasing ''Blue and White Porcelain'' in November, December gave me goosebumps all over!"

    "Oh my!"

    "Quick, look at the Golden Hall, Xian Yu is singing this song live there, and the audience just freaking won''t leave!"

    ...

    Golden Hall.

    Applause like a tide.

    Lin Yuan exited amid the applause.

    Backstage at the Golden Hall, the staff stood stunned as they watched Lin Yuan leave, then looked at each other in confusion.

    Suddenly.

    Someone came to their senses.

    "Hey, something''s not right!"

    "I felt that too, something seems off."

    Ah!

    That''s right!

    Wasn''t Xian Yu supposed to use the closing track to send off the audience?

    What was with this reverse operation...

    What should have been a performance to send off the audience turned into the audience applauding him off?

    Well.

    This was the first time in the history of the Golden Hall that someone turned trash time into an official performance¡ª

    The Golden Legend.

 Chapter 907 - 848 Bomb: December, Three Arrows Stabilize Heaven Mountain

    For many years, the Golden Hall had conducted music concerts, and usually by the end of the closing piece, most of the audience had left.

    Why stay after the formal performance ended?

    Everyone usually skips the end credits of TV dramas anyway!

    But this time, an exception occurred¡ªthe closing piece had finished, but the venue hadn''t cleared; on the contrary, Xian Yu, responsible for this closing performance, was the first to leave, and he left to the audience''s applause...

    The order was completely reversed!

    The cleaning staff gathered together to chat, and they were really puzzled. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    What was happening inside?

    It seemed like there was applause just now?

    Usually, at this point, everyone had left since the bell had rung!

    Right.

    The cleaning ladies at the Golden Hall usually treated the closing piece like a school bell.

    The first time in history!

    And those who hadn''t immediately turned to their players to check the season rankings, but instead watched the live stream of the concert at the Golden Hall, were even more shocked by "Nocturne"!

    "That last song was a bomb!"

    "My gosh, a garbage-time performance, yet the audience hadn''t left, you know these are mostly high-profile people who generally don''t listen to pop songs, getting them to willingly listen to a pop song is no small feat, especially during closing time!"

    "Haha, if I were there, I wouldn''t leave either!"

    "Xian Yu''s song seemed like a new release, and with this quality, it''s a clear win!"

    "Indeed! It''s a new release for the Battle of the Gods, I just downloaded it from the player, Xian Yu has released three ''Nocturnes'' this season, two piano pieces, and one pop song!"

    "Didn''t they say his trump card was ''Blue and White Porcelain,'' which he used in November? I''ve been fooled by those professionals!"

    "November''s Xian Yu: Bomb. Lu Sheng (looking at the four twos in his hand): I fold."

    "December''s Xian Yu: Bomb, Bomb, Bomb. Ito Makoto and Matsushima Rain: Turn it off, it''s no fun."

    The Battle of the Gods began.

    Ito Makoto''s new work had just been released, and many people couldn''t wait to hear it.

    All I can say is:

    It truly cannot compete.

    It''s not that Cheng Sang isn''t good enough, it''s that Xian Yu is too mesmerizing!

    No matter how critical one is, Xian Yu''s pop song is no worse than ''Blue and White Porcelain''!

    Clearly, they belong to the same tier!

    And it''s okay if some people feel ''Blue and White Porcelain'' is better.

    Have they even checked out the two classical piano versions of ''Nocturne'' at the Golden Hall?

    Meanwhile, in Box 007 of the Golden Hall.

    After listening to Xian Yu''s closing performance, Ito Makoto had already come to a realization, one that matched the conclusion of the netizens.

    Three bombs!

    Indeed, unplayable.

    Xian Yu''s last move threw out three trump cards matching the description of bombs, and all those who thought Xian Yu had no cards left to play were greatly mistaken!

    "Gotta run!"

    Matsushima Rain quickly pulled Ito Makoto, looking hurried.

    Ito Makoto was usually easygoing but was a bit annoyed this time, and said:

    "What''s the rush?"

    "If we leave too late, it''ll be awkward running into acquaintances!"

    Matsushima Rain said, annoyed.

    Ito Makoto suddenly understood and quickly got up: "Let''s go, let''s go."

    However.

    As soon as they opened the door, they saw an acquaintance from Zhong Continent, a Maestro, walk out of the next box.

    "Long time no see."

    The man greeted them, his expression weird.

    Ito Makoto and Matsushima Rain blushed: "We''ll catch up later, we have something else to take care of, got to run."

    Swish.

    The two quickly left.

    The Maestro from Zhong Continent couldn''t help but laugh and cry.

    People from several other boxes also came out, mostly Maestros:

    "Did you see Ito Makoto and Matsushima Maple?"

    "They''ve already left."

    "They fled quickly."

    "This car crash was quite severe."

    "It''s not their fault, they played normally. It''s mainly because this Fish is unreal."

    "Still, it''s no consolation."

    "True, but while you can outrun the monk, you can''t outrun the temple. Those two have really embarrassed themselves this time."

    "No choice, staying would have been even more awkward."

    The Maestros were actually blown away by this last song too.

    Compared to instrumentals, pop music is just the basics. However, the limit of a Maestro is being able to play the most basic pop songs with countless variations!

    So what if this is the Golden Hall?

    No need for piano pieces, pop songs can rock the place just the same!

    In fact.

    Even without the lyrics, just listening to the melody itself, "Nocturne" is also an excellent piece.

    No wonder Ito Makoto and Matsushima Rain were so quick to skedaddle.

    They left fast, but Lin Yuan left even faster!

    He truly made history. There had never been a precedent in the Golden Hall where a performing guest left before the audience did.

    Downstairs.

    When Lin Yuan took the lead out the door, the staff of the Golden Hall were dumbfounded.

    It was only in the parking lot that Lin Yuan remembered he hadn''t called Yang Zhongming and Zheng Jing.

    After making a phone call.

    They gathered and got into the car to head back.

    Inside the Golden Hall.

    Other audience members finally did not linger any longer.

    But what made many people laugh and cry was that after Xian Yu''s performance, and before the audience had exited, the Golden Hall actually played another exit music.

    Xian Yu''s "Nocturne in E-flat Major."

    Just recorded, no one performed, just forcefully played it, tradition must not be discarded.

    "This song is really good."

    Prince commented as he walked out of the box.

    Ling Kong remained silent, playing dead, and accidentally stepped on someone''s skirt.

    "Are you blind!?"

    The person in front snapped back ferociously, glaring at Ling Kong.

    Ling Kong was furious and instinctively wanted to retort, but as soon as he saw the person''s face, he held his voice back.

    Bad luck!

    It was Lilia again!

    Ling Kong felt unprecedentedly wronged tonight!

    Lilia walked away like a proud peacock, head held high.

    The girl walking beside her reminded, "Wrong way, we need to go sign the contract!"

    "Almost forgot the contract for ''Nocturne''!"

    Lilia hurriedly turned around; she wanted to buy the rights to "Nocturne," and not just one but two pieces!

    If it weren''t for the limited demand, she would have wanted to secure the third piece of "Nocturne" as well.

    "Right!"

    As if she remembered something, Lilia said to the girl, "Keep an eye on this Xian Yu. If he holds a concert, remind me. This guy is quite interesting."

    "Understood."

    The two turned back.

    Ling Kong overheard their conversation clearly, and the sense of frustration inside him was about to explode.

    In fact.

    Tonight, Xian Yu caught not only Lilia''s attention.

    "Check this Xian Yu guy''s information later."

    "If any of the big music halls have his work again, remind me."

    "Isn''t there a documentary in the works below? We could contact Xian Yu for a custom soundtrack."

    Those who could enter the boxes were not only Maestros but also individuals of significant wealth and influence; right now, they were all instructing their subordinates on matters deeply connected to Xian Yu.

    By the time Lin Yuan returned to Qin Continent.

    Some news had already taken flight!

    "Xian Yu''s new song premiere at the Golden Hall holds audience spellbound!"

    "Xian Yu uses the Golden Hall to launch two classical piano pieces, triggering a scramble for rights!"

    "Xian Yu: Twelfth victory in a row now within reach!?"

    "December music concert highlights at the Golden Hall of Qin Continent, ''Nocturne,'' Xian Yu dubbed as the piano poet!"

    "Rave reviews, Xian Yu''s three ''Nocturnes'' sweep the season chart!"

    "Xian Yu''s limitless trump card: Bomb in December, three strikes secure Mount Heaven!"

    "Three ''Nocturnes'' dominate the battle of the gods, Double Kill on Ito Makoto and Matsushima Rain!"

    "..."

    Three "Nocturnes!"

    Xian Yu almost flipped the table!

 Chapter 908 - 849: Twelve Consecutive Championships across Five Continents

    What "Bomb of December"...

    What "Three Arrows Conquer Tianshan Mountain"...

    The media sure has a way with sensational phrases.

    Serious media usually aren''t so extravagant, unless something truly outrageous is happening.

    "Blue and White Porcelain" in November.

    December brought "Nocturne" plus two performances in the Golden Hall, which shocked all the maestros with its classic piano pieces!

    Xian Yu''s punctuation on twelve consecutive championships was truly perfect!

    This bomb really went a bit too far, no wonder netizens joked that Xian Yu flipped the table.

    It was still December the first.

    Dawn broke, morning approached.

    Authoritative music media also reported on last night''s spectacle at the Golden Hall.

    Unlike entertainment media that clung to the anecdote "Xian Yu played farewell pieces and left before the audience," the more professional media didn''t dwell much on this dark humor and their wording was clearly more precise, avoiding fabrication for the sake of news.

    For instance, the Harmony Herald, a top-tier journal from Blue Star.

    As one of the core journals in the industry, it offered a 360-degree, no-dead-angle analysis and interpretation of Xian Yu''s two classical piano pieces, full of lofty corporate-level insights.

    Classical piano does have a high threshold.

    Audiences weren''t satisfied with just a buzz; they were quite interested in these types of reviews and structures.

    The funny thing is, Harmony Herald was published today, as were Xian Yu''s pieces, yet this media outlet as a periodical journal managed to smoothly connect with this press release, a timeliness precise to within a day that can only mean one thing:

    The magazine''s editorial team absolutely pulled an all-nighter.

    The corporate grind was vividly revealed in the real-time analysis of Nocturne in the magazine, and it''s truly commendable they managed without any typos; from the editors to the proofreaders, it must have taken a lot of effort, not something that can be hashed out in any less than a whole night.

    All for the sake of rushing out a first-hand professional newsletter, not too shabby.

    But the implications lurking behind this effort were somewhat touching.

    Another piece that received the same treatment was last night''s symphony at the Golden Hall¡ª

    Abigail''s "Winter Symphony".

    Amidst the various reports by both professional and non-professional media, netizens inevitably threw out that question:

    Why do the lyrics mention playing Chopin''s Nocturne?

    Lin Yuan, well-prepared, didn''t panic at all; he simply threw out the concept of "The Legend of 1900," claiming it was a piece composed by a character named Chopin in his upcoming movie...

    Really now.

    Chopin composed Nocturne?

    Chopin is a character in your future movie?

    You artists sure know how to pose, Maestro.

    Chopin was clearly your creation, so aren''t all works by Chopin actually crafted by your hands, Xian Yu?

    Someone looked at it from another angle:

    "Maybe Xian Yu thought that having lyrics like ''playing Xian Yu''s Nocturne for you'' would be too narcissistic, so he introduced Chopin as a persona representing himself in the lyrics, while also promoting his new movie. Isn''t that killing two birds with one stone?"

    This explanation makes sense.

    Referencing oneself does feel odd.

    Following this explanation, a new meme emerged online:

    "What does Xian Yu know about Nocturnes, that''s Chopin''s work (dog head)"

    In response to this meme, netizens shared a knowing smile.

    Only Lin Yuan found it a bit bizarre when he saw this conversation.

    You never know which joke you make is actually the truth.

    Interestingly, some even sang the lyrics as "playing Xian Yu''s Nocturne for you," and it didn''t sound too out of place.

    Speaking of which.

    "The Poet of the Piano" seems to be a title that belongs to Chopin.

    That''s a globally recognized appraisal within the music circles of Earth.

    However, Lin Yuan probably won''t be able to hold on to that title for long.

    Because in the future, he will introduce various styles of music, definitely not just the romanticism of Chopin.

    Of course.

    Whether it''s professional media or entertainment media, the ultimate topic that no one can avoid is still Xian Yu''s twelve consecutive championships!

    Yes.

    Though December has just begun, the season''s rankings already hint strongly at the inevitable outcome.

    Xian Yu''s goal of twelve consecutive championships seemed to have been achieved!

    Though the media conservatively added a question mark when mentioning these "twelve consecutive championships," that question mark had essentially lost its soul.

    The December of the flying dragons.

    No one could think of anyone who could knock the season''s top three "Nocturnes" off the list.

    The deed was done!

    As for Matsushima Rain and Ito Makoto, the two fled Qin Continent overnight.

    In the Maestro circle of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han, someone broached the topic¡ªwhether with a sigh or sarcasm, they said,

    "Fled overnight carrying an airplane."

    The two carried their sorrow back to Zhong Continent overnight.

    On their way back, listening to "Nocturne," they exchanged silent looks, feeling melancholy and heartbroken.

    Matsushima Rain and Ito Makoto''s attempt to stop Xian Yu''s twelve consecutive championships wasn''t a personal whim.

    It was the will of some big shots in Zhong Continent.

    However, when the two returned in defeat, the big shots of Zhong Continent couldn''t really blame them too much.

    How could they blame them?

    Those two had performed normally.

    Who could have expected Xian Yu to be such a monster?

    The last song alone was explosive enough, but he also threw in two classical piano pieces that moved everyone in the Golden Hall. Even the proud team from Zhong Continent fell silent after hearing those two pieces.

    They were thoroughly outplayed, from the professional to the pop scene!

    Although it was embarrassing for Ito Makoto and Matsushima Rain, many in Zhong Continent also viewed it from their perspective.

    These two were floored by Xian Yu, making many feel like a max-level boss getting thrashed in a newbie village.

    To Zhong Continent, Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, and Wei were just like a newbie village!

    But unlike those in games, Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, and Wei did indeed have a few freak talents. Though they hadn''t left the newbie village, they still had strength that caught the attention of Zhong Continent, it''s just that Xian Yu, to some in Zhong Continent, wasn''t considered one of them.

    And when the date reached December 7th.

    A week later, the triple play of "Nocturne" on the seasonal charts continued without any competitor''s piece being able to top these three.

    At that moment,

    The suspense could basically be declared over!

    Both professional media and gossip tabloids no longer held back, openly releasing news without the question mark:

    "Xian Yu, since the merging of the states in Blue Star, is the first Maestro to win twelve consecutive championships across five continents, birthing the most valuable seasonal chart''s twelve consecutive championships in history¡­"

    And on major video websites of Blue Star.

    A video titled "Twelve Consecutive Championships Across Five Continents" suddenly blew up across the entire network in a short period of time!

    The video revisited many of Xian Yu''s notable moments since his debut.

    The host began narrating from the experiences of Xian Yu''s early career.

    When Xian Yu won his first Rookie Season Championship, a screenshot of that history¡ªthough somewhat blurry¡ªsparked a wave of collective nostalgia among countless fans.

    The video displayed the various challenges Xian Yu had faced since his debut.

    The doubts he had once faced, numerous screenshots of negative comments appeared, and the host also mentioned the past issues Xian Yu had with his physical condition that prevented him from singing.

    There were regrets.

    There were losses.

    There were pains.

    Emotions painted the narrative.

    But when the host revisited the beginning of Xian Yu''s journey to the twelve consecutive championships, the tempo exploded!

    This section didn''t directly choose the song "Start Over" that Xian Yu released in January, but instead played a clip of Xian Yu removing his mask on the stage of The Masked Singer:

    "Hello everyone, I''m Xian Yu."

    The scene at that time was like a nuclear explosion!

    Prince of Lanling bowed out, Maestro logged in!

    From January to December, Xian Yu achieved one impossible after another until the video''s final portrayal of the golden legend, set to a thrilling electronic track from Blue Star, the comments exploded completely!

    "Twelve Consecutive Championships Across Five Continents!"

    "The legend continues!"

    "The dynasty has been established!"

    "Welcome to the era dominated by Xian Yu!"

    The video, twenty minutes in total length, reviewed all the experiences of Xian Yu before claiming the title of twelve consecutive championships across five continents. The powerful montage, coupled with Xian Yu''s achievements, struck with a lethal impact, shocking the entire network! S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 909 - 850 Our Mom

    Become the Maestro!

    Secure twelve consecutive championships!

    Lin Yuan finally achieved this significant accomplishment!

    However, the endpoint for a composer isn''t just becoming the Maestro or securing twelve consecutive championships. Last night''s experience at the Golden Hall made Lin Yuan realize that becoming the Maestro could also be seen as a starting point. Blue Star still has even bigger stages, namely the five major music halls of Blue Star!

    Royal Concert Hall!

    Central State Concert Hall!

    Moonlight Concert Hall!

    Venus Opera House!

    Qin Continent Golden Hall!

    These five major music halls are the ultimate stage for Maestro-level musicians!

    Lin Yuan had known about these places before, but they were too far from his previous realm.

    People like Yang Zhongming could hold personal concerts at the five major music halls; Lin Yuan, of course, also aspired to such stages, and he secretly swore last night that he would definitely hold his own personal concerts at these five major music halls in the future!

    Yes.

    Just last night, Lin Yuan set a new goal: to conquer the five major music halls of Blue Star, an ambition even grander than securing twelve consecutive championships on five continents!

    Zhong Continent is indeed strong.

    Although Lin Yuan defeated Matsushima Rain and Ito Makoto, he didn''t think lightly of Zhong Continent because of it.

    Last night, Abigail''s symphony harshly taught him a lesson; such a piece was almost at a divine level on Earth, and yet such a person had been bullied by Yang Zhongming!

    The top Maestros of Blue Star are truly terrifying!

    Even Matsushima Rain and Ito Makoto are not to be underestimated!

    It''s not that their abilities weren''t strong, Lin Yuan appeared to win easily, but bear in mind he had invoked the GOAT Chopin; wasn''t it normal for them to lose to Earth''s most top-tier musician?

    It was Chopin who crushed them!

    What if there had been no GOAT Chopin available?

    Then he could only call upon Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Haydn, Tchaikovsky, Liszt, Czerny, Mendelssohn, Johann Strauss, Verdi, Wagner, Brahms, Shostakovich, or...

    Huh?

    Huh?

    Huh?

    Alright then.

    Suddenly, Lin Yuan felt that Zhong Continent wasn''t so fearsome after all, and conquering the five major music halls didn''t seem so grand a goal.

    Of course.

    He would definitely keep a firm grasp on the foundation of pop music.

    Even top-tier Maestros, who don''t really engage with pop music anymore, never overlook this category because it is the most universally enjoyed by both the refined and the vulgar!

    Sometimes, the more basic it is, the more it reveals about one''s level!

    This is something even the top Maestros of Blue Star pay attention to!

    What the five major music halls demonstrate is the upper limit of a top-tier Maestro!

    However, next year Lin Yuan would definitely slow down his pace in releasing songs; after securing twelve consecutive championships, it was time for him to take a break. Even if he could continue to dominate the season''s board, it wouldn''t really make much sense to do so.

    Jjust the five continents.

    When the Zhong Continent also joins the merging, and the season''s board becomes a chaotic battle for the Maestro of the eight continents of Blue Star, Lin Yuan might consider going for another twelve consecutive championships, because only then would the value of twelve consecutive championships truly be unprecedented, given the essential difference between five continents'' twelve consecutive championships and Blue Star''s twelve consecutive championships.

    Speaking of which.

    In fact, Lin Yuan isn''t directionless about holding personal concerts.

    Chopin''s Nocturne series, consisting of twenty-one pieces in total, Lin Yuan had released only two, and the remaining nineteen were enough for him to hold a piano solo concert; however, this series'' style is relatively mild, and Lin Yuan needs to find some more explosive works to conclude it.

    Forget it.

    We''ll consider this issue later.

    For now, Lin Yuan is not planning on holding personal concerts.

    Pieces by a top-tier luminary like Chopin are frighteningly expensive; cashing in too many pieces at once, Lin Yuan feels a bit overwhelmed; the entire Nocturne series is simply sky-high in price.

    He can afford it, but he must also be cautious.

    He will definitely have to deal with works by big names like Beethoven and Mozart in the future, and the amount of money involved is terrifying.

    ...

    In the following days, Lin Yuan was very busy.

    In November, while aiming for the Maestro title, Lin Yuan was extremely busy, treating people to various meals.

    In December, after securing twelve consecutive championships, although Lin Yuan didn''t continue treating people, there was no lack of excitement.

    Starlight.

    The Chairman announced:

    To celebrate Teacher Admirable Fish securing twelve consecutive championships, the year-end bonuses for all departments of the company will be increased!

    The entire company cheered!

    From "Long live the Chairman" to "Long live Admirable Fish"!

    Online, a new round of congratulations erupted as Maestros within the industry, the Yu Dynasty, and all the celebrities familiar with Lin Yuan took to social media to celebrate this historical moment!

    Tribes.

    Blogs.

    Countless topics related to Admirable Fish went viral.

    Lin Yuan ultimately couldn''t escape the fate of treating everyone to a meal.

    The venue was Under the Sea.

    The guests included his family and the singers from the Yu Dynasty.

    There were also three apprentices learning composition from Lin Yuan, Xue Kai, Feng Shuo, and Li Lizhi.

    They were the people Lin Yuan was most familiar and closest with.

    Since Xue Kai, Feng Shuo, and Li Lizhi graduated, Lin Yuan rarely taught them anymore.

    A master can lead you to the door; practice is up to you.

    However, when the trio encountered composition issues, they would still consult Lin Yuan.

    At such times, Lin Yuan would activate the Yang Zhongming character card and start addressing their doubts and questions.

    Over time, the trio had indeed improved their composition skills significantly, and their works occasionally made it into the top ten of the Blue Star seasonal leaderboard.

    Now that the continents had merged!

    The competition on the leaderboard was extremely tough!

    For the three disciples who only had a gold-medal composer''s level, making it into the top ten was already quite impressive. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Many Maestros at their age could only achieve this much.

    Lin Yuan was an exception, which was why he was referred to as a prodigy within the industry.

    This gathering was the first time Lin Yuan had brought so many familiar people together.

    Luckily, they weren''t too distant from each other.

    For example, the singers from the Yu Dynasty and Lin Yuan''s three apprentices were all very familiar, having collaborated frequently.

    It was really Lin Yuan''s family who were somewhat strangers to the others.

    However, Jiang Kui and Big Yaoyao were quite familiar.

    The two had an unforgettable fan meeting once...

    Oddly enough:

    The main character of the dinner wasn''t Lin Yuan, but his mother!

    "This restaurant is mine, you know Flaming Catering, right? You can eat at any Flaming Catering in Blue Star for free from now on, junior, and it''s free for life for your family members as well, let alone you, Auntie. If the service isn''t satisfying, just tell me, and I''ll fire that manager right away!"

    Sun Yaohuo was excellent at socializing.

    He warmly entertained Lin Yuan''s mom and quickly became close with her, even though there was a significant age difference, they found they had a lot in common.

    Following his lead, others also toasted with Lin Yuan''s mom.

    Zhao Ying Ge seemed to have drunk too much and didn''t even call her ''Auntie'' but said:

    "Mom, I toast you!"

    The mom raised her drink and had a toast with Zhao Ying Ge before realizing something was off.

    What was even more off...

    After finishing that drink, Lin Yuan''s disciple Li Lizhi got excited, "Mom, when you have time, you could visit our company, my dad is the chairman of Starlight, and he always mentions wanting to meet you to express his gratitude for your nurturing of me!"

    "Absolutely, absolutely,"

    Lin Yuan''s mother said with a laugh and a cry.

    Jiang Kui rolled her eyes, "Princess, you are a disciple of Teacher Admirable Fish, so you should be calling her ''wife''!"

    After saying this,

    Jiang Kui looked towards Lin Yuan''s mom, "Right, mom?"

    Chen Zhiyu glared, "I say, Jiang Kui, how come you''re also taking advantage of our mom!"

    "..."

    The rest looked at Chen Zhiyu with strange glances.

    But it was Sun Yaohuo who understood the situation, laughing heartily, "Definitely because auntie is so approachable. Auntie, don''t mind them; they are just joking. If you really don''t mind, I guess acknowledging a godmother here is no issue."

    "I think it''s a great idea!"

    Lin Xuan''s eyes sparkled, "From now on, you all are my brothers and sisters!"

    Having so many celebrities as relatives made Lin Xuan ecstatic. She was ready to establish her status as the big sister. With this in her arsenal, she could dazzle and intimidate any small-timer!

    I am indeed the protagonist of this world!

    Big Yaoyao hesitated for a moment before saying to Jiang Kui, "Give me concert tickets and egg yolk pastries, then I''ll call you sister."

    "..."

    Well done.

    Before the meal was over, everyone had become family.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: You guys said you didn''t like the disciple part of the storyline, huh? Looks like the disciples might have a role to play after all...

 Chapter 910 - 851: Xian Yus Maestro Ranking

    After dinner, everyone went back to their respective homes.

    Lying stagnant in his bedroom for a while, Lin Yuan suddenly recalled something:

    It had been some time since Senior Yao Huo had become the King of Singing, and wasn''t he supposed to receive a Gold Treasure Chest from the System?

    Why hadn''t he received it yet?

    Was the System trying to default on the deal?

    Lin Yuan immediately summoned the System to inquire.

    The System explained, "Because the Music Festival has not yet begun, the official honors have not been awarded."

    "Oh."

    So, that was the reason. It made sense.

    Time was moving fast anyway.

    December had already arrived.

    The old year was about to pass, and the new year was about to begin.

    The Music Festival should be officially awarding prizes at the beginning of next year, usually set in January.

    At that time, not only would the awards for King and Queen of Singing be announced, but the awards related to Maestro Lin Yuan would also be presented.

    He had already decided to make the trip.

    After all, it was the Music Festival, and contending for the title of Maestro was an important moment in his life.

    He didn''t dwell on this matter any longer.

    Lin Yuan sprawled on the bed and continued to browse on his phone.

    Online, there was news about him everywhere lately; his unprecedented achievement of the Twelve Consecutive Championships across five continents was being widely discussed by countless netizens:

    "Fish Papa really achieved twelve consecutive championships!"

    "There were doubts a few days ago, but now that more than a week has passed in December without any mishaps, it''s clear that this is set in stone."

    "Truly monstrous!"

    "I still remember when Xian Yu first announced his intention to aim for the twelve consecutive championships, many were skeptical, but he overcame all obstacles to achieve this honor. A rhythm unprecedented and unlikely to be followed; now with the merge into five continents, and the future moving towards six, seven, or even eight continents, especially after the Blue Star''s big merge, who else could achieve twelve consecutive championships? It''s only going to get harder from now on, unless a few of the top Maestros step in, but those few don''t make moves often. How many Maestros could be as prolific as Xian Yu?"

    "What do you think is Xian Yu''s current ranking?"

    "If we''re talking about contemporary Maestro rankings, he should definitely be in the top fifty, right?"

    "That''s hard to say. The top Maestro rankings are mostly based on performances in the five major music halls, and Xian Yu is still too young; he has only performed in the great music halls once."

    Maestro rankings?

    Seeing this topic, Lin Yuan''s mind stirred.

    He wasn''t concerned about his own ranking, but he was thinking about the concept of a Maestro.

    The concept of a Maestro on Blue Star had been around for several hundred years. In these centuries, the Literature and Art Association officially had nearly eight hundred Maestros.

    The majority of these Maestros had passed away.

    As for the contemporaries, excluding Lin Yuan, there were 280 Maestros.

    The number seemed manageable, yet not every Maestro was as active as some like Abigail. Some of these Maestros, although still alive, were already in old age and basically no longer composed music.

    There were two reasons:

    The first group had accomplished their goals and retired peacefully;

    The second group was simply too old to keep up with the energy required.

    Lin Yuan was not included in this count; although he had reached the Maestro standards, the official ceremony of awards had not happened yet, so he was not listed among the Maestros. Thus, he was not counted among these two hundred plus people.

    Over two hundred Maestros!

    A number that wasn''t large but also wasn''t small.

    If the total number of Maestros were distributed across each continent, there would basically be thirty-five Maestros per continent, but of course, that was not the reality. It wasn''t that evenly distributed.

    Because in reality, the vast majority of Maestros were concentrated in Zhong Continent.

    Zhong Continent boasts the highest number of top artistic talents across the entire Blue Star.

    Following that, Qin Continent, renowned as the "Land of Music," has the highest number of Maestros.

    The least number of Maestros is in Zhao Continent.

    In such a vast area of Zhao Continent, there are only thirteen Maestros, the lowest in all of Blue Star.

    "Extremely rare."

    Lin Yuan calculated seriously, and his understanding gradually became clear.

    He had carefully compared the differences between Blue Star and Earth.

    Though Blue Star is similar to Earth, there are many differences that can''t simply be generalized.

    For instance, the population size, geographical position, and the extent of vastness are greater because there are not as many historical wars, so the total population of this world is significantly larger than that of Earth.

    As for where Lin Yuan himself ranks among the Maestros?

    Calculating that didn''t matter to Lin Yuan¡ªat least until he had released all the Bombs from the System''s repertoire.

    After realizing this,

    Lin Yuan switched to Chu Kuang''s account.

    Under Xian Yu''s account, there were nothing but congratulations from fans about winning twelve consecutive championships. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    In Chu Kuang''s comment section, however, the style was different, with quite a few people teasing Chu Kuang:

    "The old rascal hasn''t been very active lately."

    "Old rascal, are you slacking off? Xian Yu is claiming the Maestro title, having conquered all five continents with twelve consecutive championships. What''s up with you, not making a sound for months? Don''ttell me Chu has run out of creativity (dog head)."

    "Xian Yu: I, Xian Yu, a fine man, and you Chu Kuang dare to be mentioned in the same breath as me (allow sorrow)."

    "What happened to the ''south Xian Yu, north Chu Kuang''? That one has made it big now, and you, Chu Kuang, are still huddled in a corner not writing?"

    "Xian Yu: Brother Chu Kuang, what''s going on with you?"

    "It seems that recently Yi An has come out of nowhere, stealing the old rascal''s luck."

    "That''s not necessarily true. Yi An is called Chu Kuang Junior and has a long way to go before he can become the old rascal."

    Love turned into mockery comes naturally.

    Putting these words on Chu Kuang''s fans couldn''t be more fitting.

    A group of readers harassing for updates in such a snarky tone.

    But this also relates to Chu Kuang''s recent silence, with no news of new releases¡ªunlike the past when he used to publish one novel after another diligently.

    In the end, it was all because Lin Yuan was busy aiming for twelve consecutive championships and had neglected Chu Kuang''s account.

    Elsewhere.

    The comment section of Shadow''s account.

    The style there is very similar to Chu Kuang''s side.

    "Shadow, look, your good brother has become a Maestro now. Aren''t you going to perform a three bros act together?"

    "Pfft, you beasts, Shadow is busy managing five accounts now, what else can he show? He''s definitely busier than the old rascal Chu Kuang... though I like it! It''s about time he got busy, my donkey at home wouldn''t even dare to rest like he used to!"

    "Shadow: What''s up? Want me to start ten more comics for you?"

    "That''s too much, guys, there''s a limit to jokes...just start another five."

    "Pfft, you really are something. Shadow is already juggling five, and if he keeps going, he''ll be at ten!"

    "Shadow: Do you really think I''m your family''s donkey?"

    "Hey! If my donkey had these skills, I wouldn''t just go for ten, I''d make it elevent!"

    "..."

    Lin Yuan couldn''t help but laugh and cry.

    So now Shadow has become a donkey?

    And there indeed are eleven series behind Shadow!

 Chapter 911 - 852: The Fire Pit

    Jin Mu had already discussed with Lin Yuan.

    Seeing the six comic artists from Tribe Comics on the verge of job-hopping to the Alliance, Shadow would truly be running an eleven-man operation!

    Although Shadow himself doesn''t draw.

    At that moment.

    His sister yelled from downstairs, "Come down and have some fruit!"

    Antarctica, who had been spacing out in Lin Yuan''s room, suddenly perked up, opened the door himself, and zipped downstairs, vanishing in a flash.

    Lin Yuan followed downstairs as well.

    There was an assortment of fruits on the table.

    Lin Yuan tossed a washed apple to Antarctica and started to peel an orange himself.

    No sooner had he peeled the orange than his sister reached out her hand, still looking at her phone without lifting her head, and said, "Half for each of us."

    As Lin Yuan broke open the orange to hand it to his sister, he casually asked, "What are you watching?"

    "Comics."

    "Where?"

    "Tribe Comics."

    Lin Yuan quickly retracted his hand and finished the orange by himself.

    "Hahahaha!"

    His sister laughed, "Big Yaoyao, you have no idea what the relationship between brother and Shadow is. We should be supporting the Alliance and not provide Tribe Comics with any traffic!"

    His sister was also aware of the comic industry affairs.

    His younger sister put down her phone, began peeling an orange herself, but complained, "I actually planned on switching to Alliance Comics. The artists at Tribe are all flaky. The five comics I was following all stopped updating at the same time, and it''s infuriating!"

    "Stopped updating?"

    His sister suddenly asked, "Are you following Wildsword''s ''Storm Valley''?"

    "Yes."

    "I''m following it too. I don''t know what''s up with Wildsword lately, it''s been almost a month without an update!"

    Sister and sister united in their resentment.

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    His sister also followed Tribe Comics?

    This sibling bond seemed a bit plastic.

    His younger sister didn''t notice the expression on Lin Yuan''s face and went on, "I also followed Tang Yi''s ''Goddess Alliance'' and a few other comics by artists like Grassheart and Dragon King, they''ve all stopped updating recently. Feels like they coordinated or something."

    "That''s even worse than the authors under our banner!"

    Indignantly, his sister said, "Silver Blue''s contracted authors at least come up with an excuse like going on a research trip when they skip updates!"

    Lin Yuan did not join in their conversation.

    Tucking a banana into his pocket and grabbing an apple, he headed upstairs.

    However, the chat between his sister and his younger sister did give Lin Yuan some insights.

    What with Tang Yi, Wildsword, Dragon King...

    Aren''t these the comic artists that Han Jimei poached from Tribe?

    Back upstairs.

    Lin Yuan went online to check the update records of these artists.

    Indeed.

    The six artists planning to jump ship to the Alliance had all recently gone without updates.

    Lin Yuan didn''t need to guess what those six were busy with; they must be rushing to work on the comics he had given them. They would surely need to start new series as soon as they joined the Alliance.

    It had to be said.

    The reader base of top comic artists was terrifyingly huge, and the impact of these six artists stopping updates at the same time was massive!

    Every major comics-related forum was discussing it, and readers were full of complaints.

    "Why hasn''t Bai Li''s comic been updated lately?"

    "Bai Li is stopping updates too? I''ve been nurturing Grassheart''s ''Edge of the Night'' for a month, and damn it, not a single new chapter!"

    "Woldsword too."

    "And Tang Yi."

    "Even Brother Wolf, who is such a diligent artist, has stopped updating!"

    "Dragon King is even more diligent than Brother Wolf, usually updating three times a week, but suddenly he''s gone off the radar."

    Netizens, upon reflection, were shocked!

    Six top comic artists stopping updates at the same time!

    Could it be that they were all caught while out on a collective clandestine venture?

    The problem was, Tang Yi was a female artist; surely she wasn''t involved in the clandestine activities with five male artists?

    Something was not right!

    Countless comic fans were unsettled, worried that these six comics would be discontinued.

    ...

    Tribe Comics.

    The editors were also puzzled.

    What was going on?

    Six top comic artists stopping updates at the same time?

    What were they busy with?

    Nowadays, it was normal for one or two top artists to stop updating, but six at the same time was odd, and the fact that they stopped updating simultaneously was even more suspicious.

    Did all six of them really jump ship to Da Bao Jian?

    Soon, an editor reported the news to Ling Kong.

    Although Ling Kong had taken over the film and television department of Tribe, the formal handover was still some time away, and the new leader who would take over Tribe Comics hadn''t been confirmed yet. He was still responsible for the operation of Tribe Comics.

    At this moment.

    Ling Kong, hearing the news, looked somewhat displeased:

    "Didn''t you contact them to ask for a reason?"

    "We asked. Wildsword said he was feeling unwell and wasn''t in the right state of mind lately."

    "What about the others?"

    "Their reasons are similar, like Tang Yi saying she''s got her period."

    "What are they playing at, can our current situation afford their shenanigans?"

    "After all, they are big names."

    "No matter how big a name is, can they be bigger than Shadow? I don''t indulge even Shadow, let alone them. Write if they want to write, if not, get lost!"

    Ling Kong said angrily.

    The editors who had come to report had strange expressions on their faces.

    If those six really left, Tribe Comics would be finished.

    Given the current state of Tribe Comics, no one in the company is willing to take over Ling Kong''s position.

    Yes.

    The people at Tribe Comics all knew about Ling Kong''s job transfer.

    It was inevitable.

    Tribe Comics had already been messed up by Ling Kong.

    During his term, the performance turned into a pile of crap.

    How could the higher-ups possibly allow him to continue staying here? sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The main reason Ling Kong hadn''t officially left Tribe Comics yet was because no one in the company qualified to take over wanted to deal with the mess that was Tribe Comics.

    Whoever took over Tribe Comics would have to face Shadow directly.

    The average person really couldn''t handle it and would rather not take the position.

    Just then.

    Ling Kong''s assistant burst in, stumbling and tumbling, pale-faced, drenched in sweat, and trembling as he shouted:

    "Mr. Ling, it''s over, over, over, over, over!"

    "Are you trying to scare me to death!"

    Ling Kong was furious: "You''re the one who''s finished!"

    How unlucky can you get!

    The assistant was almost in tears, his voice shaking: "Mr. Ling, it''s really over!"

    "You..."

    Ling Kong swung his foot, intending to kick him.

    The assistant dodged, leaving Ling Kong to kick at nothing, while he himself stumbled almost falling. He didn''t care about that and hurriedly explained, "Tang Yi and Wildsword, those six comic artists, just announced they''re defecting to the Alliance!"

    Craaash!

    All the editors were dumbstruck!

    A backstab by six top comic artists?

    Ling Kong wanted to kick his assistant again, ready to pound him, but at that moment, he froze, his face turning as white as a sheet, his mouth twitching, and his expression contorted.

    Really...

    Really left?

    At that moment, Ling Kong wished he could slap himself hard!

    Such a jinx!

    Those were Tribe''s top six comic artists. If they went to the Alliance, what the hell could Tribe Comics play anymore!

    "The Alliance!"

    He was so angry he wanted to spit blood!

    Meanwhile.

    In an office at Tribe.

    A senior executive at Tribe was patting a middle manager on the shoulder:

    "I''ve said so much, you should understand by now. The Alliance isn''t that strong; they rely solely on Shadow. We at Tribe Comics still have so many excellent comic artists. Together, we can definitely stand against Shadow. Just make some achievements, and it''s entirely possible for you to be among the top executives in the future. The company has high hopes for you, and I truly believe your place among Tribe''s top executives is assured!"

    What a big promise!

    The middle manager was so inspired that his previous hesitations gradually vanished. He felt a surge to make a big impact in the comics department, to show the entire company his capabilities, to really make a mark... Then...

    Suddenly.

    An anguished cry came from outside, "Manager Zhang, six top comic artists from Tribe Comics have defected, they all joined the Alliance!"

    "What?"

    The manager trembled!

    And the middle manager opposite him stepped back several paces, shaking his head like a tambourine. The hot-blooded thoughts from before vanished without a trace, replaced with endless fear and relief!

    That was close!

    Almost fell for it!

    "Manager Zhang, I have no grudges with you, you can''t push me into the fire pit. Even if you demote me, I won''t take over any comics department!"

    To hell with saving the day!

    Whoever loves the comics department can have it!

    Anyone who steps into that pit is doomed!

    Why should I bear the consequences of Ling Kong''s sins!

 Chapter 912 - 853: Even the Production Teams Donkeys Wouldnt Dare Work Like This

    "Why isn''t Ling Kong dead yet!"

    Instant chaos erupted within the Tribe.

    Six major comic artists launching a stab in the back simultaneously, such a sudden attack, let alone the Tribe, the entire comic industry could hardly handle this thrill¡ª

    This was another major earthquake in the comic industry following Teacher Shadow''s legendary move!

    "Damn!"

    "The Alliance is quite cool this time, digging right at the Tribe''s roots!"

    "How did they do it? Digging out six big names at once, especially Tang Yi, that girl secretly indicated in her comics that she was a ''loyal servant of the Tribe''... Loyal servant my ass! She''s clearly a traitor!"

    "Tang Yi: Little insider, aren''t you jumping yet?"

    "Six leading comic artists defecting together, what a spectacle!"

    "A traitor? This wave is pure rebels, classic counter-loyalty act, and it''s six of them together, Ling Kong got fooled so hard."

    "Great revenge!"

    "Back then, Ling Kong suddenly poached Yeshenchen and Yeshenchen, if it weren''t for Shadow holding the fort, the Alliance would have been done for. Now the Alliance is striking back tooth for tooth, and even more ruthlessly than Ling Kong, digging out six major comic artists in one go, what grounds does the Tribe have left to compete with the Alliance, they don''t have a monster like Shadow to hold the fort!"

    "How much money did the Alliance throw down this time?"

    "The Alliance definitely made a heavy investment, but I must say, from now on, the comic world will be completely under the Alliance''s rule."

    The comic world.

    Has changed!

    This day was bound to come.

    But no one expected it to come so swiftly.

    A centipede dies but never falls down, Tribe Comics is a big operation, even if the Alliance induced a slow death, it wouldn''t completely die off within a year or half a year.

    Unfortunately, this happened.

    And just as the comic world was shaking, the readers of these seven top Tribe comic artists, including Tang Yi, were not happy!

    Fists clenched!

    You two platforms can compete, but why involve us, the readers?

    The comics I''ve been following suddenly becoming unfinished...

    Who would be happy about that? S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The combined reader base of the six major comic artists is absolutely massive, otherwise their betrayal wouldn''t have so severely wounded the Tribe!

    In an instant.

    All comic-related forums exploded, countless readers were hopping mad:

    "Damn it, that''s too much!"

    "I was wondering why Wildsword hadn''t updated for a month, turns out he was planning to go to the Alliance, what about this comic then!"

    "Is it just unfinished like that?"

    "I was following Wildsword, Grassheart, and Dragon King''s works on the Tribe, and these three ran off to the Alliance at the same time, instant mental breakdown!"

    "Big deal, I was following four!"

    "You all step aside, my pain surpasses all of you, I was following the comics of these six, now they all entered the palace to become top eunuchs, I was just catching up with these six works, and suddenly all were cut off, no comics to read!"

    "Pfft, alright, you''re the most miserable!"

    "The palace positions are all filled up by them all at once!"

    For a moment.

    The comment sections of the six major comic artists were filled with readers'' discontent!

    Some extremely upset readers even cursed blatantly, unable to accept their ongoing storylines suddenly becoming unfinished.

    At this time.

    Some readers noticed that these six comic artists had directly deleted their accounts on Tribe.

    Which made sense.

    After stabbing the Tribe in the back, it would be hard for these six to hang around there anymore, and the Tribe wouldn''t allow them to manage their fanbases on their platform.

    Straight after.

    All six got official blog-certified accounts and simultaneously followed one person:

    Shadow!

    Among them, Tang Yi even went to Shadow''s blog to leave a comment: "Teacher Shadow, we are here!"

    Teacher Shadow?

    We are here?

    What does this mean?

    Anyone who wasn''t a fool could quickly guess the meaning of this message:

    Six leading comic artists switching from Tribe to Alliance, it must have something to do with Shadow!

    "Crap!"

    "Was it Shadow who poached them?"

    "So it turns out Shadow is the main culprit who caused these comic artists to abandon their series!"

    "Shadow, you b*stard!"

    "Instead of properly updating his own comics, he''s troubling us readers!"

    "This is even worse than old rascal!"

    "Shadow, you should burst out a hundred chapters of ''One Piece'' as an apology!"

    "Shadow should burst out another hundred chapters of ''Naruto''!"

    "Unethical!"

    The readers'' anger was immediately directed at Shadow, demanding an explanation from him!

    Many of these readers were still fans of Shadow after all, since there aren''t many comic fans who don''t read Shadow''s works, but even Shadow''s fans were extremely upset at that moment!

    What the hell is this?

    Couldn''t you wait for them to finish their current comics before poaching them?

    Alright.

    Everyone knew that wasn''t realistic.

    Because for a comic artist to serialize a comic, especially long series, it often takes several years.

    If Shadow really waited for these six to finish all their series, it might take till kingdom come, so everyone understood the Alliance''s poaching action internally.

    But understanding aside.

    Everyone still felt dissatisfied!

    And just as this dissatisfaction was building up, someone noticed that there was activity on the Alliance comic website!

    The six newly-switched comic artists simultaneously released new works, and they updated dozens of chapters at once!

    Brother Wolf "Death God"!

    Dragon King "Gundam"!

    Bai Li "Digital Monsters"!

    Grassheart "Saint Seiya"!

    Wieldsword: "Fullmetal Alchemist"!

 Chapter 913 - 853: Even the Production Teams Donkeys Wouldnt Dare to Work Like This_2

    ```

    Tang Yi: Magical Girl Madoka!

    Six comic artists switched companies at the same time, deactivated their accounts on Tribe, joined the Alliance, and released their new works all at the same time; every step was clearly part of a prearranged plan.

    And just as the six of them released their new works.

    They also explained to their readers through their blogs: "We''ll continue serializing the old comics as soon as we get the rights; we plan to work on both."

    The readers were stunned. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    On one hand, they were appeased by the public statement of the six artists; on the other, they were curious about the quality of the new works.

    Swoosh swoosh swoosh!

    The temporarily quieted readers quickly clicked into the new works of the six artists, with those still dissatisfied murmuring in their hearts, if the new comics don''t satisfy, they still need to make these guys stick to the old works.

    However.

    After the readers finished reading the new works of these six popular comic artists, their emotions surged.

    ...

    Suddenly.

    The comment section of Tang Yi''s Magical Girl Madoka was flooded with numerous new messages, and a new trend emerged:

    "Actually, I can understand."

    "Tribe really wasn''t working out, it''s better coming to the Alliance, I''ll support you here from now on, focus on the new comics."

    "I don''t insist on updates for the old comics, just give us a conclusion in this lifetime."

    ...

    Following that.

    The comment section of Brother Wolf''s Death God.

    "I hate it when comic artists work on multiple series at once, after all, not everyone has Shadow''s ability to handle several works simultaneously. Brother Wolf, if you really have the energy for this, just concentrate on this new work called Death God, no rush with updates on the old comics."

    "I understand Brother Wolf."

    "Brother Wolf has had it tough, Death God isn''t bad at all, just focus on it, I can accept it if you abandon your previous comic."

    ...

    And then.

    The comment section of Grassheart''s Saint Seiya.

    "I think as a person, you shouldn''t always cling to the past. A new place, a new start, now that you''ve left Tribe for the Alliance, just settle down and draw your new work, Saint Seiya."

    "Yes."

    "By continuing to draw the old comics, you can''t properly say goodbye to the past, let''s leave the past in our memories."

    ...

    Yet again.

    The comment section of Dragon King''s Gundam.

    "Let''s not pretend anymore, I''ve seen the comment sections of the other comics, readers are truly pretending, they just prefer new comics to old ones, so they change their hearts, right? I''m quite straightforward, I like new things over old ones, so stick to Gundam from now on, this comic is way more thrilling than your previous work."

    "So we''re not pretending anymore?"

    "What''s there to pretend? If Dragon King''s preoccupation with the old comic updates hampers this new one, I''d be really upset!"

    ...

    Similarly.

    The comment section of Bai Li''s Digital Monsters.

    "If Dragon King isn''t pretending anymore, it would be hypocritical for us to continue doing so. Digital Monsters is way more interesting than Bai Li''s previous comics. I feel this work can replace the previous one!"

    "Agree!"

    "Does betrayal come with a power-up or something? I just read the new comics by Tang Yi and Grassheart, and they seem so much better than their previous works, seems like switching isn''t all bad, huh!"

    ...

    Finally.

    The comment section of Wildsword''s Fullmetal Alchemist.

    "It''s exploded, it''s exploded, this opening is simply perfect. Wildsword, if you dare to update the old manga, I''ll be furious; from now on focus exclusively on this work called Fullmetal Alchemist, haven''t seen such an exciting manga in many years!"

    "Wieldsword is quite skilled."

    "The manga''s great, it''s just the author''s way of being a person that''s problematic, those who know, know."

    ...

    The comment sections for the new works of the six comics suddenly changed direction!

    In the beginning, readers pretended for a bit, embarrassed to admit they preferred new over old and had forgotten about their old love as soon as the new caught their eye.

    Latter, they simply stopped pretending and laid their cards on the table!

    The new works of these six comic artists were all more appealing than their previous works, and their power to attract readers had completely surpassed those earlier creations. This in turn made the readers feel that there was no need to be fixated on the old comics anymore!

    Just cut it off!

    There''s a joke online:

    If your phone breaks, what''s the happiest thing that could happen to you, is it someone fixing your old phone for you?

    No.

    If someone gifts you a new and better phone, you''ll instantly become happy!

    The logic is the same.

    Of course, some readers still hold affection for these comic artists'' old works, but who dares to guarantee how long this feeling will last, especially since the artists themselves claimed that the old works will still be updated. This made everyone feel even more at ease!

    "Tang Yi''s new comic is truly fragrant!"

    "Bai Li''s new comic is so exciting!"

    "It''s like Grassheart suddenly became enlightened, his skill has dramatically improved. The protagonist of Saint Seiya and the setting of the twelve zodiac signs are just too cool, plus adding something like the Athena Goddess, this King''s Path comic doesn''t feel inferior to One Piece and Naruto!"

    "Brother Wolf''s Death God is also not at all inferior to One Piece and Naruto!"

    "That''s because you haven''t seen Gundam, the setting in Dragon King''s comic is truly cool, it''s been years since Blue Star had such a badass comic!"

    Swoosh swoosh swoosh!

    All six comics became hits!

    Normally, it''s not feasible for comics to become popular too quickly, but these people had too many drafts saved up, releasing them all at once, the manga''s tension peaked right from the start, which is why it instantly grabbed readers'' attention!

    At that moment!

    Discussions were everywhere!

    And when readers of the various comics came together and started discussing, everyone noticed this slightly strange situation.

    ```

 Chapter 914 - 914: 853_3

    It''s really strange!

    The six cartoonists who jumped from the Tribe to the Alliance saw their new work level up simultaneously, completely surpassing their previous works in quality!

    What''s going on here?

    If it were an isolated case, that would be one thing.

    But it''s all six people progressing together!

    Did these six suddenly unblock their governor and conception vessels upon joining the Alliance?

    It couldn''t be that they were deliberately holding back in the Tribe, only to show their true capabilities after moving to the Alliance, could it?

    Isn''t that "Shadow behavior"?

    ...

    Tribe Comics.

    Initially, the editors at Tribe Comics were gritting their teeth and mocking.

    Due to website contracts, Teacher Shadow poaching six cartoonists meant that these artists'' old works couldn''t be updated for a long time, which would certainly have their readers hopping mad!

    Let''s see how you handle this!

    If handled poorly, the reputation of Teacher Shadow, the six cartoonists, and even the Alliance could be tarnished.

    Although this couldn''t stop the rise of the Alliance, it was still a way to irritate the competitors and give some small comfort to those on the Tribe''s side.

    But now.

    Tribe Comics suddenly felt something was amiss.

    Why did the readers suddenly stop blasting them?

    Upon closer examination, Tribe Comics was dumbfounded to find:

    All six had prepared new works, each more brilliant than the last!

    Could it be that they were all just acting in the Tribe?

    In the Tribe, drawing comics was one level, but moving to the Alliance, they suddenly leveled up?

    As teammates, they were all yes-men, but on the opposite side, they came out swinging hard?

    Teacher Shadow had done the same before!

    In the Tribe, he was working on niche themes like ''The Kindaichi Case Files.''

    In the Alliance, boy oh boy!

    Naruto, One Piece, Detective Conan all came into play!

    Let''s be real here.

    After the Teacher Shadow incident, Ling Kong had learned his lesson and was already very polite in direct contacts with cartoonists, not wanting to antagonize other artists.

    Everyone makes mistakes, who is faultless? If I err and then correct it, isn''t that acceptable?

    And what''s the result?

    This is how you treat me?

    I am the Crown Prince of the Tribe!

    Am I not your True Dragon?

    ...

    Six top-tier cartoonists moved to the Alliance, and it seemed like their inner cosmos exploded in strength instantly; from any angle, this situation was ironic and laughable, no wonder the Tribe was furious, and Ling Kong was nearly driven mad.

    However, this misunderstanding didn''t last very long.

    Soon enough.

    Someone noticed a familiar name in the list of new comic authors, which had just been updated in the Alliance.

    For instance, the author section for ''Gundam'' read like this¡ª

    Author: Shadow, Dragon King

    Similarly, the author section for ''Death God'' followed the same format¡ª

    Author: Shadow, Brother Wolf

    In the author sequence for all six comics, "Shadow" was written first!

    What''s going on here?

    Those quick to react realized the crux of the issue.

    Those slower to react also understood the key point, but their hearts were somewhat reluctant to believe¡ª

    Until each of the six cartoonists individually confirmed it with posts:

    "Thanks to Teacher Shadow for providing the plot and storyboards, just joined the Alliance family, looking forward to a pleasant collaboration!"

    Boom!

    There was no doubt now!

    The comic industry was just recovering from one upheaval when another even more intense burst erupted, turning everything upside down!

    "My God!"

    "Is he even human!" S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Shadow is truly a god!"

    "We used to joke that Shadow could handle ten or even eleven series at once, and it turns out he actually did, making a production team''s donkey shy away from such work!"

    "Kneeling before the Shadow God!"

    "Is this the legendary coordinated advance and retreat of the Three Bros, Xian Yu taking twelve consecutive victories, and Shadow just playing a hand with eleven simultaneous comic series?"

    "No wonder their skills suddenly improved so much!"

    "It turns out it''s because of the man behind them, Shadow!"

    "No wonder they switched sides; even big-name cartoonists couldn''t hold back from collaborating with such a monster like Shadow!"

    An unprecedented comic creation across eleven series!

    For the comic industry, this was no less sensational than Xian Yu successfully securing twelve consecutive victories in the music industry!

 Chapter 915 - 854 Teachers Halo Upgrade

    Xian Yu''s unprecedented twelfth successive victory across five continents had not yet faded when Shadow''s eleventh comic release quickly became the next hot topic.

    The industry was shocked!

    The media was shocked!

    Netizens were shocked!

    The topic spread from major manga forums in Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han across the five continents to Tribe and blogs, and even to different social media platforms online.

    The conversations centered around Shadow and his six new comics.

    Countless discussions, reports, and analyses emerged one after another!

    As the repercussions of this earthquake in the manga circle radiated out, their subsequent impact exploded with the force of lightning that leaves no time to cover one''s ears!

    Tribe!

    Readers began to defect en masse¡ª

    "My favorite manga artists have all moved to the league, there''s nothing left in Tribe Comics that''s worth my attachment. I''m going over to follow the comics there."

    "The quality of the comics in the league is now better than that of Tribe, so of course, I choose the league."

    "I particularly love Shadow''s new manga ''Death God.'' For this manga, I''ve decided to switch to the league!"

    "I used to read from both sides, following three comics in Tribe and three in the league, but now there''s only one comic left worth following in Tribe. From now on, I think I''ll mainly choose the league to read comics."

    "I''m going to the league for ''Gundam''!"

    "The comics in the league are so exciting, especially ''Saint Seiya.'' Shadow is responsible for all my joy, so who cares about Tribe Comics!"

    "Brothers, charge! Let''s move to the league!"

    The hottest and most popular comics are all in the league; it''s only natural for readers to choose like this!

    Almost on the very same day.

    Tribe Comics'' traffic plummeted to an all-time low!

    Even when Tribe Comics was newly established, the traffic had never been this low, highlighting just how exaggerated this impact was!

    As one declined, the other rose.

    The loss of traffic from Tribe Comics led directly to a surge in traffic for the league!

    Within just a few days'' time.

    The number of user registrations in the league continued to grow.

    Especially on December 12th, the league''s traffic actually surpassed Tribe Comics'' peak period!

    The manga world had truly changed. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The entire industry was restless.

    Manga artists from Tribe began to panic as they could see the subscription details of their comics through the backend, and in the past few days, subscription counts for all Tribe Comics artists were plummeting!

    What did this mean?

    This meant that countless Tribe Comics readers had defected, all of them running to the league for comics, who could blame them when the league had Shadow''s sensational new release, and each comic was so brilliant?

    "Why the hell am I still drawing!"

    "The readers have all run away!"

    "The league already had the Shadow Corps to attract traffic, and now with six top comics artists joining them, their ability to draw traffic is simply unmatched. Unless Tribe Comics can come up with someone on Shadow''s level in the future, it will be very hard to get these readers to come back to Tribe Comics for updates."

    "We need to plan ahead."

    "Shadow God is really too damn freakish, it wasn''t enough for him to carry a single website on his shoulders, he''s looking to support the entire manga industry by himself. My own comic is just at its concluding stage; after I finish, I''ll immediately jump ship to the league to start a new work. There aren''t many readers left in Tribe."

    "I''m planning to cut off my current comic and go start a new one in the league!"

    "I regret it so much. The editors from the league wanted to poach me before, offering really good terms, but I didn''t accept because they were a new platform. Now the tables have turned, and I have to find that editor who wanted to recruit me, to beg him to let me join."

    "Damn, me too!"

    "If I had gone to the league earlier, my treatment would certainly have been good, but going there now, I guess the conditions will be quite ordinary!"

    The league had previously tried to poach people from Tribe.

    Unfortunately, very few manga artists from Tribe were willing to go.

    But the times have changed now!

    Manga artists from Tribe were rushing head over heels to defect to the league!

    While they initially would''ve been welcomed with open arms, and carried over with great respect, now they had to brazenly push their way over; it was both awkward and helpless.

    It was quite a tragic situation.

    But some were even worse off!

    Like those manga artists who jumped ship from the league to Tribe.

    They were now extremely uncomfortable, fearfully huddling together to discuss their options:

    "I betrayed the league before, would they still want me?"

    "I must be on the league''s blacklist by now, damn it, I was poached to Tribe just less than two months ago, how could Tribe be flattened by the league like this!"

    "That''s nothing, Burning Star has it much worse than you!"

    "Burning Star Teacher seemed to have just been poached by Tribe from the league last week, right? I heard he even had a fight with his editor at the league over the matter. Now he''s arrived in Tribe, and before he could even start a new work, he encountered this. It''s simply brutal."

    "Pfft!"

    "Joining Tribe on the eve of Shadow leading the league to unify the manga world?"

    "Okay, actually we''re not the most unfortunate ones, even Burning Star isn''t the worst off, the most unfortunate ones are those guys!"

    Who were those guys?

    Everybody knew in their hearts.

    They were none other than Tianmen, Yeshenchen, and He Dajun.

    He Dajun had a major fallout with Shadow earlier over the title "Number One in Competitive Manga."

    With Shadow''s position in the league and even the entire industry now, He Dajun could never possibly develop his career in the league.

    As for Tianmen and Yeshenchen?

    These two were even more dramatic than He Dajun!

    Initially, both of them had agreed to join the league. But when the league launched, they both backstabbed it, almost causing the league to fail to gain momentum. It was all thanks to Shadow that he helped the league to pull through.

 Chapter 916 - 854 Teachers Halo Upgrade_2

    The manga world was undergoing a transformation.

    Probably the most hated manga artists in the entire league were these two!

    "I''m retiring, alright! Can''t I even retire?"

    He Dajun''s mentality shattered, utterly desperate!

    How had he ended up in conflict with Shadow, the era''s child of the manga world?

    "Are we considered the ministers of a fallen country?"

    Tianmen looked at Yeshenchen with a chill in his heart.

    Yeshenchen sighed, "This wave might see half of the Tribe''s manga artists gone."

    The Tribe was already struggling.

    With half more manga artists jumping ship to the league, it was adding insult to injury.

    It might only be a matter of time before the last straw broke the camel''s back.

    If they hadn''t chosen to backstab back then, the league would probably be treating them like VIPs now.

    "Doesn''t Ling Kong have any remedial measures?"

    "There''s no remedy, the trend has shifted."

    Yeshenchen''s words proved prophetic; the Tribe''s comics were past saving.

    Of course, Ling Kong tried to remedy the situation, but how could such a gaping hole be patched?

    Unless he transformed into Shadow, replicating the other''s legendary works, yet such legends could not be replicated.

    The Tribe would definitely not be over.

    But the Tribe''s comics department was thoroughly doomed.

    What made Ling Kong even more desperate was that more than one editor had submitted their resignation to him.

    ...

    The League!

    The editorial department!

    The contacts of all the editors were bustling, creating an atmosphere of excitement and enthusiasm throughout the editorial department!

    "Our league is really attractive now!"

    "So many mid-level artists from the Tribe have contacted me wanting to start new works!"

    "Same here!"

    "Hahahaha, Dog God wants to join the league now!"

    "Dog God wants to come too, a GOAT just like Tang Yi and others, and now he wants to start a new manga in our league!"

    "I heard that QiQi also wants to come over!"

    "Wasn''t QiQi the one who previously rejected our invitation? I remember the chief editor personally went to discuss collaboration, and QiQi claimed to be a loyal servant of the Tribe with no interest in the League."

    The editors were bursting with laughter!

    What loyal servant or not?

    Today, those contacting the league to surrender, which of them weren''t loyal servants of the Tribe?

    That feeling was just too exhilarating!

    To describe it with a classic online saying:

    "Yesterday you ignored me, today I am out of your league!"

    ...

    Shadow Studio.

    Lin Yuan looked at the online reports and smiled.

    He was already aware of the recent circumstances between the Tribe''s comics and the League.

    Lin Yuan knew:

    Perhaps his rivalry with the Tribe hadn''t ended, but the Tribe''s comics department was thoroughly ruined this time.

    All his efforts hadn''t been in vain!

    The mangas he had released were dominant hegemonic works on Earth!

    These mangas belonged to different periods.

    Releasing hegemonic works from different periods simultaneously was bound to cause terror.

    "Boss, have some tea!"

    Jin Mu poured a cup of tea for Lin Yuan.

    Next to Jin Mu, all of Lin Yuan''s manga disciples were present.

    Each of them looked at Lin Yuan with eyes full of admiration!

    Previously, everyone thought five simultaneous releases were the limit for the Teacher, but who could have imagined that the Teacher could achieve an unprecedented eleven simultaneous releases!

    Although the Teacher was getting lazier and lazier, providing his disciples with storyboard and story ideas at the level of stick figures, sometimes even too lazy to draw stick figures and just throwing over a rough outline, this did not affect Lin Yuan''s status in their hearts at all!

    Eleven simultaneous releases!

    Had Lin Yuan still been meticulous in providing standard storyboards and plots at this juncture, it would have been truly horrifying.

    In fact.

    Lin Yuan had his reasons for doing so.

    It was mainly because, as mangaka reached a certain level, their insight and understanding improved, and they gradually became proficient with their respective mangas; even if Lin Yuan didn''t provide them with plots, they could roughly carry on.

    This was quite normal.

    For a manga like Grim Reaper Elementary Student, once it was on the right track, did it really need Lin Yuan to keep watching it?

    Not at all.

    For the continuously solving cases-type plot, finding some decent manga scriptwriters could do the job, and Lin Yuan just providing the outline and main plot was completely enough, letting them fill in the specific details on their own.

    Heaven knows if the still ongoing Detective Conan on Earth was still drawn by the original author?

    Not just Detective Conan.

    Many manga productions also made the decision to let the production team create some original parts of the storyline because the authors themselves updated too slowly, with varied results.

    Lin Yuan was watching over it personally, so the quality was always assured.

    This was the confidence behind Lin Yuan''s dare to open eleven.

    If he hadn''t done this, Lin Yuan would have been exhausted to death.

    Regarding this point, the readers also roughly understood the situation.

    But this was the norm, as long as the plot was good, readers didn''t mind.

    He took a sip of tea.

    Jin Mu handed Lin Yuan a list.

    This was the list of upper-level manga artists who had recently switched to our alliance.

    Lin Yuan even saw several big-name manga artists in it, not inferior to people like Tang Yi.

    "Some came on their own, others were invited by Han Jimei."

    Big-name manga artists could thrive anywhere, and it wasn''t exaggerated to the point where they wouldn''t be able to make a living if they didn''t join the alliance, but the alliance was definitely their best option.

    These people cared about their face.

    With Han Jimei''s slight politeness, the big-name manga artists conveniently agreed as well.

    It was like the change of ancient dynasties.

    Except for some true loyalists, the vast majority of people would naturally switch allegiance to the new dynasty.

    Below the list.

    Lin Yuan saw some true loyalists of the Tribe.

    This group hadn''t joined the alliance due to the changes in the manga circle but had remained with the Tribe instead.

    "The reason these people didn''t come is simple."

    Noticing Lin Yuan looking at the Tribe''s loyalist authors list, Jin Mu explained with a smile, "Because they are not mainstream manga artists, their work styles are unique, even if they stay in the Tribe, readers will support them, after all, some readers view manga on more than one site, for them, it''s just a matter of switching apps on their phone."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Those who remained in the Tribe had more unique styles, generally leaning towards light and everyday drawing styles.

    The alliance''s manga, because of Lin Yuan''s influence, was mainly fighting-type mainstream manga, barely having high-quality everyday-type manga.

    For these people, whether to switch or not didn''t make much difference.

    It seemed that he needed to consider these types of light, everyday, humorous manga in the future, the website''s array of art styles couldn''t be too monotonous.

    "Tribe Comics is just lingering on its last breath," Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Luo Wei sneered, "The future is the manga realm''s new dynasty, they''ll just gradually become a small workshop."

    Luo Wei was not targeting the manga artists, but the Tribe.

    Shadow was Luo Wei''s most respected Master, and since Tribe Comics had once disrespectfully ousted the Master, she naturally had no sympathy or goodwill for Tribe Comics.

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan nodded, about to speak, when suddenly a voice rang in his mind:

    Ding-dong!

    The System appeared: [Congratulations to the host for the break through of one million in drawing type Prestige Value, upgrade reward: Teacher''s Halo upgraded to lv3!]

    The Teacher''s Halo upgraded?

    Lin Yuan''s eyes lit up!

    He needed to check the Prestige Value of various arts later.

    The Prestige Value increased too slowly. He didn''t know how many readers his manga had, and yet the Prestige Value had just reached a million, he also didn''t know how the system''s calculation formula worked.

    Snapping back to reality.

    Lin Yuan heard Jin Mu speaking, "The New Year is coming, everyone has done a great job this year, our studio''s year-end bonus will surpass previous ones¡­"

    Lin Yuan smiled.

    Financial matters were basically handled by Jin Mu, and Jin Mu always managed to satisfy everyone.

    However.

    Just then.

    Luo Wei suddenly coughed and said, "Can I not take the year-end bonus?"

    Jin Mu asked, "Why?"

    Luo Wei looked at Lin Yuan, "I want to study painting again with the teacher, Zhao Continent is about to join the merger, and my family hopes I can make a name in the traditional painting world, of course, I will still take good care of my manga."

    "This¡­"

    Jin Mu looked at Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan smiled slightly, "Issue the year-end bonus as usual. Additionally, everyone before the end of the year, can ease up on the manga updates. I''ll arrange some training time for everyone."

    The Teacher''s Halo upgraded!

    It was a perfect time to test its effects!

 Chapter 917 - 855: GOAT Platinum

    Lin Yuan hadn''t given his disciples a lesson in a long time.

    Not just the disciples studying manga, but also those learning composition from him.

    Because Lin Yuan had realized:

    After the disciples reached a certain level of learning from him, it became extremely difficult for them to improve further.

    This indicated that the Teacher''s Halo effect had reached its limit.

    However, today the Teacher''s Halo unexpectedly upgraded again!

    Does this also mean that the disciples have a certain space for improvement after learning from him?

    If that''s the case, it would be wonderful.

    Because this means that Lin Yuan''s work will be much easier in the future.

    If the disciples are impressive enough, they can save him a lot of worries, like Luo Wei, the most talented disciple, who can do a great job with her comics just by following rough outlines given by him.

    "I''ll go first!"

    "Don''t fight me for it!"

    "Teacher hasn''t trained me in a long time!"

    "The water here is too deep for you to grasp; let your brother handle it for you."

    "Shut up, it has to be me first!"

    The disciples clamored, vying to be the first to receive training from Lin Yuan.

    Everyone initially joined Shadow Studio as apprentices and assistants, and it was Lin Yuan''s lesson-by-lesson instruction that brought them to their current level, so they were all very clear about what learning from the teacher meant!

    Quite different from those painting coaching classes outside that bluster and bluff.

    When the teacher teaches them, they really learn something, even making their skills leap forward!

    Who wouldn''t yearn for such an opportunity?

    Although everyone had been learning from the teacher for a long time, they could all distinctly feel that the effect of improvement was getting smaller and smaller, but it was still an improvement after all.

    This is normal.

    From one to sixty, improvement is definitely fast;

    from sixty to eighty, the effect decreases;

    from eighty to one hundred, every single point of improvement becomes very difficult.

    "Let''s start with Luo Wei."

    Lin Yuan decided to give the lesson to Luo Wei first.

    Luo Wei nodded excitedly, shooing the others away: "Get in line!"

    The others left reluctantly, but their eyes were filled with anticipation. It would be their turn later.

    Entering the office.

    Lin Yuan began teaching Luo Wei how to draw.

    Lin Yuan''s method of teaching drawing was quite simple: he had Luo Wei draw first while he watched from the side.

    After Luo Wei finished drawing, he would demonstrate and point out where Luo Wei''s drawing process was lacking.

    That was how he had taught before.

    And he was still teaching that way now.

    Except, different from before, this time Luo Wei''s ability to absorb seemed to have improved a lot.

    Some things that used to take Lin Yuan an hour or two to explain to Luo Wei, now he could make her understand in about half an hour.

    Teacher''s Halo!

    It really did upgrade!

    Lin Yuan became happy, it seems he could make use of the Teacher''s Halo effect once more and teach his disciples to be even more skillful!

    Lin Yuan was happy.

    But Luo Wei was excited, ecstatic!

    The teacher''s drawing guidance seemed more effective than before!

    Many of the things that she used to take a long time to understand, today the teacher just briefly pointed them out, and she would get it!

    What a marvelous feeling!

    This experience of truly feeling oneself improve is more delightful than any joy!

    Luo Wei was completely immersed in it!

    When Lin Yuan finished the lesson, she didn''t even realize that three hours had passed!

    "Teacher, I..."

    "Hmm?"

    Lin Yuan looked at Luo Wei with a smile, probably understanding her emotions at the moment, but what he didn''t expect was that Luo Wei didn''t thank him or express any gratitude or emotion, but instead blurted out five words:

    "I need to use the restroom!"

    Lost in her study for three hours, Luo Wei had completely forgotten her physiological needs, and only after the lesson did she realize her bladder was about to burst.

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    Luo Wei rushed to the restroom: "The lesson was too good, learning from you is more useful than ten years of studying!"

    Lin Yuan felt somewhat comforted.

    A sense of achievement comes with feeling progress after attending a class.

    And a similar sense of achievement is felt by the teacher when seeing their disciples improve.

    In the days that followed.

    Lin Yuan mostly did nothing else but teach and train the disciples in the studio.

    Very soon.

    Everyone experienced what Luo Wei felt!

    "The teacher''s lessons are getting better and better!"

    "I feel like my skills have improved again!"

    "Before when the teacher didn''t give me stick figures, I couldn''t draw well, now even without stick figures, I can grasp the essence of the comics just by using the outlines."

    "This feeling is much better than the thrill I had last night!"

    "I feel invincible, as if no one in the world can draw comics better than me, except for the teacher!"

    On the side.

    Jin Mu shook his head upon hearing this.

    The bunch from Shadow Studio seemed to be getting more and more inflated, always bragging about being the best in the world.

    Are all comic artists this chuunibyou?

    ```

    ...

    What a relief!

    Once the apprentices are trained, the master won''t starve!

    With the launch of the eleventh comic, Lin Yuan had quite a few things to worry about.

    Now that everyone''s skills have improved again, Lin Yuan really has a lot less to worry about¡ªjust give them a rough outline and they can complete the comics on their own.

    There are several levels of skill among manga artists.

    The first tier includes top-tier manga artists like Tang Yi, who are truly top of the line. Luo Wei used to be in this tier as well.

    The second tier is the level of Lin Yuan''s other manga apprentices. These people are close to the top tier but haven''t had a major breakthrough. They are slightly inferior to Luo Wei, but with a good story, their performance might not be worse than the first tier, so they''re considered quasi-top tier.

    The third tier is comprised of mid-tier manga artists, who form the backbone of the websites.

    The fourth tier belongs to those who can barely make a living full-time but are quite ordinary within the industry.

    The fifth tier is primarily made up of part-timers...

    Now.

    All of Lin Yuan''s apprentices have been elevated to the first tier, completely on par with Tang Yi and the like!

    And Luo Wei, Lin Yuan''s chief drawing apprentice, has now surpassed the likes of Tang Yi!

    Shadow Studio is filled with GOATs and Diamonds.

    Hm?

    The concept of GOAT and Diamond seems quite interesting¡ªmaybe the Alliance could play along with these standards.

    After this thought crossed Lin Yuan''s mind, he immediately shared it with Jin Mu.

    Jin Mu found it amusing, "It seems like it could be used as a standard for contracts. GOAT-level manga artists can have a higher-grade contract than average artists, and when it comes to Diamond level, they can directly negotiate terms with the website. We could craft a unique contract for them based on their individual circumstances."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    He just suggested it, and after that, he didn''t concern himself with it any further.

    But Jin Mu was quite interested in this idea and quickly worked out a plan with Han Jimei.

    Soon enough.

    The Alliance officially introduced the concept of GOAT and Diamond, offering different contracts to different manga artists.

    Of course, the Diamond contract was the most formidable.

    Shadow Studio, Lin Yuan''s five manga apprentices, all got the Diamond contract¡ªthey had reached that level.

    Besides.

    People like Tang Yi were also Diamonds.

    The Alliance''s initial batch of Diamond manga artists totaled twenty!

    Following them were the GOAT manga artists. There were more GOATs than Diamonds, with the Alliance granting thirty spots.

    This development hugely motivated the manga artists!

    It''s unknown how many mid-tier artists started yearning for the status of GOAT or even Diamond!

    Those who received Diamond and GOAT status found it very beneficial!

    A title like GOAT was just an empty name.

    Now the website gave it an actual designation, so how could they not like it?

    To the rest of the industry, however, this plan took on a different flavor.

    "Is the Alliance creating its own hierarchy within the manga world?"

    Only a monopolistic website has the authority to dictate such a hierarchy, otherwise it''s just a joke.

    And the Alliance has that authority!

    This made even more manga artists yearn to join the Alliance!

    Who wouldn''t want to become a GOAT overnight, or even a Diamond-level manga artist?

    Other manga websites could do the same, but it just wouldn''t feel the same¡ª the prestige level is different.

    Now, the Alliance almost entirely represents the entire manga industry!

    It feels like if you don''t prove yourself with your work on the Alliance, you just can''t call yourself a GOAT?

    It''s worth mentioning that...

    Shadow didn''t seek any special treatment and also signed a Diamond contract.

    Han Jimei actually wanted to create a separate level just for Lin Yuan, like Diamond or King or something.

    Lin Yuan declined.

    Jin Mu also thought it was unnecessary.

    Aside from sounding a bit too adolescent, it would only leave the Diamond artists feeling regretful.

    After all, the standard for Shadow was too high, a target they could never achieve in their lifetimes.

    Something unattainable isn''t even worth designing; it would only increase a sense of hopelessness.

    "Being a Diamond is quite good enough," Lin Yuan said.

    Jin Mu had his own rationale, "When Diamond artists see that even the mighty Shadow is at their level, it boosts their pride substantially. It also makes the other GOAT artists yearn to become Diamonds even more because reaching that level means having the same rating as you."

    Speaking of which.

    Jin Mu shook his head, "The only pity is that your identity as Shadow can''t be revealed to attend the annual meeting."

    This year the Alliance monopolized the industry!

    The Alliance planned to hold an annual meeting.

    Diamonds and GOATs were sure to be invited, and top-performing mid-tier authors would also attend.

    It was the Alliance''s way of declaring their dominance! S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    For instance, the annual meeting of China Literature on Earth, where stocks soar as soon as it opens.

    Capitalists value this sort of thing highly.

    Starlight had decided to place some high-profile stars at the Alliance''s annual meeting to boost the site''s prestige.

    ...

    The comic issues were put to rest.

    The new year grew ever closer.

    That day.

    The music festival finally stirred.

    The new King of Singing... the new Queen of Singing... the new Maestro...

    All would be born here.

    ```

 Chapter 918 - 856 All-rounder

    "The Music Festival is scheduled to take place on the twenty-fifth of this year''s end, and the Literature and Art Association does not want to drag it until next year. Mr. Lin''s invitation for the festival has already been sent out, and the nominations for various awards will be announced today at eleven o''clock..."

    Starlight Entertainment.

    Lin Yuan''s office.

    Gu Dong was reporting the situation. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan nodded, feeling quite anticipatory within.

    He had won twelve consecutive championships this year, and since the Music Festival essentially served as the annual report for the music industry, it was likely that he would be a nominee for most of the popular awards.

    The more specific results would depend on the tastes of the Music Festival judges.

    The waters here were deep.

    Just like how a movie''s box office success does not solely determine its awards, the Music Festival''s prizes were not decided merely by seasonal rankings.

    Otherwise, there would be no need for the Music Festival at all.

    Everybody could merely take their seat according to the seasonal rankings.

    Meanwhile, as Lin Yuan received his invitation, eyes from both inside and outside the industry were on him!

    The Music Festival was Blue Star''s most influential music event!

    It was tied to the dreams of countless musicians!

    At this moment.

    All eyes in the music circle were locked onto the official account of the Music Festival!

    ...

    Midday.

    Eleven o''clock.

    An entertainment media company.

    The chief editor sat in front of the computer, constantly refreshing the webpage, waiting for the announcement of the Music Festival''s major award nominations.

    The editors below were abuzz with discussion.

    "Who do you think will be nominated this year?"

    "Xian Yu is definitely going to have quite a few nominations."

    "Lu Sheng''s song might also be nominated."

    "That means Matsushima Rain and Ito Makoto could also have a chance."

    "Even though they lost in the seasonal rankings, the distribution of Music Festival awards is not certain, as the rankings don''t represent everything."

    "My article is already prepared in advance."

    The magazine definitely needs to seize the news first; whoever writes faster will gain the traffic.

    Just then.

    The chief editor''s voice was somewhat tense, "It''s announced!"

    Everyone immediately became serious, and their gazes turned towards the computer screen!

    ...

    Music Festival Best Lyricist nominees:

    Ni Hongwu "Lost Paradise," Zou Jiaming "Fight for a Better Tomorrow," Yao Wang "Not Worthy," Xian Yu "Blue and White Porcelain"

    ...

    Music Festival Best Pop Composer nominees:

    Mike "snow," Wu Long "Wound," Xian Yu "Blue and White Porcelain," Xian Yu "Nocturne"

    ...

    Music Festival Most Popular Male Singer nominees:

    Sun Yaohuo "Blue and White Porcelain," Lu Tong "Hollow," Shen Mao "Eyeing the Southeast Wind," Xian Yu "Nocturne"

    ...

    Music Festival Best Arrangement nominees:

    Xian Yu "The Seventh Chapter of Night," Cang Ming "Turn and Go Straight," Niu Baoli "Universe," Tunan "Fog"

    ...

    After seeing only a few of the nominee lists, the editors were taken aback.

    Xian Yu, Xian Yu, Xian Yu!

    The frequency of this name''s appearance was, dare we say, too high¡ªwas this the power of twelve consecutive championships?

    "There''s more!"

    With an editor''s exclamation, they continued to read and, sure enough, saw a bunch of nominations for "Xian Yu!"

    "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6..."

    The more they counted, the more shocked they were, and in the end, they were utterly dumbfounded!

    "11, 12, 13..."

    Xian Yu had actually been nominated in thirteen different awards!

    Damn!

    This was the Music Festival organized by all five continents combined!

    With so many top musicians across the continents, being able to enter the nominations in thirteen categories with one''s own strength¡ªcould a person even achieve that?

    On what grounds?

    On the grounds of winning twelve consecutive championships?

    Even with Xian Yu''s twelve consecutive championships, it would not normally be possible to be nominated for thirteen awards!

    The editors discussed feverishly!

    The chief editor''s eyes were glued to the computer screen, analyzing each award in turn, and then he suddenly slapped his thigh:

    "I get it!"

    "Get what?"

    "The Literature and Art Association is intentionally boosting Xian Yu?"

    "No, take a close look at these nominated categories!"

    "Did you see? ''Sugar,'' this song was nominated for Best Music Video. Do you think that has anything to do with composing..."

    "And ''Blue and White Porcelain'' was nominated for Best Lyrics."

    "Under normal circumstances, the lyricist, composer, and even the singer are not the same person. It''s just Xian Yu, the oddball, whose songs are all self-written, self-composed, and sometimes even self-sung, so in the end, all the awards go to him!"

    "It''s also because he sometimes sings his own songs that he was nominated for Male Singer of the Year."

    "As for Best Arrangement, Xian Yu was nominated too, but the nominated song is ''The Seventh Chapter of Night.'' Not every Maestro understands arranging, but Xian Yu does, and he understands it very well!"

    The editor-in-chief observed closely.

    With such an explanation, everyone gradually came back to their senses!

    Holy!

    It''s true!

    Why does everyone find Xian Yu''s numerous nominations somewhat unscientific?

    Because not all of his nominated categories are related to a Maestro''s role!

    Lyric writing...

    Arranging...

    Singing...

    Even music videos...

    Where on earth are these awards a Maestro could win?

    Obviously, these categories are all intended for lyricists, arrangers, singers, and other musicians!

    That''s the crux of the matter!

    Although Xian Yu is a Maestro, he is too versatile: proficient in lyric writing, composing, arranging, and singing!

    Just take a look at the examples to see the pattern.

    Could the music festival not nominate ''Blue and White Porcelain'' for Best Lyrics?

    Could the music festival not nominate ''The Seventh Chapter of Night'' for Best Arrangement?

    It''s not about whether the nominee is Xian Yu or not. It''s that these works themselves have reached that standard!

    Not to mention, there are some special cases.

    For instance, there is an award at the music festival called "Best Official Promotional Song."

    This award, ''Qin Continent Welcomes You'' was a sure nominee!

    Was there any suspense in that?

    The official promotional song of Bluelympics this year!

    Not giving the award would be like not giving face to Bluelympics, right?

    Then there''s the Best Anime Soundtrack award - ''Until The End Of The World'' was easily nominated.

    If the music from ''Slam Dunk'' was missing from this year''s animation soundtrack categories, that would be weird, wouldn''t it?

    Not to mention, Xian Yu has a nailed-on Maestro award.

    This has led to Xian Yu''s unprecedented nominations for thirteen major awards!

    Yes.

    Unprecedented!

    Although the music festival has many awards, one person being nominated for thirteen major awards at once had never happened before!

    Now there was a big commotion!

    The reaction of this magazine was just the tip of the iceberg amid the huge sensation.

    When the music festival announced the list of nominees this time, the entire industry was stunned!

    "My God, Xian Yu was nominated for thirteen major awards at once?"

    "Am I seeing this right?"

    "This is the music festival we''re talking about, not some third-rate awards for any Tom, Dick, or Harry!"

    "This has never happened before!"

    "The previous record was held by a top Maestro from Zhong Continent who was nominated for eight categories, and Xian Yu just topped that Maestro by four additional nominations!"

    "Even a twelve-time champion can''t be this crazy!"

    "The main thing is that Xian Yu is so spectacularly unusual; he''s clearly a Maestro but insists on competing for awards reserved for singers, lyricists, and arrangers!"

    At the same time!

    Tribe bloggers and netizens on major online platforms were also collectively shocked!

    The music festival is an annual event, and anyone with a bit of common sense knows what it means to be nominated for thirteen rewards!

    "Well played, thirteen major awards at the music festival; is this what a world of the powerful looks like?"

    "The terror of a twelve-time champion!"

    "I only knew Xian Yu as the recipient of the twelve-time champion, and that he would definitely be the main star of this music festival - but I never imagined he would straight-up be nominated for thirteen major awards, not even sparing the categories of singing, lyric writing, and arranging!"

    "This guy is truly an all-rounder!"

    "I surrender, Fish Papa is a real multifaceted warrior!"

    "Give some awards to other musicians, pretty please!"

    "Can''t even find a weak spot anymore. Other songwriters collaborate with various creators, yet he handles all the tasks alone, and if he''s in a rush, he simply sings himself - and happens to sing even better than many Kings of Singing!"

    Before, there had also been discussions about Xian Yu''s all-around musical capabilities.

    But because his Maestro halo was too dazzling, it overshadowed Lin Yuan''s achievements in other aspects.

    And today.

    The music festival made everyone in the lands of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han realize just how versatile Xian Yu was in music!

    All-rounder!

    Multifaceted warrior!

    This description is damn fitting!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Some people may not understand what an all-rounder means: Once upon a time, the island country''s media exclaimed with shock that Marlon was an all-rounder. It meant that Marlon had maxed out core attributes in table tennis such as speed, power, technique, defense, serve, and experience. In other words, Marlon had no weaknesses in his table tennis skills, and all his indicators were the strongest.

 Chapter 919 - 857: Tear It All Down

    Lin Yuan found that since November, when he challenged Maestro, there had been a constant stream of people congratulating him.

    Just like now.

    No sooner had the music festival''s nominations been announced than he was overwhelmed by countless congratulations.

    [Got used to it]

    Singers from the Yu Dynasty also sent congratulatory messages, of course.

    While congratulating Lin Yuan, Jiang Kui didn''t forget to remind him, "Teacher Admirable Fish, you promised to accompany me on the red carpet!"

    It seemed there was such a matter.

    Lin Yuan was quite serene about being nominated for thirteen categories.

    Because Lin Yuan understood:

    Nominations are one thing, winning is another. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The real value still lies in the actual trophy corresponding to the nomination.

    Lin Yuan vaguely remembered that "The Shawshank Redemption" had once earned seven Oscar nominations, the crew went to the event with high hopes and came back empty-handed.

    He certainly wouldn''t end up like that, but it was hard to say how many awards he''d actually win in the end. Better to keep a low profile.

    They say being low-profile helps accumulate good karma.

    For the next few days, Lin Yuan blatantly skived off work and didn''t show his face at the company at all.

    [Low-profile]

    It wasn''t just for the sake of being low-profile, though.

    Mainly because the New Year was coming and Lin Yuan wanted to slack off a bit.

    After all, he had gotten almost everything he was due for the year.

    Wasn''t rewarding himself with a few days of rest reasonable?

    While Lin Yuan was resting, Sun Yaohuo suddenly got in touch with him, "Junior, are you free today? I''ve just built a five-star hotel, which is basically finished with the renovations. All the paperwork is also done, and it might open by the end of January. So I''d like to invite you to give some feedback. There''s a suite that I''m not planning to put up for guests. You can come over to rest whenever..."

    "Sure."

    Lin Yuan remembered Sun Yaohuo mentioning wanting to open a hotel before, but he hadn''t realized it was almost complete at the time he brought it up.

    Half an hour later.

    Sitting in Sun Yaohuo''s car, Lin Yuan headed to his new hotel.

    The hotel was about six kilometers from Lin Yuan''s place, and they arrived after a short drive.

    A man greeted them at the door:

    "Director Sun!"

    Lin Yuan found it quite amazing.

    Senior Yao Huo had become Director Sun?

    The man quickly noticed Lin Yuan too, and his face immediately lit up with excitement, but he quickly suppressed any unprofessionalism and showed enough professionalism, "Teacher Admirable Fish, hello, I''m Wang Yu, the hotel manager appointed by Director Sun, but you can just call me Little Wang!"

    Lin Yuan''s face was one that basically no one failed to recognize.

    Lin Yuan nodded and politely said, "Hello, Manager Wang."

    After the greeting, Lin Yuan looked up at the hotel name and couldn''t help but read it out loud:

    "Yu Dynasty?"

    Sun Yaohuo laughed, "I originally wanted to call it Yuanhuo Hotel, after all, that''s what our gaming company is called. But later I thought that having ''fire'' in the hotel''s name didn''t sound very auspicious, so I simply used our Yu Dynasty as the hotel name."

    Wang Yu had a strange look on his face.

    Before, Director Sun had actually considered renaming the hotel "Linyuan Hotel," but in the end, a bunch of people advised against it, and they finally settled on the current name.

    "Good name."

    Lin Yuan said with a smile.

    Sun Yaohuo said, "Manager Wang, show us around."

    "Sure, this way please!"

    Wang Yu led Lin Yuan and Sun Yaohuo into the hotel.

    The hotel covered a vast area, the exact size of which Lin Yuan had no concept of.

    Upon entering, a sense of extravagant modernity hit them, the decor was of a similar standard to the Wisdom clubhouse where Maestros hung out for free.

    Wang Yu started to introduce the hotel''s features to Lin Yuan.

    Sun Yaohuo added, "The elevator goes down two floors and directly connects to a food street, half the restaurants along the way are mine..."

    As they toured.

    Half an hour passed.

    After visiting several luxurious suites, Sun Yaohuo finally led Lin Yuan into one of the rooms:

    "There are eight luxury suites of equal size in the entire hotel. This one is the best, with a lakeside view from the floor-to-ceiling windows that''s the finest in Qin Continent. I was planning to keep it for Junior."

    "No need."

    Lin Yuan smiled and said, "I definitely stay at home when I''m in Su City. Just open it up to the public as usual."

    "Is that so."

    Sun Yaohuo nodded, "Then I''ll try to keep this suite available. We from the Yu Dynasty can also have gatherings here. I''ll have musical instruments ready; it should be quite fun to hang out here."

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan felt a warmth in his heart.

    He could sense that Sun Yaohuo was always looking out for the Yu Dynasty and had a very strong sense of belonging to it.

    In fact, he felt a similar sense of belonging.

    Looking up at the wall, Lin Yuan spoke softly:

    "These paintings..."

    "If Junior likes them, he can take them."

    "No need."

    "Junior doesn''t like them?"

    "Hmm."

    "It was really the right call to have Junior come over and take a look. Before, I never realized it, but now that Junior mentioned it, I also think these paintings are not up to standard. I''m going to take them all down later!"

    Sun Yaohuo agreed wholeheartedly.

    Wang Yu, who was standing nearby, twitched at the corner of his mouth, wanting to say something, but ultimately held it in, with a very odd expression on his face.

    "Take them down?"

    Lin Yuan thought for a moment and said, "That''s fine."

    These paintings are on the same level as Luo Wei.

    Since Senior Yao Huo is planning to take them down, then when I get back, I''ll have Shadow create some good paintings to hang in Senior Yao Huo''s hotel.

    After all, it was because of my evaluation that Senior Yao Huo is taking down these paintings.

    Anyway, Shadow''s skills are definitely better than the level of these current paintings.

    Lin Yuan was still very supportive of Senior Yao Huo''s business ventures.

    ...

    After touring the hotel and having a meal with Sun Yaohuo, Lin Yuan went home.

    After Lin Yuan left.

    Sun Yaohuo returned to the hotel and started taking down the paintings.

    Manager Wang Yu was completely bewildered: "Director Sun, what are you doing!"

    "Taking down the paintings."

    Sun Yaohuo said matter-of-factly: "What are you standing there stunned for? Help me out. Let''s take down all the paintings in several suites. They''re just an eyesore."

    "But..."

    Wang Yu was almost in tears: "You''re really going to take them down? You know that just any one of these paintings in the suites cost us hundreds of thousands to buy!"

    That''s exactly why Wang Yu had felt so distressed earlier.

    While Teacher Admirable Fish was there, Wang Yu didn''t dare to speak out; he did have some emotional intelligence.

    In truth, each of the paintings in these suites had cost hundreds of thousands to purchase!

    Wang Yu had gone to great lengths to have several famous painters from Zhao Continent create them, and relationships had to be specially sought to acquire these genuine artworks...

    Did Teacher Admirable Fish understand the value of these paintings?

    How could Director Sun decide to take them down just because Teacher Admirable Fish didn''t like them?

    "Small change."

    Sun Yaohuo said: "If Junior says they are no good, then they are no good. Junior''s judgment is definitely infallible."

    "Director Sun..."

    "You have a problem?"

    Sun Yaohuo''s voice grew cold.

    Wang Yu was startled, knowing that if he dared to continue opposing, he might have to go home and write his resignation letter tonight.

    "No..."

    Wang Yu stammered: "No... no problems... well... I''ll go take them down now!"

    God knows what was going through Director Sun''s head!

    He didn''t dare to ask, he didn''t dare to object; he just did what he was told, since it wasn''t his money being lost.

    ...

    Meanwhile.

    After returning home, Lin Yuan started to prepare for painting: "This is a good opportunity to create more paintings and also finish the one I owe the Chairman to send over."

    Having made up his mind.

    Lin Yuan began grinding ink.

    After busying himself for a few days, Lin Yuan finally received a message from Gu Dong.

    "Mr. Lin, are you ready? We are going to attend the music festival this afternoon, and we should head over early to do makeup since you''re definitely going to be going onstage to accept an award!"

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan stopped painting and got ready to leave.

 Chapter 920 - 858: The Music Festival (Part 1)

    This day was December 25th.

    The music festival was to kick off at the Grand Stadium tonight!

    All eyes from the music scene across the five continents were gathered here, with hundreds of journalists setting out to stake out days in advance.

    The vanguards of major companies also set out early and negotiated with the official representatives of the Music Association to arrange their artists'' schedules in advance.

    At the same time.

    Countless fans flocked to the Grand Stadium like birds worshipping the phoenix, causing congestion in the surrounding streets to the point where officials had to deploy a large force to maintain order.

    "It gets busier year by year."

    The traffic manager in charge of that area remarked.

    Because every year there would be musicians from an additional continent participating in this grand event. The lands of the five continents already encompassed most of Blue Star, following which the pressure on traffic management grew greater every year.

    ...

    At noon.

    After lunch.

    The backstage designated by the Literature and Art Association.

    In different dressing rooms, many top singles competing for nominations were getting their makeup done.

    Inside one of the dressing rooms.

    As the Qi Continent''s esteemed singer Shui Yun had her makeup done by her personal makeup artist, she asked her waiting manager:

    "Huahua, is it possible for me to walk the red carpet with Teacher Admirable Fish?"

    "Give up that thought."

    Huahua, a top-ranking manager in Qi Continent, could only shake her head helplessly at the moment:

    "I just spoke to the officials about this yesterday when I arrived, and do you know what they told me?"

    "What did they say?"

    "You are the twenty-eighth singer to try and request to walk the red carpet with Teacher Admirable Fish from the officials. Unsurprisingly, there will likely be other singers with the same idea after you, including some who are past double crowned singers..."

    Admirable Fish was too in demand!

    Winner of twelve successive continental awards, with thirteen nominations at the music festival, the youngest Maestro in the history of Blue Star!

    With such dazzling honors, Admirable Fish was destined to be the center of attention tonight.

    Moreover, Admirable Fish had never before attended any award ceremonies, nor accepted any media interviews, still less fancying any sort of endorsement deals.

    Even the crowned Kings and Queens of Singing had very limited ways to interact with Admirable Fish.

    For these reasons, Admirable Fish''s public appearance this time was bound to attract countless admirers!

    "Tsk tsk."

    Upon hearing this, Shui Yun clicked her tongue in surprise, "With such crazy competition, it definitely won''t be my turn, I wonder who the lucky one will be."

    "None of you stand a chance!"

    Huahua sighed, "Do you really think the music festival would dare to pair any female artist with Admirable Fish without his permission? Teacher Admirable Fish has personally specified Jiang Kui to walk the red carpet with him, his favorite is the Yu Dynasty."

    Jiang Kui?

    Shui Yun''s eyes flashed with intense envy, even a hint of jealousy!

    With so many top singers competing, none could surpass Jiang Kui, for she was the first Queen of Singing from the Yu Dynasty, personally promoted to stardom by Teacher Admirable Fish!

    In truth, it wasn''t only Shui Yun.

    All the singers who got wind of the news felt a mixture of envy and jealousy towards Jiang Kui.

    This kind of treatment had been enjoyed by the Yu Dynasty for a long time, and even the reigning Kings and Queens of Singing couldn''t help but feel a little sour on the inside.

    ...

    Finally, the time reached 4 pm.

    The red carpet show started, and the area around the Grand Stadium was flooded with people!

    With cheering signs and glow sticks, armies of fans of countless stars were screaming and shouting!

    On one of the vehicles.

    Lin Yuan was looking down at his cell phone.

    He had received a notification from Gu Dong and had been preparing accordingly; he wasn''t very nervous since the award he most valued, Maestro, was already secure in his grip.

    Sharing a ride with him was Jiang Kui.

    Dressed in a beautiful gown for the day, Jiang Kui''s hands were crossed in front of her as she bit her lip slightly.

    She couldn''t remain as indifferent as Lin Yuan; her emotions were exceptionally fervent at that moment.

    "We''re here!"

    The driver, Gu Dong, pulled the car onto the reception drive.

    Through the car window, Gu Dong could feel the gazes of everyone nearby, all focused on this car.

    Thud.

    The staff in charge of reception eagerly came forward to open the car door.

    Lin Yuan put away his cell phone and stepped out of the car with Jiang Kui.

    In an instant, countless screams created a terrifying wave of sound, causing even the Kings and Queens of Singing, who were halfway down the red carpet, to look back involuntarily, wondering what kind of arrival could cause such an uproar!

    "Ah!"

    "Admirable Fish!"

    "Fish Papa!"

    "I love you!"

    "Teacher Admirable Fish!"

    The surrounding noise was explosive.

    Jiang Kui, following prior training, tried to smile as she walked; one hand on Lin Yuan''s arm, and the other waving at the fans.

    They moved forward. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan displayed a practiced smile that met societal expectations.

    In fact, he still preferred occasions like the Golden Hall, where he could bypass the red carpet and go directly upstairs from the underground parking lot.

    Click click click!

    Countless photographers snapped away!

    The flashes were almost blinding, never stopping.

    The fans present were also taking photos, each moment frozen by their shutters.

    Meanwhile.

    This red carpet affair was being live-streamed online.

    A grand ceremony like the music festival would invariably be broadcasted live, not only a revel for those within the circle but also a jubilee for netizens!

    "Fish Papa is here!"

    "Fish Papa is so handsome!"

    "Here''s to Fish Papa''s triumphant success!"

    "Jiang Kui is walking the red carpet with Fish Papa!"

    "Cursed Jiang Kui, let go of Fish Papa!"

    "Indeed, at times like this, Fish Papa will only give a leg up to the singers from the Yu Dynasty."

    "I''m dying of laughter, look at those queens in front turning their heads. If it weren''t for the occasion, it feels like they''d hate not to rush towards Fish Papa."

    ...

    The twenty-meter red carpet show, some people wish they could walk it for a lifetime; others just want it to end as quickly as possible.

    Like Lin Yuan.

    Although this was how he felt inside, considering Jiang Kui needed the red carpet exposure, Lin Yuan didn''t deliberately speed up. He even specially posed for some photos with Jiang Kui.

    Kind of like frying a sunny-side-up egg.

    Jiang Kui stood next to Lin Yuan, changing into several postures, shooting from the front then the side, and after the side, the back.

    They covered all angles.

    After the photos, Jiang Kui lowered her voice to thank Lin Yuan.

    Xian Yu didn''t need this kind of exposure at all, but as an artist, it was different for Jiang Kui.

    Walking the red carpet with Xian Yu brought her tremendous benefits. It was a slaughter of media space.

    After the red carpet was over,

    Lin Yuan finally entered the awards hall.

    The staff had already arranged the seats in advance.

    Lin Yuan was seated in the leftmost seat of the third row.

    To his right were Sun Yaohuo, Jiang Kui, Xia Fan, Zhao Ying Ge, Chen Zhiyu, and Wei Haoyun.

    The entire Yu Dynasty had arrived!

    Because they had works nominated!

    The seating was not randomly arranged, but had specific considerations.

    Maestros sat together with their collaborating singers, which was some kind of unwritten rule.

    "How does it feel to walk the red carpet with your junior?"

    Sun Yaohuo, who had arrived before the two, greeted Lin Yuan and then teased Jiang Kui with a touch of envy.

    Jiang Kui''s palms were slightly warm with sweat, and the corners of her eyebrows lifted gently, "Why don''t you try it for yourself?"

    "The cost would be too high."

    Sun Yaohuo pursed his lips; the red carpet was basically a male-female pairing.

    As a male singer, he definitely couldn''t walk the red carpet with Xian Yu, unless...

    The thought was too frightening.

    Sun Yaohuo changed the subject: "I wonder which maestro will present us with the award."

    The prestige of the music festival was clear to all.

    The award presenters were mostly maestros from Blue Star.

    And as the hall buzzed with idle chatter, time ticked away, with various performances emerging on the stage one after another.

    Until seven o''clock in the evening.

    The lights in the venue went out.

    The next moment.

    A white light pierced the darkness.

    Music began to play in the hall!

    The music festival''s male and female hosts walked towards the stage, with the male host being none other than The Masked Singer''s host:

    "Welcome everyone to the annual Blue Star Music Festival. Hello everyone, I am host An Hong!"

    "And I am host Li Qing!"

    The fluorescent lights in the venue were like stars falling from the sky.

    The two hosts took the stage, officially kicking off the music festival!

    However, after the hosts came on stage, they didn''t immediately announce the awards but made jokes with each other to ease the tense atmosphere at the venue.

    Of course it was tense!

    Many in the seats below had award nominations, and tonight the final winners of different awards would be announced. Everyone''s heart contained a flame eagerly waiting to ignite!

    After cracking a few jokes,

    The hosts began to introduce the jury responsible for determining the awards.

    Most of the jury was made up of highly respected maestros, and the remaining few were official big shots from the Literature and Art Association.

    After some verbosity, the atmosphere in the venue lively up, and tonight''s main event finally arrived¡ª

    The competition for the awards began!

    Host An Hong spoke: "The first award to be announced is the Music Festival''s Best Newcomer of the Year!"

    Shuala.

    The lights dimmed again.

    On the big screen, a pre-recorded voice sounded: "The nominees for this year''s Best Promotional Song Award are..."

    The venue fell silent.

    Everyone''s eyes were on the big screen.

    The list of the four nominated newcomers appeared.

    Host Li Qing looked at the booklet in her hand: "The best newcomer of this Blue Star Music Festival is..."

    The hostess paused.

    The faces of the four nominees appeared on the big screen.

    Everyone tried to maintain their composure, but you could still see how tense they were at this moment!

    An Hong suddenly spoke, his voice full of vigor with a broadcaster''s style: "Blueberry, ''Seven Percent,'' congratulations to Blueberry for winning the Best Newcomer Award. Please come to the stage to accept your award!"

    In the frame,

    The expressions of the other three nominees turned into small boxes, each barely hiding their disappointment; Blueberry''s face was suddenly enlarged on the screen, his ecstasy laid bare for everyone to see!

    "It''s me, I won the award!"

    He jumped up excitedly and hugged the people around him!

    As he went on stage to give his acceptance speech, the newcomer named Blueberry was completely choked up.

    Applause arose from the audience.

    No one thought his reaction was exaggerated.

    Such scenes were all familiar.

    Not only for Blueberry as a new award-winning artist, but even for the kings and queens of singing, it was hard to stay calm each time they stepped onto the stage of the music festival. If it was for a major award, even crying out loud was quite normal.

    "Newcomers?"

    The singers from the Yu Dynasty each had their own reflections.

    Everyone had been a newcomer once, and they knew what it meant for a newcomer to be recognized by the Music Festival¡ªit was an exhilarating feeling.

    The atmosphere was solemn!

    Those confirmed to appear on stage today, such as Sun Yaohuo and Jiang Kui, had sweaty palms now!

 Chapter 921 - 859: The Music Festival (Part 2)

    Music Festival Live Broadcast!

    There''s a buzz on the scene!

    And online discussions are buzzing too!

    With the Best New Artist award being handed out, media onsite couldn''t wait to release their pre-written reports, with a speed that was jaw-dropping:

    "Music Festival''s opening shot: Blueberry wins Best New Artist!"

    It''s not that the media have the power of prophecy and knew in advance that Blueberry would win.

    They simply had drafted winning announcements for several nominees of each award category.

    An old routine.

    Whoever wins gets their corresponding announcement released.

    Meanwhile, viewers watching the live broadcast and munching on melon seeds are making various comments below the news.

    The question of greatest concern to everyone, however, is: "I just want to know when Fish Papa will go on stage to accept the award?"

    Below, there''s a reply filled with a sense of ritual:

    "When the battle song plays!"

    As for what that battle song is, opinions vary.

    Some think it''s "Nocturne";

    Others think it''s "Blue and White Porcelain";

    And some believe it''s "The Seventh Chapter of Night" and so on.

    All twelve songs from Xian Yu''s twelve months have been cued up.

    ...

    Back to the scene.

    The award ceremony continues.

    When it comes to the fifth award, An Hong suddenly says with a smile, "We all know that this Music Festival has one teacher who has received a total of thirteen award nominations, and how can tonight''s awards go without him..."

    Whoosh.

    The big screen immediately switches to a shot of Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan''s handsome face, flawless from every angle, appears on the big screen.

    The female host, Li Qing, clutches her chest and blurts out, "Photographer, add a drumstick!"

    The audience bursts into laughter.

    Upon Sun Yaohuo''s prompting, Lin Yuan realizes he''s being filmed and promptly flashes a socially acceptable smile.

    "Please, Teacher Admirable Fish, stop exuding charisma!"

    An Hong jokes, then says, "The next award to be presented is, the Best Official Song for Promotions of the Year!"

    "Huh?"

    The female host glances at the script in her hand, and with a smirk, says: "This is the most nominated award of the evening at the Music Festival, let''s see which works are nominated?"

    At the podium.

    The lights dim.

    A voice rings out in everyone''s ears:

    "The Music Festival''s Best Official Song for Promotions of the Year, the nominated works are..."

    "Yu Dynasty: I Believe!" sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Yu Dynasty: Fly Higher!"

    "Yu Dynasty: Believe in Yourself!"

    "Yu Dynasty: Surpass Your Dreams!"

    "Yu Dynasty: A Brave Heart!"

    "Yu Dynasty: Welcome to Qin Continent!"

    Each song''s climax plays for a few seconds.

    Seeing the list of nominees, every musician''s expression on the scene turns odd, each holding back a "mmp" wondering whether to express it or not.

    Online.

    Viewers watching the live broadcast burst into laughter:

    "This round of competition is so damn intense!"

    "Seven songs nominated, I''m really curious who will win (dog head)!"

    "I boldly predict that Yu Dynasty wins!"

    "Prophet, your words have been taken!"

    "I have calculated, this round will definitely be Yu Dynasty''s win, if it''s not Yu Dynasty I''ll stand on my head and eat rice cakes!"

    "With a one in seven chance, you dare to bet, you''re a wolf indeed!"

    "Xian Yu: You might not believe it, but I have to defeat six versions of myself to win!"

    "Why bother with suspense for this award? Is your Music Festival really interesting? Just report Xian Yu''s ID number directly!"

    The nominations were already officially announced.

    This scene was expected by all.

    But when it really happened, everyone truly wanted to laugh.

    This year, no other official promotional song could compete with the Bluelympics promotions, and all the Bluelympics cheer songs were by Xian Yu!

    "The winner of the Best Official Promotional Song of the festival is ''Welcome to Qin Continent''!"

    An Hong announces the results promptly, as there''s really no suspense; Lin Yuan goes up to the stage with the singers of the Yu Dynasty to collect the award. Winning the award as a group, they all feel quite comfortable.

    The award presenter is Mike.

    Upon receiving the award, Lin Yuan, as the representative, delivers the acceptance speech.

    Lin Yuan hadn''t prepared an acceptance speech beforehand; although Gu Dong had prepared one for him, he found it too troublesome. At such times, simply sharing some heartfelt thoughts was enough: "Thank you for your support. I''m very happy to receive this award. This is the first time Yu Dynasty has won an award as a group. In the future, Yu Dynasty will continue to release works performed in a group format. I hope everyone will like them, and I also hope that everyone will pay more attention to the singers of Yu Dynasty, each of whom is truly outstanding!"

    Applause erupts.

    Excitement is written on the faces of each Yu Dynasty singer. Seven people lift the trophy together, then bow to the audience and exit the stage.

    ...

    One minute later.

    Lin Yuan has barely returned to his seat, his bottom not even warm, when host An Hong announces another award.

    This time, it''s for the Best Music Video of the Year!

    The winning work is "Sugar"!

    And the final winner is still Xian Yu!

    There''s no suspense for this award either¡ª the music video for "Sugar" went viral in October, its click-through rates exploding!

    Why is Lin Yuan the winner?

    Because the creative concept of the MV is by Lin Yuan, the lead singer is Lin Yuan, and he''s also the main character!

    This award can only be received by Lin Yuan alone, not the MV director or the entire Yu Dynasty.

    Stepping back onto the stage.

    An Hong jokes, "We shouldn''t have let you go down just now."

    Lin Yuan smiles and, taking the award from Maestro, says into the mic:

    "Thank you everyone for your support, thanks to the director of this MV, Kuang Li. This song was made for my elder''s daughter''s wedding, but he said that this song was not only for his daughter''s wedding but also for every couple in the world. May you grow old together and be united forever. Lastly, thank you to every singer in Yu Dynasty for their help; it was with their support that this song could be completed!"

 Chapter 922 - 859: The Music Festival (Part 2)_2

    Live broadcast in progress.

    Barrages of comments flooded the screen.

    "Fish Papa scored twice!"

    "Little Fish truly deserves this award!"

    "Haha, Xian Yu just stepped off and now he''s being called back up."

    "Thirteen nominations, and so far he''s bagged all two he''s been up for, awesome!"

    "Looking forward to a hat-trick!"

    "Fish Papa should have just stayed on stage and waited."

    "Isn''t he tired running up and down twice?"

    Lin Yuan returned to his seat amidst the applause.

    ...

    Back at his seat,

    Lin Yuan chatted casually with Sun Yaohuo and the others.

    Before they could finish their conversation, he suddenly heard An Hong''s voice from the stage again:

    "...and the winner of the Best Lyricist Award at this Music Festival is: Xian Yu for ''Blue and White Porcelain''!"

    "Congratulations, junior! It''s your turn again!"

    Sun Yaohuo excitedly said, "Three awards in a row!"

    Lin Yuan had no choice but to stand up, only to realize he was already holding two trophies.

    One for Best Official Song, and another for Best MV.

    In other words, going up to the stage now, he wouldn''t be able to hold a third trophy in his hands.

    Xia Fan said beside him, "Three trophies, huh? If you can''t handle them, we''ll hold onto them for you!"

    As he said this, Xia Fan helped Lin Yuan hold one trophy while Zhao Ying Ge held the other.

    The scene was projected onto the big screen at the venue.

    All the musicians present broke into gleeful laughter.

    In the online live broadcast room,

    the netizens went wild seeing this scene!

    "So many trophies, Fish Papa can''t hold them all by himself!"

    "Just got off the stage, and now he''s being called back up again, they''re really not giving Fish Papa any rest!"

    "The hat-trick is here, isn''t it!"

    "Good thing he brought extra people; otherwise, there would be nowhere to put these trophies!"

    "Xia Fan and Zhao Ying Ge say: ''We''ll handle the trophies, Xian Yu, you just go on up to the stage!''"

    "The other three nominated lyricists are probably fainting in the bathroom, what the heck, Maestro, why are you even in the mix?"

    Indeed!

    The other nominated lyricists watched as Lin Yuan carried away the Best Lyricist trophy with bitterness in their mouths.

    The Best Lyricist Award was taken by a Maestro!

    Who could they even talk to about this?

    And on stage, Lin Yuan spoke his acceptance speech for the third time: "Thank you to all my music fans and thanks to Sun Yaohuo. ''Blue and White Porcelain'' was sung beautifully. All the singers of Yu Dynasty are exceptionally talented. I hope everyone will continue to support us."

    ...

    Back at his seat for the third time,

    Chen Zhiyu said with a smile, "It''s tough for Teacher Admirable Fish, giving us a shout-out every time."

    Winning awards three times in a row, Lin Yuan mentioned Yu Dynasty and kept praising its singers each time.

    "Pfft, there were two of us nominated for this award!"

    Just then, Wei Haoyun looked towards the stage as the nominations for the Most Popular Male Singer were being announced!

    Lu Tong... Shen Mao... Sun Yaohuo... Xian Yu!

    The first two were Kings of Singing, while Sun Yaohuo was the new King of Singing, with Xian Yu being the only one not a King of Singing!

    "Having the title of King of Singing is enough for me." Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Sun Yaohuo said smilingly, "This award suits my junior the best. This year he had ''Nocturne'' and also won ''The Masked Singer'', beating many Kings and Queens of Singing."

    He would rather his own chance be exchanged for the other two nominees'' exclusion.

    Whether it was Sun Yaohuo''s little prayer that worked or not, the winner turned out to be Xian Yu!

    Everyone got excited!

    Sun Yaohuo clapped hard, his laughter overflowing with joy!

    His image on the big screen left the other musicians speechless.

    This might very well be the first time in the history of the Music Festival that a singer who didn''t win actually seemed happier than if they themselves had won!

    Wait a minute!

    Add the Most Popular Male Singer award, and it seems Xian Yu has now won four awards in a row!

    All four nominations hit the mark!

    The winning rate was apparently 100% so far!

    The other three nominated singers looked on at Lin Yuan with mournful eyes.

    It might be hard to believe for others, but they lost the battle for Most Popular Male Singer at the Music Festival to a part-timer...

    Online.

    Netizens cheered:

    "Grand slam!"

    "Hahahaha, Fish Papa is probably exhausted!"

    "Four consecutive stage appearances, it''s a good thing Fish Papa was sitting in the third row, otherwise, he''d be dead tired!"

    "Xian Yu: Can I request to be given all the awards in one go?"

    "Sun Yaohuo is killing me with laughter. This guy is happier than if he had won the award himself; I''m starting to doubt if he even knows he was also nominated for Most Popular Male Singer!"

    "Such a sycophant!"

    "From flattering Xian Yu begins the journey of the King of Singing!"

    Lin Yuan couldn''t see the comments as he went on stage for the fourth time to give his acceptance speech.

    The background music fittingly chosen by the stage was ''Nocturne'', of course, those climactic verses.

    "Thank you to my music fans, thank you to everyone for their support, and thank you to the Music Festival for recognizing me..."

    There were too many thanks.

    At this moment, Lin Yuan realized he was starting to run out of words.

    ...

    It didn''t matter much to him.

    After expressing his gratitude, Lin Yuan took his trophy and went back to his seat, feeling a bit run down.

    He was sitting in the third row, and although his seat was relatively near the front, the hall of the Music Festival was very spacious. Even from the third row, there was a certain distance to the stage.

    He had gone on stage four times, and consecutively at that, which meant he had run back and forth eight times!

    Even though he was in good physical condition, he was feeling slightly tired at this point.

    However,

    Just when Lin Yuan thought he could finally take a break, An Hong''s voice echoed once more:

    "Next up, we have the award for Best Arrangement!"

    "At this Music Festival, the nominees for the Best Arrangement Award include..."

    "Tu Nan: ''Mist''!"

    "Niu Baoli: ''Universe''!"

    "Cang Ming: ''Turning and Going Straight''!"

 Chapter 923 - 859: Music Festival (Middle)_3

    "Xian Yu: The Seventh Chapter of Night!"

    "The winner of the Best Arrangement Award at this music festival is Xian Yu, for ''The Seventh Chapter of Night.'' Congratulations to Xian Yu. Please, Teacher Admirable Fish, come to the stage to receive your award!"

    Pfft!

    Another one?

    The fifth time!?

    Xian Yu wins for the fifth time!

    As Lin Yuan hustled to the stage, all the musicians present couldn''t help but stare in astonishment! Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    So far, Xian Yu had won in all five nominated categories, achieving a terrifying one hundred percent success rate!

    At the same time!

    In front of the live internet broadcast!

    The comments section absolutely exploded!

    Netizens were taken aback, one after another!

    Winning once, twice, or even thrice was already something, but damn, this is the fifth time!

    "Oh my God!"

    "That''s five awards already!"

    "It''s a quintuple crown, a windfall of blessings!"

    "Insane, insane, gone completely mad!"

    "Xian Yu should have brought a sack with him in advance!"

    "Xian Yu is awesome. This is just ridiculously awesome. To win five awards, was this year''s music festival specifically held for Xian Yu or what!?"

    "Thirteen nominations though!"

    "He can''t possibly win more, can he?"

    These were viewers who had watched many music festivals. Didn''t they all know that being nominated and winning were two entirely different things? Under normal circumstances, who could have this high of a winning percentage?

    This is just too terrifying!

    ...

    Five out of five!

    Lin Yuan himself was surprised.

    Although the music festival stressed fairness, there was also a tradition of sharing the spoils.

    A hundred flowers bloom in spring.

    They typically would not allow the same winner to take so many awards.

    Could it be because all the awards he was winning were being presented first, and for the nominations to come, there would be no chance?

    No, that''s not it.

    There''s still the Maestro''s award, an assured win, which means, in the end, I''m bound to get at least six awards?

    Thinking this way is not an exaggeration.

    Who asked me to have so many nominations?

    Considering this, Lin Yuan even spoke less in his acceptance speech, simply thanking everyone as per usual.

    It wasn''t only Lin Yuan who contemplated this.

    The musicians at the event felt the same way.

    Even viewers watching the live stream couldn''t help but entertain this thought.

    However!

    The following events completely shattered everyone''s expectations!

    This music festival, witnessed by Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, and the rest of the world, unfolded the most insane spectacle ever recorded!

    ...

    Three minutes later.

    Host: "The winner of the Best Anime Soundtrack at this music festival is ''Until The End Of The World.'' Congratulations to Xian Yu. Please, Teacher Admirable Fish, come to the stage to receive your award!"

    He won the sextuple crown!

    Up until now, Lin Yuan ran up the stage.

    But this time, he walked to the stage, unable to run anymore!

    ...

    Eight minutes later.

    Host: "The winner of the Best Pop Song at this Music Awards is Xian Yu, ''Nocturne.'' Congratulations to Xian Yu. May I invite Teacher Admirable Fish to the stage to receive the award."

    Lin Yuan began rubbing his thighs.

    His thighs started to feel sore from running back and forth.

    ...

    Ten minutes later.

    Host: "The winner of the Best Composition for a Piano Piece at this Music Awards is ''Nocturne in E-Flat Major.'' Congratulations to Xian Yu. May I invite Teacher Admirable Fish to the stage to receive the award!"

    Huffing and puffing.

    As Lin Yuan climbed the stairs, he paused for three seconds.

    ...

    Fifteen minutes later.

    Host: "The winner of the Most Popular Piano Piece at this Music Awards is Xian Yu, ''To Alice.'' Congratulations to Xian Yu. May I invite Teacher Admirable Fish to the stage to receive the award!"

    An Hong stepped forward to give Lin Yuan a hand.

    Lin Yuan walked up to the microphone and said, "Thank you."

    Then he stepped down.

    It''s not that he was trying to act cool!

    Nor was he trying to put on airs!

    He was simply unprepared for an acceptance speech!

    He literally had nothing to say!

    This was his ninth trophy of the night!

    ...

    Applause!

    Cheers!

    Screams!

    The entire process didn''t last long!

    People in the audience and in front of screens were counting along, 123456789...

    Host Anhong just kept repeating like a parrot:

    Xian Yu, Xian Yu, Xian Yu, Xian Yu, Xian Yu, Xian Yu, Xian Yu, Xian Yu, Xian Yu...

    As the awards drew to a close, Xian Yu alone had won nine awards. Apart from the sure win of the Maestro Award which was yet to be presented, out of Xian Yu''s thirteen nominations, he had only missed out on three, with a frighteningly high success rate!

    In other words!

    Once the Maestro Award is presented, Xian Yu would have snagged ten out of thirteen nominations!

    The entire awards hall was flabbergasted!

    During this process, the live internet streaming''s comments were dense and endless. While everyone was shocked, they all burst out laughing!

    "An Hong: Why is it you again!"

    "Fish Papa, go on, keep up the light jog!"

    "Forget the ''light jog,'' he can''t even climb the stairs anymore!"

    "An Hong made me realize that the essence of humanity is repetition!"

    "Music Association: Xian Yu, you''ve won too many times, let''s trim off a decimal."

    "An Hong couldn''t help but assist him onto the stage just now, an elderly artist''s treatment, although the others are in their seventies or eighties, and Xian Yu is still a young man, right!"

    "May I invite the next guest to present the award to Xian Yu!"

    "His acceptance speeches are getting more and more perfunctory, for the last two awards he didn''t even say a word other than ''thank you'' and that was it!"

    "He''s here to receive awards while he''s wholesale dispatching trophies!"

    "Please, can the Music Awards staff place a chair on the award stage for Xian Yu, thank you!"

    At the scene.

    The camera panned over to the Yu Dynasty.

    Xian Yu, Sun Yaohuo, Jiang Kui, Wei Haoyun, Xia Fan, Zhao Ying Ge, Chen Zhiyu, each holding a trophy!

    All of them brought down from the stage by Xian Yu!

    It was good that he didn''t continue winning awards because seven people wouldn''t be enough to hold all his trophies; even now, someone had to hold two trophies in one hand!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Writing about awards can easily become filler, so previously I just mentioned "Xian Yu won some awards but didn''t go to collect them" to skip over it, and in the future, you can understand it in the same way. Actually, I have written similar awards sequences in my past books. This time it felt good to write, but it was also very tiring, so I try not to elaborate on it when it''s not necessary.

 Chapter 924 - 860: Music Festival (Part 2)

    When Xian Yu had amassed nine trophies in a row, it wasn''t just the lyricists and singers in the audience whose eyes were green with envy... Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The Maestros were sour!

    Nine music festival trophies!

    Some were almost unable to restrain themselves from robbing Xian Yu!

    On the big screen.

    The camera captured the shifting expressions of numerous major musicians present.

    Throughout Xian Yu''s award-receiving process, everyone''s expressions evolved from calm to surprise, from surprise to shock, and finally all settled into a numb state, though a hint of unabashed envy lurked in their eyes.

    In contrast.

    The atmosphere in the Yu Dynasty was fiery hot.

    Sun Yaohuo and others were ecstatic, each congratulating Lin Yuan and then holding their own trophies lovingly!

    If it weren''t for the setting, they would almost have jumped up in celebration!

    Next.

    The music festival continued to present awards to others, including some major ones.

    Jiang Kui, Queen of Singing!

    Sun Yaohuo, King of Singing!

    After both had claimed their crowns as King and Queen of Singing, they each made a point of thanking Xian Yu, with the Yu Dynasty being the biggest label on them.

    Of course.

    Not just the two of them won the titles of King and Queen of Singing this year; owing to the merger of five continents and the much larger size of the circle, the number of titles had significantly increased.

    Finally.

    The award ceremony reached its final juncture.

    Host An Hong said, "Today''s music festival has been full of surprises, unexpected turns, and countless touching moments, and now we''ve arrived at the final round of awards, the Music Festival''s Musician of the Year!"

    In Blue Star, they speak of Maestros.

    But this title ''Maestro'' is just an informal industry term; the actual award is named ''Blue Star''s Best Musician''!"

    On the spot.

    Members of the Yu Dynasty all eagerly looked towards Lin Yuan, their eyes ablaze!

    The musicians in the audience, meanwhile, were all looking up at the big screen!

    Everyone knew that the Maestro''s crowning ceremony was about to start!

    Sure enough.

    Just as everyone looked up, An Hong''s voice suddenly soared with passion:

    "Congratulations to Xian Yu for winning this year''s Music Festival''s Blue Star Best Musician award! Please welcome Xian Yu to the stage!"

    Suddenly, a poster of Lin Yuan appeared on the big screen, not a live shot but a pre-prepared poster.

    The background music at the venue instantly switched to the pre-arranged ''Nocturne''!"

    On the poster, Xian Yu was smiling faintly.

    And his backdrop featured all the album covers of songs he had created since his debut, including a group photo with the Yu Dynasty!

    Down on the stage.

    Lin Yuan showed the same smile.

    Under the watchful eyes of the whole venue, he got up and walked towards the stage.

    This time, An Hong didn''t crack any jokes, his expression was solemn, this moment was a solemn one for the music industry:

    "Please welcome the presenter, to award Teacher Admirable Fish!"

    The spotlight shone on Lin Yuan''s face, and a tall figure appeared in the distance.

    Yang Zhongming!

    Lin Yuan grinned silently towards him, and then Yang Zhongming also smiled.

    Handshake.

    Award presentation.

    The two didn''t exchange words.

    Everything was said in silence.

    Lin Yuan took the Best Musician award into both hands!

    And as he held the trophy, gold confetti suddenly floated down from above at the venue!

    White fog breathed out!

    Fireworks resounded in unison!

    The applause at the venue instantly roared!

    The live stream''s chat also exploded suddenly!

    This was the coronation ceremony for the youngest Maestro ever, a winner of twelve consecutive championships across five continents!

    "Thank you..."

    Lin Yuan stood in front of the microphone.

    This was his tenth time on stage tonight, but the significance of this time was unlike the previous nine, "I want to thank my family for this award. It was their constant companionship and support that brought me here today..."

    Lin Yuan delivered numerous award acceptance speeches tonight.

    He thanked his fans, his friends, his company, the chairman, Yang Zhongming, and Zheng Jing, and even thanked the officials.

    However, this time.

    Lin Yuan didn''t thank anyone else, he saved his most important award thanks for his family. In his heart, his family was the softest and yet the most solid haven and fortress.

    "Brother is quite handsome."

    In a certain spot in the audience, Big Yaoyao whispered quietly.

    Mom''s eyes were slightly red; she said nothing, just staring at Lin Yuan.

    Sister held tight the hands of mom and sister.

    People in the music circle did not know that Lin Yuan''s family had also come to the scene today.

    This was an important occasion in Lin Yuan''s life; he didn''t want his family to be absent, so he made special arrangements.

    The family kept a low profile, did not announce their presence, and the officials, following their requests, didn''t specifically point the cameras at them.

    ...

    The music festival concluded in a golden rain.

    There was a banquet after the music festival, but Lin Yuan did not attend.

    He left the venue early with the Yu Dynasty and his family to have dinner and celebrate at the newly opened hotel of Sun Yaohuo.

    "Cheers!"

    On this day, Lin Yuan rarely had a few drinks as he celebrated with everyone, celebrating his own awards, as well as celebrating Sun Yaohuo and Jiang Kui.

    At the same time.

    The outside world was full of discussions about this music festival!

    It was the last revelry before the New Year in the entertainment circle.

    The major companies had already started their new year holidays, and the internet was buzzing as if celebrating the New Year in advance!

    "Ten awards!"

    "Together with Maestro, Xian Yu won ten awards all by himself!"

    "For the first time since the establishment of the music festival, so many awards were given to the same person!"

    "The last golden rain performance was too stunning, that''s Blue Star''s best musician, that''s the Maestro!"

    "It''s a pity that Xian Yu didn''t win the Music Sage award, especially set up for a single track."

    "The Music Sage award is hard to come by, it has been vacant for several years now, Xian Yu meeting both conditions to become the Maestro is already enough for him to boast proudly in the music circle!"

    "Fish Papa looked so handsome tonight!"

    "I was smiling from start to finish at the award ceremony; it felt like I spent the entire evening watching Fish Papa receiving awards."

    The celebration dinner ended.

    Lin Yuan returned home, feeling slightly dizzy.

    His tolerance for alcohol was really average; a few drinks were all it took to knock him off.

    Sisters supported him into his room, "You should rest early today, going up and down the stage at the music festival, you must have run around twenty times."

    "Mm."

    Lin Yuan''s face was slightly flushed, his mood quite excited, uncommonly so.

    After the sisters left, Lin Yuan took out his phone and browsed the online buzz.

    At this time, the whole network was filled with news related to the music festival; blogs and forums everywhere were discussing Xian Yu.

    Many people were congratulating Xian Yu.

    After quietly browsing through the online messages, Lin Yuan suddenly felt like something was missing.

    After a while, he realized what was missing.

    With a smile forming at the corners of his mouth, Lin Yuan logged onto Chu Kuang''s account and earnestly posted a status:

    "Congratulations, Little Fish!"

    Then, Lin Yuan logged onto Shadow''s account, copied and pasted, and posted the exact same content:

    "Congratulations, Little Fish!"

    Little Fish won ten awards!

    How could the Three Bros stay quiet?

    Now, Lin Yuan felt accomplished; his eyelids began to fight, and he gradually drifted into deep sleep.

 Chapter 925 - 861 Paintfection

    December 26th was the next day.

    Starlight officially started its year-end vacation mode.

    When Lin Yuan woke up, it was already ten in the morning.

    After washing up, he couldn''t help but ponder over a philosophical dilemma that had bothered many people:

    To eat or not to eat?

    The awkward thing about this time was:

    It was a bit too late for breakfast, yet somewhat too early for lunch.

    Forget it.

    Let''s wait for lunch then.

    Having made up his mind, Lin Yuan took out his phone to play, and as soon as he logged onto his blog, he discovered the incident from yesterday where he congratulated Xian Yu using Chu Kuang and Shadow''s accounts.

    Lin Yuan was startled.

    How much did I drink yesterday?

    He actually couldn''t remember doing this at all.

    "Thankfully, others don''t know I''m praising myself."

    Lin Yuan comforted himself but quickly looked deflated.

    Because the Chairman and Jin Mu knew, and the studio also knew part of the truth¡­

    Stop thinking about it.

    Lin Yuan checked Shadow''s comment section, no issues there.

    In the eyes of regular netizens, Shadow congratulating Xian Yu was a very normal thing.

    Then he checked Chu Kuang''s comment section.

    No problems either, just that some netizens mocked him with a few comments:

    "Getting weak, old rascal!"

    "It was said that we have Xian Yu in the South, Chu Kuang in the North, and Shadow at the center. Yet, Shadow''s comics had an elevenfold success, Chu Kuang snagged twelve awards just last night, and you''re the weakest."

    "Are you going to release a new book or not?"

    "After your last short story success, you went silent. Have you been drained dry?"

    "Shadow''s comics can still stand strong even after eleven openings; can''t you handle seven? And you opened with short stories too!"

    "If you don''t start a new book soon, you''ll become the invisible one among the Three Bros."

    "Chu Kuang hasn''t been infected by Shadow, has he? Now he''s too lazy to even write novels!"

    Lin Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.

    No mess was made.

    Being drunk was quite dangerous.

    If he made a slip due to drunken mishandling, the scene would be more than just awkward.

    However, the netizens'' comments did give Lin Yuan a wake-up call.

    It was time to find something for Chu Kuang to do.

    He couldn''t let Chu Kuang really become insignificant.

    The puzzle at Fairytale Town wasn''t completed yet, so why not have Chu Kuang write fairy tales?

    Mystery novels would also be good. Chu Kuang''s mysteries were mostly long stories, and aside from the Hercule Poirot Series, there were many short stories worth writing.

    Or maybe, fantasy novels?

    If all else fails, then launch into new fields; there are still some novel genres Chu Kuang hasn''t tried.

    Lin Yuan pondered over Chu Kuang''s next direction.

    At this moment, his mother''s voice calling for lunch came from downstairs.

    Lin Yuan, already hungry, hurried down the stairs for lunch.

    "Bro."

    His sister Lin Xuan, while eating, suddenly spoke up, "There''s something you might want to remind Teacher Chu Kuang about."

    Lin Yuan, gnawing on a beef bone, asked casually, "What''s that?"

    His sister said, "I only got the news this morning. The Literature and Art Association is planning to unify the literary awards and create a Literary Festival."

    "Literary Festival?"

    Lin Yuan was surprised, "Like a music festival?"

    "Yes."

    His sister nodded, explaining some details to Lin Yuan:

    Blue Star has many music awards, but the one with the highest recognition is undoubtedly the Music Festival.

    Other music awards are worthless compared to the Music Festival and do not gain recognition from all musicians.

    On the other hand, the literary world lacks an award like the Music Festival to lead the way.

    This has resulted in a plethora of literary awards that are constantly criticized for their lack of fairness.

    Therefore, the Literature and Art Association wants to establish the most authoritative literary award to oversee Blue Star''s literary awards.

    Like the position of the Music Festival in the music industry.

    No wonder even the award''s name will be "Literary Festival."

    His sister concluded, "The preparations for the Literary Festival will probably take some time, and it''s not clear when it will officially begin, but with the Music Festival''s prestige in the industry, the Literary Festival will surely attract countless authors. So I''m telling you to remind Teacher Chu Kuang that if there''s any award he wants to aim for, he should start preparing in advance."

    The most important award?

    Lin Yuan nodded thoughtfully.

    ...

    After lunch.

    Lin Yuan went back upstairs and eagerly summoned the System, "Show me my Prestige information."

    Ding dong.

    The air before him instantly displayed several lines of blue text.

    Lin Yuan skipped over the name section at the top and looked toward the key information below.

    [Age: 24]

    [Lifespan: 30]

    [Gaming: 193,456]

    [Film and Television: 693,423]

    ```

    [Painting: 1008666]

    [Literature: 2145678]

    [Music: 3007655]

    [Comprehensive: 7048878]

    Lin Yuan''s gaze finally rested on the comprehensive item, and then he said to the System, "View life-extension mission."

    In an instant.

    Several lines of subtitles appeared in front of Lin Yuan, the life-extension mission that he hadn''t paid attention to for a long time:

    [Mission Name: Survive]

    [Mission Content: The host must break through ten million Prestige Value before the age of thirty]

    [Mission Reward: A certain amount of life]

    [Extra Reward: Gold Treasure Chest]

    Lin Yuan''s expression turned solemn, and he mused to himself, "The gap between my music and literature Prestige Values was small before, but after Xian Yu swept ten awards at the music festival last night, my music Prestige Value has surpassed the literature one by a large margin. Awards are still the main source of Prestige Value, perhaps because of the industry''s recognition of awards, and industry professionals can provide far more Prestige Value than ordinary people!" Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    In a few days, it will be the New Year.

    By then, Lin Yuan would be twenty-five.

    The System calculates age in years, not by birthdays. This means that Lin Yuan has five years left to complete the mission.

    And right now, his total Prestige Value is 7248878.

    With less than three million to go to the mission target of ten million, the difficulty is not particularly high, but if Lin Yuan becomes complacent, there is a real possibility that he will not complete the mission.

    "It seems Chu Kuang will have to take the lead."

    The information my sister provided today is extremely crucial.

    The Literature and Art Association intends to organize a literary festival, an award to match the music festival!

    If Chu Kuang can win enough awards at the literary festival, he will definitely gain a substantial amount of literary Prestige Value, maybe even enough for the literary Prestige Value to catch up with the music Prestige Value!

    Of course.

    While Chu Kuang is the main force, other categories are also important.

    For instance, the currently weak film and gaming, as well as painting, which has been quite promising this year, all have great potential for development.

    Leveraging all these categories, it won''t be difficult to make up the three million Prestige Value in the end.

    Don''t be fooled by Lin Yuan''s current healthy appearance.

    Lin Yuan is well aware that this is all thanks to the completion of the previous life-extension missions.

    If it weren''t for extending his life through completing System tasks, he would have died two years ago.

    Even now, nothing is certain.

    If the new life-extension mission cannot be completed, then he will only live to thirty without illness or disaster.

    Taking a deep breath.

    Lin Yuan said, "The mission for Sun Yaohuo to become the King of Singing is completed, and there should be a Gold Treasure Chest. Why didn''t I receive it?"

    The System said, "It''s in your backpack."

    Lin Yuan wondered, "Why was there no prompt?"

    The System said helplessly, "There was a prompt last night, but you were drunk and didn''t notice."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    It seems I need to drink less in the future.

    He entered the System''s small backpack and looked at the Gold Treasure Chest, without any hesitation:

    "Open it!"

    "Wait a moment!"

    The System paused, then gave an information prompt: "Gold Treasure Chest has been opened successfully. Congratulations to the host for obtaining the special painting skill: Paintfection!"

    Paintfection?

    What is this?

    Just as this doubt surfaced in Lin Yuan''s mind, the System provided an introduction in the form of text.

    [Painting Skill: Paintfection!]

    [Skill Effect: Readers can directly experience the artistic conception of your artwork through your paintings!]

    [Additional Explanation: Even ordinary people without any background in art appreciation will be able to feel the charm of your work (Paintfection skill only effective for live spectators)!]

    Lin Yuan was stunned.

    This thing is similar to the Teacher''s Halo, mystical and unreasonable.

    For example.

    Ordinary people looking at Van Gogh''s "Sunflower" mostly wouldn''t think it is a world-class painting, while top-tier art masters highly praise it.

    Why?

    Because the art masters have a high enough level of appreciation to directly experience the meaning within "Sunflower".

    So...

    Even if Lin Yuan painted "Sunflower".

    Or even Van Gogh''s "Starry Night".

    Or even things like "Along the River During the Qingming Festival".

    Some people who can''t appreciate it still won''t be able to.

    But with the magical skill of Paintfection, it changes everything.

    Artworks completed by Lin Yuan himself, even ordinary people will be able to feel the conception of the painting!

    It''s a pity that this effect is only active for live viewers. If they are looking at a printed version on the internet, people without a certain level of appreciation still won''t understand.

    But this is already enough!

    Worthy of a Gold Treasure Chest, the rewards are truly extraordinary. It looks like Shadow has a lot of work ahead!

    Hmm.

    First, I must complete the painting I planned to hang in Sun Yaohuo''s hotel suite. The works I painted in the previous few days will have to be scrapped.

    This time!

    Lin Yuan will use the Paintfection skill to complete these artworks!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Chu Kuang hasn''t decided what to write next yet, but the recent plot addressing Shadow has been unfolding quite smoothly.

    ```

 Chapter 926 - 862: Zhao Continent Joins the Merger

    Villa.

    Study.

    Lin Yuan stood near the window, his breath calm and steady as he held his arm suspended in mid-air. With each twist of the wrist, he carefully outlined the painting before him, his brush gliding smoothly across the paper, leaving behind fluid, ink-black lines...

    The subtlety of the ink punishment completely came from the brush.

    Between reality and fantasy, strength and softness, coarseness and fineness, dense and light¡ªLin Yuan, with his Master Level painting skill, had reached a state where technique was second nature, with his works radiating a natural beauty and inherent elegance.

    And while he was painting,

    Lin Yuan''s gaze seemed to capture a certain charm.

    This charm poured onto the paper with each stroke as if it were mountains and rivers brushed in ink.

    It was an indescribable atmosphere that lingered around the unfinished painting, remaining cohesive¡ª

    This was Paintfection!

    Paintfection is a very mystical skill.

    With Paintfection activated, Lin Yuan felt his painting technique had improved compared to before, yet it was as if his level remained the same, only now he seemed able to infuse his understanding and perception into the painting through his brush.

    In the heated competition of brush strokes,

    gradually, an ink-washed painting of a galloping horse appeared on the paper!

    The simple image emanated a lofty air, with forceful and unrestrained strokes. With no saddle or reins, one could see the noble spirit and wild pride of the horse through the surface of the painting...

    Whew!

    With the final brush stroke laid down. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lin Yuan put away his brush and let out a slight sigh of relief.

    He had been working on this painting for an entire week, not only employing his newly acquired Paintfection skill for the first time but also consuming some power potions. Now, at last, it was complete.

    As for why he still chose the galloping horse as a subject...

    It was because the galloping horse painting Lin Yuan had prepared for the chairman had been snatched up by Zheng Jing.

    Today, he finished another galloping horse painting, ready to be gifted to the chairman, after all, it was something he had planned in advance.

    It''s worth mentioning:

    With the addition of Paintfection, the value of the galloping horse painting Lin Yuan completed this time had surpassed that of the one taken by Zheng Jing.

    Stretching his back,

    Lin Yuan muttered to himself, "Next, I should paint a few pieces of different themes for Senior Yao Huo."

    In order to paint, Lin Yuan hadn''t left the house for several days.

    And as Lin Yuan sequestered himself, time had quietly moved into January, bringing the new year!

    Lin Yuan, 25 years old!

    This also meant:

    The Zhao people had joined the merged continents!

    Blue Star''s unification had advanced another step!

    Although Lin Yuan had not ventured outside, he could already feel the impact of the Zhao Continent''s inclusion.

    As the cultural barriers broke down, the people of Zhao Continent eagerly engaged with the popular culture of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han, and quickly recognized quite a number of celebrities from these regions!

    Xian Yu!

    Chu Kuang!

    Shadow!

    These three personas of Lin Yuan quickly became familiar to the people of Zhao Continent, given the influence of his works in the five continents of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han.

    Music.

    Literature.

    Painting.

    Games.

    Lin Yuan''s prestige in these four fields had seen an uptick thanks to the addition of Zhao Continent, though because today was only January 2, and Zhao Continent had joined the merge for just two days, the increase was not significant. It would take more time to see the real effects.

    ...

    Online.

    Due to the addition of Zhao Continent,

    The forums have been very lively these past two days.

    The netizens of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han warmly greeted the Zhao people and constantly interacted with the netizens of Zhao Continent.

    The people of Zhao Continent had an interesting way of speaking.

    For example, some netizens recommended the TV series "Lotus Lantern" to people from Zhao Continent, and those who fell into the trap cursed out loud that night:

    "This drama is terribly poisonous!"

    "Your intentions deserve to be condemned!"

    "Chu Kuang, old rascal, come and face your doom!"

    Zhao people speak with a flavor of costume dramas, and their style of speech is somewhat different from that of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han.

    Fortunately, most of the time, everyone''s language style is quite similar, and Zhao people just like to use more classical Chinese characters for certain words.

    Interestingly:

    The way Zhao people speak has also sparked a wave of imitation among netizens from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han.

    They think this way of speaking is very retro and has a certain level of pretentiousness.

    It''s a common cultural shock after the merger.

    As for recommending "Lotus Lantern" to Zhao people, netizens from all continents do it without any psychological burden; instead, they enjoy teasing them and seem to have a lot of fun.

    On the other side.

    Having completed his painting, Lin Yuan was also actively getting acquainted with Zhao Continent''s culture.

    Many calligraphy and painting works from Zhao Continent were spreading online.

    Some of the paintings and calligraphy were so impressive that even Lin Yuan considered them Master Level!

    Yes.

    Master Level!

    This discovery shocked Lin Yuan!

    Lin Yuan himself possessed Master Level painting and calligraphy skills, he couldn''t possibly be mistaken!

    Blue Star truly was full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers.

    He did not anticipate that in contemporary Zhao Continent, there would also be master-level painters and calligraphers at his level!

    No wonder people say:

    Zhao Continent is a position of books and paintings.

    This phrase was not wrong at all.

    The artistic mastery of Zhao people in calligraphy and painting completely overshadowed that of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han continents.

    Just as Lin Yuan was planning to delve further into Zhao Continent, his phone rang. It was Ol'' Zhou calling.

    "We''ve wrapped up filming ''Resident Evil'', and now it''s time for post-production, but that''s not important. The main thing is, Happy New Year!"

    "Happy New Year!"

    Lin Yuan showed a smile.

    Not long after the phone call ended, Sun Yaohuo also contacted Lin Yuan.

    After Lin Yuan answered the call, Sun Yaohuo''s voice came through, "Happy New Year, junior brother. I have a bit of good news, our game is now fully developed and will be launched at the end of this month."

    Landing and becoming a box?

    Oh, wrong.

    I think it''s called "PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds."

    These were two pieces of good news.

    Both the movie and the game would provide Lin Yuan with a considerable amount of Prestige Value upon their releases.

    "Also..."

    Sun Yaohuo went on, "Yu Dynasty Hotel will officially open in a month, but we''ve already started inviting some lucky guests to try out the rooms. We plan to install an internal version of ''PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds'' on the computers in the hotel rooms. If the trial guests are interested, they can play it without affecting the game''s release."

    "Oh?"

    Lin Yuan became interested, "Then I want to play too!"

    Sun Yaohuo laughed, "No problem, I plan to invite everyone from Yu Dynasty over to play together. I''ll protect you in the game, junior brother!"

    "Sure!"

    Lin Yuan looked forward with anticipation.

    He didn''t need Sun Yaohuo''s protection at all.

    In his previous life, Lin Yuan had played "PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds." Although he was just average at it, he was definitely better than some players who were new to the game!

    At least in the early stages of the game, Lin Yuan could dominate!

    Invincible!

    Too bad Blue Star''s tech tree was not developed aggressively enough; if gaming helmets and gaming pods could be invented, it would certainly make the game more interesting.

 Chapter 927 - 863: Bloodthirsty Lin Yuan

    The next day.

    Sun Yaohuo directly gathered everyone at the newly opened Yu Dynasty Hotel.

    Now that the Spring Festival had just passed, the singers of the Yu Dynasty were relatively free, without too many engagements.

    That evening at seven o''clock, everyone gathered at the hotel, and Lin Yuan couldn''t wait to head over.

    Sun Yaohuo had already told everyone that tonight they would be playing a new game designed by Teacher Admirable Fish!

    Everyone was quite enthusiastic about this:

    "Finally, a new game!"

    Zhao Ying Ge rubbed his hands together, "I''d already mastered ''Plants vs. Zombies'' a long time ago."

    Xia Fan said, "I''ve played through even its adventure mode."

    Wei Haoyun asked, "Is this a puzzle game like before?"

    Jiang Kui silently glanced at Zhao Ying Ge, "Can we team up? I mean, really team up!"

    "No teaming up, but we''re all on the same battlefield¡ªit''s a shooter game, and everyone is an opponent!"

    Sun Yaohuo was very familiar with ''PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds,'' the first to harness being close to the water by developing the game himself, and he had secretly been practicing his skills for a long time.

    "pkpkpkpkpkpkpkpk!"

    Chen Zhiyu spoke swiftly, showing off a pop singer''s nimble tongue.

    Lin Yuan didn''t say anything.

    He wanted to keep a low profile, quietly enter the game, and then amaze everyone with his rich experience and superb skills!

    "Then get ready,"

    Sun Yaohuo said with a smile, "Enter ''PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds''!"

    This was one of the few large suites inside the hotel. Sun Yaohuo had set up a long rectangular table in the living room of the suite, which had seven computers on it, one for each person from Yu Dynasty.

    It had a bit of an internet caf¨¦ vibe.

    Chen Zhiyu curiously looked at the desktop icon, "PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds?"

    He clicked to enter.

    Everyone also followed suit, entering the game, creating characters, and then joining the room to queue up.

    "How many people are in this game?"

    Zhao Ying Ge spoke up, glancing at his character and then at other characters in the room dressed in camouflage.

    Sun Yaohuo smiled, "A total of a hundred people participate in each game, and only one person can become the final winner."

    "How long will matchmaking take?"

    Lin Yuan couldn''t help but ask.

    He was feeling quite bloodthirsty, eager to get in and wreak havoc.

    "Wait a moment, junior!"

    Sun Yaohuo quickly said, "I''ve already arranged it."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    His blood was already boiling.

    Good luck, have chicken tonight!

    Lin Yuan imagined he could see the final victory banner waving at him!

    ...

    Sun Yaohuo indeed had made arrangements in advance.

    At this moment.

    In a floor of the hotel.

    A waiter rang the doorbell of a room.

    The person inside opened the door and asked, "What can I do for you?"

    The waiter smiled, "Congratulations on being one of the first guests to try our hotel for free. Aside from complimentary stays, our hotel has another event. If you just open the computer and play a round of ''PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds'' right now, you can automatically become a platinum member of our hotel, enjoying a 20% discount on future stays. If you manage to be the last winner in the game, besides the membership card, you will also receive five free stays at our hotel!"

    "Really?"

    The guest inside, a young man, became interested, "I just need to play a game?"

    The price of a five-star hotel isn''t cheap!

    A 20% discount membership card is pretty attractive for some guests!

    If he won, he could also get five free stays!

    This event seemed great!

    ...

    Meanwhile.

    In other rooms, doorbells were also being pressed successively.

    Each waiter was diligently introducing, "Just open the computer and enter the ''PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds'' game..."

    This event was quite interesting.

    Many guests trying out the hotel were attracted.

    Sun Yaohuo had issued free stay offers tonight, specifically targeting young people.

    These young people''s common interest was in gaming, which he had researched in advance.

    Not enough trial guests?

    It''s okay.

    Sun Yaohuo even pulled the hotel staff to join in, which was definitely more interesting than playing against computers.

    In any case, he put a lot of thought into making sure everyone from the Yu Dynasty, especially the younger students, had fun.

    ...

    Of course.

    Not everyone was interested in Sun Yaohuo''s invitation to join the event for playing "PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds".

    Inside a top-tier suite.

    A young man with slightly curly hair, wearing a full set of top-tier designer clothes, and looking rather flashy, was necking with a hot-bodied girl.

    This young man was named Harvey.

    Today, Harvey had brought a girl he had been chasing for two or three days to the hotel on the pretense of being a poor drinker. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    At this moment, he was ready to make his move.

    Suddenly.

    Someone rang the doorbell.

    Harvey ignored it, continuing to neck.

    The girl couldn''t help but push him and said hesitantly, "Someone''s knocking."

    "Damn!"

    Harvey got up angrily, opened the door with a very bad mood.

    Anyone would be upset if they were interrupted right when things were heating up.

    At the door.

    The waiter smiled and said, "Sorry for the interruption, sir, would you like to join our hotel activity? If you enter the game named ''PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds'' on the computer desktop, you could get our..."

    "I have seven or eight of this kind of hotels at home!"

    Harvey rudely interrupted him, not boasting since his family really did own several five-star hotels.

    He had chosen this place only because it was close to where he was dining.

    He was too eager to push forward and hadn''t bothered going to one of his own hotels.

    Can he be any more pretentious?

    The waiter''s face turned awkward: "I''m sorry."

    "Don''t bother me again."

    Harvey slammed the door hard, thinking venomously:

    I''ll give this lousy hotel a bad review later!

    Turning back, his passion reignited: "Let''s continue..."

    The girl shyly said, "I haven''t taken a shower yet."

    "What shower!"

    "Not taking a shower is too dirty."

    The girl insisted on taking a shower, not letting Harvey touch her.

    This girl was a master at playing hard to get, knowing exactly how to make this rich kid cherish her more.

    What if this rich kid took the chance to barge in?

    Well, that wouldn''t matter much either¡ªspicing things up could be important too.

    "Fine."

    Harvey impatiently said, "Hurry up."

    The girl shyly ran off to take a shower, while Harvey paced back and forth in agitation. He really hadn''t considered barging in, as forcing someone went against his principles.

    He just waited a few minutes like this.

    Harvey got annoyed, and suddenly remembered what the waiter had said.

    There''s a game on the computer?

    Hmm.

    Play a game for a while.

    Just to pass the time.

    Harvey opened the computer out of sheer boredom, and immediately saw the game''s name.

    "PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds?"

    Harvey smirked, clicked into the game, and created a character.

    Playing for a bit to kill time was fine, and after the girl came out, he would applaud, not play any damn games.

    After creating the character.

    Harvey clicked match.

    Surprisingly, he entered the game immediately.

    ...

    Elsewhere.

    Inside the suite where the Yu Dynasty folks were, Lin Yuan suddenly shouted excitedly:

    "Everyone''s here, let''s start the battle!"

 Chapter 928 - 864 Arent You Going to Eat Chicken?

    Harvey entered the game and found himself on a transport plane.

    Inside the same transport plane, there were many other players, both male and female, each with distinct appearances.

    To Harvey''s surprise:

    He could actually hear the other players talking!

    Before he could listen carefully, the System popped up a parachute prompt.

    "Parachute?"

    Harvey raised his eyebrows and saw that players had already started jumping down one after another.

    Following the System''s prompt, he randomly chose a parachuting location. After all, he had just started playing this game and was not familiar with the map.

    Kind of interesting.

    Watching himself falling through the air, Harvey felt amazed.

    He wasn''t a complete novice; he had played some shooting games before. His skills weren''t strong, but his comprehension was alright. For example, he opened his parachute quite smoothly...

    After landing.

    Harvey found himself in a wasteland.

    The game''s graphics were very realistic, and the background music created a tension that inexplicably made one feel as though they were in the midst of a battle royale.

    He started wandering around randomly.

    After running for a few minutes, Harvey entered an abandoned warehouse.

    "Bang bang bang..."

    Suddenly, bullets came flying!

    Harvey quickly controlled his character to run away.

    Swish swish swish!

    Footsteps came through the headphones.

    This game even lets you hear other people''s footsteps?

    The realism gave Harvey the creeps, his heart pounding as if there really was a guy with a gun chasing him.

    Wait a minute!

    Where''s his gun?

    Harvey suddenly realized he seemed to be unarmed...

    Where''s my gun?

    Why don''t I have a gun?

    The gunshots from behind continued. The shooter seemed rather mediocre, unable to kill Harvey quickly, but Harvey''s health was steadily dropping.

    That was enough to panic Harvey, who ran desperately.

    While running, Harvey suddenly stumbled and fell!

    Damn!

    This game actually includes tripping?

    Harvey cursed loudly and was about to get up and continue running when he saw a weapon nearby.

    A gun!

    The gun was called an M9!

    Harvey lacked military knowledge, but he had still heard of the famous Blue Star M9!

    He picked it up and counter-attacked the opponent head-on, the barrel aligning with the adversary''s head!

    Bang!

    Harvey''s gunfire rang out!

    Unlike his opponent, who strafed Harvey for a long time without success, as soon as Harvey fired, the guy coming towards him fell straight down!

    Headshot!

    System notification:

    "Harsky used an M9 to kill Yan Yan employee number 9527!"

    Harvey''s eyes widened, and in that moment, he was thrilled, even more so than successfully taking a girl to the hotel:

    "That''s what you get for messing with me... That''s what you get..."

    Harvey wanted to take another shot, but to his surprise, the opponent''s corpse turned into a box.

    What''s this?

    A cremation urn?

    Just as Harvey wanted to take a closer look, more gunfire erupted from behind.

    Harvey was hit, and his health dropped to a precarious level. He hastily began to return fire from cover, but luck was not on his side this time. He didn''t manage to headshot his opponent, and to his despair...

    He ran out of bullets!

    His opponent laughed menacingly, surprisingly a woman''s voice: "This game''s pretty simple, isn''t it? This guy''s so bad, I almost feel sorry for killing him."

    Harvey was enraged!

    He felt insulted!

    To be looked down upon by a woman!

    He wanted to rush up and fight her melee, but he suddenly found himself next to the box. Inside the box were a gun, several bullets, and even a series of medical supplies for healing.

    Huh?

    This gun seems to belong to the dead guy.

    So, dying in this game turns you into a box, and all your equipment is dropped?

    The chance for a comeback kill!

    Harvey experienced the first loot of his life. He picked up the gun and went on a firing spree...

    "You can''t insult the Gun God!"

    Harvey shouted while firing away!

    The female player did not expect her opponent to become so fierce suddenly and fell to the ground, dead.

    "Harsky used a K002 to kill Ying Chrome Beauty!"

    Harsky laughed out loud, then quickly took medication to recover health and applied bandages.

    He was starting to get a feel for the game.

    So, after landing, you need to quickly find equipment. When you kill other players, their equipment drops.

    Interesting!

    So interesting!

    The immense sense of achievement from killing two people made Harvey quiver with excitement!

    Deep down, it was as if something had been awakened within him!

    Harvey''s eyes suddenly burned with intense passion!

    He suddenly remembered there were game instructions on the desk; he''d been too lazy to read them before, but now he was thoroughly hooked!

    Hiding away.

    Harvey minimized the screen to read the rules, and finally, his gaze locked on the last eight characters, feeling a call to duty:

    Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

    ...

    On the other side.

    Zhao Ying Ge cursed as she took off her headset.

    Chen Zhiyu sat beside her, glanced at Zhao Ying Ge''s screen, and teased, "Didn''t you just say that your opponent was a noob? How did you get killed instead?"

    "I was careless. I didn''t dodge."

    Zhao Ying Ge thought the other party had run out of ammo, but who would have guessed they pulled out another gun? Was it because of that crate?

    She stood up to look at other people''s screens.

    When she saw Lin Yuan''s screen, Zhao Ying Ge excitedly said, "Teacher Admirable Fish, you''re in the same location as me! The person who just killed me is right there in that warehouse ahead!"

    "Really?"

    Lin Yuan responded excitedly, "I''ll avenge you!"

    While others needed to slowly figure things out, Lin Yuan didn''t. He had been gathering equipment all this time and had amassed quite a collection of good stuff; he was ready to go on a rampage!

    This game was not fully designed based on PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds gameplay.

    It also incorporated elements from similar games on Earth, making it even more interesting than the original.

    "Awesome!"

    Zhao Ying Ge was excited too!

    Teacher Admirable Fish was actually going to avenge me!

    Swish!

    Inside the warehouse.

    A shadow flitted by.

    Lin Yuan''s eyes narrowed, found you!

    He immediately took out a grenade, "Watch closely, this is how you play the game."

    With that, Lin Yuan threw the grenade out.

    Click!

    Pulling the pin and warming it up, the grenade arced through the air in a fluid motion!

    Zhao Ying Ge was watching Lin Yuan play and upon witnessing this scene, her face was full of admiration:

    "So awesome, Teacher Admirable Fish is amazing!"

    "Piece of cake."

    Lin Yuan rarely felt a sense of accomplishment in the game, but in the next moment, he was stunned.

    The grenade he threw hit the wall and then bounced right back, rolling to Lin Yuan''s feet.

    Bang!

    The grenade exploded.

    Lin Yuan''s character died gloriously.

    Lin Yuan''s expression was stone-cold.

    Zhao Ying Ge was also dumbfounded.

    Lin Yuan didn''t even scratch his enemy but got killed by his own grenade.

    ...

    While Sun Yaohuo was gaming, he stealthily opened a chat group on his phone.

    The group was named "Xian Fish Guard"! S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Sun Yaohuo typed quickly: "Hurry over to provide cover, help Teacher Admirable Fish eliminate the opponents, and then feed him the final kill. The approximate coordinates of Teacher Admirable Fish are¡­"

    Suddenly.

    System notification: "Great White Shark killed Great White Shark with a grenade!"

    Group members: "..."

    Sun Yaohuo: "..."

    Harvey also saw the message notification.

    This Great White Shark seemed to have killed himself?

    Quite something.

    Harvey cautiously approached and found Great White Shark''s crate, opened it, and burst into joy!

    This guy had such amazing loot!

    How the heck did he die?

    Harvey excitedly collected the loot.

    But just as Harvey was immersed in excitement, gunshots suddenly rang out nearby.

    Before Harvey could react, he was about to die!

    What baffled Harvey was that seven or eight figures suddenly popped up around him!

    He was being focused fired!?

    Harvey roared in despair: "My chicken!"

    As he went down, a figure appeared who smacked him on the forehead with a frying pan.

    "You dare to loot anyone''s pack?"

    The person huffed coldly, then looted Harvey.

    ...

    Harvey took off his headset, raging impotently!

    "I wanted my chicken dinner!"

    At that moment, the bathroom door opened, and a figure wrapped in a towel emerged, her face shyly saying:

    "Then let me try¡­"

    The girl slowly bent over.

    Harvey was stunned for a moment, then pushed the girl away: "What are you doing?"

    The girl was puzzled: "Didn''t you say you wanted to chow¡­"

    "Get away!"

    Harvey snapped irritably, not giving the girl even a glance, his eyes fixed on the screen!

    He swore!

    He had to win the next game!

    He was very unsatisfied with his loss this round!

    If he couldn''t have his chicken dinner tonight, he would have trouble falling asleep!

    What''s the big deal?

    Playing games?

    With me standing here so temptingly, and you''re telling me you want to play games?

 Chapter 929 - 865: Parachute Simulator

    A game usually lasts about half an hour.

    After Lin Yuan died, he waited for twenty-five minutes before Sun Yaohuo organized the second round.

    On the other side.

    After Harvey died, he had been matchmaking and ended up waiting until the start of the second round.

    Unlike the first round of newbies pecking at each other.

    Everyone had figured out the rules by the second round, and the game became even more intense!

    Lin Yuan''s expression was grave.

    He couldn''t accept the way he died in the first round.

    In the second round, he decided to prove his strength to everyone!

    "Dadadada!"

    Entering the second round, Lin Yuan played fiercely. He hid behind a vehicle for cover, picked up a gun, and sprayed bullets towards a figure in the distance!

    "Junior brother?"

    Sun Yaohuo, who was being sprayed by Lin Yuan, recognized him. After briefly pondering, he deliberately exposed a few flaws.

    It couldn''t be too obvious, or else the junior brother wouldn''t have a good experience.

    However.

    Many of Lin Yuan''s bullets hit the body of the car.

    Sun Yaohuo hadn''t been killed yet when the car providing cover for Lin Yuan exploded with a bang.

    Boom!

    Lin Yuan blew up the car and spectacularly killed himself in the process.

    Sun Yaohuo was dumbfounded.

    "Hurry up, start the next round!"

    Lin Yuan took off his headset, a bit irritable, as his luck was too bad today.

    Jiang Kui couldn''t help but mutter, "Isn''t this game designed by Teacher Admirable Fish?"

    Everyone: "..."

    Meanwhile.

    Harvey was making good progress and had already killed four opponents in a row!

    His heart was ablaze!

    This game was just too damn fun!

    A design combining shooting skills, strategy, and survival!

    The loser loses everything, while the winner takes all from the loser!

    The pleasure Harvey felt while looting his spoils surpassed everything!

    Only on the second round.

    Harvey was already completely addicted!

    He didn''t notice that the girl lying on the bed and watching him had a face full of grievance.

    Even if he did notice, he wouldn''t care.

    Women, they just slow down the speed of drawing a gun!

    Unfortunately, Harvey still didn''t win the chicken dinner in the second round; he was struck down by divine judgment.

    Harvey was extremely unwilling and shouted in the lobby, "Another round!"

    Tonight at the Yu Dynasty Hotel, it was destined to be a night of chicken dinners.

    Not just Harvey was addicted!

    The guests in the other rooms were addicted too!

    ...

    Room 701.

    A woman in pajamas with her feet up on the chair was excitedly shaking her body:

    "This game is too interesting!"

    ...

    Room 803.

    A guy with his eyes fixed on the screen, the whites of his eyes veined with blood:

    "Just a little bit more, I refuse to believe it today!"

    ...

    Room 904.

    A young man tightly gripping the mouse, imitating the sound of gunfire:

    "Dadadadada, I''ll kill you all!"

    Besides.

    Room 632...

    Room 545...

    Similar scenes unfolded in different rooms.

    ...

    The next day.

    Two o''clock in the afternoon.

    Harvey sent away the girl directly.

    After checking out and returning home, the first thing he did was look online for the game "PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds".

    However.

    When Harvey searched, he only saw the game trailer for "PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds"; the game wouldn''t be released until the end of the month!

    Harvey was stunned.

    He had played "PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds" all night yesterday, but he never managed to get a chicken dinner.

    His soul was ablaze with the desire for a chicken dinner!

    He was planning to go home and play to his heart''s content, only to find out the game hadn''t even been released yet!

    How could the hotel offer a game that wasn''t released yet?

    Harvey immediately made a call to the hotel.

    "Good day, sir. It''s like this, ''PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds'' will indeed only go live online at the end of the month, but this game is developed by our hotel owner''s company, so currently it''s only available for trial within our hotel..."

    The person on the other end explained patiently.

    Harvey understood: "So it''s only playable inside the hotel, is that right? Book a room for me, I want it until the end of the month!"

    The person replied politely, "Our hotel is not officially in business yet, you were just trial staying. Unless you become a Diamond member of the hotel directly, we unfortunately don''t provide..."

    "Isn''t it just a membership!"

    Harvey was getting impatient: "Just sign me up!"

    Right now he didn''t want anything else, he was solely focused on winning the game!

    After hanging up the call.

    Harvey made several more calls.

    He wanted to invite friends to play together and bully them a bit¡ªthe game was too much fun!

    ...

    Lin Yuan and the others played at the hotel until midnight and simply decided to sleep over, considering that Sun Yaohuo wasn''t short on rooms.

    The next day.

    After finishing lunch at the hotel, everyone prepared to leave.

    Passing by the reception, they found it surrounded by people.

    A crowd of customers was making a ruckus.

    Sun Yaohuo asked the service staff and found out that these customers all wanted to become hotel members to play the game. Having tried the game last night, they all got addicted, yet they absolutely couldn''t play it outside the hotel.

    "Good grief."

    Wei Haoyun looked at Sun Yaohuo with a mix of laughter and helplessness: "Is this a net caf¨¦ or a hotel?"

    Sun Yaohuo was also baffled.

    His original intention was to just play games with the Yu Dynasty and have a good time. He didn''t expect that the gaming experience would be so terrible for his juniors, and despite getting a bunch of fake players to protect him, it ended up being the hotel that spawned the first batch of members because of the game...

    But one must not underestimate the power of this first batch of members.

    The kind of people who can afford to become Diamond members of a five-star hotel have money to burn. If they got used to the Yu Dynasty, who knows how much profit the hotel could shear from these people in the future.

    Chen Zhiyu said, "But this game is really fun!"

    Zhao Ying Ge nodded: "I feel this game is definitely going to be a hit upon release. Teacher Admirable Fish is incredible at designing games!"

    "Sun Yaohuo."

    Jiang Kui looked at Sun Yaohuo with envy: "It seems that you''re going to make a lot of money once the hotel opens."

    Xia Fan told Sun Yaohuo, "Remember to include me if there''s another opportunity to make money in the future."

    "Me too!"

    Madam Haoyun said hastily.

    Sun Yaohuo really had a genius for business.

    This move to attract the first group of members through the game was nothing short of brilliant marketing!

    Everyone was discussing the game on the surface, but inside they were filled with admiration for Sun Yaohuo''s business acumen!

    Following Sun Yaohuo, they could surely earn a lot of money!

    Lin Yuan remained silent. He was somewhat introspective because last night he played so many rounds of the game and not once did he manage to kill anyone.

    Showboating whether in life or death.

    Only Admirable Fish was getting beaten up.

    A perfectly normal ''PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds,'' somehow turned into a parachuting game for him, his whole gameplay being nothing but a parachute simulator.

    Every kind of bizarre death.

    Dying on landing over and over again.

    Finally, when he had a round where he lasted a bit longer, because he found a car to drive, the car flipped.

    Death by car accident.

    A true car-flipping scene.

    This was just a game of luck.

    Lin Yuan comforted himself with this thought.

    In fact, the basis for his conclusion was quite persuasive:

    Because during one round yesterday, Jiang Kui actually won the game with zero kills! She did nothing but collect some equipment and then camped in a hidden corner. As it turned out, her spot was the final zone.

    The others fought and more than half died.

    The remaining few, failing to outrun the poison gas, simply died from it.

    She won the game without realizing why.

    If this wasn''t a game of luck, what was it?

    Pity his own skills and experience constantly met with frustration just because of bad luck.

    While Lin Yuan was wallowing in self-pity, Sun Yaohuo suddenly laughed: "If you are really interested, you could buy shares in the hotel. Our hotel is named Yu Dynasty, making use of our common title, and I won''t hog it all for myself."

    Sun Yaohuo''s business dealings never involved others. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The exceptions were his juniors and the members of the Yu Dynasty.

    Lin Yuan got interested, as he liked the idea of being a shareholder: "Then I''ll invest some shares."

    Seeing that Lin Yuan was investing, others followed suit without much thought, all the more because they genuinely believed in Sun Yaohuo''s business acumen:

    "Count us in!"

    "I''ll arrange it later!"

    Sun Yaohuo agreed very readily.

    This wasn''t just talk; a few days later, everyone finalized the contracts for their investments and became hotel shareholders!

    All of them were big stars, each with some assets.

    Lin Yuan held the most shares among them, a full thirty percent, second only to Sun Yaohuo!

    What no one had expected was:

    Because of the maneuvering of the Yu Dynasty Hotel, even though ''PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds'' was not officially online yet, the game had already caught fire within a certain small circle...

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: I''m not feeling particularly well, probably because Polluted White has been focused on writing and not playing much. Hmm, I''ll revise it tomorrow and also adjust my condition to burst out before the end of the month. Also, there''s a book recommendation below, a really good new book that''s worth reading~

 Chapter 930 - 866: Envy, Jealousy, and Hatred from Peers

    "The game recommended by Harvey is really good, I''ve been playing for three days straight, grabbed the ''chicken dinner'' twice, the only downside is that you can only play online with other customers in the hotel, but once the game officially launches there should be more players, getting a Diamond membership at this hotel to play the game ahead of everyone else is pretty awesome."

    "I was also lured into the trap by Harvey, this game is really addictive."

    "Haven''t encountered such an interesting FPS game in a long time, this game brought back the joy I felt playing shooter games for the first time as a kid, the variety of fun designs is impressive!" S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Long live camping for ''chicken''!"

    "Damn, what''s with the camping, come out and fight fair and square, I hate you sneaky bastards, if you''re a man, come out and face off in a gunfight with me!"

    "This game is a masterpiece!"

    "The design is indeed brilliant, highly entertaining, the intellectual struggle between friends and foes, restraint and patience can defeat opponents with divine shooting skills, and with good luck, you can even win ''chicken dinner'' without any kills, both pros and noobs can enjoy it, you can win by marksmanship, or if that''s not your thing, by strategy and tactical awareness, there are so many fun tactics to be developed here, calling it a masterpiece is not an overstatement!"

    ...

    This is a chat group called "Spawn and Turn into a Box".

    Established by Harvey.

    Harvey became insanely addicted to PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds as soon as he played it!

    The purpose of forming the group was to drag more people into the game, to accompany him in playing PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds at the Yu Dynasty Hotel.

    Playing games is more fun with more people.

    And it''s even more fun to play with friends.

    Most of the members in the group are young rich second-generation kids, after all, without a certain amount of money and leisure time, you wouldn''t go to a five-star hotel just to play games.

    In fact.

    Not only Harvey.

    But also many of the hotel guests who stumbled upon PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds while staying at the Yu Dynasty Hotel became addicted to the game and recommended it to their friends who could afford to play:

    "Ol'' Wang, come to the Yu Dynasty Hotel!"

    "Ol'' Luo, oh Ol'' Luo, why are you calling me to a hotel room? I''m not interested in group activities!"

    "What are you on about? Women are nowhere near as exciting as this thing, I''m calling you to play a game, this game is the shit, I guarantee you''ll love it once you''ve played!"

    "What game that has to be played in a hotel?"

    "You''ll see once you play it, this game is exclusive to this hotel, it''s really damn fun!"

    "I''m here."

    "Hurry into the game."

    "Wow, this game is impressive, I''m going to call my cousin to play too!"

    "I didn''t lie, right? The core gameplay of this genre is about direct gunfights, whoever has better skills usually wins, with almost no randomness, a newbie versus a veteran is just a dead man walking, this game has ultra-realistic graphics, a greater variety of weapons and gear, it really plays on the player''s thinking and strategy, you can camp or go aggressive, it''s super friendly to gameplay-impaired players like us!"

    ...

    Very quickly!

    PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds became popular among some wealthy second-generation youngsters!

    They all started calling their friends.

    From a friend to that friend''s friend, and then to the friend''s friend''s friend.

    Just like that!

    One tells ten!

    Ten tell a hundred!

    In just one week, the Yu Dynasty Hotel was packed with players here for PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds!

    ...

    Inside the hotel.

    In the general manager''s office.

    Wang Yu was startled as he looked at the performance report:

    "This doesn''t make sense, our hotel hasn''t officially opened yet, we''re just in the stage of selecting lucky customers for a trial stay, how did we suddenly get so many Diamond members?"

    "There aren''t many lucky customers left, this group is here to play the game!"

    The assistant was somewhat excited, "Didn''t the chairman install a game that hasn''t been officially released in the marketplace on the computers in our hotel? It''s this game that has attracted so many customers!"

    "A game?"

    Wang Yu was flabbergasted. These people applied for the expensive Diamond membership just to play games in the hotel?

    Business genius!

    These two words suddenly popped into Wang Yu''s mind.

    Many in the business world call Sun Yaohuo a "business genius"!

    Wang Yu had always felt this label was overrated. His own chairman Sun Yaohuo seemed pretty ordinary no matter how he looked at it. He even suspected that luck played a big part in Sun''s success, especially after seeing how he whimsically removed the famous paintings in the suites because of one comment from Teacher Admirable Fish.

    But at this moment.

    Wang Yu viewed Sun Yaohuo with new respect!

    Turns out the chairman really was a business genius, he had the idea of using an unreleased game to attract so many customers to apply for Diamond memberships!

    Diamond memberships aren''t cheap!

    The hotel policy states that if customers want to skip accumulating days of stay, they must pay fifty-thousand yuan in one go to become a Diamond member!

    And under normal circumstances.

    A standard room at the Blue Star five-star hotel costs just a thousand yuan a night, how can you easily convince customers to charge 50,000 yuan and become members in one go?

    This performance seems too easy, right?

    The assistant said excitedly, "I heard that this game was designed by Teacher Admirable Fish from the chairman''s Yuan Huo Game Company, so ultimately it''s Teacher Admirable Fish''s game design that''s interesting enough to make customers willing to spend the money!"

    "Teacher Admirable Fish?"

    Wang Yu was stunned for a moment, he seemed to have a sudden understanding of why Sun Yaohuo would remove those masterpieces from the suite as soon as Teacher Admirable Fish said a word.

    The assistant wasn''t wrong.

    Teacher Admirable Fish is the key!

    Sun Yaohuo''s idea was indeed good, but such an operation is actually very difficult to execute, even hard to replicate.

    Where can a newly established five-star hotel find a game that can directly attract a bunch of people to joyfully open Diamond memberships?

    ...

    A new five-star hotel has emerged in Su City!

    This is significant news for the entire hotel industry of Su City.

    As one of Blue Star''s more economically developed cities, Su City already had a total of twenty-nine five-star hotels.

    The Yu Dynasty Hotel is the thirtieth five-star hotel in Su City.

    Seeing the Yu Dynasty Hotel, many people became aware of the crisis.

    However, a brand-new five-star hotel didn''t pose a big threat in its early stages.

    The old-brand Blue Star chain five-star hotels in Su City were the first choice of the rich and prestigious guests, so initially, the counterparts in the five-star hotel industry didn''t take the emergence of the Yu Dynasty Hotel too seriously, they just paid a little attention.

    However.

    Just by paying a little attention, the industry peers unexpectedly discovered:

    The Yu Dynasty Hotel hadn''t even officially opened yet, and there was already a sight of customers flocking in!

    What''s happening?

    How can a new hotel have such traffic?

    Hotel industry peers immediately investigated the reason.

    This kind of investigation wasn''t difficult, and soon the peers learned the specific reason, but this reason left all the hotel industry peers in Su City collectively dumbfounded, even doubting if they had heard wrong!

    "A game?"

    "Those customers go to the newly-opened Yu Dynasty five-star hotel just for the damn game?"

    "Is this Yu Dynasty Hotel a five-star hotel, or an e-sports hotel?"

    "Just for this game, a bunch of customers became Diamond members without even blinking an eye?"

    "The game can''t be played outside for the time being?"

    "Seriously! There''s such a move?"

    "With such fancy tricks, using a game to attract customers is just temporary. Not to mention that if a game is played for too long, it gets boring. With a room rate over a thousand yuan a night, who would want to be the sucker over time, the rich are not fools. Besides, this game is said to be released soon, and by that time, it will be playable everywhere, even the small internet cafes could do a night for seven yuan!"

    "They have lowered the class of five-star hotels!"

    "This play is too low, once the game loses its novelty, let''s see what they use to attract customers. If they can, they might as well change the hotel into an internet cafe!"

    ...

    While peers were discussing.

    There was a bit of sourness in their hearts.

    Put simply, it''s envy, jealousy, and hatred!

    Whether or not it''s about class, being able to attract so many customers to open Diamond memberships at a five-star hotel in one fell swoop, any peer would inevitably covet such performance!

    However...

    Although everyone was speaking jealously, their conclusions were not intentionally pessimistic, but pragmatically judged.

    The novelty brought by the game is temporary.

    Once the Yu Dynasty Hotel officially opens and the game is officially released.

    It will be extremely difficult for this new five-star hotel to attract customers then!

    The patrons of five-star hotels are always picky. Without something special, why would they choose a new hotel with no foundation?

    Because the hotel''s internet is fast?

    The manager of a well-established five-star hotel scoffed:

    Do they really think that with some money and a five-star hotel, they can make a fortune every day?

    Making money is not that easy!

    Neither is it that easy to survive in this industry.

    The waters of the five-star hotel industry run deep!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: I recommend Devil Child''s new book "The Head of the Hidden," he told me he definitely won''t cut it this time. Whether you believe it or not, I do, and to show encouragement, Ol'' Wang and I both rewarded the Alliance Hierarch (serious face).

 Chapter 931 - 867: Five Paintings

    Lin Yuan certainly didn''t know about the situation over at the hotel.

    As a shareholder, he didn''t like to inquire into the specific operations of the company, even though he was the hotel''s second largest shareholder¡ª

    The shareholding structure of the Yu Dynasty Hotel was not complex.

    Xia Fan, Jiang Kui, Chen Zhiyu, Wei Haoyun, and Zhao Ying Ge each held 6%.

    Combined, they accounted for 30% of the shares.

    Lin Yuan alone held another 30% of the shares.

    As for Sun Yaohuo himself, he held 40% in his capacity as chairman.

    In fact, Sun Yaohuo wanted to give Lin Yuan even more, but Lin Yuan felt that 30% was already quite a lot, especially considering he was not putting in the effort to manage the hotel¡ª

    Although it probably couldn''t be said that way.

    Lin Yuan indeed had to make an effort.

    The Yu Dynasty Hotel had a total of five top-level suites. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Within the hotel''s design, the five top-level suites corresponded to five classic national paintings.

    Because Lin Yuan felt that the quality of Sun Yaohuo''s five paintings was not up to par, the original national paintings were taken down.

    In other words:

    Apart from the completed "Gallop," which was ready to be given to the chairman, Lin Yuan also needed to paint five more national paintings to fill the void left by the original artworks, which were to be hung on the walls of the five top-level suites of the hotel.

    This was a big project.

    Taking into account that the hotel was going to officially open next month, Lin Yuan directly exchanged for an Energy Potion with the System to work overtime on this daunting task.

    Lin Yuan had already decided on the contents of the five paintings:

    Ink Shrimp Picture!

    Herding Horses Picture!

    Phoenix''s Pride!

    Spring Tree and Autumn Frost Picture!

    Eagle Spreading Wings and Swallowing Rivers and Mountains Picture!

    The Ink Shrimp Picture used shrimp as the prototype, which Lin Yuan once painted using Qi Baishi''s character card, gaining some insights.

    The Herding Horses Picture was similar to the Gallop, only with the number of horses increased.

    As for the remaining three pictures, audiences who have seen "Flirting Scholar" will not find them unfamiliar.

    All three pictures were mentioned in that movie, and the protagonist Tang Bohu drew them one by one, it''s just that Shadow''s painting skills had not reached the Master Level at that time, so those few pictures did not attract much attention when the movie was released.

    Now.

    Lin Yuan possessed Master Level painting skills and also had the Paintfection skill to enchant his Master Level painting skills, so displaying the unique features of these paintings was not difficult.

    Lin Yuan was simply having fun.

    Choosing subjects to paint was one thing, but he specifically chose the paintings mentioned in "Flirting Scholar".

    However, it turned out to be a serendipitous decision.

    The choice of these paintings was actually not bad, in fact, it could be said to be very suitable.

    Those who could afford five-star top-level suites were likely to be very wealthy, and such people mostly liked those paintings that looked supremely grandiose, preferably filled with overwhelming power and an invincible aura!

    It just so happened that Tang Bohu''s works fit the bill, with a style that was luxurious and somewhat flashy.

    An eagle.

    A phoenix.

    Some people really liked this style.

    Even Herding Horses fit this style.

    As for Ink Shrimp and Spring Tree and Autumn Frost, these were to add a variety of elements; not everything could be extremely domineering in style, as the delicate beauty of small, fresh, and eternal works were also appreciated by some.

    With the Paintfection skill,

    These paintings would present completely different artistic conceptions to different viewers, without any loss of quality.

    Having made up his mind,

    Lin Yuan once again secluded himself to paint, even refusing invitations from the Yu Dynasty team to play video games with remarkable self-discipline.

    Five days!

    Ten days!

    Twenty days!

    Half a month!

    Lin Yuan didn''t leave his house or step outside his door, deeply immersed in painting and beyond extrication.

    And after this period of focused effort, one masterpiece after another was gradually born.

    Write songs?

    Out of the question.

    Becoming Maestro; clinching twelve consecutive championships; sweeping through music festivals!

    Now, Lin Yuan was not very interested in the seasonal music chart.

    ¡­

    While Lin Yuan was focused on painting, the hotel business was still booming and even reaching new heights!

    At the end of January.

    Harvey''s newly created Landing Box chat group suddenly got frantic!

    "Damn!"

    "Please, I''m begging you guys, stop recommending friends to play ''PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds,'' I can''t even book a room anymore!"

    "Damn it!"

    "I had something come up at home yesterday, so I canceled my room, and now today when I come to open a room, there aren''t any left!"

    "Same here!"

    "I just want to eat chicken!"

    "It''s all your fault, constantly recommending this game to others¡ªnow everyone''s scrambling to play, and I can''t get a turn!"

    "Heh, good thing I''m clever, I''ve kept my room, it''s just a thousand bucks a day."

    "You beasts, the hotel''s 500 rooms are no longer enough!"

    ...

    Yes.

    With word of mouth over the past month, the Yu Dynasty Hotel had its first full house!

    Five hundred rooms were all booked by guests!

    Now, ''PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds'' could quickly form a match just with players inside the hotel, unlike initially when Sun Yaohuo had to scrape together staff to fill in!

    "The game feedback is really positive, I feel like our second game is also going to be a hit!"

    The Yuanhuo game team walked into a meeting room at the hotel, and seeing the situation, couldn''t help but slap their thighs in excitement!

    The hotel was like a pilot.

    A good response from the pilot indicated that the game would have great potential after it went live!

    "Looks like my Dad gave me a good name."

    Sun Yaohuo joked about his own name, then turned to the Yuanhuo game director and said seriously:

    "I have an idea."

    "Please, boss, go ahead!"

    "I want to enhance Teacher Admirable Fish''s gaming experience¡ªhe tends to land and become a box easily, so while others play for half an hour, my junior can usually only play for about ten minutes..."

    "Huh?"

    "Those ten minutes, I want to make sure my junior has fun, so I thought about designing some cool skins for him, the kind that are limited editions and can''t be used by others, and the box should ideally be gold-colored, that''s more domineering."

    "..."

    The director of Yuanhuo games had yet to speak when Wang Yu, who had been following Lin Yuan, got excited. He looked at Sun Yaohuo with an admiring and heated gaze:

    "That''s brilliant!"

    He expressed his admiration wholeheartedly: "Chairman, this move is so smart, I''m truly fortunate to follow you!"

    Huh?

    What''s brilliant?

    Sun Yaohuo felt confused when he saw Wang Yu stand up, moving excitedly, and spouting energetically:

    "Recently, our competitors have been saying that after the game is released, our hotel will lose its appeal to customers, but Chairman, this move makes great arrangements!"

    "What arrangements?"

    The director of Yuanhuo games was also puzzled.

    Wang Yu said unreservedly: "That''s where we can''t compare to the Chairman. His idea is to design exclusive hotel skins. You know how gaming characters have skins, right? We develop exclusive skins for players who play ''PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds'' at our hotel, which can only be used inside our hotel. For some rich folks, not being able to buy better gear than others with money, getting top-tier skins that other players can only envy is a benefit. Surely customers will come to our hotel specifically to play the game for these limited edition skins. These skins in-game are a symbol of status, even the box you become after dying is different¡ªdon''t you guys think it''s a clever move?"

    Wang Yu truly admired Sun Yaohuo''s brilliance!

    Calling the Chairman a business genius wasn''t without reason!

    "So that''s it!"

    The Yuanhuo games director''s eyes lit up: "There are no significant technical obstacles, we can design exclusive skins for the hotel right away. After the game release, others won''t be able to use them, they are just for use inside our hotel¡ªChairman, your strategy is indeed brilliant!"

    Sun Yaohuo looked bewildered.

    When did it get so complicated?

    I just wanted to improve my junior''s gaming experience.

    Oh well.

    Let it be.

    As long as my junior''s gaming experience improves, that''s good enough.

    Thinking this, Sun Yaohuo''s phone suddenly rang.

    "Junior."

    Sun Yaohuo motioned for everyone to be silent, then stood up.

    Lin Yuan''s voice came through the phone: "Senior, come to my house to pick up the paintings."

    It was the end of the month.

    The Yu Dynasty Hotel was about to open;

    The game ''PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds'' was about to be released;

    Lin Yuan, after spending a month and using the system''s Energy Potions, finally completed five traditional Chinese paintings following ''Paintfection,'' ready to be gifted to Sun Yaohuo¡ª

    These were the five paintings infused with the essence of Paintfection.

 Chapter 932 - 868: Sky-High Priced Suite

    Evening.

    Sun Yaohuo, carrying a large and small bundle of gifts, arrived at the Lin family''s villa and excitedly rang the doorbell.

    He had been the one to help his junior buy this villa.

    However, it was Sun Yaohuo''s first visit since the house was renovated.

    Who might open the door, the junior or one of his family members?

    A smile was already on Sun Yaohuo''s face, ready to greet them at first sight.

    Click.

    The door opened.

    Sun Yaohuo paused, and then with a strange expression, he lowered his head to look at who was opening the door¡ª

    Antarctica.

    His mom, who was watching TV on the sofa, stood up and came over with a smile, "Oh, it''s Yaohuo! Come in, come in. This dog is quicker than me, always rushing to open the door for guests."

    "Good evening."

    Lin Xuan and Lin Yao, who were watching TV with their mom, also politely stood up to greet him, having previously dined with him at the Yu Dynasty''s seabed restaurant.

    "Good evening, everyone!"

    Sun Yaohuo quickly recovered his smile and didn''t dwell on how a dog could skillfully open a door:

    "Auntie, I brought you a massager, and there are some supplements in this package; older sister, I have some cosmetics here, they have a good reputation in the market; younger sister, the snacks are imported from various continents, I''m not sure if they''ll suit your taste; and this black bag contains junior brother''s gift..."

    "It''s enough that you came, why bring gifts."

    The mom''s smile grew warmer, and both sisters also smiled warmly, looking at Sun Yaohuo with kindness.

    "My junior brother''s family is my family, please don''t be so polite with me."

    Sun Yaohuo glanced around the living room quietly wondering what was missing and quietly decided to bring it himself next time:

    "Junior bro called me over..."

    "He''s upstairs, I''ll take you there."

    Lin Xuan led Sun Yaohuo upstairs, while Antarctica made a few sounds at him.

    I forgot to bring a gift for Antarctica, next time I definitely can''t forget, Sun Yaohuo reflected on himself and then gave Antarctica an apologetic smile.

    "Senior."

    Upon reaching upstairs, Lin Yuan opened the door to his study, having heard the sounds from outside:

    "Come in."

    "You guys chat."

    Lin Xuan waved her hand and went back downstairs, while Sun Yaohuo followed Lin Yuan into his study and chuckled:

    "Junior brother asked me over the phone to come collect a painting, where did you..."

    He couldn''t finish his sentence.

    Sun Yaohuo was suddenly stunned.

    Inside Lin Yuan''s study, there were five paintings hanging.

    Ink Shrimp, Herd of Horses, Phoenix''s Pride, Spring Trees and Autumn Frosts, Eagle Spreading Wings and Swallowing Rivers and Mountains...

    At that moment,

    these five paintings were right before Sun Yaohuo''s eyes.

    Sun Yaohuo''s eyes widened, his lips quivering slightly without his control, even his breathing grew heavier!

    "These paintings..."

    "Shadow painted them."

    Lin Yuan was already prepared with his explanation:

    "The hotel''s five suites, previously hadn''t we taken down five paintings? We can replace them with these later on, what do you think of these paintings?"

    What do you think of the paintings?

    Sun Yaohuo opened his mouth, seemingly trying to arrange his thoughts, but his mind was somewhat in disarray, barely able to follow basic logic, as if his very soul had been sucked away by these five paintings!

    "Good..."

    "Good..."

    "Good..."

    After much thought, Sun Yaohuo only managed to give this simple assessment.

    He couldn''t professionally critique what made these paintings good.

    All he knew was that whenever he glanced at any one of them, the profound artistic conception within would instantly engulf him, almost as if he was transported into the world of the painting!

    For example, the Phoenix''s Pride.

    Standing before this painting, Sun Yaohuo felt an unprecedented sense of smallness.

    In the vast universe beneath, the phoenix bathed in divine fire, exuding a dominating aura!

    He even felt a bit hot!

    As if the phoenix in the painting was alive, ready to soar at any moment!

    Sun Yaohuo didn''t understand paintings!

    Not at all, a complete novice!

    Actually, most people are novices.

    He had also seen some paintings by so-called famous artists before.

    Not to mention the distant past,

    take, for example, the several paintings that were recently removed from the hotel''s top suite, weren''t they also claimed to be by renowned artists from Zhao Continent?

    Yet Sun Yaohuo really couldn''t see anything exquisite about those paintings.

    All he could say was that those paintings were quite pretty, but beyond that, he couldn''t discern anything else.

    Even the previous paintings by Shadow, Sun Yaohuo also had seen them, such as the "Running Horses" displayed at the art exhibition.

    After all, Shadow was a good friend of his junior, and Sun Yaohuo actually paid a lot of attention privately.

    However, even for that "Running Horses," which had gathered countless praises at the art exhibition, Sun Yaohuo merely found it quite nice, but he felt nothing deeper.

    Yet, these five paintings were different!

    Even Sun Yaohuo, who completely lacked knowledge in painting, could feel the extraordinary nature of these five paintings!

    At this moment.

    For the first time in his life, Sun Yaohuo was shocked by artworks!

    No wonder some people become obsessed with calligraphy and painting, appearing intoxicated with art, even willing to spend a fortune on it!

    In the past, Sun Yaohuo thought that it was just some wealthy people pretending to be cultured.

    However, at this moment.

    His heart suddenly surged with an instinctive intention¡ªhe actually wanted to collect these five paintings!

    No matter how much it cost, he had to get them!

    Not right.

    His junior seemed to say¡­

    these paintings were meant to be hung in the hotel?

    Sun Yaohuo suddenly became excited, shaking his head vigorously at Lin Yuan, "We can''t hang them in the hotel, junior. Such fine works would be wasted on the walls of a hotel, and if they get damaged, that would be the end of them!"

    Are you kidding?

    Keeping these paintings private and putting them in a hotel?

    It would be a crime against nature!

    Lin Yuan smiled, Sun Yaohuo''s reaction gave him a good idea of the effect of Paintfection.

    "It''s okay, I can paint them again."

    As soon as he finished speaking, he realized the inappropriateness of his words and discreetly corrected himself:

    "Let Shadow paint them again."

    "But, this¡­ this is also¡­"

    Sun Yaohuo still felt it was highly improper to put these five paintings in a hotel suite!

    "Let it be."

    Lin Yuan spoke, "Senior, take the paintings and hang them later. After all, the hotel is opening in a couple of days." Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "To really hang them?"

    Sun Yaohuo bit his lip, his eyes suddenly becoming sharp, "Since the junior insists, I must ensure these five paintings have the best insurance and have guests sign a compensation agreement when they check in!"

    "Hmm."

    "Also, our pricing is too low!"

    We need to raise the price!

    Raise it significantly!

    Yu Dynasty Hotel being a five-star hotel, has five top suites, normally priced at twenty thousand yuan for one night.

    This is the standard price for top suites in all major five-star hotels in Su City.

    However, now, with these five paintings, Sun Yaohuo felt that the pricing was far too cheap!

    Only twenty thousand yuan to stay in a room decorated with such artworks?

    Dream on!

    Any one of these five paintings couldn''t possibly be so cheap!

    Lin Yuan was curious, "How much do you want to charge per night?"

    Sun Yaohuo pronounced each word clearly, "For one night, five hundred thousand!"

    There are a few super five-star hotels in Zhong Continent with the price for one night in a top suite reaching over a million.

    Sun Yaohuo planned to set the rate for the top suites at Yu Dynasty Hotel at five hundred thousand per night!

    After all, the hotel''s facilities had not yet reached the level of the top hotels in Blue Star.

    Yet these paintings were too rare!

    Sun Yaohuo didn''t think other hotels had such artworks; only Yu Dynasty Hotel in Blue Star had these kind of paintings!

    "Five hundred thousand¡­"

    Lin Yuan thought for a moment and said nothing.

    Normally, this price would definitely be exaggerated; there''s no other hotel in Su City with such an outrageous price. But Paintfection, this thing, is far more exaggerated than the price itself.

    It''s merely a matter of exclusive commodity.

    Several billion wouldn''t even come close to exchanging for a Paintfection.

    Paintfection is a special skill that is very difficult to measure with price.

    From this perspective, the price is actually reasonable.

 Chapter 933 - 869: The Eagle Spreads Its Wings with Ambition to Dominate the World

    January 28.

    The Yu Dynasty Hotel held its grand opening ceremony.

    Lin Yuan directly led Sun Yaohuo and others, promoting it under the whole name of the Yu Dynasty.

    Using their inherent advantage as celebrity shareholders for promotion was definitely a good strategy.

    The publicity campaign for the opening ceremony was very successful.

    The opening of the Yu Dynasty Hotel attracted countless reporters.

    Even before the ceremony had ended, there was already free media publicity online.

    "The Yu Dynasty has such great connections!"

    "They even collaborated to open a hotel!"

    "Nowadays, many celebrities like to do business."

    "A hotel opened by Fish Daddy, I must stay there if I get the chance."

    "A five-star, unaffordable for me."

    "A five-star, where a single room per night costs thousands, made for rich people."

    "Haha, ''Yu Dynasty Hotel'', what a straightforward and forceful name!"

    "Will there be a Yu Dynasty Group in the future?"

    The news sparked a lot of discussion.

    But it was just that¡ªdiscussion.

    The vast majority of people were reluctant to stay at a five-star hotel, especially since this one was in Su City. Would people really travel all the way there just to stay in a hotel?

    Moreover, these days, celebrities doing business was nothing rare at all.

    Celebrities with a bit of status all had their own businesses, like opening hotpot restaurants, so nobody found it peculiar.

    However, some fans who could afford it were quite interested and were shouting about going to stay there.

    This was exactly what the Yu Dynasty aimed for with their promotion.

    Sun Yaohuo did not use his status as a celebrity shareholder to hype this up.

    The rates for standard rooms at the hotel were no different from other five-star hotels.

    The real difference lay in those few top-tier suites, although the prices of these suites were not mentioned during the opening ceremony; outsiders didn''t know the details and would probably just think that the Yu Dynasty was just robbing them.

    In fact.

    People were already furiously accusing the Yu Dynasty of robbing them.

    "Why doesn''t your hotel just rob me directly? Robbing my money? 500,000 a night? Have you gone mad or have I? Am I someone who has never stayed in a five-star hotel suite?"

    At the front desk of the Yu Dynasty Hotel.

    Harvey glared harshly at the staff.

    The majority of the Yu Dynasty Hotel''s customers came to play games, all staying in private rooms.

    Harvey was the only customer who booked a top-tier suite to play games; he could accept 20,000 a night, even felt it offered high value for money.

    Setting aside the game''s allure.

    The hotel environment was indeed good, stylishly decorated and the service was quite satisfactory.

    Especially the several restaurants within the hotel, which were outstanding. It was unclear where the hotel had found such talented chefs, definitely a cut above other five-star restaurants in Su City.

    But... S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    500,000 a night for a top-tier suite was just excessive!

    Harvey had been taken aback by the staff''s notice of the price hike today and even doubted whether he had misheard, which was why he was arguing now and also processing his checkout.

    He was better off not staying at this hotel!

    He could afford 500,000, but he wasn''t about to let others take him for a fool just to play a game.

    Moreover, the game would be released in a few days.

    By then he could play anywhere, enduring a few more days was not a problem.

    As for switching to a standard room?

    Sorry, but Harvey, as someone who frequents hotels, never considered staying in anything but suites. When it comes to style, he was very particular.

    "Sorry, sir!"

    The staff carefully explained, as they wouldn''t want to offend a customer like Harvey:

    "Because our rooms have been upgraded, there''s a painting inside that''s very special..."

    "Pfft."

    Harvey laughed sarcastically, cutting off the other person: "You''re raising the price just because you hung a painting? Even if you put Zhao Continent''s finest painting in there, I''m not interested!"

    Fool''s play!

    He checked out and left immediately!

    Watching Harvey leave, the hotel front desk staff couldn''t help but smirk:

    "What in the world is this?"

    "What exactly is the chairman thinking, setting the price at 500,000 a night? Who will want to stay in our hotel''s top-tier suites in the future?"

    "I guess those suites won''t see any guests anytime soon."

    "Speaking of which, what''s the deal with those paintings?"

    "I have no idea, I''m not privy to that information. The chairman has assigned specific people to take care of those rooms, even the cleaning staff have been carefully selected, the chairman attaches great importance to those rooms."

    Not only was Harvey baffled.

    Many people inside the hotel were baffled too.

    There was absolutely no explanation from above, just one instruction for them:

    If a guest wants to stay in the top-tier suite but complains about the price being too high, just rave about the painting in the room as if it''s a miraculous masterpiece unmatched and unique in the world."

    Are they asking us to fool idiots?

    Trying to fool whoever they can?

    ...

    That evening.

    A private jet landed at the airport of Su City.

    This private plane was one of the top long-range jets from Blue Star, currently worth about two hundred million.

    The owner of the plane was Wang Xin.

    A first-tier tycoon from Zhao Continent.

    This man was not very tall, around 5''7", a bit portly, disembarking with a beer belly.

    Following Wang Xin was a woman and a girl.

    The woman was Wang Xin''s wife, and the girl, his daughter.

    Wang Xin was in Qin Continent to talk business.

    Following Zhao Continent''s inclusion in the Blue Star merger, Wang Xin was looking to make some investments in Qin Continent and had also brought his family for a tour.

    Flanking Wang Xin and his family were several bodyguards tasked with their safety, a standard arrangement among tycoons of his level.

    Nearby.

    Wang Xin''s secretary smiled and said, "Boss, the Hi-Class Excellence Hotel has sent someone to pick us up."

 Chapter 934 - 869: The Eagle Spreads Its Wings, Aspiring to Dominate the World Picture_2

    Wang Xin nodded, about to speak, when his daughter, who was playing on her phone, suddenly said:

    "Daddy, can we switch to another hotel?"

    Wang Xin was taken aback. "Why switch hotels?"

    Wang Yue showed him her phone screen: "I want to stay at this one!"

    Displayed prominently on her screen was the news that the Yu Dynasty Hotel had just held its grand opening ceremony today.

    After Zhao Continent merged, Wang Yue quickly became fascinated with Xian Yu.

    She had watched all the videos of Xian Yu on "The Masked Singer" and his concert videos over the past few days.

    Just on the plane, she had watched "Sugar''s" MV and been blown away by the handsomeness.

    The more she learned about this Maestro from Qin Continent, the more Wang Yue liked Xian Yu. It just so happened that she saw the news about Xian Yu leading the opening of a five-star Yu Dynasty Hotel and naturally harbored the thought of staying there for a night.

    "Miss, the rooms at Boyue have already been booked..." The secretary said helplessly. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "I don''t care, I want to stay at the Yu Dynasty Hotel. You promised, Dad, that you would do as I say on this trip!"

    Wang Yue began to act spoiled.

    Wang Xin couldn''t help but smile and actually felt quite pleased that his daughter was acting spoiled with him:

    "Okay, Secretary Liu, cancel Boyue, and let''s stay at this Yu Dynasty Hotel tonight. Let''s drive over first."

    "Understood."

    The secretary made a phone call.

    Twenty minutes later, Wang Xin and his family arrived at the Yu Dynasty Hotel.

    "The environment isn''t bad."

    The Wang family entered the hotel.

    Wang Yue''s mother looked around and then spoke.

    Wang Yue lifted her chin: "The hotel opened by our Teacher Admirable Fish will certainly not be bad!"

    Wang Yue''s mother chuckled: "All you think about is celebrity idols, how many times have you changed idols?"

    "It''s different this time!"

    Wang Yue''s expression was serious: "I''m not changing idols anymore. Teacher Admirable Fish is my only idol from now on!"

    Mom teased: "That''s what you said last time too."

    Wang Yue indignant: "Mom!"

    As the mother and daughter were chatting, the secretary''s slightly dissatisfied voice came from ahead:

    "A suite for five hundred thousand a night, are you serious?"

    "What, five hundred thousand?"

    Wang Yue''s mother asked.

    Wang Xin frowned from ahead:

    "It''s the price of the hotel suites. They say there''s a painting in each of the few suites, very precious."

    To Wang Xin, a suite costing five hundred thousand a night was nothing; after all, he had stayed in a suite that cost a million a night in Zhong Continent.

    But in Su City, a newly opened five-star hotel charging such a price was like fleecing people.

    Even valuable paintings shouldn''t be used like this.

    Moreover, although Wang Xin was a wealthy man in Zhao Continent and liked to use paintings and calligraphy to decorate his facade, that was merely for appearances, so others wouldn''t say that he, Wang Xin, was a nouveau riche without any cultural heritage.

    This was Wang Xin''s deepest pain.

    Wang Xin was different from many other wealthy individuals with family inheritance.

    He had gained his initial capital for starting a business from selling several houses compensated by the government due to demolitions, resulting in his considerable family wealth.

    Privately.

    There were often people in the rich circles of Zhao Continent who called him a nouveau riche, a label Wang Xin detested the most.

    To lose that label, Wang Xin liked to spend money to purchase famous calligraphy and paintings and other valuable art pieces, which were highly esteemed in Zhao Continent, to decorate his image; not for his own enjoyment but for others to see.

    Actually, he looked down upon these things.

    Famous calligraphy and paintings¡ªhe couldn''t understand them. They were just better-looking writings and paintings, that''s all.

    Therefore, the hotel staff''s fantastical boasting about the paintings in the rooms didn''t spark any interest in Wang Xin.

    "It costs five hundred thousand for one night; why is it so expensive?"

    Even his daughter Wang Yue couldn''t help but be astonished: "That''s my monthly allowance!"

    "Let''s go to a different one."

    Wang Yue''s mother shook her head.

    Wang Yue hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth: "Let''s stay here. I''ll pay for tonight."

    Mom was displeased: "Wang Yue! Stop being capricious. Isn''t your pocket money still given to you by your father?"

    "I... Alright..."

    Wang Yue looked down, dejected.

    Wang Xin saw his daughter''s disappointment and his heart softened. He turned to knock on the front desk counter:

    "Book us a suite."

    He had made so much money just for his family.

    It didn''t matter if the hotel was fleecing them; seeing his daughter distressed was something he couldn''t bear.

    "Ah... You... Which one do you want?"

    The voice of the front desk staff changed!

    They didn''t expect there would really be someone willing to pay five hundred thousand a night for a room!

    The secretary, standing to the side, couldn''t help but facepalm.

    He realized then that his boss was probably the first sucker since the hotel opened.

    He asked, "What rooms do you have?"

    The staff quickly replied: "There are five rooms available for selection, including ''Ink Shrimp'', ''Herd of Horses'', ''Trees of Spring and Frost of Autumn'', ''Pride of the Phoenix'', and ''Eagle Spreading Its Wings''..."

    All so fancy-schmancy.

    Wang Xin said indifferently: "Let''s take ''Eagle Spreading Its Wings.''"

    Businessmen like these kinds of auspicious implications, and even though he understood it was a tax on stupidity, what mattered was that his daughter liked it.

    "Alright, you''ll need to sign a contract before checking in. The paintings in our hotel are insured, and the compensation price for any damage is very high¡­"

    A contract to stay in a hotel?

    The secretary became angry: "Don''t go too far!"

    Wang Xin waved his hand and, after glancing over the contract handed to him, signed it directly.

    A few minutes later.

    Someone came to lead the way.

    The family entered the elevator.

    Upon opening the suite''s door, the Wang family went in.

    The secretary and others took standard rooms nearby, with two bodyguards assigned to guard the door of Wang Xin''s suite.

 Chapter 935 - 869: The Eagle Spreads Its Wings and Dominates the World Figure_3

    ...

    Inside the suite.

    Wang Xin''s family looked around.

    His wife complained, "Apart from pretty decorations, this room is no different from other five-star hotel suites. We''ve really run into a rip-off today." Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "I think it''s okay."

    Wang Yue plopped down on the couch.

    She didn''t have the slightest awareness of being a die-hard fan, just considered it as footing the bill for her idol.

    Wang Xin said, "Alright, as long as our daughter is happy, let''s rest early."

    His wife disagreed, "No way, I have to see their painting. They talked it up so much, where is it?"

    "You look by yourself."

    Wang Xin was not interested at all.

    He headed straight for the bedroom.

    However.

    As he passed through the corridor, he suddenly stopped and turned his head to look at the wall on his left!

    "What is this..."

    Wang Xin''s gaze froze!

    On the wall.

    The painting that spanned nearly the whole wall, quietly sitting behind a pane of glass.

    Standing in front of this painting.

    Wang Xin subconsciously held his breath, his heartbeat quickened, and an indescribable feeling rose in his heart!

    In a trance.

    Wang Xin felt as if the scenes around him were changing rapidly!

    One moment he was standing in the hotel suite''s corridor, and the next, he seemed to be amidst the boundless universe.

    The painting seemed no longer just a painting, but had transformed into a real scene!

    He saw mountains and rivers under his feet!

    The continuous mountain range without an end!

    Rugged rocks winding and undulating like a great dragon!

    The lake water echoed in the valleys, and above, waterfalls fell like the Milky Way, churning countless sprays that leaped and danced, resonating in one''s eardrums!

    High above!

    The image was sometimes blurry, sometimes clear, with layer upon layer of clouds floating.

    The wind that blew from the distance, swift and gentle, sequences of hard and soft. One moment roaring through the mountains, and the next nurturing the heart like a gentle rain...

    Pines grew on the precipices.

    The cliffs were steep beyond measure, countless pines stood proudly.

    They were like the mountain range''s fangs, bravely facing all the wind and storms!

    Suddenly, the cry of an eagle resonated in the distance!

    An eagle approached, its grey feathers extraordinarily magnificent!

    The eagle''s sharp gaze, almost tangible, pierced the clouds, patrolling between the cloud layers and mountains.

    Its mighty wings beat powerfully in the wind, each movement full of vigor, as if the ruler of this realm had descended upon the earth!

    In this moment.

    Wang Xin felt as if he were the eagle, breathing along with the wilderness, his chest feeling an unprecedented sense of breadth, his thoughts lofty and unfettered in the high skies, dominating the countless rises and falls of the vast land!

    The eagle spreads its wings!

    It swallows mountains and rivers in its aura!

    His gaze fixated on the eight big characters in the upper right corner of the painting, Wang Xin finally came to his senses, feeling a surge of strength fill his body!

    "Dad, what are you looking at?"

    His daughter Wang Yue''s voice called out.

    His wife also walked over to Wang Xin unconsciously.

    And when both of them saw the painting on the wall, they were just as astounded as Wang Xin had been previously.

    This painting seemed to possess a magical power, instantly capturing the viewer''s mind, savoring the majestic scene!

    "Secretary Liu, call the manager right away!"

    Wang Xin kept staring at the painting, but suddenly took out his phone and dialed his secretary''s number, his tone filled with intense excitement!

    The secretary said quickly, "Boss, please don''t be angry, rest assured, I''ll arrange for it right away. I will make sure this hotel''s reputation is tarnished. They dare to charge an outrageous price of five hundred thousand, no wealthy person will..."

    "There''s nothing wrong with the hotel, five hundred thousand is not expensive!"

    Wang Xin cut off Secretary Liu''s words, "I want you to ask the hotel manager if they''re willing to sell the painting in this room. If he can''t decide, have the owner of the hotel negotiate with me!"

    Huh?

    The secretary on the other end was dumbfounded.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Wrote a long chapter, I haven''t asked for votes much this month, it''s almost the end of the month, so Polluted White is asking everyone for monthly votes!

 Chapter 936 - 870: The First

    "This painting is incredible!"

    As Wang Xin hung up the phone, Wang Yue''s excited voice rose, her eyes almost pressed against the glass!

    "Unbelievable!"

    Wang Xin''s wife looked at the painting, her eyes full of obsession, murmuring to herself, "How can there be such a painting in the world..."

    Wang Xin said nothing.

    He and his family stared at the painting, breathing growing heavier, the more they looked, the more intoxicated they became, the more they felt overwhelmed!

    Five hundred thousand a night?

    He felt the money was well spent!

    No!

    Wang Xin even had a feeling of having made a profit!

    As a Zhao Continent tycoon, a socialite, Wang Xin had seen quite a few works claiming to be of Master Level, and had even bought many so-called masterpieces to decorate his place.

    At the gatherings of the wealthy.

    He always heard people discussing the artistic conception of some Master Level paintings and calligraphy.

    However, even though he outwardly agreed with others'' assessments, he actually never agreed inside; buying paintings and calligraphy was just to put on airs of refinement and not to be seen as a crass upstart without a shred of culture.

    But today!

    Wang Xin understood for the first time!

    A painting can indeed shock one''s soul and convey an artistic conception!

    Yes!

    Artistic conception.

    For the first time, Wang Xin experienced the so-called artistic conception!

    It was an incomparably marvelous shock, with just one look he was deeply mesmerized.

    He felt as if he could directly sense the message conveyed by the painting and experience the aura of looking down on the world, his boldness enough to swallow mountains and rivers...

    His chest felt expanded!

    His heart surged with pride!

    This purification of the mind was entirely brought about by the painting; the last time Wang Xin had felt this way was at the moment of his first brilliant success in business!

    At this moment, he had only one thought:

    No matter the cost, he had to buy this painting, to appreciate and treasure it himself!

    Just then.

    His secretary called.

    Wang Xin immediately answered the phone, eager to know, "What''s the word?"

    The secretary''s tone was a bit odd, "The manager says the hotel''s paintings are not for sale to the public..."

    Not for sale to the public.

    Wang Xin''s expression immediately fell.

    In fact, he could understand; if he were the hotel owner, he too probably would not sell these paintings, and wouldn''t even bear to hang them in the hotel suites.

    Unable to help herself, the secretary said, "Boss, if you like paintings, there are many masters in Zhao Continent..."

    "What use do I have for those paintings? It''s not like I don''t have them at home!"

    Wang Xin directly interrupted the secretary''s suggestion; those paintings were worthless in his eyes!

    The painting before him was different, unlike any other works he had seen before!

    Wang Xin confirmed his own feelings!

    He suppressed the disappointment in his heart, taking a deep breath:

    "For the next few days, I''ll be staying at this hotel, including future business trips to Qin Continent, I have to stay at this hotel only, other hotels need not be considered!"

    "Understood."

    The secretary, though full of questions, did not dare to question the boss''s decision.

    "By the way."

    After thinking for a moment, Wang Xin added, "Mr. Miao and Mr. Fang are meeting with me tomorrow to discuss business, invite them to come directly to this hotel."

    "Have them come over?"

    The secretary hesitated for a moment but couldn''t help reminding her boss, "This collaboration is very important for us, if we ask them to come to the hotel to meet us, won''t these two bosses feel we''re neglecting them?"

    "Forget it, I''ll call them myself."

    Wang Xin didn''t explain to the secretary; it was precisely because the business was so important that he would directly invite them to the hotel!

    Both these tycoons were lovers of paintings.

    Even he, who didn''t understand art, was so attracted by the painting before his eyes.

    Wang Xin didn''t believe these two couldn''t see the vast artistic conception of the painting in his room.

    Who said that business negotiations have to involve alcohol?

    After hanging up the phone.

    Wang Xin suddenly heard his daughter''s surprised exclamation, "This painting is actually a work by Teacher Shadow!"

    Wang Xin''s wife quickly asked, "Who is Teacher Shadow?"

    Wang Yue stared at the signature on the painting, which read "Shadow":

    "Teacher Shadow is a good friend of Teacher Admirable Fish, best known for his comics, but his traditional Chinese paintings are also very good, no, judging by this painting, Teacher Shadow''s traditional paintings are more than just good..."

    Wang Yue was already a qualified fan of Xian Yu.

    As a Zhao Continent resident, she was very knowledgeable about information on Xian Yu, including the relationship with Three Bros.

    "Husband!"

    Wang Xin''s wife looked at him, "Since they don''t sell this painting, what about paying Teacher Shadow to paint another one for us?"

    Another one?

    Wang Xin was stunned, his expression quickly heating up!

    Suddenly awake as if from a dream!

    Right!

    If this one wasn''t for sale, then why not simply pay the author of the painting to create another similar piece?

    ...

    The next day.

    Still at the Yu Dynasty Hotel.

    Wang Xin stood at the entrance, watching two stretch limousines arrive one after the other at the hotel''s front door.

    "Mr. Miao, Mr. Fang, thanks for taking the trouble," he greeted the two bosses with a smile as they got out of their respective cars.

    Mr. Fang responded coolly, "President Wang certainly does things unexpectedly; this is the first time someone has asked me to meet at a hotel for business."

    His name was Fang Mokan.

    A well-known tycoon in Qin Continent.

    Mr. Miao also expressed his dissatisfaction indirectly, "You know, it took me forty minutes to get here on my way; President Wang, you''re rolling in wealth, could you reimburse my gas money?"

    Mr. Miao''s name was Miao Bai.

    His status was comparable to that of Fang Mokan.

    As if he hadn''t noticed their dissatisfaction, Wang Xin made a gesture of invitation, "Would you please excuse the trouble and follow me upstairs?"

    S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 937 - 870 The 1st

    Weiwei frowned.

    The two exchanged glances, didn''t say anything further, but simply followed Wang Xin into the hotel at a leisurely pace.

    A few minutes later.

    The three entered a suite.

    Wang Xin''s wife and daughter left for another room.

    He led the two before the "Eagle Spreading Wings and Swallowing Rivers and Mountains Picture" and said with a smile,

    "I invited the two esteemed guests to the hotel not out of disrespect, but because I am humble in talent and shallow in learning. Knowing that both of you have always been keen on calligraphy and painting, and there happens to be a painting in this hotel suite that has deeply captivated me, I would like to ask the experts to help appraise it."

    This was a formal occasion, and Wang Xin spoke very much in the style of Zhao Continent.

    Fang Mokan and Miao Bai were momentarily stunned, then chuckled inwardly.

    Although Wang Xin was from Zhao Continent, he was notoriously known as a nouveau riche in the Blue Star elite circles, fond of pretending to appreciate art, though he lacked any actual artistic sense.

    What good painting could such a person recognize?

    And a painting kept in a hotel at that?

    These thoughts briefly crossed their minds. They both smirked slightly but didn''t say much, merely casually walking up next to Wang Xin to look at the painting that filled the entire wall behind the transparent glass.

    The result.

    Just that one look.

    Miao Bai and Fang Mokan suddenly widened their eyes as if struck by lightning!

    In the painting.

    Green mountains twisted around ravines;

    Waterfalls hung like the Milky Way falling from the sky;

    An eagle with flapping wings flew among the clouds, its piercing gaze captivating, so lifelike it seemed as if it was about to break free from the painting!

    A masterful work of colors!

    A graceful display of brushstrokes!

    Wang Xin beside them smiled knowingly.

    Their reactions were entirely within his expectations; he had been gazing at this painting until midnight the night before, unable to tear himself away.

    "Mr. Miao, what do you think of this painting?"

    Feeling the timing was right, Wang Xin suddenly spoke up.

    Miao Bai opened his mouth, full of countless thoughts, yet at a loss for words momentarily, unable to mask the shock and affection in his eyes!

    "Mr. Fang, what do you think?"

    Wang Xin turned to Fang Mokan beside him.

    Fang Mokan glanced warily at Miao Bai, suppressed the shock in his heart, and coughed before saying,

    "The painting is quite decent, though some parts are overly elaborate. However, generally speaking, it indeed qualifies as a fine piece. Luckily, I''m not too picky. I''ll just buy this painting from the hotel in a while."

    "Mr. Fang!"

    Miao Bai''s heart skipped a beat, and he said with a feigned smile, "Since the painting is so mediocre, why don''t you let me buy it? I particularly like eagles, and I generally buy paintings that depict eagles."

    "Mr. Miao, there''s no need to force yourself..."

    "Mr. Fang, you are the one who shouldn''t force yourself."

    "This painting isn''t worth your effort, Mr. Miao. The painting industry is quite intricate, and I''m afraid you might not handle it well; let me take care of it."

    "Mr. Fang, as I said, I just like eagles."

    "What a coincidence, I just happen to have a famous Zhao Continent artist''s masterpiece at home, which also depicts an eagle, and it''s much better than this one. I''ll buy this painting myself if you don''t mind."

    "Fang Mokan, cut the crap!"

    Miao Bai became serious: "I must have this painting!"

    Fang Mokan narrowed his eyes slightly: "Miao Bai, are you insisting on competing with me today?"

    Damn!

    Wang Xin, standing aside, couldn''t help but laugh and cry, only managing to interject, "Gentlemen, let''s not fight. Let''s not ruin the harmony. Plainly speaking, we all like this painting. If the hotel was willing to sell, I would have bought it myself yesterday, but the hotel absolutely refuses to sell, claiming it''s just for guests to enjoy."

    "I don''t believe it!"

    Both simultaneously exclaimed, "Call the manager over!"

    Wang Xin: "¡­"

    He could only arrange for someone to call the manager.

    Soon after, the hotel manager, Wang Yu, hurried over.

    "This painting, I want to buy it."

    Fang Mokan said to Wang Yu, pointing directly at the wall.

    Wang Yu smiled bitterly: "The chairman has strictly ordered that the hotel''s paintings are not for sale..."

    Sun Yaohuo had indeed issued a strict order.

    Still, Wang Yu managed to thoroughly convince them that the painting was definitely not for sale after much persuasion.

    "Alright, since that''s the case..."

    Miao Bai suppressed the disappointment in his heart, but suddenly said with a smile, S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "President Wang must have enjoyed this painting enough by now. How about changing suites? I''ll cover the room charges, and I will stay in this suite tonight. I really love this painting. As for the business we need to discuss, I''ll sign directly in a while for a pleasant cooperation, right?"

    "Really?"

    Fang Mokan was anxious: "You two stay at the hotel, and I''ll pay for two suites for you. I can stay in this room, and I have no issues with the business either. President Wang, please grant my humble request!"

    "Now you''re even competing for this?"

    Miao Bai looked at Fang Mokan with disdain.

    Wang Yu, sensing the uneasy atmosphere, interjected, "Excuse me, gentlemen, our hotel has five suites, and the other suites also have delightful paintings. There''s no need to fixate on this one suite."

    "There are paintings like this in other rooms?"

    Miao Bai and Fang Mokan were startled, wondering if paintings of such caliber really existed in more than one suite.

    "Yes."

    Wang Yu confidently nodded: "These are the 500,000-per-night suites, naturally they need a reason worth that amount!"

    "500,000 a night?"

    Miao Bai and Fang Mokan had just learned the price of the hotel''s top suites, but considering the painting on the wall, they didn''t see the price as an issue.

    "Book one for me!"

    "I''ll take one as well!"

    Both spoke in succession, then looked skeptically at Wang Yu, their tones gravely serious:

 Chapter 938 - 870 The 1st Full House_3

    "Don''t let us down with the paintings in here."

    "Please be assured."

    Wang Yu smiled as he spoke and quickly checked the two of them into their rooms.

    ...

    The suite that Miao Bai entered was the "Spring Trees and Autumn Frost Picture" suite.

    He had chosen it himself.

    Wang Xin followed behind, "Mr. Miao wouldn''t mind if I came to appreciate it together, would he?"

    "Of course."

    Miao Bai smiled faintly, "Let''s enjoy it together."

    He and Fang Mokan were both true lovers of painting; otherwise, two wealthy patrons of such stature and status wouldn''t have almost come to an argument over a single picture.

    He was very grateful to Wang Xin for bringing him here today!

    Had he not made the trip, he really would not have had the chance to see such fine paintings, so all his prior discomfort had vanished without a trace!

    At this moment.

    Wang Xin hesitated, "It''s just that I don''t know if the painting in this room is as good as they say."

    It wasn''t that he didn''t trust the hotel.

    It was that the painting of "Eagle Spreading Wings and Swallowing Rivers and Mountains Picture" in his own suite was so good that Wang Xin dared not believe the hotel could have another painting of the same caliber!

    "We''ll see when we look."

    Miao Bai was also feeling nervous.

    And as the two delved deeper, they finally arrived in front of the painting.

    Swoosh!

    When the "Spring Trees and Autumn Frost Picture" was unveiled before them, both of their expressions changed simultaneously! sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Unlike the grandeur of the eagle spreading its wings.

    In this painting, there were green mountains bursting with spring vitality, with playful streams splashing in the valleys, babbling softly.

    Tall peaks loomed everywhere, barren trees sprouted new branches, displaying delicate fresh buds, creating an intense atmosphere of spring.

    Between the green mountains, there were breathtaking peaks that obscured the sky;

    on the mountaintop, the dense Forests appeared like a giant black blanket cap, fastened to the sheer cliffs, with black and green hues among which bunches of unnameable wildflowers sprang from the rock faces.

    Strange rocks lay across the gurgling streams;

    light mist-like cloud shadows moved in the space between mountains and rivers, seemingly tangible and intangible, half-concealed and half-revealed, as if transforming into rising, swirling mists.

    At the mouth of the valley.

    Two scholars were seated on the riverside rocks, engaged in a serene and insightful conversation.

    Beneath them flowed a cascading spring, which merged into the stream, with beads of water leaping and splattering, as if whispering in the cold.

    Graceful and ethereal!

    A scene right out of a poem or a painting!

    The combination of the mountains and water was a pairing of stillness and motion, monotony and splendor, forming the most beautiful scenery.

    The beauty of nature!

    Fully expressed!

    Standing in front of this painting.

    Miao Bai felt as if he were one of the scholars in the painting, inhaling the fragrance unique to the spring earth.

    He even felt an inexplicable chill on his cheeks, as if splashed by the stream water in the painting, then gently blown upon by a breeze, instantly refreshing and pleasantly cool.

    Miao Bai felt this sensation.

    Wang Xin beside him had a similar experience, murmuring, "There really is a painting that doesn''t fall short of the one in my suite, only slightly inferior to the previous one..."

    "Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder."

    Miao Bai felt an unprecedented calmness in his heart, his speech also becoming gentle,

    "Brother Wang finds ''Eagle Spreading Wings and Swallowing the World'' better, yet I find this ''Spring Trees and Autumn Frost Picture'' more to my liking; it''s about the tranquility and detachment of the soul..."

    "Shall we go see Mr. Fang''s room?"

    Wang Xin did not argue, as in his heart, only ''Eagle Spreading Wings and Swallowing the World'' could showcase infinite dominance!

    This painting was too gentle.

    Just like drinking, some people prefer red wine, while others favor white spirit.

    "Let''s go!"

    Miao Bai immediately went with Wang Xin to Fang Mokan''s suite.

    A few minutes later.

    The three of them stood before the "Phoenix''s Pride Picture" in Fang Mokan''s room, experiencing another silent astonishment.

    Right after that.

    The hotel received orders:

    Miao Bai and Wang Xin both extended their stay.

    Besides.

    The two of them also took the other two suites, going round several times in turn.

    Later, Wang Yu was once again entangled by the three of them.

    "Can''t you really sell us these paintings?"

    "Absolutely not!"

    This was the Yu Dynasty hotel''s first-ever "full house."

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: I''m not deliberately dragging it out, the chapter just has a lot of words, so it takes a long time.

 Chapter 939 - 871: The Beginning of the Craze

    That''s correct.

    The room Fang Mokan chose had a "Phoenix''s Pride" painting hanging in it, similarly covering the entire wall and set within transparent glass.

    In the painting. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Beneath the reddish-brown phoenix tree.

    The phoenix spread its splendid wings.

    With a posture as if singing a long, metallic note, its soft and slender neck connected to a slightly raised back. Its tail feathers dragged a long flame behind, like a glinting red meteor, illuminating heaven and earth!

    Its beak was like that of an eagle;

    Its jaw resembled a swallow;

    Its legs were exceptionally tall;

    Its figure, like a crane;

    Within the lustrous red plumage, a series of white round spots were arranged in order, and beneath the streamlined structure were mixed golden patterns, exuding an inherent nobility and aloofness. In its bearing, there lurked a faint momentum that scorned the world!

    A sight of phoenix''s grandeur!

    Feathers glowing with myriad colors!

    Its steps born with radiance!

    The painting was clearly static, but the three of them felt as if they could see the phoenix soaring:

    It used its spread wings to dive sharply from between the sky and the rainbow, almost touching the earth mound on the opposite side of the ditch. Then, flapping its wings forcefully, it made a fierce sound as it ascended to the heavens, accompanied by a phoenix''s cry!

    Fervent!

    Heartbreakingly beautiful!

    Beneath its perfect and voluptuous form, it was completely covered in orange-red flames, as if it would burn into ashes at any moment, yet within the boiling flames, it seemed to welcome an unprecedented phoenix nirvana, bringing endless vitality and hope!

    ...

    In front of the painting.

    Fang Mokan felt as if a fire had also ignited in his heart.

    His heartbeat surged like a drum, burning with a passion that did not align with his age!

    And by his side.

    Wang Xin and Miao Bai were caught in the same emotions, as if even the air was heated by them.

    ...

    Not knowing how long it had been.

    Suddenly, Miao Bai laughed, "It''s too hot here. Why don''t we go take a look at the ''Spring Trees and Autumn Frost'' painting in my room to cool off."

    "Sure!"

    Fang Mokan took one last deep look at "Phoenix''s Pride" then headed to Miao Bai''s room.

    After viewing "Spring Trees and Autumn Frost."

    Fang Mokan stared at the name signed at the bottom of the painting, his voice filled with endless emotion, "This Teacher Shadow truly has great talent for this era!"

    "I agree with that!"

    Wang Xin was somewhat excited, opening his heart for the first time, "You two must know what kind of person Wang Xin is. In private, the circle mocks me as a nouveau riche with no substance, and indeed I didn''t understand those paintings they revered as classics. This has always troubled me, but today I suddenly let it go. It''s not that Wang Xin can''t appreciate them; it''s that those so-called masterpieces from those painters simply aren''t good enough. I understand Teacher Shadow''s few works, look at the skill level, this, damn it, is what you call painting!"

    Wang Xin was truly excited!

    It''s not that I''m unrefined, not that I lack the eye for art!

    If your paintings can''t move me, it''s because you''re not painting well enough!

    I understand Shadow''s paintings, not just understand, but I can also appreciate the beauty within!

    Heh heh!

    I never thought there''d be a day when even I could utter the words "artistic conception," and know what that stuff is!

    "..."

    Fang Mokan and Miao Bai felt somewhat embarrassed to hear this.

    The two of them privately shared these kinds of views about Wang Xin.

    But today, after seeing Shadow''s paintings, they suddenly thought that what Wang Xin said made some sense.

    If those masters could paint at Shadow''s level, then even a nouveau riche like Wang Xin would be enthralled by them!

    Alright.

    This thought was really unfair to those top painters.

    That Shadow''s paintings had such an effect was purely because someone had an absurd cheat activated.

    "It''s indeed magical."

    Miao Bai said thoughtfully, "Looking at these few paintings by Shadow, I always have an indescribable feeling. It''s as if the paintings have come to life, as if I''m right in the world inside the painting. I can deeply feel every emotional expression and sentiment conveyed in the picture. I''ve seen countless famous paintings, but in all my life, only Shadow''s work... has made me feel this way¡­"

    "So you feel the same way!"

    Wang Xin exclaimed with the excitement of finding a kindred spirit, "Yes, that''s right, it''s this feeling as if I''ve entered the world of the painting. For instance, the one in my room where the eagle spreads its wings, I sometimes feel as if I''ve become that eagle. And as for this painting in front of us, I feel as if I''ve become one of the scholars in it, and with the phoenix painting, I felt the pride and loneliness of the phoenix, as if the whole person is about to undergo nirvana amidst the burning!"

    "This Shadow is really something!"

    Fang Mokan''s expression revealed a touch of awe and astonishment, "His paintings have a very mystical sense of immersion, perhaps Teacher Shadow''s painting skill has indeed reached perfection!"

    [Paint(Per)fection]

    Miao Bai blinked, "Fellows, there are still two suites left with paintings, wouldn''t it be a pity not to see them?"

    "I''ll go open them!"

    Wang Xin spoke immediately.

    Fang Mokan chuckled, "No need to trouble yourself, Brother Wang. Let''s sign the contract first; I have no objections to this cooperation."

    Miao Bai followed with a slight smile, "Yeah, let''s cooperate."

    Wang Xin was overjoyed inside, "Then I have even more reason to open those two rooms for you, it''s only a million after all!"

    Compared with business.

    A mere million, just a drop in the bucket!

    Fang Mokan shook his head, "No need for Brother Wang to spend so much. Since these paintings are not for sale, we don''t need to keep them hidden. Why not directly invite others to open them? There are more than just us who love paintings in this circle."

    "Brilliant!"

    Wang Xin laughed, "I can even freeload on paintings this way?"

    Miao Bai took out his phone, "Let me call a few people. There are only two suites left; it''s first come, first serve."

 Chapter 940 - 871 The Beginning of the Craze_2

    ...

    The Society of Painting and Calligraphy.

    This was a chat group established by the wealthy, ostensibly to discuss paintings and calligraphy, but it also covered business and cooperation. Some were genuinely fond of such arts, while others, like Wang Xin, feigned their interest.

    Within the group:

    Miao Bai bubbled up, "I''m with Fang Mokan in a suite at the Yu Dynasty Hotel. Anyone coming over? There''ll be a surprise if you do, and regrets if you don''t!"

    The group instantly became lively.

    [???]

    [Miao Bro, what''s in the gourd?]

    [Fake medicine.]

    [Ol'' Liu sells fake medicine¡ªhe runs a pharmaceutical company (sneer). If Fang Mokan is there too, I''ll come over. He has a painting that I''ve coveted for a long time; it''s just that he''s unwilling to part with it. I''ll make him spit it out today.]

    [Yu Dynasty Hotel? Never heard of it.]

    [I know it, just opened in Su City, a five-star one. The owner is Sun Yaohuo, this guy is a celebrity. He''s been rising in our business circles for years, started in catering, then moved on to gaming, and now has entered the hotel business.]

    [I know him too, was considering buying shares, but he wouldn''t allow it.]

    [Don''t wander off topic now, Miao Bro I''m coming over, let''s drink tonight!]

    [I''ll swing by too, haven''t seen Miao Bro in a while, I''ll arrange tonight!]

    The circle of the wealthy.

    Their chats were full of bragging.

    Soon enough, a number of wealthy individuals headed to the Yu Dynasty Hotel.

    ...

    Half an hour later.

    The Yu Dynasty Hotel buzzed with activity.

    Eight wealthy individuals appeared one after another.

    Among them were two especially high-profile magnates whose photos often hit the news. Manager Wang Yu recognized them instantly.

    Wow~!

    All big shots!

    Wang Yu immediately heightened his attention!

    Miao Bai and two others came down to greet them, then said to Wang Yu:

    "I''m bringing them to see some paintings, it also doubles as publicity for your hotel."

    "Haha, no problem, thanks Boss, gentlemen just let your secretaries register please!"

    Wang Yu felt very confident about the safety of those paintings.

    Although the magnates had signed agreements not to damage the artworks, in reality, they couldn''t harm them even if they wanted to.

    The paintings were behind glass of extraordinarily high standards, made from special technology; not even a bullet could shatter them.

    As for this publicity stunt?

    Wang Yu trusted in the advertising power of those paintings!

    He knew how dramatic his reaction was the first time he saw the chairman bringing those five paintings to the hotel!

    All this fuss about it.

    This group got into the elevator and went upstairs, chattering and laughing among themselves:

    "Long time no see, Miao Bro!"

    "This must be Mr. Li from Zhao Continent, right? We met at a summit last time, here''s my business card."

    "Ol'' Li, I''ve got a deal I want to co-operate with you on, let''s talk privately later."

    "Mr. Fang, what exactly are you calling us here for?"

    "Didn''t I say to view the paintings?"

    "What I mean is, what kind of paintings can a hotel have? Just wait for the auction in Zhao Continent, that''ll be exciting."

    ...

    This group reminisced, chatted about business, and rambled on about shop talk; the atmosphere was absolutely lively.

    However.

    When this group, led by Wang Xin like a treasure presenter, saw the "Eagle Spreading Wings and Swallowing Rivers and Mountains Picture"¡ª

    The room suddenly went silent!

    These were tycoons used to the cutthroat business world, accustomed to hiding their emotions, yet at that moment, none could conceal the shock on their faces!

    The next moment.

    A burning greed appeared in everyone''s eyes, a shared thought emerged:

    An urge to possess!

    "This painting, I''m buying it!"

    "What do you mean, Mr. Li, I spotted this painting first."

    "Ha, we came together, if anyone spotted it, we did together, how did it become you spotting it first?"

    "Stop fighting, let me tell you all, this painting is not as good as you think. You don''t understand the current market and might face losses, but I''m not afraid of taking a loss, just let me have it."

    "What do you mean you have it, how much is this painting, name your price!"

    "Trying to outbid me, huh, then let''s make it fair, the highest bidder takes it."

    "Heh, no matter how much you bid, I''ll add a dime more."

    "..."

    Watching the group argue back and forth, Miao Bai, Fang Mokan, and Wang Xin laughed heartily.

    Someone was dissatisfied, "What are you laughing at?"

    Miao Bai rolled his eyes, "If the hotel really wanted to sell these paintings, do you think you would get a chance? We would have snapped them up long ago."

    "Not willing to sell... wait, what do you mean by these paintings?"

    "Follow me."

    Miao Bai led the way, and the group viewed the remaining two paintings.

    When everyone saw the third painting, the "Phoenix''s Pride," they were utterly dumbstruck!

    The next moment!

    The suite exploded into chaos!

    "These paintings were all done by the same person!?"

    "Shadow!?"

    "I''ll look for this teacher right away to commission a painting. Don''t fight over it with me, line up behind, I called it first!"

    "Incredible, absolutely incredible!"

    "This phoenix, it''s as if it has come to life, I''m starting to feel warm already!"

    "I think I''ve heard of this Shadow, isn''t he a comic artist? My son really likes his comics. I had no idea his traditional paintings were so breathtaking, especially the ''Spring Trees and Autumn Frost Picture,'' truly a masterpiece!"

    "I know about Shadow too! I saw his ''Galloping Horses Picture'' at a painting exhibition before, and even though that painting was also very good, it absolutely does not compare to these three!"

    "These three paintings are strokes of genius, marvelously crafted, especially the ''Eagle Spreading Wings Picture,'' it really captures the ferocity of nature!"

    ...

    Seeing everyone getting noisy again, Miao Bai suddenly spoke up, interrupting them:

    "Don''t say I didn''t warn you, there aren''t many rooms left."

    "What do you mean?"

    The crowd froze upon hearing this.

    Fang Mokan smiled, "There are two suites left."

    Seeing that the crowd was still puzzled, Wang Xin explained, "The remaining two suites also contain two paintings each, reportedly just as good as the ones we just saw. Of course, the room charge is quite expensive, 500,000 a night. If you want them, you better hurry."

    Boom!

    This statement was like poking a hornet''s nest!

    Eight tycoons almost simultaneously surrounded Wang Yu, whether for prestige or for the paintings, 500,000 was not even considered by them:

    "I''ll take the remaining two suites!"

    "You staying in two rooms by yourself, why don''t you eat till you burst? I''ll take one!" Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Don''t you have houses next door? Why compete with me, someone who lives far away, for a hotel room? Manager Wang, right? Leave one for me."

    "I don''t care about the others, but I''m definitely taking one."

    "I''ll take one, and I might stay for an extended period if the paintings inside really are of the same quality as the ones before."

    "Enough already, if it comes to it, we can squeeze in together. After all, it''s just to see the paintings; you''re not planning to sleep with them, are you?"

    "Then I''ll take it, I''ll stay here tonight, and you guys can come view the paintings, I''m always generous."

    "I''ll book it for a week. For the next few days, you''re welcome to come and view!"

    Wang Yu, surrounded by eight people, was at a loss whether to laugh or cry, "There are only two suites left, maybe you gentlemen should discuss it a bit more?"

    ...

    Eventually, the matter was settled.

    Two tycoons took the remaining two rooms.

    The other tycoons then scheduled future reservations with the hotel.

    On its second official day of opening, Yu Dynasty Hotel experienced a full house in its top-tier suites for the first time!

    Ultimately.

    Everyone entered the newly opened suites together to appreciate the last two paintings.

    Ink Shrimp.

    Herd of Horses.

    These two paintings were revealed in front of the dozen-plus tycoons.

    Moving between the five suites, people expressed their awe:

    "As expected."

    "Any one of these five paintings is an incomparable masterpiece!"

    "500,000 a night for a hotel suite with paintings that firmly aren''t for sale, Sun Yaohuo really knows how to do business."

    "Money is not the issue, it''s whether it''s worth it or not."

    "Any suite here is absolutely worth it, my only fear is that these suites will be hard to book in the future."

    "Yeah, there are only five in total, that''s too few."

    "Five paintings of this caliber, do you guys really think that''s few?"

    "These five paintings have completely changed my impression of fine art; this impactful mood has a special kind of magic."

    ...

    This is the power of Paintfection.

    The Paintfection that has everyone hooked!

    And this night was just the beginning of Yu Dynasty Hotel''s official craze among the wealthy elites of Blue Star!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Although it''s just two chapters, these chapters are nearly ten thousand words, can I ask for a monthly ticket?

 Chapter 941 - 872: Only These 6 Paintings in the World

    The next morning.

    Shadow Studio.

    Jin Mu hummed a pleasant tune as he sat on the sofa, opening the breakfast he had just bought from outside.

    Steamed buns and fried dough sticks.

    Salty tofu brain.

    If this were a year ago, Jin Mu would definitely be extremely busy, to the point where he did not even have time for breakfast.

    It was because he was simultaneously working as the manager for both Chu Kuang and Xian Yu, and he had to deal with too many things every day.

    The situation had changed since last year.

    With the approval of his boss, Jin Mu had set up a business team of twenty people.

    This business team was divided into two groups of ten, each responsible for the work of Chu Kuang and Shadow respectively, so Jin Mu was much more relaxed and not as involved in every little detail as before.

    Now, Jin Mu just had to take care of some major projects.

    And right as Jin Mu was about to eat breakfast, his phone suddenly began to vibrate, a call from an unfamiliar number coming in.

    Jin Mu''s expression immediately turned serious.

    Aside from some very distinguished individuals, ordinary people could only contact Shadow and Chu Kuang through his business team.

    Being able to get directly to Jin Mu could only mean one thing:

    The person on the other end was either rich or noble.

    Setting down the steamed bun in his hand, Jin Mu answered the call.

    From the other side came a somewhat deep voice:

    "May I speak with Mr. Jin Mu, the manager of Teacher Shadow?"

    "Speaking."

    "I am Lei Ming from Shike Real Estate."

    "Mr. Lei, hello, may I ask what I can do for you?"

    Jin Mu asked respectfully yet assertively, surprised by the call.

    He had heard of Lei Ming''s reputation; the man was a top tycoon in Qin Continent, involved in real estate development.

    Not to mention far-off developments.

    Within five kilometers of Jin Mu''s home, there were three residential communities developed by Shike Real Estate, which showed just how formidable Lei Ming was.

    However, Jin Mu did not lose his composure.

    As the manager for both Chu Kuang and Shadow, he had seen a lot over the years and had met many influential figures. Someone of Lei Ming''s caliber would not intimidate him. Jin Mu was just curious about what a real estate mogul would want with Shadow''s art.

    "It''s like this."

    Lei Ming said: "I have long admired Teacher Shadow and would like to commission a painting. Please let Teacher Shadow set the price..."

    So he was seeking a painting.

    That was not rare at all.

    Under Luo Wei''s arrangement, Shadow''s "Galloping Horses" had participated in an art exhibition and indeed won significant recognition from the industry.

    Perhaps Lei Ming had become interested in Shadow''s paintings because of that?

    "Very well."

    Jin Mu answered carefully, "I will discuss it with Teacher Shadow and get back to you as soon as we reach a decision."

    "I am in your debt, Mr. Jin!"

    Lei Ming was very polite, "Please be sure to ask Teacher Shadow for this favor. Should it be successful, there will be a generous reward!"

    Jin Mu''s response was impenetrable: "You''re too kind. I don''t have the authority to decide; in the end, it will depend on Teacher Shadow''s intentions."

    After hanging up the phone.

    Jin Mu didn''t consider this to be a big deal; he planned to finish his breakfast before contacting Lin Yuan. But before he could take the first bite of his steamed bun, a series of calls came in incessantly¡ª

    "I want to buy a painting from Teacher Shadow!"

    "Hello, please ask Teacher Shadow to help make a painting, as long as the quality is high, money is not an issue!"

    "May I know if Teacher Shadow can paint a picture for me?"

    "Is Teacher Shadow there? I''d like to ask for a favor, to commission a piece!"

    "Could you please have Teacher Shadow create a painting?"

    "I want to commission a work from Teacher Shadow; I greatly admire their works!"

    "Teacher Shadow..."

    "Shadow..."

    Since the formation of the business team, it had been a long time since Jin Mu had been this busy!

    Continuous calls came in, each one representing a wealthy tycoon of the highest stature!

    And all these tycoons had one objective:

    To invite Teacher Shadow to produce a painting!

    By the time he had finished taking these calls, Jin Mu''s breakfast on the table had gone cold, but at that moment he hardly cared.

    What was going on?

    Why were so many tycoons suddenly chasing after Shadow''s paintings?

    Could it be that Shadow had been stirring up trouble recently?

    With countless question marks over his head, Jin Mu hurriedly dialed Lin Yuan''s number.

    ...

    Twenty minutes later.

    Lin Yuan appeared at the studio.

    Jin Mu''s face was full of urgency: "Just now, many tycoons called me, saying they wanted you to paint for them. One after another, they all said that price was no obstacle. What exactly have you done to them?"

    "Nothing much."

    Lin Yuan directly informed Jin Mu about the matter of the five paintings.

    It seemed that the Paintfection ability of the paintings at the hotel had affected the viewers.

    Before coming, he had received a message from Sun Yaohuo that all five top-tier suites at the hotel had been booked last night.

    "Just five paintings attracted so many tycoons?" sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Jin Mu''s expression was blank, struggling to grasp the concept.

    Lin Yuan didn''t expect to use words to make Jin Mu understand.

    In front of Jin Mu, he directly took out the "Galloping Horse" painting he had prepared to give to the chairman today!

    Swish!

    The scroll unfurled.

    Infused with Paintfection, the image of the galloping horses instantly hit Jin Mu with an unparalleled force!

    At that moment.

    Jin Mu''s eyes were wide open!

    It was as if the neighing of war horses rang in his ears!

    The majestic figure stood tall and proud, with a strong and powerful neck connecting flowing manes and elegant tails, every stroke of the brush revealing the horse''s strength and spirit!

    In the depths of the ink,

    Jin Mu seemed to see the steed galloping on the endless grasslands, without a saddle, stirrups, or the constraints of reins, just endless pleasure and grace!

    Majestic in its bearing!

    Hooves vaulting through air!

    With the speed of lightning, it was like a streak of light across the sky, leaving nothing but the sound of whinnying and roaring winds in one''s ears, accompanied by the flying past of countless landscapes, as if riding the wind amid the clouds;

    And when the horse''s strong limbs struck the ground, even the soil splashed up!

    It was a kind of unrestrained boldness, as if nothing in the world could stand in its way!

    Broad strokes swept across!

    The momentum of flight shattered the void!

    Only when Lin Yuan put away the painting, did Jin Mu reluctantly look away, taking a deep breath of cool air.

    All five paintings in the hotel are of this caliber?

    No wonder!

    Jin Mu suddenly looked up at Lin Yuan, "What does the boss plan to do with these requests for paintings?"

    "Decline."

    Lin Yuan said without hesitation.

    He had already given this thorough contemplation.

    Paintfection is a very precious skill, so valuable that Lin Yuan didn''t want to misuse it just for the sake of making money.

    Anyone with enough wealth would covet a work containing Paintfection, but could Lin Yuan fulfill all their desires?

    Impossible.

    Rarity brings value.

    No matter how much Lin Yuan wanted to make money, he knew that if works with Paintfection became common in the market, their value would decrease.

    "Then just decline."

    Jin Mu was not surprised at all.

    As an excellent agent, he could think of what Lin Yuan had thought:

    "If all five paintings have this quality, then if the boss agrees outright to the wealthy requests, the value of these paintings would actually decrease."

    As for whether those paintings really matched the caliber of the one in Lin Yuan''s hands?

    The multiple calls Jin Mu received today were evidence enough.

    "You''re not selling the one you have either?"

    "This painting I''ve prepared to give to the chairman."

    "Then leave the rest to me."

    Jin Mu suddenly wore a slightly cunning smile and then dialed a phone number.

    "Mr. Lei, good day."

    "What does Teacher Shadow say?"

    Despite his best efforts to suppress it, Jin Mu still picked up a hint of eagerness and desire in the other''s voice.

    "I''m sorry."

    Jin Mu put on a grave expression, "The five paintings you saw in the hotel are the result of Teacher Shadow''s countless efforts and hard work, the likes of which we outsiders can hardly understand. Work of this caliber, even Teacher Shadow himself cannot reproduce in a short time. So I can only apologize, Teacher Shadow is not taking any orders for the time being..."

    The other party was stunned, falling into silence.

    A moment later, the voice sighed:

    "I was too presumptuous. To have five such masterpieces is already a heavenly blessing, how could I extravagantly hope that Teacher Shadow could easily produce a sixth?"

    Jin Mu: "..."

    The sixth painting was right in Lin Yuan''s hands, wasn''t it?

    To prevent discrepancies, Jin Mu pretended to be regretful, "Actually, there is a sixth, but it has been reserved by Teacher Shadow''s friend Xian Yu, who plans to give it to the chairman of Starlight."

    "The chairman of Starlight Entertainment?"

    The voice on the other end burst into a hint of hope.

    "Yes, therefore, there are just six pieces that Teacher Shadow can paint currently, including the one he isn''t even sure he could replicate, let alone paint a seventh or more..."

    Jin Mu bluffed importantly.

    The other party seemed to make up their mind hurriedly, "I have some business to attend to, I''ll contact you later!"

    "Alright."

    Jin Mu smiled slightly, hung up the phone, and then, mimicking the same explanation, he called the other tycoons.

    The summary was simple:

    This caliber of painting, Teacher Shadow has only painted six so far.

    Five are in the hotel.

    The sixth was taken by Xian Yu to give to the chairman.

    As for the seventh, Teacher Shadow might paint it someday, or might never be able to again.

    And if indeed he paints it, what then?

    That''s just Teacher Shadow being GOAT.

    In any case, for now, there are only these six in the world!

    No one doubted, or rather, there was absolutely no reason to doubt!

    The five paintings were too magnificent, convincing everyone that such masterpieces cannot be easily created!

 Chapter 942 - 873: Ghosts Everywhere

    Starlight Entertainment.

    Chairman''s office.

    Li Songhua was drinking tea.

    Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

    Li Songhua opened the door and saw who it was, a smile spread across his face as he joked, "Lin Yuan, what brings you here? Don''t tell me you''re here to rob me since I don''t even have any tea."

    "I''m not here to rob you, it''s a gift you offered me."

    The visitor was Lin Yuan, who had rushed over from his studio. He earnestly corrected Li Songhua''s misrepresentation.

    Lin Yuan''s sense of humor really wasn''t cutting it.

    Li Songhua muttered to himself, but his smile didn''t diminish in the slightest,

    "So, what brings you to me?"

    "I''m here to give the Chairman a painting, painted by Shadow."

    Lin Yuan brought out the painting as he spoke and handed it to Li Songhua,

    "He wishes you a Happy New Year."

    "..."

    It seemed Lin Yuan did have a bit of a sense of humor after all.

    Li Songhua couldn''t help but laugh, playing along, "Then please thank Teacher Admirable Fish for me and wish Teacher Shadow a Happy New Year as well."

    "Sure."

    After delivering the painting, Lin Yuan left.

    Li Songhua held the painting, just about to open it, when his cell phone on the desk suddenly rang.

    Space Group''s Kong Dao?

    What does he want with me for no reason?

    Feeling puzzled, Li Songhua answered the call with a beaming smile, "KongBoss, what''s made you free enough to call me today?"

    "Brother Li, I have a rather awkward favor to ask."

    "Please go ahead, Kong Boss, we''re practically family."

    The other party, being a top-tier wealthy patron who didn''t dabble in the entertainment industry, was someone Li Songhua could not guarantee he wouldn''t need help from one day. Wealthy patrons of this caliber were not to be offended if it could be helped.

    "Generous!"

    Kong Dao''s voice was somewhat excited, "Then I''ll speak frankly. The painting by Shadow, would Brother Li be willing to part with it?"

    "A painting?"

    Li Songhua was taken aback and immediately looked at the painting in his hand, answering nervously, "How do you know it''s a painting by Shadow?"

    Kong Dao sounded a bit anxious, "Brother Li, please don''t beat around the bush with me. I heard that Admirable Fish managed to get a painting from Teacher Shadow to give to you. I really like this painting. If Mr. Li is willing to part with it, I''m willing to buy it for a price that is sure to satisfy you!"

    Seriously?

    Just this?

    Li Songhua breathed a huge sigh of relief, and seizing the moment, he unfurled the painting, "Kong Boss, you''re too kind. After all, it''s just a...."

    His voice abruptly stopped.

    Kong Dao, "Mr. Li? Mr. Li?"

    Li Songhua''s eyes were fixated on the painting he had just unveiled, then in a very stern tone, he refused, "I''m sorry, Kong Boss, but it''s a special gift from Admirable Fish to me. How could I give it away to someone else!"

    Having said that.

    Li Songhua promptly hung up the phone, then his eyes shone brightly as he stared at the painting, "The Galloping Horses," as if entranced, with his heart trembling with excitement!

    What a treasure!

    Lin Yuan was way too good to him, he thought, not regretting the heart and soul he put into their relationship. This painting was simply a treas....

    At that moment.

    The phone rang again.

    It was another rich patron calling, and right off the bat, he said, "Mr. Li, do you by any chance have a painting...."

    "No, absolutely not!"

    Li Songhua flatly denied, "Mr. Li? Mr. Li? Mr. Li, what are you saying? Ah, alas, the signal is having problems again."

    He hung up the phone, pretending there was an issue.

    Li Songhua quickly glanced left and right, tiptoed, and scurried to the door on his tiptoes as though he was a thief, locking the room from the inside. Then he turned back and continued to gaze lovingly at the painting in front of him:

    My goodness!

    This was painted by Shadow?

    The skill level was simply divine...

    Hm?

    Why is the phone ringing again?

    Li Songhua didn''t even answer; he just pressed the mute button, and finally, peace was restored¡­

    "Beep beep beep."

    The internal company phone rang.

    Li Songhua frowned and picked up,

    "What''s the matter?"

    "President Zou from Deepgrand Group is here to visit the company¡­"

    "Li Songhua is not here, not here!"

    Li Songhua shouted as if someone had stepped on his tail, then hastened to hang up.

    He then picked up the cell phone from his desk and saw there were already six missed calls, all from different wealthy patrons.

    What''s going on?

    How could these people have such quick information? Who let the cat out of the bag? That was seriously unethical!

    That sucks!

    Li Songhua had no idea what was happening.

    He had just gotten the painting, and it seemed like the entire world already knew he had a great painting in his possession!

    Now, the famous billionaires in the circle, one by one, are all salivating over this painting!

    No good!

    Li Songhua suddenly felt that his company wasn''t very safe, and he needed to take the painting home!

    With this thought,

    Li Songhua carefully packed up the painting and made a call to Lin Yuan:

    "This painting..."

    "There are only six in the world,"

    "I got your point!"

    Li Songhua hung up the phone, deciding he must follow Lin Yuan''s example and sneak off early from work today; he just wouldn''t feel at ease until the painting was safe at home.

    Elsewhere,

    As Lin Yuan listened to the dial tone in his ear, he still insisted on finishing his sentence: "As of now."

    ...

    Whoa!

    It was as if a whirlwind had swept through the entire circle of the wealthy.

    It was the afternoon of the second day since the Yu Dynasty Hotel had opened.

    The hotel, otherwise normal, seemed to transform into an exhibition hall, with countless billionaires arriving in succession, and, batch by batch, they went into the hotel''s five top-tier suites to view the paintings, accompanied by waves of exclamation!

    "A stroke of genius!"

    "Who would have thought that a mere five-star hotel would house such stunning pieces of art!"

    "I just have one question, are they for sale or not?"

    "Ol'' Xing, weren''t you uninterested in paintings?"

    "If Zhao Continent''s paintings are unrivaled under the heavens, then Teacher Shadow''s paintings are in the heavens!"

    "Such paintings, there should only be these five in the whole world!"

    "There''s also a sixth piece."

    "Where?"

    "In the hands of Starlight Entertainment''s Chairman Li Songhua."

    ...

    Too many big shots were gathering together.

    Even Sun Yaohuo had to appear to receive them.

    And in the process of this reception, he felt as if he had collected business cards from all the top-notch billionaires in Qin Continent in just one day.

    Meanwhile, at the hotel''s front desk,

    Numerous billionaires'' secretaries were busy making room reservations for their bosses.

    The front desk clerk looked at the person in front of them with a strange glint in their eyes: "Are you sure you want to book? As of now, the earliest available room among these five suites here is booked until late March..."

    ...

    At the same time,

    The second-generation rich kids playing games in the suites were furious.

    Many vented their anger in the "Landing Becomes a Box Group," which had already become the headquarters for the hotel''s second-gen gamers.

    "I just went downstairs, and there were so many people, it was so noisy."

    "I heard it too, do they really think this is an internet caf¨¦?"

    "This is at least a five-star establishment, it shouldn''t be like a market. I''m going to complain to the front desk in a minute."

    "Why bother complaining? Young Master Wang, take them head-on!"

    "I''ll go."

    "Young Master Li is mighty!"

    "In Qin Continent, what Young Master Li says, goes!"

    Amidst the group''s flattery, that Young Master Li boldly opened the hotel room door and then glanced at the people passing by.

    Because he took one extra look at the crowd,

    This very Young Master Li shrank his head, returned to the room with his heart pounding in terror, turned pale, and held down his wildly thumping heart.

    In the group, someone asked, "What did Young Master Li say?" S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Young Master Li picked up his phone, trembling as he typed: "My dad''s dad is here..."

    "Pfft, is your grandpa here to catch you gaming?"

    "That''s my dad''s boss!"

    "My goodness, is your dad''s boss Uncle Eight? Why would such a big shot come here?"

    "Not just Uncle Eight, your dads'' bosses are here too. Everyone, just keep it down today, play games quietly, there are big shots everywhere outside..."

    "Don''t tease, Young Master Li."

    Someone disbelievingly went out to take a look.

    One minute later,

    This person nearly had a heart attack, walked back to their room on weak legs: "Holy shit, I''ve seen a ghost!"

    "What ghost?"

    "The kind that would make your dad bow and scrape!"

    "Why you swearing at me!"

    "Then you go out and have a look..."

    Another minute later,

    This person was on the verge of a breakdown, typing furiously: "Don''t go out! Don''t go out! Don''t go out!"

    Outside was full of ghosts¡ª

    In broad daylight, it was enough to scare someone to death!!!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: I didn''t wish to update this late; I''ve been very busy these last few days, with all the errands for the year suddenly piling up together, quite miraculously, I''m clearly and plainly arranged.

 Chapter 943 - 874: Connections

    Obviously.

    The Yu Dynasty Hotel had become a sensation!

    Starting with Wang Xin, Miao Bai, and Fang Mokan, and extending to the eight wealthy patrons they attracted, the news spread rapidly!

    Within just a few days, a legend about Teacher Shadow''s five paintings began circulating among the wealthy elite¡ª

    This was the reason why droves of top-tier wealthy individuals appeared at the Yu Dynasty Hotel.

    Some of the wealthy came by on their way;

    Some came specifically with high hopes;

    Some were outright dragged there by friends.

    But no matter their reasons for visiting this newly opened five-star hotel, no matter how much skepticism and confusion they harbored before seeing the paintings.

    Ultimately.

    All the wealthy patrons who saw these five paintings were effortlessly captivated!

    Paintfection touched their souls; no one could resist the magic charm that struck them!

    Swish, swish, swish!

    Five suites were booked solid for dozens of days ahead, and there was even momentum to extend the reservations!

    This explosive popularity was terrifying.

    To ensure more wealthy patrons could enjoy the suites, Yao Huo had to introduce a new rule:

    "Any suite in the Yu Dynasty Hotel, once booked, cannot be canceled, and the booker must pay the full one-night fee of five hundred thousand in advance, otherwise, we won''t accept the reservation!"

    However.

    Such restrictions simply couldn''t deter the wealthy patrons'' enthusiasm for these five paintings.

    On the contrary:

    This inconsiderate rule only stimulated the wealthy patrons more!

    One after another, they rushed to make reservations, as if not staying a night in the Yu Dynasty''s suite would somehow diminish their own standards.

    "Have these people gone mad?"

    Wang Yu was dumbfounded; the five hundred thousand per night suite was not considered expensive by anyone, and everyone was even fighting to book it!

    "From your perspective, they seem crazy,"

    Yao Huo laughed and said, "But if you were as rich as they are, would you want to stay there for a night?"

    "Yes!"

    Wang Yu answered almost without hesitation.

    Patted on the shoulder, Yao Huo lightly said:

    "It''s as simple as that, money is just a number to me. What I need is not money, but the value that money can create. The same is true for them. At their level, it is very hard to attain a sense of spiritual satisfaction, and Teacher Shadow''s paintings provide this spiritual pleasure. Compared to this pleasure, what''s a mere five hundred thousand?"

    Having said this, Yao Huo left the office.

    He still had to continue to accompany the wealthy patrons outside.

    The five paintings at the Yu Dynasty Hotel had brought him a vast network of contacts.

    For Yao Huo, if he could leverage these contacts, the future value they could generate was immeasurable.

    Wang Yu stared at Yao Huo''s retreating figure in a daze.

    He suddenly thought:

    That day, when Teacher Admirable Fish expressed dissatisfaction with the original five paintings in the suite,

    If Yao Huo had not decisively decided to remove those original paintings, could he have still obtained Teacher Shadow''s five masterpieces as a replacement from Teacher Admirable Fish?

    The answer is, most likely not!

    At that moment, Wang Yu''s heart was struck by a tidal wave!

    Compared to the chairman, he was indeed too young!

    He had actually mocked the chairman internally, thinking the latter was blindly worshiping Teacher Admirable Fish.

    Whatever Teacher Admirable Fish said, Yao Huo would oblige without any bottom line, going along with even a casual remark.

    Now that he thought about it.

    Is this called worshiping?

    This is clearly the chairman''s grand vision and spirit!

    No wonder the chairman was so compliant to Teacher Admirable Fish; it turns out a casual remark from Teacher Admirable Fish held such deep significance!

    These past few days hadn''t been in vain for Wang Yu.

    He had learned that the hotel''s five paintings were incomparably precious works, the pinnacle of Teacher Shadow''s painting career!

    Throughout Blue Star, there were only six works of similar caliber!

    And the Yu Dynasty Hotel owned as many as five!

    Countless wealthy individuals had spent a fortune attempting to commission paintings from Teacher Shadow in vain! S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    But just because of a casual remark from Teacher Admirable Fish, the chairman had the original five paintings replaced and got these five paintings from Teacher Shadow through the relationship with Teacher Admirable Fish, which skyrocketed the Yu Dynasty Hotel to fame!

    The chairman was terrifying!

    But even more terrifying was Teacher Admirable Fish!

    Works that the wealthy couldn''t obtain even by spending a fortune, Teacher Admirable Fish obtained with ease from Shadow!

    What kind of influence was this?

    It''s said that the sixth painting of the same caliber, also belonging to Shadow, was obtained by Teacher Admirable Fish and given to Rochard Li, the Chairman of Starlight.

    Doesn''t this mean:

    All six of Shadow''s pinnacle paintings were obtained by Teacher Admirable Fish alone?

    This was beyond a matter of influence.

    The relationship between Admirable Fish, Chu Kuang, and Shadow might be deeper than the world imagines!

    Perhaps Director Sun had realized this point long ago?

    Well.

    Wang Yu had deeply misunderstood Yao Huo.

    When Yao Huo decisively removed the original paintings that hung in the suite, it was purely out of an instinct to make his junior happy.

    However.

    There was one point Wang Yu was right about.

    After seeing the five paintings at Yu Dynasty Hotel, many wealthy individuals indeed started trying every possible way to contact Teacher Shadow to purchase his works.

    It could be said that countless tycoons swarmed in.

    Unfortunately, no one has succeeded so far, as Jin Mu''s defense was watertight.

    This made countless tycoons wring their hands in frustration, yet they couldn''t help but feel deeply moved:

    "Actually, we should have understood earlier, if Teacher Shadow could easily produce such level of paintings, then divine works would be all too cheap. But the more it is so, the more I feel these paintings are of a rarity not found elsewhere in the world."

    "Yes."

    "The reason why a divine work is a divine work is that the creator also needs to combine state, talent and inspiration all in one, and can only create something by chance under the right circumstances. This is also why countless top artists, despite having astounding talents, have only a few works that can truly be considered masterpieces."

    "Teacher Shadow is already terrifying enough."

    "For him to be able to create a total of six pieces at such a level, it''s truly not easy!"

    "Now I just want to see what the sixth painting looks like. If I can''t see Teacher Shadow''s sixth masterpiece, it would truly be a lifelong regret for someone as obsessed with painting as I am."

    "The sixth piece is in the hands of Li Songhua, I plan to talk to him."

    "I have talked to him already, he refused to sell it no matter what, but that''s not his fault, as any of us owning such a painting would not sell it either."

    "If he''s not selling, that''s fine, but not even allowing us to see it, that''s just too stingy!"

    "Exactly, let''s go to him!"

    "Let''s go together, with all of us coming forward, would Li Songhua really dare to send us away?"

    "..."

    Li Songhua didn''t dare.

    Li Songhua was a bit scared.

    After leaving work early, he took the "Charging Horse Painting" home and asked about it from one of the tycoons who coveted the painting he had, and he already more or less knew the situation¡ª

    ''There are just these six in the world!''

    ''The other five are in Sun Yaohuo''s hotel, not for sale, and treated as the treasure of the establishment; only the sixth one is privately owned by me, so the tycoons are all green with envy!''

    ''This Sun Yaohuo is not simple.''

    ''He actually followed my lead to pull Lin Yuan into investing, involving both gaming and hotel management, and unknowingly relied on Lin Yuan to become King of Singing.''

    ''How have I never noticed him before?''

    ''Since he''s part of my company, it seems that in the future, I will have to discuss things properly with Sun Yaohuo; apart from Lin Yuan, my company actually has such a talent.''

    Numerous thoughts flashed through Li Songhua''s mind.

    This painting by Teacher Shadow was a hot potato for him, but for him, it represented an opportunity!

    Although he could never sell the painting, just letting people see it wouldn''t cost him anything, and yet it would be an excellent opportunity for him to ingratiate himself with various tycoons!

    Okay!

    You want to see it?

    Then I''ll let you see enough of it!

    Li Songhua gave a slight smile and finally stopped avoiding the situation, instead taking the initiative to take out his phone and dial:

    "Mr. Lei... No... the painting is impossible to sell... but Mr. Lei''s love for paintings has deeply touched me... How about Mr. Lei comes to visit my home... Let''s appreciate this painting by Xian Yu together... Let''s meet over a painting... only to speak of love and beauty..."

    Not to talk business.

    Only to speak of love and beauty.

    Who believes that?

    With Li Songhua''s ways, even love and beauty would eventually turn into business.

    Sun Yaohuo built countless connections relying on Teacher Shadow''s five paintings; although Li Songhua had only one, he could also build countless connections, and ultimately turn them into support for himself!

    "Teacher Shadow..."

    After making a number of calls to wealthy individuals, Li Songhua was contemplative.

    Though Li Songhua valued all three of Lin Yuan''s pseudonyms, he didn''t value them equally.

    Xian Yu was the first.

    Because Xian Yu''s Maestro identity was very important to Starlight, and he also had talents in film and television.

    Chu Kuang was the second.

    The film and television rights to Chu Kuang''s novels were also important to Starlight; not to mention, starting from "The Magic Lotus Lantern" on, Journey to the West had become one of Starlight''s biggest money trees.

    Teacher Shadow was the third.

    Teacher Shadow''s comics, turned into animations, were also very profitable, and Starlight''s animation department was founded because of this.

    But.

    Teacher Shadow''s influence, after all, was slightly inferior to Lin Yuan''s first two pseudonyms, as it ranked last in money-making capability.

    However.

    Teacher Shadow''s level in traditional Chinese painting had made Li Songhua change his mind.

    He seemed to have severely underestimated how terrifying Teacher Shadow was!

    With just a few paintings, he made countless tycoons rush to him!

    In a way, this was something that neither Xian Yu nor Chu Kuang could achieve!

    Not to mention how many painting-loving tycoons there are in Blue Star.

    The truly terrifying thing about Teacher Shadow was, even if the tycoons didn''t love paintings, Teacher Shadow could turn them into painting enthusiasts!

    After Li Songhua took the "Charging Horse Painting" home, his wife was instantly fascinated by it!

    Despite his wife being a shallow rich woman who liked to watch soap operas and play mahjong, she was suddenly captivated by a painting, which was enough for Li Songhua to make a judgment closest to the truth.

    Not to mention, their housekeeper''s eyes went straight when she saw the "Charging Horse Painting"!

    "No, wait."

    Li Songhua suddenly slapped his forehead.

    Look at all the nonsense he was considering. Whether it was Xian Yu, Chu Kuang, or Teacher Shadow, weren''t they all Lin Yuan?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to [Label0v0], another Alliance Hierarch, I kneel to your generosity, boss, wishing you massive fortune!!!

 Chapter 944 - 875: It Seems Like You Can Kill Teammates in This Game

    Countless tycoons flocked to the Yu Dynasty Hotel, such a commotion would surely not go unnoticed by competitors.

    In fact,

    today, the entire industry was shaken by the situation at Yu Dynasty Hotel!

    "My god!"

    "Does the Yu Dynasty Hotel have some kind of magic? First, they used games to attract customers, and now they''re using paintings to attract the wealthy?"

    "I can understand the games."

    "But what''s the deal with those paintings?"

    "Which of these tycoons isn''t well-versed and widely traveled? What kind of paintings haven''t they seen? How could they possibly spend half a million for a night just to see some paintings!"

    "You''re telling me!"

    "I heard that the suites with those paintings are booked out for months, now even if you have the money you can''t stay!"

    "I''m losing my mind, our hotel had two tycoons pulled over there!"

    "..."

    Previously, many competitors wanted to see the spectacle at Yu Dynasty Hotel.

    Everyone thought that once that game was released, a lot of customers would surely leave.

    But before anyone could see the game release, Yu Dynasty had already pulled another trick, using paintings to attract customers!

    To everyone''s surprise, it worked!

    The tycoons, acting as if they''d never seen paintings before, rushed to book the rooms!

    What on earth is going on?

    Is it us who is not normal, or the tycoons?

    On the other side,

    Lin Yuan was unaware of the impact those few paintings had on the five-star hotel industry in Su City, just like he didn''t know what trouble his painting had caused Li Songhua.

    He was aware of the situation at Yu Dynasty Hotel, though.

    Because Sun Yaohuo liked to send him messages from time to time.

    And by the evening,

    Sun Yaohuo sent him another message, "Junior, ''PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds'' will be officially released at seven o''clock, we''ve set the price at eighty yuan."

    Game release?

    So today was already January 31.

    Lin Yuan replied with a celebratory emoji; he had no objections about the pricing¡ªit was a standard rate for games of similar genres.

    "By the way,"

    Sun Yaohuo asked, "Do you want to play a round together?"

    Lin Yuan refused, "No."

    Lin Yuan had quit that game.

    But after all, it was his new game, and he needed it to earn fame.

    So Lin Yuan used Xian Yu''s account to repost the trailer and promotion for ''PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds'' on the gaming platform on his blog.

    The comments section was quickly filled by supportive fans:

    "Whoa, a new game?"

    "Fish Papa has finally released a new game. I''ve beaten ''Plants vs. Zombies'' so many times, downloading this one right away."

    "A shooter game, huh? I''m sick of this type, but I''ll download it to support; how can I not, when it''s Fish Papa''s game."

    "Wow, this game is priced at eighty yuan, a bit pricey."

    "Fish Papa, I''m not used to seeing the leaderboards without you!"

    "No wonder there''s been no new song this month, turns out you were busy making a game."

    "Will you also be missing from February''s leaderboard? Recently the leaderboard has all songs in the style of Zhao Continent, but I feel they only taste right when you write them, especially ''Blue and White Porcelain.''"

    "Zhao Continent''s songs have a classical vibe, still nice to hear."

    "I''ve listened to a few and wasn''t much interested, the more I listen, the more I realize how good ''East Wind Breaks'' was when you did it last year."

    Xian Yu, after all, wasn''t primarily a game maker.

    The fans'' interest in his games was far less compared to their interest in his music.

    But this was enough, as he had a strong fan base, and there would always be some who were interested.

    Besides, the game ''Plants vs. Zombies'' had already proven that Xian Yu had considerable talent in game design.

    ...

    In a certain villa,

    Harvey was excited!

    The game was finally coming out!

    After canceling his room at the Yu Dynasty Hotel, Harvey could no longer play ''PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds'', since that game was only available in that hotel, and had not been released to the outside world.

    No way around it.

    Harvey could only wait eagerly for the official release of the game!

    He had thought about going back to the hotel to continue playing, but the thought of the hotel suite costing 500,000 a night made him sick!

    500,000 a night?

    Do you think I''m an idiot?

    Even if I, Harvey, were to die, if I jumped from here, I still wouldn''t go to the Yu Dynasty Hotel to book a suite for 500,000 a night!

    Besides, I could just bear it a few days without playing! S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    And Harvey really did bear it for a few days, even going so far as to block his own "Drop Box Group."

    The group kept discussing the game.

    Harvey was afraid that if he saw too much, he couldn''t resist the itch, and would really do something brainlessly stupid¡ªlike running to the Yu Dynasty Hotel to open a suite for 500,000 a night¡ª

    He never even considered opening a regular room.

    Harvey had always stayed in suites whenever he was at hotels, a fact well-known within his circle, and many people admired him for this.

    Yes.

    Harvey placed great importance on his image, especially caring about appearances.

    Today, finally, he could let loose. He opened the "Drop Box Group" and mentioned everyone:

    "Battle is on!"

    Being one of the most regarded second-generation rich in the group, his message immediately enlivened the chat.

    "Harvey''s here!"

    "I read in the description, this game has a team mode, where you can form teams of four!"

    "Form up!"

    "We have more experience than other players, so once we enter, we''ll be the dream team¡ªguaranteed winners!"

    "No doubt about it!"

    "I''ve been playing for so long in this hotel, partly because I genuinely enjoy it, and partly because I wanted to get ahead of other players in learning the game, so that when the game is released, I can crush everyone!"

    "Gun god has arrived too!"

    "It''s more fun with more people. It''s boring playing internal battles with just our hotel group anyway. Alright, it''s time, we can download the official version now."

    The hotel''s version of "PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds" was an internal test version.

    Everyone had to download the official release themselves, costing eighty dollars, which this group of rich second-generation didn''t care about.

    Soon.

    Everyone had downloaded it.

    Harvey found three friends he knew well to form a team.

    They entered the game.

    Before Harvey could speak, his close friends suddenly got excited, one after another they discussed:

    "The official version actually has skins!"

    "Look at this, it''s not that the official game version has skins, but we can only use them while playing in the hotel¡ªit''s a Yu Dynasty Hotel limited edition skin, meaning other players can''t use it!"

    "Damn, this hotel really knows what''s up, this skin is freaking awesome!"

    "This one is a Blue Star military camouflage uniform, way better looking than the crappy white shirt before!"

    "I like this gold outfit, wearing this is definitely going to be the death of me because surely everyone will want to take me down, but that''s not important, I just wanna look smashing!"

    "And this red one, it''s absolutely eye-catching!"

    "Hey hey hey, seems like there are skins even after you die, our boxes are different from others!"

    "Nice move there, this box skin oozes a royal aura, I''m going to use this one to die first, just to test out the effect of the box!"

    "Harvey, put on the skin!"

    "Oh, Harvey isn''t in the hotel, too bad, we can''t form the dazzling foursome. Harvey, you might as well leave the group."

    The friends had already put on the hotel-exclusive skins.

    Harvey tilted his head, looking at his character''s shorts and tattered shirt, and couldn''t help but fall into deep thought.

    Should I leave then?

    On the computer screen:

    The other three were dressed outrageously, clearly the type to be targeted the moment they enter the game.

    Standing with them, I looked exactly like a beggar who had just walked out of a slum, ready to go out and beg.

    His eyes gradually widened.

    Yet within, the expression grew increasingly dull.

    A violent emotion suddenly filled his heart.

    Harvey suddenly remembered the official game rules he had just read:

    It seems like you can kill teammates?

 Chapter 945 - 876 Live Streaming PlayerUnknowns Battlegrounds (Part 1)

    As a rich second generation who naturally loves to show off.

    Harvey was always the most dazzling guy in the crowd wherever he went!

    He enjoyed the feeling of being the center of attention so much that he insisted on nothing less than five-star hotel suites.

    However, at this moment.

    Looking at the gorgeous skin outfits on his three teammates, then at his own attire that resembled a beggar''s, the stark contrast...

    Harvey was furious!

    When had he, Harvey, ever been so shabbily dressed?

    What embarrassed Harvey even more was the fact that he found himself feeling jealous of his three teammates, coveting their skin outfits?

    Damn!

    People are supposed to be jealous of me, when did it become my turn to be jealous of others?

    It''s a trap!

    All these are tricks that the Yu Dynasty Hotel came up with just to swindle my money!

    Grinding his teeth.

    Harvey decided to remain unmoved!

    These skins were just flashy, with no actual attribute enhancements, and they only made you a target for other players in the game!

    After comforting himself mentally.

    Harvey and his three teammates entered the game lobby.

    In an instant.

    Many players gathered around, surrounding Harvey''s three teammates, and voices filled with admiration rose:

    "Boss!"

    "Where did you get those skins, they''re so cool, why haven''t I seen them?"

    "This one looks like the uniform of the xx army!"

    "This is awesome, there are even special glasses, it looks so stylish."

    "I checked it out, it seems to be a limited skin from the Yu Dynasty Hotel, only available for use at the Yu Dynasty Hotel."

    Damn!

    "The five-star hotel opened by the Yu Dynasty?"

    "These skins are so exquisitely made, can we rich folks make friends with you guys?"

    Harvey''s character faded into the crowd of ordinary players, forced to watch his three teammates bask in the worship and envy of others...

    Harvey was tormented.

    Finally, they entered the game.

    After landing, Harvey immediately started searching for various guns, ammunition, and protective gear, while also expertly picking off other players with his sharpshooting skills.

    Next to him.

    A teammate excitedly shouted, "Look, look, when I run, the cloak behind me flutters!"

    "Mine''s not bad either, all sorts of tactical movements look so cool."

    "Look at me, look at me, my skin seems to have special effects when I shoot!"

    Harvey''s mouth twitched.

    Bang!

    He shot one of his teammates, just like that.

    The teammate was taken aback, "Harvey, why did you shoot me?"

    Harvey replied indifferently, "Slip of the hand."

    Teammate: "Be careful, don''t damage my skin."

    Upon hearing this, Harvey couldn''t help himself and fired a few more shots.

    Caught off guard, the teammate was promptly killed, turning into a box that glowed with a purple light.

    "Harvey, did your hand slip again?"

    The other rolled his eyes, but the next moment his voice turned excited:

    "Oh my God, look at my urn, isn''t it cool? Just ask yourselves, isn''t it cool?"

    "Awesome!"

    "That''s a nice looking box!"

    The other two teammates laughed, "Harvey, take us out too, let you witness just how imposing our boxes are!" S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Harvey: "..."

    He couldn''t take it anymore and chose to commit suicide.

    In this game, you could kill teammates or yourself, though normally no one would willingly commit suicide. Since Harvey had started playing this game, he had only encountered it once when someone killed themselves, and they were in the hotel at the time, probably seeking death voluntarily, right?

    Surely it wasn''t an accidental self-kill.

    Ignoring the puzzlement of his teammates, Harvey took off his headphones and drove his sports car out.

    Upon arriving at the Yu Dynasty Hotel, Harvey said irritably,"Give me a suite, the kind that costs five hundred thousand a night!"

    Alright.

    He had given in, after all.

    Harvey knew he was a fool, to actually go out of his way and give this weird hotel a chance to fleece him again, but his indignation had clouded his judgment!

    "I''m sorry."

    The receptionist showed a standard professional smile, "I''m afraid all our suites are currently full. Would you consider a different room? We don''t have many of those left, either."

    Full...

    Filled up?

    Harvey wondered if he had misheard, those were suites that cost five hundred thousand a night, was there another fool besides him?

    ...

    The so-called Yu Dynasty Hotel limited skin did not cause a big splash in the game.

    Firstly, the game had just been released and its influence was still quite limited;

    secondly, there weren''t many players who wore this skin, just a few hundred within the hotel.

    So far, the game had mostly attracted its first batch of players through Xian Yu''s blog recommendations.

    After all, the game cost over a hundred yuan, and it wasn''t something everyone would buy without hesitation. Many people, although they had noticed the game through Xian Yu and other channels, were still adopting a wait-and-see attitude, waiting for initial feedback before deciding whether to purchase it.

    And at this time.

    A game broadcaster on a certain live streaming platform also noticed PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds.

    This broadcaster was named Xun.

    A third-tier broadcaster on the live streaming platform.

    Actually, Xun had once been quite a famous broadcaster.

    His best game was Counter-Strike, which was very popular for a year!

    Unfortunately,

    This game gradually lost its heat over the recent years.

    As fewer players and viewers remained, Xun also fell from grace as a broadcaster.

    This made Xun realize he had to switch to broadcasting another game!

    However, there hadn''t been any particularly outstanding FPS games released in the past few years, so Xun had not found an appropriate new game to focus on.

    He did try out some other games in the meantime.

    However, the audience did not take to these games, and he would often get so heavily criticized that he would retreat back to playing Counter-Strike, which he was nearly sick of.

    And just then,

    Xun discovered that his favorite Maestro, Teacher Admirable Fish, had made an FPS game.

    The game was called PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds.

    With an attitude of giving it a try, Xun downloaded the game and started his live stream.

    "This game is made by my idol, I plan to try it out," he said with a smile as he opened the stream, then he registered a game account and, in front of his viewers, fumbled with the rules, occasionally reading out the text instructions aloud.

    "Why aren''t you playing Counter-Strike?"

    "Trying out other games again? There''s no point in you playing other games, there''s no sense of involvement."

    "I still prefer watching you play Counter-Strike."

    "Shooter games are all pretty much the same these days, playing over and over, the most classic one is still Counter-Strike."

    "What is this crappy game? Its rules seem so random."

    "Fish Papa made it? Then I''ll watch for a bit."

    "If you''re not playing Counter-Strike, why should I watch? Unfollowing."

    The bullet-screen comments sporadically appeared.

    Xun glanced at them and sighed deeply.

    This was another reason why his attempts at trying other games had continually failed.

    The few fans he had left seemed to only enjoy watching him play Counter-Strike.

    Alas.

    He guessed this was going to be yet another failed attempt.

    In the end, he would have to obediently return to broadcasting Counter-Strike.

    Although Xun understood that if he continued with that game, his viewership would keep decreasing.

    This was the sorrow of being a game broadcaster.

    A game''s popularity could boost a considerable number of broadcasters to fame, but once that game cooled off, many broadcasters could face a chiller fate, with very few successfully switching to other games and maintaining their popularity, especially in recent years with no standout FPS games.

    Broadcasters of such games were in an even more difficult situation.

    Without a good game, the lives of these broadcasters were not easy.

    If only a really hot FPS game would come out sometime soon.

    With that thought,

    Xun had already entered the game.

    Since he had read the rules beforehand, he skipped the tutorial.

    Parachuting¡­

    Landing¡­

    Gathering equipment¡­

    Everything went according to the rules of the game.

    So,

    In front of the live stream audience,

    Xun ran around the map in the wilderness.

    This process should have been very boring because there wasn''t much intense gunfighting early in the game, and Xun didn''t get a chance to showcase his skill.

    But for some reason,

    After picking up a gun that was quite famous on Blue Star and running around the map for quite some time, Xun suddenly felt a strange sensation:

    The game made by Xian Yu seemed a bit interesting?

    Just at that moment,

    Gunshots sounded in the distance!

    Xun perked up, ready to take action!

 Chapter 946 - 877 Live Streaming PlayerUnknowns Battlegrounds (Part 2)

    Xun was a veteran player in shooter games, his skills were incredibly refined. Even for his first time playing "PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds," his abilities were not something that the average person could match. Moreover, since most of the other players were also new to this game, it was unlikely their basics could be better than Xun''s¡ªthus, he quickly achieved his first kill.

    Different from the feel of "Counter-Strike."

    The former emphasized playability and required absolute concentration and exceptionally complex techniques, while this new game gave Xun the feeling that:

    Easy!

    Way too easy!

    This left Xun somewhat unaccustomed; he was used to high-difficulty gameplay, and the entry barrier of this new game was significantly lower than "Counter-Strike."

    Not really my style.

    As expected, I prefer the games that require higher skill level¡ªthis one is frankly a bit uninteresting for a pro like me.

    Xun felt somewhat downcast.

    Although that''s what he thought, the game still had to continue.

    Suddenly.

    He noticed that the person he had just killed turned into a box.

    Upon closer inspection.

    Wow, their gear exploded everywhere!

    The luck of his opponent was really something¡ªsuch good stuff in that box, dying to him was a huge loss...

    Swoosh swoosh swoosh.

    Xun deftly looted the crate and massively upgraded his gear, suddenly feeling an inexplicable sense of pleasure.

    And as the game progressed,

    the discomfort from the game''s oversimplified controls began to fade away!

    By the time he killed his third opponent and claimed the equipment they dropped, the universal will of "truly fragrant" descended¡ª

    Holy crap!

    This is so damn satisfying!

    To hell with technicality!

    Why bother making it so complicated?

    I play games for the thrill, for relaxation!

    A shooter game has to be simple to get that exhilarating feeling of a good kill!

    Such smooth sensation, rat-tat-tat-tat, can''t stop at all, right?!

    So light and pleasurable!

    This was something "Counter-Strike" couldn''t give Xun, as players sticking to that game were mostly pros by then, not letting Xun kill to his heart''s content, and he would even often get killed by random players.

    But at this moment.

    He had completely adapted to the shooting feel of "PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds," and felt an increasingly addictive trend, as if shooter games were indeed meant to be this effortlessly exhilarating!

    [You have become the new kill leader!]

    As Xun killed his fifth person, a notification from the System popped up.

    Even though this wasn''t a difficult feat for Xun, he felt an overwhelming sense of achievement, especially at the moment of looting¡ªhe hadn''t had this much fun in ages!

    In fact, the feeling was somewhat like an expert going to a fish pond to blast fish.

    Many people get thoroughly hooked on that sense of wanton achievement after one go, and over time, they might not even bother with high-level matches.

    At this time, Xun''s favorite aspect of the game was:

    This game had loot mechanics, just like those role-playing games where you defeat monsters to level up!

    Kill other players, and they turn into boxes, allowing you to enjoy their gear to your heart''s content!

    It''s too satisfying!

    Fancy someone''s gear?

    If you''ve got the skills, kill them and take it!

    This made Xun look at other players with an increasingly fiery gaze, as if they were mobile "human-shaped equipment repositories."

    This setup may seem far-fetched, but it''s quite realistic. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    In real life, if there were shootouts, killing someone and taking their weapon would be a matter of course, right?

    During this process,

    Xun also encountered a ridiculously funny incident.

    One player actually lay down next to a crate pretending to be dead. A passerby didn''t realize it and got taken out!

    After looting, the other player wanted to continue pretending.

    Having witnessed it all, Xun promptly killed him, almost dying from laughter himself.

    "No way, this can actually work!?"

    This game seemed to allow for the development of various playstyles easily!

    For example, when Xun thought he had found a safe zone, he stumbled upon an old cunning foe. If not for Xun''s skillful play and strong gear, he would''ve indeed been taken out by the opponent.

    "That was a close call."

    Xun became more and more elated, "This game is so magical, no matter how good your skills are, you can still get taken down by a sneaky bastard hiding in the shadows. It looks like I need to be extra careful, and I feel like there''s a lot of diversity in the gameplay that''s worth exploring."

    Before he knew it.

    He had been playing for over ten minutes.

    The poison zone kept refreshing, and he began to run from the poison.

    "This setting is wicked cool, with the poison zone shrinking at intervals, forcing players into an increasingly concentrated area on the map, forcing players to engage in the final showdown. Guys, I feel like I''m about to win chicken dinner..."

    Xun explained as he played, thoroughly enjoying himself.

    During the process, he didn''t even check his live chat, completely engrossed in the game.

    What Xun did not know was.

    The number of messages in his live-streaming room was increasing.

    "Pfft!"

    "What game is this? It looks interesting!"

    "FPS where you kill for loot? The designer''s got something there!"

    "Hahahahaha, that scared the hell out of me! They even play dead to deceive others?!"

    "Did you guys see that? Just now, some idiot flew up to the sky on a motorcycle. That should have been a highlight screenshot!"

    "Damn, how long has that sly bastard been lying in wait, so dogged..."

    "Xun, drive quick, I just saw someone driving, but their skills were poor. Show him what a real pro looks like!"

    "This game the host is playing is so much fun, what''s it called?"

    "Win chicken dinner, win chicken dinner!"

    "Besides the poison zone, there''s even heaven''s bombs, lots of people got blown to bits!"

    "This game is nothing like the other shooting games on the market, how the hell is it so funny? Just saw two guys play themselves to death, are they developing bizarre ways to die in this game?"

    "..."

    The game finally entered the final circle.

    Armed to the teeth, Xun was unstoppable, utterly bloodshot with zeal!

    Bang!

    With the last gunshot, Xun finally took down his last opponent, his kill record spectacularly messy.

    At the same time.

    Several lines appeared on the screen:

    "Great fortune, chicken dinner tonight!!"

    The words "chicken dinner" seemed to possess a magical power, flooding Xun with a tremendous sense of achievement!

    "Chicken dinner!"

    Xun excitedly closed the game, "Guys! This game is super fun, I highly recommend it. Also, I just noticed there''s a team mode that you can choose. Who among you viewers wants to join me..."

    Huh?

    Before he could finish his sentence.

    Xun''s voice abruptly stopped.

    On his screen, the live chat was packed, the messages from countless viewers endless!

    This...

    His neck stiffly shifted his gaze.

    Xun looked at the number of followers on his live stream.

    A conspicuously long number glaringly appeared before Xun''s eyes, reddening them with shock:

    1,050,976 people watching!

    Whisk whisk whisk, and the number was still climbing!

    My God!

    Xun''s eyes bulged out, bloodshot and clear as if he could not believe the number he was seeing was real!

    Half an hour after the broadcast began!

    The popularity broke one million!

    This was a milestone he couldn''t achieve even at the peak of his career!

    "The host has great facial expressions!"

    "Preparing emojis!"

    "Host, play another round!"

    The chat became even more feverish, the viewers'' excitement swelling wave upon wave. In just half an hour, countless people were attracted by the game Xun was playing!

 Chapter 947 - 878: The Crappy Game Is No Fun

    Any game that is good enough can easily feed a group of streamers.

    The opposite is true as well.

    When all streamers unanimously choose to broadcast a certain game, they can continuously provide heat for it!

    On live streaming platforms.

    As Xun attracted a massive audience with "PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds," other streamers were quickly alerted:

    "What''s up with Xun?"

    "How come his stats have suddenly skyrocketed?"

    "Did the platform actually arrange a homepage recommendation for a third-tier streamer like him!?"

    "Look at this!"

    "What game is he streaming?"

    "Seems like it''s a new shooting game; it looks pretty interesting, and the audience is so enthusiastic in sending bullet comments."

    "I''m streaming this game today too!"

    The olfactory sense of the live streaming industry is very sharp, Xun''s success instantly made other streamers of the same category envious.

    Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

    Streamers of the same type across various platforms also began to try out, downloading and broadcasting the game.

    As a result...

    Many audience members who enjoy watching game streams found out:

    Today, a lot of streamers are broadcasting the same new shooting game, including some big-name streamers!

    Initially, there must have been those who resisted the game.

    The appearance and acceptance of new things inevitably go through a process.

    But as everyone saw the streamers constantly showcasing the charm of "PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds," more and more viewers were completely attracted by the game''s unique gameplay.

    "Interesting!"

    A lot of viewers, becoming itchy to try, directly downloaded the game!

    Their concerns had disappeared.

    A large number of streamers'' trials let the audience learn about the excellent aspects of this game.

    This allowed "PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds," the newly launched game, to suddenly surge with a massive influx of players, culminating in the first wave of enthusiastic responses in just a few hours!

    "This game is too much fun!"

    "I scavenged for half an hour, only to die within a second upon encounter, and yet I find it incredibly interesting. Is there no hope for me?"

    "Came here on a streamer''s recommendation, he played three rounds and won two chickens, but I''m way better, having taken off on the plane more than thirty times in one hour."

    "Running around and ending up winning a chicken dinner, can you believe that?"

    "This game allows you to play exactly how you want, whether you want to recklessly engage everyone you see or sneak around delivering express packages till the end, or you can work as a team with clear roles, offering intense and varied gameplay that easily gets you hooked!"

    "Died again as soon as I landed, must I be the reincarnation of the Box Spirit?"

    "Noobs play a battle of gods, pros play the mortal''s game of Zhu Xian, average players are in a desperate escape, while you all are just simulating parachuting." S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The game''s review section was abuzz with banter.

    Things like ''extreme parachuting simulator.''

    And ''instantly turning into a box upon landing'' started trending among the players.

    At home.

    In the campus.

    In internet cafes.

    And so on and so forth.

    People everywhere were trying out the game and became loyal fans in a very short time.

    Of course.

    Not everyone loves this game, as tastes differ, but "PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds" is bound to be a game that a large majority will enjoy. In an era when various shooting games on the market are becoming more and more homogenized, the sudden appearance of a game with novel and unique gameplay is terrifying in its influence!

    Meanwhile.

    As the game designer, Admirable Fish, after sweeping multiple awards at the music festival, again became the focus of people''s attention and heated discussions.

    "Fish Papa''s planning ability is unbeatable!"

    "Now I''m torn and conflicted, on one hand, I hope Fish Papa can devote his energy to music, on the other hand, I hope Fish Papa can create a few more interesting games like this one."

    "Fish Papa''s game is way more exciting than Plants vs. Zombies!"

    "Actually, Plants vs. Zombies is pretty epic too, but that game is single-player, so it''s not that meaningful to compare the two."

    "Both games are indeed very successful."

    "Let''s get back to that classic question: apart from being a dad, is there anything Xian Yu can''t do?"

    Netizens burst out laughing instantaneously.

    This was a meme about Xian Yu that was popular online.

    Because Xian Yu was skilled in so many areas, such jocular remarks were common.

    In the days that followed.

    The craze for PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds continued to ferment, even showing signs of dominating half the territory in Internet cafes!

    This is the advantage of fps games.

    Since these games require high-end specs, many people''s home rigs can''t meet the standard. Additionally, since these games are best enjoyed with friends, Internet cafes are the ideal place to team up and play.

    Under normal circumstances.

    Different customers in Internet cafes play different games and it''s rare for any single game to dominate.

    Now, PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds was showing this trend.

    If someone entered an Internet cafe at that point, they''d find that nearly half of the customers'' computer screens displayed the PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds interface!

    Meanwhile.

    At Yuan Huo Game Company.

    Excited voices could be heard one after another as the entire team plunged into massive revelry:

    "Our online user count is getting higher and higher!"

    "Since noon yesterday, our game has officially broken through one million concurrent players, with a total daily active user count close to five million¡ªwe''re making a killing with this surge!"

    "Teacher Admirable Fish is awesome!"

    "Teacher Admirable Fish''s understanding of game creativity is truly terrifying. We''ve left so many games of the same type far behind us. Loads of Internet cafe owners are thanking us because our game has increased their business by a lot!"

    "We need to update and upgrade the servers!"

    "The player growth isn''t over; it looks like our game is going to be insanely popular for a while. A colleague from my previous game company chatted with me last night, and he was green with envy!"

    Indeed.

    The statistical data for PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds was so high that the players'' enthusiasm directly affected the Internet cafe business, a feat that made the entire industry take notice!

    Previously.

    When Xian Yu''s Plants vs. Zombies became a massive hit, some thought it was because Xian Yu was a genius, while others couldn''t help but ascribe it to luck.

    But this time.

    No one doubted Xian Yu''s success as mere luck; the man truly understood gaming, delving into it even more deeply than many old-timers who had been in the game industry for years!

    The media was also busy.

    The news about PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds rolled in one wave after another.

    "Xian Yu makes another shot at shooting games¡ªhave you eaten chicken today?"

    "From single-player to fps: industry praise for Xian Yu''s game planning talent"

    "Xian Yu, a Maestro distracted by show business?"

    "Xian Yu shakes up the gaming industry, Internet cafes hit by PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds craze!"

    "Winner winner, chicken dinner: How does a game where you mostly just run around maps catch fire?"

    "..."

    Following the shock, there were countless analyses, discussions, and studies. Following Plants vs. Zombies, Xian Yu finally had cemented his reputation as a genius game planner in the industry.

    What no one knew, however, was this.

    Lin Yuan couldn''t help himself and sneakily fired up PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds again.

    After getting headshot by an opponent, he quickly uninstalled the game again, the speed of his actions almost leaving onlookers speechless.

    "Crappy game, so boring."

    The person hailed by the industry as a "genius game designer" thus assessed his own creation.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: The special-themed cards for full-time artist are officially online now. Everyone can enter through the event center or click on Polluted White''s main page activities to participate. Here''s to everyone being insanely lucky, and by the way, how come Sun Yaohuo is harder to draw than Lin Yuan when it''s Lin Yuan''s Prince of Lanling look that''s the coolest in this batch of cards~!

 Chapter 948 - 879 The Legend of the Condor Heroes

    Lin Yuan gave up struggling.

    He would never touch "PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds" again in his life.

    To play again is foolish!

    After shutting off the computer, Lin Yuan summoned the System to check his reputation in various fields.

    Recently, the reputation in both painting and gaming categories had been rising particularly fast, clearly surpassing the other fields¡ª

    The rise in painting reputation was definitely due to the impact of those five paintings at the Yu Dynasty Hotel;

    The rise in gaming reputation was because of the recent popularity of PlayerUnknown''s Battlegrounds, as players like Lin Yuan were a minority.

    At present,

    His gaming reputation had reached 345,653.

    This figure was a significant improvement over before, but Lin Yuan did not choose gaming as his next main focus.

    The reason was simple.

    The input and reputation feedback of gaming were too long, needing at least several months at the base.

    By comparison,

    The easiest way for Lin Yuan to gain reputation was still through music, novels, and painting¡ªthe classic three categories.

    There were five more years in the lifespan task.

    Although it wasn''t urgent, Lin Yuan still hoped to complete this task soon so he could be completely at ease.

    However¡­

    Currently, besides gaming, music and painting were also areas Lin Yuan planned to slow down.

    He had just become a Maestro.

    Lin Yuan had been active on the seasonal leaderboard for an entire twelve months last year; continuing to dominate the leaderboard in every way would elicit dissatisfaction from other Maestros.

    As for painting, it was because Lin Yuan did not want to frequently use Paintfection.

    Without using Paintfection, Lin Yuan did not want to paint ordinary paintings because they posed an appreciation threshold and might give people the illusion of "Shadow''s declining quality," especially to those who required the skill of Paintfection to appreciate the artistic conceptions of those paintings. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This was not what Lin Yuan wanted to see.

    Thus, he could only choose novels as the main direction going forward.

    It wasn''t just because it was inconvenient for Lin Yuan to engage in music and painting, but mainly because his sister mentioned that the Literature and Art Association was planning some kind of literary festival.

    This kind of award setting was tailor-made for Chu Kuang!

    It so happened that Lin Yuan had always been planning to make Chu Kuang more active, and this fit perfectly into the scheme.

    Considering this,

    Lin Yuan went to the company.

    Upon arriving at the company, Lin Yuan turned on the computer, started setting up a document, and simultaneously pondered the work that would involve Chu Kuang next.

    Beside him,

    Gu Dong skillfully brewed tea for Lin Yuan, brought the tea to Lin Yuan''s desk, and suddenly said, "Mr. Lin, have you heard about the matter with the Tribe?"

    "What''s happened with the Tribe again?"

    Lin Yuan was very sensitive to these two words.

    Gu Dong heard the dissatisfaction in Lin Yuan''s tone.

    It seemed that Mr. Lin really disliked the Tribe.

    Feeling reflective, Gu Dong spoke, "Due to the popularity of ''Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange'', there have been many more martial arts dramas on the market, following our lead, including a few that have become quite popular. The audience''s interest in martial arts dramas has noticeably increased, and with the newly integrated Zhao people who particularly love martial arts dramas, even martial arts novels always have decent sales there, as they do favor historical genres. Thus, the potential market is immense, and the company plans to specifically focus on this by remaking another martial arts classic. For this, we even sought out Lancet, who had previously collaborated with our company, and invited him to personally adapt his work."

    Lancet is the author of ''Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange.''

    As one of Blue Star''s top martial arts masters, he has not only ''Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange'' but also many other classic works.

    Basically,

    All major film and TV companies on Blue Star who want to remake various classic martial arts dramas cannot bypass the works of Lancet and a few other top martial arts masters.

    Lin Yuan frowned, "What does this have to do with the Tribe?"

    Gu Dong shook his head, "The company was interested in one of Lancet''s representative works ''Trap the Tiger''. The negotiations were going smoothly until last night when the Tribe suddenly cut in ahead of us and bought the TV adaptation rights to this work. As a result, Minister Zhao Jue was severely reprimanded by some leaders. Additionally, they copied our approach by promising Lancet that he would personally adapt this work."

    Speaking of this,

    Gu Dong suddenly pouted,

    "It is said that after Lancet saw Chu Kuang''s adaptation of ''Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange'', he was so upset that he couldn''t eat or sleep well for several days. He complained to many people that Chu Kuang''s adaptation was outrageous and completely betrayed his original intention of the creation. So this time, he insisted on nobody else adapting it but himself. Perhaps his decision to cooperate with the Tribe was also due to his dissatisfaction with us since it was our company that initially invited Chu Kuang to take on the task of adapting that drama. Wasn''t it just about writing characters to death? Was there a need to be so overly cautious?"

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    He felt like he was the scapegoat.

    The Tribe cutting ahead of Starlight, taking the work was because of him; Lancet''s prioritizing cooperation with the Tribe was also because of him. Lin Yuan hadn''t forgotten who the current film and TV head of the Tribe was.

    Ling Kong.

    Due to different stances, Gu Dong also had no fondness for the Tribe:

    "Now the Tribe''s targeting of our Starlight is becoming more frequent. Today, after criticizing Minister Zhao Jue in the meeting room, the chairman publicly declared that the company would go to war with the Tribe, one after Mr. Lin and Yu Dynasty, all of our company''s artists and others will also switch to blogging entirely, abandoning the Tribe as a battleground."

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan finally made a sound, his voice flat, revealing none of his thoughts at that moment.

    "Actually, it''s not a big deal."

    Gu Dong smiled, "Blue Star doesn''t only have Lancet as a martial arts master. Minister Zhao Jue is already planning to seek collaboration with other martial arts masters. Moreover, martial arts dramas worth remaking are far more than just ''Trap the Tiger.''

    Lin Yuan suddenly asked, "Why must we remake them?"

    Gu Dong paused, then said, "It''s decided by the audience. In recent years, original martial arts dramas haven''t been very successful, carrying a significant investment risk. Compared to that, people feel nostalgic about those once-popular classic martial arts dramas, like ''Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange''. That drama was not only popular because of Chu Kuang''s exceptional adaptation but also because it had a very high audience base originally. The drama was full of classic characters that everyone was familiar with. If it weren''t for that, even if Chu Kuang had written those characters to their deaths, it wouldn''t have triggered such a big reaction from the audience."

    Remakes can be popular?

    Martial arts rely on nostalgia?

    Original martial arts aren''t effective?

    Lin Yuan didn''t speak again, but typed five characters on his computer document. If Gu Dong walked behind Lin Yuan, he would definitely see that these characters had a similar resonance with the title ''Trap the Tiger'':

    The Legend of the Condor Heroes.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: This card activity by the full-time artists is managed by "Never Look Back at Autumn", "Winter Bear Sauce", and "Hua Qi", three adorable readers, in coordination with the content team members like "Character Cat" and other teachers. Thank you for everyone''s hard work. Also, a special thanks to our artist for repeatedly refining the work. We mustn''t waste everyone''s efforts, Polluted White keeps on...continuing to write!

 Chapter 949 - 880 Artistic Touch

    After Gu Dong left, Lin Yuan gazed at the words "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" he had typed out and was slightly lost in thought.

    Blue Starian have Blue Starian sentimentality.

    Lin Yuan also had his own sentiments.

    And Jin Yong''s wuxia novels were precisely Lin Yuan''s sentiments.

    Whether it was The Condor Trilogy or Elder Jin''s later works, each and every one had left a brilliant and vivid mark in Lin Yuan''s memory, and it wasn''t just the original novels, but also included countless versions of blooming TV dramas and those widely acclaimed soundtracks, and so on.

    Alright then.

    Writing a wuxia novel was actually a spontaneous decision for Lin Yuan.

    It was unexpected yet reasonable, after all, wuxia was the ultimate romance for a man, and the absence of those masterpieces from Earth''s wuxia authors on Blue Star was certainly a regret.

    Most importantly:

    Wuxia actually did have a market.

    The success of the wuxia drama "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange" indirectly proved this; the constant acceptance and love of various wuxia dramas by audiences also proved this; the fact that wuxia novels remain popular in the newly joined Zhao Continent further proved this!

    The only difference was:

    In today''s Blue Star, wuxia novels had descended from their past sanctity and become a niche in the eyes of numerous Blue Starian readers.

    And who could change the status quo of wuxia?

    Lin Yuan could give the simplest and most powerful answer, which was Jin Yong.

    Perhaps Gu Long could also be one of the answers to this question, but this time Lin Yuan wanted to play it safe. He intended to first pave a new path for Blue Star wuxia with the rightfully grand King''s Path wuxia!

    As for the backdrop of the wuxia story?

    Let''s just treat the Southern Song Dynasty as a parallel universe.

    That wasn''t a flaw in the novel, but rather an opportunity.

    Regarding those scenes set in a different space-time, Lin Yuan did have some rudimentary ideas. This foray into wuxia could be seen as an interesting experiment that might bring unexpected surprises.

    "The drama and the book must be combined."

    Lin Yuan pondered that having Chu Kuang merely write "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" was not enough.

    This time, Lin Yuan wanted to release the drama before the book and ideally launch the corresponding original novel when the TV series was halfway through its run, allowing both to bolster each other.

    The TV drama would boost the novel''s sales.

    The novel''s sales would, in turn, boost the TV drama''s popularity.

    That was an experiment that even Jin Yong couldn''t have attempted back then, given the vastly different conditions and circumstances, but Lin Yuan wasn''t worried about the TV drama lacking a fan base.

    The reason was simple.

    Because the story was captivating enough!

    Lin Yuan faintly remembered that he had watched "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" TV series before he became curious and went to read the novel.

    This suggested:

    Whether it''s a novel or a TV series, as long as the plot is thrilling, the lack of a pre-existing fan base is not a decisive factor.

    Just as many say that Marvel''s success is because of its comics.

    That''s undeniable, but what''s even more undeniable is:

    Many fans in the Celestial Dynasty have never read the comics or, even if they have, they haven''t read many.

    Otherwise, why is it that Iron Man, who isn''t exactly top-tier in the comics, is so immensely popular in the Marvel movies?

    The content...

    The actors...

    For visual media, these are the decisive factors.

    There are some works that can transcend the so-called foundation and achieve the same explosive effect across the market through different forms.

    With this idea in mind,

    Lin Yuan asked the System to customize the novel "The Legend of the Condor Heroes."

    Well.

    He wrote the title down but didn''t start writing for a long while because he only remembered the title.''

    However,

    To Lin Yuan''s surprise, just as he was customizing this novel, the System suddenly became enthusiastic:

    "Ding-dong, congratulations to the host for triggering a new mission!"

    Immediately following, blue virtual text appeared before Lin Yuan:

    [Mission Name: Martial Arts Novel Revival]

    [Mission Content: Martial arts novels on Blue Star are gradually declining. The host needs to inject new thought and vitality into Blue Starian martial arts, making martial arts novels the beloved white moonlight in the hearts of countless readers again. The specific completion will be based on the influence of the host''s works and may not be achievable with just one or two novels. Host, please make an effort.]

    [Mission Reward: Artistic Touch Skill]

    [Artistic Touch: A special skill corresponding to Paintfection, allowing the audience to perfectly sense the calligraphic mood and charm created by the host]

    A special skill?

    Artistic Touch?

    Lin Yuan was slightly stunned, he hadn''t expected that calligraphy would also correspond to a special skill!

    He had experienced the charm of Paintfection before.

    Even those who knew nothing about painting could feel the allure of those artworks.

    This was a metaphysical skill akin to a bug!

    As a skill of the same kind, Artistic Touch was definitely worth looking forward to!

    Without this skill, Lin Yuan was really afraid that even if he wrote "Lanting Preface", the audience would remain indifferent!

    "Accept!"

    This made Lin Yuan somewhat excited. He hadn''t expected that deciding to write martial arts novels would come with such benefits. It seemed that the System also believed that martial arts had great potential, for so far all the missions issued by the System were achievable. If a mission was hopeless, the System would never release it!

    He decisively accepted the mission.

    After accepting the mission, Lin Yuan suddenly had a slightly fiery thought!

    He asked the System:

    "If painting and calligraphy both have corresponding special skills, does that mean other arts like music also have skills that allow ordinary people to feel their beauty?"

    He had previously released Chopin''s "Nocturnes."

    But the threshold for appreciating classical music was too high.

    Indeed many people liked Chopin''s "Nocturnes," but there were also many fans who said they couldn''t quite appreciate the charm of this classical music, and some even fell asleep listening to it.

    But what if there were a skill similar to Paintfection?

    Would his classical music pieces then have the potential to break through the so-called threshold of appreciation, allowing all listeners to enjoy them, both refined and vulgar? S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Yes, the skill exists, named [Soulmate]."

    The System gave an affirmative answer: "However, the Soulmate skill is not for sale. The host can only hope to obtain it after acquiring a Gold Treasure Chest."

    There really was one!

    Lin Yuan''s eyes widened.

    As for the difficulty of obtaining this skill, Lin Yuan had been prepared for it and didn''t find it inappropriate. The more extraordinary the skill, the harder it was to obtain; isn''t that common sense?

    Forget it.

    Don''t think about that now.

    Lin Yuan was quite eager for the [Artistic Touch] skill.

    Considering the difficulty of the mission itself, perhaps he would have to release more than one martial arts novel.

    He wondered if the three parts of The Legend of the Condor Heroes added together would be enough?

    If not, Chu Kuang would have a lot of work to do in the future.

    With that thought.

    Lin Yuan began typing energetically on the keyboard, even exchanging some special potions with the System.

    Only then could he finish "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" in the shortest possible time.

    He was very conscientious when it came to solving problems for the company.

    Not just because he was a shareholder of the company and his interests were tied to the company''s, but also because the conflict between Tribe and Starlight ultimately revolved around Lin Yuan.

    If the Tribe targeted Starlight, he would target them back.

    Holding The Legend of the Condor Heroes, Lin Yuan was unflinching in his standoff with the Tribe!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Although I said I wasn''t planning to write martial arts, in the end it became "truly fragrant." Martial arts dramas are indeed a very good entry point, and previously I neglected those representative pieces of martial arts drama music, which could have synergistic effects with Xian Yu''s plot. My favorite "A Hard Scripture to Read", apart from "Loyalty Unto Death" and several other classics from The Legend of the Condor Heroes, what other songs are there? Can anyone recommend?

 Chapter 950 - 881: The Craze for Martial Arts Dramas

    Zhao Jue''s recent mood has been quite gloomy.

    Ever since "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange" became a hit, the TV industry suddenly ignited a frenzy for wuxia adaptations!

    The market trend arrived with incredible swiftness!

    Those classic martial arts novels that had been adapted numerous times, even a dozen or more, were once again fiercely snatched up by countless film and television companies!

    Everyone was inspired by Chu Kuang''s adaptation! Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Once the film and television companies acquired the rights to those classic wuxia novels, their adaptations were bolder than the next, with the most exaggerated among them going even further than Chu Kuang. They simply donned the skin of the original characters, while the plot developments were utterly chaotic, almost completely devoid of any traces of the original work!

    Most of these adaptations were heavily criticized by audiences.

    Not everyone possesses Chu Kuang''s skill, who, despite greatly altering the story, was able to captivate viewers who cursed while eagerly following the plot.

    However...

    Some adaptations achieved quite impressive results. While sparking controversy, they also garnered pleasing viewership ratings, becoming the second, the third, or even more entities to enjoy the spoils!

    Some tasted success.

    The adaptation rights for those classic martial arts dramas suddenly became hotter than ever before!

    And so.

    Zhao Jue wanted to taste success again and thus reached out to Lancet for another collaboration.

    After all, the cooperation on "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange" was quite pleasant.

    Unexpectedly, what she thought of as pleasant turned out not to be the case for Lancet.

    With the Tribe meddling, Lancet immediately turned coat, and the perfectly good collaboration fell through. The Crown Prince from the Tribe named Ling Kong successfully intercepted the rights that Starlight was eyeing, and Zhao Jue got a severe reprimand from the company''s leaders because of it.

    It couldn''t be helped.

    Zhao Jue could only look for other wuxia novels'' film and television adaptation rights.

    However, to Zhao Jue''s astonishment, she looked for quite some time and couldn''t find any suitable works.

    The good works had almost all been seized by the big companies!

    Once they signed for the rights, it was for a minimum of two years. Zhao Jue would have to wait at least two years to buy the rights to adapt any of them.

    But would the market still favor the same trend after two years?

    There were some lesser works available, but Zhao Jue was not content, as the adaptations of these inferior works would surely not compare to those classics!

    Now she was truly out of options.

    Her assistant suggested, "Why don''t we just avoid this muddy water? The market has a limited capacity to digest content, and with so many companies involved in adapting and remaking wuxia dramas, the competition will surely be unprecedentedly fierce."

    "Zhao Continent, ah."

    Zhao Jue sighed, "Zhao Continent''s martial arts market is too vast. It''s a new continent entering the scene. The people of this continent are extremely passionate about wuxia dramas and even about martial arts novels that other continents have pretty much given up on. The content that this continent can consume alone can satisfy the whole market''s demand."

    The popularity of wuxia is one aspect.

    The real key that stimulated this wuxia drama craze is Zhao Continent.

    The adaptation of "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange" by Chu Kuang started it off well, and the addition of Zhao Continent served as the best catalyst, hinting at the start of a wuxia revival.

    "So, shall we buy the rights to adapt a slightly lower quality martial arts work?"

    The assistant whispered, "After all, many of these adaptations are so changed that even the original authors can''t recognize them..."

    "That seems to be the only option now."

    Zhao Jue spoke with a frown, "But we still have one advantage."

    "Chu Kuang?"

    The assistant guessed Zhao Jue''s thoughts.

    Zhao Jue nodded, "I''ll ask Teacher Admirable Fish to try and invite Chu Kuang to take part once more. If he''s willing to contribute, it might not matter if the original work is a bit inferior. In the end, they all have to die."

    All have to die? Seriously?

    The assistant wanted to retort: In your eyes, is Chu Kuang someone who always draws blood whenever he makes a move?

    But then the assistant thought about it.

    This old rascal... he might actually be that kind of person.

    ...

    Zhao Jue ultimately did not choose to finalize the work first but went to see Lin Yuan instead.

    If Chu Kuang was unwilling to make a move, she planned to directly give up the remake of the martial arts drama because with the original work being relatively mediocre, Chu Kuang was her only trustworthy assurance.

    At that time.

    Lin Yuan was writing "The Legend of the Condor Heroes."

    This was his fifth consecutive day of typing, and he had already written over three hundred thousand words of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes." Despite his explosive speed augmented by some potion, Lin Yuan was somewhat dissatisfied; he still missed the days when the System would directly provide the entire original work, saving him the effort of writing it himself.

    That day.

    Knowing Zhao Jue''s intention, the prepared Lin Yuan said:

    "Here''s a novel manuscript. Ms. Zhao, have some screenwriters take a look at it, then have them write it into a screenplay, but the content must not be altered in the slightest."

    "A novel manuscript?"

    Zhao Jue asked subconsciously, "Whose is it?"

    Lin Yuan stated as a matter of fact, "Written by Chu Kuang."

    Zhao Jue was astonished, "You mean, Teacher Admirable Fish wrote a martial arts novel?"

    "Isn''t that the trend lately?"

    Lin Yuan said, "He became interested and wrote a bit. Let''s just produce this; there''s no need to buy someone else''s work to adapt."

    "But..."

    Zhao Jue always felt something was amiss.

    What does it mean this is the trend lately? The current martial arts craze is actually about dramas, not novels. Martial arts novels haven''t been popular for eight hundred years, and what people want to see are remakes. Would the audience accept a TV show made from Chu Kuang''s original martial arts novel?

    The words reached the tip of her tongue.

    Zhao Jue suddenly paused again.

    When has Chu Kuang, that old rascal, ever needed to worry about audience acceptance? At this point, shouldn''t one ask whether the audience could even withstand it?

    She laughed at her concerns.

    Chu Kuang, like Xian Yu, was a unique individual. Market rules seemed to have little effect on such people. Roads impassable for others always seemed open to them!

    Moreover, it had come to this.

    She either had to give up on martial arts or choose to trust Chu Kuang!

    Zhao Jue, no fool, wouldn''t just ignore Chu Kuang''s newly written manuscript in favor of other people''s martial arts novels to ask Chu Kuang to adapt. If she persisted, the situation would be too serious.

    How could she doubt Chu Kuang?

    If she did not trust Chu Kuang, then she should not expect to ask him for help in the future either, and it could even affect the relationship between Xian Yu and Chu Kuang. After all, it must be Chu Kuang''s consideration for Xian Yu that made him consistently choose to collaborate with Starlight. Otherwise, why would Starlight have gotten the rights to "Journey to the West" in the first place?

    With gritted teeth.

    Zhao Jue said, "Then I''ll produce this one."

    Lin Yuan smiled, "He will continue to write the subsequent manuscripts. Just adapt these contents into a screenplay, and I will be responsible for reviewing the screenplay."

    The novel was already being written.

    There was no need for Lin Yuan to take on the extra role of screenwriter.

    The screenwriters of Starlight had to prove their strength to join the company, they couldn''t possibly fail to produce a screenplay when they had a novel at hand.

    "Okay!"

    Zhao Jue clutched the screenplay tightly in her hand, the words "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" caught her eye.

    Oddly.

    A bizarre curiosity flashed through her mind:

    How many had died in here?

    In that moment, Zhao Jue realized that it was no wonder people were like scalpels trembling at the sight of snakes!

    Chu Kuang had plenty of tricks up his sleeve!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: It''s the end of the month, please cast a monthly vote if you can, they expire soon~~

 Chapter 951 - 882: The Thigh Has Returned

    In the following days, Lin Yuan continued to write "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," progressing even more smoothly than before. At this point, the content was already half completed.

    He planned to finish it within a month.

    With the aid of his spasmodic typing skills and system concoctions, this was not a difficult feat for Lin Yuan, though such a thing, if spoken aloud, might lead people to dissect him for study.

    Of course.

    Lin Yuan did not conceal the fact that he was writing a wuxia novel from Jin Mu.

    Upon learning about Lin Yuan''s new book project, a tremendous roar erupted inside Jin Mu''s heart:

    "It''s starting!"

    "He''s starting again!"

    The decline of wuxia novels on Blue Star had not been a matter of just a day or two. Apart from the newly joined Zhao Continent, hardly anyone still had any interest in wuxia novels.

    In the novel market.

    Wuxia was special.

    This genre once reached the pinnacle of brilliance and was regarded by Blue Star''s major publishing houses as the most esteemed novel category, once dominating the Blue Star novel market with back-to-back bestsellers, truly the moonlight in the hearts of countless novel enthusiasts!

    Unfortunately.

    In today''s decline of wuxia, the past brilliance no longer existed.

    Declaring the end of wuxia might be an exaggeration, but this genre was definitely in its twilight.

    And the last vestige of wuxia on Blue Star was none other than Zhao Continent, who still retained a fervent passion for wuxia after the merger.

    Under such circumstances.

    Apart from Zhao Continent, almost no writers were willing to touch this genre!

    But who was Chu Kuang?

    As a pioneer in the literary world, Chu Kuang had never been one to play by the rules since his debut!

    Sports competition...

    Classical fantasy...

    Mystery adventure...

    Whatever genre was obscure, Chu Kuang wrote in it!

    It was only in recent years that Chu Kuang had normalized, starting to write mainstream genres like mystery, so much so that the world had almost forgotten how willful and unique this novelist was in choosing his themes!

    This was the reason for Jin Mu''s inner exclamation:

    The old rascal, Chu Kuang, who the more he was marginalized by his peers, the more he was disparaged by others, the more he desired to write in those related genres, had returned!

    "No big deal."

    Jin Mu felt uneasy inside, yet forced a smile as he spoke:

    "Although wuxia has declined, people in Zhao Continent still really like this genre. If it''s written well enough, the sales volumes Zhao Continent can provide will be considerable."

    The tone was quite strained.

    Jin Mu''s words were primarily self-consoling.

    Although the sales volume one continent could provide was indeed substantial, targeting just readers from one continent as Chu Kuang''s audience was seriously low for a cap!

    You see.

    If Chu Kuang continued writing mysteries, then Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao¡ªsix continents¡ªwould all be buyers, which would far surpass the sales limit that Zhao Continent could offer.

    One continent versus six continents, which was lighter and which heavier?

    However, Jin Mu''s words weren''t all about self-consolation.

    Although Chu Kuang writing wuxia meant a lower cost-effectiveness, potentially abandoning the market of five continents in Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, the recent craze in wuxia drama remakes was burning hot, which was a fact known by all.

    Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han might not read wuxia novels, but that didn''t mean they wouldn''t watch wuxia dramas!

    If the TV drama produced from Chu Kuang''s wuxia novel could become a hit, it could indeed make up for the lacking sales to some extent.

    This was the way of copyright.

    There were some novelists on Blue Star whose book sales might be ordinary, but their works could always sell the rights to be made into movies or TV dramas. By leveraging the success of these adaptations, they achieved the same ends through different means.

    The publishing houses might feel a headache over this issue.

    After all, this wasn''t the most suitable route for Chu Kuang; book sales were where they made their money.

    After thinking it over.

    Jin Mu added, "I would advise not to release the drama before the book. Instead, publish the novel first and then schedule the TV drama premiere. That''s more beneficial."

    "Is that so?"

    Lin Yuan nodded, untroubled, "Let''s do it your way then."

    "Then I''ll contact the publishing house."

    Seeing that Lin Yuan had no objections, Jin Mu also nodded, then mumbled to himself, "Which department is currently responsible for the wuxia category at Silver Blue Books?"

    This just showed how far wuxia had fallen.

    If it were the heyday of wuxia, there would be no need to puzzle over this question; any publishing house would have a dedicated wuxia department, and the wuxia novel category could well support an independent department.

    But times had changed.

    Wuxia novels could no longer support an independent department, and major publishing houses had merged the wuxia category into other departments.

    It seemed to be the Fantasy Department?

    Jin Mu raised an eyebrow and began contacting Silver Blue Books.

    ...

    Silver Blue Books.

    Fantasy Editorial Department.

    Chief Editor Xiong was working in his office when his cellphone suddenly rang.

    "Chu Kuang''s agent, Jin Mu"

    Upon seeing the caller ID, Xiong''s entire body shook violently, and a look of great anticipation, as if rekindled after many years, flashed deep in his eyes. His heartbeat abruptly sped up:

    "Mr. Jin, hello!"

    "Chief Editor Xiong, sorry to bother you."

    Jin Mu greeted and went straight to the point, "Chu Kuang''s new book is already half-written. It should be published in Silver Blue Books'' Fantasy Department. Shall I send it to you now?"

    Silence.

    The silence on the other end of the phone was like death.

    If it were not for the suddenly heavy breathing that came from the other side, Jin Mu would have almost thought there was a problem with his signal.

    What he didn''t know was

    at that moment, Xiong''s emotions were tumultuous, his lips trembling slightly and he even felt an urge to cry!

    It''s back!

    The heavy hitter is back!

    Chu Kuang, the main pillar of Silver Blue Books, was finally returning to our Fantasy Department from the mystery department!

    Ever since Chu Kuang was personally sent to the hands of Dezhi, the chief editor of the mystery department, starting from Poirot to the wildly popular Sherlock Holmes series, Chu Kuang had never returned.

    Xiong''s heart was about to die.

    He dreamt of Chu Kuang''s return, the man who was a walking performance boost within the company. Now that Chu Kuang declared his return to the Fantasy Department, Xiong was so excited that he felt numb all over, pinching his own thigh hard:

    "Good!"

    "Let''s do that."

    After Jin Mu hung up the phone, he immediately sent the half-completed "Legend of the Condor Heroes" by Lin Yuan to the Fantasy Department of Silver Blue Books via email.

    Meanwhile.

    Xiong burst open the office door, shouting to the busy editors, "Chu Kuang''s new book is a fantasy genre, handled by our department, drop everything you are doing and start reviewing it immediately!"

    The editors were all stunned by his shout.

    Chu Kuang''s new book is a fantasy genre?

    Is Chu Kuang finally writing a fantasy novel again?

    They looked at each other in baffled excitement, and the Editorial Department suddenly became lively!

    "Chu Kuang''s new book is written by us!?"

    "Hahaha, let the folks from the mystery department brag all they want; now that Chu Kuang is back, the Fantasy Department is rising!"

    "Awesome!"

    "I need to speak with my friends in the mystery department during lunch in the cafeteria. Chu Kuang wrote two mystery novels that skyrocketed their performance, and seeing them boast annoyed me!"

    "What is the new book about?"

    "Hurry and check; I can''t wait any longer!"

    "Doesn''t matter what it is, as long as Chu Kuang wrote it, even the least popular subject would be fine. ''The pioneer'' is no joke after all!"

    The editors couldn''t wait to open their emails.

    "YangFeng" had the fastest hands.

    YangFeng was Chu Kuang''s first editor, who discovered "King of the Net."

    Due to handling an author like Chu Kuang, YangFeng''s performance soared, and he was rumored to be nominated as deputy chief editor this year; no one cared more about the new book than he did!

    Swipe.

    The email transitioned.

    The file sent by Jin Mu suddenly appeared.

    Suppressing his excitement, YangFeng clicked on the document, and then the details of the novel unfolded before his eyes.

    [Title: Legend of the Condor Heroes]

    [Genre: Wuxia]

    [Synopsis: In the middle of the Southern Song Dynasty, amidst chaotic times, the Guo and Yang families face tragic destruction. Their descendants scatter. Guo Jing, upright and resilient from an early age, learns martial arts from the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan and later masters skills from Hong Qigong¡­]

    He didn''t finish the synopsis.

    YangFeng''s gaze fixated on the novel''s genre, and he felt completely numb.

    Around him.

    The other editors also gradually saw the manuscript and finally focused on the word "Wuxia," and the whole department seemed as if splashed with cold water, their enthusiasm extinguished in an instant.

    At that moment.

    Even the editor who had said "even the least popular subject would be fine" had a vacant look on his face.

    "What''s wrong?"

    Seeing everyone suddenly fall silent, Xiong felt a bit uneasy.

    "Wuxia."

    The editor closest to Xiong said in a very complex tone, "Chu Kuang''s new book is a Wuxia genre."

    "What?"

    Xiong was flabbergasted, his bulky frame leaning forward toward the editor''s computer, and then he cried out, carrying a bit of heartache and sadness:

    "Why is it Wuxia!" S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 952 - 883: This is Very Chu Kuang

    A moment later.

    The Fantasy Editorial Department finally returned to normal, but everyone''s expressions were filled with helplessness.

    This was so Chu Kuang!

    YangFeng forced a smile and said, "He never takes the conventional path and always challenges the least popular themes. Whatever the readers are least interested in, he insists on writing about that. That''s Chu Kuang for you. It''s actually our reactions that are strange. Shouldn''t we have been used to this kind of thing by now?"

    "Alas."

    "We were all too optimistic before, thinking that after writing two detective novels, Teacher Chu Kuang was getting closer to mainstream themes. The reality proves that Teacher Chu Kuang is still the same Chu Kuang."

    "Utterly willful!"

    "Since his debut, aside from detective stories, Chu Kuang has never really written any mainstream long-form themes. In the readers'' words: ''This person seems to have been born to oppose the readers and even the editors.''"

    "What''s the big deal about writing death?"

    "From the very choice of novel themes, he has fully demonstrated an unfriendly attitude towards readers, as if he''s challenging everyone with this tactic: ''You don''t like this? Great, then I''ll write this, and I will write it until you do like it!''"

    As the editors discussed,

    Ol'' Xiong took a deep breath, "Wuxia mainly targets the Zhao Continent readers. It''s far-fetched, but this isn''t the most far-fetched thing Chu Kuang has done. Perhaps this novel can also bring us a pleasant surprise."

    "I believe so too!"

    YangFeng gritted his teeth, "Even if wuxia is in its twilight days, Chu Kuang is still Chu Kuang after all!"

    No one denied those words.

    If Chu Kuang ever became normal one day, everyone would actually find it abnormal.

    Once everyone accepted Chu Kuang''s setup, they suddenly found the pace becoming familiar, and even somewhat endearing.

    "Let''s read!"

    Without further discussion, the editors started to read with pinched noses.

    Could they read without pinching their noses?

    Everyone present had lived through the most glorious era of wuxia, and many were fed up with this type of novel. It was only because of Chu Kuang that everyone, trust in hand and teeth gritted, continued to read.

    ¡­

    Everyone began reading.

    YangFeng did the same, slightly shortsighted and disliking glasses, he lay close to the screen, silently scrolling with his mouse.

    Whirrr!

    The story had just begun to unfold when a strange dynasty vividly came to life before YangFeng!

    The Southern Song Dynasty!

    Yue Fei?

    The Jin-Song Wars?

    Mongolia?

    Historical fiction wasn''t anything new, Blue Star had many historical novels that liked this approach, as it allowed authors more freedom. Real history could restrict the development of the story, but previous wuxia novels rarely wrote in this way, combining ancient history with court politics and even the great trends of the world in a single wuxia novel!

    Majestic and grand!

    Chu Kuang''s writing was as strong as ever. Even though it was about a fictional dynasty, his writing made it seem as if such a special era had truly existed in the world. Just this point alone was not something ordinary authors could match. For instance, the mention of Yue Fei in the book made YangFeng feel a deep yearning and admiration, lamenting that such a person could exist in the world!

    War and chaos.

    People living in misery.

    The shame of Jingkang.

    The book''s detailed descriptions truly made one believe they were real. Unconsciously, YangFeng felt as if he had become a Han Chinese from the Great Song, tasting the sweet and sour, the bitter and spicy of that era. The profound sense of history hit him full in the face.

    Ten thousand words.

    Fifty thousand words.

    One hundred thousand words.

    As the pages kept turning, more of the story unfolded, with characters like Yang Tie Xin, Guo Xiaotian, Bao Xiruo, and even Qiu Chuji making their dramatic entries in the early stages.

    Unknowingly,

    "YangFeng" became immersed in it. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    He couldn''t quite explain whether it was the Southern Song Dynasty that evoked a strange sense of identification in him or whether it was the story itself that captivated him, but either way, these words seemed to possess a magic power that gradually drew him in.

    It was strange.

    The pace of the book was slow, and the protagonist Guo Jing was a stark contrast to current popular protagonists. He was both simple and naive, not at all like the intelligent and wise protagonists Chu Kuang had written about before.

    That''s not right.

    "YangFeng" remembered that the protagonist Zhang Xiaofan in "Zhu Xian" bore some resemblance to Guo Jing, but Guo Jing, with his wooden head, was far more stupid than Zhang Xiaofan. Yet "YangFeng" didn''t feel any dislike for this protagonist, instead, there was an appreciation, as if such a protagonist was endearingly naive and familiar.

    "The characters are very distinct."

    As "YangFeng" read on, he felt that every character in this book was well-crafted and lifelike, even Guo Jing''s unremarkable mother, Li Ping, who leaped off the page as the story unfolded!

    You should know,

    Initially, "YangFeng" had no feelings for Li Ping. She was not particularly good-looking, had a rough disposition, and was simply a countrywoman. Especially in the first chapter of the novel, when compared to Bao Xiruo, Li Ping seemed like a gap between a broken tile and a fine jade.

    Bao Xiruo was so beautiful!

    Kind and fragile, even the Zhao king of the powerful kingdom of Mongolia fell for her, using any means necessary to possess her.

    And Li Ping?

    Just a village aunt.

    However, as the story progressed, Li Ping completely overshadowed Bao Xiruo!

    Bao Xiruo became completely helpless in the face of drastic changes, her soft disposition causing headaches for the reader, while Li Ping was able to act shamelessly and throw tantrums on the road for the sake of her child, just to leave clues for the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan. She was not intimidated even after being beaten by Duan Tiande, spitting out a mouthful of blood and still daring to stand her ground!

    Even as her belly grew larger;

    Even as she grew tired from carrying her load across great distances;

    Li Ping, with a resolve to avenge her loved ones, managed to hide her tracks. She finally escaped from the chaos of war and, in the midst of exhaustion and heavy snow, gave birth to Guo Jing¡ª

    She used her teeth to cut the umbilical cord, hugging her baby close against the flesh, giving birth in the snow!

    It was a situation that seemed certain to end in death, but upon seeing her child, Li Ping somehow summoned the strength to struggle and rise!

    War and slaughter!

    The battlefield was littered with corpses and broken swords, not a single soul alive!

    Faced with such a hellish realm, "YangFeng" felt that he would have been so scared that he couldn''t walk, but Li Ping went through the corpses to find flint and clothes, survived on horse meat, and in the vast desert, she fought to protect the infant Guo Jing with an incredibly strong will, adding yet another striking chapter to the glory and greatness of maternal love in the world!

    Wan Yan Hong Lie was a man of grand ambition.

    Qiu Chuji faced his enemies with an air of otherworldliness.

    The Seven Freaks of Jiangnan risked their lives for justice.

    They were all heroic figures of the first order, but Li Ping, with her village girl image, was by no means inferior to them. In fact, the stark contrast made "YangFeng" even more moved, to the point of pounding the table in astonishment!

    Suddenly,

    "YangFeng" had an inexplicable strong premonition:

    The martial heroes genre, silent for many years, seemed to have a terrifying torrent churning in the dark!

    The winds of change were blowing silently,

    And "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" in his hands would become the source of it all!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Finally adjusted to the timezone. Following updates will be during the daytime. Asking for monthly votes at the beginning of the month~!

 Chapter 953 - 884 Zhao Continent Wait for Me

    "YangFeng" and other editors were reading "The Legend of the Condor Heroes". Being the chief editor of the Fantasy Department, Ol'' Xiong naturally did the same.

    Afternoon.

    Five thirty.

    The standard closing time for Silver Blue Books.

    Except for those who needed to work overtime, employees from other departments gradually left until the floors were empty.

    Only the Fantasy Department remained, including Chief Editor Ol'' Xiong, none of whom moved. They all sat obediently in front of their computers, engrossed in the screens.

    Their seriousness even made the passing company leaders nod in approval.

    The work attitude and enthusiasm in the Fantasy Department are impressive, they''ve even learned to work overtime on their own!

    If the leaders came in for a closer look, they would discover:

    On every computer screen in the entire Fantasy Department, the content of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" was displayed.

    In other words.

    These people weren''t working overtime at all, they were simply addicted to reading novels.

    They hadn''t even completed their basic work very well; most of their time was consumed by this unpublished novel, fully utilizing their editor status to laze around openly.

    Fantasy novel editors, after all.

    Reading fantasy novels during working hours, how is that not reasonable?

    Suddenly.

    The main door to the chief editor''s office opened.

    Ol'' Xiong hurriedly prepared to go home.

    If he didn''t return soon, the "tigress" at home would suspect he was out partying with the general editor again.

    However.

    When Ol'' Xiong saw that no one in the entire editorial department had left and that everyone was glued to their novels at their computers, he halted in his tracks.

    "Ahem."

    He coughed.

    The Fantasy Department was dead silent; no one responded to him.

    Ol'' Xiong coughed louder, still no response.

    Feeling his authority was being challenged, Ol'' Xiong couldn''t help but use his tried-and-true method:

    "Meeting!"

    Only then did people gradually look up, each of them complaining:

    "Really, Chief Editor? We''ve already clocked out."

    "I haven''t finished the novel yet, Chu Kuang''s writing is absolutely brilliant!"

    "Chu Kuang''s book brings back the excitement I felt reading martial arts novels in the past; it''s an old theme, but Chu Kuang is Chu Kuang. You just can''t stop reading after a few chapters!"

    "I really like Huang Rong!"

    "Huang Rong and Guo Jing are such a great match, though Huazheng is a bit unfortunate. I really enjoyed the segment with the ''Golden Saber Prince Consort,'' but if I had to choose, it would still be Huang Rong. Chu Kuang writes romantic plots that are simply unbeatable, personally, I think Guo Jing and Huang Rong are the most perfect couple in martial arts history!"

    "The East Heretic, West Poison, South Emperor, North Beggar, Central Divine, the Five Greats, and the Duel Atop Mount Hua setting are so high-class!"

    "Then there''s Mei Chaofeng''s introduction of the ''Nine Yin Manual'', and even skills like ''Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms'' and ''Toad Skill,'' all are classic martial skills settings, combined with ''Wumu Yi Shu'' and such, Chu Kuang''s martial arts novel is simply incredible!"

    While complaining.

    They even started to exchange reading insights.

    All the editors were captivated by this novel!

    At this moment.

    One editor discussed with the person beside him:

    "Where did you leave off? I was just reading the part where Guo Jing tries to steal the ''Wumu Yi Shu''."

    "I''m ahead of you, let me tell you, later on Guo Jing becomes incredibly powerful, and he and Huang Rong..."

    "Shut up!"

    An editor attempted to spoil the plot.

    Instantly, other editors glared at him.

    Knowing better, this editor promptly shut his mouth.

    Seeing everyone''s reactions, and thinking about how he too had spent the entire day in his office reading the book, even having his assistant bring lunch there, Ol'' Xiong had a quiet epiphany:

    First, present you with a topic that initially seems unappealing, then make you willingly buy into it.

    This point is still very much Chu Kuang.

    Just like what a certain editor had just mentioned, this novel seems to revive the excitement of reading martial arts novels for the first time!

    "Prepare the promotional preview."

    "Weren''t you going to have a meeting, Chief Editor?"

    "That meeting just now was already concluded."

    Ol'' Xiong smiled faintly, then left the editorial department.

    After exchanging glances, the editors began discussing "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" again.

    Since Chu Kuang had left the Fantasy Department, it had been a long time since everyone had engaged in such a heated discussion about a single novel.

    That evening,

    Silver Blue Books finally released a teaser for Chu Kuang''s new book.

    Of course, Chu Kuang''s novel needed pre-launch promotion. The publisher revealed the title "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," and did not hide the novel''s genre from the readers.

    Martial Arts!

    Following this announcement, Silver Blue Books was prepared to face public skepticism.

    Who didn''t know how unpopular martial arts novels were these days?

    Except for the Zhao people, hardly anyone was interested in the martial arts genre. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    However,

    To Silver Blue Bookstore''s astonishment, readers did not express much skepticism.

    The comments section had a surprisingly unified front:

    "Used to it."

    "Just as expected."

    "The same old trick again."

    "You think I''d fall for that?"

    "Classic old rascal style, those who know, know."

    "Does Silver Blue actually think we''d be surprised?"

    "Does the old rascal think we''d distrust him?"

    "I don''t believe..."

    Okay, we actually don''t trust! Indeed, there were various suspicions, but we can''t say them out loud; it''s better to keep these things in your heart, admitting them means losing!

    Martial Arts!

    Nobody anticipated that Chu Kuang''s new book would delve into martial arts¡ªa genre that makes everyone frown upon hearing it!

    However,

    Considering who Chu Kuang is, nobody felt surprised anymore¡ªthe old rascal wasn''t new to this game!

    The forever willful old rascal!

    Only the newly joined Zhao people looked completely baffled, feeling like readers from other continents seemed quite experienced?

    What does "Used to it" mean?

    What does "Those who know, know" imply?

    A Zhao person couldn''t help asking, "Mysterious riddlers, just scram, could you clearly explain how you got used to it?"

    The Blue Star Merger.

    It had been more than a month since Zhao Continent joined the merger, and everyone knew how averse readers from other continents were to martial arts.

    What''s strange is:

    Chu Kuang, a widely known author across the Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han, suddenly started writing martial arts novels, even for the first time, but readers from various continents didn''t show much resistance.

    Have we misunderstood?

    Not just us Zhao people, readers from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han actually quite like martial arts novels?

    Netizens from other continents explained:

    "You Zhao people will get used to it too. This Chu Kuang, nicknamed ''old rascal,'' is the most infuriating author in the whole Blue Star literary circle. His purpose in writing is to provoke the readers; the more a genre is disliked by the readers, the more he''ll write about it. In his books, the more the readers like a character, the more likely he''s going to kill that character off. He even tries to join the ranks of examiners to throw extremely tough and unfair questions at everyone during college entrance exams. To put it simply, as long as the readers are unhappy, Chu Kuang is thrilled!"

    Zhao people: ???

    Blue Star has authors who deliberately antagonize their readers?

    This author is quite famous in Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han, isn''t he?

    A Zhao person mocked, "Such a weird author still has an audience; seems like some readers are really undiscerning. Who knows which fools are supporting him? That just makes the readers the author''s sons. Anyway, we Zhao people firmly oppose such authors. In our Zhao Continent, readers are always the authors'' dads; if Daddy Reader isn''t satisfied, then the author''s son has to obediently tone down!"

    Qin Continent: ¡­

    Qi Continent: ¡­

    Chu Continent: ¡­

    Yan Continent: ¡­

    Han Continent: ¡­

    We, from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han, intended to educate you newcomers with a friendly attitude, and you still curse at us!

    Zhao Continent, right?

    Heard you like martial arts novels?

    Just wait, you''ll be crying soon!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Recommending a new book "Rebirth of a Thousand-Face Actor," the author has rich experience in writing entertainment; those interested might take a look, then continue to ask for monthly tickets. Went to bed at around 10 pm last night, and started getting up at 5 am today to write; probably won''t wake up this early in the future, should wake up around 7 or 8 am once the time adjustment is completely back to normal.

 Chapter 954 - 885: The Completion of The Legend of the Condor Heroes

    Readers from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han felt offended.

    Because they were the so-called "sons" of readers in the mouths of Zhao people.

    They were the group of "fools" who fed Chu Kuang according to Zhao people.

    Some readers from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han were furious and, for the first time, hoped that Chu Kuang would give those readers from Zhao Continent a good beating and let that group of Zhao people know what an old rascal is!

    To be honest.

    Why weren''t the readers from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han that resistant to Chu Kuang''s new book about martial arts?

    It wasn''t just because everyone was used to Chu Kuang''s penchant for choosing niche genres for his creations, but more because everyone thought that Chu Kuang was aiming to attract fans from Zhao Continent.

    This was normal.

    Whenever a new continent joined the merger, many creators would shift their creative styles to cater to that continent, thereby acquiring the local fan market as quickly as possible, or at least securing a foothold¡ª

    Doesn''t Zhao Continent love martial arts?

    People understood that Chu Kuang wanted to capture more of the market in Zhao Continent, as the market of a continent was very large indeed.

    Therefore.

    In many people''s minds, Chu Kuang''s martial arts work should not target the user readership of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han, but be tailor-made for Zhao people.

    "It''s kind of sour, isn''t it?"

    "When Qi Continent joined the merger, how come Chu Kuang didn''t write a novel especially for us, Qi people?"

    "The same goes for us in Han Continent."

    "And for us in Chu Continent too!"

    "This is the first time the old rascal is writing a genre specifically for a continent, isn''t it? Only Zhao people really like martial arts."

    "Exactly."

    "Chu Kuang had better kill off more characters in this book. If he doesn''t hand out enough death sentences, I''ll be mad at him!"

    Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han.

    The readers were maliciously looking forward to it.

    In fact, not only did readers think so, but even those in the industry, upon learning that Chu Kuang was going to write martial arts, had similar thoughts.

    "Martial arts novels?"

    "He must be aiming to enter the Zhao Continent market."

    "For a writer of Chu Kuang''s caliber, the reader base in Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han is already very stable, so it''s understandable for him to want to capture the Zhao Continent market."

    "After all, it''s hard for him to make progress now."

    "If he wants to further his influence, he must start with the newly joined continent." sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Chu Kuang''s goal is probably the whole Blue Star, since the Blue Star''s big merger is also coming up, and only two continents will remain."

    "With his strength, he indeed has the chance to capture readers from the entire Blue Star."

    Zhao Continent had just joined.

    And Chu Kuang just happened to write martial arts.

    It was very normal for everyone to think this way, so the industry wasn''t too surprised either, as it was quite normal for Chu Kuang to write about a niche genre, given his nature.

    If the Zhao people are the primary target group?

    This genre can''t even be considered completely niche, at least not as niche as the sports competition genre that Chu Kuang wrote about when he first debuted.

    It''s like when a commercial film star suddenly makes an arthouse film.

    Everyone knows the star is aiming for awards, not for the box office.

    When you''re not the target audience, forcing a debate about the arthouse film being too niche doesn''t make much sense.

    Now everyone is just curious about one thing:

    Can Chu Kuang''s martial arts novel, tailor-made for Zhao Continent, create a storm among Zhao people and let them understand why Chu Kuang is so popular among the readers of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han!

    ¡­

    For others, writing a book is both a mental and physical task, but for Lin Yuan, it''s purely physical, the kind where his hands can''t keep up with his brain.

    At home.

    In the studio.

    At Starlight Entertainment.

    Lin Yuan wrote wherever he went, never minding what the outside world thought of Chu Kuang writing martial arts novels.

    Jin Yong''s works had undergone several revisions.

    That included novels such as "The Legend of the Condor Heroes." While Jin Yong was alive, he would make adjustments every few years, sometimes in small details, other times in larger directions.

    Lin Yuan was different.

    The manuscript he received was meticulously prepared by the System, including various plotlines that were most widely accepted by readers in his past life, ensuring the novel''s solid foundation to the greatest extent.

    In addition,

    Lin Yuan made virtually no changes to the historical background in the book, even adding and introducing more about it, so that everyone could have a deeper understanding of the world situation at that time.

    It didn''t matter if the readers from Blue Star didn''t understand.

    When such plots appeared in the novel, they could simply be regarded as alternate historical events.

    Over thousands of years,

    Earth''s history was splendid and varied.

    Great figures like Yue Fei emerged from it, also serving as a spectacle and highlight. Lin Yuan even planned to write about this period of Earth''s history in novel form, as those real-life stories were even more fascinating than fiction!

    There was no better subject for an alternate historical genre than true stories that had actually happened!

    And as Lin Yuan kept pressing the keys non-stop, the sound of typing echoed continuously.

    The story was ultimately completed smoothly:

    [Genghis Khan raised his eyebrows, a proud look on his face, and said loudly, "I have conquered the world and destroyed countless nations in my life. Are you saying that doesn''t make me a hero? Hah, what childish talk!"]

    In late February,

    On a mellow, sun-drenched afternoon, Lin Yuan finished "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," typing out three words at the end of the novel:

    "The End"

    Genghis Khan fell.

    Guo Jing and Huang Rong flew together.

    The book didn''t present any major surprises. Not only was the ending satisfying, but the plot overall was in no sense torturous. With both enjoyment and depth well balanced, it''s no wonder someone once commented, "With ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' out, other martial arts novels are mere shadows." This statement is subjective, but it at least reflects the special significance of this work within the martial arts genre.

    "Readers have too many misconceptions about Chu Kuang."

    Lin Yuan felt somewhat wronged since Chu Kuang''s writings were mostly thrilling, yet everyone remembered only the tortuous parts. He believed that "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" would salvage Chu Kuang''s reputation!

    What?

    People died in this book too?

    That wasn''t the point. At least the characters who "bit the dust" didn''t distress the readers too much. On the whole, the integrity was still there.

    Even Ouyang Feng going mad wasn''t a point of cruelty,

    because Ouyang Feng was a villain in this book.

    Moreover, tough characters like Ke Zhen''e survived until the end, someone who dared to challenge the Five Greats. Although he could never win a fight, he never lost when it came to showboating!

    Thinking like this,

    Lin Yuan had Jin Mu send the complete novel to Silver Blue Books and arranged for Gu Dong to take his manuscript and contact the TV department.

    The TV series had to be prepared as quickly as possible.

    After making these arrangements, Lin Yuan tapped his fingers on the table.

    If that had been a piano, one might have noticed that Lin Yuan was playing a certain melody, each finger strike matching a specific piano key.

    The song was called "Iron-Blooded Heart."

    This was one of the most popular songs from the old TV adaptation of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," and Lin Yuan planned to use the song in the Starlight TV series as well.

    The TV series would require a number of songs.

    Shortly after Silver Blue Books received the novel, the official website announced the publication preview for "The Legend of the Condor Heroes":

    "Chu Kuang''s new book to be released in March!"

    This was just the simplest of announcements. Over the next few days, overwhelming promotions would follow, as Chu Kuang was Silver Blue Books'' biggest draw and pillar.

    However,

    For an author of Chu Kuang''s caliber, even the simplest of announcements was enough to spark countless discussions...

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Honey, I''ve splurged on two more ten-pack special card draws and still no sign of Sun Yaohuo. I urgently need some consolation with monthly tickets, help me out!

 Chapter 955 - 955: 886 Release Day

    Readers from every continent were discussing.

    However, unlike before, the most intense discussions about Chu Kuang''s new book weren''t by readers across the continents but by major bookstores in the Blue Star literary circle.

    At that moment.

    All the major bookstores were in a dilemma.

    Normally, when Chu Kuang released a new book, all the major bookstores would scramble to buy it!

    Especially after experiencing shortages due to underestimating the market for "Zhu Xian" years ago.

    Insiders, cautious of underestimating Chu Kuang''s new books, would conservatively order more to ensure a sufficient supply for the market.

    However, this time was somewhat special.

    Chu Kuang''s new book was a wuxia theme, specifically targeted for the audience in Zhao Continent, precisely selecting its audience by genre!

    Outside Zhao Continent.

    Readers from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han were not at all interested in wuxia novels.

    Given this, how many copies of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" should bookstores from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han order to be appropriate?

    Keep in mind.

    Even if the readers from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han weren''t interested in wuxia, they were interested in Chu Kuang. Who knew how many readers from these places would buy "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" just because of the old rascal''s reputation?

    There would definitely be some sales.

    While the major bookstores in Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han were struggling to decide, the major bookstores in Zhao Continent were extremely enthusiastic! S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Over at Silver Blue Books.

    Loads of orders from Zhao Continent came pouring in!

    Anyone in Zhao Continent could easily find out who Chu Kuang was!

    With such a top-tier author creating a wuxia novel specifically for Zhao people, would the residents of Zhao Continent not buy it?

    Of course.

    Although the bookstores in Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han were hesitant, they eventually ordered a significant amount from Silver Blue Books, albeit being a bit more conservative than usual, mostly around hundreds of thousands of copies each.

    Alright.

    For Chu Kuang''s new book, ordering in the hundreds of thousands was considered conservative for major bookstores, but if compared to other authors, this order quantity was definitely exceptional!

    Don''t forget.

    Before "Zhu Xian" was released.

    Tranquility Bookstore had pre-ordered seven hundred thousand copies of "Zhu Xian," which had stunned many people.

    Such was Chu Kuang''s market appeal now!

    Even if he wrote wuxia, targeting an audience that wasn''t from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han, these bookstores dared not order too few, fearing the unexpected.

    After all, there were bloody lessons from the past.

    On the other side.

    Starlight Entertainment''s TV department had already started working on the screenplay for "The Legend of the Condor Heroes."

    With the original work right before them, and no need to alter the plot, a group of screenwriters worked together on it, and the screenplay progressed very quickly; the TV drama version of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" was officially started when about a third of the screenplay was written.

    The director chosen for the TV drama was...

    Ding Xiao!

    As the director of "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange," Ding Xiao was already experienced in filming wuxia.

    The recent "Treasured Lotus Lamp" had further established Ding Xiao as one of Starlight Television''s leading directors, at least in terms of ratings security.

    Proficiency in his field.

    Choosing him to direct "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" also represented the company''s emphasis on this drama.

    However...

    When the news of the TV drama "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" being shot spread, and the outside world saw who the director was, they laughed.

    Netizens from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han celebrated like it was New Year:

    "It''s actually Ding Xiao!"

    "Guys, this is a sure win!"

    "Hehehe, seeing the choice of director, I feel like I already know something, those who know, know."

    "Zhao people, face the storm!"

    "Dare to mock our readers from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han, crush these ignorant newcomers!"

    "Hahahaha, I wasn''t interested in martial arts novels, but seeing that Ding Xiao is directing the TV show, I''m suddenly looking forward to ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''!"

    "This is the first time I''m so looking forward to the old rascal causing trouble!"

    "You guys are crazy, just to see the Zhao people''s joke, you actually started looking forward to the old rascal serving lunch!"

    ...

    The TV industry.

    Major companies soon learned that Chu Kuang''s new book ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' was to be adapted into a TV series.

    "Starlight really has faith in Chu Kuang."

    "The novel hasn''t even been tested in the market yet, and they''re already planning to shoot a related TV series, following the original martial arts routine?"

    "After all, it''s Chu Kuang, with that trump card in hand, who wouldn''t want to take a gamble?"

    "Taking original creations to compete against those classic martial arts adaptations and remakes, they really have guts."

    "The market is in Zhao Continent, let''s see if the Zhao people buy it or not."

    "Considering that Ding Xiao is the director, should this show follow the route of ''Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange'', where the villain kills wildly throughout?"

    Meanwhile.

    Lancet, who was working on adapting ''Trap the Tiger'', also noticed this news.

    Lancet had complex feelings toward Chu Kuang.

    On one hand, Lancet admired his ability to create a viewership miracle with ''Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange'', benefiting immensely from it and even making martial arts drama remakes trendy;

    On the other hand, Lancet was filled with anger towards Chu Kuang.

    To him, ''Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange'' was like his own child.

    Chu Kuang''s adaptation had twisted the novel so much that even he hardly recognized it, and seeing the characters being killed off one by one by Chu Kuang was truly heartbreaking!

    This was good.

    Lancet''s eyes flashed with determination: "I will demonstrate the correct method of novel adaptation and remake with ''Trap the Tiger''!"

    Ultimately, there were still some unresolved feelings.

    He could never forget the excruciating pain he felt watching ''Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange''.

    And in Zhao Continent.

    Many forums were discussing Chu Kuang''s move into writing martial arts novels.

    The Zhao people had only been merged for less than two months; the culture and arts of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han were vast like an ocean. Not many among the Zhao people truly understood Chu Kuang, most had only heard his name but hadn''t read any of his specific novels.

    "This Chu Kuang has a big reputation in Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han, and I''m quite interested in his martial arts books."

    "I''m also curious how he earned such a big name."

    "Writing martial arts novels is something we Zhao people excel at, personally, I don''t really believe this Chu Kuang can write a martial arts novel that we Zhao people would like, after all, we have seen more martial arts novels than all the other continents combined, what haven''t we seen!"

    "Right."

    "Maybe this Chu Kuang really is talented, but when it comes to martial arts novels, we still prefer the works of our own martial arts masters in Zhao Continent. However, since he specifically writes for the Zhao Continent market, I am still very interested in buying a book to read, hoping it''s not just the usual martial arts stuff, he better bring something new, otherwise, we don''t care how famous he is in Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han."

    Curiosity.

    The people of Zhao Continent were still full of curiosity toward Chu Kuang.

    Especially those who had heard of his fame but had never actually read his novels.

    Amidst different expectations from various continents,

    time finally proceeded to March.

    On the first day of the month, ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' was officially released!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Today''s first ten consecutive draws included Sun Yaohuo, now I''ve collected a full set of all-arts cards, the 489th person with insane luck!

 Chapter 956 - 956: 887 days, Mount Tai, Big Dipper

    March 1st.

    9 AM.

    Peng Lan, the head of Su City''s New Cathay Bookstore in Qin Continent, had arrived early with her personal assistant to inspect the main store.

    By this time, "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" had already been released.

    She wanted to know the first-day sales of Chu Kuang''s new book.

    Due to the special circumstances of this release, although the major bookstores across Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han had adopted a conservative strategy, the total volume of stock was still substantial. Everyone was worried about sales, so there were many managers like Peng Lan who personally visited bookstores to observe the situation.

    However,

    when Peng Lan and her assistant entered the Su City New Cathay main store, they were startled by the scene inside.

    Inside the bookstore,

    customer after customer filled the different seats.

    Upon closer inspection, one could see that nearly every customer was holding a copy of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes"!

    At the front desk,

    the crowded crowd was slightly noisy, with many customers holding "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" checking out at the cashier, creating a bustling scene:

    "Where''s Chu Kuang''s new book?"

    "One copy of Chu Kuang''s new book, please!"

    "The same for me, the old rascal''s new book."

    "Two copies of ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes,'' thank you!"

    "Is this Chu Kuang the old rascal''s new book? Oh, yes, then I''ll take one, two, three, four, five... six copies, and also a few for my five sons in the dorm."

    Peng Lan was dumbstruck.

    The assistant beside her was also astonished.

    If Chu Kuang had written a detective novel or such, the two would not have been shocked by such a sales scene.

    The old rascal had the market appeal.

    But the issue here was that this was a martial arts novel!

    Since when did the readers from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han take such an interest in martial arts?

    And that was knowing full well that this martial arts novel was written by Chu Kuang for the readers of Zhao Continent?

    Ask around.

    Peng Lan turned to a customer who was holding "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" and preparing to check out, curious,

    "Young man, do you like martial arts novels?"

    "Who likes this stuff?" the young customer replied casually.

    Peng Lan was almost puzzled, "If you don''t like martial arts, why do you still buy them?"

    The young customer replied matter-of-factly, "To read, of course!"

    Peng Lan: "..."

    Is someone forcing you to read at knifepoint?

    Seeing Peng Lan''s reaction, the young customer looked like she was from a village without internet access,

    "Those folks from Zhao Continent mocked us before. We want to see for ourselves how Chu Kuang tortures them to death with this novel. How would we know how they get tortured without reading it!"

    Huh?

    That works?

    You bought the books just to see how this novel tortures the people of Zhao?

    Peng Lan''s head was spinning, she asked subconsciously,

    "How do you know this book is so torturous?"

    "Could it not be torturous if written by the old rascal Chu Kuang?"

    A customer, also about to buy "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," couldn''t help but join the conversation. He seemed to find Peng Lan''s question odd, as if it were common knowledge.

    Several customers lining up to check out also joined the discussion:

    "This novel is going to be turned into a drama soon, directed by Ding Xiao. Have you not heard of Ding Xiao? He is that guy who feels uneasy if he doesn''t torture the audience!"

    "Chu Kuang and Ding Xiao! This combination just means a huge pitfall!"

    "I''m really looking forward to seeing the people of Zhao crying under the old rascal''s torture!"

    "It''s not entirely for that reason though, mainly because I love Chu Kuang''s novels."

    "Yes, it''s been a long time since the old rascal Chu Kuang released a new book. Finally, here''s one, even if it''s a martial arts book, I still have to buy it and give it a look, I''m starving for his works!"

    "Starving for his works, count me in."

    "Whatever he writes, I can''t help but want to take a look."

    Peng Lan and the assistant exchanged glances, then joy quickly spread across their faces!

    No matter what, good sales are good news. The batch of books we brought in should be able to sell now!

    Chu Kuang, solid!

    Meanwhile, outside New Cathay,

    similar scenes were unfolding in other bookstores as well.

    Although Chu Kuang was writing martial arts, the major bookstores were surprised to find that the buying power of the readers from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han was still very strong!

    Swish, swish, swish!

    The relatively conservative inventory managed to perfectly handle the situation, avoiding any unsold books!

    This also brought relief to the managers of the various bookstores.

    "Lucky I had a big picture view!"

    "Yeah, mainly because we''ve been educated by Chu Kuang more than once before, knowing that even the most conservative estimate for his books should be at least a few hundred thousand copies."

    "Never thought that one day martial arts could sell like this."

    "Old rascal Chu Kuang still disregards genre."

    "It''s not really disregarding genre though, the readers'' enthusiasm is high, but it''s still relative to martial arts. If Chu Kuang''s new book was a mystery, do you believe that the doors of the bookstores would burst, a few hundred thousand copies wouldn''t be enough to sell."

    "That''s true."

    "After all, it''s a martial arts novel, and no matter how enthusiastic the response, ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' just doesn''t sell as well as his mystery novels, which really saw explosive sales when the Poirot and Sherlock Holmes series were published - truly phenomenal."

    ...

    In Zhao Continent.

    The major bookstores were likewise bustling with people.

    Although the people of Zhao Continent were far less familiar with Chu Kuang than those from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han, they had, after all, heard of his great name.

    The Wuxia novel that Chu Kuang had written was exactly the type that the Zhao people loved.

    Fueled by such curiosity,

    many Zhao people couldn''t help but stop by a bookstore to buy a copy of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" when they passed one.

    Meanwhile, inside a small bookstore on a certain street corner,

    numerous newly published copies of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" were placed on the shelves.

    At that moment,

    an old man entered the bookstore and picked up two copies of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" to purchase.

    "You are..."

    After taking the money, the bookstore owner suddenly looked shocked, staring intently at the old man in front of him, his voice trembling:

    "Mr. Canyang?"

    "Didn''t expect someone would still recognize me,"

    the old man replied with a carefree smile, "I am Canyang."

    The bookstore owner became incredibly excited, "Mr. Canyang, I am your fan! Could you sign for me? I''ve always cherished your works, especially ''The Command of Huayue''. Oh, and these two novels are on the house ¡ª it''s my honor to have my idol buy books from my shop!"

    Canyang!

    A standard-bearer for the older generation of Wuxia writers from the Zhao Continent, his Wuxia novels had influenced an entire generation, esteemed and respected within the whole Wuxia literary circle!

    Even though Canyang had formally retired from writing three years ago, his legends were still found everywhere in the martial arts world.

    The owner of this bookstore had grown up reading Canyang''s Wuxia novels; Canyang was his god of martial arts!

    "Sure,"

    Canyang kindly agreed. After signing, he left under the admiring and adoring gaze of the owner, though of course, he still paid the money.

    After leaving,

    Canyang drove to a manor.

    Inside the manor, an old man around Canyang''s age was drinking tea; he immediately stood up when he spotted Canyang:

    "Brother Canyang, nice to see you well."

    Canyang replied with a smile, "Brother Duan still looks so vigorous, no need to retire from writing like I did."

    Had there been bystanders, they would have recognized the manor''s occupant''s identity; this was Duan Qingyun, another top Wuxia master from the Zhao Continent.

    There''s a saying in the Martial Arts World of Zhao Continent about "Mount Tai and the North Star."

    Canyang was Mount Tai, and Duan Qingyun was the North Star.

    Similar to Canyang, Duan Qingyun had also retired from writing two years ago and hadn''t touched any Wuxia novel since then.

    "You don''t know the reason I retired?"

    Duan Qingyun sighed, "There''s not much left to write in Wuxia; I can''t see a new path to explore."

    On hearing this, Canyang fell briefly silent.

    Others might know that Wuxia from Blue Star was declining, except the Zhao people still held a very high passion for this genre.

    Few people knew:

    Even in Zhao Continent, the market for Wuxia was shrinking year by year.

    Someday, it might become like other continents, losing interest in Wuxia novels.

    Just as Duan Qingyun said,

    There wasn''t much left to write in Wuxia.

    The decision for the two "Mount Tai and North Stars" of the Martial Arts World to retire was not due to a decline in energy but mainly because they felt the constraints of creativity ¡ª

    more precisely, the constraints pertinent to Wuxia.

    Under such constraints, there was no broader future visible for Wuxia.

    Even they, universally recognized as the top figures in the Martial Arts World, could no longer write works surpassing their previous ones ¡ª this was the real reason behind their succcessive retirements.

    The mood became somewhat melancholic.

    Duan Qingyun shook his head, "Let''s not talk about that. We haven''t seen each other for a long time. Sit down, have some tea, play chess. By the way, what are you holding?"

    "Novels, Wuxia novels."

    Canyang took out the copies of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" he had bought from the bookstore: "Visiting Brother Lu, how could I come empty-handed." S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Interesting, whose work?"

    "Chu Kuang, you should have heard of him."

    "Rings a bell; his ''Journey to the West'' had me unable to put it down. He''s written Wuxia novels too? Let me see!"

    Duan Qingyun became interested.

    Canyang laughed heartily, "Aren''t you not writing Wuxia anymore?"

    Duan Qingyun rolled his eyes, "Aren''t you not writing either? I can still read Wuxia, right?"

    "It shows your heart for Wuxia hasn''t died."

    Canyang expressed revealingly, "Like me, you must often keep an eye on other Wuxia writers'' works."

    "Let''s not talk about such pointless things."

    Now that they were old acquaintances, Duan Qingyun didn''t mind forgoing pleasantries and direct manners, taking a copy of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" straight from Canyang,

    "Pour the tea yourself, I''m going to read."

    "Let''s do it together, remember back in the day we used to sit together, drink tea, and read novels, quite pleasant indeed,"

    Canyang remarked nostalgically.

    The two men, at the peak of their creative years, continually learned from other Wuxia masters to refine their own craft, hence producing serially more fantastic Wuxia novels.

    It''s a pity that in recent years both began to falter.

    Back then, they understood that for Wuxia novels to break new ground, someone had to forge a new path!

    However, easy as it is to say, how challenging is it to actually forge it?

    At least for these two, it was hard to imagine what that new path should be ¡ª that was also why they always kept an eye on other Wuxia writers, merely hoping someone would accomplish what they could not.

    Amid all these thoughts,

    they had both opened the novels in their hands.

    [The vast waters of the Qiantang River endlessly flowed day and night, passing alongside Niujia Village in Lin''an as it hurried eastward to the sea. A row of dozens of black cypress trees, their leaves as red as fire, marked the month of August.]

    The world of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" slowly began to unfold.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Recent encumbrances resulted in subpar updates, but fortunately, I can return to my little den tomorrow to focus on writing. In a couple of days, let me show you what a true writing maestro is. Hold me to that!

 Chapter 957 - 888 I See the Future of Martial Arts

    The opening of The Legend of the Condor Heroes begins with an ancient poem recited with cadence and rhythm by an old storyteller:

    "The little peach tree blooms on its own without a master,

    The tobacco fields stretch vast, carrying the crows at dusk.

    Several dilapidated walls surround the old well,

    Once upon a time, each was a household''s dwelling."

    Duan Qingyun''s eyes immediately lit up, and he soon exclaimed, "Nevermind the beginning, this quatrain is truly poetic brilliance."

    "Good poem!"

    Canyang nodded in agreement upon reading this passage.

    Actually, this is a work by Dai Fugu, a poet of the Southern Song Dynasty, making its first appearance in Blue Star, and naturally both took it for an original creation by Chu Kuang.

    Afterward.

    The two no longer conversed, each deeply immersed in the spiritual world crafted by The Legend of the Condor Heroes.

    Actually, the pace of The Legend of the Condor Heroes is quite slow; the protagonist does not even appear by the end of the first chapter, only entering the scene in the second.

    However, the groundwork laid in the first chapter carries both necessity and inevitability.

    Whether it''s the origins of Guo Xiaotian and Yang Tie Xin, as well as Qiu Chuji, or the children in the wombs of Li Ping and Bao Xiruo, who, due to their parents'' misfortunes, are sent on wholly different life paths, there''s an undercurrent running miles beneath the surface.

    The text repeatedly uses contrasts and juxtapositions of characters'' fates:

    Bao Xiruo, having lost her husband, feels secretly delighted when praised for her beauty by Wan Yan Hong Lie, even succumbing to the current and following this man.

    Facing the same loss of a spouse,

    Li Ping, however, is consumed by thoughts of revenge and refuses to submit to the great villain Duan Tiande, enduring beatings and insults with gritted teeth, even feigning madness and stupidity to barely survive.

    Amidst the fluttering snowflakes,

    Guo Jing is born with a cry.

    At that time, the child in Bao Xiruo''s womb, Yang Kang, had already become a Jin prince;

    Whereas Guo Jing is but an ordinary child of the vast desert.

    Yet, the story''s focus is not on Yang Kang, but on Guo Jing.

    From Guo Jing''s rescue of Zhebie, to his resolve to not disclose Zhebie''s hiding place even at the cost of his life, finally earning the respect of Temujin and the Mongolian warriors, the character''s qualities and image vividly come to life.

    Afterward.

    The Seven Freaks of Jiangnan appear, Mei Chaofeng and Chen Xuan Feng becoming the notorious Black Wind Twins.

    Amidst their fierce battle, the young Guo Jing intervenes, gaining the recognition of the Seven Freaks and also unveiling a corner of the enigmatic Huang Yaoshi, one of the "Five Greats."

    Unknowingly,

    The contrast between Yang Kang and Guo Jing grows even stronger.

    Both have famous masters, both find themselves among other cultures as Han Chinese earning the favor of foreign leaders, and both have a brilliant future within easy reach, yet their worldviews could not be more different.

    And when Huang Rong appears,

    With her beggar-like demeanor and crafty charm, she easily tricks the generous Guo Jing into parting with his money, Duan Qingyun''s face shows a tremendous change for the first time...

    By then,

    The tea has gone cold.

    A breeze brings a chill to the pavilion.

    The tea gently ripples, revealing its jade green shade.

    The two titans of the Martial Arts World, each holding a copy of The Legend of the Condor Heroes, remain silent, their eyes seemingly rooted to the pages unfurling before them.

    Before they know it, it''s afternoon.

    The sunlight gradually intensifies.

    As they sip the cooled tea, without any exchange of glances, it''s only when a family member reminds Duan Qingyun to eat that they snap back to reality as if roused from a dream.

    "How long have we been reading?"

    "About three or four hours."

    Canyang rubs his slightly sore eyes, having not been so engrossed in a novel for a long time.

    Duan Qingyun feels a strange surge of emotion but finds himself at a loss for words, his fingertips turning white from gripping the book pages so tightly.

    "Let''s eat first,"

    Canyang suggests.

    Duan Qingyun has the meal brought into the pavilion; he merely nibbles at a few bites, his gaze never leaving the book.

    Beside him,

    Canyang''s reaction isn''t much better than Duan Qingyun''s, also focused on the book throughout the meal until he picks up a piece of ginger with his chopsticks, only then realizing he''s still eating, although the ginger has already been swallowed.

    After the meal.

    Without prior agreement, both were once again immersed in the world of the book, as if the allure of this volume surpassed everything in the world.

    One hour.

    Two hours.

    Three hours.

    The difference from the morning lay in:

    In the afternoon, the two no longer read in complete silence.

    Although there wasn''t much conversation, whenever the plot reached an exciting point, one could often hear the other person slapping the table in amazement and cheering loudly.

    Finally.

    The setting sun appeared on the horizon.

    From the sunrise to the sunlight that struck after dinner, to a hint of red appearing in the sky, the air took on a tinge of chill.

    The sky gradually darkened.

    When the two snapped back to reality for the second time, they looked at each other by chance, only to simultaneously see shock in the other''s eyes!

    "Brother Duan..." S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Although he hadn''t finished reading, Canyang''s emotions had already been thoroughly stirred by "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," his voice trembling slightly:

    "What is this?"

    "The future of martial arts fiction!"

    This was Duan Qingyun''s response, his face flushed, he spoke assertively and without hesitation, "This is a completely new path for martial arts fiction!"

    Martial arts fiction is running out of things to write?

    Before having read the novel in their hands, the two had regretfully discussed this topic, agreeing that for martial arts fiction to continue, it must carve out a completely new path, otherwise it would never break free from the shackles looming over the sky of martial arts. But upon reading this novel, even though they hadn''t finished it yet, their outlook was suddenly enlightened!

    How could someone write a martial arts novel like this?

    Canyang''s heart surged, as if bursting with endless vitality, his lips moved continuously:

    "So it turns out martial arts fiction can be written like this!"

    "I feel this is not just a martial arts novel, this is literature!"

    For the first time, Duan Qingyun felt justified in calling martial arts literature, and Chu Kuang truly blazed a new trail for the genre!

    An incredible new path!

    In past martial arts novels, the Jianghu represented a dark place in opposition to the court, a haven for anti-imperial factions and troupes of performers.

    What annihilation of clans.

    What revenge.

    What supreme mastery of martial arts.

    Such main themes were too numerous to count.

    After reading them too often, one couldn''t avoid sensing a pettiness.

    Yet within "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," the Jianghu was like a breath of fresh air, clearing away the musty air of old¡ª

    The peak of Mount Hua and the vast desert unfolded like a wide silver screen that instantly broadened one''s horizon, a pair of white eagles stirred the imagination, the sea''s tide made the martial arts that previously couldn''t make it to the big screen sublime and ethereal, while the Dog Beating Staff brought the legend back to the worldly and familiar.

    Whose jade flute mourns the falling plum blossoms?

    An endless variety, an infinite delight!

    This is a work that is a precursor in history!

    The piece not only points to a direction for the future of martial arts fiction that no one could have imagined based on its own captivating plot; it also weaves the poignant changes of the country with the narrative, and these seemingly superfluous elements perfectly blend with the martial arts aspects within the main text!

    The imaginative power of martial arts fiction fully unleashed!

    Direct narration, flashback, aside, foreshadowing, setting the scene...

    There is the soaring dragon in the skies, the powerful dragon''s tail sweep, lifelike and vibrant, at times the noise of flutes and drums is loud, at times the shadow of flowers is dense.

    Another dimension.

    Someone once commented:

    With the arrival of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," even the spirits are startled.

    To ordinary people, such praise might seem exaggerated, but to those veterans steeped in the martial arts realm for years, the true meaning of this acclaim was clear.

    At this moment.

    As two major constellations of the Martial Arts World in Zhao Continent, they too could not help but be astounded by it, let alone other readers who were gradually opening this novel.

    The heat of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" was coming!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: I just got back home and started working again. Today''s update is as usual. Don''t rush to mock me, I''ll start writing intensively tomorrow. This time I must explode to prove you all wrong o(*£þ¦á£þ*)o.

 Chapter 958 - 889: Do We Have Enough Inventory to Sell?

    The first burst of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" occurred in Zhao Continent.

    As the last bastion for the martial arts genre, the love of the Zhao people for martial arts is well-known across Blue Star.

    Thus.

    During the time when Canyang and Duan Qingshan were excitedly discussing "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" to the point of no return.

    A storm suddenly swept through the martial arts forums of Zhao Continent!

    The storm started with a post, which was simple, but the tone of the poster was incredibly exaggerated:

    "Aaaaaah, who has read ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''!?"

    As a result.

    That post exploded with countless readers who had just started reading "The Legend of the Condor Heroes"!

    Hundreds of replies!

    "Reading it, reading it, from afternoon till night, can''t put it down!"

    "You think that''s something? I''ve been reading from 8 AM to 6 PM, a whole ten hours without a break, even forgot to make lunch, now I''m so hungry my stomach is growling, and I don''t want to waste time cooking when I could be reading, so I had to order takeout. I freaking hate takeout, but what I hate even more is Bao Xiruo, this green tea. If she could die earlier, I would be willing to eat takeout for a month!"

    "Turns out I''m not the only one who feels this way. This martial arts novel is incredible!"

    "Me too, me too. This novel is simply addictive, I just can''t stop reading. How can a martial arts novel be this thrilling!"

    "This novel completely shattered my preconceived notions about martial arts. It''s totally different from our Zhao Continent''s style!"

    "King''s Path, huh. ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' style is the real King''s Path of martial arts!"

    "This Chu Kuang is really awesome. No wonder he''s so famous across Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han. He''s just too good!"

    "I''m totally infatuated with Huang Rong. She''s the most perfect heroine I''ve seen in martial arts novels. Compared to Huang Rong, other heroines from martial arts novels are just pretty faces used to advance the plot!"

    "Only after reading ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' did I realize how one-sided my understanding of the martial world has been!"

    "I really love this novel''s original setting. The oppression of the Song Dynasty by the Jin people makes me so angry, and the Mongolians are really strong. Unfortunately, Chu Kuang''s depiction of this fictional history isn''t rich enough. Otherwise, it would be even more exciting. Who knew combining martial arts novels with fictional history could be this exhilarating!"

    "The various settings inside are too cool!"

    "Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, Branch Beats the White Chimpanzee, Nine Yin Manual, and things like Eastern Heretic, Western Poison, Southern Emperor, Northern Beggar, Central Diviner, and Duel Atop Mount Hua are just too awesome!"

    The people of Zhao Continent read a lot of martial arts.

    However, "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" was a style they had never experienced before!

    The impact of this new style directly caused the first batch of Zhao readers who picked up the novel to fall for it!

    And after Zhao Continent.

    Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han also started to stir.

    ...

    Qin Continent.

    "Oh my, is this still the martial arts I know? Why is it so thrilling? I haven''t been able to get into a martial arts novel for eight hundred years. But Chu Kuang''s ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' brought back the excitement I felt when I first read a martial arts novel all those years ago!"

    "The Legend of the Condor Heroes? Chu Kuang''s new book? Is it good? Isn''t it just a martial arts novel?"

    "You''ve made me curious. I saw online reviews saying it was written for Zhao people, never imagined I''d see so many of our Qin readers recommending it too."

    ...

    Qi Continent.

    "Damn, worthy of the old rascal, even turning clich¨¦d martial arts into something fresh. ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' is too captivating. This is the real charm of martial arts!?"

    "Are you sure, upstairs?"

    "No need for upstairs to confirm, I can confirm for you. I''m someone who can''t stand watching a single martial arts drama, yet I devoured Chu Kuang''s book for half a day!"

    ...

    Chu Continent.

    "Strongly recommend ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes.'' Don''t miss out on this novel just because you don''t read martial arts. You''ll realize you actually love this genre after reading it!"

    "Really?" S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Isn''t it said that the old rascal wrote this book specifically for Zhao people?"

    ...

    Yan Continent.

    "I was just casually flipping through ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes,'' since it''s the old rascal''s new book, but once I started reading, I was hooked. He writes really well, it''s just unfortunate for Princess Huazheng!"

    "Chu Kuang''s martial arts novel?"

    "It''s just a martial arts novel, is it that good? I''ll find some time to buy and read it."

    ...

    Han Continent.

    "If you haven''t read ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' yet, hurry up and dive in. I have a feeling that if you''re late, you won''t be able to buy it anymore¡ªat that time, don''t blame your brother for not warning you!"

    "What? Are you a shill for the bookstore?"

    "Is Chu Kuang''s wuxia novel really that good? I bought a copy, thinking about reading it, but somehow I just can''t bring myself to open it and flip through."

    ...

    Unlike Zhao Continent.

    On Zhao Continent, readers of ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' were numerous, and they all read it at the first opportunity, truly loving wuxia and genuinely curious about Chu Kuang.

    In the five continents of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han,

    the readers who bought ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' were far fewer than the Zhao people.

    Even though quite a few readers bought ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes,'' many didn''t read it at all due to a lack of motivation.

    However,

    when the readers from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han saw so many people recommending the novel, they couldn''t help but become interested.

    Could it be that with a theme like wuxia, the old rascal also managed to create something spectacular?

    Could it be that ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' was not only written for Zhao people, but also something that we from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han would enjoy?

    With this thought,

    the next day, the bookstores in each of the states of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han were even busier than the first day!

    "Give me a copy of ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''!"

    "I''ll buy one too!"

    "Old Luo, can''t I just borrow yours and see it, why should I buy it too? What a waste of money."

    "Nonsense, I haven''t finished it yet. Hurry up and buy it. Don''t you see how many people are queuing up?"

    "Fine, one copy of ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''. If it''s not as good as you say, I''m coming after you tonight."

    "I want ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''!"

    Eagles are a protected species, you know.

    The managers of the major bookstores, noticing the situation inside the stores, were once again complacently proud!

    That''s what you call vision!

    They had thought that after the first day, the sales of ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' would decrease.

    Most of the first-day buyers were die-hard fans of Chu Kuang, and such fans are limited in number after all.

    Yet, who knew?

    By the second day of release, ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' sold even better!

    Luckily we had the foresight to order hundreds of thousands of stocks, even if we went the conservative route!

    However,

    just when the bookstore managers were nearly squinting their eyes shut from grinning, the third day since ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' release arrived.

    That day,

    many readers had already completely finished reading ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''.

    After all, the book was just over a million words, and for some seasoned readers, that meant just a couple of days of reading.

    Morning,

    clients coming to purchase ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' at various bookstores were even more preposterous, lining up in long queues for the first time.

    One bookstore owner quicky calculated and was shocked to find that just the number of buyers that morning alone was more than the total number of customers from the previous two days combined!

    At that moment,

    some started having doubts:

    "Manager, this trend seems a bit off, don''t you think? How come the number of readers buying books is getting scarier each day?"

    "Our vision..."

    "Ah no, it''s our stock... "

    "Do we have enough stock to sell?"

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Thanks to the grand Alliance Hierarch of Yu Yang830711, offering my knees to the big boss¡ªmay riches come your way, and tomorrow you transform into a coding powerhouse!

 Chapter 959 - 890 JingRongs Romance (First Update)

    Is there enough stock to sell?

    Of course there isn''t enough to sell!

    The number of readers coming to the bookstore to buy books on the third day was terrifying.

    It was around nine o''clock in the morning when a certain large chain bookstore reluctantly put up the "The Legend of the Condor Heroes sold out" sign first.

    And then.

    It was like a domino effect.

    Following the first bookstore''s inability to cope, more and more bookstores found themselves in the awkward situation of having nothing to sell, and more "The Legend of the Condor Heroes sold out" signs were reluctantly put up.

    Soaring Dragon Bookstore sold out!

    Universal Bookstore sold out!

    Pinnacle Bookstore sold out!

    Tranquility Bookstore sold out!

    New Cathay Bookstore sold out!

    Countless bookstores across the five continents of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han sold out in turn; "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" suddenly became out of stock!

    Too small! Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The scale was too small!

    Just yesterday, the person in charge of each major bookstore was all smiles, but today they''re all cursing under their breath, hurriedly contacting Silver Blue Books for restocking!

    What the hell is happening!

    Since when did wuxia become so popular?

    Wasn''t it said that readers from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han don''t like to read wuxia?

    You can''t even trust a single punctuation mark in what these readers say!

    Previously, all major bookstores thought that the first day''s sales would be the highest. They didn''t expect the second day to be even higher, and just when they thought the second day was the limit, the third day''s sales exceeded the sum of the first two days!

    And all this actually had a reason.

    As the first batch of readers finished the entire novel, the reputation of this work completely exploded online!

    Its most direct manifestation is:

    A 9.3 rating for The Legend of the Condor Heroes on Starry Sky Web!

    And the number of reviewers exceeded 600,000!

    Almost no decent negative comments could be found in the entire comments section:

    "This ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' alone has an aura that completely crushes all previous wuxia novels. The book''s vast, boundless and touching atmosphere can''t simply be described as shocking. Chu Kuang made me fall in love with wuxia all over again!"

    "Two words only: Holy shit!"

    "Wuxia can portray chivalry and righteousness seen in everyday life; romance reflects people''s desires. The former is idealistic, while the latter is realistic, yet this kind of realism really hits home for me. I cried and laughed, my soul was moved. I don''t know how many people, like me, are fascinated by the fictional history laid out in the book, feeling that this era seems grand. The fictional historical figures mentioned by Chu Kuang in the book, like Yue Fei, Yang Guang, and Emperor Wu of Han, all seem to have a lot to talk about."

    "I want to eat the food cooked by Huang Rong."

    "Wuxia is the eternal love in my heart, but honestly, I haven''t read this genre for many years. I thought I had stopped loving wuxia, but after reading The Legend of the Condor Heroes, I realized that my love for wuxia had never diminished by even a bit. It was just that I was growing up, while wuxia had made no progress for many years. When a wuxia work that could keep up with my growth appeared, my love for wuxia was just like first love. Also... cough, I want to learn the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms."

    "Is this the rhythm of a wuxia revival?"

    "Guo Jing and Huang Rong are absolutely the most perfect couple in wuxia history. They embody the traditional Chinese concept of harmony without uniformity. Chu Kuang hasn''t written serious romance scenes in a long time, but when he does it seriously, those romance novel writers should come and pay homage to their ancestors!"

    "I like Huang Yaoshi the most!"

    "I prefer Zhou Botong. Wang Chongyang definitely isn''t a steady person, otherwise how could he have raised Zhou Botong, this naughty child? Also, Master Yideng''s deep love, though briefly described, left a deep impression on me. The different kinds of love depicted in this book are thought-provoking. The JingRong romance even moved me deeply. I can only say sorry to Huazheng: You are really good, but I can only love Rong''er."

    ...

    After the release of The Legend of the Condor Heroes, no matter the concept of Duel Atop Mount Hua or the Five Greats, or the variety of martial skills, nothing compared to the endless discussion about JingRong''s romance among readers.

    Jin Yong is good at writing romance.

    And among his works, Guo Jing and Huang Rong as a couple are definitely one of the most popular, almost becoming a cultural symbol.

    In the book.

    When Huang Rong mistakenly thought Guo Jing had perished at sea, she was determined to die to join him.

    And when Huang Rong was critically injured by the Iron Palm, with Guo Jing holding her in the vast wilderness, it was so heartbreakingly desperate.

    "In death, carry me on your back."

    "In life, carry me on your back."

    Huang Rong''s expressions were truly shocking to the heart.

    The response from Guo Jing was even more heart-wrenching as tears flowed uncontrollably, "Rong''er, life and death are predestined, and the length of life is difficult to predict. If your wound is truly incurable, then you will always have your Jing brother to accompany you on the road to the netherworld."

    The emotions were written to a climax.

    And the scenes were laid out to the utmost extreme.

    With grand imagined histories encompassing even the court and the current situation, igniting the blood and passion to surge tumultuously.

    This is a wuxia novel that encompasses everything, its scale truly incomparable to that of ordinary martial arts fiction.

    The mighty The Legend of the Condor Heroes craze finally started to sweep across the sky!

    Tribes.

    Blogs.

    On Blue Star''s major social media platforms and forums, discussions about The Legend of the Condor Heroes were emerging one after another, completely dominating the trending searches.

    #GuoJingHuangRong#

    #Dog-Beating Stick Technique#

    #Duel Atop Mount Hua#

    #Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms#

    #Chu Kuang''s The Legend of the Condor Heroes#

    #Eastern Heretic, Western Venom, Southern Emperor, Northern Beggar, Central Divine#

    Under various derivative topics, discussions on the plot of The Legend of the Condor Heroes became more in-depth, down to the minutiae of the text.

    At this time.

    Many readers who hadn''t been able to buy the book, yet were completely enticed by the various online comments, became desperate:

    "Is Chu Kuang''s new book really that good?"

    "All my friends are recommending it!"

    "I went to a bookstore to buy it, and they were sold out, can you believe that?"

    "What kind of world is this, where I actually can''t buy a wuxia book that I want to read?"

    "Whoever has finished reading The Legend of the Condor Heroes, can you sell it to me second-hand? I''ll pay the original price!"

    "I kind of regret not buying a copy earlier."

    "I have a friend who works in a bookstore, and he said that there is a shortage in every continent now. Silver Blue is reprinting, but they still can''t meet the demand. Only Zhao Continent has stock left, but even Zhao Continent''s online bookstores are out of stock. You have to go to their physical stores."

    This was a curious psychology.

    The harder a book was to buy, the more everyone wanted to get their hands on it.

    For this reason, some people even bought plane tickets specifically to go to Zhao Continent to purchase the book and return, posting their plane ticket information online afterward.

    "Damn!"

    "Crazy!"

    "The money you spent on the plane ticket could''ve bought so many copies of The Legend of the Condor Heroes!"

    "I thought it was already outrageous when I saw a rich, pretty girl in Qin Continent taking a plane to Qi Continent just to have a meal, and now I''ve come across something even more ridiculous. It''s just a novel, how much could it possibly cost!"

    "That''s showing off!"

    "Couldn''t you have just paid someone in Zhao Continent to buy a copy and mail it to you? With today''s delivery speed, the book would arrive in a day or two."

    "This must be what it''s like to have money to burn!"

    "Big brother, is it worth it? Time is money too!"

    That very night.

    The blogger who had specifically flown to Zhao Continent to buy the book replied to the top-liked comment questioning whether the trip was worth it.

    The content was:

    "Right after buying it and on the way home, I felt like I might have been a bit feverish, but reading The Legend of the Condor Heroes on the plane made me realize that this trip was so worth it!"

    Damn!

    Is it really that good?

    The readers who hadn''t managed to buy the book became even more anxious!

 Chapter 960 - 891: Five Uniques (2nd Update)

    Actually, the printing speed of Silver Blue Books wasn''t that slow, and major bookstores replenished their stocks quickly after less than two days of running out.

    This was the fifth day since the release of The Legend of the Condor Heroes!

    This time, there was no embarrassment of being sold out, as the shelves of major bookstores were well-stocked with The Legend of the Condor Heroes.

    Amid such a big commotion, the media of course could not remain silent.

    For instance, Qin Continent News did a special report early in the morning.

    The program began.

    The host started with a broadcaster''s tone, introducing the situation: S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Renowned author Chu Kuang recently launched his new work The Legend of the Condor Heroes, a wuxia novel. As everyone knows, apart from on Zhao Continent, wuxia novels don''t have a big market on Blue Star. This is a generally recognized niche genre. Yet, a work of such a niche genre was continuously sold out in major bookstores within three days of its release, until it was restocked this morning. Now, let''s see what kind of magic this wuxia novel holds for its readers¡­"

    As the host narrated, the screen switched to the entrances of various major bookstores.

    New Cathay Bookstore, Soaring Dragon Bookstore, Tranquility Bookstore, and other famous national bookstores flashed one by one on the screen.

    Followed by close-ups of various covers of The Legend of the Condor Heroes on the shelves.

    Then, a field reporter randomly interviewed customers at the bookstore entrances.

    "I came to buy The Legend of the Condor Heroes."

    A male customer waved the book in his hand at the camera.

    The reporter asked a standard question, "Do you really like reading wuxia novels?"

    The male customer nodded and then shook his head, speaking again amidst the reporter''s confusion, "I like wuxia, but I''ve stopped reading wuxia novels because after a while, they seem uninteresting. But the day before yesterday, my buddy bought a copy of The Legend of the Condor Heroes, and I casually flipped through a few pages and was completely hooked¡­"

    "What hooked you?"

    "Of course it''s because it''s interesting, I can''t quite put my finger on it, but I just feel this wuxia novel is different from the others."

    The screen flickered again.

    Similarly, several random street interviews.

    "This book is so hard to get, I barely managed to buy it!"

    "I don''t know if it''s good or not, but since so many people online recommend it, it probably won''t be bad."

    "I trust the old rascal, everyone says it''s good, so it can''t be too bad."

    "No time for interviews, I''m off to buy The Legend of the Condor Heroes."

    These were scenes captured randomly at the entrances of various bookstores, and as more people got their hands on The Legend of the Condor Heroes, the resounding boom of its popularity finally peaked!

    At home.

    Between bookstores.

    On the subway.

    Inside companies.

    Even in tense classrooms, people were sneaking peeks at The Legend of the Condor Heroes they had just bought.

    ...

    At a university.

    Some male student was buried in reading The Legend of the Condor Heroes, completely immersed in the world of martial arts, completely forgetting that he was in class.

    Suddenly.

    Someone beside him asked, "Is that book any good?"

    The male student, without even lifting his head, said, "Definitely!"

    With a snort,

    the surrounding burst into laughter.

    The male student then realized something was amiss, looked up perplexedly, and just happened to meet the stern face of the professor.

    "Professor¡­ Professor Wang¡­"

    The male student quickly put away The Legend of the Condor Heroes and stood up conscientiously, his face turning pale with awkwardness and tension.

    Professor Wang was terrifying!

    As a professor in the literature department, the thing Professor Wang hated most was when students read so-called frivolous books with no literary value.

    Fantasy literature like wuxia novels couldn''t possibly appeal to Professor Wang.

    Today, not only had he read such a book, but he had done so during the professor''s class, so he could only imagine the forthcoming storm.

    The other students also gradually stopped laughing.

    Given Professor Wang''s style, someone reading a wuxia novel in his class was bound to make him extremely angry.

    However.

    Just when everyone thought Professor Wang would burst into a fury.

    Professor Wang surprisingly picked up "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" from the student''s hands, then raised it and asked everyone:

    "Have you all read this book?"

    No one dared to answer, each bowing their heads as if playing dead.

    Professor Wang smiled, "None of you have read this book, isn''t that a bit outdated? Even I, an old man, have almost finished reading it!"

    What?

    The crowd was stunned and then quickly said, "We have read it!"

    Professor Wang''s laugh grew even heartier, "This class discusses the symbolic meaning of literary creation, as well as the methods and techniques involved. Since you''ve all read this book, I can talk to you about these aspects."

    The students below widened their eyes in astonishment!

    Was the sun rising from the west?

    Professor Wang had read "The Legend of the Condor Heroes"?

    And it seemed like he had a positive impression of this novel?

    Hadn''t Professor Wang always been dismissive of martial arts novels before?

    What''s going on here?

    In the students'' curiosity, Professor Wang returned to the podium.

    He still held "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" in his hands:

    "I know what you''re thinking. I indeed don''t like the whole set of martial arts novels; martial arts, martial arts, the emphasis should be on ''arts''. However, ninety-nine percent of martial arts novels on the market only know how to fight and kill. They focus on ''martial'', yet they are ignorant of the fact that ''arts'' should restrain ''martial''. These so-called vibrant revenges are just a patchwork troupe named ''rivers and lakes'', lawless, with only their moral standards, sometimes right but not always. Yet, they always think they are right. This idealistic moral standard can easily corrupt children. The inadvertent reveal of self, yet cheaply crowned with the name of heroism, is the scariest part."

    The conversation took a turn.

    Professor Wang continued, "However, there are a few martial arts novels that know the emphasis of martial arts should be on ''arts'', like Canyang, like Duan Qingshan among the greats of the genre, and even Chu Kuang''s ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''. Even the concept of heroism carried in Chu Kuang''s novel, as well as its superior literary scope, is better executed than those two top figures of Zhao Continent, in my opinion. I believe those in the literary field would agree."

    "You think ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' is literature?"

    A student spoke in astonishment.

    Although everyone liked "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", pulling a fantasy novel into the category of literary works seemed somewhat exaggerated, didn''t it?

    It was like everyone enjoying those fast-paced exhilarating web novels.

    But as appealing as they were,

    web novels were web novels, and literature was literature; the two should not be confused, a fact well understood by the readers.

    "I think it is."

    Professor Wang smiled faintly, "Speaking this from my mouth might attract some criticism, but I firmly believe so. Why don''t you answer me a question first, do you all know what the Great Five are?"

    "Yes!"

    The students below spoke in unison.

    Nearly everyone in the literary department had read "The Legend of the Condor Heroes."

    Their interest in this type of class far exceeded the knowledge in textbooks!

    As for the Great Five?

    Anyone who had read the book knew about the top masters in the martial world like the Eastern Heretic, Western Poison, Southern Emperor, and Northern Beggar.

    "Very good."

    Professor Wang placed "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" on the podium:

    "Then do you know why Huang Yaoshi is called the Eastern Heretic, why Ouyang Feng is called the Western Poison, why Master Yideng is the Southern Emperor, and why Hong Qigong is the Northern Beggar¡ªwhy not Winter Poison, Western Heretic or such names, but specifically these directions?"

    The students looked at each other in bewilderment.

    Why Eastern Heretic and Western Poison?

    Isn''t it all just random naming by Chu Kuang?

    Could it not be because those names rhyme and sound more domineering when shouted?

    Seeing the response of the students, Professor Wang sighed:

    "It seems you have returned all the knowledge I previously taught you, undamaged. Do you still remember our previous discussion about the Five Elements and Bagua?"

    The Five Elements?

    The Bagua?

    The students grew even more bewildered.

    Although they had learned about this before, it seemed unrelated to the Great Five, didn''t it?

 Chapter 961 - 892: What Is a Hero (Third Update)

    "Clumsy."

    Professor Wang glared and said, "How can you not react to such an obvious hint? Is this how you read books?"

    "What does it actually mean?"

    The students below couldn''t help but become curious.

    Accustomed to being scolded by Professor Wang, nobody got angry. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Professor Wang wrote the names of Huang Yaoshi and others on the blackboard, then continued,

    "In the theory of the Five Elements, the East is associated with wood, hence the Eastern Heretic is Huang Yaoshi, and Huang has the grass radical, which means wood. The West is associated with metal, so the ''Feng'' in Western Poison Ouyang Feng''s name is from the metal radical. The North is associated with water, hence Hong Qigong''s ''Hong'' has the three water dots. As for the center, it is earth, which corresponds to Wang Chongyang, since earth represents the center and Wang Chongyang''s original name, mentioned once in the novel, is Wang Zhe. The South is associated with fire. Do I still need to explain why Master Yideng represents fire?"

    "No way!"

    The students were stunned!

    Was this the origin of the names of the Five Greats? There was such a theory?

    In the novel, Chu Kuang never mentioned this point, causing everyone to never even consider this direction!

    Was naming in this novel so meticulous?

    A student was skeptical, "Could it be a coincidence?"

    Professor Wang said, "Since fire overcomes metal, Master Yideng''s One Yang Finger can counter Ouyang Feng''s Toad Skill, and because metal overcomes wood, that''s why Ouyang Feng chased Huang Rong around, bullying her to death for his nephew. If you still want a reason, think carefully about Peach Blossom Island and why Huang Yaoshi''s ''Bi Hai Chao Sheng'' further clarifies why the Eastern Heretic represents wood."

    Logical and convincing!

    Impressive!

    Now, no one dared to question this matter further. However, once everyone digested this information, a student couldn''t help but say, "But Professor Wang, even so, The Legend of the Condor Heroes cannot be considered literature just yet, right? Can the ostentatious martial skills in wuxia novels really be interpreted through literature?"

    "Let''s talk about martial skills."

    Professor Wang said, "Take the most domineering ''Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms'', for example. Do you know the names of the moves within it?"

    "Regret of the Arrogant Dragon!"

    "Submerged Dragon Should Not Be Used!"

    Some students vaguely remembered a few.

    Professor Wang asked, "Don''t those names sound cool?"

    Everyone nodded; indeed, those names sparked excitement.

    Professor Wang, however, said, "But do you know? On the surface, ''Regret of the Arrogant Dragon'' suggests that the move can be retracted after being executed, but it actually teaches us to understand when to advance or retreat, to not be arrogant; ''Submerged Dragon Should Not Be Used'' indicates that each palm strike in the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms is solid, every move is powerful and shocking, so if there is no opportunity, do not use it, because otherwise, it''s a waste of energy with no purpose. Furthermore, when you combine the rest of the moves, it becomes a philosophy of life!"

    A girl in the front row whispered, "Is this your personal interpretation?"

    Professor Wang shrugged his shoulders, "Then let''s talk about something that''s not my personal interpretation, but I''m afraid you might not understand with your level, huh. ''Regret of the Arrogant Dragon'' corresponds to the Qian hexagram in ''The Book of Changes'', saying the upper nine; ''Dragon Soaring the Sky'' is also Qian hexagram, saying nine five, and ''Seeing the Dragon in the Field'' is still Qian hexagram, saying nine two. As for ''Hong Jian Yu Lu'', it corresponds to the Jian hexagram, saying: nine three..."

    Damn it!

    We got schooled by him!

    As Professor Wang introduced ''The Book of Changes,'' the students felt deep respect, while becoming even more astonished!

    The Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms came from ''The Book of Changes''?

    Martial art techniques, hiding life philosophies?

    At this moment.

    Students could not help but to argue for the sake of argument, "Then what does the ''Nine Yin Manual'' say?"

    Professor Wang was completely unconcerned and casually cited, "The way of heaven is to diminish the excess and supplement the deficient, thus the intangible triumphs over the tangible, and that which is lacking overcomes that which is abundant. Its meaning is extensive, its principle profound, and its intrigue deep. It divides the images of heaven and earth, lists the signs of Yin and Yang, expresses the causes of change, and makes clear the omens of life and death. Without conniving, traces naturally coincide; without compact, the subtle and the obvious are in harmony. Considering its words in detail, the verification with reality is faultless. It can truly be called the tenet of the ultimate way and the beginning of nurturing life..."

    Upon reaching this point, Professor Wang slapped the table:

    "This was adapted from the ''Tao Te Ching''. You young people are ignorant and have not fully understood Chu Kuang''s intention in writing these martial arts techniques. The various settings in his books all have a cultural foundation, with references to so many ancient texts. They''re not just made up out of thin air as you imagine!"

    This was also why Professor Wang loved ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''.

    In other martial arts novels, the martial arts moves are all made up randomly, to be as domineering as possible. Chu Kuang, however, drew his martial arts moves from ancient texts, turning the fictional martial arts into an orderly and intrinsically logical compendium!

    Below the stage.

    The students were stunned by the critique!

    No one had expected that in Chu Kuang''s book, not only did the outstanding figures correspond to directions and the five elements, but even the martial skills themselves carried such connotations. They even made use of Laozi''s ''Tao Te Ching''!

    "Is this the literary nature of ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''?"

    After the shock, a student muttered under their breath.

    Professor Wang shook his head, "This is the literary nature of ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'', but it is not the entirety of its literary attributes. This book encompasses poetry, calligraphy, painting, music, chess, and even Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, as well as astronomy and geography. Moreover, it uniquely integrates the mysterious Qimen Dunjia, Yin and Yang, and the five elements. In a way, it could be called a mini-encyclopedia of traditional culture. To fully understand ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'', you wouldn''t have to go through so much trouble in my class. Let''s test you again: do you know about the various philosophers referenced in ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''?"

    The various philosophers?

    The students looked at each other with odd expressions, clearly thinking:

    Please, continue showing off!

    "I knew you wouldn''t understand. Huang Yaoshi, who grew weary of the world and lived in isolation, embraced Zhuangzi''s Taoist philosophy that views fame and gain as passing clouds. There''s no need to say much about Master Yideng, who represents Buddhism, renouncing the world and converting to the Three Jewels. As for Ouyang Feng, he is like the strategist school, using all sorts of schemes and stopping at nothing. Hong Qigong embodies the Mohist ideals, helping the distressed and saving those in trouble..."

    So impressive!

    A student asked, "What about Guo Jing?"

    The corner of Professor Wang''s mouth curled up, "Guo Jing embodies Confucian orthodox thought, not only in his personality but also in his fervent desire to serve his country."

    "Is there a specific instance of that?"

    The students were completely led by the nose by Professor Wang, only realizing today how profound his literary cultivation was; even a regular person reading a martial arts novel would not reach his level of understanding!

    "You all really have a knack for questions."

    Professor Wang flipped through ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'', quickly finding the information he was looking for:

    "In the thirty-seventh chapter, the Mongol army attacks Samarkand but cannot breach it for a long time. Temujin then declares that whomever can conquer the city shall be rewarded with all its treasures. Eventually, Guo Jing devises a plan to take the city and Temujin, true to his word, is set to reward him. However, Guo Jing had already privately decided to use the opportunity to ask Temujin to cancel his engagement with Princess Huazheng. But then they encounter the Mongol army slaughtering the city''s people, with tens of thousands of innocent lives brutally taken. Seeing this, Guo Jing resolutely changes his request to ''spare these tens of thousands of lives'' and does not regret it. This is an embodiment of Confucian character, and also the reason why I hold Guo Jing in such high regard. Moreover, this plot point precisely highlights the main narrative thread of the story!"

    The students were utterly convinced!

    No matter what questions they asked, Professor Wang was unshakable!

    Then a student subconsciously asked, "What is the main theme of ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''?"

    Professor Wang sighed, "That''s a good question. Initially, I thought the main theme of ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' should be the Duel Atop Mount Hua; later I believed it should be helping Temujin sweep across the world. But only at the end did I understand that the main theme of this book is national duty and righteousness - something that makes this novel stronger than all other martial arts novels. Just like the final question Guo Jing asks Temujin before his death, today I also ask you, what kind of person can be called a hero?"

    He shook his head.

    Professor Wang said, "This question is too complex for you, given your intelligence it''s hard to understand. Let''s change to another question, which will also be your homework for this class. Tomorrow, each of you must write a summary for me. As an old man without much culture, I need you to tell me..."

    Holding the chalk.

    Professor Wang wrote the character for ''hero'' on the blackboard, then turned to face the students, his gaze filled with expectation:

    "What is heroism!?"

 Chapter 962 - 893: The Greatness of a Hero, For the Country, For the People (4th Update)

    What is a hero?

    The students scratched their heads in puzzlement.

    And in the following class, Professor Wang not only sparred with the students but also dissected "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" to reveal the aspects of its cultural representation. He made various extensive references, so much so that when class ended, the students were still reluctant to leave!

    "Professor Wang, tell us more!"

    "We haven''t had enough yet!"

    "You''ve just finished analyzing Huang Yaoshi. How about analyzing some of the others next, like Master Yideng?"

    "Professor Wang is GOAT!"

    "I''ll never call you an old rascal again!"

    "Anyone who dares to say Professor Wang''s class is boring, I''ll fight them!"

    Professor Wang: "..."

    He used to be polite to these students, and they didn''t appreciate it; today, he scolded them vigorously, and they seemed to enjoy it?

    "Class is over!"

    He waved his hand, "We''ll continue with ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' next class. Now go back and do your homework properly!"

    What is a hero?

    This question was the homework Professor Wang had left them.

    Just as Professor Wang was preparing to leave, a somewhat embarrassed student approached him and said, "Professor Wang, today''s class was too exciting, I couldn''t help but record a video. Can I post it online?"

    "..."

    Playing with your phone during class?

    Professor Wang responded with irritation, "Not again!"

    The student excitedly replied, "Understood, Professor Wang!"

    Sure enough.

    The student quickly uploaded the video online.

    To the student''s surprise, Professor Wang''s lecture went viral rapidly!

    His elaborate analysis of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" in class had won countless netizens'' admiration and awe!

    "Damn!"

    "GOAT, I bow down to Professor Wang!"

    "As expected from a literature professor. Are we even reading the same novel? ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' has so many literary allusions?"

    "A marvel to behold!"

    "The talk about the Five Elements and the Bagua was brilliant!"

    "The coolest part was the martial skills analysis. I had no idea that techniques like the ''Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms'' originated from ancient texts!"

    "Ah, this professor is so adorable, saying he''s uneducated. Who is he dissing?"

    "Spending the whole lecture roasting students in various imposing ways, yet it ends up making you speechless because he truly understands!"

    "After watching the professor''s analysis, I realized just how terrifying this old rascal is. The other martial arts novels pale in comparison to ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''!"

    "Talking about nationalism is easy, but who dares make it the main theme?"

    "Only Chu Kuang could handle that theme. Normal martial arts writers simply can''t grasp it. But seriously, after listening to Professor Wang''s analysis, I realized ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' is even more GOAT than I thought!"

    The netizens were truly shocked!

    Everyone was solely focused on the storyline when reading "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," completely overlooking the numerous traditional cultural references embedded in the text!

    Professor Wang is outstanding!

    Chu Kuang is even more so!

    A martial arts novel was endowed with such profound literary depth by Chu Kuang, that even Professor Wang, a proponent of traditional culture, couldn''t help but give a thumbs up in praise!

    You should know.

    The traditional culture circle has always been mainly critical of fantasy works, and it is rare for such works to receive such outright approval!

    And as netizens were busy lavishing praise,

    the student who uploaded the video couldn''t help but say:

    "Don''t just spit rainbows; offer some suggestions. Ol'' Wang is asking what a hero is!"

    "How should we know!"

    The netizens certainly weren''t interested in doing homework.

    But Professor Wang''s lecture gained not only the likes and approval of netizens.

    Other renowned figures from the field of traditional culture also shared the video, affirming this viewpoint.

    This was a first.

    The traditional culture circle has such respect for a wuxia novel!

    ¡­

    Meanwhile.

    Starlight Entertainment.

    Lin Yuan was sitting in his office writing a novel.

    If someone were standing behind Lin Yuan, they would certainly see that the document he was writing was boldly titled "The Return of the Condor Heroes"!

    Yes.

    After finishing "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," Lin Yuan didn''t fall into his usual salted fish mode.

    He immediately began writing "The Return of the Condor Heroes".

    Jin Yong is known for the Condor Trilogy, consisting of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," "The Return of the Condor Heroes," and "Heaven-Reliant Dragon Slayer".

    Among them.

    The stories of The Legend of the Condor Heroes and The Return of the Condor Heroes are tightly connected.

    Lin Yuan could put off "Heaven-Reliant Dragon Slayer" for later, but he couldn''t let go of the story of The Return of the Condor Heroes.

    Only with the release of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" would the character development of Guo Jing be truly completed.

    Of course.

    This was also related to Lin Yuan''s need for Chu Kuang to earn him more reputation points.

    Lin Yuan was aware of how popular "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" was, and he knew that striking while the iron was hot would ensure good sales for subsequent works.

    And until today.

    He had already finished nearly half of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" and planned to complete it before April and then publish it.

    Just like that.

    He continued writing until four in the afternoon before deciding to call it a day.

    Sitting in the car on the way home, Lin Yuan took out his phone to check the online comments about The Legend of the Condor Heroes.

    It had become a daily routine for Lin Yuan to assess the System''s mission progress of reviving the martial arts stories by reading silly netizens'' comments on "The Legend of the Condor Heroes".

    At that moment.

    Lin Yuan saw Professor Wang''s classroom video.

    After watching the video, Lin Yuan couldn''t help but smile.

    The interpretation was excellent!

    Actually, "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" encompasses a rich array of cultures and ideas, and Professor Wang had only revealed the tip of the iceberg.

    However, one must know:

    It has been only a few days since The Legend of the Condor Heroes was published.

    Being able to discern so much in just a couple of days showed Professor Wang''s literary accomplishment.

    This saved Lin Yuan quite a bit of trouble.

    If these things weren''t pointed out by others, Lin Yuan would have had to log in to Yi An''s account and boast about it himself. Although there would be nothing wrong with that, it might be somewhat embarrassing, fearing that he could potentially embarrass himself in public one day.

    However¡­ Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    At the end of the class, the question left by Professor Wang was indeed very interesting, nearly striking at the core of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes".

    With a thought.

    Lin Yuan felt it was better to let Yi An fill in the gaps, as Yi An''s existence was indeed meant for this.

    With that thought.

    Lin Yuan quickly logged into Yi An''s account and took the opportunity to share the video on his blog.

    In the comments section, Lin Yuan typed out eight characters:

    "The hero''s greatest pursuit, for the country and for the people!"

    Actually, this phrase would be more concretely exemplified in "The Return of the Condor Heroes" and also complements the character development of Guo Jing.

    With The Return of the Condor Heroes yet to be released.

    Lin Yuan deciding to write out this phrase earlier would help people understand Guo Jing''s actions and thoughts more deeply.

    Making up his mind.

    Lin Yuan clicked "Publish".

    Thus, the concept of "The hero''s greatest pursuit, for the country and for the people" in wuxia was introduced for the first time on Blue Star!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Does this bit capture the essence of a prolific word-spinner?

 Chapter 963 - 894: Heavens Deficiency, Earths Scarcity

    The post was live for three seconds.

    The page notified, "[Posting failed, please check your network.]"

    Lin Yuan looked and realized it was just a temporary network hiccup. He didn''t pay it much mind and was about to repost when his finger hesitated slightly.

    Something''s not right!

    Lin Yuan had a sudden realization.

    He almost forgot the phrase "The greatest duty of a hero is to serve their country and its people," which had an original line in "The Return of the Condor Heroes," spoken by Guo Jing to Yang Guo.

    If Yi An said this first, what would Chu Kuang say?

    Was Chu Kuang supposed to copy Yi An''s book review?

    What kind of author copies a reader''s book review?

    Lin Yuan felt somewhat fortunate; this timely network glitch saved Chu Kuang from being criticized by readers for plagiarizing Yi An''s review.

    Cancel the post.

    Lin Yuan decided to keep Yi An undercover.

    Blue Star was not short on people like Professor Wang.

    With such individuals around, the various designs within "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" would naturally not escape their eyes.

    Analyzing the martial skills of The Legend of the Condor Heroes;

    Ranking The Legend of the Condor Heroes top experts;

    Down to the structure of the characters;

    Even the study of fictitious history.

    Every topic about The Legend of the Condor Heroes was spreading its influence with great momentum, making the novel increasingly resonate deeply with people¡ª

    Especially with the hearts of the people of Zhao Continent!

    Chu Kuang managed to leave a profound impression on the Zhao people because of this book.

    This newly joined merged continent now viewed Chu Kuang extraordinarily favorably.

    Of course.

    The popularity of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" remained undiminished in the regions of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han as well.

    However, unlike the people of Zhao,

    The readers from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han actually expressed dissatisfaction with the book!

    A reader complained:

    "Everything''s great with this book by the old rascal, except that he gives out too few lunch boxes, so there are hardly any tear-jerking moments from start to finish. Weren''t the Zhao people mocking us before? I really want to see the old rascal ruthlessly torment the readers of Zhao Continent, what''s going on now, hey?"

    "The old rascal doesn''t torment readers anymore, there goes my youth!"

    "Has the old rascal changed his ways? This Legend of the Condor Heroes is so stirring, not a single hiccup from start to finish, he really has bowed down to the market (dog head)"

    "Old rascal, I beg you to torment us!"

    "So he''s really going against the readers, huh? When we hope he doesn''t torment anybody, he torments us terribly, and when we hope he''d give the Zhao Continent readers a hard time, he ends up not tormenting at all?"

    "Throwing hard punches at us but meekly nodding along with Zhao Continent?"

    "It''s one thing for him to write a book specifically for Zhao Continent, but did he really have to write something so thrilling? Not a single important character dies, isn''t that letting those Zhao people off too easy!"

    It''s unfair.

    The readers from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han felt imbalanced.

    Especially since the Zhao people had previously mocked them.

    This had left the readers from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han fuming internally, eager to see the old rascal torment them thoroughly; and yet, who could have predicted that the old rascal wouldn''t play by the rules at all!

    The very moment when he should''ve been toughest!

    He suddenly became kind!

    Look at the storyline of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes"!

    The ones who died happened to be characters readers weren''t deeply connected to, whose emotions were not yet fully engaged.

    Like a few from the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan with minor storylines, or complicated figures like Yang Kang; beloved characters remained safely alive!

    Could it be the old rascal genuinely turned over a new leaf?

    ...

    Back home.

    My sister, my little sister, and mom were huddled together, engaged in an animated discussion about something.

    Seeing Lin Yuan,

    Mom laughed, "You''re back just in time, we''re planning to go on a trip, do you want to join us?"

    Lin Yuan paused, "A trip?"

    My sister explained, "Big Yaoyao and mom are home all the time, and I''m afraid they''ll get bored. The company is about to have a few days off, so I thought it''d be nice to take them out for a trip. Transportation is so convenient these days, it''s easy to go anywhere."

    Lin Yuan asked, "Where to for the trip?"

    My sister excited, "I want to go to Mount Hua. Your good buddy Chu Kuang recently wrote ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes,'' right? The part about Duel Atop Mount Hua in the book was so thrilling that now many people are influenced by this novel to visit Mount Hua. Even the local advertisers at Mount Hua are using the hype around the Duel Atop Mount Hua to promote tourism!"

    Travel to Mount Hua?

    Lin Yuan was somewhat surprised.

    Blue Star and Earth share quite a few similarities, such as some histories preceding the Second Emperor of Qin, Hu Hai.

    In terms of geographical locations, the two worlds also have many similar places¡ªfor example, Mount Hua exists on Blue Star just as it does on Earth.

    But what Lin Yuan hadn''t expected was

    that Mount Hua''s tourism was being boosted because of the concept of Duel Atop Mount Hua from ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes.''

    However, after some thought, Lin Yuan suddenly didn''t find it strange anymore.

    ''Grave Robbers'' Chronicles'' by Nanpai Sanshu repeatedly mentioned Changbai Mountain, resulting in Earth''s Changbai Mountain tourism benefiting greatly from the novel. This was similar to how ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' stimulated tourism for Mount Hua.

    This is the power of novels.

    They may seem like just bunches of text, but their impact on people is actually huge.

    "Sure."

    Lin Yuan didn''t refuse.

    Spending more time with family by traveling together seemed like a good idea, and he didn''t have anything else to do since he was recently writing ''The Return of the Condor Heroes.'' S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Novels can be written anywhere.

    Even writing while on a trip is completely okay.

    Without discussing the trip itinerary with the family, Lin Yuan went upstairs, turned on his computer, and casually looked up recent news about Mount Hua.

    Indeed, as my sister had said,

    due to the concept of Duel Atop Mount Hua from ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes,'' a lot of people were traveling there.

    In the comments section, some even suspected Chu Kuang of taking money from Mount Hua''s officials to so vigorously promote Mount Hua in the novel¡ª

    This was one of the rare instances on Blue Star when a novel influenced tourism to a particular location.

    Not dwelling on these matters anymore,

    Lin Yuan opened the document to continue writing ''The Return of the Condor Heroes.'' With the recent efforts, he had completed half of the novel.

    This included the plot where Little Dragon Maiden''s chastity is compromised.

    For this part of the story, Lin Yuan fully respected the original work.

    Emotionally, Lin Yuan really wanted to change the Dragon Rider''s storyline. The part where Little Dragon Maiden is defiled by Zhen Zhibing is definitely a sore point for countless fans of ''The Return of the Condor Heroes,'' forever an unresolved grievance.

    But:

    Yang Guo''s arm amputation and Little Dragon Maiden''s loss of chastity echoed the novel''s theme of "incompleteness."

    Jin Yong''s novel went through several revisions and yet this segment of the story remained, indicating that, artistically, it was necessary. Hence, Lin Yuan decided to be rational about it and keep the plot.

    Even if readers might not like it.

    It wasn''t Chu Kuang''s first time writing plot points that upset readers anyway.

    After all, having been called the old rascal for so many years, the persona was established, and one more act of mischief wouldn''t hurt.

    Alright then.

    Unknowingly, Lin Yuan had started to accept the setup that Chu Kuang was the "old rascal."

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: The character of Dragon Rider aligns too well with Chu Kuang''s persona, so you understand. However, the part about Yi An is a copy... Following everyone''s suggestions, let''s have Chu Kuang answer what "Hero''s Mate" is.

 Chapter 964 - 895: Drinking on the Lakeside, The Sunshine Followed by Rain

    In fact, Jin Yong didn''t completely avoid altering the Dragon Rider storyline in "The Return of the Condor Heroes."

    Yeah.

    Dragon Rider changed from Yin Zhiping to Zhen Zhibing.

    Since Yin Zhiping was a real person, causing protests from Taoism, he was replaced with a character like Zhen Zhibing.

    Lin Yuan made changes as well.

    It''s indeed inappropriate to tarnish the reputation of a real historical figure.

    Even though Blue Star didn''t have Yin Zhiping, the proper respect was still necessary.

    Half an hour later.

    Lin Yuan went downstairs for dinner.

    His sister suddenly expressed her regret, "It looks like we can''t go to Mount Hua anymore, let''s head to the nearby West Lake first and then keep traveling."

    Lin Yuan asked, "What happened?"

    His sister gestured towards the TV, "Take a look."

    Lin Yuan looked at the television, where the news presenter was explaining the situation:

    "According to reports from Qi Continent, today, Blue Star''s famous tourist spot Mount Hua''s traffic has nearly collapsed. From the footage, we can see the area is completely overcrowded; countless vehicles have been stuck for hours unable to move. The traffic police started clearing the roads early in the morning. This scene was caused by Chu Kuang''s martial arts novel ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'', which mentions Duel Atop Mount Hua..."

    Lin Yuan secretly rejoiced in his heart.

    Seeing the significant influence of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", he was naturally happy for Chu Kuang, the old rascal.

    However, it was now impossible to visit Mount Hua.

    If tourism turned into counting heads, then undoubtedly, the mere sight of countless tourists squeezing through would already be enough to deter any interest in visiting.

    "Officials at Mount Hua must be thrilled,"

    His sister said with a grimace, frustrated that they couldn''t witness Duel Atop Mount Hua, even though there was no such event there actually.

    But Lin Xuan was right. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Officials at Mount Hua were indeed ecstatic.

    At that moment, there was excitement in the staff group chat of the local scenic area:

    "Chu Kuang''s novel is a godsend, Mount Hua hasn''t been this lively in a long time!"

    "If his book had been published a few years earlier, we wouldn''t have lost to Mount Tai by a slight margin in the last selection for Blue Star''s outstanding scenic areas, such a pity!"

    "You should be glad he didn''t write about Duel Atop Mount Tai!"

    "After all, our Duel Atop Mount Hua just sounds more powerful!"

    "I think this concept is fantastic, we could host an event called Duel Atop Mount Hua in the future? We''ll pay Chu Kuang royalties, although we never charged him any."

    "It''s a good idea, we can''t be ungrateful."

    "Hehehe, other scenic areas are so envious now, long live The Legend of the Condor Heroes, long live martial arts fiction, long live Chu Kuang!"

    The guesswork at Mount Hua wasn''t wrong.

    Indeed, other scenic areas were looking on enviously:

    "It''s just a novel, how can it have such a huge impact!"

    "It''s not just any mention of Mount Hua in the novel, but the splendid depiction of the Duel Atop Mount Hua in ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' is mostly responsible!"

    "Can we contact Chu Kuang and ask for his help in advertising for us too?"

    "We can try, but there''s no guarantee that Chu Kuang will agree, and the situation at Mount Hua is likely hard to replicate."

    "They''re lucky!"

    "The most distressed are those at Mount Tai, whose fame is similar to Mount Hua''s. Perhaps many people originally intended to visit Mount Tai, but changed their plans because of Chu Kuang''s novel. The competition between these two sites has always been fierce!"

    "Let''s set aside that issue, we should also think of ways to use literary works to boost our promotions."

    As various major scenic areas envied Mount Hua''s situation.

    Many scenic areas, inspired by the success of Mount Hua''s publicity, came up with the idea of using literature to promote local tourism, all thanks to Chu Kuang''s novel.

    ...

    The travel plans started three days later.

    That day.

    Lin Yuan, who had packed his bags and accompanied by a bodyguard, set out with his family.

    Sun Yaohuo was left to look after Antarctica.

    Their first stop was West Lake.

    Just like Blue Star had famous places such as Mount Hua and Mount Tai, West Lake on Blue Star was also a very famous scenic area.

    Most importantly:

    West Lake was very close to Su City.

    It took only an hour''s drive for Lin Yuan and his group to reach their destination.

    Although he had bodyguards with him, Lin Yuan still disguised himself to prevent passersby from recognizing him.

    However, his method of disguise was different from the celebrities who liked to use a cap combined with a mask and sunglasses for cover.

    He wore gold-framed glasses, and his usually loose bangs were combed back at an angle, giving him a very different temperament from usual.

    Just to be safe, he also added a mask for himself.

    His sister was in charge of this look.

    She even wanted to do Lin Yuan''s makeup, but he had refused.

    He didn''t like the feeling of having stuff on his face and only submitted to makeup artists during shows for the sake of camera effects.

    After arriving at West Lake.

    The family strolled along the path, admiring the views and tasting snacks, enjoying a leisurely and happy time.

    Nobody recognized Lin Yuan.

    Even when Lin Yuan occasionally took off his mask to eat, he only managed to attract more looks due to his looks and demeanor, but he didn''t encounter any incidents of fans recognizing him on the spot.

    It was a rare relaxation.

    Lin Yuan couldn''t help but enjoy the scenery as well.

    Blue Star''s West Lake was also beautiful, with mountains and waters, truly poetic and picturesque.

    At that moment.

    His sister suddenly pointed at the boats on West Lake, "Let''s go for a boat ride!"

    Everyone happily agreed.

    At the ferry point, a boat was parked.

    This was a boat rowed by a boatman, more popular than the electric boats.

    After Lin Yuan and his family boarded the boat, a light rain suddenly began to fall from the sky, its beautiful, misty appearance making it even more memorable.

    "Lin Yuan."

    His sister stretched out her hand to touch the raindrops from the sky, "Aren''t you known for your brilliant literary talent? Don''t you feel the impulse to compose a poem in such a scene?"

    Lin Yuan shook his head, "No."

    His sister rolled her eyes, then prodded Big Yaoyao:

    "Big Yaoyao, since you''re a top student, come up with one to show your brother your strength!"

    "I''ll try."

    After pondering for a while, the sister struggled to begin, "Slanted shadows reflect on the black awning, West Lake''s expanse drifts away. Landscape enters dreams stealthily, rain wakens the cloudy skies."

    His sister applauded, "Not bad, Big Yaoyao."

    Big Yaoyao shook her head, "It''s not written very well."

    Lin Yuan nodded in agreement, "Indeed, it''s not very good."

    This author''s level of poetry writing was indeed somewhat lacking.

    Big Yaoyao was not pleased, since she disliked being negated by her brother:

    "Then you write one."

    A thought struck Lin Yuan, "Then you''re eating greens tonight!"

    His sister gritted her teeth, resolutely deciding, "I''ll eat them, but you need to write better than me... write well enough!"

    Writing better than herself was still simple for him, so she changed her condition. Writing "well enough" was a very subjective standard, where whether it was good enough would be for her to decide.

    "Okay."

    Lin Yuan began without hesitation or any excessive gestures, merely stating monotonously, "The water''s glistening reflection is best when it''s clear..."

    "Continue."

    Big Yaoyao stared at Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan, looking at the distance, recited, "The mountain''s colors are misty, the rain also strange."

    His sister looked at Lin Yuan in amazement, her expression clearly conveying, "Although I don''t know what you''re saying, it seems quite impressive."

    "Desiring to compare West Lake to Xi Shi..."

    When Lin Yuan recited this line, his mom''s attention was also drawn to him, seemingly curious about his next line.

    This was Su Immortal''s famous work, "Drinking on the Lakeside, The Sunshine Followed by Rain."

    Luckily this world had Xi Shi, Lin Yuan thought to himself, reciting the final line, "Light makeup or thick, always so fitting."

    His mom looked on, clearly astonished.

    His sister didn''t quite grasp the brilliance.

    Big Yaoyao was struck dumb.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Today the typing warrior lays down his swords, don''t be too quick to jeer, I will see your right cheek swollen too.

 Chapter 965 - 896: Advertising for West Lake

    The sky had cleared.

    The rain had stopped.

    Lin Yuan''s family went ashore.

    The recent rain hadn''t been heavy, and the number of visitors at West Lake hadn''t decreased; instead, the air was fresher than before, carrying a moist sensation. As a breeze blew by, it even had a refreshing and rejuvenating effect.

    They continued sightseeing around.

    After passing a bridge, they suddenly encountered a bustling scene, seemingly an event, with quite a crowd gathered inside and out.

    A voice rose among them:

    "Welcome all visitors to our beautiful West Lake. Today, our scenic area proudly presents a poetry collection event. Here you can compose a poem about the scenic beauty of West Lake. If your work catches our judges'' favor, you will get a chance to win a prize in our draw. The least you can win is a free boat ticket, and the highest could be our grand prize of ten thousand yuan. Please grace us with your talents, and who knows, your work might even appear on a TV program as a commercial for promoting our scenic area, and there will be additional compensation..."

    Poetry?

    A draw?

    The sister laughed, hugging Lin Yuan, "The poem you just wrote on the boat wasn''t bad. How about we use that to try our luck in the draw?"

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    I''ll thank Su Da Xian Ren for you.

    To trade the most famous poem about West Lake for a chance in a draw, the maximum reward being only ten thousand yuan?

    "Don''t hesitate!"

    The sister eagerly persuaded, "You''re wearing a mask, no one will recognize you."

    Their mother suddenly laughed, "West Lake''s collection of poetry for promotion must be learning from Mount Hua''s method. By capitalizing on the fame of ''Duel Atop Mount Hua'' from ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'', West Lake wants to carve out a path using the influence of poetry."

    Learning from Mount Hua?

    Using literary works to promote a scenic area, Lin Yuan, sensing an opportunity for fame, suddenly said:

    "Then let''s sign up."

    "I''ll go line up right now."

    The sister was very enthusiastic.

    In fact, many tourists present were quite eager, and the event saw high participation, with people occasionally composing a poem.

    Soon, it was Lin Yuan''s turn.

    Lin Yuan took his own form, preparing to write when his sister suddenly asked the staff, "Do you have a brush, ink, paper, and inkstone?"

    "Yes."

    The staff member was taken aback for a moment but then nodded, smiling, "Are you folks from Zhao Continent? Zhao people really enjoy writing with brushes."

    The sister smiled, "We are locals."

    West Lake wasn''t far from Su City, and saying they were locals wasn''t entirely wrong since West Lake was within the Qin Continent. Being one of the top attractions in Qin Continent supported the massive daily influx of tourists, nearly sustaining half a city, and the entire continent felt a certain ownership over the site.

    Soon.

    The brush, ink, paper, and inkstone were ready.

    While most were filling out forms, using a brush and ink was rare, so Lin Yuan attracted quite a bit of attention, with some even attempting to see his face, but unable to due to the mask and hat.

    No one found it odd.

    Occasionally, visitors wearing hats and masks appeared at West Lake, sometimes even sunglasses, resembling a celebrity out and about.

    With a flick of his wrist.

    Lin Yuan began to write.

    Without the slightest hesitation, a poem quickly appeared before the eyes of the spectators, titled "Drinking on the Lakeside, The Sunshine Followed by Rain":

    [The light of the water shines beautifully when clear; the mountain hues mystically blend with the rain.]

    [Desiring to compare West Lake to Xizi, light or heavy makeup all seem appropriate.]

    Upon seeing this poem, expressions changed among the crowd, with everyone''s first thought being:

    Beautiful handwriting!

    Lin Yuan possessed Master Level calligraphy skills, and although he had not yet required the "Artistic Touch" skill, the threshold for appreciating calligraphy was somewhat lower than that for painting. Moreover, as everyone can write, it''s evident when handwriting is good or bad, although the specifics and extent of its excellence might not be clear to the layperson.

    The second reaction was:

    Excellent poem, this poetry is too good!

    Initially, everyone''s focus had been on the handwriting, so they didn''t immediately delve into the poetry itself, which required time to appreciate. However, once they emerged from the charm of the handwriting, they instantly fell into the perfect atmosphere of the poem itself, a beauty even surpassing that of the calligraphy itself:

    The shimmering waters on a sunny day;

    The mountain scenery on a rainy day was mysterious;

    the contrast between West Lake and Xizi;

    the harmony between light makeup and heavy application;

    Whether it was the beauty of appearances, the beauty of the atmosphere, or even the beauty of the text itself, all could be appreciated from different angles!

    "Damn!"

    "Awesome!" S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "This poem, it''s really¡­ awesome!"

    "Too bad I''m uneducated... great handwriting, even better poetry!"

    "Big shot!"

    "Master in disguise?"

    The scene immediately erupted in cheers, and tourists even started clapping, with the intermittent "Damn!"

    "Can we participate in a raffle?"

    The sister was eager to try.

    The staff nearby, astounded by the beauty, subtly changed their attitude, "Please wait a moment, I''ll ask the judges to take a look."

    "I am right here..."

    A middle-aged man beside them spoke up, who was the judge officiating the event.

    It turned out the judge had been drawn over by the crowd, stood up, and moved closer, but when he saw Lin Yuan''s poem, he was stunned!

    Staff: "Can we participate in the draw?"

    The judge, with tears of laughter, replied, "''Do we even need to mention it, Sunny Day is fine, but Rain is also unique.'' Not to mention the neat antithesis, this atmosphere alone is overwhelmingly beautiful, the last two lines are absolutely striking, a true masterpiece. This guy is a master, making me judge him is simply demeaning me!"

    "So we can enter the raffle then!"

    The sister ran over excitedly, but before she could act, Big Yaoyao turned the raffle wheel and won a boat ticket.

    Hmm.

    The least desirable reward.

    The sister''s face turned pale instantly: "You jinx!"

    Big Yaoyao looked innocently, "Didn''t we win?"

    Well.

    Better than nothing.

    It''s not too bad to take another boat ride.

    However, when Lin Yuan and others were leaving, the judge insisted on getting their contact details, and finally, Lin Yuan whispered something in his ear.

    The man was stunned instantly!

    While he was still dazed, Lin Yuan quickly dragged his family and made a run for it.

    Big Yaoyao was curious, "What did you tell him?"

    Lin Yuan said, "I am Xian Yu."

    The sister burst into laughter, "You actually revealed your identity? No wonder his face changed completely, wonder if he believed it or not."

    Lin Yuan said, "We''ll find out if he verifies it."

    He had intentionally exposed his identity as Xian Yu to ensure that the poem would be selected by the West Lake Scenic Area. Lin Yuan understood the impact of celebrity quite well.

    As for why not Chu Kuang?

    Because Chu Kuang has never shown his face in reality.

    Lin Yuan felt that the identity of Xian Yu was safer.

    After all, whether it was Chu Kuang or Xian Yu writing poetry, there was no problem.

    As for the reason for revealing his identity, that was even simpler:

    Given the terrifying traffic of West Lake, if this poem was adopted as an advertising tagline, then ultimately, the publicity should be able to bring quite a bit of reputation to Lin Yuan.

    Moreover, hadn''t Chu Kuang already advertised for Mount Hua?

    Then why couldn''t Xian Yu advertise for West Lake?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: The second update will be a bit late, the countdown is almost over, tomorrow I transform into a typing machine!

 Chapter 966 - 897: Please Invite Xian Yu as the Brand Ambassador

    In an office within the West Lake Scenic Area.

    The person in charge of the scenic area, Qiu Long, shook hands with a middle-aged man:

    "Thank you so much, Teacher Sheng Yuan. I spent a day meticulously studying your ''Ode to West Lake,'' and I must say, I was astounded by the ingenious and subtle variations in the text, which are astounding. If it is ultimately adopted as West Lake Scenic Area''s comprehensive advertisement phrase across Blue Star, we will definitely provide additional compensation afterward ¡­"

    Mount Hua has recently become incredibly popular!

    All the major scenic spots are envious!

    West Lake, of course, is not willing to be outdone and plans to adopt Mount Tai''s model of using literature and art to advertise the scenic area.

    Blue Star people just love this approach.

    Just as this year''s tourism peak season is around the corner, all major scenic spots are gearing up to unleash their full range of promotional tactics.

    West Lake is taking this advertisement very seriously.

    The budget for the advertisement is frighteningly high.

    After all, this has been the ongoing practice among Blue Star''s scenic spots for years.

    For this purpose, West Lake Scenic Area''s person in charge, Qiu Long, contacted the renowned poet from Zhao Continent, Sheng Yuan, to write a poem as an advertisement for West Lake.

    Sheng Yuan was very supportive.

    He wrote a poem titled ''Ode to West Lake,'' which pleased many leaders from West Lake Scenic Area.

    "High praise."

    Sheng Yuan smiled faintly, "I don''t have the skills like Chu Kuang, who could bring a tourism boom to Mount Hua through a novel. West Lake itself is a Blue Starian classic that resembles a heavenly paradise. The scenes in my humble work are merely gilding the lily."

    Upon hearing this, Qiu Long gave a bitter smile.

    An example like Mount Hua''s is indeed hard to replicate, which is why everyone has been envious of Mount Hua lately.

    Just then.

    A somewhat excited voice suddenly came from outside the door, "Manager, manager, we have solicited a great poem, this poem might just work for our West Lake''s promotion ¡­"

    The person entered the room.

    The voice suddenly halted.

    This was a junior leader of the scenic area, who hadn''t expected to find Teacher Sheng Yuan in the office.

    Talking about using another poem for West Lake''s promotion in front of Sheng Yuan¡ªwasn''t this a slap in Sheng Yuan''s face? S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Qiu Long''s face darkened: "Get out!"

    Turning his head.

    Qiu Long awkwardly explained to Sheng Yuan, "Teacher Sheng Yuan, I''m sorry, but someone in our scenic area insisted on organizing an event to collect poems from tourists for promoting West Lake. It''s just nonsense; how can the poems written by tourists compare to those of a great poet like you ¡­"

    "You are mistaken,"

    Sheng Yuan earnestly said, "There might very well be people of astonishing talent among the populace. A poet''s fame does not represent authority. Even among those we call great poets in our Zhao Continent, who didn''t start from obscurity and slowly rise to where they are today? Since it has come up, why not listen to the poem?"

    Qiu Long became even more embarrassed: "Is that appropriate?"

    Sheng Yuan laughed: "There''s nothing inappropriate about it. I''m also curious what kind of lines made this person so excited."

    "Alright then."

    Qiu Long, annoyed, glared at the junior leader: "Where''s the poem?"

    The person''s face was sweaty, and he bravely said, "Here, here!"

    He took out a piece of paper and laid it flat on the desk; it was unmistakably Lin Yuan''s ''Drinking on the Lakeside, The Sunshine Followed by Rain''.

    As a result.

    Just one glance.

    Sheng Yuan was momentarily stunned.

    Qiu Long also slightly opened his mouth in surprise.

    A moment later, Sheng Yuan suddenly slammed the desk!

    Qiu Long jumped, thinking Sheng Yuan was angry, but surprisingly, Sheng Yuan began to heap praise:

    "What a poem!"

    After finishing, Sheng Yuan suddenly smiled bitterly:

    "Is it some great figure from our Zhao Continent who passed by here? This ''Drinking on the Lakeside, The Sunshine Followed by Rain'' is impeccable in its verses, and even the handwriting reveals an extraordinary touch. I am but a faint glow, how can I compete with the bright moon? I''m embarrassed, I''m embarrassed."

    "I''m asking you!"

    Qiu Long spoke in haste.

    This time, it was not merely to save face for Sheng Yuan ¡ª he was genuinely curious about the author of the poem, as this was no ordinary piece of writing!

    From the characters!

    To the poem!

    Especially this poem, which almost forcibly exceeded Sheng Yuan''s "Ode to West Lake" by a whole level!

    "Teacher Admirable Fish!"

    The junior leader quickly said, "We confirmed with Teacher Admirable Fish''s assistant that he just happened to be visiting West Lake today, so he participated in that poetry collection activity!"

    "Admirable Fish?"

    Qiu Long was taken aback.

    What a coincidence to encounter Admirable Fish visiting the scenic area, and he had even written a poem?

    Sheng Yuan then burst into hearty laughter, "If it''s Admirable Fish, then there''s no problem. Although Zhao Continent has just recently joined the merger, I have carefully studied Admirable Fish''s works. Especially his ''Peach Blossom Poem'' which made me feel quite embarrassed; the world laughs at my madness, I laugh at others'' inability to see through, each time I read it, I secretly feel ashamed. However, I didn''t expect not only Admirable Fish''s poetry to be excellent, but his calligraphy is also worthy of a master; Brother Qiu, could you do me a favor?"

    "What is it?"

    "This piece of writing in front of us, how about you gift it to me? I don''t need any payment for the ''Ode to West Lake,'' whether you use it or not, I don''t mind, it''s just that this writing... it delights my heart..."

    "Agreed!"

    Qiu Long made a decision that would later cause him endless regret and sorrow during countless late nights.

    At that moment, his thoughts were not on the calligraphy, but on the poem.

    With this poem, the "Ode to West Lake" was definitely unneeded, so he also felt the need to compensate Sheng Yuan, and was even somewhat relieved:

    At least he hadn''t offended Sheng Yuan.

    "Thank you!"

    Sheng Yuan, ecstatic as if treasure had been bestowed upon him, grabbed the piece of writing from the table and ran.

    His quick action made Qiu Long even start to wonder whether he should have agreed so readily.

    Was it just a piece of writing?

    Could it be that Sheng Yuan was a fan of Admirable Fish?

    Was this a burst of excitement similar to fans getting an autograph from their idol?

    Soon, Qiu Long stopped dwelling on this issue. After Sheng Yuan left, his eyes suddenly blazed with intensity, and he said to the junior leader next to him,

    "Notify all departments for a meeting!"

    "The meeting topic will be ''Drinking on the Lakeside, The Sunshine Followed by Rain''!"

    "My opinion is to use this poem as the highlight of West Lake''s advertising campaign this time!"

    "Including the filming of this advertisement, it will also revolve around this poem, encompassing both sunny and rainy scenes!"

    "Furthermore..."

    "Contact the company Admirable Fish is affiliated with, invite them to cooperate, and it would be best if Admirable Fish could endorse our West Lake Scenic Area once!"

    "Having him as a brand ambassador would be ideal!"

    "Also, release the news of Admirable Fish''s visit to West Lake Scenic Area. Admirable Fish is well-known, and he should be able to attract some visitors!"

    "Also, send the poem to my phone."

    West Lake Scenic Area has never chosen any spokespersons or brand ambassadors, as no celebrity was deemed suitable.

    However, Admirable Fish could be considered an exception.

    "Yes!"

    The junior leader quickly went to prepare, "I have already sent you the poem!"

    "Hmm."

    Qiu Long nodded his head, took out his phone, and started reading the poem repeatedly.

    However.

    For some reason.

    Qiu Long suddenly felt that viewing the poem on his phone was not as impactful as seeing Admirable Fish''s original calligraphy just now.

    "Could it be because brushwork and ancient poetry are more compatible?"

 Chapter 967 - 898 West Lake is Hot (1st Update)

    ps: I made a small modification to the last chapter; the scenic area did not give the painting away.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    In the following days, Lin Yuan accompanied his family to various scenic areas, enjoying the natural landscapes of different places.

    A week later.

    The journey ended.

    By the time they returned home, the whole family was exhausted.

    Traveling is supposed to relax the mind, but it actually requires a lot of physical energy, especially activities like climbing mountains are quite challenging.

    You can''t spend the whole trip in a car, can you?

    Moreover, traveling by car for several consecutive days is not easy either.

    However, the gains from this trip were also quite significant.

    Lin Yuan checked in at many famous scenic areas and even visited the renowned Mount Tai¡ª

    because Mount Hua was too crowded, so Lin Yuan''s family chose Mount Tai instead to avoid the throngs.

    Regarding the use of "Drinking on the Lakeside, The Sunshine Followed by Rain" for promotional activities at West Lake, Lin Yuan had already heard from Gu Dong.

    The other party had directly contacted Starlight Entertainment.

    It was said that West Lake initially even considered having Teacher Admirable Fish as the spokesperson, but since there was no prior precedent, it ultimately did not happen.

    It''s worth mentioning:

    After adopting this poem, West Lake even directed a reward of one million as an official royalty into Lin Yuan''s account.

    It must be said, such formal entities handle matters very meticulously.

    The modern-day value of Su Immortal''s poem "Drinking on the Lakeside, The Sunshine Followed by Rain" is of course inestimable; the one million isn''t a price, but a gesture of sincerity from West Lake towards the poem and Teacher Admirable Fish.

    Lin Yuan accepted it promptly, then continued to bury his head in writing "The Return of the Condor Heroes."

    With the busy past few days, "The Return of the Condor Heroes" was now two-thirds complete.

    Heading downstairs.

    Just as Lin Yuan was preparing to go out for a stroll, he suddenly saw his sister excitedly lifting her phone, "It''s released, it''s released, it''s released!"

    Big Yaoyao asked, "What''s released?"

    His sister joyfully said, "Quick, look at the video shared in my social circle, the latest promotional video from West Lake Scenic Area went viral today, they used ''Drinking on the Lakeside, The Sunshine Followed by Rain'' in their advertisement!"

    "Let me see!"

    Their mother hurriedly leaned over to watch, "Oh, the scenery is shot so beautifully!"

    His sister also took out her phone to watch, while saying, "The scenery in the camera matches perfectly with the verses, we should watch it on the big screen for a better effect."

    With that, his sister turned on the home projector.

    The projector lit up.

    Lin Yuan looked up.

    The first shot in the video was likely an aerial view, capturing the entire beauty of West Lake in one fell swoop!

    At the same time.

    A voice filled with poetic and picturesque grace began to sound, magnetic, stirring a sense of intoxication in the heart:

    "The water''s gleam is flickering, fine weather so perfect..."

    In the center of West Lake, two ancient scholars were drifting in a boat, sitting and drinking tea.

    At that moment, the sunlight was bright and clear, casting its radiant glow which made the waters of West Lake ripple, creating shimmering waves and ripples on the surface.

    Even through the screen, one could almost smell the fresh aroma of West Lake.

    "The mountain colors are hazily enveloped, even the rain is splendid..."

    The sky gradually began to rain, the close-up of the raindrops sparkling incomparably, and then falling on the lake surface, splashing up little white flowers.

    In the drizzle.

    The mountains around West Lake appeared misty and vast, as if faintly visible through the rainy mist, revealing another magical scenery, irresistibly inviting one to explore its serene depths.

    From the shimmering light on the water to the dense misty rain.

    The lake''s light and the mountain''s colors reflected each other intriguingly, both the clear day''s scenery and the rainy day''s charm were present, resembling a beautiful ancient scroll.

    "If West Lake were compared to Xi Shi..."

    As the third line of the poem echoed, a hazy silhouette appeared in the frame,

    The silhouette gently fanned a silk fan as she walked, with each step blossoming into lotuses, though her face wasn''t clear, one could imagine her beauty.

    This was Xi Shi.

    Xi Shi''s image isn''t uniformly defined, as various portraits have been handed down through ancient times, so the promotional video used a hazy interpretation, offering great room for imagination.

    "Subtle makeup or heavy, both are appropriate..."

    It wasn''t just the alternation of sunshine and rain, but also the cyclic transformation of the four seasons.

    This was the montage technique used in filming, every characteristic of each season was perfectly captured on camera.

    The beauty of spring.

    The charm of summer.

    The richness of autumn.

    The scenery of winter.

    And this indeed adhered to the phrase "simple or adorned, always fitting," suggesting that West Lake was always beautiful, no matter how it was dressed.

    Different seasons.

    Different weather,

    Even in the morning and at night, West Lake had its unique artistic conception and beauty.

    The entire video was five minutes long.

    The background music was the continuous sound of the guqin and se.

    Besides the first minute of shooting the whole West Lake Scenic Area, each following minute used different shots to present the images expressed by the verses, captivating the audience.

    And as the screen gradually darkened.

    A caption flashed up:

    "This promotional film is dedicated to every visitor; West Lake welcomes you to visit. Special thanks to Teacher Admirable Fish for the poem ''Drinking on the Lakeside, The Sunshine Followed by Rain'' written live at West Lake. Treasures of Teacher Admirable Fish''s calligraphy are preserved within the scenic area..."

    The living room was somewhat silent.

    My sister, unusually serious, spoke softly, "I finally understand what''s good about this poem."

    The poetic blend of literature and physics.

    Even those who knew nothing about poetry would understand the artistic conception of the poem after watching this video!

    Indeed.

    The distribution channels for the West Lake promotional video were extensive.

    Besides being promoted on social networks.

    Traditional TV stations also scheduled it for broadcast.

    It was even visible everywhere in high-speed trains and subway stations, this promotional video filmed at West Lake!

    Of course.

    The video was also everywhere online.

    Swipe, swipe, swipe!

    Countless people shared it!

    This promotional video went viral!

    "West Lake is so beautiful, no wonder since ancient times countless scholars and poets have lingered there, inspired to write numerous masterpieces. Boating on West Lake must feel amazing. I must go there this year to see the scenery described by Fish Papa!"

    "The scenery is beautiful, the poetry even more so!" sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "This poem was actually written by Teacher Admirable Fish! When I was watching the video, I said to my sisters, the author of this poem must be a great poet, and I laughed when seeing at the end that it was Fish Papa. But calling Fish Papa a great poet doesn''t sound wrong, does it?"

    "The promotional piece said Fish Papa wrote it live?"

    "Fish Papa truly has an amazing literary talent, such wonderful poetry written live, comparing West Lake to Xi Shi and concluding with ''simple or adorned, always fitting,'' seven characters that perfectly summarize. Xi Shi was considered the foremost beauty of her time!"

    "The first two lines are also brilliant!"

    "The upper half is about the exchange of sceneries, an integration of scenes and emotions. Between the lines, the sceneries correspond to each other without detailed descriptions yet encapsulate the beauty of West Lake perfectly. I thought these two lines were the best, but the last two were even more amazing. The phrase ''simple or adorned'' is classic!"

    "Isn''t the point that West Lake has an original poem written by Fish Papa?"

    "Got it, I''m booking tickets to Qin Continent right now, West Lake, here I come!"

    "This is the best-shot promotional film for a scenic area I''ve seen this year. Other scenic areas should really learn from this method of promotion. The combination of poetic verses and scenic beauty was too compelling. It makes me want to visit West Lake right now to experience the beauty described by the poet!"

    Netizens were amazed!

    The celebrity effect, the poetic effect, and the scenic effect, along with West Lake''s already famed beauty on Blue Star.

    The effect was freakishly good.

    The beauty of the poetry complemented the beauty of the scenery, and almost overnight following the promotional video''s sensation, the visitor count at West Lake surged dramatically!

    It was still March.

    It wasn''t even the peak tourist season yet, but the number of visitors at West Lake exceeded even the peak times!

    Wow!

    West Lake became an instant hit!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: The CD has ended, and the supreme coder returns online, continuing to write.

 Chapter 968 - 899: Soundtrack (2nd Update)

    Yes.

    West Lake went viral!

    In the following days.

    An endless stream of tourists started arriving at West Lake!

    Some visitors were even watching the promotional video "Drinking on the Lakeside, The Sunshine Followed by Rain" while exploring, tirelessly searching for the highlighted sights from the video!

    Some tourists hired guides.

    The guides would introduce various scenic spots along the way, especially mentioning the poem by Xian Yu:

    "This poem ''Drinking on the Lakeside, The Sunshine Followed by Rain'' was composed by Teacher Admirable Fish during his visit to West Lake. Some online speculated that Teacher Admirable Fish had written it in advance, but many tourists can testify that Teacher Admirable Fish composed this poem on the spot during a small event organized by our scenic area. The weather was sunny at first, but around noon, it suddenly started to drizzle. Perhaps Teacher Admirable Fish noticed the unique beauty of West Lake in the rain, as the mountain scenery gradually became hazy through the raindrops..."

    The guide paused here.

    She noticed that the tourists beside her were all looking up at the sky, and someone complained:

    "Damn it!"

    "Why isn''t it raining yet!"

    Hearing this, the guide twitched the corner of her mouth.

    These tourists were quite quirky.

    Normally, tourists would worry about changes in the weather, fearing sudden rain that could spoil their fun.

    Today, on the contrary, they were hoping for rain!

    Just as the saying goes, "The water''s gleam is loveliest in sunny weather, and the mountain''s charm is unique in the mist of rain."

    Visitors who came to play seemed to want to witness for themselves West Lake''s scenery of "sunshine followed by rain."

    Unfortunately.

    This kind of weather was not something you could experience every day.

    With the financial power of the West Lake Scenic Area, they could create artificial rain, but where could that compare to the charm of natural rain? It would seem forced instead.

    Meanwhile.

    The media was also busy.

    There was news reporting on the related events:

    "This year''s tourism peak season seems to have arrived early, with Mount Hua''s traffic congestion followed by the surge of tourists at West Lake. Mount Hua''s popularity benefited from Chu Kuang''s novel, while West Lake''s buzz also benefited from Xian Yu''s poem..."

    In the news.

    The scene of the West Lake bustling with people appeared on the screen.

    The host said with a smile, "What''s interesting is that Xian Yu and Chu Kuang are close friends, and now one has written about the Duel Atop Mount Hua in a book, while the other has written about the post-rain sunshine at West Lake, causing both tourist spots to become hugely popular. This has become a delightful story in itself."

    At this point.

    The camera shifted to the poem "Drinking on the Lakeside, The Sunshine Followed by Rain" handwritten by Xian Yu, a piece of beautiful regular script instantly capturing the audience''s attention.

    "I''m sure everyone has noticed,"

    said the host, "Teacher Admirable Fish''s calligraphy is extremely beautiful. His creation in regular script has reached Master Level. Even many people from Zhao Continent, who are proficient in brush calligraphy, have nothing but praise for it. Some have compared Teacher Admirable Fish''s poem to Chu Kuang''s autograph from the past and concluded that Teacher Admirable Fish''s calligraphy surpasses the other by a notch."

    That was to be expected.

    Lin Yuan''s calligraphy level was at the Professional Level for Chu Kuang''s autograph wave.

    And for Xian Yu''s poem-writing wave, Lin Yuan''s calligraphy level had reached Master Level.

    Although one was in pen and the other in brush, making them not directly comparable, the difference was still noticeable.

    ...

    The impact of the promotional video and poetry continued to ferment.

    The buzz about West Lake kept escalating, almost catching up to Mount Hua!

    On the internet.

    Netizens were also discussing all sorts of topics.

    Some netizens even said, "This really has a bit of a ''South Xian Yu, North Chu Kuang'' feel to it. I''ve just checked the map, and indeed, West Lake is to the south and Mount Hua to the north."

    It was a coincidence.

    And what surprised Lin Yuan was:

    His cultural prestige actually increased significantly with this round of promotional videos for West Lake.

    Why was this?

    Lin Yuan had written poems before, but rarely did they bring him such high prestige gains.

    "Could it be related to the influence of West Lake itself?"

    The tourist throughput of West Lake was tremendous. The poem, combined with the influence of West Lake itself, received the greatest boost, which might be the answer to this sudden surge in prestige.

    This gave Lin Yuan something to ponder.

    Should the other scenic spots also have a go?

    He shook his head, deciding not to bother with that for now.

    Priorities must be set in doing things.

    It''s alright to occasionally go out and have fun with family.

    But the matters of The Legend of the Condor Heroes trilogy must be given priority, especially now that he had started writing the ending for The Return of the Condor Heroes.

    Yes.

    It was only mid-March, but Lin Yuan was already close to finishing The Return of the Condor Heroes.

    The rhythm was still to publish the whole book at once.

    Jin Yong''s martial arts novels were very suitable for binge-reading.

    And as the novel was nearing completion, Lin Yuan and Jin Mu revealed the news of the new book.

    "The Legend of the Condor Heroes trilogy?"

    When Jin Mu heard Lin Yuan''s plan, his expression was a mix of surprise and astonishment,

    "You mean to say that the storyline of this book called The Return of the Condor Heroes is somewhat like a sequel to The Legend of the Condor Heroes?"

    "That''s one way to understand it."

    Jin Mu grew even more excited. This was Lin Yuan''s first time writing a sequel to his novel. With the popularity of The Legend of the Condor Heroes as a foundation, it was almost foreseeable how much the readers would appreciate it,

    "Are the protagonists still Guo Jing and Huang Rong?"

    It''s not that Jin Mu was slow, but the title of the book was too misleading.

    The title was related to the condors again, and it emphasized the word "Hero''s Mate", so wasn''t it referring to Guo Jing and Huang Rong?

    "No."

    Lin Yuan spoke, "This time, the male lead is the son of Yang Kang and Mu Nianci."

    "The son of Yang Kang?"

    Jin Mu frowned subconsciously, then quickly relaxed.

    What day wasn''t Chu Kuang bringing surprises his way? If there weren''t any, would he still be Chu Kuang?

    There was no need to worry about surprises of just this magnitude. Jin Mu smiled and said, "The timeline follows the previous book closely, so the couple Guo Jing and Huang Rong should continue to make appearances?"

    "Hmm."

    Jin Mu did not ask for more specific content, instead changing the topic, "Did you hear about Starlight''s official announcement this morning about The Legend of the Condor Heroes TV series airing at the end of the month?" sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Hmm."

    Lin Yuan nodded.

    Gu Dong had already told Lin Yuan about it. The Legend of the Condor Heroes went smoothly from filming to post-production. After all, Starlight''s film and television team was already very mature, and they could even manage airing while filming without any issue, let alone with such prepared production.

    "Did you do the music for the TV series?"

    "It will be completed in a few days."

    The Legend of the Condor Heroes TV series required several songs, and Lin Yuan planned to process them internally within the Yu Dynasty.

    For example, Iron-Blooded Heart is a duet.

    Lin Yuan intended to collaborate Chen Zhiyu and Zhao Ying Ge, creating a version tailored to their vocal characteristics ¨C this song is a textbook example of harmonization!

    Another song, The World Always Welcomes You, is also performed by these two.

    These two songs were in the Qi language.

    The rest focused more on instrumental music. Some scenes were better with music alone; adding lyrics would only break the mood.

    However, Lin Yuan considered that the audience might also want to hear something in Mandarin, so he planned to add Heaven and Earth are in My Heart.

    Many may not realize, but this is a song that has been greatly underestimated because the intro is too long and it''s from the Zhang Jizhong version of The Legend of the Condor Heroes.

    The version was controversial, which affected the song''s spread.

    In fact, Lin Yuan thought that among the many adaptations, it was notable.

    Was it some sort of inexplicable political correctness at the time to criticize the big beard appearance?

    In reality, this is one of the rare songs that completely lacks romantic elements and contains only an ambitious and grand martial arts spirit.

    The intro may be long, but the morin khuur and variations are truly exciting; the lyrics are well-crafted and have a strong martial arts flavor.

    The line "A horse gallops, an arrow is drawn to the bow, heaven and earth are in my heart" from the lyrics offers a profound sentiment and is sufficiently serious to match the theme of The Legend of the Condor Heroes with its ties to the grand historical setting.

    Lin Yuan believed:

    With these songs, The Legend of the Condor Heroes TV series should not disappoint.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: No time to explain, must keep writing!

 Chapter 969 - 900: A 50-50 Split with Chu Kuang (3rd Update)

    Yu Dynasty had recorded songs with Lin Yuan so many times that it had become second nature, just like how directors and actors...

    ...develop a tacit understanding after working together for a long time.

    Lin Yuan and the singers from Yu Dynasty had developed this kind of understanding as well.

    About a week''s effort.

    Several songs were recorded smoothly¡ª¡ª

    The decision to choose Zhao Ying Ge and Chen Zhiyu for the duet was of course deliberate.

    Because Sun Yaohuo and Jiang Kui from Yu Dynasty had already become the King and Queen of Singing respectively, Lin Yuan wanted to give other people a chance to reach that status, so he made such an arrangement.

    You can''t just focus on promoting one or two individuals exclusively.

    Meanwhile, online anticipation for the TV drama adaptation of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" was growing louder and louder.

    Under the official Starlight account.

    The comment section was full of excited original novel fans howling.

    Those most looking forward to the TV adaptations of novels are often these original fans.

    As a result.

    At that moment...

    Tribe Film and Television suddenly announced a piece of news:

    "Tribe Film and Television is proud to announce that ''Trap the Tiger,'' adapted in collaboration with Lancet, will officially air on the 23rd of this month. Stay tuned!"

    Don''t forget.

    There has been a martial arts craze in the television drama circle recently.

    Every so often, several classic martial arts adaptations are announced, with dates set for their release, or they go straight to airing.

    It was under this trend that Lin Yuan decided to write "The Legend of the Condor Heroes."

    Among them, "Trap the Tiger," a collaboration between Tribe and Lancet, is the hottest super favorite among this batch of martial arts adaptations. Their choice to air it this month makes perfect sense.

    A huge audience is looking forward to it too!

    After all, Lancet''s "Trap the Tiger" is a classic martial arts novel etched in many people''s memories and is considered the masterpiece of this martial arts legend.

    Its influence even exceeds that of Starlight''s previously adapted "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange."

    Not to mention!

    The drama is personally adapted by Lancet, the original author of the novel!

    Most other martial arts dramas are adapted by screenwriters, and it is rare for original authors to personally take charge of the adaptation.

    Therefore.

    Everyone was curious as to how Lancet would adapt his own pinnacle masterpiece, "Trap the Tiger."

    He wouldn''t be following Chu Kuang''s approach and completely overhaul his "Trap the Tiger," letting the antagonists go on a chaotic killing spree, would he?

    There would be fun then.

    After all, Lancet himself had made big claims in an interview, stating that his adaptation would be a self-subversion, guaranteed to surprise and delight the audience...

    This had garnered a lot of attention for "Trap the Tiger."

    Originally, this had nothing to do with "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" airing this month.

    It''s not unusual to have multiple TV dramas airing in the same month, and such coincidences are not a big deal, with no conflicts between the two.

    However.

    What left everyone dumbfounded was!

    Shortly after "Trap the Tiger" set its air date, Starlight also officially set theirs:

    "Chu Kuang''s martial arts masterpiece ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' will air on the 23rd of this month. Stay tuned!"

    What now?

    Wow, that''s bold!

    Manufacturing conflict on purpose?

    Starlight surely did it intentionally!

    Their new drama "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" was going to air on the same day as Tribe''s "Trap the Tiger"!?

    Airing in the same month is too common to even count as a coincidence.

    But airing on the same day?

    And they announced it one after the other?

    That changes the concept entirely!

    All of a sudden, the whole internet was abuzz!

    This was the first time Starlight took such a clear shot at a rival!

    "The feud between Starlight and Tribe is irreversible now. This year, all Starlight artists have left Tribe for blogs, and now the two sides have completely fallen out. Are they confronting each other head on?"

    "So domineering!"

    "Tribe has been suppressing Starlight for a while, some Starlight artists got traffic-limited there, they say it was technical issues, so that''s why the Starlight artists left Tribe. This move today is more than just a head-on challenge; it''s Starlight launching an official counterattack on Tribe."

    "A martial arts showdown?"

    "Chu Kuang''s previous adaptation of ''Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange'' was heavily criticized because the old rascal made some ruthless cuts. I heard Lancet was quite unhappy about it. Now, Chu Kuang has brought out his own original wuxia to go head-to-head with Lancet. It does seem a bit like a martial arts showdown. Even though Lancet''s works can''t compare to ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes,'' you can''t ignore that his works were released earlier and have a larger viewer base."

    "It reminds me of the battle between ''Journey to the West'' and ''The Primordial Chaos.''

    "I remember now¡ªthat time when Starlight''s ''Journey to the West'' TV drama was scheduled, ''The Primordial Chaos'' announced their schedule half an hour later, clearly targeting them. But despite ''The Primordial Chaos'' having such a high viewer base, they still lost disastrously, completely dominated by ''Journey to the West.'' As a result, Starlight appears to have learned from ''The Primordial Chaos.'' Not a good sign."

    "I think not necessarily, think about who the original authors of these two dramas are."

    Who is the original author?

    Some netizens paused, then suddenly realized with astonishment!

    The author of ''Journey to the West'' and ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' is the same person!

    It''s Chu Kuang, the old rascal himself!

    Last time, Starlight was crazily producing content under the guidance of the old rascal Chu Kuang!

    Netizens are calling it expert moves!

    Starlight clearly wants to replicate the ultimate battle scenes from ''Journey to the West'' versus ''The Primordial Chaos''!

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, at a certain venue. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Ling Kong was holding a press conference with Lancet for "Trap the Tiger," surrounded by stars and with numerous reporters in attendance. This was the Tribe''s credibility at stake, even more impressive than what entertainment companies could muster!

    The press conference was halfway through.

    A reporter suddenly said, "We just received news that Starlight''s new drama ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' will be broadcast on the same day as your TV drama. What does Mr. Ling Kong think about this?"

    What?

    Same day broadcast?

    Ling Kong''s eyelids twitched rapidly.

    Lancet, standing beside Ling Kong, also looked somewhat displeased.

    Both of them had been attending the press conference and were not aware of this news. Hearing about it all of a sudden, their first reaction was:

    Provocation!

    This is a provocation!

    Starlight is clearly not taking ''Trap the Tiger'' seriously!

    The reporter turned to Lancet: "If it''s a contest for viewership ratings, how does Teacher Lancet think the contest will go?"

    Lancet raised his eyebrows, calming himself, and said indifferently:

    "If it''s a showdown with TV dramas, I''d say Chu Kuang and I are evenly matched."

    Lancet understood in his heart.

    He couldn''t compete with the novels.

    ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' almost pioneered a school of its own in the martial arts world, and even Lancet had to admit that Chu Kuang''s talent was among the top in the entire martial arts world.

    But TV dramas were full of uncertainties.

    A successful novel doesn''t always translate into a successful TV adaptation.

    This is common sense!

    Ling Kong, hearing this, breathed a sigh of relief.

    An even match, huh? That result wasn''t too bad.

    It was enough that they had a chance to fight. He was no longer bullish, and after repeated setbacks, he had gradually begun to see himself more clearly.

    Ling Kong also thought back carefully:

    After making enemies with the Three Bros, he was most harshly defeated by Shadow.

    Xian Yu had beaten him too, but not too harshly.

    As for Chu Kuang?

    He hadn''t really been attacked by the other party much.

    If he could use this wave to beat Chu Kuang in the TV drama battle, he could regain some face when facing the Three Bros in the future.

    That would be good.

    Let Chu Kuang bear the sins committed by Shadow and Xian Yu. Why should he do so, when the three of them always move together and oppose the Tribe?

    However, it''s true that wherever he goes, he can''t avoid these three.

    Ling Kong thought with a bit of a headache.

    Even going to the Golden Hall to listen to a tune, he could run into Xian Yu, which was incredibly frustrating.

    ¡­

    After the TV drama "Trap the Tiger" press conference concluded.

    A news headline appeared on the top page of the media:

    [Starlight and Tribe''s new shows to air on the same day, Teacher Lancet says: Chu Kuang and I are evenly matched!]

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Continuing to write, the serious wordsmiths don''t joke around.

 Chapter 970 - 901: The World Always Welcomes You (4th Update)

    Martial Arts World.

    Many people were paying attention to "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" TV series, which quickly became a source of bemused frustration because of the news.

    "A fifty-fifty chance?"

    "What was that supposed to mean?"

    "Given the standard of ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'', neither Canyang nor Qingyun would dare claim they''re on par with Chu Kuang, but Lancet had the nerve to say it."

    "He was talking about the TV series."

    "Then he should have added ''the TV series'' after his statement, otherwise it''s irritating no matter how you hear it, and doesn''t he feel ashamed?"

    "If the TV series beats Chu Kuang, I bet Lancet would brag about it for a year."

    Some people in the Martial Arts World were not happy.

    It wasn''t that everyone supported Chu Kuang.

    They simply disliked Lancet''s statement, "I''m on par with Chu Kuang", which was an act of concept-switching. Those who were unaware might actually think he was talking about being on an equal footing with him in terms of martial arts novel writing.

    ...

    The TV industry.

    There were also many people paying attention, especially after Starlight directly challenged Tribe, the industry was abuzz with discussions!

    "Since when has Starlight been so aggressive?"

    "Probably because they were pushed too hard by Tribe. Tribe controls many resources and imposes all kinds of restrictions on Starlight''s artists, resulting in them being targeted in many activities. Despite both being capital, Tribe is much larger than Starlight."

    "Tribe''s influence is already declining, though."

    "The Three Bros did make the blog colorful after joining, but a camel at its weakest is still bigger than a horse¡ªTribe is far from being seriously hurt."

    "Who do you think will come out on top this time?"

    "Starlight is betting on ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'', and Tribe is ''Trap the Tiger''. It''s hard to say. No matter how good the novel is, it all depends on how the TV series is made. Lancet wasn''t wrong; it''s fifty-fifty."

    ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'', ''Trap the Tiger''.

    The TV series from both sides had a combative tone starting from their very titles¡ªsomething that everyone had somehow missed before.

    Now upon reflection:

    It would be odd if they didn''t face off.

    The two sides were deeply entangled, such as the feud between Ling Kong and the Three Bros, the relationship between Chu Kuang and Lancet, and the increasingly fierce conflict between Starlight and Tribe.

    ...

    Online.

    Netizens'' enthusiasm for gossip was sky-high; it felt like a return to the days of the epic "Journey to the West" versus "The Primordial Chaos" battles as supporters of both sides voiced their opinions.

    "I''m rooting for ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''!"

    "I''m more interested in ''Trap the Tiger''. Lancet said his adaptation would revolutionize our understanding of the work, and that has really piqued my curiosity."

    "I''ve loved ''Trap the Tiger'' since I was a kid."

    "I read Lancet''s novels too, but after watching ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'', I suddenly found all other martial arts novels dull. I''m still supporting Starlight."

    "Maybe they''ll both end up sharing the spoils?"

    "For ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'', it mainly depends on how it''s made. If the adaptation is faithful, there will be no problem. For ''Trap the Tiger'', it all hinges on how it''s changed. If Lancet really can surprise the audience, he''s got a good chance."

    "Just start broadcasting it!"

    "As long as the plot is good, I''ll watch both series. Why make it complicated when it''s such a simple matter?

    ...

    In the midst of everyone''s anticipation,

    March 23rd finally arrived!

    That night,

    In a certain household in Qin Continent.

    The aroma of dinner filled the air.

    Mother took off her apron and yelled:

    "Li Feng, dinner''s ready!"

    A young man next door cheerfully emerged from the bedroom.

    This young person was named Li Feng, a recent graduate who was working as an intern, exhausted from his job daily. The happiest time of his day was having dinner with his parents in the evening.

    "By the way,"

    Father picked up the remote control: "The TV series is about to start."

    Li Feng asked subconsciously, "What TV series?"

    Father replied, "Your favorite writer, Chu Kuang''s ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'', is said to have three episodes airing back-to-back tonight."

    "I don''t like him!"

    Li Feng became immediately indignant upon hearing this: "The person I hate the most is that old rascal Chu Kuang! From the moment he killed off Biyao, I swore that I would never again read any of Chu Kuang''s novels for the rest of my life, let alone watch a TV adaptation of one!"

    Who is Biyao?

    Father had never read "Zhu Xian," he said with satisfaction:

    "I have no idea what you''re talking about, but I''m a loyal fan of ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes.'' You won''t go wrong liking Chu Kuang; there''s nobody in our factory who doesn''t read that novel."

    "..."

    Li Feng was speechless.

    Father used to forbid him from reading Chu Kuang''s novels.

    More precisely, he forbade him from reading all sorts of novels, saying that students should prioritize their studies.

    Now that he had graduated.

    He, on the other hand, was the first one to start reading novels.

    It would have been fine if he''d chosen to read some other novel. Instead, he was reading the works of Chu Kuang, the very "old rascal" he''d once forbidden him from reading.

    His status within the family was too low.

    All he could do was keep his head down and eat his meal.

    Eaters gonna eat, and those who dine have the spirit; to dine is to rise above the rest!

    An advertisement was playing on TV; "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" hadn''t started broadcasting yet.

    The family was eating together.

    Father was watching the television with anticipation.

    Mother occasionally glanced at it too.

    Li Feng, however, never raised his head.

    He really hated that old rascal Chu Kuang. After "Zhu Xian," he indeed had the willpower to never read Chu Kuang''s novels again.

    It turned out that his decision was a wise one.

    He often heard friends who were still reading Chu Kuang''s novels complain about the old rascal, how torturous his writing could be. Whenever this happened, Li Feng would secretly feel relieved:

    As long as I don''t read the old rascal''s works!

    He can never hurt me!

    Just then,

    Father suddenly got excited, "It''s starting!"

    Mother was a bit surprised, "I haven''t seen you this excited in a while."

    Li Feng burrowed his head even deeper. He wished he could block his ears too; he must have absolutely nothing to do with that old rascal!

    However, his ears were not something he could block.

    Suddenly, a song started playing beside him¡ªit must be the TV series'' theme song:

    "Is this mountain the highest in the world?

    Or is there another place higher than the sky?

    In this world, there are indeed mountains higher

    But no love can be found greater than yours

    None can compare to you (a mountain still higher than a mountain)

    True love is as high as the sky (love even higher)

    A thousand types of good

    In terms of martial skills, in this mundane world, don''t know who else could be higher

    Perhaps the ultimate moves differ, roads diverge

    But I know, in terms of love, none is better

    Await my heart

    The world always welcomes you¡­"

    The song, titled "The World Always Welcomes You," was instantly popular when it was released, securing a spot among the top ten hits of the year. It was an unforgettable classic in the memories of many. Now with Lin Yuan''s arrangement, while retaining the original work''s soaring atmosphere, it also added richer, subtler emotional layers.

    Chen Zhiyu and Zhao Ying Ge''s duet brought out the perfect harmony of the Yu Dynasty to the fullest.

    After the two harmonized their voices, combined with the already exceptional melody, they captivated the entire family in an instant.

    "Brilliant!"

    Father''s face showed a hint of pride, "The lyrics are amazing; asking if this mountain is the highest in the world doesn''t just refer to Mount Hua, it''s also questioning who is the best in the world. Yet in the end, it all comes back to the love story of JingRong, with true love as high as the sky. With this song as a foundation, this TV series can''t go wrong!" Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "It really is beautiful!"

    Mother seemed quite enchanted by it, and she didn''t notice anything wrong with the Qi language.

    Nowadays, the season''s charts were filled with all sorts of music, with both Qi language and English songs becoming mainstream.

    Of course, Li Feng thought the song was excellent too, but due to his innate aversion to the old rascal Chu Kuang, he decidedly put a damper on things by saying:

    "Haven''t you heard that terrible movies produce divine songs?"

 Chapter 971 - 902 Iron-Blooded Heart

    Father and mother ignored Li Feng.

    After the theme song ended, the plot officially began.

    Less than ten minutes in, father couldn''t help but praise,

    "This series is filmed so well, the actors'' emotions are perfectly grasped. Qiu Chuji has the charm of the character in the novel, and the part about Niujia Village perfectly restores the scene from the novel!"

    "Which one is the protagonist?"

    Mother asked curiously, already captivated by the plot.

    Father laughed, "The protagonist is still in Li Ping''s belly, according to the director''s method of sticking to the original script, he will definitely appear in the second episode. Bring my wine, I''m in a great mood today, I''ll drink a bit!"

    "Drink less."

    Mother scolded gently, pouring father a small glass of wine.

    Father took a quiet sip and continued watching the TV, feeling very delighted and extremely satisfied with the filming of this series.

    Meanwhile.

    Li Feng seemed indifferent, but his eyes stealthily focused on "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" being shown on TV.

    Humph!

    I''ll just watch a little bit!

    I''m not watching this by choice.

    It''s just that I''m eating, and father is watching the series. I have no choice but to be here.

    Li Feng quietly consoled himself internally, then joined his family in watching and gradually formed an idea of the series.

    However.

    When the first episode ended.

    Li Feng''s bowl of rice was long finished, yet he still sat in front of the TV, unmoving.

    "I almost forgot to do the dishes!"

    Mother slapped her forehead, as she too was engrossed in the TV.

    She prepared to get up to clean up, but just as her buttocks lifted from the chair, a song suddenly filled her ears.

    In that moment.

    Mother who had just stood up sat down again, her gaze returning to the TV.

    At the same time.

    Li Feng and father unconsciously widened their eyes, quietly savoring the song in the silent air.

    "Seemingly seen before in dreams

    Inner upheaval appears

    Forsaking worldly matters, severing sorrow and resentment

    Accompanying to the horizon

    Chasing grass in all directions (cold winds blow)

    Vast deserts (the sky so vast)

    Unafraid of frost attacking the face (vines and trees entwine)

    Shooting hawks, drawing bows (fierce wind and sand)

    Racing beyond the borders (wilderness vast)

    Laughing defiant in this life without weariness (vines intimately twine)

    Should know love is like flowing water (the sky so vast, wilderness vast)

    Unbreakable, yet chaos persists (all things change)

    Having survived countless trials, still within my heart

    Difficult to sever kindness and righteousness¡­"

    It was still Chen Zhiyu and Zhao Ying Ge''s male-female duet, textbook-level harmony. Although they were singing different lyrics, there was an unexpectedly harmonious beauty.

    This is "Iron-Blooded Heart"!

    Listening to the song, father suddenly slapped his thigh hard, then downed the rest of the wine in his glass:

    "Sung so well!"

    "Even better than the opening song!"

    Mother, enjoying it, silently noted down the song title displayed in the subtitles, planning to download it to listen to later.

    "It was written by Xian Yu, right?"

    Li Feng couldn''t help but interject. Both the opening and ending songs were indeed very classic, it was rare for a martial arts drama to have such a soundtrack.

    "Eh?"

    Mother chuckled as she looked at her son and said, "You''ve finished eating, why are you still here? Didn''t someone say they were absolutely not going to watch..."

    "Didn''t you insist on watching it?"

    Li Feng, indifferent, stood up and said, "Continue watching, I''m not interested in TV dramas adapted from Chu Kuang''s novels, I''m going back to my room to work!"

    ¡­

    At the same time.

    The TV series "Trap the Tiger" also premiered!

    Many people were curious about how Lancet, the original author, would adapt his own signature work. When the first episode aired, countless viewers were astounded!

    "Fuck!"

    "This change is so radical!"

    "The number one antagonist from the original, the leader of the Devil Sect, was changed into a woman, and she fell in love with the male protagonist from the start?"

    "What is this twist?"

    "The female protagonist in the original didn''t know martial arts, but in this version, she starts off even stronger than the male protagonist, even taking away the protagonist''s initial trump card, and she becomes the number one beauty pursued by many in the martial world?"

    "The antagonist and the female protagonist both fall in love with the male protagonist?"

    "The plot starts with the female protagonist and a feminized leader of the Devil Sect fighting fiercely, even seemingly jealous over the male protagonist?"

    "I love this plot!"

    "Lancet is so daring in making changes!"

    "Love what? This is just making things up, the feminized Devil Sect leader is obviously mimicking Jiang Yuyan!"

    "I can''t accept this change, I''d rather watch ''Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange'' adapted by Chu Kuang."

    "I find it pretty interesting, all these unexpected plot twists!"

    As Lancet said:

    The changes in "Trap the Tiger" were extremely subversive. Several of the most important characters in the book were unprecedentedly adjusted, changing the main plotline from the usual struggle between the heroes and villains to a complex feud involving the male and female protagonists and the female leader of the Devil Sect.

    Some liked it.

    Some did not.

    The changes brought about significant controversy!

    But these days, television dramas aren''t afraid of controversy!

    Sometimes, the more the audience criticizes, the more exciting they find the watch, like "Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange," so many people have developed great confidence in the series, even starting to admire Lancet''s courage to subvert himself!

    ...

    Back to the bedroom.

    Li Feng began to work.

    But for some reason, after working for about fifteen minutes, he just couldn''t get into the groove, making mistake after mistake in his work.

    Li Ping''s child is the protagonist of the novel?

    The second episode''s protagonist should appear now, right?

    How will the plot develop below¡­

    Li Feng became inexplicably agitated, realizing that his mind was so preoccupied with The Legend of the Condor Heroes that he couldn''t concentrate on his work at all.

    At this moment.

    Outside, his father and mother''s excited voices again came through, seemingly discussing the plot of the second episode of The Legend of the Condor Heroes?

    The second episode has started?

    This made Li Feng even more irritated.

    He suddenly, as if possessed, picked up the tablet on his bedside table, took a deep breath, and quietly logged onto the video website.

    This is a TV series!

    Not Chu Kuang''s novel! sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    What I said before was about not watching Chu Kuang''s novels; this series'' script isn''t written by Chu Kuang, so it doesn''t matter if I watch it!

    He gritted his teeth.

    Li Feng clicked on the second episode of The Legend of the Condor Heroes.

    The series was available not only on television but also on the video website, where such major dramas are usually broadcast simultaneously.

    And when the second episode started.

    Quickly, Li Feng found himself engrossed and uncontrollably finished the third episode as well.

    At the end of the third episode, a Daoist agreed to teach Guo Jing martial skills and asked him to come to the cliff in three days to learn.

    The plot stopped abruptly at this point.

    Damn!

    Li Feng was eagerly anticipating great progress in Guo Jing''s martial skills when the director suddenly played a cliffhanger, causing him to scratch his head in frustration.

    That''s it?

    How could it just end?

    His eagerness to know what happened next not only remained unsatisfied but also grew into greater irritation!

    Suddenly.

    He had an idea:

    Why not buy a copy of the original novel to read?

    As soon as this idea emerged, Li Feng shook his head forcefully, "No way, I can''t possibly watch his novels again, I''ll just patiently wait for the TV series to update."

    He got up to go to the bathroom to take a shower.

    To calm the turmoil inside.

    After the shower.

    Li Feng indeed felt much calmer, "I was almost bewitched into falling back into Chu Kuang''s trap..."

    Huh?

    What''s this?

    Li Feng suddenly saw a book placed in front of the bathroom mirror, and the book was none other than The Legend of the Condor Heroes!

    It must have been bought by his father.

    Li Feng''s calm heart suddenly began to tumult again, the book in front of him seemed to possess some magic power, tempting him to open it.

    Finally.

    This time.

    Li Feng couldn''t resist.

    He reached out, picked up the book, opened it in one smooth motion, yet comforted himself internally:

    "I''ll just look at the content of the fourth episode."

    ...

    Five minutes later.

    "I''ll check the content of the fifth episode."

    ...

    Some time later.

    "Why not also check the content of the sixth episode?"

    ...

    The line was crossed again and again.

    Until the knocking from his father came from outside, "You can''t be constipated that long, I need to use the toilet!"

    "Coming out right now!"

    Li Feng, feeling a bit guilty, hurriedly opened the door and went out.

    His father entered the bathroom, sat on the toilet, and subconsciously searched for something, but after a long search didn''t find it, he muttered tipsily:

    "Where is my book?"

    Meanwhile, Li Feng had already returned to his bedroom.

    He sneakily took out The Legend of the Condor Heroes that he had just smuggled from the bathroom and started flipping through it eagerly while sitting on his bed¡­

 Chapter 972 - 903: Ratings (2nd Update)

    At that moment, both dramas had finished their premieres, and the entire network suddenly came alive!

    Blogs.

    "Starlight''s ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' is just too good to watch. The director''s fidelity to the original is very high, especially the songs in this drama blow me away!"

    "Especially love ''The World Always Welcomes You''!"

    "The ending song ''Iron-Blooded Heart'' is truly a classic!"

    It''s been months since we''ve seen Fish Papa on the seasonal charts. This round of ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' series has finally released the songs he should have released. Both songs are as classic and evergreen as always. The seasonal chart is already out. I suggest everyone download it!"

    "Downloaded it early, just not sure about the popularity."

    "The request chart has already exploded. ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' is first in daily requests!" S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "That doesn''t prove anything, next door ''Trap the Tiger'' is also first in daily requests."

    "These two chose different video streaming sites for their collaboration, so it''s impossible to compare directly. Let''s wait and see the TV ratings."

    ...

    Tribe.

    "Lancet''s adaptation of ''Trap the Tiger'' is so much fun!"

    "Hahaha, turning the villain into a big demon lady, can you believe it!"

    "The changes to the female lead are fun too. She even overshadowed the male lead. I feel like what Lancet meant is that this novel shifted from a dominant male lead to a dominant female lead."

    "Am I the only one who thinks this change is absurd?"

    "Can''t bear to watch it anymore, the moment I see the female demon lord I drop out of the show. Lancet''s changes are simply insulting his own original work. It''s nowhere near as successful as ''Yang Xiaofan and Qin Tiange''."

    "Successful or not, we''ll see which one is hotter compared to the ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' next door, right?"

    "''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' is broadcast on Penguin Video, and ''Trap the Tiger'' is on Catmill. Both are first in requests, there''s no way to compare. Also, Tribe is all about ''Trap the Tiger,'' while blogs are discussing ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' more. Guess why?"

    "Look at the TV ratings, those don''t lie."

    An official third-party regulatory department has been established, so there is no forgery allowed in the TV ratings, and their credibility is solid.

    ...

    This scene is very interesting.

    The Tribe is discussing ''Trap the Tiger'';

    The blogs are discussing ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'';

    Clearly, this is a result deliberately guided by both platforms.

    They chose different video streaming websites for collaboration, each topping the request charts.

    In this situation, the TV ratings of the two major TV stations became the focus of competition between these two dramas!

    Because the TV stations broadcasting these dramas are both very high-profile stations.

    Among them.

    Starlight''s ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' chose Qin Continent''s Channel One, the largest TV station in Qin Continent.

    The Tribe''s ''Trap the Tiger'' chose Chu Continent''s Channel One, the largest TV station in Chu Continent.

    Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao Six Continents have now merged, and everyone can watch TV stations from other continents, so the competition is fair.

    Because the audience base of the two TV stations are quite similar.

    For a time.

    Everyone was paying attention.

    Just half an hour after the first broadcast of the two dramas ended, the prime-time TV ratings from various stations in Blue Star were released!

    Prime-Time Drama Rankings for Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao!

    ...

    First place: Qin Continent Channel One

    Drama: The Legend of the Condor Heroes

    Rating: 2.22%

    ...

    Second place: Qi Continent Channel One

    Drama: Bright Moon Palace

    Rating: 2.01%

    ...

    ...

    Fifth place: Chu Continent Channel One

    Drama: Trap the Tiger

    Rating: 1.04%

    ...

    Boom!

    Everyone was astonished!

    First in prime-time ratings!

    Starlight''s ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes,'' a martial arts drama, actually helped Qin Continent''s Channel One suppress Qi Continent''s drama, securing the first place in the prime-time ratings!

    ...

    Tribe.

    "Oh my God!"

    "This must be the first martial arts drama to top the ratings in recent years, it even beat the drama from Qi Continent! Qi Continent is our famous Blue Star film and television palace. Moreover, ''Bright Moon Palace'' has dominated the ratings of the evening drama across six continents since it started airing at the beginning of the month, and yet, it tanked tonight!"

    "It actually took down ''Bright Moon Palace''?"

    "I''m shocked. ''Bright Moon Palace'' was airing its grand finale tonight, which has been the highest-rated episode since it began, truly the brightest moment of the entire series, and it was suddenly knocked over by ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''!"

    "It looks like ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' was never even considering ''Trap the Tiger'' as a competitor!"

    "When ''Trap the Tiger'' was about to face ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' head-on, ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' had already silently targeted ''Bright Moon Palace''!"

    "''Trap the Tiger'' is fifth in ratings, not even half of what ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' got!"

    ...

    Blog.

    "This is definitely a crush!"

    "Total domination, the premiere''s ratings broke two, is Chu Kuang on track to become the top rights holder of Blue Star?"

    "I don''t really understand, what does a rating over two mean?"

    "TV ratings indicate the percentage of television viewers within a specific time period who watch a particular channel out of the total television audience."

    "In other words, combining the populations of the Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, and Zhao continents, an average of two percent of all people watching TV tonight watched ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''. You figure out just how many people that is."

    "Oh my God, that''s insane!"

    "And it gets crazier, because the TV ratings don''t count online streaming, and nowadays many viewers choose to follow shows online. Not many people watch TV series as much, and if you include those watching dramas online, the numbers would be even more terrifying!"

    ...

    Martial Arts Circle.

    "Has the spring of martial arts arrived!?"

    "Looking at the ratings of ''Trap the Tiger'', I thought they were high enough, but the ratings of ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' are even more terrifying. This seems to be the first time in decades that a martial arts drama has topped the ratings!"

    "You can remove the ''seems''."

    "Although the TV industry keeps hyping up the martial arts craze, we know very well that no matter how popular martial arts dramas get, they can''t beat those costume romances. The emergence of ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' has broken this deadlock, and I never thought I''d see a martial arts drama top the charts in this day and age!"

    "This is the real martial arts frenzy!"

    "Lancet once said, he and Chu Kuang fifty-fifty, wasn''t it?"

    "From now on, I''m willing to call Lancet ''Mr. Fifty-Fifty''!"

    ...

    TV Industry.

    "What the hell, straight to number one!?"

    "Isn''t ''Bright Moon Palace'' from Qi Continent having its grand finale tonight? When it was at its hottest, its invincible rating was suddenly broken?"

    "Pfft!"

    "Qi Continent must be furious. Our Tribe stirred up Starlight, and in the end, our drama mistakenly hurt ''Bright Moon Palace''. Originally, this drama had been leading the ratings from the start to its finale!"

    "Starlight has defied the heavens this time!"

    "If only Tribe''s new drama had aired one day later, Starlight would have definitely targeted the same slot, and then ''Bright Moon Palace'' would have smoothly continued to top the evening ratings until the end!"

    "The martial arts craze is really coming!"

    ...

    Qi Continent ''Bright Moon Palace'' production team.

    "Damn it, we had maintained the top rating for a whole twenty-eight days, and just as we were about to hold on to the end, we were suddenly overturned by a martial arts drama!"

    "Tribe is so infuriating!"

    "Tribe and Starlight were fighting, but Tribe''s drama wasn''t even enough to fill the gaps in Starlight''s teeth, and they turned around and wiped us out instead!"

    "Why did Tribe have to air on the 23rd!"

    "If they had aired on the 24th, letting Starlight also follow on the 24th, wouldn''t we have been the top-rated throughout?"

    "That leader of Tribe, Ling Kong, is the one to blame!"

    "Damn Ling Kong!"

    The Qi Continent ''Bright Moon Palace'' production team was truly infuriated!

    And what infuriated them the most was not Starlight or ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''!

    It was Tribe!

    Because it was Tribe that set the airing date!

    They just happened to air on the day of the ''Bright Moon Palace'' finale, which was why Starlight followed suit immediately afterward!

    This feeling made the ''Bright Moon Palace'' production team so frustrated they wanted to vomit blood!

    How to describe it?

    It''s like Xian Yu had already won eleven consecutive titles, and the twelfth was almost in hand, but then, suddenly due to a bizarre accident, the twelfth title was lost. Wouldn''t you be furious too?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: I recommend the veteran''s new book ''This Doctor is Dangerous''. The veteran is very talented. Previously specializing in medical dramas, this new venture has also performed exceedingly well. Those interested can check it out, direct link below!

 Chapter 973 - 973: 904

    The next day!

    The news was everywhere!

    "Model Student of Martial Arts Dramas: The Legend of the Condor Heroes!"

    "The Legend of the Condor Heroes Tops Evening Ratings in Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao¡ªAll Six Continents!"

    "The True Martial Arts Fever Begins!"

    "Trap the Tiger Falls to The Legend of the Condor Heroes, Tribe Defeated Heavily by Starlight!"

    "Director of The Legend of the Condor Heroes Interview: The biggest credit goes to Chu Kuang, second only to me. People said I only thrived on depressing themes, but I''ve shown everyone with this drama that I can create great TV without tormenting the audience!"

    "Ten Years Later, Martial Arts Returns!"

    In the shock of countless people, The Legend of the Condor Heroes TV drama soared sky-high!

    The reason why this event was so shocking wasn''t just because the drama clinched the top spot in ratings.

    Fundamentally, it was because:

    This was a martial arts drama!

    Even though martial arts dramas always had an audience;

    Even though the martial arts craze increased the number of martial arts fans;

    Even though major film and television companies always held expectations for the market of martial arts dramas;

    But capturing the top spot in evening ratings across six continents was something major film and television companies wouldn''t even dare to dream of, let alone that the drama defeated a rival from Qi Continent!

    Martial Arts Revival!

    If The Legend of the Condor Heroes as a martial arts drama could top the ratings, what else could this be if not a revival of martial arts?

    I get it!

    Invest in martial arts dramas!

    There''s profit to be made!

    At this moment, major film and television companies valued the market for martial arts dramas even more!

    ...

    The Legend of the Condor Heroes is a raging success!

    Lancet has also hit it big!

    It might sound odd to say this, but more precisely:

    It was something Lancet said that has gained fame!

    During The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' standoff with Trap the Tiger, Lancet once said at a press conference:

    "Let''s call it fifty-fifty with Chu Kuang."

    This statement has now become an internet catchphrase!

    Incredibly, countless silly netizens flocked to Lancet''s Tribe''s comment section, calling him "Mr. Fifty-Fifty"!

    Some even stopped calling him "Mr. Fifty-Fifty" altogether.

    Who knows where they picked it up from; they came straight out calling him "Brother Kai Lei"!

    Seeing these silly netizens'' comments made Lancet so angry he wanted to smash something.

    Screw your ''Kai''!

    But in the end, he held back.

    Because he realized Ling Kong was even angrier than him.

    ...

    Ling Kong was truly seething!

    He discovered he might be the only one in Blue Star who had been humiliated by the Three Bros in turns!?

    First by Shadow, then by Xian Yu!

    Then by Chu Kuang after Xian Yu!

    Do you think I''m a punching bag?

    What made Ling Kong absolutely furious was:

    There were even people from Qi Continent blaming him, saying that because of him, The Daming Palace flopped during its grand finale.

    This made absolutely no sense.

    It''s like every time Tribe got bullied by the Three Bros, they''d heavily scold themselves.

    In fact, this thing had nothing to do with him, go blame The Legend of the Condor Heroes, why blame me?

    Picking on the soft targets?

    You just know how to shift the blame around!

    Can''t beat the opponent and start looking for reasons in your teammates?

    Luckily, this time Tribe didn''t scold Ling Kong. They knew the basics of justice.

    After all, Trap the Tiger''s loss to its opponent wasn''t because Ling Kong wasn''t good; it was because the opponent was too strong!

    Just based on ratings, Trap the Tiger, as a martial arts drama, ranked fifth in the evening dramas across six continents, which definitely wasn''t disappointing!

    It could even be considered a great success!

    ...

    Ling Kong thought so.

    However, what happened next gradually drove Ling Kong to despair.

    Because both The Legend of the Condor Heroes and Trap the Tiger were martial arts dramas, their audience overlapped significantly.

    The more popular The Legend of the Condor Heroes became, the more viewers it garnered!

    And most of these viewers had switched from watching Trap the Tiger!

    This led to a steady increase in viewership for The Legend of the Condor Heroes in the following days, while Trap the Tiger''s viewership was continuously eroded and kept declining.

    When the fifth day arrived.

    As The Legend of the Condor Heroes reached its fifteenth episode, Trap the Tiger''s viewership had already dropped below 1%!

    What was more frightening was:

    The Legend of the Condor Heroes, during its broadcast, even attracted many "Chu Kuang haters" who started watching the drama, causing the viewership to soar even higher!

    Someone once joked online:

    Who leads in haters? Look among the Three Bros at Chu Kuang!

    When it comes to the number of haters, even if Xian Yu and Shadow were combined and multiplied several times, they wouldn''t match Chu Kuang, the old rascal!

    Yes.

    Chu Kuang had a lot of haters.

    These haters shared similar traits with Li Feng, as they had all been disappointed and frustrated by Chu Kuang in the past.

    For various reasons, they were highly resistant to Chu Kuang''s novels, hardly ever reading his works anymore, and whenever Chu Kuang was mentioned, it was inevitable that they would bristle with anger.

    However.

    As The Legend of the Condor Heroes TV drama became a big hit, many people like Li Feng started reading Chu Kuang''s novels again because of the drama''s influence.

    This was evidenced by the sudden jump in sales of The Legend of the Condor Heroes novel following the TV show.

    Everyone was captivated by the drama, and complaining about the slow updates, so they decided to buy the original novels to read.

    But when this group of people finished reading Chu Kuang''s novel, they were unexpectedly surprised:

    The book actually wasn''t heartbreaking!

    Many people had even prepared themselves for heart-wrenching contents as they read the book, only to find out after finishing it that it wasn''t at all what they had imagined!

    ...

    On the blog.

    Soon someone started a topic:

    #Chu Kuang is getting better#

    The topic even suddenly shot to number one on the trending list!

    This was a discussion that revolved around the massive popularity of both the novel and TV show of The Legend of the Condor Heroes, with lots of Chu Kuang''s "haters" eagerly joining in!

    "Is this a book written by Chu Kuang?"

    "I watched The Legend of the Condor Heroes with fear and trepidation, but to the grand finale, it was thrilling all the way through without any unbearable heartbreaking plots. It seems I can safely continue watching the TV show!"

    "Has the old rascal really changed his ways?"

    "Guys, Chu Kuang is getting better!"

    "To err is human, to forgive, divine, I''m so relieved. For this attitude alone, I''ve decided to continue reading the old rascal''s books!"

    "After not reading the old rascal''s books for so long, I realized that he still writes so entertainingly. Other authors just can''t give me this feeling!"

    "With the old rascal''s skill, I''ll bear with a little heartache in the future."

    "It''s such a slap in the face, I said I''d never read the old rascal''s novels again, but a TV show broke through my defenses, and I fell right back into this old rascal''s trap. I hope this topic is true, and the old rascal really is getting better."

    And in various discussions. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    A netizen pointed out sharply:

    "Actually, The Legend of the Condor Heroes does have heartbreaking plots, but if it were any other author, you''d still be anxious. It''s just that, those who understand the nature of the old rascal Chu Kuang know, after watching a lot, you build up resistance. Now, even if Chu Kuang writes more heartbreaking plots, I''ll just give a faint smile."

    ...

    At home.

    Lin Yuan, seeing all the buzz caused by The Legend of the Condor Heroes TV drama, couldn''t wait to call out the System:

    "Has wuxia been revived yet?"

    Reviving wuxia was his most concerning task at the moment.

    System: "Wuxia has been in decline for many years, and many people still hold old views about it. Right now, it''s only reaching the stage of a revival."

    Revival.

    Renewal.

    The former signified that the dormant wuxia was beginning to awaken, but to reach the booming levels of the past, there was still a long way to go.

    "Oh."

    Lin Yuan''s gaze became serious.

    Come forth, The Return of the Condor Heroes!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Ssss¡­ Guys, to be honest, I''m kind of tired... just three updates for today, let''s take a break... I need a little cooldown on my typing skills...

 Chapter 974 - 905: There Is No Light in His Eyes

    The TV series continued airing.

    The viewership of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" continued to soar.

    The daily release of three episodes gradually sparked a viewing craze across six continents!

    ...

    A certain vegetable market.

    "Did you watch ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' yesterday?"

    "Guo Jing learned the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms!"

    "I watched it!"

    "It was so exciting!"

    "Huang Rong''s Branch Beats the White Chimpanzee is also very impressive!"

    "Huang Rong is now the leader of the Beggars'' Guild, the world''s largest gang!"

    "The part where the Beggars'' Guild spit on Huang Rong killed me!"

    ...

    The entertainment circle.

    "The viewership of ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' is about to break three percent!"

    "It''s likely that it will break three on the finale''s day!"

    "No wonder the film and television rights for Chu Kuang''s novels are causing a frenzy in the industry!"

    "Whenever his novels are made into TV series, they basically explode in popularity!"

    "This time, ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' is particularly hot!"

    "The value of several actors in this series has skyrocketed. I feel like Starlight is becoming more and more impressive. Previously the films were stable because of Xian Yu, and now the TV series has caught the tailwind of Chu Kuang..."

    "With Xian Yu around, the Three Bros all help Starlight. I''m so envious!"

    ...

    Online.

    "After reading the novel and then watching the TV series, it still feels so exciting. Even though I know exactly what''s going to happen, I still can''t help but feel anxious for the plot."

    "It''s shot so well!"

    "The recent plot even introduced a theme song titled ''The World Is in Me Now,'' and this song is also really good, boldly brave but with a slight melancholy, feeling like as per this setting, the Great Song is going to be doomed."

    "The most powerful force in the book is still Mongolia."

    "It would be great if Chu Kuang could write a book specifically about this fictional history. I think that the part of the historical fiction in this book is written with a really great feel!"

    "Agreed!"

    "Those fabricated empires like Great Jin, Great Song, Mongolia, etc., are so convincingly written by the old rascal that they even include extremely detailed and captivating descriptions of the era''s environment!"

    ...

    In the public.

    On the internet.

    In the industry.

    "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" discussion is ubiquitous!

    And in all discussion forums, this TV series finally welcomed its grand finale!

    That day.

    That episode.

    The Duel Atop Mount Hua!

    Driven mad by Huang Rong''s misguidance, Ouyang Feng ended up contending with his own shadow for the title of the world''s number one!

    Guo Jing and Huang Rong arrived in Xiangyang.

    To protect the subjects of Great Song, the couple defeated the invading Mongols.

    Later.

    Guo Jing went to Mongolia to discuss what makes a hero with Temujin.

    That evening.

    On Temujin''s deathbed, he repeatedly murmured:

    Hero...

    Hero...

    This former Great Khan, who once shot down a giant eagle with his bow and led Mongol cavalry to conquer far and wide, passed away amid such complex emotions.

    That night,

    the viewership for "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" TV series broke 3%!

    This was the first time in ten years that a martial arts series had reached such a level of popularity!

    Even the elderly men and women at the vegetable markets, who chatted after starting their morning work, were all talking about Guo Jing and Huang Rong! S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    There was indeed a sense of "Who doesn''t recognize the lord?" sweeping through the lands.

    While the media reported in shock about the record-breaking finale of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" achieving a viewership of over three percent, many themed articles unanimously praised the romance between Guo Jing and Huang Rong with a new title:

    National Couple!

    Now that Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, and the six continents have merged, making up the majority of Blue Star''s population.

    And with JingRong''s love so deeply rooted in people''s hearts, describing them as the "National Couple" seems rather fitting.

    ...

    Silver Blue Books.

    Fantasy Department.

    Ol'' Xiong was browsing the latest news online.

    When he saw the words "National Couple," he couldn''t help but smile.

    With the influence of the novels complementing the TV series, Guo Jing and Huang Rong had become the romantic model of martial arts novels and even the entire Blue Star.

    This influence was terrifying.

    It''s said that many girls are studying how to cook better in emulation of Huang Rong,

    given that in addition to her unparalleled wisdom, her cooking skills in the book are indescribably marvelous, even impressing such a person as Hong Qigong and thereby agreeing to teach Guo Jing martial arts.

    "I just don''t know when we will see Chu Kuang write martial arts again."

    After the smile.

    A sense of regret started to form in Ol'' Xiong''s heart.

    Chu Kuang writes books very whimsically, the leap between subjects could definitely be described as fantastical.

    From sports competition to xianxia, from xianxia to mystery, from mystery to detective, and even from detective to fairy tale genre, he surprisingly chose martial arts this time¡ªa theme that has been dormant for ages¡­

    In such a case.

    Ol'' Xiong felt the likelihood of Chu Kuang''s next book continuing with martial arts was extremely low.

    However, whether he writes martial arts or not is not the most important.

    Ol'' Xiong just hoped that Chu Kuang would continue to stay in the Fantasy Department and not wander off again.

    At this morning''s meeting.

    The look Cao Dezhi from the mystery department gave Ol'' Xiong was full of sorrow.

    Ol'' Xiong didn''t need to guess; he knew that Dezhi was feeling gloomy since Chu Kuang was no longer writing mysteries.

    Besides.

    Even people from the Fairy Tale Department were giving him a strange look, probably hoping that Chu Kuang would write fairy tales again.

    It can''t be helped.

    Chu Kuang was a major support no matter where he went!

    Anyone would want such achievements.

    "No way!"

    Ol'' Xiong still felt a strong sense of crisis, "We need to take the initiative!"

    He planned to proactively contact Chu Kuang, trying to persuade him to continue staying in the Fantasy Department.

    Pulling out his phone.

    Before Ol'' Xiong could make the call, his phone unexpectedly rang first.

    It was Jin Mu calling!

    Feeling stirred, Ol'' Xiong immediately answered the call, his voice filled with anticipation:

 Chapter 975 - 905: There Is No Light in His Eyes_2

    "Is there news about Teacher Chu Kuang''s new book!?"

    "Haha, Chief Editor Xiong, you really have a divine insight. It is indeed Teacher Chu Kuang''s new book. The work has been completed, and I''ll send it to you in a moment¡­"

    "A fantasy theme?"

    "To be precise, it''s still martial arts."

    Jin Mu''s voice was filled with laughter, while Ol'' Xiong''s expression turned instantly excited, happy like a 300-pound child!

    At this moment.

    Jin Mu added, "This time the situation is somewhat special. Teacher Chu Kuang''s new book continues the story of the next generation of characters from ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes,'' so you can think of it as a sequel to ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes.''"

    Whoosh!

    Ol'' Xiong suddenly stood up, his flesh trembling all over, while his mind rapidly flashed through the hot topic online recently:

    Chu Kuang is back on form!

    Isn''t it just booming!

    After writing "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," this martial arts novel,

    Chu Kuang didn''t jump to other genres as impulsively as before. Instead, he chose to continue writing martial arts, and even wrote the story following ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''! S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This had never happened before!

    "That''s great!"

    Ol'' Xiong immediately voiced his assurance, his gaze sharp, "I will personally handle the publicity and ensure that this book surpasses ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''!"

    Surpass ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''!

    Ol'' Xiong wasn''t joking.

    Because Chu Kuang''s new book is the sequel to "The Legend of the Condor Heroes!"

    With the foundation laid by the previous work, as long as Chu Kuang''s level doesn''t decline, exceeding the success of ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' isn''t difficult!

    "Okay, I have sent the book to you."

    Speaking of this, Jin Mu''s tone suddenly became strange, "I haven''t had the chance to read this book yet, but in the end, Teacher Chu Kuang asked me to pass a message to you."

    "What?"

    "He said, ''Don''t change the plot.''"

    Upon hearing this, Jin Mu felt an inexplicable thump in his heart, not knowing what he had thought of, he suddenly burst into laughter:

    "Here we go again?"

    "Very likely."

    The two talked in riddles, yet those who understood, understood.

    When those words were spoken, it generally indicated that another somewhat heart-wrenching plot had appeared in Chu Kuang''s novel.

    "Don''t worry!"

    Ol'' Xiong was very open about it, "We''ve known Teacher Chu Kuang for a long time, and we''re familiar with his style. This time, let him play however he wants, our editorial department has no objections, after all, even the readers have gotten used to it!"

    Is it just torment?

    Bring it on!

    After hanging up the phone, Ol'' Xiong received the manuscript for "The Return of the Condor Heroes," sent by Jin Mu.

    "The Return of the Condor Heroes!"

    Ol'' Xiong''s fingers trembled with excitement, he quickly opened the novel, "Let me be the first reader of this novel!"

    ¡­

    Chu Kuang had written many novels and had cooperated with the Fantasy Department more than once.

    And due to the special nature of his job as an editor, Ol'' Xiong had read Chu Kuang''s every novel from beginning to end.

    Over these many years of collaboration.

    Among all of Chu Kuang''s high-selling novels,

    The martial arts genre was the one that best suited Ol'' Xiong''s taste!

    Martial arts are the fairy tales of adults. For old men like Ol'' Xiong, the passion for martial arts stories is deepest.

    He had lived through the most splendid era of martial arts, clutching a martial arts novel in his youth.

    Back then, Ol'' Xiong was incredibly happy.

    It is fair to say that Ol'' Xiong ended up in the editorial profession due to the trend of martial arts that completely mesmerized him with novels.

    Unfortunately, martial arts declined thereafter.

    And Ol'' Xiong could no longer find joy in martial arts.

    Until ¡­

    ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' appeared!

    This novel brought back the happiness Ol'' Xiong felt when he first read martial arts novels and immersed him once again in a dream-like jianghu!

    In such circumstances,

    Receiving "The Return of the Condor Heroes," which is said to be a sequel to ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes,'' Ol'' Xiong was, of course, eager to start reading immediately!

    The first chapter!

    The second chapter!

    The third chapter!

    Ol'' Xiong was very absorbed in reading and quickly finished the first five chapters.

    From Yang Guo''s appearance to the appearance of Guo Jing and Huang Rong, the plot was as thrilling as ever, Chu Kuang''s narrative strength hadn''t diminished in the slightest!

    However,

    Ol'' Xiong''s brow furrowed slightly after a particular segment of the plot, "Isn''t Huang Rong''s character a bit ruined?"

    This feeling made him very uncomfortable.

    Ol'' Xiong, watching The Legend of the Condor Heroes, liked Huang Yaoshi and his daughter Huang Rong the best!

    Particularly Huang Rong, elf-like girl, intelligent and wise, and could cook a great meal, one could say that Huang Rong was responsible for half of Guo Jing''s achievements!

    After watching The Legend of the Condor Heroes.

    How many people fell madly in love with Huang Rong!

    However, by The Return of the Condor Heroes, although Ol'' Xiong had only read a few chapters, he could clearly feel that Huang Rong was quite harsh on the protagonist, Yang Guo, showing much selfishness, fearing that Yang Guo might seek revenge from Guo Jing after learning about Yang Kang''s deeds, going so far as to begrudgingly target the boy, subtly no longer the goddess that people once adored at first sight.

    "What an old rascal indeed."

    Ol'' Xiong muttered gloomily, but he ultimately suppressed his dissatisfaction.

    Because aside from the slight ruin of Huang Rong''s character, this novel''s level of excitement was in no way discounted.

    Zhong Nanshan!

    Ancient Tomb School!

    Little Dragon Maiden!

    Chu Kuang''s world of martial heroes was still as dreamy and beautiful, yet carried a brutal attraction!

    And Yang Guo, the protagonist, although the son of Yang Kang, didn''t elicit the expected aversion at all, instead capturing Ol'' Xiong''s empathy and pity from his very first appearance:

    Ol'' Xiong analyzed quietly:

    "With a completely different personality from Guo Jing, this Yang Guo has a cleverness about him, even somewhat reminiscent of Huang Rong when she first appeared in The Legend of the Condor Heroes, so appealing at a glance that one instantly loves him. Perhaps more appealing than the young Guo Jing by a notch. Could Huang Rong''s dislike for Yang Guo, aside from the reason of Yang Kang, also be related to this cleverness Yang Guo possesses?"

    He sighed internally.

    Ol'' Xiong finally understood why Jin Mu told Chu Kuang not to change the plot.

    It must be because of Huang Rong.

    Perhaps that old rascal was worried that the Fantasy Editorial Department might be discontent with his re-portrayal of Huang Rong?

    What was the need?

    In the Fantasy Department, and even the whole of Silver Blue Books or the entire novel circle, who dared to tell Chu Kuang what to do?

    Who dared to guide Chu Kuang on writing?

    Except for that time with Sherlock Holmes when Xian Yu spoke up, when had this old rascal truly altered his storyline and settings?

    Moreover.

    The beauty of Huang Rong was already fully showcased in the previous novel.

    The protagonist of this novel was Yang Guo.

    A new generation, a new story of the martial heroes!

    Although readers would definitely be discontented with the changes in Huang Rong, considering Chu Kuang''s previous notorious records, what did this level of heartache count for?

    Netizens weren''t wrong:

    Having read so many of Chu Kuang''s novels, everyone''s resistance was maxed out.

    Even if he caused more trouble, everyone would just lightly laugh it off, as long as the plot itself remained exciting.

    Moreover, although Huang Rong became a regret, Little Dragon Maiden had entered the scene!

    Ol'' Xiong originally thought it would be difficult for Chu Kuang''s new book to create a matchless character like Huang Rong, but Little Dragon Maiden''s debut was just as impressive as the reception Huang Rong initially brought!

    This new character was incredibly appealing!

    Not only was the character setting free of any redundancy, but her charm was also not lacking at all!

    Huang Rong was a woman with the aura of worldly concerns, her peerless intelligence and beauty complemented her charm!

    Little Dragon Maiden, however, was a woman without the traces of worldly life, naive and seemed like a banished immortal, with an indescribable innocence and allure!

    Compared to Huang Rong, each had their own merits!

    Perhaps the outline of this book is already subtly revealed!

    Yang Guo and Little Dragon Maiden, seemingly mentor and disciple, yet the future holds many possibilities.

    Ol'' Xiong hadn''t read further yet his thoughts were already running wild, "I have to say, when Chu Kuang seriously writes about women, he truly has a knack for it. JingRong, the national couple, might just meet their match. If Little Dragon Maiden isn''t the female lead, I might consider sending Chu Kuang razor blades again. Although after that last event on the blog, all of us at Silver Blue secretly sent him razor blades, I even borrowed family accounts to send some more, he wouldn''t know anyway..."

    He didn''t think further.

    Ol'' Xiong continued reading.

    The plot was extremely compelling.

    Even more addictive than The Legend of the Condor Heroes.

    Ol'' Xiong was eager to know Yang Guo''s future destiny.

    And this driving force for reading was precisely the basis that allows a novel to become hugely popular.

    Ol'' Xiong seemed to see a glimpse of the future where The Return of the Condor Heroes would triumph!

    However.

    Just as Ol'' Xiong excitedly opened the next chapter.

    Boom!

    The Dragon Rider arrived!

    Ol'' Xiong felt as if struck by lightning, his smile instantly vanished, his face turned pale instantly!

    Subsequently.

    A roar filled with grief and extreme pain suddenly exploded in Silver Blue Books, frightening all the major editorial departments:

    "Chu Kuang, you old rascal, die!"

    In that moment, there was no light in Ol'' Xiong''s eyes.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: Polluted White continues to write, be brave, and fear no difficulties!

 Chapter 976 - 906: I Broke His Leg

    No matter how Ol'' Xiong reacted, with Chu Kuang having given a heads-up, the news about "The Return of the Condor Heroes" was officially announced.

    Silver Blue Books:

    "Chu Kuang''s new martial arts novel ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' is in the midst of a heated printing process. As a sequel to ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes,'' not only will the love story between Guo Jing and JingRong be further perfected and supplemented in the tale, but the subsequent fates of the characters from ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' will also be revealed in the new book, making it an unmissable excitement!"

    At this moment.

    The television drama "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" had just reached its grand finale. Whether they were fans of the book or the drama, everyone felt a lingering desire for more of the story.

    In this lingering state,

    When everyone suddenly saw the words "sequel to ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes,''" you can imagine their level of surprise!

    Every statement in the official announcement was highly attractive, but netizens quickly extracted the key term:

    "Sequel to ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''!"

    These four words represented the greatest magic, the kind that could instantly trigger a collective climax among book and drama fans!

    ...

    Online.

    "There''s actually a sequel!!!"

    "Ahhhh, I love that old rascal! Has he finally gotten a clue and knows to write a sequel? Don''t say anything else; as soon as this book comes out, I''m buying it immediately!"

    "Buy, buy, buy, buy, buy!"

    "Guys, Chu Kuang is really back on form, even knows to write a sequel on his own! Damn, damn, damn, I''m becoming incoherent; I''m just too excited!"

    "Chu Kuang, respect!"

    "Can I pre-order ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' right now?"

    "In my lifetime, I get to see Chu Kuang actively writing a sequel to his novel; it seems the old rascal is also quite satisfied with ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' story. Also, I must say, the new book''s title is very much to my liking!"

    ...

    In the martial arts world.

    "If martial arts are truly to be revived, then Chu Kuang will be the greatest contributor to this grand martial arts revolution. ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' was just the beginning; his new book will make more people pick up martial arts again!"

    "No wonder!"

    "I said it, ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' clearly left some room, many characters'' endings weren''t well concluded, including Guo Jing''s character arc not fully developed. With a sequel, everything becomes clear. It seems that Chu Kuang writing martial arts was not by chance, but pre-planned."

    "Yes."

    "He hadn''t written a new book for a long time, probably preparing for ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' and its sequel. As expected, once he acted, it was earth-shattering in the martial arts world. The title ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' follows the previous work, also featuring a hero and his mate, and has the ''Condor'' involved."

    "Not just the readers, I''m looking forward to it too!"

    "The brilliance of ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' is unprecedented. If it were someone else, I would worry about them botching the sequel, but with Chu Kuang, I actually have a feeling that he might create another glory!"

    ...

    In the television industry.

    "''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' actually has a follow-up; can we purchase the rights to ''The Return of the Condor Heroes''?"

    "Contact Chu Kuang immediately!"

    "''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' is too popular, a ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' TV series would definitely be a smash hit!"

    "I don''t care what the relationship between Chu Kuang, Xian Yu, and Starlight is, I just want to buy the rights to ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' now. I''ll handle the budget issues, you guys contact them immediately!"

    "Secure his film and television rights right away!"

    "We can''t let Starlight take advantage again, winning Chu Kuang''s rights is imperative for us!"

    "With ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' leading the way, the television industry''s marsh arts fever has been raging. Now the whole nation is anticipating the sequel to ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes.'' Contact Chu Kuang at all costs, whoever secures ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' secures the world!"

    ...

    All sides were stirred by the news!

    Ding ding ding ding ding ding ding!

    Jin Mu''s phone was practically exploding!

    Major film and television companies were all seeking to buy the rights to ''The Return of the Condor Heroes''!

    Though Chu Kuang''s film and television rights had always been in demand, none of his previous novels had ever received this kind of treatment.

    The books hadn''t even been released, yet all the major film and television companies were going crazy, waving their checkbooks and vying to buy the film and television rights!

    This was the benefit of writing a sequel. ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' was too popular, so the film and television market for his new book was predictable. Any film and television company with a bit of sense knew what this meant.

    "Sorry, Chu Kuang''s new book rights have been reserved by Starlight."

    "It''s not about the money."

    "No need to raise the price anymore, the contract is already signed."

    "I''m not deceiving you, you''re the sixteenth company to inquire about the rights."

    "The rights to the second adaptation?"

    "That actually can be discussed, but only after Starlight has finished airing the series."

    "Alright then."

    "We''ll have the opportunity to work together in the future!"

    After taking the sixteenth phone call of the day, Jin Mu looked at Lin Yuan with a wry smile:

    "If it weren''t for the boss having shares in Starlight, I would honestly advise you to sell the rights to these companies. They keep calling non-stop, and I don''t even have time to read novels. You have no idea how crazy their offers are for the series."

    "Don''t tell me."

    Lin Yuan did not want to know; knowing would only be futile and painful, after all, "The Return of the Condor Heroes" was definitely going to be handed over to Starlight for production.

    He was a shareholder of Starlight.

    Starlight needed to grow more robust to confront the Tribe more aggressively.

    Jin Mu sighed, "Quite a few companies are also interested in remakes, and we''ll be able to make some money off that too. Including ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'', many companies want to remake it. I guess you will probably set a record for the most number of remakes of martial arts dramas on Blue Star in the future."

    "You decide on that."

    Anyway, the first taste of the crab was reserved for himself; remakes were just recycled meat by now.

    Jin Mu curled his lips, "Then I''ll put my phone on silent mode for now. I''m taking a few hours off from work today¡ªI''m going to watch ''The Return of the Condor Heroes''."

    A pang hit his heart.

    Lin Yuan asked, "Which chapter are you on?"

    Jin Mu replied with a smile, "Progress is slow. I''ve only reached Chapter Six. Recently, the influence of ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' has left me with too much work." Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    As he spoke,

    Jin Mu turned on his phone and continued indulging in "The Return of the Condor Heroes", adopting a demeanor of complete absorption.

    For both Ol'' Xiong and Jin Mu, having early access to read Chu Kuang''s novels was an incredibly fulfilling achievement.

    Take "The Return of the Condor Heroes" for example.

    The flurry of phone calls just now had made it clear that the price for the film and television rights of this novel alone was an astonishing figure.

    This was no longer just a novel but a gold mine of incalculable value!

    "Then you keep reading."

    Lin Yuan''s voice suddenly became smaller:

    "I have some things to take care of, so I''m leaving first. If nothing unexpected happens, I won''t be coming to the studio for the next few days."

    "What''s so urgent?"

    Jin Mu raised his head and glanced at Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan avoided Jin Mu''s gaze, "Personal matters."

    Jin Mu''s eyes returned to the screen, "Call me if you need anything."

    "Sure."

    Seeing that Jin Mu didn''t ask further and was buried again in "The Return of the Condor Heroes", Lin Yuan couldn''t help but quicken his pace and swiftly leave.

    And a minute later,

    Jin Mu''s eyes in front of the screen suddenly froze, and then he exploded!

    "Damn it, where''s my knife!"

    He rarely cursed, but now he abruptly stood up looking for Lin Yuan''s silhouette, only to find that the other party had already left, not a trace in sight.

    "Aaaaah!"

    Jin Mu felt an insane hatred, the effect of "Dragon Rider" was particularly lethal!

    He finally understood why Lin Yuan had asked which chapter he had reached; why he left in such a hurry; and why he wouldn''t be coming to the studio for the next few days¡ªwhat the hell kind of plot was this!

    Lin Yuan really dared to come?

    I''ll break his legs!!!

 Chapter 977 - 907 Let the Old Rascal Unleash Himself

    After Ol'' Xiong, Jin Mu got mad too!

    However, the outside world absolutely didn''t expect the first batch of readers of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" to react like this.

    But considering the old rascal''s notorious track record.

    After the news of the new book of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" was officially announced.

    Indeed, there were some readers guessing whether this so-called sequel to "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" would start off with suffering and tragedy.

    Stemming from this reason.

    Following the blog topic #TheOldRascalIsGettingBetter#, once again, a hot topic related to Chu Kuang surfaced and rapidly climbed the trending searches.

    This time the topic was:

    #WillTheReturnoftheCondorHeroesStartWithTragedy#

    The initiator of this topic was a book-related internet influencer, with the ID being Soybean, whose profession was akin to that of a book critic.

    "I think Chu Kuang''s new book might start off with tragedy!"

    After Soybean started the topic, he provided his reasoning:

    "Many people say that ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' isn''t tragic at all, feeling exhilarated and comfortable all the way through, their hearts filled with boundless pride, making me, Chu Kuang''s number one hater, quite puzzled. I even thought this old rascal truly turned over a new leaf, until today when I saw the news about "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" having a sequel and then it suddenly dawned on me, the cunning move was hidden right here!"

    "I admit that ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' isn''t tragic, that''s a fact!"

    "But ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' isn''t non-tragic because Chu Kuang got better, but because the story of ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' hasn''t ended yet. Chu Kuang usually starts off with tragedy towards the end of the novel, not by writing heart-wrenching plots in the beginning!"

    "And now, our emotional attachment to the characters of ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' is already very deep."

    "So, if I''m not wrong, this book, ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'', is probably where Chu Kuang starts the tragedy. This is the old rascal''s usual tactic!"

    At this moment.

    Online discussions about "The Return of the Condor Heroes" were everywhere, naturally generating immense popularity.

    And this topic was closely related to the previous one about Chu Kuang turning over a new leaf, thus it instantly sparked massive attention.

    However.

    The trend of the discussions in the topic was quite odd!

    "Right now, I''m not at all afraid of how tragic Chu Kuang''s new book might be. What I''m freaking afraid of is if he doesn''t make it tragic, aren''t the Zhao people arrogant? Now I''m on my knees begging Chu Kuang to be ruthlessly cruel, it would only be good if he brings them to their knees!"

    "Can''t argue with that!"

    "If not now, then when?"

    "Chu Kuang, you must live up to your reputation. Let the Zhao people see what the words ''old rascal'' truly mean!"

    "The fact that ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' isn''t tragic is my greatest regret!"

    "Only heaven knows how much I want to see the Zhao people trembling under the feet of Chu Kuang, the old rascal writer dad. Don''t forget how they used to mock us!"

    "They are just too young and have no idea how terrifying the old rascal is!"

    "It would be best to just annihilate the Zhao people. Our resistance is high nowadays, Zhao people don''t share our resistance level."

    "It''s probably because the number of readers has increased that I feel Chu Kuang has started to consciously pander to the readers. To be honest, I am quite disappointed about this. I liked the old rascal''s attitude of ''criticize all you want, I''ll write whatever I want''. I don''t want him to consciously pander to the readers of Zhao Continent. He never pandered to us like that!"

    What the hell?

    Soybean was stupefied.

    Are you all masochists?

    Weren''t you the ones who hated Chu Kuang the most for writing such tragic stories?

    Now, how come you are hoping that Chu Kuang will be harshly tragic?

    But soon enough, Soybean understood why the comments were so strangely angled.

    Two reasons.

    The first reason, Chu Kuang is suspected of catering to the readers of Zhao Continent, causing a psychological imbalance among the readers from the other five continents.

    The second reason...

    The Zhao people were just too arrogant!

    You see, before "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" was released, the readers from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han had tried to educate the Zhao people about the old rascal''s notorious past, but those group of Zhao people just played dumb, claiming "In Zhao Continent, the readers are the writer''s fathers," and mocked the readers from the five continents for being unworthy, even becoming "the sons of the writer."

    That would have been fine.

    Things happen and then they''re gone.

    However, what no one expected was that, with the release of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," the Zhao people became even more audacious, constantly being sarcastic in front of the Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han readers:

    "That''s it?"

    "No way?"

    "Heard it''s the old rascal?"

    "Heard his books are really brutal?"

    "I thought it''d be more brutal. You guys can''t handle this level? Your endurance is too low. Is this your first time reading Wuxia novels or what?"

    Well, well.

    This really got the readers from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han mad. Now they''re begging Chu Kuang to be ruthless with them, just so the Zhao people can experience the fear of being dominated by the old rascal!

    Actually, it was the same before The Legend of the Condor Heroes was released.

    Many bought The Legend of the Condor Heroes just to see how Chu Kuang would brutally treat the Zhao people, but unfortunately, The Legend of the Condor Heroes didn''t become brutal.

    About that.

    Some radical readers even left comments in Chu Kuang''s review section saying, "Old rascal, don''t hold yourself back anymore. Let yourself go in your next book!"

    ...

    Now that the states of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, and Zhao have merged and the internet is shared, the topic started by Soybean has been seen by the people of Zhao Continent.

    At first glance.

    The Zhao people were amused!

    Some Zhao people took screenshots of the discussions and shared them with more Zhao people, instantly attracting a large number of netizens from Zhao Continent to the fray, which is why the topic quickly heated up.

    A Zhao person said:

    "Here you go again, huh? We Zhao people are not like you. If Chu Kuang dares to be brutal, we dare to abandon the book and tame him. Zhao readers will never be slaves. Some authors in our Zhao Continent tried that before, and later no one read their books. They had to start over with a pseudonym, and even when their cover was blown, they got cursed out eighteen streets. Do you have that kind of drive?"

    "We''ll see who ends up tormenting whom."

    "In fact, Chu Kuang was spoiled by you guys. He was too soft. We Zhao people don''t pamper such writers. Look what happened, Teacher Chu Kuang corrected his ways with The Legend of the Condor Heroes, didn''t he?"

    "It''s still the same old saying, readers are the real bosses!"

    "Serve the readers well, and your novel will sell like hotcakes. Offend the readers, and no one will read your books!"

    "Actually, based on The Legend of the Condor Heroes, I think Teacher Chu Kuang is quite nice. It could be that it''s you readers from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han who are slandering Teacher Chu Kuang."

    "I actually have a similar opinion."

    "Don''t say we Zhao people don''t understand Chu Kuang. I specifically looked at those so-called heart-wrenching works of Chu Kuang, and they are not as exaggerated as you say. Your resistance is just not high enough. We Zhao people have been reading Wuxia for so many years. Our resistance in this area was maxed out a long time ago."

    Damn!

    Some readers from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han were angered and even felt a little aggrieved after reading these comments!

    Chu Kuang is a good person?

    We are slandering Chu Kuang?

    You Zhao people can tame him?

    We readers from the five continents are too weak?

    Are these even human words?

    Do you know what we have been through?

    Even Soybean couldn''t stand it anymore. He put his foot down:

    "Just wait and see. My prediction won''t be wrong. This book by Chu Kuang will definitely be brutal, and it will make you Zhao people''s livers ache. Don''t say I didn''t warn you in advance. As for your saying that Chu Kuang''s previous novels weren''t brutal, that''s because with warnings from netizens from other continents, you had expectations, so you found them not so bad. And about taming the old rascal, we''ll see who tames whom when the time comes!"

    Heh.

    The Return of the Condor Heroes will definitely be brutal?

    The Zhao people are not afraid at all. They believe in Chu Kuang and have confidence in themselves, and they are unwilling to be outdone in resilience by the other five continents.

    They don''t buy it!

    Where in the world is there an author who goes against the readers and still gets hotter and hotter?

    What happens in other continents, they don''t care. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    In Zhao Continent, they don''t allow such an awesome existence!

    ...

    And amidst all the discussions.

    Silver Blue Books once again stirred:

    Chu Kuang''s new book, The Return of the Condor Heroes, will be officially released in three days!

 Chapter 978 - 908 Dragon Rider

    "It''s here!"

    Everyone''s heart skipped a beat!

    This was a novel that had propped up countless expectations before it even hit the shelves!

    The Legend of the Condor Heroes still had lingering influence.

    Not a single bookstore dared to underestimate the prospects of The Return of the Condor Heroes, and no bookstore doubted the wuxia genre anymore...

    In such an atmosphere.

    Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

    Three days later.

    It was just after dawn.

    Readers were already setting out, unable to wait any longer!

    At some major bookstores, countless customers even formed long, dragon-like queues at the entrances!

    And at the entrances of all the major bookstores.

    Countless standees and banners had been unfurled early on.

    Things like "Chu Kuang''s New Book Shocks the Market", "The Legend of the Condor Heroes Sequel Now On Sale", "Chu Kuang''s Second Martial Arts Masterpiece The Return of the Condor Heroes following The Legend of the Condor Heroes", and so on.

    ...

    New Cathay Bookstore.

    "Please don''t push!"

    "Everyone, please queue in an orderly manner to buy books to prevent accidents!"

    "Do you have enough books this time?"

    "Don''t tell me again that you''re short on stock and need to reorder, wasting my time for nothing."

    "Rest assured!"

    "We have plenty of stock this time, absolutely no problem, we know everyone''s enthusiasm for The Return of the Condor Heroes!"

    ...

    Soaring Dragon Bookstore.

    "The doors are opening, they''re opening!"

    "Why are you only opening at seven o''clock!"

    "I''ve been here since six in the morning, waiting in vain for an hour at the door."

    "That''s nothing."

    "I came over at five!"

    "Lucky it''s Saturday today, so I don''t have to go to work. Otherwise, I''d really be afraid I wouldn''t get a copy."

    ...

    Universal Bookstore.

    "Start lining up!"

    "I can see the books inside."

    "Oh my god!"

    "The first three rows of shelves at the main store of Universal Bookstore are completely filled with The Return of the Condor Heroes¡ªit''s the first time I''ve seen such a scene!"

    "Other books have been relegated to the corners!"

    "Even Mr. Antarctica''s bestsellers have been squeezed onto the back shelves!"

    ...

    Tranquility Bookstore.

    "Two copies of The Return of the Condor Heroes!"

    "I''ll take a copy of Chu Kuang the old rascal''s The Return of the Condor Heroes too!"

    "Old rascal, please, don''t spare my feelings. I''m resilient now and can take it. You must absolutely torment the Zhao people in this one!"

    "Hahaha, brother, a fellow enthusiast indeed!"

    "The Zhao people are too arrogant."

    "Can you all stop it, I''m a Zhao person, and I''m not afraid of being tormented!"

    ...

    From morning to noon, such frenzied scenes played out in all the major bookstores!

    No one wasted time reading the book before buying.

    This time, everyone''s trust in Chu Kuang seemed to have climbed another notch!

    More than ninety-five percent of customers ran straight to the cash registers as soon as they got their books!

    To pay quickly!

    They were in a rush to go back and read!

    The stock prepared by the bookstores this time was indeed sufficient.

    Just as the shelves were about to be emptied, a number of staff members, who had been on standby from the start, would skillfully carry a new box of unopened books to restock.

    This happened very frequently.

    The shelves were always cleared out in no time.

    The staff were so exhausted, not to mention the cashiers who had grown tired from handling all the money.

    This was the best first-day sales for a new book of Chu Kuang''s.

    In the past, although Chu Kuang''s books also sold well, they often took some time to ferment.

    It was only after the word of mouth really picked up that the bookstores would experience a peak in sales.

    This time was unique!

    Due to the association between The Return of the Condor Heroes and The Legend of the Condor Heroes, readers burst forth with an unprecedented enthusiasm to buy the book!

    ...

    Silver Blue Books.

    The relevant departments kept receiving calls, from Blue Star''s major bookstores:

    "We need to restock!"

    "Another hundred thousand copies!"

    "The branch in the west city is barely holding on, send us some more!"

    "Our bookstore headquarters is a bit cramped, we want to set up a few stalls outside, but we don''t have enough stock... City management? Don''t worry about city management, just approve our order!"

    "Stock up!"

    "What we ordered before was enough, but it''s always good to have a reserve, there will definitely be lots of readers coming to buy later on!"

    The phone wouldn''t stop ringing!

    The hotter the book sales, the larger the inventory orders!

    However, the editors at Silver Blue Books had complicated expressions on their faces.

    If peers saw this scene, they would find it very strange:

    Chu Kuang''s new book is selling so well, and you, Silver Blue Books, as the publisher, why is everyone wearing a bitter face?

    Fantasy Department.

    An editor sighed:

    "Once the readers see how Huang Rong is portrayed, they''re probably going to explode."

    "Huang Rong might not make readers explode, but the part about Little Dragon Maiden will, that''s where I stopped. Anyway, I''m not Chu Kuang''s editor, so I didn''t have to force myself to finish the whole thing."

    "Lucky you didn''t keep going."

    "Holy shit, there''s even worse stuff later on?"

    "Personally, I think it''s worse. Yang Guo loses an arm and becomes one-armed. That''s where I stopped; I couldn''t read any further."

    "Fuck!"

    "Yang Guo loses an arm!?"

    "Huang Rong ruins her character, the female lead loses her chastity, the male lead loses an arm, Chu Kuang must be crazy. With so many readers buying the book, if they start to riot, it will be a huge scene!"

    The editors were in total panic!

    This old rascal has truly gone mad!

    At that moment, Ol'' Xiong appeared, his tone very grim:

    "All of you, just focus on your own jobs. The company''s PR department is already prepared. Once the readers start making noise, they will proceed with the prearranged plan to pacify them."

    The editors were dumbfounded.

    Is it that serious?

    Silver Blue''s PR department was prepared in advance?

    In all the years, the company had never shown such a stance, right?

    Chu Kuang''s novels have always been tragic, but Silver Blue''s PR department has never armed themselves in advance like today¡ª

    The reason Silver Blue Books couldn''t get excited as the outside world imagined was because:

    Many people inside knew just how heartbreaking Chu Kuang''s new book was!

    Even more so.

    Silver Blue Books was already prepared for the fact that in a few days, maybe even tomorrow, the sales of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" would plummet.

    Therefore.

    The hotter "The Return of the Condor Heroes" sells now, the bigger the backlash might be later!

    "That said."

    At this moment, "YangFeng", Chu Kuang''s first editor, suddenly spoke up: "Actually, I personally recommend everyone finish reading the book."

    An editor responded incredulously, "How the hell are we supposed to continue reading it?"

    "YangFeng" hesitated a bit: "I couldn''t accept those heartbreaking parts when I read them, but after finishing, I had a lot of different feelings, feelings that are hard to experience without finishing the whole book. It gave me this vague feeling..."

    Ol'' Xiong looked up at him: "What feeling?" S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "YangFeng" spoke softly: "I feel like Chu Kuang isn''t senselessly tormenting the readers, he indeed wrote it on purpose, but he''s also helpless because he can only write it this way, and only by writing it this way can he..."

    "No way?"

    The editor next to him interrupted "YangFeng" directly: "When we first saw the Dragon Rider plot, you were the one who criticized it the most in the department, so why the change of heart now?"

    "It''s still the same reason."

    "YangFeng" looked deeply, speaking earnestly: "You''ll understand how brilliant the novel is only after you''ve read it in its entirety."

    Ol'' Xiong appeared contemplative.

    Although he hadn''t finished "The Return of the Condor Heroes", he had still forced himself to read the sixteen-year reunion plot between Yang Guo and Little Dragon Maiden that morning.

    That plot had moved Ol'' Xiong like never before.

    He had countless emotions in his heart, yet he didn''t know how to express them.

    For some reason, the previously furious emotions had quietly faded a lot.

    Perhaps, as "YangFeng" said.

    He should finish the book before reflecting and judging.

    However, the other editors were curling their lips, quite annoyed with "YangFeng", thinking he had already stepped into a PR role, even including his own colleagues!

    "I don''t believe you for a second!"

    Pulling out their phones, the editors started to refresh the internet, keeping an eye on the readers'' reactions.

    According to the time, some readers should have gotten to the part where Little Dragon Maiden loses her virginity.

    As expected.

    Glancing at the company website''s message board, an editor sighed and said, "It''s already started."

    On the message board of Silver Blue Books.

    A comment full of exclamation points was striking:

    [Chu Kuang, you old rascal!! I can''t quench the hatred in my heart unless you''re dead!! Little Dragon Maiden was actually defiled by the antagonist!!!?]

    The editors fell silent.

    Ol'' Xiong''s heart skipped a beat.

    What was bound to come, would always come; the unavoidable "Dragon Maiden Incident" had now begun to unfold...

 Chapter 979 - 909: Six Continents Erupt Simultaneously

    In fact, the incident with Little Dragon Maiden didn''t just explode suddenly.

    About half an hour earlier, readers had just purchased "The Return of the Condor Heroes", so most of them were reading it slowly, even discussing the plot online while reading.

    Tribe.

    Blog.

    Forum.

    Major platforms¡­

    Everyone discussed from the first chapter of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" to the second, and from the second chapter to the third¡­

    From Yang Guo''s recognition of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" to the conclusion where the crazed Ouyang Feng became a father, and then Guo Jing and Huang Rong officially appeared as a married couple¡­

    The linking and continuation between "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" and "The Return of the Condor Heroes" thrilled the readers, as if just seeing the familiar characters appear could instantly evoke all their wonderful memories of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes"!

    And the real climax of the discussion had actually started from the third chapter.

    Because the plot of this chapter made it clear that Huang Rong''s aversion to Yang Guo, the male protagonist of "The Return of the Condor Heroes", was openly displayed.

    In the story of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", Huang Rong is the goddess of the readers.

    Even if this goddess occasionally acted spoiled and willful, she ultimately remained cunning and endearing, with an overall image that could be said to be nearly perfect in brilliance.

    However.

    In "The Return of the Condor Heroes", Huang Rong had changed!

    In the plot of this chapter, when Yang Guo was bullied by Guo Fu and other warriors, Huang Rong protected Guo Fu and the others, making things difficult and guarded against Yang Guo!?

    Come on, Auntie Huang!

    Our little Guo is still a child!

    Is it fun to scheme against a child?

    After reading the first two chapters, everyone had gradually empathized with the new protagonist Yang Guo, but seeing Huang Rong''s antics, akin to a common fishwife, immediately furrowed their brows and felt extremely uncomfortable!

    Someone started blasting then!

    Of course, the main ones blasting were the Zhao people.

    Because many Zhao people were seeing such frustrating plot twists for the first time, feeling as though Chu Kuang had diminished Huang Rong''s character!

    The readers from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han also wanted to blast.

    But when they saw Zhao people blasting, visibly unable to bear it, they suddenly rejoiced!

    One by one, readers from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han felt an inexplicable satisfaction rise within them, finally seeing the Zhao people tortured by the old rascal Chu Kuang!

    "Ah ha?"

    "Zhao people can''t hold up?"

    "Still think the old rascal''s book is good?"

    "You guys are too weak, this level can''t even break my defense."

    "Why don''t you show off your might, make the old rascal change the plot?"

    "If you can make the old rascal submit, I will acknowledge that I''m the daddy of your book readers."

    ¡­

    Huang Rong had changed.

    The readers from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han were also upset, unable to accept it, but in front of the Zhao people, they wouldn''t admit that they had been tortured!

    Actually, a previous saying was quite right.

    Unwittingly, the resistance of readers from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han had been trained exceptionally high by Chu Kuang, so when Zhao people started cursing first, their reactions were slightly delayed.

    Damn!

    Reveling in others'' misfortune?

    The provocation by the readers from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han calmed the Zhao people down instead, as the matter touched upon a matter of face.

    How could we let you revel in our suffering?

    To show they didn''t care, some Zhao people even specifically explained for Chu Kuang:

    "It''s not entirely unacceptable."

    "Huang Rong has always had this personality."

    "Think about it carefully, and you''ll understand why, as we initially empathized with Guo Jing and Huang Rong, so seeing Huang Rong doing various things to protect Guo Jing felt thrilling."

    "This time, we empathized with Yang Guo."

    "Because the perspective changed, Yang Guo became the character bullied by Huang Rong, so we instinctively feel upset."

    "However, all of this is understandable."

    "Teacher Chu Kuang is incredible, if he hadn''t written it this way, Huang Rong''s character would have collapsed."

    Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han: "..."

    These Zhao people really know how to put on a show, huh?

    No worries, there''s sure to be more torture ahead!

    This book and "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" have a different tone, a certain inexplicable oppression¡ªthose familiar with Chu Kuang could already smell that unique scent.

    Let''s see how long you last!

    With this in mind, readers from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han were actually looking forward to even more intense torture ahead, hopefully making the Zhao people cry!

    And then.

    As readers gradually reached chapter seven, the intensely torturous plot that the readers from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han had been eagerly anticipating finally emerged!

    However.

    When that moment arrived!

    Both from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han and the readers from Zhao watched the scene, and their eyes instantly reddened!

    What is this?

    What the heck is this?

    Why is there such a plot?

    Why did this happen?

    Damn it!

    The Dragon Rider has arrived!

    Zhao people couldn''t withstand it!

    Zhao people were crying from being tortured!

    But the readers from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han also instantly lost their defenses and forgot to mock the Zhao people, because they were crying from being tortured too!

    It exploded!

    Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao!

    Everyone exploded!

    Like the blast from a nuclear bomb, it instantly swept the entire internet, sparing no reader, and the so-called resistance was just a joke!

    ¡­

    Qin Continent.

    "Has Chu Kuang completely lost his mind!?"

    "Is this fake? Did I buy a pirated book, and did someone secretly alter the old rascal''s plot? Huh? Is that so? Could any sane person write a plot like this!"

    "I don''t believe it, it''s false, all of it''s false! Don''t stop me, I''m going to kill the old rascal!"

    ...

    Qi Continent.

    "Little Dragon Maiden has been insulted!!!???"

    "Chu Kuang must be a beast, how could he write like this, why would he write like this, how dare he write like this!"

    "Old rascal, what''s gotten into you? You might as well have directly killed the dragon princess, and might have killed Yang Guo as well, it would be more acceptable than this absurd plot!"

    ...

    Chu Continent.

    "Paying big for Chu Kuang''s home address!"

    "When he was asked to fiercely torment the Zhao people, and he actually did, but he also dragged the readers from Qin, Qi, Chu, Han, and Yan into torment as well!"

    "Cannot change a dog''s nature to eat shit, not only does he continue to eat, he makes us eat it together!"

    ...

    Yan Continent.

    "Goodbye!"

    "Never see you again!"

    "I won''t read a madman''s book, I''ve already torn it up, farewell! Also, I''ve got a thing, can someone tell me where Chu Kuang lives?"

    ...

    Han Continent.

    "I was wrong, I should have never let this old rascal go freestyle!"

    "Does Chu Kuang think he''s being funny, thinking we encouraged this plot?"

    "Completely broken down, is it all our own fault?"

    ...

    Zhao Continent.

    "What is this, what the hell is this, can someone please tell me, what did he write?"

    "Is this a joke?"

    "We all misunderstood our brothers from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han, they didn''t deceive us! This old rascal really sucks! He clearly lures us Zhao people into the trap with ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' and then feeds us crap with ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'', us Zhao people are indeed too naive and too young, who would have thought Silver Blue would have such a heartless author!"

    ...

    The readers from the six continents were furious!

    Swells of resentful curses suddenly filled the entire internet!

    Huang Rong''s character was destroyed, Yang Guo was cuckolded by villains, Little Dragon Maiden was humiliated and lost her chastity, Chu Kuang has gone mad...

    Whoosh!

    ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' related topics quickly swept the entire net!

    Silver Blue Books'' website was overwhelmed with angry comments, and the servers collapsed in less than ten minutes!

    Immediately following.

    Tribe, blogs, and major online platforms across all continents were slammed with traffic amid a sea of curses!

    There were even extreme acts of burning the paper version of ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' and posting it on social media!

    At this moment.

    There was no more regional conflict! S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Readers from the six continents united like never before!

    Readers from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, and Zhao were no longer mocking each other!

    They even comforted, supported, encouraged, and helped each other to step out of the shadows!

    Their hearts were tightly connected!

    Everyone unanimously targeted Chu Kuang, the six continents scorned him together, and their spit could form an ocean!

    Unexpectedly, even the short story author Shen Jiarui, who was known as "Chu Kuang''s number one fan," also posted a status update amid the torrent of curses!

    He tagged Chu Kuang:

    "Either change the plot to revise ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'', restore Little Dragon Maiden''s purity, or I''ll turn from a fan to a hater, and never read your books again. I know my influence is small, but I believe, this is the collective voice of all readers!!!!"

    Suddenly!

    A storm erupted!

    Chu Kuang''s number one fan had turned against him!

    Even the most loyal fans of Chu Kuang could not understand this kind of plot!

    However.

    It wasn''t enough!

    What shocked the whole net even more was!

    Someone quickly reviewed the following plot amid a barrage of curses, and revealed information like an April Fool''s joke:

    "Oh my god!"

    "I just rapidly flipped through ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' and accidentally saw in the twenty-sixth episode, Yang Guo''s arm was chopped off by Guo Fu, Chu Kuang actually arranged for the protagonist, to have his arm chopped off by Guo Jing''s daughter!"

    Arm chopped off?

    Is it true or false?

    Isn''t Huang Rong''s character destruction enough?

    Isn''t Little Dragon Maiden''s loss of chastity enough?

    Isn''t it enough that Yang Guo was cuckolded?

    He still has to have his arm chopped off by someone in the next part?

    At this moment, it''s no longer just about whether Chu Kuang has gone mad!

    At this moment, all readers are going mad along with him, even the few with unique tastes who can remain calm when Little Dragon Maiden is humiliated are completely losing their mental stability!

    To be more precise:

    At this moment, whenever someone opens the internet, they will find themselves surrounded by countless resentful voices, furiously blasting Chu Kuang!

    An unprecedented spectacle!

    An unprecedented scale!

    An unprecedented unity!

    Since ancient times, the only author who has been unanimously cursed by readers from all six continents is Silver Blue, and this, a one-of-a-kind instance!

 Chapter 980 - 1000 Remember to take a bulletproof car when you go out

    No one could have expected Chu Kuang''s "The Return of the Condor Heroes" to have such a sick and twisted plot!

    And with public outrage reaching boiling point, every major field was shocked!

    The entire publishing world caused a great uproar!

    "What on Earth is Chu Kuang doing, anyway? If he had just honestly written this sequel, even if the plot wasn''t as good as ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes,'' the readers would have been completely willing to go along with it. So why did he have to come up with such an absurd plotline?"

    "Is he having a spat with money?"

    "Is he not on speaking terms with sales?"

    "This is clearly saying he doesn''t give a damn about his readers!"

    "In the past, when you mentioned Chu Kuang, people in the industry would joke that he always went against the readers, but I always thought it was just a joke. It''s only today I''ve realized he really does oppose the readers on purpose. This ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' is simply written to disgust readers!"

    "Even I''m repulsed!"

    "Although this plot is indeed unacceptable, as a competitor, I still want to pay my respects to Silver Blue Books in silence. Entrusted with such a capricious supreme god, the editors can''t hold Chu Kuang back at all."

    ...

    Meanwhile,

    the television industry is full of mixed emotions and even a sense of relief!

    "What the hell is this? Would it kill him to write a decent book? Why go for this kind of storyline? Does Chu Kuang have some artsy-fartsy disorder, thinking that this is more profound?"

    "Profound my ass!"

    "What era are we in that someone would still write such degrading plots for female characters? Should I be glad that Chu Kuang didn''t sell the rights of ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' to our company?"

    "Thank God we didn''t buy it!"

    "How would we even film it?"

    "Just this in the novel, even a mere passage of text, is enough to nauseate readers. If we actually filmed it, wouldn''t the audience come throw rotten eggs at our company''s front doorstep?"

    "If we had actually bought it, we would be crying. Who would watch this crap?"

    ...

    In the martial arts fiction circle,

    writers of the wuxia genre were dumbfounded!

    "Is there some special reason behind this? How could Chu Kuang write such a plot? Even a novice writer knows that cuckolding is an absolute taboo!"

    "What exactly is he trying to do?"

    "Has he become arrogant, thinking that with his current strength, no matter how cruel the writing, the readers will accept it?"

    "There were readers who asked for more cruelty before."

    "Those readers asked for it, but who is Chu Kuang? They''re not the ones to provoke him. If he really started being cruel, who could stand it?"

    "I''m so angry I could spit blood!"

    "Martial arts fiction was finally looking up, so why did he have to do this? If he doesn''t change the plot, he might actually face a boycott from readers for many years or even his own reputation as the old rascal could be completely destroyed!"

    ...

    At this time, the media had already dropped their jaws, and the news directly referred to Chu Kuang as "old rascal"!

    Headlines were flying everywhere!

    "Has Chu Kuang, the old rascal, lost his mind?"

    "The Most Resentful Author in History Is Born!"

    "What exactly did the old rascal write that got readers across six continents cursing?"

    "Universal Derision!"

    "The Return of the Condor Heroes'' new villain Little Dragon Maiden humiliated; readers claim they''ll crowdfund to find Chu Kuang''s address!"

    "Old rascal sparks fury; how will he clean up this mess?"

    "Huang Rong ruined, Little Dragon Maiden insulted, Yang Guo crippled, the old rascal''s most unacceptable book to readers since his debut is born!"

    ...

    And amidst the continuous curses,

    readers started to take to the streets in protests!

    A large group of readers demanded refunds for "The Return of the Condor Heroes" outside bookstores!

    The doors of Silver Blue Books were also besieged by a large number of readers!

    Banners demanding "Change the Plot, Chu Kuang!" were raised one after another!

    Silver Blue Books'' PR department had already sprung into action!

    Various prepared press releases were desperately pushed out!

    Things like, "The reason everyone is so angry is ultimately because of the so-called virginity complex,"

    and "Love is pure."

    They also stated "To love someone is to love their soul."

    Some press releases even tried to play the role of sensible netizens, suggesting "Love can transcend material and physical entities."

    Unfortunately.

    Such press releases simply couldn''t offer any consolation to readers!

    Countless people angrily stated, "We won''t accept any form of whitewashing," "Internet trolls, go wash up and sleep," "I don''t believe there are still true fans out there protecting this old rascal."

    Clearly, the public relations strategy to whitewash had failed.

    Online cursing didn''t decrease at all, but rather intensified as more people saw the plot of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" and made an uproar!

    ...

    Jin Mu''s phone was blowing up!

    Under tremendous pressure, Silver Blue Books proactively discussed the possibility of Chu Kuang changing the storyline.

    Even though Chu Kuang had already taken precautionary measures.

    In the end,

    The unsuspecting Jin Mu sighed, "I also hope he changes the plot, but the problem is I can''t even contact him now."

    "What a sin!"

    The person on the other end hung up the phone in anger and grief.

    He put down the phone.

    Jin Mu looked at Lin Yuan with fiery eyes: "Boss, we can''t suppress it anymore, this time it''s different, the readers really can''t accept it."

    Yes.

    At that time, Lin Yuan was at the studio.

    He couldn''t possibly stay away from the studio for days, leaving Jin Mu to face all this alone.

    Though when he arrived at the studio today, he was almost beaten up by an unrestrained Jin Mu.

    Even then, there was still some small revenge.

    For example, Jin Mu had added a bit of sugar to the tea he made for Lin Yuan today, which tasted really strange.

    In fact, Lin Yuan himself was somewhat helpless.

    The plot of the Little Dragon Maiden being humiliated was written very subtly, Jin Yong was very restrained.

    In his narrative, he deliberately chose a plain and brief approach, attempting to minimize the readers'' backlash.

    Clearly, he also knew:

    Readers inherently reject such storylines.

    And Lin Yuan knew how big the commotion online and in real life was; he had no choice but to respond.

    The first one to respond was Jin Mu.

    "Three days."

    Lin Yuan estimated the time it would take for the first batch of readers to finish "The Return of the Condor Heroes," then spoke to Jin Mu:

    "In three days, perhaps there will be a turn in public opinion."

    Jin Mu was stunned, unsure where Lin Yuan''s confidence came from: "Will it be like with Poirot before, where the readers figure it out on their own?"

    Lin Yuan said, "There will always be some who figure it out, you can continue reading as well, and we''ll talk after you''ve finished."

    Jin Mu: "..."

    So you''re also watching to see how it goes, huh?

    The problem is, reader riots aren''t always resolved by just letting things take their course!

    As the saying goes:

    Nothing should be done to excess.

    Starting with the Biyao incident, to the death of Poirot, to the readers'' riot over Sherlock Holmes.

    Chu Kuang had done this three times already!

    Who would have thought Chu Kuang would do it a fourth time, and the situation seemed even worse than the previous three.

    Alright.

    Actually, it''s not to say that this time the situation is definitely worse than before.

    Mainly because Chu Kuang''s influence was growing, the readership was larger, so this riot looked crazier than before¡ª Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    If a little-known author wrote this, readers would at most curse a bit and then abandon the book.

    "Fine then."

    Jin Mu sighed: "I''ll continue reading in a bit, and in three days, if there is no change for the better, then you seriously consider revising the text."

    Lin Yuan didn''t reply.

    And that evening, the Chairman also gave Lin Yuan a call: "Don''t go out these days."

    Lin Yuan: "..."

    The Chairman added, "If you really need to go out, remember to take the car I gave you, it can actually stop bullets."

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: I was held up by something today, so the update is late, but I''ll keep writing.

 Chapter 981 - 911: Professor Wang Comes Again

    After responding to Jin Mu, Lin Yuan also had to respond to the readers.

    However, not now, and definitely not as Chu Kuang.

    Lin Yuan planned to ask Yi An to help explain to the readers later.

    Because right now, apart from changing the plot of the novel, anything Chu Kuang says would fall on deaf ears; it might even rile up the readers more¡ª

    At least for these few days.

    Silence is golden for Chu Kuang.

    And clearly, the readers are unable to comprehend Chu Kuang''s thoughts.

    Instead, many people think this is the "arrogance" coming from the old rascal.

    Think about the previous incidents when the old rascal wrote heartbreaking plots that triggered reader riots.

    Did the old rascal ever respond?

    Sure, Sherlock Holmes had indeed responded.

    But he didn''t respond to the readers; he responded to Xian Yu.

    This misunderstanding led to The Return of the Condor Heroes still facing a barrage of curses on the second day of its release.

    Titles like "arrogant and contemptuous" were unavoidably mentioned repeatedly by readers.

    Anyway, it wasn''t the first time the old rascal was labeled with such titles.

    Be it arrogance.

    Or cold-heartedness.

    They are the eternal tags belonging to the old rascal.

    Fortunately, Lin Yuan''s windows were not smashed.

    The identity of Chu Kuang was still very well hidden.

    There were rumors that:

    Jin Yong''s house was in turmoil back then because of this matter, which had been reported.

    There were also rumors claiming that the scene where Little Dragon Maiden was defiled was ghostwritten by someone else, and not by Jin Yong himself.

    This claim was personally denied by Jin Yong.

    However, it was true that someone did ghostwrite parts of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils later on.

    And the most lively rumor was that Jin Yong wrote about Little Dragon Maiden''s loss of chastity because of his unrequited love for Xia Meng¡ª

    Little Dragon Maiden was Xia Meng in his heart.

    When Xia Meng embraced another, Little Dragon Maiden lost her virginity in The Return of the Condor Heroes.

    "Reality is connected to fiction."

    Let''s not discuss the truth of these speculations for now.

    Surely those who spread such gossip were malicious.

    They were likely frustrated with the plotline about Little Dragon Maiden''s loss of virginity and decided to concoct stories, even to disgust the author¡ª

    At least Jin Yong never called to tell him about it.

    And when The Return of the Condor Heroes reached the third day of its release.

    There was only one day left of Lin Yuan''s three-day deadline.

    Jin Mu grew impatient and called Lin Yuan, "There are still a lot of readers blocking the entrance at Silver Blue Books, why don''t you post an update to calm them down?"

    Lin Yuan counter-asked, "What do I say?"

    Jin Mu was suddenly at a loss for words; anything Chu Kuang said now would be met with backlash.

    Unless he was willing to recognize his faults and change.

    Lin Yuan spoke up, "Tell Silver Blue Books to provide some food and drinks for everyone, I''ll pay."

    Jin Mu: "¡­"

    The suggestion was not bad, and Jin Mu accepted it.

    So.

    That day.

    Someone was eating food and drinking water provided by Chu Kuang, and after they were nicely fed, continued to protest.

    At that moment.

    A representative from the public relations department of Silver Blue Books commented softly, "The food and water you just had was courtesy of Teacher Chu Kuang."

    Damn!

    There''s a saying that you''re short-handed when you take someone''s money and short-mouthed when you eat someone''s food.

    The faces of the readers gathered at the door changed, and their momentum in protesting almost vanished at this sudden turn.

    ¡­

    On the other side.

    In a classroom at a university.

    Professor Wang from the literature department walked in holding a copy of The Return of the Condor Heroes.

    As soon as he entered the classroom, some students caught sight of The Return of the Condor Heroes in his hand.

    Immediately, many students began shouting with a teasing tone, their faces filled with jest and ridicule:

    "Professor Wang, have you read The Return of the Condor Heroes too?"

    "I have, and even finished it, couldn''t put it down for three days."

    Professor Wang casually responded, leaving everyone dumbfounded with his answer.

    Could not put it down, really?

    This book that had shocked readers across all continents.

    It was hard to imagine anyone describing their love for The Return of the Condor Heroes as "couldn''t put it down," let alone think that these words would come from the old-fashioned Professor Wang.

    Does Professor Wang have a special preference? Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Professor Wang then countered the students below, "I have answered your question, but your responses to the assignment I gave you last time were broad and empty, all superficial. Now, you should know how to answer me, what is a ''hero''s mate''?"

    The students below: "¡­"

    This question again?

    Professor Wang looked disappointed, "Chu Kuang has already provided the answer in The Return of the Condor Heroes, haven''t you understood it?"

    "The greatest ''hero''s mate'' serves the country and its people."

    As Professor Wang showed his disappointment, a girl wearing glasses in the front row suddenly spoke up.

    Whoosh!

    At those words, the entire classroom fell silent!

    The greatest ''hero''s mate'' serves the country and its people?

    Everyone was quietly savoring the answer, feeling an inexplicable stirring within.

    They had all considered the answer to this question before, but no answer could compare to these eight characters!

    And such an answer was actually found in The Return of the Condor Heroes?

    On the podium.

    Professor Wang was taken aback, "You finished it?"

    He raised the copy of The Return of the Condor Heroes in his hand toward the girl who had spoken, showing a smile.

    "I did," the girl smiled back.

    Professor Wang asked, "Did you enjoy it?"

    The girl answered, "It was incredibly beautiful."

    Professor Wang, filled with gratification, said, "Very good, who else has finished reading? Show of hands."

    Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

    A third of the class raised their hands.

    Professor Wang asked these students, "After finishing it, are you still angry?"

    The group of readers hesitated for a moment before shaking their heads, their expressions complex.

    The remaining two-thirds of the students looked perplexed; they certainly had read The Return of the Condor Heroes too but had not finished it.

 Chapter 982 - 911 Professor Wang Returns Again_2

    Some were infuriated by Huang Rong.

    Some were put off by the scene where Little Dragon Maiden dissuades.

    Some gave up because of Yang Guo''s arm amputation.

    So they didn''t understand:

    Why so many people had finished "The Return of the Condor Heroes," and even subtly praised the book.

    "Hehe."

    Professor Wang laughed, "Finally, there are some who get it. Yet, there are many fools in this world who need teaching, so today''s class will be about Chu Kuang''s ''The Return of the Condor Heroes''!"

    Pfft!

    The students below couldn''t help but cry and laugh:

    "You''re kidding, right?"

    "This book is mind-blowing?"

    "We have to dedicate a whole lecture to this book?"

    "Do you truly think there''s nothing problematic about ''The Return of the Condor Heroes''?"

    "You must have maxed out your resistance to toxicity to actually finish this book, right?"

    "Because our resistance isn''t high enough, we are the fools now?"

    The room burst into tumult.

    Professor Wang tapped on the desk, "Could those who haven''t finished the book tell me what you think is inappropriate?"

    "Huang Rong!"

    "Yang Guo!"

    "Little Dragon Maiden!"

    Most people called out "Little Dragon Maiden."

    Professor Wang shrugged, "Then let''s go in the order of the book''s events, starting with Huang Rong¡ª" S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    He paused.

    Suddenly, Professor Wang turned to a sneaky-looking student, "Make sure to get me on camera this time!"

    Alright.

    It turned out this student was the one who had filmed during Professor Wang''s lecture on "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" last time, and he was at it again today!

    "Okay!"

    The student gave an awkward smile, coughed, and then brazenly raised his smartphone.

    Ignoring this student.

    Professor Wang looked at his class, "You think the character design for Huang Rong collapsed, right?"

    The crowd below nodded furiously.

    But Professor Wang shook his head, clearly annoyed, "It seems like you''ve all wasted your time watching ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes,'' to think I''d have to bring this to class for analysis!"

    "But Huang Rong''s character has collapsed indeed!"

    "That''s right!"

    "Huang Rong in ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' was so much better!"

    "Huang Rong in ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' seems like a completely different person!"

    "The old rascal forced a character collapse just to advance the plot!"

    "Once he found a new favorite, he forgot about the old love, just because Huang Rong is no longer the female lead, he stopped caring!"

    The students were unconvinced.

    Professor Wang sighed:

    "This is exactly why I say you''ve all watched ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' in vain. When has Huang Rong''s character ever collapsed?"

    "Class, as people reach middle age they cannot help but brew goji berries in their thermoses."

    Amidst the sighs, Professor Wang took a sip of his warm goji berry tea, sparking laughter.

    This was, after all, a classroom.

    Not the protest scene outside.

    Extremist readers were, in the end, a minority.

    Now everyone was curious about how Professor Wang planned to redeem Huang Rong in ''The Return of the Condor Heroes.''

    Yes.

    Redeem.

    Everyone felt that Professor Wang was about to whitewash Huang Rong!

    Indeed.

    Professor Wang commenced, "When Huang Rong first appeared in ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes,'' she was sixteen, naive, childish, capable of disguising herself as a man to run away from home, and could wreak havoc without care for proprieties. Back then, when she made mistakes, the whole world would forgive her, including you young readers. But what about later?"

    Professor Wang shook his head:

    "Latterly, her Jing had one foot in the establishment, and she herself became the leader of an organization like the Beggars'' Guild. Were you still expecting her to ride great eagles and roam the martial world with Guo Jing with no restraints whatsoever?"

    She was middle-aged.

    After reaching middle age, one starts a family and one''s life inadvertently becomes stained with the mundane, living diligently.

    This was the helplessness of Huang Rong.

    Take the plot of the Great Heroes'' Assembly, for example, and let''s see how Huang Rong spent that day.

    That day, she got up and first discussed the marriage of Yang Guo and Guo Fu with Guo Jing, then passed on stick-fighting techniques to Lu Youjiao. Alas, Lu Youjiao was quite dull, and despite Huang Rong teaching for nearly two hours, he still hadn''t learned it, which was truly exhausting for both body and mind.

    Subsequently, Huang Rong took Yang Guo aside for a heart-to-heart talk to soothe his wounded heart.

    Half the day passed, and the Great Heroes'' Assembly hadn''t even officially started yet, but she was already feeling unwell from tiredness.

    Because at that time, she was pregnant with her second child, who was the unborn Little Guo Xiang!

    When the Great Heroes'' Assembly began.

    While everyone was busy negotiating a leader to resist foreign enemies, Huodu led Golden Wheel Imperial Adviser and a group of experts to cause trouble.

    Lu Youjiao lost to them, and the Dog Beating Staff was stolen. Huang Rong, the pregnant woman, had no choice but to step forward and retrieve the staff.

    After such tribulations, Huodu and his cohorts were finally driven off, but Huang Rong still didn''t get a chance to rest as she had to deal with the teacher-student romance between Yang Guo and Little Dragon Maiden...

    Tired, wasn''t she?

    Of course, she was.

    Professionally, she had to manage the affairs of the Beggars'' Guild and be vigilant against foreign invasions;

    At home, she had to raise children, balance the relationships among family members, and help her husband achieve his dreams.

    This is the hardship of a middle-aged woman.

    You say Huang Rong is no longer lovable; she may not be lovable, but she is indeed more respectable!"

    Below.

    Students who had seen this part of the story were lost in thought.

    Those who hadn''t were silently contemplating.

    Finally, someone couldn''t help but question, "These are not justifications for her attitude toward Yang Guo, right?"

    "Have you forgotten Huang Rong was from ancient times?"

    Professor Wang replied directly, "Yang Guo and Little Dragon Maiden had a teacher-student relation. The ancients said that having a teacher for one day equates to a father for life. Teacher-student romance, in today''s terms, is like someone openly declaring they want to marry their mother. Wouldn''t they be drowned in saliva by the public? As an elder, would you still allow the younger generation to continue this way?"

 Chapter 983 - 911: Professor Wang Returns Again_3

    Upon hearing this, the critics were dumbfounded.

    Many people think about issues with modern thinking and feel Yang Guo is not at fault.

    Yang Guo indeed, was not at fault.

    But in ancient times, this was the biggest issue¡ªGuo Jing would have wished to slap Yang Guo to death!

    In that era, thinking was extremely rigid.

    Even for Huang Rong, having this kind of mindset was normal.

    Professor Wang added,

    "Moreover, wasn''t Huang Rong cautious about Yang Guo because she feared he might seek revenge for his father Yang Kang? This character trait was established from "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", being willing to do anything for Guo Jing. Yang Guo might have wanted to kill Guo Jing, what reason did she have for not taking precautions? Is it just because after reading "The Return of the Condor Heroes" you all empathize with Yang Guo, hence you switch sides? If Guo Jing remained the protagonist, would you still find this plot problematic?

    I tell you, the ones who have changed their hearts aren''t Chu Kuang!

    It''s you readers who have changed!

    Huang Rong was incredibly intelligent, just as smart during the time of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" and similarly in "The Return of the Condor Heroes", her intelligence never failed, that''s why she saw through Yang Guo''s intentions!

    Was she wrong?

    She wasn''t wrong at all.

    Yang Guo indeed wanted to kill Guo Jing, more than once, it was only after endless internal struggle that he eventually gave up.

    With Huang Rong loving Guo Jing so much, could she gamble that Yang Guo''s conscience would come into play?

    She didn''t end Yang Guo''s life, that alone is greatly on account of her respect for Guo Jing.

    In the end, she is still that Rong''er whose heart only contains Jing, it''s just that being middle-aged and unavoidably despised by you all, that is precisely why I like "The Return of the Condor Heroes" the most.

    Other novels wouldn''t dare to be written like this nor could they manage it!

    In Chu Kuang''s novels, the character''s growth and helplessness are all under his pen.

    From "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" to "The Return of the Condor Heroes", Huang Rong''s transformation is a stroke of genius but it unfairly gained infamy for not meeting readers'' expectations.

    If you wished Huang Rong to remain unchanged, she should not have married Guo Jing.

    Because for women of that era, marrying someone meant marrying into a way of life.

    I can say this:

    The ultimate hero in Chu Kuang''s novels is Guo Jing from "The Return of the Condor Heroes", not from "The Legend of the Condor Heroes"!

    The ultimate heroine is Huang Rong from "The Return of the Condor Heroes", not from "The Legend of the Condor Heroes"!

    And for Guo Jing and Huang Rong to deserve the reputation of a national couple, one must consider both books together ¨C without the support of great heroism for the nation and the people, to speak of a national couple is perhaps too premature."

    Down in the audience.

    The students fell into complete silence.

    This time, no one raised any more doubts!

    Everyone was convinced by Professor Wang''s analysis!

    So Huang Rong truly hadn''t changed. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    She had just grown into a middle-aged woman with a husband, a family, a career, needing to consider everything carefully.

    After all, managing a life to be orderly with someone like Guo Jing was very difficult.

    Suddenly.

    Rustle rustle.

    Someone among the audience began clapping, and some students couldn''t help expressing emotionally,

    "We were wrong, Professor Wang''s analysis was very good, Huang Rong in "The Return of the Condor Heroes" may not be adorable, but she is respectable; she is the best wife for Guo Jing!"

    "I guess you all still have a ''but''."

    Professor Wang said blandly, "But you can''t understand Little Dragon Maiden''s storyline?"

    "Yes!"

    Came the uniform reply from the audience!

    Even some readers who had read the entire book showed indignant expressions.

    Different issues should be addressed separately.

    The book is good, but Chu Kuang remains an old rascal!

    Professor Wang began, "Next, let''s talk about Little Dragon Maiden, but we must also discuss Yang Guo''s arm amputation, and we need to start with Guo Jing and Huang Rong again. It relates to our class topic, the issue of how to achieve self-breakthrough in literary creation. Chu Kuang''s demonstration of self-breakthrough is a textbook case for the entire industry!"

    Down in the audience, the students were dumbfounded.

    Little Dragon Maiden''s dishonor is Chu Kuang''s creative breakthrough in textbook style?

    That''s outrageous!

    This is what other authors are supposed to learn from?

    And a student jokingly said, "It can''t possibly be that Guo Jing and Huang Rong caused Little Dragon Maiden''s dishonor, right?"

    "Oh? You really shouldn''t say that."

    Professor Wang glanced at the student, "What you just mentioned, in some sense, is actually not wrong."

    Swoosh swoosh swoosh!

    The students were baffled.

    This really wasn''t wrong?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    ps: The actual brilliance of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" is that despite the inability to accept the plot concerning Little Dragon Maiden, people still give a thumbs-up to the book as a classic.

 Chapter 984 - 912: Unprecedented Eternal Love

    Finally, a student could not hold back anymore:

    "What does this have to do with Guo Jing and Huang Rong!"

    "It''s not about the plot, but the relationship with the creation of the novel,"

    Professor Wang''s answer was both unexpected and reasonable to everyone.

    He took a sip of tea.

    Professor Wang spoke slowly and deliberately, "Previously, I have lectured you all several times on The Legend of the Condor Heroes, and while discussing it, I should have emphasized one thing:

    the love between Guo Jing and Huang Rong is complementary.

    Their union conforms to the ideal of harmony in diversity, emphasized in our traditional Blue Star thinking.

    This also led to the combination of Guo Jing and Huang Rong being dubbed ''the nation''s couple.''

    If The Return of the Condor Heroes contributes to this, then this couple could almost be described as perfect.

    However, at this moment.

    Chu Kuang inevitably faced a problem:

    If he chose the same creative approach, no matter how he wrote the love between Yang Guo and Little Dragon Maiden, this pairing could never surpass Guo Jing and Huang Rong.

    You wouldn''t think of this problem.

    Because this belongs to the creative challenge for writers.

    And in the end, Chu Kuang came up with a solution, which was to take the opposite approach!

    The love between Yang Guo and Little Dragon Maiden, completely opposite to JingRong''s romance, so as perfect as Guo Jing and Huang Rong are as a couple, Yang Guo and Little Dragon Maiden are equally tragic.

    Yang Guo''s arm was severed.

    Little Dragon Maiden''s honor was compromised.

    What Chu Kuang wanted to express was:

    Not all love in the world is as beautiful as JingRong''s romance; even defective and unfortunate combinations can become a model for couples.

    This is what I call a textbook breakthrough:

    Because of Chu Kuang''s bold action, he successfully explored another possibility for the emotional scenes in martial arts novels, an action that all other writers should learn from, a courage that all writers should admire!"

    Below the stage.

    The expressions on the students'' faces gradually turned blank.

    It''s not that they did not understand, but they had never considered:

    That Chu Kuang faced such creative difficulties when writing The Return of the Condor Heroes.

    Professor Wang was right.

    The JingRong romance pattern could not be surpassed.

    If Chu Kuang did not change the pattern of the couple''s union, The Return of the Condor Heroes could only be an extension of The Legend of the Condor Heroes, or even an imitation of it.

    Chu Kuang had his own pursuit in writing.

    This in itself was not wrong but rather commendable.

    Should he, like most authors, write the same story over and over again, constantly imitating himself to swap out similar faces?

    At this moment, someone began to somewhat understand this part of the plot.

    Yet, some were still dissatisfied, and soon someone raised their hand to speak:

    "Does this breakthrough necessarily have to come at the cost of Little Dragon Maiden''s compromised honor?"

    "It absolutely does,"

    Professor Wang said, "If it weren''t for the misunderstanding of Little Dragon Maiden''s compromised honor leading to her departure in anger, in that era of sticking to traditional norms, would this master-student pair have realized their feelings for each other? This is the turning point in their emotions, unacceptable to the reader but perfectly logical to the author.

    Because the main thread of this book is love!

    Yang Guo and Little Dragon Maiden were destined to face trials.

    Their student-teacher relationship was the world''s test for them; the severed arm and lost virtue were tests for each other; the sixteen-year promise was the test of time for them.

    And there was a fourth trial.

    But this belonged to Yang Guo''s trial, which was the Peach Blossom Tribulation.

    So many girls in the novel were infatuated with Yang Guo, all of them so outstanding, yet Yang Guo never wavered from the beginning to the end.

    These four trials are indispensable to The Return of the Condor Heroes!

    Bause these four trials are precisely where the value and significance of the book lie.

    If you faced these trials, who would dare to claim they could do the same?"

    And without these trials as a prelude, how could Yang Guo''s leap of desperation after sixteen years touch the hearts of every reader in an instant?

    Let me ask again.

    For those who have truly witnessed this plot segment, will you still remember the respective imperfections of Little Dragon Maiden''s loss of chastity and Yang Guo''s severed arm?

    At least I wouldn''t.

    I am simply genuinely moved and wish them well in their joyful reunion.

    This is the meaning of their mutual imperfections, all so that the readers could experience the most shocking emotional climax, witnessing that flower of love that, even after sixteen years, still blooms resiliently!"

    At this moment.

    Students in the audience felt an unusual stirring within, and to their astonishment, they found themselves being subtly convinced by Professor Wang.

    "Four trials?"

    "Could it be that Chu Kuang actually had such a profound purpose when he wrote about Little Dragon Maiden''s loss of chastity and Yang Guo''s severed arm?"

    "The JingRong romance showed readers the beauty of love; the Dragon-Guo romance was to let readers feel the tragic side of love?"

    "And Little Dragon Maiden''s loss of chastity is an indispensable emotional turning point of the plot?"

    "Thinking about it carefully, it does seem that way, doesn''t it?"

    "No wonder it''s said that Yang Guo''s amputation and Little Dragon Maiden''s tarnished chastity should be analyzed together, so as to portray each of their own imperfections?"

    At this moment.

    More and more people were convinced.

    No student stood up to question further, but Professor Wang didn''t end his analysis: "When the teacher-student love faced trials, when Yang Guo learned of Little Dragon Maiden''s loss of chastity, do you remember what he said?

    He said:

    ''What about the teacher-student relationship, what about honor and purity, we should just fart on it all! Let it all go to hell!''

    Reciting this line.

    Professor Wang was as if he stepped into the character, swearing aloud through Yang Guo''s words!

    He looked towards the students:

    "After thousands of years have passed, some people''s eyes are still not beyond that barrier, yet Yang Guo, who might be from a thousand years ago, didn''t struggle with it for even half a second. You think that Chu Kuang, in writing this plot, sullied the Little Dragon Maiden. However, what Chu Kuang wanted to do with this plot basis was to elevate the purest love in this world. Thanks to this, Yang Guo and Little Dragon Maiden put on a legendary romance, worthy of being Chu Kuang''s second national couple on paper!"

    Below the stage.

    After silence.

    Applause broke out again.

    Whether or not they agreed with Professor Wang''s interpretation, his speech was certainly commendable, and by now, everyone had come to accept this view:

    "That was so well said!"

    "It completely overturned my understanding of the Little Dragon Maiden''s story!"

    "Where''s the overturning of my view of the Little Dragon Maiden''s story? This has just completely changed my view of ''The Return of the Condor Heroes''!"

    "So this novel is really about emotions!"

    "I have to go back and finish the rest of the story!"

    "Can I borrow your book to read?"

    "Didn''t you buy a copy too?"

    "I''m ashamed to say, I was so angry before that I tore the book up."

    "..."

    The class continued.

    Meanwhile, the student who was responsible for recording momentarily stopped the filming and shared the content that Professor Wang had talked about!

    Very soon.

    Netizens took notice of this video.

    Many recognized immediately:

    This Professor Wang was none other than the irate old man who became famous for his interpretation of ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''! S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Click, click, click.

    Countless people clicked on the video!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: I recommend the GOAT, robot Wally''s new book, "Nighttime Hacker": A book blending cyberpunk, extraordinary professions, and mysticism, with a great flavor, dark humor, and an interesting story.

 Chapter 985 - 913: May you wander half your life and still return as a youth

    "Huang Rong''s assessment is too favorable!"

    "She''s not cute anymore, but she''s more respectable!"

    "As a pregnant mother with my second child, this part really resonates with me, Rong''er has it tough!"

    "I understand all the reasons, but it''s hard not to feel a sense of regret."

    "Now that you mention it, I just realized that Huang Rong might be one of the characters who understands Yang Guo best in the book."

    "Never mind Huang Rong, but what about Little Dragon Maiden?"

    "From Professor Wang''s perspective, it seems that the storyline with Little Dragon Maiden is also flawless?"

    ...

    The video starts off talking about Huang Rong.

    The section discussing Huang Rong quickly received agreement from netizens.

    Comments were popping up all at once.

    The netizens didn''t react much.

    What everyone really cared about was the storyline where Little Dragon Maiden loses her chastity and Yang Guo loses his arm; it looks like Professor Wang wants to whitewash Chu Kuang, the old rascal!

    However.

    When everyone saw Professor Wang''s assessment of the storyline involving Yang Guo and Little Dragon Maiden later, they were suddenly taken aback.

    For a moment.

    The comments noticeably thinned out.

    The entire comment area suddenly became very silent.

    After a long while.

    A few scattered netizens spoke up:

    "Is he reading the same book as me?" S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Little Dragon Maiden loses her chastity, Yang Guo loses his arm, and it can be interpreted like this?"

    "I think I''m somewhat persuaded..."

    "Me too..."

    "I''ve read the whole book like Professor Wang, but I didn''t think about the meaning behind it so much; I just thought the later plot was thrilling, without ever considering that those thrilling moments were actually set up by the heart-wrenching events before. And, he is absolutely right about one thing: after reading the entire book, I don''t mind the Little Dragon Maiden''s storyline as much as I thought I would."

    "Damn!"

    "Deceiving the public!"

    "Don''t be fooled, I won''t listen, I can''t accept a NTR storyline!!!"

    ...

    Some people were wavering.

    Some were persuaded.

    Others were in a state of confusion.

    Of course, there were still those who harbored a deep resistance to The Return of the Condor Heroes.

    However.

    Certain changes don''t lose their significance simply because some readers resist them.

    In fact.

    Before the release of Professor Wang''s video talking about The Legend of the Condor Heroes, the public opinion on The Return of the Condor Heroes was no longer unanimously condemning Chu Kuang, the old rascal.

    Because quite a few people had already read The Return of the Condor Heroes completely and began to objectively consider whether the storyline arrangement might indeed have the necessity that Professor Wang talked about.

    But a reversal of public opinion always requires a process.

    ...

    At the same time.

    Lin Yuan, who was silently following the online reviews of The Return of the Condor Heroes at home, also happened to see Professor Wang''s video.

    It was the third day since the release of The Return of the Condor Heroes.

    It was also the second day of the agreement between Lin Yuan and Jin Mu.

    The opportunity appeared earlier than he expected, and now that the readers were gradually calming down, he could respond earlier as well.

    Thinking this.

    Lin Yuan logged into Chu Kuang''s account and forwarded Professor Wang''s video, followed by a four-character comment:

    "Crippled heaven, defective earth, the true explanation."

    It was Chu Kuang''s first statement after the Dragon Maiden Incident erupted!

    Almost the moment this status update was released, countless netizens swarmed in!

    God knows how many people were watching Chu Kuang''s blog, just waiting for him to publicly talk about his interpretation of The Return of the Condor Heroes.

    The video''s view count exploded instantly!

    Chu Kuang''s comment section was immediately inundated with countless messages:

    "What does he mean?"

    "Crippled heaven, defective earth?"

    "What''s with this cryptic response from the old rascal?"

    "Watch the video, this one''s got something to it, it''s from that Professor Wang who did the breakdown of The Legend of the Condor Heroes last time!"

    "That hot-tempered professor who likes to argue with students?"

    "I watched it, the beginning makes sense of Huang Rong''s situation and it''s really plausible."

    "There''s also the interpretation of Yang Guo and Little Dragon Maiden later on!"

    "What''s the relation between this and the so-called ''Crippled heaven, defective earth''?"

    For a moment.

    Netizens were bewildered.

    Some pondered thoughtfully.

    And just as everyone was paying all sorts of attention to and discussing Chu Kuang''s response as well as Professor Wang''s video.

    Yi An suddenly reposted Chu Kuang''s status, with an explanation, "Heaven''s Lament is Yang Guo''s severed arm, Earth''s Defect is Little Dragon Maiden''s lost virtue."

    "Oh snap!"

    "Yi An, the little thief, has shown up!"

    "What Yi An, the little thief, call him Yi An, the boss. His explanation is spot-on, so ''Heaven''s Lament, Earth''s Defect'' refers to the love between Dragon Maiden and Yang Guo!"

    "How does Teacher Yi''an view The Return of the Condor Heroes?"

    "Quick, quick, quick, Teacher Yi''an, give us a book review!"

    "Teacher Yi''an''s analyses of the old rascal''s works have always been quite on point!"

    "Speaking of which, the line repeatedly recited by Li Mochou in The Return of the Condor Heroes, ''What is love in this world that demands life and death allegiance,'' I think it was previously reviewed by Yi An when he commented on Jiang Yuyan''s writings!"

    Clearly.

    Netizens'' attention had been drawn to Yi An!

    His interpretation of the four characters "Heaven''s Lament, Earth''s Defect" had enlightened countless readers!

    ...

    Behind Chu Kuang stood Lin Yuan.

    Naturally, Lin Yuan was also behind Yi An.

    To overturn this public opinion, Lin Yuan successively used these two accounts, drawing attention with the "Heaven''s Lament, Earth''s Defect."

    As for the connection between Chu Kuang and Yi An with the line "What is love in this world that demands life and death allegiance," it was also within Lin Yuan''s expectations.

    Otherwise, how could Yi An''s appearance provoke a qualitative change in public opinion?

    And when the massive attention poured in, Lin Yuan finally published the book review he had prepared for Yi An!

    This review was titled "May you roam half your life, and return still a youth"!

    Instantly.

    Yi An''s review was widely read!

    [...

    With the progress of time, the concept of national boundaries has ceased to exist in the far future.

    But the emotions between people are eternal, an inexhaustible source of inspiration for artists, the perpetual theme of literary works.

    I Believe:

    Those who have truly finished and even understood The Return of the Condor Heroes will certainly not remember Yang Guo''s severed arm or Little Dragon Maiden''s dishonor.

    They will be glad that they have witnessed the epic love story of Yang Guo and Little Dragon Maiden bit by bit!

    They know the pain of the Love Flower!

    They know the sixteen-year vow!

    They know that one Deep Blue Palm!

    Compared to Little Dragon Maiden''s dishonor;

    Compared to Yang Guo''s severed arm;

    What they should remember is the scene of Yang Guo chasing the sun at Broken Heart Cliff sixteen years later;

    What they should remember is the scene where Yang Guo, overnight, had his black hair turned to white;

    What they even more should remember is Yang Guo and Little Dragon Maiden''s desperate reunion at the bottom of Passionless Valley.

    When Yang Guo shouted loudly before jumping off the cliff, "How could you not keep your promise?";

    When Yang Guo held Little Dragon Maiden in his left arm, smiling and saying:

    Aunt, look, can''t I still hold you with one arm?

    At this time, whether it''s Yang Guo or Little Dragon Maiden, perhaps neither are perfect, but this imperfection exactly constitutes another kind of perfection.

    The perfection of pure love.

    The perfection of those who are passionate and sincere ultimately finding happiness.

    In the battle of Passionless Valley, if they were not profoundly in love with each other, they would not have jumped into the valley successively;

    If Little Dragon Maiden had not lived in an ancient tomb since she was young, with a detached nature, she would not have been able to live alone at the bottom of the valley for sixteen years;

    If Yang Guo was not a man of deep passion, he would not have waited and watched for sixteen years¡ª

    What perfection after imperfection, how perfect are the coincidences and fates!

    I Believe one day you''ll remember having read such a story:

    That pair of young man and maiden, hand in hand in the woods of Zhongnan Mountain, watching the leaves fall in waves, suddenly looking at each other and smiling, with no other scenery in their eyes.

    Oh.

    This story.

    It turns out to be about ideals.

    Never changing one''s original aspiration, never wavering in one''s devoted heart.

    May you roam half your life, and return still a youth.

    ...]

    Originally this review was supposed to extensively discuss The Return of the Condor Heroes, but Professor Wang, with divine assistance, stole most of Yi An''s lines.

    Fortunately, sentimental prose has always found its market on Blue Star.

    As readers gradually shifted their focus back to the story of Dragon Maiden and Yang Guo themselves, Yi An''s review, which didn''t quite read like a review, instantly struck the hearts of readers!

    In someone''s imagined social death.

    Whoosh!

    Public opinion reversed!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: One must not insult those who can produce words with might!! I''ll leave it for today, and later I''ll show you the real skill.

 Chapter 986 - 914: May you wander half your life and still return as a youth

    "Teacher Yi''an, the old rascal, really does stand with Chu Kuang, the old rascal. So this is the origin of the dispute over ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' plot, huh? Was Chu Kuang''s aim to push the emotional storyline between Yang Guo and Little Dragon Maiden to the extreme?"

    "I was indeed deeply moved by the end."

    "The book starts as torturous as the ending is exhilarating. When I saw Yang Guo and Huang Yaoshi arriving together in flight, it was genuinely cool¡ªthe ''Condor Hero'' making a return like a king, it hypes me up every time I see it!"

    "You really do need to finish the entire book to calmly reflect on the earlier plot."

    "Teacher Yi''an puts it well, and while it''s true in principle, my heart still aches when I read those heart-wrenching scenes, perhaps I am just a vulgar reader, who only hopes for perfect male and female leads."

    "What a line, ''I wish that after you''ve wandered half of your life, you could return still as young.''"

    "When Yang Guo returns under the old rascal''s pen, he really is still that young man from before. In terms of personal charm, Yang Guo is no less impressive than Guo Jing."

    "Alright then."

    "It seems that once again, the old rascal has won and is probably off somewhere smugly chuckling to himself right now."

    "..."

    With Chu Kuang speaking out and with Teacher Yi''an rounding things up, together with Professor Wang''s interpretation, public opinion completely shifted.

    In the book reviews.

    The line "I wish that after you''ve wandered half of your life, you could return still as young" became popular.

    Countless netizens started quoting it: "Teacher Yi''an always seems to speak so eloquently. It is the case with ''The Legend of Wukong'', even in a book review!"

    It can only be said:

    Most people were indeed furious with the early plot of ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'', but there were still many readers who gritted their teeth and continued reading. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    And as this group of people grew, a turnaround in public opinion was just a matter of time.

    Of course, this isn''t to say that everyone has completely accepted the heart-wrenching plot in the book without any misgivings.

    It''s just that with the decrease in criticism, readers gained a deeper understanding of the story''s design and were able to offer their own evaluations more calmly and objectively.

    "Love is something that can drive one to life-and-death pledges."

    In the background of Little Dragon Maiden and Yang Guo departing into the distance, there lies a resolute detachment from worldly fame and riches, unconcerned with how the world turns.

    My only wish is to draw your brows daily, to revel in these stars with you, to live incognito without fame with you, and to grow old together face to face.

    Who cares who the top warrior in the world is?

    And that evening, parades and protests eventually quieted down and came to an end.

    There were still some who were dissatisfied, but they learned to reconcile and ended up giving positive reviews of the subsequent content.

    For a time.

    Everyone was reflecting.

    A martial arts author who finished the entire book exclaimed,

    "That such a severe creative accident could also be resolved is in the end due to the content that follows in Chu Kuang''s novel, which gave readers more than they anticipated."

    That''s not wrong to say.

    Black won''t turn white; the issues with a novel still have to be resolved by the quality of the novel itself. Some outcomes are inevitable, and other things like analysis or summaries are just icing on the cake.

    After the plot where the dragon princess loses her virtue.

    Yang Guo just left Mount Hua, met Guo Jing and Huang Rong again, and ultimately reunited with Little Dragon Maiden at the great hero''s feast, bringing the first climax to ''The Return of the Condor Heroes.''

    During the contest.

    Zhu Ziliu fought Huodu with a pen in place of fingers.

    Dalba''s vajra staff was defeated by the fishing hermit of Diancang.

    And ultimately, all these plots are to pave the way for the male protagonist Yang Guo to take action.

    Yang Guo, having learned martial arts from both Ouyang Feng and Hong Qigong, defeated Huodu and toyed with Dalba, making his name in a single battle.

    Guo Fu, who bullied him as a child, along with big and little Wu, were soundly humiliated; in terms of martial skills and martial world influence, from this point on, they were no longer on the same level as Yang Guo.

    The nearby Quanzhen sect members were even more dumbfounded.

    This part of the storyline undoubtedly aimed to dilute the impact of the dragon princess losing her virtue.

    After layers of suppression, the plot erupted in the most exhilarating way, directly driving the readers'' enthusiasm for reading.

    Afterwards.

    Whether it''s the Passionless Valley or the first encounter with the Condor, Yang Guo was always on the path to getting stronger, with countless exhilarating moments densely packed together.

    From this point on.

    The readers'' discussions and attention finally returned to ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' itself.

    Just like when ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' was completed, there were extensive discussions on various forums about the multitude of plot points from the narrative.

    For example, one question that readers were concerned about after finishing the book:

    At the end of ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'', the title of the world''s top warrior in the second Duel Atop Mount Hua went to Ouyang Feng, who became insane after practicing the Nine Yin Manual in reverse.

    This was the result of the second duel.

    It was an official pronouncement within the Martial World.

    And who exactly is the number one in the world at the end of "The Return of the Condor Heroes"?

    Some say it''s Guo Jing, others say Zhou Botong, and some believe that the protagonist Yang Guo is second to none, claiming that he''s the true embodiment of the title. There''re even those who blurt out that Golden Wheel Imperial Adviser, with his ten-layer Dragon Elephant skill, is the real number one in the world. He was only momentarily careless and caught off guard by Yang Guo...

    Opinions vary.

    Each with its own reasoning.

    One intriguing point that motivates everyone to think is:

    Yang Guo''s adventures are even more intense than those of Guo Jing.

    He learned Ouyang Feng''s Toad Skill, Hong Qigong''s Dog-Beating Staff, Wang Chongyang''s sword techniques created from the Nine Yin Manual, and later even Huang Yaoshi knew that he learned the Divine Fingering Skill.

    The Five Greats of the world.

    Yang Guo mastered four of them.

    And there''s another character, a point of interest that countless people repeatedly mention:

    Lonely Dugu Seeking Defeat!

    In the earlier parts of "The Return of the Condor Heroes," he taught Yang Guo martial arts.

    Even the heavy iron sword that Yang Guo wielded was inherited from Lonely Dugu Seeking Defeat.

    In a sense.

    Yang Guo is considered to be a disciple of Lonely Dugu Seeking Defeat.

    And the description of Lonely Dugu Seeking Defeat in the text has made countless readers daydream:

    "Roaming the Martial World for over thirty years, he killed all his enemies, defeated all heroes, with no one left to oppose him, he had no choice but to withdraw to a deep valley to befriend only carvings.

    Alas!

    To live his life seeking an opponent and never to find one, truly a loneliness too difficult to bear!"

    And there''re incredible self-descriptions like, "After he turned forty, he was not confined by objects, treating grass, trees, bamboo, and rocks as swords. From there, he refined his skills and gradually reached a state where no sword is superior to having a sword."

    Due to this.

    Some readers seriously express:

    The sword without intent, the flexible sword without constancy, the wooden sword without peer, and eventually, the ultimate state of no sword and no moves.

    If we were to really discuss who is the number one in the world, Lonely Dugu Seeking Defeat, who did not appear, would be the one, a pity that he does not belong to the era of "The Return of the Condor Heroes."

    However.

    There is little dispute that Lonely Dugu Seeking Defeat has become the supreme martial artist in the world of Chu Kuang''s writings.

    Just then, a netizen asked in Yi An''s comment section, "Besides the officially paired Little Dragon Maiden, what does Teacher Yi''an think of other female characters in the book, such as Gongsun L¨¹''e and even the most admirable Guo Xiang?"

    Yi An became a focal point at the turn of public opinion.

    Netizens were eager to hear more from Yi An about "The Return of the Condor Heroes," thus various questions emerged non-stop.

    Among them, mentions of "Guo Xiang" are very popular.

    Although Guo Xiang only appeared in the later parts of "The Return of the Condor Heroes," with very little page time, this female character somehow managed to win the readers'' affection, which is truly amazing.

    At that time.

    Lin Yuan felt relieved that the storm over "The Return of the Condor Heroes" was subsiding when he suddenly saw this question and had a thought.

    The next moment.

    Yi An updated his status in response to that comment:

    To see Yang Guo is to err a lifetime!

    There have been countless evaluations of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" in previous lives, among which Eunice Lam''s "To See Yang Guo and Err a Lifetime" is the most famous.

    Drawing from that article, Lin Yuan then wrote his second book review about "The Return of the Condor Heroes":

    "To encounter someone who haunts your soul and dreams is the comfort of a lifetime, yet the inability to have him is life''s regret. When one''s lover sees Xi Shi in their eyes, no one else in the world could ever compare.

    Cheng Ying, Lu Wushuang, Gongsun L¨¹''e, Guo Xiang.

    These four young beauties, intelligent and kind-hearted, met Yang Guo.

    Their fleeting interactions left only heartache behind, with Gongsun L¨¹''e so disheartened she wished no longer to be human.

    The other three found it hard to fall in love with anyone else.

    For the Little Dragon Maiden, it was about love; for the others, it was also about affection.

    Unfortunately, they met Yang Guo and erred for a lifetime.

    Perhaps Guo Xiang was special, listening to idle chatter in Fenglingdu for one night planted a seed in her heart;

    Bringing Guo Xiang to travel across Mountain of Beasts, deep within the black marsh, Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers, showing her the Martial World;

    Giving her three gifts on her birthday, and then saving her under the walls of Xiangyang City, Yang Guo perfectly fulfilled the story of a girl''s imagined Prince Charming.

    You were not born when I was born;

    When I was born, you were already old.

    Thus, with thoughts of you at the ends of the earth that cannot be forgotten, that is Guo Xiang."

 Chapter 987 - 915: You were born before me; by the time I was born, you were already old.

    "The so-called ''Seeing Yang Guo once, you err in life.''"

    This was the original title in "The Return of the Condor Heroes."

    In just seven words, it summed up the regrets of several girls in "The Legend of the Condor Heroes."

    At the release of this book review, the trend of reversing public opinion had become unstoppable, and Yi An''s comment section was particularly lively:

    "Damn the charm of Yang Guo!"

    "That old rascal Chu Kuang didn''t forget to torture us severely with Guo Xiang''s unrequited love in the end!"

    "I really like Yi An''s conclusion about Guo Xiang: ''You were born before me, and when I was born, you were already old.''"

    "It''s all about timing, alas."

    "How many regrets in the world does this phrase encompass?"

    "This is why I like Yi An''s reviews, he comes up with such moving phrases effortlessly, like the previous one ''May you wander half your life and come back still young.'' This phrase ''You were born before me, and when I was born, you were already old'' is even more amazing!"

    "After reading this review, I feel even sorrier for Guo Xiang!"

    "Let''s make an irreverent guess about Little Dragon Maiden: if Guo Xiang were replaced by Guo Fu, then ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' might well have been about Yang Guo and Guo Xiang. When Yang Guo leapt off the cliff in the latter part of the novel, Guo Xiang jumped down with him¡ªthere''s the evidence. That''s why even Yi An lamented with the phrase, ''You were born before me, and when I was born, you were already old.'' It all comes down to Guo Xiang appearing at the wrong time. When she met Yang Guo, his heart was already full of the Dragon Maiden."

    Eunice Lam''s original book review, of course, didn''t contain such a sentence as "You were born before me, and when I was born, you were already old."

    Including the previously mentioned summary "May you wander half your life and come back still young," was also Lin Yuan''s spontaneous sentiment.

    At this moment.

    The popularity of the second book review was in no way inferior to the first one!

    Even some media outlets quoted Yi An''s two book reviews!

    Like the phrase "May you wander half your life and come back still young," this book review popularized a phrase!

    It was "You were born before me, and when I was born, you were already old," which resonated with countless readers!

    For some literary youths, this phrase was nothing short of a coup de grace, enough to elevate their sympathy for Guo Xiang to heights of imagination!

    Guo Xiang was certainly hot.

    A certain writer on Earth named Cheng Lingsu wrote a piece called "To Guo Xiang":

    As I walked past the mountains, the mountains didn''t speak; as I passed by the sea, the sea was silent;

    The donkey I was riding ticked along step by step, the Heaven''s Sword I was carrying remained mute.

    They say I live in seclusion on Emei Mountain because I love the hero Yang Guo and couldn''t find him; in fact, I just like the mist on Emei Mountain, it''s like the fireworks that bloomed when I was sixteen...

    The charm of Guo Xiang is evident!

    Lin Yuan considered writing this piece when he got the chance.

    And as things developed to this point, all subsequent twists and turns came naturally!

    The day after the protest march ended, and also on the third day that Lin Yuan and Jin Mu had agreed upon, the sales and popularity of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" surged dramatically, as the novel''s reputation rebounded against the odds!

    It should be noted:

    After the Dragon Maiden Incident, the sales of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" were almost cut in half, scaring bookstores senseless, fearing they had truly been conned by the old rascal!

    The book''s reputation also plunged to rock bottom.

    Accompanied by all kinds of profanity hurled at Chu Kuang by readers, the previous ratings for "The Return of the Condor Heroes" on Star Sky moved downward, uncharacteristically below what Chu Kuang had written!

    Now everything was improving.

    The thresholds of bookstores were trampled over once again, with readers coming to buy "The Return of the Condor Heroes" in an ever-more continuous stream!

    Even more miraculously:

    Although the Dragon Maiden Incident had brought a very adverse impact on "The Return of the Condor Heroes," looking back now, people realized that this controversy had formed an effect similar to perfect hype!

    It sparked the curiosity of even more people about the book!

    There were even conspiracy theorists who suspected that the incident itself was a publicity stunt!

    Perhaps in the future, gossip would circulate like this: "Chu Kuang, to surpass ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' in sales, did not hesitate to write about the Little Dragon Maiden''s loss of chastity for the sake of hype."

    And the conspiracy theories about "The Return of the Condor Heroes" didn''t stop there.

    A more outrageous claim suggested that the Little Dragon Maiden whom Yang Guo met after sixteen years was not the Little Dragon Maiden at all, but the daughter of Little Dragon Maiden and Zhen Zhibing?

    Compared to this.

    Some people saying that Yang Guo also had feelings for Guo Xiang, and even other female characters like Lu Wushuang and Sun Green Dew, hardly seemed remarkable.

    Anyway, "The Return of the Condor Heroes" was a big hit!

    This was probably the first time a novel experienced a resurgence twice!

    Because this fire had died down for a day, then burned even more intensely!

    More and more readers who previously abandoned the book due to the Dragon Maiden Incident finished "The Return of the Condor Heroes"!

    ...

    On the Tribe.

    Netizens kept discussing:

    "Didn''t expect Ouyang Feng and Hong Qigong to end up dying together. Maybe that moment was foreshadowed on the big boat in ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes,'' but because of the Dragon Maiden, when I read this part, I didn''t feel it was too heartbreaking, just a sense of sorrow."

    "Mainly because this part of the plot wasn''t so tragic."

    "It''s quite meaningful that two legendary figures who fought all their lives could bury the hatchet with a smile in the end. The fact that Ouyang Feng regained his senses before dying is truly touching, I can''t bring myself to hate this top villain from ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' anymore."

    "Damn it, this old rascal got away with it again!"

    "I''ll never dare let this old rascal write as he pleases again. I even left a message in his comment section before, telling him not to bow down to readers and the market. Damn it, and this is what he does!"

    "I like ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' and hate the old rascal at the same time!"

    "From Biyao to Poirot, and from Sherlock Holmes to ''The Return of the Condor Heroes,'' they always say three strikes and you''re out, but this old rascal actually caused four reader revolts, each with a scale and impact more exaggerated than the last!"

    Meanwhile.

    On blogs.

    Likewise, a multitude of netizens discussed:

    "Damn this old rascal, even though I was persuaded by Yi An and Professor Wang, my heart is still not satisfied!"

    "Now that I think about it, I''m so angry. I don''t know how other people accepted this part of the plot. Without it, I would still like ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' just fine!"

    "Weren''t they talking about heaven''s loss and earth''s lack?"

    "Why doesn''t the old rascal experience his own loss of heaven!"

    "That''s too harsh¡ªloss of heaven refers to Yang Guo losing an arm, Chu Kuang needs his hands to write us books, losing a leg would be fine."

    "Hahaha, that''s wicked, I like it!"

    And amid the intense discussions of the readers, some on the blogs suddenly said, "Look quickly, the blog is at it again, the rankings are reopening!"

    The netizens looked, and indeed it was so!

    The blog had whipped up that send-a-razor-blade event again!

    And Chu Kuang''s option was in the lead, his count of razor blades already far ahead!

    Netizens got excited:

    "Guys, hurry, hurry, hurry, send those blades flying, let this old rascal know we''ve forgiven him this time, but if he dares pull this stunt again, those blades will be hanging over his head!"

    Swish swish swish!

    Although it was fake and had no substantial meaning, the netizens'' enthusiasm for sending razor blades was unprecedented!

    Thirty million! S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Fifty million!

    One hundred million!

    One hundred and twenty million!

    Not long after the event started, Chu Kuang had already received over a hundred million blades, and that number was still crazily rising¡ªwho knew how many billion blades he would end up with!

    At once.

    The users of the Tribe were not happy:

    "This Tribe has become less and less fun. Chu Kuang is on the blog, they can do a send-a-razor-blade event, and I can''t even send him blades if I want to!"

    "Simple, just register a blog account."

    "I''ve already registered, from now on I''ll play on the blog. That old rascal is mixing on the blog, I can only conveniently cuss him out there. From now on, when I''m in a bad mood, I''ll just curse him!"

    "Brother above, handshake, I''ve always done it this way."

    "Hahahahaha, let''s go, send razor blades on the blog!"

    "I''m dying of laughter, the event has only been live for three hours, and Chu Kuang has already received two hundred and thirty million blades¡ªhow much resentment do these readers have to gather together? The second-place Yi An is lagging by eighteen million miles!"

    "Obviously, everyone is using this method to disgust the old rascal."

    "We must disgust him thoroughly, how many times has this guy disgusted us, I''ve never seen such a heartlessly insane author!"

    "I''ve also cast a lot, even used my sister''s account!"

    Nobody expected this seemingly boring event to actually lead to a mass migration of users from the Tribe to the blog. It was unknown how much resentment the readers actually harbored against Chu Kuang.

    Soon.

    The Tribe''s traffic plummeted!

    Learning this news, the higher-ups at the Tribe were stunned!

    They could never have anticipated that a small event on the blog could deal such a blow to their daily traffic!

    What the hell?

    Are you guys serious?

    It''s as if Chu Kuang could really receive those blades!

    The internet is all virtual!

    Damn!

    If it weren''t for the fear of being sued by Chu Kuang, they would have wanted to conduct a similar event.

    One of the higher-ups shouted in anger: "I want to send him blades too!"

    At that moment, another higher-up said faintly: "First, you would need a blog account."

    ...

    Meanwhile, amidst the raging send-a-razor-blade event.

    The total number of razor blades received by Chu Kuang broke through five billion by seven o''clock that night, with the runner-up Yi An only at twenty million!

    At that point.

    The blog suddenly pulled a sly move.

    They actually published the razor blade sending situation for each continent!

    From the data of each continent''s razor blade sending, it was clear that Zhao Continent''s numbers were the most, definitely far ahead!

    In that moment.

    The netizens from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han were laughing crazily¡ªthey could almost sense the Zhao people''s gritted teeth against the old rascal through their screens!

    "Are the Zhao Continent brothers still arrogant?"

    "Do you now understand how hateful Chu Kuang is?"

    "Didn''t you say Zhao Continent wouldn''t tolerate an author this awesome?"

    "I remember there was a Zhao person who commented before: ''I''ve grown so big, I''ve never seen someone so arrogant.''"

    "Hahaha!"

    "Today you''ve witnessed it!"

    "Chu Kuang''s ability to slap readers in the face is on par with his writing skills, this wave the old rascal has really showed Zhao Continent how to be a person."

    When the event ended, the unity and friendship were gone.

    The netizens from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han started mocking the Zhao people for fun again.

    Damn it!

    The Zhao Continent netizens angrily replied:

    "Sending razor blades shows we hate him, maybe you guys are still supporting him, but there are hardly any people buying his books in our Zhao Continent now!"

    "Exactly!"

    "Who wants his crappy book!"

    "Let ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' be unsellable in Zhao Continent!"

    "I sure didn''t buy it, no one around me did either, those who bought it tore it up; we will firmly boycott this author from now on. It''s only you Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han readers who still treat him like a treasure."

    "We Zhao people are all tough as nails!"

    "This kind of author, Zhao Continent never indulges, no one can write NTR and think to leave unscathed, even using a pseudonym is useless!"

    However.

    Just then.

    Suddenly the media researched the sales data for ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' across the continents.

    In the sales data published by the media, the surprising and visible fact was¡ª''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' was most popular and best-selling in¡ª

    Zhao Continent!

    Zhao Continent netizens: "? ? ?"

 Chapter 988 - 916: A Lifetime Mistake on First Meeting Yang Guo (Chu Kuang)

    Blue Star has had five epic awkward moments.

    The first was due to Xian Yu''s bilingual "Farewell Kiss";

    The second was due to Yi An''s "Lotus Lantern," where Erlang Shen, Yang Jian, underwent a massive image reversal.

    And today-

    The third epic awkward moment occurred.

    Triggered by Chu Kuang''s "The Return of the Condor Heroes," which swept across Zhao Continent!

    When the data showed that "The Return of the Condor Heroes" was the craziest selling book in Zhao Continent, all Zhao people were embarrassed, their toes could dig another continent right then and there...

    Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn!

    Do we really have to be slapped in the face like this?

    Readers in Zhao Continent instantly blushed.

    They were just disparaging "The Return of the Condor Heroes" in their statements, and then the media used professional data to tell everyone:

    How popular this book really was in Zhao Continent!

    "Meow meow meow?"

    "Hahahahahahaha, weren''t they adamant about not watching ''The Return of the Condor Heroes''? Were all these book buyers fake Zhao people?"

    "Slapped in the face on the spot!"

    "Zhao Continent: We really don''t care for something like ''The Return of the Condor Heroes''!"

    "Got visuals!"

    "Classic case of the mouth saying no, but the body saying yes!"

    "These Zhao people are basically the model of tsundere, acting like Lu Wushuang calling Yang Guo an idiot while her eyes are filled with affection!"

    "It really is Zhao Continent where martial arts flourishes."

    Netizens from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, and Han burst into laughter immediately, poking fun with all sorts of jokes and ironic comments; it was as lively as a party!

    Data doesn''t lie.

    This blow was almost as harsh as when they found out about Little Dragon Maiden''s loss of chastity in the story!

    This made countless Zhao people furious; they immediately organized several waves of campaigns to send razor blades to Chu Kuang!

    Damn it!

    It all seemed to be Chu Kuang''s fault!

    ...

    Of course, not all Zhao people felt embarrassed.

    For example, Mr. Canyang, the "Beidou of Martial Arts World" in Zhao Continent. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    In the evening.

    Through a social media platform in Zhao Continent, Mr. Canyang published an article, "My Views on ''The Return of the Condor Heroes''," speaking highly of the book.

    He added a sentimental interpretation of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes":

    "It''s often said that once one sees Yang Guo, one is mistaken for life; hence we''ve mentioned the love regrets of Lu Wushuang, Cheng Ying, Gongsun Lue, and Guo Xiang.

    But the depiction of love in ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' goes beyond these.

    Wu Santong, for instance, actually loved his goddaughter He Yuanjun, but couldn''t confess due to their statuses;

    Li Mochou was also madly in love with Zhan Yuan, unfortunately doomed not to have her wishes fulfilled, leading her to mad revenge.

    In the end.

    Zhan Yuan and He Yuanjun both died.

    Leaving behind a half-mad Wu Santong and a venomous sorceress.

    These stories are all quite sigh-worthy.

    Likewise,

    Lin Chaoying was deeply in love with Wang Chongyang, but he frustratingly refused to accept it, preferring to lose rather than embrace love.

    The Tomb of the Living Dead and Chongyang Palace thus dumbly faced each other until they both died, turning into stories recounted by others.

    It took years after Guo Fu married Yel¨¹ Qi to realize she had Yang Guo in her heart; before that, Da Wu and Xiao Wu were head over heels for her, nearly sacrificing their lives for her.

    The master of Passionless Valley, Gongsun Zhi, is a tragic figure.

    However, his and Qiu Qianchi''s twisted affections are also quite poignant.

    In the end, this pair of foes also died together, turned to mush, inseparable by anyone.

    So when someone asks me, between ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' and ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes,'' which is better, my answer is that each has its unique merits.

    "Although ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' failed to recreate the grandeur and expansiveness of ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes,'' it surpassed it in terms of the bizarre twists and turns of its story and the intensity of its emotional portrayals."

    Shortly after Mr. Canyang published this review,

    Qingyun, a prominent figure in the Martial Arts World, just as renowned as Mr. Canyang, reposted:

    "Regarding which of ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' or ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' is more brilliant, I''ve also considered this question. However, the conclusion I reached actually involves analyzing the characteristics of Yang Guo and Guo Jing.

    I had previously read Professor Wang''s comment stating that Guo Jing represents Confucianism.

    I agree with this view.

    Considering it from the perspective of the various schools of thought, Yang Guo embodies freedom, pursues individuality and unconstrainedness, and has a naturally carefree spirit, which indeed symbolizes the core ideas of Taoism.

    The difference between ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' and ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' is the difference between Taoism and Confucianism.

    Looking at the stories before and after, the conflict between Yang Guo and Guo Jing, or the result of the Taoist and Confucian dispute, really ended in a draw.

    In the end, Guo Jing acknowledged the marital status of Yang Guo and the Little Dragon Maiden.

    Yang Guo, in turn, accepted Guo Jing''s teaching that ''the greatest hero is he who serves his country and his people.''

    Therefore, there is no superior book.

    As neither Yang Guo nor Guo Jing could best the other."

    Zhao Continent''s two towering figures of the Martial Arts World combined the plot of ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' to provide a deeper interpretation of ''The Return of the Condor Heroes,'' which can be seen as the Martial Arts World''s view of Chu Kuang''s two works.

    After monitoring various reviews, Lin Yuan knew that the storm around ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' had completely subsided.

    However, upon seeing the startling ''blade chart'' on his blog, Lin Yuan sneezed violently, unable to calculate just how many people were secretly cursing him behind his back.

    There were even more severe instances!

    More cruel than the dragon princess''s loss of chastity!

    Lin Yuan slyly smirked, then suddenly logged into Chu Kuang''s account and posted a status:

    "[I actually planned to kill off the Little Dragon Maiden, but later, out of sympathy for their bittersweet fate, I changed my mind¡­]"

    This was not Lin Yuan spouting nonsense.

    This was the original words mentioned by Jin Yong in an interview.

    Some felt Jin Yong was compelled by reader pressure to let the Little Dragon Maiden and Yang Guo reunite.

    The old master refuted this, stating he would not change his plot due to readers'' opinions:

    He did not kill the Little Dragon Maiden simply because he was also moved by the love between Yang Guo and the Little Dragon Maiden and felt sympathy, so he couldn''t bring himself to do it.

    Whether this is true or not is unknown.

    Regardless, readers were terrified when they saw Chu Kuang''s post and immediately flooded his comments section:

    "You dare!"

    "If you had killed the Little Dragon Maiden, I would really have blacklisted you and never read your books again!"

    "Good thing your conscience got the better of you."

    "If the Little Dragon Maiden had died, then what would ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' be about? Yang Guo certainly wouldn''t have lived alone!"

    "If both the male and female leads had died, then no one would read this book anymore."

    "Okay then."

    "Thank you, old rascal, for sparing her."

    "I''m genuinely amazed by this guy, he writes so torturously, but in the end, we still have to thank him for his mercy?"

    "Because he is Chu Kuang!"

    "What kind of Kuang?"

    "The brutally crazy kind!"

    "What do they say about mistaking Yang Guo for a lifetime?"

    "It was definitely mistaking Chu Kuang for a lifetime!"

    Readers were genuinely frightened because Chu Kuang wasn''t new to killing off main characters!

    Other authors might joke about such things, but this guy really could do it!

    Lin Yuan glanced at the comments, seeing the fearful messages from readers, and his resentment towards the blades immediately dissipated.

    Heh.

    You guys use blades to scare me.

    And you think I won''t scare you too?

 Chapter 989 - 917 Original TV Soundtrack

    Ever since "The Return of the Condor Heroes" was released, various major media had been reporting non-stop, and even at this point, they were still arranging to put various top headlines on their front pages.

    Chu Kuang: "I had originally planned to kill off the Little Dragon Maiden."

    Zhao Continent''s Martial World''s Mount Tai and Big Dipper highly praises "The Return of the Condor Heroes"!

    Do Yang Guo and Guo Jing represent the dispute between Daoism and Confucianism?

    The possibilities that this novel didn''t explicitly write about: Discussions from all sides on "The Return of the Condor Heroes"!

    The greatest hero, for the nation and for the people!

    The second national sweetheart couple born: Yang Guo and the Little Dragon Maiden!

    Among them, the assertion by Chu Kuang that he had originally planned to kill off the Little Dragon Maiden had garnered the most attention.

    However, no matter what, the book was already finished, and not even Chu Kuang, the old rascal, could truly cause actual harm to the readers again with his claims of the "original plan to kill off the Little Dragon Maiden" after scaring the netizens.

    It was as if the knives were all virtual items that couldn''t actually be sent to Lin Yuan''s home.

    But the aftermath that this book brought was really not small.

    The next day.

    Even when Lin Yuan arrived at the company, he could hear people discussing the plot of "The Return of the Condor Heroes"; evidently, they had all read the novel.

    Among them.

    Assistant Lil Goodoong was debating with Wu Yong, the deputy manager on the ninth floor, on whether Yang Guo had a secret admiration for Guo Fu or not.

    This had also become a popular notion on the internet after the release of "The Return of the Condor Heroes".

    Shareholders believed that Yang Guo had never liked Guo Fu, as the character was just too annoying.

    Wu Yong, on the other hand, brought up reasons like "inferiority complex," "wanting to attract attention, so deliberately annoying her" and went on to cite various pieces of evidence to explain that Yang Guo did have feelings for Guo Fu, it was just due to some strange psychology that he dared not express it.

    Right at that moment, Lin Yuan passed by.

    Lil Goodoong couldn''t help but ask Lin Yuan, "Mr. Lin, you''re familiar with Teacher Chu Kuang. Did he really hint that Yang Guo liked Guo Fu?"

    Lin Yuan said, "The plot has the answer."

    Wu Yong asked, "Which part of the plot gives the answer?"

    Lin Yuan smiled and said three words, "Passionless Valley."

    As shareholders and Wu Yong looked at each other, Lin Yuan had already entered his office, not giving them a chance to further question him.

    A full half-minute later.

    Lil Goodoong suddenly had an epiphany and looked at Wu Yong with triumph:

    "Mr. Lin means that Yang Guo''s love flower poison had never flared up because of Guo Fu!"

    "Love flower poison?"

    Wu Yong''s eyes bulged.

    This answer was a real trump card!

    Lil Goodoong successfully won the argument, feeling great, and hastily followed Lin Yuan into his office, cheerfully saying:

    "Mr. Lin, the TV series adaptation of ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' is almost finished. The TV department is asking what songs you plan to prepare this time."

    Indeed.

    Just like "The Legend of the Condor Heroes".

    No sooner had "The Return of the Condor Heroes" been released than Lin Yuan threw the book at the company, letting the TV department arrange the filming of the series.

    The TV department took it very seriously, so they made arrangements immediately.

    At this point, the series was nearing completion.

    In the process, Lin Yuan had also visited the set several times, using some little props to enhance the acting skills of the actors playing Yang Guo and the Little Dragon Maiden.

    Hearing Lil Goodoong''s words now, Lin Yuan said, "I''ll bring people to record in a while."

    The songs from "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" had received high praise, so naturally "The Return of the Condor Heroes" could not fall short, so Lin Yuan had already made a draft plan for it.

    Just like "The Legend of the Condor Heroes".

    Lin Yuan had prepared three main songs for "The Return of the Condor Heroes".

    The first one naturally was "Myths and Words of Love," a very classic song in Qi language, and one that could be called one of the signature songs of "The Return of the Condor Heroes." Lin Yuan planned to use it as the main theme song for the series.

    The second was "Unparalleled in the World."

    The sentimental, mournful, and beautiful lyrics captured the essence and emotions of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" very aptly, so it was perfect as the series'' ending theme.

    And the third song?

    This one was somewhat of a personal indulgence added by Lin Yuan.

    He had decided to choose a Chinese-style pop song by Director Zhou as the theme song for "The Return of the Condor Heroes," and the name of the song was "Wordly Tavern"!

    "The sword unsheathed, who laughs at the grievances

    I only wish to embrace you today

    The worldly tavern is as cruel as the wind, the sudden rain knocks on destiny

    Let whoever owns the martial world show off

    I would bend only for you

    Wandering over desolate villages and ancient bridges seeking the path less travelled

    Away from the worldly noise

    The willow catkins flutter as we hold hands and roam freely..."

    Although Director Zhou''s initial intention for writing this song had nothing to do with Jin Yong''s martial arts novels, there''s always a myriad of commonalities in the world of emotions, and many songs with Chinese ancient styles can be fit into this context.

    Moreover, the book contained a significant amount of romantic plot, involving a host of characters.

    This even included the love marathon between Zhou Botong, the old naughty boy, and Aunt Ying.

    It seemed that there were always lyrics from the song that could find a corresponding context in "The Return of the Condor Heroes," especially the expression in the excerpt above, which was the perfect depiction of the love between Yang Guo and Little Dragon Maiden.

    Was this a coincidence?

    Actually, it wasn''t entirely coincidental.

    What many people don''t know is that, although Director Zhou''s "Wordly Tavern" has nothing to do with Jin Yong''s martial arts novels, Fang Wenshan''s lyrics do have an unbreakable bond with them!

    Because...

    Fang Wenshan was a fan of Jin Yong''s and Gu Long''s martial arts novels.

    The earliest inspiration for the lyrics of the song came from Fang Wenshan''s makeup-free poetic rhyme "Under the Lamp."

    And it was after reading Jin Yong and reflecting on it that Fang Wenshan wrote "Under the Lamp," which then led to Director Zhou composing the music.

    That was in the year ten on Earth.

    After reading Jin Yong''s novels numerous times, Fang Wenshan finally completed the seven posts of zen.

    Then in the year twelve, Fang Wenshan read Jin Yong''s works again and pondered long before completing the lyrics for "Wordly Tavern."

    Even though he was reading Jin Yong''s martial arts novels, Fang Wenshan only embraced the romantic novelist side of Jin Yong, blending his own enlightenment with tender emotions into the creation.

    So...

    That''s why "Wordly Tavern" seemed to have no connection with "The Return of the Condor Heroes," yet the lyrics coincidentally corresponded so well.

    Let''s not forget.

    "The Return of the Condor Heroes" is, after all, one of Jin Yong''s pinnacle works in writing about "emotions."

    What''s even less known is that "Wordly Tavern" has a mysterious "match" with another song.

    This song can actually be sung to the accompaniment of "Blue and White Porcelain."

    Some have tried, and it turns out there''s no problem using the accompaniment of "Blue and White Porcelain."

    Especially during the climax, matching it with the high point of "Wordly Tavern," it fits seamlessly. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This has to do with the fundamentally similar chord progression; if not for the arrangement differences, the two songs would actually have very similar styles.

    Only that the former talks about love.

    While the latter speaks of the children of the rivers and lakes.

    Lin Yuan felt assured about these three songs.

    And as Lin Yuan was contemplating these three songs, Jin Mu suddenly made a phone call:

    "The Dragon Awards are about to start, and the committee has invited you to attend. Your movies from last year might have several nominations, do you want to go?"

    "No."

    Lin Yuan immediately declined.

    Jin Mu laughed, "That''s a pity. I think you''re definitely in for a major award this year. The netizens have been saying you come out swinging in music but go along to get along in film. This could be your chance to hold your head high."

    "Would my absence impact whether the awards are given out or not?"

    "That wouldn''t be the case. The Dragon Awards shouldn''t dare to play it that way. The Literature and Art Association exercises strong oversight; attendance is entirely up to the creator''s freedom."

    "That''s good then."

    Whether he attended or not, Lin Yuan wasn''t interested in being a runner-up this year. The awards themselves were one thing, but the Prestige Value was truly desirable!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: It''s true that "Wordly Tavern" can be sung to the accompaniment of "Blue and White Porcelain," and it fits quite well. You can probably find attempts online, and the song indeed has many connections with Jin Yong''s martial arts novels, not a forced addition by Polluted White.

 Chapter 990 - 918: The Condor Trilogy

    ```

    April 25.

    The Dragon Awards officially announced the nominations for various films.

    As expected, Xian Yu''s two films from last year garnered multiple nominations.

    Among them, "The Truman Show" was nominated for Best Actor, Best Screenwriter, Best Director, and Best Film ¨C four major awards!

    Meanwhile, "Life of Pi" received nominations for Best Visual Effects, Best Cinematography, Best Newcomer, Best Director, Best Screenwriter, and Best Film ¨C six major awards!

    Suddenly,

    the whole internet erupted in hot discussion!

    "Now, who dares say that Fish Papa only goes all-in with music but treads lightly in film? These ten Dragon Award nominations are quite a feat!"

    "Awesome!"

    "It''s a pity that there are quite a few overlapping nominations."

    "Having both films nominated for Best Director, Best Screenwriter, and Best Film, these heavyweight awards, means that Fish Papa not only has to face other competitors but also compete with himself."

    "That''s also a good thing, though."

    "It''s definitely beneficial because having one more nominated work than others significantly increases the chances of winning."

    "Let''s see who ultimately takes home the awards."

    Being nominated and winning awards are two different concepts, so while the public heatedly discusses, they are even more curious about the actual award ceremony at the end of the month.

    Because the award ceremony is on April 30.

    However, Lin Yuan lost interest in following the Dragon Awards after learning about his nominations, knowing that a nomination isn''t the same as winning.

    He was pondering a question at the moment:

    Should he finish writing the Condor Trilogy in one go?

    Soon, Lin Yuan found his answer; he decided to write "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber."

    Since that book would have to be written sooner or later, why not do it while the previous two parts were still hot, letting the Dragon Saber and the Heaven-reliant Sword emerge in this world.

    "OCD."

    Lin Yuan teased himself.

    Having written the first two parts of the Condor Trilogy, he felt something would be missing if he didn''t finish the trilogy in one shot.

    Of course.

    The OCD claim was just a joke. The real reason Lin Yuan wanted to write "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber" was that the System hadn''t yet acknowledged the revival of martial arts fiction.

    This meant that Lin Yuan''s task was not yet complete.

    Meanwhile, in the studio, when Jin Mu learned about the concept of the Condor Trilogy from Lin Yuan, his first reaction was sheer panic:

    "This new book won''t be more torturous than ''The Return of the Condor Heroes,'' will it?"

    "This time it''s a satisfying story."

    "Has Chu Kuang recovered?"

    Jin Mu was skeptical and even used some online jests to tease Lin Yuan.

    Lin Yuan didn''t bother to explain; Jin Mu would understand once he saw the new book. Among all of Jin Yong''s martial arts novels, "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber" definitely has a typical satisfying story structure, and its male protagonist, Zhang Wuji, has the highest degree of wish-fulfillment among all the male leads created by him.

    "Alright then."

    Seeing Lin Yuan''s nonchalant demeanor, Jin Mu decided to trust him once more.

    A hint of anticipation suddenly flashed in his eyes: "Since you''re building the concept of the Condor Trilogy, will the new book feature Guo Xiang?"

    Like many readers who had finished ''The Return of the Condor Heroes.''

    Jin Mu also had a deep "Guo Xiang" complex and held a special affection for this character.

    "Barely."

    Lin Yuan said, "The next book will start with Guo Xiang, but she''s not the protagonist because this story takes place a hundred years after ''The Return of the Condor Heroes.''"

    "A hundred years later?"

    Jin Mu couldn''t help but laugh: "This third part spans quite a bit of time. By that point, the characters from ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' would have passed away. Will their endings be addressed?"

    "Of course."

    Lin Yuan gave a minor spoiler: "The third part''s purpose is to resolve the endings of the characters from the first two parts, and it also fills in the gap left by the last chapter of ''The Return of the Condor Heroes.''"

    "The gap in the ending?"

    Jin Mu paused, then suddenly realized: "Are you talking about that inexplicable little monk, Zhang Jun Bao, at the end of ''The Return of the Condor Heroes''?"

    At the end of ''The Return of the Condor Heroes,''

    Zhang Jun Bao made his debut, showing off his terrifying martial arts talent in a fight under Yang Guo''s guidance against Yin Ke Xi.

    This plot point caught the attention of some readers, but it didn''t provoke much discussion overall. Jin Mu didn''t expect that this briefly featured character in the last chapter would be involved in Chu Kuang''s next novel, the last part of the Condor Trilogy.

    Little monk Zhang Jun Bao?

    That name was really quite jarring.

    Lin Yuan said, "In the future, everyone will call him Mr. Zhang, and he will become the Sect Leader of Wudang, a legend of his time."

    Jin Mu was stunned: "Is Wudang similar to Taoism? A legend of his time? Mr. Zhang? That''s not a simple title. You''re not making Zhang Jun Bao the protagonist of the next book, are you? But the timeline doesn''t seem to match up. Did this Mr. Zhang live for over a hundred years?"

    Lin Yuan nodded: "Exactly, but he''s not the protagonist either, the protagonist is his disciple''s disciple."

    "Alright then."

    Jin Mu could accept this setting: "But you said it was part of the Condor Trilogy, right? Is this all the connection there is?"

    "Of course not, there''s also the white ape that followed Yin Ke Xi."

    "The white ape?"

    "I won''t go into details now. Including the descendants of Yang Guo, they will also make a brief appearance in the new book, hinting at ''The Return of the Condor Heroes.'' All these details you''ll understand once you read the book. Also, do you remember Yang Guo''s Heavy Iron Sword?"

    "Of course!"

    That was one of the most thrilling plot points in ''The Return of the Condor Heroes.''

    Yang Guo met the giant condor and obtained the Heavy Iron Sword passed down by Dugu Qiubai!

    Lin Yuan then mentioned the sequel to this Heavy Iron Sword: "In the end, Yang Guo gifted the Heavy Iron Sword to Guo Xiang, and in order to continue the legacy of resisting the Mongol invasion, Huang Rong and Guo Jing melted down the sword and split it into two, forming a saber and a sword."

    "A saber and a sword?"

    "More precisely, the Dragon Saber and the Heaven-reliant Sword."

    "Such domineering names!"

    "Indeed they are, and they also caused a storm of blood and violence in the martial world. The new book''s protagonist''s parents died because of that."

    Martial arts fiction indeed cannot escape the trope of orphaned protagonists.

    ```

    "Hatred has always been the biggest and most fail-proof driving force in novel creation."

    "Is this considered a spoiler?"

    "This level doesn''t really count as a spoiler."

    The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber started with a lot of plots, so indeed it''s not considered a spoiler.

    At least Lin Yuan didn''t tell Jin Mu that hidden within the Dragon Saber and the Heaven Sword were Martial Skills Secret Manuals such as Wumu Yi Shu, the Nine Yin Manual, and even the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, which were so incredible they defied the heavens. This was also to preserve the pleasure of Jin Mu''s reading experience.

    "Uh-huh."

    Jin Mu asked another question that he was extremely concerned about, ultimately he still couldn''t let go of Guo Xiang:

    "Was Guo Xiang very powerful later on?"

    "She founded the Emei Sect."

    Lin Yuan thought for a moment and said, "The Wudang founded by Guo Xiang, as well as Wudang which was created by Zhang Sanfeng, also known as the little monk Zhang Jun Bao, are part of the Six Great Sects in the new book."

    "Does that mean she was very impressive?"

    "Yes, otherwise why would Mr. Zhang have been unable to forget her for so many years."

    "Is there a love story too?"

    "Unrequited love."

    Guo Xiang couldn''t escape the curse of "a single glimpse of Yang Guo leads to a lifetime of misjudgment."

    One hundred and three years later.

    On his deathbed, Zhang Sanfeng felt for a pair of cast iron Arhats beside him and told the people around him:

    "These iron Arhats were given to me by Guo Xiang a hundred years ago..."

    Joy and fun, parting sorrows, among them are even more foolish children and girls.

    Grandmaster Zhang Sanfeng''s cultivation was so profound that he should leave worldly concerns behind on his deathbed, but in the end, he still couldn''t let go of that girl''s smile.

    Just as the girl had never forgotten the fireworks when she was sixteen.

    ...

    Five days after Lin Yuan and Jin Mu finished discussing Heaven-Reliant Dragon Slayer.

    The Dragon Awards Ceremony finally began!

    Unlike the previous times:

    This time, Xian Yu wasn''t just a runner-up.

    The movie "The Truman Show" won both Best Actor and Best Picture, two heavyweight awards!

    The movie "Life of Pi" won Best Visual Effects, Best Cinematography, and Best New Actor, three awards with not insignificant prestige.

    A great harvest!

    For both Xian Yu and Starlight, this was indeed a great harvest.

    Although they still missed out on some major awards despite being nominated, considering the multitude of movies from Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, and Liu continents, and a lineup filled with strong competitors, this result was actually quite good.

    At the same time.

    Lin Yuan received a system notification: "Congratulations, Host, on completing the task of [Gaining Recognition at the Dragon Awards]. Reward: a random treasure chest!"

    Lin Yuan checked it immediately.

    However, Lin Yuan was disappointed:

    It turned out to be a Silver Treasure Chest.

    After seeing the allure of a Gold Treasure Chest, a Silver Treasure Chest hardly piqued Lin Yuan''s interest anymore. It seemed his luck was not enough.

    "Open it."

    Lin Yuan directly opened the Silver Treasure Chest.

    As soon as the Silver Treasure Chest was opened, a new notification from the System followed:

    "Congratulations, Host, on acquiring the movie script for ''Kung Fu Hustle''!"

    Eh? S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    It''s Star Grandpa''s "Kung Fu Hustle"?

    Lin Yuan was stunned for a moment, but soon a smile appeared on his face.

    To get such a movie from the Silver Treasure Chest was indeed a pretty good result.

    "This could be considered a rather unconventional Wuxia movie, right?"

    It seemed the System was also silently assisting in fulfilling the mission of reviving Wuxia, wasn''t it?

    You see.

    This "Kung Fu Hustle" could be regarded as the pinnacle of Chinese action movies and also a work that encapsulated the later style of Star Grandpa!

    In the movie.

    The Wuxia elements were extremely strong.

    The characters Landlord and Landlady had two names that would make anyone who has watched The Return of the Condor Heroes smile knowingly:

    Yang Guo!

    Little Dragon Maiden!

    This was a tribute from Star Grandpa to Jin Yong, for which he even paid the Master royalties, only to be donated by the Master to a charity organization.

    When Jin Yong mentioned this during an interview, he expressed surprise:

    Zhou Xingchi was the first director to pay him royalties for merely referencing elements from his Wuxia novels in a film.

    After all, the movie barely used the names Yang Guo, Little Dragon Maiden, and some basic martial skills names.

    People say Star Grandpa is stingy, but it certainly wasn''t evident in this instance.

    Later, when "Kung Fu Hustle" was released, Jin Yong highly praised the film.

    And for Lin Yuan, who was writing the Legend of the Condor Heroes trilogy, getting such a movie from the treasure chest was quite interesting.

    In fact, it wasn''t only Jin Yong.

    The movie also paid tribute to "Spiderman," such as when a character dies, it borrowed the classic dialogue from that film:

    "With great power comes great responsibility."

    Lin Yuan had already filmed "Spiderman," and audiences could easily get the reference¡ª

    Without hesitation.

    Lin Yuan decided to include this movie in his future film production plans.

 Chapter 991 - 919: Tribes Revenge

    Major media outlets reported the results of the Dragon Awards.

    Online discussions about this edition of the Dragon Awards were everywhere.

    Xian Yu''s blog comments section was flooded with countless messages from fans and netizens:

    "Oh, it''s finally our time to shine!"

    "Congrats to Fish Papa for winning so many awards. I thought it''d be another runner-up situation, but Fish Papa didn''t participate in the Dragon Awards, did he? Is it because of previous disappointments?"

    "This time, he finally proved himself with awards!"

    "I must say, ''The Truman Show'' truly deserved it!"

    "Pity Fish Papa didn''t get Best Screenwriter; that went to Qi Continent''s film."

    "There''s not much to say about that; Qi Continent''s film had official backing, after all."

    "Personally, I think ''Life of Pi'' had a more fascinating script. The study of human and animal nature really suited my tastes¡ªso many metaphors, the deeper you dig, the more terrifying the implications!"

    "Am I the only one who wishes Fish Papa would make more commercial films?"

    "I also love the commercial films Fish Papa makes; ''Spiderman'' really hit the spot for me!"

    ...

    Indeed, Lin Yuan didn''t win Best Screenwriter.

    That award ultimately went to a film from Qi Continent.

    There wasn''t much public discussion about this result.

    Because the film that took Best Screenwriter was very special: it was released close to the end of the year and had an official backing, the shooting subject was very mainstream, and the reception wasn''t bad either, so giving it Best Screenwriter was somewhat justifiable and uncontroversial.

    As some people in the industry said:

    Xian Yu got ganked by the officials again.

    In fact, many had experienced similar situations.

    Lin Yuan wasn''t particularly frustrated; he had enjoyed official benefits before, like during the Bluelympics, and knew such situations were the least reasonable.

    Besides, he did win Best Film.

    In terms of prestige, this award was even higher than Best Screenwriter because the Best Screenplay award was a personal honor, but Best Picture was recognition of every aspect of a film.

    He didn''t dwell on the matter too much.

    After breakfast, Lin Yuan went to the company.

    At the office, Lin Yuan met Ol'' Zhou who had come to see him:

    "Last year''s two films we shot made quite the splash at yesterday''s Dragon Awards, so the company is thinking of capitalizing on this momentum by releasing your new movie ''Resident Evil'' at the end of this month, what do you think?"

    Lin Yuan had heard about this from Xia Fan.

    ''Resident Evil'' was ready for release, and the company had been considering when to release it. Following Starlight''s achievements at the Dragon Awards, Ol'' Zhou felt the time was right, so he made this arrangement.

    "Sure."

    Lin Yuan had no objections.

    Ol'' Zhou smiled, "Since that''s settled, I''ll go ahead and get the publicity department started on the movie promotion. Just coordinate from your end."

    "Publicity..."

    Lin Yuan''s gaze flickered.

    After Ol'' Zhou left, he made a phone call.

    ...

    That very night.

    The promotion for ''Resident Evil'' was released by Starlight.

    Soon after, Lin Yuan was the first to share the promotional content from Xian Yu''s account.

    Sure enough.

    Thanks to the hot discussions from today''s Dragon Awards, news of Lin Yuan''s new film sparked massive attention.

    "A new movie? Resident Evil? Humans turning into zombies?" sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Not only is it a commercial film, but it seems to be a horror film too."

    "Support Fish Papa''s new movie, who would have thought that a man with Fish Papa''s style would also make a horror film?"

    "I really didn''t expect Xian Yu to make a horror film. If you replaced the screenwriter''s name with Chu Kuang, it wouldn''t feel out of place. However, zombies have too low a horror element; they move slow and have weak defense. I could teach a zombie how to behave with just a sliding tackle."

    "So you''re saying you''re quite brave?"

    "Kidding, I''m super brave!"

    "This film by Xian Yu is very different from his previous style. Not only does it have horror elements, but it also features a female lead for the first time. Is he planning to set up Xia Fan for a prominent leading lady role?"

    "I remember the Tribe had a film with a leading lady too."

    "Are you talking about ''Blade Lady''? That film should also be finished. I wonder when it will be released."

    ...

    Meanwhile,

    the entertainment industry also saw the news of Xian Yu''s new movie.

    Once upon a time, Xian Yu was just a newcomer to the film industry.

    No matter how successful he was in music, whether he could succeed in filmmaking was another matter.

    However, with the great success of several of Xian Yu''s films, his peers no longer dared to underestimate him, and many kept an eye on this film. Upon seeing it, many in the industry laughed:

    "A leading lady?"

    "Starlight is taking on the Tribe head-on, aren''t they? The Tribe also made ''Blade Lady,'' also with a leading lady. Do you think they might use that seven billion investment film to counter Starlight?"

    "Hard to say."

    "The Tribe''s martial arts drama was completely dominated by Starlight. With Xian Yu this time, they might be feeling nervous."

    "That Fish is really something."

    "But I feel the Tribe''s film can definitely suppress Starlight. Xian Yu''s film choosing zombies as a focal point isn''t enough in terms of horror elements. But if it''s not a horror film, why bother with the zombie gimmick?"

    "Probably wants to go down the gore route without ghostly spirits."

    "That kind of route isn''t popular, too niche, and the content could easily be restricted. The Tribe should know what to do next if they do their research. This is a great chance for them to seek revenge."

    ...

    At the Tribe,

    The assistant looked at the latest news about Starlight, his eyes filled with excitement, "Director, our chance for revenge has come!"

    "Revenge?"

    Ling Kong furrowed his brows.

    Seeing the news about Starlight''s female lead film, Ling Kong was naturally interested.

    He had a film, ''Blade Lady,'' that had already been completed with an investment of a whopping seven billion!

    From any angle, this film seemed to have more market competitiveness than whatever ''Resident Evil'' that Starlight was shooting.

    And Ling Kong knew the lead actress in that ''Resident Evil.''

    The originally intended lead actress for ''Blade Lady,'' whom he had ordered to be kicked out of the cast.

    Such an opponent, by logic, ''Blade Lady'' should easily be able to make a clear distinction.

    But for some reason, Ling Kong didn''t know why, his eyelids kept twitching, feeling an inexplicable unease.

    This made him somewhat unsteady as if he lacked the usual immediate confidence to strike at the opponent.

    Was I frightened by the Three Bros?

    Feeling somewhat stifled, Ling Kong suddenly bit his lip:

    "Then let''s prepare to set a release date. We''ll use ''Blade Lady'' to strike at Starlight and commence our revenge plan. They dared to provoke with a TV drama; we''ll win back the face we lost in the TV circle with a movie!"

    The next day.

    The Tribe''s new film ''Blade Lady'' started its promotion and was also set to release at the end of this month!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Feeling off, trying to adjust, will post now and correct later.

 Chapter 992 - 920: The Two Dinner-Scoring Guys

    Here it comes!

    Just as Tribe released the movie news for "Blade Woman," an unspoken smile spread across the industry.

    At the same time.

    Netizens instantly got a read on Tribe''s intentions:

    The martial arts TV show that Tribe invested in had been targeted by Starlight, so this time they must be aiming to strike back in the same way!

    Suddenly!

    The media began to fan the flames!

    All kinds of news created sides.

    And amidst such an atmosphere, the films from both sides began their respective promotions, full of explosive tension.

    When Lin Yuan learned of this, he didn''t have any particular thoughts.

    He was quite confident in "Resident Evil."

    Because the zombie settings in this movie would be novel to Blue Starian audiences.

    Lin Yuan had done his research.

    He knew that Blue Star didn''t have a specific concept of zombies!

    Don''t be fooled by some Blue Starian people mentioning "zombies"; actually, they''re referring to the undead.

    Yes.

    What Blue Starian audiences understand as zombies are, in fact, undead!

    A one-letter difference between undead and zombies on the surface, but the setting actually has a significant difference!

    The most obvious difference is:

    Undead usually refer to a strange creature formed after a person has died and risen again.

    Dealing with the undead often requires some magic methods, bullets don''t have much effect on them.

    While zombies are usually the result of a virus infection.

    These creatures devour the flesh and blood of the living and have a strong ability to infect, though most can be taken care of if you have enough bullets.

    Therefore:

    Undead often appear individually as an embellishment to Blue Starian horror movies.

    Like a demon possessing a corpse and then committing evil deeds in the guise of the undead, and so on.

    In fact, even on Earth, the concept of zombies only spread to Celestial Dynasty after works like "Resident Evil."

    Before that.

    What Celestial Dynasty understood as zombies also included the meaning of undead.

    In fact.

    Even when the foreign concept of zombies reached Celestial Dynasty, sometimes it was translated into Chinese as undead, without realizing that there''s an essential difference between the two when precisely distinguished.

    This "Resident Evil" will for the first time introduce the concept of zombies.

    Furthermore.

    The movie introduces sci-fi concepts like the Red Queen.

    Having this kind of intelligence appear as a sort of villain in the movie is very cool, with its classic iconic scenes such as the laser slicing bodies.

    That''s more terrifying than zombies.

    It''s inescapable despair.

    Not to mention that Lin Yuan invested more in this movie, upgrading the scale of the original film''s scenes.

    As a series, "Resident Evil" has always had a low investment; the total for several movies combined is on par with just one movie''s budget from the Marvel franchise, which is also why the latter sequels got progressively worse.

    Lin Yuan increased the investment significantly.

    The most direct impact of this investment upgrade was the stronger impact of the scenes, increased number of zombies, and higher-quality special effects, with creatures like the zombie dogs and the final monstrous zombie being quite well-rendered.

    This led to the movie costing about three hundred million to shoot from start to finish.

    Add in the current promotional expenses, and it''s nearing four hundred million.

    Although it can''t compare with "Blade Woman," which claims an investment of seven hundred million plus advertising surely breaking eight hundred million, it''s definitely a major production.

    So.

    Without paying too much attention to this, Lin Yuan buried himself in continuing to write "Heaven-Reliant Dragon Slayer."

    It was Starlight, however, that became anxious, clearly intensifying their promotional efforts and investments as they obviously didn''t want to lose to Tribe.

    Thus.

    Lin Yuan spent the following days immersed in writing "Heaven-Reliant Dragon Slayer."

    And when half of this novel was completed, time finally moved towards the end of the month, and "Resident Evil" arrived!

    ...

    That day.

    A cinema.

    On the big screen in the lobby, the poster for "Resident Evil" was prominently displayed.

    On the poster, the female protagonist Xia Fan wore a red dress that perfectly showcased her splendid figure, giving off a very cool and competent vibe.

    Ticketing area.

    A large number of viewers were buying tickets for "Resident Evil."

    And in the theater''s automatic massage chairs, two men holding their freshly obtained "Resident Evil" tickets casually chatted:

    "The enthusiasm of the audience isn''t bad,"

    "It''s the allure of the zombie theme, but mostly it''s because of Xian Yu."

    "After those previous works, Xian Yu''s films have gradually developed their own brand. Our task is not going to be easy, if we''re not careful, we could offend a large number of Xian Yu''s fans."

    "We have no choice, he''s offered too much."

    At this, the two men exchanged a glance and smiled simultaneously.

    The man on the left was named Tu Zheng, and the man on the right was called Jia Haoren.

    The two of them were film critics.

    However, they did not come to the cinema today to simply write a couple of reviews for Resident Evil.

    They were on a mission.

    Someone from the Tribe had contacted them both, hoping they would write two negative reviews for Resident Evil!

    At first, both men refused.

    They were conscientious film critics, firmly sticking to their professional ethics. How could they purposefully trash a movie?

    That would be unethical!

    Until the liaison from the Tribe opened a suitcase: "If the effect turns out nicely, all of this will be yours."

    The men agreed.

    The Tribe really knew how to choose the right people.

    After all, what Xian Yu was making this time was a commercial film.

    Xian Yu''s arthouse films mostly garnered overwhelming positive reviews, making it difficult to find angles to criticize, but commercial films were different, as it was not hard to find points of critique within them.

    Actually, many people in the industry made this type of extra money.

    It''s just like those famous internet influencers who would accept money to act as a paid army setting the tone.

    In today''s era, to make a living by saying things that don''t come from the heart is quite a normal thing.

    Every industry has its gray areas.

    And in the competition between movies, using such tactics to smear competitors had become not such a clever trick anymore.

    Basically, all major film and television companies are well aware of it, and have more or less done similar things. For some film critics, this is just another way to monetize their influence.

    At that moment.

    There was an announcement reminding everyone to check their tickets.

    Tu Zheng and Jia Haoren began to enter the theater with the crowd.

    They had bought naked-eye 3D tickets, standard fare for a blockbuster.

    The technology for naked-eye 3D viewing at Blue Star''s major cinemas was already very mature.

    Having been around for a dozen years, this technology had greatly propelled the film industry''s development, keeping the Blue Starian love for cinema-going alive.

    Lately, there were rumors saying:

    The technology for naked-eye 3D viewing might soon become a staple in every household.

    Furthermore, the ultra-high definition cinematic technology, previously exclusive to theaters, might also be integrated into ordinary people''s televisions...

    Entering the cinema hall.

    Tu Zheng and Jia Haoren sat down and simultaneously opened their notebooks.

    Blackening someone is a skillful job, the reviews must be substantial.

    Seeing the movie was a prerequisite. This was the essential difference between them and those keyboard warriors who would criticize a movie without even watching it. So, unlike ordinary audiences who watched movies for relaxation and leisure, they were ready to watch with serious intent.

    And during the commercial break before the movie started.

    Tu Zheng suddenly said, "Leaving our positions aside, which of the two movies do you think will explode at the box office?"

    "Neither will explode."

    Jia Haoren laughed. "I don''t dislike female-led movies, but think about it, has there ever been an example of such a movie with a female lead that has blown up the box office in Blue Star before?"

    "That''s true."

    Tu Zheng nodded. Although the ratio of men to women in the movie-going population was not much different, it did seem like there had never been a hit movie with a female lead.

    After thinking a bit more.

    Tu Zheng switched topics: "What about if we just compare these two?"

    Jia Haoren replied, "From an overt perspective, I would of course favor the Tribe, but if considering Xian Yu''s scripting abilities, I feel the outcome between the two movies is hard to say."

    "Same here."

    Tu Zheng said earnestly, "Although I find Xian Yu choosing zombies as a selling point perplexing, this guy always manages to come up with some rotten turns into magical ideas. Take Spiderman, for example; who would have thought he could come up with a next-door hero? So this time, I suspect he''ll choose an entry point that is unexpected to everyone. Just what that entry point is remains unknown."

    "Exactly."

    Jia Haoren nodded.

    Although both men were about to cash in on the Tribe''s money, Jia Haoren and Tu Zheng''s inner selves did not wholly side with Female Blade. Their success in grabbing the dirty money was irrelevant to whether one of the two movies made it big at the box office. They wouldn''t lose a penny of the money they were to grab, hence the two could be somewhat objective in their judgment.

    Alright then.

    As film critics, their professional abilities were still quite remarkable, and their influence in reviews was significant. Otherwise, the Tribe wouldn''t have targeted them.

    At that moment.

    The lights dimmed.

    Resident Evil was about to begin!

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    PS: Every time I complete a major plot segment, I go through a painful process of difficult birth. Serialized novels often encounter such fluctuations in the author''s condition. Please be understanding. Today will be just this one update, but tomorrow I will make it up to everyone with four more!

    sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 993 - 921 Umbrella Corporation

    Not just this cinema, but several others across the continents of Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, and Zhao had arranged premieres for "Resident Evil"!

    Swish.

    The curtains drew open.

    Against a red background, the sound of keystrokes suddenly filled the air, and lines of text appeared on the screen:

    [Confidential Report]

    [Subject: Raccoon City Incident]

    At that moment, a voiceover began, accompanying the sound of typing:

    [The Umbrella Corporation is one of America''s largest suppliers of computer technology, healthcare products, and medical equipment, yet even many of the company''s employees are unaware that its main profit comes from genetic experiments and bioweapons¡­]

    Introduction complete.

    The screen then displayed the interlaced red and white logo of what is presumably called the "Umbrella Corporation."

    Afterwards.

    The red letters "Resident Evil" appeared on the screen.

    Tu Zheng casually jotted down a few keywords in his notebook: "Umbrella Corporation, genetic experiments, bioweapons¡­"

    America.

    Raccoon City.

    No one paid attention to this.

    Obviously, they were fictional countries and cities created for the movie.

    Next to him, Jia Haoren didn''t write anything, but his expression showed some surprise:

    Could it be that Xian Yu intends to use science to explain the origin of zombies this time?

    Without time to think.

    The first act of the movie had already begun.

    It was a high-tech laboratory that was evidently expensive to construct.

    Various pieces of advanced laboratory equipment filled the room, clearly a scene built with a large budget.

    A person, wrapped tightly and wearing a mask, was handling a robotic arm through glass, extracting several vials of mysterious solution.

    Some solutions were blue.

    Some solutions were green.

    But when this person placed the vials into an automated safe, he took out a single blue vial and tossed it away.

    Crash.

    The blue vial shattered.

    In the shot, the solution seemed to evaporate into the air.

    Suddenly.

    The camera locked onto the broken vial, and a disaster warning was issued.

    Boom, boom, boom!

    An alarm blared!

    Employees throughout the company were startled.

    Some thought it was a fire drill until the entire company was sealed shut, and no one could leave. That''s when everyone realized something was wrong!

    The next moment.

    Darkness fell!

    An elevator went out of control!

    One by one, people started dying!

    One woman''s head got trapped on the outside.

    Suddenly the elevator moved upward, her neck precisely at the level of the elevator opening.

    Ahhh!

    It was unclear whether the scream came from within the movie or from the shocked audience in the theater, but the screen abruptly went black!

    ¡­

    Inside the cinema.

    Hearts raced among the audience!

    "Damn!"

    "That scared me to death!"

    "The woman''s head must have fallen off!"

    "With that force, her head''s definitely gone, for sure!"

    "What on earth is going on, why did this company suddenly become a disaster site?"

    "It must be related to that shattered blue vial!"

    "This Umbrella Corporation specializes in genetics and biochemical research; the broken blue vial must signify a virus leak!"

    "Does that mean someone is secretly monitoring all this, someone who didn''t want the virus to get out, so they''ve sealed off the whole area and are now trying to kill everyone inside?"

    "This movie is pretty interesting."

    "That lab looks very high-tech, not like some movies where the top tech companies have a most critical lab with no sense of technology at all."

    ¡­

    Swish, swish, swish!

    The audience was almost instantly captivated!

    Meanwhile.

    In the sixth row of seats.

    Tu Zheng raised an eyebrow and said, "A very successful suspenseful opening."

    Jia Haoren nodded, "The thrill is very well depicted. When the woman''s head was stuck outside the elevator, it instantly grabbed the attention of the fearful audience, because everyone knows from the usual tropes that there''s definitely a big problem with the elevator; even if it''s a clich¨¦, it still delivers a strong sense of horror."

    The movie began with several mysteries!

    What exactly was that shattered blue vial?

    Why did the company descend into chaos the moment the blue vial broke?

    Was someone controlling all this?

    ...

    At this moment,

    the film scene shifted.

    In a white bathtub, a woman with a beautiful figure, yet unclothed, woke up, a curtain concealing her vital parts.

    At this instant,

    the audience inwardly commented,

    "Cameraman, you''ve lost your drumstick!"

    This character was played by Xia Fan as the female lead.

    After waking up, she faintly remembered fainting while taking a bath.

    Dressed in red, she walked out of the room.

    Suddenly a man appeared and quickly started pulling her to escape.

    In her involuntary cry of surprise, someone threw a flashbang grenade through the window.

    The next moment,

    the music surged with excitement!

    A group of armed personnel, weapons at the ready, entered!

    The man was subdued, and the leader of the armed personnel, staring at the woman in red amid the howling night wind, said,

    "Report to me!"

    The woman, bewildered, "What?"

    The armed leader spoke with a hoarse male voice, "I need your report, what has happened here?"

    The woman replied, "I don''t understand what you''re talking about..."

    At that moment, one of the armed personnel spoke up, "Sir, upon investigation, the facility''s main defense system has been activated, she may still be under the influence of side effects."

    "Take them."

    "Enter the research facility."

    The armed leader removed his mask to give the orders.

    Instantly,

    everyone entered the elevator.

    However, what no one expected was:

    After the elevator started, a man was hidden in a locked compartment of the train car.

    The woman in red, seeing the ring on the man''s hand, had several images flash through her mind:

    She was marrying the man, along with scenes of them in bed.

    ...

    Inside the movie theater.

    Without getting any answers,

    the audience''s confusion only grew,

    "Who is the woman in red played by Xia Fan?"

    "Who is this man who suddenly appeared?"

    "Could he be the woman in red''s husband, as the female lead''s memories suggest they might be married?"

    "They must be married, they''ve been in bed together."

    "Then why do they seem not to recognize each other?"

    "Earlier on, it was mentioned that there are side effects to activating the defense system, could the side effects be amnesia?"

    "What about this group of armed personnel who look so formidable, where do they come from?"

    Suspense!

    The film had been playing for over ten minutes, yet the audience was enveloped in a suspenseful atmosphere, their thoughts subconsciously drawn along by the plot.

    Tu Zheng and Jia Haoren communicated,

    "This suspense is packed really tightly."

    "Entering the lab should reveal some of the mysteries."

    "The opening rhythm is excellent; it captivates the audience instantly."

    "We''re not simply spectators here."

    Jia Haoren reminded him, then continued watching the film.

    ...

    Tu Zheng and Jia Haoren were not wrong.

    About twenty minutes into the film, as the group entered the research facility,

    the leader of the armed personnel slowly revealed the truth upon the persistent questions of the woman in red, also explaining the opening mysteries of the movie:

    It turned out that these people were armed personnel hired by the Umbrella Corporation.

    The company that encountered problems at the beginning of the movie was actually a top-secret underground research facility hidden in Racoon City, owned and overseen by the Umbrella Corporation!

    The female lead was the security supervisor in charge of guarding the passageways of the research facility.

    As for the reason behind their memory loss, it was due to the inhalation of a toxic gas, a result of the research facility''s defense mechanisms.

    And the purpose of this armed squad was to shut down the Red Queen!

    The so-called Red Queen was the research facility''s intelligent mainframe, and also the world''s most advanced intelligent mainframe!

    Inside the research facility.

    Over five hundred employees may have all perished.

    And the chief culprit behind all this was the research facility''s intelligent mainframe, the Red Queen!

    "The battle between humans and intelligence..."

    Jia Haoren was in the middle of speaking when suddenly his heart skipped a beat, and he looked at the screen in horror, sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Damn!"

    At the same time.

    Next to him, Jia Haoren, as well as all the audience members in the theater, involuntarily shuddered at the image suddenly appearing on the screen!

    A body of a woman in a pool of water

    suddenly opened her eyes!

 Chapter 994 - 922: Laser Corridor

    All the viewers'' faces drastically changed; some of the more timid spectators turned deathly pale!

    "Holy shit!"

    "I''m scared to death!"

    "The female corpse suddenly opened her eyes, and with this music, it''s simply terrifying!"

    "Is this female corpse the zombie from the movie?"

    "I almost forgot this damn thing is a zombie movie; the film has been playing for so long without showing a trace of a zombie, but instead, it introduced something like a smart AI."

    "It''s truly Fish Papa''s brainchild, attempting to mix the least scientific zombies with science?"

    "The Red Queen is quite an intriguing design, isn''t she the major antagonist in Chu Kuang old rascal''s fairy tale ''Alice in Wonderland''? Is Xian Yu creating a crossover and paying tribute?"

    "No wonder no one could escape the disaster at the company; things like the elevators were all controlled by the smart AI, Red Queen!"

    "The female lead and her companions haven''t noticed the corpse''s eyes opened!"

    The audience slightly relaxed and then looked on with even greater curiosity.

    The sci-fi development was beyond all viewers'' expectations, and the concept of a smart AI dumbfounded the audience, arousing a more intense anticipation for the unfolding of the story.

    At that time.

    Although the movie resolved some of the mysteries, many still remained shrouded in fog, such as what roles the female lead and the two men played in this event.

    They all suffered from amnesia.

    So what truth lay hidden in their memories?

    Who is the good guy?

    Who is the bad guy?

    In the sixth row.

    Butcher Zhengdao said, "The pace is truly perfect."

    Beside him, Jia Haoren nodded, "The suspense is intricately designed."

    The gripping suspense layered upon layers, seemed to envelop the events in a mysterious fog!

    Just when the audience was about to be confused by the plot, the screenwriter suddenly revealed part of the mysteries!

    This exquisite design not only kept the audience''s interest but also sparked their curiosity to explore more mysteries!

    Indeed, this was the case.

    Now, the attention of the audience was completely captivated by the movie!

    ...

    The scene continued.

    High-tech scenes were abundantly used.

    It was in a different league compared to the original basic high-tech scenes.

    The entire research facility exuded a futuristic and trendy vibe, especially the scenes scanned by the smart AI Red Queen through the monitoring perspective, which were filled with a strange sense of danger.

    In the thirtieth minute of the movie.

    They had to pass through a corridor.

    The armed leader took the lead and placed a device on the door, which was then unlocked with the help of a tech personnel.

    "Move."

    The leader gave the command.

    Several armed personnel followed him into the corridor.

    However, just as the leader, among the four armed personnel, entered the corridor, the doors at both ends of the corridor suddenly shut! sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Afterward.

    One of the trapped armed personnel looked towards the end of the corridor, his expression blank and puzzled, and said,

    "What is that?"

    Before his words had fully settled, a white laser connecting the walls on both sides swiftly moved towards them!

    "Get down!"

    The leader''s face changed dramatically as he quickly crouched down.

    One of the armed personnel''s five fingers were smoothly severed by the white laser, letting out a painful howl!

    At the same time.

    An armed woman failed to react in time and was directly hit by the laser.

    In the eyes of all the spectators in the cinema.

    A cut appeared on the neck of the female armed personnel.

    The next moment.

    Her head slid off.

    This immediately plunged the entire cinema into horror!

    Just as all viewers were engulfed in horror, the laser at the end of the corridor reappeared!

    Swoosh!

    The laser swept across.

    The second armed personnel was cut in half, his body split into two!

    Then,

    the third laser appeared from the middle and even grazed toward the direction in which the human body dodged as it approached.

    The third armed personnel member was killed!

    Only the leader of the armed personnel remained alive!

    At that moment, the fourth laser emerged and, just as it was about to reach the officer, it suddenly transformed into a net!

    Swipe!

    The officer''s body was penetrated by this laser net, turning into fragments.

    At this moment!

    Everyone was silent!

    There were no screams, no cries!

    The whole theater was eerily quiet!

    A tremendous shock enveloped everyone!

    As the laser swept over, some audience members even felt as if they were part of the scene, almost unable to resist dodging along!

    And when the laser turned into a net, countless viewers fell into despair in that instant!

    In the face of technology, even the best skills were of no avail!

    "What is this!"

    "My scalp is tingling!"

    "I still can''t stop imagining myself in that scene, trying to figure out how to dodge that laser..."

    "It''s impossible to dodge a net!"

    "My God, my back is all sweaty!"

    "If I were in there, how desperate I would be at this moment!"

    "What a twisted design!"

    "Compared to this, the terror of the elevator scene at the beginning is child''s play!"

    Laser Corridor!

    Terminate everything!

    This is one of the most classic scenes in "Resident Evil"!

    Heads severed, lasers turning into nets, this scene has left a psychological imprint on many!

    Many people who have seen this movie might forget the plot, but they will never forget this lethal death corridor!

    Such an impact was not only for this theater.

    In every other theater across Blue Star where "Resident Evil" was being shown, the audience was freaking out!

    "Damn it!"

    "Oh my God!"

    "The more I watch this scene, the more terrifying it feels!"

    "This laser is simply unsolvable unless someone turns it off!"

    "It''s turned off, but it''s too late, those four were wiped out in seconds!"

    "Lucky they didn''t all go in!"

    "If everyone had gone in, it would have been a total wipeout!"

    Tu Zheng took a deep breath, his face instantly covered with cold sweat.

    This scene design was utterly shocking, a classic mess!

    It wasn''t particularly gory, as there was no splattering of blood, nor was the music eerily done...

    But it was frightening!

    The fright arose from the sheer visual shock!

    Because everyone who viewed it subconsciously put themselves into the characters'' place, especially with the naked-eye 3D viewing effect.

    The result was just a slight projection, and despair immediately engulfed the heart!

    "This scene will become a classic."

    Jia Haoren swallowed, starting to speak with a rather dry voice, "The last man alive had the most pitiful death, directly chopped into pieces by the laser corridor."

    "The movie''s pacing is controlled so well."

    Tu Zheng did not continue discussing the laser corridor, though he still couldn''t forget the scene:

    "The zombies haven''t shown up yet."

    "Has it been half an hour already?"

    Even the two experienced film critics were somewhat surprised; it was ostensibly a movie about zombies, but the zombies had not yet appeared.

    Fortunately,

    shortly after the two mentioned zombies, zombies finally appeared!

 Chapter 995 - 923 Licker

    At first, there was only one zombie.

    It was a long-haired man in a white lab coat.

    This man seemed impervious to bullets, shot numerous times, yet he kept advancing relentlessly.

    However.

    The audience didn''t think it was anything special.

    Some even laughed, "Is that all?"

    The horror of the zombies was nothing compared to the laser corridor.

    Tu Zheng and Jia Haoren both looked surprised; what was so scary about this kind of zombie?

    But then.

    The moment a horde of zombies appeared, the faces of the audience changed color, and even Tu Zheng and Jia Haoren were flabbergasted!

    What was this?

    A dense mass of zombies appeared!

    You couldn''t see the end of them in the entire basement!

    The one leading the zombies, clearly with a broken foot, was still walking, dragging an axe in hand!

    And some of the zombies had flesh so decomposed that even some were left with only half a face, creating an image of extreme horror!

    Swish, swish, swish!

    Everyone''s scalp tightened again, their eyes suddenly bulging as if they had seen some unbelievable scene!

    "Holy crap!"

    "So many!"

    "A zombie legion, no way!"

    "This is too twisted!"

    "That one with only half a face, is that special effects?"

    "It looks so real!"

    "Scared pissless!"

    "These are not the zombies I remember!"

    "My claustrophobia is kicking in, how can you kill them all, there aren''t enough bullets, okay!"

    Not the same!

    Not the same at all!

    This was the first time the Blue Star audience faced such a scene!

    They had never thought that when zombies appeared in a dense swarm, it would cause such a huge shock!

    And the movies from before, they''d never filmed anything like it!

    ...

    In a Qin Continent movie theater.

    "Are you telling me these motherfuckers are zombies?"

    "You''re kidding me, how can there be so many zombies, I''m scared to pee!"

    "These zombies'' appearances are so not cool!"

    ...

    In a Qi Continent movie theater.

    "This shit''s too heavy for me, I love it!"

    "Zombies surge like a tide, like they''re damn free!"

    "It''s too thrilling!"

    ...

    In a Chu Continent movie theater.

    "What kind of zombies are these, for real!"

    "I take back what I said before, these zombies are way scarier than just one showing up!"

    "This is freaking awesome!"

    ...

    Netizens across the continents were dumbfounded!

    But this was not the scariest part yet!

    When the female lead acted alone, an even more terrifying zombie appeared! S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    To be precise:

    This should not be a zombie, but a dog!

    The dog''s exterior flesh was completely decayed, its blurry bloodstains covering its entire body, as it howled at the female lead!

    Seeing such a dog, the audience''s hair stood on end almost instinctively!

    "Damn it!"

    "Even the dogs have mutated?"

    "That dog looks so freaking scary!"

    "We''re done for!"

    "What kind of freaky thing is this!"

    "It''s getting more and more exciting, this is even better than the laser corridor!"

    "Dogs are more terrifying than human zombies, these creatures run damn fast!"

    "A live dog, people aren''t even a match, let alone a dead dog?"

    ...

    Of course, the female lead would be okay.

    Just when the audience was curious how the female lead would solve the problem, she seemed to awaken some memory and displayed an impressive marksmanship!

    Bang!

    The dog was instantly killed!

    And when the female lead ran into another room, the audience''s breathing almost came to a halt!

    Several dogs appeared all at once!

    This pack of dogs, with blood and flesh blurred all over their bodies, growled fiercely and suddenly sped up, charging at the female lead!

    ```

    The result.

    The protagonist directly shot most of the dogs dead with a gun.

    When the bullets ran out, one dog remained unscathed; she stepped on the wall and delivered a side kick, hitting the dog right in the forehead!

    Previously it was horror!

    Then it turned into excitement!

    Now, it had become thrilling and satisfying!

    The audience never expected the protagonist to be a hidden expert!

    When the protagonist killed the first dog, everyone thought it was luck, but now they realized it was pure skill!

    "Am I the expert?"

    "This plot twist, totally unexpected!"

    "I thought the protagonist would just be a burden in this kind of situation, yet her shooting is divine, and her close combat level is so high?"

    "Awesome!"

    "For the first time, I feel that a woman can be so cool!"

    "No wonder the protagonist is the security head of Umbrella Corporation; she''s a born fighter for sure!"

    "Was she amnesiac before, and now her combat instincts have been awakened?"

    "It looks like the protagonist is the strongest among them all. I knew there was a reason for a lead female role in this movie; the highlights are right here!"

    ...

    One climax after another!

    Zombies keep surging like tides!

    The sudden appearances of the zombified dogs keep intensifying the horror and excitement!

    And with the protagonist''s sudden powerhouse performance, a massive climax was formed amidst the oppressing plot!

    Up to this point.

    The classic elements of commercial cinema have been fully utilized!

    And as the dense horde of zombies pursues them, more mysteries in the movie are revealed.

    The Red Queen explained everything upon rebooting:

    It turns out these zombies were infected by a biohazard virus, turning into ravenous undead craving fresh flesh!

    The dogs included.

    At this moment, the protagonist finally remembered her name:

    Alice!

    ...

    The audience in theaters were stunned.

    Tu Zheng and Jia Haoren were stunned too.

    They were no different from the regular audience at this moment, completely led by the nose by the plot!

    The tide of zombies and the setting of the biohazard infection provided a scientific explanation for their origin, completely shattering any Blue Starians'' conventional impression of so-called zombies!

    And the appearance of the zombie dogs further escalated the excitement!

    After the protagonist''s breakout, a perfect balance between oppression and excitement was achieved!

    "This way of continuously unveiling mysteries while throwing out new points of excitement, it''s simply commercial cinematic elements at their finest!"

    "How did Xian Yu come up with this plotline!"

    "I can guarantee that after this movie, countless films will mimic its design of zombie hordes!"

    "The idea that animals can also be infected and become terrifying monsters isn''t new, but to put it in a zombie film like this, nobody has ever done it!"

    This was virtually pioneering within the industry!

    ...

    Within layers of shock.

    The pace of the plot finally slowed down a bit.

    After recovering her memories, Alice''s husband finally remembered his own memories too!

    Turns out.

    Alice''s marriage to her husband was a sham, they had just gotten caught up in their own act.

    And the disaster at the Racoon City research facility was brought about by Alice''s husband.

    This man wanted to steal the virus and antivirus to sell them, as there were buyers willing to pay a high price!

    After stealing the items.

    He intentionally broke the virus container, causing the disaster at the research facility.

    Realizing this, the conflict was no longer just between humans and zombies and the Red Queen.

    Conflicts among humans began to emerge.

    In theaters everywhere, the audience''s enthusiasm for watching was at its peak!

    "So the protagonist is Alice!"

    "Alice, the Red Queen, aren''t those characters from ''Alice in Wonderland''?"

    "Xian Yu is indeed crossing over with Chu Kuang!"

    "The climax from the laser corridor is just one wave after another!"

    "That husband is detestable!"

    "Look quick!"

    "What is this?"

    With an alarming scream, another zombie appeared on the screen!

    This zombie, in the blink of an eye, killed Alice''s villainous husband!

    If the threat level of a zombie dog is considered to be one notch higher than that of a human zombie, then this newly appeared zombie would probably be described as hellish in its danger!

    This zombie was massive!

    Its long tongue shot out a deep crimson color!

    Its whole body was powerful and mighty, and it even possessed the ability to climb walls agilely, as if it combined the strengths of many animals!

    Moreover.

    This zombie''s body was devoid of skin, with only blurred flesh and clearly visible sinews on display, stirring an instinctive fear¡ª

    The Licker!

    ```

 Chapter 996 - 924 This is Not the Kind of Zombie I Know

    Yan Continent''s certain movie theater.

    "This, my friends, is the real big boss!"

    "The Red Queen called this creature ''Licker''. It''s a monster developed early on by the institute, with a bunch of special genes fused into it!"

    "Next to this, those zombie dogs are like little brothers!"

    ...

    Han Continent''s certain movie theater.

    "My God!"

    "The Licker can actually evolve!"

    "Its body gets bigger, and its appearance becomes even more terrifying!"

    ...

    Zhao Continent''s certain movie theater.

    "Such a terrifying monster!"

    "Alice probably isn''t a match for it!"

    "She''s totally outclassed, okay? I have no idea how the screenwriter plans to arrange the plot from here. Is it even possible to kill this thing?"

    ...

    Once the Licker appeared, all the major theaters went wild!

    The audience for this kind of movie loves the thrill and terror.

    Many people entered the theater without expecting that the mere setup of zombies could be played with such variety!

    In such an atmosphere,

    the movie finally entered the ultimate battle!

    Alice and the others, facing the Licker, chose to run without hesitation.

    A group of people boarded the train they had arrived on, fleeing indiscriminately!

    However,

    the Licker had already set its sights on them!

    The metal train carriage was directly torn open by the Licker''s claws!

    A reporter named Matt got his arm raked, leaving behind a blurry trail of blood.

    Finally!

    The train door broke!

    The Licker''s massive body squeezed in!

    In the close-up shot,

    the Licker was displayed in the clearest view to the audience!

    This was a creature with no skin, only flesh and fascia connected; its body was severely decayed, with its eyeballs rotten beyond recognition, and it had no skull, as if it had been skinned alive, with a giant tongue like a tentacle shooting out, covered in barbs!

    In a desperate situation,

    Alice grabbed an iron rod, plunging it down fiercely!

    The Licker''s tongue was pierced from the base and firmly pinned to the train.

    The train sped away.

    The Licker''s body was dragged along the tunnel.

    Amidst sparks flying,

    the Licker let out a piercing howl!

    Its body gradually ignited with the friction against the rails!

    When its tongue''s base snapped,

    the Licker had turned entirely into a fireball!

    The shocking scene, with adrenaline pumping through the audience, left everyone feeling the exhilaration of a narrow escape!

    Unfortunately,

    in the process, everyone died!

    Only Alice and reporter Matt survived.

    "You won''t die!"

    Alice opened the antidote kit she had brought, attempting to give Matt an antidote since he had been scratched, too.

    Some audience members exhaled in relief.

    They thought this was the end of the story.

    However,

    the plot did not end.

    Suddenly, there was a flickering light from outside.

    Underneath the light, a group of men wearing masks appeared, seeming like doctors.

    These men captured Alice and Matt.

    "He''s mutating!"

    On the screen, it was clear to see sharp spikes growing from Matt''s wound, as a voice called out from nearby.

    On the other side,

    Alice was being restrained.

    The audience, who had been ready to leave it there, were suddenly on edge again:

    "Are these people also from the Umbrella Corporation?"

    "Has Alice been captured?"

    "With such a twist at the end of the movie, could it be that there''s a sequel?"

    "Matt mutated?"

    "This story obviously isn''t over yet!"

    "But according to the length, it should be about finished, right? If there''s any more plot, we''ll have to wait for the sequel, won''t we?"

    ...

    The screen suddenly shifted.

    Alice''s figure reappeared in the frame.

    To the audience''s surprise, Alice was once again in the image from the beginning of the movie, with nothing but white drapes covering the key parts of her body.

    What was even more shocking was this:

    Alice''s body was riddled with thin needles!

    And as the audience watched in astonishment, Alice bore the pain and forcibly removed all the needles from her body!

    Covering her body simply,

    Alice walked outside.

    At that moment,

    The camera suddenly zoomed out.

    The entire city was in chaos, glass from countless skyscrapers shattered, and bloodstains were everywhere!

    Horrifying!

    Ghastly!

    Desolate!

    Alice walked on the streets, with cars haphazardly strewn about.

    A gust of wind lifted a newspaper, and its front-page headline read with just four words:

    "The Walking Dead!"

    The text below was startling: "A terrifying event has erupted in Racoon City, with walking living dead everywhere..."

    In the photo section,

    An even vast horde of zombie pictures caused one''s scalp to tingle!

    And in the monitoring room of the room Alice was in before, the silhouette of a zombie flickered past.

    This meaningful shot instantly sent shivers down the audience''s spine!

    "What does this mean?"

    "The group that arrested Alice turned into zombies too?"

    "Did they open the laboratory and let out all the zombies inside?"

    "The newspaper clearly states that the whole Racoon City is damn well fallen!"

    "If the armed squads are no match for so many zombies, how could ordinary people possibly resist?"

    "Holy crap!"

    "Fish Papa''s imagination is breaking through the sky, an entire city of zombies, just think about it, it''s thrilling!"

    "I''m in love with this theme!"

    "Completely not the kind of zombies I had imagined, zombies, zombie dogs, and even Lickers. According to the Red Queen''s words, there are probably more monsters cultivated by the Umbrella Corporation than just the Lickers. It feels like the world is even more expansive than I imagined!"

    ...

    In major cinemas,

    The audience did not leave but were fervently discussing.

    In the cinema where Tu Zheng and Jia Haoren were present, there was also a large number of audiences discussing and admiring:

    "What an exhilarating twist!"

    "I didn''t expect a lead female''s movie to be this exciting!"

    "The shot of Alice walking alone in the streets at the end was explosive. Could it be that she''s the only living person left in the city?"

    "I don''t know."

    "I''m really looking forward to the second part!"

    "With such a big cliffhanger, there has to be a sequel!"

    "Xian Yu is awesome, all this biochemical virus, genetic research, he completely overturned the old zombie formula. These aren''t the kind of zombies I knew!"

    Amidst the discussions,

    Tu Zheng and Jia Haoren looked at each other. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Taking a deep breath, Jia Haoren exclaimed with a sense of realization, "This is getting a bit tricky."

    "Not really tricky."

    Tu Zheng''s expression was somewhat complicated.

    Jia Haoren was stunned, "From what angle do you plan to start criticizing? Surely you can''t say Xian Yu is degenerating by making a commercial film again?"

    Tu Zheng said expressionlessly, "I mean, I''m not cashing in on this."

    "You..."

    "This film is definitely going to set a precedent for zombie series films. In the future, who knows how many screenwriters will imitate this model. If I target a work that has set such a precedent, it''s tantamount to having issues with those who want to follow the film''s lead, a loss not worth the cost."

    "That''s the only option then..."

    Jia Haoren looked at the excited audience who still had not left, as if they were prepared to listen through the movie''s end credits, and finally made a decision.

    Tu Zheng was right.

    This movie set a precedent for zombie setups.

    A bit like an upgraded version of zombies, the densely packed horde of zombies brought a visual impact that was too stimulating for the audience.

    In the future, there will certainly be a crowd of imitators.

    And targeting such a pioneering film, if this genre becomes hugely popular later on, wouldn''t it mean getting a swollen face?

    This dirty money, I can''t take it!

 Chapter 997 - 925: Set a Small Goal First

    Tribe.

    Ling Kong was communicating with a theater chain manager.

    Today was not only the premiere day of "Resident Evil."

    Today was also the premiere day for Tribe''s new movie "Blade Woman."

    The theater chain manager laughed on the phone, "Congratulations, Mr. Ling, for making a good film for Blue Star. The initial audience reviews for ''Blade Woman'' are quite good, and the attendance rate is high. If everything goes as expected, the box office should be very pleasing, it might even break the box office records for films with a female lead!"

    "Thank you." Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Ling Kong suppressed his excitement, "I''ll need your continued support for the subsequent screenings."

    "Of course."

    Ling Kong then asked, "Do you know the situation with ''Resident Evil''?"

    The other side laughed, "With so many films from Blue Star, there is competition among the theater chains. Our chain favors Tribe, so we did not bring in Teacher Admirable Fish''s ''Resident Evil.'' However, that movie also premiered today, and we should receive feedback soon."

    "Understood."

    After hanging up the phone, Ling Kong smiled.

    The theater had reported that "Blade Woman" had a fine premiere, which boosted his confidence immensely about defeating Xian Yu this time.

    Suddenly.

    A panicked shout came from outside, "Mr. Ling, something has gone wrong, it''s bad!"

    Ling Kong''s face darkened, "You''re the one in trouble, your whole family is in trouble!"

    The assistant rushed in, panting, "Mr. Ling, listen to me, it''s those two film critics we found earlier who have switched sides and suddenly refused to help us write reviews to tarnish ''Resident Evil!''"

    "Switched sides?"

    Ling Kong frowned, "If they''ve switched sides, so be it. It''s not a big problem."

    The assistant said with a dismal face, "It''s not that they switched sides, the problem is that after they switched sides, they publicly praised ''Resident Evil!''"

    "What?"

    Ling Kong''s cheeks suddenly twitched, and a sense of unease came over him again.

    The assistant was right.

    After watching "Resident Evil," Tu Zheng and Jia Haoren did not tarnish the movie but rather sang its praises!

    "Sensory shock, beyond imagination, Teacher Admirable Fish always finds the most unexpected entry points, ''Resident Evil,'' a film that is bound to make you panic and fear, yet irresistibly compelling. Perhaps in the future, zombies and the undead will become two distinct concepts in film discussions..."

    Jia Haoren mentioned the difference between zombies and the undead.

    Tu Zheng''s review was even longer, evaluating the film overall:

    "Why does Teacher Admirable Fish''s ''Resident Evil'' bring a whole new sci-fi perspective? Before entering the cinema, no one would have thought Teacher Admirable Fish''s movie would be so rich in sci-fi elements; everyone was fooled by the zombie gimmick.

    It seems like Teacher Admirable Fish''s movies can always surprise you unexpectedly.

    The entire film is filled with suspense, constantly piquing your curiosity, and continually bringing surprises.

    Who is the female lead? What are the secrets of these amnesiacs? Where did the zombies come from? Who will become zombies? Who will survive? Why does the artificial intelligence Red Queen want to kill people? How to deal with the final Licker?

    We, holding all these questions, have become captives of Teacher Admirable Fish.

    Like all the audience, I was willingly sitting in front of the screen, waiting for the answers to unfold.

    And just when we thought we had understood everything, the film ends with a dramatic twist.

    Alice escapes from that damned lab.

    She cautiously holds her gun, bullet already chambered, but:

    On the desolate streets, only she remains alone amidst total devastation.

    With the news of the undead ravaging the city, this scene shocked me more than the death-laden laser corridor, even more than the tide of undead!

    New questions arise.

    In the quickly grand and fiery music, suspense rises instantly, and the passion overflows, truly irresistible!"

    Tu Zheng''s review even included slight spoilers, but they were not enough to affect the viewing experience.

    Being a well-known and influential film critic, Tu Zheng''s review naturally attracted a lot of comments from the audience!

    "Couldn''t agree more!"

    "This movie completely defies imagination!"

    "So good to watch!"

    "The ending was indeed shocking; I even think it''s one of the most compelling endings among all commercial films. If a sequel were released now, I''d definitely buy tickets without hesitation!"

    "I gasped throughout the entire film!"

    "I thought the Red Queen was the antagonist, only to find out at the end that her purpose was to protect humans!"

    "The twist with the Red Queen is classic indeed, and Alice suddenly bursting out in that scene was exhilarating, her action fierce and stylish, truly maximizing the charm of films with a strong female lead!"

    Of course.

    The comment section also had many netizens who hadn''t yet seen the movie.

    They were instantly intrigued by the reviews from the first batch of viewers and film critics.

    "Is it really that good?"

    "It sounds pretty intense!"

    "I see a lot of people saying zombies and the undead are two different concepts, what does that mean?"

    "This movie even involves artificial intelligence?"

    "Red Queen, Alice, aren''t those the characters from Chu Kuang''s ''Alice in Wonderland''?"

    "No way, I have to buy a ticket to see it!"

    "Yes, the comments got me itching to see it; I''m going tonight!"

    "What exactly is it about?"

    "Can''t explain it to you; you''ll know once you see it. If it''s not good, you can hit me!"

    Shhh!

    The film critic effect!

    Audience word-of-mouth effect!

    The combination of these elements suddenly attracted a massive audience for "Resident Evil!"

    Yu Dynasty chat group.

    Everyone also found time to watch the movie.

    Immediately.

    They all mentioned Xia Fan!

    Jiang Kui: "This movie is so well done, Xia Fan, you''re going to be famous. When I saw your bathtub scene, I almost wanted to lick the screen!"

    Sun Yaohuo: "Wanna blaze? (Sunglasses) Who''s calling me?"

    Wei Haoyun: "This is giving me the creeps, the first time watching a horror movie, barely held it together, Xia Fan is too cool, sister loves you!"

    Zhao Ying Ge: "Okay, I must admit, Xia Fan''s physique is a 50/50 match with mine. He''s really something."

    Chen Zhiyu: "This physique, tsk tsk tsk, usually, I don''t pay attention, how could it not be popular, right? The movie is too brilliant, Teacher Admirable Fish is the eternal god!"

    At last.

    Xia Fan himself showed up in the group: "Pfft, you bunch of low-quality mugs!"

    ...

    The group was right.

    In the following days, Xia Fan indeed became famous, and "Resident Evil" indeed became a hit!

    Tribe.

    Blogs.

    Social media circles.

    Major forums.

    Discussions about this movie were everywhere!

    And the box office of "Resident Evil" climbed up incrementally during heated discussions!

    As for another movie of the same genre, "The Female Blade," it was severely suppressed by this terrifying rival!

    One week later.

    The box office of "Resident Evil" had already accumulated around ten billion!

    This was the most insane weekly box office among all of Teacher Admirable Fish''s movies, for various reasons.

    First, as the continents merged, the number of viewers increased, and the market became more vast.

    Second, as everyone progressively understood each other through cultural exchanges, the tastes of audiences across continents grew more aligned.

    Third, the zombie theme in ''Resident Evil'' was a first in Blue Star; there had never been a similar film before.

    Fourth, Blue Star didn''t pay much attention to movies with a lead female protagonist, so there had never been a movie that magnified a female lead''s charisma to the extent of an Alice before.

    Fifth, the movie''s investment was substantial...

    Thus, although "Resident Evil" was not so high-grossing on Earth, it created a quite impressive result in Blue Star!

    Impressive enough that Lin Yuan himself got a shock.

    Mainly it was because the number of viewers had increased, other factors were secondary.

    This made Lin Yuan suddenly realize that when Blue Star fully merges, the movie market might go utterly insane!

    Because it wasn''t just about "Resident Evil."

    The average box office of other movies in Blue Star was also increasing yearly.

    Different continents playing by their own rules wouldn''t work anymore, lack of cultural barriers meant the loss of local market protection mechanisms.

    Some movies would dominate across continents!

    Of course, as this situation developed, film investment costs were definitely going to become higher, compared to Blue Star, Earth''s movie market patterns had completely lost their reference value.

    ...

    Similar insights were emerging in the industry.

    "With the merger tide, the film market is changing."

    "Now, these movie box offices have become increasingly baffling."

    "Because the merger is aligning the viewing tastes across continents, differing popular movies across continents were due to taste variations. As these differences gradually disappear, the choices of movies people watch will become more consistent."

    "Once Zhong Continent joins the merger, a qualitative change will occur."

    "It''s already somewhat happening now, before what movie could easily break ten billion in box office in a week, yet counting ''Resident Evil,'' this year alone there have been four movies breaking ten billion in a single week."

    "Admirable Fish''s movie might just make it into the top ten annual box office."

    "This movie really is a bit crazy, now there are quite a few companies considering writing movies centered around zombies."

    Yes.

    Although Lin Yuan''s previous movies were also hits, Blue Star was simply too large, and there were many popular movies in the same period.

    Therefore.

    His previous films had never made it into the top ten annual box office of Blue Star.

    But this "Resident Evil" was subtly showing such signs.

    This movie performed exceptionally well, ensuring increased showtimes across continents!

    More screenings meant more viewers, a natural result considering the film''s good reputation, and commercial films always had a solid viewer base.

    That said.

    A similar situation had occurred in Celestial Dynasty before.

    Before Xu Zheng''s "Lost in Thailand," Celestial Dynasty''s movie box offices were generally not high.

    After that movie, the film market went wild, with the box office ceiling being broken repeatedly.

    It wasn''t the quality of the movies that improved.

    It was purely that the film market had expanded.

    And with Blue Star having the foundation of continental mergers, this burst of the movie market seemed even more traceable.

    Some might wonder:

    Why does "Resident Evil''s" box office exceed Admirable Fish''s previous films?

    Were Admirable Fish''s previous films not up to par?

    Of course not.

    If "Spiderman" were released today, the box office would not be the same as back then.

    Just like Star Grandpa''s "Kung Fu Hustle."

    In the market environment of that time, "Kung Fu Hustle" made just a few billion.

    He later had one with a much higher box office, "The Mermaid."

    This movie wasn''t as good as "Kung Fu Hustle," yet its box office was many times greater.

    Additionally.

    Celestial Dynasty''s highest-grossing "Wolf Warrior 2," with not even sixty billion in box office, couldn''t crack the top fifty global box offices.

    But in Blue Star''s market environment.

    With markets merging, no language barriers, and uniformed culture, sixty billion will be an attainable target for major top film companies.

    At this moment.

    Lin Yuan had greater expectations for movies, perhaps he should set a small goal for the future.

    Like...

    Making a movie that breaks a hundred billion in box office?

 Chapter 998 - 926: Seeing Guo Xiang Again

    It was June.

    The movie "Resident Evil" was still a hot topic, with box office numbers undiminished until the middle of the month.

    In such a context, Starlight suddenly released a TV series, achieving success in both film and television:

    The Return of the Condor Heroes!

    As the sequel to The Legend of the Condor Heroes, The Return of the Condor Heroes aired and successfully continued the heat of its predecessor, and even more brilliant at that!

    Its direct manifestation was:

    The series premiere ratings broke three!

    Not only did the actors become popular after the TV series aired, but also several classic songs from the drama, all penned by Xian Yu, became huge hits:

    Come Back!

    Wordly Tavern!

    Unparalleled in the World!

    Myths and Words of Love!

    Heavenly Lovers!

    All five songs were released as part of the TV soundtrack!

    Unfortunately, these five songs weren''t released until mid-month, so they didn''t impact the seasonal chart rankings too much, but even so, they all squeezed into the top ten, adding even more heat to the martial arts resurgence.

    It just so happened to be on this day.

    Lin Yuan finished his "Heaven-Reliant Dragon Slayer" and handed it over to Jin Mu.

    Jin Mu, upon receiving the manuscript, didn''t react with the excitement Lin Yuan had imagined, but instead fixed his gaze on Lin Yuan and asked,

    "Are you really not going to torment the readers this time?"

    "This time, it''s truly a refreshing tale."

    Lin Yuan had to explain once again.

    He felt that Jin Mu had developed a trust issue with him.

    Fortunately, Jin Mu ultimately believed Lin Yuan and turned to contact Ol'' Xiong, the chief editor of the Fantasy Department at Silver Blue Books:

    "Chu Kuang''s new book, I''m preparing to send it to you."

    "Another martial arts novel?"

    "Chu Kuang plans to write a ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' trilogy. This new book, called ''Heaven-Reliant Dragon Slayer'', is the last part of the trilogy, so of course, it''s also a martial arts story."

    "The Legend of the Condor Heroes trilogy, Heaven-Reliant Dragon Slayer?"

    Ol'' Xiong''s eyes suddenly lit up, but then became skeptical again, "Did Chu Kuang take any ''preventive measures'' this time?"

    "No."

    "That''s good."

    Ol'' Xiong let out a long sigh of relief.

    He was genuinely worried, fearing the old rascal Chu Kuang would pull another Dragon Maiden Incident on them.

    Although the issue had been resolved in the end, during those two days when readers blocked the door of Silver Blue Books, everyone was on tenterhooks, fearing that the readers would rise up and smash their way through the editorial department.

    But...

    One couldn''t completely take Jin Mu''s word for it.

    After hanging up the phone, Ol'' Xiong immediately led his editors to start reading this "Heaven-Reliant Dragon Slayer."

    They read throughout the day.

    That evening.

    Although they hadn''t finished the entire book, the expressions on everyone''s faces clearly spelled relief.

    Afterward.

    The editors in the editorial department began a heated discussion of the major plots:

    "As the final installment of ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' trilogy, the story is not heart-wrenching, and it could even be considered quite exhilarating." sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Although the story covers a large span of time, and the real protagonist appears quite late, every detail that needed explaining from the previous installment is made clear."

    "Guo Xiang indeed never married in her lifetime."

    "The girls from The Return of the Condor Heroes, as expected, all ruined their lives the moment they met Yang Guo."

    "The most poignant part is Mongolia winning the war, with Guo Jing and Huang Rong dying in battle in Xiangyang City; although this plot point is only briefly mentioned in the book, it still tugs at the heartstrings. With the setup from the previous two books and the leap in time, this plot point minimizes the damage to the readers."

    "I initially thought the main character would be Guo Xiang."

    "I thought it would be Zhang Jun Bao, but with a sweep of Chu Kuang''s pen, good lord, Zhang Jun Bao turned into the over-ninety-year-old grandmaster Zhang Sanfeng."

    "Zhang Wuji must be the male protagonist who appeared the latest in history, right?"

    Mid-discussion.

    Editor YangFeng suddenly turned to chief editor Ol'' Xiong, "I have an idea, not sure if it''s appropriate to share?"

    Ol'' Xiong raised an eyebrow, "Go ahead."

    YangFeng spoke with a smile, "This book''s opening acts and setup take a long time. Starting with Guo Xiang introducing the story, then transitioning with Zhang Sanfeng, the potential to misdirect is simply too great, even more ruthless than what happened with The Legend of the Condor Heroes. Why don''t we release the beginning online first to hook the readers'' curiosity, followed by arranging the full book''s publication? It can be considered a rather surprising marketing strategy."

    "You mean to release the first few chapters first?"

    "I think up to chapter ten can all be considered the early setup for ''Heaven-Reliant Dragon Slayer,''" someone said.

    "Ten chapters is too many."

    "How about we release three or five chapters to test the waters?"

    "I need to ask teacher Chu Kuang about this."

    Ol'' Xiong thought YangFeng''s suggestion was feasible, but he couldn''t make the decision on his own.

    Ten minutes later.

    Lin Yuan learned of Silver Blue Books''s plan.

    He thought about it and didn''t express any opinions.

    Jin Mu, however, suggested: "If we''re going to promote it this way, there''s no need for Silver Blue to post on our behalf. Boss, you might as well use Chu Kuang''s account to leverage the blog platform and publish the first few chapters of ''Heaven-Reliant Dragon Slayer.'' That would have a bigger promotional effect than if Silver Blue were to publish them."

    "Release it ourselves?"

    "One chapter a day, and after a few chapters announce the publication."

    "That''s also fine."

    Lin Yuan thought it made sense.

    Jin Mu quickly reached a consensus with Silver Blue Books.

    At seven o''clock in the evening.

    Lin Yuan logged into Chu Kuang''s account and posted a message:

    "Tonight at eight, the first chapter of the new book ''Heaven-Reliant Dragon Slayer'' will be released. This book is the conclusion of ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' trilogy. The first few chapters of the new book will be released through the blog platform."

    At this moment.

    ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' TV series was in the midst of a hot broadcast.

    The martial arts revival was growing more and more intense.

    And this one post from Chu Kuang instantly drew the attention of the entire internet!

    The concept of ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' trilogy was being widely disseminated for the first time!

    The comments section of the post was absolutely flooded with messages from countless readers!

    "The sudden news of the new book is such a pleasant surprise. Who knew the story hadn''t ended with ''The Return of the Condor Heroes?'' Did the old rascal plan to write a martial arts trilogy from the beginning?"

    "It certainly seems like it from the release timing!"

    "So Chu Kuang, the old rascal, had a martial arts universe stashed away in his brain?"

    "My fairy tale universe refuses to accept this!"

    "My mystery universe just laughs without a word!"

    "Before we argue about universes, I''m just worried he''ll throw in another NTR twist."

    "Even if Chu Kuang is arrogant, after the Dragon Maiden Incident, he wouldn''t dare such flagrant disrespect... right?"

    "Guo Xiang, Guo Xiang, my great Guo Xiang must have a significant role. I''m waiting for the new book at eight o''clock!"

    "Ah ah ah ah, I hope the new book will feature Guo Xiang!"

    This time, no readers were begging the old rascal to let loose.

    The book ''The Return of the Condor Heroes'' had shown readers just how low this old rascal could go. If he were really set free to write, who knows what insane plot he could come up with!

    So among the numerous comments.

    The readers were both expectant and nervous!

    Then the blog cooperated with the promotion, starting a full network push!

    The news that Chu Kuang''s new book would be released at eight o''clock tonight on the blog platform spread quickly to tribes and various major forums!

    On the tribe.

    A lot of users immediately started to complain.

    "Look at this old rascal, forcing me to use a blog now?"

    "Can''t I see his new book early without a blog account?"

    "Goodbye, tribe."

    "Blog, here I come!"

    "For my goddess Guo Xiang!"

    "Come on, you''re clearly here for your old rascal."

    "It''s your old rascal. Whoever likes this despised old rascal can have him; I choose Xian Yu!"

    "Heaven-Reliant Dragon Slayer, huh? ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes'' wasn''t enough for Chu Kuang, now he wants to slay a dragon too?"

    That evening, as the tribe''s leaders witnessed their traffic plummet yet again and cursed loudly, the blog was attracting the attention of the entire network!

    And when eight o''clock came.

    Chu Kuang''s first chapter of his new book was indeed published right on time.

    As the blog''s traffic surged, Guo Xiang rode her little donkey, leisurely strolling into the view of countless readers...

    In this moment.

    The readers'' hearts melted.